Going Home in a Box

by Mable

(Sequel to Can't Go Home Again and Almost Feels like Home) Freddy Fazbear's has returned from the grave and brought something of hatred and agony with it. Their livelihoods on the line, Mike, Marionette, and the others must learn to handle this new threat. This is easier said than done once Foxy finds himself snared by the new location, and the white rabbit now pulling the strings.

85. Chapter 85

Mable: Sorry this took a while, but hopefully the length makes up for it! Enjoy!

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Going Home in a Box

Chapter Eighty-Five

They had to tell him. Andrew thought it was a bad idea; Jake doubled down that they had to do it despite knowing it would come back to haunt them. They agreed, they had to tell someone, and that someone was going to be Foxy. Decided upon because he was currently alone and currently the possible target of Vanny, so he would be the easiest to tell. Then he could pass it on.

Which meant, actually, Moon would be telling him. He hiked all the way back from the daycare to Parts and Service while taking none of his shortcuts to save time. Mostly because he was accompanied by Nanny Bot, but also because he didn't want to rush into this. He wanted to drag his jingling slipper-clad feet all the way down to that room and hope nobody was there when he got there.

Unfortunately, there were only two people in there, Foxy and Jeremy. Which made it a perfect time to deliver the news. The lights were on outside of Parts and Service, so Moon paused to switch into Sun, and it was in this moment that Jake, through Nanny Bot, heard a familiar name get brought up: Michael.

Now, Jake wasn't proud of being a shameless eavesdropper, but hearing the concerned voices made him too worried to care. He listened in, and then Sun listened in as well once he had stopped clicking enough to do so.

"-Michael wasn't thinking about any of that when he did that… I don't think he did. I think it really was just a sudden thing."

"I've done a lot of stupid, sudden things but… I don't think it was. I might've, but after he told us about it… I don't know what to think… I don't know if I can trust him. He can say all he wants that he was trying to get out of that suit. I know it was more than that… I think he's going to try it again."

Moon and Jake- or Nanny Bot- exchanged a shocked look. Or the motion of one, with neither able to express it facially.

"I don't think Michael's going to do it again. I don't think he meant to do it. I mean, he was fine! Or, uh, not fine, but… He just seemed so normal that day. We talked and I didn't notice anything."

"Michael… I love him, but he… he runs away. He always ran away when he needed an out, and whereas I tried to run and always got stuck right where I was, he found a way out. This time there's nowhere to run and I'm afraid what he's going to do if…"

Sun had been leaning onto the doorway when the bell on his wrist jingled. He grabbed it instantly, clamping it under his hand to try and suffocate the noise but the deed was already done.

"Who's there?!" Foxy barked.

Realizing the jig was up, Sun called back, "I-It's just me!" He leaned over and looked into the doorway, seeing Jeremy and Foxy, and waved tensely. "Sorry, I-I wasn't trying to listen in! We're just, uh… We'll be back later. You two just go on ahead!"

He then turned on his heel and hurried off, practically leaving the Nanny Bot behind. Which was fine, because he knew he had to get back to the real Jake as fast as possible.

He got to the daycare in record time and swooped up onto the balcony before hurrying inside, only to be blindsided by Jake standing directly inside behind the curtains, waiting for Sun's return, almost blindsiding him.

"I knew something was wrong!" he whispered in panic.

"Whoa, whoa! We don't even know if that's what happened," Sun anxiously argued. "I'm sure this was just a… a miscommunication! We didn't hear the whole story."

"We heard enough. What else could it be? You heard what he said!" Jake said. He was trying to keep his voice low and began to pace in a little circle. "The way they were talking? That's the way everybody talks about me. Or everybody would if they knew. Like you'd talk about me."

"Hey!"

"It's true!"

Sun sputtered. "W-Well- eh- you- maybe. But that doesn't mean that this is the same situation!"

"…Are you saying that because you don't think it is or you're just trying to keep me from freaking out?"

Sun's silence matched with his anxious ticking answered loud and clear.

Jake huffed and began to do his little circle again.

"You don't hear the way he talks about himself sometimes… He just- he's always taking little jabs at himself. The first night we met he was doing it before he even realized I was sitting there! But I thought he was getting better. He stopped doing that, we started talking more and he seemed happy. I-I just don't understand… how I didn't notice."

"Nobody noticed. You heard what Foxy said, it came out of the blue for him too."

"But I should've seen the signs!"

Even though he didn't say it out loud, it was clear what he was implying. Why he should've been the one to notice. The continuing dancing around the topic made it all the more important until they were forced to address it.

"Jake, your… our… your situation is- was a lot different than Michael's is," Andrew quietly reminded.

"I… Yeah," Jake agreed. Awkwardly fidgeting with his cloak as he did.

An uncomfortable silence followed.

"Where's Gregory?" Sun asked.

"In our room," Jake said. Realizing they probably needed to get back to him, he headed to the ladder only to pause. "Never mind, he's standing right there listening…"

Sun whipped his head over the railing and saw Gregory standing just under them, still in his pajamas but as wide-awake as ever.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"O-oh… Nothing!" Sunny chirped with phony cheer.

Gregory looked unimpressed. "I'm not dumb. I heard you talking about Mike. So, what's going on?"

Sun's façade dropped as quickly as his shoulders did into a pout. "First of all, we're talking about Michael, Foxy's brother, not Mike the guy. Secondly, that's on a need-to-know basis and you, Sunspot, are not in the need to know." He hopped over the railing and landed on the floor beside him with a jingle and a shrug. "Them's the brakes, Kiddo."

"There you go treating me like a little kid again," Gregory huffed. Sun spun his points and shrugged again, and Gregory rolled his eyes. "Fine. Then I'll ask Freddy."

"Whoa, whoa. You will not ask Freddy. He's gone through enough tonight, he doesn't need to have this whole Michael situation dropped onto him," Sun disagreed. Gregory quirked a brow in an 'are you kidding' manner, and Sun backpedaled hard. "Not that there IS a situation!"

The two continued going back and forth-

"Can't you just tell me? I won't tell anyone!"

"If I told you then I would be telling someone!"

"So, there's something to tell."

"I- uh- ngh- don't get smart with me."

-while Jake was left to his own thoughts. Thinking about Michael, replaying all their most recent conversations, totally caught up in himself and thinking of calling. He needed to talk to him, but he didn't know what to say.

Talking to him on the phone wasn't good enough. He wanted to see him and talk to him and tell him it was going to be okay. But he couldn't, because it was too close to morning to call him and invite him over, drive him over, get him to the daycare without anyone noticing- it wouldn't work. There was no way it would work.

…Unless.

Unless.

"…I've got to go see him."

Both Gregory and Sun snapped their heads up to look at Jake.

"What?" Sun squeaked, voice and heart dropping.

"I've got to go see Michael," Jake affirmed. He stepped onto the ladder and slid down it, ignoring the friction on his fingers as he smoothly stepped off. "It's too close to morning to invite him here and this can't wait. This time right now is critical. He needs to know that he's not alone and that someone understands what he's going through."

"But that's crazy! Why can't you just call him?!" Sun sputtered out.

"That's not good enough. We've been talking on the phone every day, and this still happened without me noticing! I've… I've got to at least make sure he's okay," Jake said with finality.

"Since when did you start talking to him every day?" Sun huffed.

"Since he started picking up," Jake retorted.

Sun dragged his fingers down his face in exasperation.

"Will ANYTHING I say stop you?"

"…Probably not."

Sun stood there silently for a long second before giving a weary sigh. "Then I'm going with you."

"You don't have to-."

"Yes, I do. Let me call Freddy and tell him pick up time is early tonight," Sun said firmly, any amount of clownish dramatics wiped away. He strode over into the corner and rested his fingers on his face like he was pinching the bridge of his nose but was likely using that to send Freddy a message.

This left Jake and Gregory standing there. Seeing Jake as a little more forthright, Gregory turned to him for answers.

"What's going on?" he asked with a little more impatience.

"Michael… was injured. Somehow. We're not exactly sure what happened, but I need to check on him," Jake tried to explain.

"Was he hurt as bad as Roxy was?" Gregory asked in surprise. That was the impression he got.

It took Jake a moment to answer and even then, it was a non-committal, "I'm not sure…" He mimicked a cough. "Is Freddy coming?"

Sun lowered his hand from his head and continued staring into the corner.

"Sunny?"

Finally, he snapped his head back, staring blankly at Jake. "Wh-What?"

"Is Freddy coming?"

"…No. He's… He's busy," Sun said in a hushed voice. Only to get an idea and suddenly, he was feeling much more confident. He spun fully towards the two. "Which means that if we're doing this, we're going to have to take him with us," Sun said, pointing a thumb at Gregory with a hand on his hip. "Looks like we'll just have to give Michael a phone call from the safety of the daycare, hmm? We can even bring the phone up here! That would be waaaay easier, safer, faster, and about twenty other 'er's that I know you'll figure out!"

He thought this was the ultimatum he needed to make Jake see how crazy this was.

"Uh, well…" Jake looked towards Gregory, equally worried, and sighed. "…I can survive on my own for one night. It's probably less risky if we both don't go anyways."

Sun's balloon of confidence deflated quickly.

"What?! No! Th-That's not what I meant!"

"Can't I just go back to Freddy's room?" Gregory asked, unamused by the continued theatrics.

"No, no, no. We've had a Vanny spotting. You're not leaving my sight," Sunny said, waggling his finger. Before recoiling the hand back. "Especially with… Freddy being so busy…"

"Then… why don't I just go with you?"

"Wha- There's no way! You'll get lost out there!"

"Lost? Yeah right. Don't you know how I got to the Pizzaplex? I biked here, all by myself, on my own."

"Down the highway?!" Sun choked and grabbed his chest.

"Yup!"

"And nobody stopped you?" Jake asked in milder surprise.

"Not really… Yeah. Someone called the cops and a cop pulled me over, but I told him this story about how my parents said I could go to the Pizzaplex but then they got too busy at work to take me, so I tried to ride my bike there myself, and I got him to take me to the Pizzaplex and then pretended to call my parents at the payphone outside and told him that they told me to wait inside and that I was in trouble. He bought it and then all I had to do was get with a group of kids and I got inside. Do you think some helpless little kid would pull that off? No, I did it all by myself."

"And you lied to the police! Rulebreaker? No, no! LAWbreaker!"

Gregory gave a proud smile. "Yup!"

"I'm sort of shocked he didn't ask to speak to your parents," Jake said.

"I really played it up how bummed I was about my parents. And I had a bunch of change, so I showed him and told him it was my allowance, and he bought it."

"Ughhh," Sun groaned as he grabbed at his head. "Are there any responsible adults in charge anywhere?"

"Freddy, but he's busy with Roxy and Foxy. I'm not going to run off or anything. I live here!" Gregory doubled down. "Pleeeease let me come with you?"

"Oh, don't beg."

Gregory clasped his hands together defiantly.

"Ngh."

"…You know what? Why don't we take him with us?" Jake offered. Sun snapped his head to him in surprise. "We can't get caught anyway or it's game over. An extra body won't be that much of a difference. In… fact… it would sort of by like it used to be. You, me, and… him."

Jake gestured his head to Gregory, who didn't get what he meant. Sun did though. Sun did and after a rigid pause, he slumped forward overdramatically, his hands thumping on the ground as he groaned.

"It's your choice, Sunny. I'll be okay on my own. Or we can all go together... But I can't just sit around and wait for something to happen. It's not… It's not enough. I know it doesn't make sense, but I have to see him."

"You have to save him," Sun interrupted.

"Uh… Heh, uh. Maybe. I want to try," Jake awkwardly agreed.

With another groan, Sun flipped his face around to look at Jake even with his body still folded over.

"And how exactly are we going to make it allll the way into Hurricane?"

…

Next thing they knew, a grumbling Moon was leading them downstairs. He wasn't slinking or stalking, he was striding with the effort of someone who was fed up and wanted this over with, all while Jake and Gregory hustled to keep up. Thankfully, once they arrived at the garage, the lights were turned back on, and the muttering Moon was turned back to a sour Sun.

This garage had a couple of work vans and similar vehicles stored inside. Other than that, it looked like a one-floor, less-impressive parking garage.

Jake started to search around and it didn't take him long to sleuth out where they kept the keys to the vehicles, in a locker with a padlock that was neither locked nor shut all the way. Nothing surprising to Jake. He grabbed one of the keys to one of the vans before walking over and using the attached beeper to locate which one it was. Thankfully, it wasn't too far from one of the garage doors.

Jake used his control panel to bypass security lock on the door- a relatively easy feat since it was a low security clearance- and then set it aside as he and Sun opened up the garage doors together.

They started out at a drizzly night. They had been so deep in the daycare that neither realized it was raining but here they could clearly see the light sprinkle and hear it on the asphalt.

"Are you sure you want to do back out there?" Sun quietly asked.

"Yeah. For Michael… It's not that bad. We probably still know those roads like the back of our hands."

"Well then, are you sure you want to borrow a van? Why don't we just pile up on Gregory's bike and peddle our way to town?" Sun asked sardonically.

Gregory snickered at the mental image. Sun looked to him and Gregory pretended to cough into his fist.

"We could try, but someone probably took it by now," he said.

"Should've locked it up," Sun tutted.

"Yeah, about that… I kiiinda borrowed it."

"Wait- you- you STOLE the bike?!"

"…A little."

Gregory gave a guilty little smile as Sun stared at him with his points tucked in from shock. Then they popped out as he smacked a hand over his face and dragged it down with a groan.

Jake gave him a sympathetic pat on the back. "It's okay, Sun. You still have time to teach him all about right and wrong after we're done stealing this van. I mean borrowing. Yeah, borrowing."

Sun tsked and turned, swatted off Jake's hand. Jake swatted back. They proceeded to get into a miniature slap fight that ended with Jake hurrying to the van and Sun dragging himself after him, and Gregory quickly caught up after watching the whole thing.

Jake unlocked the driver's side and opened it, started to climb in, and hesitated.

"Wait, wait." He dropped back down. "I can't drive."

"You just remembered that?!" Sun choked.

"No, I mean I can't drive." Jake gestured down to his endoskeleton leg. "With this."

Sun looked down at his leg with an understanding little hum. He then sighed and lifted a hand, about to begrudgingly volunteer himself.

"I know how to drive!" Gregory interrupted. Sun and Jake could only stand there as Gregory slipped between them and climbed up onto the driver's seat. "It's not that hard. Even a kid can do it."

Sun sputtered again. "You're not going to DRIVE! You're too young, you don't have a license, and- and- and no." He stepped up, picked him up, and leaned to plop him into the passenger's seat. "You're lucky you're riding in the front at all, but I doubt the back has seatbelts. Speaking of which, Jake, you're going to have to stay in the back and keep your head down."

"Story of my life," Jake remarked.

He started climbing in as Sun hopped into the driver's seat and shut the door.

"Seatbelts!" he announced. He pulled his on and secured it in, then watched Gregory expectantly. Much to his relief, Gregory didn't put up a fight and instead put his seatbelt on.

"Hey." Sun suddenly had his view obscured by Jake's mask and cloak being held out between the seats. "Wear this!"

"Oh yes. That's the perfect disguise to be wearing while driving around in a van, in the middle of the night, with a child," Sun said flatly. "Ehhh… I-I'll take the cloak."

While Jake replaced his mask, Sun tugged the cloak on as best as he could, quickly realizing that he would have to get outside into the darkness if he was going to be able to actually wear it. He held out his hand and Jake dropped the key into his palm, and then he shakily put it into the ignition.

The van wasn't nearly as oppressive as his nervousness would've led to believe. A pair of fuzzy dice hung from the mirror and a Roxy bobblehead was stuck to the dash, and a crumpled up fast-food bag sat in the floorboard under Gregory's feet. There was the faintest smell of cigarettes- which of course Sun could smell, considering that he could detect a dirty pull-up halfway across the daycare- but it wasn't overpowering.

…He couldn't believe he was actually going to do this. But he would be lying if he didn't say it was sort of exciting that he still could. No programming held him inside like it held some of the others.

With that in mind, Sun squared up and turned on the van. It couldn't be too difficult. Gas, brake, reverse… the other gears. At least it wasn't a proper stick shift, surely he could figure it out on his own!

So, he adjusted the mirrors, put it in reverse, and then slowly- incredibly slowly- backed up the van in the garage. Paused for a long moment.

"Put it in D."

Put it in "D" and then inched forward, and then reversed, and inched forward, and reversed, and slowly turned the van before putting it in drive and driving out of the open garage door. Or that was, peeling out way faster than he intended before hitting the brakes almost immediately outside, causing Gregory to get lurched by his seatbelt and Jake to hit the back of the driver's seat with an 'omph'.

"Sorry," Sun hissed out as he went through the process of switching back into Moon.

"No problem. I had my head down."

With his points in, Moon tugged on his nightcap and then was able to pull the cloak hood over it. Then he gripped the steering wheel tightly. Sun might've been flighty and anxious, but Moon didn't get scared. He just did what he had to.

…Unfortunately, whether Sun or Moon, this was still Andrew so he sat there for a long few moments trying to convince himself to either go or back out. The same voice nagging him that they were going to get caught, that this was stupid, as before the change even occurred.

"Are you going to go?" Gregory asked.

Moon snapped out of it. "Yesss," he dragged out.

He then slowly lowered his foot on the gas and began to carefully drive the van forward. He took it around the Pizzaplex and across the parking lot, and along the way he started to somewhat get his bearings with it- though was still driving rather slow. Once he got onto the empty highway he sunk further into the seat and started to speed up a little more, but only out of necessity. If they got pulled over, they would be in serious trouble.

Out here it was fine as the highway was mostly quiet. One car drove past, but it was so far on the other side that he doubted that he would've been noticed through the van's partially tinted windows. It would be an entirely different story once they reached Hurricane.

"Do we even know where we're going?" Moon muttered.

"We're going to Foxy's warehouse. Michael said he used to stay there and that he was only temporarily moving around, so chances are he's back there. Don't worry, I know where it is."

"…You know, you could've called him first," Moon said with exasperation.

"He would've told me not to come."

"Gee, I wonder why…" Moon grumbled under his breath.

The van continued to slowly inch down the highway. Moon clenched his fingers on the steering wheel and released them.

Jake, noticing his distress, tried to come up with a distraction.

"Hey, Gregory. Want to play a game or sing a song or something?" Jake offered.

"Okay, what kind of game? But I don't want to sing, that's weird," Gregory agreed.

Moon- amused, anxious, and impish- decided at that moment to chime in with a song.

"The wheels on the bus go- the wheels on the van go round and round. And round and round again. And again, and again, and again. Nggggh."

At that point Moon just gave up. Slowly sinking further down until he was barely peeking over the steering wheel. Jake leaned between the seats to give him some assurance before turning to Gregory.

"Sooo… What about I Spy?"

"Sure."

And then they proceeded to play I Spy with whatever they could spot in and outside the van. It wasn't much but at least it seemed to relax Moon a little, and eventually they arrived in Hurricane. Other than a few times of accidentally lurching on the brake when he was just trying to brake a little, Moon managed to get them into town and keep them away from the few cars out on the road.

Jake had indeed managed to find the correct warehouse on an online map. It matched the description he had heard from both Michael and Charlie. When Moon drove up, Jake hopped out of the back and hurried to the door, knocking feverishly. There was no answer. He continued knocking to no avail, and then hurried to try the garage doors. They were locked, there was no answer, and he hurried back to the van.

"No good! He's not here!"

"Oh, wonderful. Let's go home," Moon flatly replied.

"We can't give up yet!"

"What's the alternative?"

"…Drive to Foxy's. It's over that way. We'll see if someone's there."

They drove to Foxy's. There was nobody there.

"Okay, one last idea," Jake proposed as he climbed back in.

By now Moon was sunken all the way into the driver's seat with a hand dramatically posed over his face. Gregory was stifling a yawn so that Moon wouldn't hear, which Moon did hear and almost commented on before Jake got in.

"Is the last idea we go home and ask Mari where his brother is?" Moon asked flatly.

"No, but that's the backup. I promise, one more place and if it doesn't work then we'll go back to the Pizzaplex," Jake agreed apologetically.

Moon sighed and dragged himself upright, watching out the windows to make sure there were no witnesses, and started to drive out of the parking lot. "Where?"

"The junkyard."

Moon grumbled.

"I know, I know. Just… It's our only chance. It's a gamble, I know, but if Ennard's there then he can take us right to Michael."

"IF he's there."

"It seems like he goes there a lot…"

By now even Jake sounded uncertain. He gave a quiet sigh.

"Just one last place, please."

With that plea, Moon caved yet again.

"Which way? I'm turned around."

"That way." Jake gladly pointed between the seats. He then pointed somewhere else. "The park's in that direction, the school's over there-."

"I know where we are," Moon said. He began to drive towards the dump while Jake settled into the back again. "I am only doing this because I'm curious to see if our old stomping ground's still there."

"Your what?" Gregory asked with a funny look.

"We used to hide out at the junkyard. There, the old factory, the abandoned house off on Center Street- we made numerous hiding places in case one of them was found out."

"Wow. And you two were just… you were like in the same body, right?"

"Correct."

"When we were only a few years older than you, we got stuck into the same body by a mad scientist who lived in a creepy old warehouse outside of town," Jake explained, leaning carefully out between the seats, and keeping his head low. "We just barely escaped, and we had nowhere to go. So, we hid out in the factory. But we couldn't stay still and soon we were travelling all over town."

"But then how come you don't know where you are?" Gregory asked, arching a brow.

"Because we were on the north side of town, and this is dead in the middle. We never came here. It was too in the open," Moon explained.

"I get it. Like when I'm in the Pizzaplex I sometimes hang out in the atrium, but I don't stick around where I'll stand out. Or the lobby! I don't go there at all if I don't have to."

"It really is a lot like what we did," Moon said. There was a soft smile in his voice.

Gregory thought so too, but he didn't realize the full extent until they were at the junkyard.

Moon drove onto the road behind it and parked out of the way, close to a rickety little building. He then removed Jake's cloak and passed it back to him before starting to get out.

As he opened the door the light came on and he had to leap from the van quickly to save himself from shifting and shifting back again. Gregory put his backpack back on and started getting out behind him.

"Wait."

Gregory frowned at the held-up hand, expecting Moon to say that he was staying behind. Instead, Moon pulled off his slippers and held them in one hand before turning away and tucking the other arm behind his back.

"On my back."

Gregory wasn't about to turn down a free ride, so he climbed aboard, and Moon pushed the door shut with his foot. By then Jake had gotten out and headed over to the chain length fence closest to the building and squeezed through a narrow section between them. Moon followed closely behind, and Gregory was able to get a better few of the junkyard.

Full of trash and old cars and built up like an industrial playground; Gregory thought it was incredibly cool.

"I'm going to look around for Ennard. Why don't you show Gregory our place?" Jake suggested, pointing at the building.

Moon seemed hesitant, humming unsurely, and looking between the building and around the junkyard cautiously. Jake decided to help him out in his decision.

"It's going to be a lot less noticeable if I'm the only one walking around. This is pretty much garbage bag camouflage," he said, lifting the edge of his cloak. "And it'll keep you from getting too dirty this close to morning."

"…Fine. But stay close, and don't talk to strangers," Moon agreed.

"I don't think there's anyone stranger than Ennard," Gregory said.

Moon snickered a little and loosened up a bit more, still on guard but eager to see if their hideout was there and to show Gregory. He waited until Jake headed off before heading into the building.

There was trash in there, a little more than he remembered, and the old trash compactor. He headed into the back corner and much to his relief he found one of his and Jake's hidey holes still intact. It looked like it has collapsed a little in the back, but it was still there as were the toys around it. He made sure to plug in the lights before crouching in front of the entrance, letting Gregory off his back.

"This is one of our little homes," he explained.

Gregory peeked inside. It was mostly a tarp tent with some old blankets and toys inside. Looked like something he might've cooked up before he got to the Pizzaplex. Needless to say, he was sort of impressed by it.

"So, you used to live here?"

"That's right. This wasn't our main home, but it was a home."

"So, you guys just lived on the road. Like a couple of hobos?"

"That's right…" Moon said, a little more unsure of where this was going.

"That's so cool!"

Moon chuckled, appreciating the sentiment. "As cool as homelessness gets… Have you ever heard of the Caboose Kids?"

"Isn't that a book?"

"Yes, it is! It's about kids escaping an orphanage and living in a caboose where they travel the country and go on adventures."

"Huh. That is pretty cool."

"It is," Moon agreed. He considered his words very carefully. "…But perhaps not very realistic. As someone who has lived on the streets myself, it wasn't nearly so fantastical-."

"Hey, what's this?" Gregory asked. He plucked a paper out from underneath a porcelain doll that had fallen over in the entranceway to the hideaway.

Moon hummed and held out his hand. Gregory scanned over the paper and raised his brows before handing it over, and then Moon read the message.

"Hello, my name is Scott Caldwell. I don't want to intrude but if you need any help here's my phone number and the phone number of Father Blythe. He's a good friend of mine and he had plenty of resources and is more than willing to lend an ear and a helping hand. You don't have to go it alone."

Underneath the message were two phone numbers with the names 'Scott' and 'Father Blythe' beside them.

"Scott Caldwell…" The red glow of Moon's eyes halved as though he was squinting. "…Correct me if I'm wrong, but Scott is Ennard's special friend, isn't he?"

"I think so. I know his name was Scott… Wait, when you said 'special friend', do you mean like you and Freddy?" Gregory asked, wrinkling his nose. He could smell the mushiness.

"Oh ho ho, no no. Nobody is like me and Freddy," Moon remarked mischievously, chuckling at Gregory's resulting deadpan look.

But then he looked at the note again. There was no way Scott could've known that they had been here unless Ennard told him. Perhaps he thought they were some random person living out here, sleeping in a tent and surrounded by toys… No, he had to have known. Ennard knew they lingered around the junkyard and likely heard from someone that they used to collect toys.

This was all very perplexing. If Moon didn't know better, he would say this was some sort of sign. He resigned himself that it was a coincidence instead and folded the paper back up. He would have to show it to Jake, who knew what he would take from it. He sighed and looked to Gregory, who sort of shrugged.

Moon considered some things for a moment. Then he took the plunge.

"Gregory… May I ask you a question? You don't have to answer. I won't be upset if you don't," Moon asked.

Gregory got an uneasy look. "Oookay. What?"

"…Where are your parents?"

The boy looked surprised for only a second, but then uneasy.

"They're… gone."

Moon tilted his head in silent questioning.

"They're dead."

It figured considering that Gregory was in foster care, Moon supposed. He didn't ask further, but Gregory kept talking.

"But I didn't know them anyway. I don't even know if they're dead, but I guess they are since I didn't have parents. I'm an orphan," Gregory said matter-of-factly.

That got an amused scoff out of Moon. He quickly apologized, "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Anyway… So my 'parents' were actually not my parents but my foster parents, and they switched out every couple of years. And sometimes I'd go stay at this house with a bunch of kids. Like an orphanage but they didn't call it that… So, like, this one time I got taken in by a really nice mom and dad and they really treated me like I was their kid, because they couldn't have kids… But then she ended up having a baby and they said they couldn't keep me. They couldn't afford to have two kids. I think it was a load of crap."

"Language."

"I'm not in the daycare!" Gregory protested.

"Truuuue… Fine but keep it within reason."

"Thank you. Anyways- yeah, then there was this other family and I always got picked on by the other kids and the dad would say, 'Don't be a baby' all the time. So, one day I punched one of 'em. They ditched me back at the orphanage that day. And after that… There was a lot of them, so I decided that I was done getting tossed around and I'd just go off on my own. That's why you're asking, right? Because that lady who came told you I was an orphan."

"She did, but that is not why I am asking. I am asking because I'm curious," Moon replied. His voice much gentler than it was moments ago.

Gregory sat there for a long moment stewing about it. Not about Moon, but those 'stupid' parents and the dumb reason that they kept wanting to send him back to other parents who would just dump him off somewhere. None of them had ever been like Freddy and yet he knew there's no way they would let him stay with Freddy.

Though now he was curious about Moon. He was always so fussy, like an overbearing parent. What was his like? He was a human after all.

"Did your parents suck?" he asked.

"Yes."

Gregory's head snapped up in surprise. Mostly at Moon's bluntness than his answer.

"Really?"

"Really," Moon said. "Would you like me to tell you?"

"Well, yeah! I told you how my parents sucked. It's your turn."

The jester chuckled dryly and lulled his head back and rolling his face. Then he sighed and began to explain.

"My home did not feel like home to me. My parents loved my brother more- not because I was a naughty child, but because he was their son. I was only my mother's son, and my father made sure I didn't forget. I saw him as my dad. But he didn't. Whenever I had a problem, whenever I got in trouble, he would tell my mom right in front of me 'he's your son, deal with it'. And my mom was fed up with my behavior. I acted like a brat and instead of punishing me, my mom would ignore me. She would pretend I wasn't there. She wouldn't talk to me at all, and she would be sure to give my brother as many gifts as she could. Candy, toys, whatever she could afford…"

"Wow," Gregory said in surprise. "That's way worse than those losers I was stuck with."

"Tch. It's not a competition," Moon said with a dismissive wave. "The point is… What was the point here?"

"Our parents sucked."

"Yes, yes, that," Moon said, shaking his finger before stopping and pointing at Gregory. "But more importantly that not everyone is cut out to be a parent. It wasn't our fault; we were just unlucky."

"Right…" Gregory said unsurely.

"And now you have Freddy!" Moon said more confidently.

"…Yeah." Gregory got a little smile at that. He did have Freddy. Freddy was more of a parent than any of those people, and also…

Gregory looked up towards Moon and gave an embarrassed sort of smile. "And I've got you!"

Moon looked to him in shock. "What?"

"Nothing!"

The boy looked away quickly, the slightest dusting of pink settling on his cheeks from his embarrassment. Pretending he hadn't said anything at all.

But he had already said it. Gregory had said that he had Moon, and he said it like he considered him just as important as Freddy. Warmth and endearment bloomed across the jester's chest.

"I- No- I was just a little surprised that you…" He trailed off and then decided instead to lay a hand on Gregory's back reassuringly. "You have me."

Gregory finally dared to look back and got a little smile. Moon gave a pleased little cackle and hooked him around the shoulders, pulling him into a hug. It was a little awkward, with Gregory sitting and Moon crouching and them both having to work around the excess pants poof. It was a little embarrassing too, being hugged by the Daycare Attendant but… Gregory liked it. It was a lot like being hugged by Freddy, not the same but still pretty good.

But Gregory had to keep up appearances. "Okay, don't get mushy on me."

Moon ruffled his hair and then pushed him away. "Don't get smart," he retorted.

"And I guess we've got Scott and his father too."

"No, Gregory. That would be a priest."

Of all the times for Jake to suddenly wander in. In fact, it was so timely that Moon wondered if he had been listening in from outside- not that he would've minded if he did. He intended to tell him about this later anyways. Likely as Sun, where he could ramble and gush like an endless faucet. Either way, Jake covered.

"So…" Jake began as he wandered over. "Ennard's not here."

"But he was here. Or at least, Scott was," Moon said.

Before Jake could ask, Moon passed him the paper and he read it. Jake pulled it away in surprise.

"Wait, this was from Scott? Our Scott?"

"If you mean Ennard's Scott, I suspect so."

Jake looked down at the paper for a long moment before sighing.

"Maybe this is a sign that I should've stayed in the daycare and called…"

As much as Moon should've encouraged that and stood by his opinion of such, the defeat in Jake's voice made it hard to even muster a 'I told you so'. Like neither of them won in this situation.

"Why was it so important to speak with him face to face?" Moon asked.

"Well… There were things I wanted to say that I couldn't over the phone. Things I wanted to… show him. So that he would know that I understood. Maybe he wouldn't feel alone… Maybe he would listen to me."

And there was Andrew again caving due to Jake's pitiful little explanation. He knew exactly what he had wanted to show Michael- it didn't take a mastermind to figure that out. He knew that they were continuously playing with fire- no, they were outright lighting their shoes on fire and trying to dance.

And yet they hadn't get burned yet. Moon sighed and looked at that note again, looked again at their hiding spot, and Gregory who quirked a brow questioningly. Moon sighed again and slowly rolled his head back to Jake.

"Let's see how helpful Scott really is."

…

Scott's peaceful slumber was interrupted by his ringtone blaring from the nightstand. He woke up and instantly regretted not shutting it off. Of course, the whole reason he didn't keep it off was in case of emergencies, so he should've been anticipating the eventual late-night call. He leaned forward- feeling the wiry arms wrapped around his waist trying to tug him back- and grabbed and answered his phone.

"Hello?" he asked groggily.

"Uh, hey. This is Scott, right?"

That was a kid's voice. That woke Scott up faster than his cellphone ever could. He sat up on one arm, half noticing when Ennard shuffling up closer and pressing his mask into his

"Erm, yes. That's me. Who is this…?"

"This is Gregory. I know this is weird, but we need your help. I'm at the payphone outside of a gas station with Moondrop and Jake and we need to find Michael. Or Jake needs to find Michael. How do we get to your house?"

There was a noticeable squeak as Ennard suddenly turned his head. Now he was listening. Good to see they were on the same page, because Scott would've snapped awake too if he wasn't already listening.

"OH! Yeah, umm, sure. Of course! Can you maybe just give me like a vague sort of- well, not vague, but a description of which gas station it is. Or what's the name of it?"

"It's the Gas and Go in the middle of town."

"The one with the- with the payphones on the side and there's an alley around with the bathroom?"

"I think so. Unless they all look like this."

Ah yes, the Gas and Go. The Gas and Go Ennard almost died behind. Scott knew exactly where it was.

"Okay, I know where you are! Just give me a few minutes to get dressed and I'll come get you."

"Don't bother, we have a van. Just tell me how to get to your house."

Scott proceeded to give him the best directions he could.

"-And then take a right onto that road and drive down until you see the house with the van outside."

"Then take a right onto that road and look for the house with a van!" Gregory recited to someone else. Scott had a hunch maybe Jake or Moon were hiding out of sight nearby. "Got it! Thanks."

"No problem. I'll unlock the door for you," Scott said.

"Okay! We'll be there!"

"But before you-." Scott's request was cut off by the phone hanging up. Gregory probably hadn't even heard him continuing. Then he just sat in the bed, reeling and still trying to wake up. "Huh…"

And then the bed started shaking. Or at least, the wire body flush to his back did. It began trembling even before the excited little giggles started tumbling out. That quickly progressed to full-blown laughter. Ennard's excitement was adorable but also just the slightest bit concerning.

Then he booped him with his nose on his shoulder- a quick smooch with his masked mouth- and swiftly untangled himself before all but leaping out of bed and scrambling for the door.

"AH HA HA HA- I'll be ri-hee-hee-ght back!"

"Are you going to tell-?"

"It's finally happening~!" Ennard nearly squealed.

"What's happening?" Michael asked groggily. Half-asleep, half in a zombified state from starting at the TV, still watching it as Ennard came strutting up behind the couch. Michael stole a look at the clock. "What could possibly be happening at five in the morning?"

"Oh, nothing muuuuch," Ennard stretched out. He had an eager grin- well, grinning in his own way. "Exccceeept."

"Except?"

"Jake's on his way," Ennard revealed. Leaning over the back of the couch, fingers digging into the back of it, eyes glowing giddily.

Michael did a double take. "He's what?"

"He's driving here right now!"

"He's what?!"

The garage door swung open to reveal a pair of emerald eyes glowing from the darkness of the garage.

"What on earth did you do?!" Baby demanded.

"Oh Baby, I'm sorry. Did I wake you up?" Ennard asked cheekily.

"You could've woken the dead with that display. What do you mean, Jake's driving here? With who?"

"With Moonpie and Gregory, apparently!"

"Is that true?" Baby called towards Scott's open door.

"It's true! Gregory just called me! They're driving over here right now!" Scott called back.

"How could they do that? It is…" She looked at the clock. "It's very nearly six and they are- did you say, driving? Driving what?"

"A van! Didn't clarify where they got it. Might be Fritz's," Ennard said with a shrug.

"Oh. So, we should assume it's stolen. A small child and two animatronics driving around at the stroke of morning in a stolen van. I cannot see that going wrong," Baby huffed. "…I should call Charlie."

"You do that, Babydoll, but don't tell anybody else to swing by until they get here! Gregory said SPECIFICALLY that they're here to see Michael."

Michael, who had been silent until that moment, felt like someone stepped on his grave from that comment. Why on Earth would any of them need to see him? Why hadn't Jake just called? Was he or Moon damaged and they simply hadn't said so on the phone? If that was the case, why was Gregory there? Where was Freddy? There were so many questions.

Why? That was the biggest one. Why? And the possible 'why's snowballed quickly once he started thinking them up, and it always led to an uneasy outcome once he factored himself in. Ennard must've noticed his silence, or at least his head in his hand, and reached out to give him a pat on the back.

Scott finally made it out of his room, having to put his prosthetic on first, and turned on the standing lamp by the chair. Bonnet, who was curled in the chair, jumped with a yelp when it clicked on.

"Oh, sorry! I didn't see you there," Scott apologized as he turned the light away. He gave her a little pat between the ears.

"That woke you up, but he did not?" Michael asked in disbelief. Jabbing a thumb back in Ennard's direction.

"Of course not. She's too used to being around him and this is his normal volume," Baby remarked. Her arms crossed, her claw tilted upwards and resting partially on her shoulder.

"What's goin' on?" Bonnet asked groggily. Her squinting eyes peering around. Ennard came over to get her and she reached her arms up needily, asking to be picked up. Which he did. "Where's your clothes?" she asked.

Ennard snapped his fingers and mimicked the sound. "That reminds me. I really should throw something on."

"Yeah, maybe. Only if you feel like it," Scott replied with a little smile. Ennard snickered and went back off into the bedroom, now toting Bonnet with him.

With him out of the way, Baby wheeled herself up to Scott. "Did they really say they were here to see Michael?"

"They did. Or Gregory did. He's the one I talked to. Get this, they called from the Gas and Go."

"Don't tell me it's the same Gas and Go."

"It's the same Gas and Go."

Baby sighed and lifted her hand to her head, sort of like Michael had been previously doing. "Well, let's hope someone is not nearly dead this time."

"Heh, yeah…" Scott said with little confidence that it wasn't the case. He cleared his throat. "Could be, seeing as they're coming here. Let's hope it's not Moon because Mike said they had a heck of a time trying to repair him the last time."

Jake wouldn't have come by without calling unless it was an emergency. Then again, even then he would've called. The idea of him rushing over her- the only thing Michael could think was…

"Maybe he was caught," he said, breaking the silence. Both Baby and Scott turned to him. "Jake's out of service and has been hiding in the daycare, but if someone saw him… this may be his attempt to escape being repurposed."

Baby's claw tightened at the word 'repurposed' and from Scott's look he seemed to know exactly what he was implying. He coughed again, anxiously.

"Well… Hey, well, they got out! So that's… that could be it," he agreed. He looked towards the window before walking over to it and peeking out around the curtains, watching for the van to arrive.

"It makes sense," Baby said. "…And what will we do if that's the case?"

"Whatever is necessary," Michael mumbled. He was already bracing for the worst.

Ennard returned wearing some sweatpants and his jacket- which wasn't buttoned due to a noticeable lump on the back and a pair of pink ears sticking out of the back of his collar- and went to go stand with Scott. More specifically behind Scott so he could hug him from behind and peek through the window at the same time. A few minutes later he perked up.

"A Freddy's van just pulled up," Scott warned. "Either it's Jake or someone coming to repossess Baby," he lightly joked. Ennard cackled, Baby wasn't amused.

Scott watched for a few seconds more before hurrying to get the door, nearly tripping over the shoes beside it, and unlocked it and opened it a little. Only to then have it fling open. He barely stepped back- running into Ennard who was right behind him again- as Moon barreled through pushing Jake ahead of him with one arm and Gregory being carried around the middle under the other. Once they got in he released Jake long enough to shove the door closed behind him and fall back onto it.

"Uh… Good thing you found the right house," Scott joked again with an awkward little cough.

"We nearly didn't," Moon mumbled. His points starting to come out and colors changing from the light. "Until I saw your head in the window."

"And the van. Which, thanks for the heads up," Jake added.

He seemed especially jittery, trying his hardest not to blatantly stare at Michael- which he was doing the moment he walked in and stopped as soon as Michael started staring back.

"But umm, hey everybody!"

"Hi!" Bonnet's muffled voice came from Ennard's jacket.

"Hello, Jake, Moon, Gregory. Good evening to you all. Or should I say good morning?" Baby said, an edge of weariness creeping through.

"Either or. I-It's about fifteen minutes either way, give or take," Jake said with a nervous little laugh.

"So!" Ennard rubbed his hands together eagerly. "Who was the driver?"

The now fully shifting Moon-Sun lifted a weary hand.

"I could've drived. I know how," Gregory casually mentioned.

Before anyone could ask, the jester on the floor started getting up.

"WELL," Sun began. He pushed himself up to his feet, swaying on them as his points finally popped out and then made a chopping gesture towards Michael. "There he is."

"Thanks for telling me. I didn't notice," Jake mumbled.

"Oh, I think you did," Sun muttered right back.

This was Michael's cue, he supposed. Seeing that they were both seemingly alright alleviated his concerns a little.

"Evening Jake, Sun, and you too Gregory."

Gregory had only just then saw him and was staring wide-eyed.

"Whoa… Are you, like, some kind of Bonnie?"

"I wasn't, but this suit was. But that was a very long time ago," Michael answered honestly. "I am Foxy and Marion's older brother. I don't know if they've mentioned."

"No, no. They did! Foxy's talked about you a couple of times, and Freddy said you came by and hung out with Chica that one time."

"Actually, I hung out with Chica. I just forced him to come with me," Ennard corrected.

Sun elbowed Jake in the back, and it was enough to get him to finally start going ahead.

"Can I talk to you? Talk with you, in private? Somewhere like…" Jake looked around and spotted the garage door. "In there?"

"That's Baby's room. How about you go in my office? Or hey, the bedroom's right there. It'll be a lot less cramped," Scott said. He pointed towards his bedroom door and briefly met eyes with Michael, and quickly back peddled, "If, uh, that's alright with you, Michael. Sorry, didn't mean to put you on the spot."

"Who's putting who on the spot? It's not like we showed up on your doorstep in the middle of the night in the pouring rain," Sun said with a shrug and tilt of the head. This got an amused 'heh' out of Ennard.

Michael knew good and well that he could shoot down the idea, but there was absolutely no way he would be getting to the bottom of this with Ennard and Sun in the room, and in the same room. So, he got up quickly. As quick as he could, staggering a little on stiff legs from being on the couch.

"I will be taking you up on that offer. Thank you, Scott," Michael said. He turned to Jake and beckoned him. Jake hurried over and followed along behind him into the bedroom.

Michael made sure to make direct eye contact with Ennard before shutting the door, silently requesting that he not run over and start listening through the door. Ennard wasn't planning on it anyway; he would simply imagine the best.

"First off…" Sun said, tenting his fingers. He aimed them towards Scott. "I would like to thank you for your note."

"My note?"

"The one you left at the dump. That hidey hole was Jake and mine back when we lived out there."

"No kidding!" Ennard said. "Which of you was collecting all the toys?"

"That would be Jake… buuut I started pitching in. You don't really get a lot of options on hobbies when you're, well… you know."

"You know I do. I've been making my own fun for years now!"

"And I'm a witness to that," Scott said. Ennard cackled and hooked an arm around him, then hooked an arm behind himself to stop Bonnet from falling out the bottom of his jacket.

Baby watched Jake and Michael head into the room and knew something was amiss. Jake was acting peculiar, and it wasn't lovestruck dreamer deciding to risk his and others' life to come proclaim his feeling. He seemed genuinely shaken when he walked through that door. Something must've happened.

"If you will excuse me, I need to make a phone call."

Sun snapped his head to her. "Who are you calling?!" he asked with panic.

"Charlie," Baby replied briskly.

"Oh… Oooh! Okay, sure, mm-hmm. You go ahead and do that."

Baby narrowed her eyes suspiciously at his sudden change in tone. How eagerly he went from panicking to plodding over to the couch and fixing it up, propping up a throw pillow on the armrest and pulling down the blanket from the back.

"And what does that mean? Who did you think I was going to call?" she asked.

"Oh, I don't know, but I get worried all the same. In case you haven't noticed, heh, I shouldn't be here. So there's thaaat." He fluffed the throw pillow. "But don't be surprised if she doesn't answer. I'm thinking she's still at the Pizzaplex."

Baby was confused. Charlie hadn't said she was going to the Pizzaplex. She nearly asked but Scott beat her to it.

"Charlie's at the Pizzaplex? Mike didn't say anything about them going down there- or, I mean, I assume he and Mari went too."

"Wellll heh, funny story! You see-."

"Foxy and Roxy were having a race and something went wrong with his go-kart and he ran her over," Gregory answered matter-of-factly.

"WHAT?" Ennard reacted. "How'd THAT happen?!"

"I don't know, but he hit her and then they both crashed through a wall and fell this huge drop into the basement! And then they got stuck in a furnace and Moondrop had to get them out! Roxy's whole face was smooshed in! I didn't see it, but the way everyone's talking about it, it must've been really, really bad," Gregory continued. No amount of Sun waving his hands behind him getting him to stop from spilling all the dirty details.

Scott brought a hand to his head in shock, Ennard's jaw dropped open, and Bonnet wiggled herself out of his jacket and peeked around his head.

There was a heavy pause for a few long seconds. Then-

"For the record-," Ennard suddenly broke the silence. He pointed towards the floor. "I was here ALL NIGHT. I had no hand in this disaster."

"That's not good," Scott said, hissing through his teeth. "That's-That's really not good, and… Yeah, this was probably a bad day for you guys to come by."

"It wasn't my idea!" Sun said defensively.

"It was Jake's. He was worried about Michael- Mmph!"

Gregory wasn't going to say more than that, but a hand clasped over his mouth regardless.

"That's enough story time, Sunspot. You're going to give these two a panic attack! Eh, or at least me…" he mumbled the last part. He uncovered his mouth to grab his shoulder and steer him towards the couch. "Besides, besides! Take a look at-!"

"You said Foxy was in the fall too? And in the furnace… How is he? Was he hurt?" Baby interrupted. Her once apathetic and suspicious tone now soft and filled with genuine concern.

"Oh, no, no! He's fine! Just a little shook up is all!" Sun eagerly swept off with a sweeping hand motion. Only to stop the motion with a clench of his fingers. "But Roxy, uh… She had to get a little work done."

"How much work is a little?" Ennard asked with a nervous little chuckle.

"Oh… Uh… Well-."

"She didn't have any eyes," Gregory said cryptically.

"Okay, that's all, folks! Enough doom and gloom for tonight! Charlie or Mari or Mike or Foxy can give you the details tomorrow, but this little firecracker's gotta get snuffed out!... In a sleep sort of way," Sun quickly tacked on. He spun on his heel and began patting the little bed he made on the couch with both hands. "Time for bedtime, Sunwort!"

"I'm going to sleep here? Aren't we leaving before morning? Which is like… now?"

"Eh, depends on how long Jake takes- BUT you need to get as much sleep as possible! We're already way past your bedtime and if Freddy found out he, uh, he's- he'll probably be disappointed…"

Sun's uneasiness crept back out. He hadn't even thought about what Freddy would think once he found out that he took Gregory outside the Pizzaplex without telling him, drove him without a license, and brought him to another town. Really, Freddy being disappointed about him not keeping up with Gregory's bedtime would be the least of his worries.

But the mention of Freddy got through to Gregory. He sighed and got on the couch and under the blanket.

"This sucks," he muttered.

"Wait until you get my age," Sun sympathized and covered him up.

"Does that mean we can't watch TV?" Bonnet whispered.

"'Fraid not. But hey, I didn't see you watching TV anyways," Ennard said cheekily. He gave her a playful little poke with his finger.

"I-I was just resting my eyes while the commercials were on!" Bonnet defended.

"Suuuuure," Ennard said with a little chuckle. He looked back to Scott and that's when he noticed his hand still on his forehead and staring down with a hundred-yard stare, still reeling. Ennard rubbed Scott's arm to get his attention. "Why don't you go sit down?

"No, it's okay. I'm alright."

"No-ho you're not. Come on, sit. Take a load off," Ennard encouraged, leading him over to his armchair.

"…You know, I think I could sit," Scott finally agreed and sat down.

"You need anything?" Ennard asked as he stood above Scott, combing and petting back Scott's still somewhat bed-ruffled hair. "A really late late-night snack? Maybe some juice? Maybe something else?"

Ennard purposefully didn't mention his medicine out loud, and Scott appreciated that. Even though he didn't think he needed it yet. His nerves were fine enough, and his stress wasn't nearly high enough to worry about it triggering a spasm in his neck or anything.

Ennard comforted him a little longer before moving around to Baby. She was guarded- as she usually were when there were visitors in the house- but she didn't shrug him off when he put an arm around her like he had with Scott and rubbed over the plates on her back.

"Foxy'll be fine! He's been beat up by a whole lot worse," he assured.

She hoped he was right, because she wouldn't know until someone picked up the phone, and if they were still at the Pizzaplex that could be nearly an hour from now. She would start calling by then, call around and get the full story on what happened. For now she would stay put and keep watch. Eventually Michael would return and maybe then they would get some answers as well.

While this was going on, Michael shut the bedroom door before turning around to face Jake.

"Let me start by saying that I'm mildly impressed you drove all the way here considering that I doubt you've driven before," Michael started.

"I- heh- well, I haven't but Moon drove. He hasn't either, but he's not as much of a lead foot," Jake joked. He gave a nervous chuckle and looked around the master bedroom.

It was weird to realize this was the first time he had been in an actual bedroom, inside of an actual house, in years. It was a nice place, and the windows were all safely covered. He even spotted a cat laying in a pet bed in the corner, watching them with a lazy look in its eyes. It didn't seem to care at all, though he would bet money that it would run if he stepped close enough to pet it.

"What happened?" Michael asked quietly.

Jake turned back to him. "Huh?"

"At the Pizzaplex? I know you wouldn't just risk your life on the road just for a friendly visit."

"Oh, right. I… Well, something DID happen. Before you get worried, everyone's fine! Roxy and Foxy just got into a little… accident while go-karting, but they fixed up Roxy and Foxy was only a little scuffed up. From what I heard, I think Fritz is going to fix him up at the warehouse once they leave the Pizzaplex, so he's in good hands! Roxy was way worse off, but they got most of her back in working order."

"Oh, dear God. Was this another Chica situation?" Michael asked. He didn't sound even surprised, just exhausted.

"…Well, yes."

Michael pinched the bridge of his nose, or what might've been it. "Why didn't he call us?" he muttered.

"Because he didn't want to worry you… Actually… that's sort of why I'm here."

Michael looked out from under his hand. That stare was disarming even without the current situation at hand, but that didn't make it any easier.

Jake tilted his head down meekly and fiddled with the edges of his cloak. He never knew what to do with his hands in situations like this.

"I overheard Foxy telling Jeremy that he didn't call you because he didn't want to worry you and how he felt bad about what happened to Roxy. He blames himself because, I don't know, I think he might've been the one who challenged Roxy to a race. It doesn't matter, it's not his fault," Jake explained. He lifted his greyish blue eye to meet Michael's own. "But…that's not all that I heard…"

Michael could feel his springlocks tightening up. "What did you hear?"

"I heard about- I think I heard part of what happened with you… I know about the warehouse. And what happened the other day in it. Most of it."

Due to his suit, Michael couldn't emote easily. He could look bored, and he could look surprised easily enough because of his still-functional eye lids. Smiling required opening his mouth and because that Michael either didn't do it or made sure to angle himself when he intended to.

But that look in his eyes when he heard that was undeniable and recognizable fear and nothing less. And with it, Jake's feeble hopes that Foxy had been mistaken were dashed.

"I'm sorry," he blurted out. "I know I shouldn't have been listening but… It's a hard habit to break."

"Gabriel… Foxy was talking to Jeremy? Alone?" Michael asked stiffly.

"Yes. And nobody else heard except for Andrew, but he understands. He's gone through something like that. That's why I'm here, I needed to, uh…" Jake made a noise like a breath and took a few steps back. He boldly offered a hand towards the bed. "Michael, sit down."

Michael was intrigued enough to do so, sitting on the foot of the bed, and listening to it creak underneath him. He still felt weird touching the comforter, but he had been wiped down so many times that he knew there had to be less of a chance to taint it with any of the leftovers soaked into his suit. Jake stood before him, his fists tight at his side. Michael looked down at them and then back up to his mask.

"I know that life's not been good to you. I understand- not what you've gone through, but that life's unfair. But that doesn't mean it's worth giving up. You should know that, you've been through so much horrible stuff, but you keep living. You keep living and surviving because you want to. I know you don't want it to be over! We can make it better, you don't need to go it alone anymore," Jake sympathized.

Now Michael got it. He knew exactly what Jake thought was happening.

"And I'm sorry… I'm sorry I didn't realize during our talks that something was wrong. I should've been there for you…" Jake finished quietly.

But Jake didn't know when it had happened.

Michael dropped his head into his hand with a heavy sigh. "Jake, thank you for saying that. I truly appreciate it, knowing you care enough to come down here, but you don't need to worry about me… Because that incident didn't just happen. It happened the night we left the Pizzaplex."

"…What?"

Jake's weak voice alone almost broke Michael, but he remained steady.

"I had a lapse in judgement and when we got back to the warehouse… I became desperate to get out of this suit. I didn't set out to hurt myself, but I knew I was. I just wasn't thinking. I tried, and failed, to remove my suit. Ennard stopped me and he and Scott brought me here… I didn't tell Foxy and the others about it until days later, once I had gotten over it for the most part. Before you ask, no. I don't intend to do it again. And no, it was not your fault or anyone else's… I did it because I was desperate."

Jake was floored. He hadn't anticipated that Foxy was talking about an incident that didn't happen only a few days ago. Since Michael visited the Pizzaplex- that was a while ago. They had talked plenty since then.

But that meant it was over, and that he had misunderstood Foxy. It hadn't been an attempt to end things. It was an accident and he had accidentally hurt himself trying to get free from his situation-

That was worse.

That was exactly what he did.

Now Jake knew there was no choice but to go with the initial plan. His hands were shaking before he tightened them into fists again.

"Did… Did Charlie or Mari ever tell you how I got this way?" Jake quietly asked.

Michael was a little surprised by the change in topic.

"I heard you had been vandalized," he said. "I didn't believe it for a second, but that's the word going around."

"Technically I was! Was vandalized… But I… I did it to myself. I broke myself."

Michael straightened out of his slouched posture. His eyes widened; his right ear lifted attentively.

"Something happened at the Pizzaplex, and I lost someone I really cared about, and I couldn't handle it and I thought the best thing I could do was put myself out of service. So, I used the Staff Bots to tear myself apart. And then I did it again. And again. And I did it until they stopped fixing me and instead fixed up Andrew to replace me. And now… See for yourself."

Jake reached up and pulled back his cloak off his head. Then he hesitated as his hands touched the edge of his mask.

Michael saw his hesitance. He gently started, "Jake, you don't have to-."

In that moment Jake got the nerve and shoved the mask up and off his face.

Michael was expecting damage, but it was still hard to look at.

Jake's face was all but split in two. On one half, part of the Sun's mask remained. It was cracked in places, especially with chipped teeth and a broken nose. The little gap in his smile barely noticeable beyond being another crack. It was on this faded crescent where his blue eye rested.

The other half was gutted like it had been pillaged for parts. Much of the metal skeleton beneath was exposed, including a row of flat teeth under his teeth, which moved as he spoke- which Michael soon realized. That eye was a foggy whitish grey with a strange pink-blue line through the center. Likely malfunctioning, as it flickered from time to time.

Upon removing his cloak and mask, a few of his remaining sun points slid free. Half not sliding out all the way, a couple more chipped. While the damage on his body was easily covered up with a fake leg and said cloak, this exposed exactly why Jake was out of service. All the damage that couldn't be seen was shown on his face.

"I did this to me," Jake said.

That solemn confession sent a chill through Michael.

"Breaking myself didn't fix anything, and it didn't take back what happened. All it did was leave me like this," Jake continued. "I know I make it sound easy, but… it's hard living behind a curtain. Knowing that if I get caught, I'm going to be treated like a… like I'm just a broken robot. There's no begging for my life, there's no convincing them I'm a real person. I'm going to be taken apart and melted down. There's nothing I can do, and I did this to myself… And I regret it. I regret it and sometimes… I feel like a burden."

He looked down at his mask, tracing his thumbs over the material. Once the face of his dearest companion and now his, forever. He didn't hate this fate, but it wasn't easy. He wasn't under the Pizzaplex's thumb like Andrew was, but he was nobody now. Like a ghost. He finally knew what it felt like to truly haunt something, or to feel like he barely existed.

And yet…

"But… I'll live. I'll live! And I'll live because I've got plenty of things left for me. I've just got to count my blessings and remember the things I can't afford to lose. I know things seem hopeless, Michael, but don't take for granted what you have. You've got a family who loves you, and friends! And you've got a chance. And I know that it's hard, and it's unfair and cruel, but I don't want you to… I don't want to lose you. And I don't want you to lose you either."

There was a heavy silence over the room as Jake waited for Michael's response, looking to him expectantly.

Then Michael suddenly stood up. Jake looked to him with mild surprise, only notable through his motions.

Despite everything, despite what he was, despite the situation, Michael reached out his arms. He didn't touch him, he waited for a sign.

Jake's sign was to step in a little. Michael responded by pulling him into a tight embrace. Pulling him in as close as he could and not thinking twice about his suit. It was just about Jake.

Because Michael took a lot out of that speech, but there was one thing that rang out above all else. Michael had a family who loved him and understand- even a brother who was still so concerned about it, which both made him feel loved and guilty. He had a best friend who snapped him out of it, dragged him home, and was doing his best to get him on his feet. He had Scott's compassion, Ennard's care, Baby's quiet concern, and so many others.

Jake didn't.

Jake had Andrew, that much was certain, and he had a few good friends outside of the Pizzaplex, like Charlie and himself… but it wasn't enough. Maybe he was putting his own feelings into Jake's words, but it didn't feel like enough.

It was hard enough going through that without the weight of a corporation pressing down on you, and without a crew to lift you up. After going alone for so long, Michael knew how devastating it was. Yet here Jake was.

"You shouldn't have risked your life coming here," Michael said. His voice grew softer, lighter. "But… I'm glad you did."

"Thanks… I started thinking it was sort of stupid," Jake admitted.

"Oh, it was very stupid, but I'm glad you're here." There was a small pause. "Have you… been able to talk to anyone else about this?"

"…Not really. I sort of sugarcoat it most of the time, because I'm not like that anymore and I don't want to worry Andrew about it. He spends too much time worrying about me."

"I can take over," Michael said with no hesitation.

Jake fumbled a little. "That wasn't the plan here."

"Let's not kid ourselves, the plan went awry when you decided to wake up Ennard."

Jake laughed a little. He pressed his face into Michael's shoulder and hugged on tightly.

"You're plushier than I thought you'd be," he admitted. "You said this was an old suit, right?"

"Older than me, perhaps," Michael answered. Though was only not remembering the suit between them. He had almost forgotten about it. "Apologies for the rancid smell."

"What rancid smell? You smell like…" Jake silently 'smelled' through the sensors on his broken face. "You kind of smell like carpet sprinkle," he said. After silence from Michael, he quickly added, "It's good carpet sprinkle!"

Michael chuckled despite the situation.

They stood there for a long while holding each other. It was a little strange. Very different for them both. It was nice, that was for certain, and they needed it.

Jake didn't even realize that he wanted it until he had it. He didn't get this close to anyone except Andrew and…

He had to tell him. Not just had, he wanted to tell him, but he waited as long as he could before doing so. Which was a while. Michael didn't seem eager to let him go, and Jake passed the time poking around and feeling the arm of his suit, trying to study it as best as he could from this position. Mostly just feeling over the worn plushness that Michael took little notice of. Though he did trace his fingers gently over some of his broken points.

Eventually they split apart. Slowly, almost hesitantly. Then they were just standing there for a moment before Michael leaned down and reached for Jake's mask. Jake hadn't even realized he had dropped it.

"You don't have to. I can get that."

"I'm already down here," Michael assured. He handed the mask to Jake, but then hesitated in letting it go even after Jake started to take it. "You don't need to wear this around me."

Jake would've smiled if he could've, so he made sure it was apparent in his voice. "Thank you, Michael."

"Thank you for coming… but next time, let me take the risk. It would be a much easier to mitigate disaster if I was caught in the Pizzaplex than if you were caught out here."

"I know, but it was worth it. Hey, this is my first time getting outside in months! We even went and saw one of our old hiding spots."

Michael's eyes softened. "Have you ever considered coming back out? For good, considering your situation."

"I… have, yes. But I can't leave Andrew and he can't leave Freddy, and we're all sort of stuck in the same box for now."

"I understand. Just know that the offer is always there. The warehouse has a space in its basement that is large enough to make for an apartment. It wouldn't be as much as the Pizzaplex offers, but it is much more than your room does."

"That sounds perfect! Why haven't you taken it?"

Michael didn't expect to have the question flipped on him. "…I suppose I never considered it. I was just staying in the office."

"Well, I think you made a good choice coming here. You've got a whole support system here! And with Ennard? I guess it doesn't get dull."

"It doesn't," Michael agreed with mild amusement.

Jake's points bobbed a little, happily, before he looked down at his mask and they began to sink in with unease. He used that awkward silence- on his end- to venture the subject he didn't want to bring up.

"There's something else I have to tell you."

"Yes?"

"It's about Vanny."

Michael had never been so at alert as he had in that moment, and yet strangely a little disinterested. Like Vanny's arrival had interrupted their time together.

"Her name is Vanessa."

Michael held back the 'obviously' on his tongue before Jake continued.

"…And his name is Bunny."

…

There was a knock at the door.

It startled everyone. Gregory sat up on the couch, Ennard looked up from his position on the floor- stretched out on his side, and Scott looked in from the kitchen where he had started a light breakfast.

"I hope that's not Fazbear Entertainment," he said before thinking.

At hearing that, Baby speedily bolted her way into the garage while Sun hopped over the back of the couch before grabbing up Gregory and dragging him over the top, with Gregory giving a startled, "Hey, watch it! Geez…"

"Shh!"

Scott took a steadying breath and turned off the stove, assuming that he was going to be away from it for a while. He then made his way across the living room, catching sight of Ennard sliding behind his chair, and went to the window. He flinched a little at another round of knocks before peeking out. As soon as he saw who it was, he hurried to the door, unlocked it, and threw it open.

There stood Natalie on his doorstep in the now pouring rain. She was still in her security guard uniform and had a slightly perturbed look.

"Natalie! What a… what not a surprise to see you here," Scott admitted. He stepped aside and let her in. "Sorry, I was in the kitchen."

"No problem. I'm just lucky you're awake," she said.

"What brings you here? It couldn't have been the, uh, stolen van sitting in my driveway, could it?"

"The one parked in the street? That's no big deal. No, actually I was trying to investigate an accident at the Pizzaplex when all of a sudden, Fritz noticed a van leaving through the basement. So, I checked around, and what do you know? There's a few animatronics unaccounted for. And that's why I'm here."

She looked between the closed doors and the couch and chair. Scott even looked over and waited, and after a few seconds Ennard peeked out. Then a few seconds after that, Sun peeked out as well.

"H-How did you find out where we were?" he squeaked.

"You're not going to believe this," Natalie said, mostly to the others. "Max told us."

"What?! H-How did he know where we were?!" Sun said, hopping up in surprise.

"Oh, ho, you sweet summer child. Maxamillian the all-seeing knows everything~!" Ennard chirped as he finally stepped out of hiding and took a seat in Scott's chair. Crossing his legs and folding his hands innocently, with Bonnet sitting in his lap.

"Fritz and I were checking around Foxy's when Mike called and said that Max said you were here. And, lo and behold," Natalie said. She put her hands on her hips. "So, where's the others?"

Sun slumped but he wasn't the one who gave a sigh. That was Gregory who stood up and came around the couch with his hands up.

"You've got me, Officer," he said.

"Uh huh," Natalie replied flatly. "And the others?"

"Jake's in the bedroom," Sun mumbled, pointing towards the door.

"And Freddy?"

"Freddy?" Gregory asked in confusion. "Isn't he with his friends?"

"His friends haven't seen him since he went to check on the daycare. Foxy hadn't either, he was the one who thought he must've left with you," Natalie said. She was confused too and looked to Sun for answers.

"He's… He's okay… He's… He's in the basement," Sun murmured.

Gregory whipped around to face him. "What? I thought you said he was busy. What's he doing down there?"

"…He was looking for Bonnie again," Sun said quietly.

Natalie's face softened with sympathy. "Oh…"

"Oh…" Gregory copied. His voice growing quiet as well.

Gregory thought it was weird that he couldn't contact Freddy on the Faz-Watch earlier. When Sun said he was 'busy', Gregory assumed he was with his friends. If he was in the basement then it explained the loss of signal.

"That's one mystery solved then," Natalie said lowly. "As long as he shows up before six."

Sun snapped his head toward the clock and reminded himself how close it was to morning before all but darting to the bedroom door and rapping on it quickly.

"Oh, Jake? S-Sorry to interrupt, but Vanessa's here and we need to go."

"What?!"

Sun didn't expect that, or for Jake to suddenly yank over the door. Which is why he stumbled in and nearly crashed into him. Jake stuck his head past to look, holding his mask on with one hand, and looked out.

As soon as he saw Natalie, he relaxed significantly.

"Natalie! I thought… I didn't think you'd show up! How'd you find us?"

"Max ratted you out," Ennard recited.

"Max strikes again, I see," Michael remarked.

"You had your mask off…?" Sun mumbled suspiciously.

Jake gave an awkward, if entirely guilty little laugh as he affixed his mask correctly.

"Good to see you. Sorry to cut the visit short, but we really need to get you back to the Pizzaplex," Natalie said. She was now a little more apologetic once she noticed Jake and Michael together.

"No, I understand. We were supposed to leave a while ago. My fault! I lost track of time, sorry," Jake said. He started to walk over when Michael caught his arm.

"Before you go, I can tell Marion what you told me, but it would be better coming from him. Call him tomorrow. Call me tonight as soon as you get to the Pizzaplex."

Jake gave a sheepish little chuckle. "You can count on it! Yeah, I'd guess you'd want to make sure I got back."

"Of course," Michael agreed. He moved his hand from his shoulder to his upper back. "But again, thank you for coming."

"Thank you for helping me," Jake countered.

"He helped you?" Sun mumbled.

"Hey, where's the keys?" Natalie asked. Sun fished around in his pocket before pulling them out and handing them over. "Thank you."

"Wait, you've got pockets?" Gregory asked in mild surprise.

"Yes, I have pockets. They're for keeping candy in," Sun said matter-of-factly. Gregory held his hand. "What's the magic word?"

"Abracadabra?" Gregory guessed.

Sun gave him that look he did when he was getting grumpy, and Gregory shot him a beaming smile.

"…That was a Freddy joke, wasn't it?" Sun asked. He didn't need an answer, it sounded like one. He dropped a Moondrop candy into Gregory's hand. "Don't eat this until you're in bed unless you feel like sleeping in the van."

"You can pull your car up and leave it here. Or I can drive after you and pick you up," Scott offered Natalie.

"Thanks, but Fritz drove me. He's got Foxy in the back and he and Jeremy are heading to the warehouse. My car's still at the Pizzaplex."

"He's in the van right now?" Michael asked. Natalie nodded. "Then I'll be going with him. Ben?"

"Count me in!" Ennard chirped. He shot up, passing Bonnet over to Scott.

"What about Mari?" Jake asked.

"He had to head home and get some sleep. He's opening tomorrow," Natalie said.

Jake thought for a second. Sun's points pulled in uneasily, knowing he was planning something.

"I gave you the warehouse number, didn't I?" Michael asked.

"I think so, maybe?"

"I'll give you Fritz's number just in case."

Which he did. By time Jake was in the Freddy's van, in the back with Moon and Gregory, he was clutching the paper with Fritz's and the warehouse's numbers on it. A direct line to Michael, even if they probably wouldn't see each other for a while. It was sort of sad to go back, but he was feeling better.

After they left, Fritz backed in and let Michael and Ennard get in. First thing Michael did was take some unintended advice from Jake and threw aside any pride to hug Foxy, who was just as surprised at the suddenness as he was. At least he wasn't too dinged up; they could get him fixed up.

For both Jake and Michael, the long night wasn't nearly over.

…

It had been an extremely long night.

After taking care of Roxy, Mike and Marionette had gone down together and checked the section underneath Roxy Raceway where they had encountered the 'thing'. At Marionette's insistence, wanting nobody else put at risk. Fortunately, or not, they didn't end up finding this elusive endo covered in wires. Just loose wires here and there, a few statuesque vandalized Staff Bots, and most disturbingly- a pair of crushed eyes on the floor of the furnace.

The furnace made them both uneasy already, but those eyes sent a chill down their spines as Marionette spotted them- scanning the furnace for clues- and pointed them out to Mike. Mike crouched down for a better look and made the conclusive decision that they had to be Roxy's. It looked like they had been smashed underfoot, maybe during the struggle. They agreed then to not tell Roxy about their finding. They were too broken to be repaired anyways.

It wasn't until they got to the place where the kart had fallen through that Marionette became emotional. Trying to smother off-tune twangs as he looked at the distance Foxy had fallen and the wreckage of the kart. Marionette's wellbeing came first, so Mike pulled him into a hug and assured him. Making sure to wipe away the watery beginnings of tears. They always stayed away longer when it was Mike who wiped them away.

Then they looked around the wreck together. Mike was hoping he would spot a smoking gun on the kart itself, but there wasn't one. This wasn't the one that had its tires slashed and the tinkering of the brakes was hidden under the general damage.

"I'm surprised Gabe walked away from this…" Marionette quietly admitted.

"That's Gabe for you. He could be missing both legs and he'd still find a way out. He'd walk on his hands if he had to," Mike said. He tried to joke around a little, but it was hard in these circumstances. It instead came off half-hearted.

Marionette gave a light chime regardless. "That's our Foxy," he agreed.

Walking away from a miniature car accident; that was their Foxy. Tougher than he looked and always full of surprises, Mike thought. But he could still tell it bothered Marionette to see it.

It bothered him too, but what bothered him more was that there was no sign of a rabbit costume-clad woman, no sign of some wire-laden endo, no trace of the actual perpetrators. Vanny had high tailed it out of there.

It was a somber, frustrating moment, but it offered a little closure at least. It let them see where it happened and assure that whatever was going on had truly stopped, for the moment. For the moment it was quiet.

The usual amount of insanity reared its ugly head when they got back upstairs, and they found out about a stolen Freddy van escaping out of the basement. After a little searching and Foxy yelling around the daycare, it soon came out that Freddy, Sun or Moon, Jake, and Gregory were all missing. It seemed most likely that they were in the van. Or Vanny, possibly. Mike considered it but Natalie seemed certain it wasn't her.

It wasn't until Mike, Marionette, and Charlie got home that they got any answers. It was a simple conversation that spawned it; Max asked how the night went, Marionette gave a brief explanation, Mike vented at him for a short while, and by time he went to the fridge, swigged some bottled water, and came back Max recounted to him that Sun and Jake were at Scott's.

Mike didn't even need to ask; he just called Natalie and sent her that way. He considered calling Scott but decided not to risk tipping off Sun and Jake and having them split into the night.

And then, even though everything was still going on, he went to bed. He and Marionette would have to be up to go to Foxy's in only a few hours. It would be rough enough with little sleep, it would be borderline impossible with none.

Mike hit the pillow and went right back to what he was doing before he got the call after only a few short minutes. During which, Marionette curled up to his chest and Mike petted his head until he drifted off, lulled to sleep by the Puppet's warmth and soft trills.

Then there came a knock at the bedroom door.

It could've been two minutes later. It could've been two hours. Mike didn't even check. The important part was that it wasn't long enough, so Mike detached himself gently from Marionette and rolled back out of bed as slowly as he could

He stood up, sighing audibly as he did, and headed to the door while scratching his head and tussling his hair further. He opened the door not caring how he looked.

And came face to face with Moon.

"Hellloooo~," Moon greeted.

Mike stared in disbelief before giving a groggy and confused, "Yes, Satan?"

Moon gave an unamused "tch" but Jake laughed. Jake who was there too, apparently, as Mike realized at that moment. His brows shot up as he looked between them.

"What in the world are you two doing here…?" he asked, still not entirely certain that he was awake.

"We were just in the neighborhoood and thought we'd, mmm, drop in," Moon said.

"Through what, the chimney?"

"If you had a fireplace, perhaps. But in this case, we had a key," Moon said.

Mike stared at him blankly as he processed that loaded comment. They had a key?

"Actually, Natalie had the key. We were just borrowing it," Jake clarified.

Mike nodded like he understood and silently wondered how Natalie got the key. He realized Fritz must've given it to her once his head caught up.

"We needed to talk to you, and Mari too. Is he awake?" Jake asked.

"If he's not, he will be any second now," Mike said. He rubbed at his face, trying to wake up faster. "What's up? What happened?"

The act was dropped then and both Jake and Moon fell into an uneasy silence. The latter turning to the former as though inviting him to begin, and Jake's voice quieting as he spoke.

"We know… more about Vanny than we let on."

Marionette seemed to simply apparate into the darkness behind Mike. Mike noticed and leaned on the opposite doorframe with his arms crossed, letting Marionette slide into the conversation.

Maybe it was his mask framed in darkness or their own guilt, but both Jake and Moon shirked under his gaze. Moon looked off towards the floor, Jake kept eye contact but began to nervously tap his fingers together.

"So, Vanny… She's sort of… working under someone else," Jake explained.

"A puppet for someone else," Moon quickly corrected.

"Yes, that."

"For who? That thing in the basement?" Mike guessed.

"Not… really..." Jake and Moon looked to each other. Moon began to stare at the floor on the opposite side as Jake looked back. "He was a friend of ours, the one who's working with Vanny."

"Your friend who helped you move into your bodies?" Marionette asked.

Moon pointed at him with a click. "That'sss the one."

"He used to go by Bunny back when we knew him," Jake explained. "Because he was haunting this bunny- Bonnie doll. It looked a lot like what Vanny looks like now."

"He told her to build that suit. I'm surrre of it," Moon hissed.

"He… probably did, yeah, but back then it wasn't so… Things aren't the same as they used to be. A lot's happened and we're not… exactly on speaking terms with Bunny anymore."

"But you were still protecting him," Marionette said.

That caused Jake's shoulders to drop with guilt. Andrew immediately rose to their own defense.

"When you owe your lives to someone, it isn't so easy to rat them out. Back when we met back up, you and I, you were just the person that stuck me in my suit. That's different now, but when framed against Bunny being the one who put me in my current body, it's clear where my loyalties would lie…" His voice too grew quiet, "But then Bunny changed and Vanny became a problem."

Marionette couldn't help but be a little hurt by the sentiment, but he didn't show it. He understood, he had been a stranger. Bunny had been a friend. That truly did make Bunny a problem.

"How did he change?" Marionette asked.

Andrew was silent, so Jake took his turn again.

"It's a long story but it's sort of… Bunny always wanted a body. He had his heart set on this… one, but things happened and now he doesn't have one and it's leading him to getting desperate and angry."

"And Vanny's only fueling it," Andrew added. "She is his worst influence."

"I thought you said she was a puppet," Marionette interjected.

"She is, but that doesn't mean she has no hand in what's going on here," Andrew grumbled.

"But take that with a grain of salt. He's never really liked this whole Vanny thing," Jake added.

"Is he possessing her? Because I've had friends get possessed by rabbits before, and they start doing things they don't want to do. There's no influence about it," Mike defended. He couldn't help it, remembering what Jeremy had gone through. It struck a nerve. But he covered, lifting his hands in defense, "But what do I know? The guy we were dealing with was a professional manipulator. The situation could've been different."

"…Who were you dealing with…?" Jake asked quietly, suspiciously.

"My father, William Afton," Marionette answered. "The Purple Man."

"Oh, okay! Phew. You had me worried for a second," Jake said with an uneasy chuckle.

So, he seemed to not think it was William. Mike was awake enough to pick that up and likely Marionette did too.

Though Marionette was more concerned with how he was supposed to broach this. Vanny was a threat, he knew this. She hunted Gregory and targeted his brother and friends. Though if she was possessed then it was Bunny to blame. Dealing with Bunny was a different matter entirely. He wasn't sure whether to approach this with compassion or as the threat he was.

"So, you're saying that Bunny is lashing out. Maybe there's a way that we can help him and convince him to stop?" Marionette asked neutrally. Mike looked to him in surprise but didn't question him. From Marionette's guarded tone he wasn't as on-board with offering help as his words would lead to believe, he was just looking for possible outs.

Mike felt the same way, honestly. It was hard to feel bad for their friend when he was currently stringing some woman around attacking people.

Andrew's answer was quick and shot any attempts down.

"You cannot go after him. And that is emphasis on you." He pointed at Marionette's chest.

Marionette's default smile flickered away to a look of mild offense.

"I wouldn't hurt him, if that's what you're implying. Yes, I might've attacked Vanny, but I was protecting Gregory from her."

"And I can vouch for that. This crazy broad pulled a knife on Jeremy. Jeremy," Mike defended.

"You could be bringing him flowers and chocolates for all I care. If he sees you, he will lash out at you. Bunny has very sore feelings towards puppets."

Oh no. Marionette went rigid as he processed what that loaded line could mean. 'Sore feelings' could mean that it was another child he put in a suit, just like Andrew.

"You told him about me?" he asked, he hoped.

"I did, but he already knew who you are," Andrew explained. "Bunny always knew things he wasn't supposed to."

"Bunny used to like, pick up memories from things and he'd have visions- it's a long story. The point is, he knows who you are and if you go after him, he'll get defensive and then things with Vanny will get worse," Jake explained. "In fact, the best thing we could probably do is just… try to keep some distance away from him AND Vanny. I know that's easy to say when she's been coming after us, but I don't want things to get any further than this. It's bad enough that Roxy and Foxy got pulled into some petty squabble between Vanny and, well, okay, probably Vanny."

Needless to say, Mike wasn't exactly on-board with this plan. Maybe the possession stuff was really sitting badly with him, or maybe it was the memory of Gregory running to him in the basement, or all the other sketchy details that he had picked up in his years working around Freddy's. It just didn't sit right at all. It felt like the sort of decision that led to kids dying in the first place.

"So, what's the goal here? You told us the truth about your friend and Vanny and to warn us about them, just to tell us to stay away from them and let them do whatever the hell they want?" Mike asked, barely hiding his frustration.

Jake and Andrew fumbled, and before they could interject, Marionette beat them to the punch.

"Thank you for telling us. We do appreciate it. Honestly, we do…" he said.

A strange silence fell between them. Like he was leaving words hanging, but there was a notable pause before he finished them.

"…But why are you telling us?" Marionette quietly added.

"For… For Gregory," Andrew confessed. "Bunny doesn't like kids. That is why Vanny is targeting him."

"And I'm doing it- heh, funny enough. I'm doing it for Michael," Jake confessed.

Marionette's look of fear and worry very suddenly bloomed into a beaming smile with just the edge of smugness to his eyes. Despite how upset Mike was, he cracked a smile at that.

"It's all innocent! We're just friends, you know?" Jake quickly excused. His nervousness more damning than anything else. Andrew slapped a hand over his face.

"Don't worry, that's just his poker face," Mike remarked, voice edging on smugness.

"Well, this has been a fun visit, but we are needed back at the Pizzaplex. If I am not there at opening, there will be trouble," Andrew said, fully returning to his Moon persona.

"Yes, of course. We understand," Marionette agreed, his expression sobering up again. "…And I'm going to let you go trusting that if things take a turn to the worst that you will tell us."

"We will, I promise. You have our word," Jake swore.

"Crosss our heart," Moon agreed, making an x across his chest.

Mike took a step back and looked back at the nightstand to check the time and realized, begrudgingly, that time was not on their side. The willing interrogation had to end here, or they wouldn't make it back to the Pizzaplex. Despite the very serious circumstances he knew Freddy's wouldn't be nearly so understanding if they found out what happened.

"And we'll pick this up some other time," Mike added. "You two be careful getting back. I'm guessing you have a lift, but do you need any tarps or anything?"

"We're good, thanks," Jake said. "Night, guys. Sorry to wake you up."

"You're welcome here anytime," Marionette said sincerely.

With a few more goodbyes, including a downright menacing 'Good night' from Moon, the two finally left. Mike and Marionette watched them walk around the corner into the hallway before the latter retreated into the bedroom. Mike followed him in and shut the door shortly afterwards.

He found Marionette standing beside the bed, staring down at it with his posture slouched.

"Think you'll get back to sleep?" he asked.

"I have to. We have work tomorrow."

Marionette dragged himself to the bed and then onto it, curling up like he was folding into his body right on the warm spot that Mike once occupied. Mike didn't mind, he just climbed in on the opposite side and scooted into the middle to reach him. He went back to holding him like he had when they first fell asleep and, sure enough, perhaps due to comfort or exhaustion, they both drifted off quickly.

Neither felt like discussing Bunny yet. They'd do it in the car, or after work, but not now.

Meanwhile, Jake and Moon were making their way down the hall when one of the bedroom doors opened. They froze at the same time, and then both relaxed- or deflated in Moon's case- when Balloon Boy stuck his head out.

"Hello," he said in that echoey artificial child recording.

"Ugh. Hello, Troublemaker," Moon replied, not nearly as enthusiastically. He hoped that would get his feelings across.

Instead-

"I need to talk to you. Follow me," Balloon Boy added in his more authentic and much less wholesome voice, and then proceeded to disappear right back inside, leaving the door cracked.

Moon scowled with a low mutter. Jake knew from it that he wasn't budging.

"You should maybe go see him," a voice added in.

Jake turned around and Moon snapped his head back to see Charlie standing in her partially opened door. She raised a hand apologetically. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sneak up on you."

"Jingle Bell," Moon regarded.

"Hey, Charlie! Hope we didn't wake you up," Jake greeted.

"Don't worry about it. I was just… you know." Eavesdropping. She was eavesdropping, that's what she was doing. But if either realized it neither had a leg to stand on in faulting her. "But Balloon Boy really does want to talk to you."

"And why should I?" Moon asked difficultly. He was rewarded with an elbow nudge from Jake.

"Come on, don't be like that. Maybe he's going to apologize for what happened at the daycare," Jake offered.

"Please. Even you don't believe that," Moon said with a brush off of his hand.

"…Maybe he's going to apologize because he wants to get unbanned," Jake added, more realistically.

Now that sounded a little more likely. Moon hummed as he considered it. Not unbanning him, that was, but perhaps seeing if that was the case just to tell him he was still banned. That would be satisfying- as long as he watched his feet. Balloon Boy could be plotting something.

"Nobody's making you do it, but I think you should hear him out," Charlie encouraged.

Between that and Jake, and the possibility of revenge, Moon was finally persuaded. With another huff- like this was all a huge exhaustion for him- Moon strode off to the room after him while Jake headed back to talk with Charlie.

Moon strode into the room and looked around. It looked like a child's bedroom with plenty of toys, including an oversized toy box in the back that almost looked like a giftbox.

"And who's room is this?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"Mari's old bedroom. The tots use it as a playroom when Mari doesn't," Balloon Boy explained.

"Cute. What did you want?" Moon asked briskly.

"…I'm sorry."

"…What?"

"For messing with you. I was just fooling with you, but I got carried away. It was dumb, I'm sorry."

Moon knew Balloon Boy might try to thrust an apology on him, but he didn't expect it to sound in any way sincere. Maybe he was a good actor, that had to be it.

The jester crossed his arms. "And what made you decide this?"

"Everybody telling me I was being a jerk," Balloon Boy lied.

Moon seemed unconvinced, rolling his face in a patronizing way.

"…Maybe I thought you were someone else and because of that, I played a little dirty. Then I found out I got the story wrong, and now I've got mud in my teeth."

That seemed a little more believable, but the change of heart was still very sudden.

It was a hard thing for Moon to believe. Balloon Boy didn't seem to care while they were in the daycare at all, even when Jeremy showed an amount of exasperation about it. It could've been that someone, maybe Jeremy, sat him down and straightened him out. Maybe Marionette cleared his name, but even that was weird.

Why anyone would care that much about how he was treated alluded him. Nobody cared about the daycare's walking talking punching bag.

"You don't have to forgive me, I just wanted to catch you while you were here," Balloon Boy clarified. "So, don't go overthinking it."

"I'm not, I just… I will need to think about it," Moon finally said. He shifted awkwardly, tightening his hands on his arms. "About forgiving you, that is. I will need time to consider it."

"We've got nothing but time so take plenty and call me in the morning. Ah ha ha, kidding. It's already morning," Balloon Boy said with zero amusement.

Moon mumbled and shifted a little more, before starting to turn away.

"Then I should be going…"

There was a tense silence between them. Balloon Boy watching him, Moon ticking uncomfortably, and he reached for the door to get out of the suffocating room only to stop. With a huff, he turned on his heel and raised a finger.

"I will give you one last chance," Moon said. He then pointed that finger at Balloon Boy. "BUT you are on probation. If you try to fool me again, it's night-night forever on any forgiveness."

"Got it," Balloon Boy agreed. He gave an unwholesome laugh, which got Moon to start reconsidering his offer immediately. "Sorry. That's a reflex."

"Yes, I know," Moon said, then punctuated it with his own reflexive but otherwise unamused cackle. "Come by the daycare the next time Jeremy brings in the tots and we'll see if you can keep your word."

"I'm unbanned?"

"No. Not yet."

"Fair."

Moon turned on his heel again and threw open the door and stepped out.

"And-…"

Moon turned back to see Balloon Boy silently staring at him. "…And?"

"…Nothing. Good night, Moon Man. Sorry I acted like a rat."

There was something… strange about the way his voice shifted in that last line. It sounded sad, remorseful, and even… a little familiar. The youthful part, that was. It made Moon feel an unexplainable deep panic. He forced himself to stay rigid as he gave a brief, "Gooood night, little Troublemaker," and then stepped out.

He was still processing that conversation as he rode in the back of the Pizzaplex's van, half-heartedly listening to Natalie and Gregory chatting about Roxy and Foxy. Jake noticed Moon was quiet and tried to ask him about it, but Moon insisted he would tell him later. Part of him hoped Jake and he himself would forget. For now, Jake had an arm around his shoulders, and they were heading back to the daycare.

Back to the safety and comfort of the daycare. Back to the warmth and colors of their secret hideaway. Back to their room, to their home. To their only home now.

Neither would admit that a small part of them didn't want to go back. But it was too late for that.

…

For the last few hours, Freddy had been entirely distracted in storytelling. Retelling tales of him and Foxy, anecdotes of them and the others, of Sun and Moon and Jake, and of Gregory all to Bonnie. Using one arm to gesture and direct as he retold the tales with the fondness of someone seeing them as more than memories.

Meanwhile, he supported Bonnie, who laid back on his shoulder with his arm help holding him up. His eyes partially lidded, not in boredom but fully relaxed. In his hands was his bass- which he had pulled out from beside the recharge station earlier- and he was gently strumming the strings along with Freddy's story. More to keep his hands busy than as a distraction.

It was a wonderful few hours.

Then Freddy got a staticky alert and tapped his temple only to gasp.

"It is six! I have been here all night!"

"Really? Huh, time flies when you're having fun," Bonnie said groggily. He shuffled a little and set his bass aside. "Guess it's time for you to head back to the stage, Superstar."

"I… I suppose so…" Freddy said sadly.

He looked to Bonnie with big, blue, sorrowful eyes that Bonnie didn't notice until he was starting to shift his weight back into the recharge station. Bonnie sent him a crooked smile.

"Hey, come on. Don't be like that! The place can't open without you."

"But what about you? How can I perform in front of an audience when I know you are down here alone?"

"I'll be fine! I'll just sleep! Like, just zone out. I close my eyes and I can imagine I'm thousands of miles away. In Fazbear Hills playing catch with all my friends," Bonnie explained, spreading his hands out as though picturing the rolling hills. He then dropped his arm to pat Freddy's. "Hey, I've been here this long. What's a couple more hours?"

"I know…"

"And it's safer this way!"

"I know. I just wish it didn't have to be this way."

The two sat there for a long moment before Bonnie sighed.

"You could come back tonight, maybe? You can't tell anyone, and you've got to make sure nobody follows you, but… we could do this again, maybe?" he quietly offered. His voice quieter than it had been moments before.

Freddy brightened at the suggestion. "I would be happy to!"

"Then it's a plan!" Bonnie agreed, giving him a thumbs up. His thumb rolling a little more than it was supposed to. "You meet me down here at, like, what, three-four o'clock and I'll tell you about all the dreams I had."

"I would love that," Freddy said sincerely. He held Bonnie's hand, resting the other atop it and patting it. "Sleep well, my friend."

"Eh, as well as I can in a tube."

Freddy chuckled and carefully reached out to pat his hair. He had done so earlier without thinking and panicked when Bonnie had squeaked, but he had assured him that it was out of surprise instead of pain. This time Freddy was more careful, and Bonnie tilted his head into the touch eagerly. Bonnie had always been so animated and affectionate; it must've been torture being down here.

Yet finally, Freddy had to leave. He dragged it out as long as he could and even stood beside the recharge station as Bonnie tugged it closed.

"See you tomorrow, Superstar."

"I will see you then. I promise."

Then the door closed, and he felt alone again.

Freddy's chest ached as he reluctantly turned away and began to step over the trash. A lot of it was old Glamrock Bonnie merch, which made his heart break once again. He stopped at the entrance before turning back, getting one last glimpse at the recharge station.

"Sleep well, Bonnie," he said quietly.

He then turned away again and walked out.

Only to be alerted to the sound of the recharge station sliding open again and hear a call of, "I'm sleeping like the dead tonight, Fredbear!" In Bonnie's usual jokey manner.

That got a light back to Freddy's eyes. He chuckled to himself and began to head out.

The basement didn't matter. The garbage didn't matter. The Pizzaplex didn't matter. Freddy found his friend; that was worth everything else. This had been a miracle. He had another chance to fix things.

Why, just a few hours with Bonnie and he was already sounding better! Even his crackles and stutters had mostly gone away! Maybe this really was helping him. Freddy could only hope.

But he got his head back in order as he headed upstairs. First thing he sprayed himself down with disinfectant at one of the cleaning supply closets, then he went to check on Roxy in her green room.

Anything Roxy might've said about Freddy not being present for the makeover was cut short when Freddy's first reaction was to enthusiastically shout, "Roxy, you look great!" Then everything was forgiven.

Then he headed back to his green room. He opened the door and was in for a pleasant, if somewhat adorable, surprise.

Sun was sprawled on his couch with his head under his bowtie pillow, face down, while clutching one of his oversized plushies. Freddy chuckled and quietly made his way in. It was times like these that he wished he had a spare blanket- perhaps Gregory had one he wasn't using. He dared not touch Sunny or risk waking him and instead headed into the back room to check on Gregory.

He peeked around the recharge station to see that Gregory was asleep in bed, facing the wall. He smiled to himself and turned to leave.

But his heavy footsteps were distinct, so as he turned his head so did Gregory, blinking as he looked past the blue glow of the recharge station.

"Freddy?"

Freddy looked back in surprise.

"Gregory! My apologies, I did not mean to wake you."

"Don't worry about it," Gregory said. He rubbed his eye and looked up. "Is… everything okay?"

"Oh yes. Roxy is looking much better! She has some… minor repairs still required, but I am certain that the technicians can fix them in the morning. I suppose Foxy has already left as well. I should call him and apologize for my absence…" Freddy rubbed his neck guiltily before turning his attention back to Gregory. He came over and crouched down beside him. "How was your night in the daycare? Did you have fun?"

"Oh, yeah. We… Well, we played some games and then there was this… sort of… We played I Spy! And then Moondrop carried me around and told me about this book about kids living in trains and, uh, that's pretty much it."

"That sounds like a very pleasant evening!"

"Yeah, it was kinda cool… Hey, Freddy. Where were you?" Gregory quietly asked.

Freddy's ears drooped a little guiltily as his eyes widened.

"I tried to message you earlier, but it didn't go through. But I was fine! I was just, y'know, trying to see where you were after this whole crazy Roxy thing. That's all."

"I apologize, I had no idea! It… must have been because I was… in the basement…"

There was a long pause between the two. Gregory silently asking with his eyes what was going on. He knew what Sun said, but he wanted to make sure it was true. Freddy, meanwhile, remembered his promise to Bonnie. He couldn't tell anyone at all. Someone- Vanny- was listening. She could be sneaking around listening in, or even hijacked the messaging system so she could hear them too!

Freddy could not tell any of his bandmates, or his Sunny Moon. Or even Foxy, now that Vanny was targeting him. He couldn't tell anyone.

…

…

But…

Gregory was not in the systems. Gregory did not trust too many people. He was smart! Very smart for his age and very careful. He trusted Freddy and Freddy too trusted him.

"Freddy? What's going on?" Gregory asked worriedly.

That sealed it. He made a promise not to tell anyone, but Gregory wasn't just anyone. He was his child- all things considered. He deserved to know. He would surely understand.

"Gregory, there is something I would like to tell you, but for now we must keep it a secret. Nobody can know except for us," Freddy whispered lowly.

That was weird, Gregory thought, but he nodded. "Sure, I won't tell. What's up?"

Freddy's eyes grew happier and his voice lower. "I found Bonnie!"

"Wait, what?!"

"Shhhh."

"Sorry. But you found your friend, Bonnie? Where?! In the basement?!" Gregory whispered.

"Yes. He has been hiding in a recharge station deep under the Pizzaplex. He's badly damaged but still functional. But we cannot tell anyone because Vanny is after him. I am not sure why but after what she did today, I am not surprised, just disappointed," Freddy said with a shake of his head.

"So, what do we do?" Gregory asked.

"For now… I am not sure. I suppose we wait until we can come up with a plan. But until then, we cannot tell anybody else. Nobody can know that I found Bonnie."

Something about this didn't sit right with Gregory, but Freddy didn't seem to be lying. Freddy was an awful fibber. He hated doing it and he was no good at it, so likely he wasn't lying. But something was up.

Despite that, maybe because of Freddy's somber look, Gregory decided to go along with it. "Okay. If you're sure…" He gave him a smile. "I'm glad you found your friend."

Freddy's eyes brightened. "I am too. Perhaps once it is safer, I can take you to meet him!"

"Maybe after you get him out of the basement. Bleh!"

Freddy chuckled and offered his arms out, requesting a hug. Gregory scooted down his sleeping bag bed and hugged Freddy back, not even considering leaving him hanging.

"And do not worry, Gregory. I disinfected myself, so I am very clean!"

Okay, he might've considered it if he remembered he had been rolling around in trash, but he took his word for it. For now, it felt pretty good to be home again. It really hadn't felt like it until Freddy showed up.

Freddy had a way of making things feel like they'd be okay. So, maybe they would be.

Maybe Roxy would clean up fine and Foxy would come back sometime, and they would have a rematch race and it would go better. Maybe Foxy would even win!

Maybe Michael would come by to visit. Maybe with Ennard! Or maybe Moondrop would take him out to see another hiding spot someday.

Maybe this time things would be different.

…

Maybe this time his parents would stick around. Because this time he wasn't going anywhere.