Mable: Sorry that this was a day late… again. o_o I'll get back on track one of these days! Enjoy!
Going Home in a Box
Chapter Eighteen
Living in a house where you effectively lived with a dozen small children meant you had to be creative when it came to alone time.
Which meant if Mike and Marionette wanted to play a gory horror game, they had to do it in the middle of the night, sitting on the floor so close to the tv, with the volume turned up only a few clicks. Sure, Mike's eyes were starting to get uncomfortable, but sacrifices had to be made when it came to slaughtering monsters on the streets of London.
It was just about time to hand over the controller when they were suddenly interrupted by a familiar tune from back at the couch. The Toreador March, Mike's cellphone's ringtone. Not wanting to have it wake someone and cut short their night, Mike passed the controller into Marionette's hands and nearly raced to the couch to answer it while the puppet picked up where he left off.
"Hello, hello... Oh, hey. Working the night shift again?... Whoa, hold on, I can't understand you. You're going to have to slow down and… What are you talking about?... What?"
Marionette had been half-listening to this side of the conversation as he continued to play the game. It wasn't until Mike's tone changed from a friendly greeting to confusion, then concern, and finally shock that he realized something was wrong. He silently paused the game and tried to listen, but he didn't turn back. He simple sat rigidly in place as he imagined the panicked voice over the line, assuming it was Natalie's.
"Are you serious?!" Mike's mouth pulled into a grimace as he listened to a short, frantic recount. "…Okay, but how in the hell did it get to your house?!... Yeah, I'd say that's something to be worried about! Where is it now? Is it still in the house?... Okay, just leave it there, keep an eye on it, we'll be there as fast as we can. Don't take your eyes off of it for even a second." With those final words, Mike ended the call and grabbed his shoes from under the end table.
Marionette set down the controller and pushed off the carpet to smoothly drift up behind him. "Was that Natalie?" he dared to ask. Though he was thrown off by mention of a house, unless it was Fritz saying something was at their house.
"No, it was Scott. Some kind of spinoff chain Baby that broke into their house? I'll explain in the car. As best as I can anyway," Mike hastily rushed out. He went for his jacket and his keys.
This took Marionette completely off-guard. It was the last thing he expected to hear, but it was still very serious, and he knew they had to get over there. He started to follow Mike before hesitating and looking back down the hall.
"I should tell Charlie. She might want to come with us."
"Alright, just make it quick. The way Scott sounded on the phone-." Mike turned around to see Marionette already gone. "…Yeah, like that."
Charlie had been trying to get her sleep schedule back on track- what with work and Mike's impending classes- so she had gone to bed at the same time as Jeremy. She didn't wake when Marionette appeared in her room, so he had to gently rouse her with a shake.
"Charlie? Charlie, I'm sorry to wake you but something's happened over at Scott's," he forewarned. Waking groggy and only half-alert, she still managed to grasp most of what he was saying.
"What happened?" she asked. There was a jingling as she stretched out her stiffened limps and sat up in beg, not sure if it was from her prong or something internal.
"I'm not entirely sure. Scott called and Mike spoke with him, and he said something about another Baby breaking into their house. I'm not sure what's going on, but it doesn't sound good," Marionette warned. Just repeating it was making him increasingly concerned. There were so many details that were alarming, least of all this other Baby and where it came from, but none more than the fact that he didn't know if anyone was injured.
"…What?!" Charlie shot up the rest of the way. "He said what? Another Baby?"
"We have to go. Mike said he'll explain in the car, but I don't think we'll know for sure until we see it," Marionette said, now fussing at his hands. He grabbed Charlie's jacket of the hook they mounted beside the door and handed it to her as she climbed out of bed. She hastily hurried to pull it on as she followed him out the door. Then stopped and ran back into her bedroom, grabbing the taser out of the nightstand, before following him again. He waited for and led her down the hall.
"Fast enough?" he chirped in mock cheerfulness as they came out of the hallway.
They caught Mike biting into one of the cupcakes that was supposed to be for a party tomorrow. They caught him quite literally pink handed. Marionette gave him a slightly disapproving look which Mike answered with a quick, "Let's go," and hustled to the door like he didn't just talk through a mouthful of icing and cake.
The drive to Scott's was brief. It was a quiet night and there weren't many cars out on the road, so Mike was able to push the speed limit. During which he recounted what details Scott had given him. The details did nothing but stoke up Marionette and Charlie's growing concern until it matched his own. While he kept a cool face, the idea of some kind of unhinged Baby walking over fifty miles to break into a house and chase them around was downright chilling.
As he pulled up outside, Charlie took a good look around and suddenly threw open the back door once Mike was slowing to a park. "I'm heading in," she called back as she already sprinted towards the front door, sheet wrapped like a cape.
Marionette watched with a quick look of alarm before simply disappearing, leaving the lone human to continue parking the car. Business as usual.
Charlie intended to smoothly open the door while running and slip inside before there was any risk of being caught. Instead, the door was locked, and she only realized as such when she thumped into the unforgiving wood. The door opened a moment too late to reveal Scott on the other side with Marionette already inside beside him.
"Sorry, I forgot to unlock it," Scott apologized. He wasn't as frantic as he was earlier but was still audibly on edge.
"It's fine," Charlie said. She stepped in and looked around, seeing Ennard crouched over by the bedroom door but no sign of the other clown. "Where's Baby?"
"She's in the bedroom- but, uh, be careful. It's right outside the door," Scott forewarned. He stayed at the door to greet Mike while she headed in that direction, with Marionette following shortly.
Only for her to stop short when she saw what was laid out in front of the bedroom door. When she had been told it was some kind of Baby it didn't matter how much emphasis was put on it being creepy, she assumed it looked a little more like a traditional Circus Baby. In fact, even though it was wrong she mentally imagined a slightly slimmer and shorter traditional Baby. That was not this. This was something much more garish.
"What…?" Charlie was in near disbelief as she carefully stepped behind Ennard and past the fallen lamp. She stood over the head of the doll and could only stare down at it. "What in the world…?"
"I know, it's really something, isn't it…?" Ennard muttered. She glanced to him, and he cheekily adjusted his bow like she was talking about that. "Scott paid a small fortune to get me dolled up like this. Heh, I must've done something right," he said, completely flipping his tone on a dime. Charlie had been too distracted to even notice the change in wardrobe.
"I meant that but yeah, that's… actually a really cool suit."
She found it hard to look away from the animatronic on the ground. Its design was just so uncanny, even without the dirt and stray wires sticking out, and whatever happened to the feet. Its face straddled that railing where it was trying to look seductive but instead leaned into nightmarish, with its only saving grace being that it wasn't currently moving any of its features.
On a technical level, the animatronic was bizarre. It looked more like an android, but still with unrealistic features. Even with its plating and the glimpses of metal along its frame, its shape made it look too frail for it to move appropriately, and it features too sharp to be a children's entertainer. She could've guessed it came out of Afton Robotics, but she didn't want to think of the implications it brought with it.
Charlie finally looked up and spotted Baby inside of the master bedroom. Though before she could make any attempt to go for her, a protective hand gently wrapped around her arm to cautiously tug her back. It was Marionette and he was staring down at the other Baby with a piercing sort of look. Less wariness and no disgust, just a silent suspicion, like he expected it to lash out at any moment and was just as prepared to pounce.
It was clear that he wasn't going to let her walk over the doll, an already less than tempting idea, and so she pointed to the bathroom door. He looked to it, to the bedroom, and then back to the doll with a nod.
"Careful," he quietly, gently warned as he released her. She headed to the door as he drifted up to the opposite side of the animatronic, across from Ennard. "…You're positive she followed you home? She couldn't have hitchhiked in the van?"
"Nah, we high-tailed it out of there. It would've had to catch up, get under the van without us seeing it, stayed under there the whole drive and when we backed up the van into the garage to let Baby out, and then crawled under the house and hid out for a whole day. Could've happened like that, but it didn't."
"The other option being that it was able to track you from two towns over," Marionette said warily. He studied its body; less judgmental of how physically abnormal it looked and instead noticing little clues in its design. The similarities to Afton's creations didn't miss him, and while he wasn't sure what it was used for, performance didn't seem to be the main idea. "How very curious…" How very concerning.
Charlie had noticed Baby was standing far back, but it wasn't until she came into the bedroom that she noticed how the female clown was practically cowering against the wall. She had put as much distance between herself and the doll as she possibly could and was almost hunched in on herself, as though protecting herself from an incoming fight. Even if it had attacked her, which Mike implied it had, she seemed more shaken than usual.
Just the way Baby's eyes looked was telling. Only when Charlie stepped in did she look away from the animatronic to look at her, and there was something unfamiliar in her gaze. Something fearful and vulnerable, and it was startling.
"Are you okay?" Charlie asked as she strode over. Her voice now edged with worry that Baby might've gotten hurt during the altercation.
"I… am… Whatever it wants from me, it didn't get it," Baby said. The stilted way she spoke didn't alleviate Charlie's concerns and she watched her slowly shift into a normal posture. She then sent a cold look towards the door. "Wretched thing."
Charlie sent a wary look over as well. "Where did it even come from? Mike said it followed you from somewhere?"
"Fairyland Park. We went yesterday to see their animatronic band and I found them touting an original Circus Baby. Instead, we found that, a Toy Foxy, a seagull, and what might've been a pig. Heaven help us if the rest of the band shows up."
It didn't take much thinking to know that she was leaving details out, but Charlie didn't think this was the time to start pressing her on them. Instead, she gave a reassuring, "Let's deal with this one first before we get all worked up worrying about the others. With any luck, they got lost on the way here." The attempt at a joke fell flat. She reached out to lay a hand on her arm. "I'm kidding… But I'm sorry. I can't imagine how terrifying it was to see her show up."
"No more terrifying than seeing her in general," Baby said. She turned her head towards the bed and pulled her arms into a loose cross, and in the process pulled her arm from Charlie's hand.
It was the first time Baby had pulled away from her touch in nearly a year. It both surprised Charlie and signaled that everything wasn't alright. That something more had happened.
Then Mike announced his arrival with a very loud swear.
"Ha ha! No, there's nothing holy about this one, Mikey! But thanks for reminding me- we should probably grab a bible," Ennard joked. Though it was clear from the look in his eyes that he was borderline exhausted.
"While we're at it let's get a priest and a flamethrower. The book alone's just not going to cut it," Mike remarked, looking over the doll. At some point then noticing the bright green jacket. "What are you wearing?"
Ennard leaned back far enough to show the front off and splayed his hands with another bright but ultimately forced grin.
Mike whistled. "Finally decided to embrace the clown, eh?"
"You got it," Ennard said with a wink. "Join the club. We all float."
"That how you get around the sewers?" he asked with a quirk of the brow, to which Ennard chuckled. He then turned to Scott and asked, "Was it the guy who made Foxy's coat?"
"Yeah, I'm… I'm pretty sure it was," Scott answered. He wouldn't take his eyes off the doll and was making sure he was standing out of its reach. Mike noticed, eyes glancing back down to it.
"Top quality stuff," Mike complimented. "Back to business: this thing."
"Did you check for signs of possession any time before now?" Marionette asked, straight to the point.
"'Course I did! I checked while we were back at the park and I… I didn't see anything. I didn't notice anything; no twitches, no fidgets, no fans, no nothing. I was sure it was empty, and I checked all the others to make sure!" Ennard insisted. Marionette hummed as she looked down at it. "I don't know, maybe I missed something. We knocked it over, maybe that woke it up."
"Or maybe that just ticked it off," Mike suggested.
"Yeah maybe…" Scott quietly and guiltily added.
"Or maybe you were right and it's not alive. We've been attacked by animatronics before who are aggressive but not aware, instead programmed to be so. Assuming that it must have some form of programming if it was able to track your location through its own means, we can assume that something else might've been loaded into it. Something much more sinister," Marionette cryptically suggested. "…But if you don't mind, I might as well double check."
"Go on ahead! You're the expert on this," Ennard offered without bitterness. Though he stopped the Puppet with a hand the second he started to lean in. "But before you do, I don't know if it's an overheating problem or a short circuit somewhere, but this thing's burning up. Could be some kind of low volt shock, but whatever it is you're going to feel it if you touch it."
Marionette hummed and looked down at the animatronic. He wondered if it was possible that Ennard just touched a loose wire, but he seemed a little more aware than that.
"It's fine. I don't need to touch her to see into her. Not if I get the right angle," the Puppet said. He turned his body and slid up closer beside her before beginning to lean over her, an arm resting on the floor on each side of her head. His eyes began to glow as he stared deep into hers and tried to seek a response.
The doll's eyes were empty. No movement of any kind, no stirring from within, not even the quietest sound of a fan. Which was odd considering how much of a strange feeling was coming off of her. He couldn't explain what it was, but it didn't exactly feel like heat. He didn't know how to explain it. He let out a few testing chimes and tones, but there was still no response.
"Did it say anything when it came in?" Mike asked quietly, trying not to interrupt what Marionette was doing.
"Well… Kind of. It was talking, but it wasn't 'talking', if you get my drift," Scott started. When even Ennard looked back at him, he reiterated, "It was playing a show recording. It even sung a couple of songs half-through."
"But not speaking intelligently? Okay, got it. Lends a little more credibility to the preprogrammed deathtrap theory," Mike muttered. He still wasn't too keen on Marionette being so close to the animatronic regardless and moved a little closer, prepared to step in if it suddenly sprung to life again.
The Puppet meanwhile wasn't able to find what he was looking for. Perhaps it really was a soulless bot, but the strange feeling coming off of it gave him reason to doubt. Knowing the consequences and bracing himself for any pain, expecting little because of his fabric padded body, Marionette reached to lift its chin so he could align better with its eyes and search one last time for something beyond the glass.
He didn't even get that far, because the moment his fingers were brushing her chin, he was hit by something he wasn't prepared for.
There was pain, but that wasn't the worse of it. Crawling up his arm and filling his head like helium into a balloon. The heat, the stinging was one thing, but it was nothing compared to the images and phantom sounds that accompanied it. Seized by it, he could only stare into its eyes as he saw nightmares in the back of his head and heard horrors beyond any this doll could bring. Still, it hurt, it ached and spread and consumed him all at once.
Once he recognized what he was seeing he couldn't stand it any longer. It had only lasted a few short seconds.
Marionette shoved off of the doll with a startled cry and scrambled away until his back thumped against the wall between the bedroom and bathroom doors. The pain, visions, and voices dissipated immediately leaving only a dull, unpleasant tingle in his arm, but he was still a mess. His vision flooded with purple from uncontrolled tears, and he let out a few panicked little sounds mixed of voice and off-tune twangs.
Everyone reacted immediately. Mike was at his side in seconds and both Scott and Ennard were alarmed and on-guard, not sure what happened or what to do, even exchanging a confused and uncertain look. Mike crouched down and got him by the shoulders. "Are you okay? What happened, did you get tased?" he asked.
He wasn't shocked when Marionette stiffly shook his head. It had been so sudden and unlike a tasing, trembling and seizing replaced with one frantic lunge backwards. There were so many tears that Mike struggled to wipe them away. Eventually he gave up and just pulled him into his arms. Out of the side of his vision he caught sight of Charlie leaping over the other Baby before coming up behind him and looking past at Marionette with worry.
"What happened?!" she parroted.
"I don't know! He touched it and it must've shocked him or something! The thing was short-circuiting on me when I took it out!" Ennard explained. Though it was clear that he didn't know what was going on.
Marionette was starting to pull himself together. Whatever it was it had overwhelmed his body and he desperately wiped away the profuse tearing, looking past to see it and Mike looking at it, and turning the man to face him.
"We- We have to get rid of it," Marionette said in a shaky voice. The man looked startled at the comment, and the Puppet pointed an accusatory finger at the doll. "There's- Th-There's something… evil and ho-horrible inside of that- that thing. It's awful and we- we can't let it roam around like this! We have to destroy it!"
"So, it's alive?!" Ennard choked.
"No," the Puppet firmly denounced. His voice was still shaking and trembling in Mike's arms. "It's something worse- it's awful! I-It's like nothing I've ever seen! Just one touch and I saw everything!"
Ennard snapped to alert at this comment and all at once reached out and snatched Charlie off her feet, swung her back over, and held her protectively away from the downed animatronic. Charlie got a tense face, but it was too quick to protest.
A moment afterwards, Marionette suddenly straightened up and started to turn his head as though realizing something.
"Baby…" He stiffly turned and then began to lean out of Mike's arms to hold onto the bedroom doorjamb. He could see Baby once again pressed against the back wall. The tears began to flow freely once more. "Baby, what happened?! Did you touch it?! Did it touch you?!"
"I- No! No, it- that's just like you to assume it was something I did!" Baby defensively argued.
"Baby, please!" Marionette pleaded. "Please…"
It wasn't his voice, but the look he was giving her that told her he knew something she didn't. She wondered if the doll had whispered something to him- perhaps repeated that same phrase from earlier.
She reacted immediately and silently rolled to the bathroom door, out the other one, and continued a brisk but steadfast line to her room. Scott moved aside to let her by, and nobody stopped her, even when unsure if she would return.
"We've got to get this thing out of here," Ennard whispered, rather obviously, to Scott. He still held Charlie with one arm, who sent a confused look after Baby, knowing she was hiding something, but unable to slip out from Ennard's hold.
Baby returned quicker than any of them expected her to. She rolled herself over before stopping beside Scott and silently holding out a hand. She opened her hand and released the heart-shaped locket to dangle underneath it, its chain caught between her fingers.
"This is what I did," Baby said. Her voice as empty as she could make it, unwilling to show even the slightest shred of emotion. Marionette's eyes leveled on the swinging pendent. "I stole its necklace, knocking it over while I did."
Neither Scott nor Ennard chose to say anything, both equally kicking themselves for not doing anything about the necklace. As though they had a chance to or any idea what would come if that was even was caused it.
Charlie seemed to think so. Or it seemed that way as she pulled free of Ennard and approached Baby with an open hand.
"You might remember that some puppets were built to be compatible with security tracking bracelets. Maybe this is a similar case," she said.
Baby hesitated a moment before slowly releasing the necklace and letting it drop into Charlie's hand. The Security Puppet began to study it, turning it over with her fingers and trying to open it to no avail.
"It seems heavy for something that should be hollow," she remarked. Baby hummed in agreement and averted her gaze while Charlie looked to Marionette. "This could be how she tracked them back here."
Marionette's mask tightened and a few final tears rolled down. He looked like a mess but considering the circumstances he wasn't the only one. Charlie looked back to Baby, but she was still unwilling to meet her gaze. She almost went to tell her it wasn't her fault, that she couldn't have known this would happen, but she expected it would lead to the opposite assumption from her. She remained silent; they all did.
…
"And you still left the window open. Good job."
There wasn't a soul in the room not taken aback by the sudden addition of a new voice calling in through the kitchen window. Ennard perked up instantly.
"Heh- heh- hey! Look who finally showed up!- Don't stand too close to that, Buddy." Ennard tacked on the last part while nudging Charlie back into Scott and Baby as he slipped by and made his way to the window. Sure enough, there was a familiar rabbit partially crouched and peering through. "What the hey happened to you?"
"Considering that I was expected to walk across town in the middle of the night, I think I made excellent time," Springtrap remarked. He jerked his head towards the other side of the house. "Let me in?"
"Sure thing!" Ennard chirped and started to head to the front door. Passing by Scott who looked quite surprised, having heard him call Michael after he had called Mike but never hearing anything about him coming.
"Why didn't you tell me Michael was coming over? I could've gone and picked him up," Scott offered.
"And left me with that? Ha, no way! I'd never blink again. I already pretty much don't," Ennard said with a wink. He pulled him into a brief one-armed hug before continuing on to open the door. He was stressed, it didn't take much to tell.
Springtrap slipped only seconds after the door was opened and smoothly closed it behind him in one motion. He looked to Ennard standing there behind the door, then did a double take downward at his suit. Ennard splayed his arms with an eager smile, a silent beckon for his opinion.
"It's not nearly as gaudy as I was expecting. Works for you," Springtrap admitted. Ennard's excitement only seemed to grow while the rabbit started to look around. "Where is it?"
"Over here!" Mike called. Springtrap approached the group with Ennard tailing close behind and looked at the scene. It didn't take him more than a moment to notice Marionette's state.
"What happened?" he asked with concern. Marionette tried to partially shield his face with his hand. Baby twinged at the discomfort of hearing Springtrap's voice.
"That happened, apparently," Mike answered, pointing at the downed doll. "And the working plan's to take it out before it takes one of us out."
Springtrap looked even more befuddled by this, which was probably why Marionette found his voice so readily. "It's true. There's evil inside of it. It isn't a soul, it isn't alive, it's a monster. We have no choice," he insisted.
This was a lot to suddenly spring on the newly arrived sibling. He looked to Charlie beside him, considering her rather levelheaded, and when she looked back with determination but not doubt, he found himself compelled to go along with it.
"…Very well. What is the plan?" he asked.
"I've got a hatchet in the car and there's probably a shovel around here somewhere," Mike suggested.
"Yeah, I've been on the other end of that hatchet, and it doesn't work. That thing's walking around busted up already, if we leave that much behind then she's just going to pull herself together and crawl back over here," Ennard disagreed. He then paused, giving a sort of thoughtful hum as he rubbed the chin of his mask. They waited a few seconds, but the clown didn't offer it up.
"What about burning it? I don't think we can, it's not like we have a furnace, but we could get gasoline and try to start a fire. Maybe not one hot enough to melt metal, but…" Scott trailed off and Springtrap shook his head.
"No good. There's no way we can build a fire of that magnitude without drawing attention to ourselves, even if we drove out to Silver Reef to do it."
"But won't we, uh, need some sort of heat to… y'know… y'know, stop it for good?" Scott offered. Considering the room of people he was standing with, he approached the suggestion cautiously.
"…Maybe we don't," Mike considered. "I'm not sure how the whole fire thing works. We know it's more than just destroying the body. It stops possession too, forcing the soul out of the body. If this thing doesn't have a soul and is just running on some kind of programming, then we should be able to stop it by dismantling it."
"Which sounds simple enough if you ignore the fact that Marion said there was evil inside of it," Springtrap reminded.
"I don't think that's the kind of evil he was talking about," Mike answered. "…But don't let me put words in his mouth. Mari, what do you think?"
The Puppet was still shaken but by now had pulled himself together enough to speak normally. His tears had stopped as well, leaving a purple mess in their wake smeared on his mask and down his chest. He made a staticky breath of a noise and then began to explain, hand moving to clutch Mike's tightly.
"When I touched it, I felt the same pain that Ennard and Baby felt… but then I began to see and hear things. Horrible things, voices… like it was playing back footage but directly into my mind, all in a second. I saw so much…" Marionette tried to explain. He seemed to be holding back, cautiously stepping around what he was saying. "I could feel anger and sadness, pain, all coming from it. As though it was playing back that too. It never felt alive, just a hollow recording… I don't know how to explain it. It's like a corruption, like just touching it was spreading into me whatever was inside of it."
"Spreading…?" Baby asked.
"Like a virus," Marionette added.
"Like a computer virus or like a virus virus?" Scott asked.
"…Both," the Puppet offered. "Something like both."
Now Mike's face had slowly turned from seriousness to slow spreading shock over the course of Marionette's entire explanation. Anyone there couldn't guessed it was from what he was saying, but it was more than that. It was how familiar everything he described sounded. He could've been describing the episodes Mike had been noticing with him, with only a few slight differences.
And this was the first time Mike realized that Marionette didn't know about those incidents. He had never brought them up because he thought Marionette was aware, that it was his emotions literally pouring out, but unless he was purposefully feigning obliviousness, which was very unlike him, he had no idea that they were happening. That was a bad sign if he had ever seen one.
"You said you could hear voices," Springtrap pointed out. "What did they say?"
Marionette side-glanced at the other Baby. "I couldn't say."
"Perhaps for the best… Alright, then we must deal with it. We must get rid of this thing before it become a danger to even more people," Springtrap agreed. "But wouldn't that mean burning it to make sure whatever it is doesn't spread?" Marionette looked to the doll for a long moment.
"…I don't know. It's not alive and it must be destroyed, under whatever means possible," he offered.
Mike finally snapped out of his thoughts long enough to return to the conversation and add, "The hatchet's not going to be enough. Nothing's ever that easy." He mumbled the last part. He didn't just mean the doll either.
"Then we just take it apart ourselves. Ennard and I are more than capable of doing it. After all, it looks remarkably like an Afton original."
"Except you can't touch it," Baby finally chimed in. She met his gaze too when he turned to look at her. "Didn't you hear what he said about the pain? It burned me, it burned Ennard, and it left Marion in his current state."
"I got an idea," Ennard interjected. The others looked to him, giving him the floor to speak. "We don't have to nuke it, we just have to dispose of it like a normal animatronic, right? There's a way to do that at the dump!"
Springtrap gave an unenthused look and was about to shoot him down, assuming he was talking about abandoning it at the dump until Ennard caught him with a raised finger.
"Ah-ah! There is a way to dispose of scrap metal at the dump. Or crush it down into little, easy-to-manage cubes. A trash compactor!" the clown revealed. "Just think about it. Any damage we're gonna do isn't going to full decimate it as much as that's going to. We get it all crushed up and then bury it somewhere where nobody's going to find it. Closest thing we got to a furnace unless you all feel like breaking back into ARI."
That last comment might've been what effectively got Springtrap on board. He gave a nod and then looked back to Marionette.
"What do you think, Mari?" Mike asked for him. Marionette looked a little hesitant, especially when he looked to the other Baby again.
He had seen plenty of animatronics get broken beyond repair and still be capable of moving and functioning. Though that was because they had a soul fueling them. While whatever that was fueling this thing was vile, it wasn't the same as a sentient consciousness- and though there was a margin of error, he knew what he saw wasn't this thing's memories. Eventually he managed an answer.
"It… might work… As long as it's actually destroyed and not just broken beyond repair," he somewhat agreed. "I could always check afterwards to make sure…"
"Then there we go! Better than nothing!" Ennard said. He pointed past to Charlie. "And we can throw that necklace in there with her," he offered, then held out his hand for it. She almost handed it over before second-guessing it.
"I think it would be better if I handle the necklace," Charlie offered. "We don't want this thing floating around out there. I can crack it open and find a way to deactivate it, THEN we can get rid of it. Maybe toss it across Sand Hollow Lake."
"Even better idea!" Ennard chirped. Though that eagerness was short lived as he looked down at the doll. "It's going to be a pain to move it though. Should've told you to bring a dolly with you."
"Oh yes, wouldn't that have been a sight? A human-sized rabbit pushing a dolly down the street in the middle of the night," Springtrap half-scoffed, then sighed. "I can do it. I've dealt with worse."
It was that comment that made Mike think. He had gone through those moments with Marionette and pulled through well enough, so maybe he was strong enough to handle whatever this thing was dishing out. Soon it was less about being helpful and more the insatiable curiosity to know whether or not this was like Marionette's moments. Without any warning, he reached out and grabbed the other Baby's wrist.
"Mike!" Marionette cried, but it was too late.
…But nothing happened.
"Huh…" Mike mused. He felt along the animatronic's arm. Other than being a little warm, not nearly as warm as Ennard had been playing up, he couldn't feel anything else. It was nothing like Marionette's moments. Or at least, it didn't discharge into him. "Maybe it's not the same thing after all. Here's hoping it's not." But it sounded too similar to be a coincidence. He pulled his hand back. "Guess it doesn't work on us flesh people."
"Okay, then I guess Mike and I can move her," Scott offered. He didn't sound like he wanted to, but he preferred that to anyone else getting hurt. Especially if it meant getting the doll out of the house faster. "Mike?"
"I'm on it." He slowly released Marionette before getting up to go help. He could discuss his suspicions with him later, when there weren't so many people listening and as amped up as they were.
They were heading towards the garage when Baby suddenly spoke up.
"Can I stay here? I know that I am responsible for provoking that thing…" She reflexively stole a glance against her wishes and quickly looked away. "…But I don't want to ride in the van with it."
"No problem. It's better that we all don't go anyways. We'd put ourselves at a bigger risk of getting," Scott willingly agreed. She gave a nod and he a worried frown, wanting to offer to stay but not knowing how to go about it without embarrassing her. She tended to get defensive when there was an audience watching.
Thankfully, Charlie picked up on the cues, whether it be Baby's behavior or the expression on Scott's face. "I'll stay with her. It'll be easier to get the necklace open if I'm not bouncing around the back of a van."
"Good! Good idea, and we're not going to drag our feet. We'll be back as soon as we get everything done," Scott agreed, seemingly relieved. He then beckoned Mike along. "You open the garage door and I'll back the van in."
"Sounds easy enough," Mike agreed. As they approached the garage door he glanced back over his shoulder. Charlie was now with Marionette who was starting to stand up and Ennard had moved over to rest his hands on Baby's shoulders as he recounted what happened to Springtrap. The animatronic itself hadn't moved this whole time.
Something about seeing the relatively calm scene did the exact opposite to Mike and he had a foreboding feeling. After all, nothing was ever easy.
Mike and Scott carried the doll to the van, the three animatronics boarded into the back while trying their best not to touch it, and soon the only ones left were Charlie and Baby. The former watching them leave through the front window with an uneased look on her face. She carefully closed the curtain back before heading to the garage, where Baby had already retreated to. Stopping only when she noticed the kitchen window was open and shutting it with a sigh.
She stepped into the garage to find Baby sitting on her bed with her eyes closed and her hand and claw resting in her lap. Charlie wanted to say something but decided against it, deciding not to press as she headed over and knelt down in front of Ennard's toolbox. She got out a pair of vice grips and the smallest flat headed screwdriver that she could find, then turned around, sitting on the floor cross legged, and got to work trying to get it open.
She managed to fit the screwdriver into the crease of the locket. While it was clearly not made to open, she pressed in and started to wedge it upwards, working to open it. That was when Baby unexpected broke the silence.
"I feel awful. What a dreadful night…" she murmured. Charlie paused to look over at her. The clown's head was now raised but her eyes were close to sliver.
"I can't even imagine," Charlie sympathized. She returned to working, but kept her head tilted up like she was listening, which Baby noticed. Her eyes rolled forward with an exhausted mock sigh.
"I wouldn't never taken that stupid thing if I thought it was anything more than a worthless trinket. Or that the thing wearing it was anything more than a crime against nature."
Charlie smiled a little bit at the last part before it faltered. She paused there with the tools in her hand and considered her options. Eventually she decided to ask, "Why did you do it?"
As expected, there was silence. She patiently continued with the pendant and finally managed to force the screwdriver into that crease, opening it up a slight amount. She focused in, a low tone humming in her chest as she pushed harder, angling it just right…
With a small pop, or maybe a crack, the pendant broke apart. Charlie's eyes literally brightened, pupils briefly popping green as she set down the screwdriver and released the pendant into her hand. She pulled apart the pieces to study closer.
All of her suspicions were confirmed when she saw the inside of the pendant. Half of the inside of the pendant was solid with what looked like a small computer chip lodged into it, save that it was shaped like a heart. There was a tiny red light at the bottom of it, signaling that the device was on. While it didn't look like the security bracelets on the outside, she was certain that it was another piece of tracking jewelry.
"Well, that answers that question," Charlie remarked. She raised her head to see that Baby was already looking at her. She held up the pendant pinched between her fingers. "This is how it followed you."
"Of course it is," Baby lamented. Her voice betrayed her discomfort. Charlie clasped the pendant in her hand.
"Well, the good news is that once we get rid of this, that… animatronic won't be able to track you anymore. Even if it does somehow survive the trash heap," she said. She set the pendant on the concrete and reached behind her and into the toolbox. In less than ten seconds she pulled out a hammer and promptly smashed the exposed circuitry into the floor. Baby jumped at the noise and looked on in disbelief.
"Didn't you want to keep it and study it?" she asked in surprise.
"It's too much of a risk. Besides, we've already got a box of bracelets that do the same thing," Charlie reassured. She checked the remains of it and noticed that the light was now off. Then lifted it to her head to make sure she couldn't hear any sound and then decided that it was probably off. She brushed the remains into a tiny pile on the floor before standing up. "I'll get rid of it the rest of the way later."
Baby shuffled over enough that Charlie could sit beside her. It wasn't until now that she noticed the hat sitting on the dryer and picked it up before sitting down. "What's this?" she asked.
"Scott got it for me. I think he was afraid I would feel left out."
"I'd say it's more than that. This wasn't just some hat he picked up at the thrift store," Charlie pointed out. She was expecting either a response or silence. She wasn't expecting Baby's head to tilt before resting on her shoulder. She was a little surprised but recovered quickly and set aside the hat to turn towards her, crossing one of her legs on the bed and resting a hand on Baby's back.
Baby slowly wrapped her arms around Charlie's middle and pulled her into a tight embrace. It surprised the puppet, not expecting her to show such vulnerability after being so walled off up until now. She returned the hug and gently rubbed little circles into her back with one hand and gently stroked over her hair wires with the other. Her fingers tracing along the wires more than brushing them.
They sat there like that for a long while. The silence no longer uncomfortable, though still just as solemn. When Baby's fingers began to grasp onto Charlie's jacket, she knew she was preparing to speak.
"How could things go wrong so quickly?" she murmured into the green fabric covering her shoulder. "One slip up and then all of this…"
"What do you mean, slip up?" Charlie asked. Her voice holding no accusation.
"Ripping that necklace off that scarecrow's neck," Baby slightly grumbled. "I knew better and I still did it… I was just so angry."
"I can't imagine. Going all the way out there to see another Circus Baby and finding that. I'd feel a little ripped off too," the puppet sympathized, slightly joking. She started up the little circles on her back again.
"It wasn't that," Baby admitted. Charlie's hand slowed as she listened.
"…Was it about there being other Circus Babys?" she eventually guessed when she didn't get an answer. Baby shook her head. "Was it about your dad?" Baby stiffened, not expecting her to guess that quickly. "Oh. I'm sorry."
"I don't want to talk about it really, but I got so upset that I had to do something. I suppose ripping off that necklace was me trying to lash out at him… Not that he would care even if he was here. Then that thing showed up. Said some… Vile things, just like Marion said. I think it knows things that it shouldn't and I don't know how it could."
Charlie was sure that she was getting only half of the picture now, but that was alright. It wasn't important to get the whole context when she knew Baby could give it in time.
"Well, whatever it knows doesn't matter, because they're getting rid of it right now and it's never coming back. And if it does, I'll take care of it." She made a point to tap on the taser pinned to her jacket pocket. "I'll be here to protect you."
The quietness returned and Charlie went back to assuring her, but it didn't last long. Baby finally pulled back and lifted her head, not entirely breaking their hold but making them face to face. There was so much sadness and fear in her eyes.
"…Charlie," Baby tentatively began. "…Is there something you haven't told me about the Pizzaplex? I worked myself up into this frenzy because I thought there was, and if I'm wrong then I'm wrong… but please, I need to know. I can't keep living like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop."
There was a tinge of anxiety deep inside Charlie as she realized she was cornered. She didn't want to upset Baby further, but if she kept it from her now after being so open with her, their relationship would be permanently tainted. She knew what it was like to feel that someone was hiding something and not getting answers. Sometimes the painful answers were needed.
Charlie made a low toned discontent chime despite herself and drew back the rest of the way. Baby rested her hand and claw back in her lap, showing a surprising amount of patience as she waited for the answer that she now realized was coming. Her eyes aglow as she watched the other brace herself.
"There is something I didn't tell you… Yet. I was planning on telling you, but I didn't know how, and I didn't want you to freak out. Not that I'm saying you would- gah…" Charlie caught herself mid-ramble and decided to stop stalling once she managed to make eye contact again. "...There's a woman at the Pizzaplex whose been dressing up in a rabbit costume and threatening Natalie with a knife. We don't know anything else about her except she's been getting in there afterhours."
"A woman in a rabbit costume?" Baby echoed.
"Right."
"Oh."
There was a brief moment of pause.
"…But there aren't any new Baby models?"
Charlie was floored by Baby absolute lack of reaction. It wasn't even like a delayed reaction either, she just didn't seem fazed by it at all.
"Uh, no. Not that I know of."
"Oh good. Or not so good, since I was worrying over nothing. Put all of this into motion over nothing… but I would rather be wrong than right in this case," Baby said with audible relief. She then noticed the visible confusion on the Security Puppet's face. "What's that look? Surprised I didn't fall to pieces over this rabbit woman?"
"…Yes?"
Baby seemed the slightest bit amused at the answer. The most amusement she had shown since this night had begun. "I can see why you might, but she's not him… Unless you think she's possessed."
"I don't. She can't be. We know he's gone and even if he wasn't she's not really following his MO beyond the similar get-up," Charlie rationalized. The nervousness was always there, but she was adamant not to give in so easily. "But even if she's not him she has us worried. I guess I wanted to spare you of that."
"I know you just want to protect me," Baby began. Though suddenly she stopped and reconsidered what she was going to say. She finally finished with a much quieter, "Thank you." Leaving it at that.
Charlie smiled and put her arm back around her. Baby didn't return to her shoulder but didn't seem as rigid as she was earlier. Which was good, because they had a long wait in front of them, and their long night wasn't let over.
…
…
"But you do like the hat?"
"Oh yeah. I think it's going to look great on you."