Mable: Enjoy!
Going Home in a Box
Chapter Forty-Five
Once Marionette stabilized enough, he assured Mike that he was okay to continue on to Parts and Service. Something that would've been much more believable if he didn't have such a struggle getting up after saying so. Not that Mike minded carrying Marionette, quite the opposite after finding him in that state. It was more that he didn't exactly agree with his dismissal of his own feelings.
But he got it. Freddy was in danger, Gregory was antsy, and neither of them wanted to think about the elephant in the room until they were out of this muggy basement. It wasn't avoiding the issue if they were doing the only thing they could in this situation. Though he did try to call through and warn Charlie or Jeremy. Neither the radio nor cellphone worked in the basement.
Honestly, Mike was still reeling from it. It wasn't the first time he saw Marionette out of commission, but the suddenness of it, and the state he was left in after it, was enough to leave him shaken up- and feeling exceptionally protective. Even if Marionette did spontaneously recover enough to carry on his own, Mike would be hard pressed to let him go, and not just because of the pleasant warmth.
It didn't take them long to walk back up on the same fence from earlier. Mike was already thinking of ways how they could go about this when Marionette straightened up in his arms.
"Boost me up?" he requested. His voice was still shaky but now much clearer, and he was strong enough to start grabbing for the fence.
Mike quirked a brow. "Are you sure? We can find an easier way. That open vent probably lets out somewhere nearby," he suggested.
"No, no. I'm okay," the puppet assured. While he was hesitant, the man went ahead and started to boost him up. "Thank you," Marionette said. His voice lightly strained as he pulled himself up onto the fence. He straddled it, catching the tips of his legs into the fence to help hold on securely, and then looked back down. "Now boost up Gregory and I can help him over."
"Okay. Sounds like a plan," Mike agreed.
He looked to Gregory who nodded and stepped forward to be picked up. It was remarkably, and concerningly easy to pick the boy up and hand him to Marionette, who held him atop the fence.
"Wait," Mike quickly said and before either could do anything, he moved further down and climbed the fence. It took a running start and two tries to get a grip, but he managed to get over. He then returned to help Gregory down.
When he reached for Marionette, he held up a hand to stop him. "No, wait. Let me try," he insisted.
Mike was giving him that flat look of disbelief and exasperation that he wore so well and stepped to the side. His thumbs hooked on his pockets but hands not in his pockets, so he was likely preparing to make a sudden catch if he needed to.
But Marionette believed that it was time to get back up on his own again and was moderately confident that he had recovered enough to do so. He might've felt loose and tired, but no pain, no soreness, and no reason not to get back in the air. That rabbit wasn't going to keep him down any longer.
That thought sealed the deal. Marionette swung his other leg over, sat on the fence to brace himself, and then pushed off.
Unfortunately, he didn't catch himself quite like he expected. As far as his psychic grasp went, he slipped right though his own fingers. He landed on his pointed feet and somehow his legs managed to catch his own weight without instantly buckling underneath him. Apparently, his attempts to use them more had been paying off- he might've considered if they didn't buckle a second later.
It was unclear what caught him first; Mike or his hands swinging back and grabbing the fence. The important part was that he didn't touch the grimy basement floor. Fabric seldom cleaned as well as skin, even his. Something Mike must've noticed too now that he was so close to it.
"Careful, the floor's slippery," Mike excused. For his sake, of course, which Marionette appreciated.
"Are you okay?" Gregory asked. He looked over the bent legs and disheveled body and was skeptical.
"Er, yes. I just- I lost my footing," Marionette said with embarrassment.
"In fact, this floor's downright disgusting," Mike continued. His only warning before he suddenly pulled Marionette back up into his arms. His arms hooking back under his back and knees again, just now with him facing the opposite way.
"Miiike," the Puppet drew out. A low squeak in his voice.
"I'm not taking no for an answer. It's the least I can do for getting us lost," he insisted with a grin.
This managed to pull a smile out of Marionette and quieted his protests. Though he made sure to stay more upright and draped his arm affectionately around Mike's shoulders. To make it clear that this was a choice and not a weakness.
Gregory sent them a funny look but then shrugged it off once they continued down the tunnel. At this point he was just eager to get to the actual Parts and Service. Thankfully, the tunnel didn't lead much further until they came up on a security door that led into another area that looked like a warehouse. At least they were seeing progress.
They made it through another security door and watched their surroundings take a significant change. The floor turned to wood, the walls turned to clean and even bricking, and the musty smell of the basement had decreased significantly.
"Looks like we're getting somewhere," Mike said.
"Maybe…" Gregory said doubtfully.
They continued further down the hallway when Marionette suddenly flinched. He patted Mike's shoulder to get his attention and pointed towards the right. He cocked his head and whispered into his ear.
"I hear something. Over there."
Mike caught Gregory's shoulder and all but dragged him behind him. He then released Marionette under his back, since he was holding on with his arm, and used that to get his security badge out.
"If it's not Vanny, go limp," he said. Marionette gave a nod of agreement. Then Mike began to slowly approach the corner of the wall. He couldn't hear footsteps, but there was a whirring noise. Perhaps like a Staff Bot.
As he stepped out from behind the wall, something came in fast from his right. Something that had been waiting for him. It didn't give him a moment to react before it was upon him.
"Hi! Please take this map."
It was the Map Bot. Yet another robot shoving its hand at him and this time it was to push a map on him.
Mike barely suppressed the words wanting to slip out as Gregory gave an audible, "Ugh!" but covered it up quickly.
"Take a map," Map Bot repeated. Mike having not reacted fast enough to appease the bot.
He was less than amused as he took the map with the same hand already holding his badge.
"Thank you." With that, Map Bot did a short circle and headed back in the direction he had come from.
"I hate that thing," Gregory muttered.
"He's something alright. At least this might come in handy," Mike remarked. He looked down at the designated 'Staff' map in his hand. Peeling it back open with his thumb he was rewarded with a partial layout of the basement. "Scratch that. This'll definitely come in handy. This would've saved us that whole trip through Endo Alley," he said. He looked to Marionette only to notice his amused smile. "Is there any chance you were behind that?"
"The Staff Bot? Mike, please. If I was capable of a prank this devious then I certainly wouldn't tell you," Marionette teased.
"Oh, okay. Then he's stalking me," Mike said flatly.
"Or me," Gregory agreed in a similar tone. Though then he noticed something down the hallway with a blink. "Hey look! There's a door down the with a gear sign over it. Could that be Parts and Service?"
It certainly looked like it. A pair of red double doors sat underneath the sign in question. As they approached, they got a better look at the doors and the two windows sitting on either side that showed another room with more doors and more windows just past them. There was a recharge station to the right and an automatic door against the wall to the far left, which was likely where Map Bot went off to. Along with a multitude of stuff stashed around.
They pushed through the first door easily but the second had a keycard reader. Gregory walked to the window while Mike tried to get his badge in his pocket and the keycard out of the same pocket while holding the map between his teeth. At this point Marionette found it a little ridiculous
"You're going to have to put me down," he said.
"I'm not that desperate," Mike disagreed.
The conversation was abruptly cut off by a cry from Gregory.
"It's Freddy! I see him! He's right in there in some sort of tube thing!" he cried.
Mike hurried to get the card out and slid it through the reader before pushing the door open. Gregory squeezing through before he could even get the door fully open, and before he and Marionette could see what waited on the other side.
It was nothing like they could've expected. Neither like the old Freddy's nor even like the basement they hiked through to get to this point. It was a massive room with a smaller, cylindrical shaped room in the center. Or not quite a room, but maybe an oversized, circulator glass enclosure in the center of the other side of the room. Large tubes traveled from the metal top of it and into the ceiling. A large, white lighting ring mounted above it illuminated the area in a soft glow.
There were stairs on either side of the cylinder that led up to doors, though at this angle they couldn't get a good view of them. To the left there was a work area with some fenced in and strung up endos. To the right there were a couple of large windows that looked in on small rooms. They almost looked like holding cells, but they were empty. There was equipment and worktables scattered here and there and a few tarps spread on the floor as well.
None of this compared to that massive structure in the center. Freddy was inside it, as Gregory had said, and it looked like he was mounted atop a worktable or chair.
Upon seeing all of this, Marionette lifted out of Mike's arms and stood alongside him. This time he didn't put up a fight about it, even though it was clear that the puppet was still partially resting on his legs. Other than that he seemed to be floating fine now, if cautiously, but Mike made sure to stay close in case he started having trouble.
"This all looks so much like ARI. That circular windowed room especially. It looks just like the Scooping Room," Marionette pointed out.
Mike's brows slowly raised as he recognized it. "You're right. I didn't even notice that," he agreed. He then stopped suddenly. "Jeez, I didn't notice that either."
"What?"
"Look at Freddy."
The moment Marionette did he realized exactly what he was talking about.
Gregory had noticed it first when he ran up to the circular enclosure. His mouth nearly dropping open as he looked through the window to see Freddy laying out on this chair- with his head detached and being held above his body by the claws of a machine arm. It was only being held to his neck by some strands of wiring. His eyes were closed, and his body was completely still.
"Freddy!" Gregory cried in shock.
Though that shock couldn't amount to what he felt when Freddy's eyes suddenly popped open and started looking around.
"Gregory? Is that you?" he asked.
"Uh… Yeah, hold on!" The boy took a sidestep in front of the door leading into the cylinder and it opened automatically. He rushed inside and stood alongside Freddy's feet. It was so weird for him to see someone so big and strong laying out on a table like this. Or to see Freddy, a robot who didn't act like a robot, with his head off revealing the thick metal coils and tubing inside. "I'm here."
"Gregory, what are you doing here? It is not safe for you to be down here! This basement is full of tripping hazards- not to mention that the air quality is nowhere near the Pizzaplex quest standard," Freddy said with concern. His mouth and eyes moved, both angled upwards, but the rest of his body remained still. It made Gregory a little uneasy, but he tried to pretend it wasn't that weird.
"I came looking for you! You didn't come back to your room and I- I thought…" Gregory trailed off, but Freddy could still hear the tone.
"Oh Gregory. I am sorry I was not there to tell you. I would have told you if I had the chance, but I was brought down here immediately after the last show, and I did not expect to be here as long as I was."
"It's fine. I can take care of myself. I was just afraid you were in trouble," the boy quickly shrugged off. "Are… Are you okay?"
"I am doing very well, in fact! I just received my brand-new battery upgrade! It has double the lifespan of my old one. With any luck, I will be more energized than ever!"
"Does that mean you won't have to charge all the time?"
"That is exactly what it means!" Freddy agreed. "My upgrade should be finished, but when I rebooted, I was still here. Since it is now after closing, I believe they must have decided to let me charge overnight." He paused for a moment, long enough for Gregory to give a somewhat doubtful 'uh huh', before continuing. "I do not mean to harp, but how on earth did you get down here? The basement is so large that even the workers frequently get lost."
"Oh, we got lost alright," Gregory said matter-of-factly. "Mike and Mari brought me down."
"Hey, Freddy!" Mike called from outside the doorway.
"Hello!" Marionette called as well. Both with tight smiles as they acted like they weren't staring at a decapitated bear.
"Why, hello to you both! I did not know we had guests tonight!" Freddy greeted welcomingly. "My apologies for not being up there to greet you."
"Don't worry about it. And consider yourself lucky; we've been having one heck of a night," Mike tiredly remarked.
"You have? Did something happen?"
"Well, yeah! That crazy rabbit lady chased me around again! Then she went after Mari, and there were all these endoskeleton things coming after us! And before that, I got chased around Monty Golf by Monty and Moondrop, and then Monty smashed into Moondrop and all these wires came out, but Jake was there, and they got away. That's when I met Mike and Mari, and they came down here with me to find you."
"Wait, what happened to Moon?!" Freddy asked in surprise.
"He got sorta… split open down the middle."
"He's okay," Marionette chimed in. "Or, that is, as okay as he can be. We tried to convince him to come with us, but he was very resistant. He should be at the daycare now."
"That is terrible! How could-… Moon must come down here immediately. He can be repaired, but I know it will not be easy to convince him," Freddy admitted. "First things first, I must exit the repair capsule. I know I should remain here until released by a technician, but this chair is needed by Moon more than I. Plus, I will… probably need to carry him down here."
"Kicking and screaming?" Gregory asked.
"It depends on whether he is Sun or Moon," Freddy softly confessed. "Mike, would you mind going to the console outside of the capsule and releasing me? There should be a command to do so."
"I can try," Mike agreed. "Is that going to fix your…?"
"Oh, my battery is already fixed. Do not worry."
"He's talking about your head," Gregory said.
"My head?" Freddy asked.
"Yeah. How do we get it back on?"
"…My head in not on?!" Freddy gasped in shock. His eyes rolled around trying to see for himself. "I-I had no idea! That explains why I could not feel my feet or get off the chair!"
"Don't freak out! We can get it back on, right?" Gregory said, looking back at Mike and Marionette.
"Sure. There's probably a command for that too," Mike agreed. He decided that a nonchalant tone was probably best considering that Freddy was already freaking out. He just ignored the hornet's nest that had been raging in his gut since finding Marionette and went out to the console. "Okay. Let's see what we've got here…"
The words installation complete were depicted on the screen and when he clicked they disappeared and revealed a list of commands: scan, repair and recovery, power controls, CPU controls, and restraint controls. Mike went to restraint controls and had another list of options, one being 'finish maintenance procedure'. He considered it for a moment, leaning forward on his desk and tapping his fingers while Marionette and Gregory watched from beside him, then clicked it.
An error message appeared on the screen: "Cannot complete maintenance procedure: head unit is detached." When he clicked to close it, a second pop up appeared. "Reattach head unit?"
"Yes," Mike said as he clicked the option. The module processed this before giving a jingle to confirm.
A familiar, automated voice called over a speaker somewhere between the module and the circular room. It was the same automated voice that announced when the Pizzaplex was closing.
"Please enter the protective cylinder to continue," it announced.
Gregory started to lead the way inside the cylinder with Marionette and Mike following behind him. That was until Freddy suddenly called out.
"Gregory, wait!"
Marionette grabbed the boy by the shoulders and pulled him back before he could even react. "What?" Gregory said, aimed partially towards both of them.
"I am sorry, Gregory, but it is too dangerous. I am not under proper control of my body. If I accidentally swung out and hit you while my head was being reattached you could get hurt, and I would never forgive myself. It is already hard enough asking Mike to take the risk…" Freddy admitted guiltily.
"I'm used to it. I'm a professional animatronic wrangler," Mike assured him. He stepped through the doorway, and it closed up behind him automatically.
He looked back to see Marionette's surprised face through the door window. Taking a testing step towards the door revealed that it wasn't opening back up. That wasn't promising.
"In case of an emergency, the protective cylinder will protect important service personnel outside of the protective cylinder. Deactivating animatronic safety protocols now. It is recommended that no mistakes are made during the procedure."
And that was extremely concerning.
Mike must've showed it on his face as Marionette pointed to himself and then inside of the glass. Offering to come in himself. Mike raised a hand and shook his head.
If something went wrong, then he didn't want Marionette getting in the middle of it. Using the taser was pretty much out of the question too unless Freddy went completely rabid. He was just going to have to hope that this went smoothly.
"Alright, Freddy. Let's put you back together," Mike said. He walked over to the bear's side where he could see him.
"Thank you, Mike. I will try to keep control of myself."
"Do you normally get combative during repairs?" he asked.
"Not typically… but I do not normally have my head off either," Freddy said sheepishly.
"Man, I do. The last time I woke up in a hospital I took a swing at an IV stand, and that was after I got the blood transfusion," Mike chatted, trying to lighten the mood. He rubbed his hands together as he looked over the exposed neck wires.
"What happened? Were you in an accident?" Freddy asked in surprise.
"Eh, I fell through a floor. It's a long story; remind me later and I'll tell you."
"I will be sure to. For now, I am ready to begin if you are."
Mike took that as a go ahead to start leaning in. As he did, Freddy looked to the ceiling before letting his eyes slide closed. At least he wouldn't be watching the whole time. That took a little bit of the pressure off. Though he felt it return as he looked into the bear's neck space.
Apparently, he must've set off some sort of motion detector because the automated voice suddenly piped up above his head, causing him to jump.
"To reconnect Freddy's head, begin by reaching under the chin and retrieving the red, blue, and yellow marked wires. Then proceed to insert them into the matching slots located on the inside of the neck cavity."
Mike carefully reached into Freddy's head and found one of the cables, tugging it out to reveal the yellow ring around the plug. He had to get closer and crane his neck to see far enough into Freddy to spot the ports along the throat. He slid them into place one at a time until all three were lined up.
"Good job. Now reach into the underside of Freddy's head and find the Servos System bundle. Carefully insert the bundle into the slot on the spinal port within the neck cavity."
Once he translated that, he reached into Freddy's head again. This time having to go deeper, feeling coiled wiring and over the endoskeleton until he found a thick bundle of wires. He pulled them down to see that they were black, but almost resembled the wiring material that the Funtime animatronics had been made out of. There was a large plug at the end that he had to really push to fit into its slot.
The moment it clicked into place Freddy's body jolted. Mike leaned back in case the bear was going to lash out, but he didn't.
"Good job. Now, use the buttons on the console to align Freddy's head with his neck. Slowly lower the head until it is aligned properly against the neck."
The mechanical arms hanging dormant above them, many tipped with tools and elsewise, suddenly sprung to life and rotated. One of the arms lowered itself above Freddy's feet and revealed a panel with four arrowed buttons and a small joystick. Mike carefully pressed one and the arm moving Freddy's head realigned itself in response. The buttons lifting and lowering it while the joystick moved arm's angle.
It almost reminded him of the controls on a crane game. It worked about as well too. Taking him numerous attempts to line up, then lower, then raise and realign Freddy's head for what felt like ten straight minutes.
He must've found the sweet spot without realizing it, because suddenly the controls locked, and the arm automatically slid Freddy's head down the rest of the way. It snapped into place. There was then a louder popping as the neck secured back together. An arm with a built-in power drill lowered behind and secured something into the neck before all of the arms pulled away and raised up.
"Good job. Now, use the testing console to run diagnostics and complete the procedure."
Another little control panel was lowered down. This one a rectangle with five unmarked buttons on it. A few of them lit up white with little beeps after each. Mike took a guess and repeated the sequence, which turned out to be the correct thing to do. As he pressed the buttons, Freddy blinked, twitched, and shifted his head.
"You okay, Freddy?" Mike asked.
Freddy gave a simple 'mm-hm' and kept his mouth closed tight.
After a few sequences, the arm and console lifted back to the ceiling.
"Good job. Freddy is all patched up and ready for the big show. You may now exit the protective cylinder and finish up on the control module." As the automated voice finished, the door opened back up and Mike was finally able to step out.
"Well, that was easier than I expected," he marked. He ignored the ghost of a smirk that passed Marionette's face before he turned to head to the monitor, Mike following behind him. Gregory remaining at the doorway to watch Freddy.
The 'finish maintenance procedure' option was already waiting on the screen. Marionette clicked it without hesitation. There was a long squeaking noise as the chair Freddy was on tilted forward and allowed for him to step off and leave the cylinder. He hesitated a little when first standing up, but once he started walking there was no limp or sway. Nothing to telegraph that he just had his head reattached.
"How's it feel? Everything screwed on right?" Mike asked.
"I feel fantastic! I do not know how to thank you," Freddy said appreciatively.
"Take-." Mike was very close to telling Freddy to take over watching Gregory, in a joking matter, but suddenly second-guessed it. Deciding not to risk Gregory getting the wrong idea, not when he had been so reluctant to accept favors. "…Care of yourself. I don't want to see you back down here. At least, not when I'm the one on duty."
"Yes, Sir," Freddy agreed with a smile. He then turned to Gregory and knelt down in front of him before laying a hand on his shoulder. "My apologies again for leaving you alone, Gregory. I promise I will be at your side from now on… Until I am called on stage after we open, but that is a long time from now," he said sincerely.
Gregory was a little surprised that Freddy was still apologizing. He didn't really expect an apology the first time, considering that it was his own fault for coming down here. It wasn't like Freddy was obligated to watch him. He only did it because he was nice. Though Gregory didn't fully understand it, it did make him feel good that Freddy was taking it seriously and not just brushing it off.
"Well, you're here now. So, it's okay," he said. A smile managing to slip through. Freddy smiled back, but his face fell back into worry.
"We should hurry back to the daycare. The stage elevator would be the fastest way there, but I believe it may draw too much attention. We will take the elevator to my green room instead," he suggested.
"Sounds good. Now let me in."
Freddy chuckled and opened his stomach hatch, to which Gregory eagerly began to climb inside.
Much to the shock and horror of Mike and Marionette who were watching off to the side. Mike freezing up in the middle of rubbing his hands and Marionette audibly gasping. Otherwise staring silently at the scene wide-eyed.
"Gregory, I like your new jacket!" Freddy complimented, entirely oblivious to the reactions of the onlookers.
"Thanks. It's Mike's," Gregory replied. He turned around in the stomach hatch before sticking his head back out. "I'm gonna give it back when we get upstairs, okay?" he asked, or told, Mike.
"Fine by me. Just as long as I get it back before we leave," Mike said. He managed to cover up his reaction and stole a look at Marionette to see how he was handling.
He almost covered it up. He managed to get his default smile back on as a shield, but his eyes were still wide, giving him a too happy look. Or perhaps a deranged one.
He could only guess that this was much calmer and more collected than whatever what was happening on the inside- and he was correct. Whether it be a child climbing into an animatronic, or how they might've figured that out, or the fact that an animatronic that resembled an Afton model had a stomach hatched sized to fit a child, Marionette was feeling a little overwhelmed. A little overprotective.
He moved in. Mike watching as he floated ahead to stand alongside Freddy. He watched tensely as Freddy closed up his stomach hatch, with Gregory inside, and carefully stood up. Unabashedly staring by time Freddy noticed him looking.
"He was not in too much pain, was he?" Freddy worriedly asked.
"He… Ah, Moon. No. Some, yes, but he was managing it. But he needs to be seen to as soon as possible," Marionette said. Freddy started to turn, but the puppet followed him, floating in front of him and pointing at his chest. "Do you usually carry Gregory around like that?"
"I do. I am aware that it is not the safest option… but I have been being very careful to make up for that. You should have seen how surprised Foxy was when he saw Gregory hop in for the first time," Freddy said with playful amusement.
"I'm sure he was," Marionette agreed.
Speaking of Foxy, how could he not tell him about this? Foxy must've noticed the same things that he did, so it was unbelievable that he decided to just leave that out. Even if it was to protect him or Freddy. He should've been warned about this. If he handled Natalie telling them about the copycat rabbit running loose through their massive competitor who came back from the dead, then he could handle this.
It almost felt like a betrayal after how honest they had been with one another. Yet Foxy hadn't given the slightest indication that anything was wrong. All he had said was that Freddy had been carrying him around. He had assumed on his shoulders since Foxy had said he had been carrying him 'on' him. Then he had continued chatting on about his visit like it was nothing.
…Unless Foxy had said 'in' and he hadn't noticed.
…
…Oh dear. Foxy had told him. He just hadn't picked it up at the time and Foxy didn't press the issue. Likely afraid that if he made a big deal that it would set him off, or more likely he hadn't thought it was a big deal once he got used to it.
"Is something the matter?" Freddy's voice snapped him out of his long moment of silence. During which he had been staring at Freddy's bowtie and saying nothing, with Mike coming over to stand beside him like he was preparing to break them up if they got into a tussle.
Marionette pulled himself together and looked up at Freddy.
"My apologies. I haven't slept," he excused. His eyes narrowed but his smile remained. "I've been up all-night chasing rabbits."
"So, you too have seen the dancing rabbit lady…"
"I told you she was real!" Gregory called out.
"I believed you! I know you would not make up a story like that. I just find this all very alarming…" Freddy confessed. "…But we cannot worry about that now. Moon needs our help. Follow me, we can take my service elevator."
Freddy started to the stairs and Marionette and Mike followed along behind him. He was right about one thing certainly; this was all very alarming.
The bear walked up to an automatic door with his silhouette insignia plastered on it in red. It did not respond.
"Hmm… That is strange," Freddy said. He walked to the next door, with Roxanne's insignia on it, and it opened to him. "Now this one is opening. Let me try the others and make sure."
Mike and Marionette followed him along the short walkway leading behind the cylinder. It was there that Mike noticed a large board with blueprints pinned to it hung on the wall between the second and third door. His eyes locked onto the blueprints, and he stopped to look at them. Marionette noticed them too, looking over at them as he continued to closely tail Freddy who checked the other doors, which both opened.
"How odd. It seems that only my door is locked… Perhaps they did not want me to leave Parts and Service until they returned. We are not allowed to take the elevators designated to other mascots… But this is an emergency situation. Perhaps we should, for Moon's sake and ours."
"Hey Freddy. What can you tell me about these?" Mike started, gesturing pointing to the blueprints. "It looks like a lot of parts have been going out, not just your battery."
"Those? No, no! Those are Roxy's, Monty's, and Chica's new upgrades respectively. They are more… practical upgrades. To help them with their performances and attractions," Freddy explained. Gregory patted on his hatch, and he opened it so he could see. He pointed to the blueprints as he continued to explain. "Roxy will be getting new eyes that will help her see better while going top speed in her go-kart. Monty is getting a new pair of fine-tuned claws to help him strum the base and grip his golf club better. Finally, Chica will be receiving an amplifier so that she can begin singing in the band."
"Why aren't you getting any of these upgrades?" Gregory asked.
"Because I see just fine, I already have an amplifier, and my golf swing is only slightly below excellent," Freddy playfully replied. Though that relaxed look was quickly replaced with an anxious one. "They are scheduled to be receiving their upgrades in the morning, so it would be best if we could repair Moon and return him to the daycare before them."
"Yes. Let's go," Marionette agreed. He got up close to the blueprints and quickly scanned over them before nudging Mike along. Apparently, he hadn't noticed anything concerning. Mike still intended to get a closer look later.
Gregory slid back inside, and Freddy closed up his hatch before heading back the way they came. Though instead of returning to his door, he stopped in front of Roxanne's which opened automatically before him, revealing a narrow hallway.
"We will take Roxy's service elevator since it is closest to my room. It is unlikely that she will be in her room, but if she is then I will find a way to distract her so you two may pass by," Freddy told them. He waved them to follow and they started down the hallway together.
"You know, if you don't want to risk it, we can still go back the way we came," Mike offered.
"I insist. I rather take the risk than have you risk yourselves walking through the basement. Not when it is this close to the hourly recharge," Freddy said.
"I thought you didn't have to recharge as much," Gregory called out.
"I do not, but we are instructed to go to the recharge stations regardless. Possibly so we do not trip in the dark and seriously injure ourselves."
"I don't think it's a good idea to split up. Not after what happened earlier," Marionette said. He discreetly caught Mike's hand in his and shortly after he had the tickle of a voice in the back of his head. "I don't want to leave them alone."
Mike couldn't say he was surprised after the stomach hatch revelation. Especially on top of an already tense night. He squeezed his hand back.
"Yeah, you're probably right," he agreed. Since Freddy and Gregory were still talking, he lowered his voice and whispered, "But I think Freddy's safe. Remember, he's been doing this for days now."
"I know and that scares me," Marionette confessed. His soft voice hushed even further. "He seems so genuine, but it's so hard to trust him."
"I know what you mean," Mike said. He tried his hardest to keep from thinking of the last time he trusted someone who seemed so friendly. Just in case Marionette somehow picked it up.
After going around a sharp corner, they waltzed up to the elevator that opened for Freddy who stepped inside. He almost took up the entire space.
"Would you look at that! It turns out this was where the staff elevator was hiding," Marionette remarked. A light chime on his voice and dismay in his smile.
"Hiking back through the basement is starting to look like a better idea, isn't it?" Mike retorted. Just a touch of smugness that barely covered the growing weariness.
Comments aside, they still found themselves crammed in the corners of an elevator that was definitely only made to fit a Glamrock and only one technician comfortably. The ride wasn't too long at least, playing a brief rendition of the elevator jingle before slowing to a stop and the doors sliding open.
But instead of silence, the music was replaced with the sound of someone talking nearby. Someone who Freddy recognized immediately, and the rest needed only a few seconds of hearing to follow suit.
"-just got lucky. It wasn't about speed; she hid like a coward. She didn't play the game fair because she knew she wouldn't have won. She knew she couldn't outrun you forever," Roxanne could be heard saying through the wall. Her voice fierce and firm as though she was lecturing someone. "Cheaters are disqualified. She might've gotten away, but she didn't beat you. She didn't win… So, why are you hiding in here like a loser?"
It soon became clear when the person who responded to Roxanne was actually herself. Her voice falling, softer, almost meek in comparison. "I'm not a loser. I'm a winner."
There was a pause, then she huffed irritated. "That's right. You're a winner. You're the fastest, the smartest, the BEST. You go out there and show that baby-faced stick figure who's the boss around here. What, are you afraid that sluggard in slacks is going to get you in trouble? This Pizzaplex can run without you. Your fans would riot. You're just hiding because you're scared," she said. To which her voice lowered to a solemn, angry growl of, "I'm not scared of anything."
Mike nudged Freddy's arm and gestured his thumb back to the elevator. This time being completely serious. Freddy shook his head and reached out for him and Marionette, the latter of which shirked back, and guided them to the corner of the back room. They were hidden behind the recharge station for now, but it wasn't a safe space that would last past the hourly recharge. Freddy knew this. He raised a hand for them to wait before turning around and heading for Roxanne's door.
He collected himself at the door before stepping forward and triggering it to open.
Roxanne had been so lost in her 'pep talk' that she didn't hear Freddy coming until the back door suddenly lifted open. She jumped back with her hands out in front of her, claws bared, eyes wide, looking flustered and as wild as a wolf should. Though that shock quickly turned to aghast, then annoyance.
"Freddy, what were you doing back there?!" she snapped. "You better not have been eavesdropping, or so help me!"
"No! No, no. I just came up from Parts and Service! My service elevator was not responding, and I expected you to be at the raceway-." In the middle of Freddy's explanation, Roxanne gave a frustrated huff and pinched her snout like she was pinching the bridge of her nose. Her patience continuing to wear out the longer he went on. "-I really should have knocked."
"Freddy," Roxanne cut him off. She pulled her hand from her face and pointed towards the door. "Get out of my room."
"Of course! I am heading out right now. No problem… But if you would like to join me-."
"Freddy, get out," Roxanne said more sharply.
"I'm going, I'm going," Freddy said. His voice falling as he walked around her to the door like a child who had just been scolded.
The door opened, but he did not go through. Instead standing in the doorway lost in thought. He knew he was supposed to be making a distraction, but something else was bothering him now. Eventually he bucked up the nerve to look back at Roxanne, who was still staring daggers into him.
"Roxy… did something happen?" he gently asked.
Her eyes narrowed further. "You were listening."
"I tried not to, but I am concerned," Freddy admitted.
"I told you, I'm fine!"
That was a lot louder and more defensive than she had intended it to sound, and yet Freddy did not back down. He stood his ground, eyes briefly widening before returning to that concerned look. Concerned and questioning.
Roxanne gave an impatient huff and broke eye contact. She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes up somewhere like she was barely tolerating the conversation. Her twitchy leg gave her away though.
"I'm fine, okay? Just got into my head and needed to regroup- but I'm getting back out there. And so are you. You can hang out in your own room," Roxy said matter-of-factly. While this wasn't exactly what he wanted, Freddy got a slight, appreciative smile at her honesty. She purposefully avoided looking at him. "Just know that thing Chica said she saw up at El Chip's is running around again."
"Oh. How strange…" Freddy said vaguely. He wasn't sure if she actually meant Charlie or Marionette but knew both of them were probably here. She started out the door only to double-take and turn back.
"Hey. If you see me running after it, don't get involved," Roxy said. She leaned back in on the doorframe and pointed at him. "I mean it. I don't need help; I just need everyone to stay out of my way. Got it?"
"I hear you loud and clear, Roxy," Freddy insisted. "I am sure that you can catch any intruder. You are the fastest one here."
"I am, but don't push it," Roxy remarked. She headed out with Freddy close behind her, entirely unaware of what he was hiding in his chest and in her room.
Mike and Marionette gave them time to leave before coming through the automatic door. Marionette quickly made his way to the curtains and whisked them closed before peering out through a slender crack left between them. Scanning Rockstar Row before spotting a familiar face standing over by the displays outside of Freddy's green room window. Natalie was watching the closing security door out of the row with a hand on her hip.
In the meantime, Mike was looking around at Roxanne's green room. Hers being painted in dark purples with the occasional racing flag checkerboard accent here and there. Her couch was a soft lavender and there was a partially deconstructed go-kart laying out by the window. Tires, wrenches, wheels, and other racing themed shaped decorations were mounted on the walls and the star shaped light on the ceiling was a neon green.
"At least Charlie's alright. Here's hoping she made it back to the daycare," Mike said. He noticed Marionette still peeking out the window. "What are you looking at?"
"Natalie. She's standing over there," he replied.
Then all of a sudden, so quickly that it was almost a blur, Marionette yanked back and shut the curtains closed in front of him. He stood there for a long moment before peeking back over his shoulder. "She saw me."
"Uh oh. I hear a scolding coming on."
"You could be a little more concerned," the puppet suggested with a twitch of a grin. "The whole point of this charade was to not get caught so she didn't have to explain herself."
"She doesn't have to. You're still knocking out the cameras, right?" Mike asked. Marionette's masked moved like he was raising his brows, briefly forgetting himself. "Besides, I need to talk to her anyways. Bring her up to speed on that lie I told Chica and Monty, so she doesn't accidentally blow my cover."
"Maybe we should also tell her about Moon so she'll know in advance that someone will be down there… and about our little problem."
Mike didn't even need to ask. From that suddenly cold tone, he knew exactly what problem in a skin-tight bunny suit he was talking about.
He watched as that serious look turned to surprise when there came a knock on the window. Marionette turned back and hesitated a moment. There was another knock, and then he finally drew back the curtain a sliver, knowing who was there.
Natalie's peeved frown was met with Marionette's usual smile sent with a little head tilt. She pointed towards the left and then began to walk in that direction, no doubt signaling that she was coming in. He shut the curtains back.
"Oh, I'm in trouble now," he said.
"Better you than me," Mike replied. He clicked his tongue and winked.
Though that mock cockiness dropped as the door opened and Natalie stepped in. She was looking less than enthused if the slightest bit irritated. Mike realized his joke about receiving a scolding might've been a correct guess.
Natalie held out her hands. "Well?" she asked.
"…Well, here we are?" Mike finished.
"Well, what happened to me not finding you?" Natalie quickly corrected.
"Why would I care about you seeing me? After all, I am Marcus Wright, senior security officer and the man who hired you," Mike explained.
The blond blinked at him. Then shook her head.
"…No. See, you can't be senior security officer when you're, what, a year older than me?"
"I can if I'm the boss' son," Mike said. She rolled her eyes, and he shot her a cheesy smile.
"You have a much bigger problem than us," Marionette warned. His serious tone cutting through the air of playfulness between the two humans. "We had a run-in with the white rabbit, Vanny."
"What?" He could all but see the alarm on her face. "Where did you see her, in Monty Golf?"
"Downstairs. We just came up from the basement."
"I knew she was hanging out down there… Wait, she called herself Vanny?" she asked. He nodded and her furrowed brows softened into a look of realization. "…Oooh God."
"What?" Mike asked.
"I know what she's doing. The first night I ran into her, she called me Vanny. I bet she's using that name to try to set me up. Or trying to blackmail me. I can't report her name if it's my name."
"That's a very good possibility," Marionette agreed.
"Or it could be Vanessa," Mike offered.
"It could be. I don't know… How did she act around you two?"
"Goofy as hell," Mike answered.
"Scared," Marionette finished. "Of me. Very scared of me."
"…Okay, that sounds exactly like Ness."
"There's something wrong with her. When I touched her, I felt a… pain and horror that I've never felt before. I felt something similar once with that slender Baby model, but this was much worse. It completely incapacitated me," Marionette continued to explain. He laid a hand on Natalie's shoulder. "I know it's your job to protect this place and especially the people inside it… but don't let her get you into a corner again. I don't trust her."
"Don't worry. I'm not going to make that mistake twice," Natalie assured. "…At least, not without this bad boy." She patted the taser.
"Good. Now then, I'm sorry to cut this short but we really must catch up with Freddy."
"Oh, so that's why he was acting fidgety. Makes sense now," Natalie said knowingly.
"Don't be alarmed, but we're heading back down. Though we'll find another way to do it," Mike added in. Dropping the joking tone in favor of a serious one as well. "Moon got damaged in a scuffle with Monty earlier. That's part of the reason I had to come up with the fake identity, to get him and Chica out of there. We're going to try to get Moon downstairs and repaired. We managed it with Freddy, so… wish us luck."
"Oh wow. How bad is he hurt?" Natalie asked with concern.
"He's, uh… Sort of split down the middle right here." Mike made a cutting motion across his chest with his hand. She winced sympathetically. "But we're going to see what we can do."
"We're not going to leave until we make sure we fix everything that's been broken," Marionette agreed. "Even if not directly by us. And then we're off! On the road again."
"Sounds like a plan. See if you can find Charlie too. Roxy was chasing her earlier and I want to make sure she got away," Natalie reminded. The two agreed. "Alright, then. I'm going to head back out and start making my way back to Lost and Found. Maybe I can catch sight of Bunny Girl on the camera, or the blur of her."
"Maybe we can get ahold of the footage, see if we can make anything out of it," Mike suggested. There was a pause of thought, then he added, "Later. We'll cross that bridge when we get there."
Natalie agreed and turned to head out. "Just be careful, you two. And try not to set any alarms of. Monty just got settled down… After he wrecked his room," she remarked. Then she headed out with a sigh.
After a few minutes, Mike and Marionette slipped out as well and made their way out of Rockstar Row and after Freddy. The only sound cutting through the quiet lull of the overhead music being the shifting of the security door.
"It went something like… Extra cheese, yes please. Hold the veggies and extra meat,~" Jeremy sung. His voice slightly echoing in the stairwell, along with the soft clunking of his footsteps on the steps. "Hot and ready at Freddy's!~"
"Huh, I don't remember that one," Charlie said.
"Probably because it was a commercial, not like a real song."
"…Oh! I've got one. The milkshake song. That's not what it was really called, but who knows what it was actually called," she said with a shrug. "Totally lost to time."
"Knowing Freddy's, it was probably The Milkshake Song," Jeremy joked. "How'd it go?"
"Uh… Shake, shake, shake. Shake, shake, sh-shake. Shake, shake, shake. Shake, shake, sh-shake.~" Charlie shook her arms to the beat. Right, right, right. Left, left, left. While still walking down the stairs. She paused and then admitted, "And I don't remember the rest. I remember there were more lyrics though. Something, uh, vanilla, chocolate, strawberry twist.~ Something like that."
"Twist, twist, twist. Twist, twist, tw-twist,~" Jeremy sung along.
"That's it!" Charlie jokingly agreed. "I used to have a tape of songs from the diner that I listened to all the time when I was little. I didn't take it with me to college, so I guess it's still back at my aunt's. Unless she threw it out… But you wouldn't believe how many songs were about pizza."
"I can believe it. I worked there. Well, not at the diner but Freddy's," Jeremy said.
They stepped off the stairs into a portion of the basement tunnel. Charlie shined her light forward down the spottily lit way before they continued on
"We had three different versions of 'Happy Birthday' and I'm pretty sure which one you got depended on who was bringing the cake out," Jeremy continued. He lowered his voice a bit but continued talking to keep the mood light. His hands deep in his jacket pockets to help hold the Minireenas. "There was this time when someone dropped a birthday cake on their way out to the table and the whole party went from singing to dead silence… and then came the crying."
Charlie gave a sympathetic noise.
"It gets worse. See, Freddy's apparently had this policy with ordering cakes- long story short, we weren't supposed to give out replacement cakes for free. They would give them half-off the next cake. So, I'm shoveling cake up with a paper plate in each hand while Scott's getting chewed up by both parents, grandparents, and what was either an uncle or just some guy who was really invested and…"
Jeremy trailed off as he heard the sound of footsteps further down the passageway. Charlie's head quickly turned towards the noise as well and both stared forward. It sounded like someone was running, and the lack of heaviness in them of mechanical noises suggested it wasn't an animatronic.
"That's got to be Mike," Jeremy said. "…I wonder what he's running from."
"He's coming this way, so I guess we're going to find out," Charlie said cryptically. She unhooked her taser just in case and held it at her side in preparation. Something that got Mike running wasn't worth hesitating on.
She crept on further and this spurred Jeremy to do the same as the footsteps got closer. In the last few moments Charlie realized they were not coming from directly in front of them, but a branching passageway to the left, blocked by a fence but with the gate slightly opened.
Suddenly a white figure came crashing through the gate door and slammed it shut behind them. Holding it closed with both hands and staring through the openings, head moving a little to show that it was searching through the darkness.
It was someone in a rabbit costume. Both Charlie and Jeremy recognized that it had to be the alleged rabbit woman, and both stopped on a dime to stare at her. Her costume was patchy but clung to her frame, with rabbit-shaped boot feet and even a little tail that they could see because she was turned to the side. Her crooked ears hanging forward and bumping the fence.
That was when she noticed them. Her head snapped in their direction and the stark red eyes of her masked leveled on them. It was an uncomfortably creepy mask.
But if they were startled by her, it was nothing to how she reacted to them. Or more specifically, how she reacted to Charlie. Her head leveling to show she was looking at her before all but jumping back. Her hands up in defense, shirking back on herself and slowly backing up.
Somehow, Jeremy was able to look past the bunny suit and read the body language. She was frightened, terrified, to the point where she almost looked helpless. It was easy to assume she was harmless.
"We're not going to hurt you," he finally said. He raised his hands as well in defense. "I don't know who you are or why you're running around in THAT, but we're not going to do anything to you. Okay?" he tried to reason.
He couldn't tell, but it didn't seem like she was paying any attention to him. She was transfixed on the Security Puppet. When Jeremy sort of stepped forward, slightly in front of Charlie, the rabbit took a few fumbling steps back and then turned and dropped into a crouch. She started grabbing at her lower leg, clumsy gloved hands clawing at the fabric.
"What is she doing?" Charlie asked lowly.
"I don't know. Maybe she's hurt?" Jeremy whispered back. She had been a little wobbly in her motions, so it could've been that she was grappling at an injured leg. He slowly moved in closer with his hands still up. "Are you okay?"
The rabbit woman was clawing at something, and Jeremy leaned to the left to try to get a better look. Right then her fingers wrapped around something and pulled it free, and in one motion she rose to her feet and pointed it at his chest.
It was a knife. A large, clean, sharp kitchen knife now aimed directly at him. His heart stopped and dropped at the sight of it, staring wide eyed at the tip of the blade.
He only found his voice not to talk her down, but to give a panicked shout of, "Kn-Knife! She's got a knife! She's got a knife!"
At those words, the bottom of his jacket pushed out and immediately the Minireenas dropped to the floor. They didn't even hesitate and rushed the rabbit woman in seconds. She started backing up, but Forget-Me-Not leapt onto her leg and began to climb. The rabbit kicked her off after a few attempts, the doll getting tossed to the ground in front of Jeremy who quickly scooped her up and tried to grab for the others.
The rabbit turned and ran for it down the tunnel, shoving Daisy off her hip. The doll clattered to the ground before being scooped up by Charlie who was fast on the rabbit's heels with Daisy in one arm and her taser in the other hand.
It didn't take long to catch up to the rabbit who was now zoning in on a metal door with a 'S.T.A.F.F.' sign on it. She was closing in, but right before she could reach her she spun around, holding that knife out again. Charlie reacting on instinct swung her hand forward and knocked the knife out of her hand. It flying over and clattering in the concrete. The taser thumping hard on gloves knuckles.
The rabbit looked down at her hand and back up at Charlie and then returned to her hands up defensive posture. Backing away as though she hadn't been the one waving a gun around. Charlie could hear her frantic little breaths through the stretched smile of the mask's mouth. Steeling herself, she pointed the taser at the rabbit.
"It's over," Charlie announced. "Just give it up."
The rabbit was practically shaking in front of her. Her fingers clamping tightly into fists while still shielding herself. Her breathing heavy from exertion and panic.
And then one of those inhales kept going and didn't stop. Inhaling so deeply that her lungs must've been fully filled. Then she slowly exhaled as her shaking hands stilled. Her shoulders relaxing and the trembling fear easing.
And then the labored breathing began. Heavy and slow and hoarse. So heavy that Charlie could clearly see the rise and fall of her chest. Though that also could've been from the shaking having stopped.
Her arms slowly lowered and then dropped limply to her sides. Her head lulled back and then to the side as those vacant red eyes set upon her- assumedly.
Charlie had a strange feeling. It prickled the back of her head and spine. The closest thing she connect it to was sitting in a dark room and feeling like something was watching you but being too afraid to move even to turn the light on. The sudden change in the costumed woman made her severely uncomfortable- and that was before she suddenly tilted her head back. The motion so sudden that the puppet almost jumped.
Head now cocked in the other direction and a little forward, the rabbit woman studied her closely. Then she spoke, her voice gravelly and crunchy like it was being altered. Charlie could almost hear the feedback of a voice modifier.
"̴W̸e̵l̵l̴,̵ ̸l̵o̸o̶k̴ ̵a̴t̵ ̵y̸o̸u̵…̴!̷" the rabbit remarked. She leaned in closer and looked Charlie up and down, one arm folded behind her back while using her free hand to tap her chin. "̴A̶r̶e̸n̶'̶t̵ ̴y̶o̵u̸ ̴a̷n̵ ̵o̷d̸d̷ ̶o̷n̴e̶?̵"̸
"What?" Charlie wasn't sure if she was offended or just severely off-put by the scene.
"̶I̶ ̶b̶e̶t̴ ̶I̷ ̵k̷n̸o̸w̵ ̷w̶h̶o̸'̸s̷ ̸p̵u̵l̸l̸i̶n̶g̴ ̷Y̴O̸U̷R̶ ̴s̷t̴r̵i̴n̵g̶s̴.̴"̵ the rabbit muttered.
Then she stepped forward in one jolting motion and reached for Charlie. She stepped back reflexively, just avoiding the sweep of her grasp. Though as she realized a moment later, this was exactly what the rabbit wanted.
In the same swing it spun itself around and suddenly raced for the door. By time Charlie was on her heels the rabbit was through and slammed the door in her face. She fought against it for a few moments before the rabbit got it held closed long enough to lock it. Charlie only stopped fighting against it when she heard the dull sound of laughter and plodding footsteps as the rabbit retreated.
That was extremely creepy. Charlie was glad to be rid of her, but still gave a frustrated huff as she turned away from the door. She then made her way over to where the knife fell and found it laying on the ground.
"Well, at least she's not armed anymore…" she murmured. Yet as she picked up the knife, glancing at her reflection in the clean blade, she shivered. That entire confrontation was weird, wrong.
It reminded her too much of a confrontation they once had with Clay. Though he wasn't just acting strange, he was horribly sick. Sweating profusely and ghastly paled. Then again, it wasn't like she could see through a layer of white fabric.
Daisy tapped on her arm with an impatient, "Uh!" and Charlie remembered Jeremy. She got up and walked back to him, clipping her taser back on and carrying the knife close at her side. At least she didn't have to worry about leaving fingerprints on it.
She was a little surprised to find Jeremy still kneeling on the ground where he was. He noticed her coming and finally got up with Forget-Me-Not cradled and Rose on his shoulder. He didn't look right. If anything, he looked sick and sweaty.
"Are you- you okay?" he asked, voice hitching halfway through. Charlie handed over Daisy who Jeremy cradled as well.
"I'm fine. She got away from me. She faked me out and made a run for it through a door. But-!" Charlie explained. She then held up the knife, shaking it in her fingers. "I got her knife."
Jeremy stared at that knife unblinking for a few seconds and only shook out of it when she dropped her arm back to her side. He then quickly looked away.
"Good. That's, uh, good…" Jeremy took a deep breath and exhaled in a sigh. "I'm sorry. I freaked out."
"No, it's okay! Let's be honest, that's the normal reaction to having a knife shoved in your face. I'm the weird one."
"Just seeing the- it wasn't even the rabbit suit. It was the knife, just having a kitchen knife right there, I…" Jeremy swallowed thickly. His hands were shaking as he cradled his Minireenas to him. They fussed, patting him down and making distressed noises at seeing him like this. Daisy reached up and patted his cheeks worriedly. "I'm okay," he got out. His voice heavy with the tightness in his throat. "I'm okay. We can- We can keep going."
"…I don't know…" Charlie murmured.
She looked around at the dark tunnel and considered her options. While she did want to press on, this run-in had roused the more sensible part of her brain. The part that reminded her of how reckless she had been in the past. Her track record at the Pizzaplex especially wasn't great, and though she was torn between pursuing the rabbit and pushing after Mike and Marionette, that voice suggested that she maybe take a step back.
That voice warned her that she was about to get in over her head again.
"…Let's go back to the daycare."
"Charlie, I'm okay. I'll be fine."
"I know, but I think we should…. She was running from something, and if it wasn't Mari then it's something worse than her. Which means either Mari and Mike can take care of themselves, which I know they can, or we could walk right up to trouble. We should head back," she asserted. She stepped up and laid a gentle had on his free shoulder. "And anyways, this isn't as fun as I thought it was going to be," she lightly joked.
He managed a smile. Probably more in relief than humor and gladly turned around and started back. Charlie looked back down the hallway behind them to make sure nothing was following before continuing back to the stairs.
She knew she was making the right call, but something didn't sit right. She knew it was that rabbit woman. She would have to let Mike and Marionette know- and Jeremy once he calmed down a little.
Then they could go after her together, maybe. Or maybe figure out another plan to catch her. Like a rabbit in a snare. The idea of catching a grown woman in a cartoonish snare trap being comical enough to almost rouse a jingle.
But this was where Charlie had to draw the line.