Mable: Happy New Year! 8D Still working in the new computer but doing well! Hope you are too and Enjoy!
Going Home in a Box
Chapter Fifty-One
Everything was fine. Work was going slow, but it was fine. Everything was quiet, except for the sound of Fritz and Natalie pretend flirting, and there had been no signs of danger of any kind. Scott had started to let his guard down.
Then there were a few innocuous clicks from the radio, and he answered it. That was when everything went straight downhill.
Ennard was babbling, inconsolable, almost completely incomprehensible as he frantically got out a few clear words in the mess of panic. "I don't know what to do," "Trash compactor," "Come quick!", "Kitchen," and "Baby."
The picture so few words painted was downright terrifying. Forgetting all pretense, Scott shot up from the seat and ran out of the office with a strangled explanation that sounded remarkably similar to Ennard's own. Fritz and Natalie shared a look of surprise before taking off after him, only for Natalie to come to a quick stop.
"Hold on!" she said, then turned back and almost ran right into Smitty who was following. She quickly guided him by the arm back to the monitor Scott had been working on and pointed at it. "Smitty, monitor the computer. Patrol the area, no unauthorized personnel beyond this point. Full stop. Don't let anybody touch that computer," Natalie attempted to explain. She tried to be as specific as possible in the hopes that one of the commands would go through. "Stay here and secure the area, okay?"
Smitty gave a confirmation noise and began to do little circles beside the chair.
"Good. Like that," Natalie agreed. She then turned and jogged for the door where Fritz was leaning in waiting for her. The two then made their way down the stairs after Scott.
Scott meanwhile came racing down Rockstar Row only to run up on Foxy and Freddy who were going in the same direction, having gotten a cryptic message from Gregory. It had been simple but not very detailed.
"Freddy! I need your help! There was an accident… We're in the kitchen, you need to hurry!"
Freddy hadn't asked any questions. He had given a steadfast, "I'm on my way," and was out the door with Foxy in tow.
The worry on Freddy's face had quickly turned to surprise as he saw the man run up while Foxy was a little more perplexed.
"Where's the fire?" he asked. His words might've been joking, but his tone was dead serious. He already had a bad feeling that this related to that message, and he didn't like how flustered the Phone Guy looked.
Scott was so ruffled that he could barely get a proper explanation out. "Ennard! Ennard just- just said Baby-! I think she fell into a trash compactor! In the kitchen!" he finally got through.
Foxy's patch popped up and Freddy gasped in realization. "The trash compactor! Foxy, the accident! That is what Gregory must have meant!"
That little bit of confirmation had Foxy's pupils shrinking in growing horror, then he bolted for the security door. Scott was right behind him, as was Freddy who only hesitated to look back when he heard incoming footsteps. He spotted Natalie coming and reacted quickly by shoving Foxy, who was bending under the security door, out of the way and hopefully out of her view. Foxy, who wasn't expecting it, promptly faceplanted into the carpet.
"Blimey, Freddy, I ain't goin' that slow," Foxy grouched as he pushed himself up. Freddy quickly ducked under to help him, but the pirate was already up before he could try.
"My apologies, Captain. I was- Officer Vanessa is coming," Freddy warned in a whisper.
"I ain't waitin' for her," Foxy proclaimed. Then used this as an excuse to throw caution to the wind and break into a full run to the next security door.
Freddy looked between him and the still open door and Scott, who was following Foxy, and then bolted after the pirate. Overtaking Scott in a few heavy footsteps- which flew up so fast that Scott shirked and hopped aside like the bear was about to run him down- and bolting after Foxy. The two sprinted through the atrium, which was thankfully empty, and straight to the room behind the snack bar that led to the elevator into the kitchen.
They found Marionette and Charlie waiting outside of the elevator. The Puppet spun to face them.
"Thank goodness! Here, take the elevator with Charlie," he said. Then in a split second he spun around and was gone, leaving Charlie looking at an empty spot. She didn't waste time, instead turning and hopping into the opening elevator as Foxy and Freddy followed suit.
Charlie was about to press the button when Foxy put out a hand to stop her. "Hold on. We've got one comin'," he said. She nodded and waited, still resting her hand beside the button as they waited. "How'd you two catch wind?" Foxy asked.
"Fritz radioed us. What happened? He didn't tell us much except there was an emergency and to head to the kitchen," Charlie asked.
"…Baby might've fallen into a trash compactor."
"I- What?" Charlie was aghast and Foxy simply nodded. Her face fell with regret and a huff, "I knew I shouldn't have let her go."
"What was she doin'?"
"She went after Ennard."
Foxy hummed but more in an agreeing way. He didn't need to question more than that. At least, not until he got down that and saw what was happening.
Before he could get too antsy, Scott ran into the room. Foxy whistled for him and beckoned him to come in. He hurried over and slipped inside, and Foxy reached over to peck the elevator button with his hook. The doors closing before Natalie and Fritz could make it across the room and get in. Charlie gave Foxy a funny look.
"Just keepin' in character," he replied, turning his hook nonchalantly as he waited for the lift to lower.
Scott hunched over and got in a few deep breaths, both because of the run and to try and calm down from the panic. He gulped and got out a winded, "I'm getting out of shape."
"Ya just ran a couple miles in five minutes. Yer fine," Foxy deflected.
"You outran Natalie and she's been running… Oh! I mean, uh, Vanessa." Charlie glanced between him and Freddy before smiling awkwardly and tacking on, "She looks just like my friend Natalie. I get them mixed up."
Freddy didn't seem to take note at all. Instead, he leaned over and offered Scott a hand, "Hello, and welcome to the Pizzaplex! I am Freddy Fazbear, what is your name?"
Scott looked at that clawed hand for a pause before looking up at Freddy standing over him, then dropping his eyes quickly and managing to take his hand. His own was shaking from adrenaline, but Freddy took it gently.
"I'm, uh… Eggs Benedict. I'm just here to work on getting the security footage. It's nice to meet you."
Freddy hummed questioningly though before Scott could get too paranoid, the bear looked over towards Foxy.
"Eggs Benedict? I thought that was Ennard's name," he said with confusion.
Scott's head snapped to Foxy, Charlie looked quizzically at Foxy, and he gave a dismissive noise. "Eh, it is. He's using a fake name to throw off Blondie," he said. He then added to Scott, "He knows ya work with me too. He won't rat ya out."
"Of course not! I find this whole competition business to be very overblown. Competition should be friendly and fair, what kind of example do we set when we are not?" Freddy agreed.
"That's… That's good to hear Freddy, honest," Scott said. He cleared his tight through and straightened up. "It's a good thing you trust Freddy, Foxy, because, uh, elsewise that would probably be really dangerous, giving out names like that," he said. His voice just on that edge of a warning or a scolding.
Weirdly enough, hearing Scott have that tone was surprisingly effective.
"Trust me, I wouldn't be tellin' him anything if I didn't trust him," Foxy reassured. His ears perked as the elevator dinged and he watched the doors slide open like a hawk, adding in, "And if I didn't have dirt on him."
"Freddy, he's got dirt on you?" Charlie asked doubtfully, slightly in a joking manner- trying to break the increasing tension.
"Indeed, he does. I have… technically… broken six rules tonight," Freddy sheepishly admitted.
"Is this your first time?" she added.
"It is not. Just last night alone must have been twelve at least!" Freddy said, not catching that it was a joke.
But then things returned to seriousness as they stepped out of the elevator and hustled down the hall towards the kitchen. They weren't running anymore, though that was mostly because Foxy didn't want to run up on something and the rest took their cues from him. It didn't take them long to come up on the double doors for the kitchen, through which they could already hear Ennard's panicked babbling.
Foxy opened the double doors and found Ennard babbling out confessions to Marionette while Gregory stood there watching. The clown looked over the second he heard the door creak and suddenly bolted for it. Foxy barely stepped aside before Ennard slid through the door he was holding open and up on Scott, grabbing him by the shoulders, practically leaning over him with wild eyes and a crackling voice.
"Baby fell in the trash compactor!"
Scott blinked a second to process it. Then his heart dropped in horror, his worse fear being realized. All his questions and fears boiling down to a lone one, "Where is she?!"
Ennard pulled him right into the kitchen and led him right back to the large, walk-in trash compactor. Just the sight of it filled Scott with increasing panic, his heart clenching up tightly.
Foxy, Freddy, and Charlie followed them into the kitchen and spotted the others already inside.
"Gregory, there you are!" Freddy said with relief. He hustled over to the child, who got a look of nervousness before turning around to face him.
"Hey, Freddy…"
"I am glad to see that you are okay. I was very worried," Freddy said. "What happened?"
"Well…" Gregory trailed off. He didn't want to lie to Freddy, but anything except a complete lie would leave him looking very bad.
Ennard beat him to it, "I don't know what happened- she was right there! I was just about to pull her out and then- a-and then-n-n-!"
It wasn't until Ennard started to gesture while he rambled that Scott noticed a portion of his wiring has been displaced. Some of them even hanging out loosely while others were just pulled forward. He stopped him with a hand on the shoulder.
"What happened to you? Why are these all pulled out?" he asked. His free hand feeling over them to make sure they weren't damaged. Thankfully, even if pulled out they seemed to be connected- the ones that were.
"Chica bit me! She was crazy and then angry, she recognized Baby, and suddenly fwoosh! And this slab comes down and smashes right into her!" he rambled.
Scott's head shot right up with that. "Chica or Baby?!"
A question that was all but cut off by the double doors swinging open again. In rushed Natalie with Fritz close behind her. A keen eye could've caught the brief glimpse of Moon's face peeking through the double doors swinging shut behind them, but he did not come in.
"She got down here quick," Foxy muttered.
"She must have taken the emergency stairs," Freddy said anxiously. He turned to face her, reaching back to gently pull Gregory behind him. "Officer Vanessa, I know this may seem strange, but I can explain! These are… Err… Competitors?"
"Forgo the introductions, Freddy. Right now, the most important thing is figuring out what's going on and straightening this out… and maybe I'll still have a job in the morning," Natalie said. Freddy decided not to question it and everyone else in the room played along.
Ennard was much too frantic to do either.
"Look, look, here's the deal! Okay, they fell through that- that- that chute under there. Under that little room and got dumped with the trash somewhere downstairs! We've got to get down there FAST! They're- They're both down there right now! In the garbage!"
"What the bloody hell happened in here?!" Foxy finally cracked, losing any semblance of patience. "Was Baby hurt?!"
Ennard gave a somewhat exasperated noise as he recited a clearer version of his story, though seemed frustrated at wasting the time to do so and thus did so quickly.
"I was going to scare Chica. I got everything together and got her down here. I crawl out from under a table, and she starts trying to bite me! Then Baby, who was not part of the plan and didn't want any part of the plan but followed us because she was worried, came in, Chica recognized her, the two started beating each other up, Chica shoved Baby into the trash compactor, Chica fell into the trash compactor, she got partially crushed, and they both fell and are downstairs somewhere!"
A mix of emotions spread across the group. Scott leaning to look into the machine, Foxy clasping a hand to his face, Freddy and Fritz both holding similarly blank looks as they processed the full ramifications of that story, Marionette looking between Ennard and the trash compactor, and finally Charlie standing there with her arms at her side staring with an almost comical look of shock if it was any other situation. One eye wider and mouth slack.
"…What is 'partially crushed'?" Natalie asked quietly, her eyes wide and her voice slightly wavering.
"Her shell got super cracked, but she was still making grabs at Gregory… Err, until the end," Ennard winced at the mental image.
"But Baby wasn't crushed?" Scott turned back to ask.
"She dodged it."
"Thank goodness…"
"But that doesn't mean she's out of danger. We don't even know where that shoot goes or how far she fell!" Ennard frantically pointed out.
"I'll find out," Charlie proclaimed. She then spun on her heel, pulled out her radio, and with the same look on her face she began to speak. "Jake? Are you there? I need your help."
"I… I just do not understand how this… How this could have happened…" Freddy said in shock. He seemed at a loss for words. Foxy silently reached out his claw to hook on his shoulder, still silently covering his own face. "Why were you trying to scare Chica?" Freddy asked Ennard. His voice heavy with worry and regret.
"Because she was harassing Gregory! And Charlie, and everybody!" Ennard half-pleaded. "It wasn't supposed to go like this! Nobody was supposed to get hurt!"
"Ennard, all I ASKED was that nobody got hurt!" Marionette scolded.
"And it was going fine until the trash compactor got involved! I didn't even- it must've kicked on automatically when Baby got shoved in!"
Gregory had been holding his breath but finally released it. Ennard had to have heard him, so he was covering for him. That spared him for a second.
"I-I'm- I'm not the monster here! Chica's the one who was attacking children- and me!" Ennard frantically defended. Some of his loose wires flaying as he devolved further into panic. "But it still wasn't supposed to go down like that!"
"That cannot be! I… I apologize on her behalf for going after you. While she might have been frightened, there is no need to escalate it so far. But she would never hurt Gregory," Freddy insisted, wholeheartedly pleading her case. "I know she has been persistent, but she is only following basic protocol. Even if she does not know-."
"Open your eyes and look at Gregory's arm and tell me that Chica hasn't already hurt him," Marionette firmly interjected.
Gregory tensed up and his hand shot up to his arm to shield it before Freddy could look. Not that it did any good, as the bear could spot the angry skin spreading past his fingers. He was startled at the sight.
"Gregory…?" he asked in quiet shock.
Gregory looked away and muttered out a quiet, "I'm fine."
"You're not fine, Gregory," Marionette pleadingly said.
"…Is this why you wanted to distract her?" Freddy quietly asked.
Gregory got a tense look. Marionette's head snapped up with an incredulous look.
"You knew about- so you thought Gregory and Ennard were going to distract her?" he asked, holding out a hand in disbelief.
"Well… yes. Gregory had come up with a plan to use a pizza to lure her away from Kids Cove. However, I did not know he was planning on going to do so himself."
"…And that wasn't a sign that there was something wrong?! That maybe- oh, I don't know- maybe Chica is becoming a problem?!" Marionette retorted, static already edging on his voice. Freddy was taken aback; the Puppet was too, surprised his own outburst. He caught himself and quickly forced himself to calm down. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped. I am just so… sooo very upset. And worried, for their sake and his, and Baby's the most," he confessed and apologized.
"No! No, do not apologize. You are right. I… should have noticed it was this serious," Freddy said. Realization taking his voice as it all came together. The truth was, he had noticed. He just hadn't acted in time.
"That's not even the half of it. She's a Funtime!" Ennard chimed in. This got all of the eyes back on him. "Or she's, like, a rebuilt Funtime. What's that thing where they change the body- I forget the name?"
"I know what you mean. That's, uh… concept unification," Scott finished for him.
"Right! Concept unification. That's Funtime Chica. That Chica Baby ate."
Charlie spun back around with surprise and Marionette gasped. Fritz could be heard sucking tensely through his teeth.
"That explains everything," Marionette said quietly.
"What does that mean…?" Freddy asked with concern.
"Let's worry 'bout the task at hand. We've got to find a way down there and get them," Foxy said, swiftly cutting down any real response to the question.
"I'm way ahead of you," Charlie agreed. Having been spending the last few minutes talking with Jake who, from the background voices she could hear on the line, was probably ten to twenty feet away in any direction. "There's got to be a way down there. How do we get to where the trash is dumped?"
"It's in the basement. Here, I'll tell you where to go. You might need clearance to get through."
"I should have it covered. Alright then, lead the way," Natalie instructed. Charlie got quickly to the front with her, and they hurried out through the doors towards the loading docks.
Everyone was antsy and worried for one reason or another, especially Freddy himself. Not only was one of his bandmates and a guest in jeopardy, but something awful had happened without him knowing it, something with Gregory. Gregory wouldn't look at him, instead hurrying ahead between the nearly inconsolable Ennard and the determined Foxy. Freddy could've caught up with him easily but decided instead to jog in the back and give him his distance.
Freddy was so distracted that he didn't notice Marionette coming up beside him until he spoke.
"The Funtimes were a line of animatronics imbedded with sinister programming and insidious features guised as party tricks," Marionette explained. His alit pupils slid to the corners of his eye to peer back at Freddy. "They were built to kidnap children from birthday parties and smuggle them out without anyone noticing."
"What?!" Freddy gasped. He kept his voice low as Marionette had, but he was utterly floored. "I do not understand. Who would build animatronics for such a purpose, and why?"
"Their creator was a man named William Afton, and he was a monster."
Freddy's eyes gave away the recollection of that name and Marionette too knew where it came. They then both looked ahead towards Foxy. He had been looking back at them and, since he had already been caught, he decided to not hide his blatant eavesdropping. Instead, just looking shiftily between the two.
"Do you want to tell him or should I? Because one of us must tell him," Marionette said. His voice softened up considerably and sympathetically as he added, "So that nobody else has a chance to get hurt. He deserves to know the truth."
"Eh, I'll tell him- after we find Baby. And, er, Chica. We can't get distracted when we've got lives on the line," Foxy insisted. To which Marionette and Freddy both nodded. Not that it took much of the suddenly added weight off Foxy's shoulders.
Jake's direction led the group to a room close to the employee showers. It appeared to be a storage room that had a gated off area with a workbench, shelves of tools, and some stairs leading downward. Natalie got the gate open and led the way towards the stairs, clicking her flashlight back on and shining down them. She furrowed her brow before beginning to head down, with Charlie following and Fritz catching up to go down alongside her.
The stairs went down for a surprisingly long time. Twelve steps, a landing, twelve steps, a landing, and it didn't take long before the thumping of metal feet on the stairs behind them deafened out almost everything. Eventually Natalie and Fritz came around the corner of a landing and could finally see into an open room below them. Shaped in a circular fashion with pipes standing like pillars at the walls, and almost completely pitch dark. At this point, Fritz pulled out his flashlight too.
Natalie's first step off the stairs and onto the ground was rewarded with a squelching noise. She wrinkled her nose down at the floor while Fritz raised a brow at it.
"They didn't finish the floor down here?" he asked in surprise.
"Apparently not. No big shock there," she answered. She sighed and continued into the room. "Charlie- that's your name, right? Charlie, ask your friend how big this place is."
"How big is the basement?" Charlie asked.
"Huge," Marionette answered behind her.
"Big. It's practically as big as the raceway, but don't expect it to be that easy to walk through. I'd watch your step."
"We've figured that much out," Charlie remarked. She wasn't too concerned about getting dirty but couldn't help but frown as her legs sunk an inch into cold muck. She ignored it and looked back to Marionette. "How did you know?" she asked.
"I saw it before they finished the Pizzaplex. Quite the health hazard. You could've fit the entirety of Foxy's in that hole," Marionette remarked.
The others came down and followed towards the large doors that led out of the silo-like structure. Natalie pulled on them only to find them stuck tight.
"Here, allow me," Freddy offered. He came forward and with a grunt dragged open one of the doors. Ennard coming up to assist with the other one and revealing what lay beyond. In this case a passage of cracked cement walls and rubble.
Ennard shuddered at the change in temperature and his wires weaved a little tighter. "Anybody else smell that?" he asked.
"I wish I didn't," Natalie admitted.
"It smells like there could be a leak down here that should be address," Freddy remarked. She looked to him with slight incredulousness, and he added on, "…Perhaps more than a leak."
Ennard jumped when a weight was suddenly pressed on his back before recognizing the warmth of Scott's coat as he smoothed it over the clown's shoulders. Ennard turned back to him, smiling a little- guiltily- as he took his hand.
"Aww, Scottie, no. It's too damp down here, you'll catch a cold," he insisted. All the man was wearing under it being a long-sleeved shirt and slacks. He tried to gently push the coat back, but Scott doubled down, pushing it fully up onto his shoulders.
"Damp's exactly what I'm worried about. We need to cover up those exposed wires," Scott insisted. He turned him around to zip him up, during which Ennard leaned forward and bumped their heads together.
"Guess if you get too cold, I could always invite you in," he quietly suggested. That got a slightly flustered but otherwise agreeing smile out of Scott.
He laid his hand on the back of Ennard's head to hold them together, gently tracing the ridges on the exposed metal. His hand would've been shaking if he wasn't. He was still worried to the point where his nerves felt frayed, but he knew Ennard was going through the same lot of it. He could hear it in how restrained his voice was. In how quiet he was.
"…Ngh, here," Foxy suddenly volunteered. Scott turned back to see Foxy yanking his hoodie over his head and caught it when it was tossed over. "I got a hunch I'm gonna need to be freed up anyways."
"Is that hunch all this?" Fritz asked, shining his light over a mound of construction waste outside of the door.
"That be part of it," Foxy agreed.
"Well, thank you! You didn't have to, but thank you," Scott said appreciatively.
He started to put it on only to stop, take a tentative smell of it, get a rather quizzical look, and then pull it on anyways. He wasn't about to make a show of rejecting a offer from Foxy, even if it did smell like nachos, stuffy crawlspace, and fabric refresher all at once.
As they continued on down the dried-out sewer shaft, Marionette caught up to Foxy.
"That was courteous of you," he quietly appreciated.
"Eh, he's been good to Baby," Foxy replied. "…Shoulda seen him come running."
"He really does care," Marionette said fondly.
"Aye… She needs that," Foxy agreed.
It was weird talking about Baby like this when they had no idea what state she was going to be in, but there was a mutual comfort in knowing that she was being taken care of. It helped take the sting off that uncertainty.
They continued down the shaft and through what looked suspiciously like a sewer tunnel, save that it was dried up. A metal walkway ran through the center of it while large pipes led along the wall. It was cramped, especially since Natalie was trying to lead the way while Ennard and Freddy both tried to squeeze in behind her. Freddy bumping into Ennard, saying "Excuse me", getting a "No problem" in return, at least four times over as they were walking. Poor Fritz didn't even stand a chance, getting pushed to the back.
Eventually they made it down a few more stairs and into what looked like a dirty, cluttered level of a parking garage. There were a few carts parked around, some oil or gasoline drums and work equipment, and the air smelled especially stuffy.
"This looks like part of the parking garage, but I don't think we're anywhere near there," Natalie remarked. "Maybe an underground garage?"
"It would make sense! Much of the equipment is moved through the utility tunnels by work carts or other vehicles. This is likely one of the rooms they store those vehicles in," Freddy offered.
"Smells funky in here," Gregory said. Before he thought, really, as he had been trying to not draw attention to himself.
"I think it is safe to say that it might not get properly ventilated," Freddy almost embarrassedly admitted.
Though this was nothing compared to what was waiting not too far away. In fact, the underground garage had been a misleading reprieve from what they were coming up upon.
The first thing that hit them was the smell. They had already crossed through two odor zones, stagnant tunnel and messy garage, but nothing compared to the smell of trash that hit them as they passed the threshold of another door.
"What… is that?" Natalie asked suspiciously.
She answered her question two seconds later when she strode ahead and shined the light to the side to see a corner of the hallway overflowing with bags of garbage and pieces of old machinery.
"Ugh… Found it," she groaned.
"Is it a body?" Fritz casually asked. Knowing good and well that it smelled a lot more like an overfull dumpster. Then he saw the cavity. "No, it's just a month's worth of trash."
"Why is it down here and not at the dump?" Natalie asked with exasperation.
"Don't ask us. Yer the one who works here," Foxy said matter-of-factly. Then strode by and continued briskly down the stairs. "…Smell's getting worse."
Charlie stole a glance as she passed by before lifting the radio to her mouth. "They dump the trash in the basement?" she asked. She was rewarded with crunchiness and a stutter of Jake's voice. "Jake? Can you hear me?"
"Ye-… Dump… Th-re…"
"You're breaking up. I'll radio when we get back to the stairs," she said. There was a buzzy reply before she returned her radio to her jacket. "Well, there goes our backup."
"Hopefully there's enough of us to handle it," Marionette said. A comment that could've been spoken as a joke but was kept serious. Not surprisingly considering the situation.
A situation that got much more intense when Foxy opened the next door and walked through, only to stop on a dime at the sight of a decimated Staff Bot laying amongst some trash.
"What the… Blimey…!" Foxy slowly turned his head and his eyes widened. His patch slowly lifting as he looked around. This was only the edge of a larger room, the door letting out into a walkway held in by a cement wall and a wall of trash.
But not just trash. Staff Bots littered the immediate area. Even if it was just heads or arms, there was an uncountable number of Staff Bots leading the way deeper into the darkness. Natalie even gasped when she saw it.
"Look at all the Staff Bots!" she said.
"What's going on down here?" Foxy bluntly asked Freddy. The bear hummed as he looked at the trashed bots.
"Perhaps these were… of an older model?" he guessed. Foxy gave him a flat look. "I will be honest; I have no explanation for this."
"A'right," Foxy settled. Then continued onward, just waiting for what would come out of this next.
They didn't have to go much further before the room opened. Though 'opened up' was more than a little exaggeration.
What they entered was less a large room and instead an open basement turned dumping ground. It sounded like there was water running somewhere, but it was hidden by the mounds of trash stacked up everywhere. Mounds of trash bags, mounds of Staff Bot bodies, rubble, and pipes hidden underneath it all.
"You were right," Charlie murmured to Marionette as she looked around at how huge it really was. He didn't feel validated in the slightest. "Where do we even start?"
"Let's just spread out. They can't be too far. The kitchen should be in… that direction, right?" Natalie asked, pointing off.
"Nope. That direction," Ennard corrected. Leaning over her, a hand on her shoulder and pointing further towards the left. "Over yonder in that direction."
"Okay, then that's where we start…" Natalie said uncertainly. That direction just happening to lead through some of the rougher of the trash and the light not even making it nearly where 'yonder' was with the obstructions. She started to lead the way before stopping and turning back. "And another thing: when I say spread out, I mean don't go too far. I want us all in shouting distance, and if you find either of them, you shout."
"Aye, aye, Lass," Foxy agreed with a salute. Then doubled down by asserting to the others, "Ye heard the lass! Move out and keep it close."
He looked around the direction Natalie and Ennard were aiming to go, foresaw their problem, and started to head off towards a natural path along the wall towards the right. Freddy naturally followed along with him, as did Marionette and Charlie, only to stop and look down at Gregory who was accompanying them.
"Gregory, it is dangerous down here. All this refuse is a major health hazard! You should climb inside of me just to be safe," he suggested.
"Uh… Okay."
As awkward as he felt around Freddy right now- afraid he was going to say something and tip him off to his involvement- it was cold and grimy down here, and the last thing he needed was Freddy insisting he take another shower. So, he willingly climbed inside, breathing a sigh of relief at the safety of the stomach cavity. Freddy then followed off behind the others.
While they continued off to the side, Fritz and Scott accompanied Natalie and Ennard straight through the garbage. It was especially difficult to walk, having to pretty much search for a makeshift path. All while under the gaze of dozens of empty eyes. Some of the Staff Bots had their faces broken apart, revealing speakers where their mouths should've been. Others were simply headless, or twisted up, or buried so deeply that one couldn't tell what happened to them.
"It's kind of sad," Natalie confessed. Her softer tone breaking her character for a moment. "All of these broken bots just thrown down here."
"It is, and I don't get it. This has got to be a huge waste of money, and they can't all be broken, right?" Fritz said. He shined his light around at the Staff Bots. Many of them being very broken. "…It just doesn't make sense to throw out this much hardware."
"So much for cutting back on costs," Natalie mumbled.
"Well, it's good to see they treat their automated staff the same as their human ones," Scott added in.
This got a brief snicker out of Ennard. Though right afterwards his eyes caught a glimpse of a bright color stark against the mounds of grey, black, and brown. Curious, he headed over in that direction, having to step over a hunk of cement dangerously jutting rebar.
Scott took notice. "Ennard?"
"Wait there, I'm just looking at something," Ennard assured.
Scott kept the flashlight trained on him, watching Ennard weave his way around the overfilled basement like a pro. He was almost impressed, but equally afraid he was going to take one wrong step and enough up stuck in it.
"Ugh. Okay, so this is completely flooded, ha ha. Make sure to watch your step!"
Make that very afraid.
Ennard climbed up onto a cement walkway and over a half-bent railing and used that to walk safely to what he saw. It was a sticky note, bright pink in color and half stained. Yet somehow the writing on it was still legible. He started to walk back down to the others, who Fritz had led through to a further portion of that same walkway. Ennard waited until Scott climbed over before handing him the sticky note, to which Scott shined his light down and squinted through his glasses.
"Battery running low…" Scott read out loud. It was a weird note to find scribbled down here. "…Huh."
"I'm guessing one of these guys didn't write it," Ennard said, pointing his thumb down at the nearest Staff Bot.
The handwriting looked neat enough, it just looked like it was written on an uneven surface. Possibly against a bumpy concrete wall. Likely one of the workers, which made that comment about the battery even more concerning.
Ennard noticed the frown on his face and reached out and rubbed his arm reassuringly.
"Hey. Don't worry about it too much. Odds are it just got trashed and dumped down here," Ennard said.
"You're probably right. I'm overthinking it," Scott agreed. He folded up the note and started to put it into the hoodie pouch only to stop, realize what he was doing, and hold it back out. Offering it to Fritz and Natalie with the intention of dropping it elsewise. Fritz ended up taking it, Natalie leaning in to peek at it but not willing to touch it. Scott turned back to Ennard. "Let's keep moving. She can't be that far."
"Right! In all likelihood, she landed on a big pile of trash bags and the longer we wait, the more angry and smelly she's gonna get," Ennard chirped. Tensely, Scott could see him covering again, but he smiled and agreed readily.
Then they continued onward through the basement. Their progress quickened as they were on the walkway but slowed the moment it came to an end, and they were forced to drop down onto some slimy dirt with pieces of razor-sharp junk sticking out. It was precarious, but manageable for the most part.
Then they hit a ditch. Not a huge ditch, only a few feet deep and the same wide, but noticeable. A sign that the bottom of the basement wasn't finished, making this situation even more concerning. Trash bags, old food containers, and more Staff Bot pieces laid inside. Ironically, as damp as the mud was and even with the sound of running water, the ditch seemed mostly dry.
Ennard easily stepped across. Scott was following alongside him, hopping across the ditch when his shoe slipped on the slick dirt, and he started to fall. He grabbed for Ennard's arm and was caught by the hand, easily pulled right back up into place.
"Have a nice trip?" Ennard asked. The first ghost of a joke since they had gotten down there and followed with a quick checking to make sure he was alright. Switching the hand, he held Scott's with so he could put his other on his back.
"Any trip where I don't end up in a ditch is a good one," Scott replied with a smile.
Fritz hopped across and Natalie was shortly after him, her hand landing on his shoulder to steady herself.
And metal clamped onto her ankle and pulled.
"Hah!" Natalie cried. She started to fall back, and Fritz turned to grab her, but the grip kept tugging. She shined her flashlight down and saw a face staring up at her.
One of the Staff Bots who had been lying dormant amongst the trash suddenly sprung to life and had grabbed ahold of her. Its eyes alit and its rusty, dirty body partially lifted out of the ditch. With Fritz's help she was able to pull her leg free, to which the Staff Bot's arm and head dropped and it fell prone yet again. Its eyes flickering out once more.
"Are you alright?" Scott asked.
"Uh, yeah. Just a little surprised was all…" Natalie said. She was still surprised by the ordeal, hooking an arm around Fritz's before daring to lean in a little. She shined her light closer to the Staff Bot and took in its severely damaged state. Fritz gave a hiss as her light fell on a deep crack down through its chest, revealing severe rust inside.
"How did it even kick on?" he muttered. He started to slide his foot down so he could lean forward and look. Natalie tried to pull him back, to which he assured, "I'm not getting close." He leaned in over it. Not quite in reaching distance but far enough that if it did grab him he was losing his balance and going in.
Scott also dared to step beside Fritz, though made sure to keep plenty of distance between himself and it. Though that couldn't be said for the Staff Bot torso laying over a trash bag to his left. He didn't notice it lifting itself up until it swiped at him, and even then he was tipped off not by it but by Ennard suddenly grabbing him up and pulling him back. Narrating it with a quick, "Yoink!"
Then he noticed the second Staff Bot rather quickly, looking around frantically for whatever danger had Ennard stepping in. As his and Fritz's lights fell on it, it shuddered and craned its head around before flopping back into the ditch. This one a little twitchier.
"…I really hope that they're not all just playing dead," Scott expressed uneasily.
"Oh, I think we stepped on enough of them to figure that one out," Ennard remarked. He pulled Scott tighter against him and gave him an assuring squeeze before going still.
"Okay, that's enough playing in the ditch," Natalie said. She tugged Fritz back out by the arm.
"You're probably right, but still, this is very weird. I don't know, maybe it's like those Endoskeletons Mike was talking about that stop when you look at them," Fritz suggested. He noticed the second Staff Bot was missing its lower half from how it had flopped down again. "I guess this means there's power supply isn't in their bases like I thought."
"Fritz, look at them. They've got rust and dirt all over and in them. They shouldn't have power at all," Natalie pointed out. "…Or Sam! Whatever your name is."
"Don't worry, I can't remember either," Fritz admitted. A teasing grin but being completely honest. They stepped up and away from the ditch and back into the trash. They only realized they weren't being followed when Scott spoke up.
"Uh, Ennard? You can let me down. I think it's safe-… I'll watch my step," he said.
But Ennard was still standing in place holding him, even when Fritz and Natalie's lights landed at their feet. It was absolutely in character for the amalgam to be clingy, but that wasn't the case. He wasn't cuddling him, he just seemed to be halted in place, locked up, and a look over his shoulder saw Ennard's eyes moving around as though he was thinking. He almost seemed spooked; a sharp contrast from the playful chirp he gave when he yanked Scott up.
"…Ennard? What's wrong, are you getting that feeling again?" Scott asked. Now, Ennard had a whole host of feelings and 'that' couldn't be pinned down that easily, but he expected it to be some sudden fear or harsh realization, or perhaps just the weight of the situation suddenly and rapidly catching up with him. That didn't seem to be what was happening.
"Scott…" Ennard started quietly. Still holding him around the middle, still up against him, slowly sliding his eyes to look at him.
"Yes?"
"Is this a gun?"
He meant the object currently pressed between him and Scott's back.
Scott's heart leapt into his throat. He swallowed thickly.
"Uh… Yes, it is."
Ennard moved back only to bunch and pull up his shirt and hoodie. Scott didn't stop him, and he pulled it all up and saw the concealed holster on his lower back. The clown proceeded to jump back and throw his arms up like it had been drawn on him.
Scott spun around and immediately began to fumble out explanations. One of which being, "It's not what you think." Even though it was in fact exactly what he thought it was, a gun.
"Wh-Why do you have that?!" Ennard sputtered. His teeth tight and his eyes showing his discomfort. "That- That could've just gone off right then! Right when I picked you up! Shot right through us both!"
"Well… first of all, I don't think this gun's shooting through anything. Let alone you and me… I guess that's not helping," Scott said, realizing his joke had little to no effect. "I have the safety on. It won't go off. I could throw it down the stairs and it wouldn't go off."
"Wait, you have a gun right now?" Fritz asked in surprise. He almost expected Ennard's behavior to be a routine, but sure enough Scott pulled his shirt back up to reveal it. "Hey, that's cool! I didn't know you bought a pocket pistol."
"That makes two of us," Ennard half-hissed. He looked back to Scott, still entirely uneased. "Did- Did you buy that today?" he asked hopefully.
"Well, uh… No… But this is my first time wearing it out or anything." If anything, that made Ennard look even more aghast. "But it was recently! I promise. I just- I didn't know how to bring it up…"
"How about, 'Hey, Hun. I bought a gun!'" Ennard retorted, mimicking his voice spot-on.
"…Yeah, that could've worked," Scott sheepishly admitted. He rubbed the back of his neck while Fritz stepped in behind him, nudging up his shirt to which Scott willingly pulled it up so he could see it. He gave a little 'huh'.
"I know why you'd be upset, Ennard, but that's a tiny gun. I think he can handle it," Fritz said. "That being said, you should've told him you got it."
"Yeah," Scott agreed.
"You probably should've told us too," Natalie added.
"That might've been a good idea. I wasn't planning on using it thought. Not unless that woman in the bunny suit showed up- No, that's not what I mean. That didn't come out right," Scott quickly interjected and Fritz and Natalie's raising brows. "I just thought- after what happened with Jeremy- there might be a chance that she might come after us for trying to expose her. But who knows. Maybe we could, I don't know, maybe it would be good if she did. Because if she's scared of tasers she'll be scared of this, then you could just restrain her, and we could turn her in. Won't do much good without the footage but anything's something. I mean, swinging a knife at a group of people has to be breaking a few laws at least."
"I'm sorry, what?" Natalie blinked.
"OH ho, so there's why you were so eager to get in here!" Ennard said accusatorily. "I knew something was up when you were all gung-ho with no talking it out. We're hunting rabbits!"
"No, no! It was still to get the footage, that was just a sort of back-up plan I came up with when I was thinking about all the things that could go wrong tonight."
Ennard didn't look enthused. Scott inhaled deeply and exhaled.
"I'm sorry. They're right, I should've told you I brought it. Obviously, I should've told you I got it in the first place, and I was planning on it, but I… hadn't gotten the nerve up to do it. I know how you feel about guns after what happened, but I got to talking with Clay- ironically, I know- and I just… I couldn't go back to being afraid in my own house. I needed something to protect us. That's what it is. It's just to protect us… Ignore what I said about that, uh, bunny woman. She wasn't even in the picture when I filed for the permits."
"Scott, you don't need that to protect you. Forget what Clay says, I'm already a dangerous weapon," Ennard insisted, pressing his hands to his chest. "So, he got a potshot on me. Big deal, I lived!"
"It's a huge deal, Ennard! All Will needed was one shot to hurt us both!" Scott insisted. Ennard's eyes softened. Scott reached forward with shaking hands and laid them on his arms. "You're not a weapon, Ennard. You're not a weapon and you can't pretend like you are, because you're not indestructible and you will get seriously hurt."
Ennard was quiet but it was clear that he knew Scott was right on that front. The loose wires on his chest reminded him of this.
"I just… I got scared. I got scared after Will came back and I got scared when I heard about Jeremy, and I made a couple of bad decisions… I screwed up," Scott admitted regretfully. "…If you want me to get rid of it, I will. I can trade it in first thing tomorrow."
"I don't know. I… I need to think about it." And while he wasn't done thinking about it, only about ten seconds later he asked, "…Can you take it out? I want a better look."
"Sure, sure. Safety's still on," Scott assured. He slowly and carefully took the pistol out and showed it to Ennard. Fritz had been right; it was almost comically small.
"It is pretty tiny," he agreed. "Where've you been keeping it?"
"In the nightstand."
"Good gravy, I sleep by that nightstand."
Scott chuckled a little, mostly out of relief.
Ennard continued to look at the gun and still felt uneasy. It wasn't even aimed towards him and yet he imagined it spontaneously going off, ricocheting off a couple of pipes, and somehow taking out his other eye. He knew it wasn't going to happen, but he didn't want to tempt fate any longer. He gently, carefully, pushed Scott's hand back.
"Ehhh, I'll think about it later. Just put that thing away. We've gotta go find Baby."
"You're right. Sorry, I didn't mean to sidetrack us," Scott said. He returned the gun to the holster and pulled down his clothes once more, hiding it from view yet again. "…I am sorry though."
"I know. We'll work it out later, okay? Once we get Baby back, we can figure it out," Ennard said. After a quiet moment he leaned in a bit and added, "And by that, I mean I get it, and I'm not mad… I'm a little peeved at Clay, but what else is new?"
He reached forward and rubbed Scott's arm affectionately before hooking it the rest of the way around his shoulders. He could feel the weight leave those shoulders as Scott exhaled and relaxed. He must've been holding that weight for a while. They followed along after Natalie and Fritz who decided to add no comment, likely feeling it wasn't their place to reinsert themselves into it and instead focusing on not getting grabbed.
They were going to have to talk about that more than anything. Well, the gun too of course, and there were the repercussions of what happened here tonight, but that fear was alarming. It had been ages since Scott kept something of this magnitude to him, and to be so desperate to still go through with it even though he was clearly unsure, it was alarming- and maybe Scott did raise a good point about his fragility, but it would take a little more convincing before he was sold on this whole loaded gun in the nightstand idea.
They could deal with it after they found Baby. It looked like they both made mistakes tonight, he acknowledged as he hugged Scott closer. At least Scott's didn't end with anyone getting hurt.
Just in case, no more 'yoinks'.
Marionette wasn't sure at what point checking two different sides of the same area turned into him turning around and seeing Charlie and nobody else. He could still hear Freddy's crunchy, thumping footsteps echoing through the cavernous room, so he knew they hadn't gone far. Deciding to loosen the leash, he continued in the direction he was going, finding a path leading up to a fence.
He tried it only to find it stuck tight. He hummed and looked it up and down, then leaned down and laced his fingers, cupping them to make a step. He gestured his head for Charlie to climb over. Which she did, stepping up and hopping onto the fence before swinging her legs over and landing on the other side. Marionette followed over quickly afterwards, though he basically just levitated over before dropping himself on the other side, catching himself just before his legs could touch the ground.
He knew he was wandering far out of Natalie's allotted comfort zone, specifically because he could no longer hear her at all, but he considered the risk worth it. Baby could be anywhere down here. If she fell in one piece like Ennard said, then she likely wouldn't stay in one place amongst all this garbage. She could've wandered, and it looked like they were coming up on an open area.
Charlie was following closely behind but slowed down to look over a gaping room of trash and sewage. She looked at the Staff Bots with the same sympathy Natalie did. Marionette would've too if he wasn't so distracted searching for Baby.
"This is really sad," Charlie finally said. "They don't repair them; they just dump them down here."
"It really is tragic," Marionette sympathized. He looked down at one laying out near the wall. "…Beyond that, it is very strange too."
"That they're throwing away expensive service robots by the dozen just because they don't want to repair them? I can think of another 's' word that could go with that too."
"Succulent?"
Charlie gave him a look and Marionette smiled back. Trying to lighten the mood, no doubt, but still the worst time for it. In the end it got a small smile out of Charlie.
They continued along a ledge over what looked like a sludgy trench. The cool cement significantly cleaner than what they walked on to get here, but that wasn't saying much. The slurry of mud and assumedly oil spilled out of everywhere.
It was weird that they hadn't heard Baby yet. Charlie kept expecting to hear her yelling for someone to help her, likely to hep pull her out of the same bed of trash she had gotten dumped with. Yet she was met with silence.
Finally, it got too much. She cupped her hands over her mouth and called for her.
"Baaaaabyyyy!"
Nothing. Charlie dropped her arms to her side and looked around at everything. Marionette reached out to pat her on the back of the shoulder.
"She's going to be alright. Baby's sturdy and relatively waterproof," he said.
"Relatively?"
"She'll be fine if we can get her out and cleaned up. Who knows, she might be buried in garbage bags and can't hear us."
"That's not exactly assuring," Charlie said flatly.
"It likely cushioned her fall," Marionette said. He turned away and continued to look around. "Though I expect she's not very happy about it."
"Maybe she's too embarrassed to call out for help," Charlie said. Though even she knew that wasn't the case, it was still a more positive thought.
Marionette wandered ahead and ducked through a gape in the wall that looked like it could've been a set of doors at some time and lifted his head only to be met by an unexpected sight. Another pocket of space in this overflowing basement, but this one was different. This one was filled with color, albeit faded and dirtied, cast under shadow and the grime of the basement.
This area looked to be some sort of secluded dumping ground for old merchandise. There were mounds and scattered remains of it all over the place. One of the closer items caught his eye.
There was a plush toy sticking out of the mucky floor. Its body stained with the oily, muddy residue covering most of everything down there. Marionette sympathetically fished it out and looked closer at it, only to chirrup in alarm. He stared at the toy for a long time, clasped between his hands, and then looked forward towards the mounds of dumped trash just further in.
He drifted in slowly and looked around at the hills of multicolored material, soaked in runoff and grimy fluid and yet some still holding their shine. Like a plastic mug laying on the ground. Marionette picked it up and upon seeing the familiar face, gathered it in his arm with the plush toy. Then he snatched up a wet hat, then a broken plate only to drop the pieces once it was clear it wasn't salvageable. So much merchandise, so much evidence.
His eyes focused in on a poster sticking out of the side of the closest mound and he gently pulled it free and opened it with one hand. It was the same façade that was shown on the objects in his hands.
Even though cartoonish, the brilliant smile sent a pang of dread through him. A happy grin on a cheery face under a pair of crooked blue-purple ears, stamped with a golden star over the left eye.
It was Bonnie.
Not any Bonnie that Marionette knew personally, but Glamrock Bonnie. The Pizzaplex's Bonnie the Rabbit.
The one who was no longer part of the band, as depicted by merch showing him alongside Freddy and Chica. The one from the bowling alley, as depicted on one of the shirts that clearly said Bonnie Bowl and depicted a cartoonish version of the rabbit in a bowling shirt.
The one who's entire rolodex of merchandise had been gathered up and dumped into this basement. Every plush toy, every faded sign, every ripped poster, everything belonged to Bonnie. It had all be dumped here and hidden away.
But where was Bonnie? Was he down here too?
"Where'd you go?" Charlie's quiet voice reminded him that he wasn't alone. He turned back to see her coming into the dumping grounds. "What is all this stuff?" she asked, looking around.
To answer her, he handed her the poster that he found. She took it and opened it in her hands, and her expression slowly morphed into shock and recognition.
"Is that a Bonnie?" she asked in surprise.
"That's certainly what it looks like…" Marionette quietly agreed.
The seriousness of what this was wasn't lost on her. She stared at the rabbit-shaped visage for a moment, looked to the merch in Marionette's arms, taking in the same information that he had.
Then she pulled out her radio and pressed the button. "Jake, was there a Bonnie in the Pizzaplex?!" she asked.
She was answered with crunchy static.
"Oh, right. No service," Charlie said exasperatedly.
"I think we already know the answer," Marionette said cryptically. He took ahold of the Bonnie plush again and looked down at it somberly.
Suddenly they were interrupted by an unexpected third voice.
"Did you find a Bonnie down here?!" Fritz called through the radio.
Charlie had almost forgotten that he too was on the line. "Sort of. Mari found bunch of dumped merchandise for a Bonnie character."
"Oh! Give me that real quick, thanks. Hey!" Ennard took over the line. "When we were up at the bowling alley, we saw a stage with an out of order sign on it. So that would make a whole lotta sense."
"It does. Some of these souvenirs have Bonnie Bowl on them. It looks like that was Bonnie's attraction that they rebranded," Marionette added in.
"And that explains the rushed paint job on their new mascot! Or, heh, not quite theirs. I'll tell you later. Any sign of Baby?"
"Not yet…"
"Well, we just have to keep looking. She can't have gone that far," Ennard said, barely covering his disappointment. "You can ask Moon Man about Bonnie when we get out of here. He knows."
"He said that?" Charlie asked questioningly.
"He knows. Trust me."
Marionette had a feeling Moon wasn't the only one who knew either. There was no way that Freddy couldn't. Unless he had been brainwashed to forget, but he highly doubted that. He felt like something terrible happened here.
…He felt like he was being watched too.
He lifted his head and looked out of the clearing to where it led back out into the open basement, but there was nothing there. He couldn't hear anything except the sound of distant water. He felt a strange sort of anxiety staring out at that darkness. Nervousness for Baby or Bonnie would've been expected, but this was something different. Something about this place felt wrong.
He sighed and returned the plush to his cluster of gathered merchandise in his arms. "We need to keep looking… Maybe Baby's not the only one we'll find down here," he said.
Charlie agreed and ended the call on the radio before helping him look around the rest of the clearing. Nothing except for damaged merchandise and broken dreams.
No sign of Baby.
No sign of Bonnie.