Mable: Enjoy!
Going Home in a Box
Chapter Fifty-Three
Ennard regretted not asking Freddy about the state Baby was in because the suspense was killing him. Even when he was running through the tunnels in the direction Freddy had pointed him in, he felt the worry creeping up. He barely stopped himself long enough to look back and check to make sure Scott was following, just to keep an eye on him after the run in with the Staff Bots earlier. Any of these dozens of suckers could spring to life at any moment.
Finally, Ennard made it to the bridge and dropped down from the short ledge and right in front of those wooden planks. He eyeballed them for a second, considering taking the plunge and running across it, but then found his better judgement winning over and got over onto the same ledge that Freddy and Foxy walked on. Right as he did, Scott came running out of the tunnel behind him.
"Hold on! Hold on! I'm coming!" he called.
Ennard waited for him to climb down and over the railing before locking their arms and pulling him close. He then began to cautiously walk down the ledge while kicking aside the trash so Scott could get through undeterred. The man in question keeping his eyes trained directly on the ledge beneath the to keep them from wandering into the drop.
That was when Charlie caught up and hopped down next. She glanced between the flimsy plank bridge and the concrete ledge the two were walking on before deciding to sacrifice safety for speed and darted across.
Ennard heard her running and quickly looked back, then raised his fist with, "Woo! There she go-!"
Which was promptly cut off by a loud crack as the wood at the base of the planks splintered and began to fold in like a house of cards. All while Ennard and Scott watched, the clown's mouth dropping open.
Charlie realized her mistake the second she heard that noise and had almost no time to react before the wood underneath her started tilting to the side. Before she could be thrown completely off balance, she leapt forward and towards the ledge on the other side. Only to hit it at chest height and barely catch herself with her arms before she could drop into the pit looming below. A hit that would've knocked all the wind out of her lungs if she still had them but still punctuated with an "Oof!" and a ring.
Scott watched her near fall with bated breath. Though her catching herself offered little relief when she was hanging precariously on the edge. He frantically pushed at Ennard's side, signaling to him that he was fine and to go to her, being the faster of the two.
Ennard must've taken this insistent poke a different way than intended because the next thing Scott knew his feet were swept out from under him and he was scooped into his arms. He could only go rigid as his fate was very literally thrust into Ennard's hands as the clown hastily sidle-strode the rest of the way along the ledge. Not putting the man down until he climbed over the fence still carrying him, then rather abruptly plopped him down on his feet and reached to help Charlie who was pushing herself up with her elbows.
"Congrats, Kiddo! You jumped the gorge!" he playfully celebrated. Then all but hoisted her up onto the edge and helped her to her feet.
"What happened?" Marionette called. Him coming through the tunnel with Freddy and then Fritz and Natalie on his heels. The bear took one look at the room and noticed a significant difference.
"The bridge fell!" he gasped. "I had a feeling that would happen. It was barely more than planks of woods. I am surprised Chica was able to get across it."
Marionette looked over the edge and could see part of the rather flimsy structure jutting up from how it collapsed in on itself. That alone revealing how shoddily it was crafted. He looked down at it for a long moment before turning back to Freddy.
"How on earth did she do that?" he asked.
"…Surprisingly good craftmanship?" Freddy guessed.
"You should've seen it, Mari! But I'll let her tell you about it!" Ennard hastily finished up. Then he turned and was continuing up the path, hustling with Scott and Charlie short on his heels.
Freddy took over leading Fritz and Natalie to the ledge while Marionette gave a quick spin and appeared instantly beside Charlie. She hesitated only momentarily before continuing to follow Scott and Ennard, with Marionette seamlessly keeping up alongside of her.
"You didn't really jump it, did you?" he asked. His voice held both shades of worry and excitement. A nice contrast to the consistent anxiousness since they had heard about Baby.
"He's exaggerating. It was more like half of it," Charlie said only half-joking. His brow raised a little; a little more concern, slightly more quizzical. "Don't worry about it. I'm here, aren't I?"
"I would be much more worried if you weren't," Marionette replied.
That seemed to be the end of it until a moment later when Charlie caught him slowly looking at her out of the corner of her eye. There was a change in his expression and that smile looked a lot more like a smirk. She looked back at him, but his head snapped away instantly, leaving her unable to catch him in the act. She returned him her own questioning look before slowly turning back ahead when it became clear he wasn't going to take the bait. If anything, she had taken his.
She had a hunch that look had something to do with Baby. Though she was certainly not biting on that hook by asking.
They followed Scott who was barely keeping up with Ennard as he passed the open fence and darted left down the first tunnel as instructed. Though he was just as eager to find Baby, and it wasn't long until they were in the large room Freddy pointed them towards.
"Baby!" Ennard cupped his hands and called.
"Ennard!"
Ennard bolted, suddenly breaking into a sprint that could've rivaled Foxy's. He pinpointed the voice and hastily climbed up the mound of trash he had heard her voice come from.
"Don't land on me! Be careful!" Baby frantically called.
He obediently moved over enough to be deemed safe before hopping over the top and sliding down into the pit. All but landing directly on top of Foxy and both barely stopping themselves before he could take them both into the grime.
"Whoa! Sorry, Bud! I didn't see ya there!" Ennard apologized, shifting back a little but still all but directly over top of him.
"For cryin' out loud, Ennard, look before ya leap!" Foxy snapped.
"Next time, I promise," Ennard assured. Then he leaned over top of Foxy and turned his attention fully to Baby. He reached for her with one hand while bracing himself on the trash with the other. "You okay, Babydoll? Gosh, you had us all scared shirtless!"
He gently petted the back of her head. That motion alone signaled how afraid he had been, and probably still was as his eyes briefly darted down to the grime she was wading in. The comforting touch was a reprieve from the stress her body was currently undergoing, and she slid her eyes partially closed as she accepted the touch.
"I'm fine… No, I'm not fine. I'm sinking," Baby quickly corrected. Snapping her eyes back open and readjusting her grip to not get too comfortable.
Ennard darted his eyes down to the grime again and stared, and with his stillness she realized he was moments from likely panic. So, she tried to defuse the situation she stirred.
"But I have a hold of myself. For now, at least. I can't hold on forever, but you have time to get me out."
"And that's exactly what we're gonna do!" Ennard chirped, snapping right back into character.
"Ennard, get offa me," Foxy grumbled.
"In a minute."
"Foxy? Baby?" Marionette quietly called as he peered down from above.
"She's here, Lad. We both are," Foxy replied. He gestured his head sideways towards her. "But she's much worse off."
"I'm sunk to my bloomers in filth in a smelly pit in the back corner of a garbage dump hidden underneath a mall," Baby grumbled out.
"Oh, Lizzie…" Marionette said softly. He already sounded like he could start crying at any moment.
"She'll be fine! We just gotta get her outta here fast, so if you guys could look around for something to tow her out with," Ennard suggested.
"Tow," Baby hmphed.
"Freddy was looking fer chains 'fore Chica showed up an' he ran off after her," Foxy suggested.
"Chains. Alright," Marionette agreed, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "…Maybe I could find something in that parking garage. I could probably hop back there."
"Smart thinking! Go ahead, we'll keep 'er up!" Marionette was gone in the blink of an eye. With him gone, Foxy craned his head back to look up at Ennard. "Is Gregory alright?" he asked.
"Yeah, Freddy's got him," Ennard assured.
"Good. I would've gone after 'em meself, but I didn't want to risk climbing out of here and knocking anything loose."
Baby sent Foxy a quick thankful look for covering for her. Nobody else needed to know how frightened she had been.
"What about Chica?" Foxy asked.
"Not sure, but she's not a problem for now," Ennard said.
"Baby!" Scott called from the safety of the clearing. Only staying back because he knew putting himself in danger to climb over there would just get in the way. "Baby, I'm here with Charlie! We're going to get you out, I promise!"
"That's right! We'll have you smelling like birthday cake and kitten milk in no time!" Ennard chirped.
Freddy, Fritz, and Natalie arrived before Marionette returned. They, along with Charlie and Scott, began to search around for whatever they could use. Marionette got back with an armful of cables right around the same time that had pulled out yet another tangle of Christmas lights and they decided in the end to just use the cable. It was thick enough that it would likely hold her weight.
Marionette and Charlie climbed the mound first. Or Charlie climbed and Marionette raised to the top before feeding the cable down. Ennard was quick to hook it around Baby's middle, as she couldn't even let go long enough to do so. The Puppets then fed down their wires. They decided to weave them together to strengthen them, a decision made when Charlie's string got wrapped up in Marionette's. His four weaving in with her two and working together to lower down to Baby.
Baby noticed the wires and sacrificed her grip with her hand before reaching up to grab onto them. The strings immediately reacted, twisting around her hand and wrist and even sliding into her arm. She shuddered as she felt one wrapping into her armature.
Foxy watched the setup before giving Ennard a quick bump in the chest with his elbow.
"Oiy, go help them pull. I'll stay here and make sure she comes out smooth," he instructed.
Ennard rubbed his chest before tilting his head down to shoot him a grin. "Are you just saying that to get rid of me?"
"Now yer getting it. Off."
Thankfully, Ennard obeyed. He gave Baby one last assuring pat and then carefully scaled the wall and trash. A lot easier than he had, Foxy noted. A professional in scaling trash, he snorted at the thought.
Ennard grabbed the cable from Marionette on the way over and swiftly slid his way down to the bottom. Freddy released Gregory from his stomach hatch before taking ahold of the cable. Fritz and Natalie stood aside with him while Scott climbed up to the front to grab onto the cable, stretching his sleeves up over his hands to get a less abrasive grip on it. He was quite aware that his contribution to this one-sided tug-of-war was less much impactful, but any effort had to help.
"Ready to go, Captain!" Freddy called.
"Ya ready?" Foxy asked Baby. She simply nodded. "A'right, Hearties! Give it all ye got! Heave… Ho!"
With that, everybody pulled with all their might on the cable and twined strings. It started to uproot Baby out of the muck rather quickly. She was immediately pulled back up to the position she had slid from earlier, but then something grew heavy on her legs. She pulled her claw free and tried to grab higher above to assist in pulling as they gave another tug. This time there seemed to be an abnormal amount of restraint.
"Gabe, I think there is something caught on my legs," Baby forewarned. They group gave another pull and she gave a slight gasp as a tightening pain increased around her knee. A flash of heat in the chilly muck.
"Hold 'er there! She's caught on somethin', but don't let 'er slip!" Foxy forewarned. He then slid himself down further and poked his hook down into the muck.
He got it wrist deep but didn't feel anything and grumbled before sticking his arm further down inside. It was never pleasant to peel back one's own plushy flesh to clean it, but he would manage. He hadn't come this far to get prissy about a little muck.
He bumped something made of metal. It almost felt like there was something heavy laying against Baby's legs. He hooked the edge and tried to pull it back a bit. "Give a short pull! Real soft like, to see if I got it."
The others went along as told and gave another shorter tug. Baby slid further out of the muck but let out a low hiss of pain. Something still had her, and Foxy reached down to pull it away.
Only to have whatever it was tug back.
"Gah!" Foxy gave a short cry and barely caught himself before totally tumbling down into the muck. "Somethin's got me!"
"Captain?!" Freddy called in concern.
"Foxy, what is it?!" Charlie called as well.
Foxy couldn't answer. He could just struggle to pull off. Which he did until Baby twisted herself enough to get her claw on him and help assist in pulling him out of a muck.
A rusty metal hand was clamped tight onto his hook.
Suddenly the muck erupted in chaos. A faceless Staff Bot head with a broken eye and a grime filled speaker emerged from the water and reached out for Foxy with its other hand, which he promptly snapped his jaws down onto. Two more bots were crawling out, one of which was clinging directly to Baby's legs, and yet another set of arms reached out from the depths. A bundle of broken Staff Bots dragging them both down.
"PULL! PULL!" Foxy yelled.
The group obeyed and started to pull with all their might. By now Marionette and Charlie were both staring down at the nightmarish view, the former reaching down for his sister even before she was close enough to properly reach. She couldn't reach back, with one arm tangled in strings and her claw hooked onto Foxy- which was the only reason he was being moved at all because he was currently fighting off the whole mass himself.
It hurt to touch them. It burned with an uncomfortable heat, but that didn't stop him from shoving and soon kicking with all his might. His feet were still wrapped up tight and not holding back as he kicked one's head clean off. Disturbingly, that didn't stop its arms from grabbing at him until he was yanked up a little further. The Staff Bot who gripped Baby's legs still dangled off of her until she began to kick and then Foxy began to kick at it, finally shaking it loose.
From that point it was only a matter of time. Baby was pulled up over the edge and with a short cry ended up sliding down the other side. Her loose grip on Foxy, as to not hurt him, failed and Foxy almost began sliding back down into the still squirming pit of bots until Marionette grabbed him around the shoulders.
"I've got you," he said before pulling him back. Foxy kicking his feet to help push him up the rest of the way until they were sitting together atop the mound.
Foxy and Marionette stared down at the Staff Bots for a long moment. Then looked back at the scene to check on Baby. Charlie had started to help her up, but she only got as far as on her knees before Ennard had pounced and pulled her into a tight hug. Scott joined in, his leg sinking a half a foot into trash before he awkwardly fell on one knee, then hugged her as well. Freddy was watching the reunion with a contented smile and his hands on his hips.
Foxy looked back at the Staff Bots, Marionette followed suit, and then they looked to each other. They sat there silently for only another moment before Foxy buckled.
"What the hell was that?" he asked.
"I don't know… There's something very wrong down here," Marionette replied.
"Yeah. You're tellin' me," Foxy retorted. He lifted his legs over and slid down the trash heap and up onto his feet. He dusted himself best he could before looking back towards his brother. Marionette peered into the pit a moment longer before following him.
Freddy was currently in the middle of introducing himself to Baby. Leaning over and taking her hand and offering her an apologetic, "You must be Circus Baby! I have heard quite a bit about you. My apologies that we had to meet under such circumstances."
"Likewise," Baby agreed. Absentmindedly brushing muck off her skirt once her hand was free. "Thank you for your assistance."
"It was no trouble… Well, perhaps a little trouble, but that is due to the poor condition of this basement. If this situation did not require full secrecy, I would file a formal complaint… Oh! Please allow me to help you back onto steady ground."
It surprised Foxy how cordial Freddy was being with Baby considering everything that happened. Maybe he saw Ennard as being more at fault than her, or perhaps he put his feeling aside because of what they had just pulled Baby out of. Though Foxy then shot down both ideas. More than likely Freddy was just blaming himself instead of anyone else. Foxy shook his head.
Then he noticed Marionette picking up some stuff off the ground and piling it into his arms. It looked like dirty merchandise, but he had his back to him so he couldn't get a good look at it. He did see a plush toy though and he was struck by the disturbing thought that Marionette could've gathered a bunch of stuff out of the trash to clean up and keep.
He didn't know what was more troublesome, the thought that his brother would pick through trash to salvage toys, which he had never seen him do but seemed like a very 'Mari' thing to do, or the thought that he would do that for a bunch of Pizzaplex merch.
He strode over to him and crossed his arms. "Lad, what've you got there?" he asked flatly.
Marionette paused in place. Foxy thought this was because he caught him in the act, and that thought didn't change until the Puppet turned around and he got an eyeful of the merch. His less than enthused look turning to confusion as he saw what was very clearly a Bonnie depicted on it. That confusion turned to shock, and he then looked to Marionette in disbelief. He clutched the items a little tighter.
"Freddy said he would explain everything after we got Chica to Parts and Service…" Marionette quietly said.
Foxy turned to look at Freddy. He was now leaning over to let Gregory climb back inside and didn't notice the fox's stare until a few moments later. He then noticed, and it didn't take him more than a second longer to notice Marionette standing alongside him and the looks on their faces. His face fell, a look of hurt or guilt taking his eyes, and he turned away. Instead looking to Natalie who was making motions for them to start heading out.
"Maybe you should talk to him about it," Marionette suggested.
"Aye… Where'd ye find that stuff?"
"…In a massive pile further into the basement. There was so much of it, Gabe, I can't even begin to imagine…"
That was it. Foxy knew Freddy had been hiding something. He wasn't sure how he had the hunch, but he had. He just had a feeling that there was something Freddy was constantly dodging. The bowling supplies in his room but the entire lack of interest in going up to the bowling alley. The vague answers and anecdotes he gave about 'friends' without naming who they were. Now it was out in the open, and now Foxy would get to the bottom of it.
In due time. They had more important things to deal with first.
Before Marionette could pass by, Foxy grabbed his arm and gently pulled him in.
"We break it to the others later. We don't need to rile up a panic when we've got Chica half-maimed, so you've gotta try and keep it together," Foxy forewarned in a whisper. Marionette looked to him in confusion before Foxy continued, "Those bots that grabbed Baby were burnin' up with that same stuff you said was on that Scarecrow Baby. That hot, stinging touch."
Marionette's eyes widened and his head snapped over. "Do you think it came from Baby?"
"No. No voices, not a word, just a painful touch. I don't think she was down there long enough to do somethin' like that," Foxy said. Though he might've been guessing, the puppet couldn't help but agree. It wouldn't make sense for this to be different than last time.
Besides, there was someone else here who had that infection on them. Someone far detached from the emaciated Baby that had broken into Scott's house.
Vanny.
That was very concerning.
"I'm losing ya, Lad."
Marionette snapped out of it and shook his head.
"No, no. I'm fine. You're right, we should discuss this later. Maybe on the drive home when things are calming down."
"Aye. Get 'em all riled back up!" Foxy proclaimed. Marionette managed a smarmy look and then a small chime.
This really wasn't worth laughing about but he would take what he could. They let it drop as they regrouped with the others.
Getting back to Chica took longer than getting to Baby had, having to balance so many people getting across that cement ledge. As nervous wracking as Baby crossing in roller skates seemed, she actually got across it quickly and easily. Rolling along closer to the edge than Scott felt comfortable with to avoid as much of the garbage as she could, and to prove that she didn't need assistance after that embarrassing display that everyone present had witnessed.
Eventually they made it back to the tunnel. Fritz, Natalie, Charlie, and Ennard were the ones who headed in to look at Chica, with the others staying just outside the bridge to not crowd- and more importantly, to not break yet another rickety section of walkway.
Chica was laying in the same position that they had left her in. Fritz went to crouch down beside her while Natalie shined her light over her, and Ennard and Charlie stopped at the entrance.
"Wow," Charlie said in shock.
"Yeaaaaah," Ennard said tensely. His jaw tight and his eyes showing a sizeable remorse as he took in the scene. He nervously rubbed his hands together before clasping them tight. "Well, let's get this show on the road! Fritz, you roll her over and I'll tote her out."
"It's a deal. Just nice and easy…" Fritz had to use a little more strength than 'nice and easy' but got her more on her back. Which was when he noticed the massive hole in her face and started to look around. "Wait, where's her beak?"
"What?" Natalie asked. She shined her light at the hole and was surprised to see that the sunken-in beak was no longer there. Now it was just exposed endoskeleton, making her face look even more disfigured and sapping away the last ounce of approachability. Natalie frantically scanned the floor for the missing mouth. "It must have come off when she fell." Fritz was looking around as well and found nothing, giving Natalie a shrug. "It's got to be here. Could it have gotten shoved underneath her?" she asked.
Fritz rolled Chica and Natalie crouched down to hold her as he continued to look around and under her. Yet it still came out to the same result. Now Ennard and Charlie were looking too and Fritz was even looking in the wall, to no avail.
"It's not here. It might be hiding in plain sight, but I don't see it," Fritz said. "…Well, that's not good. Any chance they've got a spare?"
"They might. We were able to replace Sunny's plates on the fly," Charlie said.
"Freddy, do you know if they can replace Chica's beak?" Natalie called out of the entranceway.
"Of course! The Mega Pizzaplex is equipped with replacement shells for all their mascots. However, they seldom must replace the entire shell at once…" Freddy called back, voice faltering at the end. "But desperate times may call for desperate measures."
"Good enough. Let's get her up," Ennard said, and then just as quickly leaned down to hoist her up. He lifted her with one smooth motion and a slight grunt, but he managed her weight. She wasn't as heavy as he expected, it was her stiff plated body that made her awkward to lift. He had to turn to slide her through the entrance without bumping anything.
"Careful with the bridge," Natalie warned. She then went back to searching the ground with Fritz one more time to see if they could find the beak. There was a creaky thump from outside and she snapped her head back. "What was that?" she called.
"Ennard jumped the gorge," Charlie answered. She then followed him out.
"…So, I'm thinking this is where I lose my job and this experiment about how much we can get away with at Freddy's is over," Natalie said matter-of-factly.
"Well, you're always welcome at Foxy's. Though because you left us for our competitors, I'm going to have to dock your pay," Fritz joked. That got a smile out of her at least. He pushed himself up. "It could always be worse."
"True. We could be standing in a garbage tunnel looking at thousands of dollars in damages," Natalie quipped.
"It could've been one of our bots," Fritz reminded in a mumble.
"…Okay, yeah. That could've been worse. Not saying that I wanted Chica to get hurt, but at least we have the means to fix her."
Fritz admired Natalie's confidence because he didn't have nearly as much. He must've shown it on his face as Natalie stealthily pecked him on the cheek before leading the way out.
After Ennard scared everyone hopping over the wooden plank of a bridge, they were able to see the state that Chica was currently in. Freddy's remorse only grew as he saw her missing beak. With the damage she sustained he wasn't surprised she lost it.
Baby also came up to see for herself. Charlie watched her reaction with concern. The clown's eyes lowered and closed to nearly a sliver, to the point where her false lashes almost hid her eyes. It was not a look of shock or disgust but one of sympathy. One Charlie didn't often see from Baby. She must've noticed the security puppet staring as her next words seemed directed at her.
"I didn't want her to end up like that. Poor thing…" Baby said quietly. Her eyes lifted and returned Charlie's gaze. There was more than sympathy; there was guilt. "I don't take any joy seeing her like this."
She must've already seen her, Charlie realized. Of course she had, the two had been dumped down here together. She could only imagine how terrifying it would be to be trapped down in a basement filled with broken machines, sat right to Chica's broken body, alone.
"These things happen sometimes," Scott assured. He reached forward to pat her back.
"Careful. I'm covered in awful," Baby listlessly warned.
"Oh, I am too. Don't worry," he replied. "But don't beat yourself up about this. This, uh… This was bad. But you didn't mean for this to happen. She pushed you in, right?" Baby nodded stiffly. "Right… I'm not saying it should've happened to her, but you didn't do this."
"She did, but I am still responsible for the state she's in. That endless hunger is directly due to my actions."
"What do you mean?" Freddy asked. His eyes lighting up with curiosity at the suggestion.
"We have a history," Baby murmured.
"Baby means that a long time ago she took wires out of Funtime Chica and that's gotten into her programming. Lemme tell ya, I know the feeling. You get this hunger you can't control eating at you. Telling you something's wrong even when fine, telling you to fill yourself up even when you're not empty. I've lived with that monkey on my back and I wouldn't wish it on ANYONE," Ennard explained in much more detail. He looked down at Chica in his arms. "Soooo, yeah. I feel bad too."
As did Freddy. His ears lowering as he realized that there wasn't going to be a magically solution to Chica's hunger issue. He reached out to take Chica and Ennard began to hand her over before stopping.
"Actually… maybe it'll be better if I carry her. You already got one passenger on board," he suggested instead.
"I suppose, but I am sure I can manage them both…" Freddy said. Though he seemed to be considering it even as he spoke.
"Let me carry her."
Ennard looked to Baby in surprise. "You want to? Babydoll, I know you feel bad about all this, but you don't have to do that!" he insisted.
"Yes, I do. Allow me," she doubled down. He seemed even more surprised, but then went along with handing over Chica. Baby had to readjust her grip but didn't seem to struggle with her weight.
"Just be careful, okay? The skates, uh… Well, I don't need to tell you how to walk on your own feet," Scott said, cutting off his fussing early. Patting her back again before letting her turn around to head out of the tunnel.
Freddy very briefly lifted his hand like he was going to interject, but then hesitated and let it go. Charlie and Foxy both but Baby did not. Though even if she had she might've just shot him down.
Because carrying Chica's weight made Baby feel better. It made her feel a little more in control when she was so very confused of how she felt.
Against what she had said and even though she did feel regret in what she had done to Funtime Chica- it reminded her too much of everything that happened with Ennard, which was made even more clear when he directly compared himself to her- Baby wasn't entirely remorseful for what happened. That was, Chica most definitely threw her into a trash compactor with the intentions of smashing her to pieces. Fighting her was one thing, but that was a step too far.
That was a bratty move, because Baby was too much of a lady to use the other word she wanted to.
So yes, Baby was still soured on that. She would've been even more bitter if Chica hadn't been so damaged in the fall. That allowed her to put her feelings aside and commit herself to pity. Chica was an angry, broken creature. She would leave it at that and do the right thing, carrying her to safety in a slapdash attempt to make up for her initial crime. She started this, she had to end it. Be the better person and not just because everyone was watching; in this case, what they thought was the last thing on her mind.
It didn't take them too long to walk back up the basement garage. Up until that point things had been mostly silent. Everyone mostly focusing on the task at hand. Nobody wanted to stick around in that basement any longer.
They were in the process of heading through that garage when Freddy stopped and looked over at one of the carts. Foxy, who had been walking alongside him, stopped and looked up at him. Freddy turned back to the others.
"I have an idea," he announced. The others stopped walking and turned their attention to him. "We can take one of the carts and drive through the utility tunnels directly to Parts and Service. That will cut back on the time to walk over there ourselves and save us the struggle of carrying her up all those stairs. Officer Vanessa has high enough security clearance to operate the cart, so it would not be a breaking of protocol as long as she is present."
"There are how many stairs?" Baby discreetly asked Charlie.
"So many stairs," Charlie replied.
Baby gave an exasperated little huff. "Wonderful."
"That's… Not too bad of an idea," Natalie agreed. "And there's elevators from Parts and Service that go directly into Rockstar Row, so Scott, if you're still up to it we can maybe try to get that footage. We might have a little more time."
"Uh, sure! Unless we were just planning on taking off as soon as we got out of here. But if everyone's okay sticking around then I ought to do something… Maybe even see if it recorded any footage of what happened in the kitchen," Scott suggested. "…On second thought, we should probably stick around just so I can find that kitchen footage and… deal with it."
"You do that. We don't need this getting back to Fazbear Entertainment or we could all be in a lot of trouble. Save possibly Chica," Natalie agreed. "Just one problem: where's the keys?"
"That is not a problem! I know some of these carts start with only the push of a button. As the utility tunnels are blocked through security access, it is very unlikely that they will be stolen and much too likely that an employee may misplace the keys. At least, that is how I imagine they came to this decision," Freddy explained.
This seemed like a good enough plan that there weren't any direct objections. The next few minutes involved Freddy opening access into the utility tunnels and he, Fritz, and Natalie locating a cart that would work, unloading the supplies on the back, and then Fritz getting it on and backing it all the way down to the door into the underground garage.
The cart was rather basic, orange in color with a row of seats in the front and a flat open back to carry supplies inside. It might've been shaped more like a go-kart, but it drove rather smoothly. Fritz backed up as close as he could to the door before Baby rolled forward to lay Chica in the back. She laid her down as carefully as she could, but the motion still made her unfocused and half-lidded eyes roll around loosely.
Baby stared down at her for a long moment. So, this was how she was going to leave her, just as broken as she had last time. The best-case scenario being that they never crossed paths again.
"I'm sorry," she said, very aware that Chica likely couldn't hear her. Then she turned and quickly skated away, unable to look at her for even a moment longer. Chica's eyelid twitched.
"So…" Ennard began as he came up beside Freddy who was watching Baby leave. "Got any idea who's going to be working on her?" the other clown asked.
"I am not sure. Whoever is scheduled to come in at seven, I suppose. Other than Chaz, I do not know the technicians by name," Freddy explained.
"Gotcha…"
Ennard was handling this whole thing with Chica about as well as Baby was. Though he leaned much harder into guilt about the situation, being the one who put many of the events into motion. Especially since what happened to her clearly wasn't over. Now she had to go through the grueling process of being pieced back together by Fazbear Entertainment's technician team, and from what he heard secondhand about the last repair job done here, they likely didn't have a great bedside manner.
One look at her just showed the full extent of her work too. She would have to have most of her exterior replaced, a new beak put on, possibly have wires aligned, and hopefully they would fix her eyes properly while doing it or she would keep that lazy eye.
Ennard made a noise mimicking taking in a deep breath then portrayed that strain in his next question.
"How about the best technician in Hurricane?"
Everyone except Freddy immediately caught on to what he was saying and there were a few reactions of mild surprise at what he was volunteering.
"You know the best technician in Hurricane, Utah?" Freddy asked in surprise.
"You're looking at him!" Ennard chirped, pointing his thumbs at his own chest. He then beckoned Fritz, who was walking up, with one hand. Fritz took the bait and came over and once close enough Ennard yanked him in with an arm around the shoulders. Fritz didn't even jump he was so prepared for the clown to do something. "This guy's not too shabby either," Ennard continued. He tilted his head and winked at Fritz.
"That's a real compliment coming from you, Mister Clown," Fritz jokingly replied. Ennard giggled, a slightly forced but somewhat genuine little laugh. He pointed at the man's chest.
"He's the brains of the operation. I'm just the good looks and skill, ha ha! But- But all that aside, heh, whaddya say? Will you give us a chance?" he asked.
"How could I refuse? Foxy has spoken very highly of your repair skills!"
Once again, Foxy had been giving him unprovoked compliments behind his back. Something that made Ennard even more flustered by the fact that the pirate was currently watching him and this was the worst time for him to embarrass himself.
"And… if I may be honest, I would rather Chica not have to wait until morning to be repaired… Especially if they see this accident as something concerning enough to warrant additional correction," Freddy remarked worriedly. "Can you finish by opening?"
"We sure as heck can try!" Ennard agreed. He then shot a grin down at Fritz by his side. "So, what about you, Brother-in-Arms. You in?"
Fritz was already willing to say yes, but that vaguely pleading look in Ennard's eyes helped seal the deal.
"It's worth a shot," he agreed. "And Scott's sticking around, so it's not like we're leaving yet anyways."
"Ha ha, great!" Ennard agreed. He lifted his hand for a little fist bump, which Fritz returned.
Natalie was still a little uneasy about the idea or at least not entirely convinced that it was worth the risk. The risk of getting caught specifically, as she had no doubt Fritz could handle his own in a repair job.
"I'm not so sure about this. If anything goes wrong, how am I going to explain that some other technician and a clown were working on Chica?" Natalie asked, half-jokingly and half serious.
"Ohhh, I wouldn't worry tooo much about that," an unexpected voice chimed in.
Looking up and over at an obscure spot on the ceiling, Natalie and everyone else was able to spot the glowing form staring out of the darkness. He was perched on a frame of pipes up in the corner with his limbs twisted to hook onto it.
"Moon…" Freddy said quietly. He almost looked ashamed to have been caught by the jester.
Moon rolled his body to unhook himself and dropped to the floor with a flurry of jingles. Then he began to slink over towards the group.
"We already have clowns working on ussss…" Moon clarified with a sinister giggle. He slinked close by Foxy without acknowledging him, then paused and flipped his head back to face him. "Welcome back, Captain Foxy."
Foxy was too tired to come up with anything clever to retort with. Instead choosing to look as unenthused as possible.
"Took you long enough. Where were you when we were wading through trash?" Charlie questioned, a hand on her hip. Clearly not amused by his entrance.
"I've wasted enough of my life wading through garbage. That's why so many of them were replaced with Staff Bots," Moon remarked. He snapped his head forward and looked around at the remaining crew. "My, my, so many broken rules. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Where is Chica?"
"She is… over there," Freddy murmured. His eyes ghosting over to the back of the cart. Moon's red pupils followed over to it and while he could only see the edge of her body at this angle he caught on right away. He didn't show any surprise.
"So anyways," Fritz spoke up, turning his attention back to Natalie and retaking the conversation. "We can do it. We'll fix her, and we'll take the heat if something goes wrong. Which it won't. If we start finding stuff too big for us to handle, we'll leave it for the next crew."
Natalie gave a nod. "Then let's get packed up and start moving. You guys aren't going to have a lot of time."
By this point, Moon had started circling Baby. She had said nothing on it yet, refusing to give him the benefit of addressing it while watching him creep around her. Eventually he came to a stop alongside Freddy, still looking down at her dirtied legs and now clenching on of his hands as though just the sight of dirt was bothering him.
Baby finally addressed him, looking to him and giving a tired, "Yes, I am all too aware of the state of myself."
"There is a prop washing station in the basement of the Daycare Theater. Imagine it as an oversized shower for industrial uses. You are welcome to use it, though please try not to track. It irks me," Moon said. From the twisting of his hand and the wince to his eyes it was clear that it did more than irk him.
"Thank you," Baby said. She almost sounded relieved at not having to clean herself off with cleaning wipes.
"Are you going with her?" Moon asked the puppets alongside her.
"We are," Marionette said. Charlie agreed.
"Good. Then you can take thisss with you."
Moon suddenly spun his upper half around and without any warning he pulled Freddy's stomach hatch open in one smooth motion. Freddy lifted his hands in surprise, but didn't stop the Daycare Attendant from reaching into his chest cavity and scooping Gregory out.
Gregory was a little less on board. "What the crap?!" he cried.
"Language! Twenty-five for that sailor mouth of yours," Moon hissed.
"Ugh, you're doing that stupid point thing again?" Gregory grumbled.
"Not points, minutes. Minutes in time out. Now stop being fussssy and let me check you," the attendant fussed. He set Gregory down and began to turn him around. His grip was gentle but firm. It didn't hurt, but Gregory did feel like a little toy getting shifted around as some lanky clown guy hunched over him and looked over his body. He grimaced and made a displeased noise at his shoes, then pointed at them as he looked up to Marionette. "Throw those in a washer. They're in the basement too."
"I will," he agreed. He offered his hand to Gregory. The boy quirked a brow at it but then took it. To him it felt like squeezing a plushie's hand.
"I guess… I shouldn't go with you guys. In case Chica wakes up?" Gregory asked Freddy. It was clear from his tone to his look that he didn't want to be separated from Freddy again, but he also didn't want to stick around with Chica.
Freddy gave a remorseful nod. "That and I will need to tell Monty and Roxy about Chica. It will be safer for you to head to the daycare- but I will be with you as soon as I can. And if you need me for anything, message me. I will come for you, I promise."
"Yeah, okay."
"And one more thing. I have something for you…" Freddy knelt and opened his stomach hatch again before reaching inside. After a moment of feeling around, he found something that had slid down into the edge. Something that Gregory hadn't seen.
"What is it?" Gregory asked.
"It is a bag of dried fruit and peanuts. I meant to give it to you earlier," Freddy said. He held out the little bag of snacks on his palm.
"Uh… Thanks?"
"Sun in all of his good-natured smothering has left him something more substantial in the mini fridge," Moon discreetly said to Marionette. Resting his hands on Freddy's shoulders and leaning over him to do so. Marionette gave an understanding nod, after which Moon promptly hooked his hands under Freddy's arms and gave him a tug. "No more stalling, Freddy. We need to move."
Freddy nodded and started getting up, pausing to ruffle Gregory's hair on the way. This got a little smile out of Gregory and that got one out of Freddy as well.
While this was going on, Scott came up to Baby and discreetly pulled her aside. With Moon taking up most of the attention he was able to do so without creating a scene.
"Do you want me to come too? It's okay, we've got time," he offered.
"No, you don't. I'll be fine, you just worry about finishing what we came here for," Baby insisted. Her eyes flicked back to the others before returning to him, tilting her head in his direction. "And besides, I would rather not bathe with an audience." Her voice taking a lighter tone to signal that she was joking. A rare occurrence for many of those present.
"I'll keep an eye on her," Foxy chimed in, having apparently overheard the exchange. Which made sense considering he was standing closest. He pointed his hook at his eyes only to catch sight of his discolored arm and grumbling, "Ehh, a closer eye than I thought…"
Baby gave an either amused or agreeing little hum. Scott gave her an assuring half hug, as did Ennard who came up calmly and then nearly knocked her over by throwing himself on her. If only so he could beep his noise against her forehead. She swatted him off and gave him a non-serious eyeroll before pushing him off. The groups then finally began to split apart.
But not before Freddy gave one more comment.
"Captain?" he called. Foxy looked back to him. Freddy briefly hesitated, his eyes dropping and sweeping the floor nervously before he steeled himself. "If you would not mind staying until we finish, there is something that I need to talk to you about…"
"I ain't goin' nowhere. Not til six," Foxy said. Freddy gave a nod of agreement and went on his way.
Foxy didn't need to wonder what he wanted to talk about. He had an idea already, and if it was wrong then he wouldn't forget to bring it up.
Fritz got behind the wheel of the cart while Natalie and Scott squeezed in between him and Ennard respectively. Freddy climbed in the back to sit alongside Chica while Moon hopped in on the other side, crouched by their legs. Freddy wasn't entirely surprised he was coming too- with his security status he was likely obligated to come along and report, though he doubted Moon would do the latter- nor was he surprised when he pulled a small pack of cleaning wipes out and began to wipe him down, murmuring 'clean up, clean up' under his breath as he did. Freddy held out his hand to take the wipe, but Moon just pushed it back and continued working.
"So, Freddy. What do you think about maybe not telling the rest of your band until we're out of there?" Fritz suggested.
"I suppose I can get away with waiting for a little while, but they will find out on their own eventually once they notice our absence… But do not worry! Monty and Roxy do not know that you three work for Foxy's, so only Ennard will need to hide," Freddy said.
"This was a bad night to not come with your disguise," Fritz remarked to Ennard. "…Where are your clothes anyway?"
"Stuffed in a cabinet in the kitchen. Make sure I don't leave without 'em, they cost more than I do," Ennard replied.
"…Hey, wait a minute." Natalie snapped her head around to look at Freddy over the back of the seat. "You said 'you three'. You meant me?"
"Err, well, yes," Freddy said awkwardly. Only then realizing his mistake.
"Uh huh," Natalie said suspiciously. "And who told you I work at Foxy's?"
She was expecting him to say Foxy did it. In fact, she was downright counting on it. So when Freddy's eyes darted over and back from the other side of the cart she was surprised. She tightened her lips and turned around the other way, finding Moon looming over her. His grinning face propped on his hand, his elbow resting on the back of Fritz's seat.
"How peculiar that we have two Vanessssas on staff," he lulled.
"It's not that strange. It's a common name," Natalie replied. She crossed her arms and arched a brow in challenge. "I bet if I checked there were plenty of people with the same name working here."
"Is that so?" Moon asked coyly.
"It is! I went to school with three kids named Chris, two Katies, I'm friends with two Michaels, and I know at least three Jen's of the top of my head," she listed off almost defiantly. Moon tilted his head at her.
"Then why ooon earth did you choose this one?" he lulled. She gave him a very unenthused look and turned back ahead.
"Believe what you want to, Moon."
"I believe it's verrrrrry peculiar that our dear security guard let in a worker from Foxy's and a worker from the old Freddy's," Moon said, shifting to the other side of her. Leaning onto Freddy so he could lean in between her and Scott, who he then turned his attention to. His neck shifted and his face rolled to lean down and eye the man. "The last ten, oh, twelve years haven't been very kind to you, have they?" he asked.
Scott realized only then that Moon wasn't bluffing. He genuinely knew who he was, and that was the he that he was back at Freddy's. That filled him with unease.
Though before he could even consider saying anything, Ennard's around his back suddenly pulled him in close.
"Easy there, Tiger. Quit flirting with my man," Ennard quickly chimed in. He pulled Scott in closer to his chest so he could lean over behind him. "And quit badgering everyone like you don't have a name you're hiding under all that clown getup."
"I don't have a name anymore," Moon said cryptically. His eyes shifting from red to milky blue.
"I'm, uh… I'm sorry-," Scott began, only to get cut off.
"Come to think of it, you remind me of this kid who used to go to Freddy's! Used to launch pizza across the room and got a trash can dumped over his head," Ennard quipped, eyes narrowing smugly.
Moon reacted instantly. Blue shifting back to red as he shot upright onto his hands and stared Ennard down with what was surely a glare.
"Who told you that?!" he cried. Just like Scott did, he panicked at the mere implication of his past.
"Ooooh, a little birdie told me," Ennard replied. "I think he used to hang out at the dump."
Moon growled and tightened his fingers on the back of the seat before sliding into the back where he proceeded to cross his arms and grumble. Freddy leaned forward to pat his shoulder, getting another sour little rumble in return. He smiled despite the circumstances.
"This has been a real great night. Glad I came," Fritz remarked.
Ennard stealthily poked Natalie in the shoulder. She looked down to him holding out his hand. She gave him a quiet high five and the drive continued.
...
Some time had passed and the group had arrived at Parts and Service.
Freddy had carried Chica into the protective cylinder but was then required to leave to allow the repairing to begin. Fritz fumbled around with the computer for a few minutes, Scott helping him figure out how to manage it, before they ran a scan of her. After a few moment of considering the massive amounts of damage, Ennard and Fritz mutually decided to begin at the feet and work on seemingly easy casing replacement first before moving onto the mess that was her face.
Once they got settled into the cylinder and began to work on removing the feet, Natalie and Scott headed out through Freddy's elevator. Moon accompanied them, if only because his presence immediately opened doors for them instead of Natalie having to fumble with her keycard. Or maybe to show off in some attempt to regain his dignity after the little spat in the cart. Freddy thought that he was more upset at someone else getting the upper hand than actual discussion of the past, but he couldn't be sure.
Freddy couldn't be sure of a lot of things anymore.
With a sigh, he sat down at the bottom of the stairs and began to wait. He knew it was sure to be a lengthy wait too, but he couldn't leave Chica, even if he couldn't help her. At least Gregory was alright, so in this case he didn't have to choose one over the other.
It hurt to think that it was his indecision that might've led to all of this. Or perhaps his ignorant belief that the problem wasn't that bad. It was overwhelming to think about, and that was before Marionette had found those things in the basement.
What if they couldn't fix Chica? While Freddy a much better opinion of the employees at the Mega Pizzaplex than the others did, it was no secret that the turnover of staff had been a problem. Automated systems replaced people, automated systems that needed people to man them, and while he would've gladly stepped in to help Chica he wasn't allowed to. The system wouldn't even allow him to be in the protective cylinder unless he was on the table.
If she was too damaged for any of the technicians to fix… would she end up in that basement too?
The slide of a door and a soft jingling cut into Freddy's thoughts. He looked back to see that Moon had come through the door and was now coming over. Freddy turned forward and scooted over as best as he could in case Moon wanted to sit down. Though it didn't offer up really any space, even when he moved his arms into his lap.
Moon stopped behind him for a moment before suddenly dropping down onto the steps. Taking Freddy by the shoulders and guiding him back into the middle before resting his leg on either side. He then guided Freddy to lay back against him, somewhat cushion by the puff of his star dotted pants. Freddy looked up with a thankful but otherwise somber little smile. Moon leaned over him, folding his arms around the bear's neck and looking down at him.
"What's on your mind, Freddy?" he asked.
"There is so much on my mind… I do not even know where to start," Freddy said with a sigh.
"Would you like me to make all those bad thoughts disappear?" Moon offered. A tilt of his face and a glint in his eyes. Freddy knew what he was suggesting.
"…No. I need to be here and present for Chica and Gregory," he said. "But I do feel like I failed them both."
"Why is that? You did nothing wrong."
"It is not what I did, but what I did not do. What I saw and how I reacted to it… I knew something was wrong with Chica. I knew she was not acting normal and yet when Gregory told me how much of an issue it was becoming I… I was still so sure that Chica would never do what she did. And then by not stepping in, I allowed her to get hurt too! All because I did not see what was right in front of me… Am I really that naïve? That irresponsible? That idiotic?"
"Idiotic, tch. You are not stupid, Freddy. You are simply too trusting," Moon said. He reached up and tapped Freddy's nose with a squeak.
"What is the difference?" the bear asked dejectedly.
"One is caused by a big heart, the other is cause by a small brain," the jester proclaimed. Lifting and twirling his finger as he did before returning his arm to it previous folded position. "Keep your heart big, Papa Bear. You don't want to end up a jaded as I am."
Freddy looked downward, which was more looking at the far ceiling than anywhere at the floor. His fingers tapping on his leg, Moon's then tapping in return on his chest. Freddy then looked up again.
"…Was Ennard right? About what he said about you, that you used to visit a Freddy's?"
"Ugh, yes," Moon grumbled. He bent his arm to prop his faceplate on his hand. "But I don't know how he knows that. Unless he heard me telling Jake. He was constantly crawling about the junkyard we scavenged."
It wasn't until right after he said it when he realized his mistake in mentioned Jake. He wasn't supposed to bring up Jake, elsewise Freddy might find it weird that he was mentioning a Sun who no longer existed- if he even remembered his name. He peeked down at Freddy only to see him still looking up at him without any suspicion.
Moon drew back his hand to properly look down as he clarified, "I acted out as a child."
"It sounded that way," Freddy said. A glint of playfulness on his voice. His eyes darted aside and back. "What was your name?"
"Why are you suddenly so curious?" Moon asked, more tiredly than suspiciously.
"Oh, I was just wondering," Freddy excused badly. Moon continued eyeing him and the bear buckled. "…I think I may have been human, and I do not remember it."
Moon paused and tilted his head curiously.
"It would only make sense! Foxy, Mari, Baby, and you all used to be humans. You all have human memories, even if you forgot them for some time. Foxy said he knew others who could not remember who they were for a while, so… what if I am the same? What if I too was a human who became Freddy Fazbear and I just cannot recall it?" Freddy asked.
Moon was surprised at how excited he sounded. "Do you feel like a human, Freddy?" he asked.
"I feel like I feel too much to be a machine," Freddy said. "And while it is terrifying to think I could be anything other than Freddy Fazbear… Freddy Fazbear is an icon. He is the face of childhood and pizza. I want to be real."
"You're just as real as anyone else."
"I-… Perhaps."
Freddy seemed to be at a loss for words and Moon couldn't help but be uneasy. After a moment of sitting there in silence, save the occasional muffled sound of the automated voice inside of the protective cylinder, Moon spoke. His voice so soft the rasp was inaudible.
"You don't need to be human to be real, Freddy… but I believe you were human," he said. "…And my name was Andrew."
Freddy took his hand and brought it to his face to nuzzle against the thin silicone covering it. Moon gave a content hum and a chattering of ticks through his chest.
The conversation ended there and Freddy hadn't aired all his grievances, but he still felt better, and that was all that mattered.