Mable: Sorry this chapter took so long! I blame the Amazing Digital Circus and my Shameless Circus Stories. XD Anyhoo, Enjoy!
Going Home in a Box
Chapter Seventy-Six
The soft tapping throughout the tunnels and echoes of giggling tipped Sunny off to exactly where all his little charges. He eagerly pursued after them, smoothly crawling along the tunnels but moving slow enough to give them plenty of berth. Sure, they had a generous twenty second head start, but they were tiny, and tiny things got a little extra time. It was only fair.
He peeked out of the tunnel and caught sight of Plushtrap's ears as he ran by on the level above. The giggles had been closer though, so he would let him go hide and continue searching for the smaller and speedier playmates. He climbed out of the tunnel fully before calling through the play structure.
"I'm gonna getcha!" Sunny called. This was rewarded with a nearby laugh. "Oh ho! Ready or not~!"
He darted after the voice and around a corner before down a slope. Hastily propelling himself with his turned around legs as he zipped though a passage and then down through another tunnel on the bottom floor of the structure. He was gaining on them. Any second not he would snatch one of them up and they would be switched to his side of the game.
He creeped up on the tunnel opening before popping out the other side, points springing, hands spread wide beside his face.
"Peek-a-boo!"
But what he found himself face to face with was not one of the little munchkins he had been chasing for the last while. It was someone he didn't recognize at all, save that they vaguely looked like Max.
It was a puppet styled like a little boy with gangly limbs wearing molded-on black shorts and a blue and dark blue striped shirt and hat. It had a wide smile and large blue eyes and sat slumped against the opposite barred wall as though it had been waiting for him. Eyes and smile both trained on right where he was coming through.
Sunny tilted his head at it. It sort of looked like a dummy or a wooden doll. Maybe this was the Balloon Boy he heard so much about. He climbed out of the tunnel and turned his legs around so he could crouch on hands and knees.
"Oh, a new friend! Hello there!" he greeted cheerfully.
The animatronic boy gave a downright devious laugh back. It almost sounded like a recording more than a laugh.
Sunny wasn't exactly creeped out by the display though. He just spun his points and cocked his head. "What's your name?"
"Wouldn't you like to know," the boy retorted.
Though that wasn't the voice of a boy. Well, half of it was. The half overlaying a matured voice hiding underneath. Two tones twisting into one voice which, admittedly, was a little off-putting. Though in this case, Sunny was much more wary of what else he heard: sass. He could handle a creepy kid all day, but some edgy adult with something to prove always ended badly.
"Yes, I would like to know! Thank you very much!" Sunny continued playing along. He propped his head up on his hands. "Weeeeell?"
"They call me the terror of Freddy's. But nah, you can call me Balloon Boy. Everybody does!" He punctuated it with another resounding laugh. "What's yours?"
"I'm Sunny Dee! But you can call me Sunny, Sun, Sundrop-."
"I mean your real name. The one you used to use back at the old Freddy's," Balloon Boy asked cheekily.
This was what finally threw Sunny off. "I-I beg your pardon?!"
"Ha, I'm just pulling your leg! What I'd really like is to play a game."
"Well, err, we're already playing a- but, uh, sure! What would YOU like to play, little guy?" Sunny asked.
Balloon Boy made an irritated huff that sounded almost like blowing up a balloon.
"Don't patronize me clown. I'm probably older than you," he said.
"Maybe! But you're much, much smaller than me," Sunny pointed out. It was supposed to sound naïve and innocent, but the cheekiness underneath wasn't missing by Balloon Boy.
This poor sun-shaped fool.
"I want to play hide and seek. And not rinky-dinky little kiddie hide and seek. I want to play real hide and seek," Balloon Boy challenged.
"Oh, that sounds great! I'm the champion of hide and seek, you know, so don't think I'll go easy on you!" Sun tutted with a waggle of his finger.
"Ha ha, good."
Suddenly, Balloon Boy crab walked sideways and out of sight. Sunny could hear him shuffling along but made no attempt to follow him. He considered it a head start but it was more to give him some space, just like a fussy child who didn't want attention from Mr. Sun. Maybe it was Marionette's warning and Jeremy downplayed pleas for everyone to be 'good' but this whole thing made Sun uneasy.
But that deep unease inside of Sunny wasn't fear. At least, not fear for this strange wooden puppet who looked remarkably like the Freddy's character named Balloon Boy but didn't seem nearly as innocent, but a fear for what exactly he was about to do. Because Sunny could spot a rulebreaker from tone of voice alone.
Though anyone with a good ear could've heard how malicious that request to play sounded.
Sunny twisted and turned himself around with a sigh before climbing back through the tunnel. Balloon Boy could wait, there were a bunch of little Sunflowers waiting to be found before him.
Sun busied himself for the next while crawling through and collecting little ones. He found Plushtrap first. Poor little guy was so overexcited that he chattered whenever he got close and even though he was rather quick, Sun eventually scooped him up. Then he plopped him on his back as he continued to search for the others.
It took a while to find them all. Unlike normal kids who Sunny had to go easy with, these small animatronics were built to move. They gave him a run for his money, and he loved it. He loved not having to be so careful when he rushed them. He loved knowing that there wasn't someone watching him like a hawk from the security desk. It was all so freeing.
The remaining two who couldn't be caught were Daisy and Forget-Me-Not. Even once Sunny insisted they don't climb on the outside of the structure- once he realized they were doing it- they were just so quick to mover through the holes in the structure that finally Sunny had to forfeit.
"Time's up! Let's see… One, two, three…" Sunny pretended to count the slew of tiny animatronics currently hanging off of him. He gave a dramatic gasp with his hand to his cheek. "It looks like we have TWO winners today!" he gushed.
Both Minireenas peeked their heads in before giggling and climbing down to his level.
"Well done, you two! I think you guys oughta choose what we play next! What do you think, friends?" Sunny asked the others.
Plushtrap gave a chattery nod.
"Yeah, alright," Bow agreed.
"Do we still get candy?" Button whispered to her.
"I think so," Bow whispered back.
"You sure do! Oh, I'm just so proud of you all! No tears or fusses or musses or anything!" Sunny delightfully lavished. He offered his hands to Daisy and Forget-Me-Not and both climbed on, the former more eagerly than the hesitant latter, and lifted them up behind his head so they could climb on. "Time for the big slide!"
Plushtrap clapped eagerly.
"It's just a slide. We came in on one," Bow pointed out. Plushtrap waved her off and otherwise ignored her.
Sunny then carried them to the tallest slide in the play structure. On the way he very briefly looked for Balloon Boy, but he was nowhere to be found. In fact, he hadn't seen him since he scuttled away. He probably hid somewhere outside in the playground and in that case, he wasn't a top priority of his. He didn't want to get treated like a little kid, so Sunny wouldn't dote on him like one.
At the top of the slide, he twisted his arm around and made sure to get a good grip on Plushtrap and the Bidybabs. The Minireenas were more than capable of clinging on.
"Hold on tight!" he warned. He then hopped down the slide headfirst. Or hand first, catching himself with it and doing a quick turnover where he untwisted his body, pulled the little ones to his front, and was back upright in seconds. Plushtrap chattered and he gave an excited giggle as he carried them towards the middle of the room, past Max who was watching.
But he wasn't the only one watching.
"Oh, Mister Sunnn~!"
Sunny froze up when he recognized where that voice was coming from. He slowly turned his head to see Balloon Boy's peeking out from behind the desk.
Sunny reacted accordingly.
"GYAH?! Wh-WHAT ARE YOU DOING BACK THERE?!"
"Better question! What's this button do?" Balloon Boy teased.
He heard the sound of the naptime button getting uncovered. His point pulled in tightly as he stared in shock. His twitching faceplate shaking his frozen smile.
"Moon's the one with the mean streak, right?" Balloon Boy asked.
"DON'T YOU PUSH THAT!"
"Whoops! My finger slipped."
There was a click and the lights shut off, punctuated by Balloon boy's mischievous laugh.
Sunny gave a startled shout before he felt all his programming starting to kick in. He held back, resisting despite the discomfort so he could safely set down his small charges before giving in and letting the process take over.
Yellow switched the blue, points pulled in, and stripes turned to stars only in a matter of a few moments. The Sun went down, and the Moon came up to meet him. His pupils alighting red as he leveled his gaze on Balloon Boy.
…But he wouldn't lose his temper. Despite the stress, despite the sheer naughtiness, Moon would not bite the hook. After a few seconds of stare down, he broke his gaze from Balloon Boy and looked to the small dolls around his feet.
They didn't run and scream. They didn't seem afraid at all- good. He wasn't going to ruin that. He crouched down before them.
"Hello, my little Moonflowers. I am Moon, or Moondrop. Stay calm and close, and I'll have the lights back on shortly," he said. He reached out and booped Plushtrap's nose with a soft squeak, then the two Bidybabs' in rapid succession.
"Oh, he's not too bad," Button remarked.
"Maybe only towards Foxys," Bow suggested.
Moon chuckled and stood back up, only to crouch again and then hop into a backflip. He was caught by his carrying cable and swung over to the top of the play structure- where he would flip on his first generator. Putting on a show purposefully as he did so.
It didn't take him long to activate that generator, then he smoothly crossed the daycare, dipping through shortcuts in the play structure, and made it to one of the generators on the lower levels of it. Then he began to climb to a higher one.
He was just about to flip the generator on when he noticed a light shut off nearby. Being as sensitive to light as he was, he noticed it immediately- it was the floodlight that came on when he turned on the lower generator. There were mounted lights on the structure that came on with the generators, largely for the benefit of the technicians who were never even in here. The one he just turned on went off.
Which was fine unless it meant the generator had shut off too. Moon hummed suspiciously and turned on the generator beside him before heading back down to check.
He got to the last generator he turned on to find it off. He turned it back on before crawling away from it, listening carefully.
There was a scuttling from somewhere nearby. Moon's fingers tightened on the plastic floor with a low growl and darted ahead and outside of the climbing structure, scaling the exterior, and squeezing in at the top.
He rushed towards the other generator he had already activated and crawled in on the perpetrator in the process of trying to shut it off. It was easier said than done with his cupped little hands, but he managed the first time.
Moon was both infuriated and unsurprised to see it was Balloon Boy.
"You!" he hissed. "Haven't you cause enough trouble already?!"
"Just having a little fun with you, Moon Man," Balloon Boy cheekily replied.
"Well, I am already fed up. Sun can deal with you when I get the lights on. Until then, stay out of my way."
"Aww, you have to leave already? You just got here!" Balloon Boy jeered. "I think I'd have a whole lot more fun playing with you than Sun Man."
"Sun will be sad to hear that."
"I don't think he will," Balloon Boy challenged. "Because I think you're just one tough guy hiding between two voices."
"Hah! Funny, coming from you. Which one of those is real again?" Moon retorted. Finger waggling at him as though pointing between two.
Balloon Boy made another one of those irritated balloon puffs.
"And I think you're a little brat who won't act his age," Moon finished with a wicked grin in his voice.
"Well, I also think you're a little too old to be a kid's toy, Creepo," Balloon Boy said a little more bitterly.
Moon growled. "Little punk."
"Freaky clock clown."
"Smug smart-sasser!"
"Oversized happy meal toy!"
"Knock-off Pinocchio!"
"Bi-!"
"Will you two mental patients get a grip? This isn't half as funny as it should be," Max called in.
Moon figuratively snapped his mouth shut at the reminder that all his little buddies were currently listening in on this feud. He huffed and snapped his eyes back to Balloon Boy.
"I'm not in the mood for games, little puppet. Stay out of my way or else there will be consequences."
"You sound like a Saturday morning cartoon villain," Balloon Boy said unphased. "Hey, if you're going to act like a toon, let's settle this like a couple of chumps. How's about we race for it?"
"I am NOT racing you!"
"Too late."
Balloon Boy promptly scuttled around the corner and down a nearby tunnel. Moon was hot in pursuit and kept up for a good while, but Balloon Boy was simply too slippery to catch.
It soon became apparent that Balloon Boy was leading him on a wild goose chase. As if the nasty childish laughter didn't give that away. Then he realized what Balloon Boy meant by a race and split from behind him to go turn on the next generator. All he had to do was get to them all before this little mosquito shut them back off behind him.
Max and the little ones could only watch and listen as a blue glow darted around, some thumbing and scuttling, and the occasional loud laugh and frustrated growl. Back and forth, up and down, and around and around. Generators kicking on and off and on and off in a seemingly endless cycle.
Until finally, finally, Balloon Boy was reaching to turn one off at the same moment Moon was reaching to turn the last one. Unfortunately for him, his clumsy hands guaranteed who would be the winner.
The overhead lights kicked on and even when Balloon Boy shut the generator off, they didn't go back out. Well, that was disappointing. It looked like the fun was over.
Something that he knew for certain once he heard the frenzy of thumping, ticking, and jingling that was the Daycare Attendant coming to find him. He didn't feel like running, so he just hung out and waited for him to show up.
By time the jester stuck his grinning face through the door he had turned back into Sun. He didn't seem any less annoyed.
"I guess you're faster than I thought," Balloon Boy said- with the smugness of someone who had gotten exactly what he set out for. "So, what's next on the agenda? Are you gonna break out the coloring books?"
Sun responded by snatching Balloon Boy up in his large hands and crawling out of the play structure, his smaller captive laughing all the while.
Soon they both popped out of the structure, with Sunny climbing to his feet while carrying Balloon Boy as far away from him as humanly possible. He carried him back to the others and then plopped him down on the padded floor.
"Don't. You. Move," Sun commanded with a firm point. "I'm going to go get my tea party and puppet show supplies and I am NOT having you break up the fun again. And if you do, I'm going to do something not very nice…"
"You gonna ground me?" Balloon Boy asked.
"Even worse. I'm going to get my fingerpaint supplies and let all my new little friends draw pretty little pictures all over you!"
"Ha! They wouldn't."
Balloon Boy waited for someone to say something, or even giggle or chatter. He was answered with dead silence. His eyes darted back and forth.
"…They would?"
"You get in the way of our candy, and we won't play nice," Bow said.
"We will have a tea party on your head we will," Button added.
"Then we're all in agreement! I'll be riiiight back, Sunflowers!" Sunny chirped before skipping away again.
Max waited until he was out of earshot before speaking up.
"You know, that could've been a real disaster if we were humans. Who knows what kind of programming he's got," he said. It was a partial scolding but way too nonchalant to be seen as one.
"Eh, we could take him," Balloon Boy dismissed.
"I hate to break it to you, but you're on your own. Ha ha ha! Nobody wants to mess with that clown! He might be carrying something."
"Other than me?"
"I meant something dangerous."
Sunny dropped onto his balcony and headed inside and through the tunnel to start gathering his stuff up, muttering as he did.
"Did you see that?" he grumpily asked. He got no response. "Jake?" Still nothing.
He came back out of the tunnel with two boxes of things and looked around. Only now did he notice that he was entirely alone. If Jake wasn't here and he wasn't in the small room, then that meant he wasn't here at all.
"Jake?!" Sunny gasped and dropped the boxes.
He did a quick circle of the room before heading through the door and down the hall. He found the poster door cracked and barged through into the theater.
"Jake?!" he called through a cupped hand. It echoed through the empty theater.
Nothing.
He bolted down the stairs and down the stairs and into the theater basement. He cupped his hands to his mouth and yelled again.
"JAAAAKE!"
But there was still no response.
"ACK!" Sunny grabbed his head in horror before bolting back up the stairs again.
He barged right back into his room and began to search for the spare radio. If he could find that then he could contact Jake's control panel- which was gone too?! -but it didn't take long for him to realize that this too wouldn't work. As he had no idea where the radio was after so much frenzied packing.
He must've gone to the West Arcade with Jeremy and Marionette. Without saying anything, without leaving a note, without him. Sunny didn't know if he was more annoyed or worried or- No, Andrew was definitely ticked off. To do something so dangerous, so reckless- He would have to go after him. Had to make sure he was safe.
Yet the moment Sunny hopped back onto the balcony and prepared to dive off, to climb up the slide and tear out of the daycare, he found something grabbing him and holding him firm on that platform. Not his cord, not someone's grasp, but something much more firm- his own programming. He sent a wary look over towards the little animatronics across the daycare.
He couldn't leave children unattended in the daycare.
"But these aren't normal kids! Th-These are little robots! Most of them aren't even kids anymore- and that Max guy sounds old enough to handle 'em! Right? Right. No big deal! Nope!"
They'd be fine! They were little animatronics, they could take care of themselves. He knew this.
Except there were kids in the daycare and they couldn't be left unattended.
He could hear his ticking growing louder as the stress weighed on his internal components. He could do it, he really could, but without a security call, without a command, without a reason to leave, that programming was putting up a fight. Those deep seated feelings telling him he had to watch the kids. HAD to watch the kids.
Besides- Besides! He had promised Jeremy he would watch them. If he left them, they could try to follow, or get out, or that little monster Balloon Boy might sabotage the generators and have the technicians in here tomorrow.
Sunny realized with defeat that he just couldn't leave. Not right now.
But that didn't mean that someone couldn't go get Jake. He mulled it over for a long moment before guiltily sending out a message.
"Freddyyyy? I know you're hanging out with Gregory, but umm, could you do me a really quick, tiny, little favor?"
…
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Jeremy asked.
"…Yes."
"Then do it. You've got this."
Jake braced himself.
"You've got this!" Jeremy repeated.
"You can do it!" Marionette cheered. "Do the flip!"
Jake gave a tentative bounce and then in one motion tucked in and did a backflip. He had almost forgot that his body was built for this. Acrobatics almost felt natural.
He landed on his feet on the trampoline ground before he was suddenly reminded of his replacement leg by its stiffness throwing off his footing. He lost his balance and fell onto his backside painlessly.
Despite the landing, this received a triumphant "Woo!" from Jeremy and congratulatory clap and laugh from Marionette.
"I can't remember the last time I did something like that!" Jake said with a semi-giddy chuckle. "I know it wasn't here. It was down in the daycare. I landed a lot better."
"You still landed better than I did," Jeremy offered. He sat down beside him to take a short break of his own.
"And Mike. Though don't tell him I said that," Marionette added. He chuckled at the memory; his voice edged with a fond trill. "And you saw how fast my legs buckled. At least you landed."
"Yeah, on my butt," Jake joked.
"Better than on your face," Jeremy said.
Marionette laughed to himself.
Though then he abruptly straightened and snapped his head towards the entranceway into the bounce park. Which, since they weren't within the inflatable walls of the castle itself, meant they were in full view.
"Someone's coming," he warned. Though he sounded more curious than concerned. "I think it might be Freddy."
But Jake couldn't take that risk. He sprung to his feet, darted over, and dove behind an inflated pyramid like someone who wasn't running with a stiff leg.
Jeremy looked to Marionette questioningly and started to get up, but he just shook his head and waved him back down.
Sure enough, in through the entranceway walked none other than Freddy Fazbear himself. He spotted them right away and waved before calling through cupped hands.
"Hello!"
"Ahoy!" Jeremy called back. "Foxy's not here tonight if you're looking for him."
"Oh, no. That is a shame, but he is not who I am looking for," Freddy explained. He stopped at the edge of the floor, not daring to step out on the trampoline with Gregory inside. "I am looking for Jake. Is he with you?"
"Uh… Y-Yeah! Back here!" Jake wobbled his way out from behind the inflatable pyramid. "Hey, Freddy."
"Jake! It is good to see you. Sunny sent me to come check and make sure you were safe."
"…D'oh."
That noise alone gave Jake's guilt away instantly.
"Perhaps you should've left a note?" Marionette quietly suggested with a sheepish smile. Sheepish because he knew he was partially to blame for whisking Jake off without a word.
"Yeaaaah, but I didn't expect him back in our room before I got back. He must've went up to get something and saw me gone."
"I can send him a message if you would like," Freddy offered.
"…Yes, please. Tell him I'm okay, but I'm not coming back just yet. Not until we finish here."
"Consider it done!"
Freddy lifted a finger to his temple to message Sun. As he did, Marionette came over to him, his arms folded behind his back. Eventually Freddy lowered his hand and opened his eyes again.
"That is a very smart jacket! It gives me… classic rock vibes!" Freddy complimented. "And your hat is very vintage. In a good way, of course."
"Thank you. Is he…?"
Marionette pointed towards Freddy's stomach.
"Oh, yes! Excuse me." Freddy opened his stomach hatch. "Gregory, say hello to everyone!"
Gregory ducked his head down to peek out. "Hey guys!"
"And hello, hello to you too!" Marionette said. Jeremy waved, but Gregory could only see him for a second before Marionette's white, smiling face was blocking his view, the Puppet bent over to see him. "Would you like to join us?"
"What do you say? We can always head down to the snack bar after," Freddy offered.
"Ehhh, for a few minutes," Gregory said. Not wanting to sound too eager about playing in a kiddie bounce castle.
That reluctance only lasted a few minutes itself, and they stuck around a little while longer.
Marionette had taken over as Gregory's primary playmate while Jeremy joined in, and Freddy sat on the edge of the flooring and watched. Jake joined in as best as he could, but he kept thinking back to Sunny, and he was feeling guilty.
That being said, he stubbornly couldn't go back before he was ready. He just needed to get away from that room for a while. The walls were getting too tight, and his leg was too stiff from being cramped up in it.
But eventually it was time to leave. Once everyone was worn out and after a few more hard flops onto the trampoline floor. Gregory climbed back into Freddy, and he escorted them all the way down to the daycare. All the while both Marionette and Jeremy kept a careful lookout, making certain no white rabbit was watching from the shadows.
Once they got to the daycare, Freddy headed downstairs, and Jeremy checked his watch.
"Yeah, we should probably start packing it in. We can't really rush out of here, so that'll give us enough time to be out of here before anyone shows up," he said.
"That's for the best. Heaven forbid someone sees me swiping costume props- my reputation would be ruined!" Marionette joked. Trying to lighten the mood as he noticed how quiet Jake had gotten.
"Oh, you wouldn't be the first person that helped themselves to the five-finger discount," Jake played along. He gave the Puppet a little nudge with his elbow. After tonight he finally felt comfortable being a little chummier.
"It's good to see the Freddy tradition is still alive and well," Jeremy said with an approving nod.
"When did you steal anything?" Marionette asked with disbelief. He then realized what he said, eyes widening and sputtering. "I mean- I meant at Freddy's! -Not that I was implying anything else."
"I was grabbing tokens by the handfuls and shoving them into my pockets at the end of my shift. Then I used to sell them out back behind the dumpster to the day shift," Jeremy exaggerated. His good-natured smile showing that he took no offense, and Marionette looked relieved.
"I did notice once or twice you jingling as you walked by," he played along.
Still just playing around and having a good time. No discomfort whatsoever, at least from Jeremy. He might've been uneasy about a possible rabbit spotting, or Glamrock spotting, but he felt totally comfortable alongside Marionette- regardless how much they chatted about the distant past. When he was a faceless nightguard and Marionette was that puppet thing that was always thinking.
"Not to sour the mood, but…" Marionette's voice grew tentative as he looked to Jeremy. "…Do you ever think about those old days?"
"Sometimes. When we bring 'em up mostly," Jeremy answered. Those weren't the days he still had nightmares over. He looked back. "What about you?"
"Occasionally. So much has changed! It's a little jarring sometimes. We've come so far. Not just all of us in general, but even the two of us."
"I know, it's crazy," Jeremy agreed. "I blame Mike."
"I do too," Marionette said fondly. "What would we do without him?"
"Well, we'd be out of business for one. I don't think Fritz and me could manage the place alone… Come to think of it, we probably wouldn't even have a business without him. It was his idea."
"I remember that. He twisted your arm."
"Not as much as he twisted Fritz's. Me? I just go with the flow. See where the seas take me."
"I can't think of a more untrue statement," Marionette said with a coy smile.
"…Okay, yeah. Maybe not. But I did then! And I don't regret it. I might regret Freddy's, but I don't regret Foxy's," Jeremy said sincerely.
Something about that comment stuck out in Marionette's mind. He agreed, he was happy to hear it, but it lingered a bit longer.
"I don't either," he agreed.
"You know what? Me too," Jake agreed. He noticed the questioning looks. "…Not with Foxy's, I mean, but coming here. We shouldn't have come here and a whole bunch of stuff went sour when we did, but I wouldn't take it back. Eventually you have to just… Seize the opportunity! Get out of that dark place you're stuck in and make something of your life. If you don't then you're not living."
Marionette smiled, nodded, and chimed in agreement.
"…And by the dark place, I mean the old warehouse we used to live in. Not our room! I'm not saying- Uh… Ugh…" Jake fumbled over his own words. "Something like that…"
"I couldn't agree more. I felt the same way when my brother Michael left the warehouse he was staying in to come live with us."
"He was in a warehouse too?"
"We're animatronics. At one point in our lives, we all end up in a warehouse," Marionette playfully dismissed. His eyes narrowed slightly with a glint. "But you should meet Michael. I think you two would get along swimmingly."
Jeremy gave Marionette a dumbfounded look, but Jake was too out of the loop to understand what it meant.
"Err, sure! Send him my way if he ever drops in."
"He may. He's looking for parts for Charlie."
"Charlie? Wait, is she okay?" Jake asked in concern.
"Oh, no. Not like that! He's just- It's for a project. I won't bore you with the details," Marionette assured. His nonchalance easing Jake's worries.
Everything was alright again. Smoothed over and done with.
Yet something was still bothering Marionette. Like an insignificant little itch that he couldn't find the source of. Something still nudged at him.
As they approached the security door that led out of the atrium and to the daycare hallway, he made a decision.
"Why don't you go ahead? I could use a second to think," Marionette said.
This took Jeremy by surprised.
"Is everything okay?" he asked.
"Oh, yes. Everything's fine. I'm just having a melancholy moment is all. Just want to unpack some things before Max sniffs them out."
"He has a way of doing that," Jeremy agreed. He was a little concerned, but the openness about it made him a little less so. "But if you want to talk about it before we go inside, we've got time."
"Oh, no, no. It's not something worth talking about. I just need a second of quiet is all," Marionette reassured.
"Well, you've got it then. But if you need to talk, you know where I'll be… In your brother's bedroom. Less than twenty feet away."
Marionette chimed in amusement. Jeremy turned and noticed Jake staring at him. He cleared his throat.
"It's his brother's old bedroom. It's really a guest room," he explained.
"Yeah, I was wondering," Jake added.
That was the last thing they said before heading through the security door and down the steps. Marionette could hear them talking but wasn't close to make much of it.
Besides, his thoughts were elsewhere.
Marionette headed back to the second-floor railing and peered out over the atrium with a sigh.
He knew these feelings were eventually going to crop up. There was only so much of talking about the past, thinking about Bee, discussing Andrew, and being inside a Freddy's before his mind wandered back to those distant days. The days that he didn't long for and didn't often think about until now, when things seemed to continuously remind him of them.
They were joking around. They were talking about Freddy's and laughing it off. It didn't make sense that it would still find a way to creep on him. Best to unpack them right now while he was alone.
"So, Marionette, what is bothering you?" he asked himself. "It's not the popularity of this place, not anymore, and it goes deeper than just Beelora alone, or Jeremy."
He approached the railing and rested his hands on it, tapping his fingers thoughtfully.
"…I never used to ask who's who. Nightguards or animatronics, I knew who everyone was. Or at least I thought I did. Now there's so many faces without names attached. Even if I did have names, I doubt I'd recognize them."
He was entirely out of the loop now. He wasn't the one bringing them back and he wasn't the one protecting them. He was just a visitor in a place he didn't quite belong.
But was he ever their protector, or just the one to assign their prison cells? No, he was a protector. That's what he tried to be when he would wander Freddy's as a lost soul. Watching them, singing to them, putting them back together.
He felt so small here. Protector no more. He protected nobody. He wasn't part of Freddy's any longer.
He should've been happy about that, and yet here he was staring down at someone else's stage feeling hollow.
Maybe it was because he had not gotten that closure he had expected. To go out in one big bang after stopping Afton and saving everybody, and then accepting Happily Ever After as the end of the story. Life didn't work out like that, so here he was left feeling like there was something he had missed and knowing there likely wasn't. Even though this was, by all accounts, the happiest he had been- well, save this whole Pizzaplex debacle.
Or maybe it was because he felt so alone. He had a wonderful family, so many friends, Mike, everything he could've ever wanted and yet he still felt like he was so separated from them. Like there was a void distancing him from everyone else. Those who he was distant from because they were human and those he was distant from because he was the reason they weren't. They stood on the shores, and he drifted in the lake.
And that distance was so insignificant that he hadn't really noticed it until now. Always the odd one out. The wailing spirit haunting Freddy's. Silently watching and thinking. Violently sobbing and singing.
And there were so many songs.
But one of them was on the tip of his non-existent tongue. The growing humming deep inside rose until his music box activated and the soft, somber chimes sung for him. The simple tune. One, two. One, two.
"Give gifts, give life. Give gifts, give life,~" Marionette began to softly sing. Just speaking the words stirred a programming deep inside, irritating and agitating. "Give gifts, give life. GIVE. GIFTS. GIVE. LIFE."
He shook his head, knocking away what had almost grabbed ahold of him. Then he sighed, slouching onto the railing once more.
"You can't save them any other way, just give them another day,~" he murmured.
He could've left it there but by now he had stirred something deep inside. He pushed off the railing and began to drift down the walkway.
"These rusty metal bodies don't make good beds for sleepy, scared children to rest their weary heads,~" Marionette sung a little louder. "But my choice is gone, and my strings are pulled. I have no other option that to do what I'm told. I'm so sorry my little friends…~"
He stopped at the top of the escalator. Reaching out and resting his hand on the railing, tightening his hand onto it with a somber pang from his chest. Opening the old wounds hurt and yet he couldn't stop himself.
"Because when it came to it in the end. I didn't want to make you just like me, but the voices and the begging never cease.~"
The thumping in his head preemptively began as he drifted down the escalator. His hand tight on the railing to stabilize himself as his eyes began to glow.
"Give gifts, give life. Give gifts, give life.~" His music box grew louder and he was nearly shouting the words that forced themselves out. "GIVE. GIFTS. GIVE. LIFE. GIVE! GIFTS! GIVE! LIFE!~"
He shoved himself forward off the escalator, spinning out onto the atrium floor and letting his legs catch some of his weight. Swaying on them but standing on his own for the first time in ages, but perhaps only fueled by the programming causing his body to twitch and his spools to pull tight throughout his body.
But he was standing on his own. He shook his head again, a hand resting on his head, and lowered his voice once more.
"You can't save them any other way, just give them another day,~" he lulled. He lifted his head and pushed off the floor, making his way across the enormous atrium. "Tomorrow is another day…~"
His music box continued to chime and clink the tune and filled his head with music that was lost in the large expanse of the Pizzaplex. A tiny music box could do little to fill the space, especially when fighting against the drowsy overhead music, the groans of distant machinery, the hum of the neon.
Oh, that was it. He used to feel so big in Freddy's, but he felt so small here. Especially when he rose onto the stage and turned to look out at the atrium.
He used to be an important piece of the puzzle and now he had been left behind. Freddy's had moved on without him. New animatronics filled the places of his old friends. He was estranged. Forgotten.
Then he realized what he was thinking and was struck by guilt. To even consider importance- there was nothing glamorous or admirable about what happened at Freddy's. Maybe he had saved lives, but he had doomed them just the same. He had wanted freedom from that cycle. He didn't ever want to go back. To even consider regretting that choice was a slap in the face to all those he held dear and to all the progress they had made.
He suddenly felt very self-conscious. Very small and self-conscious, and warm, and frantic. Drowning in his own conflicting feelings on the middle of a massive empty stage.
He found his voice again.
"I never asked to be some would-be shepherd! Someone's failure turned protector. And I never asked to be like this!~" he shouted- he sung to the empty space.
His spools tightened and his music box twang, and his head and voice fell.
"And I never wanted to hurt you… I should've let you rest…~" His pupils glowed and his stripes grew damp. "…But I couldn't let you rest.~"
The memories started to come back with the song. He remembered words he had sung so long ago that he could barely remember he had spoken them. If he had, if this wasn't some hazy hallucination.
"And you can't understand what we'll go through together, and I can't promise you that it will get better. But I swear that I will try to save you. There's only one way.~"
He looked down at his extended arms and in an instant, he could remember every child who he had cradled in them, even Gabriel and Charlie. His hands were shaking until he tightened them.
"This will have to do."
He remembered Gabriel left for him to find. He remembered his friends scattered at his side. He remembered Andrew in the trunk, and Charlie in the alley, and Joe in the gutter.
He remembered that tuft of hair sticking out of the Fredbear suit.
He remembered what Goldie had him do so many times over.
"Give gifts, give life. Give gifts, give life.~"
Hands shaking and tears pouring, and frustration welling up at the guilt and shame, and the pride and fulfilment, and the thought that it was all not because of a desire to help but some deep-set command.
"Give gifts, give life. Give gifts, give life.~"
Protector puppet. Purposeless puppet. Strung-up savior. Mad machine. Forgotten by Freddy's.
It was agony!
"GIVE! GIFTS! GIVE! LIFE!"
His voice echoed across the atrium.
He stood there in silence and listened. He could feel the building heat finally starting to cool down. His head began to clear as the swirl of thoughts stilled once more. His music box had fallen quiet, but his voice rose again.
"I can't save you any other way… So, until the balloons carry you away…~" He sighed. "Tomorrow is another day…"
He dropped his head in defeat. Staring down at the large picture of Freddy's face depicted on the tile floor before the stage. For the first time in so long, he didn't know how he felt about it.
Such a great idea to delve into his own feelings and see what was down there. It hadn't unsurfaced anything concerning at all, didn't lance any old healing wound. Though if it was healing, then why did it feel like a pressure had been released?
He clasped a hand over his face and sighed again into it. His mask was sticky, but it was already starting to cool down. Perhaps that wasn't so bad of a call-
All of a sudden, he came back to his senses with the recognition that there were eyes on him.
Clarified when he heard a clapping and snapped his head up, focused across the auditorium, and spotted a familiar blond security guard up on the second floor. It was Natalie.
"Sorry! Not trying to creep, I just thought it was good!" Natalie called through her hand.
Marionette got a little smile.
"I agree! That was very, very impressive! Especially for an impromptu performance!" Freddy called from somewhere by the snack bar.
Marionette's smile became more flustered and embarrassed. Of course, Freddy was still in here. Which meant Gregory heard it too. A whole audience watching his musical breakdown.
"Err, Stranger! I… You should definitely try out for the, erm, band!" Freddy added in.
Now that was odd. It sounded distinctly like Freddy was covering. Recognizing another set of eyes, Marionette turned his head.
And there was Glamrock Chica standing up outside of the hall towards her Cupcake Shoppe and the bounce park. Her leaning far over the railing that her hands were gripped tightly on, her eyes wide and one even noticeably twitching.
Oh.
Well, that was an accident.
He almost disappeared on the spot before he realized that this was perhaps an opportunity he could take. He wanted to talk to her anyways; he needed to know what she knew. And if she was willing to keep quiet about Ennard, maybe he could convince her to do the same for him. He had a job to do.
In an instant, he vanished.
Chica blinked and snapped her eyes around searching the stage and floor in disbelief. He had just disappeared into thin air. It had to be a trick, the same technology that hid the doors only Roxy could see.
"Excuse me," a voice came from behind her.
Chica spun around in surprise and fell back on the railing with her legs bent in awkwardly.
"Oh, my apologies! I didn't mean to scare you. I was hoping I could get a moment of your time," Marionette introduced. The lingering shakiness in his voice quickly covered up.
Chica blinked at him in shock before her eyes narrowed. She pushed herself up off the railing and stood tall, her fists tight at her side, and then strode forward angrily. With only that as warning, she took a swing at him.
Marionette ducked back out of the way. After how she stormed over to him, he couldn't say he was surprised, save a little that she didn't outright charge him.
"Not happy to see me. I understand. You might recognize me from somewhere?" he asked. She took another swing, and he ducked the other way. "Or perhaps you recognize me because you recognize my sister? She has a bell on the back of her head? She's the puppet girl you chased through the arcade," Marionette offered.
Chica paused momentarily to process this. But in that moment, he noticed her eye twitching and a vaguely distant look in her eyes. Yes, she was very mad at him, but that wasn't the only thing driving her to attack.
"Programming. Perhaps we can break through that," Marionette said thoughtfully. "…Follow me."
He then turned and began to dart down the hallway behind him. As expected, she ran after him. Instead of returning to the bounce park he headed the other way towards Chica's own cupcake shoppe.
Marionette beelined right through the front doors of the Cupcake Shoppe with Chica and a handful of random Staff Bots tailing him. Her having to push past them to get in. He headed into the back blindly, plotting as he went. Picking up another curious Staff Bot as he went, drawn to him like a moth to a flame.
Chica pushed past and staggered into the kitchen. She looked around feverishly before noticing the door to the bathroom closing. She stormed over and shoved her way inside, looking around with her hands on her hips.
No sign of him, but the stalls were closed. She strode over and shoved the first door open. Nothing. She shoved the second only to find it latched.
"Occupied!~"
Chica's eye twitched at the singsong voice. He was in there, and he was being smug. Forget that constant need to pursue and apprehend, that just made it personal. It woke her up just to tick her off.
She swung her arms up and brought her fists down on the door, preparing to break it down like Monty might've done.
Only to reflexively slow herself to a useless but loud bang of her fists. In the last second a nagging little voice in the back of her head reminded her that she was already on watch for destruction of property. She got marked up trashing her own cupcake shoppe and all it would take was one more before action might be taken. She already couldn't talk or eat, what could they do next?
Kick her out of her own attraction, maybe. Maybe ground her in her green room before and after shows. Or worse, just get another Chica who could still greet the customers with a friendly hello.
She thrust her arms down at her sides in frustration. Tossing her head back like she would've been yelling in frustration if she could've.
That's when she caught sight of the smiling white face peeking over the top of the stall. His head and hands darting back inside in an instant.
She had to get in. She dropped her head and dropped herself to the floor and began to crawl under the stall. Once she got her head through, she spun it around to look up at the Puppet, who was standing on the closed toilet lid. He gave her a friendly little wave. She narrowed her eyes and continued trying to squeeze under the door.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Marionette warned. Diminishing the playful tone for a slightly more concerned one.
Chica wasn't dissuaded in the slightest. She continued trying to contort herself under, sliding further underneath the stall.
Until the bottom of the door slid snugly against her back and Chica could move no further. She couldn't move back either, not that she was trying that hard to move back. She kept trying to push further until she got herself completely wedged in.
Soon it got to the point where Chica couldn't move any which way. She was completely stuck. Her angrily narrowed eyes widened as she realized what predicament she was in.
"Oh dear," Marionette said. "…Well, maybe now we can talk."
He crouched down onto the toilet lid. His arms resting on his long, bent legs. His smile back to its typical fullness.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Marionette. I used to be the protector of Freddy's, but… not quite anymore."
Chica looked away almost stubbornly and crossed her arms as much as she could.
"Hmm…" He tilted his head. "Do you already know who I am?"
Chica rolled her eyes in a way that silently screamed "Obviously."
"So, do you know about Foxy's? Or perhaps you knew me from back before the Pizzaplex?"
She side-eyed him with irritation.
"Believe me, I'm not trying to humiliate you. I'm just trying to figure out some things. That's only one of them," Marionette said a little more gently.
Chica rolled her eyes again and then held up one finger.
"Once?"
She shook her head and held up that finger again.
"Hmm… The first one? Foxy's?" She nodded. "Ah, I see. That makes sense. But you've never seen me before in person?"
She shook her head. He thought for a moment before getting drawn to attention by Chica tapping on the floor. She drew a little question mark in the air, still looking just as annoyed.
"Oh, my apologies. So… I came from the original Freddy's. I was there when all of this first began, and I only just recently found out that Freddy's is… Let's say, up to its old tricks. I'm trying to piece together a timeline."
She squinted at him. Confused? Suspicious? Marionette couldn't tell.
"Do you remember… Afton Robotics?" he dared to ask. Chica eyes popped open in surprise. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to unearth bad memories. I'm all too aware of some of the horrors that took place down there."
At the mention of Afton Robotics, Chica's eyes took a clarity that they hadn't before. He knew that she remembered.
"But I'm trying to make sure that the Pizzaplex isn't just a carefully disguise Afton-…"
Marionette cut off as he heard heavy footsteps coming. Just in case his recognition was wrong, and it wasn't Freddy.
It was, in fact, Freddy Fazbear once more.
"Chica! I- Oh no. Chica, not again," Freddy said with disappointment.
Chica turned her head away and propped it partially on her arm. She looked annoyed or huffy, but one could feel the embarrassment radiating off the motion.
Marionette could sympathize. Being stuck under a bathroom door was just as embarrassing as getting stuck in a claw machine. The trade-off being the more humiliating location of the bathroom to a dining room full of people. Weighing them they seemed equal enough.
"Oh, Chica. Here, let me assist you."
"Just a moment, Freddy!" Marionette called.
"Mar- Er- You! I… Umm, hello."
Marionette peeked over the top of the stall again.
"Hello to you too, Freddy. We just need a couple more minutes."
"Err, of course. Take your time," Freddy said awkwardly.
Chica didn't even question it, not when Freddy was so obvious and with Foxy already getting namedropped. She just watched as Marionette bent back down, eyeing the strange animatronic.
"Chica, I heard you were the first animatronic awake here. Is that true?" he asked.
Everything considered, Chica decided to just go along with this. If he was really from back then… Well, it wasn't like she had anything to hide anyways, and this was pretty much her first chance to gossip in ages.
She nodded.
"So, you've been here a long time. Do you know if anyone went missing here? Any staff members or customers?"
Chica shook her head. Either she didn't know, or she simply hadn't heard.
"Well, that's good to hear. How about accidents? Have there been any of those?"
Chica thought, looking up to the corner for a second, and then nodded nonchalantly.
"Really?" Marionette asked in surprise- dread. "What happened?"
Chica shrugged again.
"But the details, what do you know?"
Chica shook her head again. She then bent her arms to make bunny ears above her head. She couldn't possibly mean Vanny.
"…Bonnie?" Marionette guessed.
Chica nodded. She then made a talking motion with her hand and pointed to herself.
"Bonnie told you?" he asked. "How did he know about it? Did he say?"
"Bonnie had excellent hearing. He often heard things he wasn't supposed to, and often repeated them right back to the technicians. He thought it was funny, but…" Freddy trailed off.
"That's… concerning to hear. Considering Bonnie's… What do you think happened to him?" he quietly asked.
He didn't expect it, but Chica got a sad look to her eyes. She shook her head solemnly. She didn't know.
"None of us know what happened to him," Freddy somberly said.
"I'm so sorry. I'm going to try to find out what happened to him. He must be here somewhere," Marionette said, recalling what Jake had said on the matter.
"If you do then please tell us. Even if it is not what we want to hear. We just… need to know," Freddy said.
That 'we' sounded an awful lot like an 'I'.
"I will, I promise," Marionette swore. Then he sighed. "But if I could ask an unpleasant question… Do you know about any… deaths here at the Pizzaplex?"
"What? No! Nothing like that has ever happened at the Pizzaplex!" Freddy vehemently denied.
Marionette looked to Chica for her answer. Her lack of surprise at the question was rather telling. She shook her head, paused, and then gave another shrug. She didn't know, she didn't think so.
"That's a relief to hear," Marionette said.
That was somewhat of a lie. It was good to hear, but he knew it wasn't true. He knew what he had smelled in that elevator, and he knew Freddy wasn't a fluke.
"Is there anything else you can tell me?"
Chica gave him a funny look.
"Sorry, that's a little too broad of a question, I guess. But thank you for helping me. I hope someday I will be able to return the favor." Marionette reached for the door. "Let me start by helping you get free."
He pulled at the door handle expecting to jiggle it loose and free Chica. Only to find it wedged so tightly that even a firm tug did nothing to dislodge it.
"…Oh… Well, it seems to be, ah, wedged?" Marionette said sheepishly. "…Let's try something else."
He leaned down towards her with his hands out. She pulled back with a questioning look, looking between his face and his hands. He gave her an assuring smile and gestured his hands down towards hers, wiggling his fingers.
Still suspicious, Chica slowly reached up and touched his hand, recoiled quickly with a shudder, and then got her nerve to reach out again. His soft fingers lacing into her hard ones.
"Freddy, can you pull her legs, please?"
"Of course. Just give me a second…"
There was some movement outside of the stall. At one point Chica turned her head abruptly and narrowed her eyes, but the noise wasn't enough to distinguish what had happened.
"Alrighty! I am in position!" Freddy called.
"And I am going to push in three, two, one…"
Marionette pushed back against Chica's hands as Freddy carefully pulled at her legs. With minimal effort they were able to push her free from under the door.
She quickly got up and brushed off her belly of any invisible grime while Marionette opened the stall door.
"It might've helped if I had unlocked it," he casually tossed out with a smile.
Chica didn't look amused. Freddy just looked downright awkward.
"Well, I really should be off." Marionette clasped his hands together before offering one to Chica. "Chica, it was a pleasure to meet you. Hopefully next time we meet it's under better circumstances."
Chica just seemed confused by the gesture. Specifically, why he was acting like this had been some sort of pleasant visit. Her 'are you kidding me' look said it all. Yet perhaps out of reflex or humbling, Chica dropped her hand limply onto his. He did all the shaking.
"Just one more thing…"
She quirked a brow- or quirked an eyelid- at his change in tone. His smile was still frozen on his face.
"I know about your… interest in chasing children who are alone."
That startled her.
"It's not your fault. Afton Robotics… they did terrible things. Those impulses are not your fault," Marionette sympathized. "…Though I should warn you. If I ever see you attack a child while I am present, I will retaliate. I know you cannot control yourself, but neither can I. So please, for us both to sleep better, resist."
Normally Chica wouldn't have taken kindly to a threat like that from some trespassing mime who was siblings with the doll that had been running around giving her and Roxy headaches.
It was the fact that he said something virtually identical to what Ennard told her that was so eerie. Like they knew something that she didn't, and that she hadn't even noticed.
"But I am sorry. I know some of what you've been through. I was a child at the old Freddy's too…" Marionette explained. His fingers wrapped around hers and squeezed. "If you ever need anything, please, I will be around. I'm also good friends with Ennard, so I could-."
Chica suddenly grabbed his hand and yanked him in. Her eyes wide with excitement at the drop of that name.
A more genuine smile returned to his face. "Yes, that Ennard."
It was like night and day. All at once Chica went from aloof and frustrated to as bubbly as she was depicted to be on her posters. Both onlookers were well aware that if she could speak, she would certainly be talking now. Alas, Marionette was more than aware of the clock, and he knew that by now Jeremy was likely ready to go.
"But that will have to wait for another time. I'm sorry, but I must be going," Marionette said. Him gently pulling his hand back from hers.
She got a disappointed look but knew he was right. It was creeping ever closer to opening and if he was caught- well, that would be bad for all of them, not just him.
"But I will see you both again. Freddy, Chica, have a good night and good luck with tomorrow's shows," Marionette said.
He began to turn into a spin only to stop short.
"One last thing. About my sister." He tilted his head to look over his shoulder at Chica. "Please, don't chase her again."
It didn't hold the same weight behind it as his previous warning, or veiled threat, had. Yet Chica still felt a little unnerved by it. Everything about this weird Puppet creature made him uncomfortable.
…But he knew Ennard. Even if he didn't, she didn't trust the human employees enough to tell them. Not after what they did to her.
Marionette gave a spin and vanished into nothing. Chica hadn't the slightest clue where he was gone, but it felt like he had disappeared. Not just visually but his whole being- poof- gone.
She still reached out to make sure and waved her arm into nothingness. Not just a trick, he was really not there.
"Well, that was something," Freddy said.
She looked to him with her hand on her hip and an unconvinced look in her eyes.
"Err, umm, I should… I suppose I should be going," Freddy said. He started to shuffle back towards the door.
Chica brushed her hand at him, a dismissive "Go ahead."
"I will see you later," Freddy promised. Then rushed off- to get back to Gregory, but she thought to avoid any questions.
She had plenty of them herself, but they weren't ones he was going to answer. Ones about that weird Marionette guy, darling Ennard, and what they knew that she didn't.
That was going to stick with her for a while. Though in the meantime, she had to get out of the shoppe. Just the smell of food in the other room was killing her, bathroom crawling or not.
She felt so confused.
…But she also felt a little clear headed. How weird.