I Don't Own Fnaf


As it stood, the next morning came too quickly for Mike to be comfortable with, even after telling Mari he was fine now, he wasn't quite sure if he was being honest or not, he just felt... Ansty, and he was sure that Mari realized that if the concerned hovering before the puppet had to leave for work meant anything.

He hadn't wanted to think of any of it, any of the questions that had been burning hotter and hotter in the back of his mind, but... Maybe that was why he had been so painfully anxious, so needing to just do anything while stuck within the confines of his house, that antsy energy building more and more as he ignored it more and more, because he knew to himself if he addressed it, then he wouldn't stop.

That's how Michael was, that's how he's always been, one foot in front of the other, always searching for the next answer to some question. But in the last two weeks, he just... He didn't want to look for answers- no, no that wasn't right, he was... Michael was scared of what else he would lose if he started to look again. Was too scared to admit what he had already lost for what amounted to be only so many more questions he had to now ask.

And in the end what did it get him? A break down? A panic attack in front of Mari? Being forced to interact with those... things down below again through his dreams? Mike felt like an idiot, he felt... ashamed if he was being honest, for breaking down like that at all, to make Mari have to see that, have to deal with him like that, when he should have been better... No matter how better he got it seemed that one part of him that hadn't been seen in such a state still remained, even for those he loved. That part of him just made the self-hate grow just a tad more, but it also gave Mike something else.

Resolve.

It wasn't the same as the motivation that had started everything that had happened over the last ten months of his life, that desperate need to do something because the only other thing left for him to do was curl up in a hole and die. Now though... He had so much more, he had things to lose, and that, if Mike was being honest, scared him as well. But as it stood, what he had now would never truly be safe if he didn't do something, if he didn't find all the answers.

It wasn't easy, thinking about it now, stuck with his own thoughts in this house by himself, but it was just questions he had been holding onto for a long time now, he had days to build them up but not actually thinking about them.

So many questions... But two were the ones that stood out more than anything else in the back of his mind. Why was he so often mistaken for Miller? It had to be something to that right? Mari had said the purple wasn't a constant thing right? So it had to be something else.

And then there was Afton Robotics... That... That place was a closed case, it was only in use during the time his father was alive, and it made something tight and twisted in Mike's gut tighten even more as he truly thought about it and thought it over. His father... Mike... Mike didn't like where his thoughts came to, but by the end of it, something... clicked, and as much as it pained for him to admit, he knew one thing for certain.

Mike would have to return to Afton Robotics to get the proof he needed. The very idea of it sent something sharp and unpleasant rolling through his mind, but he just shoved it down, and kept thinking, he refused to let that place hold such a power over him. If he could get over the hell that he went through at the warehouse, both the first and second time, then he could deal with some damn building out in the middle of nowhere in the desert.

Because he was certain that he would be finding all the answers he could want in that level below, and now it was only a matter of getting them, something he wasn't sure just how he felt about, but knowing that he had to, made it at least a bit easier to think over and try to make a plan, of just what kind of proof he needed.

This... This was going to be hell wasn't it? Mike already felt exhausted.

His thoughts however were interrupted by the sound of a knock on his front door.


Janet walked on uneasy legs into the Cove, Fritz by her side, they had entered fairly early, the time Fritz himself normally showed up. He had said before it was because he, as the technician on staff, needed to check over everything before and after working hours. She hadn't questioned it back then even if she did joke about how it would be easier to just take one car, but now she knew better of his reasons, it was so he and the others could talk freely.

The others... That didn't quite feel right to think about, as she moved forwards, unsure just where she was suppose to go, as she just looked around, watching with an uncomfortable weight in her stomach making itself known as Foxy moved past, her to his stage, giving a 'Yar' and a wave of his suddenly way too sharp looking hook. Was she supposed to feel safe around him? Now that she knows... Whatever it was that he and apparently the other animatronics had done before.

The two men had been somewhat vague about most of the details, or at least their answers felt as uncomfortable to them to say as it was for her to hear. But she had questioned them until she got the full story anyways, that had been... She had no idea what to think, even after sleeping on it, she wasn't sure just what it was she was supposed to think or feel. That thought didn't change as she watched with a flicker of nothing one moment, then in the next, there was the puppet, the marionette, appearing in the doorway of the Prize Corner, not on its track... Simply just... floating there.

She had been told of course about how ghosts weren't quite confined to as simple an existence as humans, but that... It was hard to watch without letting out some kind of sound as she flinched, just a bit, as the puppet's head snapped over to look at her. Those empty spaces were what was supposed to be eyes made something shiver up her spine as the animatronic simply stared at her for a long moment, heading tilting to the side giving the impression of thinking, before Fritz suddenly spoke up, making Janet jump, she had forgotten he was with her.

"Uh, hey Mari, I figured it would be fine to bring Janet over before opening to meet everyone" The puppet- Mari? Just stared at the two before nodding after a second, simply turning and floating into its corner. She just shuddered a bit, watching it float away, as Fritz let out an awkward sound before giving Janet just as much of an awkward look.

"Uh, don't take it personally, he's not great around new people, it took a few months before he even started to talk to Jeremy and me" Janet wasn't quite sure just how that was supposed to be reassuring, but she just nodded, a thought suddenly clicking in the back of her head as she suddenly whipped back around to look at the doorway to the Prize Corner as she spoke up.

"W-wait, Mari? As in Marion? Mike's shy roomma..." She didn't even get to finish the thought, her voice trailing out as she got the answer she was looking for from the way Fritz's face scrunched up a bit in awkwardness.

"Uh, yeah, one in the same. They live together, it's, uh, kind of the reason you haven't gone over much" Janet just gapped for a moment, before staring back at the doorway again, her mind struggling to fit that together. She could understand just leaving the animatronics about and giving them something to do, they were once people, apparently were still people, but... Living with them?

Maybe the hardest part was knowing about Marion, 'Marion'ette apparently, she had heard plenty of stories from Mike casually talking about his roommate, mentioning random things and other things with the others, even with herself when she asked about it, wanting to get to know more about the man now that he was her new boss, not to mention friend. She had thought it was sweet how close the two were given the clear fondness Mike had spoken about the other man that was often missing from the man's voice. She had thought it nice to be able to live with your best friend.

But... It's just... Janet had no idea just what she was thinking right now, as she just stared for another long moment before jerking her head away towards the back where the sound of a new set of heavy footsteps moved from, before revealing that new bear animatronic that Fritz had only mentioned before she was in the know as something he had been working on, without telling her, and now with being in the know, having now been told that was apparently Mike's bother. The one she had heard about but had no idea was apparently dead for nearly a decade.

Right... Janet had no idea just what she was supposed to do, as she felt herself freeze up as from the office room came the massive lumbering form of the yellow bear. Seemingly trying to cut the awkwardness off at its head, Fritz called out to the animatronic.

"Uh, hey Goldie, want to say hi to Janet?" The bear paused, as Janet was suddenly just realizing how much sound the animatronic made as it-... he? walked. Unlike Foxy and most certainly unlike the puppet, every move made it clear the animatronic was filled with metal parts that moved roughly against each other in squeaking jolts. She wasn't sure if that sound was more unnerving than the puppet's complete lack of noise.

And if she had felt like she had been judged by the puppet, then here Janet felt as if she was below the point of interest to the bear, as while he did say something, it was clearly just to have said something at all before moving on with his day, away from the conversation Fritz clearly was hoping to open up.

"Hi" And with that the bear joined the fox on the stage, and Janet was left feeling like she truly had no shot at figuring out what she was supposed to do, as she just awkwardly held up a hand for a moment to wave, but Goldie was gone by then as Fritz just said.

"Right, uh, he's... Not a conversationalist" She just let out a faint strained laugh.

"Yeah? You sure he's related to Mike then?" Fritz just smirked a bit, clearly thinking of something, as he said back.

"You'll see the similarities soon enough" Janet just nodded, choosing to ignore the faint weight in her chest from the clear history of those words. It was... isolating in a way she was sure Fritz didn't mean to be, but it was, she had been working at the Cove for months, had been dating Fritz for about as long, and yet it suddenly felt like she was an outsider, and that's because she was... She just hadn't known that fact before now, and that felt... It felt bad, to have been so unaware of her boyfriend's life, one she had thought she lived inside of.

She just... She didn't know honestly, but she did know, as she watched as Fritz began to move to start on his morning tasks, that she had to do something, as Janet spoke up a bit too loudly.

"Hey, uh, I'm going to be back in a bit, alright? Promise I won't be gone long, just... Need some air" Fritz frowned, a concerned look filtering over his expression, before finally just giving a nod.

"Right, well, let me know if anything comes up, I get it if you want the day, you haven't really had much time to take everything in" He said it to be kind, and she knew he meant it, but Janet could hear the faint strain as well at the idea of it just being him and Jeremy running the Cove for the entire day. She felt bad that she knew she'd have to take him up on that more than likely within the next hour if she ended up needing more than just simple answers, or if those answers turned into more not so simple ones.

Not quite rushing out of the Cove, she found herself more or else speed walking the second she reached the curve on the side of the road. Mike's house was only a few minutes away, even on foot, and she didn't want to get there too quickly, she already wasn't sure just why she was heading to him at this moment instead of really just clearing her head by having a moment by herself.

Maybe it was because he was the 'boss' of the freak show, or maybe it was because, honestly, everything seemed to trace back to him in some way. He was the one who had foxy the animatronic created, he was the one who's brother was a bear, he was the one who lived with a puppet, he was the one with a criminal history, the one who got hurt by something that Fritz and Jeremy both seemed to hesitate on actually telling her what had happened.

Everything seemed to come back to Mike Schmidt, and given he was the only person she hadn't talked to about this, Janet felt the need to have that conversation much sooner than later.

Before she was sure of just what to say however, she was in front of the door of a familiar house, her mom and dad were just down the street, she could go to them if she wanted to. It was a strange thought, she knew for a fact that they would let her move back in without a second of hesitation, her mom would surely have questions, a ton of them, nothing Janet couldn't deflect. They'd never have to know, Janet could find a new job within a week or two, she had a good resume ready to go.

And yet, she didn't ponder on that thought for more than a second that it popped up to begin with, before turning back to the door in front of her, as she reached up and knocked. If she was looking for an escape from this strangeness that she wandered herself into, then she wouldn't have gone in this direction in the first place. Looking for answers doesn't happen when you have no interest in sticking around.

As the door opened to reveal Mike, in all his grungy and wore down looking glory, Janet knew just what questions she was going to ask. And they weren't the ones she had thought she would. But... Before she could get to them... She found herself saying before she could hope to stop herself.

"You look terrible" Mike just quirked an eyebrow, as Janet felt her face flush a bit as she coughed before saying, "Uh, I mean... Can we talk?"

"If it's about my looks, then I think I'm going to have to pass" Even as he joked, Janet could see the seriousness in his eyes, as he moved aside all the same to let her in, mentioning as she moved inside, taking one of her first ever real proper looks around the house, as Mike said drily, "So, who scared you off? If it was Mari I'll let you take a free plushy from the Prize Corner, that'll rile him up enough to at least say something" He had a faint smirk, if only for a moment, as Janet just sighed, her eyes still looking around.

From the quaint living room to her right, to the stairs in front of her, and the doorway to the kitchen at her left, it was... She wasn't sure what she was expecting to be honest from this place, she's been in here before, if only for one or two off times she had been invited to an 'employee' dinner. She had never really brought up just why she had hardly been invited to them in the past, having thought it was simply because the men had been friends well before they had started a business together, now it was something else that covered her vision.

She couldn't come up with an answer to the question in her head as to what she had thought she should have expected now that she knew a ghost lived here, as ironic as the statement was, so instead she just answered Mike.

"I... It uh, wasn't just him, it was... All of it, it was just way too much, too soon" Mike just hummed as he nodded his head to the left as Janet just found herself following into the kitchen as Mike just pointed off to the side where a small set up for a dining table was. Janet got the message as she moved over and sat down while Mike himself just leaned against the island in the more kitchen part of the room, staring off to the side for a moment, seemingly the only one comfortable in the room as Jante squirmed a bit in the seat, wondering if it was too late to stand back up. Even sickly looking, Mike was massive and sitting down seemed to only enhance that image in her mind.

"I hope you didn't come here to give me your two weeks notice then" Janet instantly shook her head, but did notice the way the man's shoulders almost instantly fell as a tension she hadn't even noticed that his broad form had been holding until that moment, as he said back faintly relieved. "I'm glad... What did you want to talk about then?" Janet just tensed, before frowning, looking down for a moment before having to finally ask.

"How... How do you deal with it? Knowing? Being around..." She ended it off as Mike just tilted his head to the side, studying her for a moment, before saying simply.

"I had no other choice... I was told you were told about my brother?" Janet tensed, but slowly nodded, Mike just nodded, looking away for a moment, before saying, "He was... Alone for a long time, we both were, in different ways I guess... I was the one who found him, broken down, everything spiraled out from there, meeting the others, getting more people, ghosts and living alike, for the crew we have now. It was either survive and deal or die, so I dealt... You're the first person who's ever known without that ultimatum" It was direct, it was to the point, and it felt like Janet had just been punched in the gut.

"W-what's that mean?"

"It means Fritz trusts you with everything he has, everything we all have, and the rest of us trust him enough to put our trust in you. The animatronics are trusting you, Mari might be silent and will no doubt snub you a bit, but he didn't stop Fritz from telling you their secrets, none of them objected. That means a whole lot more than you could know... I dealt with it because I had no choice back then. And now? Now I don't deal with it, there's nothing to deal with, they just are, same as me and you, human, just... a little different. They all are my friends, my family" Janet just felt herself gulp with the sheer clarity of Mike's words as she said half heartedly.

"One heck of a family" Mike just gave a grim smile.

"You have no idea... But that's besides the point. That's what the Cove and the people there are to me. And Fritz has opened that door for you, because he wants you to know everything in his life, he's put a lot of trust and people in your hands, and it's a lot... If you really want advice, then just... Spend time with them, Foxy would love a new friend and if you want, I'm sure I can tangle Mari into a conversation" Janet just slowly nodded, an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach as she asked.

"How though? How do I... Interact with them?"

"How do you interact with anyone? You just do, at the end of the day, they're your co-workers... Honestly, my biggest piece of advice, don't look at them and expect anything else than a person looking back. They're different, they have hardships we could never think of, have dealt with shit I'm sure most couldn't, but they're still people"

"How... You sure seem to know what you're talking about" The man just shrugged, looking a bit embarrassed actually, if only for a second.

"I've thought about this conversation and what to say a lot to be honest, not much else to do here but think, I figured you'd want to know something eventually that you'd want to ask me for... And I know what it's like to be faced with something impossible and having no idea just where to start to address it. Fritz and Jeremy are great, but they aren't... The best at tackling things head on, and I'm pretty sure you'd appreciate more of the blunt approach" Janet gave a small smile, nodding as she said.

"Yeah... Thanks, I- I don't know how I feel just yet, and, uh, no offense, but I don't think I'll be able to just ignore... it's all just because it's what I should do, but I think I get it a bit more now" She honestly did, but the man didn't seem to mind too much in that regard, just nodding, staring off to the side, before saying with a relieved sigh.

"That's good, cause I would have felt awful if I was the one that somehow managed to scare you off" That finally got a proper if only small laugh out of Janet as she moved to stand, seeing on the nearby wall clock she'd have to rush to get any of her prep work done before the workday started, as she said confidently to the giant man.

"Yeah right, I can't even think to see you as all that scary after you just bleed your heart out all over the place mister Schmidt" Mike's face broke as well into a small, if faintly embarrassed, looking smile.

"Glad to hear it, just... Don't tell the others, I want to keep my image up after all," Before after a second, of a more considering one taking its place, he said, as he held out a hand, "And it's Afton, Michael Afton, technically" Janet's eyes widened, just a bit, she had been told of course about Mike's name change, and even the reasons behind it, but she hadn't been expecting him to say that... It felt important in a way she wasn't sure just how, but she nodded all the same, reaching out and shaking his head with a small cocky smirk.

"Nice to meet you then, but I think I'll keep with Schmidt" Mike just smiled.

"Don't worry, I'm keeping it as well" Janet wasn't sure just where she would end up, or just how much time she might need to adjust, but she knew before knocking on this man's door, and especially now, as she moved to leave, that she was going to try her best to make sure she wouldn't be going anywhere.


The air felt heavy as Mike looked around at everyone that had gathered here in his living room. From Evan to Jeremy, they all were here, except Janet, Mike had said she could come, but Fritz had told him that she decided to spend the next two days of the Cove being closed with her parents, maybe longer, to think everything through by herself for a while, away from... everything, to get her head on straight before tackling what was in front of her. He couldn't blame her, and he doubted anyone in the room did.

Frankly Mike was relieved in a way, she didn't need to see this side of their world just yet, no matter how blunt he had been, he knew he had avoided... the less than happy part of knowing about this side of life, though he was under no disillusion it would have to happen eventually, something would eventually come up in which Janet would get wrapped up in. But it would be good to have her actually be comfortable around the current animatronics around here before they jumped head first into the ones that were trying to murder him. Mike would have said them, but... Let's be real, it's usually just him they're after, hence the meaning of this meeting.

It was a bit awkward, and he hadn't even said anything yet, as he continued to just sit in the side chair in his living room, Mari was still a bit overactive when it came to his health, and that meant standing for a long period of time, probably because he saw Mike trip over himself a bit to much in the first few days and now he didn't trust the man to not injure himself by walking. If the puppet didn't have a very good point as to why that was the case, he would have complained a bit more. As it stood, he just accepted being pushed into the chair, as he looked around the room at the gathered people and animatronic, before saying simply.

"We need to go back to Afton Robotics" Ok, maybe Mike led with that to get a reaction, sue him, he liked shock value, so it was a bit... lacking when everyone more or less just looked around at each other in various states of only mildly hesitant levels of reluctance. Fritz was the first to speak up, mostly with a sigh.

"Right... What do we need to do?" Mike... just kind of blinked, before looking around with confusion that was obvious enough to everyone that Jeremy explained simply.

"It was kind of only a matter of time before you decided to investigate, of course you can't, but we obviously can't just let the situation over there go without being addressed anyways, so... We've kind of just been waiting until you were ready to tackle it to do something" Mari chimed in quickly.

"Not actually tackle it, you're not going anywhere, but the point stands" Mike sort of just felt his mouth open and close for a long moment, before just nodding to himself. Right, yeah, know what, that... That made a lot of sense. Honestly, it was kind of embarrassing that they all knew him well enough that apparently they already knew what he was going to end up doing, though he did glance up at Mari and say.

"And what's that mean?" Goldie was the first to speak, saying blandly and bluntly.

"It means every time you go somewhere you don't have a great track record of coming back unscathed" Mike just huffed at that.

"I get killed one time and suddenly I'm benched?" Okay, maybe he should have not said that, but being fair... He didn't have a point, it was just instinct to make morbid jokes in the face of reality, as he watched the others all wince while the puppet just placed a hand on his shoulder before saying simply, but sternly.

"We're not benching you, you can't because you're still recovering, and will still be recovering for the next several weeks, and you promised that you'd take it easy" Mike opened his mouth before slowly closing it at the look Mari gave him, as he just ended up looking away with a sigh, saying finally.

"Fine, just... Let's move past the dragging on the 'Mike gets injured train' and get to the point" He ignored the pleased look of the puppet and the not so subtly quirked eyebrows from everyone else at him caving so easily to Mari. If Mike was being honest with himself, it was half because of his promise to the puppet, and half because he honestly did not really want to go back there, he just... didn't feel like he had the choice to ignoring it anymore, but if he wasn't given a choice in avoiding the place… even so he continued.

"Main point, no one is going down to that lower section and talking to anyone there, we need to find out more about those animatronics first. The way they acted just... It wasn't right" Mari nodded quickly, being the only other one there who had seen what he had, added onto the point with more detail.

"He's right, it was like... I don't know how to describe it, I never even thought the idea of multiple souls sharing the same body would be possible, but they somehow... Wrapped themselves around each other so tightly they're all just in one walking wire endoskeleton. I couldn't imagine what that's done to their minds" Mike grimaced but nodded, saying soon after.

"That... And whatever code or inbuilt features they might have... You don't just want to wear a person like a suit without something being very wrong upstairs... Something they said, they mentioned they had tried it before, but to do that, that means they had to have planned it out, thought it was a good idea, then combined into those ennards, something had to be wrong at the very start" Fritz spoke up soon enough, a look of a very clear dreadful certainty on his face and in his voice.

"It usually always comes down to programming at the end of the day doesn't it? For why animatronics aren't... all there" He said it simply, but he did look all the same, a bit uncomfortable as he glanced at the animatronics in the room, Foxy just spoke up while waving the point off with his hook.

"That and being broken down, it ain't good for the mind, from tah sounds of it, that place sounds more like a melting pot for madness worthy of being next to Jones' Locker than an production plant"

"But why would that be the case? It would have had to be made like that, so it must be accidental, I mean, I can sort of get why Miller would go there and mess with the animatronics there when he had the chance, but the entire place itself?" Mike grimaced, but nodded to Jeremy's point, that... that was the exact point that he had come to as well, leading him to the question he now needed answering, as he said simply.

"I thought about that as well, or at least what all Miller should have been able to do and what he actually did... Nightmare Balloon Boy. Where did it come from?" That seemed to catch everyone off guard. Everyone looked at each other in confusion at the sudden harsh shift in conversation topic, before Fritz finally spoke up.

"I mean, you said Gasper said he got it from some third party... robotics company" Mike just nodded, once, at the point as the conclusion and revelation traveled across the room as he said softly.

"Balloon Boy wasn't one of Henry's designs or something he created himself, it was a Fazbear Entertainment original, the design had to come from somewhere and had to have been built somewhere right? The same place that would have been more than capable of making a... different, much less friendly, version of it to sell, preprogrammed with violence and ready to go" Mari tensed at his side, as Mike just grimaced, he didn't feel great about just dropping that on the puppet with everyone here, but he had only come to these conclusions in the last few hours of thinking over everything he knew, and he couldn't wait any longer to get this going.

"What's that mean? Afton Robotics was made into a place for murderous animatronics to be made?" Mike just shrugged.

"I don't know, not yet at least, I have theories, plenty of them, but nothing that can't be proven without actual information. I never got the name of the place from Gasper, for all I know it was something completely different, but I do know Miller was the one that sold it to the man, and that the Nightmare Balloon Boy acted as a ring leader to control the other animatronics in that park. And Miller would have had plenty of access to the things in Afton Robotics" There was more, much more he wasn't saying, but Mike didn't even so much as want to say those thoughts until he had the proof he needed, the proof he was apparently going to have to send his friends to go find.

That didn't make him feel great, but even from where he was setting, he could tell no one was willing to let this go. For one reason or another, they all were invested in making sure that Miller and his legacy was wiped from this earth. They all had suffered so much from the man's actions, that Mike knew he didn't have to say anything to convince them of finding this information to know more about what they needed to do going forwards.

He just could only hope that it wasn't his leg-... No, not yet, he wasn't going to think about that yet.

"So we go to Afton Robotics with something to find, what is it? I mean, obviously blueprints of the animatronics, and see if we can find the dates on some of the creation periods for them, but what else?" Mike didn't need to answer, because Fritz spoke before he could.

"I mean, we didn't find a lot of much in the cabinets, but we weren't really looking into details like that, I bet if we searched through them, or got one of those computers working then we could get a list of employees, the people that were there working when all this stuff was happening. I don't feel great about dragging anyone back into remembering this, but if they have anything then it'd be good to know. Unlike before, we don't have anyone we can talk to that worked there when everything went weird to find any answers"

"I have my dad's old login information, I bet it'll work on those computers, and I have his keycard for AR, I bet that's about as much as an all access pass as we're going to get to the place, I'll give it to you before you head out" Fritz nodded, before tilting his head to the side as he considered something, seemingly only for a moment, before ending up deciding against whatever it was, as he just looked at the filled room and said.

"So... Who wants to come with?" Unsurprisingly a number of hands went up, and by that, all of them, as Fritz just kind of blinked for a moment before saying, "I guess we got the van for a reason?" Mike just smirked, but soon enough something was decided. Foxy would stay behind, while Fritz, Jeremy, Mari, and Evan all went to Afton Robotics... Just how this was decided Mike had no idea really, but Evan was determined to go, Mari much in the same boat, Fritz had the most experience with fazbear related tech and machines, Jeremy was just the best at handling the paperwork.

Foxy seemed to be the only one that didn't have too much of a vested interest in going, something that surprised Mike just a little bit... Up until the fox brazening mentioned he'd stick with Mike until the others came back, and suddenly Mike was well aware this was the first time he and the animatronic had been in the same room together in nearly two weeks, the only time before being when he had first come back from the hospital. Maybe Foxy just wanted to catch up or something, if that was the case, then he wasn't going to complain... even if it made something in the back of his mind a bit harder to pull off... Or not thinking about it.

Instead of bothering too much about thinking hard about it, and knowing he really didn't want to leave the night off like this, Mike just moved to stand, saying casually, as he looked over towards Jeremy and Fritz as he moved.

"You two haven't had dinner right? I'm hungry" The two men shared a look that Mike didn't bother to try and figure out as they all moved into the kitchen as he got started on something simple but big enough to eat for the three of them. Though given Mike had been feeling practically empty it felt like most of the time, it was more like he was cooking for six. He wasn't sure if it was just the needing more food thing Jeremy had or some horrific trauma response to him literally being more hollow than the average person. Frankly, Mike didn't want to know either if he was being honest, as long as he didn't start gaining pounds, then he didn't care that much.

Plus he already felt a bit out of sorts with the conversation, it was serious enough for him for tonight, and after a full day of thinking and plotting, he was exhausted as it was, and he knew it was probably going to get worse over the next few days.

By tomorrow everything might be different, and Mike would much rather have at least one last nice evening before he had to deal with all of that.


She was back in the office, Charlie was sure she had practically turned the place upside down at point, but she needed some kind of definitive answer, something to actually just be able to make a solid conclusion, not just lost in speculation, lost in nothing but vague guesses and fear of what she didn't know. So many questions that she just didn't have the answers to all built around each other in a way that she just didn't know how they connected.

From Michael and his past, to the animatronics that didn't work like they should have been able to, to the events that had happened in the past and who could have done it and if there was a chance that it was being continued now. No kids had been reported missing, but was it just a matter of time? The idea made something close to cold dread fill the young woman, as she just thought more and more about it.

It's why she needed some kind of answer, there was something wrong here, something that was being hidden away like a secret that would wither in the light, and she needed to know. Needed to know if she needed to go to the police to get the new diner shut down. She honestly should have, thinking about it, she knew the police chief, not well, but Carlton could easily get her a moment with his dad so she could talk about everything. Mr. Bruke was a no nonsense and straight to the point man, he'd listen, and if he already had suspicions that just meant he'd take her seriously.

So why hadn't she?

Charlie knew why, because she could remember Michael, back when he had been a kid too, and now when she thought of the man, it was of him laying motionless in that hospital bed. Until she had proof, she felt frozen with indecision at the idea of ruining the man's life. It made her angry, the longer she thought about it, the more annoyed and just peeved she became, why it just couldn't have been over, why the man had to be so damn suspicious, why she had to be lost in these thoughts for so long without any answers.

In that moment it seemed she finally reached some kind of boiling point as with an angry grunt, Charlie found herself kicking out in frustration, smacking her foot against one of the metal filing cabinets against the right office wall, immediately regretting it as she found herself bouncing on one foot as she reached up to hold the foot she just slammed against metal in pain.

With a sharp hiss and a quick mumbled curse that she immediately winced at herself over, even now she still found herself looking around when in this house when she said something, expecting her mom or dad to come out around from a corner to scold her. It wouldn't happen, it just couldn't, but it was still an inbuilt response, one that after a moment left her floored as it always did when she remembered something from back when everything had felt perfect.

Before... Charlie just shook her head, it didn't matter, as she moved over and just sighed as she looked at the filing cabinet that she had somehow jerked to the side a bit when she had kicked it. She hadn't thought she had hit the thing that hard, but given just how bad her foot was throbbing, maybe she just hadn't realized how much... power... What?

Charlie froze in her train of thought, as she had reached out, ready to push the filing cabinet back to be flush against the wall, only for it to almost slide without any resistance, surprising her enough that she stopped in her movement for just a moment, before reaching out again, slightly hesitant at the start, only to quickly pull the cabinet away from the wall, in which it easily moved away, showing it had apparently been on some kind of barrings on the bottom.

She only spent a moment wondering why before her eyes snapped to the wall. Where the sight of a wall safe revealed itself to her, as she just blinked as she stared at it, before quickly moving over and looking it over. Her dad had a safe? Why?

Uncertain of just what she should do, she reached out and lightly placed a hand on it to get a closer look. It was a surprisingly modern one, with small little buttons and a very small little screen showing four number symbols on it, showing just how many inputs were needed, with a little latch on the side of the front to open it up. The thing wasn't big, only around a foot in width, and only about half of that tall, though of course she had no idea just how far into the wall it went, it was still strange to just see there, sticking out like a sore thumb.

She knew her father had secrets in those last few years, but to see something like this only reinforced it enough that she found that itch get just a bit sharper as she stared at the small keypad for a long moment, a faint dread and anxious energy building in her gut as she reached forwards and lightly pressed in a number.

1973, thei- her, birthday year. Her dad had always used important dates for his codes, it got her in a lot of trouble when she was younger, but it was worth a shot now.

There was a clearly negative little sound from the safe and that was that. Frowning she just reached up, and put in zero, five, one, seven, her birth date, nothing... His? Nothing, neither did her mom or aunt Jen's work out. She was running out of options and was beginning to get a bit desperate when a thought struck her, as she froze, just for a moment, before with a slightly shaky hand, reaching up and pressing in one last combination.

1984.

She honestly hadn't expected it to work, but there was a faint beep and the sound of a click, the safe unlocked, as she just froze before looking at the handle as she thought over the importance of that number, it was another year... The year Sam-.

Gulping, she reached up and pulled the safe open and could only stare at the things inside in confusion at seemingly how random they were, a few things that looked more like random spare parts from old animatronics, some, that when she saw, she felt a shiver run up her spine, along with a few other things that caught her attention much more heavily as she focused on them.

A set of what clearly used to be cassette tapes that it looked like someone had taken a hammer to, and... an ID badge? Reaching in, while lamenting her dad for seemingly storing what might have been once important things but now just trash in a safe of all things, she plucked the ID out of the safe, turning it over before feeling her eyes widen as she looked at it. Charlie had honestly almost forgotten from when Michael had come over, he had mentioned about a place called Afton Robotics, she had just brushed it off as an animatronic plant where nothing would be found but cogs and parts, nothing useful.

But in her hand, was an Afton Robotics Employee Badge, with a small little scribbled name written on one of the corners, naming: Henry Johnson.

Her dad had gone there, under a fake name... Right, well, it looks like that's where she's going to be getting her next clue, or perhaps finally an answer.


Oh boy, things are happening! Charlie's getting closer and closer to some kind of answer, though what ones she'll find is up in the air. While on the other side of things, the Crew are working towards their own answers, and soon they all might just find them. Terrifying right?

Also, I'm so glad we're finally getting to a point where I can start tying up loose threads and things together again, this portion of the story is very heavily based on the work that's been put in earlier on that didn't really get much pay off in the moment. I mean, the entire, like, four chapters that took up Mike and Mari going to the Bounce Palace never really had much of a point to it did it? At least, it hadn't until this point, it was just one big foreshadowing mess, but we've finally tied it back! So I'm happy, being able to get to use all the things I've set up so long ago now is really validating for the amount of effort I put into making sure everything is all neat and tidy when it comes to interwoven plots.

There are plenty of things else I could think to mention, but I think I'll leave it off here for the time being. See ya!