I Don't Own Fnaf

After everyone had left for the night, the ideas of tomorrow and what all it would bring into their heads, Mike found himself as he often did in the evenings, on the couch, Mari curling up against him, only this time they sat in silence, the tv not playing just yet, or perhaps not at all, depending on just how this conversation went.

"I'm sorry for dropping all that on you" Mari just let out a faint chime before saying.

"It's alright, I know you have good reasons... Something's on your mind isn't it? I can tell when you're getting broody" Mike just huffed at that, but after a moment said anyways.

"Just... Something I thought about, it might not be true, but if it is... I'm worried that you're going to see me differently" Mari slightly shifted, pulling away just enough to look up at Mike to see the worry on his face that was poorly hidden to the puppet's knowing gaze.

"It must be something big if you think it'd matter" Mike looked away for a moment before saying simply.

"It'll... Change just about everything and nothing at the same time... I could be wrong, I just... I hope I am, but if I'm not... I don't know what'll happen next, but I don't think it's going to be pretty" Marionette let out a worried chime of his own.

"What secret do you think we're going to find" Mike just sighed, he didn't really want to talk about it, he'd rather just get the proof and figure out just what he felt about it afterwards if he turned out to be right, but this was Mari, and he already had a very hard time saying no to the puppet as it was, this time was no different.

"I don't think... I don't think Miller was who he said he was. It's not hard to make a fake identity, I'm more than proof of that, it's easy to change your name, and there's just... so many inconsistencies in the stuff around him, he just showed up you know? And randomly just gained control of everything enough that he had no issue with handling and basically running fazbear entertainment? It's just... I think he was someone else, and the person at the top of my list is going to really fucking suck if I'm right... Just, could you do me a favor?" Mari let out an agreeing chime as Mike explained, "There's something I want you to be on the lookout for while the others are looking for what we discussed"

He went on to explain it to the puppet, watching with a grimace as a frown set itself over the animatronics' mask. A look of shock and dread would be the best way to accurately describe it, but he only asked after a long moment.

"Are you sure?" Mike just sighed, but nodded.

"Yeah... I- I knew I remembered that thing from somewhere, and with everything else... Those dreams made me think of something I experienced down below AR, and I just... Just be on the look out for it, I don't want you going down there though if you don't find anything like that in the above ground section, unless for some reason you absolutely have to, wait until I'm back in shape before we start snooping around down there" The puppet still frowned, but slowly nodded, leaning back into the couch before saying.

"It'll work out, you know? I'm sure of it, we'll get through this no matter what we find there, and I'll never see you differently from the man I know you are" Mike didn't say anything, he couldn't, that confidence and sureness his puppet's voice made something tense and tight in his hollow chest unclench enough that he just was taken over by the feeling, as he reached an arm up and around, to simply hug onto the animatronic to hold him closer.

"Thanks, Net... I- While you're gone tomorrow, I think I'm going to be looking for a few things myself, just at the warehouse" The puppet let out a long humming sound, clearly thinking about that, before saying carefully.

"Just be safe, I trust you to take care of yourself Mike... To be honest, I don't want you going back to AR because I don't think I can handle that myself either right now" Mike frowned, turning his head a bit to be able to rest his chin on top of the puppet's head, Mari's head being buried into the crook of his neck now, as he said softly, if a bit guilty.

"I'm sorry you've had to deal with all this... I should be-" He stopped himself as he felt Mari begin to shift, probably to start a lecture about Mike and his self-worth issues, as he thought for a short moment about what he actually wanted to say, before continuing on, "No, I'm sorry you've had to be so strong through all this, I'm sure you know, but I appreciate you so much, and I'm so thankful with how amazing you've been through all of this. When it's all over, feel free to make me you're emotional support corpse all you want"

That got a huff, but an amused one, something Mike would take, along with a pleasing rumble like Mari was trying to keep himself from doing that warble sound that showed just how pleased and warmed he was.

"You'd be there for me whether this happened or not"

"Maybe, but it never hurts to be told if someone needs extra cuddles"

"You're a dork"

"That's not a no" Mike just smiled to himself, quite pleased with himself, as Mari just buried himself deeper into the hug.

It was in the middle of the morning of the next day that the van had been loaded up and almost all the crew was on the road. Fritz was in the driver's seat, staring out ahead, Jeremy in the passenger's seat, and the back holding Goldie and Mari, both sat down in some of the recently put in seats, which was quite the sight, seeing them being buckled up like a normal person was just a bit surreal, even now after knowing them for so long. There was just something about seeing a massive golden bear and an incredibly skinny marionette in seatbelts that just took a second to adjust to.

The seatbelts of course had been an addition after Foxy had nearly put a hole through the wall of the van trying to stand about while on the interstate, not that anyone would tell the fox in the future about just why the belts had been added. But the quiet reminder should hopefully help keep the van in one piece going forwards.

The air in the van wasn't quite tense, but it couldn't be exactly described as positive either. Fritz's hands on the wheel were tight, and Mari honestly felt bad about the man having to go back. He hadn't complained or tried to get out of it in any way, but Mari was sure he wasn't thinking about this trip with anything but dread. Mari himself wasn't much of a fan of going back either, but Mike was right, they had to find out what was happening here one way or another, and the weeks that it had been was going to be as much of a break as they could realistically give themselves.

It had been about the end of August the last time that he had gone here at the end of night, it was now over the half way point of September. It had only been a few weeks, only a little under a month, but that didn't feel nearly long enough personally. There was so much about the place that he didn't know about, that he felt this need to know, about the people who had once been there, the souls that had gotten trapped, and so much more, but they were only here for the things that they could find above ground.

It was a safety measure that Marionette knew wasn't really needed, sure there could be many things down below that were dangerous, in fact the puppet was sure of it given what Mike had told him last night, but the reason that everything had gone so wrong last time was because of many stacking reasons that simply would not happen again, not when they knew what they were on the lookout for. Especially when the main... threat, that they knew about, had been so thoroughly handled.

Marionette doubted Ennard had managed to pull themselves up and together so soon. If at all, just because they could tangle themselves up into such a mess of parts, doesn't mean they could do it again. He... He wasn't sure what he felt towards the animatronic. Anger? Oh, certainly, they killed his boyfriend, the fact that death was more of a temporary event in their line of work didn't matter, that wasn't something that would ever be going away, but there were other emotions as well, more complicated and uncertain ones.

Mari could hold a grudge, in fact he was very much planning on holding it until the end of time, but that doesn't mean he wasn't also painfully aware, as was everyone else in the van right now, and no doubt Mike himself was as well, that at the end of the day, there was a very good chance that this wasn't Ennard, nor the souls making up the sole animatronic's, fault. Their code, their programming, the thing that practically worked the same as brainwashing. Marionette wasn't sure just how to feel about it, he hadn't really ever been on this side of the fence before.

Frankly, the more he thought about it, the more and more uncomfortable he felt. He regretted his actions of course, in the past, he was sure the others did as well. Maybe not quite as much as he did, Goldie for example was a bit... Anyways, he regretted it, but he had still done it, and had continued on like nothing had happened afterwards, even when he talked practically daily with the victims of his and the other's actions... Had he ever said he was sorry to Fritz? To Jeremy? Had any of them?

Blinded by code and programming and that insidious purple, and using that as means of justification, but was that enough to excuse their actions? To just feel bad about it? He knew he had talked about it before with Mike, about how Spring Bonnie had only exacerbated the issue, forcing the others to carry out their nighttime acts, but he didn't have that excuse did he? He knew he would have known if he had been affected and controlled like that right? He was no one else's puppet to be stringed along and controlled.

Marionette had thought he was okay with that, with that knowing, but that was only because he hadn't truly seen and felt just what it was like to be on the end of such a fate. If he hadn't been there, if it had been anyone else, Mike wouldn't have survived that night, Marionette would have been left alone just like that, and he would have been able to do nothing about it. Death was cruel and a gift was only a tiny mercy against it. But if Mike hadn't... Marionette would have been just like every other person who had died through the graveyard that was a Freddy's.

It... None of these thoughts and feelings he had as the van got closer and closer to their destination made him feel any better, just worse and worse. The only thing he could do as Fritz suddenly spoke up, informing everyone that they were about to pull in, was push down those thoughts, and do his best to ignore them. They weren't important right now, they didn't matter. It would be fine.

Taking an approximation of a breath, he slowly moved to take off his seatbelt, something that he strangely found quite amusing and weirdly comfortable. Maybe some strange link to normal humanity or just a quirk of his code that made him enjoy things like boxes, tight cramp spaces were just a relaxing space for the puppet, maybe this was sort of the same? Either way, it was an nice way of braking him out of his thoughts for the moment as he waited just until the van had stopped moving completely before slowly letting himself rise out from the chair as Goldie moved, struggling with the belt for a moment before doing the same, his body groaning just a bit as he moved to stand up, half bent as he lumbered to the back doors, as Marionette busied himself with opening the doors and helping the bear get down without putting to much strain on his body.

It had never been something Marionette had thought much about but for how dangerous he and Goldie, and the now being remembered Spring Bonnie, had been, they had realistically been the 'weakest' animatronics. None of the three had much in terms of durability, in fact it would be accurate to say they were the more fragile of the animatronic cast that had gone through Freddy's doors. Perhaps it was because of that they had been so much more, those handicaps giving way to the powers that they discovered that the others never really needed to figure out beyond the very basics.

It wasn't worth thinking about now, so he just finished helping the bear get down, as Goldie moved around and looked about for a moment, before getting ready to head over towards the doors only to pause to himself as he glanced over towards Fritz, who seemingly had noticed it at the same time he had, the two being the closest, and more importantly, the ones that had been here last.

"Something wrong" The other's tensed at the eldest voice, as he moved slowly closer to look at the door, staring at the faint gap that was left in it, continuing as he reached out to it "Someone's been here"

"How can you tell?" Fritz turned back, a grimace on his face, as he said simply.

"The door was closed last time we left, someone either went in and left in a rush or..." Marionette finished the thought.

"Or something left and didn't care to latch the door on it's way out" Marionette let out a harsh chiming sound before he could mean to, even as he moved closer, looking over the door, before saying.

"I should go in first" Goldie spoke up quickly, moving over at a lumbering but brisk pace.

"I'll go with you" The puppet just shook his head.

"We don't know if it was just a person or not, if it was Ennard... If they're still up here hiding, you're suit isn't quiet, and they have a habit of trying to crawl into places they have no business in" The bear tensed, the idea of something made of wires trying to worm their way inside of his hollow suit made his springs coil up with revulsion, as he said after a moment.

"Fine, be back soon, if not-"

"I will" With that the puppet quickly and silently pushed the door open, as he quietly slipped inside, only to let out a very small chime as Jeremy moved quickly in as well, following behind him, as he shot the man a look as he just shrugged, pulling out a taser from his back pocket.

"You need someone to watch your back, and Fritz hasn't gotten a new one yet" The puppet just let out a low not particularly pleased hum, before simply nodding, as he turned and moved further into the office, looking around for a long moment, drifting in as Jeremy quietly moved behind him. The human was surprisingly light on his feet, making next to no noise as the two moved in, looking around carefully through the room, before Marionette turned to give Jeremy a nod, as he moved over and flipped the light switch to the main room on.

Drifting in further, the puppet has his attention instantly caught on the long streaking lines of dried and now crusted red that was from the elevator across the room from them, leading all the way to the front door. Marionette snapped his attention away from it quickly however, not wanting to focus on it anymore, as he looked around the room closer, drifting further in, towards the hallway, looking in both directions, his hearing stretched out as much as it could go, as he looked for any clues of tampering, when Jeremy's voice called out from behind him.

"Here, I found something" Vanishing instantly and reappearing at the man's side, Jeremy only jumped a little bit, before nodding his head at where he was standing, behind the main desk where a computer was situated, as he gestured at the keyboard and screen, "Someone wiped it off. I think someone else came here looking for answers" Marionette felt the knot of tension in his ticking chest unspool just a bit at knowing Ennard hadn't been up here, though the alternative wasn't much better, as he ended up just nodding, before asking more rhetorically than actually expecting an answer.

"I guess... Who though?" Jeremy could only shrug.

"I'm not sure... The police maybe? An ambulance being called out here for a stab wound might have made them call the police to take a look around?" That wasn't exactly a comforting answer, the idea of a large organization like a whole police station looking into any place with living animatronics was a risk, but clearly if this was the only that they had looked at... Maybe it wasn't that bad?

"Maybe... Hopefully they didn't find anything" Jeremy just shrugged.

"I mean, if Mike couldn't find anything that stood out without any clues after a month of looking around, then I doubt they could on a random visit" That was infinitely more comforting. Mike wasn't the type who missed clues, or anything really, he was honestly a better detective than any of the ones that Marionette had seen through his time residing at Freddy's. At least, before the Hurricane police ended up giving up and trying to sweep the whole thing under the rug. That was something that always had irked the puppet more than he could admit, learning more and more about the police from his ex-felon boyfriend hadn't really increased his respect for them either.

"I guess... We should hurry up then. I'll go get the others" Jeremy just nodded, watching as the puppet vanished from in front of him, as the man himself turned back to look at the computer in front of him with a vague interest, as he reached down and pressed the power button, waiting for a moment, only to frown as nothing happened for a long moment, before the strange smell of something burning filled h is noise, as the shorter man's eyes widen in panic as he watched as smoke began to roll out of the machine as he reacted quickly, pulling the thing back before ripping the power cord out of it.

"Already trying to burn the place down?" He just let out a huff as he looked over towards Fritz as the man moved inside, looking around a bit warily, his eyes catching on the blood on the floor that Jeremy himself had being doing his best to pretend wasn't there, saying back while trying to get his heart back under control from the strange scare.

"No, just, the thing just fried itself when I tried to turn it on... I hope the others don't do that" The man just patted the strap of the backpack he was wearing.

"I'm planning on just ripping the hard drives out of the things and just plugging them either into my personal computer or the one at the warehouse, so I can look through the files there without having to come back here in the future if we need anything else from this place that's already on digit storage"

"Smart" He just shrugged.

"Should have thought about it sooner, or at least brought it up, I thought there wouldn't be a point because they'd still be password locked, but if we happened to have an all access pass or found one around here..." He didn't have to continue as Jeremy just nodded, Mike had told them his father's password, and that should hopefully be enough, before both their attentions turned back to the front door, as they watched as Goldie moved in, the bear pausing just for a moment at the sight of all the red on the floor, before simply moving further inward, saying as he marched past the waiting room section of the building.

"I'm going to look for the files on the animatronics" Neither man said anything to try and stop the bear, instead it was Marionette who spoke next, just calling after him.

"Alright, you should look upstairs, we haven't checked that place out much, Mike gave up when it was just a bunch of documents about production" The bear simply nodded and after a second had rounded the corner, vanishing from sight as the sound of lumbering footsteps continued to fill the air until that to vanished from their perception. About half a second later Fritz seemed to realize something as he let out an awkward cough as he said, already moving.

"I'll go with him, that's where the main computers are anyways, I'll grab the drives while I'm up there then help Goldie out" With that it was once more Jeremy and Mari who were together, as the two shared a look, before moving as well, Jeremy moving to search through the reception desk, just to see if anything interesting could be found, while Marionette moved to the room filled with the filing cabinets that was on the floor they were already on. That's where most of the records had been, and where he could potentially find the thing that Mike had asked him to be on the lookout for.

If it wasn't, then it would be upstairs with the production files, and if not there... Then it was somewhere down below and they would be waiting a while until they'd be heading back down there. It itched something in the back of the puppet's mind that all their answers were just below them, he could be down and back up, a conversation later, questioning the animatronic tangle about just what they were trying to get out of Mike now with those dreams, without anyone knowing but himself, with at the very least more clues to have, and maybe a way to reduce the burn in his chest at the thoughts he had on the way here.

Or at the least look around, see if he could find what had affected Mike when he was down there, see if he could find any others, work on trying to find another more hidden file room, anything like that.

The more he thought about it, the more inciting the prospect of it was, it was safe down there anyways, he was mostly sure of it. Only, just before he could commit to anything, the sound of footsteps had him flinching as Jeremy's voice came from behind him.

"I didn't find anything, mind if I help you search? Working in pairs would probably be quickest" Marionette was quick to answer, even if he was unsure just if he should say it, he was too startled by his thoughts being broken from where they had been to think too hard about it at the moment.

"Uh, yeah, sure, just... I'm looking for anything like initial designs or any records about gas supplies" Jeremy just blinked before saying.

"I don't think we talked about that? At least the gas part, where'd that come from?" Marionette just shrugged.

"Uh, nothing, just... Mike mentioned something afterwards about something he remembered when he was down here, I figured I should be on the lookout for it" Jeremy just nodded, moving to the puppet's side as he pulled open one of the drawers and began to look through.

"Right... How's Mike doing by the way? I've wanted to come around more often, but with everything going on..."

"He's... adjusting. It might be good if you two talked a bit, you're situations are more similar than his and mine"

"Maybe. I don't know... What about you? How are you doing with all of this... I mean, with everything you told me, it must have been hard" It took a moment to realize just what Jeremy was trying to say, as the puppet felt faintly embarrassed as he realized he was talking about the puppet's 'crush' on Mike. They hadn't told anyone about their relationship yet, and Mari wasn't really sure if it was because of everything else that had happened that just made it seem unimportant to mention compared to everything else, or just the fact they wanted to stick to being private, but he found himself answering all the same before he could think to hard about what he was suppose to say.

"Uh, well, it's... We've had a few talks, it's all good, it's been hard of course, but we're getting through it, it just takes time to adjust to everything" Jeremy just slowly nodded before asking carefully.

"Have you, uh, told him?" Marionette tensed for a moment, before saying simply.

"Like I said, we've had a few talks"

"How'd it go?" Marionette, if he could, would have been sweating as he took a long moment to try and figure out what the hell he was supposed to say, before with a faint wave of exhaustion realized he was trying too hard. Mike hadn't ever said he had an issue with it had he? No, Marionette was sure of it, it had been the puppet who had his reservations with anyone else knowing... It was his choice then, and while this really didn't feel like a great time, maybe it would be something good enough to break the tension he was feeling as he made a faint shrug before saying, surprisingly shyly.

"Um... Well... I mean, it went well?" Jeremy's face expressed shock, just for a moment, before a brilliant smile spread across his face as he reached out, giving Marionette's shoulder a grab and shake as he said happily.

"Wait? Really? That's... That's amazing, I'm so happy for you two" Marionette let out an even more embarrassed chime as he just tried to wave the man off and ignore the blooming warmth at the incredibly positive reaction, he hadn't known he had so much tension in the back of his mind about what the rest would think, but this reaction felt... It felt good. Marionette didn't have much in the way of secrets anymore, so it was liberating to say something like this, something he had been holding himself back from it felt like for a while as he said quickly and with much more energy.

"Thank you, it's been incredible. Mike's been... It's amazing, better than I thought, even with everything that's happened, I'm so happy" Jeremy just gave the puppet a warm smile, one filled with pride, as he said softly.

"I'm so glad, you two... I think you two are great for each other"

"I think so too... He makes me better, but... Seriously, thank you, if you never- If we never had that talk, I don't think I would have ever tried to build up the courage" Jeremy just shrugged.

"It's not big dea-"

"No, it really is, thank you. Truly, you're a great person Jeremy" The man looked shocked for a moment, before with a little almost self-conscious smile, looked away as he scratched the back of his head.

"I don't think I deserve all that, you would have figured it out, but thanks" The puppet just nodded, stopping, just for a moment, before also, finally saying.

"And, uh... This is probably a bad time, but I'm sorry as well, I should have said it a long time ago but..." Jeremy, being the man he was, seemed to realize just what it was that the puppet was apologizing for in an instant, as the smile turned a bit more into a grimace, his hand, still raking through his hair, pausing for a moment, seemingly running his fingers over the lines still left on his head, as he said after a long moment.

"Yeah... Well... Mike's got a point, everyone should get a second chance. I'm glad I got mine, and I'm proud of how you and the others have come with yours, so don't worry about it" The puppet could only nod, he could hear the truth in the man's words, but also the faint pain in them as well, the past would always be there, it would always be held over them, but that didn't mean it had to define their friendship now, and Marionette could only be grateful for that. Even if he wasn't sure just how he'd ever be able to reach that kind of understanding himself.

Even now, he was aware of what and who was down below, and what they had done.

So instead he said simply, but warmly.

"Thank you... Let's get these files looked through" The man just nodded, seemingly agreeing that they should probably get back to what they were supposed to be doing, as they moved to look through and over the files at hand.

At the same time, on the floor above, Fritz had just caught up with the golden bear as the two moved around, Goldie moving ahead and pulling the filing cabinets straight out of their housing and setting the entire times onto the desk before beginning to pour them over, given his large hands weren't built well for trying to skim through files normally. Fritz just left the bear to it, as he moved around and headed to the single main office that was in the building, he figured it was for the former manager or something, but it also made sense for the main boss to have used it as well. If he was right, then they should at the very least get some hard drives with all the information they could need, once he finished pouring through it.

Though, given this was Fazbear technology, there was a chance that he'd have to find some kind of device to be able to work the programs, if any, that he was now taking. Wasn't there those old unit things that had been originally made to interface with the animatronics? He remembered using one a few years back, it had been only usable on Balloon Boy thinking about it, something that they were theorizing was from this place, it made the idea more credible at the very least.

A hand unit! That's what it was called! Fritz should see if they could find one somewhere, he hadn't spotted one, but he hadn't looked through as thoroughly as Mike or Mari had, they'd be able to tell him if they'd seen anything like one of those old units if he described it to them. The thing could probably tell him a lot about the animatronics as well as thinking about it. A thought for the near future but for now he just continued to work on the computers, frowning to himself as he pried open the last one only to wince as there was a flash of sparks for a moment, as he looked down at the thing before sighing as he made sure to disconnect it before pulling the hardware out. It was probably burnt out, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

At least one thing was for certain, the power here was just as finicky as any other place within the fazbear chain, grimacing, he put the last bits into his bag, before moving to stand, looking around for a moment, before moving over to Goldie, who was still just searching through the files, a large number of file drawers had been pulled out at this point, as he asked the bear.

"Find anything?" The bear didn't say anything for a short moment, before finally replying.

"I have some of the animatronic designs, just the Funtimes and they look a bit bare, but-" Fritz made a sound of interest as he moved over, as said towards the bear.

"Anything is something, it'll at least give me an idea of what they're capable of, I haven't seen them in person yet, only Mari has, and that was just the shells of them" Pulling the papers up, Fritz had to admit that he was more than a little disappointed in what he found, it was very... limited, just a few features and an outline of some of the Funtime's outermost shells. Admittedly, there were some interesting things about them as he looked them over, the plates were just as he suspected, very segmented, but he knew that from the advertisement papers they had found...

Yet, they were metal, not plastic, and massive, the notes on the three he had here were interesting because of that. The animatronics had always been a bit big, at least the originals, Foxy was the tallest, if one didn't count Bonnie and his ears, standing at a massive six foot six. It had even been a point of issue once upon a time, it's why when the toy line had been made, they had been much smaller. Didn't make them less dangerous, just something to note about them, Toy Bonnie for example, as the only Toy Animatronic he's spent recent time working on, was much shorter than his original counterpart, even with his ears added to boost his height, he still wasn't even as tall as Mike, who, while a giant, was still person sized.

Toy Chica had been about as big as Jeremy for example, same size as Bonnie without the ears adding almost any extra foot, Freddy and Foxy's toy models had only been a bit taller, about Fritz's own height.

It was a weird thing to note, but something that Fritz, as someone who had spent a long time working on animatronics and dealing with them being... rowdy, knew to pay attention to. Because these ones, the Funtimes, all were... Weird, dimension wise at least. Circus Baby was massive, having eight inches even on the tallest animatronic Fritz had ever met, being Foxy. And from what he was seeing... her chest was hollow? Same with the Funtime Freddy, who wasn't quite as big, but was still had at least a few inches on the original Freddy, and had a chest space that reminded Fritz of the plans and blueprints he himself had made for Goldie...

Like... Like someone was supposed to go inside, but there wasn't any space in them to make them make sense as a springlock suit, it was only the chests that were kept surprisingly empty, even with features listed on the plans, those features wouldn't take up that much space. An adult certainly couldn't fit at the very least, even one on the smaller size like Jeremy would have to lose at least parts of his legs to get crammed in there unless they were a contortionist.

It was a morbid thought, but Fritz knew all too well about people getting stuffed, it was a miracle none of them had ended up coming back haunting those old back up suits... Or, at least, given what he knew now, those suits were probably too broken up and in pieces for them to hold onto those night guard's souls. The thought came before he could help it as he grimaced to himself at the... memories, shaking his head harshly only... only for a new thought to emerge from it. One viscerally more horrific.

That space wouldn't be enough for an adult... but a child?

The Funtimes had to get possessed somehow right?

Fritz felt like he was going to be sick.

Badtimes all around, still peices are beginning to come into focus that should have probably been figured out a long time ago, so that's nice. I'm not sure, I feel like I should have a lot of add for these notes, but I don't really have anything coming to mind, so I'm mostly just putting stream of thought this time around.

I guess something to mention was the Mike and Mari scene well at the start... I kind of feel like I'm lovey-dovey-ing them a bit to much, like, every scene is just a little sappy, and, like, I'm not going to stop that, their interactions are my comforts while I'm writing and planning out all of this horribleness that I'm inflicting the cast with, but it is something that I'm aware of all the same.

Then there's Marionette by himself, this was a heavy chapter all around for the puppet and most of the cast who went to AR, with a lot of thoughts that they never really thought about broaching and now have to deal with being on the other side of. Like for the puppet, realizing just what he and the others had been doing to so many others without ever really seeing the impact of their actions. It's tragic, but it's what happened and that past has to be addressed at some point right? What's a better time than now? Though, of course, this section of the story has so much happening I'm actively debating so many things that I wonder if I should still put in that it's kind of impressive. Anyways, no reason to deal with all that now, I'm out of things to mention beyond Fritz being retraumatized, so I think I'll end it off here. See ya!