A Guard's life

Caught

A/N: Oh buddy boy. So much broke recently. All my damn electronics. Every single one, it feels like! But here I am, still working!
I hope this chapter is satisfying- sadly no beta-reader, everybody is pretty busy.
Gosh, I hope that won't be a problem.
I'm really nervous about this chapter.
ENJOY!

-

Habits form quickly. If you wait for them, they take their sweet time, but once you developed them, once you start losing your focus on them, they sneak up on you and surprise you with how firmly they stick around.
If someone would have asked Ethan what his family habits were, back in the day when he still had his family, he would answer rather simply; asking them if they brushed their teeth, before giving them a good night kiss, making sure they got a piece of candy in their pocket on the days monday and thursday, because they had to go to a lesson they absolutely hated and he hoped it would improve their mood and would make them feel less angry with the day- after all, he once heard learning while unhappy or in discomfort was difficult for a child-, he would show the children the spiders he caught to throw out of the house to get them more used to seeing this insects, slowly easing their fears- you know, little things he barely was noticing anymore, but weren't actually needed.
Nowadays he had realized that they had other habits devolved, habits that only now he realized were exactly that.
He always petted Evelyn's cheek when she looked at him unhappy- no matter the source of it. Pet her cheek and tell her it's going to be okay.
He had the habit of sitting or standing between her and strangers when they were in a room, even if he didn't thought the strangers had in any ways ill intentions.
It was simply a habit.
He hadn't stopped with it.
Even if the cheek was rusty and prickly under his fingers and if the stranger was a giant demonic puppet.
She had also preserved her habits.
When she was uncertain or nervous, she swung her arms at her sides a little and looked downwards.
She squeaked when she was surprised with something that made her happy- like his unexpected arrival.
When she worried about him, she would stare at his face and when caught quickly look somewhere else, as if she had been sneaky beforehand, as if she expected that he hadn't noticed.
There would have been other things. Like the way she tended to speak quicker and quicker, the more excited she got until she stumbled over her words.
Maybe that was normal for children, but he only ever noticed with her- John, her brother, was much calmer. Maybe because he somewhat shy.
He would never hear that again, that was a given.
But nevermind that.
It was still wonderful seeing those few things she persevered, even after what had happened to her.
So much had been taken away, but she prevailed.
He was so proud of her.
The last three days he spend almost entirely at her side. From six AM until deep into the night.
He did refuse to sleep Phone Guy's house, despite that being an option to never let her out of his sight again, but he didn't want to risk the Phone Guy potentially killing him in his sleep, somehow finding out what he had been working on the last few days.
No, not when he was so close.
The Marionette was halfway floating, halfway sitting on a chair, leaned over the table, studying the plans of the restaurant.
Slowly its long claw went along the drawn vents. "... we have managed to get three out of five. After that we should be capable to completely burn the restaurant to ashes."
"Have you talked to Jeremy yet? Did he schedule a day off?" Impatient Ethan gave the supernatural being a glance.
"Not yet." It didn't let his tone bother him. "But it doesn't matter, nobody knows the fuel is there, nobody ever does maintenance. The animatronics are too big and heavy to travel through the vents. If we cannot do it directly after placing the containers, we can do it at any other day. Worst case, I keep him distracted and you light it on fire, then I lead the animatronics to the place, so they can enjoy their revenge."
Ethan didn't particularly like that, he wanted to be over with it.
Well enough, another day or two shouldn't be a catastrophe.
Quietly he took a breath and petted over his daughter's beak to ensure his stress wouldn't take over his ability to think.
It wasn't as if he had anything hard to do, but this was his tactic to regain confidence.
Get in shortly before closing time, hide and wait until the cameras were deactivated, which they were from around eight PM to midnight, hide the canisters full of fuel in the vents, get out through the backdoor that the Marionette had talked Jeremy into leaving unlocked for the week. Nothing difficult.
He had done it three times already, without any issue.
It still was a weird feeling to hide objects with the clear intention to end lives with it.
As if you sat on the bottom of a pond, still able to breathe, watching the surface from there.
But he felt no more guilt or worry.
Weirdly enough, finally a sense of peace had settled in.
He looked at Evelyn and she looked back, attempting to smile at least a little.
She would be avenged, her murderer would be dead, never to harm anyone again.
He hoped it would bring her peace.
And him too, if he even deserved that anymore.
Leaning back he closed his eyes, exhausted from the last few days, slightly smiling when Evelyn leaned into him.
Was it almost crushing him?
Yes.
Was it completely worth it?
YES.
His mind finally wound down a little and he took a few deep breaths, allowing his thoughts to wander.
"... I still have your plushy, Evelyn. If you would like me to, I could get it for you!" Glancing at her he smiled, his smile widening when she perked up and nodded enthusiastically. "You missed it a lot, huh? Should I get it right away?"
Shortly he hesitated, but then nodded again.
Affectionately he petted her. "Fifteen minutes at most. Hang tight dear, okay?"
Marion looked shortly at him. "Hurry, I have to get back to Jeremy as soon as I can, before he notices that I'm not in the building with him."
Disliking the commanding tone this creature took with him he was tempted to pause for a while, but he had no time for some passive-aggressiveness. It wasn't worth it.
Not to mention in a way he did him a favor, as this confirmed that she wouldn't be left all on her own while he was gone.
As he opened the door the black Shibe stopped hunting the shadows of the leaves on the ground and instead walked over, staring him down.
Recently he hadn't left his side nearly as much as he used to. Probably because he liked the wide space of the forest.
Ethan signed it to follow and to his own surprise it did, all the way to his apartment and back.
It sat by patiently as he got out the box full of mementos of his daughter.
The pictures wouldn't be needed and not do anyone any good, but... there was the doll... and a necklace he could give her back now...
When he had gathered everything to his satisfaction, he came back both the items in hand, smiling when Evelyn saw both and squeaked, rushing over.
He chuckled a bit as he sat down the plush to put the necklace back onto her. It wasn't so easy, seeing as her anatomy had changed a lot, but he finally found a spot where he could close the object around without risking it to instantly fall downwards and disappear in the complex machinery in her chest.
The plushy gave him more issues though.
He wanted to simply hand it over, but... yeah. She would not even be able to hold it.
Somewhat lost he stared at her, she grew a bit sad as she realized she couldn't take it in the way she wanted to.
Not even her mouth was an option, the bottom jaw was missing.
The Marionette who had watched them in silence, almost entranced now called out. "Would you like some aid?"
"I don't see how you can help me." Ethan replied, his tone politely.
"We could put it into her chest. Better than nothing and she is not at risk of losing it at any point in time." His voice was equally as courteous.
Ethan looked at Evelyn, who tilted her head a little.
"Would you like that?
She shrugged, but then nudge the plush with her beak and nodded. No real other option, anyways.
Marion had no further need for approval and came over to do as promised, pulling the cloth back a little to go with his claws to the screws, slowly unscrewing them and taking the plate off.
Between fascinated and worried the man watched him carefully. "... how come you are able to do that? Those claws look... not really stable enough for that."
"I was build specifically to be able to do this." Concentrated he pulled the cables apart, creating a considerable amount of space, where he gently placed the plushy.
"Why?" Confused Ethan watched him, a sense of unease washing over him.
"Because my murderer wanted to make me the leader of the animatronics. I was supposed to be able to control them, keep them in line and-" Marion broke off, uncomfortable. "... make more if necessary. He hoped finding a useful tool in me. But I would never let myself be turned into such a thing."
As he screwed the animatronic back together, he had to tell himself that this time there wasn't a corpse in there.
He shouldn't have reminded himself that everything he did actually lined up quite well- no, no. Sure, he used the tools, but he- wasn't one. He used the tactic of the bad guy to create a good end. It wasn't what Henry had in mind for him, not- only-
Frustrated he stepped back. "I have to-"
"Why do you refuse to tell me about your past?" Quietly Ethan inquired. "What about your family? I am sure they mi-"
"Be quiet. You have no idea what I have been through or where I came from. You do not know IF I even had a family. And quite honestly it is NONE of your concerns!" Angry he gave him a short glare. "We both have a thing we want from each other and I advise you to keep to that."
"I at least want to understand! Who- WHAT are you?! As far as I understand you are most likely just a chi-"
"Did I not tell you to be silent?" His voice sounded actually threatening now.
Evelyn seemed uncomfortable and stepped behind her dad to put her head onto his, a gesture he had come to associate with her needing his immediate attention.
For a few more seconds nothing happened, then the man finally turned away and began petting the animatronic behind him, asking her quietly if she was okay.
The Puppet was not planning on sticking around any longer, he already wasted enough time.
He hated to worry Jeremy.
Sadly, it was a bit too late for that.
Oh, if he only knew.
Jeremy was a good kid.
Jeremy was sure of that.
He wanted people to be safe, he wanted things to be talked out.
The worst he ever wished onto someone was a fair police investigation and a sitting with a therapist.
All he wanted was as much people as possible happy.
What Marion did worried him.
Granted, he had NO idea what was going on exactly, but he didn't like that Marion disappeared with Ethan.
It scared him.
He KNEW Marion was a good guy too. But Marion didn't THINK.
The animatronic was too hot-headed for his own good, much less for the good of everyone else.
Jeremy had tried again and again to ask, to PLEAD for Marion to tell him what he was doing when he was gone. Why he wanted him to keep the backdoor open. What he was planning.
But nothing.
Marion told him not to worry.
And while he WANTED to actually trust him and not worry... he couldn't.
What was he supposed to do?
The Marionette wasn't listening to him.
Ethan was pretending he wasn't part of it- and while he never actually outright denied him, he also told him that nothing bad would happen.
Who knew what this man saw as bad.
Again, not that the guy was a bad man, Jeremy truly didn't believe that, but something about him worried him. He carried around a lot of pain with him and pain made people sometimes... unreasonable.
The options were beyond limited right now.
On his own he wouldn't be able to keep people safe.
So he did what any reasonable person would do.
He talked to a person with authority, who he trusted and respected.
Nervous he played with his finger when he approached the Phone-headed man, coughing shyly. "M-Mr. Phone Guy?"
"Yes, Jeremy?" Surprised he inspected the boy. "Are you alright? Where is the Marionette?"
"U-uhm..." He didn't want to admit that Marion wasn't on his post right now, but at the same time... "U-uh... I'm- I think he might be out..."
Instantly the Phone Guy was alarmed. "W-what do you mean out!?"
"I-" Anxious he took a breath. "... will you promise not to get mad, sir?"
Worried Phone Guy looked around. "I won't Jeremy- you know me. I don't ever REALLY get mad, do I?"
The boy was a little reassured and continued. "I- recently Marion often meets up with Ethan."
It was good that Phone Guy had no face, otherwise his expression would have been enough to make Jeremy stop. Regrettably, that was not the case. "Ah? Do you know why?"
"T-that's the issue, sir! I don't! And they will not tell me. I tried talking to them, but..." Shameful he hung his head. "... I recently left the backdoor open for them at night. I don't think they broke anything, but I am worried! I don't want anything bad to happen..."
The boy winced as he was being touched, but thankfully he only got a soft hand on his shoulder.
"It's okay, Jeremy. It's good that you came to me, now I can check if they do something dangerous while in here. Thank you for trust me." His voice was gentle.
Relieved Jeremy sighed. "No need to thank for that! Thank you for not being mad, sir! I was scared you would- be really angry and then- could punish them. They- they mean well-"
"Why would I be mad? It's okay Jeremy. Go back to work and I will go and check the security footage to see what they are up to! I am sure it's fine, employee! Just the normal Freddy's madness!"
Finally smiling widely again, Jeremy couldn't help himself but to hug him. "You're a godsend, sir! I knew you'd be able to handle this! Thank you, I will do my best!"
"No need to worry anymore- if something is the matter, will talk to them myself, okay?"
"Yes sir!" With that he was gone, leaving Simon on his own.
What he didn't know, what nobody except Mike would be able to tell was that PHONEY was FUMING.
No more wasting time, he quickly stalked towards the security office, checking the footage at record speed.
If they came in and left through the backdoor, there would probably be SOME trace of them. He checked the backdoor, but during the time the cameras were still operating, nobody came through there.
Dammit.
Well- he could at least TRY the front door camera, otherwise he would have to change up the whole camera system to run 24/7...
It took a while, there were tons of people going in and out-
When he finally saw Ethan on the cameras, going in with a suspicious bag- well, suspicious to him at least- he grew calm again. Completely calm.
There he was. Coming in. Without ever notifying him of it or what he wanted.
He began dialing the number of the detective into his phone, patiently waiting for him to accept.
After two tones the man accepted.
"Ethan Cross speaking?" His voice was cautious, the man probably didn't have many people calling anymore.
"H-Hello? Hello, Hello! It's me, Simon! I, uh- I just wanted to call to check in how you, uh- how you were. Is- is everything okay over there?"
"... did something happen?" Instantly distrustful, he could hear the man shift on the other side, the noises of metal hitting metal in the background as the animatronics were probably doing... something.
"No- well-" Something- he needed some reason. The man started whispering. "I think I am about to find a way to get rid of the two without closing down the restaurant." Without any regret he lied. "It will take only a bit longer."
"Ah. That's good. Is there anything I need to prepare for?" To his credit, the man tried hard to sound tense and invested. But you can't outlie a professional.
"Not- uh, not yet. I am not FULLY sure how good this will go, but once the first step worked out, I will tell you, okay?"
"Certainly."
"Just calling so, uh- you're less impatient. I don't want you to go off doing anything on your own, that could- that would ruin everything!" He said with some weight behind his words.
To no avail. "I already assumed that, I wouldn't do anything stupid. I'm spending time with my daughter right now- if there isn't anything more you need...?"
"No, uh- no. Not at all. Thank you." Listening to the loud, hard tones of the dead line, Simon didn't really managed to muster up any urge to care.
He wouldn't go back to the factory and he had enough to be played for a fool.
If this restaurant was damaged too, there was nothing that would be able to save him from the factory's wrath.
Mike could get damaged too, if he wouldn't step aside when they came- oh, that guy would not step aside. Over his dead body.
With terror he though how and if Mike was able to have a phone head. It made him sick.
There was no way in hell he would let that happen.
Ethan had been an issue since the dawn of time and now he pretty much signed his own fate. This had been HIS decision.
Phone Guy had offered cooperation. What more could you ask for?
This was enough.
Walking out, he looked around, trying to spot a certain someone.
Mike was running away from a group of toddlers, led by Baby, but he wasn't who he was looking for.
It was better to keep him far out of it.
Ah, there.
A hint of orange.
"Employeeeeee?" Quickly he rushed towards him.
Jumping up, the Orange Guy turned to him with a somewhat guilty smile.
He kept his teeth closed as he answered. "Yeeeeeeeeaaaaah...?"
Nope, he didn't have the time to ask or care. "Get Dave and come at the end of the shift into the office. We need to have a talk."
Unsure Sportsy frowned, but slowly nodded, already happy getting away with... whatever he was currently doing.
There wasn't much good about Old Sport.
Some things, yeah.
And something distinctly told Simon that he could have been a very good guy if he wouldn't have ended up befriending Dave.
But if there was one thing about him, then it was that if you gave him a task he deemed fun, he would complete it to its fullest.
As they arrived at the end of the day, Phoney smiled.
"Employees! There you are. We have an issue." He hesitated. No matter how long he thought about it, he wasn't sure how to present it. "Or rather... you have one."
Old Sport already seemed annoyed, while Dave just grinned. "Ah, what can it be, what can it be? Don't make it all that tense, Phoney!"
"Ethan Cross is planning to kill you. He teamed up with the Puppet to do it."
It was silent.
Both of the colors were shocked and suspicious, but Dave kept the lead for now. "Why would ya tell us that?"
"Because he wants to destroy the restaurant most likely while at it. Something I disagree with!" If not, Ethan would have been honest. No, it was clear the man was going back on their agreement.
So was Simon.
The Phone Guy continued. "Get rid of him. Permanently."
Dave was taken aback, but now Old Sport was the one invested. He grinned and it was the most disgusting expression the Phone-headed man could imagine. "... oh my... Phoney... you're going wild, aren't you?"
"I do what is necessary. You have full range, and I will come early to clean up whatever mess you make." It didn't take a big offer to make them do something violent, he knew of that.
Self-preservation would do the rest.
Old Sport's smile vanished shortly, his eyes moving around quickly, following some thoughts. "We have... the full range of options?"
"I mean- not destroying the restaurant is a given, I, uh- think. Don't drag anyone else into it if you can help it. But otherwise? I will cover for you." Phone Guy pulled up the footage. "He comes in shortly before closing and then waits until the cameras are out. If you manage to keep the cameras activated during the off-shift hours, you can try to keep an eye on him with that, otherwise you have to be on the lookout through the restaurant. You probably can try to catch him by waiting at the backdoor."
The two colors nodded, signing to Phone Guy that he was good to go. "I count on you employees."
Left behind on their own devices now, Dave and Old Sport sat for a moment in silence, exchanging a look.
Uncertain Dave shifted. "So... we do as he says or... we fuck off?"
It was in Old Sport's hands now.
Leave his place behind, his home, go on the run already again- leaving Baby and the other animatronics behind, their family, or kill a man.
Welp, if he thought about it like that?
No question.
He smiled.
This could be fun! It's been a while since he did something ACTUALLY... evil.
Not that he was wild about being evil.
It was different though.
And that was enough to potentially very entertaining.
He had kept the lid on for long enough, time to see what they could do when all rules were off the table once more.
Sometimes it felt like he was still not there, like he still tried to give a shit about people that he owed nothing to... old habits die hard. Now he would be able to get really creative! Prove himself, his mental strength.
Also, he could-
... try that device Henry made.
His first instinct was to shudder at the thought alone.
No, he didn't like that thought.
But he shouldn't. After all, what should it matter that a life could... could what? He didn't even know!
He WANTED to know. Only way was to try.
Old Sport took a deep breath and turned to Dave, who apparently had been talking. "I've decided. We're going to fuck him up! Let's go all out!"
Dave was happy, not minding that his first point had been ignored. "We're gonna go nuts? Oh my, it's gonna be fun then! Good ole classic game of fuck 'em up! We can get... hm... what do we have here... I think with forks in the back and his nostrils we can start some fun combos, especially if we keep the stove nice and hot, for-"
"Sounds good!" Absent-mindedly the Orange Guy smiled at him. "You prepare that and I will go back home and get a few things."
"Oh?" Curious the Purple Guy sat up. "What are ya thinkin' about gettin'? Are ya gonna ask Alice to come with ya and-"
"You will see! Prepare a trap! I will hurry, I promise!" Excitement slowly settled in, now he had overcome the first stupid hesitation. Something entirely NEW. Something never seen before by anyone but Henry most likely. Seeing as even Dave seemed confused about the device...
Now that was a treat!
Together with the guests of today he rushed out of the restaurant, not even noticing the man looming in the shadows, watching the stream of people passing. When it cleared out a LITTLE more, then he could go in. Mainly he waited for the main chunk of the workers to leave, ensuring that they wouldn't spot him and get suspicious.
Clean-up duty had started to fall to the robots under the supervision of the nightguard, all the others could and would leave early.
His dog was sitting by his side, his tail twitching occasionally back and forth, seemingly unusually tense today. But it stayed quiet.
Ethan watched the people pass, trying to spot the workers in the crowd.
The Phone Guy wasn't hard to spot. Good, he was already out of the equation, he was the most responsible and thorough with his to-do list. Not having him go through ALL the rooms would make hiding a lot easier.
There Jeremy was too, with his big backpack in which he carried his companion in. It was safer for him to not be around while they did anything illegal- in the Marionette's opinion.
In the end, Ethan didn't care who he had to avoid, especially seeing as they all tended to retreat into the office for the time of the wait anyways.
His eyes wandered as he mentally trailed off to nothing in particular, except to get this done as quickly as possible to be back at home.
Where to hide this time...
"Aw what a cute doggo. Or whatever. Wait, it's a literal doggo isn't it? Like- not only a DOG, but a DOGGO. A DOGE. C'mere you little shit."
These words took a second to register and once he managed to blink he register the teenager kneeling next to the hound, petting its head, staring without any hint of emotion.
"I- don't pet a stranger's dog like that kid!"
"I'm not a kid, you're just an old man." He kept petting the dog roughly. "Who's a good boy? You certainly aren't, you're a fucking scary bitch. Literally! Maybe. Not gonna check, over my dead body. Where did you find the dog?"
"Find-? I- He at some point started following me. I was on the lookout for missing posters, but..." And he never had the chance to take a photo either, the dog always ran as soon as he tried and only came back once he forgot about it, without fail.
The dog sometimes seemed too smart. But, Ethan had no time to worry about that.
Noticing all of a sudden that the stream of people was dying down, he realized he had to get inside now to not be too obvious.
"Excuse me, I will have to go now-"
"You do? Where? Should I watch your dog?" The teen smiled up at him, weirdly smugly. As if he knew something.
That was what teenagers tended to be though, at least those that were out on the street willing to get up into the faces of the people around.
"I will stay away for a while- it really isn't my dog anyways-" How can you explain that your dog seems to be the most independent creature on this entire planet and didn't need anyone to look after him? "I will get a-"
"Not protective of your dog? Wow. You're a really scumbag, aren't you?" The teen snickered. "Well, if I had such a hellhound, I'd probably try to get rid of it too. Knew a guy who had one of those and he became the most successful magician ever by doing the eternal disappearance trick."
Without any other word stood up and he walked on, leaving the slightly baffled detective behind.
He paused, irritated.
Honestly, he had almost forgotten the guy was a worker there, he never saw him doing any actual tasks.
He would have to tell the Marionette to keep him out too- he didn't want to have the blood of that teenager on his hands.
... his son was growing into a teenager slowly, but surely. Silently he wondered if all of this was done, if he maybe could attempt to get his old life back. It sounded impossible, but... he could dream.
Leaving the dog where it was, not even bothering to try and tie him to anything- the dog never let any sort of leash anywhere near him- he felt its dark eyes on his back as he squeezed past the chattering people into the place.
It didn't take long to find a proper hiding place, thankfully, in a place as big as this one it didn't even need to be a good one. Preferably it should have as many exits as possible though, in order to walk away from any approaching source of noise.
Sidestepping through doors into another hallway, hiding just around the corner while people passed on the other side, keeping quietly on the move at all times.
He had to assume that the killer had his turn today with the nightshift, but that wasn't all that bad aside from making his blood boil.
The guy always worked with his partner, loudly talking so you could hear him from miles away. Directly on the first day he had noticed that, so it wouldn't be an issue. He also stuck to the main halls in order to chat with the animatronics.
A small shiver overcame Ethan at that thought.
If there were children in those robots, that gave the entire scene a rather different and disturbing aftertaste.
Nothing worse than to be murdered, except being murdered and not even that be free from the demands of your captors, being groomed into the most awful things.
Making a fist he tried to calm himself down. At least Evelyn and most others seem to have escaped that.
The Puppet too, even if with severe mental scarring.
It was so off to him that the machine refused to tell him anything about his home or family- not even about how he got to know Jeremy and why he wished to protect him so desperately. Nothing. All information, for example why the hell Evelyn wasn't talking to him anymore, was completely factual.
It had been something about days that hold certain powers and made it easier for spirits to cross realms, Halloween and New Years were some of them apparently, reflected in the traditions both designed to scare off evil spirits. The way he presented was incredible monotone, as if it didn't affect him too.
Not that it mattered, but it was reassuring to know that she wasn't mad at him.
Still, he wanted to be there for people in need. The Puppet, no matter how much he denied it, struck him as exactly that.
Someone in an endless spiral of pain.
All of this had to have an end and he was here to ensure exactly that.
Moving from room to room, he hid short amounts of times wherever he deemed a good place, until finally noticing that it was late enough for him to hide the fuel without worry of being caught on camera.
Sure, the thing would go up in flames anyways, but he couldn't risk anyone taking a glance before that and noticing his obviously illegal activity. Entering the establishment shortly before closing time was a lot easier to explain.
He sneaked to the vent he had targeted and began placing it in there. It was annoying to be so slow with his movement... pushing one after the other... being careful not to scrape too much with that...
It was the worst part by far. If someone would come by, he would have to hope they wouldn't notice the stuff in the vents while he had to hide away somewhere close by and pray he wasn't going to be forced to walk through half the park until the guard finally took a turn somewhere else.
For now it went smoothly though.
Soon it all vanished in the shadows of the vent. No issues here.
Fantastic. That was it already all he needed to do.
Quickly he turned towards the exit.
Rushing a little, he almost overlooked the very thin string on the ground.
Almost.
Somewhat shocked, he followed where it went-
A bucket apparently standing on a ledge.
Irritated he gave it a look. Did someone know that he was here? Was this a prank for another worker? The animatronics?
It seemed to be for another person, if they knew he was here, they would react a bit stronger, wouldn't they?
Carefully he stepped over the string to not make any loud noise-
As soon as his foot connected onto the other side of it, the lights went on and a cheery, funky tune started playing.
A lightshow threw the words 'Lol, gottem!' onto the wall, letting it circle around.
Fuck-
Quickly he began making a dash for it, but Dave stepped out from the other side into the room, waving at him.
"Ayoooo- new face who that? Oh wait, I know that face. Ya ain't supposed to be here, mister!" Jokingly he wagged his finger at him. "That ain't good! Aren't ya supposed to be the bastion of righteousness and upholdin' virtues like followin' the rules? Ya broke code!"
Ethan slowly retreated backwards, avoiding the string and allowing his hands to wander towards his gun.
Dave's face lit up. "Like a criminal! Ow, does that mean I get to play a cop? I mean, I could probably just say that I'm doin' my job, but... where's the fun in THAT? Okie dokie! I am the cop now! Ya usually are... five minutes late, so Imma give ya five seconds to run! Then Imma start chasin' ya!"
The man didn't have to hear that twice, mentally cursing everything. The Marionette would have to sneak the last canister in, hopefully that would make his little buddy not too suspicious.
He couldn't show up here again.
His heart was pounding in his chest, he was focusing on nothing except to run, taking the corners as sharp as he could, trying to confuse him-
The main door was probably locked, so he would have to loop around while avoiding Dave- and probably the animatronics that potentially could alert Dave to his position.
His pursuer was laughing in the back, the empty halls creating a slight and incredibly unnerving echo, stripping him of his sense of proximity- at least his own footstep would be drowned out by the noise too.
Door, door, left and right-
There it was, the backdoor-
"NOT FAIR!" Dave complained, but he wasn't close enough. "How come you're so fuckin' quick!? I MADE this place!"
Ignoring him Ethan did his final dash-
The door swung open and the Orange Guy stood there, jerking up in surprise as he saw the man running towards him.
Without a moment of hesitation he raised his gun and shot, not caring where he hit.
There was no way in hell he would risk being captured.
The bullet went straight through the guy's chest, who's eyes went big and round at the sudden pain. Without any bigger emotional reaction, Ethan pushed him aside to get out-
A hand closed around his throat and with an incredible force he was thrown backwards, brutally slamming his back on the ground, the sting going through his whole body and paralyzing him for a moment.
Without any lights in his eyes, Old Sport sat on him, his hand still firmly closed around Ethan's throat, he was smiling. "I will not even try to feel bad for this."
Ethan's head was grabbed and slammed onto the floor, leaving his vision white, as his gun was stripped from his grip, his only functional thought being the one taking in the disgusting feeling of the lukewarm, thick fluid dropping onto him.
That didn't feel like blood, even if all logic dictated that it had to be exactly that.
"Hurry up Dave! Pull out your rope and get done with it. I want to hang him headfirst, like a piñata!" A small snicker accompanied those words.
When his vision finally returned fully and his brain stopped trying to mix all his receptive organs together, he was indeed hanging, watching his two captors, his mind shoving all fear aside to find a way out of this incredibly unfortunate situation. The room only had one door, in the corner were the two spring animatronics- it was a room he had never seen before.
The thought of what would happen if he died was chilling enough to make him potentially freeze up, so he didn't even allow himself to consider it.
He wasn't sure what was the best course of action, so at first he simply tested the strength of the rope, trying his hardest to pull it open with his legs.
The two psychopaths were still busy chattering. "Sportsy! Your chest is still- are ya sure you're alright!? I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have let that happen-"
"I told you, Dave, I am FINE." Calmly he answered, smiling at his friend, his smile widening when he watched Ethan hanging there, swaying from side to side as his movements were setting off the rope. "Hello Mr. Cross? Feeling comfortable? Having fun?"
Ethan simply showed his teeth, not bothering to answer.
Old Sport snickered. "There we go, we turned the frown upside down! Already it all looks much less grim!"
"How did you know I was here?!" The detective spit out. A useless question, but-
"Wasting time are we? Oh, no problem. You have about twenty-eight hours until you suffocate- roughly. I am not an expert, I must admit, not to mention the condition of your heart plays a big role too. But no matter what, we do have some time, do we not?" Comfortable Old Sport walked around him to maintaining eye-contact. "Also, feel free to struggle, no need to be polite. Simon seemed to deem you too much of a risk. Astounding, seeing as Phone Guys have an inherent lack of self-preservation. You must have REALLY pissed him off... or did you threaten the restaurant? Simon called us in and told us to see what we can do for you."
Indeed Ethan had started to move around a lot more violently now, both to get the rope closer to snapping as well as to avoid that arrogant smirk he despised greatly. "Simon wanted to get rid of you too. Seemingly everyone is on his shitlist, he isn't a guy with many friends, is he?"
"Of course he wants to get rid of us! Who would not? Otherwise it would be half as much fun, right Dave?"
"Righty, Sportsy!" The Purple Guy was beyond pleased that Old Sport had taken the initiative. Usually he had to try and come up with some interesting mumbo jumbo during their missions to make sure his friend had a good time. This was a good change of pace in his eyes. "Phoneys want everyone and themselves dead! Next to bein' backstabbers that's their one trait I'd say! They're just much better at hidin' it. Did ya really think ya could trust him?! Really? He ain't a human! He's a product! All he cares about is keepin' Freddy's alive, there are no morals he isn't willin' to ignore! Ya picked yourself the wrong friend."
"I wouldn't say we were friends." Internally Ethan was cursing once more- breathing was already a chore, the rope was not showing any signs of imperfections and he would not be able to get around this by biding his time and hoping for help to arrive.
If he wanted to get out... he stared into Old Sport's dark eyes. "Well, did your assistant over there thank you yet for not letting me get away? On his own he's pretty useless I think. Not even catching me in his own place- even if he would have caught me, I probably would have beaten him pretty easily."
"Hey!" Dave frowned. "Don't talk about me like that in front of Old Sport!"
Stalking over, he crouched in front of him, angrily staring into his eyes. Reaching out, he grabbed his nose and- pushed him back a little.
As he began slightly swinging, Dave was grinning again. "That will teach ya! Imma do it harder next time, so ya better beware! I can make ya swing around all night if ya ain't cooperating! Hah, ya look really silly like that, you know? Like a mouse!"
Deeply confused Ethan stared up at him.
That was the killer of his daughter.
That was the monster.
That.
That manchild?
Almost he wanted to give in and break out into hysterical laughter, his mind burning.
Oh he would get out of here. He struggled again, growling this time.
"You two are incredible cowards that you only-"
Old Sport got out a long, syringe-esque machine, shutting Ethan instantly up.
It radiated something that made him want to stop breathing before it ever could come into contact with him.
Even Dave's expression was shocked, his mouth hanging open. "Uh- Sportsy? Is that- the thingy? Did ya- did ya get THAT from home...?"
Smiling said man petted along the needle. "Correct. We can finally truly see what it is capable off."
"I thought we agreed to- that it ain't anythin' good and we should just keep away?" Fearful Dave moved a bit on the spot, unsure if stepping closer or away.
"Oh, come on... only once. Then we know for certain how bad it is. We have to get rid of him anyways." Softly he chuckled. "Before this mastermind tells me to duel him and by that forces me to actually do so."
The irony was dripping hot down Ethan's spine, but the weapon had him still in complete silence.
"Old Sport, I don't LIKE this! This ain't fun!" This time firmer Dave called out to him, stepping closer. "Put the thing away- we can ask the Funtimes to play with him instead! Or we- we do some good old-fashioned knife drawings on him! Ya know-!? Henry always thought that was fun, there is no need-"
"Dave, I want to do this. Please, calm down." Powering the machine up, it looked even worse now with the spinning core in view.
The guy's eyes wandered between his friend and Ethan, still filled with panic, then he suddenly made a decision and pushed Old Sport aside. "Imma get at least one stab in-!" Stumbling forwards he aimed the knife to high and ripped the rope, sending both of them falling down, with Dave quickly rolling off toward Old Sport, making him stumble a little too, since he was in the beginning of a movement.
Ethan didn't bother to even think, this had time for later, instead he bolted up, already sprinting again, towards the exit of the saferoom, pushing it open with ease as in the background the Orange Guy was letting some colorful swearwords loose.
No matter.
He rushed through the hallways, trying to find a good place to escape to, a nearby door- but he could already hear what he feared, the two psychopaths had split up and were trying to cut him off.
Giving his best he tried to be unpredictable, but the fact that they were two was leaving him no chance. He didn't want to test if the Purple Guy's loyalty was actually that wavering- especially seeing as he seemed perfectly content to stab him, despite not wanting him to go through whatever the machine did.
At some point he was trapped.
One from the left, one from the right, only a door behind him.
Parts and Services if he wasn't mistaken.
Biting the bullet, he opened it, hiding inside.
Of course they would know where he was, but maybe there was something in there to help him-
Ethan was breathing rapidly as he panicked tried to barricade the door behind him, the fear finally settling in completely.
This was horrible, absolutely catastrophic.
There was no way they could recover from this- at least not easily, this could potentially ruin their whole plan, if not mean his end if he didn't manage to keep them out for the whole night presumably. He could risk taking a vent, but he would need to be incredibly quiet and hope nothing was in the way-
The phone- no, they took that too he now found out-
"You shouldn't be here." A soft female voice which broke his chaotic thoughts, made him jump and turn around.
The main attraction stood there, Circus Baby.
Her bright green eyes, the only thing revealing her presence, glowed only a few inches away from him.
His voice failed, not even air escaped his throat.
A stone had formed in his stomach, as he realized what a horrible situation he was in now.
Outside of the room, voices sounded, muffled beyond recognition, until the Orange Guy raised his smooth, all too familiar voice.
"Mr. Cross, would you may come outside? We are all quite civilized here, correct? You are aware of the hopelessness of your situation, but that does not mean you have to die like an animal, backed into a corner, whimpering and scratching. I can reassure you, this device does not hurt. At least I am incredibly certain it does not. The alternative, probably WILL hurt, a whole while... so come on out. Embrace the peace I am offering you."
Baby listened to it quite distracted. Her eyes shifted from nothing to the door, then to Ethan.
"... does he have that weird syringe with him?" Her voice had a weird tone to it.
Slowly the man nodded. "... what is that thing-?"
"If I only knew. It scares me. It scares all of us. Dad seems to have a weird view on it- daddy hates it as much as we do though. Why did he bring it?"
Stressed out Ethan pressed up against the objects he had moved in front of the door, away from the robot, rubbing his face. "I have NO idea, all I know is that I don't want that inside of me, whatever it does. You- you were once a human girl, right- what hap-?"
"No." Her voice was a bit louder and colder. "No, I was NOT."
"Fine, I am sorry, I-" A strong push came from the door behind Ethan, forcing him to stumble forward.
Loud, manic laughter, belonging to Funtime Freddy came from the now formed creak. "G-GET OUT HERE! P-PLAYING HHHHHHHH---iiiiiIDE a-and seEK?"
Baby seemed almost as shocked as the detective when the door was broken open slowly.
Ethan got his balance back and quickly let his glance wander, until he spotted the vents.
No choice, and he had to be quick.
Passing Baby he reached up to it, before shortly turning to her again, feeling pity for the poor girl possessing the machine, forced to do the bidding of her murderer, so traumatized that she didn't want to admit she ever had another life. Much like the poor Puppet, playing so much more adult than they most likely were... remembering must be hurtful to them. "I will be back. I won't le-"
"I don't think you will. But maybe that is better." She titled her head and smiled, then in a split-second her stomach opened and a small scooper jerked forward, the sharp edge of it burrowing itself deep in the body before it, taking out a good chunk of flesh and organs.
It took a second for the body to collapse, a second for Ethan to register the hot, red pain spreading throughout his whole being.
His body broke down, but his mind, still dazed in shock needed a moment, everything inside of him was burning up more and more even if he couldn't feel anything anymore, numb in his sensors for the outside.
Something pulled him upwards and apart, his thoughts still jumbled.
No, no, he couldn't move. He couldn't die. This was impossible.
Slowly his vision got fuzzy and dark, it was as if he SAW noise as waves in front of him.
What would become of Evelyn?
No.
No.
Evelyn NEEDED him.
They just found each other.
At this point he was on fire, his deepest point seemed to be a hole trying to absorb the whole rest of him, while his mind seemed to be teared and shoved.
No, no, NO.
He refused to leave.
This couldn't be the end.
He reached out, something, anything had to give-
It was COLD, cold as ice, but he gripped to it, the only thing around, and it didn't feel right, it HURT, but he couldn't let himself be dragged-
The door broke open and Funtime Freddy looked around.
Baby stood there, looking emotionless at the corpse in front of her, her scooper dripping with blood, lumps of flesh on it still.
The bear cried out. "N-NOT FAAAAAAAIR! D-DaaaaD! Y-yOu said-"
Orange Guy pushed past him and stepped next to Baby, who felt a shiver down her spine at the presence of the weird small machine in his hand. It wasn't in any way eye-catching, visually speaking, yes, it was unassuming, but somehow her eyes never stopped wandering towards it, no matter how hard she tried.
"Baby." The Orange Guy started. "... I would have MUCH preferred him alive. I wanted to have a small chat with him, you see?"
"I am sorry d- father." It felt more appropriate at that moment than dad. "I thought I did well."
"... well, technically speaking you indeed did. Usually this would have been quite the pleasing outcome." He trailed off. "... no use crying over spilled blood. But- Baby?"
"Yes?" Her voice was even quieter now, expecting some sort of punishment.
"... can you feel his soul within you per chance? Did he stay back?"
The silence stretched, as Baby listened within herself, looking concentrated, before her shoulders slummed down. "... No. I'm so sorry."
For a moment she could feel the stare of the man beside her on it, making her grow cold. His usually bright eyes were now almost fully blacked out.
She didn't know the man beside her. That wasn't even the guy Dave had told her so excitedly about, back in the day.
Finally he turned to leave.
Not even Funtime Freddy made a noise, at first, only starting talking once all of them left for the outside, heading to get cleaning supplies.
Dave shortly poked his head in, his expression mirroring what Baby felt.
"Don't- don't ya worry about it, Baby. Sportsy's just a bit stressed, nobody is mad at ya." With that, he too left her behind, the blood-dripping body still dirtying her shoes.
Once more she looked down at the corpse, whose face now looked hollow, but not any less mortified.
And for the first time since she last slept in her own home, she felt fear.

-

A/N: Once more, sorry for the wait! I hope you feel like this was worth it!
Ah, speaking of- small question: Do you think Dave's accent is a bit too thick? I would like to write him one, but maybe I'm being TOO consistent with it and should calm down. Just use ya and -in' only from time to time?
Feedback is appreciated! Any type of it actually!