A Guard's life

Talk it out

A/N:

University started, I will die.
I try to keep this up. I promise. But my day is majorly shortened.

--------------------------

It was another day, as promised.
It ALWAYS was another day.
Was it a better day?
Who knew. Not for Mike at least, who was already feeling bored and stressed.
Part of him wondered if it was a side effect of his pills. Shouldn't he at this point be used to those?
Well. Who knew.
Maybe he just felt like shit.
Maybe it just was a bad day, who cares.
Through the hall he could feel an intense stare on him, but when he looked up and noticed it only was the idiotic new kid. To this Guard, he would always be the new kid, no matter how long he'd survive and stupidly stick around.
Seeing that Mike wasn't staring daggers into him, the boy took it as the go-ahead to join him.
"So..." Angst Mcteen slid in next to Mike, who felt too bored to tell him off. "... weird things happening here often?"
"The fuck do you think, huh?" He growled. "Of course! We have fucking murderbots entertaining our customers! Not to mention that you can basically always count on Dave and Orange Guy to do some stupid shit and build something dangerous."
"You mean... that thing yesterday, like... didn't surprise you?" Rather interested Nemo glanced at the back of the restaurant... park? Giant hall? Giant hall. But neither of the colorful Guards were anywhere to be seen. Maybe they were in another section of the complex.
"Not even in the fucking slightest. I WISH it would have surprised me, it would mean that it doesn't fucking happen all the time. It's actually common enough that we ignore it when we can. For example a while ago they build a machine that was apparently meant to drain any sort of individuality and mental resistance out of the victim."
"Sounds kinda like a big deal?"
"Nah, they tested in on Jerry of all people and then declared it non-functioning, apparently unaware that it wouldn't have any sort effect anyways. But at least it confirmed to me that Jerry isn't some sort of super evil genius that manipulates us all by pretending to be numbnut."
A presence loomed behind them and as they turned, the Puppet was there, staring them down. "Excuse me, what did you just say about Jeremy?"
Rather embarrassed mentioned boy waved at them, standing by. "Oh, come on Marion, it was a joke...?"
Sadly enough it was already too late. Mike leaned forward and stared the animatronic Guard down. "I SAID..." he repeated, "... that for a while I was certain that Jeremy's braindead behavior was an obvious and intentional scheme to make us fall for his guise of retardation and manipulate us into acting like he wants or not suspecting him when things go south."
"How DARE you talking like this about Jeremy!" The Puppet hissed. "This is unacceptable, especially seeing as he is not only smarter, but more sensible than you can EVER dream to be! You cannot grasp how much wiser his behavior is compared to-"
"Shut up Noodle-freak." Scoffing Mike glanced at his co-workers. "You're saying this because you fucking have to. Otherwise you would have to admit that you fucking LIKE Jeremy being easily manipulated and so fucking submissive to you! Anybody else would have fucking ditched you and NEVER looked back, I guarantee you! Honestly, Jerry is the worst guard and person overall in this fucking building!"
This got him majorly weird glances, especially from the newly joined Simon who wanted to check what the uproar was about and already regretted his decision. Despite that, Mike kept going.
"If I had to spend an eternity with him or fucking- Orange Guy, I'd chose the moldy orange because a least I would be stuck with an actual human being! Someone who DOES shit and who isn't all happy-go-lucky at all time, making me want to fucking PUKE!"
Jerry had joined too, not liking being talked about without his knowledge. At the comments Mike made about him he frowned and shook his head. "That's really mean of you! I always try my best with people and I don't think I deserve being talked about behind my back like that!"
"I'm currently looking right at your non-existent face. But if you want me to repeat it-"
"No! I don't need to hear that again, I already understand. But have you ever considered that maybe if more people were like me, the world would be a better place?!"
"OH SHIT, YOU'RE A FUCKING ARRGOANT CUNT TOO!?"
Taken aback, Jerry's frown got distressed. "N-No, but- I- you can't deny I'm giving my best! I have always tried my hardest and never made people more m-miserable on purpose! Unlike YOU!"
"Wow, I'm soooooo hurt. Can you hurt me a little more, pretty pleaaaaaase~?"
"I have no need to hurt you- I'm not even mad-"
"God I fucking want you dead. Somebody could shove a stick up your ass and you'd thank them, wouldn't-"
Red, but somehow without stutter Jerry hit back. "Somehow you have to cope with your small willy!"
The restaurant fell silent.
It wasn't the quality of the burn.
But it came from Jerry.
After a whole minute in which the boy slowly sunk into himself, yet brave enough to not take it back and all of a sudden, as if the people surrounding him had prepared that moment, they all started OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW-ing.
ALL OF THEM.
EVEN THE ANIMATRONIC WHO HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS GOING ON.
MIKE WENT TO HIS KNEES, KNOWING HIS LIFE WAS OVER.
JERRY INSULTED HIM.
THIS WAS JUST THE DEATH SENTENCE.
HAVING HIS BODY DRAGGED BEHIND A BUS FOR TEN HOURS WOULD BE MORE OF A DIGNIFIED DEATH.
After having OWWWWW-ed his heart out Simon laughed and tried to help him up, but was met with nothing but a ball of shame. "Oh- uh- come on Mike- you KIND OF deserve this- uh-"
Voice still shaking from laugh he had to break off to get the giggles out.
"Nobody is ever allowed to talk to me again. I died. Bring the fucking casket."
Jerry was also a bit worried. "H-hey... get... y-you can't lie on the floor, it's- dirty and cold..."
"Who cares, I'm dead anyways."
"N-no you aren't..." A bit helpless he moved him. "... you just- I didn't mean to hurt you, but... it's true, your- your insecurities HAVE to come from somewhere-"
"Kick me while I'm down, why don't you?"
"I- I don't mean your- I- Mike... you need to TALK with people more-"
Unrolling himself, the aggressive Guard gave him a stare. "With you? No fucking chance-"
"Actually, uh- that's a great idea! You two are always, uh- you know- fighting. Not fighting directly, seeing as Jeremy never retaliates, but- uh... yeah. You two should spend an afternoon with each other."
Slowly Mike realized he was serious. Panicked he sat up, trying to play his trump card. "No fucking way- there's no fucking way his watch-puppet will allow that-"
As his eyes darted around, he spotted the Marionette in a short distance away, looking distracted. When called out for, the Puppet looked confused for a second, then seemed to be thinking about it. "Actually... that sounds like a stellar idea."
"Like I already said, he doesn't fucking allow- wait what?" Mike appeared confused.
"Yes. I agree. Jeremy, as well as yourself would be benefitting from a day together." The creature rolled his glowing orbs for a moment. "Maybe he will leave me alone with it then..."
Proud like he just won a wrestling match with a bear, Jerry smiled at his horrified co-worker. "You will see, we'll become true friends in no time!"
"No thank you, I'd rather fucking-"
"You, uh- you should at least TRY, Mike." For a moment Simon sounded pretty serious. "I think it could really help you."
"Help me with fucking WHAT?" Snapping at his boss, the Guard stood now fully up and dusted himself off.
Jerry was the one to answer that. "With your stress! I think a lot of your stress comes from your attitude and I want to help you with that!"
"Sure you fucking can. Maybe if I wouldn't be stuck in this fucking hellhole, I'd have a better attitude!"
"I don't believe you really..."
"Tough fucking luck." There was a smirk on Phoney. Mike could SEE it. "Whatever you're thinking, don't you dare-"
"Employees, you should take an day off for further education. A day dedicated to enhance your, uh... social capabilities!"
"You mean I get a fucking day off if I hang around with that little shit?"
"... Somewhat?" Dave and Old Sport had been pretty peaceful in their own kind of way, nothing Phoney couldn't handle.
Apparently that was enough for Mike, who grabbed his small co-worker and dragged him off. "Bye then, have fun with screaming customers."
While walking away, the Puppet snatched Jerry's hat to wear it, as well as taking off his badge. Despite being supposed to have SOME form of official guard-duty, he didn't use any sort of signifier... and usually he didn't need to. When a floating demon creature moves towards you with glowing eyes and ominous music in the background, you drop WHATEVER you're doing and run away.
For today's agenda though, it would come in handy to have these those two things.
On his way to the stage he pinned the badge carefully to his chest, a light shiver running over him. Softly he touched the buttons placed there and paused, before shaking his head and ignoring it, just like he ignored the customers pouring in one by one, as Simon and Nemo were trying their hardest to not have the space implode instantly with the amount of the customers wanting to be inside the church of furries.
On top of the stage the main attraction stood, in all her pride. Smiling to herself she tested her microphone ready and eager for a day of entertaining those around her.
She clearly didn't expect the Puppet approaching her, much less beginning to talk.
"Hello. It is time for a short maintenance check-up." The Marionette had thought about different approaches to this lost soul that he could only look at with a mixture of pity and anger.
"Wouldn't my fathers do that?" Her voice was somewhat... bratty. But that may was only his assessment, since he was paranoid.
"They are busy."
"You are a machine."
"Correct. Who would know better than me?"
Another moment she paused, her eyes darting to the customers entering. The longer the puppet stuck around, the less she could enjoy her day. "Hurry then."
With that she finally began following him through the main hall, smiling and waving at all the kids seeing and trying to approach her. For a moment her eyes wandered towards the tall animatronic, wondering if he didn't care that he was too scary to be adored.
He was an animatronic, shouldn't he want to be approached by children?
Shouldn't he suffer under the extreme loneliness?
Then again, the animatronic seemed to be rather comfortable around the Guards.
"... so... why do you exist?" Smiling she asked him. "What is your purpose?"
"... what do you mean." It didn't have the tone of a question, only the sentence structure.
"It is obvious, is it not? I was made to entertain kids and be useful! You on the other hand... You don't look like... anything."
"Charming."
"I prefer the direct approach, you see?"
"I do. But I prefer..." For a moment he trailed off. "... actually it is not too bad. We have something along these lines to talk about anyways, so it is a rather good starting point."
"... Talk?" Instantly she seemingly lost interest. "... what could we talk about that is so important we need to do so before the restaurant closes- or rather, RIGHT as the place opens?"
"I am usually a bit preoccupied with keeping the children safe. And at night my- the nightguards."
"Hm... you are not doing a very good job."
"Until now nobody died, which is all that counts."
"I guess." Swiftly she sat down on the table in the room, waiting for the Marionette to do... whatever it was planning. "... so. You wanted to answer?"
"... I did. My role is to keep children safe. Children like you."
For a moment the room went silent.
Then she giggled. "... Wow. I have no idea what to say to that. Your sensors must be faulty that they confuse ME for a child!"
"Confuse you? You must be the confused one." The Marionette paused. "You cannot believe that you are truly a machine. A machine has no father."
"Well, I do. Because I am a perfect machine, a sentient one. I can love. So I deserve my own family."
"Deserve? ... Maybe. Yes, but you used to have a family. You cannot have deluded yourself to this degree... can you truly not remember?"
"Remember what?" Unhappy and slightly mad she stayed put, but tensed up. "Your cryptic speech impresses nobody."
"What about my speech even ATTEMPTS to be cryptic here?" Slightly insulted the Marionette paused. "You had a real family. Not two lunatics and a bunch of other trapped children. You used..."
"What makes you think that?" Her voice was distant.
"... You have a soul... you were alive. What is your name? At least that you must remember."
"What is yours?" Expectantly she stared up at him, her green eyes burning into him.
"..." How do you respond to that? "... I am beyond human. I have come to save you. All of you. This is what I am. But for me to do that, I need your name. I need your memories. You have to allow me to save you."
"Save me from what?!" She was on the verge of snapping at him.
"Please, child. You are being tricked and used. He HURT you. He hurt you and took it all away from you. Your real family. Your real friends. He took control of your mind and personality and turned you into a doll."
"Maybe I wanted to be a doll." A hint of stubbornness was in her voice.
"... Implying that you had an option. Which means you ARE aware of being something else before this!"
Caught in her lying, she was taking aback, at least having the decency to feel ashamed. "I meant- in general. In a sense of "you control your own fate" type of meaning... you are quite hypocritical! Refusing to share with me your name..."
"Can you blame me? You call a murderer your father. MY murderer."
"What would your name make for a difference?"
"... for me it would make one, for my pride."
"Pride is the devil's most foolish sin!" It was something she once heard and was very impressed.
"I am NOT-" Breaking off the Puppet shook himself. "... you understand you are not a robot. Which means you know you have been taken away. You know he HURT you."
"He- it only hurt for a moment... and I did not die.."
"WHAT-" Don't scream. "What do you mean with that, child? You are as dead as can be."
"I am still here."
"You lost everything that made you you. You even lost your mind, seeing how willingly you go along with this." It was hard to not go too harsh on her, but the Puppet tried his best to stay slow and comforting. "You must see reality. They hurt you. They will hurt many others just like you."
"... they... they did NOT hurt me. They helped me. You don't understand, not in the slightest. Have you nothing better to do then harping on my family?! You have no right to bother me and the family I have. You are JEALOUS and I will not allow your jealousy to ruin my happy situation."
"Jealousy? Why would you presume I am jealous of your depress- of being-" How do you frame it without antagonizing the guy and as such the girl even further? This was more or less a first time- usually even the children had enough common sense in themselves to FEAR and HATE the person that took everything away from them. "Child. You have to think about this. Whatever good you may think they have done for you... they have hurt many other just like you. Many, MANY others. This is not excusable. This is not something you can ignore. You understand?"
"I don't ignore it. Stop calling me a child!" Her words were sharp and cold. "I have no more interest in continuing this talk."
"Please- Understand!" The Marionette pleaded. "They will not stop. They will NEVER stop. If you do not HELP us, SAVE yourself, then... they will take more and more until someone does."
"I will be careful." Almost snarky she responded. Then she stood up and simply left, apparently having finally grasped that Marion wasn't taking care of her. "... and I will warn the others too."
Warn them of the bothersome animatronic trying to ruin their family.
Watching after her, Marion quietly decided to talk with at least Ballora about this. She and Baby were the more reasonable animatronics, if he could convince neither of them, then... whatever Dave did to them was...
... who would have known that Dave of all people would be the one to break the children's spirits? Maybe in a way he was worse than Henry.
Henry never cared about how the Spirits felt. Only that they were there and available.
... one day Henry would have done it too.
He was certain of it.
But it didn't matter, it HAPPENED.
It happened and it was catastrophically.
With a small sigh the creature hoped that at least Jeremy's day was going better.
Technically it was.
At least Mike wasn't about to fuck off at any given time.
But he still wasn't very happy.
As soon as they arrived they realized that Mike was pretty much the antithesis to fun and enjoyment.
They had started out by trying to find some common ground, yet Mike had been constantly apathetic to whatever Jerry proposed.
So, frustrated, but vowing not to show it, he showed him the anime he was currently watching.
Bad idea.
"That makes NO FUCKING SENSE. THEY'RE IN FUCKING SPACE. HOW CAN THEY FUCKING TALK?"
"It's called fiction, Mikey."
"Don't you fucking call me that."
They were in front of the TV, in some sort of make-shift pillow fort. The only thing Mike could show even the HINT of enthusiasm for.
The cuddly nature of the pillows was a nice contrast to Mike's hard nature and the only thing giving Jerry comfort.
"It's not fucking fiction if it doesn't make sense. Not making sense isn't excuse for fuck's sake! YOU GOTTA HAVE RULES! YOU GOTTA ESTABLISH AN UNIVERSE THAT MAKES SENSE!"
"No- mean parts of it has to make sense I agree, but... there is supposed to be a stretch of imagination!"
"FUCK that! AND HOW THEY ACT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE! LIKE- DIDN'T HE JUST SAY SHE WAS INVALUABLE TO THE TEAM? YET THEY PLAY RIGHT THE NEXT EPISODE FULLY WITHOUT HER! WHAT IS THAT FOR BULLSHIT! ESPECIALLY SINCE HE IS THE ONE WHO SHOULD GET FUCKED OVER ALL DAY, SINCE HE IS NOTHING BUT A MEASLY PROTOTYPE!"
"He- he isn't REALLY- I mean- that would be a spoiler, but he is actually- ah, how do I-"
"WHO CARES ABOUT FUCKING SPOILERS! PLOTTWISTS DON'T MAKE SHOW FUCKING BETTER! IT'S JUST A FUCKING CHEAP SHOT!"
"No it isn't!" Insulted Jerry whined. "Plottwists mean a LOT! They can give the WHOLE story a new dimension!"
"Yes, to the FUCKING already existing story! Not to MAKE a fucking story!"
"All you did was nitpick! You can't really find anything wrong with it, can you?"
"Yeah, that it makes me want to fucking kill myself. Why does everybody talk so autistic?!"
"MIKE!" Slightly angry he shook his head. "Fine then! If you don't like this show, I will put something else on!"
"Thank FUCK-"
"FREDBEAR AND FRIENDS!" Happy again he swooped the show out of seemingly nowhere and went to the TV.
Completely serious Mike signed to the door. "If you put THAT hellshow on, I will leave through that door."
The kid rose to his full height, which was pitiably short. "Then I will have to lock that door!"
"WHAT THE LIVING FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Really. Mike wanted to KNOW.
"I JUST WANT YOUR BEST!" Flailing his arms he teared up.
"WHO THE LIVING FUCK RAISED YOU TO BE SO FUCKING SCREWED IN THE HEAD THAT YOU CAN THINK THAT WOULD BE FOR THE FUCKING BEST?" Screaming he stared him down. "THAT'S FUCKING PSYCHOTIC!"
"HOW WILL YOU EVER KNOW WHAT YOU TRULY WANT AND NEED IF YOU ALWAYS REFUSE ALL THE NICE THINGS!" Now the poor boy was fully hysteric. "SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO USE TOUGH LOVE!"
"DID YOUR DAD SAY THAT TO YOU WHEN HE FUCKING BEAT YOU?"
For a moment it went silent.
They just stared at each other.
"M-my dad never beat me." A bit of stubbornness was in his voice.
Refusing to feel bad Mike growled, but a good bit of his anger had disappeared. "I don't want to
watch some stupid cartoon."
"Okay, what then? Work with me here!" Pleading the kid looked at his coworker.
Unmotivated he looked over the things in the room with him, before picking a few things up and checking them. All he could see was stupid shows and Anime, making him regret even HOPING for something decent.
What he did spot was some sort of game console. "You have Mario Kart or something?"
"Finally!" Happy the kid exclaimed and jumped up to run off, coming back with some version of the game. "So you like the game too?! Oh, are you good?"
"I haven't touched that fucking shit in ten years or so, I fucking doubt it." Sitting down with the Jerry again, the both got a controller- Mike simply snatched the Player One controller, facilitating his place in hell- and began playing. Without question he picked picked his character and instantly went to rainbow road.
Quietly Jerry groaned, but tried to smile. "That's one of the prettiest!"
"Don't fuck with me, I remember how shitty this fucking place was. EVERYBODY hated it." A small grin was on his face as he noted Jeremy's mostly hidden frustration.
"Oh well... it is... challenging...? Challenge is... fun...?" He sounded rather uncertain.
"Oh yeah, it's gonna be fucking CHALLENGING for you, alright?"
Despite his grin being pretty damn evil, it was still a smile and it easily infected Jeremy. "Welp, be careful! You may have bit off more than you can chew! You'll be angry too!"
They played for a while, but they were both shit, so they were always behind all the NPCs. Which of course was frustrating. After all, especially Mike wanted to damn well beat the boy this boy and suck all his hopes and dreams out of him. Fucking loser enjoying things.
But for that they had to switch the course, no matter how much he hoped otherwise.
Fine, the lack of constant falling down would be made up with Jerry's tears when he lost would satisfy him.
Sadly, that wasn't what happened.
Instead, now that the road itself wasn't trying to kill them, it was only Mike who struggled staying on the lane.
With every round his frustration grew. "What the FUCK!? WHAT THE LIVING FUCK! THE GAME GLITCHED! THIS ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE FUCKING LIKE THIS!"
RNG wasn't in his favor either. "A FUCKING BANANA? AGAIN? WHAT THE LIVING FUCK! ARE YOU TRYING TO SHOVE A FUCKING METAL BAR UP MY ASS?"
It was... a bit tiring to Jerry, who really only wanted him to enjoy himself. He flung himself off on purpose a few time, but sadly Mike was too smart and got even more enraged. "ARE YOU FUCKING PITYING ME?!"
For a moment Jerry considered lying, but... that would be bad, wouldn't it?
Bad behavior. Lying is a slippery slope. "... kinda? It's hard not to! You are so angry and impatient, you seem to be suffering all the time... that anger can't be healthy!"
Slowly Mike leaned closer and stared at him, unblinking. "Listen, you FUCK. I will shove this controller so far up your ass that you can fucking CHOKE on it. WHO DO YOU THINK YOU FUCKING ARE!? WHY DO YOU THINK I FUCKING CARE ABOUT WHAT THE FUCK THE END RESULT IS OF THIS SHITTY GAME!? I DON'T!"
There was something... threatening about him. Now, Usually that wouldn't in any way impress the young boy, since he had the self-preservation need of a dead leaf, but this time he couldn't help but feel... intimidated.
Mike made no sign of stopping though, despite his co-worker obviously getting scared. "I CAN AND WILL BREAK YOUR FUCKING SKULL, YOU'RE SUCH A PIECE OF FUCKING SHIT, WHY ARE YOU SO ARROGANT AND FUCKING CUNTY!? I NEVER WANTED TO FUCKING BE IN HERE IN THE FIRST FUCKING PLACE-"
He was close to crying and hiding his face.
It took until that for Mike to stop.
Looking at the kid, mildly shocked about how far this went. What he said was the truth, he didn't really care about the actual outcome of this stupid game. So why was he so worked up?
This was stupid.
Really stupid.
The boy was just that. A boy. A boy that wanted to spend time with him, despite all the shit he did.
God, he was a piece of shit, wasn't he?
His head felt like it was going to burst.
"... Sorry. I'll just... fucking..." With that he sighed. "... sorry. Gotta take my pills."
"... i-it's... okay. I'm- I know you don't mean it." Tired Jerry rubbed his face.
"That's no fucking excuse you idiot." Growling he took out the small bottle. Worried the other Guard's invisible eyes were lying on him.
"Hey Mike... have you ever... tried something else to calm down? If it's only... anger... maybe you shouldn't rely on pills?"
"Are you fucking-"
"Listen to me- I don't- I don't mean to say- I didn't say it's not- I just wanted to ask if you ever tried something else before you fall back on pills... there are some really good breathing tactics, some I use myself!"
"Oh. So you're JUST saying I should rely on some BREATHING to fight with my intense urge to fucking strangle all the fucking people in the FUCKING room, instead of relying on the FUCKING MEDICINE WHICH FUCKING WAS MADE TO BALANCE OUT MY LITERALLY MESSED UP BRAIN?!"
"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD MIKE, YOU NEVER SEARCH FOR ANY OPTIONS, DO YOU!?" For once he sounded actually MAD. "I KNOW. I KNOW. IT DOES SOUND STUPID. BUT IT IS AN OPTION. YOU ALWAYS COMPLAIN ABOUT A SITUATION, BUT AS SOON AS SOMEONE EVEN HINTS AT OPTIONS, YOU SCREAM AND FIGHT AS IF WE'RE TRYING TO HURT YOU! SOMETIMES YOU LOOK LIKE YOU LIKE BEING MISERABLE!"
Again a pause ensued.
"Jesus fucking Christ." Mike looked him up and down and noticed how he was seemingly breathing controlled. Uncertain he kept watching and then coughed awkwardly. "So. How would I do that fucking breathing thing?"
"..." Jerry didn't move, but at some point he answered. "... you need to count. And concentrate on your chest and stomach. Like... like this."
A while passed where they tried it. Then finally Mike gave up and swallowed a pill. "This is fucking stupid."
"... at least you tried it...!" There was an attempt to smile, but still he appeared drained. The frown returned and he sighed. "I'm... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have... been mean to you. You're right, you... you lived with this. You know best."
"If I knew best I'd probably fucking murder myself."
"That's not best! That is never best!" Unhappy Jerry winced.
"You're oddly touchy today." It was meant as a question, but veiled as a fact.
"... You're right. I know you, I should be used to this by now." Anxiously he fiddled with his fingers. "... lately it's... I... Mike. I can't find their names."
Confused the Guard frowned. But... somewhat he could understand. "... their names?"
"The... classics. You know. You KNOW. They were burned... but did anybody ever say goodbye to them?" Melancholy crept into his voice. "It feels wrong."
"... they weren't completely burned, weren't they?" Growing a bit cold, Mike shifted around, thinking back of the night he walked out and checked on the restaurant. Thinking back, it had been a ridiculous thing. He should have swallowed some pills and went back to sleep. Then again, it wasn't as if he was supposed to stand up early anyways, there was no place to go to work to.
But it had been unsettling. Going out in the early morning hours, fog thinly veiling the air, all too subtly taking away sight... and then being met with the empty patches in the ash...
When he returned he thought for hours, lying in bed, staring at the ceiling.
Of course the animatronics weren't- they didn't just up and walked off. That was stupid.
No, the LOGICAL answer was that the factory- Afton Robotics or whatever- came by in the middle of the night and picked the remains up, to make sure nobody would find them and wonder why they were ready and able to fucking MURDER people! Or, provided they COULD still move, which in itself wasn't too unlikely, to make sure they aren't causing more harm to the place. Right? How could four angry murder bots-
... they haven't been all that angry. They mostly seemed sad and confused.
A sting of guilt rushed through him. "... they... I think the people who make the machines came to pick them up...?"
"You think?" A bit of hope returned to the boy and his whole face lit up noticeably. "That would be... nice! But then I need to find them again!"
"We will. You just... keep doing whatever the fuck you're doing." Irritated he leaned back. "Actually, what the FUCK ARE you doing?"
"Like I said, I'm trying to find everyone's names so I can say properly goodbye to them! I thought about attaching the names to balloons and letting them fly off and be free!"
Well, if that wouldn't be a fucking littering event.
But you can't really say that to someone who wants to get over dying people. "Did the Puppet tell you to do that?"
"... uh... kinda...?" Jerry shrugged. "If I remember correctly then... we tried to find them to set them fully free, but he said they weren't... invaluable... but after they burned, I just... it didn't feel right not to know their names."
Raising an eyebrow Mike looked at him. "A bit obsessed?"
Yet, deep down, he understood what Jerry meant.
Quietly he thought back of the nights they had spent together after they decided to stop with their Guard hunting.
He hadn't appreciated it enough, now that he looked back on it.
They had seemed...
... lonely.
"Hey, Jeremy?"
"Hm?"
"What... what do you have until now? Any theory which the names could be?"
Surprised the boy shot him a look, then he smiled. "... I have three groups of children that it COULD be. But I want to be sure. Because... if the group of children already moved on, calling forth to them for no reason could upset them!"
They moved towards the computer and while Jerry booted it up, Mike was having another thought. "Jeremy?"
"Yes?"
"You're awfully nonchalant about the fact that so many groups of children died at this place."
"..." Pausing Jeremy turned to Mike fully, his voice oddly serious. "You think I'm nonchalant about this?"
"You still seem to like the place."
"Because I do!" Taking a deep breath Jerry sat up. "The murders weren't Freddy's fault."
"So... stuffing children into suits is just something that could happen EVERYWHERE."
"No. But whoever did it, whatever drove him... do you really think that if Freddy's would close down, they would stop? They will find another place, more victims. Freddy's is... Freddy's is not evil. It's haunted. By ghosts and people. Ending Freddy's... it would... just simply take away from so many childhoods. The killing would continue, if you don't get to the root of the problem. But... the world would be an even darker place. With even less joy. Where do you go for your happiest day? When you... want to be somewhere else...? We can't have them, whoever it is, kill the full concept of this. We have to catch them and send them to jail and show them that despite everything- it can still... life comes up on top. Life and happiness aren't killable."
"You're such a fucking weirdo."
"I know!" The computer was up and running and Jerry smiled and signed at the screen and at some documents he had pulled up. "Now... here! This the time frame it probably happened in, seeing as the puppet WAS at the place it happened and the Puppet didn't come around THAT much..."
For the rest of the day they were sitting in front of the computer, discussing the different possibilities.
Later that day, as Mike returned home, he got a call.
"H-Hello? Hello, Hello! H-hey Mike! So, uh... h-how did it go? Are you alright? Uh... did you... get along...?"
"He is dead and I'm coming for you next." Dryly he replied back, looking around his empty apartment.
Obviously it wasn't going over well with Simon. "N-not funny! Those are not matters to be joked about!"
"I know, that's why I don't."
"MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKE-!"
A soft chuckle somehow escaped the man, who was surprised himself about it. "The kid is fine. You know him, you punch him down nine fucking times, ends up with him standing up ten."
"Y-you, uh... but you didn't literally, uh..."
"Fucking THANK YOU. Nice to know what you ACTUALLY think of me!"
Simon's voice sounded embarrassed now. "N-NO! That's uh- that's not what I meant. I meant, you didn't uh- literally belittled him NINE times, did you?"
"No, no, I just... okay, I was a bit TOO rough to him, even by my standards. But it ended up alright, some-fucking-how."
"Did you, uh... have fun? What did you guys do?"
"None of your business DAD, I can take care of myself." Even if he knew Simon wouldn't be able to see it, he rolled his eyes.
Insulted the Phone Guy huffed. "I- I was only curious!"
"We talked a bit about... the animatronics. I gotta ask you, did the factory come by to pick whatever was left of them up?"
"... uh... no? There wasn't really anything left from what I've seen... uh... so I didn't bother calling."
"... when did you check?"
"R-right the next morning! But, uh- the firemen didn't mention anything either, so I thought- Mike, WHY are you asking...?" Real fear crept into the man.
"... for shits and fucking giggles, why else?" Oh fucking shit. Better not stress him unnecessarily. Not for now. "Like I said, we wondered what could have happened."
"Oh. Uh, yes. Burnt to crisps it seems. The animatronics were always a bit sensitive to fire."
"Great, I'll tell him that when we see him tomorrow." Casually he started to unbutton his shirt, getting ready for a good night's sleep. "Everybody at the place behaving? Is the place still standing?"
"Uh- you know. Nothing major happened. Pretty normal day... for a Freddy's. A doggo somehow found his way in and uh- we had to spend all day trying to catch it."
"Hm... sounds like a fucking joyful day over there. I would have shot him with the equipment we have in the back."
"Thought about it, but I think it would have brought the wrath of at least three evil creatures upon me... h-haha..."
"You have nightshift?"
"Yes... we don't really... uh, to be honest, I don't TRUST Dave and Old Sport alone at the place. They stick a little too closely together for my liking lately."
"I think you're being fucking paranoid... but better paranoid than death, right? I'll be off to sleep now, don't get hurt while doing your shift."
"O-oops, shouldn't have kept you awake for so long, I uh..."
"We talked for at most three minutes."
"Y-yes, but..."
"Do you want me to stay on the fucking phone?"
"N-no! I'm not THAT- I mean- you know, you can-"
"Might as well. But I can't answer for a moment, because I need to brush my teeth."
Phone Guy stayed quiet for a few second, then he snorted a bit. "I'm... a real weirdo, aren't I? Uh- s-so you're- I'll assume you pulled yourself together in front of J-Jeremy?"
"... tried. Failed. But again. The kidden is unstoppably stupid. I guess he didn't... he doesn't even fucking register that I was really fucking evil to him."
"... did you at least say sorry?"
Mind foggy, Mike fell back onto the mattress. "I think?"
It had been JUST this day, how could he already forget?
Sometimes he had the fear that his pills fucked up his memories.
But maybe that was his sickness instead.
"... uh... good enough, I guess."
They talked for a while about nothing in particular, until Phoney said goodbye at midnight.
Exhausted Mike closed his eyes.
And yet again, they promised him another day.