A Guard's life

Progress report

A/N:
So, my dumbass can't pace and I feel like parts of this were rushed. I'm not sure though...
... if you read this and can point out to me if something is wrong, please do! I might rework parts of the chapter if it's not flowing well, when I have more time!
Not beta'd, but heck, I tried ;u;
I hope exam season is treating you guys well! Hold on tight

Also, this is an EXTRA long chapter (because I can't pace)- to make up for me not uploading on the 14th (which I won't manage next month either, so heads up- but afterwards it will probably work out again!), so there's that!
ENJOY!

-

The car below them rumbled on the slightly unsteady street, moving continuously forward at a fast pace.
Currently no music was playing, they had shut off the radio at some point during the night. The light was raising in the distance, slowly creeping over the horizon, blinding Baby a little.
For some reason, she felt tired, but she knew it was just a bad habit.
There was no physical reason to be tired anymore.
Ethan was looking outside, a bit of fog pressing itself against the window, creating the smallest droplets.
They hadn't talked too much during the ride, only about this and that, but deliberately not about the young man they were visiting.
The detective could only imagine how badly he would take them showing up.
Hell, he took it awfully the first time around, when he was a young teen, only talking when he pretty much was forced to answer.
Shame.
That was the one thing Ethan saw in his face.
He felt shame and anger.
It wasn't as though that was uncommon. A horrible turn of events, really, something that had cracked the entire family's life.
He was supposed to look after the boy, but instead dropped him off at Freddy's, like some sort of baggage.
Never getting the chance to pick him up and get him home again.
Quietly Ethan finally started.
This time he talked out loud- it felt more comfortable.
"... what are we supposed to tell him? How are we supposed to appeal to his morals? We're three- well, two strangers, who came out of nowhere, telling him to hop into the car to see his long dead brother. That's insane. Even if we can prove that... possession is a thing..."
Breaking off, Ethan shifted.
Baby scoffed. "We CAN just take him. That wasn't a joke."
"No."
There was a bump in the road, making them both jump.
Nemo kept looking ahead, his eye though didn't seem to focus on anything. "You know, some people don't really want to atone. Some people throw their corpses in the river and never want to hear about it again. Especially if they're trying to suppress their guilt."
"Deep insight for a... sixteen year old...?" A bit curious Ethan poked for more information.
"Excuse me, it's "I'm fourteen and this is deep"! Not sixteen!"
"You're not fourteen." Baby quickly called his bullshit.
"Never claimed it! Just saying, if you want to be DEEP you gotta be a TRUE teenager." He chuckled at their offended expressions. "What? What is it? Got problems?"
Irritated Baby called out "TRUE teenager?"
"Both of you, stop being so nosy."
Their journey continued on for a little bit longer.
None of them had asked for a break, so they were already surprisingly far.
This time around, the silence felt a bit more stressful to Ethan, who knew there was something not quite right. Yet he couldn't really put his finger on it, or rather on how important it really was.
"Being nosy is somewhat my job. It's fine though... let me at least ask you what happened to my dog." The black dog had almost left his mind, as if he never existed in the first place.
It was peculiar.
He LIKED dogs. On the horribly sad occasion that a dog owner died without anyone being able to be contacted to take the poor thing in, Ethan usually took care of it for a little, until they were taken in by someone else or had a place in a good shelter.
He could remember them, their different appearances, breeds, and little quirks.
But this dog was so... weird.
So... different.
Did it wear a hat? What kind of dog wears a hat?
It couldn't have worn a hat.
Nemo kept quiet for a moment. "Found him wandering about, brought him into a place to take care of him."
"... how did you do that?" Suspicious the man kept digging. "Whenever I tried to, he somehow ran off to... somewhere."
"I took him by the collar and dragged him along. You're just too soft." Dismissive the teen kept going.
"... he didn't wear a collar, Nemo."
Frustrated the boy shortly glanced at him, then suddenly turned halfway around to properly stare him down, much to Ethan's panic.
"OH GOD, BE CAREFUL, PAY ATTENTION TO THE ROAD-"
Sneering at him, the teenager didn't pay his words any mind. "You little know-at-all, can you just seriously like- mind your own business? You literally never accomplished anything here like that. Just fucking stop."
"Why don't you want to explain this to me?!" Ethan hissed back, his panic making him irritable. Baby meanwhile had grabbed the wheel. "What happened?! Did you kill him?"
"No, but- it's COMPLICATED, okay? And also, you're not my REAL dad, so I don't gotta tell you SHIT."
"Who IS your real dad then? Why is he letting you do all these things?!"
"Wouldn't you like to know, police-boi. Shut up ghostie."
Silence fell between them.
Baby, staring out of the window, spoke up.
"There's a shop! We should stop, I want some sweets."
'What?' Switching back to his quieter, natural voice, Ethan answered, confused. 'Why?'
"I told you. I want sweets."
'You don't eat.'
"But I WANT them!" Scowling the girl insisted. "What else is the point of going on a trip?"
'S-saving the souls of murdered children maybe?!' In utter disbelief he replied, baffled that this- CHILD still managed to act exceptionally egotistical, to a degree he DIDN'T expect. 'That is the point, Baby. Nothing else.'
Nemo however pulled up. "We need some gas anyways. So go get yourself something... but not too much, you hear me? Or I'll gotta kick your ass and whatever."
Defeated Ethan sighed. It wasn't like he could do anything about it now.
'Let's be quick at least.'
Snickering happily Baby jumped out of the car as soon as she could, rushing into the store, while Nemo began counting down the different options of gas, clearly having no idea which one of them he needed.
"Enee, meeny, mini, mo, catch a killer by his throat, make his skin into a coat-"
That was all the mildly confused Ethan could hear, before he had to follow inside of the store to not hurt himself or his companion.
Baby meanwhile was staring at the selection. "Anything you want?"
'... maybe something with chocolate.'
"Alright, nothing we chocolate, that means I'll be taking..." For a few moments she browsed the shelves, trying to pick between some gummy strings and marshmallows.
The shop was empty, but still, the detective felt anxious. If someone approached them they would PROBABLY notice that something was up with them. It wasn't every morning that you saw a hooded figure in the candy isle of a store.
Oh god, it sounded even worse when he said it this way.
'Pick the strings.'
Instantly Baby went for the marshmallows, just as planned.
Though as she hold it, she hesitated. "Ethan, I don't carry any money. We will have to wait."
'Fair enough.' Tormented the detective sighed and shifted. For a moment he wondered if he should try to stick to reserve psychology, but banked that Baby would at least be mature about more important manners. 'Let us at least wait somewhere a bit less obvious. I really don't want to run into anyone.'
"Why not? What are they going to do if they find us?"
'They will see we are not human!'
"And then what?" She laughed.
'It will get us in trouble.' No, he couldn't put it into words, but the thought of a group of people coming towards them was enough to make him feel panic. Groups of people was always the worst case. Either people were in danger or people WERE the danger. Neither was good.
"Sure, sure." Again she inspected her little package, pleased with her choice, before being interrupted by a young male voice.
"... you need some help?"
He didn't wear a tag or anything, so he seemed to be just another visitor.
"No?" Confused Baby responded. "Thanks?"
"It's just that you're like... talking to yourself. That's kinda freaky." He seemed annoyed for some reason.
"So?"
"What are you even wearing?" His tone got under Ethan's skin instantly. What a cunt.
Baby however sounded proud. "It's really cool, I am glad you agree. I got it from my daddy!"
"... your daddy, huh?" He whistled. "You're REALLY freaky."
Uncomfortable Ethan shifted. 'Tell him you're too young for someone like him to creep up on you.'
"I'm not too young though." Carelessly she responded, getting Ethan to the brink of a breakdown.
That was the LAST thing he wanted her to say out loud without context.
The man raised an eyebrow and was starting to grin, about to say something, before Baby looked up at him, opened her faceplate and put the bag of marshmallows in.
If the spirit attached to the clown would say the sight of the grin turning into a grimace of terror WASN'T satisfying... he would be lying.
However, this was REALLY bad.
Deciding to try and end it by doubling down, Ethan spoke up. "You really should have slept more."
Hearing the voice from an adult male coming out of the white clown face of a young girl that had just opened a second ago was enough to send the guy running.
'You can count yourself LUCKY that he thought it was his mind going nuts, not that we actually were... what we are.' Despite knowing this was probably the easiest and most harmless way to get rid of him, this still shouldn't be approved of. 'Even if that trick was clever.'
"Trick?" She asked, harmlessly. "No trick. I simply just realized that I could really easily steal these if I carry them around within myself."
'We are NOT going to steal these.'
"Yes we are!"
'No.'
A bell chimed as the door opened and Nemo entered, spotting them and coming by. "Picked something?"
"I did!" Happily the response came.
"ONE thing?"
"Yes!"
"Good. Wouldn't want to overload you." With that he proceeded to pick snack after snack from the shelves.
While trying to speak quietly, Ethan HAD to call her misbehavior out. "She is trying to-"
"Normal or spicy chips?" Casually he asked. "I'd say normal. You're normies."
"Nemo, I would like to notify you that-"
"White chocolate, oooooo- don't mind if I do!"
"Baby is-"
"One more minute, I'm picking stuff still." Turning around with his arms full, he finally paid attention. "What did you want? Oh, also, Baby, can you place these in your stomach, I'm not paying for this shit."
Both Baby and Ethan were shocked.
"So the only reason you wanted me to not pick too much is because you wanted to make sure I could get your own things!"
'You can't just STEAL!'
Grumbling the clown relented, while Ethan sighed. "... what were you gone so long for anyways?"
"I had to get the giraffe in position."
"... what giraff-"
A loud "what the FUCK-" sounded as a yellow face appeared in a window, followed by the cashier jumping over to run out and check on the situation.
Nemo pulled them along. "If you haven't guessed, I don't have money-"
"Where the HELL did you get a giraffe from?!"
Ignoring Baby who had started to chew on something, god forgive he didn't want to know what she was currently mashing up, Ethan insisted on knowing.
"It's fine, the giraffe offered to help. Did you know that the giraffe is actually the land-dwelling animal with the biggest heart? Thus legally most likely to help you?"
"L- legally...?"
Whenever anything happened, Ethan was the only one still foolish enough to ask questions.
After being ushered into the car, Nemo started up the car and drove off as quickly as he could.
"Another successful heist, bois. Now, show off the loot, McBab, codename Baby."
Baby continued chewing.
"... Baby. Where's the loot?"
"What loot?" Casually she asked.
"I can literally kill all of us." He casually made a small movement with his hands on the wheel, causing the whole car to move to the side. "And I will, I have NOTHING to look forward to except your dying screams-"
Huffing, Baby puked up some of the sweets, half of them unpacked and chewed on.
Disappointed Nemo stared down at it, ignoring the streets.
"There is a SPECIAL place in hell for YOU, Baby."
Resigned to his fate, Ethan quietly pleaded. "Just look at the road, please."
Leaning back again, eyes once more on the road, Nemo scoffed. "We're almost there anyways. There's the exit of the highway we gotta get out on. You have the new address?"
Checking over the documents, Baby confirmed. "Everything is in order."
"R a d i c a l." Without any sort of enthusiasm the answer came and they moved at illegally high speeds towards their goal.
They were so fast in fact that they left skid marks on the pavement as they rapidly moved towards the fence in front of the place.
A bump in the road came to their rescue and in one swift jump they flew over the fence, getting stuck on the lawn.
Casually Nemo stepped out, took a look at the fuming engine, then proceeded to lock the car. "Another job well done."
'For the love of god, let's just get this over with.'
They rang the bell, patiently waiting in front. They still didn't have a plan better than kidnapping, but then again... who would not want to make amends with their mistake from the past?
As the door opened, Ethan was startled for a moment, he had to do a second take as the eyes that stared into them could be the same that stared into them every day at the restaurant.
His eyes were angry and slim, full of defensive aggression.
Much like Mike indeed.
The rest looked different though. At first the beanie he was wearing was overplaying it, but he had thick, dark hair and a five o'clock shadow.
The form of his face was all different too. Now that he looked at him again, he was confused how he could have seen a similarity to Mike. What a difference eyes could make.
"Who are you people?" The voice was deep and a bit raspy, perhaps he was sick.
Suddenly Nemo moved forward leaning against the man. "You're under arrest, pretty boi!"
Instantly this caused the guy to step back, trying to escape the unwanted touch, giving the perfect chance for both of the people to slip inside.
Baby snickered. "And here we were thinking we would have to find a way inside..."
"Who the FUCK are you! I'll call the police if you don't-"
"Ever heard of our lord and savior Jacob?" Nemo swiftly jumped in, shutting the other man up. "You sure didn't, but the name should be familiar. You know, it's kinda funny, it was David they threw into the lion's den-"
"That was Daniel. And if you're trying to make a comparison, you probably mean Joseph who was sold by his brother's." Quietly Ethan corrected.
"Aw, shit, I knew I shouldn't have touched that bible crap to look cool. It's totally cringy by now anyways, isn't it?" Grumpy the teen commented. "Oh well, what's fucked is fucked. Point is we know you just up and left your bro at a place where kids go missing. Are you happy with what came of it?"
The man had turned completely pale, his face a mask of anger and despair, the edges of his eyes growing wet.
Nothing came out of him, even if it seemed like he was trying, his breath shivering.
Trying to come off soothing with a gentle tone, but actually just ending up sounding rather terrifying, Baby spoke up. "You've made a lot of mistake in your life, Michael... but we can stop that now."
'Are you threatening him?'
Stumbling backwards, Michael looked between them, breathlessly coughing out "What do you want?"
"It's not about what WE want, sweetcheeks, it's about what Jacob wants. And lemme tell ya, he wants not a whole lot. Just have you come by and FINALLY pick him up. It's been like... twenty years? Probably a bit less, but still. Shitton of time to wait for your older brother to finally come in. You'd expect him to at least call, you know?"
Of all the ways this could have gone, this was certainly the worst.
'How about we make a cup of tea for all of us to calm down.'
Fine.
Shrugging Baby passed them, rummaging the kitchen for what she needed to make a cup.
Meanwhile Nemo had snatched a chair and was getting comfortable in it. "... Michael, let me ask you something. Do you believe in ghosts? Because there's a ghost believing in YOU."
"You guys are CRAZY. Get OUT."
Sweetly Baby corrected him. "I think what you meant to say was "oh god, I'm SO sorry, PLEASE, PLEASE let me atone for my mistakes, I'd do anything!" or something very similar. I am GLAD you see sense."
"I DIDN'T SAY THAT!" With wild, wide eyes he looked between them, trying to get more distance between them. "I said you guys are CRAZY!"
"That's what creatures from the nether always seem like. You haven't denied believing in ghosts though. Your brother is suffering, Michael. Suffering. Do you remember the day he went missing? Was it fun?"
The man's fists were shivering. "Who the fuck do you think you are. That was the WORST day of my life and I-"
"Not bad enough to try and make amends it seems-"
Finally Ethan spoke up. "Enough. Everyone, calm down. You're being cruel, Nemo. Please, let's sit down and seriously talk about this. We need your help Mr. Rowan. Desperately."
The tea was ready and Baby placed it on the table. "I think you're too soft on him, detective. He's done something pretty awful."
"The only person who did something awful was the killer." Shortly he hesitated. "... well, yes, it was wrong of him to leave behind his brother, but he was fourteen. A child, basically."
"B A S I C A L L Y." She laughed loudly.
Irritated Michael watched them, disgust and confusion clear as day on his face. But seemingly he thought better than to comment.
Taking his cup of tea, Nemo leaned back, playing with the vapor raising up from the hot liquid. "Doesn't matter actually. I literally don't even care anymore. Like, yeah, fine, you send him into there to get killed, who even gives a shit, I just want you to clean up your mess."
Their subject was sitting there, staring into his cup, struggling to keep his body under control with this sudden reminder of these traumatic events.
A bit more empathetic, Ethan spoke up. "We're sorry to have just barged in like this. But this is important. Jacob NEEDS you, desperately. He can't move on and it is taking its toll on him. Save them. Save HIM." Pausing for a moment, he leaned forward, even if that was fully invisible to the living human. "All you have to do is come with us. Talk to him. We don't have any time to lose."
Taking off her hood, Baby smiled at him, clicking her faceplates. "We will get you there and back without any effort on your part."
The more they talked the emptier Michael's expression turned as he started into the liquid distorting his own image. "He would kill me."
Instantly Ethan stopped him. "No, he would never-"
"So what?" Baby provocatively threw in. "Do you think you don't deserve that?"
"Baby!"
"What? I am saying the truth! A life for a life!"
"Things like that don't- only count if the person needs to be STOPPED." A bit tormented Ethan tried to argue against it.
"Nonsense." Nemo snickered.
But their bickering was interrupted as Michael slowly stood up, anger overtaking him. "You are only here to hurt me, aren't you? I have no idea what you are, or what exactly you expect me to do! Am I supposed to apologize to my fucking dead brother for a killer being there the ONE day I put him in there to have fun?"
The rage seemed to build up quickly within him as he kept looking at the cup.
He continued on.
"I was in therapy for YEARS! YEARS! I WAS TRYING TO WORK OUT IF THIS ALL WAS MY FAULT. I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF MAYBE I SHOULD DIE! IT TOOK ME SO MANY YEARS TO GET OVER THIS. WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, WALKING IN, WANTING ME TO RUIN MY WHOLE DAMN LIFE AGAIN!? I HAD NIGHTMARES. BEAKDOWNS. I CAN'T LET THIS CONTINUE RUINING EVERYTHING!"
Stepping away, the man stared pacing, leaving the room for a second, then coming back in, just to go out once more, quickly covering quite a bit of space.
There is was again, the aggressive mannerisms, the similarity returned once more, stronger this time. It irritated Ethan a great bit, his eyes should be better at recognizing people properly.
Baby couldn't help but chuckle at the situation. "... you could have it so easy, Mikey. Come along, do something good for your little brother and then you are already free of it all! For once and all..."
"Shut up." Having had enough of this, the man rubbed his eyes, breathing rather quickly. He turned once more and left the room.
A few moments passed and he didn't return, Nemo stood up, the fox he had formed out of vapor instantly disappearing as his movement blew air against it.
Quickly he stepped forward, as he already heard Michael's voice.
"Yes, 911, I'm currently in-"
Oh fuck.
Nemo rushed forward, getting to him as quickly as possible.
"- people are in my house, they refuse to leave and act really erratic, they might turn violent-"
"Hey, hey, buddy, pal, that's not nece-"
"STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!" As he turned he already had his fist ready, punching the teenager square into the face with such force that it flung him away.
For a moment the adult seemed a bit disturbed by his own action, but that was short lived as Baby angrily pinned him to the wall with the claw coming out of her stomach.
"This is NOT a fight you WANT to start, mister..."
"Are you okay, Nemo?!" Ethan called out worried, hating that he couldn't help him up.
The boy looked up, rubbing over the side of his face, the hair out of his face revealing for a split-second an empty eye socket oozing a dark liquid. "I'm fine."
Michael was fighting, trying to get the claw off of him. A pointless exercise as he was struggling against a literal machine.
Her claw grip became tighter, forcing a scream out of him.
Too many things were happening at once, panicked Ethan pushed his thoughts about Nemo to the back of his mind to call out to the girl.
'Baby, stop this nonsense! Don't hurt him!'
"Why SHOULDN'T I? He hurt one of us and I don't think he will be of any use anymore."
'Because it is the WRONG thing to do! The world won't become any better if you hurt another person! You don't actually want to kill him. You're just angry. Please Baby, be smart about this.'
For a moment, she only growled, her eyes staring into the soul of this angry, broken man.
A bit she opened the claw, before retracting it fully. "Nemo, we're leaving. I won't risk the cops finding us."
Picking the teenager up without another question, Baby turned away, her voice dripping sarcasm. "Have fun explaining the police what happened to you. And also, you are a despicable human being and I hate you with all my heart."
Defensive.
Oddly defensive.
It wasn't like the guy could have hurt any of them- or even if, it wasn't that Baby was particularly close to the teenager.
What was it?
Just a need to show off that she COULD do whatever she pleased and was dangerous?
An overreaction based on an impulsive fear?
Gently he tried to reach out to her thoughts, but Baby denied him.
'Hypocrite.' He mumbled.
Nemo sat back down behind the wheel, his teeth clenched.
Without hesitation he drove through the fence. "What a piece of shit. We should have just taken him."
"That would have probably been no good for Jacob though. If his brother would have acted poorly... it probably would have done more harm than good." Keeping a cool head about the whole event, Ethan pointed that fact out.
Baby snarled. "We should have taken him anyways and dumped him in a river, just for shits and giggles."
'Who would have benefitted from that?'
"Me. I would have benefitted from that." She hissed back.
'Would you really?'
Finally shutting up, Baby crossed her arms and looked out of the window. There were things she could tell to him, that yes, indeed, hurting others would get the feeling of frustration out of her.
However, that would lead to nothing, would it?
Worst case he'd attempt to compare her to the bastard she attacked. God, just the thought made her want to kick out the spirit and let it float away into the damn void.
Ethan however had turned his attention away from her already, now staring down the more human looking teenager.
"Nemo." He took over the speakers, Baby didn't need them. "We have to talk."
"No we don't. I could abandon you two on the side of the road, I don't have to do ANYTHING."
"Hey! I have NOTHING to do with-" Insulted Baby interrupted, but was cut off by the other spirit.
"I only want to finally know what's going. Everything is so confusing, everyone has their own motives. You know all you need about me. Why don't you want to tell us anything at all?"
The teen rolled his eyes. "So Baby is just fine and dandy, huh? That SHE never tells us anything is just cool! NEWSFLASH, do you remember she LITERALLY is calling a child murderer her daddy?"
"Don't distract from yourself, young man!" Quickly the man called for order. "Also, I think we can assume what happened to her. Details are..."
Yes, he WANTED details dammit, but that didn't mean he couldn't care about other things!
Groaning softly, the detective rubbed the bridge of his nose.
He feared for these kids. They weren't supposed to be in this situation.
How could this have happened?
How could he have overlooked this all this time?
Then again, everything about this situation sounded insane.
No wonder the police never got the REALLY important information.
Staring at the road, pissed off, Nemo's knuckles slowly turned white around the wheel.
Then it seemingly snapped within him.
Before Ethan could even say anything, Nemo started up again.
"Yeah, great, FINE! Urgh! So what if I'm a non-alive. No reason to discriminate against me! I can still do the same shit you guys can."
From Baby came a snicker. "Insecure much?"
"I'M NOT! It just lowkey pisses me off!" Loudly the teenager lamented. "Everyone ALWAYS asks me what I am! I'm fucked, okay? That's all! Your dog- airquotes around YOUR- isn't actually a damn dog, but some sort of piece of shit magic bastard bitch that probably has no concept of soul. I really hate the thing. It's still following me around after YOU apparently failed it. I thought I was rid of it when I started fucking about, but NOPE, it's still getting on my NERVES. Thinks it OWNS me, fucking BITCH."
"... what?"
This was the LAST thing he expected to hear and honestly he wasn't sure if he even HEARD right.
"See? You just don't GET me. I knew you wouldn't, nobody does."
"Nemo, for the love of god. What are you saying anymore-" His first instinct was to not believe it, but he tried to take this seriously. Even if only because at SOME point either it would be revealed he was making fun of him or... it was another strange thing that happened in a series of frankly STUPID events.
A guy dipped in cheeto dust and a humanoid eggplant that were both immortal were running around killing kids for the fun of it apparently, a ghostly dog wasn't even WEIRD.
Black ghostly dog from the underworld, which can mess with space-time?
Almost NORMAL.
Gently Ethan sighed. "Please go on. Explain this to me. What the hell is it?"

-

Their fight had been short.
Not a fight, really.
As the daylight shined through the windows high above, Juliette stood there, staring at the stage.
"Where is Baby?"
Of course, Phone Guy had no answer.
Neither for her, nor for the mildly pissed off Dave who thought it was something Phone Guy set up.
Why should he have an answer!?
And while that might was fine with Dave, for Juliette he had to try to lie over his mistake.
"In the storage. She wanted a break. Standing in the limelight days on end is difficult."
Juliette's silence was deafening, even among the cries and laughter of the visitors.
"I know you did not, Scott." Her voice weighted the world around them down, slowing it all to a crawl. "You would have returned with the car."
Slowly she raised her fingers to the edges of her glasses, taking a slow, deep breath.
Phone Guy stepped closer. "Miss, please, you have to believe me-"
"Scott. I know your kind. I have dealt with so many lies. So. Many. Lies. I fell for them ONCE and by now I know much, much better. The fact that you even tried to lie to me is appalling and shows how awfully broken your programming really is... much worse than first expected."
There was a rather confusing feeling in Simon's chest.
It wasn't shock, or surprise.
He expected this, deep down. Of course it would come down to this.
But there was still this cold feeling creeping into his chest.
It felt like he was freezing from the inside.
The lady of the factory lowered her hand once more, calmly staring the man down. "Your final report is the following; while you are far more socially adaptable than your peers, you still are awfully unadjusted, stubborn and despite your average demeanor a danger to those around you."
Footsteps approached quickly before either of them could go on.
Jeremy had come by, pale.
"W-what is going on here? I-If I- If I may ask-?" Shaking on the spot the young guard looked between them. "I-is Mr. Phone Guy in t-trouble?"
"Well, he is not willing to tell me what happened to one of the animatronics. But he isn't in trouble." Quite a bit gentler now Juliette explained. "We will reboot him and wipe his memories and I have decided the date will be tomorrow. Pack your things, Scott."
Terrified Jeremy cried out. "Please, please don't! It's not- i-it's not his fault! That Baby is gone- It was my fault- I- I accidentally-"
Close to crying, the poor kid stumbled over his own words.
Moving down a little she put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, hey. It's fine. It's more about Phone Guy lying to me anyways. It is just a little memory wipe."
"Wiping someone's memories is CRUEL! Inhuman! He has so little already... please, ma'am, PLEASE! Have humanity!" He couldn't be at fault for his boss getting harmed, no, no, why did he let them LEAVE?
"It is for his BEST! These memories bring nothing but distress!" Juliette seemed upset now. "We would not do so if it were not beneficial to their mental and physical health."
Jeremy seemed baffled. "Miss, memories are precious! As precious as the people around us- sometimes it is all we have to keep us motivated! How can we make a future for us if there's nothing we think we'll take from it? Would... would you just give up all your memories, miss...!?"
With pain in her expression she softly shook her head. "... yes. Yes, I would in a heartbeat. If it were only about me- if I knew what had happened... but I have to keep my memories. Because I am the last one to remember my loved ones as I do, the last one to still care about their demise. They disappeared from the face of the earth and I am the only one left to uphold what they loved. Thus, as much as it is a burden, I have to continue like this. It is all I can do to still show my love for them."
The young guard's heart was bleeding for that odd woman by now. What kind of things had she go through that wiping memories was something she wished for?! What kind of things do you have to go through to be able to allow horrible actions like that with a sense of justice?
"Miss... what happened to your loved ones...?"
Somewhat she shook her head, adjusting her scarf. "... please employee, this conversation has no point. Return to your assigned position if you may. Scott, tomorrow at twelve I will have the truck prepared. Everything you do not take with you might be given to the next Phone Guy taking this location."
Before Jeremy could argue, Marion's voice reached out to his mind.
'She doesn't know. Neither what happened to her family, nor the line between humane and cruel.'
Moving away quickly to answer, Jeremy exclaimed "Then- we should help her find out!"
'These are old scars. I don't think we can help her anymore.'
They were far enough away, so Marion coughed and continued out loud. "... there is nothing we can prove anymore and she is deluded enough to join the factory. Don't pity her, she's dangerous. If you want to help Simon, you cannot help her."
That sentence seemed to hit something within Jeremy. The boy stayed quiet on that topic.
"... we need to do something. Where's Mike...?"
"Mike will be enraged. Do more harm than good. What if he hurts her?"
"We- I- I won't leave him in the dark! Where is he?!"
"Frankly, Jerry, I have no idea." And he wasn't particularly curious to find out either, he was more interested in if the other two had been successful in their quest.
It didn't mean a lot if the Phone Guy was exchanged- it happened all the time. And it wasn't like Phone Guy was a particularly loyal ally. He'd sell them out in a heartbeat, his backbone was as sturdy as the average Swiss cheese.
Nothing of value would be lost.
A short tug came through him. This particular Phone Guy DID go through quite a lot. Through fire, through closing down a restaurant, through new machines and through dealing with Purple Guy on a day to day basis-
No, he couldn't allow himself to get so sentimental.
His flickering eyes wandered over the boy below him.
... not that he had a chance to decide on that, because Jeremy was on his damn power trip and decided to make EVERYTHING his business.
His face looked determined, the eyebrows furrowed and his fist clenched, but not too harshly.
Yup, Jeremy was ready.
Defeated Marion decided that he would have to deal with Jeremy's attitude later... with an actual plan. For now, all he could do was to keep an eye on the situation.
"... I think Mike went to the back?"
Indeed he did.
A whole while ago.
And he hadn't come back in yet.

-

Their conversation had taken up a whole while.
Sure, Nemo still was constantly cutting him off on certain topics, like about his exact fate, or what brought him to the restaurant in the first place, insisting that it was NONE of his business.
Yet, aside from that he finally was a little bit chattier.
Ethan's head was HURTING due to all this crazy information.
This- was maddening. Impossible, it had to be.
Yet, terrifyingly enough it helped things making sense.
A creature beyond the stars, hunting down the man who perverted the secrets of life, now on its mission to destroy his legacy.
Shortly he looked out of the window and for a second he was sure he saw a black dog rushing into a shadow casted by a large tree, disappearing.
Though- that- that was unlikely.
He was just seeing things.
"... that... thing. That dog. He's- it's not actually going to hurt any of the kids, right?"
A second passed, a second that was enough to stop everything within Ethan's mind and even made Baby quite uncomfortable, causing her to shift her faceplates nervously.
The noise of the plates clinking against each other was abnormally loud in that moment, it sounded like it came right from within the detective's head.
Finally Nemo answered. "Most likely not. It's not... really interested in doing harm? As in- it only really cares that the souls get put back. If it could do it by eating them... uhm... I think it would. But it won't!" Quickly he added that last part. "Nothing is more important to it than getting them where they belong."
For once the young guy sounded hesitant, insecure.
Like he cared, at least a little.
Baby spoke up. "But... what about me? I don't want to go wherever that things wants me to. I refuse to!"
"... I doubt it can really force you. Again, if it could, it would have done so already." The words were more of a mumble than anything.
This wasn't doing much to calm ANYONE'S nerves.
Then again, at least nobody was outright freaking out.
"We need to free Evelyn. A-and the others. As SOON as possible." For a moment Ethan's mind blanked. "Turn around. We HAVE to get Michael-"
"Hey, hey, hey- chill out!" Annoyed the teen called for LAW AND ORDER within the car. "You yourself said it would be shit if the guy would be a dick to his dead brother. We have to do something else. Something... meeting his bastard brother can't be the ONLY thing that would give him peace."
The clicking that had sounded in the background the whole time finally stopped as Baby spoke up. "He doesn't seem to remember him well. Why don't we ask Mike to help?"
Both of the guys were a bit irritated, giving her a look.
Unfazed she stared back at them. "Once you die, your memory gets really bad, at least in the case of faces. There are many faces I wouldn't recognize anymore..."
Trailing off, once more she seemed uncomfortable, but fierce stubbornness took over right away. "... he hasn't seen him in over a decade. And if we dress up Mike more... casual...? It could work."
"No way."
"Unlikely."
Both of them didn't seem convinced.
Huffing the machine sat up straight. "Who of us is the dead person trapped in a robot? I'm the damn EXPERT here!"
"Baby, listen, the thing is this-" Deeply concerned Ethan started. "How would you feel if one of us would try to trick you like that? You would HATE us. What if he- loses his mind or something? You once told me Funtime Freddy went mad, why should that not possibly happen to Jacob too?"
Frustrated Baby started clicking again, her faceplates moving ever so slightly, creating a nauseating effect for anyone unfortunate enough to look right at her face. "It's not actually about his brother to show up to get him, don't you get it? Sure, it would be better for it, but... at that point, he just wants to be picked up by someone who- takes up the role! You know, with sacrifices it never is about the actual person sacrificed, but what they represent!"
Again, both of the guys seemed in synch, both confused as shit.
"Excuse me, but... how exactly do you know this...?" Politely Ethan started, before being interrupted by Nemo.
"Stop pulling shit out of your ass! You don't even sound HALF as smart as you think you do." Rolling his eyes, Nemo slowed down the car, they had almost arrived. "I get it, it's easy to just talk shit when it's not your life at stake, but-"
"Why don't you believe me? I literally am in that situation. If my- if anyone from my old family would enter through that door I would look right through them."
"But- but Evelyn recognized me-"
"Well, she LIKED you didn't she?"
For a moment it became deathly quiet and cold in the room, as Baby stared outside once more.
"... Jacob's brother is a bastard. He won't know the difference."
Another pause ensued.
A bit softer, the angsty teen decided to weigh in on the plan. "Fine. Even if though, how would we convince Mike to help us?"
"That's the LEAST of our troubles. Mike is soft. And we also CAN LEGALLY kidnap him." She rolled her eyes. "Mike would NEVER say no."
Before the adult in the car could argue, the other person with them agreed. "That's true."
All bark.
No bite.
As chance would have it, they found Mike standing around behind the restaurant, holding up a lamp, threatening it.
"Okay, if you don't tell me right here, RIGHT NOW where you put the money, I will drop you so hard, the next DJ will name-"
"MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKE-" Two voices called out for him, making the man jump.
"What the fuck-"
Before he knew it, he was picked up and dragged away, bombarded from both sides by voices.
"Mike, we absolutely need your help."
"You're the ONLY one who can help us!"
"It's l e g i t. Serious."
Struggling against them, the guard couldn't save himself from being thrown right into the back of the truck. "WHAT THE FUCK! WHAT DO YOU WANT-"
Nemo leaped over him into the front side of the car, while Baby was standing in the way of the door, staring down at him.
"You HAVE to help us. You're the ONLY one pissed enough to play this role."
Instantly he freaked out. "I'M NOT PLAYING IN ANY PLAY FOR YOU, I WILL NOT GO INTO A THEATRE, NOT AGAIN, NO, NO, THE FIRST TIME WAS BAD ENOUGH, I WON'T BE TIED TO A CHAIR-"
"Calm down choir boy!" Nemo called back. "We only need you to fool a guy for us. We KINDA need you to make a spirit believe you're his long-lost brother."
"... oh thank god." Mike mumbled, before stopping and frowning. "Wait a minute, I'm supposed to do fucking WHAT now?"
"So we're like... freeing spirits or whatever, you know? And then there's that Foxy boy, who's like "I wanna see my bro who never picked me up from my restaurant!" and we're all like "yeah, sure, lol, whatever". Go on a trip, find the guy and suddenly he's like "Nope, not gonna help you, let my bro suffer Idk!" and-"
"Stop talking, it makes my brain bleed."
"I'll stop talking if you agree to help us!"
"God fuck me, I want to fucking DIE, is there a chance to fucking die in WHATEVER you plan to do?"
"Yup!"
"I guess I'm fucking in." Finally he adjusted a little and pushed himself back, to get on his own two feet. Not too easy in a rumbling car. "Okay, but SERIOUSLY now. What the fuck is going on? I can't be gone for too long- and neither can YOU, you bitchbot, people are ASKING for you!"
That was a thought that just now came his to mind and it upsetted him greatly. "If Phoney get in trouble, I swear to god, I'll make sure you smashed into little fucking PIECES."
"Sure." Not impressed by the threat, she looked outside to see where they were at. "We have a little problem with a spirit."
"Oh fuck me."
"His name is Jacob and he's attached to Foxy. We think he needs to see his brother again, but he's not willing to come along."
"Then why didn't you just fucking TAKE him?"
"See? He agrees!" Baby said excitedly and for a moment Mike could swear he could hear whispers from inside of the machine.
It was somewhat freaky. Alright, yes, he had noticed before that Baby was acting weird sometimes, but this was the next level.
Her attention turned back to the guard. "He called the police and we weren't quick enough to stop him. And now you come into play. We have talked-"
Nemo interrupted, a futile attempt. "No we didn't"
"- and we ALL think you look REALLY similar to the guy-"
"We didn't talk, but I can agree, you have the same hateboner eyes."
"- thus we want YOU to come in and pretend to be him."
Baffled Mike listened, not even able to CURSE at this nonsense. "Pardon my ass, what the everloving crumbundling treason is that? Why would you do that to a fucking child. What child would be desperate enough to fall for that, not to mention, even if it would work, that's MESSED up to do-"
Nemo spoke up, pissed off. "Listen here you phone-dial-moncher, that's our only option, literally. Do you want them to stick around for a week or more solely so we can manage to kidnap the guy who DOESN'T want to help us, who may or may not will leave to ensure exactly that WON'T happen? No? Then you got to help us."
"And a child that would be desperate enough to believe that would probably be a dead, stuck child, who has been like that for twenty years."
Grimly Mike looked at Baby. "You seem to be doing fine."
"Well, I'm not like them at all."
A beanie was thrown against the back of Mike's head. "It's dark down there anyways. Oh, by the way, did Foxy ever show some kind of aggression towards you?"
Grumpily Mike tried to think back. "... no, not really. I mean, he's always been a bit needy towards me--- oooh, no, you don't take that-"
"Perfect, looks like he got you confused before."
"No, no, that wasn't like it at ALL-"
"Put on the cap, Mike." Threateningly Baby said. No more nonsense.
"Wait, wait, so you want me to help freeing a spirit. One of a kid stuck in a fox. At the risk of my own life." What an awfully odd repeat. "I'm not gonna wear a fucking suit."
"How did your brain come up with that one?" Confused Nemo glanced at him.
"Don't ask." Slowly he put on the hat. "... they've really been stuck for a long time, huh?"
"An eternity, you could say."
"... how close are you guys to getting the group out?"
Damnit. He didn't want to get caught up in this again.
But he could remember Foxy's whining. His constant hiding. How easily he jumped between excited and anxious.
No, he wasn't fond of the guy, not at ALL.
But he didn't deserve this fate, did he?
Might as well go for it. If he gets his damn head chewed off, at least he would have properly shattered that damn fucking fox's illusion of him.
That was worth it.
The others had gone quieter, looking outside, paying attention to the road.
"We're REALLY close."
"You haven't even fucking started, have you?"
"Well, we have ONE freed."
"Fan-fucking-tastic. What exactly should I act like when I go in there? What even did he do?"
The explanation took until they were down the elevator.
And already it was time for action.
Everything within Mike felt opposed to this, but he decided to go against his better judgement for this.
For the mere, small chance to fix something.
The place was nothing short of scary.
Giant and dark, the hall seemed to swallow everything that went in too deep.
Unsure Mike stepped past his companions.
He couldn't see anyone.
Maybe he went blind.
... say something.
If you were really the person you claim to be, you would say something, right?
Distorted sounds of metal came from the back, but he could be imagining that.
"Jacob?" His voice sounded weird, at least to himself. "It's me- Michael."
Felt pretty weird.
Downright crazy.
"It's- it's been a while, huh? I've... I've taken my sweet fucking time..."
Sweet time wasn't really cutting it. It's been a lifetime, almost. Or something that felt like it.
He grew angry at that thought.
All this time and he hadn't been bothering to even try to check?
To find him?
"But... I'm here now! I've finally arrived." Awkwardly he coughed. "We... I've- I'm here to see you."
A golden eye lit up in the darkness, it was closer than Mike had first expected.
Oh lord. He would get chomped. Right here and now.
Though- could he blame the fox? Even if he did it?
If he actually were that piece of shit that he pretended to be...
... bitter, bitter pain.
It was flowing through him at the thought.
"I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry. I didn't think something would happen. I thought you'd just have some fun. That you'd forget about me for the day, until I'd be back to pick you up. I couldn't imagine something- something like that to happen. I couldn't imagine anyone hurting you, YOU of all people- I should have known better. I should have used my dumbass brain-"
Breaking off, he paused, feeling shaken up and frustrated.
"There's literally no fucking way I can make up for this. No way in hell. I let something awful happen by being so fucking STUPID- all I have- all I can do is to say how sorry I am. That it's not been the same. That- that I love you and want you to be free. It's enough. Don't suffer under my mistake like this."
It was like something had grabbed his mind and was crushing down on him.
Guilt, confusion, anger-
"I could have prevented this." He felt sick to the core. "All I can do is to wish that it could have been different."
The fox had stepped close, towering over him with its golden eye.
Breathing.
Then Mike was hugged, tightly.
It was an awful sensation.
Like hugging someone who's flesh had been peeled off, only the ribs remaining.
It was horribly, horribly cold.
"Oh god, Jacob." He whispered. "What have I done to you."
No more playing pretend, no more think 'what if'. This one was on him.
It was hard for him to care. It genuinely hurt to do so.
Whenever someone got close to him, it messed him up and he ended up doing more harm than good.
But for the moment his arms was wrapped around the metal shell of the child, he could feel it all crashing in on him, knocking the air right out of him.
The pain, the confusion, the LONELINESS-
He shouldn't have called him obnoxious, he shouldn't have dismissed him.
There's so much he shouldn't have done.
From in front of him came whimpering, then loud crying.
Jacob was sobbing.
"YyyoU CamE bACK!"
Finally.
Crying out, they stood like that for a while, the lights in there finally flickering, giving the place a little bit of light.
After what could only be described as an eternity, as well as way too short, they separated.
Mike felt tired, sucked completely dry.
He might fall over in a minute.
Foxy breathed out, his breath was visible in a golden mist as the glow crept up the animatronic's ribs, to his head, where it gently glowed from the inside as though someone had put on a light inside of there.
"Thank you, Michael."
"I'm- yeah. I should have done it sooner, Jacob."
Stepping backwards he tried to get some more space between them, more space between him and all the emotions he had been dragged through by the scruff.
Soon discomfort took him over, he adjusted his hat, pulling it down a little further.
He wasn't supposed to be here. He was an intruder.
Freddy limped closer to Foxy, patting on his back.
For a moment Foxy looked down at his hands, then at the bear, words breaking out of him.
At first they sounded molten together, hard to understand.
Then it became clearer. "I'm sorry I made you stay back with me."
Freddy shook his head, but Foxy insisted.
"I shouldn't have- I was so scared on my own. And then I pushed it all on you. I've wronged you, Paul. Thank you for taking care of me."
The bear stayed still for a moment.
Then he took off his hat and bowtie, threw them on the ground and jumped on it, again and again and again.
When they finally were crushed into broken fabric, he stepped off and shook his head, his eyes lighting up golden. "I'm not a leader. And I'll never, EVER be one again."
At once all three of them looked at Mike, seemingly waiting for something.
Chica though moved towards Baby, leaning into some ghostly touch.
Unsure the guard looked between them, taking a breath. "Okay, okay- so- only one is left, we have to-"
The deep male voice from the side took him by surprise, almost causing him to jump.
"We're fine. Thank you. We will... we will leave soon. But not right now."
"... detective?" Irritated Mike stared at Baby, seeing a soft grey shadow separate itself from the robot, floating above.
Yes, despite everything, he somehow could recognize the man.
"We still have people to thank. At least I want to talk to Jeremy." Ethan nodded to himself. "First thing in the morning, we will leave... if that's alright with you lot."
Everyone nodded enthusiastic.
Jacob sniffed a bit, then laughed. "Before though... c-can we have some balloons?"
"Maybe a few cupcakes?" Timmy asked, hopeful.
"I'd like candles, if possible..." Paul added.
Ethan looked from one to the other, smiling. "... and don't forget the party hats!"
They cheered, Evelyn joining in as well.
Nemo nodded, seeming bored. "Alright, we're all set up. I'll bring you what you need tonight, you guys get whatever you wanted done."
Will you be there for the party?
Mike shook his head. "I don't know. I can try, but..."
Trailing off, he looked at the others, realizing he didn't even know who asked him that. "... never mind."
He was getting dizzy.
Reaching into his pocket, he took a pill and closed his eyes for a little.
When he opened them once more, he was surrounded by rusty machines, a killer-clown and an obnoxious teen. Any and all shadows had vanished, as well as any and all voices, thankfully.
Unsure he swayed on the spot.
Wait, did anything even happen?
Was this real?
... that was an awful thing to question right now.
He turned around and walked towards the elevator. "We wasted enough time, I don't want the psycho bitch to do anything to Simon while we're not around. Let's go home."
"Home?" Nemo raised an eyebrow.
"The fucking PIZZERIA you NUMPTY. I use home as "place I'm supposed to be right now" sometimes, when my brain isn't fucking WORKING."
The animatronics looked up at Mike's rage, but didn't see too bothered. Baby nodded though.
"You're right, I'd hate to make daddy worry. We need to go now."
Together they entered the elevator, but where shortly stopped one last time.
Foxy had put up his eyepatch and rushed after them, smiling as awkwardly as an animatronic could. "... again. Thank you, Mike."
Before the guard could respond, they were carried upwards, away from the situation.
Their return was swift.
"We should get in through the back." Mike grumbled. "Less obvious."
"Good idea." Nemo nodded. "I come from the front to distract them. Once half of them are dead, we will move into the middle-"
"What."
"I thought we're getting a plan together here! Don't leave me hanging!"
Deciding to ignore him, Mike hopped out of the stopped car, feeling slightly alarmed. Something had been going on in the restaurant, he could FEEL it. It was a weirdly thick taste in his mouth, of dirt and iron.
Quickly he rushed to the back, but before he could enter it, he walked into the panicked looking Jeremy, accompanied by the mostly irritated looking puppet.
Jeremy instantly grabbed him, ignoring everyone else who was there with him. "Mike! I was looking for you! You need to help us- Miss J-Juliette says she wants to take Mr. Phone Guy tomorrow and- and I need help from you to convince her against it!"
"She's fucking trying to do WHAT?" Instantly his face turned grim. "Over my dead fucking body. Oh, BUDDY, BELIEVE me, I have 42 inches of wood to convince her otherwise."
"D-Don't use your bat! That won't h-help at ALL!" The boy shrieked.
Ethan joined in, albeit for another reason. 'Jesus, don't use WOOD in that sentence-'
"Why the not? What's wrong with saying wood?" Confused Baby turned to him, prompting Ethan to shut up right away.
The door swung open, showing the Phone-headed man, who promptly joined the chattering mass. "Mike, we- I have a problem-"
"I already heard."
"Where WERE you just now?!" Concerned Phoney asked.
Nemo was the one to answer. "Oh, you know. Saving souls that some guy abandoned in a dark facility. No idea who would do that, but..."
Jeremy perked up, completely distracted. "Right- Mr. Phone Guy, you need to apologize to them! That was awful of you, I'm sorry I have to say that! Same for you, Marion! You guys lied to them! And to me..." The last part was more of a mumble than anything.
"CAN WE ALL STOP FOR A FUCKING MOMENT?" The scarred guard was getting a headache.
A new, cold, female voice joined the party. "... souls abandoned in a dark facility?"
Now THAT was a way to make everyone shut up.
They turned around to Juliette standing there, the rage evident in her face.
Under his breath, Phone Guy whispered "Looks like I'm not going to get the chance to apologize to them..."
She exploded on them. "YOU LEFT CHILDREN UNSUPERVISED AND ALONE INSIDE OF A-"
Thankfully, the sound of phone ringing stopped her.
Angrily she pulled out the little machine and stared at its display, hesitating for a moment, clearly annoyed, before picking up.
"I don't have time to talk. What the HELL do you want?"
The voice on the other side said something that made everything in her face darken.
"Yes. Yes, I know. This is NOT my first time doing this. Stop acting like this every time."
Another few words and she gritted her teeth.
"Fine. I- I can talk. Give me a minute."
Putting down her cellphone, she pointed at the gathered guards.
"Eleven o'clock we will meet in the Pizzeria for everyone's final evaluation. The police is gone by now, this is the last thing left to do. I want to see everyone there." Shortly she looked at Nemo, her expression turning calm again. "... except you. This is for long-term employees only, don't worry dear."
Unimpressed Nemo stared back at her. "So, what are you gonna do if I show up anyways, huh?"
"... mourn your lost hours of sleep?" Gently she smiled, nothing giving away she had been fuming only minutes ago. "And Baby, I am glad you are back. Please, please, don't run away again, alright? You scared us all a bunch and you could have gotten hurt. I know it's fun outside, but I promise, it's not worth getting into trouble like this."
The phone rang again, and she began walking away, starting her discussion with the guy on the other end of the phone.
As soon as she was around the corner, Phone slowly sank to his knees, hiding his face. "All of this... all of this for nothing..."
Within a second Mike was next to him, grabbing him into a tight hug. "Shut up, we'll get through this. I'm not fucking let her take you. No matter what."
For a moment it almost looked like he was going to be thrown over by the force of Simon's body, but he managed to keep both of them stable.
Jeremy spoke up too. "Don't be afraid, sir! This is just a misunderstanding- we'll make her change her mind!"
Marion quietly reached out to him. 'Are you sure you want to get mixed up with the factory for a known liar, someone who covered up murders willingly?'
All it took was one look from Jeremy's face.
Marion instantly quieted down.
Oh dear lord, they would all die for an absolutely replaceable phone.
A phone that had shown himself willing to stand up for his employees, to change his tactics to something less scummy if possible, one that didn't instantly send the kids back to the factory where they would have merely been repaired, not helped, who let him roam around freely despite knowing how dangerous he was-
He hissed. 'Get out of my head, Jeremy.'
But Jeremy didn't seem to take note of his words.
Instead he crouched down too, hugging both of them.

From behind Old Sport rushed and jumped on top of the three. "CUDDLE PILE!"
Everyone screamed in surprise and also in pain in case of Mike and Phoney, who got the bulk of his attack.
As soon as they stopped however, Dave ALSO jumped onto them, crushing them one more time.
It took a while and the threat of electroshocks to get both of them removed once more.
All Simon could do was PRAY they wouldn't arrive early tomorrow.
He could only imagine what they would do once he saw that it was an opportunity to ruin everything.



A/N:
HMMMMMM, OKAY.
CRITIQUE WELCOME, BUT WE'RE MAKING PROGRESS HERE, I PROMISE.
WE'RE GETTING TO THE LAST BIG EVENT BEFORE THE FINALE, ARE YOU HYPED?
I'm mostly nervous.
But I promise after the chapter will be build up again, it won't be just me firing off the end.
Anyways, before I ramble, thank you for reading and until next month!
... also, the chapter name is "progress report", so the next chapter can be called "final evaluation", I'm just dumb like that-