Hey, guys!

It's me here, and this is the reupload of chapters One to Seventeen of In The Shadows! The new chapter will come out in two or three days time, so look out for that! Other than that, enjoy!

Mail Box:

LOL: We meet again. :) I want to know how graceful a single letter is. Maybe if I type a single word for my English essay, my teacher will have the same reaction...? haha xD

MetalFox2013: Uh, my A/N explains that.

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CTaC's stalker: Uhm. Nice to meet you too. I know you, haha c:

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C: Picking up from your last review, I published an A/N before. If you're still confused, you can find me in lunch. Haha :P

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Yes, I'm aware I've replied the reviews before. I just wanted to put them all here for convenience, and thank them again for reviewing. 20+ reviews, yay! (I promised you guys I'd do the Mail Box for all my stories once I reached this milestone C:)


If you think that this story is poorly formatted and you would like to see it in chapter form again, please drop a review to let me know! A line marks a new chapter.

Also, Chapter Eighteen will be up in a bit in the normal chapter format, so will the other chapters!

Whew, this talking has made me thirsty (after the Cooper test, of course!), so I'll go get a cup of lovely milk tea to drink! See you in the next chapter!


The phone signs off.


The tune resonated through her endoskeleton as Marionette, the resident puppet of the building, slithered out slowly as to spook Jeremy, the night guard, out of his wits.

A slow whirring noise could be heard as Marionette prepped his music box, a soft 'hurr hurr' emitting from his soft cloth body.

She lain awkwardly on the floor, exhausted after the day of play-and by play, she thought torture. Those children were relentless-why couldn't they treat her like they treated Toy Freddy, for example? Or even the older models, treated with some level of respect?

The little paper dish, a piece of art made by one of the children, who had presented to Toy Bonnie, shivered before keeling over and landing on her bow tie. She shivered even more as it made contact with her bare endoskeleton. Finally, a few creaks emitted from Toy Chica's standing place.

By her exhausted state, she managed to croak out, before getting a 'dum de dum' in response.

"M-Mangle?" the endoskeleton head next to her feebly raised its head to greet her.

"Wow, playtime was rough today, right?"

Mangle moved her head gently, as not to damage her endoskeleton any more than it already was.

"It-waaa-"

Her voice box cut off, and she could vaguely hear Jeremy screaming.

I could have gotten to-to you-

ȋ'ɱ ț¤¤ βȑ¤ķ£ñ ț¤ ȟ£Ƚק-


Ha. The guard won't know what hit him.

The creature crept out of its' box, it's tentacles waving menacingly.

His face turned to the shape behind him. Startled, the creature hid in the box, waiting for the guard to turn back, but his face creased into a smile. Shocked, it desperately played a tune to scare him, but the guard simply clapped his hands to the music, singing softly to the music. The creature shook their elongated limbs, wishing it had such a lovely voice as the guard. Suddenly, the guard turned around. It got a good look at it. This wasn't a vicious murderer! And all this time-they thought he was!

B-But-oh, no…it tried to hold back, but the death tune resonated through its' floppy, hopeless limbs.

The creature tried to pull back, but the tune was set in motion.

There was no going back.

Round and round the cobbler's bench

The monkey chased the weasel

The monkey thought it all was in fun

Pop Goes The W-

SCREEEEEEEEEEEE-


"M-Mangle? Are you okay? I'm fine-Nette got me in the end, he's got six kills on his side-if he killed me! I'm sorry, Mangle, he beat you, he-Mangle? I-I'M SORRY FOR BABBLING, FOXY! I WON'T DO IT AGAIN!"

"WH-what? F-Foxy…"

Chica? What…

"Just kidding, lad. But yer are babbling!"

"Y-yeah, Foxy~ahahahahaha!" the guard shrieked, as the pirate fox tickled him.

Her face collapsed into a smile, as she knew the guard meant her no harm-he'd never, but…

The fingers.

Reaching for her. One after another. Tearing her apart. Like the guard's. They'd advanced towards her. Like demons.

And that what was he was doing.

One after another-another and another.

Suddenly, her servos locked up-replaced by a menacing voice. She could no longer see his face. In its' place-something evil.

GƹƮ ąώąY ƒřOʍ ʍE…

"Mangle? Wha-?"

Ȋ ΨȋȽȽ βȑEåķ ÿoU Ƚȋķ£ ÿ¤ɥ βȑoķ£ ɱE-

"WHAT'S WRONG, MANG-"

"Jeremy! Get out of the w-"

Jeremy never saw it coming.

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEE-

Blood sprayed the pizzeria's tiles that night.


She wasn't sure what happened. First thing-the night guard was lying on the floor. Second-her servos had returned to normal. What had just happened? She wasn't sure. And one more thing. Blood. Pouring down her metal jaws. Something soft, gooey-ugh. What was that in her mouth? As she peered in confusion, she saw that everything was fine. But-the guard had blood all over his forehead. No-no! She recoiled in fright and disgust at herself, while the other animatronics desperately tried to call the services using their complex, advanced pieces of software. She cried out, but her voice box did not let her, since the demons tore it to pieces. Trying to dial the police, she only got a 101-Bad Service. Please try again later.-what was she to do? Finally, her artificial intelligence kicked in-what was left that her destroyed framework could support-the old flight or fight strategy. Guilt swamped what was left of her torn, emaciated…shell. She wasn't even sure that was the word for it anymore-but that was not what she wanted to dwell on now. Fleeing the scene, she managed to gather her thoughts together. He-he was innocent! Not to ever hurt her...so why did she attack the defenceless guard?

What-what have I done?


"-have a good time, kids! Remember, after half an hour, you have to come back outside! Now be gentle with her, and don't damage her!" the guard smiled cheerily, even though he knew how mangled she was.

"Okay, Mr Security Guard!" the children chorused.

As soon as she heard the guard smash the curtains close and turn on the lights, she knew they were coming. One after another. The fingers reaching for her, tearing her apart, putting her back together in their own twisted, sadistic way. Their laughter sounding so demonic. She knew the others didn't hear it this way-she'd asked them before they tore apart her voice box. Why? Why did it have to be her? What had she done wrong?

VIGNETTE 6

How?

Was-was this real?
"-I'm sorry, but The Mangle, you call her?"

"Y-Yes."

"She-she's in an appalling condition, you see. Even I, in thirty years of replacing Chuck. E Cheese models, am still aghast at how you've kept her."

"Well, she is a take away and put back attraction-"

"That's not a valid reason. The children don't know how to play with her. Kids' Cove is for around four to eight years old, yes?"

"Y-Yes."

"They're too young. They take parts home! I remember my daughter Paige taking a metal bolt home instead of the paper plate she'd made. When I asked her, she said that the guard didn't say that she couldn't!"

"W-well, there is that-" the man in the suit-she knew him as The Boss-stammered, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"You haven't even given them a warning about how fragile The Mangle is!"

"No, we do-"

"Forget it, Malcolm. You're out of excuses. You only tell them they have a half hour time limit-nothing more. I've been there myself-for Paige's birthday party."

The man in the suit turned bright red, then shook his head, pacing around. From her view from inside a box, she couldn't see the other man, but she knew he was angry at The Boss.

"Do you see this box?" The Boss growled, after a few more minutes. Picking up the box where she was currently dismantled in, he slapped the side of it angrily.

"She's good for nothing-even the repair man refused to handle her, saying she's beyond repair. The only thing I can salvage from The Mangle is her endoskeleton-and the parrot head-I can use that for scrap metal. Her suit is so filthy-and the parrot casing is gone, I suspect that one of the bastard children took it home."

"…"

"You see? She's too broken to even serve as spare parts!"

"No!" the other man shouted. She could hear the fury in his voice.

"The Mangle has served you very well for quite a few years! How dare you abandon her like this?"

"I know that Mangle was your favourite, Charlie-but that gives you no reason to show favouritism-and she caused the Bite which got us into that damned lawsuit. We're a business, and if you remarks don't help us with money, you can get out now."

The other man was shocked into stupor by The Boss's hard tone.

"Well-I'm not sure what to do. I might take Mangle and open up the hood, take a look."

"Very well. If you can fix that stupid thing, you can bring it back, and we-I'll pay you." The Boss muttered, his face creasing in frustration.

"I'll be back in a week. Meanwhile, close down Kids' Cove, because The Mangle doesn't need to be any more mangled than she is."

After a while, as the other man left, slamming the door closed, muttering profanities under his breath.

The Boss slaps a thick folder of paperwork on his brass, polished desk, cracking his knuckles. This sensation is all new to her, she's never been to the boss' office.

At once, he turns to her. What is left of her servos stiffens, and he strides towards her.

Just like Foxy-she remembers laying on Kids' Cove, watching him stride towards the Office, ready to kill.

"Charlie, Charlie, Charlie. You know it as well as I do-you just can't deny it." The boss growls, his fingers running through her broken case and brushing against a stray wire, making her shiver.

"Oh, god, I hope none of the children are too disappointed-that would lose us a lot of profit…" he muttered, flicking a stray dust bunny off her shoulder.

That, and the heavy level of uncertainty made her quiver in fear.

"I'll have to close down Kids' Cove-or bring back Foxy. Scott will be happy about this-"

In that single sentence, she could see her demise. Bundled into a box, in the backroom where Chica, Foxy, Bonnie and Freddy were kept. Torn apart even more for scrap metal for her friends. Never to be seen, to be heard, to be hugged by children, the kind which didn't rip her apart but patted her mangled head and whispered soft, soothing words of sympathy.

"-I know how you feel, Mangle! When my dad hit me this morning-it really hurt, so I'm not going to hit you anymore, because I know it really, really hurts. I'm sorry, Mangle. So can we be friends now?"

She shifted what was left of her control into a slightly more comfortable position, then closed her eyes, dreading the fate tomorrow would present.


(Rebornica's AU that Mike is bitten, but with Mangle instead of Foxy-and Jeremy and Mike swap places)

"Come on kids, the pizza's ready!"

She watched Chirp waddle around the children's square table uncertainly, a huge platter of pepperoni pizza on her robotic wings-or hands-that she could never make out.

As she sat on the stage, she took in her surroundings-all so unfamiliar with her-she had spent all her life in Kids' Cove. Now she looked at the forlorn attraction, with a huge 'Sorry! Out of Order!' sign, she wondered who would be replacing her there.

Maybe one of the older animatronics-Chica or Foxy, I guess?

As she surveyed the scene further, with her limp form, ready to be activated, she saw Frederick holding a platter of cake and slicing it into slices, handing it to upset children. BonBon was singing a song on his red guitar to the kids in the Party Room, and she could hear delighted squeals as another child walked out with another Foxy plush toy-it was the most popular. She got a warm, fuzzy feeling inside-Marionette would soon give out plush toys resembling her! The thought alone warmed her circuits.

"-and it's time to introduce you to our new, revamped animatronic! Meet Vixen!"

She felt fingers, a hand, reach at the small at her back, flipping a switch and turning some dials.

Her servos turned on, and she began to slowly stand up, to the sound of cheering children.

Is this how everyone else feels when they're performing?

The colours swam around her eyesight, she started to wobble a bit, but the presenter was too busy to notice. At the corner of her eye, she saw the night guard standing tersely at the edge-then edge away.

"Go on kids! Vixen deserves a hug!" the presenter cried, waving his hands.

She panicked. For a good reason.

The night guard quickly departed the scene, standing at the edge of the Prize Corner.

Maybe…maybe he wants to talk to Nette?

Children swarmed around her-and her servos perked up, causing her mouth to open.

"Yarr, my mateys!" she chuckled, for she was a pirate, and was engineered to have a pirate slang.

"Hello, Vixen!" they all giggled, wrapping their little hands and legs all around her.

After a while, she started to tire.

Floods and floods of little children, calling her name again and again, wanting to know the name of the green and yellow parrot that sat on the shoulder-who was called Tommy, and yelling over and over that she was their favourite, that she was their heroine.

After a while, she resumed her normal place at the stage, while the night guard-Jeremy, she believed his name was-called gently for the children to step back a bit.

They all obeyed.

Except one.

The little one had a small pirate bandanna around his head, and a wooden sword in his hand.

As she watched, a man-she couldn't make out the colour, but he was-purple?-strode over to him and whispered a few words in his ear. After the boy nodded, he walked over the line, seeming to not notice it at all, and stood near her.

"V-Vixen! You're my hero-and so is Foxy! You both are the best captain and best mate ever!" he cheered, waving his sword in the air.

She felt her servos stiffen, forcing herself to smile, but her upper jaw started to quiver, because of the unnecessary and excess force exerted by her servos.

"Hey, kid! You're not supposed to be so close to her!"

She couldn't hear anything but the child's footsteps.

"M-my name's Mikey!"

rattle, rattle

"Um, kid-"

Her jaw started to rattle helplessly.

"Arrr…"

"M-Mikey!" Jeremy yelled, running across the room.

"V-Vixey?"

"Kid-Mikey! Get back here!" Jeremy screamed, running for him.

He never got there in time.

CHOMP-

"MIKEY!"

As her circuits failed, she couldn't see another thing. She only had one fragment left of her mind, before the crowds surged over the little boy and he couldn't get her message.

I'm sorry.

And as she was carted away by guards and her servos started to lock down, because of all that stress in her jaw, and pieces of the boy's brain in it, she could see Jeremy, crouched over the body of little Mikey, his hand, patting the little boy, whispering softly to him, with a phone in his hands, but avoiding the head, because the pool of redness surrounding the topmost part of it. And all around her, screams filled what she could hear.

What have I done? How did it happen?


She cries out-as the fingers make contact with her endoskeleton. The laughter scorched the part of her ears who can still hear, the pain registering where it could register. She tried to cry out for help, but they had torn out her voice box-so she could only howl internally. No one took notice of the sprawled, detached cube like shape which was part of her. They tore that out of her-and no one noticed. They never did.

How much more of this can I stand? I can't even move anymore-let alone walk.

"Kids, the pizzeria's closing! Let's go now!" the guard said, taking one look at her and shaking his head.

He ushered the giggling, squealing kids out of the Kids' Cove, with a sigh and a disapproving shake at a redhead who had kept a firm hold on one of her coils, then another little black haired girl with a red bow, who had somehow managed to pry a bolt from her beat up voice box.

After a while, the night guard came in, calling a 'Goodbye, Fritz!' to the previous guard.

He snuck in Kids' Cove, and her servos lit up.

W-what does he want with me? It's only 11:30pm-he can't disable me!

"H-hey, Mangle." Jeremy started, adjusting his NIGHT WATCH hat.

What is he doing?

"I just wanted to say…if Foxy, or Nette, or you come to get me tonight, I…I've set up an appointment with one of my friends-his name's Chris. He's going to make you better-he's worked with cars and putting things back together out of scrap metal, so you'll be fine, hopefully. Just-if you can hear me, tell everyone that I don't mean any harm, and I'm a human, like the children?"

Are you a…human?

Come to think of it, when she got close to him, she could hear raspy breathing sounds, not unlike the children when they stopped running around her and sat down next to her, picking up a bolt or coil.

Maybe…

She'd tell the others-before his shift started.

And she was going to be fixed! The idea alone blew her mind.

She was going to be normal again, before everything went down and she was put out of order. Her shell warmed at the mere thought of her being up there with the others, performing with Foxy as his first mate, Nette giving out plushies of her-just like the good old days!

This knowledge brought her so much excitement-that she forgot to warn the other animatronics.


He curled deeper into his seat, his thoughts drowned out by the Freddy mask, and his heavy breathing.

Suddenly, he heard the stomping of mechanical paws at the hallway.

Hurriedly whipping off the Freddy head, after fumbling with the flashlight, he flicked the flashlight angrily at Foxy, who, after a few whirrs, reset and started padding back to the Parts and Service Room.

Jeremy gripped the flashlight. Dropping it, and picking up the Music Box, he hurriedly wound it, hearing the faint tune of the box echo in the Prize Corner. Putting the Box on the table, along with the Freddy head and the flashlight, he flicked the screens open, to see…Mangle?

He flinched at her luminous eyes peering at him. Hurriedly slamming the tablet shut, he wound the music box hurriedly, checked the vents-no!

The little devil.

Hahaha!

His laugh and his cloudy, diluted blues pierced Jeremy and chilled him to the bone, causing him to growl angrily at the little Balloon Boy, his face contorted in fury.

I…I won't let you get away with this!

Repeated slammings of the air vent lights managed to startle the animatronic away.

Gripping the handles of his swively chair, he pulled at the ears of the mask frustratedly.

It was going to be a long night.


Grabbing the banister, she panted desperately, her hands clutching the head. They were coming for her. One after another. Her legs shook and threatened to give way, and she snatched another half breath. Standing back up, she gripped her bag again, ready to flee again. Shouts and hollers behind her made her turn white, and before she could stop herself, her legs gave way and her mind folded herself into suffocating darkness. One cold, chillingly soothing voice drowned out everything.

It's okay, little one. I know you're here. It'll be alright-it has to be this way.

"Help me!" she sobbed, banging at the doors, trying to get help, any kind of help.

W̾ͮͨ͛̎͂͏͇̦͖̤̰͟H̵͑̃͗ͦͩ҉̷͖̙̠̩̝Y̦̦̹͙͈̞ͨ͋̂ D̼̩̬̳̬̣̭͈̰ͨ͆̉ͬ̔̔̑͟Ĭ̝̤̪̜͙̒͟D̯͍̙̯͇̻̟̣̾ͥͬ̿͌̊̆̽̀ ̶̴̵̼̲̺̝̼̬̳̠̟͓̩͔̦̉̆̌ͮ̐ͬ̾͋̐̉͘Ô̲̘̘̫̺ͭ́̃̌̏̓́̚̚͜͜U̡̢̬̖͋̌͌̿ͥ̉̔͗̀ͅ ̳̖̜̺̻̆̀ͅD̴̡͙̬̹͕̥̪͚ͬ̏̉͗̈́͊̉ͮ͜O̺̫͕ͫͧ͊̔̓̑͠ ̰̦̘̤̲̀̎͟T͇͈̦̤̾ͮͩ͑͂ͮ̅͢Ĥ͖͔̀Ȉ̡̼̖̜̜̑̑ͦ̅̽ͭ̎Ș͉͍̻̻̟̔ͣ̌͆̍ͩ͛!̖̟̩̰̜̟̦̎̓͑́͞?̛̩̱̹̼͠

The man's blindingly white smile seared through her vision.

Screams and calls echoed through the other side.

Were they there to rescue her?

"Save her!" a voice screeched outside.

The man's smile grew even wider.

"You can't."

Then, blinding white light, and she saw no more.

A scream broke her nightmares-then she was plunged into another one.

"Help!"

Her face turned to the shriek of the young boy next to her. She saw Mangle crouched at the top of the ceiling, ready to kill. Next to her, the Marionette sneered, its' face spread in a cruel, sadistic smile, swatting at her. Her face contorted fearfully, and she fled-leaving the poor boy screaming as the animatronics devoured him.

What have I done? Why did I-I leave him?

She recognized that young boy-Jeremy! Mike's best friend!

She tried to float back and try to fend off some of the animatronics, but he was already gone.

In his place-a Freddy Fazbear suit, with eyes and teeth sticking out.

Her little body started to quiver, and she started sobbing, gripping the mask desperately, trying to pull it off, but she couldn't!

The Marionette materialized in front of her.

"Save-save him!" she wailed.

Its' sadistic smile seemed to grow wider.

"You can't."

She woke with a cry, and Mike was instantly at her side.

"Faith, are you okay?"

The little ghost girl's eyes glowed in the dark, and she held onto the man she'd helped for the past eleven years.

"You had a bad dream, right?"

She nodded uncertainly.

"B-Bad dreams."

After what had happened at the pizzeria and the job and whatnot with Mike, she had magically been able to get-well, really, morphed back into her human body, and Mike and Doll had adopted her.

It still confused her to no end sometimes to know that she had a human body.

Mike held her hand and rubbed her back soothingly, while Doll got a cup of hot chocolate and gave it to Faith, which she sipped, tears pooling in her smoky azure orbs.

"Faith, sweetheart-if you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to." Doll whispered soothingly, making Faith curl up closer to her parents.

She'd long stopped thinking of Mike and Doll as her adoptive parents-they were hers, her father and mother. She hadn't felt like this for so long-all she had left of her original parents were the blue bow that belonged to her mother.

But then, something came back to her-a burning question.

"Mike-what's the time?"

"It's-uh, two a.m."

Her eyes dilated in shock and pain.

Jeremy was working the night shift now-and he was in trouble!

Her so called dream wasn't one-it was going to become reality-if she didn't shift.

"J-Jeremy's in trouble!"

"WHAT?" Mike snarled, his face contorting in fury.

"If it's that bastard father again-how do you know this?"

Her face must have shown fear, because Mike stepped back, and laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, Faith, you can tell me."

Holding the cup of half drunken hot chocolate in her hands, she told her parents about her nightmare, while Doll grabbed their jackets if they really had to head out.

"…so I think I should shift form, and-"

Mike shook his head.

"Possess me. Like you used to."

Faith was taken aback at this statement, and bit her lip.

"Faith-I'll be more powerful physically-and we'll take them by surprise."

"B-But, all the times we-"

"I won't lose it, Faith. Just let me try."

Preparing herself, she possessed him.

The feeling, at first, was alien-she hadn't possessed Mike for over five years.

After a while, she came back into her element, letting Mike do all the talking and everything while she stayed in the shadows, determined to be unseen-with the exception of floating away to get a few iron baseball bats.

/time warp/

"U-Ugh! Get off me!"

The raucous sounds coming from the building that was Freddy Fazbear's Pizza resonated through Mike's bones as he ran up the stairs to his old haunt.

"Ready, Faith?" he hissed to her. He felt her quiver in response as he forced the doors open, and sprinted in towards the Office, where the dark tune of Pop Goes the Weasel resonate through the darkness.

Bursting in the office, what they saw turned his eyes dark.


His screams shivered and chilled her endoskeleton as she crouched on the ceiling.

She should have warned them-but she had forgot-now he was suffering.

But-if he died-she'd never get fixed.

But now- she couldn't hear anything except that voice.

That voice-it belonged to the man who used Golden's suit.

Finish him off.

Another prize. Another name. Another victim, another trophy to add to the Purple Man's list.

She didn't realize it until just now.

They were pawns-puppets for him.

He was dead-they all knew that-but he'd strike again.

One night guard after another. Dead by their hands. They'd be persecuted, because, yes, they'd killed the security guards, but they didn't want to do this-

You have no choice.

And when she looked at the scene around her-she saw it.

Balloon Boy crouched in the vent, Chica hunched in another.

Foxy, Bonnie and Toy Freddy crouched in the hallway, and the music box lay unwound in the corner.

He was done-for good.

As Mangle forced her stiff endoskeleton from her crouched position in the hall, she sprinted forward, snagging a claw hold on the pipes, but avoiding swinging down at the night guard.

She wanted to give him as much time as she could.

The young guard was clearly frightened out of his wits.

He quickly flashed Foxy, causing him to reset and pad with his iron clad paws back to Parts and Service, but even that was futile, because Toy Chica and her evil, creepy cupcake quickly stood to take his place.

"N-No!" he choked, quickly donning the Freddy head, warding off Bonnie. However, Toy Freddy smirked, his head tipping to one side, taking his place. In his panic, he forgot about the Music Box.

As the minutes ticked by, the soft, resolute tune of Pop Goes the Weasel flooded the large building.

Jeremy's face lost all colour-knowing that this was his final stand.

Chapter 12*

She quickly possessed him, leading him to bolt from the doors into the Office, where-

Oh, no.

Her nightmare was being re-enacted.

Jeremy's desperate cries stung her ears, and it made Mike's eyes go pitch black.

Only a small dot of white showed he was still human.

Part of The Mangle's endoskeleton latched firmly onto the pipe above him-but it seemed to be holding back, the Toys gathered around the corridor, Balloon Boy and Chica lurked in the vents, and-no!

The tune of Pop Goes the Weasel seared through what she could see, making her vision go blurry with fear.

She could see The Marionette emerge from its' box, and float towards Jeremy, its' sadistic, cruel smile plastered on its' face.

She couldn't see that much more, because above all, she was petrified, petrified beyond belief because of The Marionette…

So much that Mike momentarily lost her, and she floated away from him, wrenched by unseen forces, turning his eyes back to the piercing blue they were.

"Goddamnit, Faith, concentrate! We've got a friend to save!" Mike scowled, keeping a grip on her faint ghost hand.

She nodded. This was the time to be brave, to push all fear of the Marionette out of her mind.

Floating back with Mike, she summoned her powers again, and she felt herself being sucked into his mind-

"…"

Ready? She growled.

Cracking his knuckles, he nodded.

Let's go save Jeremy.

Stuff was going down.

And when she said stuff, she meant the animatronics.

This stops now!

Jeremy was scared out of his wits-actually more than that.

Was this his demise? All he's been fighting for-nothing? A waste of his time? Everything he's been through?

Standing up to his father all those years-his mother dying, all the abuse he endured…all those scars and cuts on his arm-

Okay. That wasn't helping.

Closing his eyes, inside his Freddy mask, he tried to imagine good memories.

The first day on the job-making it alive, the next day, with Mike, his co-worker, ruffling his hair as fondly as he did, helping with the animatronics that tormented him, especially the old ones, hugging him when the day was done after the first week, his fury when he saw what kind of state he lived in, the way he and Doll rescued him and saved his life forever, and how they both tenderly called him son.

His father had never done that-none of what Mike had done for him.

Giving a home, a safe and secure home where he was loved.

How Doll and Mike helped him recover, so well-how happy they all were when Doll and Mike had their first child-little Faith.

He loved that little girl like his sister-and Mike and Doll had told him that they were both their children, so proudly-

How they were going to adopt him.

He was going to have a family.

But all of this was lost-because of the damned job he had.

He was almost done-he…he should have never trusted Mangle.

Well, this is what you get for talking to animatronics!
The static thrummed above him-and the Toys clustered around the hallways, Balloon Boy-that bastard, and Chica in the vents.

Suddenly, Marionette leaped on his swively chair, making him turn a 360.

If only he had a gun, he'd 360 no scope that bastard-however much he found him eerily cute, he'd do it to stay alive.

The Marionette's facial features creased into a sadistic smile, and its' claws sharpened into talons.

"Get off-get off me!" he yelled, slapping the creature angrily.

The thing seemed to grow even more determined, and started scratching at him, leaving a red weal on his hand.

"Damn it!" he spat, barely managing to fend him off.

Forget stuffing Jeremy Fitzgerald into a suit. This boy's not going down with a fight…

Suddenly, an angry shout interrupted his thoughts.


"Hold it right there, you sick bastards!" Mike spat, in his hand an iron baseball bat.

"I'm here to kick some ass, you assholes!"

Faith's eyes turned pitch black, like Mike's, as they both charged towards the Marionette.

"Faith, detach from me! You go ward off Chica, Foxy and the others-I'll go help Jeremy."

Not needing to be told twice, she sped around the Office, doing a quick sweep of the building before settling next to Mangle's perch.

Growling angrily at Chica's shape in the vents, she crouched at the entrance, trying to block out Jeremy's enraged howls.

"Stay away."

She could see Tan, slinking across the opening, ready to strike.

"Go away!" she shrieked, her eyes diluting to slits.

He flinched, but didn't move.

"They're both my friends. Don't you dare lay a single finger on them."

At this, Tan finally relented, and crept back to his original hiding place.

Now Violet.

She was lurking inside Foxy, her vengeful spirit haunting the old shell.

"Violet, go away! You're not wanted!"

For the first time since 1987, she heard Violet speak.

"W-Why? He's the one that did this to us!"

Her face contorted in fury.

"No! Don't you see? You're all puppets for the Purple Man-the guy who actually murdered us! We're all puppets-he's determined to kill, and kill again!"

"But…the Purple Man was a night guard!"

"That doesn't apply to Jeremy! He's not wearing anything purple!"

"B-But…" Violet protested, as Foxy's head turned to look.

Jeremy, with his brown ruffly hair and his panicked blue eyes, was very much normal and nothing like purple.

"Come on, Violet. You're better than this. Call everyone off, and it'll be fine."

She seemed to relax at this, and she nodded.

"I'll tell them to stop." she whispered breathlessly, wheezing slightly.

As Faith floated over to Mike, ready to possess him again, she heard a deafening shriek.


No-no.

Mike raced to Jeremy, anger searing in his eyes.

Noticing the animatronics surrounding The Office, he knew that he had to send Faith to help with the evil monsters, embedded in the robots.

Die, you sick shits. You deserve to die.

"Faith, detach from me! You go ward off Chica, Foxy and the others-I'll go help Jeremy." He said out loud.

He felt her detach from him and do a sweep around the office.

"I'm coming here, Jeremy. You'll be okay." He muttered under his breath.

Slamming his foot on the grimy floor tiles, he cascaded the distance between the desk in three long strides, swinging his iron bat, ready to K.O that fucker.

However-The Marionette had spotted him, and hissing, he swiped at Mike, which he ducked nimbly, and he got to Jeremy.

He was a mess.

Scratches, cuts and weals stood out against his paler than usual skin, and fear was projected sharply against his features.

"It's okay, Jeremy. I've got you."

"M-Mike?"

The relief in his face softened Mike to the point where he gave him a quick hug, then nodded.

"Come here, take this bat and try to sick out their servos."

Jeremy got up from the chair, but his hands were shaking because of the injuries.

"Come on, son, man up. We're going to get through this night-it's already 5AM." He hissed, thwacking Marionette, who had tried to pounce on him behind.

"Oh-okay."

"We're going to get through tonight, I swear."

Swatting at Marionette, he managed to bring it down-Jeremy watching wide eyed from behind the desk.

"Come on-" Mike pants, his hands already covered with a layer of sweat.

Before he could do anything more, Mangle let go of her perch-and swung towards Mike.

Chapter 15*

He couldn't believe when Mike had run in to his rescue.

Here he was-contemplating the hopelessness of his situation, and Mike had run in with two baseball bats.

What were the odds, really?

What's wrong with me? He whispered to himself as he watched Mike swat Marionette away.

He seemed to be glued to his desk's swively chair, iron bat in hand, doing absolutely nothing.

As he stayed in his trance, he heard an ominous creak above him.

Who…who…Mangle?

As Jeremy gasped in his chair, he saw Mangle swing down-not from the chandelier, mind you-from her perch on the vent.

"Mangle!" he yelled, finally finding the strength to move.

She stiffened, and paused, but she continued to swing.

Mike managed to dodge a few swipes, but after Toy Freddy pawed at him, his weapon was preoccupied.

"M-Mike!" he yelped, gripping the weapon.

He crept against the wall, determined not to be seen. They had won for the last time-they wouldn't win ever again.

Muttering under his breath, he steadied himself, and swung.

With a satisfied thwack, his weapon found his target.

Mangle recoiled with a flurry of undecidable static, which seemed to compensate for swear words, then with a few clacks and clicks, she slunk back up the vents, defeated.

Chapter 16*

"Come on, Jeremy!" Mike rasped, his breaths coming quick and fast.

"What? My shift's not over yet-"

"It just finished!" he shouted, over the loud chime and children's cheers.

Jeremy nodded, he was usually not one to argue.

"Faith!" Mike called, and silence greeted his call.

Jeremy looked at him weirdly, as Mike communed with apparent thin air.

"Good girl…I'll ask Doll to read you a story when we get home, okay?"

As Mike snatched Jeremy's wrist and hastily retreated from the hellish office, Jeremy finally allowed himself to relax.

Sure, he had cuts and scratches all over his arms and possibly more, he still was alive.

"Come on, Jeremy. Get in the car-there's no time to lose." Mike said, easing him in the car.

"Man, those are messy. I'll ask Doll-she's taken a few courses on injuries-Jeremy?"

He hadn't been paying attention then, because Mike had drove past his house.

"Mr. Schmidt! You-you just drove pass my house-you can drop me off there!"

Mike turned around and fixated Jeremy with a glare.

"Jeremy, I don't want any more of that bloody Mr. Schmidt crap. It's Mike, and you're not living with that bastard who dares to call himself your father. Remember? We moved your stuff-" Mike's voice sharpened, but grew softer.

"-so can I call you Dad now?" Jeremy broke in timidly.

Chapter 17*

Mike stiffened in shock.

"I'm sorry, Mike, I-"

"No, it's okay, Jerebear. You can call me Dad-if I can call you son." Mike said slowly, a smile creeping up on his face.

"It's a deal…Dad."

As the car feebly put put away into the distance, Mike draped an arm around Jeremy.

"You're safe now, kid."


As the red convertible sputtered onto Mike and Doll's curb, a flustered Doll ran out of their cosy suburban, and Jeremy thought he saw a little shadowy figure dart in through the door.

"Mikey! Are you all right?" she gasped breathlessly.

Mike nodded, hugging his wife, burying his nose into her hair, while Jeremy was content to watch it all.

"Jeremy!" Doll cried, her arms outstretched.

At that moment, he panicked, because that was how the Marione-

No.

Doll was far from that possessed, haunted scrap, she was lovely and caring and all the things that were taken from him when his mother died.

"I-I'm sorry." he whispered, as Doll enveloped him in a hug.

She smelled of strawberries and pancakes-just like his mother.

And like that, he started to cry.

"Jeremy! I'm sorry, I-"

"N-no, Miss Doll! It's not that-you just remind me of…of my mother."

She seemed to soften then, as she gently led him inside, as Mike turned off the ignition, and followed.

As Jeremy sat on the couch, he was greeted by a little girl, holding a cup of warm hot chocolate, which had a fluffy pillow of marshmallows nearly covering the hearty cocoa substance.

"Are you okay?" the little girl piped up, her hair framing her face like an angel.

"Hey now, Faith, calm down. Jeremy's had a rough night." Mike cautioned, scooping his little girl up and tossing her up in the air, making her giggle and tug at his beanie, her hair messily falling over her shoulders, her blue eyes shining with mirth.

"Don't think I don't know that, Dad!" she giggled.

Mike and Doll's eyes flash in surprise, as they exchange glances in shock.

"Shh, Faith! Jerebear doesn't know."

"W-wait, what?"

"Nothing, Jeremy." Mike said firmly, patting his head fondly, as Doll got out their first aid kit, and seemed to be wrapping some bandages over Jeremy's scratched hands.

Jeremy slowly sipped his toasty hot chocolate, digging into his slightly soggy marshies, chomping them so happily that he nearly forgot to swallow, his cheeks stretched like a chipmunk's, which made Doll chuckle, as she wrapped bandages around his various cuts on his arms, peering suspiciously at his previous ones, but she didn't speak, which made him even more grateful.

"Now, Jeremy, this bed's yours. If it's not-"

"No, Mr. Schm-Dad, it's fine."

"You sure?" Doll's worried voice cautioned.

"Yes…Mom."

"You can share my bed if you want!" Little Faith piped up.

"Thanks...little sister."

Doll broke into a huge smile, and she threw her arms around Jeremy, who laughed, and Mike wrapped his arms around him as well, and even little Faith joined in, hugging his legs. They were all laughing.

As the little family had their lovely bonding moment, five shadowy smiles lingered outside their window.


Cheers of the excitable children roused her from her sleep, as her brand new suit melded with her endoskeleton.

"Finnick, turn Vixen on. The tiddly winks are coming."

"Right o, Terry. How's Prize Corner doing?"

"Melody was nearly swept off her feet this morning! The Marionette's very popular!"

"Nah, I think it's the plushies! That Puppet thing has a…weird glare. Stares into your soul." Terry grunted.

Finnick chortled, patting his friend on the back, and nodded.

"Guy's a little weird, yes, but whatever floats Melody's boat."

They both walked out of Kids' Cove, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

As she lay there on the cold checkered tile, she waited for the new tiddlywinks the employees called them-

-could they possibly mean children?

She shivered with excitement-she couldn't wait.

As the opening chimes for the pizzeria sounded, footsteps pounded across the floor.

"Come on in, kids! She's our newest animatronic! Meet Vixen!"

The raucous calls of children soothed her systems, and made her fill with a motherly, soothing feeling.

The multi-coloured parrot on her shoulder gave a lazy caw, his wings flapping around the place.

"Tommo, behave, alright? We're the newest landlubbers!" she giggled.

"Go on, kids! In half an hour, when the timer stops, you'll have to get out, but you can go eat pizza with the Toys!"

"Yay!" they chorused.

And they came running in-

-to see her with her parrot, chittering happily.

"Hey, kids! Welcome to the all-new Kids' Cove!" she began, running through her pre-installed lines.

She could hear the excited giggles of the children.

Then, one of them piped up.

"Hey! Look, Vixen looks like a soft plush toy!"

"Her parrot looks squishy and cuddly too!"
She panicked-this wasn't supposed to happen, right?
"Vixen, can we cuddle you and your parrot?"
"Uh, kids, do you-"

They wouldn't listen-and she didn't have the power to stop them.

"Let's do it!" they all laughed.

"K-Kids?" she whispered nervously.

It was too late.

As their all too wide smiles and grabby hands reached for her, she backed away, shaking like a leaf, until her back hit her makeshift pirate ship.

There was nowhere to run.

The children were frighteningly agile, leaping and pawing over the ship, getting to her.

The ringleader, a little boy, tugged at her Tommo, making her voice shrill with pain.

The boy wouldn't stop-he wouldn't let go!

"Stop!" she tried to squeak out, but it was too late.

With a clean yank, Tommo was ripped off her shoulder, leaving his bare endoskeleton.

"NO!" she cried out, but the boy had ran to the other side, and was attacking a little girl with it, hitting her head with the hard plastic beak that was her parrot's.

She tried to move to help the little girl, but she was rendered helpless.

However, she was cornered by a screaming, howling horde of children, was being ripped, chewed, slobbered, stamped and stabbed on, and couldn't do anything.

After a while, she heard the Toy Freddy Timer go hurr hurr hurr, and the technicians entered.

moan, gurgle-


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