Hey guys. Yeah, I know these Author's Notes are going to be frequent an annoying, but I do this to try and clear things up that I have either missed in the story or haven't made clear enough.

So I want to tell you all that in case you don't know from reading 'In Dire Need of Repairs', Mangle is bigender in this story (no hate comments, please. We talked about this in the prologue). He prefers male pronouns, but has a number of feminine traits. I also plan on incorporating the pairing of him and Eddie the Endoskeleton in future chapters. They're just friends at the moment, but it will develop, along with another really weird pairing that my abnormal mind spawned in the middle of the night.

I'd also like to thank you for taking the time to read this. If you haven't already, mind reviewing it, too? I'm constantly hoping for constructive criticism or even a simple sentence of praise. Again, thank you so much.

That's all for now, guys. (I need to learn to stop making my ANs drag... -_-)

~hrhowling~

Chapter 1 – All Grown Up

Present Day (September 2014)

Mangle waited anxiously in the Prize Corner for Marion to be brought back. The little puppet had been taken by one of the pizzeria's mechanics to have some 'alterations' made to his design the other day, and Mangle had been worrying himself sick ever since.

"Please let him be alright," Mangle whispered to himself as he paced the floor in agitation.

"Keep up like that and you'll wear a big hole in the floor."

Mangle jerked his head up to see Eddie stood by Marion's box. The bare endoskeleton was looking at him with a mix of amusement and sympathy.

"I can't help it, Ed," Mangle stressed. "What if he can't cope with the alterations? Or it wipes his memories of us? I should have stopped them!"

"And risked his safety further? You know that's not a good choice, Mangle."

The twisted fox's shoulders slumped. "I know, but I can't help but worry," he whispered.

Eddie sighed and wrapped his arms around his friend's malformed chest. "He'll be fine," he reassured. "Marion's a tough kid. Get some rest; the restaurant should be open soon."

ϪϪϪ

Marion didn't think it was all that fair that he got to be 'improved' whilst Mangle was still badly broken. All the same, he didn't want to seem ungrateful.

"I'll admit that it's not much of a change," the mechanic stated. He was a man in his late twenties (or perhaps early thirties), with bright green eyes and brown hair streaked with copper. "But since you've been acting a lot more mature than you've been programmed to be around the kids, I figured it'd be better if you… gained a couple of… feet? And years? Heh."

Marion didn't respond, and instead remained motionless. He wasn't supposed to be active, and he didn't want to endanger himself or anyone else by revealing his sentience.

"You don't have to hide yourself from me, you know," the mechanic continued, his voice taking on a sincere tone. "But if you really want to keep it down, then I don't mind. I'm going to leave you alone for a while; I need to check that the boys are ready to ship you back home. There's a mirror behind that tarp if you want to take a look at yourself."

Marion only moved from his lying position on the table when the mechanic left the room. Standing up, he walked over to the tarp the mechanic had mentioned and carefully pulled it down from where it hung over what was indeed a mirror.

Not much of a change? The mechanic could eat his words! Seriously, Marion was considering getting a dictionary and highlighting the words for him to eat.

Marion had shot up to a height of seven feet, almost as tall as Eddie or Chichi. His limbs were incredibly long and lanky, still sporting thin appendages, but the fabric on his wrists and ankles had flared out to look like the sleeves and legs of clothing. He had, essentially, grown up in terms of size.

"Wow," he breathed, instantly starting at the sound of his voice. It wasn't as high and childish any more; more like a teenager's but still rather innocent.

After spending a few minutes marvelling at his new appearance in the mirror, he draped the tarp back over it again and laid back down on the table. He wondered what Mangle would think.

"He'll be proud, sugar," whispered a soft, wispy voice in his ear that had no apparent source. It seemed familiar, but… he couldn't quite place it.

It felt like something from a dream.

ϪϪϪ

When the sound of a delivery truck met his ears, Mangle had to fight the urge to race outside and see if it was Marion being brought back. Holding back the temptation, he waited eagerly for his baby boy to return.

He didn't have to wait long before the pizzeria was once again silent. It was a Sunday; a closing day for the pizzeria (the manager had only recently declared that Sundays be a day off); so no staff were there, and the main band had disappeared to do what they did for fun. BB was probably playing in the arcade and Eddie would most likely be waiting for nightfall in Parts and Services.

After making sure no humans had remained, Mangle made his way to the long, oblong crate that rested in the Prize Corner. The lid was off, but the area was too dark to allow him to see what was in it.

"Marion? Is that you, sweetie?" he asked, waiting for an answer.

He was greeted by a tall, thin shape stalking out of the shadows. Gasping, Mangle realised that it looked just like Marion, only so much bigger.

"Hey, Mom," the tall puppet greeted, a shy smile meeting his face. His voice almost brought Mangle to tears. It was Marion's.

Mangle immediately sprang from the ceiling and wrapped his arms around Marion in a joyful hug. "My boy," he whispered softly. "My baby's all grown up."

Gently, Marion returned the embrace, rejoicing in the familiar warmth of the fox. "Yeah," he breathed. "Is that a good thing?"

"It's wonderful, sweetie." Momentarily, Mangle tightened the hug. "But you'll always be my baby, no matter what."