She watched as he made his exit, her ears hanging low in confusion. Her nose twitched and her skeleton wobbled. She contemplated calling him back, but she felt it was best to let him go; he was obviously upset and worried for her. And she couldn't blame him.
Frankly, she was terrified to die.
When she overheard the humans discuss her in such frightening terminology she knew the end was nearing her. Even from the start, when she became nothing but a tangled monstrosity, she knew she wouldn't last long. Being disabled in this way was never going to be easy for her. She moved by crawling; she had a dead counterpart attached to her which constantly lurked on her left side; and sometimes, when she tried to talk, all that came out was a gurgle of static. Not only was it frightening to some of the others, but it was extremely humiliating and damaging to her self esteem. She had lived a life of segregation.
When T. Bonnie had came along not too long ago, he had taken a shine to her, and as did she to him. He charmed her to no end, and he was the only animatronic in the pizzeria that she could recollect actually taking any interest in her or care about her in any way. T. Chica was next; and Mangle had always had a hunch that T. Chica had only tried to get closer to her because she was trying to copy T. Bonnie. She idolized him; but then again, most people did. There wasn't much bad about him.
Slowly, the rest of the toys and even the withered had began approaching her and making her feel welcome, but in the end, it was all really thanks to T. Bonnie. She had never fully expressed her gratitude to him, but she was incredibly thankful deep down.
As she listened to his footsteps pitter-patter away from her, she couldn't help but feel a suffocating sense of regret. That was the opportunity to tell him everything she wanted to before she passed; and she didn't. She could have told him how much he'd changed her, how much he'd helped her, how dearly she thought of him, and how she had slowly been falling head over heels for the bun. She could have came clean and confessed it all to him, but she didn't.
I guess even when you know you'll die, sometimes, you still can't live your life like you should.
And what's that the result of? Hope?
Was she hoping she'd somehow survive this? That was only wishful thinking, but in her deteriorating mind, she had been thinking wishfully ever since she was made.
The sun was making the room glitter as it was rising low in the sky, painting the sheet of clouds with all sorts of oranges and pinks, like a palette of the sunrise. She relished in it, as she knew it'd be the last sunrise she was ever going to see. The rays that radiated from the orb of unbearable brightness bounced off of the walls and the floors, skipping the shadows of curtains or objects in their way. The room was lighting up, and it was as if a spark was set off inside her, lighting a candle that would continue to burn, even after death.
The Kid's Cove was set to be out of order today as they began to take down the decorations, and next week, the pizzeria would be closed to demolish this part of it completely. Mangle was obviously going to be the first one to go.
She continued to wait it out, not allowing herself to live to her full potential in the meantime, as she was too defeated to do so. The sound of human voices resonated through the halls, and she heard them getting closer. She knew they were headed for the Cove; and yet, in her final moments, she tried praying to the heavens to allow her to escape this hell. As the tall, uniformed pair approached the vixen, she closed her eyes and let herself slip away as she was deactivated for the first time.
...
"Mangle?" The sound of T. Chica's soft, breathy voice caused Mangle's eyelids to flicker open in a sudden movement. The picture was clear; she could visibly see her Cove once more. The chick was bent over in concern, being the only one in the Cove at all. "Mangle!" She jolted, collapsing into the fox and grasping her with both arms. Mangle managed to reciprocate and hug back, however, her breath hitched and she pushed the chick away in surprise.
"I can see you properly! I can hear you properly!" The vixen rose from her slouched position and her now functional tail swished around her body to greet her. Her entire endoskeleton had been covered with a fresh new body, her broken components had been replaced, and her voicebox had been repaired; although it sounded a lot different than it did before. Where it had first sounded cautious and brittle, it now sounded confident and booming. Even her counterpart had been removed and placed along with the spare parts. She was... fixed!
"I'm fixed!" Mangle spoke her thoughts aloud. "But how?! I thought they were getting rid of this area for good!"
"They made it a show area instead." T. Chica joined Mangle in her admiration of the Cove. "Now the kids aren't allowed to touch you, and you'll be on a stage all day. See?" She pointed out the new addition, a large stage with several pirate props and backgrounds which was fenced from the rest of the arena. Mangle breathed in the bliss. Her hope really wasn't wasted after all.
There was one person she needed to make aware of her existence; the aqua bun she adored so much. She departed from the chick and tried to walk with her new legs. Although she lost balance quite a few times, it was still better than having to scramble from place to place.
Approaching the show stage, only T. Freddy was visible. Mangle looked around, trying to scan whatever was in her view. Although it was obviously a bit of a while before opening hours; she was oblivious to what day it was, but that could wait; it felt emptier than it usually did around the early hours. There was something about the place that didn't seem right at all.
She started venturing room to room, desperate to find the bun and surprise him. She had came across every other animatronic, bar him. Beginning to frown (and possibly panic), she tried the last room; Parts & Services. Albeit, the withered animatronics did scare her quite a bit, as their appearance was just intimidating in general despite them being around much longer than she, but, despite her shy nature, she was willing to try it out anyway. She cautiously squeaked the door open, hoping the withered had settled down for the day and begin their motionless hours. No noises seemed to be emitted from inside, and taking that as a green light, she let herself through.
Looking around, it seemed very unlikely T. Bonnie would be in the room, but she had tried everywhere else (even the vents).
However, she was quite proved wrong, because as she'd turned to leave, lying in the corner to the left of the door was his corpse.
Eyes misplaced, like two gaping black holes in his head. His jaw was snapped, hanging lopsidedly from him, and there were cracks and dust dotted around his once so beautiful face. His rosy, fake cheeks had been ripped from him, leaving two rough marks in their place, and his ears were cut and torn, with wires tangling themselves and spouting out. His clothes were almost all tattered, and limbs were missing such as his arm and leg. His endoskeleton was showing in random spots and he lay motionless, completely unmoving, and deactivated. He looked so out of place among the withered animatronics which sat alongside him scattered around the room.
Mangle fell to her knees, the new voicebox she had received already returning to it's natural, wavering state.
She let out a dying screech as she forgot her newfound happiness in an instant.
He'd fixed her.
-END OF SECOND HALF-
