The Puppet's story continues and it's about to get real here. You'll see why.
Enjoy.
I'd like to thank Shade552 for reviewing the previous chapter.
To Shade552: To be honest, if there was one hard challenge I've had with this story, it's the characterization of the Shadow Animatronics. So far, all I've done is base their personalities on their FNaF World loading screens (Shadow Freddy is hungry for souls, while RXQ calls attention to his hard-to-pronounce full name). The minigames in FNaF 3 confuse me so much, especially Shadow Freddy's role, so I never gave much thought to it. Also, thank you again for expressing your thoughts on my story, especially with how I blend FNaF World's colorful setting with the dark tone of FNaF's main storyline. I wanted this story to be fun and serious at the same time, and you've helped me feel like I'm doing well on that part. As for certain bosses, I honestly prefer to keep this story centered around FNaF characters only. For one thing, some of the Nightmare Animatronics haven't been in battle in this story yet.
The Puppet and her party knew that they couldn't leave RXQ unattended, but bringing him along would also be trouble. So, Golden Freddy suggested that they bury him neck deep in the snow with an orb of light magic conjured by The Puppet placed next to him to keep him weak. That way, even when RXQ wakes up, he'll be too weak to dig himself out, either by squirming or turning into a literal shadow. After making sure RXQ is secure, The Puppet and her party proceed further into Snow-Dust Mountains. They follow the Shadow Animatronics' footprints, hoping it would lead them to their friends, as they believe their friends are here.
"It's hard to know what happened without the full story," said Golden Freddy. "And pages of that story have been ripped out of the book by Circus Baby and her friends."
"If our friends are indeed up on the mountains, then we'll replace those missing pages soon," said The Puppet.
"Something just doesn't add up," said Golden Freddy. "Baby sent our friends to The Scrapyard. Now, all of a sudden, they're in the mountains. I know Shadow Bonnie is also holding out on us, but he's in league with the Nightmares. Baby is just looking out for herself."
"I agree. This is a strange detour, especially without context," said The Puppet.
"Then let us find them and fast," said Shadow Freddy. "Also, I owe them an apology. But my hunger..."
"No, that was my fault," said The Puppet. "I ignored you for years. I let you starve."
"But now that my hunger is sated, I can think clearly now. You could not sacrifice innocent souls to me," said Shadow Freddy. "It's not in your nature."
"I could've given that artificial soul to Lefty, but I chose to give it to you because I couldn't ignore you anymore," said The Puppet. "I just wish I did the same for the Phantoms. I ignored them for too long, and that's why they've teamed up with Nightmare."
"I always thought Nightmare was just a brute whose bark matches his bite. I never expected him to be this smart," said Golden Freddy. "It just doesn't sound like him."
"Maybe he's learned," Shadow Freddy guessed.
"Had Nightmare fed you before we did, would you have joined him?" asked Golden Freddy.
"Probably," said Shadow Freddy. "But that matters not now. I am indebted to Fazbear Woods now, and... it gives me more time to truly think. The good and evil. The opportunities and disadvantages. But my final thoughts can wait."
"Actually, they can't," said a phantom-like garbled voice.
"Phantom Mangle," The Puppet recognized.
Phantom Mangle leaps out from behind a pile of snow and bites Golden Freddy in the head. Golden Freddy is fine, but the bite left behind some kind of toxin. Golden Freddy can't even twitch because of the poison.
Phantom Mangle disorients Shadow Freddy with an obnoxious ear-piercing radio noise before biting him as well, poisoning him. Because of this, Shadow Freddy can barely move.
"Don't worry. I'm here for you," said The Puppet.
The Puppet summons two gift boxes (white with blue bow ties), which removes the poisoning, curing her party members completely.
"Why do you get all the good powers?" asked Golden Freddy.
"Because Faztopia decided to?" The Puppet answered with uncertainty. Even she doesn't know why she's the most powerful.
"Phantom Puppet told us to split into two teams. One to climb the tallest mountain. One to keep an eye for anyone who could be following us," said Phantom Mangle.
"And you're on your own?" Golden Freddy questioned.
"Nope, I'm here, too," said the ghoulish voice of a young boy.
Phantom BB jumps out of nowhere and jumpscares The Puppet. The Puppet, however, was no fazed by the jumpscare. So, Phantom BB throws a Toxic Balloon at her to poison her.
"Take that," Phantom BB taunted.
"You know who you're dealing with, right?" The Puppet replied confidently.
The Puppet's aura of light magic quickly cures her from the poisoning. She then jumpscares Phantom BB, who was startled and stumbled backwards. Phantom Mangle lunges for The Puppet, but Lefty throws a mic at the mangled phantom.
"Stop this before it gets violent," said The Puppet. "I don't want it to reach that point, but if it has to, you'll barely get any mercy from me."
"You tell 'em, girl," said Golden Freddy.
"We're not moving," said Phantom BB. "We're not supposed to destroy you..."
"But we'll bite if you don't turn around and leave," said Phantom Mangle.
Phantom Mangle roars and sends sound waves at the opposing party. This hurts their ears and causes Lefty's sensors to malfunction. Fortunately, The Puppet casts a neon barrier and slams it against Phantom Mangle to stop the noise.
Phantom BB throws a toxic water balloon at Shadow Freddy's head, lowering his defenses and making him vulnerable. Phantom BB tosses several toxic balloons at Shadow Freddy, but Lefty interrupts him with an eye blast to the face.
Golden Freddy unleashes her rainy cloud spell that lowers Phantom Mangle's defenses. Shadow Freddy fires shadow energy from his mouth and damages Phantom Mangle, so much so that it stays down for a long time.
The Puppet gives Golden Freddy a power boost with one simple touch. The Puppet "throws" Golden Freddy at both Phantom Mangle and Phantom BB. The golden bear zooms in the form of a disembodied roaring head, jumpscaring both Phantoms, stunning them until they freeze with fear.
"Like a Phantom," Golden Freddy bragged.
"Is that what... team chemistry... feels like?" asked Shadow Freddy.
"I guess so," said Golden Freddy. "And that's part of what makes a great team."
"Hey, Lefty. Let's have a snowball fight, shall we?" The Puppet suggested.
Lefty drops his mic as he grabs two snowballs. One in each hand. He throws one at Phantom BB's face. He throws the other at Phantom Mangle's face. Both throws were scary accurate.
"Darn," Phantom BB cursed, in spite a face full of snow (dust).
"Shhhhh," Lefty shushed him.
"Nightmare should just come himself because this is too easy," said Golden Freddy.
"Don't tempt him. We prefer if the road to the top was easy," said The Puppet. "Phantom Freddy, Phantom Chica, and Phantom Foxy should be way ahead of us by now. They're the ones going after our friends."
"What about Phantom Puppet?" asked Shadow Freddy.
"I know her well. She's not here," said The Puppet. "But we would be very unlucky if she's watching us right now."
Well, someone is watching them, but it's not Phantom Puppet. It's Nightmare Bonnie, holding one of Springtrap's inter-realm transporters. He keeps himself hidden behind a snow (dusty) boulder as he adjusts the settings on the device. He peers around the boulder and aims the device at The Puppet.
Nightmare Bonnie opens a portal to the Nightmare Realm below The Puppet's feet. It sucks her in.
"Marionette!" Golden Freddy panicked.
"The Nightmares. They're here," Phantom Mangle reacted.
"You sound surprised," said Shadow Freddy.
"It was supposed to be just us Phantoms here," said Phantom BB.
"Don't lie to us," Golden Freddy said angrily. "Where's Marionette? I sweat, I will..."
Golden Freddy is interrupted by the opening of another dark portal. This sucks in her, Shadow Freddy, and Lefty. Phantom Mangle and Phantom BB are shocked. They're legitimately surprised. They were not expecting the Nightmares to interfere. This mission was Phantom-only.
The Puppet falls out of the other end of the portal, but she doesn't land on her face. She manages to stop her fall and float before she could experience a rough landing. As she readjusts herself, she looks at her surroundings. The sky is dark, the trees look dead, the ground is lifeless, and the area looks like an unused burial site. The Puppet suddenly remembers what this place is.
"My previous meeting spot with Nightmare," she said. "Nightmare, if you're here, show yourself. I'm not playing any more games."
"Nightmare is not here anymore," said a terrifyingly demonic voice.
The Puppet turns around, since she heard the voice behind her. There was no one there. Nothing. She looks left and right, but the source of the voice is still not in sight. She's actually starting to feel nervous until...
Lightning flashes in the dark sky as Nightmarionne pops up right in front of The Puppet, actually startling her.
"But I am," said Nightmarionne.
"What do you want, Nightmarionne?" asked The Puppet. "I told you. I don't care if you're my counterpart. This is not a rivalry."
"Oh, we've moved pass that," said Nightmarionne. "This is between us for different reasons."
"I don't have time for this. Where is Nightmare?" The Puppet asked impatiently.
Nightmarionne floats to a burial hole with a coffin in it. The Puppet comes closer, knowing that she needs to see this even if it might be a trap. Nightmarionne opens the coffin and inside is the body of...
"Nightmare?" The Puppet reacted, shocked.
The corpse of Nightmare. Buried in a coffin in a burial site in the farthest corner of the Nightmare Realm. Left to be forgotten. The Puppet steps back (or floats back) in utter shock. Nightmare is dead? The leader of the Nightmare Animatronics has been defeated? But who did it? Is what she's seeing even true?
"But how? Who?" The Puppet can barely speak from the shock.
"So, you don't know," Nightmarionne noticed.
"What do you mean? Was I supposed to know?" asked The Puppet.
"Doesn't matter," said Nightmarionne. "But what does matter is that Nightmare's death leaves behind a position of leadership among the Nightmare Animatronics."
"New leadership, but same purpose, I assume," The Puppet assumed. "To conquer Faztopia?"
"Do you expect any difference?" Nightmarionne questioned.
"Let me ask you then. Do the Nightmare Animatronics want what Nightmare wanted?" asked The Puppet.
"That and so much more," Nightmarionne answered.
"Nightmare was the most powerful among you. Do you really believe you can still thrive without him?" The Puppet questioned.
"And do you believe that we can't?" Nightmarionne questioned. "What about you, Puppet? Do you honestly believe that you can unite all animatronics of Faztopia? Do you really believe that you can put them under your control to fight your battles?"
"And do you believe that I can't?" The Puppet mimicked.
"You may be powerful, but you lack the spine to achieve victory," Nightmarionne insulted.
"That's just petty," The Puppet replied. "And what makes you think I don't have what it takes?"
"You keep secrets. You pull their strings. You test their will," said Nightmarionne. "No wonder Circus Baby does not trust you. No wonder the Phantoms will not ally with you. They will leave you and your children to die in the war."
"I won't let that happen. I can't," said The Puppet.
"Fighting words, Puppet," Nightmarionne challenged. "Coming from someone who lets others do her bidding, someone who lets insignificant pests carry on her dirty work... someone who couldn't keep her own family safe."
The Puppet froze with shock. Those words. She's heard of these words before.
"Those words. They didn't come from Nightmare. They came from you," The Puppet realized. "My last meeting with Nightmare. It wasn't him who was talking. It was you. You were there. You were pulling his strings."
"Guilty as charged," Nightmarionne confirmed unabashedly.
"And you lecture me of pulling my children's strings?" The Puppet questioned. "You killed Nightmare, didn't you? I know you, Nightmarionne. You always wanted more. With Nightmare out of the way, his traitorous second-in-command can take over."
"Good luck convincing my peers of my deception. They're convinced that Fazbear and his friends ended Nightmare," said Nightmarionne. "I admit, they facilitated in my current position."
"How?" asked The Puppet.
"Even you don't know. In that case, I have no reason to speak," said Nightmarionne.
"If you won't take me home, then I'll have a little chat with your friends," said The Puppet.
The Puppet blinds Nightmarionne with a small burst of light magic as she starts floating away as fast as she can. She's going to find the rest of the Nightmare Animatronics and convince them that Nightmarionne has them fooled.
"I was hoping for a fight," said Nightmarionne.
Nightmarionne teleports away and reappears right in The Puppet's way. Nightmarionne summons a prize ball. It opens and releases sludge that sticks itself to The Puppet's face, obscuring her vision. Nightmarionne grabs his counterpart's left leg with his three-tentacled arm, spins fast, and throws The Puppet at a large but lifeless tree. The Puppet manages to rip the sludge off her face, but Nightmarionne is coming at her fast with a spin attack. Nightmarionne is spinning very fast with his arms and sharp tentacles stretched out for maximum damage. Fortunately, The Puppet casts a neon barrier to protect herself. Nightmarionne's attack, though, was strong enough to push the barrier at The Puppet, knocking her against the three again.
"I have long awaited for this battle," said Nightmarionne.
"I haven't," The Puppet responded bluntly.
The Puppet summons a prize ball of her own, which blasts a beam of light magic at Nightmarionne's face, blinding him as payback. The Puppet summons another neon barrier and strikes it towards Nightmarionne, hitting him with the barrier as yet another form of payback.
"Yes, let's keep at it. Maybe you'll finally understand to take this even more seriously than ever," Nightmarionne tempted.
"I don't wish to destroy anyone, not even you, but I will if I must," said The Puppet.
The Puppet casts a spell on herself to give herself power boost. She then creates a sword-like construct out of neon energy and throws it Nightmarionne like a spear. Nightmarionne tries to spin-strike to deflect the attack, but it fails and gets hit by the sword. The massive damage from the neon sword further weakens Nightmarionne, allowing The Puppet to perform a follow-up attack. The Puppet summons another prize ball and throws it at her opponent. The prize ball immediately breaks and releases already blinking poppers. The poppers detonate right at Nightmarionne's face. The resulting explosion sends the nightmarish puppet flying back and crashing into an unnamed gravestone.
The Puppet approaches her downed counterpart, who seems to be enjoying this a little bit too much.
"Doesn't this just ignite your fighting spirit?" Nightmarionne asked. "Or are you still not taking this seriously enough?"
Nightmarionne chuckles at his opponent. That laugh. As if Nightmarionne's voice wasn't scary enough, his laugh is spine-chilling and gives you the feeling that you're in the presence of death.
"Pathetic," Nightmarionne insulted. "Just like the rest of your family. I'm gonna enjoy tearing them apart..."
The Puppet responds to these words by grabbing Nightmarionne's face and doing the same thing she did to Nightmare. Overload his mind with light magic, threatening to tear him apart from inside. Nightmarionne cries in pain as The Puppet's light magic overpowers the darkness in his mind.
"Not... today... no!" Nightmarionne bellowed.
Nightmarionne uses as much strength as he can exert and raises his right arm. He impales The Puppet through the chest with his sharp tentacles, forcing the Faztopia guardian to cease her mind-melting spell. Nightmarionne pulls her tentacles back and then spin-strikes again, pushing The Puppet back. Nightmarionne creates a black rectangular block out nightmare magic and pushes it towards The Puppet. The Puppet tries to use a neon shield, but the blocky projectile ignores the shield and hits her. The damage dealt by the dark block leaves The Puppet lying down in so much pain.
"What was that?" The Puppet asked weakly.
"Four walls of pain," Nightmarionne answered. "And here comes more."
Nightmarionne sends another dark block towards The Puppet. The Puppet flies to the left to dodge the block. She then activates her light magic aura and zooms towards Nightmarionne. She grabs Nightmarionne and slams him to the dirt. The Puppet and Nightmarionne start taking swings at each other. The Puppet blocks Nightmarionne's tentacles, all the while slapping the nightmarish puppet across his demonic face. Nightmarionne slashes The Puppet across the face and then quickly casts another spell. Nightmarionne starts to breathe a hail of dark purple bubbles like a dragon breathes fire. One by one, these bubbles hit The Puppet and implode, damaging her heavily with nightmare magic.
Nightmarionne scratches The Puppet with her sharp tentacles a couple more times before injuring her again with another dark-colored blocky projectile. The Puppet lies down on the ground against for a long period of time, feeling weakened by all this dark magic being thrown at her. She's fought Nightmare himself, but Nightmarionne... he's different.
"C'mon, Marionette. Show me what you're made of," Nightmarionne dared.
Nightmarionne activates his dark magic aura and charges towards The Puppet with another spinning attack. The Puppet wills herself to get back up as her light magic aura lights up around her, healing herself. As if nothing happened, The Puppet flies towards Nightmarionne like a rocket.
The two puppets' attacks clash, creating an explosion, colored both black and white.
The smoke clears after a long pause. The Puppet and Nightmarionne are both on their knees, affected by each other's powerful attacks. While The Puppet is too tired to speak, Nightmarionne starts to laugh again.
"For too long, I craved not only battle but a true challenge," said Nightmarionne. "The things they say about you and your power, they're mostly true."
"Mostly?" The Puppet questioned.
"You have yet to unleash your full potential," said Nightmarionne. "If it make you feel any better, neither have I."
Nightmarionne reaches for his inter-realm transporter. The Puppet already knows what it is and is afraid of what her opponent will do with it. All Nightmarionne does is open a portal next to The Puppet.
"You're letting me go?" asked The Puppet.
"You have other problems than me," said Nightmarionne. "I may be pulling the strings, but there are those who prefer to pull their own. Circus Baby lied to you. She and her friends found Nightmare's corpse in The Scrapyard, and she said nothing. How will you respond?"
"If you think I'm gonna take it personally, you're wrong," said The Puppet.
"Well, we'll see," Nightmarionne challenged.
He's right, The Puppet knew. She has other matters to deal with other than the Nightmare Animatronics. If it's true that Circus Baby knew about Nightmare's corpse and decided to keep it a secret, then she can't ignore it for the sake of having pointless battles against the Nightmare Realm's new leader. How can she hope to win this war if she can't convince every animatronic in Faztopia to band together and fight? Nightmarionne can sense the conflict within her, and he seems to enjoy it.
"I won't stoop to your level," The Puppet vowed. "I am nothing like you. You are nothing like me."
"No," Nightmarionne snarled. "I... am... YOU!"
Lightning flashes again and Nightmarionne once again teleports even closer to The Puppet, jumpscaring her to intimidate her. As the lightning flashes, The Puppet's vision distorts. For a second, she could see her own face in the place of Nightmarionne's face. That menacing rictus grin replaced with the red rosy cheeks and purple tear streams of her own reflection. A twisted mirror image.
"See you in the rematch," The Puppet said with soft ire.
The Puppet goes into the portal and arrives back in Faztopia.
Nightmarionne, meanwhile, savors the feeling of satisfaction. Pushing The Puppet's buttons. A tough battle. This violent meeting just further invigorated Nightmarionne, which fueled his desire to see his plans through.
The Puppet vs. Nightmarionne, Round 1. Result: Tie. I hope this was an entertaining first battle between them. You can bet there will be a rematch between the two puppets. As for what happened to The Puppet's party - Golden Freddy, Shadow Freddy, and Lefty - that will be addressed in a future chapter.
...
Notes/Explanations:
1. Nightmarionne's "black rectangular blocky projectile" is a version of his 4th Wall ability in FNaF World. Some abilities are hard for me to translate into this story, but I wanted to emphasize how powerful this ability is.
2. I guess you can say there are two reasons why I replaced Nightmare with Nightmarionne as the Nightmare Realm's ruler. 1) Nightmarionne is my favorite Nightmare animatronic, but also the most terrifying to me. 2) Good Puppet vs. Evil Puppet. I thought it would be fitting, especially for this story.