Confrontation
It didn't take much for Bonnie to tell that Goldie was growing weaker. They had attempted to make some progress under the cover of her barrier, inching forward and staying inside it while the tentacles and limbs lashed at them. Even though they had gained some ground, it wasn't enough and it was taking its toll on their mentor. The closer they got to the Mangle, the more intense its attacks became.
They had all lent some of their energy to her, like they had against the Puppet. But she told them they couldn't afford to exhaust themselves, especially since every now and again, part of the barrier would fail and the Mangle would try to exploit the opening. They would repel it and she would shore it up, but they were becoming more frequent.
It was when Goldie dropped to her knees that Bonnie knew for certain this was a losing battle.
"You can't keep this up," she said. "You still need your strength to actually get rid of this thing."
"We… don't have any other options," Goldie said breathlessly. "Can't… go back. It's blocked."
"Then what do we do?" Chica was sounding panicked now. "We can't fight all of them! They're too strong for us!"
"It seems that we don't have any other option," said Freddy. "We're close to the final stretch. Perhaps we might be able to rush it at this distance."
"Hate to say it, but we're gonna have our work cut out for us," said Bonnie.
"Then we shall have to be sure we're up for it. Goldie, you stay in the centre of us and don't exert yourself any further until you're needed. The rest of us will focus on gettin' through, throw everything we have at this creature," he said. "I know the two of you are strong. You can do this."
"We'll try," murmured Chica, gripping her lance.
"Hell yeah," said Bonnie, preparing to strum her guitar.
Goldie looked tiredly around them, but she smiled with pride. "Very well. Preparing to lower the barrier in three… two… wait, can anyone else hear that?"
Bonnie strained her ears. There was some kind of strange, high-pitched noise. With every passing second, it became louder. Just as she was trying to figure out what it was, something zipped past them and the source of the noise was clear.
"WOO-HOO!"
It was Hermana. Gliding on her skates, she smacked into several of the attacking limbs. The impact was enough to throw them off entirely. She zoomed around the circumference of the barrier a few more times, getting multiple strikes on the limbs as she went.
"Hermy?" Chica stared in amazement. "Where in the world…?"
"Hiya sis!" she cheered, skidding to a halt nearest to her outside the barrier. "That's a cool horse!
"Yeah, that's nice but I'm with Cheeks. Where did you come from?" asked Bonnie.
"The same place you did and I'm not the only one. Look!" She pointed back in the direction she had come from, then resumed her attack.
The other new synths were hurrying over to join them. Theodore was evidently afraid, but that didn't stop him from running up to one of the limbs and punching it. Clyde bounded as he came and then jumped into the air, coming straight down on a metal hand. It slammed it into the ground and a follow-up kick sent it reeling. Billy, thanks to his small legs, was bringing up the rear but he looked no less enthused.
"Fear not, citizens!" he declared. "It is I, Balloon Boy, dispenser of inflated justice, here to save the day!"
Goldie dropped the barrier with the reprieve the others gave and Billy hurried around them, pressing strings attached to balloons in their hands. Bonnie took hers uncertainly and the balloon started to glow. In an instant, all of her strength returned to her and she felt completely reenergised.
"Now, that feels much better," said Goldie, back on her feet and beaming at him. "I'm not completely happy you didn't do as you were told, but I think we can overlook that."
He giggled with glee and looked around. His fellow synths had broken off their attacks as the limbs appeared to have retreated further back or underground and had rallied around their original counterparts. Theodore was glancing curiously at Freddy and Hermana was gushing over Chica's horse again. Clyde sidled up to Bonnie, a determination in his eyes that she had only seen once before from him. The two exchanged a silent nod.
There was another loud shriek that made them all look. The Mangle had both its heads glaring down at the newer synths.
"That's Vevina?" whispered Clyde.
"Not quite," answered Goldie. "But she is at the centre of that thing. To save her and to stop it, we'll have to get her out. Getting up there might be challenging though."
The Mangle roared again. It reared its many limbs and leapt from the top, rocketing towards the ground.
They quickly scattered from the impact zone as it struck the ground with an almighty crash. It writhed in the crater that it formed, limbs and tentacles whipping around in a furious new flurry and its eyes glaring at them with a seething rage.
"That makes things considerably easier," remarked Goldie.
"Vevina! Lass, look, they're here!" Foxy was calling from the hand he was gripped in. "Come on, ya can't tell me that doesn't mean somethin'!"
For a moment, the Mangle appeared to hesitate. But only for a moment. With another roar, it reared its limbs up to strike again. When it did, it was intent on crushing the newer synths who had to quickly move aside. But that meant the originals could coordinate their efforts again.
"Get him down! Freddy, let's loosen her grip."
Her hands crackled and dispelled golden energy, while Freddy blasted a few spells. It had the desired effect and the Mangle's hand released Foxy.
"I got him!" Hermana skated with her arms outstretched and caught Foxy as he fell. "Just droppin' in there, hot stuff?"
"Aye, ya could say that," he chuckled. "Mind lettin' me down?"
"Aw, do I have to?" she pouted. She reluctantly set him on the ground, but still looked very pleased with herself.
Bonnie broke away from the battle and approached Foxy. "You okay there?".
"Aye, don't be fussin' about me," he said quickly. "We've got ta end this now. The poor lass is sufferin' in there!"
"Yeah, because we're so much better off," she remarked. "We've been trying, but nothing we do seems to phase this thing for very long. It just gets madder and madder."
"What do ya expect? Yer fightin' fire with fire. Gettin' her angrier isn't goin' ta help," argued Foxy.
"It's not her at this point, Foxy. It's the fragment that's being angry," said Goldie.
"Ya said they'd end up bein' all mixed tagether if they carried on, so there really isn't a difference. This," he said, gesturing at the battle, "won't bring her around."
"We don't really have any other options, Foxy," argued Goldie.
"But maybe we do," said Billy. "Because Foxy's okay."
Bonnie did her best to keep a patient tone. "Yes, he is, Billy and that's great but that doesn't-"
"No, you don't get it. She didn't try and hurt Foxy, she just took him with her into here. Vevina doesn't want to hurt him." He gazed up at the thrashing, feral form. "She won't hurt me either."
Bonnie recognised that tone in his voice, but before she or anybody could stop him, he was running up to the Mangle. She started after him, but was stopped by Hermana who was knocked into her from a separate strike.
"Sorry, Bon!" she chirped.
"Get off me!"
Goldie went to move too, but Foxy stuck his arm out and held her back.
"What are you doing?!" she demanded. "You can't seriously let him do this!"
"I trust the lad," he said firmly. "You'll see."
Everybody else was too caught up in the battle to notice what was happening. None of them would reach him in time now. He stood right in front of it, in striking distance of any one of its many limbs. He clenched his own fists and called Vevina's name.
One of the heads spotted him and a gigantic metal hand lashed down to strike. It came at him with blinding speed, but he barely flinched in the face of it. He waited for the blow to come.
But it didn't. It stopped, inches away from its target.
"I knew it," he whispered, then louder. "I knew you wouldn't hurt me. You're still in there, Vevina. I know you are."
The hand seemed to waver in the air. One of the heads tilted to one side, ever so slightly. The rest of its limbs ceased in their thrashing and everyone looked to see what was causing the sudden change.
"I know you're angry, Vevvy. I understand. But it's hurting people now. People who had nothing to do with what happened and all they want is to help." Billy was evidently struggling to hold back tears. "I know you don't want to hurt anybody. Please, let us help you. Both of you."
The Mangle was motionless. There was still a low growl in its throat, but it made no attempts to strike Billy. He looked around at Clyde, Hermana and Theodore, beckoning for them to join him. There was some notable hesitation, but they complied.
Seeing them, the Mangle bared its teeth and its limbs started to coil again, but Billy raised his hands.
"No, no! Please, no more fighting. Vevina and the Other inside you, please. You're both really mad. You're hurting, but that doesn't make it okay to hurt everybody else," he said firmly. "You wanted everyone here, Vevvy and here they are. You wanted to hear them say that they're sorry, so let them say it."
"I am, I really am!" Clyde cried. "I should have had your back, despite... everything. You were counting on me and I let you down. I can't fix what happened, Vev but I promise, I'll work to make sure it never happens again."
The Mangle appeared to physically recoil at hearing his words. It let out a low, despairing wailing sound.
"I... didn't like what was happenin'." Hermana was rubbing her arm, but she wasn't looking away. "I felt like I couldn't do anythin' to help. You didn't want to let me help. I get it, you know. But I want to help now, I want to all I can to make you smile again, even if it means we have to cry first. I'm sorry, Vevvy. I'm... I'm so sorry... please, just let me try."
The wailing was growing louder now. The fox head lowered its ears, like it was trying to shut it out and some of the limbs twitched in agitation.
"I call myself your leader and I failed you. I felt that I knew what was best. And I... I was wrong!" Theodore sounded like he was struggling to get each word out, but that wasn't going to stop him. "Maybe what you did was reckless, but at least you tried to make a change, to fight. You knew our true foe, the one who played us all against each other. I convinced myself it was all about order and staying in line, but I was wrong! I'm sorry, Vevina! I'm sorry that I failed you and for not being braver, but that changes now! We shall overcome and we shall do it together!"
By now, the Mangle was screeching and wailing loud enough to pierce the heavens. Some of its limbs had actually started to fade away, but the remainder were still thrashing frantically. The heads were reared back as they roared, no longer in any control. At the centre, something was stirring. Something that looked like a person struggling to break free.
"Its anger isn't driving it anymore, it's confused!" shouted Golden. "This is our only chance! Get her out of there!"
Billy wasted no time in hurrying forward. He yelled when Hermana scooped him up in her arms and skated towards the centre, cradling him protectively.
One of the flailing limbs looked like it might hit them but Theodore took the brunt. He dug his feet into the ground, grabbed a firm hold and forced it away, following up with some punches. Another came zooming towards them, but Clyde intercepted it with a kick and stood on it, pressing down with his feet. Everybody else rushed to the fray, protecting the two from the remaining limbs and tentacles.
They reached the centre. Vevina was no longer curled up in a ball, but trying to bend or break the rib cage she was being held in. Hermana set down Billy and grabbed hold of the same rib she was pushing against and pulled. They wrenched it free with a snap, the rib fading away when it was broken. Billy was starting work on another and Hermana helped him too while Vevina continued to punch, pull and kick from inside.
Before long, they had the top portion of the cage gone and Vevina started to crawl out. She screamed when something tugged on her. Translucent tendons emerges from the back of her neck, connected to the body of the Mangle and refused to let her go.
"Agh! It hurts... hurts so much!" she groaned.
"Vevvy, I'm sorry!" Billy let her go. "Maybe there's something else we can-"
"No, this is the only way!" she insisted. "It's not, agh, letting me go! Not without a fight. But we keep, nghhhh, keep fighting! You hear me? Keep fighting!"
Her eyes bored into Billy's. She believed in him and he wasn't going to disappoint.
"We're not leaving you!" cried Billy and started to pull on her hands again. "Come on, you can do it!"
"I gotcha!" Hermana grabbed her left shoulder to pull as well. "I'm not... leavin' my first sister to this!"
One of the tendons snapped and Vevina screamed, but she gritted her teeth. She gripped on tighter to her friends, using all the strength she had.
Theodore saw what was happening from outside. He tried to break off from his fight, but one of the limbs grabbed his arm and yanked him back.
"Let go! I say, let go of me!" he cried in a panic, but another got his leg and began to hoist him up. "Bloody hell! Help!"
The tentacle grabbing his leg released him when Clyde smacked into them with a kick. A combined punch and kick from the two released his hand.
"Good lord," he breathed. "Clyde, I... that is to say, I-"
"You're welcome, now come on!" he urged.
A set of hands and tentacles went to grab them, but were intercepted by Bonnie and Freddy, blasting spells and sound waves at the attackers.
"We got this, go!" yelled Bonnie.
The two of them hurried towards the centre, ducking and dodging under other offending limbs.
"Come along now!" Theodore grasped Vevina's waist and heaved. "I'll not have you give up now!"
"Like I said," grunted Clyde, getting hold of one of her arms, "I'm not leaving you again."
With their combined strength, more and more of the tendons connecting her snapped. Despite the pain, Vevina kept on pulling, kept on fighting. Three left. Two more. On the last one, she couldn't keep it in any longer and screamed the entire time against the strain.
All of a sudden, the last tendon broke and they all tumbled down from the vanishing of resistance. Vevina's eyes rolled up into her head and she lay still.
Being deprived of its main source of energy had a profound effect on the Mangle. More of its limbs were fading and it was shrinking in size.
"That's it!" Goldie cried. "You lot, get out of there! The rest of you, to me!"
Theodore was already running. Clyde scooped up Vevina in his arms and ran. Hermana grabbed Billy and skated off as fast as she could. The original synths all gathered around Goldie in a semi-circle, with her in the centre and laid their hands on her.
With a greater surge of energy than she had before, she projected a large barrier around the Mangle. The remaining limbs lashed against it, but with their mental energies combined, it couldn't do much more than struggle and shrink. As its size decreased, its form lost its solidity and shape. The growls and roars became tinnier, smaller.
Minutes passed and the Mangle was no more. An almost eerie silence lingered in the aftermath of the previous chaos.
"There," said Goldie, breathing heavily. "It's contained."
Even though it had reverted back to the same, ghost-like state all the others had, Vevina's fragment still showed itself to be aggressive. It was pounding against the confines of its bubble and listening closely, you could almost hear it snarling.
"What an errant little thing," remarked Theodore, flinching when he leaned to have a look and it tried to charge him. "Hard to believe all of that came from this creature."
"What about Vevvy?" Billy looked anxiously at her in Clyde's arms. "Will she be okay?"
"She should be. I think being forcibly extracted from her fragment just took a toll. She just needs a rest," said Goldie.
"We did it," said Hermana, hardly daring to believe it. "We did it. We did it! WE DID IT!"
The last part was yelled in a cheer and she continued to chant it as she hugged the others tightly, starting with Theodore.
"Yes, yes, we did it, no need to go bloody overboard!" he complained, though he did very awkwardly hug her back.
"And it's all thanks to this brave little man!" She swept up Billy and spun him around. She gave him a few extra hugs for good measure.
"You all did it as well," he mumbled.
"Hey? Just accept it," advised Clyde with a rare smile.
Billy's blush increased, as did his grin.
"Well done, all of you," said Freddy. "Now, I'd say we could all do with a well-earned rest. Let's get back."
Sorry for the delay with this one, folks. Thank you for your patience.
Fate-Be Changed: Wish I'd thought of it. Oh well XD
Marvel Nerd: Did it meet your expectation?
Arc of Carona: And here we go. Not long left now.
HiThereI'mStillAPieceOfGarbage: I haven't, so I'm afraid the references escape me. I hope that means it resonates well with you though.
PotatoManato: Thank you very much for your review. Ones like this remind me why I love writing and to keep at it. I'm humbled it had such an impact on you and I hope I continue to deliver for you.