Mangle winced as another little tyke tore off her right arm, trying her best not to betray how much the action hurt. The child was oblivious to the pain they caused as he waved around the limb like it was a sword, laughing and showing it off to his friends. The boy's glee allowed her empty arm socket to numb, and her mouth curled into a grin just small enough to go unnoticed by the kid's parents. They did however, stare disapprovingly at her arm as their son came over to show them.

"Mommy, Daddy, look!" he said, swinging her appendage around, "I'm a Jedi!"

"That doesn't belong to you, Daniel," his mother said, "Put it back. We need to leave soon, anyway."

The boy deflated faster than Mangle had seen most balloons lose their air. "Okay," he mumbled, his arms falling to his sides as he trudged back over to the animatronic. "Here you go," he said as he set the arm down at Mangle's feet, "I'm sorry I took it without asking."

"You can take it any time you like," Mangle whispered back as he turned to leave. He stopped in his tracks and turned towards the white and pink fox once more. She did her best to wink with her good eye, not sure how it would come across when her other eye was empty. The boy just stood there, frozen in place, causing Mangle to chuckle as she casually looked over to the back wall.

Suddenly, something slammed into her with enough force that it nearly knocked her over. She looked down to find Daniel wrapping his arms around her metallic frame. She wrapped her remaining arm around the child, careful not to hurt him. After a few moments, the boy broke away from the animatronic and began to walk away.

"Bye!" Daniel shouted, waving at the fox. Mangle picked up her disconnected arm and waved back at the boy, causing him to giggle as he disappeared from her line of sight. As he vanished, she returned the arm to its proper location with a sigh. It didn't take long for the rest of the pizzeria to drain of customers as the restaurant closed its doors for the day.

Mangle did a little stretch once she was certain no one could see her. Technically, the motion had little use for her, since she wasn't expected to be able to move around, but it felt good to unlock her joints for a little bit. Now that there were no more little kids to undo her progress, she began returning her pieces to what she felt was their proper place. It likely wasn't where they actually were supposed to go, but it was how she was when she first took control of her body.

Mangle?

Hi, Toy Foxy, Mangle said inside her head, greeting her mental roommate, It's been a while, hasn't it?

Well, you haven't really wanted to talk to me. I didn't want to bother you.

That's very courteous of you, Mangle replied, I never expected that from you.

Toy Foxy's voice took on the rough growl of a pirate. Yarrgh! Just because we be the ruthless pillagers of the seven seas don't mean we don't have no manners!

The absurd voice was enough to elicit an actual giggle from Mangle's voice box. She quickly placed her paws over her mouth, fearing that the employees who were still here would hear her. She peeked out into the main area to check that the coast was clear. Once she was sure she didn't need to worry, she ducked back into the safety of her cove.

I didn't think you were given a pirate voice, the white and pink fox said, I thought it would go against your more kid-friendly design.

You can't have Foxy and not have him be at least partially a pirate.

Wait, does that mean that I can do it?

I dunno. It might be part of my voice box. If they didn't include that as your modifications, the answer's probably not. Not naturally, at least.

Well, only one way to find out. Mangle made a noise like she was clearing her throat, an action she couldn't actually do, but her programming included to make her and the others more lifelike. Here goes nothing, she said to herself, though Toy Foxy could hear her as well.

"Ahoy, mateys!" she said, her voice becoming pirate-like just like her body buddy, "Today we be looking for buried treasure, arrr!" Her successful attempt at mimicking her adoptive brothers caused her to giggle hysterically.

It works! It really works!

"Hello?" The sound of a person still inside the building evaporated Mangle's glee. She froze in place as a man she presumed to be the security guard stepped inside of Kid's Cove. He glanced around, searching for the source of the voice, until finally he shook his head and turned to leave. "The night shift's leaving me hearing voices," he muttered on his way out.

Mangle let out an artificial sigh once she was sure he was gone, then glanced up at the clock hanging on the wall. The long minute hand pointed just barely to the right of the twelve at the top and the short hand was pointing at the seven. The restaurant's hours were severely cut after reopening. Now it used the time between closing time and midnight to rent out for parties, an attempt to recoup the money lost in the lawsuit-filled aftermath of the murders.

Are you okay? Toy Foxy asked.

What do you mean?

I tried to warn you about him. You should have listened. Mangle didn't respond. Mangle?

I don't want to talk anymore.

Fine, Toy Foxy said, letting out a huff only Mangle would hear. She felt his consciousness retreat back to his head, leaving her to her own thoughts.

As much as she tried not to think about it, Toy Foxy was right. The voice that came from the rabbit suit that day, the one that lured those kids to their deaths, continued to gnaw at her mind whenever she thought about that day. He was muffled, but faces weren't the only thing she was programmed to recognize. The man who killed those children, and likely the ones who possessed the original animatronics, was the man who gave her a life to live.

In the days after her rebirth into Mangle, Toy Foxy kept insisting that Bill had injected something into him, something that brought memories of torture and agony. He claimed that these induced memories were what drove him to the point Mangle met him at, and why he lashed out at the technicians and killed Jack. Even as she began to warm up to him, and even when those memories of pain leaked into her mind occasionally, she dismissed his justifications as false; she never believed Bill would be capable of such cruel acts. She should have listened, and Marcus paid the price for her misplaced trust.

To make matters worse, she was never able to tell anyone but Toy Foxy, and she had no intention of doing so. Every night, just as she had the hours to herself, she remembered waking up the next morning. Nothing that happened during the night shift before was ever committed to memory. It made her think of the nights before Marcus showed up; the nights Charlie said were part of Cassidy's tyrannical rule.

Can I ask you a question?

I thought you didn't want to talk, Toy Foxy replied, causing Mangle to huff in irritation, although she quickly quieted down as she realized a party group was being let inside. Even after they got onto good terms, Toy Foxy could be just as abrasive as the day they first met. And yet…

Have I killed anyone? Mangle asked, During the night? Did…you know…take over?

No, Toy Foxy replied, I don't remember anything from the nights since… He trailed off, but Mangle knew exactly what he was referring to. Anyway, I don't think any of us have been awake. I think I heard someone say they were phasing out our activity at night to save on power.

Don't you think I would know if you heard something that explains my gap in memory?

Have you ever woken up with blood stains?

Well, no.

Then you haven't killed anyone. Besides, if she possessed you, she would be the one who killed them, not you.

I…I guess.

Now, before you throw a pity party, I suggest that you—

The voice in Mangle's head fell silent. T-Toy Foxy? she called out for her one companion. Nothing.

"Hey there." Mangle did her best to feign ignorance of the new voice, but her eye shifted to lock onto the security guard who stood at the entrance. "I saw you move," the guard said, "At least give me the courtesy of acknowledging me." Mangle gave in and turned her head entirely to face him.

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" he said with a smile as Mangle silently looked him over. He had the standard security guard uniform of Freddy's, with the hat just barely falling short of covering his dark brown hair. On his lapel rested a name tag with the name "Jeremy" on it. She had no memory of seeing him before today, and yet, her facial recognition had a match almost instantly. His presence in the databanks combined with his mention of previously being on the night shift seemed to confirm her fears.

"No hard feelings, right?" Jeremy said, prompting Mangle to give him a confused look. "I mean, we weren't exactly pals during the night shift, so I wanted to make sure we were on good terms. Maybe you guys would become a bit more comfortable around grown-ups if we got off on the right foot."

"Excuse me, mister?" Jeremy turned around to see a little girl wearing a birthday hat standing next to him, along with some friends of hers. "Can we play with the puppy?" she asked, pointing at Mangle.

"Of course!" the guard replied, "It's your birthday after all. Don't worry. She won't bite." As the children ran toward the fox animatronic, Mangle heard Toy Foxy scream inside her head. She lurched backwards at the sound, slamming into the wall and causing the kids to falter.

Are you okay!

STOP! MAKE IT STOP!

What are you—

Before she could finish, a wave of the memories that often tormented her washed over her, stronger than ever before. She fought not to scream and scare the kids, but the pain was growing to unbearable levels. She looked at Jeremy, who stared back at her, unsure of what was going on. She nodded down at the kids before jerking her head towards the main area, hoping he would get the hint.

"Uh, hey, kids," Jeremy said, "I don't think the puppy's feeling too great. Maybe you should give her some space."

But one kid had already taken hold of one of her arms and was yanking on it as hard as he could. It came loose, sending a surge of pain that was finally too much for the animatronic. She lunged at the kid, her jaws open wide and ready to bite down on the youth's bones. Jeremy shoved the kid aside, his skull crunching as Mangle's jaws snapped down.

Her eye widened to match the guard's, the situation beginning to dawn on her as the children ran away screaming. She tried to loosen her grip, but the mechanisms had been through too much wear, and Freddy's negligent repairmanship had finally caught up to them. Another wave of pain began to build up in the back of her mind, tilting her head to the side to try to relieve the itch and forcing Jeremy to reposition his body to avoid further damage to his head. She tried to reach up and force her mouth open, but her whole body had frozen up and ignored her commands.

"Please," Jeremy whispered, looking desperately into what to him was likely a cold, malicious stare.

A burning sensation in her snout triggered instincts the fox had no idea she had, causing her to lurch backward onto her metallic spine and taking a piece of Jeremy as a keepsake.


Marcus winced as he shoved his door closed with his bad hand, the abrupt stop causing a jolt of pain as his arm gave way to the door. He moved over to the counter and set down the bag of groceries that were clenched in his left hand. He rubbed his aching arm with his now-free hand, an act that helped dull the pain, even though the motion never made it through the cast. He hadn't wanted to wear such a thing, even insisting that he didn't need it since his arm wasn't broken, but the doctors insisted on it, as it was pretty damn close to being broken.

His cast was far from the strangest thing about his recovery. The doctors had been constantly mentioning how implausible his survival was, how he should have bled out long before he was finally stabilized, how he seemingly did bleed out before stabilizing. The wound in his gut, while missing anything that could have guaranteed his death, did give him quite the extreme disadvantage. And yet, his time in the hospital was a measly two weeks, one of which was spent making sure that he was truly recovered.

Unfortunately, alive and healed didn't mean one hundred percent, and the doctors made it absolutely clear that he was not to work until they had given him the all-clear. It was painfully obvious that they had zero confidence in the seemingly-sealed wound in his abdomen, and given the possibilities that security guard entailed, his all-but-broken arm could only be made worse if he chose to show up. Marcus had waged war with the doctors over this assertion, but it wasn't one he could win, and he reluctantly gave in to the demand.

Now he was running on what little money he could scavenge. Freddy's had finally gotten its chance to get rid of him, and did so the moment he was out of the hospital. Fortunately, they were kind enough (although Marcus thought pressured was a better way of describing it) to pay for his medical bills and give him a marginally larger severance, as well as a (likely empty) promise of later reemployment. It wasn't much to work with, but it was all he had at the moment.

The phone sitting next to his couch began to ring, a phenomenon that had become painfully common in the past few weeks. Marcus ignored it, as it was either another "admirer" or someone calling him out for his failure. They'd give up or leave a voicemail, which Marcus would delete immediately. He walked over to the phone and glanced at the number: 232-342-2354. He let the call play, knowing exactly who was on the other side.

"Uh, hello, hello?" Scott's distinctive greeting came from the speaker, "Hey, uh, I'll bet you thought you wouldn't be hearing from us ever again, huh? Yeah…I-I have to admit management could have handled the situation a bit more gracefully. You're probably wondering why I'm calling—"

"Sure am, so get to the damn point," Marcus hissed under his breath as Scott continued to ramble on.

"—uh, Freddy's is getting a bit short on staff, and they need someone for the night shift. I know you're probably not interested in working here again after everything you've been through, but we're willing to pay you well for your time, and it won't be for long, just a few days until we're finished closing up shop. And hey, you won't be expected to wear your uniform, so that's something, right?"

"Closing?" Marcus muttered. He picked up the phone and held it to his ear.

"Oh, uh, hello?"

"The hell do you mean, you're closing?

"Well, while you were gone, one of the animatronics had an…incident…"


"Mangle?" Marcus called out as he stepped through the darkness and closer to Kid's Cove, "Are you okay?" His posture straightened as he felt eyes on him from behind. His stun gun had been confiscated after he was stabbed, which meant that he didn't have anything with him to fight Cassidy off if she was there. The crowbar had been taken by the authorities as well, but the night guard knew a tool like that was a necessity for opening boxes of animatronic parts. Even then, he knew he would never have been able to make it to the closet door, so he took a deep breath and pushed forward.

"Mangle, I can't help if you don't talk to me," Marcus continued, reaching out in the dimly lit room and placing his cast-wrapped arm on her shoulder socket, which she immediately recoiled from. Marcus reached out to try again when an animatronic paw was planted on his own shoulder. Marcus shrugged off the hand and swung at the machine with his cast. He felt his arm get pulled further back than it physically could, causing the night guard to turn towards his assailant.

At first glance, it seemed to be Freddy staring down at him with little white beads. But Freddy was nearly invisible in the dark, not like the bear before him. The more Marcus's eyes adjusted to the dark, the more he could make out the wires streaming down its face. He was staring into the pinpricks of Golden Freddy.

"My, my, look who's come back to die," Cassidy said, "I didn't think you'd ever come back here. Didn't lose enough blood last time?" Marcus wound up and punched at the animatronic in what would have been the groin, then grunted in pain when the metal failed to give way. "Tsk, tsk, you really should have known that wouldn't work," she added, "Still not all that smart, I see."

"Fuck off, you see-through bitch," Marcus growled. The yellow bear shook her head in mock disappointment, then tightened her grip on the guard's cast. The plaster crumbled under the force with a cracking noise that Marcus was sure could have easily been his arm. He pressed his lips together with all the effort he could muster, doing his best not to scream.

"Don't be shy," Cassidy cooed, "Let it out. No one will ever need to know." The guard's face contorted, holding something in that he couldn't restrain forever. Golden Freddy leaned in closer, preparing to relish the sound that would soon escape. Marcus let a glob of fluid fly, the spit passing through Cassidy's pinpricks and pinging off the back of the inside of the mask.

"Ten points," Marcus hissed, managing to form a smirk as Cassidy's white dots grew in intensity. The bear clenched its left fist, snapping the already fragile bones in its grasp and finally coaxing a scream out of the guard.

"Too bad," Cassidy muttered, her rage bubbling beneath her words, "I was going to be a bit more generous, but it seems my generosity has all dried up."

"Yeah?" Marcus snarled, "You gonna break my other arm?"

"Something like that." Cassidy snapped her fingers, summoning the original four animatronics to her side. Freddy and Bonnie took hold of the night guard's arms and held them in place as Foxy and Chica drew near, Chica's arms raised in the air and ready to lash at his skin.

"Hmmm…what to start with?" Cassidy mused to herself. Foxy pressed his hook flat against Marcus's forehead. "Should we gouge out your eyes?" Chica's wires slashed through the back of his shirt and into the skin, leaving cuts just shallow enough to avoid spilling blood. "I wonder what the cleaning supplies would do to cuts like that all over your body?

"Maybe we do as you suggested…" Bonnie's hand squeezed down on Marcus's intact forearm, forcing out a groan and hisses of breath from the guard. "Or maybe we just cut the chase?" As she said this, Cassidy grabbed at her right arm and yanked the suit free from the endoskeleton from. A wet splatter echoed throughout the room as she held the appendage out for Marcus to see, a red slush dripping out onto the floor from the metal innards.

"Your fun can't last forever," Marcus said, "Eventually I'll die, and then I'm free. I'll have to bleed out or something eventually."

"That would be comforting, wouldn't it? Shame it's more complicated than that." Marcus screamed as Foxy's hook carved a line into his good arm. He expected the blood to pour out of the wound, but instead saw it scab over before the scab fell off to reveal his arm fully repaired, all in the matter of seconds. He felt the bones in his right arm mend and the raw cuts left by Chica's arms stitch themselves back together. He was 100%. He was effectively immortal.

"No one dies, unless I want them to die," Cassidy said, "You will be here, suffering for as long as I please." Marcus stared at her in horror before desperately trying to wriggle free. "Now hold still, you little shit, while I—" She fell silent, her pinpricks flickering in and out, as Charlie wrapped her arms around her neck. The animatronics under the spectre's control went limp and clattered onto the floor, freeing Marcus from their grip.

The masked puppet stared over the golden bear's shoulder at Marcus, unable to say anything, yet perfectly conveying her message. Marcus threw open the closet door and took the shiny new crowbar in his hands. He calmly walked back to the two spirits wrestling for dominion over the last bodies still upright. He wrapped the rounded end of the crowbar around Cassidy's left arm where it connected into the socket.

"Charlie, I'd let go if I were you," he said, "This is gonna hurt." The puppet failed to respond, so the night guard grabbed her by the neck and wrenched her away from the golden bear. Cassidy's pinpricks blazed to life, but as she moved to silence Marcus, he yanked on the crowbar as hard as he could, causing the limb to fly loose, sparking as it hit the floor.

Cassidy growled at the guard, reaching out with her remaining arm in an attempt to restrain him. Marcus drove the other side of the crowbar into her right knee, causing it to buckle and sending the bear collapsing onto the floor. Her right arm was severed at the elbow by a follow-up strike, leaving the appendage useless. He nestled the curve of the crowbar into her last intact limb, then stomped as hard as he could on the tool, removing the leg's ability to move. As Cassidy groaned in pain, Marcus used the crowbar to flip her onto her back.

"Go on," Marcus snarled into the spirit's animatronic ear, "Let it out. No one needs to know."

"I'm not done with this company!" Cassidy screamed, causing Marcus to stumble backwards, "This restaurant's legacy will be nothing but blood! You're all going to suf—"

"We already have," Marcus interrupted, snaking his crowbar out of the bear's eye socket with her voice box in tow. He tossed the device aside, then wrapped the crowbar around the bridge of the bear's nose. "Go to Hell this time." An animalistic roar was all Cassidy could respond with as the night guard pulled on the head with all his might. The roar was reduced to an echo as the neck gave, silencing the spirit once more.

Marcus let the crowbar clatter to the floor before glancing over at Charlie. "Am I in trouble for hurting someone?" he asked.

"For that bitch, I'm willing to make an exception," she replied, floating back to her feet. Marcus stared at her for a second before his attention was drawn towards the original four animatronics, who finally began to stir now that Cassidy was gone.

"Ugh, what happened?" Chica asked.

"Cassidy," Marcus replied, "As usual." He turned towards Mangle, who had ended up huddled in the corner of the room.

"Mangle, please. We need to talk," he said, gently placing his hand on her shoulder once more.

"Stay back," the fox whimpered.

"You're not going to hurt me. Cassidy's gone. She can't use you to hurt anyone."

"It wasn't her!" Mangle screamed, "I was the one that gave in!"

"It wasn't yer fault, lass," Foxy said, "None of us have been able to fight 'er off."

"She wasn't even there!" She took a moment to collect her thoughts. "Everything hurt and I couldn't take it anymore and I just snapped and now we're all getting scrapped because of me!" Mangle slumped over and stared at the corner.

"You aren't getting scrapped," Marcus said, "I'm not gonna let that happen."

"It ain't that simple, lad," Foxy said, "Folks are gonna avoid this place like the plague. Shutting down is in the owner's best interests."

"What are you going to do?" Mangle sniffled.

"I—I don't know. But this restaurant is not closing."


I know I promised this chapter a long time ago, but once again, distractions and work hindered my progress. I promise to try to get the next one done reasonably soon. Anything more is a promise I might not be able to keep.

And a few weeks, if not months after writing this, I still haven't gotten around to posting this. I'm really sorry guys, you deserve better from me. Hopefully I can get the next one out with some sort of speed and make it up to you.

Nope. Still got you guys waiting, huh? I've been trying to get this out, but this time I also got distracted by other projects I was working on and honestly, I've also been having trouble closing this in a way that I'm proud of. I always knew how I wanted it to end, but I could never quite get the last stretch plotted out in a way that I liked. This time, I'm going to do my best to get this done, but perhaps it was better just leaving it as it is.