Author Notes

Alright, unfortunately from now on, Wednesday chapters will probably be kind of short and uploaded later in the day. I have practicals during the week so I have very little time to write. I will still update, just a little later than usual. Sunday chapters will be normal.

Chapter 30

Tragedy

Puppet was prepared the next day. He waited until there was only a small bunch of older kids standing around looking bored while their younger siblings played with the 'bots before making his move.

"You all look rather bored." He said sweetly as he came near them. "Shall I show you our latest activity? It's only for the older kids. We just need to find the pink and white fox."

His smile turned wicked as they answered with excited affirmatives.

Ruby strolled into the pizzeria that night happily but sensed the heavy atmosphere immediately. Frowning, she walked over to the gang who were talking softly together.

"Guys? What's going on?" she asked slowly.

They jumped and turned to look at her, looking worried.

"There was an…incident Ruby." Freddy sighed.

"Okay…" she raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know why, but some kids got it into their heads to, uh, well…" he trailed off looking rather upset.

"The kids tore Mangle apart again." Foxy answered, looking away.

They might not have liked the Toys, but they'd been partially dismantled before and they wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Ruby froze.

"What? What on earth were those brats thinking?" she growled, feeling the urge to 'teach another lesson'.

They shrugged in answer.

"The lass…she didn't take it well." Foxy continued. "Looks like she's gone back to how she was before."

He paused before continuing. "She's tougher than any of the other Toys Ruby. Tougher and nastier."

It took her a moment before she realised what they were so stressed about.

"Oh, you guys are worried." She murmured, glad that she'd come early on a whim.

Looks like they needed another pick me up lecture.

They nodded reluctantly.

"Mangle…she's savage when she's in this state." Bonnie muttered nervously. "She's even tried to take a bite out of the Toys a couple of times today already."

"Where's Hedy?" Ruby asked.

Surely this was WHY they had hired that mechanic.

"Mangle won't let Hedy get close to her so the Toys locked her in the Puppet's room to keep her out of the way." Freddy explained.

"They're…pretty confident about tonight." Chica murmured softly, looking very worried.

Ruby sighed. "How many times do I have to say this? Stop worrying about me so much. I'll make a plan."

"Ruby-" Chica tried to say something but Ruby cut her off.

"No. Listen guys. I'll be fine. Don't go losing faith in me because of this." She smirked confidently.

They watched her walk off to the office nervously and she felt her smirk fade once she was out of sight.

Why did this feel very…convenient?

The Marionette, or Puppet as he would answer to either, often kept his opinions to himself. Especially concerning "oddness."

But the night guard was undoubtedly odd.

And he hated her, like all night guards and adults. But this teenager's oddness simply infuriated him. After all, it was hard to pull the strings on a puppet when the piece wouldn't play by the rules...

Unfortunately, he didn't have much room to adapt his playing strategy what with being trapped in his box most of the nights and having to make an effort to NOT to be in the same room as the night guard if he wanted to keep his endoskeleton and face in one piece.

Seriously…

He was not a clown.

The night guard (the Puppet refused to call her by name) had stopped caring about winding his music box a long time ago it seemed since she usually just duct taped his box shut and then (worst of all), stole his music box to hide somewhere. He usually spent most of the next day looking for it.

It was torturous not having it playing and as each second passed during the night, the Puppet's imaginings of wringing the night guard's neck grew more and more vivid.

He scowled at a corner of his box and reminded himself that this night would be different. He had made sure that it would be different.

Night 6. Night 6! And nobody, including him, had gotten anywhere near killing the night guard. She hadn't even needed to be saved by the 6AM alarm! This time…this time had to be different.

She was on a completely different level from them at this point after all.

She wouldn't make the same mistake he did of trying to scare the night guard before attacking. When she got a chance, the night guard would be killed immediately. Before she could swing that damn bat. True it wouldn't be as satisfying as stuffing her in a suit personally, but by this point he couldn't bring himself to care.

The Puppet heard Hedy throw something else at the wall. She had been in a foul and panicky mood ever since she found out about Mangle and the Toys had no choice but to lock her in his room just to keep her away from the violent animatronic.

"Mari." he heard Hedy say coldy from outside his box after a moment. "I know you're in there"

"Of course, where else would I be?" he asked shortly.

"Mari…what did you do?" she asked, voice strained.

"What I needed to." The Puppet retorted sharply.

Hedy slammed her fist down on top of his box suddenly.

"She's your friend you monster!" she yelled. "She's your friend and you…you…"

Her voice caught on a sob.

"To get rid of the night guard we should be willing to do anything." The Puppet hissed, rising out of his box suddenly.

He couldn't help but let his resentment for the mechanic grow. He didn't like her. Hated her even. She was an adult after all. However, she was one of the marginally not-completely-bad ones and she did fix his music box along with the Toys. Thus she was...tolerable. However, she was too smart for the Puppet to manipulate easily and she did not let him pull her strings.

And she was far too against the killing the night guard plan.

"This is going too far Puppet!" Hedy growled back, tears stinging her eyes.

"I don't expect you to understand," the Puppet said, "But you need to trust me."

His voice suddenly took on that sickly sweet tone he used when he wanted to manipulate someone.

"Know that this is what needs to be done. For peace. I can't possibly ask you to help us." Somehow that seemed to be exactly what he was asking. "But please. Stay out of the way at least."

He hated having to be polite to her.

"For peace?" Hedy said her voice calm, yet with a dangerous undertone. "Can you even hear yourself Mari? This is wrong! Hunting a teenager for something that you seem to think all night guards need to be punished for? When it couldn't possibly be her fault?! And doing that to your friend?! When she's already been through so much?!"

She brought her face closer to the Puppet's but he didn't even blink.

"If you think I'm going to stand idly by while all my friends and charges succumb to a delusion of right and wrong, then you really don't know me all that well yet. I'm sticking around because I happen to believe there is good inside you all. I have just enough hope that I believe you will someday come to your senses." she lowered her voice a bit. "Ruby deserves to live just as much as anyone else. She's not an evil person that you need to protect children from. I'm beginning to believe that you're the one people need to be protected from."

She looked at the door, the pain on her face clear as day.

"Using kids to hurt Mags like that just to make her join this sick game…" she whispered.

The Puppet had a bad feeling about that spark in her eye.

"I hope you're not planning to interfere in the game." He hissed.

Hedy shot him a look.

"I'll do anything to end it at this point." She shot back.

They stared at each other for a long moment before the Puppet let out a low hiss.

"You should remember something Mechanic." He spoke softly. "You. Are. Replaceable."

She felt a shiver race down her spine but didn't back down.

"That doesn't change anything Mari." She responded coldly.

Finally, after a long moment of silence, he leaned forward and whispered in her ear. "Loyalty is a fickle thing Ms. Hedy. Easily broken yet easy to bend. Difficult to create, and difficult to mend. Even if that is your specialty. Be careful how far apart you tie the strings of your loyalty. Every string you tie; friends, family, ideals...well, you see...they're each attached to you." Somehow his smile seemed to get wider.

"Like. A. Little. Puppet." It brought up a finger and tapped her nose with each of those words.

Hedy just looked at him steadily, creeped out yet not flinching from the light taps to her face and the threatening close proximity.

"And if you tie too many strings too far apart and they each give a pull in different directions, well…" he chuckled lightly but with very little humour. "You might just end up ripped apart." The Puppet finished with a light hiss.

Hedy narrowed her eyes at the threat. "We wouldn't want that."

"Of course not, dear." it said with a slight hint of fake cheerfulness.

With that it disappeared into its box and closed the lid as the chimes started and the sixth night began.

Author Notes

So...next night up on Sunday. :P