Authors Note:

A/N's are boring. You guys want the story, right? Well, here it is. Updating will commence as normal… hopefully. Then again, I'm a sociopathic dragon with a long history of kidnapping princesses, so I'm kind of unpredictable. ;) Either way, please enjoy this next chapter. I'll try to keep you guys updated next time something like this happens.

Well, this certainly was not how Freddy was expecting to spend the rest of the day.

The shrill scream the lanky marionette-like creature let loose was enough to wake up half the forest. And if that was so, it was enough to startle the ever living shit out of Freddy. It was bad enough the creature had appeared so abruptly in front of him, but leaping at his head with a knife? Nope. No siree fuck.

Freddy's nonexistent heart lurched as the inky black creature made a flying leap for his robotic cranium. Now, on a normal day, Freddy would probably stop to admire the graceful moves of the creature. He was always one for watching graceful things. Like deer. He couldn't eat them, but that gave him no reason to kill them. Usually when he came across one Freddy would just stop to watch them go by, and admire their grace. And this marionette moved like a goddamn ballerina. But, unfortunately, it was seemingly trying to eat off his face, so no time for admiring nature here.

Freddy was pretty good at fighting, excellent at it as a matter of fact. Years of fucking things up (Foxy for example) had honed his ability to fight. And the bulky way he was built only added in that factor. But he was never, ever good at fighting swift things. That's why Foxy had always been a challenge for Freddy. The animatronic fox had been quick, and Freddy was quite slow. And this marionette? Lightning quick, given it's extremely slim build. But Freddy wasn't stupid enough to just stand there and let the damn marionette maul his face.

The ruddy animatronic bear ducked just in time. He jerked his head down and bunched his shoulders. His robotic parts creaked as he did so. He prepared to lurch upwards to nail his attacker above him. But sadly, that wasn't so. The fast puppet managed to slide onto his shoulder and slip down to his torn-up back. Freddy's azure eyes widened and he snapped up and jerked a robotic arm around, but it was too late. The small silver knife the marionette was holding dug into his back. The marionette pulled it out as quick as it had gone in.

Freddy threw his head up and let out an earth-shattering roar. "MOTERFUCK-" The bear began in a rasping roar. He cut himself off and jerked around. He grabbed the marionette by its spine and peeled it off of his back in a motion that was about as fluid as it would get. He then threw the puppet over his head and staggering backwards with his robotic back throbbing. Freddy shook in slight agony, but straightened up. He couldn't look weak in front of this creature. Maybe he could scare it somehow.

Apparently not. The marionette leaped to its inky black feet and looked about as unharmed as ever. It showed no sign of fear and the twisted grin on its face remained. It spread its arms out and tightened its grip on the knife. It twisted its arms backwards slightly and its twisted grin only seemed to widen. "Suuuccch vullgairrity!" It drew out. "Yearssss of beeinng ferraal must havvee chaanggeed youu, Fredddyy!"

Freddy. There it was again, that name he was so foreign to. Hearing it nearly made him tremble. It sounded so strange to hear. Freddy jerked his head up and moved his robotic eyes to gaze at the marionette. He narrowed them. "I'm not Freddy." The withered bear animatronic said coolly as he stepped forwards. His robotic feet left tracks in the mud on the ground. "I want nothing more to do with that hell you crawled out of, so hop back into your box and get far away from me." The animatronic growled, his flat teeth grinding together.

The marionette only continued to stare. It dragged its inky black feet in the mud as it moved to the side and cocked its head ever so slightly. "Aaffraiid I caaannn'ttt dooo thhaaat, Freeddy." It drew out in its squeaky, sing-song haunting voice. The puppet widened his grin to the point it literally stretched all across his ivory face. "Comme noww, I meeaan noo harrm."

"Mean no harm?!" Freddy snapped as he lurched backwards to put distance in between him and the puppet. "You dug a knife into my back!"

"Whaaat?" The puppet sibilated, its head moved smoothly downwards to stare at the knife in his long slim fingers. "Thissss olddd thinng? Whhy, Freddy, I wasss only tryyinng to giivve youuu a littlee pinpricckk. Do gettt you to coooperateee." It sang. It then suddenly dropped the knife on the muddy ground and kicked it aside with one inky black foot. "Buuuttt, if youuu'd rathher," He inclined his head and narrowed his ebony eyes ever so slightly. "I'll figghht fair."

Freddy let his jaw go ajar to respond, but it was too late. The puppet suddenly gave a shrill cry and jumped at Freddy, its arms outstretched and its eyes stretching wide. Freddy skidded his feet in the mud and sprang to the side. But the puppet grabbed hold of his arm and scampered up his arm to reach his neck. Freddy threw his head around in all directions in an attempt to throw the marionette off somehow. It moved up to his head, moving like a snake. The marionette gripped on his head and began to tug at his ears, though not very hard.

Freddy stopped bucking for a second and moved his eyes up to stare at the marionette the best he could. "What the hell are you doing?!" Freddy snapped as he threw his arms forwards, trying to pry it off.

The puppet swatted at Freddy's grabbing hands and began to move its fingers up and down Freddy's head, as if trying to hurt him. "I dooonn'tt knnoow, I didddnn't thinnnkkk I'dd get thisss far!" The puppet said with slight desperation hinting at the edges of his voice.

Freddy clenched his jaw. He had had enough of this little twat's bullshit. He threw an arm forwards and grabbed the marionette's inky spine and pried him off. It gave a shrill cry and then jerked its head forwards and bite Freddy's finger. The marionette had no teeth, but the edges of its mouth hurt like hell. Freddy roared at the sudden pain in his finger, which gave the puppet a chance to escape.

It slid nimbly out of Freddy's grip and then sprang forwards at a nearby tree branch. It grabbed onto it; curling its fingers around it. In one swift motion, the marionette hoisted itself up onto the tree branch and glared down at Freddy. "Whhyyy arree youuu so diffiicullt?!" It spat. "Sssseee reassssooon!"

Freddy glared up at it. "I am seeing reason, you just can't take 'fuck off' for an answer!" The animatronic snapped.

The puppet gave his head a light shake. "Freeddy, evveryythinnng is wrrooongg. We neeeedd youuu, jussst givee me a channce of explaaiinn…"

Everything is wrong. Freddy couldn't help but flinch. Images flashed through his mind. Bonnie standing in front of a man with blood pooling around him, Chica begging him to not leave, Foxy with bullets stuck in his torso…

Everything is wrong… what has happened?

Freddy gave his head a sudden shake. He got so lost in thought he didn't even notice the puppet had sprang forwards onto the tree branch and was now perched there. He looked up and his azure eyes widened when he realized the tree branch was cracking.

"H-Hey!" Freddy growled up as he backed up. The tree branch was huge. Suddenly, it broke off the rest of the tree. The puppet let out a shrill scream as it went tumbling down with the branch. Freddy jumped back in an attempt to avoid it, but the branch struck him in his robotic forehead, and everything went dark.

Water.

Any experience Freddy had ever had with water was always absolutely terrible. Usually it was some stupid kid spilling water in his face, or drowning in tons of shit water in a sewer (which had slightly damaged his endoskeleton.) Bottom line, water hated Freddy and Freddy hated water right back. So, you can imagine that Freddy wouldn't akin well to the idea of being half submerged in a stream of water.

And he definitely wasn't. His azure eyes slowly slid open only to find his entire body covered in the stuff. It was wet and cold, and was seeping into his suit. At first, Freddy felt unaware. He just let his eyes blatantly wander around until the events came crashing back to him like a tidal wave.

Fuck.

The marionette. Where was he? Where is that Slenderman wannabe?

Freddy gave his head a shake and violently coughed. His 'cough' was deep and throaty, and caused his endoskeleton to creak. Water pooled from his robotic mouth. He suddenly realized that he was laying in a stream, and probably should not stay that way unless he wanted an endoskeleton damaged even worse. The bear began to slowly push himself upwards in a sluggish attempt to slowly get to his feet.

"Oooh, gooood, he'ssss awakkee..."

Freddy gritted his teeth. He stood up and lifted his head to see the exact marionette he had been wanting to ring the neck of. The puppet was before him, its head cocked and its eyes wide. It was shaking slightly and looked a bit… scared? Didn't matter. The puppet was in a sitting position. It lifted its head to look up at Freddy with wide eyes.

Feddy let out a throaty growl and stomped forwards up to the grass. "You." Freddy growled.

The puppet seemed to shrink back. "Freeeedddy, lissssteen..."

Freddy was in no mood to listen. He didn't even know where they were, but they were next to stream somewhere he hadn't been before. The bear animatronic curled his hand into a fist and threw it forward to plant it in the puppet's face.

And he did. He punched the marionette right in the face and sent it tumbling backwards. The marionette let out a gut-wrenching cry as it hit the ground. It immediately curled in on itself. "NOOOO!" It shrieked. "P-PLLEEEAASSSE!"

Freddy didn't even realize what he was doing. He came back to his senses to realize he was towering above the terrified puppet with his fist raised. Freddy immediately lowered his fist as he heard the puppet's cries. The bear breathed out slowly and took a step back, willing himself to calm down. "Fuck…" Freddy muttered slowly, staring at the puppet. I'm sorry.

A heavy silence fell in between them. Freddy breathed heavily, and the puppet was breathing shakily and quickly. He kept his eyes transfixed on the marionette, waiting for it to get up and squeal 'surprise' or something.

But it didn't. The marionette began to cry. Its body began to rack, and Freddy soon heard soft crying emit from the puppet. Its body jerked violently with every shaky sob. The slim puppet only laid there, crying softly. Its arms were wrapped around its eyes.

Freddy watched it sob, mouth slightly agape. He felt pain in his chest and let out a long sigh. Goddamn my life. The animatronic thought while he kicked himself with every sob the puppet let loose. He had done this. He suddenly remembered. He remembered a little feeble purple rabbit animatronic. A little animatronic, who was weak and timid. Sensitive. Could cry easily.

Freddy clenched his jaw tightly and looked away. Suddenly, the puppet gave a long wail and then began to sob openly. Freddy turned his head to look at it. It had sat up now, and had its hands on its eyes and was giving out wail after wail. Freddy couldn't bear (haHAHAH PUNS) it anymore. He turned to the puppet and took a step towards it.

The puppet didn't akin well to that idea. It scooted back, away from Freddy. It removed a hand from its eyes to tearfully stare up at him. "Doonn't touuuccch meee…" It whimpered.

Freddy felt more pain wrack freely in his chest. But he obeyed, and took a step back, away from the marionette.

Silence. Minutes passed. Freddy simply stood there, watching the puppet sit there rubbing at its eyes. Soon, the puppet broke the silence. "I'm ssssooorrrry, Freddyy." It drew. It lifted its head to look up at him. "I thouught yyyouu were reaady to retuurn, thattt yooou cccolud makke it riiight." The puppet said in a small voice. "Thhee pizzzzerria isss channggging, I thhhouught your rettuurrn coouuuld have it returrrn to howw it wasss before…" It said quietly as it tugged at blades of grass. "Evvverryooone misssess you so muchhh, I kneew, nooobboody but youu could gett the staff to cchange theiirr mindsss." It pulled several blades free and let them blow away in the wind. "I guesss I wasss wroonng, I wasss too sureeee, too determinnedd…" It gave its head a shake.

Freddy just stood there, unsure of what to say. He simply stared at the marionette, watching it tug blades of grass free. Freddy soon let out a long sigh and stepped forwards to the puppet. The puppet lifted his head to look at Freddy in alarm. He was careful not to move too fast as he settled down in a sitting position in front of the marionette. "You got a name, kiddo?" Freddy asked slowly as he looked the puppet up and down. "Did the staff ever name you?"

It gave its head a slow shake. "Nevvver ann officiall name." It said slowly. "Buttt theyy like to ccall me The Puppet. Orrr jusssst Puppet."

Puppet. Fair enough. Freddy gave a slow nod. "Alright, Puppet." He said, offering a small smile. Puppet simply blinked at him and wiped a few tears from its eyes.

More silence. Freddy twitched his ears. "When were you put in that place?" He asked. He felt the need to ask.

"Sshortly affterr you disssappearred." Puppet said matter-of-factly. "Thhe ssstaff wanteddd sssometing to entertain the kkidds whille theyy looked foorrr yyou, so they maddee me ass a temporarrry replaccement. An atttrrraction." It said with a slow nod. "Buttt thenn wwwee moved builldingsss..."

Freddy's eyes widened. Moved buildings? He felt extremely compelled to ask, but fought against it. Don't ask about it. He willed himself. You have left that life behind. Puppet understands that. Don't ask, don't remember, don't remember…

Freddy shook his head. "Where are we?" He asked carefully as he lifted his head to look around.

"Noott faaar fromm where weee weree beffoorre." Puppet said. It pointed towards a hill behind them. "Wwwee rolled dowwwn thattt hill." It looked at Freddy strangely.

Freddy nodded and got up. He extended a hand to Puppet. Puppet blinked in alarm, but slowly took Freddy's hand and got up himself. "C'mon." Freddy said as he jerked his head towards the hill. "Let's go get your little box."

Puppet tilted his head. He stayed quiet for a few minutes, but nodded. "Yesss." It said slowly. Freddy nodded and began to trudge towards the hill, Puppet trailing behind him slowly.

They climbed up the hill slowly. It was a bit of a challenge for Freddy, but for Puppet it was no problem .The marionette was up the hill in under 10 seconds. "Damn, where on earth do you get that energy?" Freddy huffed, trying to add humor to their situation as he offered Puppet a smile.

Puppet merely shrugged, but returned Freddy's smile, much to the animatronic bear's relief. Freddy trudged over to where he had dropped the little music box. He reached down and picked it up, then handed it to Puppet. "Here."

Puppet took it and nodded gratefully. "T-thaankk youu, Freeeddy." It said, stuttering slightly. It looked to be in thought. It then moved its head up to stare at Freddy, with big eyes.

Freddy nodded. "Alright, do you know your way back?" He asked carefully.

"Waaayyy baccck?"

Freddy twitched his ears. "Yeah. Way back. To the pizzeria." He said slowly, hoping to God the Puppet was done playing this 'return Freddy to the pizzera' game.

"A-Abouttt thaaattt…" The Puppet said slowly as he lowered his head. "I cccan't wallkk very well, Freddddyy."

"What?" Freddy said in slight exasperation. "Why not?"

"Wheeennn we fell, I sssprained my anklee baddly."

Freddy scowled and lowered his head to stare at the marionette's ankles. "They don't look hurt." He said flatly.

"I- I knnnowww, butt itt hurtsss to walkk…" Puppet said as he rubbed his hands together.

Freddy let out a long sigh. "Alright, fine." He gave in. "I'll help you get there, but only to the train tracks. When we get there, you're on your own. The pizzera, even in a new building, shouldn't be far from there. They didn't switch towns, right?"

Puppet shook his head. His head was lowered, but a small smile was playing on his ivory face that Freddy couldn't see. Freddy sighed and took a step forward. "Alright, lets get going. Just grab my arm or something. The train tracks shouldn't be far." The bear rumbled.

But before he knew it, Puppet suddenly nimbly climbed up Freddy's back and sat perched on his shoulders. He heard noise and saw Puppet wind the music box. Puppet wrapped his arms around Freddy's neck and lowered his head to where it was resting on the top of Freddy's own. Freddy exhaled a sigh. Great. How did he go from wanting to kill the puppet to having it cling to him? Right. Just to the train tracks. He thought with a nod. Freddy moved forwards and began to head that way.

"You're gonna have to guide me a little to get there, I'm not really positive where the train tracks are."

"Oooh! Offf cccouurrse, I willl!" Puppet sang as he tightened his grip on Freddy's neck slightly.

Freddy continued to trot down the dirt path, but he didn't notice the devious smile playing on Puppet's face from where he was perched upon Freddy's shoulders, as if he was planning something.