A/N: Welcome back guys, thanks for waiting me out again. Now, I wanted to start by giving a warm welcome to two new readers that I spoke with these past weeks, one of them the writer of a fic I'm currently enjoying. So... welcome and thanks for reading! Same thing goes to all new anonymous readers.

Now, this chap is a big change from the more action-driven ones that were the last two or three. I enjoyed myself writing what's essentially a nice long one-on-one dialogue and some good old-fashioned inner conflicts; things I haven't done in a while. Though this one won't advance the plot so much, it paves the way for the next two, where I can promise you that a lot will happen in very little time. Tape 2 is almost over.

As always, I invite you to let me know how you liked this one. If you see any errors or if you think I can improve on something please let me know. And as always, happy reading!

Chapter 32: Hate and friendship

I think that the best word to describe what we felt that night, when the five of us were sitting together in the dark and silent Party Room 3, is desolation. Ferny and Sarah were leaning against each other in a corner; the usually striking color of their eyes had died out until they looked like shades of grey. My brother was right in front of me, his mournful blue eyes locked on the tiles of the floor next to him, clearly hiding from our stares. Not like that would be an issue. After all, a sad silence had taken over the gloomy space hours ago, and it still hadn't left. No one talked or moved, except one person.

Right next to me Jack was slowly tracing another circle on the floor, not raising his stare for one instant. Suddenly, he stopped and looked up at me with a curious expression. Breaking the hours-long silence, he asked me weakly and slowly "Are… are y-you okay?"

"What do you think?!" I snapped, glaring at a startled Jack, "Do you think I'm okay?!" Slightly scared, he shook his head rapidly. Guilt replaced my anger after a few seconds and I turned my head down in shame. Without looking at him, I mumbled "I'm sorry buddy. I… I'm just not okay right now. No one is."

He remained quiet for a few seconds, staring down at the floor, before asking "Are you… a-angry?"

I sighed. "Yes. I'm very sad, but I'm also a bit angry. I can't help it."

More silent seconds passed, then Jack lowered his head even more. "A-are you mad at m-me?" he questioned, sounding more like a whimper. I turned my head to look at him in surprise, before he cried softly "D-do you h-hate me n-now?"

Taken aback, I shuffled myself closer to him. "No, off course I don't hate you. Why do you say that?"

Jack covered his face with his stained golden hands as his shoulders trembled slightly. "I w-was so b-bad and mean l-last night." he sobbed, "I almost d-did something really… really b-bad to y-you and I a-almost… k-k-killed your cousin. I h-hurt you!" When I tried to interrupt he simply carried on. "I w-was so much worse t-than any of you! Th-then, your c-cousin got hurt s-so bad and I d-d-didn't do anything. I'm sorry… I'm s-sorry… I'm sorry…" He kept repeating this as he shook his head and sobbed quietly, his hands still covering his face. When I tried to put my hand on his shoulder, he flinched away from me, still repeating those two words.

"Listen to me buddy," I whispered, trying to get his attention, "it was not your fault. If he was here…" I swallowed hard, balling my fist to avoid breaking down. Sighing, I continued in a trembling voice "If he was here, Jeremy would say the same thing. Just don't cry, okay?"

Calming down ever so slightly, but with a body that still trembled a bit, Jack uncovered his face and looked at me for a moment, before staring down again and nodding weakly. "O-okay."

"Better?"

"B-better." He looked up at me with clear, glowing eyes. "Th-thank you."

We stayed side by side in silence for a few more minutes as Jack's crying gradually faded away. When that happened, I looked in front of me to see Sean giving me a small thumbs-up, blue eyes shining proudly. It was then that I just couldn't hold it anymore. I stood up hastily, feeling how four pairs of surprised eyes followed me as I walked to the door. "What's happening Don?" asked my worried brother.

"Nothing, just… I'll be back in a minute." I answered in a rushed voice, opening the door in a hurry and stepping into the dark hallway. As soon as I had closed the door I sat down on the floor against the nearest wall and simply broke down. All my pain, anger, guilt and misery tore through me as I wept pathetically on the floor, unable to shed tears. Even though my friends were right next door I felt completely alone; isolated from them by the secrets I was keeping, and that I couldn't bring myself to reveal.

I don't know much time I spent there, curled up against the wall, my head hidden behind my lonely arm that rested on top of my folded knees. Eventually my violent crying died out just to be replaced by a heavy, lingering sorrow. I raised my head from my arm and stared blankly at the grey wall in front of me, my mind overflowing and empty at the same time.

"It's a quiet night, isn't it?" chimed a juvenile voice from my right without malice or empathy. "I spent many nights like these before meeting you guys."

I didn't need to see him to know who he was. "What do you want puppet?" I mumbled in a low, broken voice. "I'm not in the mood to fight."

Without turning my head I barely registered that Marionette sat down by my side. "Neither am I Pizza Boy." he replied calmly, "I just wanna talk."

"I don't."

He let out a dry chuckle. "Seems like I have to take the initiative then." Marionette paused for a few seconds, before saying "Believe it or not, I know how you're feeling right now. To feel like you're about to lose it all and there's nothing you can do about it."

"Don't lie to me again." I interrupted angrily, "You hate me, I hate you, let's leave it like that."

He sighed. "Off course, I'm not trying to deny that. I just want to give you some… tips."

"Tips?" I scoffed, "You don't know…"

"Oh, I know exactly what you're going through." interrupted Marionette, "You're like an open book to me, remember? In a certain way, I know you better than your friends: you can't hide any secrets from me. Now, you don't know what I went through before becoming what I am. Those feelings of abandon, isolation, depression, whatever it is that you're feeling… they don't compare with the things I felt."

I swallowed down the annoyance I felt at this reply, and repeated "I don't wanna talk."

"Then don't talk, just listen." He paused for a moment, and I turned my head to see he was looking attentively at me. "You're sad and you're angry, but now that I'm here you're more angry than sad." Again, a few silent seconds passed, and I started to wonder with irritation where he was going. "That's your problem Pizza Boy. So far you've only managed to get rid of sadness by crying. You lay down, you let that sadness take over you, and you bawl your heart out."

"So?" I huffed bitterly.

"So, here's my tip: if you want to feel better, release that anger." I stared back at him, puzzled, as he whispered slowly "Don't hold it back Brandon. Just let it take over you."

I turned my head away from him and stared back at the grey wall in front of us, when a fire started burning inside of me. Suddenly, the words from the one I hated sounded extremely tempting. It was then that I felt a spindly hand lay itself on my right shoulder. "It's okay to be angry." cooed its owner.

The fire that I felt before instantly spread throughout all of me, and with it came that blinding feeling of fury and hate. My hand tightened itself into a fist and I felt my body trembling with wrath. My own wrath.

"What now?" I growled, facing Marionette.

His smile seemed to grow just a bit more. "Now, think for one moment and tell me why you feel like this. Who is to blame?"

A single image appeared on my mind: a disfigured white fox attacking my cousin. "She… she did this." I hissed furiously, feeling like everything was clear now. "Mangle did this. It's all her fault."

"Very good Brandon." said Marionette proudly, "Now, you have to release that anger." He tightened his grip on my shoulder one last time, before letting go and whispering "Destroy her."

As if in a trance I stood up slowly and silently, my fingers twitching in anticipation. "She's in Parts and Service." added the puppet, "Go ahead, make justice."

I started to walk away from the Party Rooms to the Main Hall with slow, determined steps. Not once did I stop to think what I was doing, not once did I stop to clear my mind from that blinding anger. I was seeing red.

"She did this." I growled to myself as I approached the Main Hall. "She did this to us." Stepping into the hall, I turned around to see the door of Parts and Service. "I want to…" Suddenly, a sensation of doubt crept into me. My fist started to unclench as reality slowly flowed back into my mind.

"You want to destroy her." commanded a voice behind me, "Tear her apart even more. Make her feel the pain you're going through, the pain Jeremy is going through." Marionette's voice became passionate and hateful. "Then, when you've had your fun, you'll find her blood seal and break it. Her soul will rot here forever, until she's a Shadow. Go on Brandon, turn her into the darkness and pain that she gave all of you."

Like a switch that went from off to on, a renewed sense of hatred entered my mind. The mechanical whirring and wheezing of my body were the only sounds to be heard in the dark corridor as I walked toward the grey door and opened it slowly.

The red glow of my backlights bathed Mangle's body, curled up in the small open space between shelves, unmoving. Seeing her sleep peacefully after what she did made me growl in anger as I took a step towards her. When I was about to take the second step, I heard soft whimpers and moans coming from her body; she was crying.

For one second I hesitated again, then I heard that tantalizing command inside my head once more: "Destroy her."

I took another step to do exactly that, when the white fox suddenly raised her head and stared at me with heart-broken yellow eyes. "M-mister Bonnie?" she croaked out feebly, "Why… why a-are you here?"

"You did this." I whispered spitefully, my only hand clamped into a quivering fist as I took another step. "You did this to us."

A flash of fear appeared in her eyes. "I'm s-so sorry…" she cried out, afraid and pained, "I'm so s-sorry mister B-Bonnie. I n-never wanted t-to do this… I l-liked his as well…" Her words got lost in fearful whimpers when she began to shuffle herself away from me. "I know y-you're angry…"

"Yes, I am angry." I replied with a poisonous tone, "I am sad. But I will feel better soon." I took another step that echoed in the small dark room. "Everything will be better soon." Crying, Mangle pushed her disfigured body further back. "Everything will be better after you're gone, and no one will know it was me." With one last step, I cornered her against the grey walls of the back of the room; terrified yellow eyes reflected my wrathful red lights. "No one will know it was me that destroyed you."

When Mangle tried to hook an arm to the wall and climb away I quickly grabbed her smaller endoskeleton head, pulling her down and pinning her against the floor as she yelped in pain. With fading yellow eyes she stared directly at me, and with a tone that lacked shyness or fear, stated sadly "I thought we were friends."

I pulled back my fist, about to strike a first blow, when my blinded mind finally registered those words. With my arm frozen in mid-air, I remembered the moments of happiness I shared with her and the Toys before opening up, and the mornings of sadness that brought us closer after the opening. She was always there; perhaps not close, perhaps a bit shy, but she was with us.

"She's toying with you." taunted that voice in my head, "Don't listen to her. Listen to me."

"You and cap Foxy repaired me that afternoon, remember?" continued Mangle feebly, "He said we're supposed to help each other, and you did." A sad smile appeared on her blood-stained face. "You all helped me."

"Did she ever help you?" countered that thing inside of me, "You're all better off without her."

"I'm sorry for what I did Mr. Bonnie, I really am. But I… I couldn't help it."

"Jeremy is your family, she's nothing. Are you going to let her go after what she did to your cousin?"

Mangle started to cry again, softly, vulnerable, just like a small girl. "M-maybe I don't d-deserve to be your friend after this," she sighed, "but I don't want t-to be scrapped… I d-don't want to g-go without any f-friends."

"She deserves it. It's not revenge, it's justice. You have all the right."

"I j-just want s-someone to say goodbye to."

"You said you want to destroy her, make her pay. Think about Jeremy."

"P-please… just let me s-say goodbye."

"You will feel better after doing it. No one will know."

"Can you l-let me do that?"

"Aren't you listening to me?! Destroy her!"

"No." I murmured coldly, silencing both speakers momentarily, "I won't hurt her." The voice inside of me screamed in protest, but it quieted down as I lowered my arm and shuffled away from Mangle. Taking a deep breath I leaned against the closest wall, trying my best to calm down.

Eventually, the nervous fox began to relax and stare at me with more confusion than fear. "A-are you still angry Mr. Bonnie?" she questioned unsurely.

"Not like before." was my low answer, "I don't know what happened to me." Ashamed, I returned her stare. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too." Mangle shuffled herself away from her corner, closer to me. A small silence followed, then she asked "Do you think he's going to live?"

"I don't know." was my honest reply, "I hope he does, I'd like to see him again. But even so, I don't think he'll be the same."

"If you ever see him again, please tell him that I say hi. Tell him I say thanks and…" She looked down in guilt. "Tell him that I'm sorry."

"Don't worry, I will."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Another short-lived silence, then Mangle turned to me once more. I couldn't help but notice the contrast between the childish, vulnerable look in her eyes and her blood-stained fangs and snout. "Can you forgive me Mr. Bonnie?" she asked feebly, "Tomorrow will be the last day of Balloons and me, so I need to know now.

I thought for a while, and since I was tired of lies and secrets, I decided to tell her the truth. "To be honest, no; I cannot forgive you." When her eyes began to flood with sorrow, I added quickly "I cannot forgive you because there is nothing to forgive. This was not your fault."

"R-really?" she asked incredulously, looking up at me with hope and surprise.

"Really. And I'm sure that if he was here, Jeremy would say the same thing."

With a small smile, Mangle whispered in a soft and shaky voice "Thank you Mr. Bonnie."

"For what?"

"For saying that. It… it means a lot."

Shrugging, I replied with a casual "It's nothing." as I turned to stare at the opposite wall of parts and service. The happy feeling inside of me became bittersweet when I remembered what was going to happen tomorrow. "I feel useless. I wish I could do something to stop them."

"It's okay." said Mangle indifferently, "Don't worry about it."

"Really?" I asked, surprised by her carefree tone.

"Yes." She shrugged as well as her twisted body would allow. "I'm happy about the months we spent together, before reopening. The games, the arcades… it was really fun."

I sighed with bittersweet nostalgia. "It really was."

Minutes passed, and neither of us said a single word. We just remained there, in silence, alone with thoughts and memories. Eventually, I stood up when I realized there was nothing more to do or say. As I walked toward the door, I heard her call out shyly "Can I… Is it okay if I say goodbye to everyone tomorrow? I… I just think it's the best thing to do."

I turned around and nodded in agreement. "That's a good idea." Once again, I started to walk to toward the grey door, when I felt the urge to say one last thing. I faced her one last time for the night, and saw melancholic yellow eyes in the dark. "Good bye Mangle."

That yellow light then illuminated another sad smile. "Good bye Mr. Bonnie."

When I started to walk back to my room I saw an unmistakable black figure leaning against a wall; one that I was expecting, but not hoping, to see.

Marionette started to clap slowly and mockingly, barely making a soft thud with his fabric hands. "I was really not expecting that, Pizza Boy." he admitted with amusement, "I don't know if forgiving her was noble and stupid, or just stupid."

"What the hell did you do to me?!" I snarled, stomping my way to him, "You almost made me tear her apart and break her seal! It's not enough for you to make us kill guards, so now we have to destroy each other?!"

The puppet let out a smug chuckle. "It's funny how easy it is to manipulate angry people." He paused for a moment, letting his words sink in, and said "Fun fact: you weren't even taken over Brandon, you were just mad. You can't put the blame on Bonnie or me, it was all you."

"Everything that we have done so far is your fault." was my answer, "Including what happened to Jeremy. And don't ever put your disgusting voice inside my head again."

He raised his shoulders indifferently. "If that's what you want to believe, be my guest. But let me ask you one simple question, and I want you to actually think before answering." He pushed his slim, tall body off the wall and stared right through me, then questioned slowly and purposefully "Was that voice you heard really mine, or was it yours?"

A short yet tense silence followed as I just looked up at his pale face and hollow smile, unable to answer. Marionette then shrugged it off nonchalantly as he said "Fine then, don't say anything. We both know the answer anyways." He turned around and started to walk slowly and calmly to the Main Hall, away from the Party Rooms and me.

"You're a monster." I hissed bitterly as he started to turn the corner, "And no matter what you do or how much time passes by, I will never let myself become something as ugly as you."

The puppet stopped suddenly as he was turning around the corner; the scarce moonlight reflected off his mask, accentuating the contrast between his black eyes and white face. "You call me a monster before looking at yourself in the mirror." he mumbled coldly. "You lie to your brother, you hide the truth from the Toys, you hurt the ones you call friends. But I am the bad guy, while we have all those things in common. We could've been really good friends if things were just a little bit different. Don't you think it's a shame, Pizza Boy? After all, we are monsters."

"Get. Out." I growled with diminishing patience.

"Good night to you too Brandon." replied the puppet calmly, disappearing around the corner. As I walked to my Party Room, I couldn't help but think about his question, just to receive the answer I feared.

That had been my voice.