Silence.
That is what met the Puppet's senses in the midst of the night. Normally, the Puppet thought, this would mean their internal music box would chime doom for whoever manned the role of night security that evening. That whatever purple phantom sat at that desk was then fated to face the Puppet's never wavering smile. But, as the Puppet sluggishly rose from their present, they just had one thought run through their mind.
Fuck it.
The Puppet gingerly stepped out of their spacious box, and tiredly stepped toward their music box, the thing that was meant to incapacitate them, prevent them from charging down the halls and strangle a purple guard, yet laid silent. For a moment their duty flit through their mind, and they glanced towards the camera that overlooked their slice of the pizzeria. Inactive.
Seeing the camera, dead to the world, the idea that one of the others had already gotten the guard passed through the Puppet. They picked up their music box and began to walk through the pizzeria. Technically it was the guard's job to wind the box, so, the Puppet figured, it wouldn't hurt to remind them of that. And if they were dead, well, served them right. The Puppet supposed.
They ensured the music box was held with care as they walked through the dark, passing Toy Freddy in the process who regarded the lanky animatronic oddly. The Puppet didn't care in the moment, it wasn't like his stubby fingers could wind the box. This sent further thoughts to the Puppet, like the idea of one of their compatriots killing the guard as they wound the box, if they wound it.
Bridge to burn once crossed, the Puppet figured, as they walked away from the Toy designed bear.
As they turned the corner, they saw Foxy slink away from the main hall as a flashlight clicked off, leaving the passage in relative darkness. The Puppet ignored the fox as well, as they lazily walked towards the lit up office, the brown haired head of the guard quickly twitching from monitor to vent, until finally looking up and flashing his flashlight in the Puppet's direction. They did not stop their slow pace forward, uncaring of being seen moving, even as the night guard flinched, almost dropping their torch as a look of pure horror overtook them, obviously remembering their music box obligations.
The guard scrambled around their desk as the Puppet crossed the doorless threshold of the office, coming mask to mask with the guard. How their allies fell for the Freddy mask, the Puppet did not know. Foxy was more aware, how exactly eluded Marionette, but they didn't care at all as they came to a stop in front of the guard desk. The guard breathed heavily, the Freddy mask not seeming comfortable, his blue eyes almost shining from behind the shadows of the mask.
Even in the Puppet's state of fatigue, and a severe deficit of fucks to give, or perhaps even because of those conditions, this guard remarkably lacked the telltale taint of purple. Which just meant he really did have a job to do. Beyond not dying, at least.
The Puppet thrust the music box in their grasp forward, causing the guard to flinch away, glancing between the box and the Puppet. Really, the thing putting off the guard, most likely, was the Puppet's altered features, which they could feel. They still felt their smile, strained and lethargic it may have been, but they could feel their eyes practically squinting, conveying the Puppet's true state of mind.
After a few moments the guard reached over his desk and gently took the music box from the Puppet, "You… want me to wind it?" He asked, a tinge of shock in his tone.
The Puppet nodded, letting their arms fall to their side, and feeling their mask's features soften at the progress towards peaceful sleep. They felt themself relax as the Freddy masked guard began to wind the box, occasionally glancing up at the Puppet between winds. Until he froze as the sound of garbled static began to approach from behind the Puppet.
They felt their features harden once again, and even let out their own huff of static as they slowly turned and glared behind them. Hanging on the frame of the office's doorless entrance, peering inside, was the Mangle. Endoskeleton out as always, and jaw open, at least until Mangle took in the Puppet's expression.
The once fox and Puppet stared at each other, Mangle confused and questioning, and the Puppet, with slight glowing light hovering in the dark of their eyes, annoyed and unwavering. A promise was held within the Puppet's lit eyes, one that demanded Mangle to not cross that threshold.
As the two animatronics stared each other down, the guard slowly continued to wind the music box, not daring to interrupt what was happening in front of him by flashing his flashlight at the Mangle. His patience was rewarded, as Mangle soon left, static fading down the hallway. The Puppet remained turned, ensuring it was just the two of them before facing the guard once again.
He truly looked at the Puppet, really for the first time since he started working at Freddy's. Normally the Puppet was never changing, blank eyes and an ever wide smile, but right then, were it not for a mime like porcelain face, with painted tears and cheeks, the sheer emotion it was giving off just felt incredibly human.
With one final wind, the guard presented the music box, as it once more played its gentle chiming to the Puppet. They slowly reached out their striped arms and took it, and the guard swore he heard a muted chime from the Puppet in turn. A thanks, perhaps? Its expression shifted to seem more content as it clutched the music box to its chest, in the very least.
And with that, the Puppet turned and began to walk away, but not without giving a single, slow nod to the guard, vanishing into the darkness of the hall from whence they came.
The Puppet felt the smile they wore again, a true representation of how they felt then, as they focused solely on their music box, truly ignoring any animatronic they might have passed by. They placed their music box back on its shelf, and slowly slid into their present box. Already, so quickly the calling peace of sleep lured the Puppet back to its much needed relaxation. They let out a chime or two of amusement, noting how wanting the music box for once somehow allowed them to walk with the thing. They pushed whatever that may mean, the thoughts and worries all of them away, and settled in for sleep.
—
Mike leaned back in his chair, Freddy mask laying on his desk once more, feeling completely flabbergasted. Firstly, he somehow forgot to wind the damn box, but secondly, and more importantly, the Puppet didn't kill him. Sure, he had tangoed with the Puppet once or twice, usually at the tail end of frantic nights to literally be saved by the bell. But that? The Puppet walking in, carrying their music box like a child wanting their favorite plush to be mended quickly before bed. And then it stared down the Mangle and left like it wasn't anything.
He sighed and slumped forward, quickly checking the prize corner camera in time to see the Puppet happily clambering into their box, which he could only assume was for the rest of the night. With a shake of his head he quickly started to swap between cameras, narrowing his eyes at Toy Bonny, who was preparing to venture through the vents. With a quick stretch he grabbed his flashlight and prepared to take on the rest of the night.
Though, looking back, after his shift had ended and the danger waned, he couldn't help but feel as if the night had become notably easier after the Puppet had left his office.