Author Notes

Hope you all enjoy :)

Chapter 34

Confrontation

Ruby watched the mechanic and 'bot for a moment before looking around.

The Originals and Toys seemed to be distracted with a glaring match while Hedy checked Mangle out. She took advantage of this and slipped out of the room.

Ruby allowed herself a moment to lean against the wall and breathe through the pain radiating from her shoulder. Then she moved in the direction of the prize room, a room she'd never actually entered except to trap the Puppet.

Once inside, she couldn't help but giggle.

Hedy had padlocked the Puppet in his box.

"I was wondering why you didn't show your scrawny self all night." Ruby snickered.

"Oh, so you survived. I'm disappointed." Puppet answered from inside.

"Alive, breathing and angry as hell." Ruby responded absently as she looked around the room curiously.

Then she froze.

Were those…plushies?

Of the animatronics?

Her animatronics?

And nobody told her?!

She almost grabbed them from the shelves but Puppet spoke again, distracting her.

"And why would that be night guard?" he spat the term 'night guard' like it was detestable.

"You, Clown, are an awful friend." She answered casually, leaning against the nearby table and inspecting the rest of the shelves. "Absolutely terrible."

There were Toy animatronic figurines and mini puppets of the…well, Puppet.

"Well I don't particularly care what you think." Puppet replied, a hint of a growl in his voice.

"Really? Never would have guessed." Ruby started idly examining one of the creepy mini Puppet puppets.

Suddenly she slammed the thing down on the top of his box violently.

"You're sick." She hissed. "A sick, twisted manipulator who uses others."

She put more weight on the lid so it creaked.

"You know, I've got a theory. You want to hear it? You're pretty darn old aren't you? So what I'm guessing is that you met the Toys before the gang did. And you were an awful influence. They were young so they were easy to control. You brought the Toys up from the beginning to listen to you, to hate the Originals who you couldn't control. Then you taught them to hunt and to kill. I might not like them but I have a feeling that's your fault. Then, one of them stops listening to you. Mangle starts listening to Hedy, her new friend, more than you. She second guesses the whole killing the night guard thing and doesn't really want to do it anymore. She's also fragile so that's the excuse Hedy uses to keep her out of the game. I'm not blind, it was pretty obvious to me. So you, angry at the loss of control, devise a way to regain it. You manipulate the situation to make all the things you've told the Toys seem true, forcing Mangle to re-join the hunt. You hurt her to control her again."

She leaned closer to the box, a manic light dancing in her eyes. The others weren't around so she didn't have to tone down her darker side.

"I don't like you." She whispered. "But after this stunt? Your days are numbered. I don't care that she tried to kill me. My problem is what you did to her. I know trauma. I don't appreciate you causing more for her."

She slid down to sit next to the box, playing with the puppet doll again.

"You like playing games, don't you Puppet?" her sudden use of his actual name was strangely chilling. "You also like winning."

She glanced up at the ceiling thoughtfully.

"You don't know how to be a friend since you don't have any. You only have tools. You fancy yourself quite the puppet master don't you? Even though you're the puppet in reality."

She made the doll dance on its strings.

"You know what the dangerous thing about strings is though Puppet?" she asked softly, fingers manipulating the strings expertly.

A sadistic smile twisted her features as she looped a string around the doll's neck.

"You've got to be careful not to hang yourself."

The doll dropped limp in her hands and she hung it in plain view of the box.

"I won Clown. You lost. The game is over and your tools just had a very rude awakening."

She stood up and dusted herself off.

"You pulled the wrong string and the noose is tightening."

Ruby picked up a Foxy plush from the shelf.

"I'm taking this by the way. You give prizes to the winner of games don't you? You're in the prize corner after all. Enjoy your day Puppet. I look forward to the day you pull that wrong string again." She paused and glanced over her shoulder at the silent box. "And your subsequent hanging. I'll be the one laughing when it happens."

She left then, the room strangely chilled by her words.

Ruby strolled down the hall feeling satisfied.

"This isn't over." A venomous voice spat at her from the darkness.

The night guard didn't seem concerned though since she had noticed their presence long ago.

"Oh, so you've decided to stop sulking about night six at last?" she asked in amusement, looking over her shoulder.

The ghost child narrowed his pale eyes and glared at her.

"Or not. Whatever." Ruby shrugged and continued walking.

"You're just delaying the inevitable." The ghost growled.

"Oh really? Do you have another batch of animatronics from another restaurant up your sleeve? Cause I beat both bunches so far, so they have to obey the deal. So do you." She answered coolly.

"There weren't just the restaurants you know." The ghost hissed softly.

Ruby paused and looked back.

"Hmmm?" she hummed. "And what does that mean?"

The ghost's mouth snapped shut as if he hadn't meant to say that.

There always seemed to be something new to find out about the pizzeria. One mystery or problem was solved and a new one appeared to take its place.

Ruby gave the ghost a grin.

"Something new? Bring it on." She challenged.

The ghost simply glared at her before disappearing again.

The feeling of a nearby presence didn't though and Ruby looked around suspiciously.

"I'm sorry…" a soft, trembling voice spoke.

Ruby spun around to look at another ghost child, peering around the corner. She didn't remember seeing him before though. He had very distinct tear tracks stained onto his cheeks.

"It's my fault…" he murmured again.

Ruby frowned, motherly instincts kicking in hard.

"What is?" she asked gently, cocking her head to the side curiously.

"Everything." He answered miserably, head hanging in shame.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked but the ghost was already fading.

"I'm sorry…"he repeated and then he was gone.

Ruby felt very confused. She'd already met all the ghosts that possessed her 'bots.

So…who was this?

After a moment she continued walking, deep in thought.

The 'bots, of course, were in full panic mode when she finally walked back in. Seemed like they might have noticed her absence.

"Lass!" Foxy sounded relieved as they gathered around her, checking her over again.

Hedy was still checking Mangle over while the Toys watched her worriedly.

They spared a moment to glared at Ruby though.

"Stop worrying so much guys. I just had to go get my prize from the Clown. I won after all." She held up the Foxy plush triumphantly.

"There's still night seven." Toy Bonnie snapped at her.

Before anyone could respond, Hedy threw a wrench at his head.

"Oh no you don't. You're beaten. Grow up, get over it and stop listening to Puppet!" she almost yelled.

Ruby raised an eyebrow but stayed out of it.

"We could catch her! She's injured and-" he was cut off.

Hedy started pelting him with tools.

"Shut! Up! Mags is hurt and that's all you can think about?!" she did yell this time. "You stupid, idiotic, moronic rabbit!"

She punctuated each insult with a blow.

"Forget a toaster! You'll be lucky if I turn you into a battery!"

The other Toys wisely stayed quiet.

Ruby watched the assault with interest for a moment before turning back to her 'bots.

"Isn't he cute?" she held up the plushie again. "I think I'll name him Mini Foxy. I want to collect them all. Can you believe that no one told me about these? I love plushies!"

They just nodded mutely.

The mechanic could be just as scary as Ruby sometimes it seemed.

Ruby walked home, mind split between coming up with an excuse for the injuries and wondering who that new ghost was.

She was holding the fox plush under one arm and carried her bag in the other hand since it hurt to put it over her shoulders.

"Things keep getting more and more interesting." She murmured to herself. "But seriously, if Hedy was like that more often then I'd probably like her more."

She chuckled, remembering how Toy Bonnie had run from her like a scared kid.

"That was brilliant. I have the feeling that the Barbie Rabbit and I are still going to clash a lot of the time though. Oh well, should make it fun."

She grinned and hummed happily until she got to the front door where she abruptly remembered that she still didn't have an explanation for her injuries.

"Oh dear…" she mumbled.

Author Notes

I love writing Ruby's darker side...Next chapter up on Sunday.

Also, I really love reading reviews and suggestions so please keep them coming.

There is just one thing I need to talk about. One of the popular suggestions is to add romance to the story in some way. To put romance into this story would conflict with a lot of what I have planned so please don't ask for that. I was already planning to do a sort of spin off at the end which would involve an AU with Ruby where I would focus more on romance. Please understand that there are reasons why I haven't put romance into the story. There are still many plot points that haven't come up yet so please enjoy the story for what it is.

Thank you for all the support and I hope you will continue to enjoy reading this fanfiction. :)