Author's Note:

Hope you enjoy the chapter! There will most likely be an extra chapter this week that was voted on by the Discord. It'll be a one-shot flashback type of thing so look forward to that!

Chapter 93

Chatterbox

Things had been rough lately. Hedy being in the hospital, Spring still being unconscious, and then that mess with Ruby's stalker. Everyone needed something good to help lift spirits.

On top of everything Ruby flat out refused to talk about Sally with anyone, so the Originals had to make do with sticking to her like glue to make sure she was alright.

She wasn't happy about that.

The teen slipped into Parts and Services where Hedy was working on Mangle and Spring and slammed the door shut.

"I love my bots. My bots are awesome. But they're driving me insane!"

Hedy had zero sympathy for her.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have given everyone a heart attack with your lack of self-preservation instincts," she snapped, focusing on the delicate wiring of Mangle's throat.

Ruby groaned and slouched into a chair. "I didn't do that on purpose!"

"And then you refused to talk to anyone about what happened, so of course they're upset. Even the Toys are upset," Hedy continued as if Ruby hadn't spoken.

"I'm fine," Ruby muttered petulantly.

"You had a crazy lady threatening your life, and you didn't do anything. That's not fine. You didn't let any of the bots get away with doing that. You didn't let the kids get away with doing that. You didn't let Michael get away with doing that. Why is she different?" Hedy demanded.

Ruby got that stubborn look on her face again and Hedy grit her teeth and carefully put the tools down.

"Ruby," she started, trying to keep herself calm. Mangle looked at her worriedly. "You just stood there while she shot at you. You didn't try and avoid it or anything. If the building didn't intervene you would be dead." She took a deep breath. "Are you still suicidal?" Despite her best efforts to keep calm, her voice cracked at the question. She was terrified of the answer.

Ruby's eyes snapped to her. "No! I'm not," she stated firmly. "I used to be. I don't want to kill myself anymore."

"But you're willing to just stand there and let someone else do it?" Hedy asked softly.

Ruby looked away. "It's not that simple."
"Then explain it to me Ruby. Please," Hedy knew she was dangerously close to begging. "We're terrified that if we look away you might let someone hurt you. Freddy's isn't a safe place but you've always defended yourself. Why didn't you do anything when faced with Sally?"

Ruby still wouldn't meet her eyes.

"Ruby. Why were you willing to let her kill you?"

The teen sighed and pulled her legs up to her chest on the chair.

"I can understand why she's upset. We both lost everything in one night. But she wasn't there. Sally didn't see what happened. She saw her family alive and well one moment, and then the next time she saw them they were all dead." She swallowed hard before continuing. "I saw everything. And I blamed myself because I desperately didn't want to believe it was just an accident. Just bad weather and bad luck. I wanted there to be a reason. I survived so it must have been my fault. Alice and Clint eventually managed to get through to me on that whole thing and it was only after they did that therapy started to help. It wasn't a magical fix-all. It was a bitter pill to swallow that I lost everyone because of bad luck. But that was reality. Sally did the same thing I did. But she didn't see any of it. She could only imagine what had happened. And I was the only one who survived, so she blamed me. And whatever she came up with in her head just reinforced the idea for her. She didn't believe the police because I'm close to them. She'd never believe a word out of my mouth either. So…she blamed me. And I understand why. Because I did the exact same thing at some point. Reality smacked me in the face though. I couldn't ignore what I'd seen forever. She might have skipped the trauma but as a result, she didn't see the reality of that night."

She fell silent and let Hedy and Mangle absorb what she'd said.

"So you just let her blame you?" Hedy asked.

Ruby shrugged. "What good would it do to argue? To fight her on that? It wouldn't change anything."

"And not trying to avoid the bullet?"
Ruby looked away again.

"Please don't tell me you still blame yourself?" Hedy begged softly.

The teen sighed. "Like I said, it's not a magical fix-all. On my bad days, I wonder. I don't have as many bad days as I used to but…"
Hedy's gaze shifted. "Faced with someone blaming you that much, you wonder if she's right."

Ruby nodded. "I'm not suicidal. Not anymore. But in the moment…I do wonder if it would be easier if I was."

Silence fell over them again. Mangle was twitching in that way that meant she wanted to hug someone but Hedy wasn't sure if it was Ruby or her since she was pretty sure her expression was somewhere between sad and horrified.

Hedy cleared her throat and looked away. "You need to work on that. Because if you let someone kill you then I'll be pissed."

Ruby cracked a small grin, nothing like her normal smiles but more genuine than what she'd been wearing lately.

"I'm still hiding in here since I'm pretty sure Foxy and Bonnie were whispering about wrapping me in bubblewrap."
Mangle let out an amused crackle and Hedy snorted.

"Whatever. Your timing is perfect anyway."
Ruby tilted her head and turned to face Hedy fully. "How so?"

Hedy grinned and gestured for Mangle to duck down again so she could reach her neck. The fox did so, and they were quiet for a moment as Hedy concentrated. Ruby was surprisingly patient while she waited.

"That should do it," Hedy said as she closed everything up. "Well?" She looked at Mangle.

The fox hesitated for a long moment before opening her mouth. Mangle committed all her electronic heart to the first words she had spoken in fifteen years. She was going to be clear. She would be heard. These were, for now, the most important set of words to her until the next came to mind, meticulously crafted after months of thought and consideration.

She smiled.

"Hedy is scared...of plushies!"

There was a beat of silence. And then Ruby burst into laughter, falling out of her chair.

"Mags!" Hedy cried out in dismay.

The fox just looked giddy.

"Absolutely terrified of them. You said you'd put my first words on a plaque." Her words were a little rushed in some places, and slow in others. But she was talking. She squinted with an ecstatic grin at Hedy. "You promised."

Ruby laughed harder from where she was rolling on the floor.

"I should have expected this," Hedy muttered, glaring at the fox. She couldn't stay mad though. Mangle looked so happy.

"I can talk!"

Hedy smiled softly. Mangle had a pleasant voice. Then again, she was a storyteller according to Teddy.

"Yeah Mags. You can."

Mangle glomped onto her in a big hug, whispering repeated thanks. Ruby calmed down and watched them with a grin.

"You were planning to surprise everyone?" Ruby asked.

Hedy nodded, but she wasn't sure Ruby could see since Mangle was still hugging her and she could barely breathe. "Yeah. Everyone's been kind of down lately. Wanted to give everyone a positive surprise for once."

Ruby grimaced. "I haven't helped much with that have I?"

"Not really," Hedy sighed. "But they'll relax a bit since you've talked to someone about it. Just never pull that again. Seriously Ruby. I expect to get grey hairs from the Toys. Don't you add to my stress levels too much."

"No promises," Ruby smirked as Mangle finally pulled back. "I think you'll be too busy dealing with whatever chaos Mangle is going to cause now that she can talk anyway."
Mangle grinned wickedly.

"You wouldn't believe how much people gossip around you when you can't talk. I know so many secrets."

Hedy paled a bit. She tended to mutter to herself while working after all.

"You and Goldy, gossip queens," Ruby huffed in amusement.

Mangle cackled. Hedy was pretty worried now.

Ruby got a look. "Is it true?"

"What…?"

"Do you have a phobia of plushies?"

"..." Hedy shifted and refused to answer.