Hey everyone, here's chapter 44.
Many thanks to AugustFrost12 and Thx for your reviews, yes we are steadily approaching the 'endgame', I have the story mapped out up to its conclusion.
And yes August, Goldie probably did knock Puppet out with a club, she wouldn't willing allow herself to get knocked out.
To Valdsmirnov600, I decline the offer, no thank you, no translations.
Thank you to both CharlieFreemantheJumperch (I think you were a previous follower, if so welcome back!), and to KittyFireDragon for following this story! :-)
FNAF AR is great! (despite the in game mechanics pushing you towards buying powerups with real money to survive the onslaught of animatronics knocking at your door).
However, Toy Chica has now joined the fun and she has different mechanics, involving the use of the Freddy mask.
Also, according to some of the recent emails, the 'Glitchtrap' virus has been discovered and things are getting weird, especially with 'Ness' aka Vanny.
I aim to get a new chapter out on New Year's Eve, but I can't promise it.
Enjoy. . .
Warning, this chapter contains references to suicide.
Chapter 44
Inner Demons.
"I AM YOUR WICKNESS MADE FLESH!"
Nightmare from Ultimate Custom Night
Sometime after Freddy's and Foxy's experience in the world dream, Goldie had gone and brought Bonnie and Chica in. Upon mastering lucid dreaming, themselves, Goldie then went got the Toys in for the Originals to teach, while Goldie himself could focus on Puppet and Balloon Boy.
And finally, they could bring Mike and Jeremy up to speed if they all taught them together, it would save everyone a lot of time.
Bonnie and Chica faced their own fears which were similar to that of Foxy and Freddy, although they were slightly different. Chica for one feared that they would never regain what they had lost and would end up spending the rest of their lives in an insane asylum for the criminally insane with various experiments being performed on them to explain the reason behind their 'possession'.
Her fears had created quite a vid image of what the future could be…
Bonnie on the other hand as it turned out feared turning into Nightmare Bonnie, obviously her comment on them and the Fazbears being the same had hit a cord with Bonnie. She watched herself commit a range of sicking, blood thirsty acts on various innocent people which was enough to make anyone throw up a hundred times over.
However, both of them were able to overcome their fears, by reminding themselves of their moral principles, their determination and the likelihood of either event happening in the future, if Bonnie didn't want to become like Nightmare Bonnie, then she wouldn't do and if Chica didn't wish to end up in an asylum then she would do everything in her power to prevent that and she wasn't in one yet…a good sign when all things truly considered.
The real question now was could they handle their fears in the future and when the actual fighting started, keep them under wraps.
Only time would tell. . .
"You're doing good Bonbon, just keep up the pressure with the realism, remember fears are based on emotional responses, if you control your emotions then you can control your fears," said Freddy, watching Toy Bonnie face down her fears which consisted of countless children being killed by Vincent and then with her and others being blamed for failing to do their job, ending up in them being thrown out onto the streets.
Looking back Freddy could easily see why she and the other Toys feared being blamed, back in 1987 Fazbear Entertainment had pinned high hopes on the second Pizzeria with the idea that it could revive the business. Apparently during the Toys' training before they arrived at the Pizzeria, the company had stressed to them that they needed to be better than the Originals, they had to be at their very best in order to succeed, they couldn't fail.
The company at the time said that the Toys couldn't afford to let hundreds of excited children down…when really the underlying message was that they couldn't afford to let the company down.
And when the Bite of 1987 happened along with the Second Missing Children's Incident, the company underwent an insane drive for survival, desperate to save what they could from the negative repercussions of events which would cause serious financial harm to them.
However, something or rather 'someone' had to take the fall for the mess and that someone was the Toys, especially seeing how the company was more than willing to shift the daytime staff's responsibility of maintaining the children's' safety to the Toys and hysterical parents' were more than edger to find a scapegoat to avenge the loss of their loved ones.
And the Toys nearly did take the fall, had the Originals along with a younger looking Jeremy Fitzgerald not intervened at the last minute.
Truly for all the arguments, tensions and even fights that the two groups had gone through during their time at the second Pizzeria, in the end the Originals couldn't afford to let the Toys take the blame for something which wasn't their fault.
Freddy chuckled to himself, to think that nearly over thirty years ago, he said the Toys, had 'munchkin' spines, when in reality they were as tough as nails.
They were a family at the end of the day and after it seemed that all of the chaos had finally settled after 1994, it was enough to keep him going.
"Foxy, how is Toy Freddy doing?" he asked, turning in his direction.
"Great captain, he's overcoming his fear of failure," Foxy replied, also chuckling as he watched Toy Freddy verbally beat the shit out of his mind's representation of the CEO of the second Pizzeria.
"YOU WERE TRAINED FOR THIS TOY FREDDY, THE SAFETY OF THE CHILDREN WAS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY AND TO THINK WE PUT HALF OF THE COMPANY'S BUGET INTO GETTING YOU READY," the CEO yelled, towering over Toy Freddy and looking all menacing.
"YOU ARE NOT FIT TO BE FREDDY'S HEIR!"
Foxy couldn't help but laugh, if his own memory served him correctly the CEO of the second Fazbear Pizzeria was quite a harsh, strict and disciplined individual. However, someone failed to perform their job, he would let rip and verbally knife them, and he seemed to get pleasure out of it. In fact, he was properly a workplace psychopath, cold natured and only interested in success or his own self-fulfilment. Hell, Vincent could have gone for such a position if he wanted, but then again, there are many different brands of psychopaths in the world….Vincent was only one of millions.
However instead of backing down in fear of the CEO's words, Toy Freddy simply straighten his top hat and narrowed his eyes.
"Excuse me 'sir', but our job is largely to entertain children, what is the main job of the day staff, what, are they just meant to sit around and watch us preform all day?"
The CEO looked even angrier than before
"HOW DARE YOU INSULT THE HARD-WORKING MEN AND WOMEN OF FAZBEAR ENTERTIANMENT!"
"Does that also mean your stock brokers, your financiers and your 'hard working' board of directors with their massive salaries?" Toy Freddy inquired, his bear ears raising up as he smirked because he knew about the company's corrosive corruption.
Foxy was just laughing his head off in the background, but the CEO paid no attention to him, his sights were firmly set on Toy Freddy.
"You smug, reckless, mother fucker," the CEO hissed, barely able to contain himself.
He then slapped Toy Freddy on the head hard, making the man stumble backwards, he nearly lost his top hat, but he quickly regained his footing.
"YOU PATHETIC FREDDY WANNABE!" the CEO yelled, you could swear that steam was coming out of his ears.
"I'LL FREZZE YOUR PAY!"
Toy Freddy just laughed, making the CEO reached new unheard of levels of anger.
"Actually, I don't ever remember getting paid," Toy Freddy remarked, thinking back to the early days of his career.
The CEO leaned in and harshly poked Toy Freddy in the chest.
"IT IS BECAUSE OF YOUR FAILURE TO PROTECT THE CHILDREN THAT WE FAILLED, YOU HAVE A LOT TO ANSWER FOR-"
Toy Freddy punched him right in the face, smacking the CEO in the nose, he did it with enough force that the man stumbled backwards and fell to the floor.
Toy Freddy wasted no time in putting his foot on the man's chest, effectively pinning him in place.
"I am Toy Freddy Fazbear, I am my own 'Freddy' and besides it was your responsibility to make sure that the company didn't repeat the mistakes of the past, perhaps you could have avoided so by spending the money you earned on proper background checks for your staff, I had my responsibility…"
His eyes narrowed as he pushed the man into the floor with his foot, crushing him.
"But where was yours?"
The CEO remained calm, appearing to study Toy Freddy intently for a while.
Then he smiled and spoke, his words sending a shiver up the Fazbear's spine.
"You still blame yourself for letting them die, so much hope was placed on you."
His voice wasn't the CEO's anymore, but instead it was his own, Toy Freddy's eyes widen in surprise to hear such a thing.
For a moment, he seemed bge taken back.
However, it was only for a moment.
"Given what I knew back then, what could have I done, yes people had hoped that I and the others were better than what came before, but no one could do the impossible."
"You know you could have done better!" the CEO growled, still in Toy Freddy's voice.
Toy Freddy reached down and swiftly grabbed the man by the collar of his clothes and pulled him up close.
"You're a failure Toy Freddy!" he hissed through gritted teeth.
Toy Freddy smirked once more.
"Yes, but you're an even bigger failure, your position was higher than mine and with great power comes great responsibility."
Then he proceeded to brutally smash the CEO's teeth in with his fist.
He dropped the man to the floor, leaving him groaning with more than several missing teeth in his mouth.
"And I want a bloody pay rise," Toy Freddy muttered, turning and walking away.
Foxy walked up and looked over at the messy scene.
"Wow…"
He turned to Toy Freddy, looking quite shocked.
"You broke his teeth."
Toy Freddy merely rubbed his hands together.
"Yeah, well I deserve to give myself a little kicking for blaming myself over something which wasn't really my fault."
He looked up and smiled at Foxy.
"Plus, the real CEO was a cold hearted bastard and I was wanting to give him a piece of my mind for years."
Foxy smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, I can't really argue with that."
They both turned to see the CEO fade away as he lay on the floor, breathing in and out like he had been running beforehand.
"Well that's your fear under control then laddie," Foxy stated, visibly pleased that Toy Freddy had succeeded.
"Really it is just ourselves shouting at our reflections in a mirror, once you look past the threats and aggressive posture, it's really just you," Toy Freddy replied, equally glad he had overcome his fears.
Meanwhile on the other side of the Pizzeria, Goldie was watching Balloon Boy with folded arms as the latter stood before an empty space, waiting with tense breath for his inner fears to materialise.
It soon came with the sound of laughter.
A deep hearty laugh that steadily grew in strength, as Balloon Boy's fear materialised, with an imposing figure slowly coming together out of thin air.
Wrapped in a black dinner suit, sporting a bright red hat and bow tie, the animatronic known as Lefty came into being; stepping forward as he did. He held a microphone in his left hand and possessed only one eye, bearing a bright yellow pupil as he looked around until his gaze fell on Balloon Boy.
Judging Lefty by his appearance alone, there seemed to be little reason to fear him with his smart suit and top hat, he looked any ordinary children's entertainer.
Yet you should never judge a book by its cover and Lefty was no exception.
"I'd planned something special just for you," he said warmly, stepping towards BB in a casual manner.
His one eye, a yellow pupil was completely fixed on BB, as he could see him and no one else.
"Come and sing with me child," Lefty offered, holding his hand out, on the surface his offer looked genuine, but BB knew better.
"No," he said firmly, folding his arms as a show of defiance.
Lefty however looked curious to BB's rejection, leaning his head to one side.
"Why, we had so much fun last time," he remarked, again there was nothing sinister in his tone.
"No," BB replied coldly, maintaining his stoic stance.
"I know what you really are."
Lefty narrowed his eye, appearing to be studying BB intently and for a while a silence developed between them.
Goldie continued to watch from the side and he immediately noted that Lefty's design was completely identical to the robotic creation of SpringBonnie, given how human he looked.
His interactions however were noticeably robotic with his pauses and choice of words.
"You're afraid. . .of me," Lefty said, his tone was low and serious, his eye narrowed.
Slowly he stepped forward and then took another step as he cast a shadow over BB.
"I can sense it, you hide it, but it is still there, it isn't invisible to me," Lefty remarked, with his tone having harden, losing it warmth.
With his right hand he placed it on his chest before whispering coldly.
"Let me make room for you in here. . ."
His chest rattled ever so slightly as he spoke.
"Your fears they grow, you know what I am referring to."
"And you know that you will face me again soon and this time, unfortunately for you, my springlocks might work."
Then he smiled, but there was no warmth in his eyes, let alone his smile.
"In fact, let's try now."
Suddenly from his hand, he produced a series of strings and threw them forward like a fishing man casting a line.
They all caught BB by the arm and once done Lefty pulled back hard, dragging BB forward with so much force that he stumbled. BB tried to resist the pull, but in a competition of strength he was no match as Lefty reeled him in. His stoic stance had immediately evaporated, with his eyes expressing a deep-seated fear as his mind exploded into raw panic.
With his mind being swamped by fear, it feed into Lefty's appearance as the animatronic began to look more and more demented, with his head constantly twitching and shaking, as he emitted mindless static at an ever increasing volume.
"C. . .o. . .m. . .e c-clo- closer, le-t's-let's s. . .m. . .i. . .l. . .e tog-toget-together," he said, his voice now flickering between words and buzzing static.
BB pulled back hard, but it was a useless fight and he knew it, as did his fears with Lefty turning even more erratic as his chest began to rattle loudly with multiple gears shifting about.
"Next time, I will find you and I won't be alone, not even your friends will able to hide you from me," Left uttered, his tone was now a mixture of his male voice and a sinister child like malice.
"Let's see how many pieces I can cut you into. . ."
Suddenly, his chest plates burst wide open, almost flying off their hinges, revealing a death trap of gears and joints that brought up repressed memories for Balloon Boy of his experience being inside the animatronic. Amongst Lefty's other insides were the infamous springlocks, all twitching back and forth with the deadly hard plastic and metal components popping in and out of view.
Lefty's insides had all the makings of an iron maiden.
Although the sight of the springlocks sent a cold shiver up BB's spine and his fears responded accordingly as they grew in strength.
"There is space for you, but just. . .barely," Lefty whispered in a tone completely filled with malice.
"However, you won't be alone in here."
"I have familiar faces to keep you company."
Suddenly, a rather long metallic arm reached out from within the dark confines of Lefty. The arm itself was tattered and withered with age and rust, as the hand reached out for Balloon Boy with its fingers looking rather skeletal.
"WE WILL FIND YOU, YOU CANNOT HIDE FROM US OR FROM THE PITS HELL THAT ACHE TO SWALLOW YOU WHOLE!" a shrill and hated filled voice cried out, amidst the electric static that Lefty continued to emit when he wasn't talking.
The Possessed Prop Suits. . .
All of BB's fears were coming back to haunt him and at the mere sight of those things only further strengthen his fears' grip on his mind.
More hands similar to the first one reached out from inside Lefty, all aiming to grab him and pull him into a world of enteral suffering.
BB's fears skyrocketed as Lefty pulled him closer, almost within reach of the possessed prop suits' hands.
"SOON YOU WILL KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO BE TORN APART!" they screamed in a collective rage.
"Your family cannot save you from me, I will be your personal tormentor," Lefty hissed in a vile tone as his sole pupil had rolled backwards, giving him two vacant black eyes that made him look soulless. In the back of his mind, Balloon Boy knew that it was highly likely that Lefty would be recreated by the Nightmares and then be sent to hunt him specifically whilst others like Goldie would be occupied by the other animatronics.
However, that didn't mean that Lefty would win, nor that the murdered nightguards would succeed in their goal for revenge.
At the heart of it all, he was terrified over the prospect of it, without questioning the possibility of it becoming true, which relied on logic. Fears however were mostly based in emotions and his own fear was no expectation.
Yet even if he became surrounded by them, his family would never abandon him, no matter what happened.
He seemed to lower his head and sigh, inviting Lefty to say in a spiteful tone dripping with malice.
"You accept that we are very much real and that we won't rest until you are consumed by the fires of hell that scream for your damnation."
"True," BB muttered back in response.
Lefty reached out with his free hand, now being close enough to drag the boy.
"That doesn't mean you will win though."
Lefty stopped in mid-action, his hand barely touching BB as he eyed the boy suspiciously.
"My family will always stand by me and we have suffered far worse than the likes of you, you are just another hurdle among many that we've overcome," BB said stoically, slowly rising his head to look Lefty in the eye.
"I am afraid of you, but doesn't mean you'll win."
Immediately Lefty took a step back, almost as if he was in disbelief with BB's words.
"I will fight you, and I will win, not you."
"I survived encountering you before and I will do so again."
Lefty took another step back, now his sole eye had rolled back, revealing his yellow pupil as he frowned at BB.
"I will beat you," Lefty said sternly, with his free hand forming a fist.
"AND WE WILL CRUSH YOU!" the possessed prop suits screamed from the dark confines of Lefty's insides.
"No, you won't, you're a fear not reality," Balloon Boy replied calmly, his eyes were now narrowed in defiance.
"Based on good assumptions," Lefty retorted sharply, visibly getting angrier.
"You barely survived last time."
"True, but that still doesn't mean it will happen again, besides you caught me unaware last time, this time, I will be ready for you Lefty," Balloon Boy said, his tone became more determined and less calm.
"I am afraid of you, I can't deny that, but I will beat you. . .this time round."
Lefty didn't reply, nor did the possessed prop suits, instead a tense silence developed.
Then Lefty retraced his strings, freeing BB's arm as they flew back inside his sleeve, with the arms of the possessed prop suits ceasing to move.
For a good long while both Lefty and Balloon Boy stared eachother down with the former clearly towering over the latter. Goldie who was still standing on the side-lines looked stoic, although he was smiling like a Cheshire cat on the inside.
"If fear was a person, then their fear would be not being feared," he mentally commented.
As he said it, Lefty's head began to twitch and jerk about in an uncontrollable manner. Soon his whole body started to shake as he seemed to tremble from head to toe. He tightly gripped his microphone as the arms of the various possessed prop suits shook in mid air.
Lefty's shaking only seemed to worse as he now gripped his head with both hands, with his mouth hanging wide open as his eyes repeatedly rolled back on themselves.
And then he screamed, his voice being a high pitched electric wail that intermixed with the haunting metallic screams of the possessed prop suits, as their hands bashed against the insides of Lefty's suit in a frenzied expression of both aggression and fear.
Balloon Boy meanwhile just stood before the trembling Lefty as he wore a blank expression, watching the chaos unfold.
"I'm real, whereas you are not," he muttered coldly, as the combined screams of Lefty and the possessed prop suits drowned him out, but it didn't matter.
His fear had got the point, it couldn't win.
Then in one swift motion, the arms of the possessed prop suits retreated back inside Lefty, as the latter's chest plates swung shut with a clang.
Immediately afterwards Lefty ceased to move, slumping forward as he shut himself down, seeming to concede to Balloon Boy.
His hands fell by his side with his whole body leaning forward and his eyes had closed.
However, out of his jaw dropped mouth came a soft yet defiant whisper.
"I don't have to be real to win. . ."
And then Lefty faded away into nothing, leaving Balloon Boy as the clear victor.
Then Balloon Boy breathed massive sigh of relief; it was over.
He felt a hand being placed on his shoulder, he turned and looked up see Goldie standing next to him.
"Well, I am impressed," he said with a warm smile.
"I can see why Lefty is so terrifying, good thing he isn't an issue in the real world."
Then Goldie's eyes darted over to the empty space which Lefty had just occupied.
"At one point, I thought you had given in."
Balloon Boy returned with a smile of his own.
"Yeah, I did it to fool my fear into thinking it had won, it's called a double bluff."
Goldie laughed, slapping B.B. on the back.
"You're a crafty guy aren't you?" he asked clearly amused.
"Well I am not as physically strong as the others so I need to find other ways to make my way in the world," Balloon Boy replied, to which Goldie nodded, understanding his position.
Balloon Boy was properly the most adaptable out of all of them.
"You never cease to amaze me BB, you really do," said Goldie, tussling his hair.
He turned in the directions of the others.
"What do you say we go and give the others our support?"
"Sure, why not," Balloon Boy answered, taking the lead.
On the whole, everything was progressing quite smoothly, Toy Bonnie had gained full control over her fears by accepting her responsibility, but pointing out that realistically she didn't know that Vincent was a child murderer and that it was really the company's fault at large and not her or the Toys for the children's deaths.
The five ghost children who had represented her fear had previously shown Toy Bonnie the threat that a grieving parent could one day take harsh action against them for their crimes, in other words killing them. However, in the end she successfully made them fade away once she had destroyed their arguments with realism including the likelihood of someone going after them for what happened in the second pizzeria which was fairly minor considering how long ago it was.
Toy Chica had faced down her fears of being unable to save everyone from the Nightmares, in the end she feared being weak and incapable when it truly mattered. It appeared to stem from her time in the factory when she was unable to intervene and stop the Nightmares' treatment of Mangle, Toy Bonnie and Toy Freddy. However, she got through the initial onslaught with her mind's representation of her fears being Nightmares Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy, who compared Toy Chica to being weak like a child, also referring to the fact that the children who were killed by Vincent couldn't save themselves…a harsh comment to make in itself.
Yet she was able to overcome them all by accepting the fact that she wouldn't be able to be strong all the time, but that she wouldn't stop trying either.
This largely took out the wind from her fears' sails as their argument started to collapse, evident by the fierce expressions she got from the Nightmares.
They of course tried to challenge her argument, aiming use her emotions to bring her to her knees, but Toy Chica wouldn't falter.
"I know what I am capable of, I do fear losing them, I love them, but I need to keep a clear head, fear will only paralyse me."
And with that statement, her fears lost their grip with each one of the Nightmares fading away into thin air, accepting their fate, although their hate filled expressions said otherwise.
And then of course, there was Puppet, her fears were kind of predictable.
The physical manifestation of her worst fears ended up being Vincent wearing the SpringBonnie suit and holding a knife next to a random child's throat.
Although it was Vincent, he spoke with her voice, mocking herself.
"You've failed them, and now you are on the verge of failing everyone else, how can you possibility rise from this, your reputation is forever tainted, you have no money, you've already lost a family member."
Vincent tilted his head slightly, studying the Puppet's posture with a look of curiosity.
"Things just always go bad for you lot whenever they start to go right, why bother any more, you can't find him, your enemies have since doubled in number and capability if your little encounter with Nightmare Freddy was anything to go by," he hissed, laying out her situation.
Again, it was her own voice that he was using, but it was mixed with the inbuilt electronic voice box, giving his voice a robotic undertone which was cold and plain.
"I am still here, I am evidence to all your sins, you like think that you have no strings to hold you down, but you do, you just never wanted to admit it, you've never had control over your own life."
There was a strong element of truth in his or rather her own words, she had failed the children once, and yes events had happened beyond her control and still were. Therefore in the end all she could do was ride them out and try to make an impact in the world around her. However, she was never in the driving seat, that role belonged to Vincent or Fazbear Entertainment and just like the rest of them she had to make do with what she had and where she ended up.
Often or not, it was nearly always in a position which she would rather not be in.
"You are a puppet, both in life and in meaning, but who is the puppet master, Mari?"
Calling herself by her old name was quite a shock, although she should have expected it, given that this was her own fear talking back to her.
Vincent's smile grew as his words wrapped themselves around her mind.
"You know you can lose, and family is all that you have left, the Fazbear business is long gone."
Puppet merely folded her arms.
"So, what should I do, tell me, what's your idea?" she asked stoically, throwing the question out there.
"You seem to know the answer already."
Vincent chuckled, although again his voice was her own laughter mixed in with the robotic undertone, adding an element of madness to it.
"Give in, accept that you will live a lonely depressed life in a rotting pizzeria, there is no hope for you Mari, the only blessing that you will receive is dying peacefully at an old age."
Vincent laughed again.
"Then again, there is always suicide."
He smirked.
"And it wouldn't be the first time you've tried to take your own life."
Puppet's eyes widen as Vincent's words left his mouth, that one sentence struck a chord within her, memories came back.
The image of a rope appeared in their mind, one which was swinging from side to side, slowly a figure emerged out thin air….herself with closed eyes as her face became a pale white.
She felt her heart starting to race as the image grew more and more life-like.
That image symbolised a low moment for her, when she felt like all hope had vanished from the world, that she was stuck in her position and that she had condemned the others to a double life of murder. Back when she revealed to the Fazbears that she had placed the children's' souls inside them, leaving them open to possession under which they would commit brutal acts of savagery.
She did that…that was her doing.
Vincent smiled even more as he sensed her ability to resist breakdown.
Puppet actually backed away as her despair grew within her.
Yet a little voice in the back give her some comfort.
"Yet you were able to give them a second within us."
It was the words Balloon Boy had spoked back in the basement of the factory.
"You shouldn't blame yourself for the past, it is what it is and Vincent will get what's coming for him."
Yes, she had been able to give the children a second chance, a new life to gain their revenge against their killer.
And yes, she was only doing what she thought was right at the time, but still her actions gave away to the death of many innocents, at times she had even asked herself of who was morally superior, her or Vincent?
That one question had caused so many internal debates which had raged for so many nights inside of her.
Was it all worth it she had asked, often undergoing long mental conversations with her self-doubts. The struggle and stress of it all had threaten at times to consume her utterly, but somehow, she was able to cling onto what was left of her humanity.
After all, she was still here wasn't she, with a consciousness, the others had over time forgiven her, they didn't like their new role, but they saw it as their life mission to free the children and so far nothing had really stopped them.
So why should they stop now, why should she stop now?
Just because her inner critic was telling her that their situation was hopeless, because they didn't hold the upper hand.
To make the impossible possible, you have to try and she was not ready to accept defeat…with all the new found knowledge which Goldie had shared with them, to her it proved that they still had a chance.
True everyone felt despair for many reasons, but right now it wasn't needed, this physical manifestation of her self-doubt was playing into Vincent's hands, her inner confidence started to boil.
She was her own master, not this 'thing'!
"You condemned me to this life the moment you killed that boy, but I have survived worse….far worse and I am still here, my family is still here and Springtrap's death will not go unnoticed, we've got Goldie back because of him," she stated, now sounding rather fierce, her confidence rose with it.
Vincent or rather her self-doubt appeared to recognise this, he frowned, tightening his hold on the knife would he held close to the child's neck.
"You cannot win, not against these wounds, you know that there is much which you don't know already and besides..."
He smiled with renewed confidence.
"Do you truly want to know what lies in the shadows, what if it is much more deadly than Vincent?"
However, Puppet merely shook her head in defiance.
"If going into the shadows means being able to free the children and ourselves from the hell which you put us in then I'll do it, being a part myself you should know that already, yes, I have stumbled before, but I have always been able to pick myself up."
She smiled, something which her self-doubt clearly disapproved of, evident by its narrowed eyes.
"As the real Vincent, would say, this is all part of a game and we have merely entered another stage."
Vincent or rather her self-doubt growled in her voice, a sign that it was losing the argument.
"When the game is over, I will accept the result, then you can berate me all you want," Puppet stated, holding her ground.
A moment of silence passed between the two, eyes locked, but eventually Vincent spoke, but of course it was in the Puppet's voice.
Yet, her tone was calm and collected, despite the annoyed look.
"Ok, I see your reasoning, much can change between here and now."
He released the child from his grip, taking the knife away from his throat.
Slowly he started to fade away, smiling.
"I'll look forward to nailing your failures into you physically," he hissed as he became ever more transparent.
"We will see," Puppet remarked, keeping her hawk like gaze.
"We will see about that 'Vincent'."
Vincent laughed, but it was in her laughter.
"Indeed, we will Mari…one day."
Then he was gone, laughing to himself out of existence, the random child also disappeared alongside him, but in his last moments he looked glad to be free.
Puppet sighed, brushing her hair away from her face, thank God it was over.
Was it a victory, she had just more or less made a deal with her inner demons to delay the internal torment until the aftermath, perhaps it could be seen as a tactical victory, she was still in control after all.
In end, she was sure about one thing.
"Internal enemies are a dam sight worse than external enemies," she muttered bitterly.
"They never truly leave you."
After the Puppet's ordeal, almost all of the Toys had conquered their fears…all except for Mangle.
Mangle's fear was personal, although to be fair everyone's fear was personal and Mangle's fear was similar to Freddy's, but like BB's it was based on something real.
And she feared it could happen again.
Reaching out with her mind, she created a scene she wished to never see again for as long as she lived.
The Bite of 1987…
Having long existed as a discarded memory within the depths of her sub consciousness, it was now recreated in full detail before her, replaying continuously like a never-ending unbroken record.
The look of complete horror on the young female staff member as the 1987 version of Mangle, possessed by an irrational rage leapt at her from the ceiling.
She dug her teeth into her head once she came into contact, edger to cause harm by any means possible.
However, as nasty as the initial attack was, it wasn't the bite that did the most damage, but rather what happened next.
Having jumped at the night guard from on high, Mangle had been going at a fast speed when she crashed into her, the resulting high speed impact was more than enough to knock the night guard over.
She fell backwards quite quickly and her instant impact with the floor was marked by a sickening crack...the crack of her skull breaking.
Oddly enough it didn't kill her outright, but it certainty put her into a deep coma, one from which she never recovered.
About a week later, when the Toys were hiding inside the Originals' Pizzeria, they were informed that the female staff member had died because of her injuries, apparently, her family had agreed with the doctors to turn off her life support, she passed away peacefully. The entire incident broke Mangle and sent her into a long period of anguish, grief, regret and guilt, which even today the others could see she had never truly recovered from.
When Mangle first entered the second pizza in 1987 with the other Toys, she was happy, fun loving, witty, humorous and a capable performer in her own right.
Well that was her…before all the bullying started, and it was quite harsh.
Initially, she didn't even know why they started to pick on her. Her only guess was that they didn't like the fact that she was Foxy's replacement. He did have a fairly big following back in the first pizzeria and from the children's viewpoint she didn't match their expectations and children are quite harsh when it comes to criticising.
They didn't hold back their punches.
Now she could cope with that, they just needed time to warm to her, she could shine in her own way, and she didn't need to copy Foxy.
However soon the actual bullying started, some of children just didn't like her no matter how hard she tries, and it quickly became physical. The ripping and tearing of her clothes, the name calling, the abuse, she had lost count of how many times she had to stitch her clothes back together. They started to call her 'Mangle' because of it and the nickname stuck, her official name which was Toy Foxy dwindled in use.
The bullying hurt her both physically and emotionally and over time it affected her mood, she became sullen, withdrawn and moody.
And soon she started to hate her job, because the bullying never ended, Fazabear Entertainment did little to intervene and her family members could only help her so much as most of the time their attentions were elsewhere. It wasn't that they didn't care, but rather that they were kept occupied.
And of course, the combined feelings of rejection, abandonment, sadness and self-pity transformed into anger, jealousy, resentment and hatred.
Which made her perfect for Vincent's scheme as a distraction, a role which she unwillingly and unknowingly preformed to complete perfection.
One minute she was resting peacefully in her cove while the others preformed for the children on the main stage outside. Then suddenly she awoke to a feeling of intense rage, an irrational anger and a drive to inflict misery on those who had harmed her.
Using her endoskeleton arms attached to her by means of a belt, which she had purposely acquired so she could crawl across the ceiling in order to escape her bullies, as well as to impress those who were watching. She climbed up the surrounding walls and onto the ceiling before leaving the room and heading towards where all the action was.
And in her anger filled state she spied a child, a girl, who had previously been bulling her and there was nothing else Mangle would love more than to teach that girl a lesson, reap what thou sows so to speak.
She was soon spotted by various children and staff members hanging off the ceiling and looking around for familiar faces.
The Toys even stopped mid-way in their act to wave at her, inviting her to come on stage, everyone thought she was part of an act…except she wasn't.
Deciding to go for the girl, Mangle swiftly positioned herself and then leapt using her endoskeleton arms to throw herself forward.
It was quick, but as it turned out, a young female staff member had foreseen that her actions would end up hurting the girl. The projection would result in Mangle crashing straight into the girl, although obviously, she didn't know that was Mangle's real intention.
So, within a matter of mini seconds she got in between the girl and Mangle and the decision to do so ended up costing her dearly.
Mangle had never been fully able to forgive herself for that and the scene with stood out before her just brought all of those feelings back.
She didn't turn round, although she got the sense that everyone else was watching her.
Emotions were like an unpredictable train ride, never going in one direction for long and always changing course.
And this case it was a downwards spiral to emotional collapse, Mangle could feel her emotions get the better of her as the sounds of that fatal day grew louder and louder.
Her breathing increased in its intensity as fear and panic started to race through her system, seizing control of her mind, repressing her ability to think rationally.
Soon she ceased to hear anything else outside of the memory, everything around her was becoming muffled, and her own mind was working against her, as something else crept its way onto the scene.
"You did this, isn't that you attacking the staff member, how is that entertaining for anyone, let alone children," a voice asked from inside her head, its tone a mix of sneering, self-loathing, and delight.
This was Mangle's self-doubt, but unlike Freddy's self-doubt it possessed the capability to increase its hold, given that Mangle had actually committed her worst fear to begin with.
Evidence which it used to justify its hold over Mangle, as well as the argument it used against her.
"Although…killing an innocent might be of entertainment for the Nightmares, they like that sort of thing," the voice muttered, as if it was observing the scene with its own set of eyes.
"I am not a Nightmare, there is already a Nightmare Mangle," Mangle replied, speaking her mind out loud.
A sense of confidence swept across her mind, but it wasn't Mangle's, her self-doubt was somehow amused at her words.
"There wasn't never just one, two Nightmare Mangles can exist, but one is in denial that they can become one, despite having already killed," her self-doubt argued.
"You're lying, Nightmare Mangle wants to kill, I however don't," Mangle shot back, trying to highlight the fact that she could choose between good and evil, whereas her nightmare opposite probably couldn't care less.
However, Mangle found herself slipping even further into the scene, isolating her from the others as a mental wall started to build itself within her own mind, locking her into a battle against herself.
"I disagree, this scene particularly speaks for itself," her self-doubt cooed as Mangle felt the mental walls close in on her.
"I wasn't fully aware of what I was doing, don't you remember the shock I felt when I found out what I did, why would I be shocked over something which I 'intended' to do?" Mangle asked, feeling confident as she threw more reason into the debate.
There a considerable period of silence before her self-doubt spoke again.
"Mmmm…good point, although to be fair, if you don't intend to harm others deliberately, and you have committed harm unaware, remember the night guards, then there still exists the possibility that this… could happen again."
"Lighting never strikes twice," Mangle remarked defiantly.
"That's what they said about the two Missing Children's Incidents," her self-doubt argued, confident with its own knowledge.
"Yet they both happened."
Mangle stared at the helpless woman as she was repeatedly attacked again and again, each time her head hit the floor there was a loud crack.
The cracking sound, echoed throughout her mind, giving her self-doubt the strength and courage to make bold statements.
"You feel guilty over what you've allowed to happen, you've wished so many times that you can turn back the clock and to reverse what was."
The inner voice grew with beaming confidence as if it was smiling.
"What's done cannot be undone Mangle, you of all people know that."
"This is your legacy. . ."
"Would you like to embrace it?"
Suddenly Mangle, or rather past Mangle jumped down from the ceiling, but she didn't go for Helen. Instead, she turned her attention towards Mangle herself, using her endoskeleton arms to raise herself above the now helpless woman who she towered over like a titan.
Present day Mangle immediately found herself trembling under the murderous gaze of her past self, who eyed like a predator in the wild, preparing to pounce on its prey.
"You are not real," Mangle stated, trying to strike up a defiant tone, with a stoic gaze.
Past Mangle stared back, with her looking getting ever more vicious.
Yet Mangle's self-doubt finally uttered a response, although that it wasn't her words that made Mangle's eyes widen in fear, but rather where it came from.
"Am I now?" it questioned in a dismissive tone, with her words coming right out of Past Mangle's mouth.
Suddenly, Past Mangle grabbed Mangle by the throat and lifted her up with immense strength.
"Is this not real enough for you Mangle?" she asked, her voice sounded like honey, but was clearly lanced with venom.
She now smiled as she began to tighten her grip on Mangle's throat, with the latter instinctively gripping her past self's arms and trying to pry herself free.
"MANGLE!" Toy Bonnie screamed, trying to reach to reach for her, but knew that she couldn't interact and stop what was going on, much to her frustration.
"YOU CAN DO IT MANGLE; WE BELIEVE IN YOU!" Toy Freddy shouted, although his frantic tone betrayed his inner fears, as Mangle desperately try to fight off her aggressive past self.
"DON'T GIVE INTO IT MANGLE, YOUR EMOTIONS ARE FEEDING HER!" Goldie yelled, trying to be the voice of reason in an otherwise panic driven situation.
"Helen is dead, because of you, the children died because of you, your family suffered as a result of your lack of self-control," Past Mangle hissed, now clearly being the physical embodiment of Mangle's self-doubt.
"You can't forgive yourself, can you?" she asked, further strengthening her hold as she lifted Mangle up higher and higher.
Immediately, Mangle found herself thinking back to her conversation with Puppet at Jeremy's kitchen table.
"I know, but someday, everyone has to face their demons, internal or external."
"But you won't be alone confronting it though."
Yet she was alone, technically her family couldn't do anything to help her against her own demons, they would go right through them and nor could past Mangle see, hear, feel or even smell them as they didn't exist to her.
They were so close and yet so far.
Mangle viciously pulled on the hands of her past self, but she still couldn't weaken the latter's grip.
"Can you imagine how her family felt and how they hated you for causing their daughter's death, you remember the protests that occurred outside the pizzeria," Past Mangle said, with her voice noticeably sounding colder than before.
"How they called for you to suffer for your actions. . ."
Her words had an impact on Mangle, for she knew that her past self was right, there were protests and most people present had been baying for her blood.
Past Mangle searched Mangle's eyes, her bright yellow pupils that had previously expressed a frenzied sadistic delight, now showed a cold, calm gaze of satisfaction.
"You're scared of her, Helen, you fear her retribution should you face her," she spoke in a smooth and icy tone, watching as Mangle's eyes widen in panic, confirming what she knew to be true.
She was a part of Mangle and therefore knew everything that she did.
"You know what will happen if she catches you and you know that she can come back, now that your other victims have returned."
She then pulled Mangle closer, more than the latter would like, for she looked very uncomfortable as Past Mangle penetrated her personal space.
"I can see your guilt; it is like a dark pit of hellfire that seeks to consume you as you stand on the edge of the abyss that underlines your failure," Past Mangle whispered, her voice was serious and cold, with her harsh words cutting straight through to Mangle's heart.
Because she was right, or rather her self doubt was right.
The feeling of shame was undeniable as it was overwealhming as Past Mangle continued in her delivery.
"You cannot escape your guilt, actions have conquences and Helen will tear you apart limb from limb."
"You saw what nearly happened to BB and Helen will single you out and she won't stop until you've suffered what she has."
She leaned in closer.
"How can she not be angry, having lost her young life to an unprovoked attack?" she asked, knowing full well Mangle's reaction.
And Mangle finally crumbled, breaking into a sob.
"It is my fault, I caused her pain and she won't forgive me," she cried, lowering her head as she made no attempt to fight back the tears.
Past Mangle smiled in full blown delight, watching as Mangle emotionally floundered before her.
"I am responsible for so much pain, I don't deserve happiness, no one would give me the time of day," Mangle whispered, yet her tone carried so much emotional pain as she wept.
"It is what you deserve you wretched excuse of a victim," Past Mangle hissed, inflicting another vocal barb on Mangle as she conceded to her inner demons, which to the horror of everyone else.
"MANGLE NO, DON'T GIVE IN!" Toy Chica screamed in absolute shock, clutching her head in panic.
"PLEASE MANGLE, YOU ARE NOT A WORTHLESS HUMAN BEING, YOU ARE LOVED!" Toy Bonnie yelled, her vibrant green eyes were alive with fear and dread.
"HELEN CAN FORGIVE YOU MANGLE, REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED TO BALLOON BOY AND ONE OF THE FROMER NIGHTGUARDS, THE PAST CAN BE OVERCOME," Toy Freddy shouted, cupping his mouth so he could hear over the yells of the others.
"IT'S TRUE MANGLE, AS HARD AS IT IS, WE CAN BE FORGIVEN IF WE TRY!" Balloon Boy called out, trying to break through to Mangle, who seemed to be completely lost before own self-doubt that dragged her down into new depths of self hatred that only Puppet or Goldie would know of.
Even though what they were saying was true given BB's recent experience, to Mangle, forgiveness felt a long way off as she conceded under the towering gaze of her own living self doubt.
"You cannot be forgiven, and nor do you believe that you deserve it in the first place," Past Mangle muttered, her voice was still cold and firm, but it brimmed with confidence.
"Helen deserves to hate me for what I did to her, and my failures that day continues to impact everyone I care about," Mangle muttered, her voice was low and quiet, as she kept her head lowered as if in acceptance to Past Mangle's words. Despite what she had said to Puppet about moving through these challenges together, her self-doubt, or rather self-hatred held sway throughout her mind, because her own words were true.
Even her own words to Nightmare Freddy back at the factory, when she had berated him for his dismissal of her attempts to fix her rotten past failed to stir her to fight back against the rising tide of regret, guilt and self induced hatred.
"We have a dream to restore ourselves and see justice done."
"I have a dream and it is immortal."
Such inspiring words felt so far away now when faced with reality of her mistakes. If only she hadn't lowered her guard that day.
Things could have transpired differently, and no one would be in any pain.
"I'm sorry," Mangle whispered tearfully, conceding to her inner demons.
"For everything."
However, the embodiment of her demons, Past Mangle, merely replied with a harsh and cold tone.
"Evil cannot be forgiven. . .never."
Then she faded away completely out of existence and in doing so she let go of Mangle, letting her drop down to the floor.
Mangle landed in a heap and she immediately curled herself into a ball with her white hair sprawling along the floor.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice was barely a sob of disappointment and self-disgust at her failure.
"I couldn't do it; I deserve this pain."
Everyone else was just shocked at the sight of what had just happened.
Mangle had lost, badly if one might add.
Puppet had been able to fight her inner demons to a standstill, but Mangle had clearly lost with all the implications that it now carried.
Her fears, her failings and doubts were an open wound that refused to heal, because Mangle herself wouldn't allow it. She was also deeply afraid that Helen, should she ever encounter her would not forgive her either. If the victim could not forgive the wrongdoer, then how could the latter forgive themselves, or move on, unless they never cared in the first place.
Everyone continued to stare at Mangle, listening to her weeping as she hugged herself, seeing her body racked with guilt and shame.
"I'm so sorry," she croaked, amidst her cries of self-damnation.
"I couldn't do it."
"I'm a weak link, I'll drag you all down if they go after me."
"I am broken."
Hearing those words spurred Puppet to act, as she walked forward, before kneeling down at the shriving form of Mangle, as she lost herself in her own anguish.
Slowly, Puppet reached out and gently stroked Mangle's hair.
"It's ok," she whispered softly in a motherly tone, as she ran her fingers through Mangle's ghostly white hair.
"You've suffered an awful lot and as you told me before you hate yourself for what happened."
"But I'm here, and I won't abandon you, even if you think you deserve to be."
"I will put you back together Mangle I promise. . ."
Steadily, one by one, the others joined Puppet, crowding in around Mangle, as they all offered her their own words of reassurance and comfort.
The atmosphere had become very sombre and still.
"We don't hate you Mangle, it wasn't your fault that day," Toy Bonnie muttered sincerely, rubbing Mangle's shoulder, trying to calm the young woman down.
"We never blamed you," Toy Freddy said sombrely, lightly patting her on the head.
"Helen would forgive you if she knew the truth, I don't doubt it for a second that she would," Toy Chica whispered, cradling her in a warm embrace.
"It's going to be ok Mangle, we can get through this storm together, like we always have," Balloon Boy uttered calmly, gazing down at her tragedy stricken form.
"Collective defence remember?"
"We'll never leave you behind," Freddy remarked warmly, gently stroking Mangle's fox ears.
"We'll all always be by your side," Bonnie said softly, slowly rubbing Mangle's other arm as a way to help calm her down.
"To hell and back lassie," Foxy joked warmly, as he patted her softly on the head.
"One big happy family remember?" Chica whispered, smiling as she delicately pulled on Mangle's fox ears.
Mangle felt their love washing around her, wrapping herself in a warm tight embrace that sought to strangle her self-hatred into oblivion. The images of that dreadful day had been burned into her mind, repeating endlessly, only to then be harshly shoved aside by memories of happy times as they all crowded around her.
However, the memories did not desert her completely and those feelings of shame and regret still remained.
Goldie meanwhile found himself brooding, or at least in deep thought over what had just happened.
He hated to admit to himself, but the truth was undeniable.
Mangle was a risk factor and the Nightmares would just put all of their focus on her. There was no doubt that they would sense her weakness, much very the same way a shark reacts to blood in the water.
Hence why it was a good idea to have Mike and Jeremy in as backups, that was the intention that Goldie had with bringing everyone into the dreamworld, in case something like this did happen.
Yet it was still a surprise to have actually witnessed it first hand and for Mangle, the scars of her past trauma ran deep due to her proximity to those terrible events.
And once the Nightmares pry open her fears, they would recreate them in an even more terrifying fashion than her own mind could create.
After all that was their speciality.
Yet, there was the likely possibility of Vincent intervening somehow and dividing their attention, they couldn't bring all their focus to bear on the Nightmares, even though their destruction was the main aim.
Goldie sighed as he reached down lightly stroked Mangle's hair, before saying calmly.
"I'm going to bring Mike and Jeremy in now, but I fear we will need to make a decision regarding whether Mangle should partake in what will be a game of literal life and death."
He then looked directly across at Puppet, their eyes locked, a cautious pair of white dots stared back at an unreadable dark red.
"We'll keep her calm, should either Mike or Jeremy succeed in beating their own fears, then we won't be down a member," she replied softly, not wanting Mangle to hear, even though it was now an outcome worth examining.
If the Nightmares got any sense of an advantage, then they would take it without a moment's notice and use it to such brutalising effect.
Goldie nodded, clearly understanding Puppet's words as he stood up straight.
"I'll be back soon," he said warmly, smiling slightly.
Then he mentally willed himself to wake up, effectively jolting himself out his mind's dream like state.
Yet concerned thoughts for Mangle dominated his thinking as he passed between dreamworld to reality.
"I hate to admit to myself, but. . ." Goldie thought, as he found himself stirring awake.
"If Mangle is brought in with us, then I can see events taking a terrible and fatal turn."
He sighed as he rose upright, with his bear ears lowering themselves, expressing his inner sadness.
"Her fears will swarm her and eat her alive and even if she is able to survive the carnage."
"I fear that she will never be the same again. . ."
To revisit one's past trauma is terrifying, but to see it in the flesh standing before you, breathing like a living thing is a new kind of horror.
Again, I'll try to get a new chapter out for New Years if I can.
Many thanks for reading and please review. :-)