NatePat One-Shots

The Puppet

The music box played the lullaby slower than usual, no doubt the night watch was slacking a bit, and the Puppet was waking up. His black eyes opened slowly and a small, white dot appeared in the centers. His limbs, which had once been rigid and foldable, relaxed and stretched to his regular height so he could stand and watch the security camera. A quick glance—even if, by law, it stated that soon, very soon, the night watch's life would end by his hand alone—he would always tell himself, muttering those words every time the music box stopped for more than a few minutes. A quick glance would become the longest staring contest, which earned a few concerned looks from Mangle and BB. Any knots in his strings corrected themselves and he stood, freezing when the camera positioned at his current location. He noticed that when the camera was moving it meant that he wasn't being watched, so once the movement started he stretched casually and slumped. How long would he be trapped here? It'd been years since he'd seen the outside world, the only real action occurred outside the glass panes and that hardly served a good use. It was easy to say that he's seen the outside but harder to say that he's never seen it, or experienced it. Despite his ever growing yearn to be outside, the Puppet focused on finding out who the night watch was. There was no doubt in his mind that it was male, he knew this because he could hear the manliest squeals from the office, only a in a slightly deeper tone. It was fine, he got a good laugh out of it, but it was times when the music box wasn't functional that made the Puppet wonder who this person was. Their voice would fill the silence with soft music, voice echoing beautifully off the walls of the pizzeria, he'd overheard some of the lyrics and they almost sounded familiar. As he stood there in his box, the Puppet decided that, regardless of the tube lulling him back to sleep, he would find out who this person was. Maybe even compliment their singing. With the agility of a rabbit, the Puppet sprang out of his box and onto one of the many game machines in the building, spotting Mangle hanging on the ceiling and conversing with her Endo. As he moved his feet made little to no sound, avoiding cameras and any other animatronics that decided that the Puppet was worth talking to. The front hall shined with light from the light fixtures, a yellowed lightbulb that flickered every few seconds, the Puppet always hated those bulbs. Like a snake, he slunk along the wall and caught eye of the night watch sitting at the desk, holding the tablet and flashlight with intensity, keeping the Freddy Fazbear mask close just in case. He looked fragile, almost weak, but there was a severity in his eyes that said he meant business to anyone who cares to actually make an appearance tonight.

I have no strings
So nothing's gonna stop me
From getting you now...

I'm not on your screen
Till you let that box wind all the way
Down tonight...

The Puppet was surprised that he was singing, the music box wasn't broken and surely there were no other puppets running about. However soothing his voice was, the quickness of the Puppet went unnoticed as he kept his back to the front hall wall, hoping that the light wouldn't shine directly onto him. The night watch curiously glanced over in the Puppet's general direction before returning his gaze to the tablet, his voice stilling and a flash of disappointment running through the animatronic's system. It wasn't really an emotional feeling, more like a small jolt of electricity that caused a bit of pain. His limbs made no sound as he scaled the wall and crept into the ceiling, much like Mangle would do on her routinely visits. The Puppet worried that passing over the light might alert the attention of the male, but he could spend a minute where he was with a bird's eye view of the slightly shorter male. He hesitated, should he reveal himself? He was prepared for screaming, but what about the other animatronics? He'd risk it, he needed to scan this person, he wanted to know who he was and why he took the job. He found a pipe jutting out from the ceiling and a small piece of metal, flicking onto the floor behind the night watch. As expected, the male turned his desk chair and examined the useless bit.

Meanwhile, the Puppet landed on the desk with an almost soundless thump. It wasn't quiet enough, but that wasn't his plan.

"Greetings," his voice came out low, so as not to disturb him, "I am the Puppet."

There was silence and for a good while, the night watch didn't turn around. It's not that he was still inspecting the bit of metal, he'd steeled his muscles and tried to move as less as possible. The Puppet chuckled and decided to turn the chair around, seeing the shocked and scared face of the night watch he so desperately wanted to discover.

"Do not fear, I simply wish to examine you." The Puppet explained.

"I... uh, I don't..." anyone could tell his thoughts were scattered at the moment.

"Don't be alarmed, stay calm, they feed of panic." The Puppet smiled bitterly.

A quick scan revealed that this man was Matthew Patrick, a well-known game theorist with a very high intellect. The Puppet was impressed, not only by the knowledge this boy possessed, but by how adorable he looked when he was confused and frightened. The Puppet smiled and placed a finger under his chin, turning his head to the left, to the right, looking into his eyes, until finally letting go.

"Tell me, little theorist, why are you here?" The Puppet asked, squinting suspiciously.

"I, uh, heard rumors... it was, mostly a dare and I...!" Matthew closed his mouth as the Puppet held up a hand.

"Typical. You don't seem... malicious." The Puppet confirmed.

"Malicious? Uh, okay..." Matthew blinked at him.

"Is my appearance making you uncomfortable?" The Puppet asked, now sitting cross-legged on the desk.

"Not really, I just don't have much experience with taking to... animatronic characters...?" Matthew laughed nervously and the Puppet smiled.

Matthew seemed very nice, but there was still the question if he was trustworthy or not. A simple question would have to be asked that would jeopardize the whole foundation, if Matthew answered correctly then the Puppet would sense his sincerity. If he failed then things got messy, as usual.

"You are interesting, quite adorable, what a face..." The Puppet smirked.

"Uh, thank you... I guess." Matthew smiled bashfully.

"You may call me Puppet, that's is what they call me." The Puppet extended a gloved hand.

"Uh, Matthew Patrick!" Matthew shook his hand and was surprised to feel it was almost human-like. "You can call me Matt, though."

"I must ask you a question of the utmost importance." Urgency and seriousness graced Puppet's voice.

By the look on Matt's face it was clear that he wasn't completely ready, the tone of his voice was a surprise and Puppet could understand that. But it needed to be answer now or he'd never know himself.

"Do you know the Purple Man?" The Puppet asked.