Not by the Strings, Please.

The Night Guard

"M-M-M-M-M-!" I spluttered, my hands immediately beginning to shudder. I meant to say Mangle. But no words would escape my mouth. Mangle looked up, her only eye cracked with so much sadness that it made my heart twinge. When she saw me, her eyes widened.

"Marionette! I-I-I didn't-!" She attempted to lie. But I knew better. She couldn't hide the confirmation from me. That child was hurt, and she was the reason why. Mangle stuttered for a moment longer before she stopped and her eyes returned to their mournful looks. She had given up on me. After all, I must appear to be horror-struck.

She bit that child! I have full right to be afraid of her! But...then again...she was so sad. To have to spend every day here in this room while the children gleefully dismember her. She had to expel her anger somehow. Otherwise it would destroy her mentally. I understand why she couldn't let that happen. But then again, the others deal with something similar and they haven't hurt anyone!

And now I was stuck between two different emotions. Fear and sympathy. These gave me only two choices. I could flee. Or I could stay. I knew not what to do. What would be the right thing? To leave her behind and never abscond the Prize Corner. I could go back to the way things were and never be afraid again. Or I could chose the other way. To keep a friend. My only friend.

But I was terrified of her. She was like them, now. Violent. Unstable. Dangerous. There was no telling what she would do. If she ever got angry with me...it would be over. But maybe if I stayed, we could be friends. If I was understanding towards her, maybe she wouldn't get mad at me ever. Maybe I could change her.

But what if I couldn't? What if her influence made me violent? My thoughts froze. I had a point there. Influence was a possibility. No. I wouldn't be like her. I would flee.

Taking one last look at the blood on her fangs, I whirled around, ready to take off down the halls and into my box. I couldn't let myself be like her. I couldn't. I wasn't fleeing for myself, I was fleeing for the night guard. For the restaurant. For the children.

Taking off into a rapid scurry, I faintly heard the grief-stricken cries of Mangle behind me. Before I could get anywhere close to my Prize Corner, I smashed into something heavy and metal directly in front of me.

I fell backwards, and staggering waves of blunt pain shot through every part of me at once. Before I could recover myself, something sharp pierced the fabric on my back and lifted me up off the floor.

I screamed almost immediately. It was excruciating. It felt like my back would be ripped away if I was held here any longer.

"Aye! Puppet! Shut yer pie hole!" A familiar pirate-accented voice growled from behind me.

"Great going, Foxy. You managed to wake up everyone in the entire place." Freddy's voice burbled. Now I really wanted to cry.

It was the old animatronics again. Here to hurt me again. I wanted to insult them. I wanted to say something that would make them leave me alone. But I couldn't. My mouth wouldn't make any other noises but whimpers and cries. I'm such a coward.

"H-h-h-hey-y-y-y! C-c-c-c'mon-n, Freddy-y-y-y! At le-e-e-ast he caught-t-t h-h-hi-i-im, right-t-t?" Chica's voice giggled.

"Aye, mate. What ye be doin' outside yer Prize Corner? Ye be tresspassin'..." Foxy growled, his electronic breathing brushing my cheek. I looked backwards at him, my eyes screwed up against the pain.

"W-what do you mean? I'm not trespassing..." I panted, wholeheartedly confused by what the pirate fox was telling me. My pained whisper immediately aroused a tumult of furious growls.

"No, puppet! You don't understand! This isn't your turf! You don't belong here!" Freddy snarled, displaying the endoskeleton jaws that stuck out of his mouth. I tilted my head.