Not by the Strings, Please.

Your Penalty

"Wasn't that just the best day ever? I sure had fun! Didn't you have fun! It was great!" Balloon Boy chattered the whole time it took us to return to the Prize Corner. We have visited every room in the restaurant, excluding the Parts and Service room, and played some peculiar, child's game in each. Balloon Boy insisted we played Tag, Hide and Seek, and Red Light Green Light in the party rooms in a random pattern. It was a completely different experience for me, considering I had no idea why the games were what they were. There was no logic or philosophy to any of them! Luckily for me, Balloon Boy didn't get too upset when I completely failed to grasp the rules of the games.

We visited Balloon Boy's room as part of the trip, and of course he insisted I ride the carousel, despite being much too tall for the small ride. I fell off at least four times and was clobbered by the other rides as they passed by. It didn't hurt, but Balloon Boy was sorry regardless. He gave me a large bunch of balloons as a gift.

"So, yeah. It's pretty great here. Even during the day. It used to get kinda lonely 'round here, but now I got you! And we can play all the time!" Balloon Boy giggled as he walked into the Prize Corner and plopped down on the floor. I nearly got caught in the doorway on account of the massive bunch of balloons I had trailing me.

"Well, that was certainly a lot of fun, BB." I complimented, sitting down beside him and rubbing my eyes. I wasn't lying about the enjoyment of the experience, but it certainly did drain a lot out of me.

"Well, now. Looks like you two are getting along nicely." Mangle's voice called in as she approached from the hallway.

Nighttime already? I never realized how quickly time could pass when you are with friends.

"Sure are! We played all day long!" Balloon Boy exclaimed. Mangle chuckled.

"Mind if I steal him for a minute?" She asked. I gave her a puzzled look. Steal? As in theft? Balloon Boy pouted.

"Fiiiiiiiine." He groaned, pulling the balloons down lower so he could bat at them with his sign. Mangle reached out her one good hand to me, and beckoned with her second head. I glanced at Balloon Boy, who smiled at me, then pushed me up onto my feet.

I nervously slipped my hand into Mangle's, and she pulled me into the farthest corner of the room.

"So, did you have fun today with your new friend?" She asked, seating herself on the floor. I sat beside her.

"Yes, of course I did. We visited everywhere in the entire building." I explained, folding my hands in my lap. Mangle exhaled, her breathing sounding like radio static.

"I'm glad you have a new friend, Marionette. You could sure use some more, but there isn't too many other animatronics in the place who are...agreeable." She chose her words carefully.

"Oh, it's alright. Just as long as I have you." The words slipped out of my mouth, causing my face to heat up with embarrassment. Mangle's eye lit up and her ears perked. "Oh...I...I...er..." I began tripping over my words. Mangle simply shook her head laughing before she pressed the tip of her mouth into mine. My fingers curled at the sensation.

What was going on?! What was she doing?! I-I...I can't even-! It's so...nice. But it doesn't feel normal! I argued with myself.

Mangle released me, then nuzzled my face, her tail brushing my hands affectionately.

"Mangle? What was that?" I asked, completely dumbfounded by her sudden act of affection.

"It's called a kiss. Humans do it sometimes, but I wanted to see what it was like." Mangle whispered. I tilted my head.

"A kiss-?" I was interrupted by furious shouting coming from where I had left Balloon Boy.

"PUT ME DOWN! PUT ME DOWN! YOU MEANIES!" The balloon vendor shouted. I was the first to stand, rushing across my room to see what was the matter. When I returned to the front of the room, I saw all of the old animatronics standing around Bonnie, who had the balloon vendor held in the air by his sign.

"BB! You-you brutes! Put him down!" I commanded, not feeling afraid of them for the first time ever. All the animatronics turned their heads towards me. Their glowing eyes were full of hatred.

"There's the puppet. Get 'em, Foxy." Freddy commanded. The pirate fox moved too quick for me to escape from, and his hook immediately snagged onto my back.

"Arr, now we've got ye." Foxy snarled in my ear. I growled, thrashing my arms about in the air.

"Put us down this instant!" I commanded, not taking my eyes off Balloon Boy, who was sobbing uncontrollably.

"N-n-n-n-no ca-an-n-n do, puppet-t-t. You-u-u bro-o-oke the rule-e-es and thi-s i-is your-r punishme-e-e-ent!" Chica hissed.

"Rules!? We never broke any rules!" I retorted, glaring straight into the wide pink eyes of the chicken. The metal in her beak shuddered with rage.

"No one's allowed to move during the day." Foxy growled.

"You and your pot-bellied little friend over here broke that rule today with your little expedition. Did you really think you'd get away with it?" Freddy glowered. I clenched my fists, ignoring the pain in my back. I knew something was fishy.

"Put them down, you rot-bots!" Mangle snarled, suddenly standing a few inches away from the mob of evil robots. Her teeth were bared and her one good hand was clenched into a fist. All the animatronics looked towards her with a looked that lacked any kind of surprise or fear.

"Chica, take care of that...thing." Freddy insulted, waving a hand at her. Chica acted immediately, rushing towards the destroyed Foxy 2.0 and lashing her with the cords that dangled from where her arms used to be. Mangle took the hit, stumbling backwards while Chica shoved her down and stomped her foot down on her body, causing the horrible sound of scraping metal to sound out into the room. Mangle let out a static cry of pain.

"Mangle!" I exclaimed, feeling my body go limp.

"Aww, poor lass." Foxy taunted, wrapping his claws around my neck. Freddy let out a bellowing laugh.

"Oh, yes. Poor, poor, little bucket of bolts." He mocked around his horrible laughs. I couldn't keep my eyes off of Mangle as she squirmed about under Chica's foot, her exposed metal parts bending under the older animatronic's weight. Behind me, Bonnie still held the hysterical Balloon Boy high in the air, his faceless glare watching me like a hawk. I let my body go limp, hanging my head with great shame. They had won.

But suddenly, a flash of brown walloped Freddy in the side of the face, causing him to fall to his knees. Bonnie immediately dropped Balloon Boy to aid Freddy, but a flash of bright blue did the same to him, knocking the faceless purple bunny backwards. My eyes flashed everywhere, desperately trying to pinpoint what had temporarily crippled the old animatronics.

"What be goin' on here?!" Foxy exclaimed, just as aghast as I was. The same thing happened to him a moment later with a flash of vibrant yellow. The pirate fox let out a surprised yelp, then I felt his grip fall away, causing me to join Balloon Boy on the floor. There was a small clatter, then a horrible shriek, then a loud crash as Chica fell to the floor to join the others. Someone was attacking them! No, multiple someones! What's going on here?!

I stood up and backed away as quickly as I could, making sure not to accidently wander back into the grasp of one of the fallen animatronics. I backed away towards Mangle, not taking my eyes off the killer robots until I collided with something metal standing behind me. Whirling around, I saw the last animatronic I was expecting.

Standing in front of me with a happy smile was none other than Toy Freddy.