»Of Godhuman Nature« [Five Nights At Freddy's]

Chapter VII - Immortal Are We

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When in dream awake,
I'd paint,
Subconscious, the expanse I saw...

[Arcturus - Painting My Horror]

________

" Here she is... "

At first there was nothing but impenetrable darkness as far as the eye could see, a darkness unwilling to reveal anything it harbored in its clutches; Afton pushed the door all the way open so Lily could step inside, which she did after a moment of hesitation, each step she took wary & well-considered. Not only was it awfully dark, it was also cold beyond words, like deepest winter had settled inside the room. A frigid gust struck her face with enough force to take her breath away & she turned her head to avoid getting hit by the next one, catching a glimpse of William Afton's tall silhouette in the doorway before he closed the door, completely erasing the dim lights of the hallway from her sight.

" She also loves the dark... But for you to see her, I'm afraid we need some light ~ " A low hum went through the air, the uneven strobe-like jitter of an LED light struggling to come to life splitting the darkness in front of her like lightning the night, & seconds later ever single corner of the room was fully illuminated. The room's interior had almost nothing in common with the baroque nature of the rest of his mansion, besides the antique window frames & partially worn out, velvet curtains that embraced them. It looked like a normal workshop at first glance, & like a smaller yet no less advanced & well equipped version of the factory hall at Afton Robotics at second, with a u-shaped arrangement of shelves & drawers harboring tools in all shapes & sizes around a workbench twice the size of the dining table downstairs. Several layers of PVC curtains covered the workbench as thick straps of tape kept them in place, glistening with what looked like oil stains in the blinding LED lights. And if it weren't for that creature made of metal & wire that sat on top of the workbench grabbing her undivided attention, Lily undoubtedly would've noticed many other, far stranger details about the entire set-up.

She froze a few feet away from her discovery with a gasp of surprise slipping out of her mouth, her lower jaw dropping slightly.

What stared back at her from on top of the workbench looked like a bigger, far more vicious version of her favourite animatronic Foxy, yet it was coloured white instead of red, & the artificial fur around its nose & stomach was a bright shade of pink. Thick red lines marked the area around its snout, making it look as though the animatronic was wearing lipstick which created a harsh contrast to the pearl-white fangs that decorated its metallic jaws. It seemed disfigured, almost horrendously mutilated, with far too many limbs & no visible neck; its large head sat on what appeared to be a spine made of aluminium & exposed wires, twisted backwards onto its back in an unsettling way. Far too the right, inside the pile of twisted limbs & metal claws, she spotted a second, far smaller head, without any fur yet adorned with one big, yellow eye; only now Lily realized that Mangle's head was missing an eye as well, however judging by the anomatronic's peculiar anatomy, that had most likely been part of Afton's personal design. Overall Mangle showed little to no artificial fur or skin, as most of its endoskeleton lay bare, partially even exposing the sensitive silicone dampers in its spine & limbs. The longer Lily looked at it, the more difficult it became to determine the purpose behind the animatronics design.
It was sinister, devious, & there was something vicious to Mangle's single eye that sent a chill down Lily's back, but as uncanny as this animatronic was - to her, it also was without an ounce of doubt a marvelous piece of art.

" She is beautiful, Mr. Afton... "

Shuffling ensued close behind her, the gentle vibration caused by his footsteps traveling through the wooden floor tiles beneath her feet.
" I'm most delighted to hear that you like her, Miss Aalefjær... for to me, your opinion matters more than anyone else's ~ "