Not by the Strings, Please.

Refurbished and Dismantled

"That's not fair! Not even in the slightest! You're...you're brutes! Hoodlums! Scoundrels!" I began flowing out foul language at the robots without even thinking about it. I was frustrated at myself for such slang, but I was so distressed I couldn't stop myself from telling these bots off. The animatronics simply looked at each other and laughed again.

"Aye, matey, ye sure got me with that last one. I...I just might cry..." Foxy pretended to be hurt by my words. I clenched my fists, bothered beyond comprehension. I was completely helpless, and nothing I said could bring them down at all. Freddy was the only one not laughing.

"Actually, I'm pretty mad right now. You don't get to call us names, little doll." Freddy spoke in a baritone voice before he stepped forward to glare me down. I shrank back, only to feel the wall behind me. Freddy stared at me for a moment before he said a single phrase that made my heart sink. "Take him to the Kid's Cove."

At this point, I was ready to try and rip out my own throat just to escape what they were about to do. I was terrified of the other rooms of the restaurant at night. But the Kid's Cove?! Everyone knew that was where Mangle slept. Her name sent shivers down my spine. Mangle. I knew why she was called that. A mass of twisted metal shaped into something only a child could imagine. What would she do to me?!

"G-g-g-g-grea-a-a-t idea-a-a, Fr-r-reddy!" Chica complimented, glancing at Bonnie. "C'mon, l-l-l-l-let's g-g-get-t-t him th-th-there, Bonnie-e-e-e!"

The dismantled purple bunny said nothing and simply nodded. Then, I felt an awful sensation as Bonnie and Chica dragged me down the hall into the wall of darkness. We passed by the balloon room where Balloon Boy stood staring at me with a sad expression. I gave him a pained look, hoping he would step up to help me, but he did not move, for he was too afraid of the old animatronics. I don't blame him.

When we reached the Kid's Cove, I caught only a brief glance of Mangle before I was thrown up on the wall and hung on one of the hooks that the children use to hold up their odd skin covers.

"There ya go. That should hold ya. See ya tomorrow, puppet!" Freddy sneered in my face with breath that smelled of rot and blood before he followed the other originals out of the room, slamming the door shut behind them. I watched them leave as I hung there pitifully, feeling the soothing tune of the music box fade into forgotten memory. I could not move, for the pain in my back was crippling. If I could cry, I would. I would cry and cry and cry, not caring who saw. Maybe if they saw it, they would understand my part of the story. But no. No one ever cared about 'lil old Marionette. Not ever.

A raucous clanking in the room startled me into a near scream. I thrashed my arms and legs about futilely. Mangle was here. She was going to kill me! I smacked the air with my feeble hands, and to my slight satisfaction, my flailing had hit something cold and metal in the area in front of me. I had landed a successful strike. But when I heard the voice that came after, I froze.

"OW!" Cried a scratchy, feminine voice. I tilted my head. "What was that for?!" The voice growled. Then I heard more clattering, but this time it was louder and directly in front of me. A single blue glow appeared in front of me. Mangle. I readied myself for a scream, hoping one of the other Toys would come to help me. Or Balloon Boy at the least. Someone. Anyone. Before I could even open my mouth, Mangle spoke again.

"Well? Aren't you going to say anything? Don't you want help?" The voice questioned. My heart skipped. Help? Me? But...I thought you wanted to...

"O-oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." I instinctively began to apologize, attempting to bow my head but immediately recoiling. The pain was too great. "Aight, aight. That's enough, puppet. Don't move, I'll get you down." The voice insisted as frigid steel gripped my back and lifted me slowly off the hook. I sighed in relief. The pain evaporated.