Not by the Strings, Please.

A Kill of My Own

I cried for the night guard. I cried for the children. I cried for the humans that had lived in fear of me. And I cried for everyone who had ever been hurt by the animatronics of this place.

I cried all my grief away until I was left a weeping and trembling mess on the floor. I hugged my knees close and laid for a long while, until a harsh clanking startled me to sit up.

In the doorway of the Prize Corner stood a mass of jumbled parts accompanied by a single blue glow.

"Marionette?" A familiar voice whispered. I squinted my exhausted eyes through the darkness and recognized the shape as Mangle. She had left the Kid's Cove to visit me?

"Y-y-ye-e-s?" I responded through sobs. I had no room in my heart to be afraid of her now. After all, we were alike now. There was no reason to be frightened. The destroyed white fox stepped forward into my room and seated herself on the floor in front of me.

"I...I'm really sorry, Marionette. About the child. I...lost my temper. I couldn't help it. And...I heard about...what happened. Toy Bonnie told me." Mangle said, looking down at me with a sad expression.

"I'm a monster..." I whimpered, keeping my eyes covered. I had forgotten all about the child. There was a chance he would survive...but what I did...the night guard would never come back. Mangle shook her head, gently grasped my wrists and pulled my hands away from my face.

"No, you're not. It wasn't your fault. You got too mad to hold it back. We all do that at some point in our lives." Mangle said. I took my wrists away from her and turned my head to look away.

"None of the other toys have," I sniffled, not wanting to look at her. "I didn't want to ever do something like this..."

Mangle shook her head again and lightly caressed my cheek with her hand. I flinched away from her touch immediately. I was still unsure about whether I could trust her.

"It'll be alright, Marionette. After all, he's safe now. He's safe from the classics. He's in a better place." Mangle said in a quiet tone. I stared at her, thinking about what she just said. That was true, he is safe from what they would do. But it still doesn't excuse what I did. I tore his throat and eyes out. He did not die in the most painless way possible. But then again, the originals had the potential to do much worse.

Yes. She was right. I knew she was.

"Are...are you sure?" I asked quietly. I mentally kicked myself. Could I ever just make it through a conversation without asking questions that I already knew the answer to? I feel so brainless.

Mangle nodded once, reaching a hand up to my face again. This time I did not move as her hand gently stroked my cheek. I have never been touched in such a way before, and it actually felt...good. A friendly touch has forever been unknown to me. But Mangle...could I trust her? She hurt someone...but so did I. She lost her temper...but so did I.

What made us so different? Nothing. There was nothing that could make us any more different from each other. Earlier this night, she was a threat. Now, she is a friend. But the way she touched my face...it made me feel so much better...

"Do you feel better? Marionette?" Mangle asked me, watching me with a thoughtful expression. I looked up at her, then felt my smile return.

"Y-yes. I...do." I responded. Mangle returned my smile with a toothy grin of her own.

"I'm glad." She said, standing up and starting to walk out. I immediately felt the warmth that came from her touch leave my body as she started to leave. I wanted her to stay.

"M-Mangle? Would you m-mind staying here with me? Until dawn?" I called after her speedily. Embarrassment shot through me right away. I sounded like a complete fool. At least...I thought I sounded stupid. I knew not what Mangle thought of me, and I prepared for the worst. To my relief, Mangle looked back at me with a smile.

"I was hoping you'd say that." She whispered, walking backwards and sitting beside me with a loud squeak of metal. I sighed, pulling my knees close. It was comforting to be in the Prize Corner with a friend. Even more so than hiding in my box with the music box playing. It felt...safer. Warmer. And despite her violent outburst, Mangle was good company to have.

But then I felt guilty. I was a coward. She hurt a child, and I immediately fled without hearing her part of the story. The child could have been going over her limit. The child could have been hurting her cruelly. The child could have been killing her. Mangle's actions could have been out of self-defense.

Yet I still fled. I fled like a coward. I was ready to leave her behind. I was ready to forget all about her. But when I hurt someone. No. Not hurt. When I killed someone, Mangle came back to try and comfort me. Rather than forgetting about me and never coming to see me again, she came to comfort me!

That's so much more than what I would have done. I feel so ashamed. I should just go tell Mangle she doesn't deserve to be friends with a coward like me. I'm not a true friend. I'm not.

I would tell her to get a better friend. I would tell her that I'm not worth her time. I would tell her that I'm a coward. When I looked back at her, she was watching me with a demonstrative expression. It made me feel...odd. Like there were bugs crawling under my fabric skin. Why was she looking at me like this?

"Er...Mangle...? Wh-why are you-"

"Marionette, how do you feel about me?" Mangle interrupted me, not taking her blue gaze out of mine. I was rather taken aback by this question, but I wouldn't sit here with my mouth hanging open.

"Well, I must say that I was...rather afraid of you...after you bit that child. But now...since you're here...I see you as a valuable...friend?" I chose my words carefully to avoid offending her.

Mangle smiled.

"Anything else?" She asked. Was there anything else? Let's see...no. Nothing else out of the ordinary. What a peculiar question. Was she implying other feelings for me?

I shook my head to answer no.

"Well. As for me, I'd like to say that I think you're sort of cute. And you're real nice. And...everything about you is just charming." Mangle complimented me, tilting her head to the side and rattling her eye in her metal skull. I felt my eyes widen. I immediately looked down at myself.

She thinks I'm cute?! Really?! Well...alright. I suppose...that...I...goodness gracious!

"You...you do?" I asked, looking up at her.

"Yeah. Why? You never heard a compliment before?" Mangle said, smiling as her endoskeleton head clicked it's metal teeth together.

"No!" I exclaimed truthfully, shaking my head rapidly. Mangle chuckled, her laugh sounding like an old radio's static feed.

"Well, I'm real sorry, then. Your first compliment was really heavy, wasn't it?" She smiled at me. Before I could open my mouth to speak again, the six 'o clock jingle played in the nearby security office. The night was over.

"Oh. Look at that. Nights over, huh? Now, here's a serious question. Do you want me to visit you tomorrow night?" Mangle asked me as she stood up, her metal parts squeaking noisily. I mulled this over for a bit, making sure to consider her compliments before I answered.

"Yes. Yes, I would like that very much." I answered. Mangle made a quiet, amused sound, then snatched me by the neck and nuzzled me on the cheek with her snout. When she dropped me back on the floor, I was too caught up with my own surprise to see her leave.

Did she just...just...

Wow...