Chapter I
The Mangle
He sat within the office, his shift just begun. They told him the animatronics were a bit on the fritz, and although they wouldn't hurt him, just to be safe, they told him to stay in the office. Thinking back on it, it made him laugh. He was a security guard, he was here to watch over this place during the night, to protect the property, in a sense. As ridiculous as it sounds, this included the animatronics. With what they told him, how they could…act, at certain times, it sounded to him that they didn't need protecting.
But all the same, it was his job. He laughed especially when they told him to stay in his office. He could take care of himself, but more than anything, the thing he found most funny was that there were no doors. Should something happen, being in his office wouldn't protect him as much as being in any other room. But all the same, no matter how ridiculous it all seemed, how eerie and all around creepy this place was, he truly was grateful.
Having just finished high school, he needed to start somewhere, and he wasn't what you'd call "college-bound". And, having never had a job, he was surprised they wanted him even though he had no experience. There was a trade-off to this, however.
There was a bang within the building. He put on his mask, modeled after the restaurant's main mascot. He stood from his chair, turning on his flashlight, moving from behind his desk and making his way into the hallway. He felt scared. Of course, most of the lights were out, making the entire establishment eerie. But, that was to be expected from a graveyard shift. What was really the trade-off to this job were the animatronics.
They moved.
In a sense, however, he felt…nostalgic. He passed all the party rooms, finding himself at the main room, complete with arcade and prize corner, and most notably, the main stage, set for a show. Only, Bonnie wasn't there.
It had been probably a good ten years since he had come to Freddy's, and although this wasn't the one he went to, the characters were still fresh in his memories. His parents took him here for his eighth birthday, back when they still were a family before the divorce. They were the last good memories he had of them all being together, smiling and laughing. His heart was racing at the ideal of one of the animatronics on the loose, but, he couldn't help but feel excited. He was told they were on the fritz, malfunctioning, but, he had the mask.
Then he heard a crash. He turned from the stage, looking out into the game area. Casting the flashlight over, he saw Bonnie. He moved closer, finally able to get a real good look at one of the animatronics. He looked more plastic, like an oversized toy rather than the huge stuffed animal he once knew. But still, he smiled beneath the mask. This Bonnie wasn't the same as the one he once knew, but, he also knew that this newer Bonnie wasn't meant for him, but rather, meant for the kids. He hoped they would love this Bonnie, just as he had the original.
In a way, he did love them. He loved the old models, but, these newer ones looked cool, he thought. Maybe it was just his memories, memories of when things were so much simpler. He had only spent the day here, but, he wouldn't forget that day.
He looked past Bonnie, deeper in the building, past the arcade and past the prize corner, there was Kid's Cove. From what he had heard, Foxy, or, The Mangle, as the other employees would call him, resided there. Foxy was his favorite. He couldn't help but to sneak a peek at him.
Casting the beam within the segregated room, he saw Foxy, and no sooner, understood why others would call him The Mangle. He was a "take-apart-put-back-together" attraction, but, in his state, he looked mutilated, in a sense, as if he was never meant to be taken apart. Most of his costume was gone, his face looking as if it was nearly gone as well, it hanging off of the endoskeleton head.
He retreated to the office, taking off the mask for a short while as he rummaged around some of the junk he had, emptying the contents of a cardboard box that resided in the corner of the room. He returned back to the Kid's Cove, donning his mask. Carefully, he placed each part of Foxy into his box, and with them, he returned once again to the office.
Throwing the mask aside, he began to dig into the box, taking out each part of Foxy, or, The Mangle. In a way, he felt sad. This wasn't Foxy. It wasn't that it wasn't HIS Foxy, although that much was true as well, but, in its state, it just, was nothing but the Mangle.
He started to put together The Mangle, foot to leg, leg to body. Hand to arm, arm to torso. He placed his head on, frowning at it. In a way, he was sad, not because of The Mangle, but rather, for The Mangle. He pulled its face over its head, and without looking, he searched for some tape from within his desk drawer with his free hand. Finding it, he continued to tape The Mangle's face back on.
His frown turned into a pained smile. "Hey Foxy," he said, quietly. "I'm sorry it isn't much, but, I don't think you deserved to look like that." He laughed at himself. Here he was, in the dead of night, talking to a beaten and old animatronic in a children's restaurant. He felt pathetic. "Being an adult sucks," he thought out loud. He looked down, unable to look Foxy anymore. Old memories came back to him, not just of this place, but of a lot of things.
After the divorce, things were rough for him. He couldn't understand, everything felt wrong. For a while, he blamed himself. But above all, he wasn't ready for the time when he had to grow up. He gave one last laugh at his pitiable self.
A crash behind him made him jump, and as he turned, he saw the figures of Bonnie and Chica, standing just outside the office. His heart skipped a few beats as he felt terrified at them just standing there, staring at him. He rushed over to get the Freddy mask off of the floor, but when next he turned, they were inside the office, they having moved so quick and silently.
But their focus wasn't on him, but rather, Foxy. He was still mangled, but, to him, he decided, it would always be Foxy. And although they never moved so much as their eyes, it looked to him that they were looking over each other. The light flickered, and all of a sudden, Bonnie's face appeared before him, but, he kept in his scream. Another flicker, and they were gone.
All but Foxy who seemed to have taken a seat on the floor beside him, propped up against the wall. He couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
"Thanks buddy." He held Foxy's mangled hand in his own. It was going to be a long night, with many more to come.