#technically pre-cgha

Something was wrong. He knew it had been for days, watching the lines of static flickering across his vision and suspecting it had something to do with a particularly hard thump he had gotten on the back of the head while being moved. It had felt like something shifted and right afterwards the static had began to appear.

But what was he supposed to do? He wasn't in a situation where he could waltz up to a technician, tap them on the shoulder, and demand a full round of tune-ups. He could just go along with it and hope that this thing he couldn't reach would not progress into something worse.

Until it was eleven o'clock in the evening, the music box was neglected, and the Puppet rose from his box to find that the Prize Corner was nothing but a black abyss. This was impossible, he could see in the dark.

Except that he couldn't. He couldn't see.

Then came the panic. Marionette fumbled out of his box, but he was entirely disoriented. It was like he was hovering in nothingness, in the void, and couldn't ground himself until he slammed himself right into the prize counter. He clung to it desperately as his legs slid on the tiled floor.

His music suddenly began to spill forth. His typical “Pop Goes the Weasel” blared with panic, triggered by his fight-or-flight reflex and nearly wailing as he stiffly grappled at the counter and tried to piece together what he could do, if this was permanent. The thought only made the music increase with shrill, wavering chimes.

The only noise that came close to breaking past the mess was the clatters of rapidly approaching footsteps that were followed by Foxy suddenly dashing into the Prize Corner and brandishing his hook, searching for whatever was attacking the Puppet. It took him only a few seconds to realize there was nothing there.

Marionette recognized Foxy behind him and turned in his direction, reaching around until he suddenly grabbed his arm. The pirate flinched and stared down at the grip in surprise, not expecting to be touched by the Puppet. If not for a desperate voice calling through the static and music- a voice he barely heard in years, mind you- he might’ve not snapped out as quickly.

“F-F-Foxy! Can’t- Can’t see! Blind!”

Foxy turned so quickly that it sounded like his neck snapped, accidentally wrenching his arm out of Marionette’s grasp. This threw the Puppet off and he started to fall forward, only to be caught by the pirate in the last second. 

Foxy stared momentarily down at Marionette before awkwardly trying to pick him up. ‘Awkward’ was the best way to describe it too, with Foxy clumsily running out the door and breaking into a sprint, nearly running into what sounded like Balloon Boy if instead of laughing he just gave a confused whine. 

Marionette could only cling to Foxy and try to make sense of where they were going through the motion, but even that was hard in this state. He didn’t realize where they were going until Foxy nearly kicked down a door- then had to stop and wedge against the door so he could turn the knob with his arm- and staggered into a cold room.

“Fix him,” Foxy said. His voice was so stony and serious that he almost sounded unlike the pirate fox. It even held a touch of recognizable fear. “He can’t see. He’s blind. Fix him.”

It was then that Marionette knew exactly where he was and knew why Foxy sounded so visibly distressed and unattached in his voice.

“Bring him here.”

Foxy almost flinched at the voice but carried the Puppet forward and knelt before setting him down. Marionette could feel himself being laid over a familiar set of legs before a pair of warm, fabric hands lifted his head and aimed his face towards its humming voice. 

“It’s okay, Marion. I can fix this.”

Marionette couldn’t help but believe him and was more than willing to let him do anything, until he felt a strange pressure on his mask, something shifting inside, and then a much too loud click.

Suddenly the world was even more distorted. Even though he already couldn’t see, now his whole body went numb and he couldn’t make sense of where he was. He flailed his limbs, but they felt weak and wrong, and his whole self shook as he tried to get a semblance of stability. 

“Calm down, you’re alright. I just removed your mask, but I’ll be quick.”

Now Marionette was especially concerned. The mask wasn’t supposed to come off; not even the technicians had been able to remove it, yet it came off so easily. His body was feeling more tingly as he got a sensation of slipping. Then he felt something inside of his head, touching at his endo.

Then something clicked into place and the world came back into view. Though now it was massively distorted and confused, and it was almost enough to panic before his mask was lifted from his chest and clicked back into place, sealing almost seamlessly against the endoskeleton underneath.

The Puppet’s vision cleared instantly and instead of staring into darkness, he was looking up at the familiar face of a yellow bear. Of course it would be Goldie who would put him back together again, just like he always did.

“Just a loose wire. Nothing we can’t fix... But you need to be careful. Your body’s not invincible, and I won’t be here forever to fix you,” Goldie said with a gentle sternness. Marionette gave a slight nod, and the bear rewarded this by pulling him into a soft hug. 

All the while, Foxy watched from the doorframe. By now Freddy and Bonnie had come up in the hallway, but Foxy kept them held back as he watched the scene with remorse. Maybe even with a little envy.