─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
It was dark before you arrived at the massive building that surely stretched over a a few achres of Land. Freddy Fazbears Pizza Plex rears itself into view as you push the pedal of your vehicle to the floor. You were told to show before 8 pm, due to traffic and an unfortunate sleep schedule that's always working against you, you ended up making it there right on the dot. Jumping out of your car, almost forgetting to take the keys from the ignition, you practically half sprint to the main entrance of your next paycheck. The neon gaze of Freddy Fazbear himself glowered down at you, shaming you silently with an open mouth smile as it's lifeless eyes followed your disgruntled self.
Pushing through the glass doors with great haste your eyes immediately shut from the assaulting lights overhead. Neon lights were strung everywhere, accenting orderly pillars and even lining the table tops of check in desks near by.
Vibrant colors danced and bounced off the reflective floors below creating optical mirages of things that were not tangible. As if pulled directly from an 80's magazine this new establishment successfully plunged any one who entered into a different time entirely.
There were a few families scattered around. Since it was late most of them were on their way out. Toddlers were running around in swarms. They were grouped together in their own little bands as they ran from their parents, clearly wanting to stay just a bit longer. The respective parents of said children looked exasperated and lacking little to no energy, barely having the will to chase after their little ones now taunting them.
I In a quieter area of the lobby a few teenagers huddled together, snickering standing around a staff bot. One of the teens swung their arm forward towards the robot, releasing a purple object that made a clang against its back metal chassis. You couldn't quite tell by the distance what it was but it seemed to stick to it like glue. The twisted teens found their satisfactions as the bot attempted and failed to remove the sudden foreign entity from its circuits.
There was so much to take in that for a moment you forgot your real reason for being here. Snapping out of your daze and above the waters of childish wonder, you scolded yourself. Get a hold of yourself, your already slightly late!
Your head swiveled around, searching for someone, anyone with a uniform on. Rather quickly your gaze landed on a man half jogging toward you. He was tall and thin yet bore the uniform you were looking for. Relieved you let yourself smile with a shallow breath. Oh thank god
"Ah there you are!" A gruff voice called out from within him. "I was wondering if you got lost-but you haven't even gotten past the front gates!" The man snickered behind a closed fist, attempting to hide his muses.
Biting the inside of your check you frowned at the comment and at yourself. Way to go, late and barely made it ten steps in.
The man noticed your expression and quickly gestured his hands in front of himself. Like calming a small child he grinned softly, almost patronizing. "Hey don't worry about it, I got lost my first day too. Maybe not at the front doors though." He finished in a mumble but you still heard every syllable.
The tag upon his shirt read simply: Dave.
Dave was the one who spoke to you over the phone, asking you to come in. One of the only people to respond to your desperate calling of employment. A rather tall guy he was, towering over you by a few feet easily. His stature was very slender with a hollow looking face that seemed to look slightly unnatural, like he used to be fuller in the face. He had brunette hair that was cut short on the sides yet fell raggedly on the top of his head. His shirt was tucked in messily, at certain points around his belt pieces of cloth were loose and spilled out. He looked like a man who had seen some things.
"If you follow me I'll give you a tour while things wind down." Leading you through the entrance gates and towards the grandiose stairwell Dave lead you down a windy path as he meandered around families and other patrons. Not bothering to shoot you a glance behind himself to make sure you were still on his tail, probably figuring you had enough brains to not lose him. You in fact were trying to keep up, but got cut off a few times by loose children running about and their parents giving chase with outstretched arms.
Coming to a stop at a S.T.A.F.F bot, the same one you had seen early get harassed by teenagers, Dave stood quietly, waiting for something. The delinquents in question were long gone now, probably ran off right after they committed the crime.
The robot turned to acknowledge Dave with an emotionless stare. It was of simple design, white mostly all over with the exception of an explorer type outfit fitted around its body. It had no mouth but it's voice came automated from within its chest.
"Hi, take a map. Please, take a map-" It's voice came out with a static tone. A rehearsed artificial line that certainly felt abnormal on the ears. It's blocky hand clenched a brochure within its grasp, in the process of lifting it to be taken. Before it could complete it to finish, Dave swiped the map from its hand, the bot didn't seem to care and still carried out its motion. Extending its arm out fully Dave turned his back to it without a second glance, muttering something under his breath.
"Sometimes even I need a map." The brunette grinned to himself before curling a finger toward himself, beckoning you to follow. You do as your told and scurry along, as you make your pass by the bot your eyes linger on it for a moment longer. Emotionlessly it lowered its hand and reached for the purple thing stuck to its back. Now In view of said object you realized it was a poorly used magnet, a purple hippo with a smile that fell short of happy. Getting a sour taste in your mouth you pulled your attention back to Dave. Lingering close behind him as the two of you ascended the stairwell.
Glancing to your right you notice a gift shop placed rather intelligently close to the exit. Like intended, the small area attracted a family or two on their way out, they were in the middle of purchasing what looked to be a green alligator plush. Judging by the stressed looks on the parents faces their child must have bugged and whined till they got what they wanted. A calculated location for Fazbear Entertainment to gripe just the littlest bit more profit from its patrons.
Admittedly you had never been to the Pizza Plex much before. Being a teenager at the time it opened, you found no interest in it. Rather spending time doing things you most certainly shouldn't have been, most definitely against the law.
You knew of the main four animatronics, having watched them perform a few times before applying here. The new models intrigued you in how sophisticated their designs had become but at the same time they made you a tad uneasy. They were said to be the most advanced animatronic out there. Each mascot came equipped with facial recognition which was linked to the Faz-network, allowing them access to every patron that registers to enter into the Plex. Their movements were extremely fluid and lacked any to all mechanical clang, they could even jump around and balance themselves on one leg easily, heck they could even do the Dosey Doe. It was like watching someone wear a costume and walk around in disguise. Not to mention their capacity for conversation was starkly different from the animatronics you grew up with.
As a kid you had grown accustomed to the original cast of animals and their simple minds. One of the original establishments forged right in the beginning of your adolescence was where you spent most of your days. You can still picture each mascots face in perfect clarity, even remembering their names and gigs.
The classic brown bear: Freddy, he was the lead vocals, the one who would initiate every song.
The purple bunny: Bonnie, the lead guitarist brought an assortment of different strums and plucks to every jig.
The yellow chicken: Chica, the back up vocals that always played an octave higher than the rest and had a knack for pizza.
And then there was the red fox: Foxy, the pirate with a hook.
They never left their stage or engaged in complex conversations with children. Their voice boxes harbored only a few rehearsed responses to words they could sometimes register. Certain phrases like 'hello' or 'hi' would earn you a warm greeting back. They were old but never gave you the impression that they could suddenly turn on you like the robots from futuristic scy-fi robo films. Never once did you think Freddy Fazbear would take over the world. But here you are, in a giant mall complex, themed around the bear and his friends.
"So-are you a fan of the new cast?"
Nearly biting your tongue from the sudden question you forced your jaw from clamping down in surprise. You must have been spacing out so hard that you failed to process that Dave had lead you to the second floor and into the main atrium of the Plex.
Getting your bearings you offer him a half hearted smile, thinking for a moment if it was better to be honest or give him an answer you'd expect he'd like. "I can't say that I do." You went with your gut, Dave was most likely the type to appreciate brutal honesty rather than a sickening act of sweetness.
He smiles to your surprise. "Yeah, me as well." Leading you up an escalator, passing another family on the way he takes you to the top before speaking again. "I myself grew up with the original two."
"Two?" Your head tilts.
He deadpans at you before realizing just how old he was. Chuckling to himself he scratches the stubble peeking through across his chin, "Right, guess that was before your time."
He never elaborates further on this, instead he got straight to business. Specifically he took you to the stage control console, located at the top of the third floor. From there you could see over the entire Atrium at large. Pointing from his map and down to the corresponding attractions below he offered a pretty thorough tour from a birds eye view. It was only when he showed you employee only areas did he take you in person to inspect. Mainly he wanted to make it clear to you where you could find every and all storage closets and offices. Which there were tons of. On just the first floor alone there were over 15 closest equipped with various cleaning supplies and other tragedy necessities.
You found it strange that you were being shown in great detail the areas you wouldn't be working at but chalked it up to it being common knowledge to know the building your working at. Your job description to be exact was a janitor/security guard/helper(You didn't quite understand what helper meant but assumed it meant doing odd jobs) of some sorts except you were going to be limited to one area only: The Superstar Daycare. You rejoiced silently at knowing you'd be generally stationary the more Dave explored the building. The pizza Plex was easily the largest mall you had ever been to, it wouldn't be hard to get lost in just the lobby.
Bringing you through what Dave referred to as 'Rockstar Row' he showed you the character specific rooms briefly. Quickly pointing out the obvious of whose room was what.
The green room which was the alligators: Monty's, was closed and had a few signs of maintenance strung up over its glass. Peering around the corner as you passed by your eyes glazed over a torn entrance way. It looked like a wild animal had unleashed its wrath into the doorframe.
Swallowing something caught in your throat you moved on. The next two rooms were purple and pink, their curtains were open pretty wide yet lacked any animatronic inside. The animatronics were probably still catering to guests as they made their way out of the establishment. You could tell by the racing theme of the purple room that it belonged to one of the newer characters, Roxy, one you had not been well acquainted on yet, much like the gator.
The pink room was easily recognizable as Chica's. A familiar name and theme was refreshing after being introduced to so many new aspects of the franchise. Chica still had pizza items and decorations as a part of her character. Lining her walls were posters of her and an advertisement for Mazersize. Plushies of herself were tossed about, one even sitting in the animatronics vanity chair.
The same could be said about Freddy's room. The animatronic was no where to be seen, his only likeness came from the plethora of plushies that interpreted him in a very cutesy way. His room was neater than the others, things were organized and appeared to have designated spots, little Freddy plushies were lovingly placed all together localized on the couch in his room. One object stood out apart from the orange and blue color pallet, a purple bowling ball sat by its lonesome in the far right corner.
Dave suddenly approached a red door and stopped, pinching the map brochure between his fingers. "This will lead you down to the maintenance tunnels, they're a tad bit.." He paused, his eyes flicking to the ground with an unreadable expression. "Dark. Always bring a flashlight with you and try not to be by yourself down here for too long."
You were about to question him but he instantly took a large stride away.
"Enough about the rest of the Plex, I'll take you to the more important area. The one where you'll actually be working at. Traversing across the atrium after entering a windy path back to it, Dave lead you to a familiar yet eery place. "This here is kids cove."
A beach themed play area, small and not intended to house many children. It was more like a flashy entrance that also connected to Monty Golf on your left. Most likely an area for the little tykes who were a bit older and didn't need constant supervision. It was designed just like a coast with a lighthouse and a shipwrecked vessel to your right.
Out of the corner of your eye you got the view of something tall and burgundy. Immediately a lump in your throat formed as you craned your neck back. There before you stood a giant statue of Foxy himself. Clutching your forearm, breath quickly fleeting, frozen with wide eyes you stared at the towering form. It was slightly shrouded in darkness, only dimly lit by the surrounding neon lights. His mouth was open into a toothy smile, thanks to shadows downcast his canines appeared sharp and disturbingly long. Eyes yellow and glowing started into nothing as his hook rested stiffly in the air. Held up and bent at the elbow, it was held up in a salute, however, the more you analyzed the more it appeared like it was preparing to swing down.
"You okay kid?"
Jolting at the words that seemed to come out louder on your ears than normal you smiled imperfectly, forcing your attention off the red monster. "Yeah never better! Let's keep going." You begged silently.
"You look like your gonna hurl?" Dave's eyes flitted between you and the statue for a moment.
"Just excited." You smile wide, a small bead of sweat falling from your brow. You couldn't see your face but you knew by Dave's reaction that all the color must have left your face.
Murmuring an alright, Dave lead you to the big garage doors ahead that were branded with the Daycares sign and style. Crawling under the automatic door with a bit more haste than intended you found yourself in a hallway, instantly serenaded or barraged by a goofy sounding song from above. In front of you was a wall that came up to your hips, past that mark it turned to glass and stretched tall. The contents within the room were concealed by what appeared to be a jungle gym blocking your view of inside.
"So this is your area, the Daycare." Gesturing openly with his arms Dave brushed past you, leading you to where the room opened up. To your right was a little gift shop filled with plushies of characters you had never seen before. Specifically two characters you had never seen. A sun and a moon. Judging by the amount of Sun plushies remaining in the shop there was definitely a definitive favorite.
Taking a stride inside the tiny shop Dave disappeared around the employee counter in the back. He asked for your size as he struggled with something, hunched over. You replied simply and within the moment he found what he was looking for.
Brandishing a uniform in front of himself he held it out to you. A simple white security button up with two black strips resting on either shoulder.
"This'll be your uniform, make sure to always wear it when on the clock." Handing it off to you he quickly lead you to a set of stairs. Guiding you up the second floor Dave pointed out certain areas only briefly. "That there is the theater, one of the only quiet places in the Daycare. Makes sense that it's a favorite for parents." Aiming a finger towards different party rooms as the two of you passed them by, Dave decided not to show you each of them personally. Too monotonous for him.
Drawing your attention away from the male for a moment you became asphyxiated on the actual Daycare area itself. It was closed off from everything, surrounded by glass walls and for extra measure a netted barrier that climbed all the way to the ceiling. There's no way a kid could escape that.
Before you knew it Dave stopped and you had to reel yourself back before you walked straight into his back. Here he lead you to the Daycare's entrance desk, in other words the drop off area. Walking around the counter he again searched intently for something. Leaving you to yourself for a moment you glanced off towards the enclosed area again, slowly getting the feeling that something was watching you.
The back of your head burned as if you eyes were staring directly at you. Hesitantly peeking over your shoulder your heart jumped into your throat. Slightly slouched forward, a golden statue loomed over you with arms reaching outward. It's face plate held in a permanent smile and gaze that just so happened to line up with the spot you were now anxiously fidgeting in. Its design mimicked that of a jesters, complete with neck ruffles, baggy pants and even a pair of pointy tipped shoes that curled back with bells on the ends. Atop it's head was a night cap that fell to the side in which it's head was rotated to. Swallowing down the sudden frog in your throat you forced your eyes off the thing and peered around it.
Another additional form, behind the first, stood tall with its arms spread to the sky. Walking around at a comfortably far distance away you analyzed the golden twin. Its face was the same as the other except for little rays that poked out at the sides of its head in the shape of a sun. Similarly it had the same body and clothing design yet his stance was more welcoming than the other. Gazing up at the supposed sky this figure had no defined pupils but you could've swore it seemed like there were two tiny dots that were aimed down at you.
"Here it is!" Dave exclaimed in relief.
Before he could rise from his spot you rushed back to him quickly. Lifting himself from the floor and pulling a small card on a lanyard out he quickly turned, extending it towards you.
With raised brows you took the credentials from him. "Security badge?" You read aloud before looping it around your neck.
"This'll allow you in an out of all spaces in the daycare. Now since you are technically a security guard as well as a helper that little card will allow you in certain places around the Plex." Waving you forward Dave brought you to the edge of the railing to a colorful slide that you failed to notice earlier. You were too distracted getting the creeps from that statue to care before.
The words Slide into Fun! hovered on a cloud just above the small opening.
"This here is one of the ways of getting into the Daycare area." The male explained.
Your expression must have reflected apprehension as Dave quickly stepped away from it.
"Don't worry, stairs are an option for our workers. When you use the slide the daycare attendant will almost always be alerted to your presence. I don't need him smothering you just yet."
Smothering? Anxiously you rubbed the back of you neck, peering over at the Daycare.
"Down here is another entrance to the daycare." Stepping up to the big wooden doors Dave took a deep breath and put on a happy look. Pushing the doors open he opened his arms up to the wide space. Inside revealed a colorful mass of a child's fever dream.
"Wow.." You muttered under your breath as you scanned the area. Giant play structures on either side riddled this brightly colored area. The ground consisted of different brightly colored mats which were incredibly soft and squishy, yet firm at the same time?
"Here is where you'll work during the day. You'll take attendance of course and help the daycare attendant with the normal chores."
Dave began to ramble on about your duties but you failed to give him your full attention. The hairs on your neck strangely stood on end, rubbing a hand over the skin yet again you glanced over your shoulder. That feeling of being watched returned. Dancing from every inch of the daycare your eyes desperately searched for the source, all in vain.
Unnerved you whipped your head back to Dave with a sweat drop. Ignoring the burning sensation on the back of your head. Something was surely staring you down.
"-now that that's all out of the way-why don't we introduce you to your new coworker? I'm sure he's excited to meet you." Looking over his shoulder a look flashed across Dave's expression as he seemed to spot something. You couldn't read his face, perhaps it was surprise or a hint of dread. As quickly as it appeared, it disappeared, being replaced by a feigned smile.
"You can come on out Sun." Dave spoke suddenly, seemingly to no one in particular.
Following the tall males gaze you looked to the edge of a play set. Stepping out from behind it emerged a Sun like animatronic. Instantly you recognized its design from the golden statue. Seeing him in color and freshly animated was a different sight to behold. His face was yellow, of course, with slightly more saturated rays sticking out of his head. You were surprised when your eyes fell upon blank slates, he appeared to not have any pupils. Slowly your gaze traveled downward to analyze his figure. He was very tall, taller than you and Dave for sure. He was dressed in warm colors, consisting of different shades of yellow and red accents. Ruffles of fabric were present around his neck and hips. His puffy pants were striped with bold red lines, reminding you of a circus tent. Two bright red ribbons laced each wrist with bells dangling on either side. He didn't move like an animatronic, at least not the ones you were used to of course. His movements were fluid and liquidated almost like he was flesh and blood. Even his expression shocked you as for a moment he displayed nervousness before putting on his best smile. With great agility he raised his arms high and tumbled forward, rolling into a cartwheel headed straight for you.
You swallowed anxiously as he came to an abrupt halt two steps away from you, flashing you a wide grin. Crossing an arm over his midsection he bowed with delight.
Dave clapped at the showy entrance, "Well done Sunny, say hello to your new friend-"
"New friend!??" Cutting off Dave, the suns head shot up. Before you could form the words in your throat he lunged at you. Scooping you up into his arms he twirled you around, a small squeal escaped you from the surprise.
Realizing his error he quickly set you down. Holding a hand to your chest you felt your heart race. Was. not. expecting that!..
"So sorry new friend!! I was just so excited to finally meet you!" Apologetically he smiled down at you. "What's your name?"
Flickering your gaze from the bot to Dave, then back at the bot again you straightened your posture. Wanting to seem somewhat professional you extended your hand wearily, giving him your name as solidly as you could muster. "I'm your new helper, I suppose."
"HURRAY!!!" Gladly accepting your gesture the sun shook your hand vigorously, throwing you off balance with ease while nearly ripping your arm off. "So what games are we gonna play? Huh? Huh!?-"
Dave quickly interjected. "Woah, calm down there pal. Before you guys get all buddy buddy with each other our new worker here needs to do her job."
Sun's smile dimmed momentarily but he quickly straightened up. "Yes sir!" He mock saluted.
"All you have to do for tonight is sanitize the play structures and clean up after the kids who left just a bit ago. After that do a sweep of the area and head home before 12." Flicking his wrist up he glanced down at his watch, "It's about 10, so good luck." Patting you on the shoulder he smiled, his eyes briefly lost focus on you, narrowing. Reaching behind himself he retrieved something and placed it in your palm.
A radio?
Turning on his heel he left without a goodbye, simply waving over his shoulder blindly.
Staring down at the black box with the antenna sticking out you paused for a moment, thinking your lips into a straight line. Taking on the job of a Daycare helper through the day and security worker by night was going to be grueling, but the pay was double and seemed more than worth it no matter the work load. However you wondered if there was a catch to such a high paycheck? Was there a reason why this position wasn't filled?
Before you knew it you were ripped from your thoughts as your feet left the ground. Hoisting you up into his arms again, the sun embraced you from behind twirling around with a giddy laugh. "Oh I can't wait for all the fun we're going to have! Yes, yes!"
"H-hey! Cut it out!!" You cried, kicking your legs like a helpless frog.
"Sorry friend! I had to contain myself for Dave and with him gone I just have all this energy built up!! I'm so happy you're hear to help out. It's been so long since we-I've had a friend around here." With a sorry look he released you and held his hands together politely.
You gradually got the feeling that this animatronic might not understand personal space very well. Letting out a sigh of false exhaustion you shook your head. "Are you always sooo.. jittery?"
"Why do you ask?" Said the sun who was seemingly vibrating from excitement.
Clicking your tongue you deadpan away, "No reason."
Figuring you should go ahead and knock out your tasks, you turned for the Daycare doors. The maintenance closet was just outside the glass walls, located right next to the restrooms. Almost instantly the jingle of bells accompanied close behind.
"Where are we off to friend?" He asked innocently, bouncing with every step.
Pointing to the door with the label faculty you stepped through the wooden gates, "Getting what we'll need to clean." Expecting the sound of bells to follow you further, you were surprised when they didn't. Looking over your shoulder you noticed how Sun stood complacent at the entrance, fingers pressed together neatly with a thin smile on his face. Huh.
Pilling on wipes, disinfectant and a can of air freshener from the shelves within the small closet, you stacked it high over your chest. Barely able to walk out of the closet with it all looming over your head and threatening to spill from your arms.
"Careful friend!" The sun nervously ushered as he watched you wobble slowly back over to him. Cringing every time you lost your balance and would tip the stack every so slightly to one side. He reached his arms out over the invisible barrier, twitching, ready to catch you if you were to fall.
Thankfully, with great difficulty, you made it to the wooden doors without toppling over. Before you could set the contents down Sun scooped them from you hastily. The massive pile instantly becoming small within his big long arms.
"This'll do perfect! Thank you friend!" Speeding away he quickly got to work scrubbing down a slide.
Taken back, still recovering you watched him before blinking into awareness. "Hey! Spare me some wipes I have to help too." Stepping to his side you reached for the disinfectant spray only for a finger to push your forehead back.
Wagging a digit in your face he tutted quietly. "I don't think so! It's your first day and I want you to have enough energy for games later." Patting you on the head he turned you around and lightly shoved you away.
"Funny. I'll get fired if I leave all the work up to you. I was hired to help out." You retort with one corner of your mouth downcast.
"Sorry, no can do doctors orders! You need ample rest for tag later!" Sun mentioned nonchalantly while scrubbing the innards of a slide, retracting the petals around his head slight and partly climbing inside to get better coverage.
The supplies were resting on the ground just beside him. Shifting a look from him and to the cleaner you lifted a brow. While he was too busy to notice you swiped the cleaner and a towelette, running off before he could resurface.
"-and besides I want to make a good impression for my new... friend?" He turned to flash you a smile but was instantly startled when you weren't there. Pulling his torso out from the tube his head swiveled in circles looking for you. "Where'd you go?"
"Sorry, but I gotta make a good impression myself!" You shouted from inside the upper part of one of the play structures, peering a grin down through the colored bars above.
Putting his hands on his hips in disapproval he gently frowned. "Stealing from the attendant is forbidden in the Daycare!"
"It's not stealing if you stole it first." Disappearing from his view the sun dropped his shoulders in defeat.
Reluctantly he allowed you to help out(do your job), two hands are always better than one. Even if the one set is metallic and more than capable of cleaning the play structures all by himself in less than 30 minutes. Still Sunny appreciated the gesture, it would take some getting used to however.
Cleaning went by quicker than you could imagine, mainly due to Sunny and his lighting fast work pace. He ended up cleaning more than half the structure before you could even finish one floor. The small spaces were hard to get around in, being child sized and clearly not meant for someone of your size made the job so much harder. Not to mention the nauseating smell that lingered within the structure itself, the smell of sweat and cleaner was not a good mix. Crawling on your knees, too distracted with cleaning and not breathing through your nose you ended up banging your head right into something hard. Withdrawing instantly you cradled the now pulsing bump on your noggin. "Ow-"
"Sorry friend!! I thought you were going to stop since I was blatantly right in front of you!" Sun smiled apologetically, his head rotating a few degrees to the right with a click.
Shooting him a glare you frowned. "What are you doing over in my area?" You questioned disregarding his backhanded wording.
"Oh! I finished my side and the rest of yours!" His smile widened expectantly as his little rays twitched in and out, seemingly held back by the constraint of space around him.
"What!? How did you do that so quick?" Scampering to a little bubble window you gawked out at the now comically sparkling clean structures standing tall around, appearing brand new. Pulling your phone out your jaw fell. It's only been 25 minutes!
"I've gotten pretty good at cleaning! My world record is 20 minutes flat by myself."
Mumbling to yourself you wondered why you would even have to help the animatronic who can already clean way better and quicker than you. Shifting your eyes at the animatronic he simply beamed a grin at you. "Whatever." You waved your hands slightly in frustration, scooting towards a slide.
"Where are you off to now friend?" His voice asked, getting louder as he inched closer to you, curious.
"To beat you!" Shoving off into the tube you left Sun speechless with wide eyes. As he processed your words his rays shot out to their full length colliding briefly with the confining walls around him.
"Wait up friend!!" He called out to you but you already sped off beginning to pick up the messes around the play structures. Certain plushies had been thrown about and left dejected on the colorful ground. Scooping them up as you ran around you compiled a large mass of them in your arms. Ready to dump them in the bin they belonged to, you searched for the container. Smiling once you saw said bin labeled: Toys. Quickly you dashed for it, holding the plushies as securely to your chest as you could. Just before you reached it your path was suddenly blocked by a tall lanky figure. The jingle of bells instantly told you who.
"Out of my way Sun, you know I gotta do this."
"Sorry partner, this job of cleanin' ain't big enough for the two of us." Sun put on his best western accent, mocking the sheriff of some cheesy cowboy movie.
With a smirk you peered around your stack at the animatronic. Like a true jester he was playing his fictional role perfectly. Slightly hunched over and bent at the knees, he held his hand over his hip, wiggling his fingers like he was itching to draw his, non existent, weapon. Putting on his best grimace he frowned partially. "Pretty lady, I don't think you wanna do this. You put those toys down or we're gonna have a problem."
Silence fell over the daycare as the two of you stared the other down. You fought against the urge to smile and forced a false scowl, playing into his game of pretend. Thinking briefly to yourself how a scene like this would play out in one of those old western movies, you grinned mischievously as an idea flashed across your mind. Normally the villain just starts firing off at will. "Well color me an outlaw!-" You yelled, slightly surprising the Sun. With one swift movement you threw all the plushies at him.
Letting out a high pitched shriek he was quickly consumed by the stuffed tsunami, collapsing to the floor dramatically and with great struggle, like he was being tackled by a ferocious beast.
Slapping a hand over your mouth you couldn't contain the giggle that escaped you.
Dashing away you left the Sun gasping for a fake breath. "Oh the humanity!! Slayed by my own partner! Left to CRUMBLE beneath this pile of adorable plushies!!" His hand reached through the suffocating pile, outstretched and twitching, clinging to an ounce of life.
You returned with more stuffed animals in your arms. Grabbing the plushy that sat over his face he rejoiced momentarily, pleased at your reappearance.
"Oh friend!! My partner has turned a new leaf, character development has-WAIT, NO NO!!" Sun squealed as you dropped more plushies onto him.
Snickering to yourself you took the chance to clean up the rest of the room while he carried on with his antics. Quickly uprighting small plastic chairs, pushing them in neatly to their respective multicolored tables. Picking up crayons and stuffing them back into whatever cartons you could find. Taking all the craft materials and fitting them into the nearby drawers, going as far as to organize them by color. Just as you slid the last file shut Sun jumped you, wrapping an arm around your shoulder and ruffling your hair playfully while you let out a trail of (lighthearted) cries.
"That was a dirty trick, friend!" Sun mused to himself with an upturned smile. "Buuut fun." He relented, releasing you from the noogie. "If you wanted to clean by yourself so badly you could've started with Kids Cove!"
Your stiffened up for a moment before quickly expelling the tension suddenly contoured in your shoulders. Letting out a laugh you smiled and looked away. "Yeah, I guess so."
Sun tilted his head at you for a moment. "Well, since all that's done-" He quickly changed the subject, taking your hand up in his as he lifted it above your head, suddenly beginning to twirl you in place. "How about we play some games!"
"What about my patrol?" You asked, stopping yourself mid twist.
"You can do that later friend, besides-" Booping you on the nose, Sun took a big step back with thinned eyes and a big grin. "You're it!!"
"Huh?" Before you could protest Sun ran away giggling profusely spouting out some teases to entice you.
Checking the time, you pulled your phone from your back pocket. It was now 11 pm, you had plenty of time to indulge the Jester. Nothing at home was waiting for you besides your bed so you figured, what's the harm? Pocketing your device you quickly ran after him not unable to resist a challenge.
Chasing the Jester you found it near impossible to land even a finger tip on his lanky body. Every reach would be bent around in an impressively flexible way. His movements were too fluid for you to track and too difficult to predict.
"Man you're pretty bad at being it!" Sun taunted with a snicker as he yet again rolled out of reach. Flipping into a cartwheel he danced around you in a wide circle.
Becoming irritated and desperate you jumped for him only to be dodged for the hundredth time. "This isn't fair! You're way too fast." You pouted, sticking your bottom lip out.
Stopping momentarily to straighten up, Sun held an arm behind his back and pointed a finger to the sky in a 'matter the fact' kind of way. "Actually, alls fair in love and-WAHH!!"
Pouncing on the robot the two of you tumbled to the floor. Triumphantly you smacked the robot on the chest, out of breath and exhausted. "I did it!!" Cheering to yourself despite the cheap shot, Sunny was helplessly stuck beneath watching with a fond look as you rejoiced.
"Good job friend! I was only teasing, you did much better than the children do!"
"How much better?" You asked between breaths.
He looked up and away briefly, placing a finger on the bottom of his face plate. His smile never fleeting. "2 minutes better!!" Lacing his hands under your shoulders he lifted you off of his lap and sat forward. "Normally when I'm not trying I let the children win quickly, but I felt like you enjoyed the challenge, friend."
Huffing a stray hair off your nose you ran your hands over your face, trying to wipe the exhaustion away. "Thanks for not treating me like a child." You suck your tongue out at the robot playfully before standing up, brushing yourself off shaking the childish agenda from your body. "I do have to get back to work, I don't even know how long that chase was-"
"Friend wait!" His long cold metallic fingers laced around your wrist as he stood to meet you. "You have plenty of time! Please, stay." He pleaded softly with a thin stretched smile.
Giving him a sorry look you offered him a smile of your own in return as you started to set off for the doors. "Sorry bud, I have to-"
Before you knew it Sun crashed to his knees suddenly begging on the floor. "OH PLEASE JUST HANG WITH ME FOR A LITTLE WHILE LONGER!!?? I promise it'll be fun!!"
"Ah!! What are you doing?!?" Reeling back around you side stepped over to the distraught robot, trying to make sure he was alright.
With his face flat on the floor he clasped his hands together and shook them desperately. Howling out an 'Oh Please!!' that quickly followed with the gentle use of your name.
That was the first time the robot used your name. Suddenly feeling a pang of guilt you bit your lip, eyeing between the door and Sun you let out a huff. I guess I still have some time.
"Fine okay."
"OH YAYYYY!!" The Sun instantly did a 180, jumping to his feet like a stiff plank he cheered. "Im so happy-!"
"But one more little activity. No running, I'm exhausted as is." You interrupted his giddy fits, he calmed himself momentarily, still bursting at the seams with happiness. Placing a hand over his chest, where a normal human heart would be, he raised his other arm holding his fingers together laying it flat against an invisible wall.
"You have my word!" He swore with a closed eye smile.
"Okay, what did you-wOah!" Pulling you by the hand Sun dragged you to a small tea table with kiddie chairs. Not even giving you a chance to breath.
He swiftly made himself comfortable, barely fitting into the child sized seat. His legs were so long that when they bent his knees were just about level with his figurative chin.
Hesitantly you squeezed your bottom onto one of the small stools, "What are we do-"
"I'm SO happy you asked!!" Pulling out some crayons and paper, Sun laid them out neatly for the both of you. "Let's draw each other! It's a good bonding exercise to build great friendships."
"Really? I've never done that with my friends." You smirked at the bot, picking up a crayon anyways.
"Only the best friendships are forged this way! They must have no taste for art." Sun tutted.
Like you expected from the yellow animatronic he took up the crayon similar to his shade and quickly got to work, scribbling ecstatically.
Letting out a breath through your nose you pressed your wax pencil to the paper. You felt pretty confident in your skills. You were certainly no Picasso but you did enjoy doodling over your work in high school. This trait seemed to carry over even into college. During the short time you were there it got you into trouble only a few times. The momentary scolding never stopped you though, drawing was fun and helped you stay awake on the days that lectures were particularly boring.
Glancing up from your paper and at Sun you tried to capture his likeness the best you could. With each additional glance you began to notice small details you never found before, such as how he had a few speckles of dark pigment over his cheeks that either represented freckles or maybe even sun spots. Soon you realized that it was neither of the two, down half of his face was an outline of crescent moon with a pointed nose. It was an interesting style choice for the Sun, one that could've probably stayed in the notes as it didn't quite make sense for him to have it. Did that other statue also have this crescent?
His face displayed a look of hard concentration during the whole process, occasionally it would drop and frown presumably upon making a mistake but would snap right back into place upon correcting it. It was entertaining to watch as his eyes would go wide and his smile would grow taller the more he got absorbed into his work. A few times he seemed to get so concentrated that he failed to realize he was rocking the table with his aggressive coloring.
Thankfully you finished sooner than Sunny and didn't have to put up with the shaking for long. As expected, he seemed to be taking this very seriously, throwing tons of glitter onto his page while you simply drew him with no 'pizzaz' really needed. Though, the longer you sat waiting the more sore your bottom became.
"Are you almost done?" You asked, wanting to get up from your uncomfortably small seat. You could practically feel your ass bones ripping out through your rump.
"Not yet!!" Sun protested, shielding his work with an arm. You had no idea how long the two of you had been sitting there for but it was long enough to worry that Dave would be angry.
Deciding time was up you snatched the paper from him.
"Huh?! Wh-wait!!"
Jumping from your seat of torture you felt instant relief and breathed with ease. "Oh finally, now let's see what you di-..." Peering down at the paper you expected to see meaningless scribbles, stick figures akin to that of a child's style. However instead you were shocked. On this simple piece of paper Sundrop drew a detailed picture of himself and you, standing side by side with big smiles. His clothes were picture perfect to what he actually wore, he even detailed his neck ruffles perfectly(Something you struggled with in your own image.) Glitter covered the entire sheet, slightly overdone as most to all of the sparkles fell off it upon swiping it.
"I wasn't ready to show you yet!!" Sun whined while he hung his head in disappointment.
"I didn't think you were able to draw stuff like this?" You admitted, astonishment written all over your face.
"Oh we're programmed to do tons of things, I wasn't always good at doodling though! The children taught me their craft." Sundrop smiled reminiscing briefly, looking away.
Discreetly folding the paper into a neat square you pocketed it, hoping it would go unseen.
"So what did you draw? Is it okay if I take a peek?" Came the impatient question as the sun was already leaning over on the table trying his best not to look at your work without your permission.
"Sure, I'm not an artist but I did my-"
"WOOOAAAHHH!!! YOU DID THIS!??"
☆⌒★⌒☆⌒★⌒☆⌒★⌒☆
❀❁Don't forget to vote★ and comment below your favorite part!❁❀
Wowie 8000 words!! This was a rather long introduction but I just had so much fun writing in this universe I couldn't help myself!
A little note in case there's any confusion, the animatronics are more animated in this story. Sun an Moon specifically will look very similar to the fan art you see of them, where they can change their expressions and even frown or open their mouths. It'll be chalked up to advancements in technology. Imo this makes them a lot more interesting ;)