#...yeah :)

C10 - There's A New Sheriff In Town

     You had the day off from the plex today, but not the deli. You weren't closing luckily, although your manager did ask if you could stay late to help close. You refused, feeling slightly guilty, but you were more exhausted than normal today and really looking forward to a chill night before your full shift at the plex tomorrow. You needed to be on you’re A-game tomorrow, the specialist would be doing their robotic wizardry on Moon and Sun. You were totally only worried a normal amount.

     Once you were home for the night, you dutifully did your chores, cleaned off your apron and made sure both uniforms were ready to go, made ramen for diner, and brewed yourself a nice mug of tea to help with your nerves. Your totally reasonable amount of nerves. Your hands were definitely not shaking.

     You gripped the warm mug tightly and took a few deep breaths.

     Your phone rang, and you jumped, spilling a small amount of tea on your fingers and the kitchen table. You cursed and quickly cleaned up the mess as you pulled out your phone, ready to decline another spam call.

     Sun and Moon's contact flashed across the screen. They were calling you. Oh fuck Sun and Moon were calling you-

     You leapt into action as you picked up the call. "Hello? It's Y/N," you said, grabbing your shoes.

     "Hello dear!" That was Sun's voice on the other end of the call. Sun and Moon shared the same voice box, but you'd gotten to know them well enough to tell their tones apart. "Sooo I just thought you should know. We're coming over for an impromptu sleepover! Everything's fine, just fine, peachy keen, just dandy!"

     You paused halfway through putting on your hoodie. "Whuh?? To my house? You're coming here??"

     "That's right, sunshine! We'll be there shortly!" Sun hung up before you could question him further.

     "What the fuck," you muttered, staring down at your phone.

     There was a knock at the door, and you jumped again.

     You peered through the window and sure enough, there was Sun, standing outside in front of your door. He waved at you.

     You unlocked and opened the door. "Uhhhhhh. What the fuck?!" you said.

     Sun winced, but their smile never faltered. "Hey there hon! May we come inside? I know the visit is a little short notice."

     "Uh- yeah. Yeah, come in." You stepped aside, and Sun ducked through the doorway. You were suddenly coming to the realization that Sun was in your house (Moon too, technically), the place where you lived, and you hadn't cleaned yet, oh god, this was embarrassing-

     You closed and locked the door, then hurried around to tidy things up. "Um, sorry, it's- I haven't cleaned yet, let me just…" You straightened the mess on the table, put the dishes in the sink, wiped off the kitchen counters.

     To your surprise, Sun started helping, fluffing pillows and organizing loose books into a neat stack. "Your home is so lovely!! Its so cute and cozy… is this art on the wall yours??"

     You laughed nervously. Your cheeks felt warm. "Some of it, yeah. Some stuff is from my friends back in my hometown. I always keep anything people make for me." You started doing the dishes, scrubbing them down and setting them aside to dry.

     Sun studied a framed drawing on the wall near the bookshelf. "Hey, I know this character! That's Calcifur!"

     You looked at the drawing in question. "Yeah! A good friend of mine drew that for me for my birthday one year." You turned your attention to Sun. "So… I have… several questions."

     Sun glanced at you briefly, then busied himself with re-fluffing the already fluffed pillows.

     "First. How are you here?? Like. Not only, how do you know where I live, but also, it's dark out. Shouldn't Moon have come out?" you questioned.

     "You have location sharing turned on when you send us pictures." Sun got out their phone and pulled up their conversation with you. He tapped one of the most recent pictures you'd sent him of the fence, and sure enough, there was an information tag at the bottom that displayed a time and location where the image was taken.

     "Oh. Damn, I didn't even realize that was a feature." You weren't great with technology.

     "Sometimes, if both Moon and I are in agreement, one of us can have total control despite the light levels. It takes a lot of concentration, but it's doable! Moon can't leave the plex, and we both wanted to come see you," Sun explained, putting the phone away.

     You finished with the dishes and dried your hands off. "Just can't get enough of me, huh?"

     "That's right!" Sun smiled and winked at you.

     You felt there was something else going on here. You squinted suspiciously at the bot. "…Are you sure this visit has nothing to do with the fact that the specialist is gonna separate you and Moon tomorrow?"

     Sun looked away, intertwining their fingers together tightly.

     "Why don't we sit and talk about it?" you offered gently, gesturing to the table.

     "…Okay." Sun sighed, then took a seat.

     "Can I get you anything? I've got tea, snacks, candy," you said.

     Sun smiled. "I'm alright, sunshine. I don't usually enjoy eating."

     You nodded and sat down across from Sun, grabbing your forgotten mug of tea. You sipped at it and waited patiently for Sun to start. When he didn't for a good long moment, you prompted him.

     "So, uh… what exactly has you two so nervous about all this?"

     Sun tapped their fingers on the edge of the table. "It's just… we've always been… together. Its always been the two of us working in tandem… most of the time. Neither of us really want that to change. And Moon is worried… we both are worried that the specialist won't actually… fix Moon. We're worried she'll get rid of Moon instead."

     You took a deep breath. "I'm worried too. But… like Paige said, it's all about the money. It'd be more lucrative for them to fix up Moon and have another animatronic to work the daycare. Besides, I'm gonna watch that specialist like a hawk the whole time."

     "But what if… no offense, but you aren't exactly an expert with technology. How would you know if… something was amiss?" Sun stared down at the table.

     You had actually been worried about that yourself. You looked away. "…I… I can't say much to that. You're right, I'm hopeless when it comes to computer stuff and robots and whatnot. I'm sorry, but I don't have a solution. We're just gonna have to trust that everything will be alright. Which I know sucks, cause management isn't exactly trustworthy… but I do think we can trust that they're greedy bastards."

     Sun nodded. He looked thoughtful.

     "As for you and Moon being separated… yall don't have to be, like, apart. You can hang out together and still talk to each other. And hey! Won't it be great to give him a big ol hug?"

     Sun smiled. "That would be great! I suppose it all just seems so daunting. It's scary."

     You nodded. "I know. I'm here for yall, whatever you need."

     "Thank you, sunshine." Sun looked at you gratefully, expression soft.

     Your face felt warm again. It sure was doing that a lot lately. You hoped you weren't coming down with a cold, that'd be inconvenient.

     Sun perked up a little, starting to sway from side to side. "Is it alright if we stay the night? We could have a sleepover!"

     "Sure, that'd be alright. I can give you a ride back to the plex in the morning," you said.

     "Aw, thank you dear!" Sun smiled happily, then sprang up from the table. "A sleepover!! Oh my, we haven't had a sleepover in some time… what should we do first?? We could watch a show or play a game or make a pillow fort or tell ghost stories or braid each other's hair and gossip!"

     You smiled. "You don't have any hair, Sunny."

     Sun froze, looking shocked and alarmed. They frantically pat their head with their hands. "Oh dear!! My hair!!! Where has it gone?!"

     You snorted. "Must have fallen off on the way here."

     "Ohhh silly me! I could still braid your hair, though," Sun offered.

     "You might have a little trouble, since it's kinda short." You thought for a moment. "You know, building a pillow fort does actually sound like a lot of fun. I haven't done that since I was a little kid."

     Sun clapped excitedly. "Lets build one together!!"

     You and Sun gathered up all the pillows and blankets you owned and spent the next few hours hanging out in what ended up being a rather impressive pillow fort. You chatted and made silly jokes and even let Sun braid your hair. It felt very nice and relaxing to have someone play with your hair.

     With both you and Sun in the fort surrounded by cozy blankets and pillows, it was very warm and comfortable. That was definitely the only reason your face felt so warm.

     The warm comfort of the fort was also making you very drowsy. You were nodding off in the middle of a game of cards when Sun noticed your sleepiness.

     "I see it's time for the 'sleep' part of our sleepover," he said with a smile.

     "Nahhh, I'm fine." You paused to yawn. "You just don't wanna finish this game cause you know I'll win."

     Sun rolled their eyes. "Says the one who hasn't noticed they've been showing me their cards this whole time."

     You frowned, realizing he was right, and quickly pulled your cards close to your chest.

     Sun chuckled. "Moon says it's his turn. I'll turn out the lights. Don't peek at my cards while we're gone!"

     You watched Sun carefully extract himself from the fort. You were tempted to look at their cards, but restrained yourself from cheating. The lights went out, but the soft glow of the nightlights you had around the home allowed you to still be able to make out the cards in your hand.

     Moon settled into the fort, eying you suspiciously as they picked up their cards.

     "I didn't peek, I promise." You rolled your eyes. "Nice to see you, dream boy."

     "Nice to see you too, rule-breaker." Moon looked at his cards, then at you. "Let's make a deal."

     "A deal?" You looked at him curiously as you yawned again.

     Moon nodded. "Let's finish this game. If you win, we can stay up and play another round. If I win, you have to go to sleep."

     You squinted at your cards, then at Moon. You had a pretty decent hand. "Hm… I hope you're ready to play till the sun comes up then, cause you've got yourself a deal."

     Moon smiled. "It's your turn."

     "Oh. Is it?" You frowned and looked over your cards again. You ignored Moon's snickering and set down a pair of jacks. "It's you and Sun!" you declared, pointing at the jesters on the cards.

     Moon looked at the cards thoughtfully. They straightened the cards, separating them neatly into their proper piles.

     "…How are you doing, Moon?" you asked.

     "I'm… worried. Same as Sun. But… I feel better knowing you'll be there." Moon set down three cards.

     You were so surprised that you didn't even realize you were actually about to loose the game, Moon had made a really good move. "Well, I'm happy to help," you said, your face warm again.

     "If… when Sun and I are separated, will you still spend time with both of us?" Moon asked.

     "Of course. Why wouldn't I?" You looked at Moon quizzically for a moment before trying to focus on your cards.

     "I mean… you and Sun get along so well. Once I'm not… unavoidably there every other night. You might want to… you might prefer…" Moon trailed off.

     You looked at Moon. "Hey, Moon. You know I like you just as much as Sun, right? Do you not think the two of us get along too??"

     "I- we do. At least, I think. I'm just… I don't know what you… think of me." Moon fidgeted with the edge of a pillowcase.

     "I think you're great," you said. "I think you're funny and snarky and quiet. I think that you think you're dangerous, but I'm not scared of you. I know you tried to hurt me."

     Moon winced.

     You quickly continued. "But that wasn't really you, was it? You weren't in control. You are kind and caring." You reached out and took one of Moon's fidgety hands. "You and Sun mean the world to me, you know that?"

     Moon looked at you with an expression you couldn't read. "You mean the world to us, too."

     "Good, keep that in mind when I beat your ass with this awesome move." You grinned and set down all four kings.

     "Oh, dear. That’s one of the best moves in the game… if only there was one move better that could beat that…" Moon set down his last four cards, all of them aces.

     "Aw, fuck!" You frowned. Moon had won the game.

     "Mind your language, sore looser." Moon rolled their eyes.

     You huffed. "We ain't in the daycare, dream boy. I can swear as much as I damn well please in my own house."

     "I suppose." Moon picked up the cards and packed them away. "I do believe you made a deal with me that you must now honor."

     You rolled your eyes. "Okay, okay. I am pretty tired." You adjusted the pillows around you and pulled up a blanket. "I'm gonna crash right here, no way in hell I'm making it all the way to my bed. Are you gonna sleep? Er, enter sleep mode?"

     "We will," Moon said, laying down next to you and folding his hands together over his middle.

     "Don't you need a recharge station though?" You burrowed deeper into the pillows, feeling incredibly cozy.

     "A recharge station would be nice, but its not necessary. The stations just help the cycle go faster, as they're very cold, and the door doesn't open until the cycle is finished, so we can't be disturbed," Moon explained.

     "Oh, okay." You yawned. You were having trouble keeping your eyes open. "I'll have to get me one of those… so yall can rest better next time."

     "Next time?" Moon tilted his head.

     "Unless you don't wanna hang out at my place again?" you asked.

     "We would love to have another sleepover sometime, my dear."

     You smiled. "Good… I had a lot of fun. You guys are great. I like you both a lot."

     "Oh, is that so?" Moon smiled at you.

     "Hush, dream boy. I'm half asleep…" You were indeed starting to drift off.

     "We like you a lot too, Y/N," Moon said quietly.

     You smiled.

     Moon began to hum quietly. You recognized the tune as the lullaby they'd sang to you a while ago. You wanted to listen to his lovely voice, but you drifted off into a dreamless sleep before he was halfway through the song.

~~~

     It had been a long time since you last woke up with someone next to you. Moon was in sleep mode, eyes closed and still. It was still dark out, but you could see his peaceful face in the glow of the nightlights. You realized you were very close to them, likely having rolled over in your sleep to get closer to the bot's warmth. That's what you told yourself, at least. There was no other reason.

     …Or was there?

     The feeling was intense now. The same feeling you realized you'd been ignoring for a while now. You'd felt this before, for someone who was no longer in your life. You'd questioned whether you'd ever feel it again, and here it was, overwhelming and undeniable.

     You were snuggled up to Moon, his arm around you, holding you close. You were currently hugging their other arm like a teddy bear. You'd been physically close to both Moon and Sun before (Sun sure did love hugs) but this was different.

     Oh, shit. You had a crush on Sun and Moon.

     Teeming with embarrassment, you gently untangled yourself from Moon and climbed out of the pillow fort.

     "Shit shit shit shit shit. Fuck. Shit." You mumbled quietly to yourself as you paced around your kitchen. You spent the next ten minutes having a silent crisis. Then you checked the time on your phone and realized the pizza-plex was about to open in half an hour. "Shit!"

     You quickly got your shoes on and your hoodie and grabbed your watch. You poked your head back in the fort.

     "Hey, uh, Moon?? You guys gotta get back to the plex," you said.

     Moon didn't stir. You cursed, realizing you had no clue how to get them out of sleep mode.

     "Ahhh, beans!" You paced around for a moment. "Alright, hang on. I'll get you there."

     You dismantled the fort enough to crouch next to Moon. You hesitated, not wanting to disturb his peaceful rest, but you reasoned that you really didn't want him to get in trouble. You put your arms under them and lifted.

     "FFFFFFFFUCKING HELL," you cried. The animatronic weighed a ton. Not only was he bigger than you, but he was also made of metal.

     You took a step back and took a moment to stretch and psyche yourself up. The plex opened in twenty minutes. You took a deep breath, then tried to lift Moon once more.

     With adrenaline fueled strength, you heaved Moon upwards and very awkwardly struggled to drag them to the door.

     "Dangit!" You fumbled with the lock, trying to keep Moon up at the same time. "Fuckin shit. Ahh hell-"

     You managed to get through the door, but locking it was a whole separate challenge. You fumbled with the keys and ended up nearly getting crushed by Moon. You were extremely grateful that your neighbor's lots were spaced far away from yours.

     "Motherfucker- god dammit-" Moon was so heavy, and not exactly as soft and squishy as you. You awkwardly half-dragged, half-carried him to your car regardless, wincing as you accidentally bonked Moon's head on the door as you got him into the passenger seat.

     At long last, you collapsed into the driver's seat and let out a long breath. "Man. And I thought I was a heavy sleeper." You looked over at Moon, who was still fast asleep. You hoped they'd at least get through rest mode by the time you got to the plex.

     You drove all the way to the plex before realizing that you now had to get Moon inside. You groaned and set your head on the steering wheel.

     Ten minutes until the plex opened. There were several cars already here. You hoped they were all employees who were already inside and not customers about to witness an obscene amount of tomfoolery.

     You took a deep breath and got out of the car, then heaved Moon up out of the passenger seat. In your struggle to reach your keys and lock the car behind you, you tripped over the curb and crashed into the sidewalk, breaking Moon's fall as he toppled over on top of you.

     "Dammiiiiit!" You squirmed, trying to get out from under the animatronic. Your face felt incredibly hot, and you really hoped no one was able to see you.

     Almost as if in response to this desperate hope, Moon's eyes opened and fixed on you.

     "…This is not where we were when we entered sleep mode," Moon said.

     "Sorry, you wouldn't wake up and I had no idea how to get you out of sleep mode. The plex opens in like five minutes," you breathlessly explained.

     Moon looked around, then seemed to realized the position the both of you were in. They quickly got up and picked you up as well, giving you a once over for injuries before setting you back down on your feet.

     "Were you trying to carry me to the pizza-plex??" Moon questioned.

     "Trying?? I damn near had you there, thank you very much." You huffed and brushed yourself off.

     "You… are ridiculous. Thank you." Moon smiled.

     You smiled back. "Not a problem, partner. Now get on home before the bandits get a hold of ya. And mind your liquor next time, a sheriff has other things to do besides walking you back from the saloon."

     "As you wish, sheriff. We'll see you tonight." Moon took a step towards the door, then paused. He turned and took your hand, then gently pressed his faceplate to the back of it. Then they hurried inside the plex, leaving you standing there blushing furiously. You thought of nothing else the whole way home.

     As you clocked in for your shift at the plex however, you found your mind occupied once more by troubles and worries. You made your way straight to the daycare, checking the cameras on your watch as you went. You spotted the specialist also making her way through the plex. She was in one of the access tunnels, making her way up the stairwell. She was wearing a uniform and a badge, so the moment of horrible surprise between spotting her and realizing who she was was brief.

     The whole thing with Sun and Moon getting separated was, at least, very distracting from your earlier realization of the feelings you planned to bottle up deep inside, and then one day, die.

     The lights were on in the daycare. Sun was a rush of energy and motion, running around and straightening already tidy boxes of crafts and stuffed animals and toys.

     "Howdy, sunflower." You stepped into the daycare and offered what you hoped was a reassuring smile.

     "Y/N! How are you??" Sun bounded over and hugged you tightly. "Everything is going according to plan! The specialist will be arriving any minute now with the last bits and pieces to finish Moon's body! She'll escort us down to parts and service and then…"

     "Relax, Sunny. It'll be okay," you assured, giving Sun's hand a squeeze. "How's Moon?"

     "He's just as nervous but he won't admit it." Sun rolled his eyes. "She was supposed to be here by now… I don't know what's keeping her. What if something is wrong??"

     "Nothing's wrong. I saw her heading over on the cameras. Try to relax, okay? I won't let anything bad happen to yall," you promised.

     "Okay… okay." Sun still looked nervous. He wove his fingers together and paced around until someone appeared in the doorway.

     "Sorry I'm late, I wanted to move the second body over to parts and service but no one gave me a key to the door it's behind. Not to mention this place is a maze," the woman said. She was very wiry, with age in her short dark hair but not in her eyes, sharp and observant behind a thick pair of circular spectacles. She showed you her badge. The name printed at the top read 'Omari Vander'. "Hey there, officer. Um. Would you happen to know where the key is?"

     You straightened, pleased by the fact that she seemed to view you with at least some level of authority. "Not to worry, I have the key."

     "Right, of course. Well, let's get this started shall we? We're in for a long night," Omari said with a sigh.

     You turned to Sun. "Ready?"

     Sun nodded.

     "Alright, let's do this." You did your best to project a calm confidence as you lead the way to the nearest entrance to the access tunnels.

     Sun sat anxiously on the metal table opposite of Moon's new body. Omari had set up shop in parts and service, laying out a great deal of well organized tools and parts and working diligently on Moon's body. You quickly learned that she was a talker, and had a lot of complaints about management, which made you like her a little better.

     "I told them a year ago when Moon's bug first became an issue, them and their budgets and cost cuts, they don't think about things like the functionality of these animatronics, all they care about is the money. I tried to tell them again before I came here today. They still want me to keep Moon in safe mode for the time being. What a pain," Omari huffed.

     "What's safe mode?" you asked.

     "What Sun here is in now. He won't be after the upgrade though. Basically it keeps the animatronics off the network. No connecting to the security cameras or the systems here in the building. They can't connect to the internet, and they don't have as much leeway when it comes to the rules. Most importantly, animatronics in safe mode can be deactivated much easier," Omari said.

     "I see." You watched as Omari finished plugging up some wires and began screwing the metal plate back into place on the new body's torso.

     "I won't be in safe mode anymore?" Sun asked, tilting their head.

     Omari shook her head. "Nope. Management figures you're fine, the issue is with Moon. Honestly the only reason you've been in safe mode since activation is because Moon isn't in safe mode. Not sure what the original designers were after there, probably figured it was an extra safety precaution in case they needed to turn you guys off. Moon would still get the benefits of not having safe mode on, and at the same time, the both of you would be easy to manage."

     "You aren't the original designer who made Sun and Moon?" you asked curiously.

     "Nope, I'm just the poor sod who gets to clean up their mess. Ugh, don't even get me started on how difficult it was to work things out with management." Omari went on immediately regardless. "Those chuckle heads couldn't even find the bug. I told them, it wasn't a bug as much as it was a programming issue, again, two AI's in one bot, if you aren't careful a lot can go wrong. They didn't want to admit their fancy-shmancy top class designers would make such a horrible programming error." Omari shook her head. "Not a doubt in my mind the issue will be gone as soon as this is over."

     "Let's hope so," you said. You watched Omari turn to the computer, which was hooked up to Sun as well as Moon's new body. You squinted at the complicated lines of code on the screen.

     "…Do you have to hover like that?" Omari raised an eyebrow at you.

     "Oh, sorry." You took a step back.

     "I've got the update code all worked out and ready to go for the both of them. Just running a system check to make sure the new body is functioning properly…" Omari studied the screen, understanding things there that were entirely lost on you.

     "How long will it take? Until everything is done?" Sun asked.

     "The transfer will have to be slow, but the updates won't take long. Two hours tops till we're done here and I can go home," Omari said.

     "Sure thing, doctor! I trust you'll have us all patched up and ready to go without issue!" Sun swung their legs back and forth, fingers anxiously tapping at the table.

     Omari gave Sun a funny look. "Right. You know I'm not a doctor, right?"

     "Oh, yes. I was just… attempting to lighten the mood," Sun said.

     Omari looked at Sun, then at you. "Is it just me or does this robot have anxiety?"

     "You'd be nervous too if you were about to get your brain meddled with by a stranger," you said, frowning at Omari.

     "…Right." Omari focused back on the computer.

     Soon, it was time to get things started. Sun laid down, staring over at the other table.

     "When I'm powered back on… Moon and I won't be together anymore," Sun said.

     "Maybe not in the same way, but yall will still be together." You took Sun's hand and gave it a squeeze.

     Sun squeezed back, holding your hand very tightly. He looked so nervous. You didn't doubt Moon was nervous as well.

     "Hey. I'll be right here the whole time," you said, then gave the back of Sun's hand a kiss.

     Sun beamed at you and wiggled happily. "See you soon, sunshine."

     Sun powered down, their grip going slack.

     You tried not to think about how different this was to seeing Moon in rest mode. They looked the exact same, eyes closed, body still. But Sun wasn't in rest mode, Sun was entirely off. You reminded yourself he and Moon would both be back on in a little while.

     "Uh… so what's going on here?" Omari asked.

     You had almost forgotten she was here. Your face felt hot as you turned away from Sun. "We're friends," you stated.

     "Uh huh…" Omari still looked confused. "They're just robots, you know."

     You scowled. "They're more kind and understanding than a lot of people I know."

     "That's just their programming, though. They take care of kids."

     "All of the animatronics are more than their programming. They have feelings, thoughts, fears. Even the damn security bots here seem to have some level of feeling," you said.

     Omari looked at you, then at Sun. "I'd say you're pulling my leg, but… He did seem really worried earlier. And the way you guys talk to each other…" Omari waved and shook her head. "Man, I'm not paid enough for this. I'm just gonna do my job and get outa here." She focused back on the computer.

     You were too anxious to sit, so you paced around while you waited for time to slowly creep past. You glanced over at the computer every now and again, but you couldn't understand anything of what was going on. You just had to trust it would all be okay. Trust that Sun and Moon would wake up fine.

     "You've gotta stop that pacing around, you're making me nervous," Omari said.

     "Sorry." You pulled up a chair and sat between the two tables. Your leg bounced anxiously. "What kind of upgrades are they getting?" you asked, hoping to distract yourself.

     "Well, Moon's getting most of the new features, since I think management plans to have him return to security duty. He'll have minor x-ray vision, like Roxy. He's getting his systems streamlined, same as Sun, so they'll both be a lot more energy efficient. He’ll keep his night vision of course, it’ll just get a minor upgrade."

     You had several questions. You took a moment to take in the information.

     "Management wants him to go back to doing security?" you asked first.

     Omari shrugged. "They didn't tell me much. They'll probably talk to you about it, since you're security yourself. I do recall them mentioning you, saying something about how you're supervising the whole thing."

     This was news to you. You shook your head. "Sure would have been nice for management to let me know that."

     Omari snorted. "Get used to it, those jerks don't care much about anyone but themselves."

     "I gathered." You sighed and put it out of mind for now. "I didn't know Roxy had x-ray vision."

     "Yep! Helps her win races. She's the best, you know? Management has this whole vision for each of the animatronics, and they want her to be cool and confidant and really popular with the kids."

     "Right." You thought about what Roxy had said to you a few days ago, about the pressure she was under. She probably felt pressured to live up to management's high expectations of her. Another reason to hate management.

     "How long have you been working for the company?" you asked. "You seem to know a lot about things around here."

     "Well, they first hired me to do maintenance back when the place opened three years ago, make sure everything was running smoothly and all that. It was me and this other lady, god she was a piece of work. I could just tell she thought she knew more than me, you know? But she got promoted elsewhere a year in, and I retired soon after anyways. I wonder if she still works here…"

     "I dunno, I've only met one other human employee. The other night guard, Vanessa," you said.

     Omari snapped her fingers and smiled at you. "Vanessa!! That was her name!"

     "Oh! Yeah, she still works here."

     "I thought for sure she must have quit by now. She was always going on and on about how much she hated this place. Which, I guess I can't blame her for, I've been doing the same thing all night." Omari laughed. "Management is such a hassle."

     Omari got back to work, and you got back to anxiously waiting. You thought about management, and scowled at the floor. You couldn't stand how they treated the animatronics, how much stress and worry they put on everyone, especially Sun and Moon. You wanted to do something actionable about it, but you didn't have the first clue what or how.

     For now, you decided to just keep your ear to the ground and try not to get fired.

     You were scrolling through the cameras on your watch when Omari stood up and stretched.

     "Alright! Just need to run some system checks and then I can go home and go to sleep," Omari said. "I dunno how you stay up this late every night. I could never be a security guard."

     "Ah, I'm a night owl." You shrugged. You got to your feet as both animatronics began to rouse.

     You watched Moon sit up first. He looked around slowly, his eyes no longer red pinpricks, now full white with dark blue pupils. He flexed his hands out, moving each finger, then looked down at himself.

     "…I sure would like some clothes," he said.

     "Oh, jeez- I'm sorry, we should have brought some-" You quickly pulled off your hoodie and handed it to Moon, averting your eyes, despite the fact that there wasn't anything to accidentally see, not to mention the fact that you'd been sitting here staring at Moon and Sun for hours.

     Moon awkwardly pulled on the hoodie, which was a little small for him.

     Sun sat up, staring straight ahead for a long moment. His pupils were easier to see now, the old yellow indiscernible from the surrounding white now a deep red. Then he blinked and looked around, gripping the edge of the table tightly as he did.

     "How you guys doing??" Your eyes were on Sun, who was almost concerningly stiff.

     "It's so strange… I think we're- I mean. I think I'm alright." Sun loosened up a little. He gave you the smallest of smiles.

     "It's so… empty…" Moon put a hand to his head. "Finally some room to breathe."

     Sun rolled his eyes. "Shut up, you miss me already."

     "…Yeah," Moon said.

     "Everything looks good, system check came back positive. Uh, I release you from my office! I dunno, what the heck do doctors say?" Omari waved it off. "Whatever. I'm leaving. Bye."

     "Thanks doc," Moon said.

     "Goodbye! Thank you!" Sun waved.

     "Have a good night," you said.

     Sun and Moon unhooked themselves from the computer and got up. They looked at each other for a moment, then simultaneously went for a hug. Sun let out a little laugh as Moon swung him around.

     You were smiling at the two of them when they both pulled you into the hug as well. You hugged them both tightly.

     "I told yall it'd be okay," you said, finally relaxing. You were so relieved. They were okay. They were both alright.

     "Okay… maybe you're right. Maybe things will be okay from now on. How do you feel, Moon?" Sun asked.

     "I feel…" Moon hugged you and Sun a little tighter. "Calm."

     You smiled. Everything had gone fine. Moon and Sun were both here. Everything was fine.