Chapter Text
Amid the chaos, time for you slowed to a crawl. Each second unraveled into another, an agonizing eternity in between only a moment.
Ahead of you, the crowd that continued to be your shelter dissolved as eager parents collected their equally enthusiastic children, all unaware of your struggle as they walked into the greater Pizzaplex.
A burning urgency centered in your chest as you became acutely aware that you had been holding your breath. In an act of survival disobedience, your body forced the air from your lungs, resulting in a choked gasp that echoed across the tiled floor, too quick for you to pull back.
You knew that they heard you.
Sun and Moon were machines, finely tuned to sort out even the softest noises as they pertained to their caretaker roles.
A child with an unaccounted-for guardian, paired with a sudden noise? That probably fell on their priority list.
Still, you prayed for some miracle, some divine intervention so you may be spared from the oncoming storm.
You were still praying as you watched in horror as Sun knelt to your level.
"~AaAnd," Sun sang, his voice upbeat, eager, kind, and worse of all, unknowing.
"~who do we have her-o̵̢̢̧̧̲̮̼̰͔͕̥͗̎͆͑̕͝ḧ̷̬͓̠̤̝́̽̒̌͌̾̈̔͒̕̚ ̴̗͔̣͈̰͙̠̤̰̓m̴̨̖̀͂͒̒̾̚͜͜͝ỳ̶̹̓͛̾͆͒̾̔̾͊̀͛ ̵̢̹̯̠̰̬̼͑͋̊͗͂̀̈͊͋̆̑ş̶̦̖͖̮͎͑̆ț̶̼̭̣͈̗̜͓̞̟͎̂̒͑͜a̴̬̫̗̻͍͑̎̔̅́̂͘r̵̲͚̯̩̼͔̪͇̯̹̻͋̽̃͑͜͝s̶̥̖̈́̆̎͌́̏" his words cut off in a fall of static as his wide off-white eyes met, locked, with yours.
It was foolish of you to believe you had escaped unscathed all those years ago.
As Sun looked at you, you felt the weight of his stare in all corners of your being. Deep, nostalgic pangs of faded longing paired with unbelievable shame bristled across your skin.
You could feel the color drain from your face as the air shifted with the occasional person walking by.
Around you was the laughter of children and their parents' soft scoldings. With the Daycare doors open also came the high-energy theme song pooling out from just behind Sun. The floor beneath your shoes was slightly sticky from what you had to believe was a decade of spilled soda- all of it seemed to fade away as you were held captive by just one look.
And Sun was close enough now that you could reach out and touch him if you wanted-
and some part of you did.
Memories of the animatronic were scratching at the surface of your mind now, details so precise that you could almost still taste the soft hum of his fans as you had pulled him close, feel how he jumped beneath your fingertips as you stole that kiss years ago.
And there, the last memory of him, with that pained confusion in his eyes, as you turned around and began to walk away for the last time.
Bitter stitches of guilt were pulling you taunt as you were brought back, unwillingly, to the present to search Sun, stare into his eyes because you were desperate now to read him as you once could- but you realize with profound sorrow that the years have seemingly robbed you of the ability to do just that.
'Say something,' you think to yourself.
Before you can find any words, a gentle movement of a blue hand reaches down toward Sun catching your eye and drawing your gaze (and attention) away.
"Sun?" you can hear the concern.
The spell was broken.
The blonde woman, still in front of you, distracted mainly with her child, finally seemed to notice what was happening.
"Oh!" she remarked loudly, forcing you to look up at her back just as she stepped aside to reveal you completely. You had no time to react.
"They're new!" she gestured to you, still huddled on the floor with your arms wrapped tightly around your knees. She gives you an empathetic look and encourages you with a motion to stand. "They told me they're just a little scared of clowns, so be nice."
You knew she was trying to be kind, but at that moment, because you were so vulnerable and cornered- you hated her.
Nausea, caused by deep panic, started turning your stomach as you slowly traced over Sun with your eyes to the blue hand- and eventually to a familiar scarlet gaze.
It was Moon.
Your body felt pushed aside as your mind began to slowly unweave the fact that both Sun and Moon were now in front of you. The former slowly rose to his feet as Moon stared with a steeled expression, hand leveled on Sun's shoulder as he stood.
Powerless, you felt your eyes travel from one animatronic to another in some strange back-and-forth dance.
Neither of them hides the way they advert their eyes in tandem as if singed.
A sudden sharp, shrill yell of your name takes everyone by surprise. Ahead of you, a small body begins to weed itself through the crowd and launches itself straight into your chest with surprising force.
Mazie.
The toddler smiled wide once you focused your attention on her, having to steady yourself quickly to prevent the both of you from clattering backward onto the tile floor.
Mazie, in gratitude, reached out to press her slightly sticky palms on either side of your face to squeeze affectionately.
"YOU come to get me?!" she asked while using you to climb upward, looking over your shoulder to perhaps look for your partner, her parent.
"A-ah," your voice trembled momentarily before you clumsily cleared your throat. "Yeah." you affirmed, "Looks like I'm your personal driver for the day, kid." you were attempting to tease as you peeled her hands away, desperate to lighten the mood even as you were hyper-aware of all the eyes watching.
As uncomfortable as it was- it was almost over.
You helped Mazie step backward, making sure she was steady on her own before carefully pulling yourself back up onto your own feet- mindful not to look past her. 'Get in, get out'
You reach out your hand to her, fully prepared to walk with her back through the atrium, through the doors, and away forever-
Just as she grasps your fingers, someone suddenly pulls her backward. You recognize who.
Moon had stepped from the Daycare threshold out into the hallway just beyond the doors; with a skillful movement, he had pulled Mazie back toward him, a hand on her arm caging her to his legs.
Startled, you were forced to look directly at Moon.
With no acknowledgment of your confusion, Moon hummed low while reaching down and sweeping the toddler up onto his hip, his gaze flickering everywhere to avoid your eyes.
"Incorrect signout paperwork," Moon eventually rasped, turning from you but not before pointing toward the security desk with a clawed hand, "Do the paper form, then wait for processing."
He walked back into the Daycare, followed closely by Sun; after a few wide mirroring strides from them both, he eventually handed Mazie off to Sun, who accepted the toddler with a wide smile.
"Looks like we get to play a little longer, Mazie! Isn't that greatGreatgreat?!" Sun cheered, trying to redirect the little girl's attention as she stared wide-eyed at you. "In fact! Why don't we get you setup witha super SPECIAL craft?! Just for you while we wait. Hm? Isn't that a fun idea?!"
If Mazie was concerned, it did not last long; whatever worries she had melted into a look of excitement at being given special treatment by Sun. She looked away from you with a smile.
On the other hand, you felt dumbstruck as you stood with an undoubtedly stupid look on your face, powerless in that moment.
"That was... strange." The same woman that had been your alley, enemy, and now witness spoke up after a second. She watched the scene before looking at you with an apologetic smile. "I have never seen them act like that before," she went on, probably feeling awkward now. "I'm sure it's nothing serious, though; probably just a new procedure."
You felt the need to talk to her, to relieve some of the anxious energy that had built up in that tense moment, but as you tried, you were cut off by an impatient whine from a small boy now clinging to her legs.
"Eli, don't be rude." she scolded while trying to free herself from his grip on her leg. "Anyway." she continued, smiling again at you. "It was nice meeting you. Good luck!" she offered as she was willingly led away by her son, who had eyes set on the main arcade.
You wished you could go with them.
"Bye..." you muttered.
Many parents and children were filtering out of the Daycare now, leaving you to haphazardly push and dance around the groups as they rushed to leave.
'Get in. Get out' the mantra felt flat.
As you approached the security desk as instructed, you could see the teenage worker from earlier look up with a squinted expression of confusion as you neared.
"Can I help you?" he asked, occasionally stealing nervous glances down at what you could see was a Freddy-themed digital tablet.
"I- um..." you snapped your fingers, trying to pull yourself together as you stopped at the opposite side of the desk. "I was told I needed to do the signout paperwork by Mo-" you stopped, "by the animatronic." you corrected yourself with a frown.
The worker took a long look at you before his eyes settled on the bracelet around your wrist with a scowl. "Ah, sure," he said while pulling his tablet closer to his face. "Your name and the name of the child you're signing out, please."
You gave your name and calmly said, "Mazie."
He tapped on the screen a few times before shaking his head. "Well." he remarked, "You're already on the approved pick-up list."
Adding to his point, the worker tipped the tablet's screen in your direction to show you that your name was written down with the word 'Approved' in green text next to it.
"They need to do the paper form, Trevor!"
Both you and the worker looked up simultaneously as Sun's voice spoke up. The animatronic seemed to have just appeared to the left of the security desk, his body eerily ridged, his hands clasped in the front of his chest in a strange display of stillness from the Day-themed bot.
"Paper?" Trevor, the worker, echoed back at Sun. "I don't think we use that anymore..." he looked down at his tablet, "We usually just have them use the FazPad to input their information-"
"Security issue."
Trevor was abruptly cut off by another voice opposite Sun.
You turned toward your right, and with no surprise, you saw Moon in the same pose as his counterpart, hands clasped and all. You looked ahead.
They were going to make this complicated.
"A securi- should I alert management?" Trevor asked, his voice cracking into a high note as he looked from Moon back to you, probably trying to figure out what problem you were causing.
Clearly uncomfortable in this situation, you flashed Trevor a small, sad smile. From how quickly he looked away from you, you doubted he appreciated the gesture. Fair.
"No~ Silly! We have Moon here. He IS security! Silly~silly!" Sun chuckled. You refused to look anywhere else but the desk in front of you as he spoke to Trevor. "ooonly, we are gonna need you to sign out a teenyTINY bit early today. That's not a problem, right, friend?"
Fuck, you were trembling again; you could see the tips of your fingers shaking as you hurried to curl your hands into fists while leaning up against the security desk, hoping no one else noticed.
Dread and panic flooded your body as you silently willed Trevor to say NO- he had to stay with you; even if he had no idea what was going on, it was his job to stay- right?
"I don't think I can do that, Sun. You know the policy-"
"Oh yes! The POLICIES! Funny us~" Sun sang back, a soft hum to his voice-box. "~Like the one about no clocking overtime when you aren't at your station? That's one of them! yepYES, we know~"
In front of you, you could see Trevor grip the edges of his tablet a bit tighter.
"I-I guess," he was clearly conflicted, but eventually, his fingers slowly eased up. "I can sign out early this one time."
"Good."
"Ohh! WONDERFUL! But~ only after the rest of the kiddos are signed out; right now, why don't we get our new friend started on those pesky forms?"
Trevor was quieter after that, even when Sun and Moon left, shuffling in the drawers behind the desk before he pushed a decently thick stack of paperwork and a single ballpoint pen toward you.
He hadn't been lying when he said this particular method was outdated, even you assumed Moon meant entering your information either via the computer or, as Trevor mentioned, the tablet. The paper forms predated even your time hired into the Daycare, and you could see why.
It was tedious the amounts of information required; a lot of it you were going to have to guess at and hope it passed whatever standard Sun and Moon had- but something told you this was just to stall.
What did they want?
As you stared at the first form, you leaned more against the desk to ease some pressure from your feet. Brushing off a fine layer of dust, you sighed, dropping your shoulders as you reluctantly picked up the pen and began the most straightforward blank space: your name.
You began to fill out everything you knew off the top of your head; halfway through the third page, you became vaguely aware of Trevor trying to sign out one of the last children. Sensing he would leave soon, you cautiously looked across the security desk as he returned to collect his things.
"Hey," you whispered, trying to keep from making sudden movements that may draw suspicion but wanting to gain Trevor's attention. He looked up, pausing as he zipped up a black backpack that was stored under the desk. He looked nervous. "-sorry about this." you apologized.
He tilted his head before looking down; you could tell he was rotating the backpack strap between his hands only to appear busy. "Itsfine," he murmured almost too quick for you to catch.
"still..." you continued, scribbling some strange flower design in the margins of the paper in front of you. "I'm sure it's weird not seeing them be their normal, friendly selves."
Several seconds of silence paired with Trevor's static shadow drew your curiosity to look at him directly. He stared wide-eyed back at you. "Friendly?" he finally asked.
"Our last little star is about to leave!" Sun swept into view again, waving his hands dramatically between the two of you, "Trevor! Didn't you say you'd be just soSO happy to walk them out?"
Trevor jumped into action, pulling his backpack on while drawing his shoulders close to his ears and walking forward without giving you even a last glance; Sun trailed behind him closely.
The exchange was strange, but it quickly paled compared to the fact that you would soon be alone with Sun and Moon- Mazie still distracted somewhere; even if she wasn't, you didn't want her to see whatever the boys would say or do.
A wave of emotionless euphoria washed over you as you turned to survey the newly emptied Daycare.
The main play structures were, of course, in the same places they had always been. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you feel the rise of an old routine- wanting to walk out and pick up any stray toys, clear up the craft area, and shelve the nap mats.
It had been so peaceful for you until your co-worker arrived...
You blinked, your vision cleared; where was she anyway? A part of you expected to see her here, too.
A laugh drew your attention to the craft area. You have to arch your neck to see that Mazie was at the tables, a marker in her tiny hand as she looked to be scribbling on extra-large card stock.
Perhaps you should check in with her? From what you could tell, she was alone-
A mechanical hum puts a stop to all your thoughts. Instead, you turned back toward the paperwork, down-casting your eyes as quickly and calmly as possible.
"Coulrophobia,"
You instinctively hold your breath, ears straining to catch the soft footfall of Moon as he walks up slowly, pausing once he is directly behind you.
"Fear of clowns." he clarified without your prompting; you feel a clawed hand ghost the back of your neck, hovering but not quite touching. "Lucky for you, new friend, Sun and I are Jesters-"
As you try to write down possible allergies, your hand quivers, making the lines of your penmanship look sloppy. "...not much of a difference," you whisper so quietly it barely leaves your lips.
"Oh, but there is." Moon sneers, leaning further toward you, pressing into your back with his body. "A clown 'is' the punchline," his voice dropped to a dangerous low, "Those around the Jester are the jokes..."
There is an unmistakable anger in his voice, rage that is barely contained beneath his words as he looms above your shoulder, steam from his metal joints sweeping across your ear like a breath.
You can hear your heart pushing blood through your body; you wonder if Moon can hear it, too.
"DoOnE!" Comes the voice of Mazie,
her hard-heeled shoes tapping against the ground as she rapidly approaches the both of you.
You turn in time to see Moon step away, the bleeding red of his eyes dim as he turns his attention to the child.
"Look! LOOK!" Mazie yells, coming to a clumsy stop at his legs while holding up a poorly folded card.
Moon chuckled and gracefully kneeled down to be at her level, carefully accepting the card as if it were the most precious, fragile thing he had ever been given.
"Ah- what a masterpiece." his voice was soft; any trace of that previous wrath was gone and replaced with affection. "You need to show Mr.Sun this too; I happen to know he loves art... Almost as much as I do," Moon held the card back to her, "Maybe even a bit more."
Mazie, elated, snatched the card back without much care while nodding eagerly with her trademark toothy grin.
"OK!" she happily agreed, turning and running back toward the play structures while screaming Sun's name like a chant: 'Sun! Sun! Sun! Sun!'
The both of you watch as her tiny frame retreats further and further away; after a moment, you relent.
"You haven't lost your touch..." the words felt wrong as you said them aloud, leaving you to bite your lower lip in the resulting nervousness.
Moon turned his face toward you, his body still, the tail of his cap sliding across one of his eyes as he stared with another unnamed expression.
"-and what do you know of my touch?" he asked.
In your pocket, you could feel the soft buzz of your phone as it began to trill, yet you could not pull yourself away from looking at Moon- even as he stood and turned from you to follow after Mazie.
You remembered.
This was precisely why you had left- Even now, your heartbeat slowed, and your body tensed as if haunted by the effects of your previous feelings. The memories were so thick that you caught yourself wanting to call out to them, to smile at them, to tease them... You had slipped twice already.
You had to keep reminding yourself that these animatronics were now strangers to you.
You swallowed your pride and turned back towards the paperwork, still taunting you from atop the counter. Regardless of what would happen, you were eager to charge through it, stonewall yourself back up, and try and forget again.
As soon as you finished filling in the last few blank spaces, hand cramping from your efforts, you heard the soft noises of a popular movie playing nearby.
Another distraction for Mazie, if nothing else, you were happy that the boys were at least keeping her away from what was about to go down- if anything.
"Good job! It looks like you filled out everything!"
A yellow hand slides in from over your shoulder, causing you to flinch away as it gathers the papers before pulling back. You force yourself to steady back onto the balls of your feet, trying to be the picture of casualness. Thinking that he was at least not as close as Moon had been earlier. 'Be calm.'
"Yep," Sun remarked, the occasional sound of a sheet of paper sliding against another punctuating his words. "Everything. Checks. Out..." he sounded more reserved with everything he said, a strange tone for the Sun you knew to take.
Were they hoping it wasn't really you?
A pang of sadness works itself through you to your dismay and confusion. The careful guarding of your heart that you had dedicated half a decade to almost immediately crumbled upon the idea that they were just as eager never to see you again.
You gripped the underside of the desk in a panic, digging your nails into the soft plywood hidden til it hurt.
You were a hypocrite, but you could admit that you did not want to embarrass yourself anymore.
"...sorry," your voice was anything but confident.
"Ya know," Sun began again, his voice jovial, but something about it struck you as forced. "If you would have gone through the OFFICAL channels to sign out a child~"
You felt Sun place his hand on your shoulder; it was a sudden pressure before you felt yourself being forced to turn around and face him.
The speed of his movements left you teetering on your heels before you staggered forward directly into his chest. Sun wasted no time as he wrapped his arms around your waist and drew you closer; stunned, you looked up at him to see a cold glare leering back down at you.
"~you would have seen something important..."
Your heart wildly raced inside of your chest, any hopes you would stop shaking were dashed as you felt another pair of hands sliding up against your bare arms.
From behind you, you could see the dim glow of red lights before Moon whispered your name, capturing your attention even as Sun's glare kept you locked in place.
"...A notice," Moon rasped, trailing his claws up and down your skin. "...that you had been permanently banned from the Daycare."