Chapter Text
You wonder if you’ll always have four extra shadows when you’re inside the pizzaplex. You’re trying to wrack your brain on what to do, now that you’ve visited most of the others, but the sounds behind you are a distraction.
You’re wearing your tool bag as a backpack, the jingling of loose items louder than you remember them being. The clanking of metal feet, a quiet cacophony. You strain your ears a little, trying to hear if Vanessa was even a little audible over the others. If she was, then you couldn’t pick her out.
You find yourself getting annoyed. You’re not really a huge fan of anyone standing behind you, especially in this building. You halt abruptly, turning on your heels to face the others.
You sigh, exasperated. “Guys, it’s okay to walk in front of me.”
Chica pipes up first. “I didn’t know where you were going, so I was letting you lead!”
Monty snorts. “Yeah! If I’m leading, I’d just go back to my room, and you guys are not invited.”
Vanessa opens her mouth to say something, only to be cut off by Roxy. “Well, maybe they have a point! As the best one here, it’s only fair that I’m leading!”
Vanessa opens her mouth again. “I-”
Monty gets louder, “The best one here? Best at WHAT?! Being in the way?” He hisses.
Vanessa starts to look worried. “Maybe-”
Roxanne growls in frustration. “Well, I’m the most beautiful one here! Have you SEEN the competition?!”
A unanimous “Hey!!!” Escape Vanessa and Chica’s mouths.
Monty laughs, a hearty laugh deep from the stomach. You find yourself almost daydreaming, wondering how something with no stomach can successfully belly-laugh. You almost swoon, thinking about how cool these robots are. They really are a wonderful feat of engineering.
“Anyways.” Vanessa begins. She pauses for a moment to make sure she has the floor. “Maybe we could walk next to them?”
The other three stare at her for a moment, you worry someone is going to shoot her down.
“Oh, oh!!!” Chica shouts, waving her hands to get everyone’s attention. “What if… We have people stand in front of, AND beside them!”
They begin quickly bouncing ideas off of each-other, making it difficult for you to keep up with the conversation. You fold your arms against your chest, regretting having said anything. You feel like they’re all thinking too hard about it, when all you wanted was to not be followed. You were more used to standing by yourself, before the incident.
That reminds you, why are they all still trailing around you? The animatronics mostly stuck to themselves, only really getting along during safe-mode hours. Though, you suppose they all didn't mind Chica’s presence. While she’s generally gross, the animatronic staff have an interesting way of filtering out “smells”.
Their sense of smell was an interesting piece of tech you could probably go on and on about. Roughly ten years ago (Some time in 2023 if you recall correctly) Scientists discovered how to connect biological sensors to an electronic device; that device successfully identified different “smells” shown to it, and now that technology is being used in a pizzeria animatronic.
What was neat about the animatronics themselves, was if their sensors detected something that smelt particularly foul, Their systems would redirect that information to the S.T.A.F.F. bot database, and prevent it from being acknowledged by the main animatronic. This is good for keeping appearances during signing hours.
When that “smell” is redirected, it sends a “Red flag” to the S.T.A.F.F. that are assigned to cleanup. Nearby bots will go and investigate the area and decide if it’s a “cleanup” situation or a “Chica” situation. Small children that smell funny are labeled as “Chicas”. The "red flag" is delt with and cleared, allowing everything to continue as normal.
This is why the animatronics don’t have a huge issue with Chica. Besides her odor, she generally was adaptive to what the other person wanted. You’ve even caught her sitting on Monty’s vanity, happily watching him demolish another S.T.A.F.F. bot.
Shaking your head, you zone back into reality, noticing Vanessa is studying your face. The others are still bickering. You flash her a small grin, letting her know you’re all good. You do need to get moving, though.
You clap your hands together, catching everyone’s attention. “I need to do a maintenance check on the Daycare Attendant, and I’d like to do that before the end of the hour, please and thank you.” You sounded more annoyed than you intended to.
The animatronics stare at you for a moment, still wanting to argue with each other, no doubt. Chica cringes, hearing about the Attendant, not a huge fan of him. They all disperse as you begin your walk to the Daycare.
Vanessa took the lead, having already started moving when you first said your destination. Roxy and Chica took to your sides, and Monty ended up trailing behind everyone. You don’t like that someone is still behind you, but you’re glad that it’s less people in the end.
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You’re a bit insecure about getting into the elevator with everyone, unsure what the weight limit on the lift even was. You know it can hold a couple of animatronics, but you aren’t sure if it’ll hold three, and two humans.
Vanessa senses your unease. “I think we’re going to need to separate for a moment.”
“Whaaaat!!!!” Chica shouts. “How come?”
Vanessa shifts uncomfortably, unsure how to approach the ‘weight’ topic with Chica.
You decide to step in. “I’m a bit claustrophobic, I don’t think I want to be in there with so many people.” You feel your face flush, feeling like you spoke out of turn.
Vanessa looks to you, grateful. Chica whines, sympathetically, having clearly accepted that answer. She grabs your arm, entangling her own with yours. “Can we ride together, then?”
She’s too sweet to deny her. “Of course we can.” You grin.
Roxanne huffs, clearly annoyed. “I should get first dibs on who I'm riding with, you know.”
“I asked first~” Chica teases.
Roxy growls, frustrated. You feel like you should intervene. “I-It would be okay if you came with, too!” You stammer.
That seems to calm her down, but Vanessa looks worried. You smile at her, with as much sympathy as one can convey. You mouth to her ‘I’ll be okay.’ She nods a little, still a bit troubled. You aren’t sure if it’s because you were being separated from her, or if it’s because you’re going to be alone with animatronics.
She turns to Monty. “Looks like you’re stuck with me!” She jokes.
He scowls down at her. “Maybe you’re stuck with me.” You aren’t sure if he’s joking.
“Don’t even.” She threatens, lifting her S.T.A.F.F. watch up to her other hand to prove her point.
He rolls his eyes.
With that, you all separate into your respective groups, and subsequently, your respective elevators.
The sudden movement of the lift makes you a bit nauseous.
The Sodaroni advertisement that plays overhead, makes you feel even worse. You don’t even want to THINK about that drink. It was a ‘rite of passage’ for the tech and maintenance staff, to chug an entire extra large cup of Sodaroni. You still get nightmares about that nasty drink. Chica watches you cringe, curiously.
“Thinkin’ about when you got hired?” She jokes.
“Something like that.” You grumble.
The elevator dings.
“So…” Roxanne starts, as the doors open. “Why didn’t you visit Freddy, today?”
You peer up at her, she’s not normally the type to worry about a bandmate. “He’s not in his room.” You shrug.
The both of you step out, rejoining Monty and Vanessa.
“You… didn’t check, though?” She looks confused, her eyes flickering yellow.
You shrug a second time, not saying anything else. You can feel their eyes on you, all thinking of their own explanations as to why you didn’t go.
You almost did, but the pit of dread that had formed in your stomach would get heavier with each step in his room’s direction. The presence of everyone else made the feeling worse. It felt like you couldn’t be trusted, like either you or Freddy was going to fuck up again.
You really didn’t want to fuck up again.
The thought of going it alone made the feeling unbearable. Even with the security of safe-mode being active, your chest would still ache at the thought of it. Usually knowing all of the details of something brought you a sort of comfort. You liked knowing everything you could, and you liked using that knowledge to better approach a situation.
But that knowledge only fueled your fear this time. At least you’re able to apply some rationale into your behavior from yesterday.
Your group keeps moving. The intent for everyone was to take this stairs, but Chica (miraculously) managed to make a dive for the slide. You were more impressed that she fit into a slide that small, but Vanessa panicked.
You think she was trying to pull Chica out, grabbing for her ankle. Unfortunately she was no match for a skeleton made of steel, and she was pulled into the slide after. Their mixed screams of joy and terror fading as they reach the ballpit.
Yourself, Monty, and Roxy all exchange glances before bursting into laughter. It made your chest hurt, but the feeling of laughter made you feel lighter. You all get your laughs in, satisfied after a few minutes. Your group quickly makes way to the daycare doors, hoping to see what’s left of the aftermath.
When you make it to the ballpit, the scene ahead is hysterical. The sun Daycare Attendant is hanging overhead from his suspension cable, frantically trying to decide how he can get them out of the pit without causing too much of a mess. You take note that some of his face panels aren’t sticking out. He looks kind of like an eclipse like that.
Roxanne and Monty are too busy laughing again to want to figure out what is happening, but you slowly creep forward to get a better look. Inside the ballpit it almost looks like Vanessa and Chica are…fighting? They’re more like pushing each other around to get to the exit first. You aren’t even sure how Vanessa isn’t losing given Chica’s built strength.
“Chica! You’re being ridiculous!” Vanessa shouts, pushing Chica’s arm from her view.
“Me?! You’re supposed to be the security guard!” Chica teases, pressing her palm against her opponents face.
Vanessa yells something in reply, muffled by chica’s palm. Chica laughs at her, clearly having fun.
You move a little closer to the ballpit, placing your hands on the little barrier. “What are they even arguing about?” You ask, voice at an 'indoor' level.
The sun swings around to face you. “You!!” He shouts, floating closer and sticking a spindly finger in your face. “You’re with them aren’t you?! Get them out- OUT!!! They’re making a mess!”
He waves his other arm behind him, gesturing to the few balls that were thrown from the pit. You quirk an eyebrow at him, not responding.
“NOW!!!” He wails, body stiffening with rage. You can hear Roxy howling with laughter at this point.
You roll your eyes, pushing his finger away (which makes his entire body turn on his suspension cable) “Yeah, yeah. I’m going.”
You move around him, leaning over the barrier towards the struggling women. “Hey!” You shout. “Do you plan on doing this all night?! Can you just kiss already and get it over with?!”
Both of them stop pushing each other to stare at you, wide-eyed. There’s a loud clank sound behind you. You glance back, seeing Monty has literally fallen over from laughing so hard.
You look back to them, embarrassment flushes on your face. “Sorry.” You mutter.
Then Chica starts laughing, giving Vanessa enough time to wriggle away from her and out of the ballpit. She looks down at the ground, equally embarrassed.
Chica wipes a fake tear from her eye. “You crack me up!” She shouts, before finally making her way out.
The sun seems a bit more relaxed, now that they aren’t fighting anymore. You make your way towards him as the others situate themselves. “I need you to come down from there.” You tell him, sternly.
The Daycare attendant(s) generally arent an animatronic you worked on too much, only going for a last minute call when their normal technician wasn’t available. They needed special treatment, both sides of them having their own set of personalities. You found The sun more tolerable, but sometimes you found him…iritating.
You’re sure they’re someone’s cup of tea, but not yours.
Their normal technician had written down some tips for you several months ago. The sun had a particular set of behavior’s that needed to be worked around in order to have a smooth interaction. You’ve lost that paper by now, but you mostly remember what to do.
1.) Just let him have his moment.
The sun crosses his arms, defiant. “I’m only coming down because I need to be fixed, and not because I want to be there.”
You scoff. “Alrighty.” The only appropriate reply you can think of.
He lightly touches the floor, standing on his tippy toes. He lifts his arms in a dramatic pose, as though he’s just landed an amazing stunt. You watch as the cable unclasps from his back. He brings his arms back down in a flourish, half bowing to anyone who’s watching. You’re extremely unimpressed, but you clap in response.
2.) Return his energy, but keep it classy. (Whatever that meant.)
“You know, now that I’m closer, I can see your shirt has a stain on it.” He mocks.
You look him up and down. “You’re not looking too good yourself, by the way.”
He folds his arms, clearly annoyed. “Whatever you say. It must be easy for you too look like that, since you’re always alone.”
You snort, unoffended. He starts resorting to petty words when he’s losing. “Just sit down already.”
3.) Don't let him win, but don't let him lose.
“On the floor? Can’t I sit on something less… dirty? What about the maintenance area?” He whines.
You don’t think he actually cares about the floor, He just doesn’t want someone to be taller than him for a moment. There’s really no reason for the maintenance area to be used. Higher ups generally only want it used for limb replacement or software updates to the non S.T.A.F.F. animatronics. Something about the machines costing a lot of money and wanting to preserve it.
“Or…” You start, turning away from him. “I can leave, and put in a ticket for someone ELSE to do it. Which means that more people get to see you like that!”
He shouts, not fond of that. “I’ll have you know that I uphold a reputation with the parents! They just assume that I’m going to be clean and ‘sunny’!! I can’t have their opinions change, now!” He swiftly places himself on the ground, crossing his legs.
You smirk, turning back toward him and shucking your tools off your back.
4.) Narrate everything.
This one was easy. Freddy had always needed everything explained to him, so you’re practically a pro at this.
“Okay, I’m going to do a lot of touching on your face and back of your head, okay?” Your voice low, as to not freak him out.
He only grumbles in response, letting you do your thing. You grab his head, moving yourself closer to it. You pull out a small penlight to examine the small space in between his face plate and his backing. That space is what contains his ‘sunrays’.
No doubt, something is crammed back into that space. Chances are it’s triggering the sensor that stops them from coming out. You hum with annoyance.
“Well… What is it?” The sun questions, his tone more gentle now that he’s relaxed.
“Not sure, it’s setting off your preventative measures, though. What happened today?” You inquire.
He thinks for a moment, quiet whirring emitting from him as he sifts through a days worth of chaos. “I think it was during nap time. I don’t know what happened before, but when the lights came on, I was holding a little girl that had sticky gum all over her hands! After that, a parent said I looked different, which is when I found out.” He puts his head in his hands, pulling it away from you.
“They must think I can’t do my job!” He wails.
5.) You don’t remember, but you think it was to disengage when he’s ‘having a moment’
You pull back, studying him. He’s not ‘crying’ like roxanne would, more of a sulking. You’ve never asked their normal tech about it, but you’re positive his personality chip has some issues too. If you had to guess, he’s extremely anxious about everything. Likely as a result of his unique child safety features.
He stays like that for a few minutes, you decide to join the others. They’re all sitting in a circle inside the soft play mat, discussing… something. You didn’t really catch it other than Chica stating she was hungry. She and Vanessa scoot apart, making a space for you in between.
Vanessa turns to you as you sit down. “What’s the verdict?” She whispers.
“Not great.” You reply, grim. “I’m going to need to remove his face plate. I think he’s got gum jammed in there.”
“Damn.” She sighs.
Chica leans forward a bit, shouting. “You’re gonna take his face off? Cool!”
You hear the sun wail from the spot you left him in. You slap your hand over her beak. “Don’t announce it!” You whisper-shout.
“Sorry…” Her voice box whispers from behind her closed mouth.
Monty grins, devilish in nature. “You know… I can take his face off a lot faster than you can.”
The sun wails again. You glare at Monty, slapping your other hand on his maw. He glares right back at you.
“We have to let them take his face off, Monty! You’ll end up scratching it if you do.” Vanessa adds.
The sun stands up abruptly. “NO ONE WILL BE TAKING MY FACE! THANK YOU, GOODBYE!”
His suspension cable descends from the ceiling, clasping to his back. He ascends to his private room, putting on a dramatic display as he disappears from sight. You shoot daggers at Vanessa, who covers her own mouth for you.
You growl, frustration manifesting. You stand up, pointing to no one in particular. “Stay right there! All of you.”
Roxy looks offended. “I didn’t even say anything!” She protests.
You take a deep breath. Inhaling all of your anger, and exhaling all of it out of your body. “You know what?” You start. “You’re right! Roxanne gets to come with me, because she didn’t freak him out!”
She stands up, smugly staring at the others. Vanessa looks like a sad puppy, the other two look annoyed.
“I am not mad at you, just very frustrated! The Daycare Attendant is very unique when it comes to dealing with him, and all of my attempts to fix him were squandered! You need to stay there, so he doesn’t run away again!”
Chica pipes up. “What if Roxanne makes him upset?!”
“Then she will be told to leave.” You glare at the wolf to drive your point home. She raises an eyebrow in response.
“I’m just a bodyguard.” She replies, voice uncharacteristically level.
“That works.” You shrug. "We're leaving now!"
You start to walk away before, spinning back towards the group, pointing at them. "And DON'T follow us!"
Externally, you appear hot-headed and over everything, but on the inside your heart is pounding. You're terrified you might run into a certain bear on your trek. Having Roxanne only calms your nerves a little, you aren't sure what you would have done without her.
At least if anyone there has shown they'll protect you, it's her.