#bitchard yet again

[iiinkos]

gwen is once again being a character i love to watch but would absolutely hate to know

[eyndr-stories]

The Stranger The Better (FNAF SB fanfic) C13 - :)

Read the intro to Chapter 1 (Enter A Sleepy Bitchard) for more details! I'd start reading there anyways else things won't make a whole lot of sense lol

In Summary: Reader is a forever exhausted young adult who has social difficulties doing their best to pay the bills, so when they get hired at the well-paying, almost entirely automated Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizza-Plex, they don't really hesitate to think things through before stumbling headfirst into a horror mystery surrounding this company and its crew of quirky (and surprisingly kind) animatronics.

Things To Know (lmk if I should add anything):

There are some horror elements in several chapters! This chapter is Very Spooky! Lots of shit goes down in this chapter! Feelings of fear, being hunted, being grabbed, being attacked, attempted murder, feelings of stress, a taser is used, we're just getting super spooky for a bit here!

Eventual romance, minorly important to the plot.

Reader has paranoia.

There is much swearing.

Reader is also addicted to energy drinks, and not fantastic at self care. As of this chapter forward, however, they do start getting better.

Reader is nonbinary (and also trans masc) though it's not vital to the plot and only comes up once or twice.

Reader is from the south, is protective of their friends, and if you threaten their friends then I'm afraid you've yee'd your last haw and yes that is important to the plot

Previous Chapter | Chapter 13 | Next Chapter

C13 - :)

     You knew by now that you didn't really have to be here to supervise Moon. He was sweet and gentle and quiet, and all the kids loved him. You weren't complaining though, you got an extra couple hours to hang out with Sun and Moon, and you were being paid for it.

     Sun and Moon seemed happy as well, and they were always sad to see you go. You promised to be back tonight and waved goodbye to the kids. Sally wanted you to stay and keep playing games with her, but you managed to convince her that not only would you be back again tomorrow, but you really did have to go and attend to your knightly duties in the kingdom (clock out from your shift before management got upset with you).

     You were almost to the breakroom when you spotted Monty coming down the hall.

     You smiled at the gator. "Ah, a foe approaches! Have at thee, Montgomery!" You jumped into a fighting position.

     Instead of squaring off with you like he usually did, Monty just kept walking, barely glancing your way. He shoved past you like you weren't even there.

     You frowned and watched Monty turn the corner. Maybe he was upset about something? You resolved to check in on him tonight.

     You clocked out and sang along to songs in your car on the way home. You were off from the deli both today and tomorrow and you could not be happier.

     You worked on the fence for a few hours. It was nearly done. You were excited to finally finish the project, but decided to take a quick break to eat. You thought that Moon and Sun were maybe wearing off on you a little. You'd made an effort to sleep in, and you were taking breaks and taking care of yourself. To your pride, you had so far resisted drinking any of the energy drinks in your fridge.

     You checked your phone as you finished an early dinner. To your surprise, you'd gotten another email from management.

     'This is an official notice of a same-day schedule change. You have been requested to come in as soon as able, and will remain until 6am. Head of security staff employee 'Vanessa' will brief you on the security issue. Thank you, Management.'

     That wasn't a lot of information to go off of. Had something bad happened? What security issue??

     You tried not to worry too much as you quickly got ready. You considered drinking an energy drink on the way to the plex, but decided against it last minute. You grabbed a water bottle instead and locked the door behind you as you left for the plex.

     There was half an hour left until closing, yet there wasn't a soul in the halls. The parking lot had been empty except for one other car, which you recognized as Vanessa's, with its little bunny charm on the antenna.

     The lack of people having fun in the arcades and slowly making their way to the exits did nothing to ease your worries. You clocked in and hurried back out of the breakroom, not even noticing that your map was no longer on top of the minifridge.

     You wandered around looking for Vanessa for five minutes before you decided to give up and figure things out for yourself. Rockstar row was right around the corner, and there was bound to be someone in one of the rooms.

     You knocked on Monty's door first, since you wanted to check in with him anyways. To your surprise, the door swung open on the first knock. As you stepped inside, you realized why.

     The door was busted and scraped to hell. The handle was entirely missing on the other side, and there wasn't anything really keeping the door closed to begin with. The rest of the room was in a similar state. You swept your flashlight over the darkened mess.

     Stuffing and broken glass and bits of wooden furniture littered the floor. There were claw marks everywhere, buckets of paint laying around with the paint itself splattered everywhere, even the ceiling, and the vanity's mirror had been entirely torn off its desk. Strangely enough, there was a green book sitting neatly on the desk, right in the middle, spared from the destruction surrounding it.

     You lifted the book and looked inside. Monty's name was written inside the cover, and a lot of pages had been torn out, leaving just a few doodles and scribbles and otherwise blank pages. The doodles were just little drawings of the other animatronics, or Monty making cool poses. There were a few bunny heads, and some angry ink blotches and tears in the pages where he had bared down too hard and ripped the paper.

     This had to be the journal Monty said he was keeping. But what the hell happened to it? And the rest of his room? You tucked the book under an arm and decided to leave. You weren't going to find any answers here.

     As you turned towards the door, someone stepped inside. I was Vanessa- she startled when she saw you standing there.

     Vanessa's startled expression turned into irritation. "What are you doing here??"

     You were not in the mood to deal with her shit. "I was looking for my friend Monty. Management told me to come in early and said you'd tell me what the hell is going on."

     Vanessa scowled. "Watch the tone, kid. Management is just overreacting. Their prized star of the whole plex bugged out during the show tonight and lots of people got upset, and they had to close early. He's down in parts in service now. There's one kid left in the building somewhere, a little boy, management is upset and wants him out of here. If you see the kid, tell me immediately."

     That explained why there was no one here, the plex was closed. "There's a kid still running around the plex? Where's his parents??"

     Vanessa huffed. "Don't get me started. This is not the night for this bullshit." She turned and stormed out of the room before you could question her further.

     "What the hell?" you muttered. You got out your phone and texted Sun and Moon via the group chat you three shared.

     'Hey uh?? Yall know anything about what's going on? Management called me in early, Vanessa says the plex closed early and theres a kid lost somewhere in the building, bear guy had some kind of malfunction, and Monty is missing and his room is all torn up'

     You didn't want long for a reply, both Moon and Sun had started typing nearly instantly after receiving your message.

     'Oh dear, that is concerning. There's a lost child??' Sun replied.

     'We knew the plex closed early but none of the rest' Moon said.

     'I'm omw to the daycare now' you typed, then left Monty's trashed room. You knocked your boots on the side of the doorframe as you left, making sure you weren't tracking broken glass or anything through the building.

     You kept your eye out for lost children along the way, but didn't spot anything out of the ordinary, really. Security bots were rolling along their usual routes, custodian bots had started to sweep up the day's debris and mop the floors. There was a lot going on, it felt like, and you were eager to reach the daycare and talk to Sun and Moon.

     The two of them were waiting for you when you arrived. They both asked you concerned questions, but you could only elaborate so much.

     "I just got here around fifteen minutes ago. Management only said there was some kind of security issue and Vanessa would tell me more. She didn't tell me a whole lot before storming off," you explained.

     "Oh goodness. A lost child… I hope he's not too scared." Sun's hands fidgeted as he nervously glanced out the daycare's window.

     "Don't worry, that's top of the list. Soon as we find this kid and get him home to his family, the sooner we can figure out the rest of whatever's going on," you said.

     "What's that book for?" Moon asked.

     "This is Monty's diary, I found it in his room. All the pages are torn out," you said.

     "You snooped in Monty's diary??" Moon raised a brow.

     "Well-! I'm concerned about him. Shut up. We have work to do," you said quickly.

     Moon 'tsk'ed at you. "Nosy."

     "Wait, you guys are… leaving?" Sun looked away. "I mean… yeah, of course you are. Uh…"

     "Are you okay, sunflower?" you asked.

     Sun smiled a very small smile. "Don't worry about me, sunshine. You two need to find that lost child."

     You suspected Sun was hiding something, but you knew he was right. "We'll be back as soon as we can, okay? Maybe try to take a rest so the time goes by faster."

     "Call us if you see anything or need anything," Moon said.

     "Right." Sun nodded.

     You and Moon left the daycare, leaving Sun behind.

     "Where should we start looking first, sheriff?" Moon asked.

     "Uh…" You reached for your map, but it wasn't there. "Shit. Forgot my map somewhere. That’s okay, I'm pretty sure I've got everything memorized by now. Lets start by the main stage and work our way out."

     "Okay." Moon nodded.

     You walked together quickly and quietly. You wanted to move quickly, but you also wanted to be extra diligent and not miss anything.

     Your paranoia worked in your favor tonight. Not only was the adrenaline keeping you alert, but the months of checking every little nook and cranny of this place and double checking behind that meant that anything out of the ordinary stood out starkly.

     You squinted at a crumpled up piece of paper sitting atop an ATM machine at the other end of the cafeteria. You made your way over and grabbed it.

     "We don't have time to be cleaning up litter. Leave it to the staff bots," Moon said.

     "It was sitting so perfectly in the middle, like it had been placed there," you said, carefully unfolding the paper. You noted that the ATM machine appeared to be malfunctioning. it's screen was a dark purple hue and the words were illegible through the glitchy screen.

     Moon gave you a look. "That's silly."

     You stared at the page. You got a few sentences in before realizing that Monty had written this. You quickly opened up the diary and set the page against the others remaining in the book. Same size and style as the other pages.

     "This is a page from Monty's diary," you said, then looked back at the ATM machine. "…I think it was left here on purpose."

     "…Oh." Moon stepped next to you to read over your shoulder.

     "Who's the silly one now??" you teased.

     Moon rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright, you're a brilliant mastermind. Now hush, I'm trying to read."

     You read the page as well.

     'Another episode last night. I was standing in the access tunnels by the security room when I suddenly realized I couldn't remember how I'd gotten there. Last thing I remember was heading back to my room after the show. I was awesome, by the way, my base got a tuning upgrade and it sounded AMAZING.

     Writing this shit down doesn't help. I dunno why I keep writing. I guess I haven't ripped a security bot's head off in a while. Y/N was right, I think it helps with stress to get all this shit out of my head and onto paper.

     I wish I could SLEEP! My fucking systems keep overheating. My paint has even started cracking and peeling, I'm so goddamn warm. I have to keep paint in my room now and touch it up every night. I'm gonna put in a request for a complete routine maintenance exam. Enough is enough. I don't care if Chica and the others find out anymore.

     …Alright, I kind of do. But not enough to keep me from trying to fix this anymore.'

     "Poor Monty… where do you think he is?? He told me his exam was in a few days." You frowned at the page.

     "I haven't seen him." Moon shrugged. "We'll find him. Let's find this kid first."

     "Right." You tucked the page into the diary and carried on, now keeping an eye open for more crumpled pages.

     You weren't making a lot of progress. You hadn't seen any kids, animatronics, or notes.

     You stopped and turned to Moon. "Maybe we should split up. I'll check out the access tunnels and you keep at it up here and see if you can't find anyone. Call me if you see anything."

     "Sounds like a plan, sheriff." Moon looked nervous. He hesitated, then pulled you into a hug. "Be smart, be safe."

     You hugged him back. "You too."

     Moon let you go and hurried off, tugging his nightcap down lower over his face. You thought it was sweet that he was worried about you, but it wasn't like you were in danger or anything.

     You found a door leading to the access tunnels and tapped your watch to it. You grabbed the handle and walked right into the door, which had not unlocked itself for you. You scowled and swiped your watch again, making sure the sensor read it this time. The door remained locked.

     "What…" You fiddled with the watch. You couldn't even get it to pull up the cameras. All it would do was display the time and the Freddy Fazbear Mega Pizza-Plex logo when you turned it on. It was a few minutes after closing.

     You called Moon. He picked up before the first ring was over.

     "Are you alright?" Moon asked.

     "I'm fine, Moony. My watch won't work. I can't open any security locked doors," you said.

     "That's not good. Is the system down??" Moon wondered.

     "I wouldn't know how to check." You thought for a moment. "Oh, hey! Sun said the security desks have those cards, right??"

     "That's right! Good thinking. Try not to loose any that you find," Moon said. "Oh- Roxy? What are you-"

     The call ended abruptly. You frowned and tried to call Moon back as you made your way to the nearest security desk. There was no answer. You were about to call again when you got a text from Moon.

     'Don't call. Hiding.'

     'Why r u hiding??'

     'So Roxy doesn't know I'm still following her. She's acting weird' Moon said.

     One thing at a time. You had to find that kid. You took a deep breath and used your shiny new security card to get into the access tunnels.

     All was silent in the tunnels. It was just as dark and dingy as it had always been. Your steps echoed off of concrete walls stained with neglect as you made your way down a stairwell.

     You stepped into the warehouse. It was dark, though if you got close enough to the wall you could make out very faint scratches from all the lightbulbs you and Monty had smashed. You really hoped he was okay. The bear bot too, he'd had some kind of malfunction, and now Roxy was acting weird as well…

     You huffed and picked up the pace.

     You made it to parts and service. Maybe the bear bot was still here and you could at least assure yourself he was doing alright.

     You pushed open the doors, stepped inside, and froze.

     The bear was here, alright. He was laying on the table in the main machine, his entire head disconnected from his body, and there was a child standing next to him.

     "What the fuck??" you exclaimed.

     The child darted forwards, whacking a button by the inside edge of the machine. A giant metal door lowered, sealing the kid and the bear bot inside the centermost part of the machine.

     You walked up and peered inside the window. The kid scurried to hide behind the bear, who you could just barely hear through the glass, asking what was going on.

     "Hey!! What are you doing, kid?? Don't hurt him!" you yelled. You were very concerned that the bear's entire head was just not on his body.

     "What?? I'd never! I'm trying to help him!" the kid shot back.

     You glanced at the inactive computer. "I think you need to do it from here," you said.

     "I couldn’t get it to turn on," the kid said. He was still hiding behind the bear.

     You paused. This was a child. He was lost. He was probably scared of you. He sure did look scared. "Hey, listen. My name is Y/N. I'm a security guard, I work here at the pizza-plex. I wanna help you, okay? I won't do anything to hurt you. What's your name?"

     "…Greggory." The kid eyed you suspiciously.

     "Okay, Nice to meet you Greggory. Listen, I'm gonna try to help out my bear friend, okay? You can stay in there if you want, just keep your distance from the table, alright? There's a lot of tools and mechanical bits in there and I don't want you to get hurt."

     Greggory considered this for a moment, then stepped away from the table.

     You gave him a smile and a thumbs up, then went to the computer.

     Step one, turn it on. Check.

     Step two, get it to fix the bear bot.

     You called Sun. Sun didn't answer. You called again, then realized he was probably recharging. You called Moon.

     "Are you safe?" Moon whispered through the phone.

     "Yeah, and I found the kid. Also the bear guy. But the bear is sorta… damaged?? We're all in parts and service and I don’t know how to work the computer to fix the bear."

     "I'm not in a position to come help you right now. Roxy seems so intent on… something. I'm not sure what she's doing. Maybe I can talk you through it, what do you see on the screen?"

     "Uh… there's a lot of files and icons. A lot of them aren't labeled or just have numbers under them…"

     "Is there any sort of search bar feature?" Moon asked.

     "Oh, yes!"

     "Search for the automatic general repair program," Moon said.

     "Automatic… General…" You were halfway through typing when search results started popping up. You found what you thought you were looking for and clicked on it. An error message popped up.  "Oh. Uh, It says error, incorrect program sequence selected."

     Moon cursed. "It's not just a general repair then. What's wrong with him?"

     You glanced back up at the bear bot through the glass. He was having a talk with Greggory that you couldn't hear. "Uh. His head is sort of… disconnected from the rest of him??"

     Moon muttered to himself for a moment. "What automatic programs would… repair is only automatic for general issues… maybe… no… Oh! Search for the automatic parts replacement program."

     You did so, and the computer seemed much more satisfied with this. The program loaded quickly, and you saw the lights come on inside the machine. "It turned on… how come it's not doing anything?"

     "Did you select 'start program'?" Moon asked.

     "Oh." You coughed and hit the 'start' button.

     Moon snickered through the phone.

     "Ok thanks for the help bye," you said quickly, avoiding your embarrassment by hanging up.

     You went to the window and watched as the machine started moving. The bear's head lowered into place, and small welding tools and wire connectors darted this way and that, re-connecting everything and sealing things into place. Greggory also watched, keeping his distance like you'd recommended.

     The repairs were done in no time, and the door automatically opened as the machine turned itself back off. The bear bot sat up and stretched.

     "Thank you, Y/N! I sure am glad to see you." The bear smiled at you.

     "Are you okay?? I heard you had some kind of malfunction earlier?" you questioned.

     "Yes, I suddenly overheated in the middle of the show and collapsed as my systems shut down. I rebooted in safe made and found myself in parts and service, the automatic scan complete and reading no error. I headed back to my room, but then…" The bear glanced at Greggory. "Oh, where are my manners?? Let me introduce the two of you. Greggory, this is my friend Y/N. Y/N, this is my new friend Greggory."

     "Nice to meet you." You smiled and held out a hand.

     Greggory eyed you suspiciously for a moment. He glanced at the bear bot, then back at you. He shook your hand.

     Now that you could get a good look at the kid, you realized he was a little… scruffy. He barely came up to your ribs. His dark brown hair was messy and dirty, and his striped blue shirt was worn and torn around the collar and ends. His cargo shorts were messy and the pockets were crammed full. His shoes looked like they might have been red once. And there, sticking out of his pocket, was a very familiar map.

Your map.

That explained a lot. No wonder no one could find him, he had a convenient mapped out list of all the best hiding places and all the areas the cameras didn't see.

     "So how did you two meet again?" you asked.

     The bear nodded. "Right. Greggory had snuck inside my chest cavity, and-"

     "What?? That's not a safe place for kids! It's for birthday cakes and pinatas and whatever!" you scolded.

     "Yes, but… well…" the bear awkwardly shuffled his feet.

     "I have to hide in there cause everyone is out to get me!" Greggory said.

     "What??" You looked at the bear.

     "He says that the other animatronics have tried to attack him. But that goes against our programming!" the bear said.

     You nodded. "That's true. But… apparently everyone's been acting strange lately. I dunno, I don't think anyone would hurt a guest. Especially a kid."

     "I'm telling you, everyone is trying to get me!" Greggory insisted.

     "I'm not trying to get you," the bear said.

     "I'm not trying to get you either," you said.

     "Well you're different," Greggory said to the bear. "And you're on thin ice." Greggory squinted at you and folded his arms.

     You held your hands up. "Alright. Well for now, let's just figure out where to go from here."

     "Greggory, would you mind waiting right here while I have a talk with Y/N?" the bear asked.

     "Sure, whatever." Greggory sat down in the old office chair in front of the computer and started spinning around in it while you followed the bear to the other side of the room.

     "What's up?" you asked.

     "It is Greggory… he does not have a guest profile. Or any files," the bear whispered.

     "So… that means he snuck into the plex? What do you mean 'any files'?"

     "He is an unaccounted for citizen. There is no record of him anywhere," the bear elaborated.

     That slowly sunk in. Your face fell into a frown as you realized what that meant. "Oh. So… no parents to return him to. He snuck in… off the streets."

     The bear nodded. "I think so."

     You glanced back at the kid, who was still spinning around in the chair. It looked like he was having fun.

     "Right. We'll take care of him till we can figure out what to do. For right now, lets get him to Sun. You and Sun can keep an eye on him while Moon and I figure out what the hell is going on," you decided.

     The bear smiled and nodded. "I am glad you also want to help him. I have promised to protect him, but I fear my systems are still suffering. I haven't had any issues since I rebooted, but I'm still close to overheating. I don't think I'll make it through the night without needing a rest to cool down."

     "Right. Let's get moving then," you said.

     You tried calling Moon again, but he didn't answer. Sun was equally unresponsive. You talked Greggory out of hiding in the bear's chest cavity. You really didn't think it was safe. You and the bear both promised to keep Greggory safe, and he eventually settled for riding on the bear's shoulders. You stored Monty's diary in the bear's chest cavity instead.

     You had a bad feeling in your gut. Something felt horribly familiar, but you couldn't place what. You lead the way up out of the access tunnels, getting your taser out and ready just in case.

     The bear's footsteps were so loud, it was impossible to sneak down the halls. You would have rather tried to sneak, but you instead tried to ensure yourself that there was nothing to sneak away from.

     That's when you realized why this felt familiar. Your dreams felt like this. But you weren't being hunted… right?

     You stopped and looked behind you. You weren't sure what you were expecting. You weren't sure how to feel about the fact that your instincts were right, you weren't alone.

     Chica was at the other end of the hall. She'd spotted the three of you and was hurrying over.

     "Chica, are you alright??" you asked. Her paint was cracked and peeling. As she charged closer, you could feel the amount of heat she was radiating. Her eyes were fixed on Greggory.

     "Run! Don't just stand there! Run run!!" Greggory yelled, fearfully tapping the bear's head.

     Chica shoved past you and leapt for Greggory. The bear caught her as you hit the wall. They grappled, mechanical limbs straining and creaking with tremendous effort. Chica kept twitching and jerking awkwardly.

     You got up. "Sorry about this," you muttered.

     The bear quickly shoved Chica back towards you, and you tased Chica.

     She screamed and collapsed on the floor, twitching and shaking.

     "Sorry sorry sorry," you said as you motioned to the bear, ushering him and the kid away.

     You and the bear ran for the daycare, not stopping until you got there. Your card wouldn't open the door, but the door opened for the bear bot. You shut the door behind you, hearing the automatic lock click, and leaned against it, trying to catch your breath.

     "That was close," Greggory said as the bear set him down.

     "I can't believe… what's wrong with Chica?? Why would she…?" You shook your head.

     "This is very troubling. I am afraid… Greggory may be right about the others," the bear said with a miserable sigh.

     "We'll figure this out. At least Sun and Moon are both okay." You got out your phone and tried to call Moon once more.

     He picked up and started speaking before you could even take a breath to say hello.

     "Where are you?! Are you safe??"

     "I'm fine, we're fine. We're at the daycare. Are you okay??" you asked.

     "Roxy… she mistook a wet floor sign with a discarded sweater on it for the kid. She attacked it, tore it to pieces. That’s what she's been doing, that's why she was acting weird… She's been hunting. I think the others are too."

     "Yeah… I know."

     Moon was silent for a moment.

     "It's okay, we're all fine, just… uh, I had to tase Chica to keep her from attacking Greggory," you explained.

     "Greggory? The child?" Moon asked.

     "Yeah."

     "I'm coming to meet you. Do not leave the daycare," Moon said.

     You agreed to wait here, and pocketed your phone as you told the bear and Greggory that Moon was on his way. At Greggory's concerned expression, you explained.

     "Don't worry, Moon is like our bear friend here. He won't hurt you," you said. "Neither will Sun. Speaking of…" you peered around the daycare. "Where is he?"

     You tried to check the camera through your watch, but it still wasn't working. You scowled and peered around. Everything was silent and still. The lights were on, so you had no trouble seeing to the other end of the daycare.

     You looked back to see Greggory had climbed up on the office chair behind the security desk. You looked at the bear, who smiled and spoke before you could.

     "I will watch him. You find Sun and fill him in," the bear said.

     You nodded and set off through the daycare.

     "Sun?" you called. "Sunflower, its me! Where are you??"

     You paused. There was a faint scratching noise coming from one of the plastic play houses. It was the one you'd hid in a few weeks ago, during that game of hide and seek.

     "Sun? Are you okay?" You approached the house.

     Sun's voice came from the house, though it sounded strained. "Come in, play with me. I have some candy… you'd like it, it's got caffeine in it…"

     "…Is that why you wouldn't let me have any before??"

     "You can have some now. Come in, come in," Sun said.

     "Why don't you come out? There's not really time for games right now, I'm afraid. We found the kid and I thought you could look after him while we figure out what's wrong with everyone. The other animatronics are acting weird and trying to attack the kid..." You crouched in front of the door. "Sun?"

     The door opened. You could barely see Sun inside, all twisted up on himself. It was dark in the little house. You could make out the red of his eyes, staring at you. He twitched and shuddered.

     You stared at Sun for a long moment, trying to deny the horrible feeling building in your gut. His paint was cracked.

     "I'd rather play a game. Wouldn't you?" Sun moved forwards, reaching out with twitchy hands to crawl out of the house.

     "Not right now, Sun. Please…" You took a few steps back. Sun straightened up. God, he really was tall. You took another step back.

     Sun stepped forwards. "Don't leave. I want you to stay, stay, stay. I'm so lonely… can't we play a game together? Can you read me a story??"

     You swallowed a lump in your throat. "A story? Sure…" You pulled out your phone, much to Sun's delight. Your hands were surprisingly steady, despite what you were about to do. You swiped to the camera, turned on the flash, and snapped a picture of Sun's face.

     Sun yelped and stumbled back in surprise. You had already turned and started running.

     "HEY! STAY BEHIND THE DESK!!" you quickly hollered, halfway across the daycare. "HE'S NOT ALLOWED BEHIND THE DESK!"

     The bear and Greggory looked at you, concerned. Then, they both looked with surprise at something behind you.

     Not a moment later, you felt something hot wrap around your ankle, and you flew face first into the ground, just barely breaking your fall with your hands. You were yanked backwards and grabbed at the sides, then lifted up into the air. Sun's hands were hot and tight. His faceplate filled your vision, his expression strained and unreadable in a familiar way.

This was not Sun.

     "That was tricky, very naughty." Sun shook his head disapprovingly at you.

     "Sun, please." You were having trouble breathing. You had your taser in your had, but you couldn't make yourself lift it. "Please."

     Sun tilted his head at you. "You can't get out of punishment by begging, dear."

     "I-I didn't break the rules. I haven't broken any rules," you said quickly. "I don't want to have to hurt you, Sun."

     Sun frowned at you. "My my, a threat? What horrible behavior."

     Sun's hands were starting to burn. You were sweating just being this close to him. "Put me down, you're overheating."

     Sun's hands only squeezed you tighter. "But you'll leave me all alone again… I don't want to be alone. Stay with me. Stay, stay please stay." Sun's grip got tighter with every word.

     You squirmed uselessly. "Sun-! Shit, that hurts!"

     Sun went still. Realization washed over you, quickly followed by dread.

     You lifted the taser.

     Sun moved with alarming speed. He dropped you and snatched you arm before you could tase him. Electricity sparked loudly from the end of the taser, reaching nothing but air. Sun made a horrible noise and tackled you to the ground, pinning your arm down with a hand.

     You couldn't do anything but stare up at him as he lifted a twitching fist to bash your skull in.

     "No swearing in the daycare," he said, voice low and strained and slow. It was his voice, but it wasn't him.

     Sun's fist moved, just as a blur of motion rammed into him full force. Sun went flying off of you, and every part of you told you to fucking run.

You got up, but stopped. You turned back to see where Sun had gone.

     Moon had tackled him. The two were toppling over one another, locked in an intense grapple.

     You lifted your taser, but you paused, realizing you couldn't tase one without tasing the other. They were both metal.

     "Moon-" you started.

     "GO! I'll hold him! GET OUT! RUN!!" Moon screamed.

     Sun wailed and shook violently. "NO NO NO STAY!! DON'T GO!!!"

     "There's no way I'm gonna leave you two," you said forcefully, pushing down the last of your fear, shutting up the voice in your head yelling at you to run.

     Before you could do anything, however, you were lifted once more. The bear bot had a fearful Greggory on his shoulders, and both arms around you.

     The bear turned and ran for the door just as you saw Moon's suspension cable lowering.

     "No, put me down!!" you yelled, squirming and kicking.

     The bear bot was way too strong. He carried you easily to the doors and out of the daycare, your protests falling on deaf ears. The automatic lock on the doors clicked behind you.

     You heard the sound of glass shattering, and all the lights in the daycare went out. Then the bear rounded the corner, and the daycare was out of sight.

[gothighunicorntolerance]

Containment Breach. But For Real This Time.

@chaos-family-scp-au @chaos-family-writing @orange-side-please-appear @unlawful-lawyers-chaos @hihello-what-is-chaos-doing are you ready? :)

SCP-0475 hung upside down by their knees from a pull-up bar that SCP-0472- well, only the researchers called xem that; 0475 called xem Orange-had requested (0475 had actually asked Orange to request it, but details ruined a good story!). It, like everything else on xyr room, was made of hard tungsten metal and bolted down. 0475 snacked on some heavily buttered popcorn as they watched Orange. 

Orange lay spread eagled on the floor beneath 0475, making vaguely annoying humming noises. 

Xe sat up without warning. “Everyone calls you by your number. 0475. But what’s your name?” Xe asked. 

This caught 0475 by surprise. 

“I… I don’t know.” 0475 replied. 

“Don’t you know, like, everything though!?” 

“Only things that have been proven.”

“Okay, well, if you don’t have a name, I’ll give you one!”

This caught 0475 by surprise- and not the kind of surprise that Orange usually invoked- no, Orange’s usual surprise consisted of fire, screaming, and sometimes a sentient roomba. 

“Okay. Um, what kind of name?”

Orange’s reply was drowned out by the blaring of sirens. 

“Um, this breach wasn’t my fault!” Orange shouted over the sirens. 

“Oh, this time! Stay here, you’ll be safer.” 0475 told xem before teleporting out of Orange’s cell into the hallway, where the alarms blared even louder and the walls were bathed in red light. 

“Where’s Graves!” 0475 muttered to themself. 

Their question was abruptly answered when the doctor ran into them- quite literally.

“0475! What are you doing here!? Get out! This isn’t safe!” Dr. Graves shouted over the alarms.

“Well then you need to get out, too! What happened!?”

Their question was once again answered as another creature came barreling down the hallway. 

“You motherfucker!” 0475 shouted at the teddy bear ambling closer to the doctor. 

“Stop antagonizing it and run!” Dr. Graves shouted, pulling 0475 along with vem, 0475 giving a long string of swear words as the bear came closer. 

“Fuck this! I hate running!” 0475 shouted and grabbed Dr. Graves before closing their eyes and teleporting. 

With no particular destination in mind- only away! The darkness that surrounded them when teleporting seemed thicker- or maybe it was also the fact that they had never teleported with another person. Was 0475 even a person? They looked like one, but were they really? The void seemed the consistency of maple syrup, or maybe molasses, when it usually seemed like water. 

They trudged through the darkness until they pushed through a light. A second later, 0475 and Dr. Graves tumbled out of the darkness into a grassy field. 

“What. Was. That.” Dr. Graves gasped, sitting on aer knees. 

“Teleporting. What else would it be?” 0475 replied. 

“Oh… I really, really hated that.”

“Oops,” 0475 gave a sheepish grin. “But you should be proud of me! That was the first time I’ve teleported with someone else!”

“Really? Can you describe how it was different?” Dr. Graves sat up. 

“It was… heavy. Normally I just step from one place to another, but this was like… I dunno. You know those videos of someone pushing a car uphill? Yeah, like that. Except you’re the car. And the hill is the teleporting void. If that makes sense, I guess.”

Dr. Graves nodded. “This is valuable information. Thank you.”

0475 gave a small grin. “Now, uh, I think we should just stay here until the asshole of a murder-y teddy bear is caught.”

“Agreed. Wait- how do you know about SCP-1048?”

“Remember in the interview I said that I know everything that’s been proven as a fact? Yeah, the fact that SCP-1048 is a keter. The 1048-A, B and C, the ears… I know it all. I wish I didn’t know some of that. I wish I didn’t have access to everything that I do.”

“Would you change, if you could? Be… normal?”

0475 fell silent for a minute. 

“In the end? No, I don’t think I would. There are definitely some things I would like to forget about… but I like doing this. Being able to teleport. Being essentially bulletproof. And punching fascists is kind of what I do now. I wouldn’t give up my powers, but I do wish there were some things I didn’t know. What you don’t know can’t hurt you, right?” 0475 gave a fake laugh. 

“No. No, knowledge is a tool. A vast, useful tool. And I’m glad you have that knowledge. Who knows what would have happened if you hadn’t teleported me away? I might have been made into SCP-1048-D, and then 0472 would burn the place down. And- wait- you said you were bulletproof!?” Dr. Graves put aer hand on 0475’s shoulder and frowned. 

“I guess you’re right. But that doesn’t change the fact that I know things I wish I didn’t. And yeah. I found out when some asshole tried to shoot me,” they laughed. 

“I’m sorry. I would offer you amnesiacs, but I don’t know if they would help.”

“They wouldn’t. I think that’s how I got into this whole mess in the first place.”

“Can you elaborate?”

“I could. But I don’t want to. It might get back to Bitchard.”

“Bitchard?” Dr. Graves bit back a laugh. 

“Yup. He’s a bitch. Beta gave him that name.”

“You’ve talked to hum?”

“Yeah, hum’s pretty nice. Hu likes it when I do most of the talking, though.”

Dr. Graves nodded again. 0475 noticed ve did that a lot- nodded in the way that someone with a lot of gears turning in their head nodded. Like how a therapist or a professor nodded when thinking about a particularly difficult question. 

SCP-0475 and Dr. Graves sat in the field until the sun set. “Do you think they have murder bear under control yet?” Graves asked.

0475 closed their eyes and thought for a minute. “Yes.” Their voice suddenly turned almost robotic, as if they were programmed to read off the page. “Attention all staff members. SCP-1048 has been recaptured and is now in transport to site A-24 under high security. SCP-1048-D has been terminated, with only three D-Class KIB (killed in breach). No other SCPs have escaped. It is safe to exit your offices or wherever you have hidden. Thank you for your cooperation.”

“I’ve never seen you do that before. How did you access the foundation’s emails?”

“It’s a verifiable fact that SCP-1048 is in transport, and I just… saw the email. I don’t know how to explain it. I’m sorry.”

“That’s what my job is. Research. If you’ll let me research, I want to help.”

0475 shook their head. “I’ve seen what happens to Orange and Green after experiments. I know what Beta is like after research. No thanks.”

“Okay. I won’t force you. I know Bitchard would say otherwise, but gathering data by any means is unethical and is not what the foundation should be doing. Now come on, I should be getting back,” Dr. Graves stood up and offered a hand to 0475, who accepted.

As soon as 0475 gripped Dr. Graves’ hand, the two teleported out of the field and entered the void. It wasn’t nearly as thick as it had been, though it was still difficult, carrying Graves. 

They tumbled out of the darkness, landing on top of Dr. Grave’s desk. 

“Wow. The second round was not any better.” Ve rubbed aer head.

0475 shrugged. “Sorry about that. Again. I’ll be back, so don’t be surprised if I’m watching Jeopardy! again on your computer. Bye!”

Dr. Graves was going to reply- say something, even a returned goodbye- but 0475 teleported before Graves could even think of something. 

Ve sat down at their desk (on the chair, not the top) and put aer head in aer hands. 

Somewhere on the other side of the world, SCP-0475 remembered what Orange had said: “Okay, well, if you don’t have a name, I’ll give you one!”

0475 probably had a name, a long time ago, but they couldn’t remember it anymore. It would be nice to have a name, rather than a number, they mused. 

Perhaps they would let Orange give name suggestions the next time 0475 visited. 

But for now, 0475 was content to have a number and punch homophobes.

[the-void-and-the-valley]

OKAY SO

back before i actually started listening to tma, i took a quiz about which season's jon i would be

https://uquiz.com/quiz/WbJGPo/which-season-of-jon-tma-are-you

i got season 3! basically saying i love and/or hate mr elias bitchard

AND THEY WERE R I G H T

idk why it was so important i found this again, but im GLAD I DID

[definitely-not-an-alb]

cw discussion of medical stuff re genitals also idk I’m not triple checking this I’m just talking to myself, read at your own risk I guess

I have Yet More Homework, but I also am having feelings about how, in response to T*RFS and such, we have created this opposite hellhole where trans people and especially nonbinary people are completely banned from talking about their genitals, like -

If you can only see me as nb if I never talk about my uterus and never write and read erotica with nb characters with vulvas and never talk about pregnancy and also get upsetti @ us when we talk about being dysphoric or create terminology for our feelings and wishes (eg words and concepts like bi-genital dysphoria(1) or altersex(2)) or advocate for our rights to freely, actually freely choose what gender-affirming measures we want (eg stuff like consensual gender-nullification(3) being illegal/unoptainable basically everywhere despite being one of the safest and easiest surgical operations in that department when done professionally and properly), basically, if ya’ll flip your shit as soon as anyone nonbinary actually does or expresses something non-binary relating to genitals, or, like, acknowledge that they have genitals at all, like, idk how to tell you this but

then you do not actually see me as a nonbinary person, methinks?

(Also ya’lls barely warmed-over autogyn bs is STILL not cute, cut it out with the ‘the evil nbs are sexualising/fetishising intersex people’, like, why the fuck did ya’ll let Bitchard shit in ya’lls brains again and why do ya’ll still not know what intersex means?)

(1) Dysphoria where a person doesn’t like ‘either’ ‘option’ of genital configuration and would/does desire a combination/neither/something completely different from the binary norms.

(2) Genital configurations that do not confirm to the binary norms. Some intersex folks with non-normative genitals also use this, I think, but it is not the same as being intersex (most of that are hormonal differences and such, ya’ll). This is like the ‘other’ option on Ao3 but for genitals and physical markers of genders. Here be dragons.

(3) Surgical removal of the genitals, eg complete removal and closure of uterus, clitoris and vaginal channel, penis, testicles and all internal ‘plumbing’ if one so wants. T*RFS like to peddle this as a form of FMG despite the fact that it’s also doable with Penises/Scrotums and it’s not fucking ‘mutilation’ if someone wants it and has to go box ten rounds with the state first jesus christ on a cracker.

[parad0xm0th]

Jon, Martin and Basira for character asks??

MARTIN YOU’RE ENABLING ME

Whoops this got long

Jonathan Sims

Sexuality Headcanon: acesexual(ofc) and kinda sex-repulsed in the “please let’s not talk about this unless you are very specifically my partner at a very specific time anything else is a no-no” (can you tell I’m projecting yet) and I also hc him as pan-romantic (I bet you can tell now) also because the experience of being ace and pan go hand in hand more than you might think!

Gender Headcanon: Trans non-binary/agender! I like to think during Uni he really got to thinking about gender? But when he started at the institute he got self conscious and started presenting heavily as male but as Shit Went Down he started going back to being less gender conforming and seriously went like guy???? Girl???? No. (I personally like to use they/them pronouns for Jon farther into like season 4 in my brain where everything is OK)

A ship I have with said character:EVERYONE JK BUT SOMETIMES IT FEELS LIKE IT, if you’ve heard me rant on discord u know I’ve got a soft spot for poly archives so really my favorite pairings with him are Martin(this one is fueled by the power of CANON) Tim(bc past friendship Hurts and I want them to make up) sasha (deserved better mostly fueled by hc) Gerry(thank tumblr user @/gerrydelano) Oliver(mostly for shits and giggles)

A BROTP I have with said character: Georgie and Jon COULD HAVE BEEN GREAT BUT NOOOO(they’re great in every AU) and Daisy (thanks season 4)

A NOTP I have with said character: *claps hands* I 👏 see 👏 the nasty 👏 pedo 👏 fics on AO3 👏 where y’all 👏 literally 👏 make Jon a teen 👏 then pair him 👏 with a grown ass👏 Elias also don’t like Jon////Elias////Peter in general they are old creepy men and Jon can do better

A random headcanon: as the drama club President I say Jon was a theatre kid and that is final (HOWEVER I will also say he did not do theatre until Georgie pressured him to do it in uni)

General Opinion over said character: y’all know I’m kinnie for this guy, he got me out of my year long writing funk And I’m actually Talking to people again

Martin K.(issable, ickass) Blackwood

Sexuality Headcanon: Martin is what is know as a Home-o-sexual, but more specifically I hc him as grey-ace homoromantic

Gender Headcanon: Martin’s trans he told me himself! Look he’s got the trans flag tied like a cape around his neck look at him go!

A ship I have with said character: JON but also I like him in JonMarTim and JonGerryMartin (why is Jon at the front of all the ship names???)

A BROTP I have with said character: I’m once again wishing for Sasha to have gotten better but he and Sasha were bros! Let them have this

A NOTP I have with said character: *repeates what I said for Jon but I don’t wanna type all the clapping again* Bitchard and Lufuck were straight up terrible to him he can do better also Fairchild litterally looks like a 100 year old man

A random headcanon: scritches for the archivist said Martin can sew and that’s something I just take as cannon now, he’s polish and can sew

General Opinion over said character: I love his arc it really hurt! He’s such a warm character and for him to be aligned with the lonely just struck such a cord for me

Basira Hussain

Sexuality Headcanon: she’s a Lesbian but she’s also aromantic she hasn’t “dated” anyone in years but she’s fine with that, she has “better things to do”

Gender Headcanon: she’s cis, and she identifies as a woman but doesn’t have any strong feelings about it

A ship I have with said character: there was a thing in the past with Daisy, but life got very complicated

A BROTP I have with said character: *shakes ur shoulders* JON AND BASIRA WERE FRIENDS IN SEASON 2 IT WAS NEW AND UNSTABLE BUT THEY GENUINELY LIKE EACHOTHER

A NOTP I have with said character: 👏she👏wouldn’t 👏date👏a dude(jk this is just a hc do what u want)

A random headcanon: read every single warriors cats book, all the way up to present, however no one has found out yet bc the moment she finishes (within 2 hours) she burns the book so there’s no evidence

General Opinion over said character: she didn’t get enough attention in the show! It might be my lack of a memory (cough cough binged 160 ep in 5 days cough cough) but I felt like we didn’t hear enough from her! She’s not perfect but she is kick ass as hell and was the only “survivor” of the unknowing bc she REASONED HERSELF OUT

[choicesenthusiast]

Desire and Decorum 3, Ch. 8 AKA New Characters Aplenty

What happened this week:

The Payne in the ass is looking after Dick Bitchard and Roselyn’s surprise child as a part of his grand plan to make him king and control the throne. Also, are we not going to mention that Roselyn spawned with that demon?

This news is so shocking that MC just has to go tell Sinclaire in the middle of the night. You’d think after wife-thievery, sabotage, and arson that he’d be more careful as to opening the door for random people in the night. What’s more is that he already knows about it.

Apparently he raised the boy until he had to be taken to France by Roselyn’s brother, the real Comte Renard.

Let’s alert the Queen! Unfortunately, the only way to do that is if kooky grandma writes a letter to her. MC better proofread before it’s sent.

Shop for a wedding bouquet with your LI! Super cute. That creepy obsessed girl from HSS:CA is the vendor, though, which adds 100+ points to her creepy factor.

Hamid’s mom has come to London, and is yet another person to which we must prove ourselves worthy. Were there no ways of spreading news back then? Can’t the Queen just make an announcement saying “MC’s a worthy bitch, stop coming after her”? Mr. Konevi is her new manservant, too. I forgot about him leaving England. Where did he go, again?

Luke’s brother Ezra is at the door. I can’t wait to prove ourselves worthy to him, too. Not.

Thoughts:

First Harry, “Comte Renard”, the Parsons family, Bitchards’ boy, Westonly’s bride (who looks suspiciously like Roselyn), Mama Hamid, and now Luke 2? That’s a whole lotta new characters they’ve introduced, meaning this book’s about to get a lot more messier.

Between the wedding, Harry and Payne’s schemes, Sinclaire, the Parsons, whatever the hell Luke’s got going on, and Hamid’s mommy issues, this book has a whole lotta stuff they gotta cover before the end. I don’t think they’ll do it well either. Who knows, though. I’d rather not get my hopes up.

[reallydumbdannyphantomaus]

hey there my good bitchards! i finally finished chapter two of Switch, wherein sam and tucker are not there for the accident but kwan is. thanks to @lexosaurus for beta-ing and also helping me find the motivation to write, little by little. read chapter one here / read on ao3 / masterpost

Switch

Chapter 2

“Mr. Fenton,” Lancer said, pinching the bridge of his nose, “that’s the fifth beaker you’ve dropped this week.”

Snickers rose from Danny’s classmates. His cheeks flushed and he scuffed his shoe along the floor. “I’m aware,” he said.

“It’s only Tuesday.”

“I’m aware, Mr. Lancer.” The snickering swelled behind him.

Lancer sighed. “I don’t know why you’re all of a sudden Mr. Butterfingers, but for the remainder of this lab, why don’t you let Ms. Manson handle the fragile school property?”

“That’s… probably a good idea,” he said. Nerves made his disappearing-thing worse, he’d discovered, and dropping the beakers became a self-fulfilling prophecy: he dropped a beaker, which made him nervous that he would drop the next one, which made his disappearing-thing worse, so he dropped another beaker, and so on and so forth. He’d dropped his cereal bowl this morning, too, and spent ten minutes wiping up soggy cornflakes instead of eating them. At this rate, he’d never be able to hold anything breakable ever again.

He slipped back over to his seat in between Tucker and Sam, face still burning bright red.

“Dude,” Tucker said, “you okay?”

“Fine,” he said. “Just a… weird night last night.”

Sam raised an eyebrow at him. “What does that have to do with dropping beakers?”

Danny shrugged. “I think I’m just tired.”

“You think?”

“Look, I’ve already been humiliated enough for one day, okay? I appreciate the concern, but can we talk about something else? Anything?”

Sam opened her mouth like she was going to keep arguing but Tucker cut her off, slinging an arm around Danny’s shoulders. “You mean like how they’re releasing a new expansion pack for Doom on Thursday?” Tucker said ignoring Sam’s dirty look. “Oh man, if you’re sleep deprived today, just wait until Friday.”

Sam rolled her eyes, but allowed the conversation to shift. “You’re not seriously planning on pulling an all-nighter Thursday, are you?”

“Oh, come on, Sam, like you weren’t planning to do the exact same thing.”

A light blush dotted her cheeks. “I’m going to sleep by four, actually.”

Danny picked up the lab assignment and glanced it over. Dissolving a Life-Saver in ginger ale. What a horrendously boring lab, and they couldn’t even drink the ginger ale.

“Oh,” Tucker said, “because that is so much better. You sure told me.”

“Whatever, it’s better than nothing, doofus.”

“Well, me and Danny–”

“–’Danny and I,’ Tucker, seriously, no wonder your English grade sucks–”

“–are gonna stay up all night and have a blast.”

“Actually,” Danny said without taking his eyes off the lab worksheet, “I may be a little late to the Doom party.” Thursday was when Kwan was supposed to come back over.

Tucker’s jaw dropped. “You what?”

“Sorry dude, but–”

“Mr. Foley, Mr. Fenton, Ms. Manson.” Danny jumped at the Lancer’s voice behind him. “If you would be so kind as to divert your attention from video games to your schoolwork.”

“But Mr. Lancer–”

“No buts, Mr. Foley. I expect you all to pay close attention to your lab.”

“‘Pay close attention’? No offense, sir,” Tucker said, ignoring Danny and Sam as they sliced their hands across their throats, “but this is literally the most boring lab you’ve ever given us and that’s saying something.”

“Oh, is that so, Mr. Foley? Then you can be extra bored with me in detention this afternoon.” Lancer’s pitch never rose, but his jaw clenched and his forehead had more wrinkles than normal. It was still early yet in the school year; Lancer didn’t start losing it until around Halloween, according to the upperclassmen. If Tucker had tried that in November, Danny figured he would’ve gotten detention for a week instead of an afternoon, and maybe hearing loss in one of his ears, if the rumors about the octaves Lancer could reach were true.

Tucker opened his mouth again–to say what, Danny wasn’t sure, but there was no way that it was going to help his case–but Danny slapped his hand over his friend’s mouth and answered for him. “Yes, sir.”

Lancer narrowed his eyes at them. “Get back to work,” he said, and walked over to his desk, passing by a giggling Star and Paulina.

Danny peeled his hand off Tucker’s face as Tucker smacked himself in the forehead. “I’m my own worst enemy, aren’t I?”

“Pretty much,” Sam said, and sighed. “Come on, let’s do the stupid lab before he gives us all detention.”

And if Danny stayed seated the whole time because he was invisible from the waist down, well, nobody had to know.

—

“Oh man,” Tucker said as the bell rang, “worst class ever.”

Danny grabbed his backpack, glanced down to make sure he could see his legs, and followed his friends out of Lancer’s classroom. He kept his head down, focused on the ever-present prickling underneath his skin. He inspects his body, piece by piece. Right arm, check. Left arm, check. Right leg, left leg, torso; check, check, check. It was exhausting, but it was the only way he could keep his ghost-thing under control.

Sam snorted beside him and Danny jumped at the noise.

“Just remember, Tuck: you’re your own worst enemy,” Sam said. She turned away from the boys. “See you at lunch.”

Danny let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. As much as he loved Sam, she could be… pushy. She didn’t want to know what was going on, she demanded to. She was always like this when she thought he was hiding something, and it had led to more than one fight between them. He was nowhere near ready for her to know this secret yet. Or Tucker, or his parents, or anyone. It had been almost a relief when Kwan had insisted that they keep it a secret.

He hadn’t thought too hard about why that was, yet.

“Dude,” Tucker said, snapping his fingers in front of Danny’s face. “Earth to Danny. Time for History? Ancient Mesopotamia? Fertile Crescent, cuneiform, Hammurabi?”

Danny blinked and shook his head a little. “Right,” he said. As his concentration slipped, his left arm tingled with intangibility.

“And Danny?” Tucker said as they started walking. “I don’t know what’s going on with you, but I’m ready to talk when you are.”

For the first time that day, Danny smiled.

—

Danny’s whole body turned invisible halfway through lunch.

It took him half a second to notice. He reached down with his fork to stab a bit of mushy peas and his arm… wasn’t there.

With a gasp, he dropped the fork and hid his arm behind his back—only to realize that was invisible, too. And so were his legs, and his feet, and—he hoped—his head. It would be just his luck to be stuck running around the cafeteria as a disembodied head.

“Huh?” Sam said, looking around. “Where the hell did Danny go?”

Tucker shrugged, taking a huge bite of his burger. “Bathroom?”

“Change back, change back,” he whispered, focusing on the cold tingle running through his limbs. He stared at where his hand should be, willing it to reappear. Nothing.

“He just left?,” Sam said, gnawing on an apple. “I swear, he’s been acting so weird this week. Looks like he’s about to fall apart at any given moment.”

“Sam,” Tucker said, “I thought we both learned our lesson about pushing too hard about these kinds of things. Remember?”

Danny’s breath caught in his throat.

“This isn’t like that! Something’s really upsetting him, and he needs to know he can talk to us about it. He needs to know it won’t be like last time.”

“He knows. He just choosing not to tell us anyway.” When Sam glared at him, Tucker rolled his eyes. “He’s allowed to do that, Sam. Not pressuring him is part of respecting his boundaries.”

“But he’s lying—”

Danny didn’t catch the rest of Sam’s response. Instead, he ran out of the cafeteria, through the crowds and then straight through the wall, down the hallway, and into a janitor’s closet. Later, he would wonder at how he didn’t fall through the floor.

In that moment, though, he barely noticed as the cold tingle left his body and he was solid and visible again. He focused instead on controlling his breathing, in and out. He pulled his knees into his chest and started counting for each breath.

Clearly, he wasn’t hiding his problems as well as he thought—not that he’d imagined he’d hidden them well in the first place. But now Sam and Tucker were talking about him like they were his parents and not his friends—and it had only been two days. There was no endpoint to his troubles; nothing was getting better. Once again, he couldn’t see the way out.

Sam was wrong. It was just like last time.

With a shaky hand, he pulled out his phone. His finger hovered over the contact for Kwan. Then, sighing, he locked the phone and put it away.

Alone, in the janitor’s closet, Danny cried.

—

Things did not settle after that.

Every waking moment, he spent all his energy on remaining substantial and opaque. He tripped in the hallway when his foot slipped into the linoleum. He stared down at himself all day, checking that any invisible appendages were, at least, not noticeably so.

Whatever shred of mental capacity he had left he used to avoid Sam and Tucker. He ate lunch in the janitor’s closet, arrived late to class and slipped out when the bell rang. Jazz drove him to and from school after pleading with her about all the study time he was wasting on walking. (The look on her face said she didn’t believe him, but she agreed, which was all that mattered to Danny.)

Each night, he fell into bed, exhausted, and went straight to sleep. Each night, some hours later, he fell through his bed and woke as his head clunked against the floor.

Thursday came, and he texted Sam and Tucker to let them know that he’d be missing their Doomed night. He did not respond to any of the other texts that they’d sent him since Tuesday and he turned off his phone before they could respond.

It was some sort of cosmic irony, he supposed, that the only bright spot he could find was his upcoming meetup with Kwan. He’d never like the guy, but Kwan was the only person who knew what was going on already. He might even be able to help; he certainly couldn’t make things any worse. At the very least, he’d be someone he could talk to.

—

“Have you tried turning it on and off again?” Kwan said. He flicked the page in his Sports Illustrated.

Danny shot him a glare. “You’re hilarious.”

Kwan shrugged. “I still don’t know what you expect from me in these little get-togethers. They’re your freaky powers, dude.”

Danny groaned. It was Thursday afternoon, and Danny should have been playing Doomed with Tucker and Sam until the wee hours of the morning so he could regret it tomorrow. Instead, he was stuck with Kwan, who was back lounging on Danny’s bed, still reading the same sports magazine he’d had Monday, and who wanted to be there even less than Danny did.

“Yeah, well they’re your problem, too, in case you forgot. I’ve spent all of the past week doing everything I can to not turn invisible, or fall through the floor, or whatever. I’m dead. Sooner or later, I’m going to slip up.”

Kwan sighed and put down the magazine. “Then maybe stop trying?”

Danny scrunched his face in confusion. “What?”

“I mean, like, trying not to do it obviously isn’t working. So why not try doing it?”

“Like… go invisible on purpose?”

Kwan scratched his head. “Yeah. If you figure out how it happens, that should make it easier to stop, right?”

“That’s… not a bad idea.“

“No need to sound so surprised,” Kwan said with a snort. He picked his Sports Illustrated back up and continued reading.

Danny ignored him, closed his eyes, and focused on the cold part inside of him that hadn’t gone away since the accident. For the past week, he’d been pushing it down, shoving it in a box and sitting on it, and the cold had leaked out all the same. Now, he reached down and pulled off the lid. The cold eased out, taking up residence behind his lungs so he could feel it with every breath.

He wavered on its edges for a long moment, and then he plunged in.

The cold burst out. It raced through his body, through his muscles and veins to the ends of his hair and the tips of his toes. He was light, airy; a stiff breeze might blow him away. As he opened his eyes, the world looked… brighter. More saturated. Kwan’s letterman jacket was an impossibly vibrant red against the cornflower blue of his walls. The sun shining through the window ached against his eyes and he looked down to see he was wearing the black hazmat suit from after the portal accident.

Across the room, Kwan gasped. “Holy shit, dude. You’re a ghost again.”

Danny gulped. “Yeah.” He locked eyes with Kwan who dropped his magazine.

“You’re glowing.”

“Yeah.”

“You’re floating.”

“Ye—wait, what?” Danny looked back down. About a foot of empty space stretched between his legs and the floor. “Ho-o-oly shit.”

“Fenton. I think you can fly.”

“I can fly?” The ground fell farther away and his head bumped the ceiling. He grinned. “I can fly.”

He pushed the air like he was doing the breaststroke, and, instead of moving forward, tumbled upside down. The blood rushed to his head, and he wobbled in the air.

“Uh,” Danny said, “how do I make it—go?”

“I don’t know, man! Think really hard about it?”

Danny grit his teeth and managed to turn upright again. He focused on the window, picturing himself floating up to it. After a moment, though, the ghostly cold receded into his chest. A white light passed over him and all the heaviness of humanity returned.

And he fell with a thunk. “Ow.”

Kwan snorted.

Danny opened his mouth to say—well, something caustic, probably—but what came out was a strangled laugh. Then another. And another.

Before he knew it, he was cracking up. Danny brought his knees to his chest and hugged himself. It was a frenzied laughter, high pitched and wheezing. His cheeks and sides ached, but he couldn’t stop. Tears streamed out of his eyes. He could no longer tell if he was laughing or crying.

On the bed, Kwan was losing it as well. Danny couldn’t see him through the wetness, but he could hear the same hysterical ring.

[puppi-pico]

bitchard-tozier >> softboywolfhard

changed my theme yet again boiiisssss

[eyndr-stories]

The Stranger The Better (FNAF SB) fanfic C9 - In A While, Crocodile

Read the intro to Chapter 1 (Enter A Sleepy Bitchard) for more details! I'd start reading there anyways else things won't make a whole lot of sense lol

In Summary: Reader is a forever exhausted young adult who has social difficulties doing their best to pay the bills, so when they get hired at the well-paying, almost entirely automated Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizza-Plex, they don't really hesitate to think things through before stumbling headfirst into a horror mystery surrounding this company and its crew of quirky (and surprisingly kind) animatronics.

Things To Know (lmk if I should add anything, also check the tags for more stuff):

There are some horror elements in several chapters! This chapter isn't all that spooky, but does include blackmail and manipulation tactics. Also, several lightbulbs are smashed.

Eventual romance, minorly important to the plot.

Reader has paranoia.

There is much swearing.

Reader is also addicted to energy drinks, and not fantastic at self care.

Reader is nonbinary (and also trans masc) though it's not vital to the plot and only comes up once or twice.

Reader is from the south, is protective of their friends, and if you threaten their friends then I'm afraid you've yee'd your last haw and yes that is important to the plot

Previous Chapter | Chapter 9 | Next Chapter

C9 - In A While, Crocodile

     Your leg bounced anxiously as Paige took a seat across from you. The little round table and folding chairs looked out over your garden, as well as the messy pile of fence supplies you had yet to utilize.

     The sky was just starting to brighten. The world was quiet, the surrounding forest still, not a whisper of a breeze to disturb the leaves. You could hear the familiar ringing in your ears, as well as your heart pounding away.

     “Would you like to start us off?” Paige asked.

     “Alright.” You took a deep breath through your nose and forced your nerves down. This was fine. You’d just be carrying out your plan now instead of later. You hadn’t worked out how to word any of it, and you’d been expecting to have the luxury of typing it out. “First, let me ask… how familiar are you with the animatronics themselves?”

     “Quite.” Paige smiled, though ‘smile’ was a stretch. Her lips pressed into a thin line that didn’t reach her eyes at all.

     “Good. So you’re aware they’re all sentient.” You paused to try and gauge her reaction. You couldn’t decipher much, so you went on. “And you’re likely also aware that none of them have breaks or days off, and aren’t really allowed to leave the building. Not to mention, are on all accounts providing… uncompensated labor.”

     Paige studied you carefully. “The company is fully within its legal right to utilize its own property how it sees fit, in accordance with the law and safety regulations.”

     You felt that anger quickly rising up in you. You desperately tried to push it down, but you were too tired. “See, here’s the thing.” You did your best not to glare. “Yall haven’t really been following all those safety regulations, have you?” You paused, getting a small amount of satisfaction as Paige shifted uncomfortably. “As per your last email, I believe you tried to dissuade me from engaging with one of your biggest safety concerns. After an incident had already occurred. I have the proof, if you’d like to review it.”

     Paige was silent for a moment. She stared at you, expression hard. “No need. I’m aware of the incident. Here’s the thing…” Paige’s eyes narrowed. “It would be rather unfortunate if word got out about an incident like that. We’d have no choice but to decommission the animatronic. Permanently.”

     You paled. Shit. You hadn’t realized that. You set your jaw and quickly tried to think of a response. “…Why haven’t you jackals gotten your specialist in to fix Moon’s bug yet?”

     Paige smiled that thin not-smile again. “You know as well as I do that at the end of the day, its all about money. Profit. Budgets. That’s why you came back to work after the incident. Gotta pay the bills. It’d be a shame for you to loose such a nice little place, especially so soon after the last move.”

     You sat stock still, fighting to keep your expression neutral as Paige's eyes bore into you. Your hands were shaking under the table. How did she know?

     “The specialist is technically retired, and demanding more than we were expecting to come back for another job,” Paige went on. “The big wigs have been going back and forth with the budget and the specialist, trying to figure out how to loose the lease amount of profit. The specialist is being… difficult. She has some differing ideas and perspectives from the higher ups. Honestly, things aren’t looking great for the daycare attendant right now. They’re starting to ask if the company even really needs a daycare, if there's perhaps a more lucrative area to replace the daycare with.”

     “What if there was a way to solve the issue and increase profit?” you said suddenly.

     Paige studied you quizzically. “Then I’d be all ears.”

     You took out your phone and pulled up the picture you'd taken of the half-finished animatronic. “If you used the original body you built for Moon. It’s almost completed, wouldn’t take much to finish it up. It’s just sitting in storage. All that money yall put into constructing it… would finally start paying off. Specially since it doesn’t cost yall much to employ animatronics, does it? Bet you save a lot of money on labor,” you said, not bothering to keep the venom out of your tone.

     Paige didn’t seem bothered at all. In fact, she appeared thoughtful. “I don’t know how you know as much as you do, you’ve only been employed for two weeks. But… you do pose an interesting proposition. I wasn’t aware the old body was still around… We’d still need to bring in the specialist of course, but if it makes more money in the long run…” Paige smiled thinly once more. “I believe this meeting has been rather productive. If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.” Paige set a business card down on the table, got up, and left.

     You heard her car start up, then drive off. You sat there for a long time. After a good ten minutes, your hands finally stopped shaking. The sun finally started to peek above the trees, the first rays of morning making the clouds glow. You pocketed the business card and went inside. You needed some fucking sleep.

~~~

     You did your usual rounds first, taking your time with it. You didn’t have the first clue what you were going to say to Moon and Sun about what had happened this morning. You still hadn’t even fully processed it.

     To your surprise, you actually ran into Moon halfway through your rounds.

     “Is everything alright??” you asked, quickly checking your phone to see if you’d missed any calls. You hadn’t, so you looked at Moon quizzically.

     “You were taking too long,” Moon chided. “Management contacted us earlier.”

     Moon had your full attention now, if they hadn’t before. “Oh?”

     “They told us that it was taking so long to get the specialist in because their plan is to finish the old model. The one you found. They’re going to fix my bug and separate Sun and I. It’s a big project, so they needed lots of time,” Moon said.

     You frowned. “Is that so.”

     “…I am feeling conflicted about being separated from Sun. I don’t know what he’ll do without me.” Moon smirked and paused, likely listening to Sun yelling at him in his head. “And I don’t want to… get my hopes up just yet. But it does seem as if things will work out, and soon.”

     You weren’t sure what to say. Should you even tell Moon about what had happened? You didn’t want to spoil their mood. He was clearly excited, having come to meet you instead of waiting for you, and he was nervous, seeing as this was the twitchiest and animated you had ever seen him.

     “That’s great, M. I told you it’d all work out.” You tried a smile.

     Moon stared at you suspiciously. “You’re hiding something.”

     You cursed. You’d always been a shitty liar. “…Alright, lets walk and talk.” You sighed.

     You continued on your rounds, being extra vigilant about looking around so you didn’t have to look at Moon. Moon stared at you the whole time, expression unreadable for the most part. They didn’t interrupt, though it was clear at times that they wanted to. You got through the whole story, telling Moon as precisely as possible the conversation you’d has with Paige this morning.

     The two of you reached the daycare. You sat down heavily in one of the chairs at the little sitting area just outside the daycare. You finally looked at Moon, who loomed over you, looking somewhat upset.

     “She came to your house,” Moon stated.

     “Yeah,” you confirmed.

     “She threatened to decommission me and Sun if you tried to take legal action against them.”

     “Yeah,” you said again.

     “They were going to decommission us anyways. Close the daycare.”

     “Not for certain, Paige said it was an option they were considering,” you said.

     “Right.” Moon frowned. “Should have known better than to take those monsters at their word.”

     “They are going to do the whole, finish the other animatronic body and fix you up thing. That part wasn’t a lie.”

     “No, just the fact that they lied about how very close they were to deciding to shut down the daycare because of me and my bug making things too difficult and costly for them.” Moon scowled, folding his arms and glaring at the floor. “…If you hadn’t given that idea to Paige…”

     “If I hadn’t and they tried to decommission you, I’d kidnap yall and flee the country,” you stated.

     Moon cracked a smile. “Of course.”

     “How’s Sun doing with all this?”

     Moon looked away, pausing for a moment. “He is… Sun is very angry.”

     “Angry?”

     Moon nodded. “On your behalf. Also mine.”

     “Oh.” You paused. “I’m fine. You guys were the ones in trouble of being decommissioned.”

     Moon stared at you. “She came to your house, Y/N. She blackmailed you. She used manipulation tactics on you, bringing up your past, getting you to do what she wanted.”

     “Yeah.” You shrugged. “Whatever.”

     Moon sighed sharply. He paused for a long moment. They became especially twitchy, their faceplate starting to spin. He gripped his head, and you could see him straining to hold in the tips of a few sun rays trying to pop out. “Sun has a lot to say. But he can wait till tomorrow,” Moon said forcefully, straightening up and folding their arms.

     “Oh boy.” You laughed. “I didn’t mean to start anything.”

     “Y/N… remember that the phone works both ways. If you find a stranger at your house again… call us,” Moon said.

     You felt strange. You couldn’t place the feeling. “Don’t worry about me, guys. I’m fine, I can take care of myself. Besides, yall can’t leave the building anyways.”

     “…There is no rule against Sun leaving the building,” Moon said.

     “He can’t leave the daycare.”

     “But I can,” Moon said.

     “…Well, you don’t need to do all that anyways. I appreciate it, but I can take care of myself. Don’t worry about me,” you assured.

     Moon sighed. “Whatever.”

     “Did management say when this whole operation would go down?” you asked, hoping to change the topic.

     “A week. The specialist will be flying into town in a few days,” Moon said.

     “Right.”

     “Sun made certain they’d do it after hours on a day you were scheduled to work.” Moon’s expression was difficult to discern.

     “Oh, good!” You paused, trying and failing to study Moon. You made your best context-based guess. “Are you alright with me being there?”

     Moon looked away, humming nonchalantly. “Sure, whatever.”

     “Are you lying?” You squinted at Moon.

     “No.” Moon rolled his eyes. “Sun and I are not allowed to lie.”

     “Oh really??” You stared at Moon, shocked. “Oh. Hey, listen. If you ever don’t wanna tell me something you can say 'pass'. That way you don’t have to be forced to tell me the truth or anything.”

     Moon smiled softly. “It’s appreciated. Sun and I have our workarounds, so don’t fret.”

     You relaxed a little. “Okay.”

     "Sun and I have much to discuss. Excuse me, sheriff, you've got a town to patrol."

     You smiled. "Right. Rest assured partner, I'll keep yall safe from outlaws and bandits."

     "Good night." Moon smiled at you before heading into the daycare.

     You waved goodbye, then stood up and stretched a little. You half considered getting a cowboy hat and wearing it to work one day as you got back to your patrols. Maybe you could dress up as a sheriff for Halloween… if you weren't fired by then.

~~~

     You fell into a comfortable routine. Now that you'd been working at the plex for a while, you were getting the hang of managing your schedule, and growing accustomed to the new sleep schedule. When you could sleep, that is. You had another rabbit dream. This time, the rabbit was enormous, and you were someplace cold, facing off against this murderous assailant. A duck appeared and honked at you with such random suddenness that you were startled awake.

     You put the weird dream out of mind. You had the day off, and there were lots of chores to do that you'd been putting off. Tending the garden, doing the laundry, cleaning your room, cleaning yourself. Not to mention you really needed to work on the fence…

     You set reminders and timers on your phone as you ate a microwaved breakfast sandwich, then washed it down with an energy drink. You may not be working today, but you still had a lot to do.

     You texted Sun sporadically throughout the day. He wasn't super busy today, only looking after a few kids. Sun convinced you to take a break and eat lunch in the middle of the day. They asked about your garden, and you sent them lots of pictures of the herbs and flowers you were growing. Once the weather warmed up, you'd be able to start harvesting and making your own tea.

     After making decent progress on the fence and quelling the voice in your head that chided you for not getting the whole thing finished in a day, you took a much needed shower and relaxed for the rest of the night, texting Moon about how the fence was coming along, and sending him a picture of a frog you'd spotted in your tool bag. Moon seemed delighted by the frog, and was very happy when you told him you'd safely removed the frog from the bag and set it in the grass by the trees.

     The next day, you had a full shift at the plex. You waited for the crowd to clear out before heading inside, bringing a resupply of energy drinks for the break room's minifridge. You noted that it appeared someone else was using the coffee machine, though they'd forgotten to rinse out the pot. You were pleased someone else was getting some use out of it. Maybe it was Vanessa? You debated leaving a little note on the white board, eventually deciding against it.

     The bear bot was waiting outside the break room for you.

     "Oh! Howdy," you said. You really wished you knew this guy's name. You couldn't just ask, revealing you hadn't known all along.

     "Hello, Y/N! I hope you are well. I wanted to speak with you, if that is alright?" the bear asked, smiling in a reassuring way.

     "Yeah, of course. Let's walk and talk," you offered. When the bear nodded, you got out your flashlight and started your rounds, the bear walking alongside you.

     "I heard from Vanessa a while ago that management had some concerns with you. I was wondering if they had spoken to you already, and wanted to check in and see how you were doing," the bear said.

     "Damn, how much was she complaining about me?? Is there anyone here who doesn't know about that?" you laughed awkwardly.

     "Well, Vanessa only spoke to Chica, but… well, Chica loves to gossip," the bear said with a sheepish shrug.

     "It's all good, I had a… meeting with someone from management. We got things worked out. I think. I mean, I haven't been fired, so." You shrugged. "And I helped them figure out a solution for Moon's bug."

     "Right... I also heard from Chica that you have been interacting with Moon frequently?" the bear asked hesitantly.

     "Yeah, Sun as well." You paused, recalling the bear's advice to avoid the daycare, which you had promptly ignored. "Oh, you don't have to worry, I know all about the malfunctions and stuff. It's all good."

     The bear seemed surprised. He quickly relaxed. "I see. I still feel you should be cautious…"

     "Sun and Moon are my friends," you said, watching the bear carefully.

     "I am glad to hear you are getting along. Even Monty seems to have warmed up to you!" The bear smiled. "Roxanne is a different story, but I am sure she will come around."

     You pieced together that Monty was the gator guy with the shades, and Roxanne had to be the wolf lady.

     The bear continued. "DJMM says he has not had a chance to meet you yet, but he looks forward to it."

     "Uh… who's that again??" You mentally went over all the animatronics you'd seen. You were unable to recall hearing about or meeting a 'DJMM'.

     "DJ Music Man! He performs in the arcade. He is such a kind fellow, you should introduce yourself!" the bear suggested. "I am sure you would make fast friends."

     Realization dawned on you, and you stopped dead in your tracks. "The spider guy?!"

     The bear looked confused.

     "I mean… he's got all those fuckin legs… sorry, I don't like spiders." You'd been either avoiding the arcade entirely or quickly powerwalking through, barely glancing towards the dance floor.

     "How about we go say hello? Once you meet him you will see he is not scary at all," the bear assured.

     "Right now??" You frowned. "I guess we are pretty close to the arcade…" You shifted anxiously from foot to foot.

     "Common, superstar! I know you can do it!" The bear bot smiled comfortingly and offered you a hand.

     You might have felt a little patronized, but the bear was just so sincere and kind. "Ahh, alright." You took the bear's pleasantly warm hand and walked with him to the arcade.

     As it turns out, the bear was right. DJMM was awake when you entered the arcade and waved excitedly at you and the bear. The bear introduced the two of you, and you quickly learned that the DJ was limited in his vocals, only able to make musical tones and short phrases like 'alright!' or 'wh-wh-whaaat??' and 'break it down!'. The longer you hung out with him the more you realized he really was just a gentle giant. He was all smiles and seemed delighted to meet you. He offered you a high-five when you and Freddy departed, and you found you weren't even bothered by the fact that his hand was as big as you.

     "Alright, you were right. He's pretty cool," you admitted to the bear.

     "I knew you two would get along!" The bear beamed.

     "If only everyone were that easy to get along with," you said, thinking of Roxanne and Vanessa. You weren't entirely sure about the gator guy, Monty, but the bear had said he was warming up to you, ever since you'd politely told management to fuck off in your email. "That wolf lady, Roxanne, she seems so cool but I think she hates me for some reason."

     "Hmm." The bear nodded. He looked thoughtful.

     "What's that look?" you questioned. "What are you thinking?"

     The bear casually folded his arms behind his back. "Ohhh, no need to worry, superstar! Let us get back to your rounds, shall we? I hope you do not mind my company."

     "Naw, not at all," you said. You liked the bear bot, he was very nice.

     You made idle conversation with the bear, telling him about your deli job, and he told you about some fun stories interacting with the kids. It was clear he liked it here, liked making the kids happy and singing songs with his friends and befriending new people.

     The bear grew quiet as the two of you passed the bowling alley. He folded his hands together and looked away.

     You weren't really paying attention to the bear though. Your eyes were on the big sign above the arcade, reading 'Bonnie's Bowling'. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask you! All the areas are themed after a different animatronic, right? Monty has that minigolf area, Sun and Moon have the daycare, Roxanne has the bumper-car raceway. But there's some areas that promote animatronics that aren't around here anywhere, unless I've somehow gone a month without meeting them. Like this bunny guy, and the fox guy who looks like a pirate," you said.

     The bear was silent for a very long moment. You had started to worry you'd said something wrong, going back over what you'd said in your head, when he finally replied.

"Foxy was never completed. The plans got reworked, and they had to cut him from the budget. Bonnie…"

     You stared at the bear. He looked so sad, you almost expected him to start crying.

     "We are not sure what happened to Bonnie," was all the bear said.

     It was clearly difficult for the bear to talk about, so you didn't push the matter, despite your burning curiosity. "Would you like a hug?" you offered.

     The bear smiled at you. "I would love a hug."

     You hugged the bear, giving him what you hoped was a reassuring pat on the back.

     "Which area are we patrolling next?" the bear asked, straightening up.

     The bear seemed to be doing better now, so you turned your attention back to your job. "Well lets see. I usually try and switch it up a little from night to night, so... Next up is the hall with all the rooms," you decided.

     "Ah, rock-star row! There is a lot of history and interesting trivia to be discovered in the display cases there."

     The bear chatted about all the improvements and new features the plex had, after the rebranding. Apparently the plex had shut down a decade ago, and had only reopened a few years ago.

     The bear stopped by one of the rooms, looking in through the window. You stopped as well and looked at him curiously. Before you could ask what he was doing, he knocked on the glass and waved at whoever was inside.

     You stepped closer, then groaned internally when you realized this was Roxanne's room. She was coming outside to meet you and the bear.

     "What do you want?" The wolf folded her arms and frowned disapprovingly down at you, even though it was the bear who had knocked.

     "Hello, Roxy! Y/N and I were chatting earlier and they told me all about how cool they think you are!" The bear smiled innocently as he pat your shoulder.

     Your cheeks felt hot. What the hell was the bear doing??

     "Is that so?" Roxanne flipped her hair and assumed a nonchalant stance. "You have good taste, at least."

     You weren't sure if that was a compliment, but at least it wasn't an insult. "Uh, yeah. Um. I think maybe we got off on the wrong foot, so uh… I was hoping maybe we could work it out? I do actually think you're cool, and would like to be pals. Or at least, friendly workplace associates." You glanced at the bear, who gave you a thumbs up.

     "I didn't realize you were a fan. I guess I could give you a second chance." Roxy folded her arms. "…You think I'm cool?"

     "Are you kidding? You're a rock-star wolf lady. Ain't much else cooler than that." You laughed lightly. "I was really into wolves as a kid. I still think they're cool."

     "Ohh dear, I am afraid my systems are starting to overheat. I really must be heading off to a recharge station… Roxanne, if you would not mind keeping Y/N company for me?" the bear asked sweetly.

     You squinted suspiciously at the bear.

     "Sure, whatever. I don't have anything else to do tonight." Roxy shrugged.

     The bear left you two alone before you could protest, hurrying into his room. You noted his little fluff-ball tail wagging happily as he went. You glanced at Roxanne, then awkwardly began walking. She walked with you, looking disinterested.

     "So uh. What instrument do you play?" you asked.

     "Keytar," she replied.

     "Oh! That's sick, I play piano," you said.

     "Really?" Roxy glanced at you.

     "Yeah, I'm nowhere near good enough to perform or anything like you do though. It's mostly just a fun hobby for me."

     Roxy smiled. "I'm sure you're not too bad."

     "I'm decent. I'm sure you'd play circles around me," you said.

     Roxy nodded. "You're not wrong there. I'm the best there is," she said proudly.

     "Hell yeah!"

     You noted out of the corner of your eye that Roxanne's tail had started wagging at some point. You smiled, then thought for a moment. You pieced together that she seemed to enjoy positive attention and compliments. "You must be like, the most popular of the crew, right? I can't imagine how busy you must be, meeting fans and signing autographs and such."

     "Of course." Roxy smiled. "Everyone loves me. The other glamrocks have their fair share of fans, but I'm sure I have the most." She paused. "Do you think I have the most fans??"

     "I've never been here during the day so I don't know. I'm sure you've got lots of fans, though."

     "More than lots… the most," Roxy said, almost to herself.

     You studied her quizzically. "It's really important to you to be the best, huh?"

     Roxy gave you a look that you couldn't decipher. "You wouldn't get it. You'll never understand the pressure I'm under. I can't make mistakes. I don't make mistakes."

     "Everyone makes mistakes," you said softly.

     "Not me. I'm the best," Roxy insisted.

     "I love the self confidence, but… you know you're not perfect, right?" You quickly continued as Roxy's expression fell into a frown. "No one is. That’s the horrifying beauty of things. I know you've got a lot of people who look up to you, but I promise they'd still adore you even if they knew you made mistakes. Because they make mistakes too. Perfection is an unobtainable ideal. That applies to everyone."

     Roxy crossed her arms. "What do you know?"

     "I know what its like to be hard on yourself. To be maybe a little too critical at times. To hold yourself to a higher standard than everyone else. Its okay to not be perfect, you know?" You offered a reassuring smile. “So long as you do your best… that’s all you can do, really.”

     Roxy looked away. She was silent for a long moment. "Whatever." She turned and walked away.

     You were worried you'd blown your second chance, but Roxy called back to you before she rounded the corner.

     "Y/N… thanks. I guess." She was out of sight before you could reply.

     Well, that was progress. Probably.

     You got on with your rounds.

~~~

     Between hanging out with Sun and Moon, reading them stories and singing songs and playing games and drawing (you’d drawn each of them a colored picture, a happy sunflower for Sun and a sleepy frog for Moon) and just talking about whatever, you also spent some time with the other animatronics as well. You stopped by DJMM's dance floor every night now, and had taken to calling him Mr. Music, which he seemed pleased with. As it turns out, he used sign language, which you were struggling to learn. You'd learned a little a few years ago, but you were extremely rusty. Mr. Music was very patient with you and willing to help you learn, so you spent a few minutes learning sign from him, and helped him come up with new song ideas in return.

     To your surprise, Monty really had warmed up to you. He even invited you to the warehouse to smash old lightbulbs with him. You were both intrigued and concerned, though you agreed none the less.

     Monty fiddled with an electrical box in the warehouse for a minute, eventually getting the lights to turn on. The place seemed so much smaller in the light. It was still a storage warehouse, but it was no longer an intimidating void. You noted the security bots seemed to be keeping their distance, rolling around the very far end of the warehouse.

     Monty set the giant cardboard box he'd been carrying down on the ground, then pulled out a pair of safety goggles.

     "You'll need these for your puny eyes," Monty said, handing the goggles over to you.

     "Thanks." You adjusted the strap to your head, then gave Monty a thumbs up.

     Monty reached back into the box and pulled out a fluorescent tube light. It looked old, and undoubtedly no longer worked. Monty hurled it at the concrete wall. It shattered into thousands of tiny pieces. Monty grinned, satisfied with this.

     "Go on, squirt! Your turn," Monty said.

     You shrugged and grabbed another florescent tube from the box. You swung it like a bat, letting it go and watching it crash against the wall. It did shatter, but not as entirely or violently as Monty's had.

     "Alright!! You're stronger than you look!" Monty commended.

     "Thanks! So are you!" You chuckled and grabbed another light.

     You and Monty smashed old lights against the floor and the walls until there were none left to smash. Seemingly sensing that the chaos was over, a custodian bot wheeled over and began dutifully sweeping up all the glass.

     You grabbed a broom and started sweeping as well, feeling bad about leaving the mess for someone else to clean.

     "That was fun! Do you do that often?" You asked Monty as you swept.

     "Pretty often. I feel better afterwards. It's relaxing, you know?" Monty leaned back against some metal shelves.

     "Yeah, I get that. I used to have a punching bag, it did wonders with relieving my stress. Had to sell it when I moved though, my new place doesn't have enough space for it."

     "That's too bad," Monty said. "…Do you ever… nevermind."

     You paused and looked at him curiously. "What?"

     Monty scratched his claws over the metal shelf, making a loud grinding noise. He didn't seem to notice. "I dunno. Just… do you ever feel like… out of control?"

     "Sometimes." You slowly resumed your sweeping. "It's not a very fun feeling."

     "Yeah." Monty nodded. "I get these… it's so frustrating." Monty huffed. He started pacing around. "This is embarrassing… don't tell anyone. Especially not Chica, she'll tell the whole damn building, down to the wet floor signs."

     "My lips are sealed," you promised. You and the custodian bot finished sweeping up the mess in no time. You turned your full attention to Monty.

     Monty paused his pacing. He glanced at you, then frowned at the shelves. "Sometimes my memory storage doesn't save things right. I'll just randomly loose several hours and have no clue what I did. It doesn't happen often, but… I hate it." He half heartedly punched the shelf he was glaring at.

     You were no stranger to the negative side effects of sleep deprivation, so you understood how frustrating it could be to not be able to remember stuff. "That really sucks. I'm sorry, man. If I can offer you some advice, what works for me is journaling. Improves my memory a little to write down stuff I get up to, and if I forget I can go back and read what I did and jog my memory. Its also a pretty great outlet to relieve stress. You know, if you ever run out of lightbulbs."

     Monty smirked. "Yeah… that's not a bad idea. Thanks, Y/N."

     "I should get back to my rounds. Thanks for hanging out with me. I'll see you later, alligator," you said with a wink.

     Monty laughed. "In a while, crocodile."

     You smiled to yourself as you swept your flashlight over the dingy familiar access tunnels. You were making friends, it seemed.

     Slowly, but surely.

[eyndr-stories]

The Stranger The Better (FNAF SB fanfic) C16 - OBJECTION!

Read the intro to Chapter 1 (Enter A Sleepy Bitchard) for more details! I'd start reading there anyways else things won't make a whole lot of sense lol

In Summary: Reader is a forever exhausted young adult who has social difficulties doing their best to pay the bills, so when they get hired at the well-paying, almost entirely automated Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizza-Plex, they don't really hesitate to think things through before stumbling headfirst into a horror mystery surrounding this company and its crew of quirky (and surprisingly kind) animatronics.

Things To Know (lmk if I should add anything):

There are some horror elements in several chapters! This chapter is not particularly spooky, there's just feelings of stress and some paranoia, but this chapter does heavily discuss just about every spooky thing that happened in the fic. So just to be safe, tags for everything that is mentioned to have happened but does not directly happen in this chapter: Feelings of fear, being hunted, being grabbed, being attacked, being controlled, attempted murder, feelings of stress, a taser being used, manipulation, blackmail, a gun being used.

Eventual romance, minorly important to the plot.

Reader has paranoia.

There is much swearing.

Reader is also addicted to energy drinks, though at this point in the story they are doing well with battling said addiction.

Reader is nonbinary (and also trans masc) though it's not vital to the plot and only comes up once or twice.

Reader is from the south, is protective of their friends, and if you threaten their friends then I'm afraid you've yee'd your last haw and yes that is important to the plot

Previous Chapter | Chapter 15 | Next Chapter

C16 - OBJECTION!

     You'd never been in a real court case before.

     You straightened your suit yet again and shifted anxiously in your seat. The finely dressed lady sitting next to you looked calm and confidant. This was her job, after all. You tried willing yourself not to sweat and mess up your nice clothes. You'd check your phone, just to do literally anything else but sit here, but it had gotten a weird virus sometime yesterday and was no longer working.

     Paige was sitting across the room from you. Several suited people sat and stood around her, talking quietly about one thing or another. Behind you were aisles packed with lots of people you didn't know, and a few you did. Omari caught your eye and held up a hand in greeting. You gave her a small wave.

     You took a deep breath. You straightened your suit again. The jury funneled into the room, and the judge took a seat before you.

     Your head was swimming with anxieties and stress and a small amount of pain from the events that had transpired two nights ago. Your shoulder still hurt, but at least the swelling had gone down.

     The case began, and the judge whacked their gavel down. The room quieted.

     "Alright, it's time for the opening statements. Prosecutor, you may begin," said the judge.

     The woman next to you got up from her seat.

     "Thank you, and good evening. My name is Alexandria Norwich, and I am the prosecutor in this case. It is my pleasure to represent the people of this state. The defendant in this case, Fazbear Entertainment, a company run on greed and corruption, represented today by Paige Anderson, is guilty not only of blackmail, the violation of multiple health and safety requirements, but also violating the 13th amendment, which I'm sure you know abolished slavery and involuntary servitude. You'll hear from several witnesses today, all of whom have worked for this company, have interacted with management, and who know the true lengths to which this company will go to for the sake of greed. For the sake of lining their pockets, they have committed these atrocities. Now of course, I'm sure their money has hired a very persuasive defense attorney, but rest assured. The evidence against them is staggering. Don't trust me, or any other lawyer sitting over there when you make your decisions. Trust the facts, and the evidence, which I believe you will find there is quite a lot of. You'll see for yourselves, without a shadow of a doubt, that the defendant is guilty, on all accounts."

     Alexandria sat back down next to you.

     "Defense, you may begin with your opening statement," said the judge.

      The defense attorney, a clearly upper-class woman who you had no doubt management paid big money to hire, rose from her seat next to Paige and cleared her throat.

     "Thank you, your honor. My name is Rachel Smith, and I am the defense attorney in this case. Despite what the prosecutor would have you think, neither me or the company I represent is out to get you, or anyone else for that matter. We are just people, in the business of bringing joy to your children, and even yourselves. I won't judge, that's your job." Rachel gave the jury a charming smile. "As for the accusations thrown at our historically family friendly company, I will say this. Consider who has more to gain here, and who has more to loose. If Fazbear Entertainment were to be found guilty, not only would this staple attraction of our community be shut down, but the prosecutor would be written a very nice fat check. Just keep that in mind as the so called evidence the prosecutor may bring to you is put forward." Rachel sat back down.

     The judge nodded, then said, "Following opening statements, the prosecutor begins direct examination of her first witness."

     Alexandria stood again. "I call Y/N to the stand."

     You'd been prepared for this, but you still winced when all the attention in the room came down on you. You got up from your seat and crossed the floor to sit in the witness booth. You adjusted your suit again as you sat back down.

     "So, Y/N. You've been employed at Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizza-Plex for two months and two weeks, correct?" Alexandria asked you.

     "That's correct," you said.

     "And during your employment, you met and befriended several of your fellow coworkers, yes? Among them animatronics by the names of Sun and Moon."

     "I did," you confirmed.

     "You also happened to record several incidents pertaining to this case, did you not?"

     "I did, yes."

     "Would you mind telling the court about the first incident you recorded, Precisely two weeks after being hired?" Alexandria asked.

     "Right." You took a deep breath, and spoke as clearly as you could. "So I drove home from my shift, and there was someone waiting for me at my house. I got nervous because, you know, I hadn't invited anyone over at six am in the morning, and the person standing there in front of my door was a stranger at the time. Turns out it was Ms. Anderson, but I had opened an app on my phone and started recording just in case someone was about to try and rob me or something."

     "We have this audio file to share with you today. It has a confirmed time stamp, and the voices you will hear are confirmed to match precisely Y/N and Paige Anderson's voices," Alexandria said. She lifted her smart watch and tapped through a few screens. Audio began to play over the court's speakers.

     You could be heard quietly whispering 'what the fuck' as there was some shuffling background noise. Then your car door opening and closing, and then your voice calling out with much more clarity, "Who are you?"

     Paige's voice responded. "Hi, Y/N. My name is Paige. I’m the official head of the A.R.D. at Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizza-Plex management offices."

     You and the rest of the courtroom listened as you invited Paige around back for an impromptu meeting. Right after you mentioned the incident with Moon, "…I believe you tried to dissuade me from engaging with one of your biggest safety concerns. After an incident had already occurred. I have the proof, if you’d like to review it…" Alexandria paused the audio clip.

     "We'll discuss in a moment the incident in question, of which we have video-graphic evidence taken from a security camera inside the building," Alexandria said.

     You realized Paige was glaring at you, and the suited lawyers around her were discretely whispering to one another.

     Alexandria resumed the audio. Paige's voice filled the courtroom. "…No need. I’m aware of the incident. Here’s the thing… It would be rather unfortunate if word got out about an incident like that. We’d have no choice but to decommission the animatronic. Permanently."

     Alexandria paused the recording again. "That brings us to our first count of blackmail. The company sought to silence Y/N, to keep them from exposing the results of the company's negligence for the health and safety requirements. Listen to what Paige Anderson has to say on the matter."

     Alexandria played the recording.

     There was a moment of silence, and then your voice, "…Why haven’t you jackals gotten your specialist in to fix Moon’s bug yet?"

     Paige's voice responded. "You know as well as I do that at the end of the day, its all about money. Profit. Budgets. That’s why you came back to work after the incident. Gotta pay the bills. It’d be a shame for you to loose such a nice little place, especially so soon after the last move."

     Alexandria paused again. She told the jury about how you'd come upon hard times, loosing your house after your fiancé ran off with your roommate. You wanted to crawl into a corner and die. Alexandria went on to tell the jury that Fazbear Entertainment had dug up this personal information to use against you, to further persuade you that you should not cross the company.

     Alexandria played the rest of the tape, where Paige told you about how management wanted to decommission Moon, and your idea to save him. Paige left, and you went inside and went to bed, forgetting all about the recording, which recorded your snoring for the next hour before hitting the audio file size limit. Luckily, Alexandria didn't make everyone sit through your embarrassing snoring for an hour.

     Then, Alexandria went over the video footage you'd saved, the clip Sun had helped you download. You didn't want to watch it again, so you stared at your hands and focused on your breathing for a minute.

     Alexandria went into detail about the virus that caused the animatronics to turn violent, how it was her virus that had made Moon aggressive in the first place, and how Vanessa had conspired for literal years within the company's own building, able to inflict her virus and build her mech and endanger a countless number of people over the years, all because of the company's negligence and lack of care for its employees.

     She talked about the working conditions, the photographic evidence of the access tunnels she'd gotten and how disgusting they were. She said a lot of complicated words about specific regulations that you sort of tuned out.

     Alexandria turned back to you. "The second incident you recorded was from two nights ago, the night that brought this all to light at long last. Is this correct?"

     "Yes." You nodded. You were grateful that Alexandria was making your job so easy. You were not looking forward to being cross-examined, however.

     "Now before I play this audio, I will warn you and everyone else in this room that what you are about to hear may be disturbing to some. There is discussion of death, threats of death, loud noises, a gunshot, and some screaming." Alexandria paused politely while two people excused themselves from the aisles and stepped outside.

     Alexandria hit play. Your voice filled the courtroom again. "Uh. So this is Y/N. Just gonna leave a little message, just… just in case. Preparing for the worst case scenario to help ease my anxieties. So, let me explain…"

     You laid everything out, the virus, how it made everyone act violently against their own will or recollection, putting everyone in safe mode, the notes Monty left, how Greggory had gotten trapped in the plex with you and everyone else. "I'm not sure what happened to Vanessa," your voice continued. "I hope she isn't… I hope she's okay… Uh. I think that's everything. So yeah, there's some freaky virus, the animatronics are not at fault here, they are not acting of their own will. If… Sun and Moon, if you two hear this… well, I'll be damned if I kick the bucket without coming clean. There's something I've been meaning to tell you… I-" you were beyond grateful that Greggory interrupted you there, calling you back into the security room. The embarrassment of admitting your crush to a courtroom full of strangers… you thought you would have died on the spot.

     The audio went on, you and Greggory proceeded to the delivery bay, where you were confronted by Monty and Vanessa. You listened to Vanessa's confession a second time. She talked about her late husband Cameron, how he'd died and how Fazbear Entertainment covered everything up and so she had no proof but knew what they'd done. Vanessa admitted everything, the virus, plotting the murder of a building full of people, and how she wouldn't hesitate to kill you too.

     Alexandria turned the volume down slightly as the fight happened. She paused to briefly explain what was going on in the audio. There was a lot of background noise and shuffling as you moved around, the phone still in your pocket. Then, everything quieted down, and Alexandria turned the volume back up.

     Your voice came through the speakers. "Vanessa, are you alright?"

     There was a few moments of silence. Alexandria paused briefly to explain that Vanessa had, according to several eye witness accounts, climbed out of the mech and pulled out a gun.

     Vanessa's voice spoke up. "You think… I'd do all this shit… and not have a backup plan? I've got enough bullets for management and you."

     You replied. "Vanessa… don't do this. Cameron wouldn't want this."

     A few seconds of silence, and then the gunshot. You could hear Vanessa screaming, exclaiming at Moon to get off of her. You heard Sun's voice.

     "Sunshine, I'm here. Are you alright? Y/N??"

     Sirens could be heard quickly getting closer. The next hour was a cacophony of noise, cops asking all kinds of questions, an emergency responder asking Sun if you'd hit your head or were injured anywhere.

     Alexandria stopped the recording after a minute of this.

     "So. By all means, the evidence shows that the defendant manipulated and blackmailed Y/N. They did not follow the outlined heath and safety regulations." Alexandria looked to you again. "Now. This next question may seem out of the blue, but it leads to our third accusation regarding Fazbear Entertainment's violation of the thirteenth amendment. How do you define sentience? What makes me, or you, or the person next to you sentient? Y/N, would you mind attempting an answer?"

     "Oh. Well…" You thought about it for a moment. "Thoughts, feelings. Ideas. Advanced reasoning?"

     "And how would you describe the animatronics you've been working with for months?" Alexandria asked.

     "Quirky," you started with a small smile. "They're kind, in their own ways. Thoughtful. Sometimes a little rude, but once they warm up to you, you see that they're really just under a lot of stress. They're anxious about one thing or another, or they had a bad day or something. They're a great bunch."

     "Would you say that they meet your definition of sentience?"

     "Oh, yeah. Without a doubt."

     "Would you, as Ms. Anderson put it, consider them Fazbear Entertainment property?" Alexandria asked.

     "I would not," you said.

     "And why is that?"

     "Because they're people. Same as you and me. Just because they're made of metal doesn't mean they're tools. My fourth cousin back home, his brain is more metal plate than anything else. And he's not a tool. Well, at least not most of the time."

     Someone on the jury coughed to cover a laugh.

     You went on. "They're sentient, feeling, thinking people. Like, all I am is just a meat sack being piloted around by stubborn electricity, you know? Just because someone's vessel looks different doesn't mean they're not worth the same care and respect as anyone else."

     "Thank you, Y/N," Alexandria said, ending your rambling. "I have no further questions."

     "Defense, would you like to cross-examine the witness?" the judge asked.

     "Yes, your honor." Rachel got up as Alexandria took her seat.

     You shifted uncomfortably, but held Rachel's gaze.

     "Firstly, I would like to discuss these audio files. They may be time stamped, but that does not mean they were not staged. What proof do we have that this wasn't all staged by Y/N? Everything from their tragic backstory to the personification of robots programmed to be nice to kids. The prosecutor accuses Fazbear Entertainment of greed, but who is really the greedy one here?" Rachel paused.

     You stared at her blankly. She could not be serious. Right?

     "Who's to say that this hasn't all been orchestrated to pull at your heartstrings? A poor, down on their luck underdog using a supposed friendship with some robots in order to sway you to their side, so the court might award them a nice paycheck."

     Your face felt warm. You didn't want to get worked up, so you put your years of bottling up your feelings to good use.

     "In this brilliant age of technological advancement, it's not hard at all to add sounds effects to recordings, cut things out, omit context, move words around. Would you agree with that statement, Y/N?"

     "I mean… I dunno? You can ask literally anyone who knows me, I don't know a damn thing about computers." You glanced apologetically at the judge. "Er, sorry for swearing."

     Rachel stared at you. "I'm sure. I'm also sure you probably think you really are friends with these robots. Y/N, can you confirm that you have been medically diagnosed with paranoia, depression, and anxiety by a healthcare professional?"

     God, was there anything these fucks didn't know about you? "…Yes, which I went to therapy and took medicine for. The treatment proved extremely effective. I'm no longer in therapy or on medication."

     "Yet you still suffer from paranoid delusions, correct?" Rachel asked.

     "…On occasion," you said. "It's manageable, else the doc wouldn't have taken me off the medication."

     "Of course. However, wouldn't you agree that your perception of reality is not entirely accurate?"

     You knew she was trying to make you look untrustworthy, to make everything you'd said unbelievable. At the same time, only a few nights ago you'd been entirely convinced that the drink you'd left alone on the other side of your locked house was definitely poisoned, and that if you drank it, you would die. "I am, at times, very worried about things that are highly unlikely to be true."

     "How can we trust anything you've said if you can't even give us a straight answer?" Rachel asked.

     "I have spoken nothing but the truth," you said.

     "The truth as you believe it to be." Rachel smiled at you in an almost pitying way. "No further questions."

     You went back to your seat. Alexandria called another witness, Omari, and asked her about her experiences working for Fazbear Entertainment, and her experience interacting with the animatronics. You were having trouble focusing. You felt embarrassed, and honestly, a little doubtful. What if it really was all in your head? What if the animatronics were all just very well programmed to emulate nice personalities for the kids, and you were just lonely enough to believe that you'd been making friends? You shrank in your seat. You felt like everyone in the room was watching you, judging you, not believing you.

     Wait. You were paranoid. You were feeling anxious right now. You looked around. Everyone was looking at Omari and Alexandria. No one was paying any attention to you beyond a brief glance. You thought back on your time at the plex. You thought about how it didn't make sense for the animatronics to talk to you at all, or each other, if they weren't sentient. They'd just stay in their rooms and rest for the night once the plex closed. Freddy wouldn't have sat with you in your car that night. Monty wouldn't have smashed lightbulbs with you to relieve stress. Chica wouldn't have kept you company or enthused with you about your passions. Roxy wouldn't have been so crass with you at the beginning, only to trust you to sit and comfort her while she cried a handful of nights ago. Sun and Moon… they cared about you. Moon saved your life when Sun was about to bash your skull in. Sun had literally taken a bullet for you. You were not imagining things. Logically, it didn't make sense. You took a deep breath, then turned your attention back to the case.

     Rachel was questioning Omari, who answered her questions with the curt dispassionate tone of someone very used to dealing with frustrating corporate bullshit.

     Finally, Alexandria called her final witness.

     To the surprise of several people, including yourself, Paige, and everyone on her team, Sun walked into the room. He had traded his usual costume for a very slick suit and a bright yellow bowtie. He gave you a small smile as he passed you on his way to the witness stand.

     The last you'd seen Sun, you'd woken up once the aftermath of everything had cooled down. You'd gotten to talk to Sun long enough to learn that Moon had managed to restrain him and manually shut him down. Once he'd rebooted in safe mode, Moon had explained everything, and Sun had experienced a bit of a breakdown. The two left to look for you and the others, (they'd gotten around Sun's programming not allowing him to leave the daycare by Moon lifting him and carrying him through the doorway) searching high and low without success until they found the no longer secret door in the security room, just in the nick of time to come to your aid.

     Sun assured you that he was fine, yes he had been shot but he was fine, he was made of metal and wires, remember? You'd calmed down, only to be whisked away into a confusing chaotic hailstorm of lawyers and news reporters and police asking you all sorts of questions. Someone asked if you’d be pressing charges, to which you replied on the spot “hell fucking yeah I wanna press charges”, not really fully comprehending what all that would entail. You'd sent word to Sun and Moon to talk to Greggory, who still had your house key, and if any of them needed to stay the night at your place they were more than welcome to. Then, your phone had gotten that virus and shut down, (luckily all your recordings and evidence were in your writing app, so you could just log in on a computer and access it) and you were back in it with the lawyers and stayed overnight in protective custody.

     You stared at Sun, searching him for scrapes or injuries or any sign that he wasn't okay. He looked normal. Well, as normal as Sun could look, dressed in a suit instead of a silly jester costume.

     "I won't ask you about your relationship with management, since the topic of Fazbear Entertainment's relationship with its employees has been covered extensively. Instead, I'll ask you this. Is it true that you are programmed not to lie?"

     "Yes, that's true," Sun said.

     "Any objection?" Alexandria asked, turning to look at Paige, who only glared at her. "So, Sun. You've known Y/N for over two months now, is that right?"

     "That's right." Sun nodded and smiled at you.

     "Do you have any reason to believe that Y/N would have or did orchestrate the events that transpired two nights ago?" Alexandria asked. "Furthermore, do you have reason to believe that Y/N forged faulty evidence, tampered with recordings, or conspired in the slightest against Fazbear Entertainment at any point in time?"

     "Absolutely not! Nothing was planned. Except by Vanessa, of course," Sun answered.

     Rachel shot to her feet. "Objection, Y/N did conspire against the company. After their first meeting with Ms. Anderson, Y/N began doing research into the company and its past, presumably to dig up dirt on the company!"

     "What evidence do you have to back these claims??" Alexandria asked.

     "Y/N's search history," Rachel stated.

     "How do you have my search history??" you exclaimed. "Besides, it's not weird to do research on the company you work for."

     "I'm sure if the jury saw the precise terms of your 'research' they would disagree," Rachel argued.

     "I'll pull up my history right now and prove it," you argued, certain that you hadn't even gotten very far into your research. You reached for your phone, then remembered it was busted.

     "You can't," Rachel shot back with a grin.

     You paused. "…How do you know I can't?"

     Rachel paled. Murmurs rose throughout the jury and the rest of the courtroom.

     You got to your feet and pulled out your dead phone. "How did you know my phone was busted, that it had conveniently gotten a virus yesterday, shutting it down and not allowing me to prove wrong whatever you said my search history was??"

     There were gasps and chattering throughout the room.

     The judge banged their gavel. "Order in the court, please. Everyone take your seats."

     Rachel's face was beet red. Paige put her face in her hands. The other lawyers around her whispered furiously to each other. Alexandria smiled at you.

     During the closing statements, Alexandria recounted everything very neatly and stated that, as she'd said it would, the evidence spoke for itself. Rachel got herself composed enough to deliver a final speech about how much good Fazbear Entertainment did for this town, how it would be a financial travesty for the town if it shut down. She mentioned that the daycare was a life saver for many busy parents in town, and remarked on how sad the children would be without the pizza-plex.

     After the case was concluded, the jury left to make their decision and everyone was excused. There was some more nonsense with the lawyers, and then you were finally allowed to go home. You had to appear in court for the final verdict, and you couldn't skip town, but that was all fine by you. All you wanted to do was go home and curl up in bed.

     To your relief and joy, both Sun and Moon were waiting for you outside. You pulled them both into a tight hug, and felt an incredible tension ease from your body as they hugged you back.

     "Common, Y/N. Let's get you home," Moon said.

     You sighed. "Yes please."

[eyndr-stories]

The Stranger The Better (FNAF SB fanfic) C10 - There's A New Sheriff In Town

Read the intro to Chapter 1 (Enter A Sleepy Bitchard) for more details! I'd start reading there anyways else things won't make a whole lot of sense lol

In Summary: Reader is a forever exhausted young adult who has social difficulties doing their best to pay the bills, so when they get hired at the well-paying, almost entirely automated Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizza-Plex, they don't really hesitate to think things through before stumbling headfirst into a horror mystery surrounding this company and its crew of quirky (and surprisingly kind) animatronics.

Things To Know (lmk if I should add anything, also check the tags for more stuff):

There are some horror elements in several chapters! This chapter isn't all that spooky, there are some feelings of fear but that's it for this one.

Eventual romance, minorly important to the plot.

Reader has paranoia.

There is much swearing.

Reader is also addicted to energy drinks, and not fantastic at self care.

Reader is nonbinary (and also trans masc) though it's not vital to the plot and only comes up once or twice.

Reader is from the south, is protective of their friends, and if you threaten their friends then I'm afraid you've yee'd your last haw and yes that is important to the plot

Previous Chapter | Chapter 10 | Next Chapter

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.

     You just hoped things would stay that way.