Chapter Ten

Who Are They?

Their game of ball quickly morphed with time and scores. Although it started out with the kids standing and tossing the ball, Sam got bored standing in one place and decided to run up to "dunk" the ball. He was too short to get that far, so Sun lowered it a little for him. He laughed and hopped about his victory before running back to Felix, who didn't want to dunk the ball. Sun had to set the basket on the ground for Mary. At first, he feared she might make herself frustrated missing the ball–it was a fairly tall basket–but she managed to get the ball in the basket semi-consistently.

Then, Dennis interrupted their game.

"Alright, it's naptime. Cut the lights!" he called.

Sun quickly set down the basket.

Sam grumbled.

The light shut off. Unlike every other time when the lights were out completely, the light stayed on just enough for the kids to see each other and their surroundings.

Sun immediately released their body to allow Moon his place. Moon hunched over as he always did and looked around at the three kids.

Mary took a few steps back. Sam cocked his head. Felix grinned, his eyes glittering in the faint light. "That's so cool!" Felix exclaimed and ran up to Moon. "You're really Moon. Wow! Dad told us you could change. But I didn't think he was actually that serious. I mean, I knew he was serious, but I thought he was exaggerating. You're so cool!"

"I told you they'd like you."

Moon started. "O-oh. Thank you, Felix. That is very kind of you. Dennis is correct. It is nap time." Stiffly, he walked up to the mats. "Do you wish to help me?"

"Sure!" Felix ran up to the mats and pulled one out. Sam helped. Moon brought out one for Mary, who had yet to approach him.

Sam said, "I'm kinda not tired, though."

"Perhaps. But it is still important to rest. Even if you do not sleep."

Felix nudged Sam with his shoulder. "In, like, thirty minutes you're going to complain about your feet hurting or something. Just relax for a little bit, okay?"

"I mean, yeah, but… fine. Still not tired, though."

Moon said, "That is quite alright. Even if you do not sleep, it is a good idea to rest." He turned to Mary. "Mary? Would you like some help?"

Mary, staring at him with owlish eyes just as she had to Sun, shook her head.

"She's just cautious. Isn't she adorable?" Sun cooed. Though even that was quiet.

You should rest, too, Sun. You have been very active.

"Worry about Mary. I think she needs help."

She does.

Moon said, "How about a story? Do you wish to hear a bedtime story, Mary?"

Cautiously, Mary nodded.

"That is good to hear. Felix, Sam, would you like to hear a bedtime story?"

Sam shrugged and Felix, still struggling to put his excitement down, nodded.

Moon walked around the basket and to their place, where the book lay. He brought it back to the mats and sat down. Mary, upon seeing Felix and Sam sit down on their mats, crept up to hers and did the same.

The Dog, the Rooster, and the Fox.

Sam sat bored, though Moon had the creeping suspicion that his lax stance may not just be boredom. Felix had settled himself down nicely and listened intently. Mary, having already been slowed down by Sun, yawned.

The Ugly Duckling.

Moon wasn't quite so sure about this one, but Felix at least seemed interested.

By the end of the story, Mary looked as if she was asleep sitting up.

Moon set down the book. "Alright, it is time to sleep."

Sam lay down in his place without complaint and brought the blanket over himself. Felix looked at him and did the same. His eyes didn't close, but he was quiet and still and resting. Perhaps, for older children, that's just what mattered.

Mary jolted awake upon seeing Moon get close.

"It is okay, Mary," Moon whispered, kneeling by her bed. "I will not harm you."

She eyed him. "Where's Sun?"

"Sun is sleeping," Moon answered. "He is very tired after all that time of playing."

By the way Sun didn't respond, Moon was quite confident in the validity of his statement.

Mary still didn't let her guard down. Still, she sent a look at Sam and Felix and then at Dennis. Dennis nodded at her with a small smile Moon doubted she could see. Encouraged, Mary looked up at Moon and mumbled, "Okay."

"That is good. Let's take off our shoes and I can help you with your hair if you wish."

Mary didn't seem quite content, but she did as she was told and snuggled her bear once she lay down with the blanket over her.

"Nighty night," he whispered and ran one of his fingers over her cheek to pull back her hair.

The girl mumbled but said nothing.

Moon got up and wandered the small area. Sam, despite his complaints, fell asleep. Moon caught Felix watching him. Any time Felix thought Moon saw him, he'd shut his eyes. Although faintly amusing, Moon really wished the boy would relax. He seemed stiff and would definitely not be feeling well when he got back up with his siblings.

A very pale blue light glowed near the door and a soft noise emanated from the glowing object.

Moon turned to the noise. Dennis quickly muted his phone. He glanced up at Moon with an apologetic shrug and smile.

Moon decided to turn away. Dennis meant no harm and immediately remedied his mistake. So, there was no need to scold him.

Then, Dennis beaconed Moon over. He whispered as soon as the animatronic got close, "I'm truly surprised you managed to put Mary to sleep. I should have told you earlier, but it's really hard for her to sleep anywhere except her bed. She doesn't like being away from her parents. So, don't be surprised if she wakes up and doesn't want to go back to sleep."

Moon nodded. "Understandable. Thank you." With that, he turned and went back to the children. Without Moon in his immediate sight and no will to turn his head and openly expose his lack of sleep, Felix managed to relax a little. So, Moon approached the basket of toys. He set the ball inside and picked it up. The basket went back to its place. Moon's book sat with Bonnie beside their place. He had just gone back to his slow walk around them when Mary woke up.

She whimpered and curled up around her stuffed bear and blinked open her eyes so she could look around.

Moon settled beside her. She started upon seeing him and quickly shut her eyes. Her heartbeat had picked up and her breathing changed.

Moon brushed her slowly tangling hair back away from her face and sang, "Twinkle, twinkle, little star…"

Mary at first flinched at the sound of his voice. But the lullaby slowly relaxed her. Moon sang a second one. Holding onto her bear under the blanket with Moon stroking her head, Mary fell back to sleep.

If Moon was not mistaken, Felix was either asleep or very close to it.

…he was not asleep, but he was not cognizant enough to register Moon's presence. Moon tried, and succeeded, in keeping himself quiet despite the bells on his wrists, feet, and hat. However, he couldn't stop the creaking of his joints or whirring or clicking of his internal mechanisms.

Moon continued his walk. With the children here, the odd compulsion to keep moving overtook him. While alone, staying in one place felt as if it was his only option. He had thoroughly explored the room and long since memorized all the stories and lullabies and watched the TV with Sun. But with the children here, he had a job to do. He had to put them to sleep and help them stay asleep. On top of that, he had to be alert. Nighttime, or even the dark in general, was an environment predators tended to thrive. He had to protect his children from monsters in the dark. Monsters born of fear and nightmares, and monsters born of the outside world.

Footsteps clicked down the hall.

Moon stopped and listened. The lights in his eyes blinked out.

The footsteps stopped. A moment passed and the door opened. Thankfully, little light leaked in from the dark hall.

Moon crossed the room in hardly a few bounds and blocked the visitor from entering. "The children are sleeping," he whispered. "Please do not disturb them."

Then he recognized the figure.

John whispered back, "I'll try. Thank you, Moon."

Moon took a few steps back to allow him entry and for the door to close. Moon glanced back at the sleeping children before turning to John. Moon's blue eye lights glowed again.

John said in a hushed voice, "After naptime's over, it'll be time for them to leave. I want you to know that you and Sun have been doing an excellent job."

"Th-thank you."

John smiled. "And you got Sam to calm down for longer than three seconds. I'd say that's quite the achievement. Okay, I won't bother you anymore. I know I should have waited, but I wanted to warn you, okay? You won't be seeing them again tomorrow. But considering how well you two performed today, we'll be able to introduce a few new kids. And a new area."

Moon cocked his head a little. "We won't see Mary, Sam, and Felix again?"

"Oh, no, you will. Just not tomorrow. Tomorrow is a testing day. More like a review. Anyway, I better go before I muck this up." With a whisper to Dennis, John left.

Moon stepped away and went back to his patrol.

Moon wanted to talk to Sun. However, Sun's cognitive processing fell to the bare minimum usage. Sun truly was an all-or-nothing bot. Melancholy tainted his soft amusement. Moon was alone and would be whenever he was in charge from now on. That was quite alright. He enjoyed the silence.

In his peripheral, he saw Dennis waving.

Moon crept up to him much more slowly than he had approached John when he believed John to be an intruder. He stopped and cocked his head a little.

Dennis pointed to his watch.

Moon nodded and crept back to the children.

The light turned on in intensity, but not enough for Moon and Sun to change places. It's time for the children to wake up. You will take your place, soon.

Sun quickly "woke". "Is it? Okay!"

You will not interact for long. They will leave soon after waking.

"Oh. Okay."

For the first time, Moon wished John was wrong. He hated hearing Sun so downtrodden.

Moon announced, "It is time to wake up." He stopped beside Sam, who did not wake at the initial call unlike his twin or younger sister. "Wake up, Sam. Naptime is over."

Sam yawned and rolled over. "Ugggghhhh… two more minutes…"

"No, not two more minutes. It is important to get up after waking. It is time to wake up."

Felix was already up and running his messy fingers through his hair. He walked up to Mary, who was also awake and looking around with wide eyes.

When Sam still refused to get up. Moon picked him up as gently as he could and set him on his feet.

Sam staggered and puffed, "Hey!"

"It is time to get up."

Sam bit back a yawn. "Right. Well, I wasn't tired, anyway. Dad told me to test you or something maybe I guess."

"No, he didn't!" Felix called over his shoulder.

"You snitch!"

Moon looked back at Felix. "Felix, although honesty is good, you are not part of this conversation. It is up to Sam to be honest. If he decides to lie, that is his decision, and he lives with those consequences. Do you understand?"

Felix looked away. "Yeah."

"Good." Moon turned back to Sam. "Regardless of the reason you tried to stay in bed, you are up and awake now and that is what matters. Get prepared for the day and be sure to put away the mat. Felix and Mary, that goes for you, too. Mary, do you need help with that?"

Mary, on her feet and standing too close to Felix for him to properly help her, shifted her feet and mumbled something into Felix's side.

Moon kept an eye on Sam to be sure he was doing as he was told and approached Mary. He stopped when Mary, who'd turned her owlish eyes on him, turned away again. Moon looked at her bed. She had dropped her toy on her ruffled blanket. So, he picked it up and offered it to her. "You dropped this. Do you want it back?"

Mary peeked one eye open and looked at the toy and then Moon. She leaned forward just enough to take the toy and recoil again.

Felix said, "Moon's nice, Mary! He's okay! Don't be scared."

Mary shook her head.

Moon said, "I understand. That is okay, Mary. Felix, could you please help Mary get ready for the day?"

"Okay!"

Moon decided to pick up Felix's mat and blanket for him while he was busy and went back to the mat's original place. Sam, upon being scrutinized, folded his blanket, too, and brought it back to its place. Meanwhile, Felix finished brushing out Mary's hair and helped her with her shoes.

"She's just shy."

I understand. Some children take time to warm up to others.

It helped Moon was the scarier of the two. He knew he shouldn't take Briana's comments at face value, but she was right about some things.

Once the mats had been put away and the kids ready for the day, Dennis called for the lights to come on.

Moon immediately allowed Sun to take control of their body. Blue and white turned to red and yellow.

Sun threw his hands up. "Hello~! Good afternoon!"

Mary let go of Felix and ran up to him. "Hi, Sun!"

"Hello to you, too, New Friend!" Sun chuckled and got on one knee. "It's so nice to see you three! Isn't Moon just the best?"

Felix nodded. "He's so cool!"

Sam shrugged. "I mean, yeah. He's cool, I guess."

Mary's smile faded and she looked away. "He's scary."

Sun flinched. Horrifyingly, it wasn't Moon's hurt that got to him. In fact, Moon didn't show any hurt. He was just… resigned.

"I get that," Sun answered. "But he's really nice once you get to know him. Now! Who wants to play?"

Dennis cut in before any of the children could answer, "Sorry, but it's time for us to leave." After receiving a chorus of complaints from the twins and younger sister, he said, "Your father and I are off shift, now. So, it's time to go home. Say goodbye."

Mary hugged his leg. "Bye, Sun."

"Bye," said Felix and Sam, Sam more reluctantly than Felix.

"Goodbye to you, too, Felix, Sam, and Mary." Sun hugged Mary back. "Go along with Uncle Dennis and have a fantastic day!"

Mary released Sun and ran up to Dennis. Dennis pointed to the plush toy basket. Mary reluctantly put away the toy before returning. Sam ran with more pep than Felix. It was almost as if Sam absorbed some of Felix's energy into himself so while Sam bounced about, Felix followed at a slightly slower pace.

Sun got up and watched them leave. He waved one last time before the door shut.

"…Felix and Sam liked you," Sun said. "I'm sure Mary will warm up to you. She's a nice kid. She's just shy."

Moon didn't respond.

Sun decided to refold the blankets and tidy up the sleeping mats.