The company-mandated program boots up as the computer's fans whir over the vast amount of code being loaded onto your screen. The counter at the top right details an excruciatingly large number of characters, and the file size next to it quickly swaps over from GB to TB. Walls of text flash on the screen in different organized colors, file locations and newly discovered folders rapidly appear on the left side organizer. You're just as inpatient as everyone else observing what they're able to see of the computer screen.
You reach your arm over the back of the chair and look back to Sun as it seems to be taking a while to load, despite the program and OS being located on an SSD.
Sun's head is warped around to observe you, his body still situated forward. Your eyes lock and he seems to relax his head a little.
"..You doing okay, Sunny?" You briefly look back to check the program again, it still loading up the massive amount of code.
Sun briefly turns to look at Wendy and the lone security guard standing near the light switch and door respectively, before shifting his head back to you. "O-oh yesyes.. Nervous.. just a little bit. We.. we haven't had anyone look at our code like this in forever.."
The chair squeaks as you turn back to face him. "Ah, well, don't worry Sunshine. I'm not changing anything, just checking out what's there. Promise."
Sun smiles weakly, eyes dropping to reminisce a memory you can't see. "..Okay."
You'd question and pine over the somber emotion Sun is displaying, but Wendy and some random security guard are here. You don't want to get too deep, and Sun definitely may be uncomfortable talking about his trauma with a stranger present. All you can do is guess for now.
Have their memories been messed with? Personalities changed? Sun and Moon just being themselves very well could be seen as a malfunction or a glitch by ignorant engineers - something to be fixed. There is nothing wrong with them, well, besides the actual malfunction you're searching for currently. You can only sulk thinking of how horribly they've been treated for acting human when they're only seen as things. Programs that shouldn't make mistakes - that should operate perfectly without emotion nor needs.
He lifts his head and stares into your eyes again around the same time you're finished pondering, having escaped whatever memory he had gotten stuck in. You give him a caring look before turning back to the computer screen, you'd hold his hand if the position wouldn't be inconvenient.
The program has slowed compared to before when it was loading information in, although still lively. There's code constantly updating and files being moved around. You could correlate it to actual neurons being fired given this is a live feed of Sun's brain. It's a little strange, peering into their head. Everything that they are, displayed on a computer screen.
Moon's file is also included, resting directly under Sun's - their folders being the only two in their own hierarchy that parent the corresponding code that makes them, them.
Observing the connecting folders would prove difficult given how much everything is jumping around. Moon's activity seems to be a lot less erratic, likely due to him being out of control currently. It'd be easier if it was him you were pruning for something that doesn't belong, but you have a feeling that whatever causes Sun to malfunction obviously would lie within his own code.
During your time in the hospital, you briefly studied over the program you're currently using. It's a little dated since most engineers just use the Upgrade and Repair module now. You've already come to the conclusion you're not forcing Sun or Moon to go anywhere near the room if not absolutely necessary.
You've learned enough about how to operate the program to know how to freeze the code you're viewing at the moment into a 'screenshot'. You wouldn't be able to edit anything even if that was what you were here for - only observe. You'd also likely be able ot unhook Sun from the computer after the data is copied, hopefully allowing him to be a little more comfortable.
Unfortunately the copy of the code would be anchored to the program. You would have to spend the entire time examining it here. It would likely take a.. really long time, especially given you're viewing a couple hundred terabytes of information. Hopefully the organization is clean and search functions are useable.
With a few inputs, a copy of the code is now being transferred onto a specific file format to view it. The ETA is a little over an hour, and you look to Wendy and the guard sorrowfully.
Assessing the situation with your gaze upon the ground for a few seconds, you reset your focus back to Wendy.
"..Okay.. so, yeah. I'm copying their code to view it. It'll be like looking at a copy of them. Good news is you two will be able to leave when it's done. Bad news is it's gonna be about an hour before it's finished."
You lift yourself up from the chair and walk over towards sun, pushing yourself up onto the table he's sitting upon, resting yourself right next to him while you give Wendy and the guard time to process.
Wendy only takes a few seconds. "Oh, that's all good. I don't really have anything better to be doing! Beats the paperwork at least."
You smile as she makes herself comfortable against the wall, yourself being comforted by Sun's warmth beside you.
You look to the guard, and for a second he struggles for a response, probably not realizing he had to reply.
"Uh, oh yeah. That's all good. Chilling here is better than patrolling, as long as I'm getting paid." He adjusts his belt and studies the giant robot you're so casually sitting next to.
You smile. Someone other than Wendy actually being a decent human being is refreshing for once. "..Alright, great. What's your name by the way? I really appreciate you taking care of that one guy."
He waits a second before replying. "Oh. Uh, Vince. I'm Vince. Yeah, no problem. Sorry about him, he's.. kinda annoying honestly. I think his name is Kieran or something similar if you wanna make a complaint. I definitely wouldn't mind, hell, I'd vouch for you."
You return the smile he's suddenly expressing. "Ah, yeah don't worry about it. He shouldn't be too much trouble. I'm just getting pretty tired of bullshit lately."
"..L-Langᵘᵃᵍᵉ-" Sun's rays shift above you before his hand jolts to his faceplate, covering his mouth, leaving the last syllable quiet and muffled.
You look up to him after a brief giggle. "Yeah? So sorry Sunshine, I forgot you don't like naughty language."
He sulks before wringing his hands in front of him. "I-It's not my fault! Just.. very hard to not say w-when.. naughty language.. yesyes.."
You slowly reach for his hands as they cease fidgeting, noticing your approach. He allows you to take one and retrieve it to your lap. "Oh.. You're fine Sunny. Is it like, out of your control? I could probably fix that if it does bother you a little. I'm sure that could be really uncomfortable."
He relaxes as you rub your fingers and nails gently over his warm silicone hands, absentmindedly tightening the loose ribbon around his wrist as he melts into your touch. "..Y-yes.. that'd.. that'd be nice.. I'd veryvery much like that.. please.."
You lean into him. "It might be a little before I can make adjustments and.. maybe some upgrades. But if you do have any requests for the future, lemme know. For now, I'll try to keep my mouth clean."
You turn back to the two coworkers in front of you before realizing the display of affection you're expressing. A light blush paints your face, but you don't release your hand from Sun's nor lighten leaning against him. You just sigh.
Wendy giggles a bit, and Vince looks to her, studying the atmosphere of the room before speaking. "..How's he uh.. so.. life-like..?" His stiff posture and the subtle hand on his holster you just now noticed relaxes a little after asking the question.
You inhale. "..Mmh. Well.. He is pretty much alive, as much as you or me. I meant it when I said Karen Kieran or whatever the piece of sh-.." You briefly look to Sun before continuing your sentence. "..the not very nice person's name was.. uh, he didn't know what he was talking about. A lot of people don't seem to, but.. yeah. They're real. Whether you believe that or not means nothing to me, as long as you treat them with respect, we don't have an issue."
Vince pauses for a second or two, and you give him time to process that a robot is actually sentient.
He studies Sun, you nuzzled up against him, Sun observing Vince just as attentively.
"..I.. guess. I'm kinda curious, but.. yeah. I won't prod. I've got no problem with him, just.." Vince watches as Sun's rays gently gyrate, his blue eyes studying his own dark green ones as you sit next to the robot, tiny in comparison, entirely unfazed, just holding his hand. Sun seems to lean into you just as much as you're leaning to him. "..Are you not a, uhm, a little bit afraid of him though..?"
You turn your focus back to him from where you were playing with Sun's hand in your lap. "Why would I be?"
"You were the one they carried outta here on a stretcher.. right? We got an incident alert 'DA-6 code 1'. Malfunctioning animatronic, employee or customer already injured." Vince pauses noticing you adjusting your posture to sit upright, ducking his head a little to recall the memory.
"You were there?" Your head tilts.
"Yeah, we, uh. We had to tase him... I.. also had to.. Almost went blind from the flashing of electricity in the dark. But, yeah. Lights were off, and I guess he changed into the Moondrop animatronic before we got there. He just.. he wouldn't stay down.."
Vince looks back up, and is only met with two pairs of eyes staring into his own, both uncomfortable. He looks back to Wendy, her just as silent with a reserved expression.
Your heart-rate has skyrocketed. Your breathing is erratic. You're burning.
Vince takes notice of your discomfort. "Oh. S-sorry. I.. I can see how that'd be an uncomfortable topic."
"..Y-yeah. Just.. just chill. They're fine. That's what I'm working on right now. So.. so that doesn't happen again."
Sun has lowered himself into a smaller position, suddenly having avoided eye contact as soon as Vince's eyes met his own. You loosened the tightened grip around Sun's hand you held from stress, gentle once more. Thankfully it didn't seem to bother him. You turn to him, noticing him brooding.
"..You're fine, Sunshine. It wasn't you."
He turns his head towards the empty space to the right where no one else resides. "..I.. I very much hate.. hate remembering that.."
"I know."
Everyone is silent for a while. Vince has reserved himself to a wall close to the door, studying the floor ever so adamantly. Wendy slid down the wall to sit against the cold polished concrete floor under the light switch a while ago. You return to soothing Sun, leaning into him as you trace irregular shapes into his palm, studying the grooves in-between his fingers covered by a thin layer of silicone-like material to avoid pinching. It's entirely silent other than the fans of Sun and the computer whirring, struggling to copy over a massive document of his entire code.
A few minutes pass, white noise interrupted by the occasional notification sound of Vince's FazWatch to which he'd check and reply to if necessary. A few seconds after the third chime, he pushes himself off the wall and looks up.
"Ugh, uh. Looks like Kieran actually made that complaint." He watches your reaction with worried eyes.
"..What?"
The doors swing open suddenly almost if on cue, and in come two men in casual business attire. One stops to hold the door open for some engineer dressed in lightly stained overalls and of course, followed by Kieran.
Everyone has perked up in a less comfortable position in response to the abrupt intrusion, Wendy carefully making her way past the four new guests and over to the table where you and Sun reside.
Wendy positions herself in front of the two of you, giving you a sorrowful expression before turning to address the two managers.
"Uh, hey. What brings you all here..? We're doing maintenance that I was given the green-light for in response to last w-"
She's cut off as one of the men adjust his gaze from you and Sun behind her, the others filling the room still glaring, observing the situation. "Yeah, this isn't procedure nor what management had in mind. Is that the engineer assigned to the Daycare Attendants? Cause it's not very professional to curse out an employee just doing his job, especially if he had a genuine point."
You tilt carefully to observe Kieran behind Wendy and the other two managers, them staring down Vince then turning to you with the same smug expression he drilled into the other guard that escorted him out not too long ago.
Wendy looks back to you before returning her attention forward again. "That.. yeah that's the engineer. But, they were just doing their job as well. The situation is under complete control, and Kieran there was only interjecting rudely, preventing us from progressing."
The more talkative manager sighs, adjusting the tablet in his hands while the other simply observes. "Regardless, he did have somewhat of a point. It isn't proper protocol, and especially after last weeks incident, we're having to tighten down on safety precautions. It must be restrained if any maintenance whatsoever is to be performed on it. An employee was in critical condition due to a malfun-"
You push off the table and take position next to Wendy, a quiet wince and wrinkle of your nose slipping out to remind you of the injuries you recieved, but the assholes in front of you seemingly needed that reminder as well.
"You do know I was the employee, right? How did you not know that?" Your arms cross as the managers, engineer, and Kieran are taken aback
The less reserved manager of the two composes himself. "..Only a few people knew of the exact details. Employee confidentiality"
You scoff. "Of course it was covered up. Anyway, I have this under control, and Sun is not going in the capsule, and absolutely no one else is touching him." You gesture to the engineer they brought with them.
The other manager finally speaks. "..He? Of course, another one got attached. They're machines. Wendy here should've made it very clear after hiring you on that it's important to understand they're only mimicking human behavior."
You roll your eyes as he continues his spiel. "I'm sorry, but these are rules. Next time you might not just be in the hospital."
"There won't be a next time if you just let me do my job." You motion dramatically to the computer screen copying over data from the cable connecting to Sun. You lock eyes with Sun briefly, and your heart drops at the dread resounding off of him that seemingly only you can read in the moment. "I'm incredibly close to being able to potentially find out what caused the.. the malfunction.. in the first place. I have this under control. Wendy would flip off the lights in case something did happen, and the only reasonable security guard, Vince, would handle anything else if it somehow arose."
You turn to Kieran, and you can barely tolerate his face. "There's no need for some salty asshole to bring you two and another engineer down here to do a job I am perfectly capable of. I'm sure you have better things to do than tend to Kieran's tantrum over shit he started in the first place."
Sun muffles something behind you.
The manager holding the tablet frees one hand to pinch his nose. "..Alright, chill with the profanities first of all. Second.." He looks to the giant robot behind you, expressing nervousness he can only chalk up to programming. "I guess we can come to a compromise. Give me a minute to check with our superiors."
The two men finally back off, giving you and Wendy some space to relax. You sigh, and turn back to Sun.
"..Hey, Sunshine. You okay?" You carefully hop back on the table.
Sun perks up a little, turning slowly and adjusting his hands to self-sooth. "O-oh.. yesyes.. j-just. A little nervous, yes."
You look around the room before tending back to him. The managers are discussing among themselves, the one not holding a tablet is beginning a phone call. The engineer they brought is awkwardly hovering around the door, not too sure what to do with himself. Occasionally he'll stare in the general direction you two were at, mostly looking at Sun before averting his glare before either of you could notice. Vince and Kieran are having their own little altercation, Vince of course trying to de-escalate in vain. Hopefully you don't have to deal with them anytime soon.
Your hopes are crushed as he gestures in your general direction and begins walking over.
His mumble becomes coherent as he approaches. "..You saw what happened Sunday! That thing is dangerous, it needs to be properly restrained like every other animatronic here! I'd rather not end up like they were, and I'm sure nobody else wants to either."
Vince rushes over, failing in his attempts to remove him from the situation. "..Please, just, relax, alright?"
You sigh, Kieran coming too close for comfort. "Can you give us some space please? It's being handled. You don't have to throw another tantrum."
Kieran grimaces, pausing for a second before raising his voice. "Am I the only fucking sane one here? That thing is obviously unstable. It shouldn't even be on right now!" He looks over to the managers discussing between themselves. "This isn't procedure. We have these rules for a reason."
You scoff. "You look like you're gonna cry. I don't think you're upset about proper procedure anymore. Just back off and stop making more of an embarrassment of yourself." You cross your arms, ankles wrapped around each-other hanging off the table's ledge to reserve yourself as far away from Kieran in your personal bubble.
You notice Sun shifting above you, slowly leaning forward to encapsulate you under him.
"Now.. friend. Pretty pretty please, play nice. Okay? I don't want to have to remove you! That would be veryveryvery not enjoyable, nonono.."
Everyone has turned to focus on the commotion at the metal table that you, Sun, Kieran, and Vince are having your quarrel at. Wendy has backed off, slowly making her way to the light switch.
Kieran seethes up at Sun towering over everyone. "Is that a threat? I'd like to see you try." He positions his hand on his hip, displaying the taser ready to be pulled at a moments notice.
Sun adjusts himself to his feet, only having to lean forward a little to raise above the guard below him. The wire connecting him to the computer thankfully long enough to bare the extension. You grow worried at the tension, just as everyone else in the room is. "..Sun, I think I can handle it from here."
Vince rests his hand on Kieran's shoulder, briefly motioning him backwards before being shoved away in retaliation. Kieran hisses as he turns. "Don't touch-"
Sun suddenly wraps his hands around the guard's arms, squeezing him and lifting him off his feet.
The managers drop what their doing, and the stray engineer gasps.
The two men rush over, as overlapping voices fill the room.
Kieran struggles. "Let me the FUCK down, what the fuck!?"
"Language."
The guard contends for control of his limbs back, bound to his sides by Sun's hands wrapping around his upper arms. Kieran's struggle eventually reveals he can bend his elbows, and his hands are just as free.
Vince backs out of the way, avoiding the cable dragging across the floor, and the giant animatronic escorting the bashful guard out of the room. The managers are yelling for the machine to stop, yelling to Vince when their commands are met upon deaf sensors.
"Tase the thing, what are you doing!?"
"It'll electrocute Kieran too, I-I can't!"
The room is suddenly plunged into darkness with a click, the screams of Kieran and the pleas of the managers cease for a second. Wendy calls out to assess the situation.
"Is.. Is everyone alright?"
Mechanical parts click, overlapping her question. Kieran's voice originates from the same source. "I-I fucking.. I told you! It's fucking dangerous! What the hell!? Put me down already!"
A few other voices respond confirming they're okay.
A crimson red glow dimly lights the room, still far too dark to make out much other than shadowy silhouettes.
You catch your breath, slowly feeling your way forward to where you last saw Sun. "Y-yeah, I think we're fine. Vince, do you have a light..?"
"..Yea.."
Little light fills the room once again, shining upon the large animatronic in the middle of it, but Moon doesn't budge.
His eyes flicker to white, but revert back to red after just a second.
You slowly make your way up to him. "..Moon, you.. you can put him down now, okay?"
Kieran adamantly agrees. "Yeah! Put me the fuck down!" He flinches at the bright red pinpricks staring down into his own eyes, arms restrained and unable to shield himself from the crimson glow. He kicks his feet against Moon's chestplate, leaving dirty foot prints against his torso, but nothing fazes the animatronic.
A light clicking slowly evolves into a chuckle as Moon spins his head. His voice crackles deeply. "Mmmmh, Limelight, but he's been soooo very naughty.. Rude. And he calls you the rulebreaker.. nonono.. Don't you think you deserve a punishment, Kieran?" Moon's grip tightens around the guard.
He winces. "Y-you're fucking hurting me you fucking psycho robot, let me go!"
One of the men step towards you. "Y-You need to do something. You said you had this under control."
You reach for Moon's hand, having to stretch a little to meet it. "Moon, please. This is enough. It's okay."
Moon growls, turning his head to you, eyes glowing bright despite being lit up by Vince off to the left. "Mmmh. Well.. Let's see." He rotates his head back to the guard. "Have you learned your lesson, security guard? Play ni-"
Kieran jolts as he squeezes his arm just far enough to reach the holster on his waist. He quickly releases the gun from it's pocket, pulling it out instantaneously.
Your eyes widen, and Vince lunges forward, yelling in response to motion everyone is witnessing. "Stop!"
Light flashes across the room in rapid succession. Electric clicking buzzes through the air deafeningly, filling the room with its reverberating crackle.
Kieran is on the floor, taser still in his grasp.
It didn't hit where he intended.
Moon's hand is around his neck, numbness flashes across his head and back. Low growling takes place after the buzzing ceases. Moon is unaffected.
It didn't hit Moon.