Chapter 2: And They Were Roommates?
The jester-like animatronic sits upright, twisting its head to peer around the room before his sights land on Marlene. Marlene, still recovering from the fright, stands against the wall. Keeping wide eyes trained on the robot, she tries to regain her composure with a few deep breaths. Was her heart supposed to feel like it would go out any second? Marlene surely didn't think so.
"He-llooo new friend!" Sun yells, trying to stand up before losing his balance and collapsing back onto the sofa. He squirms, bringing his foot up and studying the cable sticking out. Marlene didn't step closer to help, the few stories she had heard about the animatronics making her hesitate.
'Maybe this was a bad idea. It's somehow more unnerving like this.' Marlene thinks as she squeaks out a quiet hello.
"Well Well Well! I do seem to be a little lost! Oh, silly me." The robot loudly proclaims, spinning its head once in good humor. As he resettles onto the couch, he continues fidgeting, making the bells on his wrists jingle. "I must return to the daycare! Could you help me, Marlene Devyns?"
"Wha- How do you know my name?"
"All animatronics who work for Fazbear Entertainment know all the employees at the Pizzaplex! They built us that way."
He said it in a way that was very matter of fact yet cheerful. Marlene supposed that his explanation made as much sense as anything else, though that didn't make the robot any less bizarre to her. "Ah! About the Pizzaplex… oh jeez I don't know how to break this to you…"
The robot tilts his head, its white eyes staring at her. "Well, what's wrong, Sunshine? You can tell Sun anything!"
Had he defaulted to his children's protocol programming? Marlene felt a bit too old to be called Sunshine by the robot - Sun as she surmised. How… predictable of a name. Then again, creativity wasn't her forte either. What else do you call a sun-themed jester robot?
"The Pizzaplex burned down… It's gone, Sun."
The jingling stops. Its head spins upside down, the only way it could mimic a frown with its poorly designed face.
"...Gone?" He asks, his voice quiet though she couldn't really tell what emotion he was trying to project. There were so many to choose from. Was he sad it was gone? Dismayed? Shocked?
Perhaps all that and more.
That sympathy sparked in her chest again, sending a twisting feeling in her chest. All those stories she had heard get pushed aside as Marlene edges closer to the robot. "Sun," Marlene whispers gently, slowly easing into the couch, "is there any possibility that they are looking for you? I found you deactivated in the back alley of the Pizzaplex. Was that where you powered down?"
The robot slowly shakes its head. "No… I powered down closer to the front I… wanted to be found."
With all the clean-up they were doing in the time before Marlene returned to the Pizzaplex, how could they miss him? That had to mean that Fazbear Entertainment purposely hid him away instead of properly handling him. They must have. It didn't surprise her - her higher-ups always were telling her to cut corners to save a quick buck. Why would this be different?
That didn't make it right.
"They aren't coming back for me, are they?"
Marlene flattens her lips into a thin line, considering her words carefully before replying. "I don't think so, Sun."
The robot remained still for such a long time, Marlene wondered if he had powered off again. She even leaned back to peek at the cord, becoming more concerned after seeing that it was plugged in fine. Marlene raises a hand, ready to gently pat Sun's back.
All at once, the robot straightens up, twisting its face upright again before declaring "Well, onto the next adventure!"
Marlene retracts her hand, darting to the opposite side of the couch.
"Huh?" Marlene asks, hand on her heart. 'This robot is going to be the end of me.'
"The daycare is gone! That means I must find something else to do, yes?" Sun asks, waiting for Marlene to nod before continuing, "Well, that's an adventure in itself, isn't it?"
Something about the way the robot said that made her feel a little frustrated. Maybe it was because they were supposed to be in the same boat. Shouldn't Sun, whose sole purpose had been to work the daycare, be handling this worse than she was?
Then again, maybe that was her own fault for humanizing the robot. Even if it was an amazing piece of AI, it was still a robot.
How silly of her.
"I… I see. I suppose you're right."
"But what do you suppose an animatronic such as myself should do? I was never programmed with this in mind…"
No, Marlene supposed they wouldn't program their animatronics to be able to think about a life outside of Fazbear Entertainment. She frowns, tapping her chin in thought. The former daycare attendant had a point. Was there such a place where the Sun could start anew? Other than Fazbear Entertainment owned franchises, she didn't really know.
Not that either of them could return. Sun had been abandoned and Marlene had been fired.
"I dunno but I'll tell you what." Marlene leans forward, drawing Sun's attention, "Until you know what you want, you can stay here, okay?"
How many years had it been since she had a roommate? A little over seven? It couldn't be so bad. Then again, she had never been roommates with a robot - abandoned or otherwise - before.
Truth be told, Marlene didn't think she wanted the robot to leave. Not really. Sure, Sun was a little off-putting, but she boiled that down to the unchanging face. It wasn't his fault but the idiot designer's. Seriously, who gave this daycare worker such a face?
"Like a sleepover?!" The animatronic gasps, bringing its hands up as though trying to hide his joy.
"I was thinking more like roommates, but yeah."
Sun begins clapping eagerly, the bells ringing loudly. "Oh, roommates! I've never been a roommate before! How exciting!"
She smiles, a soft laugh slipping out at the robot's antics. Encouraged, Sun pulls her into a hug. Marlene blinks, frozen for a few seconds before hugging the animatronic back.
The hug was very foreign to her. Unlike other hugs, his plastic made for a stiff, awkward embrace. At least she thought it was. Marlene never had been much for hugs though, so perhaps that was partially her fault. Much to her surprise, he wasn't super cold, like the metal robots described in fiction. He was surprisingly warm. Was that a part of his design too?
Yeah, this was a strange situation and one Marlene never thought she'd live long enough to see much less experience. Sure, there would probably be bumps but that's how it was with human roommates too.
They'd figure this out together.
A/N- This chapter probably would have worked better if it were combined with chapter 1 but oh well. Live and learn. Also, I'm going to try and remember to add the chapter titles at the beginning of the story. Still getting the hang of this website, so thanks for your patience! See you next chapter.
Also, the title for chapter 1 was supposed to be "Sentiment Makes Us Do Strange Things" for anyone wondering.