AN: Things have improved massively with my family, heres hoping it stays that way.
As the day made it past the afternoon, more and more children left the daycare, with every single one blubbering about monsters in the dark. Thankfully though, those who remained had spent all their energy and were now cooling off or straight up passed out. Sun did not waste the opportunity to talk to Gregory.
"I hope lights out didn't scare you too much, at least not like the other kids here." Sun always felt sad when the children he protected felt threatened by his dark counterpart. It never got any easier.
"Well I followed the rules, so I guess that means I'm alright." He sounded unsure of himself.
"It's a wonderful start, I can already see us all being good friends!"
'Let's not get ahead of ourselves here.'
'Ohhhh don't be such a killjoy.'
'I'm just being realistic.'
"What is he saying?" The boy asked curiously.
"He thinks that us being friends is an impossible task."
'I never said it was impossible!'
'I'm just messing with ya. They need to install you a better sense of humor.'
The periods of silence came off as really awkward to Gregory, though he wasn't going to volunteer to be the one that breaks it. Especially with this animatronic.
"I'm just kidding, he is just much more reserved than myself."
"How come?"
"It's just in his side of the program, after all he makes sure that little ones are resting. He doesn't mind though, he likes the quiet…well, when they are quiet."
"Well he doesn't help the situation any. If anything he makes it worse."
'Hey! Don't tell me how to do my job!'
"Oooh, he didn't like that. That hurt a little."
"I'm sorry but seeing all of them scramble like their lives were on the line…he doesn't really perform as advertised."
'Alright then, wise guy! How would you do it?!'
"That isn't very nice Gregory. He is just doing what he can to do his job."
"Yeah…I guess I wouldn't know what to do either."
'Then keep the comments to yourself!'
'Calm down, he didn't mean anything by it. He's just a kid.'
'I…You're right, but that doesn't mean he can toss me around.'
"...Look, I know we didn't have the best of introductions, especially with your unique situation, but perhaps we could fix what has been broken between us all. Please, give Moon a second chance…give us a second chance."
"I already did when I agreed to come here. I thought I would end up regretting it, but that never happened. It all feels like a dream." Sun puts a finger to the boy's chin, gently guiding his gaze to him.
"You're awake and well, after all, the lights are on right now. You have a much better life to look forward to." The attendant decides to change the subject. "How about this, do you want to share the drawings you made with me?" The boy shyly holds said drawings to his chest.
"...I…um," He gives his drawings a once over, then a smile slowly emerges. "...Sure."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
All is quiet in the apartment as the sun dips below the horizon, for most people the day is just now closing out. But for Vanessa? It has only just begun. She is rudely woken up by her obnoxious alarm.
"Uuuggghhh, evening already?" Without so much as opening her eyes, she reaches out to her end table to shut off the blaring noise. *thunk* Only to knock it on the floor by mistake. "Oh for f–" With a brief burst of annoyed energy, she throws her legs over the bedside, swiftly picks her phone, then dismisses the alarm.
She rubs away the crust in her eyes, helping to finish waking her up. The woman holds completely still for a moment, not thinking, not moving, hardly even breathing. She was about to fall back asleep but was foiled by her stomach protesting her idleness.
'I guess I'm up for good now.'
Going through her 'morning' routine at night was a strange experience, she kept forgetting that now wasn't the time to go back to bed, even putting her pajamas back on rather than away. It was a nice laugh though.
Once it was all said and done, her thoughts inevitably drifted back to the animatronics and their human guest. Never would she have thought that a child such as him would end up appearing on the first night, and even if she did, not under his circumstances. He reminded her of herself as a child, though that was hardly a compliment.
'Certainly braver than I ever was.'
She could only assume he has been through worse than her, at least she didn't have any broken bones or an excessive amount of permanent scarring. Not that she wants to compare traumatic childhoods, it's just stating a fact.
Speaking of broken bones though, his leg. With Roxanne confirming that he couldn't walk, he clearly needed some form of cast or brace. Shouldn't be too hard, there has to be a place somewhere that has what she's looking for.
'I have a good few hours before my shift begins, this will be a piece of cake.'
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
In the main atrium, the gang were just finishing up their final performance of the day. Roxanne specifically has regained much of her confidence, as what Freddy said earlier rang true. It is as if nothing ever happened in the first place, like she could completely ignore all the adverse things that try to hamper her already stressful week. The cheers from the crowd combined with the music from both herself and her fellow bandmates mesh perfectly with the flashy environment.
'Hopefully he could join the crowd once he is able.'
That was the only real distracting factor to her day, her pup simply not being able to participate. It's a shame that things were still not safe for him in particular, but she had special eyes! She, along with the rest of her friends, would ensure that nothing harmful would even get near him! But they still had a job to do, and the wolf trusted Sun more than enough to keep her pup out of trouble. Moon on the other hand. At least he wouldn't let a kid get hurt, in his own messed up sort of way.
'He is lucky they're sharing the same shell…ugh, forget it. Just focus on the music.'
Blocking out the distracting elements of her own mind, things went well for a time, until her gaze reached a particular person in the crowd on the upper balconies. The person in question is an adult female, blonde, with a ponytail. The thing is she was just giving a soul piercing glare…at…her. No movements, no nothing, just a cold stare.
Roxanne racked her mind trying to understand why; she didn't do anything to this woman! Even if she did, shouldn't she be watching her child instead?! Surely they were more important than her!
'Maybe she is here alone? But why? This place isn't exactly marketed to adults.'
As Roxy delved deeper into a list of reasons for this lady's unsettling behavior, the woman took notice of the unflinching gaze towards her then her eyes widened. She wasted no time to retreat, pushing through the crowd with little regard.
'What was that all about?!'
The ordeal puts her to overdrive once more, thankfully with the song coming to an end, she doesn't need to be on stage much longer. Roxanne had never felt this impatient since the last round of mini golf, and that was something she outright hated!
"Hey Roxy, you look like you saw a ghost. Are you okay?" She turns to a worried Monty but doesn't respond. To the gator, Roxanne appeared to be looking right through him, like he wasn't there. "Roxy? ROXY!" He frantically shakes her shoulders; he has never been more grateful that the microphones were off.
Their saving grace finally came when the platform began to lower, she then released the heated air from her system all at once, but perhaps a bit too quickly. She is about to collapse but is held up by Monty. Both Freddy and Chica rush in to help keep the wolf steady.
"Roxy?! Are you okay?!" The chicken holds Roxannes head so she can see her face, which is full of concern.
"...I-I'm fine, it was just…there was this weird person in the crowd." Monty couldn't help but feel a little skeptical.
"I'm pretty sure seeing one random person isn't on the list of things to make you drop like that!"
"That is not even the 'best' part, she was just…staring at me. Like I owed her money or something."
"Could be an old fan, maybe they are just mad that you re-" Freddy taps him on the head to stop him, accompanied by a harsh glare. Coming from the normally happy bear, it was extremely startling. So the gator shut his trap. Freddy quickly picked up from there.
"Is that all that happened? Just giving you the evil eye?"
"Actually, no. When she realized I was starting back, she got spooked and forced her way out of the crowd."
"That isn't suspicious at all." Monty sarcastically quipped. Chica didn't know what to think.
"Um, maybe it was just your imagination? A product of the stress you've been feeling?" She helpfully added.
"...I don't know. She had this threatening aura; it felt a bit too real."
"Okay, not ideal, but we'll deal with it together."
"Yeah, sounds good. But first let me recharge. I feel beyond drained right now." The hen wordlessly helps Roxanne along the path to her room, whilst Freddy and Monty follow close behind.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
The gang remained by Roxys' charging station as she rested; none of them felt particularly comfortable leaving her alone after the rather ominous event she reported. Freddy was scouring the cameras looking for anyone suspicious, Monty paced the room thoughtlessly, and Chica was racking her mind to understand just who Roxanne saw, if any. The hope is that it was nothing to be worked up about, but with how things were going recently, it could very well be a bad omen, and she wasn't even superstitious!
'Ooooohhh why does everything have to be so screwy nowadays?'
She didn't want to admit it, but maybe Gregory has something to do with it, the hen can recall her first conversation with him perfectly. The 'Crazy Lady' he said, and who was keeping him safe for a few days now? Her entire body tenses up, and her internal temperature began to rise.
'...She is still here.'
"Do you know who it might be?" Monty suddenly broke the silence; he stopped pacing the room when he noticed the angry yet frightened look slowly developing on Chica's face.
"I…I don't know who it is for sure, but I certainly know they are real."
"Huh? That doesn't make sense."
"...Maybe right now it doesn't, but I think you'll understand once you know the story."
"You guys have been keeping secrets from me?! I thought we were tight!"
"Don't take it personally, we were just waiting for the right time, and now is as good a time as any. I wasn't even in the loop till last night."
"Still doesn't make it better." He grumbled to himself. "Fine, fine, finefinefinefine. Can't we just escort her out then?"
"She'll never let herself be kicked out."
"Why the heck not?!"
"Because I know what she wants."