It's October! :) Which means time for some spooky stories! :)

FNAF: Security Breach belongs to its respective owners. The Nightmare Before Christmas belongs to Disney. Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man of Action. Summer and Forrest belong to VinnieStokerLover. I only own Rachel, Sasha, and Courtney.

Animatronics And Unexpected Surprises

"Brothers, I have some concerns."

Hearing Eclipse say that, both Sun and Moon stood up. "What's wrong, Eclipse?" The latter asked.

"I've been hearing something from the children and it's been both puzzling me and leaving me worried."

"What it is?" Sun asked, growing concerned.

"I've been hearing Courtney, Summer, and Forrest talk about a living skeleton who comes to visit around this time of year," Eclipse said.

"A living skeleton?" Moon asked, cocking an eyebrow. "I know the children have active imaginations, which is alright, but a living skeleton is impossible."

"Right. Humans have skeletons like we have metal frames, but without organs or muscles, a skeleton can't move," Sun said. "Perhaps it's someone in costume and the kids play pretend?"

"I asked them that, but they told me that it's real," Eclipse said. "They said not everyone has seen him and I'm beginning to wonder if the skeleton is perhaps magical, like our magical family members we met when one of our little nieces was nearly kidnapped."

"Could be, though...it does seem a bit farfetched," Moon said.

Rachel came out and she smiled at seeing them before looking curious. "What's got you three thinking so deeply?" She asked.

"We heard something from the kids and we're trying to figure out if it's just a costume or real," Sun said.

The young woman blinked. "A costume or real?" She repeated, confused.

"Your children mentioned that a living skeleton comes to visit around this time and they are excited for him to visit," Eclipse said. "But...skeletons can't live outside of a human body."

Rachel smiled. "You sure about that?" She asked mysteriously.

They looked at her, but she just winked and walked away, making the three look worried. "Okay, maybe we should ask the kids more about this skeleton," Moon said. "Maybe some more information will help us reach a decisive deduction."

"I agree," Sun said.

They headed to the theater room where they saw Courtney getting things set up for a movie later on with Summer and Forrest helping her. "Kids," Eclipse said, making them look up at him. "Can you answer us a few questions about this skeleton you were talking about earlier?"

"Sure, Uncle Eclipse," Courtney said as they all sat down. "Ask away."

"The skeleton is alive?" Sun asked.

"Yeah!" Summer said with a smile. "And he's really tall! Like Uncle Eclipse."

"We were scared when we first saw him," Forrest said. "Me and Summer had been sent to his world by the Forever Knights and we got scared by some of the residents of Uncle Jack's world. We ran into his house to hide, but he and Aunt Sally found us. When we told him our names, Uncle Jack realized who we were and got us back here."

"He likes to scare us for fun, but he never goes too far with his pranks. Neither do his subjects, from what we've heard," Courtney said.

"Subjects?" Moon asked, curious.

"Yeah. Uncle Jack is the Pumpkin King and he's a master at all scares."

Rook, who caught that last bit, came into the room. "What are you all talking about?" He asked with a smile.

"We're telling Uncle Eclipse, Uncle Sun, and Uncle Moon about Uncle Jack, Daddy," Summer said.

"Ah, yes. He should be here soon," the Revonnahgander said. "Did I tell you I once found him after he had fainted from a fright?"

"What? Uncle Jack fainted?" Forrest asked, stunned.

"No way. Uncle Jack got scared?" Courtney asked. "What scared him so bad?"

Rook chuckled. "Well, he had just arrived in our world to go visit your mother and aunt Sasha when he came across the local pumpkin patch in town," he said. "He saw some people picking out pumpkins, but what startled him was seeing that humans ate pumpkin pie."

"What?" Summer asked, confused. "Doesn't Uncle Jack eat pumpkin pie?"

"He didn't before," Rook said. "Remember kids, in his world, pumpkins are real and have feelings just as we do."

"Oh, I get it," Courtney said in realization. "Uncle Jack thought the pumpkins here were alive and in pain when humans cleaned them out and used the stuff inside to make pumpkin pie."

"That's right," her father said.

"Hold up," Moon said, looking confused. "Pumpkins have feelings in this person's world?"

"Yes," Rook said. "All the monsters in his world do. They're good monsters though. They'll do a scare to startle someone or make them scream in surprise, but they don't harm anyone. They follow the strict rule of 'Surprise the target, but do not hurt them.' Jack himself enforces this rule and leads by example."

"And you're sure it's not someone in costume pretending to be a skeleton?" Sun asked.

"I'm sure," the Revonnahgander said, smiling.

Ghostfreak entered the room along with Snare-Oh. "What's up with the serious meeting?" The Thep Khufan joked.

"We were telling our new uncles about Uncle Jack," Forrest said.

"They haven't met him yet," Summer said.

"He's arriving soon?" Ghostfreak asked.

"I think so," Courtney said. "We have to ask Mom."

"I think we'll go ask her," Eclipse said, standing up. "She was acting mysterious earlier when we voiced our concerns."

"She even asked if we were sure about what we thought," Moon said. "Our little Morning Glory is up to something."

Sun stood up. "I think we just need to ask Rachel outright about this skeleton," he said. "She asked us if we were sure about skeletons not living outside the human body."

Summer giggled. "I think that means she's going to call Uncle Jack soon," she said.

"Come on, let's go see!" Courtney said excitedly. "Mom said that either she and Aunt Sasha use a rhyme to call him or Uncle Jack uses a rhyme to arrive."

"Yeah! I want to see!" Forrest said excitedly.

Eclipse led the way to the kitchen where Rachel was and she smiled at seeing them all. "I was just about to call Jack," she said.

"Can we watch, Mom?" Courtney asked.

She nodded and began to speak. "Spooky fun and treats I can afford. Candy and sweets and gourds. My dear friends, hear me sing. Welcome the Pumpkin King!"

A moment later, some of the other kids gasped and let out happy cries. "He's here!" One called out.

A hearty laugh that sounded slightly haunting sounded out. "Hello, boys and girls!" A deep voice greeted them.

The animatronics turned in shock to see a skeleton in a white and black striped suit in the living room and the kids were gathered around him. "Children, look out!" Moon cried out, bounding to the living room.

"Intruder!" Eclipse said, running up and quickly putting himself between Jack and the children, Sun helping him.

"Wait! It's okay!" Courtney called out, going up to them.

Rachel calmly walked in. "Hey, guys, it's okay," she said with a smile. "Jack's not only a friend of the family, but he's family too."

"What?" Eclipse asked, stunned as the other two Daycare animatronics were.

Sun did a scan on the skeleton. "He...He really is a living skeleton," he said in shock.

"That he is," Rook said, smiling.

Sasha came in and gasped in surprise. "Jack!" She said, running up to him and hugging him.

"Sasha! How are you, my dear?" Jack asked warmly, hugging her back.

Moon could see Sasha was calm around the skeleton and looked at Rachel, who smiled. The kids all gently pushed past the animatronics to hug the skeleton, who hugged them all back. "I hope you're all being good," the skeleton said. "Remember, I'm friends with Santa Clause."

The kids giggled and Eclipse looked at Rachel. "He speaks the truth?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yes," she said. "I met Jack years ago, when I was four years old. He saved me from a fire that I would have perished in had it not been for him."

"He's helped us too," said one of the younger children. "Uncle Jack saved Summer and Forrest after the Forever Knights had sent them to Halloween Town. He's saved Aunt Rachel and Aunt Sasha a few times too and even saved our magical cousins from the bad guys."

Jack smiled. "Who are these three?" He asked curiously.

"They're our animatronic uncles, Uncle Jack," Courtney said, gesturing to each one. "Eclipse is the tall one, Sun is the one on his right, and Moon is the one on Uncle Eclipse's left."

"My dad worked with them years ago when he was a Plumber," Rachel said. "They saved Courtney after Zombozo took her to the ruins of the Pizzaplex and Rook found papers declaring Sasha and myself as the owners of these three and another."

"Then I know they can be trusted," Jack said.

"You do?" Sun asked curiously.

"Yes, because Rachel's father only worked with trustworthy people."

Gregory came out then and didn't seem fazed at seeing a skeleton, which Jack noticed. "You're not afraid, young one?" He asked.

"Nah, I've seen far scarier," the boy admitted.

"Gregory got lost in the Pizzaplex when many of us were infected by a virus," Moon said. "He managed to escape with a friend of ours and they found Rook, who brought them here. The family then worked together to free our friends from the virus and Rachel and Rook adopted Gregory as their son."

"Mom then fought the former owners of the Pizzaplex to get ownership of Papa and the others," the boy said.

"And we won the case thanks to Gregory, Sun, Moon, and Eclipse," Rachel said.

Jack was impressed. "A brave child," he said, smiling at the boy.

Gregory shrugged before looking curious. "I heard my siblings call you Uncle Jack," he said. "So...does that make you my uncle too?"

"Yes," the skeleton said, smiling again. "As I'm your siblings' uncle, I'm also your uncle, little one."

"I'm not little," the boy protested slightly. "But you're cool, Uncle Jack."

Rachel smiled and the animatronics relaxed. "Sorry for being up in arms," Eclipse apologized to Jack. "We used to work in the Daycare of the Pizzaplex and are very protective of children."

"It's alright," the skeleton said graciously. "I too am protective of those I care about, especially my family."

Summer went up to him. "Uncle Jack, can you tell us a story?" She asked.

"Yeah! Please?" Forrest asked hopefully.

Jack laughed warmly. "Of course I will," he said, to which the children cheered and gathered in the living room. The animatronics followed and Rachel smiled, glad the three got to meet the skeleton she not only called a dear friend, but also family.

I figured it was time the three Daycare animatronics met the one skeleton that made it possible for Rachel to live and create the family that she now has. :)

Please leave a review, but no flames!

GoldGuardian2418