Dawn preferred working nights. Cleaning whatever empty building the janitorial company sent her to gave her room to manage herself. And having no one else around but a few coworkers prevented incidents. Most of the other cleaners knew to leave her be, and not engage with her in small talk unless she initiated it. As a result, work nights were quiet. Just the way she liked it.

That all changed when the company sent her to Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex. That place was infamous among the janitorial staff. She had coworkers who'd go on and on about how freaky that place was at night, and that their barely above minimum wage salary wasn't worth that assignment. Dawn didn't remember most of the details. Just something about the animatronics being crazy and creepy.

But Dawn was known for favoring night shifts in large businesses. They were bound to come to her with this assignment at some point.

On her first night, on the shuttle ride, her coworkers whispered warnings about the Pizzaplex.

"No doubt they'll put you in the daycare," one said. "Remember Juan? He didn't last a night. Ran out of that place screaming with his pants soiled."

"I remember when I was assigned there," said another with a shiver. "That Sun guy wouldn't leave me alone. Kept trying to play peek-a-boo or something. Roxy's room is much easier. Even if she's a bit rude."

"Can we switch rooms?" asked a third. "Chica has rotting food hidden all over her room!"

"What about Monty?" asked a fourth. "That crazy gator keeps smashing everything!"

This made Dawn less sure about working at the Pizzaplex. If the animatronics were really that disruptive, it might be harder for her to manage her…condition.

It'll be fine. You know how to do this.

She did know how to do this. Cleaning was something she prided herself in. It wasn't the most glamorous of jobs, and the pay was terrible, but she was good at it. Besides, it wasn't like she could do much else after having flunked out of high school.

Besides, she could always explain her situation to the security staff.

When the shuttle arrived at the Pizzaplex, guests were flocking out the front doors. It was almost closing time. A blonde security guard with green eyes was waiting at the entrance. She stopped Dawn and let the others go by.

"You must be Dawn Brenton. Vanessa Shelly." The guard shook her hand. "They told me you'd be coming. Follow me. We gotta put you in the system before you start work."

The minute Dawn stepped into the Pizzaplex, her jaw dropped. The place was huge. More like a mall than your standard pizza parlor. The fluorescent lights, the reflective floors, the rock music blaring from the speakers, the giant Freddy statue in the center, it was a lot to take in.

As a kid, Dawn had never gone to a place like this. The Pizzaplex hadn't existed, but she'd seen other pizza parlors with singing animatronics advertised on TV, with arcade games and birthday parties that were supposedly fun for the whole family. She'd always begged whatever foster parent she'd had at the time to go, but they'd always shut her down, saying it was too expensive.

Who would waste money on a kid that wasn't their own?

In the security office, Vanessa logged Dawn's details into the computer and then gave her a security card, granting her access to almost the entire Pizzaplex. Areas like Parts and Services were off-limits to janitorial staff.

"You'll start in the daycare," Vanessa explained. "Each cleaner is assigned their own set of rooms, but since that's one of the larger rooms, you'll only have to do that and the adjoining bathrooms tonight."

Dawn wanted to ask why everyone avoided that room like the plague, but she wasn't one for confrontation. So, she simply nodded.

But it turned out she didn't have to say anything, because Vanessa leaned forward in her chair, and said, "Now, I know your coworkers have probably warned you about the daycare attendant. To put it simply, he's a very friendly animatronic. He can be a bit much for some people, but he's harmless. So long as you keep the lights on."

That seemed like a reasonable rule. It wouldn't be safe to clean with the lights off, especially with all those animatronics roaming around.

"In the event the lights do go off, like a power outage or whatever," Vanessa spoke slowly and firmly to ensure her point was coming across, "just flip the five emergency generators. You'll find them in the play structures."

Now this was odd. "Why…why in the play structures? What if the kids found them?"

Vanessa shrugged. "I don't make the rules. I just work here."

"Okay."

Dawn got her pad of sticky notes out of her pocket and wrote keep lights on and 5 generators, play structures.

"Notetaker, huh?" Vanessa pulled a little black notebook out of her back pocket. "I use this myself."

Dawn smiled at the idea of finding something in common with another person, which rarely happened. "Do you…have trouble remembering things too?"

"Sometimes." Vanessa returned the smile as she put the book away. "You do what helps, so long as it doesn't impact your work."

"It doesn't."

Dawn squirmed in her seat. She was always nervous telling people about this, as she was unsure of their reaction. But seeing that Vanessa also experienced memory loss gave her hope that she would understand.

"By the way, there's, um, something you should know about me."

Dawn explained her condition while Vanessa showed her to the cleaning supply closet. Vanessa only asked the occasional question, but she didn't seem disturbed by it like most were.

"Like I said, it doesn't hurt my work, and I have these sticky notes." Dawn slapped a sticky note, listing the Pizzaplex's cleaning procedures, on the cleaning cart. "But…if I seem…off, or forget something you said, please just remind me, you know? And if you see me sitting down doing nothing, I'm not being lazy, I'm just… I need to be safe, see? When it happens?"

"Hmm." Vanessa did not meet her gaze. "You in therapy?"

Dawn nodded.

"Me too."

This quelled Dawn's anxiety.

"I won't hold your condition against you," Vanessa said. "Just let me know if this place becomes too much for you."

"Oh, I can manage."

"You want me to tell the daycare attendant about it?"

Dawn thought about it, but what was the point of telling a robot about her condition? It was just a machine, programmed to do its job. It couldn't offer any comfort or understanding.

"No, thanks." Dawn gripped the handle of the cart. "I…don't like many people knowing about it."

"Understood," Vanessa said. "But you should know all the animatronics are programmed to handle medical emergencies of all kinds. Of course, if you're not comfortable with Sun handling it, you can always ask him to alert me. They can all do that too."

That sounded way more advanced than the technology she was used to, which wasn't much. "What…else can these robots do?"

"Animatronics," Vanessa corrected. "They can do lots of things, thanks to their artificial intelligence. In laymen's terms, they're programmed to think for themselves and adapt in a way that they almost act…human. Just remember that when you meet Sun."

She still hasn't told you much about this Sun guy. "Why…what…?"

"What's wrong with Sun?" Vanessa was quiet for a moment. "Like I said, he's harmless. Just keep the lights on, do your job, and you'll be fine."

When they reached the doors to the daycare, Vanessa paused and said, "Hey. At around three, I take my meal break in the cafeteria right above the daycare. You can join me, if you'd like."

Dawn had brought a lunch, if one could consider a meal eaten after midnight to be lunch, though she usually ate alone. But Vanessa seemed friendly so far, even if a little curt. And she hadn't freaked out about Dawn's condition.

So, she nodded.

"Okay then." The guard placed her hand on the doors. "Ready to meet Sun?"

Dawn wasn't ready. Not for Sun's jump scare of a greeting. All she remembered of their first meeting was his big yellow face and blank white eyes. Once she reviewed her notes, she was reassured that the daycare attendant really didn't mean any harm. He was just overly friendly.

She got to know him better on her second night. Thankfully, he learned not to surprise her, and she learned that he acted boisterous and loud because that was how he was programmed. To appeal to the kids, she supposed. She couldn't blame him for that. If it was hard for her to maintain control, she could only imagine how hard it was for an animatronic.

Despite him being much more off-the-walls than the company she was used to, Dawn had come to like Sun. He was so considerate when helping her clean the daycare, and he made her laugh with the silliest little jokes and antics. He acted like a child, but it was so hard to see him that way when he was two whole feet taller than her. She was used to most people towering over her, but compared to human adults, he and the other animatronics were like skyscrapers.

Still, Sun went out of his way to make Dawn comfortable. He would ask her questions like her favorite color or books or movies or what she did in her spare time. Her answers were always short, as she wasn't used to small talk. But that ever-present smile on his face and his chipper tone made her want to open up more.

But not enough to make her want to reveal her condition.

It was ridiculous. An animatronic wouldn't care that she was different. But as Vanessa had said, he acted so human that she wondered if he would have an opinion on her condition. He seemed to have an opinion on everything else, like arts and crafts and songs and games. Would he act differently around her if she told him?

Nah. He's likes us. Don't ruin it.

Now, on her fourth week at the Pizzaplex, Dawn was wiping the glitter off Sun's hands. Glitter was one of the worst things to clean. As Sun had said, it got everywhere. Even before she'd taken this assignment, she'd had to clean up glitter messes at nursery schools. But she didn't mind doing it for Sun. He was cute when he actually managed to sit still, that forever smile on his face.

It was odd that he wasn't talking, however. The animatronic loved to talk.

So, Dawn took it upon herself to fill the silence. "By the way, there's…something I wanted to ask you."

Sun didn't respond for a while, and she felt his hands grow warmer.

"Sun?" She looked up at him in concern. "Are you…overheating?"

The metal flaps around his head retracted halfway, then clicked back into place. "Oh, don't worry about me! My fans are cooling me down as we speak!"

Sounded like how a computer maintained its internal temperature.

"Anyway," Dawn repeated, "I wanted to ask…"

Sun leaned his head forward. "Yes?"

She drew back, finding his face a little too close for comfort. "Well, uh… Upstairs, outside the slide entrance?" She'd been there with Vanessa during their meal break. "There are these posters, and statues. You're on them. But there's another character named…Moondrop?"

There was an abrupt whir as Sun sat up straighter.

"I was just wondering…where is—?"

"Hey!" Sun pulled his hands to his lap. "I just remembered! Did you finish that book you were reading?"

Dawn was put off by this sudden change in subject. Both because he was avoiding the topic of this Moondrop character, and that she didn't remember mentioning she was reading something.

"Um, I did finish a book."

"Goodie, goodie!" Sun clapped his hands. "Can I borrow it now?"

Had she offered to lend him a book? "Uh…sure."

Dawn slid off the wall and made her way to the cleaning cart, where her purse hung. She couldn't let on that she didn't remember the conversation Sun was referring to. She'd barely got by her second week, asking him to go over daycare cleaning procedures with her again. If he noticed her memory loss was more than what was usual, he'd start to suspect something was wrong. And she didn't want anyone else looking at her like a weirdo, human or not.

She searched her purse, finding her paperback copy of Frankenstein. She lifted the cover and sighed in relief when she found a sticky note: Give to Sun when done. He's got nothing to read but picture books and gets bored at night.

Now it all made sense. If Sundays were the only nights anyone came to the daycare, the poor guy must be starving for something to do the rest of the week when all the kids had gone home. He must've seen the book in her bag and asked to borrow it. There were no other notes or bookmarks in the pages, so she assumed now was the time to pass it on.

After removing the sticky note, Dawn went back to Sun.

"Here you go." She handed the book to him. "I should warn you. It's a little scary."

"That's okay!" Sun hugged the book to his chest. "Moo—I mean I like a little scary every now and then! Some of our superstars like ghost stories more than fairy tales!"

Dawn smiled. "It's also…denser than what you read to kids. You might not…understand it all."

"Even better! I love learning new things!" He smoothed out the cover. "I'll take good care of it and return it to you next week!"

"You don't have to. It may take longer than a—"

"I'm a very fast reader!"

The enthusiasm in his voice made her snort.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" He slapped his faceplate with a clang. "Wait right here! Don't move!"

A cable dropped from the ceiling, hooked onto Sun's back, and lifted him into the air. Dawn had seen him use it before. He was able to summon the cord remotely. That detail, she remembered.

Moving his arms like he was swimming breaststroke, Sun made his way to the podium high on the wall. He disappeared behind a curtain. Dawn ignored his request not to move and went back to wiping down the arts and crafts tables. She did need to go home at some point, after all.

He returned a few minutes later, jumping down from the cable and landing on the table in front of her. If she wasn't so used to him jumping out of nowhere by now, she would've repeated her mistake on her first day.

"Hey, you moved!" Sun sounded appalled.

"Sorry," Dawn said. "I still have to do my job."

"Well, you broke the rules of the game," Sun said, hiding something behind his back, "so no present for you, I'm afraid!"

"What is it?"

She tried to look behind him, but he jumped off the table and faced her. "Nope! Can't have it!"

"Sun!" Dawn laughed as she ran after him. "Let me see!"

He backed away, leading her in a circle. "No, no, no, Sunshine! I only give presents to good little girls who follow the rules!"

"Hey! I may be little, but I'm a grown woman!"

"Okay, okay!" He stopped. "But only if you say the magic word!"

He said it so adorably that she was more delighted by this tomfoolery than annoyed. "What's the magic word?"

Sun tilted his head. "Please, of course!"

She should've guessed. "Please, may I have the present?"

He tapped his finger to his mouth, as if considering it. "Well, since you asked so nicely…" He brought his hand out from behind his back. "Here you go!"

In his hand was a blue and yellow bracelet threaded through four beads. The beads spelled out Dawn's name. She let out a small gasp.

"Did…did you make this?"

"Uh-huh!" Sun said. "The kids and I were making jewelry the other day and these two little girls were making friendship bracelets for each other and I thought I should make one too but I didn't have time to make a bracelet for all my friends so I thought since you're never here during playtime you might feel sad missing out on all the fun and I made one for you!"

He was talking so fast that Dawn could barely register what he was saying, but she got the gist. "Sunny, that…that's so sweet."

"Here! Let me put it on for you!"

She held out her left hand and he tied the bracelet around her wrist. No one had given her a gift in such a long time. To think an animatronic was more thoughtful than most of the humans in her life.

"There!" Sun bounced on his feet. "Now we're BFFs forever! And no takesies backsies!"

Dawn burst out laughing. Gosh, why was it so much easier to enjoy herself around him? Not even her roommate's kid was this much fun.

"Thanks, sunny." She played with the bracelet. "But we should really get back to…"

Just then, the lights shut off. Everything shut off, including the fluorescent objects on the walls and the monitors from the front desk computers. The daycare was encased in complete darkness.

Dawn wasn't a fan of the dark. It made it hard to manage herself.

You'll be fine. You're in the open. You'll be fine.

Sun, however, was screaming like a banshee.

"No, no, no, no, no! Where'd the lights go?! Lights on! LIGHTS ON!"

Was he afraid of the dark too? Was that why Vanessa had warned her to keep the lights on? Could animatronics experience fear? Whatever the answer, Dawn pushed her own fears aside for Sun's sake.

"Calm down, Sunny." She reached for him. "It's just a little blackout. I'm sure the lights will come back on in—"

Another scream caused her to jump. Then there was the rattling of gears and the sound of metal scraping on metal. Then a thump in front of her. Had he fallen over?

"Sunny?" She knelt to the padded floor and felt around for him. "Are you okay?"

She touched what she figured to be his pointy shoe. But only for a second as it yanked away from her. She sighed in relief. This meant Sun was still functioning. She would hate to be alone in the dark right now.

Suddenly, there was light. Two lights. Red ones, shining down at her. Maybe it was Sun using night vision or something.

"Sun?" She stood up.

The red lights grew brighter, illuminating Sun's round, smiling faceplate. But something about its color was off. Not just the red lighting. And there was something on his head. Like a cap of some sorts. When did he put a hat on?

"Sun?" she said again.

"Nooot Suuun."

It was not the chipper, friendly voice she knew. The voice was low and gravelly, drawing out its vowels in a deep growl.

There were jingly footsteps as the grinning face drew closer. "Naughty giiirl. Naughty giiirl."

"Sun?" Dawn stepped back. "What's happening?"

"You should be asleep." The thing giggled like a gremlin. "It's waaay past your bedtime. You must be PUNISHED."

A metal hand swiped at her. Giving into her instincts, Dawn bolted. She didn't get far, as she immediately tripped over one of the children's chairs. With no light but the eyes of Sun…

No, not Sun. Sun would never try to hurt her or scare her. Not on purpose, anyway. That was his face, but it wasn't his voice. Whatever had happened to Sun, he was like a completely different animatronic.

Wait. Does that mean he's like…?

That fast-approaching face didn't give her time to think about the situation. Dawn crawled on the floor as quickly as she could, patting the floor for any obstacles. Unfortunately, her only flashlight was on her phone, which was in her purse, on the cleaning cart. And she had no idea how far away that was. Besides, if she turned on a light, that would make it easier for…whoever that was to find her.

Then Dawn remembered what Vanessa had said about the backup generators inside the play structures. But how was she supposed to find those in all this darkness?

She involuntarily cried out as she bumped into something. From the tumbling, she guessed it was one of Sun's foam block towers.

The thing shrieked. "Clean up! Clean up!"

Wait. She just tripped over a chair and ran into a block tower. She knew where she was.

Dawn turned right around and scrambled forward just as the glowing red face was headed towards the crumbled tower. Of course. Sun hated messes. This version of Sun must've hated them too.

While he was distracted, Dawn felt around for the entrance to the play structures. Her hand hit something big and soft. It was the giant Freddy plushie. She knew the entrance was just around him.

By the time she found the ramp, she heard the creature call out, "Where are you, little girl? It's time for bed."

As she blindly climbed the structure, searching for the generators, Dawn tried to figured out what had happened to Sun. Was he malfunctioning? Had he rebooted? Why was he trying to punish her? Why did he think she was a little kid again? And where were those generators?

The space got tighter, and Dawn's breathing quickened. She had to keep going. She couldn't lose herself now.

"Bad children must be punished."

She slowed down, her muscles freezing.

"Bad children must be found."

She stopped, her heartbeat pounding in her ears.

It's so dark. Can't get out.

There was no stopping it now.

Don't hurt me. Don't hurt me.

Dawn curled into a ball, clutching her knees to her chest and folding her head in.

What's going on? Who's hurting you?

The animatronic's voice faded into static. She had no choice. She had to let it happen.

Let me take care of it.

Dawn only prayed that she could.

Hope I got the layout of the daycare right. Had to review SO many images and gameplays.

So, I did take inspiration from other fics. The friendship bracelet and book-borrowing ideas came from "A Dose of Sunshine and Starlight" by Give_Me_Your_Monsters on AO3. I like the idea of Sun/Moon wanting to read more than just kids' books, especially with all the free time they have at night.

I'm sure some of you have figured out Dawn's condition by now. This was the reason I didn't want to start with their first meeting and draw it out too long before revealing it. Can only hide it so long.