Monday morning began a little too early for Moon. Despite sleeping in the day before, he still felt tired. And hungry. Sooo hungry. Maybe skipping so many meals wasn't the best idea, but it's not like he had much of a choice. It took forever to get to the newly-renovated employee cafeteria, and even longer to actually eat. He couldn't leave his little Starshines for that long!

Sun was completely alert, despite the fact that he was awake before their alarm went off. For some reason, Moon found his cheeriness extra annoying today. Was it possible to sleep too much? Maybe. Whatever the case, he was almost glad to leave him at the check-in counter today. That is, until Ginger met him with her usual smile.

"Good morning! How was your weekend?"

"Alright, you?"

"It was good. I went shopping, got some laundry done, watched way too much tv, pretty low-key honestly. You ready for today?"

"Yeah," Moon groaned. He didn't feel ready at all, but the kids needed him.

"Are you sure? You seem a little-"

"I'm fine," he replied, a little sharper than intended.

Ginger was taken aback by this sudden hostility. "Ok then," she said after a brief pause. Moon considered apologizing, but he didn't trust himself not to snap at her again.

It wasn't long before the kids started flooding in. Moon tried to focus on his work, but as time went on, the emptiness inside of him grew. It was hard to keep thirty-something children safe and happy; it was nearly impossible when your torso felt like it was going to tear itself apart.

During craft time, he couldn't take it anymore. He keeled over, both arms clutching his stomach. At this point, even the craft supplies looked appetizing. Ginger noticed him hunched over and rushed to his side.

"Are you ok? What happened?"

"Nothing, I'm fine." To prove it, he straightened up and placed one hand on his hip. She didn't buy it.

"No, you're not. Do you need to go to a med station or something?"

Before Moon could answer, his stomach let out a loud growl.

"…When was the last time you ate?" she asked.

"Uh… today?"

The concern on Ginger's face turned to annoyance. Clearly, that wasn't the answer she was hoping for.

"That's it. You can't keep doing this, bro. Please go eat some dinner."

"What? Are you cr- insane? I can't just leave. The kids-"

"-will be fine. I can keep them alive for a few minutes."

"But-"

"Hey." She put a hand on his shoulder. "You're a hard worker, and I know you care about the kids, but starving yourself doesn't help ."

Moon wanted to argue, but she had a point. He let her walk him to the door. When she had closed it, he stood there for a moment. He was outside of the daycare. During business hours. Normally, this would have been impossible, thanks to that good ol' invisible wall, or more accurately, invisible electric fence. However, unlike the other offenses, Moon had never wanted to leave the kids. He didn't particularly enjoy leaving them now, but Ginger would keep them safe. Hopefully.

There were so many people out here! Although Kid's Cove was mostly empty, Moon soon found himself in the middle of a large crowd. He was so disoriented that he nearly forgot where he was going. Eventually, he stumbled into the basement and through the cafeteria door.

"Gabe! Over here!" a familiar voice rang out. Sun was waving at him near a table in the corner of the room. Sitting next to him was a man that Moon didn't recognize. Not knowing what else to do, he made his way over and sat down.

"Hey. Didn't expect to see you here."

"Me neither! This is great!" Sun exclaimed, giving him a hug. The stranger at the table cleared his throat. "Oh, yeah! Gabe, this is my new friend Jeremy! He works at the prize counter. Jeremy, this is my twin brother that I was telling you about!"

"'Sup?" said Prize Counter Jeremy, not to be confused with Fazerblast Jeremy, Customer Service Jeremy, Jeremy the janitor, or any of the Security Guard Jeremys. How many Jeremys could one place hire?

"Uh… not much. Nice to meet you."

"You too."

"Well, I should probably get some food."

"Is this your first time down here?" Sun asked.

"Yeah."

"I'll come with you, then! As long as that's fine with you, Jeremy."

"You go right ahead. I was about to leave, anyway. Have a nice night."

"Thanks, you too!" Sun grabbed Moon's hand and led him over to a large kiosk. "You order the food you want on here. When it's done, you pick it up over there." He pointed to the counter separating the kitchen from the dining area. In the corner was a sign which read "ORDER PICKUP HERE." Moon looked at the menu, not that it mattered. All it showed was pizza and a few different kinds of drinks. He decided on pizza with everything.

"NO!" Sun blocked the order button. "Trust me, you don't want the Not Meat™."

"Why? What's it taste like?"

Sun shrugged. "Not meat."

Fair enough. Moon ordered a pizza with everything EXCEPT the Not Meat™. One of the S.T.A.F.F. bots pulled half a pizza from a shelf bathed with yellow light, placed two uneven slices on a plate, and dropped it off near the sign. Once they brought it back to the table, Moon picked up one of the slices. It drooped down over his hand and covered it in some sort of liquid.

"Wait! Don't eat it yet!" Sun cried.

"What now?" At this rate, he was never going to get back to the daycare.

"You see that liquid on top? That's grease. If you want to taste the actual pizza, you need to wipe some off first." Sun grabbed a couple of napkins and pressed them to the pizza until they were soaked through. "There you go!"

"Is it safe to eat now?"

"Technically, it was always 'safe,' but yes."

When he was sure Sun wasn't going to interrupt again, Moon took a bite. He regretted it immediately. The crust was soggy, the cheese was rubbery, and some of the toppings were burnt. Despite his hunger, it was physically hard to swallow.

"This is the world-famous Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex pizza?" he asked.

"That's what they told me," Sun sighed. Being the Pizzaplex's signature dish, everyone had wanted to try the pizza at some point. Clearly, he was just as disappointed as Moon that the Pizzaplex's "incredible" pizza was nothing more than another corporate lie. "You can heat it up in the microwave if you want. That helps sometimes."

"Do they have anything else?"

"Not down here. I've heard the food upstairs is better, but it's a lot more expensive, too."

"I don't know about the price, but it definitely tastes better."

"How do you know?"

"Tried some myself."

"Oo! What was it?" Sun leaned on the table and rested his face in his hands. He kicked his legs underneath the table, accidentally hitting Moon once or twice.

"Sunnydrops."

Sun's excited grin was replaced with a look of betrayal.

"…Sunnydrops? You got to try my candy, and you didn't even think to tell me?!"

"I'm sorry, I thought I did."

"Well, clearly you DIDN'T!" Sun slammed his hands on the table, attracting the attention of a handful of employees. Moon shrunk into his chair a little. How could he have forgotten? Everyone at the Pizzaplex knew about the pizza, but the candies were special, just for them. There were no Freddydrops, no Roxydrops, only Sunnydrops and Moondrops.

Sun leaned back and slid his hands off the table. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say it like that."

"It's fine, I understand."

"So… what do they taste like?"

"Umm… good?"

"That's a relief. But I meant like sweet, or salty, or other food words."

"They're kind of sweet, but they're also a little… I don't know what it's called, but it made my mouth feel like there was acid in it."

"Acid? That doesn't seem right. Are you sure you're remembering it correctly?"

"I think so."

"Ok, let me get this straight: lemon ginger flavor equals sweet, plus… acid? And it was good?"

"Yeah."

"Huh. You learn something new every day. By the way, when did you try them?"

"Ginger gave me some last Tuesday."

"Tuesday? That was almost a week ago! Did you at least get one extra for me?"

"No, sorry." An idea suddenly dawned on him. "But if you want to try them, you could buy some yourself."

"Oh my stars, I could! …If I hadn't spent most of my money yesterday. If a single Fizzy Faz cost that much, I couldn't possibly have enough for an entire bag of Sunnydrops."

Moon was hoping to forget about yesterday morning. Sun had left before he woke up, so he had missed saying goodbye. What he hadn't missed was the explanation of what Chloe wore, and what they talked about, and what an amazing time they had, and how he really needed to see the Faz Pad when it was open, although his excitement had dwindled when Gregory asked if there was going to be a second "date." It obviously wasn't a date, because it was impossible for animatronics to even want to date, but Sun was still getting too attached to this woman. Why was he making friends that he knew he couldn't keep?

"Maybe you should've saved some for next time."

"You see, I thought about that, but how do I know there's going to be a next time? We don't know how long this is going to last, and I want to experience all the human things I can before we go back. If that means I blow all my money on Fizzy Faz, so be it! It's not like I'm going to need it later."

"Not until Steve stocks up on art supplies."

Steve was a Mini Music Man who ran a shop in the Fazcade. Usually he only had small things, like buttons and safety pins, but sometimes he would find more interesting trinkets. Running out of money was no real threat, however, since he also accepted bartering. He had to, given that the other animatronics rarely had more than spare change they found on the floor.

"That's not a problem. You know that one of my drawings is worth at least twenty popsicle sticks. Why don't you buy them? You have money, too."

"Not enough."

"Maybe you could ask Ginger to share a couple more of her candies. You two are friends, right?"

"I'm not taking any more of hers. Speaking of friends, how did you meet Jeremy?"

"He was sitting at this table when I came in!"

"And you just… sat next to him?"

"I had to! He looked so lonely."

"He's not a kid, Sun. What if he wanted to eat alone?"

"Why would he want to do that?"

"I don't know."

Typical Sun. He was great with the kids, at least better than Moon, but sometimes he assumed that everyone else wanted the same things as him. Usually, that was a looooong conversation. And a hug. He rarely even asked Moon before forcing him into unwanted hugs. At least he couldn't do that now.

"Well, if he didn't want to talk, he should have told me. I can tell you about our conversation while you finish your pizza!"

Moon looked down at his plate. He had been so busy talking, he had forgotten to eat. He wanted to throw the disappointing meal into the nearest trashcan, but his empty stomach wouldn't let him. He slowly picked up a half-eaten slice and took another bite.

"Can I please wake up now?"

…

Another Monday night at the Pizzaplex. Fantastic.

Vanessa knew she shouldn't have been in such a bad mood. Her day had gone fairly well. She was able to go to sleep almost immediately after Gregory left for school, strawberries (her favorite fruit) were on sale at the grocery store, and she had received three paychecks this week instead of one. Sun and Moon were so thankful that they had refused even a cent of their hard-earned cash. It almost made up for the fact that they were there in the first place.

"Hey girl, be nice," she said to herself. "It wasn't their fault." Well, it was kind of their fault for choosing to pick up that stupid crystal ball thing in the first place, but she was the one who had offered to take them in, and she had to accept that.

She had no reason to be mad at either of them, really. They were better than most of her "normal" roommates. They kept the apartment insanely clean, they never made too much noise when she was sleeping, and they always tried to be kind and courteous to her and Gregory.

Another thing that had worked surprisingly well was Sun's little crush. He seemed to have forgotten about the raceway entirely. When he wasn't talking to Chloe, he was talking about her (although he watched his words when Moon was listening), and when he wasn't talking about her, Vanessa could only assume he was thinking about her. The way he giggled and kicked his feet every time she answered a text made him look like a lovesick schoolgirl from a movie.

And the weirdest part was that Chloe actually seemed to like him back. Sure, she didn't know what he really was, but mechanical origins aside, he didn't seem like boyfriend material. Oh well, it was her choice. They were going on a second date next Sunday, a picnic. Vanessa hoped they had fun. She definitely wasn't jealous that a literal freaking robot had a better love life than her.

Not even a little bit.

And that's why she was so confused by her moodiness tonight. She checked the time on her phone. Only 2:30. It was one of those nights where her shift seemed to drag on… and on… and on. It was time for a break. She grabbed her flashlight and left the security office.

This place was huge. They weren't kidding when they called it an entertainment complex. Vanessa chuckled to herself. "Complex? I actually find it quite simple."

Quoting memes to herself at 2:30 in the morning probably wasn't what she had been hired for, but she had to do something to pass the time. It wasn't like people tried to break in every night. Or break out. Not anymore.

There weren't any animatronics outside her door, so Vanessa decided to visit Rockstar Row. Her shifts had been a lot more bearable once she started making friends with the locals. She had Gregory to thank for that. Before he bulldozed his way into her life, she had seen them as nothing more than another set of tools to do their former master's bidding. But after he freed her from the virus, she began to see things differently. Gregory gave her a second chance. If she somehow deserved it, surely they did, too.

She exited the utilidoors, still filled with S.T.A.F.F. bots, and surveyed the greenrooms. Most of the Glamrocks were practicing for their next show, but Monty was nowhere to be seen. He was probably up on the catwalks again. He really wasn't supposed to be up there. A quick peek at the cameras from the nearest security office confirmed her suspicions. He would probably be fine, but she decided to check on him, just in case.

Getting to the catwalks took a long time, but he was still there, like she knew he would be. He was leaning on the railing, looking at the dimly-lit, swamp-themed mini-golf course below them.

"Hey, Monty," she greeted him, making sure she was at a safe distance. Even though they were friends now, it was never a good idea to startle a 300-pound animatronic with knives for fingers. "Whatcha doing up here?"

"Thinkin'," he said without looking up.

"About what?"

Monty rested his head on the railing and flicked his tail in response. Vanessa leaned on a section of railing about two feet away. Part of her wanted to leave, but she was almost all the emotional support these guys had. If it was important, he would tell her. She listened to the area's ambience, looping music and humidifiers occasionally broken by growls coming from one of the fake gators.

"He was the best golfer in the Pizzaplex," he said, eventually. "Sometimes, he would even beat me. Even when he didn't, he never whined about it. Roxy could learn a thing or two from him. They all could. About golfing, I mean. Roxy's the only sore loser."

"Yeah, well, you know how she is."

"Yeah, yeah. She's a winner, 'cept when she ain't." He seemed to smile at the last part, but it was hard to tell. "I remember the first time we met. It was around 4am, so the lights were all off. I was standin' about here, when he crawled in through there."

He motioned towards the opening for the Gator Gondolas to pass over the course.

"Now, the DJ hadn't been built yet, so I'd never seen an animatronic that could climb on walls 'n ceilings before. I didn't quite know what to make of 'im. Anyways, he crawled his way into the gift shop, grabbed something, and started climbing back toward the opening. Now, I wanted to know what kinda critter he was, thinking he could come into my attraction and steal from my gift shop, so I yelled out 'FREEZE!' and he did. I asked what he was doin', and he just stared.

"He stared at me fer a while, so long that the lights came back on. Imagine my surprise when his whole body changed colors, and his little glow-in-the-dark hat was replaced by a bunch of triangles. I barely made out that he was holdin' one of my piñatas before he skittered away. Years go by, and they earn a reputation of being hermits, rarely leaving the daycare. We would see each other every now and then, quick glances on the way to Kid's Cove party rooms and whatnot, but we never really talked until Gregory introduced us, and we realized how much we had in common.

"Eventually, we're here, at hole 3, and I ask 'em about that night. I said 'Hey, Moon, how come neither of you said a thing all those years ago?' I didn't ask about the piñata, 'cuz at this point we've all taken something from somewhere. Apparently, they were just a little starstruck. Saw me and the band as some kind of superstars. We kinda are, to the kids at least, but at the end of the day, we're all Fazbear machines, all equal. We use the same learning software, installed by the same Faztechs. And someday, I wouldn't be surprised if they dump us all at the same junkyard."

"Wow," Vanessa said after a short pause.

"I'm guessin' you're wonderin' why I told you that in the first place." Monty sighed. "Truth is, Moon's one of my best friends. Sun's my friend, too. I s'pose they're everyone's friends now, and we all miss 'em. I know this is a real… special situation, and you don't know how to fix it yet, but do you think you could bring 'em to visit every once in a while?" He looked up at her, a glimmer of hope behind his shades.

"I don't know. There's a lot going on right now. Even Gregory would have trouble with all the increased security, I doubt Sun and Moon could handle it."

Monty turned back to the golf course. "I understand. Can I ask something else, then?"

"Of course."

"Keep them safe. Please."

"I will."

Monty glanced at her and lowered his shades. "Promise?"

"I promise." She reached her hand out and patted him on the shoulder. She had no idea how, but she wanted to keep this promise. She didn't want them to be another Bonnie. "I gotta go now, but thanks for sharing with me."

"Thanks fer listening. I'm almost done here. I'll head back fer practice in a minute."

"Great. See you later, Monty Gator."

He chuckled at Vanessa's overused joke. "Yeah, see you around."