Sun and Moon knew that this was the only job they could even think of taking, but Vanessa had told them to pick five, so they wrote down a few more just in case. By then they were hungry for lunch. It was a good thing Gregory had taught them how to make PB&Js, otherwise they might've burned down the apartment trying to cook.

It was still a few more hours until Vanessa would wake up, so they decided to watch a movie. Sun was starting to get over his movie fever, so he agreed to only watch one while they waited (even though they probably had time for two). They decided on Encanto so they could finally figure out who Bruno was and why so many kids claimed they didn't talk about him.

After the movie, they decided to play charades. It was Moon's turn when Gregory walked in.

"-lue, googly eyes, a hat, a very wiggly hat, oh it's right on the tip of my-" Sun heard the door open. "Why hello Gregory! How was school?"

When Moon heard that Gregory was back, he quickly stopped the odd interpretive dance he had been doing and crossed his arms.

"…Hey, Gregory."

"Hey, guys. School was ok. Whatcha doin'?"

"We're playing charades! Wanna join?"

"No thanks." Gregory dropped his backpack on the coffee table and stepped into the kitchen. After grabbing a cookie, he turned on a plastic box-like device with a glass pitcher in it, which started to whir. "Did you find jobs yet?"

"We're waiting for Vanessa to wake up so she can help us fill out applications," said Moon. He turned to Sun. "It was a giraffe by the way."

"Ooohhh that makes so much sense!"

Gregory pulled a string on the wall and sunlight flooded the room. Sun gasped and raced over to the window. Moon shrunk back before remembering that it didn't hurt, and he soon followed. The rain had stopped by now, and the sky was a brilliant blue dotted with a few gray-white clouds. The ground was covered with green grass edged in by asphalt and concrete. Sun wished he could be out there, but even seeing it was more than he could've imagined a few days ago.

"There's a window back there?!"

"Yeah. Those are called blinds." Gregory gestured to the long, flat rectangles hanging in front of the glass. "They usually have windows behind them."

"Huh. Never would've guessed," said Moon.

A muffled alarm sounded and was quickly silenced. A few minutes later, Vanessa came out of the bedroom. She smiled when she saw Gregory.

"Welcome home, kid. How was school?"

"It was ok. Jason said the tree in front of his house got struck by lightning during the storm."

"Oh dear! Is he alright?" Sun asked.

"Yeah. The tree wasn't, though. He showed me a picture. It's split in half with these crazy scorch marks all over it."

"Sounds like you learned a lot," Vanessa chuckled. She turned to Sun and Moon. "How did the job search go?"

They looked at each other.

"Can I show her?" asked Sun.

Moon put one hand on his hip and motioned toward Vanessa's laptop with the other. Sun dramatically opened the laptop and presented it to her.

"Ta daaa! Isn't it perfect?!"

"…You have got to be kidding me."

On the screen was an ad for Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex.


HELP WANTED

Hey there, Superstars! Have YOU ever wanted to work at the flashiest, raddest, rockingest, safest* pizzeria the universe has ever seen? Well now's your chance! Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex is now hiring! Available positions include:

-Chica's Mazercise

-Fazcade

-Superstar Daycare

-Security Guard (day shift)

-And more!

Positions starting at $9.50/hr**, absolutely NO experience necessary!

APPLY TODAY!

*Disclaimer: Employee safety cannot be guaranteed. Fazbear Entertainment is not responsible fo…(see more)


As Vanessa kept staring at the screen, Sun's smile faltered. He knew she wouldn't be as elated as him and Moon, but he had expected some sort of positive reaction.

"Is something wrong?"

"Hold on, I need my coffee." Vanessa walked over to the device with the pitcher and pushed a button. It whirred louder, and steaming brown liquid started trickling into the pitcher. When it had finished, she poured some into a mug and took a long sip.

"Ok. So, you're saying you want to work at the Pizzaplex?"

"Why not?" said Moon. "We've literally been working there our whole lives."

"Yeah! We can take care of the kids just like we always have, except now we'll get paid!" Sun added.

"Nothing else looked interesting?"

"We picked out a few other jobs, but do they really matter?" Moon replied. "We've spent all our time here trying to figure out how to get back there. And if we're added to the employee database, the S.T.A.F.F. bots won't see us as a threat, and it'll be easier to search for clues."

"I don't know about that," Vanessa argued. "You weren't there last night. Sure, the S.T.A.F.F. bots will leave you alone around the daycare, but they might not like you snooping around where you don't belong, especially after closing. Besides, there are security cameras everywhere."

Moon crossed his arms. "The security cameras that you, a security guard, have access to?"

"I do, but-"

"Then you can erase the footage easily."

"If you need a good cover story, we can wait for another storm," added Sun. "It's been raining off and on since we got here, there's bound to be another one soon!"

"Fine. But I'm going to warn you, working at the Pizzaplex can be… interesting."

"Thanks for your concern, Vanessa, but we love our job!"

"That was back when you didn't have to eat, sleep, or go to the bathroom. Animatronics are built to work for hours on end with barely even a lunch break, humans aren't." Vanessa sighed. "Look, if this is really what you want, I can't stop you. I just want to make sure you're thinking this through."

"We are. And we're sure," Moon assured her.

After a short staring contest, Vanessa sighed again.

"Alright, let's get this over with. Who wants to go first?"

Sun raised his hand. "Oo! Me! Mememe! I wanna go first!"

"Great." Vanessa grabbed the laptop and sat down on the couch. Sun and Moon sat down to her right and left, respectively. "Hey Greg, could you please give us some privacy?"

Gregory nodded and took his backpack to his room.

"Ok, I'm going to fill out most of this for you, but there are a few things you can help with. That is, if you want to help."

"If I want to help? Why would anyone not want to help with this?! What can I do?"

"Actually, this one applies to both of you, so you can help too, Moon. You need a name. Thanks to Luis, you already have a first name. Any ideas for a last name?"

"What does this have to do with me?" Moon asked.

"You two look pretty similar, so people are probably going to assume you're related, maybe even twins, so it would make sense for you to have the same last name."

"Twins? Oh, just like Mayson and Grayson! Doesn't that sound fun, Moon?" Mayson and Grayson Holt were 5-year-old identical twins that had been coming to the daycare almost every Friday for the past three years. Sun had always adored their cute little matching outfits.

"We don't look that much alike," Moon insisted.

Vanessa gave him a bombastic side eye. "You have the exact same face."

Moon pulled up his hood and grumbled something that Sun couldn't quite hear.

Sun tried to think of a good name, but he was stumped. "Do you have any suggestions, Vanessa?" She shrugged. As he looked around the room for inspiration, his eyes landed on a picture of some blueish flowers that was hanging on the wall. "Oh, those flowers are pretty! What are they called?"

"Those are asters, I think. Y'know what? Here." She typed "Samuel Aster" into the name field.

Moon seemed confused. "You're naming us after a flower?"

"Do you have any better ideas?" Moon stayed silent. "That's what I thought. Now for the second thing I need help with. How old are you guys?"

"Seven," answered Moon.

"And a half!" Sun added. Why did Moon always leave that out? Sure, they didn't have an official birthday, but they could at least stay accurate to their pretend one.

"…Well, I can't exactly put that on the application. Umm let's see… Congrats on turning 22 and a half. That's seven and a half times three, by the way."

"But that's so old!"

"It's really not. It is old enough to legally work, though." Vanessa filled out the rest of the form by herself, then sent it in. "Ok, there's one. Now for Moon's, we can copy and paste almost everything. Have you thought about a first name?"

Without missing a beat, Moon replied "Gabriel."

"That's a wonderful name, Moony! How'd you come up with it so fast?"

"It was written on the inside of this jacket." Moon opened up his hoodie. A little patch in the corner said "If lost, return to: Gabriel." There was a scribble that could have been a last name or maybe a phone number, but it was illegible.

"Great…" said Vanessa, typing it in. She filled out the other fields and submitted it. "Aaand there we go."

"That's it?" Sun asked.

"Yep. Now we wait."

"For how long?"

Vanessa shrugged. "A few days, a week maybe."

"A whole week?" Sun and Moon said in unison.

"At the most. They're offering to pay over minimum wage, so they're clearly desperate."

"What are we supposed to do before then?" Moon asked.

"Well, for one thing, we can fill out some more applications. Y'know, just in case."

Since they had all the basic information decided, they went through the other jobs on the list much faster.

"Now that that's settled, we need to go shopping. You need more clothes, among other things."

Sun hopped up in excitement "We get to go shopping?!" He didn't know why they needed more clothes, but going shopping meant they would be going outside again, during the day this time!

"Are you sure we won't 'make a scene?'" asked Moon.

Vanessa hesitated. "That was different. You've had some more time to get used to… all this, and it seems like you've calmed down a little. Are you saying you don't want new clothes?"

"What's wrong with the clothes I'm wearing now?"

"Nothing, but they do need to be washed. Even if they didn't, it's not like you can wear the same outfit every day."

Gregory stuck his head out of his room. "Can I come out now?"

"Sure. We're going to Walmart, wanna come?"

"Yeah! Let's all go!" Sun exclaimed.

"'Aight."

Vanessa grabbed her purse, and they all left the apartment. Sun could hardly contain his excitement. As they passed through the lobby, he wanted to say hi to Jean, but she wasn't there.

Then, they stepped outside. It took Sun's eyes a moment to adjust to the light, but once they did, he realized it was even more amazing than the view from the window! There were tiny wildflowers growing in the grass by the side of the road, and the bright blue sky seemed to stretch on forever. Sun twirled around until he found the actual sun. He had heard it was bright, but wow! They weren't kidding!

"Look, Moon, it's-hey!" Vanessa had covered his eyes with her hand.

"Don't stare at the sun, you'll go blind."

"Can't I look for just a second?"

"No. I'm going to remove my hand now, and we're going to leave. Can I trust you to not look at the giant ball of fire that will burn your eyes?"

"…yes…"

Vanessa slowly removed her hand from his face. Moon was standing right outside her car and Gregory was already sitting in the passenger seat. Once everyone was seated, she started away from the apartment complex. It had been too dark to see much of anything when they had first arrived, but now he could see that the streets were lined with all sorts of other cars and trees and buildings, all bathed in golden sunlight. It was a good light, not like the fluorescent lights of the daycare, or the neon lights of the rest of the Pizzaplex, or even the incandescent lights of Vanessa's apartment. It was different, warmer, in temperature and color and other ways he couldn't quite describe. Sun felt proud to be named after the provider of such light.

When they drove past a man walking his dog, Sun glued his eyes to the pair.

"Look! A puppy! Oh, it's been ages since we've seen one of those! Not since Garret brought his German Shepherd. What was his name? Do you remember, Moon?"

"Ranger," Moon mumbled.

"Why was there a dog in the daycare?" asked Gregory.

"Ranger was Garret's seeing-eye dog."

"That's right! I remember being so sad that we weren't allowed to pet him! I wonder how they're doing now?"

Finally, they reached Walmart. After she parked, Vanessa turned around to face the backseat.

"Alright guys, before we go in, I wanna set a few ground rules. Rule number one: do not talk to anyone except me or Gregory. If someone talks to you first, try to end the conversation ASAP, and remember to use your other names if they ask. Rule number two: do not touch anything unless we are buying it. I don't want to pay for any broken merchandise. Rule number three: stay where I can see you at all times. If we get separated, we'll meet back at the entrance. Any questions?" Sun raised his hand all the way to the car ceiling. "Yes?"

"Are you sure we can't talk to anyone?"

"Yes. Would you rather stay in the car?"

"NO! I can be quiet, I promise! Total silence starting right now!" Sun pantomimed zipping his lips, then folded his hands neatly in his lap. As much as he loved to socialize, he wasn't missing this trip for anything.

"Great. Let's go."

When they stepped through the doors, there was a row of claw machines to their right and a horde of shopping carts to their left. Vanessa grabbed a cart and put her purse in the baby seat area. The store was filled with all kinds of thingamabobs and doohickeys that Sun and Moon had never seen before.

It was also filled with people. Lots and lots of people, mostly grownups, some with carts, others with baskets, crowded together so closely they were practically on top of each other. Despite the tall warehouse ceiling, Sun started to feel claustrophobic. He shuffled closer to Vanessa and wrung his hands.

Gregory sighed and grabbed Sun's left hand. Sun looked over and saw that he was holding Moon's hand, too.

"Chill, guys. You're fine," Gregory assured him. "We're just gonna buy some stuff and go back home."

Sun was still a little nervous, but the store didn't seem so crowded anymore.

First, they bought some toiletries. Toothbrushes and toothpaste (Sparkle Fun Flavor), combs, body wash, shampoo and conditioner. Sun and Moon had no idea there were so many different types of soap! If Vanessa hadn't picked for them, they would have been there forever!

Then, they moved on to the clothing. Along with some basic t-shirts, shorts, and underwear, Vanessa had them pick out pajamas.

"Why do we need different clothes for sleeping?" Moon asked, placing a pair of star-patterned pajama pants in the cart. "Our daytime clothes seem to work fine."

"Technically, you don't need pajamas, but they're usually more comfortable to sleep in," answered Vanessa.

"They do feel really soft. Oh! And this one looks like a kitty!" Sun held up a fluffy cat onesie. He almost put it in the cart, but it looked too small for him, so he hung it back up.

"Hey Moon," said Gregory, "since you like wearing hats so much, maybe you could get one that you don't have to cover up in public." He pointed to a shelf covered in different-colored hats. A nearby sign claimed they were half-off.

Moon hesitated. "It wouldn't be the same."

"Yeah, I know. It would be a normal hat instead of a costume piece that people stare at."

"Gregory, that's enough," said Vanessa.

"No one's been staring at it," Moon insisted.

"That's because they can't see it."

Moon had been wearing his hood since they left the apartment, so his hat wasn't very visible right now, but he was definitely still wearing it. He hadn't taken it off, even after he was able to. Actually, could he take it off? Maybe the reason he seemed so attached to it was because it was still attached to him. Sun had never heard of a human with a hat attached to their head, but that didn't mean it wasn't possible.

"…Fine. You know what? I'll get a hat."

Moon walked over and reached for a stack of dark-blue beanies. At the same time, a young woman with red hair came around the corner and did the same. They didn't notice each other, and their hands met just for a moment before they both pulled away.

"Oh!" the woman exclaimed. "Sorry, I didn't see you there!"

"Uh, n-no worries, I should have paid more attention, too." Moon took a step back and gestured to the hats.

"Oh, thanks. Lemme just…" said the woman as she grabbed the top one. She tried it on in a nearby mirror. "It is a nice hat, isn't it?" She took the hat off, put it in her basket and left.

Moon stared after her for a moment, then grabbed a hat and put it in the cart.

"Alright, I believe that is everything," said Vanessa. "Let's roll out, boys."

As they went through the self-checkout, something made a high-pitched yip. Sun whipped around to find that there were not one, but two itty-bitty baby puppies in the cart behind them.

"Looklooklook!" he said to Moon, who had also heard the sound and was already looking. "I didn't know you could bring puppies into stores!"

The elderly woman pushing the cart noticed them staring and smiled.

"Would you like to pet them?" she asked.

Sun and Moon looked back at Vanessa, who nodded. They maneuvered around the cart and reached into the puppies' carrier. The excited puppies jumped up and licked their fingers, eagerly wagging their tails.

"That tickles!" Sun laughed.

"That's Muffin, and this is his sister, Cupcake," the dogs' owner explained. "They're yorkie poos. That's a cross between a yorkshire terrier and a poodle, in case you didn't know. And they're young things, too, only five months old. Now, these little pumpkins are special. Would you like to know why?"

"Why?" Sun asked.

"It's because these puppies are a gift from my grandbabies. They knew that my last dog, Sugar, died a few months ago, so they surprised me for my 70th birthday."

"Aww, that's so sweet!"

"Isn't it? They're such sweet kids, always doing things like that. Another thing I think is special about these puppies is that they're the only two in their litter. Yorkies, and in this case yorkie poos, usually have about three puppies, sometimes up to five, but their litter was just them, just two little twins." She looked up. "If you don't mind me assuming things, you boys look like twins, too."

"Thhhat's right, we are!" said Sun. Vanessa gave Moon an I-told-you-so eyebrow raise.

"Well, ain't that darling! Sweet twin boys coming along and petting my new twin puppies. What a coincidence! My name is Margaret by the way."

"Can I pet the puppies, too?" asked Gregory.

"Why of course you can! Come on over here!" Gregory came over and gave Muffin a few scratches behind the ear.

Vanessa turned around. "Hey guys, I'm done checking out. You ready to leave?"

Sun and Moon glanced at each other. As much as they wanted to stay and keep petting the puppies, they knew that Vanessa was ready to go.

"Ready as we'll ever be! Goodbye Ms. Margaret! Goodbye Muffin and Cupcake! It was very nice meeting you!"

"Goodbye, boys," said Margaret. "Thanks for listening to an old lady ramble."

When they got back to the apartment, Sun and Moon helped carry the bags in. Sun was glad to see Jean at the front desk again.

"Welcome back, everyone! It seems like you boys are feelin' better!"

"We are!" said Sun.

"Oh, that's great to hear! I was so worried about you two at first, but I knew you were in good hands. Vanessa, you've always been so kind, first you take in this little munchkin, now these two fellas."

"Thanks, Jean. I do what I can."

"And you do it so well, sweetie! Anyways, I see you have quite the load, so I won't keep you any longer, but it's great to see you boys again!"

Everyone started walking towards the stairs except for Sun. Moon grabbed his free hand and pulled him along. Before he was completely out of sight, Sun yelled out "Thanks! You too!"

As soon as they had finished putting everything away, Vanessa made dinner. They had chicken and rice, and she gave herself a smaller portion again. Now that he knew why, Sun couldn't help feeling guilty. After all, it was his fault they were here, taking up her and Gregory's time and money and space. As much as he wanted to go back home, Sun would take almost any job if it helped them. So would Moon, probably. By the way he hardly looked up from his plate, he seemed to feel bad about it, too. Sun tried to ask him in his head before remembering he couldn't. It was a silly thing to forget, what with them talking out loud all the time.

After dinner, Vanessa looked at them and crossed her arms. "So, who's showering first?"

After a brief explanation of how to turn the shower on and which kind of soap went where, Sun decided he wanted to go first (to no one's surprise). When he was done, he put on some of his new pajamas, yellow and white plaid shorts and a matching t-shirt. They were so soft, it was almost like wearing a blanket!

Next, it was Moon's turn. When he came out, he was wearing the star-pattern pjs. And for the first time, he wasn't wearing his hat!

"I think something's wrong with this towel," he said, desperately rubbing it against his head. "It won't dry my hair."

"I had that problem, too!" Sun replied. "You just have to wait for it to dry on its own."

"But I don't want to get my hat wet."

"Then don't wear it for five seconds," said Gregory. "You won't die."

Moon took the towel off of his head, revealing his damp hair. It looked slightly longer than Sun's. "But it feels so… wrong."

"Sorry, Moon," Vanessa chimed in, "I would let you borrow my hair dryer, but it broke a few days ago."

"Of course. It's not enough that my head is covered with weird strings, they have to be wet, too." Moon dropped into the Russian splits and continued trying to dry his hair.

"Woah. You're really flexible," Vanessa remarked.

Moon scoffed. "You call this flexible? I can barely move! I'll admit the hip joints are tolerable, but there's almost no torso rotation! Look at this!" Moon twisted to the left as far as he could. "That's pitiful! And don't even get me started on this neck!" He looked to the right. "That's less than fifty degrees!"

"I dunno, Moon," Gregory smirked, "sounds like a skill issue."

Moon whipped his head towards Gregory. "A skill issue? I've had the 'skills' since I was first brought online! If you people didn't have such limiting endoskeletons, I-"

"That's enough, boys," Vanessa said sternly. Everyone quieted down and turned to face her. "I don't want to get noise complaints because you hate having bones and you don't know how far to take a joke. Both of you, apologize."

Moon and Gregory looked down at the floor.

"Sorry, Moon. You don't have a skill issue. You're actually really good at all that gymnastics stuff. I was just trying to make a joke."

Vanessa nodded in approval and turned to Moon, who sighed.

"I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have yelled at you, or insulted your en- your skeleton. And I guess I don't need joints with 360° swivel rotation to survive."

"Good. Now it's time for you to get your pjs on, Greg." Just then, Vanessa got a notification on her phone. She checked it, sighed, and turned it around so everyone could see. The screen showed the first of two new emails. "Congratulations, guys."


Fazbear Official

To: nessie97

Congratulations, SAMUEL ASTER, you're the newest member of the Faz-fam!

Starting this Monday, you'll help bring FUN and FANTASY to life as a [SuperstarDaycare_pos2]!

Make sure to arrive at 6 a.m. sharp so you can start new employee orientation* and take a photo for your ID! Remember to smile!

We can't WAIT to meet you!

*Extent of orientation determined by position.


Fazbear Official

To: nessie97

Congratulations, GABRIEL ASTER, you're the newest member of the Faz-fam!

Starting this Monday, you'll help bring FUN and FANTASY to life as a [SuperstarDaycare_pos3]!

Make sure to arrive at 6 a.m. sharp so you can start new employee orientation* and take a photo for your ID! Remember to smile!

We can't WAIT to meet you!

*Extent of orientation determined by position.


Author's Note: I originally had some extra formatting to make the emails look slightly more like emails, but this site didn't like it. Hopefully this looks alright!