The intercom stated, "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for visiting and we hope you enjoyed the show! Have an awesome night, and we'll see you again soon!"
Gregory looked over his dark, sparkly surroundings. The lights above were dark, and the neon lights of the gang's faces and various symbols didn't spread much multicolor light very far. A couple of wet floor sign bots with glowing circle eyes watched him at the end of the hall by a set of closed shutters, giving him a warning of where to stop. The light spilling out from Chica, Monty, Roxy, and Freddy's rooms was enough to light his immediate path. He clicked the back of his cupcake. Its eyes glowed, giving about as much light as the maintenance light in Monty's maintenance room, but less concentrated.
Ah, this wasn't going to get annoying fast.
Gregory approached Chica's door. He decided to click off the light. It needed to cycle through the purple light before shutting off. Something flashed on the door as he did so. Gregory raised his eyebrows. He clicked on the cupcake light and then the UV light. Glowing in UV light on the door was a simply drawn rabbit's head with a small triangle warning sign above the head and the ears crossed out.
"…that's the white rabbit's, isn't it?"
When did she draw this, though?
"Hopefully not tonight."
Gregory tried to open the door. Click. "The stupid door won't open."
"Oh?" Chica asked. "You'll need a Photo Pass. I'm sorry, I thought you already had one. Well, the convenience counters always have them!"
Just like with Monty's door. Memories crept back into his mind as he walked back into the hall. He walked past glass cases set on pedestals protecting various ancient artifacts of the long gone. The outline of a star-shaped guitar from one of the old rockstars in a case near the door was lit up by Chica's room, as was a cupcake almost directly in front of it, and then a huge, stepped pedestal holding a golden statue of Chica lined with fake fronds. Monty's room glowed with pale green light, detailing the fake fronds and minigolf memorabilia within his green room. Monty stood with his fingers tangled in a complex web of string, carefully twitching and moving his fingers and hands to continue the design. Torn string lay in front of his feet. Before the violet curtains of Roxy's green room was another red guitar, presumably from a rockstar animatronic. Roxy herself stood in front of her glowing star-shaped vanity in her spotless, mechanics-covered room playing with her mane and tail.
Then there was Freddy, the star of the show, in a bear-themed room with child drawings pinned on his wall, his green room exposed by the red curtains drawn and tied to the ends. He stood in the middle of his room, looking at a bowling ball. Freddy's body remained still in his pose and his head rotated to the side. Gregory stopped behind one of the pedestals holding a glass case of something or other. Freddy stared in his direction for an uncomfortably long amount of time before his ear twitched and his head went back to his bowling ball. Gregory still didn't trust that he was looking at the bowling ball and he hurried his pace.
Gregory stared ahead at the dark, checkerboard-trimmed shutters. He ducked under them as they opened a couple of feet, but no further. TVs attached to pillars held up the ceiling in equal intervals down the hall, connected by red couches and potted plants. The first two pillars had nothing connecting them, allowing for a huge, open space and winding pale tile to weave around the space-patterned carpet. More decorations covered the walls, but the light emitting from Rockstar Row was too faint to properly see them. He clicked on his cupcake light, and then for curiosity's sake clicked it again for the UV part. Nothing purple glowed, so he went back to the light.
Gregory stepped forward, transferred the light to his hand holding Bonnie, and grabbed the pass from the present against the far wall.
He ducked under the shutters and clicked his cupcake light so it turned into a UV light. At this angle, Freddy wouldn't be able to see him. So as long as he was quiet, and the bear was like Monty and Chica and couldn't get through his door, he could check Freddy's door.
So, Gregory did just that, creeping up on the bear's door with his cupcake UV light up. Plain bunny ears glowed on the door, no warning sign or crossed-out marks or a head or anything. Well, if Freddy was Vanny's pet, that would make sense. That meant that Vanny barely controlled Chica and couldn't be around her. What about the others? Did she have any control over Roxy and Monty?
He took the long way around the glass cases to avoid Freddy's detection. Just in case, he glanced at Freddy. Freddy stood perfectly still and faced the hall, his baby blue eyes sweeping over the hall like a security camera. Roxy's door had an exclamation mark above an eye and a bunny symbol. Roxy swung her head back and forth as she searched the hall, back to her vanity and hands raised at her sides as if ready to swipe. Further down, Monty's door just had a few exclamation marks but did have a bunny symbol like Chica and Roxy. Considering what Monty did to Gregory on accident, that checked out. Monty stared at the hall, his head moving back and forth and his whole body moving with it. The strings lay discarded on the floor.
Gregory stopped in front of Chica's door and opened it.
"Super job, Gregory!" Chica congratulated. "Now, let's get you out of here."
Gregory glanced at the other green rooms as Chica walked out of hers. "What about the others? Your friends aren't exactly, uh… friendly."
"Oh, um… just stay low, okay? If I carry you, they'll see you, too. We'll go through the utility tunnels. It's the quickest path and no one should see us there."
Gregory nodded and walked to her other side, careful to stay low to the ground. Chica glanced at the other green rooms. She opened one of the double red utility doors and let him in first. He clicked on his cupcake light. It meshed with her deep blue eyelights as they walked down the lime-green metal stairs.
Vanessa called somewhere down below, "Hello? Little boy? If you're down here, say something!"
A flash of cold nipped his veins. "That security guard's down here!" Gregory gasped. "We have to go back!"
Chica soothed, "Don't worry, she'll see me first. If she spots me, hide and wait until she leaves. However, we should try not to get spotted in the first place."
Gregory nodded but didn't say anything. She held out her hand for him. He gave her an odd look.
"We're about to go into the tunnels. You can hold my hand so you don't accidentally get lost," Chica suggested.
"I'm old enough to walk on my own."
"You are, but even the security staff get lost sometimes!"
Gregory nodded. "Okay. Just so… I don't get lost." Gregory hooked one of his fingers from his other hand into the cupcake's clip. Then, as they hit the end of the stairs, he took her outstretched hand. Despite her fingers being cold and plastic, holding onto her hand, and feeling her fingers wrap around his, gave him some measure of security.
Gregory flashed a glance at the hallway he and Monty had gone down to bandage his arm and cheek. It felt like an eternity had passed since they'd gone through this hallway, but only twelve hours had gone by. Only twelve hours. Maybe, technically, no time had gone by since he'd just gone back in time.
Curious, Gregory asked, "Where are we?"
Chica answered, "We're under the Pizzaplex! The Utility Tunnels connect all the attractions–Monty Golf, Roxy Raceway, Fazerblast. Anywhere in the building is accessible to S.T.A.F.F. with high enough clearance. Guests aren't normally allowed down here buuuut you're a special exception." She tipped her head, and he caught her wink. He smiled up at her and muffled a laugh.
A chain link fence blocked them, so they continued right up the lime stairs. The stairway ended at a turn, the left side being a fence with locked chains and a Monty symbol that had been crossed out, and the right leading to an open room with another one of the red cylinders with portholes and lightning bolts. A set of red metal doors stood ahead of them.
"That's a recharge station," Chica pointed out. "We need to go to those to recharge at the end of the hour. Thankfully, I recently charged and I'm ready to keep going! I have the longest battery life of all the band so I can teach the Mazercise courses without running out of battery too often."
"So, do you need to recharge at the hour, too?"
Chica shook her head. "Nope. If I manage my battery, I can go for up to two hours without needing to recharge. Neat, huh?"
They passed through the double set of red doors into a half-pink hallway, the walls halfway up being painted a vibrant pink all the way as far as he could see. A red arrow with the black outline of a desk and maybe a person or bot and "LOBBY" pointing down through the hall stamped into the wall. Unfortunately, a table with stacks of paint cans on top and under it as well as a few boxes blocked the way. A gray door with a Chica and Freddy before and after the table cut into the right side of the wall. Gregory asked, "Why wasn't everyone else given a longer charge? Isn't it boring needing to charge every hour?"
"It's our design," she stated simply.
They passed through the gray door into a bathroom. A pile of garbage pushed up against the wall. Chica's eyes stayed on the garbage pile as they passed it and a little while after they left back into the hall.
"Are you okay?" Gregory asked.
"Huh? Oh! Yes," Chica said, turning ahead again. "I am a-okay!"
The hallway curved a few times before opening into a thin room with a long shelving unit full of stuff in the middle. Gregory bit back a grimace. This is where Monty had trouble, right? Chica kept moving. She pulled her hand behind herself so that Gregory had to walk behind her single file. They still made it all the way through without any problems.
They emerged into a half-pink, half-green hallway wide enough for them to walk together. It twisted and turned a few times with a few storage rooms built into it before leading into a room that buzzed and beeped with technology. Chica hesitated when they got in and hissed, "Monty!" Then, she released Gregory and pushed him forward, away from the fence. Gregory stumbled and looked back at Chica, who raised her hands to grab him. "Lost boy over here!" she trilled.
Gregory stumbled back, eyes wide in terror. She looked at the path ahead with dark blue eyes and then at him and winked.
Behind her, the chains binding the fence snapped as Monty ripped through it. "There you are!" the animatronic alligator roared.
Gregory's gaze hardened. He turned and ran, "chased" by Chica, whose lumbering steps were just shy of his run. Monty snarled at her, "Chica, move!"
"He's mine!" Chica hissed back at him.
The cupcake flashlight gave a pitiful amount of light, but it was light all the same.
At the end of the path was a symbol painted on the wall he couldn't see, a chain link fence on the right, and an open area on the left. As he approached, something slammed into the chain link and a yellow light glowed over the hall. Gregory jumped and picked up his pace. Roxy pushed into the fence, her clawed fingers in the holes in the linked metal. Purple light glowed over him as he passed, his quick pace even quicker as he sprinted down the now half-purple, half-white brick hallway. The symbol on the wall was the same arrow with the desk, person, and "LOBBY" on it. "Hey, kid!" she called, but he didn't slow down.
He shoved through a door into a wide space he could barely see into and slowed so he didn't trip over himself. Chica caught up with him as they ascended the stairs. Monty roared and kept following, but his huge paws couldn't get up the stairs quite as quickly as Chica's feet or Gregory's shoes.
Gregory raced into the security office. The door slammed shut behind him. Chica flew into the door with a startled squawk.
Gregory squinted in the harsh gray light as static from the giant monitor filled the room, glinting off metal and plastic and seeping over cloth. He spun around but found no buttons by the doors that could open it. He stopped looking when Monty slammed into it and his claws shrieked against the door.
Beep! Gregory tapped his glasses. A new chat message appeared in his log. [You should be very safe in here. These security offices were meant to keep staff safe in case of emergency, as long as the doors have power.]
Gregory looked at the power bar beside the door Monty pounded on. He bristled. "Chica, the door's at fifteen percent!"
Beep! [Oh. Well, I'll give you security access. That should let you use the doors and cameras. Then you can get out of here. Hold on a second!]
Beep! [There! Now you should be able to connect to the security system with your glasses.]
Gregory pressed the Freddy-head-shaped button on the security desk amidst the clutter of technology. The right door opened. His glasses beeped and another panel appeared beside his chat log labeled "CAM".
Beep! [Your glasses are connected to the security cameras. The cameras are attached to a labeled map. If a camera detects sound, it'll light up yellow. If it detects movement, it'll light up red. Now we should go to the main lobby. That's where the exit is.]
Gregory tapped his glasses and opened the CAMS tab. Nothing occupied the square-shaped hall. He walked out into the hall and to the next set of double doors. The short hall led to another short set of doors and then passed into the entrance area before the ticket stands. Neon lights on the walls and ceiling as well as parking lot lights glowing through the massive front windows and glass doors lit up the shiny, dark tiles.
The time was twelve am.
The intercom stated, "Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex is now closed. Initiating nighttime protocols."
Gregory bristled and took off in a sprint past a huge pillar with a wrap-around, dark TV. Shutters decorated with winking Freddy faces slid over the doors. "No. No! Wait! I'm still here!" He slowed to a stop as he got to the sealed exit and sighed. "Now what am I supposed to do?"
Beep! [Oh no! I'm so sorry. Well, we can always come back at six am. That's when the doors open. Until then, you need to lay low. I will keep you safe, okay?]
Gregory nodded and let out a breath. "Okay. Thank you, Chica." He looked over the ticket stands and then the far side of the room, where he knew the complimentary pass was.
Wasn't this too familiar?
He clutched Bonnie a little tighter and looked out the windows as he passed. The air chilled as he got close. Streetlamps glowed over the parking lot and stars twinkled like ice chips high in the sky. No moon hung in the black. He couldn't help laughing at the irony. He shivered and looked ahead. The air warmed as he walked deeper into the entrance area, though not by much. The temperature would only seriously change past the ticket stands.
Across the vast room, he looked past the pillars with dark electronic ads to see neon lights pointing to a sign. He faintly read something about a pass. Right, the complimentary entry pass.
This box had a crank on it, too. Gregory rolled his eyes and, preparing for the worst, held it down and cranked it until the top popped off with a honk and spray of confetti. He snatched the pass and walked to the ticket stands, which accepted it once he swiped it at a certain angle.
Beep! [Good job, Gregory! Sadly, that complimentary entry pass only lets you into the Lobby, not into the Mega Pizzaplex. You can exchange it in customer service, though!]
Gregory started to speak but choked on his words upon seeing something move before the giant fountain before him. He tapped his glasses and minimized the chat log.
A security bot rolled back and forth in front of the ticket stands.
Gregory glanced around at his surroundings and then tried to creep forward. Unfortunately, both ways he looked, the entryways were blocked by diamond-shaped rolling shutters. He darted up to the fountain, out of range of the creepy security bot.
Gregory looked into the building beside himself. To his right, "Glamrock Gifts" inside two circles flanked by lightning bolts glowed in neon on the shop window. Across from him, on the second-story wall next to the balcony, was "Faz pad" glowing in yellow neon. Faz pad had the customer service machine on the bottom floor. However, the machine ate his card last time. It might not do so this time, but just in case, he should get a magnet from Glamrock Gifts.
Gregory went up the stairs and across the walkway. The "Glamrock Gifts" symbol glowed above the door. Behind him, a photo booth sat on carpet between two elevators. The crowded gift shop screaming at him to buy its yet-to-be-restocked merchandise felt empty.
The first story's centerpiece facing the counter was something about a mystery prize. There were a lot of question marks and a box with a crank flanked by the daycare attendant plushies. He could hardly make out any words with his cupcake light, and there weren't any purple lines to be revealed in the UV light. So, he cranked open the prize box and fished out the Mr. Hippo fridge magnet. The small flare of hope he couldn't help but feel was immediately dashed.
Gregory backtracked up the stairs and across the carpeted landing. No noise came out of the place. So, he walked across the walkway and through the café. Hunger clawed at his stomach, but he ignored it. He had more serious issues right now. If he came across food, he'd go for it. Right now, he had other things to deal with.
Immediately after opening the door at the bottom of the stairs, he found a machine to the far right with a big screen on its face behind a counter. A few neon lights lit up the area, but they were scarce. He walked up to the machine and glanced at the wall beside it, where a warning to keep magnets away from the machine was stuck onto the wall.
A screen with bear ears on top said, "UPGRADE YOUR FULL ACCESS PASS!" while the screen on the machine had the same light blue background but switched between a little chubby blue-pink-and-white bear with dialogue and the same bear with a barcode beside it. He fed the pass into the slot next to the number pad and looked at the screen. The screen stayed with the little bear saying its name and offering to help.
He took the Mr. Hippo magnet out of his pocket and gave it the greatest purpose it could ever fulfill.
The screen glitched and the bear became very worried. Then, the machine spat out a new card–a blue one with clouds and a sun and moon on it.
"Yes! The magnet scrambled the machine!" Gregory hissed in victory. Then, his eyebrows furrowed, and he took the pass. Superstar Daycare PICK-UP PASS. "Aw, man. Now it's a Daycare Pass?" Again? What are the odds of that?
Beep! [Daycare? Oh, that's wonderful news! I'll meet you in the Daycare! The entrance is on the second-floor balcony.]
"Okay. Meet you there." Gregory looked over his pass as he walked back up the stairs. Monty really didn't want to go to the Daycare. Is the moon man there?
"Yes, Moon lives there. Moon also patrols the Pizzaplex when it gets dark."
So why is Chica so excited? Doesn't she know? Monty was scared of him!
"I… I remember good things about Moon. Nice things. But Sun…?"
…
"My memory's acting weird. He's nice, but now the rule is to leave the lights… off? But I almost always knew the attendant while the lights were on. Am I mixing that up? I know recently what he did, but I remember… I-I need some time to think."
Gregory walked up to the big red doors. Above them was the "Superstar Daycare PICK UP" logo with a rainbow. Next to it was a pillar with a square cut into it with the same logo and "DAYCARE PASS REQUIRED FOR ENTRY" under it. He clicked his cupcake flashlight and grimaced at the purple glowing scribbles over it. He clicked the cupcake a couple of times to turn it into a light again and pushed through.
He pushed his way through and groaned in exasperation. The dark tiles and star-speckled ceilings ate whatever light the scarce neon lights ringing the step pedestals, fountain, and pillars and the soda machines far away gave off. Thankfully the red-bricked walls weren't too bad, but they were far from shiny. So, he kept his hand on the wall and walked forward. A charging dock pressed up against the wall near the sun and moon, blue shutters at the end of the wide hall.
Gregory approached the shutters and then bit back a yelp and instinctively covered his eyes as bright light spilled through the festive shutters. Squinting through his sunglasses, he looked around the light blue room. The far wall consisted of mesh. Two golden statues, one of a jester with a round, flat face, grand smile, and sunshine spokes around his head in a ta-da pose facing him, stood in the center. A couple of red couches sat to the left of the room with various blue toddler chairs and toddler tables scattered about. On the right were adult tables and red adult chairs. He stepped inside, still trying to get used to the mad amount of light.
The time was twelve-thirty am.
Beep! [Hello, Gregory! Um, it seems I can't get to you. You'll need to go to the Daycare and ask Sun to let me in! He's the Daycare Attendant.]
Gregory eyed the mesh. He walked up closer, but his view was blocked by giant cut-out clouds. A slide with a rainbow above it declaring "SLIDE INTO FUN" above it stamped above the teal carpeted ground. He looked back at the statue. From this angle, he could see the other one. This jester had a round, flat face like the sunny one, but no spokes. Instead, it had a nightcap. It crouched and jumped with one foot way up high, elbows bent and hands level in a funny jig. Neither foot touched the ground and a gold pole connected to the ceiling kept it in the air.
Moon.
So, what was that about the rule about keeping the lights off?
"I-I… I don't know. It's been a while since I've been here, maybe that's it. Naptime rules you know."
Gregory hesitated at the slide. He took a deep breath, pocketed his cupcake for safekeeping, and hopped into the slide.
He rushed down the curly, steep-angled slide. Bumps between where colors alternated in the slide jabbed into his bones. Finally, the slide spat him out into a huge ball pit. Bouncy, squeaky music interrupted by animal sounds played above. He hopped up, flanked on either side by faux brick castle walls a few feet tall–tall enough to hinder an escape, but not so much as to block his view of the gargantuan play place that sprawled out beside him. Barred play structures with cutouts of the characters attached to them stood out on the multicolored floor. Slides wove in and out and up and down the play structures doubling as probably illegal climbing bars considering how tall they were. Toddler chairs around tables sat out along with a few huge stuffed toys and a few stacks of cans. At the far end of the daycare up against the wall was the security desk. He looked forward into the ball pit and saw a few rainbows acting as walled handrails leading from the ball pit out into the play place.
A loud, clanking noise above him snapped his attention skyward. Up on the wall, a balcony jutted out from the 2-D castle tower cut out on the wall. The jester from the castle twirled out in clothes not too dissimilar in color from the sun-spoke statue with the added orange striped pants and red buttons and cloth. "Hooo, hooo, hooo!" he exclaimed, tossing his pale hands back hard enough to throw himself off balance and force one bell-tipped foot off the ground before landing again. He crouched, clapped his hands before himself, and dove into the ball pit. Balls exploded from the impact and rained back down.
Nope.
Gregory struggled toward the rainbow bridge, though barely being able to touch the ground with his toes was making that an undertaking. Two lithe-fingered hands burst from the ball pit and snatched him, yanking him into the air as the jester animatronic stood up. "Hello! New friend!" The daycare attendant held him up at eye level way higher than an adult and tromped onto the bridge.
A memory flashed through his mind, of warbled music and faded paint, Sun the Daycare Attendant with warped sun rays and the intense need to run, get away, hide before he hurts you!
"You're sure up la–!"
Fear so intense and sudden jolted through him that he screamed and thrashed in his grip. Sun released him immediately, thankfully with very little air between him and the soft ground of the bridge, with a shocked "Oh!". Gregory bolted to the nearest hiding place–the opening to a play structure. It wasn't much, but it broke the line of sight and he hid in the corner. Light from the ceiling spotlights and glowing clouds streamed into the play structure in broken squares.
"Oh no, oh dear! I'm so sorry! New Friend, I didn't mean to scare you!" Sun called after him.
What was that?
"I-I don't know? I don't… I-I… he… I don't know."
I need to get out of here.
"Yeah."
Gregory wove through the play structure, staring out through the bars into the playground as he went. Sun's bells jingled in the clear area between the structures nearby. If Sun hurried, he could grab Gregory before he made it to the security desk. But he wouldn't be expecting Gregory to be going to the security desk, would he?
Gregory peered around the corner at Sun, who fidgeted anxiously nearby, ringing his bells and swaying and watching Gregory. Upon seeing Gregory, he called, "Hello, New Friend! It's okay, I won't come over there if you don't want me to. I'm sorry for scaring you."
The boy glanced at the big double doors–there was no way he was going to be quick enough to reach those–and then further into the play place and back to Sun.
The Daycare Attendant crouched down to Gregory's level. His fidgeting still rang the bells on his wrist on occasion, though this was likely on purpose to keep Gregory's attention. "Do you want to play some games? There's the play structures and the ball pit, but I also have crayons and glitter glue and I can put on a puppet show!" Sun listed off.
Gregory shuffled his feet. "…are you going to hurt me?"
"No, New Friend! I'm not here to hurt you! I would never hurt a child. I'm here to help."
The kid shot him a shifty look. "The others said they were here to help me. And they tried to bite my head off."
Sun stopped. "The others… they… but they're supposed…" his voice trailed off. Then, he laughed and went back to his ringing. "Well, you can stay here! I'm programmed to run the Daycare, and no other animatronics are allowed inside without my permission outside of working hours!"
"No one can come in? But I got in," Gregory pointed out, relaxing just the smallest bit. At least Roxy couldn't come in here and split his skull in half again.
"That's because you're a human! You have a Daycare Pass!"
Gregory thought for a moment. "Well… one of them isn't trying to kill me. Chica. She's my friend. Can you let her in here?"
"Chica?" Sun prompted, cocking his head. His spokes followed at a delay. "Oh, I know of her! If she's your friend, then that's a-okay! You'll need to come out, though. None of the glamrocks can fit in the structures like I can." Sun held up his hands. "If you don't want me to come near you, that's okay! I'll stay over here!"
Clutching Bonnie tight to his chest, Gregory crept out of the play structure. He took a few steps out into the light but didn't get anywhere close to arm's length of the Daycare Attendant. The memory of a pair of hands grabbing him and the fear, the overwhelming need to run stayed sharp in his memory. Sun was calm right now, and the Sun he'd seen in that memory–or maybe vision all things considering–was worn to hysteria with warped sun rays. They may not be the same animatronic, or maybe it was a glimpse into the future and hadn't yet come true, but Gregory couldn't be too careful.
The true memory, Gregory's memory, of Roxy's teeth in his head resurfaced. Sun didn't have teeth, but he could still do damage.
Then, a headache crept up on Gregory. He narrowed his eyes and set his hand to his head. He sucked in his breath and his eyes widened.
Sun asked, his voice a little quieter now. A blessing for his aching head. "New Friend? Are you okay?"
"Th-that rabbit lady! It's the rabbit lady!"
Sun froze as if Gregory had hit the pause button on him. "The rabbit lady?"
The double doors creaked open just a little.
They both turned to the doors. She put a finger to her mouth just like when she pressed the button on the garbage compactor. Gregory bristled and ran behind Sun, hiding behind one of his striped yellow and orange legs. She wouldn't attack a giant creepy jester animatronic, would she?
Sun's knees bent but stopped when Gregory touched him.
Then, she stretched herself out and flipped a switch just within reach of the security desk. The lights within the Daycare went out with a whine and the bouncy music slowly died. She fled and shut the door.
Sun screamed, "No! No, no, no! Lights on, lights on!"
Gregory looked up at him. "The moon guy!" He tugged at Sun's pants. "Come on, we gotta get out of here before he gets us!"
Sun grabbed Gregory and shoved him away so hard that the boy staggered back a few feet and fell back with a hard huff. "Get out, get out!" The Daycare Attendant screamed and grabbed at his spokes and face.
Gregory scrambled back and staggered to his feet.
Sun's cream and yellow colors turned to extreme shades of white and navy blue. His spokes retracted, replaced by a floppy nightcap. The Daycare Attendant, previously doubled over so close to the ground its scarlet eye lights glowed over the soft padding, pulled itself up into a crouch and raised its hands before itself.