Pop Goes the Balloon

"I am. Just a little...tired."

Standing in the empty maze it hit you. I didn't get my muffin! Checking your watch Bonnie and The Avenger were long gone, both probably in a hurry to start playing. With all the screwing around it was a wonder the band even got any practice. Though you already knew the route you still checked your map. Vanessa had gone ahead and placed a marker in the daycare, noting you to get there asap.

Still hankering for those muffins you shoot Bonnie a text saying to meet him at your office when he was done becoming part of Chica's fantasies and after the daycare checkups.

With no other interruptions at play you start making your way to the daycare, only briefly stopping at your office to drop off the extra balljoint. That destroyed Chica body still remained, you making a mental note to disassemble it later.

The game with The Avenger had taken a lot more time than you expected. In combination between doing some daily checks, email updates, fixing Chica and the game (additional breaks notwithstanding) you felt a sense of urgency to check on Sun and Moon.

The daycare attendant, commonly called Sun or Moon, were 'two' animatronics that were not part of the band but still existed on the same level as the band members. Though goofier acting than the band members they're skill sets worked perfectly for handling young children. They were guardians.

Like their namesakes, Sun came out during the daycare's playtime and Moon came out during the daycare's naptime. Their personalities were opposite of each other, but despite the differences got along as brothers.

Moon in particular held a special place in your eyes, especially with him sacrificing himself during the meltdown incident. Even despite his animosity towards the child who helped fix the plex, he still protected him deeply. He was over often overlooked too, what with most of the daycare's children either scared of him or unknowing of his existence.

You made sure equal time was spent working with each of them.

Sun was a nice animatronic too, giving off evidence during 'Bonnie's investigation' and cooperating fully. Since the incident he'd effectively become your fanboy. Not the same way that Bonnie was for you, but Sun would cheer you on if he spotted you working on something. It was endearing to say the least.

Despite that you still considered them dangerous. Sure they weren't as large as the band members but where they lacked size made up for in agility. At least, you thought so until you met the Avenger. Regardless, Sun and Moon were master acrobatics and knew the exact limits of their flexibility. Like true circus performers they could manoeuvre across many different scenarios.

It also gave you a stark reminder that while The Avenger was good at hide and seek no doubt Sun and Moon would be legendary at it. Tempting as it was to test them at it, there was something wrong with them and it was up to you to solve.

The daycare was accessible from the main entrance, a close area where parents could drop off their younger kids while their older siblings went and enjoyed the plex.

As you walked the plex you reached the entrance to the daycare. Aside from the occasional janitorial bot and security bot nothing seemed too interested in you. No sign of that endoskeleton anywhere.

Reaching the end of the hall you find yourself at the entrance to the daycare, large sign hanging above reading:

SUPERSTAR DAYCARE PICK-UP!

To the right was a large poster covering the wall, depicting Moon holding a wrapped, candy, an advertisement for "Moondrops", his blueberry flavoured.

Blueberry. Reminded you still haven't gotten your muffin you ignore the left and approach the entrance. Normally the entrance would be open, a set of doors requiring you to pass through but this time the shutter was down. Though unusual, it was nothing to cause concern for. With a swipe of your keycard the shutter lifts and doors part, welcoming you into the daycare's reception.

The reception looked just as normal as the rest of the plex. A blue carpeted floor, several large monitors turned off that normally would've displayed ads and a counter covered in administrative books and daycare-related inventory. To the left stood a series of cubbies meant for kids to leave stuff at and a small lost and found section. Though tempting to look in it there were more pressing things.

At the end of the large reception area was a chainlink fence that separated the reception from the daycare proper. It overlooked the entire daycare with the play areas being a whole story lower. Down the left was a hallway that encircled the whole daycare, acting as a makeshift gallery for parents to see their children one last time before departing.

There were two ways to get into the play area. The first was a slide directly in front. Rainbow-coloured, kids would enthusiastically slide down and land in a ball pit, entering the daycare with a rush of energy. A sign above the slide gave a stark reminder of its purpose:

SLIDE INTO FUN!

The other way was down the walkway and a series of stairs that lead into the daycare. Meant for children who didn't want to slide, those too scared to go and those who just didn't want to say bye to their parents yet.

Of course, when said parents did return those children had the opposite feeling. They wanted to stay.

You, of course took the fun way, almost running into the slide and you dove feet-first into the it, a flash of rainbow-colours entering your first until you landed square in the ballpit, submerged in plastic balls.

Treading to the surface you start to 'swim to shore', expecting Sun to show up at any moment. Though as you pull yourself out of the ball pit and onto 'dry land' there was no circus music playing, let alone a grand laugh from anyone. It was eerily quiet.

Sun would always greet whoever entered with a hearty laugh and dive into the pit. He knew instantly whenever someone arrived. There were no such events this time. All was silent.

This was most unusual and gave some concern.

"Sun?" You call out, starting to walk the daycare.

There was no response.

It was bright inside the daycare, the lights on full blast. They lit pale blue walls that enclosed it and neon stars that would light up when the daycare entered naptime mode. Even more strange that Sun hadn't come out. You glance at the wall above the ballpit.

Located overlooking the daycare were Sun and Moon's personal quarters. Only accessibly by trapeze and an employee-only staircase it was their private green room. Unlike the rooms in Rockstar Row it wasn't public-facing. It was where the attendant would normally would emerge with an inadvertent Christmas-style, "Ho Ho Ho!", before diving into the ballpit. The visible part of the room was stylized like a cuckoo clock, platform and all. And instead of a bird popping out on the hour, Sun or Moon would emerge from it when the daycare opened. When they needed to return or when the daycare closed for the night they would swing along the trapeze and acrobat back into it.

Red curtains often covered the entrance, usually closed when it meant they were in there. Though, even more unusual the curtains were flapping faintly, indicating some kind of breeze.

Between the temperature alert, lack of response and present airflow, a dark possibility emerged.

They had left.

Stifling the fear you quickly check your fazwatch's map, the device displaying the attendant in their room, unmoving. A red outline surrounded his sprite indicating he hadn't moved from that spot in hours. Prior you had only seen that outline on S.T.A.F.F. bots that got stuck. By the lack of other alerts he wasn't in danger, just not moving.

Slightly more concerned now, you bypass the daycare, going straight for the administrative counter to get to the backrooms. With a brief keycard scan you push open the emergency exit and step into the back.

You ignore most of the storage, theatrical room and preparation area, going to the end where a wooden door with a plaque read:

TO SUN AND MOON'S GREEN ROOM

It lead to a staircase, revolving upwards to their room. Climbing the staircase you noticed something immediately. It was colder here, nay, it was downright freezing. As you reached further up you started to see your breath.

Even the handle to the next door, brass, was covered in frost. Using your shirt as a makeshift glove you open the door, pushing into the tundra-like room, teeth starting to chatter.

Normally the room was rather plain: a regular wooden floor, a wall full of simply drawn pictures by children that always seemed to grow every time you came, a large grid-window that allowed for the attendants to look over the parking lot (come to think of it, it was the only window any of the animatronic rooms had), some pillows arranged in a fort, small stage under it, curtains covering the trapeze entrance and various supplies and things the attendants kept to themselves all with a faint scents of lavender and lemon.

Such was the usual state of the room. Stepping in you found it ice-cold, wind violently blowing in from outside, snow pillowing in to, freezing and wetting everything. The pillow fort had taken the brunt, pillows scattered all over the room.

The camera in the room has frozen over, thereby blocking any surveillance.

Your first immediate thought was that they jumped ship, ran off. Were that the case however, you would've already known.

"Sun? Moon? You guys in here?" You call out.

There was no immediate response. Getting ready for the worst you head to the window and, ignoring numbness accumulating in your hands close the window, locking it as well. Looking out it a blizzard raged. Between the night and snowfall it was impossible to tell if they did run or not. Surely any tracks they left were long gone.

That must have been the environmental alert.

"...ugh." You heard a groggy voice from behind you.

Sun stepped out, rubbing one of his eyes. The daycare attendant's design was inspired by a typical circus performer and marionette, complete with (metal) wooden-looking arms and hands as a puppet would. He even had a hook on his back so that a rope could attach and help him glide across the ceiling. On his shoulders were frilly bows, coloured like his parachute pants, and a combination of gold and red stripes. On his chest were a few buttons, further enforcing his 'home-made appearance'. Further down he wore shoes, 'fantasy shoes' as you heard them described, cloth with bells on each end, the ends of each were knitted upwards and back so they formed a loop almost. 'Elf shoes', you'd also heard them described as. He wore a tutu, coloured inversely to his pants, mostly red with a gold outline around it's circumference.

On his wrists and shoes were ribbons and bells so everyone would hear him, wherever he goes.

His face was the most unique part of him, separating him from the band's style of animatronics. His face was round and designed like a sun. He even had the 'spikes' like how a child would draw the sun's rays. Complete with two puffed cheeks and a wide smile that stretched from cheek to cheek. His eyes were just white, marble-like spheres that shined normally. His face held a secret though, one, to your surprise many people did not know. If one looked closely enough would see the moon hidden in his face. He and Moon, though brothers, shared the same body. During playtime Sun would engage with the children. Come naptime, Sun would rest too and turn into Moon, the nightfall watcher and sleepy time expert.

"...hey (Y/N)..." Sun said groggily.

Whichever brother showed up on your time was completely random. You understood at one time it was linked to the lights in the daycare but after last year's events Sun and Moon could come out whenever they wanted. Their whole internal clock had become destabilized and while worrying, hadn't displayed any problems. You pause, wondering if that a potential cause, noting it down.

Sun was always way perkier than the rest of the animatronics, a literal sunbeam of happiness whenever he entered the room. In accordance with his optimism he was also blessed with hyperactivity. Perhaps made to match the unending hype of a child, he certainly could match any kid's energy, no matter how excited they were.

That is how Sun would normally appear. However, this time very little of that description rang true.

His tutu wasn't splayed up, it just sagged, as did his shoes and the bells on them. You had to do a double take as some of his sunrays weren't even out. The top 3 weren't even out, the sunrays visible giving him the appearance of a beard. Even his pants seemed a darker colour than usual.

His movement was sluggish, even moving slow enough to not ring the bells tied to him. It didn't appear robotic or synthetic at all either. Just tired.

"Sun, you okay?" You asked, knowing full well he wasn't.

"...I'm fine." He paused for a second, looking at you. "Are you..okay?" There was delay in his words, processing things far slower than usual.

"I'm alright. It's freezing in here. Why did you have the window open?"

"...I didn't know it was open."

More warning signs. How could he have not noticed such a thing?

"Are you sure? You don't look so good."

"..." Sun just looked at you, then glanced to the window. He sighed.

"I am. Just a little...tired." His mouth didn't move either, something it could do, instead he spoke through his voicebox. He did not smile as usual, face in a neutral position, showing no positive expression.

"Have you charged yourself today?"

"My battery is fully charged!" He said, voice shooting up and partially clipping. Though while he raised his voice his hunched posture did not change.

You shook your head. Sometimes Sun did lie, though he was a poor liar. This was just strange.

"How's Moon doing?"

"He's fine too..." He said, slurring his words slightly as he spoke.

"Sun. You know if you aren't doing good I'm here to help. That's my job is. Are you absolutely sure you and Moon are fine?"

"Well I think my arm is a bit loose."

"...That's it?" You ask.

Sun waited for several seconds before responding. "...I think so."

It was evident something was clearly wrong and with all the warning signs piling, you were sure even if didn't even notice his problems, like how many don't notice their injuries on account of shock. Sun was always like a bright sunflower, petals spread and absorbing all the sun's light. Right now he looked wilted and downcast, petals drooping and the opposite of thriving.

"Well I'm going to need to run diagnostics on you. There's something wrong."

"Okie." He said, walking up to you before collapsing, tripping and landing face-first into the wooden floor.

"...Ow."

You go to help him up, having him sit cross-legged as he leaned forward. He smelled faintly of vanilla.

With the way Sun as acting it was surprising nobody called you sooner. He was in no shape to deal with children, struggling with the most basics of tasks. Though if nobody said anything maybe he was doing fine earlier and had been crashing out in the evenings? Either way, it looked bad. Recalling your last meeting he certainly wasn't like this. Tired maybe but nothing at this level.

Just from being close to Sun you discover another issue. The servos and gears inside him were turning loudly and erratically.

From your backpack you took out a screwdriver, small cup and rubber gloves. Dealing with animatronics was one thing but dealing with a live one was like biking without a helmet. Dangerous without protection. Screwdriver in hand you start unbolting the back plate.

"Hey, (Y/N)..." Sun said slowly. "...Do you think I am good with the kids?"

"Hm? Of course you are."

The back plate unlatched exposing the interior backside of Sun. The main stay of the inside was a glowing blue cylinder, it's appearance almost akin to a lava lamp as liquid electricity flowed through it.

Nestling it were a series of wires, hugging it as veins would the ribcage. However, as striking as the blue glow was, another issue made itself readily apparently. There were specks of a black material upon parts of the battery, solid and moulded to the battery. Using the screwdriver you attempt to scrap some off, no intention of touching it. Battery acid was corrosive and even if that were hardened acid, touching it, even with gloves could be dangerous. You scrape a bunch off onto the ground, intending to analyze it later.

You enter a few notes into your phone. Sluggish, inability to coordinate movement, intermittent memory loss, a faulty power supply as the primary cause. That somehow it could be related to the desynchronized clock.

"I..keep waking up." Sun said out of the blue.

"What do you mean?"

"Sometimes when Moon is out!" Sun's voice rose suddenly as you pulled your hands away from his back in response. "Sometimes when Moon is out I wake up. And I can't hear him." He said, voice quieting.

You note that down.

Closing up the back you decide that while a faulty power supply could be causing issues there must have been something else. "I'm gonna need to you look at your head next. That alright?"

There was no response.

"Why would you need to do that?" A different voice emerged. While Sun's voice was chipper by default this one was deeper, more subdued. If Sun always said the first thing that popped into his head, this voice carefully selected each word and neatly organized them before speaking. It was Moon's voice.

The attendant stood up, shaking himself off as she did. He turned back to face you, Sun. He looked at you quizzically, "Who...are you?" He asked, innocently. Though his voice sounded like Moon's his appearance still showed Sun.

He grabbed his head, holding a hand over his eye.

"Sun, er, Moon. You alright?" You ask, concerned.

"Moon." The attendant said, voice a little unsure. "That's right. I am Moon."

While they shared the same body they still had vastly different appearances. Fundamentally they wore the same clothes, instead the colours on them changing as a chameleon would. Normally the change would take a few seconds, but this time it acted in slow motion.

The crescent moon on Moon's face became visible as the yellow in this face turned dark, symbolizing the night sky. Marble eyes turned obsidian as a red light emerged in them, making his iris visible. The 'sun's rays' retracted into his head, arms became similar a gradient separating silky white upper arms and shoulders to the night sky of his lower arm. Bows became dark with a deep red sheen of an outline. His chest and upper body became a patchwork of the moon and outer space, akin to a chessboard.

Most prominently, his parachute pants changed from a red and yellow outline to a deep blue, small stars covering the pants as they would the evening sky.

Every time you'd seen him he also sported a night cap covered in stars and cloth. This time he didn't have it with him, leaving his head exposed.

While Sun was the literal representation of the sun and the limitless energy it wrought, Moon was the literal representation of the moon.

Cool. Calm. Collected. His very speech could help hum children to sleep. Preferring to lurk in the dark he found it far more relaxing that hot lights and droning sounds of the fluorescence.

He preferred a breeze and believed most people slept better in cooler temperatures. It was also his upmost professionalism and traversal of the darkness that allowed him to help so much during the incident. Sun, much as you loved him was manic. Whenever it came to diagnosing a problem Sun proposed ever possible issue under the, well, sun.

Moon on the other hand was more analytical and even if he were wrong in guessing, his thoughts led you closer to the problem than Sun suggesting that solar radiation was somehow the reason the light broke.

Both brothers had their skills of course, though for repairs and fixing, Moon was always better it.

"Moon. You alright? I was just talking to Sun. There's something clearly wrong."

"I know. I don't know what it is. But I can feel it."

Phone out you start taking notes. "So what's been happening? Specifically. Sun says you're all fine, I know that isn't true."

"We've been flashing. This is the second time today."

"Flashing. So you've been changing accidentally?"

"I don't think it's an accident. One moment I was sleeping, the next I am surrounded by happy children. It's..something is wrong."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"Sun told me not to-" Moon froze mid sentence, not moving. You could still hear his gears turning.

"Moon?"

"P-promise you won't decommission us." Moon(?) said, though with a much more pitched voice higher than you expected.

"De-decommission you?" You respond, surprised. "Moon I would never do that. Hell, you saved us all once already. If it weren't for your sacrifice back then the whole plex would've been screwed." You said, a little irate. You didn't mean to sound upset though it was a touchy subject with the animatronics. "Don't say that. I swear to you I will never do that. I will fix you one way or another."

Though Moon retained the same deadpan look as Sun, it widened just a little in happiness. "Thank you." He said.

Thinking on it you wonder if these problems started during the meltdown incident. At the time, Moon and a child had a showdown with a corrupted Freddy. It ended rather grisly with Moon being bisected and effectively severed at the core.

"Did this all start after that our battle in the plex? Er, when I started?"

"I. Maybe. I can't remember. You should ask Sun. I was sleeping when he helped."

"Moon. That was you who helped. Sun was corrupted that night."

"Was it?" Moon asked, finger on his chin as he pondered. "I could have sworn it was Sun."

As you listened to Moon speak you started to notice his speech patterns weren't as refined. He was sounding more like his brother.

"O-okay. Sorry. You were right. Sun was corrupted."

"You mind if I look in your head?"

"Okie." He walked closer to you and sat down, facing away.

"Does your head hurt right now?"

"Not really. Just, uh, numb."

While a failing battery could've caused issues with sluggish movement and coordination, it shouldn't have asked memory leakage or 'flashing'. There had to be another problem.

The next chapter will be called Diagnosis. (released on Wednesday).