Left Behind

Mother's Day

There weren't many guests in the Pizzarplex on the more personal holidays such as Mother's Day. There was the occasional family that would stop by to enjoy a game of Bonnie Bowl or Fazer Blast, but most just stuck to the more traditional method of a fancy dinner at a restaurant that didn't smell like fake cheese and bleached depression.

Of course, the lack of customers wasn't all that bad. It allowed the animatronics far more free time than the usual busy day would've, if not a complete day off.

This Mother's Day was... different from the ones before it. This time, there were no guests in the building, but it was far from empty. Police littered the main floor, searching through the lobby meticulously before fanning out to the rest of the building, oblivious to Moon watching from above.

Fortunately, they had a search warrant listed for the Pizzaplex so Moon didn't have to worry about trying to disarm and neutralize an entire squadron of police searching for goodness knows what. Unfortunately, however, the cleaning droids didn't have the same access to Police databases as Moon did so they still wailed out in alarm any time the officers would get too close. This would, of course, lead to the quick dismemberment of the robot's head if not a barrage of bullets from the jumpier members of the group.

Moon sighed internally as another of the bots was sent to the ground, the amused snickering below them only serving to aggravate them further. "Yeah, I bet it's really funny when you're not the one that's going to have to drag all the remains back to Parts and Service." They grumbled moodily. Admittedly, they didn't exactly have to either but none of the workers were going to do it and Moon really didn't want to be the one to walk in on the strange little ritual they did when they found the bodies of one of their own during their rounds. Absent-mindedly, they tugged their hat back from where it'd been steadily slipping down their face, fingers brushing against the exposed circuitry on the back of their head.

Speaking of Parts and Service... Moon was tempted to just sneak away and retrieve their missing plating right then and there instead of waiting around for a parent to file a lawsuit when a kid would undoubtedly hurt themself trying to fiddle with their circuitry. Before they could do little more than muse over the idea, however, the manager, Ms. David finally walked in. Her bunny slippers squeaking loudly as she barely managed to find purchase on the freshly mopped floors. She groaned at the sight before her, tucking a stray strand of dark auburn hair back into the messy bun she'd managed to throw together as she stormed his way over to the closest officer.

The heated, if not completely one-sided, argument that followed was far more amusing than any of the never-ending rants they or Sun had even endured from any customer before. Amusing enough, in fact, that Moon was tempted to record the interaction for them and Sun to enjoy later, if not wake Sun themself to watch with them in action.

Of course, just as they were about to bug their Sunny counterpart out of rest mode the woman took notice of them from their perch on the ceiling and she barked for them to get down. Reluctantly, they did so with a sigh, arms tucked behind their back as they glided down in circles around her with as much grace and style as a figure skater during a performance. A part of them was admittedly miffed when they didn't get much of any acknowledgment for their elegant entrance but the rest of them was just glad they didn't get shot down like the poor service bots littering the floors.

"Yes, Ms. David?" they rasped out in the gravelly voice they usually reserved for storytime villains. Childish amusement flickering in their wires as the officer she'd been speaking to shuddered uneasily at the sound. "Moon." The woman said sternly, and they found themself looking back at her in surprise at the seriousness in her tone. Usually, they'd get away with at least a few more minutes of teasing and playing before managing to edge near her bad side.

They hummed in acknowledgment as they studied her, taking in the anxious lift in her voice coupled with the endless fidgeting as she glanced around the lobby rapidly. "I need you to tell these nice officers if you've seen anyone after hours, anyone at all."

Was that really all?

If their faceplates could move Moon knew they'd be smirking right now in pride, as it was, they straightened out slightly, subtlety puffing out their chest as they declared flamboyantly that they had not, in fact-

Something in them stuttered, crawling beneath their plating like pins and needles in a tidal wave of wrong. When it covered them completely, they felt... wrong, their senses dulled as if they'd been covered by a sheet or dunked underwater. Still, their body gave her reassurance, confidence lacing their too-low voice as their own gave way to confusion and fear. It was only when Ms. David relaxed, and the police officers calmed in their searching that the feeling began to edge away.

They called out to Sun, wondering if the other had somehow managed to take over partially while they were distracted.

The edges of their vision faltered, violent purple glitches closing in from the corners of their vision before they were chased away by the sound of Sun's sleep-heavy voice.

'...Moony, are you alright?' Sun called worriedly when they didn't answer, and they wanted nothing more than to say no. They were not alright, something was deeply wrong... then something in them glitched again, and their fears were stolen away.