Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In all honesty, Freddy was surprised this didn’t happen sooner in the evening. Gregory was only a child after all, he couldn’t run off of pure adrenaline all night. He was hoping to find somewhere safe for the kid as he became quieter in Freddy’s chest cavity, but each time when Freddy attempts to escort the child to his “bedroom”, the boy is magically wide awake, complaining at Freddy’s wandering.

The third time it happens that night, Freddy inwardly considers heading down to the daycare for the first time just for the “Moondrop” Sleeping Candies, which apparently put kids out like a light. He wasn’t going to question what was in the candies. When he mentioned the daycare, however, Gregory panicked, and Freddy knows not to question it.

Freddy is also surprised the child is lasting so long in his chest cavity, meant only for oversized birthday cakes and piñatas, but the kid doesn’t complain, and personally, the animatronic doesn’t mind it.

(When later asked, Gregory explains he’s used to the cramped space, and although Freddy wants so badly to ask more, he doesn’t. Gregory seems relieved at this, and the two continue in silence.)

By the time the clock hits three in the morning, time for Freddy’s ‘scheduled’ charging, the boy is silent once again, and he hopes he’s calmed enough for Freddy to put him to rest comfortably.

He’s grown so close to the kid already, and he knows he’d do anything to keep him safe, but the boy’s whining was getting a bit annoying, he’d have to admit.

The journey to his room is uninterrupted, the other animatronics and S.T.A.F.F. bots keen on finding the ‘missing’ child. By this point, even Vanessa has gotten off his back for being out of his room, too focused on the PizzaPlex’s unwanted guest.

Freddy is more than thankful that nobody’s caught on to him harboring the child with him yet.

The main lights have gone dark in his room already, and he chooses to keep them off. It’s not like the lights need to be on after hours, and he was sure other locations in the building could use the additional power, but it wasn’t his choice, and it doesn’t affect him much anyway.

His chest cavity opens with ease, and when he turns towards the mirror to see what exactly the boy is doing, he pauses in his tracks. The boy seems to be asleep now, not just dozing like before.

He’s curled up, small hands holding his knees to his chest, head resting on his lap. Breaths leave his parted lips in tiny, gentle snores, and if Freddy didn’t have advanced hearing, he definitely would not have picked up on them.

The boy looks cramped in the small space, and despite what Gregory has said before, he can’t help but feel bad.

Large hands clench subconsciously as he looks at his boy through the mirror, illuminated by the neon lights surrounding it. Light flits into the room from the opening in his curtains, and the animatronic closes them carefully.

He decides to keep the neon LEDS surrounding his mirror on, as they can be used as a makeshift night light for the child. He knows some children do not like the dark, and it’s better to be safe than sorry.

With the room properly illuminated, the animatronic steps to the large couch in his room, rearranging plush toys and removing bowling balls off the couch to make room for the child. He doesn’t have any blankets in the room, but he hopes the plush toys will be enough comfort for Gregory.

Once Freddy creates the temporary sleeping space for the child, he steps back to the mirror, where the boy is still (thankfully) asleep. He’s glad his movement didn’t jar the kid awake.

Large hands hesitate before reaching into his chest cavity, as he knows he’s large and tends to be clumsy at times (always). He carefully grabs the child and shifts him, painstakingly slow as he lifts the boy out of his stomach.

Freddy stills as the boy shifts, letting out a noise of discomfort at the movement, but Gregory is quickly pulled back into his sleep. Freddy sighs in relief.

The boy is set down carefully on the couch, head resting on the large tummy of the plush toy based off of him. It’s large, and takes up most of the couch. He gazes fondly at the boy for another moment, before picking up another plush off the carpet, softer this time.

The plush is pressed into the boy's hands, and to Freddy’s delight, Gregory’s arms quickly wrap around the toy, holding it to his chest. The sight makes Freddy want to melt at that very moment.

And so, with one final check to the door, making sure it’s firmly closed, Freddy pats down on Gregory’s head gently, smoothing down his hair. The kid hums gently in his sleep.

“Goodnight, Superstar,” Freddy whispers, ever so softly. A small smile graces the sleeping boy’s face, and once again, Freddy sighs.

“My sweet,” Freddy murmurs with a smile, and with that, he stands, making his way to the charging station.

Soon enough, he will be charged, and ready to protect his boy once again.

(The boy sleeps until Freddy is back, and then some, only waking when Freddy (accidentally) stumbles when he tries sitting down as well. Freddy’s guilt is erased by the boy’s laughter, and only then does he know that everything will be alright.)

Chapter Text

Sun has always prided himself in his ability to care for children. It was his main function after all, and he couldn’t help that kids adored him. Always so playful, so friendly!

So when a child found their way into his domain, even after hours, the daycare attendant couldn’t help but be overjoyed! Of course, he was confused as well, but it was his job to watch the children, not question them.

The kid is small, and band aids cover his legs, but there’s a certain fire in his eyes, like he’s on a mission. Sun introduces himself, rambling about slumber parties and friendship, and the kid thankfully doesn’t look afraid, only a little wary.

That’s okay, children warmed up to him easily, just like the sun warmed up the earth!

The child reluctantly introduces himself as Gregory, and he’s alone in the building, he says. That’s alright with Sun, which he vocalizes, before explaining his plans and rules to the child. Ever so important plans and rules!

Gregory only narrows his eyes at the explanation, but Sun doesn’t worry about it, as the boy is nodding as well. Gregory looks a bit older than his usual crowd, maybe around ten years old. Sun isn’t too sure though; while he’s small, Gregory also seems a bit too mature for his age.

Once the two are out of the ballpit, the animatronic maneuvering Gregory out by picking up the child, he sets the child in the middle of the room, overlooking the play structures.

Sun bounces with joy as Gregory looks around the daycare, but before they can move onto playing, the boy turns towards the foam towers and… knocks them over!

“Oh no! No, no, no!” cries Sun, flinging his arms up in surprise. “What a mess, oh no. Which is the bottom, where is the top…?”

Sun’s other main function was keeping clean, of course. After all, children are very messy! So very messy! Kids can’t play in messy spaces! So of course, with Gregory right next to him, safe and accounted for, Sun cleans up the destroyed block tower, perfectly balancing foam piece on foam piece. Once the structure is back in place, he turns towards Gregory.

Who is gone. Gregory is gone.

The sun animatronic stills immediately at the lack of the child, who is supposed to be standing right in front of him. Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no! He lost the kid. He lost his child!

The grin on Sun’s face strains, and he stands tall and motionless. With a turn of the head, he notices that the security desk pressed against the wall is still abandoned, and he can’t help but sigh in relief. He’s glad the kid didn’t go anywhere off-limits, at least.

But the worry in his chest doesn’t diminish, as the kid is still missing! Oh no, what has he done! He twists and turns his body around quickly, scanning the play areas, but there’s still no child. He skips back and forth in the area before wandering towards a small house, spine arching as he drops his head in his hands.

“Oh dear,” murmurs Sun, fingers clawing at his metal cheeks. “Oh no, oh my goodness. He’s gone, my dear Gregory has vanished.”

Finding kids wasn’t in his programming, no, that was Moon’s thing. But no, no, no, he doesn’t like it when Moon comes out, no way! But playing was his thing, and finding kids was Moon’s thing, and Gregory needed to be found...

But Sun didn’t want to end this sleepover just yet! If the lights go out, and Moon takes over, then Gregory would have to go to bed, and they’re supposed to stay up all night to play! Maybe Moon will be nice to him, find Gregory, and then turn on the lights, so they can continue having fun!

Ooh, Sun has his doubts though. Moon typically didn’t like to share, so he doubts he would want to now!

The Sun animatronic rocks himself gently as he crouches near the playhouse, head still tucked in his hands. When he looks up again, eyeing the play structures, there’s still no sight of the child.

He bounces lightly in place, before huffing loudly. Guess he has no choice! Nervously, he crouches and makes his way towards the security desk, eyes darting around. Usually, he’s not allowed back by the desk, it’s off-limits, except for emergencies. Losing a child is an emergency though, yes it is!

Sun has only been behind the desk a few times; only to access the first aid kit. This will be his first time hitting the light switch himself! If he were a person, he’s sure he would be sweating from how nervous he feels!

A long, shaking arm reluctantly raises towards the light switch, and with one final breath, he flips the switch. The room goes dark, and as does he, metal retracting and forming into the alternate animatronic, the Moon.

While Sun was all about playing, keeping kids happy and oh so optimistic, that wasn’t Moon’s thing. No, Moon was in charge of keeping kids obedient and calm.

Moon isn’t used to being out too often, due to the lights only going off a few hours during the day, and once every hour at night, but only for a few minutes. When checked, his time to come out has not been reached yet, so he must be here for a reason.

Immediately, he knows there’s a child in this room, and he stalks from behind the desk, into the main room. His back bends unnaturally, head raised towards the ceiling as eyes flicker around the room, jumping from play structure to play structure.

The bells attached to his wrists jingle softly as he moves swiftly around the room, quiet in the dark room. His padded feet make their way over to one of the play structures, in which he climbs in easily.

It’s easy to navigate around the daycare, glowing red eyes made to adjust in unlit spaces. He climbs up the colored tubes effortlessly, pulling himself through with strong, mechanical arms.

The first play structure is empty, he notes after careful observation, but when he goes to the tube that connects the first and second play place, his search is over.

Curled up in the tube that connects to the two structures sleeps a small child, knees held to his chest. Breaths leave his mouth in gentle movements, and his face is squished into the plastic of the slide.

Moon blinks, clearly not expecting the child to already be asleep. Usually, children were naughty, and they made the effort to hide and run away instead of obeying and going down for a nap.

The tube is stuffy and cramped, not ideal for a child’s sleeping spot, but as Moon moves gentle hands to move the boy, the child shifts, grumbling under his breath. Moon sighs.

Light sleepers were always difficult to deal with.

A hand finds its way to Moon’s face, finger tapping his chin as he thinks of his next course of action. Of course, moving the child will only result in the kid waking up, and that is no good.

Carefully, Moon removes himself from the plastic slide and back out into the open, fingers clenching and unclenching. With another look at the child, he swiftly exits the play structure and rushes towards the napping area, in search of a blanket for the child.

Children were supposed to sleep in the designated nap time area, but as the child was the only one here, Moon didn’t see any harm in bending the rules just this once.

Blanket in hand, he quickly finds himself back to the sleeping boy, and with attentive hands, wraps the blanket around the child. Thankfully, the boy does not wake, and only curls himself into the plush blanket.

Moon huffs to himself as he sits back, arms crossed over his chest. Naughty boy, making him break the rules! Of course, Moon hopes the boy will stay asleep through the night, or at least until the generators restart and turn on the lights, but on the other hand, he desperately wants the boy to wake so he can give him a piece of his mind!

How foolish! Sleeping in the slide.

Despite Moon’s huffing and grumbling, Gregory stays asleep, and when he awakes, the lights are on.

To his confusion, he’s wrapped in a soft blanket, and when he crawls out of the slide, he notices the Sun is still on the floor outside of the play structure. He’s skipping around, tidying things up as he goes, and Gregory guesses the Sun didn’t even notice him asleep! Odd.

At least it was a good nap.

Chapter Text

Being a newer animatronic, Monty isn't surprised that he wasn’t the most popular. Along with his brash personality and reptilian appearance, sharp teeth and all, kids tended to avoid him.

Teenagers seemed to like him, at least, but it wasn’t too often a teen wandered into the Pizzaplex, and when they did, they were messy, and Monty would rather be decommissioned than deal with another teenager with a golf club in his domain.

Guests didn’t seem to like him much, ever since he replaced that stupid rabbit in the band. It wasn’t his fault the bunny was decommissioned, he had nothing to do with it, of course.

So here Monty was, bitter and unliked in the only place he can call his home.

He was used to spending his nights alone, wandering about in Monty Golf, as his room was destroyed and currently in renovation. Sometimes, when Monty feels particularly angry, he finds his way back to his room and takes it out on those stupid security and renovation bots, with their unblinking eyes and lanky forms. They were easy to snap.

With each passing day, each child leaving the Pizzaplex with grins on their faces and Freddy plushies clutched in small hands, Monty’s disdain for the plaza only grew and grew.

The desire to prove himself grew stronger, as well, and it seems as though the other animatronics thought the same. Things were tense in the Pizzaplex, especially after hours, and when a single child was thrown into the mix, the tension heightened.

The kid’s name was Gregory, according to Vanessa, the lady who spent her nights in the Pizzaplex. Vanessa was annoying, but she left Monty be, so he didn’t see a problem with her.

When she tracked him down in Monty Golf, rambling about the unknown child, Monty knew this was his chance to prove himself. Maybe if he finds the kid, his worth will be known. Maybe this time he can surpass the bear who calls himself the leader.

Gregory’s age was unknown, and Vanessa has no clue where he came from. No parents were found, and the kid wasn’t even in the guest records. Monty guesses the kid snuck in. The security bots were total idiots, it wouldn’t be too hard for him to do it.

The other animatronics were also in on the hunt, but based on their progress, it wasn’t going well. It wasn’t that hard to catch a little kid, was it?

Vanessa also thinks there may be someone helping the kid, from inside the Pizzaplex. While Vanessa didn’t say who, Monty has a pretty strong idea on who might that be. God, does he hate that bear.

It’s early in the morning, way before opening time, but Monty doesn’t care enough to check the time. The hunt for the kid is unsuccessful, and he has to admit, the little guy sure is sneaky.

The kid has probably explored the entire building at this point, based on the reports that he was in the old arcade one minute and the raceway the next.

Monty has seen the kid once, small and fast, but his chase after the boy didn’t last long. After the kid slipped into Bonnie Bowling, Monty couldn’t find it in himself to care enough to go after him. Especially not in there.

After the kid's sudden departure, Monty finds himself back in his own territory, the jungle of Monty Golf. The place is flocked with artificial trees and flora, speakers playing cricket and bird sounds. Water rushes down the walls and along the floors, and while the water itself isn’t too deep, it’s relaxing to look out.

And so, he lurks in the jungle, Vanessa squawking over his comms now and again. She really was getting on his nerves, he thinks as her shrill voice fills his head.

Just as Monty thinks about leaving the golf course, going back to the main lobby and joining the once hunt again, he stumbles upon his target, rather suddenly.

In fact, it takes a lot to keep himself from actually stumbling over said target, the small child who is currently curled up on the floor, beneath a large palm tree, leaves hanging over the path.

Monty clumsily paces back a few steps, just to be sure he wouldn’t accidentally step on the kid. These days, he doesn’t trust his body, and the last thing he wants is murder on his mechanical hands.

The kid- Gregory, he reminds himself- seems to be asleep, small face soft and relaxed. He’s lying on the faux grass floor, cocooning himself into a ball.

Monty stills at the sight of the sleeping child, mechanics in his hands clenching and unclenching. He blinks, and his sunglasses shift out of place, falling down his snout and resting below his eyes.

Vaguely, he registers the annoying voice of Vanessa in his comms again, reminding them about the missing child and the utmost importance of finding him.

Monty only rolls his eyes at this. That damn woman, he gets it. Find the kid, bring him to her, yadda yadda. He knows what he’s doing.

He huffs wordlessly to himself and crosses large arms over his chest, narrowing his eyes down at the sleeping boy. He looks peaceful, and if Monty were any softer, anything like the other animatronics, he’d coo at the sight.

Instead he grumbles, looking around at the empty jungle around them and tapping his foot impatiently.

He knows his best bet is to do as he’s told, bring the child to Vanessa and get on with his night, but something inside him sparks in defiance.

Vanessa could deal with a missing child herself, it wasn’t his job to find lost children; he was a performer! She’s even more pathetic if she can’t find a ten year old kid by herself.

He paces himself back further, looking up to the ceiling. The lights are dim, green LEDs flashing softly in the golf course. Monty supposes if he were human, he’d find this relaxing too.

With one last huff, Monty turns away, tail flickering with annoyance. After all, it wasn’t fair for the kid if he turned him in like this.

Even Monty knows, it’s not a game if the other person is at a disadvantage.

So, he leaves Monty Golf, shoulders hunched and sunglasses perched back over his eyes. The kid can deal with himself, he won’t be getting him a damn blanket or taking him to bed.

It’s not his problem.

(Monty later convinces himself of this once again when he informs Freddy of the child’s location. He pretends he doesn’t see the grateful smile the bear flashes him, and he also pretends his chest doesn’t warm up then. Nope, never happened.)

Chapter Text

Chica was beginning to get used to making her rounds around the Pizzaplex, looking for a missing boy who Vanessa so desperately wanted to find.

Go to the arcades, check the main lobby, make a quick stop in the kitchen (to look for the child, of course), look through the hallways, stop at the kitchens, and wherever else needs attention.

The missing boy, Gregory, sure was a sneaky one. Chica has seen the boy many times, but each chase ends up unsuccessful, as the child is too fast (odd, for a human) or Chica ends up getting distracted. The latter happens more than she’d care to admit.

Chica also guesses the boy hides, during their impromptu chases. It’s another explanation on how she turns corners after the boy only for him to be missing, the room empty.

There weren’t too many things to hide in, in the Pizzaplex. Photo booths around the lobby may work, and there was a large amount of abandoned baby carriages lying about too, but surely the boy was much too large to fit in one of those, right? Probably.

Another place to hide was in the laundry bins, hanging around the plaza. Chica wasn’t too sure on why the entertainment center needed those, but it wasn’t in her interest to care about something as little as that. This hiding place was the most likely out of the three.

So, on their next chase, Chica may as well check the laundry carts, just in case!

The next chase happens sooner than she thinks, just as she’s exiting the kitchen for a quick snack, though she was looking for the boy too! The hallway is empty except for a loud squeak of shoes against the tiled floor, and when Chica turns, there the boy is, in all his small glory.

His eyes are wide, and when Chica looks closer, she notices the poor kid looks exhausted. Probably from running around all night.

Before she can utter a word, the boy takes off, leaving Chica stammering in place. She squawks and quickly chases after the kid, footsteps heavy against the floor.

She calls out reassurances for the boy, about getting him home safe, but he doesn’t stop. Chica curses softly as Gregory turns a corner, and when she catches up with him, the hallway in front of her is completely empty, littered with upside down tables and laundry carts.

The animatronic sighs loudly to herself, dropping her head in her hands for a second. She looks towards the ceiling and mutters a quick prayer that the child is in one of the carts.

She walks slow, making sure her footsteps are quiet, which is hard for her clunky, mechanical body. She bends down towards the first laundry cart, and when she peels off the cloth cover. Empty.

The second and third cart in the hallway are empty as well, and Chica once again questions why they need so many laundry carts.

Annoyed at her luck, she reaches towards the fourth laundry bin, and pulls the cloth off with a flourish. To her relief, there the child is, tucked into the white towels and sheets.

Instead of yelling, like Chica expects the boy to do, his head is turned, face pressed into the towels. His chest rises and falls gently, and it takes the animatronic another minute of staring to realize what she was looking at.

The boy was asleep.

Chica pauses, dropping the cloth cover to the ground while she keeps her eyes trained on the child. She blinks, once, and then again, before gasping softly.

“Oh,” she coos, hands coming up to cover her beak. Slowly, she reaches into the laundry bin towards the child, and with a gentle finger, shifts the kid's face towards her, and confirms her thoughts about the sleeping kid.

She stands up straight, hands finding their way onto her hips as he looks down at the boy, pouting slightly. She was supposed to capture the boy, and bring him back to Vanessa (who would definitely get him home to his parents, safe and sound!), but she hesitates then.

Who was she to wake a sleeping child? Children need their rest, and poor Gregory looked so tired when she ran into him just a few minutes before.

She pouts once again and crosses her arms over her chest, slowly tapping her clawed foot against the floor. The taps fill the otherwise silent hallway.

After another minute of standing and staring at the sleeping boy (who was just so cute!), she sighs, resigning to her fate. She would get the kid later, he obviously needs his sleep now!

Vanessa is loud, and would surely wake the boy up!

With that, she grabs the discarded cloth from the floor and drapes it over the boy, covering him with the makeshift blanket.

She smiles, and with one last nod, backs away slowly, ever so cautious of keeping her footsteps quiet.

(She soon finds herself back in the kitchen, getting a snack. After all, she needs to fuel herself for the next chase after the boy, when he’s awake and ready again!)

Chapter Text

Despite the cold and narcissistic personality Roxanne Wolf shields herself with, all she really wants is to be liked. To be a real star, someone’s favorite. To inspire another, to be on top of it all; that’s what she wants.

It’s a simple wish, but to mix it with jealousy and competition? Being in a band with three other animatronics- two of whom have been loved for years, long before her time- that is the real challenge.

Guests see her as brash, confident and loud. After all, this is how she’s programmed to be. The assertive animatronic, the one who always stands tall.

Sometimes, however, after shows and when she’s alone, just her reflection looking back at her, rage eats at her insides. Doubt rises from her chest, spreading through her body. Her pep talks worked at first, but now, she doesn’t feel like the nonchalant wolf she’s supposed to be.

The addition of a child, lost inside the Pizzaplex, only complicated things further. To compete on stage is one thing, but behind closed curtains is another.

Suddenly, the guards of all the animatronics went up, even the S.T.A.F.F. bots, who usually lingered about, being useless like always.

Monty and Chica were also on the hunt for the small child, and she guesses Freddy may be too, although she hasn’t seen him too often lately. When she does run into the bear performer, he always runs off. She doesn’t think twice about it, Freddy has always been an odd one.

Roxy herself has run into the kid a couple of times, trying to lure him out with her sweet, kind words and promises of safety. Despite this, the brat always runs off at her wonderful presence.

The nerve of that boy!

It seems as though the others are having no luck with the child, either. Chica appears frustrated, making stops in the kitchen more frequently than usual, and if Roxy focuses her audio processors just enough, she can hear Monty fuming from across the Pizzaplex. She shudders a bit thinking about the damage the gator is causing.

Mainly, Roxy has been searching the main lobby alongside Chica and Monty. At this point, she doesn’t even know what Freddy is up to. Hopefully helping out.

It’s late in the evening when Roxy finds herself back to her raceway, roped up and scattered with construction robots.

The racetracks were currently undergoing renovations, after a certain mishap with her joining a race last minute.

Aside from security bots and the occasional wet floor sign bot, the raceway is completely empty, at least from what she observes at first. Her eyes flash as she scans the area, and just as her eyes flicker over the corner, she sees it. A small heat signature, tucked into one of the spare race carts.

The animatronic pauses at this, and with careful steps, makes her way over. When she peeks into the cart, her eyes are immediately met with a bundle of blanket; one she registers from the concession stands, little cartoon pictures of Glamrock Freddy patterned over the cloth.

The blanket moves gently with calm breaths, and with a hand that definitely is not shaking, Roxy grabs one of the corners of the blanket between two claws, lifting slowly.

She immediately identifies the boy, Gregory, his name was. He’s asleep, face soft and peaceful. Roxy blinks, mouth opening in a silent gasp.

Really? The kid fell asleep in HER raceway?

She stands over the race cart, tail flickering back and forth behind her. She’s glad the security bots have little to no memory, as she’s certain the face she’s making now is ridiculous.

With another moment of gawking at the boy, she snaps back to reality, snapping her mouth shut and furrowing her brows.

Roxy huffs, and just as she’s about to grab the kid, snatch him up and bring him to Vanessa, Gregory shifts. He rolls a bit to the side, and Roxy drops the blanket in surprise when the kid raises his arms suddenly.

She backs away at the movement, but the kid only stretches his arms high above his head, before curling up further into the metal cart, an almost inaudible hum escaping him.

The sound rings in Roxy’s ears, and all she can do is stare. Gregory settles quickly, still sound asleep.

It would be so easy. Just bring the kid to Vanessa. It would only take five minutes, and she’d win this little game. Except, just as she’s about to grab the kid, who is foolishly unaware of his surroundings, she hesitates.

Roxy has felt many emotions before, but this feeling is entirely new to her. Guilt.

The animatronic wolf withdraws from the cart, arms falling to her sides. Her clawed fingers clench, shaking slightly. She forces her eyes away from the sleeping child, instead choosing to glare at the wall.

Roxanne scolds herself again, eyes glancing over to the cart once again, before flickering away just as quickly.

Once more, with reluctant hands, she reaches out towards the boy, except this time, she grabs the blanket, sliding off his body from her tampering. Grabbing the corner of the blanket, she tugs it back up over the sleeping boy, gently tucking it around Gregory.

Once she tucks the child in (which she never did, when later asked), she steps away, crossing her arms over her chest.

Who was she to cheat at this silly little hunt? She’s the best, and the best does not cheat.

And so, with furrowed brows and clenched fists, she leaves the raceway, leaving the unsuspecting boy to rest in peace.

(After the incident, she goes back to her room for a pep talk, and once she’s done, the boy and the blanket are gone from the raceway, and the hunt is back on.)

Chapter Text

Originally, it wasn’t in DJ Music Man’s programming to be able to handle artificial intelligence. In fact, he was meant to be a stationary machine rather than a moving animatronic, long limbs being added last minute to add to the Pizzaplex’s appeal.

The AI function was later added, developed as he worked his job as the Pizzaplex’s DJ, near the upper arcades. Despite being given the freedom of movement, DJMM doesn’t wander much, due to the fact that he’s not only giant, but also that guests tend to be afraid of a large, metallic spider crawling over the dance floor.

Instead, he mainly rests on his stage, tucked behind the curtains comfortably to watch his dance floor from a distance. It was easier to charge this way, too.

In the hours in which the mall is closed, DJ Music Man doesn’t have much to do, nor does he have much to think about. He doesn’t interact with guests often, only taking the occasional music requests when someone feels brave enough to inch towards the stage carrying the lumbering animatronic.

With the extra time in the night, the DJ sometimes wanders, but doesn’t get far from his side of the Pizzaplex, due to the fact that he’s just so large. The tunnels installed in the building are useful, but there’s no point in going in them with nowhere to go.

So, instead of mingling with the other animatronics that are able to roam at night, he shuts himself down, into what he likes to call ‘sleep’. Deep down he knows animatronics truly cannot sleep, but he can’t really bring himself to care.

Sometimes he’s awoken during the night by the occasional animatronic or repairman wandering into the arcade, or clashing downstairs which he later learns is the new animatronic, Monty, causing a ruckus. He’s yet to meet him, and at this point, DJMM is a bit wary to.

On this particular night, he’s awoken quite a few times, to his displeasure. The other animatronics seem to be in their free roaming mode tonight, and both Roxy and Chica have wandered onto his dance floor. The two don’t stay long, leaving without a word after they look out onto the arcade, seemingly looking for something.

He doesn’t question it.

A few hours before the morning employee crew is supposed to come in for the day, he’s awoken once again, but this time, he doesn’t immediately notice why.

The dance floor is quiet, and when he lifts his massive head, he doesn’t see any of the animatronics near the arcade or dance floor. Downstairs sounds quiet, as well.

With a low rumble in his throat, DJ Music Man lowers his head, preparing to lull himself into yet another sleep until opening, but something on the floor catches his attention.

Curled up near the generator on the wall is a small child, arms wrapped around his legs, back pressed to the wall. His head is tucked, resting on his knees, and his shoulders rise and fall slowly. The boy is sleeping.

DJ Music Man pauses at the sight, cocking his head and leaning just a bit closer to look at the kid. There are a few scrapes covering his legs, only some covered by colorful bandages sporting the main Pizzaplex’s mascots.

His hair is messy, and the animatronic can’t see his face.

DJ Music Man pulls himself back up onto the stage, eyes still trained onto the boy. It seems as if the boy is taking this time to rest up.

The giant animatronic shrugs, and after another moment of staring, digs into his programming to find a specific playlist meant for this situation. He finds it tucked between old KIDZ BOP albums, and with a nod to himself, plays the music.

Soft lullabies begin to fill the room, and when the DJ looks at the young boy, he’s still asleep, beginning to slump further into the wall.

Satisfied, DJ Music Man tucks himself back onto the stage, head cushioned by his long limbs. He finds himself shutting down not soon after, joining the boy in his sleep.

(The DJ is later awoken by Freddy, the animatronic tending to the small boy on the ground. He lifts the boy, tucking him into his chest, and while Music Man wants to alert the animatronic of his presence, the boy is still asleep, so he simply grins to himself, watching the sight fondly. He’ll be sure to ask Freddy about the kid another time.)