Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You failed again…

Your legs dangling over the edge of the play-castle. Starlit eyes roaming over the daycare’s overly colorful surroundings. Splotches of black bleed and drip into the scenery like spilled ink on paper. Slowly consuming everything around you.

How…

How did the despair get though?

You were so careful with this world and it was all going so well?! The wishes were so simple. So easy to grant. Everything was perfect!

They were happy!

So why did the despair still leak into this world?

You even stopped all the Nightmares that got in?!

It makes no sense?!

What is causing this?! You think in frustration, bring up your hands to ruffle your hat, causing the twin bells on the ends of the long tails to ring loudly. The walls of the daycare slowly dissipating along with everything else in the universe.

This world’s Moon and Sun were happy!

You pull your knees up to your chest, wrapping your arms around them, hiding your faceplate against your legs. Chest feeling heavy and messy with emotions.

You just want to go home…

You miss them so much. 

“Careful of those thoughts, little Dreamer. It will only make it worse.” A monotone sounding voice said from behind you. “You are only adding to it, at this point.”

“But, that’s why you’re here, right.” You didn’t bother to move or look up, knowing exactly who it is, tightening your grip around your legs. “To remove the despair…”

The quiet pitter patter of paws on plastic is heard as the owner of the voice moves closer to you. 

“Only from you.”

You want to be angry. You want to yell and scream that it’s not fair. That this world can be saved and the despair can be stopped, that you just needed more time to save them and fix everything…

But, you know that’s not true.

You can’t save the Moon and Sun of this world. Just like the world before this one and the one before that…

“Why can’t you save them?” Your tone, small and helpless.

“Because, that’s your job.”

His words hit like a sledgehammer to the chest.

You curl in on yourself tighter. The golden chain hanging from your neck suddenly feels too heavy. Like it’s slowly constricting and choking you.

I don’t want to do this anymore. The words sit at the tip of your tongue, but they die there. 

You can’t be selfish. Don’t be selfish.

As if reading your mind, the voice speaks up from next to you.

“This is your wish. You have no choice, but to see it through.”

The pain is almost too much…

But…

You push through it. 

You have to or risk being consumed as well.

Slowly, you stand up. Looking over at the small being in defeat. A small black cat-like dragon sitting next to you. Its smooth scales shine in the dissipating light. A thin line of fluffy white fur running down its back and tiny wings protrude from the creatures back similar to that of a bat’s (or a demon’s). Ruby pink eyes stare up unblinking at you. It’s form always reminds you of a stuffed animal. (If only you can tear it apart like one.)

“Midnight…” You say.

“It’s time to leave.”

A golden portal of light appears next to you both.

That’s when you realize the inky black despair has consumed almost everything at this point only leaving patches of color around the daycare. 

It’s moving faster than you anticipated.

You tense up at the realization, panic settling in your code like a dense fog. There is no way it should be spreading this quickly. What is causing-

You hear a shout, your head snapping to look over at the closed doors. Bell’s chiming loudly with the movement. Hearing sounds of running and someone call your name frantically in concern. 

You stare in disbelief.

They’re looking for you?

Why?

Why would they care?

Why would they-

Crack.

You let out a pained gasp. Rising a hand up to your chest, gripping tightly at the fabric there.

It hurts. It hurts. It hurts so much. 

Why, why, why?!?

Why can’t you just save them?!

What are you doing wrong…

Crack.

“…Can…Can I say goodbye…?” 

“The world is being consumed and you are starting to break, there is no time for goodbyes.” The small dragon states, with no room for argument.

You move. Right as you step through the portal, the Daycare’s doors burst open with the bang. Your name being yelled, as you barely managed to catch the site of three figures. Two you easily recognize as this world’s Moon and Sun, but the third’s face is hidden by a hood.

Who—

Your vision is suddenly consumed by bright light. Knowing that this world is falling apart and it’s your fault.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Let me see.” Midnight demands from next to your fallen form.

Currently, you’re laying sprawled out on floor of the Labyrinths In-Between. The patchwork sky, blanketing you in an array of night time colors and cartoonishly stitch stars. It’s a small blessing that floor is covered in soft crochet lace and origami flowers. A massive crescent moon lamp, dangles in the center of everything casting the labyrinth in a soft glowing light not unlike like that of a child’s nightlight; protecting them for the monster under the bed.

Pain and despair rack through your systems like electric shocks. Making you feel nauseous and fatigued. 

Clumsy, you force yourself to sit up on your knees, before reaching a hand up to your neck. Digging under the ruffles and pulling out an egg shaped gem attached to a long gold chain. You struggle a bit before taking it off and placing in front of the other. 

Even though blurry optics and warning pop ups you can tell the color is off. 

Radiating a deep ebony instead of the normal sparkling diamond rainbow. Only speckles of color peak though the coating of inky black. Two spider web cracks run along it. An ugly reminder of your failure.

It’s worse than you thought. 

You choke back a sob at the sight. Gritting your small fangs together in dismay. Fans on max, trying to prevent you from overheating and shutting down. Knowing if you do, you would never wake up again.

“It’s the memories. That’s why it is so much worse this time. Your attachment to the Moon and Sun of each lost word is weighting on you. Making you blot faster.” The plush-like dragon informs you, will carefully placing a paw on the precious gem, examining it. “At this rate, you will over blot and shatter, before you even get a chance to get to the next dream.”

“What-“ Suddenly the feeling of something hot runs up your throat interrupting your sentence. You barely have time to react, quickly turning your head to the side as you lean forward.

”Blegghhh!!” You throw up. 

A cascade of sludge spills from your mouth, staining the lace and paper flowers below you a deep ebony. You roughly cough, feeling the thick gunk slowly pooling around your knees. You can’t tell the different between the despair and your own oil as both merge in a black iridescent puddle.

It burns.

You blink down at the black sludge in fear. A memory flickering briefly in your mind. 

Warm fingers intertwining with your own as you wobbly walk across tightrope like a new born fawn (your main gyroscope still calibrating to your body). The sunny animatronic in front of you walking backwards to support you in your unsure steps, his rays spinning in amusement. He laughs, a sound like pouring sunlight to your  audio receptors. Urging you onward with gentle encouragement. “Remember, It won’t do you any good to panic. One step at a time, sugar star.” Your Sun’s words orbit around your head like satellite another step forward, but this time with more determination and confidence. Cling tighter to his warm fingers for balance trying to find your center.

“W-what are you s-suggesting?” Your voice box wheezes from the amount of effort it takes for you to speak, choking back the panic in your system. 

Wiping the excess sludge away from your mouth with the back of your hand. The plush-like dragon leans back, eyes shimmering like blood filled pools, curling his tail around small paws in contemplation.

“You let me erase them.”

No, no, no, no, no—

“What?! N-no, I don’t w-want for forgot-Ahk!?!“ You gasp in agony, wrapping your arms around your chest curling into yourself, as Midnight applies a light amount of pressure to the gem.

It hurts!

It hurts!!

It hurts!!!

Make it stop! Make it stop! Please!?!

Small ”pops” and ”chirps” escape your voice box, but no words managed to be formed from your silent pleas. The dragon's eyes harden as it leans back, the bloody galaxy within them swirling with something you can’t read.

“It’s either that or you fall into despair, becoming a Nightmare yourself. And we cannot afford that happening.” The monster eases up on your gem, but his paw is still very firmly in place. You feel tears of pain and frustration threatening to spill from the corners of your eyes as your able to catch your metaphorical breath by resting your sensory servos.

Don’t cry. 

Don’t cry. 

Don’t cry.

Don’t cry!

You are strong, remember! Don’t let anyone see you’re scared! 

You grip the metal bar in your trembling, hands, optics stinging with tears as you stand on the edge of the acrobat platform. A massive chasm between you and the nighttime animatronic that is trying to coax you to jump across the gap. The taller holding his own metal bar, waiting for you to pull yourself together from your vertigo, before calling out. ”Keep smiling little star, don’t let others that see you’re scared. If you can do that, you are braver than you realize. Now, try again.” He smirks with an impish but reassuring grin, his eyes glinting mischievously under the dim, colored stage lights. Letting go of the silver bar in his hands, it swings towards you. With newfound determination, you focus on the rhythm of the music, the hum of your circuits steadying your resolve. A shaky smile pulls at the corners of your mouth as you leap off the edge. Your Moon’s words holding strong.

Breathing raggedly, you steady yourself, forcing down the rising tide of despair.

Don’t give this cheeky creature the satisfaction of your tears. You think, dong your best to blink them back, finally being able to look at the other. 

“S-so what-t-t you’re s-saying is, I do-on’t have a c-c-choice…” You stutter out, the pain coming in waves, speaking through clenched teeth and static. More oil (or is it despair?) dripping from your mouth as you push yourself up to sit on your knees. Small claws tearing into the soft and blackened floor beneath you.

“No, you do. You either allow me to erase your memories so you can keep doing your job or I shatter your gem before you get a chance to blossom into a Nightmare and wreak havoc among the Dreams and the worlds.” The little beast has the audacity to tilt his head at you as if you’re the one who is being unreasonable. 

But, Your family!? You want to protest, shaky hands gripping at your chest in agony. The glitches with your HUD getting worse with bright red error messages popping up as fast as you close them. Knowing full well that they are warnings of your system over overheating to dangerous levels. But you ignore them. You mind overloaded, with fragmented thoughts about what you’re going lose if you go through with this.

The memories of your family.

You don’t want to forgot them. You love them to much. You being here and doing this, is all for them. If you forget them, then you truly would have nothing to live for. Just a hollow shell, an empty existence without the warmth of the memories of your family offering you comfort and love.

You’ll truly be lost.

The thought sends a new wave of despair tearing through what's left of your waning resolve.

"I c-an't f-f-forget the-m," you whisper, voice shaky, in desperation. “I don’t w-want to forget-t m-m-my world or fa-mily. My Moo-on, M-y Sun, My S-”

“-And you won’t. We would simply be removing the memories of the fallen worlds that cloud your emotions and anything else that can lead you into despair.” He almost sounds appalled. “I do not understand how your mind always jump to the most extreme conclusions.”

Maybe, if you were in better state of mind and condition, you would realize his choice of words. However, there is only one thing on your mind…

You won’t forget them?

“Real-l-ly…?” Hope sparks in you like a match. 

“Yes. After all, they are the reason for your being here, right.”

You open and close your mouth. Words stuck in your voice box. (Or maybe your voice box is starting to fully shut down now?)

But, what about all the other Suns and Moons you met? You are all that’s left of their memories…

Would that be selfish of you to forget them? 

Their hopes and dreams will be forever forgotten once your memories are gone…

But, if you fall into despair would you still even remember them? Would it even matter?

Crack.

Your optics widen at the sound. Looking down you see a third crack forming along your gem. Panic coils tightly around you chest like a snake, it’s suffocating.

“You best choose quickly, your time is running out, little Dreamer.” He warned, glancing down at the fracturing gem.

You choose.

And what you choose, is selfish. With the last bit of your strength you say it.

“Ma-ake m-me forget...”

Just as the words escape your mouth, a gentle weight presses down on your gem. You don’t struggle as the flash of light blinds you. A wave of warmth and relief washes over you as memories unravel, slipping away like sand through your fingertips.

Your body slumps forward, limbs useless to catch yourself as your systems stop responding.

Shutting down before you even hit the ground…

Chapter Text

“Alegría, I see a spark of life shining~ ♪ Alegría, I hear a young minstrel sing~ ~ ♫ “ You hum happily as you walk down the playing card pathway. Arms stuck out playfully on either side of you as if you’re standing on a tightrope.

Giant chess pieces dance with each other in the foreground. Red and white fighting for dominance, but neither side showing signs of slowing down or overtaking the other. Winged teapots fly in the checkerboard sky among the doily clouds. The air is sweet with the scent of sugar sweets and mischief. Dozens of flowers blooming with fingerlike petals, stare at you with their pretty anther centered eyeballs as you skip by. In turn, you admire them as you pass, giving them a small wave. They seemingly blush at the attention curling in the themselves and giving shy little wiggles of their own, with their fingertips.

You giggle at the flowers obscure cuteness.

“What a whimsical Labyrinth, huh?” You grin, looking up at the plushy dragon who sitting on top of your hat.

“Indeed.”

“Maybe, whoever is dreaming this dream, read Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, you think?” You try to spark a conversation, knowing full well that Dream Labyrinths like this one are amalgamations of the dreamer’s wishes and emotions, given life for extended periods of time. Sometimes, separate dreams even polymorph together into a whole new Labyrinth of its own.

“Perhaps.” Midnight’s tone is uninterested, as he continues to stare straight ahead.

The massive pocket watch representing the sun in the sky, tik-toking away. Filling in the silence. You blink up at it, watching the hands twist and spin around its face with uncertainty. 

Time has no sense or place here. So the poor thing has no idea what time of day or hour it is; on a constant rotation in search of the unknown numbers. (Your own internal clock, stopped working a long time ago.) You continue to walk down the winding path of playing cards in your own unending search. Admiring the bizarre aspects of the nonsensical landscape. 

Expect the sound of the ticking is almost unbearable to your audio receptors. You want a conversation, you want somebody to talk to. You want someone to interact. You want somebody to play with…

“We should add glitter.” You say suddenly, breaking the uncanny quiet. “It would make everything so much prettier.” Staring at a Rockinghorse-fly that whinnies at you as it flys by your face. Thinking it’s dragonfly-like wings would look lovely covered in sparkling glitter.

“No.”

You puff-out your cheeks. Annoyed, that the only other being that can converse with you is choosing to give such short responses. (Not to mention, denying you use of your favorite thing: Glitter.) 

“Whyyyy??” You stop to wine, stompping your foot. You snatched the small dragon from off the top of your head. Holding him out in front of you like an unruly cat, glaring at him. “Can’t I just have one good conversation with you? You know how lonely and boring it gets, when it’s just me talking to myself.“

“If you are bored, perhaps you should play with your little set of cards? I am sure they can show you where the next nightmare is?”

You blink, tilting your head to the side. Bells ringing at the moment as they fall over your shoulder. 

“That’s not how it works and you know it. I don’t appreciate you joking about it.” 

“Mm? Really? You seem to put so much faith into your card reading and don’t you enjoy silly jokes.” There is a hint of mockery in his tone.

The intrusive thoughts to yeet the cheeky creature in your hands are overwhelming strong, but you refrain from doing so. Instead tucking him underneath your arm, as you let out a tired sigh, not taking Midnight’s bait. Continuing on walking on, although not as much pep in your step anymore. An empty feeling filling your chest. You do your best to to ignore it. 

“Well, I mean yes, but it’s only fun with others...And there isn’t exactly other people around to talk or play with, is there…?” You say quietly, the Labyrinth around you not looking as bright anymore, fading into darker shadows. The plush dragon looking up at you as you use your free hand to play with one of the bells of your hat. Weaving it back and forth between your fingers. Surprised that you didn’t fall into your usual banter.

“Are you really that lonely?” The question hangs heavy in the air.

You don’t say anything, but you don’t need to. The silence speaking volumes. 

“We can look for a partner for y—“

“No! No! No!” You snap. A flicker of ire is seen in your golden optics. You don’t want anybody else stuck like you. (No matter how lonely you get.) Nobody’s else needs to get involved with this mess, so long as you can help it. “I don’t need a partner to help me with anything! I can fight the Nightmares all by myself! They would just get in the way!”

“I have seen firsthand. Celestials models like yourself do better in pairs.”

You blink, startled that Midnight was able to come to this conclusion. His eyes bore into yours, unwavering. They almost seem to flash as a thought pop’s into your head suddenly.

It’s true. 

Don’t doubt Midnight.

Most of, if not all Celestials tend to come in pairs and normally are better because of it.

Two half’s of a whole…

Thinking about it, your Moon and Sun are pair. As opposite as the seasons of summer and winter, but still very much a true pair. Capable of doing anything they both set their minds too. Working together seamlessly without any flaws in their performances or tasks. 

You recall one show in particular, where they did the double trapeze together. Gliding though the air as naturally as fish swim through water. Performing full somersaults and backflips in complete synchronization with one another along with the music. Trusting that the other will always be there with trapeze bar at the ready as they fly passed each other. Their outfits glisten and sparkling like their namesakes in the spotlights as both Sun and Moon simultaneously catch the bars in unison. The crowd gasping in delight and awe at the sight as you did, watching from the sidelines of the stage, clapping like everyone else. Their flawless performance was a testament to their bond—a cosmic dance of grace and trust. Your chest sparked with wonder and admiration, witnessing such flawless harmony.

It was one of the most spectacular things you have ever witnessed in your entire existence. It was also in that moment you knew you wanted to perform with them…but, that’s not possible anymore…

You really miss-

NOPE!! 

No thoughts! There is a time and place to reminisce and it’s not now. You let go of the bell you’re playing with, throwing back over your shoulder. Shaking your head vigorously at those thoughts.

“I am not part of a pair.” You tell him flatly.

“We can easily change that-“

“No, I don’t need anybody.” You interrupt, glancing down at him. “I’m perfectly fine on my own. Not to mention efficient.” You huff out dramatically.

“That maybe true, however having a partner could improve your magic skills and mental wellbeing.” You feel him wiggle in your hold, but you don’t let go. Keeping a firm hold on the small creature.

“Mm, No. I’m content with what I have.” Your tone is childish.

“You say that now, but not even a moment ago you were complaining about being bored and lonely.” Midnight states. You would almost think he sounds concerned if you didn’t know better.

“Ya, well that’s only because nothing is happening and that makes me booored.” Rolling your optics as you say this.

“And your loneliness?”

That question made you hesitate, but only for a moment.

“It will go away, if I ignore it long enough.” You mutter definitely. It’s easier that way. Besides, there’s so many other things to worry about than your own little bouts of loneliness. 

“Your stubbornness knows no bounds.”

“Well, good thing dreams are boundless then.” The overly sweet tone dripping with sarcasm, is completely ignored by the small create. 

“Your mood-swings are ever so erratic. It’s like flipping a switch on an off. It’s quite fancying.”
 

“Blah, blah, blah!! You’re so annoying sometimes.” The ticking of the clock, slowing unbeknownst to you. “Maybe, if my personally code wasn’t shoved into some dumb stone, I would be more stable.” You growl out, claws unleashed and tail twitching from it’s confident in your tutu’s petticoat with irritation.

“And whose fault is that?”

The clock in the sky stops and so do you. Everything seemingly freezing for a moment.

Ooh, that stings much more than you thought. Just like a slap to the face.

But you know what they say; The truth hurts.

However, who says you can’t hurt back…

You take Midnight back into both hands again, holding him up in front of you. There was a moment where you stared into bright rudy-pink. A flash of realization in them.

“Don’t you dar—“ He didn’t get a chance to finish as, you suddenly throw the annoying stuffed animal into the sky with all your might. Sending him hurling right into the pocket watch. It shatters on impact with a loud “Smash!!”. Raining shards of glass, all around the labyrinth. 

Then, as if someone had pulled the curtains on the stage of a play the world is plunged into darkness without its pretend sun.

There is a sudden shift in the Dream’s reality. Shadows cascading and extending through out the world like tendrils of a beast waking from its slumber. A familiar cold and tingling sensation spreads through out your wires, as the feelings of unease and foreboding creep in around you.

A grin pulls at your faceplate, feeling the floor starting to shake and crumple beneath your feet. Shaking the whole Dream.

Finally, you think.

“There you are. I was being to worried we had the wrong Labyrinth. ~ ” You back handspring away, giggling. Easily avoiding the crumbling and falling debris of cards. Bells jingling loudly at the sporadic movement. You land perfectly, hands outstretched in the air, not unlike a performer or gymnast. Twirling around you see a gigantic form of a strange 2-D like caterpillar burst forth from the ground. Intricate patterns of vines and budding flowers run all over its body as its many hands holding onto a massive purple hookah, wisps of smoke curl around it like an angry snakes. 

“Oooo ~ You’re waaay bigger than I thought you would be, but-” Your grin, readying yourself. Pulling two of your four golden bracelets from your wrists. Throwing them up in the air. Your magic sparks to life. Rings expanding to the size of hula hoops as you catch them with pizzazz and a half bow, looking up at the towering beast. “-You’re nothing I can’t cut down to size.”

Its soulless black eyes stare down at you, taking a puff of the hookah. Then it does something that you didn’t expect. 

It speaks.

“How doth the little crocodile
  Improve his shining tail.”

It blows out smoke as it’s loud, but soft voice echoes out, the purple vapor snaking down its body in ribbons, pooling in the darkness beneath it. The air around it shimmers, reality warping and bending with every word said.

“And pour the waters of the Nile
  On every golden scale.”

The caterpillar's words echo, striking something deep within your core. Like it’s calling out to you. This isn’t a just Nightmare you realize.

“How cheerfully he seems to grin,
  How neatly spreads his claws.”

You position yourself into a low defensive stance. Hoops out on either side of you. The air growing thick with tension, as the rhythmic rasp of the caterpillar's voice hang like dread between your lines of code.

“And welcomes little fishes in
  With gently smiling jaws.”

This is a Calamity.

You pause at this realization. Calamities are so much more dangerous than Nightmares. With their extremely unpredictable and unstable magic. You, yourself having very little experience with fighting them. You’re starting to slightly regret yeeting Midnight into the clock.

Looks like you really got your work cut out for yourself in this fight…

At least you won’t be bored anymore.

“Well aren’t you just a clever caterpillar and here I thought it was going to be the same old song and d—“ Your sarcastic comment is rudely interrupted as the massive caterpillar whips its long tail at you. Jumping back, it barely miss knocking you off the playing cards platforms and into the black void it came from. 

Sparkling white magic lights up around your hoops in a fiery display as you cross your arms over your chest in an “X”.

“Fine, fine, fine!! Let’s get right to the main performance, then!!” You yell with new found enthusiasm, throwing the blazing rings right at the overgrown monster. It lets an ear piercing screech as the rings meet its body cutting into it. Thin lines of gold bleed from the beast’s hide. The shimmer of the glittering gold liquid catching you off guard. Optics growing wide. You'd expected the caterpillar to bleed, but this gleaming golden fluid looks unnatural beautiful to you for some reason, its glow warping the air differently as it drips along the cuts. 

“Ooo, pretty…” That’s not the normal color that Nightmares bleed, but you don’t care as you want to see more. The thrill of the fight courses through you, an electric rush that makes your very code race with anticipation and excitement. With a determined smile, you whip another set of rings towards the writhing creature, eager to see more of that dazzling, unnatural ichor spill. Ignoring the unnatural pull you feel towards it.

The air crackles with anticipation as the beast writhes and twists under your relentless assault, golden blood sparkling like stars against the dark void it came from and splattering against the floor. The caterpillar howls again, thrashing its tail wildly, but you sidestep its onslaught of attacks with athletic grace. Your hydraulic system pumping with excitement and vigor. 

The call of a new challenge ringing in your audio receptors like an orchestra. 

You’re ready to meet the beast with everything you have.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It got away…

Gold is caked onto your clothes and casing like an uneven paint job. Dry in some places and wet in others as you lay on the floor…

Gross.

“Dang it…” You say spitting some excess oil from your mouth. Grunting, you roll over onto your hands and knees, shaking yourself out much like a cat or a dog would do with water. The urged to rip off your shoes and your tutu corset is overpowering, but you resist knowing that you’re just gonna have to put them back on later. Shoving your tail back under the corset and coattails is not worth the trouble right now. Reaching down you pick up your hoops from off the ground. They shrink down before you clip them back to your wrists, with a sigh.

The thin cuts that litter your body sting, but are easily ignored in favor of looking around at your surroundings…

Or what’s left of them anyways…

The once whimsical dreamland now nothing more than a shattered shell of its self. The sky dark is uncanny with the broken clock hanging from it, almost like a noose. The chess pieces and tea pots all lay smashed and broken on the tattered playing card floor. And the poor flowers are all ripped asunder…

Large puddles of golden liquid, the only proof that the Calamity was ever even here other then the aftermath of the fight...

Tiredly, you run a hand down your faceplate. Hand subconsciously stopping on one your rays resting behind your cheek, lightly pinching it between your fingers in thought.

What a mess, an unnecessary messy mess. Everything had spiraled out of control far too quickly. You let your overzealousness get the best of you…

Mistakes to be learned from you supposed.

But, It is going to take you a while to clear this place up and on top of that you have to track down that Calamity and pray that you don’t get overrun with Nightmares in the meantime.

Thinking about it now, you can’t remember the last time you let one get away, it’s been so long…

How long….Is how long?

Huh?

That’s a really good question. When did you first get here?

You make a face, digging though your memory files, but nothing of note pops up.

Errr…You can’t remember? 

That’s strange.

Maybe, something is wrong with your memory chip?

Should you tell Midnight?

You blink, tilting your head to side, hand dropping away from your ray. 

Nahhhhhh, you’re sure you’ll remember after you have a nice rest and it’s not like it’s that big of a deal. Besides, last time something crazy happened to you, Midnight had you run a full diagnostic of your systems and had you in lockdown. It was the absolute worst having to sit still will not in rest mode. You shudder at the thought. You detest being cooped up. You’re sure that you just need a good recharge and it will come back to you in no time. With that in mind you stretch your arms over your and let out a tired sigh.

Oh?

Thinking of the little beastly, you wonder were-

“I can honestly say, I didn’t expect it to flee so suddenly.” Midnight’s sudden voice makes you jump in surprise. “Much less you allowing it to get away.”

Speak of the devil, you think.

“Funny you say that, because I was thinking the same thing.” You push yourself up to stand, well simultaneously scooping up the little dragon in your hands. Tone overly cheery, but the annoyance easily heard. “You could have told me it was a Calamity and not just a Nightmare. ~ ” You say, bringing his face uncomfortably close to yours. Glaring at him.

“And I would have-,“ The small creature starts, using his paws to push your face away from his in a comical manner. “—if you didn’t decide to throw me into a giant clock as a distraction.”

Something clicks, registering in your processor. 

Oh? You did throw him at the clock, didn’t you?

Sheepish, you lower the small dragon, setting him back on the broken floor.

“To be fair, you did make me really, realllllly mad.” You mumble, like a child giving their parent an excuses as to why they broke something after being told not to touch it. Picking at the dried blood from underneath your small claws. It easily falls away, leading golden flakes on the floor.

“Your temper tantrums are getting out of hand, little Dreamer. They are causing you to lose focus.” He waves a paw and you suddenly feel a rush of warmth run over your form. Your outfit and casing completely clean and healed of any remnants of the battle you just had. 

Show-off, you think.

You puff out your cheeks in embarrassment and shame, but don’t say anything; knowing he is right. You have been acting out much more than you normally do. Not to mention you also failed in your task of getting rid of the Calamity. 

“I’ll do better next time.” you finally mutter, though the the words feels as fragile as the shattered porcelain shards of the teapots around you. Knowing your random burst of emotion are getting harder to contain, but he doesn’t need to know that.

Midnight nods, his eyes glancing around as he surveys the wreckage you've helped caused.

“Good, let’s get this cleaned up before we move on.” The small dragon says, unmoving from his spot on the ground.

He has absolutely no intention in helping you it seems.

With an overly dramatic sigh you, pull out your wand from thin air, magic flicking to life as you give it a small wave. All the broken and destroyed pieces and bits of the dream slowly disappearing into glittering light. Cleaning up the mess and leaving nothing but golden dust behind. It's as if the chaos never happened, though the lingering tension remains, a quiet testament to your unresolved emotions.

It’s going to take you ages to clean this place up by yourself. The plushy continues to watch, his eyes calm and unreadable, showing no sign of impatience or sympathy to your daunting task. You continue on, sluggishly, thinking about what you could’ve done better in the fight.

Like not throwing your only companion into oblivion and losing control over your emotions. Each flick of your wand feels like an admonishment, a reminder of your unchecked power. You didn’t mean to go overboard with your fight and destroy this place. It just kinda got out of hand as the fun you were having was so intense, that you forgot that you are supposed to keep the Dream Labyrinths intact. The exhilaration had blinded you, turning normally focused jabs into something nearly catastrophic and wild.

But, than again your magic has always been a bit of a double-edged sword, hasn’t it? Capable of creation and destruction on a whim, it’s both a blessing and a curse you’ve struggled to master. Your Sun would always do his best to keep you safe and in check because of it. Showing you how he mastered his own wild magic. Sun is kind like that, always nudging you toward harmony when the chaotic magic within you spirals out of control, well your Moon would guide you on how to harness and use it. Teaching you that balance is not only necessary but achievable, even for someone like you...

You miss—

Ah! Nope!!

You shake your head so hard the bells on the ends of your hat ring loudly as they hit your arms. 

“Clean! Clean! Clean up!! Everyone clean up!” You sing loudly to yourself, waving your wand with much more gusto, trying to make this process go by quicker, not wanting to thing about them. “Sparkling and clean just like glitter and dreams! Sparkling and clean, that's the key, it seems!. ~ ” You continue on for sometime dancing about, song going uninterrupted by the plush creature watching you.

Then about halfway through your cleaning spree, Midnight says something. Startling you out of your thoughts of making everything sparkly and clean. 

“I wonder, little Dreamer?” He looks at you with curiosity and interest. “Perhaps, you are feeling cooped up?”

You let out a “chirp” of surprise. The rays that aren’t tucked underneath your hat perk up. Stopping in your task, turning to look back at him.

“What?” You ask, gripping your wand in your hands, hips swaying a bit as you idle in place.

The little plushie tills his head at you.

“Tell me, do you remember the last time you were outside of the Labyrinths?”

You shake your head at him, bells ringing softly at the movement. Unable to recall the last time you stepped foot outside in the waking world. 

“I mean why would I leave, when I have so much to do here? I still need to go and find our runaway Calamity.” You blink owlishly at him.

Truth be told, you really don’t wanna go back out.

It’s easier just to stay in the Dream Labyrinths. Nothing to worry about other than keeping the Nightmares in check and exploring the wondrous labyrinths and all they have to offer you, easily distracting you. Keeps your thoughts from drifting to back way when and gently coaxing you deeper and deeper into the whimsical land of dreams that you have no real desire to escape from.

Midnight hums, knowingly. “Ah, the allure of the Labyrinths is indeed strong, but remember, not all cages have bars.”

An unsettling feeling runs through your circuits. You can’t tell if he is being serious or not.

“What’s that’s supposed to mean?” You ask, squinting suspiciously at the little plush creature, not at all liking the look he is giving you. Unsure of what he’s really getting it. You don’t like going to the waking world ~~At least not anymore.~~ and he knows that.

“As the kids these days say, it’s time to touch some grass.”

“What?—” Your optics widen at the realization, reaching out to the small dragon. “No wait!! I don’t wanna go outsid—“

Too late, a golden portal opens up under your feet. The feeling of weightlessness overtakes you as you’re swallowed whole. No traces left of you to be had.

The plush-like dragon stares blankly at where you once stood, tail waving behind him.

“Maybe, this time you will succeed.” He stands up on all fours. “And if not, there is always the next world.” Midnight’s words are ominous; echoing around the broken Dream’s landscape.

“Despair and Dreams, all stem from the same thing after all.”

And just like that, the small creature was gone too. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Somewhere very far, far, away a machine lets out soft beeps in a coded pattern signaling something important is happening. The space the mysterious machine is concealed in, is dimly lit, illuminated only by the flickering of the many screens that line the walls and a single hanging light that is located in the middle of the room, dangling over a large worktable. 

The lanky figure that is standing in the middle of the room immediately stops what they’re tinkering with on the workbench, in favor to look at the lights flickering on machine. 

"Mm?" they hum, removing their cracked google from their face to rest around their metal neck. Glancing over at the machine seeing large chunks of data scroll across the nearest screen, indicating something out of the ordinary is happening in the dreamscape.

Making their way over to the computer, tapping on some of the keys. The corners of their mouth curling upwards as the new data floods the screen. Crossing one pair of arms over their chest as the other pair continues to type away, studying the data intently, red optics reflecting the flicking of the many screens before them.

“So, you finally decided to let our little bunny out of the dream den, hm?” Their deep voice fills the room with a mixture of curiosity and determination, before letting out hushed chuckle. “Good. I won’t let them slip through my fingers again.”

The machine responds with a soft hum, as if acknowledging the figure's words.

“Church, set a course for coordinates.”

“As you wish, sir.” A robotic voice cracks over the intercoms of the ship. The room vibrates slightly as the engines come to life preparing for their new destination. “It will take approximately three months our time to reach the designated dimension, due to dimensional gaps and radio blackouts from the interference of the Labyrinths. As well the continuous collection of energy needed throughout the dimensions.” Church adds.

The figure frowns, slightly. Three months felt like a lifetime when chasing a lead this valuable, but they have waited this long. He can afford to wait a little longer for his prize. Adjusting his posture, the figure examines the dynamic universe displayed before him. It seems very standard for a Sun and Moon dimension such as this one. Nothing to out of the ordinary at first glance. The Moon being an overall genius in terms of technology, but uncaring and emotionally stunted. Along with the Sun having little to no backbone in regard to his brother’s destructive behaviors or anything for that matter, but where his brother is emotionally underdeveloped, the Sun exceeds. It’s rather tragic, however common in a dimension such as this one. Both residing in a Daycare and under the control of Fazbear Entertainment.

Sunrise and Moondrop.

Something pops up on the screen, capturing his attention.

Hm? What’s this?

It appears as the Moon has managed to create a Star?

How very…

Interesting.

The figure’s long claws dance across the keyboard with intent sounds of “tapping”. His upper arms unfolding as the right one comes up to hold his chin in thought at the information his is skimming over.

Looking deeper at the data, the Star seems rather unstable if not at the very least unpredictable. Most likely leading to the withering of the user’s life force as well as being limited to this specific dimension’s code. Something to factor in if he happens to stumble upon it? Not that he himself has any interest in obtaining a subpar wishing star. Especially when he knows he can get something much, much better.

No, he is going to use it for bait if anything. For whatever reason you always seem enchanted, by the Stars, or at least that’s from what he has gathered from observing you. Perhaps, you like the shine and spark of the Star, but the more likely hypothesis, is you feel a pull to it, due your similar energy wavelengths…

He clicks his tongue at that thought, the soft sound being swallowed by the low hum of the ship’s inner components, the shimmering lights of the computer screen’s reflected off his optics, casting a shadow over his contemplative face.

Regardless, of the Star working as bait or not, he knows he can use the celestial themed animatronics against you if all else fails. After all, you had a terribly soft spot for Suns and Moons. Hopefully though, it wouldn’t have to come to the that.

The figure sighs, mind wandering to memories long buried but never forgotten. This time he wouldn’t let you escape. Knowledge from past failures will lead to success. Patience, the figure reminded himself, is key.

“Very well. Continue course.” The tall figure says his crude smile returning. Stopping in his typing and turning back to the workbench to work on the project he was previously occupied with. The dim light above flickered, casting eerie shadows on the cluttered workspace. “Church, please play Cirque de Folie.”

“As you wish, sir.”

Soft according music slowly begins to play throughout the hull of the ship. The figure humming along to the melody in a low tone, his two sets of arms tinkering with the mechanical bits before him, picking up a soldering iron and a pair of pliers to continue his work. The tune is haunting, but playful. One that echoed the cacophony within his circuits. As the notes of Cirque de Folie filled the air, the figure's focus sharpened, seeming lost in odd memories. Memories that are interwoven with the music, of performers twirling through rings of moonlight and sunlight, an endless dance that mirrored his own aspirations.

“Soon little star..” He murmured under his breath, eyes glinting with a steely resolve. “Soon all of our wishes will be granted and we can preform again.”

He starts humming lowly along to the tune once again, returning to his work. The melody carries to the empty void space. Outside the ship, stars pass by, twinkling against the black canvas, distant and unassuming just as you were of the potential threat yet to come…

Chapter Text

You hear and smell where you are, before you see where you are.

Well, to be fair you can’t really see anything other than the brightly colored balls crowding around your face. Your whole body being cushioned and surrounded by them. Almost like a bumpy plastic blanket.

The sound of happy-go-lucky and overly cheerful music invades your audio receptors like a swarm of mosquitoes, along with the smell of overused lemon scented cleaner.

You’re in a Superstar Daycare’s ball pit.

The odd feeling of nostalgia rushes over your code for some reason. Why, you don’t know as no important memories are seemingly attached to it.

Strange? But, you just chalk it up to the sudden change of realities. It’s never an easy feeling switching between the planes of existence. Especially when you’re not expecting it to happen so suddenly. It’s a very discombobulating experience and it never gets better. (Note to self, next time you see Midnight, make sure to give him a piece of your mind along with a swift kick to the tail.)

You push odd nostalgic feelings away just like you push the plastic balls away from your face. Swimming up to the top of the pit. After a couple seconds you reach the surface, your head popping out. Face half submerged in the colorful plastic balls.

Blinking a couple of times, your optics quickly adjust to the new lighting.

You curiously glance around. 

Spotting the jungle gym play structure right away.

Excitement, immediately sparks in your circuits at the colorful playground equipment and fun looking structures. The urge to play in the multicolored tunnels like a some kind of giant hamster is almost too much for you to handle.

Annoyance and irritation at Midnight, all but forgotten about for the moment.

Scrambling to the edge of the ball pit, you go to pull yourself out. Only to stop half way, hearing the sounds of a high pitched voice mumbling.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid…”

It’s a voice that you haven’t heard in heavens knows how long..

It sounds a lot like,

Sun.

A warm fuzzy feeling washes over you at the thought at seeing the daytime themed animatronic, but it is quickly soured by the tone of his voice and taste of despair in the air.

He sounds distraught.

Cautiously, your look around to where the muffled voice is coming from. Trying to pinpoint Sun from listening to his voice.

“How could you let something so stupid happen…” He was mumbling. “How could you just go and make a bigger mess of things…Stupid…I’m so stupid…”

You quickly spot the tall daycare attendant standing off to the side of the pit, hunched over, meticulously cleaning some toy barrels with a rag. Clearly in some sort of mental distress, well talking quietly to himself. A dark shadow of despair pooling under his feet like a puddle, as if threatening to swallow him. And it’s only growing.

Oh, no.

It’s a Nightmare trying to bud.

Concern creeps into your circuits, as you find yourself clambering out of the ball pit, and shaken from your prior amusement of playing. 

A new objective in mind, well making your way over to him. The sun themed animatronic not noticing you at all, to preoccupied in his self-loathing and deep cleaning of the barrel in his hands.

Not good, not good, not good!!?! 

Without hesitation you jump in front of the sun themed animatronic, shoving your face into view of his. Your intention to fully distract the other from his woes. 

“Hello, Hello! You shouldn’t let those thoughts eat at you! ~” You practically serenade, with a toothy smile. No regards of his personal space. 

“Ahhhh!!! Oh my god!! What-” The taller animatronic screeched. His eyes widen in surprise, the rag slipping from his hands. Stumbling backwards away from you. Only to end up slipping on the dropped rag and falling back into the stack of barrels he was just working in with a loud comical “Crash!”.

Oops. 

Maybe, you went a little overboard with the greeting? Midnight always did say you have a tendency to come on a little strong.

Quickly, you dart over to help him. Pulling barrels off the Sun-themed attendant, well he struggles to free himself from the mess.

“Wait-wait! Who-What-How did you get is h-here??!” He push your hands away from him as he sits up to look at you, rays retracted into their casing slightly as he rubs the side of his head.

You blink, as you stare into confusion and frightened, pearlescent optics.

They’re not blue? Why aren’t they blue? Your Sun’s eyes are blue..? No, they are gold just like yours…Right? Trying to recall, you fumble over your thoughts, struggling to place the pieces together, but come up with nothing. 

That’s not important right now, you can think about it later. You shove the thoughts away, instead smiling brightly.

“I came out of the ball-pit.” You say nonchalantly, pointing over at the colorful pool in question. 

“Oh? I thought Moon said he fix that…” He mumbled weakly. You have no clue what he means by that, but you don’t miss the annoyed look he gives the ball-pit, as he leans to the side to glare at it. 

Well, he is distracted you spar a quick glance at his shadow. Seeing the Nightmare bud having reduced down dramatically.

Good. 

Hopefully, you can keep it that way or even better; get rid of it completely. 

You have a hunch that Midnight didn’t just send you to a random universe to “touch grass” like he said…

There’s a leak somewhere…

Twin bells clank together as you tilt your head to the side in a precarious manner. Your CPU working overtime to process the situation. 

O’righty then, time to do what you do best! Helping Sun and Moon be happy, along with sealing up that leak and getting rid of the Nightmares that managed to get out!

Easy! 

Although, something unpleasant seems to claw at the back of you memory card as if trying to get out, but as you pull the files up to look at them, they all are empty…

Oh?

Well…

If nothing is there, then there is nothing to worry about!!

Yep, yep, yep!

You ignore that creeping feeling again.

Besides, you have so much more important things to worry about. Like Sun!

You step back, giving Sun some space to observe him.

Radiant.

Is the first thing that pops into your mind. (Although not as Radiant as your Sun. Nobody can ever be as radiant as your Sun, but he still had that spark about him.) That feeling of undoubted kindness and devotion. However, it seems somewhat fractured allowing the despair to leak through the cracks.

No worries, you can fix is! 

You know you can!

You won’t be able handle it, if you fail again…

You let out a light chirp as you extend your hand to the other. Startling him. 

"Here, let’s get you up! Being down on the ground is no fun!" you say, voice cheerful despite the weight of the empty files pressing on your circuits. A moment of silence passes between the two of you, but you hold onto your friendly smile. 

Hesitantly, he takes it. The bells around his wrist chime softly at the movement. Seeming a bit taken back at how easily pull him up to his feet. As he stands up to his full height, he reminds you of the sunflower towering over your shorter form.

“You’re not g-going to try and…H-hurt me are y-you?” He asks hesitantly, rays retracting slightly into their casing. Pulls his warm hand away from yours as he points at you.

Letting out a gasp, bringing your hands up to cup your cheeks in shock. 

"Oh goodness, no, no, no, no!!!" You exclaim, voice box full of genuine surprise. Arms coming down and crossing over your chest in a “X” formation. “I would never ever do that to you Sun! I am only here to help you!” 

“Heh-heh…Um? Rrright…” He looks at you with uncertainty, optics darting around and rays ticking back and forth nervously. Like he doesn’t quite believe what you said and is looking for a way out. The disbelief in his snowy eyes stirs something within you, a determination to prove yourself.

He thinks you’re lying!? You’re not a liar! You would never lie to Sun or Moon! Lying is very bad! 

“I mean it! " You insist, clasping your hands together earnestly. You pull your wand out with a flick of the wrist. “Look! Look!” With a small wave the glittering star on the end begins to shine softly. Sun flinches at this with a small “eep!”, hands raising up to protect his face. Only for a moment to pass with nothing happening to him. 

Cautiously, he lowers his hands. Looking to see what you did. He lets out a hushed gasp. Seeing all the toy barrels that were knocked over, now all stacked neatly and sparkling like they were brand new and just taken out of the box. 

“See, see, oh so clean! ~” You giggle well hoping back and forth excitedly on the tips of your toes. The jingle, jangle noise from the bells on your ballet slippers ring loudly at the sporadic movement. “What else! What else! Can I do to help you be-so happy! ~”

The taller animatronic can only stare at you in disbelief. His mechanical jaw moves soundlessly for a moment before he manages to articulate.

"Was…Was that m-magic you just used?”

“Yep, yep! Magic! To make your life less tragic!” You say in a sing-song voice. “All to help you with your cleaning spree!”

You can practically hear Sun's gears whirl, as he processes the revelation. You’re not sure why he seems so surprised, considering you can sense his own magic. Although, it is much different than your own. You can’t help the little fit of giggles that escapes your voice box. It’s just to fun to see Sun look so flabbergasted.

“What a funny Sunny.” You chuckle. “You have magic too, silly!”

Heading this seemingly makes Sun embarrassed, adjusting his posture. Straightening up.

“Y-you know I have m-magic? No, w-wait you know who I a-am and you don’t w-want to do anything b-bad to me?” His voice is high pitched and stuttering, underlying wires buzzing with confusion.

It’s your turn to be confused now. "Why would I want to do anything bad to you?" you ask, tilting your head. 

“A-ah? You would actually be quite surprised at h-how many people are out to get me and my brother…”

Something clicks.

Who wants to hurt Sun?

Sun is…cheerful and kind. 

Meant to bring joy and light to others. Playful and sweet. The best at making everyone smile and feeling loved. Known for being overly helpful, if not a bit anxious, but would always step up in everyone’s time of need. Or at least that’s what you remember your Sun being like.

But, that just begs the question.

Why would anybody want to hurt Sun, knowing this? 

You can understand Nightmares trying to hurt Sun as that’s in their nature to devour and corrupt, but you can’t understand why any person would want to hurt him.

It just doesn’t make sense…

Regardless, you’ll do everything in your power to protect this world’s Sun and Moon. Be it from the Nightmares or other people. You will make sure that Sun and Moon have their wishes granted and are happy before you leave! 

Yep, yep, yep!!!

After all, you are a super cool powerful Dreamer! With epic abilities! You're here to make things better for Sun and Moon. As a talented magic user, you've faced many challenges…Even if you can’t exactly remember said challenges at the moment…

Gosh, maybe you really should have Midnight look at your memory card and storage? 

No, no, no, it’s fine. You’re probably just experiencing a temporary glitching from you switching dimensions so suddenly, you assure yourself. 

As you were having your internal monologue gushing over your cool magic and forgetfulness, Sun shifted nervously, breaking the silence.

“U-mm…Who…e-exactly are you?” He asks you with a bit more confidence lacing his long fingers together. Seemingly coming to the conclusion you are actually friendly and not trying to murder him. Maybe, his younger self would’ve been more enthusiastic and open about your arrival to the daycare, but after everything that had happened with Eclipse and the creator he can’t afford to not be cautious. Especially now that Moon had been reset…

“Ah!? Oh my goodness!! I didn’t introduce myself?!” You gasp at yourself in disbelief. Quickly you spread your arms wide in a grand gesture. “I am the great and mighty Stardust!! Protector of dreams and maker of wishes!!” You yell over enthusiastically. Hopping back-and-forth on your feet doing a twirl.

Sun blinks. 

If you told him that a couple minutes ago, he would have probably thought that you where just a crazy animatronic that popped out of the ball pit…Again, but after seeing how easily you used magic to clean up the mess he caused, he doesn’t doubt that you have abilities of some sort.

As you continued to ramble on about nonsensical dreams and things, Sun studies your shorter form. Only being about a foot or so taller than his younger sibling Lunar. And If he had to guess, what type of daycare model you are, he would say you fall into the solar themed category like himself; do to your face plate being a split of marmalade orange and creamy white-yellow, along with small rays that peek out from under your twin tailed jester’s hat. The overly colorful jester’s attire you are wearing also wasn’t necessary anything out of the ordinary in the daycare—it actually fit right in with the bright, whimsical decor of the play place, all the way down the golden stars and bells adorning and jingling about your attire like a holiday celebration in motion. Children might even find delight in your spirited appearance, but Sun's curiosity provoked questions instead of awe. No exposed wiring or circuits anywhere to be seen unlike himself. The obnoxiously bright fabric of your outfit making sure of that. It seems to move with you in an unnatural fluid way as you animatedly talk to him, moving your arms about. The only parts of your body that are visible, are your face and hands. With one hand currently holding onto a strange, looking wand of some kind. It almost looks like something right out of a magical girl anime that Moon likes to watch.

Overall, your appearance reminds Sun of the vintage porcelain clown dolls he has seen at some antique stores before. Strange, but somewhat cute. In a weird clown way. (Then again, it’s not like Sun really has room talk about weird clowns considering he is literally based on a jester…) Sun tilted his head slightly, taking in your flamboyant appearance, coming to a conclusion;

You don’t seem dangerous.

“-And so long as you follow those rules, I can make your wishes come true!” you exclaim suddenly, twirling your wand with a flourish, creating a cascade of sparkling lights in the air. Startling Sun out of his thoughts, blinking in confusion. 

Oh god, he tuned you out without realizing that you were explaining something him. He quickly latches onto last thing you said.

“Wishes?” The Sun asks hesitantly, nervously tapping his fingertips together.

“Yep-yep!” you cheerfully affirm, but didn’t elaborate any further, much to Sun’s dismay. Continuing to stare up at him with your odd star shaped optics. Looking at him like a puppy, waiting for its owner to give it a command. What command? He doesn’t know. The silence stretched between you two awkwardly, only being filled by the daycare‘s theme music. 

“Rrrright?” The taller animatronic tells you, leaning back to his full height. “Ah? Okay, I think it’s time for you to go back home, before Moon finds out you’re here...” 

You blink, smile falling slightly. You can't leave yet. There's so much you have to do, so much you have to mend before considering going back home...

Home.

The word echoed in your mind, a concept seemingly distant and foreign. An uneasy feeling filling up your motherboard. 

Where is home, again?

Quickly you pull up your memory files, only to find out some of them are corrupted or maybe they are just glitched? Ya, that’s probably it.

Glitched…?

It’s fine, lair you can maybe have Midnight look at that later. Besides you know where your home is; It’s where your Sun and Moon are, of course. Performing in the big top together, put on a show for all the attendees. Where joy and laughter fill the air like a chorus of whimsical music notes being played by the Orchestra. A colorful place, vibrant and alive, filled with delighted gasps and excited claps that reverberate through your core as they cheered. Well your Sun and Moon are on either side of you taking your bows after the grand finale of the performance.

You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. You miss them. Why did you have to be so selfish. 

Fix everything, make it right. Stop the Nightmares and grant the wishes. Then you can go home…Right?

Right! That’s why you need to make sure you help this Sun and Moon!! You can’t leave tell then. It’s super duper important you stay focused and don’t get distracted. Show them that you can be helpful! 

Sun sees your smile slowly fall into a blank expression, lost to something he can’t see. Concern creeps in his wires at this, but just as he was about to say something, you perk up and it’s like a switch was flipped.

"Ican’tleaveheretelltheleakisfixedotherwisealltheNightmareswillgetout!Plus-plus-plusyouhaven'tevenmadeawishyetandsamewithMoonIcan’tleavepleaseIcanevenhelpwit-” You blurted out so fast that Sun hardly was able to make out what you were saying Your arms moving up and down sporadically with a frown on your face. It reminded Sun of when the children of the daycare would get nervous or overly excited. Words tumbling from their mouths in a frantic rush of jumbled syllables, as they fought to convey their thoughts all at once. Maybe, it’s due to that, that Sun’s daycare protocol is activated or maybe it’s your smaller size that did it, who knows; either way, his programming insists that he help calm down from your childish fit of a panicked tizzy, before your work yourself up to the point of overheating.

“Whoa, whoa, slow it down.” Sun leans down, well gently places his hands on either one of your shoulders. The golden bells “chiming” softly at the movement. Making you stop mid sentence, startled.  

“But-but-“ You start up again.

“Let’s take a deep breath first, okay?” Sun’s voice is even and bright eyes full of patience. “Can you do that for me please?”

You nod quickly, bells chiming at the movement. Staring up at him with wide awe-struck optics. Doing exactly what he said. Taking a deep breath through your vents, allowing your fans to open fully before exhaling the hot air through them. You do this a couple of times, as Sun instructs. Gradually you calm down, hands dropping to your sides as you fiddle with your wand. There you go again letting your emotions get the better of you, getting too wound up. It’s one thing to lose control over your emotions in front of Midnight. It’s a whole nother thing when it’s somebody like Sun, who you look up to. The unpleasant feeling of embarrassment creeps its way in your midsection. Like your wires are twisting and pulling themselves into knots. You don’t like it, but the way Sun is looking at you, you don’t think he is going to hold it against you. You are so thankful he is so kind. At that thought your smile is back on your faceplate.

Seeing that your smile is back, the daytime animatronic takes that as a sign that you’ve calmed down enough that you can speak to him properly.

“Okay, let’s start from the beginning.” Sun’s hands say on your shoulders keeping you in firmly in place. “Why are you here?”

“To help you.”

“To help me with what exactly?” Sun’s hand fall away from you as he stand back up to his full hight, blinking at you in bewilderment. If he’s being honest, he hasn’t had the best track record with things that come out the ball-pit wanting to help him. More along the lines they wanna murder or maim him to some degree…

“With whatever makes you and Moon happy of course! Making sure your wishes come true!!” You say triumphantly as you pose like a Saturday morning cartoon hero. A hand on your hip and your wand raised up. “Also to stop the Nightmares and keep everyone safe!” 

“Nightmares? Like when you are having when you are sleeping or dreaming?” Sun blinks. It’s starting to occur to him that maybe you’re not exactly all there in terms of a sound mind. 

“Yes-Ahh? But no?” You stop, tapping your wand to your chin. Thinking for a moment as a wave of déjà vu washes over you. Have you explained this before? Hm? Well obviously not because he doesn’t know. “Nightmares are both. They are something that can be real in the physical place, and in the dreamworlds, but I guess Nightmares are technically also physical in the dreams as well?” You wave your wand back-and-forth to accentuate your words. “Mm, but here in the waking worlds; your word, they should not be running free as they like to feed on anything negative. Super dangerous if not carful and if they’re not undone before they fully bloom, they will gobble you whole.” You chop your small fangs together as if trying to be scary. “Despair and woe is all that will be left of you. But, they are not as bad as Calamities can be. If a Calamity gets out of the labyrinth, then it’s over and no coming back from that or at least that’s what I’m told. I have never seen a Calamity get out before.“

Sun is so confused. Not understanding anything you’re trying to tell him. He opens his mouth to speak again, but the sudden sound of the daycare’s double doors being open, stops him.

“Sun, you okay? I heard yelling from the theater and I-Ahhh?-Who’s that?“ 

Simultaneously you and Sun turn towards the raspy voice. Your bright eyes meeting those of an unfamiliar animatronic standing in the doorway, his expression unreadable as he is pointing at you with a gloved finger. 

You’re not sure what to make of the other. They look a lot like Sun? But, at the same time not? Just a tad bit taller than the sunny animatronic with darker color scheme for their casing consisting of a terra-cotta orange and burnt black coloring. Extra sets of smaller rays in between the larger ones. As well as a  pair of well loved goggles rests on top of their head. And unlike Sun’s nervous energy about him, this new animatronic carries an air of caution, as though assessing a potential threat. Something that reminds you greatly of Moon. (Your Moon was always the more suspicious of the pair.) 

Without a word you bring up your hands, wand still in your hold. Connecting your pointer fingers and thumbs together in the shape of a rectangle. 

Both taller animatronics can only watch you with curiosity and uncertainty well you peering through the small window you created for yourself. A soft glow emanating from the newcomer's chest, pulsing with the rhythmic light of magic. It’s faint, but still there. However, it’s not *their* magic.

That’s rather concerning.

Letting your arms fall to your sides, you prance in front of Sun protectively.

“Hello, hello! ~ I don’t know you. Are you a friend of Sun’s?” You won’t take a chance after hearing that somebody wants to hurt Sun. A wide smile slips on to your face as you hold your wand out in front of you, pointed at the stranger. “If not, you should leave here. ~ ” You hum playfully, your voice a singsong warning that clearly has sharp edges.

The stranger blinks rapidly, the tic of their mechanical eyelids can practically be heard from where you’re standing. Then his facial plate morphs into a deep frown.

“What? What are you talking about? Sun, who the hell-“ The stranger starts taking a step forward.

The star on the end of your wand glows dangerously as a powerful blast of magic is sent their way. It narrowly misses the stranger, but forces them to stumble back, nearly falling over. The stay bolt of magic hits one of the arts and craft chairs with a “spark!” and “crack!”. Disintegrating into a pile of lovely green glitter…

A warning shot.

Sun lets out an audible “gasp” from behind you as the stranger states at the pile of glitter with wide optics. Quickly, they raise their hands in surrender, clearly alarmed as your wand is still glowing and pointing directly at them.

“Ahhhhh? Sunnn…A little help here.” The stranger manages to squeak out in fear. 

“Ooooh my gosh, Oh my gosh!?! Wait-wait!!?” Sun sputters out in panic. Placing his hands on your shoulders. “Solar is my friend! As a matter of fact, he is my best friend a-and anybody who steps foot into the daycare are my friends!!” 

You miss the confused look the newly named Solar, gives Sun. Who in turn only frantically shakes his head at him. A silent understanding that Sun will tell Solar late what’s going on, but needs to make sure you’re not going to go around turning people into piles of glitter first…

You perk up at hear this, lowering, your wand to your side; looking over your shoulder at the sunny daycare attendant. 

“Really? Oh sorry, very sorry!” You apologized, willing your wand away in a poof of glitter. “I did not know, but any friend of Sun’s, is a friend of mine!” You say as you easily slip from Sun’s grip. Running up to the darker toned animatronic. "Nice to meet you, Solar!” Without hesitating you grab his gloved hand, shaking it vigorously up and down. Beaming up at him with a toothy smile. “You must be super-duper special, if you’re Sun’s best friend!” 

“Ah-Haha, right. Best friends…” Solar replies awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand, still a little bewildered and frightened by this strange encounter. “Sun, who exactly is this?“ The taller animatronic asks, finally managing to get you to let go of his hand with some effort. Sun, glancing nervously between you and Solar.

“Ah? This is-this is-“ He is struggling to remember what you called yourself exactly.

“Stardust!!” You chirp happily, popping back into Sun’s line of sight making him jump a bit, but he is quick to recover, glancing sheepishly at Solar who has a mix who bewilderment and concern on his metal face, his hands balled up into fists nervously. Sun spares a glance at you, seeing you grin up at him with starry eye-lights, swaying back-and-forth in place. Uncertain whether he should relax or brace himself for whatever absurd magic trick or bizarre outburst you might perform next. It’s probably best for them to play along with you and your antics until they can assess the situation further or at very least until Moon can get in here and fix it… 

“Uh…Right! This is Stardust!” Sun says with a strained cheerfulness, rays fidgeting within his own nervousness. 

“I see?” Solar says will crosses his arms over his chest. “And why exactly are they here?”

“I-um I don’t really know exactly?” Sun shrugs, well watching as you walk over to the chair that you turn into a pile of glitter squatting down and begin to shove the glitter into your pockets. 

“And you didn’t think to call me or Moon right away?” Solar asks with brows raised. Also watching you shove the glitter into your pockets as if he’s trying to understand why you’re doing that.

“Well, I…Err…I…I figured you two might be busy with something important and—and it all happened so fast when they popped into the Daycare…” Sun’s voice wobbles as he fidgets with the red ribbons tied at his wrists. Not wanting to say anything about him having a self loathing moment and that’s the reason why he didn’t notice you appear. You seen to be listening, however as you chime in.

“Oh! Sun was sad, very sad!” You declare, huffing as you glance over your shoulder at Solar. “You should not leave Sun alone like that, otherwise it try to eat him again, if the leak gets too bad!”

Solar’s optics snap up, shock flickering across his faceplate. His arms lowering stiffly, his mouth twitching in alarm as he searches Sun for an explanation. The sunny animatronic looks as if someone just punched him, his smile faltering.

Solar steps forward, voice tight, suspicion sharpening his tone. “What do you mean by ‘leak’?—what’s going to eat him again? Sun, if you were upset—if anything’s wrong, you can talk—”

Sun barks out a laugh too loud, too quick, the kind of laugh that sounds more like a cough. “Ha! Right, yeah, spooky plumbing. Guess we should call maintenance, huh?” His grin stretches too wide, and though he tries to make it playful, his bright eyes betray the concern simmering beneath. “Or-or maybe, we should just call Moon?”

Solar flinches at the sound, his questions cut clean in half. He opens his mouth again, but the weight of Sun’s forced cheer stalls him. The suspicion is still there, simmering behind his amber gaze, but so is hesitation-like Solar’s not sure if pressing will help or only drive Sun further behind that too-bright grin. Slowly, his jaw tightens, words unsaid gathering sharp in his voice box before he finally swallows them back down.

“Right…I’ll…I’ll send Moon a ping now.” Solar doesn’t comment on how relieved Sun looks when he says that, instead sending Moon a message to meet them as quickly as possible in the Daycare. It doesn’t take long to get a reply as Solar watches you skip over and try and crawl into one of the play tunnels as Sun scold you not to do that as you whine about wanting to play hide and go seek, but you thankfully listen. Both you and Sun retuning to stand next to Solar by the security desk and right when Solar was about to question you further he hears familiar footfalls of the lunar animatronic coming from outside of the daycare.

“Okay, what the heck is going on, now? I was in the middle of tracking lead!” A familiar blue and silver animatronic storms through the open doors of the daycare. 

“Brother-“

“Moon-”

Moon!-

“-It’s Moon-It’s Moon! Hello-Hello to Moon! ~ ” You shrill with happiness cutting everyone else off. Bouncing up to said daycare attendant, well simultaneously reaching into your pockets to pull out handfuls of glitter. Throwing it up in the air as you circle around his taller form, chanting, his name, in a sing song, voice. Moon stands frozen completely taken off guard, The glitter sticks to him and catches in the light, forming a sparkly outline of his bewildered figure. Moon blinks, before looks down at you with a mix of confusion and exasperation, clearly not amused by a random animatronic prancing around him like a pony and being covered in glitter. 

"You will explain." He demands, glancing pointedly between Sun and Solar who look all too amuse that Moon is being covered in sparkles. Solar trying his best to hide his snickering behind his hand and Sun looks like he’s having a mix of a conniption and hysterics. As glitter is really difficult to get out of things hence why it’s banned from the daycare in any other form, then glitter glue, but seeing his brother covered in the sparkling substance made Sun feel utterly amused. Despite the chaos, there was something undeniably humorous about Moon's current predicament, looking like a walking disco ball.

“Ah-haha, They came out of the ball-pit Moon.” Sun manages to say with a semi straight face.

“What? How? I just fixed that?” The lunar themed animatronic exclaims. 

“Maybe, it was some type of malfunction?” Solar offers, with a half-smile. Doing nothing to help Moon as you continue to rain down glitter onto him. 

“That’s not possible, I double and triple check the calculations. Nothing should be able to enter and exit the portal without us being notified. ” Moon huffs.

“Well I mean, they got in somehow?” The mechanic gestures towards your smaller form as you skip around Moon. A small pile of glitter beginning to accumulate around Moon slippered feet.

”Oh my god! Would you stop that?!” Moon growls, reaching down and grabbing you by the scruff of your neck ruffles like a misbehaving kitten. Successfully, stopping you from covering him more glitter. He lifts you up to look at him. Gold and cherry-red optics making eye contact. You blink repeatedly, attempting an innocent expression despite the glimmering evidence on your hands.

“You think this is a game or something you little menace?“ He demands, his voice a mix of frustration and irritation. “How the heck did you get in here?”

“Oh, yes-yes I love games! And it was Midnight that got me here, he was being rather cheeky with it thought-But, I mean, I didn’t mean to let the Calamity get away or anything, it was his fault for making me mad and distracted in the first place or at at least I think it is? Ah? Either way I got because of Midnight.” You tell the night-time attendant. Moon only glares at you not believing what you’re telling him opening his mouth to speak.

“Ah-huh, Okay, We have too many problems right now to deal with you, so it’s time for you to go back to where you came from-“

“Wait Moon, I wouldn’t-“ Sun tries to warn his brother, but you cut him off with another giggle as a mischievous grin spreads across your face. Holding up your hands and blowing the little bit of glitter you had left, right into the lunar animatronic’s face.

“Gahk?!” Moon immediately drops you, making a face of disgust as it gets into his mouth. Quickly, bring up his hands to wipe away the glitter well trying to spit it out. Maniacal giggles escape your voice box as you run to hide behind Sun.

“Moon wants to play! Let’s play! Let’s play! Let’s play, keep away!” You shout gleefully, darting out from behind Sun to taunt Moon. “Solar and Moon-Moon get to be it! Well Sun and I hide and run for fun!”

“Wait-What do you mean-“ Sun starts but is interrupted when you grab his hand. And just like that you and Sun had disappear in a puff of smoke, nothing but a pile of glitter left behind…Actually a lot of glitter.

“Oh my god…Moon.” Solar optics are wide. 

Moon lets out a low growl as he swipes at his mouth again, glitter clinging stubbornly to his casing. Moon’s cheery-red optics darting to the fading shimmer where you and Sun vanished.

“They took Sun.” The night-time animatronic mutters, voice sharp, his optic twitch. His as he was about to call for a full lock-down only to hear Sun let out a yelp from somewhere behind him in the Pizza plex just outside the Daycare’s doors.

“W-wait, slow down—!” Sun’s startled voice echoes faintly, followed by your gleeful shriek of laughter and the sound of bells running down the auditorium.

“Time to play! It’s time to play! Run-run away and play keep away! ~”

The game of chase is on.