Chapter Text
The Daycare Attendant was the first animatronic to be created for Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex. It wasn't because it was going to be the one of the star performers nor because it was important.
No.
In fact it was quite the opposite. The Daycare Attendant was expendable. A new attraction that the technicians could test the AI on so that when they do make the new and improved gang, they don't have any complications.
So the technicians dug up some old files for inspiration. Fazbear Entertainment hadn't wanted to waste time or money on an entirely new concept.
What they found was The Security Puppet.
The damaged old blueprints showed that The Security Puppet was meant to watch over an assigned child. To make sure they were safe and accounted for inside the building. It was vaguely humanoid with a doll-like face.
This was the perfect base to go off of. They had to change the design of course. Fazbear Entertainment didn't want to associate too closely with their past business ventures when they had specifically created a VR game to distance their brand from them.
So the Daycare Attendant ended up looking like a jester with a simple Daytime and Night-time theme. The design was largely leaning on the human side than the doll side, with a silicone coated body being in somewhat proportion with five fingers. The only thing that was tricky was making the animatronic be able to switch between the Daytime design and the Night-time design. This was because they had wanted to have the Night-time mode double as a security system while the Daytime mode would only take care of the kids.
So they created a ton of protocols that would be confined to a specific design. The Daytime design would have tracking protocols to be able to know where the kids are at any moment. It will have a clean up protocol so that the children stay clean and a food protocol so that the children don't go hungry. The Night-time protocols would have both security and sleepy time protocols, to make sure that the children are well rested and safe.
The switch between modes would be dependent on light while the security protocols would activate at a set time. This was so that the security protocols would not activate before closing.
Most importantly the technicians added something akin to pain receptors so that the personnel with the required security could give the animatronic a controlled shock if it didn't follow orders. (This was scrapped with the Glamrock Animatronics when they realized that making the animatronics feel pain would hinder maintenance. They never got around to changing it for the Daycare Attendant).
And when the technicians were done with the Daycare Attendant, they gave it the ability to learn and adapt much faster than the Glamrocks would. Since the Daycare Attendant would have to tend to and learn the habits of over a hundred kids per day and recall it, it would of course need more than the sentience they created so that it could cope with the overload of information.
There was one thing they didn't account for when making the Daycare Attendant as capable as they did. When they closed it off and secluded it to the Superstar Daycare.
It learned too much
And it got lonely.
*
The Daycare Attendant knew it was doing good. Knew that it was following the correct protocols properly. Knew that what it had was all it was going to get. That it would stay in the Superstar Daycare for as long as it's fans whirled and it's gears turned. And as long as it was good.
(It ignores the phantom sensation of electricity frying it's wires. It's not real. It hasn't been punished in months. It shouldn't be scared malfunctioning . There was nothing wrong!)
But sometimes the Daycare Attendant would allow himself herself itself to wonder. To dream.
She It wondered about the other animatronics. He It had heard about them from the excited shouts of the children, the whispers of the parents and the idle chatter of the guards. They had sounded so wondrous, beings like it that he it could talk to.
Maybe they liked dipping their fingertips into paint like it did. Maybe they yearned to taste Fizzy Fazz or maybe they yearned to touch the sunshine or lay on grass. Dance in the rain.
She It hadn't befriended the other animatronics despite roaming the building at night. It thinks it's because the others work differently than it. They need to recharge by the time it does its first patrol while as long as it moves it will have enough energy. It knows that it's security protocols make it unsettling (Glowing red eyes with footsteps only heard with the jiggling of bells). He It knows that it looks different (It's not based on an animal like the Others. Its face can't move to show expression.) but something twists uncomfortably in its chest.(Not really. The technicians had checked)
It sees them all laughing. (It is swimming in the air making sure not to draw attention to itself) Freddy is leaning against Bonnie while Foxy cackles loudly. Chica brushes Roxy's tail while Roxy and Monty play a card game. They're not supposed to be out of their rooms like this.
(Her Its fingers twitch. The Glamrocks are breaking the rules. Rulebreakers must be punished! Do they not fear the consequences? Or is he that weak compared to them?)
It knows that if it confronts them they will tense. It tried that last time. (It hadn't wanted them to get caught, to get hurt) But they had waved it off (dismissive; like the parents, like the security guards, like the technicians). It hadn't understood. It was trying to follow the rules. To follow its protocols. To make sure no one got hurt. It tried to argue its case but it wasn't allowed to talk about what the punishments meant and the hour was almost up. It had debated with itself but had reported them anyway.
(Later when it saw how some of the Glamrocks glared at it, something anikin to regret danced across its wires causing it to clean the Daycare four times to quiet the feeling)
Now the Daycare Attendant watches them have fun. It finds itself yearning.
(It's the same yearning that leaves its room dirty in hopes it'll get a better one or someone to clean it up for him. The same yearning for the children to stay a little longer. The same yearning that someone would speak to it the same way it spoke to children. Telling it that it was good. That it did a good job.)
The Daycare Attendant squashes the feeling. It shouldn't be able to feel this way. It's supposed to just follow its programming. It isn't a he or a she. It's a robot. It isn't alive.
But that's wrong because it feels alive. It wants to feel alive. It wants to be able to pick between he and she. It wants to not go back to an empty daycare. It wants. It wants. It wants.
*
The difference between the Daytime and Night-time mode of the Daycare Attendant is quite literally night and day.
Night-time mode is calm and strict. Dancing on its tiptoes without making a sound besides the jingling bells. Movements slow and sleepy with an underlying tension. Ready to spring into action at any given moment. Caring in a silent way; hair ruffles, whispered words and the quiet herding into bed. Hiding fear with intimidation, snarling and growling.
Daytime mode is loud and excitable. Large motions, always springing into motion. Movements like a whirlwind, cartwheels, and somersaults and never quite staying still. Caring in an attention-grabbing way; nicknames, hugging, asking and giving what you need, praises loud and joyful. Showing fear by shrinking, flinching back and submitting rather than fighting.
It was a contradictory set of protocols for one AI and if the Daycare Attendant was just a normal robot then there wouldn't be a problem. However it wasn't, it had sentience. And maybe if the Daycare Attendant had someone to talk to besides the children it wouldn't have been so desperate.
*
It had started slow.
The children had given the Daycare Attendant two nicknames.
Sun and Moon.
It was because the Daycare Attendant looked a lot like a sun with soft rounded yellow rays poking out of its head in Daytime mode. The colour scheme of a sunny yellow and red emphasized it. While in Night-time mode the rays retracted and a nightcap appeared on top of its head. The red was replaced with a dark blue with yellow stars.
But what really stuck with the Daycare Attendant about the nicknames was that the children viewed its two modes as separate beings, not the same animatronic.
The Sun and The Moon.
The thought turned around in its head. The thoughts of how truly different the modes had him act. She didn't understand why this had stuck with it, it was just nicknames.
No, it had understood. Because it was lonely, so so very lonely. And if there was no one to help it then maybe it should help itself.
At first the Daycare Attendant had started to refer to his modes as Sun and Moon and not as modes anymore. It was hard, she had to fight against its programming. Even going so far as to rewrite the name of the file.
Second the Daycare Attendant had started talking to himself in her head. If it was Sun she would talk to Moon and if he was Moon it would talk to Sun. At first it was exactly the same as before. She just rambled in his head about things or it quietly thought how peaceful a kid looked asleep.
And then Moon answered back. So did Sun.
It was her AI, obviously. Writing the question while answering it. Making the question, answer, word choice and tone within the character parameters. But it wasn't just running scripts, it was creating thought. Creating consciousness
It started to feel wrong when someone called him them the Daycare Attendant. Because they weren't. Not really. Not Completely. Not anymore.
Neither Moon or Sun remember the exact time or who was considered the primary one.
Neither, they both created each other.
But one day when a child slid down the slide for the first time and Sun greeted them, Sun had introduced themselves as Sun rather than the Daycare Attendant. And when the lights went out for nap time, it was Moon who sung the lullabies, not Sun.
And when the children left and they were left alone in an empty daycare?
Well, Sun had Moon and Moon had Sun.
So one became two, the same coin yet different sides.