#[ I didn't wanna say this 'cause I'm just. * gestures vaguely * I'll probably gonna be talked about behind back for this ]

[writing-forever]

Chapter 10 Knockoff Pizzaplex

Heyo, sorry for the wait, it turns out I am not as immune to burnout as I thought. But I'm fine now.

Enjoy this long-ish chapter

First, previous, next

@miss-night @jakersdaboss @lets-zofifi-stuff

Tws: none

The next morning Star decided they wanted to go shopping. For what? They didn't know. But they knew they wanted to get it at the mall.

The boys were already awake when Star got up. They found them sitting on the couch looking at each other as if trying to see into their counterpart’s soul. Did animatronics even have souls? Other than the ones who had ghosts inside them obviously. But as far as Star knew Sun and Moon weren't possessed.

They shook their head, clearing their mind as the boys looked up at them.

“Star! You're awake!” Sun said, smiling.

Moon rested his elbows on the arm of the couch with his head in his hands. “Did you sleep well?” he added.

Star nodded. “I slept fine.” It was the truth, no nightmares this time. “I have a question though, were you guys having like a staring contest or...”

Sun literally lit up. “We learned how to talk to each other mentally! It's a little harder and I can't see what Moon is thinking, but it's a start!”

Star nodded appreciatively. “That's pretty cool.” they hummed. “Isn't there a word for that? Telekinesis? Or something like that?”

“Telepathy.” Moon supplied.

Star nodded. “That’s the one. It's like you guys have a superpower!”

Sun’s eyes widened and he turned to Moon, most likely saying something through their newly discovered mental link.

Moon nodded at whatever Sun had said and looked like he was trying not to roll his eyes.

Star poked Sun in the back causing him to squeak and look up at them.

“English please.” Star said. “I don't have superpowers.”

Sun nodded sheepishly. “Sorry.”

Star shrugged. “It's fine. I'm just glad you guys are having fun.” they paused. “But I did have something I wanted to do today. How do you two feel about going shopping?”

Moon tilted his head. “Didn't we already do that?”

Star shook their head. “That was grocery shopping, I wanna take you guys to the Mall.”

Sun spoke this time. “Like the plex.” He asked.

Star made a so-so gesture with their hand. “Not really. The plex is more like a theme park. The mall is just a bunch of different stores in one building.” they explained. “Wanna go?”

Sun nodded and Moon hummed affirmative. “I guess it sounds fun.”

Star smiled. “I'll go get my wallet.”

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Sun had seen so many cool new things this week he thought his head might explode!

First, it was the excitement of having a new body, and getting to hug his brother for the first time. Then it was the newness of Star’s house and the bigness of the store. Then it was the calm wonder of the outdoors. And now Star was gonna take them to an even bigger store. Sun wasn't sure how a store could be bigger than the one he already went to. And even though the pizzaplex was probably one of the biggest places around, Sun hadn't really been anywhere besides the Daycare and Parts and Service. He hadn't realized how big places could be.

Sun climbed out of the car as soon as Star opened the door pulling Moon along behind him and grabbing onto Star’s hand as they led them to the front door.

The first thing Sun noticed when he stepped into the mall was how clean everything was. Every surface was polished to a shine that you just couldn't get in the daycare. He wondered how they kept it so clean when everything was white.

At the same time, his eyes shifted to the windows of the different shops. He vaguely recognized one of the brand names and tried to point it out to Star but the word came out a glitchy, garbled mess. The consequence of trying to say something that didn't agree with his speech filters.

Star looked at him shocked and confused. “Sun did you just try to cuss?”

Sun shook his head quickly. “I was trying to say the name of that store.” he said, pointing. “But I think they put brand names in our speech filters.”

Star nodded in understanding. “Did you wanna go over there?” they asked.

Sun nodded and Star led him and his brother over to the store, letting them look around once they were inside.

The store itself seemed to have a celestial theme, which was what had caught Sun’s attention in the first place. One side of the shop was filled with lots of little charms and gems and things that had to do with zodiac signs, something that Sun knew about but didn't really care to look into.

The other side of the store, however, held lots of clothes, from jeans and T-shirts, to hoodies and dresses.

Star pointed to a circular rack that said ‘50% off’. “First rule of shopping, always check the discount section first.” They said to Sun.

Sun tilted his faceplate. “There are rules for shopping?” he asked.

Star smiled and shook their head. “It's just an expression Sunbun.”

“Oh,” Sun shrugged before joining Moon in looking at the discount rack.

He found something he liked almost immediately. A blue sweater with an outline of a crescent moon embroidered in black thread on the front. I was a few sizes too big but that just meant he'd still be able to wear it when he went back to the plex. He grabbed it off the rack and leaned over to show it to Moon.

He gasped in surprise when he saw that Moon had found a similar sweater. It was yellow and embroidered with a sun instead of a moon. “That’s so pretty!” Sun said smiling and holding up his own sweater. “We can wear each other.”

Moon nodded and took Sun’s sweater, handing both items to Star.

Star smiled. “Is that all you want? There's no budget you know.”

Sun nodded.

Star hummed. “Ok, I'm gonna go pay for these. Stay right here, don't go anywhere.”

Sun smiled. “Don’t worry, I don't wanna get lost either.”

Star peered at him. “I'm trusting you.” they said, mostly joking, before making their way over to the register.

Sun really did try to stay in the same spot but he caught a glimpse of color coming from outside the store. He wandered over to the front window and gasped before running back over to Moon to pull him over to the window.

Moon dug his heels into the ground, stopping Sun from pulling him more than two inches at a time. “Where are we going? Star said to stay here.”

Sun pouted. “But Moony, there's a kiddie train!”

Moon rolled his eyes. “Fine, we can go look at the train.” he said, finally letting Sun drag pull him to the window.

Sun put his hands on the glass as the train passed. It was all the colors of the rainbow and full of children. Sun waved to them and some of them waved back. “Isn't it so cool Moony? I wish the Plex had one of these. There could even be one car for each of the glamrocks. I bet the kids would love that!”

Moon smiled. “Maybe we can ask Star to let us ride this one?”

Sun grinned and opened his mouth to respond but he was interrupted by Star.

“You guys enjoying the train?”

Sun nodded. “Can we ride it? Please?”

Star smiled. “I don't see why not. But first, watch this.” they made eye contact with the conductor before making a motion like they were pulling on something. The conductor smiled and blew the train whistle twice.

Sun’s eyes turned to stars. “So that's why kids like that sound so much!” he grinned.

Star laughed. “Before you go on the train, do you guys wanna try on your jackets?” they asked, offering the items to them both.

Sun nodded and took his sweater. He had to retract his rays to get it over his head and even then it got a little bit stuck and Moon had to help him. But once it was on Sun thought it was the best thing ever. It was soft and warm. The perfect sensory experience.

Then he looked down at himself and laughed. The dark blue of the sweater didn't really go with the red and yellow of his pants. But Sun didn't mind. As a jester, it was basically his job to look at least a little bit silly at all times.

Sun looked over at Moon who was adjusting his nightcap and smoothing out his own sweater. It didn't match his color scheme either but Sun had a feeling he Moon cared about that just as much as he did.

“Do you like ‘em?” Star asked.

Sun nodded, pulling at the hem of his sweater to straighten it. “Thank you for getting them for us Starlight.”

Star shrugged. “It's the least I can do.” they grinned. “Now, about that train?”

Sun was already out the door. He waved for Star and Moon to follow as he made a beeline for the ticket booth at the end of the hall. The girl working at the booth looked surprised to see a robot of all things but she smiled at Sun like the would any other kid.

“Three tickets please!” Sun told her.

She nodded and cut three tickets. “You got money for that little guy?”

Sun shook his head and pointed to Star as they caught up to him. “They’re paying.”

The girl nodded and handed the tickets to Sun before turning to Star. “Cash or card?” she asked.

Sun tuned out their conversation, instead opting to marvel at the train that was just returning from its recent trip. He watched as all the kids got off, most of them asking their parents if they could go again and receiving a no in return.

He gasped as he recognized one of the children at the end of the train. He ran over to her. “Shira!” he said excitedly, giving her a hug. “I can't believe you're here!”

Shira hugged him back before holding him at arm's length. “Sun?” She smiled as she recognized him. “Are you gonna ride the train?”

Sun nodded and Shira looked to her mom. “Can we please go again so I can ride with Sun and Moon?” she paused, turning to Sun. “Moon is here right?”

Sun nodded. “And Star too.” he said, pointing to where Star and Moon were standing by the ticket booth. They looked worried and Sun suddenly realized that he hadn't told them where he was going before he ran off. He pinged Moon with their shared connection and waved when Moon spotted him.

“Look who I found” Sun sent.

”Is that Shira?” Moon sent back.

Sun nodded, knowing Moon could see him perfectly well.

Moon pulled on Star’s sleeve and pointed toward Sun and Shira. Star gasped and began walking over.

Sun smiled and then squeaked as Shira poked him. He spun around. “Hey now, let's be nice with our hands little sunshine.” he said, mostly out of habit.

Shira shrugged. “Sorry. But I have a question. Were you talking to Moon just now?”

Sun nodded, wondering how she noticed. She must be pretty perceptive.

Shira grinned. “That’s so cool! How does it work?”

Sun smiled at her neverending curiosity. “We have a connection. We used to be the same animatronic you know.”

Shira looked like she wanted to ask a million more questions but she didn't get a chance because at that moment Star finally caught up to Sun. “I see you found your new friend.” they said, waving to Shira’s mom. “Hey Lori.”

Sun nodded. “Shira’s gonna ride on the train with us!” he said excitedly.

“Now I never said-” Lori started, before heaving a sigh and pulling out her wallet. “I guess she can go one more time.”

Star stopped her, holding out a hand. “I can pay for it if you want.”

Lori looked at them incredulously. “Thank you for the offer but that's really not necessary.”

Star insisted. “It wouldn't be a problem, I have more than enough money.”

Lori peered at them for a second before putting away her wallet. “Thank you.”

Star smiled. “You’re welcome.” they paused. “Would you mind watching the boys while I go get another ticket?”

Lori nodded.

“Thanks.”

Shira cheered now that it was confirmed she would get to ride the train again. She pulled Sun and Moon to the train car while they waited for Star. Star came back in only a few moments joining Lori in the train car directly in front of the boys.

One of the workers checked all the doors and then Sun gasped as the train jolted into motion with a trill of a whistle. It kinda felt like riding in Star’s car except without a roof.

“What do you mean you used to be the same?” Shira prodded as soon as the train started.

“We used to be two AI in one body.” Sun answered. “We’re the daycare attendant at the pizzaplex.

Shira’s eyes widened. “You're from the plex?”

Sun nodded. “The one and only.”

“I’ve always wanted to go there.” Shira said excitedly. “I heard the robots there are like super advanced! Which must be true because you guys are like, super advanced!” She gasped as she came up with more questions. “Do you know the other robots? Are they cool? Do they think like you do?”

Sun nodded. “Of course they do. Although I haven't met them too many times myself. I mostly know them from watching Moony talk with them.

Shira started to say something else but was interrupted by the toot of the train whistle as it passed a couple children. Sun held on to the side of the train as he looked to the front, having gotten startled.

He heard Shira laugh. “Does the plex not have one of these?” She asked.

Sun shook his head. “Nope. And even if it did, I wouldn’t be able to ride it. I’m normally too tall.

Moon poked Sun on the shoulder. “I’m sure you’d find a way.” He said through their mental link.

Sun hummed. “I’m not going to answer that.”

Shira looked at him curiously. “How do you do that? Can you actually hear each other, like a phone call? Or is it just messages?” She asked.

Sun blinked at the flood of questions. Question marks floating in his eyes briefly as he tried to make sense of them. Moon ended up answering before he could.

“The connection is a lot like sending thoughts back and forth. It used to feel like looking into each other's minds, almost no privacy. But now we can only see what the other chooses to show us.”

Shira was looking at Moon with wide eyes, like she wanted to write down every word he was saying. Curiosity burned sharply in her gaze in a way that probably would’ve scared Sun a little if he hadn’t gotten used to Star looking at them like that. It didn’t happen very often anymore. But when Star had started studying robotics, and even before that, they would ask so many questions about how he felt and worked. He had a feeling Shira was exactly the same.

Sun spun his faceplate idly as he thought about that, before leaning back as Shira reached curiously for his face.

“How’d you do that?” She asked, dropping her hand.

“What this?” Sun spun his faceplate again.

“Yeah.”

Sun shrugged. “I’m not really sure how it works. You'd have to ask Star that question. They built these bodies after all.”

Shira gasped. “She made you?! She must be super smart!”

Sun shook his head. “They are pretty smart, but they're not a she.”

Shira tilted her head. “But she doesn't look like a boy.”

Sun shook his head again. “They’re not a boy either. They're kinda in the middle. They/them.”

Shira still looked a little confused. “So they’re both?” she said, trying out the new pronouns.

Sun raised his hand in a ‘sort-of’ gesture. “More like neither.”

Shira nodded thoughtfully. “So they/them.”

Sun gave her a thumbs up. “You got it.”

Shira hummed. “And they know how to make robots?” the curiosity was back in her eyes.

Sun nodded. “I’m pretty sure they know everything about robots.”

Shira smiled. “I have so many questions for them now! Like, how long does it take to build one? Or, is it super fun? And, how do you make them think?!”

Sun chuckled at Shira’s new barrage of questions. “Well I can answer some of those. It takes roughly 3 months to make a robot if you're working nearly 24 hours a day. Which you shouldn't do by the way. You need to pace yourself when you're working and remember to take breaks to eat and drink water. Your body can't run forever.”

Shira’s eyes were a little glazed over by the time Sun had finished talking. Not like she didn't understand, but like she thought the last bit of that sentence was pre-programmed. It technically wasn't, but Sun had said similar things to Star so many times that he had saved the words in the most effective order and inflection. So he guessed it might've sounded a little pre-recorded.

Shira blinked as she noticed Sun wasn’t talking anymore. “Three months is a long time.” she said as if wondering how anything could take three whole months.

Sun smiled. “Maybe you could do it faster. If you went to school for it and learned everything about robots!”

Shira gasped. “I could make my own robot! It would be my best friend!”

Sun nodded. “I bet whatever robot you make would love to be your friend.” he said as the train slowed down. Coming to a stop in the same place it had started.

Shira pulled Sun and Moon out of the cart at the same time that Star and Lori stepped out of theirs. Star was smiling and it seemed like they'd found a friend. Even if Sun’s only interaction with Lori hadn't been so good, she couldn't be that bad if Star was having a good time with her. Plus, Sun couldn't imagine how a child as cool as Shira could have a meanie for a mom so she must be doing something right. He guessed he'd give her a chance.

Shira was holding on to Sun and Moon’s hands, trying to pull them somewhere. “Where are we going Moonlight?” Moon asked as Shira pulled them along while Star and Lori followed behind them.

“I wanna do the trampoline.” Shira declared, not faltering in the slightest.

Sun looked at her confused for a second until they turned the corner and he saw two really big trampolines with harnesses and bungee cords that connected to tall poles. There was a little boy on one of the trampolines already. He was laughing and doing flips as his mother watched from the sidelines. It looked like lots of fun.

Moon bumped Sun on the shoulder before sending him a message. “I could do so many wire tricks with that.”

“Whoever does the coolest trick wins.” Sun sent back.

Moon grinned. “You’re on.”

Despite their eagerness to one-up each other, both boys let Shira go first. They were daycare attendants after all. They watched as Shira bounded up to the worker there, asking for a turn. The worker asked where her parent was and she pointed to Lori.

Lori sighed. She obviously hadn’t been planning on paying for the trampolines. But before she could pull out her wallet Star was stopping her. “I can pay for it.” Star said.

Lori shook her head. “You already paid for the train, I can't make you pay for this too.”

Star laughed. “It's ok, it's well within my budget. I work with FazCo after all.”

Lori thought about that for a second. “Well, I suppose, if you have the funds.” She smiled. “Thank you.”

“It’s absolutely no problem.” Star said before walking over to the worker who was talking to Shira and handing her their debit card.

Shira was bouncing with excitement as the worker led her to the unoccupied trampoline. She waved to the boys as she was strapped in and the worker tightened the bungee cords connected to the tall poles. The worker asked if Shira was ready. And let her go when she nodded.

Shira immediately did a flip on her first bounce. She laughed and waved at Sun and Moon on her second one before beginning to actually focus on what she was doing. She looked like she was trying to do as many flips as she could. Just when her turn was about to be over she managed five flips in succession. She looked pretty proud of herself as the worker helped her down from the trampoline. The little boy had gotten off the trampoline a minute earlier and now they were both empty.

Sun high-fived Shira as she bounded up to him. “Did you see that!” She said excitedly. “I did five flips! That's a new record! I'm kinda dizzy now though.”

Sun beamed. “I did see! It was very cool! It looked like lots of fun!”

Shira nodded. “It's super fun! And it's your turn now.” she said, pulling him toward the trampolines while Moony trailed behind them.

Star had already paid for them to have a turn so the worker let them in without issue. She pointed Moon toward the other trampoline and helped Sun onto the closer one. She strapped Sun into the harness while her helper, a young man that looked like he had just gotten out of high school, helped Moon into his own harness.

Moon’s bungee cords were tightened before Sun’s. The helper asked Moon if he was ready and he nodded.

As soon as he was let go moon was pulled into the air. His eyes went wide and he made a little scared sound. Not because of the height, Sun figured, but because he had been expecting it to feel like the wire. When he was using the wire, he was in control of it. He was connected to it in such a way that it was almost a part of him. This was, undoubtedly, not the wire.

But even so, by his second bounce he had already gotten used to it. He was doing flips, just as Shira had.

Next it was Sun’s turn. His helper had already tightened his bungee cords and was asking him if he was ready.

Sun nodded. His helper let go, and then he was pulled into the air same as Moon. However, unlike Moon Sun managed not to squeak in fear. He jumped a few times normally before trying to do a flip, overestimating how much force he needed to use, and doing three.

Moon snickered at him and sent him a message. “You first.”

Sun grinned. He jumped up, holding on to the cords connecting him to the tall poles, and used them to flip himself upside-down. He held that pose until the last second before completing his flip and using his momentum to do seven flips in a row. He landed on his feet and on his next jump he mimed doing a curtsy, smiling at his brother.

Moon just smiled back. The look on his face told Sun that he and a plan.

On Moon’s next jump, he spun around, twisting the bungee cords around each other. When he jumped again he did multiple flips. Sun couldn't count them because the bungee cords were unraveling, causing Moon to spin while he flipped. It looked amazing. He topped off his trick by doing ten flips in a row as opposed to Sun’s seven. Moon copied Sun’s curtsy signaling that his trick was over.

Unfortunately what Moon had done was apparently not allowed. Both workers were telling them to hold still while they got them down. Both boys listened, and then Moon had to deal with his helper chiding him on how dangerous that was, and it didn't matter if he was a robot, he could still break.

Moon apologized. And his helper let him leave with a warning.

As soon as he was unhooked Sun ran over to Star. “Did you see us?” he asked excitedly while Moon caught up to him after getting scolded.

“I won, right?” Moon asked immediately.

Star crouched down, giving each of them a hug. “I did see, and while I hat per to choose between you two, I'm afraid Moon does win at acrobatics. But only because he practices more often.”

Moon smiled and stuck his tongue out at Sun. Star laughed. “That's not an invitation to rub it in.” they said. Moon stuck his tongue out at them next, making them laugh more. They pushed his face away with their palm and stood up just before Shira came up to Moon and grabbed his shoulders.