Chapter Text
The room was dark, the only source of light coming from the glow of the screens in front of you. Your hands flew across the keyboard in front of you, your eyes never leaving the screen as strings of code appeared. You were working on your most recent job, a fairly simple one to be honest. A security company wanted you to nearly completely redesign their virus detection software.
You yawned softly, leaning back in your chair and raising your arms above your head to stretch. A soft groan escaped you as you settled back in the chair, taking a small break. The program they had before was basic and honestly pretty useless against most forms of Malware nowadays. Maybe a few years ago it would have been fine, but in this day and age? With how many people were into coding and programming, all forms of technology have just gotten more advanced, viruses included.
Ever since the huge boom in animatronic creation, it seems everyone either makes them, programs them, or owns one. You yourself had one of your own. You had made him yourself, though he was fairly small, you’d programmed him with his own learning A.I. The animatronic in question skittered across your desk and you felt a smile tug at your lips.
“Hey Spindle…” You greeted the small bot. Spindle was your closest friend, as sad as it was to say that. He was a small animatronic in the shape of a spider you’d made years ago, no bigger than the palm of your hand. His multiple eyes, cameras for you to see through if you wanted, looked up at you and glowed a soft red hue. He made a small chittering noise at you, a dialogue box popping up on your monitor.
‘It is currently 4:37 A.M.’
‘Recommendation: Sleep’
The box read. You rolled your eyes and giggled softly.
“I know, Spindle… I was just going to finish up this program before I-” You cut yourself off as you heard Spindle begin to chitter again, more dialogue appearing. You try not to interrupt him, even if he tends to do so to you.
‘You have been working for: 17 HOURS, 27 MINUTES, 43 SECONDS’
‘Recommendation: Sleep’
‘Additional Recommendation: Shower, Water, Breakfast'
Spindle’s way of speaking was very autonomous, but you didn’t mind. You thought a while back about updating him, but he had said, and you quote: ‘Unnecessary. I am Happy’. It was the first time he’d expressed how he felt about something, so who were you to deny him? Besides, you decided, he was perfect as he was. Some people talk too much, but Spindle said only what he needed to.
You sighed softly at your little friend and nodded. You hadn’t realized you’d been working so long, but you rarely do. The room you work in is practically locked away from the outside world, no natural light entered the room and no one could get in without permission. You stood from the chair, the familiar ache of sitting in one spot for too long came upon you as your legs felt like static.
“Yeah… you’re right… I lost track of time. Sorry, buddy…” You apologized to your robotic arachnid. He chittered again, but no dialogue came up as he skittered off towards the door. Sometimes he chittered just to chitter, and you found it pretty cute. You followed Spindle to the door and opened it to an equally dark hallway. You rummaged through your pocket and pulled out your phone, the dim screen easy on your eyes as you unlocked it, your finger tapping away at the screen.
You’d linked most of the functions of your house to most of your devices to make life easier for you, and as you carefully tucked away your phone back into your pocket, the lights in the house began to slowly brighten, giving your eyes time to adjust. You yawned again as you began to walk down the hall, the wall to your left ending and opening your view to the living room below.
Spindle skittered onto the banister beside you as you turned to the staircase on your left, heading down to get the breakfast Spindle had suggested. Your home was rather nice, spacious and modern as you liked it. Your work got you quite the significant amount of pay, even if you were freelance. You were well known for the quality of your work, and you took pride in your skills.
Computers had, metaphorically speaking, spoken to you from a young age. You took to coding like a fish to water. Your school days were filled with computer rooms and the robotics lab, spending most of your free time learning all you could about robots in all forms. Honestly, if you break things down to their bare bones, most electronics were robots, each one having a functioning ‘brain’ and their own special purpose. Some may have been less advanced than others, but nonetheless you liked to learn.
In your college years you were lucky to have been picked up by a skilled technician for an apprenticeship. He was the one who had taught you to build robots yourself, and the very reason Spindle existed. Despite your familiarity with the physical side of robotics, you found you’d heavily preferred the coding side to technology.
You searched for any and all jobs in your field, big or small. You worked harder than anyone else you knew, and your reputation quickly grew as you seemed to perfect every job you took. In just a few years time you’d settled yourself into quite the comfortable lifestyle, having a few contracts with a couple companies which generated you a sizable passive income so long as they used your program or software. To be honest, you didn’t really need to work if you didn’t want to, but with each problem presented to you, you were drawn into the work. It was like finding a new unsolved puzzle, and you loved puzzles.
You walked through the living room quietly, Spindle having hopped off the banister to your shoulder as you made your way to the kitchen. You’d grab something to eat, shower, and head to bed, just like Spindle wanted. He’d chitter at you all day tomorrow if you didn’t. For not having a lot to say, he can certainly nag. It was nice though, having someone to care for you…
Over the years, you’ve become a bit of a recluse (no pun intended), preferring the company of your computer to actual people. You’d always had a bit of anxiety when it came to people, always afraid to say or do the wrong thing. You never were too confident around others. On your own, you felt strong, like you were just as amazing as you actually are, but around others? You felt small. You chose to isolate yourself as soon as you could, for better or worse. Spindle wasn’t too happy with your decision, telling you ‘Companionship is necessary’. You always brushed him off.
You step into the kitchen, another yawn slipping from your throat as you made your way to the cabinet. When you’re not working, the tiredness really hits you. You decide something quick and easy is the best idea, not having the energy for cooking. Oatmeal or cereal maybe. You rummage through the cabinet for your desired breakfast and hum softly to yourself.
Spindle crawled up your arm and into the cabinet, helping you to find what you wanted and gently nudging it towards your hand. He was so helpful. You smiled and thanked him quietly as he hopped into your hand, returning to his place on your shoulder. You found he liked to nestle in your hair.
You went about making your breakfast quickly, and eating it only a bit slower so you could scroll through news articles on your phone. ‘The same stuff as usual…’ You thought to yourself as you scrolled. Celebrity gossip, the occasional article about some sort of crime being committed, politics… none of it really catching your interest.
Just as you were finishing up your breakfast, an article caught your eye.
‘Fazbear Entertainment Catastrophe! Fire at the Pizzaplex.’ The title read. You recall the various rumors about the Fazbear corporation’s history, but rumors didn’t interest you as much as the animatronics. What can you say? You’re consistent. The Fazbear Entertainment animatronics were what many people say paved the way into the age of robotics. You’re inclined to agree.
What started out as your basic ‘Chels’ E’ Cheeks’ restaurant, with their simplistic (and admittedly creepy looking) animatronic band had quickly evolved into the most realistic experience one could get with an animatronic. Many people praised the Fazbear company for their amazing A.I., and you had to admit that the videos you’d seen of the performances were impressive. You’d never seen another company able to develop animatronics with such human-esque movements.
You tapped on the article and read through it slowly, Spindle peeking over your shoulder to read with you.
‘Disaster at the Pizzaplex this Saturday evening as a fire burns the entirety of the megamall to the ground. No casualties reported, but the financial losses for the company are speculated to be in the hundreds of millions.’ The article read. You hum softly. It’s unfortunate, the Pizzaplex was one of a kind. No other company had come close to the success of Fazbear. You skimmed the rest of the article absentmindedly as you felt weariness trying to claim you again.
The company was apparently bought out by some other corporation, the CEO of said corporation claiming he was going to ‘Restore Fazbear Entertainment to its former glory, and perhaps even surpass it’. Seems there was plans for a new Pizzaplex even. Your interest faded as you shut your phone off, yawning loudly as you stood up, setting your dishes in the sink to be cleaned tomorrow.
‘Wonder what happened to the animatronics…’ You thought to yourself as you ascended the stairs. After a quick shower, you were snuggled into your bed in your comfiest pajamas, drifting to sleep easily as Spindle took the liberty of dimming the lights in the house. With a softly muttered ‘Goodnight’ to Spindle, and his quiet chitter in response, you fell into a dreamless sleep.