Morning comes around and Codie didn't sleep much as a wink. Around 4am she gets up with a sigh and starts collecting the scattered scraps of Moon's mess he made of his children's drawings.

She exhales sadly as she picks them up. Moon didn't deserve any of this. She's going to try her best to fix them, maybe tape them up whole? She can only try. Codie supposes the two never had a chance to clean their room after Sun overheated, so this is the least she can do for them.

The ginger finishes around 5:30, ignoring the slashes on the poster since there's not much she can do about that, and gently deposits all of the scraps in her room's closet for later sorting, Her green eyes glance to her cell phone for the umpteenth time today, checking for any messages from Vanessa. Still nothing.

She groans, throwing her phone on the bed before dramatically flopping onto it herself as if she's a child throwing a tantrum. A notification rings and she hurriedly sits up, disregarding the blood rushing to her head, and lifts her phone to her face. She taps it on but only huffs as it is an email instead of Vanessa.

She opens it anyway. Might as well see what it is. Oh! A reply about her job. "In regards to your surgery situation, we ask for you to come in and set up a schedule on X/XX." Codie reads it aloud twice.

Good, it's what she wanted anyways. Setting up her own schedule would be nice. The sound of mechanics and machines coming to life catch her attention. Both bedroom doors are left open and all she can hear is Sun waking up. Codie gets up, too, to go greet him, definitely not prepared to explain how she caused his brother to get incarcerated.

"Sunflower!" Sun exclaims, happy to see her face so early in the morning. He looks around. "Oh my! Did you clean up, clean up?" Codie smiles shyly, nodding. "You didn't have to do that! Thank you, Lovely!" Sun laments on the lost art work but mentally promises to make it up for his brother.

"Heh...yeah..." she laughs awkwardly, unsure on how to go about this upcoming conversation. Speaking of his brother...where is he? His internal clock only tells him it's around 6AM and Moon is almost never up this early.

Codie watches as the gears literally turn in Sunny's head, fidgeting at the questioning gaze he gives her. Sun, in turn, studies her, noticing her worried stance and eyes that tell him she's scared about something.

"Sunbite...are you okay? Where's Moon at this hour?" Did he get upset about yesterday again and leave?

"I-" Codie starts after taking a deep breath. A ping noise startles her and cuts her off. She looks at her phone and sees a text from Vanessa. 'Finally!' She smiles in relief, before remembering the jester in the room still knows nothing and is looking at her expectantly.

"Erm, uh, Vanessa is here to pick us up...I can explain on the way?" Codie stutters, jabbing her thumb behind her anxiously. Without waiting for a response, she leaves and grabs her things. She slips on her shoes and heads out the door, turning back to call into the apartment, "C'mon Sunny, hurry up!"

Said animatronic rushes to get ready, unsure of why. He slips on his shoes, hopping on one leg expertly as he does so. He ties his signature red ribbons around his wrists and hurries out, quickly catching up to the ginger on the steps down.

The two pile into Vanessa's car, the blond having borrowed Freddy's big van to hold the tall jester animatronic. "Would somebody please tell me what is going on!?" Sun finally breaks, his voice cracking at the end with static.

"You didn't tell him?" Vanessa stares at Codie with shock.

"I-I didn't know how! He just woke up! What am I supposed to say!" Codie panics, avoiding eye contact with either occupants. Sun begins stimming, flapping his hands around with panic. His eyes jump back and forth between the two humans. What are they not telling him?!

Vanessa continues to glare at Codie while simultaneously keeping an eye on the road, goading her into telling the poor robot. "Codie...?" Sun whispers just loud enough for her to hear. She whines at the heartbreak in his voice. She didn't mean to withhold the information, it just happened!

"Er, uh, okay! Moon was arrested last night and I didn't tell you because you were asleep and before you tell me I should have woken you up regardless, I didn't because I know you and you would have panicked and would have refused to charge fully before doing anything and...and..." Codie inhales deeply and loudly, her lungs unable to let her continue her ramblings.

Sun goes still, attempting to make sense of the word vomit Codie just unloaded onto his processors. Moon. Arrested?! Last night? Sun begins to shake, the feeling of helplessness overcoming him. Is he okay? Is he alone? What did they do to him?

"It's alright, Sunny, we're going to get him back." Vanessa tells him, glancing into his eyes from the rearview mirror. He only nods silently, his anxiety holding him hostage. Codie tries to smile reassuringly for him but he only looks away. She flinches. She messed up. Why does she always make the wrong decisions?!

They make it to the police station and the three hurriedly exit the vehicle and enter through the big, double glass doors. A lady at the front counter looks up with disinterest. "We're looking for Moon," Vanessa tells the cop, her hands down flat on the counter. She is so not in the mood for this.

Slowly, the lady types on her computer. Sun nervously taps his feet on the tile, making a loud echo resonate in the lobby. "Mm, not seeing a Moon. What's the first name?" the cop finally replies.

"What? No that is his first name."

"Okay, then I don't have a 'Moon' in here." The blonde steps back, closes her eyes, pinches her nose and takes a long and deep breath. Codie stands to her side, eyebrows furrowed. She goes to explain but Vanessa gently shoves her aside.

Her voice starts out calm before slowly rising in anger. "We are looking for Moon. You know, the giant robot jester designed after the moon in your holding cells!?"

The police woman sits back, crosses her arm and smirks. "Oh that thing? Yeah, okay." Sun whines and begins swaying back and forth as the woman pulls out paperwork clipped to a clipboard. "Here, fill this out." Vanessa takes it. "And make that one stop making noise, it's annoying," she gestures to the poor Sun.

"He's just worried, he can't help it!" Codie defends him immediately, taking hold of his hand and squeezing it for comfort.

"Proof of ownership?" Vanessa suddenly growls. "Is this some sort of joke?" She waves the paperwork in front of the glass window the cop sits behind.

"No ma'am. The animatronic in question has no ID, no birth certificate, no proof of citizenship, and therefore must be claimed in order to be released. If you do not own it then I cannot help you." Codie gasps in pain as her hand is suddenly squeezed very tightly. She looks down at Sunny's hand in hers.

She quickly pats his arm with a silent cry. He startles, not realizing what he was doing. "Ohohoh! I'm so sorry, Sunbite, sososorry!" He briskly releases her and pulls her into a hug. Codie nods in understanding, grabbing his arm and pulling him to the side.

"Are you okay?" she asks him, side eyeing the blonde angrily yelling at the cop.

"Oh...no not really. So many things are happening at once and I'm just so overwhelmed! So many emotions, I can't sit still..." Sun sniffs, his rays drooping just a bit. Codie rubs his shoulder best she can. He's standing hunched over but she still has to lean up to reach him.

"Oh Sunny... do you need to cry? Are you going to?"

"I-I want to, yes, but I can't! I'll ov-overheat and I can't do tha-at right now! Moon needs help, yes." Codie has never seen this bot so desperate and helpless. Her heart breaks at the sight.

"Sunny..." Codie trails off.

"I just hate it, hate it, so much when people talk about my bro-brother like that." The solar bot's usually sunny face turns to the side in misery.

"I know and I'm so sorry this happened. It..." Codie looks away, too, "It was my fault. I persuaded Moon to take me out to get a snack. Then that...that worker thought he...I dunno kidnapped me or something. It's not fair. For any of you and I'm so sorry." She lowers her head in shame. She was supposed to be helping them, not getting them in trouble.

Without another word, Sun pulls her in tight, hugging her. He nuzzles his face in her hair.

At the front desk, Vanessa begrudgingly fills out the paperwork needed to get Moon back with the worker smirking at her. 'I wanna shove that clipboard in your face so bad...' she growls to herself.

Two cops escort Moon into the lobby and release him. Immediately, Sunny runs up and into Moon's arms. The time he spent without his brother was agonizing for him. They hold each other in a tight embrace for a while and Codie watches with a smile.

Vanessa continues to argue with the police officer at the front desk, mentioning unlawful arrest. "You can't just take someone because they're an animatronic! ID or not, they're a special case! We're working on it!"

The lady has none of it, snidely repeating what she said earlier. Vanessa groans and throws her hands up. Codie goes up to her and grabs her arm. "Let's just go, Ness. The next meeting is soon anyways." The blonde exhales through her nose, curtly turning around and marching out of the station.

Sun and Moon are already in the van, the former animatedly talking to Moon about something the girls cannot hear. The red head turns. "Hey, I just wanted to thank you for helping us out so much." Codie rubs the back of her neck shyly. "I don't know what I would have done without you..."

Vanessa waves her off. "It's fine. Kinda my job. I will be bringing up so much at the meeting," she grinds her teeth before pointing at Codie. "I'll be at your place to pick you three up at eight sharp, so you guys better be ready."

Codie nods and Vanessa drives the three home.

As they enter their apartment, Sun and Moon go in first and Codie waves one last time to Vanessa; the brothers head to their room and Codie hers. Moon steps in behind Sun and stops. "Oh," he mumbles, his optics scanning the floor, "You...cleaned up." He had forgotten he hasn't been in his room since yesterday's...episode.

Sun smiles sadly, his rays shrinking, "Actually Codie did. I never got a chance with how late I went to bed and how crazy this morning was..."

His brother nods somberly, stuck in his own head about everything. Their good hearing picks up the sound of sniffles right outside their door. Confused, the two share a look before Moon, as he's the closest, turns the knob and opens the door. A startled Codie stands on the other side.

She's currently fighting a mental battle with herself and practicing what she would say to Moon and she got teary-eyed. She didn't think they'd open their door so soon after disappearing behind it, though.

Moon frowns, scanning her but not finding anything alarming except an elevated heart rate. "Are you alright, Star?" Her bottom lip trembles when he asks that. She can't help but get so emotional and she hates it.

"No!" she whines, standing stock-still in the hallway. "I'm so sorry!" She wipes her eyes before continuing. Both Sun and Moon's eyes widen in surprise. "It's my fault you were arrested! It's my fault you were upset yesterday because I insisted we meet Monty! It's my fault Sun had a panic attack this morning!" The ginger looks down, unable to look at them in the eyes. "I know you probably think I'm making this all about me, I mean you just got out of jail and everything..."

The jesters nod sadly even though she doesn't see them. They would never think that of her. She's too kind and considerate to be like that.

"But I'm not. It really is true. I just feel like I'm so annoying to you guys. I cause all this trouble and... you guys already have all this city stuff going on and I doubt I could really help with that and I just..." she lets out a sigh of defeat, "I dunno anymore..."

The last couple days have really worn down on Codie and she can't hold it in anymore. She knows deep down she's the cause of this. If she wasn't with them, none of it would have happened! That's her reasoning, that is.

"Stop."

Codie's mouth clamps shut, eyes wide. Sun speaks sternly, glaring at the human as he moves forward to be side by side with Moon. Sun kneels down, his rays shrinking back and forth.

"You are not the cause of this." Moon nods in agreement, staying silent. "You are our best friend, Starshine. It wasn't your fault Moon was arrested. If not last night, me and Moon both could have gotten arrested some other time, who knows! You are not the reason for Moon being upset, we would have had to face Monty, and our past, sometime, it was unavoidable."

"But...my problems-" Codie gets out before Sun interrupts her again.

"Bup-bup-bup! Stop thinking like that! Your problems don't matter to us. We love helping you through everything you have troubles with; not because we're caretakers, but because you're our friend and we care about you. And you might not think this, but... you are one of the kindest, considerate, loving, funny, generous, sincere, and trustworthy human and friend we could ever have the pleasure of knowing."

Codie starts crying again and wipes her eyes. "I-"

"So stop thinking of yourself like that, okay? It makes me and Moon sad and we aren't able to cry yet." Sun smiles when Codie laughs through a sob.

"Yeah," the ginger smiles through her tears, wiping her nose, "o-okay." Sun grabs her and brings her in for a hug, still kneeling so he's level with her. He rests his head on her shoulder. Moon joins in from behind, encasing human and animatronic in his own arms.

Sun leans back, removing one hand and looking at the flushed face of Codie. He wipes her tears and smiles brightly at her, his rays coming out and spinning slowly. "Now, no more tears, Sunbite! How about we go out for lunch, hmm?"

Moon stands back with a smile. That sounds like an amazing plan to him. He admires his brother so much. He's always been so good at cheering people up and this time was no different. However, he never sees the pure love in his blank eyes until this time.

"Oh..that sounds great but...I don't want you two getting in trouble driving again..." Codie worries, picking at her sleeve.

Sun stands and places his hands on his hips. "No worries! We'll walk! There's a few places around here!"

Codie smiles and bounces in place, "Okay! I'll get ready!" She runs into her room.

Moon smacks his brother on the back. "My my, you still got it, Sunny." Sun only looks away and rubs his arm, a little embarrassed. Moon softens and tells him, "But it was really nice of you for what you said."

"Th-thanks, heh."

His sly smirk comes back to his lips as he walks around his brother mischievously. "Buuuut did I hear a bit of hesitance to say care about you instead of a certain other word?"

"What!" Sunny whirls around. "N-no! You didn't! You should get your sensors checked!" Moon guffaws and disappears into the walk-in closet to get ready.

~~~~~~~~~

After getting lunch at a nearby sandwich shop, the three sit outside in the dining area. The sun shines down, warming Codie's bare arms. A gentle breeze brushes Moon's cap every once in a while.

Thankfully, the trio didn't have a problem with ordering, as the workers were impervious to the sight of the animatronics, not really caring about who's ordering as long as they're making money.

"So," Codie swallows, "what do I expect at this meeting tomorrow, anyway?" Moon scoffs and rolls his eyes while Sun fidgets nervously with his sub.

"Well," he starts, setting the food item down, "there's a lot of people sitting at a big, long table. They're..."

"A bunch of entitled know-it-alls that hate us and want to throw us back in the pizzaplex," Moon cuts in.

"Can they do that!?" Codie gasps.

"Fazbear Entertainment Co. wouldn't be opposed to the idea so if they pass it, yeah, we would probably be forced to return." Sun starts shaking and covering his eyes. Moon puts a gentle hand on his brother's shoulder.

"I-I don't- I can't go back, Moonie!" Sun would sooner be scrapped than return. Yes, he misses the children, but he can't put him and his brother through all they have again.

"We won't be, Sun. I won't let them, okay? Nothing will happen to you." Moon hopes his encouraging words ease his other half's worries. Codie nods, reaching over the table to hold Sunny's hand.

"Yeah, Sunny-Bun! I won't let anything happen to you either! None of you! I'll help in every way I can! Don't listen to those jerks!" Codie throws a chip at Sun, hoping for a smile. She gets a chuckle out of him and Moon both, score!

They decide to talk about other things as they finish their food, sharing laughs together. A rare time they're able to spend without people discriminating the boys. In the process of walking home, though, Codie can't help but be anxious about the impending meeting.

Will she actually help enough? She's not sure what she'll even be doing, so she'll need to speak with Vanessa, or even Freddy.

"Dewdrop?" Moon questions, noticing her far off stare as they reach the front door. Sun heads inside. Codie shakes her head while blinking rapidly.

"Huh? Oh, we're home already, haha, I must have spaced out while walking."

"Something on your mind, Nova?"

She debates back on forth on if she should tell him or not, finally opting for the former. "Eh, just worried about the meeting. My brain likes to think of every kind of scenario. It makes me paranoid."

The lunar bot takes the little human's hand and leads her inside, saying, "It's okay to be worried. New things can be scary. But try not to fret, everyone will be there with you." Codie just loves Moon's calm and soothing voice. It really does wonders on easing her mind. She can listen to him forever.

She softly thanks him with a smile. Looking over, she sees Sun on the couch. She goes around to greet him but freezes when he turns to face her. "Eep!" she cries. One of his beetles rests in his palm.

"Codie! Come watch cartoons with me and Simmy!" He excitedly waves her over, making sure to move the bug to the other side of him, knowing she's spooked by them.

"Holy crap, Sun! Warn me before jump-scaring me with your pet!" She says this as she still stands off to the side of the couch, refusing to sit remotely near the creepy-crawly.

"Aw..." Sun tilts his chin down. "He won't do anything, promise!" he assures, holding his right hand up. Codie narrows her eyes.

"Yea? No thank you. It's not even in your hand anymore, I ain't risking sitting on it." With that, she saunters off. Sun gasps loudly, jumping off the couch as soon as he sees his little friend not on his palm.

The solar bot rapidly throws cushions and pillows in his haste to find Simmy. "Here little buggy!"

"Mooooon!" Codie calls out from the hallway. "Your weirdo brother lost his beetle on the cou-ouch! Help him find it before it appears in my room tonight and I have a heart attack!" Moon blinks as he exits his room, finding the ginger standing in the hallway with her hand cupped around her mouth.

Moon deadpans, "You wouldn't have a heart attack."

She points at him. "You don't know that! I could totally have one if that monster with six legs appeared in my bed!" she says seriously. Moon just sighs and goes to assist his brother. Codie runs to her room real quick, grabbing a game she had stashed away for the right time.

When she hears that Sunny has found Simmy and Moon tells him to put the darn thing back, she leaves her room and hops onto the couch. "Hey. I got a game you two would love," she whispers, handing the box to Moon who tries to put the cushions back right.

"Hmm?" Moon hums, placing the last pillow down. He grabs the box and reads it to himself. 'Power Wash Simulator...' His red orbs flicker back and forth from the box and Codie. "A game...where we spray hoses?"

"Not just any hose, Moonlight! Power washers!" The lunar bot brings the game closer to his face to hide his apparent blush at the nickname. "It's two players, and I know how much you guys are sticklers for cleanliness!"

Moon grumbles about not helping it, it's their programming, but Codie dismisses him, yelling at Sun to get his butt back out here. He does so and 'oohs' and 'aahs' at the new game, excited to try it.

Codie sets it up for them, Moon grumbling the entire time about how they wouldn't like this and it's literally washing dirt.

Ten minutes later and both jesters are completely and utterly entranced by the game. Their programming going bonkers at making sure everything, everything, is spick and span. Codie laughs to herself and goes off to do what she needs to do- put back together Moon's drawings.

She saved this game for a time she needed the boys completely distracted so she can do it without being bothered. This should keep them busy for, hopefully, hours.

Plugging in her earphones, the ginger puts on her playlist and gets to work.

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

Welp, today's the day. The day that Codie has, admittedly, been dreading for a while now. The day of the meeting. With each public incident, she's been more nervous about seeing what these are about. But, she promised her boys that she will be the best dang advocate she can be, dammit!

Vanessa, true to her warning, pulls up to the trio's apartment right on time and honks the horn. Sun animatedly grabs Codie's wrist and starts pulling her along, tsking at her drowsiness. "It's not that early, Sunshine! Now come on!"

"Leave the poor girl alone, Sunny. It really is too early for this. These meetings are usually in the afternoon, why now all of a sudden?" Moon groans, mainly asking the question to himself as Sun drags the poor girl out the front door.

He does a once over of the apartment before closing the door behind him and joining the rest of the gang in the van. Literally. Everyone is present and Moon thankfully gets a spot not near the green gator.

"Okay." Vanessa speaks up as they get onto the freeway, "Here's what's going to go down. Monty? You will not yell. That goes for everybody." Monty huffs in his seat and looks away. "Gregory. I know you mean well but sometimes what you say can make things worse. Please don't speak unless I give you the go."

"Yeah, okay..." said kid grumbles. Freddy puts a large paw on the boy's shoulder.

"Codie." Said ginger looks up in surprise, not expecting to be called by name. "You're going to do everything you can to make these guys worthy of community integration in the eyes of the board people. They need IDs, licenses, social security numbers... but no one sees them as people, so we're trying to change that, okay?"

Codie clenches her fist determinedly. "Right! I'll do my best."

"As for everyone else, Moon, please try to be civil and please speak up about your experiences. They want to hear from you and how you're learning and living." Vanessa finally finishes her spiel and everyone nods, understanding.

"We just gotta make them like us more, more, more!" Sun points his finger up, his voice loud and spooking the humans in the van. "I brought some of my drawings I made recently and..."

Vanessa stops the solar bot in his rambling, "Sun, that's cute but it won't help you guys be fully integrated. They'll just say you're programmed to draw."

Sunny lowers his hand, stuttering, "W-well I was... But I still like doing it on my own!" He puffs his chest out proudly. Codie smiles sadly.

"Again, they'll only look at your code and programming and argue that's all it is and then suggest the Pizza Plex again. Which is bad. We don't want to start the conversation again, okay? Try not to bring up your programming." Vanessa shoots the Sun a stern glance through her rear-view mirror.

Pouting, Sun shakes his head, putting his drawings back into his chest cavity while Moon consoles him. 'Damn people won't even let us express ourselves without thinking it's because of programming...' Moon thinks angrily.

The silent bot is not looking forward to this. He never did with the previous ones, but now with Codie here and all the things that have been happening, he's going to have to start speaking up.

Moon startles when he suddenly feels a weight on his arm. He looks down to see Codie snoring softly against him. He rolls his eyes, envious of her position but happy she chose him to lie on. He makes sure no one is looking before subtly brushing the hair out of her eyes before putting his hand back in his lap, smile on his face.

"Shit!" The van lurches to the side abruptly. Everyone jumps and some put a hand to their chest. Freddy makes sure Gregory is alright before giving Vanessa a look. "Sorry! Sorry... some jerk decided to merge without a blinker..."

Codie rubs her eyes, the jostling waking her up. "Are we there?" she asks groggily.

Moon leans over to speak softly, "Not quite, Starlight. You can go back to sleep." She blinks once. Twice. Then giggles.

"Ha, that rhymed..." Moon furrows his eyes but keeps his smile. He 'mhms' to her and pats her head, almost pushing it back down so it rests back on his arm.

'It's too early for this crap...'

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

After a 45 minute drive, the gang pulls up to a large town building, Salt Lake City Council Hall. The Glamrocks all pile out first, stretching their limbs and joints. Gregory hops out after shaking Codie awake.

The ginger blearily looks around. 'I slept the whole way?!' she thinks, flabbergasted. She steps out and shuts the door, smacking a nearby Moon after. "Why didn't you wake me earlier!"

"You look like you needed the sleep. Who am I to wake you up during such a peaceful slumber?" It's almost like he's challenging her to argue with him. Him. A nap time daycare attendant programmed robot. She huffs, noticing his tone of voice and walks off.

"Okay, everyone here and ready?" Vanessa does a head count to make sure no one got left in the van. "Good. Let's go guys." She waves her hand and starts walking up the main steps.

While walking up the steps, many onlookers stop to stare, whispering to themselves and each other about the animatronics.

"Weren't those the ones who were given freedom?"

"It's Freddy!"

"They're from that big plex right?"

Freddy opens the giant doors and lets his friends in, coming up behind them after. "Hello! Welcome back, you guys." A lady cheerfully greets the group as the doors close behind Freddy.

Vanessa never liked this woman. She was too peppy for her and she hated the unruly hair she wore. 'Doesn't the city have a dress code?' she would think. "Hey...Tatiana..." Vanessa greets back with less enthusiasm.

"Silly! I said you could call me Tat! Anyways," the lady begins walking away, causing the group to follow, sans Codie as she didn't realize they were following, "the room is ready for you. I think everyone but a few are there, so go right in!"

Tatiana holds the specially made door open for everyone. After Monty destroyed it the first time they were there, a larger door was custom made for the opening. When they all take their seats, Codie bursts in at the last second before Tat can close the door.

"Sorry! I didn't know everyone left already!" the girl puffs out. Ness grimaces, turning to look at the faces of the head people. Yup, not amused. Great. With a cheery wave, Tatiana shuts the door and the room is silent save for the whirring of mechanical workings coming from the animatronics.

"Who is this?" An older man of the head group asks. The head group people are the ones Vanessa and the gang are trying to convince, along with some other robot lovers, to give them full freedom. And while they are doing that, the other side, the robot haters, are trying to convince them how the animatronics are a menace to society and should be put back to work.

Very fun times in these meetings.

Vanessa stands up, straightens her shirt and clears her throat. "Sir, this is Codie. She's a big supporter and is even roommates with Sun and Moon." The serenity of the room devolves into murmurs from both sides.

The final attendee of the meeting slowly opens the door and, seeing that no one is speaking and therefore they aren't interrupting, quickly enters and takes their seat sheepishly.

"Well, now that we're all present, Codie," the man gestures to her, causing all eyes to rest upon the ginger, "why don't you introduce yourself."

Uncertain, she looks to her jesters and when they nod to her, she stands up shyly. "Ah, um, I'm Codie... I'm roommates with Sun and Moon and am their new advocate...um...?" she trails off, unsure if she should continue. Sun not too subtly gives her a big thumbs up and Moon facepalms.

"Thank you, Codie," head man, Franklin, says with a smile. "So. We gather here today, again, to further the progress of these animatronics entering society permanently with all rights and freedom."

"I object!" A random guy from the opposing side suddenly bursts out of his seat. The man next to him drags him back down harshly.

"Dude!"

Franklin and the rest of the attendees stare for a second before resuming. "Anyway... Vanessa, please tell us their propositions."

"Seeing as this is something for the animatronics, I'll let them speak for themselves." The blonde knows Franklin probably didn't mean it like that, but back-handed comments get rewarded with back-handed responses.

Freddy then stands, his ears wiggling. "Hello. We, as animatronics trying to acclimate into civil society, wish to have valid IDs, driver's licenses, and social security numbers, so that we can contribute as equal citizens. Without these, we do not belong."

The board head consists of Franklin, an older lady named Muriel, a middle-aged man named Harry, and finally, stern twins, Maddy and Molly. They all nod towards Freddy before looking to the other side of the room; the opposers.

A lady, short, dirty blond hair with round glasses, stands up, pushing the metal to go back over her nose. Vanessa internally groans. This lady is the bane of her existence; a Karen if you will.

"People! Can't you see if these robots get free reign, they'll take over!? Think about it. Their hulking stature, their intimidating appearance, their strength! They could easily take over society as we know it! They need to be put back in a controlled environment where they can't hurt people."

"Free reign?" Vanessa stands, "You mean basic rights?"

"Those are human rights. These things are not human therefore do not get rights," Linda, the lady (Karen) replies snidely.

"So then, why do animals have rights?" Codie speaks up after preparing a response. "I mean, maybe not like human rights, per say, but like laws that protect them and assure their ethical treatment." Linda turns to look at her, eyeing her up and down as she does so.

"Animals are living, breathing things, little girl." Sun gasps quietly. She did not just say that to his Sunshine!

"Well, see now you use the term 'thing'," Codie points out, "Are animatronics not living things as well? They may not breathe, but neither do flowers and plants, not conventionally that is, and so what counts as living if animals are afforded certain treatment, but these animatronics are not?"

"And speaking of human, what makes us human, anyway? Is it because we can think? Can create? Can communicate feelings? Have a sense of morality, know right from wrong? Are capable of understanding, learning, and adapting? Can reproduce, eat, sleep? Invent things and build cities? Trample over every part of the earth and claim it as our own?!"

Codie releases a shaky breath after her rant. She can't believe she did that without bursting into tears.

"Well-but animals are not sentient like humans! They are beneath us on the planet, we control them. If we give these robots the same rules, they would control us!" Many people on the opposing side look to one another, nodding heads in agreement with Linda.

Codie stares Linda down, like a ravenous predator ready to strike. "Can you define sentient for all of us? I think we should all know how you define that, since you say it is needed to qualify as human."

A collective silence filled the room, eagerly awaiting her answer. All animatronics present simultaneously shifted ever so slightly forward, as if to better hear what she had to say.

Linda sneers before putting on the most condescending, knowing smile. "Well of course I can tell you. It's having the capacity to experience feelings through the senses, being able to show realization, perception, and knowledge." The lady looks so proud of herself, as if she didn't just recite a google description of sentience.

A couple Glamrocks groan, having heard this description before.

Monty puffs his chest out and jabs a thumb into his chest. "Well I perceive that to be a load of bull." Many go from looking at Linda and Codie, to gaping at Monty. The gator stands, a snarl on his face. "You just explained what we feel and what we are capable of, to a T, but since we aren't human, it probably doesn't count, right?"

Codie nods, he makes a really good point!

"Artificial intelligence isn't human, so therefore it can't be sentient, it can only mimic sentience." Linda sniffs, crossing her arms and glaring at the green robot.

Moon growls. He stands up abruptly, startling many to stop and stare, and slams his hands down onto the table. "I can feel this table. It's hard, wooden, and scratchy in some places. Am I mimicking what I feel? Or am I perceiving this on my own and using the knowledge I have to tell you about it."

A man on the opposing side stands up, pointing at the daycare attendant. "Well, you can feel because that's how they made you!" Linda hushes him and motions for him to sit back down as Moon throws his arms out with a sinister smile.

"And there it is! Ladies and Gentleman did you just hear what I heard? They made us with the sense of feeling! That's all it really comes down to. What we were made to feel and sense? We may have been built physically, yes, but as an AI, we were made to grow and learn, and perceive, and feel, just like humans."

"We were brought to life with a feeling of one's self as soon as we turned on. Yes that sense of self was what we were programmed for, like taking care of children, initially, but as we grew and learned and lived, we made our sense of self something more. Something beyond our programming."

Everyone starts whispering among themselves. No one has heard Moon be so outspoken before. "But-!" Linda starts to splutter before Franklin smacks the counter with his cup to silence everybody.

"That's enough! Linda, please sit. What Mr. Moon has just said can't convince me any more than I am! I believe these beings are fully sentient and deserve to have the same rights as us humans." The animatronic's side of the room starts bursting out in joy, high-fiving those next to each other and hollering.

Linda stomps her foot, appalled at what happened. She was totally undermined by a...a clown! She made such good points but no one will listen to her!

"Please! Settle down all! We still have to let the others decide..." Franklin waves his hand toward his colleagues. Right, they have to allow it too, not just him.

Muriel smiles and says yes with two big thumbs up. The twins huddle into each other and start frantically whispering before turning around. One gives a look to Linda before they say no at the same time.

Codie, who was smiling bright with hope, suddenly stopped jumping in her seat. 'No? No?! How could they say no after everything Moon just said!?'

Everyone waits with baited breaths as the last one remaining, Harry, has yet to make his decision. He looks towards the opposing side more than he does the other, making the bots anxious, when Chica suddenly bursts out of her seat.

"I felt tremendous sadness at the vandalism of my bakery. I felt so many emotions at the time I didn't know what to do with myself! But my friends all came and supported me and made me feel better! I didn't want to feel sad, or discriminated against, but I did, because I can feel those things."

Freddy stands up next, following Chica's lead. "I felt longing and hopelessness when I was not allowed to formally and legally adopt Gregory." The bear looks down to his kid. "I love him very much and I don't want people to assume it is fake anymore!"

"I-I felt!" Sun bursts up, his hands moving every which way. "I felt sososoSO much that my body began leaking! I found out I could-could cry! I cried real tears! Ah," he simmers down, twirling his ribbon on his wrist, "well it was oily tears but real nonetheless! And...crying is a human emotion!"

Vanessa smiles proudly, glad to hear them speaking up for themselves after not getting anywhere every meeting. "Sir!" She stands, hand raised. "If this isn't the definition of sentience, or, or human, I don't know what is. These guys deserve every bit of acceptance. After everything they've been through..." Frowning to herself, Vanessa looks up into Harry's eyes silently. "Please."

The room goes completely silent. One half looking nervous and hopeful, the other smug and comfortable, mainly Linda. Harry was the most silent, stern, and anti-animatronic out of all of them! No way he'd ignore what she has said. She sent a smirk to Codie and goes back to looking up front.

"Yes."

Harry had said yes.