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The day had been normal, as it usually was during open hours. Nobody had bothered him aside from one kid discovering parts and service, where Harvest had happened to be at.
He had also helped the child to get back to her parents. She had called him a peppermint, but as she was around 6 years old, he let it slide. She couldn’t have known any better.
It was after this encounter that he had started to notice what was wrong. The first thing being the amount of chocolate that had gotten stuck in his joints after the girl had been returned to her parents. It was a shocking amount of chocolate for how small her hands were, but not any less easily cleaned off.
The only thing wrong now was that his hand ached and had been for the past day now. It was his right hand that was bothered. He couldn’t help but notice it more as the day went on. Deciding to be cautious in displaying weakness in front of guests of the pizzaplex as he patrolled.
Only once the last guest left did he finally check his hand.
…And discovered that it wouldn’t move.
He tried to get it under control, but it wouldn’t budge. With a sigh, he returned to parts and service to get himself some tools to properly clean his hand and then oil the joints. Because what purpose was there in oiling it first when he was sure the now dried chocolate would be the issue.
With that thought in mind, he got to work.
It was difficult to work with just one hand and nobody knowing where he was, but he cleaned as much of the chocolate off as he could, dried off the pieces of his hand with a towel, and reassembled them back into a hand again.
Sure, with any other schematics he wouldn’t be able to do this, but he was very well adjusted to his own and was able to figure it out easily enough.
He then made sure he could move it, studying the job he had done and turned his nerve receptors back on to test the feeling.
Which was a bad idea. Because the second he did so, he felt the entire process that he had just done to his hand shoot through his wires. He grit his teeth against the pain and bit back much of the noises of pain he would’ve made otherwise. Yes, he had a high pain tolerance, but still, his hand hurt.
Ten minutes later, the pain had faded enough, which would be concerning for a human, but not for an animatronic. Especially not for an animatronic like him.
This was how he left parts and service. With his hand now fixed up enough, and his mind calm, he sought out a quiet place where he could think now that the problem with his hand was resolved.
As he walked, sounds from outside drew his attention at the main entrance. They were loud and consistent, like when the band was playing during opening hours. Yet was far from the same sounds their instruments would make.
It was steady, like beads falling from a craft bucket, yet at a glance outside, it didn’t seem like it would stop if the darkness outside had anything to say about it.
It mesmerized him. The darkness and what the internet told him was a ‘thunderstorm’. He was convinced of the fact more when he saw lightning flash across the sky, it would have nearly blinded him if he were human, but thankfully, he wasn’t. Instead, he watched it disappear in the next second and found he liked the vague trace it had left in its wake, soon followed by a roar that he felt rumble in his chest.
This ‘thunderstorm’ would be a possible adversary were he capable of fighting it. Interesting to say the least.
He sat by the entrance to watch for any more strikes of lightning as the storm continued. Though he did vaguely wonder if it would be a good idea to step outside for a moment to enjoy the rain.
After a good glance around, and a check of the time, 9:45, he stepped out of the plex. Just far enough to be somewhat dry as he now has discovered there are high winds that threaten to blow his hat and ropes away. For that, he just holds on to them tightly and admires the storm once again.
~~~~~
After around 20 minutes or so, he decides it would be a good idea to head back inside as the winds were picking up their speed and were becoming hostile rather than interesting.
He makes it through the first set of doors, but stops as the shutters are now closed, locking him out.
Could be due to the storm that someone had closed them early, but if he were able to message one of them…
Just a simple message, ‘The doors are locked. Will someone let me in?’
…An error message popped up? How could he not send a message? Were the doors blocking the signal? Had a power line crashed? Was the signal simply blocked due to the storm?
Whatever the reason, now he had to make do with what he had in the space between the doors. Strange to be sandwiched in such a prison, but that was his own fault, he supposed. But maybe that was ‘too fancy’ a word. Or whatever it was Mars liked to say about him.
At a glance, he decided the safest place to recharge would be underneath the coat rack that was in between the doors for whatever reason. At least it was hidden, and for now that’s what mattered.
There were a few coats hanging off the hangers, possibly from the lost and found. With a bit of maneuvering, they could possibly work as a makeshift bundle of blankets.
~~~~~
Only once he had gotten himself semi-situated in lost coats for the foreseeable future, did he think to just break into the pizzaplex. Sure it was something that should have occurred to him sooner, but he had already figured it out for the night and didn’t want to undo the work, so he stayed where he was, instead. And while getting those reinforced doors open wouldn’t be too much of a hassle for him, getting them replaced or repaired would put a strain on those he had begun to see as friends. As this is their home, there was an exception to not cause property damage.
It wasn’t the most convenient, but he had made it comfortable enough for now and that would have to be enough.
Though he would soon regret not acting sooner as the wind picked up again and it began to hail, the sound of it beating on the glass became a terrifying drumroll of doom. Ominous in the darkness, the only light being the occasional lightning strike and the roar of thunder acting as percussion.
Harvest had begun to be mildly fearful of this storm as the doors were forced open and he tried to escape it by staying in a corner with his makeshift blanket pile and avoiding getting cold.
It wasn’t the best solution, but it would have to work until the morning.
As the wind blew through his clothes and threatened to steal his hat away, he only gripped it tighter and curled up as small as he could go, hoping it would be enough. This would be fine. Only because Harvest knew he could handle it.
…Then the storm intensified by more than just an added gust of wind.
~~~~~
7:12
•ImMars•
^Has anyone seen Harvest since yesterday? Because I saw him in Parts and Service, but not since then.^
7:14
•BonBon•
^Nope. I was busy with my own things yesterday. Some kid broke the bumpers on a lane and had a meltdown because he had to wait for me to fix the lane.^
7:14
•Lunardoesbackflips•
^I don’t know, man. I was in the daycare. Having a normal day.^
7:15
•BestMakeupArtist•
^The heck you mean ‘a normal day’?^
7:16
•WhyCantWeBeFriends•
^Roxas, please don’t bully him. Mars asked if you’ve seen Harvest. Which I haven’t, I was helping Andromeda.^
7:16
•ILoveMyHalo•
^I can confirm that.^
7:18
•Idontcookchicken•
^I also haven’t seen him at all since yesterday. He was helping a little girl, I think.^
7:18
•ImMars•
^So nobody’s seen Harvest since yesterday.^
7:18
•WhyCantWeBeFriends•
^We should look for him. If he was outside he could be really damaged. Cause with what Lunar’s said about it on the news, the situation’s not looking very good for a lot of people. Homes have flooded and stuff.^
7:19
•Lunardoesbackflips•
^It’s up to three feet of water in some houses.^
7:20
•ImMars•
^Then I suggest we get searching.^
7:20
•WhyCantWeBeFriends•
^I agree.^
7:21
•BonBon•
^Yeah.^
7:21
•Idontcookchicken•
^I’ll handle my place, see if he ended up in Masersize somehow.^
7:22
•BestMakeupArtist•
^I’ll check my raceway, then.^
7:23
•ImMars•
^If we’re all handling our own things, then I’m searching the Parts and Service stairs he sleeps under.^
7:23
•WhyCantWeBeFriends•
^Sounds like we all know our jobs already. Meet in the main lobby once we’re done with our areas?^
7:23
•ILoveMyHalo•
^I’ll check the vents, too. And the main entrance if you and Lunar have the daycare covered.^
7:25
•Dazzle•
^I’ll go with Comedy Bot!^
7:25
•IAMCOMEDY•
^I WILL BE WITH THE SMALL CHILD!^
7:25
•ILoveMyHalo•
^I’ll supervise them.^
7:26
•BestMakeupArtist•
^Taking one for the team there, Andy.^
~~~~~
The vents, raceway, Rockstar Row, Masersize, and Bonnie Bowl had been searched thoroughly by each respective member of the attractions. Each time an area was cleared the one searching sent a message to the group chat. Some variation of ‘he’s not here’. Though Comedy Bot did make it interesting with a picture of the tiny Music Men forming a dance circle around Dazzle.
“Have we even opened yet for today?” Chico finally asked once everyone had regrouped in the main entrance lobby as agreed on in the chat
“I don’t know, the shutters are still down.” Roxas jabbed at him, “What do you think, chicken?”
Mars walked the short distance over to the button and pressed it, but the button got jammed.
“Could some of the stronger animatronics come and assist? The shutters are stuck.” He said before there could be more arguments between the wolf and chicken.
Roxas, Chico and Earth came over to help lift the shutters all at once because it would break the doors otherwise.
It didn’t take very long to find Harvest once the shutters were brought up.
Andromeda gasped once she saw Harvest’s state. Slumped in a corner, one hand locked up and optics glitching. Covered by a single coat and looking disheveled. Glass was strewn everywhere, including on his clothes and hat.
“F-Finally.”
His body slumped and his eyes shut off.
~~~~~
Harvest coughed, his systems somehow mimicking what humans would call a ‘common cold’. Somehow the group had gotten him from the dangerous entrance through the lobby and the shortcuts into his ‘bedroom’ of a mattress, pillow, and blanket under the stairs.
Mars was currently wrapping him in his favorite blanket from the end of his mattress while his clothes were being properly washed and dried for the next two to three hours. He mainly needed it for some semblance of warmth compared to his freezing night. It was a welcome reprieve.
The two sat in silence for a while before Mars, predictably broke it, “So why were you not inside, inside during the storm last night?”
“I was appreciating the rain.” He sneezed into his elbow.
“Yes, but I thought I made sure everyone knew the shutters would be locked from 10 to 6 as usual.”
“No. The doors close at 11.”
“The close at 10, Harvest.”
“My internal clock says otherwise.” He argued back
Mars sighed and removed his glasses for a moment to rub his eyes in a similar fashion to how humans do after staring at a screen for too long before placing them back properly, “Harvest. Can I check your internal clock?”
After a brief stare down, Harvest nodded and let Mars see the back of his now-cold-and-bare head. Even his hat had joined the wash. His head felt naked without the comforting weight of it.
Mars sighed, “Harvest. You haven’t reset your internal clock since daylight savings.”
“Since what?”
“Daylight savings. Goodness there are things we seriously need to teach you.”
Harvest would’ve replied, but a string of coughs set him off again and this time he directed them into his big blanket draped around his upper half. The other blanket nearly swallowed him whole from the waist down, and was weighted and very comfortable. It made him want to stay on his mattress and sleep.
The appeal of large blankets was getting to him, but now weighted blankets might be a new competitor for his favorite blanket.
Before he could think about it further Earth walked in with something in her hands.
“Hey, Harvest.” She said before passing the disposable coffee cup to him, “How’re you holding up?”
He stared at the warm cup then looked to her, “Why have I been given coffee?”
“It’s not coffee.” Earth tells him, “It’s just warmed milk.”
Harvest continued to be confused, still, “Are you trying to get me to sleep? I am not a child, Earth.”
Mars piped up again, “From what distorted camera footage we have of the doors last night, you need it.”
“I do not need warmed drinks to-“ he’s cut off by two sudden, sharp, sneezes and takes a moment to recover before continuing what he was saying, “I don’t need warm drinks to help me fall asleep.”
Earth nods, “Yes, but it’s supposed to just help you warm up on the inside.”
“Yes.” Mars pipes in again, “Besides, you gave us quite the scare earlier. I would be surprised if your clothes didn’t have any tears in them given how much glass was around you.”
Harvest turns away from them, using both hands to drink up the warmed milk before it goes weird, as his right is still locking up and his left is shaky.
He is unaware of how childish he looks in the moment and of the picture that Mars silently snaps of him doing so.
Regardless, the milk does warm him up on the inside and he feels himself get more tired than before. No wonder this was given to children. It worked better than melatonin!
He sets his cup down and settles on his mattress, letting out a sigh before he coughs a couple times.
“Next time I am admiring the storm from inside.” He decides, pulling his blanket over his head
Earth’s hand reaches in and meets his bare head, gently rubbing it in a way that feels really nice, her tone is soft as she speaks, “I agree with that.”
“Goodnight Harvest.” Mars says, “I’ll fix your hand once you’re awake again.”
Harvest just nods and settles into his mattress, letting himself fall into the hands of sleep.