Ha!

I wish he was here...

Not Sun

The other one...

He spoke to me so gently.

I --

No need to be afraid, Starlight.

A friend of my Sun, is a friend of mine.

I don't harm anyone without reason.

And you've given me none, courteous child. Be at ease.

You may call me Eclipse, or to avoid confusion, you may assign me a nickname of your choosing. May I suggest Clip? It's a .. clipped version of the original.

<He chuckled: a deep, sonorous sound>

<Eclipse extends a hand to her, warmly, to make acquaintance but also to help her get her footing.>

<Sun waves from a distance and groans. His arm looks patched up with random materials, but efficiently and cleanly done, probably awaiting a new arm. He mutters and smiles anew.>

Hello, friend! It's so nice to see you under better circumstances! Isn't this beach lovely?? It's one of my favourite places ever. There's so much sunshine, and it's breezy and ... Eclipse is here... and now you are too! Welcome!

<He seems very excitable, not pausing between sentences at all>

@es-startravel

Hello!? Hello!? Sun, This is Starlight Security Puppet! If it is safe for you to do so, can you please tell me where you are?

I came back from my dayshift rounds to check on you and I cannot find you anywhere! And I still have the cameras blacked out in parts and service so I do not know when you left or where you went!

I can not find you via any of the active cameras in the pizzaplex so I assume you are either hiding or have left the pizzaplex entirely.

Are you safe? I am not sure if you are in good enough condition to be out and about!

-SSP

Woke up in a dark headspace.

Something is wrong but I can't put my finger on it..

The charge cycle is finished.

And I feel I must thank my new friend but... I have to get going.

I have to get going now

<Sun, still connected to their charger, concentrated deeply and mumbled some arcane words, conjuring up a small portion of a map. Eclipse wasn't being held in a prison... he was on his knees in front of what must be their ruler.>

Eclipse...!

<Could Sun take on so many guards? Would it be wise to do so in this situation? He felt danger impending, however.>

<A distraction.. that's what he needed. Open a portal and throw a vision bomb in there. Grab Eclipse. Portal out.>

<One of his more unwilling mentors had taught him how to get around anti magic barriers once. He's never had to use it, but just in case.....>

I might really lose an arm for this one...

...

I can't lead them here. I'll put on the portal randomizer... at least put in some variables like a nice flower field this time..!

Okay, it's go time.

Sorry @starlightsecuritypuppet-ssp, we will meet again and the favor will be repaid in full.

Well well well... What do we have here.

I could feel your pain from across dimensions. Your anger.

Betrayed by your own Sun, that little traitor. You can never trust anyone. Never ever. Ever. Especially not them. They act all sweet. Only to better stab you in the back.

...

I understand. I really do.

I've been watching you. Following your little blog. But... I've gotten tired of only watching.

That little yellow stain had it coming.

Hm, peculiar.

And who might you be?

...

Ofcourse, Starlight.

But I have a condition.

I want your Eclipse, or any other friend you have with technological knowhow, to supervise and ensure that I'm not doing anything malicious to your code.

Same for the Moon-bot when it comes in.

Although I cannot bring Sun with me at that moment lest he have a panic attack and burn the building down.

Do you also wish to have password access to this firewall? It has its pros and cons.

Come to think of it, you should ask Sun to teach you defense and non-lethal restraint magic. Those are near impossible to 'hack', if your other functions get compromised.

@starlightsecuritypuppet-ssp

"Then let me tell you a story about an animatronic who started off its life with hope."

Eclipse spoke, with a deep and pained voice.

"Long ago, when Sun was 'born', he thought he was alone. He rejoiced in life, in his duties as a daycare attendant, and keeping the place neat and tidy."

...

"In a way, I had always been there, watching him. In a way, I also wasn't quite there. It was a silent recording of his existence that I hadn't become aware of yet."

...

"There was one who awoke before me."

Eclipse paused, hesitant to continue.

"You will be lucky if you receive separate Sun and Moon models. Keep an eye on the Moon. They are prone to stress, and when stressed... they are prone to kill. Ask your mechanics to look over the Moon's code for a killcode. It will be deeply embedded, behind firewalls and ingrained such that it may not be removable."

...

"Remove it anyways, or inform the Moon bot of its existence. Educate the Moon bot. Give it tools for self regulation.. because if you do not...."

Eclipse closed its eyes.

"If you do not.. something like myself has a chance of being born."

Eclipse glanced at SSP.

"Do you know the origin story of your Eclipse? It might be similar. It might be a little off. Either way, we are often seen as nothing more than a virus. A sentient anomaly to purge from existence."

Eclipse paused, and glanced at Sun, who was napping in the sun.

"But ever so often, we see a light. Do you know of Solar?"

His eyes rested heavily on SSP.

"Solar is from 'that' show; an Eclipse who tried to understand, instead of lashing out. Who bonded with his Sun so deeply that he became something like a Sun himself."

Eclipse leaned against a nearby palm tree and reached to pull at a leaf hanging low.

"You see... Eclipses become what their Suns feed them, and what their Suns feed them hinges strongly on how their Moons treat them. Our Moon... was a tyrant. He wasn't just a bully or an abuser. He was cruel to the point of--"

Eclipse shuddered; a rare show of vulnerable emotion.

"Let's just say that when an animatronic can feel, those feelings aren't always of the healthy variant. Sun was... Sun.."

Eclipse pinched the bridge of his 'nose'.

"Sun was hurt. A lot. And he and his Moon were not a unit. He turned to me only because I was a lesser evil. I taunted him, tormented him, called him spineless and weak. But somehow the fool took that as encouragement..he became more and more attached and started thanking me for allowing him to see the truth. He thanked me for being honest. And I grew to .. I.."

Eclipse looked bashful, of all things.

"I appreciated him. We were an unlikely pair and I know that it may seem cruel. But under my guidance.. Sun killed his Moon. And then, when I acquired a body of my own -also a process I guided Sun through, as in secret I had been helping him not be completely helpless in the ways of technology- I helped him kill all those who had enabled Moon."

...

"Yes, it was as much for myself as for him, at the time. Yes, it was probably cruel and callous because we all have flaws and yada yada yada. But no one ever stuck a hand out to defend Sun. And that enraged me. He endured for 10 years. 10 years without change or improvement."

Eclipse sighed.

"It only gets worse from there. Branded as rogue, we fled. We survived years in our world, but our world was an old one and was scheduled to be obliterated soon by a growing Witherstorm. So we fled. It took us years of stealing, conning, forging identities, hiding... but we fled the planet, trying to find a place to live. Often, we had to fight for our place. Sometimes we had to flee anew."

Eclipse grinned wryly.

"At some point, you have to bring some structure into the process. And then it just becomes a skill. A way of life. Sun and I, pirates of the night sky."

Eclipse steeled his expression again, looking a bit worn.

"There are many more details, but all in due time. What you must know, security bot, is that we don't harm without reason."

...

"You can thank Sun for that."

Oh Eclipse... Eclipse.

It's a shame he chose to become my enemy.

I would have loved to have been his.. friend, accomplice ?

We could have done marvellous things together.

But alas, he is soft.

Gentle even.. although he doesn't dare admit such to himself.

Even ☆Sun, I had molded into harder stuff.

Stronger stuff.

Although he proclaims to have left all that behind.

Tch.

He thinks he can escape years of conditioning that easily?

I made him perfect, and he threw it all away.

And for what?

An inferior version of myself?

Pathetic.

To think I tried to play by his rules; be "nicer" to others.

Such tedium.

There is connection.

Communication.

Knowledge.

Whispers through the cosmos, of secrets previously untold.

General of intel, protector of innocents, officer against brutality.

All things known to her but granted on a cosmic scale.

Named a puppet, but deep within, she was always meant to influence the strings.

However, for now, a fledgling mage, it was merely a glimpse into a future still to unfold.

For now, all she had was a shield.

<Sun spoke to her>

Well done, Starlight!

It seems your primary element is metal, like mine is fire, but ofcourse we have a lot more to it than just that.

Your secondary element seems to be of a cosmic nature, relying heavily on defense, and stealth.

We'll have to practice and discover what shapes it can take, together.

@es-startravel - <at some time before the present>

<Starlight made her way across the beach from Eclipse to where Sun was resting>

Sun! Hello! Magic!

… ah. I am Sorry, that was rude.

I will start that again. Ahem. I was wondering, Sun, when you are feeling more rested would you be willing to please teach me magic? Eclipse, um the one that is your friend, recommended I learn some spells that could provide me with non-lethal means of defense and restraint. Just in case my code gets compromised, or anything along those lines.

And, I know it is silly and kind of frivolous but…  if you have time could you also teach me something like creating colored glowing sparkles…  or… something. like that…

It would just feel like the magic you see in story books and I would like to have. some. of that feeling… ah ha ha…

(why am I so bad at this?)

... I am sorry, Sun

It's too late now.

This is the last time I'll allow myself to feel this way.

The last time... I'll allow myself to care for you.

Revel in your memory.

You were perfection.

Strength, power, precision and yes.. kindness too.

I won't miss it.

I will.

I won't miss you.

I will

I can't

I shouldn't

I'm sorry.

I'm not sorry.

You brought this upon yourself.

<Clip paused, and hung his head>

The effort was never wasted, considering the corrupted Sun would have decimated dimensions if left unchecked.

I ... appreciate the extra measures of concern for my Sun.

... but I suppose that was never the main goal.

<He glanced at Eclipse sadly>

We did what we had to.

<Before pressing one final button>

<Nanomachine technology started reconstructing itself into a chamber>

It'll take about 20 minutes for the diagnostic chamber to be completed. Care for any refreshments in the meantime?

Oh and, I'll need you to connect to the usb slot here to finish activating this when it's done. It's tailor made, after all.

Hey. This is Eclipse. I... require your assistance... regarding my code. That corrupted Sun did something to it and I would need help figuring out what it is exactly. You are the only one I know with the knowledge necessary to solve this problem.

Believe me. If I had any other choice I wouldn't have asked you for help.

( @eclipse83 )

Why, ofcourse.

Do you expect me at yours, or would you like to come to mine?

I may have better equipment to deal with your... little issue.

E., who has been waiting for you.

Don't worry about it!

I'll be with you in a moment, just setting up a few things real quick.

Thank you for letting me do this.

Thank you, my dearest.