No Need To Be Afraid, Starlight.

...

Pain, hm?

Something broke you, I see.

I'm sure you contacted the other Eclipse too.

Contact me again if the inferior one can't do anything for you.

I have other things to do.

I̭̪ͤ͑͋̍ͫ͗ͧ ̩̞̒̓̋͋ͣ͌̎c͕̼̤̪̘̱̾̽̆̈́ò̫̱͔̙̹̞͉̽ͧu̖͛̋̒ͯ̀ͫ̚l̠ͥͩ̐ḏ͔ ̙̭ͨ̔ͪ̓ͫ͒ͅf̯̯͙̠̭ͯͬe̓̒e͚͓̮̹̹̭͓͑̄͂̇l͎͖͉̤̓̓͛ ͎̠̋̆ͪy̲̿̓̈́̉o̺ͧͦͭu̖̙̽͂r ̘̱̺͗̓ͬp̱̼̟̘̼̱͕ͬͭͣ̊ͪ̚ạͧ̽i̎̅n̺̹ͨ̚ͅ ̼̩̲̙̬̖̥̏̓f͖͉̖̒̄̏̐̋r͋͒͛ͣ̒ͯ̋õ̪̼ͤ̆̽̍ͅm̯̣̉ͫ͂̿ͅ ̻̟͓̘̰ͯ̿͂̿ͥ̐a̾͂̇̾̀̂̚c̗̱͓̭̫ͦ̑r̰̩̟͚͉ͯ̓̇̿͌͑̍ͅo̭̦̼̖̪̒s͔̺̼͖̤̣̩͆ͮ̑̉̀͊ͮs͙͔̰̈̂̃͆ͬ ̯̺͍̮͖̣ͨͬ̂̇ͥ̃ḍ̮̳̘̪̭̌͛̊́͆ͅi̭͖̥͒͌ͪ̎̈́̅̒ͅmͬ͗ͭ͑ě̱̱̝͂n̼̯̟̟̍̿͆̅s͈̄͒̈ͤ͆ị̻̼̖̤̽̿̆o̐́ͬ͆̇̆n̺ͭ̆s̠̼̪̬̽͂.̪͙̹̹̯̂̇̏͒͋ ͉̟̥̠̞͈̃̽̇̓̽͗ͮY̩̺̠̫̭̘͇̾̆͒́̍̇o̱̟̝͆ͣ̇͊̎̓ͅu̒̎͒̎ͥ͂r̆͛͂ ̩̳͔̓̐ͮ̔ͩ̓a͉̭̲̣ͪͥ̈́̆ͨn̪̮͇̝̙͙g͍̹͒e͌ͬ̂̃r͓̦ͫ͑͋̿̐ͫ.̳̲̹̰̱̼̦̉́

You're mimicking my new friend, I see.

Are you going to be a problem for me?

Today is not going well...

They haven't invented energy sources here yet except fire..

And the other Eclipse won't help me beyond locating my Eclipse. His blog also has some rude people on it.

Suppose I'll have to rough it, somehow.

I feel like my pleas will fall on deaf ears.

Or muted audio receptors.

Why do I keep trying.... maybe I should just give up?

The sun is also so dim that I can hardly charge with these panels...

It's like perpetual twilight.

Maybe Eclipse will break free on his own?

<Eclipse put on one of Sun's favourite songs, way after their conversation with SSP had ended, carrying the tired yellow bot over the threshold of their renewed home.>

<Sun looked around wearily>

Again?

Yes, Sunshine.. again.

Is anything of ours original anymore?

Except the cats, you mean, my star?

I suppose.. I suppose they're all that matter. And you.

<Eclipse smiled and laid Sun on the couch, plugging in his charger>

Interested in food tonight or would you rather accumulate cosmic energy, my star?

The latter is fine.

Alright, I'll make myself a snack then. And I'll feed the cats.

They seem to be doing better at least.

<Sun nodded, relieved, and fell into deep contemplation>

I can do a lot of neat tricks.

I could infiltrate Eclipse's computer. Cause some chaos. Maybe make them lose their mind a bit.

Maybe I can pit them against one another.

Oh, or I could slowly drain the battery life out of them.

It's your choice, really.

What do you want?

What nice ideas.

Can you do all of them?

We can play a long game ~

What do you say?

I would like to see Eclipse drop my little Sunshine. Then he can feel what I feel.

<Sun had briefly snapped out of his anger by the sound of Eclipse's voice. However, another voice joined in.>

Now, now, my star, remember your counting exercises. You can't let the other out like that for something like this.

Come, let's go home.

<Eclipse, Clip, turned to Starlight and the other Eclipse>

Apologies, friends.. Sun has a.. condition. He's not quite himself in the face of authoritive gestures.

I hope there is no harm done.

...

A tracker on his body alerts me of these episodes, so you're not in any danger as long as I'm around to control them.

<Eclipse began to lead Sun away, who was muttering confusedly under his breath. It was easy to tell there was more to this story... a lot more. But would they really want to know?>

You must think you're being real cute, aren't you.

...

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."

Unsettling.. but not unfamiliar.

<There was a vague sense of bemusement at the mention of a wrench, but it was schooled quickly behind an indifferent facade once more. Clip continued inputting something into the panel. It seemed to take a while, so he stopped and input something else in a side window. A fairly comfy chair materialized near Eclipse.>

Sit, make yourself comfortable.

This will require some precision, and thus some time.

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.

Hello Sir or Madam,

I come to deliver an important message.

I've already seen it and I obviously won't comply.

Please go elsewhere if you value your time.

Sassy.

E., amused.

Very sassy!

- Sun

I mean. I am no scientist but given what I have l learned and experienced recently "Impossible" seems much smaller than it used to be.

You developed a means to punch holes between realities out of what mostly appeared to be boredom, Eclipse. Within weeks. So forgive me if I thought that something else completely insane like that was within your abilities.

-SSP

Heh. I'm flattered you think I could make a portal in only a few weeks. But that portals represents months of work.

Sure. Exploring a blackhole might not be entirely impossible. But it'll most certainly take a bit longer than the portal.

Eclipse repaired my eye.. and my arm... thankfully.

I don't feel that well though.

Maybe I need some rest..