That's Sweet Of You.

Hmm, that should do it.

The finishing touches~

Now, Sun will be able to insert the sigils to power up this masterpiece and reveal the fruit of our... mutual labour.

Wonderful.

I should upgrade his entire body to match, someday.

But an arm will do for now.

<Eclipse hummed to the music as he did the last of his tinkering, and caressed the finished product lovingly, pressing a kiss to the fingertips for good luck>

It is going to be okay, Sun. You just rest for a bit. I should be able to soon hopefully be able to find you some help.

-SSP

Thanks--zzzzzz

You are such an earnest creature, truly.

<Eclipse slipped one hand out of hers and patted her head.>

Suns never die, and Eclipses always come back.

You don't have to worry; we have been doing this for a long time. And I must implore you to be more careful of who you trust. Even with such a tragic history, we've done unspeakable things in the name of survival. I have less... qualms about such, but Sun has spent many moons in self hatred over some of them.

He is alright now. Hardened by the lifestyle.

But you know, it is always good to have a friend.

Thank you, Starlight.

@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."

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?

I must agree.

Starlight, this is not an individual you want to befriend or have anywhere near you.

Perhaps an Earth will appear via other means in your dimension, though the chance is miniscule.

E.

Eclipse c:

Blueberries or nah?

If yes, *gives you some* if nah *gives you strawberries*

Or you can have both.

I'm at work (unfortunate event). What are you up to?

Not a fan of blueberries. Strawberries are fine.

Earth wanted to hang out.

... 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.

Suns just wanna have fu-un, ohoh Suns just wanna have fun~

<hums idly>

Star! You want to lean magic?

I'd love to!

This is my first time getting to be a... <gasp> a mentor!

In magic!

... ...

Let's test your affinity.

Okay, close your eyes, focus... focus...

Imagine a light in your core.

Do you see anything? What colour is it?

<Sun sounded expectant but also added nervously>

It's okay if you can't find the light just yet! It usually takes some time and practice!

@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?)

To remember what what was lost

Hm.

Just a moment.

<Clip opened up his front panel and extended a cable from his complex inner wiring, plugging it into the panel. Eclipse could see Clip isolate a strange looking part of his code that seemed to be the reason Clip could create a barrier between his thoughts and Eclipse's ability>

Care to try and modify this to your needs?

@eclipse83

<Clip wasn't aware of Eclipse's inner thoughts and 5 minutes passed in amicable silence>

<The nanomachines then stopped working and a fully functioning, yet inactive, chamber had materialized.>

<Clip briefly inspected the machine and, deeming it up to standard, looked to Eclipse>

Are you ready?