Colour Version. I Expect One More Version, With Better Shadows And Highlights. Cause I'm Dedicated To

Thinking of an old friend..

Where are you?

You taught me so much.

All my magic, it comes from your essence, your mind.. your core.

But then you left without goodbye.

Mirror self, are you still out there?

Are you still alive?

Sun?

I understand.. your frustration.

<Clip started softly, evenly>

But I suggest. You. Sit. Down.

<Clip's voice was dark as he cracked the edge of the panel with his grip.>

<His voice smoothed over again and he walked away, throwing a single remark over his shoulder>

Or stand, for all I care. Just don't touch anything.

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.

Come take a look

Come tussle with an old friend of ours!

- Sun & Eclipse

Hold on while I set things up, alright?

I have to make a selfie of all things.

Oh... That doesn't sound good.

Can you see any reason why it's corrupting? Can you stop it? I'll help you if you want to. You just have to say the word.

I am very good with codes, you could say it's my specialty. So if there's anything I can do, don't be afraid to ask.

I think there is some permanent damage already.

But if you can.. can you take a look inside my system? I don't know the extent of your ability, my dear.

...

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."

<Some time before SSP's arrival>

<Eclipse could be heard humming to himself as he worked on repairing his unconscious Sun>

Place your head against me now.

Your tired lips, your open mouth.

Drink my madness if you want to drown.

Swallowed by fury and sound.

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.

As long as you play my game, I'll let you win~

E.

> Eclipse's favourite jingles

What are you talking about?

Oh.

Oh.

I see what's happening.

You think you've been put on the spot for .. not knowing something ? I believe?

Eclipse, that's not the case.

E.

<Eclipse seemed weary with the discourse, as if remembering what he himself used to be like a long time ago. Sun laughed in the background at the deja vu moment.>

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.