To Remember What What Was Lost

Well that's an offer I just cannot refuse.

I've spent so long looking at you through my phone. I'd love nothing more than meet the real deal.

Send me your dimension coordinates and I might come soon.

Hm..

You make it sound awfully... seductive.

Very well.

[An encrypted file is added to the message]

If you truly know me, you should be able to figure this out ~

Till soon.. darling.

<Eclipse is fondly watching Sun shake his ass at the moment, seeing as the latter is in better spirits and sweeping the house while dancing and singing terribly off key>

<Eclipse, Clip, looked brokenly at Sun, secured in Starlight's hold. He could barely stand, but when he looked at Sun² [@insults-by-sun], whose magic had been depleted for the time being, and Eclipse [@eclipse83], his other dimensional self, who seemed too out of his element to react, then back at Starlight [@starlightsecuritypuppet-ssp] securely holding Sun in place, he couldn't let things go anymore. Things were going to get ugly as this rate>

<The moment he saw Sun mentally charge the runes on his new arm for what he presumed was an attack of atomic proportions, he made a decision.>

Forgive me, Sunbeam.

<A single bang rang out in the room. Clip had always been an excellent shot, only matched by Sun himself on occasion. He'd hit Sun rights in the section of his body that allowed Sun control to his limbs, essentially severing his head to what would constitute as his 'nervous system'. Sun screamed in agony, but his scream was cut short by the program finally finishing its override. Sun was out.>

<The fight was over.>

<But the aftermath was devastating. Eclipse wanted to take Sun home as soon as possible, too much in his head to really speak to anyone. He looked at Starlight, with pleading in his eyes.>

Previously:

<Clip, Eclipse Unit-2, nodded a vaguely surprised affirmative at @starlightsecuritypuppet-ssp>

Yes? Why--

<But before anyone could react, a powerful blast of dark energy threw all who weren't secured backwards. @insults-by-sun was knocked into @eclipse83, and Clip was flung against a jagged wall, making his already twice-weakened body screech in protest>

You.

What did you DO TO ME!

<The corrupted Sun was once again awake and scrambling for the usb at the back of his head plate in Starlight's binds. It was anyone's hope that they would hold for 10 more minutes. Just 10 more minutes...>

Hey.

You pregnant, or something??

What the fuck.

Obviously not.

Who would I even be pregnant by?

Ridiculous.

Something is wrong though.

It is none of your fucking business, however.

Scram before I find you and dismantle you.

Oh- Hehe. Well~ Isn't that an interesting turn of event.

I suppoooose it wouldn't hurt if I stayed a little bit longer...

It is nice being surrounded by your code. Like a big hug. It almost feels... comforting in a way.

...

[Clip doesn't respond; he is breathing evenly in satisfaction and his systems keep ramping up heat until....]

System reboot

Please standby by

Sun will be fine; thank you for your concern.

And don't worry about triggering him; I have had to do more than my fair share of... self repairs after his episodes.

It's not easy to tell what sets him off.

And.. ah... yes... well, I am but a virus. A partial entity... barely a whole.

In all my years, the universe fails to recognize me as an autonomous being.

I am an anomaly, in the grand scheme of things.

Your Eclipse got somewhat luckier.

His break from his Moon was cleaner, it seems, by the way he is able to use magic, even if he chooses not to.

E.

<a day or two after Eclipse brings Sun home, he receives a notification>

@es-startravel

Hello Eclipse. This is SSP, contacting you via my fazwatch.

I know I made Sun very upset. I would like to talk to him so I can understand why what I said made him so upset. But, only if you think they would be comfortable talking with me.

Did I really cross Sun’s boundaries that badly, Eclipse? Was it wrong for me to reprimand him like that? I know I tend to be unskilled when it comes to social interaction, but please believe I meant no ill-will towards him. He is basically the first friend I ever really made. He can drop the magic lessons if he wishes, I just don’t want to lose him as a friend. Or you, for that matter.

-SSP

I ... I got him.

They will probably chase us to the ends of the world for this but for now we're safe.

The ones that lose things.. change.

.... something feels off.

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."