Hi Clip-

Why, Sun, didn't we let your friend know what became of you?

How neglectful of us.

Starlight, Sun is just fine under my care.

We are at a rest location while Sun recovers from his injuries in our last ordeal.

Come, if you so wish.

There is much to chat about, and perhaps you can relax a bit on the beach.

E.

<Eclipse drops a portal to a pleasant tropical island location on some remote uninhabited planet>

@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

It's so boring in the house when in Eclipse is gone!

And he still doesn't want me to move around too much...

It was just a nightmare.. All I did was scorch the couch a little!

That would be funny!

All this fuss for nothing!

I hope that's the case, Starlight! .. and Eclipse..

- Sun

And to think all this started due to an ask about fruit

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.

Alright.

So it's as I thought.

But I may be able to teleport from this planet to Eclipse.

I have no idea where I'll end up... and if I'll have enough charge to port in and out.

What if they have any magic shields in whatever prison cell they're holding my Clippy?

Then I'll have helped neither of us!

But I can't just teleport randomly. I might suffocate in a wall at that rate...

Gosh, what do I do?

Maybe if I can get enough charge somehow, I can use visualization magic to see where I'll end up... maybe.

<With the USB inserted, there is a small timeframe where everything is just still. No one has anything to do and Clip approaches Sun² and Eclipse, while keeping the restrained Sun in Starlight's grip within his sights.>

I brought the documents, Sun.

Stars knows I'll never get used to that.

You said you'd be able to reverse engineer the spell quickly, but you know I don't have a magic core.

I'm not sure if Starlight can handle the double task of exorcism and restraint, especially being still but barely a fledgling in magic.

And Eclipse... Eclipse loathes the use of magic inasfar as I'm aware.

<Clip looked to Eclipse, not without some pleading>

How much stamina do you have left to perform the ritual, Sun?

<As they spoke, Clip quickly transferred the documents to Sun²>

Damn it...

That Sun is dangerous. He managed to stop me from blacklisting their dimension and messed with something in my head.

He only left me alone because he believes the other Eclipse and Sun are my enemies.

He has magic. I don't know how effective your usual means of incapacitating animatronics will be against him. And how willing you'll be to damage him knowing Sun is still inside that body.

- @eclipse83

@eclipse83 I will engage Rouge Unit. Sun-2 unlikely to expect attack from you. While Sun-2 is engaged use whatever means necessary to incapacitate Rouge Unit. Anything short of damage to central processor can be repaired. Preventing damages to SSP-1 Unit is not a priority. Do not hesitate.

<Clip said nothing for a minute or so; he didn't have to, as Eclipse heard a generic voice speak>

Initialization process: begin.

Calculating.

...

Welcome user: Eclipse

Please wait as your code visualization loads.

<Slowly, Eclipse's code loaded in front of him in much deeper detail than his hardware at home has ever been able to achieve. Finally, he gets to see what's been growing in his head.>

Take a look at it, and then we can discuss a gameplan.

<Clip's voice sounded a bit far away, but still as if it was surrounding him like a mist of sorts>

@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?

@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."

How about yes?

Yes? Come on, say yes!

Why not!

- Sun

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

That is how we got rid of our little problem ~

Plural, even.

E.

From a business standpoint, what's one or several things you'd definitely change if you were in charge of a place like Fazco?

I think it'd be best to just rebuild the entire building at this point. That thing is just one giant red flag of safety violations. And if they actually cared about safety they wouldn't need to put such exorbitant prices to pay for all their lawsuits or to shut people up.

Come here.

<Clip mildly touched Eclipse's shoulder, guiding him to a ... wall.>

Excuse the touch. It's necessary for authorization.

<The wall dematerializes into a cloud of pixels as Clip leads Eclipse through it. He lets go then, and the wall rematerializes behind them. Nanotechnology, presumably>

<They walk through a pleasant area complemented by lots of greenery, and very few computers, before reaching the middle of the mostly empty room where just an input panel is visible. Clip seems to input something into the panel, and stops>

You say my Sun-- the corrupted version, at least, did something to you?

Could you explain in more detail what was done and what effects you're experiencing ?

I've seen bits and pieces of your transmissions prior, but I've been.. a bit preoccupied to view all of it just yet.

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.