Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was a cold morning, as he sat on the docks. The waves lapped at the wooden poles that held up the platform, and he felt the cold hit his chassis on his legs as he dangled them over the edge.

The waves were rough, Sun noted, with a quick glance. It was a good thing they had a portal that lead to the pizzaplex, lest they had to go through the raging ocean.

He sighed, a false breath chugging through his vents as he hunched over himself. Moon had gone ahead today, having some things to fix up on the computer, and even trying to figure out who created Eclipse. It was something all of them did, looking through every nook and cranny in hopes of at least finding a clue.

And now, here he was, watching his namesake rise on the horizon. The water reflected the orange gaze of the sun, and he wished he could sit here forever, admiring the sight.

But, alas, he had things to do, like his job, and then after that he had a bunch of cleaning to do, and then after that he had… nothing really. No plans, at least not concrete ones or any that would be fun.

After work, he’d really just be making sure Ruin didn’t need more help, and helping Lunar and Earth clean up any place they needed him to. After that, he’d hang out at the house with his cats while waiting for Moon to come home, perhaps drink a bottle of wine during it to help time pass…

He sighed, pushing himself to his feet and heading towards the teleporter, looking out over the crashing waves that practically asked him what his plans were, what he wanted to do.

And, pondering as he looked towards the rising sun, he found himself uncertain. His thoughts raged like the water, trying to listen to its request.

He crossed his arms, and sighed, vents puffing some air, the heat pointed out in a gust of steam in the frosty morning air, as his gaze turned down.

He’ll think about this later. Yes- after work and cleaning and everything else he had planned. That, is when he’ll decide where he wants to go after this.

An alarm ringed in his audio processors, and he startled with a movement towards the teleporter as his built-in clock alerted him that it was time to start cleaning. Even if he didn’t start work for another six-ish hours, it didn’t stop him from at least having something to do.

Perhaps, while he waits for his shift to start, he can play some games. Yes, that sounds nice. Maybe he’ll play some Baldur’s Gate 3, or Cult of the Lamb.

Sun placed the barrel onto the desk, before grasping the cloth and putting some of the cleaning materials onto it, rubbing it over the smooth material with a huff of his vents, chest moving to imitate the movement.

His shoulders were hunched, and despite nearly being fully charged, he felt exhausted. The kids had made a horrible mess- paint and glitter glue were everywhere, weird stains of kinds he couldn’t find the origin of, gum, and all other things happened.

Letting his head droop, Sun let his body move in the memorised movements. Swipe left here, right over that spot, push the cloth over the top and scrub away whatever that was, and repeat.

When that one was finished, he shifted it with the other ones, pushing them together and then sliding it a bit away, until the spacing looked good enough next to the first, and turned, grasping the next one within his hands.

It wasn’t long into cleaning the fifth barrel that he heard the doors open, and he shot his gaze towards the entrance, blank eyes revealing nothing of where he was looking.

There, stood Moon and Lunar. They were chatting, and he watched, faltering in his movements, as they strolled past him. The only greeting they gave him was a worried glance, as if they thought he was going to go extreme with keeping himself busy by cleaning, and a quick “Make sure to take a break soon!” and they were off, further into the daycare.

He huffed, nodding subtly, and returned to the methodical cleaning. At least, like this, he was doing something. Even sitting down with his cats, bottle in hand, was doing something. He could focus on patting the wonderful felines, as they nudged his hand and purred loudly, curling up on his warm chest and biting his fingers to drag him closer.

Sun barely heard when he noticed Lunar say something about watching anime with Moon, and he cast his head slightly towards them, watching as the taller of the two in the distance nodded subtly, responding quiet enough that he couldn’t hear it.

By the happy movement of the smaller, however, it revealed he had accepted it.

And, the sunny bot couldn’t help but mourn the moment he could have spent with his brothers if he was invited. Despite all the… hallucinations halting, he couldn’t help but fear their return. His hands continuously moved, now, and his thoughts raced to keep his mind from straying.

Sun loved his family, and he would do anything for them, but for the past month or so, they had felt distant. Or maybe he was the once who wasn’t reaching out?

Though, he remembered multiple cases of which he’d requested a little meetup. Perhaps it was just for a movie, or for a walk, but most times they’d say they already had plans or just flat out denied.

Which is fine, of course, the others could be busy, but he couldn’t remember the last time he sat down for half an hour with family. Except for Earth, really. She enjoyed watching movies with him.

With anyone, really.

Maybe he should do that, he noted in his head, sending a message to his sister as he moved onto the last barrel.

When he finished up there, he walked towards a specific spot, cradling two of the annoying cylinders and putting them into place, rushing back to grab another and putting it on top, he noticed Moon and Lunar leaving again. He watched them go with a curious gaze, before shaking his head and staggering back to the next spot, holding the barrels tightly to his chest.

That was, until a monotone voice came from overhead; “Are you doing alright, Sun?”

He flinched as his audio processors noted it, and he nodded quickly, stammering, “W- I- yeah, I’m fine! Perfectly dandy. Managing really well today, I would like to say. What about you?”

He cringed at his last statement, but was grateful for the response. “I am doing… alright. Not much is happening beyond looking for Eclipse’s creator.”

He nodded after a moment of consideration but hunched his shoulders at the next few words.

“I was inquiring to your stability, as you seem tired. Do you wish to have a rest? I could let the others know not to bother you-”

“No, no no no!” He quickly interrupted, pausing to chuckle nervously, “It’s perfectly alright! I’m doing okay. I can last until we head back- that’s in three hours, if I just keep cleaning, I can head back home and watch a movie with Earth-”

“I am concerned about you, Sun.” The AI cut him off, and he shrunk in on himself. “It is obvious you are not taking breaks. While I cannot force you do to such, I do request you charge early today, as it is not healthy to work yourself until your code shuts down.”

He narrowed his eyes almost spitefully, puffing out his chest.

“That, of which, I’m not doing! I’m doing great right now, even. Just a little tired-”

“And when was the last time you felt at your best, not based on charge?”

Sun halted, rays spinning before properly fixing up the positions of the barrels, and dusting his pants off. As if there were any dust, but he bet there wouldn’t be any.

“Fine, I’ll finish up here and I’ll… head back to the house to wait for Earth to show up to watch a movie if she’s not busy.” He grumbled, moving to mess subtly with a ray. “Talk to you tomorrow, Spaniard?”

“Talk to you tomorrow.”

He dipped his head towards the computers at the desk, before pushing through the doors, checking his messages with Earth.

A received text message said, “sure, I would love to! What movie would you want to watch?”

He paused, sending over a reply of, “How does one of the spiderman movies sound? Or, maybe we could watch all of them? I’d be up for that if you are.”

A couple minutes later, as he returned to the way back to the house, he got, “For sure! See you in an hour?”

He sighed with a lean, finding himself back on the island, and making his way back up the path, and into the doors, welcomed by loud mews and fur brushing against his legs.

Jack, who must have been there, was seen scuttling out the back door, and Sun couldn’t help his playful scoff as the robot vanished from sight and, ‘into the darkness’, he heard vaguely.

Whipping out a bottle of wine, he glanced at the ever-growing pile of alcohol, before tilting his head back and guzzling down a mouthful, noting how the bottle was already missing a third. The felines had made their way to the couch, leaving room for the yellow bot to flop down onto it, head lolling backwards as he let a soft nose nuzzle his face happily.

Chapter Text

His systems started with a low thrum, small alerts hitting his head with warnings of less than half percent, and a less-than-preferred state of his wires.

His head was spinning subtly, and a hand moved to press to a ray as his memories reminded him of the events last night.

After finishing the bottle of wine, he had gotten up and cleaned up the area in the living room upstairs, and rubbed down the tv when he noticed paw prints on the screen. The cats must have gotten interested in some kind of bug.

He had then scrubbed down the table, and gotten two blankets for the night. One of which- the fluffier one- he was wrapped in right now.

Sun and Earth had managed to watch three movies, before the former had fallen asleep in the cuddles. Turning on the tv- that must have been turned off by his sister- revealed the movie was halfway done. She must have paused and gone to sleep when she noticed he was.

Pushing up his body, he slid his legs off the couch, testing his weight before lifting himself up, stretching his arms high above his head with a mild crackle of his systems.

His gaze flickered towards the door, and he moved to roll his shoulders with a pop, before walking around the couch. Grasping and twisting the handle, he heard the silent noise of sizzling.

Carefully stepping down the stairs, he peeked his head around the corner with a flourish of his rays, extending to full length.

Earth was standing there, carefully cooking pancakes, and he slipped closer, until his hands were on the bench, his sister’s gaze flicked towards him with an almost worried twist to her brow and a slight shake to the corners of her mouth.

He blinked with a tilt of his head, before sliding closer as one of his cats leaped up onto the counter with a purr, reaching a paw and snatching the fabric of the ruffles on his waist, as if wanting to cuddle up against him. In turn, he scratched at their chin, letting the dark fur shift to make way for metal.

“You fell asleep pretty hard. Tried to wake you up this morning,” Earth murmured with a smile, “out like a light, some would say.”

Sun nodded subtly, moving to scoop his feline into his arms like a toddler, letting their legs extend with a loud rumble, going limp in his grip.

“I suppose so. I’m a little low on battery, so after yours and Lunar’s shift starts, I’ll probably sit back and charge up while I wait for mine.” He mumbled.

A hand landed on his shoulder, and he jostled, gaze flittering upwards curiously. Soft eyes investigated his own with a genuine grin. “It’s okay. I would have liked to plug you in last night, but you seemed so comfortable when you fell asleep, so I just had to stay.”

 He shifted with a grateful nod.

The moment was awkward, he realised as they slipped back into mildly uncomfortable silence, interrupted by the cat’s purrs in his arms.

It would just be better if I left, he lamented with a shake of his fingers, watching as his feline drifted into a slumber, I don’t think anyone would notice I was gone.

He flinched as Earth flipped the pancake, sending a gentle sizzle into the air as she shuffled to lean against the counter, watching him.

She’s only doing this to make you think she cares, his mind supplied unhelpfully, and he held back a shamed crackle of his voice box as he pondered on the thought.

“You seem tired,” Earth interrupted his internally fears, and he jolted at the words. “are you sure you slept alright? Do you need to talk-”

He quickly shook his head, chuckling nervously. “No- no, no, I’m okay! I think it’s just something with my systems that I need to get looked through. I’ve been tired for what feels like weeks, so probably some wires that have somehow worn through!” He reasoned.

But Sun knew he was mostly trying to convince himself.

His sister didn’t seem persuaded, but she simply looked away and went back to the pancakes, scooping the ones on the pan off of it and onto a plate he hadn’t noticed, before pouring some more batter on.

“Well, if you ever need someone to talk to, you know I’m always open for it with my therapy hours. Or, if you don’t want it to be professional, we could just… talk?” She offered, and he nodded, just barely.

“Right. Yeah, sure.”

She moved to rub his shoulder again, the movement just barely rough enough to rock him side to side, but it was still comforting. “When would you want to?”

His vision blurred as he thought.

We’ll be gone in a week. Why not then? She’ll have forgotten by the time it rolls around, anyhow. He thought to himself, before settling his gaze back on his cat, who was still asleep, uncaring of the chatter.

“How about in five days?” He whispered, looking fondly at the creature in his arms.

A pleased hum escaped Earth’s voice box, and a moment of more relaxed quiet followed. That was, until she spoke up again.

“Your pets… they love you a lot. They don’t seem to like me- or anyone really- holding them.”

If his smile could stretch very far, it would have. “Yeah. I raised them since they were kittens, they’re- I had them when Moon wasn’t the best, when Eclipse was being… well, Eclipse from back then.” He let his gaze flicker over his feline’s face.

Its jaw was wide open, allowing an unfiltered purr to constantly rumble from it.

“They’re my everything. Even if I had nothing else, as long as I had them, I’d be happy. Even if the world was crumbling around me, I’d… I’d do everything I could to have them with me.”

A hand rubbed at his back, jostling him, and in turn, the animal in his arms from its slumber, and Earth whispered an apology.

“That’s good. Hey, we should eat up and head to the daycare.”

Sat at the desk, was Sun, wiping down the counter with a peaceful hum from his voice box. His sister was a few paces away, preparing some activities for the kids while Lunar was on his way.

Apparently, his younger brother had some other things to do prior to the daycare’s opening, and with an hour to spare, was running down the stairs right now.

Sun flicked his gaze towards the doors as they pushed open, leaving a panting, and overly tired, small bot standing there, dramatically falling over. He couldn’t help but snort at the movements.

“Hi, Earth!” Lunar greeted, the once exasperated breaths now quiet, and he sat up quickly. Sun flicked a ray in and out, but resumed, awaiting to be dragged into the conversation.

Zoning out, he continued the smooth pattern. Slide it this way, go slightly up, drag it back, repeat further this way.

A question sent with his name dragged him back, and he blinked rapidly as he looked towards the source.

“Brother?” Lunar asked with a tilted head, and he mirrored it just to see the smile grace his lips. “Do you have any plans after work? Earth wants to go on a walk, and it would be great to have you come along!”

He flinched at the loud noise, before allowing his thoughts to drift.

Would it not be good to end it with everyone liking you? He pondered, tapping his fingers gently on the cleaning cloth, you’ll regret it if everyone remembers you in a bad light when you vanish.

“Yeah- yeah, I would love to. Where are we going?”

“To that one park near the beach. You know, the one with a river and those beautiful lily flowers and the weird hedge maze?”

He nodded, the movement subtle among his stiff stature.

“Sure, why not. What time?”

Lunar shuffled in thought, glancing to Earth, who answered for him. “Around six, half an hour after the daycare closes so we have time to clean up. If there’s anything we miss, we can clean it up before-hand, just as we always do.”

He hummed appreciatively, trying- and failing- to ignore his raging thoughts. How they were lying to him, deceiving him into thinking they care, so it’ll hurt more when he leaves.

But, as long as they’re happy when he goes, that’s what he wants.

“Alright. Well…” He pushed himself up with a mild groan from his arms, and a quick check of his battery revealed he was at 38% charge, “I’m off. Gotta go make sure I’m at full battery for when my shift starts… call me if you need anything…” he murmured, sliding through the doors, unaware of concerned glances cast towards him.

He sat on the bench, listening to the bird’s songs from above, and the flutter of wings as the creatures settled in nests in the trees. Lunar was watching the geese, and Earth was off talking to animals.

He was tired, he realised, as he rubbed his arm. His battery was at 92%, so he didn’t know why. As he pondered, he sent a quick message to Solar, asking if he could join the bot in any repairs he had going on.

Another ten minutes later, filled with peaceful silence that had him almost wandering off on his own, he was dragged back to a ping.

It was approval, asking him to come in an hour. It was currently 7, so he supposed it would make sense.

“Hey, Earth?” He called out, watching the bot startle with a slight movement in her shoulders as her head turned to look, a pigeon fluttering from the area in front of her.

“Yeah, Sun?” She returned, standing to her feet and waving towards the bushes, strolling over with a tilt of her head and a quiver of her eyebrows. As if she was worried, but for what?

He sighed, aware of the almost tight feeling in his chest that had only made itself known halfway through the day. “I have some plans with Solar in a bit, about an hour, so-“

“That’s wonderful!” She interrupted, and he shrunk in on himself at the loud noise. “Please, do not let me and Lunar interrupt you from your plans. We’ll be happy, as long as you are!”

He nodded subtly, before looking away. An annoyed thrum echoed in his chest. Part of him wanted to pull away, to put distance between them, to never let anyone betray him again, but another half told him that they actually cared.

He ignored both, standing up to go look at the flowers.

Sun peered into the room, pushing through the doors cautiously. His gaze flittered around the place, as if he was worried he was going to see something he wouldn’t like.

Maybe Solar wouldn’t be here and would rather go off and spend time with his brother and working on finding out stuff with Ruin.

However, the sight he was met with was a disgruntled Eclipse being tutored on how to reattach a security bot’s arm.

“Hi, Sunny,” the mentioned sneered, receiving a slap on the hand when a wire was nearly tugged out as he moved to wave at him.

Solar was glaring at Eclipse slightly, before his expression levelled to a neutral appearance. “Welcome in.”

He tensed, looking over the two solar-themed animatronics crouched nearby. Their outfits were starkly different, but a mild worry in his heart reminded what one had once done to him, and what the other could have done.

His gaze flickered to Sun, waving him over. “You’ll have to ignore him,” he signalled to the other as his fingers untangled from sensitive lines of wires, “he saw a security bot with a nearly detached arm, so I figured I’d show him how to fix it up.”

He nodded slightly, moving closer and sitting down with his legs crossed, watching as Eclipse backed away, moving to sit in a chair nearby the chamber.

Solar signalled with a hand for him to come closer, and so, Sun extending a hand to the wires, gaze flittering over it.

The other began to start a spiel on how to connect these to that, and what this did. He recorded the moment in his head, reminded with a rather unhelpful thought that, if he were to get injured out there, he would need to be able to fix himself.

What if this became me? He pondered, Injured, all alone, without anyone to help.

His gaze flickered to the wires, before carefully pulling them together and twining the metal together. As Solar explained, it wasn’t a permanent fix, and it would be much better to fix it up in the chamber, but as the only other option, this was a good way to keep the arm on, as long as he had something else there to hold it in place.

Once an hour had passed, and Eclipse had joined in again, Sun departed with a quick ‘thank you,’ and vanished through the teleporter, finding himself back at the home.

His shoulders are heavy, legs almost like boulders as he dragged himself to the wine. Tux, his black and white cat, mewed curiously at him. He scooped up a bottle in his hand, before using his other scooped up the feline into his chest, letting the animal nuzzle his neck’s ruffle, claws digging into the soft material with a purr.

He whispered a greeting, moving up the stairs and sliding into his room, and sitting on the bed.

His other cat leaped up next to him, mewling a soft noise before flopping onto their back next to him.

“Thank you two,” he murmured, swallowing down a mouthful of the wine before standing up, placing the glass on the closest surface, and moving towards the closet, grasping a bag.

Tux squeaked when he had to move his hand to splay over it to hold it there, scrambling until they were resting on his shoulder, and he began to push some items into the bag.

Some important items, things to remember his family by.

Little tools that might assist him, wherever he goes.

Sighing, he dropped it back into the closet, flopping backwards onto his bed- his cats being out of the way- before he consumed the rest of the wine in the bottle, placing it back before rolling onto his stomach and sighing, randomly slipping the charger next to his bed into place.

Loudly groaning, he allowed his systems to slip into sleep-mode, aware of fur pressing against him on his sides.

Chapter Text

He blinked wearily, a pain in his head and a weight in his limbs. There was a fluffy sensation on his back, and face down on a pillow. He felt a tail draped over his hand, and when he lifted himself, he noticed Tux resting there, looking at him with a curious gaze in the feline’s eyes.

Sun winced as claws moved to press into his chassis on his back, glancing over his shoulder and spotting the other arching their back, mouth open in a yawn. He couldn’t hold back the noise he made at awe of the beautiful creature, moving to scratch at their chin, and receiving an upset ‘mrrp’ from Tux.

Sliding his legs off the mattress and turning his body around, he tugged out his charger and checked his battery, seeing it at max. He felt his rays pull in and out in a circle, before shrugging and pushing himself back to his feet with a mild stagger.

A quick scan of his systems- half out of concern for the reason why he’s slowly getting more tired each day, half just because of his legs not entirely catching him when he put his weight on them- revealed nothing was wrong, if a little overworked.

It didn’t seem like anything needed repairs.

Scooping one of the cats into his arms, he placed their upper body on his shoulder as he checked the bag he was looking at the night prior.

He had placed a few discs in there; movies he and Earth liked to watch together. Some of My Little Pony, some of slightly more serious, and some others. Some cleaning materials, along with things to help fixing metal that he had in case something there broke, and he knew these were gifted to him from Solar one time.

Another shuffle and look into his closet showed he had fallen asleep before he could get anything from Moon or Lunar.

Running a hand through a shelf, he scooped out a plushie that the latter had given to him one day. He appreciated a lot, and while he never really used it, he enjoyed the mild comfort it provided. Putting it into a safe spot, he searched for a laptop the other had gotten and ended up passing down to him after a couple months.

While not used often, whenever he was running out of storage for images in his head, he’d transport it to the laptop and filter through all of the pictures, just in case. Some were of him and the others, or just of fields he had visited.

He couldn’t help the smile he let out as he put it, the charger, and the mouse inside, and zipping it back up with a sigh.

At least when he goes, he’ll have things to know them all by, should he not come back.

He felt sick at the thought, and a little idea to write a note, just to try to encourage them to not come looking for him. If out there really was better than here- even if he’ll have to tough out pain all by himself- he wouldn’t want to be extracted from it.

Standing up, he placed it in a hidden spot among some folded blankets, and moved through his door and towards the stairs, the other feline throwing itself onto his pants and latching on, if just for the ride down, as it released once the bottom area was in sight.

Sitting back on his bed, he sent a couple quick messages to Ruin and Moon. The one to the former asked if he could help out in the arcade while waiting for his shift to start, and the one to the latter asking if they could play games after work.

After a quick snack, he made sure he had everything to help clean up the daycare when he arrives, and bid his cats a goodbye by giving them food and drink.

When he… when he leaves, he knew he wouldn’t be able to take them with him. Not for a while, at least. It would be horrible to have them at a possibly unsafe, unstable environment, and one he didn’t know if there were any threats at!

His servos shuttered at the thought. These creatures were his everything, and if he didn’t have them, then what would he be?

Shaking his head, he gave them some scratches before vanishing through the door, and through the teleporter.

Sun slipped away from the daycare just as kids started to show up for Lunar’s and Earth’s shift, getting a couple quick ‘goodbye’s as he rushed towards the arcade, showing up just in time for the area to start opening up, meeting Ruin at the top of the stairs with a wave.

“Greetings, my lovely fellow!” The other did with a subtle bow, signalling the solar-themed animatronic towards the back area, whispering a quick, “I’ll meet you back there shortly. Someone’s coming in.”

He nodded, and walked through the arcade machines until he reached the door, going through it and simple sitting against the wall.

Ten minutes passed, and Ruin slipped into the area, a hand to his chest with apologies. “I’m so, so, so sorry for taking so much time, friend! They had to get a little bit of my help, but all’s well now.”

He let a hum of acknowledgement, before standing up and signalling towards the other machinery tucked further in. “Do you want to… work on that?”

The other seemed to make a grateful noise, moving over and patting him on the shoulder, much to Sun’s mild joy. At least he was happy, right?

“Of course! Thank you so much again, I can’t tell you how much another set of hands helps. Eclipse, that brute, refuses to assist despite having nothing else to do outside of searching for his creator! What an annoyance,” he ‘tsk’ed, before continuing, “but anyhow, please, join me!”

The animatronic slid ahead with a couple thumps, before sitting down at one of the closest machines, signalling Sun closer.

Following, he moved to sit on his legs as he watched Ruin peel back the cover of the wires. Immediately, he spotted the singed edges of a couple wires, and some other things he didn’t quite understand.

The other chuckled at his clear confusion, patting his back. “Don’t worry, my friend. I, too, am not the most… knowledgeable when it comes to what all these parts mean!” And then he sighed, continuing, “at the moment, I just need to harvest what I can. If you see something that you see damaged, put it in a pile over there,” he pointed, “and if you see something that could be used, put it over here,” signalled to another spot.

“Shouldn’t we be trying to, like, salvage these?”

“Tried,” Ruin shrunk in on himself with a chuckle, “but these seven aren’t worth it. Too much to pay for such little items to be brought back, and we have multiple duplicates of these.”

Sun nodded wearily, before moving to another one, beginning there as the other animatronic began to ramble about his day.

As he placed the parts down, he checked the time, sighing when it revealed that it was only a couple hours before his shift starts. No need to worry, then.

“Hey, Ruin?” He called out as he placed the parts onto the table, looking towards him as he discarded the broken, useless ones.

“Yes, my gracious friend?” The other responded with a gleeful movement, and Sun couldn’t help but be grateful for the at least happy bot. It at least transferred to him.

“Do you happen to know where Eclipse is? I’ve been needing to talk to him about something for a couple days now.”

The other flopped his hand over his chest with a chuckle. “No worries! I need no explanation. If it’ll repay you back for your help, I would bend my arm for you! Or, well, a little extreme, but you get the point!”

He nodded in response, before Ruin continued. “He should be at the atrium? I saw him there this morning, before I came back here, and he said he’d be there for a while, so you might wanna go catch him while you can, Sunrise!”

He stood tall, quickly murmuring an apology for departing so soon, and pushed through the door, hearing a hearty laugh from the other in the distance as he rushed towards the stairs.

If he was going to catch Eclipse, he’d have to-

He pushed to a stop as said bot appeared through the elevator, nearly startled at the sight of the solar-themed bot nearly running into him, before scoffing and crossing his arms.

“What are you in a rush for?” The bot sneered, looking him up and down before tilting his head to the side. “One of your siblings in trouble? Someone you need to save? You’ve always done a good job at that.”

A pang of anger echoed in his servos, but he huffed moved his hands to link in front of him.

“No, no, not at all. They’re all safe- no thanks to you- but there is one thing I wanted to.. bring up with you.” He mumbled, before straightening his back while Eclipse simply stared.

“Would you… mind joining me for a small chat? Nothing long, no longer than an hour I’d hope, but…”

He jolted as a hand landed on his shoulder before fisting into his neck’s ruffle, dragging him back towards the stairs.

Sun, a little frightened by what the other was doing, moved to wrench his hand away, but only received a growled, “I’m just taking us to one of the empty rooms. You know, the one I sleep in?”

He lowered his arms shakily, joining in the pace as they moved. Up to the top floor, towards the karaoke room with an ‘out of service’ sign on it and an expertly placed piece of fabric to give the illusion of being unable to enter, and into it.

He was released almost immediately, and he watched Eclipse climb into two of the couches that were joined together, making an almost… nest?

He opted to sit down on one of the spare chairs that must have been dragged in at some point while the other simple stared at him.

“So?” He practically growled, throwing a leg over the edge, “You gonna speak up, or just stare like a fucking idiot?”

Sun rolled his eyes, before sighing.

“I just wanted… you remember how you used to treat Lunar- and how you still kind of do?”

Silence. This didn’t stop him from continuing with a staticky breath. “I just wanted… you see-” he paused to shake his head, “I want to know why you treated him like that.”

A slow blink in his direction, before Eclipse shook his head with a groan.

“Everyone keeps asking me this stupid question- I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. I’m not going to tell you. This isn’t therapy- I don’t care for that bullshit,” Sun winced subtly, “so buzz off.”

His shoulders hunched, and he let his vents quiver with a slow breath.

“I’m going through what I think- consider? What I consider to be a kind of hard time.” He admitted, pausing. “I think it’s good to talk about our feelings. At least it’s helped me in the past.”

The other scoffed at his words as he continued. “I just think that… if you could at least tell me why it happened, we could maybe get… you and Lunar to get along?”

A grunt came from the animatronic, before he finally replied.

“If this is you trying to get me to open up, Sunrise, it’s not going to work. Your sister tried, and, well, we know how that went. What makes you think it’ll work on me?” He wasn’t given time to respond, “If anything, this seems more like an attempt for you to confess something stupid to me.”

Sun’s fingers twitched, and he looked away and towards the entrance.

Eclipse suddenly started laughing, and his rays shrunk in at the grating noise. “Seriously!? God, I need to know what the fuck you’re considering!”

He let out a mumble, not really saying anything, before hissing out, “it’s not anything I’m fully considering, but if I go through with it… you’ll find out in a few days.”

Looking back, he saw the other animatronic was leaned back, arms thrown over the back of the ‘nest’, but he noticed an almost concerned tilt to his gaze. But, with a thrusted hand, the bot signalled to the entry way.

“You’d best run off, Sunrise. Your shift is starting in half an hour.”

He nodded quickly, whispering a ‘goodbye’ and rushing through the entrance. He felt pride for at least getting to talk to Eclipse, though, without getting told mostly bad things.

He grunted as he heaved Tux onto his shoulder, letting the cat hang their idly while the other feline clamoured up his leg, dangling from his waist’s ruffles.

Cradling them, he walked up the stairs, and towards his brother’s room, lifting a fist to idly knock on it. He had little time to think while doing his shift in the daycare, but he knew he should at least use this opportunity.

After his shift, he had gone out and brought a phone with some money he had. The conversation he had there was… useless. The guy had inquired his reasoning for getting it- small talk, likely something the man would do with every customer- and Sun had said it, holding back tears as he did.

The human asked him why he was considering it, and if there was anything better he could do. When the animatronic had said that this was what he considered best, at least for now, the guy had nodded and handed him his phone, wishing him luck.

He had set up the device, gotten a new number on it, and cried for a little bit before heading home, thinking the whole way there.

And now, here he was, watching as the door opened. Moon stood there, with an almost exhausted air.

“Hi, brother!” He greeted quickly, waving subtly while the other looked at the animals. Seemingly ignoring them, he responded.

“Hi, Sun… is there something you need? If you need me to fix something, I can do it as long as it’s something small-”

He shook his head and his free hand, before laughing awkwardly, “no, no that’s not- I was going to ask if you wanted to play some games with me and watch a movie? We haven’t done that for at least a couple weeks- we haven’t really spent any time together-” he whispered the last bit under his breath.

“Yeah, sure. Why not. What do you want to play?”

“Uhm… you can… pick?” The solar-themed animatronic said quietly, rays whirling- but avoiding the feline tucked into his neck- and received a relaxed nod in return.

He placed the blanket over his brother, plugging the spare charger into the port and sighing, placing a hand on his arm before standing from the floor.

He had thought a little further while watching the movie, and had decided. He was leaving that night.

It was currently 9pm. The only people in the pizzaplex should be Ruin, Eclipse, and a couple others. And he only had one place to visit quickly, as he walked to the teleporter, whispering apologies to Tux as the cat ‘mrrp’ed at him.

“I’ll be right back, I’m so, so, so sorry.”

Pushing through, he ran to the daycare and stopped at the doors, squeezing his hands as he sighed.

“Sunrise?” A monotone voice came from above, and he flinched whole-bodily. “Are you alright?”

“Yes- Spaniard I just wanted- I can’t-” he paused to suck in an exasperated breath, “I’m leaving. Running- running away- and I want you to… have my new phone’s number. Just so… if anything happens here, or if anything happens to me, I can let you know?”

Silence.

“Please don’t tell Moon?” He whispered. “Or any of the others?”

“I will not,” the AI responded, “I won’t let them know what I do, unless you encounter danger, or if it’s a reasonable action.”

He dipped his head in thanks, walking inside and mumbling his number. After a moment, a text came through, saying simply ‘hello’, and he couldn’t help the mild joy that spread itself through his wires.

“I’m going to… write a note addressing the others, and have it in my room. I’m going to be staying at that one bunker where everything went down, so if you could let me know when they’re going to take a look at it if they do come for me?”

“Of course, Sun. Please let me know if you need anything like money, or such.”

“Thank you, Spaniard.”

“Happy to help. Talk to you soon?”

“Certainly.”

He vanished through the doors once more, waving from the entrance of the daycare, before going to the teleporter. Ending up at the home, he dragged a piece of paper and placed it on the kitchen counter, and scrawling some words onto it.

I’m so sorry, Moon, Earth, Lunar, Solar.

Me, Sunrise, am leaving. I apologise for this sincerely. I’m sure this information is devastating with the current events that are happening. All I can do is say that I am sorry.

Please, do not come looking for me. I have help, and I know where I’m going is safe. I have everything I need.

This is not caused by anything all of you have done, and believe me on this.

I love you all dearly. I’m happy for you all spending time with me these past couple days, and I wish you all good luck.

Do not bother contacting me.

Sincerely,

Sun.

Standing up, he pushed the note onto his bed, fell to his knees, and picked Tux up into his arms, cradling the cat like a baby and sobbing into his stomach fur. He whispered ‘sorry’ over and over, and his other feline leaped up to him as they both nuzzled his rays.

As if they understood.

“I’ll be back- I will, I swear I will, I’m come back for you both. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but I promise!”

After ten minutes of silent cries, he put them down. He scooped the bag into his arms, and left through the teleporter. Out of the doors of the pizzaplex. Along a path. And towards the bunker he’ll stay in, until he can find a better place, just in time for the moon to reach the highest point.

Chapter Text

He twined between the trees, hugging his bag to his side as his battery alerted him to the fact he was at half charge. Enough to do a lot of things- would probably make him another day, but it was always best to stay near full. That’s one of the next things he’ll have to do.

Sun knew he was close, mostly from memory. Checking his videos easily showed times of him and Moon heading this way, following the just barely paved path.

Stones barely marked the way, leaves and bushes shaped awkwardly as if they had been cut to make way for someone walking through. In the distance, he could see a stone circle on the ground.

Hurrying his footsteps, he raced closer, falling to his knees and unlatching the handle, and pulling at it. A smaller, but still big enough so he could fit, spot was lifted, and he threw his legs in, hooking his shoes into a part of the ladder and lowering himself to close it, aware of the light billowing from below.

Sliding down, he let his legs catch his weight as he walked into a small room. Just barely tall enough to fit him and his rays, he walked towards a wooden door, tapping the hanging light next to it patiently as he slid the bag to dangle from his hand.

Pushing, it creaked as it lead to another room, and going through that entry lead to a familiar place.

Small, green, metal cabinets to the left along the concrete wall. A messed up, broken ‘caution, wet floor’ sign slightly to the right. A stool, deserted next to it. That one ugly rug he didn’t know what to think of.

A weird lamp usually seen in caves further ahead, lighting up the rest of that area. Wooden floors, a small radio.

He sighed as he moved closer, falling to his knees and curling up. His head tilted towards the mirror further in, and he grimaced at it.

Many bad memories were associated with this place.

The time Moon had hurt him. The time his own brother locked him in here, just to make sure he didn’t get in the way as he was squished into a small square of space.

Pushing himself to his feet, he discarded the bag on the ground and headed for the strange tunnel that they supposed Eclipse had dug out, sticking a hand in there and using his night vision to see that one mattress that was, for some very odd reason, just there.

Pulling it out, he dragged it away from towards the mirror, and quickly dragged the curtain over the reflective surface. He watched the red fabric eclipse it, met with matt folds.

Flopping downwards, he dragged a blanket from his bag and sets it on the bed. While it wasn’t the best, it’ll have to do until he could find himself a house or a hotel he could live at. At least, until he went back.

He made a note to himself to buy a couple pillows and a better mattress when he goes shopping while he slid out every imperfection on the blanket.

Standing up, he sought through his bag and tugged out a couple more things.

The plush Lunar got him. The drills, the nails, and such from Solar. The movies from Earth. The laptop from Moon.

He couldn’t help the tears that began to slide from his eyes, the black oil staining his neck ruffle as he planted his face on the weird crate. He couldn’t believe he was doing this.

Groaning, he goes and sets up the spare charger, and a quick check of his charge revealed that he had enough time to go into the woods for a walk. It would be best to properly familiarise himself with the area.

Moon woke with a start, knowing something was wrong.

The beginning was the fact that both Tux and the other cat were hanging out with him, and not Sun. The last time this happened, his brother wasn’t at the house when he should have been, leading to a lot of panic until he revealed he was just relaxing at the pizzaplex.

At first, this was what he thought. Maybe he went in early, or maybe Moon slept in, but a check of the time showed it was earlier then when the shift usually begins.

He sends a quick message to both Earth and Lunar, asking if they’re at the daycare and if they’ve seen Sun, while he gets up to check his brother’s room. Surely, if he’s not in there, he’s gotta be somewhere in the daycare.

Two notifications came through, telling him ‘not today’ and asking why. When he asks them if they’re at the daycare, he feels his servos stutter to a halt at the sight of a note on the bed.

His thoughts began rushing. Had his brother been kidnapped? Did Eclipse somehow bypass the code stopping him from hurting the celestials and get his hands on him? Was the ruin virus back? Did Bloodmoon show up? Did something else happen?

Was he dead?

He ran over, practically ripping the blanket in his movement to swipe the note with fear in his eyes, and quickly scanned it.

And, immediately, as each word processed in his head, he realised what he was reading.

Then, he began thinking. Surely Sun wasn’t running away? Maybe this was a prank? Or maybe he was kidnapped, and whoever had him was good at replicating handwriting?

He sent a message to the other two again, telling them to meet him at the daycare, but included Solar in that selection. If he were to find his brother and get him back, he’d need all the hands he could get.

Moon hoped he was safe, wherever he was, in likely dangerous claws.

He slipped on a wet rock, letting out a shrill laugh as he fell backwards, water eclipsing his legs. His rays whirled with joy, looking up and around.

Trees arched into the sky, blotting out his namesake as he gazed at the clouds peeking through the leaves. Wind rushed overhead, and the gentle birdsong filled the air, only interrupted with the thrilled pant of his vents as he leaned back on his hands.

Along his walk, he came across this river. It was nice- beautiful, even. The river was coated in pale rocks, smoothed with erosion, and the water was wonderfully clear. It came from a waterfall further up, but he had been too busy messing in the first spot he found to journey up there.

It was times like these he was grateful that he was waterproof. Feeling the trickle of the low pressure, and even he could see the creatures hiding within. Small fish.

For a moment, he was happy. He was glad that he was, finally, free. No one to worry about upsetting. No Old Moon to hurt him.

No one to turn against him.

Until a pang of sorrow flooded his chest, and he pulled his legs back towards him. His rays tucked in slightly.

Sun couldn’t help but wonder how his family was handling this. Were they panicked, trying to find him, hoping he was lying, hoping it was just a cruel prank? Were they happy he was gone?

Something inside him told him it was the latter, while the rest of him was crying that this was a bad idea. To head back and apologise for leaving, to say he’d never do it again.

But, for as much fear and gloom he felt, he felt twice as good. He may have been guilty, he may be worried something would leap out and attack him with bared teeth and sharp claws, but he was finally doing something for himself, by himself. Without help.

At least- none from Moon or anyone else besides Spaniard.

Right. He should probably message the AI and ask how it was going. He should at least ask how they’re doing, at let them all know he’s safe. Right?

As he moved to grab the phone he discarded by the river, his hand flinched.

What if they didn’t want to hear from him? What if they didn’t want to know how he was doing?

Tears welled in his eyes, before he shook his head. No, best to not dwell on the thought. He should just… let Spaniard know that he’s okay, and then head back to the bunker and stay for the night. He didn’t need to do anything else, now.

Sighing, he hooked the small device into his fingers, and quickly sent the AI a message, and climbed out of the water.

His vents seemed to be barely taking in air, but he knew they were working right with a quick scan of his systems.

Moon felt sick. So, so horribly sick.

He couldn’t become ill- he was an animatronic, and wasn’t even biological enough to really do more than eat and drink.

But, as he sat on the chair behind the desk, looking up at the anxious glances of Lunar, Earth and Solar alike, he couldn’t help the tears that peeked into his eyes.

His hand was over his mouth as his gaze flittered down to his feet. The others could easily tell at least something was wrong.

“Brother,” his sister spoke up, and he full-body winced as she grew closer, “we cannot help you if you do not tell us what is going on. Where’s Sun? Did you find him?”

He, for the first time in what must have been forever, let out a quiet sob of terror, before hissing and shaking his head aggressively.

“No-” he practically gasped, watching Earth flinch and Solar grow closer, a worried look in his eyes, “no, he’s missing!”

Silence fell over the group as Moon shook his head, grasping at the tail of his hat with panic, vents and fans barely keeping up to keep his body cool as his thoughts rampaged. His brother could be dead by now, and all he could do was sit back and know.

A hand soothed over his own, dragging it away with fingers and squeezing.

“How do we know this?” His sister spoke softly, but he could feel the shake in her arms and the tears welling in her eyes that she, too, was scared.

He sucked in air as much as he could, feeling a grating movement within his chassis as he barely got out, “he left a note- don’t think it was him-” he shook his head, “Sun said he ran away? But he couldn’t have wanted to- we’ve been hanging out with him, and-”

He was cut off by a pat on his shoulder as his sister got to her knees to be at a proper height, a soothing smile on her lips. “Do you have it with you?”

He nodded quickly, barely pushing it into her hands. Lunar was holding back worried tears, and Solar was hugging the smaller animatronic.

Eyes flickered across the paper, and he heard the terse sigh that came from her as she placed it on the desk, sliding it towards the sun-themed robot across from them, who scooped it up before the shortest of them all could grasp it.

“Now, Moon,” she began, moving back to hold both his hands in her own, “I want you to listen to me carefully. I don’t think any of this is our fault, but…”

She trailed off, smile dropping as she frowned, and an oil-coloured tear slipped from her left eye.

“I have reason to believe this is him, and he has run away on his own terms.”

Chapter Text

Sun blinked his eyes open to a dim room, walls almost orange due to the lighting. His systems alerted him to mild moisture in the air, and a scan revealed his location.

His rays whirled, before catching on the blanket he had pulled up to his chest, causing him to sit up.

His vision was blurry as his optics calculated to the area he was in. He traced the line of his charger to the wall, where it was plugged into. The laptop he took with him sat next to it, in sleep mode from when he forgot to turn it off when he had laid down to charge.

He pushed himself to face it, legs planted on the ground. Shoes flexed as he tested his balance, before pushing himself up.

With an arch, Sun stretched his back until the slight crackle of the movement, and the way his muscles loosened, let him drop his arms back to his sides.

Reaching back into his bag, he dragged his rays in before popping them out.

It was set one hour before his shift. He would have instinctually panicked, if not for his knowledge of why he was there, and why he was asleep at such a time.

He let out a sigh, partly of relief- he didn’t have to worry about all those things that he usually would- and partly out of sorrow- he didn’t have anyone to rely on right now.

His knees shook with effort as he pulled out some cleaning supplies. He had created a list of what he wanted to do as he prepared to rest.

His fingers twitched in a cloth, used to wipe down the counter back at his home. His- his old home.

Black dripped onto it, staining the white fabric with a flinch. He quickly sought his other hand up, rubbing his tears away quickly and dropping the item.

He needed to figure this out. What was he going to do next? He didn’t really… have anything.

All he had was hits wits, and barely anything of his own. A blanket, some cleaning tools, some objects to repair, a laptop, a plushie, and that was about it.

Shaking his head, he flexed his fingers, and looked towards that one hole in the wall. The one Ruin had come through that one time, when they were looking for Eclipse.

Maybe he should try to figure out the paths? If he could make a way to know which way lead to what, he could sneak between each of them if the scenario called for it. The tunnels that spiralled endlessly through the ground, which would be a good way to lose a threat or someone he didn’t want to find him.

Raising his chest as if taking a deep breath, he fumbled with the phone on the crate and turned on the flashlight, facing the darkness with a flex of his shoulders.

How would he mark the way? He could use his claws. He didn’t really use them often, but when he did, it was useful most the time.

He stepped slowly towards the stone, finger twitching before he pressed his thumb against it, shining the light on that spot, before pushing until the tiny, metallic spike out of its sheathe, and slowly dragged it along the wall.

A light mark was made. Pale enough that if he weren’t looking for it, he wouldn’t see it.

Pulling away, he peered further in, rays twitching this way and that. Before moving in, letting himself be eclipsed by the shadows, until he could barely see his own feet and tell them apart from the ground.

The phone lit his way, the screen turning on to alert him of a text message from Spaniard. He’ll check that soon. Probably.

He pressed his claw into the stone, feeling the grating in his arm as he showed the way for the path he was taking.

Straight. Left. Right. Right again. A fork in the path… go on the second left. To the right. Left. Through the-

Through the door? There’s just a door… casually there.

Opening it, it showed him into the… the trapped room that lead to that one bunker where Lunar was supposedly brought into existence.

He huffed, moving through each of the tricks, just as Old Moon had shown him those ages ago.

The thought let a sour feeling in his sensors, wires pinching as a tear pricked the corner of his eye, before he pressed his rays out as far as they could go with a huff.

No time to dwell on the past. He’s in the future- he’s doing things for himself, now. One of the first steps are abandoning everything that hurt him, right? That’s why he ran, right?

His fingers twitched.

Pushing through the final door, he crouched and made his way to the platform, before sitting down, arms crossing as he put the phone into one of the hidden pockets of his pants.

Why did he run away? During such an important moment, when there were endless other things he could have done?

I should have stayed- he hissed to himself, lowering his head and lifting his knees to his chest, I should have done that stupid therapy session with Earth. She could have helped…

He rocked himself slightly, rays tucking in almost as far as they could go.

She would have stopped me, though… he thought, tapping his ankle gently, she would have intervened. What if I deemed this a valid method and brought it up to her? She would have made sure I couldn’t.

His claws sunk into the fabric of his pants on the next tap, causing his whole arm to lock up to stop himself from tearing it.

“But, what if she helped…” he whispered out loud, relaxing and letting his back hit the wall.

He should have at least planned ahead, but no, all he did was get a few supplies and run. Like a coward. He didn’t even find himself a secure place to live.

Sure, out in the city, he could be found, but at least it’d be better than living in a practical hole in the ground. Even these bunkers weren’t good enough. At a point, if they were even looking, they’d stop, but he’d have to stay hidden up to that.

And, the bunkers weren’t safe, for being what they are. If you knew how to, you could likely just… break into it, just like that. He wasn’t protected from animatronic like Bloodmoon.

He wasn’t now, and he never would be, if he knew his luck.

Sun shook his head. Now isn’t the time to dwell on the past. He’s started this, he’s going to finish this.

Pushing himself to his feet, he stretched, and moved towards the computers, hands moving to the keyboard and mouse of one of them.

Moon had, at some point, gotten to his feet, head cradled in his hands as he rambled, quiet enough that the others couldn’t understand.

Earth’s hand twitched with the urge to go comfort him, to tell him that everything will be okay, and as long as Sun wants to come back, they’ll get him back.

Lunar wasn’t doing much better, tears in his eyes as he thought. Solar had moved to sit in one of the chairs, rereading the note that the prior hadn’t managed to get his hands on, body tense as he tapped the keys on the computer.

Until, Moon jerked to a halt, startling his sister as his face turned up, a quick, “Computer, can you find Sun?” escaping him.

Silence, only interrupted by Solar continuing in his typing and Lunar’s quiet sobs. That was, until the AI responded.

“I’m sorry, but it is against my orders to tell you.”

She watched her brother’s claws unsheathe, and noticed the other two pause with confusion. What was Spaniard talking about?

“Excuse me? Who’s orders? I’m literally the animatronic you’re meant to follow.” He quipped, before the monotone voice returned, sounding almost… annoyed.

“I mean exactly what I said.” A pause, as if thinking about what to say next. “Sun, your brother, has requested I do not assist in your search, as that would be erasing his efforts.”

Lunar twitched in the corner of her eyes, and she was vaguely aware of Solar standing up to comfort the smaller.

Earth stepped forwards, hand lifted wearily, “Moon, please, we need to respect his wishes. If he doesn’t want-”

“I don’t believe that he went by himself-” The bot whispered, looking towards her with a shake in his shoulders. “He seemed so happy, during his shift, outside of it while we were home, the night before he left…”

In a couple more movements, she was hugging the shorter while releasing a hushing noise, messing with the bells on his wrist. “I had my… suspicions, as to what he was planning, if I’ll be honest. He was showing signs, and I find myself responsible, at least partially, to not interfering in time.” She said, voice growing quieter with each word, shoulders hunching as she looked towards the entrance of the daycare.

Without waiting, she continued, turning to Solar. “Can you please close the daycare for the day? Perhaps the rest of the week. We’re going to need time to figure this out, and quite frankly, neither me, nor Lunar, are fit to work right now.”

He nods, getting back to the computer and clicking away at it while the smallest dashed at her to hug her.

“We’ll get Sun back,” Moon mumbled, “if he- if he wants to return.”

Chapter Text

They regroup at 3pm, the sun beginning to set, and those who could eat, having had lunch. Ruin had pondered Sun’s location- he hadn’t shown up or messaged him a ‘good morning’ like the bot usually did, and he was getting worried- but they had simply said he was busy.

And now, for the second time that day, they were within the daycare. Solar had been there the longest, the theatre closing earlier due to it being Friday. Earth and Lunar were next, and Moon was last.

When the night-themed bot had walked through the doors, the others looked at him, before Solar tapped the desk, before sighing.

“Once we all separated, while I was waiting for customers, I tried to look at the trackers we have. I think either Spaniard, or Sun himself, disabled it.” He admitted, rubbing his arm, before standing. “When I asked, I wasn’t informed to anything. I have reason to suspect he’s gonna help him.”

Moon’s huff seemed more of a shudder, shoulders shaking as a sob was held back. He shook his head.

“I just… I wish he told us what we were doing wrong, so we could fix it.”

Earth released Lunar to instead walk over and rub his back in an attempt of comfort, eyes softened and smile gentle. “I’m sure he has good reason. And, it wasn’t our fault. Sure, we could have probably done many things better, but, did any of us tell him to run away?”

He shook his head.

“Exactly. Now, the best we can do is both try to find Sun, and figure out if he wants to come home with us, or stay wherever he is. The worst thing we can do is force him.”

Moon could only nod, eyes on the ground as he moved towards one of the chairs at the desk, sitting down with it and digging his fingers into his pants, feeling tears force their way from his optics and down his face.

During his contemplation and testing while at their home, he had broken down for a moment, sitting in his brother’s room and crying into the sheets, the cats purring loudly and rubbing against his legs in an attempt to calm him.

Tux had leaped up beside him, cold nose nuzzling into his face, before dropping back and into his lap, stretching out to his full length.

Lunar walked over and pat his hand, watching Solar mess with the computers.

“The AI isn’t going to assist us, as evidenced by practically everything that requires him not working. This means we’ll have to manually search everything.” A map was pulled up. The nearby city, and woods.

“This is the area that he should have been able to travel during this time. He would have had to settle down and charge at some point, and places that would accept that are in these areas,” he pointed to some sections.

“I have reason to believe he wouldn’t be hanging out in the city around here, but that doesn’t cross it off in our search. Moon and Lunar, you guys will be helping me search out here.”

They nodded, and the taller stifled a sniffle as he rubbed at his eyes.

“And me?” Earth cut in, pulling her brothers in for a hug. “I would love to be of help! I can really be anywhere.”

Solar nodded. “That’s what I was about to say. Because Spaniard is refusing to pitch in, I was going to ask if you could be our eyes here, in case he comes back. You can also mark off locations we’ve searched, and give us pointers.”

She nods gently, before looking back at him and signalling a bit away. “Okay. Uhm, could we… talk over there?”

They got up and walked away, and both Lunar and Moon looked over.

Earth had her arms crossed, tapping her elbow gently, and whispering… something. Solar seemed to respond hesitantly. So, straining his systems, he tried to listen closer. And what he heard made him wince.

“I could tell that something was up. He always seemed to… spiral whenever someone seemed cross with him, or would raise his voice at him. I tried my best to spend time with him- he always seemed so… alone- but I was busy sometimes, so…”

“You did your best. I understand, and I know I should have done more, myself. It’s not your fault.”

He let out a whistle sound from his voice box, gently sifting through the money he had nabbed before he left the others the night before.

While not required, he found himself readying to go to the shops within the cities. With no- proper- stomach, Sun had no need to eat, to drink. But he craves once in a while, y’know? Just because he’s abandoning his past, doesn’t mean he has to leave that behind.

Tapping his elbow, he raised his hand higher and slipped the money into a small hatch.

He had some notes within his memory storage. First, he was going to walk around and get some casual groceries. Next, a walk through a nearby park, circling back to the stores, and finally, buy some things to cook with, like a travel stove, and then head back to the bunker.

He had tried to make it ‘home’ so far. Dust that once caked every surface had been meticulously scrubbed away, and once that had been done, he had gone back through the tunnels and sorted out the pattern to lead his way.

Trying to plan ahead, Sun made sure to only note the store that was furthest from the pizzaplex, to avoid encountering the others. At this time, too, they’d likely be busy with the daycare.

A pang of guilt clouded his servos before he shook his head.

He has very important things to be doing right now! He can’t just be- be sitting around like a toddler upset that they didn’t get the last piece of candy!

Snatching up the bag he had used to bring his stuff here, he rushed towards the door, launching himself through the entrance and up the hatch. Joy flooded his systems a little.

Finally free. Doing things, not for others, but for him. He didn’t have to worry as much, he didn’t have to step on eggshells if he merely wanted too exist for himself.

Pulling himself up, he stretched his arms high above his head, before pushing himself to his feet and dusting off his pants.

Who knows, maybe there’ll be a clothing area that has stuff in his size.

He dipped his head with gratitude, rays spinning slightly before clicking back into place, moved through the sliding doors of the shop. The air was chilly, as he noted his namesake setting in the background.

He barely had enough time to head back before it would be pitch black out.

The bag in his arms was heavier. A camping stove was within, with some gas canisters to fuel it. Some vegetables and other such items were, too, stored inside. Clothing had been brought as well.

Sun had checked the message the Computer had sent him, and it was alerting him that they were beginning to search for him, and that he’d keep him updated.

Pausing at the alleyway that went into the woods and on that path that lead to the bunker, he turned around. Pearly white optics scanned the open area. Humans walked along the sidewalk, and the occasional car drove past, as people went home after work.

Technically, he realised, he was doing the same, as he vanished into the leaves.

Twigs snagged his chassis. The wires at the back of his head, thankfully, remained untouched as he threaded almost clumsily through the branches.

Pulling his back to his side, as tightly as he could, eyes locking onto a dirt path just a few steps further in. Just a little further…

His shoe slammed onto the dirt and stone path with a soft exhale through his vents. Pausing, he looked forwards.

Follow it until it cuts off, then he’d have to rely on the patterns of trees, stones and bushes to finish the distance. Which, he had, thankfully, spent some time memorising the surrounding area.

Pulling out the phone he had in his pant’s pocket, he sent Spaniard a message letting him know he was almost back to the bunker. Within seconds, one was returned, expressing gratitude, but telling him to be careful. It was dark out, and easy to get lost in the woods.

He sighed with a soft whirl of his rays.

He was glad he had at least someone looking out for him.

Chapter Text

He strolled along, a pep in his step as he spun gently. His rays twirled around his head, and the cold air flooded his vents as he carried along.

Until he paused at the trees.

Wringing his hands, he used the phone’s flashlight to guide his way. Pushing branches this way and that, using his claws to slice away leaves that were being bothersome and snatching his clothes, the sorts.

If his brother were here, he’d be guiding him. Sun wouldn’t even be offered the chance to step forwards and attempt it. He’s just be… pushed back.

Sun was always guided through everything, a hand in his, until he was pushed back and forced to watch in sorrow- the air was wonderfully cold right now- as everyone did everything for him.

The only time he tried to stand up for himself ended up with him killing his brother. No matter how many times he was told otherwise, it was his fault. He was the reason everything happened. If he hadn’t been so… so stubborn, then maybe, everyone would be happy?

But, he found more joy with this new Moon than he did with the old one. He was more… controlling, violent, nearly abusive… but his new brother? At least he wasn’t like that.

And now, no one could stop him from being in the woods alone.

He couldn’t help the slight twinge of his face as joy bloomed in his chest. He was free. He was doing things for himself, for once in his life. Well, not for once, but on his own terms. He was doing this, and it wasn’t forced upon him.

Not really, at least.

It was still the only option he could rely on. His family… they didn’t seem to want him? They wouldn’t ask to spend time with him, and when they did, they’d end up spending time away from him.

And now, no one could do that. No one could hurt his feelings, because there was no one there.

Just him, and himself, in these woods- oh. The trees had broken apart into the small clearing with the hatch that led into the bunker. Well, at least he hadn’t gotten lost?

He felt his near invisible pupils shrink with alarm as he noted a detail, that he swore wasn’t like that before. The hatch… it was wide open.

A ray twitched on his head, and he crossed his arms wearily as he stepped closer, before snatching a rock, claws unsheathed as far as they could go. While not lethal, a scratch or two could scare off an animal.

Hopefully.

Dropping the bags on his body to the ground, he throws his legs into the hole and sliding beginning to make his way down. Eventually, his feet make contact with the concrete floor, and the door, just like the entrance above, wasn’t closed.

God, it had barely been a day, and stuff was already going to shit. He should have expected this. Hey, at least it was normal? Or, as normal as a life with whatever the hell is going on.

Squeezing his fingers, he felt his chassis creak under the effort of clamping around the admittedly small rock, and he slid through. The air was stagnant as ever, cold, and with the slightest hint of the cleaning supplies he used.

His rays twitched, slightly untensing, before he heard the shuffle of something behind a couple of boxes further ahead, and he froze. Before moving closer. Surely it’s just a wild anima-

Blue. Dark, a little dull. Pulled up and over the head of white and red. Spirals for eyes-

Arm acting before the rest of him could, he threw the rock as hard as he could, internally wincing at the grating yelp and CRACK that filled the once silent air, the shape falling backwards and out of sight. But Sun had them cornered.

Snatching the next closest thing into his hands, he flexed his claws. “Why are you here!?” He practically snarled out, voice box lurching at the forced motion. Half of him wanted to run- this animatronic wanted him dead last time he’d seen them- but the other half wanted to fight back.

Make sure they’d never hurt him or his family.

Nearly animalistic growls and hisses escaped the other, and when he let his vision stop flaring- when did that start- he noticed a little bit of… oil? It was on the box where the other had been peeking over to see who had come in…

Tensing his whole hand, he felt what was in his grip crack and creak a little, before he threw it again. With no direct target, he heard it hit the concrete, but the upset groan from the other let him know it was likely close, or at least partially him them.

Fine. Since Bloodmoon wasn’t going to get up and leave, he’ll take matters into his own hands.

Walking closer, he heard the scrambling of claws as the animatronic pulled themselves away, a claw to a thin crack on their forehead, eyes twitching as if trying to reorientate themselves. Had the shot been that accurate rough that it did some kind of damage?

No matter. Made it easier for Sun.

“Wait!” They practically yelped, the noise nearly grating on his audio-inputs. “Stand down, sun-man!” A hand flailed towards him, but he kept advancing. Much to the… rather audible panic of the other. Others? He didn’t care right now. If they didn’t get out right now, he’d make them mush on the concrete-

“We aren’t here to hurt you!” They cried out, panic evident in their voice. Oil had began seeping into their right optic, staining it black and obviously obscuring their vision, and their left eye was vibrating slightly. Now that he was closer, he could see the crack was larger than he thought.

When the words set in, he let his body stop, aware of the startled look in the other’s posture. He flexed his fingers, claws sliding out by just a tiny bit more.

“Then, why are you, of all possible animatronics, here?” He sneered, rays clicking side to side.

Bloodmoon’s head wobbled side to side for a minute, barely functioning optic zipping around the room, as if scanning for an escape, before hunching with a growl. “Why should we tell you!? We should be asking you the same question!”

A rumble flooded his voice box, and he readied to retort, only for them to speak up again, shaking their head aggressively. “No- no, other! Not now! Can’t you tell? We aren’t fit to fight-“

They look up to them. Their eye wasn’t twitching anymore, but the way they seemed unfocused told him that their vision might be blurry.

“Please- please let us talk, explain ourselves, before you leave us here to die…” they practically whispered.

His gaze flickered to their hands, noting the trembling, the way it was clenched. As if they wanted to leap up and attack. But, with their likely damaged optic, and the other blacked out with oil, he assumed they knew they couldn’t fight back. Not like this.

Sun knew he wouldn’t usually stand a chance if he hadn’t gotten the upper-hand, if he hadn’t struck first. If he had been any slower…

His rays clicked to the side, before he crossed his arms, tapping a singular claw against the chassis on his elbow. “Very well. Speak up, now.”

They pull themselves away just a little bit further, and he flexed his fingers, staring as they went.

“We’re- we hadn’t meant to stumble upon your… your den?” They paused, looking around. “We only meant to find a place to stay.”

“We had only the intent to survey this area, to make it ours for a couple days. The flowers caught our attention, and with the lack of any…”

They let their eye flicker over him, narrowing and the corners of their mouth turning down, “enemies nearby, we assumed it safe and abandoned.”

“We should have known wiser.”

He huffed, vents letting out a puff of steam as he let himself, just slightly, relax. Though, he tensed back up when they let out their own question.

“We wish to inquire why you, the daycare attendant- the sun-man- are here?” They sat up, gaze now curious, and if their smirk meant anything, would try to get an answer from him.

“I’m not in the mood for this.” He countered, turning around and walking away a couple steps before looking back. “It’s none of your business, and even if it somehow was, I’m… uncomfortable with sharing.”

The two- three?- fell quiet for a couple minutes. Neither moved from their place. Sun, himself, was poised to run through the door, or strike back, if they planned to, but they were still. Thinking, almost. Distracted? Talking to each other?

He flinched when their head tilted towards him, shifting slightly as if to prompt him to… talk?

“Uhm.” He mumbled, watching them stare unblinkingly. Their right eye can’t be comfortable right now- “Well. You didn’t say entirely why you were here, only that you were staying here temporarily. Care to… explain more?”

They groaned, as if not expecting a question like that, before plopping their head onto the box next to them, eyes closing best they could.

“We’ve been travelling without stop for several days, sun-man.” They grunted. “We would only halt in our mission to feast. Then we’d continue. We are…”

They shook their head, growling to themselves before clearing their throat, the noise slightly grating to his audio input.

“We found this place, run down as it is,” they continued, “in our state, however, we cannot travel the days it would take from this spot. We are tired.” The pushed themselves to their feet, approaching Sun a little, making him back away with a ‘click’ from his rays.

“Can we stay? If only for a while.”

Silence flooded the two for a moment, and just as they went to pull away, he pulled out the phone and took a photo of Bloodmoon, watching them startle a little and tense their hands. Messing with the small device, he quickly sent it to Spaniard with the words, Bloodmoon’s here, not a threat. At least not right now. Will alert you to any updates.

Then, he turned back towards the ladder, leaving behind a confused animatronic, and grabbed the bags from earlier. The groceries, and other ‘necessities’, and pulling them back down. He placed them next to the mattress, looked at the other, and signalled to the entire space.

“Pick a place to sleep- or whatever you do in your resting mode- and stay there. Preferably not near me. Just because I’m letting you stay here for a day or two doesn’t mean I’m trusting you.” He sneered, raising and unsheathing his claws. “If I so much as feel threatened, you’ll know what happens.”

After a nod was received, he plopped down onto his ‘bed’ and snatched the charger, plugging it in and falling backwards, bouncing a little. He couldn’t just… go to sleep, they were right over there! He could hear them now, shuffling and getting comfortable.

This is fine. He just had to make it a day or two without getting killed. Easy. Perfect.

Moon hunched over himself, a silent sob wracking his body, hardly aware of arms wrapped around him. He barely noticed the voices trying to comfort him.

They had been searching for three hours. Since sunset. It was now dark out, and he realised, in the shadows of the streets, that the chances of finding his brother right now?

They were low. Too low. Would he ever see him again? The first person he’d met in that ‘life’. The first person he could trust since his reboot.

A hand pat the side of his face, jolting his eyes open as a concerned face moved in the path of his vision. Blue optics stared into his own, the frown downturned, before it shifted to another form. Solar.

“We should head back. We’ve found nothing- what if Sun isn’t even around here? For all we know, we’re wasting time. Our brother could be dead, and-“

A sharp hiss escaped his vents as he held back a cry. He hated that thought. He just wanted Sun back here with him. He just wanted to be hugging him. Telling him that everything would be alright.

But it was too late to do that now, wasn’t it? He’d never see his brother again, and it would be all his fault.

Solar was quiet. The animatronic was staring ahead. As if he wasn’t really there.

Chapter Text

Sun would have liked to say he woke slowly, the sun shining through his window and his two cats curled up on his chest, soaking in the warmth from his chassis. He would have liked to say he would have gotten up and out of bed, the weekend promising a day without work, and going to play games by himself.

He would have liked to say he woke up.

However, here he was, knees to his chest as he tugged out his charge, optics having never left the blue and red shape further inside the bunker, watching their chest rise and fall with false breaths.

He huffed. It was 6am, and the sun had begun to rise. At least, that’s what his internal clock said. His temperature measure said the air was cold, almost frosty, but not quite.

Stretching his arms above his head, he throws his legs over the side of the mattress and pulls himself up to stand, hearing the scuttling, and seeing Bloodmoon sit up, looking around before their eyes landed on him.

They seemed to blink wearily, dragging their arms under their chest, as if loafing on the spot, but the sudden still nature of their body revealed their slight discomfort.

He supposed that if it were the other way around- he in the den of an enemy- he would have been like that, too. But, alas, he’s… partially the one in control. So it doesn’t matter anymore.

He snatches the phone into his hand and walks through the door that leads to the other door that leads to the ladder. As much as he would love to explore the tunnels, maybe getting to know the area outside would be better. In case the tunnels weren’t an option.

He pulls up his messages with Spaniard, asking how the night before was, and if anything… eventful happened, before sliding it into a random hidden pocket on his pants. The air was, as suggested before, was frigid.

Winter was approaching, after all, but as he sucked air through his vents and let it settle for a moment, before releasing it, he was a little surprised to see the steam that came out.

Before tensing as he heard claws on stone, turning to look at Bloodmoon and bracing to be tackled-

Only for the shape to barrel past, a yelp escaping the animatronic as he heard a loud thud. By the time he had turned around, he saw the other crouched there, before flopping onto their side and rolling over until it was their stomach exposed to the air, and his back pressed into the grass.

Their spiralling gaze was cast towards him, before it turned cold, head whipping away and tilting up as if saying ‘I am better than you are’. How great.

He snorted as they pushed themselves to their feet, shaking their clawed hands before turning towards him. Not a single word was uttered as they stared- unblinkingly- at each other. That was, until Sun turned towards the trees.

He begins moving, leaving a confused animatronic behind him, before he heard the gentle steps of their shoes on the grass, lighter than he would have imagined it to be. His shoulders shivered a little when the movements grew too close, but they seemed to slow when that happened.

He partially appreciated the movement.

And so, the two wondered without aim. At least, he did. He wasn’t sure about Bloodmoon, but they seemed distracted. Maybe the two were discussing something in their head?

They seemed… almost peaceful. If it weren’t for the knowledge of what they’d done, especially to him, he would have assumed they were just a weird looking animatronic. But they had hurt him.

To the point that, right now, he wanted nothing more than to attack him.

But he saw the look of fear in the other’s eyes the night before. Thinking about it now, he saw himself reflected in that gaze and…

He saw himself.

After some time, he heard the distant noise of rushing water. It must have been twenty minutes of just… walking. No chasing, no running, no chatter, just twenty minutes of tense silence, trying to ignore each other’s existence.

Sun realised he recognised these trees. It was of that river that he had first come across on his first day at the bunker.

That meant, if his calculations were correct, a minute or two more of walking, and they’d be faced with that beautiful scenery. He could practically taste the humidity of the water on his sensors as he simply thought about it.

He also noted how he wasn’t feeling the best. With a quick check to his battery, it revealed he was only at eighty percent, and not his usual maxed out. He assumed that, since he stayed up, he was in constant use of systems that would drain the charge.

He quickened his step when the water got louder, leaving behind a slightly started Bloodmoon, who tried to catch up before he made it to…

He staggered when the river appeared nearly at his feet as he burst through the bushes, instinctively throwing out an arm as Bloodmoon barrelled into his limb, nearly crumpling and teeth baring to yell but… growing silent when they realised he saved them from dropping into potentially freezing cold liquid.

Sun noticed how the pupils in the middle of the animatronic’s eyes widened, the devilish smile almost shrinking as their head tilted, looking around the clearing. With no light casting a glare, he could make out small fish slithering through small rocks at the bottom.

He dipped a hand in, before letting out a shudder as his systems rejected the cold.

He felt the cloth from Bloodmoon’s… he didn’t know what it was called, but the long fabric at the end drag across his spine. By the time he had looked back up, the animatronic was gone, leaves waving from where they had vanished through.

A ray twitched, and he tensed, head whipping around, until-

They… came back?

But something new was in their hand. It was limp, and a sort of reddish brown, and fluffy-

He immediately turned away when he realised what it was. A squirrel.

If he were human, bile would have risen in the back of his throat. However, he was a mere animatronic, so instead, oil did that. Making him cough it up and into the palm of his hand, before wiping it onto the grass and covering it up with leaves from nearby.

Sun flinched when he heard a bone snap, but refused to glance at the source. Instead, he pulled out the phone again, and took a photo of the water. Looking back at it, he caught the hunched reflection of Bloodmoon. Thankfully, their back was to the river, so he didn’t see anything, but it stilled proved they were nearby.

He pulled up his messages to Spaniard, seeing he got a response.

Chaotic. Your siblings spent a lot of last night looking for you. I know you do not realise this, but they do care, Sun. But I will not force you to do anything. How are things on your end? I trust Bloodmoon hasn’t attacked you?

If they have, I can send Moon or Solar to the bunker.

A couple minutes ago. Alright. He tapped the screen for a moment, before typing out,

He has yet to attack me. If anything, I’ve hurt him more in the past twenty four hours than he has me. He’s just… eating a squirrel.

Attaching the file, he hit send.

I didn’t get much charge last night, was worried about them attacking me. Besides a few glances, they slept like a light.

He got a smiling emoji, before a line of three dots.

…

I apologise, Sun. It appears I have to supervise the idiots that is your family. No offense to you, or them. I mean this affectionately.

He blinked slowly at this, before shaking his head, rays quivering.

Of course you do. Take care, make sure they don’t kill each other. If need be, tell them I’m doing alright. If it’ll ease them.

He put it back into his pocket just as Bloodmoon approached him, prompting him to raise his optics and-

Nearly bonk heads with the other animatronic, both of them startling and…

The other splashing into the river with a rough sputter, claws flailing as they tried to reorientate themselves while Sun sat there, flabbergasted.

He watched as they practically sunk like a stone, bubbles rising, before they burst back upwards, absolutely drenched. They grasped at the rocks and dirt and sand, crawling their way back up to the land and flopping, laying limp and the solar-themed bot began giggling at the stupidity he just witnessed.

Earth glanced towards Moon, who stood idly. His eyes were unfocused, staring at his hands with small claws unsheathed. She flicked the pen in her hand, before glancing back down to her notebook.

The night after Solar and Lunar had come back with a dazed Moon, practically limp, and had put him in Sun’s bed as apparently requested- something about just wanting to think about his brother- he had been doing that.

Granted, that was just the night before, but when she had gotten up and checked on him, he was practically unresponsive. After checking he was alive, she asked for his batter percentage. When told below half, she practically crumpled, before picking her brother up and moving him to his own bed, plugging him in and sitting next to him until he fell asleep after some retorts on how he needed to look for Sun.

She had asked Lunar to sit with him in the house and prepare him something to eat in the morning, to which he had done. While she waited for the two to arrive at the daycare, she had spoken to Spaniard.

The most she got out of the AI was that Sun was happy where he was, and that made her chest swell with a little bit of joy. At least he was safe, right?

She had asked if he had sent a photo she could see, but was quickly told a no. She respected that.

She didn’t want to push further than everyone already had.

The night before, after the three had gotten back, and Lunar and Earth were documenting what little findings they had discovered, they had noticed a strange creature in the daycare.

It chased them until Solar showed up, and guided them to a different place in the ‘Plex, until they went to their home.

She looked up again, spotting Lunar dangling his legs over the edge of the counter idly, shoulders hunched in the darkness. The once comforting dark was now threatening. They had the night mode on, for Moon’s sake, but it didn’t seem to help.

“I don’t think Sun would be in this portion of the city,” Earth remarked with a whisper, the small animatronic glancing over, “there’s nothing important there, and it’s not all that scenic.”

He nodded slowly.

Suddenly, the door creaks open, and they perk up, Moon especially. She hoped it was not with the thought that Sun would be back, even if she felt that swell of anticipation in her chest.

Only, when it was Eclipse who stepped through the threshold, did Moon bristle, quickly stepping forwards and blocking the way to both Lunar and Earth. As if to protect them.

The tallest simply frowned slightly, hand raising to rest a hand on his shoulder, but Eclipse spoke quicker.

“Have any of you guys seen Sun? I needa chat with him. Something important about what he said. I haven’t spotted him all day, so, I thought you guys would know. With you guys being family.” He droned, and Earth watched Moon practically bristle with anger.

Before he could get a word out, she responded. “No. He… went missing a couple days ago. We’ve been looking all over. No signs of him. I assume you have nothing, either?”

Eclipse looked up with a twitch of a ray, before they sunk inwards, as if realising something, before a subtle shake.

“No. Wasn’t important anyways.”

He left, and just as quickly, Solar came in, looking over his shoulder at the other bot with confusion, quietly asking why he was here.

Chapter Text

Awareness came to his body like still water in a cave, his head reeling as he blinked open his eyes. The room was dim, as was the sky through the window just beside his head.

He groaned, rolling onto his back as pain practically exploded through his metal head. His nightcap rest on the pillow beside him, and he limply pulled it on.

When he looked towards the furthest wall, he saw the flag that Sun had commented on. The bisexual flag. He almost frowned staring at it.

Had that been part of the reason why Sun had left? Because he pressured the room onto him? Because it was unable to be removed? What else could he have done to keep his brother here? To keep him where he would be safe-

Moon twitched when soft paws slapped onto his side, head whipping around to stare at black and white fur as Tux mewed at him, tail lashing as claws unsheathed slowly. As if threatening him to get out of bed.

Looking towards the door, he spotted the other feline standing there, tail low and head high.

The cats both seemed less active since Sun had left. To when they would knock down some things left out if they could, and scratch up the furniture in any room, they now hid away in the basement except for when they were hungry, searching out the closest animatronic in the house and, if none were found, simply go back to curling up together until someone did show up.

Moon would feed them in the morning, and Solar in the night. That’s what they had decided. Lunar, while he was off shift, would try to play with them, but each time he got back, he would say they were uninterested, even hissing at him when he grew too close.

Perhaps they were missing his brother as much as he was.

He grunted as claws scrabbled at his back, and he blinked back to reality as grey fur dashed past him and towards the door, the two cats standing there, fur bristled slightly.

Slowly, he eased himself out of the bed, wincing at the battery alert. Thirty percent.

Right, he forgot to charge himself since yesterday, and even then, he was at fifty. He should charge later, if he wants to keep searching for Sun.

But did he have time to? The time he would spend charging would have been better spent searching for his missing, potentially gravely injured brother. What if Bloodmoon had found Sun? He could imagine it with a shudder; the screams as he was torn apart.

He wouldn’t let that happen. No way would Bloodmoon ever get their hands on him. No matter the cost.

He slid through the doorway, feet heavy as he slowly moved down the stairs,  hearing the bell on the cats collars as they vanished. The meows made his head ache.

When he finally made it to the bottom of the steps, he walked to the cupboard in the kitchen before continuing back down, pushing through the door for the basement and seeing the two curled up together, staring at him with wide eyes and large pupils.

Quickly, he poured it into the cat bowls against the wall, checking the water before sighing, returning back up the stairs and onto the second floor, glancing to the teleporter.

Should he? All he really wanted right now was to go back to his brother’s bed and curl up, hoping that everything that was happening was just a dream. That he’d wake up in his bed, Sun shaking him to drag him out of bed so they could all hang out.

No. He had things to do, like actually finding his brother right now. They had searched the lower portion of the city, but there was another stretch just near that of which they hadn’t ventured into, as Moon’s battery had drained itself after he cried for a bit.

Twisting to the side, he pressed his hand against the teleporter to set it to the ‘daycare’, before letting the motion envelop him as loud music suddenly filled his audio outputs.

He moved down the stairs, the world around him blurring as he moved through the daycare’s doors for what felt like the hundredth time. Just a couple days- or maybe a week had passed?- he would find his brother there, fussing over how clean the barrels had to be and chattering to Spaniard.

Now, all that met him was silence. Near suffocating quiet, with no murmur of his siblings. No sound of the, admittedly infuriating, children that would be in the daycare at this hour.

His vision refocused, and he noticed Lunar and Earth asleep at the desk, the former on the ground leaning against one of the chairs, while the latter had her head resting on her arms, nearly touching the keyboard.

He noticed how white hair seemed tangled, almost even a little dull.

Moon’s gaze drifted over the scenery, before landing on a Solar, seemingly zoning out as he fiddles with the goggles Earth gave him, not seeing the other there.

He blinked slowly, before shaking his head and looking up. He made a noise similar to clearing his throat- not that he had one- before addressing the AI in the… wherever he was at this point.

“Spaniard, is there anything you can tell me about my brother?” He said, wringing his hands, praying for at least a drop of information. Maybe a bunker he was in or near? Or what city? If he was even-

“He is alive, and well, but besides that, I am following my command to keep his location secret to the best of my ability, Moon.” The monotone voice replied.

He gritted his gears together in his chest, shaking his head and huffing before turning towards the desk again. He had things he had to do, and right now, the computer wasn’t helping. Maybe he could try, like, taking them apart? Surely the memory was stored somewhere he could access.

It was the morning after Bloodmoon had found out how hard it was for a heavy animatronic to swim suddenly. Or, at least, with the added weight of whatever their clothing was made of. It sure did absorb a shit ton of water.

At least, Sun had noted that, because by the time they had returned to the bunker, they were still dripping, the animatronic grumbling from the cold. He had vanished inside to grab a towel, putting it near them and telling them to dry off.

They were not tracking water throughout the place. The dust that seemed to come back overnight was enough as is.

And now, here they were. The almost threatening scrape of claws on stone as he trailed after the near silent steps, wincing whenever he felt the fabric of their clothes tap his leg, falling back a bit before catching up again.

Currently, the two were mapping out the place. Bloodmoon was going to be staying there for a couple more days and, while Sun wouldn’t care if they were found, he would have enjoyed it if they could at least help him escape through the tunnels. Because, apparently, and this was never stated to him in the past…

The Ruin Virus just… gave the animatronic night vision.

Well, they had said it wasn’t quite that, just slightly better vision in dark places. Whereas he couldn’t see anything this far into the darkness, they could make out shapes and corners, but it wasn’t perfect.

Still, it was at least cool since it was better than he could see. But something in the back of his head hissed that, if they could see well enough in the shadows like this, how would he ever hide from them if they could see him?

It made his hands twitch, moving to wring them together as his rays sunk inwards, pausing when Bloodmoon’s footsteps suddenly made a sharp left, making him rush to keep up and…

There was light on the next turn.

He sped up, rushing past the other animatronic and into the brighter spot, just seeing a gaping hole in the wall instead of a slightly inconspicuous secret door or whatever else there had been. Just a hole.

He moves closer, steps quiet- or, as silent as he could have them- as he looked around wearily. It didn’t appear as if anyone was there, but it was a place he didn’t recognise, so he should have been careful.

Bloodmoon, however, kind of just… rushed past, immediately rifling through a nearby box, pulling out some parts before staring at them for a moment and continuing past, spiral eyes shooting around the place as if searching.

He almost asked if something was wrong, but saw the crack on their head. They said it was healing slowly- something Ruin had done with their systems- but they had also stated that eating some metals could somehow fix it faster.

At least, that’s what they’d done to heal scratches and scrapes and destroyed wires from when ‘the bastard’- their words, not his!- would zap them for not obeying. That’s what they had said last night, as Sun drifted off to sleep, the animatronic sprawled out on the concrete ground, still a little damp but not as bad as before.

He reaches into the box as the other just sat down, legs sticking straight out as they closed their eyes. He could see the way their chest rocked back and forth with each breath, as if simply using their vents- if they had any- was taxing.

He grabs a rather small piece of metal and tugs it out, grunting at the slight force of wires wrapped around them.

Sun turns it around in his hand, looking back to Bloodmoon, their claws flexing into the concrete just slightly.

He stood up straight, messing with the metal, feeling it bend slightly as he pushed at it. The other tilted their head towards him, but their eyes remained closed.

He took a couple steps closer, moving to sit down next to them as their optics scanned over him quickly, landing on his hands.

He shuffled a bit away, before extending his arm to them, watching as they wearily took the metal from his hand.

“You should… you said that, if you eat metal, you can heal quicker?”

They nodded slowly, tensing as if they expected him to strike. He should have been reacting that way- they had literally tried to kill him in the past!

But… he had actually killed them, too.

He huffed through his vents, placing his hands in his lap.

“I thought… no, I felt guilty because I hurt you even though you hadn’t shown hostility to me when I entered.”

They blinked slowly, teeth parting as they slowly put the metal in their mouth.

“And, I thought that I should at least somehow pay you back, but I don’t know how to fix stuff like your chassis so when you said that, I realised, hey, if we were to somehow find a bunch of metal, I could just give it to you. So you could. Y’know. Fix it.”

He heard the slightly threatening crunch of metal as they tore through the sheet.

“And it’s just… I’m sorry for hitting you with that rock. Your optic was fucked up during the night, but it seems to be working now, so-”

He jolted as they slapped his shoulder, grumbling something he couldn’t make out before they stood up, crossing their arms.

“No need to apologise, Sun-man!” They cackled, teeth bared. “We could have torn you to shreds. Be glad we haven’t!” With a sneer, they turned, vanishing back into the hole and leaving Sun to stagger after them.

“So, you know where he is?”

“Yes, I do. But I am not sure I can tell you, Eclipse.”

“That is alright. As long as he’s safe, that’s… mostly what matters?”

“If you wish to help the others find him, I cannot stop you. I can only attempt to lead you off the wrong path.”

“I don’t want to help them? Spaniard, I may be partly under their control, but I can still do my own stuff. He… spoke to me not long before he left, if I’m getting the series of events correct. I wouldn’t want to force him back.”

“Turning over a new leaf?”

“Go fuck yourself.”

“I am quite unable to, Eclipse. However, if you do not wish to help them find him, then I presume you wish to find him for your own reasons?”

“You sure are smart, computer.”

“It is my purpose to be. But what of you, if you were to find him? Would you kill him?”

“No such thing. I only… want to help him.”

“Then I wish you luck.”

Chapter Text

Sun woke to the gentle silence. His new ‘normal’, since he had made his way into the bunker. First, it was because he was alone. There was no one else to make noise in this empty place.

Now, it was because Bloodmoon was dozing for longer than he would. To be fair, after the first day, the animatronic would curl up with a box dragged over to their corner as their little ‘shelter’, staring at the entrance until their systems dragged them into a sleep-like state.

He had learned, too, that unlike him requiring a charger to keep his body running, they could just… rest.

They hadn’t explained it to him, but they had yet to show any exhaustion until later in the night, when the moon was high in the sky and the sun long set.

His hand tapped the charger port on his shoulder, slowly pulling it out as his body slowly powered back on fully. Feeling came to his legs, and after ten minutes of just sitting there, a little tired- he couldn’t figure out why- he pushed himself up.

His metallic joints popped, air pushing out from the very small gaps between his elbows and knees as he stretched, arms high above his head as his rays ‘clicked’ back and forth.

His head spun a little as he shook his head, grunting as he glanced back to the animatronic dozing further away.

His eyes widened a little as his optics fully turned on, the subtle blur washing like soap from a dish as he noticed how, unlike the past couple of days, they’d have been curled up tightly, legs hugged to their chest and eyes closed tightly…

Their posture was a little looser. Their arms no longer clasped their legs against them, instead laying limp on the ground beside them as they dozed.

He couldn’t help but smile slightly seeing how much more… ‘comfortable’ they seemed, before harshening his gaze and ripping it away. It was bad that they were warming up- what if they grew attached and didn’t let him leave if he wanted to go back to his family? They were murderous maniac, what if they hurt him?

He walked further away, slipping through the doors and moving up the ladder.

Sun would have to get a new outfit for himself if he wanted this one to last without the… extreme cleaning supplies he got for practically free. But, because of his absurd height due to his robotic nature, he’d likely have to get some custom made.

Or, he could just… sneak into the Pizzaplex and steal some copies of his outfit.

Surely that would work.

I wonder how Moon’s doing. He let his thoughts wonder. Or Lunar. Maybe even Earth and Lunar. Sparniard said they’re doing relatively alright, but…

He wrapped his arms around himself as he felt leaves and sticks graze his chassis, snagging the strong fabric of his pants.

I’ve seen how Moon is. When situations get rough. He practically- he practically  went crazy trying to find Eclipse, not charging or even resting…

He winced at the mild feeling of his claws dragging over his side, releasing his grip to let his shoulders relax.

He didn’t have time to think like this…

I haven’t spoken to them since… since the night I ran. Moon needs me… he always has, but…

According to Spaniard, though, Eclipse was doing the best out of all of the other celestials. Excluding Ruin. The AI hadn’t heard from him.

He passed by the sound of rushing waters, and didn’t notice a deer as it looked up to him walking through an empty field. The light flickered overhead as the sun slowly rose to a proper height, and before long, he finds his legs have carried him back to the bunker, staring at the open hatch.

He slowly let himself crawl back down, nearly slipping off the ladder before shaking his head and finally feeling his feet tap the concrete.

When he slipped inside, he was met with a crimson face in front of his own, twisting eyes of red and white looking him over, and if checking for injuries, before a low growl rumbled from them, fear splitting through his systems before they turned, stalking further inside and practically crumpling onto the ground.

“You didn’t say you’d be going anywhere.” They snarled, eyes shooting to him with the middle of the spirals sharp and narrow. Almost like every time they had looked at him before this bunker happened.

Guilt flooded his chest as they looked away once more, and he sighed, his vents huffing with pressure.

“I- I’m sorry. I just had to go on a walk to clear my thoughts. Surely you’ve done the same…”

An upset noise split through the otherwise silent air, and he let his arms dangle at his sides, before moving back towards the mattress.

He glanced at them, curled up with low rumbles- as if they were pouting- and wondered how uncomfortable the ground would be. Clearing his throat, he addressed them.

“I could… I could buy you a mattress, or some blankets, Bloodmoon.”

They glanced at him, centres of the spirals widening slightly before returning to pinpricks.

“I’m sure the ground isn’t very comfortable for you… two. If you want a blanket or two, I could buy one when I head out later today. I have some things I need to get anyways.”

They looked him up and down, body shifting with a huff. “Fine. If Sun-man must, we will allow you to gather us resources so we can rest comfortably.” They complained, but the way the rolled to lay on their side- but continued to glare at him- surely meant they liked the idea?

The two- three?- sit in silence as Sun fiddled with his phone, debating saying good morning to Spaniard when-

“We want you to come with us.”

He blinked, head whipping around, rays ticking with surprise as he looked at them, their own optics widening as the spirals looked around, before their mouth parted with a smile, teeth bared.

“Join us when we leave. It’s safer than this dumpster show of a shelter.” They sneered, tongue pointing out between their fangs in a show of distaste. “The place we wish to go to is much safer. For someone who’s weak, like you.”

He squinted at them, tapping the spot on his faceplate where the mark was still healing on theirs, and they tensed before scoffing and continuing.

“We will… respect your decision if you decide to stay or return to your retched siblings,” they growled, moving to sit up, “but even you should know that they’ll find you. Especially here.”

He backed away a little as they leaned closer. “Why not go to a place they won’t find you? You clearly don’t want to be near them. You will be safe, your cats will be safe- if you wish to take them.” They added as he started at them with an almost shocked shutter of his shoulders. “We remember you had a… weird obsession on keeping them safe. At least, from what Ruin told us back when he was in command of us.”

Silence prevailed between the two, now, stiff and uncomfortable, before Sun mumbled, “I’ll need time to think.”

They nod quickly, before growling and standing up. “We hunger for blood. We’ll be back soon.”

Lunar sat with his shoes touching the plastic balls of the ball pit, sniffles and quiet sobs wracking his body and rocking him with each noise. He missed his brother. So, so much.

He startled at the tapping of hooves on the padded flooring behind him, and whipped his head around to spot Dazzle showing up, long claws holding onto the wall that bordered the pit. Staring at him.

He lifted his arm to swipe his face with his sleeve, hearing the other animatronic stalk over the ‘bridge’ and towards him, moving to sit down next to him.

He winced as claws pat the top of his hood, looking up and hoping the oil from his tears wasn’t too obvious. But, from how the movement continued, he assumed it was.

“Is okay?” Their voice mumbled, and he shook his head, leaning into their touch. He felt bad for relying on them for comfort right now, but… trying times, confusing solutions.

“I miss my brother…” he sobbed, pushing his face into his sleeves.

Silence paused, and he sniffled, letting himself relax in the noise of the daycare, until they spoke up again. “What he like?”

Lunar smiled subtly at the thought of his sunny sibling.

“He’s so kind to everyone he meets… or at least he was. And he cleans so much to make sure we’re all comfortable and none of the kids get sick. Or… that’s when he was here…”

The slightly comforting touch moved to rest on the ground as Dazzle looked forwards.

The smaller sniffled as he continued. “I’m sure he would have liked you. He might have been…” he paused to search for the right words, “a little surprised at your height, but I’m sure it would have been okay.”

Dazzle looked down at him curiously, before nodding. “He sounds nice.”

Chapter Text

He twined between each branch and leaf, grunting as a thorn from a low bush snagged the fabric of his pants, slowly taking it out as to not cause a tear, before continuing through. Trees arched overhead; branches tied so tightly together that they blocked out every drop of light.

Fallen sticks and dead leaves crunched beneath his feet. His rays dipped in when a sharp point tried to clip one, before deciding to linger.

Each day walking through these trees brought a sense of familiarity to his path. No longer did Sun glance to the bushes and the ground, trying to remember if he knew this rock. Now, he wandered to the city with almost reckless abandon.

Almost. Because the path veered to the side a moment before cutting away into the corner of the path that was human made and bringing you towards the city.

So that’s what he did. He followed it until the lights of the early morning filled the streets around him.

He dipped his head in greeting to some humans he vaguely recognised; their names a fleeting memory as he moved towards his destination.

But first, he slips his hand into his pocket hidden on his pants, pulling out his phone and loading up Spaniard’s contact.

The last one was the AI bidding him a good rest, and hoping all went well the following morning. Glancing at the time, he saw it was 9AM. A good time, he supposed. At least most stores will be open by now.

Tapping his thumbs against the screen, he typed out a message to the other.

Morning, Spaniard. I’m outside of the bunker rn

In the… idk where this is entirely but I’m sure you have an idea.

Lowering his arms, he followed on the side of the road. The light of his namesake beamed down onto him as he looked towards the nearby buildings.

Before pausing as he recognised a clothing store he had passed by about a year ago.

Glancing around himself, he rushed forwards, rays tucking in slightly. Who knew if Moon or someone else would show up suddenly?

Slowly closing his hand over the handle of the door, he glanced through the glass entrance and watched a human moving cloth around and talking to another.

They glanced towards him as the door opened, one of them darting away into another doorway- she had curly hair- and the other with her hair put up, and slightly messy, addressed him with a dip of her head.

“Greetings. Can I help you?”

He looked at the various pieces of clothing hung up around the small store, before smiling and nodding.

“Could I get some tailored clothes? I’m sure you can tell why,” he gestured to himself with an awkward chuckle. The lady nodded, turning around and sliding behind a desk. After rifling through a drawer, she pulled out a measuring tape.

She moved closer, shoes tapping quietly against the wooden flooring before signalling to the door the other girl had gone through.

“We’ll get your measurements and help you with some designs. We have the items we’ll need, along with some other things in there.” The human said, fiddling with their hands and the measuring tape before walking in ahead, Sun following slowly.

The human that had been in there was pulling at some cloths, looking at them before glancing at him when he entered, nodding as her greeting.

“So,” the curly-haired one started, walking over and pointing at a spot in the middle of the room, “this’ll be pretty quick. The longest part will just be finding out what you want your clothes to look like.”

He left, a little less money in his wallet than before. All things considered, it wasn’t too expensive. It was reasonable to him, at least.

And so now, once again, an hour and a half later, he was walking. The humans had been nice, and rather chatty, and most certainly helpful. The outfits they’d helped him pick out were nice, and the fabrics they had were soft. If Bloodmoon stayed with him, he could-

He shook his head. What in the hell was he saying? When Bloodmoon had recovered their strength, they would leave, and that was that.

It was dangerous to have them around.

Shaking his head enough to jostle himself, he continued down the pavement, returning to the running around that had lead him there, but now with the goal to find someplace that sold food because… well, why not?

And, after a bit, boredom flooding his head as he thought about what he should do next- maybe he should work on figuring out the tunnels a little more?- until his optics flicked towards another building.

A grocery store. And, as he stepped inside, he wondered if he should get anything for Bloodmoon. Maybe some raw meats? Surely hunting would be tiring.

Passing through, he mumbled a greeting to the worker he passed by, and before long, he had gone through the store. Snacks, and some other things were brought, along with a little something for the other animatronic in the bunker… if they’d like it. If not? He’d just eat it himself.

Stumbling upon another store ten minutes after exiting the previous one, three bags in his arms now, he walked inside. He really should have found an easier way to carry all of these… oh well.

It was filled with kinds of furniture, blankets, towels, pillows…

So, once again, just as the times before, he walked out with blankets and a couple pillows tucked into another bag, a little surprised on how they managed to fit all of that into them.

It was now 12:28PM, midday. The sun was high in the sky, the warmth of the light splitting through the colds of the beginning of winter, and the chatter of the streets filled with noise filtering into his audio input.

Grass soon flooded his sensors in his feet, body twitching as he looked around.

It was the park. The one he had been to with Earth and Lunar. He could hear the birdsong, and when he looked further ahead, he could see the geese in the same area where they had been when Lunar-

He could see a pale blue hood, and soft eyes. Black stains on cheeks from crying oil. A blue gaze that flickered towards him-

He spun around and immediately began running as he watched them widen. He could, just barely over the sound of water that he didn’t know the source of, hear his name be called out.

They would be so upset at him. Shuffling the four bags onto his left arm, he pulled out his phone shakily as he ducked behind a tree to try to get them to lose him, and checked the messages he hadn’t noticed he received.

Good morning Sun, I hope you rested well. My systems detect you are in the southern area of the city.

Huh… so Spaniard could track him?

I would leave as soon as you could. Lunar, Moon and Solar are going to be searching that area in an hour.

Sun, they’re in the area.

Sun, if you’re seeing this, you’re heading towards them. They’re in the park.

He heard bushes rustle and a much too close call of his name, and watched the body of his younger brother pop out, head whipping around to look for him until they landed on his form.

He stood rigid, thoughts racing in his head, nearly dropping his phone until he quickly shoved it back into his pocket and turning to run-

A hand, much larger than Lunar’s, clasped over his wrist, and he could already tell it was Moon. Especially as he spoke,

“Sun- wait, no, don’t go-“

He practically wrenched his arm away, rays spinning in his panic as he fell backwards after being nearly spun around, landing on his behind before looking upwards, legs scrambling as he shuffled backwards.

He heard the ping of his phone. Likely Spaniard messaging him.

He saw Solar a couple paces away, staring almost with shock at Moon, but not advancing. Not like the others. Sun couldn’t help the slight warmth in his chest from appreciation. However, that was quickly washed away, as Lunar showed up next to him, grabbing him and saying something.

All he could hear was static.

He could see his brothers’ mouths moving, trying to say something, but he couldn’t make out what they were trying to tell him.

His brain was racing- they’re going to hurt you, Sun, get up and run they’re going to hurt you look at Moon’s face that isn’t an expression of ‘hey I’m not going to hit you’ you need to go-

Swinging an arm, he shoved Lunar away- not harsh enough to hurt, but just barely enough to dislodge him, and staggered to his feet, vents huffing for air.

“Leave me alone!” He yelled, backing away with the crunches of grass and a twig he stepped on.

Moon’s eyes flicked over his body, probably noticing the scuffs in his paint from just… running through the forest and the tunnels, really. “Brother- come home, everyone’s looking for you-“

“I don’t care!” He retorted, shaking his head. “I’ve been gone for weeks, and that’s the first thing you say to me? Not ‘are you okay’? Not anything else about how I’ve been while I’ve been surviving by myself?” He practically cried out.

Solar simply stood still, fiddling with his messed up hands.

Lunar, too, had landed just as he was before. Looking up at him with shock. And a little hurt.

He should have- he should have been at least a bit more gentle, he realised, but he turned his attention back to his brother. Who stayed quiet, staring at him with wide eyes.

“If you have nothing more to say, than I’m going back to where I’ve been staying for the past couple of weeks.”

Moon seemed to tense, before he watched anger form as he turned around.

“Sun, we’ve been looking for you- Earth’s barely handling just looking at the computer trying to cross of places you wouldn’t be- we care!”

He began to walk away.

“Hey, Moon, maybe we should lower our voices-“ Lunar tried to cut in, but the older merely continued.

“You’re acting like we’ve done something wrong- like we’ve hurt you!” He yelled out, and Sun couldn’t help the mild quiver of fear in his shoulders. “What happened to doing this together!? What happened to not hurting family-“

He spun back around, pushing his hand against his brother’s chest when he realised how close he had gotten. “You don’t just get to say that after everything I’ve been through, Moon! You don’t realise it, but you’ve kept me out of so much despite what you promised!”

Moon flinched away, eyes roaming over his brother’s form.

“I’ve been left out, I’ve been left behind, and that’s what you say to me!?” Sun sobbed out, shaking his head. “I can’t believe you- you’re the same as he was.”

He heard the gritting of teeth, and heard the movement before he felt the pain explode across his face.

Lunar yelled, and Solar rushed forwards, pushing Moon away as he yelled something, while Sun merely raised his hand to his face.

And felt something slick, pulling it away to see… oil coating the tips of his fingers.

He looked up towards his brother, watching the panic flittering within his eyes, before he turned, and he ran. Back towards his bunker. Uncaring on if they followed.

But, by the lack of a call of his name, and feet thudding on the ground, he doubted that they did.

Chapter Text

Sun was racing through the trees. His vents were practically heaving, gasping and struggling for air. His left eye didn’t appear to be working, but in his panicked blaze, his blood could have simply slid over it and covered his vision.

His pain-sensors were struggling, firing at every touch of a leaf of a branch. His brain felt numb.

He staggered, falling flat onto his stomach, vision going blurry as his systems slowed at the mere taste of a rest. His battery was running low, wasn’t it?

Shoving his hands below his chest, he heaved himself off the ground and ripped his foot free, crashing left-shoulder first into a tree with a cry, nearly collapsing again before struggling once again. His claws shredded through the bark on the surface, tilting before he forced his legs to keep moving.

What if they were following him? What if they were angry? They should be. He showed up in front of them, giving them a taste of having their brother back, and then took it away. His face hurts.

He can’t defend himself. He can’t-

Cold assaulted his senses suddenly, and he shuddered, slowing down slightly as he forced himself to concentrate.

He could hear the screeches of birds in the distance. The rustling of the branches overhead, as the wind whistled. The crying of metal-

His right eye looked up blearily. The terrain was a blur, the field he ended up in a messy painting of colours as he watched a red, white and dark blue shape launch out of the… ground?... and towards him-

The world spun, and suddenly, he was falling forwards, vision going black as a ‘LOW BATTERY’ warning flashed. Grass crunched, and he heard muffle words be yelled at him as he slowly went into saving-battery mode. Maybe he should turn off, at least for a bit.

Claws grabbed his shoulders, and he sensed a scratching motion, but no pain. That’s fine. He’s too tired to keep moving.

Killed by his enemy. What a way to go.

Moon would be disappointed.

Which is why, when he wakes up, pillows- so soft!- below his head, and blankets wrapped tightly but messily around his body, he assumes he’s dead.

Everyone else would think the same thing.

Pain exploding through his body, wholly limp, but unable to move as the aches would increase tenfold.

He couldn’t see from his left eye-

Fuck- fuck, his optic got damaged- was it when he fell? The crack hadn’t seemed that major, but maybe it pinched a wire?

He yelped as his alarm went off, throwing his head to the side, rays tucking in as he dismissed it, hands shakily going over his faceplate-

That was, until a clawed hand wrapped around his left wrist, the one going for the damaged spot on his head. Following it, dark blue fabric lead to a body with spiralling eyes-

He ripped his arm out of the grip, ignoring the burst of pure agony and flinching away, shrinking down. The white spires shrunk, flicking around the room for a moment before growling as Sun moved to sit up, launching forwards and-

Shoving him back down as they growled, “You’re an idiot! You’re trying to get up while you’re damaged, you fool!”

Teeth were bared at him, and a slight shudder trickled down his spine before they pulled away, leaving a hand on his chest and pressing their claws- just barely- into his chest. No pain burst through the sensation, nor was any paint scratched away.

Was it just to hold him there?

Their optics flickered over him, before their shoulders hunched and they pulled away.

Sun was just barely aware of his fans blaring with alarm as they stood up, moving a few paces into the shadows before moving back, fabric of what must have been some of the paper towels he had brought, claws moving to his head-

And pulling away, black, and slightly wet cloth in their grip, looking down at it almost pensively.

“Idiotic,” they hissed, swiping at the spot and snarling when he tried to push himself back up, “it’s a wonder how I haven’t killed you sooner. You should have headed back to this bunker well before… whatever happened. You were gone for hours…”

A static rumbled in his chest as he turned his eyes away, wincing as the scratch began stinging and saw the black on the paper towel Bloodmoon was using to clean the wound.

“Injured,” they growled, “when we take you with us, you can’t be hindered by your damage. It’ll take too long-“

“What…?” He croaked, “go with you…?”

They looked at him, before rolling their eyes, the more grating voice of the two responding with a grumble. “This area is compromised. It has already been nearly a whole day, if we wait any longer, the moon will find us…”

Sun couldn’t help the punch in his chest, wires buzzing with guilt. He shouldn’t have left them-

“I will not ask your reasons for leaving, or even why you are so hurt,” they said after he didn’t cut in, “but we will respect your wishes of not being found. Not telling us why.” They said with an upset tilt in their voice, lowering to a growl before they shook their head.

They mustn’t like him not telling them things…

But he couldn’t help it. Not right now. Maybe-

Wait, take him with them?

“You’re… planning to take me with you to your-“ he paused to cough, Bloodmoon growling as he rolled over, pain splitting through his systems as the sensors turned back on. “-to your new place…?”

They nodded quickly, eyes widening as they stared at him. “Yes-“ they shook their head, “if you’ll join us!”

He blinked rapidly as they pushed themselves up. They were rather… forward with what they wanted.

Sun rolled the idea around in his head. If he went with them, sure, he wouldn’t be likely to be found, but that’s also a downside. If they attacked him- killed him-, he would be defenceless. At least now.

They could last longer in a fight, and in terms of strength, they were superior. He had merely gotten the upper hand, that time.

He fell quiet, watching them stare back at him…

Before laughing, watching the confused narrow in their optics, spirals shrinking almost with annoyance as they rolled back on their legs, flopping onto their back and groaning loudly, feet kicking into his ribs.

He yelped at the jolt of pain, laughing a little louder as they turned onto their stomach, putting their arms under their head as if ignoring him for laughing at them!

He giggled, grabbing their foot to stop them. “I’m laughing because it’s kind of ironic how we both received similar injuries! Yours was just above your right eye, mine’s on my left!”

They stilled, turning to look back at him and making a slight rumble, before going back to being limp, jaws parting in a faux yawn.

“If you wish to get anything before we leave, or say anything to your family,” they growled, “then do it.”

He clenched his hand, looking towards their face.

“We depart tomorrow morning.” They explained.

He let air slide in and out of his vents, breathing calmly. Steam slid from his neck vents, in preparation.

“Moon- my brother was the one who did this to me.”

Immediately, the leg was ripped from his grasp as a frustrated near screech reached his sensors. Fear split through his chassis as he was shoved back down, teeth bared.

“That seals it!”  They yelled, and he winced as claws threatened to scratch through metal, his arms raising to push them back. “You’re coming with us! That place is not safe for you!”

A staticky whimper ripped from his chest as he shoved them off.

“Then let me say goodbye to them,” he put in, “I’ll come back, I swear it. I don’t plan to lose my life now,” he struggled out.

Bloodmoon snarled, pushing to their feet and shaking their head, hands grabbing the sides of their faceplate as they growled curses under their breath, before looking back at him.

And staring, for thirteen seconds.

“Go.” They sighed. “Before we change our mind and head out now.”

He scrabbled out of the bed, nearly collapsing as he dipped his head in thanks, and rushing through the door, ignoring the pain exploding in his head at the sound of the doors slamming open.

Spaniard had sent him a couple messages, informing him that Bloodmoon and the AI had spoken after the computer called his phone in an attempt to check up on him. And had told the animatronic- animatronics?- what to do to patch up the wound temporarily.

He responded that he was grateful, and that he was heading back to the pizzaplex to do a little ‘goodbye’ note.

That he had decided to stay out on his own.

I’m glad you won’t be alone, Sunrise. Spaniard typed in the messages. You may be ‘on your own’, but at least now, you have someone else with you. Or should I say two?

He huffed at the words, sliding his phone back into his pocket for a moment before calling the AI through his head.

“Tell me where to go.” He spit out quickly the second it was accepted.

“You should be find for a straight journey from the entrance to the daycare. No one appears to be within the path, but I will alert you if such.”

He nodded quickly, making a static noise when he remembered the AI couldn’t see him directly, and made an approving hum, moving to speed through the doors that lead into the pizzaplex, running- and ignoring the pain in his leg, probably the one he tripped on, judging by the scuffed paint. Did he wrench it?- and up the stairs.

Shoving through the daycare doors, he kept running, shoes hitting loudly on the ground as his rays tucked in. What if someone was hiding? Spaniard could only really find people who he couldn’t see on the cameras if they had one of the trackers…

And down the stairs, stumbling as his leg faltered with a little shock of aching. And continuing onwards.

Pushing open the doors, he quickly turned to the desk, rifling through one of the drawers and pulling out a pen and paper- pointedly ignoring the slight dust in places he would have gone over twice or more- and smoothing out the page on the desk, readying to start writing when-

“Hello?” A meek, almost shrill voice startled him, hands tensing as he spun around, point it- he’d defend himself if he had to-

“Sun, it is okay. That is Dazzle. They are harmless.” Spaniard spoke into his head, and his shoulders hunched, but he couldn’t help the churn on fear in his chest at the sheer height on the other, when he saw them…

And promptly stiffened as they drew closer, back straightening as he unconsciously unsheathed his claws. “Are you… sssun?” They said, pausing for a moment before dragging out the ‘s’ with a head tilt.

He nodded quickly.

They moved closer, sitting down and kicking out their legs in front of them, his chassis flinching.

Their jaw parted, almost as if in a smile. “I’m Dazzle! Lunar told me lot about you!” The deer like creature said, moving their hands as if kneading at the ground.

He couldn’t help but smile at the near child-like nature of the animatronic as he turned around, tapping the paper with the pen before the tell-tale ‘click’ of the push on the end of it, and lowered his hand to write. “All good stuff, I’d hope?”

Chapter Text

Sun felt weightless. All around him was soft, and fuzzy, and his side felt like it was pressed against a gentle wall. The pressure was there, but it wasn’t annoying.

It felt as if clouds were hugging him.

Until he remembered where he was. How cold the air was. The moisture of the bunker.

And so, he pushed himself up, rays ticking in and out at his systems slowly worked into waking up. Feeling returned to his hands, the fluff of the blanket that he had used the night before being the first thing he properly sensed.

Lifting his palms, he went to him at his face by habit, to clear the bleariness from his eyes by blinking, but flinched when his digits found the crack above his left optic, blinking sadly and crossing his arms.

Stretching his arms above his head, he shrunk in his rays before leaning forwards, pulling off his blanket to look at his pant legs. The yellow and red was slightly scuffed, and he couldn’t help the slight frown that marred his face as he slid himself off the mattress.

Bloodmoon was a distance away, and he glanced at their hands, and a rock cradled in one of them, the other running over the sharp edge. He could hear the almost clean sound as a claw was dragged over it, as if to sharpen it.

Well, it sort of made sense. Maybe they would kill him while they were in the woods, or wherever they were headed. Or perhaps once they made it to where they were going, so no one would find him.

So none of his family would know.

 He had left them the note, asking them not to come and find him. And he asked Dazzle to let them know that he was safe, for the most part.

At least, he hoped he was. If Bloodmoon kept their word, he would be.

His chest warbled with the realisation that- he had no idea how he was just going to- to make it there in time. His battery could hold four days worth of battery, and that was if he set himself into power saving mode once he reached half. He didn’t know how long it would take.

Red eyes had flickered to him, blinking wholly at him before they wobbled, head shifting as if to address him with it. Teeth clicked, before their mouth practically turned into a line, tilting their head before their smile returned, fangs bared.

“What’s wrong, Sun-man?” They inquired, stalking closer as the stone was dropped when his gaze landed on it. “What plagues you?”

Their stature shifted just barely, not noticeable if he hadn’t been watching them like he were a hare and Bloodmoon a wolf.

“Perhaps our claws can rend the creature who deals you distress?” The sharper voice practically purred, and he would have assuming they did, if not for the growl that edged it. “We do not mean to press you for your answer, but you must tell us if you wish us to help!”

He blinked slowly at them, once again unused to their rattling of rhymes- it’s not like he spent a lot of time around them- or, well, in the past he hadn’t- before shaking his head to right himself.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that. It’s just…” he broke off, backing until his foot hit the mattress, “I don’t know if I’m going to make it to the… wherever we’re going?”

They chirruped, eyes blinking almost warmly at him, before the gaze turned sharp once again, teeth bared more.

“Are you backing out? Sun, you said you’d-“ they growled, and he couldn’t help the twist of fear as he stepped backwards a little further, yelping as he fell onto the mattress, bouncing as he cast his hands to hold himself up.

They stood tall, once hunched back now straight, and a shadow laid itself upon him with the light now properly behind them. “No- Bloodmoon, that’s not what I meant!”

Claws shot forwards, and he latched his hands into fabric as the ruffles around his neck were grabbed. “Then what did you mean, Sun-man?” Their words were nearly a snarl.

Gods, why weren’t they giving him a chance to speak?

“I meant that my battery might not last that long! I can only go four days, if I conserve it! Anything too extensive can drain it majorly!”

The grip loosened, and he practically felt needles tap his neck before ripping away, nearly leaving a mark, and when he met their eyes, he could almost see them twitch with realisation, before their gaze flicked away and they turned.

They didn’t apologise. He didn’t expect them to. “It’s a two day run, including breaks for rest. If you cannot make it, we will carry you.” They mumbled, arms crossed.

“We are strong enough to do so. Don’t doubt us.”

He nodded quickly, shuffling backwards on the mattress until he had his legs on it. His claws, which he hadn’t realised he had unsheathed, sunk into the plushness, threatening to tear through it.

“I’ll- I’ll start packing., I’m nearly at full charge anyways, it’s not like it’ll be long before we can go. I’ll just need to top up, which won’t take long.” He stammered out, rays spinning quickly around his head.

They merely hummed, standing still while they watched him shoot up, quickly shoving the items he had brought with him into the bag, before they walked towards the wall, as if to discuss with it as they began to wave their hands around.

Solar stared at the note, eyes lidded as he listened to Moon’s sobs, and Earth’s comforting noises. Lunar was sat next to him, and Dazzle had curled up, knees tugged to their chest while their legs bent awkwardly to accommodate the position.

‘Hello, everyone. This is Sun, your brother. No, I’m not injured- besides what Moon had done to me, I am fine.

No one is forcing me to write this, either.

I want you all to stop looking for me. I have someone with me to keep me safe, but if I were to tell you who, I’m sure it would make you all want to search for me even more.

They do not appear to wish me harm, but if this is subject to change, Spaniard is here to help me.

I want to apologise for all the harm I may be causing you. To lose your brother in a night, after having him close. I’m sure it’s not nice for you, as it’s not for me. And I want to come back, but I fear that it may hurt me more than it’s worth.

It’s not any of your guys’ fault, it’s mine.

I’m sorry.’

Solar had read it about fifteen times over, his grip getting slightly tighter every time. He understood why Sun would do this. He understood the anguish Moon was going through. He understood Lunar’s quietness, and he understood Earth trying to help everyone.

He let her talk to him, to try to get him to talk about how he’s doing- “It’s better to talk to people about how you feel, trust me, Solar!” she had remarked, a wobbly smile on her face and her cheeks slightly stained with oily tears- but he hadn’t much to talk about.

He just sort of wished he had managed to get his Sun to do this, before it was too late. But, at the same time, they would have had no one to help them get out. The computer in that dimension hadn’t been too useful.

But, maybe if he and Sun had convinced his Moon to stop looking for him, they wouldn’t have had to separate. He was fine with taking turns, especially since being ‘inside’ had caused neither any pain, nor harm.

He glanced to Lunar, before frowning and pulling the smaller close, feeling wetness hit his shoulder as black tears quickly stained his chassis, rubbing his hand over his back in comfort. He hummed with each pass.

“…-It’s my fault! If I hadn’t- if I hadn’t hurt him, he would’ve come back home with us! He’d have been safe! He could be being tortured right now- what if someone like Ruin when he had the virus is out there!?” He heard Moon’s practical wails, turning to see Earth cradling him in a hug.

“It’s fine. The note had his handwriting, didn’t it? If he was being hurt, he’d have let us know somehow, even if it was looked over. Surely you don’t have such little faith in our brother?” She tried.

Moon’s sobs responded. He wanted to walk over and pat him on the back, but each time he stared too long, he swore he could see…

His Moon. Back when he was filled with the terror of losing his Sun.

His fingers twitched, looking away as the slight flash of pain on the side of his faceplate returned at the memory, tightening his grasp on Lunar.

“It’s just- Sun’s never been in a situation like this!”

“He’s been kidnapped by Ruin when they had the virus, didn’t he?”

“Well- yes, but it’s not like he had to fight or escape! It was his fault he got into that situation at all!” Solar flexed his fingers. “If he had to fight, he would be dead right now and I would be working myself ragged, day in and day out to bring him back!” The yells turned to cries.

Sun huffed, falling backwards onto the mattress for the last time, distantly wondering where and how’d he sleep when they make it there.

Until clawed hands landed on the sides of his head, barely avoiding clipping his rays, which he shrunk immediately upon dipping with a yelp, and he watched their wide eyes blink down at him, smile thin before growing with a sneer.

“Have you finished, Sun-man?”

He nodded quickly, sitting up as he stumbled to his feet, nearly falling over before reorientating his systems, standing idly, before reaching for the bags.

Three of them. One for his personal items, one for the pillows and one for the blankets. It’s all he’d really need. He had also charged himself for ten minutes, bringing him to a good 95 percentage.

Cradling two in one arm, twisting the ‘handles’ of them tightly to keep them on properly, and simply held the other in his hand.

Turning around, he went to say he was ready, before squeaking as the bag in his grip was practically torn away and into another grasp, replaced by claws as he was tugged away, barely hearing the, “Must be quick! The sun does not stay in the sky for long!”

He was practically tugged up the ladder, through the hatch, and into the trees, away from the city. He nearly tripped over his own feet, optics flashing before he tried to speed up his movements.

Trees flashed by, and if not for Bloodmoon guiding him, he would have tripped at this speed. He watched as branches threatened to scratch at them, but they passed through gaps in the bushes and trees.

He couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up as the wind that creeped through tickled his chassis.

Birds screeched in the distance, and before long, they were leaping over stones, Sun being released so the other could jump between each of them freely, laugh brutal before they yelped as they tripped, landing on their stomach on the grassy ground.

He couldn’t help his chuckle, walking over them much slowly.

Looking further ahead, he noticed a clearing that lead to a tunnel in a mountain that reached upwards, one he had seen before. It wasn’t that big, but it was enough to make it troublesome to walk around or over.

But the tunnel was large enough to fit him, and looked as if it not only went straight through, but diverted into other directions.

Bloodmoon grabbed his ribbons to practically reel him in, and dragged him towards it.

And, in a blur of greys, greens and greys, he was being pushed into a tree, the sun setting and painting the terrain a wonderful orange, the sky growing dark. He hooked the bags onto the branches, and found one he could sit on peacefully, without fearing the bowing and snapping of it, wincing as the other scaled the tree.

Chapter Text

He was jostled, the branch dipping under a sudden weight as he shot into awareness, hands shooting above his head and settling into the soft bark, body tensing as he prepared to leap ahead, only to…

Sputter at the near idiotic sight of Bloodmoon scrambling for a grip on the wood, growls escaping their lips as they wrapped themselves around it, almost giving up before digging in with much, much larger claws, hauling themselves up properly.

Sun blinked rapidly, pushing himself back against the bark of the tree with a sharp noise- similar to a yelp if not for the static cutting through it- as the branch dipped, nearly slipping before it steadied out, chest heaving as his rays whirled.

Red and white eyes were settled on him, one hand holding on while the other’s legs were poised beneath them, one arm raised as if to prepare to… what, grab him? If he fell?

He blinked rapidly, shaking his head and feeling a warble gather in his voice box as he prepared to let out a chirp, but holding it back with a mimicked swallow. Bloodmoon merely stared for a moment, before they turned, wrapping their digits around the handles of the bags and pulling them off…

And Sun watched as they grabbed one with their teeth, wrapping the other two around one arm and sliding down the branch, one hand digging its claws into the bark to slow their descent as they landed…

Rather softly, he realised, leaning forwards and blinking bleary sleep from his optics.

Until his own grip that he hadn’t noticed he’d made had slipped, and he began to fall to the side, a staticky screech ripping from his voice box as his small claws tried to sink back into the wood, but with them being so small and the surface so soft, he watched the area blur around him before he felt arms grab him roughly, sending him and his catcher to the ground.

And promptly being shoved off and into the tree as Bloodmoon growled, the bag being put into his grip as they stood. And he could only watch them stretch, unable to make out their hushed murmurs to each other.

Until one yelled, hands reaching up to the hood and almost dragging claws through it, but- one of them, maybe?- stopped just before it could reach, arms instead crossing.

He couldn’t help his electronic warble of laughter, before holding back the noise as the other glared at him, before turning as if snubbing their nose at him…

Leading to him chuckling heartily, folding in on himself as they rumbled sarcastically, rolling their eyes and hunching their shoulder.

And he missed the small smile on their face as they turned away, and began walking.

“Ack- wait!” He yelped, staggering to his feet with his bag bundled in his arms, racing after them as silence began between them.

At first, it was awkward, the only noise being the crunch of the leaves and twigs beneath their feet. The noise of the wildlife rifling through the trees and branches. The song of birds.

Until it slowly grew comfortable, glancing towards them as their eyes lidded, the spirals landing on him before shrinking, rolling playfully, before bounding ahead.

And, once again, another river. Bloodmoon paused, before signalling him forwards, pointing towards a spot where the water rippled strangely.

“Right there is shallow,” they chuffed, the grating noise bringing a slight shake to his shoulders, hating how the back of his head reminded him of when they had attacked him. When he had killed them- “we shall follow, but you should go first.”

“Yes, learn to tell the difference,” the sharper voice almost purred, teeth parting slightly as they spoke, “to reference in the future.”

If he had a nose, it would have scrunched. Both in response to the command- was it a command?- and the rhyme.

Relenting, he sighed and walked towards it, crouching down and sticking his hand in it. Not deep, but the current was a little strong.

Turning to his feet, he sat down and tucked them off, pushing them into his bag that he held, holding back a distressed warble at the dirt and mud that stained the bottom of them, and standing up, placing one leg into place at the water.

And promptly shivering at the cold, shoulders shaking as he let out a startled laugh, jolting backwards and bumping into the other, receiving a sharp growl of warning as he chittered an apology.

“You’ll get no where if you just stand around scared of the water!” They snapped, as if impatient, and he couldn’t help the sudden jostle of his chassis as his fans stuttered, rays ticking further in his head, turning to stare at them with wide eyes, the blank optics almost glowing.

They glared at him, before pausing, turning away as they saw the slight panic flashing inside his gaze, crossing their arms with a low snarl in their chest.

He nodded quickly, walking down to the running liquid, shuddering for a moment before continuing, clutching his back tightly to his chest. His foot slid on a slippery rock, and he yelped as he stumbled, twisting to land with his back to the sand. Pain splintered through his chassis at the motion, sitting up and twisting his head around to look at it, bending his shoulder until he saw that he was fine.

Pulling himself back, he winced at the wet cloth of his pants and reached down to squeeze it. Water dripped from it as he sighed, thankfully he hadn’t fallen sideways, but still annoyed.

It would take a bit to dry, and he didn’t know how much longer it would take to get to the new place.

He jerked at a splash, looking up in time to see Bloodmoon get dragged into a deeper part of the river. Worry exploded in his chest, moving to put his feet beneath him to stand. But Bloodmoon had already scrambled to the shore, sputtering out the icy liquid from their fans.

He stood there idly for a moment, watching them shake out their body like a wet cat, letting their arms go limp underneath them for a beat before they looked up.

Their teeth clamped shut, mouth turning into a frown before they shook themselves again, staggering to their feet and shoving past Sun, pointing to a nearby mountain.

And Sun just realised how big the other side of the river was. He hadn’t been paying attention because the water was so pretty, but looking now? It was a large field, with flowers and tall grass.

He quickly bent down to slide his shoes back on, shaking out his feet as Bloodmoon began advancing, and he failed to notice how they glanced back to him, as if making sure he was following.

He sped up until he was walking beside them at the same pace, bag clutched tightly in his arms as they went forwards. On the other side of the clearing was more trees, with two mountains on either side. Almost like a cage, and if he focused far enough, he could see the lines of hills and more that curled, meeting far, far away.

By the time they had reached the trees, Bloodmoon had sped up, and Sun was taking his time. His time admiring the way the mountain sloped to cut off part of the field as he rounded it. He stared with wide eyes, pausing to just look at it. Until a sharp growl came from ahead, and he turned and continued, seeing the other standing at the edge of the brush.

And, just as he came close enough, he yelped as claws grasped his hand, yanking him inside and pushing away the branches before letting them fall back in place. He had to focus to make out the light creeping through the leaves overhead.

The glow that made it through bounces off his chassis as the two keep running, barely making it through a spot where the trees and bushes touched so tightly that they couldn’t worm through some.

Although it was clear that Bloodmoon had been through before- he appeared to be following a path taken prior to then- it still seemed to be troublesome.

Trees hug them on all sides, leaves and branches and sticks as they turn right. And it’s now, he realises, feeling claws dig into his wrists and his shoulder hurt from being pulled.

That he realises how, if Bloodmoon were to turn this second, and rip into his chassis, that he would stand no chance. He wouldn’t be found.

His family would be left with no idea where he was. No clue if he was okay or not. And only left with a note telling them to not follow.

He zones back in, legs a little more sore and battery a little more low, as the trees begin to thin. It’s noticeable, the leaves no longer hugging him, slowly pulling away to the point he can only feel it in the lowest branches.

Ahead is a wall of vines and trees, blocking out any light that would have hoped to breach.

He mimicked a swallow, speeding up to stay close behind as Bloodmoon released him to dig claws into the plants, prying them apart with a snarl. Sun almost had to squint at the sudden bright that invaded his senses and…

He immediately gaped up at the giant building in front of him that could be only described as a castle. Tall, imposing and blocking out the sun high above their heads.

Sun hadn’t seen it when they were walking through the field? They hadn’t gone that far right, it doesn’t make any-

“There’s a spell cast on it that hides it from an invader’s sight until they are too close.” Bloodmoon’s voice cut through his thoughts, making him whip his head around, rays flaring with shock that they had guessed what he was thinking. “Unless they know exactly where we are, they have no hope in finding us.”

He nods, quickly stepping forward as the other settles in pace behind him, moving up black stone stairs- by the gods, it’s huge- and towards large, dark doors made of wood.

The handle was made for hands smaller than his own as he slowly presses down on it, watching it turn and feeling the ‘creak’ of the door, pressing his shoulder against it- he could feel the moisture of several fear old wood on his chassis- until he could push it open.

He couldn’t help his grimace at the pure amount of dust and grass and brush inside, but besides that, it was lovely.

It stretched out on either side, appearing to go forwards and around a staircase. Light invaded through windows carved out of the stone in halls further in.

It was a sight. Quartz or some other kind of white details, but almost the same black as the rest of it on the floor.

Stairs leading up, high above their heads.

Sun turns to the other, clearing his throat as he checked his battery. Thirty percent.

“I- I need to charge-?”

Bloodmoon darted off, further ahead and up the steps, vanishing out of sight with an echoing and fading click of their feet. And, so, he was left alone.

Turning slowly, he walked to the left. The air was cold, almost like ice, yet so warm. He could feel the dust in the wind that blowed as he ran his hand over a table.

It was made of stone. Proper stone, not like a normal one. Didn’t even appear to be made for eating, with the lack of chairs near it.

Stalking further away, he pushed open another pair of doors, only to sharply gasp at the sheer sight of beautiful. An overgrown garden in a massive courtyard and a tangle of trees to the left. If he had visited what might have been hundreds of years prior, perhaps it would have been prettier.

There was another section of the castle further ahead, but he elected for turning to sit on a bench nearby the cut out doorway that lead into the garden. And just sat there, in silence, for five minutes. Taking pictures in his head, videos of the comfortable silence.

Until he saw Bloodmoon scurry through the doors, nearly falling over their own feet as they rushed over. He almost laughed as he was tugged from his seat, pulling out his phone to record a bit to send to Spaniard.

The computer would like to know he had made it safe, after all. Probably.

Another turn, and up the stairs they went. He could make out burnt torches lining the walls.

He wondered what this place would look like in its prime.

They dart through more hallways, Sun laughing as he imagined him and his family there, before passing through a spot that overlooked the courtyard below. From above, he could make out stone paths through the leaves and plants, and a large circle in the middle with benches and more.

Eventually, he was tugged into another room. It had some rather… destroyed furniture. A cupboard, a rather lush looking table- that was fine- and a bed that seemed fit for royalty, and even more. Jewellery and so many pretty details.

And a bag-?

Bloodmoon pushed him onto the bed as they ran over to it, tugging out a set of far more modern things before climbing onto the plush furniture behind him. Sun wanted to rip off the part of his hands that touched it- he could feel the mould inside­- but he knew that it was just for a moment. Maybe all he’d need to replace would be the mattress?

He winced as a charger was pushed into his head, and with a quick check, battery was being pushed into him but… there was no outlet?

“We can find someone to get us a proper charger, Sun-man.” They crooned, making him jolt as they fell backwards. “We, at the time, did not rely on eating to keep our charge full as much as we do now. We would have to use that. The charger gains power in solar light. But it should have enough to keep you awake so it, too, can fill your battery.”

He couldn’t help but nod, sending the video he took to Spaniard before falling back himself, hearing the yelp Bloodmoon let out as he collided with their leg, but neither moving to get away.

He was tired.

Chapter Text

Waking at a good 83 percent charge, he rolled onto his side, hands moving to his rays and pushing on one of them, feeling it rebound into the correct orientation.

Stretching, he linked his hands and pushed them overhead, before pushing himself into a sitting position, wincing at the feeling of grime on his chassis. He must have fallen asleep when he’d laid down to charge.

Standing up, he shook his head out and shuffled a bit, body tensing as he yawned stiffly. Every time he blinked, his eyes almost prayed to stay shut. The room was still dark, light unable to creep through the beautifully detailed curtains at the windows.

The room was dim, he realised, but dusty. The air chugging through his vents practically tasted of it.

He kind of hated that he could ‘taste’ the wind. It was a safety precaution when he was made, in case there was something that was dangerous for humans to breathe that was leaking into the daycare, but he literally never had to use it.

And it was a hard system to turn off, because no one really knew where the code was to turn it off. Wasn’t like it was a switch, either.

Letting his feet move him, he stood near the circular table, swiping his hand over the glass surface and watching the dust gather on it, optics widening as he took in the metal details on it.

Seemingly melted and crafted over the glass, the outer part was clear but within those lines were creatures he could only describe as something from a dream. A creature with to heads, wings folding over its face and wings that made up its ears. Its neck was long, and appeared fluffy, the stomach curling in as if malnourished. Along its necks were two pairs of feathers each.

Along its spine were two more pairs of wings, and instead of stained class making up the reds, blues, oranges and yellows, a detail on one leg, along its haunches and its antlers were made of gold. The tail looked as if it were made of clouds, and lightning burst from its from paws and jaws.

It was beautiful, in his opinion. The feathers- the wings in general- were detailed, especially as he ran a claw over a spot, scratching out the dirt and dust that had gathered in a crack.

He turned, walking to the window and grasping the curtain in his hands. Sure, the fabric was practically ruined- years of dust and weathering and possible wildlife clawing at it would do that- but maybe if he could bring it to the city, somehow, he could get it looked at and remade?

The material was so soft too, as if made of something expensive.

Pulling away, he moved to the cupboard and splayed his hand over the rotten wood. It’d need to be replaced, but surely he could find someone to replicate it, too?

He’d leave it for now. The clothes he’d gotten tailored for himself would be ready in about two days from now, and he’d have to either get Bloodmoon or himself all the way back to the city.

Groaning, he rubbed his hands over his face. Shit. He should’ve stayed in the bunker until they could take the clothes with him. So he wouldn’t have to worry about this.

Surely they wouldn’t mind if he was a day or two late?

Yeah. Maybe.

Turning around once again, he walked to the door, now closed, before pushing it open, straining against the weight of it and squinting as pure light assaulted his optics. Pausing, he rubbed at his face with his hands once more, forcing his eyes open until the glare no longer hurt, and walked over to put his hands on the railings that stopped him from falling into the garden.

The sky above was clear, devoid of clouds that had shrouded the land in a slight shadow the day before. The air was crisp, and fresh, unlike the stale nature of bunker and the stench of the city or the assault of rubbing alcohol in the daycare.

Chest shifting as breathed in, he let his rays slowly spin as he let the sun land on his chassis, unaware of the quiet steps forming behind them, jolting as claws placed the charger on the railing, wrapping the cord around it in case the wind was a little rough so it wouldn’t be blown off.

Spiral eyes glanced up to him, before squinting slightly at him as if in apology, before turning around and vanishing down the stairs. Sun is left to stare blankly, before laughing to himself and turning to follow them. His feet collide quietly against the stone, and he watches as a bird flaps down into the branches and leaves of the tree far below with a smile.

Reaching the top of the stairs, he leans against the railing, watching as Bloodmoon walks to a window made of shattered glass, falling to their knees and- although they were being as quiet as they could, and were far away, it echoed up to him- growling at each other.

Too far away to make out what they said, he could only tilt his rays side to side with confusion as they clawed at the stone before flopping backwards with a metallic thud, rubbing at their face and kicking their legs. He couldn’t help but laugh as his mind helpfully compared them to a toddler at the daycare.

They glanced upwards towards him as he laughed, body tensing before relaxing as they rolled over and bounced to their feet.

“Sun-man!” They called out, running towards the stairs as he began his awkward descent, worried the steps could be slippery. Who knows how much rain could be reaching the steps! “We should clean up this place! Especially the garden.” They chittered, and Sun tilted his head confusedly.

Bloodmoon? Being so excited about something so trivial?

Well, he supposed they did enjoy running around, but that made at least a bit of sense. Two consciousnesses in one body? Probably double the energy if he thought about it.

“I… I suppose we can?” He mumbled, rays shrinking as he glanced at the stone railing of the stairs, wincing at the grime. This would take ages to clean up, and his systems were on the verge of going haywire because of the mess. “It’ll take a while though, are you sure-”

They darted to the side as soon as he began talking again, vanishing from sight as Sun froze in place. Before turning to follow them, far slower.

His head no longer had a mild ache he hadn’t noticed, he realised. The crack must’ve been disturbing a wire that probably stopped touching the sharp metal after a bit.

Sure, Bloodmoon had done a pretty good job. Feeling it, he didn’t quite feel the knife-like edges that would be left from claws tearing through metal, or at least doing the damage that had been done.

The edges were seemingly scratched away, as if the other had dragged their claws along it, and then probably wrapped his eye to make sure that his oil wouldn’t go too far.

He was, as much as Sun hated to say it, knowing how he and Bloodmoon were- used to be?- enemies, grateful for Spaniard’s and Bloodmoon’s help.

He paused as he turned, watching said animatronic leap onto a bush in the garden- one of the ones bursting through the entrance of the garden- and vanishing through it.

Were they enemies still? Frenemies, maybe? That was more likely than friends, if he thought about it. They still snapped at him, he was still- hating to admit it- scared of them, but they were no longer at each other’s throat.

It was a stark difference, he realised, watching them flounder for a moment, crawling out like a bird out of water. Compared to all the times he’d known them before.

Had he ever really known them?

He jostled as his name was called. Bloodmoon was peering at him, one hand holding a new branch and the other with claws poised towards the wood.  What?

“Y-yeah?” He called out, joining his fingers over his stomach. “What’s going on?”

They narrowed their eyes, turning to return to slicing through the bark. “We asked you if you’re going to keep lounging around like a lazy cat or help out!” They snarled loudly, but it didn’t seem to carry any heat from anger. In fact, it seemed almost… playful?

He stammered, bowing his head sadly. “A-ah, my bad! I was just thinking!”

“Less thinking, more doing!” The stronger voice yelled, and Sun ran over with a quick ‘Sorry!’.

He sat down with a huff of air, chest heaving as he rubbed at a scratch along his arm. It wasn’t deep, merely peeling the paint on the spot. Nothing a little sneaking into the pizzaplex couldn’t fix, if he was going to be real with himself.

As much as he hated going back.

Maybe he should-

“That should be good for now, Sun-man.” The grating voice chirruped at him as Bloodmoon laid down on the bench opposite of him.

Currently, he was sitting in an almost hanging swing long chair. Except the ropes and hooks that had been holding it up and ages, making it unable to actually swing. But that was fine with him, it was still comfortable… if he ignored the mess from the weather.

He glanced up to the glass platform above them. It was a checkboard pattern, made of stained glass and metal to make the frame. Whoever made it must have put in a lot of effort.

Along with the chair he was on. Maybe when he went to the city, he should take a picture of the chair and check around if someone could fix it.

Or he could ask Bloodmoon to. Give them his phone with a picture and ask them to ask around for someone who can fix it and pick up the clothes-

But that would leave him without a way to ask for help. What if they turned around and attacked him the second his main way of communication- it wasn’t like he couldn’t call Spaniard through his head, but it took longer to connect than his phone and would more accurately reveal his location to his family- was gone? Or what if they found a spot to trap him in?

He shuddered at the thought. Sure, he did run from his family, but it wasn’t like he never wanted to see them again! They were his family!

Sun blinked a couple times. Wait- his cats! Shouldn’t he be going to pick them up soon? They’ve been without him for so long, they probably miss him really bad!

“We should clean up a room for my cats!” He puts in, watching the other- who had rolled onto their back, letting various shades of colours blast them in blues and reds and yellows- look up at him, squinting at the sun blaring down on them.

Before sighing and nodding, pushing themselves to their feet.

Their outfit had gotten a little scratched up too, he realised. A new hole had formed near their shoulder, where a branch had snagged them and they panicked, twisting and pulling at it. Which caused a little fragment to launch at him and scratch his own arm.

“We guess we should,” they grumbled, walking towards the little spot they had cleared out. It was the path they had chosen, and though the way in was still narrow, making them crawl, it was a way in. Sun watched them drop down and scramble through, making him chuckle as his mind helpfully provided the idea of Bloodmoon as a cat.

Following, he winced as he felt dirt and grime cover his stomach and elbow. He had to really hope there’s a river or lake nearby. He should probably ask about that soon, shouldn’t he?

He watched them walk towards the opposite side of the castle they had been in the day before. The taller section.

Well, technically they were in that part based on where he could see his room being at, but he hadn’t actually explored beyond that.

Speeding up, he set a pace where he was just behind Bloodmoon, and the two advanced. This other section appeared to be a dining hall, cut in half where, with a glance, provided a kitchen. Stand up walls appeared to have rotted, but must have been where it bordered it.

He’d have to see if he could get the kitchen to work again. If he had Solar or Eclipse here, they could-

A hand wrapped around his own, yanking him up the stairs and continuing up. Unlike the other half, this side went up higher as they passed the rooms. Glancing through a window that sat there with shattered glass, he could see a path further up that went to there. Must be a more… secure room?

The stairs stopped as it lead into a much larger section, with benches lining the walls as if a seating area.

“The area before- where your room is, Sun-man,” they spoke up, releasing him to scrounge around the room, dropping to almost fold- he was surprised on how one of their legs seemingly vanished underneath them- to check under a chair, “we believe is known as a holdfast.”

He blinked curiously, watching them pull themselves back up. “And, you see how large this castle is?” They questioned, pointing through a window that made up the majority of the opposite wall.

He nodded.

Bloodmoon neared, rounding behind him before shoving him towards the wall. “There’s more. This area is merely the middle of it. It’s all spread out within the walls of these mountains, hidden with magic.” They rumbled, moving to place their hand on the glass.

“We have seen it with our own eyes. For all we know, it might not even be all of it.” They chucked in at the end, looking at him. “But now, it’s ours. Our home.”

Chapter Text

He let out a choked huff, scrabbling his feet against the ground before letting out a yelp as he nearly slipped, the mattress dropping from his grasp and thudding against the ground. An unhappy whirr escaped his chest, fans spinning before slowing as he huffed, kneeling down to pick it up again.

They had cleaned out the section that Bloodmoon said would make a good place for the cats, pointing out a spot for a nest and then where they could put whatever else.

Sun was grateful for their help. He didn’t think he’d still be functioning without another animatronic- or at least person- to talk to. The bit he’d been mostly alone for had been unbearable, as much as he denied it.

He wasn’t spiralling as much anymore. He wasn’t worrying about Moon finding him or Bloodmoon. They were too far away anyways, it’d take days of searching on foot and weeks combing through just this place alone, apparently. According to the other.

A growl rumbled through his chest as he dragged the mattress towards his room’s doors, grateful for the sheer size of them so he wouldn’t have to worry about it catching on the frame. It didn’t help how big the mattress was, though, nearly collapsing under it when his left arm loosened for a twist of a fan.

His rays spun as he began to pull it along, casting a smile at his- in his gracious opinion- good work on the garden. A little more had been pulled off at the front, and the broken twigs had been cleared out. Now, all he’d need to do is get a bag and gather all the leaves, and then sweep all the dirt off the rather pretty stone that he couldn’t tell what it was.

Pausing, he dropped the cushion to turn around and stare at the stairs. They turned half way down, of if you went straight, lead up to the other side of the ‘holdfast’.

Sucking in through his hidden vents along where his collarbone would be if he were human, he pulled the mattress into his grasp once again, squeezing the slightly soft material to brace before turning it to go down a couple steps.

Before taking one of his own, foot shaking before it smoothed over the stone surface. And taking in a breath, moving down another and pushing the mattress further.

Before he knew it as well, he’d reached the bottom after nearly falling twice. A good amount if he said so himself, with how much he had wobbled.

Walking over top of it, and ignoring how the grime tried to stick to his shoes, he picked it up again and began hauling it towards the open doors, ignoring the slight pain of exertion within his arms.

Shoving it down the last stairs outside, he collapsed backwards to sit down, chest heaving in robotic breathes, vents huffing out small bursts of steam until his systems calmed down a little.

Opening his eyes- which he hadn’t realised he’d closed- he saw Bloodmoon looking up at him, spirals within their eyes twisting as they tilted their head, a small chirrup of a greeting reaching his audio ports as they turned back to the small circle they’d made of bricks and pieces of stone, likely from crumbled pieces of this strange castle.

It still felt… baffling that this wasn’t all there was. That, if he went in one direction, he could find more of it.

Who would ever make a castle like this?

He flicked his gaze back as the other picked up a stone, and stuck their other hand under the pile of sticks and kindling, glancing back as if to check if he was watching- why would they ever do that?- before striking their claw against the stone suddenly.

He flinched as sparks flew for a moment, until he realised that chunk was probably flint. When the light didn’t catch, they did it again, until Sun could see a small flame begin and their hand pull back.

The two- three?- had agreed that they should burn what they can’t recover. Fabrics they can’t get remade or is basic enough that they can’t just ask someone for something similar whenever they make it next to the city. Pillows, blankets, the sorts.

This mattress- apparently they had a nest somewhere so he didn’t have to worry about their sleeping conditions, as much as he itched to find out what it looked like and fix it up, he doubted they would let him see it- was just one of the things they were burning. The pillows which were basic white had been pulled out too, and the cushions of the pillows that had more detail on the case were here as well.

He watched as Bloodmoon stuck a clawed hand into the pillow, shredding the outside and exposing the fluff within, sending a slightly nervous shudder down his spine as he realised with what ease they had done it with.

Sure, his own claws could do that, but they tore through it like it was butter. His- probably even Moon’s- would catch on the threads.

It was good they weren’t aimed at him yet. He may have had the upper hand before, with but a rock in his grasp, but as more time passed, he became more nervous. He didn’t know the line between what angered them, and what didn’t.

It felt like he was toeing the line every time they burst. He could see them worry their teeth together, looking up towards him as if to glare before ripping their head to look away. Sometimes, when they didn’t seem to think he was able to see it, they’d glance at him sadly, as if looking at the scratch above his eye and…

He didn’t know what they felt. All he knew was it was annoying, the way they would stare at him, expression neutral besides the slight squint of their eyes- it felt like they were scrutinising him! He’d never had anyone look at him like that before.

He didn’t know if he liked it or hated it, he realised with a low upset rumble.

Looking back at his hands, he slowly sawed at the threads of the mattress’ casing with a huff. No point just- just stewing in his emotions. He needs to get this place cleaned up. His systems were dulled because he was tricking himself into thinking this place was good, but he knew the second he got a clean mattress onto that frame in his room that was strangely just fine, he’d go haywire.

Throwing a chunk down, he watched it plop next to Bloodmoon who was shredding up another pillow, a low croon of… something being sent towards him with a quick dip of their head. He stared as they raised and lowered their head, like a cat gauging the distance between their paws and the next landing spot, before pushing the stuffing into the flames.

He wondered, for a moment. Of what would happen, should a brick slide out of place or an ember fly too high. Would the trees nearby catch alight?

Speaking of getting his own actual bedding. How would they get it when they were so far from the city? Would they have to, like, call a delivery truck out here and haul it the rest of the way?

That seemed like too much effort. And expensive.

Making a noise similar to clearing his throat- though he couldn’t quite do that- he lifted his head as he spoke, “hey, how are gonna, like, get back to city? With it so far away, I mean…”

They looked at him with wide eyes for a second, tilting their head. Sun watched their hood shift as they turned their body to look at him. Before… pointing to the section above where the two- three?- had been before. Clearing out a section for the cats.

“There’s a teleporter to and from the city, though? It can teleport almost anything.”

Sun blanked for, what he presumed, half a minute. Thirty seconds or so. Before his neck join cracked as he angled his head down a little more to look at them properly. “And you just didn’t think of this before we made a while two day travel from the bunker to here?”

They, too, seemed to blank, staring off into space near him for the same time. And then longer. And then two minutes later, Sun shifts to go tap them to make sure they hadn’t somehow turned off.

Until they jolt backwards, yelping as they nearly land on the small fire. Sun tenses, hands raising with alarm. Should he- should he jump forwards and pull them away? If he tried would he reach them? Should he stay where he is? Should he-

They folded away, landing roughly and scuttering across the ground. Their outfit seemed fine, a bit dirty from landing, as if not even a lick of fire had decided to reach for them.

He stayed tense until they stood up, shaking themselves until the most of the dirt and simply fallen off, wiping off the rest. And he only tensed up again when they looked at him, spirals thinner.

“So, want to head to the city, Sun-man?” They questioned, advancing quickly, and making the other robot scramble away for a second, crawling backwards into the building. Claws glinted in the light, and oh-so-sharp teeth flashed towards him-

They were going to strike. This was it. He’d startled them and they were going to make him pay for nearly making them get injured.

Their hand rose, and they fell to their knees to his side as his chest heaved, fans stuttering, trying to pull air in but not doing enough to get it to cool down his servos.

Those claws were so close. He’s going to die, and his family will never get the peace of knowing where he is, how he’s doing, if he’s even okay-

A hand landed on his ray, and began fiddling with it. Pulling it up, pushing it down, wrapping around it to pull it fully out before releasing it, letting it instinctively slide all the way into the sheathe to avoid the touch.

“…are you back?” They asked, grabbing another ray that hadn’t shrunk all the way in and play with it next, spirals directly on it. He pulled the rest of his rays in to avoid the touch, pulling himself backwards with a mute nod.

They stood up, moving out of his sight. Their eyes were… narrowed? Almost sorrowful?

He doubted they could ever feel such a thing.

The footsteps stopped for a moment, before tapping the roughly same spot behind him. “How about we go to the city? A lovely distraction. So much foul noise, stores for you, and food for us.” They grumbled behind him.

He supposed it was inevitable that the two- three?- would get caught up doing silly things. Having brought blankets and pillows for himself and the other two, he ran from them, feet clashing against the concrete sidewalk as he held the bag tightly to his chest, fans chugging and practically begging for a break as he cut through a corner.

He was taking a long path back towards the teleporter, which rested along the tree’s line of the city. Surprisingly.

It wasn’t discovered because Bloodmoon covered it with twigs and loose bushes, and so the stuff kind of grew over the stone platform with a rune etched into it. They just had to hope they were lucky enough that no human or animal- or god forbid Moon- happened across it. Unlikely, but possible.

Staggering, he felt the others’ hands wrap around his elbow and yank him backwards, sending him careening sideways into the alleyway wall, instead of flat on his face. His free arm sent itself out to save his rays from being snapped, leaving a slightly painful echo in the limb.

The other pushed him so they could fit between him and the wall, looking at his elbow before chuffing at the lack of damage.

And then turning to speed ahead, back towards the teleporter, continuing the race. Sun squeaked, trying to do his best to keep up, his shoes slipping slightly on the slightly damp ground from rain. Or something else. He didn’t want to think about what else it could be.

When they begin to past by the dreaded park- the one that Sun had last spent time with Earth and Lunar in, the one that Moon had attacked him in- they heard voices.

Familiar.

Bloodmoon whipped around, pulling him down with a growl of, “quiet!” as the two landed on the ground, crawling close to hear better.

Sun felt guilt burst in his chest, tears welling at the corners of his eyes. “…-re that he’s near here?”

“Of course I am! Why would Sun just- just show up here? Wait- Earth?”

A muffled noise.

“Are there any bunkers nearby?”

A longer version of the sound before.

“Solar, there’s three bunkers nearby. We need to search him. What if Sun’s in one of them? We can save him, bring him home-“

“But what if he doesn’t want to come home?”

Silence. Before a growl came from Moon further ahead. “Why wouldn’t he want to come back to his family?”

He feels a sniffle wrench through his chest, before hands grabbed his wrists and- rather painfully- pulled him to his feet.

He yelped as he nearly fell into Bloodmoon, feet scrabbling against the ground as he was suddenly pulled forwards. Painfully.

“Sun!?”

Shit.

Speeding up, the two turned a corner just as he saw his brother’s hand shoot through the trees further ahead, running towards him. Them.

They had to get away. To the teleporter. Now.

They were aimed for a spot about twenty feet away from the teleporter. Far too close, he thought, feeling tears dribble down his face. Why was he crying?

He turned his head just as they were a few feet away from the trees. He turned his head as the other was eclipsed by leaves.

Moon rounded the corner, eyes flickering around before landing on him.

A hand extended towards him, and he instinctively reached out-

Before the world around him twisted as he was pulled to the side a distance and the world around him warped.

Chapter Text

Sun groaned as he leaned back against the wall, rays spinning around his head. His hands felt thoroughly dirtied by dirt and dust, grabbing a wet cloth to rub at them until it almost hurt.

He had now spent roughly five hours merely cleaning up the room the two had chosen for the cats. They had visited the city again at early morning, much to Bloodmoon’s apparent early-bird-hating dismay, as well as the two apparently not wanting him to go out?

At least that’s what they said, grumbling at him as they curled up at the base of the stairs, holding onto his leg to try to stop him from going up. And you know what?

It went well. He brought some cat gates to at least try to stop them from going upstairs and towards the portal- though he knew that they could probably find their way over it- and from going entirely downstairs.

While Sun had allowed them to go outside on the island, there wasn’t exactly a lot of wildlife on it already, and there weren’t any predators to get the felines. However, in this large area of trees, he didn’t know what would lay out there, waiting for an easy scrap of meat.

He’d have to do his best to keep them inside.

Stretching, he felt his shoulder joints creak with the effort as his vents huffed a bit of air, shaking out his head before pushing himself to his knees, feeling the softness of a blanket against them.

He had made their bed, too. Brought a cat bed when he’d gone into the city, wrapped it in blankets and put a couple pillows onto it. Until he could get himself an actual bed, he’d like to avoid them using his temporary one- the floor- to sleep.

Letting his systems carry him in an almost already normal motion, he went down the stairs to the rooms, leaning on the railing and looking around for a familiar red and blue shape, and huffed as he found them simply lounging on the bench in the middle of the garden.

Making a sound similar to clearing his throat, but not really because he had a voice box, he called out to them.

“Hey, Bloodmoon?” Their head perked, looking directly towards him without a beat, blinking wearily before relaxing, letting out a staticky noise of a respond.

“Do you guys wanna, like, head out to the daycare so we can get to my old home to pick up the cats? I have the area fully set up, and, well, it’s been a while since I’ve seen them. I miss them. You get what I mean?” He began rambling, hands joining to fiddle with his fingers.

He stopped when they rumbled up at him, the other pushing themselves to their feet and vanishing under the ledge. Twisting, he ran towards the stairs to meet them as they reached the bottom.

He watches them huff, falling to collapse into themselves as one leg practically vanished underneath them, their arms supporting their head as their other leg stuck out. Sun couldn’t help his chuckle as they rolled over promptly after the sound, looking up at him with half narrowed eyes.

He couldn’t help the slight squeeze of his circuits when he saw how tired their gaze seemed, but he ignored it as they threw themselves up into a seated position, stretching their arms over their head.

They nod quickly.

He tightens his hand around Bloodmoon’s as they pull him behind a counter, the two crouching as they watch Monty walk past, crocodilian tail whipping and lashing against the ground as they spoke to someone on their phone.

Sun’s rays twirled around his head slowly, nervous as the other carefully pulled him to his feet, sliding past and up the steps the second Monty looked far away enough.  They moved quickly, vanishing through the daycare doors in mere moments, before reaching the tall gate and darting towards the stairs.

He almost tripped over his own feet as they reached the last steps, quickly turning and running to the large, wood doors of the daycare. He could almost laugh at, once again, how easy it was to merely slip inside again and again.

Only to see familiar dark orange rays, turning to face him.

Bloodmoon immediately tugged against his arm, leading to him tightening his grip and swinging his free arm forwards, small claws unsheathing to latch into cloth, just as snarls and spitting insults started up.

“Eclipse-man- rotten! Why are you here? Just to cause problems like you always do!?” They practically roared, twisting to scrabble against Sun’s hand to break free while glaring at the other. Meanwhile? The other just stared at them with a mildly shocked, but mostly smug expression, arms crossing- what was he holding?-  as he laughed.

“Wow, Bloodmoon,” Eclipse snickered, making a tutting noise as he moved to lower what he held. Pet carriers? “stooping so low as to collect Moon’s brother the second he’s not watched? What a steal-”

Sun felt cloth tear just barely under his claws, and watched the two, once held back, fall flat onto the stomach under their own momentum. With a rather painful thud.

The other seemed to laugh harder as Sun stared with a worried spin of his rays, staring at the carriers as they were placed onto the ground gently. Why would he have those? What’s in them-

“I just thought I’d bring you both a little present. I heard from a birdie that you guys have a new home now and went, hey, why not a little housewarming gift?” He sneered, tapping the plastic of the container until a loud meow split through the air and. Could you blame Sun for dashing forwards, quicker than Bloodmoon could get themselves to their feet, just to kneel at the small containers?

Tux was the first to show up, Cleo following and sticking a paw out of the cage, mewling at him before purring the second he touched him. Same as Tux, who first tried to bite through the metal door, stopping at a hiss from the other before sticking two legs through the door to sink claws into his pant ruffles as he pat at the soft fur.

He looks up wearily as Eclipse made a throat-clearing noise, and he noticed his arms were once again crossed. “And you, Sun. Never expected you to hang around someone like Bloodmoon. Murderous killing machine. Killed your dear kids on July-“

He watched a shape launch at the animatronic, and while he had picked up his own snarling, the second he saw bronze claws unsheathe, he made a sharp clicking noise.

And dark blue fabric and red chassis pulled away, still- strangely- on all fours as they stretched themselves out to almost… guard Sun and the cats?

After a couple moments of silence, the four bundled together and Eclipse sat on the ground, almost breathing a little harshly, he rolled his shoulders and stood up, moving towards the desk. “I’ve brought a little more. Of course, more than you guys can carry, and I wouldn’t want to strain the effort and stretch your luck of coming in and out unseen, so I thought…” he paused to haul a couple bags into his grip, before turning towards them once more.

“Why not allow me to come with? You’ll need the extra hands, and you’ll need someone adept with mechanics. Especially you, Sun, with that crack over your eye. Did Bloodmoon do that to you?” He snickered, but he could hear a mild warning. To who?

The other scowled, clicking their claws as they stood up to their full height- no taller than Eclipse- as they stomped a foot angrily. “We did no such thing! Myself and my other could never hurt Sun-man when he’s all by himself. Easy prey, yes,” they admitted, glancing wearily towards him, “but his brother hurt him. We have never hurt each other. We will not allow this to happen!”

He couldn’t help but stare as the red animatronic turned to pick up the pet carrier on the right- Cleo- and rumbled back at the cat who hissed, watching the feline turn silent as it was held under his arms.

“We will allow you to follow, but dare step out of line and we will break your spine.”

Eclipse hummed with an air of boredom as Sun picked up the other pet carrier, letting Bloodmoon speed walk through the doors, whispering and hissing curses. Sun bowed his head for a moment, placing the pet carrier on the desk and searching for a piece of paper and a pen.

“What are you doing? Don’t want to follow them?” The other chuffed, staring from where he stood on the opposite side as a page was secured and words began to scrawl on it as he quickly wrote down an apology for the cats going missing from the house.

“It’s not that,” he quickly said, pausing to draw Tux and Cleo, “they’re honestly real nice to me for… no reason, really. It could be as they say- I’m weak, defenceless- for now, probably- and my own brother put a crack over my eye and nearly broke it. No one else really needs such ‘protection’ from them besides, well, me and themselves. We’re the only ones that far out.”

“But why do they protect you?”

He let out a short noise of static- a moment to reply- before stopping, pen stilling on the page as he looked up at the other, who stared back.

He shook his head slightly. “I don’t know.”

A few days ago.

“Spaniard?”

“Yes, Eclipse?”

He sighed, dragging his fingers through the feline’s fur that had curled up on his lap, feeling the fluffy grey fur through his chassis. It let out a soft mewl, rolling onto their side to let him stroke closer to its stomach, but shuffling when a pat came too close.

“Do you think… when Sun comes to pick up his cats, when he does, do you think I could give the cats to him?”

He was met with silence for a moment before the AI spoke up. “Why do you ask? Do you want to?”

He nodded slowly, watching Tux leap down and smack at the other cat’s ear, shoving them away so they could take the place of them under his hand. It was almost as if they thought he was Sun, just… different.

“I do want to. I know that he has you for any help, but you can’t help physically. Maybe I could help bring his stuff that he wanted to bring from here to him, or help with anything else?” He paused, rays shrinking with a gruff sigh. “I just want to help for once.”

Spaniard stayed quiet for a moment, before saying, “you have changed a lot since we first met. I am proud of you.”

Chapter Text

He let small claws sink into the fabric of his pants, letting out a happy hum as black and white fur along a spine was pressed against his palm. A fluffy back arched, jaws parting in a yawn until whiskers quivered with curiosity.

Cleo chirped at him, and he glanced at the tabby and watched the small nose tap into his chassis’ stomach, curling around Tux and staring anxiously at a red and blue shape curled up in the corner.

Even Sun could hear the low growls whenever Eclipse would pass by a couple steps away to grab nails from a small plastic bag, returning to the doorway that lead directly downstairs and carefully, and oh so slowly hitting the nails into wood that had been somehow glued into place. Sun hadn’t witnessed it happening.

He lifted a hand to rub just below an optic, the motion soothing a sudden blur away as his own yawn overtook him, oily tears gathering at the edges of his eyes until he could wipe it away.

A spiralled gaze shot away from him when his own met it, the shape of Bloodmoon standing up and creeping towards the other, hammering away.

After the group had gotten back to the holdfast- was it even called that? Was it a castle or a holdfast? Perhaps he should ask Bloodmoon to show him around the rest of the place soon- and he had sat down, cats exploring before placing themselves on his lap and refusing to let him out of their sight, he grew oh-so droopy.

His… housemate? He didn’t know what they were in terms of living conditions, but they seemed to have noticed immediately, snapping at his arm with sharp teeth and shoving him towards the bench within the room. Of course, not without a couple insults on how he was a daycare attendant, made to deal with kids that should drain him far more than this.

He realised that, without those little souls bouncing around him- as much as he spited their behaviours, merely having them near him calmed him, knowing they were safe and none of their red blood seeping into the ground- he didn’t have much to do.

And his systems seemed to almost be… braced. Waiting for something bad to happen. And yet he wasn’t expecting anything, himself. His battery was fine- a good eighty percent. He had nothing to worry about.

And yet, when he should be lower, he would stare at the charge as he ran his hand along Cleo’s back, hearing the low drone of two voices merging in the background as his charge didn’t falter. It felt like every hour was one number.

He twitches as Bloodmoon sat next to him, Cleo and Tux hissing towards them quickly, backs arching and tails raising as they puffed up, claws digging into soft fabrics as they stared at the other. Who ignored them, leaning oh-so into Sun’s space as the felines snarled, wobbling as the other spoke.

“Why do you trust him?” They growled lowly, glancing obviously towards Eclipse before turning back, eyes squinting. “We have no ounce for respect, but you tolerate him, so we shall as well. But we question why you let him into our space so willingly.”

He blinked for a moment, facing them as his rays spun slightly, shrinking inwards as claws scratched at his chest until fur brushed against the right side of his face, opposite of the other. A black tail slapped him in his optics, making him squint as he pushed it down, making a noise as if he were clearing his throat.

“I’m… not sure. Something told me to. And he had my cats, what was I meant to do?” Sun whispered, reaching down to Cleo who still crouched, tense, in his lap, sifting his fingers through the short fur until muscles relaxed. “I missed them so much. This tabby’s Cleo. He’s the smarter of the two.”

Bloodmoon let out a chuff, leaning closer by barely an inch to look at it, sneering as it fluffed up. As if they enjoyed seeing the flare of fear in the small creature. Sun couldn’t help but laugh as Cleo leaped backwards, hissing as it crouched low on the bench beside him.

“They’re stupid,” they snickered, reaching to pull Tux from his shoulder as the cat yelped, pulling it into their arms and cradling it like a child, “but fluffy, if a little stupid. Would make good prey-“

They paused, glancing up at the other’s now squinted gaze, making a noise similar to clearing their throat, “but they are pets. And yours. We swear we will not hurt them.” He heard something else mumbled under their breath, but he couldn’t make out the words.

He reached over, placing a hand on their shoulder as he smiled, their grip loosening on Tux just enough for him to worm out and collapse to the floor in a pile of black, curling up their as if startled. “It’s okay, I know you wouldn’t hurt them anyways,” he tried, making a noise similar to a sigh with his fans, “and who knows, maybe it might do you some good to have some idiots around here.”

The other hummed, staring at the sill feline before tapping it with a foot, watching him leap back into Sun’s lap and as he hissed at the animatronic, smiling almost evilly at it.

Before sighing, standing and stalking away into a different part of the holdfast, mere moments before Eclipse finished working on the door. Walking over, the solar-themed bot put one leg onto the bench, leaning against it as Cleo crawled over, sniffing a greeting to an extended hand wearily before darting back, a face being shoved back against Sun’s warm chassis.

“Anything else you need fixing?” The other sneered, rays tilting to the side for a beat before returning to the proper orientation. Smiling, he made a noise similar to a chuff.

Leaning forwards, he tugged Tux to his chest. “Yup! It’s actually in my room. I’m not sure about Bloodmoon, but if they need anything, they’ll have to speak up about it.” He snickered, seeing a flash of dark blue in the distance.

Eclipse scoffed for a moment, but his mouth didn’t turn down as Sun stood up, the tabby latching onto his pants as the black and white feline looped over his shoulder limply. Turning, he signalled a hand for him to follow as he walked through the door slowly, making sure to plant a hand on the small spine next to his rays to keep it stable.

Moving along the hall, he glanced down at the garden. It had, too, been fixed up a little more. A larger hole had been cleared up on that one part, so they didn’t have to crawl to get in. Along with him having near obsessively cleaned up the leaves.

Turning to the door to his right, Cleo dropped down to creep through the room, finding his way onto the pile of blankets and pillows and nuzzling under one, tail sticking out. He couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight, gently letting Tux down.

“You see this… whole room?” Sun commented, turning around to see Eclipse standing in the doorway. And just beyond, red spiralling eyes glaring at him. Huh. “I kinda… need it all fixed.”

The other hummed, glancing at the other two before turning back, stepping further in and looking around, reaching towards the closet. And turning towards the pile. And then at the bedframe, and back towards the other in the room.

And sighing. “What do you need fixed first?”

He blinked slowly, before looking down and rubbing at one of his rays idly. “Uh… are you able to, like, work on the bedframe? I need to get a mattress in and sleeping on the floor is kind of setting me off. I swear, the second I can, this room will be sparkling.”

Eclipse groaned, head lolling before nodding. “Alright. Yeah, yeah I can do that.”

He swore he heard something mumbled under the other’s breath- something about Solar?- but began looking over the frame. It was rather detailed at the head and end of the bed, metal and wood twirling together to make a pretty design upon it. Little stars made of droplets of- of iron?- and etched designs into the rest of it. It appeared to be stained, too, as beyond the darkness of age and rot, he could tell that the outside and then the inside were two different colours.

He twitched as the solar bot spoke up again. “I can do it. It might not be the best job, but I could at least do decently. But it’ll take some time. Whoever made this last had a hand in smelting and wood carving.”

He nodded gratefully, watching as Tux barrelled into Cleo, the two wrestling as paws swatted and fur ruffled. “That’s alright. I don’t mind waiting a couple days… or weeks.”

Eclipse scoffed. “What do you take me for? Someone who can’t do a good job? A week. At most.” He said, glancing to Bloodmoon as they growled at how he was speaking. At least Sun thought that’s what it was, as Tux ran and leapt up onto the head of the bed frame, loafing on one part as Cleo ran to stand between his legs, tail tall as he chirped at him.

He chuckled at the other’s remark, “right, right. I just don’t want to sleep on the ground anymore. We may be animatronics, but boy does my back hurt!”

With a laugh, the darker themed bot let his head fall forwards, hands moving to his head as he snickered. Sun thought idly, that he was pretty sure the other did the same in the arcade.

He almost wanted to offer that he come live with them. But he wanted to at least check with Bloodmoon. They… didn’t appear to really tolerate him very much. If he had to guess, if not for he and his cats, there would be shredded metal everywhere.

Sun pushed up against the leaves and branches, letting Bloodmoon walk past, followed wearily by two balls of fluff and then Eclipse. They had spent a little bit in the room, talking about the room and what could be done. The latter had chosen to work on merely the frame, and give it to him to work on the wardrobe and then when the rest of the room had been done, work on the bed frame again.

Watching idly, he saw Bloodmoon crouch and almost loaf next to the swinging seat, one leg sticking out to the side as Tux leaped up to sit on it, and he winced as the feline tripped, falling to the ground. Landing safely, but still. A bit startling.

Following, he watched Eclipse sit on the opposite bench as he carefully steadied the swinging seat, before letting himself relax into it. The grime had begun to bother him less, but he still itched to tear it apart and clean it.

He itched to do something.

“Would you want me to tell Solar about this?” His eyes shot upwards as Bloodmoon began snarling lowly. “He’d be helpful to you two.”

Sun quickly shook his head, hands raising in a motion towards the others who lay on the ground as Cleo began hissing back at the animatronic. “Oh- no, no no! That’s quite alright! I don’t think I can trust any others with the knowledge of this place. And I don’t think they,” he paused to signal to the source of the growling, “can handle any more Eclipses.”

They jumped to their feet, standing in front of him and blocking his view of the other, teeth clicking loudly. “We so could!” Before, with a change of tone, “shut up! Eclipses are untrustworthy, they hurt us!”

He blinked sadly, watching their claws flex as their hands linked, fingers twining as they glanced back to glare at the snickering animatronic behind them.

Sun made a staticky noise, watching them drop down once more to turn into… a puddle of metal, an arm sticking out this time.

“I… kind of miss my siblings, if I’m going to be honest with you two.” He mumbled, Tux showing up beside him to nuzzle into his chest. “They’re my family. I went from having them each time I turned a corner…” he paused, thinking of all the times they’d said they were too busy when he was stretched so thin that he was on the verge of snapping, “to them being a couple days of a walk away.”

He looked sadly upwards, seeing Eclipse nod slowly. “Earth was nice, as much as she was busy. She was nice, and at least considered me.” He paused, glancing at Bloodmoon, who rolled their eyes. “Lunar was fun, and a little snarky. But he made me smile when I was struggling.”

Rolling his fingers together, he let his claws poke out a tiny bit. “And Moon-“

He was cut off by a rumbling growl, hearing the scratching of metal on stone. Glancing down, he saw a- as much as he hated saying it- pissed expression on Bloodmoon. “What about him!?”

He tensed as Eclipse threw a stick towards them, watching them flinch and stumble away and into the bushes. “Continue, please.”

He nodded slowly. “A-and Moon. He was my brother. He isn’t my twin- he’s long gone- but he’s… nicer. I suppose.” He twiddled his thumbs, the scratch on his face almost throbbing. “He tries really hard to be better than… old Moon.”

Chapter Text

Sun woke slowly, laying on the bench in the shade just outside the entrance of the garden. Cleo stood on his chest, hissing and snarling towards the side of him, and he watches Tux’s tail lash angrily over his head. A noise, similar to a yawn, breaks through his silence as he lifts his arms slowly, stretching them over his head as his back arches slightly.

His head rolls to the side slightly, eyes blinking blearily as he watches a red and blue shape hunched on the ground, once stalking towards him, until it freezes, dropping down onto its… stomach?

He pauses, a croak coming from his chest as he squints, staring at the spiralling gaze of the other… what were they…

“Bloodmoon?” He inquires, using his arms to push himself up into a seating position, whispering an apology to Cleo as the feeling meows loudly. “What are you doing?”

They stay still, almost like a statue, before pushing themselves upwards and rushing closer on all fours- if he had to place a comparison, it would be Tux whenever he saw Jack, back arching high and stepping closer, fur ruffled and tail curled awkwardly, paws making rather noisy tapping noises as he tried to scare off Jack… only to be scooped up and held as if he were a hamburger. Sun still laughed internally at the idea- before dropping back down, eyes staring upwards at the two startled cats.

He could only make a noise similar to clearing his throat, watching Bloodmoon tense, before shotting to their legs and running away, Tux jumping down to run after them. He flinches as Cleo scrambles out of his lap, claws scratching on his stomach, chasing after both the other cat and the animatronic that raced away.

He smiled, shaking his head as his rays wobbled with a quiet giggle, moving to stand up. Arms crossing, he followed slowly.

It had been a couple hours since Eclipse had left. They had spoken for a little bit longer- about the other celestial animatronics. Sun had rambled about his family- his twin, who he missed dearly even to this day even though he hurt him, his brothers, who while he loved so much, he knew he was left out, his sister, who he missed, but he couldn’t bring himself to contact.

The other had shared how he wished that his previous iterations hadn’t treated Lunar so… roughly. And how he was glad that he and Earth had enough sense to give him a chance after so long.

A thud, and a robotic yelp had him jerking from his thoughts and racing forwards, hands clasping at the railing of the stairs as he looked around for… Bloodmoon rolling around on the ground?

Soft paws swatted at a metal face, as they cradled a black and white feline and the tabby bit onto their ankle, teeth sliding harmlessly into fabric. He couldn’t help the surprised laugh that came from his voice box, watching Cleo get flipped onto his back and held there while Tux was- rather softly, Sun noticed- bit on his ear.

The other’s head whipped towards him, eyes going wide as spirals sharpened, before the gaze narrowed and an evil smile was carved onto their face, teeth moving to the black and white feline’s scruff- what were they doing- and suddenly releasing the tabby, launching up the stairs with a clawed hand supporting the animal, who let out a loud screech of surprise as a yowl came from the other.

His shoulders shook with laughter as claws scraped helplessly on stone before shooting up the steps, falling to his knees as the noise became audible. Thumping feet and paws against the floor above, and an almost shriek from Bloodmoon, and a much louder thud.

Sitting there, he watched Cleo come back, Tux being hauled limply, meowing loudly. And the other animatronic crawled slowly after them, lowered as close as they could go, as if mocking them.

It reminded him too much of the two cats they stalked. How he would watch the two wrestle across the living room, into the kitchen, race each other upstairs, and fall down the railings, somehow. Before repeating the same process for what must have been hours, at some points chasing birds outside before coming back in.

The black and white feline snapped at the other’s maw, getting dropped and thus running away into some other part of the castle, Bloodmoon popping out to watch them go, before their gaze pulled to him.

“What is it?” They questioned, pulling themselves closer before leaping back onto two legs. He tilted his rays in confusion, before realising they might have been wanting to know why he was following them… Meh, he had something he needed to pass on anyways.

He made a static noise in his voice box, before folding his hands  together in front of his stomach. “Well, Eclipse told me to tell you that if we needed repairs at any time, that he’d be able to fix us up. Since, well, I doubt either of us are any good at it…” He chuckled nervously, rubbing at his elbow as the other scoffed, turning away.

Spirals sharpened, and Sun couldn’t help but shrink a little at the sight. “He’s a rat- he’s a plague upon your family. He’s caused you so much hurt, why should we trust him now?” They snarled out, and he frowned. “Would it not be better to rip out the weeds at the root before it can overtake the garden? We will do it at your command.” They mumbled out the last bit.

He blinked, before smiling, reaching forwards to rub at the hood, watching as their eyes screwed up and they flinched away, staring at him like he’d personally offended them. “Trust me when I say he doesn’t want to hurt us. At least, I hope he doesn’t!” He waved his hands, making a chuffing noise with his fans before continuing. “If he… does anything, you can kill him, quick as that. And then… hurt me or something, I don’t know. If it’ll make you feel better, I guess…” he shrugged with a laugh. Bloodmoon frowned.

Their mouth opened, before an almost painful click sounded through the air and they yelped, hands shooting to their jaw and it closed. A snarl, “Other, why did you do that!?” and a shake of a head, and they were stalking away to the wall to ‘yell at each other’. He didn’t know what they did at that wall.

Their hands waved at it. At first, they seemed angry, and then mellow, and then frustration. As some point, they started growling at… the wall. He couldn’t help but snort at the sight. They hadn’t really done that since… he wasn’t sure when the last time he’d seen them do it was, but he felt a mild swell of joy at seeing them being comfortable enough to do it? He wasn’t sure what it was.

“Bloodmoon?” He called out, and watched their shoulders jostle before relaxing, turning to face him. “Do you wanna, like, clean up the garden a little more? It’s still a while before sunset.”

They squinted, looking down at their feet before shrugging, walking past him and towards the said place. Sun wanted to explore further into the forest, but he thought it would be better if he got used to this place first. After all, if he expanded their ‘home’- was this their home?- all the way over there, he’d have to manage cleaning this place and the next, and he hadn’t even fully explored this one yet.

Sun’s grown a little tired just trying to take care of this place, too. Once he gets a proper bedframe, and fully finishes up his room, he wants to take care of the rest of the rooms. Preferably have Bloodmoon moving into one of them, because he was certain wherever else there were resting probably wasn’t as comfortable as a bed.

And then he’d have to properly set up the kitchen on top of that, work in a dining area if for some reason they have guests or need to use it. Not to mention cat-proofing the place.

He’d have to pray the cats didn’t go into the woods. What if there were snakes, or something else that hunted felines?

He shuddered at the thought, turning to follow them. He felt the near constant nag to clean up already, too. He would pop if he so much as had to deal with a little more than what he had now. At least the garden was manageable.

The sun had begun to set. More roots had been uprooted, and now he could stand up straight in the small paths. He had been kneeling in front of the bench, scrubbing at it with a rough cloth to get off all the grime.

Bloodmoon had long since decided to collapse onto the ground in the middle of the path, watching as he scrubbed obsessively. First, he tried to do the poles, but had ended up being unable to do much for it, opting to try somewhere else.

The stone badge had wood accents- it felt like everything here did- and those couldn’t be saved, having rotted, but the rest of it could. Just some harsh scrubbing would probably do it.

He jolted as his phone in his pocket made a ‘ding’ of a message, hand tensing before he reached in, grabbing and pulling it out.

Spaniard was read on the notification, and he sighed. At least it wasn’t someone like Moon or Earth texting him. Had he given Eclipse his number?

Eh, it didn’t matter.

Hello, Sun. Eclipse has recently returned, and he told me once he reached the daycare that he believes you and Bloodmoon are doing well. I am glad.

In turn of this, I have gotten you and your friend a gift.

He snorted at the word ‘friend’. He wasn’t sure they’d reached that kind of acquaintance yet, he wasn’t even certain they considered him more than a neutral stance.

They seemed to tolerate him. They still snapped their fangs, growled and glared. Or maybe that was part of their character.

He continued reading,

It won’t be available for a few days to a few weeks, but, according to my calculations, you both should enjoy it.

Update me if you need any help or if anything significant happens.

He turns to the other animatronic, who was staring at him with squinted eyes. They had crept closer, but seemed to be pressed as close to the ground as they could possibly be.

He made a staticky hum, “it’s Spaniard. They have gifts coming for us? He said that it could take days to weeks.”

They smiled at him, impish almost, before pushing themselves to their feet and stretching. “Me and my other,” they started, and his rays ticked, “we wish to go hunt. We’ll be back by morning.”

He blinked slowly, before nodding, turning away as they ran off and into the forests surrounding the Holdfast.

Chapter Text

He groaned, back aching as his optics turn on slower than the rest of him. It feels like it’s been doing that, more often- lagging behind than the feeling on his arms and his legs. Even his rays are twitching and he’s sitting up before it.

Perhaps it comes from not charging himself like he did at the house. He had a solar-powered pack, and the cord he would usually use. But now, it wasn’t a constant flow. He had to put the pack outside so it, too, could gain power so he could sap it from himself, only to use up what he gained within the next day.

His arms felt tired, limp almost, as he rocked his body upwards and forwards, hands clumsily sinking into the blanket that he laid on, code sprawling as his vision before he could see the black of the cloth, and the rather wonderful dark wood a little way’s ahead.

Sun arches his back, feeling his metal spine creak. The ribbons on his wrists were loose, the satin fabric nearly slipping off as he rubbed at his right eye, a little dazed.

It felt like someone had grabbed him by his wires and bashed him into a wall until he passed out. A rather annoying feeling, he had to admit, as he leaned back on his legs and groaned loudly.

Shifting, he pushed himself shakily to his legs, feeling the metal joints in his knees quake as he stumbled against the wall, shoulder scraping against it painlessly.

He felt like he was forcing himself through the aftermath of a shutdown, loopy for a bit as if he had gotten himself drunk the night before.

It was getting worse and worse by the day, he realised, rubbing at his rays after managing to lean himself against the brick wall. His fans ticked on; the air humid as he huffed through the vents on his neck.

A yawn split his mouth, hand moving from fiddling at the rays that circled his head to over his jaws, oily tears dotting the corner of his eyes before he could blink them away. The bells on his wrists rang as he began walking towards the door further away. He couldn’t wait for the bedframe to be fixed up enough that he could use it; his back was hurting.

He twisted his head this way and that, groaning at the creak of his neck joints. He felt almost human, with how much he’d get aches.

He turned his optics down to see a black and brown-ish shape curled together into a ball, and he could he the faintest movement of breaths from them. He smiled at his cats, before looking around more.

He couldn’t see or hear the other animatronic resident…

Sun knew too well by now that they’d run over the second they merely heard him awake. A creak of the door would send them careening down the stairs to basically supervise him the whole day.

Not that he minded being alone this morning, but it was strange. Strange to be left alone except for when he slept.

Turning, he began to walk towards the stairs. If he was going to be by himself for a while- at least until the other found him- then he’d at least adventure. Bloodmoon said there were other things in this weird place, didn’t they?

Maybe he’d find the other pieces of the castle and explode those. That would be fun, right?

The sound of his shoes hitting the stone steps filled the air, and he swivelled his head around just to check if he could see them, eyes squinting when he couldn’t.

The doors were cracked, too. Not open by a lot, but still more than normal. He pushes it further, glancing around before sliding down the rest. The ashes of the fire days ago remained just a little ahead.

He could practically taste passed rains on his artificial tongue, yawning again. He stumbled forwards, rubbing at his eyes until a small claw scraped over the small scratch over his left optic. The mark had begun to grow on him, he realised, turning his hand to let his thumb run over it.

He began walking.

Sun had no intent on where he wanted to go, besides staying within the mountain walls that caged them in on all sides. He felt comfortable here, away from his family.

His family that he missed dearly-

He shook his head, speeding up a little. He could hear the titter of birds, the flap of wings and feathers slicing through the air. The rustling of leaves that he, and whatever else with him, disturbed.

He hummed quietly, when the sound of water reached his audials for what must have been the hundredth time since he’d left. Rain, as he drifted in and out of sleep mode last night. The rivers he passed on the way here. The river outside the bunker.

Would he have one oh-so close to his new home?

He let his legs carry him faster, now running. His rays ticked, pulling in whenever a branch scraped at them before popping back out. His fans heaved to pull air through him, and he hisses as a root manages to catch his ankle, floor swinging up to meet his face as he lays there for a minute.

Before quickly pushing himself back up, continuing to race towards the sound of the water, as if something was chasing him and if it caught up, he’d never get to see what waited.

He remembered that, not long after he’d reached the bunker after running away, he had found that river. The water had been crystal clear, and pleasantly cold. Fish swam through it as well, he remembered when he’d fallen backwards in it.

He’d seen shiny scales glint with light below, and he’d giggled another day when he’d stood in it as another fish nibbled at his hands when he had reached down.

And now, he pushed through a bush right in front of him, ignoring how thorns snagged at his pants and threatened to tear before releasing. There were red and yellow berries. And, his optics widened as he looked down.

It was a lake. Trees surrounded it, and the water was almost a blue. It was so pretty, with the light of the sun glinting off it like glitter on glass if he had to make a comparison.

Opposite side of him was a tree that seemed almost twice the size of the others. Branches on it made it seem climbable. And with how tall it went, he wanted to know much he could see from up there.

Would he be able to see the mountains all around him? Would he be able to see the Holdfast, if he wasn’t too far away from it?

What if he was? What if he couldn’t find his way back? Would he be stuck out here until Bloodmoon found him?

He turned, walking along the edge of the water until he was staring up at it.

Compared to Sun, it was huge. Even if he were to open his arms as far as they could go, it would still be wider than he was. He stepped forwards, unsheathing his short claws as he began walking around it.

There was a branch he could reach if he jumped, but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to pull himself up. Even before he’d left- he wasn’t sure how long it had been, maybe a month?- he hadn’t been good at stuff like that. All he’d do every day was clean, feed his cats, deal with kids, clean, and sleep. It was an almost endless, repeating cycle.

And now he was free. He wouldn’t be back in that Pizzaplex unless necessary. He wouldn’t be in the daycare, taking care of those souls.

He wouldn’t be hurting them-

His legs bent, and he was jumping upwards as high as he could, wincing as his claws just barely sunk into the bark. However, it was sturdy, not pulling away as he turned his legs to scrabble at the base of the tree until he was heaving, vents practically screeching as he just barely managed to pull his feet up onto the branch, leaning his head against the width of it.

He vented, steam huffing from it as he groaned. His rays pulled in as he carefully- he ignored how his knees wobbled scarily- pushed himself to stand, letting his optics flick down and hissing as his systems lurched.

If he were to fall from this height, he wouldn’t get damaged depending on how he landed. He was still at least semi-sturdy, seeing as he had been able to jump from the balcony onto the sort of soft ball pit.

But the ground here was hard, and if he slipped, he wouldn’t be to properly orient himself before he’d hit the dirt.

The next branch was in reach. He wouldn’t even have to jump to grab it.

But he was still up high. If he miscalculated a single thing, he’d plummet downwards.

Clenching his fist, he dragged his claws through the bark until they stopped, and his fingers ached mildly. He swung a leg up, grateful for the flexibility of his joints as he managed to- just barely- drag himself up.

His breath hitched as he leaned a bit too much to the side when he scrabbled upwards, squeaking as he nearly fell off, before wrapping his arms as far as he could around the branch and clamping his eyes shut, shaking.

Until he realised he wasn’t moving, and opened them to look around.

He was up high, that much was obvious. But, he could see above the canopy of trees now. And, thankfully, he could see a faint shape of the Holdfast not too far away.

It was almost see through, the magic likely causing it to be like that. And he smiled- at least he wasn’t lost, that would’ve been a problem.

Twisting, he looked back at the tree. There was a space that, if he managed to twist himself just right, he’d be able to squeeze into it and be pretty safe from falling. And, from the looks of it, it branched out to make a little place to lay down in.

If he got some rope and made like a spider web, and filled in the gaps with some kind of strong cloth, would he be able to take naps here in the safety of the tree, where any passersby would only see him if they looked up?

His arms extended, and he found himself scratching at it until his leg was wound around it, his other still on the branch he’d just been on as he stood there idly for a moment, thinking.

And squeezing his hands into small gaps, pulling himself up until leaves flooded his vision.

Carefully, Sun dragged himself closer until he could look down. And, just below him was the shore of lake. He could see the light shining on each pretty pebble, glinting in such a way that had him staring at them.

As if he was in a trance.

Before shaking his head, rolling onto his back- and ignoring how his skyhook pressed against the wood- and sighing, eyes closing.

A short noise of static in his voice box, before he began talking. “This place has been beautiful. The Holdfast is rather… dirty, and it’s been annoying me every since we got here, but it’s good besides that. Large enough that I don’t have to constantly be near Bloodmoon, and so that the cats can run around.”

He could imagine his siblings surrounding him, sitting on their own branches as he spoke. Perhaps Lunar would chip in, they haven’t attacked you? That’s a surprise. They hurt me, and even killed our sister!

He would chuckle, shaking his head. “No, they haven’t! They scared me a bit when I first saw them, but maybe me being alone gave them… inspiration to protect me. Maybe they see me like an injured animal, something to take care of.”

Or maybe it’s the other way around, Moon would say, maybe they see you as a protector. You did manage to hit them in the head with a rock, after all. Maybe they’re scared of you.

But you’re not alone? Earth whispered from his right, and his rays tensed as his eyes stayed shut. You have us!

But he knew they weren’t here. He knew, as tears began to pool in his optics and he opened them.

There was no strange colours beside him. No blue, no white, no green. Just him.

He sat up, digging his palms into his face, smearing black over his cheeks as he leaned forwards. He was alone. All he had was Cleo, Tux and himself.

Did he have Bloodmoon?

They’re not here now. A small part of him whispered. What if they don’t come back?

 His arms fell, glancing down to the water. It felt like there was fluid in his audials. As if someone had grabbed him by his rays and shoved him out of the tree and down into the lake, and he had resurfaced, shaking his head to get it out.

But he was up. He was away from the ground. He was safe.

He was alone-

He heard a distant call of his name, as he tilted his optics towards it. His neck joint ticks with stiffness, and he twists his upper torso to look properly.

Again, “Sun!?” the voice called. It seemed panicked, startled even. It was Bloodmoon.

He tensed, pushing himself to his knees- ignoring how pain split through as they scraped painfully against the rough bark- as he responded, “Over here!”

A burst of static, and he watched a shape launch from a bush below, head whipping this way and that. He almost chuckled when they slid past, before looking up towards him when he moved.

And then he squeaked, as they began scaling the tree, quickly pulling themselves up and into the small place. He flinched as they flopped beside him, looking up at him with squinted eyes.

They sat there, in silence, for what must have been a minute, before they pulled their arms out from underneath them, teeth bared. “Why did you leave?”

Chapter Text

Sun rubbed at his rays, scratching dirt from the surface. He itched to find those handtowels that were hidden in the drawers at the daycare and give them a proper clean. Sit down and scrub until light reflected cleanly off them.

Bloodmoon stood a way’s away, almost pouting as he looked at their teeth grinding. It was audible, the scraping noise. They were upset.

And understandably so, he supposed. He had left the holdfast without informing them. It must have caused them some panic, to see no bit of yellow paint and go running in the woods looking for him, only to find him relaxing in a tree without a care in the world. They must have needed him for something.

Or maybe they didn’t? They weren’t bothering him about anything. Or maybe it wasn’t too important.

They had been near infuriated at him. Growling and snapping insults. Yet, they hadn’t advanced. If anything, seeing him tense up had made them shuffle further away, turning away as they continued snarling.

“I didn’t mean to alarm you both,” he said quickly, hands raising as his rays shrunk inwards. Their spiralling eyes were focused solely on him, “I just needed some fresh air-”

“We do not care!” They whined, head lolling. “We thought- we-” they paused, fists clenching as he winced at the sight of sharp claws, “-we worried our home found. What would we have done, if that blasted Moon-man had found us? Found you?”

He pulled back, shoulders trembling. “That foolish, blabbering idiot would have hurt us,” they continued, glaring up at the sky through the leaves with an anger he never thought he’d see, “they would have hurt you. How are we meant to defend y- our home?”

Oh. That’s why they were angry. If he had indeed gone further, further than the stone mountains that surrounded them, he was risking the castle’s safety.

If they had been followed, who knows what they would have done to the other animatronic. And that scared him a little, thinking about it as his rays curled ever further inwards.

They were no longer snarling at him. A good sign, but they were still clearly upset.

“Moon would have loved this place,” Sun commented, straddling the tree’s branch and looking down into the crystalline surface below, “Lunar would have liked the water, and I think Earth would like to care for the garden. Solar definitely would have enjoyed fixing up around the place.”

Bloodmoon was laying flat- as flat as they could, at least- against the incline of the branches falling together in the middle to make up the trunk of the tree. They seemed apprehensive, not really listening to the conversation being spoken to them.

“I think Moon could’ve fixed up this place a little better than either of us could.” He admitted, “I’m no good at structures, and he’s always been far better at this. He and my- my twin.”

Their eyes twisted almost painfully, before they looked away again. “We should get back before sundown.”

They were in the garden, working on it once again. He had been hopping between cleaning this and his room ever since he got here, he had realised. Maybe it was time to spruce it up again.

Tugging a stubborn weed from the ground, he glanced back towards the other. They had their hood pulled over their head, frustrated noises having quieted to whispered mumbles, talking to each other once again.

Sun smiled. At least they got along. Far better than he and his twin ever had.

His rays wilted almost like flowers, before shooting back out fully as he stood up, dumping the rooted plant onto the concrete path- and ignoring the code screaming at him to pick it up and put it properly onto the pile. He’d be returning to it tomorrow anyways- and watched their gaze flick to him.

“How about we head upstairs,” he started, resting a hand on their shoulder. The spirals in their optics widened, before narrowing at his touch, squinting, “and clean up some of the other rooms? I’m sure, in the future, we’ll want guests of some kind. Maybe Eclipse could come stay here some days- I know Moon doesn’t like him very much-” they groaned audibly at the idea, “-or hell, if we can prove my other siblings don’t want to hurt us and I get over my stupid feelings, they can come over for a bit too!”

They looked up at him as if he was stupid. Like how Moon- his old brother- had done at the kids, grabbing at his pants and rapid screaming questions and stories at him.

He missed that part, of being at the daycare. Of being some of the kid’s best part of the day.

Did they miss him? Was the daycare even open? He hoped it was, some of those children relied on them to be safe while their parents were at work.

Bloodmoon scoffed, clawed hand raising to slap his away, the sound an audible clang before they stood. He blinked blankly, and they did the same. Before a weary smile split across his face, wobbling for a moment.

“So, you up for it?”

They glared at him, and after a moment, he saw a subtle nod. And he felt a sigh of relief pull from his chest, turning and listening to their shoes scuff the ground as they lifted to follow.

They made a chuffing noise at the two felines running past, chasing each other down. He chuckled at the sight of white paws lashing out for a brown tail, claws hooking harmlessly into fur and rolling together.

And they continued walking. They walked down the hall, and he spun around to ask them how their day had been besides what had happened earlier, and where they had been. They merely stared at him.

His rays ticked, and he turned back to keep walking forwards, twisting to walk up those steps. Cleo and Tux were now creeping towards them.

“We’re just gonna pull the trash out and put it next to the door,” he said, twisting his head to the side. They looked up at him, unblinkingly, “it shouldn’t be too much? Perhaps broken bed frames and tables, cushions, blankets, all of that.”

“We suppose… that is okay.” They said, lagging behind him as he reached forwards and towards a door, leaning against it until it began to creak open. “It won’t take long, will it?”

He nodded quickly, before yelping as the door suddenly swung open, staggering and collapsing onto his hip. They darted forwards, arm extending and latching onto his shoulder, stopping him from going any lower.

Sun’s optics tilted blankly upwards, and into Bloodmoon’s, before they ripped their hand away, shaking it and squinting towards a window.

He hummed gratefully, moving to use his knees to stand. The other quickly picked up a wooden table leg, glancing back before slipping through the door and leaving the other animatronic to continue there.

He watched them go, before turning and moving to the bed. The sheets were mangled, unrecognisable with weathering. Expected, especially having seen his.

Have I messed up? He pondered, for a moment, holding back his disgust as he slowly grabbed the blankets. Are they upset at me. Do they- do they hate me?

They were clearly avoiding him in some way. Probably. They weren’t talking to him, and they weren’t standing as close as they had been before. Maybe he should have waited for a bit, or at least figured out a way to tell them he was going on a walk.

They must have been so concerned when he wasn’t in there.

He was certain he would have been terrified if he couldn’t find them in hours. Or one of his siblings. To go out for a walk, and come back to them missing.

Just like Moon had.

He shook his head, dumping the blankets next to the door just was he saw Bloodmoon walking over, gaze fixed on him.

He flinched, rays pulling in as he dipped his head, twisting to pull at the broken table nearby as the other quickly slipped away before he could realise it. Maybe he did mess up. They were staying away from him.

He understood though.

His head twists as Tux and Cleo slide inside, the former reaching and climbing up the back of his pants, mewling at him loudly. Cleo took the other leg, the two just dangling from him like leeches. Sun giggled, leaning to grab them and pushing them onto his shoulders.

Solar grunts as he walks along the path, Moon a couple steps ahead of him. At his persistence, he had convinced Lunar to take a break and not follow them to this bunker. They had to open the daycare again soon, and after a couple weeks, it had grown a little dusty, which meant Earth and the other had to clean it up.

He had noticed something. Something he didn’t know if he was willing to admit.

The animatronic walking in front of him had begun to seem… jittery. Threatening the computer to help them track Sun, even yelling at it while it kept a cool head, always insisting that Sun was safe.

That the only damage was from Moon’s own claws.

His arm settled on his elbow, gaze on his gloves as the two walked. They had finally realised that there was probably no way they were going to find Sun and whoever was guarding him in the city. A couple encounters too many.

Anyone who was smart would know to avoid staying near it. At least after… Moon had done that. He could still see Sun’s shaking body, with oil drooling into his optic at the back of his servos.

He looked up as the other pushed a large branch out of the way, before tensing. He stepped closer, “what’s wrong?” as he tried to look over his shoulder.

The hatch that was meant to keep the bunker safe, and everything out, was wide open. That wasn’t normal, was it?

The lunar-themed animatronic darted towards, quickly sliding down the ladder and vanishing from sight.

With a sigh, Solar followed.

The place looked recently visited. The door down below was open too, and he ignored the droplets of blood that trailed further in. He let an artificial breath rock his chest, following as Moon wearily stepped into the next area.

And he watched as he jolted backwards, looking over the other’s shoulder to see why, before promptly covering his mouth.

What looked like crimson blood- must have been a few days old- was on the wall opposite of them. Smeared in the shape of letters which made up a few words.

You’re too late, it said plainly. A shape of a sun was drawn to the bottom right of it, and a scratch- with cleaned claws?- went right through it.

Chapter Text

It was the morning after Moon had returned, frazzled and crying, only calming down in Earth’s arms, carried to his bed. Solar had explained everything once the others had woken up.

It was likely that the writing was directed at them, and talking about Sun. At least, that was in his opinion. The others thought they were a threat, whoever this was. Lunar had the vague thought that, what if they were protecting Sun from them?

He could respect that. He had existed for a long while, and he had watched through the majority of the videos on the show. He had seen everything his older brother had been through.

And he wasn’t stupid. Moon was a genius, sure, but only when it came to technology. They all could admit the animatronic was rusty when it came to emotions, where Earth had tried her hardest to help him with it. Therapy sessions every other week if they could, and more.

But just because he believed that, maybe, just maybe, this person or robot which had Sun wanted to keep him safe, didn’t mean that he didn’t miss his brother. He glanced to Dazzle, sitting near him and playing with barrels.

Dazzle had been discovered a good while ago. At first, he and his sister had been petrified, running away and begging their brother for help. To which, the strange animatronic simply vanished. A day or so, maybe more or less- he hadn’t been keeping track since he’d lost his brother- they had revealed that they had been living in the daycare for more than a year. Maybe even two.

And Moon’s investigations revealed that the body was nearly twenty years old, despite acting like a roughly eight year old.

Lunar didn’t mind, it helped to have a kid nearby while they waited for the area to be cleaned up after dust gathering over a few weeks. It had been over a month since Sun had ran away.

“He loved the kids,” he mumbled, wiping down the desk with cleaning wipes, “must have been his favourite part of the day. He’d know every little fun fact about them, simply from them telling him. He had a catalogue of every kid’s allergies, or other such things.” He couldn’t help the smile on his faceplate.

Dazzle hummed curiously, leaning a bit closer and squeezing the barrel in her grip.

“And he’d make sure we’d feel welcome. He’d make us the best foods for dinner whenever we stayed for the night, and he’d make sure any mess would be cleaned to the best it could. He’d have the best games, too.”

The deer-themed animatronic nodded, and he was sure that if they could, the bones that made up their face would pull back in a smile.

They were reading the note that Sun had left them, one day they came in. Their eyes flicked up to the three who had walked in, and an arm was extended so they could take the note and read it. Claws sunk into it as tears flooded from optics, head falling as Moon began sobbing. Lunar didn’t know what to do, and Dazzle stared, confused, leaving at a request.

“Sunny-“ his gazed flicked up with surprise at the nickname, “-sound like a great an- amin- animatronic!” They stammered over the word, mouth parting in a faux smile. “He was gw-“ they paused, thinking for a second, “he was great to me!”

He nodded, “that sounds just like him.”

She sighed sadly, rubbing tears from her eyes. Monty stood next to her, tail flicking wearily as they glanced at her hands as they fell back to the cutting board. She was cooking up some food for Moon, knowing he had been avoiding taking care of himself since Sun had left.

“He wouldn’t have wanted this,” Earth whispered, stepping away to get a tissue. It had been a couple hours since her brother had revealed just what he and Solar had found, “he wouldn’t have wanted us to be mourning him so.”

The gator animatronic huffed, “Man, I bet. Its been, what, a month? Nearing it? Nearing two? Haven’t kept check. If that guy was in danger,” a clawed hand rested on her shoulder, “he would let us know. Or, at least, Spaniard would. You know how reliable they are. Stupid, but they can recognise a threat most of the time. He’d send us a message and a location, and we’d be right on over to save your brother.”

She nodded solemnly. “I miss him. I should have done—”

The hand shifted to ruffle her hair, making her yelp as arms enveloped her. “Please, there’s nothing you could have done. It was all of us, really.”

She blinked.

“Moon should’ve spent more time with him as a brother, instead of hiding away and working. You and Lunar could have been there more for him when he was struggling and you could have included him in your plans more often. It was all of us, who messed up.”

She shook her head, “but maybe if I had helped him when he had needed it, he wouldn’t have left!” She hugged Monty back. “Solar’s becoming distant, I haven’t heard from Eclipse nor Ruin, Moon’s hiding away in their house, and- and Lunar’s devastated! I don’t think any of us are ready to keep working in the daycare, but they’re forcing us to—”

A snarl, and suddenly she had been spun around and was being pushed back towards the stairs with a yelp, pushing with her ankles to stop the movement.

“You’re going to go upstairs,” Monty commanded, “and you’re going to have a really good nap. I’ll finish the food for your brother, and bring it on over to him. If I hear anything while you’re asleep, I will let you know.”

She nodded slowly, frowning.

His fingers curled around the stick, ticking it to the right and hitting one of the buttons as he leaned over the arcade machine. Opening up a keypad, he entered the password, only for the screen to be flooded with files.

Tapping his wrist, he searched for the bunker, ‘beta 10’. Rather easy to find- he was grateful for when Sun had gone through it and organised it alphabetically, at least- he pulled it up.

Some more files, but he clicked into the one labelled ‘camera footage’, went down to within the past month, and-

ERROR: 403

Insufficient permissions.

Permissions required to review file BETA_10 Camera Footage_//-//-// : Spaniard, Sunrise.

His fingers twitched. And then he hit it again. Same error code.

He straightened his back, grip tightening until he felt the joystick creak under the pressure, and released it. This is fine, he had a password to bypass it-

ERROR: 403

Insufficient permissions.

Permissions required to perform BYPASS PERMISSIONS REQUIREMENT : Spaniard, Sunrise, Eclipse.

He blinked at it. Slowly. And then he really wanted to punch it. Breathing in a single churn of his fans, and then huffing it out, steam as his systems heated up with pure anger, he grinded his teeth as he looked up to the single camera in the room that he used to sleep in.

“Spaniard.” He hissed, “what is this? And you better have the best damned explanation known to man, or I might as well dismantle you to get to the files—”

“As our creator,” they cut him off, “you have permission to view the files. All of them. However, as the AI who is in control of said files, I am able to take permissions away, and grant permissions.”

“You took away my bypass—”

“Sunrise’s safety is of my utmost focus. To have a lapse and leave a way of weakness to find his partner,” the world was drawled. Moon wondered why, for a moment, “and to find where he was, and where he could have been going, would be a mistake on our end, to which we would punish ourselves by deleting the files entirely.”

He stayed silent, for a moment. But only a moment, as he scowled. “You mean to suggest that, even if I were able to somehow get into it, you would remove said files before I had a chance to view them?”

“Indeed, Moondrop. That is one thing you and your predecessor—” he clenched his jaw, “—had in common. Your smarts. But also, your sheer stupidity.”

He raised his fist to the screen, planting his hand over it and threatening to dig his claws into it. “Do you want your wires to be pulled!? I can do that, right here, right now! I could make a version that is so much better than you!”

They were sighed, audibly, somehow. “Do that, and you will never see your brother again. We will make sure of it.”

He flinched, eyes scanning the camera as if it would reveal that there was humour in the AI’s voice, but it did not flinch. It merely stared at him, and the noise did not return.

Fuck. Was he ever going to get his brother back?

He turned back, to the arcade machine, before checking the dates to when Sun had vanished, scrolling down to the section where files were not connected to month dedicated folders, for some reason. Maybe Lunar had been coming up here and doing it to prank him, or maybe it was Spaniard and their apparent dislike of him.

There were two files, at the bottom. One of the day after Sun had vanished, and the day after that. Clicking on them, he sighed as he had permissions.

Speeding it up, he groaned as he saw but a lick of Sun. The camera had been pointed towards the mirror the entire time, only showing the reflection of his brother when he laid down to rest.

He was about to reach up and scratch at his face in frustration, when he heard his name to his left, towards the entrance of the room. A glance revealed Solar, crouched just outside of it.

There were clear black stains under his eyes, that had been scrubbed away with something absorbent, but not cleaned.

“What is it?” He growled. He wasn’t in the mood for games, or whatever. He had to find his brother before he got hurt! Surely Solar would understand, if he was in his steps. He would do anything to make sure his brother was safe-

“The cats.” He hummed. “They’re missing."

He let his legs carry him away. The look of pure devastation on the lunar-themed animatronic’s face had made his wires clench uncomfortably. He had only seen that in his Moon, back when he was separated, and Sunny didn’t get up.

He waved goodbye to Lunar and Dazzle, sat in the middle of the daycare now and playing games. They returned the gesture, before the former glanced up the tower at a loud crashing noise, frowning uncomfortably.

He vanished through the daycare doors, passing by Monty. He stopped to tell them what to expect, and they nodded, saying they were forcing the guy onto a break to make sure he eats the lunch they prepared.

But, then, his legs didn’t stop.

He walked down into the atrium, blinking slowly as he passed by tables. After hours, no kids, or parents, or animatronics really roamed. They all had their own lives, outside of their work.

And at the moment, his was finding his missing friend. But, he almost didn’t want to.

It was clear that Sun didn’t want to. He had pulled back when Moon had tried to pull him back, had run from them, was avoiding them. Spaniard would even let them know if he needed help.

Stepping onto the stage, his palm folded over the button, rays clicking at the loud beep! it made, and ignoring the wave of nausea as it started moving, body rocking at the sudden motion. He preferred taking the stairs down, or even using the glamrock elevators in when they were here. Monty was always happy to let him, but he was busy with Moon, and they needed special cards to go down them.

When it stopped, and he could see the path to the Parts and Services room, he near leaped off. There was something he hadn’t told Lunar, or Monty, or Moon, and even Earth. Especially as he pushed open the red doors, and glanced through the window.

At Eclipse, who stood there glancing up at his entry. The other’s arms were crossed, and an unimpressed glare was settled on his face.

“Took you fucking forever,” he growled, standing up straight and walking towards him, one clawed finger tapping against his chest, “I told you to be quick, that I don’t have time before I must go out again. Quite frankly, your dear little Moon doesn’t appreciate me interacting with you guys.”

He pushed the other bot’s hand away, eyes twitching with annoyance. “Then say it while you can, won’t you? I’ve got people I have to comfort.”

An eyeroll. “Of course. Your friends can’t handle learning their brother couldn’t handle their pure stupidity, so he ran like a dog, tail between his legs,” hands settled on his shoulder, and he almost snarled at the other’s movements, “and left before any of you could ruin him further. How shocking.”

“Do not speak like you know what he’s been through.” Solar chuffed. He wasn’t in the mood for this-

“Oh, but I do!” Eclipse chuckled, backing away and extending his arms out to his side in a flourish, twisting around to grab a… phone on the counter, “See, I visited him a mere couple days ago. Had a lovely,” he drawled, “oh so sweet conversation about our emotions! I spoke about mine, he spoke about his, and honestly, I would love to tell you where he is.”

The phone screen was turned to face him, and his wires buzzed with horror.

There Sun was, on a bench asleep. The scratch above his closed optics was a messy mark, but it had been cleaned up with claws that he just knew Sun didn’t have- at least none sharp and long enough- and oil no longer leaked from it. However, his casings were scuffed. Dirt coated some of it, and as he glanced just behind the solar-themed animatronic, his gaze widened at the sight of spiralling eyes just through the branches of a bush.

The phone was lowered, and he flinched as suddenly it was crushed, fragments and shards of metal and glass hitting the flooring.

“If you tell Moon, or Lunar, or Earth, or anyone really,” Eclipse was suddenly close, and he winced as his throat was grabbed and he was tugged forwards, “I will make sure they are so far away, you will never see them again. I made a promise. I don’t intend to break it. But, if I get permission from them,” the hand released, “then maybe, just maybe, I can tell you where they are.”

Chapter Text

Grass crunched under his feet as he ran, a staticky noise pulling from his voice box as he threaded between trees and bushes like a needle and some yarn. His fans churned with effort, steam puffing from his shoulders. A stick is shattered beneath his feet, and a rock suddenly meets his next movement, sending him careening to his stomach with a yelp.

Clawed hands flood his vision as another shows up next to him, and he rolls onto his back to laugh loudly. His fingers run over his chest for a heartbeat, touching the buttons there, smile bright as he looked towards the other.

At Sun’s insistence, he and Bloodmoon were heading back to the lake to hang out and listen to music. However, about halfway through, he shoved his bag into their arms and turned to run in that direction. They quickly caught on to the race and began chasing him down.

He could hear the water now. They had made it there faster, and had fun.

He pushed himself to his feet, watching them glare up at him playfully, standing similarly and twisting to shove the pushes apart, revealing the lake once more.

He followed as they stepped through, trotting towards the tree and quickly latched onto the rough bark of the trunk.

He watched them scale the tree with practiced ease, claws digging into bark and hauling themselves upwards, vanishing for what must have been a few moments before their head popped over to look at him.

He smiled up, extending his hand with the laptop and pushing to his toes, giggling as they shuffle to reach down. Bloodmoon snags it, pulling back to wait for him.

And he does just as he did before. He pulls himself onto the branches, scratching at loose pieces of bark until he’s in that one crack, carefully lifting himself up to that alcove in the tree, branches twisted and turning around them.

They’re there, waiting for him.

The two had decided, the night before, that they would go out to the lake he had found and maybe listen to some music. Once the other had gotten over their frustration of Sun having run off without letting them know, they had been rather open to the idea, admitting that it looked nice.

Carefully, he took his laptop from Bloodmoon’s claws, watching their eyes shift to look at his own, flickering between his blank optics, before shooting away and down to the lake.

He smiles softly, rays ticking as he leans back, pushing open the laptop on his lap and inputting the password. He had charged it yesterday, using the port he’d use to charge himself, and it did wonders. Max percentage.

Leaning forwards again, he clicked on a random spotify playlist and placed it on the floor in the middle of the alcove where it wasn’t likely to fall, and crawled along the branch until he could sit over the water. The other followed quickly, sitting next to him and leaning their shoulder against his, almost apprehensive at the height.

The first song was familiar to him, but he couldn’t recognise the name, and it was a little hard to focus on the lyrics as his gaze caught on fish swarming below. A school of them, swimming a little before drifting into their shadow, jolting and darting away as he shifted his leg.

Silence stretched between them, comfortable as his rays ticked, Bloodmoon glaring at the glittering surface of the water as if it had personally offended them. He almost wanted to drop down and feel the cold against his casings and his endoskeleton, if just to feel if that was what freedom was like. To make choices like that, for himself.

Like he had been, since he’d left. Befriending the other who sat what felt like mere inches away, but was a larger gap, was his choice. Allowing them to take him so far out here, was his choice.

Leaving was his choice.

And, as he glanced to the side, at the other animatronic with spiralling eyes. The gaze was returned, and he watched their optics widen, before flicking back down to the water below.

He felt his smile twitch, rays clicking as their hands joined at their stomach, rubbing their claws together. They looked almost innocent, here in the light of the sun, eyes glancing to and from the lake, almost nervously.

Sun’s fingers clicked, and he unsheathed his claws to scratch at the bark next to his leg. He was almost sickeningly aware of how close they were. He turns his optics towards their own. They seemed unfocused, almost panicky.

He looked back to the ground as a magpie fluttered, landing next to the water and bowing its head to drink.

The song changed again. And the other’s gaze flicked over towards the laptop, blinking blankly. Their hands squeezed, twisting as if trying to squeeze out a wet cloth. He turned to the sky, the sun leaking through the leaves and painting his yellow casings in light.

Until he glances back, towards his hand. Claws are near his own suddenly, flexing and curling. He looks upwards, trailing their arm with his eyes until he reached their own. Wide, almost terrified eyes. They’re closer, too. At least by a couple inches. If they lifted their hand, he was certain that they would be able to touch his elbow.

They blinked, and he watched them jolt, ripping away before making a noise as if they were clearing their voice box, a burst of static as they turned around.

“I’m sorry,” he heard them mumble, “we must go. We’re- we must hunt. We hunger.”

He blinked, and he stared as they crawled along the branch, digging their claws into the bark and sliding down. The magpie below startled, flapping their wings and fluttering upwards. The fish flickered, darted away from sight as he raised his hand, a stuttering noise coming from his chest before nodding, “Good luck!”

They stumble over themselves as they run, aware of how far they’ve gotten in the mere couple moments of jumping down from the branch and vanishing into the bushes.

Their robotic heart races, thrumming with… panic? Yes, that’s what that was. Maybe they should be concerned as to why their chest was screaming at them, but they couldn’t discern why.

Part of them wanted to turn around, return to the Sun-man and apologise for running, and bring them prey as an apology. But they had seen his reaction to the blood dripping from their claws- its why they weren’t allowed to bring it inside.

They slowed, electricity running through their wires, begging him to keep moving, to hunt- to distract himself, but all he can do is sit down against a tree and breathe through the miniscule vents on his neck until his hands no longer shake with adrenaline.

Chapter Text

Bloodmoon had returned to him at the tree a bit later, their casings hot to the touch as they hissed that they were heading back to the Holdfast, claws grazing his wrist. Sun nodded, smiling brightly at them, to which they only glanced away and rubbed their elbow, twisting and vanishing into the forest.

Sun had decided that that little spot with the tree was a perfect place to do little hobbies. Like drawing. Or maybe something else. Something new.

And so, that’s where he was, rocking on his feet for a moment at the whirl of the teleporter, a weird rather light metal table- just as something to rest his arms and things on without worrying about stuff sliding off- and hand mouldable, air-dry clay. Just for fun, and maybe…

His rushing steps down the stairs, and into the room below are quick and loud.

He pauses as he glances to his two cats, dozing on the little nest and purring loudly where Cleo kneaded Tux’s leg, cuddling beneath the topmost blanket. The sun had set ages ago, vanishing and making the sky above the most wonderous shade of black, stars twinkling in the sky.

He’d never messed with clay before. At least, not that he could recall. He’d always just order it online or in stores with the money that Moon had.

Sun could still do that now, realistically, but it felt weird to not have as many things to do with his hands. He could still clean, but he was used to doing… more. To handling the kids in the daycare, to even cleaning down every surface from top to bottom and back again. So many intricate details. And yet, he didn’t feel all that motivated to do the same here.

His rays ticked, and he allowed himself to continue walking. He moved down some more stairs, slipped past closed doors, glancing upwards towards the dark sky. Bloodmoon appeared to be asleep- the animatronic didn’t appear to be anywhere near, hell, even outside of wherever they slept- so he didn’t have to worry about upsetting them.

Or whatever it was that other night.

Down the final steps of the Holdfast, he found himself pushing the door open as a yawn. He quite enjoyed looking up at the stars, and the only times he could have ever gazed upon it was when he was in another dimension, or back on the island-

Home. Back at home.

Sun sighed stiffly, letting his feet start to carry him through the trees. He wished he could invite someone here- maybe he could send Eclipse a message? Maybe he would be willing to sit with him, because as good of company as Bloodmoon was, he needs a bit of variation- so they could walk through the trees. Or maybe help him with ideas for the other rooms. Or maybe just so he could talk to someone without being stared at like he was some strange thing.

The leaves turned to a blur, scraping against his casings.

He… he wasn’t sure what happened that bit ago. Their almost panic, and yet frustration all at once as they searched nearly desperately for him. And then the anger, when they did find him. And then relief.

And then later, when they returned to the tree, music filling the air with sweet notes. The way their gaze met, even if for just a moment before they looked away. How they ran, mumbling out an apology before dropping down onto the ground, leaving him behind.  How he didn’t see them until the castle that night, to which they walked past him, head low and optics averted.

He wondered what he did to upset them.

Sun almost steps into water, before the subtle splash of a fish darting away as his shadow fell over the lake, and he jolts back, nearly dropping his supplies before remembering where he was.

Right, he was here to attempt to do some clay sculpting. Not… dawdle. Or think about things he shouldn’t think about now.

He let his legs fold underneath his body, rays sliding ever so slightly inwards in a wave motion. His optics clicked as he glanced towards the moon, reflected upwards through the surface of the water.

Slowly, he unsheathed his claws and ran them through the plastic of the clay, watching it rip and tear under the pulling. He wished his claws were long enough to sharpen…

A chunk pulled away, and he did his best to cover the exposed clay on the other chunk, humming pleasantly. Simple enough on that. Now… people usually kneaded this stuff, right? To make it softer? Or to break it in. Or whatever.

Pressing the ball of his palm into it, he squinted in the dark as he pushed down, blinking at the force it took to even begin to spread it, before pulling back and folding it.

Sun could feel the residue of the material annoyingly clinging to his metal hand, but ignored it as he did the motion again.

And then a few more times, until he could roughly mess with it in both his hands, frowning down towards it.

Now that he could at least shape it, he wasn’t entirely sure what to do with it. Maybe if they were here, he could look towards them and ask. He could almost imagine their response, “make the bones of the prey we hunt!”

He chuckled to himself, before laying the clay on the metal table and rolling it into a thick line. That was more like the old them. They had… they had changed. Quicker than he’d ever expected.

More than he’d ever hoped.

He paused for a heartbeat, before continuing. Once it was a good width, he used his claws to run through thirds of it, before gathering the rest and rolling it into a ball.

Maybe mushrooms would be cool. He could place them along the window’s ledge in his room. He’d have to secure them in some way, though, the cats enjoyed hopping up onto it.

Roughly slicing at the ball, he found himself with three smaller balls, carefully, and he meant carefully, he was sure that Eclipse would laugh at him if he saw, pressing each of them flat, thinning the edges more before messing with the small lines.

After he could stand it up, he grabbed one of the discs and carefully shaped it over it. And, once he was happy with how it looked…

He could help but smile.

He, Sunrise Celestial, who’d finally found out what peace- what freedom- was like, had made his first… clay creations. He’d left his home nearly two months ago- must have been one and a half- and stumbled to temporarily stay in a bunker alone. Until, a couple days later, he’d found Bloodmoon looking around, and… somehow convinced them to be…

Good? No, that wasn’t the right word. They… they were still devious. He knew that they still ate humans even when the group were in the bunker, but they hadn’t appeared to be sneaking out at night.

Not like you, his thoughts unhelpfully supplied. He ignored them.

They were getting better. They hadn’t… tried to strike him since then, he didn’t think. They were being considerate. They were thinking of him when they did what they did.

He messed with the base of the mushrooms. They needed to be perfect. He tried to pull his hands away. Anything less than is unworthy. Maybe he could look at the fauna in the lake. Destroy it-

He nearly jumped into the air as the phone in his pocket made a loud ding! His shoulders hiked upwards, body tensing like a string. Who could be messaging him at this time?! Had Moon gotten his number? Had Moon found him-?

Ripping it out quickly, he found himself relaxing at the sight of the contact, Spaniard. Ah. Just the computer. Again, at this time of night? His phone read ten at night- he’d been out here that long?!

Just checking in that you are alright. Noticed you haven’t been messaging back as often, and it has raised concern. Are you still safe?

He hummed, a smile breaking on his mouth.

Yes, Spaniard. I am certainly safe!! Bloodmoon has done a good job making sure this… I’m not quite sure what it is but it’s really big- is safe. It’s huge and has plenty of space for the both of us if I want space away from them, along with room for the cats, and if I end up not liking my room there’s more choices.

He paused, sending that before continuing.

Maybe I should call you!! It’ll be easier to get my thoughts across like that, since I’m… having a bit of trouble getting them across now.

Setting his phone back down, he squinted at the metal table before pushing the flat of the side of his hand against it, rubbing to remove as much of the clay as he could. Would they find it suspicious if he hid it in his room? Maybe…

It’s his room through.

He flinched as the notification popped up, glancing down quickly.

Whatever you are more comfortable with, Sunrise. We will not push you to do either. Is it not wise that you rest soon to conserve your battery? We are sure your battery is getting low.

He huffed.

My battery is just fine! I made sure to charge before I headed out earlier. I’m just a bit lower than expected. I’ll make a thirty minute call and the trek back to the Holdfast with enough battery to get into my room. I’m fine.

The reply was instant, You’re not in the safety of the Holdfast?

Sun could have groaned if he hadn’t locked his voice box from releasing the sound, instead typing back quickly. Yes, but I am ‘safe’! I don’t need to be under the protection of some- some other animatronic. I’m not who I used to be. I can keep myself safe.

He could almost hear the unspoken and untyped sigh that would have come from the AI. Very well.

And he immediately dropped the phone as the screen changed. Buttons, and he stammered as he hit the green one and turned it onto speaker, placing it on the metal table as he breathed softly, tense.

And for a moment, it was quiet on the other end.

Until they spoke up, “I wish to inform you now that with me are the… rest of your family. They are unaware of our conversation, but if you want to talk to them at any point, please let me know.”

If he had frozen at that and someone told him, he would deny it. “I… I’ll let you know if I gain the courage. They won’t be able to track me?”

“I have done everything in my power to prevent them from ever getting it without going through me.”

He nodded subtly, before clearing his throat and laughing. “Are you able to, like, give Eclipse my number? In case we need to call him or anything. I may have sort of forgotten to ask about that—”

“Already done, Sunrise.”

His rays clicked, and he smiled softly, before shaking his head. “Right- uhm. What I was trying to- to tell you about before. How I… trying to get my thoughts across?”

“Correct.”

“Mhm. Ah… Bloodmoon has been really, really nice. Even when Eclipse was here- we both know how much they hate him- they stayed back. They didn’t even initiate an argument that lasted longer than a few seething sentences!”

“That is impressive, for both of them. I am surprised.”

“I am too!” He chirped happily, glancing apologetically towards the fish that flitted away from the shore of the lake at his outburst. “I mean, they’re even making sure to keep their clothes clean from blood, at least I think they are, and they’re making sure not to bring their prey near me! It’s very impressive. And nice.”

Spaniard was silent, for a few moments. Before he spoke. “Sunrise, do they seem particularly… fond of you?”

He felt his rays spin around his faceplate, pushing in then out again in a waving motion. “Like…” He paused, claws sheathing fully. “Like yeah? They’re good friends. They’re… all I have out here.”

A sigh through his phone, before a hum. “Yes. Let’s go with that. They’re nice to you?”

“Very.” He replied, without hesitation.

They spoke moments after. “Then we trust you with them. They haven’t harmed you- according to your reports- and they seem to be promising.”

He spoke with the AI for a bit, until he had to stand up and begin to walk back towards the Holdfast.

He pauses when the other speaks, “The others are getting ready to leave. Do you have anything you wish to say? I can turn on the speakers.”

Sun kept walking, letting the trees eclipse him. The walk would be barely ten minutes. “Yes, I suppose. What… uhm- what harm could it do?” He chuckled nervously.

“You could be emotionally hurt.” Spaniard replied. “They could hear you vulnerable and use that while they can. Convince you to come back. I would stop it before they could- this choice is yours to make, not theirs- and shut it down.”

He breathed softly, “I’ll do it.”

When a click came through, and noise- two voices, not the computer’s- filled the quiet air of the woods, he sighed wistfully.

“H-hello everyone?” He tried, before wincing as the quiet murmur burst into audial-busting stammering, arm pulling away to put distance between him and the source.

Yells of his name- nervous, concerned, worried- before loud inquiries to where he was, if he was safe, how he was even contacting them- before he spoke, hoping to cut them off. He wanted this to be short, to be done by the time he got back home to the Holdfast.

“Yes- it’s me. Not a recording or- or anything like that. It’s Sunrise, your brother…” The word seemed to sting on his tongue. “And I want you to listen to what I have to say. Not- not forcing me to sit back while you all speak over me. I’ll be… the one. Who’s talking.”

It went quiet on the other end, and he took that as his sign to keep going.

“I… you were all great siblings. More than I could ever ask for! You guys kept me as safe as you could, gave me a house to live in, and all of that…”

He paused, looking forwards. He watched the Holdfast fade into view.

“But, as much as I was safe, I wasn’t happy. You all always left me behind in things you did- not all the time, sure, but I felt left out. And I was. You would all rather do stuff with each other rather than me.”

He heard someone try to protest- was that Moon?- but someone simply hushed the voice.

“I love you all, I really do, but I’ve had enough.” He snapped, shaking his head. “I lived in pain, in fear for my life. And… here? All I’m scared of is you all finding me.”

“Sun, I…” He heard someone try, but he growled.

“No! I’m the one talking.” The other end was quiet again. “I’m done. I don’t want to come back- I won’t come back unless you’re all dragging me, kicking and screaming!” He breached the trees.

“Do you wish for me to end the call, Sunrise?”

He chuffed approval, and watched the screen go dark, before a text lit it up once again.

I am glad you managed to get your… rather short feelings out. I wish you luck on your rest tonight.

He smiled, tucking it into his pocket as he pushed open the door.