#kb lore

[bitterkarmaa]

I like you, have a crumb 😌

[bitterkarmaa]

ye

This has been rotating in my head non-stop

‼️TW SEIZURE‼️

-

Sun had emphasized how important it was for everyone to be present during family movie night. Eclipse understood that, honestly. How would it be family movie night without the whole family?

He supposed that they’d just have to find that out tonight.

If he had to watch Air Bud one more goddamn time, he might just kill everyone in the room. And, contrary to popular belief, he doesn’t exactly want to do that.

So, he’s resolved himself to hide on the platform that overlooks the theater, peering in between the bars of the banister. His rays are retracted, the vibrant colors of his clothes hidden by a blanket that he has pulled over his shoulders. Plus, added bonus, it keeps him warm. Today isn’t a great day physically for him, so the extra comfort is appreciated.

When the soft chatters of everyone else begins to filter up to him from below, signaling his family’s arrival, he backs away from the banister and scuttles towards the door hidden amongst the various boxes and crates of equipment. With one last glance over his shoulder, he hears Rays quietly ask where he is, with Blood Moon’s more firm voice not far behind.

He lingers, one hand on the doorknob.

“What if he’s gotten himself hurt again? What if he’s stuck somewhere? What if-“

“Blood, he’s fine. He’s probably just skipping out on movie night because we aren’t watching one of his cheesy horror films.” Moon’s sharp voice cuts in, a sigh leaving his mouth as Blood Moon continues to grumble behind him.

“Hurt?” Rays’ soft, yet mortified tone paints a picture of his expression in Eclipse’s head: eyes wide, blanket pulled tightly over his shoulders, shaking fingers curled into the fabric. It’s almost enough to make Eclipse reveal himself and come down. Almost.

“Yeah, he’s kinda a danger magnet.” Moon admits, moving towards the staircase that leads up to the platform Eclipse is hidden on.

“I doubt he’s in danger, though. He usually gets paranoid when he’s doing stupid shit, but he’s been pretty chill lately. Have you tried calling him?”

Blood Moon pauses. “No.”

“Try that, then get back to me.”

Moon takes the stairs two at a time. Eclipse knows he likes to show off, since he only does it in front of others.

Tsk. I could do that, too.

Eclipse opens the door, slipping into the hallway behind. In a slight panic, he tugs on the handle, pulling it shut behind him as quickly as possible. Not long after, he hears Moon’s footsteps outside.

With a sigh of relief, he turns away from the door, facing the rest of the corridor.

He lets out half of a yelp before slapping his hands over his mouth, glaring daggers at the tall figure before him as Moon’s movements pause outside.

Familiar red eyes stare down at Eclipse, albeit dimmer than he remembers. He slowly uncovers his mouth as Moon continues on with his task, presumably getting the movie started.

“What are you doing here?” Eclipse hisses under his breath.

Kill Code blinks. Slowly, carefully, as if uncertain what the action’s purpose is. Acting on autopilot. Eclipse is further disturbed.

“…hello?”

Kill Code shakes its head slightly, letting out a huff. “My hall. You know this.”

Eclipse leans back, crossing his arms over his chest, reassured by Kill Code’s more familiar behavior. “You can’t own a hallway. I needed somewhere to hide. Can you help, or not?”

Kill Code narrows his eyes, his claws twitching at his sides. It sways precariously on unsteady paws.

Eclipse fights the urge to move forwards and steady him.

“Follow.” It grunts, turning around and beginning to saunter back down the hall. Eclipse hesitates a few moments before trailing behind, keeping his footsteps light in comparison to Kill Code’s heavy stomping.

It’s small things that catch his attention. The stumbles, the pauses. The way each step seems to take all of Kill Code’s energy. So much effort for a single movement.

Then, Eclipse jumps again, startled by the ringing of a call coming in. Kill Code flinches, too, tail lashing through the air as it turns to growl at Eclipse.

Eclipse stumbles back, Blood Moon’s contact flashing across his sight. He declines the call in an annoyed(and maybe frightened) frenzy, trying to move away, a snarky quip ready on his tongue to dismiss himself back to his sons. But a hand with long, sharp claws closes around his wrist, pulling him closer instead.

“S-Stop, stop! Dad-“ Eclipse grits out, trying to pry himself free from Kill Code’s grasp. For a moment, Kill Code remains still, gaze hauntingly hollow. Before long, however, it releases Eclipse, robotically leaning away once more.

“What is wrong with you right now? You’ve been off since I got back here!” Eclipse snaps, holding his wrist close to his chest, as if afraid Kill Code will try to grab him again.

“Ringing. It’s irritating.” Kill Code says lowly. His eyes still seem…off.

“It was Blood Moon, probably wondering where I am! You were there when they had their big breakdown about me being gone and hurt, so you should know how they can be!”

Ridiculous as it is…

Eclipse lets out a heavy breath, trying to expel his paranoia. Kill Code stares down at him blankly. Unmoving.

“I apologize. I overreacted.” Kill Code says flatly. Eclipse relaxes slightly, though he remains vigilant.

“It’s…okay. Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Fine.”

With that, it turns back around and continues on towards the door to its room. Eclipse follows, less hesitant this time, hovering behind it nervously.

When it makes it to the door, it moves its hand up to grab the knob, but its hand misses and instead scrapes vainly against the rusted metal surface of the door itself. Eclipse watches quietly.

By the time it completes the process again with the same result, Eclipse has grown impatient. He reaches out and opens the door himself.

Kill Code grumbles to himself, but makes no comment, instead forcing himself inside with his son on his heels.

The door closes on its own behind them. Eclipse glances back at it, but doesn’t dwell long. “You…you’re sure?”

Kill Code pauses for but a moment. A slight hitch in its gait. It mutters something over its shoulder. Eclipse doesn’t catch the words.

“KC?” Eclipse steps closer. Kill Code’s arm spasms, and it growls, using its other arm to restrain it against its side.

“Stop prying, boy!” It snarls, still struggling against the twitching and writhing mess of its own arm.

“But-“

“But nothing!” It shouts, scaring the concern right out of Eclipse as the scarred animatronic doubles back on himself, eyes widening in fear. Kill Code turns to face him, tail whipping back and forth, back and forth, back and forth - advancing on Eclipse like a prowling tiger sizing up its next meal.

“Okay, okay, I-I’ll stop-!” Eclipse stumbles backwards, raising a hand to shield himself as his father looms over him, draping him in its morbid shadow.

“You never learn to shut up, do you?” Its gleaming red eyes pierce him like bullets, digging into him ruthlessly. “You always pay, pay all these prices and- consider, possibly, that you’ve earned some-“ It turns away again, bringing a hand up to the damaged half of its face, the remaining visible eye now wild with conflicting emotions.

“What? What are you talking about?” Eclipse asks incredulously, feeling that familiar warmth spread out from his chest, pure power running through his systems. His bad eye flickers to life, a dim light cast as an iris.

“They’re your children! They should be worried! You act as if their concern is a nuisance to you, such a disgraceful outlook-“ Kill Code continues to rant, the deranged expression on its face only worsening with each word.

“I never said that!” Eclipse retorts, his arm coming back down, aligned with his chest instead of his head. An offensive position, rather than defensive.

“Shut your mouth!” In the blink of an eye, Kill Code is bearing down on him again, claws reaching, shadow looming, face set in a vicious snarl. Eclipse’s jaw snaps shut with an audible click.

His confidence leaves much quicker than it came.

“I taught you how to care, I taught you how to be appreciative, but you act as if Blood Moon’s worry bores you - burdens you. You act as if being in the presence of the others is a damn chore, when all they’ve done is care for you. You’d be dead without them!” Then, it stops, speaking in a softer, more subdued tone than before. “You’d be dead without me, but you left years ago.”

Eclipse listens in silence up until the last few words, his anger and pride flaring before his self-preservation can rein them in.

“You sentenced me to death before you saved me from it.”

Kill Code’s entire demeanor changes. His hands retract, his body recoils, tense and shocked as if physically struck by Eclipse’s words.

“I…I never meant to…” It’s words are distant, almost confused, or lost. Its expression twists into borderline despair, snarl falling into a pained grimace.

Pricks of oil gather in Kill Code’s eyes, complete and utter shock hitting Eclipse with the force of twelve fighter jets.

Okay, so…that’s still a sore spot. Noted.

“KC….I….” Eclipse starts, fidgeting nervously with his claws. It is then that he notices Kill Code sway, staggering backwards. “KC?”

Eclipse gets closer, quickly grabbing his father’s arm, slowly lowering him to sit on the cold cement floor below. He feels the mechanisms in the older animatronic’s arm stiffening uncontrollably beneath his sleeve and plating, gears grinding, turning against themselves.

“I-I don’t know what to do, tell me what to do, how to save you-“

Memories hit him harder than he thought they would. It’s his turn to overreact, it seems, because surely his father isn’t dying - come on, he’s fine! He said it himself!

Kill Code’s eyes remain vacant, unfocused and dim. The only thing keeping him upright is Eclipse’s hold on his arm.

Oil. Oil everywhere. Covering his hands, coating his chest, leaking between his fingers as he struggles to connect the tubes back to the pump- god, please, PLEASE no, he couldn’t- couldn’t do this-

“Dad?” Eclipse can’t keep the tremble from his voice. It stays. His hands, they stay, shaking. Clutching at Kill Code’s arm, panic setting in faster than he ever thought possible.

There’s this ticking noise from behind Kill Code’s remaining faceplate, the visible wires on the other half sparking wildly. His eyes flicker a few times, then go dark.

He can barely see through the tears. It’s hard to put everything back together with hands that shake this badly. But he has to try. He has to. What would he do on his own? How would he survive? It’s just been the two of them for so long. He can’t do this on his own.

Right?

“DAD!” Eclipse shouts as his father goes limp for only a moment, spasms and convulsions seizing him in the next. He is forced to release him and back off, his trembling hands still hovering in mid-air in front of him as if poised to touch or hold or - or something other than just watch.

Tears gather in his eyes, a nauseating amount of panic crawling up his throat. Getting any closer would get them both hurt. But…but what…what is going on??

Is he dying again?

The thought forces a choked sob out of his mouth, trembling hands moving back to wrap around himself. His rays shrink in, hiding behind his faceplate, just as he wishes to run and hide somewhere else, as well.

He should’ve just watched the damn movie. Should’ve sat down with his family and rolled his eye at all the lame jokes, only actually uttering a laugh when Blood Moon made fun of the ironic moments.

But no. No, he had to cause problems.

He had to do it alone now. He was gone. His father’s tubes were too torn, his intake bent beyond repair. His pump had choked up on all the oil, so much of it covering Eclipse that he knows it would never be enough to keep Kill Code running, even if he had managed to keep him awake somehow.

So much oil. So much.

Eclipse tries to wrack his processor for any clue as to what is going on. System error? No, those never get this bad. Electric current disruption? No, that would just force a restart. Seizure? No, those are for-

Everything stops. His shaking, his crying, his panic. Seizure. This is a seizure.

Finally, he manages to pull himself out of his daze. He moves forwards, slipping one hand under his father’s back, shifting him onto his side. He pays no mind to his flailing limbs, even as a claw tears his collar and nicks his neck beneath. It’s not Kill Code’s fault.

Eclipse keeps one hand on his father’s shoulder once he is safely on his side, oil dribbling out of his mouth and onto the floor beneath. Even as he continues to seize, Eclipse remains in place, making sure he stays put and as safe as possible.

Logic still tries to press back against his conclusion. Robots can’t have seizures. It makes no sense. The very structure of a seizure relies on the brain and the electrical impulses that reside within. Sure, animatronics have a processor, which is the equivalent of a brain - but the cables have full control over the electrical current that is transferred to each system. That pre-set amount can’t be changed, and this has never happened before, so how-

It’s because he’s dying. Again. Stop trying to deny it, you know what’s happening.

Those damned tears sting at his eyes again, but he tries to hold them back.

Just like last time, you can’t do anything. You can’t save him, you can’t save yourself, you can’t save anyone. You can only cause harm.

It’s no use. The tears drip down his face no matter how hard he tries, a silent sob leaving his mouth. His hands start shaking again.

Then, Kill Code’s seizing begins to slow. It eases into only the occasional spasm or jerk - much more manageable, as far as Eclipse is concerned. Less panic-inducing.

Much to his relief, he feels the heavy rise and fall of his father’s chest as he vents to compensate for the heat he gathered during his…whatever that was.

All self-control leaves him in an instant. He curls up against Kill Code, sobbing brokenly into his shoulder for the first time in decades. His claws curl into his tattered shirt, slowly falling into screams of despair.

The tears blur everything together. Past, present, life, death. He’s trembling and screaming and sobbing so much that he can’t tell up from down. Can’t tell if Kill Code is still breathing beneath him. Can’t feel anything other than grief.

But he’s not dead. You know he’s dead. He’s not. He’s breathing. Is he? Yes. You’re imagining it. No. He’s alive. He’s dead. He’s alive. He’s dead. He’s alive.He’s dead. He’s alive. He’s dead.

He’s dead.

He’s dead.

He’s dead.

He’s-

“Eclipse?”

His eye sharpens immediately, focusing on Kill Code’s bleary expression. The tears stop like flipping a switch. He tries to focus on making sure his father’s alright.

“Yeah? You - um - you okay?” Eclipse stammers, trying his hardest to get and keep his shit together.

He’s dead.

He’s dead.

He’s dead.

Kill Code shifts, trying to push himself into a sitting position. Eclipse’s hands, still trembling, jolt forwards to gently urge him to lay back down.

“No. You need more time.” He insists, earning a shaky sigh from his father.

“I’m alright, Eclipse. I’m sorry you had to witness that.” Kill Code rasps in response, and it takes everything within Eclipse to push down the childish urge to curl into his father’s chest and hug him tight.

“No, no. It’s - it’s okay. Not your fault.” He knows his tone is distant. He’s not really here. Is he?

He’s dead.

He’s dead.

He’s dead.

“Eclipse, look at me.”

“I am.”

“My eyes, you twit.”

Eclipse slowly lifts his gaze until it is locked with Kill Code’s, allowing his father to carefully sit up this time around without making an effort to push him back down.

“What’s going on in that head of yours, hm?” It reaches out one hand to gently cup his son’s face, a frown crossing his own as he witnesses tears gather in the corners of his eyes.

“N-N…um…” Eclipse stammers, voice shaking. “Nothing. Nothing important.”

He’s dead.

I’m looking at him.

What remains of him, you fool.

Maybe it’s the exhaustion in Kill Code’s eyes, maybe it’s the frightening way his mind fights with itself like a snake eating its own tail, but he can’t hold it in anymore. A sob wrenches itself from his chest, and he launches himself into his father’s arms.

He shuts his eyes tightly and buries himself into Kill Code’s chest, letting the tears and torment out into his father’s clothes.

And, no matter how exhausted and dizzy Kill Code is, he sits and he holds his son while he breaks in his arms. He waits and he soothes, allowing the desperate claws to curl into the back of his shirt, clutching at him as if he’s already gone.

Because, in Eclipse’s mind…he quite possibly is.

[bitterkarmaa]

Head in hands, sobbing

He won’t leave me alone💔

Anyways

✨It’s Nexus time✨

So, you may be wondering:

“Shep, how the hell are you going to shove this twit into your weird ass AU?”

And my answer is:

Good question.

Anyways pt 2

Here’s how they’ll be presented in Karma’s Bitter!

-> He/they

-> Yes, those are Solar’s goggles

-> Scarring on face is a result of the blast that sent him to outer space time-out. He can still see fine out of both eyes

-> The tear in his pants comes from a failed experiment to bring Solar back

-> The straps around their knees is to keep their legs from bending like Moon’s do, but this causes a lot of strain on the joints as a result. Sometimes one or the other leg decides to just give up and take a break without warning. Rays got him a pair of forearm crutches for occasions like this, although it doesn’t happen as often as Rays and Eclipse’s own problems do

-> Taller than Moon because of their leg augmentation

-> Follows Eclipse around like a puppy. Eclipse is not pleased

-> That one annoying angsty little brother/sibling

-> Is quite good at strategy games

-> Murder mystery goober

-> Wonder what happened to their hand…

[bitterkarmaa]

*stands ominously in your doorway*

HELLO THERE! I have some prompts for KC and Solar Flare and/or Eclipse to offer if i may because i'm having brainworms from when you said KC would adopt Solar JGKIFLGH

44. “This is not who you are. I know you better than that.”

69. “You don’t have to say anything, I’ll do the talking.”

71. “What did I do wrong!?”

(AGAIN i don't expect for all to be done or even any at all ahsfkfd just one if you feel up to it! Since i couldn't decide which prompt to choose so i'm leaving it to you gjdfkh)

I’m getting back into these I prommy 💔

“What did I do WRONG?!”

-KillCode, Eclipse, & Solar Flare-

The hallway seemed longer than usual. His footsteps echoed throughout the corridor in an almost haunting fashion, but it did little to deter him from his objective.

Moon had mentioned that things were going missing in the theater, and Eclipse was getting tired of convincing him, time and time again, that Blood Moon had nothing to do with it.

Besides, he needed to check in with him after…

He shakes his head so hard it rattles his sight, forcing him to blink a few times to clear it. He can’t think like that right now. It’ll distract him. Besides, Kill Code had to practically shove Eclipse out of the room after a day of his hovering, so surely he must’ve been fine if he had the strength to do such a thing.

But what if something has happened since I was last here?

Eclipse would never admit that he speeds up his pace after that thought, that his strides become longer and more pronounced. The jog to the door takes him little more than a few minutes with his increased pace, claws coming out to grasp the handle before he pauses.

He can hear talking coming from inside the room. He strains his audio receptors, trying to make out any words through the surface of the door.

He catches little more than the tone with which the voices speak in, calm and almost warm in nature. He hesitates far longer than he intends to, listening attentively to those voices mingling together in the room beyond.

One is Kill Code.

The other isn’t.

His claws close around the handle, shoving the door open with much more force than necessary. It crashes back against the wall with a SLAM that startles Kill Code and-

Eclipse narrows his eyes. Who the hell is that?

It looks like a fucking hedgehog.

Round marigold eyes stare back at him, curiosity clear on its face despite the fact that its mouth is held in a seemingly permanent grin, sectioned off by bars like a jail cell. Orange and yellow spikes of various shades protrude from its head, giving it the appearance of a cartoon character after a particularly intense gust of wind.

It stands just slightly shorter than Eclipse does, maybe half the height of Kill Code. Eclipse looks it up and down multiple times, studying it closely.

He’s so surprised by its close proximity to his father that he doesn’t immediately notice what is clutched in its hands, but when he does register it…

A stuffed animal. A grey stuffed animal with worn fabric and rough fur, carefully stitched together in places. A cute little black plastic nose, turned at an odd angle, haphazardly attached to its face as if having previously fallen off.

A single brown eye, clouded with age.

Eclipse lets out a rabid, guttural snarl.

“How dare you touch him-“

The scarred animatronic surges forwards with the ferocity of a wild animal, a crazed glint gleaming from the depths of his single functioning eye.

The smaller animatronic-hedgehog-thing makes no move to back away or beg for mercy Eclipse is surely not willing to give, instead standing with its head tilted slightly to the side, watching him approach in a calm manner.

But, before Eclipse can reach the intruder, Kill Code blocks his path. It narrows its eyes into glowing red slits, glaring down at its fuming son.

“Are you crazy?!” Eclipse hisses, one of his hands bolting out, grabbing hold of Kill Code’s arm, pulling him closer. The larger animatronic watches Eclipse carefully, but makes no attempt to pull away.

“Solar Flare will do no harm. Not to me, not to you, and not to your precious little wolf.” It quips, tone deadpan, borderline apathy dripping from its voice box.

“Fucking who?” Eclipse grits out through clenched teeth, his grip on his father’s arm tightening. Something wild and dangerous writhes in the depths of his gaze - a caged animal fighting tooth and claw to escape its prison.

Kill Code has seen it before. It doesn’t bother him in the slightest.

“Solar Flare.” It repeats, finally prying its arm free from Eclipse’s claws.

“That doesn’t explain much! Why is it here? What is it doing with Mr. Howls? Why was I not informed that Mr. Howls was here the entire time? Where the hell have you been hiding him?” The scarred black and amber animatronic starts firing off questions, earning a slightly disgruntled look from the beast that towers before him.

“Calm down. Your anger will not serve you well here.”

“You’re one to talk!” Eclipse fires back, taking a step closer to his father, if only to try and get past him. His attempt is thwarted by Kill Code shoving him back with a single hand.

“Stop. I mean it, Eclipse.” A warning hangs behind Kill Code’s carefully measured tone, leaning down to look his son directly in the eye. “Just as you once needed guidance, Solar Flare does, too. It’s unfair to judge before you truly know who they are.”

For a moment, all Eclipse’s anger dissolves into a sense of complete and utter disbelief. His gaze is lost, searching his father’s eyes for anything that may deny the conclusion Eclipse is slowly coming to.

His eye flits over to this ‘Solar Flare,’ those slender claws still curled so confidently around Eclipse’s old friend. It continues to look on quietly, unwilling to interrupt or stand up for itself in any way, shape, or form.

A coward. This thing is a coward.

Eclipse’s stare trails back to Kill Code’s unrelenting glare. Something is there, something in his eyes that Eclipse feels belongs to him, something that shouldn’t be felt for anyone else.

Protectiveness.

Kill Code is protective of that thing?

“Guidance? You…you’re guiding that thing?” Eclipse asks incredulously, a guarded edge to his voice.

“In a sense. The same way I guided you.” Kill Code confirms cautiously.

The fury comes back full force. “You mean the same way you raised me?”

He’s shaking now. His hands are curled into fists, white light glowing beneath his chassis. Cracks arc through his body, crawling up his neck, twisting down his arms.

Kill Code straightens himself out, letting out a calm hum. “I would suppose so. Is that a problem?”

Just saying ‘yes’ wouldn’t have been enough to portray the livid expression on Eclipse’s face. There was no word that could match his wrath.

“I never expected an act of betrayal from you.” Eclipse’s blind eye flickers to life, glowing a hazy marigold, slowly fading to a sharp, vibrant white. “Perhaps I should have.”

Am I so easily replaceable?

Kill Code watches him closely, noticing the changes to his appearance almost as quickly as they come.

He knows the Star’s influence when he sees it. It’s frighteningly hard to miss.

“I believe you’re misinterpreting this…” The former security bot begins with slight hesitance, taking a step back as his son, in turn, advances.

“No. No, I’m reading this loud and clear.” Eclipse’s voice twists, darkening even as The Star’s whispers brighten each mark it creates. He feels it whirring in his chest, warning him to stop, to back down, but he’s too lost to listen.

“Eclipse, listen to me! Solar Flare is not a threat to you!” Kill Code shouts, taking on a defensive stance despite his words.

Even as a manic grin spreads across Eclipse’s face, tears unmistakably gather in his eyes. He stalks closer. A wild animal, lost in the hunt, just as he was time and time again in a life he promised to leave behind.

“Threat? Threat?! Ha! I could crush that thing like a bug if I pleased! I’m not worried about threats anymore, father.” A crazed voice controlling infinite power, white streaks of light dancing between his claws. Oil foams at his mouth, his body crumpling under the pressure.

But he feels nothing. Nothing but rage and despair.

Those words have become so familiar to him.

Kill Code lets out a heavy sigh, shaking its head as if at a loss for words.

“In fact, it seems more like a pest than anything else.” The tone is tainted with disgust, flicking a claw off to the side in a lazy manner for emphasis. “Taking up your space, taking up your time…I can fix that. I can solve this little pest problem of your’s.”

Kill Code seems startled by the offer, but his expression hardens into cold resolve not long after. Apathy anchors him down.

“They’re not a problem. You, currently, are.”

Eclipse takes another step. “What’s changed? That’s all I’ve ever been to you, right? A problem? A nuisance? A distraction?” With every syllable, he gets closer, closing the distance in a tauntingly slow fashion.

Kill Code’s mouth falls into a faint frown. “I’ve never given that implication before. You scavenged that on your own, boy.”

He doesn’t even realize how much damage he’s caused. He doesn’t care.

Suddenly, Eclipse wants to be new again. Wants to relive the moments he spent with Kill Code leaning over his shoulder, watching him work, training him behind the scenes to protect the children if it ever became necessary for him to do so on his own.

Wants to be loved, without room for doubt.

His claws come up, hooking loosely, feebly, into the front of his vest, over the place where his scar hides. It aches fiercely, even as the raw power surges freely through his body. It crawls like ants beneath his plating, tingling in uncomfortable ways, wearing him down wire by wire, component by component.

It eats him alive, only to return that life to him so that it can repeat the process all over again.

Kill Code reaches out a tentative hand to his son, watching him closely, listening to his rapid breaths, borderline hyperventilations. He knows he’s made the wrong move moments before Eclipse reacts.

Those marigold, white-tinted claws come up, burning through the fabric of Kill Code’s sleeve effortlessly, digging into his wrist. The metal melts beneath his grip, the soft sizzling of the wires within following not far behind.

Kill Code retaliates on instinct, swiping his good leg low enough to knock Eclipse’s feet out from under him. Once he is off balance, Kill Code wrenches his arm free of his grasp, allowing him to collide harshly with the ground.

A paw is placed over his chest, enough pressure applied to drive the breath out of Eclipse’s vents, some of his strength ebbing with it.

His father glares down at him in cold disappointment. “I was not around to witness the cruelty that rumors say you wrought, but I understand where it comes from. I know it better than anyone else ever will. I made mistakes with you, Eclipse. But that doesn’t mean your tendencies have become a stranger to me. I wish not to pass these on any further. You don’t have the right to stop me from trying again.”

Eclipse leans his head back against the floor, tears flooding his eyes, warping his sight. He’s cried more in front of Kill Code than anyone else he’s ever known.

Those tears were his father’s fault, after all, and it seems that pattern has no intent to stop.

“What’s so wrong with me, huh? What’s so bad that you feel the need for a do-over, a second chance, a fucking redemption?” Eclipse’s voice slowly raises until it has become a shout of anguish, his charged emotions only further fueling The Star’s influence.

“WHAT DID I DO WRONG?!”

A sharp ringing is the only warning. It raises in pitch until it becomes unbearable, then abruptly cuts off as a loud BOOM echoes throughout the room.

Kill Code is thrown like a ragdoll, tossed aside with such ease that it almost seems impossible.

But The Star makes things possible. Like chucking an 11 foot animatronic across a large cement room.

Kill Code hits the ground with a resounding crash, rolling a few times before coming to a stop, lying still and silent.

But Eclipse isn’t done. He staggers to unsteady feet and begins to lumber across the room. The side of his body that possesses The Star is scorched and melted. His metal plating is bent backwards from the force of the blast, revealing smoking wires and sparking components.

He hovers over his father like a statue, oil slowly dripping to the floor at his feet.

He hadn’t intended to hurt him. He hadn’t intended to blow his arm off and melt it down to the endoskeleton, or completely shatter the casing around his shoulder.

His gaze slowly turns towards Solar Flare, of whom stands near the opposite wall with Mr. Howls still clutched in its hands.

“You…” Eclipse’s voice comes out as a distorted snarl, glitching and rattling. It cuts out at the end with the whine and crackle of a dying speaker, a few sparks flying from his voice box. The moment he begins stalking towards Solar Flare, the other animatronic, in turn, flees.

“I believe you are acting irrationally.” For the first time, it speaks, tone flat and unbearably standardized, as if those settings hadn’t yet been touched.

No matter. Eclipse doesn’t need its voice.

“I don’t care.” He says in equal measure, lifting his hand in a vague motion towards the door. The lock clicks and slides closed, deadbolt following suit.

“Oh no. You wish to harm me, don’t you?”

“No. I’m not going to harm you.” Eclipse watches the other bit skid to a stop, peering at him expectantly.

And he grins, reaching out towards it and closing his claws into a fist, a white crack crossing the floor faster than any being ever could. The crack seems to root itself in Solar Flare, dragging it closer to Eclipse as the deranged, broken and twisted animatronic makes a pulling motion with his hand. It struggles against invisible bonds, trying to free itself from his wrath.

But no one can fight The Star, and so, in turn, no one can fight him.

Marigold claws close around a surprisingly solid metal neck, that smile stretching, pupils nothing more than blazing pinpricks amongst an abyss of sadistic glee.

“I’m going to kill you.”

Then, with a strike as quick as the blink of an eye, the world goes dark.

[bitterkarmaa]

Another little tidbit for you guys to play with….KC has seizures in my AU

[bitterkarmaa]

“Why would you wanna work at a place like that?”

“To pay tribute to an old friend, I guess.”

I made my fav scene bc I’m worried everyone is losing interest in my story even tho I know ya’ll are loyal as hell T-T

[bitterkarmaa]

Eclipse: *walks in with little Veil*

Everyone in the room:

*whispering* the fucc?

Re-writing this in 4k

Pt 1

Eclipse emerges into the main room with little hesitation, having already devoted himself to allowing this type of vulnerability to show. He didn’t know why he was showing it, but…he felt like he needed to. For Veil, perhaps, or to assure himself that he was a comforting presence now, instead of a threatening one.

No matter the reason, he was here now, and there was no going back.

But, oh boy, does he want to go back the moment that everyone turns to look at him.

He would’ve done just that if it wasn’t for the way Veil tightens his grip under all those eyes, hiding timidly amongst Eclipse’s oil-streaked clothing. The elder animatronic stands his ground, as he usually does, despite the looks he is being given.

Judgement dances in the stances and stares of everyone around the room, and, for just a moment, Eclipse wants to wipe those looks away. He wants to snap and slash, catching each one of them in his claws like wild animals caught in the clutches of a snare.

But he doesn’t.

He’s been good.

“What did you need me for?” He breaks the silence with a tight voice, one that demands an answer so that he may leave.

“Uh…are we just gonna…ignore that…?” Moon motions to Veil in his arms, a wrench dangling from his hand.

“Ignore what?” Eclipse asks innocently. He knows playing dumb won’t get him very far, but since when has that stopped him from doing something?

“Don’t play stupid!”

Blood Moon bristles, their claws digging into the beanbag they were previously peacefully situated upon. Now they kneel amongst it’s fabric with wild eyes, shoulders tight, back arched like a cat about to leap into a battle.

Eclipse glances down to them in a calm manner.

“Play stupid? Me? You’re amusing, boys.” He smiles in a mock sort of warmth, addressing his sons as if nothing is wrong. In reality, there is nothing truly wrong, but…

This seems to agitate them, for some reason.

Hearing Blood Moon’s sharp tone seems to frighten Veil, of whom begins to shake in his arms. He shuts his eyes tightly against the growing fear that sinks its teeth into his head, willing it to leave him be.

“You-“ Blood Moon starts, voice barely above a growl. Lunar reaches out and lays a hand onto their arm, his own eyes round with worry.

“Stop that! We’re having a moment!” They snap, shoving Lunar’s hand off with more aggression than they intended. Lunar lets out a squeak and scoots back, but…he doesn’t seem scared. No, he almost seems…angry…

“That was mean!” Lunar crosses his arms over his chest, eyeing Blood Moon with unwavering determination. They don’t even look at him.

“That thing hurt all of us, and you’re just…what, caring for it? Being gentle with it?! Replacing us with it?! Hell, it killed you!” Blood Moon snarls, noting with satisfaction that Veil flinches on almost every word.

Eclipse can’t help but bark out a laugh.

“Replace you? What are you going on about?” He asks, tone dripping with amusement. This only seems to upset them more.

“You’re not even listening!!” They shout, slamming their hand down onto the beanbag they’re still hunched upon.

“Because you’re having a temper tantrum.”

“TEMPER TANTRUM?!” Their voices shift and crackle, static coursing through their bitter tones. Two voices, perfectly aligned, speaking as one. They both feel this outlandish jealousy, and they both feel it to the same extreme.

Lovely.

What frustrates Eclipse is that Veil begins to cry in his arms once again, his eyes blazing with anger as he glares daggers into Blood Moon’s own pointed stare.

“You made him cry.” Eclipse scolds.

“ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?!” Blood Moon raises their hands, tugging at their cap with shaking claws, taunt with shock and betrayal.

“Be quiet, both of you. What is it that I was to be questioned about? I would like to get this over with before this environment becomes more hostile.” Eclipse quips lightly, glancing around the room. Sun looks at Moon, and Moon looks at the floor.

“…I was gonna ask if you had the cat memes still, to share with Sun.”

Eclipse’s expression flattens. “You’re deadass.”

“I’m deadass.”

“No, your ass is dead.” He hisses, and Moon instantly raises his hands in a show of innocence.

“You could’ve said ‘hey, I’m having a moment and need a bit of time, can you hold on?’ You know, like normal people do?”

Eclipse scowls, but makes no attempt to refute Moon’s statement.

“By the way, thanks for pointing fingers, Sun.” Moon comments sourly.

“I looked at you!” Sun defends, throwing his arms up in the air in exasperation.

“With purpose!”

“Oh my god you cannot be serious right now-“

As the two siblings begin to bicker, Rays slowly raises his hand in the midst of all the chaos. Eclipse gives him a confused look, but nods to him nonetheless.

“Does he have a name?” He asks quietly, giving a vague motion towards Veil. Eclipse stares at him for a moment, seemingly surprised that someone is trying to accommodate for Veil despite the obvious tension his presence provides. Then again…Rays wasn’t exactly around when Eclipse was slaughtered by his newest son.

“Veil.” Eclipse responds after a long silence, glancing down to the animatronic in question as his creation stirs in his arms, looking nervously over to Rays, of whom gives him a small wave and warm, welcoming smile.

Thank god…someone has sense.

“That’s a cool name.” He adds, making Veil smile the slightest bit.

“Thank you.” Veil murmurs shyly.

“It’s a dumb name.” Blood Moon mutters from their place beside Lunar, arms crossed and face set in a sour sort of pout.

“Be nice. He’s scared.” Rays attempts to reason with the envious twins, of whom shut down his consolations with one sharp glare. Rays withers back into his place near the couch, falling into a heavy silence.

“Blood Moon’s a dumb name.” Veil retaliates, though immediately regrets it when they turn their head 180 degrees to face him, neck bent at an odd angle while their arms are still firmly crossed in front of them.

“Say it to our face and see what happens.” They threaten, quite obviously wishing Veil to take up their offer so that they’ll have an excuse to lunge.

Eclipse turns so that Veil is out of their sightline.

“Enough.” He demands, tone flat, reminiscent of the days that Blood Moon remembers being the worst of their lives. They look away, turning their head back the right direction with a barely audible ‘click’ as it falls back into place.

“You too.” Eclipse scolds Veil, of whom shrinks away from him with a quick, frightened nod.

“You’re keeping him.”

Lunar’s voice, so uncharacteristically cold for someone as lighthearted as he usually is. It isn’t a question, no, but a statement awaiting confirmation. His sky blue eyes bore into Eclipse’s back, and he turns to see the most furious expression he’s ever seen on his little brother’s face.

“He’s not a dog, but…I guess, yeah, in a sense, I am keeping him.” Eclipse responds skeptically.

The fury intensifies.

“He killed you.”

Lunar usually doesn’t outright say these things, as admitting the event happened can often lead to him crying for hours on end at the memories. He has a few specific words he has vowed not to say, and ‘killed’ just happens to be one of them.

“Yeah.” Eclipse tries to ignore the unease that stirs in his circuits.

“Did that mean nothing?”

Eclipse remains silent at that, looking away, avoiding Lunar’s accusatory gaze.

“I cried for you. Because of him. And that’s just it? It means nothing to you?”

“It doesn’t mean nothing. It just means that I’m willing to forgive him.” Eclipse flashes back, head coming up so that he can meet Lunar’s eyes once again.

“What if none of us are willing to forgive him? What then?” Again, that same cold, unfeeling tone. It doesn’t fit Lunar. Eclipse hates hearing it from Lunar.

“Then there will be an issue.”

The room falls silent after that. Everyone stays still, Sun and Moon having since ended their argument due to the amounting stress in the room. Now, they exchange conflicted glances, offering one another silent apologies.

A scrabble of claws over wood brings the group from their trance.

“Blood!” Lunar shouts, reaching out in a vain attempt to stop their deranged behavior before it gets someone hurt.

But they’re already out of his reach.

“Run.”

Eclipse looks down to Veil, a frenzied panic clearly reflecting in both father and son’s eyes. Veil, however, had an urgency in his voice that drives Eclipse to act instead of stand and stare.

He does just that, sliding to the side right as Blood Moon lunges, colliding harshly with the wall, in the place that Eclipse just stood.

Not directed at me.

Eclipse’s eyes widen, watching his crazed sons shake their head like a stunned dog, then turn to face him with a vacant look that chills him to his core.

Their gaze is locked on Veil.

Eclipse takes another step back as Sun and Moon begin to move towards them, Lunar not far behind.

“Over here!”

Eclipse looks up, over to the ladder, where Rays is perched with his arms outstretched, urging Eclipse and Veil towards him. With one last helpless look over his shoulder at Blood Moon, Eclipse moves over to Rays, grabbing his hand and being pleasantly surprised (and kinda impressed) when the battered animatronic manages to hoist him up onto the platform that leads out into the daycare.

Blood Moon has since been restrained by Moon, but it doesn’t seem to stop their relentless pursuit. This…this is a hunt to them. They won’t stop until Veil is either killed, or out of their sight.

But where would they go?

Moon yelps, tossed off to the side as Blood Moon manages to get some sort of advantage. Sun dives to take his brother’s place, but Blood Moon has already begun to bolt towards the ladder.

Rays positions himself at the top, planting himself between the aggressor and Eclipse, of whom still clutches Veil firmly to his chest.

“They won’t stop.” Eclipse says helplessly, and Rays glances over his shoulder just long enough to say perhaps the most badass thing he’s said since his arrival.

“You know what to do. I’ll hold them off.”

Eclipse watches in horror as Blood Moon grapples with Rays, savagely beginning to tear into the poor animatronic. Then it clicks.

I can stop this.

Eclipse’s pupil shrinks, a pinprick in the endless darkness of his eye. The other eye flickers to life, a barely visible ring of light glowing from beneath the cracked glass.

The other side of his vision comes back in a burst of color.

“Veil, don’t look.”

He sets his newest son down onto the floor, planting one of his legs in front of him as the young bot covers his eyes with shaking hands.

I don’t want to hurt them. They’re family too.

Eclipse raises his hand, realizing how badly it shakes as he points it towards Blood Moon.

They’ll kill him.

He doesn’t have any time to decide before a large, clawed hand slams down onto Blood Moon, ripping them off of Rays and dragging them over the side of the stage, sending them cascading into the ball pit below.

—————

Want a pt 3

[bitterkarmaa]

*BANGS POTS AND PANS* WAKE UP LOVES GRANDPAPPA IS HERE!! (also part three? *looks at you with my autistic eyes)

Looks back with my autism eyes 👁️👁️

PT 2

The endless darkness beyond the stage brings a type of fear to Eclipse that he has felt very few times. Especially since he knows his sons are in there somewhere, with something that seems rather irritable at best, and aggressive at worst.

The panic still pulses through his body, air tightening around him as the star struggles to contain itself within his body. It feels what he feels. And what he feels cannot be defined in just one word.

“BLOOD!?” Eclipse shouts out into the darkness, wild eyes darting about the room. His hands shake at his sides. He can feel the heat beginning to soak through the cracks of his plating.

“Why worry about them? Look what they did!” Moon snaps from behind him, grabbing Eclipse by the shoulders, forcefully turning the other animatronic to face him. Eclipse stares back at him with wide eyes, following his finger as he jabs it at Rays- leaking and injured on the floor.

“I’m used to it.” Rays rasps, bringing a hand up to cover the gash at the base of his neck, where it meets his chassis. His front plating looks loose, nearly torn from its hinges. Blood Moon would’ve killed him, Eclipse knows, and he would’ve let them. Guilt gnaws at his chest. Emotions churn in his head too quickly for him to grasp. Why didn’t he stop them?

“That’s just sad.” Veil murmurs from his place beside Eclipse’s leg, one hand loosely wrapped in the fabric of his father’s pants. He doesn’t sound mocking, no, but instead solemn- sympathetic, even, if his tone was to be picked apart.

“It is?” Rays manages to shift onto his side with a grunt, and, before long, Lunar is at his side, helping him into a sitting position. Sun hangs back. Eclipse can’t see his expression, but the fact that the daycare attendant hasn’t said anything yet is proof that he isn’t in the brightest of moods.

Eclipse doesn’t blame him.

“Yes. It is.” Eclipse says tightly, hands clenching into fists at his sides.

He wants to scream. Wants to shout at anyone and everyone for reasons he can’t explain, wants to claw out someone’s eyes, just for the hell of it. It must show in his stance, because Rays seems more than just a little unnerved as he turns his attention onto the almost mirror-image of his former abuser.

“Moon, tend to him, will you?” The scarred animatronic quips, more of a demand than a suggestion. Moon narrows his eyes.

“You are not going down there.”

Eclipse can’t help but let himself slip, his self control crumbling between his fingers faster than he can register.

“My sons are down there! Something just fucking flung them like paper planes and you want me to stand here and do nothing?!”

He feels everything breaking around him. Feels his world crumbling beneath his feet.

It makes him dizzy. Nauseous. Unsteady.

Weak.

“…sons?” Moon murmurs quizzically after a few beats of silence, eyeing Eclipse with conflicting emotions adorning his face.

Eclipse can’t bring himself to backtrack or deny any of the frantic admissions he’s giving. He can’t stop talking once he starts, the raw anxiety spilling off his tongue as his hands come up to grab loosely at his rays in a display of pure, unfiltered panic.

“Yes! Are you stupid?! Deaf?! Blind?! They look up to me like a parent, they depend on me now! I’ve left them too many times, and I’m not leaving them to be killed by-“

“Um…Eclipse…?” Veil cuts into his father’s rant timidly, practically melting under his gaze as Eclipse turns his wild eyes onto his youngest son.

“What?” He snaps a little too sharply, only shifting his eyes away once Veil points towards…

Huh. Eclipse is met with the sudden realization that he’s in flinging distance, too.

However, instead of being flung, he is restrained with two hands and dragged from the balcony, claws scrabbling wildly at the wood in a desperate attempt to escape- but to no avail. His gaze looks with Moon’s for a moment, silently pleading for help, but the night-themed jester is so frozen in shock that he only manages to move and reach out once it’s too late.

Eclipse is pulled into the darkness with a cut off scream and movie-worthy struggle, flailing limbs and kicking feet like a toddler being dragged from a candy store.

“ECLIPSE!” Veil and Rays shout in unison, one more distressed, the other worried. Lunar has to lean forwards and tackle Veil to prevent him from diving off the side of the balcony after his father.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, he’s like- invincible, at this point-“ Lunar says in a rush, hoping to console Veil enough to at least dampen his struggling- and, maybe, to convince himself of his own words, too.

“Death fears him.” Rays cuts in, small innocent smile coming onto his face as the others turn to him in clear unease over his foreboding statement. Their voices fade off into distant murmurs, melding together until the voices are indistinguishable from one another, as Eclipse is pulled further from salvation.

“Let me GO!” Eclipse snarls, forcing the fear from his voice in favor of acting on his more furious instincts.

A low growling fills his senses, blocking out all his previous attempts at bravery. Gears grind away at each other beneath dented metal paneling, only visible by the streaks of light that come out from behind the balcony curtains. It carefully descends from its perch, neatly positioned underneath the stage, maneuvering around until he hears the gentle clink of metal meeting the balls within the pit below.

He swallows thickly. The taste of oil is thick and bitter on his tongue. The heat leaks out from his chassis in waves and small bursts of steam. He needs to calm down, damage is being done.

The way he is gently cradled now is a stark contrast to his unceremonious snatching from up above. He is held with such tenderness, such care and concern, as if he will break at any moment.

He…he remembers being held like this. It brings him a type of comfort he didn’t know he needed until now, melting into the hold without further hesitation, all his walls dropped in an instant.

All those times, after rough days, long nights, troublesome memories or particularly persistent pains…

Tears prick at his eyes as a part of him, long since crushed by time, begins to surface once again.

Star-patterned sleeves shift in his edges of his vision, so woefully torn and dulled. It’s his fault. He hurt him. He hurt his own father. He ruined his sanctuary, his safe place, his rock that tried to stay by his side despite all that he had done.

No.

No, he can’t do this now.

He moves his arms up, shoving himself back from KC as the mangled animatronic tilts its head down at him, moving stiffly, each shift accompanied by a click or awful scraping sound- sometimes both.

“What did you do with my son?!” Eclipse demands, finally managing to break free from his father’s hold. He staggers back a few steps, vision swimming as the steam continues to pour from his vents.

When he manages to look up, barely making out KC’s blank stare and calm, careless demeanor, he feels the rage build up once again.

In a simple motion, it lifts its hand, pointing towards the play-structure. Eclipse turns, spotting Blood Moon crumpled in a haphazard pile beside one of the slides.

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM?!” Eclipse’s voice comes out sharp, borderline wail.

“Toss.” KC says simply.

“NO SHIT???” Eclipse bolts to Blood Moon’s side, kneeling down to access them for any damages. He hears nothing behind him, so focused on his son, that the next thing he notices is a voice speaking from right above him.

“Rabid child. Off switch?”

Eclipse turns on what remains of his father, clutching Blood Moon in his arms while glaring daggers at the figure that towers above him.

“I told you not to interfere with my family!” Eclipse’s rays jitter, then turn in opposite directions- quick, sharp movements that clearly display his fury and distress. KC deadpans at him.

“Your family is falling apart.”

The fire dies in Eclipse’s eyes at that remark, shoulders going slack as his gaze travels back to Blood Moon. He wishes he could deny that. He wishes he could tell his father off and flaunt his accomplishments, show face of a perfect family that may finally make KC feel even the slightest amount of guilt.

But he can’t. Because he’s right.

“You have no idea what my family is like.” He bites back, tone full of venom that he wonders is truly his, or that younger animatronic that never got the clarity that he so desperately needed.

“Broken?”

“Like you?” Eclipse snarls, finally turning to face KC, watching with disgust as the older animatronic’s gaze darkens, expression tightening in disdain.

He watches those hands curl into fists, watches those dagger-like fingers, so often coated in layers of blood, hide themselves amongst its primal rage. It makes him sick, so he looks away, clutching Blood Moon closer, cradling them to his chest.

“And who’s fault is that?” KC’s voice is low, bitter, filled with such intense hate that Eclipse feels a part of himself wither and die all over again.

“Just leave me alone.”

A silent resignation hangs behind his words now, unable to repress his exhaustion with the situation any longer.

“I can’t. I am your father.”

For some reason, those words hit something. Something deep- something that has been simmering for a long, long time.

Eclipse sets Blood Moon down, whirling to face KC with tears in his eyes, freely flowing down his face. He jabs an accusatory finger at KC, shoving the tip of his claw against the cool metal plating of its chest.

“My father. Is dead.”

He watches the horror cross KC’s expression.

“But I’m right here.”

“NO!” Eclipse shouts in sudden outrage, balling his hand into a fist that he uses to hit at KC, hand colliding harmlessly, helplessly, against his chest. Soon, Eclipse’s head comes forwards, broken sobs wracking through his body as he leans into his father’s morbidly cold chassis. “No…”

KC’s expression twists, becoming increasingly…concerned. He kneels down to be level with his son, wrapping his arms around him, hushing him softly as Eclipse wails his woes, letting it all out.

“I’m right here, my boy, hush now.” He murmurs in the gentlest tone, one only fit for a consoling father. The years of dismissal…is this what it’s done? Has KC been the underlying cause of Eclipse’s outbursts all this time? Those thoughts make him feel almost…ashamed. The emotions are dulled, faint in comparison to what they should be, but…the admittance that it’s there means that…it’s here, in this moment. This is something it’ll be able to remember, not some vague recollection that comes and goes like all the others.

By the time that Eclipse begins to calm down, his breathing hitches and hiccups, such intense emotional distress obviously having worn on his already weakened systems from overheating.

It is then, that it realizes, the pair of red eyes that stare up at it. It glances down to Blood Moon, who now sits up unsteadily, their pupils uneven- one dilated, the other shrunken. It’s not a big size difference, but…it probably means nothing good. But, hey, they’re snapped out of their murder-trance! KC calls that a win.

“Eclipse…” KC whispers gently, prying his son off of him despite Eclipse’s vain attempts at staying in place. “Your…um…child? Children? They have awoken.”

Eclipse stares blankly at KC for a few moments, then seems to startle and snap out of his stupor. He turns to face Blood Moon- perhaps a bit too quickly, because he sways precariously on his feet- as his son stares up at him with a half-lidded expression.

“Oh my…” Eclipse murmurs worriedly, only taking his focus off of Blood Moon when KC gently rests his hands onto Eclipse’s shoulders, steadying him.

“My apologies.” The former security bot mutters sheepishly, and Eclipse casts a wry look back at it before focusing back onto his son.

He carefully kneels down to their level- with KC’s help- and begins to examine their circuitry, processors, drives- pretty much anything that could sustain damage got a thorough inspection. KC hovers, however, it seems his presence isn’t as expected to others as it is to Eclipse, because….

“No. Fucking. Way.”

KC and Eclipse slowly turn in unison towards the new voice, Blood Moon doing the same, albeit sluggishly, as if they’re drunk. Moon stands off to the side, mouth agape, staring at KC like he just watched a kangaroo give birth to a kazoo. In other words, horror and shock are quite clear on his face.

“Eclipse! Eclipse, are you oka- OH MY GOD IT’S THE IRON GIANT-“ Veil comes up, as well, quickly skidding to a stop and backpedaling as if wishing he never came over at all.

Despite Moon’s momentary alarm, his expression soon steels into resolve.

“It’s real?”

Eclipse shifts his gaze nervously between Moon and KC. “Please don’t hurt him.”

Moon’s face contorts into disgust and disbelief.

“That thing is a killer! It needs to be put do-“

“NO!! YOU’RE NOT LAYING A HAND ON HIM!!” Eclipse cuts into Moon’s declaration in a sudden burst of aggression, voice lowered into a growl, like a wild animal only held back by stake and chain.

Moon scowls, shifting his gaze off of Eclipse just long enough to glare holes into KC, who seems increasingly uncomfortable.

“Are you going to tell me it’s turned over a new leaf or some shit? This is the monster parents warn their kids about at night! The beast that haunts my dreams! The aid to my anxiety!” Moon challenges, words sawing through the trust Eclipse had begun to build with him with each added syllable.

“You don’t know him like I do!” Eclipse flashes back incredulously.

“Oh, so you know it now?”

Eclipse falls silent at that, mouth snapping shut as he realizes just how much he could’ve revealed had he continued defending his father. But should he stop there? Does his father deserve to be defended?

Part of him aches, childishly wishing he could say “yes,” while the other part, void of mercy, calls out a resounding “no.” He struggles to decide which side to choose.

“Yes. I do.” He murmurs after a few moments of hesitance, voice small and conceited.

“You’ve kept this from me for how long?” Moon asks sharply, accusingly.

“Long enough.” Eclipse replies vaguely, hoping that his tone is enough to end the conversation there and table it for a better time. But it apparently isn’t, from Moon’s fuming expression.

“I’ve lived my life thinking that the demon in my head was just that- in my head! Now you tell me it’s real?!” He snarls, prodding an accusatory finger in Eclipse’s direction. The scarred animatronic looks away timidly.

“It always has been.” Eclipse murmurs solemnly, forcing his eye down to focus onto Blood Moon once again.

“Hey, boys, can you hear me?” He asks hesitantly, earning a slow nod from the twins as they tilt their head towards him. He breathes a sigh of relief.

“Can you see?”

Blood Moon pauses at that, blinking sluggishly, one eye at a time.

“Sorta. Blurry.” They mutter weakly, making Eclipse give them a worried frown.

“We need to go back. We can talk about this later.” Eclipse says firmly, head snapping towards Moon with a stern scowl on his face. He is not taking no for an answer.

“You haven’t-“

“I don’t care! It can wait! Blood Moon and Rays need tending to, and I’m fairly certain KC’s presence isn’t going to inhibit that. The only one inhibiting anything right now is you, Moon.” Eclipse’s voice raises into a borderline shout, earning a subtle look of pride from KC.

At least he did something right while raising Eclipse.

For a few moments, Moon looks about ready to continue arguing, but, eventually, faced with Eclipse’s rage, he backs down. The tension leaves his shoulders, eyes downcast, yet set in place with the rest of his frustrated expression.

As Eclipse stands, carrying Blood Moon securely in his arms, KC moves, turning to leave.

“Wait.” Eclipse’s voice rings out clearly, and KC turns to him with a calm regard.

“You’re coming with me.”

KC gives his son a dubious stare, eyes darting to Moon, before slowly trailing back to Eclipse.

It is then that the exhaustion hits, it’s gaze dulling into a type of worn that only an animatronic of its age could muster. It sways.

“Come now, before you shut off.” Eclipse’s voice softens into something almost sympathetic, his one-sided gaze trained on KC’s every movement as his father begins to stagger towards him, nodding faintly in confirmation.

“No. No way.” Moon exclaims with a wave of his arms, but immediately shuts his mouth when Eclipse casts him a scorching glare- a glare that contains two eyes, glowing dimly in the darkness of the daycare. He knows asking more questions or giving more complaints will only continue to dwindle Eclipse’s waning patience, so he decides to interrogate him later.

Veil scampers up behind Eclipse, fingers loosely curling into his father’s pants. Eclipse gives him a glance, soft smile, and warm nod.

“You know that thing?” His creation asks, tilting his head curiously.

“Yes. I know him quite well.” Eclipse replies vaguely, ushering his youngest son forwards before Blood Moon registers his presence. Veil is left no more time for questions as the small group begins the trek towards the backstage rooms, silence filling the tense air.

But, as Veil looks over Blood Moon, leaning limply against Eclipse’s chest, he can’t help but wonder…

Is he really meant to be here?