Aug 26, 2025
I like you, have a crumb 😌
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I like you, have a crumb 😌
Doe in the Dark
-Content Warnings-
-child in grave peril
-Scoleciphobia/fear of worms
-Ommetaphobia/fear of eyes/eye injury
-Trypophiba/fear of holes
-Torture
@h-didanart
I just had to have everyone react to canon right now it is just…UGH
At first, there is silence. Everyone stares at the screen in slack-jawed, horrified silence. Then, obligatory looks of disbelief are shared between the onlookers.
“I would not do that! I wouldn’t, I promise!” Lunar is the first to speak up, eliciting a sharp bark of laughter from Eclipse at his side.
“What is it with everyone turning on this ‘Earth’ girl first? Like - first that ‘Nexus’ dude did it, and now Lunar?? I just don’t understand…” Veil cuts in, and nods of agreement greet his statement.
“Haunted by the narrative.” Moon clicks his tongue. Everyone exchanges knowing looks.
“The only one who seems to be immune to all this is Eclipse! And that’s only because he’s in another dimension!” Sun leans forwards, peering around Moon to give his counterpart a playfully envious look.
Eclipse raises his hands in a show of innocence. “Hey. I’m busy being a father, apparently.” He defends, then wraps an arm around Blood Moon’s shoulders at his side. “Because, for some reason, I prefer human children, apparently.”
Blood Moon huffs. “Ghosts. Not humans. Ghosts.”
A smaller, softer voice speaks up from the other end of the couch.
“I just…don’t understand. Everyone seems so…detached. There’s constantly something new going on, but it feels…forced? I mean…they never process anything. I think everyone should be given an arc to simply process all they’ve been through. I think it would really help the development and growth of their characters.” Rays explains, smiling nervously as all the eyes of the room turn in her direction. She’s wearing a dress today, and requested that the others refer to her with feminine pronouns.
A larger figure leans on the back of the couch, red eyes focused on the screen as if contemplating how much force would be needed to break it.
“I’m dead, I suppose. Can’t help you guys out with this shit. Sorry.” Kill Code shrugs, turning away from the tv with a scowl.
“Us too.” Blood Moon adds, lifting their hands towards their grandfather. “Dead club. You, us. We’re the dead club.”
Kill Code’s mouth twitches up into a smile, but it disappears just as quickly as it came. He leans down and hoists his grandson into his arms, letting out a chuckle as they begin to gnaw at the bell that dangles from the end of his nightcap.
Moon snaps his claws and perks up at the revelation. “Yeah, that’s a good point. Who else here is supposed to be dead?”
Simultaneously, almost everyone raises their hands. Moon’s expression falls deadpan.
“I mean by the standards of the show, smartasses.”
Hands fall back down until only Eclipse, Rays, Kill Code, and Blood Moon are left.
“That’s more realistic. Eclipse, put your hand down.” Moon reaches out and swats at Eclipse, earning a hiss and bite in retaliation. Moon yelps, trying to free his hand from Eclipse’s mouth as the orange and black animatronic glares daggers at him. He only releases his hold to defend himself.
“Technically, I am dead! I’m still V1 Eclipse, not…what are they on now, V4??”
Moon examines the bite marks, though he turns his attention to Eclipse as he speaks. Kill Code grabs Moon’s hand and looks over the shallow wounds his son inflicted, and, surprisingly, Moon pays him no mind.
“If we’re going by those standards, I suppose I’m dead too. And Veil. And Lunar. And - just everyone except for Sun!” The night-themed jester shouts. Sun lays his hand on his twin’s shoulder with a worried look on his face.
“Sun is dead inside, so he counts too.” Eclipse snaps back, crossing his arms over his chest like a pouting child.
“Does this truly have to be a contest?” Kill Code asks calmly, returning Moon’s now bandaged hand to his lap. The navy animatronic stares at it dumbly, as if forgetting he had another limb altogether.
“I second that.” Rays adds, her hands fidgeting nervously in her lap. She isn’t fond of all the yelling, and it’s no wonder why. Especially since Eclipse is one of the voices.
Sun changes the topic before it can escalate further.
“I think it’s funny how we have characters that they don’t, and they have characters that we don’t. Like…Earth? Solar? Nexus? Never heard of them. But they’ve never known Rays, Veil, or the dude that’s on our asses right now. It just makes me wonder…is there a right way to tell this story? To tell our story? Or does it change based on who’s telling it?”
“All stories change based on who’s telling it.” Eclipse responds, his moment of anger now dulled into annoyance. “It’s never going to stay the exact same unless they’re reading from a script.”
“Can we go off-script?” Rays asks. Everyone mulls over this for a few moments.
“Maybe. Maybe there is no script.” Kill Code gently sets Blood Moon back onto the couch beside Eclipse. “Does it matter? We don’t suffer from their problems. It doesn’t affect us.”
Whispered discussions begin throughout the room, but Eclipse stays rooted to his spot on the couch, sinking back into the cushions while staring blankly at the screen. A million thoughts crowd his processor, but he isn’t able to grasp a single one.
“If there’s a parallel between this universe and that one…I wonder who has the star power here.” Lunar chirps at his side, leaning into his older brother as one would recline into a comfy chair.
Eclipse tries not to stiffen. That would be a dead giveaway, would it not?
“Yeah…good point. Maybe we’ll find out later.” Eclipse responds quietly, his tone lowered into a careless drawl despite the turmoil that rages within his chest. The turmoil that pulses in response to his paranoia. The turmoil that speaks to him in the dead of night, that keeps him alive and threatens to kill him all at once.
Eclipse doesn’t miss the large clawed hand that rests knowingly on his shoulder.
“Do you think that, if someone did have star power here, they’d use it to harm someone else? Like I did in the show?” Lunar continues, fidgeting with his sleeves. Eclipse slowly turns his head, his hollow gaze settling onto his little brother.
“I think they already have. We just don’t know it yet.” Kill Code responds in a cold tone, his hand drifting over his son’s shoulder before the weight vanishes altogether. Eclipse hears his father’s retreating footsteps, but he remains silent in response to his comment.
“Creepy dude. Has he always been like that?”
Finally, Eclipse turns to look over his shoulder in the direction Kill Code trotted off in.
“No. No, he hasn’t.”
With that, he stands up from the couch and disappears into the solitude of his room.
GO, MY FRIENDS!! TODAY IS THE DAY!!
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
More of my AI adventures, ft The Creature
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
Okay gang. In celebration of almost 300 followers, I’m going to try something new! The discord has decided it will be so.
Ask any of my little creechers a question, and I’ll respond in character!
*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?
