Archive of Our Own ^beta

Solar knew it wasn't healthy to work as late as he was.

It was around three in the morning, and his battery was running low--8%, to be exact.

He checked the time to confirm--yup, 3 am--then stretched, walking away from the laser. He knew he should get it done as soon as possible, but he needed a break before his nonexistent brain melted.

As Solar stepped into the main part of the lab, he heard a clattering noise to his right. He examined the room and saw a few bits of scrap metal on the floor.

They couldn't have fallen on their own. Solar had placed them away from the edge of the table, and he had also organized them.

So how were there different types of scrap all on the floor? The only way they would've ended up on the floor is if someone knocked them off, and the only other person who knew about this bunker was Bloodmoon.

Solar almost facepalmed at his stupidity. Of course it was Bloodmoon; the animatronic had been trying to rebel in any and every way possible since they were freed from Ruin. This made sense for them.

"Bloodmoon?" Solar called. There was no response, not even a sound. He began to turn away, but stopped when out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of blue.

Bloodmoon had jumped up onto the table, and was on his hands and knees. He stared at Solar for a second before ever-so-slightly nudging one of the scrap metal pieces toward the edge of the table.

"Bloodmoon," he warned. "Don't do it."

Bloodmoon, little shit that he was, made eye contact with Solar as he gave one last swipe, knocking the metal onto the floor.

Solar pushed down the annoyance bubbling under his skin. "I hope you realize you're picking that up."

It seemed like Bloodmoon wasn't processing his words. He sat back on his haunches, continuing to stare at Solar, as if he wanted something.

"Why are you staring at me?" Solar asked. They gave no response. "I can't read your mind. You need to tell me what you want." This time, they tilted their head.

Solar approached, a thought entering his head. They were acting like a cat, with their behaviors and movements, so maybe...?

He reached out, lightly scratching at the top of their head. They pushed up into it, making a sound that was close to purring, but not exact.

And then they suddenly turned their head, biting at Solar's hand.

It didn't seem like they were trying to be aggressive; in fact, it seemed they were being playful. Seems Solar wasn't far off with his association.

Solar picked a rock up from the ground, presenting it to them. He knew Bloodmoon usually used them to sharpen his teeth, but he seemed to be in a different mindset than normal, so Solar was curious to see what he would do.

Bloodmoon's head lowered down, and he sniffed at it. He tried clawing at it--to no avail--then tried to bite it. He promptly spit it back out and went back to staring at Solar.

"I don't have any toys for you," Solar stated. They continued to stare at him. "Maybe I can find you a rat or something to hunt down? I'm not sure if you still want to hurt it, but you could at least chase it."

Bloodmoon perked up at the word "rat". He looked around, as if searching for the creature in question.

"Alright, let me just..." Solar grabbed a device sitting on a table, flipping it on. The sonar had multiple points, most of which were identified as rats, with the occasional raccoon. "Alright, follow me."

Bloodmoon trailed behind Solar as he walked, alert and locking on to every minute sound.

Eventually, they made their way into a makeshift-kitchen, which was stocked with food but left untouched since neither animatronic needed to eat. A faint squeaking sound came from the pantry, and Solar opened it, revealing a rat eating crumbs off the floor.

Bloodmoon hid behind Solar's legs, eyes trained on the rat. He waited a few seconds, until he was sure the rat was distracted, and then pounced.

The tiny creature ran, but Bloodmoon didn't seem to mind; in fact, they seemed excited, if the wild grin on their face was any indication.

Solar shook his head as he watched them sprint out the door. They sure were something else.

The next time it happened, Solar was in Parts & Service with Moon.

Solar was working on Jack again--this time with Moon there as backup--and it was extraordinarily dull. Every little change in code had to be tested, and it was getting monotonous.

And then, Solar heard the pitter-patter of metal. He decided to ignore it in favor of finishing what he was typing out.

"Solar," Moon whisper-yelled. "You might wanna look up."

He did so, immediately doing a double-take.

In front of him, standing on all fours, was Bloodmoon.

Solar's immediate instinct was to put his guard up, but something was telling him Bloodmoon didn't want to hurt them. He wasn't getting that feeling of being hunted like he normally would.

"I'm calling Sun," Moon said.

"Wait!" Solar blurted out. "I don't think he wants to hurt us."

"Solar, have you gone insane? He's tried to kill Sun multiple times, broken Lunar's arm, killed Earth, and you're telling me he doesn't want to hurt us?"

"Trust me, I'm fully aware of how crazy I sound, but I can prove it to you."

Moon gave him a skeptical look. Solar didn't blame him; Bloodmoon had proven time and time again that he lived for nothing but violence, and hurting their family was definitely on the list of reasons not to trust him.

When Solar didn't budge, Moon huffed, "Fine. But if he hurts anyone, we're leading him back to the Daycare and having the computer shoot him."

"Okay. Now watch." Solar took a few steps toward Bloodmoon, stopping just in front of him and crouching down. He held his hand out to them.

Bloodmoon sniffed at his hand, then, unsurprisingly, rubbed their head against it. Solar scratched the top of their head.

Moon stared on, shocked silent. When Bloodmoon rolled over to expose their stomach, he whispered, "What the fuck?" a few times.

Solar started to pet Bloodmoon's stomach. Their purrs, which had previously been barely audible, became louder.

Bloodmoon stayed like that for a few minutes, content to receive affection, until eventually, they started squirming. Solar let them go, and they gave his leg one last headbutt before leaving, heading toward the main stage area.

Solar stood up, wincing as the joints in his knees creaked. He headed back over to the computer.

"What just happened?" Moon asked. He looked like he was struggling to process the interaction, and Solar didn't blame him.

"Told you he wouldn't hurt us," Solar muttered. He pulled up the cameras. "And he just left the Pizzaplex."

"So what, he just came here to- have you treat him like a cat? And then just- left?"

Solar shrugged. "Not the weirdest thing that's happened. We literally deal with magic and dimensional travel on a daily basis."

Moon paused, then, pointing at him, admitted, "You have a point there."

Solar checked the time, then groaned. "We've gotta get back to work." Moon nodded, refocusing on the computer.

The third time it happened, Solar was watching a regressed Sun.

It had been a relatively calm day; all the children listened, the parents picked up their kids on time, and there were no Karens. None of the kids had made a huge mess, so clean-up was relatively fast. All-in-all, it had been a nice, relaxing day.

And then Bloodmoon pranced into the Daycare.

Sun immediately freaked out, hiding behind Solar and peeking his head around to see.

Solar analyzed Bloodmoon's posture. They were standing on only their legs, but they were hunched over, looking halfway to crouching down. They looked conflicted.

"Sun, go up to your room," Solar whispered. "Moon should be up there. I'll handle this."

Sun dashed past the blue figure, glancing behind him every now and then to make sure they weren't following him. He was quickly out of sight.

Solar sent a quick text to Moon. "Bloodmoon is here. Sent Sun to you. Keep you updated."

The sound of the Computer's voice startled Solar. "Target locked on. Should I fire?"

Solar thought for a second. Bloodmoon seemed tense, but not in the sense that he was impatient to kill or hurt; it was more like he was struggling with something.

"Hold fire," Solar decided.

"Understood."

"Brother, what are we doing here?" Bloodmoon asked. If Solar had to guess, it was the second voice speaking.

"Safe," the main one responded. It sounded like they were struggling to speak.

"They have a laser pointed at us," the other tried to rationalize. They received no response.

Solar cleared his throat. Bloodmoon's eyes snapped to him, but they seemed distracted. "What brings you here?"

Bloodmoon opened and closed his mouth a few times, starting to make sounds, but quickly cutting himself off. Eventually the other interrupted and stated, "My brother longs for safety, and says it is safe here."

When no further explanation was given, Solar narrowed his eyes. "Safe, huh?" Then he had an idea. He sat down on the floor, legs crossed, and patted his lap. When Bloodmoon hesitated, he urged, "Come on. I don't mind."

That was all it took for Bloodmoon to clamber over. He curled up in Solar's lap, resting their head on his thigh.

Solar checked his notifications to see a few texts from Moon. Most of them were just updates on Sun's condition, but the last one was him asking for an update. He sent back, "He's like he was last time. It's safe. Sun can come down if he wants, but I would suggest going with him."

Moon sent back a thumbs-up emoji. Solar closed out his messages, shifting his attention to the animatronic in his lap.

Bloodmoon had shifted so he was sitting on his haunches. He brought his hands forward and, extending their claws, began to gently knead at Solar's thigh. Solar jerked slightly at the unexpected sensation, but it didn't hurt.

Bloodmoon continued for a few minutes, until eventually, they plopped back down. They looked perfectly at ease.

The doors to the Daycare slammed open, and both of them jumped. Bloodmoon hopped up onto all fours and stared at the entrance.

Moon walked in, shielding Sun with his arm. Sun was looking ahead with a mixture of curiosity and fear.

"Not gonna hurt us?" Sun asked.

"That's right," Solar confirmed. "He won't hurt us right now."

Sun hesitated for a moment, then took a few cautious steps forward. Moon, in what seemed to be a reflex, shot his arm out to grab Sun, but stopped himself. Bloodmoon looked to be analyzing the situation.

Sun stopped a few feet away. Bloodmoon saw the opportunity to take the initiative, approaching Sun. Sun flinched slightly, but otherwise, stayed completely still.

Bloodmoon sniffed at Sun's legs. Whatever they found must have been satisfactory, because he turned around and headed back to Solar.

Sun visibly relaxed at Bloodmoon walking away. All the fear was gone, now replaced with pure curiosity.

"Why'd he smell me?"

"I'm not sure actually," Solar admitted. "All I know is that he sometimes acts like a cat, and when he does, it's like he actually sees himself as one." He watched as Bloodmoon ducked into one of the play structures, exploring the area.

Sun perked up. "Kitty?"

"Yeah, but don't get too close, Sun," Moon warned. "I don't trust him."

"I understand your caution, but if he was looking to hurt us, he had plenty of time to attack me while you were upstairs," Solar pointed out. "I really do think he's just looking for a place to chill for a while."

Bloodmoon crawled their way back out of the play structure. They spotted a stack of barrels and ran full-speed toward them, knocking them down. He started to chase one that was rolling.

Sun was watching them intently. He was like a sponge, soaking in every little move Bloodmoon made.

Solar suddenly had an idea. "Hey, Sun, do you have any cat toys laying around?"

"Yeah! Bubba, wanna get it!" Sun grabbed Moon's hand, tugging him back toward the exit.

As Moon allowed himself to be pulled along, he made eye contact with Solar. Though he said nothing, Solar got the message: if anyone gets hurt, it'll be his fault.

By the time Sun and Moon returned, Bloodmoon had explored most of the Daycare. He had attempted to go into the ball pit multiple times, and every time, Solar stopped him. It would do them no good if he got stuck in another dimension.

"I'm back!" Sun yelled. He was bouncing in place as he stood before Solar, presenting the cat toy.

Solar grabbed the toy from Sun's hands. It was one of the rods with a string attached, and at the other end of the string, there was a small crinkly fish.

Solar let the--unusually long--string fall down next to Bloodmoon's head. They jumped a little, but when they recovered, they attempted to claw at it.

Solar moved it up, just out of Bloodmoon's reach. They tried to follow it, but quickly stopped when they realized it went to high. They backed up a little, then took a couple steps and hopped up.

This time, their claws caught on the fish. Solar let them pull it down, watching as they bit at it.

The thing was surprisingly durable, considering Bloodmoon's teeth and claws were made of metal.

Sun's voice cut through the quiet. "Can I try?"

Solar looked to Moon for an answer. Despite the fact that he trusted Bloodmoon wouldn't hurt them, Moon didn't.

Moon stepped forward so he was standing next to Sun, then said, "Go ahead, bud."

Sun let out a little cheer, then took the toy back from Solar. He waited until Bloodmoon lowered their guard again, and then he yanked the string back up, moving it off to the side.

Bloodmoon immediately chased after it, following it even as Sun made him go in circles.

Sun's giggles filled the otherwise-empty Daycare. Solar felt fondness welling up inside him, and glancing at Moon told him he felt the same.

At some point, Bloodmoon had rolled onto their back, content to let Sun bounce the toy up-and-down as he pleased, attacking it when it got close enough.

Sun eventually bored of playing with Bloodmoon, passing the toy back to Solar. "Wanna go color," he explained.

As he left, Bloodmoon crept after him. At first Solar thought they were following him, but once through the doorway, they went the opposite way.

Solar just stood there for a minute as he processed what happened. He shrugged, then set off to find where the cat toy had come from.

The fourth time it happened, Solar was working in the theater.

It was dull as usual. Barely anyone came in to watch a movie, and when they did, they would complain about the exuberant prices. As if he had any control over it.

He was startled out of his TikTok-scrolling by the sound of someone talking to him. He quickly closed it out, fully prepared to apologize for being distracted-

-Until he saw that it was Lunar. He let out a barely-audible sigh.

"Hey, Lunar," Solar greeted. "What brings you here?"

"I'm bored," was Lunar's reply. Of course.

"What do you want me to do about it?"

"Entertain me."

"And how exactly do you want me to go about that?"

"I don't know. We could play a game?"

"Lunar, I'm working right now," Solar pointed out.

"But I wanna play," Lunar whined, dragging out the last syllable. Solar was sure that, if possible, Lunar would be pouting.

"I know, but I need to stay here." He checked the time. "Tell you what; my shift ends in an hour and a half. We can play then. Sound good?"

Lunar stared at him for a few seconds, then huffed, "Fine." He headed off to go god-knows-where.

Solar immediately opened TikTok again. He knew it wasn't healthy, but it was the only form of entertainment he had.

He was about five minutes into his scrolling when he heard Lunar screaming outside.

It wasn't Lunar's normal screaming--if it was, Solar wouldn't be concerned. This sounded panicked.

Solar rushed out from behind the stall, then the theater; he looked around frantically for Lunar, and saw him standing over by the stairwell, staring ahead.

"Lunar? What's wrong?" Solar shouted as he approached. Lunar glanced over at him.

Lunar let out a garbled mess of attempted speech, and the only words Solar could make out were "Solar" and "Bloodmoon".

Solar gently nudged Lunar to the side, taking his place as he tried to pinpoint what he was looking at. There, on the landing of the steps, was Bloodmoon, on all fours and looking ready to crawl up the stairs.

Solar and Bloodmoon had a staring contest for a couple of minutes while Solar guaged the situation. Bloodmoon wasn't attacking, so he must have been in his "cat" mindset--Solar wasn't sure what else to call it--meaning he wasn't dangerous.

"Lunar, I know this is going to sound crazy, but I need you to trust me on this," Solar asserted.

"I trust you," Lunar replied. Solar felt something swell in his chest at the words, but he pushed aside for later.

"He's not here to hurt us." Lunar tried to interrupt, but Solar continued, "You know how Sun regresses?" A nod. "I think Bloodmoon does something similar. I'm not sure exactly what to call it, or if it has a name, but sometimes he just acts like a cat."

"How exactly does that make him harmless?" Lunar sounded doubtful.

"Like I said, he's like Sun in the fact that he's in a different mindset than normal. From what I've seen, he doesn't seem to have bloodlust when he's like this, and hasn't expressed any want to harm anyone. The closest he's gotten is chasing a rat, but he didn't even kill it. He also only processes one or two words at a time, and simple ones at that."

Lunar was silent for a long time. "Okay," he whispered, much less panicky than before. He was still on edge--Solar didn't blame him, considering everything Bloodmoon had done to their family--but he seemed to take Solar's words at face-value.

"I think I'm gonna take them back to the theater with me. They usually just want a bit of attention before they leave, so I'll just bring them behind the counter with me," Solar stated. "You can go find somewhere to hide if that would feel more comfortable."

Lunar squirmed a bit. "I'm just gonna- I'll go find somewhere to hang out until he's gone. Text me when he leaves, okay?"

Solar nodded. He watched as Lunar hurried off, then turned his attention back to the little nuisance before him. "Come on," he uttered, gesturing with his hand. They scurried up the stairs, following him into the theater.

It was surprisingly easy to get them to settle down. Once Solar sat down on the chair behind the counter, Bloodmoon curled up at his feet, laying there silently. They must have been exhausted, since they feel asleep within a few minutes.

The rest of Solar's shift went by faster. The warm weight on his feet kept him grounded, and he felt a lot calmer than normal.

When Solar's end-of-shift alarm went off, Bloodmoon's head shot up, eyes searching for the source of the noise. Solar made a note to switch the alarm to internal only.

Solar moved his feet slightly, trying to give Bloodmoon some warning that he would be standing up. Thankfully it worked, since they stood up and stretched, jumping up on the counter.

"Man, you weren't kidding when you said they just wanted attention," a voice echoed through the room. Solar's eyes snapped up from the floor, and he spotted Lunar standing near the doorway.

"Jesus, Lunar, don't scare me like that." Solar let out a sigh, hand hovering over his chest. "Have you been here the whole time?"

"Yeah. I wanted to make sure he didn't hurt you."

"Well, as you can see, I'm fine." Solar left his post at the counter, petting Bloodmoon as he passed them. They hopped down to follow. "It doesn't seem like they're in a hurry to go anywhere, so are you fine with him staying while we hang out?"

Lunar tensed up. "Um, I'm not sure? I still wanna hang out with you, but I'm not sure how I feel about...him being there."

"You don't have to if you're uncomfortable, Lunar," Solar assured. "I'm not gonna make you be around someone who's hurt you so badly in the past." Solar watched as his little friend(?) ran back-and-forth through the lobby of the theater. It seemed their post-nap energy was high. "Although I will say, I might have to reschedule on you if you say no. I don't really know how to get them to leave me alone."

Lunar shook his head. "No, it should be fine...as long as they don't get too close to me."

"Understood." Solar checked the time. "Alright, the theater is closed now. All that's left to do is clean up, but I was thinking maybe we could stay here? I figure it'll be more comfortable for you since it's more neutral territory than your room."

"Okay, sounds good. Lemme just text Earth real quick to let her know where I'm at."

Solar, bouncing off of Lunar's idea, opened up his group chat with Sun and Moon. He typed out, Bm in theater followed by a cat emoji. He hoped they understood the message, since he didn't have time to add anything else.

Lunar went to find a spot to sit while Solar hooked up the game console to the projector. It didn't take long--it was only plugging something in, after all--but it was harder to do it when Bloodmoon was constantly bugging him for attention.

Lunar had set up shop in the middle area, right where all the open space was. He had somehow managed to drag three bean bags in; Solar had no idea where they came from, and he was honestly afraid to ask.

Since Lunar was sat to the far side, Solar plopped down in the middle one, saving the final for the pestering little "pet" of his.

Solar passed a controller over. "What game do you wanna play?"

"Can we play Minecraft? I remember you said the save we had before was left behind in your old dimension, but we should start a new one."

"Sounds good to me." Solar booted up Minecraft.

The two of them played for a couple of hours, and Bloodmoon went back to napping, content to just be in Solar's presence.

Lunar yelled as he was killed by a skeleton, and Solar felt something moving against his leg. As he looked down, he noticed that Bloodmoon, the sneaky bastard they were, had wormed their way onto his lap. He gave a fond eye roll and patted their side.

Lunar caught Solar's eye, and nervously glanced down at Bloodmoon.

"If you're uncomfortable, you can scoot over some more. I could also try to get him off my lap, but I'm not sure how well that'll work."

"No, it's fine. They're not...hurting anyone."

"Like I said, they're not violent like this, unless you count knocking things off tables as violent."

"What exactly does he do?"

"Besides nap? Demand pets, be a general annoyance. He played with Sun's cat toys last time he was here."

Lunar choked on air. "I'm sorry, did you say he played with cat toys?"

"You heard me right. They're basically just a big house cat."

Lunar stared at the lump on Solar's lap for a few seconds. "Can I...try petting them?"

Solar blinked, processing the words much slower than he would've liked. "That's up to them. I don't think they'll hurt you, but they'll make it known if they don't want it."

Lunar reached a hand out, retracting it a few times before laying it on Bloodmoon's back. They flinched a bit, but quickly adjusted, sniffing at the hand. They made their approval known by rubbing their forehead against it.

"Not gonna lie, I was not expecting that to work," Lunar admitted. Solar let out a snort.

"Well, you've never done anything to hurt him, so that probably has something to do with it."

"True."

The fifth time it happened, Solar was at Monty and Earth's house.

"So what did you think of the movie?" Earth asked.

Solar shrugged. "It was alright. I'm not particularly interested in Barbie movies, but the plot was decent and the songs were good."

Monty chimed in, "Says the one who's had debates about gravel of all things with Sun."

"Says Ms. 'I put Meth in my spaghetti sauce,'" Solar retorted.

"Come now, let's not fight," Earth urged. "Also, Monty, what?"

Monty sighed. "I was going through a lot at the time. Half the shit I did could be considered a mental breakdown."

"Wasn't that when Eclipse had the star?" Solar asked.

"Yup. Didn't cope with that very well."

"Clearly," Solar muttered.

Monty shot him a glare. "As if you would cope well with seeing someone-"

Monty was interrupted by the sound of scratching on the front door. She stood up, grumbling something under her breath Solar couldn't understand.

The door swung open, and Monty immediately yelped, stumbling as she was pushed back. Solar tried rushing over to her, but was knocked back down as something slammed into him.

There was a ball of blue in his lap. Bloodmoon.

Earth let out a scream and ran behind Monty, using her girlfriend as a shield.

Monty bristled. "What the hell is that thing doing here?"

Solar sighed. He was getting tired of explaining the same thing over and over again.

"They're not here to hurt anyone. Their current mindset is not their normal one, and they're not violent in this state. They just act like a cat."

Monty squinted at Solar, examining his face. "How do you know this?"

"It's happened quite a few times before. For whatever reason, they seek me out when they're like this, though I couldn't tell you how the hell they found me here."

Solar reached out to pet their head, and they flinched back. That had never happened before.

"If they seek you out, why'd they flinch?" Monty asked.

"Not sure. They don't usually do that." He moved his hand forward again, slowly this time, until he was touching them. They were still tense, but this time let it happen.

As Solar stroked their head, they slowly uncurled, turning onto their back. Solar let out a gasp.

There was a gash laying horizontally across their abdomen. It was slowly leaking oil, and when Solar tried to touch it, they whimpered and pushed his hand away.

"There's a gash on their stomach. I...I need to fix it."

Monty and Earth looked at each other, having a silent conversation.

Monty was the one to break eye contact, then stepped toward him, saying, "Let's head back to the Pizzaplex. Earth'll stay here."

Solar thanked her. He tried to pick Bloodmoon up, but he was too heavy.

Monty noticed and grabbed him, holding them bridal-style. Despite her female form being more petite, she was just as strong as usual, showing no signs of exertion.

The trek back to the Pizzaplex took, at the very most, ten minutes, but to Solar, it felt much longer. He stared at Bloodmoon as he and Monty walked, seeing the occasional twitch they let out.

They rushed past a bewildered Glamrock Freddy on their way in, with Monty spouting out, "Emergency. Explain later."

The second they arrived at Parts & Service, Solar booted up the computer. He let out a quick apology, then hit a button on the back of Bloodmoon's neck, forcing them to shut off.

Solar started by running a diagnostic to see what all needed to be repaired. No major injuries detected. Minor internal damage. He let out a sigh of relief. That just made his job about ten times easier.

The repairs took about an hour total. Solar stayed glued to his spot in the tube, having Monty fetch whatever parts he needed. She did so without complaint.

When he was done, Solar ran a final diagnostic. He wanted to make sure nothing else needed to be done. When it came back clear, he reentered the tube, booting Bloodmoon back up.

Bloodmoon took a second to adjust to their surroundings. For a second, Solar was worried he was out of his cat mindset, but then he reached his head forward and rubbed it against Solar's hand.

"So, what now?" Monty questioned.

Solar continued letting Bloodmoon, responding, "Now we wait. He'll leave when he wants to." He glanced back at them. "Although, from the looks of things, it'll be a while before then."

"Do you want me to stay here with you?"

Solar checked the time. "Nah, you can go on home. Tell Earth I'm sorry our sibling bonding got cut short."

"No need," a voice called out from behind. Solar and Monty turned around, spotting Earth in the doorway.

"Earth?" Monty yelled. "What are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay home!"

"I know you did, but I wanted to see what was going on. You said you would be right back, but then you were taking a while, and you weren't answering my calls or texts, and-"

Monty grabbed Earth's face, making eye contact. "Earth, honey. I need you to breathe."

Earth took a few shaky breaths, eventually calming down. "I was worried something happened to you or Solar."

"That's a reasonable concern, considering our past with that little bastard over there," Monty agreed. "But we're fine. See?" Monty grabbed Earth's hand, leading it to her chest, where her biomechanical heart was beating. "I'm still alive."

Solar stepped out of the tube, moving to stand by his sister and future sister-in-law. "I'm sorry for worrying you, Earth. That was not my intention. I just feel some sort of..." Solar paused to think, "attachment, I guess? Toward Bloodmoon. At least this side of them."

Earth nodded. "I understand. I'm just a little apprehensive about you being alone with them, considering what they've done in the past. I don't want them to hurt you."

"I get it, but trust me, Earth, I wouldn't be alone with them if I thought they would hurt me."

"I know." Earth fidgeted with her hands. "Can I have a hug?"

"I guess," Solar replied. He let her wrap her arms around him, tensing up a bit at the contact. He forced himself to relax into it; he still wasn't fully used to touch, with the only kind he got in his old dimension being harmful. With Bloodmoon it was different, since they had the mentality of a cat. At least that's how he saw it.

Speaking of Bloodmoon, Solar heard a faint meow. He looked around, finding them still in the tube, stuck inside with the door shut. He hadn't even noticed it closed.

Solar quickly freed his little "pet", and they rubbed against him as they walked past.

Bloodmoon made their way over to Earth, who looked terrified. Monty looked ready to fight if need-be, and while Solar didn't necessarily like that fact, he couldn't blame her; Bloodmoon had hurt Earth before, and Monty wouldn't let it happen again.

Bloodmoon sniffed at Earth's leg. Earth was frozen in place, most likely trying to avoid setting them off. They quickly grew bored, moving back to Solar and gently pawing at his leg.

Solar crouched down, petting them. They purred, louder than Solar had ever heard them, and leaned into the touch.

Solar sighed, standing up. "Well, as fun as this was, I've gotta get going. I'm gonna bring them," he pointed at Bloodmoon, "back to the Daycare with me. Sorry our movie night got cut short."

"Alright. See you later, Solar," Monty called out.

"Goodbye!" Earth shouted after him. He waved back at them.

The sixth time it happened, Solar finally had a name for what was happening.

He had been curious about it for a while. It eventually came to a head one sleepless night, when he couldn't help but think about one thing: what was happening with Bloodmoon?

In order to sate his curiosity, Solar decided to google it. It took a few tries, with him having to rephrase it, but eventually stumbled upon something called pet regression.

According to the website, pet regression is like age regression, but instead of regressing to a younger state of mind, you regress into a more animalistic mindset. That checked just about every box there was.

So Solar's first instinct was correct; Bloodmoon regressed too, just in a different way.

Solar decided it was time for a family meeting. At that point, everyone had been around Bloodmoon while he was regressed, and Solar would much rather explain it to everyone as a group than individually. Ideally, Bloodmoon would be there too, but he knew nobody would be comfortable with that; plus, even if he wanted to, he didn't know how to contact them.

The next day, after work, the entire Celestial family (plus Monty, because they were practically a part of it already) gathered in the Daycare.

Solar clapped his hands, grabbing everyone's attention. "I want to preface this by saying there is nothing wrong. I know I said in my text that it wasn't an emergency, but I want to reiterate that."

"If this isn't an emergency, then why did you have us all come here?" Moon inquired.

Solar, as usual, was blunt. "Because I didn't feel like repeating myself."

"Fair enough."

"Now the reason I called you here is to discuss Bloodmoon." Though some tried to hide it, Solar could tell everyone was on alert at the mention. "All of you have had experiences with him...well, acting like a cat."

Sun raised his hand. "I'll take questions after I'm done explaining." The hand dropped. "I decided to do some research on what was happening, since something in my brain was telling me it was like how Sun regresses. And I was right. There's something called pet regression. It's like age regression, but instead of regressing to a younger age, they regress to an animalistic mindset. A tamed one, sure, but still animalistic. Now what was your question, Sun?"

"How exactly did you find out about this?"

"When I was working on the laser to bring you and Moon back from Ruin's dimension, I found them knocking stuff off a table like a cat would. Then they chased a rat around the bunker without killing it. Any other questions?"

Multiple hands raised, and Solar internally groaned. This was gonna take a while.

----------

Bloodmoon felt it coming on again. It was distant, faint enough that he could ignore it for a while, but he didn't want to. He wanted to give in.

He needed to find Solar.

He wasn't sure why he felt safe around Solar; by all means, he shouldn't, considering he had hurt Solar's family. Perhaps it was because he never judged them for it, or that he didn't want to hurt them. He even fixed the wound on their stomach when they got in a fight with a raccoon!

Bloodmoon left, searching for the Pizzaplex. He could always tell where Solar was by his scent.

"Brother, where are we going?" his other asked. "Are we headed to taunt and maim?"

"No," Bloodmoon replied. "We're headed to the Sun-man."

His other went silent, but he had no need to worry; he knew his brother would never judge him.

"Do you need me to take over?" The concern in their voice was palpable.

"No. I will be fine to make it there."

The two of them chatted idly the entire way there, talking about their latest kills. Despite not wanting to hurt anything at the moment, Bloodmoon still took pride in his achievements, and that included the ones of his other.

Once they arrived, it wasn't hard to scout out where the Sun-man was. He was with the rest of his little family--and the gator--in the Daycare.

They paused at the doors. There was talking coming from inside, and they heard their name mentioned.

"Brother, they're talking about us," Bloodmoon whispered, though he knew there was no point; his brother could hear the same as he could.

"We should listen in to see what they're saying."

They moved to stand against the doorway, far enough away from the sensor that it didn't activate.

They heard a few different things. "Pet regression", whatever that meant, and then some questions related to the topic.

"Is that what's been happening to me?" Bloodmoon wondered aloud.

"Is that what it feels like, brother?"

Bloodmoon took a second to think about it. The description the Sun-man gave was accurate; when he felt that way, it was like giving in to his deepest instincts, allowing himself to fully let go.

"Yes," he decided. The feeling was more insistent now, making it feel like his head was underwater. He felt his brain clouding over.

"Let's go in, other."

Bloodmoon tried walking, but it felt clunky and wrong. He dropped down on all fours. Much better.

He scampered in through the doors, spotting Solar immediately. He ran over to him.

Solar said something, but Bloodmoon didn't understand the words. All he knew was that he didn't sound mad.

He felt eyes on him. He turned to look, and found everyone silently staring at him.

Solar's hand found his back, and he purred, arching into it. He wanted the pets to keep coming.

Bloodmoon flopped on the ground, laying on his side. He pulled Solar's hand down to continue.

Bloodmoon made eye contact with Solar, doing a slow blink. Solar returned it.

Sun jumped up and ran off, startling him. Bloodmoon stared after him.

He was quickly distracted again when Moon made a noise. He heard Moon call his name, patting the floor next to him, and hesitantly approached.

Moon lightly patted his head. It wasn't as good as pets, but he would take it.

He jumped when he felt something brush against his back. He whipped his head to see what touched him.

It was a string.

Bloodmoon pounced on the string. It danced away, twisting and winding in every direction, and he followed its every move. He was granted a moment of pride when he caught it, only for it to be torn away again.

The game continued for a while, until Bloodmoon eventually grew bored of it. He jumped up onto the security desk, not caring that he was knocking stuff out of the way.

He heard another voice calling out to him. It was Monty this time, and he was eager to go over to them.

Monty gently picked him up, placing him on their lap. He struggled a bit, but then let it happen, remembering when they had carried him back to get him repaired. Different body, same scent.

He felt a different hand on him, this one light as a feather. He traced it back to Earth. She looked nervous, but Monty's presence seemed to help.

Bloodmoon was passed around the entire room before once again sitting next to Solar. He moved onto the ground, allowing them to sit in his lap like they had before.

Normally Bloodmoon, despite being two people, felt cold and alone, like they were nothing but a pawn for people to use as they wished. But in that moment, they finally felt warm and happy.