Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Eclipse felt nothing as he glared Sun down. That wretched waste of space. The one who “had the magic to kill him.” To dispose of him like he was merely some scrap endo meant for replacement parts. He couldn’t. He didn’t have the courage. Right? Of course he didn’t, he was always the coward who couldn’t look people in the eye without apologizing. That couldn’t say a sentence without stuttering. He couldn’t beat him, Eclipse, not even with his power drained, with Bloodmoon battering his body and tearing it to shreds.

“I’m sorry. We tried- everything we could.” Sun’s voice comes out shaky, uncertain. But, there was something more there. Something Eclipse could identify as regret. Sun couldn’t possibly regret something he couldn’t bring himself to do, right? Eclipse was able to hide his shaky hands as Sun continued. “There’s no other alternative now.”

Eclipse laughed. Even if Sun did, somehow, by the grace of everything around them, manage to expel him, to kill him, the backups would take care of everything. Even Moon couldn’t get rid of them all, he couldn't. Sure, he wished it would have been him, the original Eclipse, to see Sun and Moon’s demise, but obviously, that wasn’t going to happen. He chuckles, then starts laughing again, putting his hand to the side of his head. This wasn’t the end, no matter how hard they tried.

His hand drops and he looks at Sun in anger, in hate, and, in amusement. “I’ll see you, in Hell.” He gently nods along as Sun chants the magic spell, egging him on practically. Begging to see him try. He immediately noticed one thing wrong. He said a word incorrectly. One, singular syllable didn’t come out right. How does one even mess such a simple pronunciation up? No matter though. He glances towards the cube. The cube that would get him out. The one that would save his sorry ass and make sure he survived this whole setback. It wasn’t even an ordeal. Just a minor delay in the grand scheme of things that were already swimming around his head, praying to be organized and chosen. He waits until Sun is practically done before shooting for the cube, fingers barely touching it as his vision changes to a blinding white.

* *

Eclipse was floating in the middle of nowhere. It felt like space. Not the good kind, the real one. The one that crushes your bones and suffocates you. Luckily, he had no bones nor breath, but that didn’t make his suffering any better. He could feel oil leak through every crack and crevice, his lifeblood draining away from him as though it was what was meant to be done, like his life, he himself, amounted to nothing. He couldn’t see anything, his eyes would not cooperate, would not work. There was an excruciating pain as a maniacal, deafening, ringing laugh surrounded him. He recognized Bloodmoon’s laugh immediately. He’d know it anywhere. He tried to move, but that aggravated the pain tenfold. He tried to make an involuntary gasp as it spread through him like wildfire, but no such sound came.

He was stuck.

Trapped.

Caught between…Whatever worlds he was stuck in. It sure as hell wasn’t his mindscape.

He tried to struggle, tried to capture his actively fleeting thoughts, though no such control rewarded him. He truly was stuck. There was no way out. Was this what death meant for him? Why did he let it come so, so easily? Why did he welcome it?

* *

After an amount of time that he could not tell or estimate, the pressure from Eclipse’s body released. He gasped for the air he didn’t need, but immediately inhaled sharply and held his breath as agonizing pain filled his chest cavity. His ears, or whatever was the equivalent, were ringing, big time. He tried to open his eyes again and found he could. He was…outside. In the forest. With no walls surrounding him. His eyes shut tightly again as his vision wavered in all directions but the straight he wanted it to be facing. He slowly released his breath, though it didn’t do much to relieve the growing pressure in his chest.

He gently opened his eyes again, though one at a time. Left eye first, Eclipse, He told himself. Your left eye is your dominant eye, nothing can go undetected if- He’s cut off by his own shock as the world was dark. Well, not entirely, but it had a thick, heavy tint of gray to it. The sky was gray. The treetops were dark gray and black. The clouds were light gray. He opens his right eye, and suddenly everything looks normal again. He furrows his brow. He closes his left eye. Still normal. He does the opposite. Everything is gray from his left eye. He tries to focus on a cloud, but finds his eye isn’t moving there. What in the world? He frowns. His eye suddenly darts to the corner of his vision, where he gasps, immediately regretting the painful action.

There’s a white, faded figure. The edges are blurry with gray gently fitting into the edges. He stares, opening both eyes. Gone with his gray vision. He closes both of his eyes and tries to reorientate himself. He takes slow, deliberate breaths, holding onto what he believed was reality, because it sure wasn’t this. He would open his eyes, and it would just be him and Lunar recording a video. Just his thoughts getting away from him. Merely a figment of his Sun-sized imagination.

He opens his eyes. Still the forest. He closes his right. Still a white figure. His eye darts in the opposite direction and he makes a small hiccuping noise as he stares at the small group of white figures. Some are grayer, darker than others, some lighter. He stares in dismay, knowing there’s nothing he can do as long as he cannot move. So, move he shall.

He attempts to sit up, but that’s immediately put to a stop as his pain intensifies beyond anything Bloodmoon ever put him through. He lets himself drop out of instinct, which also proves a bad idea. He makes a small yelp, screwing his eyes shut in agony. He doesn’t bother to re-open them for a good while. When he finally does, though, he finds all of the figures gone. No trace. He takes a second to process what just happened, not even realizing the fact that he blinked, that he frowned, or his face moved and changed with emotion. He just laid, dumbfounded, in the grassy clearing in the middle of nowhere, and no one to help him.

Chapter Text

Eclipse wasn’t sure how much time had passed since he passed out, but the sky was dim with clouds by the time he came around, his head throbbing. He groaned and tilted his head to the side, shutting his eyes. He sat like that for a few minutes, feeling the wind attempt to cool down his overheating body. It didn’t do much to ease his pain, in fact making it worse, but the warnings flashing in the corners of his vision indicated it was probably for the better.

He opened his eyes again and blinked. Yeah, it really was dark. His clock said it was about noon despite the looks though. He checks the date. It’s about a week later, November 11th. He’s rather shocked he’s awake in his state, from what he can feel. Maybe, at this point, it would be a wise idea to see how his body was faring rather than guessing based on limited feeling alone.  He finds he’s able to, even if barely, move both his head and right arm enough to see it. Or, rather, what’s left of the painful mass. Purely shattered casing and an endoskeleton beneath, even that having sharp, damaged edges and exposed wires. He tries to lift his other arm, his left, realizing he can’t. He maneuvers his working arm to grab the other, grinding his useless teeth at the pain.

Exposed. Endo. And. Wires. That is all the arm is. No casing, no structure, just deformed endoskeleton and wires. The wires that were there, however, had nothing to hold onto in regards to his torso. They weren’t connected. That explains why he can’t move it. He sets it down as gently as he can, grimacing. He bends his knees to check his legs without sitting. Torn pants, but his actual legs seem relatively undamaged compared to his arms. The casing has cracks in multiple spots, sure, but there’s no endoskeleton exposed from what little he can see. That’s a bonus, he supposes. Now, time for his torso.

He gently feels and takes a sharp breath, anticipating something horrible, but nothing could prepare him for what he felt. The gap. The small puddle of oil bubbling inside as it is still attempting to cycle through his body. He tries to not shake any more, but fails and pulls his hand away from the gap before he causes anymore damage.

 How is he alive? Why is he alive?

Eclipse attempts to sit up slowly, which proves to be a bad decision, pausing halfway to take a deep breath in hopes to stop shaking under the weight and pain. His arms buckle either way, causing him to yelp in pain as loose wires and components move around the puddle inside him. He takes uncertain breaths, staring into the sky. Whoa. The clouds are beautiful. Gray and black, with white shining around the edges. How did the saying go? Every cloud has a silver lining? Either way, it’s lost in his thoughts as they scatter and his mind fades to nothingness.

* *

It’s November 13th. That makes nearly 2 weeks out in the woods. Eclipse is damaged, broken, battered, and practically dead. Supposedly dead. Dead…Was he truly dead? If he was, that means the backup should be just as, you know what, far more alive than him right now. If he wasn’t, well, Bloodmoon is just as clueless and ruthless as ever. Either way, Eclipse just had to pray that they couldn’t find them before he found his way out. …Ah. That’s another problem, he tells himself. Another problem to add to his plate, another problem to fix, and another problem to find the solution to. First thing’s first, he needs to get up and find his way out. Even though his legs may work, it’s futile if he can’t get onto them. If he can even stay awake for long enough to find out if they can support his entire body weight. He groans and gently brings his hand to his face, wincing. It’s better to try and move before something really does happen.

He closes his right eye. His vision turns gray and he stares at the blurry white figures shuffling around. Is he going insane, or are there more than there were before? He stares, though it’s rather ineffective as his eye wanders of its own accord. Even now, he can’t do anything to stop the constantly shifting gaze. It frustrates him, his own body being out of his control with no regard to his wishes. He opens his other eye again, hoping to forget it soon enough. He props himself on his elbows and takes deep breaths, covering his chest cavity in hopes that the remaining oil, his life essence, won’t spill out into the soil. He takes another deep breath, holding it as he sits up completely. It sends his head reeling, and he covers his mouth as well. He closes his eyes and chokes on non-existent stomach acid. He gasps for air and opens his eyes, getting on his knees. Some oil spills from his chest, dripping through his fingers. He tightens them as much as he can without it being downright agonizing. Or at least, more than standard, at this point. 

Eclipse put his right hand on the ground, then pushed himself up and put his left foot steadily into the dirt. The wave of shock that ran up his leg caused his entire body to shake, him tightly clutching his leaking chest. He looks at what remains of his pant leg. He stares at it before tearing it off, attempting to tie it around his chest. It’s….rough, but it’ll have to do for now. It’s better than giving up his only free hand to hold liquids in a ruined chamber.

He takes a second to think about his options before pushing himself up completely, stumbling sideways into a tree. He grunts as his head and already damaged rays hit the rough bark, rubbing the new injury. He’s at least up and on his feet, even if he’s using a tree for support. He tests out a single step, mildly pleased that he doesn’t tumble straight into the dirt. He lets go of the tree and moves forward, grabbing the next. He rolls his eyes warily and internally groans at the thought of him learning to walk, just like a child. That’s what he’s resorted to. At least it’s not like there’s someone hovering over his shoulder, watching for any signs of him falling. He closes his right eye and gasps, taking a couple of painful steps backwards as he stares at the figure directly in front of him. It isn’t moving at all, just…sitting there. Like it’s waiting for something. Not that he even knows if it’s facing him, he can’t distinguish any features on it at all, no arms, legs, nothing, just that it’s there. He narrows his eye and opens the other, blinking a couple of times.

He cautiously waves his hand to where the figure would theoretically be, if it was physical, or even there. He doesn’t feel anything touch his hand. Maybe I have finally lost my mind. He moves towards the next tree. Might as well see how far he can go in one stretch. He attempts to find his internal compass, finding that it’s there, even if it tries to say south is north and west is east. If it is functional for even a few moments at a time, that’s good enough to find his way out. He narrows his eyes and looks up into the sky, the sun’s presence blaring through the dark clouds. Even if it’s hardly there, it’s trying. That’s more than he’s ever done. Or was it? He always wanted the star. That way he could have his own way in his own world, with no one to bother him, to tell him what to do, to throw him to the side with complete disregard of his feelings, thoughts, and state. …Yes, it’s more than he ever did.

Well, his compass is telling him he’s facing south currently, even if it tries to confuse him by glitching to the other three directions every few seconds. His “gut” instincts also tell him the same. He attempts to access his map, which immediately fails. Of course it does, he has no connection to the Pizzaplex. He groans, then looks around. Well…From what he can remember of the outside world from Moon’s “adventures,” there’s nothing but essentially a green prairie surrounding the Pizzaplex until the road to the west, where there’s a forest. It’s safe to assume that he’s likely in that forest. If that’s the case, if he’s not too far north or south, he should be able to walk east until he reaches the road. From there, he can follow signs to the Plex. It’s safe to say there are probably a dozen in a mile’s worth of stretch. He groans, holds his weakened left arm and gets to walking, praying that the forest isn’t as endless as it looks.

* *

He walks to the east for a good hour, at least, before hearing a crack from his leg. He immediately lowers himself onto the ground, checking his right leg. He groans and gently rubs a new crack in the casing of the leg, glad that it doesn’t collapse in. Now would be a good time to take a break anyways, he can’t see any trace of the sun over the trees. His eye darts to the side as he sees a white figure that just as quickly disappears. How…His right eye isn’t even closed? He blinks and sits on his knees, staring intensely at the spot. He stares. And stares. And…

He gets a battery warning. 20%. Fuck. His battery. He dismisses it after a few seconds. That leaves only a few more hours on his move to find the Pizzaplex, and that’s assuming he’s constantly moving. He covers his face and snarls. Must everything be going wrong? He glares up through his fingers at the spot, then drops it. He’ll need to turn off tonight and hope that nothing happens during the night hours, then move as soon as he can see the sun. He looks around and sees a thick tree. Sure, it’s shaggy and doesn’t have great branches, but it has leaves and shadows. That’s enough for him. He pushes himself onto his feet, sitting in a crouch, and waddles his way over to it. He turns around and sits, legs stretched out, and closes his eyes. This will do for now. He shuts down for the night.

* *

Eclipse wakes up at around 10:00 the next morning, sore. He touches the cloth and sighs as his fingers come away soaked in oil. He sits up and looks into the sky. It’s clear today, blue sky with distant wisps of clouds. He leans backwards so as to not tip his chest and moves onto his knees, grabbing the tree, and pulls himself up. He takes a deep breath and shifts weight off of his right leg, taking a couple of testing steps. Despite a small limp, the steps are relatively steady. He closes his right eye and looks around. There are no figures around, white, gray, or black. He opens his eye again, loosening up a bit. He’s alone, but in this case, it’s probably for the better.

He starts on his way towards the east. He tries to move faster, but that proves difficult with an already weakened leg. He stumbles through the brush, forcing himself to continue moving even when he becomes increasingly tired and pained. If he doesn’t move today, he might never make it back alive. He collapses shortly after it’s dark, quickly moving onto his back and drawing in large breaths. He stares up at the leaves that are reflecting his orange eye glow. There’s a small white spot as well. He covers his left eye, curious to know which is which. The white disappears. He swaps it. The orange disappears. Well, that answers that question. He checks his battery. 9%. He sighs and lets his arm drop to the ground, wincing at the impact. He closes his eyes, choosing to power off for the night. It’s best to save the battery he has remaining.

* *

He’s off for…far, far longer than he would like. It’s 3:00 in the afternoon by the time he wakes up. He blinks and immediately checks his battery. 7%. He can survive a little longer. Possibly. He sits up and gets up the same way he has since he woke up, looking around. He sees a couple of the white figures move by, then actually closes his right eye. He watches them move along. No legs that he can see. He narrows his eye, then opens the other. He has no time for this. He starts moving towards the east again, even shakier than the day before. He moves as long and hard as he can. By the time he’s at 5%, his body tries to shut down, but he quickly puts that to a stop. He moves faster, wincing every time his pathetic excuse for a leg crunches.

He finally notices the road and practically collapses on the ground, tempted to kiss it. He looks up and sees the Pizzaplex in the distance. He should be able to make it in about an hour. He realizes that a car is coming and scoots away, back into the shadows. He scoffs. It’s something Bloodmoon was programmed to be good at, not him. Either way, he hopes that it’s enough to not be noticed by passing civilians. His most pressing question right now, though, is if the Pizzaplex is open. If it is, that’ll be a big problem due to one, the amount of cars, two, the amount of people, and three, the fact that means security and animatronics will be moving around. If any of them see him, then all of this will be for nothing. To be fair, this will be for nothing either way if he doesn’t move and dies out here.

He shuts his eyes tightly and groans, leaning against a bush. You want to know a fun fact about bushes? They aren’t as solid as trees.

Eclipse falls into it, yelping and coughing. He tries to fight his way back up, but his arms, or rather, his endoskeleton, is caught in the brambles. He snarls and tries to yank his right arm out, muffling a yell of agony. He glares at it, trying to untangle the sticks and leaves. It fails. He knows his left arm will be useless in helping. He groans. He can’t lean anywhere without either leaking oil or getting more tangled, he can’t use his arms to get out, and he can’t pull without risking more damage and pain. He glares up into the sky. 4%. Either he does pull, or his life is pulled from him. He likes the sound of the former better.

He takes as good a look up and down the road as he can to be sure nobody will look over. It’s as clear as it’ll probably ever be by daylight. He takes a deep breath for the funsies, grinds his teeth, and pulls his right arm out.

Good lord, that’s what true pain was.

He screams and curls over his now-released, leaking arm, hearing the sound echo. He makes a quiet sob, keeping his mouth clenched and eyes screwed tightly shut. He looks at it. There’s more cracks, and chips of casing are missing. Oil is dripping from it. He stares and winces as a stream of the liquid runs down his aggravated limb. He shivers, glancing up at the gray figure hovering above him. They can see him? He stares at it, then closes his right eye. It practically blends in with the sky. It just stands there, as though waiting for him to do something. He slowly narrows his eyes.

“Leave me be.” His voice crackles with rawness, irritated from his only noises recently being screams and groans. It sounds deeper than usual.

The figure, on the other hand, doesn’t move an inch. Eclipse partially clenches his fist. “I said go , imbecile.” No movement, and a glare in return. “Are you deaf?!” He flinches at the sound of his voicebox quietly sparking. The figure still doesn’t move. He tries to push it away, finding that to fail. What…

…

…

Are these figures ghosts. He stares in shock and, possibly, horror. He opens both eyes, leading to the figure disappearing. He stares at where he knows it, the ghost , is. That isn’t possible. He doesn’t have such magic. But…Bloodmoon does. He’s the only one with that magic. So how did he end up with the same type, the same one? Is that why his eye is now black and white? He shakes his head gently. More questions and problems for later. For now, the big problem is the fact that he’s stuck in a bush. A stupid. Little. Bush. With limited battery. 3%. He sighs and grabs his limp left arm and pulls, trying to muffle his cry and tears.

He gets up and moves away from the bush, waiting for the seemingly endless stream of cars to pass so that he can cross to his “paradise.” More like Hell in disguise, though the only reason he’s returning is because of the fact that the Pizzaplex has chargers that, as far as he’s concerned, nowhere else in the world except for Moon’s bunkers have. There’s finally a break in cars, and he runs through the road. He makes it to the other side and sits on his knees, then lays on the ground, wondering how he survived at all.

* *

Eclipse has been walking for about 40 minutes, trying to prevent his arm and chest from leaking any more. He finally steps onto the asphalt of the back Pizzaplex lot, where the loading docks are. He sighs in disbelief at the amount of semi trucks sitting in rows, but knows that most, if not all, are empty and will leave in a few hours. He checks his battery. 2%. At this rate, he could damage what little systems of his are still working. He’s also positive that Sun and Moon wouldn’t be happy if they were to find him, even damaged and shut down. Or Lunar. Theoretically, Lunar should still be in Moon’s head, the little traitor. He exhales and goes over to one of the closed doors. He knows most of the bots working wouldn’t have an ounce of knowledge on how to lock the doors shut, so he braces himself and tugs one up, hissing at the shock that runs up his arm. It, luckily for him, slides up smoothly.

He takes a few steps back, then sprints and jumps for it. His left leg makes it up, but his right leg slips on the edge, causing him to fall. He inhales and grabs his now further damaged shin, head down. “Fucking..”

He sits for a minute or two before getting up, his limp worse. He isn’t bothered though, he’s inside and that’s enough. He thinks of how he’s going to make it to a charging port. His best bet is Parts & Service due to the fact the Superstar Daycare would be occupied at this point. He sighs and connects to the Plex internet. The place is closing in about 3 hours. If he shuts down, he might be able to make it. He likely will. He slinks around, finding a small corner. He sits against the wall and closes his eyes, hoping they will open again.

Chapter Text

11:37 PM. That’s the time Eclipse opened his eyes, 2 hours and 7 minutes past closing. He groans and rubs his shin, feeling an obvious dent. He’s still at 2%. He gets up, grabbing the wall and stumbling into it, covering his chest. He huffs and looks around, noticing a few things have moved around or disappeared all together. They were probably taken with the semi trucks.

He limps out of his hiding spot, checking around a couple of corners. Nothing. He listens, then moves towards the doors. Now is his chance to make it. Well, his opportunity. It's not much of a chance as it is life and death at this point. He pulls up his internal map of the Pizzaplex, sighing. He needs to make it all the way through the loading dock while avoiding guards and bots, then to the elevators into the main atrium so he can take that elevator into Parts & Service. It'll be quite the trip on 2%.

Eclipse keeps an ear out as he makes his way towards the exit of the loading dock, weaving around crates, boxes, and shipping containers. He presses himself against whatever he can find often as bots roll by. They likely wouldn't do anything if they saw him, but he isn't taking the risk, especially because he's damaged. He's certain that they wouldn't like the look of a critically injured animatronic roaming after hours. Between detours and close calls, it takes about 10 minutes for him to find the doors. He quietly rushes through, just making sure that the doors close before jogging down the hallway. He finds an elevator and rapidly presses the button, then realizes it's out of service. They all are, it's the middle of the night. He groans and covers his face, then runs off towards the stairs, trying to ignore his protesting body and leaking chest. He finds the stairs and climbs up on them on all fours, stumbling back onto his two legs at the top. He takes a huffy breath, beginning to panic. He's at 1% and he needs to find the atrium stage.

He looks around and bolts to the first door frame he sees and rushes through, following the Pizzaplex theme song. Second floor of the main atrium. Convenient. He finds the escalators, holding onto the rail and practically going down by twos. He sprints to the main stage, pressing the button rapidly. It starts to descend. He breathes a sigh of relief and slumps against the small pole, holding his leg and leaning back. He winces at the sudden stop of the platform, but gets up easily enough. He makes his way down the hall and looks around the dim place. It's covered in strewn parts, rats, cobwebs, and dirt. He shudders, but sees what he's looking for. A charger. He grabs it tightly, then plugs it into his side. It works.

He loosens up significantly, finally realizing just how tense he was, covering his face with his hands and sliding down the wall. He puts his hands on his knees and closes his eyes, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm his overworked systems. He made it. He survived, and he will continue to do so.

* *

He refuses to turn off as he charges in case someone comes down. He’d hate to be caught in such a pathetic state. He hastily unplugs himself as he reaches 100%, grabbing the cord and attempting to take it out of the wall. It shocks him and he flinches back, hissing under his breath and shaking his hand. He looks around. Figure it would be wise to try and repair myself. He searches through boxes, finding small halves of things he needs, such as half of a new forearm cover. Once he’s gone through all of the boxes, he uses his feet to kick them over to the tool table. He checks the time as he looks at the various tools, 3:13. He has about two hours before it’s too dangerous to work anymore, especially if he has to organize and clean up. He finds a chair and pulls it to the table, working on getting a good patch over his chest before anything.

* *

At exactly 5:00, Eclipse stops repairing himself. He’s managed to replace large wires in his chest and snap a large piece of plastic onto the hole with a nail gun, along with securing his left arm to his body so it isn’t moving limply. He figured out how to replace the cracked casing on his right leg as well. Now he can run with little risk of falling or catching on other things.

He begins to quietly place everything back where he found it, moving all of his personal “belongings” to the corner of the furthest room. He goes back around and adjusts boxes and tools, then starts to retrace his footsteps, this time not in a panic. Staying in the loading dock is likely his best bet at staying hidden through the day. He makes it back without incident, walking freely through the large space as the security bots go back to their daytime jobs. He searches through a couple of the boxes and crates, finding nothing of use, and puts them back. He retreats back to the corner and sits, turning off. This time, he’s certain he’ll wake up.

* *

He wakes up about an hour past closing, sitting up. He covers his chest and messes with the edge of the plastic, staring up at the ceiling for a minute before getting up. Any other parts he needs would theoretically be in the daycare. He paces back and forth, partially to get used to not being required to lean on one leg, but more so to give himself something to do as he thinks. How will he make it into the daycare unnoticed? He can’t climb up the nets, but he could maybe sneak under them. It doesn’t cross his mind that Computer or COM, Moon’s AI system, might notice him. He starts to walk out of the loading bay, heading through the sewers to get to the Superstar Daycare unnoticed. He ends up stepping in a few puddles, leading to his shoes getting wet. He groans and keeps going, avoiding rats and more puddles. He gets out of the door at the end of the hallway, following a new one to the back of the theatre. He looks around warily. If he screws this up, he could easily never be able to do anything again, dead or alive.

After a good few seconds of listening, he determines that no one is close and wanders down the steps of the catwalk. The theatre is as clean and organized as ever. That means Sun has been doing things despite Eclipse’s recent death. He notices a higher amount of beanbags as well. Didn’t Lunar like them? Childish behavior from a childish waste of an animatronic. Eclipse stays close to the wall as he looks through the doorway, seeing and hearing no one. He slips through, keeping low.

He adjusts his torso so that his limp arm doesn't scrape against his side as he slinks towards the net, crouching. He makes it and gently feels around the edges of the net, hoping to find a gap of some sort. He smirks in triumph as he finds one. Looks like he won't need to climb today.

He takes one last listen before slipping down, bracing himself for the fall into the ballpit below. Despite him expecting it, the shock still sends a wave up his legs and he hisses quietly, freezing. Nothing. He gently rocks on his feet, hoping to ease the pain in his ankles before moving to the little “islands” in the middle of the ballpit. He climbs up and looks around. Still nothing. He notices a light blue hat, like Moon's nightcap. Blue like Lunar. It's just on the ground though. He stares, then looks away and finds the teleporter. He presses it.

His head spins and he collapses on the ground, forearm on the ground as he takes short breaths, trying to recover from the vertigo inflicted by teleporting. He closes his eyes, then looks up. He’s on the platform of Sun’s room, which has bean bags and blankets in one corner. He narrows his eyes, then pushes himself onto his knees. Sun’s room still has the little play spot with the house and couch, bright colors, toys, and drawings strewn all over. He gets up onto his feet and sits on the edge, slipping to the ground. Attempting to use the ladder with one arm would be a stupid idea. Another stupid idea would be assuming Sun has any spare attendant parts in his room.

He quietly moves towards the tunnel to Moon’s room, listening for any signs of anyone being in it. He slows and places his hand on the edge, pausing. Silence. He takes a quiet breath as he climbs in, keeping a close eye on the space ahead and an ear behind him. He peeks around the edge of the tunnel, finding no one. He sighs in pure relief and climbs out, looking around. Other than small things such as scraps of metal and plastics, as well as tools, nothing has changed since he “died.” He moves towards the desk and sifts through the little parts, finding a couple things he might need. He stashes them in the remains of his pockets, then moves to searching through drawers and beside the desk. He even searches under it. He finds multiple pieces he needs, managing to find most of what he needs.

He stands up and begins to look through the tools when a voice makes him jump.

“Didn’t Sun’s manners teach you better than to go digging through other people’s things?” Eclipse turns to the computer, glaring at it. “I forgot you even existed.”

Computer scoffs in return. “Well, that was a bad idea, wasn’t it? I suppose I should tell Moon about this, so he and Sun can return-”

“Wait!” Eclipse is shocked by the desperation in his own voice, blinking and retracting his suddenly out-reached hand. “...I mean, do not.” Computer and Eclipse sit in silence for a minute before Computer clears his throat.

“Well, we can’t just not tell Moon.” “Then I’ll offer you a deal.” “Oh?” Computer sounds mildly intrigued. Eclipse takes that as a good sign and continues.

“I- I have nothing, except for access to the Parts & Service room. What can your ‘super intelligent mind’ make out of that?”

Silence from Computer, then a response.

“You can give up any and all opportunities to have access to technology outside of your body, you also can’t leave the Plex, and we get to record everything, though we won’t show Moon and he won’t have access to footage with you. You are not allowed to check or view any cameras.”

“That is not fair on any-”

“Unless you want us to tell Moon that you are here?” COM pipes up, “And you can’t do anything without asking Computer, and we can tell any time we want!” Computer hushes his other half. “Does that sound fair, Eclipse?”

Eclipse glares at the arcade machine, debating his options, and whether or not it would be worth giving up all of his opportunities of guaranteed independent safety.

“Don’t even think about breaking me. That will cause more suspicion and he will find the footage.”

Eclipse snarls. “Fine! I’ll take your stupid deal, if I can take these items.” Computer sighs, “You don’t have the upper hand here, but I suppose I can let it slide. You have a deal, Eclipse. You had better leave sooner rather than later if you want to have any chance of not being caught here.”

Eclipse ignores him and hurriedly fixes his mess, then ducks to the tunnel, worming his way through and into Sun’s room. He stares at the ladder, then grabs the railing on top and climbs up. He then walks to the ledge and jumps into the ballpit.

Chapter Text

Even if all of his access to outside technology had been revoked by Moon’s Computer, Eclipse still has full “permission” to move around the Pizzaplex as he likes, excluding the daycare, as long as Computer was told beforehand. He fulwell intends to use it to its full extent. He’s currently back down in Parts & Service, thinking about everything as he organizes the things he gathered from Moon’s room. He moves things into piles of big and small, then into what he needs desperately and took just to take. He sighs at the disappointingly small pile, then takes the things he can use right now and repairs himself while he has the time.

* *

He freezes as he hears voices. He tries to remember who’s they are, realizing it’s Monty and Freddy. He thinks for a moment before dropping everything and quickly moving to one of the small rooms down the hall. He listens as the duo comes in and their voices die down as they see the mess of tools and equipment.

“What in the world happened here?” Monty. They’re heard moving through the mess, kicking some of the parts. Eclipse suppresses a groan, hoping none of them get damaged.

“I have no clue. They look like Daycare Attendant parts. Moon didn’t tell anyone he or Solar was coming down here, or at least didn’t report it. Say, where is he? Moon?” Freddy’s voice rings in the confined room. “Weird…”

“Should we go ask for ‘im?” Monty’s heard moving towards where Eclipse is hiding. He completely tenses, praying they stop before reaching him. Lucky him, they do. He watches their tail swing around as they turn back to Freddy, stepping away from the room. “‘Cause I don’t think ‘e’s in ‘ere.”

“That’s probably wise. Let’s go before something happens, and then we can come back and clean this up. I’ll inform the security bots to keep an eye out for anything suspicious.” They both start walking again and as their steps fade, Eclipse lets out a breath, staring at the floor. I need to move, fast. He scrambles out and gathers his parts, putting them in his pockets, then recklessly puts tools back in their slots before leaving. He makes his way to the platform on stage, waiting a couple of minutes for pure silence before pressing the button. He sighs and moves to the middle of the platform, waiting as he ascends into the Main Atrium, then moving to the wall and listening. He can’t hear anyone. He thinks about what he should do, since he can’t stay here.

I can go to Roxy Raceway. Though..That’s too open and dark colored. I’ll stick out, and she might be there. Fazer Blast won’t be open, same with Bonnie Bowl. Gator Golf isn’t particularly orange, but it has good cover and is big. It also might have vital information, Monty has proven they’re not to be underestimated. It’s my best option. He nods a bit and starts off.

* *

Eclipse makes it to Gator Golf without incident, entering and looking around. It’s as green as ever. He tries to convince himself that he hates it as he walks along the path, ignoring the holes meant for golf balls, hills meant to stop children, and searching for anything that could be of use. He finds where Monty spends his time, made obvious by the countless cans of Sour Lime Fizzy Faz and crushed “leaves.” He looks around, kicking cans and broken props. He sighs, finding nothing, then moves on. He moves to the edges of the walls, tapping every so often. He pauses as a knock sounds hollow, hitting his hand on it again. Same sound. He looks at it, narrowing his eyes. He glances around for an edge, finding one. He presses on it, and it pops open. Smart, but not smart enough. He grins.

There’s papers, capsules that are both transparent and opaque, and tools. He takes some of the papers out and sifts through them, finding a folder of blueprints. He takes glances at them, them being blueprints of the Glamrocks, but he pauses on one. Bloodmoon. He stares at it, then his eyes widen as he reads details on his eyes. They can see ghosts, using magic to show their presence. He stares, then closes his right eye, looking around at the couple ghosts in Gator Golf. Bloodmoon was attacking when he attempted to leave Sun’s mindscape. What if Sun wasn’t the one to expel him, but rather, Bloodmoon was?

* *

Eclipse is leaving Gator Golf, feeling rather numb, when he hears Moon's Computer's voice laughing in his ear.

“You really did not know?”

“Shut up.” Eclipse growls, already regaining his constant feeling of annoyance. He continues trudging along in the shadows as the Computer continues to ramble on.

“It really isn’t that hard to know your own creation has the ability to see ghosts, being such an advanced fighter. Maybe I should tell that to Moon, he would find great amusement in it, I am sure. Would you be mad if I also told you that Bloodmoon knows you’re alive, and is searching across the entire state to bring an end to you. You should probably prepare. Oh wait, you don’t even have a place to stay. How unfortunate for y-”

“Shut UP! ” Eclipse grabs his head and glares at the ground, breathing heavily, anger running through and burning his wires.

“Oh, I am so sorry.” The sarcasm drips heavily in Computer’s voice as his voice shifts to the other side, being higher. COM, as the other AI calls himself. “Oh Eclipse, I’m sooo sorry for Computer’s actions!”

“Zip it, off-brand nerd.” COM laughs at Eclipse’s snarl. He takes a deep breath, pausing every second or so to make sure he didn’t overwhelm the pain receptors in his chest too quickly. It was beginning to become just a dull throbbing, he wasn’t looking forward to making the splitting pain come back. He continues walking after a good minute or so of both computer systems being silent, trudging along near silently. He still needs to figure out how to get back to the loading dock without getting caught by anyone, especially because they have likely realized that Moon was not the one in Parts & Service. He instinctively grabs at the parts in his pocket, sighing and grasping them. He had better get a move on if he was going to make it back in time.

— — — — —

Moon is working on a replacement piece for one of Lunar’s robot buddies when the arcade machine beside him bursts into chuckles and laughter. He looks in shock, specifically because Computer is one of those reactions.

“What are you two up to now?” He puts down his tools and leans back in his chair, crossing his arms.

“Nothing! Nothing at all, don’t worry about it, Moon!” The higher-voiced of the two, COM, is still trying to not laugh as he responds. Moon sighs. “Computer?”

“Oh, it is nothing of concern, Moon.” He chuckles quietly. “Just one of the S.T.A.F.F. bots falling over and struggling to get up.” The computer screen glitches to hands moving around excitedly, making different shapes. Moon watches silently.

“This is why I love having our own robots to control, it makes life so much funner when we’re stuck here! Oh, my circuits hurt-”

“Then stop laughing, [idiot.]” Computer sounds rather annoyed already. Moon had to admit, they were good at lying, but they couldn’t slide past him that easily. He huffs a bit, then decides to let it drop. “Okay, okay. I don’t know what you two really did, but it had better not be anything bad.” He turns back to his work and continues with his project. Computer and COM both stay silent for a few moments before snickering and going offline.

Chapter Text

A few days later, Eclipse wakes up early in the night and looks around, lifting his head. He blinks, wondering why he woke up. He typically has his timer set for midnight, when most everyone is asleep or busy. He grabs the corner of his little space and pulls himself up, stumbling a bit before standing straight. He carefully glances around, seeing and hearing nothing. He narrows his eyes, then closes his right one completely. He watches the ghost hovering in front of him silently, it doing the same. He watches as it moves back, sighing. If a ghost is the most of my worries right now, I’ll take it. He moves to sit again, but it rapidly moves in front of him. He stares for a few moments before sighing and covering his face.

“What do you want?” He glances at it through his fingers. It, of course, doesn’t respond, instead moving back again. He moves towards it, and it moves back the same amount. He scoffs. “I’m not going to be playing a game with you.” The ghost moves back over and phases through his hand, then moves again. Eclipse groans and decides he doesn’t have anything better to do, following it.

The ghost leads him through the twisting, turning hallways of the utility tunnels, somehow managing to avoid all of the S.T.A.F.F bots while making sure Eclipse can still follow it without getting lost. They make it to an abandoned, grimy corner of the utility tunnels, and Eclipse grimaces in disgust.

“Why did you bring me here?” The ghost pauses, then moves over a box. It…looks like an ordinary cardboard box. Eclipse gives the ghost a sharp look before crouching down in front of it, realizing it’s taped shut. He sighs and looks at his hand, extracting claws from the tips of his fingers. He found out he could do that when he dropped a screwdriver the other day while repairing himself and it startled him. It's been helpful so far. It could also be helpful in getting away from sticky situations.

He looks at the box and holds it between his legs, digging his claw into the layered tape. He grunts as he breaks through it, slicing it open cleanly. He opens the flaps and stares at the coils of wires in the dusty box. A quick analysis proves that they’re specifically Superstar Daycare Attendant wires, and that they match the ones running through the top half of his body. He continues staring at the contents of the box, eventually breaking his gaze away and looking at the ghost. “...Thank you.” The ghost lingers for a few moments, then disappears.

He chuckles a bit as he realizes that he can now repair his left arm, at least to some extent, then sighs, wondering how he’s going to get up with the box using his only working one. He scoots away from it, getting up, and then grabs one of the flaps on the box. He drags it to another box, placing it on top, then crouches, wraps his arm around it, and lifts, quickly putting his hand under it for support. He succeeded in picking it up without incident, even if barely. He thinks about how he’s going to bring it to Parts & Service without losing it or getting caught, swaying side-to-side on his feet a bit. He sighs, hating the habit he got from Sun. He readjusts the box, then heads back for the utility tunnels.

He brings up his internal map and goes through the winding hallways without any problems, coming out back in the loading dock. He walks back to his corner, placing the box down and sitting beside it, closing his eyes. Timer set for 00:30. He turns off.

* *

At 00:30 Eclipse wakes up and stares up, then stretches. He closes his right eye and gets up once he’s certain there’s no ghosts. He drags the box to a crate, pulling it up onto the larger one, then picks it up as he did earlier. He moves towards the exit of the docks quietly, still learning how to keep the bells on his shoes quiet. He could just take them off, but sensitive metal on concrete doesn’t sound good to him. He also likes the shoes, and doesn’t have the time to take off the bells. It’s a useful skill to have anyways, keeping them silent.

He follows his map and watches around for bots, making it to the Parts & Service room easy enough. He listens for Freddy to come by and check around the room before going in. Ever since he and Monty nearly caught Eclipse and Moon confirmed that none of them had been in the room, each of the Glamrocks have taken turns checking every hour to make sure there are no intruders. He heads in and sorts through the wires, figuring out which ones are what he needs, then sits and works on detaching his arm. He winces at the clunk it makes as it falls to the ground, but begins to carefully remove the wires inside. He then finds the replacements and works on attaching them to the remaining wire. He tests the connection, satisfied as it responds, even if weakly, and rolls the chair over to the table, putting his arm on it. He levels himself with it and works on connecting the arm to its joint. He makes a small scoff, though it’s in triumph, (it makes sense to me trust) as it snaps in place. He then successfully solders the remaining wire, sitting up.

He attempts to move his arm, praying it won’t hurt too much with the missing casing, and grits his teeth as it makes a rough cracking noise and sends a shock up into his torso. At least it’s now connected again, even if unusable. He tries to adjust his fingers, snarling quietly in annoyance as nothing happens. He bends his wrist, though it lags and pauses every inch or so, as well as being painful. To be fair, being able to move the rest of his arm in an emergency is good enough for him at this point. He gets up and quickly cleans, one of the Glamrocks should be coming to check in about 10 minutes. He chooses to leave the extra wires and come back for them the next night once he’s certain that they work fine. He leaves through the doors and heads back through the utility tunnels. He glances around as he walks, eventually finding one of the gates that’s locked. It has a sign that crosses out a depiction of Monty. I wouldn’t want that wretch wandering my halls with thoughts of destruction, either. He thinks, then decides to climb over. He should be nimble enough, he’s had a bit of practice in Sun's body anyways.

He moves over to it, grabbing onto the metals and shaking it forcefully. It’s unstable, but he’ll make do with it. He tightens his grasp on the fence and pulls, jamming his foot into one of the narrow holes and forcing his other foot higher. He takes a breath, then braces himself and reaches for the top. He makes it and huffs, then climbs higher and over the edge, jumping down. He looks up at the top of the fence before walking down the hall, turning up the brightness of his eyes. Right now, he wishes that both eyes were orange, then the black wouldn’t block out his one bright eye.

He wanders warily through the halls for a few minutes, eventually loosening up his strut as he realizes that there’s truly no one over here. He comes across a room and peeks in, finding extra supplies for the daycare, or maybe if there was an emergency such as a tornado. Either way, there’s blankets and a couple of cheap pillows with lights. He goes over and kicks one of them, hissing and stepping back in surprise as a kitten scrambles out and runs off. He glares after it, then picks up the blanket. It’s a decent size. He puts it back down, grabbing the lights and putting them in his pockets before picking up two blankets and two pillows. He then walks out and back down the hall, more confident than before.

After throwing his newfound resources over the fence and getting himself over it, he heads back to the loading dock and places one of the blankets in a nest shape and the lights around it. He puts the pillows against the wall, sighing. I look like one of the daycare attendants. Needing to be comfortable all of the time…Pathetic. He shakes his head and sits in the little nook, putting the smaller blanket on himself. At least it’s better than nothing. Boxes would finish the look, essentially camouflaging the area. He gets back up reluctantly and trudges towards the boxes, grabbing a few and dragging them to block the view. He steps back and walks by a few times to make sure it’s hidden well, determining that he needs to look closely to see any sign of his little space. That’s good enough. Tomorrow I’ll move it to the tunnels.

He climbs on top of the boxes and sits down in the pile again, closing his eye. A ghost is standing on top of one of the boxes and he startles a bit, staring. He narrows his eye, then closes it. He turns off for the night, setting an alarm for 23:30.

* *

Eclipse is up and pushing boxes out of the way so he can carry his items when he hears the sound of faint gears whirring. He freezes, then ducks and turns to his side, retracting his rays. He waits as it approaches, trying to identify who it is. He hears it go by, realizing there’s no footsteps. He only heard a security bot. But, at the same time, they usually don’t come this far. Is it searching for him? Did the Computer lie and break his promise? He clenches his jaw and gets up and looks around, seeing the S.T.A.F.F. bot. It’s far enough away that it won’t see him if he continues his work.

So he does. He pushes against the box, wincing at the screeching of wood on the floor. The bot doesn’t seem bothered and continues its trek around the loading docks. He successfully moves some more boxes away and wraps his things into the larger of the two blankets. He lifts it and heads towards the utility tunnels, jogging down the stairs. He gradually clenches his teeth together as he hears mechanical gears clicking and turning, gears not his, against the wall and under the stairs. He goes faster and faster down, practically tripping over his feet, until he’s at the bottom, breaking into a sprint. He ignores the pain building in his leg as he hears scurrying passing him, sounds of bells. He finally finds the fence and throws his stuff over it, climbing up and over himself. He collapses on the ground and sways, taking deep breaths in an attempt to slow his overwhelmed fans. He looks up into the dark, seeing nothing. He looks back as he hears it go by. There’s nothing. He’s making things up, or is he? He closes his eye.

…He is. There really is nothing there. He sits up, adjusting his limp arm, then gets up and grabs his little sack of items. He wanders down the hall and finds a room, heading in. Dark and closed off, he puts his stuff down, putting it around in a nest shape as he had before. He puts the lights up on the wall, now that they’d be helpful. Now, just add pictures, and it’d be any teenage girl’s dream. He snorts at the thought, leaving the room to search the tunnels for anything useful.

* BIG SKIP TIME LOL *

There’s trouble. Eclipse knows, he sees the bots roaming through the tunnels at high speeds with flashlights, even checking behind things. It’s been about two months since he came back, he shouldn’t have expected everything to go perfectly in bliss. He watches the bots go by, not a single one seeing his glowing eyes. Did someone break in, get left behind? Or did they finally catch onto him? No, that’s not possible. Computer was just talking to him earlier, teasing him. They had no reason to give up his cover. After a good hour of the S.T.A.F.F. bots going by, they finally slow down. He takes the chance to climb over the fence and walk along the tunnel walls, getting into the loading docks. The faster he can figure out what’s wrong and fix it, the lower chance there is of them finding him. He groans, really wishing he had the ability to access camera systems. He makes it to the stairs, then pauses in front of the stationary security bot. He narrows his eyes, then moves back and grabs a small crate, dropping it. Its head turns towards the noise before inching over on its wheels. Eclipse quietly sneaks behind it, bolting up the stairs. It doesn’t follow, not that it could.

He takes a breath, holding onto the railing. He looks up and narrows his eyes at the top of the stairs. He keeps going and stops at the top as Computer clears his throat. “Eclipse?”

“What?” Is all he snarls in response, though a bit concerned over Computer’s “nervous” tone.

“You’re so fucked.”