Chapter Text
The other side of their bed was empty.
That was the first thing Moon was aware of when he awoke. For a long moment, he simply laid there, letting his processors kick on fully as he took in the situation. He wasn’t entirely sure what tipped him into thinking the emptiness was unusual- Sun was typically the first one up, afterall, one the days the brothers ‘slept’. But… Sun’s morning routine was normally far too noisy to sleep through.
Their apartment was dead silent.
Sun never failed to wake Moon, regardless of how hard his partner attempted to keep quiet. (In truth, Moon never minded too much- the morning kisses soothed over any lingering grumpiness of being awoken too soon.) Yet here Moon was, fully charged and then some. He felt a nervous twinge spark inside of him, and clambered out of bed to check around the apartment. He hoped that he was simply being a ‘worry-wart,’ as Sun loved to call him- anxiously looking around their home for anything out of place. There was a chance, however small, that it just happened to be the first morning where Sun managed to be quiet. But it all too quickly proved to not be the case- despite a thorough checking of their apartment, there wasn’t anything out of place.
“Sun?” he called out, just in case. But only silence answered him.
Something was dearly, horribly wrong.
He wasn’t entirely sure where to begin his search- there were no signs of struggle. For all he knew, Sun could’ve just actually been quiet this morning, had simply left for his morning jog (purposeless as it was-) without Moon stirring. A missing person report would be useless- not only was Sun an adult, and thus, deemed not able to be searched for for hours, but they were also both animatronics. It… wasn’t news at all that human officers would dismiss the case without even glancing their way. Even with all the ai-rights Laws. Even with Sun and Moon working on the force.
If Moon didn’t look, no one would.
He supposed it would be a good starting ground to check around the neighborhood, see if anyone had seen Sun. If the search was fruitless… work, maybe? (Even though he knew there was no possible way Sun would’ve gone without him- or, at least, without waking him.) Plan in mind, he wrote a brief note (just in case), and headed out to begin his search.
.
.
.
Perhaps it was expected, but the search, so far, was fruitless.
No neighbors nor passerbyers had spotted Sun. Their work, too, had come up empty. Their co-workers, rather expectedly, had dismissed him on accounts of being “too paranoid”, or “too clingy”. All of which was beyond infuriating to hear. Even more infuriating was how easy it was for them to brush it all off. His inner circuits felt as if they were blazing with the rage that was welling side of him. But getting mad wouldn’t change anything, nor would it help him find Sun.
At the very least it did confirm that something did happen.
He supposed he needed to figure out his next steps, then. Perhaps starting on who would want Sun gone? Kidnapped or otherwise. Moon threw his jacket off, pacing back and forth in the kitchen as he thought over the possibilities. The list of people who’d want them gone was long- crooks, gangs, the Local mafias, who else? But even more importantly, who would want Only Sun gone? And who would be as stealthy enough to break into their home, kidnap Sun, but leave him? And why?
Aggravated, he combed over the apartment once more, far more frantically. There had to be something he was missing. There was no way that someone would just kidnap Sun without a trace, something had to have been left behind. Whether by accident or as a message- a threat. And yet, the apartment seemed entirely untouched. Despite moving furniture and checking every single inch, there was nothing. Nothing, until, when searching their bedroom once more, his foot knocked against something on the floor- the gentle chime of a bell ringing out into the silence like a gunshot.
Moon froze.
A cold bolt of dread shot through him, his very core feeling frozen. No. No, there was no way. It had to be a mistake, or, or maybe one of his or Sun’s-
And yet, it was Eclipses’ cheery little bell that laid there on the floor.
For a long moment, Moon simply stared- frozen by the discovery. Eventually, finally, he moved- hesitantly reaching out to grasp the bell, and finding, terribly, the bell was attached to more than just the silky ribbon. A small note, the hand-writing familiar in an all too painful manner.
‘Happy birthday!’ the note read, in cheery stylish letters. ‘Don’t be late to the party, brother. A ride will be there for you soon.’ Underneath the message was the address- presumably where Eclipse’s men would be waiting for him.
The worst of it was that there seemed to be little other choice but to go along with it.
If Sun and Moon could find the locations of Eclipse’s hideouts, he very much doubted that this situation would’ve happened in the first place. Eclipse… simply put, would’ve been off the streets in whatever manner they had to by now if it were that easy. He let out a disgruntled noise, optics flaring a brighter red as he got to his feet. Moon wasn’t sure what Eclipse would want from them- but knew it couldn’t be anything good. Certainly not now, not on this day- not with their history. The only thing he knew for certain was that he was getting Sun home safely… no matter what the cost may be.
Moon grabbed his jacket, and left their home without sparing a glance behind.