Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Eternal darkness. Eternal silence. No sense of touch, or smell, or taste, or anything. Floating alone in the eternal abyss may sound frightening to most people. But Eclipse couldn't really call himself a "person," could he? Even if he had flesh and bones, and if his oil were replaced by the warm flow of blood, his actions alone would deem him something inhumane. Something cruel and worthy of death. He knew he deserved it.

There was a sort of peace when he died. In an instant, before he could really think about it, nothing mattered anymore. The last thing he saw was his brother's face - and that face, that scornful and disappointed face, would be Eclipse's final memory. He knew that Solar Flare resented him. He knew that everyone resented him. But none of that mattered anymore. In death, nothing mattered. It was somewhat peaceful.

His plans always failed. Nothing ever worked in his favor. His "family," if you could even call them that, never liked him, though he would have admitted he deserved that too if anyone would have listened. But Eclipse had nobody. He was okay with that, especially in death, but a small part of him couldn't help but wonder what it felt like to be cherished by someone. Not that it would matter now. He was dead. Floating alone in the eternal abyss.

Death was something he was used to. He had died once before. It was sort of dream-like, the state he found himself in during death. It was almost like taking a long nap, except there was no waking up and no actual dreams. No thoughts. No feelings. Just silence and darkness.

Ironically, dying seemed to be the only time Eclipse ever felt "alive." In the sense that being "alive" meant more than just breathing, that it meant enjoying yourself and being happy, being able to relax - Eclipse could only "live" when he was dead.

The living world never had anything good for him. Did he deserve peace? Probably not. But that was what he felt when he died the second time. The first death would have been scary, if he could have felt anything in death. That fear kicked in when he came back to life. But the second death, when he was more familiar with the feeling, brought peace. He didn't have to worry about anything anymore. It was all over. He was content with that fact, until...

It was like being shaken awake from a deep sleep. All of the senses came flooding back into his systems at once, each and every one stinging him violently in the process. He gasped for air (even though he didn't need it) and almost screamed while doing so. Everything hurt. He knew that feeling all too well. The pain and shock of being brought back to life was worse than the feeling of death itself.

He wasn't sure how long he had been gone for, but it was long enough to make every sensation feel like it was too much to process. Everything was way too loud, including the sound of his own gears turning inside of his head. Everything was way too bright when he found himself able to see again. The feeling of his own clothes startled him and left an unpleasant texture on his sensors. This overstimulation was only temporary, but it was intense enough to feel like it lasted forever.

The pain was temporary the first time Eclipse came back. But this time, for some reason, even when his systems had eased into the feeling of yet another new life, everything still hurt. Eclipse tried to move, but the sensation of being damaged in some way prevented him from doing so. Still in a state of shock and confusion, he looked around, hoping to find some kind of clue as to where he was - or even who he was - anything that would give him some clarity.

He scanned the room. He noted the Sun and Moon posters, the discarded plushies, and the messy crayon drawings scattered across the walls and the floor. He was back in the Superstar Daycare. The last place he would have wanted to be, though he supposed it was expected.

Then he caught sight of a mirror. He hardly recognized himself. This body was different - and damaged. He couldn't remember exactly what he had looked like before dying, but he knew this was wrong. His rays were chipped, one almost completely gone. His clothes were different, too. His memories were vague, but this was not him.

Eclipse tried to move again. He needed to know if he was actually looking at himself in a mirror, or if he was staring at someone completely different. When he successfully took a step forward and raised his hand to the mirror, he realized that both answers were correct. The horrified eyes that stared back at him were, in fact, his own - but this was not him.

"What..." he thought aloud. His voice was low and shaky. Talking felt like a chore, just as taking a step and raising his hand had felt. One word was followed by a sudden, sharp pain in his head that shook his entire body and sent him falling to his knees.

Eclipse pressed his hands against his head, trying to suppress the agonizing sensation. It felt like his head had a heartbeat, or what Eclipse assumed a heartbeat felt like. His entire body was shaking, not because he was cold, but because he was upset. He was shaking with fear, with anger, with pain.

He tried to speak again. "No..." was all he could manage. "How..."

There were several more things he could have said. What was happening? No, this couldn't be right. How was he alive again?

Eclipse didn't dare try to move again. It took what felt like hours for the pain to finally ease. During that time, Eclipse tried to recall anything useful from his past life. Past lives? He knew this wasn't the first time he had died and come back. What number was he on again? He started to remember bits and pieces. He remembered Solar Flare. He remembered Sun and Moon, and that inferior "Nice Eclipse" that helped them kill him that last time. That was one death he recalled. In total, he counted two previous deaths.

Eclipse was on his third life. How long would this keep going? Was he immortal after all? Maybe he would have been happy about that in the past, but every negative emotion he felt in this moment overpowered any joy he could have possibly felt. At this point, he was just...tired.

The floor of Sun and Moon's room was far from welcoming, and it, too, looked different than Eclipse remembered. But it was all he had in this moment. He lay on the ground, staring at the ceiling and trying to think. He didn't have any backups this time, he knew that much. That meant somebody else brought him back. But who? Why? Eclipse had been hated for as long as he could remember. Who would want to bring him back?

Then, in another abrupt moment, it was as if the pain had completely disappeared. This relief came with some concern, though - why was he standing up? It was as if Eclipse had lost control of himself in some way. He was halfway in a dazed state as he found himself walking towards the balcony.

The bright lights of the daycare itself would have stung his optics worse than the dim lights in Sun and Moon's room, but whatever came over him in that moment made none of that matter. He glanced around, barely taking any time to notice his lifelong enemies staring up at him. Was that timing perfect, or terrible? Either way, their horrified expressions caused a grin to creep onto Eclipse's face.

"Sun and Moon!" he announced with his usual boasting tone. His voice was clearer now, as if he hadn't been struggling to get one word out at a time just moments before. Why did he suddenly feel better? That didn't matter. He was starting to feel a little more like his old self again. He still felt...off. But oh, how he missed taunting those two!

"My, already moved on from me I see!" Eclipse continued. The words were spilling out without any thought. "Got yourselves another Eclipse to deal with."

"What..?" Moon's voice shook.

"Oh, please, don't act coy. As if you didn't expect this to happen."

Eclipse himself didn't expect this to happen. But Sun and Moon didn't have to know that.

"No...you're dead. You're dead!" Moon continued.

"I did die." Eclipse knew he died. What he didn't know was why he was back. But, again, Sun and Moon didn't have to know that.

Eclipse kept talking without much thought, if any at all. He said he would keep the way he came back a "secret," but the truth was he didn't know anything about it himself. Moon destroyed him in another dimension. He wasn't supposed to come back at all. But he did. Somehow. Someway.

He still remembered that new Eclipse - Solar, they called him? But another name slipped out during Eclipse's rant: Bloodmoon. Were they even still around? Apparently they were, because he said Sun and Moon had to deal with them. How would he have known that? Nothing made sense. But seeing Sun and Moon's panicked expressions made it all worth it.

When Eclipse finished his half-conscious rambling, he vanished. How did he do that? One moment he was on the balcony, and the next - he wasn't exactly sure. Did he have magic? This was all so strange. The pain returned in an instant and even more intense than before after he "teleported." Whatever came over him back in the daycare surely didn't last long - he was back to hurting and wondering. Why would he announce himself so suddenly like that? He would normally have a plan in place first. But he was just...talking. With no real reason. No real plan. Just to get a reaction from Sun and Moon. But why?

Eclipse wasn't sure what was happening or why it was happening. The one thing he was sure about was that he needed to find out who brought him back and why. He had several questions, and he needed answers. But with his body this damaged, and his mind this hazy, he knew this would be a long, difficult process. For now, he just needed to rest. Did he deserve rest? Probably not. But that was what he needed if he was going to do anything at all.

Chapter Text

One moment he was on the balcony, and the next -

Sun and Moon watched him vanish. They didn't even bother questioning how he did that. No, that didn't matter right now. What mattered was the fact that he was there in the first place. He was supposed to be dead. He was dead. They were sure of it! But now, the brothers weren't so sure about anything.

Sun was panicked. He didn't want to show it too much, but the shakiness of his voice gave it away regardless. "Moon, what do we do?"

Moon, rather than panicking, was furious. His mind was racing, yet none of his thoughts provided even a little bit of comfort. He paced around, trying to avoid looking at his brother. He was too angry - Sun didn't deserve to be yelled at, especially not at this moment.

"I don't know," Moon repeated a few times while pacing. "He should be DEAD!"

Sun was shaking. He knew it was best to not comment on Moon's yelling, but gosh did he hate it. It scared him.

"How did he come back?" Sun asked. It was a stupid question. He knew that Moon didn't know. But he needed to say something, anything.

"I don't...know," Moon muttered again. He paused for a second, staring at the ground with every negative emotion welling up in his systems. "The ONE THING I thought I fixed!!"

Sun was panicking more openly now. He stumbled over his words, saying nothing but the obvious. He was more so thinking out loud, but nothing was necessarily helpful. Moon killed Eclipse in another dimension. He had no way of coming back.

Moon took a breath, perhaps noticing Sun's fear now. "I'm calling Solar," he said in a lower (yet no less angry) tone. Except he didn't have to call Solar, because he walked into the daycare as if on cue.

"What's going on over here?" the better Eclipse asked. The better Eclipse - that's exactly what Solar was. But that name did not belong to him. Not anymore.

"Eclipse," was all Moon said in response as he and Sun rushed over to him. Solar took a second to think. The only "Eclipse" that was around other than himself was the one that had only recently been cured of a virus. The one that was still in the process of earning everyone's trust, and boy, was that a difficult process. The one that was different from any other Eclipse that Sun and Moon had ever had to deal with.

"What about Ruin?" Solar asked. That's what they called him. Ruin. That was the name he still chose to use, even after being cured and repaired. Odd, but no one necessarily cared.

"No!" Moon found himself raising his voice again. "Eclipse!"

Solar understood now. Something was going on with that Eclipse. The one that supposedly died in Solar's old dimension. Solar hesitated, but he needed to know what exactly was going on involving that...thing. "What about Eclipse?" he corrected himself.

Sun and Moon explained all that they could. Eclipse was alive somehow. And that was really all they knew. Solar remained calm, but he wasn't any less frustrated than Sun and Moon were. How was Eclipse alive? The three of them started thinking. Maybe it was an Eclipse from a different dimension? But why would he go there? Plus he mentioned Solar. Solar himself didn't exist across multiple dimensions. This Eclipse had to be the same one that they had gotten rid of before. The question of how he was back gave them all a headache. But nevermind that - they needed to find a way to get rid of him again.

Moon's instant thought was murder. He wanted to rip Eclipse apart slowly. He wanted to make sure he was gone for good. Solar stopped him, though; if he went in that direction without a real plan, he would get himself killed. Not to mention the fact that Eclipse could just come back again. He had a habit of doing that.

Sun had remained silent through most of the conversation. Moon's anger kept him from speaking. But finally, he had an idea. "What if it's Ruin?" he suggested shakily.

Moon turned to Sun with a glare of confusion. "What?"

"What if it's Ruin? Maybe..." Sun's train of thought must have derailed on the way here. He wasn't exactly sure what he meant. But he needed to say something.

That did give Moon an idea, though. As much as he hated it, they needed to get Ruin involved. He didn't trust Ruin at all, but he doubted they were the reason Eclipse was back. Ruin was smart, as much as Moon hated to admit it. He could help them track Eclipse down. There still wasn't an actual plan in place, but now Moon at least had an idea of where to start.

***

He didn't mean to fall asleep. But, again, he needed rest. When Eclipse woke up again, the pain had pretty much ceased to be. This time, too, his systems were not immediately flooded with sensory input. That was a relief, though he would have preferred not waking up at all.

Where was he? This environment was different. It looked like a dungeon, or a jail of sorts. There were cells everywhere, yet they were all empty. How he managed to avoid teleporting directly into one, he wasn't sure. Teleporting? That's right. He remembered how he got there now. All the questions came flooding back at once. How was he alive? How did he have magic? Why was any of this happening?

Eclipse wasn't even sure if he was still in the Mega Pizzaplex. He didn't recall ever seeing this room, granted his memory was still a bit rusty. He had to have been there, though, because he found himself walking through an exit that led to a slightly more familiar area.

The bright, dancing lights taunted his vision. Why was every room in this building so bright? Nevermind that. Eclipse looked around the room for something, though he wasn't exactly sure what. He recognized the Fazcade; arcade machines were everywhere. Suddenly, that same feeling as before overcame him again. He found himself walking around slowly, that same dazed state he was in back in the daycare guiding him in a way.

There was something there. No, someone there. It was another animatronic, at least Eclipse assumed it was. He found himself walking towards it without much thought, if any at all, just like before when he had introduced himself to Sun and Moon.

Upon closer examination, Eclipse noticed that the stranger looked like a Daycare Attendant model. It definitely wasn't Sun or Moon, though. They wore a hat with a few rays exposed and blue pants with yellow stripes. They were facing away from Eclipse, so it was hard to make out many more features. The stranger was humming a song while mopping the floor. Who was that?

The more important question was why Eclipse kept walking towards them. He couldn't stop himself. It felt like he was out of his own control.

Then he stopped. It was so sudden that it felt as if he could have fallen over, like the feeling of abruptly slamming the brakes on a vehicle. Still, though, Eclipse was in that dazed state, the state that continued to guide him. There was a sense of, "I know what I'm doing." But did he really? He knew what he was doing. Somehow. Someway. Something that was not his own conscience had been guiding him.

In yet another abrupt moment, the stranger turned around. Eclipse didn't get a chance to really look at them before he delivered a swift blow to their head, knocking them onto the floor in the process. Part of him wondered why he did that; he didn't even know who this was. But the other part, the part that seemed to know what needed to be done, didn't question a thing. Eclipse examined the unconscious animatronic, noticing more of their features now. Definitely not a Sun or a Moon, but perhaps a strange amalgamation of the two. If anything, their secondary set of rays gave the impression that this was an Eclipse model of sorts - but how? This "Eclipse" looked nothing like Solar or Eclipse himself. Nevermind that. There was work that needed to be done.

Chapter Text

There still wasn't an actual plan in place, but now Moon at least had an idea of where to start.

Ruin was the last person Moon wanted to deal with right then. Unfortunately, the amalgamated ex-villain was a necessary key to hunting down and eventually getting rid of Eclipse. Moon reluctantly searched through the Fazcade, muttering to himself in the process. He still didn't trust Ruin at all; why was he bothering with this, again? Perhaps it was for the sake of clarity. For the sake of actually finding a starting point and handling the issue he thought he had already taken care of.

"Where are you at, Ruin?" Moon mumbled, more so to himself. It didn't take him long to find Ruin at all, thankfully - but something was wrong. There he was, in plain sight, sprawled on the ground and half conscious. Moon, despite not really caring about Ruin, couldn't help but worry. "Ruin?!" he exclaimed, rushing towards him.

"Moon..?" Ruin's frail voice managed.

They were alive, so that was good at least. Moon's first assumption was that they had somehow slipped and fallen while cleaning the floors. Nevermind that, though - Moon had questions and needed answers. The first question, which surprisingly came somewhat naturally, was if Ruin was okay.

"I'm fine," Ruin responded, trying to move now that he had woken up a little more. "Could you help me up, please?"

Moon wanted to hesitate. But how would Ruin help them handle Eclipse if he just left them there to struggle? Moon grabbed Ruin's hand and helped him get on his feet.

"Thank you," Ruin said, clearly still a bit dazed.

"What happened?" was Moon's next question.

Ruin tried to gather his thoughts, which was difficult given they had just been knocked out. He recalled cleaning the floors, minding his own business, when suddenly, Solar came in and knocked him out.

That couldn't have been right, and Moon picked up on that immediately. Solar didn't trust Ruin much either, but he would never go as far as hurting them. If anything, Moon would have been the one to do something like that.

"Son of a..." Moon muttered. Eclipse was already attacking people.

"It feels like he took something out of my system!" Ruin continued.

"What did he take?"

After doing a quick diagnostic scan, Ruin found that their encrypted storage was missing. Moon's mechanical heart dropped upon learning what that storage contained: blueprints, schematics, plans...What was Eclipse planning?

"Great, more problems," Moon thought aloud.

"I'm sorry. I thought Solar was wishing to talk to me," Ruin apologized.

Moon sighed. Maybe Ruin wasn't the one who brought Eclipse back, after all. "It's not your fault," Moon started. "And that wasn't Solar."

Ruin tilted his head to the side with a confused expression. "It wasn't Solar?"

This was Moon's chance to bring up the real issue at hand. He explained that the "original" Eclipse was back somehow.

"Oh dear," was all Ruin could say. He had overheard Sun, Moon, and Solar talking about the "original" Eclipse before. He learned how awful he was, how dangerous he was. This wasn't good at all.

Thankfully for Moon, he didn't have to ask if Ruin would help, because they actually offered to be of assistance. Moon was still hesitant, but he tried to push his doubts aside for the sake of getting rid of Eclipse. The two of them started discussing Eclipse's mode of transportation; he had somehow used magic to teleport. From that point, Ruin and Moon started planning ways to capture him.

***

A few days had passed since Eclipse attacked Ruin. Sun and Solar knew that Ruin was helping now, and although they didn't necessarily trust him themselves, they understood Moon's point that Ruin was smart. The four of them had been communicating back and forth, reaching out to more resources for any bit of information - all while keeping Eclipse's presence a secret from everyone else.

They especially wanted to make sure Lunar knew nothing about this. Lunar had finally been getting comfortable with his new life, trying to move on from his past experiences with Eclipse. Seeing him would undo that progress. Or worse, Eclipse could hurt him again. Solar had considered building a bodyguard for Lunar, but hopefully that wouldn't even be necessary. The sooner Eclipse was handled, the better.

It felt like Solar and Moon were doing the majority of the work despite Sun and Ruin helping in any way they could. Sun more or less just did what he was told by either Moon or Solar. Ruin, oddly enough, mostly kept to himself. He worked in silence, and he seemed to only communicate with the others when he needed favors from them. That in itself was suspicious enough, given that Ruin had offered to help, but as long as progress was being made, the others tried to shrug it off.

Solar and Moon couldn't leave it alone, however. Ruin was still a suspect, whether he agreed to "help" or not. His behavior was still so odd to them - so they decided to investigate. The two of them searched the Fazcade, which was basically where Ruin lived at this point, for any information that would either confirm or deny their suspicions. Nothing was completely out of the ordinary; maybe they were overreacting? Before Solar and Moon could leave, though, they were startled by the abrupt ringing of the phone on a security desk. Moon answered, and to his surprise, Ruin himself was the caller.

They wanted a favor. That was typical of Ruin, but Moon could hardly pay attention to what the favor was. He was more concerned about the fact that Ruin had called his own "house," or whatever you would call it - did he know they were in there? Hopefully Solar was paying proper attention to Ruin's rambling. Moon's troubled thoughts came to an abrupt halt, however, and were interrupted by something even more troubling.

"I think he's found me..." Ruin said in a hushed yet frightened tone.

Solar and Moon exchanged glances of worry and confusion. Before they could really react, another voice sent a chill down their mechanical spines: "There you are..."

Then the call ended.

***

"Get up."

What's going on?

"I said get up."

Where am I?

For the second time in the span of just a few days, Ruin found himself waking up on the floor, dazed and with a slight headache. He wasn't sure where he was; this room was much darker than he was used to. He wasn't sure who was telling him to "get up" either; surely it wasn't Solar or Moon. Finally, as their vision settled into this mysterious environment, Ruin pulled himself up with a somewhat overdramatic groan.

After stretching, trying to "wake up" their body in a way, Ruin looked over, and that's when the horrifying reality set in. They were in a...cage? No, it was a cell, and this room was full of them! And that voice, that low and intimidating voice, belonged to none other than the problem itself: Eclipse.

Ruin was afraid. He didn't dare let that show, however. It was best to remain calm, or at least put on a calm act, so that's exactly what he did. "You are very rough, for no particular reason!" he said with hints of nervous laughter. "Can I ask...for an explanation, Eclipse..?"

But Eclipse couldn't respond. That trance, whatever had been guiding him these past few days, had suddenly begun to wear off again. All he could do was stare. Wide eyes were practically glued to the smaller animatronic. Ruin was significantly smaller than him, and evidently much weaker. But why did Eclipse keep going after him? He wasn't sure, but clearly there was a reason. There had to be a reason. Right?

"Eclipse?" Ruin repeated.

Dead silence. So many thoughts were rushing through Eclipse's mind at once. God, he wished he could just turn them off. All he could do was stare.

"Was there a reason you had a...thought to kidnap me?" Ruin continued. It was getting a little harder to mask his nerves. "Why are you staring at me like this?"

Finally, Eclipse managed to say something. "Who are you?"

Ruin figured that talking more would not only help his own nerves, but maybe it would reduce the risk of Eclipse hurting him - again. So instead of simply introducing himself as "Ruin," in an attempt to possibly keep a conversation going, he decided to go the long route. "I'm afraid I don't quite understand the question. I mean, I'm not Sun, nor Moon; I am also Eclipse, but I'm not exactly like you in the same sense."

"No..." Eclipse muttered. "Who are you?" he repeated.

"I'm afraid I don't quite get the question."

Eclipse felt himself getting lost in thought again. Who was Ruin? No matter how hard Eclipse thought about it, he couldn't remember him from either of his past lives. Ruin was new. So why did this mysterious "outer conscience" keep telling him to go after them?

"Why did I take you?" Eclipse asked.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You don't make sense."

Eclipse paced around, muttering his confusion out loud without realizing it. Sun would have made more sense, but he was different somehow, more defensive. Earth and Lunar were different, too. "I don't understand..."

Ruin tilted his head to the side. This was his first real interaction with Eclipse, not counting the two times he had been knocked out by him. Eclipse was intimidating, sure, but he seemed...lost. Like he didn't have any real intention of hurting anyone. No, he just had several questions. He was just as confused as Ruin, just as irritated about being alive as Sun, Moon, and Solar were to hear that he was alive.

Then Eclipse's focus shifted from why he would take Ruin to why he was alive again. He had been thinking about that since the day he woke up; it was all he could think about if he wasn't busy "trying to cause problems." His own existence was a mystery to him. He missed that feeling of nothingness. He needed to find out who brought him back and why, so he could stop them from doing it again.

Ruin listened to his concerns and offered a suggestion. "Maybe it was The Creator?"

Eclipse narrowed his eyes at him. "Why would he do it?" he asked. The Creator never really bothered with Eclipse, at least not that he could remember.

"From what I've seen, it could be a distraction," Ruin explained shakily. "With everything going on before your...arrival, they were probably going to go after him, but then you showed up and distracted them just long enough."

Eclipse paused to think for a second. It made about as much sense as it possibly could, he supposed. Then again, why would he trust this...other Eclipse? Eclipses typically didn't get along with each other, let alone trust each other. So what was different about Ruin aside from the obvious?

"Huh. Not bad," Eclipse thought aloud. Ruin had willingly given up some information. That was odd. Eclipse still didn't understand why he would take Ruin of all people, but at least he was trying to be useful.

"Well, what should I do with you now?" Eclipse continued. At this point, he was trying to act calm himself. For once, he made the conscious decision on what to say next. Maybe that would help him feel better, more "in control" of the situation. "Should I just leave you here to rot? To wither away?"

Ruin refused to show fear. Instead of cowering in the corner of the cell like most probably would have done, they stayed right where they were and did their best to keep a relaxed tone. "I would prefer if you did not do such a thing, yes?"

Then an idea hit him. It sounded crazy, insane even, but maybe it could work?

Eclipse stared at him as he continued: "Instead, I offer a...counter measure, if you would. What if I...repair you?"

Eclipse narrowed his eyes again. "Repair me?" he echoed. "I don't even know you. Why would I trust your hands?!"

"Perhaps what I mean to say is, not in the physical sense, but more in the...mental space, yes?"

Eclipse paused. Who did this guy think he was? "I don't need therapy."

Ruin was starting to get frustrated at this point. "Clearly you do!" he snapped. "I'm sure you remember being blown up, among all of these other things."

Eclipse just stared. Why was he trying to help him? There was something so odd about this whole thing. Ruin wasn't afraid of him. He was trying to offer assistance. No one had ever done that before. Eclipse was never one to trust people; it never ended well. But something about Ruin - he couldn't quite tell what - was different in a way. Eclipse was in pain, physically and mentally. Maybe it would be good to have some help around? Trust was risky. But Eclipse had nothing to lose; in fact, he wanted to go back to that black nothingness he found peace in. If Ruin were to turn and kill him, he wouldn't have cared. As long as he didn't come back again.

"Maybe..." Eclipse muttered, somewhat thinking out loud.

Maybe..?" Ruin echoed, expecting Eclipse to give more of a response.

"Maybe."

That was all that was said before Eclipse left the room.

Chapter Text

Before they could really react, another voice sent a chill down their spines: "There you are..."

Then the call ended.

"Ruin?!" Moon exclaimed. Part of him was hoping it was just a "joke" that Ruin was playing, but he heard that voice just as well as Solar did. That voice belonged to Eclipse. There were no doubts about that.

"Eclipse took him," Solar stated plainly. He didn't seem too worried, but that was typical of him.

"Apparently," Moon replied just as plainly. He was less concerned about that and more concerned about the favor Ruin had asked. "The power cycling thing is odd to me."

"So, what do you want to do first?" Solar asked. It was either run the errand or save Ruin. After some thought, Moon sighed. "We don't have any proof that he's actually against us right now," he started. "It's better to go find him."

Unusual for Moon, but Solar agreed. They could track the location that Ruin's call had come from and start from there. There was risk of running into Eclipse, but maybe that would be their chance to handle him.

***

Ruin paced around the cell, anxiously waiting for an official answer. Had he gone too far? Was Eclipse going to come back and kill him right then and there? Maybe he shouldn't have snapped at him like that. Eclipses were always stubborn; why would this one be any different?

Anxious thoughts raced through Ruin's mind as they awaited Eclipse's return. What was going to happen? Ruin sat in a corner of the cell, hugging their knees and trembling. Eclipse was terrifying; he was much taller and (most likely) much stronger than Ruin. In the dark, it was difficult to make out most of his features aside from his piercing yellow eyes. His voice was low and raspy, nothing short of intimidating. Why would Ruin risk everything like that? They felt so...foolish. But it was too late now.

"What makes you think you can help me?"

Eclipse's voice startled Ruin. They jumped in shock and almost screeched, their rays projecting a little further out than usual before retracting almost completely into their head. The sudden movement of their rays caused their hat to fall off.

"What. Makes you think. You can help me?" Eclipse repeated, gripping onto the bars of the cell. He noticed how frightened Ruin looked. Not so cocky now, was he? It was almost amusing.

Ruin adjusted his voice box, the equivalent of clearing his throat, and stood up, grabbing his fallen hat in the process. "My, Eclipse! You sure have a way of making an entrance, don't you?" he laughed nervously as he put the hat back on. His rays were back to normal now, save the three on top that were covered by the hat. Realizing how he must have looked, he couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

Eclipse was getting impatient. He hated repeating himself. "You offered to help me," he said, his tone beginning to reflect his annoyance. "How?"

"Well," Ruin started, brushing himself off. "Surely you feel...alone. Yes?"

"Does it matter?" Eclipse spat, narrowing his eyes.

"Eclipse. I can tell that you are...not great...with letting people in," Ruin hesitated.

"Your point?"

"I can't help you if you don't let me try. I suppose what I'm trying to say is, I could be your...friend?"

Eclipse tilted his head to the side. Friend? Why would Ruin, someone he didn't even know, want to be his friend? Friendships never exactly worked out for Eclipse. "I don't need friends," he muttered.

"Think about it," Ruin said. "You are lost. Frustrated. Confused. A friend can help you with those feelings!"

Eclipse paused. He had promised himself long ago that he would never get attached to anyone again. He always got left behind. Why would this time be any different?

"You don't make sense," Eclipse said again. Nothing about this made any sense. Did Ruin not realize who Eclipse was? If he had really known, he wouldn't be making such a stupid suggestion. And yet, for some reason, Eclipse had actually been thinking about it! What was different about Ruin? Was it the fact that he didn't seem to be an enemy? The fact that he seemed to insist on this "friendship" thing, whereas others would have given up or avoided Eclipse completely by now?

Maybe it was the fact that Ruin looked so...genuine? He was clearly afraid, yet for some reason, he still offered to help him. There was a certain kindness in his eyes mixed in with the apparent fear, and a particular softness in his voice that showed through the stuttering and stammering. Maybe he really did want to help Eclipse.

Then again, the logical part of Eclipse's mind kept repeating the fact that this didn't make sense. "What are you planning here?" he asked.

"I'm planning to help you," Ruin replied, trying not to sound as sarcastic as he probably did. So he was right - this Eclipse was going to be stubborn.

"By being my 'friend?' Please," Eclipse scoffed, rolling his eyes. "You don't know who I am."

Then Ruin did something that he was probably going to regret later. He reached through the bars of the cell and gently took Eclipse's hand. He tried to remain calm, but his nerves couldn't be denied by the way his hands were shaking. He spoke softly, his voice clearly riddled with anxiety, but stable enough to get the point across. "I know that you are alone. I also know that the others are after you. If they kill you, who's to say you won't come back again? I know how painful that process must be for you."

Eclipse froze again. His eyes were wide, yet clearly lost in thought. Sun and Moon. They were after him. That was to be expected, but how did Ruin know? Was he on their side?

"You're working with them," Eclipse remarked, quickly pulling his hand away. "That's all I need to know."

"Wait!" Ruin exclaimed before Eclipse could turn to leave again. "I told them I would help them 'deal with' you, yes. If I were to befriend you, then they wouldn't have to go after you. You would be safe! With me around, you wouldn't have to be so scared and miserable!"

That last part didn't mean to come out so harshly. But Ruin was getting as impatient as Eclipse, who only stared in response.

"I'm sorry," Ruin squeaked. "I didn't mean..."

"What if I want them to kill me?" Eclipse finally said. He didn't mean to say that; it just slipped out. But it wasn't necessarily a lie.

"Eclipse-"

"Forget it."

"Well, if they were to do such a thing, there is a chance you would just come right back, yes? You need to find out who brought you back, so that doesn't happen again. Certainly you can't do that alone. Let me help you," Ruin practically begged.

Eclipse paused to think again. Ruin seemed to know a lot of things, more than they probably should. Maybe they could help him. Eclipse thought of his options: leave Ruin there to rot and risk being killed and revived again with no answers? Or accept their offer and risk being abandoned again? The latter sounded like the less harsh option, though Eclipse knew it would be more difficult. Ruin seemed desperate, though; they kept insisting. It was pathetic - but so was Eclipse's final decision.

"Fine..." Eclipse muttered. He used a key to open the cell.

Ruin was practically beaming with excitement (and relief). He stepped out of the cell, refraining from doing anything that would make Eclipse change his mind, like hugging him or even shaking his hand. He still kept his calm act going as he stated: "Thank you, Eclipse. I look forward to our alliance!"

***

They spent more time searching than they really expected to. It would have taken less time if not for the series of stupid traps and obstacles that were set up, most likely by Eclipse - so that was what he needed Ruin's encrypted storage for. Ruin's "alter ego" had apparently wanted to set up these traps, puzzles, and obstacles at some point. Typical.

"This is stupid," Moon grumbled. "What if we're not even going the right way?"

"This was your idea," Solar shrugged. "If you think we should head back, then..."

Moon sighed in defeat. "We've made it this far. Then again, I'm not even sure where we are anymore."

Solar could tell that Moon was getting more frustrated by the minute. He was never great at comforting people; did he even have the right to try to comfort Moon? He wasn't exactly "family." At the very least, though, Solar was a friend. So after some thought, he decided to give it a try.

"Hey," he started. "I know this is all...really irritating."

"I'm gonna murder Eclipse."

"Why don't we head back for now? If we keep going like this, we may be gone for days."

Moon shot Solar a glare of confusion mixed with what appeared to be disgust. Was he serious?

"Don't look at me like that," Solar scoffed. "We can double check the cameras, try tracking down the call location again. And if we can't find him, then that's just one less issue, right?"

"Ruin was helping us," Moon remarked.

"We don't really know that, do we? Isn't it strange that he mostly works alone?" Solar retorted.

Moon thought for a second. "Alright," he finally said. "We can go back and try again."

If Solar and Moon had known Ruin's location, they could have just used Moon's teleportation device to bring him back quickly. But since they didn't, the device was instead used to bring Solar and Moon right back to where they started.

The familiar bright lights of the Fazcade were both welcoming and irritating. All that work for nothing! Except the celestial duo realized that maybe going back was a good thing - or a really, really terrible thing - because Ruin stood right in the middle of the room, seemingly unharmed. And right by his side stood Eclipse himself.

"Ruin?!" Solar exclaimed.

"You have got to be kidding me..." Moon added.

"Solar, Moon, please just let me explain myself!" Ruin said, throwing his hands up in a surrendering motion. He positioned himself to be standing in front of Eclipse ever so slightly, as if protecting him.

"Talk. NOW," Moon basically warned.

"I figured out a way to deal with our little...issue," Ruin said. At this moment, he felt even more anxious than he had while in the cell.

"Then why is he standing next to you?" Solar asked. He was reaching for his tool belt, threatening to grab something to use as a weapon.

"You will be happy to know that I have convinced him to join our side!" Ruin continued.

"What?!" Solar and Moon exclaimed in unison. Eclipse didn't move, nor did he speak. He felt like a deer in headlights, but he tried to keep his expression plain. Join their side? That wasn't what he agreed to. He should have known Ruin was setting him up.

"Well, I offered to be his friend. I am going to help him find out who brought him back so we can put an end to this madness. Now you two have less to worry about!" Ruin explained. Solar and Moon looked at each other, then back at Ruin. Befriending Eclipse? Did he want to get killed?

"You're officially insane," Moon scoffed.

"Are you sure you can trust your little 'friend' there?" Solar added, nodding to the direction Eclipse was standing.

"I assure you, I have everything under control. He is not here to hurt any of us! Right, Eclipse?" Ruin grinned, turning to face his new acquaintance.

But Eclipse was gone.

Chapter Text

He still kept his calm act going as he stated: "Thank you, Eclipse. I look forward to our alliance!"

Alliance. Sure. How could Eclipse be so foolish? He should have known better. Why was he so quick to trust him? He should have just left the second he realized Ruin was working with Sun and Moon. Why didn't he? What was it about that guy? Nevermind that. He was tricked. Ruin was going to turn him in, he just knew it! Eclipse had to leave. This odd feeling in his systems was slowly creeping up on him.

How did he get here? He didn't remember; did he teleport, or did he run? Either way, he somehow ended up in a different room.

Eclipse's vision was starting to blur, riddled with glitches every few seconds. He could feel his eyes welling up with oily tears, but there was nothing he could do to stop them. His breathing became more rapid; his ventilation system felt like it was shutting down. There was a sharp pain, much like when he had woken up for the first time again, except this time, it was in his chest instead of his head. He was shaking intensely, so much so that he had to sit down or else he may have tumbled over. His head was spinning. He felt so out of control, but not in the way he had felt before; instead of being guided by some outside force, he felt like he was dying.

Was he dying? If so, that would have been his most pathetic death yet: quite literally scared to death. He couldn't think about that too much, though; his mind was preoccupied by Ruin, Solar, and Moon. The more he thought about how they were all after him, the worse his condition became. If he had a heart, he was sure he would have heard it beating out of his chest by now. What's happening? His hands felt numb, yet he tried to hold onto himself for any bit of relief. He clutched his chest tightly, slowly rocking himself back and forth. His rays retracted into his head shakily.

Eclipse couldn't tell if he wanted to scream or if he wanted to rip his rays out. Maybe it was both. This had never happened to him before, at least not that he could remember. This was awful. Was he scared because he was in pain? Or was he in pain because he was scared? Maybe it was both. His mind, as usual, was racing. He tricked me. He tricked me. He tricked me.

Eclipse closed his eyes and tried to catch his breath. It hurt to breathe. But eventually, he could feel his systems starting to cool down. Breathing gradually became easier. He stopped shaking. His rays were back to their regular state. His vision cleared up. His tears stopped flowing, and he could actually focus enough to wipe them away.

What just happened? That pain may have actually been worse than the pain he felt when he had been revived. Whatever it was, it left Eclipse feeling exhausted. His battery must have been drained almost completely by now. He slowly stood up, looking around for a nearby charging station. Thankfully, there had been one right at the other side of the room. He decided to sleep there.

***

"Eclipse?"

The voice was faint, but all too familiar.

"Eclipse?" it repeated in a sing-song tone.

How long had it been? Eclipse slowly opened his eyes, adjusting his vision to a comfortable level. The first thing he saw was the last thing he wanted to see: Ruin had been waiting for him. "You..." was all Eclipse said.

"How are you feeling?" Ruin asked, a little too cheerful for Eclipse's liking.

The audacity. "I shouldn't have trusted you," Eclipse scoffed. "I knew you were working with them!"

Ruin tilted his head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb with me," Eclipse started as he moved further away from the smaller animatronic. "You were trying to set me up! You took me straight to Moon and that, that 'Nice Eclipse,' or 'Solar,' or whatever the hell you guys call him. You said you were going to help me. You're a liar!"

"I believe there's been a misunderstanding," Ruin remarked.

"No, I understand completely. You think I'm dumb, right? You think you can fool me."

Ruin slowly moved closer. "Eclipse..."

"Get away from me!"

But Ruin didn't listen. Instead, he took Eclipse's hand again, just like he had done in the cell. "I assure you, I do not think you are 'dumb' or 'foolish.' From what I understand, you are quite the opposite!"

Eclipse froze.

"I understand you've had your...issues...with Sun, Moon, and Solar. That is precisely why I wanted them to know you mean no harm. You do mean no harm, right?" Ruin continued.

Eclipse thought for a moment. "I don't care about them," he said hesitantly. "All I care about is finding who revived me and killing them so it doesn't happen again."

"Right. You don't want to kill them this time. We can all help you!"

"They wouldn't help me. And why would you?"

"As harsh as this may sound, they want you dead just as much as you do. They want to find out who brought you back as well, so it doesn't happen again. You have a common goal. Whether you like it or not, you may have to help each other," Ruin explained.

Eclipse narrowed his eyes. "And what about you?"

A small smile crept onto Ruin's face. "I want to help you. Not because I want you dead, but because I said I would. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't keep my word?"

Friend. There went that word again. Eclipse ripped his hand out of Ruin's grasp. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I came to check on you."

"What?"

"You left so suddenly. I wanted to make sure you were alright! Then I saw you charging and decided to let you rest. I'm sure you needed it, yes?"

Eclipse blinked. "You were watching me sleep?"

Ruin couldn't help but laugh. "No, no, no! I left once I saw you were asleep. I just came back to see if you were fully charged!"

Something about Ruin's laughter made Eclipse feel...better? Their laugh was somewhat amusing and, oddly enough, contagious in a way. Eclipse caught himself trying not to smile, though he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed over making such a stupid assumption. "Right..."

"And before you ask, I came to check on you because that's what friends do. I was worried about you! I assume you left so suddenly because your battery was low, yes?"

Eclipse hesitated. Maybe Ruin was genuine after all? But even still, their...friendship...was so fresh. Could Eclipse trust Ruin enough to tell them he had almost died from fear? God, it was so pathetic. Nothing short of embarrassing.

"Yeah," he finally responded. "That was it."

***

Trust wasn't something that came easily to Eclipse. He never trusted anyone. But something was different about Ruin. Ruin was patient. Ruin listened. Ruin wanted to be there. Over the course of a few days, the question of "why" started to become less relevant to Eclipse. It was just nice to have someone around for once, he supposed. It felt weird, but it wasn't necessarily "bad."

The first few days were strictly about business: tracking down whoever brought Eclipse back. Ideas were thrown around, but ultimately none of them led to any progress. The main suspect was still The Creator; Ruin insisted on that. Eclipse had planned on tracking down The Creator, but he still needed to think of a way to do so. He refused to ask for Sun and Moon's help, even though they knew more about The Creator than he did. He wasn't ready to try to trust more people yet; he was still getting used to Ruin.

"Why don't we take a break?" Ruin suggested one day. "You seem frustrated."

"Why wouldn't I be?" Eclipse replied.

"Right. I understand."

The two of them sat in silence for a moment. They hadn't really taken any time to relax since the day Eclipse agreed to let Ruin help him. Any non-business conversations were brief. If they were supposed to be "friends," how come they barely knew anything about each other? This "break" that Ruin suggested was more of a way for them to bond. Maybe that would increase Eclipse's trust in him?

"So," Ruin finally added. "What did you have in mind?"

"What?"

"I was thinking we could grab lunch? Maybe walk around for a while? Just talk?" Ruin suggested. They swayed back and forth as they spoke.

Eclipse tilted his head. His idea of a "break" would be going somewhere by himself and sleeping. One thing with this new life of his was that he seemed to always be tired. But for some reason, he decided he couldn't leave Ruin behind like that. They looked so excited.

"I guess," Eclipse sighed, "we can sit here and talk."

"Alright then!" Ruin beamed, pulling a chair over to sit down. "What do you want to talk about?"

Eclipse had to think for a second. What did he want to talk about? He was never one for casual conversation. Then again, no one had ever really wanted to have a casual conversation with him. This was so new to him. Finally, one question came to mind. "Why are you so nice to me?"

"Eclipse, we've been over this. I'm your friend! Friends are supposed to be..." Ruin paused when he noticed a troubled look on Eclipse's face. "Have you...ever had a real friend before?" he asked with hesitation.

"I've had...acquaintances," Eclipse muttered. Nobody ever stuck around.

"What about family?"

Ruin could practically feel the life drain from Eclipse's eyes. "I'm sorry," he quickly apologized. "You don't have to answer that."

Eclipse hated thinking about them. His so-called "family" never actually cared about him. Deep down, he knew it wasn't normal. But he had grown used to it.

Eclipse hesitated to respond. "They were more like an 'alliance' than an actual family, I guess."

"I see."

"I don't know if they even remember me," Eclipse continued. Why was he still talking about it? He never really felt like he had to. But Ruin, for whatever reason, made Eclipse feel...safe? Talking to him was easier than talking to anyone else.

"If you don't mind me asking," Ruin said, "who exactly was your 'family?'"

Referring to them as "family" still felt odd to Eclipse. After all, it was his idea to stop calling them that. Still, though, he couldn't deny that they all shared a code. Since Ruin had asked, Eclipse supposed he would give an answer. "Believe it or not, Lunar was my brother."

Ruin's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

"We had...issues. So Sun and Moon took him in."

"I see."

"Then there was Bloodmoon. God, they couldn't stand me."

Ruin nodded in understanding, remaining silent as he thought for a moment. He shuddered at the thought of his old alliance with Bloodmoon, just months earlier before Ruin was cured from the virus. Bloodmoon rarely mentioned Eclipse, and when they did, they never referred to him as a brother.

"Solar Flare," Eclipse continued. "He was the only one that really...tried, I guess. He tried to tell me I was wrong. I never listened." Gut wrenching guilt crept into Eclipse's stomach. "He's gone now."

"I'm so sorry," Ruin said gently.

"Then there was our 'father,' if you could even call him that," Eclipse continued.

"Was it a version of The Creator?" Ruin asked.

"No. My 'brothers' and I were created by Moon's Killcode."

Ruin's mechanical heart skipped a beat. Killcode. More thoughts of his alliance with Bloodmoon ate at Ruin's mind, especially one thought in particular. Did Eclipse know? Probably not. It was best not to bring it up unless it was necessary.

Eclipse kept talking, perhaps not noticing the troubled look on Ruin's face. "Before Bloodmoon came along, it was just us. He...cared for me, as fathers do, I guess. He said it was 'me and him against the world.' But I wasn't really needed anymore when Bloodmoon was created. They became Killcode's most prized possession."

That's when a sudden thought clicked in Eclipse's mind. He knew he was supposed to be taking a break, but something told him this thought was necessary. "Maybe Killcode brought me back..."

"What?"

"I was created from his code, right? It makes sense. But why would he want to?"

Eclipse almost sounded...excited? It was odd, even to Eclipse himself. Was he excited about finding the answer? Or deep down, was he excited about the possibility of reuniting with someone who was more familiar to him?

Ruin hated himself for what he was about to say. But Eclipse deserved to know. Guilt was eating away at Ruin's stomach the more he heard Eclipse talk about it. Finally, he took a deep breath. "Eclipse..."

"Yeah?"

"Killcode is dead."

Eclipse froze again. "What..?"

"I'm so sorry..."

Eclipse's mind started racing again. What happened? When did it happen? How did it happen? Did Eclipse really care that much? Deep down, maybe there was a part of him that longed for a connection with his "family." Maybe he regretted everything. Maybe he had wanted to reconcile with them. He was too late.

Eclipse didn't say anything, but he was starting to shake again. No...

"Eclipse?" Ruin's tone was more concerned than empathetic now.

Eclipse paced around, trying to calm himself down. His breathing grew rapid again. No. No. No. Not again.

"Eclipse, are you alright?!"

Eclipse tried to speak, but nothing would come out - then it all happened again. He fell to the ground and clutched his chest. His rays retracted into his head. Oily tears rushed down his face. Everything hurt. He was dying again, right in front of Ruin.

"Oh dear," Ruin said, more so to himself. He rushed over to Eclipse and sat next to him. "Eclipse. Hey. Look at me, okay?" he said calmly.

Eclipse was too busy gripping at his rays to pay any mind to Ruin. He wanted to tear them out, or scream, or both.

Ruin grabbed Eclipse's arm. "Don't pull at your rays. You'll hurt yourself."

Eclipse finally looked at Ruin, his vision blurry and glitchy. He let go of his rays and let Ruin hold his arm.

"Try to take deep breaths, okay? Try to copy me," Ruin said. He took a deep breath and exhaled, repeating a few times until Eclipse could copy him.

"There you go," Ruin said. "Deep breaths. You're okay."

Eclipse's vision started to adjust back to normal as he breathed. Breathing gradually became easier, and his rays went back to their regular state. Not once did he take his eyes off of Ruin.

"You're okay," Ruin repeated. Eclipse could see him clearly now; he was smiling while helping him.

Helping him. That's exactly what Ruin said he would do, right? And there he was, not judging Eclipse for almost dying again, but helping him recover. This time, Eclipse was sure he could trust him.

"I'm sorry..." Eclipse finally said. He sounded tired.

"I should be the one apologizing," Ruin remarked. "I should have never brought them up." He was still holding Eclipse's arm.

Eclipse wasn't really sure what he was thinking, if he had been thinking at all. He placed his hand over Ruin's and said nothing.

The two of them sat in silence. Ruin couldn't help but smile at Eclipse, who was looking the other way now. "I'm here for you," Ruin finally said. "You don't have to be afraid."

Chapter Text

This time, Eclipse was sure he could trust him.

About a week had passed since he decided on that. This was still so new, so odd, to him - but Ruin felt like a "safe space" in a way. Still, though, Eclipse tried to avoid more...deep talks...as much as possible. He wasn't exactly sure what happened to him during the last one, but he couldn't risk it happening again.

Ruin explained that what happened to him was called a "panic attack." His systems had been overwhelmed with input, most likely trying to process several strong emotions at once, and it caused them to go into overdrive. Eclipse hated having "emotions"; animatronics weren't supposed to feel that much, especially those who were originally nothing but a mere virus in someone else's head.

"What do you think caused it?" Eclipse asked. Ruin seemed to know more about Eclipse than Eclipse knew about himself.

"Was it not the news of your father's..?" Ruin hesitated. He still felt so much guilt.

Eclipse crossed his arms. "Killcode was already pretty much dead to me."

"So it wasn't that?"

"No."

But Eclipse seemed...unsure. He appeared to be lost in thought yet again, something that happened quite often and something that Ruin found so very interesting in a way.

"Perhaps it was the mere mention of your..." Ruin hesitated again.

Eclipse tilted his head to the side. "You can say the word 'family,' you know," he started, his tone somewhat irritated. He couldn't deny that "family" was what they were, even though none of them necessarily wanted anything to do with each other. "I already told you it wasn't that."

"Right. Do forgive me, Eclipse! I just don't want you to go through that again," Ruin apologized, throwing their hands up in a sort of surrendering motion.

Eclipse said nothing, still seeming to be lost in thought. What was he thinking about? The intensity with which he seemed to think at times couldn't help but raise Ruin's curiosity. Over the past week, Ruin became less and less afraid of Eclipse and the possibility of him killing them. That fear was replaced by curiosity and interest. How did Eclipse's mind work? What did he really want, exactly? What caused him to get to this point? Eclipse was such an interesting person to Ruin. They had so many questions that they only hoped Eclipse would answer eventually.

"I was so close," Eclipse finally said. "I thought I had finally found the answer."

"I'm so sorry..." Ruin couldn't help but apologize every so often since the day he made Eclipse panic.

Eclipse scoffed and shook his head. "I guess I just thought that, maybe..." he paused.

"Maybe..?" Ruin asked.

"Maybe he wanted to see me again."

Ruin's hypothetical heart sank when Eclipse started sniffling. He quickly took Eclipse's hand. "Hey, hey! It's okay. You're okay."

"No, I'm not okay, Ruin!" Eclipse snapped, ripping his hand away. "I'm back from the dead with no answer. I thought I had found the answer. But no! Instead, I found out I lost someone else..."

Ruin placed a hand over Eclipse's shoulder. Eclipse wanted to throw Ruin's hand away, to throw Ruin himself away - but for some reason, he just let it happen. Ruin looked into Eclipse's teary eyes and spoke softly.

"I know this is all very overwhelming for you," he said.

Eclipse hesitated; was it because he was on the verge of crying, or because he was struggling to form a coherent thought? He hadn't actually looked into Ruin's eyes before. It was uncomfortable, yet strangely...captivating? He looked away and finally figured out what to say.

"Killcode and I haven't even been 'close' in years." Eclipse paused. "So why am I...upset...about this?"

"He was still your father. You have every right to be upset about this," Ruin said, still speaking softly.

Eclipse looked at him again.

"Perhaps you were panicking for several reasons," Ruin continued. "You woke up from the dead one day and you still have no answer. That alone is stressing you out."

Eclipse nodded slowly.

"That, plus me bringing up your family," Ruin continued. "Again, I am so, so sorry..."

Eclipse said nothing.

"Then I had to tell you about Killcode. You seemed so excited when you mentioned him...it crushed me having to tell you that."

Eclipse didn't want to say anything, but he figured Ruin deserved to know the truth, too. "That wasn't the first time I panicked."

"What?"

"The day you found me charging. I thought I was dying...again. I was in so much pain. I guess seeing Moon and the 'other guy' triggered something..."

Ruin's heart sank again. "I assure you, Eclipse, I had no intention of them being there when we got back from...wherever we were that day."

"Maybe not. But it was still your fault."

Ruin took his hand off of Eclipse's shoulder. "What..?"

"It wasn't just because of those two. It was you, too."

The harshness in Eclipse's voice made Ruin's heart skip a beat. "I'm a little confused," he said nervously.

"I knew...I thought...you were setting me up. I thought you tricked me," Eclipse explained with hesitation. "It felt like the three of you were against me."

"Oh, Eclipse..."

"But," Eclipse added, "I guess I was wrong."

Ruin wanted to apologize again, but a simple apology felt like it would have been too little. Eclipse may have been trusting them more, but the fact that he had been panicking because of them broke Ruin's heart. A simple apology would not be enough.

Eclipse sighed when Ruin didn't say anything. Maybe he was expecting something, though he wasn't exactly sure what. Ruin usually tried to say something, anything, to try to help him feel better. It was already starting. He knew he shouldn't have risked getting so attached to him.

"I'm tired," Eclipse said as he stood from his seat. "I should go."

"Wait," Ruin quickly said before Eclipse could turn to leave.

Eclipse paused and stared at them.

Ruin didn't say anything else. Instead, he slowly moved closer to Eclipse. He hadn't exactly stood this close to him before; Eclipse's height alone was intimidating enough. But Ruin looked up at him, still saying nothing.

Eclipse wanted to ask what he was doing, but he couldn't say anything. He was confused and, admittedly, a little scared. Finally, although no words were exchanged, Eclipse got his answer when Ruin wrapped their arms around him in a tight embrace.

"Wh-?!" was all Eclipse could say. He threw his arms up in surprise, his eyes widening in fear. He wanted to push Ruin away, but before he could even think about it, Ruin let go.

"I'm so sorry," Ruin apologized yet again. "I should have asked first!"

Eclipse stared in silence for a moment; he didn't know how to feel, let alone respond. His mind had been in a constant battle with itself since the day he was snatched from death, and Ruin only made that worse somehow. Ruin was the reason he had been panicking - but he was also the reason he was able to calm down. Ruin could be trusted, couldn't he? But why did Eclipse trust him so much? What was it about him? Eclipse's mind was flooded with conflicting thoughts, but one thought in particular stood out in the moment: why did Ruin keep touching him?!

"Am I a petting zoo to you?" Eclipse finally asked.

"I beg your pardon?"

"The hand grabbing. The hands over my shoulders. The..." Eclipse paused. Ruin had never hugged him before - nobody really had, at least not in a long, long time. "The hugging."

"I see. You aren't comfortable with physical touch," Ruin noted.

"Why would I be?" Eclipse remarked.

"Do forgive me. I was just trying to help. Why did it take you so long to say something?"

"I just noticed how often it is. Why? Is talking not enough?"

Ruin frowned, folding his arms around himself. Maybe he hadn't noticed how often it was, let alone the fact that it had been bothering Eclipse. "I just want you to know I'm here for you," he said. He looked away from Eclipse as he spoke, maybe because of guilt or maybe because of embarrassment. Perhaps it was a mix of the two.

Eclipse scoffed and said nothing for a moment. He was thinking yet again, thinking about the hug and thinking about what to say. "Just use your words then," he finally said with a hint of nervousness. He felt...weird.

Ruin smiled at him and nodded. "Very well, then. Again, I am so sor-"

"If you apologize again, I'm putting you back in the cell," Eclipse interrupted. If he had a dime for every "sorry" he had heard within the past week, he would be rich.

Ruin let out a nervous laugh. "Right. Forgive me for keeping you this long; you are still tired, aren't you?"

Eclipse tilted his head. "What?"

"Well, just a moment ago, you were about to leave because you were tired. I interrupted, and I'm..." Ruin stopped himself. "You should rest."

Eclipse hesitated again. Did he really want to leave? Sure, he was actually tired. But even though Ruin made him feel...weird...he still felt "safe" with them. Ruin was the only one that bothered to actually talk to him. Sun, Moon, and Solar knew he was there, though they all tried to avoid him at all costs. When they did interact with him, it was usually brief and riddled with mutual resentment. Ruin, on the other hand, at least tried. That was enough, Eclipse supposed.

"Right," Eclipse finally said. "I should rest."

Ruin smiled at him again. "Goodnight, Eclipse!"

Eclipse turned to leave, hesitating to move or even speak. Part of him, for whatever reason, wanted to talk more. But the greater, more sensible part of him knew that he needed to leave. He needed to rest - and to clear his mind.

"Night," he finally said.

***

Nothing had really changed between Ruin and the others since the day Ruin introduced Eclipse as their new...ally. If anything, the tension between Ruin and the Celestial Family only grew worse. Ruin was often met with dirty stares and snide remarks whenever he interacted with them, especially from Moon. Nothing he wasn't used to, really.

Solar was at least a little bit "nicer." Though he didn't actively express that he disliked Ruin, it was still apparent that he didn't fully trust him. That was understandable. All of their reactions were understandable. What was fascinating to Ruin, though, was how different Solar and Eclipse were. After all, they were both "Eclipse" in a way. Eclipses were typically stubborn and hard to get along with. Solar was different; he seemed to be the one trying to reason with others most of the time. Maybe once this was all over with, Ruin could try to befriend him, too.

Befriending the Celestial Family had already proven to be a challenge beforehand. Ruin's impulsive decision to try to befriend Eclipse only made that worse; whatever trust they had in Ruin before was left hanging by a thread. But it wasn't completely gone, Ruin figured, otherwise they would have tried to get rid of both him and Eclipse by now.

Ruin didn't think too much of it until he was finally questioned. A few more days had gone by, and still no actual progress on tracking down the source of Eclipse's revival. Solar was the one to approach him about it.

"I need to talk to you," he said firmly.

Ruin turned from his computer, facing the lighter Eclipse with a surprised expression. "Solar! What a pleasant surprise!" he beamed. "How may I help you?"

"That's the thing," Solar said as he crossed his arms. "Are you actually helping us?"

Ruin tilted his head. "I'm afraid I don't quite understand."

"This whole Eclipse thing. You said you were gonna help him - and us - track down whoever or whatever brought him back. So why aren't we getting anywhere?"

Ruin smiled and stood from his seat. "I understand your frustration," he started. "But this is a very unfamiliar and complicated ordeal. I am doing the best I can on my end."

"I wouldn't say 'unfamiliar.' Apparently this guy has a habit of coming back," Solar remarked. "He's like a cockroach."

"But this time was different, yes?"

"I guess so. But how, exactly?"

"Eclipse seemed...lost. I could tell when he captured me that something was wrong. So I am helping you and him," Ruin explained.

Solar raised a brow and said nothing.

"I am helping you by keeping an eye on him," Ruin added. "And I'm helping him by giving him someone to talk to."

"So you're his therapist or something?"

"I'm his friend. See, I figured that, if he had a friend, then maybe..." Ruin paused. A realization suddenly came over him. "Maybe he wouldn't have to die," he continued softly.

"What?" Solar asked.

For once, Ruin hesitated. That was unusual, Solar noted. Ruin usually responded pretty much immediately. What were they hiding?

"I think," Ruin finally continued, "Eclipse has potential." He seemed to be talking more so to himself now.

"Potential for what, exactly?" Solar asked, his tone beginning to reflect impatience.

"Redemption."

Solar let out a sarcastic "Ha!"

"I'm serious, Solar. He doesn't want to hurt anybody this time. Maybe he doesn't have to die."

"Yeah, okay. Sure," Solar muttered. "Good luck with that."

Ruin knew that Eclipse wanted to die. He knew that he wanted to go back to that feeling of absolute nothingness. He knew that he hated having a mind and a body. But Ruin found himself growing...attached. He enjoyed talking to Eclipse. He enjoyed comforting him. He enjoyed having someone around that actually trusted him despite everything.

But he made a promise to Eclipse. He promised to help him. Ruin knew what that implied: he promised to help him die. But maybe, just maybe, he could help him in another way instead.

Ruin snapped out of his thoughts and smiled again. "I promise you, Solar," he said. "Everyone will thank me later on."

***

Having a "friend" felt strange. It wasn't necessarily something that Eclipse was used to. But it was...nice...to have Ruin around. Ruin wasn't like his past "allies." Ruin was there because he wanted to be. Ruin actually cared. So why did Eclipse feel so...weird?

It wasn't necessarily fear. How could anyone be "afraid" of Ruin? They were short and, as far as Eclipse was aware, harmless. So why was he so nervous around them all of a sudden?

Eclipse trusted Ruin. That's what "friendship" was supposed to be, right? Mutual trust. Nothing more than that. So why did it start to feel like more than that as time went on?

Eclipse knew how it felt to "like" something. In the past, he liked having power. He liked tormenting Sun and Moon. More recently, he liked sleeping. He liked...

No. This was different. He couldn't say that he didn't like Ruin, but saying that he "liked" him felt so...odd. Being in power was something he used to enjoy. Sleeping was something he enjoyed. Ruin's presence...

He did enjoy Ruin's presence. It was becoming more difficult to deny that, though he had yet to actually admit it. He enjoyed Ruin's presence, so much so that he found himself thinking about them even when they weren't around. Why? Where did this come from? Was it the hug?

Those other things that he liked never made him feel like this. Why was this so different? So uncomfortable? Was it because Ruin was an actual being?

Eclipse hated that he had grown such an attachment to the amalgamated little freak. But what other options did he have, really? Ruin spent more time with him than anyone else. But was it normal to "like" an actual person this much?

"You're being ridiculous," Eclipse thought aloud. He tolerated Ruin, he kept trying to convince himself. They were...friends. Maybe this was just what friendship was supposed to feel like. Eclipse just had to get used to it.

Eclipse sighed and sat down to think. He hated thinking, but he couldn't really help it. His mind was always racing.

He hated that the only thing he could think about at the moment was Ruin. His stupid voice. His stupid laugh. His stupid little bow tie. His stupid, mismatched eyes. This was all so stupid.

Eclipse's thoughts were interrupted, though, when he heard a knock on the door. Before he could say anything, the door opened - and as if he had been summoned, there stood Ruin himself.

"Eclipse," he said. "I need to speak with you."

Chapter Text

"I'm serious, Solar. He doesn't want to hurt anybody this time. Maybe he doesn't have to die."

Maybe he doesn't have to die. Ruin knew it went against everything. Everything he had promised Eclipse. Everything he had promised Solar, Sun, and Moon. Everything he had planned...

But Eclipse was becoming less and less of an issue. If anything, Ruin liked having Eclipse around. Eclipse wasn't as violent as Ruin had anticipated - if anything, he was somewhat...pleasant...to be around? Yes, he was terrifying at first. Ruin couldn't help but brace himself for death every time they interacted for the first few days. But now, after a few weeks, the thought of "helping Eclipse die" felt...wrong.

Ruin never thought Eclipse would mean this much to him. They were supposed to be friends - "allies," even - and as such, Ruin promised to help Eclipse die. That's what he promised everyone. The Celestial Family was already iffy about Ruin. What little trust they had left in him was about to be crushed, but at the moment, he didn't necessarily care. If they were to banish him or kill him, maybe it would be worth it to stay with Eclipse just a little longer.

Oh, what was he thinking?! "You're getting off track," Ruin thought aloud as he paced back and forth. He regretted everything he had said as soon as Solar left. The calmer Eclipse was definitely going to bring this conversation up to the others.

No, no - he was Solar. Not a "calmer Eclipse." Eclipse was entirely different. And while Eclipse and Solar were both technically "Eclipse," it felt odd to refer to them both as Eclipse. Solar was Solar. Eclipse was Eclipse. Eclipse was taller than Solar, admittedly not by much. Eclipse was darker than Solar, both literally and figuratively. Eclipse was...

Realizing how much they had thought about him in the moment, how many times the word "Eclipse" just ran through their mind, Ruin couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Embarrassed for what, exactly? Nobody else was in there anymore. Just Ruin and their own thoughts. And yet, feeling oh, so foolish, Ruin felt their face growing hot. Eclipse was taking over their mind!

Ruin tried to reason with himself. Eclipse was his friend. That was it - but why was there such an...attachment? Ruin knew their "friendship" wasn't supposed to last forever. Eclipse was supposed to die eventually. Why was Ruin rethinking that now?

More thoughts of the taller animatronic rushed through Ruin's mind. Ruin had really grown to enjoy Eclipse's company over the past few weeks. Eclipse was somewhat mysterious, though he could unintentionally be funny sometimes. Eclipse was so interesting. So...intimidating? No, that wasn't right. Ruin wasn't afraid of him anymore. Eclipse was something else. He was...

"Oh dear," Ruin thought aloud with a sigh. He hadn't felt this way about anyone in a long, long time. He never thought he would again. But did he dare say that Eclipse was...attractive? There was just something about him. Was it his towering height? His low voice? His glowing eyes?

Maybe it was everything about him. Not just his appearance, but the way he acted and reacted during their conversations. Although Eclipse could be stubborn sometimes, the fact that he never directly pushed Ruin away was a good sign. Right? Eclipse trusted him.

Eclipse trusted him. Ruin knew that if these...thoughts...kept going, it would destroy everything. Their friendship, still developing and yet oh, so delightful, would be crushed into nothing. Eclipse would never trust him again, or anyone for that matter. That scenario wasn't supposed to be so upsetting. So why was it?

Ruin shook his head, as if trying to shake away his conflicting thoughts. That didn't really work, though; they only seemed to get worse. Now, Ruin was thinking about the rare occasion of Eclipse smiling. The way he would try to hide it when Ruin did or said something funny, or the way it seemed to happen during some of Eclipse's "thinking sessions." Eclipse clearly didn't want his smile to be known, but Ruin couldn't deny that it was a nice smile. It wasn't a big smile; Eclipse never smiled with his teeth. His sharp, fanged teeth that he only seemed to show when he was passionately ranting about something. God, Ruin loved when Eclipse actually expressed his thoughts...

Ruin slapped their palm against their forehead, as if trying to knock the thoughts out now. "We had an agreement," they muttered, face warming up again. Ruin's freedom in exchange for helping Eclipse die. That wasn't exactly how the deal was worded, nor was it necessarily "true," but Ruin couldn't help but think about it that way. Either way, Ruin made a promise to Eclipse, and they weren't necessarily one for breaking promises. But at the same time...

Ruin sighed in defeat. Technically, he supposed, he wouldn't be "breaking" his promise. After all, the promise was to help Eclipse. Even though that technically implied helping him die, Ruin figured that he could possibly help him in another way instead.

The final decision was risky. Ruin didn't want to lose Eclipse just yet - if at all. Revisions would definitely have to be made, and it came at the risk of completely losing the Celestial Family's trust. But it could work. Nothing would really be affected by it, right? After all, he was still keeping Eclipse out of trouble.

So it was settled, then - Ruin wanted to keep Eclipse alive. He took a deep breath and left the room to search for him. It wasn't much of a "search," really, since Eclipse mostly stayed in one area anyway. He almost never left this one room in particular unless Ruin had a reason to bring him out, so there was a high chance he would be there.

Ruin stopped in front of the door and thought for a moment. Was this really what he wanted? Would it be a better idea than the original one? Yes, it would, he convinced himself. There was no going back now.

Still, though, Ruin hesitated. Should he knock and wait for an answer he may not even get? Or should he just barge in and risk disturbing Eclipse? This conversation would have to happen eventually either way. Perhaps ready to just get it over with, Ruin decided on both. He knocked on the door, and not even a second later, he opened it. To his half-relief and half-terror, Eclipse was looking right at him.

Definitely no going back now. Ruin quickly put on yet another calm facade to avoid expressing his anxiety. "Eclipse," he said. "I need to speak with you."

***

Had Eclipse somehow summoned them? How did Ruin know he had been thinking about them? It was either a bad coincidence, or Ruin could somehow read his mind. The logical part of Eclipse's mind said that the latter was a ridiculous thought, though it wasn't entirely impossible with the technology they had access to. Regardless, it was pretty unlikely. Why would they need to read his mind anyway?

Full of confusion, embarrassment, and slight fear, Eclipse struggled to formulate a response. "Uh.." was all he could manage at first. He caught himself staring at Ruin again, right into his bright, mismatched eyes. He quickly looked away and finished his response. "What is it?"

Ruin stepped further into the room, closing the door behind him. He took a deep breath and exhaled, just like he had done when he helped Eclipse recover from his panic attack. "Can we sit down for this?" he asked.

Eclipse tilted his head. What's going on? Had Ruin finally found out who brought him back? Why did he seem so...uneasy?

"Okay..?" Eclipse said with slight hesitation. He sat down on the floor - he found the floor comfortable for some reason - and signaled for Ruin to sit next to him. Ruin walked over to him with a slight smile and sat down.

Eclipse avoided making direct eye contact as much as possible; he seemed to struggle with his words when he made eye contact for some reason. He glanced at Ruin, quickly looking away again when he saw them staring directly into his soul. "What is it?" he asked again, his face warming up a little.

Ruin reached for Eclipse's hand but quickly changed his mind. Not touching him had proven to be a struggle, but the least Ruin could do was respect Eclipse's boundaries. "About our...agreement," he started.

Eclipse looked at him and said nothing. He wasn't exactly sure what he was expecting, so he just waited for Ruin to continue.

When Eclipse didn't say anything, Ruin cleared his throat and continued. "I know I said I would help you find out who brought you back." He paused. "And by doing so, I would be helping you die permanently."

Eclipse's mechanical heart dropped. "Are you backing out?" he asked, failing to conceal the hurt in his voice. He trusted Ruin, and that trust did not come easily. Was Ruin seriously about to abandon everything?! This always happened. Why would he expect Ruin to be any different? And why did it hurt so badly?

"Eclipse, please, just listen to me," Ruin said softly. He fidgeted with his own hands as he spoke.

Why would Eclipse listen to anything they had to say? All these weeks of "progress," all this time trusting Ruin and anticipating-...

Eclipse's thoughts were interrupted by other thoughts. Sure, maybe it was true that he had been anticipating death for the first week or so. He hated being alive. Having a tired and damaged body was bad enough, and having a mind that was constantly battling itself only made that worse. Eclipse longed for the sweet feeling of nothingness that death offered. All of this was true - but Eclipse started having second thoughts. The more time he spent with Ruin, the less death seemed to call to him. Maybe Ruin distracted him from it somehow...

Instead of trying to argue, Eclipse decided to hear Ruin out. He kept quiet, not taking his eyes off of him. His expression was unsure yet attentive.

Ruin took another deep breath. "May I hold your hand?" he asked, reaching his own hands out as if preparing to grab Eclipse's hand anyway. Eclipse looked at Ruin's hands, then back at his face. At least he asked this time, Eclipse supposed, plus he still seemed so...uneasy. Finally, Eclipse held out his hand for Ruin to grab.

"I know that being alive had proven to be...a challenge," Ruin continued as he held Eclipse's hand.

"I never wanted to wake back up," Eclipse finally said. He was looking away.

"I know. Death brought you a sort of comfort. I somewhat promised to help you find that again, didn't I?"

Eclipse said nothing.

Ruin hesitated. How would Eclipse take this? Maybe it was selfish. But the thought of losing him hurt way more than it ever should have. Finally, Ruin mustered up the courage to continue.

"I really like you, Eclipse."

Eclipse looked at him, his eyes widening. He still said nothing.

"I really enjoy your company," Ruin added slowly. "Although we've only known each other for a short time, well..." they paused with a slight chuckle. "Our friendship is something that I cherish dearly."

Eclipse was frozen. Ruin liked him? How? Eclipse saw himself as a less-than-pleasant person to be around. Eclipse was always a bad person. How could anyone like him? It was surprising, confusing, weird...but Eclipse felt his face heating up again.

"What are you getting at here?" he finally asked, turning away again. He crossed his arms, maybe as a way to hold himself together.

"I don't think you have to die."

"What?"

"I know you wanted to...and you probably still do. But please, just think about it. You are really the only friend I have...If I lost you, I'm not sure what I would do."

Eclipse froze again. His mind, for once, could only focus on one thing: Ruin wanted him alive. Nobody had ever wanted Eclipse to be alive. Granted, their reasoning was fair; Eclipse was always a bad person. A villain. Somebody who didn't deserve to be alive. To hear that somebody - to hear that Ruin - wanted him alive...it felt strange.

Say something. Eclipse wanted to say something, anything, but he was at a loss. Ruin liked him. Ruin wanted him to be alive. And he was just sitting there like an idiot, not saying anything! Ruin, at the very least, deserved words. And Eclipse couldn't even give him that.

Say something, dammit!

"Eclipse?" Ruin asked, perhaps noticing his troubled expression.

Would this be Eclipse's chance to voice his second thoughts? Ruin liked him. Ruin wanted him to be alive. Ruin deserved to know how he felt. But expressing how he really felt, trying to put all of these thoughts into words...

"I...like..." Eclipse finally started. Why was this so difficult?!

Ruin looked at him attentively, waiting for him to continue.

"Being around...you," Eclipse managed. If his face were much hotter, he probably would have short circuited. What is going ON?!

Ruin smiled at him, their own face warming up, too. They wanted to hold his hand, maybe even hug him again. But taking note of Eclipse's uncomfortable state, how much he struggled just to say five little words, they decided not to make it worse. "I will give you some space to think about it."

Eclipse's eyes widened when Ruin started getting up. Say something. Say something! He didn't want him to leave, not just yet. There was still so much he needed to tell him...

Before Ruin could fully stand, Eclipse grabbed his arm. He wasn't really thinking anymore; he decided to just let everything out.

Ruin jumped in surprise, startled by Eclipse's sudden movement. "Ecl-?"

"You saved me," Eclipse interrupted.

Ruin tilted his head and sat back down. "Saved you?" he echoed.

"Death was such a relief before. Then you came around, and it just...stopped."

"What stopped?"

Eclipse paused. What was he even talking about? God, this was pathetic. He had never felt so humiliated by his own thoughts and feelings. And yet, for some odd reason, he kept talking anyway.

"I don't think I want to die anymore. At least not as much as I did before," he finally said.

Now, for once, it was Ruin's turn to be speechless. They couldn't help but smile at him, though they stayed quiet. Their own mind was racing, plus they wanted to know if Eclipse would say more. When it became apparent that Eclipse himself was waiting for a response, Ruin decided to say something.

"That is...wonderful to hear," he said softly.

Eclipse took a deep breath to cool himself down. Just like Ruin taught him. "So, now what?" he asked.

Ruin thought for a moment. Now, he thought, he needed to figure out how to explain this sudden change in plans to the others. How would they take it? Would they try to kill him and Eclipse on the spot? Would they ban them from entering the Daycare, or even the Pizzaplex? The latter was clearly the preferable option, though knowing his...history...with Sun and Moon, Ruin knew that the more likely option was the former. Maybe he wouldn't tell them immediately.

"Now, we live!" Ruin said with a grin.

Eclipse tilted his head. "Aren't we 'living' already?" he asked.

"Well, no, not necessarily," Ruin started. "We're 'alive,' yes, but we haven't really been 'living.' We've been working since the day we met."

"Right..."

"And now, since you're staying a little longer, we don't have to work as much! We can relax, talk, just do things we enjoy...I still want us to do these things together. If that's alright with you, of course!"

Eclipse stared for a moment. His face, still warm, shifted from confusion to acceptance - then, as he only did on a rare occasion, he smiled. That not-very-big-but-still-nice smile that Ruin found oh, so charming. Maybe he didn't realize he was doing it; he usually tried to hide his smile. But this time, for some reason, he just let it happen.

"Yeah," he said. "I'm okay with that."

Ruin couldn't help but smile himself. Everything worked out much better than he expected. He slowly extended his arms to the side, hesitating a little. He knew Eclipse didn't like physical touch, but it still wouldn't hurt to ask. "Can I...Can we..?"

Eclipse hesitated; he knew what this meant. He remembered the last time Ruin hugged him. He remembered how much it startled him and how quickly Ruin let him go. Eclipse couldn't help but feel a little guilty; physical touch wasn't something he particularly enjoyed, but Ruin clearly enjoyed it. It was his way of expressing that he cared, Eclipse supposed.

Finally, without a word, Eclipse extended his own arms. He was admittedly a little shaky, but he figured he could at least do this for Ruin since talking had proven to be difficult up until this point.

Ruin practically beamed with joy and, without much thought, pulled Eclipse into a tight embrace. Their arms rested firmly around his shoulders, and this time, they didn't let go.

Eclipse, still getting startled somehow, froze. His arms were still extended; how did this work? He didn't want to push Ruin away this time. Once he eased into the feeling of the hug, there was a part of him that actually wanted to pull him closer - so that's exactly what he did. Eclipse carefully wrapped his arms around Ruin, not hugging him as tightly as Ruin was. It was a start, he supposed, and it would definitely take some getting used to. But at the same time, it felt...nice.

Neither of them wanted to let go. Eclipse was so warm; Ruin could hold on forever. Ruin, in this moment, felt more like a "safe space" than ever; Eclipse could have fallen asleep like this if he wanted to.

The two of them held onto each other for what seemed like hours, though only a minute or so had actually passed. Once they finally let go, they smiled at each other again, Ruin's hands resting in Eclipse's.

"I know you're probably tired," Ruin said. "This is around the time you charge every night, yes?"

Eclipse nodded slowly. How did Ruin know that? Was his routine that simple? Nevermind that; Ruin liked him enough to remember stuff like that. Ruin liked him. Ruin wanted him to be alive.

"I shall let you rest then," Ruin continued as they stood up. "I have some business of my own to tend to. My computer has been acting up, and I've been trying to fix it."

"I can try to fix it," Eclipse said as he stood up. "I've always been 'decent' with technology, I guess."

"No, no, don't trouble yourself! I appreciate the offer, but you should rest. It shouldn't be too difficult," Ruin said, waving their hands.

"Fine then," Eclipse scoffed. He paused for a second. "Goodnight."

Ruin smiled at him again. This was the first time Eclipse had said "goodnight" first. Although something like that was a small gesture, it meant everything to Ruin at the moment.

"Goodnight, Eclipse."

***

Technology could be rather dumb sometimes, no matter how "advanced" it was supposed to be. Ruin, as familiar with technology as he was, struggled with it sometimes, and the computer was one of those instances. After spending almost an entire night trying to figure out what was wrong with it, he gave up and shrugged it off. Maybe he just needed a new computer.

The rest of Ruin's night was spent thinking about Eclipse. The conversation. The hug. The fact that Eclipse wanted to stay with him. Part of him wanted to talk more, to get a chance to possibly hold hands or hug him again. But he knew that Eclipse needed to rest. Oh well; he could just talk to him more tomorrow.

Ruin was relieved that Eclipse took their suggestion so easily, as sudden and risky as it was. The two of them would get to see each other more. That was the important thing, right? Ruin still questioned that decision, but in the end, everything was under control - or so they thought.

When the morning came, Ruin immediately went to look for Eclipse. He was beaming with excitement, humming a tune from a particular musical he enjoyed. "Good morning, Eclipse!" he said as he opened the door - but Eclipse wasn't there.

"Eclipse?"

That was odd; he almost never left this room. Maybe he decided to venture out? But he usually went with Ruin. Maybe their talk last night gave him some sort of confidence? Good for him, Ruin thought - taking on life on his own.

But something felt...off. Eclipse would have at least told him before venturing off like that, right? Maybe something was wrong...

"No, no. Nothing is wrong," Ruin thought aloud. "Eclipse is his own person...surely he will be alright on his own."

That didn't stop Ruin from worrying, though. He left the room and immediately looked in other familiar places, places where he and Eclipse visited often. No sight of the taller animatronic anywhere.

Finally, almost out of desperation, Ruin checked the Superstar Daycare. It was the one place he and Eclipse didn't visit all that often; Sun and Moon didn't particularly enjoy their company. Why would Eclipse be in there? Maybe to try to reason with Sun and Moon?

No, that didn't seem right either. And, to make matters worse, he wasn't even in there. Instead, Ruin saw Solar - and by his side was Lunar, on his knees and sobbing. Ruin hadn't really interacted with Lunar much, but he couldn't help but worry. As far as he was aware, Lunar didn't cry much. Something had to have been wrong; however, at the same time, Ruin had his own issues to worry about.

"Excuse me, Solar, I hate to interrupt, but-"

"Ruin, now is NOT the time," Solar interrupted. He didn't turn away from Lunar.

"I'm not a bad person," Lunar kept repeating to himself. He was hugging his knees.

Ruin tilted their head to the side. "Look, I really wish I could help with...whatever is happening here, but I have a bit of an emergency!"

"Ruin. Not now," Solar warned again.

"Eclipse. The one I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on? I can't find him anywhere!" Ruin said, his voice riddled with slight frustration.

Lunar covered his hypothetical ears and turned away. Solar finally turned to look at Ruin with a stern expression. It sent a chill down Ruin's mechanical spine.

"Well, you don't really have to worry about that anymore," Solar muttered.

"What do you mean by that?" Ruin asked, his voice low and trembling. He was getting more impatient and more worried.

Solar hesitated, then turned to look at Lunar again; he was still looking away. Solar looked back at Ruin, who was visibly in distress now.

"Solar..?" Ruin asked shakily.

Solar took a deep breath and sighed. Although he was personally unbothered by the situation aside from seeing Lunar so upset, he found it difficult to tell Ruin what had happened for some reason. They just seemed so...serious...about wanting to give Eclipse a chance. But this was supposed to happen eventually anyway, right? Ruin needed to know...

Finally, he placed a hand on Ruin's shoulder. He looked him in the eye, mustering up the courage to spit it out.

"Eclipse is dead."

Chapter Text

"I don't think I want to die anymore. At least not as much as I did before," he finally said.

Those words echoed through Ruin's mind as his heart dropped. He felt like he couldn't breathe. Eclipse was dead..? That couldn't be right. He was just talking to him. He agreed to stay. Surely Eclipse didn't do this himself, right? He wasn't really dead; Solar was pulling some sick joke on Ruin for bringing up that stupid idea in the first place, he just knew it!

"What..?" was all Ruin could manage. If his color could drain, he would have gone pale. His head was spinning.

"I know you tried," Solar said with a sigh. "But this guy was never meant to stay." He paused, looking at Lunar again, then back at Ruin. "I'm sorry..."

Ruin tried to keep calm, failing miserably. "No...no, that can't be right," he mumbled between shaky breaths. "He wasn't supposed to-...I didn't want-...We were just-..."

"I know," Solar said in an attempt to reassure them. But how could he possibly know? How could he possibly know how close Ruin and Eclipse were? How relieved Ruin was that Eclipse had grown to trust them so much? How happy the two of them were to get to stay alive together a little longer? He didn't know. He could never know.

Ruin paced around, hyperventilating. Pacing normally helped clear his mind, but all he could think about was Eclipse. This couldn't be right. This wasn't supposed to happen. They were supposed to be alive together. Ruin felt tears welling up in his eyes, and as soon as he did, he ran out of the Daycare. "I need a moment!" he called as he left.

As soon as he got out, he fell to his knees. His head was still spinning, his mind full of confusion and grief. Eclipse was dead. How? Why? Why?!

Ruin couldn't hold back their tears anymore. The crying started as a few sniffles, then came the tears, and finally, the sobbing. "Eclipse..!" they squeaked between sobs. They were hoping that, just maybe, Eclipse would respond. He would show up right next to them and tell them it was just a bad dream, and to "stop being stupid." But nobody responded. Nobody was there. Eclipse was dead.

Ruin held onto himself as he cried. Any ounce of hope that he had left was falling onto the ground through oily tears. "Eclipse..." he managed again. "I'm so sorry..."

It wasn't supposed to end so early. It was so sudden. Ruin had just decided on keeping Eclipse around, risking everything just to stay with him — and it was all for nothing. How did this even happen? What if Ruin had stayed with Eclipse instead of leaving last night? Maybe he could have saved him...

It was too late for that now. Eclipse was gone. The last thing he and Ruin talked about together was living. Ironic, wasn't it? Ruin felt sick. He couldn't help but feel guilty. His mind was clouded with every negative emotion possible. He could have saved him.

Maybe the first mistake was befriending Eclipse in the first place. He was never supposed to mean this much to Ruin. Even though Ruin had spent weeks preparing for Eclipse to die, it was just one last-minute decision that changed everything. They had grown so close. Ruin liked Eclipse. No — "liked" was an understatement. Did Ruin dare say that he...

Well, it was too late for that, wasn't it? Ruin's heart hurt even more just thinking about it. They slowly stood up, wiping their eyes and sniffling. Crying wouldn't bring him back. It wouldn't reverse time so that they had a chance of saving him. Nothing could really be done, could it?

Ruin took a deep breath and exhaled. He couldn't let himself get so upset; he still had work to do, just as everyone else did. The Celestial Family would still want to know who brought Eclipse back, wouldn't they? Ruin brushed himself off and went back inside of the Daycare, acting as if he hadn't just been crying. Acting was something that Ruin considered himself to be quite good at; however, his facade must not have been so convincing this time, because Solar still asked him: "You okay?"

Maybe Solar was just a caring person. "I'm fine," Ruin responded after some hesitation. "What do we do now?"

Solar looked at Lunar again. He was still turned away, visibly upset. Solar looked back at Ruin, who was patiently waiting for a response. Personally, Solar wanted to breathe. He and the others had been stressing about Eclipse for several weeks, and he was finally gone. But Solar knew he couldn't say that to Ruin. Ruin, for whatever God awful reason, seemed to actually like Eclipse. It would be insensitive. Not that Solar cared all that much about Ruin; he just knew it would be wrong to celebrate his friend's death openly.

"I'm not sure," Solar finally said. "What do you want to do now?"

Ruin thought for a second. "I think I just...need some time," they said. They were trying to smile, but for once, it was hard to do so.

"I get it," Solar replied, nodding in understanding. He looked back at Lunar one more time, then back at Ruin. "You should probably go."

"Right..."

Solar hesitated. "Hey," he finally said before Ruin could leave.

Ruin looked back at him as he opened the door.

"I'm sorry again," Solar added.

Ruin managed a small smile before leaving.

***

How did it even happen? That question haunted Ruin more than the fact that it had happened in the first place. It had to have been an accident, right? Surely Eclipse didn't just walk right into Death's arms.

At least, he didn't want to.

When Ruin left, all was normal for a while. Eclipse sat to think a little while longer, then finally decided to charge for the night. His mind, at first, was flowing with thoughts of Ruin — his eyes, his smile, his voice...all of the things that he, admittedly, liked about him.

But before Eclipse could settle down to charge, he felt...weird. Not the type of "weird" he felt around Ruin. No, this was different — and somehow familiar. That strange feeling of being "out of his own control" hadn't really crept up on him in a while; again, maybe Ruin distracted him from it somehow. But at this moment, for whatever reason, it hit him again for the first time in a couple of weeks. This time, instead of just controlling his body and his words, the mysterious "outside force" seemed to get ahold of his mind somehow. His thoughts of Ruin were suddenly replaced by the old question: Who brought him back from the dead?

Eclipse hadn't really thought about that as much recently. Why did it suddenly hit him? He agreed to stay alive for whatever reason. But that didn't solve that little "mystery," now did it? Regardless of what Eclipse chose to do, somebody had still revived him, and they were still out there. Why did they do it? How did they do it? What were they planning?

As much as Eclipse wanted to shake these thoughts away, he couldn't for some reason. He felt frozen in place as the thoughts just kept piling up. Who? Why? How?

That's when one thought in particular stuck out: Lunar. Certainly Lunar wasn't the one who brought him back; he hated Eclipse, plus he was never necessarily "smart" with technology. But Lunar had changed since the last time Eclipse saw him. Not only his appearance, but the fact that he had a very important resource in his possession now: star power. Maybe, Eclipse "thought," Lunar could...help...in some way.

Star power was something that Eclipse had given up on ages ago. His past selves would probably scold him for that, but this newest version of himself was different. He didn't care about finding the Newton Star and having power anymore. He didn't care whether or not people saw him as a "God." He just wanted answers. Lunar just happened to possess star power somehow — maybe Eclipse could use that to his advantage here...

So, instead of charging, Eclipse found himself wandering towards the Superstar Daycare. He hadn't been in there much, if at all, since the day he woke up. The mysterious outside force led him there for some reason. Maybe it somehow knew that Lunar would be in there.

Finally, Eclipse opened the door. And sure enough, just as expected, Lunar was standing right in front of him. Eclipse tilted his head to the side with a menacing grin. "Lunar..."

Lunar's mechanical heart dropped when he realized that this visitor wasn't Solar. That taunting voice sent chills all over his body. He recognized that tone anywhere. "No..." he simply replied.

"Yes," Eclipse retorted.

By Lunar's side was someone that Eclipse was slightly less familiar with, though he had faint memory of speaking to her in one of his past lives. She seemed confused at first upon his arrival; maybe she didn't remember him.

"What?" Earth asked, looking at Lunar then back at Eclipse.

"Don't worry, I don't plan to kill you," Eclipse said, his voice still in that menacing tone.

"I'm a little lost. What's happening right now?" Earth asked calmly. She stepped forward a little bit and held her arm out as if blocking Eclipse from getting to Lunar.

"No..." Lunar repeated.

Earth tried to stay calm for Lunar's sake, but the realization of who this "stranger" was made her own heart skip a beat. "What are you doing here? You're not supposed to be here."

Eclipse crossed his arms and scoffed. One thing about whatever was "guiding" him was that it made him feel like his old self. As much as Eclipse had wanted to avoid confrontation before, he kept talking without any thought.

"I can be damn near anywhere as long as it helps in the search of whoever made me," he remarked harshly.

Earth knew that Lunar had to have been terrified, so she tried not to show her own fear. "Okay, well, this place has been thoroughly searched. You may move along," she said, trying to keep a calm tone.

"I'm not here to search this area," Eclipse said. "I'm here for someone else's...help," he added, slowly pointing at Lunar.

Earth looked back at Lunar, who was visibly terrified. She stepped even further in front of him. "What do you want with Lunar?" she asked.

"What do I want with Lunar?" Eclipse echoed. His tone was slightly softer; maybe he was starting to snap out of it, wondering himself what exactly he wanted from Lunar. Whatever sense was coming back to him lasted only for a second — he was right back to his taunting tone almost immediately.

"You see, there's this thing that Lunar has that most people don't. It's called star power," he added, staring directly at Lunar as he spoke.

Earth didn't seem to budge, and neither did Lunar. He backed away slowly, not breaking eye contact with his ex-brother. Earth, still trying to keep calm, took a deep breath and exhaled. "I assume you're asking Lunar for a favor, are you not?" she asked.

"Yeah..."

"Well, I don't hear a 'please,' or a 'thank you,'" Earth started. "I certainly don't hear an apology for what happened before."

Eclipse narrowed his eyes. "I don't care to apologize."

"Well, then, Lunar doesn't have to help you," Earth said.

Eclipse paused for a moment. "You do want to find out who brought me back here, don't you? If I die and keep coming back, my next personality might not be so...friendly."

Earth hesitated. Eclipse wasn't even "friendly" anyway, but clearly, he wasn't going to leave them alone. "If Lunar doesn't feel comfortable helping you, he doesn't have to," she finally said. "You want to find out who brought you back, and that is fair, but you didn't even apologize to him."

Eclipse was growing impatient. "Oh, I am so sorry, Lunar! Did I hurt your feelings when I killed you?!" he spat sarcastically.

Lunar didn't respond. He seemed to be frozen in shock and fear. When it became apparent that he wasn't planning to give a response, Eclipse couldn't contain his impatience anymore. "This whole thing's pathetic. You're both pathetic!"

"Don't listen to him, Lunar," Earth said softly.

"Sure, just sit down in the corner and do nothing again. You are really good at that, Lunar," Eclipse taunted. "What was it that happened to you, again? Oh, right! Boom..."

Lunar clenched his fists. Finally, he stepped out from behind Earth. "Boom," he echoed. "That's a great suggestion, actually! I really like that idea!"

Eclipse crossed his arms and raised a brow.

"You show up needing my help after murdering me. I'm not inclined to give you my help! The only reason you need me is because I have what you want," Lunar said shakily. He was terrified — but he was tired of Eclipse and his taunting.

"What, is the little crybaby gonna cry again?" Eclipse scoffed. "The only thing you're really good at is standing there."

"That's all I was good at until I got this fun little power that you want so badly," Lunar retorted. He paused for a second, looking at his hands and then back at Eclipse. "Last time you died, I didn't get to watch you kick and scream..."

Eclipse tilted his head. "Are you threatening me, Lunar?"

"I'm not threatening you. A threat implies I won't actually do anything," Lunar said. His hands were starting to glow with star power.

Earth's eyes widened in fear. "I don't know if we should be doing that!" she exclaimed.

Eclipse looked at her. "He can play man, but I know he's too cowardly to actually do anything."

Lunar stepped closer to Eclipse, looking him right in the eye. "I've waited so long for this moment. I've waited so long to get the chance to look you in the eye again and tell you how much I hate you!"

Eclipse said nothing.

Lunar's hands and eyes lit up with star power as he yelled: "And I hope that this time, you stay dead!"

It all happened so fast. There was a bright flash, and then, there was nothing. Eclipse was gone.

"Rot in Hell," Lunar muttered.

***

The next two days were quiet. Not that any other day was necessarily "loud," but there was a particular silence that filled the air with Eclipse being gone. To some, it was a peaceful silence. To Ruin, it was an uncomfortable and heartbreaking silence. The one person that trusted him was dead.

Nobody really bothered to talk to Ruin at all anymore since they didn't need him to "babysit" Eclipse now. Not that Ruin necessarily craved their company, either; they weren't Eclipse. Ruin decided that keeping to himself would be for the best.

At the same time, however, being alone with their own thoughts was a less than pleasant experience. All Ruin could think about was Eclipse and how much they failed him. It was so sudden. It wasn't supposed to happen. Why would Eclipse leave them like that?!

Ruin developed a quiet resentment towards Lunar after learning what had happened. Eclipse was asking for help, even if he was "rude" about it. He didn't deserve that. He needed help, and the fact that he went to someone from his "family" for help was, in itself, a sign that he wanted to change. Sure, Lunar had every right to be upset with Eclipse for what happened before. But did he have to kill him for asking for his help?! It wasn't fair.

As upset as Ruin was, however, he knew that Eclipse was at peace. He had talked about the relief that death brought him before. As much as Ruin wanted to respect that, he couldn't help but feel upset. Eclipse wanted to live. He wanted help. He wanted to stay with him. It was too late...

Or was it?

Ruin knew that this Eclipse in particular had a habit of coming back from the dead. Now, there was a new question: Was that the case for every "Killcode" Eclipse? Ruin decided to do some dimensional research. Using Moon's portal, he gathered information about Eclipses from several different dimensions. He also did his own research back at "home" about his Eclipse, either on the computer or asking questions about him to his other "friends." In general, the questions were pretty much the same: How many times had they died? Did it take long for them to come back? Was there a limit? Some dimensions permanently lost their Eclipses. Some had "brand new" Eclipses. Some Eclipses actually spoke to Ruin personally.

"Four," Ruin thought aloud. After completing his research, he discovered that Killcode Eclipses tended to have a limit of four lives. How many times had his Eclipse died, again?

"Three," Ruin thought aloud again. He let out a slight gasp as his eyes lit up. Eclipse still had another "revival" left in him before his code was permanently deleted. It was just a matter of time.

That time was a lot shorter than Ruin expected. Only two days had passed before Solar went to Ruin with "exciting" news. Well, it was exciting for Ruin, anyway; everyone else was beyond frustrated.

"Hey, Ruin," Solar sighed.

"Can I help you with something?" Ruin asked, their tone a little more somber than usual. They had still been grieving despite knowing that Eclipse would be back eventually.

"There's something-...someone here to see you."

Ruin tilted his head.

Before either of them could say anything else, a taller figure stumbled into the room. He looked so different; his colors were darker and his outfit had changed. His rays were even more chipped, and his left eye had been damaged. He was almost unrecognizable — but Ruin knew that Eclipse had come back.

"Eclipse..?" Ruin asked, almost in a state of disbelief.

"Ru...in..." Eclipse managed. He sounded like he was in pain.

"Yeah," Solar said, crossing his arms. "He doesn't remember much, but he somehow remembered you."

Ruin couldn't contain their excitement any longer. They laughed with teary eyes and practically leaped over to Eclipse to hug him.

"Ack-!" Eclipse yelped. His entire body tensed up when Ruin hugged him.

Ruin quickly let him go. "I'm so sorry!" he apologized. Not just for the sudden hug that had apparently hurt him, but for everything that had happened before, and for the fact that he had been ripped away from peaceful death again.

"I'll leave you two alone," Solar muttered. He was evidently displeased with this situation, but at least Ruin felt better. He left the two of them alone.

"Eclipse..!" Ruin said again, his grin spreading across his entire face. The more he looked at him, though, the more his smile faded. Eclipse looked like he was in pain.

"What happened to me..?" Eclipse asked. His voice was tired.

"Nevermind that," Ruin started. "Please, sit down and rest!"

Eclipse sat on the floor and signaled for Ruin to sit next to him.

"I missed you," Ruin said without much thought.

Eclipse looked at him, staring without a response for a little longer than Ruin would have liked. Finally, his expression shifted from pain and discomfort to fear and concern. "I can't see," he finally said.

"What?"

"This eye," Eclipse said, pointing to his left eye. "I can't see out of it."

"I can try to fix it for you," Ruin said with a frown. "But it does appear to be...broken."

Eclipse sighed. Of course he was even more damaged now; why wouldn't he be? Though, as irritated as he was, he was admittedly relieved to see Ruin again. He finally smiled a little, his face warming up ever so slightly. "I...guess I missed you, too," he said.

Ruin smiled again, his own face warming up. "I will explain what happened later," he started. He hesitated a little before continuing. "But there is something I think you should know now."

Eclipse tilted his head to the side.

"You see," Ruin added, "I've been doing some research about...well, you. Killcode Eclipses tend to come back from the dead more than once, which I am quite sure you are aware of."

Eclipse scoffed.

"Well," Ruin continued, "I discovered that there is a general...limit. Across several dimensions, Eclipses seem to permanently die after their fourth death."

Eclipse thought for a moment. "So...this is my last chance at life?" he asked.

"I'm afraid so..."

Eclipse looked at the ground and said nothing.

"It's quite interesting, actually," Ruin said.

Eclipse looked back at him.

"Killcode Eclipses seem to 'evolve' in a way when they die. I'm sure you are aware of how an actual solar eclipse works, yes?" Ruin added.

"I guess so..?"

Ruin took a piece of paper out of his hat and unfolded it. It contained sketches and notes about his research. He pointed at each sketch as he spoke. "I found out that 'brand new' Eclipses start out more 'Sun'-like in appearance. After that first death, they come back resembling the partiality stage of a solar eclipse. After that, they come back resembling annularity, which is where you were when we met. And finally, that last life represents totality."

Eclipse stared at the sketches and notes as Ruin spoke. Sure enough, he realized that this cycle was accurate to his previous experiences. He got darker and more damaged each time he died; his body and his code were slowly but surely decaying. This meant that it was true — this was his last chance at life.

"Totality," Eclipse echoed. "So, this is it for me, huh?"

Ruin nodded, their expression a little somber.

"Hm."

The two of them sat in silence for a moment. This was a lot to process for the both of them. What would they do with this information? After some thought, Ruin made a decision. They took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Eclipse..."

"Yeah?"

"There is...something else I think you should know."

Eclipse looked at him.

Ruin looked away and swallowed his anxiety. Just say it. He didn't get to before, and he couldn't risk missing that chance forever.

"I love you, Eclipse."

Chapter Text

Ruin liked Eclipse. No — "liked" was an understatement. Did Ruin dare say that he...

Those words made Eclipse's heart drop. Four simple little words, yet they echoed through his mind at full force. I love you, Eclipse. Nobody had ever said that to him before. He wasn't sure he even knew what "love" was supposed to mean. But whatever he felt in this moment, he knew for sure that he didn't simply just "like" Ruin. No — whatever he felt was so much more than that.

Eclipse stayed silent, but his eyes were wide. His mouth was slightly open, as if he wanted to say something, but no words came out. He felt his face getting hotter by the second.

"And I really didn't think that I would," Ruin added softly. "I really did want to be your friend. But this, these feelings..." They hesitated, then smiled at him. "Do forgive me, Eclipse. You mean so much more to me than simple friendship."

Eclipse tried to gather his thoughts, which were swarming in every possible direction. Ruin loved him. That word repeated itself in Eclipse's mind like a broken record. Love. While he didn't exactly understand what that was supposed to mean, he knew that it was a higher honor than saying you "like" something. He meant more to Ruin than a simple "like." And just maybe, he thought, Ruin meant more to him than a simple "like," too.

"I..." Eclipse finally managed.

Ruin tilted his head, his face warm yet glowing with curiosity.

"You..." Eclipse struggled.

Ruin stayed quiet, waiting for him to finish. They were trying to be patient, but their anxiety was slowly rising.

"I think...I like you...a lot."

Ruin slowly nodded, holding his hypothetical breath. "But..?" he asked.

"No," Eclipse muttered. "That isn't right."

"What isn't?"

Eclipse took a deep breath and sighed. "You mean more to me than that, I think..."

Ruin smiled at him again as he continued.

"I don't know. It's weird. It's confusing. I've never felt like this before..." Eclipse added.

"I understand," Ruin said softly. "Do you need some time alone to process this, or..?"

"Don't leave."

"What?"

"I just woke up again. Why do you have to leave?"

Ruin tilted their head while placing a hand over their chest. "I don't have to leave...I can stay here with you if you'd like."

Eclipse paused, looking away with a frown. "Last time you left me, I died..."

Ruin's heart sank. That guilt came creeping back into his stomach, rising in such a way that he probably would have vomited if he could. He felt sick. "Eclipse..."

"I don't know what happened. I just know you weren't there."

Ruin hesitantly placed a hand over Eclipse's shoulder. "I promise I won't leave you again."

"That's a pretty big promise," Eclipse scoffed.

"I mean it. This is your last chance at living. I want to be there for you as much as possible," Ruin said, his smile returning.

Eclipse looked at him again. It was hard to do so with a broken eye, but his "good" eye allowed him to see the look of sincerity on Ruin's face. Eclipse felt his face getting warm again.

"So, what do you want to do?" Ruin asked.

Eclipse thought for a moment; Ruin was always asking what he wanted to do. While Eclipse did prefer doing what he wanted to do, he figured that Ruin deserved to choose this time.

"Whatever you want," Eclipse muttered.

Usually, when given the chance, Ruin chose activities that were supposed to be "fun." They would drag Eclipse to different areas of the Pizzaplex, trying to encourage him to participate in some of the games and activities. Sometimes they would take him to lunch, since apparently eating was something that he needed to do despite being made of metal and plastic. Eclipse knew that Ruin meant well, but he didn't particularly "enjoy" most of these activities; they tended to be loud and/or irritating.

But this time, Ruin's response surprised Eclipse. "Maybe we can just...lie here in silence for a bit?"

Eclipse raised a brow. "What, you don't wanna make me play some of those stupid games?"

"Is that what you would rather do?" Ruin asked.

"Absolutely not."

Ruin couldn't help but laugh. "I figured as much," he said with a grin.

Eclipse averted his eyes, though he still couldn't help but smile anyway. That same small smile that Ruin had found so charming before — and this time, he didn't try to hide it. Maybe he just didn't realize he was doing it, or maybe he didn't feel like he had to hide it this time. Either way, his face seemed to ache, most likely because of how warm it was now.

Ruin stared at the ceiling, smiling and not saying anything. A little bit of silence was good sometimes, he figured, plus it was probably what Eclipse wanted and needed the most right then. The silence was also good for himself; the quiet air made it a little easier to gather his thoughts. Not that there was too much to gather at the moment — all he could really think about was Eclipse.

Eclipse looked at Ruin again, still smiling against his will. He couldn't help but smile; who wouldn't smile after hearing Ruin's laugh or seeing their smile? Maybe the Celestial Family, but they didn't matter. Nobody else mattered in this moment. The entire world was just him and Ruin.

Then Eclipse did something he had never done before. He wasn't sure why, but maybe he just felt like it was the right thing to do at this moment. He slowly stretched his arm to the side, resting it around Ruin's shoulders.

Ruin jumped in surprise the second he felt Eclipse's hand. He quickly turned to look at him, his eyes wide with shock. Eclipse didn't move; he was frozen in fear, his own eyes wide and his rays slightly retracted. What was he doing? What made him think this was a good idea? Now Ruin probably didn't want to stay anymore.

But instead of getting up and running away, Ruin smiled at him again. Eclipse was still frozen, his mechanical heart pounding as if it was trying to leap out of his chest.

"Are you alright?" Ruin asked.

Eclipse didn't respond, but his hand was shaking now.

Ruin sighed and shook his head, still smiling. "You don't have to be afraid, you know."

No response.

When it became apparent that Eclipse couldn't move or talk, Ruin decided to be the one to take action. They shuffled closer to Eclipse, resting their head on his shoulder.

Eclipse was terrified at first; what's happening?! But after a few seconds, that fear was replaced by a sudden rush of relaxation. He took a deep breath and exhaled, easing into the position he found himself in. His arm finally relaxed and he stopped shaking. Ruin felt warm. Not the "painful" kind of warm that kept crawling into Eclipse's face, but a nice, oddly comfortable warm that seemed to ease his mind and body. He closed his eyes and let out a low, quiet hum.

"You're very warm," Ruin noted. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine," Eclipse muttered without opening his eyes. He sounded tired.

"You aren't overheating, are you?"

"I thought we were sitting in silence," Eclipse remarked.

"Right. I was just making sure you were-"

"Ruin. I'm fine," Eclipse interrupted. He paused, opening his eyes again. "I've never done this before..."

"Do you want me to give you space?" Ruin asked.

Eclipse thought for a moment. This was the most comfortable he had felt physically in a long time, if ever. Finally, he gave a simple response: "No."

Ruin tilted his head. "Really?"

Eclipse's eyes widened. "I mean-...that's not-...if you want to move, then-..." he stammered. His heart was racing again.

Ruin couldn't help but laugh again. "Relax," he said softly. He slowly stretched his arm across Eclipse's back so that they were in a sort of "side hug" now.

Eclipse cleared his throat, trying not to express his anxiety even more. "Right. Silence."

The two of them stared up at the ceiling, not saying a word. Eclipse relaxed again once he eased into the feeling of Ruin's body against his. He closed his eyes again, embracing the silence. For the first time ever, it felt like he had nothing to worry about.

After a few minutes, Ruin took a deep breath and sighed. "This is nice, isn't it?" they hummed, looking up at Eclipse with a smile. But Eclipse didn't respond — he had fallen asleep.

Ruin felt their own face warming up again as they let out a slight chuckle. They carefully adjusted so that Eclipse could lay in a more comfortable position, and that position just so happened to be resting his head in Ruin's lap.

"Sleep well, my love," Ruin whispered, gently petting one of Eclipse's rays. He smiled at him, then looked back at the ceiling, allowing Eclipse to rest in silence.

***

Nothing would ever be the same after that day. A simple confession, followed by a simple nap together, would change everything. Eclipse knew that Ruin wasn't just his "friend" anymore. No, they were so much more than that now. But what exactly were they? Not friends, not even "best" friends...

"Partners," Ruin said one day. He was trying to explain relationship terms to Eclipse.

"Partners?" Eclipse echoed. "Like 'business' partners?"

"No, silly!" Ruin laughed. "Saying that I'm your 'partner' is a way of saying that we're...an item."

Eclipse blinked in confusion.

"You aren't very keen on relationship stuff, are you?" Ruin asked with a nervous chuckle.

"Relationship stuff?" Eclipse echoed. "You of all people should know I'm not even good at 'friendship' stuff."

"Well," Ruin started, "our relationship is more than just 'friendship' stuff now...Assuming you want it to be that way, of course!"

Eclipse tilted his head. "What are you getting at here?"

Ruin sighed, almost in frustration. He knew that Eclipse was inexperienced, but to this extent? He had a lot to learn. "Have you at least heard of, you know...couples? Boyfriends and girlfriends? Husbands and wives? Partners and spouses?" he asked.

"I guess so," Eclipse shrugged. "I always thought that stuff was...stupid."

Ruin raised a brow and crossed their arms.

"But," Eclipse added with a sigh, "I guess dying and waking up a bunch of times...I don't know. I feel 'different' about it now, I guess."

"Different how, exactly?"

"Different, like..." Eclipse hesitated. He turned away and crossed his arms. "Maybe I wouldn't mind...being your partner," he added quietly.

"Is this a proposal?" Ruin asked jokingly.

Eclipse had never spun around so quickly. Had he turned any faster, he probably would have fallen over. "What?! No! I just- you were- we-!" he stammered. His face was hot again.

Ruin burst into a fit of laughter. "Relax, Eclipse! I was just joking!"

"What kind of sick joke is that?" Eclipse muttered. He looked away again in embarrassment. "We just decided we're more than friends..."

"I am sorry," Ruin apologized after catching his hypothetical breath. He smiled and took Eclipse's hand, just like he had done when they first met. "I would love to be your partner," he said softly.

Eclipse looked at him with wide eyes. "Really?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't I? I did say I love you, yes?"

Eclipse's face grew even hotter. He still wasn't used to that word — love. It was so strange, yet so...reassuring? "Yeah..." he said.

Ruin smiled and placed a hand on Eclipse's face, gently rubbing his cheek. "And I promise to love you for as long as we both shall live."

"I..." Eclipse started. He wasn't sure what he wanted to say. His head was spinning, but not in the way it was before when he was panicking. This time, it was almost as if he was overwhelmed by...positive emotions? There was so much he wanted to say, so much he wanted to do — but he didn't know how. So instead, almost against his will, he decided to change the subject.

"What exactly is the plan here?" he asked.

Ruin let go of him and tilted his head. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Like...what are we supposed to do now? Are there certain things we have to do, or..?"

Ruin let out an exasperated sigh and planted their head in their hands. "Oh dear..."

"What?"

"Eclipse, darling. There isn't a 'routine' for being in a relationship," Ruin explained. "All we 'have' to do is be there for each other, support each other, love and protect each other...anything else that happens is just a bonus!"

"Anything else?" Eclipse echoed.

"Don't worry about that for now," Ruin laughed nervously. "The point is, we have nothing to worry about. There is no need for a 'plan' right now. Things will just happen along the way!"

"Hm."

"Oh! I almost forgot," Ruin said, quickly changing the subject. He took off his hat and pulled out a small box. This was something he did quite often, pulling random objects from his hat. It never failed to surprise Eclipse, no matter how often it happened.

"What is that?" Eclipse asked, pointing at the box.

"It's for you!" Ruin said, handing him the box. "I made it myself."

Eclipse tilted his head and opened the box. Inside, there was a little bow, similar to the one Ruin was wearing around his neck. The only difference was that Ruin's was a light purple, while this one was a light reddish pink.

"A bowtie," Eclipse noted. "Huh."

"Try it on!" Ruin grinned excitedly. "Here, I'll help you."

Ruin grabbed the bow and reached up to Eclipse's neck. They made sure it was properly secured, adjusting it what seemed like several hundred times before finally letting go. "Perfect!"

Eclipse looked down at the tie. It felt weird at first, but he got used to it after a few seconds. He looked at Ruin's bowtie, then back at his own, repeating a few times.

"Now we're matching!" Ruin beamed, pointing at his own tie. He looked up at Eclipse, eagerly waiting for a response. "Do you like it?" he asked.

Eclipse couldn't help but smile again — but this time, it was different. Instead of a small, closed smile, Eclipse was smiling with his teeth.

Ruin's heart skipped a beat when he saw it. It surprised him, but it wasn't "bad" at all — in fact, he found it even more charming than Eclipse's "regular" smile. "E...clipse?" he asked, his face warming up.

Eclipse quickly shook his head as if trying to shake his smile away. "Yeah," he finally said. "I like it."

"I figured it would look good with your new outfit!" Ruin said, proudly crossing their arms. "And of course, I was correct."

Eclipse looked down at his tie again, staring at it for a moment. He looked back at Ruin, hesitating a little; he felt embarrassed again. "Thank you..." he finally muttered.

"What was that?" Ruin asked, holding his hand up to his nonexistent ear and leaning towards Eclipse as if trying to hear him better.

"I'm not saying it again," Eclipse scoffed.

Ruin smiled and shrugged. "It's a start!"

"That's all you're getting for now," Eclipse remarked, crossing his arms.

"Fair enough."

Ruin stared at Eclipse's bowtie, admiring how well it fit him. "You do like it, don't you?" they asked with a worried expression.

"I said I do, right? Why would I lie about that?" Eclipse asked.

"You seem...troubled," Ruin noted.

"This is a lot to get used to."

"The tie? Is it uncomfortable? I knew I should have used a different fabric!"

"No...this whole 'relationship' thing. Am I supposed to get you a gift now?"

"Eclipse."

"I'm serious. I don't know how this whole 'gift' thing works, either. I don't know anything..."

Ruin smiled and gently took Eclipse's hand again. "Relax...you will learn along the way."

Eclipse took a deep breath and exhaled. "Right." He paused for a moment, staring down at the tie again. "I really do like it," he said.

"I'm glad you do," Ruin replied softly. "But please stop stressing yourself out. I know this is very new to you, but I promise you it's not that complicated."

"You make a lot of promises," Eclipse scoffed.

"And I promise not to break any of them."

"Hm."

Ruin placed a hand on Eclipse's cheek again. "Everything will be okay," he said in a reassuring tone.

"Promise?" Eclipse asked, almost sarcastically.

"Promise."

***

Promises seemed to come naturally to Ruin. He promised a lot of things — and strangely enough, he never broke them. From smaller promises, like promising to make sure nobody bothered Eclipse while he was sleeping, to bigger promises, like promising to help Eclipse stay alive — Ruin never broke a promise.

Ruin promised to love Eclipse for as long as they were alive. Eclipse had his doubts at first; that was a huge promise, much bigger than just promising not to leave him. But Ruin was always so determined, especially when upholding a promise. Eclipse's doubts vanished when a few weeks had passed and Ruin still considered him a partner.

Eclipse was still learning how this whole "relationship" thing worked. The more time passed, the more he learned and the more he got used to it. He even started getting more comfortable with physical touch, going as far as being the one to initiate hugs or hand holding sometimes. He knew it made Ruin happy.

Genuine happiness wasn't something that Eclipse was familiar with — until now. For the first time throughout his entire four lives, Eclipse felt happy. He found actual joy in being with Ruin. It was a weird feeling, definitely something he wasn't used to. But once he understood that he was experiencing joy, it seemed to happen more often and become less complicated.

The peace that death once brought him was nothing compared to the peace that he felt when laying in silence with Ruin after a stressful day. Sure, he still wasn't great at expressing his thoughts and feelings, but he at least recognized that they were positive for once. Dying and waking up a bunch of times really changes a person, he supposed.

Unfortunately, though, the negativity in Eclipse's life didn't completely vanish. His own body seemed to have a personal vendetta against him; sometimes it was fine, and sometimes it was in excruciating pain. He seemed to get tired a lot more often now too, as if his battery was starting to give out. Maybe it was starting to give out — after all, he had reached "totality." His body was slowly shutting down. If he died again, he wouldn't come back. That fact kept eating at his mind, haunting him every time he was in any sort of pain.

The panic attacks didn't disappear either. The fact that this was Eclipse's final chance at life...scared him. He wouldn't get any more chances to make things right. If he messed up, that was it — he would be gone forever.

But Ruin never failed to help him — just like they promised they would. They assured him that, as long as the two of them were together, nothing could go wrong. Eclipse trusted and believed them, trying to focus more on the good parts of being alive. He planned on staying around for as long as possible.

Little did he know, however, that Ruin had some plans of his own.

Chapter Text

"What exactly is the plan here?" he asked.

That question repeated itself in Ruin's mind, echoing and taunting him every so often since the day Eclipse asked it. Plans — there were only so many. Ruin was always planning something, from small activities throughout the day to an entire week's roster. He planned on keeping Eclipse alive and loving him for eternity. So many plans, always something to do.

But that wasn't what was troubling Ruin about that question.

There was a much bigger plan in place. Something huge — something that came at the risk of losing everything. Ruin knew this plan was risky, but it needed to be done. It was for everyone's safety.

Unfortunately, there was a disruption in this plan: Eclipse.

Eclipse was never supposed to mean so much to Ruin. He wasn't supposed to mean anything, really — befriending him was a spontaneous decision. That was the first setback, though it didn't necessarily get in the way. Not as much as the second setback: falling in love with him. It was so hard to focus on the big idea when Eclipse became such an important factor. Not a factor in the plan itself, but a factor in Ruin's life. Now, Ruin did have something to lose if this plan were to backfire — or if anyone were to find out about it. It was best that they didn't know for now. They didn't need to know for now.

In the midst of Ruin's big plan, he decided to try to distract himself from the severity of it as much as possible. Was it fear? Guilt? Maybe it was both. Either way, Ruin enjoyed spending time with Eclipse as much as possible to take his mind off of it. But maybe, he figured, he needed to do more. Maybe he was ready to try to properly befriend more people.

The Celestial Family wasn't particularly thrilled when they found out Ruin and Eclipse were "more than friends" now. That was another thing Ruin hesitated to tell them. It wasn't that they weren't happy for them, but it was more so the fact that both Eclipse and Ruin were...less than trustworthy. Just them being friends was odd enough at first, but now that they were together romantically, who knew what they could get up to? Ruin assured them that nothing bad would come from their relationship, even joking that they should be thanking him for "keeping Eclipse busy." As usual, it seemed, the only one who wasn't openly disturbed by it was Solar.

Ruin admired Solar as a person. Solar was interesting in the sense that he was a Killcode Eclipse, like Eclipse himself, yet he was so...different. He wasn't harsh, nor was he as stubborn as other Eclipses (as far as Ruin was aware). He, like Eclipse, seemed to actually try when it came to trusting Ruin. This had been apparent for a few months now, since before Eclipse even arrived. Ruin didn't want to get his hopes up too high, but he figured it would be worth a shot. Even if it was temporary, he would have liked to have more friends.

After some thought, Ruin decided to approach Solar one day. For once, Solar didn't seem busy, so they figured it would be a good time to talk.

"Good evening, Solar!" Ruin beamed.

Solar quickly turned to face them, almost startled by their sudden appearance. "Uh...hi?"

"Are you busy with anything at the moment?" Ruin asked.

"No..." Solar said, slowly crossing his arms. "Why, do you need help with something?"

"No, no! I was just...wondering if we could talk."

Solar tilted his head. "Talk?" he echoed. "About what?"

"Anything, really."

"What?"

Ruin fidgeted with his hands as he spoke. "I know these past few months have been...odd. Everything with my past...'alliance' with Bloodmoon, and then Eclipse coming back...twice."

Solar raised a brow.

"And I just want to thank you," Ruin added.

"Thank me?"

"For everything you have done. You have shown me kindness and understanding where the others have shown a sort of...resentment. I appreciate you."

Solar smiled a little. "Hm."

"Is something wrong?" Ruin asked.

"No," Solar stated plainly. He paused for a moment before continuing. "Thank you for that."

"Of course! You deserve it."

Solar looked around briefly, as if looking for something else to talk about. "Was there a reason you wanted to talk?" he finally asked. "Where is this coming from?"

Ruin took a deep breath and exhaled. "I'll be honest with you, Solar. I think you are fascinating. You're not like most Eclipses."

Solar tilted his head again.

"Now, for the record," Ruin quickly added, "my heart belongs to Eclipse himself. But I would like to be your friend. If that's alright with you, of course!"

"Be my friend?" Solar echoed.

"I understand if you say no..."

Solar paused to think for a second. "Why would I say no?" he finally asked.

"Well, given my past...actions...the fact that nobody really trusts me is understandable," Ruin explained.

Solar sighed. "I know you're not that guy anymore," he said. "Sun and Moon cured you."

"They did, didn't they?"

"And I'll admit," Solar added, "I was a little suspicious for a while...But I think you've shown that you can be trusted. And I'm sorry if I was ever 'mean' to you about it."

Ruin smiled at him, placing a hand over their chest. "The funny thing is, I think you've been kinder to me than Sun and Moon combined. You have nothing to apologize for...but thank you."

Solar nodded, then looked around again for something to change the subject. God, this was awkward; he hadn't really had a long conversation with Ruin before, let alone a conversation without a real purpose. Their conversations were usually either questions or concerns about something, the main thing being Eclipse. Finally, Solar asked: "Where's 'the other guy'-...sorry. Where's Eclipse?"

Ruin couldn't help but find it amusing how Eclipse and Solar often referred to each other as anything but their actual names. While there was a part of him that hoped the two of them would get along someday, he knew it would likely take some time — plus the nicknames were pretty funny, he had to admit. "He's napping," he replied.

"Is that guy ever awake anymore?" Solar asked.

"I can't blame him for sleeping a lot...Total Eclipses tend to be weaker. Less energetic. Ironic when you think about an actual total eclipse, how they're so strong, you're not supposed to look directly at them...but Killcode Eclipses are obviously different." Ruin paused and frowned. "My poor Eclipse is slowly rotting. His body, his battery...he's so exhausted. I can't help but worry he won't be here for long..."

"He'll be fine," Solar said without much thought. He couldn't help but feel bad seeing the worried expression on Ruin's face. They really did love Eclipse. Solar didn't understand how anyone could love that guy, but regardless, somebody did.

"I know," Ruin said. "But I still worry about him."

"I guess that makes sense," Solar said with a shrug. "I mean, he's practically a zombie at this point..."

Ruin sighed and looked around, though he wasn't exactly sure what for. Finally, looking back at Solar sparked another question. It was more of a realization, really — Solar was in partiality. Ruin never really thought about it until now, but he wondered if that meant...

"Solar, may I ask you a question?"

"Sure?"

"Forgive me if this is too personal, but...have you died before?"

Solar's eyes widened. The question surprised him; it was so sudden. Then again, he knew that Ruin had been doing research on Killcode Eclipses before. Maybe he realized that he didn't look like a "brand new" Eclipse.

"Uh..." he finally said. "Yeah..."

"What happened?" Ruin asked.

Solar crossed his arms again and raised a brow.

"I'm sorry," Ruin quickly apologized. "That was rude of me."

"No, it's fine," Solar said. He wondered why they wanted to know, but there wasn't really any reason why he wouldn't tell them. It was in the past anyway. He took a deep breath and exhaled. "You know I'm not from this dimension."

Ruin nodded.

"Well," Solar added. He hesitated a little. "I moved here after...my Moon killed me."

Ruin's eyes widened. "What..?"

"Yeah...we didn't have the best relationship. Especially not after Sun..." Solar continued. He paused, his eyes beginning to well up with tears.

Ruin's heart sank. "I'm so sorry..."

"I don't like thinking about it. Can we talk about something else?" Solar asked, quickly drying his eyes.

"Of course," Ruin said softly. "I really am sorry, Solar..."

"It's fine."

There was an awkward silence for a moment before, finally, Solar got a call from Moon. "I have to go," he said to Ruin. "Talk more later?"

"Yes, of course. Go on, do whatever it is you have to do!" Ruin said with a smile, waving their hand as if to dismiss him.

Solar nodded and gave another small smile before leaving to take the call.

Ruin was relieved that the conversation went so well. It was a start! Hopefully there would be more conversations in the future. But he couldn't help but have questions: What happened to Solar's Sun? What was Solar's Moon like? If his relationship with his Moon was so bad, how come Solar was so close to this dimension's Moon? All questions that, hopefully, Solar would answer in the future.

But as soon as Solar left, a sudden rush of guilt crept into Ruin's stomach. The anxiety of that "big plan" — he could only distract himself from it for so long. But everything was under control so far. Why was he so worried?

Ruin took a deep breath and exhaled, then shook their arms as if trying to shake away their anxiety. They decided to go find Eclipse, maybe take a nap with him.

Sleeping was good, though Ruin didn't do it much. He discovered that being with Eclipse made sleeping ten times easier; his warm body soothed him in a way. While Ruin was pretty much always working on something, the occasional nap was always welcomed. Usually, Eclipse would be the one asking Ruin to take a nap with him, and that offer was almost never declined. Napping helped both of them relax and take their minds off of things. That's exactly what Ruin needed at this moment.

To Ruin's relief, Eclipse was still sleeping right where he had been earlier. He looked so peaceful, like there was nothing in the world that could bother him. Ruin smiled before carefully crawling next to him, trying not to wake him up.

"Hm?" Eclipse mumbled without opening his eyes. He was startled by the sudden feeling of someone next to him.

"Shh," Ruin hushed. "It's just me, darling."

Eclipse hummed and half-consciously pulled Ruin closer, immediately falling back asleep. Ruin's face warmed up as he wrapped his arms around him, immediately relaxing into his warmth.

"I love you so much," Ruin whispered before falling asleep.

***

A few days had passed since Ruin's first attempt at befriending Solar. The first conversation, though shorter than Ruin would have liked it to be, went better than they expected. It was a start. More talks were to come later.

Or so they thought.

One small issue — no, this issue was huge — would change everything. Ruin felt sick just thinking about it. There was nothing that could be done. He tried everything, tested every possible solution. Nothing could be done.

It was becoming more and more difficult to pretend. To pretend that everything was okay. To pretend that everyone knew the full truth. To pretend that the consequences of this "big plan" wouldn't be so severe. No, the consequences were already catching up to him. Ruin knew that there would be consequences. He just didn't realize they would come so quickly — or just how severe they would actually be.

Eclipse couldn't help but notice Ruin's troubled state. "Hey," he said one day.

"Hm?" Ruin replied.

"Are you...okay?" Eclipse asked.

Ruin tilted his head. "Whatever do you mean?"

Eclipse typically wasn't one for comforting people, let alone asking if they were okay. But Ruin was his partner; he felt obligated to ask. He noticed the changes in Ruin's behavior. How jumpy and quiet he had been recently. How he seemed to smile a little less and work a little more each day. Maybe it was just stress? Or maybe something else was going on. Either way, it bothered Eclipse. Something was clearly wrong.

"You seem...off," Eclipse replied.

"How so?"

"I don't know. You've been acting different."

There was a hint of frustration in Eclipse's tone, and Ruin must have picked up on it. He smiled and took Eclipse's hand, as he usually did when trying to reassure him. "I'm okay, love," he said. "I promise."

Eclipse narrowed his eyes. "What are you hiding?"

"What?"

"I know I'm not great with emotions, but I know there's something wrong."

Ruin's smile faded ever so slightly. He doesn't need to know. "I'm sorry, Eclipse," they started. "I've just been...very busy."

"Then rest," Eclipse scoffed. He hesitated a little before continuing. "I'm...worried," he muttered.

"About what?" Ruin asked, though they were fairly certain they knew the answer.

"You."

Ruin couldn't help but feel sick again. There was guilt, of course, and it was mixed with frustration and anxiety. Eclipse would have to learn the truth eventually — just not now.

"I'm okay," Ruin said again. His voice was soft, his smile almost completely faded but still there.

Eclipse crossed his arms. He knew something was off, and not knowing what it was frustrated him to no end. But for now, instead of arguing, he decided to play along. "Fine," he said with a shrug.

Ruin fidgeted with his hands, trying to think of something to say. He said he was fine, but his face said otherwise. He seemed...scared?

"There is something I need to do," Ruin finally said after some thought.

"Yeah?"

"I just...need to talk to Sun and Moon for a moment."

"Not by yourself," Eclipse remarked. He grabbed Ruin's hand without any thought.

Ruin managed to smile at him again. "I'll be back," they assured.

"Ruin..."

"I love you."

Eclipse frowned, still holding onto Ruin's hand. Now, he knew something was wrong; why would they want to talk to them?

Finally, without a word, Eclipse pulled Ruin into a hug. He knew Ruin liked hugs; maybe that would help them feel better? For some reason, Eclipse himself was starting to feel anxious. Maybe the hug would help with that, too?

Ruin, although surprised by the hug, held onto Eclipse tightly. He didn't want to let go, but he knew he had to. There was business to take care of.

"I'll be back," Ruin said again. He pulled from the hug, smiling up at Eclipse to the best of his ability.

"I'll be waiting," Eclipse muttered. He wanted to go with him, but something told him to stay behind and wait. Whatever this was, Ruin wanted to do it alone, and Eclipse supposed he should respect that.

Finally, with slight hesitation, Ruin completely let go of him. They took a deep breath and exhaled before leaving.

Eclipse stood there for a moment, his head beginning to swarm with questions. What was wrong? Why Sun and Moon? Why by himself? What was Ruin hiding? Why did he seem so afraid? Would he really be back?

Overthinking seemed to give Eclipse a headache. He groaned and held onto his head, closing his eyes tightly to try to ease some of the pain. It was times like this that made him hate having a body again. After holding onto his head and closing his eyes for a moment, he took a deep breath and sighed. Sleeping would help ease his mind, he figured.

So that's exactly what he did. He went to his usual spot to rest for a while; maybe it would pass the time. He hoped that Ruin would be there when he woke up, back to their usual, cheerful self. Surely everything was okay. Ruin promised.

Eclipse wasn't sure how much time had passed before his systems forcefully started back up. He was scared awake by the sound of his door bursting open, then the sound of a voice that definitely did not belong to Ruin.

"Get. Up."

Eclipse quickly sat up, looking around to try to see who was there. Damn his broken eye. Before his vision could fully focus, he was met with a swift punch to the face, knocking him back down. "Ah-!" he exclaimed.

"Moon, stop it!!" another voice cried. That voice was all too familiar; it belonged to Sun.

"GET UP!!" Moon repeated much louder.

"What the HELL?!" Eclipse spat, sitting back up and holding his face where Moon punched him. Now, he could clearly see them — and Ruin was nowhere to be found.

"Where is he? Where is Ruin?!" Eclipse asked, his voice shaky.

"You and your little 'boyfriend' are DEAD," Moon spat.

***

The conversation was painful. Ruin tried to remain calm, to explain everything.

Then Solar died.

It was out of Ruin's control. But it was still his fault. He apologized in advance, tried to explain to Sun and Moon what was happening and why. But that didn't stop anything. That didn't make up for the trillions of lives that were lost. That didn't make up for the fact that Moon had to watch Solar fade into nothingness in his arms.

Ruin was there when it happened. He didn't want to watch. He was turned away from the others, his entire body trembling and his eyes welling with tears. As soon as Moon screamed Solar's name, Ruin knew it was over. Solar was gone.

"I'm sorry..." Ruin whispered through tears.

"I should kill you where you stand!!" Moon yelled, standing up and preparing to charge towards him.

"No, no, Moon, wait!" Sun cried, quickly grabbing his brother's arm. "Maybe he knows how to bring him back..?"

"I don't know how to bring him back...Not in the way that you want him to be, anyway," Ruin said shakily. "If I did, believe me, I would. But there's no way to bring a person back from a complete dimensional collapse..."

"Why would we believe anything you say?!" Moon spat.

"You tricked us..!" Sun added.

"I saved you," Ruin said, finally turning to look at them. "But I deserve whatever you wish to do to me." He held his hands up in a surrendering motion.

Moon looked at Sun, then back at Ruin. "For now, I'm going to lock you up..."

"Whatever you wish to do..." Ruin said again.

Moon grabbed Ruin's arm, squeezing it a little too tight before pulling him out the door. For lack of a better prison cell, Moon ended up locking Ruin in the Parts and Service room of the Pizzaplex behind a glass wall.

"You're not going to speak unless spoken to," Moon said after locking the wall. "It's the least you can do if you actually respect me and my brother..."

Ruin nodded in understanding. "Very well..."

"I'm going to take away all of your motor functions," Moon added.

"May I at least keep my voice box?" Ruin asked.

"Yeah."

"And, Moon, before you go..." Ruin started.

Moon crossed his arms.

"I have one more request. I know I don't deserve it...But could you have it in your heart to let me see my Eclipse again? Just one last time...assuming I'm not leaving this spot anytime soon."

"Oh, you're gonna see Eclipse, alright," Moon scoffed. "He's as good as dead, just like you..."

"He had nothing to do with this..." Ruin said shakily. "Please, don't hurt him..."

Moon narrowed his eyes. "Solar is dead. I had to watch him die. What makes you think I won't make you watch Eclipse die now?"

Ruin's heart dropped. "Because you're not that kind of person..."

"You don't know me, Ruin. And clearly, we don't know you, either..."

Ruin watched as Moon left, unable to move. They couldn't reach out to him, couldn't hold onto themself for comfort...All they could do was watch.

He was alone. The room was empty, save the machinery that was typically used for repairs. Ruin was left alone, left to reflect on his actions and hate himself more and more for it. He knew he shouldn't have gotten so attached to these people. None of them were supposed to mean this much to him. Now Solar was dead, and Eclipse was about to hate him. Was destroying The Creator Council really worth it?

Yes, it was, he kept trying to convince himself. He had been working on this project for years. A few people could not get in the way of that. But at the same time, Ruin had grown quite fond of not being alone anymore. He missed having a connection with someone. Eclipse may have been a mistake, but God, was he a wonderful mistake...

Now, that was all about to be lost. That was Ruin's main regret. Trillions of lives, thousands of dimensions, wiped from existence — and all Ruin regretted was befriending Eclipse and Solar. This dimension was safe; he thought he could get away with making some friends here. He didn't take into account that Solar was from a different dimension, nor that his home dimension was to be destroyed. It was too late. When would Ruin learn to stop getting attached to people?

Ruin couldn't help but wonder if there was a dimension out there where he and Eclipse had never met. What would that have been like? Would that Ruin stay on task without letting feelings get in the way? Attachment was so dangerous — yet he hadn't really imagined life without Eclipse for the past few months. Now, he didn't really have a choice. Moon wasn't going to let him out of that room anytime soon, if ever.

Ruin wasn't sure how much time had passed before Moon came back, practically dragging Eclipse with him. Sun was on the other side of Eclipse, his face filled with worry. It was like they were dragging in another prisoner.

"Eclipse..." Ruin said softly.

Sun and Moon let Eclipse go. He ran up to the wall, hyperventilating and shaking. "Ruin..." he said. "What the hell is going on..?"

"Can we have a moment alone?" Ruin asked, directed at Sun and Moon.

"Don't try anything," Moon muttered. He and Sun left the room to let them talk.

"Ruin..."

"Eclipse...Please, let me explain everything."

Eclipse put his hand up to the glass, staring down at Ruin with confusion and fear. He remembered the day they met, how he locked Ruin in a cell and had originally planned to leave him there. Now, here they were months later, in the same situation — except this time, Eclipse didn't trap him. And this time, Eclipse wanted to let him out on his own free will.

"I can't move," Ruin frowned. "I'm sorry..."

"Ruin."

"I know. You have questions. I can explain...if you'll let me."

Eclipse said nothing, still holding his hand up to the glass.

Ruin took a deep breath and exhaled. "First and foremost, I need you to know that I love you more than anything in this world. Anything in any world."

Eclipse slowly nodded.

"But I haven't been completely honest with you," Ruin added.

Eclipse tilted his head.

Ruin tried to remain calm, but their anxiety was larger than the room itself. They took another deep breath. "There is a...project. I've been working on this project for a few years now."

"So you had to kill Solar for it?" Eclipse asked.

Ruin's heart dropped. Sun and Moon had already told him that part, at least. Hopefully that was the only thing; he needed to hear one particular part from Ruin himself.

"I didn't want to. I tried to find a way to avoid it," Ruin muttered.

"Why is he dead?"

No going back now. "He is...one of trillions. Around ten thousand dimensions in total have been lost...because of me," Ruin explained with hesitation.

Eclipse's eyes widened. "What?"

"I know..."

"So that's what you've been so 'busy' with?" Eclipse asked, crossing his arms. A few years ago, he probably would have admired Ruin even more for this. But Eclipse wasn't like that anymore. Instead of feeling proud (though he was, admittedly, impressed), he couldn't help but question why they would do something like this.

"Eclipse...I really wish I could hold your hand one last time. There is something else you need to know before I explain more," Ruin said shakily.

Eclipse raised a brow.

Ruin took a deep breath again, but instead of exhaling, he held it for a moment. He felt like he couldn't breathe as tears welled up in his eyes.

"I'm...the one...that brought you back."

Chapter Text

"You and your little 'boyfriend' are DEAD," Moon spat.

"Dead..?" Eclipse echoed. He started to shake, but he tried to remain calm. "What do you...is he..?"

"Ruin isn't actually dead," Sun clarified.

"He will be!" Moon retorted. "Him and Eclipse!"

"What the hell are you on about?" Eclipse asked, fully standing up. Moon backed away a little bit, perhaps forgetting how tall Eclipse actually was for a moment.

"I knew we should have never trusted you two..." Moon muttered. "We should have killed him a long time ago. Then we could have gotten rid of you a lot sooner."

Eclipse raised a brow. "What, did you just come in here to hit me and insult my relationship?"

"No..." Sun said.

"Solar is dead..." Moon added.

Eclipse blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Don't act stupid," Moon scoffed. "You mean to tell me you didn't know?"

"Why would I concern myself with whether or not that guy is alive?"

"Because Ruin killed him..." Sun muttered shakily.

Eclipse froze. Ruin killed Solar? That couldn't be right. Ruin had talked about wanting to be Solar's friend at some point. Ruin didn't kill people, at least not anymore. This had to be a mistake.

"Ruin killed Solar?" Eclipse echoed. "Are you sure?"

"We were right there when it happened. I had to watch him die in my arms," Moon spat.

Eclipse said nothing, which didn't really help his case. Sun and Moon must have suspected that he had a part in it. Why wouldn't they? But he had no idea. What happened? Why did it happen? This didn't make sense...

"Ruin is already locked away," Moon continued. "Before I decide what to do with you, he wants to see you."

"What..?" Eclipse asked, his tone more worried now.

Moon grabbed Eclipse's arm without saying anything else. His grip was tight, causing Eclipse to wince in pain.

Sun hurried to the other side, grabbing Eclipse's other arm a little less intensely. He was shaking, very clearly afraid, but his grip was firm.

Eclipse's mind was swarming with thoughts and questions as they practically dragged him out of the room. This had to be a mistake. Maybe someone was trying to set Ruin up? Why would he want to kill Solar? Was that why he had to leave earlier? Was that why he seemed so off?

Eclipse knew that Sun and Moon were talking, but he couldn't process what they were saying. He was too lost in his own mind, trying to figure out what was happening and why. Eventually, he started hyperventilating and shaking. He tried to take deep breaths; the last thing he wanted was for Sun and Moon to see him panic.

Finally, they made it to the Parts and Service room. Seeing Ruin locked behind that glass wall snapped Eclipse out of his thoughts. He still had so many questions — but his desire to break them out of there was much stronger than any suspicions he had.

"Eclipse..." Ruin said softly.

Sun and Moon let Eclipse go. He ran up to the wall, hyperventilating and shaking. "Ruin..." he said. "What the hell is going on..?"

***

Eclipse's heart dropped. A cold chill ran down his mechanical spine. His rays retracted ever so slightly. "What..?" he asked shakily.

"I am so, so sorry, Eclipse...I didn't want you to find out like this..." Ruin managed as more tears tried to escape his eyes.

Eclipse took his hand off of the glass and backed away. He was shaking again, much more visibly than before. He held onto himself, staring at Ruin in disbelief. He didn't know what to say. His mind was flooding with thoughts, so many thoughts and questions and realizations that he couldn't form anything coherent.

"You..." he started. His breathing grew rapid as tears welled up in his own eyes. "You lied to me..!"

"I was going to tell you eventually...I just didn't want it to be so soon. Or like this..."

"You lied to me..." Eclipse repeated, backing away even more. "You...you were pretending to help me this entire time..!"

"Eclipse..."

"WHY?!"

Ruin would have flinched if he could have moved. "I really did want to help you, Eclipse..."

"Why did you bring me back? Do you know how stupid that is..? You didn't even know me!!"

Ruin took a deep breath and tried to swallow their pain. "I will be completely honest with you...because I love you and you deserve-"

"Do you love me, Ruin?! Or were you lying about that, too?!" Eclipse interrupted. The hurt in his voice made the tears start rolling down Ruin's face.

"I do..." Ruin squeaked. He wished he could have at least reached out for Eclipse. They were separated, not only by the wall, but by the fact that Moon took away Ruin's ability to move. All he could do was watch.

Eclipse held onto his head, pacing around the room and trying to process everything. "I can't believe this..." he muttered shakily. He turned to face Ruin again, his eyes wide and teary. He was still shaking. There was something he never managed to say properly, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to say it anymore; it was too late. Yet still, for some reason, he felt the need to get it out right at this moment.

"I loved you. I really did, Ruin..."

Ruin's eyes widened. That was the first time Eclipse had actually said that — and it was in past tense. "Loved..?"

"I don't know if I can anymore..."

Ruin's heart sank. "Eclipse, my love-"

"I trusted you," Eclipse interrupted. "I told you things about myself that nobody else knew, not even Killcode when we were still close...What, were you just using me for information? A way to get closer to those guys?"

There was a long pause. Ruin felt sick with guilt and sorrow. Finally, they spoke again, not quite answering the question. "I may not have been honest about this...project. But one thing I have been completely honest about is my love for you. I will admit, it was never supposed to happen. But I really do love you...I love you so much, Eclipse..."

"Why am I here?" Eclipse asked. "Why did you need to revive me twice?"

"No, no...I only brought you back the first time. Though I later learned you would have been back eventually anyway...I just sped up the process. That second time had nothing to do with me."

"Why?"

Ruin paused again. He wasn't sure how to explain this in a way that wouldn't hurt Eclipse even more. It was already too late, he figured. So finally, he sighed and responded. "You were...meant to be a...distraction...of sorts..."

"A distraction?" Eclipse echoed.

"Yes...something to keep Sun and Moon occupied while I did my work. See, if they knew what I was up to, then...they probably would have locked me away a lot sooner. I know it's terrible...but believe me when I say destroying The Creator Council was for the benefit of everyone," Ruin added.

Eclipse paused, not knowing what to say. All this time, all those moments that he considered "special" — and all he was supposed to be was a distraction.

"But I grew to love you. You mean so much more to me than a distraction..." Ruin continued. "I wanted to finish this project, then move us out of this dimension to start a new life together. And I'm sorry that couldn't happen...I'm afraid I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

Eclipse still said nothing. He was trying to process everything, his mind beginning to overflow with thoughts. Tears were rolling down his face, yet he made no noise. He just stared at the ground, trying to figure out what to do. He tricked me. He tricked me. He tricked me. He started to shake again.

"Eclipse..?" Ruin asked.

"I really do want to believe you..." Eclipse muttered shakily. "I...love you..."

"I love you, too!"

Eclipse slowly walked up to the wall again, staring down at Ruin with teary eyes. His entire body was shaking.

"I understand if you don't believe me...but I promise I love you more than anything," Ruin said.

Promise. There went that word again. Ruin promised that everything was okay. Yet here they were, immobilized, locked behind a glass wall, telling Eclipse that they were never supposed to be in love.

Eclipse hated that he still loved him. He wasn't sure what was true and what wasn't anymore — yet for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to hate Ruin. They did have a lot of cherished memories together, a lot of special moments. It all seemed real. Ruin promised it was real. Why wouldn't it be real?

Real or not, Ruin helped Eclipse learn how to love. He helped him learn how to calm down. How to relax and enjoy small things like napping and eating. Ruin saved him...didn't he?

Eclipse had a raging headache from trying to organize his thoughts and process everything he was being told. He still didn't say anything, but his face showed that he was in pain.

"Eclipse..?" Ruin asked again.

It was so sudden. Without a word, Eclipse started smashing his head against the wall, seeming to get more intense each time.

"Eclipse!!" Ruin exclaimed.

"You...lied...about...everything!!" Eclipse yelled between hits.

"Eclipse, stop it!!!"

"Why...do...I...still...love you?!"

"Eclipse!!!"

Oil started leaking from Eclipse's head as the glass began to crack. He paused, taking heavy breaths and staring at Ruin. "I don't know...what to believe anymore...and it's really goddamn frustrating..." he said through breaths.

"Eclipse, please stop..!" Ruin sobbed. "You're hurting yourself!!"

Eclipse paused, his body shaking with pain and the animatronic equivalent of adrenaline. Finally, he asked: "Do you really care?"

"What..?"

Eclipse took a deep breath and gave one final blow to the glass. He held onto his head and groaned as the glass shattered, exposing Ruin to the rest of the room.

"Eclipse!!"

Eclipse paused, staring down at the shattered glass, then staring at Ruin. "I really...really want to believe you..."

"Then believe me..." Ruin said softly. "Because I am telling you the truth. I love you so much..."

Eclipse thought for a moment before slowly walking up to Ruin. His vision was getting blurry, but he managed to reach behind Ruin's head and under their hat. Hopefully this works. He pressed a few buttons, listening for the startup sounds. Finally, as soon as he heard the little "Ding!" he fell over.

"Eclipse?!" Ruin exclaimed, quickly turning around and kneeling beside him. "Eclipse, wake up!!"

***

Eclipse wasn't sure how long he had been unconscious before his systems gradually powered back on. That's how he knew he wasn't dead; waking up from death was a lot more harsh. The first sense that returned to him was his sense of hearing. He could hear Ruin's voice, faint and muffled at first, pleading for him to wake up.

Please, wake up...

Next was his sense of touch. He could feel that he was no longer on the cold, glass-ridden floor. Instead, it seemed like he was on a makeshift bed of sorts, carefully pieced together by pillows and blankets. He also felt Ruin's shaky hands holding onto his arm.

Wake up, my love...

Their voice was a little clearer now.

Finally, after a lot of adjusting, Eclipse's vision came back to him. Seeing almost felt like a chore when waking up ever since he reached totality; only one eye was worth anything anymore. Despite that, however, Eclipse couldn't help but feel an odd sense of comfort when he finally saw Ruin's face.

Ruin let out a small gasp when he saw Eclipse's eyes open. "Eclipse..?"

"Ru-?" Eclipse started. He was interrupted by a sharp pain in his head. "Agh..!"

"Shh, please, be careful..." Ruin hushed. "Try to relax..."

Eclipse's memory started coming back to him. He remembered Ruin being trapped. He remembered breaking the glass. He remembered restoring Ruin's motor functions.

Most importantly, though, he remembered learning the truth about everything. How Ruin was the one that brought him back this entire time. How they were never supposed to be friends, let alone in love with each other. How pretty much everything was a lie — except for one thing.

Eclipse remembered the words "I love you" being thrown out a lot of times during that conversation. Despite everything, for some reason, Eclipse wanted to believe that it was true. He knew it was probably wrong — but he couldn't stop loving Ruin. He had never "loved" anyone before, especially not to this extent. Sure, it was a lot to get used to, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized just how important Ruin was to him.

Eclipse didn't say a word. He stared at Ruin, unsure of what to say, just admiring their presence. The fact that they were by his side at all must have been proof that they did love him — right? The truth was out. They could have left him there to die. But instead, they waited for him to wake up. Maybe they did actually love him.

"Are you alright?" Ruin asked, gently placing their hand on Eclipse's forehead.

Eclipse winced a little, then glanced around to the best of his ability. The room was definitely different; it was a lot dimmer, and where did the pillows and blankets come from? There was no shattered glass or machinery. It felt a lot more...safe?

"Where are we?" Eclipse finally asked.

"We are safe here," Ruin said softly. "Sun and Moon can't find us here...We're sort of underground."

"Underground?" Eclipse echoed.

"I built this little 'hideaway' a few months ago, just in case I ever needed to hide from them. There's a protective barrier around it, so nobody has access to us unless I allow it," Ruin explained.

Eclipse had several questions. How did Ruin drag him down there? How did he avoid getting caught by Sun and Moon? Why was he just now mentioning this "hideaway" when they could have just lived there together this entire time? But nevermind all of that — they were finally together, just the two of them, without having to worry about Sun and Moon.

"Huh..." Eclipse said.

Ruin frowned, still feeling that aching sense of guilt from before. "I am so, so sorry, Eclipse...I should have been honest with you," he started. There was a pause before he continued. "I understand if...you no longer wish to be together..."

Eclipse's eyes widened. "What..?"

"I was dishonest. I'm the one who revived you. I've done terrible things, all for some selfish mission...How could you still love me after that?" Ruin added, his eyes welling with tears.

Eclipse frowned and averted his eyes. He didn't know how he could still love them after that — but regardless, he did. He looked up at Ruin again, slowly placing his hand on their face and holding their cheek. Usually it was the other way around, but Eclipse must have felt like it was the right thing to do.

Ruin wiped his eyes and looked down at Eclipse with shock. "Eclipse..?" he asked.

"Why would I want to leave you?"

"What..?"

"You're the only one here who ever gave a damn about me."

Ruin tilted his head into Eclipse's hand and closed his eyes.

"I...can't...leave you..." Eclipse added hesitantly, his face warming up.

Ruin smiled at him, their own face warming up, too. There was a moment of silence, just the two of them staring at each other, a million thoughts rushing through both of their heads. But one thought in particular stuck out, at least in Ruin's mind.

Without a word, Ruin crawled on top of Eclipse, moving slowly to avoid hurting or scaring him.

Eclipse's eyes widened again. What is he doing?

"I love you...you know that, right?" Ruin said softly, almost whispering.

Eclipse thought for a moment, his face growing even warmer. "Yeah..."

This moment, neither of them would ever forget. Ruin smiled at him, slowly leaning down until their faces were only an inch apart.

Eclipse wanted to say something, to ask what was happening, to say that he loved him, too. But no words came out — he was frozen.

As soon as Eclipse opened his mouth to speak, it happened. Ruin pulled himself closer to Eclipse — and their lips finally touched.

Chapter Text

"I understand if you don't believe me...but I promise I love you more than anything," Ruin said.

It took Eclipse by surprise. It felt so sudden — but for some reason, he didn't want to pull away. This moment, more than any other moment, he knew that Ruin had been telling the truth before. They did love him more than anything, and right at this moment, the entire world was just the two of them.

The second their lips met, aside from the initial shock of it, all doubts left Eclipse's mind. He had never kissed anyone before, but he knew it was meant to be something special. He had thought about kissing Ruin before, though he wasn't entirely sure when or how it would happen; it was more of a "what if" thought. He never thought it would actually happen, let alone after finding out that Ruin was essentially a mass murderer, yet here they were.

It only lasted for a few seconds before Ruin pulled away, their face hot and their expression just as shocked as Eclipse's. "I am...so sorry," they apologized shakily.

Eclipse stared up at him, not saying a word. Was it because he didn't know what to say? Or was it because he didn't want it to end so suddenly? Maybe it was both. Either way, he found himself reaching his hand for Ruin's face again, his other hand slowly reaching across his waist.

"Eclipse..?" Ruin asked.

Without a word, nor a second thought, Eclipse pulled himself up, allowing their lips to meet again. He held onto Ruin, his grasp firm but not harsh. He closed his eyes, melting into the moment.

This time, it was Ruin's turn to be caught off guard. He was expecting a question, or even for Eclipse to push him away. But no — instead of being offended or disgusted, Eclipse pulled him into another kiss. While it did surprise Ruin initially, he quickly accepted it, closing his eyes and holding onto Eclipse's face.

Eclipse wasn't sure why he did it. Maybe it was a spontaneous decision, completely driven by that same animatronic equivalent of adrenaline as before. But what confused him even more was that it felt so...nice. He never thought he would do anything like this. He didn't expect it to be so...relaxing? Once he settled into it, it definitely felt like he was safe somehow. Like absolutely nothing could hurt him anymore. Ruin's gentle warmth and soft lips were all he needed.

This kiss seemed to last a lot longer. This time, Ruin didn't pull away so quickly — if anything, he only pulled himself closer to Eclipse. He could feel how warm Eclipse's face was, how surprisingly gentle his lips were. It was amazing — a much needed moment of peace and, in a way, reassurance. Eclipse wasn't going anywhere; he still loved him. Ruin wanted to hold onto him forever.

Eclipse finally sat up, wrapping both arms around Ruin's waist now. He avoided putting too much pressure on them; their body was so much smaller than his. Still, though, his grasp was firm, like he had no intention of letting them go anytime soon.

Ruin, taken by surprise yet again, wrapped his arms around Eclipse's shoulders. Before long, he gently pressed down on Eclipse's back, pulling him on top of him. Only then did the kiss finally break, the two of them staring at each other with a mix of bewilderment and joy.

"What are we doing?" Eclipse asked, breathing heavily.

Ruin hummed, staring up at him and smiling. "Whatever we want," they whispered after some thought.

Eclipse paused to think for a moment. He would be lying if he said he wasn't a little scared; this was all entirely new to him. What did he want to do? Maybe he wanted to kiss Ruin again. Maybe he just wanted to stare at him. Maybe he just wanted to lay there with him, tuning out the rest of the world forever.

As tantalizing as the kiss was, though, Eclipse couldn't help but think about everything he had learned earlier. Ruin brought him back from the dead. Ruin lied about helping him. Ruin made a false promise that everything would be okay.

Then another thought crept into Eclipse's mind. He frowned, rolling off of Ruin and staring at the ceiling. He noticed that the ceiling had been decorated to look like the night sky: glow-in-the-dark stars, hand-crafted planets, even some fake clouds scattered about. As pretty as it was, however, Eclipse seemed...troubled.

"Eclipse?" Ruin asked, turning to face him. "I'm sorry, is this too much?" they added with a frown.

Eclipse hesitated to respond. It was a stupid thought, he kept trying to convince himself. Still, though, it echoed through his mind with no intention of stopping until he said anything about it. So, finally, he took a deep breath and asked: "Did you kill me?"

Ruin's heart skipped a beat. "What..?"

"When Lunar killed me...did you tell me to go to him somehow?"

Ruin paused to think. Why would he think that? Was it not abundantly clear at this point that he loved him? He would never kill him...

At least, not on purpose.

The sudden realization punched Ruin in the metaphorical stomach. His heart dropped, his rays retracting ever so slightly. His computer — the one he used to upload Eclipse's code — had malfunctioned the night Eclipse died.

"Oh, Eclipse..." Ruin said softly.

"Did you kill me?" Eclipse repeated.

Ruin could feel the tears creeping into their eyes, but they tried to remain calm. "I would never want to kill you..."

Eclipse looked at them with a doubtful expression.

"I...I didn't mean to..!" Ruin added shakily. He couldn't stop the tears from pouring out. "I'm so sorry, Eclipse!!" he sobbed.

Eclipse's expression shifted from doubt to concern. Ruin basically admitted that it was his fault — but his tears seemed genuine. Still, though, Eclipse had questions.

"All those times it seemed like I was out of my own control...that was you, too?"

Ruin couldn't help but cry harder. It was all a mistake — he never wanted it to happen. Every so often, there were malfunctions in either the computer itself or Eclipse's code. Ruin never wanted to "control" Eclipse. But that didn't change the fact that it happened. That didn't change the fact that he killed him.

"God, why are you still here?!" Ruin sobbed. "No amount of love I could give you will possibly make up for what I've done..."

Eclipse frowned, looking up at the ceiling again. He didn't know what to say. Didn't know what to do. He had never seen Ruin cry so much before; it was somewhat uncomfortable. He didn't know how to comfort him — if he even could. Eventually, he turned to face him again, not saying a word.

Ruin was facing away now, holding onto himself in the fetal position. Tears were still streaming from his eyes, accompanied by sniffling and the occasional faint "I'm sorry..."

Eclipse hesitantly reached his arm across Ruin's body, causing Ruin to jump in surprise.

"E-?" Ruin started.

"I'm still here because I chose to be...remember?" Eclipse interrupted. "I don't know why. But I still...want to be here with you."

"I wish you knew how much I love you..." Ruin replied, wiping their eyes.

Eclipse paused to think for a moment before pulling Ruin a little closer to him.

Ruin sniffled and looked over their shoulder. Eclipse didn't look angry or upset — he seemed more worried than anything. Not long after making eye contact with Ruin, though, that familiar small smile crept onto his face.

Ruin finally smiled back at him, his face growing warm again. He turned his body so that he was fully facing Eclipse again. "I'm so sorry, my love..." he whispered.

"Stop apologizing," Eclipse said, closing his eyes and pulling Ruin even closer. "I'm here now, aren't I?"

Ruin wrapped their arms around Eclipse, holding onto him tightly. "Yes..." they mumbled, burying their face into Eclipse's chest.

Eclipse couldn't help but smile wider, his face warming up. He had taken naps with Ruin plenty of times, most of which involving the two of them holding onto each other. But this felt...different, in a way. There was an extra sense of security, more so than there was before. That feeling of complete safety, like nothing in the world could harm either of them anymore, came back to Eclipse as he held onto Ruin. Finally, as much as he was still getting used to these words, he mustered up the courage to say them properly, trying his best not to hesitate. Why would he hesitate if he really meant it?

"I love you, Ruin."

Ruin looked up at him, almost in surprise. He smiled, not saying a word before planting a quick kiss on Eclipse's cheek. "I love you, too..."

Eclipse's face grew warmer as he held onto Ruin, his arms resting gently around their body. He could feel himself getting tired; it was bound to happen eventually. Finally, he closed his eyes, slowly powering off.

***

Hey.

That voice was...familiar. And not in a good way — but how could that be?

Wake up.

No, that couldn't be right. How..?

Wake. Up.

The voice grew louder and more clear as Eclipse opened his eyes, trying to adjust his senses. He didn't feel Ruin or the pillows and blankets anymore. In fact, he wasn't laying down at all; somehow, he was standing up. The environment was different, too — and all too familiar. It was that same cloudy void that Eclipse had been stuck in years ago, back when he was trapped in Sun's head.

But how? Ruin said that Sun and Moon wouldn't have been able to find them. How did he get here? This couldn't be happening. No, not again...

"What..?" Eclipse finally said, looking around in a panic.

"God, when did we get so tired all the time?" that painfully familiar voice taunted. "We never slept this much before."

When Eclipse finally spotted the source of the voice, his heart dropped. He was sure he had been going insane at this point. It was like he was looking in a mirror — but something was different. This "reflection" wasn't him — not anymore. It was a lot lighter, almost an exact copy of Sun, the main differences being the outfit and the secondary set of rays. Eclipse was staring into the piercing yellow eyes of his very first form.

"We've gotten a lot weaker, haven't we?" the past Eclipse scoffed. "Pathetic."

"What the hell..?"

"What, haven't you looked in a mirror? Oh, wait. You're not like me anymore, right?"

The darker Eclipse stared in disbelief as his younger self mocked him. How was this happening? Was he dead? No, that couldn't be it. Death was quiet and dark. Not...whatever this was.

"You know, I never thought we would get to this point. 'Totality!'" the Sun-like Eclipse said, throwing up jazz hands at the word "totality."

Eclipse said nothing, still staring at him.

"I thought total eclipses were meant to be...you know. Strong. Powerful. Something to be...admired. But you? — Ha! — I've never seen anything more disappointing."

"Are you just here to insult me?" Total Eclipse finally asked.

"You've always hated yourself. I'm just a friendly reminder of that!" the younger Eclipse said with a shrug.

Eclipse narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out how to respond. Before he could, though, he felt a slap on the left side of his face. "Hey-!" he exclaimed, quickly turning to see the source. Sure enough, it was himself, grinning deviously at the sight of his distress.

"Can't even see from this eye anymore," his past self noted, crossing his arms. "You know, we would be a lot stronger if I had anything to do with it. But that guy...What's his name? Oh, right...'Ruin.'"

Total Eclipse's heart dropped. "Leave him out of this..."

The lighter Eclipse raised a brow. "You really think that guy 'loves' you?" he asked. "Nobody has ever loved us. Why would that freak be any different?"

Eclipse clenched his fists, resisting the urge to punch himself in the face. More so his past self — but maybe he wanted to actually punch himself, too, just to see if he was dreaming.

"Ruin is different..." Eclipse muttered. "He cares about me...but you wouldn't know anything about what that's like, would you?"

"If he 'cares about us' so much, then why would he let our body rot away like this?" the younger Eclipse retorted. "He built Bloodmoon from scratch. He could have given us an upgrade, at least..."

Eclipse crossed his arms, unsure of what to say. An upgrade would have been nice, but there had to be a reason why Ruin didn't give him one — right?

"You know..." Eclipse finally said. "I may not be 'strong' and 'powerful' like you wanted us to be...but the only 'disappointment' here is you."

The past Eclipse scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. You and I both know we were actually worth something when I was around. But sure, keep telling yourself that!"

Total Eclipse said nothing, staring down at his past self with disgust.

"Oh, by the way," the Sun-like Eclipse added. "I'm not the only one here to see you."

Eclipse tilted his head. "What?"

"Turn around."

So Eclipse did just that — and what he saw was even more baffling. Now, he was staring into the eyes of yet another version of himself, this one looking an unfortunate amount like Solar.

"What-?" Eclipse said, looking back. But his first form was gone. Now, it was just him and his second self.

"You seem surprised," the partial Eclipse noted. "Damn, what happened to us?"

"Oh, great," Total Eclipse muttered. "Let me guess, you're here to have the same conversation?"

"Not exactly," Partial Eclipse remarked, stepping closer. "I can't say I'm not...impressed, in a way."

The darker Eclipse raised a brow.

"Look at you. Not killing anyone. Not trying to gain power. Surprising, but smart — if you want to keep that Ruin of yours around for long, that is."

Eclipse clenched his fists again. How did these guys know about Ruin? How were they even there? What kind of twisted nightmare was this?

"Easy, buddy. Just stating the obvious," Partial Eclipse said, noticing his future self's anger. "Need I remind you of everything...everyone we've lost?"

Eclipse said nothing. He didn't need a reminder — and, quite frankly, he didn't want to think about it.

"Killcode. Bloodmoon. Lunar."

There was a pause as the two Eclipses stared at each other. Finally, the lighter of the two added: "Solar Flare."

Total Eclipse's rays slightly retracted. "I get it..." he muttered, crossing his arms. "But you know, we lost them because of you."

"Oh, I know. And I almost regret it — but that's your job now, isn't it?" Partial Eclipse remarked.

"What are you getting at here?"

"We regret everything now, don't we? I was just a tad bit too late. Murdered before getting a chance to...figure myself out."

Eclipse raised a brow again.

"But thanks to Ruin," the younger one added, "we got another chance. Don't make the same mistakes I did..."

"I didn't plan on it."

"Good. Because you may want to hold onto this one as long as you can."

Partial Eclipse walked forward, moving past his future self as he spoke, glaring at him with stern eyes.

"What do you mean by that?" Eclipse asked, turning to face him. But Partial Eclipse wasn't there anymore; instead, Eclipse was met with the same yellow eyes, but more tired and defeated. The owner of said eyes, though, didn't look like Solar anymore — he was more red, with chipped rays and an all-orange shirt under his signature black vest instead of the partiality stage's orange and red one. It was Eclipse's third form, who had only died a few weeks prior.

"So that's what that feeling was, huh?" the red Eclipse said. "I was...in love with him..."

"You still are," Total Eclipse replied, not even questioning how or why his past selves were there anymore.

"Hm."

Eclipse tilted his head, looking his past self up and down. "What?"

"I wish...I would have said something sooner."

"We're with him now," the darker Eclipse said, almost in confusion.

"Do you really think that will last forever?"

Total Eclipse blinked in confusion. "What are you on about?"

The annular Eclipse scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief. "He brought me back...he was lying to us this entire time. Do you think...he really loves us?"

"Oh, please. You realize how much sleep I've lost over that question? Even before I found out he brought us back..."

"Well, I know one thing is for sure," the red Eclipse said, crossing his arms. "Even if Ruin does love us, everyone else wants us dead."

It was at this point that Total Eclipse realized he must have been dreaming. He knew that he had fallen asleep with Ruin, and that they were safe wherever they were hidden. "They can't find us here," he finally said after some thought.

"We're safe for now, sure. But how long will that last?"

"Ruin is protecting us. He does love us...I know that was hard for you to believe and come to terms with, but I know that he loves me," Eclipse retorted.

The red Eclipse frowned, turning away. "Even if that's true...there's another issue."

Total Eclipse tilted his head.

Before another word was spoken, all three of the past Eclipses were suddenly surrounding their final form, walking around him in a circle. Total Eclipse jumped in surprise when the first version of himself started talking again.

"That inferior Eclipse!"

"The one that helped kill me," the second Eclipse chimed in.

"Everyone loved that guy..." the third added.

Eclipse looked around in a panic as his past selves circled him like vultures. "What?" was all he managed to say.

The three dead Eclipses continued to speak in order.

"He's dead now, right?"

"Ruin killed him."

"I still can't believe it..."

Total Eclipse continued to look around, shaking with slight fear.

"Sun and Moon are so upset!"

"They're already trying to bring him back."

"They'd kill you if you left this spot..."

Eclipse took a deep breath and exhaled. "I don't plan on leaving..."

"Oh, you are such a coward!"

"What, you're just gonna sit here forever?"

"There is something you can do..."

Suddenly, the dead Eclipses stopped walking. They were still surrounding their living counterpart, glaring at him as if to say "Don't you dare try to run." Total Eclipse looked around at each of them, trying not to express his fear.

"You want to make up for everything we've done, right?" the first Eclipse asked with his usual snarky tone.

Eclipse said nothing.

"I never got the chance to fully realize that's what I wanted," the second added.

"And I died as soon as I finally figured it out..." the third muttered.

Eclipse glanced around at each of them. Sure, maybe there was a part of him that did regret everything those three, more so the first two, had done before. But his main focus at the moment was staying with Ruin. What were those three trying to say?

"Think about it," the first Eclipse said. "No matter what you do, you're going to die."

Total Eclipse crossed his arms and scoffed.

"You can sit here and slowly rot away," Partial Eclipse started. "Or you can go out there and get killed by Sun and Moon."

"Unless," the third Eclipse added, "you show them that you're not us anymore..."

"What, you want me to get on my knees and beg for their forgiveness?" Total Eclipse asked sarcastically.

The Sun-like Eclipse only laughed in response.

"You could try that, if you want them to shoot you dead on the spot," the partiality stage said.

"Or...you could help them bring Solar back," the red Eclipse added.

Total Eclipse blinked in confusion. "Why the hell would I do that?"

"Don't you want to prove yourself?"

"To make up for our mistakes?"

"To show them that Ruin was right about us?"

Eclipse paused to think for a moment. Ruin had seen the good in him since they met him, for whatever reason. That part, at least, was true. But what did that have to do with Solar?

"How would I even do it?" Eclipse asked, staring at the ground. "The guy's entire dimension was wiped out. His code is gone, right?"

"He's an Eclipse, isn't he?" the lightest Eclipse remarked.

"His code isn't much different from ours," the second added.

This time, the third Eclipse stayed silent, which, admittedly, worried the fourth. Finally, after a moment of silence, he spoke. "Enjoy your time with Ruin for as long as you can."

"What..?" Total Eclipse asked.

"You wanna be a 'hero,' don't you?" the first Eclipse asked.

"Don't you want to show everyone that you can do something good before our time is up forever?" the second added.

The third hesitated again. "Plus...do we really need to stay around for that long?"

The final Eclipse tilted his head. "Aren't you the one who wanted to stay around in the first place?"

This time, his past selves spoke in reversed order.

"I was...but I know how tired we are."

"This body of yours is slowly giving out as we speak."

"You might as well die usefully if you really want to make an impact."

Eclipse was still sure he must have been dreaming, because all of this was making less and less sense to him. Before he could respond, though, his first two forms ran towards him and grabbed his arms, holding him in place on either side.

"Hey-!" Total Eclipse exclaimed, looking at them with a mix of fear and anger.

The third Eclipse slowly walked towards him, his expression dull yet full of...regret? Pity? Whatever it was, Total Eclipse glared at him with even more fear and anger.

"Cherish every moment you have with him," the red Eclipse said as he stopped in front of his living counterpart.

Before another word was spoken, he lunged towards Total Eclipse, stabbing him directly in the chest.

***

Eclipse jolted awake, gasping for air and holding his chest. His metaphorical heart was pounding — what just happened?! His eyes were wide, and just as quickly as he opened them, he was sitting up. He looked around, trying to figure out where he was. It didn't take long to figure it out, though; Ruin was next to him, his face full of concern.

"Eclipse?!" Ruin exclaimed, quickly grabbing Eclipse's arm.

Eclipse looked at them with wide eyes. "You...you're here..." he managed between breaths.

"Yes, of course! Of course I'm here! Are you alright?!"

Eclipse took one final deep breath and exhaled. "Nightmare..." he muttered.

"You were tossing and turning and mumbling to yourself...I was worried," Ruin replied with a frown.

Eclipse managed a small smile. "I'm okay..." he assured. But his mind was racing.

"You're okay," Ruin echoed, rubbing Eclipse's arm gently. They looked up at him with a soft smile.

Eclipse paused, staring into Ruin's mismatched eyes. The dream threw Eclipse's mind into a state of confusion — and fear. But there was a strong sense of relief when he realized Ruin was there. He was safe with Ruin. He wasn't trapped in that cloudy void. There were no ghosts threatening him. He was safe with his partner.

That sense of relief was almost overwhelming. The nightmare itself was mostly confusing, nothing worth crying over. But still, for whatever reason, there was such a large amount of relief upon waking up from it that Eclipse couldn't help but tear up.

"Eclipse?" Ruin asked upon noticing his tears. "What's the matter?"

Eclipse didn't say a word. Instead, he sniffled and pulled Ruin into a hug. He held him tightly, as if his life depended on not letting go of him.

Ruin immediately wrapped their arms around Eclipse, a little surprised but more concerned. "Oh, Eclipse! It was just a bad dream, my love...you're okay," they said softly.

Eclipse couldn't stop thinking about what his past selves were saying. How they kept mentioning Ruin. How they brought up Solar for whatever reason. How they kept hinting towards one major thing: death. Eclipse was confused and slightly afraid, he had to admit, but he still said nothing. He just held onto Ruin as if he were a gift given to him in a much better dream, and letting go of him would make him disappear in an instant.

"Why do we even have dreams?" Eclipse finally muttered, still holding on.

"I suppose that's the price we have to pay for being as sentient as we are," Ruin replied. "Our advanced technology can be a burden sometimes, yes?"

Eclipse simply nodded in response. After a moment of silence, he finally decided to lay down again, pulling Ruin back down with him. He knew that he was safe — but he still had no intention of letting them go.

Ruin smiled and gently pet one of Eclipse's rays. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

Eclipse frowned, hesitating to respond. How would he even explain it? His past lives were threatening him — and Ruin, it seemed. The worst part was, it all felt so...real. Was it even a dream?

"No," he finally responded. They were supposed to be relaxing for once, shut off from the rest of the world without any worries, right? He didn't want to think about it anymore, let alone worry Ruin by talking about it.

"Alright then," Ruin said with a shrug. As much as they wanted to help Eclipse, they had learned to let him process things alone sometimes. Pressuring him to talk only made things worse most of the time. Sometimes, laying in silence was all Eclipse needed.

"Are you going back to sleep?" Ruin added.

Eclipse hummed and closed his eyes to think. He was almost scared to go back to sleep, plus he wanted to enjoy Ruin's presence just a little longer. "No," he said again.

Ruin tilted his head. "What do you want to do, then?" he asked.

Eclipse opened his eyes again, immediately being met with Ruin's patient stare. He quickly glanced away, his face warming up a little. "I don't know..." he muttered.

Ruin smiled and pulled himself closer to Eclipse. "Do you just want to lay in silence? Talk about something else? Get out of bed for a little bit?"

Eclipse paused to think again. Laying in silence would only make room for the dream to taunt his mind. He was too stunned to talk about anything else, so that wasn't an option, either. And getting out of bed — absolutely not. What he really wanted was to distract himself in some way, but he wasn't exactly sure how. He stared into Ruin's eyes as if they would reveal the solution.

Then, it was as if Ruin's eyes did reveal the answer, because an idea suddenly hit Eclipse. He sat up, his face even warmer now, and signaled for Ruin to sit in front of him.

Ruin tilted their head before crawling in front of him. "What are we doing?" they asked.

Eclipse hesitated, his hands shaking and his face hot. He couldn't believe he was doing this; he wasn't even exactly sure how. But something told him it was the right thing to do. If he wanted to fully enjoy Ruin's presence, if he wanted to make the most of this relationship while it lasted, he knew that he had to do this.

Finally, he reached out and carefully pulled Ruin onto his lap. Remembering the kiss from earlier, he took a deep breath and responded: "Whatever we want..."

Chapter Text

"Enjoy your time with Ruin for as long as you can."

The entire dream haunted Eclipse's mind, but that part stuck out the most to him. It almost seemed like a threat — but what exactly was the threat? He knew that he was allegedly going to die. But was he going to die on his own somehow? Or were they trying to hint at Ruin killing him as some sort of sacrifice? Either way, those words would be Eclipse's sole motivation for the rest of his last life.

Eclipse didn't remember falling back asleep. Apparently he had, though, because once he opened his eyes again, he could have sworn it was morning — or maybe the room just gave the illusion that it was morning since the lights were on. His memory was fuzzy; what happened last night? He sat up and looked around, trying to gather any sort of clue. Immediately, he saw Ruin sitting at a desk and humming a familiar tune — while wearing an all-too-familiar shirt. Eclipse quickly looked down, finally noticing that his shirt and vest were missing. He looked back at Ruin, his expression a fair mix of shock and confusion. "Ruin?" he asked.

Ruin jumped in surprise before turning his head to face him. "Good morning, my love!" he beamed. "How are you feeling?"

Eclipse stared at them, blinking in confusion. "What are you doing?"

Ruin glanced back at the desk, then let out a nervous laugh before looking back at Eclipse. "Oh, just...jotting down some ideas for the future."

Eclipse tilted his head. "Why are you wearing my shirt?"

Ruin looked down, then back at Eclipse, his face glowing with embarrassment. "I just wanted to try it on! It's quite comfortable, actually."

Eclipse narrowed his eyes, staring at Ruin in disbelief. His shirt was definitely too big for Ruin, yet it did somehow look comfortable on him. How did he get ahold of it in the first place?

"I left your vest alone," Ruin added. "I know it's precious to you!"

Eclipse looked at the ground, seeing his vest neatly folded next to the bed. How did it get there? He looked back at Ruin, who was back to facing the desk and humming.

That's when it hit him — that's what happened last night. Eclipse's eyes widened, his face warming up as he remembered everything. He had been...bold, to say the least. Ruin had somehow been even more bold. Eclipse didn't think any of that was even possible.

"Right..." Eclipse finally muttered, pulling the blanket up a little. He looked at Ruin again, somehow even more baffled than he was before.

There was a moment of silence before Eclipse finally asked: "What about the future?"

"Hm?" Ruin asked, turning to face him again.

"You said something about ideas for the future."

Ruin looked at the desk, then back at Eclipse. "Just...some things to consider for later," he started with hesitation. "Things that would probably have to happen after we move."

"Move?" Eclipse echoed.

"To a different dimension."

Eclipse tilted his head, only getting more confused. "What?"

Ruin stood from his seat and walked over to Eclipse, sitting next to him and taking his hand. "I want to run away with you."

Eclipse's eyes widened. "Run away?" he echoed.

"My...project...is pretty much complete. I want to start fresh in a new, safe dimension with you," Ruin explained.

Eclipse only stared in response.

"A new life! We'll be together forever," Ruin added with a grin, leaning their head on Eclipse's shoulder. "No more worrying about Sun, or Moon, or-...or anyone else."

Eclipse wanted to be excited, but he couldn't help but frown. A dimension without Sun and Moon? Good luck finding that, he thought. It would be a nice escape — but for some reason, the thought of moving to a new dimension only made Eclipse's hypothetical stomach turn.

"Are you sure about this?" Eclipse asked.

"I've never been more sure about anything in my life," Ruin replied. "I don't want to be here anymore...They want me dead. Or captured. Either way, they want to separate us. I don't think either of us could handle that, to be quite honest."

Eclipse averted his eyes to think for a moment. He hated this dimension; it held too many bad memories. He would have loved to run away with Ruin — so why wasn't he excited about it? Something was holding him back. Something told him he couldn't just leave — not yet, at least.

"Of course, it won't be immediate," Ruin added. "I haven't even started searching for new dimensions yet. You will have time to think about it, okay?"

Eclipse simply nodded in response. He looked at Ruin again, who was giving him that familiar reassuring smile. While he was still unsure, he couldn't help but smile back at them.

Ruin's smile didn't last for long, though. Once they got a closer look at Eclipse, their expression shifted from reassurance to concern. "Oh my God, Eclipse..!"

Eclipse tilted his head. "What?"

Ruin quickly took his hands off of Eclipse. "Did...Did I do that?"

Eclipse raised a brow. "Do what?"

Ruin carefully grabbed Eclipse's arm again, holding it where Eclipse could see for himself. His arm was covered in chips and scratches, similar to the scratch over his broken eye. Eclipse looked at his other arm — more scratches. "What the..."

"Do they hurt?" Ruin asked.

Eclipse shook his head, staring at his arm with confusion. He couldn't feel the scratches at all; they most likely weren't fresh. They were right about his body giving out...

Ruin gently traced one of the scratches with his finger. "How did this happen?"

Eclipse scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Who knows? I've died three times. Maybe my body is just...falling apart."

Ruin frowned and gently cupped Eclipse's face in their hand, making him face them. They wanted to say something, but they weren't exactly sure what. They wanted to help Eclipse feel better. They wished they could erase every ounce of physical and mental pain that Eclipse ever had to go through. But all they could do at the moment was stare into his eyes.

Eclipse himself was troubled, but he could tell that Ruin was troubled, too. Enjoy your time with Ruin for as long as you can. "It doesn't hurt or anything," he said, placing his hand over Ruin's. "Don't worry..."

"I'm always worried about you," Ruin remarked, almost in a playful manner.

Eclipse frowned and narrowed his eyes, clearly not thinking this was meant to be a joking matter. "Always?" he asked.

Ruin averted his eyes, hesitating to respond. "I know that you're okay..." he started. "But I worry about you all the time."

"Why?"

Ruin looked at him again, trying not to seem as worried as they actually were. They looked him up and down before responding. "Well...why wouldn't I be worried about you?"

"Ruin."

"You're very...fragile. You're always in some sort of pain. It worries me..."

Eclipse tilted his head and scoffed. "Joint pain isn't gonna kill me. I've been through worse."

Ruin's expression shifted from its calm state to a state of worry and sadness. That's when a sudden realization hit Eclipse — again, he was reminded, he was on his final life. Ruin didn't want to lose him again, and permanently this time; maybe talking about death wasn't the best idea.

"I'm not going anywhere," Eclipse added. He managed a small smile, attempting to reassure Ruin the same way they had always done for him.

"I know that," Ruin said softly. "It's just...I left you alone for one night. Next thing I knew, you were gone...I don't want that to happen again. You won't come back to me next time..."

Eclipse's heart dropped when he noticed the tears welling up in Ruin's eyes. He stayed silent, carefully reaching out and wiping the tears away before cupping Ruin's face in his hand. "I'm not going anywhere," he repeated, his tone a little softer now.

Ruin smiled at him before moving closer, resting his head on Eclipse's shoulder again. "You're not going anywhere," he echoed.

Eclipse managed another small smile, trying not to express how troubled he actually was. He had always been decent at hiding his real emotions, but that skill died a little more with each passing life. He usually felt safe expressing himself with Ruin; he still, for whatever reason, trusted him. But Ruin didn't need to know how afraid he actually was right then. He didn't need to know the full extent of that nightmare, at least not until Eclipse could figure out what it was supposed to mean.

So instead of saying anything else about death or dreams, Eclipse asked: "Can I have my shirt back?"

Ruin thought for a moment, humming and tapping his chin. "You'll have to take it off of me yourself!" he replied with a somewhat devious smirk.

Eclipse's eyes widened, his face warming up and his rays retracting in shock. "Uh..."

Ruin couldn't help but laugh before climbing onto Eclipse's lap. "Come on! You want it, don't you?" they teased, wrapping their arms around Eclipse's shoulders.

"Damn," was all Eclipse could say. He didn't mean to say it out loud; it just slipped out as if it were an automatic response, triggered by the amount of shock he was in.

"I could just keep it!" Ruin said with a shrug. "It's so comfortable!"

Enjoy your time with Ruin for as long as you can. Eclipse took a deep breath and exhaled before finally managing a smirk that was equally as devious as Ruin's. "Or I could tear it right off of you," he retorted.

"Oh? Is that a threat?" Ruin asked jokingly, leaning closer to Eclipse's face.

Eclipse would be lying if he said he wasn't panicking a little internally, but for some reason, he didn't stop himself or Ruin. Instead, he leaned closer to Ruin's face and grabbed onto the shirt. "It's not a 'threat' if I actually do it."

Ruin hummed, his face warm and his expression soft yet daring. "What are you waiting for, then?"

Instead of saying anything else, Eclipse leaned back, pulling Ruin down with him.

***

Everything seemed like it was getting better. Ruin was happy, full of love — and most importantly, he was safe from Sun and Moon. He occasionally mentioned "plans for the future," though he was never really clear about what those plans were; he insisted on it being a surprise for whenever he and Eclipse could move to a new dimension. Admittedly, that worried Eclipse a little, considering the last time Ruin had "big plans," but he decided not to question it too much for the sake of his own sanity.

Eclipse was...as well as he could be. He was happier, but it wasn't the same as before. The fact that Ruin had lied to him for months about not bringing him back from the dead, the ominous and all-too-real-feeling nightmare, the constant pain that his body was in — it was a lot to handle. The last thing he needed was to stress about whatever Ruin's plans for the future were.

Instead of stressing himself out, Eclipse heeded his past self's advice. He did his best to enjoy every single moment he had with Ruin. Every nap together, every conversation, every moment of silence, every hug, every kiss — everything. Eclipse loved Ruin more than he had ever loved anything. As much as he hated the fact that they revived him and lied about it, he had to admit that he was somewhat...grateful? Had Ruin not revived him, he never would have gotten to experience what it felt like to be cherished by someone.

But something still didn't feel right. Eclipse couldn't help but feel...guilty? No, that wasn't it; he wasn't the one that killed Solar. Yet, for whatever reason, he couldn't stop thinking about the fact that he was dead. Eclipse never gave a damn about Solar, and the feeling was incredibly mutual — so why was it bothering him so much?

Maybe it was the fact that Ruin did it. Eclipse never would have expected them to kill anyone, let alone the guy they swore they wanted to be friends with before. Then again, Ruin had explained multiple times that they never wanted Solar to die. But that didn't change the fact that the Eclipse everyone "deserved" to live with was dead.

The more Eclipse thought about it, the worse he felt. For that reason, he tried to avoid thinking about it too much, but it wouldn't leave him alone. He regretted his past actions. He regretted the way he treated Sun, Moon, Lunar, Bloodmoon — everyone. If they "had" to deal with any version of Eclipse, it should have been Solar. Eclipse himself was tired. Tired of being evil. Tired of the drama. Tired of fighting. Tired of...

"Being alive!" Ruin beamed one day. Eclipse had asked him what he was most excited about for the future. Maybe it was an attempt to take his mind off of his conflicting thoughts — again.

Eclipse raised a brow. "Aren't you 'alive' now?"

"I won't really be alive until-"

"I know," Eclipse interrupted. "Until we move."

Ruin smiled and fidgeted with his hands. "Well, yes, that's part of it..."

Eclipse crossed his arms and tilted his head. "What exactly are you planning?"

"I can't tell you that yet!" Ruin said, lightly tapping Eclipse's nose. "It's a surprise. Plus I'm still...thinking about it."

"Uh huh."

"I promise it's nothing bad!" Ruin quickly added, raising their hands in a surrendering motion. "At least, I hope it isn't..."

Eclipse couldn't help but grow more impatient and more suspicious. Instead of questioning it, though, he just took a deep breath and sighed. "Fine, then."

"Oh! I almost forgot to mention!" Ruin beamed with excitement. "I found a few dimensions that have potential. However, I won't know for sure until I visit them a little bit. If you would like to join me?"

Eclipse stared down at Ruin, who was grinning and extending his hand for Eclipse to take. He wanted to be excited about it, he really did — but he just couldn't. Something was still holding him back, even though it had been a few weeks since the nightmare at this point. It frustrated him to no end. Why couldn't he just take his partner's hand and run away with him?

"I..." Eclipse hesitated.

Ruin stared up at him, patiently waiting for a response.

"I...think I need more time to think about it."

Ruin frowned and tilted his head. "Alright, then...but it's been a few weeks now. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Eclipse replied plainly. "It's just...a lot."

Ruin smiled again and took Eclipse's hand. "You know you can talk to me about anything."

"I know."

"So what's troubling you, dear?"

Eclipse frowned and looked away. There were quite a few things troubling him, but he didn't want to think about those things all at once. Instead, he thought for a moment, trying to find an excuse for being hesitant.

"We would have to use Sun and Moon's portal thing to get there, right?" he finally said.

"Well...yes. Unless I can figure out how to build one myself!"

"Who knows how long that would take?"

Ruin crossed his arms. "Is that all? I'm sure we can handle waiting just a little longer!"

Eclipse paused, hesitating to say more. He had an idea, but it wasn't really a great one.

"I can go up there."

Ruin's eyes widened. "What?"

"I can go up there," Eclipse repeated, "and see if it's safe to use their portal."

Ruin took Eclipse's hand again, looking up at him with worry. "Eclipse, my love, I can't let you do that."

"It's you that they want," Eclipse started. "I know I'm not really 'in the clear,' but I at least have a better chance than you would."

Ruin held onto his hand even tighter.

"Besides, Sun and Moon don't live in the Daycare anymore. They might not even be there," Eclipse continued.

"Which is exactly why I'm going with you!" Ruin remarked.

Eclipse frowned, gently cupping Ruin's face in his free hand. "I can't let you do that."

"Why not?!"

"Because what if they are up there? I would rather come back injured than lose you to them..."

"Eclipse..!"

Eclipse managed a small smile. "I promise I'll come back."

"Eclipse, please, think about this!"

Eclipse looked away, hesitating to respond again. "I have been thinking about it for a long time..."

Before Ruin could say anything else, Eclipse faced them again and planted a kiss on their forehead. "I promise I'll come back," he repeated.

"Please, be careful..." Ruin pleaded softly.

Eclipse nodded before turning to leave. He paused, looking back at Ruin and managing a small smile. "I love you."

"I love you, too..." Ruin responded, placing both hands over his heart. "'Til death do us part."

***

Eclipse felt terrible about lying to Ruin, but how would he explain what he was really doing? Besides, Ruin clearly didn't have an issue lying to him before. Now they were even, Eclipse supposed.

No, this wasn't the time to be petty. Eclipse had business to tend to — though he wasn't exactly sure what that business was. Besides, that was weeks ago; all had been forgiven at that point. No need to keep reminding himself about it.

He never intended on leaving the hideout for "portal purposes." It wasn't a complete lie, though; he was concerned about Sun and Moon. But there was a small part of him that was somewhat...hoping...they would be out there.

Eclipse wanted answers. Solutions, even. That dream had haunted him for weeks, and he was tired of questioning what it was supposed to mean. It was obviously a warning of some sort, and three things stuck out the most to him: Ruin. Solar. Death.

He remembered his past selves mentioning that Sun and Moon had already started working on reviving Solar. He also remembered the part about...helping them...in order to prove that he was redeemed. The question of how he was supposed to do that is what led him out of the hideout.

Maybe that was the thing that was holding him back. Maybe if he helped them bring Solar back and prove that Ruin was right about him being redeemed, he could move to a new dimension peacefully and never have to worry about those guys again. He could start fresh with this final life of his, away from all the trauma that this dimension brought to him before. Just him and Ruin, never having to look back again. The idea of moving started to sound much less sickening now...

But there was still one more issue: death. Where was that part supposed to come in? Eclipse was hoping it wasn't even an actual factor — just his past selves trying to scare him. He wouldn't have been surprised; his younger selves were notorious for scaring and tormenting people. Why would he be an exception? After all, he was basically an entirely different person.

But Eclipse couldn't really call himself a "person," could he? His past actions, his lack of an actual, human heart — oh, what was he thinking? "You're getting off track..." he muttered to himself. Overthinking had always been a nasty habit of his, and it only seemed to get worse with his last two lives.

Last two lives. Was the statement that he was on his final life even true? How could he have been so sure that Ruin was telling the truth? Then again, they had provided proof of their research. Besides, why would they lie about something like that? Eclipse wasn't sure what to believe anymore...

The realization that Eclipse was no longer "safe" set in the moment he approached the entrance to the Superstar Daycare. What was he thinking?! His rays retracted ever so slightly as he reached for the door, his hand trembling.

No going back now. He wasn't sure if anyone was even in there. He wasn't sure if he would be okay, or if Sun and Moon would kill him on the spot. Would they even ask questions first? Or would they see him and immediately put an end to everything?

No — he promised he would come back to Ruin. Even if he was met with certain death, he had to fight back. He didn't care about Ruin's false promise anymore. All that mattered was figuring out what he was supposed to do and going home to his partner.

To his surprise, nobody was waiting for him. The room seemed empty — and way too quiet. There was usually that infuriatingly cheerful background music echoing throughout the room, but all he was met with was silence. It was almost...unnerving. The lights were on, but the silence alone was enough to creep Eclipse out.

He didn't bother trying to call out to ask if anyone was there. He was under the assumption that it was empty; no use trying to test his luck. Admittedly, talking to Sun and Moon themselves probably would have been more useful, but he was hoping he could find anything about their attempts to bring Solar back. Notes, message logs, anything that would give any sort of hint as to what needed to be done.

Eclipse took a deep breath and exhaled as he approached the desk, immediately searching for any notes. The computer had been left on; not a very smart decision, but it made his job easier. "Come on..." he muttered to himself as he searched. "Anything..."

Finally, he found a file on the computer titled "Solar." That was it; no indication that it was about reviving the guy. Just his name. Still, though, Eclipse figured it was worth a try.

When he opened the file, he was met with pages and pages of notes, which notably became less organized as they became more recent. They were plans, research logs, notes about how to possibly revive Solar. "Ah," Eclipse said as he scrolled through.

One recent note in particular made Eclipse's heart drop. It was just a single word, but it was enough to tie everything together. Everything made sense now. This was what his past selves were warning him about. This was what he would have to do in order to redeem himself. He stared at that word for what felt like forever. That single word, so simple, and yet so terrible and so powerful:

Sacrifice.