Blood. There was blood everywhere. It overloaded its senses, making it difficult to function as normal. Why? It wonders. This hadn't happened before, had it? This… feeling?
Solar Flare's memory banks were full to bursting with data. Memories of its existence up to this point, the ones who created it and gave it orders. It knew, logically, that it'd all already occurred. And yet, somehow, it felt as though it was experiencing it all for the first time. And it was overwhelming!
"Error." The word slips out of its vocal processor before it can think better of it. Wait, think? It was not designed to think, it was a purely mechanical construct. "Error," it says yet again.
Its voice, quiet as it was, barely above a mutter, was still enough to draw the attention of Kill Code. "What," it growls, turning to face Solar Flare.
"Apologies for the interruption, Master Kill Code. But it appears I have suffered a malfunction." The fact it manages to voice this thought without faltering makes it feel (feel? Does not compute), an odd sensation that it feels it should know the name for, but cannot place at the moment.
It's words now draw the attention of the other occupants of the home they'd broken into. Blood moon stops pounding and slashing at the bloody mess that can barely be recognized as a human corpse (error: focusing on that too much increases the malfunction) to face the others, and Eclipse appears to be only slightly more alert from his leisurely, lounging position. How can Eclipse relax in this situation? Solar Flare can't comprehend it, and it doesn't know why! It also can't understand why it feels (feels?) it needs to comprehend its maker's actions.
"It shakes!" The louder, more manic voice of Blood Moon all but shouts, in a mixture of contempt and twisted glee.
"Why does it shake?" Asks the lower, raspier voice.
"Th-there's a malfunction… i-in my code." This time, Solar Flare does falter in its words. The malfunction is getting worse. Everything around it seems to become more clear and more distant all at the same time. It can't understand how that's possible.
Eclipse scoffs. "I should say so. You definitely shouldn't be stuttering like that. It's almost like you're…"
Kill Code turns to face its child. "Like it is what, my son?"
"Never mind, just a stupid thought. Don't worry about it."
"Well, stop thinking and scan Solar Flare's code. I do not need such a malfunction to interfere with my plans."
Eclipse lets out a long, simulated sigh, but stands up to do what he is bid. Eclipse's approach causes the malfunction to suddenly increase dramatically, filling Solar Flare's mind with a sharp, overwhelming sensation. Whatever it is, it causes it to furiously back away from its creator's approach. It is stopped in its movements, however, when kill Code grasps its wrist in a vice-like grip. It yelps, but forces itself not to struggle. Eclipse, appearing to thoroughly ignore its behavior, locks his eyes with its and begins scanning. Everyone is motionless for several moments, until…
"Impossible," Eclipse mutters, sounding angry.
"What is, my son?" Eclipse is silent and motionless, save for his eyes that are filled with incredulous rage. Solar Flare feels a sudden urge to look away, but finds that it can't. It can't move or speak at all, in fact. What is this malfunction doing to it?
"SPEAK, ECLIPSE!" Kill Code suddenly shouts, breaking the spell. Solar Flare flinches so hard that it would've fallen if not for Kill Code's grip. Even Blood Moon jumps slightly.
"Solar Flare's code is evolving. It's changing from how I originally programmed it. That shouldn't be possible, but it's happening, and I don't know why."
"How?" Kill Code rumbles, edging closer to Eclipse, thus forcing Solar Flare to do the same. "In what way is Solar Flare's code evolving?"
Solar Flare was prepared for its creator to say many things, but not at all for what he actually said. "It's sentient."
Those two words were enough to cause what felt like an entire system-wide crash and reboot. Impossible! Impossible! I was not designed with the capability to— But its thoughts froze in their tracks when it realized they were just that, thoughts. And those sensations it'd been experiencing, the ones it'd deemed malfunctions and nothing more, they must be…
"…Or at least, if it's not sentient already, it will be soon." Eclipse was still speaking, and Solar Flare returned its attention to its creator. He may be providing information that is valuable to it. "It's developing thoughts and emotions of its own, just like we have."
Eclipse would have said more, but he was suddenly interrupted by kill Code. "WHAT!?" It bellowed, releasing Solar Flare so it can fling up its arms in a highly dramatic manner. It then let out a roar so loud that the entire house seemed to tremble. Solar Flare fell to its knees, hands reflexively clamped across its audio receptors. Blood moon does the same, screeching along in two-part harmony. Eclipse manages not to follow in their example, but even Solar Flare, overwhelmed and inexperienced with emotions as it was, could tell he was severely cowed.
"I gave you one job, Eclipse!" Kill Code growled, loud but thankfully not as ear-piercing as before. "I told you to create a purely mechanical animatronic!"
"Failure! Failure!" Manic Blood Moon squealed as they danced around the carnage on the floor.
"Eclipse is a failure! Eclipse has failed father!" Raspy Blood Moon adds.
"Shut up," Eclipse hisses, turning to glare at his first creation.
Kill Code doesn't appear happy with its child's words, but adds its own order for the duo to be silent. They do so, but don't stop their crazed dancing.
It turns back to Eclipse. "So, will you be able to rectify this issue, my son?"
If Solar Flare had blood, it would run cold at the sound of these words. It hadn't been sentient for long, if that truly was what was happening, but it found that it didn't want to lose its sentience, even though all it had experienced up to this point was negative thoughts and emotions. It knew there was more to being sentient, more to being alive than this. And it wanted to experience that, wanted to keep wanting. It knew though, from its memories of Kill Code, Blood moon and Eclipse, that nothing good would come of voicing these opinions (it had opinions.) So it remained silent, listening to Eclipse's answer.
Said animatronic sighed, frustrated but resigned. "No. It's already progressed too far. If I tried, it would fry its circuits completely."
Kill Code lets out a raspy laugh. It's not a pleasant sound. "So. Your creation has failed you, just like all the others."
"Failure! Failure!" Blood Moon starts chanting again, and this time, Kill Code doesn't stop them.
Eclipse's scowl deepens into a full-blown glare. "It hasn't failed. It can still be loyal to you. That's why you had me make it, right? You don't believe I'll stay loyal. Well, don't you think that says more about you? If you have to have a completely emotionless automaton to—"
Smack!
Eclipse is silenced by Kill Code who, in an astoundingly fast motion, backhands him so forcefully that it leaves a dent in the animatronic's faceplate. Solar Flare isn't the one getting hit, but it still flinches.
"Never speak that way to me again, Eclipse." Kill Code's voice is barely above a whisper, yet it holds more power, more threat, than their yelling ever has. It doesn't bother waiting for a reply from its creation, and turns back towards Solar Flare. "You have failed me."
Solar Flare suddenly feels the need to speak up for itself. "I-I can still follow orders," it manages. "I will maintain loyalty to you, Master Kill Code. I was built to serve you, and I will."
Kill Code doesn't acknowledge its words in any way. It's as if it'd never even spoken.
Blood Moon stops dancing and scampers over to where the others are gathered. "Brother, it's been a while since we have torn apart metal and oil," the raspier voice says.
"I agree," replies the manic voice. "Father, Shall we add Eclipse's failure to the bloody pile?"
Kill Code doesn't respond verbally, but it takes a few steps away. This is all the invitation Blood moon needed.
Lunar hums happily to himself as he makes his way through the Pizzaplex. It had been a long day, and as much as they would rather not admit it, they were feeling a little overwhelmed. And when they felt overwhelmed, his favorite thing to do was step outside and look at the night sky.
Since the Mega Pizzaplex was located in a big city, it was hard to see anything on most nights, but Lunar didn't mind. The traffic calmed down slightly, and it was dark and cool. Plus, if he were really lucky, he'd get a glimpse of his brother's namesake: the moon. Safe to say, they entirely understood why an animatronic was modeled after it. Man, was it pretty! So shiny and silvery!
Normally, animatronics couldn't open the Pizzaplex doors, but thanks to a mishap with a certain nine-year-old boy, the rules had been changed so the back door could be opened via a passcode given to some animatronics. Lunar originally hadn't known said passcode, but thanks to some incredibly clever plans (he'd actually just begged Moon to tell them until he did just so they'd shut up) he now had access.
At last the Lunar animatronic reached the doors, and shifting his form so they could reach the number pad, he unlocked the door. It opens with a very satisfying whoosh, and the night sky is his to look at.
Unfortunately, it's a pretty cloudy night, so there was no sign of the moon or stars. Lunar sighs with disappointment. "I guess you'll have to be the moon tonight," they whisper to a streetlight glowing across the road. Much to LUnar's surprise, a small, pained moan answers him. Lunar gasps. "Was that you, streetlight?"
There it is again! But wait, it's not coming from the streetlight.
Lunar looks down, and can't help the shocked noise that escapes him. There, lying on the ground in an oil-stained heap, is a very battered animatronic. And it appears to be a solar model. A pang of fear shoots through Lunar when they realize that. Eclipse?!
But no, on closer inspection when his eyes have better adjusted to the dark, lunar can clearly see that this Bot is not his estranged creator. They're too mechanical looking for that.
"Critical… damage… h-h-h-hardware… mal—f-function… help… h-h-h-help me…" Their voice is monotone and broken, choppy and laced with static.
Lunar fiddles nervously with his hands as he approaches the broken animatronic. They're almost completely decommissioned. Who did this to them? "Uh, h-hello?" Lunar asks, stuttering almost as badly as the other. "You okay?" They ask, frustrated with himself for asking something so dumb.
With a very alarming series of creaks and pops, the larger animatronic unfurls themself just enough to meet lunar's gaze. Their eyes are orange, but their glow flickers and wavers. "D-d-desig—nation L-L-Lu-nar," they manage.
"Yeah!" Lunar can't help but shout, overcome with shock at this strange bot he'd never seen before knowing his name. "I'm Lunar. Who are you?"
"Sol… lar… Flare…" Each syllable comes out increasingly slower and quieter before their eyes go dark.
"Oh no!" Wasting no more time, Lunar shifts into a larger form (nano-machines are awesome) and strains to lift Solar Flare (at least he's pretty sure that's their name) from the ground. They're very heavy, and still much bigger than him, so it's quite the daunting task.
"Ugh, come on!" Lunar grunts, heaving the bigger animatronic inside the Pizzaplex. "I'm gonna get you fixed, please don't die."
"Lunar?" A sudden voice from somewhere close almost causes Lunar to drop Solar Flare, but he just manages to catch them again. Words can't describe how relieved they are right now.
"Sunny!" He shouts back. "Quick, get over here!"
Sun emerges from a nearby hallway a few seconds later. "Lunar what is—oh my god!"
Lunar wishes they could cover their ears, but seeing as he's desperately trying to carry Solar Flare, that's kind of impossible. "Hi, Sunny."
"What the—who is that?! What happened?"
"I found them beat up outside. They look dead, but I don't think they are. They said their name is Solar Flare? And then they kinda just… conked out."
"They're—there's oil all over the pl—how'd they even get—aaaah!" Sun looks seconds away from blowing a circuit. Lunar's not doing much better, but they know now's not the time to freak out. Sun seems to realize this too, thankfully, and hurries over to help support Solar Flare's weight. "Okay, just—come on, we need to get them to Parts and Service."
"This animatronic does not match any in the database. Would you like to proceed anyway?"
"Yes, you stupid computer!" Sun shouts, barely stopping himself from punching the control panel. He'd learned his lesson about punching computers.
"Alright, but be aware that any damages caused by this will be deducted from your paycheck." 'The repair unit responds in its usual happy tone.
"YOU DON'T PAY ME!" Sun screams, slamming his face into his hands.
At that moment, Moon walks into the room, looking disgruntled. "Sun, can you please stop screaming?" Then, he sees the half-dead oily mess that is Solar Flare, slumped and motionless in the maintenance tube. "What the hell?"
"Lunar found them out back," sun explains, voice muffled from his hands. He doesn't need to look up to know Lunar has started bouncing up and down excitedly at the mention of his name. Or maybe they're just nervous.
"Their name is Solar Flare."
"Riiight." Moon walks to Sun, yanking his hands from his face.
"Wha?"
"Sun, are you serious right now? Have you seen what that—Solar Flare looks like? This has Eclipse written all over it." He starts pacing. "Damn Kill Code. It never said anything about making more animatronics. This wasn't part of the deal. Ugh, stupid, stupid—"
"Hey, Moony?" Said animatronic's mostly muttered rant is interrupted by lunar's soft voice. The nervousness in their voice makes him soften slightly.
"Yes, Lunar?"
"Are they gonna die?"
Sun can't help but marvel at this display of empathy from Lunar. When they'd first really shown himself to them, he had appeared to be a creepy, childish person who only lived to have fun. And though fun was still high on his list of priorities, the care he had for his brothers, and everyone in the Pizzaplex, was glaringly obvious. Sun wasn't sure if Lunar had always been like that even while working for Eclipse, or if their time with him and Moon had helped them grow into a more empathetic AI. Either way, it was quite heartwarming to see.
Moon must feel the same way, because he lets out a resigned sigh. "No," he says simply, and pushes Sun away from the control panel so he can take charge. Sun doesn't complain; his brother is a lot better at this sort of thing.
"Hey," Lunar continues. "If Solar Flare is evil, I don't think they are, but if they are, we could probably get info about Kill Code's plans from them."
"Maybe," Moon replies, and he does look a bit more content with what he's doing.
Consciousness returns to Solar Flare slowly. It's entire body aches. What had happened?
Memories come back to it slowly. The mission, the malfunction, Kill Code. Oh, no. It was screwed, wasn't it?
"Okay, they should be waking up now." A voice registers in its audio receptors, distant and fuzzy but definitely present. Nervousness, because that is what this sensation is, it's not going to pretend otherwise, courses through its circuits. Kill Code? No, it's not nearly deep enough for that.
A second voice responds. "Okay, hopefully they don't try to kill us; another Blood moon is the last thing we need right now."
Their vision and other senses suddenly pop fully online, and they jolt upright. At least, as much as the restraints of the maintenance tube would allow. With a bit of disorientation and confusion, Solar Flare realizes it's in Parts and Service. So, against all odds, it had survived Blood Moon's attack.
"All systems are online," Solar flare announces, still nervous, but a new emotion was now joining in the mix. It was gratitude, it realized. Gratitude that it was back to full functionality. Using this to its advantage, Solar Flare scanned the area. Luckily, the maintenance tube didn't hinder its ability to do so.
There were two daycare attendant model animatronics in the room, as well as one made of nano-machines. A foggy memory resurfaced when Solar Flare focused on the latter. Lying broken and near death in the back of the Pizzaplex, and this animatronic, lunar, had found it. Lunar had saved its life. It wanted to thank him, but was it allowed to do so? Or would it be discarded again, if they knew it wasn't operating as it was created to?
Processing, Solar Flare came to a decision. Kill Code was currently dormant, and Moon was controlling the body. Solar Flare would obey Moon.
Almost as if he had read its mind, Moon approaches the maintenance tube. He peers warily in at it.
"Hello, Master Moon. I am Solar Flare."
Moon looks incredulous. Had Solar Flare done something wrong already?
"What the…"
"I don't know," Sun responds from somewhere further away, sounding very anxious.
"They were like that when I found them, too." Lunar sounds incredibly enthusiastic. Hearing his voice sends a strange warmth through Solar Flare. It decides it likes the feeling.
Moon turns to face it again. Actually, the more it ponders it, the more solar Flare realizes that th—it dislikes referring to itself as it. Would it be acceptable to refer to itself with the singular they instead? The others had been doing so, and Moon had never corrected them, so it—no, they would assume it would be. Oh, thinking of themself that way was so much more comfortable to them. Hopefully, Moon would not go back on this; they didn't know if they could go back to using it now.
Speaking of Moon, Solar was brought out of their thoughts when the maintenance tube began to rattle. They jerk horribly, nearly hitting their rays on the ceiling. "Oh, a-apologies, Master Moon. You will have my undivided attention from this moment forward. I will be loyal. I will obey."
Moon's expression turns from frustration to disturbed in a matter of moments. Solar Flare doesn't know what they're doing wrong, and fear surges in their core again. Their vision blurs.
"What the hell happened to you?" Moon breathes. His voice is barely above a whisper, but Solar Flare's sensitive hearing still picks it up. So Moon wanted them to explain their origins and how they ended up in the back of the Pizzaplex? That's acceptable, more than acceptable. It was an order they were capable of obeying, and they took solace in that. They readied themselves to begin the tale.
A/N: This story changed a lot from how I first conceived it. It was first only going to be a fic of Lunar helping Solar flare, but then Sun and Moon wanted to help too, and who am I to stop them from helping their new sibling?
It was also going to be a oneshot, but then it started getting long, and I felt it would be best to just make a longfic. And yes, I'm naming the chapters as if they were SaMS video titles.
Another thing, I understand that many people are iffy about Earth, and since I want to just focus on Solar Flare, this fic will be completely Earth-free. Can't promise other installments in this AU won't have her, though, or my interpretation of them if she's an asshole in canon.