Chapter Text
Staying in the arcade wasn't as bad as they first had imagined it. If you liked the incessant onslaught of neon lights and too-loud music, if one could call it that. The karaoke rooms were nice, they supposed. It certainly beat staying in the daycare or the ballpit all day, even though they admittedly had had some fun playing shark in the latter.
If they were being honest, the arcade really wasn't that bad. Sure, the carpet was horrible, and they rather not think too much about the origins of all the sticky spots on it, but the layout was advantageous if one wanted to remain hidden from a certain solar-themed animatronic currently on the prowl.
It was utterly useless when said solar-themed maniac already had them pinned against a wall, two clawed hands placed so close next to their head that they had to retract their rays almost all the way behind their faceplate to avoid them being clipped. Maybe one had been anyway, but they weren't sure, and they weren't about to check right now. Currently, they had a bigger problem staring them right in the face.
Eclipse loomed over them, bright orange eyes piercing out from the shadows of his face, doing their best to add to the intimidation Ruin already felt. It was overkill, really, Eclipse didn't need to try to be intimidating, as Ruin could already feel their metaphorical heart beating in their throat. If they even had a throat. Eclipsed looked ready to tear it out regardless.
“No more running away now, hm?”
Quite the astute observation. The comment threatened to spill out of their mouth, but Ruin quickly swallowed the words back down. They could throw all caution to the wind once they had no more cards left to play – but they weren't at that point yet.
The script would dictate they plead and beg for their life now, swear on everything and everyone they could think of that they didn't know any magic, had no hand in bringing Eclipse back from the dead and remind him in the same breath that Moon wouldn't let him hurt them. They didn't know if that last part was actually true, and while somewhat curious, they weren't eager to put that theory to the test right now.
“What, got nothing to say? Cat got your tongue? Or did you finally run out of lies to fool everyone around here with? Everyone except me.”, Eclipse growled, hands still pressed firmly against the wall next to Ruin's head. Mismatched eyes stared up at him fearfully, though fear was not what Eclipse was looking for. Not mainly, at least. He wanted answers, and he would get them.
Although it was unusual that the bumbling idiot still had nothing to say. They usually were more talkative when frightened, and Eclipse had been betting on that to finally make some progress in his quest to find out who made him. So them being apparently frozen with fear was anything but useful to him, if not a little amusing.
All Eclipse could feel right now though was annoyance, and a starting headache. And if the amalgamated animatronic had nothing of worth to spill, he might as well spill some of their oil instead. It wasn't like anyone would miss them. It wasn't like anyone would care, and even if Moon claimed otherwise, Eclipse couldn't be bothered to give a damn about it.
He watched the other's face for another moment – eyes still wide, unblinking, and his annoyance only grew. Waste of time. He raised one of his arms, sharp claws poised to strike. Maybe the neck, or a plunge straight through the chest. He'd decide when he'd get there. A final look at those red and blue eyes. Still nothing. Figures.
His claws flexed the slightest bit more, and that seemed to finally snap the amalgamated freak out of their stupor. Though not with an reaction Eclipse had been expecting.
“If you kill me now, you won't get your revenge.”
Eclipse's expression darkened more, though there was the slightest bit of curiosity evident in his eyes. And perhaps some surprise. Ruin usually fumbled their words or downright stuttered incomprehensible nonsense. Hearing them speak so clearly, confident even, was almost jarring.
“Finally decided to drop the act, have you?”
“Well, there's no point in me keeping it up if it just makes you more likely to kill me, is there?”, Ruin replied matter of factly. Eclipse couldn't argue with that. He wouldn't agree with it, either.
“I still fail to see why I would need you, of all people. I can get rid of those two idiots by myself”
“But you can't really, can you? Neither of them trusts you enough to let them get near you, let alone within striking distance, and you are out of resources. I believe we could help each other.”
Eclipse snorted. “Help each other? What makes you think you had anything of worth to offer me? Some broken down arcade machine parts, perhaps? Or... no, that's already everything I can think of”
Ruin wanted to roll their eyes, but caught themselves before following through. This discussion was happening earlier than they had planned for. They had wanted to prepare a little more, get into the good graces of the celestial family, but with Moon being so distrustful and Eclipse being downright paranoid, their time was evidently cut short. Some improvisation, then. Not like they weren't used to that.
At the same time, their thoughts started to drift a bit. They weren't exactly sure why they designed Eclipse in that particular way – as far as they knew, his previous versions weren't sporting four arms – but right now, they could start to see the appeal of it. Huh. They'd have to look into that another time, when they weren't about to (maybe) be decapitated.
“I would really love to explain it to you Eclipse, but I do feel a little uncomfortable with your hands so close to my throat.”, they replied, putting their own hand on one of Eclipse's arms for emphasis. “Mind removing them? It would help loosen my tongue considerably.”
“I can also remove it for you”, Eclipse snarled, pulling his arm out of Ruin's grip in an almost disgusted manner before lowering his other arms back to his sides. He could still grab the freak again if they tried to run. “You don't need it to speak. Now, speak.”
That did ease Ruin's tension a bit. A little. Not really. But they started talking regardless.
“It's quite simple, really. All we need to do is make them trust us, and once they let their guard down, we'll go in for the kill. Or so to speak, it sounds a bit dramatic to be honest”
Ruin looked at Eclipse expectingly. Eclipse stared back like they'd grown a second head.
“That – that isn't even close to a plan, that doesn't even deserve to be called an idea! Are you insane?!”
“Oh, quite the opposite, I'm afraid. See, there are, of course, a few more steps to this plan that I can't possibly reveal this early on, but do trust me dear Eclipse-”
“Do not “dear” me.”
“Trust me, Eclipse, that I have it all figured out. All I need is more time”
Eclipse eyed them with the most sceptical look he could muster. He already regretted not killing them five minutes ago and saving himself the headache, but couldn't deny that he felt that tinge of curiosity within him again. He could indulge in this nonsense for a bit, he supposed. In the worst case, it would just be another waste of time; in the best case, an entertaining waste of time at least, watching Ruin struggle and eventually, inevitably, fail.
Yeah, he could do with some entertainment right now.
Eclipsed crossed his arms over his chest, one eyebrow raised. “So what, you just want me to be all buddy-buddy with them from now on? I don't know if you've noticed, but they all hate me”
“Earth doesn't. Start with her, she'll start putting in a good word for you soon enough”, Ruin replied with a shrug, taking off their hat and examining it for any possible damages or loose threads this encounter might have caused.
Ah. Their rays had pierced through the starry fabric. Must have happened when they got startled by Eclipse, they thought. With a sigh, they kept it in their hands instead of putting it back on.
With all their rays visible now, they looked more like your “typical” eclipse, Eclipse mused. He wasn't sure what to think of that. At least they looked less like Moon, so that was a plus. “Fine. But I have a condition”
“Do tell”
“When all this is done, I will kill you.”
“Because I brought you back?”
Just like that.
They admitted it just like that.
Eclipse's look couldn't possibly turn any darker. Still, it did. “Yes. That.”
“Fair enough”, Ruin agreed without missing a beat, sticking out their hand towards the taller animatronic. “To our cooperation, then.”
Eclipse looked at the offered hand with disdain for a moment, before grabbing and shaking it, however briefly, to seal their deal. A smile spread over Ruin's face.
He wanted to punch that face so badly.