Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It wasn't anyone's fault, Sun just happened to be unlucky. He was at the wrong place, at the wrong time, too busy cleaning the ballpit  that he didn't realize Solar was about to activate the portal.

Yes, Sun knows he should learn his lesson and never go there again.         

And yes, Sun knows the portal  often spits out weird things. But boredom ran through Sun's circuit board, along with a sickeningly familiar feeling of guilt and depression that pushed him to do any other job to avoid thinking.

Stupid thoughts don't bother anyone but Sun.

So when he remembered how dirty Lunar was when he turned back into a human - After the beanbag sequelae, Sun grabbed cleaning tools to climb into the ballpit  to clean up.

And it's... dirty. Too dirty. The entire base was covered with a sticky brown-black slime that Sun didn't want to think about what it was. Sun worked so hard that he didn't even hear Solar entering or the computer talking.

“Sun!?” The orange animatronic's voice rang out from nowhere, startling Sun. The ball fell out of Sun's hand. Holding the once white ball in his hand, Sun stood up, slightly limping from sitting for too long, looking towards Solar.

“Y--Yeah?”

“What are you doing, Sun? I thought you said you didn't want to go near the ballpit ?”

The low, emotionless voice of metal often suppresses a vague sense of impatience while still maintaining a commanding arrogance. There was a time when every time he heard Solar's voice or just looked at Solar, Sun's hand would not be able to help but tremble and his eyes would automatically look away. The fan in his chest would spin so hard it would explode, and even though he wouldn't actually feel the temperature, the cold mixed with heat evoked in Sun's non-existent stomach when looking at Solar still made him feel so uncomfortable that he would rather go somewhere else.

It's not Solar's fault. Solar is very good, too good. This Orange Dorito has done nothing but help his brothers since the day Solar appeared. It's just Sun, Sun is the problem. Uncontrolled fear comes from instinct, like a ghost that always wants to pull Sun away, raking its claws into Sun's throat to prevent him from speaking. There was something so empty that it burned, an anger for someone who wasn't there, making Sun just want to... tear Solar in half.

No… Stop, bad thoughts, bad thoughts.

“Sun? Are you OK? You have been standing there frozen for a while now.”

“What? Ah—yeah… I was just thinking.”

Sun shook his head, he didn't realize he was stunned again. Perhaps the feeling of fatigue had begun to catch up with Sun, causing him to gradually become indifferent to almost everything around him. Even the familiar anxiety of death and danger gradually became dull, like a bomb exploding in my ears, emotions rising and falling as quickly as they began.

“Hmm? I think you should go home and rest, Sun. You’ve been cleaning here for like 6 hours.”

There was a secret concern in Solar's voice. It made Sun want to vomit, the feeling of discomfort for no reason and the thought of being unworthy clung to Sun's body like a stubborn stain that couldn't be washed off. Sometimes, Solar himself brings Sun memories of Moon - Old Moon, even more than his current brother.

There's something about Solar's demeanor, the way Solar holds himself, the way Solar treats Sun that's a mixture of almost an idiot who doesn't know any better and a child in need of protection, it makes Sun both nauseous and nolgastic.

Like wearing an old blanket from childhood, it's stinky and uncomfortable, but we can't sleep without it.

Old Moon is like that. His brother was always—in an unstable state. Enough to make Sun don't know how to react to please his brother. There were days when the Old Moon was good, days when nothing was wrong, days when Sun was happy and cheerful in a false peace, knowing that no matter what, Old Moon was still there.

And there were days when Old Moon became so angry, tense, and self-destructive. His brother turned into something ugly and unstable, like dropping water into a pan of boiling oil, anything could cause his brother to explode.

And Sun is always the one who gets burned.

Those were the days when Sun almost wanted to say he hated Old Moon. He could never actually say it. No, even in his subconscious, he always thought he was the one who did wrong, he was the one who ruined everything.

Because even though it was Old Moon who angered and hurt Sun to the point of crying so often that Sun couldn't remember how a normal day started without Sun doing something wrong and being scolded by Moon, Old Moon always apologized, and was always by Sun's side.

And is it ungrateful? Because of something as small as being scolded and treated like a fool that make Sun hate Moon?

Earth said that was not good thinking, that Old Moon actually treated him badly. But honestly, even though Earth said a lot, and Sun repeated a lot, Sun still couldn't believe it. Moon can treat him worse, but him didn’t.

Perhaps Sun is damaged beyond repair.

Maybe that's Sun.

…

No.

Forget it, thinking too much won't help anything. And it seems like Sun is ignoring Solar again. Or Solar was saying something that Sun didn't realize. He really needs to limit his time alone. It seemed like a whole day of cleaning had done nothing but worsen Sun's mental health.

Solar is right, he should go home to his cats. Maybe watch a comedy and drink a bottle of wine.

Just one bottle. The bottle was so tiny, that Sun didn't feel anything. Moon was just worried too much. It's just a habit. And yes, Sun is not addicted, purely it’s for entertainment and to relax. Only for relax. Sun deserves it. He guesses.

“SUN!!! STAY AWAY!!!"

Solar is screaming. Why did Solar scream? Everything seems to move a lot slower. The portal 's activation sound, Solar's movement moving closer, the dark blue-purple color grabbing Sun's artificial pupils.

Sun couldn't move, couldn't do anything, and stood there as if hypnotized for about 1 second.

And then, everything went black.

-----------------

"Computer!!! Where did the portal take Sun???” Solar shouted angrily. He rummaged through the pool of balls hoping that Sun would just fall somewhere around the pool, but the yellow animatronic was nowhere to be seen. The only place where there was evidence of Sun's presence was the towel Sun used to clean.

“Reported, undetermined.”

“What do you mean it is indeterminate?!” Solar was irritated. He didn't notice that Sun hadn't come out yet as he replaced some faulty circuit boards in the portal .

“It seems like Sun has fallen into the time tunnel. Estimates show that up to 90% of the Sun has traveled back in time, but I still cannot find out whether the Sun fell at that time or not in parallel time or not.” The computer's voice was emotionless as always, but inside it could still feel a bit of shyness, as it also felt the severity of the situation.

“%^&*!! Damn it!” Solar cursed. He almost wanted to rip the rays off his head, scolding himself severely for his stupidity and not paying attention.

As soon as he saw Sun seeming distracted, he should have known about the possibility that Sun would be careless and fall down the portal. Solar is smarter than this, he should have expected it. He should do better.

No. No! No!!

Let's focus, Solar. Calm down. The most important thing you need to do now is to bring Sun back, not sit there feeling sorry for yourself.

‘I need to bring Sun back.’ Solar muttered. “Computer, continue locating Sun's tracks.”

“I need to call Moon…” 

Chapter Text

“AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! GOD DAMMIT”

Sun has a question. Why is he just a machine, but he still feels pain?

Sun groaned, hugging himself. It felt like being roasted by millions of volts of electricity, it was too similar when he used Star Power. Bright lights everywhere didn't make his situation any better. Sun could see nothing but bright pink and purple color palettes and upbeat music that was almost ear-splittingly loud.

The balls were still in Sun's hands, burying him like water in a swimming pool.

It seemed like he was still in the ballpit , but there was something different, something that Sun couldn't describe right now.

“He—llo?” Sun cried out timidly, his voice box crackling, making his voice almost too similar to Ruin's. Sun's internal systems reported that nothing was too seriously damaged, but he still felt paralyzing fatigue, plus Sun's left leg was somewhat more difficult to move.

“Is there anyone here? Solar?”

Nobody responded. It made Sun vaguely think of the worst case scenario, that is, he would move to a different dimension than his own. Worse, he lost connection and could not contact Moon or Solar. Just thinking about that situation makes Sun want to scream and cry, or give up right now.

But Sun can't. Through all the fear and anxiety that was causing the temperature in his circuit board to rise to dangerous levels, the most important thing Sun needs to do is go home. But first, he really…

“I need to get out of here first.”

Crawling out of the ballpit  was surprisingly not too difficult, considering Sun's malfunctioning optics. His vision, only the left side was clear, was a spitting image of the former playground, which had not yet been blown up by Ruin.

Sun can contact Moon in this dimension to find a way to help. Or Monty. But he wasn't sure if they were an evil version or not. Sun has encountered… too much to hope for his luck.

And as if to make Sun's situation even more miserable, a noise at the door signaled that the homeowner had returned.

Sun didn't even have time to hide, he stood there, like a thief, staring blankly at the open door.

Animatronics enters. A nightcap, a moon-shaped disc, and a dark red eye figure shows up at the doorstep.

It was Moon… And before Moon could react or do anything, Sun raised his hand.

“He—llo? Um… I am no harm?”

"Who are you!?" Moon's angry and defensive scream made Sun almost instinctively step back.

“Computer, why didn't you raise any alarm?”

“Confirmation, not necessary. This pattern is Sun.”

The monotonous voice of the computer sounded a bit familiar, it made Sun feel nostalgic.

“What do you mean this is Sun?! Sun is right outside!!” Moon pointed towards the door, his voice filled with confusion.

At the same time, Sun – the Sun of this dimension walks in, and my god… that animatronic looks so youthful. Not in their faces, since they share a similarity, but in the way this version of Sun holds himself. There was still a playfulness hidden beneath that worry, an innocence that still leaned out in front of Moon to see what was going on.

Raising his hands in surrender, a painful nostalgia as he saw Moon immediately stand in front of his Sun, as if Sun were something dangerous.

And maybe so. Sun isn't sure about the extent of his current damage, but hopes it's not as bad as his dragon-balls-eclipse moment. It probably makes his appearance look a bit worse.

“Sun! Stay behind me! Who are you?"

The question made Sun confused. What does Moon mean, why who is he? Isn't it so obvious?

"What do you mean? I am Sun in another dimension. Maybe if you let your computer check, you'll know it sooner?” Sun's voice almost broke, half from confusion, the rest from exhaustion to the point of anger.

Moon, still looking suspicious, mumbled under his breath 'How did that guy know I had a computer...' before shouting.

“Computer, confirm for me.”

“Confirmation, again. Report: This is exactly the Sun model, but this person carrying a serial number does not exist here yet. Specifically, coming from the future 2 years from now.”

"Strange." Moon frowned, his arms folded into the expression Moon often made when he encountered something confusing. “Computer, scan again for me.”

“What..Moon?” Sun was tired, he didn't understand why every version of Moon was always such a complacent bastard. Extremely stubborn. And what was that disbelief, when space travel to parallel worlds had become a normal day in their district, or at least in other dimensions.

"Shut up! Let me think!" Moon pointed at Sun, muttering, not sure if he was talking to himself or to Sun. “Because I just built the space portal  and haven't put it to test yet. I don't think… the possibility of parallel worlds with different versions of existence is real… And the future? Impossible…"

The computer's monotone voice rang out again.

“Scanned successfully. This Sun model, symbol S_2232, was produced in 2023... Compared with the charge and nucleus moving from the portal , this is the Sun of this dimension, but 2 years ago. Advice: Future Sun should be destroyed before any actions of this idiot destroy the past.”

"What--?!" Sun stammered, about to say something before stopping. Oh yes, why is Sun surprised? If he remembered correctly, computers in the past had always been bastards...

And time travel… Sun's luck has never been good, but Sun didn't expect it to be this miserable. Time travel is a complicated thing that no one wants to touch, because it's like a tangled ball of yarn, the more we try to untangle it, the tighter it becomes. And if the situation doesn't seem so bad, then it looks like Sun is in the past, and is there any possibility that whatever Sun does here will affect the future, or that it will spawn a branch of time? other.

Just thinking about it is enough to make Sun's head hurt. He... didn't want to do anything, he didn't want to think about it anymore. I just hope that this version of Moon (Sun ignored the thoughts in his head... that this is his Moon) has the ability to bring him back to the future.

“Sun!” Sun flinched in surprise when he heard the call, his eyes raised to look at Moon, looking extremely uncomfortable. “Do you remember anything about this?”

"What do you mean?" Sun narrowed his eyes, then realization hit him in the head. Of course, if Sun doesn't remember this, then this means this is a different time branch, and his being here doesn't affect the future.

“N—No…”

Moon bent down, looking like she knew what she was doing. There was a sigh of disappointment, arousing a familiar feeling of shame that Sun thought he had gotten used to.

“Do you know why you are here?”

“The portal accidentally opened…” Sun's voice trailed off. "I-"

“No problem, I will find a way to bring you back.” The sound was even familiar, as if Moon wasn't surprised that Sun was in this trouble. “No matter what, if what you say is true, you are still Sun…”

“I—Will it take a long time?” Sun hugged his good arm and scratched at the broken bell, unable to make a sound.
Moon looked towards the computer, the signal dinged.
“Estimating results… Estimating results… Finding materials and construction… calculating… forecasting… 1 month.”
“One month…” Moon mumbled, then looked back at Sun, back at his past version. “Okay, first, Sun—my Sun, we need to find a name to differentiate the two. Please go... I don't know, clean up or something, I need to check on this person. It seems the portal  caused quite a bit of damage.”
“Can I help you, brother?” The younger Sun next to him, stammering excitedly, almost made Sun feel a bit uncomfortable. He doesn’t remember there was a time… how should Sun put it, full of optimism and kindness like this.
This Sun still didn't know anything he would ever work out. The more he tried, the more damage he would do.
Sun felt jealous of his past self, when he was still so... naive.
“I can be Sunrise, or whatever name you see fit.” Sun shrugged. "I do not really care."
"Nonsense!!” His past self smiled, the bell jingled excitedly as Sun's younger self moved.
"Brother! We can't leave guests like that. How about this, I will be Sunny, and this polite man er--- will be Sun.”
“It's fine with me, what do you think, Sun?”
His name was said cautiously in Moon's mouth, it made the wires in his circuit board seem to have some error. “Yeah, like I said I don't care.”
“Oh golly!! We will have so much fun together!” Sunny cheered out lightly, as if not sensing any threat. It was almost adorable, if it weren't for the fact that it made Sun feel cringed by the way he used to act.
“Yes… Sure…” Ignoring the bitter taste in his throat, Sun patted Sunny's arm awkwardly.

Chapter Text

“Hmm… Good as new… That's it, you're fixed.” Moon dropped his tools on the ground, the animatronic looked admiring of his own work. “Except for your left eye, since I don't have a replacement right now, I guess you'll have to endure the inconvenience for a while until the order arrives.”

“Um, yeah… Thank you Moon…”

Sun nodded stiffly, not knowing how to react properly. Half of him wanted to scream, wanted to grab Moon's neck and ask why Moon left him behind. The other part, the weaker and more desperate part, just wanted to hug his brother and cry. Maybe it's not just Eclipse that has abandonment problems, Sun sneered inwardly.

What should he say, what should he do? Should he change the future to make it better? Does Moon already know about Eclipse? Sun hadn't asked about the date, and honestly everything in his past was a blur, and he didn't remember exactly what happened.

Just... seeing Moon like this, when his brother was still not... too tired, burdened by his trauma, it made Sun's heart soften. Sun… doesn't want to say it, but he…

“Is something wrong, Sun?”

Startled, he raised his eyes to look at Moon, who was now awkwardly looking for a place next to the table to lean on.

“Why do you ask? I'm fine, just checking myself.” Sun waved his hand and pointed at the reflective glass surface in the repair room, which vaguely showed a new, bright yellow color as if there had never been any signs of damage to the animatronic. Except for the left eye. Instead of the milky white optics, it now shines red instead and the plastic is pitted.

“Sun, I know that look on your face. You want to say something, but you're scared. So what happened, Sun?"

The concern sounded so shrill that it made Sun want to cover his ears. Suddenly Sun felt the wet sound of rain on his sleeve, the feeling of pressure and bondage when entering the old bunker.

“I said I'm fine. Why do you want to ask? Shouldn't you care, I don't know, about what you're doing?” Sun waved and walked closer to the door. His voice cracked for some reason, which should have been impossible because the voice box of this yellow animatronic had been repaired by Moon.

“What else is more important than you, Sun?”

Logically, Sun knew that Moon was worried. But what Sun heard, all Sun felt now was blame and judgment .

'Look, Sunny boy is causing trouble again.'

'Why do you always let Moon clean up the BULLSHIT for you?'

‘PATHETIC.'

“Like you care.” Sun mumbled. His fingertips were intertwined, so tightly that it seemed like he wanted to crush them.

“What did you say?” Moon frowned. “Of course I care, you're my brother, aren't you?”

There was an explosion of anger that heated up the entire circuit board in Sun's body. It made Sun want to go forward and try punching the bastard brother in front of him. Brother? So, the time the person locked him in the basement, the person who beat him, made him angry to the point of crying but couldn't, the stupid person who killed himself for KC ? Is that also what a brother would do? How many times will Sun be hurt by this jerk, just because they are family?

Sun could almost hear Bloodmoon's chuckle in her ear, or Eclipse's viciously contemptuous hum. And it would be easy for him to explode now. It would be easy for him to pick something really hurtful now to blow up in Moon's face, to talk about what will happen in the future, that of all the misery, Moon is the culprit.

But this person hasn't done anything yet.

Well, other than throwing a piece of Killcode at Sun's head, Moon hasn't done anything yet. His brother couldn't have known what harm his actions would cause, and wasn't Moon just now starting to build a life? Would it be fair to blame it all on Moon now?

And if he destroys Eclipse, what will happen to Lunar? Does this version exist here?

Sun wanted to stop thinking. He wanted to return to a peaceful time when he could numb everything, and buried all his poisoned thoughts deep inside his hard drive, where not even Eclipse could know.

“Sun… Sun?”

“Y—yeah… Don't worry too much, thank you, Moon. I guess, suddenly returning to the past like this has become… overwhelming for me.”

A hand grabbed Sun's hand, Moon's red and black eyes looked at him worriedly. The grip was not strong, but it caused Sun's feet to be rooted to the ground, making Sun unable to breathe or move. Is he flinch? Sun smiled nervously, but inside he just wanted to stay away. He half wanted to hug Moon right now, to sink into the person who he loved the most, but also wanted to burn the hand that had touched him and throw it away.

“Anything… Just, listen, you can tell me everything, okay? We are brothers, so no matter what happens, we will deal with it together. You know that right, Sun?”

Moon's voice was gentle in Sun's ear. It made Sun want to scream, cry, that Moon was a liar, that Moon had left him, right when he needed Moon the most.

But instead, like usual, what Sun can say, is the words of a coward.

“Of course, Moon. I will tell you.”