#dad Killcode | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

bitterkarmaa · 3 months ago

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This has been rotating in my head non-stop

‼️TW SEIZURE‼️

Sun had emphasized how important it was for everyone to be present during family movie night. Eclipse understood that, honestly. How would it be family movie night without the whole family?

He supposed that they’d just have to find that out tonight.

If he had to watch Air Bud one more goddamn time, he might just kill everyone in the room. And, contrary to popular belief, he doesn’t exactly want to do that.

So, he’s resolved himself to hide on the platform that overlooks the theater, peering in between the bars of the banister. His rays are retracted, the vibrant colors of his clothes hidden by a blanket that he has pulled over his shoulders. Plus, added bonus, it keeps him warm. Today isn’t a great day physically for him, so the extra comfort is appreciated.

When the soft chatters of everyone else begins to filter up to him from below, signaling his family’s arrival, he backs away from the banister and scuttles towards the door hidden amongst the various boxes and crates of equipment. With one last glance over his shoulder, he hears Rays quietly ask where he is, with Blood Moon’s more firm voice not far behind.

He lingers, one hand on the doorknob.

“What if he’s gotten himself hurt again? What if he’s stuck somewhere? What if-“

“Blood, he’s fine. He’s probably just skipping out on movie night because we aren’t watching one of his cheesy horror films.” Moon’s sharp voice cuts in, a sigh leaving his mouth as Blood Moon continues to grumble behind him.

“Hurt?” Rays’ soft, yet mortified tone paints a picture of his expression in Eclipse’s head: eyes wide, blanket pulled tightly over his shoulders, shaking fingers curled into the fabric. It’s almost enough to make Eclipse reveal himself and come down. Almost.

“Yeah, he’s kinda a danger magnet.” Moon admits, moving towards the staircase that leads up to the platform Eclipse is hidden on.

“I doubt he’s in danger, though. He usually gets paranoid when he’s doing stupid shit, but he’s been pretty chill lately. Have you tried calling him?”

Blood Moon pauses. “No.”

“Try that, then get back to me.”

Moon takes the stairs two at a time. Eclipse knows he likes to show off, since he only does it in front of others.

Tsk. I could do that, too.

Eclipse opens the door, slipping into the hallway behind. In a slight panic, he tugs on the handle, pulling it shut behind him as quickly as possible. Not long after, he hears Moon’s footsteps outside.

With a sigh of relief, he turns away from the door, facing the rest of the corridor.

He lets out half of a yelp before slapping his hands over his mouth, glaring daggers at the tall figure before him as Moon’s movements pause outside.

Familiar red eyes stare down at Eclipse, albeit dimmer than he remembers. He slowly uncovers his mouth as Moon continues on with his task, presumably getting the movie started.

“What are you doing here?” Eclipse hisses under his breath.

Kill Code blinks. Slowly, carefully, as if uncertain what the action’s purpose is. Acting on autopilot. Eclipse is further disturbed.

“…hello?”

Kill Code shakes its head slightly, letting out a huff. “My hall. You know this.”

Eclipse leans back, crossing his arms over his chest, reassured by Kill Code’s more familiar behavior. “You can’t own a hallway. I needed somewhere to hide. Can you help, or not?”

Kill Code narrows his eyes, his claws twitching at his sides. It sways precariously on unsteady paws.

Eclipse fights the urge to move forwards and steady him.

“Follow.” It grunts, turning around and beginning to saunter back down the hall. Eclipse hesitates a few moments before trailing behind, keeping his footsteps light in comparison to Kill Code’s heavy stomping.

It’s small things that catch his attention. The stumbles, the pauses. The way each step seems to take all of Kill Code’s energy. So much effort for a single movement.

Then, Eclipse jumps again, startled by the ringing of a call coming in. Kill Code flinches, too, tail lashing through the air as it turns to growl at Eclipse.

Eclipse stumbles back, Blood Moon’s contact flashing across his sight. He declines the call in an annoyed(and maybe frightened) frenzy, trying to move away, a snarky quip ready on his tongue to dismiss himself back to his sons. But a hand with long, sharp claws closes around his wrist, pulling him closer instead.

“S-Stop, stop! Dad-“ Eclipse grits out, trying to pry himself free from Kill Code’s grasp. For a moment, Kill Code remains still, gaze hauntingly hollow. Before long, however, it releases Eclipse, robotically leaning away once more.

“What is wrong with you right now? You’ve been off since I got back here!” Eclipse snaps, holding his wrist close to his chest, as if afraid Kill Code will try to grab him again.

“Ringing. It’s irritating.” Kill Code says lowly. His eyes still seem…off.

“It was Blood Moon, probably wondering where I am! You were there when they had their big breakdown about me being gone and hurt, so you should know how they can be!”

Ridiculous as it is…

Eclipse lets out a heavy breath, trying to expel his paranoia. Kill Code stares down at him blankly. Unmoving.

“I apologize. I overreacted.” Kill Code says flatly. Eclipse relaxes slightly, though he remains vigilant.

“It’s…okay. Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Fine.”

With that, it turns back around and continues on towards the door to its room. Eclipse follows, less hesitant this time, hovering behind it nervously.

When it makes it to the door, it moves its hand up to grab the knob, but its hand misses and instead scrapes vainly against the rusted metal surface of the door itself. Eclipse watches quietly.

By the time it completes the process again with the same result, Eclipse has grown impatient. He reaches out and opens the door himself.

Kill Code grumbles to himself, but makes no comment, instead forcing himself inside with his son on his heels.

The door closes on its own behind them. Eclipse glances back at it, but doesn’t dwell long. “You…you’re sure?”

Kill Code pauses for but a moment. A slight hitch in its gait. It mutters something over its shoulder. Eclipse doesn’t catch the words.

“KC?” Eclipse steps closer. Kill Code’s arm spasms, and it growls, using its other arm to restrain it against its side.

“Stop prying, boy!” It snarls, still struggling against the twitching and writhing mess of its own arm.

“But-“

“But nothing!” It shouts, scaring the concern right out of Eclipse as the scarred animatronic doubles back on himself, eyes widening in fear. Kill Code turns to face him, tail whipping back and forth, back and forth, back and forth - advancing on Eclipse like a prowling tiger sizing up its next meal.

“Okay, okay, I-I’ll stop-!” Eclipse stumbles backwards, raising a hand to shield himself as his father looms over him, draping him in its morbid shadow.

“You never learn to shut up, do you?” Its gleaming red eyes pierce him like bullets, digging into him ruthlessly. “You always pay, pay all these prices and- consider, possibly, that you’ve earned some-“ It turns away again, bringing a hand up to the damaged half of its face, the remaining visible eye now wild with conflicting emotions.

“What? What are you talking about?” Eclipse asks incredulously, feeling that familiar warmth spread out from his chest, pure power running through his systems. His bad eye flickers to life, a dim light cast as an iris.

“They’re your children! They should be worried! You act as if their concern is a nuisance to you, such a disgraceful outlook-“ Kill Code continues to rant, the deranged expression on its face only worsening with each word.

“I never said that!” Eclipse retorts, his arm coming back down, aligned with his chest instead of his head. An offensive position, rather than defensive.

“Shut your mouth!” In the blink of an eye, Kill Code is bearing down on him again, claws reaching, shadow looming, face set in a vicious snarl. Eclipse’s jaw snaps shut with an audible click.

His confidence leaves much quicker than it came.

“I taught you how to care, I taught you how to be appreciative, but you act as if Blood Moon’s worry bores you - burdens you. You act as if being in the presence of the others is a damn chore, when all they’ve done is care for you. You’d be dead without them!” Then, it stops, speaking in a softer, more subdued tone than before. “You’d be dead without me, but you left years ago.”

Eclipse listens in silence up until the last few words, his anger and pride flaring before his self-preservation can rein them in.

“You sentenced me to death before you saved me from it.”

Kill Code’s entire demeanor changes. His hands retract, his body recoils, tense and shocked as if physically struck by Eclipse’s words.

“I…I never meant to…” It’s words are distant, almost confused, or lost. Its expression twists into borderline despair, snarl falling into a pained grimace.

Pricks of oil gather in Kill Code’s eyes, complete and utter shock hitting Eclipse with the force of twelve fighter jets.

Okay, so…that’s still a sore spot. Noted.

“KC….I….” Eclipse starts, fidgeting nervously with his claws. It is then that he notices Kill Code sway, staggering backwards. “KC?”

Eclipse gets closer, quickly grabbing his father’s arm, slowly lowering him to sit on the cold cement floor below. He feels the mechanisms in the older animatronic’s arm stiffening uncontrollably beneath his sleeve and plating, gears grinding, turning against themselves.

“I-I don’t know what to do, tell me what to do, how to save you-“

Memories hit him harder than he thought they would. It’s his turn to overreact, it seems, because surely his father isn’t dying - come on, he’s fine! He said it himself!

Kill Code’s eyes remain vacant, unfocused and dim. The only thing keeping him upright is Eclipse’s hold on his arm.

Oil. Oil everywhere. Covering his hands, coating his chest, leaking between his fingers as he struggles to connect the tubes back to the pump- god, please, PLEASE no, he couldn’t- couldn’t do this-

“Dad?” Eclipse can’t keep the tremble from his voice. It stays. His hands, they stay, shaking. Clutching at Kill Code’s arm, panic setting in faster than he ever thought possible.

There’s this ticking noise from behind Kill Code’s remaining faceplate, the visible wires on the other half sparking wildly. His eyes flicker a few times, then go dark.

He can barely see through the tears. It’s hard to put everything back together with hands that shake this badly. But he has to try. He has to. What would he do on his own? How would he survive? It’s just been the two of them for so long. He can’t do this on his own.

Right?

“DAD!” Eclipse shouts as his father goes limp for only a moment, spasms and convulsions seizing him in the next. He is forced to release him and back off, his trembling hands still hovering in mid-air in front of him as if poised to touch or hold or - or something other than just watch.

Tears gather in his eyes, a nauseating amount of panic crawling up his throat. Getting any closer would get them both hurt. But…but what…what is going on??

Is he dying again?

The thought forces a choked sob out of his mouth, trembling hands moving back to wrap around himself. His rays shrink in, hiding behind his faceplate, just as he wishes to run and hide somewhere else, as well.

He should’ve just watched the damn movie. Should’ve sat down with his family and rolled his eye at all the lame jokes, only actually uttering a laugh when Blood Moon made fun of the ironic moments.

But no. No, he had to cause problems.

He had to do it alone now. He was gone. His father’s tubes were too torn, his intake bent beyond repair. His pump had choked up on all the oil, so much of it covering Eclipse that he knows it would never be enough to keep Kill Code running, even if he had managed to keep him awake somehow.

So much oil. So much.

Eclipse tries to wrack his processor for any clue as to what is going on. System error? No, those never get this bad. Electric current disruption? No, that would just force a restart. Seizure? No, those are for-

Everything stops. His shaking, his crying, his panic. Seizure. This is a seizure.

Finally, he manages to pull himself out of his daze. He moves forwards, slipping one hand under his father’s back, shifting him onto his side. He pays no mind to his flailing limbs, even as a claw tears his collar and nicks his neck beneath. It’s not Kill Code’s fault.

Eclipse keeps one hand on his father’s shoulder once he is safely on his side, oil dribbling out of his mouth and onto the floor beneath. Even as he continues to seize, Eclipse remains in place, making sure he stays put and as safe as possible.

Logic still tries to press back against his conclusion. Robots can’t have seizures. It makes no sense. The very structure of a seizure relies on the brain and the electrical impulses that reside within. Sure, animatronics have a processor, which is the equivalent of a brain - but the cables have full control over the electrical current that is transferred to each system. That pre-set amount can’t be changed, and this has never happened before, so how-

It’s because he’s dying. Again. Stop trying to deny it, you know what’s happening.

Those damned tears sting at his eyes again, but he tries to hold them back.

Just like last time, you can’t do anything. You can’t save him, you can’t save yourself, you can’t save anyone. You can only cause harm.

It’s no use. The tears drip down his face no matter how hard he tries, a silent sob leaving his mouth. His hands start shaking again.

Then, Kill Code’s seizing begins to slow. It eases into only the occasional spasm or jerk - much more manageable, as far as Eclipse is concerned. Less panic-inducing.

Much to his relief, he feels the heavy rise and fall of his father’s chest as he vents to compensate for the heat he gathered during his…whatever that was.

All self-control leaves him in an instant. He curls up against Kill Code, sobbing brokenly into his shoulder for the first time in decades. His claws curl into his tattered shirt, slowly falling into screams of despair.

The tears blur everything together. Past, present, life, death. He’s trembling and screaming and sobbing so much that he can’t tell up from down. Can’t tell if Kill Code is still breathing beneath him. Can’t feel anything other than grief.

But he’s not dead. You know he’s dead. He’s not. He’s breathing. Is he? Yes. You’re imagining it. No. He’s alive. He’s dead. He’s alive. He’s dead. He’s alive.He’s dead. He’s alive. He’s dead.

He’s dead.

He’s-

“Eclipse?”

His eye sharpens immediately, focusing on Kill Code’s bleary expression. The tears stop like flipping a switch. He tries to focus on making sure his father’s alright.

“Yeah? You - um - you okay?” Eclipse stammers, trying his hardest to get and keep his shit together.

He’s dead.

Kill Code shifts, trying to push himself into a sitting position. Eclipse’s hands, still trembling, jolt forwards to gently urge him to lay back down.

“No. You need more time.” He insists, earning a shaky sigh from his father.

“I’m alright, Eclipse. I’m sorry you had to witness that.” Kill Code rasps in response, and it takes everything within Eclipse to push down the childish urge to curl into his father’s chest and hug him tight.

“No, no. It’s - it’s okay. Not your fault.” He knows his tone is distant. He’s not really here. Is he?

He’s dead.

“Eclipse, look at me.”

“I am.”

“My eyes, you twit.”

Eclipse slowly lifts his gaze until it is locked with Kill Code’s, allowing his father to carefully sit up this time around without making an effort to push him back down.

“What’s going on in that head of yours, hm?” It reaches out one hand to gently cup his son’s face, a frown crossing his own as he witnesses tears gather in the corners of his eyes.

“N-N…um…” Eclipse stammers, voice shaking. “Nothing. Nothing important.”

He’s dead.

I’m looking at him.

What remains of him, you fool.

Maybe it’s the exhaustion in Kill Code’s eyes, maybe it’s the frightening way his mind fights with itself like a snake eating its own tail, but he can’t hold it in anymore. A sob wrenches itself from his chest, and he launches himself into his father’s arms.

He shuts his eyes tightly and buries himself into Kill Code’s chest, letting the tears and torment out into his father’s clothes.

And, no matter how exhausted and dizzy Kill Code is, he sits and he holds his son while he breaks in his arms. He waits and he soothes, allowing the desperate claws to curl into the back of his shirt, clutching at him as if he’s already gone.

Because, in Eclipse’s mind…he quite possibly is.

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