Work Text:
Every Home Is A Future Ruin
"Ruin! Still…doing the shark thing?" Sun asked curiously, his rays ticking to the side as the solar model peered into the ball pit. The amalgamation was perched on the island in the center, nudging a nearby orange ball with the point of his toe. Ruin looked up to meet the daycare attendant's gaze with a quiet smile.
"No, I'm afraid I've grown rather bored with it. I'm not really sure what to do with myself now, I suppose."
Sun hummed, rays spinning slowly in thought, "Well…there's always the cleaning to be done? Or maybe you could chǝ̶̼̉ɔ̸̡̆ʞ̵̫̓ ̷̱͋ɒ̴̮͗n̶͕̚b̷̚͜ ̸̝͊ƨ̴̮͠ǝ̵̤͗ǝ̶̫͂ ̶͖͆i̴̺̾ʇ̴͈̈́ ̶̧̈M̷̳̀o̸̫͠o̵̪̍n̵̡̾ ̷̻̌ṋ̶̀ǝ̵̜̈́ǝ̷̛̺b̷̮̌ƨ̵̦̆-̴͇̽"̴̙̒"
Ruin blinked, his optics making a puzzled clicking sound as if to underscore his dismay.
"I beg your pardon? Forgive me, Sun, but I…didn't quite catch that." Perhaps his audials did need to be looked at after all.
"I said, maybe you could check and see if Moon needs help with- well, whatever it is he's working on." The golden bot shrugged.
"Ahh, yes. Perhaps. Is dear Earth about? There is something I wished to discuss with her, actually."
"I think she's in the tower doing some of her crocheting." Sun said airily, leaning down to pick up a stray ball to toss back into the pit.
Ah. Naturally.
"Very well! Thank you very much! I'll be on my way then." He chirped, coming to stand before bounding over the ball with more energy than he really felt. He was, however, the most supreme of actors, though!
No one ever imagined what he had up his sleeve. No one ever imagined the horror of what he was going to do, not even the supposed geniuses amongst them.
True to Sun's word, he found the large female animatronic happily crocheting away on the couch in the tower, enjoying some rather nice soft music. A piano version of a familiar song from a musical he enjoyed, Hadestown, crooned softly in the space.
'It's a sad song
But we sing it anyway
'Cause here’s the thing
To know how it ends
And still begin to sing it again
As if it might turn out this time
I learned that from a friend of mine'
To know how it ends…
He huffed, quiet and somber. Indeed. Ruin gave Earth a smile when she turned her own bright and warm expression to him.
"Oh, Ruin! Come see what I'm working on!" She giggled, scootching over to make room for him next to her on the couch. He humored her with a hum, joining her easily.
Ahhhh, dear Earth. Always so kind and accepting of others.
"Isn't this absolutely adorable? I'm making a poncho!" She delighted joyfully, holding up the rather…colorful creation. It could have easily been mistaken for a blanket if not for its rounded shape and telling neckline. It also looked as if a baby had vomited all across its surface, a rather unfortunate combination of colors that resembled regurgitated carrot stew rather than anything remotely fashionable. Yellows, oranges, and browns made up its composition and Ruin fought to keep his smile locked in place.
"Oh, my! How very creative, dear! Your stitching is so even and consistent!" It was true. Despite the rather colorful hues, the composition itself was remarkably well made. Even as they spoke, her rows and the small loops did not falter as she worked away at the neckline. Loop, loop, hook. Loop, loop, hook.
She tittered, green and blue cheeks pinking, "Thank you! The benefits of being a machine, I suppose." She hummed, tucking a strand of her pale hair back into her pink headband.
Pink, eh?
"Trying a new fashion style out, Earth?"
Her blue eyes looked up at him, filled with question, "Hm?"
Ruin gestured at his own head with a small smile, "Your headband. It's normally a rainbow."
Her mouth parted slightly in surprise before she touched her headband with a hum. Earth gave him a soft, almost puzzled smile, before chuckling, "Are you teasing me now too, Ruin? My headband is always pink! It's the only one I have!"
"Ahh, of course. My mistake. Perhaps we should make you a few new ones to enjoy? You are always making such lovely things for others, after all!"
"Oh, that would be wonderful!"
~O~
He was not in the mood for the bright optic-assault that the daycare provided today so, instead, he opted for a trip further down to Parts and Service where Solar was puttering about.
"Oh. Hey, Ruin. What's up?" The mechanic paused in putting away his tools for the afternoon, no doubt already debating on what to have for dinner when they all returned to their cozy, little island home.
"Nothing, nothing! Just…not in the mood for brighter climes, I suppose." He grimaced, fighting urge to look towards the space that had once been his cell.
Solar hummed, nodded in understanding, as if he could read between the lines to what the amalgam really meant, "Pretty understandable, honestly. I'm not sure how Sun does it every day. I have days where it gets to be a lot for me too. You're welcome to grab a seat down here any time you need a break."
"Thank you, Solar." He always appreciated how Solar treated him like a person. True, even he was susceptible to Ruin's 'affable idiot' facade at times but unlike most of the others, the mechanic didn't treat him like an annoyance or something to be suspicious of, unlike-
"Oh God dammit. You're both here." Eclipse. Of course.
What did one call a room full of eclipses anyways? A Total Eclipse? More like a murder. They were awfully similar to crows, weren't they? Intelligent, curious, opportunistic, often reviled by others. Though this particular eclipse did have that particular trait in spades, didn't he? Then again, he supposed that was his fault, wasn't it? He had programmed him that way.
"Afraid so." Solar replied, sounding a little grumpier than before.
Ruin frowned at the other eclipse, tilting his head. Had his pants always been black and purple? He thought for sure that they had been orange at some point…
"Don't worry your rays, Eclipse, I will bid you adieu! I'm sure there's an arcade machine out there in need of a valiant rescue!" He chirped, shooting a frowning Solar a bright, false smile. He wasn't about to deal with a vexed Eclipse. The quiet wasn't worth it.
"Pity." The surly bot groused, voice cold and brimming with sarcasm.
Ruin fought the urge to roll his optics. At least until he was out of the room. Good old Eclipse. He could always be counted on to be an absolute bellend, no matter the scenario or circumstance. Solar grimaced.
"Yeah. I'm going to just…go." The mechanic mumbled. He was sure there was something anywhere else that he could find to do.
"Good. Beat it, replacement."
The two eclipses left the service area with a low air of relief about them to be away from the surly, waspish reboot.
"I see Eclipse's mood has only improved." Solar noted with dry sarcasm imbued in every syllable.
"Indeed. Though his new style may yet improve something." He noted with a hum.
His companion looked to him curiously, "I…suppose so? Maybe he was just trying out a change?"
"Possibly!"
But he knew better. Eclipse didn't change. None of them did. Nothing here changed.
So why was it?
~O~
It kept happening.
It was always little things, small details that would be easily passed over. The bells on a pair of daycare slippers missing, an out of place advertisement, a menu item at an eaterie where it didn't belong. It was like a seek-and-find puzzle game except this wasn't a pleasant past time.
The world around him was changing.
Ruin found his way up to the tower eager for a comforting respite. There, just as usual was Earth, humming and working away on the neckline of that dreadful poncho.
'It's a sad song
But we sing it anyway'
That soft, crooning music filled the air. There she sat on the couch with her rainbow ribbon back in place where it should have been. His shoulders sank with relief at the sight.
"Oh, Ruin! Come see what I'm working on!" She giggled, scootching over to make room for him next to her on the couch, "Isn't this absolutely adorable? I'm making a poncho!" The large female bot sang happily.
"Indeed? What a delight!" He chuckled. Earth was always so pleasant. So kind and compassionate.
And yet…
Today he was feeling strangely melancholic. He was having a hard time enjoying himself here like usual.
"I like your headband, Earth. It's so colorful." A rainbow…
She beamed, "Thank you! I love it!"
He hummed, "Have you ever considered a different color?" Why did he even ask? He knew what the answer would be. Masochism, maybe.
She chuckled and shook her head, "No, this one is special. Besides! Rainbow is the best because it has the best colors: all of them!"
"Of course." Ruin whispered quietly. He stood suddenly, "Please excuse me. I've…just remembered that there's somewhere I need to be."
"O-oh. Okay then…" She seemed surprised, confused even. Seemed. Because that's all this was, wasn't it? Just an appearance.
It wasn't real. None of it was real.
None of them were real. Not anymore.
The world began to dim and fade around him and Ruin opened his optics…to darkness. Emptiness. That was all that was left. Just blackness and him.
He floated endlessly through the space where a dimension used to be, where a whole world once existed. Lives and a daycare and friends and family…So many families. One family in particular.
The Celestial Family was long gone. Earth. Sun. Moon. Solar. Eclipse. Lunar. All of them. They had been for some time, ever since his plot had succeeded. He just hadn't expected the Collapse to envelope their dimension as well. He would never forget how Sun and Moon had died clinging desperately to each other.
Now…now the Celestials existed only in his memories, ghosts of the past that he surrounded himself with for comfort. It was selfish, he knew. How dare he take comfort from the very people that he had destroyed. And yet…he couldn't seem to bring himself to stop, when the silence grew too loud and the boredom sank in. During those unbearable moments, he would sink into the memories of another place, another time. It was almost as though, by remembering them, by holding space for them there in his memories, he could let them continue on.
Even if it was only as a story of those long dead, residual haunts going endlessly about the last days of their lives, not even knowing that they had long since passed away, trapped in a loop of time. A snapshot in history. Thought it seemed that in his old age, his memories weren't quite what they used to be, were they? Even machines could mis-remember things, it seemed.
"It's a sad song
But we sing it anyway
'Cause here’s the thing
To know how it ends
And still begin to sing it again
As if it might turn out this time…" He murmured, his voice echoing out into the empty space around him.
As if everything might work out this time…