Within the Solarium Zone, there was only a single park that aligned with the many roads of the city. Unbeknownst to who blessed the park with its name, it was known as the Sunflower Pavilion. Right alongside one of the intersections that met with the park was a small apartment complex called the Morning Dew. Other than what it was formally called, Taiyou labelled it his home. Not only did it seem the most run-down building amongst the city, but it was also a place that none of the robots liked to roam near due to the tangling plants that caused them to have difficulty floating through.
This was where Taiyou and the mysterious intruder met up.
"...I told you to dodge them, not shoot their limbs like they're cannibalistic," he sighed, pressing onto his temples to relax his muscles. "Don't you know how hard it is to build one of them?"
"Uh-huh, and that's why I shot their limbs rather than every spot on their bodies," came her retort, folding her arms and tossing back the unfamiliar mechanical wings she found equipped on her back a while ago. With a smug look, she twirled around to meet the latter, her emerald eyes filled with mischief. "How about we start with a little introduction?"
The Morning Dew was surprising a lot more distinct than the woman had imagined. In fact, the rooms themselves could be considered as a separate world to the Solarium Zone due to the tatami floors and paper doors –– the polished wooden frames intricately fixed to simply decorate each of the rooms. She did not hesitate to explore, peeking her head to every nook and cranny with sparkles falling through her emerald eyes. Clearing her throat and gently bringing her bottom to the floor, she reached out a hand in Taiyou's direction.
"Formally known as Clair de Lune, you can simply call me Clair. You've probably already guessed it, but allow me to explain again. I'm from another world that's now being called the Witching Hour due to a crisis."
The male furrowed his eyebrows, wary of her origins. Despite being the only human standing in the Solarium Zone until now, there were still man-written texts that allowed him to discover the characteristics of other neighbouring worlds. For example, there was one that was guided by the sea –– also known as the Glacial Mare. Known to be one of the largest worlds, the Glacial Mare was accommodated by those who waltz on ice and sanctify in the waters. However, the Witching Hour was one of the furthest from the Solarium Zone. It did not make quite enough sense why she would travel so far.
"Why the Solarium Zone?" He interrogated further, pushing his hands into the pockets of his huge jacket. "The time it takes from the Witching Hour to here would be too long for a mere human to handle."
"My, despite having lived in this world for how long, you're human too," Clair smirked, tilting her head to the side as the navy ends of her hair followed suit. "It doesn't hurt to explain that too. You see, the Witching Hour wasn't quite known as the Witching Hour back then –– it was a land of music. Every night was the day for other worlds; people would play on their instruments as they waltzed down the streets, the theatre would play a heartfelt story, the moon would reflect its tranquillity onto the clock tower's face. However one day, the moon disappeared."
"...The moon?"
"That's right," she sighed. "The moon is our life source. It's what keeps us moving, singing, dancing, yet it's gone. Due to that, everyone's now in some sort of deep slumber."
"Then why aren't you asleep?"
Emerald eyes glanced back at him. "I was. I don't quite know for how long I've been asleep for –– anyway, for some peculiar and unknown reason, I woke up. The Witching Hour felt darker than it could ever be. So! I'm going to kidnap you to dispel this 'darkness' that has cursed our world. The other worlds don't have a sun nor a moon –– so that's why I came here."
Taiyou still had many questions to ask, yet he could only stay silent, resting his chin on his palm as he slouched on the wooden coffee table separating the two. Now that he knew her intentions and a portion of her backstory, he did not quite know what else to think of other than the entire situation being a pain in the ass.
First of all, he did not want to be some sort of Power Ranger saving another world in need of assistance. He was quite fine with constructing robots, after all. However, he did want to escape the Solarium Zone due to being entrapped for so long. No matter how many times he begged for the mechanism he constructed to be one with a sane mind, it would always turn out to be one of the DES or a mere gardening robot taking care of the Sunflower Pavilion's robotic flowers. Would he ever make a robot that would listen to him even once?
He then blinked once.
Twice.
Thrice.
He could.
"In one condition," he finally said, clearing his throat. Clair gaped her mouth open, an expectant look written all over her face. "You're going to build a mechanism yourself right in front of me."
That was when the liveliness from her facial features melted away with the Solarium Zone's heat. "P-Pardon?"
"Build a mechanism."
"L-Like...now?"
They then got to work.
With some older tools that Taiyou found in the storage rooms of the apartment complex along with the spare screws and hex nuts that Clair picked up from the floor, they sprawled every single piece of equipment on the tatami mats and calculated which ones were of use. However, it seemed like a one-sided argument from a neutral perspective; the stepmother treating Cinderella as if she were a speck of grime.
"Why won't this fit?" She would ask, furrowing her eyebrows as if she were staring at a difficult problem unsolvable to the worlds.
Taiyou would feel sweat trickling down his cheek despite not being the one doing the hard work. "Look at your point sockets."
After a while of studying the point sockets in her hands, she gasped as a light bulb comically flashed above her head. "Ah, I've been using a 12-point socket with a 6-point hex nut."
Although the mistakes dragged on to what seemed like her grave, they were both able to finally complete a mechanism from scratch without using the prepared mechanisms at the Central Ignition. Mechanisms would tend to look as fresh and polished once the switch turned on, yet the mechanism that Clair had constructed with all her might looked nothing like it.
In fact, it looked more like a puppet than a robot.
"Doesn't this guy look handsome?" She smirked as she knocked the head of the robot gently with the back of her hand. "Our puppets looked a bit like this back in the Witching Hour."
"'A bit like this' –– I'm glad they don't look too similar." Taiyou made no comment, glaring at the mechanism beyond his eyes with his face cringed. Receiving an offended look from the woman, he nudged her to switch it on.
With a touch of a finger, they waited for signs of movement.