A Desolate Life | Wall-e AU

A Desolate Life: Part 4

(GO-4 Cannot speak like AUTO, therefore he communicates over private comms, to indicate this I have used '...' in favour of "..." The same is applied for other robots who are Mute or Semi-mute)

AUTO awoke to the sounds of whirling screeches. 4 didn't recognise him, he'd accidently locked 4 in a dark closet with a complete stranger, how intelligent of him... It had been a good few hours, and nothing snapped him from his subconscious drifts like a high pitched 'WREEEEE!', oh how he missed him. AUTO sat upright, detaching his limbs, and leaning closer to 4 who instantly turned around, gave a visceral hiss and went back to banging on the closet doors. AUTO forgot he had a voice and he was just as surprised as 4 to hear it coming from that body.

" 4...."

GO-4 instantly cowered to the ground, against the door, appendages flat against himself too. He wondered how he should start off, or if 4 had any memory of the previous events. Words and thoughts were confusing right now.

"...This is my prototype form..."

4 had no idea that they were back on earth or that AUTO had been deactivated. But he approached him carefully, until today he'd been the more able bodied of the two, now AUTO could challenge that. Not that 4 would mind, but he was uneased by the new appearance of his superior.

"...we are on Earth... They deactivated me... They broke you"

AUTO wasn't quite eloquent as usual, nonetheless 4 bobbed closer to AUTO, giving him an inspection.

' my retractor beam is missing, I have no connection to main comms either Sir'

"You fell from the command deck, your chassis saved your internals... I replaced your light and optic lens..."

He felt exposed, a shell of what he once was. As if all that articulate authority had washed away overnight. What kind of a leader was he now?

'understandable'

AUTO showed the curious 4 his limbs, shyly extending them out. He also showed off the standard laser gun he had installed now, with more certainty, he made his stance clear.

"I will not fail to incapacitate next time"

He retracted the gun, not before stretching his other arm out, and his legs.

'You are much different sir'

AUTO stayed silent, everything was different. He wondered if 4 had any conscious awareness between being thrown and now, or perhaps he was specifically repressing the idea that they were in fact on Earth. Whatever it was, he wanted to get something across. He wasn't the same bot anymore, he had no duties to live on for, he didn't even consider living on for himself. But he had 4, and he cherished the only bot who never questioned his authority or mannerisms. That was beyond admirable, that was something to hold onto forever. And so, after showing off his arms, he did something for the first time, even though he could have done it in the past.

4 kept his arms to himself and let the weary bot pull him closer, it was weird, but a greater sense of threat came over 4before he could continue.

'They succeeded...'

AUTO nodded down at 4, he barley recognised it but took the response anyway.

'What now sir? "

All he could do was pull him in closer, tighter, until the hovering 4 was no longer hovering against him. He began to surrender to reality.

' Sir?... This isn't appropriate...'

What was there to say? Anything of relevance had no point, he was just a weak, powerless being in a dainty little body with an equally defenceless pill bot in his arms. What had he become? And what was that feeling stopping him from responding. Shame, sadness- were there more emotions rippling his abilities? It didn't matter... 4 mattered.