A Desolate Life | Wall-e AU

A Desolate Life: Part 9

 (I rushed editing this, Merry Crisis, Happy Holedays, Season's Shartings and a Fappy New Queer)

"Get in... Now!"

During their journey back to their van home, the two bots had been caught out in an Ash storm of sorts. It sent blistering fractals of Ash down upon their heads and clinging to their bodies. AUTO had called the trip off as they exited the first underground mall store, as he hadn't seen how viscous the weather had become outside. Now they were just a good 10 meters away from the foot of their only cosy home; arms and appendages filled with electronics. Their bodies were grey, slightly fluffy and battered by the wind. The Ash and dust hit them like shrapnel, AUTO and 4 buried their optics into the piles of batteries for protection. Their haul wasn't much, but it would keep them going. They had found a few deactivated ticket bots and of course waste units inside the mall, they probably took shelter here from past weather events. GO-4 immediately began ripping away at their torsos, salvaging batteries with minimal power left. The two bots had almost given up, until they found a relic amongst the modern trash.

The diamond in the rough they had uncovered was a jerry can and mini generator, something they could hook up to the batteries. It was a festive miracle since solar power was utterly useless in this climate. AUTO located part of his processing power to ponder over the deplorable waste unit's survival, he must have hibernated in times like these. Perhaps AUTO and 4 would need to do the same.

Mere meters away from their door, fighting against the gusts of small decaying feathers, AUTO held the generator close to his head, as well as some batteries and the Jerry can. GO-4 just held batteries, struggling the most to keep his hover upright against the wind.

"I will- open-"

A BnL catalogue page slapped his face, he shook it off.

"-the door..."

AUTO slid in front of 4, who took some shelter against the side of the van. He dumped the items in his hands onto the ground, a puff of Ash got carried effortlessly away in the wind. With two white palms, encapsulated by the rest of his now grey hand, he pulled on the van's handle and turned instinctively as a coat of Ash fell down onto the two robots. 4 took not time to hurry inside, bobbing back out to grab the can, batteries and leaving AUTO to heave the generator up from the wispy outdoors. He easily lifted inside, pulling the door back into place as he nearly threw himself into the van. The whirling of Ash stopped, and the bits that had entered their home slowly rested themselves on the floor. AUTO and 4 stared at the door for a few moments, then turned to view their home, nearly untouched by the dust. They bot quickly checked the next two vans, they weren't damaged or infiltrated by Ash, just cold. The generator would surely provide some heat.

"... Good..."

AUTO lowered himself into a sit upon the ground, assessing the batteries, can and generator. He swept off the dust that had made its home on their surfaces. Then he looked over at 4, he was nearly entirely grey, his red siren speckled with a thick goat of dust. AUTO stared down at himself, he too was a medium shade of grey. GO-4 tried to shake himself free from the Ash but stopped only when he met AUTOs gaze.

'Not the towel Sir! Not the tow-'

2 minutes of wiping and scrubbing had passed, 4 still wailed under the towel. AUTO had grown numb to his refusals and outcries, allowing 4 to have his way was weak. Soon after he dropped the towel and watched the matte bot shoot away under a desk. AUTO gave him a strained look, folding the towel up and putting it in a pile of other dirty fabrics. They'd need to find a way to clean them eventually. GO-4 looked more relaxed, emerging from the desk, and taking another gander at the supplies they had brought home. AUTO hovered over to another box of stuff in the 2nd van, pulling out another towel, GO-4 shrieked in terror. AUTO was so, so tired.