Chapter Text
The mindscape was… Boring at times. Of course, he had things to do in here, but… Admittedly, it was lonely. Of course, he wasn’t the only one stuck here, but it was never really good company. None of them really interested him much.
He also had things to do, but with how limited that was, it got stale sometimes. A lot of the times, he’d spend… However long he’d spend-- having no real sense of time anymore, just lying on the floor, staring up at the horizon of blue. It wasn’t a sky. It didn’t change. There wasn’t night or day. No clouds, no stars, just what seemed to be a typical blue background someone would see on a new device. Never changing, and… Really dull. Some days he really found himself getting sick of the colour blue. He’d love to see other things again. Trees, stars, anything. The feeling of grass below him again, the feeling of the breeze flowing through his synthetic hair, but there was no breeze here, either. No wind, no nothing.
Despite it being dull here on some days, he still wouldn’t take his sacrifice back for anything. He gave Four a chance because he deserved it. Because he still had a life to live. Sure, 4s would’ve loved to live a life outside the mission he had been raised and built for, but… He’s long accepted, with all the time spent here, that this was a wish he’d never have seen through.
He did wish Four would actually pick up his calls sometimes, though. After several attempts to none, he had given it a break. Sometimes he’d watch the screen, seeing things around him, but he tended not to, especially once he started getting soft, and really close to someone, because that felt a bit too weird and personal to just be watching, so that didn’t leave him with much to do.
At least he could eat. Use those tables to generate whatever he felt like wanting at the time-- foodwise. It was fun to see how creative he could get with it. Sometimes that was entertaining for a while.
But he wasn’t doing any of that today. Today was one of the still days. On the ground with his eyes shut, and his sunglasses off, folded neatly on his chest as he laid on his back, unmoving. Something just felt off today, and he didn’t know what it was. Like something was poking and prodding at him. A feeling he didn’t know how to really describe a different way, even if that wasn’t exactly entirely accurate.
It was just weird, and off, and annoying. It irritated him, and rendered him here, where he lay currently. Paralyzed by a feeling he didn’t understand. Certainly not one he had felt in a really long time. It worried him, really.
But… Everything was fine, surely. Things had gotten weirdly warm for a while-- 4s looking through the screen to see, and hear a bit about MePhone recovering from something he didn’t catch, but things were normal again. They had been normal here for a long while now, he figured, so… Why were things getting weird now? When things seemed calm and regular enough? If he wasn’t stuck feeling weird and irritated, he’d get up and take a peek through the screen, but he couldn’t. He figured he’d do that later, but…
That didn’t happen. The feeling shifted to something else, the wrong feeling becoming so overwhelming in an instant. He shot up, looking around. He was in a vast empty space, like usual, he’d separate himself from a lot of what was in here when he wanted some privacy, but it so suddenly felt different. Like all of it was falling away.
He got to his feet, his head so suddenly reeling, a hand flying to it as he winced, looking around, desperately trying to figure out what was going on. Of course, his immediate concern was not for himself. It was for the body, and for MePhone. A spike of fear that MePhone might be hurt, much like what felt like a long time ago now-- when everything here seemed slower, but he couldn’t even really describe that, just… A similar feeling of everything being off, and weird, but everyone else in this space also seemed to catch on to things being weird then. Now, he was alone, and it only felt like it was happening to him.
Of course, there was nobody else around at the moment, but everything around him seemed normal.
He winced again. It felt like his body was being pulled away from where he stood. Like everything around him was glitching out, and that had to mean something terrible was happening, and he couldn’t even do anything about that, and-- Oh Gods, he didn’t want his sacrifice to have meant nothing if it ends so suddenly like this.
That was the last thought as his legs seemed to give up on him, his vision of the area flickering-- him not knowing in that moment it would be the last he’d ever see of it, as he crumpled to the floor.
As soon as his body hit the floor, he was no longer aware of anything going on around him, and that terrified him.
…
MePhone woke up, right where he was last, blinking as his screen flickered on. He was quiet for a moment as his processors caught up with him, before glancing over to OJ, still sitting right where he saw last too, hand in hand.
He blinked at the other, before moving to sit up;
“Uh… So how’d it go?” He looked over to TestTube, who was currently tinkering with the other robot-- 4s’s body.
“Great! I found it, and I’m working on installing it into the body now.” She didn’t look up from her tinkering, just giving a thumbs-up, before getting right back to it. Leaving her to focus on that, he turned back to OJ;
“How are you feeling?” The ginger looked up at him, his expression soft.
“Uh…” He moved his hand, pulling it away from OJ’s to rub the back of his neck; “Honestly not really any different.” He shrugged. He tried to see if he was feeling anything weird or different at all, but… There really just wasn’t anything. He was as normal as he always was, and with being a robot, he knew he’d be able to feel anything weird with himself.
“Is that a good thing?”
“Well, probably. I’m glad I don’t have to adjust to feeling different or anything,” He glanced over to TestTube again, still working. He wondered how long this was going to take.
“Are you ready for this?” OJ asked another question after a bit of silence.
“I-- well, shit, I hope so,” A lighthearted tone, trying to keep his own nerves down as best as possible. “I mean-- since… It’s happening and all,” Dissolving into something more sheepish, his expression just a little nervous as he continued to stare the other robot’s way. He wasn’t sure what to expect, to be honest.
“Whatever happens, we’re here for you.” A gentle reassurance from the ginger, something that did help a bit.
He just still really hoped 4s wouldn’t be mad at him. If the guy could watch what was going on, well surely he knew what was happening-- so at least the other probably wouldn’t be caught off guard, but… There was also the lack of choice in the matter. He still didn’t know if that was just really selfish yet, but…
MePhone just really hoped this wasn’t a huge mistake. That whatever was going to happen with 4s coming back, that everything would work out, and be fine. Even if things didn’t tend to go so smoothly, he still really hoped it would, just this once. Though they’d just have to wait and find out.
Waiting had to be the worst part, really, watching and listening to TestTube tinker, the only noise in the lab at that moment. OJ wasn’t really sure what to say, just choosing to let it be quiet unless MePhone wanted to talk, and well, MePhone didn’t know what to say, either. He just sat on the table, watching TestTube do her work, growing more nervous at the moment. He was as ready as he could be for this, and despite feeling so content before being shut off to start this whole thing, that didn’t just automatically make him ‘okay’ once he woke back up, and thought about it more. He knew he was safe and loved, yeah, but this was definitely a huge, giant change that was going to affect everyone, having someone new around. Someone a lot of people here didn’t even know, or-- in the case of the ones who did meet him, maybe not the best or most trusting views. He just prayed 4s wouldn’t be as hated as he had been. The other didn’t deserve that at all, especially after all this time.
But he supposed it was just complicated, wasn’t it. He hated that it was. He’d love it to just be simple, and easy. That still wasn’t how anything worked though.
He continued to stew in his thoughts and nerves until TestTube finally leaned back from where she was tinkering, closing the panel on the back of the other robot’s head, all with a smile on her face. She looked over to MePhone now;
“He’s ready to be activated whenever.”
Not ‘now’, just… Whenever. But it had to be now, right? It would be weird if they-- mostly TestTube, did all this work, just to put it off. Putting off things like this wasn’t good anyways. With a sigh, and a sheepish expression, he responded;
“Let’s get him on then,”
…
4S didn’t know how to describe what he was feeling. It felt different from what he had grown so used to. It felt wrong. And it kept feeling wrong, and it wasn’t going away, or easing up, and he didn’t know what to do. All he knew was that he wasn’t in that space anymore, but that he was still very much aware. Too aware, really. He almost felt… Physical. Something he hadn’t felt since he had his own body-- a sensation odd to him now.
He didn’t get much time to really entertain all these thoughts or really try to process much before he jolted awake.
A yell as he sat up, unsure what to do with his arms at the moment as he just ended up placing them on whatever surface was below him, gripping at a smooth surface, clumsy movements before realizing there wasn’t anything to grip. His senses were first. He could feel, and as his screen flickered on, he could see, too, though it was hard to process any of that at the moment as it felt like his body was booting up as he moved.
A hand to his chest, gripping at a loose shirt that hung over his frame, none of this being really processed in his mind. It was all just confusing, and jarring, and he didn’t know what was going on until his audio processors finally started working, when he could finally hear people talking to him.
“Just take a deep breath. I’m sure this is a lot to take in, but--” It went in and out, really. He could tell he was still being talked to, but his processors couldn’t keep up. If he were any weaker a robot, he probably would’ve shut off by now, but he just sat there, taking in air.
… Which was something he hadn’t done in such a long time. A sensation and feeling long lost to time, something he was hardly familiar with.
Of course, he didn’t have to breath, but it helped cool down his internal fans when needed. Even if he wasn’t overheating, his body was still clearly catching up with his mind, so he felt this was necessary in the moment.
“Can you look at me?” He finally heard the voice again. Mostly unfamiliar, and almost nasally. He blinked, gripping tighter at the shirt as he took in his surroundings, finally being able to process what the room around him looked like. It was sleek, and clean, and looked not too dissimilar to the work-stations at the MeCloud. That thought sent a cold chill down his mechanical spine as he whipped his head around, finally meeting a person’s gaze. His breath hitched, and he narrowed his eyes. She looked vaguely familiar. Someone he’s seen before just a few times. Once when she was there in that space too, and from a few instances of watching. This was the one with the obnoxiously bright green hair. It reminded him a lot of a colour he’d associate with toxic waste or something.
Point was, if this was her, he wasn’t anywhere dangerous. Though, not like Cobs would even be a problem. He needed to remember the man was dead. He was told that during one of the few calls he had with MePhone before he stopped answering. But…
He looked around the room, still confused. It was just her.
“Where am I.” He demanded.
“My lab! You’re safe, and fine, and don’t need to worry about anything.” She just smiled at him, not seeming any bit off from what he could tell initially, but he couldn’t just automatically trust that right now. Not with all the things he was feeling at that moment.
He looked down at his body. It looked different, so he could at least come to the conclusion MePhone wasn’t dead, or pulled out of the other body to give him his original one back. But that still left a ‘why’. He didn’t understand why he was here. Why he wasn’t just left alone in that space. He was fine there-- however dull it was at times.
“Now I’m sure you have a lot of questions, but I’m going to give you a few options. I could leave you be for a few minutes so you can collect yourself, or I could fill you in on the past ten plus years, or I could let MePhone know he can come back in here. Which sounds better right now?”
He perked up a bit at that last option. That would be the most familiar, probably. He also had a lot to ask MePhone-- he definitely needed to grill the guy as to why he’s back, but--
“Wait, ten plus years?” He blurted out as the thought ran across his mind.
“Heh…. Uhm… twelve years to be exact.” She seemed a bit nervous at answering that, not knowing how he’d react.
4s just blinked. That certainly was a lot to take in. He had been in that space for twelve years-- no wonder he was starting to get sick of it. A feeling twisted at his mechanical gut. He didn’t like whatever the feeling was. It was a lot different. Feeling things now. Of course, he felt things in that space. But this was so much more intense. It was so much more real now with him being here, and alive, and in a body.
“I--... MePhone. I need to talk to him.” He finally answered her question.
“Okay. Will you want privacy, or am I fine to be in here, too?”
“Just get out.” He almost growled. He didn’t mean to be so hostile, but it was still all so overwhelming. He was trying to push past it as best he could though, because if he really was just back now, he didn’t want the first thing he did to be snapping at MePhone.
“Okay, understood. Once you two are done talking, I’m going to run some tests, and then fill you in on the time lost.” She gave a brief thumbs-up before heading out, surely to go fetch the other robot.
“Fine.” His gaze fell, locking onto the table he was sitting on.
He wasn’t sure how he felt. Really, it was too many things to name at the moment, but… Specifically, he was lacking the words. Unsure, he supposed.
He had a lot of time-- twelve years, apparently, to reflect and grow silently as a guy, but… Being here, and back, it almost felt like none of that even stuck. Which really sucked, because there were a lot of things he had realized about himself in that space that clearly weren’t sticking now. Though he supposed if it was all really important, he could relearn it, and figure it out. Which would be tedious, but… Whatever.
He looked up at the door to the lab as it opened, not sure what to really expect, though his shoulders did sag a bit with relief as MePhone stepped in, looking just about as unsure as he felt. So at least he wasn’t alone in feeling weird, or immediately awkward as the door shut behind him.
Not a word was said as MePhone slowly made his way over to a chair near the table, cane in hand, clacking on the floor with each step, the older robot of the two looking everywhere in the room, except at him. Which was admittedly a little funny, easing a bit of his own nerves knowing just how nervous he was, too. A small reassurance from everything.
“Erh…” He opened his mouth to speak first, but didn’t really get much out.
“Uhm…” MePhone replied, not helping the awkward feeling.
“Why’d you stop answering my calls?” He decided to ask one of two big questions, the least big of the two first.
He wasn’t really expecting the answer though;
“I was having a really bad uhm… Episode.” He glanced away, fiddling with the handle of the cane he walked in here with. That was new to 4s, but he figured it probably wasn’t the time or place to ask about it. MePhone felt like this was embarrassing and bad enough to admit, but he was glad he didn’t just up and blurt out he had basically tried to kill himself-- because that was not something 4s needed to know. “I was uhm… ‘out of it’ for a while, and I dunno. I guess I just felt too guilty. But hey! We-- we can talk now,” He trailed off into a sheepish laugh, quickly trying to move on before 4s could read too much into any of that;
“Anyways! Uh… Why’d you ask to see me before getting filled in?”
“Why wouldn’t I? Gods, twelve years? That’s going to take hours.” He sighed, dragging a hand down his face. He was dreading the idea. Did he really need to know? Did things change that much?
“Yeah… Jeez, I’d hate to be in your shoes,” A joke from the other, but it only really god 4s thinking more. The younger robot was quiet for a moment, before finally asking the really big question on his mind;
“Why am I here?”
MePhone blinked, his expression sinking a bit.
“Don’t you watch the stuff that goes on?” Saying that made him realize it didn’t matter if he told 4s if he was being honest or not with the earlier comment, because he’d just know, but with the other’s response, it just seemed to thankfully prove him wrong;
“I don’t watch all the time. It gets boring watching someone else live such a boring life. So stop avoiding the question.” 4s crossed his arms, giving a firm stare towards the other.
“Well-- I just… I got reminded of your blueprints, and I just… I just really missed you, okay?”
“Yeah, because I feel so missed when you decline every single call that I try to have.” 4s snapped back, immediately feeling bad as MePhone winced, looking away.
“I--... I’m sorry.” The other’s posture slumped, his gaze refusing to look at 4s at all now.
“Hey-- no, I… Didn’t mean that. I missed you, too.” Sappy. It made him want to gag, but… It was true. That, and he didn’t want to upset MePhone. Not after just getting brought back.
“You don’t hate me for having her bring you back, do you?” MePhone decided to just go ahead and ask it. As nervous as he was, it was better to just know, rather than letting anything stew. Nothing good ever came from stewing.
“I--...” He paused. “I don’t hate you, I just… Don’t understand why. But… I guess it’s nice knowing you still had me in your thoughts.” He elbowed the other, a small grin on his face, trying to lift the mood.
MePhone finally looked over, a small smile on his own face.
“Anyways, I just got back. We can save any other big talks for later. I want to get out of this lab as soon as possible.”
“Should I go get TestTube then?”
“Go ahead.” He shrugged, watching the other get up, reaching for the cane, and getting up to head towards the door.
“Oh yeah, one more thing?”
MePhone stopped, looking back from the door;
“Did you have to get so sappy? Watching you with that ginger was embarrassing.” He grinned, knowing he was being a bit of a jerk at this, but hey, it was funny seeing MePhone’s screen brighten a few shades with embarrassment. He made a few very clearly embarrassed noises, before just turning around and leaving the room, unable to come up with a proper response before going to fetch the scientist.
As confused and unsure as he still felt-- along with dozens of other things he couldn’t really process still, he was at least trying to be sure, and hopeful that this wasn’t going to be a huge mistake. If MePhone believed this was a good idea, well, he’d try not to prove the other wrong.