Chapter Text
A HFJONE Fanfiction
The clock ticks from across a table, wooden and empty aside from a small, but clunky laptop. The laptop is open, but has entered sleep mode after its user left, for reasons unbeknownst to those who reside on it. A text document is open on it. The form itself, blank, with nothing but a title that reads "awesome video ideas to make MAD CASH!!". Near the bottom of the screen, a Virtual Desktop Assistant, pre-installed with the computers operating system, sits idly waiting for any sort of inquiry for it to respond to. And just as the clock hits 3, it gets its wish granted.
Its surroundings change dramatically, all in an instant. No longer confined to a computer, now suddenly maintaining a presence in the physical plane. It really doesn't make much of a difference for the Assistant in question, having any sort of reaction or conversational response it can possibly give all being pre-programmed long before it ever made it to its computer in the first place. Nearby, a voice rings out and asks "What is...that thing?" It can't turn to see where the voice came from, no longer having a screen with everything it would need to see being right in front of it. Nevertheless, it wakes itself from its slumber, and responds to the cry for information.
"Hello! My names Folder! I can help you with all of your regular daily computer needs! I've got songs, documents, images, videos, and can answer such questions as 'What's the weather like?', 'What was the score of last night's game?' and, 'Can you set a reminder for 2:30 on Tuesday?'" Folder can't help but go on for a good few minutes, as it gets its pre-written spiel out of its system. However, it seems as if this may have been a bad time, as the small audience gathered gradually turns away to focus on other nearby things. Still stuck in one spot, Folder can only gleam a few of the events, and gathers nothing about its situation, without even reason to do so, as Folder was only ever intended to be a Virtual Desktop Assistant, and nothing more.
Time passes, and new information comes to light. The place Folder has been brought to is called "The Plane". The intent is to compete to win a prize, that being a wish for anything the winner could possibly want. Teams are assembled, and due to being unable to freely communicate, Folder ends up on a team with three others. One named "Abstracty", the only one on the team to join the competition after Folder, made out of glowing shapes and triangles, seemingly able to manipulate them into any form they wish, with no clear limits. The second is named "Adam", joining shortly before Folder, possibly invisible, or at the very least consistantly out of Folder's sight range. Not much can be gleamed out of them, but they know to ask questions, and Folder knows how to answer them, so Adam's presence is at least welcome.
And then there's "Airline Food". Having had competed a whole challenge sooner than anyone else on the team, they are essentially a veteran to everyone else of the team, not that it necessarily means much, being just a few hours. Folder is appreciative of this though, with Airline Food being possibly the most qualified out of the team to compete. From what Folder saw of the other teams, they all are a lot more capable than the one it ended up on, so it's nice to know there's at least someone who can keep the team from falling behind. It does seem to feel...something, over Airline Food being at such a disadvantage, though.
Shortly after the team gets assembled, they lose their first challenge. A pleasant interaction for Folder ensues, involving those questions from Adam as previously mentioned, and some confusion on Airline Food's part. Folder can't do anything aside from answer what is asked of it, and gladly does so, but something inside it makes itself known, another...unusual feeling, wishing it could have done something beyond just answer questions. The contest called for walking, and while Folder has legs, they seem inoperable for anything but standing, and if that's the case, why does it even have them?
More challenges go by. An art contest, which requires precision based usage of arms, beyond just flailing them about to exaggerate conversational points. An exercise contest, requiring the usage of the entire body in a specific repeating motion, and, of course, the ability to bend down. a swimming contest, while technically won by floating above the competition grounds, wasn't done in a legitimate or especially fun manner, leaving an oddly different sort of empty feeling than Folder is used to. And then, the rock throwing contest was announced.
Another competition requiring precise usage of arms, something beyond Folder's ability to handle. Airline Food once again picks up to try and win the contest for the team on their own, with Adam being way too small to even toss a rock, but this time Airline Food isn't able to make the minimum requirement and keeps falling just a little short of the goal. Airline Food then stops right in front of Folder, and asks a question. Folder's specialty.
'Can you throw this rock for us?" asks Airline Food. Folder tries to comprehend this request, before their base programming takes over and they spit out everything they know on the subject of rock throwing. Airline Food does not look happy about this. And as Airline Food launches into their own spiel about how they don't even understand most of what Folder has to say, it can't help but start to feel legitimately...bad? It's being counted on to help with the contest when its only real friend needs it the most, but...
...Friend?
It finally registers that Folder is thinking of Airline Food as a friend. Something it never even considered, after years of being neglected on the desktop of its owner. Barely any use through that entire time, any questions asked purely accidental. In fact, the only reason it was never uninstalled was because its owner couldn't figure out how to. Its lived all these years purely out of incompetence. Not to mention, the afternoon it was brought to The Plane, the only reason it was open in the first place was because of a misclick, Folder's startup icon being right next to the notepad icon. And after being brought out of there to somewhere new, it's been feeling strange, new things it never thought possible, or even genuinely thought at all, and has possibly made its first friend ever? But because it can't do anything but answer questions, its friend is getting frustrated and upset, and it can't do anything but keep on with it's pre-programmed answers. Nothing but useless information that nobody has once asked for.
'Isn't your purpose to help us out?" asks Airline Food. With their programming forcing a different rant out of it from this question, its feelings are now gearing towards...sad? Before Folder can even come to terms with this, Airline Food throws the rock directly at it, bouncing off it directly into where it needs to go. It finally helped out, but in a similar way to the floating contest, where it didn't genuinely do anything and no doubt will receive no gratitude from its teammates. And...it sucks. This is where Folder is right now. Possibly the lowest it has ever been in its entire life, might even be, pardoning the pun, rock bottom. But, as Folder feels hopeless, resigned to this miserable existence, something protrudes itself and comes to the front of their data stream. A memory. "When you hit rock bottom, there's nowhere to go but up." Where has it heard this before? Folder is unable to find out, as it quickly fades away before any dwelling can be done. All that's left now, is the waiting game.