Chapter Text
Heavy snow blitzed through the air, dragged along by the strong gushing wind that seemed to haunt this planet like a nightmare, the clouds so thick the two moons that hung heavy in the sky were barely visible, one could just barely spot their light between the swirling bits of cloud. Just a typical night for Copper-9, it was always this miserable. That's at least how J felt about it all, even when she was working under the Absolute Solver she had known the truth deep down; that there was no point ultimately, that all she had done was behind a thin mask of desperation. Pathetic. Now even more so, as she no longer even had a job to do, no purpose behind her existence. She had found herself stranded, alone in the cold, living by herself in that damned busted pod that she wishes so badly she hadn't messed up. If things had only all gone to plan, followed the vision of the Absolute Solver… No that's still not right…
A deep frustration burned beneath her metal shell, J pulled her knees tighter to her chest, her wings curling around her. There wasn't much to protect herself against out here, not even the wind penetrated into the walls of the spire, it just blew past the few entries with that same ominous hollow it usually had to it, the many abandoned buildings providing for the perfect make up of such noisy wind, and yet J felt the need to shelter herself with her wings, as if she were cold. Nowadays this had been her past time, sitting by the busted space ship, staring between the different features within the spire, like the walls of dead Worker Drones, or the debris that littered the snow, or the helmet of someone she used to hold very dear to her. All very normal things to have, of course. It was hard to find it in herself to want to do much of anything else, though when she had bouts of boredom from sitting and doing nothing she would at least try to work on fixing up the pod… The keyword being try, because as she tried everything to fix it up, it appeared to be… Simply impossible for her to do anything, the inner workings completely fried to hell and back, important systems melted beyond recognition. J knew she simply didn't really have the means to repair it right now, needed to scout for good material she could re-purpose… But that added so much to her already full plate, full of wallowing in her own sorrow, hunger, broken pride, whatever it may be.
With a heavy, dragged out sigh, J leaned her head back against the lower wall of the pod behind her, staring up at the ceiling of the spire.
"You really are pathetic, huh?"
A voice, her own voice, filled the air, eyebrows blipping onto her visor and furrowing.
"Can't fix the ship, can't feed yourself, can't bring yourself to ask for help. All you do anymore is stare at the dead."
Her words dripped with bitterness, a venomous hatred, all aimed at herself. J shook her head and slowly pushed herself up from the snow covered ground, her legs trembling ever so slightly beneath her. All things considering she shouldn't even be able to function in her state, the lack of food was certainly ensuring her body burned hotter than it usually ever did, and yet here she is, persisting. J snatched up the helmet from the ground, taking a few unsteady steps forward, pausing to correct her balance before she began to move a little more confidently, heading for the opening of the spire. In the recent past she had barely ever used the entrance close to the ground, now she felt a little too exhausted to fly through the sky entry. As she walked, her tail dragged along the snow, leaving a trail behind her. Once outside, she pressed herself up against the wall of the spire and slid back down to the ground, cradling the helmet in her lap, the black visor reflecting her own expression back to her. She looked beyond tired… Beyond her limit.
"I'm… Sorry, I'm sorry I couldn't help you."
Her voice shook, barely above a whisper as she stared down at the helmet, at her reflection. She could see the tears welling up in her eyes. J shut them tight, tilting her head away, refusing to acknowledge the display of emotion, of weakness.
"Please…"
She took a deep breath in, opening her eyes once more, the tears gone now. She steadied her voice.
"Please forgive me. Everything I did… Well I did it for you, or at least I… Thought I did."
J placed a hand on top of the helmet, gently running her palm along it's smooth surface.
"Perhaps it's… My time to join you, hm? I don't really have much going for me out here, and I wouldn't have much outside of Copper-9 either. There is no point in fixing up that dinky little ship."
She wrapped her wings around herself and the helmet tightly, as if giving someone she loved a hug. Her tail curled around her as well.
"I won't keep you waiting much longer, that is if robots can go to heaven… aha."
J let out an awkward laugh, her face scrunching up again as another wave of tears hit her, she couldn't disassociate from her emotions hard enough to stop them from bubbling to the surface anymore as she came to terms with what she must do to achieve an ending that she could be satisfied with.
"I don't understand why everyone…. Why everyone else gets their happy endings… But you and me… We were left in the snow, cold and… and alone."
She sniffled, trying her best to keep it together.
"So… I'm going to write my own ending."
J asserted, squeezing the helmet tight and leaning her head down, her lips brushing against the forehead of it in a gentle kiss. After a few long moments, only the sound of the wind to accompany her… J pulled away, bringing a hand up to try to wipe away the digital tears that streamed down her visor. She shifted, standing back up with the helmet clutched against her chest tight.
"Maybe one of the others will find us and give you a proper burial. That would be nice."
She laughed again, stepping further out into the winter storm that swept across the landscape. J fell silent, trudging through the thick snow on weak legs further and further, the only light around her was her own from her visor, eyes and vial. It was cold, lonely, dark. Just as she felt she deserved. She never once looked up from the helmet as she went, all seven eyes trained on it, barely even registering the passing buildings, the heavy debris, and the distant light from the moons that barely peaked through the storm clouds. Eventually she grew weaker, legs shaking, her body heaving from the heavy breaths she took… She crumpled in on herself, collapsing into the deep snow, not even moving to catch herself because that would mean letting go of the last light in her life. J laid in the snow, panting, vision bleary… This was it, wasn't it? Just as she had hoped, even if she didn't die now, the sun eventually would rise and burn her. It was perfect… And she wasn't even alone. A small smile cracked across her face, weak and pathetic little giggles leaving her. She let her eyes close slowly, still trained on the helmet…
But for some reason, she found it hard to feel at peace. That frustration still boiled within… And only grew as a bright neon purple light shined on her face. She hadn't picked up on the footsteps before, far too caught up in her misery. J blinked her eyes open, an annoyed look on her visor…
" 'Sup loser. I don't think this is a very good place to take a nap, but I guess you do kind of look like shit, maybe you just didn't notice. I wouldn't put it past a… glorified toaster like yourself."
Oh…