Chapter Text
Wilson let out a little sigh. Walking around and trying to find more roses to add to his collection. The snow had finally melted and such. Some flowers blooming... but he was not looking for any old flowers. Roses. He's looking for roses. Pushing bushes aside and avoiding getting his clothes snagged on any branches of the sort. He shouldn't expect many roses considering Spring was just beginning and all! But still, his hope remained!
...
That and it was getting sort of boring to sit in his greenhouse all day. Jumping over tree trunks, avoiding thorny bushes that hadn't quite gotten their greens back- he finally saw what looked to be... a rose! Growing on top of a boulder! Not what he expected- but eureka!!
Wilson fixed his wild hair, careful of his red streak and all as he walked over. Reaching out to examine the plant...
Only to realize it wasn't growing on the big boulder at all. It was instead growing on moss that was on... some rose tinted... metal??
Walking around the boulder to examine what in the name of science and the stars was before him right now, his eyes widened!
A robot sat still on the ground. An actual robot!! With moss growing all over them... and on that moss, some lovely red roses. Vines grew around their legs and arms too. Roots. He was pretty sure he could see some rust on them too. They looked unmoving... abandoned, maybe? Wilson stared at them before slowly reaching out to poke them...
However they twitched before he could make any contact with them, causing him to take a couple steps back in surprise!
"..."
Their head moved slowly. Slightly to the left. Slightly to the right. Then... their gaze seemingly settled on Wilson. A quiet little static emitting from them.
".............."
Just as Wilson was about to open his mouth to say something, a glitched creaking noise emitted before it was cut off and suddenly! Came a synthetic and loud voice from the robot!
"HELLO!"
This was weird. Right? He wasn't the only one who thought this was weird? Well- not like he has many people to ask at the moment...
Awkwardly raising a hand to... wave. Towards them?
"Oh-! Uh... you- you talk...
And... are loud-
Oh, wow."
If he were a scientist, he may be moreso freaking out about this... being. After all- robots??? That's incredible! However, Wilson saw himself more as a...
...
Well, botanist isn't the right word... he was so much more focused in purely on roses...
Maybe rose-tologist? Is that a thing? Probably not.
But, the gentleman rose-tologist wasn't going to let that sway him.
"Uhh... You have... things on you."
"I AM AWARE! NICE TO KNOW THAT YOUR OPTICAL SENSORS ARE FULLY FUNCTIONAL, THOUGH!"
That sounded rude... though their robotic tone held no mean tune to it. Or maybe it's because they're a robot. Wilson really wasn't an expert on this!
"Eyes."
He corrected... But they looked around curiously, seemingly ignoring his correction. As if in utter wonder at the world around them!
"THERE IS NO WHITE STUFF."
"White stuff-?"
"THE COLD WHITE. THAT FELL FROM THE SKY. IT COVERED THE GROUND AND FELT COLD! BUT IT WAS SOFT. SOME SORT OF POWDER?"
"Oh- no, no, no! Not powder- it-
It's... snow. Do you not know what snow is?"
They stared at him blankly.
"Snow... comes during the winter. From clouds. Snow only comes when it's really cold!"
"OH."
The robot blinked a couple of times. Then looked down at the roots. Wiggling their legs a bit, but they were kept down rather tightly by the roots. Weird how something with a metal face could look... tired?
"ANOTHER SEASON HAS PASSED THEN, DESPITE IT ONLY BEING A COUPLE DAYS OR MORE SINCE LAST ONLINE..."
"Last online?"
"I WAS ONLINE A LONG WHILE AGO, I WOULD WAGER. SINCE I REMEMBER SHUTTING DOWN SURROUNDED BY THIS... 'SNOW'."
"There was some like... three days ago or so... not much. But still. And even though there was snow, you just... sat down here? Wouldn't that be cold? Ah- well. I suppose you wouldn't feel any cold, being made of metal and such..."
Wilson rubbed the back of his neck. The robot was staring at him again and he couldn't tell by their blank expression if that was an okay thing or a very bad thing that he just said??
"FALSE. I AM CAPABLE OF FEELING COLD. AND FEELING HEAT. MY MECHANISMS, MORE SPECIFICALLY. THEY CAN FREEZE UP AND ALSO OVERHEAT. SO YOUR ASSUMPTION IS FALSE."
They'd yet to really move at all during that whole explanation. Funny to Wilson since he was prone to often moving his hands and gesturing when explaining anything.
"Well... why didn't you leave then? If you were feeling cold or... hot...? Then why not leave this spot? There's countless vines and moss growing on you."
"YES. I HAVE NOTICED. AS PREVIOUSLY STATED- NICE TO KNOW THAT YOUR OPTICAL SENSORS, KNOWN AS- QUOTE ON QUOTE; 'EYES' AS YOU SO POLITELY CORRECTED ME ON, ARE FULLY FUNCTIONAL."
Wilson blinked. So they were listening earlier then...
"So...?"
Silence was had for a moment.
Then- the robot tilted their head slightly.
"SO...?"
"Why not move?"
"I AM UNABLE TO."
"Because of the roots and such?"
"PARTLY."
A little sigh escaped them. Their eyes lidding before shutting. Weird, Wilson had no idea that a face made of metal could have expressions like this...?
"I HAVE SAT HERE FOR... APPROXIMATELY, 10 SEASONS. THE BEGINNING WAS DURING A SUMMER. DAY 37 OF SUMMER, TO BE SPECIFIC."
Wilson blinked... so if he's got this straight... the robot has sat here for over two whole years since the... what, 7th of July??
"Why??"
Staring at the little robot in complete shock, wonder and curiousity... stars above, the technology that must have been required to create such a machine... and it still functions! They didn't look like they'd been taken care of too...
"I AM FOLLOWING ORDERS."
"Orders?"
They seemed to have brightened up slightly. Atleast, Wilson thinks so? Hard to really understand all the faces they could make. But he somewhat could make out the smile on their face and tone of robotic voice.
"YES! MR. WAGSTAFF, MY CREATOR. HE HAS GIVEN ME ORDERS!"
"To sit and... waste away here?"
A sad sounding... beep? Emitted from the robot. Probably wasn't the nicest choice of words and Wilson quickly mumbled an apology.
"HE WOULDN'T EVER DO THAT...! HE IS SIMPLY GIVING ME TIME TO FOLLOW PROCEDURES FOR MY PURPOSE, AS WAS DISCUSSED! I'M STILL TRYING...!"
"Well- what's your purpose then? Maybe I can help."
"WELL, IT-"
They paused. Then gave the slightest shake of their head.
"AH. WAIT. I CANNOT GIVE YOU THIS INFORMATION.
IT IS HIGHLY SENSITIVE INFO AND I HAVE NOT BEEN GIVEN AUTHORIZATION TO DISTRIBUTE IT."
"Oh... okay-"
He scratched the back of his head before, he realized something!
"Gah! Where are my manners? Ahah, ah...
Wilson Percival Higgsbury."
Wilson held his hand out towards the being.
"A pleasure to meet you!"
The robot stared at his hand.
Then at him.
Then back at his hand.
"... ARE YOU TRYING TO STRIKE ME?"
"What??"
"YOU ARE FAILING AT THAT ACTION."
"No!!"
"YES YOU ARE."
They spoke matter-of-factly.
"No, I mean-!"
Facepalming now. The robot blinked.
"YOU JUST STRUCK YOURSELF. DO YOU NEED HELP?? PERHAPS IF I YELL FOR HELP LOUD ENOUGH, YOU CAN BE BROUGHT TO THE CLOSEST HUMAN MECHANIC AND BE FIXED???"
A little sigh came from the taller of the two. He shook his head.
"I'm fine! I just... facepalmed."
"... OUT OF FRUSTRATION?"
"... yes."
"AH. THAT HAPPENS TO MR. WAGSTAFF A LOT. BUT USUALLY HE JUST YELLS FUNNY WORDS AND ALSO YELLS AT ME. BUT ALSO MANAGES TO ACTUALLY STRIKE ME INSTEAD OF STRIKING HIMSELF."
"That... doesn't sound nice."
"NONONO- IT'S FINE."
Awkward silence was had... Wilson didn't like the sound of how they were quick to defend this 'Wagstaff' guy's actions... but- the robot continued on before he could ask more questions about their creator.
"ALRIGHT, WILSON PERCIVAL HIGGSBURY. WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"
"Just Wilson is fine..."
"ALRIGHT, JUST WILSON."
"Wilson! Call me Wilson. No uh... 'Just' in the name and all."
"ALRIGHT, WILSON. COULD YOU MAYHAPS ANSWER MY QUESTION?"
...
"RUNNING POLITENESS FILE; 'PLEASE'?"
Wilson almost snorted at that. It sounded funny to him.
"I'm here to look for roses...
I like to research them and learn more about them! There's many facts about them that most people are unaware of!"
The robot rose a metal brow, blinking.
"OH? LIKE WHAT, FOR EXAMPLE?"
"Well... uhm- Oh! Here's a nice and interesting fact! Each color of a rose can mean a different thing! Like- for example...
The classic red rose! Like... like the ones growing on you! It symbolizes love. That's the most common known one!"
He paused. Giving them a chance to tell him to shut it. It's happened many times before and he'd rather see it coming than just let it interrupt his train of thought.
When the robot didn't stop him, he continued! Sitting down infront of them as he continued, making many hand gestures to allow his mind to express what he was trying to explain and convey.
"U-Uh- White! White roses symbolize innocence! Spirituality and... purity.
Yellow often symbolizes joy and warmth!
Pink roses show... gratitude, admiration, elegance and sweetness.
Orange is pride and- well. The intense desire towards someone!
Lavender usually means love at first sight-!
And... blue is... secret or unattainable love."
"... I SENSE A BIT OF A CONNECTION TOWARDS ALL THE COLORS OF ROSES.
NAMELY, ROSES SYMBOLIZE A RELATIONSHIP. NOT NECESSARILY A ROMANTIC ONE, WITH WHITE, YELLOW AND PINK. HOWEVER, IT STILL SEEMS TO MEAN CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS AND SUCH. POSITIVE."
"Actually! There's one more! Though, they don't grow naturally. Black roses! Black roses symbolize... the end..."
They blinked.
"The end of a... relationship, actually. But... still. That's not a very positive aspect."
"I SUPPOSE IT IS NOT."
The two were silent for a while. Just staring at eachother.
"Right! Wait- you didn't tell me your name!"
"MY NAME. YOU MEAN WHAT I AM CALLED, YES?"
Wilson nodded.
"WX-78."
They answered quickly. Not quite a name that can easily roll off the tongue, but- it's something, atleast! Wilson smiled and was about to say something- only for the robot to seemingly flinch!
"OH."
"Huh? What? What's wrong?"
"REBOOT EMINENT. IT HAPPENS. AFTER SPENDING ALL MY TIME OUTSIDE HERE, ESPECIALLY WITH THE RAIN AND SUCH... ERRORS CAN OCCUR RATHER FREQUENTLY. IT WILL REQUIRE ME TO RECHARGE ALL THE TIME IN ORDER TO CONTINUE RESPONDING. SO- I WILL DO THAT."
Wilson stared.
"... AND- THAT MEANS IT IS BEST FOR YOU TO GO HOME...? IT TAKES A WHILE FOR ME TO FULLY RECHARGE AND SUCH. THEREFO-O-O-O-0R3-"
A little zapping noise occured and the taller of the two flinched away- scrambling back to his feet before staring over the now unmoving bot. They were... back to the state he found them in. Unmoving. Almost... dead looking. Then again, they are a robot. Metal isn't exactly alive. Perhaps they were simply mimicking emotions and such! It's all a program, right? Something they're made to do or say or... such. And what about this 'Wagstaff' fellow he's never heard about?? Well- Wilson wasn't sure. The name sort of sounded familiar?? In a weird way. Hm.
How peculiar.
Hesitantly taking a couple steps back. Wilson turned around... slowly making his way back home. Stopping every now and then to quickly glance back to see there was still no movement. The robot was just sitting where he'd found them.
...
Perhaps he can visit the next day and check up on them! See if maybe he can get more answers if they've finished recharging by then...
Maybe bring some of his tools with him! To get rid of the roots and such aswell. Clean them up and all... and he's sure he's still got some white vinegar in his home! That could get rid of the rust on that poor thing.