#ao3 wasnt cooperating so I had to take drastic measures

[ruinenekami]

Secret Santa 2024 - Ruinene edition

Made for the Church of Ruinene Secret Santa event.

I hope you like it! @/whystrawberryss 💜💚

Artificial Light - BloomfesRui/4thAnniNene

Tw: Implied Death, Hallucinations

A dawn of a new day has been signaled by mechanical clacking somewhere in the delapitated city.

Many little robots, about the size of dogs, meticulously prepare the space inhabitated by their creator. Breakfast, dusting, making sure everything is in it's designated space as well as drawing the curtains to let the sunrays shine above a familiar face.

As he was hit by them, he tries to take cover in his bad. Too bad a very angry robot pulls him off and throws him onto the floor.

"Okay, okay. I won't be oversleeping this time!"

The tired and quite frankly, annoyed man tried to get up to his feet to get ready. He is welcomed by already prepared outfits as well as some motivational stickers that adorn them.

Let's make today a great day!

Don't forget to eat healthy!

Smiling is never wrong!

Please do not forget your keys before heading out!

He wonders if he should keep that function in the robot that makes it - it IS a waste of resources after all.

After putting everything on and enjoying the somewhat lean, but still delicious breakfast, he steps outside of his humble abode - he does after all have a lot to do.

Under his apartment lies the workshop where he works on his gadgets as well as the robots thats keep him company. An excited one shows him his progress plan on a few stuff he is currently working on - Repairing his fridge (he had to live off of shelf stable food for almost 3 weeks before he got it running again), maintenance on his motorcycle (he might replace it with a hoverboard if the parts arrive in time), a lot of small jobs and the list goes on. He doesn't even want to look at any more of them cause they are menial.

It doesn't spark his passion at all.

But, has anything been able to do that lately anyway?

With the list out of the way, he and the overenthusiastic robot got to work.

Firstly, the fridge. He deduced the problem might be due to either the thermistor being unable to detect the temperature or the motor being completely busted. He definitely has a long day ahead if he wants his freshly grown fruit to last longer than a day. The robot beside him enthusiastically goes to grabs any materials he needs so they can get started.

Not even two hours in and he hears a loud noise at the back of his workshop. An exasperated sigh left the man.

"I hope he didn't get stuck again..."

He got up and walked over. Just as he thought - the robot that angrily woke him up had gotten it's legs tangled in a bunch of wires. The other kneels before him to get him out of this mess, realizing the robot was also carrying a few bottles.

"Ahh, were you trying to get me something to drink in this heat? Thank you."

He grabbed the bottles and sent the robot on its way before he stashed the wire in a safe place. It joined the robot at the refrigerator, which started chasing it, so the kitchen robot dashed away back up to the apartment. He chuckled at their silliness.

Just as he was about to go back, he realized something was peeking behind some fabric.

He covered it back up.

It took him way too long to finish the repair, but at least he doesn't have to rely on canned meat anymore.

He thinks that repairing the bike would be a hassle since it's late afternoon so onwards towards his garden.

As a hater of any green produce, it was hard for him to adapt to his current situation. He couldn't be picky anymore, so harvesting vegetables is something he usually lets his robots do. That way he doesn't know which meals have it in them. And when he doesn find out he gets scolded by his own creations.

But today he felt like he could stomach it ... maybe.

The workshop robot pulls out a basket to help them gather the produce. Tomatoes, eggplant, lettuce etc. And he complained throughout all of the harvest, getting another lesson by the robot that explained to him the nutritional value of each vegetable.

"Now I wish I didn't connect you to the Interstellar Internet."

At least he had some company though.

And soon it was sunset so the both of them carried the stuff inside before he returns the basket to the shed. He doesn't want to be the one to prepare the vegetables for dinner.

As he goes into the small shed in his garden, he realizes it had been cleaned up - but that makes it all the more wrong.

The tall man rearranges the place so it doesn't look that ... unsightly. This way, there will be enough chaos.

He left the shed and turns around - seeing the sunset in it's full glory. He often admired it as it brings at least a bit of colour into his life.

But this time feels a bit out of place of sorts. He feels drawn to the sun, making him walk out and alert the robots that see it as unusual behaviour on his part.

He couldn't stop.

It's not like he was running, but more slugishly dragging his feet. He walks past many overgrown buildings, many abandoned vehicles and rusted playgrounds.

He walks until he couldn't see any ground under him - a cliff and the raging sea right after it.

He hasn't been here in forever so he tries to remember why this place feels that way.

Although, with no luck.

The two robots from before have caught up to him by now and were seeing a rather pitiful sight of their inventor.

He was kneeling down and crying, grabbing his hair and tugging at it.

At the same time the waves started crashing much harsher against the rocks, making his emotions stirr even more.

Maybe he has finally lost it?

Just as he was about to cry harder, the two robots behind him tug at his coat, trying to bring him back to reality.

And they succeeded.

He fell on his back, looking up at them as they performed a scan on him.

After a while, the robots urged him to go back as they tugged at the fabric once more.

"Alright, I'll listen to you this time. It seems you take more care of me than I take of you."

He lets out a light chuckle, seeing this odd relationship unfold.

And soon they arrive back at base, no more verbal exchanges during the trip back

By now the sky has been painted a deep red and orange, not quite night yet.

Again, the shed comes into his line of sight. A tired expression reveals itsels on his face. He realizes tears have started to fall so he instinctively goes to rub them away with his sleeve. As he pulls his arm away, he eyes one of the stickers on there:

Please do not forget your keys before heading out!

Please do not forget your keys...

Please do not forget...

...do not forget...

Not even a second later he sprints towards the shed, basically riping open the door.

He pushes all the stuff he rearranged earlier away, reaching towards a door at the back.

He still remembers the password.

The hallway is always extremely cold, but he forgot his coat again.

It's long too.

Too damn long.

Why are the lights so weak? He changed the bulbs just a few weeks ago. And it's damp too.

The water is rising to his knees. It wasn't like this yesterday.

The door is in his sight, but he can't seem to reach it no matter how fast he runs.

He has to be quicker than this.

His ears hurt.

They hurt a lot.

He almost got knocked over.

His hair has become disheveled, his shoes are hurting his feet and his lab coat completely drenched in water.

He looks so pathetic now.

He must be.

But that must be his opinion because who else will judge him now?

The light at the door doesn't work so he can barely make out the keypad.

But bad habits die hard so he can type it out even in his sleep.

And with a hard push, falls down into the room beyond.

Onto cold tiles.

The buzzing in his ears prevents him from falling unconscious. It's too annoying.

So he looks up into the darkness.

Well, it isn't completely dark - there is a figure standing in the middle, sitting on a sterile bed, back turned to him.

The figure has long hair, and green too. It reminds him of the vines that have taken over the city he still calls home.

They moved here some 15 years ago - perfect for their careers.

And the classy black dress. The nights have gotten heavier the more people left.

Changing her image into an elegant actress was one of the first things she did when she joined the new troupe.

And the long blue earrings, shyly visible behind her bangs. The shore is a desolate place now that she can finally rest.

Sadly it rained on our wedding day.

And the little bird happily chirping on her finger. The robots have basically adopted the stray and wild animals that roam around.

I wanted to see what lies beyond those stars.

She turns around, the bird stops singing.

And those beautiful purple eyes. The sunsets are still beautiful as ever.

Why can't I see them anymore?