Its early in the morning, and Pascal has sat himself down in the middle of a field, doodling in his sketchbook as he did his best to ignore the pain in his chest. He was waiting for someone, someone who said they'd wanted to learn how to draw. Of course, Pascal just couldn't ignore him- He had the most innocent, most excited expression when Pascal said yes, and for the past few days they've been meeting up every sunrise.
"I'M HERE! I'M HERE!" A familiar accented voice called out, and in the distance Pascal could see a sniperbot running towards him as fast as his legs would take him.
"SAMMY!" Pascal shouted back, opening up his arms for a hug. "ITS GOOD TO SEE YOU."
He reached under Sammy's hat to give him a little pat on the head, which always seemed to get the other bot's engine revving in a comforting purr. The two of them sat down in the grass next to each other, opening up their sketchbooks as Sammy tilted his head at Pascal.
"HOW COME YOU'RE WEARING A HOOHIE?" He asked.
"ITS PRONOUNCED 'HOODIE' AND..." Pascal hesitated, knowing damn well he absolutely isn't gonna tell Sammy what really happened, he's too innocent for that.
"...YOU SEE, MY WIRES ARE KINDA SILLY, SO I START TO FEEL COLD EASIER THAN OTHER ROBOTS!" He said with a forced grin, making sure to be as gentle as he possibly can with the other robot. "ANYWAYS, ENOUGH ABOUT MY POOR FASHION CHOICES. HOW ABOUT YOU DRAW ME SOMETHING YOU SAW YESTERDAY? TO SHOW OFF YOUR SKILLS!"
Immediately Sammy got giddy, and flapped his hands a few times to get rid of any excess energy before starting to draw, rocking back and forth and humming to himself while doing so. Pascal waited, staring up at the sky as the stars began to fade away and the sun rose, painting the sky in vivid shades of pink and orange.
"DONE!" Sammy shouted, and he excitedly showed off his notebook to Pascal. It was a drawing of a bird laying down on its back, with its eyes closed and Zs coming out of its mouth. "YESTERDAY I SAW A BIRDIE, AND IT WAS ASLEEP ON THE GROUND INSTEAD OF SLEEPING IN A TREE? I TRIED TO POKE IT AWAKE, BUT I GUESS IT JUST GOT REEAALLY TIRED."
Pascal paused. He didn't think he'd have to be the one to give Sammy this type of talk, but alas. He sighed and closed his own notebook, looking the fellow bot right in the eyes.
"SAM... CAN I BE SERIOUS FOR A LITTLE?"
"HUH? OF COURSE!" Sammy said as he closed his own notebook, sitting criss crossed facing Pascal.
"YOU SEE..." Pascal began. "WHEN SOMETHING HAS LIVED FOR A LONG TIME, OR GETS SICK OR REALLY HURT THEY..." He paused.
"...GO TO SLEEP FOREVER. NOTHING WAKES THEM UP."
"I BET I COULD WAKE THEM UP! I CAN YELL REALLY LOUD!" The sniperbot said excitedly.
Pascal cringed before speaking again. "NONO- BY NOTHING I MEAN ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. NO YELLING OR ANYTHING. WHEN THAT HAPPENS, THAT'S... THAT'S CALLED DEATH."
The two of them sat in silence for a few moments, Sammy taking his time to process this information. He nervously fidgeted with his hands as he looked down at the grass, realizing what happened to that birdie he saw.
"...WHEN DO THEY WAKE UP?" He asked, his tone still hopeful. Pascal again hesitated, he wasn't expecting this conversation to be as difficult as it was. He let out a mechanical sigh before responding:
"THEY DON'T, BUDDY... THEY DIE, AND THEY STAY DEAD, AND THEY NEVER WAKE UP."
Sammy again paused, looking upset at this information. "O-OH..." He muttered, playing with his hands as he began to look nervous. "IS... IS THAT GONNA HAPPEN TO YOU?"
Pascal was shocked at the question, and after a long while of thinking, he decided that honestly was the best route to take here. "YES. YES IT IS AND IM SORRY."
Sammy goes completely silent, absolutely horrified by Pascal's confession. He grabbed onto Pascal's hand and held it tight, like he wanted to hang on to his friend and never let go. "WHY??" Sammy asked. "WHY ARE YOU...?"
"WELL..." Pascal closed his eyes to try and find the words to put it as gently as possible. "I-I'VE BEEN VERY SICK TO PUT IT LIGHTLY. MY BODY DOESN'T WORK LIKE IT SHOULD, AND I DON'T THINK ANY MECHANIC, ENGINEER OR TECHNICIAN COULD FIX ME-"
"BUT THAT'S NOT FAIR!" Sammy shouted, causing Pascal to flinch. "I DON'T WANT YOU TO SLEEP FOREVER! I WANNA KEEP DRAWING WITH YOU!"
Pascal's heart shattered into a million pieces right then and there, seeing the heartbreak in the sniperbot's eyes. "I KNOW, BUDDY..." He said as he shuffled closer to Sammy, putting his arms around him in a tight hug. He thought about how to comfort the bot for a while, before coming up with an idea.
"HEY, SAMMY?" Pascal began. "YOU KNOW WHAT A GHOST IS?"
"WELL, THOSE HUMAN PEOPLE SAY THAT WHEN THINGS DIE, THEIR GHOST GOES REALLY HIGH INTO THE SKY, AND THEY GET TO LIVE ON THOSE SOFT AND FLUFFY CLOUDS FOREVER AND EVER. THAT SOUNDS PRETTY COOL, DOESN'T IT?" He asked as he tilted his head to the side.
"YEAH... YEAH! IT DOES!" Sammy exclaimed as he looked up at the sky, at all the clouds that can be seen across the firey orange and pink sunset. "I'LL BE SURE TO WAVE AT YOU IF YOU GO UP THERE!"
It took Pascal everything to stop himself from becoming a sobbing mess right then and there, holding Sammy just a little tighter. "TH... THANKS, BUD." He said, hugging him in silence for just a few more moments.
..."DO YOU WANNA DRAW WHAT YOU THINK IT LOOKS LIKE UP THERE?" The spybot asked.
"YEAH! YEAH I DO!" Sammy replied as he excitedly opened up his notebook again.
