animus_network

No puppies. You remember what happened the last time.

[...Maybe he remembers?]

But Spiiiiiine!

[Not hearing that whine. Not seeing that face. Nope.]

There's somethin' else I have to tell you.

[He doesn't want to tell him.]

You've probably noticed we're not exactly at home. We're kinda... stuck here. For a while.

[BIGGEST SADDEST EYES SPINE. LEANING ON YOU SPINE. HE JUST HAD A MALFUNCTION BE NICE TO HIM SPINE]

... Oh wha-what, here? Really?

[He looks around for a moment]

Kinda shabby lo-lookin'.

[EVEN IF HE WAS SAYING YES TO THE PUPPY THERE ARE NO PUPPIES TO BE HAD. Just hugs.]

Yeah. Yeah, it is.

[It was worse than that, but how could he even begin to explain.]

...You're sure you don't remember anythin' more recent than '07?

Uh.

[There's a few loud clicks and a THUNK. Rabbit's eyes flicker for a moment]

... I remember a ki-kid? Real nice kid. An'... uh... Things ki-kinda go black a bit after that. I dunno like I went t'sleep fer a bit. Weird.

[A kid...? Oh.]

Miss Yotsuba. She's here with us, yeah. Accordin' to her, you're her honorary big brother.

[Let's ignore the fact that Rabbit got himself blown to bits in the pursuit of living up to that.]

Yeah her! I re-re-remember her! That's what I am! She's a me-member of the family now.

That's right. [There's a small smile from the silver 'bot. He's more or less adopted her, too. With big brothers like them, she ought to be safe as houses, right? Yeah, sure.] Look, Rabbit, this place is...

[Horrible. Unsafe. I killed you.]

... Unpleasant, puttin' it lightly.

Unpleasant? How? ... Does it g-got bad room service? What'd I miss?

[A lot, Rabbit. You've missed a lot.]

It's... complicated. There's monsters, for one, although I haven't seen any myself yet. [He reaches up and taps his collar.] And then there's these. We can't take'em off. They're part of us.

[... He tugs at the collar a little bit]

What this? This is stuck on? That ain't n-no fair! It don't even ma-match the rest of me!

Don't tug on it!

[Brief moment of panic over, he gives Rabbit's shoulders an apologetic squeeze.]

Bad things happen if you damage them. I guess 'cause they're a part of us--which, uh... is a bit difficult to explain.

It kinda does match the rest of you. You just can't see it right now.

[JESUS CHRIST]

Wh-wh-what?! What what's wrong, what'd I do?!

[Just scare him half to death why don't you?]

It don't ma-match my clothes, that's wha-what's important.

[Rabbit you're naked]

[... not going to point out the nakedness in case Rabbit suddenly remembers WHY he glitched in the first place.]

Yeah, about that... they're kinda not really your clothes, either.

[This is going to make The Spine sound crazy.]

Y'see, we're kinda... illusions. Underneath our clothes and skin we're constructs filled with colored... stuff.

[Goo.]

They ain't?

[... Yeah you sound pretty crazy right now. Rabbit eyes him, arching a brow]

You eh... fe-feelin' alright, Spine? Need a sec or somethin'?

I'm fine, Rabbit.

[Yeah, he expected to be eyeballed a bit for that statement and is not disappointed. He casts the copper automaton an apologetic look and shrugs.]

I know what it sounds like, but it's true. They say we were pulled into this place to save us from our home bein' destroyed, but I don't buy it. Too much of what's been said has been a lie.

Ya sure? D-d-don't need a drink 'o water? ... Okay, Spine.

[You're nuts]

S-s-sounds pretty nutty t'me. I think I'd know if the w-world was destroyed or somethin'. Ya d-d-don't just miss that.

Up until a few minutes ago you thought it was 2007. There are a lot of things you've missed, memory-wise.

[Who's nuts now, Mister Memory Loss?

...Except...]

I don't recall it happenin' either. Just one more reason not to believe it.

Alright, a-a-alright, fine. Ya got me there. Just seems funny is all.

S'gotta be a l-l-load o' hogwash. Ju-just stole us, that's what happened! We'll fi-find a way back home, ain't no problem there.

[Stole them and transferred their consciousnesses to these strange bodies? Somehow Spine doubted that was the truth of it.]

'Course we will. I'm sure the Walters are lookin' for us and there's gotta be a way out somewhere. No one builds a tower without an exit, right?

[Right. He just hasn't found it yet.]

Right. There's go-gotta be an exit somewhere, and when we fi-fi-find it, we're outta here!

[As soon as he put on some pants.]

[Pants would be good.

The Spine gives Rabbit a concerned glance. This malfunction is worrying him. Could it have anything to do with... events?

Having your head ripped off could certainly do this to a 'bot.]

... I wanna take a look and make sure you're workin' properly. You, uh, suffered some damages prior to your memory malfunctionin'.

[How do you tell your brother you killed him? You don't.]

....

I d-d-don't need no lookin' at. I'm fi-fine.

[...Some things never change even with big malfunctions, do they.]

No, you're not. You don't remember where you are, Rabbit. How is that "fine"?

keywords for this icon are appropriate, rofl

BUT SPINE

NO >:|

SPIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE

NO, DARN IT

BUT PUPPIES

YOU'D EAT THEM.

ONLY ONE

CAN YOU EVER STOP WITH ONE

MAYBE

Uh-huh.

HUSH YOU

MAKE ME

/MAKES

NOPE

C'MOOOOON

NoooooOOOOOOooooo

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

you won't clean up after it and I'll wind up with a dog, that's why

BUT PUPPIES SPINE

lalala can't hear you

SPIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE

sure is quiet around here

/gets a puppy anyway

ffffff