animus_network

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[So Rabbit has come to a sobering conclusion.]

So. We ain't re-re-real.

[This only means one thing]

Nuthin' here is real.

[And further more]

So I don't gotta act like it is real.

[Which is why he is boldly and uncaringly standing in front of a terminal. Stark. Naked.]

I can do whatever I want. S'all fa-fake anyway. Who's gonna stop me?

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[No Spine's allowed, huh?]

No, y'can't. You're goin' to have to come out of there eventually, whether you like it or not.

[And now he's eyeballing the door. Sizing it up. Deciding if it's worth breaking in.]

Nope. G-gonna stay in here forever.

I d-d-don't need no repairs. Buzz off!

[Right. Well. The Spine sized up the door again, took a step back...

...And rammed it with his shoulder, hard.

No door is a match for that, sorry to say.]

[Well so much for that door. Even with Rabbit leaning against it, The Spine can topple tanks.

Rabbit goes down and the door goes with him]

HEY! Tha-that's cheatin'!

[That sure is a busted door. That sure is The Spine's foot on top of it keeping Rabbit pinned, too. Gently, of course, he would never intentionally hurt him.

Except the one time, but he wasn't himself then.]

Sure is. Now are you goin' to let me take a look at you or am I goin' to have to keep you on the floor all day.

[Rabbit squirms and wriggles, trying to get out from under that damn door and escape from the situation. This... wasn't going well. He gave the door a shove, blasting steam from his vents and cursing at his younger brother]

It a-a-ain't fair, Spine! I'm be-better now! All better! Nuthin' ba-bad has happened or anythin'!

[That door is going nowhere. It lifts slightly with the shove, but not enough to allow Rabbit to wriggle free. Sorry, buddy, your brother weighs quite a bit.

His patience is also rapidly beginning to fray.]

Rabbit! I need to make sure your head's all hooked up right!

It is! It's on fi-fi-fine! See? Look!

[He taps on his neck to show, no dents no dings! Everything is fine!]

[And that's the problem. He shouldn't be fine. His neck shouldn't look like nothing had happened. There should be some sign of what had happened.]

Rabbit, please! Your head was off yesterday, I had it in my hands, you've got let me look--!

[Whoops. That'll be the weight lifting off of the door as The Spine takes a step back.]

[Wait his whole head was off? That would... explain the blankness of his memory. He reached up to touch his neck gently, staring at The Spine from his position on the floor.]

.... A-all of it?

Y-yeah. All of it.

[Please don't ask why please don't ask why--]

Now do you see why it needs to be checked?

.... How?

[Sorry Spine, he has to know these things.]

Wha-what happened?

[He tugs the brim of his fedora down to hide his photo-receptors and looks away with a guilty twist to his mouth.]

I...

[Of all the times to be an honest 'bot.]

...had a... a malfunction. You tried t'stop me from hurtin' anyone and I... I'm sorry, Rabbit.

[There was a pause... and Rabbit pulls himself out from under the door and moves to The Spine. He just wraps his arms around him, hugging him tightly]

... Ya di-didn't mean to. I know ya didn't. It's okay, Spine...

[That sure is a hug he's returning. Maybe it hadn't been on purpose, but it had happened, and the fact that they're having this conversation again only makes it worse.]

Not meanin' to doesn't make it so it didn't happen. Just... I need to make sure all your wires are connected right. Please.

[You win, Spine. He... can't really fight with that.]

A-a-alright...

[He lets go, and just goes to sit on the bed, loosening the collar of his vest and shirt to allow The Spine a better look at his neck]

Thank you.

[His relief is more than evident as he moves to stand in front of Rabbit. He leans down.]

Tilt your head to the right.

[Even now, with no signs of the catastrophic malfunction repeating itself, he's reluctant to place his hands anywhere near Rabbit's head.]

[Rabbit obliges, tilting his head to the side. There's really nothing to see, not even a hint that it needed to be repaired at any point, whole and unmarked.]

Ya s-see anything? I don't fe-fe-feel anything.

[That... that doesn't seem right.]

... No. There's nothin' to see.

[The Spine sits beside him on the bed--goo-filled pod don'tthinkaboutit--and takes his fedora off to fiddle with it.]

Not so much as a fresh solderin' mark. It's like nothin' happened at all.

Ain't nu-nuthin'?

[He rubs his neck hesitantly]

... This p-place is weird. I gu-guess either they got some amazin' kinda engineers here or...

I dunno...

[Or everything, everything, was an illusion and he hadn't actually ripped off Rabbit's head at all. But if that were the case, why had they taken his body? What had been done to him?]

...Rabbit, we've got to get your memory up to speed again, 'cause this conversation is gonna be damn hard if you can't remember anythin'.

Well uh...

Ya c-could hit me in the head? See if that works?

How about you try thinkin' really hard about the last thing you remember from this place, instead.

[Because he'd rather keep percussive adjustment a last resort.]

We-well... I remember Yotsuba. Annnnn'.... ge-gettin' blown up.

[Click. Clickclickclick]

An'... tickin' off some lady. I did that.

[CLICK]

Oh hey! I remember when you got here!

Yeah? You remember fussin' about gettin' your head-wiring looked at just like you did today?

[Faint quirk of his lips, there, and a teasing note in his voice.

It doesn't last long. The smile fades all too quickly, replaced by a serious frown.]

What about our bodies. Can you remember what we found out about'em, and how?

But it's Rabbit's mouth.

It's healthy!

Doesn't matter. It's been in Rabbit's mouth.

PET THE PUPPY

FINE

yaaaaaaaaaaay

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