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"Wait Rabbit, I don't think this is such a good idea. The humans need them more than we do."
"C'mon, don’t be such a spoilsport. This is a g-g-g-great idea! You'll see!"
The Spine wanted to protest, but Rabbit had already bounded out of his room. The two automatons were left to their own devices as the other members of the mansion were kept busy with their own work and errands. With all the work that had to be done daily, The Spine was surprised that he and his sister had the spare time to relax with each other.
“You can start heading outside, now,” Rabbit whispered over the wi-fi. “Do you think a cantaloupe c-c-c-could work?” “I don’t think so,” The Spine whispered back, “Too heavy and thick. How much longer will this take? I think you should just contact my IP address directly because Zero might hear us. ” “Don’t worry, I won’t be long,” Rabbit replied, “But Steve is here looking for a snack, and I still need to finagle a f-f-few more things.” “Alright, I’m heading outside no-” “Hey guys! Are you talking to me? My volume is turned up all the way, but I still can’t hear what you’re saying.”
Zero’s sudden outburst over the wi-fi made Rabbit freeze in her tracks. “Oh, hey there Zero!” The Spine immediately addressed the interruption. Steam hissed out of his vents as he quickened his pace to get outside. “I’m not talking to anyone, I was just talking to myself. What about you, Rabbit? Were you saying anything?” Rabbit ran after an orange that had fallen out of her arms and rolled away. “Nope, nothing at all! S-s-sorry about the confusion, Zero!” Zero shrugged his shoulders and dropped the conversation.
Just as Rabbit picked up the orange, she heard a ping. “I told you we shouldn’t have spoken out loud,” she read to herself. Rabbit rolled her eyes as she struggled to juggle the items in her arms. She was preparing a sarcastic remark when the following message read, “I’m outside.” Rabbit grinned and made her way to the mansion’s back door. The Spine was standing with his arms crossed, a stoic look on his face. “Just what exactly are we supposed to gain from this?” he asked. Rabbit squatted down and allowed the produce to roll out of her arms and onto the ground. “What we’re supposed to gain is a new sense of fun!” she exclaimed. “Now get ready!” The Spine uncomfortably adjusted his hat. “I still don’t think that-”
“New sense of fun!”
Knowing that he wouldn’t get through to Rabbit, The Spine reluctantly complied. With a schlik, his titanium alloy fins emerged from his back. Orange in hand, Rabbit climbed a small ladder and gestured for him to stand closer to her. “Ready?” she asked. “Not really…” he muttered. She didn’t notice his tone. “Three, two, one!”
And with that, Rabbit threw the orange straight down, and The Spine’s fins sliced it in two. The pieces landed on the grass, and Rabbit squealed in delight. “It worked! I can’t believe it worked!” she said. “You’re a fruit ninja!” For the next minute, Rabbit pelted various fruits at her brother -- juices from apples, tomatoes, lemons, and more oranges began to soak through The Spine’s clothing. He sighed, wondering how he was convinced to partake in such a nonsensical activity. Then again, he remembered, this was his sister. She sometimes had the power to sway his normally logical thought processes. Aware of his thoughts, he was just about ready to ask Rabbit if they could stop what they were doing and start cleaning up the mess they were making. He felt bad enough as it was for wasting the humans’ food.
“And now, for the grand finale!” she giggled. Relieved that the antics would soon come to an end, The Spine briefly glanced up at the ladder. His gaze lazily fell back back to the grass before he did a violent doubletake. His optics focused on the final fruit being held high above Rabbit’s head with both hands. “Rabbit, wait! I told you, my spine isn’t sharp enough to-”
“WATERMELON POWER!”
As The Spine predicted, his fins were not sharp enough to cleanly slice through the watermelon that Rabbit had launched at him. In fact, the large fruit snagged on his two top fins, causing him to topple backwards with his feet briefly facing the sky. A moment of silence passed between the siblings before Rabbit let out a burst of laughter. “Bwahahaha! I’m s-s-sor… S-s-sor… Ahahahaha!” Rabbit’s attempts to apologize were useless against her uncontrollable laughs. The sight of her brother’s current position was too much for her to handle.
“Rabbit, this isn’t funny! Help me up, just help me-” When The Spine attempted to stand, he found himself unable because his fins had embedded deep into the soil. In layman’s terms, he was stuck. His futile efforts only aggravated Rabbit’s laughter. “Darn it all Rabbit, stop laughing!” He looked up, intending to scold her for pressuring him to indulge in this ridiculous video game parody. Instead he saw Rabbit gripping the ladder with one hand. She was laughing so hard, she used her other hand had to wipe the oil that started leaking from one of her optics.
The Spine’s anger immediately dissipated. His arms fell to his sides, and he looked up at the sky. It was a bright blue, and a whisper of a cloud drifted in the distance. Here he was: lying in the dirt, immobilized because of his own body parts, and watermelon juice was completely soaking through his clothes as his sister laughed at his demise. His fans whirred to life as he let out a low chuckle. He had nearly forgotten what it felt like to have no responsibilities, even if for a moment.
“Should we tell him that he can just retract his fins?” Bunny asked. The two humans looked out the window at The Spine, who was lying still on the ground, and Rabbit, who had fallen from the ladder in a fit of laughter. David smirked. “We can tell him later.”