Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

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 "Well hello there, lil' darlin'." Spine's deep voice purrs as he saunters up to where Sparky sat at the bar, tipping his fedora to her. He had a goofy smile on his face as he sat on the stool beside her.

 "Are you okay Spine?" Sparky asks with a giggle as he regards her with a warm emerald gaze. 

 "I'm fine," Spine chuckles and gives a small hiccup before continuing. "Just the sarsaparilla is pretty strong around these parts is all."

The copper bot laughs softly at her sweetheart's choice of words. "Did you guys get the sparkling water again?"

 "Mmhmm. It's very sparkly sarsaparilla water."  The silver automaton nods, adding dreamily, "About as sparkly as a lightning bug on a June night."

 This bar must have extra sparkling sparkle water, Sparky mused to herself. It was a rare occurrence that Spine would let himself be so taken with the bubbly substance. It made sense, she supposed. Any bar with a name like "The Bucking Bronco", was bound to have strong 'sarsaparilla'.

The copper bot giggled softly, tonight been a very successful gig for the band, she was just happy her sweetheart and other family members were enjoying themselves. She looks over at Rabbit and Zer0 where they sat a table across the bar with the Walter Workers. They were laughing at a joke the eldest Walter bot had told.

 From the corner of her eye Sparky caught Spine giving her a rather strange look. Turning to face him she smiled softly and tilted her head, silently questioning his expression. He blinked at her slowly, emerald optics glowing from under the brim of his famous fedora as a slightly lopsided smirk formed on his silver features before he gently placed his hand over hers on the counter and leaned over to say something in her ear.

 "You're as cute as a bug's ear." Steam softly tickled the side of her face as he pulled away. He gives her a little dopey smile as she giggles.

"Is that right?" The copper bot looks away shyly. She wasn't unused to compliments, but these were very different than the kind he usually gave her.

The Spine nods seriously, smile still on his face as he winks at her. "Purty as a peach too." He gives a small hiccup while in mid wink. He tries again, this time winking at her twice, once with each eye.

Sparky shook her head, laughing softly at her silver sweetheart's goofiness. She perks a brow when he raises an index finger in the air, as if to announce something.

 "You, are purtier than a picture", he says finally with a slight drawl and gently boops her nose, earning a robotic blush from Sparky as her optics glow brighter, a surprised expression crossing her features before she blinks and starts to giggle again.

Shy or not, deep down she really liked him talking all cowboy like to her.

 "This song is perfect for bootscooting! Care to dance with me, lil' darlin'?" Spine asks out of the blue a moment later. A country song had just started playing over the bar's speakers and he was already tapping his toe to the beat.

 "Sure but-- " Spine had taken her hand and was already helping her off the stool as she continued "--I don't know how to country dance."

 "It's like singing country, anyone can do it." A happy grin eased across his silver features as he gently guided his darlin' into the correct dance steps. It was a little faster than what Sparky was used to, but she managed, only stepping on his foot once. 

Once the song was over, the two bots sidled over to the bar again, laughing a bit. Sparky was surprised when he kissed her forehead after she settled herself back on the bar stool. 

 "What was that for?" She asks with a giggle, heating up in a robotic blush once again. She would need to top off her coolant at this rate. Spine just shrugged, optics glowing with mischief.

 "Had to give my lil' darlin' a thank you kiss."

 "Aww, Spine you're so sweet." She smiles up at him and gently pats his arm.

 Excited shouting from the far corner of the large bar caught both of the robot's attention. The source of the excitement was a group of  college aged friends trying their luck on the mechanical bull, whooping and hollering encouragement to their buddy holding on for dear life to the bucking machine before eventually being thrown off and bouncing slightly on the padded flooring around the bull.

Sparky could see the excited gleam in her sweetheart's optics as he watched, a goofy grin spreading across his face as he murmurs, "A metal bull for a robot cowboy, how about that?"

They wait until the group of friends meandered away before approaching the mechanical bull to take a turn. Sparky had never seen one in person and was curious how it worked. She waited by the the small control panel that had buttons to control the settings of the bull while Spine payed the bartender for two turns on the ride.

The silver automaton comes back with a swagger in his step, clearly excited to have his cowboy moment. He flashes Sparky a pleased smirk and in true gentleman fashion offered the first turn on the bull to her. Upon noticing her hesitation he chuckles and pats her shoulder comfortingly.

 "There's an easy setting, darlin. I'm sure it'll be fun." His optics sparkled, he could feel his system tingle pleasantly from the sparkly sarsaparilla water still running through his boiler.

Sparky looks at the bull. It did seem pretty fun. "I think I may need some help getting on", she says to Spine with a small chuckle and smile.

 "Sure thing lil' darlin." Spine knelt down and steepled his fingers with his palms facing up. "Just step up and I'll give you a boost." 

He gives her a little wink as she places one hand on his shoulder and the other on the padded saddle of the bull then carefully steps one foot on his hand. He easily helps her up then rises and goes over to the bull's control panel.

 "Ready?" When she nodded excitedly he grinned and pushed the button for the preset easy setting. "Hold on tight!"

Sparky giggles and holds on to the built in handle on the saddle as the bull slowly turns in a circle and gives a little buck every quarter turn. It speeds up after a moment and after a few unexpected turns and  bucks, the copper bot loses her grip and falls off the bull, landing on the padded floor with a small bounce, giggling the entire time.

 "That was fun!" She laughs as Spine helps her stand. "Your turn! Mount up, cowboy."

 Sparky winks and pats his arm as he gives her a goofy grin before swinging himself up onto the bull, ignoring the slightly pained creak that squeaked from the springs. The begining guitar riff to 'Automatonic Electronic Harmonics' plays in his head as he sits up proudly in the saddle, his optics alight with joy.

 "What setting do you want Spine?" Sparky asks from the control panel.

 "Give me the most rootin' tootin' cowboy setting, lil' darlin!" The silver automaton replied excitedly, getting himself settled in the saddle, seemingly not hearing the springs below him groan in protest as he moved.

Sparky laughs and goes to press the correct button. She pauses when she sees the button indicating the level above the 'hard' setting, marked 'EL DIABLO'. That must be the most 'cowboy' setting, she figured.

 "Wanna try the 'El Diablo' setting?" She asks. "I don't know what it does, but it's next to the 'hard' setting."

Spine grins to himself and adjusts his fedora, cocking it slightly to one side. He could take anything this bull throws at him! He was a cowboy after all! A fitting song starts playing over the bar's speakers, a rock and roll edition of 'Rawhide'. His core thrummed in excitement as he nods to Sparky.

 "Let's do that one! It'll be a true cowboy challenge!" Common sense undiluted by sparkling 'sarsaparilla' water would've told him that this may not be a good idea, but he wanted to live out his cowboy dream and impress his darlin'!

 "Okay Spine, here we go!" Sparky presses the 'EL DIABLO' button and the mechanical bull whirrs to life, immediately begining to spin and buck. 

Spine's servos buzz slightly as he lets his body move with the bull's motions and holds on to the handle with one hand, the other hand in the air as he gives an excited cheer befitting a cowboy.

 "Yee-haaa!" His cheer was followed by a deep carefree laugh as he rides the bucking bull, his laughter covering up the sound of the mechanical bull's springs and gears groaning painfully with each turn and buck.

 A loud pop was followed by the crunch and squeal of metal on metal as the bull gave one last turn before suddenly sagging in defeat onto it's side and depositing a surprised Spine onto the floor unscathed. The exposed wires sparked and crackled  at the machine's base as the silver automaton sits up and runs a quick diagnostic on himself.

 Sparky's hands flew to her face as her optics widen in surprise. A stunned hush had fallen over the bar. Even the music stopped, it seemed everyone was too stunned to say anything.

From at the table with the Walter Workers,  Rabbit blinks her mismatched optics once before a grin forms on her features.

 "One sec", she says to no one in particular and takes a large swig from her glass of sparkling water before breaking the stunned silence further by taking a loud spit take and starting to cackle at her brother's predicament.

Rabbit's laughing jolted Sparky into motion, quickly moving to her sweetheart's side to where he awkwardly sat up on the floor, steaming from the neck in embarrassment.

 "Spine! Are you okay hun?" She bends down to retrieve his beloved fedora from where it landed on the floor then rubs his shoulder to get his attention as she descretly looks him over for obvious injury.

 "Thank you, Sparky." He murmurs after a moment and accepts his hat from her then sets it on his head very proper like before meeting her concerned gaze with a rather sheepish expression on his face, glancing at the remains of the slightly smoking mechanical bull.

It seems he had sobered up very quickly. 

 "Well, I uh, don't think that was a very smart thing to do" he says as he carefully stands up. Noticing her optics still glowing in concern as she looked up at him. He gives her a small smile. "I'm alright. Nothing is hurt, other than my pride", he assures with a small nervous chuckle that squeaked a bit before he cleared his throat.

Sparky takes his hand and squeezes reassuringly as they walk with as much dignity as possible while  ignoring the shocked  looks they got from the human costumers, over to the table where the other Walter bots and the Walter Workers sat. 

 Rabbit had finally stopped cackling, but black oil tears of mirth had trekked down her cheeks as she giggles softly, stream hissing softly from her cheeks. Zer0 was more surprised than anything else, unsure what to say to his brother that wouldn't embarrass him more.

The Walter Workers were already on damage control. Camille spoke with the bar's manager while Chelsea was on her cellphone getting in touch with Peter Walter the Sixth, or Six as he's more commonly known.

 The Spine felt so embarrassed and very much like sinking into the floor and disappearing. He frowns, steam venting from his neck. Guilt was starting to set in a little. He knew Six would have to pay for the damage he caused. Almost as if reading his thoughts, Sparky began running her thumb over his knuckles in a soothing manner and offered him a gentle smile when he looked down at her.

 "It's my fault too Spine, don't blame yourself. I think if we apologize, that may help. Hatchy always says that communication is the key to conflict resolution." Sparky adds hopefully.

The Spine nods and looks over to where Camille was deep in conversation with the manager. Chelsea had joined her now and was relaying information from Six on the phone to the manager. He seemed to be taking it pretty well over all as the two bots approached.

 "Mr. Walter will of course pay for the damage", they heard Chelsea relay.

 The manager, a tall man in his mid fifties with a stocky build scratched his thick black beard thoughtfully. "Well, maybe he could only pay for half of the warranty on the bull."  He adds helpfully. "It was getting old and I was planning on getting another one anyway."

Sparky gently patted Spine's hand before stepping forward and getting the managers attention.

 "Um, excuse me, Bill is it?" She asks, reading his name tag. "I want to apologize, I had no idea putting the bull on the highest setting would do that."

The Spine tipped his fedora respectively as he steps forward as well and adds, "I wasn't thinking clearly when I decided to ride the bull, I'm sorry. It was not my intention to break a source of income for you."

To everyone's surprise Bill gave a jovial laugh, warm brown eyes crinkling as a crooked smile formed under his beard.

 "Hell son, you gave that bull a run for its money! I've never seen anyone have such a time on that thing. I heard your 'yeehaw' from all the way back in the kitchen!"

The Spine let out a small puff of steam from his neck as he blinked in surprise at Bill. "In all honesty, I expected a slightly different response."

 "You're not mad?" Sparky asks, just as surprised as her sweetheart as she looks up at Bill.

 "I've been running bars for over thirty years." Bill explains with a chuckle. "You learn what to get really upset over. I'd file this under 'inconvenience'." He shrugs. "Life happens. No one got hurt, and I was planning on replacing the bull soon anyhow." The man laughs and adds, "Besides, I've never seen anything get wrecked in such an entertaining fashion."

 "Alright, hold on", Chelsea says into the phone before offering the device to Bill. "He'd like to discuss how to reimburse you."

Chapter Text

 The sun was slowly peeking up over Walter Manor. It was surprisingly quiet, most of the inhabitants were still resting at this time of morning, all but The Spine. The silver automaton had awoken from stasis a bit earlier than usual today and was presently out in the Manor's garden with a soft smile eased across his face as he bent over to pick some daisies. He had the  sweet idea in mind to surprise Sparky with them when she wakes up this morning.

 He hums a tune to himself and looks at the bouquet in his hand. Perhaps he'd find a bit of ribbon somewhere to tie around the stems. As he mused over the flowers he heard a distant, thundering rumble-like sound from behind him. 

The silver robot perks a brow. Thunder? No, the sky was clear this morning, perhaps the rumble of an earthquake? The ground was shaking a little, now that he thought about it. Odd, San Diego hadn't experienced a really big earthquake since 1862...

The Spine turns around as the rumbling came closer, his fins sliding out in surprise as a large, silver with a dark patina colored robotic bull came charging at him from across the yard, the grass churning up under his hooves as the morning sunlight glinted off the two long sharp horns curving up from his head. Spine could only take one step back before the bull came to a sliding halt in front of him with a soft snort of steam.

Bright blue optics shone happily up at Spine while a soft moo rumbled in the nearly black bull's throat, before plopping down on his rear in the grass and gazing up at the surprised fedora wearing silver robot with a curious tilt of the head.

 "Oh no" Spine groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "How many traffic incidents did you cause this time?" He asks the robot bull rhetorically before sending a text to Six.

'Peter, he's back again.'

Nearly a month ago, Spine's little "sparkling sarsaparilla water" cowboy adventure at the local bar called "The Bucking Bronco" had resulted in him breaking the mechanical bull ride that was in the establishment. The manager of the bar, a nice man by the name of Bill hadn't felt the need to press ant sort of property damage charges. He had been needing a new mechanical bull anyway. 

Peter Walter the Sixth had offered to make Bill a brand new mechanical bull that would be far more superior than any other one on the market. And so, he had set to work crafting the bull that presently sat in front of Spine. The bull was meant to be an authentic cowboy experience, without any of the danger. He came equipped with a soft, removable saddle with built in handles, and was only programmed to go through a few bucks and spins before calmly returning to standing position to let the rider off.

Unfortunately, for the last two or so weeks, the bull had been returning to Walter Manor for some inexplicable reason. He would stay for the business hours of the bar, then simply push the door off its hinges and trot back to the Manor. Based on his seemingly happy demeanor, perhaps he thought it was a game of sorts.

The Spine sighs and shakes his head, startling a bit when the bull gently nudges his hand with his nose. He gives the bull an absent pat on the head. 

 "That'll do bull, that'll do. Just....stay here, alright?" 

With that, Spine turns and walks back into the Manor, pondering why the bull kept coming back and sent another text to Six on the matter as he made his way to Sparky's room.

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Once there, Spine paused at the doorway to her room and chuckles softly as he peered in. It seemed most of the soft and comfy blanket population in Walter Manor had somehow found itself in Sparky's room. 

Soft electronic buzzing snores emitted from under the pile of blankets on the anti gravity chair Sparky used as a bed. The only parts visible on the copper bot were a bunny slipper clad foot sticking from under one end of the blankets, and the very top of her head at the other end, where a mussed fluff of red hair seemed to glow slightly in the patch sunshine that shone between the crack of the window curtains. 

He smiles a bit as he approaches the softly snoring blanket pile and gently lays his hand on the blankets just under where the tuft of her hair was sticking up, where he estimated her shoulder was, and gently rubs to help wake her up.

  "Good morning Sparky, I've got a surprise for you."

 "Mm, Spine?...still dark out hun..." came the sleepy and muffled mumble from under the blankets before she stretches her arm out of the blankets a little, exposing her face.

 "That's because your eyes are still closed, sleeping beauty." Spine couldn't help but laugh a little, she was so cute in the mornings.

 "Oh. That makes sense." Sparky sits up a bit then gives a little smile and blinks slowly up at him. "Mornin'."  After rubbing her eyes, it takes her a moment to realize that he was holding something behind his back in one hand. "What's that?"

 "What?" A mischievous gleam twinkled in his emerald optics as he gave her a lopsided smile.

 "Whatever you've got behind your back, silly" Sparky giggles softly, a little more awake now and alert. 

 "Oh, this. Just a little something I picked earlier." He reveals the bouquet of daisies with a small flourish, a debonair smile gracing his features. "Do you like them?"

 Sparky's optics glowed brighter in surprise as she accepted the flowers. "They're so pretty Spine! You're too sweet! Of course I love them, thank you."

 "I'm glad you like them" Spine stepped back a little to give her room to remove herself from the nest of blankets she'd made herself and put the flowers in an empty vase. Her silver sweetheart went still as a text pinged to him over the network from Six.

 'Where did you say the bull was?'

 'In the garden.' Spine pings back, perking a brow.

 'Where? I don't see him. I called Bill and told him I'd send the bull back to the bar.'

 'I think theres r-r-rats in the Manor! Big ones from what I hear.' A text from Rabbit in the Manor's group chat interrupts. 'There's a scrabblin' sound coming from down one of the corridors!'

 'I saw some scuff marks and dirt on the floor while I was heading to the garden,' Six remarks in the chat. 'I figured one of you guys might have done it, but I'm starting to think it's the bull! We've got to find him.'

 Sparky noticed her sweetheart had gone quiet. She looks over to see him standing still, optics glowing softly yet slighlty unfocused. She knew that's the look most of the other bots got when they were answering a text over the network. She hadn't been upgraded with that capability. Six wasn't sure how to safely do it yet, but that was fine. He had given her a phone in the meantime.

 Speaking of, the phone buzzed with a text from the group chat. Scrolling up the chat, her optics widend in surprise. The bull was back? Walking over to Spine she gently pats his arm to get his attention. He blinks then looks down at her.

  "Sorry about that darlin'. It seems the bull snuck into the Manor."

 "I thought I read that in the chat!  At least that's better than giant rats like Rabbit thought." She adds with a small laugh.  "Why does he keep coming back?"

 Spine shrugs. "No idea. We're not yet sure if he's sentient, or if it's just a fault in his programming."

 "We better help find him. I'll meet you out in the hall in a few minutes, gotta get dressed out of my jammies." She smiles at him with a wink then gives him a little nudge towards the door. A small puff of steam left his neck as he agreed then strides out of the room.

Meanwhile, across the Manor...

 The bull had found a way to walk a little easier on the smooth floor after a while. His hooves weren't built for this kind of flooring in mind and he had slipped and fallen a few times before he figured out a shuffle like gait that kept him balanced, unfortunately scratching the floor quite a bit in the process.

He was puzzled when the flooring changed texture a little while later, from smooth to fuzzy. Unsure of this new terrain, he snuffled at it before placing a tentative hoof on it. It wasn't slippery and he could certainly walk better on it! Now he could try and find that nice shiny fellow again without falling! He peered into every room he passed, but the shiny fellow still could not be found. 

The bull had almost given up until he spotted a small shiny being laying on a large futon like pillow on the floor in one of the rooms. Carefully walking in the room to get a better look, he realizes this was indeed not the nice shiny fellow.

 This was a small shiny....something, with a long neck and four long legs. His processings speed up as he tries to categorize this new something, his head tilted curiously to the side. He settled on the notion that this was a smaller and different looking something much like himself.

He gave a soft moo of surprise when the long necked something suddenly stretched and gave a yawn before her long lashed blue optics blinked open, gaze settling on the large bull.

 "Nyaah!! Stranger danger!" GG screamed and back pedaled away from the bull. Her scream of alarm had frightened him, evident by the large plume of  steam that was snorted out like a gasp as he sat back on his haunches, still regarding GG with a curious gleam to his optics.

"Wait", she says a moment later and squints at the bull, looking him up and down. "OMIGOSH IT WORKED!"

Chapter Text

"It worked, it worked!" GG cheers happily, clicking her hooves together giddily, before tugging a book from under the pillow and opening it, tapping the page with her hoof when she finds the one she's looking for. 

" 'And so the prince appeared to the princess in a disguise', that must be you!" The robot giraffe looks up at the bull, who'd been staring at her this whole time. "You're a prince! This totally proves I should be in the Princess Club!"

A puff of steam followed by a questioning moo left the rather confused bull. 

GG's optics widened and glowed a little brighter as she smiled and batted her eyes at him. "Oooh you're even French too! How romantic!"

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In the meantime, the other Walter bots had formed a search party for the missing bull and waited for Six to join them in the main foyer where the scuffs began so he could help them search.

Rabbit had arrived prepared with a magnifying glass in hand and a rather Sherlock Holmes like hat on her head. Zer0 had brought his bubble pipe along as well. He was currently looking over the scratches on the floor with Rabbit and thoughtfully blowing bubbles.

 "They look rather spooky and mysterious, don't they Rabbit?" He asks between bubbles, stating rather obviously. "As if a large animal had passed through."

 "In-in-indubitably my dear Zer0!" Rabbit agrees with a nod and examines the scratches with the magnifying glass.

 The Spine blinked at his siblings from where he stood nearby. "Guys....that's literally why we're here. We know the bull is in the Manor." 

He looked over when Sparky giggles softly. A few bubbles from Zer0s pipe had floated over and a particularly large one had popped when it touched her nose.

 "Sorry, it kinda tickled", she smiles when she noticed Spine looking her way, and rubs the tip of her nose.

 "You're too cute."  He states with a chuckles and shakes his head, smirking a little.

Before Sparky could playfully object to that statement, Six hurried in looking a bit frazzled even from under his mask.

 "Spoons I could see, but a whole bull? How did we even manage that?" He asks, with a slightly  nervous sounding chuckle. "Let's just hope he doesn't find one of the labs..."

 "It'll be okay Six, we'll just follow the scuffs on the floor!" Sparky tells him, trying to comfort.

 "Y-ye-yeah! The mystery's afoot!" Rabbit exclaims as she jumps up then leads the way, Zer0 happily following her and leaving a trail of bubbles in the air.

 "There's no mystery Rabbit" Spine sighs and shakes his head as he offers Sparky his hand to hold before heading after his siblings with Six taking up the rear.

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Back in GG's room, the bull was sitting quite still and watched in amusement as the little robot giraffe pranced gleefully around him and happily cheered. 

 "My prince actually came! The book said if a princess was patient and waited, her prince would come! I can't believe it actually worked! I'm a hoof in for the Princess Club now."  

 GG had chosen to ignore the fact that she would've been welcome in the so called 'Princess Club' regardless of having a prince or not. It had all started when Upgrade  formed the Club several years ago and made the royal decree that Rabbit was a princess. Rabbit in turn had later extended that title to Sparky, being as any 'Princess' in the Club could crown another princess to join their ranks.

 It was rumored that the Club met up every other weekend somewhere in the Manor for a tea party. Very hush hush stuff, none of the boys were ever invited.

It seemed very likely that GG just wanted the bragging rights of having her own prince when she finally would officially joined the club. She had read all about princes and princesses from old books of fariy tales and considered herself an expert on the subject.

 GG stops prancing after a few minutes and looks up at the bull, tilting her head curiously. "You don't say much do ya? You must be such a good listener! The strong silent type for sure."

 The robot bull gave a soft moo in response and leaned down to snuffle her head gently before both bots heard the soft buzz of servos coming up the hallway shortly  followed by Spine peeking into GG's room. It appeared he had drawn the short straw and was chosen to see if the robot giraffe had seen the bull, since the scuffs on the floor had ended at this carpeted section of the Manor.

 "GG, have you seen--oh he's in here, that's good." Spine comments when he sees the bull, who moos gently at him as he steps in the doorway with a hiss of steam as he adds, "Six will be relieved, now we can take the bull back."

 "Take my prince back where? No! He has to stay!" GG protests, squinting up at Spine.

 "Back to the bar. I'm sure you heard about my little uh, accident a month ago." Steam vented from his neck as Spine paused then perked a brow. "Wait your 'prince'? What are you talking about GG?" He was loath to ask, but now he was curious.

 "Yes, my prince!" GG reiterates haughtily and steps in front of the bull. "The book said a prince would come to me and he did! Now I can join the Princess Club for real! You can't take him, The Spine."

 The silver automaton sighed a puff of steam. "You've been reading those fairy tales again haven't you?" He shakes his head then steps back to call down the hall to the others waiting at the other end. "Found him, everyone!"

 GG glanced between Spine and her new found prince. It wasn't fair! Her prince was going away and she wouldn't be able to see him ever again! Even worse, the others were gonna help take him away!

 "You can't take him!" With a cry, the baby robot giraffe launched herself at Spine and  wrapped her springy limbs around his legs. His cooling fins popped out as he gasped and stumbled back in surprise, emerald optics wide.

 "Gah! Don't bite my knees GG!" The silver bot tried to stabilize himself but over compensated and began falling backwards. Thankfully he had it in mind to quickly retract his fins before landing flat on his back with a heavy clunk in the middle of the hallway.

 "Run, my prince! I'll hold them off!" GG says over her shoulder as the bull came up to see what happened and gently sniffed The Spine when he gave a slightly pained groan as he ran a quick diagnostic on himself.

 The bull tilts his head at GG. Run? Well running did sound fun. He looked up as more people were  hurrying up the hallway. They weren't as shiny as the nice shiny fellow, he decided but perked up when an exciting thought buzzed through his processings.

 Oh! This must be a game! Like when he let people ride him at the bar. Maybe this was how these new friends liked to play! With a happy moo, he takes off in the opposite direction up the hallway, his metal hooves thudding on the carpet. This would be great fun!

The chase was on! Well, at least it would be on as soon as Sparky and Zer0 detangled GG from Spine's legs and helped the silver robot to his feet while Rabbit and Six took off after the bull in the meantime.

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 "There's got to be an easier way!" Six pants while he runs beside Rabbit as they pursued the bull. He happens to glance down a corridor as they almost pass it. The Walter descendant stops in his tracks as an idea hits him.

 "P-Petes?" Rabbit slows down and looks over her shoulder at him.

 "Keep going! I'll be right there!" He assures then much to Rabbit's confusion before she kept running, he loudly makes a 'spspspspspss', sound down the hallway he's facing.

Moments later, a huge fluffy white cat comes trotting out of one of the rooms from down the hallway. Six grins behind his mask as he pulls a spare saddle from the hall closet and goes about securing it to the cat.

 "Come Marshmallow", he urges as he swings himself up onto the saddle. "Let's show them the meaning of haste!"

 The following chaos that would ensue was surely something that would be recorded in the history of Walter Manor as one of silliest things to ever happen within its walls, not counting the time Rabbit glued sheets of bubble wrap to the floor of the hallway outside of The HOW then laid in wait for Spine to exit his quiet sanctuary. 

 Rabbit was still in hot pursuit of the bull, taking sharp corners down the corridors to keep up with the robotic bovine when the sound of thudding paws was heard from behind her. A large blur of a white cat padded past with Six on its back. The Walter descendant was swinging a lasso of thick wires over his head in an attempt to rope the bull.

 "Yeehaw! The cavalry's here!" Rabbit laughs just as Spine, Zer0 and Sparky catch up with her. GG was hitching a ride by tightly clinging to Spine's leg as he tried to run with the hopes to slow him down.

 With Six in the lead, the gang chases the bull all through the Manor, splitting up to cover more ground in the process when the robot bull charged through one of doors and unexpectedly appeared at the end of the hall, peeking out of a different doorway with a soft moo.

 Somewhere along the way Rabbit forgot that the goal was to catch the bull as she pulled a red curtain off a window as she ran past and waved it like a matador, shouting "Olay!",  when the bull gleefully ran past her.

At one point Sparky almost had the bull cornered in a room but froze when he turned and quickly trotted towards her. She didn't think her fear of Marshmallow the cat extended to all large animals but it apparently did. The copper bot blinks in surprise when the bull gave her a little nuzzle as he carefully pushed past her and  out the door.

 "BEEBOP? Is there anything you can do to help buddy?" Zer0 calls out to the Manor's AI after making sure Sparky was okay, who was now holding his hand to keep up as they ran after the bull

 "Affirmative. Now playing 'Yakety Sax' by Boots Randolph." The AI answered.

 Soon the music began playing across the Manor, lending the Walter robots a kooky soundtrack as they darted through various doors, trying to find the bull and inadvertently chasing each other before nearly colliding when they all ran back out into the main corridor at the same time.

 "We're going in circles!" Spine steams heavily from his neck as he leans against the wall.

  "I almost had him though" Zer0 sighs. "I almost got his tail!"

 "H-how did w-w-we lose em? I coulda sworn he was ri-ri-right in front of me." Rabbit wonders, placing her hands on her hips as steam hissed slightly from her cheeks.

 "Yeah! And how long were we chasing each other?" Sparky adds, feeling a little overheated as she took in some "breaths"  through her nose to help cool her electronics down.

 "More importantly, where is he now?" Six remarks, still astride his fluffy white feline steed. He tilts his head curiously before addressing the Manor's AI. "Hey, by the way BEEBOP, what was with that music earlier?"

 "Zer0 asked for help. I thought the music was appropriate, given the scenario." The AI replied.

The group looked at each other before laughing a bit and agreeing amongst themselves that the music really did fit in some strange way.

 "Say, where's GG?" Spine pipes up suddenly, having finally noticed that his leg was now free from its passenger.

Chapter Text

 During the confusion of the chase, GG had finally been shaken off The Spine's leg and shortly afterwards found by the bull, who had knelt down to let her scramble up onto his back before trotting off down a random hallway and finding the way back outside.

 "I think we're free and clear now! Good thing too, I was getting dizzy with all that running around in circles." GG states from the bull's back as he steps outside, now back in the Manor's garden. "Gosh, you're steaming a bunch there big guy,  head for the duck pond over there." She adds and lightly taps the right side of his neck with her hoof to indicate which way to go.

The ducks seemed a little concerned when they saw the large robot bull trot up to the water's edge and take a few drinks. After filling up his boiler a bit, the bull looks at the ducks and tilts his head, a curious gleam in his blue optics as he carefully steps around to the other side of the pond to get a closer look at the quacking water fowl, snorting a soft puff of steam when the ducks flew off in a hurry.

 "It's okay, those ducks are just scaredy cats" GG pats his neck when a sad moo left him as he gazed longingly after the fleeing ducks.

With the potential bird friends having now flown the coop as it were, GG and the bull wander around the garden, enjoying the scenery and occasionally stopping when the curious metal bovine spotted something that caught his attention, like butterflies or bumble bees lazily flying among the flowers.

⊙⊙⊙⊙

 "Automaton; GG the giraffe, is in the Manor's garden with the unregistered automaton." BEEBOP states matter of factly, answering Spine's question.

 "Ah." Spine nods his head before squinting a bit as he asked, "Wait a minute BEEBOP, if you could track the bull, why didn't you tell us where he was at in the first place? It would've saved us that whole rather silly chase."

The others all nod and pipe up in agreement as the Manor's AI paused before answering simply, "No one asked. I must now go and defrag QWERTY's systems,  thank you for choosing Walter Robotics." With that, the AI clicked off the overhead speakers, leaving the group in silence.

 Rabbit chuckles then shrugs. "W-we-well. Guess we know w-wh-where they're at now! That's still a win!"

Before heading off to the garden, the Walter robots made a stop to the kitchen to refill their boilers while Six put away Marshmallow's cat saddle and gave the giant feline some scritches before joining the others as they search the gardens for the bull and giraffe. 

Past the duck pond and around the large hedge maze, the gang hears GG's voice carry over the grass from where she and the bull sat in the shade under a large oak tree.

 "This one is a daisy and that fluffy one is a dandelion, see?" The giraffe points the flowers out with a hoof. The bull gave a soft moo, blinking curiously at the flowers before gently sniffing them. "If I had hands, I could make you a princely daisy crown. I should talk to Six about getting an upgrade..." GG adds before pouting a bit upon seeing the gang approach.

 "GG, please don't run again" Six requests earnestly. "We just want to return the bull to Bill at the bar." He cringed a bit as the robot giraffe immediately protested.

 "But! He's my prince! If you take him away I'll never see him again, it's not fair!" GG rose from her spot on the grass and stood in front of the bull on her back legs, front  legs crossed over her chest. 

The moment GG turned her back, the robotic bull snarfed up both flowers and chewed thoughtfully. He really couldn't taste them, but they felt funny in his mouth, especially the fluffy one. He gave a snort when it tickled his air filters, then sneezed out a puff steam and dandelion fluff.

 "I didn't know he was a prince! Should we curtsy?" Zer0 whispers to Rabbit, who shrugs in response.

 Six's phone buzzed in his pocket at that moment. He retrieves it and scans the text. "Looks like we'll have to return him ourselves. Bill had to take care of some business and won't be able to get his truck down here." He pockets the phone with a small shake of his head and adds, "We don't have a vehicle big enough to comfortably transport the bull. So, do we have any volunteers to walk him back to the bar?"

 As if on cue, the bull then rose from his spot in the grass and trundles over to The Spine, blowing a happy puff a steam from his nose as he nudged the tall bot's hand. Sparky reached over and gave the bull a tentative pat on the neck, she was still a little nervous around an animal that big, robot or not.

 "It seems he's chosen for us" Six chuckles. "Spine, Sparky,  would you mind escorting our friend here back to the bar? Bill should probably be back by the time you guys get there." The robot couple in question looked at each other then nodded in agreement. They didn't have anything better planned for the afternoon. 

 "We'd be happy to help, Six!" Sparky agrees happily. Upon noticing the baby robot giraffe's sad demeanor as she gazed up at the bull, the copper bot then adds, "GG, what if you came along when we return him? You could spend some more time with him then get a chance to say good bye that way." 

 That idea immediately perked GG up. "Really? I can go too?"

 "I'm sure bringing GG along is a grand idea." Spine murmurs sarcastically to himself, thankfully GG was distracted by her 'prince' at that moment and didn't hear him. Sparky however, did and gently pat his hand, winking at him when he looked at her.

 "Excellent!" Six claps his hands once, happy that everything was mostly back under control. "Rabbit, Zer0, could you help me find the goop we need to fix the scratches on the floor while they're gone?"

 "I've got some of that pink glitter ooze, w-wi-will that work?" Rabbit asks, clearly excited by this idea.

 "Oh! I have green! We could use different colors for each part of the floor!" Zer0 adds happily.
 
 Six looked between them and shook his head before patting both robot's shoulders. "Let's stick with the goop that'll fix the floor, alright?" He chuckles a bit as they walk back to the Manor. "See you guys soon!" He calls back over his shoulder before leaving the selected bots to return their bull friend.

⊙⊙⊙⊙

 "Alright GG. It isn't like I don't trust you to not run off, but the fact is, I just don't trust you in general. I'm sure you understand." Spine says conversationally as he kneels down in the grass and clips the small, pink, teddy bear shaped back pack leash secure around the grumbling giraffe's middle. It was very much the same kind of leash used to keep unruly children from running off in shopping malls and amusement parks.

 "I don't want the leash, it's embarassing..." GG mutters and glances over at the bull, who was happily watching a bird sing on one of the top branches of the tree.

 "If you didn't insist on chasing pigeons every time we let you out of the Manor, you wouldn't need the leash."  Spine replied matter of factly as he stood back up, the lead in his hand.

 "That was only because they make fun of me!" The robot giraffe argued.

Spine sighs a quiet puff of steam and rolls his eyes but perks up when Sparky held up the object she had brought along with the leash from the Manor. It was a small and sparkly pink tiara, the same shade of pink as GG's leash.

 "Here GG! Now you can look your royal best while we're out," the copper bot smiles and gently secures the tiara to the little giraffe nubs that stuck out from GG's head. "Aww, even your prince likes them too!" Sparky remarks with a giggle when the bull came over and looked curiously at the new sparkly edition to GG's head. 

 "You're right! Thanks Sparky!" GG says, clicking her hooves together happily.

 The Spine smiles a bit at Sparky. It seemed she always knew just how to mollify the giraffe. With everyone ready to go, he lightly pats the bull's neck to get his attention. "Alright there fella, let's get you back to Bill."

The bull happily trots along beside The Spine, his metal hooves clicking on the concrete as they walks down the street, eventually getting on the sidewalk.  He looks up at him occasionally and moos softly. He sure liked this shiny fellow! The smaller shiny one....GG? Yes, that seemed right. He liked her too! 

The shiny fellow's short, sunny looking friend  seemed a little afraid of him, but that was alright, sometimes others were afraid of him at the bar too. The bull liked it when she pet him! Her touch was...His processings heated up a little as he tried to equate the feeling to something familiar. It finally clicked with him a moment later, her touch was fuzzy! Like the fuzzy ground in the big home!

 A flashing light inside a box like shape distracted the bull from his musings and he paused to look at it, to his surprise, his new friends stopped too. The box was connected to a long metal pole on the street corner, the light inside the square flashed red in the shape of a hand, it reminded him of the sunny one's hand, which he then moved over to nudge ever so gently to get her attention.

 "Oh! Hello there" Sparky giggles a little when the bull nudged her hand, the steam from his nose had tickled her a little. Noticing how intently he was looking back and forth from the crosswalk light to her hand, she lightly pats his head. "That light means we have to wait for cars before crossing."

 A few cars passed them on the street before the light changed white and person shaped inside the square, indicating that the gang could cross. What really surprised the bull was while they were crossing the street, a flat and clearly automated voice bleeped out from the square, 'walk, walk, walk'. The light could talk?? How? The bull shied away before slowly creeping closer to the metal pole the square light was mounted to and mooing softly in a questioning tone before giving a snort of steam.

 Handing Sparky the leash, Spine strides up to where the bull had stopped and guides him out of the street before any more cars could come up. Thankfully it was an easy day for traffic. "It's alright buddy, some crosswalks have those", he explains and pats the bull's nose.

 "Those crosswalks surprised me too when I first heard it" Sparky remarks and takes Spine's hand as they continue on their way to the bar, the bull once again trotting beside them. After a little while, GG trots a little closer to the bull before starting to ramble off different 'facts' about the San Diego area. 

The giraffe had been surprisingly quiet up to this point of the journey. She was enjoying being out of the Manor, but was a bit sad that she'd be going home without her prince. Deciding to make the most of the time she had left with him, she begins telling him about other things to watch out for while out in the city as they trot along.

 "Fun fact! The bubblegum on the sidewalk isn't for eating, but I'm sure you know this already, being a refined and sophisticated French prince such as yourself. Oh! And if the pigeons bother you, let me know. They're real jerk birds if you ask me." GG adds seriously.

⊙⊙⊙⊙

 By the time they had reached "The Bucking Bronco" about twenty minutes later, GG's advice had devolved into a small rant about her theory of pigeon politics and hierarchies. The Spine strides up and  knocks on the bar's door,  effectively ending the giraffe's rant.

The metal door opens with some difficulty, hanging a bit off its hinges before revealing Bill standing on the other side. "Looks like I came back from the hardware store just in time." He smiles then and steps back to let them in.

 "Hi Bill" Sparky smiles back as she enters with GG beside her, Spine and the bull following behind her.

 "Hello again, Sparky I--oh" Bill pauses when he sees GG trot in, eyebrows raising in surprise. A mini robot giraffe at the end of a pink leash was certainly something he didn't expect to see today. "I was aware that the band calls itself 'Steam Powered Giraffe', but I didn't think it was literal. Are you their namesake or mascot?" He asks GG curiously.

 "Well, I should be, but no. Delilah is." GG replies with a huff and sits down next to the bull after he had affectionately nuzzled against Bill then plopped down on his rear nearby.

 "Ah, I see. Is this Delilah like you?" It had taken a moment for Bill to reply. He had assumed the giraffe could talk, but at the same time hadn't really expected an answer but he rolled with it.

 GG nods."Yeah and no. Delilah is huuuge! Way bigger than me or a normal giraffe for that matter. She's alright, but not a princess like me!" To prove the point, she lifts her head regally to show off her pink tiara.

 Bill's eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hairline. "Bigger than a normal giraffe?" That was a somewhat scary thought to entertain.  He then blinks a bit at GG's princess statement. "That's neat" he replied, somewhat distantly. Robot princess giraffes....what will they think of next?

 "Say Bill, I noticed you had some door trouble when we came in, anything I can do to help?" Spine asks, noticing how Bill's eyebrows hadn't quite come back down and thought it would be good to steer the conversation towards something a bit more comfortable.

 "Uh. Sure", Bill shakes his head a little as if to clear it before looking at Spine. "Could you please lift the door straight as I tighten the screws around the hinges?"

 Spine nods. "Of course." He easily holds the door as Bill retrieves the wireless drill from the bar counter then tightens the screws.

 "That was a big help, thanks son. Our Houdini in the making here keeps on pushing the door off it's hinges when he wants to visit you all."  Bill says after the door's fixed. 

 "It was no trouble" Spine gave a smile. Despite being much older than the man, it was still a nice feeling that Bill considered him enough of a person to refer to him as 'son'. It was also a little amusing to the silver bot, considering their age difference.

 Bill smiles back warmly, brown eyes crinkling at the edges as a smile forms under his black beard while he gives the silver automaton a pat on the shoulder then invites him to sit down at the bar and top off his boiler, offering some water to the others as well. The bots then take that opportunity to tell Bill all about the shenanigans the bull had been apart of back at the Manor. Said bull mooed softly and  trotted over to drink out of the large metal bowl in the padded corner of the bar where the old mechanical bull ride had been removed. 

 "He's really taken a shine to everyone at your home it seems." Bill says with a chuckle. "He's so gentle too, all the patrons comment on that. Sometimes they just want to pet him rather than take a ride." He looks over and smiles as the bull trundles up and playfully nudges the barstool GG had scrambled up on so she could be included in the conversation at the bar.

 "My prince is very considerate, of course everyone loves him." GG remarks then taps her front hooves together almost shyly as she looks up at Bill. "Uh, Mister Bill? I had a question."

 "Yes? You can just call me Bill, by the way." He smiles kindly at the giraffe, waiting for her to continue.

 "Would you mind taking photos and stuff of my prince and sending it to Sparky's phone?" GG politely asks. "If it's not too much trouble that is."

 "Your prince...Oh, the bull you mean? Sure, I wouldn't mind", the man answers with a nod. "I'm sure he'll probably get a kick out of it too."

"Thank you Bill!" GG exclaims. "You're an alright fella." 

As Sparky writes down her number on a sticky note for Bill, The Spine goes still as a text pings to him over the network from Rabbit.

 'Spine!! Any idea if glitter ooze is toxic to cats??'

 'It shouldn't be. Small children tend to eat things like that, so it's likely to be non-toxic....why do you ask?'

There was a suspicious pause that made Spine sigh quietly, steam rising gently from the neck. He was about to ping another text when a response from his sister came through.

 'No reason! Gotta go!'

Spine tries to get her to elaborate, but it was too late, she had signed off the network. He tries to ping Zer0 or Six, but strangely enough there was no answer from either of them. That was worrying and very suspicious. He waits a little longer for a response.

 Bill happens to look over at Spine while he stared slighlty off into space and asks Sparky in concern,  "Is he alright?"

The copper looks over then smiles reassuringly at Bill. "He's fine! Probably a getting a text from his siblings or Peter."

 "Ah, okay" the man nods thoughtfully before asking curiously, "So why do you have a phone then if you all can text like that?"

 "I haven't been upgraded with that option yet. No one's sure how to safely integrate it with my technology." Sparky tells him with a small shrug then smiles. "But that's okay." When Spine blinks and shakes his head with a quiet sigh, she looks over. "Everything okay hun?"

 "I believe so. Rabbit just texted me a rather confusing question. I'm not getting a reply from Zer0 or Six either. In any case I think it best if we head back, who knows what mischief they're up to." Spine rolls his eyes and gives a small chuckle as he smiles softly. His family was certainly a handful at times.

 "I'll let you all get on down the road then. Thanks for your help everyone, and for returning our bull friend here." Bill says and shakes everyone's hand, GG even allowed him to shake her hoof before she hopped off the stool to give her prince a hug around the neck. 
 
 "You're welcome, Bill." Spine smiles and gives a polite tip of his fedora before opening the door for Sparky and GG.

 "Have a good rest of your day!" Sparky adds as she walks out the door, GG following behind her at the end of the leash.

 "Good bye, sweet prince!" GG calls over her shoulder as she steps out into the warm afternoon sun. She was determined to not let her prince see how much she already missed him and kept her head high until she and the others had gotten far enough down the sidewalk.

As Bill waved to the bots from the door, the bull came to stand next to him, metal ears drooping slightly as he watched his friends walk away down the sidewalk. A soft, almost sad moo left him when he could no longer see them.

 "You really do miss them, huh buddy?" Bill sighs, frowning slightly as he pats the nearly black metal bull's head gently before guiding him back into the bar.

Chapter Text

The Manor was unusually quiet when The Spine, Sparky and GG entered through the front doorway and  crossed the threshold into the main foyer, their footsteps echoing slightly. 

 "Hello? Rabbit, Zer0?" Sparky calls out as she walks a little ahead of Spine then frowns a bit when nothing but her own voice replies to her. She looks back at her silver sweetheart. "Any luck on texting them, Spine?"

 The silver automaton shakes his head. "No. But they are still in the Manor. I can feel them, for lack of a better term on the network. They're just not responding."

 "Huh. That's weird I wonder wh--Ah!" Sparky gives a surprised yelp when she slips on the floor and starts to fall, still holding GG's leash as the giraffe slipped on her hooves and was dragged down with the copper bot.

Out of reflex, Spine immediately steps forward to catch Sparky but slips as well and falls with his sweetheart. Before they could hit the floor he shoots an arm out to stop her from connecting with the floor by cupping the back of her head with one hand. He manages to stop himself from landing on top of her by quickly bracing his other arm out, ending up in a push up like position over her.

 "Are you alright darlin'?" Spine asks in concern and steams from the neck as he kept balance.

Sparky blinked a few times in surprise, a little stunned while her processings raced to catch up with what just happened. She was expecting to hit the floor but everything happened so fast! She couldn't help but warm up in a robotic blush at just how close she and Spine were and in what position they were in. Little puffs of steam from his neck tickled her face and she could feel the heat from his Blue Matter core.

 "Sparky, are you okay?" Spine asks again, emerald optics searching her face, a little worried that she had hit her head despite his best efforts to avoid that.

 "I-I'm okay Spine" she answers shyly. "Surprised, but not hurt. Thank you for catching me." She leans up slightly, hands on his chest and shoulder for support then kisses his cheek before quickly looking away, caught off guard by her own boldness.

 "Ewwwww, this is giraffe abuse!" GG then screams indignantly from between them. She had ended up sandwiched between the two bots when Sparky had yanked the leash up as she fell. "It's always the canoodling with you two! My poor innocent eyes!"

Opting to ignore the giraffe's protests, Sparky and Spine chuckle a little and move to right themselves. The tall silver bot carefully removes his hand from the back of Sparky's head once she's propped herself up on her elbows, then eases himself back and kneels, allowing GG to scramble away a little only to slip and fall on her face with a grumble, her legs splayed out on the floor.

 "What did we slip on?" Sparky asks as she sits up a bit more.

 "I am not sure" Spine answers then checks the hand he was using to brace himself up on, finding light pink and sparkly slime on his palm. "Oh no. Rabbit's question makes sense now" he says and shows his palm to Sparky.

 "Slime? Icky. I hope it doesn't stain" she frowns a little then turns to look over her shoulder at the rest of the floor, eyes widening a little. "Geez, it's all over the place!"

It was true, while the light pink glitter slime was a little hard to see against the dark colored hard flooring, the further they looked, it appeared that the colors of slime changed and varied from pink to bright yellows, greens and blues.

 "I thought Rabbit and Zer0 were joking about that" Spine comments and shakes his head. "The Walter Workers aren't going to be happy about all this" he adds and carefully stands up, using the wall for support before offering a hand up to Sparky.

After taking one look at their glittery slime covered clothes, GG giggles and chortles from where she sat on the floor. "Your clothes look like a Care Bear threw up on them!"

 Spine squints at the giraffe. She was covered in the slime too from slipping and falling in it. "Looking a little slimed yourself there, GG."

The giraffe looks at herself then shrugs and replies haughtily, "I'm always fabulous."

Sparky tries moving forward by shuffling her feet and sliding a little. "It's kinda like roller skating, Spine" she giggles softly. "C'mon, let's see where everyone is."

Hand in hand, The Spine and Sparky carefully shuffle down the hallway, tugging GG along and helping her up whenever she slipped by carefully pulling her back up by the harness.

 "Oh hey guys! You're back early." Zer0's voice says as the trio turn a slippery corner to the next section of corridor. He waved from where he was stuck in a glittery slimed blob on the wall next to Rabbit, who also waved the best she could with both of her arms pinned to her sides by goop.

 "Hey Th' Spine! Fancy me-meeting you here!" She grins at her brother as if this was the most normal thing ever. "Zer0 and I w-were  just hangin' out ya know."

 Sparky's optics widened when she saw her friends. "Omigosh, are you two okay?"

 "Yup! We're just, er, stuck" Zer0 laughs a little. There was even slime hanging off the little top knot of wires on his head, it jiggled whenever he laughed.

The Spine blinked at his siblings for a few moments before pinching the bridge of his nose with a heavy, bone weary sigh of steam as GG finally burst into a fit of giggles at the sight of Rabbit and Zer0 after failing to hold in her snort of amusement.

 "Do I even want to know how this happened?" The tall silver bot finally asks hesitantly. Rabbit and Zer0 look at each other before launching into their explanation.

 "Well, you see Spine we were trying to help Six fix the floor" Zer0 starts.

 "Then I go-got this great idea!" Rabbit supplies excitedly. "What of w-we used glitter slime? It would look fantastic and add a nice squishy experience to the borin' normal, old floor!"

 "But, uh, we got a liiittle carried away after Rabbit and I pooled our slime resources together" Zer0 giggles nervously. "Then poor Marshmallow and Six got involved and then we got stuck here, The Spine."

While his siblings had been explaining the situation, Spine and Sparky had been carefully peeling off the slime from the other robots until they could finally detach themselves from the wall.

 "Aw! Thanks yo-you guys!" Rabbit exclaims and happily squeezes both her brother and Sparky into a goey hug. Whatever parts of their clothes that had been spared from the slime when the couple fell earlier were definitely messy now.

 "So what happened to Marshamllow and Six?" Sparky asks curiously when Rabbit let go. She may be afraid of the cat, but she certainly didn't want anything to happen to him, or Six for that matter.

 "W-we lost 'em both! They're fine, I'm pretty sure" Rabbit replies with a shrug, a few drops of slime plop down from the goggles atop her hat.

 "Petes went after Marshmallow, last we saw." Zer0 adds as he tries to wipe the slime off his clothes, successfully smearing it in more rather than removing it.

⊙⊙⊙ Meanwhile,somewhere in the Manor ⊙⊙⊙

 Peter Walter the Sixth sits up, cringing a bit at the squelch and pop of the glittery slime as he peeled his back from the floor then looks down at the mess of his clothes. He could feel some of the glop in his hair slide down his neck and trail down his back. He shivered and suppressed the disgusted groan in his throat. This was just nasty. The Walter descendant sighs quietly under his mask and mulls over the day's events as he carefully stands up. A lost mechanical bull that resulted in a merry chase with an unhelpful AI, slimed floors, and then knocked over and dragged by an equally slimed giant cat all in one day. 

 "I need a vacation from my family for a while" he mutters then cringed again when he tried to run his hand through his shock of hair. "Ewww..." A globby string of slime clung to him as he pulled his hand away, drooping like gooey cheese on a slice of pizza.

 He finally takes note of where in the Manor he actually was. A sign hung above the open doorway to his left, it said 'The Tower of Tacos' in glowing neon letters. It must be Tuesday, the Walter descendant thinks as he shuffles into the room, it was the only day this part of the Manor was open to the residents. At the smell of all the food,  his stomach grumbles, making him realize that during the excitement of the day, he had forgotten lunch.

 "Thankfully Marshmallow didn't run in here, the mess and chaos that would've ensued." Peter mutters to himself as he sits at the bar with a plate of burritos and a side of nachos. He eyes the laminated list taped to the wall behind the bar of various drinks and how to prepare them.  

 A lot of the beverages sounded good about now but he really shouldn't drink anything like that this early in the day. Just as he lifted a burrito off the plate, a big glop of slime from his hair plopped down, effectively covering not only the one he grabbed, but the other burritos on the plate as well in bright pink glitter goop. Peter blinked a few times at it then sighed heavily as he got off the bar stool and dumped the thoroughly slimed burritos into the garbage can behind the bar.

 "That's it," he huffs in annoyance before he scans the drink list on the wall and gathers the ingredients he wants from the cupboards then sets them on the counter. "It's five o' clock somewhere and I need a vacation, slime or no."

 When he was done, Peter had fixed himself a pomegranate margarita on the rocks,  extra salt with a pink umbrella, just for the Hell of it. Drink and plate of tacos in hand, he resigns himself to his slime covered mental vacation and leans back in a chair, taking a sip of his drink while imagining white sand beaches and refreshing waves lapping at the shore as music played in the background.

⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙

Just as the robots were about to split up to find Six and Marshmallow easier, they heard several voices cry out in surprise followed by a few thuds from in the main foyer. The bots hurry to see what had happened and find Walter Workers Chelsea, Camille and Walter Worker trainee Sage on the floor along with the bags of groceries they had been bringing inside. They had left earlier that morning for the store and had missed all the excitement. 

Usually food and other supplies would've  been delivered to the Manor, but after GG had run out and bit several delivery people like an enraged chihuahua, the delivery services simply couldn't cover that kind of health risk in their employee's insurance.

 "What happened in here?" Sage asks as she and the other Workers struggle to get on their feet.

 "Rabbit and Zer0." Spine deadpans with a shrug as he helps Camille up and Zer0 helps Sage back to her feet.

 "W-well, technically Six wanted our help" Rabbit counters as she helps Chelsea upright.

 "But, why slime up the floors?" Camille asks, shaking her head.

 "We thought it looked nice but we sorta underestimated how slippery it was" Zer0 replies with a chuckle.

 "And messy" Sparky adds with a soft giggle as she picked up the fallen grocery bags. GG decides to help a little by picking up an orange in her mouth, nearly pulling Sparky over in the process when the orange rolled away and she pounced after it.

 "Where's Six?" Chelsea inquires. She knew he musn't be too happy about all this. 

No sooner had she asked the question than a strange sound was heard coming from the hallway that lead to the residential areas of the Manor. Heavy paw steps were heard coming closer to the main foyer before a rather distressed and very slimed giant cat came bounding out. His previously white fur was now spackled with multi-colored slime. Various objects were sticking to his fur, pictures from the walls where he must've accidentally bumped into them, a few table lamps and even one metal chair clung to the cat's side.

Marshmallow's sudden appearance made Sparky drop the grocery bags she'd been holding with a quiet gasp of surprise. The cat certainly didn't look happy. Based on how his fur looked, it seems he had tried licking the slime off, but only succeeded in smearing it further.

 "Marshmallow, who let the giant Care Bear barf on you?" GG snorts, removing the orange from her mouth with her hooves to speak.

 "Hey, it's okay kitty" Zer0 tries to soothe the giant feline as he carefully approached. "We'll help you get cleaned up. Maybe a bath will help?"

At those words Marshmallow's ears flattened to his head and he meowed lowly in a warning, making Sparky back up fearfully and slip her hand into Spine's as she kept her gaze on the goopy feline, soon feeling Spine squeeze her hand back reassuringly.

 "Uh-oh. He doesn't lo-look very happy guys. Did you buy him any treats when you were out?" Rabbit asks Chelsea, who shakes her head no. 

 "I would suggest no sudden movements" Spine advises calmly as he watched the cat's actions. It was unlikely that Marshmallow would harm anyone, but in his agitated state it was best to not press their luck.

 "Oops!" The orange shoots from between GG's slime slippery hooves and bounces up off the floor, hitting Marshmallow on the nose, who hisses, his pupils shrinking into annoyed slits. "Yikes! Dont eat me, I'm sorry!!" GG takes off, forgetting that she still had the harness on and runs fearfully through the nearest door, dragging Sparky and subsequently The Spine along with her for the ride.

The sudden movement startles everyone, Marshmallow included, who then charges towards the gang, chasing them through the door, scaring Sage into shifting into her wolf form with a small yelp as she and the others are then chased by the giant gooped cat.

Unlike the chase with the bull earlier, the excitement was short lived when Marshmallow got stuck in a smaller doorway, the goop in his fur along with the random objects stuck to him made sure he couldn't squeeze through the wooden frame.

A plan was soon enacted to help the poor feline. Armed with various cat brushes, The Spine, Rabbit and Zer0 start to carefully brush the goo from Marshmallow's fur while the Walter Workers helped extract the chair, lamps and pictures. Sparky was in charge of feeding the giant cat some of his favorite treats to keep him calm and relatively content.

 "Good kitty, please don't bite me..." Sparky murmurs as she gives him another treat with a shaking hand. The cat was purring a little as he slurped the treat up with a rough tongue.

 "You okay Sparkster?" Sage asks as she walks up to the copper bot. The trainee had finally managed to shift back to normal and get dressed again. "I can take over treat duty if you want me too", she offers.

 "Thank you, but I'm okay. That's really sweet of you though." Sparky gives her a soft smile. "It's good for me to try and face my fear of Marshmallow this way." 

 "Why are you afraid of him?" Sage asks curiously as she peels some slime off his ear. She didn't really like cats, but there was no sense in not helping the poor fur ball.

 "I was trying to be nice to him by getting him a treat, but I had spilled catnip on myself in the process. Marshmallow thought I was a toy and chased me" the copper bot chuckles nervously. "I've been a little afraid of him ever since."

Sage nods understandingly. Marshmallow was pretty intimidating, slimed or not. "That would be scary. I'm glad you're trying to face your fear though. Good job." She smiles and pats Sparky's shoulder before going to help the others.

⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙

After Marshmallow was de-gooped, everyone pitched in to help clean up the slimed floors. By the time they had finished later that evening, both Worker and bot alike were pretty tired and in various degrees of slimed themselves. They eventually all drifted their separate ways to get cleaned up. It wasn't bedtime yet, but Sparky decided after cleaning herself up to wear her pj's to try and unwind a little. 

With her bunny slippers padding softly down the hallway, she takes the slimed clothes she wore that day to the laundry chute at the end of the hall and drops them down the slot then closes the door with a grating squeak that echoed a bit along the hallways.

 "Darn Manor....why are you so confusing to get around?" Sparky heard someone grumble from the opposite hall. Her optics light up happily when she sees who it was a moment later.

 "Six! I'm so happy you're okay!" Sparky says cheerfully as she walks up to him. "I thought Marshmallow ate you or something! Until you texted the group chat earlier that is. In any case, it's good to see you." Rambling a little, she ignores the Walter descendant's dried slime clothes and hugs him around the middle.

Peter had cringed a little. She hadn't really shouted but everything was too loud at this moment, it wasn't helping the ache in his head at all. Those last few margaritas were proving to be a bad idea after all. 

 "Please Sparky, not so loud, okay?" He asks gently as he awkwardly pats her back before she let him go. "And no. Marshmallow didn't eat me. The Tower of Tacos kicked me out a while ago, I've been wandering around since then. Where precisely am I?"

 He didn't know where he was? Sparky tilts her head, saying in a softer lower tone,  "I'm sorry Six, I didn't mean to be loud. You're in the residential wing of the Manor for the automatons. Are you okay?"
 
"Thank you Sparky. Yes, I'm fine. My head hurts like the Dicken's though",  he grumbles under his mask and rubs his temple.

 "Oh no, did you hit your head? Should I find a first aid kit for you?" The copper bot asks in concern, gently taking his hand in her own.

 "No, no it's not that kind of hurt. I just have a hangover is all. I do appreciate your concern." Six reassures her, patting her hand.

 Sparky blinks and perks a brow at him. "I'm glad you're okay but....what's a 'hangover'? Is it serious?"

 Six couldn't help the small smile that quirked under his mask as he chuckles softly. "No, the effects are temporary. A hangover happens when humans drink too much alcohol."

 "Oh! Okay. It's kinda like when I use the holy ball too much, I get sleepy and goofy. So for humans the after effects of alcohol hurt?" Sparky asks to confirm what she thought. 

 "Basically. Only if it's too much" Six admits tiredly with a small shrug. "Anyways,  I'm pretty tired, I'll catch you later Sparky." The Walter descendant pats her shoulder then begins shuffling off towards where he thought would lead to the human resident's wing of the Manor. 

 Oh dear. That's not the way, Sparky thinks before catching up with Peter and taking his hand, steering him back towards the correct corridor. "Mind if I walk you back to your room Six? I can fill you in on how we cleaned up Marshmallow."

 Peter was too tired to really protest and allowed the small bot to carefully lead him to his room as she quietly explained what happened after Marshmallow had left him near The Tower of Tacos. When they had reached his room, he mumbled a thanks and a goodnight before flopping onto his bed, not caring about his messy clothes, and immediately started to snore. 

 "G'night, Six" Sparky whispers and gently covers him with a light blanket that was folded on his bed before leaving. She makes a mental note to herself to check in on Six in the morning and to do more research on this 'hangover' thing. It didn't sound very healthy to her.

Chapter Text

Ever since the bull had been given to Bill, proud owner and manager of The Bucking Bronco, the popularity of the bar and grill restaurant had risen. Not only were folks coming in to sample the unique brews on tap and the rotating variety of the menu, but now they were fascinated with the gentle natured Walter Robotics mechanical bull. A lot of the time the patrons would opt to simply interact with him rather than test their mettle against his pre-programed rodeo routines. He was a smash hit with the families with smaller children as well.

Steam clouds the window as the bull sighs deeply and rests his head atop the table. He gazes outside at the street dappled with the morning sunshine, hoping to see his friends again. It had been a while since the nice shiny fellow and his friends had brought him back to The Bucking Bronco. Was the game over? A nagging thought buzzed through his processing. What if the shiny fellow didn’t want to play anymore? Maybe his friends didn’t want to play anymore either.

This notion makes the bull sigh again, mooing softly before he perks up a little as an idea occurs to him; if his friends won’t come to him, maybe he should go see his friends at the big house and surprise them again! That always seemed to make everyone happy. Then maybe, just maybe, if he hid and played with everyone again, they’d let him stay for longer!

The bull’s long silvery tail wags a little, he felt quite happy and proud of himself for coming up with this new plan. Noticing Bill walk up to him, he moos softly in greeting, optic’s crinkling up a little in joy when the man pats his head. Peering into the man’s kind eyes the bull felt a strange feeling tugging at his artificial heart; almost sad but not, almost like he’d done something wrong in a way by thinking about visiting his friends at the big house.

Bill was always so kind to him. During the bull’s first few nights at the Bronco after the bar’s closing time, he’d tried to follow the man up the narrow stairs in the back room to his apartment. Seeing that the bull didn’t want to be alone in a new place, Bill had set up a cot near the padded section of the bull’s designated corner of the Bronco so he could keep his robotic friend company. The man had also left a few electronic tealights turned on atop the bar’s counter and tables when he noticed that the bull enjoyed the soft flickering of the artificial flame.

Unsure of all these rather new notions and feelings, the bull steams softly as he sits lost in thought.

 “Whatcha thinking about there, boy?” Bill asks gently and scratches behind the bull’s nearly black ear, chuckling a little when the bull leans in to his hand and seems to perk up a little.

 “Ready to check out the name suggestion jar?”

The bull tilts his head inquisitively before looking towards the door of the Bronco then back at Bill, who chuckles. “It’s Sunday again, bud. I’m always closed on Sundays except for special occasions.” He walks over to the bar and retrieves a large mason jar filled around halfway with folded pieces of paper and brings it back over to where the bull sat.

 “I think it’s high time you finally get a name. The past few weeks I’ve had this jar out for our patrons to drop some name ideas for you. I’ve got a few of my own, but I think it’ll be kinda fun to check through these too, ya know?” He smiles when the bull seems to perk up a bit more from whatever he’d been ruminating on, and starts to peer curiously at the jar set on the table in front of him.

 “Right! Let’s see what we’ve got…” Bill reaches in and chooses a folded post it note at random. He squints at the writing after unfolding it. “Hmm. How does ‘Leroy’ grab ya?.”

The bull gives a soft, negative shake of his head. He supposed it was a fine name, just not one he felt like fit.

 “Yeah, I didn’t like that one either.” Bill crinkles the paper up and lightly tosses it across the table before reaching into the jar for another. “‘Ribeye’? That seems rude.”

The bull snorted steam, giving him a confused look.

 "Uh, I’ll explain that to you later, bud. Next!”

This process went on for a little while, the deeper into the jar the pair got, the more sillier the names seemed to get, likely the result of inebriation, or the rather young; case in point being…

 "‘The Mighty Moo’ ?” Bill laughs. “I refuse to believe that this came from an adult, even a drunk one. Had to be that one family here a while ago with the little boy obsessed with super heroes.”

The bull’s blue optics shone with amusement as he snorted a plume of steam.

 “Since we’re nearly done with the jar, let me run a few of my ideas by ya?” Bill asks kindly, continuing when the bull nodded softly.

 “What about ‘Cash’, like after Johnny Cash? I noticed you like a few of his songs when they come up on the jukebox.”

The bull closed his eyes in thought, tail swishing lightly behind him. After considering it, he ultimately shakes his head ‘no’, though he does gently bump his snout against Bill’s arm in an encouraging manner.

 “Fair enough my friend. You gotta like your name, yeah? It’s gotta feel like you.”

A few other options were suggested; ‘Marksley’, ‘Fireweed’, ‘Rogers’ and ‘Elwood’-- all politely turned down.

 “Alright, I think the last suggestion I had was….‘Sarsaparilla’.”

The bull’s ears twitched forward, his optics glowing a little brighter as he gave a soft, joyful moo , and lightly tapped his front hooves on the floor in excitement.

 Sarsaparilla! It just sounded right!

 “I take it you like that one?” Bill asks with a soft chuckle. It seemed like the bull was practically dancing with joy already. “Sarsaparilla?”

The steam that the newly named Sarsaparilla blew from his nose was strong enough to scatter the crinkled up papers from the jar off the table. He stands up, tail swishing behind him as he continues to happily tap his front hooves and dance in place.

 “I think it’s a very fitting name, and you could also go as ‘Sas’ for short if you like that too?” Bill adds, smiling at how happy Sarsaparilla was to finally have a name of his own.

Sarsaparilla gently butts his head against Bill, joy evident in his silver patinaed, bovine features.

 “Hey, how about we tell your friends at Walter Manor about you finally getting a name? I bet they’d love to hear about it. I’ve been meaning to talk to that Peter again anyway about those ‘show horns’ he’d mentioned to me on the phone. You seemed to like the idea when I showed you the pic he texted me.”

Sarsaparilla nodded enthusiastically. The proposed ‘show horns’ were meant to somehow click into place over the much smaller, slightly curved ones that were molded to his head. They looked pretty cool, and would work well for potential photo opportunities with the Bronco’s patrons. In any case, it was a great reason to go and visit his friends again at the big house.

 “Alrighty then. I’ll give Peter a call and see when he’d be free for a visit.” Bill says, already pulling up the contact on his phone. “It may not be today, Sas. Just putting it out there so you don’t feel disappointed,” he adds before putting the phone on speaker and setting it down on the table so Sas could also listen in.

 The phone rings a few times before the call gets picked up. “Pete’s phone! This is a go for GG the Giraffe! I hope this is an important call, I was about to beat my Candy Crush highscore!”

 “Hi, GG. It’s Bill from The Bucking Bronco.”

 “Bill!” There was some sort of clatter on the other end of the call, most likely GG dropping the phone in excitement. “Is my prince there? Can I say hi? Is he okay?”

 “Yup, he’s here and he’s fine. Of course you can say hi.” Bill chuckles quietly as GG rambles out an excited hello, and Sas gave a soft moo in greeting in return.

 “So GG, I have good news. Your prince has picked out a name for himself today. He chose Sarsaparilla.”

 “I LOVE it!” GG exclaims. “Just wait until the others hear about it...Oh my gosh we should throw a party to celebrate!!”

 “Uhm, sure that could be fun but GG, I was hoping to speak with Peter about some things, is he around…?”

 “Oh, I have no idea. He’s probably around somewhere but I’ve gotta go now, there’s a party to plan! You and my sweet Sarsaparilla prince just swing on by around here by like, 1pm sharp, ok? This is gonna be great!” With that, the giraffe abruptly hangs up.

 Bill exchanges a look with Sas.

 “Well. I guess we better get ready, Sas. We’ve got a party to attend.”