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Some days Jack was alright. Giggly, but manageable. Even sitting still long enough to listen and have well, most of a conversation. Other days were much harder. Some days Jack would tear through the manor shrieking with laughter and screaming about whatever seemed to come to mind. Which was a struggle most days, but when he needed a repair, it was the worst.
Jack had been burning through coal at an alarming rate. Even for as hyper as he could be, that was too much. They needed to get him down to the workshop to have Riker and Scratch look him over. They didn’t have the money for him to be burning so fast, and who knew what kind of damage had been done to cause it in the first place. No one wanted to deal with him grinding to a halt. No one was prepared to deal with that.
Now, if only someone could catch him while he cackled like a mad man ripping through the halls of the old Becile manor.
“Jacky! Come on, we gotta get you looked afta,” yelled Hare while he tried to chase after him. Down through the parlor and up through the den, Hare chased Jacky round and round again. He had no interest in stopping as he ran from room to room. Laughing and yelling about wires and fires.
After more than an hour, and a whole lot of cursing, they managed to catch him. Hare chased him through to the living room, and Skull stood at the other doorway, grabbing the jittery golden bot while he scrambled to backpedal and get away.
“You’re getting looked over by Weed. Stop running around,” he gruffed. Thick coal smoke curled out of his neck from rushing around the place, looking far more menacing than he had intended. And made Jack shrink in on himself giggling quietly about rocks.
Which made Skull tilt his head, just a little. Putting the smaller robot down, he didn’t let go just yet. He knew better than that. “What about rocks?” he asked.
More smoke billowed from between Jack’s teeth as he nervously giggled. “Skipping rocks. Bouncing on the water. Skipping skipping skipping!” He shrilled and ducked his head.
Hare looked just as confused as Skull, but he hummed as he tried to make it make sense. It suddenly dawned on him. “Are you talking about when we went skipping rocks?” A sharp nod from Jack made him smile a little. That had been a very long time ago. “You still remember that?”
“Skipping, bouncing, ripples in the water,” giggled Jack, his shoulders slumping as he started to relax. The coal smoke still curled around his wig, but much less now.
“Yeah, you got pretty good at it. Pretty sure you made it to the other bank,” Hare praised. When Jack laughed happily, he smiled a little wider. It had been a good day. Things felt a lot easier back then.
Jack’s head rocked a little from side to side, and he sang, “Skipping far. Skipping far!” But he wasn’t getting hyper again. Just seemed content to sing about rocks and river banks.
It was the calmest Skull had seen him in a long time and he looked up to Hare to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. Whole thing seemed too good to be true.
Hare looked just as confused and gave a passive shrug. “That’s real nice, Jacky.” Walking slowly, he wrapped an arm around his shoulders and winced when Jack flinched. “Why don’t you think about skippin’ rocks while we head downstairs to the workshop, huh? Somethin’ nice ta think about before yer lil nap.”
Skull watched them leave, stepping aside when Hare guided him by. It was hard to remember that any part of the old Jack was still there. Still pondering, he walked out to the garden.
Downstairs, Jacky started to get nervous again and his laughter picked up in pitch. His shoulders started to tremble, and he jerked away from the table. From the restraints.
“Hey, it’s alright, Jacky,” tried Hare. “We ain’t gonna let Weed do nothin’ horrible ta ya, you know that.”
Said Weed was standing by the workbench with Scratch at his side, looking tired as ever. “I’ll be quick,” he promised. He didn’t want to drag this out any longer than he had to either. Working on Jack still made him uncomfortable. He was dangerous, but he hated using the straps even more than he was afraid.
Getting Jack to lay down wasn’t happening. He started to cackle in earnest again and to wiggle around, trying to get away. More and more smoke billowed from between his teeth while they tried to get him down. Much longer and Scratch and Riker would need to leave the room to breathe.
Right as Riker was about to give up, Skull stepped in. “Let him go,” he grumbled as he stepped up to the table.
Jack laughed and thrashed until he was free, turning to look at Skull. His face was straining with how wide his grin was now, and his shoulders shook with laughter as more and more smoke filtered into the air leaving the room feeling dingy.
Skull watched him a moment before reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a small rock. Round and almost perfectly flat. A skipping rock. “Here, Jack.” Carefully, he reached for the binding of the jacket, ignoring the protests.
Being freed, Jack looked ready to bolt. But only for a moment. He watched the rock Skull had. And when the taller bot offered it to him, he sat perfectly still.
“We can’t go skipping rocks right now. But when we can, you’ve got a good rock to start with.” Skull gently put it in Jack’s hand.
It wasn’t much, just a rock from the garden, but Jack lifted it and stared at it intently. His shoulders loosened, and his too wide grin softened to something fonder as he turned the stone this way and that. He hardly noticed when they gently guided him down.
“Skipping, bouncing, ripples in the water,” he sang to himself, slowly powering down. When he woke up, he’d demand to hold the rock as they put his jacket back on. No time for skipping, but he could have it and be ready. Ready for skipping rocks and better days to come again.