"Sigmund, why are you so determined to get this device to function?" Klunk groaned as he looked up at the machine his companion was hunched over. His partner had insisted that these touch ups would only take a few minutes and now the pair were far behind their daily schedule. "How will it enhance our performance in the Great Clock's maintenance?" He didn't recognize the machine that the taller robot was working on. In fact, judging by the plates of metal that didn't seem to match one another, it looked like the other robot had built it himself. His eyes brightened at this realization. Klunk, himself, was completely incompetent when it came to contraptions and was always impressed with Sigmund's accomplishments. They weren't as great as Dr. Nefarious's creations, but for a robot designed for janitorial work, Sigmund was not too bad with machines.
"It'll be a surprise!" Sigmund insisted as he connected a pair of wires together. "I hope it'll work."
"I'm sure it will perform its purpose phenomenally." Klunk encouraged, now curious about the machine. What did Sigmund need that he had felt the need to build this device himself?
Sigmund tightened a few more bolts and exclaimed, "I think that should do it." he pointed to a red button on the device and asked, "Do you want to do the honours?"
"I suppose, if it pleases you." Klunk reached up for the button and pressed it. There was a flash of light, but nothing seemed to change otherwise. "Did you crisscross some wires?" Klunk asked as he tipped his head at the device, waiting to see if its reaction was delayed.
"Nope! It worked perfectly!"
"What do you-" Klunk turned around to stare at a slate gray coloured Lombax grinning at him. "You did not." Klunk's eyelids narrowed in irritation.
"Don't worry. It's just a hologram!" the Lombax spoke with Sigmund's voice, his yellow eyes squinting in his excitement.
"I was led to believe that this form was limited to your imagination in the mnemonic chamber."
"Forms." Klunk was about to ask what that was supposed to mean when he looked down at his hands and realized they were five fingered, furred hands. He let out a deep breath, willing to tolerate it for Sigmund's sake. The other robot began explaining, "That's the cool bit! The machine reads my frequency and projects the holograms onto us. Isn't it neat? I connected it to the Clock's systems, so the holograms can go anywhere. Awesome, right?"
"May I ask where this obsession of yours with Lombaxes spawned from? Perhaps I could use the Orvus Chamber to go back in time and erase this factor."
Sigmund blinked for a moment, but Klunk's hologram's eyes rolled, giving the other robot a hint that he was kidding about the Orvus Chamber bit.
"But in all seriousness, is there some sort of psychological reasoning for this, or are you simply curious about organic life, since you are not acquainted to it?"
"You don't hear me asking you why you hate organics so much. Why do I have to have a reason for being interested in them?"
Klunk simply pouted, knowing that his fellow Clock Caretaker was right, but at the same time he truly did not want to have this hologram operating. He had agreed to performing tasks in the mnemonic chamber in Lombax appearance to appease Sigmund, he did not want to sacrifice his robot form outside of the chamber as well. He could barely tolerate communicating with Sigmund while his partner looked like this, he did not want to have to live with it as well.
"Fine. I will respect your strange affixation with Lombaxes if you tolerate my dislike for them." Klunk pressed the button on the device and both of their holograms dissipated.
"I suppose that's fair." Sigmund sighed. "But I think you have to get over it eventually, Klunk. We work here to protect the universe. The whole universe. Including the organics."
"I believe I'm more than fair enough to the squishies. I do let them live."
"Well, it's good to know your sense of humour's been developing."
"I have a wonderful sense of humour." Klunk insisted. He began making his way out of the room, "We're far behind for today's schedule. We will have to split the work if we would like to get it done quickly. I will go wind the Time Keepers. Be sure to recalibrate the system and clean out the orientation room as well."
As the smaller robot stepped out of the door Sigmund turned back to the machine he had just finished, tipping his head sadly at how Klunk had rejected it. He glanced quickly at the door, double checking to make sure that his companion was gone. Sigmund pressed the button on the device and stated, "I hope you have a real good sense of humour." He grinned down at his hands, projected as the five fingered hands of a Lombax, before he set out to work.