Chapter Two

By:Veteliunde

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Trigger Warnings for this chapter: Flashbacks?, Mental Illness Traits

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The phone plan failed. As did the next three plans after that. It was eating away at the megalomaniac. All of them failed because of that absolutely stupid game of Pinky's! He was STILL talking to that empty spool.

When the phone plan failed, it was because Pinky had introduced his "sister" to the CEO's. They thought they were crazy. The other plans failed because he was paying more attention to the spool than any of Brain's instructions. Throwing a switch. That's all that was asked, but heaven forbid.

"Good one, sistah!" The slender mouse laughed at the "joke" being told to him. They were on the counter, by the sink, having just a grand ole time. It was Saturday, so no scientists were going to be coming in. Which meant they were free to roam around however they pleased.

Brain's eye twitched in annoyance. His friend had long since healed (thanks to his gene splicing), so there was no longer any restraint in Brain's temper. (Though he still felt bad about what happened and it still helped fuel his desires for world conquest.) He threw down the plans he was struggling to formulate and marched over to Pinky. Enough was enough.

"Pinky!"

Elated to see his bestest friend coming over, Pinky rushed over to him and gave him a hug, "Hello, Brain! Did you come to hear one of Sis's jokes?" They were down right hilarious in Pinky's opinion. He could understand why Brain might wanna hear them for himself. "She was just telling the one about this rooster and… no wait! It was a pudding cup!... No… Well, you'll just have to listen to her tell it! Trust me, it was a hoot!"

Feeling his frustration grow, Brain bopped his companion's head, falling to the floor as he was released.

"Naaaaarf! Nice one, Brain!" Pinky swayed back and forth momentarily before straightening up.

"Pinky! It's time we had a talk!" He put his hands on his hips and scowled, trying to emphasize his seriousness. This HAD to stop. For both of their sanity. Or whatever was left of Pinky's sanity.

Pinky hummed. "I see, I see. Mmhmm. Give me just a second." He crouched down and "covered" his sister's non-existent ears. "Okay, Brain. Now you can keep talking. Sissy's not old enough to hear "the talk" yet." He didn't want her innocence tarnished. She was just a toddler. He looked to his friend, happily ready to listen. It was an important thing to know.

He was bopped on the head again.

"No you ninny! Not that talk. Just a talk. Me and you, no Sis." He crossed his arms over each other to make the point. Sometimes he wondered how he hadn't gone mad from Pinky's craziness.

"Oh. Okay then. Bye-bye, Sis!" They walked off a little bit before Brain stopped them.

"Pinky, this had to stop." He gestured vaguely, knowing he'd have to explain further.

"We just did, Brain." Brain was silly sometimes.

"Pinky, I mean that your game has to stop."

"Which game? If it's chess, that's not a problem. I suck at chess." He giggled a little at his joke, not really understanding what Brain was talking about.

"You have to stop talking to that empty spool, Pinky! It's driving me crazy! Because of it, many plans were ruined! It's not sentient! It can't talk! It doesn't talk, and it'll never talk! Stop pretending it's your sister! As a matter of fact, stop pretending ANYTHING that's inanimate has sentience! His anger poured out of him. He didn't mean to sound this.. Well, mean. But he was tired of it. When he looked up to see Pinky's eyes, he didn't expect tears. Oh no.

"S-she's not a sentence, Brain, or whatever you're saying, Zort! She's my sister! She's real!" It became hard to see as more tears poured out. She was real.

Real.

Real

Real.

"You're just jealous!" He didn't want to be mean back, but his feelings were hurting an awful lot.

Brain sighed, calming himself down a bit. He didn't do well with Pinky's tears. "Pinky, I have absolutely nothing to be jealous of. She's not real." He gently patted Pinky's side. "You know that, right? Deep down?" How would he be able to handle this if Pinky genuinely thought she was real? He'd have to come to the conclusion that Pinky was suffering from hallucinations. Which made a knot in his stomach cramp.

Pinky sniffled, trying and failing to wipe away his tears. "Deep down? I haven't checked that in a while. I don't like checking deep down, Brain. It makes me sad."

Brain thought to himself a moment about what his friend just said. Was he trying to say that, yes, deep down she's not real and that hurts? "Elaborate, Pinky." He was met with a blank stare. He ran a hand over his face. "What do you mean, Pinky? What does it mean that deep down hurts?"

Pinky looked to the ground and shuffled his feet. "It's just that sometimes, deep down makes me remember feelings I don't want to remember. But… but yes Brain. I know it. Poit. Sis isn't alive, is she?"

Brain's heart twisted at hearing the defeat in Pinky's tone. He was relieved to hear that Pinky knew she wasn't real, but now he was left with a depressed Pinky. Depression and Pinky didn't go well together. It didn't feel right, those two things together.

Brain grabbed Pinky gently by his paw and rubbed a thumb over his knuckles. The action was foreign to both mice. "I'm sorry, Pinky. No. She's not." His anger was now long gone and replaced with guilt.

"It's okay, Brain. I'll go put her up." Pinky lightly pulled away and trudged over to the empty spool. He picked it up and removed the pink ribbon. After putting the spool us against his toy chest, he approached Brain with the ribbon.

"Yes, Pinky?" Pinky held the ribbon out toward Brain. The smaller mouse was uncertain of what he was supposed to do with it.

Still sniffling, Pinky cleared his throat a bit. "Can you put this somewhere safe? I don't want it gone, but I don't want to look at it for a while. It's making my tummy feel weird. It's what made Sis, well, Sis."

"Sure Pinky. I can do that." Brain wasn't sure what Pinky meant, but he didn't want to cause any more mental strain on his friend. Had he known this whole thing would be such an ordeal, he would have reconsidered how he approached it. Then he got curious. It made him wonder… "Pinky, I'm sorry, but I'm curious. Why is this such a big deal to you? How does putting a ribbon on something do anything?"

Pinky opened his mouth to say something and then stopped. Why was a hard question to answer. He tapped his foot as he did what Brain normally did, and pondered. He thought as hard as he was able to, but couldn't come up with anything. Finally, he gave up. "I don't know." That didn't sound quite right, though. He tried again."Mmm.. No. It's that I don't remember." That sounded better.

Brain hummed at the response. He didn't remember? He could handle an "I don't know," but a purposeful "I don't remember," was interesting. Perhaps after he was ruler of the world, he'd get Pinky a therapist?

"I do remember that chewing on that rubber toy popper I have makes me feel better. Can I go do that, Brain?"

A good therapist. And a psychiatrist. "Very well, Pinky. I suppose I'll go back to plotting my next plan before tonight." He wasn't sure how he could make Pinky feel better himself, so he figured if chewing on objects made him feel good, so be it. He had blueprints to make anyway.

Pinky lit up a little at the familiar swelling of his chest. He loved asking the question that began to tickle on his tongue. "Why, Brain, what are we gonna do tonight?"

The same feeling swelled up inside of Brain, and he couldn't help but smirk. "Why, the same thing we do every night, Pinky." He paused for dramatic effect. "Try to take over the world!"

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Hours later, Brain rubbed his paws together in excitement over his latest scheme, which was currently under a tarp so he could surprise Pinky with it's magnificence. Just like with every plan, he doubted his simple-minded friend would understand it's complexity and wonder, but it was always worth a shot. "Pinky! Get over here!"

From across the counter, Pinky poked his head out of a cereal box he had found. The rubber popper had served its purpose a while ago, so he moved on to the next thing that made him feel better. Boxes with food in them. He had found one of his favorite cereals in a drawer and had dragged it over so he could play in it. "Just a second, Brain! I'm stuck in the Lucky Charms!" He wiggled viciously until the box fell over, spilling cereal and Pinky onto the counter. Not a single marshmallow was in sight.

He ran over to Brain and shook off the cereal dust he was covered in. "Here I am! Oooh! What's under there?" He pointed at the tarp.

Brain crossed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose and took in a deep breath. Then he shook off the cereal dust that had landed on him. "Please refrain from dirtying up my fur with high-sugar breakfast dust."

"Right-O! I'll remember that for next time. Narf!" He pointed at the tarp again. "So, are you gonna tell me what's under the tarp, Brain?"

Brain smiled. "Yes, Pinky. Allow me to explain." He began pacing, excitement building within himself as he explained his plan. "Tell me, Pinky, what's the one thing humans can't resist?!"

Pinky put a finger to his chin and arched a brow. "Ummmm… wasting time and money?"

"No! Well, yes, they do that. But I'm talking about something else, entirely! Cuteness, Pinky! Humans can't resist anything cute! Think about it! Countless videos of cats and dogs online, their urge to speak gibberish at the sight of a baby, cuteness is just as good as any mind control!"

Pinky clapped his hands together. His friend was a genius! "Is that what's under the tarp, Brain?! Something cute?!" Now he couldn't wait for his friend to lift the tarp!

Brain gently stilled his friend. "Not exactly, Pinky." He went over and dramatically removed the tarp. "Behold!"

Pinky looked the contraption up and down. He had no idea what he was staring at, but whatever it was, it was absolutely amazing! Anything Brain made was amazing. "Oh, it's splendid! How lovely! It's uh, … well, it's a….It's…. What is it, Brain?"

"This is a machine designed to regress my aging body! It will regress me into a toddler and without altering my mental capabilities! Once I'm small and cute again, the world will have no choice but to hand me anything I ask for!"

Pinky went over to the machine and marveled at it, now that he understood what it was. "Naaaarrf!" But then he became confused. "But, Brain, you're already small and cute, poit."

The smaller mouse felt heat creep up into his face. "Well, that's… um, kind of you to say, but I'm not quite, eh, cute enough for most human's liking" He shook his head, attempting to erase the embarrassment out of him. Pinky thinking he was cute made him feel… something odd. "Anyway, after regressing my age, I'll have exactly twenty-four hours to convince the public to give over their allegiance to me! Then, the effects shall wear off, and I'll rule the world!"

"Hurray!" Pinky cheered for him, happy that his friend would get to be ruler of the world. This plan was a shoe-in for sure! Pinky himself couldn't see any flaws in the plan. Normally, he could think of at least one, but this one was perfect. And he'd get to see a little baby Brain! But he did wonder something… Pinky put his hands behind his back and swished his tail shyly. "So, what am I gonna do?"

Brain placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You, my friend, will be in charge of the machine. Once I enter into that chamber," he pointed in its direction, "you'll pull the red lever and transform me. Do you think you can do that?"

Pinky placed a hand over his heart. Absolutely he could! "For sure! Troz!"

Brain patted his shoulder and went to open the chamber door. "Good. Then let's get to it!" He turned back to face Pinky. It was a simple task, but with Pinky, he needed to be extra sure he understood. "Now, Pinky. Quick. Tell me what you're gonna do."

Pinky ran over to the lever. "You're gonna go into the chamber and I'm gonna pull the lever!"

Brain smiled. Good. He understood. "Okay then, here we go!" He went into the chamber and closed the door. From inside he shouted, "Now Pinky! Pull the lever!"

Pinky wagged his tail fast. He was gonna help! "Okay!" He pulled the lever down and watched as sparks erupted from the machine, followed by smoke and creaky noises. He stopped wagging his tail and wrung it in his hands, instead. That didn't look like that stuff was supposed to happen. Then he heard a yell.

"Yeeeooooooow!"

It was Brain! "Oh no! Don't worry, Brain! I'll save you!" He ran over and pulled on the door handle, but it wouldn't open. "Just hang on!" He pulled harder and the door flew open, and from the chamber, Brain stumbled out, AND an electric current moved through the door, almost all at once. The current hit Pinky and he was forced into grabbing the handle as it shocked him.

Brain coughed up some smoke before turning to see Pinky being helplessly shocked. "Pinky!" He ran over to the lever and pushed up on it. The machine powered down, releasing Pinky. He rushed over to his companion's side as a waft of smoke hid the scene. "Pinky! Pinky, please be okay!"

The smoke cleared and Brain gasped. "..Pinky?" Sitting before him was a buck-toothed baby mouse with sky-blue eyes.

Pinky gasped as well. Brain's machine worked! "Brain! It worked! You're so tiny! I could just eat you up!"

Brain mentally pushed past hearing his cage-mate's extra squeaky voice and ran to a hand mirror that was just so conveniently sitting near the machine. It did work. "It worked. Yeeess!" He threw a fist in the air, then backtracked. He was counting on Pinky to be his normally taller and stronger self for some of the later aspects of the plan. But he supposed they could work through it. "Pinky, I did it! I'm small, cute and irresistible!"

Pinky clapped. His friend was the best! "Oh goody, Brain! Narf!" He stood up and walked over to Brain and noticed that he wasn't much taller than him. "Um, Brain… why am I…" Brain turned Pinky so he could face the mirror. "Naaarf! Brain! Look at me! I'm a right cutie!"

"That you are, Pinky. Now stay right here. I'm gonna give us an extra kick." Brain rushed over to the cage and grabbed a few things before rushing back. "Observe, Pinky." He placed a blue bow-tie onto himself.

Pinky squealed. It was too adorable to handle! "Braaaaaain! Too Cuuuuuute!"

Brain smirked. He had something for Pinky, too. He hoped he wouldn't mind, and figured it would be fine. It was for the world. The pinky-eyed baby mouse pulled out the pink ribbon from earlier and tied it in a bow atop Pinky's head. "There, Pinky. Take a look! We're positively precious!"

Pinky looked into the mirror again

…"Huh?" Suddenly the lab was gone. Instead, he was in a cage within a colorful room. The mirror disappeared as well,... and instead… "...S-Sis…"

Pinky stepped back slowly. It couldn't be. His sister wasn't… alive. But, there she was! Right there! "H-how. You're, you're alive. B-but…"

The baby, blue-eyed mouse walked over to him. She grabbed his shoulders and squared him so he was forced to face her. "I'm right here. We're together. Remember? How we're always together?"

Pinky couldn't speak. He was in such shock.

The other mouse continued. "Wanna practice the karty-wheelies! If we do those perfectly again, we'll get fed again! The food pellets here are really yummy when we get 'em!"

He still couldn't talk.

She continued. "Maybe if we get really good at our twin act, mummy and daddy will hear about us and come back for us! Right?"

Pinky was finally going to respond, the urge to comfort his sister motivating him, until…

Pinky! Pinky! Snap out of it!

Pinky shook his head. He looked around. He was back in the lab. Then he realized that Brain had him by the shoulders.

"Pinky? Are you alright? What happened? You wouldn't move or talk… what happened?!" Brain was absolutely panicked. It was as if his friend left his own body, leaving behind a shell.

Pinky gave a reassuring pat on the head. "I…" Pinky scrunched his face and scratched his head. He thought hard, but nothing came up. "I don't know, Brain." He felt a deep sadness in his gut, but he didn't know why. He had remembered just a moment ago… but it just went away. "I don't remember."

Author's Note

I'm working on typing out chapter three. :) I hope you like the story so far!