The night before, in the darkness of the cart, the Mobians tossed and turned their heads. Moans and whispers rang among the trays. Someone cried.

"Bunnie?"

Bunnie murmured to herself under her breath, her hair and ears falling limp against her sweat-slicked face and good shoulder. She'd been slipping in and out of consciousness for the last hours, the pain in her shoulder throbbing.

Next to her, Rotor stirred.

"B-Bunnie?"

Bunnie blinked, opening her eyes. She licked her lips.

"Oh, Rotor—that you, honey—?"

"Shh, shh, y-yes, it's me," Rotor said.

Bunnie turned her head, her gaze focusing in the darkness. The band of light fell across Rotor's face. Dried blood ran down his cheek.

"Rotor," she said. Her voice was soft, friendly, exhausted. "What do you think you're doin' here, Mister?"

The light died in Rotor's ice-blue eyes. "I'm—I'm sorry," he said. "Are… you okay?"

"No, Ah'm not really," Bunnie said. "Ah don't know what happened…"

"You shouldn't be here," Rotor whispered under his breath. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." Bunnie tried to sit up, but stopped with a groan. "Mmm."

Rotor stared up at the ceiling. He closed his eyes.

"There, there, sugah, Ah know…" Bunnie said, her voice soft. "Ah know…it's not fun bein' tied up an' put in a nasty ol' place like this…"

Rotor's small ears perked back, as if confused. He looked at Bunnie.

She was turned away from him, towards someone on her other side. "You remember me, dontcha, dearie?"

The figure lying next to Bunnie was Zoey. She was trying to stifle her tears. "You—you're the cyborg," she said. "Wh—what are you doing here? What happened?"

"Well, Ah'm tryin' to remember what Ah can…" Bunnie said, her voice still as relaxed as ever. "The last thing Ah can still see in mah mind is the whole sky lit up with a bunch of things like fireworks—an' lots of smoke…"

"One hit the school," Zoey shivered. "I—I think my class was still inside—they had us out for inspection—they were looking for Amy Rose and we were all lined up—and everything exploded—" She began sobbing.

Bunnie hesitated, her eyes dim. "Fallin' stars…" she murmured to herself.

"Where are they taking us?" Zoey squeaked out between her sobs.

"They're taking us to Robotropolis."

It was Rotor's voice. He sounded certain.

Zoey shivered. Bunnie looked back at the sea lion.

"You certain of that, Rotor?" Bunnie asked.

"Y-yes…I mean…" Rotor winced, closing his eyes. "That's….that's the only place they would take so many of us…I've been in these carts before—when I was first taken—" He stopped, biting his lip.

No one spoke. Zoey stared at him over Bunnie, her eyes wide.

"I wish I had died," Rotor said. "I…I wish you b-both had too. I wish I'd n-never survived the extraction at all…"

Bunnie and Zoey lay in silence.

"Rotor…" Bunnie tried. "That's…that's a bad attitude."

Rotor did not respond.

"Whethah you live or die is no business of yours, sugah." Bunnie said. "We've just gotta take what we get, an' if this is what we get, well—" she caught her breath.

Nearly half a minute passed before Rotor responded.

"…I'm sorry. But you…you don't know what it's like."

More silence passed.

"Now don't you tell me that, Rotor." Bunnie warned. The hinges on her metal hand hissed as she flexed it. "You don't know what Ah know, and Ah don't know what you know."

Rotor cringed.

"But Ah do know we can hustle 'til the lights go out," Bunnie said, her voice low. "There's no room for quittin' in the Warrior Source Code for me or Sonic or anyone else. This ain't just about us. Look at everyone here—we've gotta stop thinkin' about ourselves, ya'll—" She lowered her voice. "Who knows how many people are in this thing?—We could be the only trained fighters in the lot—we've got to find a way out—"

"Trained fighters?" Zoey echoed. "S-Sonic, the hedgehog?" She blushed a little.

"Yes, a good friend an' fellow rebel, now quiet, dearie," Bunnie said. "Watch an' learn."

"O-one," Rotor said. "You—one. You are the only tr-trained fighter here…I know n-nothing about fighting."

"It's simple, Rotor," Bunnie said, a little of her old sass in her tone. "When you see somethin'—or someone-that's worth it, you just…you just fight. It's all in the mindset. Ya did a great job with Crème an' the combots back there—Amy Rose an' Ah were watchin' ya from the garden."

"Th-that was…that wasn't me," Rotor said.

"Oh yes it was you, honey," Bunnie retorted. "You've got fire in ya."

Rotor pinched his lips together hard. "B-back at the l-lab—I let them kill all my fr-friends," Rotor said. "I've let things happen to people around me all my life."

"Well, you're with a fightah now, sugah-boy," Bunnie said. "So we better get out of here and you better do some fast track learnin'—"

Rotor just stared at the cyborg rabbit next to him.

On the other side of Bunnie, Zoey stared as well.

Bunnie sighed. "Well. This won't be easy, but it's the best place to start."

She closed her eyes and fisted her hands. Her lips moved, and her robotic arm began to shift. With a jolt, it shot up against her arm restraint. She flexed her metal fingers, as if reaching for the roof.

"Come on, metal darlin'," she murmured to herself. "Come on, now."

Blood caked her shoulder harness. Tremors ran through her, convulsing through her metal. She let out a cry.

The metal band around her wrist began to warp.

Rotor's eyes widened.

Zoey gasped.

"Patient…slow an' steady…slow an' steady, girl," Bunnie hissed. She winced. Fresh blood began to ooze from her shoulder.

The metal band began to stretch and pull like taffy. Her hinges hissed.

"Up. Up. Up," she ordered the arm, her teeth grit, the muscles in her neck, taut. She closed her eyes. "Up—now—"

The band snapped, her arm whipped free, smashing into the ceiling with a bang that reverberated through the cart.

Everyone on that level in the cart—maybe all the levels—froze.

The hum of the crash hung in the air, Bunnie's fist embedded in the ceiling.

Bunnie clapped the hand down across her shoulder, heaving for air. "Bless mah stars."

Rotor's jaw dropped.

Bunnie glanced over her shoulder at him. She smiled, tears glittering in her eyes. "You ever escaped from a box with a cyborg, honey?"


Hope you guys enjoyed this insight in Bunnie!

Also If you are still reading this despite the sporadic uploading gaps...massive thanks. :3 The world needs you.

~Connie