6. A Scientific Interest
"Hey, Cora," said Steve one afternoon, "Me and Mike are going to be teaching Matt some more mechanic stuff right now. Do you want to come, too?"
"You'd kinda be learning everything out of order," Michael added, "but you might find it interesting. And it's just good to know in case one of the robots malfunctions and you're the only one around."
"Sure, I'd love to," said Cora, thinking it would be a welcome break from studying blue matter.
A few hours in the workshop was enough to make Cora reconsider that thought. She wished she that was somehow able to access Verity's scientific knowledge, but to no avail. Still, it was very interesting. She was learning a great deal, and she was glad to think that understanding the mechanical side of the robots could make her more useful around the manor.
"Ah, there you are, Verity!" Peter stuck his head into the room, "I just wanted to let you know that'd I'd finished your new heart. Come find me whenever you have a moment, and I'll get the old one replaced, alright?"
"Oh, right. Of course," said Cora.
She wrinkled her nose. She had been doing better in getting used to the idea of what she was, but this blindsided her. She was suddenly very aware of the fact that there were three humans in the room, and she was not one of them.
"I don't mean to run out on you," she said, "But I think I've absorbed about as much as I can for one night. I'm going to take a walk."
"That's fine," said Michael, "We're about done here anyway. We'll probably all head home for the night pretty soon."
"See you later, Cora," said Matt.
"Goodnight, then," said Cora.
Cora threw her jacket around her shoulders and went out into the garden. She was thankful that it hadn't been a warm day. The chill in the night air helped to clear her head. As she walked along behind the furthest row of hedges, she suddenly felt an arm grab her around the shoulders.
"Gorgeous night for a walk, ain't it?"
Cora looked over to see who it was and gasped. It was a robot. He wore a newsboy cap pulled low over his right eye. He looked a little like Rabbit, but the way he leered down at her was unsettling.
"Who are you?" Cora managed to ask.
"Name's Hare. Pleased to meetcha," the strange robot grinned, which did nothing to make him appear friendlier.
"I'm sorry, you'll have to excuse me," said Cora, attempting to pull herself away from him, "I need to get back to the house."
"Oh, I don't think so, girly," Hare tightened his grip, "I think you better come with me, quiet-like."
Cora swiftly drove the heel of her hand into the robot's one good eye and ran for the house. Hare, momentarily taken aback, tried to grab hold of her again, but only managed to catch her jacket. He growled in frustration and threw the jacket to the ground, taking off after Cora.
Cora rounded the corner of the path and ran smack into another robot. Stumbling back a bit, she looked up to see the sickly glow of burning yellow eyes set deep into a face like a skull. She screamed. Hare caught up now, clapping a hand firmly over her mouth to stifle the scream.
"You got spunk, sweetheart," he gave a harsh laugh, "I'll give you that much. But if you try anything like that again, I'll-"
The other robot reached over and grabbed Hare by the throat.
"You'll do nothing," he ordered, "Mr. Becile wants her unharmed. Now get her to the car, lamebrain."
"As you wish, numbskull."
xXx
"Hey Spine, have you seen Cora?" Rabbit asked, bouncing into the third floor library, "Hatchy wants her to play with us."
"No, I haven't," said The Spine, "I think she went out for a walk earlier. She should be back soon, how about you wait until she gets back?"
Rabbit sat down across from him. Mere seconds later, the copper robot jumped back up again.
"Nope, she's taking too long. I'm gonna go find her."
Rabbit skipped down the spiral staircase and out the back door, stopping to look around when he got to the garden. Something was wrong. He suddenly felt uneasy, even frightened. But it wasn't his own fear that he felt, nor was it coming from any of his fellow automatons.
"Cora?" he called anxiously.
He heard someone start to scream and he was off like a shot. Rabbit raced through the garden, nearly tripping over something in the darkness. He paused a moment to pick it up. It was Cora's blue jacket. Catching the sound of a scuffle, he ran in that direction, arriving at the edge of the garden just in time to see a black vehicle speeding away from the manor. Rabbit knew who cars like that belonged to.
"S-spine… Spine! Peter! Somebody help!"
Up in the library, The Spine felt Rabbit's panic just before he heard him shouting. He ran downstairs, reaching the main floor as Rabbit came tearing through the back door. The Spine caught him by the shoulders.
"What is it?" he demanded, "What happened?"
The copper robot vocal glitches intensified when he was upset. In his incoherent rambling, The Spine was only able to make out two words:
"Cora… B-B-Beciles!"
xXx
Cora had no idea where she was. Something about the Becile robots felt wrong. The closer she was to them, the longer she was with them, the sicker she felt. She was surprised that she hadn't fainted. She was only dimly aware that Hare had pulled her from the car and was now dragging her through labyrinthine corridors. When he pushed her through a doorway, she stumbled forward, catching onto the first thing she ran into and waiting for her vision to clear.
It was an armchair. Cora could see it distinctly now. She looked up and found herself face to face with another strange robot. He stood motionless, his arms folded, staring at Cora. At least, she assumed he was staring at her. His shaggy hair fell across his golden face, covering his eyes. Cora then realized that he wasn't really folding his arms. He was wearing a straightjacket.
Suddenly, he lunged at her, snapping his jaws and growling like an angry dog. Cora shrieked and fell backwards into Hare's arms. Hare was laughing. He walked towards the other robot, holding Cora tightly and forcing her along so she could not get away.
"Nothin' to be scared of, sweetheart," he said, "Meet my brother, The Jack. Say hello to the nice lady, Jackie boy."
"Hello, nice lady," said The Jack, giggling. His voice was soft, almost like a child's voice. Somehow, that made his presence all the more disturbing.
"See, little girl? We'll all get along just fine if you behave yourself. Nobody's gonna hurt you here. Mr. Becile just wants to know what makes you tick," Hare said, tapping a metal finger against the panel that covered Cora's clockwork heart.
xXx
The Spine had finally gotten Rabbit to calm down. He was still twitching nervously, but at least he was sitting now. He refused to let go of Cora's jacket. The Spine stood behind him with his hands on Rabbit's shoulders. Neither robot would admit it in so many words, but they both found the other's presence reassuring. They were brothers, after all.
Peter had gathered the robots into his study. The seriousness of the situation brought out the seriousness of the often-absentminded scientist.
"We've no time to lose," he said, "We must find out with absolute certainty where the Beciles have taken Verity."
"But that's exactly w-why we need to be out there l-looking for her now!" Rabbit exclaimed.
He tried to rise, but the pressure of The Spine's hands on his shoulders kept him in his seat.
"I'm not going to have you out making what may end up being a fruitless search. Any hastiness on our part will only hurt us in the long run," said Peter as he poured over maps and records of Becile Industries' properties.
"Maybe we should call the humans," Hatchworth suggested, "They could help us."
"No!" Rabbit cried, "N-n-n-no humans! I w-w-won't let that happen again!"
This outburst confirmed The Spine's suspicions. It was over fifty years since that incident. The Spine vividly remembered how the Beciles had stolen Rabbit's power core, the moment he found his lifeless body, and the terrible price which they paid to get the core out of the Beciles' hands and to save Rabbit. For months afterwards, The Spine could hear the nightmares that plagued Rabbit every time he powered down, too strong to be hidden. Now, every bit of that horror came rushing back to the copper robot. The Spine knelt in front of him, putting a hand on his arm.
"Look at me, Rabbit," he ordered gently, "I promise you it's not going to be like that again. Nobody is going to get hurt, and we're going to save Cora. Just you and me, alright?"
Rabbit nodded, holding more tightly to the jacket. Hatchworth, silent until now, walked over to them.
"I'm going to help, too," he said.
"Hatchworth, you haven't had to face the Beciles in years," said The Spine, "It'll be dangerous-"
"Don't forget, The Spine," Hatchworth said firmly, "Cora did save my life. And she's family, isn't she? Pappy would want me to help."
"Yes, I suppose he would, Hatchy," The Spine stood and clapped him on the shoulder.
"I believe I'm getting close to discerning where they've taken Verity," said Peter, "You three should power down and rest while I finish up."
"N-no," Rabbit started.
"Come on, follow me," said The Spine.
He led Rabbit and Hatchworth out of the study and up the stairs to the top floor, and from there up a narrow switchback staircase and onto the roof. For a moment, the three brothers stood silently there in the breeze and the starlight. Rabbit looked down once more at the jacket, then pulled it on over his black shirt. He folded his arms tightly to keep the jacket closed.
"Lay down, Rabbit," said The Spine, "You too, Hatchy."
Rabbit did so hesitantly, and Hatchworth lay down next to him. The Spine sat down at Rabbit's side.
"It's alright," the silver robot said, looking down at him, "We'll be right here. Now go to sleep."
The Spine lay down and took Rabbit's hand. On the other side, Hatchworth did the same. Rabbit sighed and closed his eyes. First he powered down, and then Hatchworth. But The Spine stayed awake, staring up at the stars and watching over his brothers.