I Just Wanted to be Human. Ch. 4 You're not Human

Ch. 4: You're Not Human. No matter how much you want to be.
Suggested listening:
Song: Succession of Witches
Album: Final Fantasy VIII Piano collection
Artist: Nobou Uematsu

For the next few hours Micheal worked in silence. Investigating Spine's wreckage. All except for his head, which Rabbit refused to let go of. He remained perched on a chair next to Jon, clutching Spines head and spine in hand. He was so still that Micheal almost thought he had shut down, if it weren't for his ever present glare on Micheal's back.

"I called Steve and Hatchworth back home." Micheal cleared his throat.  "With this arm I can't drive, and you remember what the cops told us last time after you had that accident."

"I know its probably better for me but I refuse to get Laser eye surgery. I think one laser is enough." Rabbit responded. The words normally would have been laced with attitude and sarcasm, but not today.

"Well... Hatch is gonna drive back up to get us. That's at least going to take him a day. And its gonna be another day before we get back."

Rabbit just nodded in agreement, letting the silence envelop them again.

"Micheal are you still alive?" Holly called from a slat in the door at the top of the stairs. Taking all precautions. Micheal rolled his eyes and set his goggles on the table.

"Yea I'm fine. I-" He paused and turned to Rabbit. "Oh right. I never really introduced you two did I?" He asked rubbing his chin. "Holly come down here real quick!"

"Okay... As long as you keep that Robot in line." She growled, stomping on each stair down. As she reached the bottom she crossed her arms over her chest and moving her glare from Micheal to Rabbit and back to Micheal again.

Micheal cleared his throat, putting a hand on her back and pushing her towards Rabbit. "I think some formal introductions are needed." He nodded to Rabbit, who was still sitting perched, his knees in his chest. His head never turning, only  his eyes raised to glance at her. "Holly this is Rabbit. Rabbit this is my ex-girlfriend Holly Cooper. The one I said I was gonna see when we were in town?"

"And taught you everything you know." She huffed, locking eyes with Rabbit. Still not liking each other. It made Micheal uncomfortable.

"... come on Rabbit..." He whispered over his shoulder to the bot. "She's letting us hide out in her house, we could at least be nice."

"And she doesn't have to be?" Rabbit growled.

"We don't even need introductions. I know who you are." Holly huffed, stomping back to the table of parts. "You're one of the Walter Robots. My father talked about you all the time..." There was an annoyance in her voice. She picked up a panel carelessly and then threw it back in the pile. Her disrespect began to boil Rabbit's oil. It took much restraint to keep still while she rifled through Spine's remains. "You saved my grandpa in WWI... Said I had to become an engineer." Chuckling, she Picked up a fried circuit board then dropped it on the floor.

Rabbit jumped to his feet in anger, but made himself freeze after seeing the look of terror in Micheal's eyes. Losing control and getting angry now would be the worst time, especially when so much is unknown and the humans were watching him with such scrutiny. He raised a hand to signal calm in his human friend, afraid how he would react if he tried to put that calming hand on his shoulder. He had never thought there would be a time that Micheal would fear him. Clearing his throat, Rabbit turned towards her. Hoping he could make a point verbally instead.

"So you're an engineer. Don't treat my brother's parts like garbage. Don't assume you know-"

"Brother? You're a machine." She taunted. "You're not human, no matter how much you want to be."

We're not human Rabbit. No matter how much we want to be.
A flashback? Spine. Rabbit lifted the titanium skull in his hands, staring into Spine's dark eyes. He had said that. Out of all of them Spine wanted to be human the most. He wanted to fit in. He wanted to experience what human's experienced.
I think I found the answer though. Its not a hardware problem. Its a software problem.
What did he mean by that?

"These?" Holly continued on her tirade, lifting circuits and wires in her hands. "These are just parts. Parts that could be used to build other robots and replace you."
"Come on Holly stop this. Why are you being so mean?" Micheal argued, trying to pull her from the table.

She was no longer a concern for Rabbit. He had a clue. Stepping backward he put one foot on the chair and then the other. Back into his perched position as he fell deep in thought. Micheal wouldn't be able to find a software issue. They needed the hall of wires for that, or another robot. It was a very dangerous idea.
He raised his glance to the human, arguing with his ex-mate. Was this what Spine wanted? Even if their feelings were artificial, the real ones seemed so heavy and uncontrollable. Was that what being human was?