Jon was worried.
They'd only been gone a few months, before coming back to tell the others what they'd seen so far. Time did funny things in his head, but he was certain of it. Sam and Upgrade said so, too, and he could trust them. Sam was nice, and Upgrade's new chip had made her more reliable about things like that. The maternal programming on it meant she wouldn't lie to him for her own amusement. He could see her struggling with it sometimes, but she hadn't figured out yet how to override it. It had also made her more flirty with men, which had made things awkward when they met Professor Elemental...
But that wasn't why Jon was worried. It was the Lady...
There had always been ladies in the manor... Mothers, sisters, Walter Girls... She looked like a Walter Girl... sort of... only taller. Taller than Jon. As tall as Rabbit. That was easy to notice because she was always staring Rabbit down. That was worrying, too. And confusing, because the next moment, Rabbit's strange and uneasy expression would relax into a smile, after which he would often link arms with her and they would go do something to The Spine.
Everyone assumed Jon was too goofy to notice anything important. He usually liked that. It meant he could say anything he wanted to and only the other robots would get mad... and only then if he said something he knew would make them angry. That was fun.
But he did notice things. Right now he was noticing a new lady in the manor, which wasn't serious... and he was noticing that everyone seemed to think she'd always been there... and that was scary.
He tried asking Upgrade, while the others were out of the room.
"Upgrade? Do you remember her being here before?"
"What's that, Jonny?" Upgrade responded pleasantly. She grimaced immediately, gripped by an internal struggle. With a sigh, she resumed her pleasant tone. "Well, now that you mention it..."
"Upgrade!" called Rabbit, putting his head around the doorframe.
"Just a moment, Jonny dear." She grimaced again, shivered, and walked over to Rabbit.
Jon crept after them and peered around the corner into the hall. Rabbit was standing with Her, speaking to Upgrade. The Lady didn't speak, but Rabbit always seemed to know what she wanted to say. Jon watched, eyes wide, as Rabbit leaned over and said something into Upgrade's ear. There was the smallest flicker of violet in her eyes, and she smiled and nodded. Jon ducked back around the corner as Upgrade returned.
"Now what were you saying, Jonny? Of course I remember Walter Girl Bunny."
Jon felt sick. His koi was whipping around like an oscillating fan.
"Of course I do, silly darling." Grimace. Relax. "She was always here."
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