Who Are You and Why Are You Me?

Goddamnit Sci

{Random inspiration go brrrrrr-
In all seriousness, sorry for being gone since forever. Take this random story as compensation :D}

It had been a few months since the truce between Ink and Error was made, prompting Dream and Nightmare to come up with one of their own. The two groups still stuck with themselves, with the exception of Error who hated most people and didn’t interact with even his own group.

Which left those who were previously very involved in the war with nothing to do.

“Careful!” snapped Sci, one such skeleton. He had sided with Nightmare, for the sole purpose of being able to continue with his less-than-legal experiments which the Stars disapproved of. Come end of the war, both sides agreed to allow him to continue experimenting, so long as they weren’t too morally wrong.

A detail which Sci does not fully care about, as his own moral compass is quite skewed after so much time with Nightmare’s group. Case in point, his current experiment; transporting a person’s consciousness into a different body. And not just another person’s, another species entirely.

“I am being careful, so calm yer tits dammit,” Red snapped back, adjusting a grip on the sleeping creature in his arms. Something from the human world, a scaly thing known as an “alligator” if Sci remembered correctly(he usually did).

“I just don’t want it to wake up. That could disrupt the experiment and I’d rather not have to redo the whole thing for your carelessness,” the scientist explained, turning back towards the rabbit monster also passed out on one of the lab tables.

Muttering from behind him, then a dull thump as the animal was placed on another table. Sci heaved a sigh, checking again to make sure the monster was securely strapped to the table, hearing Red do the same with the animal. Once the two finished, they stepped out of the room, locking it behind them as they stepped over to a control panel of sorts.

“Remind me again why ya made this thing,” Red said, triple checking that it was connected and mostly safe.

“Nightmare wanted it.” Red shuddered a bit, remembering the king who had wanted to recruit him. “He said it would make the war much easier if Dream was stuck in a different body. This thing doesn't switch magic and abilities, only consciousness.”

“Right. So that plan here is ta see if the damned thing works? What if it don’t?”

One of Sci’s sockets twitched. “If it doesn't then I'm trying again until it does. For the sake of every other potential subject, let’s hope it does.”

Red hummed in agreement, getting up from where he was crouched to look at the wiring. It looked like it was good, so he left it. Nodding his head when Sci glanced at him, he watched as a manic smile spread across the scientist’s face as he turned back to the previous room. He fiddled with a few knobs and switches before pressing the big red button that starts the machine. 

Light flooded the room, and the two monitors showing the vitals of both subjects flared to life, seeming normal. Then a spike in heart rate for the animal, a drop in brain activity in the rabbit monster, then the lights turned off. 

Staring at the monitors, Red didn’t see much change. He hadn’t been the royal scientist for far too many years, and he’s gotten out of practice fast. Sci however, seemed ecstatic at what he saw, if the way he was basically vibrating in place was any indication. Scoffing at the display, Red turned to look at the two in the room in front of them.

They still looked asleep, and it didn't seem like anything had changed there either. It seemed like Sci agreed, as he now looked slightly disappointed. 

“I was expecting more of a visible reaction. I mean, they don't even seem to be in pain,” he whined, frowning slightly. Red raised a bonebrow, but stayed quiet. He was debating going into the room to investigate closer when the scaled animal started moving. Its eyes fluttered open, and it seemed panicked, if the rapid grunts and quick movements said anything. Sci’s sockets widened as he quickly whipped his head around to look at the monitor. The animal’s heart rate had increased even more, and its brain waves were akin to the kind a fearful creature would have. 

“It worked,” he breathed, excitement lacing his every movement as he quickly made his way into the room, Red close on his heels. As Sci approached the writhing animal, it looked at him with fear, making gunts and slight hisses. Sci stopped right next to it, hands up in the multiversal sign of peace. The animal calmed down a bit, seeming to sense the lack of harmful intent.

“You can hear and understand me, yes?” he asked. A slight pause, then a nod from the animal.

“You’re the rabbit monster, yes?” Another nod.

“And you are aware this is not your body,” he said, wonder in his voice. Another nod, despite the lack of a question. 

A loud thud, and growls from the other bed, where the rabbit monster’s body lay. It seemed the transfer was successful both ways, the rabbit monster in the animal’s body and the animal in the monster.

“We’ll reverse the process now, don’t worry,” he said to the fearful monster, staring at him through the animal’s slitted eyes.

Returning to the previous room, Sci returned to smiling like a maniac, seeming absolutely ecstatic at the way the experiment had turned out. Red found equal parts amusing and unsettling how happy the shorter skeleton was as the pair started getting the machine up and running again. Another flash of light, and the vitals returned to how they were before the experiment, both subjects having been knocked out when the transfer happened. 

“Everything looks to be in order,” Sci commented once the light had left once again. A small spark and pop from the machine, but the skeleton ignored it. All his machines tended to do that, so he just paid it no mind.

“Maybe I can call Nightmare and Dream to show them,” he muttered before leaving, making no move to remove either subject from their restraints. Red glanced at the machine after another pop sounded out, but shrugged and figured it wasn’t important, turning and following Sci to their bedroom.

The machine was quiet for the next few hours before something odd happened. It flared to life once again, though nothing had been imputed. The monitors flashed briefly, showing the names “Dream”, “Nightmare”, and a handful of others.

The lights flashed on for all of a minute, before blinking off, more pops and sparks coming off the machine before the largest pop sounded, all the lights shutting off and smoking slightly coming off the machine. Not a whir of a disk or the hiss of electricity sounded from the now completely broken down machine.