Enter the reflection

[darkerstripes]

The first thing he notices is that he's no longer plugged into his charger base. He wasn't asleep- he doesn't have the need- but he'd set his senses to 'hibernate'. It passes the time faster than being alert all night, when his (caretakers? friends?) humans are asleep. He has his danger alert system on, so if something entered the apartment he would know.

Apparently the same was not true of exiting the apartment. His eyes come back online with a soft green glow and he starts in surprise. Dust, cobwebs... stone. Nothing is familiar. That isn't possible. He doesn't dream, and he sensed no change, no movement. Hesitantly, he stands, glancing around, poised at every joint to run or dodge.

No danger is apparent, no matter how many times he scans. He can't trust his sensors, though, because they didn't even detect his arrival here. How could he have been moved without noticing?

"Kotetsu?"

He calls to his host. His own voice echoes back through the room, sounding eerie as it returns to his ears from the outside. They buzz with light feedback. He frowns. If anything has happened to Kotetsu... The android feels his eyes flash red for a moment at the thought.

He can feel the anxiety rising in his wires, sparking circuits and making his voice box feel squeezed. He remembers what Barnaby taught him, about controlling fear. Breathing in three, out five. In three, out seven, in three, out ten. Focus on your physical form. Take stock of what you know is true, toss out what you're assuming. Start over.

He is in a throne room. There is no immediate danger. He is unsure how he arrived. He is unsure of Kotetsu's whereabouts. The android takes out his phone and attempts to send a message. No signal. He does another breathing exercise. He doesn't actually need the air, of course, but his body requires the pressure change to speak, and the rhythm of it soothes even his synthetic body.

All other options exhausted, he must explore and search. He opens his map program and begins with a fresh, empty blueprint. He estimates the dimensions of the room, adds in the doors. He chooses one of those doors, and begins his exploration.

Comments

[darkerstripes]

It takes all he has to not curl away entirely in shyness when he sees how close Mettaton is and how he's looking at Toshi. But he doesn't, somehow.

He smiles a small, nervous smile, that becomes a tiny puff of air close to a laugh as Mettaton kicks a leg right into the air. How silly and fun. And totally unnecessary. A star, huh? A performance robot?

He reminds Toshi a little of Fire Emblem, actually, and that thought makes him smile a little more, feel a little braver, since he can compare this new experience to an old one.

"That is correct."

[mediadarling]

There we are. That laugh and that smile are much more like it. He doesn't mind people being awed by his presence, but stricken is a bit much.

"Well, then, let me be either the first or one of the first to welcome you!" he declares. "I don't suppose you've had the grand tour yet, have you?"

[darkerstripes]

Everything happens so much, and Toshi is easily overwhelmed by it all. Overstimulation is almost an inevitability of existence, of coping with all of the new feelings and sensations he's now finding himself capable of. The crippling shyness not so much... but that has its place and its reasons.

He's not impossible to coax out of it, though. "Thank you." He is so charming good goddamn. "I have not. Is there a grand tour?"

[mediadarling]

"There is when I'm the one giving it," Mettaton declares and winks. "How about it, beautiful?"

[darkerstripes]

"Ah..." His smile twitches a bit wider for a moment. He thinks he knows what Mettaton is getting at. He tries not to make an undignified sound at the wink. "Lead the way, then."

[mediadarling]

"All right, then! Let's get this show on the road!"

Mettaton sweeps out of his room, his practice all but forgotten. Once they're both in the hallway, though, he offers his arm.

"First stop: the ballroom!"

(He hopes.)

[darkerstripes]

The showmanship gets a little more of a smile out of him. That dramatic over-expressive movement reminds him of someone... in a very good way. It's so playful and genuine, and Toshi doesn't hesitate even if he blushes to take the offered arm. He wonders if that should be the other way around. He isn't exactly full of feminine grace, but the gesture is sweet and friendly.

He should try it on someone else.

Mettaton has his full attention, for now.

[mediadarling]

Mettaton has his full attention and he plans on keeping it.

"So, darling, tell me about yourself. Where are you from?"

The trip to the ballroom itself is nothing remarkable. Why not take advantage of the dull walk to get to know the castle's latest victim?

[darkerstripes]

Toshi has absolutely no qualms with this.

He doesn't know why they're talking about him though. "Um, Sternbild. It's a big city mostly suspended over the ocean." Which is kind of cool, he'll grant.

"Where are you from?"

[mediadarling]

"Ooh, sounds exciting."

And it does--there's no need to pretend here. He wouldn't mind seeing a city like that. First humans build a city that floats on the ocean, and then one suspended over it? What won't they come up with next?

"Now that's a question, darling," he answers when Toshi turns the topic back to his absolute favourite one. "I was born in the underground--but these days, when I'm not languishing in this castle, I've made it to the surface. And let me tell you, beautiful, the sky out there is even more spectacular than in the movies."

[darkerstripes]

Oh you don't even know the half of it. Toshi thinks of the constant crime problems, the secret societies, the politics, the drama... "Maybe a little too exciting, sometimes."

But it's still home, and there are many places Toshi loves, and there is a... proud citizenship, in him.

He does his best to follow Mettaton's story, but there are some gaps in his knowledge. "The" underground makes it sound like a city, or a particular place, not just the general "under the earth". There is one thing he understood there, though.

"The sky is pretty incredible," he smiles a bit shyly, thinking of all the different sunrises and sunsets he's seen. The way the sky over Sternbild looks different depending on the day, the hour, the season. The world is a beautiful place, and Toshi loves to go out of his way to find that beauty.

[mediadarling]

Mettaton has no idea how something could be too exciting...but then again, that sounds like something Alphys would say. Toshi seems like he could be the quiet sort.

Seeing that cute smile, he of course can't help but beam back. "Isn't it? Sunsets and sunrises and stars--I'll never get tired of it. Not ever."

[darkerstripes]

He prefers hundreds of people not be in semi-constant danger, that's all.

Oh... Toshi very much likes the way this robot is grinning back at him. A tiny bit of color adds to his face, and his smile gets a little lopsided. "Me neither. I won't get tired of many of the beautiful things in the world." He looks down, a little overwhelmed with how sappy he sounds.

[mediadarling]

Mettaton's smile softens as Toshi looks away. He really is going to like this man, he can already tell.

"There are just too many to count, isn't there?" he agrees. A beat, and then he goes on, leaning in a bit. "Now, tell me about yourself. I'd just love to hear all about you."

[darkerstripes]

Toshi nods as he's looking down at his feet, still smiling. He's overwhelmed and embarrassed, but he's still got a mind full of sky.

And then he has a vision full of Mettaton, leaning right into his space, and he blushes all over again. "Me? Oh I-I'm not that interesting." And facts about me are not that good for polite conversation, he thinks.

[mediadarling]

He's never going to get tired of that adorable blush, is he?

"Try me, sweetheart. I'm willing to bet you're simply fascinating."

[darkerstripes]

RIP Toshi. Stuck in perpetual blush and fluster.

"Um, well. I'm H model 13, made in the image of the hero Wild Tiger. He's also my best friend, he's teaching me how to... be a hero." Gloss over the worser bits, Toshi, we don't need to talk about that stuff. Talking about Kotetsu is making him blush a little more, too, and a dorky sort of smile spread on his face.

[mediadarling]

His expression breaks into a smile, true and wide. He knew Toshi was far more interesting than he was giving himself credit for, but this?

"Why, that's wonderful!" He leans in. "A hero, hm? What kind, exactly?"

[darkerstripes]

Toshi squirms a little under that smile, knowing Mettaton wouldn't be so positive if he heard the full story, knew the truth behind the identical twin intentions.

There's a metallic tang in his mouth Toshi recognizes as guilt. Mettaton is so happy, thinks he's something great... He forces a trembling smile, unwilling to open up about the truth.

He tilts his chin in, extra nervous to have Mettaton leaning in so close. "Um, well, Wild Tiger has superstrength! He can only use it for a short time before it runs out and needs to recharge, but that's not what makes him my hero!" He doesn't even notice the slip and goes right on, "he cares so much about the people of Sternbild, and his heart is really in the heroing. Even the silly traditions and fripperies that go with it. It just matters to him. He's gentle and lives the role of heroing! He'll go out of his way to do good deeds even out of mask! He inspires people like nobody else I know! I want to be more like him..." He trails off, ending softly and looking incredibly embarrassed.

[mediadarling]

There's something there in Toshi's discomfort. It could simply be that Mettaton is hovering too close, and so he pulls back a little. But, then again, it might not be.

Still, it's rude to pry--at least until you know someone a bit better than this. He'll keep that reaction tucked away in the back of his mind for now.

Especially since there's something so much easier to pry at right in front of him. Well, well. Isn't that a glowing review.

"I was asking what kind of hero you were learning to be," he says, his amusement not even slightly hidden. "It sounds to me as though you just might be Wild Tiger's biggest fan."

[darkerstripes]

There very certainly is something there in Toshi's reaction. It isn't that he has discomfort about someone being in his personal space, necessarily. He quite likes sharing personal space usually. Mettaton just has a gravity that makes him nervous.

A gravity, and you know, a host of qualities Toshi finds attractive.

He opens his mouth, quickly closes it, and blushes darkly, tugging his hat down to hide his face. "Oh. Right. Of course." He's so stupid he's such an awkward doofus. Quietly, he adds, "I am, though." Wild Tiger's biggest fan, of course.

[mediadarling]

...That's adorable.

Grinning away, Mettaton says, "Well, isn't he a lucky hero? He must be glad to have such an enthusiastic young robot at his side."

[darkerstripes]

No shush he's a dangerous killer bot that must be treated with caution! Roar!

Toshi is still hiding his face, and shuffles his feet a little. "I hope so." He doesn't sound very convinced, even if the Kotetsu here managed to open up to him right away after not remembering him.

[mediadarling]

"Darling, trust me. When I have fans that enthusiastic, I appreciate them. Especially when they're so handsome."

He nudges Toshi with his arm.

[darkerstripes]

Toshi makes a small, very undignified sound. "O-oh. Um. Thank you." How do you compliments? "S-sorry, I got all off-track and now I'm being... awkward." He knows he's not the best at social interaction. Better he be a bumbling gay mess than he get all anxious and lash out by accident, at least.