[Reintro of sorts] Insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity

[longlasting]

Adam Brooks is one for following the rules.

Not the inherent rules set out by law enforcement and people he is far above, no. Those are all based on an unwavering idea of morality that Adam refuses to see as productive. No, he's one for following the rules his mind has constructed in order to further himself towards a goal. These are rules that are based on his observations of the world around him, ones that make sense and help him make sense to others.

The rules help him look like a normal person. They're honestly quite helpful in a place like this, where Adam doubts his appearance would be taken well. Barnaby certainly hadn't taken it well, but Adam couldn't imagine any scenario where he would. It's not everyday your brother comes back from the dead, after all. That is, regrettably, a rule Adam has had to break.

But other rules have been easier to follow. They remind him to remove Barnaby's clothes so he can wear them as a disguise, without anyone asking about any regrettable blood stains. They remind him to walk like his brother and talk like him instead of screaming for revenge. He is cautious and careful.

Kotetsu will be found first. He needs to check on him and gain his trust immediately, so that he has someone to back him up. To laugh off his strangeness towards other prisoners in this strange castle as social ineptitude. Toshi will be found afterwards, with Kotetsu still at his side. He doubts his disobedient slave will rebel for a second with Kotetsu already in his grip. He'll be sweet and kind to both of them, just as Barnaby would. Follow the rules. Soon enough his opportunity will come to strike.

So those who are around the hallways may see someone very much like Barnaby walking over to his room, straightening his clothes before peering inside in his search for Kotetsu.

After his reunion with his dearest partner and the android made in his image, 'Barnaby' will be all over the castle. He adores the library as much as he always has, and seems to have picked up cocking as well. He is deliberately careful to stay quiet and calm, so only those with a sharp eye will notice anything strange. For example, that bunch of berries from the garden can't be used as an ingredient in his soup, right? They're poisonous... Some may find it odd to find him coming out of the armoury with a crossbow, or practicing violin in the music room.

Or perhaps you may catch him wandering up the stairs leading down to the basement late at night. What would he be doing down there? Surely it's not a bad thing to ask.

((Okay, let's see if I can get this asshole to cooperate with me this time! Adam Brooks is impersonating his brother, Barnaby, and will be friendly to most everyone he runs into, if a little forgetful. Should anyone notice his odd behaviour, though, he may be forced to do something not so nice... so a trigger warning for possible character mutilation and death in here, as well as psychological mindfuckery which happens with a character like Adam. Should you not want him to tag you, please message this account to let me know!))

Comments

[longlasting]

Adam is honestly surprised he was able to get to the door without any issues, but he’s not going to complain if a robot is stupider than he was anticipating. He keeps the door blocked as the realization sets in, keeping a careful eye on Mettaton not only to make sure he won’t attack, but also to watch the horror of the situation dawn on him.

Talking isn’t much of a distraction, unfortunately, as Adam takes the opportunity to reach into his coat and pull out his gun. It’s hard to say if the bullets will actually pierce the metal, but he can at least judge from Mettaton’s reaction if that’s plausible or not. As for the monster, who can say what a weapon in the hands of someone with that much LOVE can accomplish.

“Oh, I’m not worried at all. I just have to make sure you do keep your lips sealed. I apologize, but your word isn’t exactly good enough in this situation. Now, can I trust you to come with me? I have to gather a few tools to stop your mouth from flapping.”

[mettaton_rex]

The way Mettaton's eyes widen at the sight of the gun should tell Adam all he needs to know. It's the second real gun he's ever seen, he thinks, irrelevantly in his terror. And the first one he's certain has actual bullets in it. He has 9 DEF. In the hands of someone with that much LOVE, it'd be a one-shot kill.

But there are worse fates than temporary death, it turns out. Such as whatever the human plans to do to him with those 'few tools'.

...what he seems to think he has a perfect right to do. Can I trust you, as if there's any chance in hell that Mettaton will follow along compliantly and let himself be mutilated.

Who does he think he is?

Mettaton feels his temper flaring and embraces it, welcomes it, surging fury pushing aside the sickening, paralysing fear. He may not have much pride in himself left any more, but he's not going to sit here and take this.

"Well. Aren't you charming." His tone is icy, and he glares venomously at the human as he gets to his feet. "If we're taking this elsewhere, let me slip into something more comfortable."

And on that note, he reaches back and flips the switch, transforming into classic form with a puff of smoke and a ripping of fabric (and oh yes, making him ruin that suit is going on Fake Barnaby's list of offences, too). He's not invulnerable like this, not anymore, but he can still put up a fight.

...unless he gets shot before he's finished transforming, that is.

[longlasting]

Funny, isn’t it? Adam would have never allowed one of his own androids to have such a critical weakness. A simple pistol threatening a robot sounds preposterous, yet Mettaton looks horrified. Horrified and likely willing to go along with Adam’s demands to protect himself…

...Or apparently not. Mettaton seems to get angry the more Adam clarifies his plans. Regrettable, that. Mettaton could have made it out of this with his life, whatever that amounts to for an AI. Yes, Adam would have to borrow the use of his body for a while, but surely it wouldn’t be that bad for him. He’s just an entertainment robot, so Adam couldn’t use him for much more than simple tasks.

Seeing his anger flare up, Adam is now leaning more towards embracing his more destructive tendencies. He keeps the gun level as Mettaton glares at him, even when Mettaton apparently shows his trump card. His eyes widen to see Mettaton suddenly transform.

Hmm. Interesting. What would a silly little boxy robot expect to do to him? Adam shakes his head and remorsely pulls the trigger. No point in this charade carrying on…

That is, unless Mettaton is able to deflect the shot. That might get Adam’s interest piqued once more, enough to spare him.

[mettaton_rex]

He can't deflect the shot completely - even in this form, he only has half the defense he should have - but the attack that would have torn his EX form apart only seems to graze him, rocking him backward for a moment. Impressive, how quickly he regains his balance on that one small wheel.

Most of the damage isn't physical. Which would be a distinction without a difference for any other monster, of course. Mettaton's expecting the pain but it still hits him hard, that chill that surrounds the human focused down to a point and targeted straight at him. He can't help letting out a staticky little gasp, as he rights himself and launches a jagged stream of lightning bolts in return.

"Hhh... my, you really are merciless."

Like that's news to anyone here.

[longlasting]

Well. That’s frustrating. Adam assumed that a square body would mean he’d have a wider margin for error in his accuracy, but despite shooting straight at the centre of the robot, he’s only nicked the metal, and hasn’t knocked him down.

That said, he does notice the gasp. Sounds like it hurt a lot more than it appeared to. Is the mental damage more important than the physical with this robot? Adam thinks on that as he ducks out of the way of the bolts, sending out another shot from behind the cover of the organ.

“I prefer the term ‘determined.’” He has a goal in mind and he’s willing to do anything to make it a reality, that’s all.

[mettaton_rex]

"That too."

He twists out of the way of the next shot, and it only clips his arm - dodging may not come naturally to monsters, but Mettaton's already learned the hard way that things are different on the surface. Even that much still hurts more than it has any right to.

Mettaton has a goal in mind, too. And as much as he'd love to, pun intended, teaching this creep a lesson isn't it. Those hits knocked a little of the fury out of him. He might win if he stayed to fight, but if he lost, the best he could expect would be a slow, ugly death for the second time. The worst -

- well, he'd rather not dwell on that. The point is, his goal is right there. The human isn't blocking the door any more.

"But you're not getting your hands on me that easily! Toodles, darling!" He raises his own hands, and a row of mini-Mettaton bullets descends from the ceiling, each of them blowing a heart-shaped smooch toward not-Barnaby in his hiding spot. That should keep him busy. Mettaton races for the door.

[longlasting]

Adam growls a bit under his breath. He should be better at hitting this thing, but his shots keep missing. How can a robot dodge so quickly, and on such a wobbly looking wheel? He should have knocked this thing over from the start.

But he hasn’t, and now it looks like Mettaton wants to get away. He follows Mettaton’s movements, surprised to see… smaller versions of the android? He could attack those if he wanted, but his target is trying to get away.

Instead, he yells and lunges for the larger robot, grabbing hold of the metal pivot and wheel and trying to physically pull Mettaton down. The bullets the monster sent out will find their mark, but Adam is hardly phased. He’s learned to deal with pain to reach his goals.

excuse the icon. he's making that face on the inside

[mettaton_rex]

Mettaton hears the yell and braces himself for another shot - it'll be fine, he can take another hit, he just has to get out of this room and then maybe he can lose the human somewhere in the halls -

- he isn't prepared for the grip around his wheel.

His internal stabilisers do their best, but fantastic as they normally are, he's going far too fast to stop.

He spins round on his pivot, hands grasping at the air in a frantic attempt to find purchase on nothing. It would probably look comical, to an outside observer who couldn't hear the terrified, staticky shriek he lets out as he does it. Or the awful metallic clash as he hits the floor.

And then he's lying on his back staring up at the

monster not-a-monster on top of him pinning him down claws raking at him pulling him apart closing tight around his core around his SOUL

ceiling of the music room. His display is solid red. If he had eyes right now, they'd be unfocused, gazing horrified into nothing.

He has to get up.

His hands push against the floor, but they're shaking too badly to do anything useful at the moment. Even if they weren't, getting upright again in this form is an awkward process. It would take time he doesn't have.

It's over.

The human has him right where he wants him.

it's cool anyone would be shocked by something like that.

[longlasting]

Adam savours the scream as he would a rich dessert, immediately leaping up to pin Mettaton down properly against the music room floor. He looks back to the door, but fortunately, no one had walked past or overheard. It seems he's in the clear.

He turns back to Mettaton, grin stretching his face. Blood is trailing down from his forehead - those bullets certainly didn't leave him totally unharmed, and the damage to his soul has left him out of breath and bruised - but he ignores it. A little blood is fine. He'll wipe it up after he's done here.

It looks like Mettaton won't be standing anytime soon, but Adam still doesn't want to take any chances. He reaches for a bow and thrusts it down to try to pierce the metal of Mettaton's hand... it looks thinner, and is covered by a glove. If he can pin him to the ground, he can quickly go grab his tools.

it is hard to find a suitably terrified-looking box though

[mettaton_rex]

Mettaton stops struggling altogether once the human holds him down, fighting back another cry of terror. No no no. Please not again. It's that smile more than anything else that drains the strength from him. That vicious, awful grin, the embodiment of the malevolence thick in the air.

He knows exactly what a smile like that means.

...he's been the one behind a smile like that.

The human picks up the bow and Mettaton doesn't understand for a second and then he does (or he assumes, at least). A weapon that does less damage. That takes longer.

(After what you have done. I want you to suffer.)

Please. He doesn't say it out loud, some final scrap of pride remaining, along with the cold certainty that pleading for mercy won't do him any good.

(Normally they'd start beggin' by now.)

The bow pierces straight through his hand, cruel intentions lending it strength. How far it goes into the floor is another question, but Mettaton doesn't dare try to move that hand to find out. So much intricate machinery in hands. So vulnerable. Pain shoots all along his arm and he lets out a strangled whimper, despite himself.

"W-what are y-you - what do you want?" Better question than what are you going to do to me? Sounds less helpless - as though there's any possibility the answer will involve anything Mettaton can do to save himself. Still means more or less the same.

You're doing your best!

[longlasting]

Adam's grin only widens to see how Mettaton freezes up. Good. He still has power. He was a little concerned that perhaps this robot would be stronger than his own model, would be able to fight him off. But now that he's pinned, he's just as fragile and pathetic as any other inferior robot.

He watches the bow pierce through his hand and into the floor, sharp enough to hopefully keep him pinned. Adam then settles back to observe, dusting off his hands, savouring the whimper like classical music.

"I want your silence, and your assistance. Simple as that. And I'll have both of them momentarily. Just stay put, won't you? It will be far less painful if you do."

With another grin, he gets up to his feet and retrieves another bow. He pins Mettaton's other hand without much preamble, before swiftly moving to the door.

[mettaton_rex]

So much for bargaining. Mettaton feels a little sick with himself for even trying. He makes a point of not crying out as his other hand's impaled, denying this creature at least that one small pleasure.

And then he's alone.

He can't have long. Not-Barnaby wouldn't have left him alone if there was any risk of him being rescued.

Get up get up get up. He has to try, at least.

He retracts his wheel and tries to raise his upper body from the floor again, tipping himself upright. But his arms can't lift him more than a few inches before the pain in his hands stops him, delicate mechanisms inside them catching on the bows. If he tries too hard he'll tear them apart, he's sure. If he uses his legs as well and extends his arms maybe he can sit up but then he'd still be pinned down, if he were in EX form he could pull out the bows with his teeth but he can't change back like this -

- this can't be happening. There's got to be a way out please let there be a way out of this what did he do wrong -

Footsteps outside, and that chill in the air. He lets himself drop back to the floor, realising a moment too late that the clash as he hits the ground will give away what he's been trying to do. But it doesn't matter. No matter what he does, he doubts there's any real way he can make this less painful.

[longlasting]

The door swings open as Mettaton crashes back on the ground, causing Adam to raise an eyebrow. When he realizes the robot was attempting to escape, he smiles, as if he finds the hopeless attempt too precious to be mad at. He strides inside the room, toolbox swinging at his side.

"Might be better if you turn yourself off," he states cheerfully as he kneels down beside Mettaton. "Don't want you hurting yourself in the meantime."

Things pass by in a blur then, Adam prying open Mettaton's back, rifling through wires. Some are snipped, some are rearranged. The main console within Mettaton is swiftly reprogrammed... once Adam figures out Alphys' strange methods for naming her coding. Autopilot is removed, leaving Mettaton unable to move unless it's through direct commands... and then Adam sets up a remote distinctly for that purpose.

Adam hums a tune as he works, something from an opera he saw as a child. He seems quite satisfied when he closes the panel and Mettaton is left intact again.

"There we are. Hopefully that will do for now, hm?" He glances down at Mettaton, curious if he'll bother to speak. He couldn't find any code that related to his AI, oddly enough...

[mettaton_rex]

He still struggles, at first, as the human flips him over and starts prying him open. He protests. Eventually, despite himself, he pleads.

But none of it will help. And fighting back is only going to get him killed, and getting killed is only going to leave his body in the hands of this creature for three long days. (My brother is here, he'd said. 'Is', not 'was', and if he's trying to replace the real Barnaby... well, Mettaton assumes he'll have found out about the three-day rule by now. He won't learn how wrong he is until it's far too late.)

He doesn't want to switch off. The only thing worse than feeling everything the human does to him would be not knowing. But eventually, helpless, hopeless, he lets his mind start to drift away into the stars.

The old family tradition. Lights and space and calm and falling water. Not horror and pain and hands inside him invading and cutting and switching and changing -

- he can't stop feeling them. Not really.

He can't stop hearing that tune. That hum.

He can't stop any of it.

But it ends, just when he's sure it's never going to. It ends.

The human asks him a question, in that casual tone as if this has all been a bit of routine maintenance, and Mettaton raises his -

- he tries to -

- he -

"- can't move." The words are faltering at first, coming back from a long way away, but that doesn't last long as the reality of it hits him. "Wh-what did you - why can't I - what have you done to me?!"

[longlasting]

It’s been a simple routine to him. Of course Mettaton didn’t feel that way, what with his amusing pleading, but Adam has done enough rewiring of electronics he could have reprogrammed an android with twice the capabilities with his eyes closed. He did create H-13. A light-up box is nothing.

He looks almost bored when Mettaton responds, though he does raise an eyebrow slightly.

“Hmm. So you can still talk. Perhaps that’s a command hidden a little better. Or directly entangled in with your basic processes. I couldn’t find a way to turn it off, at least. I trust you won’t make use of it too much, I may change my mind about not using you for spare parts.”

His fingers fly across the buttons of the remote, inputting a series of numbers to get Mettaton up on his feet.

“As for what I’ve done, I’m sure that answers your question, but if you really require an explanation, I turned off your autopilot and made it impossible for you to move without direct commands. Commands I can helpfully input from this little remote. It will take a while for you to be able to move fluidly, but at least all of the basic movements I need you to accomplish are coded in.”

[mettaton_rex]

It surprises Mettaton that he can still speak, as well, once he's thinking clearly enough to question it. But the human's words explain that quickly enough. Of course he wouldn't have found a command to turn Mettaton's voice off, there's nothing to turn off, but that means -

- and he barely has a chance to finish that thought before he's suddenly moving. No. His body is moving. On its own, without his input. A distinction that shouldn't have ever been made again.

He struggles, locked inside himself. Nothing happens. His body switches itself back into EX form, and stands, and watches fake-Barnaby with a look of dull horror fixed on its face. His face. The face he's inside of, banging on the metaphorical walls and screaming.

He can't scream out loud. Can't even open his mouth. The human really did shut it for him, a thought that would have driven him to a fit of hysterical sob-laughing if only it could.

Why why why why why how could you do this what kind of person would -

- he remembers Chara, standing at the edge of the tower. Remembers Ryoji, gazing up at him in adoration. Feels sick and cold, the realisation quelling his hysteria.

What kind of person, indeed.

"...what -" He can make his voice come from the speaker in his chest, if he tries. It sounds distant and tinny and wrong and he never wants to hear it again, and he doesn't want to know the answer to this question anyway. But he will, soon. He won't be able to prevent it, to protect himself, any more than he can even move his hands to cover up the cracked pink heart embedded in his midsection.

"...what... are you going to... use me for?"

The room lurches around him as he struggles to speak. This is not happening. He can not have just asked that question.

[longlasting]

Adam continues to watch and observe, amusement fading into dull interest. He seems to only be paying attention because there’s nothing else to pay attention to, like a bored child watching a ladybug crawl along blades of grass. The voice coming from the speaker does make him hum thoughtfully. It seems he stopped the mouth from moving, but the voice, or at least the android’s capacity to form words, comes from somewhere else. This is more complex than he expected. He wishes he could have spent more time on what made Mettaton function. He wishes he had a few more answers. But he must be patient. He’ll have time later, surely.

He smiles, almost gentle, at the question, despite the sinister tone in his voice.

“I will use you for whatever I need you to do. And you will obey without question. I suppose your role will be akin to that of a guard. Why don’t you come with me so you can find out what you’re guarding?”

He starts walking, not bothering to look behind him as Mettaton has no choice but to follow.

[mettaton_rex]

No choice at all. If his struggling from the inside has any effect, slows him down for a second or two, it's not noticeable. It might just be that he isn't able to move fluidly yet.

He could probably launch some more bullets, he thinks, but against a human this powerful? All they'd do is make him angry, and the best outcome there would be a different kind of bullet right through Mettaton's SOUL. He doesn't want to think about what the worst would be.

...he can't stop thinking about what the worst would be.

All he can do is follow.

[longlasting]

Adam leads him along, whether he struggles or not, down a few long hallways, to a dim, ignored corner of the castle. There’s a door that opens into a dusty room, and a trapdoor in the floor that opens to reveal a long, spiraling staircase.

As Adam leads Mettaton down that, he may hear the sound of another human breathing, thick with pain. It’s definitely not Adam, whoever it is.

But as they reach the dungeon that is at the end of the staircase, he’ll see someone who looks much like Adam chained to a wall.

[mettaton_rex]

Of course, Mettaton thinks numbly as the trapdoor opens. All the terrible secrets are hidden downstairs in the darkness, aren't they? Seven little coffins for six little bodies. Lost friends, twisted and fused into nightmares.

He suspects he knows who he'll be guarding, even before he starts to hear that laboured breathing. The real Barnaby has to be somewhere.

Still, the sight of him there, chained and bleeding, would stop Mettaton in his tracks if only it could. He lets out a strangled cry of horror through clenched teeth, even as he follows his captor into the dungeon like an obedient pet.

[longlasting]

Adam is a little bit cliche, he knows, but he thinks there’s something to be said for the classics. Barnaby trapped in a deep, dark dungeon fighting for his life is so much more entertaining.

He rolls his eyes as Mettaton cries out. “Don’t be pathetic. There’s no need to show that kind of sympathy for someone like him.”

Barnaby looks up at the noise, squinting without his glasses. He doesn’t really recognize whoever is in front of him. He’s seen them around the castle, but can’t recall a name. Not that he could call for them or even apologize with Adam so close by.

[mettaton_rex]

Mettaton tries as hard as he can to shoot a venomous glare at his captor. Oddly enough, he doesn't buy for a second that Barnaby is the one in the wrong here.

(He never did this. He's been cruel, he's lashed out for petty reasons, taken his bitterness out on anyone who dared get in his way at the wrong time, but... but he never had anyone tortured. There were lines he didn’t cross -

- oh, were there? Remember Frisk? Remember your hand at their throat?)

"You..." It's deeply uncomfortable to talk like this, still, like writing with the wrong hand. If that hand was the only part of your body that still belonged to you. Everything inside him feels defiled. "You think... I'm going to help you? Without question?"

[longlasting]

Adam is certainly more extreme than Mettaton, but if he realizes as much, he certainly doesn’t care. His own brother gets nothing more than a cold glance, and watching Mettaton suffer and struggle to speak gets a bored eyebrow raise.

“Aren’t you already helping me? You can question all you like, but your body will still move under my commands.”

Barnaby stirs then, looks at Mettaton, horrified.

“What did you do to him? I thought I told you to keep everyone out of this-”

“And I have to listen to you?” Adam spits. He examines the remote in his hands, presses a string of buttons intended to send Mettaton towards Barnaby.

[mettaton_rex]

The smile was almost better. Mettaton can't believe he's thinking that, couldn't have imagined anything worse than that mocking grin on his captor's face as he pinned Mettaton to the ground. But somehow that bored indifference is more terrifying. He's not even a person anymore to this human. Just a noisy machine.

His body steps forward and he tries, he tries to fling himself backward instead, to stumble and trip, to do anything else. To get out of his body altogether, maybe, break his bond with it, is that even possible? It would break his heart to lose it, but who cares -?

It's a moot question, anyway. Nothing happens, except what he's told to do. The best he can manage is to force out a glitching, staticky "- s-sorry -" as he's moved toward the real Barnaby. An apology for whatever's coming next.

[longlasting]

Of course he’s not a person. Does he look like a person? He’s made of metal and magic, and thus all he can be to Adam is a toy. One to play with and torment and then toss aside once he gets tired of it, or pushes it beyond its limits.

Barnaby looks up at Mettaton and shakes his head. There’s no need to apologize. They’re both prisoners here. If he had the energy, he’d say that.

Adam, mercifully, doesn’t make him do much yet. Of course, ramming his fist into Barnaby’s gut with full power several times isn’t pleasant by any means, but it’s tolerable.