He Never Asks For Help
TW: attempted manipulation, attempted murder, mention of body horror at the end (non-graphic)
SO uhhh.... Michael wanted to meet RFAU Puzzle. I think it could technically work with normal or ultimate? Either way he's having a Great Time seeing his boyfriends again and nothing is going wrong!!!
“Don’t do this,” Korvos hissed into Michael’s mind as he dropped through the portal, fiddling with the device in his hands to close it behind him. “It will only end in suffering.”
Taking a deep breath, Michael pushed Korvos to the back of his mind. I’ll be fine. Puzzle needs someone to talk to, that’s all. Just needs another perspective. The Puzzle he knew was smart, if a little too interested in solving his problems in his own (often violent) way. Whatever was going on, he could get to the bottom of this and help Puzzle with finding a rational solution to whatever it was he’d been doing.
Tugging his phone out of his pocket, he studied the messages Puzzle had sent him.
You free? I need help. Come to the warehouse. It’s important.
“Be on your guard,” came that raspy hiss again. “Call for me the moment he’s a threat.”
At that, Michael finally lost his patience and spoke aloud, starting through the woods towards the warehouse. Leaf litter crunched softly under his sneakers. “According to you, he’s always a threat.”
“You did meet through him attempting to kill you. Which for some otherworldly reason you find attractive.”
Rolling his eyes, Michael didn’t skip a beat. “He needs my help, Korvos. You know he doesn’t ask for help.” Despite his attempts to appear calm, Michael knew he was looking and sounding very stressed now; after all, if Puzzle had never asked for help once since they’d met, surely this meant something was wrong?
Before he could spiral further into that, the warehouse appeared in front of him. Towering over the forest surrounding it, the warehouse had a wide stretch of empty grass between it and the treeline. If Michael squinted, he could make out a long-abandoned gravel drive dominated with plant life, but he didn’t pay it any mind. Not like anyone was going to come clear it out; the place had been forgotten for years, even before Puzzle had moved in.
The big sliding doors were padlocked shut, but Michael walked past them to the smaller people door that he knew was unlocked. Hinges creaking echoed through the massive building, though as Michael looked around he saw that things had definitely changed; more DIY-ed walls now made the massive space seem smaller, and while there were still traps and spare parts littered about, rather than the teetering heaps he remembered, they were almost organized.
Something had certainly changed.
“Puzzle?” Michael called out, turning in a slow circle as he delved deeper, ignoring the eerie stillness in the air. Everything would be okay. Puzzle needed his help, and he would be here like the good… friend? Boyfriend? Secret third thing? He shook his head to clear it. Whatever Puzzle saw him as, he was here to help.
A harsh clattering broke the silence, and Michael saw Puzzle extricating himself from a half-finished wall. “Hey,” he said gruffly. He didn’t look well, with deep bags under his eyes and a rough chin of stubble he clearly had made no effort to shave. “C’mere, I have to show you something.” Without waiting to see if Michael would actually follow, he set off deeper into the maze. Hesitantly, Michael followed.
The place only got neater the further in they went, and Michael saw the the rooms that had once been places of death had been converted into… rooms? “I thought you hated company,” Michael said lightly, trying to joke.
“Mostly.” Puzzle said, voice clipped. “But I’ve… made exceptions since you were last here.”
A knife in the chest. Michael faltered a little. “Right. Um. Sorry about that. Y’know, the whole ‘not coming over for three months’ thing, I was a little busy with… Percy.”
Puzzle’s step faltered this time, wings lifting for a moment before he flattened them again. “You find anything?” He asked, voice tight.
“No,” Michael caught a look into one of the rooms, almost stopping completely when he saw… bright colors, toys strewn about. A kids’ room? “Case went cold almost immediately. Everyone suspects foul play, but no signs of struggle and no body means… “ He shrugged. “Nothing happens, I guess.” Hesitantly, he added: “I’m sorry. I know you two weren’t close, but he was still your brother. I’m sure you miss him.”
A quiet, thoughtful hum was Puzzle’s only reply, continuing to walk through the building. Korvos was hissing in Michael’s mind again, but he shut him out. Puzzle wouldn’t hurt him. He just wouldn’t.
After a few moments of silence, Michael found the nerve to ask, “So what’d you need me for? You never ask for help.”
Puzzle reached a door, pulled out a key ring, and started fumbling through it. “Well… it’s not help I need, necessarily. Just you. Here.” Finding the right key, he inserted it into the door and turned the knob. Hinges creaked softly. Michael followed him in. And froze.
The room was sparse, devoid of the heaps of parts and junk of the main areas and certainly not feeling lived-in. All the room contained was a chair and desk covered in papers, a large collection of various tools Michael could only guess at the uses of, and a table, upon which sat a… robot?
Though it was powered down and laying flat on its back, Michael would bet his life’s savings that it was the same height as him. Though some parts were as rusted as he remembered Puzzle’s contraptions being, others were shiny, as if they were fresh off a store shelf. “Puz, what… is this?” He asked quietly, instinctively angling towards the door. But as he did, he saw Puzzle shutting it firmly, heard the click of the lock. “Puzzle?”
Puzzle spoke slowly, levelly. “I’m going to give you a choice, Michael.” He started walking towards him, slowly, every footstep echoing off the walls. In different circumstances, Michael might have found it hot, but now it just made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
“I will deal with him,” Korvos snarled, and Michael had to fight him back to keep control of his own body. Tingles raced through his limbs as Korvos tried and failed to shift his form.
Let me handle this! I can talk to him. Michael snapped to the demon. Aloud, to Puzzle, he said, “What’s the choice?” He hated how shaky he sounded.
Puzzle gestured to the robot. “Let me help you. Let me show you my world.” His voice sounded… strange. It took Michael a moment to realize it sounded almost like Dream on the rare occasions Michael had heard him talk; something about that tone of ‘I know better than you’ dripped from his every word. “You can have peace, safety, family. You’ll forget all about the world that everyone else fucked up.”
Michael eyed the robot. “And how does that relate to locking me in a room with a robot?”
A deep breath. “I can’t do it without your soul, Michael.” His voice was trembling slightly, almost desperate . “I need to fix your memories, and I can’t do that while you’re… human.”
If Michael hadn’t known Korvos wouldn’t let it happen, he would’ve sworn his heart stopped beating. For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Puzzle stared at him, eyes burning with an intensity that felt so him and yet so other all at once. Michael could barely see the man he’d fallen in love with a short year ago. “Puzzle, I can’t– what are– you can’t– “ He sputtered for something to say, fighting back Korvos’ control while his mind raced. “You’re going to kill me?”
“Only your physical body,” Puzzle said, as if that made everything better. He was advancing again, and Michael felt his back hit the wall. “If you let me do this quickly, you won’t feel a thing. And when you wake up, it’ll all be over.” He reached out slowly, running a hand over Michael’s cheek. Michael shivered; there was a chill to his hand now, and he didn’t know if Puzzle was that cold or if he was just that scared. “You won’t remember anything that hurt you before, and you can just be– “ A sharp knock interrupted him. His head turned slightly, expression shifting to annoyance for a moment, then realization as a thought seemed to strike him. He waved a hand towards the door, unlocking it with magic, and called, “Come in.”
The figure on the other side was nearly unrecognizable. As close to his original form as the hunk of metal on the table was to Michael. But those wings, broad golden feathers cut with a stripe of black down the middle. Michael couldn’t help the choked noise that escaped him as his mind put two and two together against his will. “Percy?”
Light golden eyes, so close and so far from how his eyes were supposed to look, settled on Michael. Thin metallic lips twitched up into a smile. “Michael,” he said, voice far too calm, almost relieved. “I was wondering if Puzzle had talked to you yet.”
“Percy, what the hell– have you been here this whole time?” Michael gasped.
One shoulder lifted in a shrug, the soft whirring of gears sounding too loud to Michael, though whether that was his own mind distorting his senses or Korvos starting to wrestle control from him, Michael wasn’t sure. “Why wouldn’t I be?” Percy (was it really him? Was it some trick from Puzzle?) said pleasantly. “My family is here.”
“You– You’re insane!” Michael yelled, swatting Puzzle’s hand off him, blood roaring in his ears. “What the hell, dude!?”
Percy’s eyes widened, and Michael felt guilt jab his heart like a knife at the hurt in those metal eyes. “Why would you say that?” He asked, staring at Michael with clear dismay. “This is our home, where we all belong.” He took a step forward, only to halt awkwardly when Puzzle held a hand up again. “We– we’re happy here.” He said carefully. “Puzzle makes us want for nothing.”
Michael stared between the brothers– his loves– and struggled to form a coherent thought that wasn’t what in the absolute fuck. “Percy, you’ve been missing for months. We all thought you were dead.” He paused, realizing from the way Puzzle was talking that might have been truer than they’d thought. “Have you been here the whole time?”
Tilting his head, Percy seemed to think for a moment. Then he looked at Puzzle, who nodded. “I… suppose so? Time moves strangely here.” Wings fluttering awkwardly, he looked off to the side thoughtfully. “I’m happy,” he murmured, as if that needed to be voiced.
Breath coming in panicked gasps, Michael protested. “Percy, whatever the hell is going on, we can get out of here. Go home and–”
But Puzzle cut him off. “He is home. You both are.” His hands were on Michael’s shoulders again, more firmly this time. “You’re home, Michael.”
Korvos was unusually quiet in his head, but Michael wasn’t paying him any mind at this point. Shoving Puzzle away from him– ignoring his startled gasp– Michael sprinted for the door. He didn’t know what he was doing. He didn’t know where he was going. All he knew was he needed to get out. Now.
Cold, hard hands closed around his shoulders, halting him in his tracks. “Michael, calm down,” Percy said, voice trying too hard to be reassuring. “It will be better if you don’t fight.”
“Get off me!” Michael shouted, kicking out at Percy frantically. His foot spiked with pain as he hit Percy’s robotic leg. “Fuckin’--” He gasped painfully. “Percy, let me go!”
“Don’t.” Puzzle said, following him far too casually, too slowly. “Hold him.”
Percy’s hands tightened. “Michael, please.” His golden eyes shone, feeling too real against that hard metallic exterior. “Let us help you.”
Puzzle was coming towards them, adjusting his grip on his knife. When did he get a knife? Where did he get a knife? Michael didn’t know. His heart pounded in his ears and every instinct screamed to get out, run, escape, but Percy’s grip was unyielding. Korvos– ! He reached for that mental bridge. Where was he?
“You will be safe, Michael.” Korvos slammed back into his mind, throwing Michael into the depths of his own mind with enough force to stun his thoughts to silence. To the room at large, he spoke through Michael's mouth. “My son will come to no harm.”
Michael felt pain lance through his body, transforming too fast to be comfortable for him or Korvos. The last image he saw was Percy’s eyes widening with horror and shock, Puzzle’s eyes darkening with some emotion he couldn’t name, something he never wanted to see again.
As his body spasmed, bones cracked, and Korvos took control, Michael allowed himself to sink into oblivion, just for a little while.
