MONROE

Without a doubt, Bucky was certainly a little tense regarding this whole situation. And the jabs the Ascendants members were throwing at him weren't helping either. Bucky knew that they weren't going to treat him nicely, there's so much tension in the air after all. Some of them were treating him like he already pledge guilty, Thea specifically. When she began to throw words back at his face, the maine coon didn't even notice Monroe reaching out for his shoulder. His metal claws were beginning to dig into the ground, and as the Helion's paw touched his shoulder, the maine coon flinched slightly, gaze quickly snapping towards Monroe. As his ice blue eyes landed on the shark-cat, his ears pricked as Monroe spoke, blinking a few times. Calm down, Barnes, He thought to himself as he let out a sigh, metal claws relaxing. He can't possibly risk loosing control- it hasn't happened in months. If he got lost to the Asset in a wave of anger and frustration, no one would possibly see it coming. It would be a disaster. He briefly nodded at Monroe's comment, thinking to himself one more time. You're in control, stay calm.

Bucky glanced momentarily towards Hazel, but unfortunately he didn't get to focus on her for too long. While he appreciated that she was trying to get her two obnoxious clanmates in order, the one they were all waiting for finally decided to show up.

As soon as the familiar tom entered the scene, his gaze locked on Bastilleprisoner. Their gazes met each other for a few short moments, just before Bastille focused onto Monroe. "So, you bringing me someone to hang or someone to question?" If Buckingham didn't want to be questioned he wouldn't have made his way over to the Ascendants. Bucky had to keep reminding himself to stay calm, don't take the dry, cold words to heart. "Unless your boy over here is frightened of answering questions, too." Bucky's trail of thought came to a stop the moment he heard those words. Ears still pinned to his skull, the former assassin decided to open his mouth. "The last time someone got into my head, I lost everything. Sorry that me being cautious is making this difficult for you." He said smoothly without a beat, not exactly getting into full detail on what he meant.

"I'll answer any question you'll throw at me," He meowed as his gaze didn't dare to leave Bastilleprisoner. Monroe was right- Bucky came here to prove himself. He'll be ready for whatever question gets him closer to his innocence. Even if that means he has to unwind his past. His bushy tail slowly began to swish, as he waited for questions to answer.

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ONISION MIKAELSON-FOLIE
tough to talk to, and i never fall asleep!

Alex was a little bit torn. On one hand, the answers needed to solve Roy's case caused desperation in a lot of them, and desperation caused people to do some questionable things. On the other hand, going through someone's mind seemed...it seemed like too much. But if Bucky gave up access to his head space, then surely the problematic aspect of it was reduced slightly. Maybe.

"Are you sure you are okay with this questioning?" The dark furred boy asked with a hint of concern, keeping his eyes on Harland as the younger child explored and interacted with the visitors. If truth be told, he didn't believe Bucky was behind this. It didn't feel right, not in his gut. Maybe it all just went by so fast, he didn't have any time to properly form a conclusion for himself. Regardless, nothing about this made any sense, and he just didn't trust in the idea that someone willing to be questioned was a culprit. "It would be cruel to possibly damage the mind of someone who may or may not be innocent."

Buckingham didn't believe that the questioning had to involve Bastilleprisoner searching through his head, unless Bastilleprisoner wasn't satisfied with Bucky's answers. Anyways, Bucky still gave the Astral Seraph a hard no back at Sunhaven's border, and if Bastilleprisoner tried to do it now- it wouldn't end well. He still doesn't have Bucky's consent until he asks the Goldenblood again, and if he were to do it without consent- who knows if Buckingham would be present anymore. "If I weren't fine with him questioning me, I wouldn't have bothered to show up." He said to Alexander, who seemed pretty neutral about the whole situation. The Ascendants member almost seemed concerned on Bucky's behalf. He kept his gaze locked on Bastilleprisoner, awaiting for questions, when he felt a little paw touch his cold, metal leg.

Breaking his gaze from Bastilleprisoner, Buckingham looked down, to see Harland mesmerized by his metal leg. "Pretty." He heard the child say, which almost made Buckingham's frown curve into a light smile. Buckingham didn't know Harland, and he was sure Harland wasn't aware of who the Ascendants are accusing Buckingham of. Harland was young, he was still an innocent child who isn't aware of how cruel the world truly is. Harland wasn't afraid to approach Buckingham, unlike his tense, older clanmates. Fuck, don't smile. Don't smile, He thought to himself as he tried to keep his face neutral, having an unbelievable soft spot for kids. And then, little Harland began to climb onto the maine coon, which Bucky made no attempts to stop him. In the tense situation, Harland was actually helping Bucky cool down- who would have thought that. Bucky stayed still as Harland climbed onto his back, and then onto his neck and head.

He felt Harland resting his forelegs and upper body on his head, right between his ears. Buckingham looked up at Harland for a moment, his lip slightly twitching as he fights the urge to lightly smile. "No." He heard Harland's sharp tone, which was certainly directed towards Alexander mentioning harm coming to Bucky. The child is worried about him, as if he's guarding Bucky from the hostile Ascendants members. "Don't worry, no harm will come to me," He said to Harland, before his gaze locked on Bastilleprisoner again, waiting for questions with Harland resting on his head.

So, Bastilleprisoner decided to skip over the questions. Bucky was expecting to hear some, but clearly he thought wrong. His ear flicked as Bastilleprisoner continued to speak, directly addressing him. While mental manipulation was not only brainwashing and corrupting minds, Bucky just managed to fall into both of those. It probably doesn't occur often, as why it seems like a small aspect of the ability. Bucky hasn't met anyone else who got their memories stolen and brainwashed, and he wouldn't be surprised if Bastilleprisoner didn't automatically think Bucky is a brainwashing victim. His explanation on how he "lost everything" can probably be taken in multiple ways- brainwashing probably won't be the first assumption.

When Bastilleprisoner began to explain that he has no ill intentions when looking through his mind, and that Bucky would be providing the memories himself, he had to close his eyes for a moment and exhale a sigh. He doesn't use mental manipulation like Ximen did. He told himself, having to fight the urge to say no, I'll be fine. He opened his light blue eyes, making his decision. "Fine. I will allow you into my head," He said, voice quivering ever so slightly, as his paws began to shake. The shaking was minimal, but it will certainly increase when he acknowledges Bastilleprisoner's presence in his head.

Think about how I patrolled the mountain that day. I came close to the summit but decided to head down, He began to repeat to himself in his head, so when Bastilleprisoner went in, he'd see the correct memory Bucky would project. But coincidentally, another thing was on Buckingham's mind. He was thinking to himself, subconsciously: Bastilleprisoner is not Ximen. This isn't a situation like the Asset! The original, correct memory would fade into an old memory, the maine coon having no idea that he's projecting an extra memory to Bastilleprisoner as well.

"Ah, you've arrived Soldier."

"Ready to comply."

"I have a mission for you, Soldier. There's a member in our clan who I believe is double crossing us. I want you to track them down and test their loyalty. Make sure there are no witnesses, Asset. Do not kill them, even if they seem like a traitor."

"Who is the target?"

"Their name is Angeldust. Come back with results so we can discuss if you can go ahead with assassinating them."

"Understood."

And then, the memory began to fade, as the Asset got up and left the chamber to fulfill his mission, leaving a pleased, ram horned cheetah smirking.