slightlyoffchilt | - IC CONTACT POST FOR MASKORMENACE -

Wait -- come again? He was under the impression you would do what to me, Walt?

[Chilton pricked at the hint of conspiracy -- something that wasn't inconceivable, given the men in play, but nevertheless the additional context cloaked a darkening cloud over his ribcage. A constricting, tightening knot of nebulous molecules. But, with Walt soon said, how he should have realized -- it illustrated that Crane had acted independently. Rogue intentions. Was this then a burgeoning schism?]

I'm with -- [No. Best not mention Raina.] I'm recovering. In recovery. Did you know he has synthesized his own lysergic acid diethylamide? Does he know what you do?

We had an alliance, Chilton.

[ Walt was forthcoming. It was too little, too late. He should have warned Chilton, but he didn't. Maybe he was still holding onto his respect for Crane or maybe he just hoped that Chilton would see it coming -- he was a crafty man, after all. ]

I am well aware of what it is he makes just as he's aware of what it is I make. He used my lab at the pharmacy to do it, even. But I didn't know you were going to be the recipient of it.

[ A little white lie because he totally knew. ]

But we've since had a falling out. He accused me of falling for your lies, saying you were trying to delude me into believing you're my fri-- ally. He claimed he was the one who had always been honest with me and tried to get me to tell him what you did to me that one night in your basement. But I didn't. I protected you. And I hope like hell you were able to get him with your sedatives...

Chloroform. He chloroformed me first. Did that come from your laboratory, too?

[There's a shudder to his hiss, as if he's physically fighting the revulsion.]

What he did was a violation. What he did to me. Crane violated me.

[Chilton wasn't about to engage the gory details, the fact that he had been stripped (quite literally), or that he had been forced into a straitjacket. The image of him squirming on his own floor.]

I forced a breakthrough with you, Walt -- hadn't you benefited? Haven't you adapted? Are you not more aware of your potential in this world? What Crane attempted to force upon me was a breakdown. He wanted me incapacitated, if not subservient to his so-called philosophy. [A beat.] Clearly the man underestimated my resilience.

So tell me again: which of us is your ally?

I wasn't aware of any chloroform. No.

[ But probably, yes. To Walt's knowledge, Crane didn't have access to any other lab so he likely synthesized it there.

Walt listened as Chilton went off. Admittedly, he felt a tinge of satisfaction. Crane did help in the sense of forcing Chilton to feel the same damn things he forced on Walt. Violation. Stripped of free will and drugged. That Chilton was deluded enough to call it a breakthrough though....Walt shook his head in disgust. ]

Neither of you are my ally, if there's one message to be taken from all of this. But my favor has shifted more so in your direction. Even in spite of you having the nerve to call what you did to me a breakthrough.

Crane may have violated you. But he left you alive, didn't he? And what he probably didn't take into account was that you not only have the chance, resources and drive to retaliate even worse, but you now have a chemist on your side who happens to have extra incentive to see Crane out of the picture.

Edited (I didn't like the original reply) 2015-04-27 19:21 (UTC)

How can you ask me to trust you, Walter? [There's strain in his voice, a crackle of disbelief and insecurity.] You were involved with him to some degree, and I cannot simply assume he didn't interpret your allegiance as validation. Enabling him to... Misbehave.

[There's a reason why Chilton would only be responding in text to the others, after this conversation with Walt. Text was controlling, it could obscure emotion. Text was masking.]

A chemist at my side. Weren't you that, to him? Is this just psychiatric turf war to you? He was never much to me to begin with, Walter, why would I want anything to do with a man who has turned himself into a mere archetype?

He isn't even unique in his sequence. I have had friends betray me before.

Whether you trust me or don't trust me is up to you. And whether you make the move against him or don't is also up to you. But I tend to think you will. You're not a man who just lets go. You and I aren't so different in that respect.

[ And the very fact that Chilton had pretty much called Crane a friend proved just that. They had both been misled by something they thought had the potential to be a friendship. ]

There was a reason why my alliance with Crane had pretty much dissolved. And it has nothing to do with you. [ Though admittedly, this thing with Chilton had given Walt the extra motivation to act. ] I will be moving independently against him regardless, and it's your choice to join me for the ride or to quietly watch as your problems work themselves out. What a lucky situation you've found yourself in.

What did he do to you?

[The question comes cautiously, and after a thoughtful moment. Walt could quite feasibly be lying -- the man was a talented liar -- but Chilton doubted his entire argument was born of falsehoods. The story was at least worth some effort in investigation.]

This reason why your alliance dissolved. Was it something he said? Something he had done? Or did you find it within yourself to draw a line in the sand?

A mix of all those things.

[ Well if they're going to take this journey together, Walt might as well share.... ]

He slipped up and left a trail that led his enemy to my lab, which was the beginning of it.

After this Batman fellow had attacked him, Crane started to act differently. He was unraveling. The man I knew when I first got here was fading fast. And I thought about the first time I saw he was making LSD in my lab, when he claimed he intended to use it on some patients [ ~~you, Chilton~~ ]. I knew he was dangerous, but now he became dangerous and unstable.

I talked to Jesse about this, and Jesse talked me out of killing him right then -- claiming that it would bring Batman down on us even more, and Batman was the last thing we needed. So I kept my mouth shut and went about my business as usual.

It wasn't until I ran into him at the Swear In, though, that I knew it was completely done. The way he talked to me -- the way he mocked me for allowing myself to get close to you. The things he said to me were a betrayal of what I believed Crane to be -- not necessarily a trustworthy man, but a...

[ He closed his eyes and just outright said it. Fuck the consequences. Fuck the desperation and loneliness behind it because if he wanted Chilton to understand what happened between them, what severed the alliance more than anything -- this was the most vital piece. ]

...friend.

[ A long sigh. ]

It was foolish of me. I realize that now. Crane values the useful and once it's no longer that, he will cut it down and belittle it. But to make a fool of me is a very fatal mistake.

[ And that goes for you too, Chilton. In case you get any ideas. ]

[Oh, Chilton has many ideas. He's gotten endless ideas, in fact, from working with Walt alone. But he's far subtler than Crane with them, and in expression of them -- there's something to be said of humanity beyond the archetype. "Useful" has a broader definition after all.]

Threat noted. [Spoken just a bit dryly.] Pinkman was right about one thing, at least. You cannot kill him, that would only further his agenda. Succumbing to murder because of fear? Because you're terrified of the danger her poses? [No, dammit, thinks Chilton. That isn't the design he has for Walt!] You'd be vindicating him. And you'd have Batman as fallout, for all your troubles.

[More to himself:]

Crane was sloppy to invoke narcissistic injury. [Insulting Walt? The man clearly didn't respond well to hostile attention. It wasn't a sound manipulative tactic -- unless Crane wanted to drive Walt into Chilton's arms, in which case Crane had drifted more from reality on multiple tiers. Walt had demonstrated he was a dangerous man, probably explicitly to Crane, so why court that with a flippant betrayal? Was Crane embroiled in a project, and wanted the glory to himself? Did he intentionally cut Walt lose? Was it possible the man didn't realize what Walter White truly could be?

As much as Chilton praised Heisenberg, it wasn't the wealthy kingpin aspect that he sought to revive in Walt. It was the violence, the control. It was the brutality. It was the ability to murder a young man and dissolve his body in secret. It was the process of convincing and aged cartel lord to play suicide bomber. Walt was narcissistic and he exhibited anti-social tendencies; he teetered on that psychopathic cliff. Chilton wanted to push him right over it. He wanted so badly his creation.

And Chilton himself, arrogant and ambitious, could never ever insult something as glorious as his own creation.]

He hurt you.

[There was sympathy in his voice.]

He made you think he was a like-minded individual. He did that to the both of us.

[And now, a darker drop in his voice:]

We have to hurt him back, yes. [But how to you battle a glacier? You don't stab it with ice picks, no, you take its opposite force. You melt it.] But we have to hurt him through Batman.

[Crane's special someone.]

[ Yes. Good. This was all good; the intended result. Walt sacrificed the truth, but the payoff was worth it. Chilton was on his side. "We have to hurt him back" -- the use of we proved just that.

Walt was no stranger to using manipulation, but it certainly didn't mean he was immune. The more time he spent with Chilton, the more the man grew on him -- saying the right things and offering helpful advice. Walt had already benefited greatly from their meetings when it came to his interpersonal relationships with Hank and Jesse. But even as helpful as that had been, it wasn't the main reason for Walt's shift in Chilton's court. No, the main reason was their mutual vagrant acquaintance.

Destroying that man's mind to cover their tracks proved Chilton and Walt worked well together. It had been something Walt wanted with Crane. And while he and Crane did get along well in that working relationship, they never actually worked together. Crane wanted to keep things as separate as possible when it came to their work. But Chilton? Chilton was willing to work with Walt, to collaborate. There was a hole missing in Walt's life with the absence of Saul. And Chilton was filling that hole in with his presence more and more. A man of ideas and advice and a man of considerable talents, even though he was, at times, insufferable -- that was what Chilton had become. ]

Batman? [ His brows raised and the bewilderment could be heard in his voice. ] What? Are we just going to go to Batman and tattle on Crane and watch as he gets beat up again? Please tell me you have a better plan than that.

Nothing so obvious, Walt. But given Batman's importance to Crane, which I believe is a profound relevance based on a brief conversation we shared, there is no other tool that inflicts the same impact.

[A quickened beat followed, like the rhythm of a pulse.]

You and Crane shared a lab. Do you have any formula residue? Of his... Toxin? And if not -- do you understand the compound structure? Can you mimic it?

[ Crane DID get really weird after Batman had attacked him. That was the beginning of his slip. The beginning of the end of their partnership. But Walt doesn't even have time to comment because Chilton is following it up immediately. ]

The lab is wiped clean, unfortunately. I had to clear it in light of our prospective visitor. You'll find absolutely no traces of anything we did in there. However, lysergic acid diethylamide is something that's relatively simple for me to make, yes.

[ Hear that gloating? Walt is totally gloating. ]

I'm not certain if Crane's product is different. He spoke of having his own medication. That's what he called it before I found out what it was. If you wanted me to recreate what he used on you exactly, you would have to forfeit some very explicit details about your symptoms, Chilton. But the option is there. I can do it with your assistance.

You want me to expose to you the gory details of his torture of me?

[The skepticism in his tone wore like a dry sandstorm. It was a noble effort on Walt's part, he'd admit to that much, having couched the askance in a compromise of mutual gain. Nevertheless, Chilton was reluctant to exhibit his most gruesome ordeal. Perhaps after a numbing drink or two, the psychiatrist would be more loquacious.]

What he so fondly calls medicine -- the fear-stimulating toxin. It doesn't have to be a perfect imitation; hear me out, Walt. From my prolific profiling of variant narcissists and sadists, one magnificent truth holds universal: their art is on par with their lives. Their art is their identity, their philosophy. To threaten that is to grab them by the throat.

If you can mimic an approximation of that fear toxin, it would be even better, in fact. He would read it as an intentional slight. If we had minor outbreaks throughout different cities, not even imPort cities necessarily, but little plagues that he cannot call his own. Imagine how careless he could become.

Imagine if this copycat caught Batman's attention.

[An attack on the ego, leaving the body unscathed. Intangible, misleading, and abrupt -- Chilton was highly versed in illusion, after all.]

It sounds plausible. And doable, even. I would have no qualms about partaking in the chemistry and creating something similar. But I won't be the one to administer the toxin, Chilton. You'll have to find someone else to do that particular task.

[ A pause. ]

Why not our mutual acquaintance?

[A thoughtful beat.]

You do have an appreciation for elegant utility. I'm... Concerned about his competence. Perhaps I'm underestimating him, after all, he has proven resilient in other ways.

So you build him up and make him competent. Are you really going to tell me that's outside the scope of your abilities? I don't buy it. You're good, Chilton.

[ A pause and then the smirk can be heard in his voice. ]

And with me, you will be even better. Sodium barbital. That is what I did to Jesse that night. You have the sedatives. But I have the chemistry at my hands. The scope of my abilities is enormous.

We can break this man down and make him far more useful than simply a scapegoat. We can turn him into our willing tool, and if he does get caught by Batman or authorities, all the better. His "attack" on me was just the beginning of his downward descent into insanity. Hank might even view me as a hero for "retaliating" against him the way I claimed.

As long as you're seen as the hero, is that it?

[He couldn't help but point that out; within the immediate context of events, Walt's loyalties might seem somewhat fickle, but that was merely a deft deception. Walt had always been faithful to the one person whose agenda overruled all else: Walt himself.]

It would very likely result in the desired outcome, if you and I work together. [Said Chilton, after a considerable pause. Walt's argument was sound, the variables were realistic.] This vagrant, you know, he isn't someone with personality disorders.

[The quiver of a moral qualm. It was much easier to damn men and women who were already damaged goods -- or, as Chilton would frame it, remarkable.]

But you're right in that he'll be the essential component. All right.

[ What? What. Is Chilton really getting soft on him now? That one, telling statement about the man not having personality disorders compared to what Chilton has done otherwise -- to Walt himself and probably to countless others. ]

It better be all right, Chilton. Look, he is an unfortunate victim of circumstance, but if it comes down to either you or me with our lives on the line -- I'm sorry, but he is the one who has to lose. We've come this far. Are you really going to cower when it comes to Jonathan Crane because that's exactly what he wants.

No. You're smarter than that, Chilton. You're far more resilient. You know what has to be done, and you'll do it.

[ This is Heisenberg. Pure Heisenberg. ]

Thanks for the pep talk.

[Said with a sardonic flick of his tongue -- but he wasn't going to contradict anything Walt had just said. The man was correct. Chilton took a deep breath, closing his eyes. The gesture would have been unknown across the line, of course, but given the weight of pause he surrendered, it was clear he was thinking over Walt's words. There was something like granite in their reassurance.]

I'll do what I must. This won't happen as quickly, Walt, it's much easier to make someone misremember a single night than it is to rewrite their psychological motivation.

Just remember. You have me.

[ As though that would make all the difference in the world. There's a quiet pause and then his tone softens. Walter White, concerned friend. He acted this way toward Crane when he found out he was injured, too. ]

Do you need anything? Food or something from the pharmacy?

It's not something I'd be prone to forget. [And he considers Walt's invitation for aid, calculating his own needs -- not for sustenance, necessarily, but what his requests could mean for his asserted sway over Walt.

But no, he decided. Wouldn't do well to push his luck yet, not when he truly might require it.]

I'm fine, thank you. If any need arises... I know who to contact.

Good.

[ Chilton's already better than Crane. At least he's willing to take Walt up on his offer.

A beat. ]

Take care of yourself, Chilton. And for god's sake, if you're going to get kidnapped again, try not to do it on a Friday night, will you?

[ The last little bit is spoken like a tease, lightening the mood after all those embarrassing voicemails he left. ]

I will be sure to schedule any misfortune outside of and around your own agenda.

[These two, and their parting farewells.]

- IC CONTACT POST FOR MASKORMENACE -

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