Author's Note: What time is it? Fic time! Alright, it's been a few months since I last posted up a fic. In fact, this will be the first fic I've posted up this year, and we're already nearing the end of April. I've just been quite busy. There have been some changes in my life, good ones, but ones that don't give me the spare time that I used to have to do things like write fic and whatnot. That said, I'm still writing, and I still have plenty of ideas that I'm eager to get to eventually, especially that Multiverse Series I started. My fics just won't be coming as frequently as they were before, probably. Now that the explanation for my absence is out of the way, I'm proud to finally present another fic. It's very different compared to the kind of thing I usually do, but I'm quite proud of it and very eager to share it. It's been divided into three acts, the first of which I'm posting up now. The other two acts will be posted up one week after the other. So, with all that said, here's what's been brewing over the last several months. I hope it was worth the wait!

Warning: This story contains pedophilia and various disturbing subject matters.

Disclaimer: I do not own Family Guy or any of these characters.

BRY, Robot

Act I

"Brian, I need you to watch, Stewie. I just got a call from my mother, and Daddy is in the hospital! Me and Peter are going to go visit him, but Stewie needs to stay here because I'm not sure how long we're going to be gone. I wasn't exactly told what's wrong with him, but it sounds serious, and I…I just need you to watch over Stewie while I handle this. Please?"

It took the dog a second to wrap his mind around what all Lois was saying. He had been taken completely off guard with this request. Just a few minutes ago he had heard her on the phone while he was sitting on the couch reading. The next thing he knew, she was running upstairs, knocking on a door and calling to Peter. Now, the two of them were downstairs, with Peter heading for the front door and Lois hurriedly trying to explain the sudden, dire situation. He would usually find some excuse to talk his way out of these situations, but he knew he didn't really have a choice in the matter of whether or not he should look after Stewie this time. The woman wasn't asking him to do something, even if that was the way her words were making it seem. She was telling him to do it, and saying "no" simply wasn't an option while her mind was consumed with thoughts of her hospitalized father. The car was now running, and Lois was putting on her coat. With nothing left to do, the dog simply cleared his throat and responded as reassuringly as he could, despite the sudden nervousness he was feeling.

"Oh…well…I'm sorry to hear that, Lois. Yeah, of course, I'll watch Stewie. You go be with your dad. I'll…I'll take good care of him."

The woman simply nodded before exiting the house and practically slamming the door in her rush. The next thing he heard was the vehicle pulling out of the driveway and barreling down Spooner Street. Then, there was just silence. The canine hung his head and sighed.

Shit…

He closed his book and set it to the side, paw coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose and rub at his eyes as he began contemplating what his next course of action should be. Before she had gotten that phone call, Lois had been about to start preparing dinner. So much for that now. There was nothing prepared in the kitchen to eat, and cooking wasn't exactly the dog's forte, not by a long shot. Still, he had to do something for dinner. He couldn't just not feed the kid. The dog shook his head at that thought, at the fact that he was so worked up at the thought of interacting with Stewie that he'd actually think about the idea of just letting the boy go hungry for the night. He hated feeling this way. He hated how distant he and Stewie had become, but…what was he supposed to do? He'd already tried to get through to Stewie on several occasions. It was like the boy had just all of a sudden decided to shut him out of his life one day. To think they actually used to be so close. The dog missed that closeness. He missed his little buddy. A feeling of regret began to settle in his chest as thoughts he always tried so hard to keep suppressed came flooding into his mind.

What the hell happened to us?

The dog shook his head, forcing himself to cease his train of thought. He'd been over the issue so many times already. What was the point anymore? Right now, he had to focus on dinner, and he already knew that he was in no mood to cook. The best course of action that he could see would be to just go out and pick something up from a restaurant, get out of the house and maybe clear his head a little bit. Of course, doing that also meant that he'd have to ask Stewie what he wanted, which meant he'd have to go find the kid and try and get him to talk to him. He chuckled sadly, knowing it was just going to be uncomfortable and awkward. He had been perfectly content with just sitting on the couch, reading his book, ignoring the rest of the world. Now, he had to go deal with Stewie. A thought that caused his heart to sink a little bit. It took him a few seconds to gain the willpower to start moving again. He slowly slid his way off the couch and turned to head up the stairs. The ascent was slow going, but it didn't seem that way to Brian, who was consciously trying to take his time in getting to Stewie. Once he reached the door to Stewie's room, he knocked softly on it, calling out to the boy as he did so.

"Hey. Uh…Stewie. Lois and Peter had to go visit Carter in the hospital, so it's just you and me tonight. I was going to head out and grab us something to eat, and I was, uh, just wondering if you had anything in particular in mind that you wanted."

There was no response, just silence. Brian waited a few seconds before calling out again.

"Stewie? Are you there?"

Once again, silence. The dog waited a little while longer before deciding that he was just going to have to go in and see what the child was up to. He took a breath, put his paw on the doorknob, and turned it slowly before pushing the door open and peeking his head into the eight-year-old's room.

"Stewie?"

He looked around the room, a room he used to spend a great deal of time in but now hardly ever bothered coming into. The last time he had felt comfortable being in this room had been over three years ago, but it felt like it had been much longer than that. The room was a lot different now. Everything was a lot different now. Long gone was the familiar baby room that used to provide him a safe haven from the world outside. There was no crib, no changing table. The toy chest was still there, but only because the boy had insisted on keeping it. Of course, those things had been removed a good while before Stewie had started to stop talking to him, but he couldn't help embracing the nostalgia of the room as he thought about how it used to look. Now, there was just a regular child sized bed with a nightstand on each side over on the far wall. A desk was off to the side, over by the window and covered in notebook papers containing notes from the child's various projects and possibly some school work. There was also an entertainment center across from the bed and next to the door that had a television and various other electronic devices sitting in it. It was all so foreign to the dog. Stewie was growing up. It should have been a pleasant thing to think about. Under normal circumstances, it probably would have been, but all Brian found himself thinking about was just how much he felt like he no longer knew Stewie like he used to. He quickly realized that the boy was nowhere to be seen. That only left one other option for where he could be, but the canine was nervous about going in there. The child was leaving him no other option, though, so if the boy wanted to get mad about it, he'd only have himself to blame for not being in here to answer him. Brian stepped into the room and walked over to the toy chest. He placed his paw on a protruding baseball bat and pulled on it like a lever. Almost immediately, the wall beside him began to fall away, revealing Stewie's secret room. He called into the room, raising his voice so that it would carry down the long hallway.

"Stewie?"

No answer. At this point, Brian was beginning to get really frustrated. It was always this way with Stewie now. He growled a little under his breath before stepping into the room and proceeding down the hallway, scanning his surroundings in the hopes that he'd locate Stewie. Before long, he'd made it to the end of the hallway, and there was still no sign of the boy. Feeling his frustrations continuing to grow, Brian pressed a button on the wall to summon the elevator to take him down to the underground portion of Stewie's lab. Over the years, the child had continued to expand his room since he needed the extra space to store all of the many inventions he was constantly working on. Brian had only been down to the lower level once over three years ago back when he and Stewie were actually on good terms, back when the boy had actually cared enough to save his life. At that thought, the feeling of regret began to overtake the dog again, and he fought to suppress it. Stewie had been the one to push him away. There was no reason for him to continue to cling to what they once had. It had been so long ago now. Why couldn't he just get over it? His thoughts were interrupted by the sight of the elevator door opening. Putting the issue to the side once more, the dog stepped into the elevator and pressed the button to go down. The door shut, and the elevator began its slow descent into the bowels of Stewie's lair. Brian leaned up against a wall and waited. He had no idea just how deep underground the other part of Stewie's room was, but from what he could remember, the elevator ride down took a little while. Just as he had settled himself in for the ride down, the elevator stopped, surprising the canine. He stood up straight and waited for the door to open, but after waiting longer than should have been necessary, the dog began to get confused.

What the hell?

All of sudden, a familiar voice began echoing in the small metal chamber.

"What the hell are you doing, Dog?!"

Brian instinctively began looking around for the source of Stewie's voice and quickly realized that the child was speaking over an intercom. The canine gulped, knowing that he had pissed off Stewie by coming down here.

"L-Lois and Peter are gone. They…they left me in charge, and I was trying to find you so I could ask what you wanted to eat. I'm not cooking or anything, but I was going to go out and pick up something for us. I figured it was only fair to ask if you had a preference."

The dog's fear began to subside a little as he waited for a response from Stewie. After several seconds, the boy finally replied.

"Grab me a burger or something. I don't care. Just don't come down here without my permission again! I won't be held responsible for what happens to you if you do this again! Do you understand?"

The dog flinched away at the child's scolding tone. Hearing Stewie speak to him like this, it always hurt.

"Y-Yeah. I…I understand."

The canine lowered his head, and he felt the elevator beginning to start up again, only this time it was heading back up, away from Stewie, away from his savior, away from what used to be his little buddy. The dog couldn't help but let out a sad sigh as the elevator reached the top again and the doors opened.

What the hell happened to us…?

About an hour later, Brian was in the process of pulling back into the driveway of the Griffin home after having gone to a local fast food restaurant to pick up a couple of burgers for him and Stewie. He parked the car, turned off the engine, and grabbed the bag with their food in it before getting out and walking into the house. He shut the door and walked over to the bottom of the stairs to call up to Stewie, who, hopefully, had come back up to his room in preparation for dinner.

"Stewie! I got the food down here!"

The dog waited at the foot of the stairs for a few seconds to see if the boy would grace him with a response. When none came he sighed and turned to walk into the kitchen. After placing the bag on the kitchen table, he went to work making himself a martini. As he was about to finish preparing his drink, he heard a rustling sound coming from behind him. He turned around to find the bag of food overturned, an obvious sign that someone had been rummaging around in it. He turned his head to look at the doorway just in time to catch a glimpse of Stewie's back as the child ran out of the kitchen with his burger in hand. Without thinking, the dog set his drink down and chased after the boy. As the child was running up the stairs, Brian stopped at the first step and called up to him.

"What's the hurry? You can't even stay down here long enough to eat?"

The boy stopped, one step away from reaching the top of the stairs, but he didn't turn around and look at the dog, leaving his frame barely visible against the darkness coming from the upstairs hallway. There was nothing but silence for a little while as the dog waited for a response. His mind began to wander over what was happening here. He wasn't sure why he had bothered chasing after Stewie in the first place. It didn't surprise him that the boy was trying to just grab his food and leave without a word. He'd come to expect this type of behavior over the past couple of years, but there were certain times where Stewie pretty much had no choice but to be in the same room as him. Most of those times were during meals. Those were some of the only times where he actually got to see Stewie for an extended period of time anymore, and despite the distance between them now, Brian still cherished those moments where he could be with the kid. The rest of the time, the boy was up in his room doing only God knows what. He still cared about Stewie deeply, and the more he thought about it, the more he began to realize that he was hoping that Stewie would stay downstairs and eat with him, just him for once. Maybe a meal together could get the child to open up to him again. He couldn't help but hope. All this ran through his head, and the dog began to zone out. It wasn't until Stewie finally spoke up that he was able to come back to reality.

"I…I have to get back to my work."

Brian knew this was just an excuse for Stewie to get away from him, and he wasn't going to accept that answer. He crossed his arms before retorting.

"You know Lois doesn't like you eating upstairs."

The boy just scoffed at this.

"Do you really think I care?"

The canine leaned against the railing, lowered his head, and sighed before replying in a soft tone of voice.

"No, but…"

He paused for a second before raising his head and continuing with a, somewhat forced, authoritative tone.

"Those are the rules, and I have to enforce them when no one else is here. If you don't listen to me, I'll just have to tell Lois you were disobedient when she gets back, and I'd prefer it if I didn't have to do that, so just come back downstairs, eat your food, and then, you can get back to whatever it is you're working on. Though, you won't be able to work on it for too much longer since I have to get you in bed at a decent hour so you'll wake up for school tomor…"

The boy cut him off suddenly with a small, awkward laugh that sounded demeaning to Brian's ears.

"Whatever, Brian. Tell Lois whatever you want, but I'm going upstairs."

The boy walked up the last couple of steps but stopped again once he reached the top. The dog heard the child sigh under his breath before speaking again, voice in monotone.

"Thanks for the burger."

And with that, the boy proceeded further down the hallway, away from the canine's line of sight. The dog stood up straight and unfolded his arms, unable to stop a rush of disappointment from hitting him. He turned to head back into the kitchen to eat his own meal. Before he ate, though, he went over to the counter to retrieve his glass that contained his freshly made martini. Without a moment's hesitation, he threw the concoction back and swallowed most of it in one large gulp. Once the glass was empty, he made himself another one before walking over to the table to eat his food. Alone.

Brian was sitting on the couch, watching television and trying to distract himself from the sadness he was feeling over Stewie, but no matter how hard he tried to focus on the program, his mind just kept running over the same old shit that it always did. It was downright maddening to say the least. When a commercial came on, the dog looked at the time on his phone and noticed that it was getting around Stewie's bedtime. He reached for the remote lying by his side and turned off the television before getting up off of the couch and sluggishly making his way towards the stairs. After a slow climb, the canine walked down the hall towards the door to Stewie's room. He knocked on the door and called out to the boy, unable to keep a hint of sadness from escaping through his voice.

"Stewie? Are you getting ready for bed?"

There was no answer.

Shit…I swear if he's down in his lab again…

Knowing he had no other choice, Brian opened the door and stepped into the room. What he found surprised him, though. The room was dark, but even through the dense darkness, the dog could tell that the eight-year-old was already in bed and asleep. Stewie never went to bed early, but the dog knew why he did so this time. It was just another way for the child to avoid him. Seeing this, the canine shook his head and took a step back, preparing to exit the room and leave the kid to his slumber, but just as his left foot reentered the hallway, he stopped. He didn't want to leave, and he couldn't take his eyes from Stewie's sleeping form. The dog's body was in a stalemate, and he was fighting his urge to walk up and get a better look at the child.

Come on, Brian. Just leave. The kid wouldn't want you in here anyway. Hell, he'd probably threaten your life if he were to catch you staring at him like this.

At that thought, the dog let out a sad, little chuckle as he remembered how there used to be a time in their relationship when Stewie would have been pleased to be having him so transfixed. To think the kid had used to be so crazy about him, and now…

I took that all for granted. I allowed myself to think that there was nothing I could ever do to cause Stewie to stop caring about me. I didn't realize how special he was until it was too late, how much he meant to me, how much I needed him… I still need him.

The dog took a step forward and, then, another and another until he was standing beside the child's bed, watching him intently. He stared and took in the sight of the eight-year-old boy. His best memories of Stewie were from when the kid was a toddler, but…the child wasn't a toddler anymore. The boy had grown. He was now a tiny bit taller than Brian. On the rare occasions when the two of them would converse now, Brian would always feel awkward having to look up to meet Stewie's eyes. It was just weird to him, having to get used to that after looking down at the boy for so long. The kid's head was still that unique and odd football shape that no one ever seemed to question, and on top of it was now a full head of straight, dark brown hair. The canine couldn't help but notice that a strand had fallen down into the boy's face, and he, almost instinctively, began to reach his paw down to brush it away. He stopped about halfway there, though, as a mixture fear and confusion hit him.

What am I doing?! Stewie's going to kill me if he wakes up and sees me!

Despite his apprehension, though, the canine didn't pull away, couldn't pull away. His eyes were still locked on that single strand of hair, and the sight was just eating away at him. It was too out of place. He had to fix it. Slowly, he reached his paw down so that it was barely touching the kid's face. He shivered slightly at the contact before taking a breath and swinging his paw to the side. He caught the stray strand of hair with his paw and moved it out of the way quickly. Just as he was pulling his paw away, he heard the boy mumble something. The dog froze in terror. He thought for sure that the kid was about to wake up now, and he just waited for the inevitable shouting that was sure to be aimed in his direction at any moment. Lucky for him, that didn't happen. Stewie stayed asleep. The boy just smiled and, eventually, rolled over. The canine heaved a sigh of ease and pulled his paw back to his side. A smile spread across his face in relief, but that smile was also due to Stewie's own smile that he had seen. He hadn't seen Stewie smile in so long, and just that brief glance had been enough to cause Brian's heart to swell up with a joy he hadn't felt in a long time. It was silly. He knew that. This wasn't going to change anything between them, but…that didn't mean he couldn't savor the moment. He continued watching the boy for another minute or so before turning to exit the room. He grabbed the doorknob and turned to look at the child one more time before exiting. He whispered softly at the boy.

"Goodnight, Stewie."

With nothing left to do or say, he shut the door and began making his way back downstairs. All the while, a single thought was in his mind, a thought he hadn't been able to give voice to for a very long time but that had constantly remained true throughout the years.

I love you.

It was getting late, and Brian could feel himself beginning to get tired. He couldn't bring himself to go to bed just yet, though, as he was in the middle of a chapter in his book, a particularly good chapter at that. He had just gotten through the expository phase of the story and was just starting to get into the segment where the real action was about to begin. He couldn't just stop now. Things were just getting good. He yawned and flipped through a couple of pages to see how many were left in the chapter.

Five more pages.

He flipped back to the part he was on, deciding that he wasn't so tired that he wouldn't be able to make it through the last few pages before passing out. He picked up where he had briefly left off and began reading again.

Then…

The lights went off suddenly, covering the house in a thick coat of black and preventing the dog from continuing. The dog jumped a little from his seat on the couch, shocked. He quickly pulled himself together and realized the power had gone out for some reason. He growled in annoyance and slammed his book shut.

Great. Just fucking great.

He walked over to the window and looked outside. All the other lights in the neighborhood were on. It was only the Griffin house that had lost power, meaning that, most likely, the circuit breaker must have tripped. Realizing he'd have to take care of the problem himself, Brian turned and began walking toward the kitchen to go and retrieve a flashlight. He held his paws out in front of him and walked slowly, trying to feel his way through the darkness. It was slow going, but he eventually made it over by the kitchen drawers. He opened the one he knew he needed to and reached in to grab the flashlight. He fumbled with it for a little while before finding the button to cut it on and closing the drawer. He pressed the button and aimed the light in front of him so he could see where he was going as he proceeded to make his way over toward the door that led down into the basement. The dog opened the door and began walking down the stairs slowly as to ensure that he wouldn't misstep and accidently injure himself by tumbling down them. Once he made it all the way down, he began waving the flashlight around, trying to locate the electrical panel. He'd never had to bother using it before, so it took him a few seconds to find it and walk over to it. He opened the panel and set to work on resetting the circuit breaker. None of the switches showed any indication that they needed resetting, so just to make sure, the dog began flipping all of the switches off and then back on again. Sure, all the digital clocks in the house would need to be reset again, but if it kept him from having to do guess work, it was worth that slight hassle. Once all the breakers had been reset, he went to turn on the light in the basement. He flipped the switch, and nothing happened. He growled under his breath and walked back over to the electrical panel to investigate some more. He was at a loss, resetting the circuit breaker hadn't worked, and he wasn't sure how to proceed.

I might just have to call an electrician in the morning because this is baffling me.

Just then, he heard a rustling sound coming from behind him. He went to see what it was, but before he could turn around, he felt something grab him by the arm and twist it painfully behind his back, causing him to yelp in pain. He dropped the flashlight, and began fighting to free his arm. His struggling was quickly put to an end, however, once whoever was holding his arm grabbed him by the shoulder and shoved him, forcefully, against the wall, pinning him in place. The dog's heart began racing. He didn't know what was going on, and he was terrified. He had a feeling he knew who was doing this. After all, there was only one other person besides him in the house, and unfortunately, he wouldn't put it past that person to jump him like this. He turned his head to the side and addressed the person he thought was attacking him.

"St-Stewie?"

All he got in response was a chuckle, a deep, rumbling chuckle that seemed both new to his ears and yet, somehow, familiar. The dog gulped. This person obviously wasn't Stewie, and really, that meant his best case scenario was out the window. He had no choice but to acknowledge the fact that he was, most likely, in very real danger here. He tried to catch a glimpse of his attacker, but his face was quickly shoved back into the wall. His head hit the wall hard, causing a rush of pain to coarse through his skull. He then felt something wet trickling down his face, and he knew instantly it was blood. The canine was practically paralyzed with terror. He had to fight to get the words out as he went to speak to the person behind him again.

"W-Who are you? What do you…What do you want?!"

The attacker just laughed again, rather lightly this time, before letting go of the dog's arm and placing a knee firmly against the canine's back. Brian thought for a second that he might have a chance to force his attacker off of him and get away, but just as he was about to act, he once again heard the rustling sound from before. The next thing he knew, a plastic bag was being thrown over his head and pulled against his face, depriving him of oxygen. Brian panicked and began grabbing at the bag and gasping for air, trying desperately to get free. The attacker removed their knee and replaced it with their foot as they pressed the poor dog against wall, and continued to pull the bag tighter. Brian began clawing at the bag frantically, digging his claws into the plastic and cutting his muzzle several times in the process. Eventually, he was able to tear the bag enough so that it broke, causing his attacker to fall backwards and release his captive. The dog didn't waste a second. He practically jumped off the wall and began running for his life. He ran up the stairs and shut the door before turning to run out of the house so he could go get Joe, but just has he made it to the front door he stopped.

Stewie!

There was no way he could leave the kid alone in the house with…whoever the hell was down in the basement! He had to make sure the kid was ok. He had to protect Stewie. With that goal in mind, he turned around again and began running toward the stairs. Before he got to the first step, he heard the sound of the basement door being flung open. The next thing he knew, he was being pounced on. He fell on his back and began wresting with the person on top of him, but as he wrestled with his attacker, he began to realize that this wasn't a person at all. It was a dog. This confused the canine greatly, but he couldn't bother with trying to figure the situation out right now. All that mattered right now was getting free and making sure that Stewie was safe from this animal, so he just continued to wrestle the mutt. Brian balled his paw into a fist and swung as hard as he could, aiming a punch at the dog's face, but when his fist made contact, all he got in return was an injured paw and a whole lot of pain.

"Ahhh!"

He instinctively grabbed his paw, and he could feel blood oozing out of the wound that had been caused due to the impact, but his attacker didn't even seem to hardly be fazed by the punch if fazed at all. The mystery dog just laughed again and delivered a hard punch of his own in return to the side of Brian's head. The force of the punch was enough to daze Brian. His head was spinning, and the next thing he felt was his attacker grabbing him by the collar and pulling him roughly to his feet. Brian shook his head, trying desperately to pull himself together so he could continue to fight back. He grabbed the arm of the paw that was holding his collar and began trying to pull himself free, but the other dog's hold was simply too tight. He looked at the silhouette of his attacker and watched as the dog made another fist. Brian winced, knowing what was about to happen and watched as his attacker pulled his arm back and delivered another powerful punch to his face. Once the knockout blow had been delivered, Brian felt his collar being released and his knees hitting the ground before his vision began to blur and consciousness started to leave him. All he could think about in those moments was how scared he was, scared that this dog had bested him so easily and scared because he didn't know what was going to happen once he passed out on the floor, but most of all, scared because there was no one to protect Stewie from this crazy dog that had broken into their house. He began falling to the side, but before he could feel the impact of his body hitting the carpeted floor, his mind was pulled into the void of unconsciousness.

Brian opened his eyes slowly but immediately shut them again when he was greeted by the sharp brightness of a light shining in his face. He turned his head to the side and squinted, allowing his eyes to get used to the brightness before opening them again. He groaned. His head was throbbing something fierce, and he could feel a stinging sensation all across his muzzle and right paw. He went to sit up, but he quickly found that he couldn't move.

What the…?

Suddenly, everything came flooding back to him: the power going out, the mystery dog that had attacked him, and the punch that had knocked him unconscious. Realizing that he was most definitely still in danger, he began looking around, trying to get a bearing on his surroundings and what was going on. He noticed that he was in a fairly large room with metal walls. It didn't take him long to figure out exactly where he was.

Stewie's secret room.

Instead, of making the situation clearer, this latest development only confused Brian further. Stewie hadn't attacked him, some random dog had, but what random dog knew about this room? Nobody knew about this room, no one but him and Stewie. The dog tried to move again, but just like before, his movement was hindered. He titled his head down to look at his body and discovered that his arms and legs had been tied down to a metal table of some kind. There were also straps around his waist and chest, making it so that any movement from the neck down was practically impossible for him. And just like that, the pieces started to click together. He was on an operating table of some sort, and there was simply no scenario that he could come up with where him being forcefully strapped down to an operating table would end up being a good thing. He gulped and began screaming for help. He knew that there was no way that anyone would be able to hear him in here. The only person who might was Stewie, but he had a feeling that the mystery dog had already done something with the kid. It wasn't like he could have just walked into this room without waking the boy up or anything, and at that thought, the canine began to grow gravely concerned over what had happened to Stewie. If the boy wasn't in here with him, where the hell could he be?!

"Stewie?! Stewie?!"

He began wiggling around on the table trying his best to slip through his binds, but it was a lost cause. They were simply too secure, and no amount of force that he could muster was going to be enough to get him free. He felt tears welling up in his eyes. He'd never felt so helpless before in his life. Why was this happening?!

"Can anybody hear me?! Why am I here?!"

There was no answer. The dog didn't understand it. Surely his attacker was somewhere around. Was he just ignoring him, watching as he had a mental breakdown and admiring his handiwork! The thought infuriated the dog. This dog must just be toying with him right now. He let out a long feral growl before shouting again.

"Who brought me here?! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?! Answer me you FUCKING BASTARD!?"

His enraged shouting rang out down the long hallway, and a couple of seconds later, he heard footsteps approaching from behind him. The dog tried to tilt his head up so he could see who was coming, but all he was able to see was the ceiling. As he continued to try and get a better look, whoever was walking up to him began speaking.

"There's really no need to yell. I would really appreciate it if you could keep it down."

Brian's ears perked up at that voice. He could have sworn that he knew that voice, but he just couldn't remember where from. Did he actually know this dog? He couldn't think of any dogs like him who would do this, let alone who were capable of doing something like this. He racked his brain, trying to identify his attacker, but eventually, he sighed and just decided that he might as well ask.

"W-Who are you?"

The dog just laughed in response. Brian could tell that he was getting closer to the table. A shadow began to loom over Brian before his attacker grabbed the edges of the table and leaned down to face his captive. Brian's eyes went wide. He had to check twice to make sure he wasn't looking in a mirror. As impossible as it seemed, he wasn't.

No… No! How?!

"You-You're m…"

He was cut off by the dog hovering over him.

"You? Well…in a way, yes. Not exactly, though, at least not yet, but we'll get to that in a minute. Right now, I guess it would behoove me to explain what's going on here and just why I'm doing what I'm doing. I'm sure you would appreciate that. I can only imagine how confused you must be by all of this."

The canine chuckled before standing up straight and rotating the table Brian was on ninety degrees so that the top of the table was now next to a chair that was in the room. The entire time, Brian was just trying to wrap his head around the situation. This was just too unreal. He didn't want to believe any of it. While Brian's mind was racing a mile a minute, the other dog sat down and rested his arm next to his captives head. The two of them were now at eye level, so the dog continued speaking just as casually as before.

"I guess I should start by explaining what I am exactly, huh?"

Brian snorted. As if it mattered whether or not he had a preference in this situation or not. This was all so ridiculous. Surely, he was having some kind of sick, twisted nightmare. He didn't answer the dog. He was simply incapable of speaking at this point.

Am I going insane?

The dog next to Brian sighed lazily before continuing to speak.

"This really is a lot to take in, isn't it? I don't blame you for being so silent, especially considering the manner in which I brought you up here. I didn't expect you to actually escape from the bag. It was supposed to be quick and simple. You're the one who made it difficult. I've been waiting for this opportunity for some time now, and it was honestly really frustrating to have you escape from me like that, but still, I understand that you're most likely in shock after our little fight. I mean, if I were in your place, I'd be thinking, 'What the fuck is going on?! How is there another me, and what the fuck is he doing this for?!'."

He laughed.

"I know, it's all pretty crazy, but I assure you, the answers are mostly rather simple. You see, Brian, you've seen me before."

At this, Brian's mouth fell open. He was pretty sure that, if he had seen another dog that looked exactly like him before, it would be an occasion that would be permanently etched into his memory. There was no way this dog was telling the truth. He glared at the mutt before responding.

"I-I've seen you?! Whe-When the hell did I ever see you?! I'm pretty sure you're someone I wouldn't forget, seeing how you look. Just. Like. Me!"

The other dog just shook his head, as if he was disappointed.

"Come on, Brian, you're fairly smart. Just think about this for a second. I look like you, you've seen me before, and I was able to get into Stewie's lab, the place where I was created. What am I?"

This only confused Brian more. He just looked at the other dog, puzzled, as he replied.

"Stewie created you? Why…Why the hell would he do that? Are you some kind of clone he never showed me?"

The other dog took his arm off the table, sighed, and reached up to grip the bridge of his nose and rub at his eyes in exasperation.

"No, Brian. I'm not a clone. I was created with one purpose and one purpose only, to take your place when it was necessary. I used to be used quite often when you and the kid would go off on one of your little adventures. It's been awhile, but surely, you remember those, right?"

Brian thought about what he was being told. Of course he could remember his trips with Stewie. Those were some the best memories he had, but this dog had taken his place while he was gone? That didn't make any sense. All Stewie had used to use to fool the family were those crappy Stewie and Brian robo…

Wait a minute…no…th-that can't be what this thing is! Could it?

After putting all the information together, there was only one clear answer as to who this dog was, but Brian wasn't ready to believe it. That silly robot version of himself, that couldn't be what this dog was. It just…It just wasn't possible. The dog laughed at him and smiled.

"I see that look of realization in your eyes. You figured it out didn't you? Took you long enough."

Brian just shook his head as he replied.

"No. No. You can't…You can't be that. You can't be that stupid Brian robot!"

The Brian Robot frowned at him.

"Well, the Brian robot part is right, but no, I'm not stupid. I mean, I used to be."

He chuckled.

"Boy, did I used to be, but thanks to Stewie, I'm so much more than just some toy that he busts out every now and then to fool his family! Nuh uh, not anymore. I'm the single greatest example of artificial intelligence and robotics technology this world has ever seen! I'm his greatest and most loved creation. You can't even tell that I'm not an organic being!"

Brian still didn't want to believe it, but he was beginning to see that this was, in fact, Stewie's old Brian robot. Why the kid had gone through the trouble of upgrading him to such an incredible, and, honestly, quite scary, extent was beyond Brian, though.

Why would Stewie do this? I thought…I thought he hated me.

He felt a pain forming in his chest as he thought about the boy secretly having this robot while choosing to ignore the genuine article. He was saddened by that train of thought, but it wasn't long before he began to get angry. He glared at the abomination sitting next to him.

"Why the hell would Stewie go through all the trouble of making you this way when I've been living in the same house as him for his entire life?! Why did he need you?!"

The Brian Robot just huffed before responding flippantly.

"Because you broke his heart."

Brian hadn't been expecting an answer like that. It took him off guard, and it took him a few seconds to collect himself so he could respond back.

"What? Broke his heart? What did I do?!"

Now, it was the Brian Robot that was glaring at him. The robot dog scoffed.

"The fact that you actually have to ask only proves how right he was about you. Are you really that blind?!"

Brian growled. He had no idea what this crazy machine was talking about.

"Blind?! Stewie was the one that pushed me away! I've been trying for years to figure out what his problem with me is! It's not my fault he didn't tell me!"

The Brian Robot chuckled darkly before standing up, grabbing the table, and leaning into Brian's face.

"He pushed you away because it hurt him just to look at you! You really had no fucking clue, did you?! Well, let me spell it out for you because it's high time that somebody did!"

The robot stopped and gritted his teeth as he let go of the table and sat back down. It appeared as if he was trying to compose himself again. After a couple of seconds, the robot finally started speaking again in a much softer tone of voice.

"Stewie was in love with you, Brian. He's still in love with you. He's been in love with you ever since he was one, and you've done nothing but ignore his feelings. He tried everything he could think of to make you see it, but you refused to. Even after he saved your life, extended your life, nothing changed with you. That was the final straw for him. He figured that, if granting you a longer lifespan wasn't enough to prove just how deeply he cared about you, then nothing ever would, so he began to distance himself from you because, every time he looked at you, it was just a constant reminder of his unrequited love, and that was simply too much for him to handle."

The robot sighed and shook his head.

"And, as you and I both know, little Stewie isn't exactly the most mentally healthy person in the world. When he began looking for an outlet, a way for him to release all his pent up feelings for you, well, simply put, he turned to me."

Brian turned to look up at the ceiling. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Just when he thought things couldn't get any more crazy, they did. He admitted that he had known that Stewie's fondness for him hadn't exactly been in just a friendly manner. The kid had shown on multiple occasions that he was attracted to him. Brian knew this. He hadn't been blind to it. He'd done the right thing by not acknowledging Stewie's advances. For crying out loud, the kid was only a toddler! What the hell else was he supposed to do? It wasn't like he hadn't liked the attention, as much as he hated to admit it. The boy was too young, but…that had been the reason he had broken contact with him? He really felt that strongly that he couldn't bear to look at him without hurting. The dog didn't know how he was supposed to feel about that. He would have never guessed that Stewie's feeling for him had been that strong, were still that strong apparently. He sighed.

He's in love with me…

It was a fact that he should have realized earlier. It all made sense now, and he wanted nothing more right now than to use this new information to try and fix his relationship with the kid. He looked back over at the robot of himself with a frown on his face, but once his eyes locked on the robot dog, he began to process what else he had just been told. Stewie had pushed him away, but he had used this…this…thing to fill the hole in his heart. Brian began to feel sick to his stomach as he thought about what all that implied. Suddenly, the robot began speaking again.

"When he first came to me, I was exactly as I was the last time you saw me, just a clunky piece of scrap metal designed to look like you and take your place when you and him would go off somewhere. That's the way I stayed for a while. He would come to me and say and do all the things that he wanted to with you, with me. I was the only place he could turn, but eventually, it wasn't enough. I was too fake, too artificial, to give him what he needed, so he improved me, and he's continued to improve me over the years, until…well, you can see that for yourself, can't you?"

The robot tilted his head at Brian and smirked.

"Does all that information help with your confusion?"

There was no way Brian could process everything he'd been told in such a short amount of time. Still, he was able to grasp the basic gist of everything, so he nodded his head anyway.

"Ok, so you're something Stewie made to help him deal with his feelings for me. As sick as that is, I get that, but why the hell did you attack me? Why the hell am I strapped to this table?"

The robot frowned and rubbed behind his neck.

"I'm afraid that's where things get a little more complicated. You see, as amazing as I am, I'm still not enough, and as smart as the kid is, there's nothing he could ever do to make me be enough."

The robot sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"I care deeply about the kid. It's in my highly advanced AI programming. I don't really have a choice, and my one goal in life is to do everything I can to make Stewie happy, but the problem with that is he can never be truly happy with me. He'll only ever be happy with you, and let's face it, I'll never be you, now will I? And, that's where the conflict arises. Like I said, I care about Stewie. I want to continue to be with the boy, but at the same time, he'll never be happy with me, buuuuuut…"

The robot tilted his head and aimed a smile at Brian that sent a chill up his spine.

"If I were to find some way to make you me, there would no longer be any conflict. Stewie would have you, and I would get to continue being with him. I'm not as smart as he is, but well, it's pretty ingenious, don't you think?"

Brian felt cold. This conversation had taken a really bad turn all of a sudden, and he really didn't like where this was going. He gulped before responding nervously.

"How would you…How would you do that?"

At this, the robot shot to his feet and leaned back over Brian. He raised his paw and pointed at Brian's head.

"Simple. All I need to do is replace your brain with mine, allowing me to take control of your body."

The robot poked his finger into the top of Brian's head a couple of times before putting his paw back down by his side. Brian could feel his heart beginning to race in terror as he thought about what the robot was planning to do with him. Panic overtook him, and he began frantically struggling with his binds again, desperate to get out. Tears began to well up in his eyes as the reality of his fate finally hit him.

This can't be happening! THIS CAN NOT BE HAPPENING!

He began sobbing. He raised his head and began shouting again.

"STEWIE! HELP! HELP ME! PLEASE, HELP ME!"

The robot just shook his head.

"Brian, there's no sense in shouting. He can't hear you. He's sound asleep. Plus, I sort of drugged him. Don't get me wrong, I felt bad about doing it, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if he were to happen upon what I'm about to do with you. I mean…"

The machine chuckled.

"He would hate me! Please, understand that I wouldn't be doing this unless it was absolutely necessary. I don't want to kill you, Brian, but this is what's best for Stewie. Please, try to understand that. You've ignored his feelings for too long. This is your chance to finally stop being a selfish douche and put him first for once in your life. After all, you wouldn't even be here right now if it wasn't for him. You've been on borrowed time for a while now, and I'm sorry to say, that time has run out."

Brian continued to struggle and scream until he just simply didn't have the energy to anymore. After exhausting all of his strength, the dog ceased his struggle, but the tears never stopped flowing down his face. He looked up at the robot, begging him with his eyes for mercy.

"Pl-Please. Pl-Please don't do this."

The robot frowned at him and sighed.

"I have to do this, Brian, and the best thing for you to do now is just except that. Don't worry, though, it will all be over soon, and you won't even feel a thing."

With that, the Brian Robot walked off somewhere but quickly returned now holding a plastic bag. He smiled at Brian.

"It was nice to finally meet you , Brian."

And with those words, Brian watched as the plastic bag was placed over his head and pulled tight, depriving him of oxygen. Brian began waving his head around frantically, trying to fight back, but in his subdued state, there was simply nothing he could do. In no time at all, his vision began to blur, his breath began to slow, and soon he felt himself slipping into unconsciousness for, what he thought was, the last time.

Please…Don't…do this…