DISCLAIMER: I in no way own Frankenstein, nor any of its related works. Because, however, Frankenstein itself is public domain, neither does anybody else!

I hope you enjoy my own envisioning of Shelly's classic work. It always frustrated me how Victor always failed to grow a pair when it counted, so I decided to force some action upon him. If you like it, say so! Not many people get around to the Frankenstein fanfictions, so please be vocal when you do!

Prologue: A Different Nightmare

"Beautiful? Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips.

The different accidents of life are not so changeable as the feelings of human nature. I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room and continued a long time traversing my bed-chamber, unable to compose my mind to sleep. At length lassitude succeeded to the tumult I had before endured, and I threw myself on the bed in my clothes, endeavouring to seek a few moments of forgetfulness. But it was in vain; I slept indeed, but I was disturbed by the wildest dreams..."

~Frankenstein, Chapter 5

I found myself on a picnic, overlooking the formidable cliffs of Mont Blanc. Though the snow whipped around me, I myself was warm, for my dearest friends Henry and Elizabeth were with me, and no cold could reach us. My father, Justine, and even little William sat a small distance away, laughing with a vigor I had forgotten since I commenced my dark endeavor two years ago.

Even as the thought of it crossed my mind, though, a great shadow fell over the ridge. The chill stroked my neck and clenched my heart in its unfeeling claws. Petrified, it was only with the greatest force of will that I faced the frozen plains. Lo! Advancing from the jaws of winter was none other than my own creation! I tried to cry out, but no voice would stir within me, and my feet themselves were frozen to the ground. I watched, with mute agony, as the monster squeezed the life from those closest to me, one by one, scattering their broken corpses in the snow. As it turned away, its grisly task complete, I at last felt the rage stir within me and, with a mighty howl, lunged at the fearsome demon, throwing it, and myself, into the bitter abyss...

I emerged from my midnight terror with a burning truth: This monster, born of my own two hands, would kill everyone that I loved on this earth. For their sakes, as much as my own, it had to be destroyed by those same two hands. Now determined to end my work with whatever was left of my ailing body, I espied by the sickly yellow light of the moon a fearsome and gaunt visage, twisted into a leer above my bedposts. It was upon me!

My heart reinforced by the lives for which it was accountable, I sprung from my sheets, driving back the fiend with hitherto unknown ferocity. Broadsided by my sudden attack, its uncoordinated bulk scattering dressers and tables in a most tumultuous crash. The fiend's confusion was evident, and it struggled weakly against my unexpected offense. With one last fearsome cry, I drove it through the grand window overlooking the forest, and held it there, teetering over the long plunge towards the unforgiving ground. Yet my hesitation, as I stared into its sallow eyes, even then focused and questioning, was to be my undoing.

I heard three frantic knocks at the door behind me, which, as I turned in surprise of my own, swung open. In the doorway, armed with a sabre and a candlestick, stood Henry Clerval, uncomprehending of the scene displayed before him. Unguarded, my strength wavered, the monster pulled me off of the ledge.

"Victor!"

I saw his light shrink to a pinpoint as the monster and I tumbled down. I felt weightless and unbearably free. Never would the demon grasp a neck in its hideous fingers, and never would I feel the pains of my great sin. I waited breathlessly for heaven's embrace.

But it was not heaven that was to embrace me. A sickening crack and an unbearable pain splintered through my spine. As I lay there, legs unmoving and tears choking out my screams, the monster lifted me into its arms, and I at last understood the evil I had created.

"Demon! You, who hath stolen my happiness, my health, and my best years from me! You, whose very existence threatened the lives of those I hold most dear! You, who even now denies me oblivion's embrace and carries me into your foul abode! You have destroyed everything that defines me, and so I define you! I name you, fiend! You are Frankenstein!"

That twisted leer upon its face once more, it carried me into the dark, unknowable forest.

From the journal of Victor Frankenstein,

Author of his own Nemesis

One last note: This prologue is the only part yet completed. In other words, it's still entirely open to suggestions! Also, don't expect terribly regular updates. I'm rather lazy.