It was Tao who first became aware of the situation, as was generally the case. His specialized security system had only been installed at the school for a few months but already it detected the enemy the minute they arrived and sent a beeping message to his phone, which was situated in his back pocket as he and Takeo patrolled the outside of the school.
M-21 was on the inside and as his specialty was direct attacks of power that about matched those of Tao and Takeo together, the three had split up for this rotation.
The classrooms inside had darkened quickly as the sun made its way to the spot of sky right above the school and the poor guards were sweltering in their black suits. All three of them wanted to suggest taking off the outer jackets but after considering Frankenstein's wrath, they had all unknowingly decided to keep the wish to themselves.
At least they weren't as unlucky as Rael Kertia, who was guarding the roof in his full Lukedonia attire. Not only was it pitch black, but the outfit had multiple thick layers to prevent damage in battle. Tao personally was beginning to wonder if they should check on him to make sure he didn't pass out.
Tao was about to voice this half serious observation to his companion but the beeping of the phone distracted him. He quickly pulled the device out and glanced at the screen. His body immediately tensed and Takeo stopped walking next to him. The system was detecting a strong threat approaching from the East, with power nearing that of a clan leader.
Takeo tapped Tao on the shoulder and he looked up to see Rael standing on the edge of the roof, squinting in the same direction that the threat was coming from. Huh. Tao would never say it to the arrogant noble's face but his observational skills were really quite amazing if he noticed the threat so soon, considering the system had a range of several miles. Maybe that training with Karias was paying off.
Tao glanced back at the phone, which was beeping louder and louder as the target got closer to the school. If not for how conditioned he'd become to supernatural speed, the readings would have had him tapping the side of the phone to make sure they were real. Whoever was coming, they were coming very, very fast.
Takeo seemed ready to jump into battle but Tao held him back. If the target got just a little closer he'd be able to pinpoint what kind of threat it was.
A couple more seconds passed and the target didn't slow down at all, in fact it seemed to get faster. It passed the inner ring and the reading came up on Tao's sensors. Werewolf. And pure-blood too.
When Tao had installed the system, he'd had to be careful with how much werewolf DNA he set the system to search for because if he wasn't clear the alarm would react to M-21's werewolf heart and then would be useless for detecting any real werewolves.
The system dinged again and to Tao's surprise he found that there was also a match in the database to a previous enemy. He frowned. What was the 5th elder doing here? She seemed to be alone too, which was really out of the ordinary as werewolves and union elders alike generally traveled in pairs. It was only the nobles who ever went solo, for reasons Tao couldn't fathom.
They would have to figure out something soon, she didn't appear to be stopping.
With a rush of displaced air Rael appeared next to Tao. In the past he would have charged in immediately but after the nightmare-inducing incident with the kitchen he'd gained a grudging respect for the young hacker.
"Someone is coming, are we going to attack?"
That was Rael, always right to the point.
"I'm not sure. The system identifies her as the 5th elder."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's attack now, before she makes it to the school."
Tao chanced to lay a conciliatory hand on Rael's shaking shoulders.
"I would, but she's traveling alone. She doesn't seem like the type of person to attack alone, she's much too intelligent."
"Then what are we doing? Just waiting?"
Takeo looked around quickly, making sure no one had noticed Rael's raised voice. Tao put a finger to his lips then smiled at the blonde noble.
"We'll meet her outside the gate and find out what she wants. If she's attacking, the three of us should be able to handle it and if not the boss is close by."
Rael didn't look very pleased with the patient option but after glancing upwards at the window where the Noblesse usually sat he sighed and began trudging towards the gate.
Once they all lined up it took the 5th elder about thirty seconds to arrive. She skidded to the front walkway, barely out of breath for having run what was at least six miles in the system radius alone. It was also remarkable to see that she was not wearing the white and gold robes of a union elder but instead a pair of dark navy jeans and a pleated parchment colored blouse.
Tao stepped forward, smiling dangerously.
"Is there anything we can do for you, Lady Werewolf?"
She grimaced slightly at the nickname but chose to response civilly rather than with her teeth.
"I have a message for Frankenstein from Dr. Crombel."
Tao chuckled. "Oh you do? Would it hurt so much to wait until school lets out and he can talk to you in a more…controlled setting."
The message was clear. You and your destructive transformation can take it to the smackdown space or leave it. But the 5th elder was not so easily deterred.
"Believe me, I would love nothing more than to take Frankenstein on, but the message is urgent. Human lives will be lost if I don't tell him soon."
Tao's eyes darkened and Rael gritted his teeth audibly. There was a moment's tense pause then Tao waved a hand towards the school.
"We will escort you to his office. I'm sure I don't need to tell you what will happen if this is a trap."
The 5th elder nodded. Forming a triangle, the three walked quickly through the school, trying to get to Frankenstein's office in an orderly fashion while avoiding as many students as possible. When they reached the large elm doors Tao knocked once and upon hearing Frankenstein's quiet "come in," he opened the door inward and allowed the lady werewolf to enter before closing the door and walking away.
As he strode back down the hallway Rael called out to him in a whisper-yell.
"Why are we leaving her with him? Shouldn't someone be in there with them?"
Tao laughed lightly.
"The boss would be touched by your concern but I'm pretty sure he can take care of himself."
Rael scoffed and turned on his heel, muttering something about heading back up to the roof.
The 5th elder, meanwhile, walked straight up to the jet black desk and smirked at the lithe back of the man who sat behind it.
"Miss me?" She breathed.
The corner of his mouth twitched but he didn't turn around.
"With every knife so far, Fiery Woman."
She sighed and dared to flick the back of his head a little.
"My name is Lunark, you may as well use it."
He actually turned around at this and she flinched a little at the proximity but it didn't seem to bother him at all.
"Lunark," he began. She swore he purposely rolled the two syllables around to three on the tip of his tongue, just trying to get a rise out of her. "To what do I owe this unexpected and unappreciated visit?"
"So rude. I ran all the way from headquarters to get here," she complained.
He stared right into her eyes, a deceivingly pleasant smile still painting his lips.
"You still haven't answered the question."
She snagged an armchair and lifted it with ease off the floor before placing it in front of the desk. Plopping down in it and crossing her arms, Lunark glared back at him.
"I told your little guards I was here with a life-threatening message from Dr. Crombel."
A lesser woman wouldn't have noticed it but Lunark instantly saw how Frankenstein's finger curled tighter around his pencil and his back tensed as though he was preparing to run out of the office. Mentally she gave him a nod of approval. Outwardly she shook her head at him, playing the exasperated guest.
"Calm down Franky, that's not why I'm here."
She heard a slight choked sound and looked up. Frankenstein had sat back fully in his chair, his hand over his mouth, and his eyes wide. She leaned forward slightly and he leaned back, his hand covering his mouth even more, but she still noticed the childish blush painting the tips of his cheekbones.
The air in the room suddenly seemed much too thin; with one word she had changed the game. She should honestly be making fun of him, a man of about 1000 years, embarrassed by a nickname, but it must have been contagious and she found herself floundering the conversation on.
"W-What? Has no one ever given you a nickname before?"
Great, now she was stammering. He leaned back into his desk, folding his hands in front of his lips but still couldn't look at her.
"No, of course not. But the nicknames I generally get are some variation of 'you monster,' 'betrayer of humanity,' and my personal favorite, 'please don't kill me.'"
Lunark breathed again. The mysterious tension that had coated them had hopefully dissipated.
"I only wish my own lived up to the masterful power conveyed by 'please don't kill me.'"
On the word "masterful" a little bit of the tension came back. Calm Frankenstein was still somewhere back in time, blushing, but Sadist Frankenstein took the comment in stride.
"Is Fiery Woman not strong enough? Lady Werewolf is also a personal favorite."
Lunark just smirked at him. The air was clear and the blue eyes of the man across from her were sparkling with the most devious of mischiefs. She could have rested in this silence forever.
Unfortunately he chose to break it, waving his hand lazily across the space above his desk and moving the conversation on.
"If you aren't here with a message from Crombel, then why are you here?"
Lunark had felt prepared to say what she wanted next but in the moment of confession she felt suddenly very awkward, as though the sleepless hours of figuring out what to do had all been for nothing. Frankenstein noticed that the fun had dropped out of her expression and furrowed his brows a little.
"What's wrong?" He even dared to ask.
She looked back up at him, realizing exactly how little she really knew him. They'd met a couple times in battle but she really had no idea what his values were. Maybe it was a mistake to trust him so quickly. Then she flashed back to countless faceless union meetings, battles that were more just series of backstabbings, and the terror-filled screams she could sometimes hear at night, coming from the underground labs. She may not know Frankenstein or any of the nobles well, but they were the lesser of two evils. Taking a deep breath, she entrusted her fate to Frankenstein's hands.
"I need to talk to two people and only you can get me to them."
She saw suddenly, in the depths of his eyes, the scientist, the intellect that was still hundreds of years ahead of the union in genetic modification. His voice was breathlessly low when he responded.
"And who would these two people be?"
"The Noblesse and Lord Muzaka."
Frankenstein's aura became very defensive.
"And why would you want to speak with them?"
Lunark stiffened her back.
"I have been a part of the union for years, I am even one of their most high ranking members. Yet, recently I haven't been able to help but notice that their morals do not coincide with mine. They support baseless conflict full of underhanded beatdowns where the strong take advantage of the weak. They keep life-threatening secrets from those who need them most. And they hurt people, so, so many people, humans, werewolves, nobles, I am beginning to think their only true goal is chaos."
She hadn't even noticed it but she was shaking as she spoke, so overcome with hatred and confusion long suppressed by duty. Frankenstein stood from his desk and walked over to her, prompting her to stand and notice with mild annoyance that he had just an inch or two on her. He looked her right in the eyes, their profiles so close as to cause their shadows to cross. When he spoke next it was half a question and half a statement.
"You want to defect."
She nodded. He kept up the uncomfortable closeness for a moment more then nodded to himself and began to pace around her in small circles, having become suddenly completely at ease with the situation. She was left to stare at him as he muttered his way around her.
"We'll have to introduce you to the kids somehow. We've used the transfer student line much too often already and, no offense, you don't look like a teen."
She frowned despite herself.
"Hmm."
Lunark felt a nagging sense of frustration growing with every circle of his dress shoes. He suddenly snapped his fingers and spun to face her.
"How do you feel about joining the security team?"
That was it. She took a single step forward and pulled him up by his white dress shirt, not wanting to ruin the intricacy of his tie.
"I just told you I want to switch sides in a war and that's all you can say? You trust me already? Are you insane?!"
"Yes, no of course not, and absolutely. I've crossed blades with you and seen your spirit in battle. Oddly enough, that's how I've gotten to know most people. So I trust your desire to defect even if I don't trust you completely. Make no mistake, I am keeping a very close eye on you, I am just confident that wherever I place you, someone who can take you out will be close at hand."
He chuckled and set his hands on top of hers.
"And as for the insanity, you've seen that for yourself."
He was about to gently uncurl her fingers from his shirt when the door to the office burst open and Shinwoo came stumbling in, yelling something about a future video game night. He stopped in the middle of his sentence and step when he saw them, causing Ik Han, Yuna, and Suyi to bump harshly into him. Shinwoo's face quickly heated up and he sputtered out something as he tried his hardest to back out of the door.
"I'm so sorry to interrupt, Director Lee, I didn't know, I-I'll just be going now."
Lunark stiffened when she realized how they looked. Frankenstein was half sitting on the edge of his desk and her fingers were wrapped around his shirt collar with his hands lightly on top of hers. It wasn't giving quite the threatening impression the situation really deserved.
The minute the door shut she looked up at him and saw one of his signature psychotic smiles grinning back. Without hesitating she smacked him. He only laughed and she knew the mark would heal quickly with all of his physical modifications. He turned back to her, still smiling.
"Who's the flustered little schoolgirl now?"
"Oh please, you shouldn't be this immature for your age."
"Don't think you can use 'disappointed Mom' on me."
Lunark gasped and rounded on him, furious.
"Well if I'm your mother, I'm going to have to ground you for being a sarcastic bastard!"
Frankenstein spread his hands wide.
"I only go to school and home anyway. There's not much grounding that can be done."
"You don't even go out to secretly buy cinnamon rolls?"
His mouth fell open.
"You-who told you about that?"
"Yuri said your bag was full of them when he and Dr. Arith took you. He was laughing because the top half of the bag was vegetables and the bottom half was cinnamon rolls of all different flavors."
"You have no right to insult my cinnamon roll intake."
"Oh don't I? You call me Lady Werewolf like I'm the only female of my species."
"I was under the impression you preferred Fiery Woman."
From outside the door Shinwoo and the others glanced at each other in shock. There were terms in the conversation that didn't make much sense but it was the novelty of the past three minutes that was really getting them. Director Lee, first seemingly making eyes at a mysterious woman in his office now letting himself get worked up and arguing with her about cinnamon rolls and nicknames of all things!
Shinwoo glanced over at Suyi and Yuna who looked slightly less shocked and had been snickering quietly in the corner for a while.
"What are they doing?"
Suyi looked up between tear filled eyes.
"I believe they are having a sass-off."
Shinwoo scoffed and turned back to the door, listening to the rhythmic notes of Director Lee and his mysterious lady's voices as the most nonsensical argument he had ever heard continued comfortably on to the last bell of the day.
Author's note: I will go down with this ship. This was meant to originally be a one-shot but if someone requests it I may be able to continue it. I hope you enjoyed this story, please R&R.