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Part 1

The ship crashes against violent waves, its sails flying as everything around him jerks in different directions. The sound of wood creaking and buckling seems quiet under the howling wind. Sea spray jumps up many metres high and stings his eyes, the taste of salt sticking to the back of his mouth. Frankenstein flinches. The world spins. Storm clouds roll over the sky like the ocean toils around him. The horizon seems hardly there. Frankenstein is awake.

Lightning clashes; he's blinded. One side of the ship flashes white as it rises above the waters before it comes back down hard, bashing against waves. Frankenstein is thrown forward. His stomach knocks into the rails. It's hard to differentiate rain from seawater. Frankenstein shakes his head, trying to get his bearings. He wills himself to focus and the world stops spinning so abruptly that its nauseating all the same.

He must secure the sails. Frankenstein runs across the deck. He finds rope in his hands and he pulls instinctively, like he's done this before. Tying one end down, he rushes to get to the others. His footsteps splash on the flooded deck. The ship will capsize before he manages to tie this all down and direct the ship out of the storm's worst.

Raizel is at the head of the ship, hands still at his side behind the wheel. He watches him.

Frankenstein closes his eyes hard. When he opens them, Raizel is gone. Tao stands where he stood. Tao is struggling with the wheel, stopping it from recklessly spinning and trying to force it to turn away from the storm. He buckles and the wheel rushes in the opposite direction before he slams his body against it. Huffing, Tao turns his head up and waves three fingers at him. "Got this, Boss!"

Over at the other end of the ship, a rope snags tight. M-21 heaves the next one. A gust of wind drags him the wrong way before he corrects himself. "Frankenstein, on your right!"

Frankenstein huffs at them, but it's as if they were always there. He forgets that he was ever alone. Frankenstein dives for the last rope before pulling it back and securing it. The ship rocks dangerously, water splashing aboard and flooding to their ankles. One of the ropes snap. It flies up and the loose sail flaps wildly. Regis appears out of nowhere, catching it mid flip and landing on the railing. M-21 comes and ties it down.

"Hey, Boss," Tao calls tentatively. "I think we're going down…"

"No we're not." Frankenstein jumps onto the ledge next to Tao and then takes the wheel. "We're getting out of the Pacific. Hang on tight!"

Frankenstein turns the wheel effortlessly upright, ready to charge them out of the rapids. Another ship appears out of the blue right next to them. There is no possible way to not see it coming, but it's there, bobbing and ghostlike. There seems to be no one on board. Suddenly, there is distance between them again. Frankenstein grits his teeth. "Am I the only one seeing that?"

"Hey, Regis, you seeing that?" M-21 asks.

"I'm have eyes, M-21!" Regis goes to the side, eyeing the ship. "Watch out!"

Water explodes around them, showing seawater down like rain. "They're attacking!"

"This is getting way too specific," Tao says, squinting. "And way too real." A shot flies overhead, breaking off one of the masts of the ship. Frankenstein dives off the platform, pushing M-21 out of the way of the falling debris. "This can't be happening...it's a total outlier!"

"What — what are you doing? Don't worry about us, we'll just appear somewhere else!" M-21 says, pushing him off.

"Yeah," Tao starts, crouching next to them, "but it hurts in real life too. Just saying," he says, rubbing a shoulder.

"I've had enough of this." Frankenstein gets up, brushing off dry clothes on a wet day. "No one shoots at my employees. No one shoots at my student. Man the cannons. We're taking that ship down." With one bound he leaps back to controlling the ship.

"Man the what?" Tao's mouth droops open. He runs to the side of the ship, head darting around. "Oh my god, he's right. We've got cannons."

"If we have firepower then use it," Regis says, looking over the side with Tao.

Tao smiles weakly. "Hey, M-21, do you know how to ready sixteenth century ship cannons?"

But the cannons began working themselves. "Ah. Right. Not real."

The other ship was bombarded with firepower, the force of the blast reverberating back at them. The entire crew look on in silence. Frankenstein steers towards it to check. Pieces of deck cover the entire surface of the water like mismatched puzzle pieces. Something catches his eye on a piece of driftwood. Raizel's body floats, his head bobbing dangerously above water. Raizel floats away to where he can't see.

"Frankenstein, NO!"

Frankenstein is in the midst of jumping into the sea. "Master!"

He's already on the cliff and no time has passed. It's broad daylight. The sound of waves crash against the shore below. Raizel is in front of him.

"I'm here."

Frankenstein swallows. "There's something wrong about this. About you."

"Me?"

"You're not right."

Raizel stumbles back, mouth opening. "You don't trust me anymore."

Frankenstein has a choice to make — to say what he remembers, or to say what he wants to say. He says what he wants to say. "I do trust you — I want to trust you, but—"

He hears the shot before he sees the red. The sound of it echoes all the way down the bay. Blood seeps through Raizel's white clothes. Raizel is shot through the chest. And Frankenstein is too shocked to even cry out.

"Please get away from my Boss." Takeo steps out from behind him, gun trained on Raizel.

"And you, Frankenstein," he adds, "you step away from the edge."

"TAKEO! — WHAT DID YOU—"

"Principal!" Regis goes to shield Takeo. "Please think about it! This isn't reality!"

Frankenstein blinks, looking back in Raizel's direction. He's gone.

"He's the enemy, Frankenstein. We have to get you away from him."

Takeo tucks his gun away. "He's already influenced you. It's alright — we're here to escort you safely to the next plane."

"The less you get into contact with the false Noblesse the better," Regis adds.

Frankenstein lingers awhile, digesting the information. He isn't so sure why he accepts it so quickly, but it's Takeo and Regis. "Alright. Alright. That was just…jarring to see…"

Takeo smiles a little. "Yeah. Sorry. But hey, at least you're starting to figure things out. You remember a lot."

"I…" Frankenstein shakes his head. "I don't remember enough. I can't retain it — I only know that something has come before. You're trying to get me out of here but I can't stay impartial." He takes a deep, shuddering breath. "It's Master — how can I not differentiate what's him or not?" Frankenstein winces. He doesn't even care that the children can see his shame.

Takeo rests a hand on his shoulder. "Frankenstein, this world was designed you keep you here. It's hard to break the trance. That's why we're here to guide you." Takeo goes to the edge, looking downwards. "Sir Raizel was the one that sent us here. The real Sir Raizel." He turns around, smiling genuinely. "Once we get you out you'll know that there's absolutely nothing wrong with you. This place messes with us all."

"Wait — Tao told me to find out what the cliffside area is," Regis pipes up. "Principal, do you have any recollection of this place?"

Frankenstein takes one more look around. It comes easily. "Sorrento, Italy. I came here during my travels," he says fondly. "I could never forget this view."

Takeo and Regis share a look before turning around. The sunset had engulfed the sky in fire. "How long have we been here?" Takeo asks.

"Time doesn't work the same here," Regis answers. "Principal, you should move onto the next place."

Frankenstein nods. "How do I get there?"

Takeo looks around uncomfortably. "I guess, the same way as usual. According to M-21 — down."

Frankenstein peers down the cliff. "Tao said not to fall. That was to keep me in the same area for a longer time. The only way to get free is to reach the end, isn't it?"

Regis goes next to him. "The end is where it's easiest for us to slip in and out. It's worth a try." Regis holds out his hand stoically. "We'll find you in the next world, Principal. You have my word."

In spite of everything, Frankenstein breaks into a smile. He clasps Regis's hand, shaking it strongly. "See you soon, Regis. And you, Takeo."

Just like that, Frankenstein walks off the cliff. He lands in cold, and no sense that he is falling ever comes over him. The blizzard rages around him as his hair ices up. He crosses his arms, trekking into the snow. He knows that he needs to find someone and that thought keeps him going. A figure appears before him, hair as white as the snow around her. Seira turns around, relaxing as soon as she sees him. "Chairman! You're alright."

"Why would I not be?" he jokes. "I believe you know where to go from here, Miss Seira?"

She shakes her head. "We've tried everything — going in the opposite direction, letting you lead…we're going to end up at the same place regardless," she says.

"So what do we do?" Frankenstein asks, though he doesn't know which place they were supposed to end up in at all.

"We're going to go as this place pleases. Except that we're all coming with you." Seira turns to one side, whispering to no one. "I've found him."

"Nice one, Seira!" Tao says from beside Frankenstein.

"Nothing creepy has happened yet, right?" M-21 asks.

"I keep my word, Principal," Regis pipes up.

Takeo hoists up his weapon. "We're all here?"

"It seems so." Frankenstein turns slowly, regarding them all. A wave of fondness swells in his chest, something he can't help. All the children he'd taken in, they'd come for him. They won't leave without him. "So now we all walk as an inexplicably giant moving target?"

"That's the idea, Boss."

"I see."

They walk, expecting to hit the ice. It doesn't come. Instead, bare branches and whiteness meet them wherever they turn. Frankenstein leads the group, stopping every so often to headcount. He fears that one of them will drop off the map and he'll never even notice. Maybe one of them already has and he just hasn't noticed. Maybe there is no one behind him at all. He keeps counting. There are six of them in total. There are five children behind him. Snow crunches beneath his feet. Another figure is obscured by the branches. He nears him, already knowing who it is.

"Master."

"What?!" Tao shouts, getting in front of him. "Where?"

"He's…" Frankenstein drifts off, shaking his head. "Never mind. I think that was just in my mind." He counts again. There are six of them in total. There are five children around him.

"This is your mind, Frankenstein," Takeo says matter-of-factly. "Form a barrier around him." The group moves, Tao and Seira and Regis on one end, M-21 and Takeo on the other.

"What do mean, a barrier?" Frankenstein repeats after a lapse, a bit annoyed. He doesn't want any of them to get hurt. This is a terrible idea.

"We got hired for security, Boss," Tao states professionally. "And that's what we're about to do. Secure the school principal," he says, electric cables coiled around his fists, battle ready. "That's what the man's paying us for."

"Not us," Regis remarks with a roll of his eyes.

"That's because you're a freeloader," M-21 adds snidely.

Regis's nose flared. "I will have you know I am Lukedonia's ambassador."

"Seira is Lukedonia's ambassador. What are you?"

"Principal, Tao and M-21 are being utterly indignant!"

"Boss," Tao starts, "Regis is picking on his younger peers again."

"Tao, stop it," Takeo states sharply.

"Wha- me? Look at them!"

Something scuttles past white branches. They all stop. They linger a moment, watching. The snow veils everything, even sound. Frankenstein shifts, realising the change. The sound of his breaths have stopped abruptly, though he still breathes. His footsteps don't crunch in the snow and wind howls in his face without sound. The others don't seem to notice it. A flash of light pulls his attention to Takeo and Frankenstein realises he's fired into the forest. Looking back once and opening his mouth, he freezes, eyes going wide. Takeo gives a knowing look, accepts it, and breaks from the group.

What are you doing?

Frankenstein sees a glimpse of Raizel. He glimpses him up ahead and then he's gone, but the image of him stays and what is Master doing? He goes towards him. Regis blocks him with a hand and gestures to Seira before running off in that direction. Tremors shake the place and it's the only way to know that Takeo's engaged in battle somewhere. There are three children left braced around him.

Raizel locks eyes with Frankenstein. He's everywhere. He mouths words. Frankenstein catches them:

Remember me.

M-21 points to the distance, where Raizel had been. He grits his teeth, sharing a look with Frankenstein before he goes off. Frankenstein wants to stop him but Raizel is there again, watching. M-21 follows his line of sight and haunches when he sees Raizel too. With a flick, he transforms his claws and treks into heavy snow. Frankenstein continues moving, eyes darting everywhere to no end. Something cracks beneath his feet. He looks down. A silver cross earring lays in the snow. When he looks up again, Raizel is only a few feet before him. He smiles. Calmly, he smiles back.

"Chairman — don't be fooled!" Seira's voice is harsh and shrill at his side. She takes his sleeve and brashly pulls him backwards. Frankenstein breaks eye contact with him and when he looks again, Raizel's gone. As Seira pulls him back, sound turns back on as if someone has flipped a switch. She touches a hand to Tao, determination set in every part of her. "I'll do it — stay with the Chairman."

Tao grabs her before she leaves. "No! You're the strongest of the group right now. Whatever happens, you stay with Boss. I'll do the yeti hunting."

A beat passes. Seira nods.

"Wait! — Tao!" Frankenstein cries.

Tao smirks, giving him a thumbs up. "Stay with Seira, Frankenstein. I can distract him."

"Tao," Seira asks urgently, "Do we still follow what comes? Do we go on the ice or try to stop it?!"

Tao stands there, lost for words. "I don't know."

"I do," Frankenstein says. "Face him." Alone. He knows what this is, he knows that the children are being picked off one by one. He knows what's coming.

Tao smiles, and then they part ways.

They are walking on thin ice. The atmosphere grows colder and before they know it, they are walking through thick fog. The six metres ahead are visible, but all is shrouded in mist. Seira gets out her soul weapon immediately, pulling the glint of the crescent scythe into being from nonexistence. With a circular swipe, she beats back the fog. It is useless. It seems to lunge back, unaffected, though Frankenstein doesn't remember the period between Seira clearing the atmosphere and when it becomes thick with white once again. The ice echoes into a distance they can't see.

"Seira," Frankenstein asks as they slowly walk the ice. "What happens to me when I see him?"

"Pardon? Chairman?"

Frankenstein sighs. "The objective this round is to stop me from meeting him. What happens to me if I do?"

Seira lowers Death Scythe, thinking on it. "I'm not sure, Chairman. But you remember, don't you?"

"Remember what?"

"Us. What we are doing here and where you've been." Seira bites her lip, continuing. "What happened before you fell into the snow?"

It comes simply to him and he chuckles. "Regis gave me his word."

"I wouldn't know the answer to that, but the fact that you do means that it's working." Seira pointed Death Scythes into the fog again, doing what she can to dissipate it. "Before, you met him in every plane. He makes you forget everything, so that you'll fall and fall a thousand times and never be privy to it." Her voice had taken a sinister tone as she held in her anger.

Red gleams in the fog before him. Frankenstein reacts. "North, Seira!"

Seira jumps into action, going at dangerous speeds on the thin ice to put space between Frankenstein and the false Raizel. "Chairman! Don't look at him if you can help it! Don't listen to him!"

Frankenstein hears her but doesn't nod.

Seira marches into the fog. The clash of weapons echo across the surface and Frankenstein goes towards it, trying to find Seira. Seira skids backwards, hair strewn before her. Frankenstein catches her as she comes to a stop. "Chairman, I need you to run."

"Where is he?"

"You need to get away from here."

"He's there, isn't he?"

"Please!" Seira pushes him away and takes a step back, stepping back into the fog. "I don't know how much longer we can do this but you can't be ensnared by him. I'll distract this one while you make it across!"

Before he can protest, Seira walks and disappears into the fog. The distant sounds of a fight make his hairs stand on end. It sounds too distant compared to where he saw Seira leave from right before him, making no sense. Frankenstein continues on alone. The ice creaks and moans and he hears a crack.

"Stand back, Frankenstein," a voice calls as they pull him towards them by his hand.

Frankenstein retracts his arm immediately. "It's you."

He's alone with him.

"It's me," Raizel breathes.

Raizel, and that thing on his face that he doesn't want to call a smile, too toothy, too wide, with nothing behind the eyes. His expression looks like how it feels after one did not wipe their tears when crying, letting it dry and become stiff like a mask.

"What do you want from me?" Frankenstein keeps his eyes downcast.

"You are the one who called for me," Raizel answers.

Frankenstein huffs, looking up at the sky and then dipping his head in lampoon. "You've never lied to me before so openly before."

"It is not a lie. I can only exist if you will it."

"It is my will that you leave me be," Frankenstein states civilly.

It goes silent for a long time.

"What will you do without me?" Raizel asks softly.

"What I've always done without you!" Frankenstein says, and maybe he's forgotten, or maybe he hasn't — he blatantly meets Raizel's eyes. "Survive!"

Raizel is crying. Tears roll off his face uncontrollably, his face creasing and sinking and before long his sobs echo across the ice. Frankenstein's breath stutters.

"I'll survive, I'll do anything to keep going to meet you again. I've waited for Cadis Etrama di Raizel for so long, I can't fall here." Frankenstein looks this Raizel in his watery eyes, making it clear to him, "You're not real."

All of the sudden, the fog is abruptly whisked away, Frankenstein in the epicentre as it vanishes from the middle of the lake to the edge of it. Then figures of people turn in confusion, eyes widening when they realise where they are. Seira, Regis, Takeo, Tao and M-21 are all on the ice with him.

"Boss!"

"—Frankenstein?!"

By the time they've called out, this Raizel has thrown himself forward, gripping Frankenstein's back and letting his tears fall in his hair and on his shoulders. Frankenstein freezes, unsure what to do. Raizel grips him tight, just crying. Then, on instinct or reflex, he puts his arms around him, too. He holds him before he realises that he is tipping, Raizel's weight pushing him down as he falls backwards onto ice that never touches him. He falls through it, seemingly submerging himself straight to water without the splash, and he realises that the ice above has not even broken as he begins to sink. It doesn't even look like ice — too smooth and perfect. It looks like glass.

Immediately, he's in the room with the chair and the map — the base in Korea. There is no one but him in the room. Frankenstein isn't working on the computer, doesn't need to play pretend anymore.

"M-21? Tao?" he waddles around the place, knocking into outdated items. "Regis? Seira?" He looks to the screen for some reason, squinting at it to do something. "Takeo? What am I doing?"

Frankenstein walks the length of the room, wondering if there was a way out. It's then that he realises that there is in fact no door. Four walls face him in all directions, a perfectly square room. The items he'd bumped into before — a shattered lamp, a dusty compass, and a bronze ruler — disappear. The bunker is completely empty. Except for the desk with the computer. Frankenstein hurries towards it, digging into the draws and finding gibberish on paper. Then,

To Boss.

From Tao and co.

Frankenstein rips the letter open, scanning it.

Hey Boss, we're experiencing technical difficulties.

You have to get out of this one yourself.

The handwriting changed into large block letters.

FRANKENSTEIN IF YOU SEE RAIZEL PROTECT YOURSELF AND PUNCH HIM.

Straight up sucker punch, someone else added.

Thirded^.

The next line was small and cursive.

If you cannot do that, Chairman, then please look away.

Get to the next plane.

"How do I get to the next plane?" Frankenstein mutters to himself, turning the sheet over to find nothing more. "There's nowhere to fall."

Days pass.

Frankenstein has been stuck in the bunker for days and no one has come, not even Raizel. He knocks his head back on the wall, his arms around his legs as he snuggles them closer. "…If I create a height to fall from…no, there's nothing…"

Time bleeds through him and he can't tell for sure how long he's been here. It feels like days but has time really been moving at all? The bunker's four walls seem to grow smaller.

Finally, Frankenstein gets up, staring at the floor and then at his fist. He summons his power, pulls back for momentum and aims the full force of the punch towards the ground. It splinters under his fist, shrouding him in white.

He's falling again, catching glimpses of another place as he falls right through. The mansion, the fireplace, an airy window…


Notes

Thank you so much for your patience. If you still remember, this was supposed to be part of last year's December event. Since I didn't do the valentines event I'm going to shove romance down your throats in the next chapter in a huge tonal shift I'm sorry.

Has anyone seen the Final Fantasy 15 'Omen' Trailer? Because I remember very clearly seeing this trailer and then going :O and then when I wrote this fic I had that in mind! Do watch it because honestly the trailer is some gorgeous work. You can find it on youtube, if you watch it you'll get what this fic is trying to emulate.

Laryna6 - Yes I thought the ship fight in this one was...incredibly weird. But I kept it. Tao is wearing the hat in this one too. Now he knows it's not Raizel he's trying to be not nice as possible but it looks like Raizel D: D:

Zealith - Thank you very much! Present tense is a weird one for me. But others do it perfectly!

Elims - The mirror hall is every time I'm ever in a hotel and I look down long, spooky corridors that are super long XD Very cool that it reminded you of that myth though. Husband/wife duo? The only thing that comes to mind is Hades and Persephone though I don't think that's what you mean...Yes! Siren Rai feels real until the Real Rai appears, and every time Real Rai appears Frankenstein knows instantly. Thank you for reviewing, Elims.

nobody yet - hahahha memento!

Pandora-twists - But that's prime M-21 and Tao heheheh! M-21 just doesn't want to stress him out. Tao's trying to be chill and make jokes for the same reason. These guys...

O.O - NICE theories. Got to wait for next chapter though. Ahhh yeah I did realise. I was tempted to put in the flashback backgrounds of Who is the Monster but didn't want to connect it to that too much. Thanks for reviewing!