Sanity: Version one

Got revamped to intensify impact oh, and this is M due to adult themes.

Frankenstein watched as his hands busied themselves with experiments and could only be glad that his contractor hadn't chosen to destroy all his ethical standards. He was still the only human he had experimented on, even if he was no longer the only subject.

Those hands deftly jolted down a few concise notes before his body stood and turned to those chained to the wall. He knew exactly the combination of herbs and liquids were used to make the poison coating them so the bound members of the Tradio clan unable to free themselves.

Another good reason to hate his contractor, unfortunately his passionate mind used any strong emotion that didn't immediately affect it to pull on the last of his uninfluenced will and bend it to the nobles.

The blood samples were collected and his manipulated self sat back down at the desk to continue testing. Frankenstein wondered if he should be pleased that this would leave him physically stronger and more able to escape if he ever found a way to remove the unwilling contract and get his body to fulfil the conditions.

Upset with himself he tried to focus on anything other than the experiments he was carrying out; it would lower the productivity of the enslaved part of his mind, and found himself in memory.

During the first few months of this false contract he had more autonomy. While he was still compelled to research for the basted noble he had been able to make snipping comments and occasionally through in some false evidence. He had already felt suffocated and such actions were all he could do to breathe.

Most nobles had more patience than humans due to their long lives his contractor had shown less. There was also the possibility that he hadn't been able to take the ribbing because it was from his bonded.

The night the noble had enough made the earlier treatment seem like a show of respect for all it was slavery. The barest fraction of the noble's soul that had entered him, when he had taken so much of Frankenstein's own, rebelled. Frankenstein wished he could call it an invasion or attack but that was when the contract was made now the noble energies were already within him.

The noble had reached into the core of him the parts of his soul that made him Frankenstein and pulled some out. Replacing it with an imitation of what used to be there a slavish devotional love for the noble. His core had screamed and split in two the noble had been there to make certain the fake part the part he had made was the one to gain primary control of Frankenstein.

It was painful to treat that basted with devotion and care and have some part of his self be happy. To watch behind a glass wall of the noble's influence as he lived a charade of joy and no one realised how false it was. Other nobles, beings of the soul to whom integrity was a vital part of existence, could not see that he was dying within himself.

The results to the current experiment wouldn't come through until at least twelve hours passed so the other he began to pack up. In a few minutes he would be reporting the days progress the basted noble then fuss over how his integrity was damaged to the point he was developing wrinkles.

The true Frankenstein could not care less except if convincing the noble to rediscover his integrity meant realising just how great the crimes he was committing were. He could help his intoxicated mind to persuade the noble but he had discovered a more productive exercise that could be done in the noble's presence.

When Lagus Tradio had pulled out part of Frankenstein true soul without consent he hadn't destroyed it; no the noble had stored it inside himself. When proximity permitted it Frankenstein could on occasion send the consciousness of his true self into the noble's mind.

It was an information foraging expedition because true or not the level of influence he could exert of his soul in another's mind was not enough to affect that mind. Doing this he had learnt everything the noble knew pertaining to him and a few rare titbits on other important subjects.

The Union had acquired one of his blood samples and given it to the noble.

Forcing this bond on Frankenstein was one of the worst crimes possible among nobles.

If any part of Frankenstein's true soul was destroyed outright he would become brain dead until it regenerated itself.

There were werewolves in the union and if Tradio was not as strong as Frankenstein's knowledge had promised he could be very shortly the noble would be held accountable for his crimes.

Lagus wasn't thinking of a specific event during this meeting then so knowledge pertaining to Frankenstein had gathered around the soul fragment. Normally that meant the effort to enter the others mind was wasted but the last part. Lagus had never thought he would be held accountable before, convinced that he had moved slyly enough that no one realised what he was up to.

Frankenstein felt dread because any force that could hold a clan leader accountable in the ways of nobles would without doubt destroy the parts of his soul within the noble and there was nothing he could do.

Shock breaking his concentration Frankenstein found himself back in his own mind. The only solace was that soon for nobles was very different than soon for humans. He had been mind bent for not yet two years. In that time he had discovered that he could gain temporary control of his body when he was emotional enough that his aura slipped through the glass wall of the noble's making.

A few more years and he may even be able to extend that temporary control to last a full moment so something could be done with it.

The other he fell asleep on the carpeted floor by the noble's feet. The image left his uninfluenced self disgusted but that part of his soul also needed rest.

XXX

Frankenstein had only recently increased his strength enough to risk catching just one of the traitorous central order knights alive when the noble had gotten his blood. He was considering the possibility of creating a human version of the clan leaders' soul weapons but had been unable to put the thought to paper before his mind was over taken, how? His new contractor already had a soul weapon so he squashed that idea immediately.

XXX

Frankenstein was always aware of the noble in that forgettable way you are always aware of the clothes you are dresses in. You know they are there but it gets put to the back of your mind unless they get caught on something.

So it was a few months later while Frankenstein was cheerfully [in utter most agony] researching ways to imitate an item from noble folklore that he felt the catch in his strange bond with Lagus. While both halves of his mind had very different reasons they were both in agreement that they wanted to know what was going on. The bond opened, it was made of greed but now it was full of fear and awe.

[The Ideal] had taken a drop of Lagus' blood used it to grab hold of his mind in the way that was legal for nobles, its aura wrapped itself around the part of Frankenstein's true soul in Tradio and returned it. [The Ideal] pushed it back through the bond and in return most of Lagus' soul left Frankenstein following the same root in reverse.

Lagus Tradio was condemned [your sins will be buried with your blood] and Frankenstein was fully in control of his body once more.

The first thing he did was release the Tradio nobles who had been sent here because they realised their leader was sinning and the next he collapsed in tears not sure what to do with himself as the world faded black.

XXX

When Frankenstein opened his eyes it didn't immediately register that he was free of the bastard. He waited for the self that was not him to get up with its usual enthusiasm and begin the day. Nothing happened.

When he recalled the dizzying moments just before he collapsed Frankenstein wondered why the nobles he had freed had let him live. Then again he had freed the one who were sent to him for being to perceptive so they could well have realised he was under false contract.

He sat up, or tried to. It was difficult to summon the will to move, difficult to find a reason to get up. He had realised long ago that nobles didn't need to be physically present to force a bond and as careful as he had become he would never be certain that no one had his blood.

So when the drive to violate the sanctuary of his mind had come more powerful that he had considered possible. He had rushed through the drill he had practiced at least a dozen times and burnt his current base down around him taking no souvenirs.

The noble had then gotten through his mental defences completely and made him save himself.

Now he owed [The Ideal] everything he had wrest back from Lagus' grasp which meant the only thing he had that was his alone was his life. What was he life compared to the integrity of his soul?

Frankenstein lay in bed for at least two hours before the door to this strange room opened. A noble came in weaker than a clan leader but one that had definitely trained their will and Frankenstein found a reason to move.

He was on his feet and throwing things at the noble with barely a thought. Who escaped back through the door it had entered and closed it behind them. Rapping his arms around his quickly cooling body Frankenstein shuddered at the possibility that any one of them could get to his blood.

A sent hit his nostrils and his stomach growled; Frankenstein belatedly realised that the noble had brought a bowl of thin gruel into the room. It was now spilled over the floor, an uneatable mess. He wanted it clean; there was a jug of water on the bedside table and rags located in the cupboard so cleaning up wasn't a problem even if it didn't meet Frankenstein's standards.

There was a knock on the door.

"What do you want? What do you want from me?"

A moment of silence as the noble on the other side did something, than a response. "I want to bring food into the room and I want you to permit it so the previous instance does not repeat."

That was terrifying but entirely reasonable. Frankenstein pushed the furniture around. Placed the side table right by the door used the bed as a physical barrier in the centre of the room spread a sheet between the bed and a chair so he could see the noble without the noble seeing him. Fetched the pillow that had hit the wall earlier and used it as a weight so the sheet wouldn't move. He grabbed other ammunition from the cupboard that was too heavy to move quickly.

The noble was still waiting outside he could feel their aura and Frankenstein realised could likely feel the remains of Tradio aura in him. He still needed food.

"Come in put the food down and leave no funny business." Suspicion coated every word but Frankenstein couldn't hide it; wouldn't even if he could after all that have happened.

The man who came in immediately noticed the table and placed the food there but when he turned to leave it was in the direction that would let him see the rest of the room.

"Get out!" Frankenstein screamed and throws some of his ammunition, a bucket, in the general area of the nobles head. They/he got out very fast; just slow enough for the human eye to follow. Somewhere in the back of his mind Frankenstein realised that was very considerate. Most of him was just clambering that the noble tried to meet his eyes and use mind control.

He was human and after what was done to his soul he wouldn't have any sense of security for a long long time; would he ever?

For now he would check if the food was drugged.

XXX

It was not even a week and already the nobles had developed a pattern based around Frankenstein. All conversation would be held through the door just before breakfast. Three meals would be brought in each day, placed on the side table still situated by the door before the noble turned in the direction of the wall before leaving. Dirty things would also be placed on that table to be removed and replaced during the next meal.

They would always ask if Frankenstein was ready to see a doctor. They would always provide Frankenstein with material requests as long as it could be carried by one noble along with the human food. Mostly that was journals and pens but there were also herbs beakers, other necessities like toilet paper and enough water to wash in.

Frankenstein found continuing medical experiments he had put on hold due to the die urgency of mutant attacks very calming. Any other emotion but calm had him extremely melodramatic, it was almost childish. His mind was no longer a sanctuary there was nothing certain and Frankenstein could tell his soul was fragile enough to fall apart with the slightest shock.

He said as much to the nobles constantly outside his door when they asked him to see a doctor. He didn't know what had motivated the action; it was hard to tell whether or not that was an improvement. He didn't lie in bed for hours at a time any more.

XXX

There was a change in routine or rather an addition. While talking through the door he was informed that the Lord intended to visit him and was unlikely to respect his sense of privacy. Frankenstein asked for cloth so he could make new clothes.

XXX

This would be his first visitor since before Tradio and as it was the lord of the nobles Frankenstein did not want to represent humanity as weak. So he prepared to exercise as much self control as he could when those red eyes fell upon him. He rearranged the room so it was possible for two people to sit down and talk.

It was all for nought. The moment that blond head started to turn in his direction the fear bubbled up and he was throwing things. The Lord did not leave the room like all the others but avoided the projectiles until Frankenstein ran out of convenient things to throw. Then the lord sat down on the chair that Frankenstein had planned for him and smiled.

Frankenstein had backed himself into the far wall when the noble stepped toward him then frozen in terror when the projectiles had run out but that smile had a strange quality that angered him. Using that fury as strength he approached the noble and then stiffly sat on the chair he had intended for him.

Both chairs faced the same window on an angle so the occupant could almost be considered to be facing each other.

"I heard that you are Lagus' bonded," a furious snarl ripped itself from Frankenstein's maw, "and that the contract was unwilling." The Lord turned his head just enough to look Frankenstein in the eye and the human froze.

"As a contractor you are considered to be under Lukedonian law and while I wish to apologise for the way our clan leader treated you. I have been informed he was unrepentant until the end, to the point our Noblesse deemed him unworthy of joining the soul weapon of his clan.

None of my people would mind keeping you here as you are indefinitely while your soul heals but I understand humans are very different than nobles; you will never recover like this. I have enquired about the possibility of returning you to the human populations but those who know you call for your death and those who don't have no way of dealing with your strength."

The noble lord gazed at Frankenstein as if he expected the human to have something to say for himself but while the anger was enough to keep him from fear and he knew he would have had plenty to say before Tradio; Frankenstein had nothing to offer the Lord in words or action.

The Lord sighed when he kept his silence, "Who do you trust Frankenstein?" Trust? Everyone he trusted was dead by age or the design of his enemies. A thought nudged at his mind a memory of red power that had noticed his torment and acted.

The Lord must have noticed a change in his expression because he leaned towards him and touched his mind; with no intent to bend his will, just to see what he had recalled. It was still a use of noble power and Frankenstein went feral throwing things at the Lord again. The Lord did not move and not one projectile hit him while they were all came very close.

Frankenstein couldn't actually bring himself to hit the noble whose actions no matter how offensive were not actually wrong in the way of his people. The ammunition ran out again and while there was plenty on the floor to restock with Frankenstein didn't want to reach down for them; that was a more disreputable position.

"For you to have put what remains of your faith in him of all nobles," the Lord murmured. Then he smiled far too joyously and exclaimed, "Perhaps this was meant to be! I will bring Cadis Etrama di Raizel in a week." The Lord left with the merest brush of fabric and for one week at least Frankenstein returned to his routine.

XXX

Having met the man once Frankenstein felt it when his aura approached along with another one that was just as vast. The stranger's aura had the unusual effect of relaxing his soul; in the hour between the stranger approaching and arriving his soul had settled itself three times the amount it had over the last month, which honestly wasn't much but if it continued at that speed for a whole month? There may be some actual improvement.

Like listening to gentle music once relaxed his mind this aura was music for his soul.

He didn't feel the need to stand when there was a knock on the door before the Lord let himself and his guest in. The guest, who must be Cadis Etrama Di Raizel, was beautiful even by noble standards but more astounding was his aura. Frankenstein recognised it as the one that spared the missing parts of his soul even as the noble destroyed Lagus' own.

That was his duty, what he believed to be right and an action he would take full responsibility for. Both the nobles were looking at him and he couldn't resist. "So did you come to look at the crazy caged human?"

The Lord at least seemed aware of the improvement. "This guy is Cadis Etrama di Raizel you can just call him Raizel. He has agreed to let you reside with him until you are well in body, mind and soul."

Gazing at the younger looking noble he got the sense that he was indifferent on the matter and that was even better. If he didn't care about having a house mate then he couldn't care about what Frankenstein did with the rooms he would receive.

"That sounds perfect. Did you know Lagus isn't the only traitorous clan leader in your ranks? You might want to look into that." Frankenstein certainly couldn't, not until he could go near a noble without being reduced to a fear instilled mess.

End One Shot

So the new version is meant to have more impact than this one what would you say?