In the Beginning: Chapter Three
What the…? What happened? Franken sat up and began to rub his sore head. Wait… Franken looked around. I don't… Where did all the blood go? Where's Dr. Kanso? What just happened anyway?
"Franken!"
Franken scowled as Hiroko wrapped her arms around him.
"You know," muttered Hiroko, "doctors are crazy."
Franken bit his lip. The mental image of Dr. Kanso laughing insanely in that weird room full of dead bodies was stuck in his mind. But of course, the doctor hadn't been the only one laughing.
"Franken," breathed Hiroko. She tightened her grip and closed her eyes. "The world is cruel to those who know its secrets."
"Yeah…" Franken's voice trailed off, bile rose in his throat. With a gasp, he ripped out of his mother's hold and vomited on the floor. Dead bodies…everywhere… Blood just gushing out continuously… Franken backed away from the mess. His stomach flip-flopped, and he let out another stream of vomit.
"Mother," Franken said weakly, looking up at the shocked woman. "I think I might be sick…" No, not again!
The nurse from before, Vem, shoved a bowl under Franken's mouth right on time.
"Franken," whispered Hiroko, her eyes growing wide.
Dead bodies everywhere… Each one dissected perfectly… Franken pushed the bowl away and wiped his mouth. "Mommy…there where…" Franken looked at her with fear written all over his face, "…dead bodies…everywhere!"
With that, Franken fell to the ground, fully conscious, but too afraid to move.
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Vem frowned as she looked down at the boy known as Franken. He was losing it a lot quicker than she and Kanso had thought. Not good. She and Kanso had guessed that the madness wouldn't start surfacing until puberty. They were wrong. Only seven years old, and Franken had fallen into the dark. There was no saving him. The madness would eat away at him until he was pushed into perfect insanity. Vem sighed and thought of her doctor, and adoptive father, Kanso. He was getting closer and closer to perfect insanity every day. The attack he suffered from while talking to Hiroko was probably caused by Franken's young and bubbling madness.
It was ironic, really. Franken's madness being pushed to the surface while Kanso had an insanity attack; it was like some kind of twisted mentor-and-apprentice relationship, but not. Would mentor push his apprentice into the dark? Would an apprentice just…follow along? In this case, yes. Oh what a twisted relationship it was…
Vem looked at Hiroko. The mom looked like she was about to cry or something, but wouldn't let herself. I admire her, thought Vem. Her courage is big, but not big enough. It will be crushed under the madness's force. Then again, I'd be crying if I had been in her place. The things I had to tell her were absolutely horrible. I feel sorry for her as well.
Flashback
Hiroko fled the room, Franken held tightly in her arms. She rounded a corner, and to her dismay, she felt his body go limp.
"No, no!" gasped Hiroko. She stopped and leaned Franken's body against a wall. With a gasp, she struck his cheek, trying to bring him to consciousness. "Franken, wake up!"
After striking him several times, Hiroko gave up. She leaned up against the wall next to Franken. "No… Whats going on…? Why is…?" Hiroko closed her eyes and sighed. Nothing made sense at the moment.
"I can help you, Hiroko Stein," came the soft voice of a woman.
"Who are you?" whispered Hiroko. She reached over and placed a hand over Franken. "If you want Franken, you'll have to fight…" Hiroko's hands flew up and grabbed the hair on her head tightly. "My head…" Hiroko groaned.
The other voice spoke again, "You seem a bit paranoid."
"No… I'm fine…just confused."
"Confused?" laughed the voice.
"Yes…" Hiroko hung her headin shame.
"No! Don't be ashamed!" cried the voice. "It's like you said, you're only confused! But don't worry, I'll tell you everything!"
"Alright," agreed Hiroko. "But, you must tell me your name."
"Don't you already know?" the voice asked innocently. "You saw me today."
"I did…?" Hiroko frowned. "Who are you…?"
Vem, the nurse from earlier stepped out of the shadows and curtsied.
"Oh, Vem…" Hiroko smiled weakly. "Can you really tell me? Would Dr. Kanso allow it?"
"He probably won't like it, but you have a right to know!" exclaimed Vem.
"Thank you…"
"No problem," smiled Vem. She offered her hand to Hiroko, and smiled even larger when Hiroko accepted it. "I'll tell you everything…"
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"Alright," Hiroko said with a nod. "I'm ready."
"Kay…" Vem looked at Franken, who was resting in Hiroko's lap. Vem shook her head and turned her focus on Hiroko. "We'll start with Dr. Kanso."
Hiroko simply nodded and motioned for her to start.
"I started working here five years after I was adopted by Dr. Kanso; he was kind, collected, and always willing to help others. When I was a child, I had a bad leg, which caused my parents to abandon me. Dr. Kanso took when in when he discovered me wondering the streets."
"How sweet," hummed Hiroko.
"Not for long," sighed Vem, the look in her eyes went from youthful and spunky to tired and a bit wise. "It was then when I realized that Dr. Kanso was victim of a rare cause, a case of heightened madness."
Hiroko blinked. "M-madness…?" The images of her laughing, insane son filled her head.
"Yes," nodded Vem. With another sigh, she continued, "I first noticed when he flat-out refused to take care of a certain patient. The patient required surgery and being a doctor, Kanso should have grabbed it proudly, as a chance to show off his skills. But instead… he called a larger hospital and had them pick the patient up, so their doctors could take care of the patient." Vem bowed her head. "Later we learned the surgery was a failure, they lost the patient's life."
Hiroko nodded sadly.
"And that's where it started," Vem said with a gleam in her eyes. "I questioned Kanso about it, I said: 'Why did you throw that chance away? You finally had a chance to show your skill level to the public!' Kanso looked up at me and… God, I'll never forget those eyes he looked at me with…"
"Why?" asked Hiroko. "What was wrong with them?"
"The eyes were inhuman, with a shrunken Iris and an even smaller pupil. They were filled with insanity; only a smidge of humanity remained, most likely fighting the madness. Kanso was under an attack." Vem closed her own eyes. "He stayed like that for a whole hour, just sitting on the ground, looking at me with those eyes… He was huffing and breathing heavily, as if fighting the madness was tiring… Oh those eyes… Those eyes…"
Hiroko interrupted the frightened Vem, "Miss Vem, you mentioned this… madness a lot. Just what is it?"
"Oh…" Vem wiped her eyes and sat up straighter. "The madness is…in all of us, but only some of us posess it on such a high level, Kanso included."
Hiroko nodded. "I think I'm beginning to understand…"
"Madness exists in levels. There are six. When a child is born, it is one half. When a child grows in a preteen, they are still one half. But when they go into puberty, the madness rises to one, sometimes one and one third. The increased madness causes violent mood-swings, sensitivity, and suicidal thoughts. When they start heading for adulthood, the effects become worse, then finally smooth out when the madness goes up to two. The level normally stays a two, but during a crisis, the madness might rise to two and one half, but that's rare."
Vem continued, "Currently, I'm still on one. From my guessing, you, miss Hiroko, are a one and one half. Kanso has risen to a four over his days. And Franken…"
Both Hiroko and Vem froze and bit their lip.
"…Franken is a two and…two thirds."
There was a silence, filling the room and seeping through the walls. Drilling deep into the two woman's souls, and singing to their inner pleasures. The silence splattered like blood on a wall when Franken suddenly started laughing.
Hiroko almost dropped Franken on the floor when his laughing fit began. Her eyes will filled with fear and shock, but mostly fear. Now she knew…she knew why he was the way he was. She knew! Hiroko's eyes began to water. "Franken…"
Vem walked over to Hiroko and pulled her into a hug. "Sh… It'll only last a few minutes…then he'll be fine, he won't even remember. Everything will be okay."
Hiroko buried her face into Vem's shirt, crying like there was no tomorrow. She was letting it all out, everything. The pain she carried for loving her son, the son who showed no love back. For loving a man who was never home, a man who probably had no feelings for her. Hiroko let everything out.
After a while, Franken's high laughs began to die down, a while after that they died down completely.
Hiroko looked up at Vem's smiling face, then to her still son, Franken.
"You know," whispered Vem. "You aren't alone. You want to be loved; you require words of encouragement and affection, that is your love-language. You also want to be comforted. But, there is nothing you need to be comforted about."
"But… Franken and Chou…"
"Sh…" Vem chuckled. "Franken, despite his stony, adult-like personality, loves you. I could see it in his eyes when you walked in, and I can see it now. He is your son, no matter what."
"Yeah…" Hiroko wiped her eyes and slowly inched out of Vem's hug. "I need…to protect him. And I need to be strong."
Franken began to wake up, his small body trembling.
"I will protect him…"
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Franken slowly woke up, rubbing his head and shivering. He opened his eyes and saw his mother, Hiroko, smiling down on him.
"Franken!"
Hiroko drew him into a hug and chuckled.
"You know… doctors sure are crazy…"
End Flashback
That woman…is filled with courage. Vem grinned, and looked at Hiroko. The other woman was cleaning her son off and sporting a weak smile. Just being stung, strong like a lion. Vem laughed, the noise was soft and a bit high-pitched, but not insane, it was just…unique.
"Uh, we should get going."
"Hm…?" hummed Vem.
"We should get going," said Hiroko. She had stripped Franken of his pants and shirt, and wrapped him in a towel.
"A-alright…" Vem gave Hiroko a mock-salute. "Captain. Stay strong."
Hiroko nodded and reached for her purse.
Vem swatted Hiroko's hand away, sending a crisp twenty to the ground. "Hehe, how clumsy of me! Why don't you pick it up and put it back in your purse? Ahehe!" Vem's smile grew gentler. "Really, it's on me, for your trouble."
Hiroko nodded and smiled back. "Thanks… Um, goodbye…
*SLAM*
Vem stared at the closed door. Be strong… Be strong…
Dr. Kanso stumbled into the room. The madness was almost completely drained from his eyes. "Eh, are they alright?" asked the doctor.
"Yeah…" Vem nodded. "They'll be fine. But I have a feeling they'll be back."
"I recall you saying that the last time," smirked Kanso. He plopped onto the ground and leaned up against a wall. "Dang… I haven't felt something like that for a long time…"
"Kanso."
Kanso looked up slowly, dreading what he was about to hear.
"Kanso," repeated Vem. "You are…a five.
"Heh… So be it Vem, so be it."
A/N: Well, that was a late update! I was really busy, I started school, had a birthday, and sooooo on! Well yeah, I hope this answered some questions! It was fun to write! We'll be seeing Dr. kanso and Vem in later chapters, but they're done for this arc. The next will be Franken and Hiroko going home, and taliking about school :) Then it will get violent again. Thanks to my reviewers: FuryanDemoness19, sailor sofia, MakenshiCrona, and hiddenlotuslee :D Do review and make me happy!