Chapter summary (wherein I play fast and loose with the definition of summary lol): There is a big difference between love and obligation.
Please enjoy~
Fighting Marie was a pain. They had found M-21 and Marie together, with her hands wrapped around his throat and about to choke the life out of him. Their cover must have been blown, Frankenstein realised with growing anxiety. He'd pulled her away and Raizel took M-21 with him to find Jake and the children, leaving him behind with Marie.
Marie was shocked into inaction after seeing him, and was unable to stop the others from leaving. But by now she'd recovered and anger was clouding her senses palpably.
"You traitor," she said coldly, clenching her fists and getting into a battle stance.
One look at her and Frankenstein could tell she'd been using those other drugs the Organisation manufactured to boost a person's physical prowess for a short period of time, by burning their lifeforce. He'd never taken it personally, but he knew a lot of the weaker members took it, either by choice or by force. The reason that drug existed was the M-series from which M-21 and M-24 belonged; they were the guinea pigs on which the Organisation had tested that drug before rollout. It was Crombel's pet project and even Aris had used it, grudgingly.
Fighting her was going to be difficult. He was immortal, but that didn't mean he could simply win from her on a test of physical strength alone. He could come back to life if he died, but that was if he died. If she just shattered his limbs and left him here, Frankenstein would need a little bit of time to heal up and during that time she would catch up with Raizel and M-21. He had to finish her here, and fast, so that Raizel wasn't forced to use his powers. Which meant the true issue was that of time, rather than of his ability to win. He could win, definitely, but at what cost. No, he had to think of a way to end this fast and join up with Raizel.
As he circled her, dodging her attacks and kept himself on his toes, he could feel something stir in the air around him. It wasn't noticeable at first, but as she kept on landing more blows on him – and he did return each of them with interest, but neither of them were backing down – the atmosphere around them seemed to become thicker and thicker.
Enough that he found himself distracted, eyes catching the vague but slowly solidifying shapes behind Marie. They were dark and dense, and as soon as he noticed it, he became distracted enough to stand there, unmoving. As a result, Marie managed to get into his personal space, and shoved her hand clean through his chest. Frankenstein gasped and reeled from the force of the blow, spitting blood from his mouth, he was aware of the dark shapes coalescing around him. He was unable to see for a moment, and in that instant, they spoke to him.
They were souls. The souls of the people Marie had killed directly or indirectly. As a human who had Raizel's powers inside him, he was able to see them and channel them, if he so wished. They wanted revenge, and Frankenstein's body was the perfect medium for that. It meant surrendering the control of his body to them for a while, and the idea didn't sit well with him. However, the longer he thought about it, gagging on the coppery taste of his blood flooding the mouth, the more danger Raizel would be in. Therefore, the choice was actually simpler than he'd thought.
He was aware of grabbing Marie's hand, though he had no control over it. He crushed her hand in his grip, making her scream. His other hand closed over her throat and broke her neck as if it were a mere twig. It was anticlimactic, almost, the way she died twitching weakly in his arms. He pulled her hand out and threw her body away, disgusted, but realising that the moment she died he was able to move his limbs again. He was thankful for that.
There was no more time to waste on Marie's fate, though. He had to go help Raizel. However, by the time he got there, Jake was already dead and M-24 was lying on the side in a crumpled heap, M-21 sobbing over him. The children lay to the side, passed out – thankfully, and Raizel stood in the middle of it all, tall and regal, but the shadow of his pain still dogging him.
And then, right in front of his eyes, Raizel went and kneeled beside M-24, placing his hand over M-24's forehead and began to glow. M-21 stared at him in horror, and Frankenstein did too, though for entirely different reasons. He had defeated Marie, but he was unable to help Raizel, and now this.
'Don't worry,' Raizel's voice floated into his mind, trying to soothe him and calm him down. 'I'm not going to make him immortal. Just repairing the damage he has sustained so that he may live.'
It was true, too, because he didn't need the wings or any of the other fanfare he'd used with Frankenstein. The precise moment when M-24's breathing restarted, though, was when Raizel's body tottered backwards and Frankenstein was beside him. He wrapped his arms around Raizel's frame and crushed him to his chest, not even caring that they had an audience.
He wasn't going to let Raizel fade away – not in front of his eyes, not like this. Not when he was too weak to protect them both.
Raizel placed his hand over Frankenstein's arm and leaned into him, pressing his head to Frankenstein's cheek. "I'm fine. Don't worry yourself so much."
"Okay," Frankenstein told him, burying his face into Raizel's hair and taking a deep breath. "Okay," he repeated, though he felt anything but that.
They ended up dropping the kids on a park bench next to a police station. It wasn't that difficult considering the time of the night, and they also made sure to cover them up with blankets before leaving. Frankenstein wished to take them home and fuss over them, but he knew that wouldn't lead to anything good. Besides, they had company.
M-21 and M-24 was sitting in the back of Gejutel's Citroën, huddling under another pair of blankets. They were too stunned to ask questions, though Frankenstein could tell they had many. He asked Gejutel to drive them home – his and Raizel's home, and took the faster route with Ragar. He had kept an iron grip on Raizel the entire time, and he only let go when Ragar deposited them in their living room, gave them a surreptitious look and disappeared, affording them the privacy they needed.
The moment he was gone, Raizel sagged in his arms and rested his weight entirely on Frankenstein's chest, and Frankenstein was happy to support him, though it hurt him to see Raizel like this.
"Are you all right?" He asked, though it was a silly question at best.
He felt Raizel nod into his chest. A gentle hand came to rest atop the hole in his clothing, tracing the edge of the bloodstain left behind from Marie's attack. He could feel Raizel's relief as well a tinge of regret. He could understand the former – he was also glad to be alive after that encounter, but what caused the latter?
"It must have been painful," Raizel clarified, answering the question in his mind.
"Not really," Frankenstein said. "I've felt worse things, trust me."
That only seemed to distress Raizel further, so Frankenstein scrambled for another topic and landed on something he knew would help. "Would you like to eat some ramyeon?"
"Yes." Raizel's tone was sweet enough to make Frankenstein put other things out of his mind for the time being.
M-21 and M-24 arrived in the wee hours of the morning, still terrified out of their wits – Gejutel's forceful temperament had done them no favours – and they walked into Frankenstein's house as if they were walking to their deaths. It was going to be slightly more difficult than he'd first presumed. They had seen Raizel display his powers to dispatch someone – something even Frankenstein hadn't had a chance to witness yet. So it was understandable that they were scared, even if their fear made Raizel sad.
He herded them to the couch and sat them down, serving them hot tea right away. M-21 was still a little worse for wear, but M-24 was completely healthy, physically, at least, so that was good. Frankenstein did not have medical supplies here, since neither he nor Raizel needed it. He might need them now, and he made a mental note to ask Ragar to bring some over next time.
"I know you two are rather shaken up," Frankenstein began, standing next to Raizel's chair and put his hand on Raizel's shoulder. "But I'm not going to hold you prisoner here. You're free to go whenever you wish to. Of course, I'd like it if you two are recovered before that, but should you want to leave right now, that can be arranged."
They both looked up at him at that, instead of staring at Raizel. This was the first time they'd seen him in his adult-form, so they were both confused and suspicious and Frankenstein couldn't blame them.
M-24 clutched at his battered hat – he had rescued that from the rubble before leaving – and looked distinctly uncomfortable. He cleared his throat a couple of times, but M-21 beat him to the punch by speaking first, "He saved M-24's life."
"Yes," Frankenstein said.
M-21 lowered his head, struggling visibly with words and clenched his hands. So, it was obvious that M-24 had to pick up the conversation where it had left off.
"Thank you," he murmured hoarsely and bent the hat even more out of shape. "But I'm guessing it wasn't something he should have done."
Frankenstein winced. "Perhaps not, but it's not something you should worry about. I'm glad he saved you." It wasn't a lie either.
The hat wasn't going to survive this encounter at this rate. He knew he shouldn't be fixating on that, but the open rawness of M-21 and M-24's expression was too much to bear at this moment. It resembled his all too much when Raizel had rescued him, at a much greater cost. He didn't want to think about that. Not in the least.
"I've been wondering," M-21 broke the uncomfortable silence then. "But is he the child who was with you that time, or am I slowly losing my mind?"
"He is," Frankenstein said. He reached out to refill their cups so they had something else to focus on momentarily, at least. "As you can guess, he's not really human."
"We did guess that," M-21 said dryly and took his fresh cup of tea. It seemed to help. "The Union has people like him too, doesn't it?"
"Yes." As much as it hurt to admit. Frankenstein knew who they were too, now, and that didn't help. Not in the least. If he could only get his hands on them…
"It doesn't hurt to sit next to him anymore," M-24 said, abandoning the hat in favour of his cup.
"That's because right now my powers are far too diminished to irritate your senses," Raizel spoke, eyes distant.
Frankenstein ignored the pang in his chest and put on a reassuring smile for the benefit of M-21 and M-24. "And you get used to it eventually, since his aura isn't meant to harm you. When the knowledge sinks in, your psychic defences won't kick in. It took me a couple of weeks to get used to them, too."
"Huh, all right. That makes sense."
"If you want to rest," Frankenstein said, collecting their empty cups. "You can take one of the rooms in the house. Just leave the two on the right side upstairs, as they are ours."
They glanced at each other, and then at Raizel and him, though the way they were thinking had changed significantly since they'd arrived. They weren't exactly at ease, but their hearts had seemed to settle a little. After all they had been through – and Frankenstein had a fairly good idea exactly what as he knew Crombel well – they still had it in them to trust a being of power to some extent. They were more generous than Frankenstein would have been in their situation.
It wasn't like they knew how much Raizel had put on the line to save them, and it was best if they didn't ever find out, as unlikely as that was should they remain here. He didn't want them to feel indebted and let it weigh on their conscience. They had been through too much to feel that saving them wasn't the right decision, because it wasn't. If Raizel hadn't done it, Frankenstein would have, no matter the cost.
"Why did you save someone like us?" M-24 spoke, startling both Frankenstein and M-21 as neither of them could have expected that.
But in hindsight, it made sense as M-24's mind had been prodded by them just as Frankenstein's had been, unlike M-21, so it wasn't a surprise that he'd picked up on Frankenstein's line of thought.
"If I can save someone, I will," Raizel said, tone solemn and unflinching.
"We were the reason the children got roped into this mess." M-24's voice was full of anguish and he couldn't meet their eyes. "If not for us –"
"You two risked yourselves to protect the children, for that I'm grateful," Raizel said softly. He put his cup down and stood up, walking up to where M-24 sat. M-24 was a little skittish but he did not recoil at Raizel's approach, so that was good. Raizel placed his hand over M-24's shoulder, mirroring the way Frankenstein had kept his on Raizel's shoulder earlier. He'd picked up on the gesture as meant to be soothing and was imitating it.
Frankenstein closed his eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. His world was changing constantly, opening up and becoming kinder, and that was all thanks to Raizel. And the same Raizel was now extending that kindness to others, less privileged people than him, and all Frankenstein could feel was a deep-seated sense of relief. It couldn't undo the wrongs the Organisation had done, but baby steps. It wasn't Raizel's power that saved him – it was his compassion and gentle heart. It had saved Frankenstein's soul and he wanted to save Raizel in turn, not in gratitude.
It was out of love.
When both M-21 and M-24 had retired to one of the empty rooms, Frankenstein returned downstairs again to see Raizel standing in front of one of the French windows in the house and staring wistfully at the world outside. He couldn't go out until he was able to assume the form of a child again, not just because of cover story purposes, but he was far too weak for that kind of thing. Frankenstein bit the inside of his cheek and went to stand behind him, just wanting to be there as he couldn't do anything else for Raizel.
Raizel turned his head a little to acknowledge him and then resumed his gazing, the wistfulness melting into something warmer, softer. "I'm sorry," Raizel told him in the intervening silence.
"You have nothing to be sorry for," Frankenstein said, voice thick with regret and grief. There had to be something he could do to save this person, there had to be because Frankenstein refused to accept a reality where Raizel no longer existed.
"Earlier, you ended up communicating with the souls of that person's victims, did you not?" Raizel asked to change the topic, noticing Frankenstein's state of mind.
"I think so, yes." Because of everything else that happened, he'd forgotten about that until now. "I'm guessing it's because of you?"
"Yes, you can see and feel them because of me, forgive me."
"No, that actually helped me settle the matter faster, so I'm grateful."
Raizel frowned at him. "No, you shouldn't be. That power is far too volatile and unpredictable for a human such as yourself. Too dangerous. I do not doubt your abilities, only the fact that nature of the dead is very unpredictable. The number of kills that woman had wasn't high enough to introduce chaos, but if you end up facing the others from the same organisation, there will be instances where the sheer amount of souls will overwhelm you."
He hadn't thought of that, and he did not like the sound of it either because that time he hadn't sought them out. No, they had come after him instead.
"They may not surrender the control of your body once they possess you," Raizel was saying. "I no longer have the authority to guide them back to the otherworld, so they might take advantage of that."
"Then I just need to learn how to channel their power through my will, right?" Frankenstein said. "The bunch I ran into was able to find peace because Marie was dead. Maybe the others can too. If you can't help them, maybe I can in your stead."
Raizel looked stricken. "It's not something you have to even think about."
But he had thought of that, and the more he considered it, the better it sounded. "It's not an obligation, of course. I'm grateful to you, of course, you saved my life. But I won't belittle your sacrifice by wanting to pay you back. And not because there's no way I can return the favour, anyway. I want to help you because that's something I want to do. It's rather simple."
The deep crimson of Raizel's eyes was so much more striking in the early light of the dawn as Raizel stared at him, unable to formulate a response to Frankenstein's declaration. It made Frankenstein cup his cheeks and draw him closer. He resembled a child again and it tugged at Frankenstein's instincts.
"I'm doing this because I'm a selfish, cruel man. I've trampled over thousands of lives to survive – I should have just died rather than continued this existence the moment I realised what I was being made to do. I cannot excuse my past behaviour, even if I was under their influence. No, and because I'm that selfish, I need you by my side. Not because of what you are, but because of what you mean to me. I want you to live just as you had wanted me to live."
The cheeks under his palm grew warmer as Frankenstein's words sank in. Raizel was visibly affected, though he was still silent, Frankenstein did not mind that. They did not need words – but words were important, he knew that, and so he made sure to give them to Raizel right now.
"Can you grant this selfish request of mine?"
Raizel's presence was like a balm to his soul, and if it was greedy to want him near always, Frankenstein was willing to be called that. Besides, it wasn't the only reason he desired Raizel's continued existence; it was just the most egotistic one.
"I will, if I can," Raizel said finally, cheeks still dusted with pink and eyes hooded.
Frankenstein could no longer resist it. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to Raizel's forehead, just for a moment. When he pulled back, his lips tingled from the sudden transfer of power and Raizel's body disappeared in a sudden bright flash of light. Frankenstein blinked, and when the spots cleared from his vision, he found himself looking at Raizel's child form again, who looked as stunned as Frankenstein felt.