Disclaimer: Noblesse ain't mine.
Author's note: I'm freezing here with temperatures below 20° celsius. I hope wherever you are, it's warmer. Enjoy the new chapter!
Chapter 25: Heart's voice
Days passed slowly like the waning of the moon. Then it had been more than a week and there was still no word, no news from M-21.
Hyun Ae walked across the school yard, deserted so early in the morning. The sun was not up yet, but the sky was already lighter in the east, the thin sickle of the moon low at the horizon.
Occasionally, she would slip on a piece of frozen snow, thus her pace was not as brisk as usual.
Someone coughed, dry and short. It rang loudly in the chilly morning air.
Hyun Ae raised her head that had been focused on the uneven ground and spotted Jin-Sang near the entrance, shouldering a shovel and a bucket of road salt. He lifted the shovel in greeting when he saw her.
"Caught a cold?", she asked when she reached him and heard him stifle another cough. "You should ask the Principal to give you a few days off to cure it."
The big man shook his head with a smile. "No need, doctor. It's really nuthin'. Thank you for worrying though. Have a nice day!"
"You too, Jin-Sang", replied Hyun Ae and was just about to enter the school, when something crossed her mind.
She pondered the idea for a moment. She struggled with herself, but in the end her worry won.
"Won't you tell me where he is?", she asked.
Jin-Sang jumped at the sudden question and then turned around. He looked bashful.
"I'm afraid I can't", he answered. "Simply because I don't know", he added hastily. "Believe me, I'm as worried what he's up to as you are. I believe that only Principal Lee and Master Rai know the place. But they're careful to never say anything about it. I'm sorry."
Hyun Ae cringed her brows. "Can't you sniff him out?"
Jin-Sang grinned for a second, but then he rubbed his beard with one gloved hand. "I actually tried that two days ago. But seems like I'm just not in his league. I lost the scent after a few blocks. It might have worked had I tried earlier."
They stood for a moment in awkward silence. He felt pity for her crestfallen disappointment.
I didn't want to propose this, he thought. It might mean more trouble than help. But look at her sad face. I should let her decide for herself.
"You could ask the werewolves, Doctor Choi", said Jin-Sang softly. "If anyone can find him it would be them."
Hyun Ae gave him a thoughtful gaze. "That might be true", she said faintly, as if not wholly daring to believe it. She blinked and then her eyes were full of resolve.
"Do you know where I can find them?", she asked.
"Yes, they gave me their address", answered Jin-Sang and rummaged around in his pockets for a while until he drew out a folded piece of paper and gave it to her.
"Thank you", said Hyun Ae and smiled so sweetly at him, that he coughed, blushed and stuttered something like 'No problem', before he hastily turned away.
M-21 lay on the bed in a darkened room. He had not eaten for days, but he did not care nor did it worry him. Except for a faint feeling of dizziness nothing was wrong with his body.
The more he tried not to think about the past, the more he remembered. It was as if a dam had been broken and he was too weak to hold the flood of memories back.
He had given up the fight and was letting the memories wash over him, drifting between uneasy sleep and exhausted consciousness, losing all sense of time.
"I've finally found the perfect experiment for you", said Doctor Crombel, escorting him to the escalator.
With a soft 'ping' the doors of brushed steel slid open and they both stepped in. He pressed the button to the bottom floor.
M-21 was curious. He had never been taken to the bottom floor.
"We will transplant you the heart of a rare species", continued the gray-haired man. "It should lend you incredible power."
"A heart transplantation?", repeated M-21 disbelieving. "That's too risky. Is there no other way?"
Crombel looked at him as if he was a rather dim and ungrateful child. "Our methods are practically infallible", he said with disdain. "There is no reason for worry. Here, you can see the specimen for yourself!"
He pointed at a white door at the end of the corridor. Two heavily armed guards nodded at him as he approached it. At a sign from Crombel, one of them entered a ten-digit code into the control panel.
The door opened with a shrill warning signal.
They stepped into a square room packed with medical equipment. All surfaces were clean and hard-edged. The cold neon light intensified the uncomfortable atmosphere. A shiver ran down M-21's spine.
They approached an examination table at the far end of the room. M-21 eyed the empty tank as they passed it with a mix of morbid curiosity and horror. A tall, muscular man was strapped down on the examination table with thick bands of steel. His body was plastered with monitoring equipment and IV cannulas. A team of three doctors was bustling around him.
"Wake him up", ordered Crombel one of them, a black-haired man, about thirty years of age. He nodded hastily and adjusted the infusions.
M-21 watched with fascination as the man stirred. First, his nose twitched. Then suddenly he was looking into a pair of dark yellow eyes that seemed to glow from within.
"Crombel!", growled the man and his gaze shifted to the scientist. "Have you come to watch me thrash around for a bit?" His lips curled up in a contemptuous smile.
"Nothing like that, Alan", replied Crombel politely. "I wanted to introduce you to my young friend here." He laid one hand on M-21's shoulder.
"Tch!", made the man. "Even turning against your own lot now?" He threw his head around to look M-21 in the eye. The steel against his neck dug deep into his skin, it looked like it hurt a great deal, but he did not even twitch.
"Listen up, youngster!" barked the man. "Whatever this bastard told you, run as long as you can. There's nothing to gain here, just a slow and painful death."
He let himself fall back again and closed his eyes.
"The cornered wolf has nothing left except his sharp tongue", drawled Crombel. "You are mistaken, Alan. I'll give him your heart as a present. Your power shall be wielded by someone more worthy of it than you monster."
When the man did not answer, Crombel made an irritated gesture and turned around. "Get him back into the tank for today", he said to the scientists. "I want him in best condition."
M-21 found himself back in the dark room. He took a few shaking breaths. Alan!, he thought. I met Alan when he was still alive.
He tried to remember how the man on the examination table had looked like. He had been tall and very muscular. A European face with thick black hair and a beard on his upper lip and chin. Both hair and beard shot with silver strands.
He could not believe how Henri and Cassia could ever have seen this man in him. And he had warned him.
How could I ever have been so deluded to think that I could gain something by participating in that experiment? Hell, how power-hungry was I? I even let Crombel fuck me just to be his guinea pig? That wasn't the only time, no I know I talked to Alan a second time...
"Good evening, Henri de Coreanus. I need to talk to you."
"Entrez, Doctor Choi", said Henri, quickly overcoming his surprise.
Hyun Ae stepped into the warm light of a small flat. A few candleholders were scattered around the room and lending it a touch of gold.
"My, what an honor", came a mocking voice from the next room. Cassia stood in the doorway, her arms crossed and her false smile showing a set of sharp white teeth.
"I am very sorry to intrude", said Hyun Ae with a small bow.
"You no doubt have your reasons", said Henri and led her over to a sitting group. "Why don't you sit down, s'il-vous plaît and tell us?"
Hyun Ae settled down and Henri sank into the armchair opposite of her. Cassia remained standing.
"Perhaps you do not know", began Hyun Ae, staring at her hands, "but M-21 has run from the Principal's house."
"That is indeed news for us", replied Henri and leaned eagerly forward. "We haven't heard from him for quite a while. Please enlighten us."
"I can't tell you much, either", answered Hyun Ae and looked him into the eye. She looked troubled. "Cadis seems to know the reason, but he promised not to tell me. Him and the Principal also know where he is now, but refuse to tell me either. He's been gone for more than a week now and although I first thought that he should work out things on his own, I'm beginning to doubt my decision now."
"How very smart of you", drawled Cassia and approached them slowly. "And you expect us to do what exactly, now?"
"I want you to find him", said Hyun Ae. "If anyone can, then you."
Henri gave her a sad little smile and shook his head. At once, his face darkened and he sprang forward.
"Cassia! NON!", he shouted. He yanked the blond woman roughly back by the shoulder. Cassia growled and snarled, her hands transformed to razor-sharp claws.
"How dare she, that bitch! Reducing us to a pair of blood hounds? Where is your pride, Henri? Where?"
The brown-haired man led her to his armchair and pressed her down on it.
"Ne prends pas le mors aux dents", he said evenly. "It should be Alan saying this to you. But since Alan is no longer here, I must say it. Look at her. She is simply worried for her friend."
"Her friend!", snorted Cassia. She glared at Doctor Choi. "Don't think I can't smell how you want him, bitch! I would never help the likes of you!"
"I'm sorry", said Hyun Ae. "For what Leila Priscilla d'Opacus did to you. She is part of me now, so I should bear the responsibility. I'm also sorry for what the organization did to Alan de Coreanus. Believe me that I only ever tried to hinder them from continuing with their horrid experiments. Yet I do care about M-21 and I'm not sorry for that."
She looked at Cassia with a steady gaze. Cassia looked back, her yellow eyes blazing, yet she calmed down a bit.
"Fine", she said. "But even if we wanted, we couldn't find him. If Alan decided not to be found, it was useless to search for him. We will have to wait until he decides to come back."
"Oh", said Hyun Ae and bit her lip. Suddenly she felt very exhausted and her eyes burned.
Can't I do anything?, she thought. Each time I think I have him he slips away again.
"Let me tell you something about the man you are so desperately trying to find", said Henri and straightened up. "I'll make us some tea."
Note:
Entrez - Enter
s'il-vous plaît - please
Ne prends pas le mors aux dents - don't be swiped away by fury
Next chapter will feature my version of how M-21 got his scar. As always, reviews are much appreciated!