There's mention of a timespan of a thousand years in the novelization, but I'm including the eight hundred and twenty years in that time. That means that Raizel and Frankenstein would have spent around a hundred and eighty years together in the manor, around 170 of them contracted.
Takeo had gotten used to feeling people coming after Rael started training him. Frankenstein normally kept himself hidden, so he was easier to miss than anyone but M-21 – Frankenstein made himself feel like a normal human, while M-21 was barely there to sense unless they were training and Takeo could feel his power.
Frankenstein nodded to him when he came into the living room, moving to stand by Raizel's chair. Takeo felt their bond quietly hum with activity as Frankenstein smiled down at his Master and Raizel maintained his composure.
"It's pleasant to have a bond, isn't it?" Takeo smiled.
"It's good to hear you say that." Frankenstein smiled back warmly. "Master may have given Rael the idea of making a contract. He is concerned for you."
Takeo gave Raizel a reassuring look. "Thank you." For worrying about me. "I'm alright."
"With what I hope is a true contract, I hope you're a bit more than alright." Frankenstein smiled softly at Raizel.
Takeo reached out to Rael, hopefully not enough to distract him. "It is comfortable, but it's not that different. I could feel him before." His soul had intruded on Rael's a little and Rael had grumpily allowed it.
"That is a difference between your situation and mine," Frankenstein agreed. "I sensed proximity, but wouldn't have reached out to someone's mind before the contract. I wouldn't have wanted to intrude on Master's peace."
Raizel shook his head. "I would not have minded. You never felt any guilt for intruding on my home, Frankenstein." So why had he let that stop him.
Frankenstein wore the slightly embarrassed look he got when Raizel teased him, and Raizel smiled into his tea.
"You two are so close." Takeo was maybe a little jealous, although he strangely didn't want his bond to Rael to be like theirs. Was that unfair to Rael?
"Neither you nor Seira and Shinwoo have bonded as tightly as we have." Frankenstein had of course noticed that. "I wonder if it's our bond that's the unusual one?"
Raizel nodded and Frankenstein's expression quickly grew concerned. "Is it a bother to you?"
Shaking his head, Raizel sent something through the bond and Frankenstein's expression grew soft again. "I was alone for a long time before I came to live with Master," Frankenstein said once he'd recovered. "Perhaps it's a bit hypocritical of me to try to discourage Tao from bonding because he used to lack allies when I bonded while in that state myself."
"I'm sure you were concerned for him." Frankenstein thought of what was best for all of them, Takeo knew.
"Making a contract was the best thing I've ever done," Frankenstein said, still smiling down at Raizel. "Still, there's nothing stopping Tao from making one if he finds someone compatible. When he's a bit older."
What would Frankenstein consider a bit older, Takeo wondered, amused. Was he thinking something like a noble's age of majority? It was still a bit fantastic to Takeo, to think of an experiment becoming as old as Miss Seira. But he didn't mind Frankenstein thinking of them as children and still giving them the respect and right to choose due adults, as he'd told the others. It was praiseworthy, in fact. The way he treated them. Like they were precious the way Raizel was, like they were family the way Teira had been, not just experiments.
Raizel was looking thoughtful – thinking of a contract for Tao? Wouldn't Tao be a bit overwhelming for nobles? But nobles weren't all the same, there might be one that appreciated Tao and how he filled the silence with company. Tao did make good company, although he was a bit forceful and pushed people into things. Or dragged them along behind him with the force of his enthusiasm.
It would be exhausting for anyone to be the one person Tao focused on. He needed to be surrounded by people, if Takeo knew him at all. Tao needed, deserved, a lot of friends and comrades.
A family.
They all had family here, even Rael. It was a miracle, this place. Takeo would die to protect it. Protect them.
He was going to have to torment M-21, tear him apart over and over. It should make M-21 strong, let him survive and grant his wish to protect the others, but it was still an unpleasant thought.
But there was no need to bear it alone. He reached for the bond and it opened to him, as it always would when Master was with him. He grounded his guilt – because what good was he if he couldn't find another way – into Master's warm soul. He let that heat seep into him, feeling himself relax and letting his eyes slip shut because he could sense he was alone.
Forgiveness flowed along the bond, that and an echo to his desire for M-21 to be alright, no matter what it took. The shared fear they might fail to protect that child, eased for being shared. He wasn't alone in this. Not alone, never alone, because his other half was with him, the twin to his soul. So like despite everything that should have divided them.
Master trusted him to do his best for M-21 where Frankenstein was too afraid to trust himself. Even if M-21 died in the pursuit of power, they knew that M-21 would prefer that to watching powerlessly as the others died. They both felt the same way, and that was why they could bear it when the other fought, and Raizel faded as Frankenstein suffered.
How glorious was that soul before it was mortally wounded? Frankenstein wondered if he would have been able to bear it, for all he'd strengthened his own soul, even as he wished he could have been there from the beginning for Raizel, wished that his other half had never known loneliness. And Raizel wished the same for Frankenstein, would have left his manor and gone to search for him, lost and alone in the human world, if he'd known of Frankenstein's need.
These thoughts were familiar, as familiar as the resistance he felt if his soul shifted in certain ways, loath to be parted from Raizel even an iota. As familiar as the feeling of shifting closer, of wrapping himself around Raizel like a ravenous kraken and feeling his prey press close in answer. It was something like a heartbeat, the press and release against his soul as Raizel tried to shift closer to him, weak but always willing.
They could become one. It was possible, but Frankenstein would never make the offer of letting all of himself become part of Raizel, replacing the parts that eviscerated soul lacked. It was miracle enough that Raizel was willing to consume even a scrap of his soul. Even though Frankenstein would happily surrender his very self to strengthen Raizel, he knew that his Master would mourn him. A life at his expense would not be life but a hell eclipsing the lonely window. Frankenstein would never make his Master suffer like that, not his gentle Bonded, the warm soul that cradled his tired one.
He was old, far more ancient than any other human, and even though he'd reforged himself on the anvil of need his kind were not made for immortality even though they could dare to grasp it. He would not mourn his own death, only his failure to grant his people strength and life, free Dark Spear and protect the children. He had more to live for than his Master alone, and so even if his Master fell he would live, as long as it took. His Master knew that and did not have to fear that Frankenstein would follow him into death too soon. Did not have to fear that the bond had weakened Frankenstein instead of sustaining him.
Even if Master perished he would have the memory of their bond to treasure, the evidence of it carved into his soul to sustain him. He had given his blood to the Noblesse, and would never be alone again.
"Let's train today," Tao suggested when the kids took Raizel, Regis and Seira to the PCBang instead of the house.
M-21 nodded along with Takeo.
When they got home Frankenstein was in the kitchen, humming as he prepared a dinner meant to slow cook, so it would be hot when Raizel and the others returned home. Seira must have texted him with the kids' plans.
"We'll be down below," Tao told him.
Frankenstein nodded cheerfully. "Rael is up in his room with today's homework, when he comes out I'll let him know that you're training." So Rael might join them later?
Rael, training with the human toys? M-21 didn't say it though, not when Takeo looked happy.
They followed Tao into one of the large training rooms below the house. "How about a free-for-all first?" Tao suggested.
"Fine," M-21 said, feeling his claws transform with the anticipation of a fight.
"Three two one go!" Tao sprang into action, a long cable whipping forward to wrap around Takeo and M-21.
Smirking, M-21 cut it to pieces with a swipe of his claws as Takeo vanished out of it, falling apart onto a teeming cloud of black shapes that pulled together once the cable was on the ground.
"What was that?" Tao wondered, leaning forward eagerly.
Takeo stared at his hands, and M-21 decided to not be like Frankenstein and take a swipe at them while they were distracted. This could be important. "The contract, I think," Takeo said. "It happened so naturally." He fell apart into black angled shapes that made M-21 think of bats this time, then reformed.
"Another way to dodge and get distance from the enemy, that's handy," Tao said, pulling another cable into existence. "How long can you stay like that?"
Takeo fell apart again, and M-21 watched the cloud of bats dart this way and that.
"Fifteen seconds," Tao reported when Takeo reformed.
"It's confusing," Takeo told them. "Seeing from so many angles, and the motion… I'll need to get used to it."
"Well, that's what training is for," Tao pointed out. "And if it's something Rael can do, you can ask him about it."
"I will," Takeo agreed. "Should we resume our training?"
"One thing first!" Tao held up a finger. "If you can dodge hits like that without getting hurt, then you might be a good close-range distraction if the enemy's too dangers for Regis and M-21 to risk getting hit. That would expand RK's selection of tactics."
So what was M-21 supposed to do to be useful if it was Takeo getting in the enemy's face? His claw swipes could cut through the air if he put energy behind them, but he was still a close-range fighter. Well, he had better get better at healing up so he could take hits. He was looking forward to the training this weekend that was supposed to make him more powerful – or maybe he kind of was. It was Frankenstein's training, and he didn't hold back. M-21 could count on getting stronger and being able to support the others. He wouldn't fall behind or be useless, unable to protect them from the Union. Thanks to Frankenstein, he wouldn't let his comrades down.
Not ever again.
It was still going to suck.
"Let's go again. One, two, three," and Tao jumped back from Takeo.
M-21 swiped in Takeo's direction, glad to see him fall apart instead of getting hit as M-21 charged towards Tao, swiping forward with his other hand to sever the cables reaching for him. Takeo's bullet at the back of his head was a distraction he brushed off as Tao dodged to the side, trying with another cable to knock M-21's feet out from under him.
M-21 knew he was grinning – he couldn't help it, some part of him loved this kind of sparring, it was like playing. Except it made him get stronger, made the others stronger, and that made them safer.
Takeo darted in front of him in the bat form, making M-21 reflexively raise his arms to shield himself and giving Tao more time to widen the range as M-21 was buffeted by strangely-soft shapes. He wildly swiped at the air around him and saw a grimace on Takeo's face when he reformed – so he might not be entirely unaffected by what happened to the bats? If so, then M-21 wouldn't let Takeo take the front line, he'd protect him.
It wasn't rare for their free-for-alls to turn into Tao and Takeo versus M-21, when M-21 was the close-range fighter and it took the mid-range Tao and long-range Takeo working together to try to hold him off enough that they could practice fighting at their preferred distances without M-21 closing the gap. M-21 didn't mind being ganged up on, he could take more punishment than them and it was good practice. It was still fun to see Takeo take out two of Tao's cables with a series of precise shots.
Fun. It was still strange, and might be the werewolf in him if it was true that they got stronger by training, but M-21 couldn't mind even if it was one more piece of his humanity lost. It would keep them safe. He could watch them grow stronger and know that he had helped.
Tao laughed, and that made it even better, that they were having fun too. Together. "Come on, Cetus!" Tao called, and M-21 raised his arms, bracing himself against the power that flared outward from Tao at those words.
The whip went flashing out to ensnare Takeo, who struggled against it for a moment before he could transform. The bats seemed confused, blocked by the aura around the whip as well as the whip itself.
M-21 ran in to pull it off Takeo, and barely let go of the whip before Tao spun around, trying to yank him off his feet. The whip's aura burned at his claws.
Good. Good, it was good that Tao was stronger, that M-11 and Takeo might be the ones who had to work together now, Takeo's shots going around M-21's sides as M-21 ducked down to dodge the whip.
Tao yanked and the whip followed his arm down to the floor, forcing M-21 to dodge towards him to avoid the tail end of the whip. He realized his miscalculation when it wrapped around both him and Tao, and kept his focus on clawing lightly at Tao as the whip burned at him.
"Whoops," Tao said, letting M-21 go. "Attaching myself to a melee fighter wasn't the smartest, huh?"
'You think?' M-21 expressed with a snort.
Tao laughed sheepishly and darted to the side to avoid a hail of Takeo's bullets.
When Raizel came home with Seira and Regis, Frankenstein came up from the lab to bring Raizel cookies and a cup of tea, since it was now too late for dinner. Frankenstein sat down himself and they peacefully drank tea together. It was always nice to feel Frankenstein so relaxed.
Regis joined them for awhile, but after a cup he followed Seira upstairs to study. Raizel went up briefly himself to get his history book and Frankenstein returned to the lab. Raizel sat, slowly making his way through the pages, and before long M-21, Tao and Takeo came up from the basement. They all seemed energetic, happy with the results of their training. Raizel basked in the feeling of everyone being happy and at peace for a moment, before Tao requested a hug. After the hug, Tao went upstairs as M-21 headed out on patrol.
Takeo sat down with a cup of tea and then got up to make a second one, reaching out through his bond to Rael, who came down the stairs a minute later.
Rael brought some papers with him – one of Frankenstein's guides – and read as he drank his tea. That made him and Rael 'study buddies,' Raizel realized. Takeo smiled, enjoying the presence of his bonded, and Raizel also smiled into his tea, glad they were content with each other. Training with Frankenstein had certainly steadied Rael – Frankenstein was wonderful, especially with the young.
Everyone in the household was content and focused – it was so much better than the emptiness of the manor, before Frankenstein came with his projects. He was always doing something before they bonded and Frankenstein started letting himself enjoy just being together. Raizel didn't deserve how much Franken enjoyed his presence, but he was glad Frankenstein let himself have some peace.
Frankenstein worried him, so it was a relief when Frankenstein was calm and happy, but Frankenstein was beautiful when his soul was entranced by something and stalked after it, yearning to discover, to understand and surpass.
Such a brilliant soul, shining with the will to protect even the sea of souls that lashed out at him. Now Frankenstein had a great many children to protect and had never been happier than he was in this place, with clever Tao and quiet, considerate Takeo and M-21, who had Frankenstein's tendency to pick fights with the strong, provoking them. It worried Raizel, but those who abused power wouldn't leave the child alone if M-21 was quiet. They certainly hadn't left poor Franken alone, when Franken only wished to help humans. M-21 only wished to protect the school and the home he had here, but one of those he wished to protect was the Noblesse, so he would keep picking fights with those Raizel needed to execute. Raizel would have to kill them first, before they could harm M-21.
He wished that he could be certain that he could protect them, these children. Being the Avatar of Power was supposed to at least mean that he could protect, but he had never been able to keep safe what he cared for. Not until he was able to use his power to free Frankenstein from Dark Spear. And Frankenstein felt grateful to Raizel for that, when in truth Raizel was the one who felt grateful to him. Thank goodness Frankenstein hadn't made the contract out of gratitude for something Raizel did because Raizel only wanted to do it. It would not have been right for Raizel to accept that. Not the gift of a soul.
But Frankenstein understood that he had not helped Frankenstein for gratitude. Frankenstein understood and accepted a great many things, and Raizel could never deserve it. No one could but Frankenstein himself. The thought of two Frankensteins was impossible, when Frankenstein was so unique, and it was not like Raizel to think of such whimsical things. One Frankenstein was already almost too wonderful to be true.
It was probably the schooling that made him think of something like that. The lessons constantly made him think of things he had never considered before. It was Frankenstein's school, and he was a very thoughtful person.
Raizel sighed fondly and glanced at Takeo and Rael. He hoped they could feel like this, just pleased by the existence and essence of the one who shared their soul. He had not known Frankenstein for very long, not even two centuries, but Frankenstein had such a forceful personality and was always so himself, so Raizel already knew him well. It was a pleasure in itself to understand someone. To be able to trust someone to be themselves instead of profaning their own will and the wills of others.
No, he couldn't expect that Takeo and Rael would be like himself and Frankenstein when they were two different people. Still, it was pleasant to look at them and feel the growth of an 'us' between them. He could feel how peaceful Rael was, feeling Takeo's presence and Rael gave Takeo someone to protect. Raizel was glad that it had worked out so well, he had worried. Something so precious as a contract, if it went wrong… but it hadn't. Rael and Takeo were content in each other as Shinwoo and Seira were. It was lovely to see them drinking tea together, so peaceful and not afraid at all for their Bonded even in the presence of the Noblesse.
His eyes darkened for a moment as he thought of the clan leaders who had betrayed Lukedonia and the Lord, harmed humans and became the reason Frankenstein had to fight. They had… come to visit him, and… the thought of having to kill these children as he had to execute the traitors was a horrible one. He was glad he would not live that long. Surely the children could not become so warped in the little time he had left.
And Frankenstein would watch over them when he was gone, and Frankenstein would never allow children in his care to become so warped they committed crimes against power. He would, he could trust in his Bonded.
Always.