He'd done something stupid. He'd known that from the start. But he'd done it anyway.
Maybe he'd just been tired of it all. Tired of being pushed around. Tired of feeling trapped with no way out. Tired of not being able to do anything.
Maybe this was some pathetic attempt at a rebellion.
Maybe he just wanted to feel powerful for once.
It didn't matter. The fact was that he'd made a stupid decision, and now he was going to die because of it. (But, well, he'd known doing this would've gotten him killed one way or another, hadn't he?)
The infected he'd created had been ripped to shreds in five seconds flat, and now, it seemed, it was his turn.
He was on his knees, the blond (who he could only assume was a noblesse) towering over him, as an oppressive aura filled the air with the promise of his imminent death.
It didn't matter why he'd done what he did. Because now he would die a useless death without ever having accomplished anything. Just like the rest of the M-Series.
And now there would be no one left to help M-21. (But, well, he'd never been able to do anything anyway, had he?)
'I'm sorry, M-21.'
"Stop." The command was spoken softly, but the oppressive aura disappeared from the air immediately.
"Master?" the blond questioned, looking back at the dark-haired noblesse who was with him.
They were powerful. There was nothing M-24 could do. But for them…it would be easy.
"Wait!" He forced himself to his feet. The blond noblesse turned back to him. M-24 could feel the air crackling from the blond's power. A warning.
He didn't really have any bargaining chips. He was no match for them, and they would be able to get the kids back easily, but he needed to try to negotiate with them anyway. "I'll take you to the kids. You can do whatever you want to me. But you have to do something for me in return."
"Do you really think you're in any position to be making demands of us?" the blond asked testily.
Of course, he didn't. But if he was going to die anyway, then he didn't have anything to lose, did he?
"We will grant your request," the dark-haired noblesse agreed easily.
The blond didn't appear to be too happy about this arrangement, but he dutifully silenced any further protests at the other's agreement.
"All right. What do you want us to do?"
The kids were more-or-less unharmed, which helped to cool Frankenstein's temper.
After getting all of the kids home and making sure his master had a fresh cup of tea, Frankenstein left to uphold their end of the deal.
He followed the instructions M-24 had given him and arrived at a deceptively normal-looking house, just as M-24 had described.
The door gave way easily, but unfortunately, there was no one around to greet him. The house was dark and quiet.
How disappointing.
Well, time to get on with his task, then.
M-24's info was useful in getting him here, but now that Frankenstein was inside, he was on his own. It was a good thing this house wasn't nearly as large as his.
He made his way through the house, pushing open doors to various rooms, before he finally found what he assumed was the room he was looking for.
The room was dark like the rest of the house, but he didn't miss the figure curled up on the bed.
He flipped on the lights.
Silver hair.
That was him.
The boy didn't react to the lights, and remained still even as Frankenstein approached him, which was a worrying sign.
A fist came flying at his face, and Frankenstein caught it easily, an eyebrow quirked in interest.
"Oh?"
Honestly, Frankenstein hadn't been thrilled about this little errand that he'd been sent on, but it seemed like this might be more interesting than he'd thought.
The boy was sending him a rather nasty glare, and Frankenstein felt his smirk widen before falling off his face all at once.
The boy's face was turned towards him, but he was looking through him, not at him, eyes unfocused.
He frowned.
The boy was skinny, his bare torso littered with scars and bruises that stood out against his pale skin, and Frankenstein could feel his hand trembling in his.
His eyes landed on the obviously too-tight collar wrapped around the boy's neck, and he had to fight to rein in a sudden unexpected surge of anger.
The boy must have sensed it anyway, though, because he suddenly went unnaturally still.
Frankenstein released the boy's hand and forced a friendly smile on his face despite knowing full well it didn't matter what kind of expression he wore.
"It's all right. I'm not going to hurt you," he said soothingly. The look on the boy's face made it clear he didn't believe him. "Your friend asked me to help you." That seemed to catch his attention, so Frankenstein decided to continue along that vein. "That's right. Your friend. I believe he introduced himself as M-24?"
The sharp intake of breath was all the answer Frankenstein needed.
"I can take you to him if you'd like."