FRACTURED MIND

No one knew what happened and the more they stared at Aris the more questions started to come up and linger in their minds begging to be answered.

Luciel glanced at Frankenstein with a perplexed look. "What happened? That was Takeo's pill that you made." She questioned the result, not the man's skills.

"Hmm..." Frankenstein couldn't answer Luciel at all and remained quiet while looking puzzled himself.

Luciel was taken back by his reaction and was surprised that even he didn't know what happened. "No, no. You're not allowed to not know what happened."

They looked back to Aris and flinched when they saw Yuri standing over her.

"Yuri!" Takeo growled.

"Oh, my~" Yuri said. "Takeo, You were alive? I thought it was strange. The traces of the fight here and there, it was too perfect. It must have been Tao."

Frankenstein pulled Luciel back in case they still planned on taking her. "I completely forgot about you. neither I or my lover here were able to sense your energy during the fight. Were you hiding your power?"

"I was hiding but not as much as you were. I was always good at hiding." Yuri remained to have that frozen smile on his face. He held his fingers up. "I can also make myself disappear as well." He held his finger up and snapped them, creating an explosion around them as a smokescreen for him and Aris to escape.

Luciel helped Takeo down after assisting him in getting away from the explosion. She let M-21 tend to him before turning her attention to Frankenstein. She huffed in annoyance.

Frankenstein noticed her displeasure. "What?"

Luciel stomped over him, fuming with steam coming out of the top of her head. It couldn't have looked less intimidating with Luciel's soft features. "Did you really have to abruptly leave like that? You had me worried."

He crossed his arms. "Do you really think that you of all people are in the position to tell me that?"

His remark caused Luciel to freeze in her tracks. She immediately swallowed her words and took a step back when she realized that it was true. Abruptly leaving was how this whole gap between Frankenstein and Luciel began. Shame filled her entire being and made her cold.

Frankenstein knew what he had said and regretted it the moment he saw the look in her eyes. He sighed deeply and pulled her into a tight embrace to ease her guilt. "I'm sorry...that's not what I mean."

Luciel lifted her hands and covered her face. She was a fool into thinking that everything can go back to the way it was. 900 years of damage she caused can't just disappear over a few days, not with her mindset.

Luciel and M-21 helped a wounded Takeo down on the couch where Tao crowded around him, demanding answers.

"What happened?"

"Aris tricked him," M-21 said.

"Aris did this?"

Luciel nodded. "Yes. Turns out...Aris was the little sister."

"What...? Aris is Takeo's little sister?" Luciel's face turned grim. "Miss?"

"It's not what you're thinking." She reached down and patted Takeo on the shoulder. "Takeo...never had only such a person to begin with. It was all a trick that Aris herself set up, just to play with him." She glanced down at him and saw the strain and tiredness in Takeo's eyes.

"I see..." Tao spoke. "I always thought something was strange. Everything I looked for your sister, the more I got lost. Every time you met with her, there was no record left in the server."

Luciel gave him a troubled look. "What?"

"When the experiment gets in contact with anyone, there should be a record of that particular meeting. But I couldn't find anything about you guys. Only Takeo's record was there. There's was no data on his sister at all."

Takeo finally spoke up but his voice was low and filled with pain. "So...that's why you said you'd tell me when things became clear."

Regis grit his teeth. "Then, Aris pretended to be Takeo's sister and fool him? What a dirty trick."

Luciel nodded weakly. "Indeed." She gave a concerned glimpse to Takeo, noticing the blood on his shirt. "Takeo, I think you should have your wound checked out." She tried to convince him.

He spoke in a small voice. "It's okay...it's not so bad."

She could feel the heartache for him. "This is different. Your energy was absorbed. You need to get looked at."

"I just want to stay like this..." He didn't even look her in the eyes.

She tried to control her own shaking but just looking at him was painful. Luciel was lost for words and didn't know what to say for him to cheer up if that was even possible.

Tao sighed. "Everyone's back. What about Aris and Yuri?" He asked.

"They got away," M-21 said.

"Oh, I see..." Tao snapped his head over. "What! Aris and Yuri got away?"

Luciel shrugged. "They were quite something."

"That Yuri? Aris must have been hiding something...even though I saw her power."

"Frankenstein and Luciel did everything by themselves," M-21 said bluntly.

"Huh?" Tao began to sweat and took a glance to Luciel who sat pretty beside Takeo. Still...it was hard to believe that this woman was the ultra-powerful chimera that they had to hunt down this whole time.

"Tao," Luciel spoke up and made him flinch. "You got those pills, right?" She asked.

"Ah? Yeah?" He nodded.

She got up and opened her hand. "Please give them to me." She smiled.

"What... Miss, you're kinda scaring me."

"Aris took the pill that Takeo hand and it had a strange effect on her. The power spilled out of her and she collapsed from the effect." She said bluntly with the pretty smile still on her face. "Now...please give me the pills so I can throw them out."

"Ah...sure."

Frankenstein stared at Raizel's back while they stood outside on the balcony as the wind blew really softly in the silent night now filled with nothing but peace.

"I'm so sorry, Master..." Frankenstein apologized.

"I'm sure you went there because there was something you needed. I'm not worried but I knew Luciel was."

Frankenstein clenched his hand tightly. "I understand." He knew so well that Luciel was worried, but at the time he didn't think it was that severe. The look in her eyes when he told her those words were so broken and frightened that it was hard to believe that it was Luciel staring back at him. Sure, she gets worried very easily about others but that wasn't the problem.

"Luciel...isn't the same since we've last seen her. She appears to be very skittish." Raizel had noticed himself that slight change her persona. "Watch over her...because right now...she has never been so fragile."

Frankenstein's face fell. He lowered his head. "Yes...Master."

The household sat in silence as they all drank tea in the living room. Luciel took a glance to M-21 though and noticed that he looked a bit agitated. She can understand that since Takeo refused to get checked out. It weighs heavily on her own heart.

Tao and Takeo then walked into the living room and came right up to M-21 and stopped. M-21 glared at Takeo though.

"I'm sorry for being like this." Takeo apologized sincerely to him and you can tell that he truly meant it.

M-21 sighed with a faint smile. "At least you know..."

Takeo then walked over to Frankenstein. "Hey...Can you...check the condition of my body?"

Luciel's eyes widen when the weight of worry began to lift from her shoulder when Frankenstein smiled.

"Sure. We wasted time, so shall we do it now?"

"T-Thanks."

Author's Note:

One chapter left! I'll see you next week to talk about the name of the next installment as well as the future plans for this saga.