There will be a song reference somewhere in this chapter. Let's see if you can find it :P
Stein listened to the sounds of the underground dungeon as he sat on his bed and stared at the grey walls. Doing nothing didn't bother him at all; he was actually used to doing this if he wasn't busy with an experiment or writing notes. The sounds of rats crawling beneath his bed, water dripping, the smell of growing mold and lack of light didn't even faze him for that matter. But what really got to him, the thing that made him grind his teeth, was the ever- raging battle going on inside his head.
He had been locked up in this cage like a lethal animal for a little over a week now. Every day, Stein had forced himself to push himself far beyond his physical limits with intensive work-outs, hoping it could help him gather his thoughts and perhaps even aid him in his war with the madness. But all those hours of ripping his muscles apart were really only making his physical body stronger. What he needed now was to make his soul stronger.
Can a man's own soul be strong enough to actually defeat madness? Is what I am trying to accomplish now just what one would call a dream? Or is it possible? Stein sat with his back up against the wall for another few moments while he stared off into the abyss of grey nothing. If it is possible, how can I get to that point? I've nearly exhausted all of my ideas, and I am still in the same place I was a week ago. The only thing that made me any better was when Marie sat with me here as I battled the madness. And... his eyes opened a little wider. I won.
A ghost of a smirk tinted the mad professor's lips. He may have needed Marie there with him, but he still accomplished what he had been trying to do for days. Her voice, her touch, her scent... It tied him down with a loose grip. It was not strong at all, but if he so chose, he could help tighten the ropes and keep himself from falling. But... I need to be able to do this on my own. If I can't, this entire experience will be useless.
Stein sighed, sat up and raised his arms as he yawned and stretched the sides, front and back with a few bends of his torso. His muscles burned and felt as if they were being ripped apart as he stretched, but he enjoyed the sensation. It made him feel as if he was in fact human, that he does have a brain to send those nerves messages to cause pain. Every millisecond of the hot burn was not left unnoticed as it poured down his spine like warm water which soon spread to the tips of his fingers. When Stein finally let his arms drop to his thighs, he stood and paced around his cell. He watched his boots in the dark as he took short strides.
Her voice... Her voice... Stein slowly raised his head to his temporary desk where a recorder from the laboratory was given to him by Marie.
He must have listened to it at least five times. All he wanted was peace, a way to just live his life the way everyone else does. Death, I sound like a depressing teenager... But he couldn't change the fact that he would never be what he wanted to be, and it not only angered but terrified him. I was born this way... And I'll die this way. Even as a child, all I could even think about was... The professor took in a heavy breath. I'm getting an epiphany now? Why now of all times? I've had literally my entire life to ponder and accept my nature... And it all started in my childhood.
Day Number 22.
It's only been a couple of weeks, but it feels like an eternity. I was given a calender, but I figured I should write my experiences day by day just to make sure I don't lose track. My birthday is today. I'm nine now. I suppose Mother might drop by to see me, but the truth is, I don't want her to. I hate her... I hate her so much... She left me here in this... Place. I know I shouldn't hate my mother, but why should I not? She and my... It sickens me to even say this... My "father" left me here! They left me so they could have an easy existence. And oh, an easy existence they will have... When they are six feet underground. I still have the spoon. Remember when I told you about the spoon that I kept from when they brought me lunch? I sharpened it.
A knock rang from the cell door. Without any time to respond, a tall man in a pure white lab coat pushed open the door and stepped inside. "Mr. Stein, you have a visitor."
'Ah. So I was correct.' Miniature Stein thought as he set his pen down on the notebook he was writing in. A very familiar face made itself known. Pale skin, green eyes, blond hair, slender, lanky body... Everything that he hated. "Hello, Mother." Younger Stein's words spat out from gritted teeth. What was once a happy with a sad-tinted smile, her expression sank to its true colors.
"I'll just uh... Give you two some time to talk," the doctor stated quietly before he exited the room just as easily as he had entered.
Lilith, for that was her name, could not bring herself to keep eye contact with her son for more than a few moments. Every time she tried, she only felt white-hot rage searing through her soul. "I- I'm so sorry, Franken..." she began. Now she only wished she could continue.
"Don't even start, Mother."
An ache hit Lilith's chest. "What?"
"You heard me." he growled.
"I know," Lilith said with a sigh, "but I truly am sorry. I wish I could get you out of here and bring you home so you could be with me..."
"Stop it. All you want is to say one final goodbye so you can go off and have a care-free existence without feeling guilty. Well guess what? I really do not care what happens to you."
"F- Franken... You can't be serious..."
A few small giggles fell out of the young boy's mouth. "Of course I am, Mother. To be completely honest, I hate you with every fiber of my meaningless being." Stein then shut his mouth with a sweet, innocent smile. Several minutes passed by, and neither souls had said a word. Stein sighed and got up from his seat at his small desk. "Mother..."
"Y- yes?" she stammered.
Stein took a few steps toward his mother. "I've missed you. Why didn't you come to see me sooner?" he asked with a tone of voice that matched his smile.
"Well, I've been busy..." She tried to keep her breathing even.
Another couple of steps... "You're lying to me, aren't you?"
"No, Franken, I'm not."
He was now about two feet away from her. She wanted to run out of there as fast as possible, but she knew she couldn't do it. If anything, she needed to explain to her only child why she had left him behind. She wanted to, but she didn't even know where or how to begin. Stein wouldn't even give her time to think.
"Yes you are, Mother!" he giggled. "It's ok, you can be honest! I am your son, after all." Again, that disarming smile... How did he manage it so well?
"Well..." Lilith swallowed. 'Something about this is not right...'
"If it's that much trouble, you don't have to say anything. I understand." He said as he wrapped his mother up in a tight hug, his forehead resting on the top of her shoulder. Sure, he was only nine, but Stein grew quickly. At that age, he was already about five foot four.
"Y- you do?" Lilith asked her son, returning the embrace. A huge wave of relief washed over her and her shoulders relaxed some, but in those waters of relief was also something dark... Something like doubt.
"Of course I do! Who would possibly be able to speak when they have a piece of metal in their esophagus?"
Confusion began to spread through Lilith's thoughts. It would have gone further if she had not felt a sharp pain right where her esophagus was. A choked cry gurgled from her throat, blood spitting out of her mouth in the process.
"You see?" Stein pulled the spoon out her throat and stabbed her again. He knew doctors and security guards would be bursting through the heavy white metal door at any moment, so he wanted to take in as much of the scene as he possibly could. Lilith's back hit the wall and she slid down till she sat on the cold floor. Stein crouched in front of his mother and giggled.
"You left me here like a chalk outline, waiting for the rain to wash away, you know that? And here you are, coming back to the scene of the crime. But, Mother, I think you forget that the dead can't speak." Stein's voice started off simple and sweet, but it ended with a mixture of different emotions: anger, sadistic, sadness, and above all else, happiness. He then raised the spoon high above his head and brought it down. The metal stabbed through the top of her skull with a sickening squishy crush. He repeated this motion several times, his laughter growing more and more sadistic.
"I... Hate everything about you, Mother! I hate you! And you hate everything about me, so why do you still love me?!" He screamed. Tears were now beginning to slowly trickle down his left cheek. Soon enough, several doctors and security guards broke through the door.
As half of the lot tackled Stein while a nurse sedated him, they all managed to get a good glimpse of the room. The white walls were now covered with blood. A pool of crimson surrounded a slumped women sitting on the floor with a spoon sticking out of her head.
Stein closed his eyes tightly and bit into his hand. No matter what he did, he could not get those horrifying memories out of his head. He sat down on the floor up against a wall and pulled his knees up, using them as a rest for his elbows. His long, slender fingers ran through his hair and he groaned.
"I need to remember. This is helping me, I know it is. If I can remember what I've done, I can remember who I am... But still, I worry."
All of this is so useless... It will never work. How could a man simply cheat something that is very much part of him? The mad doctor knew he couldn't give up, but all of this seemed so... Unrealistic. The idea of battling the war after it was already over was not only seemed stupid to him since the start, but it was also unbelievably ridiculous. Stupid. Now that's a word I rarely ever use. But this... This really is stupid. It's foolish of me to even have a single thought in my head of ever defeating what is me, and I feel incredibly rediculous knowing that I let Marie make me believe the ending of this sick game could play out in my favor.
Stein sat at his desk deep in thought, and he hated every second of it. His right leg was fully stretched out and his muscular torso was bare while his left leg was bent in a ninety- degree angle, shaking up and down. He wanted physical leeway, not a cage. Abusing his muscles with work outs was all he could do, and that alone was enough to drive any man in his right mind insane. But I am no man in his right mind. What I need to do is focus on the most important part of my soul... The human, sane part. The madman pulled his right leg up and pushed his left leg down to stand up.
"I really should start stretching before and after each work out..." The professor mumbled to himself; his arms and legs first felt as if they were being ripped away from their correct places, and, after a few moments of muscle twitches, the pain faded into warm liquid then numbness. I just really wish I could get out of this place... When will I get out? I feel... Claustrophobic.
"I want to get out... I want to get out..." Stein's voice began to shake. Why... Does my chest ache? His breathing became rapid and his olive green eyes darted around the room. "I need to get out of here!" The tall, lanky doctor got up and began pacing, each step he took grew larger and faster. Eventually, his head snapped to the door and he rushed it, banging his fists on the cold metal.
"Let me out of here! Let me out!" He screamed as if someone were stabbing him multiple times in the leg. "Get me out!"
"Professor Stein!" a familiar voice came from down the hall, rushed footsteps running with the voice. Stein recognized the voice, it was the pink-haired boy who had got him into this mess in the first place, and he hated him for that. He wanted to rip his body apart. No, not for fun or academics, but for the mere reason of destroying the cause of his madness spikes.
Crona opened a small latch on the door so he could see into the cell, and a hand flew out and grabbed his neck, squeezing so hard he thought his neck would snap. He tried to speak, but his trachea was being crushed with impossible strength. Stein pulled on the boy as if the door was not there, lifted him up off his feet and growled.
"You are the reason I am like this. It's your fault, Crona!" Stein gripped his student's fragile neck even tighter; it was amazing his neck hadn't snapped yet.
I need... To get... Crona's eyelids were now drooping lazily over his irises, and he was not aware of the body that dangled right beneath him. All he wanted... Was sleep...
His eyes closed. His head dropped.
Stein's mouth spread in a sadistic grin, and he giggled. "Now... All I have to do is open this door..." The insane professor dropped Crona's limp body and reached his arm as far out of the opening as it would go and proceeded to try to blindly find his way to the latch to open the door. His hand finally found its target, and, grasping it, he pulled up and twisted it. The smile grew even wider, and he pulled his arm from the opening.
So, did any of you find the song references? :P