Death or Trust
Jul. 2nd, 2023 08:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
esp_dragonv2Fandom: Noblesse
Summary: Frankenstein is injured. Injured enough that Dark Spear has to decide what's better: Frankenstein dying with them along with him, or trying to find help.
Notes: Wanted to play with some Dark Spear. :)
Rating: PG
Genre: General
Word count: 2,009
Status: Complete
The bastard was hurt, pain thrumming throughout them, wave after wave after wave that kept increasing with every beat of his heart.
They were glad.
He would die.
The cause for all their suffering, for their entire existence, would finally die.
They just had to wait.
The air was thick, their host struggling to breathe in the black smoke that surrounded him, heat blistering his skin causing another sharp spike in pain, making them laugh, drinking in his suffering. It was nothing compared to what he had done to them. What he made them into.
They surrounded him, letting him feel how eager they were to see him die surrounded by the mounds of research he so adored. Tried to smother him with it, so he couldn't attempt to think of a way free.
But not too much that they blocked out his pain.
No.
They needed him to feel every single second of his own struggle, to feel his own life seeping out with every weaker breath.
"I applaud...your enthusiasm," their host wheezed, "but can you...be sure...what will happen to you...if I die?"
They would be freed.
Wouldn't they?
It didn't matter. All that mattered was he died, screaming in pain.
But if they were so sure, they could have killed him years ago.
The point was to make him suffer. If he died, he wouldn't suffer anymore unless they dragged his soul into their own existence.
I don't want to die. Not again.
They wouldn't.
Are you sure?
Were they...?
They felt their host's relief and a small smile curl his lips. They raged at him, hands slipping around his throat.
He still smiled even as he choked.
He had divided them, and he knew it. This was why he needed to die!
Will we die with him?
The bastard lost consciousness and they let go of him.
They couldn't see the fire anymore, couldn't see how close the flames had come already. His heartbeat thundered around them, but it was getting slower with every beat.
They were running out of time.
We need to make a decision.
He lives and so do we, or we die with him.
We don't know that.
No time to guess now. We need to get him out now.
They had watched him move thousands of time before. Seen every breath he took that wasn't theirs.
Controlling his body was different than watching him.
His pain was now theirs, and it made it hard to move. And so did the restraints around his wrists and ankles.
They tore the rope to shreds, opening his eyes to see the fire almost upon them.
Hands. Feet. Movement. Balance.
All new.
All so much different from what they remembered.
I never had such long legs.
Their eyes watered from the smoke and they crawled away, sweeping a hand out, the fire flicking and dying underneath their own purple flames.
A way out.
They were close to a wall and when they lifted themselves up to bash a shoulder against it, it crumpled as if it wasn't there.
They sucked in a deep breath of cool air, a plume of fire chasing after them. They launched themselves forward and the world tumbled as they span.
They were on their back, the fire dancing through the host's lab, raising high into the night sky. There would be nothing left of it once the fire was out.
Now what?
We stay, we might be found by the ones who did this.
He -we- might still die from his wounds.
He needs to see someone.
There's no-one he trusts. It might be a trap. It's happened before.
There's one who won't try to kill him. Not for his research or revenge, anyway.
The werewolf.
Yes, the werewolf.
They didn't know how to find that werewolf, but they had a general idea of where to go.
* * *
Muzaka tilted his head, seeing the flock of birds fly overhead. Something had disturbed them. Nothing too interesting but...
He'd been hearing a lot of noises from that direction for a while now.
Hm. Well, he didn't have anything else to do right now.
He headed towards where he'd heard the last scuffle.
* * *
It didn't take long, but Muzaka paused at the sight of the human.
The familiar human.
Barely.
The shoulder-length blond hair was recognisable but... That was were most of the similarities faded out.
Yeah, there was the black suit, but it was singed and torn in places, barely covering his skin, with bruises and red burns dotted around everywhere that was exposed. Anywhere that wasn't was covered in scratches or blood.
Frankenstein had hunched shoulders, stumbling like he was trying to learn how to walk again, hands out for balance.
And his eyes were darker, almost purple.
"You," the lookalike said, lighting up at the sight of him. Their voice was...strange. "You look after him now." There was an echo to it, like there were ten people speaking the same words at once.
"Uh. What?" Frankenstein did surprise him a lot, but this was far different from what Muzaka was used to.
"Look after him. There's no-one else who will." The darkness left Frankenstein's eyes and-
Muzaka dashed forward as Frankenstein's eyes rolled back and he crumpled.
What...just happened? "Oi... Oi, Frankenstein?"
No response.
Muzaka gazed over all the wounds that dotted around Frankenstein's body. Even after their bouts of fighting, Frankenstein hadn't looked like this.
What was he supposed to do with human injuries...? He knew they healed far slower than werewolves, but he also knew Frankenstein had ways to help healing.
But he couldn't ask Frankenstein right now...
Muzaka exhaled, and then adjusted his hold on Frankenstein, carrying him in his arms.
Did Frankenstein really have no-one else?
* * *
Frankenstein woke with a start, hissing as every single nerve screamed at him.
But that meant he was alive.
Somehow.
Had someone found him in the fire? He couldn't see that happening, since he'd built that lab to be remote. The only people who knew he was there were the people who had attacked him, and... Dark Spear.
Had they really...?
If you continue to live, you continue to suffer, bastard.
He exhaled, closing his eyes as the whisperings faded from his mind once more. Dark Spear had saved his life, it seemed. He wasn't sure how, but he was grateful for that.
Now he had to figure out where he was and what do from here. His research he could remake again. It was better it burned than reached Union hands anyway.
He opened his eyes again. The ceiling wasn't immediately familiar, but the person lounging in one of the chairs nearby was.
"Mu-?" He cleared his throat, his mouth feeling like it had been. Well. Like he'd been trying to breathe through smoke for hours, everything dry and cracked.
"I got some water for you?" Muzaka said, jerking his head towards the cup of water by his bedside, studying him.
Muzaka of all people had found him?
Or Dark Spear had somehow found Muzaka?
"Thank-" He exhaled again, gritting his teeth as he reached for the cup. He should talk once he had some fluid in him.
"You okay?"
Frankenstein pursed his lips, wanting to tell exactly what happened on the tip of his tongue, but he focused on the pull of his muscles, his skin, trying to reach further than what the burns and injuries allowed. Muzaka didn't need to know anything. It was a surprise he'd even asked.
The water was cold and almost a shock to his system, like he had to remember how to swallow again.
Or his trachea was swollen, allowing less through it.
"I'm fine," Frankenstein said once he'd finished with the water. Even that was exhausting, and he almost dropped the cup on the table rather than setting it down.
Muzaka's drawn in eyebrows said just how much the werewolf believed him. "Good ya see you're back to yourself anyway. It was weird seeing you act like that."
Frankenstein stilled. "Acting like what?" Had Dark Spear really brought him to Muzaka?
"Not you." Muzaka shrugged. "Like you didn't know how to walk."
That would make sense if Dark Spear wasn't used to controlling his body. If that was all, Frankenstein didn't mind Muzaka thinking he'd taken leave of his senses.
"Like someone else had taken over your body."
Shit. Muzaka knew about Dark Spear, had seen Frankenstein use them in a fight, but not what Dark Spear was or how it was created. "I see..."
"So? What happened?" Muzaka leaned back more against the chair, tipping it up onto two legs.
"You care?" Frankenstein said, adding as much loftiness to his voice as he could, even though it cracked.
"Yeah," Muzaka said with a shrug. "It has to be bad if you were attacked and I'm the only person you could think of that would look after you."
"That wasn't-" He sighed. Muzaka didn't know about Dark Spear, and he did not have the energy to regale the entire history of what happened. "I don't," he said instead. "Due to my work, it puts me rather counter to those doing the same..." Muzaka's face had blanked. Right. Make it simpler for him. "I have enemies because of what I do, because they want my work and are jealous of what I've achieved."
"Jealousy, huh..." Muzaka was quiet for a few seconds. Surely he understood that concept? "I guess humans are more similar to us than I thought."
Muzaka said that softly, making Frankenstein study him back. That sounded...like it was personal. Werewolves were jealous of Muzaka? Why?
"So you can stay here while you recover," Muzaka said, eyes trailing over Frankenstein again. "I didn't know how I was s'posed to treat your wounds..."
"That's fine." Frankenstein almost felt lighthearted, a smile tugging at his lips. It had to just be a delayed reaction to finding out he was still alive. "I can do that myself but, ah..." He looked around the cottage in a new light. It was sparsely decorated, but it did have a jacket similar to the one Muzaka was currently wearing hanging on the wall. "I'm surprised you have a house."
At that, Muzaka laughed. "Did you think I always sleep under the stars?"
"Well? Yes?" Seeing how they always met in a forest nowhere near the werewolf territory, Frankenstein had assumed Muzaka was a wandering warrior.
"I don't spend much time here, but I do sleep here when I am."
Wait. Frankenstein glanced around. There was what looked like a door that headed to the outside, and that was it. Was he sleeping on Muzaka's bed?
"So if ya need something, just let me know." Muzaka stood up, the chair legs sounding loud as they hit the floor.
Frankenstein didn't say anything as Muzaka left. He would need bandages and ingredients to make a salve for his injuries but... At the moment, all he needed was rest.
He could leave right now, find safety elsewhere.
But there was no such place and he knew that.
If he were to leave, he could run into a werewolf with low opinions of humans, or one of the people sent to kill him.
It was better for now that he trusted Muzaka.
He snorted at the thought. Trust a werewolf, when he'd been trying his damnedest to figure out how to kill them.
And that Dark Spear had considered Muzaka trustworthy enough to go to him as well.
He sighed again, leaning back. He really did have no-one else.
There was no echoing laughter, but he could imagine it anyway, Dark Spear mocking him for how alone he was. How little support he truly had.
If he were to leave now in the state he was in, he would likely die, but trusting Muzaka...?
He could do that.
For now.
Until he had recovered from his injuries, at least.
Frankenstein's met Muzaka and they've chatted/fought a couple of times, but Frankenstein doesn't know what Muzaka does, and Muzaka doesn't know what Frankenstein does.
There's a reasonably high chance I'll continue on with this verse at some point, so we'll see what ideas pop up later, haha.
Summary: Frankenstein is injured. Injured enough that Dark Spear has to decide what's better: Frankenstein dying with them along with him, or trying to find help.
Notes: Wanted to play with some Dark Spear. :)
Rating: PG
Genre: General
Word count: 2,009
Status: Complete
The bastard was hurt, pain thrumming throughout them, wave after wave after wave that kept increasing with every beat of his heart.
They were glad.
He would die.
The cause for all their suffering, for their entire existence, would finally die.
They just had to wait.
The air was thick, their host struggling to breathe in the black smoke that surrounded him, heat blistering his skin causing another sharp spike in pain, making them laugh, drinking in his suffering. It was nothing compared to what he had done to them. What he made them into.
They surrounded him, letting him feel how eager they were to see him die surrounded by the mounds of research he so adored. Tried to smother him with it, so he couldn't attempt to think of a way free.
But not too much that they blocked out his pain.
No.
They needed him to feel every single second of his own struggle, to feel his own life seeping out with every weaker breath.
"I applaud...your enthusiasm," their host wheezed, "but can you...be sure...what will happen to you...if I die?"
They would be freed.
Wouldn't they?
It didn't matter. All that mattered was he died, screaming in pain.
But if they were so sure, they could have killed him years ago.
The point was to make him suffer. If he died, he wouldn't suffer anymore unless they dragged his soul into their own existence.
I don't want to die. Not again.
They wouldn't.
Are you sure?
Were they...?
They felt their host's relief and a small smile curl his lips. They raged at him, hands slipping around his throat.
He still smiled even as he choked.
He had divided them, and he knew it. This was why he needed to die!
Will we die with him?
The bastard lost consciousness and they let go of him.
They couldn't see the fire anymore, couldn't see how close the flames had come already. His heartbeat thundered around them, but it was getting slower with every beat.
They were running out of time.
We need to make a decision.
He lives and so do we, or we die with him.
We don't know that.
No time to guess now. We need to get him out now.
They had watched him move thousands of time before. Seen every breath he took that wasn't theirs.
Controlling his body was different than watching him.
His pain was now theirs, and it made it hard to move. And so did the restraints around his wrists and ankles.
They tore the rope to shreds, opening his eyes to see the fire almost upon them.
Hands. Feet. Movement. Balance.
All new.
All so much different from what they remembered.
I never had such long legs.
Their eyes watered from the smoke and they crawled away, sweeping a hand out, the fire flicking and dying underneath their own purple flames.
A way out.
They were close to a wall and when they lifted themselves up to bash a shoulder against it, it crumpled as if it wasn't there.
They sucked in a deep breath of cool air, a plume of fire chasing after them. They launched themselves forward and the world tumbled as they span.
They were on their back, the fire dancing through the host's lab, raising high into the night sky. There would be nothing left of it once the fire was out.
Now what?
We stay, we might be found by the ones who did this.
He -we- might still die from his wounds.
He needs to see someone.
There's no-one he trusts. It might be a trap. It's happened before.
There's one who won't try to kill him. Not for his research or revenge, anyway.
The werewolf.
Yes, the werewolf.
They didn't know how to find that werewolf, but they had a general idea of where to go.
Muzaka tilted his head, seeing the flock of birds fly overhead. Something had disturbed them. Nothing too interesting but...
He'd been hearing a lot of noises from that direction for a while now.
Hm. Well, he didn't have anything else to do right now.
He headed towards where he'd heard the last scuffle.
It didn't take long, but Muzaka paused at the sight of the human.
The familiar human.
Barely.
The shoulder-length blond hair was recognisable but... That was were most of the similarities faded out.
Yeah, there was the black suit, but it was singed and torn in places, barely covering his skin, with bruises and red burns dotted around everywhere that was exposed. Anywhere that wasn't was covered in scratches or blood.
Frankenstein had hunched shoulders, stumbling like he was trying to learn how to walk again, hands out for balance.
And his eyes were darker, almost purple.
"You," the lookalike said, lighting up at the sight of him. Their voice was...strange. "You look after him now." There was an echo to it, like there were ten people speaking the same words at once.
"Uh. What?" Frankenstein did surprise him a lot, but this was far different from what Muzaka was used to.
"Look after him. There's no-one else who will." The darkness left Frankenstein's eyes and-
Muzaka dashed forward as Frankenstein's eyes rolled back and he crumpled.
What...just happened? "Oi... Oi, Frankenstein?"
No response.
Muzaka gazed over all the wounds that dotted around Frankenstein's body. Even after their bouts of fighting, Frankenstein hadn't looked like this.
What was he supposed to do with human injuries...? He knew they healed far slower than werewolves, but he also knew Frankenstein had ways to help healing.
But he couldn't ask Frankenstein right now...
Muzaka exhaled, and then adjusted his hold on Frankenstein, carrying him in his arms.
Did Frankenstein really have no-one else?
Frankenstein woke with a start, hissing as every single nerve screamed at him.
But that meant he was alive.
Somehow.
Had someone found him in the fire? He couldn't see that happening, since he'd built that lab to be remote. The only people who knew he was there were the people who had attacked him, and... Dark Spear.
Had they really...?
If you continue to live, you continue to suffer, bastard.
He exhaled, closing his eyes as the whisperings faded from his mind once more. Dark Spear had saved his life, it seemed. He wasn't sure how, but he was grateful for that.
Now he had to figure out where he was and what do from here. His research he could remake again. It was better it burned than reached Union hands anyway.
He opened his eyes again. The ceiling wasn't immediately familiar, but the person lounging in one of the chairs nearby was.
"Mu-?" He cleared his throat, his mouth feeling like it had been. Well. Like he'd been trying to breathe through smoke for hours, everything dry and cracked.
"I got some water for you?" Muzaka said, jerking his head towards the cup of water by his bedside, studying him.
Muzaka of all people had found him?
Or Dark Spear had somehow found Muzaka?
"Thank-" He exhaled again, gritting his teeth as he reached for the cup. He should talk once he had some fluid in him.
"You okay?"
Frankenstein pursed his lips, wanting to tell exactly what happened on the tip of his tongue, but he focused on the pull of his muscles, his skin, trying to reach further than what the burns and injuries allowed. Muzaka didn't need to know anything. It was a surprise he'd even asked.
The water was cold and almost a shock to his system, like he had to remember how to swallow again.
Or his trachea was swollen, allowing less through it.
"I'm fine," Frankenstein said once he'd finished with the water. Even that was exhausting, and he almost dropped the cup on the table rather than setting it down.
Muzaka's drawn in eyebrows said just how much the werewolf believed him. "Good ya see you're back to yourself anyway. It was weird seeing you act like that."
Frankenstein stilled. "Acting like what?" Had Dark Spear really brought him to Muzaka?
"Not you." Muzaka shrugged. "Like you didn't know how to walk."
That would make sense if Dark Spear wasn't used to controlling his body. If that was all, Frankenstein didn't mind Muzaka thinking he'd taken leave of his senses.
"Like someone else had taken over your body."
Shit. Muzaka knew about Dark Spear, had seen Frankenstein use them in a fight, but not what Dark Spear was or how it was created. "I see..."
"So? What happened?" Muzaka leaned back more against the chair, tipping it up onto two legs.
"You care?" Frankenstein said, adding as much loftiness to his voice as he could, even though it cracked.
"Yeah," Muzaka said with a shrug. "It has to be bad if you were attacked and I'm the only person you could think of that would look after you."
"That wasn't-" He sighed. Muzaka didn't know about Dark Spear, and he did not have the energy to regale the entire history of what happened. "I don't," he said instead. "Due to my work, it puts me rather counter to those doing the same..." Muzaka's face had blanked. Right. Make it simpler for him. "I have enemies because of what I do, because they want my work and are jealous of what I've achieved."
"Jealousy, huh..." Muzaka was quiet for a few seconds. Surely he understood that concept? "I guess humans are more similar to us than I thought."
Muzaka said that softly, making Frankenstein study him back. That sounded...like it was personal. Werewolves were jealous of Muzaka? Why?
"So you can stay here while you recover," Muzaka said, eyes trailing over Frankenstein again. "I didn't know how I was s'posed to treat your wounds..."
"That's fine." Frankenstein almost felt lighthearted, a smile tugging at his lips. It had to just be a delayed reaction to finding out he was still alive. "I can do that myself but, ah..." He looked around the cottage in a new light. It was sparsely decorated, but it did have a jacket similar to the one Muzaka was currently wearing hanging on the wall. "I'm surprised you have a house."
At that, Muzaka laughed. "Did you think I always sleep under the stars?"
"Well? Yes?" Seeing how they always met in a forest nowhere near the werewolf territory, Frankenstein had assumed Muzaka was a wandering warrior.
"I don't spend much time here, but I do sleep here when I am."
Wait. Frankenstein glanced around. There was what looked like a door that headed to the outside, and that was it. Was he sleeping on Muzaka's bed?
"So if ya need something, just let me know." Muzaka stood up, the chair legs sounding loud as they hit the floor.
Frankenstein didn't say anything as Muzaka left. He would need bandages and ingredients to make a salve for his injuries but... At the moment, all he needed was rest.
He could leave right now, find safety elsewhere.
But there was no such place and he knew that.
If he were to leave, he could run into a werewolf with low opinions of humans, or one of the people sent to kill him.
It was better for now that he trusted Muzaka.
He snorted at the thought. Trust a werewolf, when he'd been trying his damnedest to figure out how to kill them.
And that Dark Spear had considered Muzaka trustworthy enough to go to him as well.
He sighed again, leaning back. He really did have no-one else.
There was no echoing laughter, but he could imagine it anyway, Dark Spear mocking him for how alone he was. How little support he truly had.
If he were to leave now in the state he was in, he would likely die, but trusting Muzaka...?
He could do that.
For now.
Until he had recovered from his injuries, at least.
Frankenstein's met Muzaka and they've chatted/fought a couple of times, but Frankenstein doesn't know what Muzaka does, and Muzaka doesn't know what Frankenstein does.
There's a reasonably high chance I'll continue on with this verse at some point, so we'll see what ideas pop up later, haha.