Nathaniel turned his head slowly, glaring at the door. He backed away, placing each foot behind the other methodically. He needed to slip out of the light—the limelight. A memory flooded his mind, and he wanted it to go away. Each step was closer and closer to the shadows, the only thing that gave him strength. He shook his head rapidly in a mindless rage.
"What have you done, Nathaniel!?" His mother cried. He had yet again beaten up another school kid. His mother's broken sobs scared him. It was as if he murdered the child.
The house distorted, leaving moving shadows, red clouding his eyes. The lights blinded him, and his scar started to burn. He stifled a pained scream as hot pain burned up his face. He was so close to the shadows that encompassed his entire body. Nathaniel never felt safe around himself, hoping to find peace in the man from the bar. Others ruined it for him, and now he was driving himself mad. His head spun, his right foot moving back and displacing the hallway rug. Alarm flashed across his face. He knew what was about to happen. His body came crashing to the ground, leaving him defenseless to anyone who was to check on the madman.
A giant, eight foot tall monster, covered in stitches and scars, stepped into where Nathaniel was hiding. They shrugged, and placed him on a chair to rest. This thing seemed evil, but harmless. The true harm, true evil, was within beauty that hid something. The monster, which had no name outside the theater, slunk into the next room, where machines lay in piles, half-formed carcasses, not unlike what the monster had seen in their creator's journal. They were half machine, bones simply metal structures meant to bend and sway and snap and break and heal. Enchanted, so as to never die. Even their brain, they knew, was not made for anything but calculations. And yet.
They had never laid eyes on Victor Frankenstein. He had ran before they even had the chance to ask for a kindred soul, a companion, a sister even, in this misery of existence. And with that, they had made the resolution to kill Victor. They did not recognize the man in the sitting room, who looked so weak, so tired, so miserable. The drunken idiot had told them that they were rescuing a friend of Dorian's, nothing more.
Victor, however, very much recognized the monster, and promptly fainted into Dorian's waiting arms. This couldn't be happening, this nightmare could not have returned to torment him.
Nathaniel's vision went in and out. It made everything wonky. It was as if we were looking through a periscope. His eyes threatened to close on him. He got up, stumbling after the creature. He wanted everything and one out of his home. His heart beat against his throat as he grabbed a dagger from the wall. He swayed and veered in many directions, trying to follow in the monster's footsteps. He held the dagger promptly out in front of him, wandering closer to the doorway to the sitting room. When he reached the doorway, he leaned against it, turning his head towards the patrons occupying his sitting room. Laying eyes on the creature, he let out an audible, terrifying scream. Nathaniel thought he was the monster of this dreaded tale, but he was mistaken. He looked as if he was near ready to pass out—was it from the sight of the beast or his tumble? He did not know. "Wh—what the hell is going on?" he panted before sliding down to the floor, unable to stand on his own. The dagger fell to the floor with a metallic clank.
Dorian looked on, a tad disgusted at both monsters. "Hyde, this is who you bring in to help? He seems just as rotten as this… Nathaniel." he said. "Actually, she's a she or a they. And-" Hyde was cut off.
"Hyde, whatever it is, it's clearly nothing like a woman. And they is a plural, or singular as to refer to an unknown."
"They are the unknown, babydoll. Now, your buddy seems to be pretty passed out, and Victor here-"
"Victor? As in, Frankenstein?"
"Uh, according to his tab, yes." Dorian said. "Why?"
The monster's face darkened, and she approached Victor, stretching out a hand to brush against his forehead. "Skinnier than I first thought."
Nathaniel heard little bits of this conversation, his head swaying from side to side. He scrambled to pick up the dagger, but his body had other plans. His vision narrowed into a small tunnel. The first instinct to his body shutting down was to let out a monstrous laugh. The burnt side of his face was once again shadowed. That's how he got people. He collapsed to the ground with a small thud, fighting himself internally. He wasn't about to let the lights go out and have his unconscious, vulnerable body around people who hated him. Who thought him a monster. Unfortunately for Nathaniel, he couldn't fight the urge to close his eyes, so he did. He let out one last heavy breath before passing out in the doorway, the dagger in his hand.
Hyde looked behind him. "Babes, catchup is for later. Let's deal with this little creep before he wakes up. You claimed to be a cannibal, yes?"
"No! You just said I had teeth sharp enough for one, and went with the assumption." the monster said, ruffling her hair anxiously. They dragged Nathaniel to the sofa, and Dorian stood up. "Vladimir will want to know why I didn't show up at home last night. You know how he gets…"
Hyde shot Dorian a worried look, but quickly masked it with a look of teasing. "Oh, and what would he be waiting for from you? I'm sure you two will get up to all sorts of things the same as any confirmed bachelor would with his man toy." he said, and before Dorian could respond Hyde pushed him away. "I'll take care of these." Dorian seemed satisfied with that, and left.
Nathaniel blinked his eyes open, letting out a small groan. What the hell happened? "Where am I?" he mumbled. His vision was blurred, and he couldn't make out the scenery of his own home. Something happened to him, but the blow to his head wouldn't allow him to remember. He gripped the side of the sofa for stabilization, managing to sit himself up. He looked fevered. The burned side of his face looked more lively, the other was pale. Nathaniel put a hand to his temple, audibly mumbling questions about what happened to him. The past day had become a fuzz in his own mind as if he wasn't in control of his own body. Something about him seemed friendlier than the night before, but if anyone knew him well—his wrathful tendencies would flare up again at the sound of someone's voice. He would regain those memories, and this period of gracefulness would be over.
Hyde shrugged at Nathaniel, and turned to the monster. She seemed in a frightful state, their pacing practically driving a path into the floorboards. They looked to Victor, it wouldn't be fair to torture him whilst unconscious nor would it be when he was awake. They didn't know what to do.
Nathaniel's face turned to displeasure. "Why the hell are you still here? I thought it told you to leave!" His shoulders tensed and swung his legs over the sofa. He tried to get up, but his vision blurred, making it insanely hard for him to walk. All he could do now was spit insults and threats. "When my creatures overrun this city, I will make sure—" He stopped himself from speaking. He cursed himself for speaking. His delirious state made him speak about things he wouldn't. Now he needed to make sure they never left, maybe assimilate these people into his creatures. He gritted his teeth, his face twisting into a psychotic expression.
Hyde groaned. "Spare me, buddy. You're just as insane as Dorian's lover is, thinking you can take over the city. Fortunately, you don't have a pretty little boy toy to manipulate like V does my Dorian." he said bitterly. "Oh, wait, that's what Victor was for, wasn't he?" he said, stepping forward, withdrawing a knife from his coat pocket. Unlike Dorian, Hyde was willing to kill.
Nathaniel was unfazed by the knife being withdrawn. He got close to Hyde, grabbed him by the wrist, and threw him to the ground. He put his foot on his chest. "Try me. You're not scary or threatening. I don't just use people just for the purpose of my plans." He pressed his foot harder on Hyde's chest. "At least I was there for Victor before he was torn apart by the savage monsters that are Darion's patrons. And I'll keep that monster from killing him too. I'm not the real monster here, buddy. Look around you." Nathaniel made a low snarl in his throat. His smile was twisted, and so were the scars on his face. "If you're lucky, I might let you live."
Hyde used this as his chance to knock Nathaniel's smug grin off his face. His knife hadn't slipped out of his hand, and he slashed through Nathaniel's Achilles Tendon with the knife quickly and efficiently, as if he had prior medical knowledge. This would probably give Nathaniel a bad limp at best, at worst he'd have to get rid of the whole leg. He pushed Nathaniel off of him, and bared his teeth, pearly white like a noble's would be. The creature picked up Nathaniel and threw him to the side, slamming him to the wall like he was a ragdoll, unfazed by the violence. Victor chose that moment to wake up, and boy did he regret it.
Nathaniel hit the wall with a loud thud. He fell to the floor, managing to get on his hands and knees. His leg gave him a great deal of pain, making him wince in between his panting. "GODDAMN YOU, HYDE! YOU LITTLE BASTARD." Nathaniel had no choice but to stay on the ground. He couldn't get himself back up on his feet with a bleeding wound such as this. He needed a way to close it up. "I should have killed you when I had the chance! I should have driven my dagger through your sorry little heart. You have awakened the red death, and it will kill all." Nathaniel's eyes had nothing but pain in them. He looked up to see Victor was awake. He quickly changed his act. "Why would you hurt an innocent bystander? What good does it do to you? Why would you strike a good man? That would make you the evil monster here."
"I am a monster. But at least I'm not absolutely fucking batshit. And-"
"Hyde…" Victor said faintly. "Let me fix this. I don't… I wouldn't hurt an innocent, nor would you, I know."
"I already have! Shut up!" Hyde shouted, brandishing his knife at Victor. But then, the monster that had no name stopped him, clutching his small arm tightly.
"No. We've done enough. I don't think this man truly is trying to take advantage of Victor, and if he is, so be it. He's the real monster." they said. Hyde was on the verge of tears. "But, but Dorian said…"
"Dorian is not always right. Let us leave, now. I'm sure Victor can repair anything we've broken, let it serve as penance." the monster said, and with that she ushered Hyde out the door.
Nathaniel's breathing slowed as he squeezed his eyes shut. The pain was unbearable, even for a man like him who was used to pain. "Thank God they have gone," he muttered. Another memory from his past flooded him. His sister had just confronted him about the person he murdered. She grabbed his wrist and started violently twisting it. It snapped in two, leaving him to stifle his screaming while she walked off. She didn't even glance back at her bastard of a brother.
Nathaniel gritted his teeth. "I do not know how much of this pain I can take!" he whined. He clawed at the floorboards, achieving nothing in turn. "That man is stupid and uses too much violence to get his way." He winced as he moved his bad, slashed leg.
Victor didn't know what to make of that. He stood up on shaky feet, knowing he'd find something he wouldn't want to if he looked that man fully in the face. He thought, for a fleeting second, he'd see himself. "Here, let me help you." he said, standing over Nathaniel cautiously. He offered out an arm to lean on, and waited with bated breath to see if Nathaniel could stand. He then noticed the leg. So much blood, almost like that November night he'd brought back his bastard creation to life. "I'll fix that. You might not be able to run properly for a week, or walk without a cane for a day, but I… I'm sorry for getting you into this."
Nathaniel shook his head, tears forming in his eyes from the pain. “It’s not your fault Victor. I got myself into this, and unfortunately, my method to dig myself out will be unsavory.” He took in a sharp breath, one that cleared his head of the memories that plagued him. “Sometimes, I wonder why I didn’t stay in France and let myself be taken away.” Nathaniel kept his eyes closed, grinning with every wave of pain. “I can deal with not being able to walk without help. I’ve survived much worse before.” He collapsed, for he couldn’t hold himself up much longer. “Who knows—maybe my creatures will tear me to shreds too.”
Victor picked up Nathaniel from underneath the arms, and dragged him to the couch. "You may be pathetic, but at least you…" aren't as much of a monster as I. At least you're just insane. "aren't so much of a coward as I. Now, stay there and rest, I'll bandage up your leg and find the materials I need to fix it." he said. Self pity was one thing, but suicidality was not something Victor would tolerate.
Nathaniel stifled a laugh. “You're not a cowered, dear Victor. You're just trying to preserve your life.“ He winced when Victor placed him on the couch. When he heard him say that’ll find the materials he needed, Nathaniel’s face froze. “Whatever you do, do not go into the room straight down the foyer. That is forbidden.” He didn't need Victor to see the carcasses of failed mechanics and strange body parts scattered to make the machines think.
Victor nodded. A man had to have his secrets, but he'd still need materials. Namely, metal flexible enough to serve as a new tendon. He eventually found all he needed in an old storage room, and he spent the next hour at Nathaniel's side doing measurements and cutting thin metallic threads until at last, his leg was sewn up and largely healed. Victor then took out a salve from his pocket, which bonded the flesh and the injuries beneath closed and soothed the pain, greatly speeding up the recovery process. "Are you alright? As said, be careful on this foot, this is a one time only type surgery… I think. You could maybe even walk, with a cane, if you wanted."
Nathaniel looked sickly after all of this had happened. He took a breath and started to speak, "I am alright—" He got cut off by a delayed groan in reaction to the pain. Nathaniel shook his head, trying to get his head straight. "I am sorry, I have not been able to deal with pain since I came to England." He paused. "But yes, I am generally alright. Thank you, Victor, for helping me. I did not think you would. Everything has been so awful." He put the back of his hand to his forehead, feeling how clammy his skin was. "I cannot believe those men accused me of such things. Not only that, but I have a horrible feeling they may target me." He relaxed his tensed shoulders, sinking into the couch as much as he could. "I think I will just lie on the sofa for now. I do not want to risk ruining your hard work." He gave Victor a little smile, but it held pain in it. Not to mention, his burn scars twisted its meaning.
Victor looked away from the hideous face. "You seem like a monster, but I've learned well enough that what seems to be often isn't, in most human cases. But I don't think I'm human anymore." he said, ghosts of the dead flickering on the edges of his vision. "Rest, then. I'll come back tonight." he said.
"I am sorry you have to look at my face. I know it looks awful. I burned myself when experimenting with Sulfuric acid." He shifted, trying to get himself comfortable. He gritted his teeth from the dull, but horrible pain. "Thank you, Victor. I think I will get some well deserved shut-eye. I appreciate your company, especially over the other men and their monster." He sighed. "You are human from what I can see and feel. Don't doubt your humanity." Nathaniel laid his head on the arm of the sofa. "Please return. It gives me comfort to know I'm not alone in this big house."
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