German Bros Week 2024 - Day 6
Prompt: Experiments || "This is a mistake."
Relationship: German Bros
Author's Note: Frankenstein AU based off of the m!a I've been doing over on my ger//eng ask blog @askgermanyandengland. This is a bit of an origin story to it.
Never Play with Life and Death
Everyone dealt with grief in different ways. Some cried for days, perhaps even weeks on end. Some shut themselves up in their homes, in their rooms, isolated from society and everything that reminded them of the deceased. Some frequented the cemetery, talking to the tombstone as if they were the person. Some threw themselves into their passions or their work.
But Dr. Gilbert Beilschimdt was different. Dr. Beilschimdt was a man of science. And his duty was to heal all ailments within his patients.
Death was just another ailment.
Ludwig had been a healthy boy, eighteen years of age. Still so much life ahead of him. Yet the cold jaws of death did not care. It was hungry and Ludwig’s soul was its next meal.
But Gilbert didn’t let himself mourn for long. Time was always of the essence for a doctor after all. Curing death was particularly time-sensitive given decomposition and that it had never been done before.
It only took a few months and many, many, many sleepless nights. But he finally made a breakthrough. Jumpstart the heart and the rest would follow. He just needed enough electricity to do so.
So in the middle of a stormy night, Dr. Beilschimdt put all his work and studying into practice.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t quick enough to salvage all of Ludwig’s body. Still, the most important parts–the brain and the heart–were able to be kept in perfect condition. Any missing parts that rotted away could easily be replaced. Was it by the most legal means? No. But it wasn’t like anyone was using the parts Dr. Beilschimdt ‘borrowed.’
All the parts had to be stitched together to rebuild Ludwig’s form. His skin may have been pale and the added parts all had slightly different skin tones, but it still looked like Ludwig in the end. Now all he needed was lightning to strike the lightning rod he had hooked up to some bolts he attached to Ludwig’s neck.
He had fallen asleep by the time the lightning finally struck just right. Dr. Beilschimdt was awoken by the flash of light. He watched wide-eyed as the mix-mash corpse of his brother jerked about.
For a moment, he wondered if he was doing the right thing.
When the light subsided, Ludwig’s eyes snapped open. Gilbert rushed to his side and wide, almost manic smiled.
“It worked…It worked,” Dr. Beilschimdt muttered gleefully.
Ludwig just looked at him, eyes empty. Glee simmered to cool fear.
“Ludwig?” Dr. Beilschimdt called, voice low. “Ludwig, it’s me…It’s Gilbert.”
The…creature…just stared, not so much as a twitch of a muscle. Dr. Beilschimdt realized just how inhumane the figure was with its hastily stitched limbs, soulless eyes, and bolts protruding from its neck.
“No…no no no no,” Dr. Beilschimdt muttered, backing away slowly.
The…thing tilted its head. Dr. Beilschimdt picked up his pace until he bumped into the desk piled with all the notes from his studying.
Rage sparked in Gilbert’s chest. He shoved the work off with a roar, slammed his desk against the wall, stomped on the scattered pages. He screamed and yelled as he tore up his study, the creature following his movements.
Dr. Beilschimdt caught its gaze again.
“Get out,” he screeched. “Get out, get out, get out. You abomination. Y-You demon…I…This was a mistake…”
The creature jumped, rising to its feet and cowering. But it didn’t leave.
Dr. Beilschimdt saw red. He grabbed the closest thing he could use as a threat, a candelabra. He thrusted it into the creature's face, burning the tip of its nose.
The thing cried out in pain, stumbling back.
“GET OUT BEFORE I BURN THE REST OF YOU.”
The creature gave a pitiful whimper before rushing out the door and into the night.
Dr. Beilschimdt watched as the figure disappeared. For a moment, he considered chasing after it before it made a scene. But at the same time. Perhaps this was for the best. Leave it to fate to decide what became of this thing.
Alone once more in a dark, destroyed lab, Dr. Beilschimdt’s knees buckled, burying his face in his hands, Dr. Beilschimdt broke down into sobs.
