#m-24

M-24 wanted to pull Tao away from the tank at first, but then changed his mind. M-21 was sleeping and would not understand Tao's words anyway. He concluded that Tao's verbiage has not resulted in any unbearable headache. But M-21 would hear his voice. Perhaps it would be something like a first step that would help M-21 get used to the people he would live with under one roof from now on.

Since M-21 - according Frankenstein - was making good progress and yet he would be sleeping in the tank for a few weeks, M-24 was much occupied. As previously mentioned, they had given up their original plan to train on an island because M-21's condition required constant monitoring. Now instead of being hounded on bare earth by Frankenstein, they were being hounded within four walls. This increased the panic factor even more.

-.-.-.-

Frankenstein leafed through M-21 test results. Judging by his expression, the man was pleased with what he saw. He muttered to himself and nodded here and there once. Then he suddenly turned around and caught sight of Regis.

The young Nobles could not prevent his flinch. Frankenstein wore the grin on his face. The grin that tells every enemy with a touch of intelligence and the will to survive that he only had a few seconds left to breathe.

"Regis, I have to talk to Gajutel."

Regis initial, ill-concealed fear shifted to the unexplained confusion that everyone felt at these words. Everyone except Raizel. The Noblesse exchanged a long look with his Bonded and then nodded venerably.

-.-.-.-

Calling a clan leader turned out to be a stroke of luck in retrospect. They were attacked, at two points at the same time. The Union came to the KSK with a plan and set about destroying their environment piece by piece. With that, they probably intended to elicit the rebels of their last problems. They succeeded very well, but the Union had probably expected less with Raizel, Frankenstein and three clan leaders.

At the same time, Crombel took advantage of the distraction, sending his lackeys around the school to take the children as hostage. M-24 and his comrades went to the school and none of them were there to protect the house. Despite all her security precautions, Crombel had managed to track them down to M-21.

When Yuri mocked them, they all got ice cold. The enemy in their home? The place that was so important, to not only Raizel but also Tao, Takeo and M-24 . A sanctuary that gave them the security they needed so much.

Yuri enjoyed the obvious horror, because it spurred him on to another sentence that particularly hit M-24 hard: "Crombel just wants what belongs to him." the greasy man bowed awkwardly to M-24, "I hope that your partner has recovered well? He will need it." The sentence made Yuri laugh until the moment Rael appeared. M-24 left the young Noble the responsibility and took the moment to rush home.

-.-.-.-

Rael had helped them to take the children to the lab, but something seemed to have gone wrong at home. M-24 had intercepted and sent them to the replacement lab, one floor down. But now the children were supplied. Raizel, Boss and the other Nobles had returned. Now it was time to see after M-24 and of course, after M-21.

"M-24?!" Tao slipped around the corner. He had only a short time to catch a glimpse of the blood on the ground and M-24 who stood in front of M-21, before Frankenstein had gotten to them and pulled Tao behind him. There was an eerie silence in the room. Scary enough that Tao shut up and voluntarily backed away to the wall.

The laboratory was partially destroyed. The tank was shattered and its contents leaked to the ground. Not far away from the tank, a motionless body laid stained with blood. Most of all, however, M-21 mesmerized him. The man stood diagonally to them. His body also showed traces of blood. However, Tao could not detect any injuries from his current position.

Opposite him, M-24 was standing and speaking reassuringly to his old partner but there was no indication that he heard him. M-21 just stood there, letting his arms hang down his head. The now really long gray hair covered his whole face. A hose was still hanging from his arm.

"Tao, leave."

The Boss's voice sounded strangely loud even though he had spoken very quietly. Tao blinked and was about to retreat discreetly when M-21 turned his head and looked at him. In his eyes, a white-blue fire seemed to glow, strange stripes ran across his cheeks, and as M-21 raised his lip a little, one could clearly see the impressive fangs.

"I'm already gone." squeaked Tao.

-.-.-.-

M-21 was sleeping again. M-24 had come to the lab with him in his arms, and laid him on one of the free couches. It turned out he had been injured, but his wounds were already healed. The body in the lab was one of Crombel's henchmen. He had tried to steal Frankenstein's data, which had turned up after a brief search in the clothes.

From what they suspected, the agent had broken into the lab and ravaged it trying to steal the data. Then he had tried to take M-21 and died. Pretty fast. M-21 had ripped his throat out.

"Frankenstein," noticed Gejutel after he had patterned the sleeping M-21 in detail and listened to what Tao had told his comrades about his strange behavior, "Now every race is represented."

Frankenstein sighed. The older Nobles raised an eyebrow. "Are you not pleased with this? This must spur your curiosity "

"Shut up Gejutel"

-.-.-.-

M-24 tried to focus on his reading. The mood in the house was generally depressed. The incident between Rai and the Union-Elder, the abduction and poisoning of the children, the damaged school and last but not the least, Crombel's attempt to kidnap M-21 again. The big man gave a long stretched sigh. Since he had started to get stronger, he had become more and more emphatic. That's why he knew exactly when Rai, Frankenstein or someone else was not feeling well.

It was hard to shake off so many negative emotions and focus on the positive aspects of their lives.

A movement at his side tore him out of his thoughts.

M-21 had turned around. M-24 could now see his face and immediately reached out his hand to pacify him, patting his head as he had always done before.

M-21 was now stable enough to rest outside the tank. Nevertheless, M-24 could not lose the feeling that Frankenstein didn't want to risk losing another tank to M-21. To be fair, the last one was probably more on Crombel's agent.

M-21 growled softly like a furious dog. A very small, angry dog. His energy wavered and trembled before it slowly withdrew. M-24 precautionarily left his hand where it was and spoke in a low voice to his comrades until he was sleeping calmly again.

This energy, it was completely unknown to him. Why? By now he had experienced a broad segment of auras and energy from Nobles, humans, and modified humans for comparison. Why did M-21 not fit into any of these patterns? And why was it impossible for him to read his mood?

To face his old comrade, while he was completely out of his mind without even knowing what was going on with him, is not a pleasant experience. Raizel had calmed him down and Frankenstein later praised his gentle attending to M-21, trying to reassure him. According to the two, M-21 had been able to hear him and recognize him.  That is why he had not attacked Tao or rest of the household.

He should be able to be satisfied with that. Although he would have preferred to contact M-21 on an emotional level. M-21's inexplicable behavior had made M-24 restless. It was like seeing M-21 through a thick wall of ice. Just a schematic of a living being, of the person who was like a little brother. Was it because of what Crombel had done? Had he lost that soulful connection with his comrade now?

M-24 prayed that M-21 would be normal when he awakes.

-.-.-.-

As if he reappeared from deep waters. Almost reluctantly. His mind was drowsy and he would love to cuddle up in the pleasant warmth and continue his sleep. M-21 moaned softly. Not out of pain, but more in protest. He hid his face again in the strange, soft thing that smelled so pleasant to protect his eyes from the annoying brightness.

Next to him, someone chuckled, amused. As M-21 made preparations to pull the fabric over his head, which was probably his blanket, the chuckle turned into soft laughter. It was annoying and he immediately knew what would follow. As if to confirm, someone knocked him gently on the head. When it did not work, he nudged his forehead and then tugged at his ear.

"Stop ..." M-21 muttered, half-heartedly waving his hand in the direction of where the hand came from.

"Realy, I am glad that you feel better."

"M-24 ..." he opened his eyes. No cheap hotel or any abandoned building where they sought shelter. Instead, a clean little room with large windows, from which light fell directly onto the bed. Directly above his head, on the wall, hung a calendar with a giant puppy image. Puppies ...

He blinked hard.

His comrade leaned over him, blocking his view of the puppy calendar.

"M-21? Something wrong?"

"Puppies ... there were dogs."

"Yes, I got the calendar from Sui."

From whom? M-21's thoughts started to work. He turned on his back and looked up at the ceiling. "We ... we are not in the Union anymore, are we?"

"No," M-24 shook his head, "It's been several weeks since we freed you from Crombel."

M-21 shuddered and tensed involuntarily. Now that it was mentioned, he remembered what had happened. What Crombel had done to him. The man had been so fascinated by his claws. After he was finished with him, they only vaguely resembled his initially transformed nails. He had developed into something monstrous under Crombel's hands. So many experiments, operations and concoctions until he was unable to remember. The pain and the feeling of being completely leached were all that was left behind.

He had turned into a beast at the push of a button, with no control and no way to defend himself or even remember. The collar ... his voice. M-21 reached for his neck, wincing in surprise as his fingers touched smooth, warm skin.

It was gone. The damned thing was gone.

M-21 knew that the experience should really affect him a lot more. He should not just lie here in a strange bed and feel so safe.

A touch on his shoulder startled him out of his thoughts. M-24 frowned and squeezed carefully, as if to confirm that he was there. They stayed like this for some time. Until the moment M-24 began to recite what had happened to him after M-21 went to get his medication, but did not return. And M-21 just listened to him.

-.-.-.-

At the same time, the rest of the household was sitting in the living room, drinking tea and busying themselves with the little things that needed to be done. For example thinking about repairing the school as soon as possible. To their credit, the modified people tried not to break out into sweat that often when the Nobles had a strange conversation among themselves or when Frankenstein decided to revive his old friendship with Regis's grandfather.

At some point during this evening, Tao stopped in the middle of his mind braining for the school and looked over at Takeo. The sniper seemed to be lost in thought and Tao had to wave his hand in front of his face to grab his attention.

"It's too easy," said Takeo, readily and unsolicited. His eyes flicked over to Tao.

"You mean M-21?"

"All the trouble, traps and manipulation by Crombel. Now M-21 is here talking to M-24. Just like that…" Takeo struggled for words "I'm worried. What if M-21 is a bait? What if he was manipulated?"

They exchanged a look. This theory was not that unlikely. Crombel had been trying to fool M-24 in the past. The thought that he used M-21 to finally reach his goal was not at all outlandish. If that was the case, then M-21 was an enemy moving in their midst.

"Maybe we are judging too fast," Takeo ran his long hair and sighed. "After all, we do not know anything." It was obviously unpleasant for him to judge a person he seemed to know so well. Of course, they only knew M-24 stories and yet there was such a comradely feeling for M-21. Strong enough to make them talk to him even when he slept.

"I know someone who can tell us more ... Boss!" Tao turned to Frankenstein with a beaming smile. Like an entertainer greeting a new star guest on his show. Frankenstein smashed Tao's beaming smile with the more practiced ease of a man who was used to throwing people to the ground.

"M-21's condition is privy to only him and M-24."

Tao's grin faded and he shrank beneath Frankenstein's gaze. "But M-24 ..."

"We are worried," Takeo objected carefully. "What if M-21 was manipulated by Crombel?"

"He was."

“And that's why we need to know ... wait, he was?"

Frankenstein sighed and put his hands on each other. "Crombel's experiments have damaged M-21's memory: short-term memory, and more. He drove his body to autonomously erase neuronal connections in the brain to make it easier to manipulate him."

They sat there petrified. No memories, or even more dangerous: memories that were scattered. This meant no security and therefore no trust.

Tao knew about the Union, and partly through M-24's statements he had understood  that it was common practice in the Union to erase the memories of lower level test subjects. Not only to make them docile, but to avoid any permanent mental damage in promising experiments that may arise due their harrowing experiences. Even modified humans had limits as far as pain tolerance and permanent burden on the psyche went.

Now the autonomous capping of neuronal connections ultimately may only mean that M-21 unconsciously repressed probably a good part of his memories to protect himself. Sure, Takeo and he did the same. The only question was to what extent M-21 did and how much Crombel had his game with him.

Frankenstein looked at them thoughtfully. "Well, that's probably the most serious question. Even if we suspect that it only concerns the events of recent months."

"Then ... then why? If M-21 remembers M-24 and trusts him, what did Crombel want to use it for?"

"Oh, I am sure that this man actually have something else in mind," strangely, Frankenstein smirked. "He is a bungler. At first he tried to make M-21 stronger, where he suceeded only  halfway. However, in an unfortunate way and very crudely." Raizel sighed loudly at this sentence and the ensuing mockery in his voice, but somehow did not feel compelled to intervene. The remaining Nobles successfully gave the impression of sheer dislike.

Frankenstein continued, "Then he tried to wipe out his memories to make him docile. Here comes the point where the order is wrong. M-21 has changed too much for Crombel's understanding. His brain, its nerve cells, bones, almost everything has become flexible. In every attempt to manipulate his memory, the brain formed new neuronal connections."

"Uh ..." Tao snapped his fingers. "As an algorithm? Is there something like that?"

"It's a little more complicated than that." Frankenstein picked up his cup and looked thoughtfully into it. "Crombel could not control M-21's memories, but his experiments triggered a nasty effect, which he then used along with this ... collar for his purposes."

"The band is destroyed." Takeo had seen Boss melt it down. With too much sadistic joy on his face.

"It was primarily used to administer M-21 drugs that drove him down." Frankenstein cleared his throat. "You saw what happens when he's upset?"

"You mean the matter with Crombel's agent in the lab?" M-21 did not necessarily made a friendly impression back then. But nothing else happened ... or? He had not even touched his comrade. Frankenstein hovered between sincerity and curiosity as he waved the contents of his cup.

"I'm curious about how he'll develop."

"Frankenstein."

"Excuse me Master, I should not be so concerned about a patient."

Well, that was less insightful than they had hoped. While they watched Frankenstein anxiously - with a lot of gaping, because he giggled too strangely - the RK team silently wondered if they should be worried about M-24 and M-21 or not.