Developing Trust [Part 2]
Aug. 26th, 2014 06:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
esp_dragonFandom: Noblesse
Summary: Developing trust takes time.
Rating: PG-13
Contains: Takeo/Tao
Notes: Set after chapter 143.
Written as a parallels treat for Kiyutsuna.
Genre: General.
Word count: 3,852
Status: Work in progress
When the house was silent, the occupants gone, Takeo and Tao looked at each other. They really had been left alone in the house. No second glance had been given to them or any warnings about stepping out of line and it was…weird, to say the least.
"It must be nice having a job that doesn't involve killing people," Tao mused.
"Mm." It was different to what Takeo had gotten used to.
"Anyway." Tao shook his head. "Explore the house?" he suggested, putting his hands behind his head. "Maybe they're keeping an eye on us with cameras."
Takeo nodded. They hadn't been able to check the night before - there had been too many people walking around.
The first place they checked was the living room and Takeo watched as Tao started peering under paintings. Tao's attention was caught by the fish for a short while, cooing at them before moving elsewhere.
"Can you see anything?" Tao asked, looking into corners and cupboards in the kitchen.
"No." Nothing stood out to his eyes, no reflections or anything that seemed out of place.
"That's just weird," Tao muttered, shaking his head. "They're powerful and rich, but they don't have cameras or anything?"
Apart from the intercom, but there wasn't any point saying that - Tao already knew about it. "Maybe they don't have to worry about burglars." Not if they could take care of them themselves.
"Heh, I guess. Still," Tao said, puffing air thought his lips, staring up at the lights, "the Union buildings are filled to the brim with cameras - just 'cause they can protect themselves, doesn't mean they shouldn't be careful."
Especially with the lab hidden underground.
"Still can't see anything." Tao turned to him. "Move on?"
Takeo nodded and they walked out the living room.
Tao looked up the corridor, frowning. "Wow…" he murmured, "they cleaned the floor up well…"
...How much had he been bleeding? Takeo couldn't remember much apart from trying to drag one more breath into his lungs and then another, feeling his hot blood trail over his skin.
"What happened, anyway?" Tao asked, lifting his head to look at him, running a hand through his hair, giving Takeo a brief glimpse of his eyes.
"That...was Frankenstein," Takeo said, his skin prickling at the sheer memory of the heavy aura that had lashed out from the man.
Tao tilted his head, stopping in front of him. "I got that much," he said with a huff. "What did he do?"
Takeo exhaled, trying to think how to put what he'd experienced into words. "He can turn his aura into spears." That's what it seemed like, and the only way Takeo could explain it. Sensing auras was something Takeo was used to; auras given physical presence was not.
Tao's eyebrows rose. "Huh, yeah, that would explain your injures but no weapons being around." He hummed, holding his palm out in front of him. Takeo watched, unsure what Tao was going to do. Tao's cables snaked out from under his sleeve, going down Tao's wrist and curling around Tao's fingers.
Takeo never questioned where Tao's cables came from - so long as they came when Tao needed them, he didn't care.
"I wonder if I'd be able to do that…"
"That's not your au-" Oh. That's what Tao was doing.
There were three cables out now and they twisted together, merging until they were one smooth, thick cable. The tip looked like it was melting, sharpening to a point.
Tao made the cable move like a snake, rising it up, its 'head' narrowing until it was like an arrow's point and then weaved it towards Takeo.
Takeo held out a hand for it, and when the cable reached it, Tao prodded the centre of his palm with the flat side. Takeo could feel the press of the blade though it didn't break his skin before Tao nodded, withdrawing it, the cable unfurling into three again.
"That could be useful later…" Tao muttered, the cables disappearing up his sleeve. "But I need to check them out first before using them in a fight…" He glanced at him. "Wanna spar once we find a place to do it?"
"Yeah," Takeo said, nodding. He felt well enough now for that. And maybe… "Do you think we should ask M-21?" He would know the best place to spar.
Tao slapped a fist down into his open palm. "Ah! Great idea! The faster I know how he fights the better!"
That…wasn't what he meant, but Takeo wouldn't object to sparring with M-21 if he wanted to either.
"And then I can find out more about his transformation," Tao continued once his cables was gone, shaking his wrist.
"His…what?" Takeo couldn't have heard that right. M-21 was experimental material – he shouldn't have the ability to transform.
But Tao was nodding, his hair flipping at the movement. "His transformation – it's different from ours," he said, wagging his fingers at Takeo. "It's like Jake's - he didn't need to take a pill for his and it just covered his hands." One side of his mouth curled up. "It was furrier than Jake's too."
Even with that description, it wasn't detailed enough for Takeo to guess what it looked like.
"Anyway," Tao said, shaking his head, "we'll ask when he gets back?"
"Yeah."
Tao started walking again, opening the closest door and he poked his head into the room. His whispered "woah" drew Takeo's attention and he peered over Tao's head.
Describing the room as 'grand' was an understatement: it was at least three times bigger than Takeo's room with a four-poster bed in the centre, a chandelier shimmering above it, throwing sunlight over bright walls. Comparing the drabber carpet in the hallway to the plush white one in this room, this room hadn't seen that much use.
But that seemed to be the only things in the room, the walls bare, no dressers or wardrobes in sight. There was a door leading elsewhere to their left; it didn't look like the en-suite door in Takeo's room, but maybe it was a fancier one.
"Do you wanna bet this is Frankenstein's or his master's room?"
There was no contest. "His master's." Takeo saw Tao lift a foot and he grabbed Tao's collar before the other man took a step into the room.
"Awk! Takeo!" Tao hopped in an attempt to regain his balance, his flailing hand almost smacking Takeo in the face.
"We are not going into that room," Takeo hissed, tugging Tao back.
"Why not?" Tao protested, still flailing, though it was more for the act of flailing rather than trying to get out of his grasp. He followed Takeo's tug, trying to keep upright.
"Because I'm not seeing Frankenstein's reaction when he finds out we'd been in his master's room." It wasn't a threat to Frankenstein's master's life, but it was a threat to his privacy, which Takeo was sure Frankenstein would take the same way: very seriously. Even though he wasn't back yet, Takeo would rather not risk any chance of angering him.
Tao stopped struggling, looking at him over his shoulder.
"I might have been able to beat Frankenstein with the D drug," he said, answering his silent question, "but I said I would kill his master afterwards." And Tao had seen the result of that.
"Ah…okay…" Tao patted Takeo's hand. "Got it."
Takeo let go and when Tao stepped towards the door, it was to close it, nothing more.
"Right." Tao slapped his hands together. "Next room?"
Takeo nodded, eyeing the door next to it. What would they find there?
The room was far smaller than Frankenstein's master's, closer in size to Takeo's; it was also more lived in with a few landscape pictures on the wall, books filling every available space on shelves and bookcases. On the bedside table was a book, a blank sheet of paper and a pen next to it.
"Frankenstein's room," they said together.
They left that room alone as well. So they knew where six out of the seven bedrooms were now – M-21 had told them where Seira's room was but they hadn't been to that floor yet.
The rest of the doors on the floor led to spacious cupboards filled with towels or linen (including the entrance to the lab) that could fit three people and there were a bathroom further down from them as well.
They knew what bedrooms to avoid, silently agreeing not to go inside them now, when they went upstairs and Takeo opened the first room that had been left ajar.
He raised his eyebrows at the row of computers in the room, black and shiny, at odds from the more traditional rooms they'd just seen.
He heard Tao squeak and he was too slow to stop Tao from worming his way into the room.
"H-hey-!"
Tao was already taking off one side of the closest computer's tower. "Let's see what you're made of, hmm?" he purred, peering into it, resting a hand on top of it.
Takeo saw the second Tao froze, his eyes going wide while his jaw dropped. "Are you kid – no way!"
"Tao…?" Takeo eyed him. What was wrong with the computers? Had he found something in them?
Tao's head popped up, flailing a hand, saying something too fast for Takeo to understand. "They have-" He took in a deep breath and exhaled. "Takeo," he said in a calmer tone, "the Union only just upgraded to these parts. In fact," –Tao ducked down again- "I haven't seen this motherboard before!"
"They're that good, huh?" Takeo said, keeping the door open so they would hear if anyone came back early as he walked in.
Tao stuck his tongue out, not taking his comment to heart. "'Good' doesn't cover it! This is more 'god-like'!" He huffed, replacing the panel. "Now to see how these babies run." Tao switched the computer on. "Hey," he said, drumming his fingers on the table, "do you think Frankenstein would give me any free parts he's got…?" His tone was wistful.
"Tao…" Takeo said, watching him. He knew how well Tao could multitask, seeing him work from the corner of his eyes a few times when they were on missions; he had also seen what Tao could be like when the topic of computers came up before Krans told him to shut up. "Focus."
Because he had been watching Tao, Takeo saw his minute flinch, his expression turning brittle. "Right, yeah, sorry…" Tao settled into the chair, staring at the screen, hands ready on the keyboard and mouse.
Shit, he hadn't meant for… "It's fine," he said, shaking his head. "You can-" Takeo wasn't sure how to finish that sentence.
Tao didn't seem to notice, frowning as he leaned towards his screen. "Wait… Really?"
"What is it?" Takeo could see what Tao was looking at, but he didn't see anything wrong – he couldn't read Korean at the speed Tao could either.
"Can you switch on another computer?" Tao said instead of answering.
Takeo did that, switching on the one next to Tao.
"They can't be…"
Fuck. What had Tao found? Takeo made sure to stay out of Tao's way so not to distract him, tightening his hand on the back of Tao's chair. Did they have to get out straight away?
Tao rolled his chair to the other computer and did the same thing, muttering under his breath. They were bitten off phrases that made no sense in the string Takeo heard them in.
When he was done, Tao leaned back in the chair, his expression dazed. "They're using this… They have all this power…and they're using them for games?"
Oh. Takeo's tense shoulders eased and the knot of fear in his stomach abated. It hadn't been something serious like he'd thought. "That's it?"
Tao stilled, glancing at him for a second, and then dropped his gaze. "It's a waste. If I had this at my fingertips, well." He shook his head, a tiny smirk curling one corner of his mouth. "I could do so much." He made a grumbling sound, other things flashing up on the screen.
"Hmm, that's all there is so…" Tao clicked a few buttons and the computer powered down with a cheery jingle. He rolled towards the other pc and did the same. "Let's go," he said, beaming at Takeo as he bounced to his feet. "We've got the rest of the house to explore!"
Tao was out the room before Takeo could say anything.
"Ah, Tao," Takeo said, going after him.
"Mmhm?" Tao didn't turn around, dipping into another room.
…Fuck. "Sorry about earlier."
He still didn't turn around. "S'all good, don't worry about it; I'm used to it."
Takeo winced. "I shouldn't have said it."
Tao paused and looked at him from over his shoulder. "You're…apologising?"
He nodded. "Yeah."
"Oh." Tao blinked, rubbing the back of his neck. "Okay, cool, I guess." He shook his head. "C'mon, we've still got everywhere else to look."
When Tao gave him a hesitant smile, Takeo returned it and they started trying to find cameras again.
-
M-21 raised his eyebrows at Takeo's question, his jacket still slung over his shoulder. "You want to what...?"
"Spar," Takeo repeated. He'd left Tao in 'their' room, muttering over a couple of plugs to watch the scenery from the balcony to give him some space. It was quiet where they were, only a few cars passing by every so often and his mind had drifted towards Teira, how she was doing. M-21 seemed to be the last to arrive, Takeo hearing thumping and laughter below long before M-21 came up the stairs.
"Hn..." M-21 studied him. "Why do you want to spar with me?"
Takeo blinked, taking a second to realise what M-21 was implying. As a member of the DA-5, his strength should be stronger than M-21's to the point that a spar would be pointless. The result should always be the same with Takeo the winner.
Should.
M-21 had proven himself full of surprises, from what Tao had told him.
"Tao mentioned you could transform…?"
M-21 didn't say anything, and then nodded. "Yeah. It's not much," he said with a shrug. There was a twist to M-21's mouth that Takeo couldn't interpret. "It's only my hands."
"It's still a transformation." Which made M-21 stronger than what his file said, and how had he managed to hide that from the scientists? After every mission the DA-5's data was collected and recorded, their development tracked. They wouldn't have been able to hide anything from the scientists.
"Hm…" M-21's gaze wandered and then focused back on Takeo. "With you, or you and Tao?"
"I think just me," Takeo said. He didn't think Tao would join in even if they asked; Tao hadn't joined any of the sparring matched they had in the DA-5 unless forced to by Krans. That and Tao had seemed more interested in finding more out about M-21 first than seeing how well his sharpened cables worked. "Tao wanted to see how you fight."
The apprehensive look that snapped onto M-21's face made Takeo pause.
"Why?"
"Well…" Takeo tugged on a loose lock of hair. "Tao likes collecting data."
M-21's lips thinned, his eyes narrowing.
That probably wasn't the best way of putting it… "He does it so he knows what to expect," Takeo tried again. "Tao directed us when Krans didn't; he knew our strengths and weaknesses and how to put us together so we wouldn't fail the mission.
"So he wants to know how you fight in case something comes up." And it was the Union they were talking about - something probably would, if they hadn't hidden their tracks well enough. The Union didn't want modified humans that weren't under their control or anyone else finding them and gaining their data… Which had already happened, hah…
M-21 nodded slowly and then exhaled. "Sure. I need to get changed anyway."
Takeo smiled. "Thanks. I'll go get Tao."
Tao was sitting cross-legged in the centre of the room when Takeo opened the door, scattered pieces of something surrounding him; they looked too big to have come from plugs. Tao's head jerked up, his eyes wide and he scrabbled to cover what he was working on.
When Tao saw it was him, he huffed, relaxing. "Whew, Takeo, you gotta knock next time – you nearly gave me a heart attack!" He held his free hand over his chest.
"Knock on my own room," Takeo said, trying to guess how Tao was, closing the door to hide the view.
"Yep!" Tao set what was in his hands on the shirt beside his knee, wiping his hands on it as well. "What did he say?"
"He said it was fine." And Tao seemed to be fine as well.
Tao beamed and got his feet. "Sweet!" He danced over to Takeo's side, his footwork precise and not disturbing what he'd laid on the floor, and he collected his laptop on the way out.
M-21 nodded to them when they emerged from Takeo's room. "It's this way," he said, going down the stairs.
They followed him and Takeo wondered where it could be. It couldn't be the living room, not when the children were still there. Or Frankenstein's master's room. The garden? They would be seen; it was too much of a risk even if they held back.
So where was M-21 taking them? It had to be the lab; that was the only place Takeo could think of. Was it all right for them to walk in like that?
They turned away from the living room when they reached the bottom of the stairs, going deeper into the house.
M-21 led them to the lab entrance hidden in one of the linen cupboards. Once they were inside, he placed a hand on the wall. Tao still twitched at something Takeo couldn't hear, turning his head towards where M-21 had placed his hand.
"Would you be able to key us into the security?" Tao asked. "Frankenstein hadn't done that before he disappeared."
"…Ah." M-21 shook his head. "I don't know how to do that; Frankenstein did that for me."
M-21 put his hands on the shelves in front of them and pushed with a soft grunt. The shelves gave way like a set of double doors with only token resistance. On the other side was metallic walls, leading a short way to elevator doors.
Tao quirked a grin at him. "It's fine."
"C'mon." M-21 walked towards the elevator. "Before the children burst out of the living room."
It did seem like something that could happen from the little Takeo had seen of them inside the house.
The doors shut behind them with a soft screech as they walked in.
"How many floors are there?" Tao asked, peering around them, above the door and where the buttons would normally be as the elevator went down.
"I don't know," M-21 said with a shrug. "I haven't been here that long either; I just know about the first floor."
"Hmm." Takeo knew Tao would be investigating what as soon as he could.
The doors opened to more metallic walls and sprawling corridors that looked like they could span the entire street. Like last time, there was no-one else in the corridors, staying silent.
Tao squinted up at the ceiling and so did Takeo as M-21 led them into the lab. No cameras here either?
M-21 took them down the left route instead of the centre, and peering down the right and middle corridors didn't give Takeo anything other than more corridors and doors. Was it really just the five of them there, or was the house a front? If it was, they should have seen other people by now.
M-21 opened a door and the lights flickered on when they stepped in. The room was about twice the size of Takeo's, large white tiles covering every available space with nothing else in the room.
"Wow, this room's just for sparring?" Tao asked, opening up his laptop.
"It's a spare room," M-21 said with a shrug. "Frankenstein's got a lot of them."
Tao nodded, leaning on a wall, the laptop held on the flat of his forearm as he typed something out. "Wanna double-check if the walls can hold? Don't want to trash the place and bring the house around our ears, heh."
M-21 snorted, clenching a loose fist. "Frankenstein wouldn't have built something imperfect."
…Was it only the five of them here, then? And Frankenstein had built this place himself? What for? Only to enhance himself? Or was he part of something bigger?
M-21 watched Takeo through his hair, holding up his now unclenched fist. Between one second and the next, M-21's nails lengthened and sharpened, fur rippling out over the back of his hand, disappearing under the cuff of his top. His transformation was as Tao had said: thought-based and furrier than Jake's. The claws were shorter than Takeo expected, only looking slightly longer than human nails compared to Jake's, who looked like someone had grew knives out of every available part of skin.
Takeo didn't say anything as M-21 span around; he did blink when M-21 slashed down, only taking one step towards the back wall. He sucked in a breath at the sudden weight of power he felt, the rush of wind pulling at his clothes and hair and he felt the impact of something crashing into the wall, heard the screech of scraped tile.
"Oooh, nice!" Tao said, clapping his free hand on his hip.
M-21 didn't turn around, keeping his back facing Tao. "Tch. It didn't do anything."
It hadn't, but from the sound of it, Takeo had expected the wall to be gone, only a crater in its place. There wasn't a scratch left on it. What were the tiles made of?
"Is anyone going to investigate that?" Tao asked, glancing up at the ceiling.
"No," M-21 said, shaking his head. "It's soundproof."
"Okay, cool." Tao nodded. "Takeo," he said, looking at him, "you're up."
He ran towards the wall and when he was close enough, he punched it with his full strength.
Nothing.
His knuckles felt the impact, stinging for a second before he healed.
"They'll hold," Takeo said, studying the unscathed wall. If they didn't use their transformations, there shouldn't be any problems.
"Got it! Hmm." When Takeo turned around, Tao was tapping on his laptop, tapping a beat on the floor with his toe. "It'd be better if you didn't use your transformation," he advised. "I'm recording this and there's only so many frames it can save per second. I need to know how you fight first."
Made sense; he didn't want to test Frankenstein's D drug anyway, especially since he didn't have a way to replenish his supply.
He turned to M-21, his lips pursed. After a second, M-21 flexed his hand and his transformation slithered back, the fur looking like it was being sucked into his skin, his nails shortening and blunting again.
"Okay," Tao said, "let's get this started!"
Summary: Developing trust takes time.
Rating: PG-13
Contains: Takeo/Tao
Notes: Set after chapter 143.
Written as a parallels treat for Kiyutsuna.
Genre: General.
Word count: 3,852
Status: Work in progress
When the house was silent, the occupants gone, Takeo and Tao looked at each other. They really had been left alone in the house. No second glance had been given to them or any warnings about stepping out of line and it was…weird, to say the least.
"It must be nice having a job that doesn't involve killing people," Tao mused.
"Mm." It was different to what Takeo had gotten used to.
"Anyway." Tao shook his head. "Explore the house?" he suggested, putting his hands behind his head. "Maybe they're keeping an eye on us with cameras."
Takeo nodded. They hadn't been able to check the night before - there had been too many people walking around.
The first place they checked was the living room and Takeo watched as Tao started peering under paintings. Tao's attention was caught by the fish for a short while, cooing at them before moving elsewhere.
"Can you see anything?" Tao asked, looking into corners and cupboards in the kitchen.
"No." Nothing stood out to his eyes, no reflections or anything that seemed out of place.
"That's just weird," Tao muttered, shaking his head. "They're powerful and rich, but they don't have cameras or anything?"
Apart from the intercom, but there wasn't any point saying that - Tao already knew about it. "Maybe they don't have to worry about burglars." Not if they could take care of them themselves.
"Heh, I guess. Still," Tao said, puffing air thought his lips, staring up at the lights, "the Union buildings are filled to the brim with cameras - just 'cause they can protect themselves, doesn't mean they shouldn't be careful."
Especially with the lab hidden underground.
"Still can't see anything." Tao turned to him. "Move on?"
Takeo nodded and they walked out the living room.
Tao looked up the corridor, frowning. "Wow…" he murmured, "they cleaned the floor up well…"
...How much had he been bleeding? Takeo couldn't remember much apart from trying to drag one more breath into his lungs and then another, feeling his hot blood trail over his skin.
"What happened, anyway?" Tao asked, lifting his head to look at him, running a hand through his hair, giving Takeo a brief glimpse of his eyes.
"That...was Frankenstein," Takeo said, his skin prickling at the sheer memory of the heavy aura that had lashed out from the man.
Tao tilted his head, stopping in front of him. "I got that much," he said with a huff. "What did he do?"
Takeo exhaled, trying to think how to put what he'd experienced into words. "He can turn his aura into spears." That's what it seemed like, and the only way Takeo could explain it. Sensing auras was something Takeo was used to; auras given physical presence was not.
Tao's eyebrows rose. "Huh, yeah, that would explain your injures but no weapons being around." He hummed, holding his palm out in front of him. Takeo watched, unsure what Tao was going to do. Tao's cables snaked out from under his sleeve, going down Tao's wrist and curling around Tao's fingers.
Takeo never questioned where Tao's cables came from - so long as they came when Tao needed them, he didn't care.
"I wonder if I'd be able to do that…"
"That's not your au-" Oh. That's what Tao was doing.
There were three cables out now and they twisted together, merging until they were one smooth, thick cable. The tip looked like it was melting, sharpening to a point.
Tao made the cable move like a snake, rising it up, its 'head' narrowing until it was like an arrow's point and then weaved it towards Takeo.
Takeo held out a hand for it, and when the cable reached it, Tao prodded the centre of his palm with the flat side. Takeo could feel the press of the blade though it didn't break his skin before Tao nodded, withdrawing it, the cable unfurling into three again.
"That could be useful later…" Tao muttered, the cables disappearing up his sleeve. "But I need to check them out first before using them in a fight…" He glanced at him. "Wanna spar once we find a place to do it?"
"Yeah," Takeo said, nodding. He felt well enough now for that. And maybe… "Do you think we should ask M-21?" He would know the best place to spar.
Tao slapped a fist down into his open palm. "Ah! Great idea! The faster I know how he fights the better!"
That…wasn't what he meant, but Takeo wouldn't object to sparring with M-21 if he wanted to either.
"And then I can find out more about his transformation," Tao continued once his cables was gone, shaking his wrist.
"His…what?" Takeo couldn't have heard that right. M-21 was experimental material – he shouldn't have the ability to transform.
But Tao was nodding, his hair flipping at the movement. "His transformation – it's different from ours," he said, wagging his fingers at Takeo. "It's like Jake's - he didn't need to take a pill for his and it just covered his hands." One side of his mouth curled up. "It was furrier than Jake's too."
Even with that description, it wasn't detailed enough for Takeo to guess what it looked like.
"Anyway," Tao said, shaking his head, "we'll ask when he gets back?"
"Yeah."
Tao started walking again, opening the closest door and he poked his head into the room. His whispered "woah" drew Takeo's attention and he peered over Tao's head.
Describing the room as 'grand' was an understatement: it was at least three times bigger than Takeo's room with a four-poster bed in the centre, a chandelier shimmering above it, throwing sunlight over bright walls. Comparing the drabber carpet in the hallway to the plush white one in this room, this room hadn't seen that much use.
But that seemed to be the only things in the room, the walls bare, no dressers or wardrobes in sight. There was a door leading elsewhere to their left; it didn't look like the en-suite door in Takeo's room, but maybe it was a fancier one.
"Do you wanna bet this is Frankenstein's or his master's room?"
There was no contest. "His master's." Takeo saw Tao lift a foot and he grabbed Tao's collar before the other man took a step into the room.
"Awk! Takeo!" Tao hopped in an attempt to regain his balance, his flailing hand almost smacking Takeo in the face.
"We are not going into that room," Takeo hissed, tugging Tao back.
"Why not?" Tao protested, still flailing, though it was more for the act of flailing rather than trying to get out of his grasp. He followed Takeo's tug, trying to keep upright.
"Because I'm not seeing Frankenstein's reaction when he finds out we'd been in his master's room." It wasn't a threat to Frankenstein's master's life, but it was a threat to his privacy, which Takeo was sure Frankenstein would take the same way: very seriously. Even though he wasn't back yet, Takeo would rather not risk any chance of angering him.
Tao stopped struggling, looking at him over his shoulder.
"I might have been able to beat Frankenstein with the D drug," he said, answering his silent question, "but I said I would kill his master afterwards." And Tao had seen the result of that.
"Ah…okay…" Tao patted Takeo's hand. "Got it."
Takeo let go and when Tao stepped towards the door, it was to close it, nothing more.
"Right." Tao slapped his hands together. "Next room?"
Takeo nodded, eyeing the door next to it. What would they find there?
The room was far smaller than Frankenstein's master's, closer in size to Takeo's; it was also more lived in with a few landscape pictures on the wall, books filling every available space on shelves and bookcases. On the bedside table was a book, a blank sheet of paper and a pen next to it.
"Frankenstein's room," they said together.
They left that room alone as well. So they knew where six out of the seven bedrooms were now – M-21 had told them where Seira's room was but they hadn't been to that floor yet.
The rest of the doors on the floor led to spacious cupboards filled with towels or linen (including the entrance to the lab) that could fit three people and there were a bathroom further down from them as well.
They knew what bedrooms to avoid, silently agreeing not to go inside them now, when they went upstairs and Takeo opened the first room that had been left ajar.
He raised his eyebrows at the row of computers in the room, black and shiny, at odds from the more traditional rooms they'd just seen.
He heard Tao squeak and he was too slow to stop Tao from worming his way into the room.
"H-hey-!"
Tao was already taking off one side of the closest computer's tower. "Let's see what you're made of, hmm?" he purred, peering into it, resting a hand on top of it.
Takeo saw the second Tao froze, his eyes going wide while his jaw dropped. "Are you kid – no way!"
"Tao…?" Takeo eyed him. What was wrong with the computers? Had he found something in them?
Tao's head popped up, flailing a hand, saying something too fast for Takeo to understand. "They have-" He took in a deep breath and exhaled. "Takeo," he said in a calmer tone, "the Union only just upgraded to these parts. In fact," –Tao ducked down again- "I haven't seen this motherboard before!"
"They're that good, huh?" Takeo said, keeping the door open so they would hear if anyone came back early as he walked in.
Tao stuck his tongue out, not taking his comment to heart. "'Good' doesn't cover it! This is more 'god-like'!" He huffed, replacing the panel. "Now to see how these babies run." Tao switched the computer on. "Hey," he said, drumming his fingers on the table, "do you think Frankenstein would give me any free parts he's got…?" His tone was wistful.
"Tao…" Takeo said, watching him. He knew how well Tao could multitask, seeing him work from the corner of his eyes a few times when they were on missions; he had also seen what Tao could be like when the topic of computers came up before Krans told him to shut up. "Focus."
Because he had been watching Tao, Takeo saw his minute flinch, his expression turning brittle. "Right, yeah, sorry…" Tao settled into the chair, staring at the screen, hands ready on the keyboard and mouse.
Shit, he hadn't meant for… "It's fine," he said, shaking his head. "You can-" Takeo wasn't sure how to finish that sentence.
Tao didn't seem to notice, frowning as he leaned towards his screen. "Wait… Really?"
"What is it?" Takeo could see what Tao was looking at, but he didn't see anything wrong – he couldn't read Korean at the speed Tao could either.
"Can you switch on another computer?" Tao said instead of answering.
Takeo did that, switching on the one next to Tao.
"They can't be…"
Fuck. What had Tao found? Takeo made sure to stay out of Tao's way so not to distract him, tightening his hand on the back of Tao's chair. Did they have to get out straight away?
Tao rolled his chair to the other computer and did the same thing, muttering under his breath. They were bitten off phrases that made no sense in the string Takeo heard them in.
When he was done, Tao leaned back in the chair, his expression dazed. "They're using this… They have all this power…and they're using them for games?"
Oh. Takeo's tense shoulders eased and the knot of fear in his stomach abated. It hadn't been something serious like he'd thought. "That's it?"
Tao stilled, glancing at him for a second, and then dropped his gaze. "It's a waste. If I had this at my fingertips, well." He shook his head, a tiny smirk curling one corner of his mouth. "I could do so much." He made a grumbling sound, other things flashing up on the screen.
"Hmm, that's all there is so…" Tao clicked a few buttons and the computer powered down with a cheery jingle. He rolled towards the other pc and did the same. "Let's go," he said, beaming at Takeo as he bounced to his feet. "We've got the rest of the house to explore!"
Tao was out the room before Takeo could say anything.
"Ah, Tao," Takeo said, going after him.
"Mmhm?" Tao didn't turn around, dipping into another room.
…Fuck. "Sorry about earlier."
He still didn't turn around. "S'all good, don't worry about it; I'm used to it."
Takeo winced. "I shouldn't have said it."
Tao paused and looked at him from over his shoulder. "You're…apologising?"
He nodded. "Yeah."
"Oh." Tao blinked, rubbing the back of his neck. "Okay, cool, I guess." He shook his head. "C'mon, we've still got everywhere else to look."
When Tao gave him a hesitant smile, Takeo returned it and they started trying to find cameras again.
M-21 raised his eyebrows at Takeo's question, his jacket still slung over his shoulder. "You want to what...?"
"Spar," Takeo repeated. He'd left Tao in 'their' room, muttering over a couple of plugs to watch the scenery from the balcony to give him some space. It was quiet where they were, only a few cars passing by every so often and his mind had drifted towards Teira, how she was doing. M-21 seemed to be the last to arrive, Takeo hearing thumping and laughter below long before M-21 came up the stairs.
"Hn..." M-21 studied him. "Why do you want to spar with me?"
Takeo blinked, taking a second to realise what M-21 was implying. As a member of the DA-5, his strength should be stronger than M-21's to the point that a spar would be pointless. The result should always be the same with Takeo the winner.
Should.
M-21 had proven himself full of surprises, from what Tao had told him.
"Tao mentioned you could transform…?"
M-21 didn't say anything, and then nodded. "Yeah. It's not much," he said with a shrug. There was a twist to M-21's mouth that Takeo couldn't interpret. "It's only my hands."
"It's still a transformation." Which made M-21 stronger than what his file said, and how had he managed to hide that from the scientists? After every mission the DA-5's data was collected and recorded, their development tracked. They wouldn't have been able to hide anything from the scientists.
"Hm…" M-21's gaze wandered and then focused back on Takeo. "With you, or you and Tao?"
"I think just me," Takeo said. He didn't think Tao would join in even if they asked; Tao hadn't joined any of the sparring matched they had in the DA-5 unless forced to by Krans. That and Tao had seemed more interested in finding more out about M-21 first than seeing how well his sharpened cables worked. "Tao wanted to see how you fight."
The apprehensive look that snapped onto M-21's face made Takeo pause.
"Why?"
"Well…" Takeo tugged on a loose lock of hair. "Tao likes collecting data."
M-21's lips thinned, his eyes narrowing.
That probably wasn't the best way of putting it… "He does it so he knows what to expect," Takeo tried again. "Tao directed us when Krans didn't; he knew our strengths and weaknesses and how to put us together so we wouldn't fail the mission.
"So he wants to know how you fight in case something comes up." And it was the Union they were talking about - something probably would, if they hadn't hidden their tracks well enough. The Union didn't want modified humans that weren't under their control or anyone else finding them and gaining their data… Which had already happened, hah…
M-21 nodded slowly and then exhaled. "Sure. I need to get changed anyway."
Takeo smiled. "Thanks. I'll go get Tao."
Tao was sitting cross-legged in the centre of the room when Takeo opened the door, scattered pieces of something surrounding him; they looked too big to have come from plugs. Tao's head jerked up, his eyes wide and he scrabbled to cover what he was working on.
When Tao saw it was him, he huffed, relaxing. "Whew, Takeo, you gotta knock next time – you nearly gave me a heart attack!" He held his free hand over his chest.
"Knock on my own room," Takeo said, trying to guess how Tao was, closing the door to hide the view.
"Yep!" Tao set what was in his hands on the shirt beside his knee, wiping his hands on it as well. "What did he say?"
"He said it was fine." And Tao seemed to be fine as well.
Tao beamed and got his feet. "Sweet!" He danced over to Takeo's side, his footwork precise and not disturbing what he'd laid on the floor, and he collected his laptop on the way out.
M-21 nodded to them when they emerged from Takeo's room. "It's this way," he said, going down the stairs.
They followed him and Takeo wondered where it could be. It couldn't be the living room, not when the children were still there. Or Frankenstein's master's room. The garden? They would be seen; it was too much of a risk even if they held back.
So where was M-21 taking them? It had to be the lab; that was the only place Takeo could think of. Was it all right for them to walk in like that?
They turned away from the living room when they reached the bottom of the stairs, going deeper into the house.
M-21 led them to the lab entrance hidden in one of the linen cupboards. Once they were inside, he placed a hand on the wall. Tao still twitched at something Takeo couldn't hear, turning his head towards where M-21 had placed his hand.
"Would you be able to key us into the security?" Tao asked. "Frankenstein hadn't done that before he disappeared."
"…Ah." M-21 shook his head. "I don't know how to do that; Frankenstein did that for me."
M-21 put his hands on the shelves in front of them and pushed with a soft grunt. The shelves gave way like a set of double doors with only token resistance. On the other side was metallic walls, leading a short way to elevator doors.
Tao quirked a grin at him. "It's fine."
"C'mon." M-21 walked towards the elevator. "Before the children burst out of the living room."
It did seem like something that could happen from the little Takeo had seen of them inside the house.
The doors shut behind them with a soft screech as they walked in.
"How many floors are there?" Tao asked, peering around them, above the door and where the buttons would normally be as the elevator went down.
"I don't know," M-21 said with a shrug. "I haven't been here that long either; I just know about the first floor."
"Hmm." Takeo knew Tao would be investigating what as soon as he could.
The doors opened to more metallic walls and sprawling corridors that looked like they could span the entire street. Like last time, there was no-one else in the corridors, staying silent.
Tao squinted up at the ceiling and so did Takeo as M-21 led them into the lab. No cameras here either?
M-21 took them down the left route instead of the centre, and peering down the right and middle corridors didn't give Takeo anything other than more corridors and doors. Was it really just the five of them there, or was the house a front? If it was, they should have seen other people by now.
M-21 opened a door and the lights flickered on when they stepped in. The room was about twice the size of Takeo's, large white tiles covering every available space with nothing else in the room.
"Wow, this room's just for sparring?" Tao asked, opening up his laptop.
"It's a spare room," M-21 said with a shrug. "Frankenstein's got a lot of them."
Tao nodded, leaning on a wall, the laptop held on the flat of his forearm as he typed something out. "Wanna double-check if the walls can hold? Don't want to trash the place and bring the house around our ears, heh."
M-21 snorted, clenching a loose fist. "Frankenstein wouldn't have built something imperfect."
…Was it only the five of them here, then? And Frankenstein had built this place himself? What for? Only to enhance himself? Or was he part of something bigger?
M-21 watched Takeo through his hair, holding up his now unclenched fist. Between one second and the next, M-21's nails lengthened and sharpened, fur rippling out over the back of his hand, disappearing under the cuff of his top. His transformation was as Tao had said: thought-based and furrier than Jake's. The claws were shorter than Takeo expected, only looking slightly longer than human nails compared to Jake's, who looked like someone had grew knives out of every available part of skin.
Takeo didn't say anything as M-21 span around; he did blink when M-21 slashed down, only taking one step towards the back wall. He sucked in a breath at the sudden weight of power he felt, the rush of wind pulling at his clothes and hair and he felt the impact of something crashing into the wall, heard the screech of scraped tile.
"Oooh, nice!" Tao said, clapping his free hand on his hip.
M-21 didn't turn around, keeping his back facing Tao. "Tch. It didn't do anything."
It hadn't, but from the sound of it, Takeo had expected the wall to be gone, only a crater in its place. There wasn't a scratch left on it. What were the tiles made of?
"Is anyone going to investigate that?" Tao asked, glancing up at the ceiling.
"No," M-21 said, shaking his head. "It's soundproof."
"Okay, cool." Tao nodded. "Takeo," he said, looking at him, "you're up."
He ran towards the wall and when he was close enough, he punched it with his full strength.
Nothing.
His knuckles felt the impact, stinging for a second before he healed.
"They'll hold," Takeo said, studying the unscathed wall. If they didn't use their transformations, there shouldn't be any problems.
"Got it! Hmm." When Takeo turned around, Tao was tapping on his laptop, tapping a beat on the floor with his toe. "It'd be better if you didn't use your transformation," he advised. "I'm recording this and there's only so many frames it can save per second. I need to know how you fight first."
Made sense; he didn't want to test Frankenstein's D drug anyway, especially since he didn't have a way to replenish his supply.
He turned to M-21, his lips pursed. After a second, M-21 flexed his hand and his transformation slithered back, the fur looking like it was being sucked into his skin, his nails shortening and blunting again.
"Okay," Tao said, "let's get this started!"