Our second breaking and entering actually goes far smoother than our first, mostly because the Cooper family is considerably more accommodating and less prone to running and hiding than the Andersons.
Soon, we're sitting around a table in the Coopers' apartment, Frankenstein and I sitting across from each other while Georgios makes small talk with the Coopers.
"So, I've actually been holding in a lot of questions." I begin, as Frankenstein takes a sip of his tea. The Coopers offered me a cup as well, but I declined. I don't much like caffeine, and I was also slightly concerned they might be trying to poison me. "If you're willing, I'd like to ask them now."
He sets down his teacup. "Very well. I suppose this is as good a time as any." he thinks for a moment. "I will answer three of your questions. The rest will have to wait until after I have set up my lab and you have informed Jekyll of what transpired, and begun your own preparations. Is that agreeable?"
"Very much so," I say, risking eye contact. The radiant yellow pits still inspire in me the same primordial dread as the first time I saw them, but theirs is a familiar fear, now, and I allow not one trace of it to show. "Firstly, how accurate is the account of your life presented in the 1818 novel by Mary Shelley?"
"Very much so, considering she got it from me," Frankenstein observes with a slight grin. "I met her when I was poking around in one of Father's old labs up in Geneva, looking for his notes. She held them hostage in exchange for me telling her about myself. I told her, she gave me the notes, and I thought nothing of it for the next three years, until one fine day in the Fall of 1819 I walked into a bookstore and found a book detailing my entire life. Needless, to say, I was a bit furious at the time, but when I tracked her down and confronted her over it, she offered me a share of the royalties she'd received, so that I would have some means to support myself in spite of my condition." He grins. "I suppose she became my first true friend, after a fashion."
He drifts off, lost in memory, and I clear my throat after a second. "The book claimed that after your father's death, you resolved to kill yourself. Did... did that truly happen? Or was it just artistic license?"
"Oh, I did in fact so resolve myself." Frankenstein relates with a dark grin. "And I gave it the old college try. But have you ever tried to start a bonfire on a glacier?"
Oh, I see where this is going.
"First I had to stockpile up the wood for the damn thing, and make sure it wasn't too drenched, and then I had to heat it up until it would burn, and then, after three days of attempted fire-starting, interrupted only by a bear attack, I finally got it up and burning, only for it to promptly melt the snow that had started falling, and put itself out. Finally, fed up with the whole affair, I resolved myself to live out of pure, petty irritation." Frankenstein recounts, before laughing. "It wasn't very pleasant at the time, but, in hindsight..."
I nod, grinning. "It actually became amusing."
"Exactly." Frankenstein agrees. "And so, having decided to live out of pure spite, I decided that I wouldn't be doing so alone. I ran back, grabbed Father's frozen corpse, and stashed him away safely before heading off to try and recover his notes. Because if I was going to be stuck on this damn mudball, I wasn't going through it alone." He pats his father's tube affectionately. "As you can see, I succeeded, at least partially."
I nod, before asking the most important question. "And why were you working with Jekyll to fight the fog? I didn't think you much cared for humanity."
"I don't." Frankenstein answers, his face loosing his good cheer. "In truth, I deny that I would ever raise my hand in the defense of a human being."
"So why do you fight?"
"The Incineration will claim me too, Master of Chaldea." he says, grinning at my surprise. "Oh, don't look so shocked that I know of it. The clown told me of it. Tried to tempt me into joining them with the prospect of finally taking my vengeance on all of humanity."
"And you still refused?"
"I don't believe that anyone can stop the Incineration," he admits with a melancholic sigh. "Not me, and not you. But this damnable fog is an eyesore. And I should like to see the sun again at least once before I die. That's all."
He shakes his head. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to reestablish my lab. I don't doubt that you have your own duties to attend to. We shall talk again at a later time."
I say my goodbyes and leave, feeling a great deal more somber than I did when I entered.
---
"All right, team meeting." I call, as Caesar, Galahad, Cursed Arm, and Georgios gather around the table in the Andersons' apartment. "We've gotten a bit of experience on the ground in this Singularity, it's time to revise our team composition."
"Have any of us performed inadequately?" Caesar ask.
"No, but now that we're on the ground, and have the lay of the land, we can optimize our team to better suit the Singularity. And, to be honest, some of us aren't going to be able to properly shine unless we revise our tactics, or just aren't suited for this environment."
"Fair enough, Master." Caesar notes. "May I ask why the Cu Chullains and Tamamo-no-Mae are not in attendance?"
"Tamamo's asleep, Caster's revising our perimeter defenses, and Lancer's out patrolling the surrounding area." I list off. "Beyond that, you are all the most level-headed of my Servants, and the ones I'd trust to hold command in my absence."
"You don't trust Cu?" Galahad asks with a smirk. "And here I thought you were bosom buddies."
"I'd trust him with my life, I'd trust him with my drinks, and I'd trust him with my deepest secrets." I inform him, dead serious. "But I would
not trust him to hold command in my absence. I believe that the four of you are sane, disciplined, and level-headed enough to be entrusted with tactical command in my absence.
Do not make me regret that."
"Understood, Master." Caesar replies. "What changes do you propose?"
"Firstly, the establishment of an actual chain of command. Caesar, you're my second. Then Georgios, then Galahad, then Cursed Arm." Galahad looks like he's going to protest for a moment, but then seems to realize that he's third place in a competition including an actual saint and one of the Nine Worthies, and promptly backs down. "This will, hopefully, ensure that when I'm incapacitated in the future, people will know who to listen to."
Nods all around the table.
Cursed Arm is the next to speak up. "I'm surprised that you included me."
"I'll be the first to admit that you and I haven't gotten to know each other all that well, but I've seen enough of your professionalism and your straightforward attitude to consider you a responsible commander." I acknowledge, before moving on. "The next time we move out, Caesar will remain here to command the apartment's defenders. It's clear that he's best used as a commander, and is effectively wasted in a subordinate role."
"Thank you, Master." Rome's Dictator-for-Life acknowledges with a bow of his head. "I will do my best to live up to your expectations of me."
"It's just the best move under the circumstances." I demur. "As for the rest, I plan on sending Tamamo and Caster back to Chaldea and calling in different Servants. Asterios and Paracelsus. Asterios' navigational abilities will be incredibly useful, and Paracelsus can use his alchemical mastery to analyze the Demonic Fog. Does anyone disagree with my assessment?"
No one raises any objections.
"Good. I'll break the news to them in person. Meeting adjourned. Assassin, start scouting. Rider, man the radio. Saber, familiarize yourself with the building and its defenses. Galahad, with me."
And with all that said, I rise and go to my work.
