Summary: M-21 came to with a heaving gasp, and his heart slammed in his chest as he found himself in an enclosed space, the hum of machinery all around him.

Set post-season four.

Thanks to Kaelin who just lets me ramble at her for hours on end! XD; As well as helping me keep pre-series!M-21 as pre-series!M-21. orz;;;

Forgotten

By Dark Ice Dragon

Takeo watched Tao pace up and down the living room.

"He hasn't called yet," Tao muttered.

"We know."

Tao turned on his heel, running a hand through his hair. "He would have-" Tao winced, his hand falling to his side, and then he continued pacing.

And that was exactly the problem. The M-21 they knew would have phoned any one of them now, just to check in so he wouldn't worry anyone - being out of contact for this amount of time either meant that person had been caught up in a fight or been kidnapped.

But that was the M-21 they knew. The one who knew them back, who they'd fought alongside and lived with for months now.

This M-21...wasn't. Even the brief glimpse Takeo had seen of M-21 in Frankenstein's lab was enough to tell him that, and what Regis had described...

Takeo hadn't given much thought about the person M-21 used to be - that was in the past and they were no longer in the Union. They used to talk about their experiences in the Union, he, Tao and M-21, sharing stories about what had happened, what had been done to them, what they had done. It had been an affirmation almost, saying that it had happened, and talking about it with people who knew and understood that same feeling and experience.

It was something they used to do regularly, but they eventually stopped, talking about the children instead, or tales of what had happened at the school, or Tao was building something new and wanted to chat about it or test it out.

They'd all changed and they hadn't realised it, not when they were all moving together.

But now that M-21 was no longer standing with them, finding that he'd taken a few steps back...

"Hey, I can-"

"No, Tao," Takeo said, shaking his head, knowing what he was going to say. "You aren't hacking into the security systems to find out where he is." No matter how much they all wanted to know.

"But-"

"Tao," Frankenstein said, cutting through their argument without raising his voice. "I know that you're worried, but if we resort to spying on him..."

They would lose his trust.

Tao sighed. "I know but..." He closed his eyes, slumping. "I'm just worried he's not going to come back," he whispered.

That was what they were all worried about.

"We can't force M-21 to stay here," Frankenstein said. "Doing so would only drive him further away."

Tao made a guttural noise of frustration before he continued pacing.

The doorbell rang and Takeo turned to look at the intercom. M-21 had a key, but if he hadn't brought it with him…

Frankenstein went over to it and then stared at the screen. "Ah…"

That didn't sound like-

"Principal Lee!"

"Can you let us in?"

Ah…

xOx

Everything about M-21 hurt. His throat felt raw, his headache still hadn't gone away, and his wounds had started to ache again.

He swept his hair his hair away from his face, just sitting back and gazing blankly at the...grave, he supposed he should call it. He closed his eyes, breathing a weak chuckle.

"You probably think I'm an idiot," he muttered, not opening his eyes, "crying for you like this. When I've already cried for you." He had to have. He wouldn't feel like this if he hadn't. M-21 took a shuddering breath. "But, I don't - you know I can't-" His throat closed up, and he couldn't get the words out. He bowed his head, his hands clenched into fists on top of his knees. "I have to keep going; I have to keep living, so I can find our names." Alone. It hurt saying that, his heart aching at the thought.

He sat there for a couple more minutes, letting his mind drift, trying not to think about anything, before he slowly got to his feet. He stared at the grave. "Goodbye, my comrade..."

M-21 turned away and started to walk back to the elevator, idly wondering just how long he had been there for. There wasn't a way to see the passing of time, not when he was so deep underground, so he dug into his pocket and pulled out his mobile.

...Ah, shit.

He'd been here for hours and -

Fuck.

M-21 stared at his mobile, not believing what he was seeing. He didn't have a signal. He didn't have a fucking signal. If he had been uncontactable when Doctor Frankenstein wanted to talk to him-!

M-21 chanted a litany of curses in his head as he dashed towards the elevator, leaping up and kicking off the walls to reach the right floor. He had wanted to push to see just how much freedom he truly had, but if they thought he was being downright disobedient, they would kill him.

He sped towards the entrance but slowed down as he neared it, expecting to be surrounded as soon as he stepped outside. But when he peered out around a corner, there wasn't anyone waiting there.

Cautiously, M-21 slowly brought his phone out of his pocket again and checked his signal. He had one now, but... He didn't have any missed messages or calls.

What...?

He had been out of contact for hours and they hadn't checked on him? Didn't they care? He wasn't who they thought he was anymore, essentially a complete stranger, and they weren't worried about him planning anything or deserting them?

He stared down at the phone before he shoved it back in his pocket.

Doctor Frankenstein had said that he wasn't connected with the Union (with that kind of lab hidden underneath a house? That took connections and money) and M-21 still wasn't so sure; he was still a scientist either way: someone who experimented on people, someone who tore apart a person's body and played with their insides like a toy. But if he had the choice of the Union and someone who seemed to actually give him some freedom, M-21 could see why he had chosen to stay with him.

But...what had happened to the Union? It had to still be around (taking it down would be impossible), and had they really just let him go like that?

No. They wouldn't have. He carried their secrets in his very body, as well as had some knowledge about what they did, even if he was just a low-level agent.

They would have only stopped searching for him if they thought he was dead.

M-24... M-21 glanced at where he had come from. Had M-24 made it look like they'd both died so he could escape?

He leaned against the wall, taking a steadying breath. If M-24 had made that kind of sacrifice for him, he wouldn't waste it.

Cautiously, M-21 approached the entrance, but he still couldn't hear anyone there. When he eventually stepped out, no-one came out to greet him.

Still keeping an eye out, M-21 pulled out his mobile, looking through his contacts list. He supposed he should update Doctor Frankenstein that he was returning, just in case. When he found 'Principal Lee', M-21 dialled that number.

...Wait. 'Principal'?

M-21 frowned as he heard the tone ring. Principal. As in a school? Was that why his feet had taken him to Ye Ran high school? Doctor Frankenstein worked there?

"Hello?"

He shook his head, getting rid of his distracting thoughts. "I'm coming back now," he said. "I'll be back in..." He trailed off, not entirely sure how long it would take him.

"I'm glad to hear that; dinner should be ready soon, but there's no need to rush."

M-21 blinked, a frown tugging at his lips. "Ah, all right."

"Is there anything else?"

"...No." M-21 hung up, and stared at his phone. Doctor Frankenstein still wasn't asking about what he'd done or where he'd gone.

Did Doctor Frankenstein really trust him that much? What had…the him with memories done to earn that? M-21 put that thought to the back of his mind; he had to remember how to get back, which considering how distracted he had been when he'd gotten here...

He sighed and started walking.

xOx

It took a minute for M-21 to open the door to Doctor Frankenstein's house but when he stepped inside, the scent of warm food wafted straight to him. That wasn't the only thing his senses were telling him though, a burst of laughter echoing around him. In front of him. The voices were higher than Regis' – M-21 wasn't sure if that meant something. The house sounded a lot more crowded than the last time he had been there.

"Haha, we should probably go home now!" a male voice said, and M-21 frowned, trying to place it. It wasn't one he'd heard before, the person sounding younger, and M-21 glared at the wall, realising how stupid he was being - if stumbling across M-24's grave had barely stirred his locked away memories, nothing else would.

Four brats bustled into view, two girls and two boys, and M-21 eyed them, wondering if they were students from Doctor Frankenstein's school.

"Ah, mister!" the straight-haired girl exclaimed at the sight of him, and M-21 frowned. They knew him? Though, it made sense, if they visited the house regularly – they didn't seem uncomfortable moving around in it.

"Hey, you said he was sick!" The red-haired boy span around, pointing at Tao. Except, he didn't sound angry; M-21 couldn't place what the tone was though.

"Ahaha, well, you see…" Tao said, lifting a hand to rub at the back of his head, one corner of his mouth quirking up.

Tao seemed to have the situation in hand, so M-21 shoved his way through the kids, ignoring their surprised exclamations.

Doctor Frankenstein wasn't in the living room -though Takeo, Regis and 'Rai' were- so M-21 continued further into the house. He hadn't made it far before he heard the door swing open again behind him. M-21 turned around and saw Takeo approaching him.

"M-21," Takeo said, nodding at him.

"Takeo." What did he want?

Takeo sighed, glancing back at the door. "Tao will be coming soon," he said, turning back to him. "Do you want to…talk? We'll try to answer any questions you have."

M-21 stared at him. Why was he offering that? Though, it was fairly obvious – even though he and Tao were part of the DA-5, they were still modified humans, just a better calibre than he was. And…he needed as much information as he could get; Takeo and Tao's opinion would be less biased than Doctor Frankenstein's.

He nodded, and M-21 didn't fail to notice the flash of relief that flitted across Takeo's face.

"Your room?" Takeo asked, and M-21 found himself staring again. Takeo was…asking for his opinion? What… What had happened to make someone from the DA-5 treat him like an equal?

"Yeah…" M-21 replied, still watching Takeo carefully, trying to understand what was happening. M-21 led the way to his room, expecting to feel the usual prickle at the back of his neck at being followed, but he didn't; he still felt on edge, but not as bad as he normally would have.

It wasn't long until they were joined by Tao, who flashed him a grin as soon as he entered.

"How you feeling?" Tao asked him once they'd settled – he leaning on the wall, Takeo sitting on a chair and Tao perched on his desk.

"Fine," M-21 said, covertly glancing between the two. Small talk like this, especially between modified humans like them… It didn't happen.

Tao chuckled at his answer, scratching his cheek with a finger. "Sooo, do you have any burning questions you have to ask?"

He had a lot of questions, but since he was with Takeo and Tao, there were was one thing he wanted to know. "Why are you two here?" Where was the rest of the DA-5? Why were they following the orders of Doctor Frankenstein and not Doctor Aris?

Takeo and Tao shared a look. "Uh, it's…because of you," Tao said, a small smile on his face.

Because of him…?

Takeo nodded. "The DA-5…" He closed his eyes, letting out a breath. "We're the only ones left of it."

That – who had the power to take them out? It couldn't have been him, obviously, but M-21 couldn't think what the possible connection could be.

"Yeah," Tao said, continuing from Takeo. "We were about to leave here when you asked Bo – Frankenstein if we could stay." Tao quirked a grin at him. "Obviously, he said 'Yes'."

That… That didn't make any sense. "I asked-" a scientist "-and he listened to me." A failed, modified human. Something so completely beneath him.

"Yeah," Tao said again. "Boss isn't – well, he is a scientist first, sometimes, but he's not like the ones at the Union. He…cares about us, in his own way. Him - Rai too." Tao lifted another grin in his direction. "We all care about each other here," he said softly.

"Even the noblesse?" M-21 scoffed.

Tao blinked at him. "I j – oh." He opened and closed his mouth a few times before Tao settled on humming. "What do you know about noblesse?"

He snorted. Not a lot; he was a low-level agent, after all. "They're vampires," M-21 said, trying to recall the titbits of information he'd been told. "They call themselves noblesse."

"That's…not exactly true," Tao said carefully. "'Noblesse' is actually a title. And only one being can have that title." Tao gave a small shrug. "As for them being vampires… They're not like the vampires that regular people think of – but we're kinda wandering now, unless you wanna know the details?" Tao peered at him.

Huh. M-21 wasn't that surprised he was wrong; then again, he didn't seem to find himself caring about anything in that particular moment.

But that didn't change anything; Takeo and Tao were still trying to tell him that a scientist and nobles cared for him. He snorted, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Why do they care?" What had happened that Takeo and Tao could think a scientist cared for them, other than being a source of data? Their experience with Doctor Aris couldn't have been that different from his and Doctor Crombell's, could it?

…Shit. He'd been too careless. Distracted. (It didn't – he should have been paying more attention.) Doctor Frankenstein had his data. He had to go down and change his details before Doctor Frankenstein noticed anything!

It was Takeo who spoke next. "We've fought alongside each other," he said, adjusting how he was sitting. "We've saved each other's lives, protected each other, supported each other…" He shook his head, gazing at M-21. "It doesn't what we are, not anymore. Not here."

It didn't matter? "You expect me to believe that?" he said, keeping the incredulity out of his voice.

"Not really," Tao said, that small smile that didn't seem to leave his face still there. "If you told us," -Tao gestured to himself and Takeo- "we'd see each other as comrades-"

M-21 froze at the word.

"-and be living peacefully under one roof with a bunch of nobles and a scientist…" Tao chuckled, leaning back, one leg kicking out. "Yeah. And that's before you told us we're happy with this life, having a regular job, stopping children bullying each other and protecting them…"

Stopping children bullying each other. Protecting children. Did that mean they worked at Ye Ran High School? And if his own feet knew the route as well, did he…? Did that mean he was also…

Takeo glanced at the clock in M-21's room. "We should go downstairs," he said as he stood up. "Frankenstein likes keeping a schedule for dinner."

M-21 filed that piece of information away as they left his bedroom.

Thanks to Silver Bullet-Wolf25 for reminding me about the kids!

…Yeah, like I said, there's only so much angst my brain can take before it needs lightening up.

Haaaa, wasn't expecting this of Tao. And the start originally had Tao suggest they phone M-21 to check where he is, but that got cut because it dragged the scene/was repetitive. Which, yeah. Haha… orz;;; Good thing it didn't happen!

…Wow is it weird to have M-21 refer to the kids as 'brats'.