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Karl’s been struggling with his focus all day. He hasn’t been able to draw a single line on the project sheets, his mind blank on any new adjustments he could make to his creations. After emptying the ‘inescapable’ cell he built for his latest monstrosity, preparing it for his guest which was supposed to arrive hours ago, he’s been stranded on things to do because of how distracted he is.
Damn it, I should’ve known it was too risky
It indeed was a risky but bold move to make - sending an untested, probably underqualified machine to collect his leverage from the Dimitrescu Castle was beyond a stretch of luck - luck Karl Heisenberg most certainly doesn’t have. Hell, God only knows if that thing even made it to the castle or has accidentally wandered off to Moreau’s to terrorize him instead. Honestly, being a hell-raiser by nature, Karl wouldn’t mind that much, but what bugs him is the potential failure he’ll have to work sleepless nights on to fix.
He doesn’t care how long it’ll take him to get to it - actually, he does. He wants it done as soon as possible. The want for revenge has turned into a need, an urge constantly scratching at the inside of his head, reminding him the clock is ticking. He has set himself a goal, a goal he must achieve in a certain amount of time. That vision is what keeps him fueled and revving like a race car engine, keeps him working day and night, keeps him motivated to take those painful and exhausting steps towards completing his task - killing Miranda.
With that annoying clock ticking at the back of his mind, he found himself even more restless than before, suddenly ready to branch out further with ideas - one of which he is less than fond of but he’s prepared to make the sacrifice of his pride if it brings him even a step closer to success. The method in question is simple in theory: Getting Alcina to join his side of his war yet to begin; However, in practice, it’s almost as hard as getting Miranda to kill herself.
Alcina is the second most devoted to Mother Miranda - right after Moreau - and the chances of his plan working are also tiny but a tiny chance is better than no chance at all, isn’t it? In his life, Karl hasn’t seen or been allowed many miracles but he still believes they exist and that one day one will be offered to him. Why not let that ‘one day’ be today?
To answer that: probably because his creation has malfunctioned. Those things are as obedient as bratty toddlers - not at all - and equally as stupid. The only thing they’ve proven themselves useful for so far is murder, which is still not something to sneeze at, but it’s far from what Karl needs
The buzz of his security system brings him out of his empty staring of his old sketches and calculations he hasn’t been able to better in any way all day. He turns around to look at the monitor which displays the view from the camera mounted above the main entrance on the factory which has apparently detected movement Karl cannot see due to the darkness that has fallen upon the village. Night falls so quickly in the winter anyway, but on this side of Romania it seems to be only two hours of daylight while the rest of the day is enveloped by darkness - that could just be the curse of this village but Karl wouldn’t be able to know for sure. Regardless, he switches on the night-vision setting to see his recruiter has returned and - oddly and pleasantly enough - it’s not alone. That is, of course, if that body bag it’s carrying contains one of Alcina’s daughters and not the carcass of an animal it found along the way.
Just as he’s about to press the button to open the door. a disappointed sigh leaving his lips, he spots movement in the bag, alike a kick, followed by a frustrated array of curse words he’s more than certain cannot be produced by a dead animal.
This time, when he goes to press the button for the doors to open there’s a lot more enthusiasm to it, eyes remaining fixated on the bag which has now become restless. Without wasting time, he rushes out of the office, heading to the lower level so he can meet the robot halfway in hopes of preventing any murderous intentions it might receive due to the hostility of the movements in that body bag.
“Hey put it down! Put the bag down this instant, you mutt or I swear to God-!“ The bag stills immediately, the voice dying down too when Karl arrives in the cell where the ‘cargo‘ was supposed to be dropped off at.
Following the Lord’s instructions, the robot sets the bag down and steps away, the whirring of its engine dying down much like the hostage’s voice. Karl steps forward, his movements cautious and reluctant as he’s unsure of what to expect to be faced with. He didn’t have much time to examine the behavior of Alcina’s spawns so it’s a risky game to even approach it.
Fuck’s sake, how bad can she be? He thinks to himself, silently counting down from three while gripping the zipper. Hitting ‘zero’, he pulls the zipper down, jumping back almost the same millisecond.
To say he’s baffled when from the bag emerges a very pale and very terrified face would be an understatement. Nothing about them screams ‘vampire’ as he thought it would. Nothing about them reminds him of Alcina either than the paleness of their skin. They lack that signature murderous aura the Dimitrescu family has.
And they are most definitely not an experiment.
“Who the hell are you?“ Karl blurts out, removing his glasses out of instinct so he could properly analyze them.
The terrified look in his hostage’s eyes disappears, being replaced by a look of fury, “You don’t get to kidnap me and then question me, asshole! Who are you? Where am I? The fuck do you want from me?”
This sudden change in them startles him - that kind of anger is not usually how people respond to his presence. Especially not locals so he can only imagine they are not.
“The name’s Karl, Karl Heisenberg.“ He offers them his hand which they hesitantly take, allowing him to pull them to their feet, “And...um, this is my factory.“
They roll their eyes, “Y/N.” They reply sharply, looking around the cell which was prepared to hold a vampire-fly-creature inside, “Now cut the crap and tell me what you want from me in return.”
If he wasn’t confused before, he sure as hell is now and he doesn’t bother hiding it either. “In return of what?” He doesn’t know whether to blame this inability to connect the dots on the lack of sleep or maybe the lack of food, but all he knows is that he hates it. He hates the feeling of not being in the know, being clueless and confused. It’s so out of character for him it’s frustrating him to no end. Especially when taken into account that this is done to him by a simple human mortal.
Y/N rolls their eyes again, “For saving me and all that. I was barely a day away from becoming the source of another bottle of wine in that bitch’s basement.“
“She was gonna drain your blood, huh?” Karl chuckles, hooking the glasses on the collar of his shirt as he looks his new guest up and down, analyzing them. For once, he finds himself just admiring a human being standing in front of him - not a single thought of experimenting on them in his mind. “You’re lucky my goons are incompetent at everything. Hell, I’m surprised that thing even made it in the castle unspotted.“
Y/N scoffs, the sound coming across dangerously similar to laughter, “Oh, it didn’t. It caught me when I was outside. I wasn’t allowed to be out of the castle but I was already doomed so I just wanted to look at the sunrise one last time before being tortured and killed. And then that thing of yours snatched me.” They shake their head, meeting his eyes with intrigue, “What was the original plan, anyway?”
Karl clicks his tongue, thinking of reciting his plan to another person to be a ridiculous move. Mostly cause the plan itself is ridiculous, “Capture one of that tall bitch’s spawns.” When he sees even the smallest hint of amusement and mockery on their face, he hurries to add: “You needn’t tell me how stupid that was, I’ve already made the realization.”
This doesn’t stop Y/N from poking fun at his less than effective methods, “You really thought your robot could capture a creature made of flies - which means she can literally teleport - in a body bag? I’d expect a lot better from someone who’s built such an empire.” They step out of the cell, motioning all around, “You’re gonna need to implement something that can capture and contain those flies until they can be put in confinement in this neat box of yours.” They deliver a couple of knocks on the outer wall of the cell before shooting Karl a teasing smirk accompanied by a rather intimidating look, “How about I repay you for mistakenly saving me by giving you a hand with that? I ain’t no genius, but I know a thing or two about those spawns that you don’t.” They scrape their nails down the wall, leaving four thin white lines on it, “So, what do you say?”
A wicked smile comes across Karl’s face as his eyes meet theirs once again, an electric-like bond forming between the two, “Oh darling, saving you was no mistake. Seems like we were meant to meet.”
Y/N tilts their head back, lifting their chin with pride as they give Heisenberg a quick once-over look. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’. Now, take me where the math behind the magic happens. I’m not one who likes to waste time, you know.”
Pushing himself off the wall he’s been leaning against, he puts his sunglasses back on, tipping his hat slightly as he motions for them to follow him, “Makes two of us, darling.”
It does make two of them - two people in search of vengeance: one against Mother Miranda, the other against the Dimitrescu family. At least that’s a bond that can hardly be broken: the bond of vengeance, one of the strongest demons of the human mind to ever exist.