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They sat around the dining table in Ethan's old house in America, eating in silence.
The first time Karl had felt free was eating half-cooked soup, filled with horrible-looking pieces of meat, instead of the raw meat Miranda gave him to keep the cadou at bay. It didn't taste good, it stank horribly, and Heisenberg did his best not to throw it up, his stomach not used to this new kind of food, but it was different. He wasn't sure if "different" was a good thing or a bad thing.
"Salvatore would have liked this," Ethan joked, chuckling, trying to break the awkwardness that hung in the air.
The spoon Heisenberg was holding stopped in midair before he could bring it to his mouth. Ethan mentally scolded himself: this was not the time to talk about the closest thing man had to a brother. Ethan couldn't help but think that everything would have been easier if he hadn't begged Chris to let Heisenberg be free. I'll make sure he doesn't hurt anyone. Ethan had said. Chris had agreed, as long as Karl remained restrained. After everything that had happened, Ethan didn't know how the former Lord would react to being confined again, having just regained his freedom from his psycho mother and the psycho cult. But now, as they ate, Ethan realized he hadn't planned ahead. He didn't even know what the man liked or did, or whether he would be comfortable living with him. Ethan's biggest concern was the possibility that the trauma might have permanent repercussions on his mood.
As much as he somewhat trusted Heisenberg, it would have been all too easy for him to break free of the restraints and kill him on the spot. Ethan kept a constant eye on him. As he looked at Heisenberg, who was now free of his rusty coat, hat, and glasses, he noticed that his grayish eyes were glowing faintly. Despite the restraints, Ethan could feel a slight tingling coming from every metal object, even his prosthetic finger
"You... wanna talk about it?" Ethan asked timidly.
Heisenberg looked up, his face twisting in a glare before snapping to the same smirk he had plastered on the first time they'd met. "What's there to talk about?" he asked. The blond man stood there perplexed for a moment. "A lot?" Ethan retorted in a questioning tone. "Then talk." The ex lord said, now staring daggers into his soup.
"Look—" Ethan started, thinking about how to approach the subject. "I thought you'd have decades worth of trauma to unpack, and after everything that happened..." he trailed off. "And you thought I'd share them with you?" Heisenberg asked, looking up. His eyes looked more tired rather than angry, Ethan noted. The metal still rattled. "Seeing as you're making everything metal shake, yes."
Karl looked back down. In reality, his mind was still processing everything, still processing Miranda's death, his mutant family's death. Oh god, Dimitrescu had died too hadn't she. Heisenberg's hands gripped his own thighs under the table. His eyes stung. He thought the cadou had made that impossible, but now that Miranda had no influence... Karl hadn't cried in decades, but even now as his eyes begged and pleaded to let go of the wetness, he refused. Crying had become so abnormal to him that it scared him. The first times he had cried when he was first kidnapped, Miranda comforted him. But as the experiments increased so did the pain, and that made Miranda mad. He blinked quickly and looked up, trying to make the sensation go away.
He avoided looking at Ethan, but from the corner of his eyes he could see the blond's expression. It was a mix of concern and fear. Heisenberg swallowed and tried composing himself. He tried making the metal rattling stop, but the restraints made it impossible for him to control his powers. He sighed. "Don't you have loads of trauma as well? Focus on your own." Karl said, almost snapping. He didn't appreciate the man's prying. "I'm not the one who just left a cult." Ethan said. "It wasn't like that..." Heisenberg replied.
That's when Ethan realized the man before him waa going to be hell to handle. Despite the moment, Ethan decided to ask the million dollar question: "Do you knkw anything about the outside world?"
Heisenberg looked down, now his nails dug into his thighs, as he realized he really didn't. He shook his head. "I could start teaching you, about the- uh.. world, usances, you know, the modern stuff." Ethan was quick to reply. Heisenberg thought about it for a moment. "That'd be nice." He mumbled before his right hand gripped the spoon again and brought some of the soup to his dry lips.
And so the next few days, the lessons began. Ethan thaught him a lot. The internet was the first thing he was made aware of by his new companion. Ethan told him that any doubt he had he could search up on there, but not to trust everything. Heisenberg decided he wouldn't trust any information that came from the too bright picture box. Ethan made him try new food everyday, that part he despised. The food upset his stomach every time, and everything that was slightly less basic than bread would come right out of his mouth into the toilet seat. Of course, he didn't tell Ethan, the man was worried as is. But in addition, Heisenberg was scared of what Ethan would do if he realized the former lord was acting weak. He knew Ethan had started questioning why the bathroom smelled of barf every time, but he hadn't been questioned, so he said nothing.
Once, Ethan had come out of the bathroom wearing yellow rubber gloves. Heisenberg was holding onto the kitchen counter, feeling like he might fall at any second. He didn't notice Ethan's presence until the blond put two and two together and walked up to him. A long discussion ensued, Karl had promised he'd mention when he felt odd. Ethan had a suspicion the mutant wouldn't follow up on that promise, but he said nothing. You can't break anything out of someone whose entire thing is being metal kinetic.
What overwhelmed Karl the most about the world outside the village was the amount of choices he had. This was the first time he found out he could choose who he was and what to do, and in a way, it scared him. Then it happened.
Heisenberg sat on the worn down leather couch. He wasn't sure what triggered it, he remembered seeing a raven outside and suddenly everything came crushing down. The metal all around him rattled more than ever before. His mind raced to the endless possibilities and the amount of stuff that had happened in the past three weeks. Oh god, oh god, oh god. His head screamed. Alcina, Donna, Moreau, Miranda, their names popped relentlessly in his mind. His siblings, despite how much he said he despised them, he really didn't. Sure, he'd often get mad and pissy when Dimitrescu would drop her three daughters at his factory and call it a day, on when Donna would ask for sewing needles or when Salvatore asked him to fix his dam— all things he happily did for them —but for god's sake, they were his siblings, his family. Even Miranda, who had turned him into a mutant monster, who had experimented on him and almost discarded him when he was of no use. She was his damn mother. Tears prickled at his eyes.
Ethan had just put Rose back in her crib when his two prosthetic fingers started shaking and trashing and he realized something was very wrong. "Heisenberg?!" He yelled out, rushing out of the room. The closer he got to the living room the more his fingers shook. He winced, his fingers would probably be torn off again. Nevertheless, he walked over to the couch, where Heisenberg sat. Karl himself was shaking, hell, the whole room could've been shaking! "Heisenberg!" Ethan repeated. Heisenberg looked away from him, his breathing was ragged and uneven puffs of air came out of his mouth.
Ethan put his hand on the other man's shoulder, who flinched away as if he had been stabbed. "Karl." Ethan said, his tone softening. Heisenberg froze. He hadn't been called that in a long time, he had almost forgotten his name. One name sat uncomfortably on the tip of Karl's tongue, and it was Mother Miranda. He wanted to implore her mercy, out of habit, out of decades of worshipping her, but his brain prohibited him from it. The ex lord finally felt the wetness dripping down his cheeks, and oh did he hate that feeling. It was a foreign sensation to him, and it didn't alleviate the panic running through his veins. Calmly, Ethan sat by his side.
"Breathe." Ethan instructed. "Inhale for four, hold for four, and exhale for four."
Heisenberg heard Ethan's voice and tried following his guide, but he couldn't focus at all. It was as if the restraints that kept him from using his powers restrained him from everything else. The restraints themselves were made out of metal, much to the engineer who made them's stupidity. They broke. And when they did, against Heisenberg's own will, all hell broke loose, because after weeks of not being able to use and control his powers, he couldn't handle them, and they went haywire.
Ethan gritted his teeth as metal scraps flew everywhere, and he thought to himself that he never would've wanted to see Heisenberg's powers going berserk in the factory. Ethan ducked his head as a particularly sharp object flew past it. "Karl!" Ethan shouted even though he knew it did nothing. "It's okay, you're safe." He attempted.
"Hey- look at me." Ethan tried getting closer to Heisenberg's shivering body. Heisenberg obliged, his face was a mess of red and wetness. "You killed them all-!" Heisenberg yelled, his voice shook with rage. "I had to..!" Ethan protested.
"They were my family!" The broken restraints smashed against the wall. "I know they were, and you- you deserved, I mean you and your family, deserve so much better, but you're free now. Free of Miranda, free of—"
The door burst open and a shot rang out. Suddenly all the metal fell back to the floor and blood sprayed in front of Ethan. The ex lord started coughing and fell to the floor as he clutched his side. Chris redfield walked over and pointed a gun at Heisenberg's head.
"Chris?!" Ethan yelled in surprise. "We got an allert that the restraints came off." The BSAA agent explained, which to Ethan was surprising given the fact the man had never explained anything. Meanwhile, Heisenberg's vision blurred and the dark spots at the edges of it took over.
When Karl opened his eyes, a soft surface was under him. Someone— Ethan, sat by his side on a chair. Heisenberg didn't find himself in a white room like he expected, but instead he was in his room, or rather the guest room Ethan had let him borrow for the past three weeks. Heisenberg sat up with a groan, god, his side hurt. Ethan's hand went to his chest and pushed him back down.
"I told Chris it wasn't on purpose." Ethan started. "He didn't believe me at first, but I convinced him."
Heisenberg nodded, not really paying the explanation any mind. Ethan sighed.
"Wanna talk about it now?" Ethan asked, his arms open in an invite. Karl felt his eyes wetten again, but this time he didn't fight back the tears. Ethan got closer. "Need a.. uh.. a hug?" He asked. Heisenberg nodded and was quickly enveloped in a warm embrace by his companion.
This. This was home.