KittyKat2009: To reply to a reviewer, yes, I'm sorry. It involves vampires. And I hope my grammar is better here.
Chapter 2: Strangers
The night was still young. The sun was now setting, so there were still remnants of its color bathing the sky. She looked up at the sky and then at the disappearing the sun. She secretly wished she could watch the sun completely go down, but she didn't have the time. That boy was meeting the "Mistress" tonight.
She had to get ready.
"I still don't really understand Brother. Where are we supposed to meet her?" Al asked his brother as he put on his jacket. They were getting ready to meet this person Ed had met the night before, who supposedly had a lead on Huskisson.
"I don't really get it either," Ed said shrugging on his own jacket. "Apparently, the lady just said we go meet her. She didn't mention any meeting place, no meeting time." He then turned to face Al, crossing his arms across his chest, mimicking the woman called Dinah.
" 'Not to worry, hot stuff, I'll come to you,' " Ed said, badly doing her voice. Then he put his arms up in the air in exasperation. "I swear, if she weren't a few years older than me, I'd call her a pedophile!"
Al raised an eyebrow. "You know her age?"
Ed shrugged. "Not really, but I'd say she's between twenty-one or under."
Al chuckled as they walked out the door. Not so much because it was funny. He just wanted to settle the bad feeling in his stomach. To him, it was strange that someone would come to them right when they were in a slump about their searching. Was it coincidence? Or fate? Being related to Ed, he had grown up not really believing in fate or destiny, but his mind was open enough if evidence was placed in front of him. Still, he felt uneasy. The whole situation was too convenient to be mere coincidence, but the small cynical part of him didn't think it was fate's doing either.
The Elrics walked down the streets of Munich. It wasn't dark yet, so there were still plenty of people around. They were buying from shops, going into bars, and many other things. Once the boys were near the bat, Al noticed that there were some men gathered around one another in the front. They were wearing long, black coats and black hats. They were speaking to each other with inhuman speed. One of them caught Al's eye and glared at him. Al swallowed nervously under the icyness of the glare, and then quickly turned his head.
Ed looked at his brother and saw how pale he was. "Hey, you okay?"
Al looked at him, trying to hide his nervousness. "Yeah, I'm fine."
Ed didn't look quite convinced, but he didn't bug him about it. Instead, he just walked to the front of the bar and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. Al was next to him looking around nervously as people walked inside the bar. Most of the people passing them either glared at the boys or smirked at them with amused eyes. Those who smirked were mostly women who were scantily dressed. Ed would sometimes glare back at them, causing them to laugh or giggle. With each passing person, Alphonse just got more nervous and uneasy.
Neither of the boys knew how long they waited. To Al, it seemed like hours, but in reality it was probably an hour and a half. By then, the streets of Munich were practically empty. Ed always found it strange that most people would go in their house at early hours when the night should have been when most people would come out and "party," or something like that. Alfons told him something about it once. He said that it was mostly superstition. Some people believed that demons came out at night.
Ed was brought from his memories when he felt his brother tap him on the shoulder. He looked questioningly at Al, who nodded towards a girl who was walking toward them. She was much more petite than "Dinah," but her body was just as curvy as her body was. She had a bob of red hair tied into a bun and green eyes. When she walked into the moonlight, the boys saw that her skin was a pale peach color, with freckles on her cheeks. Though, Ed mentally noted, her skin wasn't as pale as "Dinah's." Her dress looked like that of a maid's outfit, only the skirt was shorter.
She smiled sweetly at the Elrics. "The Mistress has sent me."
Ed quirked an eyebrow. " 'Mistress?' "
"Oh, I'm sorry," the girl said in that sweet tone. "I meant Dinah." She gestured inside the bar. "She sent me to tell you that she'll meet you both shortly. In the meantime, you can go inside."
Ed and Al shared a glance, and then went inside. When they did, they saw that the inside of the bar wasn't anything they expected. People inside actually dressed nice and were sitting at ornate tables. The floor was shining and above the Elrics' heads were chandeliers. There were women waiting the tables, who dressed like the girl they had just met. One of them approached the boys. She was tall, pale, with straight black hair and dark brown eyes. In her arms was a stack of what looked like menus.
"Are you two Mistress' guests?" she asked sweetly.
Ed scowled, feeling uneasy. Al noticed and he reluctantly replied for him. "Uh, yeah."
She smiled. "Would you like me to get you two a table?"
Al glanced at his brother, who shrugged. "Sure, why not?" Ed said, trying to hide his hostility.
The girl led them to a table on the far side of the room. She handed them two menus and bowed. "Call me if you want to order."
The boys waited until she was far away to start talking.
"I thought this was a bar," Al mused.
"It is," Ed replied quietly. "Or at least it looks that way from the outside. I've never been inside it."
"So, why is it so fancy?" Al whispered.
"Never mind that," Ed whispered back. "Have you noticed anything about the people in this place?"
Al quirked an eyebrow and actually took a look at the other people in the place. He was shocked to see that when he did, he noticed people avoid his gaze with a hasteful turn of the head. He then felt the burning gaze from behind him. Even the waitresses took the time to glance at both him and his brother.
'They're watching us..? But why?' Al thought with narrowed eyes.
Ed leaned back against his seat, trying to ignore the people's stares. Not that he wasn't used to it or anything. Plenty of people back in their old world stared at both him and his brother. But back then it was because of their...condition. These people didn't stare at them as if they were strange. They looked as if they were waiting for something...
'Or someone,' he thought.
Meanwhile, a girl outside the "bar" was looking into the window with wide blue eyes. Other than her eyes, most of her face was hidden under a gray hood and cloak.
"Damn," she cursed. "There's too many."
Her eyes wandered until she saw the boy from the night before. Sitting across from him was another boy who looked slightly taller than the first. She mentally concluded that was Edward Elric's brother.
'I won't be able to rescue them with so many in there,' she thought, feeling guilt. 'I'll just have to wait until the time is right.'
Just then everyone in the room started cheering. Ed and Al turned their heads around to see that someone new had stepped into the room. It was the woman that Ed had seen the previous night. Her hair was out and loose, falling on her shoulders like in a sultry way. Her long dress was velvet green with long sleeves and a low cut. Around her shoulders was some dead animal, like what the wealthy ladies wear.
'Great,' Ed thought with a sardonic smile. 'She's a flirt and an animal killer.'
Al gaped at the woman. Not for her looks, but because the thing on her shoulders looked oddly like a cat. And being the animal lover he was he put his hand to his mouth, trying hard not to gag. He turned away and downed the glass of water one of the waitresses gave him and his brother. Ed noticed this and eyed him with a concerened look.
"You all right, Al?" he asked.
Al swallowed the water, making the bile go down. "Y-yeah."
He looked back at the woman, (making sure not to look at thing on her shoulders), and noticed that she fit the description of the woman Ed was supposed to be meeting. He looked at him and nodded towards the woman, nonverbally asking if that was her. Edward nodded and stood up from his seat, making his way to "Dinah."
Dinah's face brightened when she saw him. "Edward, you came!" she said, taking off her fur shroud and handing it to the redheaded waitress from before. She walked towards Ed, her eyes looking him up and down as she did.
"I'm so glad you could make it darling," she purred. Her arms went around his neck, making their faces become closer. Too close for Ed.
Ed ducked out of the embrace, and scowled at the woman. "Okay, Dinah. Give me the information and let's get this over with."
The redhead waitress, who had been smiling, glared at Edward with such ferocity that it almost scared Al, who was still sitting at the table. She had seemed so nice when they had first seen her. Seeing her mad gave Al the creeps. Ed just stared at her with a quirked eyebrow.
"How dare you talk to Mistress like that, scum?!" she growled. She lifted her arm, but was stopped by Dinah's hand.
"Grace, it's all right," Dinah smiled sweetly down at the girl. "Edward is just eager, that's all."
The girl, Grace flushed under her Mistress's gaze and stood back. "Yes, Mistress."
Dinah turned to Ed and took him by the arm. Then she practically dragged him back to the his and Al's table.
"I hope that it's all right that I sit down with the legendary Elric brothers," she said as she grabbed an empty chair and sat down.
"Legendary..?" Ed asked.
"...Elric brothers?" Al finished.
"Why of course," Dinah said, spreading her arms. "There's not a person here who knows not of you two."
When seeing the boys' confused faces, her eyes glinted.
"After all, it's not everyday we hear about two boys coming from another world."
Ed let out a small noise, showing his nervousness, while Al gulped. Both brothers exchanged scared looks. How could she--no--how could anyone in this room know their secret? Nobody else knew except for Alfons Heidrich, Noah, and probably the entire Thule Society. Heidrich was dead, so there was no way it could be him. The Thule Society had probably disbanded now, since they didn't bother to chase the Elrics. That only left...
"Don't worry," Dinah smirked. "The gypsy girl wasn't the first to tell about you two. In fact, we knew about you two already."
"You did?" Al asked.
Dinah nodded and continued to explain. "For a brief time, our orginization--of which ever person in this bar is a member of--had been corresponding with the Thule Society. One of the main members, a woman by the name of Eckhart proposed a way to go into a different world. A world called Shamballa. I had shaken her off as insane at first. After all, the Thule Society is connected with the Nazis, a bunch of disillusioned German men who have nothing better to do but follow another disillusioned man who is obviously not well in the head. What need did I have for a bunch of mindless humans?
"But then I met Hohenheim Elric, your father," her eyes sparkled with amusement as she saw the boys, especially Edward visibly wince. "He turned out to be part of the Thule Society and a once inhabitant of that Other World. A place where magic exists. I then reconsidered Eckhart's offer and then later joined in her plight." She paused, standing her arms straight by the elbows and linking her fingers. "You see, I was especially interested in the theory of traveling between worlds. But, unfortunately your father just couldn't do it. We needed someone else. And then, Eckhart found you, my dear Edward."
Ed chose this moment to scoff. "Tch, is that how it happened? I remember differently."
"You didn't see me that night Edward, but I was there when it happened," Dinah continued, ignoring Edward's comment. "I was there when your father died under the teeth of that dragon. When the Gate opened. When you went inside. When Eckhart and her soldiers went through the Gate in that ship. And I was ther after everything happened." Her eyes clouded as she remembered. "I saw what Eckhart became when she came out of the Gate and I was there when you and your brother closed the Gate."
Her eyes lifted to look into Edward's. Then she smiled. "I tried afterwards to try to re-open the Gate, but unfortunately I couldn't. For some reason, that special gift was given to you two humans."
Ed's eyes narrowed. "What does this have to do with Huskisson and the bombs?"
She blinked, as if she forgot. Then she laughed. "Oh, yes. Huskisson and his uranium bombs." Her hand was put on her chin as she recalled the odd man, also from "Shamballa." "I found him months before meeting Eckhart and the Thule Society. I was still trying to find a way to find the secrets of travelling to other worlds. He had arrived with these odd ideas that were way ahead of our time. And he carried a strange object that made present technology nothing. Soon he was given his own lab and assistants, and created more of these bombs. One night, I went to him and charmed into telling me the secret of his ways. And guess what he said. Come on boys, guess!"
Al reluctantly answered. "That he was from another world?"
Dinah reached over and patted his head like a master would to his dog, smiling at him. "Very good, Alphonse!"
Al couldn't help but scowl at that. It gave him the impression that this woman thought him as unimportant.
"He said he was from another world, where no body appreciated science," she continued, amused. "But I told him that I did, and I'd love to hear about his ideas. I hired him to make bombs for me, telling him that I was a weapons manufacturer. He and his assistants moved into the basement of my castle and continued their experiments."
She sighed, looking sad. "I had thought that the bombs would be of use to me and my brothers and sisters, but I was wrong. They were just another weapon for war. Useless and unnecessary for us. So, I was prepared to 'let them go,' as you humans say. But unfortunately, one of them had discovered a secret of ours and was about to tell Huskisson and the others about it. I had to take drastic measures..."
Flashback:
The room was dark, with only the moonlight glowing from the window like a spotlight. There, Huskisson stood in front of one of his assistants, along with his two other colleagues. The assistant's face was pale and his black hair was now gray. His eyes were wide as he recalled what he saw a resident of the castle do...
Suddenly, there was a faint rustle in the darkest part of the room. One of the men heard it and decided to investigate where it came from. His eyes widened from what he saw, but before he could scream a black blur grabbed his face with claw-like hands and pulled him forward.
The group of men turned around when they heard sucking and crunching noises. The man who had been scarred let out a gasp and ran to the other side of the room, hiding under a table. Huskisson yelled back at him to calm down, he was a scientist. He tapped on of his colleagues on the shoulder and ordered him to investigate. The young man looked back at him with an "Are you crazy?" look. Huskisson scowled and pushed him forward.
From the dark, the man's steps were heard. And then, he screamed. Loud sounds rang through the room. Most of them were sounds from the man and more were coming from something that sounded like a creature not of this world.
From under the table, the man started crying shamelessly because he knew there was no hope. He heard a swish by his table, but it was too fast for him to see. The man clasped his hands, praying for the first, and last time of his life. Suddenly he felt something grasp his leg with long, cold knives for fingers. His scream was over shadowed by loud sounds of torn skin and smacking sounds.
Huskisson, though he wasn't all there, switched on the light. He tried to hide it, but he was terrified. In the corner he saw one of his men sprawled on the floor eagle style. His throat was torn open and his head was lolled to the side, eyes and mouth open in frozen terror. Huskisson grimaced at the sight of the corpse and looked under the table where his other worker was hiding. Then, he abruptly heaved on the floor.
A cold hand fell on his shoulder. Its fingers dug into his labcoat to his skin, drawing blood. The nails felt sharper than a bird's claw and ten times worse than a knife. Huskisson shakily turned his head to face his advesary...
And then he screamed.
End Flashback
Dinah burst out laughing, with various others in the room joining her. For some reason, hearing about death was like hearing a good joke. But Ed and Al weren't laughing. Instead, they gaped at her, both feeling shock and disgust.
"You..you killed him?" Al stammered.
"Why?!" Ed yelled indignantly. Sure, he thought Huskisson was crazy, but that didn't mean the guy deserved death.
Dinah finally calmed down. "I couldn't let him know our secret. Only those who are members of my orginization or close allies can know our secret. Any outsider who finds out must be wiped out immediately."
Ed narrowed his eyes. When she said "orginization," it gave him the feeling that he had heard it before.
"So, what is this orginization exactly?" he spat.
Dinah narrowed her eyes, smirking with amusement. "We are Lilith Invictus."
Ed and Al's eyes widened. The elder Elric stood up and gestured for his brother to do the same.
"I thought I told your old lady," Ed said with gritted teeth. "WE. ARE. NOT. INTERESTED!"
At that Ed walked quickly to the door, with Al following after. Fury was shown briefly in Dinah's eyes, but then she closed them forcing her to calm down. Her followers got up from their seats and crowded against the door blocking the only exit for the Elrics. She smiled, though she didn't see what her followers did. Her enhanced hearing gave hints to it. She got up and stared at the Elric brothers, who stood back to back as the men and women crowded around them in a circle.
"Somehow, we got in a dangerous situation," Al mused nervously. "How did this happen exactly?"
Ed shrugged, not taking his eyes off of the cult members. "I think it runs in our blood or something. Dad was in plenty of situations like this, I bet."
"So, basically you're saying we're cursed?"
"If you wanna out it that way, then yeah, we're cursed."
"Well, that makes me feel loads better."
"Oh, come on Al. We've been in worse situations then this."
"Yeah, but when we were, we had alchemy, I was a suit of armor and practically indestructible (save for my blood seal), and you had your automail arm and leg to help."
"... And I thought you were the optimistic one." Ed quirked and eyebrow and turned to look at his brother.
Al looked back, smiling sheepishly despite the situation. "Well, you always did say that I had to be realistic at some point..."
"Are you two done with your witless banter, yet?" Dinah said in a bored voice.
She walked forward. The crowd parted to make the path clear for her. She stopped in front of Ed, smiling coldly down at him.
Ed scowled. "Hey, lady you mind? You're interrupting a family conversation here."
A vein throbbed visibly on Dinah's forehead, and her mouth was twitching. Ed would have laughed, but now was not the time. Al tried looking through the crowd, trying to find a way they could get through, when he was grabbed harshly by the arm by two waitresses. They were Grace and the girl who led the Elrics to their table. He struggled against them, but the two girls just looked at him with cold, empty eyes and gripped him harder. Their strength was almost inhuman.
Ed sensed the loss of his brother behind him and turned around. His eyes widened with worry.
"Al!" he shouted.
He was about to go to his brother, but froze when he saw the girls both bring out a gun and aim it at Al's head. They smirked at him, cruelty in their eyes, while he glared back. Al's eyes were filled with fear and close, obviously trying to hide the tears threatening to flow.
"Stay quiet, little cat," Grace whispered in Al's ear. "Otherwise I'll blow your brains out."
"I swear, if you two do anything to him I will fucking kill you both!" Ed yelled, furious. His cry fell on deaf ears because the girls just smirked at him. "Let him go!"
Dinah stepped up beside him. She leaned her mouth close to his ear, breathing icy breath against it.
"I can make them let him go. But you have to do exactly what I say."
Ed turned his head to her, glaring but not doing anything to defy her.
"What do you want?" he gritted out.
"I want you to come with me and open the Gate," Dinah said. "If you choose to come freely, then I'll let Al go. Once you're done, I'll set you free."
"And if I don't succeed?" Edward asked.
Dinah's face became blank. "You will be killed. And my followers will hunt Al down and kill him."
Ed lowered his head. If he refused to go, then Al would die. If he went and didn't succeed in opening up the Gate, then Al would die. But if he went with them and succeeded, Al would be alive, but he'd be trapped. He knew Dinah was lying. She didn't intend to set him free. She seemed to be like a little spoiled girl who would take hold of her favorite toy and never let him go. But she might let Al go and live, because she doesn't need him. Edward gulped and shakily exhaled. He lifted his head to stare at Dinah defiantly.
"I'll go with you. Just let Al go."
Dinah smirked and patted his head as if he was a dog. "Good boy."
Al wanted to protest, but Grace's threat scared him to no end. Once Ed made the deal with Dinah, he opened his mouth but felt the butt of Grace's gun hit him in the back of the head. The blow was so hard that he immediately fell unconcious.
The girl crouched near the side of the bar as they all came out. They followed their leader, Mistress, also known as Dinah Gardner to the public. There was no one else on the streets of Munich who could see them, or if there were, they didn't find it any unusual.
She cursed in her mind when she saw Edward following the crowd. He looked upset, but not as upset as the girl felt. Behind him, two girls wearing maid outfits walked holding the body of his brother. The girl recognized the redhead to be Grace and the other to be Raven. She cursed again, this time in a whisper. Those girls weren't just two young members of Dinah's cult, they were the members of Dinah's cult. If they had Elric's brother, then that can't be good.
'The older Elric must not know,' she reasoned. She sat on the ground and thumped the back of her head against the wall of the bar. 'Damn, what do I do now? I know I should rescue Elric, but what about his brother?'
She looked back and noticed that Dinah was leading Edward into a car that had just arrived. He looked at it warily and then got inside. Dinah approached Raven and Grace and talked to them, pointing in the way Ed and his brother had come. It looked like she was saying to take him home, but the girl knew better. Her lip reading skills weren't that good, but she could make out the words, "hut" and "car."
The members of the cult split up when Dinah left in her car with Edward. They either walked home, if it was nearby, or they went to where their car was parked. Once everyone left, Grace and Raven got into a car and put Al in the back seat. Then they drove in the direction of the "Feeding Hut."
The girl jumped out from where she was hiding, and then ran to her motorcycle hiding in the bushes. It was a black, 1923 BMW R32 with a shift-drive, boxer twin engine (1). It was something her grandfather bought her from America. It was a good thing she wasn't wearing a dress because other wise she'd be in trouble. She got on the orange seat and looked in the direction Ed had gone.
"Sorry, Elric," she said quietly. "I'll get you soon."
She started up the engine and rode off in the direction Al had been taken to.
Kitty Kat2009: Oh, god. I think my fingers hurt. Oh, well...
1. the picture is here: upload./wikipedia/commons/d/df/R32-pn.jpg
Note: I hope this was better than the first. If you feel I did something wrong, I spologize and ask you to tell me, without flaming. Thank you and have a nice day!
