Title: Blood Brothers (4/5)
Author: Jordanna Morgan
Disclaimer: They belong to Hiromu Arakawa. I'm just playing with them.
Alphonse had no idea what to expect when the Gate responded to his demand—but nothing could have prepared him for what he found in his reunion with Edward.
Of the crossing itself, he had little memory. Blackness, and bright light, and then blackness again. The haziest recollection of phantom hands that burned as they crawled across his skin, crushing him in their grasp, clawing their way into his body to take away pieces of him. Heat where his blood spilled out, and a deepening chill in the depths from which it drained. Searing, unspeakable pain that consumed everything.
Now that he was on the other side of it, that fading nightmare felt like the dark rebirth it had truly been. He was reborn into a different world and a different species, cut off from everything he had ever been before… except for being a brother.
He did remember Ed leaning over him, holding him. The different warmth that spread through his being, as the missing piece of his soul melted back into him—and the bitter tang of lifeblood as Ed's hand pressed against his lips. For a moment before it all faded into nothing, Al thought Ed was trying in some way to seal his soul again, to tie it down once more with the scarlet threads of his own.
Perhaps, in a way, it was precisely that. Instead of binding him to a husk of metal, it was simply Al's own damaged body that Ed had bound him to this time… although, in order to continue bearing his soul, that body was necessarily, terribly changed.
Nevertheless, it was alright. No matter what this change was or how it worked, it did come from Ed's blood—and that was all that mattered. It was all Al needed to know to rest assured that he would be okay.
Dhampir. Half-vampire—or even more ominously, half-homunculus. Al supposed it should have frightened him more than it did. Yet after the prospect of returning to his lifeless armor shell, living on in that way without his brother for a potentially endless time, this alternative seemed far less horrifying. Now Ed was safe beside him, and while his body had once more become alien, at least this time it remained his own flesh and blood. At least he could still touch and taste and smell—in fact, far more keenly than ever before. Perhaps his newly heightened senses were a strange compensation for his five years without sensation at all.
And as for the price of preserving the health and sanity of his changed being… that wasn't entirely something new. For five years in the armor, he had felt every day the precious, cruel weight of the seal inside him, the mark of blood that had cost his brother's arm. At least what he was required to take into himself now was not human blood.
The only thing that really hurt Al was that Ed shared this fate, and was clearly grieved by it.
Through Al's first night as a dhampir, and most of the following day, neither of the brothers rose from the bed where he awakened. He was still too weak for exertion, and Ed was not about to leave him. They simply lay nestled together, talking to each other, or sleeping. It was a strange kind of sleep, light and dreamless, but satisfying. Al noticed he felt considerably less pain and more strength each time he woke up.
Noa stayed with them for a while during the night. Al was glad for the chance to talk with her, to learn a little more about her—even though it took Ed's input to fill in the blanks when she was too humble about herself, and the things she had done to protect Ed. She was lovely, and Al was intrigued by the few little details she mentioned about her native Roma culture.
More than that, Al could sense the warmth between his brother and this girl—and he was delighted by it. As intensely driven as Ed had always been, Al used to fear he would never see such feelings stir within him. But now, whatever it was that Ed had found in Noa…
It was a missing piece, like the part of Al's soul that had just been restored.
When sunrise approached, Noa fetched two fresh bottles of blood, and then retired to her room to sleep. After drinking their distasteful ration, the brothers curled up together for their own long daylight rest. Although Al had already slept at intervals during the night, his body was still more than willing to become dormant, and continue its process of regeneration. His mind, too, was quick to grow quiet, dismissing all troubling thoughts of his new life. He wondered if this ease of sleep now was also an ironic repayment for his ever-wakeful years in steel.
Evidently, waiting out the useless daylight hours in unconsciousness was natural for dhampirs; or else, Al's body simply needed the healing rest that badly. He didn't awaken until he felt the sunset, as Ed had told him to expect. It was a peculiar feeling, like the relaxing of muscles that didn't physically exist.
Ed was already awake, staring thoughtfully at the ceiling. Upon feeling Al move beside him, he quickly sat up, to look down at his brother with sad affection.
"Hey. How do you feel?"
After taking a brief moment to search himself inwardly, Al smiled up at him. "There's no pain at all anymore—and the weakness is gone, too." His expression took on a hopeful note. "Does that mean I can get up and meet the other Hunters now?"
A faint look of troubled reluctance crossed Ed's face, but he nodded slowly. "If you think you feel up to it, I guess there's no sense putting it off. You know it's just… gonna be weird."
"I know. It's okay. After all we talked about, I think I'm ready to see them as who they are here." Al ducked his head. "At least I'll try."
Pensively wordless, Ed rose from the bed. At that moment, there was a soft knock on the door; and when Ed called out permission to enter, Noa stepped into the room. Once again, she was carrying their grim evening meal of red fluid, as well as a bundle of black fabric.
"You've gotta stop pampering us," Ed remarked warmly, as he moved to meet Noa and relieve her of the two bottles. Then he looked down at the bundle tucked against her side. "Clothes for Al?"
"Yes. They may be a little big for him, but they'll have to do until we can get something his size. These are the smallest we have." Noa laid the folded clothing on top of the bureau. Her hands rested on them for a moment, and her voice trembled ever so faintly as she added: "They were Francesca's."
A sharp sadness flickered through Ed's eyes, and Al himself felt the same pang. Ed had told him about Francesca, Noa's best friend and the double of their own world's sweetly foolish Sheska. Her death was one more reason Al was glad that Envy had paid for his evils at last.
Impulsively, Al stood up, still clad only in the black shirt that had served as a nightgown. It was the first time he had been on his feet since… well, a number of days before his arrival in this world, given the unnatural illness that had been consuming his body there. Ed reached out to support him, but he wobbled only slightly before his new reflexes balanced him. As he moved, he could feel an unsettling difference inside his torso, things shifting in new ways where an unknown number of now-absent internal organs had left a void—a thought that made his stomach add to the confusion with a nervous spasm. He grimaced and coughed, but then he took a needless breath and stood firm, gently withdrawing from Ed's hand that grasped his elbow.
"I'm fine." He gave his brother a reassuring nod. Then he stepped forward, closing the few paces between himself and Noa, to take her brown hands in his small pale ones.
"I'm sorry for the friends you lost because of Envy. I know I can't replace them… but I'm going to do my best to be your friend now, too."
Noa's eyes shone, and she put her arms around Al in a tight hug.
"Al feels like he's ready to meet the other Hunters now," Ed informed Noa when she pulled away from Al. "Could you see if you can get them together in the meeting room?"
"Of course," Noa said quickly, and left the room.
When she was gone, Ed picked up one of the blood bottles she had left on the bureau, to open it with steel fingers and pass it to Al. After they had both nourished themselves, he set aside his own empty bottle, half-smiling with an awkwardness that made Al think his older sibling would have blushed if he could.
"Thanks for what you said to her, Al. I'm… I'm really glad you like Noa."
"I'm glad you like her, too." Al raised an eyebrow impishly. "And I mean that kind of like."
Ed's jaw dropped, and this time he definitely should have been blushing, had his physiology allowed it. "What—? How'd you guess that?"
"Brother, it's obvious. The way you talked to me about her, the way you've both looked at each other…" The boy grinned. "I'm happy to see you care so much about someone else, Ed. Sometimes…. I used to be afraid we might never have any other family again, besides each other. I didn't want it to be that way. And I didn't want you to be afraid to love other people—even after all we've lost."
At that, a shadow filled Ed's expression. He dropped his gaze and turned away slightly, folding his arms.
"Having feelings for others may be more dangerous here than it ever was in our world, Al. Hunters… have a high mortality rate. Even if the dhampirs like us don't die from natural causes, they can't go on forever. Sooner or later, they're killed by vampires, or they just burn out and—they go crazy. I told you what happens then. What their own friends have to do." Ed's voice quivered slightly. "The thought of that ever happening to Noa—or to you—"
"It's not going to," Al said confidently. "We're never going to lose ourselves as long as we have each other. And as for it being dangerous, you told me yourself, things are different now. Hunters will be able to use alchemy to kill vampires, instead of just fighting them forever."
"If other Hunters don't decide to kill us because they're afraid of alchemy…" Ed smiled wanly and shook his head before Al could argue. "It's okay, Al. I'm really not going to… to shut everyone out again. I don't think I could now, even if I wanted to. Dhampirs have some crazy kind of pack instincts—and they bond with each other in ways humans can't imagine."
"What do you mean?" Al asked, and saw the uneasy hesitation return to his brother.
"This is one thing I hadn't told you yet." Ed stared down at his hands, fretfully rubbing steel fingers against flesh. "You know dhampirs can't drink human blood. But… they can take it from each other. And when dhampirs share blood, they absorb each other's memories and feelings."
Were it possible, Al's silent heart would have skipped a beat. He gazed at Ed in wonder, trying to grasp the enormity of what he was hearing—and what it meant if Ed was speaking from firsthand experience.
"Oh, Brother," he whispered. "Then… have you—?"
"Only from Noa," Ed replied, quickly and a little brusquely. "At least—so far. Eventually, I'll have to get used to the idea of doing it with other dhampirs, because it's an important means of communicating for Hunters. In fact… that's how I taught alchemy to the other dhampirs here. I gave them my blood—and my knowledge with it." He smiled thinly. "That also means they already know all about you, Al."
Stunned, Al sank down onto the edge of the bed, as his mind raced. He tried to imagine Noa, and the other Hunters who he had not yet even met, being able to share all that was in Ed's mind and heart…
And a strange, faint prick of jealousy twinged within his own heart.
Ed was his brother. Except for these last two years, they had spent almost every moment together from the time Al was born. He was the one who was supposed to know Ed best and most intimately, the one to share his memories—because they had made them together.
Al shook his head slightly, pushing away that irrational flicker of selfishness. From what Ed told him, he realized it was partly his new instincts talking. Dhampirs formed strong ties in groups, but they were also highly possessive of people they especially loved, and those impulses could collide in volatile ways. The conflict would subside when Al came to know the other Hunters, made them a part of his pack to be cared for and shared with, just as Ed was.
And as for the fact that he had not yet experienced that ultimate closeness with Edward… that could surely be remedied easily.
"Can I do it?" he asked, his voice breathless. "Can I share your memories?"
"I was expecting you to ask that." Ed looked away again. "Since you're my foundling, it's my responsibility to teach you how to deal with all of this—and that includes sharing blood. But I don't want to do that, Al." His fists clenched. "You've suffered enough hurt on your own, without having to feel mine too."
"But I want to, Brother. I want to know the pain you've been through for me—and how much you loved me to do it." Al rose and approached Ed, searching his downcast face. "And if you drink my blood too, that means you'll also feel everything good and bad from me, right? It's like Equivalent Exchange."
"You don't know how right you are about that." Ed sighed and raised his head, reaching out to squeeze Al's thin shoulders. "We'll talk about it later. You have enough to adjust to right now. Besides, it's not really the best idea to share blood until your system has fully changed over, and that takes a few days."
Impatient though Al might have been, Ed's reasoning made sense. Grudgingly resigned to defer the matter for a little while longer, the younger Elric nodded, and went to collect his new clothes from the bureau.
Once the brothers had dressed and made themselves presentable, they finally left the room where they had been sequestered. Ed guided Al downstairs to the second floor, where the Hunters carried out much of their more routine nightly work.
Al looked around keenly, taking in his new environment with interest—and trying to be discreet when he frequently sniffed the air. His sense of smell continued to grow stronger, while new instincts had emerged to interpret the language of scent he was discovering. The ambient odors in the building described the presence of people and dogs and electrical machines. Much like hearing the sounds of those things, their smells told him in general what they were; but he would only learn to recognize their sources individually when he saw them, and associated each unique scent with its owner.
The new clothes that had been loaned to Al were oversized and a little too long, as predicted. He did his best to tuck in the excess fabric where he could, but he still felt self-conscious and much too small—especially now that he properly remembered he was seventeen years old. It was rather absurd to be almost an adult in the body of a twelve-year-old.
He knew it was a situation he would have to get used to for quite some time. Ed had explained to him, with great reluctance, that as a dhampir it would take him many years to mature physically. It was a thought that pained him, after the development of his body had already been delayed for so long by its time within the Gate. Noa tried to encourage him, saying his small size and deceptively youthful appearance offered a certain advantage for a Hunter: he could look like easy prey to many less experienced rogue dhampirs, and even some incautious vampires, who failed to realize until too late that he was not a mere human boy. She told him that acting as a decoy in this way was a valuable tactic for other Hunters like him, who were turned as children, and grew mentally to adulthood while their bodies aged much more slowly.
It was, for now, a strange and troubling thought… but in the end, this too would be alright. It was simply another part of what was still a small price to pay for surviving and being with his brother. More than that, he was certain the work they would do here was vitally important and meaningful. Although Ed scoffed at the idea of fate, Al was convinced these things were meant to be, to bring balance to this world that had unknowingly been so hurt by the alchemy of their own.
And the Gate—or perhaps an even higher power—surely would not have chosen them for this destiny if they were not up to the task.
As the brothers neared the Hunters' meeting room, the scents Al identified as those of people became more distinct. He slowed his pace and sniffed more openly, prompting Ed to stop and look at him with a sadly amused thoughtfulness.
"Tell me what you smell," the elder brother prompted softly.
"Other people," Al answered, blinking. "I recognize Noa's scent, but not any of the others, even though some of them seem a little… familiar somehow."
Ed's lips twitched. "I noticed that too. Subconsciously, I think we even remember the smell of people whose doubles we knew in our world."
Once more Al breathed in, tasting the air. "There's something about most of their smells that reminds me of yours and Noa's… and mine too, I guess," he added bemusedly, supposing it was natural that he had not been very aware of his own scent until he thought about it. "But one or two of them are a little different, and their smell is stronger. Is that the ones who are still human?"
"Yeah. Sig and Heymans are the only humans still left with us, now that Riza's been turned." Ed sniffed consideringly as well, and his nose wrinkled. "Sig is the one who brings in that smell of raw meat. And that whiff of dog hair… that's Roy."
Al chuckled. "It's kind of funny, hearing you refer to General—I mean, Mr. Mustang, and Miss Hawkeye—by their first names."
"It was weird for me too at first, but that's the way Hunters do things. Except for the Councilors, they don't really have a formal ranking system, and I think I can understand that now. Even with the humans who can't share memories… there's something about this life that brings people too close to have ranks and titles between them." Ed smiled crookedly at Al, and clapped him on the shoulder with his flesh hand. "So do you think you're ready to meet them without freaking out?"
The boy rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to freak out, Ed. You've told me what to expect. I know it'll be weird, but I understand."
"Okay. Come on, then." Ed nodded, and continued leading Al to the meeting room down the hall.
Noa must have heard or smelled the pair as they approached, because she stepped out through the open doorway to meet them. "Everyone's here." She took Al's hands in hers, squeezing them lightly. "They've been looking forward to meeting you. Come in."
Taking a deep breath that he didn't need, Al followed Noa, with Ed trailing close behind him. As he stepped into the room, his first awareness was of several figures seated around a long polished table. They stood when the Elrics entered. He paused to take in each of them in turn… and his silent heart filled with wonder.
If it wasn't for that cold stillness in his chest, he could almost have believed this was some elaborate prank, and he was back in Central instead of a literal world away. The faces that gazed at him were as startlingly, exactly familiar as Ed had told him they would be. True enough that there were a few differences: the Roy Mustang he saw now had longer hair and an eyepatch, and the dhampirs were all slightly paler and more gaunt than the human counterparts Al had known. Yet physically, in some impossible way, they were the same people he had left behind in Amestris. He knew from Ed that on a fundamental level, they were much the same people mentally and emotionally, too—although shaped differently in many ways by their unique life experiences here, and the horrors wrought upon each of their lives by vampire-homunculi.
As he tried to wrap his mind around that thought, it was finally driven home for him that this was not just a different world, but a parallel one. A few of the more outlandish scientists in Amestris had theorized about such things, and certain writers of fanciful pulp fiction had toyed with the what-ifs of the idea. Al wondered what they would think if they could see the reality of it.
"Master Alphonse," said a chillingly familiar voice from the opposite end of the table, as a tall figure stepped forward. "Welcome to our world… such as it is."
Something inside Al's too-hollow gut tightened with instinctive anxiety. His breath caught, and he swallowed hard, looking up at the powerful dark-haired man who approached him. He stared at the faint twist of a smile beneath the black mustache, the eyes that appraised him with level coolness.
Two eyes. Not an eyepatch—and not the haunting scarlet glyph of an Ouroboros, the inhuman eye he had glimpsed for an instant when…
Whatever was left of Al's innards flopped. He wrapped his arms around his thin torso, stifling the faint uneasy sound that tried to rise at the back of his throat. Edward had told him he could trust this version of the man named Bradley, and he believed his brother… but just then, all he could remember was that moment. The moment he had looked down to see blood—so much blood—spilling out from between the plates of his armor, when the life of the woman he had hidden inside him was brutally extinguished by a monster who wore this man's face.
Ed's hand found Al's shoulder, and gripped it tightly. The touch alone was enough to bring him back to the present, back to his senses. He gulped and cleared his throat, forcing himself to return Councilor Bradley's gaze more steadily.
"I-I'm sorry, sir," he stammered, in a smaller voice than he wished. "It's only—"
"I understand." Bradley bent down to Al's eye level, with kindness in his expression and voice. "From your brother's memories, I know at least some of the evils committed by the creature who took my form in your world—including what you suffered because of him. And I am deeply sorry for that. I hope for the chance to prove that to you."
A faint smile crinkled the corners of his eyes. "And when certain larger affairs settle down, perhaps I can introduce you to the Hunter who has served for many years as my personal aide. After helping your father and I to slip away from the Council secretly, she remained in Paris, to keep an eye on matters there on my behalf. She's not only indispensable to me, but a close personal friend… and her name is Marta."
Al's jaw dropped, and his eyes grew enormously wide.
"You mean that Marta?"
"Yes—well, at least the incarnation of her in this world. She's a dhampir, as well."
Filled with a strange mix of astonishment, relief, and ruefulness, Al did his best to show Bradley a thin smile. "I'll look forward to meeting her then, sir. I'm… glad to know she's alive here. Even if she's like us."
"Good." Bradley glanced sideways at the other Hunters around the table, with a small gesture for them to resume their seats. "Now, as to more immediate concerns. I don't suppose our names need introducing to you, Alphonse—and yours certainly doesn't to us. We regret that you now share our fate, but we're pleased to have you with us. I can assure you that we'll do everything we can for you."
"Thank you, sir." Unable to blush, Al could only duck his head shyly, as his eyes wandered across the other Hunters. "It's strange to see faces I know so well, even though I've never really met any of you. I hope you won't mind that it'll take some getting used to."
Riza Hawkeye gave him a small, pained smile. "Of course not… We all have a lot to be getting used to right now." Her soft eyes studied him, with the interested concern of one newly turned dhampir for another. "How do you feel?"
"Well, kind of weird… but I know it'll get better." Al grinned haplessly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm used to weird. This is just a different kind than I've dealt with before. I'll be fine."
At Riza's side, Roy murmured, "I hope you won't be disillusioned too soon, kid."
"Roy…" Ed muttered, taking a step forward from behind Al, to scowl at the doppelganger of his former superior.
"Easy, Ed." Roy raised his hands from the table in a placating gesture. "I don't mean to be discouraging—but let's not sugar-coat it. Adjusting is hard enough for a dhampir under normal circumstances… and right now, the future is pretty uncertain for all of us."
With a troubled frown, Ed glanced at Bradley. "Have you heard anything new from Paris?"
"Very little, I'm afraid," Bradley sighed, as he moved back to his chair at the head of the table. "Obviously, after I disappeared with your father, Marta would have been questioned if she remained at the Citadel—the headquarters of the Council. For now she's staying at a safe house, and can only receive news through the aide of another Councilor who shares our pro-alchemy views. All we know at present is that the Council is still bitterly divided… but at least it hasn't come to violence, and news of the upheaval hasn't spread to other Hunter cells. At this time, we can only wait, and see how the conflict among the Councilors plays out."
"There's gonna be trouble either way," Ed muttered. "Even if the Council itself doesn't end up controlled by people who want to wipe out all knowledge of alchemy, the ones who are against it could split off into a new group and come gunning for us."
"It's possible—and something we'll have to make contingency plans for. But that isn't your concern now, Edward." Bradley looked back and forth between the Elric brothers with a melancholy smile. "You concentrate on Alphonse's adjustment—because sooner or later, we're going to need him badly. Protecting both of you, and the gift you've brought to this world, is up to the rest of us now."
Al shivered slightly as he realized what Bradley meant. The Hunters hoped he would share his blood with others, just as Ed had, to pass on his alchemic skills. It had given him no pause to think of Ed drinking from his veins, feeling his love and his frustrations, gaining his perspective on their experiences together… but the thought of other dhampirs taking all of that from him was a little frightening.
Equivalent Exchange, he reminded himself. Other dhampirs would share with him as well, and he would learn things from them that he couldn't yet imagine. It was only fair that he should teach them in turn—especially because the skills they gained from him could save untold lives in the future.
"I'll do anything I can," Al submitted, quietly but firmly. "Ed told me about the vampire-homunculi, and your fight against them. I want to share that work too."
His brother scowled at him. "Slow down, Al. Becoming a Hunter takes a lot of training."
"Says the guy who went out to kill a vampire less than a week after he was changed into a dhampir."
"That's because it was Envy, you dope!"
Around the table, a few chuckles were hastily stifled.
"There will be all too much time for our troubles and duties later." Bradley leaned forward, beckoning the Elrics toward a pair of empty chairs. "Tonight is yours, Alphonse. We may know a great deal about you from your brother's memories, but that still doesn't compare to knowing you for ourselves, firsthand—so let's become better acquainted."
With a tentative smile, Al moved forward to take a seat at the table, and lost himself until dawn in conversation with his new comrades.