Well, hello, friends, We come bearing the sixth chapter of dear little CoC, which is quickly becoming... not as popular as PD. What is wrong with you people?! xD This story is much more exciting, in Our opinion. Or did you all just like cross-dressing Ed more than you like vampire Ed?

Review Replies:

Bar-Ohki: xD We're glad you like it. Thank you for the review!

Momma Mustang: xD SG!

o-o Scary!

xDD Nyupe.

xDD Good! -clings- At least someone does. xP

xD Yeah!

xD; Sorry, Taisa, it had to happen. You knows why. xD Of course he had to go out with a bang, he's very dramatic in scenes like this.

xD Isn't he dumb, though? xD Vacation is nice, though! Ed and Roy agreed on it! Of course he had to go. There is a need for the nice ones to go.

LoveChild Rosie: xD; Sorry, Rosie.

GreedxEd: Oh, We see. Thank you for telling Us, We'll have to check that out.xD Sorry, he needs to die.

Pink-Haro01: Updating! -salute- Yesh, he's dead, but there's a reason, that's all We'll say.

Disappointing, once again... only five reviews total this time. And... We apologize for such a long author's note, but you know you love Us.

CHILDREN OF CAIN

renegade

Roy Mustang glanced up. There was a sudden emptiness, but he wasn't quite sure where it had come from. Edward seemed to have noticed too, so he knew that he wasn't just imagining things. Something had happened, but he wasn't sure what. All he knew was that he had heard a distant sound, and then felt It.

What was It, exactly? Something bad, obviously, for nothing good could possibly follow along with that sound. But... And then he knew. Roy wasn't sure exactly how he knew, just... he knew, sure as he knew he had a massive custom-made pistol in his waist holster and sure as he knew what Edward was. Maes was dead, it was clear as water. The gun Edward had passed to him clattered to the floor as his fingers began to shake. The blonde turned to him, but Roy had already bent to pick it up, fumbling and almost dropping it again. "It's... raining," he said quietly, and Edward looked at him curiously.

"But... it's not raining. It's clear tonight."

Roy shook his head. Of course the vampire wouldn't understand. "Yes it is," he insisted, turning away. He knew he was going to cry, and he didn't want Edward to see, even if the other could easily find out anyway. "Of course it's raining. This is rain."

The blonde blinked, then gave a weary smile and stepped forward, patting Roy on the shoulder. "Come on. You've still got one left."

Roy nodded. "All right. Let's go." There was no trace of the tear that had just been on his cheek, unless you counted the slight line of moisture that trailed down his face. Edward knew that Roy would much rather have him think that it was sweat or something rather than a read, and he decided that was what he would think, even if he knew better. "So..." Roy looked over to Edward, who blinked curiously. "Which way is the dungeon?" asked the man sheepishly.

The blonde grinned. "C'mon, we'll never get anywhere if you don't know what the hell you're doing."

/The jig is up, the news is out/
Rose felt it too, down in her cell far below the ground. She knew there was something wrong, but unlike Roy, she couldn't tell exactly what it was. But there had to be something unfortunate. She knew Maes, of course she did, but she found that she could not possibly understand what was going on. She wondered... what had happened?

The door creaked open then, and the girl's gaze jolted up to the newcomer. She barely relaxed, even though she knew this person. Greed, back again. He stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall beside the door. "You didn't miss me, did you?" he smirked, watching her with unfeeling gray depths. "I sure hope not, I would just feel so bad. But you know --" Here he stepped to Rose, who was standing in the middle of the room, and kept going, pushing her down against the bed. "It's always nice to know I'm wanted."

Rose squirmed backwards, and Greed followed her, pinning her down on her back and bringing his face down so their noses were only inches apart. Rose finally found the strength to speak to him and glared up as she did. "Why are you so interested in me, anyway? I'm sure there are prettier girls than me, not to mention I'm just a human, right?"

Escad's lips curled into a smile, but she knew it wasn't a kind one, no matter how he acted. "Oh, canary, how you wound me," he replied, shaking his head. "Come, now. You don't want to be my kitten, forever revered among the other elite? The position of Wrath is still open, after all, I'd think you'd like to take it." He barely moved, but Rose's eyes were wide open as he captured her lips for a split second. And then he withdrew, sitting back up and settling on her stomach. "Wouldn't you like that? I certainly would -- you're very fun to play with."

"Get..."

"Mm? Ah, yes, of course. You're playing hard to get, aren't you?" The vampire leaned over again, trailing up her throat with a smooth tongue. "You would like it, I know. You might say you won't, but I know you'll get curious. You'll want to know... what it tastes like. And then what? You'll come back to me, won't you? You, who are simply a human, ignorant and slow. A vampire's immortality is something found only in your dreams. But it's more than a dream. It can be your reality, if you let it. So now... you need to stop struggling."

Rose's eyes widened as her body relaxed of its own accord. Of course... hypnosis. But she was still conscious. He wanted her to see this. And she knew now... these were her last moments as a human being. She was going to join them in the ranks of the undead and she couldn't do a goddamn thing about it. "Get... get off," she snarled, though her voice was weak and it took all she had through the hypnosis to even speak.

"Now, now," said Greed, who seemed to be getting a little irritated. "You really have to stop. Just relax, eh?"

/They've finally found me/
They were a floor above the dungeon now. Edward said that there were nine levels of the secret world below the Statue of Liberty, because the vampires who had originally inhabited the place had been big fans of Dante's Divine Comedy. Roy found the name 'Dante' quite familiar, but he didn't know where he'd heard it before, aside from having heard of the Comedy himself. But there was something else there... deep below the surface of his mind.

Roy looked up at Edward now, who was looking quite determined. He smiled faintly, but was sure to drop the smile as Edward turned toward him. He was a little relieved that the other was simply turning a corner, however. Roy was... more than a little surprised that Edward was so bent on helping him. But he supposed the other was getting a sort of equivalency out of it. Roy helped Edward eliminate the vampires he hated, Edward helped Roy get his niece back and as an added bonus, probably be given a title among mercenaries. "How much further?"

"Ten feet and an elevator," replied Edward, and Roy snorted. Trust this weird vampire to have an odd sense of humor. Even despite knowing what had happened to Maes, he was laughing at stupid things. He was either very strong or very out of it, and he was betting on the latter. "Ah, here we are," announced the blonde, pressing a button on the wall beside what was obviously an elevator door. The button glowed green, and the door opened obediently. The blonde stepped in carelessly, but Roy followed cautiously. He was a bit claustrophobic, to tell the truth -- he didn't like elevators all that much, even though other small places he was fine with. They reminded him too much of a past mission in a different bloodsucker hideout, in which one of them had foolishly stepped on a floor switch. The walls had begun to close in immediately. Roy still got shivers thinking about it. So as he entered the elevator, he looked around warily. Edward gave him a curious look, but pressed the down arrow anyway.

"How far down is the next floor?" asked Roy, leaning against the rail in the little boxy room. "Not too far, I hope."

"No, of course not," replied the vampire, who was standing with his arms crossed in the middle of the elevator. "It's a small descent. Maybe five minutes." And with that he fell silent, waiting the time away. Roy scowled. It was easier to distract himself from the claustrophobia if he was talking, but Edward didn't seem to be in the mood, so he fiddled with his pistols nervously till the door opened, upon which he darted outside. Edward looked confused, but followed him out.

/A renegade who had it made/
Her neck was on fire. Her mind was filled with blurry images which were quickly dissipating, her memories replaced with the stuff of nightmares. Cold numbness gripped her for an instant before it was replaced with white-hot agony. She wanted to clap a hand over her neck: the pain radiated from there, but she could do nothing, because Greed still had her paralyzed and his fangs still clamped down on her neck, and he seemed not about to let go until all her blood was gone.

Was this what it was like to become one of them? Agony beyond belief? She wished that she hadn't been home when they'd captured her. She almost wished she hadn't gotten so mixed up with her uncle, but that was selfish, wasn't it? It didn't matter anymore... She supposed she deserved to be selfish this time.

And then another wave of pain hit her, and she was suddenly clutching her mother's bloodied, ravaged body to her chest, trying in vain to get her somewhere in time to save her, but even so she knew it wasn't going to happen. Another wave, and a traitorous, vampire-employed werewolf was stabbing her in the shoulder, spattering blood all over the apartment. Another, and Greed's lips were pressed against hers, and she felt something new in his kiss -- lust. Her own lust. And then --

Black.

The girl relaxed entirely. It was evident to Greed as he withdrew that she had fainted, and he removed his teeth from her throat with a smirk. The violet-haired man's lips moved soundlessly for a moment as he ran a list of names through his mind. "You... need a name, Kitten. I think... you're now called Lucemia. That's a pretty name, Kitten. I hope you'll like it when you awake." The door opened then, and Greed snarled, removing himself halfway from the body. "You."

"Me," said Pride flatly, stepping into the room and regarding Escad boredly. "Are you having fun, Escad? I would think you were, but I've learned to think of you as unpredictable. Tell me, what have you done now?" He swore internally. He didn't need to ask, viewing the female sprawled on the bed. "...Never mind. I'll leave you to your --"

"Hold on."

Irwin blinked, turning to glance at Roy. He sighed. This was going from bad to worse...

"I'm going to kill this bastard right here. I know what just happened to my niece," said the hunter fiercely, and he pulled out his oversized Cassull swiftly, aiming it at Escad's head.

Greed just smiled. "If you can, love. If you can."

/Retrieved for a bounty/