Frozen Death Alchemist Chp 7
Return to the Nest
Ok it's been a long time since I updated. It's a wonder I'm even writing this considering thw work load that has me studying three to four hours a day. So you get what you get sadly. I want my work to be top-class but honestly It'll be half its usual awesomeness with all the other things my mind is currently going through. Many of you probably thought I'd dropped this story but the truth was I had so many other good ideas and I ended up writing stories for all of them as well. As many of you would know this story's premise wasn't my idea so it didn't really click with my imagination. I've tried my best to continue the story and I do have a plot planned out. If I end up dropping this I swear I'll release the rest of the plot instead of leaving you guys hanging cause that would be a bit mean. Anyway enjoy
Danny sighed. Here he was. On a train… again.
The weather outside reflected his mood perfectly; a wild storm with the occasional hail. Then again he liked ice. It calmed him if nothing else, and the freezing pain it brought when you were unfortunate enough to be outside, made you think of nothing else. It was therapeutic. Of course others would probably call him crazy for having such an unusual thought.
"Trains… the bane of all humanity," he whispered as he stood up.
His behind felt stiff and painful. His back needed more than just a few cracks. His thoughts had been forced into overwork. Train rides tended to bring the worst out of him into full blossom. If it weren't for the weather outside, Danny knew for a fact that he would have lost his sanity. The Elric brothers weren't here for company and now he was left to his torturous thoughts. Thoughts he'd prefer to ignore and forget.
In conclusion; Danny hates trains.
Pulling himself a little more and stretching the numbness from his limbs, Danny went back to his notes. He'd made sure to wear something other than military grade uniform to home. It wouldn't leave a good impression on his sister if he wore the uniform that she was so against. It also helped to bring a level of comfort military uniforms seemed to deem unworthy.
"All trains stopping at East City"
"Finally!" Danny exclaimed as he jumped up in excitement. His usually reserved demeanour suddenly erupted with energy. The cold storming weather pelted his face with a familiar numb sensation as he walked out into the open. It would be quite unpleasant to most but to him it was god sent for him. Oh how he loved the cold feeling rushing through his skin. He'd never give it up for anything…
…except maybe to avoid his sister.
Panic rose inside of him, replacing the earlier calm with the raging storm of emotions. He'd forgotten to write to her. He'd forgotten to tell Vlad as well that he'd be coming. And worst of all he'd have to break the news to Vlad that he'd broken his promise.
What was it that Vlad had told him before he left?
"Promise me that if you die, it'll be a death worth smiling about"
Danny paled. In a sense his heart had stopped beating. In another sense this meant he could live forever. The worst thing about both of them was it was no death worth smiling for if he could even call it death. The young alchemist gripped his hair in silent frustrations forgetting the pelting cold that howled for attention with the winds.
"They're both going to kill me"
Line Break
"Oh how I feel like killing you right now"
Danny hung his head and looked away. Vlad had given him an unpleasant look that only promised future pain. The boy decided he deserved the treatment. He hadn't written, he hadn't informed Vlad that he was coming, and to top it all off he caught his previous master in a bad mood.
"My deepest apologies!" Danny apologised as he bowed his head in deep regret.
"Stop with the theatrics Daniel. You already ran along to join the military and now you come back, not to repent of your stupidity, but to ask for help on the job I clearly don't approve of?" Vlad grunted in annoyance.
"If it helps you feel better I'm not under the Fuhrers orders but a friend," Danny explained as he handed out the file on Isaac.
Vlad took the file gingerly his hands ghosting over the crumbled paper while watching his ex-student squirm. It still brought him pleasure to watch Daniel fidget under his presence. He decided he'd only ever feel truly accomplished as a teacher once Daniel stopped writhing under his scrutinising gaze. The day that happened he would die contentedly.
The file in his hands took away all pleasure in watching Danny squirm. The familiar face bought ambivalent emotions to the surface. Here was the face of one of his late friends. A friend he considered to be a brother. For once it wasn't a brother that had betrayed him. Yet the word deceased stuck out like a bright mocking sign amidst the rest of the notes.
"Vlad… I'm sorry," Danny apologised realising that maybe he had sprung the news too quickly. He hadn't known the exact extent of Vlad's relationship with McDougal but judging from his current reactions he'd consider it ran far deeper than he anticipated. Suddenly he regretted his actions.
"I-It's fine. You couldn't have possibly known who he was to me other than what I've told you about," Vlad sighed. He knew his former student well enough to know his thoughts inside out. Right now however his attention was on the rest of the notes.
"It was the military, wasn't it?" he sighed as he walked into the large living room and slumped down on his plush sofa.
"Yes. The reasons for him plotting against Amestris and the Fuhrer are a complete mystery. The case was dropped after he was killed but Roy, my superior, had a feeling that there was more to the story than what was told," Danny explained as he sat beside his former master.
"I'm betting there is"
"What do you mean?" Danny asked as his interest peaked.
"I don't encourage meddling too deep into this country's secrets Daniel. You'll be dead before you know it. Maddie and Jack carried out that fatal mistake and now they're gone… so is Isaac."
"You know I can't just sit by when who knows what is happening," Danny growled remembering the painful moans of those zombie like humans in his parent's lab.
Vlad sighed and rubbed his temples in distaste. If Daniel happened to be anything like his parent's he was persistent. Sometimes he wondered if he should've just locked him up in a room and protected him from everything. Jasmine certainly didn't need it, but her younger brother had turned out to be quite the handful.
There was something odd in the undertone of what his young ward had told him. Vlad had picked up on that look Danny was giving him. It almost felt like Daniel had witnessed something horrid and was keeping it away from Vlad on purpose. Of course the older man made no outward expression that he saw beneath Daniel's horribly feigned façade of indifference.
"Isaac had left me before I got too deep into the dirty secrets this country hides. I made no effort in following him into the shadows either. Sadly just like you, your sister managed to get herself too deeply involved with Isaac. Maybe it's a genetic stupidity," Vlad mused in a bitter tone.
Danny took no offence to the jabs Vlad threw at his late father. He had become accustomed to Vlad's bitter hate towards his biological pater for quite a while. It had irked him at the start but despite Vlad being a bitter old man, he also managed to creep into Danny's heart regardless.
"I knew that Jazz would have better relations with Isaac but considering you're his friend, can I have the privilege of knowing anything of value?" Danny asked hopefully.
"I can't tell you anything of value. Even if I could, I still wouldn't. I'm sorry Daniel, but you'll have to go to your sister about this," Vlad sighed. He hated seeing the last few people he cared about getting themselves mixed up in something that would no doubt cost their lives. So many times in the past few weeks he had been having the same nightmare of their deaths on his head.
"Thank you," Danny mumbled. He'd been quite awkward since he walked in. He was tense and his nerves were clearly getting the better of him. Vlad had that kind of affect he admitted. Every time he was around the older man he'd felt the urge to prove himself. Currently he'd been having second thoughts as to whether or not he should ask his old master for help regarding meeting his sister.
"Spit it out Daniel. You have that reluctant look on your face when you're torn between something," he pointed out.
Danny sighed in resignation. "You see right through me all the time. You should teach me how to do that"
"It's simply the fact that you're an open book. Anyone could know exactly what you're thinking. Now stop trying to change the subject and start talking"
Danny was about to protest but decided against it. "Can you come with me to meet Jazz?"
Vlad rubbed his temple in frustration. When it came to Jazz he knew his former pupil was weak. Danny had every right to be fearful of his older sister. He'd gotten on the bad side of her and he'd messed everything up when he joined the military. It had been the one thing his sister hated the most.
"When are you going to take responsibilities for your actions Daniel? I will come with you this one time but from now on you cannot throw your problems onto another. Am I clear?"
"Yes, mas- Vlad!" Danny replied hastily before he picked up his things.
The two walked into the car and drove in awkward silence. Vlad didn't know what to say and instead took to thinking of everything he had heard. He had been friends with Isaac but he never was never emotionally involved with anyone besides a few. Danny and Jazz had taken most of his time and if they weren't there he knew he wouldn't have many friends.
"Pack up your things we're catching the tram," Vlad ordered.
"Never understood why you never bought a car," Danny mumbled under his breath.
Stuck in what Danny deemed the 'smaller train' didn't really make him feel better. First he didn't like trains and second he was going to meet his sister after… well he'd lost track of time. All Danny knew was Jazz's temper could rival a hungry lions. He didn't enjoy facing a hungry lion.
"We're getting off at the next stop," Vlad informed.
Danny was cut out of his thoughts before nodding. He followed after the older man and found himself moving through a crowd of people. A nasty weight found itself on his throat and he couldn't swallow it. His stomach churned and he felt increasingly jittery. What exactly would he say to his sister after not seeing her for months? 'Hey Jazz, I'm kind of the army dog now and our parents were part of a secret underground conspiracy that could kill me or charge me with treason for looking into it. I would love it if you gave up any information on the man you saw as a father to me because he possibly died connecting our parent's murder to something.'
Yeah that was going to go well…
"Are you coming in or not?" Vlad asked.
Danny shook his head as he looked up at the apartment building. He was a little shocked. Vlad was rich so why would Jazz be living in a cheap apartment of all places? The thought left just as quickly as it came. Right now his sister's taste didn't matter as much as her oncoming wrath. As they approached the old wooden door Danny felt himself lose control over his raging emotions. He kept a poker face but it didn't stop his hands from shaking with effort as he knocked on rough wood. He fought chimeras, joined the army, saw horrors but he was more scared of his sister?
The door opened revealing a dishevelled red head. Viridian green eyes widened in shock before a range of emotions seemed to flash in an instant. Fist met flesh in a second and Danny found himself lying on the floor under the mercy of a very angry older sister.
"9 months Danny. You didn't call for 9 months and now you just drop in unannounced?" Jazz growled, her voice quivering by the end.
Danny flinched when she came closer but instead of being met with pain he found himself stuck in a warm embrace. He felt both disgusted and comforted. There were many things he deserved but Jazz was not one of them. He hugged back half-heartedly before pulling away.
"I'm sorry Jazz. So many things happened and you're not the first girl who's punched me in the face," Danny laughed, thinking back to Izumi. His laughter stopped abruptly when he remembered he wasn't here on pleasantries. He held Jazz's shoulders and his eyes became heavy.
"What is it?"
Jazz was led in by her brother, his arm around her shoulders in an uncharacteristic fashion. Slowly and delicately the young alchemist explained what had happened. To Jazz the world had went silent and irrevocably darker. Jack, Maddie, Danny… Isaac. Everyone was leaving her. She felt so alone that it hurt worse than any physical pain she could have ever felt. Her breathing stopped and she felt almost like she was suffocating… no she was suffocating. Panic took a hold of her as her brother worriedly pat her back and spoke calm words. How could he be calm? Isaac had just been murdered by the state; the man she had come to see as a father was murdered by the state!
"Jazz breath, you need to breath," Danny repeated calmly, although he was anything but calm. His hands hesitantly patted his sister's back, used to her bouts of temporary suffocation. She had woken up screaming, suffocating and thrashing in agony at night and all he could do was watch when he too was feeling the same pain. Danny didn't know how to deal with such intense displays of emotion so he had all but run away. Now he was feeling guilty for having left his sister behind to deal with her trauma alone.
"I-Isaac," she cried, her thoughts coming back in full force.
"He- he was brave Jazz. Whatever it was that he found it was surely important enough to risk his life over.
"No!" Jazz cried pushing Danny away. "No! He left me just like mom and dad! He left just like you did!"
"Jazz-"
"Go away!"
Danny backed away his eyes betraying his hurt. He sent one last worried look before closing the door and leaving his sister to her misery. Again. He was leaving her again. If she were in his situation no doubt would she have comforted him… hugged him tight despite the protests. But he wasn't her. He wasn't brave. He wasn't strong. He couldn't even feel anymore. Vlad's disappointed expression was enough to convince him of all he thought.
"Go back in there Daniel."
Danny looked away, his expression turning grim. He couldn't go back. It hurt to be near Jazz. It hurt to be near Vlad. It was much better when he was treated like the dog he was and sent to do military duties. It was much easier just to leave and never show his face again then to suffer through that much pain again.
"Go back in there Daniel!" Vlad repeated his anger apparent.
Danny snapped.
"No! I am tired of this! I am tired of being reminded again and again of what I've lost. Don't you think I would like it if I woke up every night to mom and dad making pancakes? Do you think I like waking up at night for a suffocating sister when I'm feeling just as scared? I'll tell you why Jazz is in so much pain. It's because she refuses to accept reality! This is my reality!" Danny growled taking his alchemy badge from his pocket.
"Don't show that in my presence," Vlad snapped.
"You're just like her," Danny snarled. Rage boiled in his stomach and it threatened to explode. "I'm tired of keeping my head down and listening to speeches of me abandoning you! You abandoned Jack and Maddie!"
Vlad snarled dangerously and smashed Danny into the wall. The younger boy didn't flinch, his gaze sturdy and unrelenting. He was tired of having to explain himself. He was tired of having to feel guilty.
"You and Jazz, sit here with your heads lowered and tails wagging! Who's the real dog here! I may be the dog to the military but I am a dog who refuses to beg! The woman you loved, and your best friend were murdered and you turn a blind eye, wallowing in your misery and claiming you love them!"
"Daniel," Vlad growled threateningly.
"I've spent years training and fighting for what? To be treated like the villain! Why am I the only one who cares what happened to them? Why am I the only one trying to bring their memory to justice!"
Vlad slapped Danny.
The screaming voices of self-loathing, of hate, immediately vanished. It seemed the sound of flesh meeting flesh echoed into the fibre of every object in the room. Danny's hands went to his cheek in shock. Vlad had never slapped him. Vlad had whipped him, he had punched him, he had kicked him, but he had never slapped him.
"When Maddie became a state alchemist she told me to quit for her. She told me that was the one thing she never wanted you or Jazz or anyone to become. She took my place so that I could quit. I'm honouring her memory by honouring her wishes," Vlad whispered his eyes lost in pain. "It seems I have failed with you."
"How quaint," Danny replied angrily before pushing Vlad away and storming off. He pushed the anger back down. His earlier apprehension seemingly faded away and revealed hidden bitterness. He loved his sister, he loved Vlad, but they did nothing. When they had disappeared he seemed to be the only one questioning why. When they held a funeral with no bodies he was the one breaking the empty casket in angry retribution. When Jazz woke up screaming and crying at night he was the one lulling her to sleep. When the pain became too much and he cried in his room no one came.
No one saw. Everyone seemed to have moved on. As time went on he realised that they were really dead. He realised that the funeral was meaningful. He realised that Jazz had a reason to wake up screaming and have basic motor functions not working. He realised that there was more to what happened than what he was told. He told Jazz of his revelations but she told Danny that it was an accident that they died, that it was normal protocol to not give the dead bodies of state alchemists to their families because their death and bodies had confidential information. Danny didn't believe it.
"Here's the information," Jazz said handing a paper to Danny.
Danny was cut from his thoughts when he saw his red eyed sister. She gave him the note, not explaining how she realised he was here on business and not simply to relay the sad news. He took the white paper regardless. After reading through the contents he put it back into his pocket and walked back to Jazz. He couldn't bring himself to look at her in the state she was in.
"You never cried," Jazz mumbled,
That's not true. Danny bit his tongue and didn't say a word. You've just never seen me cry.
"I do what I have to do," Danny replied holding back his voice from wavering. "You'll see one day Jazz. I'll find out what really happened and the whole of Armistice will see. Mom, dad, Isaac… I'll bring them justice."
"Does it hurt?"
Danny paused. Green eyes begged for him to answer honestly and cold blue slowly wavered. It hurts so much. I want to cry. I want to see them even if it's just their rotting corpse. Sometimes I feel like someone is stabbing me.
"I remember," Danny replied finally. "I remember all too well and I don't want to forget. I'm afraid that we're letting them die here," Danny said pointing at his heart.
"We need to move on Danny. That's what they would want," Jazz sighed rubbing her eyes.
"The dead don't want but the living do," Danny replied harshly. Jazz flinched before turning her head around to hide her face. She certainly didn't want Danny to see her expression. The young alchemist sighed as he felt the paper in his grip. He loved Jazz but it hurt to love and he was tired of feeling. His emotions were a contradiction in itself. He wished to tell her the truth. She had a right to know what he saw down in their lab before it was permanently blocked of. She had a right to see the activated the transmutation array on his back. Despite his rationale side compelling him to tell his grieving sister the truth he couldn't do so. He pulled his hand away and put it in his pocket, feeling the cold metal that signified his status as a dog to the military.
"You may not see it now Jazz, but I'll clear their names. I'll expose the truth and there will be justice."
"Then you'll die trying," Jazz retorted.
Danny nodded. "That would be a death worth dying."
With that said he left his sister alone to her grieving. He could not imagine how he would cope if Vlad died as well. If his sister needed to grow up she needed to accept these things. He couldn't comfort her like he used to. The time for stagnation had never truly existed. The moment his parents had disappeared was the moment he moved, and while the rest of his family seemed to be in a stand-still, he knew that time was of the essence. For now he would move step by step.
It was time to visit the late Isaac McDougal.
