Hey all, sorry this is late. I made it longer since it took so long to write. I hope you all think this was worth the wait. I lost the motivation to write, then I found a cd entitled Vampires, and that gave me all the motivation I needed to finish this awesome chapter. Once again, I don't own FMA, and beta'ed by HappiestUnderClouds.
Early the next morning, the hotel-provided alarm clock rang in its shrill tone, proclaiming the time to be 6am.
"Stupid thing, it can't be time to get up yet, I just got back to sleep," Roy muttered to himself.
After dragging himself out of bed and into his uniform, Roy sighed and headed over to the town jail, eye twitching every few minutes in response to the endless throbbing in his marked arm.
He had forgotten how unlike the Central jail these smaller jails could be. Men were screaming and yelling nonsense left and right. Obnoxiously loud noises very early in the morning tended to give Roy migraines, and right now Roy could feel the beginnings of a massive headache pounding in his temples as he walked up to the General's desk.
"General, I trust Hakuro is unharmed and ready for transport?"
Nodding his head, the General handed Roy a set of keys. "He's in the third cell on the right. You might want to be careful though, I think he's losing it."
"By the way, my car is just outside of town can you have one of your men bring it back to Central for me?"
The General nodded his head "Of course Führer, you will have it back by tomorrow."
Roy waved his hand in acknowledgement while muttering to himself and glaring angrily enough to set the brick walls of the jail on fire.
"Come on Hakuro, it's time to go."
"Führer Mustang, glad to see you're still alive; you do know the pink rabbits are out to get you?" Hakuro cackled.
Roy sighed and dragged the prisoner out of his cell. General's right, he is losing his mind. He didn't say a word to Hakuro except to tell him to watch his head as he shoved him into the prison cell on the train bound for Central.
Roy groaned as his muscles relaxed when he sank into the surprisingly comfortable embrace of the military personal train car.
Of course he has to go crazy; life can be so predictable sometimes. The only things that happened within the past month that have been unpredictable involve Edward in some way. Crap, stupid migraine. Roy closed his eyes as he massaged his temples, intent on only keeping them closed for a few minutes in an attempt to lessen his headache. Before he knew it, sleep took him into its clutches and dragged him down into the vast world of peaceful darkness.
-.-
"Hello Brigadier General Hawkeye, how are you?" Alphonse asked with a smile on his face as he walked into the Führer's outer office.
"Good day Alphonse, I think after knowing each other for over ten years you can call me Riza."
"I'll call you Riza when you call me Al. By the way, do you know why Führer Mustang wanted to see me?"
Riza shook her head and frowned. Her mouth moved like she wanted to say something, but then shut firm on the unvoiced thought.
"No Alphonse, I have no idea. Mustang's not here yet, but he should be anytime. You can wait in his office for him if you wish."
Al called his thanks as he entered Mustang's inner office and sat down on one of the black leather couches, intent on waiting until Mustang showed himself.
-.-
Roy felt himself wake up as the training was pulling into Central station. Looking out the window he could see the sun was at its zenith in the sky. As much as he longed to spend the day outside in the warm sun thinking about everything that had happened, he knew that paperwork would not wait on his musings.
Leaving the military train car, he grabbed Hakuro and shoved him the entire way to the prison. After leaving orders with the guards to summon a psychologist, he started back towards his office, determined to finish all of the paperwork concerning Hakuro in two hours, unaware of the visitor waiting for him.
-.-
Mustang walked into his office and headed over to the water cooler for a drink. His arm was starting to hurt badly again and he needed to take a few pain killers before trying to finish all the paperwork that had piled up.
"Welcome back Sir, did you deal with the Hakuro situation personally?" Riza stated as she stood and saluted.
"I did deal with it personally, and before you ask, I will not tell you how I knew before almost the entire base did. I will tell you that he went off the deep end and should be seeing a psychologist once a week starting next week. Also, I need you to keep an eye on Havoc. Report directly back to me if he does anything out of character; you can start when they get back from lunch. Now if you excuse me, I have a lot of paper work to do and a headache to get rid of."
"Sir, you have a-"
"Not now Hawkeye, whatever it is, you can deal with it." Roy closed his office door behind him, not hearing Riza say that Alphonse was in his office.
"Dealing with Hakuro, the animal attack, and an assassination attempt can really drive one to drink." Roy grumbled to himself while leaning against his closed door with his eyes closed.
"All that excitement in the first few weeks of being Führer must mean an interesting reign for you, sir."
Roy snapped his eyes open in surprise before straightening and striding over to his desk. "Alphonse, I didn't know you were coming today, is there anything I can help you out with?"
Alphonse gazed at Roy with a strange look, deciding on exactly how he was going to word his next sentence. "Führer, don't you remember? You had Brigadier General Hawkeye call me and request my presence here at my earliest convenience, she didn't tell me why though."
Roy leaned forward in his chair; frown on his face while tenting his fingers in front of him. The look he gave Al was one of appraisal, of trying to figure out what Al should and shouldn't know about the current situation.
"Before I begin Al, I need to know how much you know about your brother's disappearance."
Al shot forward off the couch and was leaning against the desk before Roy could blink. "You know something about Ed don't you? Tell me!"
"Sit down before you hurt yourself. Tell me what you know first."
Al slowly sat back down on the couch and stayed silent in thought for a few minutes while continuing to glare at Mustang. Roy used this time to examine this grown up Al. He had his blond hair in a ponytail and wore the exact same type of black clothes and red jacket with the Flamel on the back that Edward used to wear.
Al sighed and looked at Mustang. "I was trying to bring him back when he sacrificed himself to get my body back. I haven't seen or heard from him since….wait, you know something don't you?"
Mustang walked around the desk and placed his hands on Alphonse's shoulders in an attempt to calm Alphonse down. Alphonse stood up again, knocking Roy's hands away, a look of anger crossing his face.
"Mustang, you know something, tell me this instant!"
"Al, it's not that easy. This is a very delicate situation."
"How can it be delicate? I've searched three years for him and now you won't tell me anything that can help me find him?"
"Al, be reasonable, I-"
"Reasonable? You want me to be reasonable after I have spent three years searching Amestris from border to border for any sign of my brother, my only remaining blood relation, and the first clue that appears you don't want to tell me? You really are a bastard!" Al felt his fist connect with Roy's cheek, knocking him slightly off balance and causing him to stumble.
Al felt arms trap him from behind and felt a slight breath on his ear.
"Now Al, you know better to hit the Führer, and calling him a bastard is my job." A voice cracked in laughter.
Al's back visibly stiffened before he broke the hold on him and swung himself around to see his 'captor.'
Edward stood there with his arms across his chest, a smile on his face and his eyes dancing with joy.
"Brother!" Al cried and launched himself into Edward's arms.
The red of Alphonse's jacket was the perfect contrast to Edward's midnight blue shirt, which was slowly becoming soaked due to Alphonse's tears of happiness.
"Where have you been these past three years? I've searched everywhere for you!" Alphonse choked out through his tears.
Edward drew Alphonse back to arms length and moved them both to the couch. "It's a long story Al, and it's better if you hear it all so you can protect yourself."
"Before you begin the tale, how did you know to be here Ed?" Mustang questioned as he leaned against his desk.
Edward led his brother back to the couch where they both took a seat. Looking in Roy's eyes he smiled. "I felt I needed to be here, plus our psychic contact in the military told me I would be needed."
Roy nodded with a slight frown on his face as he sat back down in his chair. They have a psychic contact in the military? I needed to find out who it is and how long this has been going on. If I would have known about them earlier I could have found Edward that much sooner.
As Edward began to tell his story, Roy stretched his arms out before grabbing a pen and the next document in the ever-growing pile, signing his name to the paperwork to keep the country running smoothly for another day. His eye twitched a few times due to the throbbing pain still radiating up his arm.
After some time had passed, Edward looked out the window and sighed. "Hey Al, as much as I would love to stay and chat, it's getting close to dusk. How about I walk you back to your hotel tonight?"
Before Al could answer, Roy interrupted "He can stay at my place if he would like, and you can stay with him Edward; I wouldn't dream of separating you two."
"But-" Al began.
"No buts Al, I have plenty of room to house two people for the night, I just need to sign one more form then I'll be ready to go."
Al looked at Roy then back to his brother. "I think I'll stay at Roy's place. Will you stay too, Brother?"
Edward looked up to Roy to see him nod. "Yea Al, I'll be there around dawn. Don't stay up waiting for me; I'll wake you when I get in if you want."
Al nodded with a smile on his face. "I'd like that. There is so much to catch up on. Go on Brother, you have a job to do, I'll see you later."
Edward stood and walked over to the window, and paused for a second before reaching into his pocket and pulling out two small vials and tossed them to Roy. "Here, take these. With the way things have been going lately, I don't trust anyone besides us to stay within the regulations. If you or Al end up being bitten, put the liquid on the wounds immediately."
Roy looked at the vials in his hand then back to Edward. "Dare I ask what this is?"
"It's vampire saliva, it will close almost all wounds, but it's most useful on vampire bites; it closes the wounds and gets rid of any residual pain."
"Thanks, I think…We will talk about this later Edward. Now get to your patrol before one of your followers comes after you."
"Alright Al, Roy, see you soon." With one last look at his brother, Ed jumped out of the window and vanished into the darkness that was slowly taking over Central.
"I'm glad he was able to explain it to you Al; it was his place to tell you." Roy pushed his chair away from the desk and placed the two vials in his pocket. He then closed the window and walked over to the door and grabbed his coat off the hanger. "How about dinner followed up by me answering any other questions you may have about all this? And before you start, call me Roy."
Al stood and followed Roy out of his office while absorbing all of the changes that had taken place in the office since he had last been there. "Sounds good Roy; where is Hawkeye? Doesn't she still leave after you?"
Roy shook his head, eye twitching again. "No, she goes home at the normal quitting time; I leave whenever I have my work done for the day. She has military business to take care of right now, but I assume I'll see her tomorrow."
Al nodded his head in understanding before getting an odd look on his face. "Roy, are you ok? Your eye has been twitching most of the day."
Damn, guess I'll have to tell him about the warning marks now; he's still as observant as he used to be. "I'm fine Al, let's get home and have dinner."
One the walk to Roy's house Al talked about what he had been up to since he had regained his body. He told Roy of his budding relationship with Winry and his search for clues to his brother whereabouts.
-.-
Where the Hell is Havoc going at this time of night? Hawkeye thought as she followed Havoc through the slums of the city.
She was about to call it a night earlier when she saw his front door open.
Dodging overturned trash cans and puddles of liquid best left unnamed, she tried to think of what his odd outfit could mean. It was only when he had reached the rougher section of Central that he had pulled out a black cloak and donned it, essentially vanishing in the shadows except for a lock of dirty blond hair that stuck out the top of the hood. She quickly followed, also blending in with the bleakest shadows in her special-ops uniform.
She watched him enter an abandoned warehouse that had been condemned because of its failing structural integrity. It was set to be demolished within the next month or two, but it seemed like it was still being used for unknown purposes.
Stopping long enough to grab her gun out of its holster, she slowly followed him inside. Using the remaining boxes and fallen material as cover, she soon discovered Havoc talking to someone.
"H, do you know when the master is supposed to be here?"
"No idea, Lamia Venator (1), he should be here soon. He needs to know that I won't be much use for a while. Mustang is getting suspicious, like I knew he would."
He's helping someone against Mustang? How can he do that, Mustang has always been loyal friend to us? I need to report this to him right away.
She reholstered her gun and slowly turned around, the fastest way to Mustang's house quickly forming in her head. Her thoughts were interrupted as she felt someone grab her from behind and shove her out into the central area with Havoc and the other cloaked figure.
"Looks like we have us a spy, my underlings. What should we do with her?"
"My Lord, this is my lady Riza Hawkeye, please do her no harm."
Hawkeye snapped her head in Havoc's direction and gazed in Havoc's semi-lifeless blue eyes.
"How dare you Havoc, when I get out of here the amount of pain I plan to put you through will have you begging for me to use you as a target!" She yelled as she tried every move she knew to get free of her captor's inhuman strength.
"So this is your precious Hawkeye. As long as you continue being a faithful servant H, I will do her no harm. But since I don't have the ability to make her my underling..."
Hawkeye knew she had to keep her mouth shut in order to protect Roy; there were things she knew about him that could get him killed. She was prepared for the torture to start despite her captor's words when something hit her head and she slipped into the world of darkness.
-.-
Roy stood by the sink doing the dishes from dinner while he informed Al about the check and balance system between the human and supernatural side of Amestris.
"Let's see if I have this straight. If either of you gets out of line in ruling and doesn't heed the warnings of the other, they have the authority and obligation to kill the other in order to keep peace in the country? And those warning marks are what you receive for doing something that could endanger the country in any way, shape or form?"
"Correct Al; also there is this…-"
-.-
One the other side of town, Edward sat on a park bench and growled with frustration. "What is going on tonight? I've had three times the trouble that I usually have on patrols."
Edward relaxed his guard slightly when he entered a neutral section of town and began to think where it would be best to get his next meal as he sat on the bench to wait for Lysander to relieve him of his watch. After thinking for a bit, he had the perfect place in mind and started grinning, revealing his fangs.
He jumped and spun as he heard a branch snap behind him, eyes searching for the cause of the noise. "Shit, Lysander! How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me, I'm liable to attack before I realize it's you!"
A sinister laugh rang out of the darkness, followed by a flash of light as Edward dodged to the left, barely missing being caught in the chest with a dagger.
"Guess your reflexes are as good as the rumors say. Too bad you won't live long enough to help anyone."
Hissing and extending his claws into attack position, Edward increased his night vision as his eyes started gaining bright red streaks; shining beacons in the night telling the tale of what he was.
"Stop being a coward and show yourself!"
"Showing your red eyes, claws and fangs to me only cements your fate to die by my hands." A figure emerged from behind a tree, causing Edward to blink in surprise.
"Yes Edward, the poor, foolish weakling that survived a vampire attack three years ago is now one of the most powerful vampire hunters around!"
Edward started circling the hunter, flexing his hands in an attempt not to attack without gaining information first. "Why come after me, I have done nothing to you. Under my rule, vampires have stopped attacking and killing senselessly!"
"It's because you are the vampires' leader and have the ability to influence the Führer. I did warn him to stay away from you, and the fact that there's a bounty on your head only encourages my decision! Time for you to die!" The hunter launched himself at Edward, pulling a dagger and throwing it as Edward dodged.
Edward continued to circle the hunter as he pulled the dagger out of his shoulder, blood running down his arm for a few seconds before it healed to perfect condition. "I must admit, you must be good at hunting vampires if you got me with that one. No human has been able to hurt me in years."
Edward dashed forward and grabbed the hunter before slamming his fangs into the hunter's neck and got a mouthful of blood, only to spit it out.
"Damn you, you rotten coward; why am I not surprised that you would poison your blood?" Internally, Edward's thoughts were much different. How did he know the one thing that acts as a poison to us, much less get it in his blood stream? I need to end this quick and get somewhere safe.
The hunter tried to stab Edward, only to have his blade blocked by Edward's metal arm. The hunter jumped back and missed being kicked by Edward. Edward tried to dodge out of the way of the next dagger throw, but was slowed down enough by the poison that the dagger managed to slide into his skin right under his clavicle. Blood ran down his shoulder as he pulled it out, clearing some of the poison from his system.
"Alright, I was going to let you live until you poisoned me. You have done more damage to me than anyone has before. Now you die!"
Edwards's eyes glowed a deep red color before he vanished from the hunter's sight. Swords and daggers flashed and rang against metal while teeth and claws gleamed in the pale moonlight. Grunts and hisses were heard as weapons and claws drew blood from their target.
Desperate to end the fight before he went unconscious due to blood loss and the last of the poison in his system, Edward sprang up behind him, breaking his neck, only to feel a stabbing pain in his side. He dropped the now lifeless body and looked down at his side only to see another dagger sticking out of his side. When did he manage to do that? Damn, he was an expert at his job. I need to get somewhere safe until I get enough strength back to make it to headquarters.
Edward set off in the direction that he knew would provide him a safe haven until he regained some strength.
-.-
Roy nodded again and sat down at the table with Al and placed a cup of coffee in front of them both. "There's something else you should know, and I don't know how you're going to take it."
Al nodded and Roy started speaking again. "Al, there is something forming between your brother and me. We haven't actively talked about it yet, but we're both attracted to each other. I hope this doesn't bother you?"
Roy saw Al look down and his shoulders started to shake. "Al, are you that upset over it?"
"Upset Roy, why would I be upset?" Al asked in a strained voice.
"Al, I'm sorry that I have to be the one to-"
Before Roy could finish his sentence, Al threw back his head and started laughing.
"Roy, I've seen this coming for years, how could I be upset over this? I'm not mad, I'm happy for you both." Al smiled at Roy, stood up and took both his coffee cup and Roy's over to the sink. "Just treat him right or you will have to deal with me; I'm very protective of family you know."
Roy stood up took Al's hand in a firm handshake. "I wouldn't expect anything different from you, Al."
Al yawned, releasing his hand. "I'm sorry Roy, but it's been a long day, do you mind if I hit the sheets?"
Roy shook his head "Of course not Al, I'll be heading to bed myself after I lock the house. Oh, before I forget, here."
Roy reached into his pocket and pulled out a vile, handing it to Al who placed it in his pocket. "You could have given me this tomorrow."
"If things are getting to where Ed thinks we need this, it's best you have it now."
"Alright, 'night Roy."
"'Night, Al."
Al waved as he headed upstairs, disappearing from view and Roy went to lock the front door, then started heading up the stairs before he heard a loud thump against the door he just locked.
"What the hell? Who could that be at this hour?"
Walking over to the door, he flipped the switch and opened the door only to have a partially conscious Edward fall against the carpet.
"Edward!" Roy kneeled down and put Edward's arm around his shoulder when he realized the vampire was coming to. He led the unstable vampire over to the couch and set him down gently before sitting next to him.
"You shouldn't sit next to me Roy; it's not the safest idea right now."
"What happened to you? You're bleeding! Hold on a minute and let me clean you up."
Roy stood up and walked into the kitchen, missing Ed's protests of not needing help. He came back in with a washcloth and a bowl of water.
"Take off that shirt. I need to get to the wounds to clean them, plus it's ruined anyway."
Edward dragged his shirt off with a hiss of pain as the cloth stuck to partially dried blood on his wounds. Roy dunked the washcloth into the water before ringing it out and started to slowly clean the wounds.
"Roy, you don't have to do this, I'll heal soon and I'll clean up when I get back to headquarters; I just needed somewhere safe to rest for a bit and get the poison out of my system."
"Poison?" Roy's eyebrows vanished under his bangs and the washcloth paused over the wound on Edward's shoulder. "How the hell did you get yourself poisoned and hurt this badly?"
Edward shrugged, wincing and trying not to inhale too deeply. "Same way almost all vampires end up injured this badly; a skilled vampire hunter found me. Apparently I have a bounty on my head, but then again, what's new?"
Roy rinsed the washcloth in the bowl before proceeding to clean the wound on Edward's side. "I hope you killed the fool; he was stupid to attack you, even if you did have a price on your head."
"Don't worry, he's dead. I'll get Splendora to send out someone to clean it up when I get back to headquarters. You don't need to hover over me; I'll be ready to leave in an hour or so." If he doesn't move soon I'm going to lose control; if I try to move away, I'll only end up attacking him.
Edward inhaled slightly, realizing what a mistake it was when he smelled Roy's smoky scent. The scent reminded him of the taste of Roy's blood, and Edward was slowly losing control of his vampire instincts.
Roy washed the cloth clean again before running it over Edward's face, causing him to jump at the contact.
"Hold still Ed, you have blood on your face. I don't think you want Al to come down here and see evidence of how you killed that hunter." Roy sighed as he placed the washrag in the bowl.
"Alright, I've done what I can do; just rest for a bit before you leave." He grabbed the bowl and stood up, only to feel Ed grab the back of his shirt, keeping him from leaving.
"What do you need… oh this is bad… this is very bad. Edward, calm down and think. You don't want to do this."
Edward's eyes were gleaming bright red with a look of hunger as he licked his lips. "You smell divine Roy; it reminds me how sweet your blood tastes."
Roy backed up and avoided looking Edward in the eyes as he was stalked across the room. He jumped when he felt his back hit the wall, knocking a vase off the shelf. Edward grabbed Roy's chin and forced him to make eye contact.
"I will have your blood tonight Roy; you will not call for help, do you understand?"
Roy nodded as he felt his will to fight vanish. Well, I did tell him to feel free to take what he needed. Wish the situation could have been different, but this is the way it is.
Roy saw Ed lean forward before he felt lips and a tongue on his neck, followed by a sharp, short pain. He felt the pull on his neck, the sound of Edward swallowing rung in his ears. A jolt of pleasure ran down his spine, causing him to wrap his arms around Edward to pull him closer.
I need to find a way to stop Edward; I'm starting to get dizzy. He tried to say something only to find that he couldn't speak. Wrapping his hands around Edward's shoulders, he tried to pull him away, but Edward had too strong of a grip to be moved.
"Brother!"
Edward's head shot up as he turned to stare at his brother at the top of the stairs.
"Al…?"
The red faded from his eyes and returned to the fiery gold they were originally. He looked down and saw blood running down Roy's neck and stared into his clouded eyes.
"What have I done? I'm sorry." He vanished from sight and the front door slammed shut.
Al hurried down the steps and over to Roy while pulling the vile of vampire saliva out of his pocket and applied some to the bite marks, instantly stopping the bleeding.
"Roy, are you alright?"
Roy shook his head to clear his fogged thoughts. "I'll be fine Al, nothing a little sleep and some water won't cure. Can you get me to bed and bring me some water?"
Al put one of Roy's arms around his shoulders to help him stand then started up the stairs. "Of course Roy, we can get a hold of Edward and talk about this in the morning."
Alphonse laid Roy down, got him a drink of water then headed back to his room, finally understanding the how dangerous the world Edward lived in actually was.
(1)Vampire hunter.
I hope you enjoyed this chaper as much as I enjoyed writting it. Plese review and tell me what you all think so far, even if it's just a good job or something.
Till next time,
~Silver~