A/N: Sorry it took so long for me to update this time around; I'm in the middle of planning out a major plot shift in this story right now, so everything that happens in each chapter must be carefully evaluated, and I want to make sure I portray my ideas right…so yeah. At least it got posted in time, lol; this one is a little bit shorter, though, but some very important things happen in it. ;)
EDIT: A bit of kind of sad news, guys; I did not realize how behind I was on this story's deadline for next month, and so I've decided, since this is kind of the major turning point in the plot, I'm going to take a small hiatus on it until January's update, because I really need to eleviate some of my fanfic stuff so as to be able to focus on finishing off this semester. I swear I will keep my promise and update once the New Year is upon us, AAANNNDD as a gift to my readers I'll have another surprise for y'all as well; so look for lots of goodies from your fellow FMA-lover here come 2013!
Entwined Sorcery will continue to be reguarly updated, despite my CN hiatus, btws.
Enjoy! ^_^
all things Fullmetal Alchemist (c) Hiromu Arakawa
Carpe Noctem...Seize the Night
Chapter Eleven: Insanity Dawns
"First I thought it was a dream,
But then it smashed into reality.
Beautiful on the outside, decayed deeply within…
I secretly longed for something
Which had never existed;
Devoted to a body without a soul…"
-"Illusive Consensus" by Epica
…`c.n.`…
The rain was picking up, its fast drops being illuminated in the lightning. Al jumped slightly at the loud boom following the brightness, his eyes escaping the reflection in the mirror to glance out of the small bathroom window. He found himself to be greatly conflicted; though he longed for his brother's company during the raging storm, he also at the same time feared his brother's presence. He could clearly see that Ed was not in his right mind and it creeped him out almost as much as the storm did. However, Alphonse knew that at some point he was going to have to leave the sanctuary of the bathroom. He needed his sleep, after all, even though at that moment in particular he felt wide awake. The very thought of sleep at a time like this was inconceivable, for he knew that there was a high chance that he would awaken to his brother's fangs.
Al sighed heavily; he had never felt this trapped before in his life, not even when he was stuck in that suit of armor. Was being fed off of truly inevitable? It sure did seem like it was at that particular hopeless moment. What if Ed just downright attacked him while he was still awake? What if he was waiting right outside of the door for his prey to emerge?
Alphonse shook with fright at the thought of becoming nothing more to his brother than prey. That alone was enough to keep him from emerging from the bathroom…
CCRRRAAAAAACCCKK!
Alphonse flew out of the illuminated bathroom at once and dove under the covers of his bed, shaking in his boxer shorts that he wore to sleep in. Squirming until his head was beneath his pillow, he pressed his hands upon where his ears were buried in an effort to block out the sounds of the storm. His phobia for thunder had caused him to completely forget about Ed's presence in the room…
Ed's breath quickly caught in his throat at the sound of the bathroom door opening, and he was surprised to find Al hiding in bed when he looked up. Is he really that afraid of me…? he thought for a moment, until he realized it was storming. He furrowed his brow, briefly remembering that his brother despised thunderstorms. He knew the storm was probably scaring Al to death right now. However, for once in his life, Ed was questioning whether or not to go and comfort his brother. Usually this type of thing was a no-brainer, but things were suddenly being constantly thrust into a twisted world of sickening differences. Would his attempts do more harm than good? What if he snapped and the beast took over? He would be putting Alphonse in a very dangerous situation.
…Ed exhaled slowly, finally deciding upon the right thing to do as he rose up silently from the floor. He saw Al flinch slightly when another boom of thunder broke through the heavens, and he couldn't help but smile slightly at just how small and innocent the action made him look, even though Al was seventeen and clearly not a little kid anymore. Ed gingerly sat upon the bed next to his brother, softly placing his hand upon the lump of covers, trying his hardest to keep from inhaling.
"You ok?" Ed asked, gently rubbing Al's back. The young Elric poked an eye out from under his pillow; after examining his brother's facial expression and decided that it was mostly vacant of most vampiric qualities (despite the bold crimson of his pupils). He sighed and brought himself up to a sitting position, holding his knees up to his chest.
"…I don't like storms," he huffed finally, warily glaring out the window. Ed couldn't hold back the laugh that bubbled from deep within his chest at the sight of Al's pout.
"And to think I had thought you'd grown out of that fear by now," he said, grinning teasingly at his brother, who did not look amused in the slightest.
"Don't laugh at me!" he cried frustratingly. "Phobias aren't funny…"
"Aw…"
Ed ruffled Al's hair:
"Don't worry, Al, I'm here. I would never let anything happen to you, you know that…" his voice faltered slightly. Can he truly promise that? Sure, he felt he had complete control now, but…how long would it last?
Not much longer now.
Fuck…
"I know, brother," Al said, looking at Ed with obvious relief. Despite his previous fears back in the bathroom, he could not help but feel a lot better now that Ed was here.
Ed, on the other hand, could feel what was left of his heart clench; why me? Why my brother? Why does everything have to be so messed-up…?
"Besides," Ed said, looking out the window after a long moment's pause. "The storm's calming down; it's mostly just rain now."
How is this all messed-up? It's your entire fault, if you think about it…
Ed pondered this and winced internally, for as per usual, the teratoid of a disembodied voice within him was right. He had put himself in danger of being attack by being out that night, when the first killer was running loose on the streets. It was his entire fault, for he was the one to go out there, far too lightly armed, especially with the absence of his alchemic skills. It was his fault for putting himself in a position to be attacked and turned into a vampire in the first place. He brought this fate upon himself.
Al yawned slightly, bringing the palm of his hand up to his face to cover his mouth. Ed flinched inwardly at this, catching his breath as he accidentally caught a whiff of Al's blood, which was pumping throughout its owner's body not five inches away from where he sat. He wanted to get up and move away from it but found that he could not make himself do so. His bloodlust was intermixing with his care for his brother, poisoning his purpose for sitting by him in the first place. Ed gulped roughly, looking away from his little brother; Al saw this. He bit his lip, contemplating a thought he had gone over earlier in his mind with himself in the bathroom. He knew at this point that the inevitable was bound to happen, so…what if he just faced it head-on? What if he just allowed his brother to drink from him, instead of waiting for him to attack?
…`c.n.`…
Riza Hawkeye hated the feeling of panic more than anything. She had felt it far too many times before, mostly when Roy's life was threatened, or when she was about to lose him forever. She still had nightmares from the last time she panicked, when he nearly disappeared from her life altogether. It had been a while since that last happened, now that Bradley was completely eradicated and far from Mustang, but suddenly she found herself shoved into a predicament extremely similar to that, for yet again her superior was being threatened. She felt her throat clench as she called out from her desk, her face illuminated by a sudden crash of lightening:
"…Roy…?"
Mustang looked up from his desk in surprise. Riza never used his first name when they were at the office. Ever. Even if, like they were now, they were the only two left in probably the entire building given the time of night, in the middle of a raging thunderstorm. Something must be seriously wrong this time.
"What is it?" he asked, focusing in on her expression and finding it to be somewhat unreadable, much to his great disdain. Riza stood up slowly and looked up at him from the piece of paper in her hands.
"Alphonse left this in my desk earlier…at least I think it was Alphonse…it doesn't say who told him…"
"Told him what?" Mustang probed, rising from his desk and walking over to where she stood and reading over her shoulder.
You didn't hear this from me:
The Führer has been tipped off by somebody, I think either from the Detective's office or from outside of Central Command. I have no idea who, but whoever it was knows something, because Grumman's office is now conducting a secret investigation on the Brigadier General. Be careful, and please destroy this note after you read it.
"What?" Mustang hissed. "…What do they know?"
"I don't even think Alphonse knows the answer to that," Riza said honestly. "We could ask Armstrong, he works for that office, doesn't he—?"
"If he does know anything you know he wouldn't be able to tell us," Mustang said, running a hand through his hair. One of his worst nightmares was suddenly coming true, the day the military he dedicated his life to turned on him. "I'm trying to think of what I could've done to start this…and I can't think of a damn thing."
"You didn't do anything," Riza agreed, "Which is why this is coming as such a shock."
Mustang looked away from the letter.
"Who could have tipped Grumman off?"
Riza shook her head.
"I don't know…"
She looked back down at the letter and shoved it into her pants pocket, not wanting to look at the condemning words any longer. Here she was, supposed to be in a position in which she could protect her commanding officer from anything, and somebody managed to slip right through her fingers, threatening not only his position and career but essentially his life. For the punishment for high treason—which was essentially what she and Mustang had committed, by hiding a serial killer right under HQ's noses—was death.
"You can't get caught," she said softly, looking back at him with pleading eyes. Mustang turned around to look back at her.
"What do you mean? We're not going to get caught," Mustang said, but Riza shook her head.
"I don't care if I get caught, you just can't. You have to keep your name clear no matter what."
Mustang furrowed his brow as he finally understood what Hawkeye was saying, staring at her in disbelief.
"You mean by blaming you if everything goes screwy?" he said, taking a step in her direction, not taking his eyes off of her. "That's not going to happen!"
"It better happen," she said through clenched teeth. "You're at a higher ranking, you are much more important to this country than I am; if all else fails, Roy—"
But she was cut off mid-sentence by Mustang's mouth suddenly being pressed against hers. Her eyes widened and she tried at first to pull away, but the Brigadier General had sensed this coming and immediately wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her tightly against him. Riza did not bother to struggle anymore after that, knowing deep down inside that she wanted this to happen as much as he did. She slowly closed her eyes as he broke away for a moment, waiting to see if she would return the kiss, brushing a hand against her face. Riza looked up at him through her eyelashes, placing her hands upon his chest and lifting her head up to press his lips back onto his. He smiled against her kiss, lifting her chin up even more with the hand upon her face as they deepened their kiss, Riza's fingers clenching at the fabric of Roy's military jacket.
Our first real kiss…she thought absentmindedly, and at a time like this…wow.
But she knew why the timing was how it was. For two people who had been keeping their relationship strictly platonic for so long, while all throughout knowing full well of each other's feelings, it took a truly life-threatening situation to make them realize how important they really were to one another. She briefly recalled the last time he did something so rash, the last time both of their lives were being threatened…and even then their feelings for one another was the only thing that helped them survive that.
Mustang pulled back from her, gently pressing his forehead against hers as he breathing quietly slowed, his black eyes finding hers as he spoke huskily: "I've wanted to do that for a long time."
"Me too," she whispered breathlessly, making him smile slightly down at her. They stared at one another for a long moment, savoring the silence after what had just happened, confessing their silent love to each other just by looking in each other's eyes. Riza broke the silence at last, letting out a sigh as she wrapped her arms tightly around Mustang, placing her head upon his chest as she did so. Mustang held her closer to him still, and he could feel her body shaking slightly beneath his embrace.
Though the storm seemed like it was going to lighten up soon, the power suddenly cut out in Mustang's office, and the only light that remained was given by the occasional spark of lightning and the rain-dimmed streetlamps below.
"…Nothing's going to happen to me, Riza," he whispered in the dark. "They still don't know who the killer is; that's still the first thing on their minds, finding that out. We won't let them find anything more out than what they already know."
"But if there really is someone on the inside that knows more than we think they do," Riza said against Roy's military jacket, "Then who's to say they don't already know the killer is Edward?"
Roy considered this for a minute or so before admitting quietly:
"I don't know."
He bent his head to softly kiss Riza's neck before continuing:
"But if he knew that already, then what would keep him from telling Grumman the whole story? He obviously is missing some facts still, which is why they're stuck with just investigating me."
Riza considered this and finally nodded against Mustang's chest.
"You're right," she admitted. "We'll just have to be more careful from now on."
"Right," Mustang agreed. He rested his head on top of her shoulder, and he could feel his heart clench at the thought of what would happen to the woman in his arms if he was careless. The memory of her blood pouring out of her jugular before him, when he was in a position in which he could do nothing to save her, swept hauntingly through his mind as he squeezed his eyes shut.
"…That won't be hard for me to do."
"Hmm?" Riza said, slightly confused at Mustang's last melancholy statement. The Brigadier General sighed heavily, lifting his head back up so he could look at her.
"…Because I'm beginning to realize just how much I have to lose."
"Oh…" Riza said, so softly that even though they stood so close to one another, she was certain Roy did not hear her. She blinked once, then twice, and then lifted her head from his chest in order to look up into her commanding officer's darkened face.
"Now you know how I've felt all this time," she whispered, placing a hand upon his cheek as she made to kiss him once again.
…`c.n.`…
"…Brother?"
Ed paused for a moment, and then exhaled slowly before answering Al.
"Yeah?"
"You're not going to be able to get to sleep without human blood, are you?"
Ed looked at Al with a questionable expression. Al shook his head:
"Just answer the question."
"No, probably not," Ed admitted, scratching at the back of his neck. Al nodded once, sighing heavily as he lay back onto the pillows.
"Why'd you ask?" Ed suddenly demanded, staring out the window in the rain. Al didn't answer him at first, because he was thinking too intently upon whether or not to voluntarily allow his brother to feed from him. His main concerns were whether or not Ed would be able to control himself and how badly it would hurt. Though he had been fed from before, he was asleep when it happened, so Al didn't remember any of it, really.
"…Ok. Do it."
Ed turned and raised an eyebrow at Alphonse.
"Do what?" he asked warily.
The younger Elric sat up and looked the vampire in the eye.
"Drink from me."
Ed's eyes widened in horror at Alphonse's deadly serious words:
"No. No, I won't!"
"You need blood, Ed," Al reasoned with him. "Human blood."
"B-but I swore I would never drink your blood again Al! I made a promise."
"And I'm giving you permission to break it."
Al sighed:
"You said you don't need too much, so I'm confident that you'll be able to control yourself."
Ed shook his head.
"But I—you—"
"Ed."
Ed reluctantly brought his reddened eyes up to meet the amber ones of his little brother.
"…I know you'll do it," Al said softly.
"W-What?"
Al took a deep breath and explained:
"Because if you don't, something worse may happen in the middle of the night, while I'm asleep and not watching you—and if I allow that risk, we'd be endangering not just me but the other people staying the night in this hotel. We can't let that happen, brother."
Ed continued to stare at him in shock, knowing that he was right though unwilling to accept that he would ever truly stoop so low. Eventually he sighed, breaking eye contact and looking down at the bed.
…not again, he silently pleaded with the beast within him. He's my brother; I'm supposed to protect him, not hurt him!
The voice did not answer him, which frightened Edward more than when it makes its dark, sadistic commentary. Now he knew he had finally been corrupted. The monster within no longer saw a need to sway Ed…
Either that or Edward had finally become the monster himself.
"Brother?"
"Al," Ed whispered, too soft for Al to hear, though he could read his name off of his brother's lips. The younger Elric hesitantly reached a hand out and grasped his older brother's shoulder, squeezing it. Ed forced himself to inhale, wincing as the aroma of Al's blood made his throat burn.
"…I'll…I'll do it when you're asleep again, like last time, so you won't feel it—"
"I'm not going to be able to fall asleep knowing you're going to bite me at some point during the night, Ed. There's no point in even trying that."
"Right," Ed said, his voice cracking. "Ok, Al. I-if you're sure, then…ok."
Al nodded firmly, and then swallowed:
"Uhm…so, should I lie back down or, uh…"
"…You can stay like that, sitting up," Ed said, scooting closer to his brother, inadvertedly licking his lips as he looked at Al's neck, where the bruise from the last time he got fed from was now faded and yellowing. Al saw him lick his lips and gulped again, bracing himself. Ed placed on hand on his brother's shoulder and the other gently upon the base of his neck, bringing himself closer to his clean flesh, inhaling Al's sweet scent…
Quick as lightning Ed was up and off of the bed, shaking his head furiously, his back to Alphonse.
"I can't do it, Al! This is insane—it's so wrong—I can't—I WON'T! I won't hurt you again!"
Alphonse sat quietly and watched his brother pace back and forth, waiting for him to calm down enough to register words. It took a while but eventually Ed did return to the bed, refusing to look at Al at all. Al sighed again:
"You're not going to hurt me, Ed. I know you won't."
"How do you know…?" Ed demanded weakly.
"Because I trust you."
"You shouldn't, Al. Not anymore."
"I know what you're thinking. You're not a monster, Ed, you—"
But the young Elric was forced to swallow his words as his brother turned to face towards him, his blood-red eyes inhumanly contradicting what was just spoken.
"Heh," Ed remarked upon watching his brother choke on his own words. "You still want to go through with this madness?"
"…You need it—"
"No!" Ed said, clasping his palm across his brother's mouth. "Don't you start that, Al! There is no need great enough to make me willingly hurt you!"
He locked eyes with Al, reading the cluster of emotions from his untainted pupils. Fear was one of them; the others were a bit more difficult to detect. As the vampire looked away, though, Al gingerly wrapped his hands around his brother's wrist, pulling his hand away from his mouth and bringing it up to rest upon the throbbing veins and arteries within his neck. Ed looked back at his hand, concentrating intently upon the way Al's blood felt, the warmth steaming enticingly beneath his skin, sending sensations up into Ed's fingertips, enunciating the painful dryness in his throat. Al braced himself as he saw what remained of Ed's humanity succumb completely to the monster within; his brother's breathing picked up, and Al could feel him move his face closer, could feel his feverish breath upon his pulsating neck. Ed stroked his hand across the soft pallet of Al's throat, filled with hot, fresh blood…
Al breathed in sharply as Ed sank his fangs into his jugular and began to gluttonously gulp down his blood. The pain that he felt was far greater than he had been prepared for, and it took a great amount of strength for him to keep from crying out. The puncture wounds caused by Edward's fangs burned like hellfire and continued to irritate as the vampire sucked blood out from the holes. Al clenched his hands into fists and gritted his teeth, trying to remain calm. It was difficult to do so, though; for a moment Al began to panic as he felt his life forced being drained, scared that Ed had lost complete control after all, despite what Al had said before about having faith in Ed not doing that exact thing. But then the younger Elric felt his brother stop for a moment, just before slowing his drinking down significantly.
Alphonse bit his lip as a haunting chill went down his spine, causing him to shiver against his brother. Ed felt this vaguely as he drank and carefully wrapped an arm around his little brother's shoulder.
He's cold…he's in pain; I can feel his fear.
Ed felt an aching in his chest as he fought himself. He wanted to keep drinking, but at the same time he did not want to traumatize Alphonse. The poor boy already felt so tense in his grasp, unnaturally so—like a dead body going through rigor mortis, though Al's shallow breaths could still be heard.
…ok. No more.
Alphonse slumped as Ed reluctantly pulled his mouth away from his neck, still supporting his prey. After quickly licking the blood off of the corners of his mouth and lips, he lightly wiped away a bit of blood from the wounds with his finger. Still supporting Al, Ed then leaned forward and ran his tongue over the punctures. Once again Al shivered, wrinkling his nose as his brother licked him a second time.
"Gross, Ed," he said feebly, surprised at how fatigued his voice suddenly sounded.
Ed sat back up:
"You know my saliva closes up the cuts, Al. That's why I did that…"
He looked into his little brother's pallid face with concern.
"…How are you feeling?"
"Exhausted," Al said truthfully, a huge yawn following. Ed frowned:
"But are you in pain?"
Al shook his head, and then lay back upon his pillow.
"Just a little sore," he said, looking back up at his big brother. "What about you? Did you get enough?"
"Yeah…I feel much better," Ed admitted guiltily, scratching at the back of his neck again. "…but…Al, I want to know—and I want your honest answer, don't lie for my sake…did I hurt you?"
Al forced open his drooping eyes and:
"…a little," he admitted.
"Don't sugar-coat it," Ed demanded.
"…ok then," Al sighed. "It hurt a lot when you made the punctures. It…it burned me…but that didn't last too long, I swear. The pain eventually numbed itself out; I was fine, Ed."
He yawned again, and then pulled the bed comforter over himself.
"All I need is some sleep…and then I'll be fine, brother."
Ed stared at Alphonse for a long moment, thinking over what he said. It only hurt for a little bit…but the point is that it had hurt, he thought with sorrow. He finally nodded, though, lying back on the pillow next to Al, watching over his sibling with daunting worry and relentless guilt.
"…I'm so sorry, Al. I'm supposed to protect you, but…now I've hurt you again."
But the younger Elric was already out for the night, drugged by the very absence of part of his life force, his dedication to his brother ultimately being the cause for his exhaustion.
Devoted to a body without a soul…
…`c.n.`…
