21: My Polyamorous Friends

Alphonse woke up slowly the next morning. Memories of the previous night inundated him and he slapped his hands to his cheeks. What did he do? Oh… he was going to be in big trouble if anyone found out… particularly Edward. Christin… well, she probably wouldn't care as much as Edward, but… with that temper of hers, who knows what she'd do. He shivered at the thought as he fished out suitable clothes from his dresser, wrapping his blanket around his waist like a towel. He stumbled downstairs and blinked a few times. Was it him… or was there a strange guy sitting at the table?

"That's what he looks like. If you ever meet him, kick his ass for me," Christin instructed, handing the guy with shaggy hair the cooler of ashes mixed with honey a piece of paper.

"Will do. So… I guess I'll see you around?" he stood up and scratched the back of his head.

"I guess. Hopefully. Now go out and do whatever," she said as she waved him off.

"Who was that?" Alphonse asked when the guy left.

"Oh… remember how I was pregnant with that bastard's kid? Well, I felt really bad about just killing it, so I sped up its growth and poof! There's Marcus," she replied. "He didn't do anything wrong, unlike that loser-brains Robin, so he should be able to live. I downloaded everything I know about Amestris, and some stuff Edward knows too, so he wouldn't have to stick around for forever. Anyways, I feel much better about it now."

"How did you do that?" Alphonse asked.

"I dunno, really. I just kinda… if you had read Ceres: Celestial Legend, you'd get it better but, I really just put him in a special bubble and made him grow up in about a week and a half. That's it in a nutshell," she grinned.

"Ugh… my skull feels like it's been beaten with a frozen slab of meat…" Edward groaned as he hauled himself off the ground.

"Sorry, geez. I'm still learning so cut me some slack," Christin sassed.

"You look different," Edward noted as he sized up his brother. "What'd you do?"

"H-huh?" Alphonse replied. "N-nothing, brother, why?"

"I dunno. You just look… different," he shrugged. "What's wrong, you couldn't sleep either?"

"Shut it," Christin growled.

"What?" Alphonse replied.

"She couldn't sleep because of the storm. She kept… meowing," Edward teased.

"I did not!" Christin protested.

"You did too! You acted like a five year old would, all scared and unable to sleep by yourself," he smirked.

"You're scared of thunder Christin?" Sheska asked, dropping a suitcase near the door.

"You going somewhere?" Edward asked.

"I'm going back to Central," she nodded. "Mustang called and he sounded pretty urgent."

"Ah ha ha ha… yeah, I'm going outside…" Christin laughed nervously.

"Wait just a minute young lady. He had quite a few things to say about you. He told me that the entire city is in an uproar because of you, and half the population thinks you caused the destruction ad HQ while the other half thinks it was just faulty building and you died," Sheska reported. "He said to tell you that you're in big trouble if you're still alive."

"I'm going to leave the country now…" Christin grabbed a shovel from a pile of tools in the backyard and strode a fair distance away before she started digging.

"What are you doing?" Pinako asked.

"I'm digging a tunnel to China!" Christin replied.

"China is back across the Gate, you know," Edward called.

"Exactly!!" she called back. "That way I won't have to get grounded or something…"

"Christin, I have a special mission for you today," Standing Bear announced as he entered the room. She groaned and turned around.

"What?" she drawled.

"See that mountain over there?" the chief pointed to a mountain. Christin nodded. "There is a flower there that makes delicious tea when brewed. I want you to go get it."

"Can't you do that by yourself? You've got god-powers too, you know," she mentioned.

"Off with you. Oh, and no flying or teleporting!" he added as she ambled away, cursing everything that entered her mind under her breath.

"She can fly?" Kelsie asked, dropping her own luggage near Sheska's.

"She is a Kali'rah. She can do virtually anything," the old man nodded. Edward studied him closely. Something seemed different about this guy too. Like he wasn't himself. Sure, he'd torture Christin by over working her, but he'd never do something so… suspicious. Something was going on and he didn't know what, and that really irritated him.

"That bastard didn't even say what it looked like!!" Christin raged when she was halfway up the mountain. "'Something is fishy,' Christin declared as she hiked up the mountain, pondering just why the fuck she's doing it and why she's started narrating to herself.'"

"My, my, my, you really are as crazy as everyone says," Deceit giggled. "Maybe that's why my slaves find you so… enticing."

"Who are you?" Christin asked.

"I guess you could say that I'm your worst nightmare, although it sounds terrible cliché," she crooned. "I've come to make your life a living hell, doppelganger." Her voice dropped dangerously low and her strange purple-green eyes flashed darkly.

"Oh great… more shit to put up with. And you still didn't answer my question," Christin groaned.

"My name is Deceit. I am a Homunculus," Deceit giggled. "If you don't know what that is, just go ask your boyfriend."

"I know what a Homunculus is… kinda. It's when a transmutation on a human goes wrong and a beast is created. I'm not stupid," Christin spat.

"Well then, let's get right to it if you know everything," Deceit proposed. She hopped gracefully out of the tree she perched in, a ribbon of black light extending from her fingers. Almost instantly a glittery white barrier formed around Christin as Deceit sent the light zooming at her in the form of arrows that reminded Christin an awful lot of the arrows Von Kampfer shot at Abel Nightroad in one of the Overcount episodes of Trinity Blood. Deceit dashed at her quickly, her own black barrier colliding with Christin's and sending both black and white lightning bolts into the air.

"What are you doing?!" Christin cried.

"I'm doing whatever the hell I want. I need to have people under my control. I want control… I want Envy to be proud of me… I want you to suffer!" Deceit screamed. "That's why I got close to Alphonse! You have everything I want… everything I need… everything that should be mine!!"

"What?!" Christin screeched as Deceit back-stepped. "Look, I don't even know you!"

"That's because I'm not supposed to exist. You were never supposed to come to this world. I was born of Robin McLean's desires for his dead lover. You came here because of your desire to leave the life you thought was hell. Ever since I was born, I wanted people to know who I am… who I was… I wanted to be loved and surrounded by friends. I never got that. Then you show up outta the blue and get everything without even trying. It makes me sick," Deceit lamented.

'She sounds… like I used to… that uncontrollable desire to get everything… and feeling worthless unless I get noticed by everyone…' Christin thought. "Wait, you got Al? How?" she asked, shaking her head.

"I used him. My name says it all. I lie, deceive, use people… just like you doppelganger," she chuckled. "Don't lie to me; I can tell when someone's lying, just like you. That's the only thing that's the same about us… our selfish desires and lying to get what we want."

"No… I'm not like that," Christin said through gritted teeth.

"Yes you are. Think about poor Alphonse… how you used him when you were feeling bad about yourself. And Edward… how he's just a replacement for when Al's not nearby. Everyone around you gets used, then thrown away when you don't need or want them anymore," Deceit giggled maniacally

'She's right… I do use people… I manipulate them to get what I want...' Christin stalled. "That doesn't make me a bad person1 Yes it's wrong, but my mind snapped a long time ago! I can't think that everything's all magical rainbows and unicorns and 'happily ever after' any more. It's not my fault!!" Deceit formed a scythe out of black ribbons and struck Christin's barrier.

"But you still act badly. You're even so stupid as to abandon your so-called friends when danger was right behind you the entire time," Deceit crooned. "I wonder if the real old man will be waking up soon."

As realization of her foolishness dawned, she turned and fled as fast as she possibly could back to the yellow house. She knew something was wrong with Standing Bear! Why didn't she notice? Was she really that blind? She was a being with supreme powers… she was a goddess, really. People had been after her power before… they wouldn't stop after a few weeks or even a few months. No, people like that wouldn't stop until they either got it or died trying. She had even been controlled by someone else and hurt a friend. Edward, Alphonse, everyone was getting hurt because of her. It was all her fault… and she knew that better than anyone else. She had started this torturous cycle and now she was going to end it—no matter what it cost.

"I thought you died when you were used to open the Gate!" Edward exclaimed. He cradled his left shoulder and watched as Envy licked blood from his hand.

"You thought wrong, Edward Elric. I'm back and I want revenge for what you did to me," the Homunculus hissed.

"Edward!! Alphonse!!" Christin's voice called from a distance. He swiveled his head around to see what looked like a large white bubble running towards him, pursued by a black bubble of about the same size. Each time the bubbled clashed, black and white lightning snapped in the air.

"What are you doing? Don't come any closer; I don't want you to get hurt!" he cried. He inhaled a shaky breath as something pierced his abdomen.

"Ah, you gained control of him rather quickly, Deceit," Envy surveyed the situation.

"I hate you brother," Alphonse said as he withdrew his hand from Edward's back. "She was supposed to be mine, but of course you had to get in the way. It was after dancing with you that Christin got raped. You just had to fall in love with her, didn't you?"

"A-Al?" Edward gasped.

"He's a vulnerable boy. Manipulation was so easy with this one…" Deceit sauntered over to him. "You've done well, Alphonse."

"Who are you? You look very familiar," the young alchemist studied her closely.

"Oh, I forgot you've never seen me without my ribbon," she pulled out a red ribbon and tied it around her forehead. "Is this better?"

"Didi… you're a Homunculus?" Alphonse breathed.

"Very good, Alphonse. You get a cookie," she said with mock pride. "Oh, don't worry. I'll take good care of you. After all, isn't that what lovers do?"

"Alphonse… you're in love with… a Homunculus?" Edward croaked. Familiar hands touched his wound through his blood stained shirt and he felt the spot where Alphonse's hand punctured him seal up like it had never happened.

"I can't remove the scar that will be left," Christin murmured as she finished healing his back and moved to his arm.

"Well, well, you do look like each other. I thought Deceit might be lying again. I guess I was wrong," Envy sighed. Edward flinched as fire burst right next to him. Christin pulled back and clutched her arm, trying to heal the burns she had just received.

"You… I hate you too, Christin." Alphonse declared. "You were using me, weren't you? As a way to feel better about yourself? I'm done being your puppet," he said as he aimed another fireball at her.

"Al, listen to me. It's not like that," Christin pleaded.

"I loved you!!" he screamed. "I was devoted to you… everything I did was for you! I wanted to make you happy! I wanted you to love me back! Why was that so hard?!" several patches of ground caught on fire from his repeated attacks.

"Alphonse, please…" Christin started.

"Shut up! I'm sick of being the only one who cares! I hate you! You loved brother, who never gave you the time of day, more than you loved me! Ever since I first met you, I've stayed by your side because I wanted to protect you! You were strong, I'll admit that, but you were stupid too! You never once told me that you loved me!" he screeched. "Was I not enough? Was I not good enough for you?"

"Alphonse, listen to me…" Christin sobbed. She could barely see through the tears that flooded her eyes, but she saw, clearer than ever, the destruction her selfishness had caused.

Alphonse was a good kid. Yes, she had used him. Now she was paying for it. She felt awful enough to die. In fact, she should die. She had ruined the lives of everyone she had come across in one way or another. She had caused a whole bunch of trouble for Roy and the others at HQ. She had gotten Kelsie and everyone at the house involved. She had gotten both Edward and Alphonse tangled up in this mess too. Everything was her fault. Her death would be an equivalent exchange, right? She would disappear and things would go back to normal…

"Make me understand! Why didn't you love me?!" Alphonse cried, tears streaming down his face. How could he ever have loved someone who was so… heartless? He didn't need her anymore; he had Deceit. So what is she was a Homunculus? He loved her, and he had more than proven that.

"Alphonse, stop it!!" Edward yelled. Christin dropped down on one knee, her left arm cradled by her right.

Her mostly healed wounds opened up again, the intricate lacing of the tracks that were cut into her skin to remove what was now Saru dripping red blood down her limb and pooling on the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw fire. The fire that Alphonse had conjured up and shot at her had caught on the nearby grass. Being the end of June, the grass was very dry and was now blazing brilliant yellow-orange.

"Al..." Edward coughed. All around him was a wall of fire. He wiped blood out of his eye and tenderly touched a wound on his head, wincing from the pain. It was getting very difficult to breathe and he slumped to his knees, coughing badly.

"Christin?" Winry emerged from the house, despite everyone's warnings to stay away from the fight. She watched as the girl doubled over and began coughing in a very nasty, wet sort of way. Blood splattered on the ground and oozed from her stomach. After coughing up perhaps a cup of blood, she looked up. Edward had vanished behind the flames, which were only growing higher and more intense. Heat radiated from the area and seared her skin. She watched for a moment, mesmerized by the flickering dance of orange and yellow light.

"Ooh, what will you do now, huh?" Deceit teased. "What power are you going to use to stop the fire, doppelganger?"

Edward drew ragged breaths and clawed at his chest. The pain wouldn't go away and now his vision was getting blurry. He coughed again and stared blankly into the blaze.

Christin forced herself off the ground and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. The bitter taste of her blood still lingered on her tongue though she had spit most of it out. Before she could make up her mind about what to do, she ran into the fire.

"What is she doing?!" Envy cried.

"This is bad. If she dies in the fire, everything we've worked for will be for naught!" Deceit ground her teeth together. Alphonse let a small smile slide across his features.

Edward heard something coming towards him. He tried to sit up, at least, but toppled over as he nearly blacked out. He could just barely distinguish Christin's figure as she burst through the flames, burnt and bleeding badly, and caressed him. He felt himself getting better; his vision returned to normal, he found it easier to breathe, and it wasn't as hot as it was a few moments ago. He quickly clapped and touched the ground, drawing up water that was in the earth to extinguish the fire.

"I think we've done enough here…" Envy sniffed. He turned and began morphing into a horse. Deceit and Alphonse followed.

"Al?" Edward called after him. "What are you doing?"

"There's no reason for me to stay here any longer," Alphonse replied.

"Al! Alphonse!" Edward cried after his brother as he mounted the Envy-horse and vanished into the coming darkness.

Embers smoldered in the fading light, casting a dull orange glow on everything while the scent of smoke and burnt grass drifted away on the air. Christin was in a terrible state, trembling badly and coughing up more blood. Her chest hurt unbearably and she couldn't see straight. She felt her strength drain away more with each passing moment. People's voices reached her ears, but she couldn't tell them apart. Someone was holding her… no… they were supporting her because she didn't have the strength to do it herself.

"Christin? Christin, are you okay?" Edward asked, panic welling up in his throat. She was very cold, shivering and/or trembling, and badly burned. Her skin was as pale as the crescent moon that hung overhead, contrasted to the blood that stained her lips and body, and her breathing was dangerously shallow. He wrapped his arms around her as best as he could, trying to support her weight. He watched in horror as her eyes changed from sparkly hazel to dull, glassy green. The hand that clung to his blood stained shirt so desperately loosened its grip. He shifted her, very gently, and pressed two fingers to her neck; he couldn't find her pulse. Choking back tears, he pressed his head to her chest.

Her heart wasn't beating anymore.

A/N: Alrighty then. I've wanted to write this chapter for a while. Don't get mad at me; Christin's fate will be revealed in the next chapter. What other drama awaits our beloved Edward? His brother turns to the dark side and the woman he loves… well, you'll have to wait for chapter 22.

Oh, the title is told from Edward's perspective and it's basically about the Alphonse-Christin-Deceit love triangle and him being caught in the middle. It's from Breaking Benjamin's 'Polyamorous' so shut up and go with it.

My computer is being retarded so I can't upload the manga to my website, so please bear with me. Until chapter 22…