Alright. It's been much too long since my last update. I first need to apologize for being so mean and lazy. I took a much needed vacation for a month to Europe. It was awesome and I had a lot of fun. The last couple of months were very stressful and depressing, so it was nice to get away from everything. Three of my very good friends have moved away, so I ended up being too unhappy to write for a bit. As for my health, it is now much better. I am no longer spitting up anything. The medicines have worked and now I no longer need to take them. I still have my off days, but they're thankfully not as bad as before.

I want to thank all of you for being so supportive and still reviewing when I haven't updated in over five months. Well. I think it's been that long. I may be exaggerating. Maybe not. Anyways, Crimson Sin is soon going to come to an end. Well, it's about time. I've been writing this for over a year now. My birthday is coming up, which makes me excited. Fourteen this year! Yay! So, I'll stop talking and just get on with the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

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Crimson Sin

Chapter Twenty-Two – Traveling Beyond the Bounds

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Edward quickly drained his third glass of orange-flavored soda. The orange liquid had bubbled pleasantly in his glass moments before, but now it was gone, leaving a shocked Roy to stare wide-eyed at an empty glass. The raven-haired man looked up at the content blonde, who popped another fry into his mouth, smiling as it crunched beneath his teeth.

"Mmm. So good," he said happily, quickly shoving a few more into his mouth. Then the plate of fries before him was also empty, but another glass of pop had been delivered to replace the absence of fries.

The two males were currently sitting on a sunlit terrace that overlooked the sea, which was probably the bluest thing that Ed had ever seen. Maybe it was even bluer than the sky itself, which was currently cloudless and starting to turn into the rainbow of pastels that signaled the descent of the sun. The terrace was part of an inn that the two had decided to stay in. However, said inn was apparently quite popular, so they had to fight tooth and nail to get a room, but they got one, which was all that mattered.

"Ed, are you done?" the Colonel asked, his voice hopeful. The blonde vampire set his glass down and looked at the other male. He remained silent for a while. Finally he gave his answer.

"It depends," he replied. His lips then pulled back into a grin. "Are you going to eat that?" He pointed at the plate of fries that was in front of Roy. Sighing, the older man shook his head.

"Help yourself."

Edward did exactly that, clearing the plate in a matter of ten seconds. He then patted his stomach, smiling at the warmth in his belly.

"Okay. I'm done," he said, earning a sigh of relief from the Colonel, who muttered something that sounded like, 'Finally'. "Hey!" Edward twitched, starting to become irritated, "I didn't eat that much. Jeeze." He then stood up and Roy quickly followed. The price for their meal was already included in the room fee, and Roy was pretty sure that the innkeeper was crying in some corner because of all the food Ed had managed to eat.

The two of them then walked out towards the street, Roy in the lead, Edward lagging a bit behind. Maybe he had eaten more than he had first thought. Of course, the vampire had no idea where they were going, but Roy seemed to know.

"Where are we going?" he asked, but Roy only gave him a knowing smile, which made the blonde a little wary. He really wanted to know what the older man was planning, but Roy remained silent, so they continued to walk in that silence.

Ed soon found himself lagging behind and broke into an easy jog to catch up. He did catch up, but soon began to lag behind again. Roy, however, didn't slow down. The Colonel kept walking at the same pace. Edward thought about calling out to the raven-haired man, asking him to slow down, but he bit his tongue. No way was he going to willingly leave a dent in his pride, so he began to think. And think he did. A devious smile spread across his face as an idea formed itself in his mind.

"Roy!" he called out, catching up with the Colonel for the second time. The other man looked down at him, a questioning expression on his face, but he continued to walk. The blonde just grinned up at him and took the other male's hand. Now Roy couldn't run off without dragging Ed with him. The Colonel couldn't help but smile back at the boy, who was now smiling happily, pleased that his plan had worked.

They continued to walk and right when Ed was about to whine, Roy announced that they had arrived. Of course the blonde looked around, trying to find out where they were and why it was so special. They were on a small strip of sand that could hardly be called a beach, but it was peaceful and no one else was around.

"The beach?" Ed questioned, "Why are we here?"

"To watch the sunset," Roy replied as he sat down, patting the sand next to him as if asking Ed to sit beside him. The blonde alchemist raised an eyebrow, but sat down before he spoke.

"To watch the sunset?"

"Yes."

There was a moment of silence as Roy stared up at the rainbow colored sky, each color bleeding perfectly into the next. Ed frowned as he too watched the sun as it made its steady descent down.

"Right. What does this have to do with that stone?" Ed asked.

"Nothing. I just heard that the sunsets were beautiful here, so I wanted to see one," Roy replied.

"You're unbelievable." Ed let out a sigh and stood up again. "I think I'll go look in those tide pools over there," he murmured and began to walk off towards the rock formation where said tide pools were.

"Suit yourself," Roy replied, his eyes watching Ed leave for a moment before turning back towards the sky.

Kicking a few stray pebbles that were scattered across the rocks, Ed peered into the clear glittering water of the pools. Most of them were empty, but he managed to spy a few crabs and a starfish. He continued to walk on, his feet occasionally getting sprayed with the sea's salty water. Before he knew it, the beach was no longer in sight; a jagged cliff blocked his view of it. He frowned. How far had he walked? He looked out at the sun. It was now dipping behind the sea. Funny. He hadn't noticed that it was quickly becoming darker.

"Might as well head back I guess," he murmured and turned around to head back towards Roy. He had only taken a few steps when he felt someone grasp his shoulder and spin him around. He let out a small startled cry and tried to land a punch on whoever had just decided to appear, but his fist only connected with the palm of someone's hand.

"Now, Edward, is that any way to greet an old friend?" an all too familiar voice asked as the grip on Ed's hand became stronger. The blonde's eyes widened when he saw who was standing before him.

"No… It's not possible…" he whispered, his shock clearly written in his expression. "Y-you're… Not real…" His lip quivered a bit when he recognized the man standing before him. It was Raith.

"Oh no," Raith replied, "I am very real." He pinched Edward's cheek, causing him to wince and jerk away, but the vampire kept a firm grip on the boy's fist. "See? Not a dream."

"Let go of me," Ed hissed, eyes flashing dangerously, fangs bared. This earned a laugh from the other vampire.

"Not just yet," he replied, a predatory grin crossing his features. Now his own fangs were glinting in the dim light. "I wanted to talk to you. I think it would be in your best interest to hear me out."

"Fuck you," Ed whispered, voice dripping with venom. He then tried to pull his arm away, but Raith's grip tightened. The blonde had successfully managed to irritate the other male.

"What? Is that Colonel of yours not putting out?" he sneered. Ed's face darkened with rage and he promptly tried to hit the man with his other fist, but it was no use. Raith caught that fist as well and let out a cruel laugh. "Too bad my little half-blood. You missed."

"Bastard," Ed muttered as he tried to pull away in vain.

"Of course I am," Raith replied, "But, I think I have some information that could be quite valuable. Information about a certain stone?" This caused Ed to stop.

"Y-you know about it?" he asked, his eyes wide with surprise. This response made Raith chuckle.

"Yes. I do. If you're a good little boy and be quiet, I'll tell you what I know." This shut Ed up. "Well, that wasn't hard was it?" Raith chuckled. He then leaned in to whisper in the boy's ear. "It's in O-" He was cut short, by a certain Colonel.

"Ed are you alrigh-" Roy's eyes widened when he saw Raith. "Who the hell are you?" This earned another chuckle from the older vampire.

"Sorry to cut our conversation short, Edward," he said as he moved towards the cliff's face. "I'd rather not get between you and your boyfriend." He gave them both a small waved and dashed up the cliff in the blink of an eye. "Till next time, Chibi-Chan." His last words echoed in Ed's mind.

"Don't call me short!" he screamed into the sky, but Raith was already long gone. The blonde sighed, still silently fuming. "Damn vampire…" he grumbled as he turned back towards the incredibly confused Roy. Before the other male could get anything out, Ed said, "I don't want to talk about it now. Let's just go back. I'm tired."

"You're tired?" Roy asked in disbelief. Ed had slept during most of the train ride after all. The blonde nodded, trying to make it look like he was really telling the truth as he didn't want to talk to Roy about Raith just yet. "Alright," the Colonel said, letting out a small sigh, "Let's head back then."

"Thanks, Roy," Ed murmured, grasping the other man's hand again. Then the two of them began to walk back to the inn.

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"Goddammit Roy!" Edward said loudly as he came out of the bathroom wearing a pair of pajamas that were much too big for him. Roy had clearly not thought about the difference in height when he had packed. Though, packing under pressure isn't exactly an easy thing to do. The Colonel could hardly suppress his laughter. To the soft snickering, Ed replied with a loud, "Shut up!"

"Oh don't be so childish, Ed," Roy replied as he took one of the blonde's arms and began to roll up the long sleeves. Ed snorted in reply, but he let the other male roll up the sleeves.

"Thanks," he mumbled when Roy had finished. The pants he'd just have to live with. Besides, it wasn't as if he'd be walking around the inn in his jammies.

"You're welcome," the other replied with a smile before climbing into one of the two beds. Edward had already claimed the one by the window as it had a nice view of the sea. "Goodnight, Ed," Roy whispered as the lights went out. However, the light from the three-quarter moon outside was enough to make any other light unnecessary.

"Goodnight," Ed murmured in reply as he climbed into bed as well, snuggling underneath the covers. He then closed his eyes and before he knew it, he had fallen into a deep nightmare-free sleep.

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Golden eyes suddenly snapped open as Ed shot up. His breathing was rapid and labored, almost as if he had just been deprived of oxygen and only now was getting some. Though, he didn't know what had woken him up. His skin prickled slightly and he felt slightly uneasy at the moment, like someone was watching him.

He turned to look at Roy, who was still snoring softly, buried underneath the sheets, one arm dangling off the side of the bed. At least he was still sleeping peacefully. Ed ran his fingers through his hair and exhaled, closing his eyes slightly. When he opened them he saw a dark form move out of the corner of his eye. Naturally, his head snapped in that direction and he came face to face with a pair of glowing red eyes.

A scream rose in Ed's throat, but it wouldn't leave. His voice had been choked off by fear. His topaz eyes were wide with fear. This caused the figure in the window to grin, revealing a pair of fangs. The wind then blew towards Ed, pushing his blonde hair into his face. A single word was carried on that breath of wind: "Oxiir…"

Then the figure was gone. Ed blinked. How long had he been sitting there? There were no signs that that vampire had been here at all. Maybe he had imagined it all? He felt something damp on his cheeks: tears. His breathing was also shaky. The wind continued to caress his face, but it wasn't comforting at all. He sniffed, wiping away the tears.

"Ed?" Roy asked in a sleepy voice before yawning. "Are you alright?" The Colonel slowly sat up in his own bed, rubbing his eyes.

"I'm fine," Ed replied, completely hiding the shaking in his voice. He sighed and turned his head to the side slightly. "I'm fine," he said again, this time his voice firm and serious.

"Alright, if you say so," Roy murmured, deciding not to press any further. Besides, the older man was too tired to fight with Edward at the moment. Letting out another yawn, he buried himself beneath the sheets once more and fell asleep in a matter of seconds.

Edward was the left to look at the almost full moon outside. He felt a sudden pang of sadness. They were running out of time. He sighed and hugged his knees to his chest. However, that one word was haunting his mind. What did it mean? Was it a place? A thing? A person?

"Oxiir…" he repeated, his voice drowned out by the wind and the waves crashing against the shore.

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Roy let out a sigh of exasperation. He and Edward had been searching in the town library, whose size rivaled that of Central's, for the past three hours or so. They hadn't made any progress. The raven-haired man couldn't help but notice that Ed's mind seemed to be somewhere else. After all, the blonde had barely said a word and Roy would catch him staring off blankly into space, which was what he was currently doing.

"Ed?" Roy waved a hand in front of the other male's face. This snapped Edward out of his daydream.

"Hmm? Oh. Sorry." The boy then buried his nose back in the book in front of him. Roy watched him for a few moments, but went back to his own book before Ed could snap at him.

Edward turned yet another page. All these books were useless. He slammed it shut and picked up another one. His eyes grew wide when he looked at the first page. It was a detailed map of the country; each city or town had its name written in neat black script. His finger moved to sit upon Pravek and then moved up towards the right, away from the sea.

"R-Roy," he said, getting the other male's attention. "Look." And look the Colonel did, but he didn't seem to find what Ed was pointing at to be very interesting.

"Oxiir," he read out, raising his eyebrows, a quizzical look on his face. "What does this have to do with anything?" he asked.

"That," Ed lowered his voice to an extremely soft whisper, "Is where the stone is."

"How do you know?" Ed bit his lower lip.

"Gut feeling?" he supplied, his voice hopeful. Roy's disbelief was clearly written on his face. "Just trust me. Please?" Roy sighed and massaged his temples.

"Fine, but you better hope that you're right. I've heard pretty nasty rumors about that place."

"Rumors? What kind of rumors?" Roy couldn't help but grin darkly at this.

"Well," he began, looking off to the side for a moment, "They say it's haunted. That's where the most disappearances happen anyways." His grin turned into a smirk. "Though, it's rather ironic. Oxiir used to be one of the largest and most used churches in the entire country." He shrugged. "But now everyone steers clear of it. They say the place brings bad luck. But there's no need to believe such rumors, right?"

Ed snorted. "All that is a load of bull shit and you know it." He stood up and moved towards the librarian's desk. Roy was snickering as he watched a slightly irritated Edward march off. The blonde stopped in front of the desk, slamming his hands down on the polished wood. This definitely got the librarian's attention, the woman practically jumped up onto the ceiling at the sudden slam.

"C-can I help you?" she asked in a timid and soft voice as she pushed her glasses back up onto her nose.

"Where can I find some books about Oxiir?" he asked, his gaze locked with hers. The woman's eyes widened with fear.

"O-Oxiir?" she squeaked. She pointed towards a bookcase in the back, her entire body shaking slightly. "O-o-over there."

"Thanks," Ed replied and walked over to where she had pointed. After some time he had pulled out a book and was sitting with Roy again, his eyes fixed on the pages.

"Well?" Roy asked, curious to know what Ed had found out. The boy's eyes suddenly widened and his brow furrowed. Shutting the book, he crossed his arms over his chest.

"You were right about one thing," he said, "It used to be a church and a very popular one at that, but it was also a meeting spot for occultists. They practiced their rituals in that church." He took in a shaky breath. "The book didn't say what the name of this cult was, but…" He trailed off, biting his lip again. "Those rituals… They drank…" He stopped and looked away. Inhaling deeply, he continued, blurting out the last bit as quickly as he could. "They drank human blood."

Vampires…

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Well, this is a decent sized chapter. Or at least, I think it is. Anyways, I hope it was worth the wait, which it probably wasn't. Ah well. I tried. Anyways, don't forget to review guys! I'll try to get the last three chapters out as soon as I can. Holy poo! Three more chapters! Can you guys believe it? Ya. I shortened everything down and took out a lot of stuff that the story really didn't need. So yes, Crimson Sin will now only be twenty-five chapters. Though, I guess some of you a relieved, no more waiting months for a new chapter.

Next Chapter:

Chapter Twenty-Three – Moonlight