School is a major pain in the ass. Seriously. I am up to my ears in work, practically drowning in the stuff. But I've got myself a job. I'm gonna baby-sit these cute little girls. They're so sweet. Anyways, I'm doing okay I guess. I twisted my ankle while running, so that sucked. I got a lot of stuff dumped on my plate, so the last chapter might be out in a week if I'm quick, which I probably won't be. Ah. Anyways. I adore most of my teachers though. This year is going to be good. At least I hope so. Oh. What am I doing when I should be updating? I'm rotting my brain with Harvest Moon games. Oh yeah! I just saw Snakes on a Plane. Awesome movie. Go see it. Get the soundtrack too. It rocks. 'Specially that first song.

Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

--

Crimson Sin

Chapter Twenty-Four – Turning Point

--

Roy's onyx eyes shot up to the sky. They widened when he saw the large silver disc that was the moon hanging in the dark sky. A few visible stars twinkled softly. If under other circumstances this could've been a romantic atmosphere, but all Edward and Roy could think about was how vile it was. It had been what they had been dreading all along.

Dark splotches of red stained the dirt as the blonde continued to cough and spit. The younger male was shaking even more now, the tremors growing stronger with each passing moment. Tears mixed with blood and sweat before falling to the ground. Roy's strong arms wrapped around his waist did nothing to help steady Ed. All he could do was grin and bear it, hoping that it would all be over soon.

Fire exploded in his chest and coursed down every nerve, lighting fiery torches that burned from the inside out. More blood came up. It was hard to tell whether it was from his lungs or from his stomach. Edward let out a loud groan as he felt his fangs begin to throb as they lengthened some more. Although it was by only a few millimeters, the pain that accompanied it felt like they had grown, at the very least, five inches.

All Roy could do was continue to hold the blonde and watch the poor boy's face contort in pain. His own facial expression turned to sadness. He felt so useless at the moment. Nothing he did could ease the boy's pain, just look on and hope that everything turned out alright. He gritted his teeth together in frustration when he heard Edward's labored gasps.

He was just so useless…

Edward's breath caught in his throat when he heard his bones creak and groan. His eyes, still glistening with unshed tears, widened. What was happening? He collapsed, only being held up by Roy, who now wore a panicked expression. A cry of agony tore from Edward's throat as jolts of pain wracked his body. He curled up into a ball, wrapping his arms around himself, clutching his arms, body trembling. His sharp nails dug into his skin, piercing the fabric of his clothes, blood seeping out of the small crescent-shaped cuts.

"R-Roy," he gasped, immediately catching the other male's attention. Edward closed his eyes for a moment, trying to block out all the burning. As he opened them, he slowly reached out to the Colonel, fingers curling around the man's wrists in a weak grip. "I-I'm s-so s-sor-" Edward was interrupted by another coughing fit, tears falling to the ground, salt mixing with the crimson and brown. He then tried to speak again, but Roy shushed him.

"Edward, be quiet. Don't waste your energy," Roy whispered, his worried gaze resting on the boy. The blonde tried to protest, but he gave up in the end. He was just so weak.

His vision was swimming in and out of focus. Darkness was also creeping in, the black tendrils slowly eating up the world before him. He winced as a dull throbbing made itself known in his head, though it was really only a mild irritation compared to the rest of the agony he was feeling at the moment, but being held by Roy gave him some reassurance.

Everything was slowly turning into a dull throb and everything was blurring up even more than ever. Finally he felt himself begin to fall, the blood splattered ground was flashing before him. Once. Twice. Darkness. Blissful, painless, quiet darkness.

--

"The military's catching on."

"I know."

"What are we going to do?"

A blanket of silence descended upon the dimly lit room. Shadows danced about and thin slivers of moonlight slipping through the spaces between the velvet curtains.

"We continue with the plan. This is just… a minor interference," Lilith replied as she moved a heavy curtain aside and gaze up at the brilliantly lit sky.

"I see," Raith said, looking away from the moon's pale face, pain contorting his facial features. The full moon was always a reminder of pain to him. Lilith smirked when she saw his expression, lips twisting back cruelly, fangs flashing.

"Still afraid of the moon?" she sneered, eyes flashing with contempt. She snorted, turning away from the other vampire. "You were once in the same position as our little Chibi-chan, no?" She let out a spiteful laugh. "Tell me, did you cry? Cry like him?" Raith remained silent, turning away in shame. Lilith cackled again. "You did, didn't you? You're weak. So weak."

Her laughter echoed throughout the dark room. It was a cold cruel laugh that tore through Raith's mind. It rang in his ears. He hated this laugh. He hated this Litlith. He hated looking weak in her eyes. He hated feeling this self-disgust.

"But I suppose it can't be helped," Lilith murmured, a smirk playing upon her lips, "After all, I fell in love with you." She laughed again. "Well, I suppose it would be more accurate to say I fell in lust with you. We cannot love can we? We're sins. Abominations. Funny how we still exist. You would've thought that God would've erased every last trace of our existence. We're threats to his perfect creations. We're only his failures. Defects. Nothing more." She sighed and let go of the curtain, the thick fabric falling back into place. "Funny thing that the defects are superior to the final version," she whispered as she walked away.

Raith remained silent, not making any move to follow the female. Where she was going did not interest him. He had to prepare, set the final pieces into place, and finish what they had started. The military wouldn't be able to do a thing now.

"Guard the stone." Lilith's voice suddenly pierced his thoughts. "Make sure no one gets to it, especially Chibi-chan. We don't want all our hard work to go to waste." She then left the room, his footsteps slowly fading away.

"The stone," Raith murmured, walking out into the hallway as well. His eyes quickly picked up the faint red glow emitting from the room at the end of the hall. "It would be easier to destroy it," he finished, growling slightly, his mood quickly darkening.

--

Hughes was jolted awake by a sudden knocking at his door. He blinked in confusion, trying to recall where he was. It came to him soon enough. The thick folders he had been using as pillows had helped with the quick recollection. Letting out a small yawn, the Lieutenant Colonel straightened back up and smoothed out his now rumpled uniform.

"Come in," he called out for the thousandth time that day. In the end he had been tempted to just leave the door open. It was unbelievable how many visitors Roy usually got on a daily basis, not to mention all those phone calls, which unsurprisingly, had been from many of the women he dated. Such a ladies man.

The face of Cain Fury peeked in from behind the door and Hughes quickly motioned for him to come closer. Obviously the man had something of importance to tell him and Maes could only hope that it would provide some more substance to determine who the murderers were. The question was constantly eating away at him and he needed some relief.

"What is it, Fury?" he asked, gaze fixed on the shorter male.

"We have some," Cain paused, "interesting information about that second set of bite marks." Hughes nodded, telling him to go on. Fury took in a deep breath. "Turns out there are three killers, not two." Maes' eyebrows went up. "There are two different sets of those larger bite marks. One set has the punctures slightly closer together, only by a few millimeters or so. We suspect that the smaller of the two belongs to a female. It would explain the gap difference."

"So, we're looking for a woman now as well?" Hughes asked before letting out a sigh. His mind was buzzing with questions. Of course, the answers were still well out of his reach.

"We also have another suspect," Fury said quickly, immediately catching the Lieutenant Colonel's attention. Cain looked away, chewing at his lower lip for a moment. What he was about to suggest was unthinkable, but then again, his earlier theory had been the same. "We believe that the Colonel might be one of the killers."

"Impossible," Hughes quickly replied, closing his eyes. "Roy was with me when the larger bite marks first appeared. The poor guy was completely buried in his paperwork, so we stayed here at HQ almost the entire night finishing it off." Well, that quickly ruled out that theory.

"And Hawkeye?" Cain suggested.

"She was attacked by one of those things remember?" Hughes replied, looking off into space. "Besides, the bite marks continued to appear even after she slipped into a coma." His voice became slightly heavier at the mention of Riza current state.

"Well, that rules out two possible candidates," Fury said, letting out a sigh. It seems they were back at square one.

Suddenly the door burst open and in walked Havoc, breathing heavily, cheeks slightly pink. It was as if he'd been running. Hughes' eyebrows went up again. He hadn't expected that sudden intrusion.

"Yes?" Maes said, both him and Cain looking at the flushed Havoc.

"We know where Ed is," Jean said in between breaths. There was a small pause as he finally collected himself. "Roy is with him." Hughes' eyes went wide. If Ed really was the killer, then Roy could be his next victim.

"Oh shit."

--

Roy carefully brushed Edward's blonde hair out of his eyes, which were now closed. The boy had passed out about an hour ago and still hadn't woken up. It was unbelievable how many changes the boy had gone through. His smooth face was now completely devoid of color, pale, almost white, but his lips remained pink, a soft reddish pink. A pair of sharp incisors peeked out from beneath them, the white, almost silver, tips gleaming in the soft light. His dark thick lashes rested peacefully on his cheeks, his eyelids fluttering every so often. Even the blonde's hair color had become glossier, the strands felt like silk as they ran over Roy's gentle fingers. In short, the boy had become an image of perfection, as well as temptation.

"Roy?" the boy whispered softly as he slowly opened his eyes, the golden color now filled with orange and ruby specks. Almost like fire, Roy noticed and couldn't help but smile. Maybe he had rubbed off on the boy after all.

"I'm here," the Colonel replied, gently caressing the other's cheek, marveling at the softness of it, but he couldn't help but notice that Edward no longer radiated as much heat as before. The blood that had once covered the blonde's face had been wiped off soon after he had calmed down; it was the least Roy could do for him.

Edward smiled weakly, clearly feeling the after effects of his transformation. His eyes fluttered closed for a moment, but soon reopened.

"How are you feeling?" the Colonel asked gently, already knowing what kind of answer he'd get.

"Fine," Edward said with a sigh. He bit his lip. "Well, maybe a little tired."

And hungry.

Looking away from Roy, he tried to stifle the small whimpers threatening to escape his throat. His stomach was doing flip-flops and the gnawing, the longing, the want, had returned. Of course, Edward was one who hid his feelings and Roy figured out the boy's predicament easily enough.

"If you're hungry, you only need to say so," Roy said. Actually, it would probably do Ed some good to get some blood into his system. After all, the Colonel knew that there had been a sudden lack of it in the boy's diet. Edward made a small muffled noise of protest, but Roy quickly shut his up with a look.

"But…" Edward said, but trailed off. He couldn't deny that he was hungry and his brain was cheering that there was some nourishment being offered to the dissatisfied stomach.

"Edward, I can't have you collapsing on me," Roy said, justifying the action even more. So, the blonde really had nothing else to do but give in.

Pushing himself up - Roy's comforting hands kept him from falling backwards – Edward took in a deep breath, all the smells of the forest and night flooding his senses. It would take some getting used to, but he wouldn't need to do that. After all, the stone would help. Edward was praying that it would.

The blonde turned around to face the sitting Colonel and offered another small smile of comfort. He couldn't help but feel guilty for hurting Roy like this. Scooting closer, Edward placed his hands on the other male's shoulders, holding him still just in case he decided to jerk away. That would not be good.

"Just hurry up," Roy said, letting out a sigh. He really wanted to get on the move again. Being this close to the church made him uneasy. Edward nodded and bit down on the exposed flesh of the Colonel's neck. His sharpened fangs swiftly pierced the skin and blood quickly began to flow into his mouth.

For a few moments, all that could be heard were Roy's sharp breaths as he ignored the searing pain in his neck, and the small muffled noises Ed made as he gratefully drank the warm liquid. It took Edward a little bit longer to finish up this time round. Now that he was no longer human, the need for blood was stronger. He couldn't ignore it, but he couldn't very well let Roy die from blood loss, so he pulled away once he felt that he was pushing the limit.

Roy let out a shaky sigh as Edward pulled away, licking his lips. The blonde stared at the raven-haired man for any sign that something had gone wrong. Apart from looking a little pained, Roy seemed to be doing fine and the wound on his neck was already beginning to seal up. Vampire bites were strange things indeed.

"Let's go," Roy murmured as he got to his feet, legs shaking a little bit, but enough to worry Edward.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yes," the Colonel replied quickly, "Let's just get the stone and get out of here as soon as possible. This place gives me the creeps."

--

A feeling of dread hovered in the air as the two neared their destination. The church itself was in relatively good condition for it being abandoned for so long. None of the moss covered, blackened bricks had fallen off, the structure slowly crumbling away from its perch on the tall cliff, the tips of the pines below barely reaching the very top of said cliff. Ivy and thorns twisted around the structure, it was definitely the perfect picture of horror. Even the front door creaked eerily as Edward pushed it open.

The blonde shuddered as a sudden chill washed over him as he walked into the main hall. Dust and debris littered the old semi-rotten wood floor. The board groaned in protest as the two males began to explore. There was little of interest on the first floor. A few empty rooms, the main hall, which was filled with termite eaten pews, rusted religious ornaments, and dull washed out paintings, and a few rooms filled with so much clutter that Roy and Ed couldn't be bothered to look through it all, so they made their way up to the second floor.

The second floor had the same results as the first, but the third held promise. Here the dust had been pushed away by footsteps and there was a faint entrancing red light coming from the far end of the hall that made Edward's heart swell with joy. Roy on the other hand, nervously looked around. He couldn't help but feel that they were being watched and the fact that he was the only human around didn't soothe his worries.

He glanced around worriedly, trying his best to make out what he could with his less than adequate 'night vision'. He wished that he could see as well as Edward, who was moving about with no difficulty. Roy on the other hand had made a habit of running into things, chair, tables, lamps, anything that was within his range of walking. It felt as if he were blindly groping around. At least Ed had finally realized that Roy was still human after some time and had taken the other male's hand to help maneuver the Colonel around without damaging too much.

Edward continued to lead Roy towards the red light. It had definitely sparked his curiosity and he saw the Colonel's brow furrowing in confusion. The blonde figured that the other man was trying to figure out what that was. By the time they reached the door to the room, which was slightly ajar, Ed already knew what he would see when he pushed open the door.

The blonde gently nudged the door open and stepped into the room. Tattered faded royal blue curtains hung on either side of the open balcony double door. Moonlight streamed in through it, illuminating the room perfectly. A gentle breeze blew through; ruffling Edward's shirt, but it was pleasant and almost inviting. His eyes eventually fixed on what he had been searching for, a small red stone that could easily fit into the palm of his hand.

The stone.

Red light mixed with white, creating a soft glow. Edward quickly moved towards the stone. His ticket to humanity, it was almost in his grasp. Roy followed closely behind him. The blonde could feel the excitement radiating from both of them. It was hard to believe. He would be human again soon.

A sudden unnatural gust of air and the slam and click of a locking door, caught Edward's attention, causing him to spin around, ready to strike out at anyone. His eyes narrowed and a low growl escaped his throat when his gaze came to rest upon someone he hoped to never see again.

"Hello Chibi-chan," Lilith said cheerfully, hands resting on her slim hips. "Long time no see." Edward snorted and flipped her the bird. Honestly, he'd had enough of the vampires. This rude one-fingered gesture caused the female vampire to pout. "Aww. That isn't nice," she whined. Edward just rolled his eyes.

"Get lost, bitch," he growled. Edward was not in a good mood at the moment.

"Tut tut. Is that any way to speak to a lady? I think not." The vampire smirked. "Though, I do think I have something of yours that you'd like to have back." She motioned towards the balcony and Edward's gaze dutifully followed.

His eyes widened and a panicked cry escaped his lips when he saw the scene before him. Roy was hanging over the edge of the balcony, feet flailing in the air below. The only thing that kept the older alchemist from plunging to the bottom of the cliff below was the hand wrapped around his neck, a hand that belonged to Raith.

"Let him go," Edward snarled, eyes flashing dangerously, fangs bared. Lilith couldn't help but laugh at this.

"We will," she said, "Well, that is if you agree to our terms." She giggled and walked closer towards Edward before moving towards the balcony.

"What are they?" Edward asked. He knew he wasn't going to like them. The vampire noticed the agitation in his voice and let her smirk grow.

"Oh. It's quite simple, Chibi-chan. All you need to do is swear your loyalty to us and help eradicate every last human on this planet." She sneered as she watched Edward's face contort in disgust. "But we'll let you keep Flamey here as a pet. How does that sound?" Her eyes twinkled maliciously as she let her nails run across Roy's check, opening a long shallow cut. "Such a pretty face."

"Don't touch him," Ed snapped darting forward.

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Come any closer and Flamey goes for a little flight," Lilith said, stopping Edward in his tracks.

The blonde glanced over towards Roy, who was furiously shaking his head, eyes wide with fear. Ed couldn't tell whether it was fear that he would agree to those terms, or that he would meet his end at the bottom of the cliff. The teenager bit his lower lip, gnawing on his as he thought. A life without Roy would be no life, but could he give everyone else up for Roy.

Yes.

Edward shut his eyes, brow furrowing. It was the truth. He could. Roy was more important to him than all those lives. He was such a hypocrite. Before he was all about saving masses of people, but now he was ready to sacrifice them all for Roy. He was such a hypocrite. A dirty lying hypocrite.

"Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Time's running out," Lilith taunted. She began to count down with her fingers. "Three. Two. One. Time's up. We need an answer." Ed gritted his teeth together and before he could stop himself he had blurted out his answer.

"Yes! I agree! Just don't hurt him. Please."

"A wise decision," Lilith murmured and nodded to Raith, who set Roy back down on the balcony. Edward let out a sigh of relief when he saw the other male being set down on solid ground. It was heart-wrenching to watch his love writhing above a certain death.

"Edward!" Roy cried out. "Why! All those people! Just for me? How could-"

He was effectively cut off by Lilith, who delivered a quick forceful push to his chest, which sent the Colonel falling backwards and over the edge of the balcony, towards the trees below, leaving a heartbroken blonde to watch dumbly in shock as his lover spiraled down towards his certain death.

"You said to not hurt him. He'll be dead before he realizes he's in pain."

Then the cruelest of laughs split the horrific silence as Roy Mustang fell towards the ground below.

--

Haaa. That was a long chapter. I'm happy with it though. Hurr. So yes. Another cliffie. Sorry 'bout that. Yosh. I'll try and get the last chapter out as quickly as I can, so just sit tight for me. Myep. I'm going to put my entire heart and soul into the next chapter. I'll work and work and work to make this end with a bang. I hope.

Next Chapter:

Chapter Twenty-Five – Caught In-between