Two updates in one day- I'm on a roll! Hope you guys like!
Chapter 8- Body Swap- Crimson Butterfly
"My name is Hiro Shakyou. Thank you so much for freeing me." Hiro bowed deeply, and Alphonse returned the gesture.
"You're welcome, but- never mind. How did you get here? Where are you from?"
Hiro took a seat on the ground and replied, "I was born here. My twin brother, Tohru, and I were raised here."
Al nodded. "So… do you know Sae then?" he asked.
Hiro's head bobbed up and down in response.
"What can you tell me about her?"
"I'm only assuming you've met Sae, then?"
Al nodded his head ferverently.
Hiro snickered. "I expected so. Her sister, Yae, and her used to be my brother and my best friends. We would do everything together- play, talk, laugh, anything. Even share our deepest secrets!
"That is, until Sae and Yae turned 14. The 'Golden Age' for twins around here. That is the age that twins are at their prime to be sacrificed for the ritual… You know about that, too, I'm guessing?"
Al said, "Yes, for the most part."
"Thought as much…
"My brother and I were only 13, so we'd have been next…
"When Yae discovered it was time, she panicked. She and Sae devised a plan for them to escape, and Tohru and I planned to help.
"When the ritual started, we caused a large diversion, giving the girls enough time to race out of the chamber. Brother was killed by the angered crowd for allowing the twins to escape, and I was taken to be executed properly for my deeds.
"I don't know exactly what happened after that… All I know is that Sae didn't think the same as Yae ever did…"
Al gave Hiro his undivided attention. "What do you mean?"
Hiro continued.
"Well, Yae wanted to live- wanted to avoid her fate…
"While Sae welcomed it with open arms. She felt it was her duty, her destiny, to be sacrificed for the gods. It would save the village, her family, everyone, right? She felt honored and humbled to be of such importance. Believing she'd have betrayed the town if she left, the story goes that when Sae and Yae were running up the mountain side, Sae 'tripped'-" Hiro made little quotations with his hands and winked while he said this. "-and fell down the mountain side, all the while calling for Yae to help. Truthfully, she was trying to get them both captured. Justification for causing her sister's death? None. She just wanted to save her friends and family in the village.
"Only problem? Yae didn't come back. She kept running."
Al's mind flashed to a woman, crying outside the gate to the village. "I'm… sorry…" she sobbed. "I… can't go back…"
"I think," Hiro pondered. "she was so focused on what was ahead of her, she didn't hear the pleas and didn't realize she's left her sister until she was already outside the village- by that time, one can only guess that the townspeople had already angered the gods, and sealed the gateway back to our village…
"Amazingly enough, Sae still got her wish. That's how they angered the gods in the first place. The idiots sacrificed her alone, hoping that would be enough to appease the gods! Ha! That's when the whole Repentance or whatever began.
"Anyone and everyone was caught by it. Even myself. It was caused by the Kusabi and Sae. Since the gods were angry, the two Hell-bounds to wreak havoc on the survivors of the darkness. Yes, that's right; the Gods brought back Sae to punish the people she'd sacrificed herself to save because she just wasn't enough. Kind of harsh, right? But she enjoyed every minute of it…"
"The… survivors of the darkness? Wait, so the ones that did die died because…?"
Hiro's expression was grim as he spoke, "Sigh… How do you describe Hell? It was as if every whip of the wind held knifes, every breath stuck in your throat and burned with the intensity of a thousand fires. If you were of enough bad fortune to fall into the water, you'd freeze. The only upside is that drowning was better than dieing above ground. Fire seemed to lick against your very skin…"
"And that's how you died?" Alphonse asked numbly.
"Actually, no." the violet eyed boy responded. "I was 'lucky' enough to survive. Few did, though. As bad as this whole epidemic sounds, it only lasted about two to three minutes.
"Those of us who lived were later found by the Kusabi. That death was less painful."
Al was somewhat surprised. Less painful? The messenger of Hell? Wow.
"You know the spirits around him? Those are all the survivors' souls. We were used for his bidding; in this case, I'm guessing they were making your brother think you were dead."
Al reeled back. "What?!"
"Well, if you're dead, why wouldn't that boy-"
"Edward."
"Right, whatever. –Edward do what they wanted? You were all he had, and if you're gone, what's left for him?"
The suit jumped to his feet.
"I've got to go! Brother's in danger! I've got to save him! Sorry I'm-"
"Not doing a damned thing in that body." Hiro stated calmly.
Al stopped in mid-run. "And why wouldn't I?" he questioned dubiously.
The silver haired boy sighed. "Think. Sure, as long as you have that body, you 're protected from the Kusabi, but you also have to worry about getting knocked out again. Pardon me, you'd be disembodied. All the creature has to do is poke that cute little blood seal of yours, throw you momentarily from your body, and you're out like a light! What you need is a human body to combat the Hellish Couple."
Al placed a hand on his hip. "And where am I going to get one of those? Do you want me to go back through the Gate and hope to get a reversal effect? Or can I buy one down the road?"
Hiro shook his head, smiling at the boy's sarcasm. "No. Just look right here." The violet-eyed boy gestured to himself. "I can lead you back to the ritual chamber. They're bound to be there. But you can put this body to better use than I ever could. You're the only one who can save your brother. I can't do anything for it. So, I'll give it to you. Besides, I still owe you for getting me away from the Kusabi."
"Bu-!" Al protested.
"No buts! I know the spell and everything. Here goes!"
With that, Hiro placed his palms on Alphonse's chest plate. After mumbling a few words, a deep blue light illuminated the room. Then, all was black.
---------
Al's eyes fluttered open. "Ow… my head…" he mumbled, rubbing his head. He felt his soft hair ruffle under his hands.
Wait! he thought. Hair!
Al dashed over to a mirror hanging on the wall to inspect himself.
Hair of gold sat on top of his head. His eyes were silver as the armor he used to be confined to. His skin was pale, just as it used to be, and soft, unweathered.
Al smiled. This is…he thought.
"Pretty cool, huh?" Hiro's voice sprang from behind him.
Alphonse spun, eyes widening.
A suit of armor towered over him, eyes shining the same deep blue as before. Wow, he thought. I wonder if this is how Brother felt when I stood next to him…
"Transferring souls is pretty easy. At least, between a bodiless boy and a once been spirit, it is." He chuckled slightly.
The newly embodied boy nodded carelessly.
Realization came back through the excitement of the new body. "Brother!" he exclaimed, slapping his forehead at his forgetfulness. "Alright, where to?" Al stuck Ed's gold pendent in his pocket, just in case it could help.
Hiro left the room, Al hot on his heels.
"The ritual takes place below the ground. Three of four flights of stairs, mind you.
"The chamber itself is huge. Tons of spectators join the ritual. The townsfolk gather round to see. One twin must kill the other. Then, the twin that wasn't killed is hung above the pit to appease the gods above, while the dead is thrown into the pit for the gods below. Sae herself was alone when she was tossed in.
"Speaking of that damned pit, I have a warning for you…"
They were going slowly across an intersection in the road, fire illuminated the streets, flickering off of select houses.
"Don't look into the pit, no matter what."
Al raised an eyebrow in question. "Why? What's in it?"
"Hell if I know! I'm not dumb enough to look! Yeesh… All I know is that it's said to be the picture of Hell itself. Tohru told me some crazy story that the spirits of the dead in the pit will steal your soul and one of them will take your place on the earth. Ha! Could you imagine?"
A worried look laced Al's newly acquired features, his eyes troubled. "We'd better hurry." he mumbled. "I'd rather be early to the ritual than late."
Hiro nodded. "Good plan."
The pace picked up to a quick run, though Al was still getting used the human things again. (Example: Breathing and fatigue? Those two could take him a while…)
Soon, the two reached a large gate, decorated with symbols and colors, but the most dominant trait were the red butterflies littering the door.
"Um…" Hiro stated. "Not to put you out, but I think your pocket is… glowing?"
Huh? Al wondered. He looked down. Oh! Ed's crystal!
The blonde pulled out the gem. "Um… radio, radio, where's that radio?" he mumbled, looking around as though it followed him.
Hiro pulled open the chest plate of his armor and put the Spirit Reader into Al's hands, which gave way slightly under its weight. "This is where you left it." Hiro announced.
Al placed it on the ground and dropped the golden jewel into the opening.
For a few minutes, all they heard was static, but soon, Ed's voice came through.
----
Al… I'm so sorry… I didn't….
I'm sorry… Please… forgive me… even though- even though you have no reason to…
I don't want to be… alone… Life without you- I- (Ed's breath caught in his breath, his voice giving hints of crying.) I'm not strong enough. But I don't need to worry, really… Not for too long…
The butterflies are back… They… want to help…They can show us the way home… I just hope I'll see you where you go…even though I know people who kill don't go to Heaven…I don't deserve to go there… Not like you do… Causing your brother's death doesn't get you good marks, huh?
Sae… I'll do it… not for you… not for you're village… to repent for my sins…maybe… we can both give back what we've taken…
Al… I'm so… so sorry…
Al…
I'm coming…
----
Al and Hiro sat in dumbfounded silence. Tears sprang to silver eyes.
"He can't…" he whispered. The boy bounced to his feet, bounding to the gate with new determination.
"Well?" Alphonse looked at the suit of armor expectantly, holding a lock in his small hand. "What do we do with this?"
Hiro shook his head sadly. "I don't know. The key is hidden. Only the Guardians of the Crimson Ritual know where it is… I'd hoped we could climb…"
Al's temper flared uncharacteristically.
"Then why the Hell did you lead me all the way out here? What do I do now, wait for Brother to die?!"
Light reflected idly from Hiro's belt, the illuminations flapping delicately in the wind. Wait! The key Brother and I found earlier!
Al sprinted over to Hiro, pulled the key from its place, ran back to the gate, and thrust it into the lock.
Perfect fit.
Click.
The gate swung forth.
The boy turned to Hiro. "Come on! Lead the way!" He smiled brilliantly.
Nodding, the suit of armor jogged, though this time, it was he who was trying to keep stride with Alphonse.
The area was like a maze, turns left and right on every corridor. Alphonse was worried about Hiro losing his way. Hiro, though, seemed unfazed by the endlessness of it all.
"Left," he said calmly.
That was it, aside from unladed silence. No small talk, no planning. Just directions to the chamber.
Soon, wooden walls appeared, stairs too. Voices bounced off the walls, echoing in Al's ears.
Sister… let's do it. It's out job… our destiny… we must… complete the ritual… Sae announced quietly, her voice almost taunting Alphonse.
"Come on." Hiro mumbled. "We don't have much time. She's probably close to finishing this off…"
Al's breath hitched in his throat. No… The silver-eyed boy took off running. "H-hey! Hey wait!" Hiro called, taking off after him. "You don't even know where you're going!!!"
Hiro and Al rushed down stairs, turning and turning down the many halls.
Sister… Sae began again. You said… that we'd always be… together… that we'd be… one… but everyone… died…
Finally, a stone bridge expanded before them, leading to a huge underground building. "Well," Hiro said quietly. "This is it." Alphonse nodded and began walking forward.
The threshold was gigantic with the same inscriptions as were on the gate before it.
Well… Alphonse thought. Here goes nothing!
Al shoved the door open wide and waltzed in, preparing for the worst.
"Wow…" Al whispered. The room was awe-inspiring. Intricate carvings decorated the walls; tapestries of inscriptions spread out on the roof and floor.