(Previously)
She didn't want to see when the blade fell.
August closed her heavy eyes as she waited from the strike of the blade glistening ominously in the moonlight above her, ready for it to send her to sleep forever.
But not before she said her final words.
"Bye Envy. Goodnight."
Chapter 10:
Cold.
Cold and damp.
That was what the moist and freezing earth beneath her had felt like when Envy had swung his blade down in a wide, vicious, arch, ready to severe her head from her body.
But she wasn't dead.
Was she?
No, that wasn't right.
There was something warm and soft under her. It molded and sunk to her deadweight like a bed of soft sand in the dry sun.
She was… warm.
A prickling feeling was creeping along her numb limbs as she began to awaken.
Sore eyelids twitched before blinking once, then twice, slowly opening into a slit and squeezing them shut. The warmth was the first thing August felt as her conscious slowly faded back into existence.
The second thing that she could feel was a horrific pounding behind her eyes as a headache suddenly erupted between her temples.
The girl winced slightly as she bleary tried to open her sea-green eyes again.
August hesitantly rolled her sore head to the side and cracked her eyes open, only to be greeted by the inky blackness that surrounded them. She blinked slowly as she tried in vain to see a light in the dark night.
Dark shapes slowly became visible through the gloom as silvery moonlight seeped faintly through the small cracks beneath the heavy drapes covering her window, illuminating the familiar room.
August waited a few minutes as slowly but surely faint outlines began to blur into her sight.
She was...
She was sleeping.
She was sleeping on a bed.
Her bed.
The girl jolted and nearly tumbled off said furniture in shock.
'H-how..?' August couldn't believe what her eyes were telling her as she struggled to make sense of her surroundings. She made to move her iron leaded limbs but gasped in agony as her ankle shifted under the covers and a shooting pain rippled along her leg. The child gritted her teeth and tried her best not to whimper as she clutched the broken appendage tenderly.
'My ankle! Why does my ankle hurt!' She sniffed pitifully as big, fat, salty tears began to roll down her burning cheeks. Whimpers and groans of pain echoed across the empty room as the girl finally sat up.
The sight of the familiar rose-tinted walls and polished brown floorboards nearly made her vision swim once more and her stomach riot. August felt the intense urge to become sick as her mouth twist into a distressed frown.
'So then… Envy didn't kill me?', the little girl wondered before looking down woefully at her swollen and abused joint.
'But why am I in my room? Did he put me here? Where is he? Where is everyone? Don't they want to kill me?' she looked around frantically, a sharp shooting pain in her stiff neck made her wince every so often. August frowned down at her hands as she curled her knees to her sore chest. Green and yellowing bruises decorated her shins and scabbed cuts covered her knees and elbows. The little girl nearly bit her tongue as she adjusted her position, a strangled hiss escaping her lips as the side of her chest throbbed in agony. Curiously, the girl slowly pulled down the collar of her strangely fresh sleeping clothes and couldn't help but wince at the deep purplish welts coloring her rib cage. She slowly released the thin, white, cloth with a heavy sigh. Small fingers traced her bruises on her knees listlessly.
'These bruises don't look fresh…how long have I been asleep exactly?' August frowned in distress at through of being out for days. She ignored the pain from her wounds as she curled deeper into herself, seeking whatever solace she could from her own body heat as the freezing air nipped at her exposed arms and legs. A window must have been opened somewhere.
'What happened in the forest? I remember reading that book and then Envy showed up…he got mad…and then I just- I just remember running and then falling and then-then…' She shook her head, trying to fruitlessly rid herself of the horrifying images.
June.
The name echoed hollowly within her mind.
August curled further into herself, feeling her body jolt once more as she allowed the pain to sharply bring herself back from the cliff her dangerous thoughts were about to push her over. She savored the harsh distraction for a few moments before it became unbearable again and she had to let go of her position, leaving her to face her treacherous thoughts again
Green eyes flickered across the silent empty room warily.
'How am I alive again?', that single question rung through her head like a bell drowning out all the other mindless and scattered thoughts that swam through her head.
The question boggled her, it truly did.
She was still alive somehow even after she had somehow enraged an extremely powerful and completely merciless pseudo-human, with obvious sadistic tendencies, to the point of homicidal rage. But then again, it wasn't like Envy hadn't been predisposed to homicidal urges before. Not that August liked to think too hard on what sinister activities he worked himself up to in his spare time away.
She also went against the wishes of the oldest and most dangerous woman that controlled this entire manor and all of its inhabitants with an iron fist.
August shivered as she recalled something.
She had deliberately trespassed into Dante's private library and stolen an obviously very personal manuscript judging by closely guarded it had been.
Trespassing and theft against the vain and capricious woman that had literally saved her life.
August blanched.
Oh, she was so dead.
August knew that Dante would have killed the homunculi for far less. Well, at least she had harmed Lust and Gluttony more often, always in different ways then the first time that she had remembered all those years ago when she had first landed in this strange and twisted place. The sight of their dark blood splattered over the pristine marble floor, smeared around like a child's finger-painted masterpiece, still made her ill to this day.
August frowned thoughtfully.
Though strangely enough she had never seen Envy being punished. Ever. It was almost as if Dante never punished him. Which must not have been true because as far as August could see Envy and Dante despised each other with a hatred much deeper than she could properly comprehend.
…But that didn't mean that she wouldn't still kill her!
August swallowed painfully before adjusting her position on the warm bed as another thought occurred to her.
Wait, was Dante even human? Or was she a homunculus too? After all she did create the homunculi that had been currently living with them, their very existences hidden in plain sight right in front of her nose, for who knows how long.
The battered girl shook her head sullenly.
No, it couldn't be that. Dante was old and she aged with every passing day, though she did age gracefully, so she had to be human. Besides, she didn't have those pretty purplish eyes August liked so much. Both which were key traits of what August assumed was typical of the homunculi, agelessness and those cat-like, violet, eyes.
A soft burning sensation crept its way up her face as her eyes quickly began to sting.
August couldn't help muse on how ingenious the old woman was and how utterly ignorant she had been as she pulled the plush duvet around herself gingerly.
How could she have missed something this important? How had she never questioned these creatures that she had been living with and their odd yet terrifying habits? Why had she had looked past that and thought of them as normal?
Gluttony ate raw meat, which now that August thought about it, was probably very real and very fresh human meat considering the amount of times he asked if he could eat someone.
Lust could transform her fingers into the longest, sharpest and most deadly spears she had ever seen.
Heck, Envy could perfectly mimic and morph into any person he wanted to!
August clutched her head as a roaring headache began to form, and a sharp pain began stabbing behind her eyes.
'So how was that even possible to begin with then? These things are supposedly myth and it takes an impossible toll to bring them into existence.'
Deep creases formed between her brows as August frowned deeply in concentration.
August knew that Dante was the one responsible for being them into existence but she was still missing pieces.
How had she made these impossible things?
Why had she made them?
For what purpose?
And why did they hate humans so much if a human was the one that created them and gave them a supposed purpose?
'Did Master-No, Dante, make them like that on purpose?' August stared blankly into the dimly lit room, wondering why she would do such a cruel thing.
'Then again I don't know half the things that go through that cruel woman's mind…I don't think I want to know either. She still scares me'
August sighed heavily as she laid back down onto the now cold mattress. Her mind still spinning in circles as she fought to overcome the sudden exhaustion that threatened to envelope her foggy mind again. Heavy eyelids slowly began sliding shut over misty green eyes.
'I still don't get it though…how am I still alive then?'
August huffed after a moment in frustration as she wiggled gently under the covers, minding her broken ankle. She was too tired to continue with her mind repeating her unanswered questions like a broken record.
Did it really matter at the moment? She was alive and she was content for now to drift off to her no doubt drug induced state in which she awoke from.
A frown tugged at her mouth as her mind wandered into dangerous territory while she waited for the last few minutes of her consciousness to fade.
Bottle green eyes abruptly snapped opened.
August shivered as a newer and more foreboding question abruptly came to the forefront of her mind's eye.
The question had changed.
What if she shouldn't have been dwelling on how she was still alive.
Rather she should have been wondering for what purpose was she still alive for?
…
The lonely child did not sleep that night.
…
One week was quite a while to go without eating anything. Or at least, that is what most children would think at that point. Most would whine and beg for something to soothe the festering ache in their stomachs as they cried or yelled for some kind of relief. It was typical human behavior, even more so for a child.
But August knew better. In fact, she knew better than to open her mouth at all at this particular time.
Not to mention the sick feeling of anticipation she had gained ever since waking up in her bedroom three days ago had only grown stronger in the absence of any contact with the outside world, making it nearly impossible to eat anything, even if she was ever presented with the opportunity.
The sickly child stared at the door expectantly from her perch in the sitting chair across from the door. Her legs were crossed under her as she sat on a pile of pillows and her small hands gripped the edges of the white duvet cover that hung haphazardly across her head and draped over the arms of the chair easily.
Bottle green orbs watch the door warily, as if tearing their gaze away for only a second could allow for a horrible monster to spring out from the shadows beyond the harmless piece of wood and swallow her whole.
August huddled further underneath her makeshift fort as she thought.
She wasn't afraid of the monsters under her bed anymore, she was scared of the monsters that lurked outside her doorway now. The ones that she was sure that were lying in wait for her from within the deeper parts of this twisted house, ready to tear her to pieces for disobeying them again.
Simply put, she was a prisoner.
A starving, irate, prisoner at that.
August closed her eyes and swallowed painfully, her dry throat constricting with the motion as she thought of the night of her sister's murder again. The images of the flickering shadows cast by the dancing firelight, the high-pitched screams and the sickeningly rusty smell of blood threatened to overpower her senses. She closed her eyes as she fought to push the pesky memories down again. Suddenly the fire and screams and blood were replaced by freezing air and the feeling of wet mud underneath her fingers. White bones swam across her vision and amethyst orbs glared twistedly at her from the darkness while a mocking laughter echoed in her ears.
August gasped sharply as she bolted awake. Her chest shook as she hyperventilated into the covers.
She hadn't even realized she had fallen asleep so quickly.
'Stop it. Stop it. It's over. It's over. Your safe for now. Your safe…'
It took a minute, maybe three, until the brunette was able to slowly sit up and try to still her shaking. August shook her head harshly, getting rid of the tears that had gathered to the corners of her eyes before burrowing farther into the covers and glaring at the door again.
She couldn't lose focus. Not now. They could come for her at any moment. Tears were not going to help her.
A low growl suddenly cut the silence making the little girl jump. She blinked owlishly as she looked down to her stomach. August gimmicked as it churned unpleasantly and a sharp pain gnawed at her insides, reminding her of her current situation.
It took all the strength she could muster not to whine aloud.
'Why am I always scared by my tummy? I should be scared of bigger and scarier things but I always jump when my tummy rumbles' the little girl wondered.
August huffed before sighing dejectedly. She didn't want to complain but she could really use some food right about now.
Another sharp pain echoed inside her hollow stomach and she winced before hugging herself.
August pondered her situation as she glanced curiously at the door again.
It was strange, she mused. It had been three days since she had been up last and no one had come by to get her.
Not Lust or Gluttony to at least feed her.
Not Dante to punish her.
Not even Envy to wring her neck.
August shivered. The last one she was extremely grateful for.
But still… it was all very strange.
In fact, if August thought hard enough, the entire house had been extremely quiet. So much so that it scared her. Usually there was the sound of some kind of music playing from the radio downstairs whenever Lust was feeling particularly relaxed enough to turn on the radio; or the sound of Gluttony racing up and down the halls as he looked for stray mice too much on when he had nothing to do, even when Lust kicked him out of the parlor room; or even the sounds of the kettle boiling and the clink of the fine china whenever Dante made herself tea in the kitchen.
Even at this point August would take the sounds of smashing and the rumbling of the floorboards or the walls as they were being destroyed by Envy whenever he was in a particularly bad mood, which would finish in an hour or so or until Dante kicked him out too and fixed everything. Not that August didn't freak out and sprint away to hid under her bed until it was over. Because when Envy got mad, he really got mad, and it still terrified August every single time.
August frowned thoughtfully.
Which brought the girl to her next question.
'Where in the world did Envy go?'
It had been three days, a while that wasn't a whole lot to help cool his head, she would have at least heard him breaking something by now or yelling at Dante or been paid a not so nice visit if he really wanted to get rid of her, with or without Dante's permission as he had seemed mad enough before to kill her before in the forest regardless of the old crone's orders.
Not that it was really all his fault…she had pushed him way to hard and had obviously crossed a line that she should have never crossed.
August huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest and gritted her teeth.
Why was she feeling guilty like this? It wasn't like it was her fault either. Besides, he was the one that nearly took her head off. He was always yelling, always saying such nasty things, and grabbing her by her hair all the time when she did something wrong. He was a nasty, horrible, angry creature!
…Right?
August sighed heavily, her shoulders slumped forward as she deflated a little bit.
She honestly didn't want to think about this. It was bad enough that she had been locked away in this room like a criminal awaiting the death sentence without any food for a whole week, but the thinking and the nightmares were getting worse with every passing minute. The girl knew the longer she stayed like this the easier it would be to slip into her horrible memories again.
Even the ones she swore she would never re-visit again.
August stared longingly at the door as he insides cried out again for nourishment.
She shifted uncomfortably as she debated what to do next.
Did she really want to go outside and accidently bump into someone and be taken to face her long-awaited punishment or would she continue to waste away in this room, huddled underneath her blankets like a scaredy-cat until she passed out again?
August swallowed nervously before taking a deep, long, breath and slowly began peeling back the layers of covers, her only warmth and childish protection from the outside world and all its cruelty.
'It isn't what I wanted to do but what I need to do' she told herself firmly.
The child shivered against the cold air that constantly clung to the mansion as she silently lowered herself to the floorboards and flinched violently as she tried to step away from her warm cocoon of blankets. She gasped as her ankle rolled unnaturally in the splint she had created for herself out of her bed-sheets and wood from the floorboards underneath her bed.
August grinded her teeth as she fought not to scream out in pain as she trudged forwards.
She limped slowly over the dark brown door and grasped the polished brass doorknob before slowly twisting the small handle experimentally, half expecting an alchemy trap to be activated and sharp splitters of wood to rain down on her as the door blew up in her face.
The sound of a soft 'click' shocked her into a moment of silence.
'The door… was unlocked the whole time!?'
August could only stare flabbergasted at the doorknob, feeling almost offended at the innocent metal door handle winking in the electric lamp light back at her.
She would hit something if she could.
It took a minute to shake herself from her stupor as she gradually cracked open the door, peering out to see nothing but a darkened hall staring back at her. Bit by bit she wedged her head out of the doorframe before holding her breath as she craned her neck to look up and down the hallway.
Nothing.
She released a nervous breath of relief.
'Ok, then... '
August nearly snorted as she calmly exited her room before softly closing her door, extinguishing any light in the dark hall. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust again to the darkness. She glanced around suspiciously one more time before setting off to complete her mission.
…
August slowly crept back up the stairs with her bad ankle as she tried not to fumble too much with the pitcher and glass of water in her hands. Her bare feet padded silently across the scratchy carpet as she tried to tiptoe her way across the landing and towards her room.
Or at least where she thought her room was.
August quickly discovered that everything looked quite different in the darkness of night with no moonlight or lamps to guide her.
August winced at her mistake before stopping in the middle of an unfamiliar hall. She leaned against the wall and looked around curiously.
'This red rug looks the same but I can't remember if the painting by the third door on the right was about a castle or a church…or maybe it was that little house on a field?'
"Humph", August pouted childishly as she continued squinting in the gloom, trying to any kind of familiar landmark that could lead her in the right direction.
Nothing stood out.
August sniffed in annoyance before rolling her eyes, readying herself to pick a random direction and wander aimlessly forwards.
'That's what I usually do anyway'
The little girl suddenly jumped as a noise penetrated the dead silence. August leaned against the wall and held her breath. She went still as a statue as she strained her ears, her mind racing in terror.
'What was that? Who was that? Oh no, did they not find me in my room? Are they looking for me? Am I in trouble? Of course, I'm in trouble! Why am I even thinking that?! Oh god, who is it. Who is it? Dante? Gluttony? Lust? Envy? Please don't let it be Envy-'
The noise, more forceful now, cut the panicking child out of her inner rambling and echoed softly down the hallway again.
August furrowed her brow and cocked her head, listening again for the sound.
'Was that a…was that a moan? Is somebody moaning?'
August scrunched up her little nose and pulled a face.
'Why would someone be moaning?'
August frowned thoughtfully and before her better judgment could stop her, she crouched down as she began creeping towards the sound. After a moment or two of shuffling across the itchy carpet the girl finally found what she was looking for. The plain brown door was surprisingly cool to the touch as August put down her glass of water and leaned in, placing her ear against the cold wood to hear better.
Yes.
Now she could definitely hear something. If she didn't know better she could have sworn it sounded like someone sobbing softly from inside the room.
'Who could that be? Nobody cries in this house unless it's me' August mused as she shifted to peer inside the keyhole. Nothing was visible save a few shadowy shapes she could vaguely make out as pieces of furniture in the muted moonlight that shone through the heavily drawn drapes. She couldn't see anyone, but the noises continued.
August chewed her lip in contemplation.
'That can't be Mas-Dante. This isn't her room. Besides, she doesn't cry. Ever. And I don't think Lust and Envy can cry so there's that. Gluttony does a little but not like this. So, who else could it be?'
August tried to push aside all of the horrible memories that had happened the past few days and tried to focus on the last time they had received a guest in this aging manor.
'Hey, wait, didn't the Führer come by a couple of days ago? And didn't Dante call him Pride or something?'
August nodded soundly as she remembered the tall, imposing, almost regal looking man with the eye patch standing stiffly behind the keyhole she had been spying through when Lust had caught her.
August shook her head as she cleared her thoughts.
'Never mind that, didn't Lust say there was someone else here aside from the Führer?'
The brunette wobbled a bit before painfully rising to her feet and groping in the dark for something to hold onto.
Icy metal bit into the palm of her hand as she accidently grasped the doorknob and twisted the worn metal.
A loud creak echoed ominously down the hallway, the harsh sound lingering in the air like a gunshot.
August froze. Wide, jade, eyes glanced down in surprise at her small hand gripping the doorknob with a bone breaking grip.
'Oh…oh, no'
The silence grew alarmingly tense as the child cowered away from the open door, waiting for something dreadful to happen.
A few moments passed uneventfully before the child poked her head out from behind the door. August swallowed as she hesitantly peered into the dark room, almost praying that something would disrupt the unnerving silence already.
"Hello…" she trailed off uncertainly.
Silence greeted her before the sound of something shuffling and a low wheezing noise broke the stillness again.
August gasped.
So, someone was here.
The girl shuffled closer into the room, softly closing the door behind her as she peered into the darkness, unable to find the source of the noises. Her bare feet padded slid soundlessly across the dusty floorboards as she limped her way further into the room, trying to find the person that was clearly in so much distress.
August knew she had no reason to intrude upon this person and they're problems but the undeniable urge to comfort and in turn seek comfort from someone was strong.
The child slowly crossed the room and peaked over the side of the large, empty, mattress in the middle of the room.
A dark figure was huddled into the far corner of the room, pressed tightly against the wall amongst the shadows.
A low, soft, sob echoed from the figure as they shuffled further into the darkness.
August froze in surprise at the strange noise before shaking her head, steeling her resolve before slowly stepping closer and offering the glass of water in her shaking hand.
"E-excuse me, do you…do you need help?" she asked shakily before she lost her nerve.
The shuffling in the corner stopped and August suddenly felt an unexplainable prickle of unease creep down her spine.
Suddenly a pale, delicate, arm reached out from the shadows towards her. August sighed in quiet relief as she moved to pass the glass to the hidden woman huddled in the corner, secretly hoping that whoever the strange person may be that they would feel more inclined to talk after a quick drink.
"Here you go-" August felt the words die on her tongue as a stream of moonlight streamed through the poorly concealed curtains shinning on the pale, almost translucent, arm reaching out from the receding shadows.
Her eyes widened in unprecedented terror and her mouth hung open as the hideous creature hiding in the darkness was exposed.
The pale arm was the only thing that seemed in even remotely human about the nightmarish thing in front of her.
The arm was pale, slender, and vaguely beautiful up until the elbow before immediately gave way to a plethora of puss-filled blisters and red crinkling burns, which morphed into an undistinguishable mass of rotting and blackened flesh peeling off bleached white bones that glistened in the shining moonbeams. What seemed to be once soft and beautiful auburn locks, now as charred and black as it's festering skin, hung limply in patches from its melted scalp over its deeply sunken amethyst eyes.
Its shredded muscles were exposed and tangled in a heap as its head lulled brokenly at an impossible angle with every inch it moved.
August remained frozen in petrified terror as she watched the twisted creature scramble closer, gnashing its teeth.
The twisted mass of bone and rotting flesh groaned and hissed in pain as it clawed its way closer to the frozen child who continued to stare in frozen, abject, horror before letting out a twisted, ear splitting, screech.
The sound of glass shattering and a scream that matched the first echoed explosively throughout the house and with a start August realized it had come from her.
The lumbering creature snarled at the noise before lunging for its petrified prey.
Whether it was from instinct or from years of practice in evading dangerous things August immediately ducked and rolled to the side, just inches away from the creature's grasp before jumping to her feet and sprinting away…
…or at least, until she fell to the floor with a heavy grunt as fire shot through her broken ankle. August grunted and grasped in pain as she scrambled to get purchase on the slippery floor with little to no success. The water she had brought earlier had spilled everywhere, leaving the polished floorboards as slick and slippery as oil for the panicking child.
Another bolt of white-hot pain shot through her leg when she struggled to move it to no avail. Her nails scratched across the floorboards fruitlessly as she struggled to crawl towards the doorway as fast as she could. Her hands slipped out from under her as a cold boney hand snatched her burning ankle and yanked harshly.
SNAP
August couldn't help the agonizing howl of pain that ripped itself free from her throat before being dragged backwards by the claw like hand.
The girl screamed and kicked for all she was worth as the looming, unhinged, jaw came closer.
Cold water slid under her fingers as she struggled to get away.
'NO!'
Without a shred of coherent thought August squeezed her eyes shut and clapped and then slammed her palms into the liquid with an almighty scream of desperation. An unexpected explosion of blue light and crackling energy lit up the dark house, chasing the shadows away from every corner as alchemic energy flooded the room. The sloshing sound of rushing water greeted her ears as August poured every ounce of strength into wishing this terrifying nightmare away from her.
The blue light faded and a wet gurgling sound broke through the sudden silence.
August took a deep shuddering breath before peaking one eye open.
She gasped.
The humanoid creature was immobilized by seemingly solid spikes of water jutting out from the small pool of water that gather underneath her body when she had dropped the pitcher of water.
The impossibly solid spikes of water had torn through the creature's body like wet tissue paper. The thing let out a pitiful moan as it sagged against its torturous restraints, as if it had no more strength to hold itself up against the crippling pain.
Sweat trickled down August's brow as she tried to wiggle out from underneath the death trap she had impulsively created based off of her Master own design from so long ago. Her entire leg throbbed in agony and her whole body felt like lead. Her head pounded like a war drum and her vision began to swarm with small, black, spots despite the adrenaline coursing through her veins, burning and chilling her bones like liquid fire.
The grotesque creature's body dipped lower over August's defenseless state as she tried to squirm away from it.
She whimpered as the intact pale fingers gently touched her burning forehead before slowly stroking her tear-stained cheeks soothingly. The single remaining eye became hazier than before with something that could almost be consider an emotion.
What was that?
Pain? Empathy? Sadness?
Longing?
August couldn't tell from the terrifying creature's unsightly and muddled gaze but if she looked closer, part the rot and animalistic appearance, she could pretend she was seeing the remnants of a person.
A sad, lost, and aching person that missed something or someone terribly.
It started to choke, twisting its mouth with the almost unrecognizable sounds that came from its destroyed larynx.
"E-wd…A-ph-e…m-y…o. M-y…b-ys…b-oys…"
August could only stare in petrified silence at the creature's strange attempt of speech and calm actions. A sharp contrast to what was actually happening around them.
The deathly cold fingers never left her face as they continued their mindless task.
August felt her breath hitch when the fingers stopped softly caressing her neck and began pressing into the soft notch in her neck.
Suddenly, the soft light behind the sole purple iris that stared down at her slowly started to dim before fading back into black as the creature narrowed its eye, twisted it's face into an unmentionable expression and hissed viciously.
"Agh!" August's scream was cut off as the deceitfully soft fingers slashed savagely at her throat, tearing the soft spot on her neck open.
She threw her hands up in defense at the clawing hands that continued trying to tear her to pieces.
August felt blinding pain and horror wash over her in crashing waves as the strength left her faltering arms and the creature's horribly strong hands continued to tear at her face, ranking sharp claw like nails into her neck. She could feel the hot blood rolling down her face and neck in streams as the thing's finger dug deeper into the inside of her neck. The sound of flesh giving way and the smell of blood was everywhere.
August couldn't think, couldn't breathe, couldn't see-!
She opened her mouth and gave a gurgled scream, not even registering what she was saying, just as the creature's jaw clamped shut around her neck.
The abrupt sound of wood cracking broke through the intense chaos.
The door behind them exploded with a thunderous explosion as it was thrown off its hinges.
The wall around it was quickly smashed to pieces as a dark blur raced into the fray and the sickening sound of metal meeting flesh echoed in the dark as an ebony blade ripped through the back of the misshaped creature's head and out through its eye socket. It howled in pain and convulsed before pale fingers curled around its jaw and quickly snapped its head upwards and off its shoulders. With a violently toss the dismembered head was flung into the furthest corner of the room.
August had no time to react when she suddenly felt a set of cold fingers, slicked with black blood and bile, roughly slide over her face before quickly cupping the back of her head while pushing down on gaping wound in her neck. Her eyes flew open as the blinding pain returned to her and agony flooded her entire being, blocking out everything else in a haze.
There was a faint buzzing in her head and a loud ringing in her ears that nearly drowned everything out, aside from a distorted voice that she could barely hear over the shock that had dulled her senses.
August faintly felt her body being shaken. Her mouth fell open as her head rolled back. Something warm began pooling from under her tongue and out the corners of her mouth where it dripped down to the backs of her ears.
August tried to focus on the voice as she fought the closing darkness that began to swim over her eyes like a moonless night. A distant part of her knew that her eyes were still open but she couldn't see anything, just an endless blur. It briefly reminded August of that time long ago when she was drugged and kidnapped by the chimeras in Dublith.
Shapes and shadows suddenly moved across her unseeing vision and voices floated in and out of her hearing before the rough hands holding her close disappeared and smaller, bonier hands took their place.
Blue light suddenly invaded her vision as it penetrated the backs of her eyeballs like an icepick. A new and infinitely more terrible burning sensation started to crawl its way down her throat and into her heart as she withered in agony before her limbs were pinned down aggressively.
Everywhere was pain and everywhere was that iridescent blue light.
Whether it was minutes, hours, or days, eventually the light stopped and the pain with it.
August could feel herself finally slipping into unconsciousness. She couldn't help but notice when the same rough hands that had pinned her down, slowly loosened their grip before quickly pulling her to against a strong chest, rocking back and forth steadily. With a strangled whimper, she buried her face deeper into the warmth before falling asleep, feeling safe for the first time in a long time and finally glad to leave this nightmarish night behind.
…
"What the FUCK was that Dante!" Envy thundered, his face contorting in rage as he cradled the bloodied child closer to him, absolutely furious that she had somehow managed to nearly get herself killed again.
If he hadn't been stalking angrily outside the manor, wondering what the hell he was going to do with the worthless brat and why he hadn't killed her when he had the chance, he wouldn't have been there to hear the kid's horrific screaming or been there in time to save her from the misshaped, half complete, homunculus that the Master had been hording in a spare room.
Well…almost save her.
He hadn't been quick enough to save the little brat from getting horribly injured.
Envy nearly tore out his hair out in frustration.
This absolute IDIOT! How was she this STUPID!
"You little idiot…" he hissed through clenched teeth as he lightly traced the horribly jagged wound that covered the child's small neck, his thumb wiping away some fresh blood from the plucked flesh.
The enraged homunculus continued silently cursing the too still brat in his arms as he subconsciously twisted further away from his supposed "master".
Dante ignored her firstborn's tantrum while she focused on more important things. Leaning over the girl and laying her hand gently over the child's cut and bruised forehead before slowly moving down over the grievous injury to her neck.
She frowned in annoyance.
This girl was becoming more of a problem then she originally anticipated.
A sudden soft splash from the corner of the room caught everyone's attention.
Envy immediately tensed, his muscles bunching and coiling, not unlike a cat's, as slowly turned to glance over his shoulder at the sound, bracing for something to happen. He moved on the balls of his bare feet before shifting August further in his arms until he could transform his preferred arm back into his preferable weapon of choice, a gleaming black blade, still wet with black bile.
Lust flickered her sharpened spears out with a second of hesitation as she too looked warily towards the noise.
Gluttony whimpered as he withdrew his pudgy finger from his mouth and turned tentatively towards the distracting noise alongside his kin.
The only other one in the room whom seemed unaffected was Dante. She merely stood calmly and watched her creations violently react to the forgotten presence.
A large mass of liquid slowly rose from the corner of the room, its shape unrecognizable and ever changing as the watery mass slowly curled onto itself. Shifting from side to side the watery mass sloshed forward softly before lunging with a lurch and bending over towards the ground in a stream of rushing water before solidifying into a huddled shape. The unfinished homunculus groaned painfully as it withered on the darken floorboard before crawling steadily back into its previous, shadowed, corner by the bed, its body making gurgling noises as it went.
None of the remaining homunculus moved nor spoke as they tried to process the odd turn of events.
A soft clap interrupted the stillness, this time the homunculi did flinch.
"Well, this is something after all" A ghost of a smirk passed across Dante's face as the unusual scene played out before her. Her brown orbs flickered towards the wallowing creature, silently appraising her young student's handiwork.
"What nonsense are you spewing now? What the hell just happened to that thing?" Envy hissed as he glared viciously at the senile old croon before briefly looking towards the corner where that mess of an attempted human transmutation laid in a pitiful heap.
"That thing is your kin. Besides, you all looked like that at first, or did you forget?" Dante answered coldly, nearly mockingly, as she strolled past the irate sin.
A muscle jumped in the green haired man's jaw as he fought to control his anger.
The master of the manor carefully cornered the sniveling half-finished homunculus, extending a hand calmly to the increasingly irate life form. Moonlight glinted ominously off the bright ruby pebbles in her pale hand.
The others in the room tensed in reaction towards the cause of their immortally and their life source. The magnetic pull was almost tangible.
Gluttony whined slightly once he saw the red stones and took a small step towards them before a gloved hand stopped his attempt.
"Don't Gluttony" Lust whispered softly, petting his head lightly to soothe the insatiable creature beside her. If she were to be honest, even she was feeling the painful pull towards the stones and she honestly wasn't least bit surprised in Gluttony's reaction. If she was having trouble she could only imagine what it was like for the poor, hungry, brute.
She chanced a glance at Envy, wondering how he was taking all this.
He still remained crouched over the unconscious child, his back turned, completely ignoring the situation at hand, though if Lust looked closer she knew that wasn't true at all. His head was cocked slightly and his posture was screaming both a mix of defensiveness, danger, as well as the promise of a slow, painful, death to anything that came close enough.
Lust didn't have to pretend she was the least bit surprised with Envy's actions at this point either.
Dante paid no heed to her previous creations, her focus solely on her latest misshapen creature.
"Come now, this will make you feel better" she offered gently, though her voice lacked any real warm or compassion.
The creature took no notice.
It moaned once more, clearly in agony, as pieces of its miserable form continued changing into unstable chunks of liquid that spilled haphazardly over the floor like a liquefied set of innards before crawling slowly to the offered stones.
As it had its fill, the soggy and decaying body shifted once more until nothing but a solid, slightly humanoid, creature remained. It huffed heavily as it finished its meal before returning to its corner in silence.
With that matter taken care of the old woman slowly stood and turned towards the green haired sin.
He merely glared up at her.
"Envy…you have failed me for the last time in this manner. The time has come for someone else to fix the mistakes you have created", her voice was as frigid as her eyes as she glared down impassively at the eldest homunculus.
"I've creat-", The sin growled as he shifted his arm back into its normal form.
"Yes, your mistakes" Dante hissed, abruptly silencing him as a short crackle of red energy suddenly arched from her folded hands and across the room. The remaining homunculi tensed.
"First, you fail in your first task to acquire the child I originally sought that night and instead bring me only one, very scarred and broken, whelp of a girl." Her voice began to slowly rise along with the red sparks of alchemy flying about the room.
"Next, you lose the girl right under your nose to a child kidnapping ring and destroy one of my main source of ingredients for the red stones. Delaying the entire process for months" A streak of red began to curl across the wooden floorboards once more.
"Then…then…this happens!", the very floor began to vibrate from the sheer alchemic reactions racing across the room, from the cracking ceiling to the splintering floorboards. Envy immediately hauled August into his arms before leaping backwards in a burst of speed to avoid the wayward spikes of wood. Lust followed in suit while Gluttony hid in a small space in a corner.
Darken eyes watched the old women in the center of the destroyed room warily, waiting for the next move before turning to glance down at the sound of harsh breathing. Envy scowled as he brushed a few stray hairs away from the pale girl's face.
She was extremely pale.
Too pale.
"Master…" a cool voice entered the fray. Envy whirled around in surprise, caught off guard by the sudden entrance.
"Pride" Envy sneered as the figure strolled from the shadows.
The Führer quietly emerged from the destroyed doorway with no more than a passing glance.
"My, my, what happened here?" a single green eye scanned the remains of the room closely, briefly falling on the sleeping child. "Well Envy it seems you have managed to fail spectrally in keeping your little charge safe yet again, haven't you?"
Said sin gave the half-homunculus a blood-curdling glare.
"That reminds me" Dante greeted simply, "Pride, I have a new task for you"
"Hmm?"
"It seems that my pupil's tutelage has been temporarily postponed and she is in need of some private medical attention… as well as a new guardian."
"What!" Envy thundered, the walls nearly vibrated with the bellow.
"You heard me" Dante snapped as she narrowed her eyes, "as for you, your actual punishment will be administered later", a hint of a of a smirk flittered across the old woman's face as she watched his expression become livid.
"After all, what could you possibly have to gain from keeping the child in your untrustworthy custody when such a mess has happened in my house? It would be much more prudent to give my prized pet to Pride to care for. He has shown far more competence in completing the tasks I have assigned him than any of you simpletons".
Pride smirked viciously, not bothering to conceal his namesake sin in the presence of such ridiculously rare praise from his master; even it was only as a backhanded comment to Envy.
In Pride's eyes that only made the roundabout praise all the more sweeter.
"Can it you old hag!" Envy snarled, baring his teeth like an animal at the insult.
"Oh? Or is it that you just have a problem with my orders?" The absolute frigidness in her clipped tone was as frightening as it was smug.
The remaining spectators in the room held their collective breath as the tension in the room reached a breaking point.
The violent look of rage was still present on the green-haired homunculus's face as he stared down at the comatose August, though in a second, a flicker of what looked like hesitance gleamed in his cat-like eyes.
Dante smirked further.
She had him.
"Now, enough of this nonsense Envy. Release the girl and step away"
He scowled briefly before doing as he was told. Slowly, his grip on the still child in his arms loosened before setting her down on the floor completely. Envy glared bitterly once more at Dante as he stood and stepped away before shifting his increasingly hostile glare on the eye-patched man as he stepped forward and scooped up the unconscious child.
"Pride, bring the girl here."
With a clap of her bony hands she placed them on either side of August's head. A hiss of static and a harsh flash of red light lit between her hands, giving the child a brief halo of red of electricity before the light disappeared into her temples and behind her eyes.
"Perfect. Now Pride when the girl wakes up she will have no recollection of this night or any other previous night for the past few months if not years."
A collective shock went through the room and its inhabitants at the sudden offhanded remark.
Envy visibly tensed before quickly becoming stone faced while Dante continued on.
"You will feed her a simple story about a kidnapping and rescue by the military, no family of any kind nor reaming relatives. Spin whatever story you like and forge any documents if you must but make sure she stays interested in Alchemy. I will not let this setback destroy all the hard work I have placed into molding this child"
Pride nodded lowly.
"As you wish"
"Master is that all of this really necessary?" Lust wondered stepping forward, "would it not be better to have the child remain here in order to keep her silent if she does remember something?"
"No. I have harbored her for far too long here. She must advance and continue her studies on her own if she is to become what I have been preparing her for. Pride, you will also harbor her in your house. If she does seem to remember something you bring her to me at once and I will deal with it" Dante smiled serenely, her cold eyes burrowing relentlessly into the homunculus.
"You would do well to remember your place Lust and never question me again"
"…Yes Master" Lust stepped back and bowed stiffly, averting her eyes to the floor. Gluttony whimpered slightly at how troubled his female partner was but remained fearfully silent. Envy continued to remain impassive to the scene.
Pride looked down in unveiled disgust at the human child in his arms, crusted over with blood.
A beat of silence filled the crowded room before a gurgling sound interrupted it.
Everyone looked to the forgot half-complete homunculus lying in the corner of the room.
"That is enough for one night. All of you leave. I have work to do." Dante snapped, dismissing them with a flick of her wrist as she turned her attention to her incomplete project.
All of them slowly began trickled out the door. Pride hummed thoughtfully once they all stood outside in the hallway.
"Well, as entertaining as this has been I must be off" he shifted the prone human in his grip.
"Lots to do apparently, I do think Selim will benefit having an older sister in the house" the half-human homunculus chuckled as he made to depart.
A pale hand shot out.
Pride glared at Envy, shooting the vice grip he had on his arm a murderous glance. Dark hair covered the elder sin's face as he dipped his head.
"Pride", he spoke lowly, nearly whispering "if anything happens to that kid and you try to pin the blame on me and make me look like a fool again, again. Anything at all…"
The grip on his arm tightened to bone-crushing as the appendage was slowly twisted. The series of cracks in his left wrist and the static of energy from his philosopher stone in his lower arm informing the older looking man that the bones in his lower limb were indeed pulverized. Blood flew from the tore arm as it was being torn off.
Pride refused to flinch.
He could almost physically feel the murderous wrath that was directed at him when he finally locked eyes with the shorter male.
"I will have your head on a damn spike."
Before the disturbed sin could do anything else Pride ripped his mangled wrist free.
"Don't worry too much about this Envy" he snarled, all pretense of good behavior thrown out the window, "I will make sure that the Master's pathetic pet is better taken care of. It is a simple task. A fool could do it. Which is more than I can say for you!"
Pride leapt out of the way as a large portion of the floor he was standing on exploded into a crater of splintered wood.
Another wave of destruction and an enraged roar followed him. He swiftly dodged every berserk attack, even using his sword to cut away a few projectiles.
Suddenly both parties quickly threw themselves apart as five, black, spears split the air above their heads, pinning them in place and away from each other.
"That is enough" Lust growled, his sharpened finger nails moving dangerous close to both of them.
"What the hell Lust" the green haired male snapped.
Pride merely looked to her both guarded and curious.
"Both of you stop this petty squabble or the girl will finally die from shock. If that comes to pass Master will have both your heads.", Lust warned as her nails grew close to the frozen males, the subtle threat of dismemberment clear if they did not listen.
They listened.
After another tense moment, the female sin retracted her weapons and leaned against the wall casually, glaring coldly at her companions. She looked first to the silently snarling green-haired sin, watching his movements warily.
He was being too quiet again.
"Envy" Lust called, "I will still need you to accompany me to Creta. Master said something earlier that the situation there needs to be dealt with. However, you need to cool off for a while before we leave. We don't want any additional casualties that will take longer to cover up"
Her amethyst gaze flickered to the one-eyed sin next.
"You should go now Pride. It wouldn't look so good for the country if our fearless leader couldn't even catch his train. And make sure the girl is treated well. We don't want the Master to become angry again"
Gluttony whimpered at the warning, desperately fearing Dante even more than usual.
"Of course." Pride snapped.
Envy just crossed his arms and scowled.
Bradley huffed, patting his clothes free of dust and debris as he strolled past the irate sin. Said homunculus merely glowered at the pseudo-human's back as he watched him take his brat away.
The Führer walked away haltingly, strolling past his remaining peers.
"Always a pleasure Lust. Gluttony." He sneered mockingly, now thoroughly annoyed with this entire ordeal.
Lust said nothing, only glared after him. Gluttony hummed something similar to a goodbye around one of his pudgy fingers, seemingly over the destructive fight that just occurred.
Pride raised his chin further and departed.
He really didn't want to fail in his duty in keeping the unconscious brat on his arm alive did he?
Narrowed violet eyes started hatefully after Pride and his cargo, silently vowing wrath and bloodshed upon him the next time those scornful eyes met.
Lust sighed heavily as she watched Pride finally leave.
A moment later her eyes slid shut.
"The train we need to take to the border town of Creta and Amestris leaves in a few hours you need to prepare a suitable disg-" She paused in her directions as her gaze flickered towards the surprisingly silent sin.
Lust glared at the empty space she had been talking to. She sighed again as she looked down at her chubby companion.
"Hmph…Honestly, he could at least pretend to be less single-minded."
…
The rumbling of the engine on the train tracks blurred together the early hours of the morning together into a simple lullaby to the still sleeping inhabitants of the train as the sun rose.
Führer King Bradley, or Pride the homunculus, as he preferred to be called, watched the constant dull rush of country scenery from his private suite aboard the military controlled Central bound train in disdain.
The fake human had been awake for the last three days. The same amount of time it had taken him to arrive at the proper military hospital needed to fix that wretched little brat and finally board the train that would take him back to his domain.
Really, he had been away from his work too long.
Or at least it had been far too much then he had felt comfortable at least. Now however, had to delay it even longer so he could return to that miserable place he called had to call his house, with those pathetic creatures he had the misfortune of having to pretend he loved so they would not raise a fuss and risk tarnishing his prized reputation.
Love.
A supposed beautiful feeling that steams from a physical and spiritual connection achieved with someone. To have a constant feeling of strong or constant affection for a person or an attraction that includes sexual desire. To care unconditionally. To give and expect nothing back.
Ridiculous
Spiritual connection?
What an absurd notion.
He had no soul.
If he did, he wouldn't use it to do something as foolish as fall in love and he definitely wouldn't have become the Führer of Amestris.
Not that his wife would ever find that out.
Bradley finally tore his gaze away from the mind-numbing scenery and around his quarters, finally letting his gaze fall on the slumbering child lying in the specialized medical cot he had made the doctors that treated her bring along on the train.
Her small chest rose and fell with every shaky breath she took. Some of her breathes went more smoothly than others, but it was enough.
She would live. He had seen to that.
Then why was he still staring at her from the corner of his own private compartment as if she would suddenly leap up and attack him like a rabid animal?
Pride eyed the girl warily.
He was the leader of an entire nation. He could run an entire country with an eye closed and his arms behind his back, micromanaging a small pre-teen girl was nothing.
He was the Führer for fucks sake.
…But something was still troubling him.
And he still couldn't place it.
"Well little one, you seem to be more trouble than it's worth to simply dispose of." He began, slowly coming to rise and stand above the girl.
"Maybe that is why the Master refuses to end this charade. She does hate it when good resources are wasted. She is a very efficient woman".
He looked down thoughtfully at the comatose child, his single green eye narrowed intently.
"However, I myself do not understand how you, you woefully insignificant creature, somehow managed to capture the interest of such beings like us homunculi and even our Master. Beings that are so much higher than you that its horribly pathetic." Again, August did not answer him.
Pride clenched his fists.
He hated being ignored.
"Though, I can't help but wonder what you will bring in the greater scheme of things that our Master has so carefully planned for centuries. An insignificant yet somehow vital piece of the game. How curious…" he tilted his head and stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"And I am undoubtedly curious about Envy's reaction to all of this as well. His responses in particular towards anything to do with you is increasingly intriguing" Pride hummed, silently crossing back to the other side of the room in quick long strides.
"I absolutely relished that last look on his face when I left." He smirked widely, remembering the intense rage and violent outbursts he had gotten from the older immortal.
Stopping at the compartment window he glared out at the blurring world before him once more, lost in his thoughts.
"What can she be planning with you I wonder?"
His own sharp green eye startled him out of his own thoughts as it pierced through the peaceful picture of rolling fields and hills distributed on the glass windowpane, shattering whatever thoughts he was having.
He chuckled darkly.
"Ah, I guess we will find out."
OMAKE:
A pale hand shot out.
Pride glared at Envy, shooting the vice grip he had on his arm a murderous glance. His dark hair covered the elder sin's face as he dipped his head.
"Pride…", he spoke lowly, nearly whispering "if anything happens and you try to pin the blame on me again. Anything at all…"
The grip on his arm tightened to bone-crushing as the appendage was slowly twisted. The series of cracks in his left wrist and the static of energy from his philosopher stone in his lower arm informing the older looking man that the bones in his lower limb was indeed pulverized. Blood flew from the tore arm as it was being ripped off.
Pride refused to flinch.
He could almost physically feel the murderous wrath that was directed at him when he locked eyes with the shorter male.
"I'll have your head on a damn spike."
Before the disturbed sin could do anything else Pride ripped his mangled wrist free.
"Don't worry too much about this Envy" he snarled, all pretense of good behavior thrown out the window, "I will make sure that the Master's pathetic pet is better taken care of. It is a simple task. A fool could do it. Which is more than I can say for you!"
Pride leapt out of the way as a large portion of the floor he was standing on exploded into a crater of splintered wood.
Another wave of destruction and an enraged roar followed him. He swiftly dodged every berserk attack, even using his sword to cut away a few projectiles.
Suddenly both parties quickly threw themselves apart as five, black, spears split the air above their heads, pinning them in place and away from each other.
"That is enough" Lust growled, his sharpened finger nails moving dangerous close to both Pride and Envy.
"What the hell Lust" the green haired male snapped.
Pride merely looked to her curiously.
"Are you both just blind in your old age or did you forgot about the girl…again?"
Both males blinked once before looking over at Pride's shoulder were the unconscious August was slung over.
"ah…I forgot."
"same"
Lust hissed something that was definitely not lady-like under her breath as she dove forward and slashed at them. Another large chuck of the hallway was once again destroyed as both males swiftly ducked and moved further out of range of the obviously angry, female, homunculus.
Envy and Pride shared a knowing look before sprinting down the hallway together.
"Ack! It must be that time of the month!"
"Gang way! Children and she-males first!"
"Get out of my way you psychotic palm tree!"
"Make me you ugly, old, man"
"Why you little-!"
BOOM. CRASH. SMASH. KABOOM.
"I'M GOING TO KILL ALL OF YOU IDIOTS!"
"AHHHHHHH!"
"AHHHHHHH!"
And so that continued for the rest of the night, with various shouts, screams, and sounds of general destruction. By the end of the night the sun rose on a very wired sight. A dilapidated mansion reduced to dust, a literal swimming pool of blood, various trees on fire, and a large statue of Major Armstrong that no one is sure how it got there.
Gluttony sat in the middle of a singed clearing with various craters and pot holes, sucking his fingers absent mindedly, a discarded August slumped against him.
"…I'm hungry" the fat sin moaned sadly as he sucked his fore-finger intently, "when is Lust coming back?" he complained.
"Nghhh?"
"Oh! Hi, August!"
"Huh?...Wha-…Do I know you?"
"…huh?"
"…"
"…"
"…um…is there anybody else around here I can talk to?"
"Lust is off trying to kill Envy and Pride. I think the Master and Sloth got trapped under the house and are dead too.
"o_o"
"Can I eat you?"
"!?"
"…"
"What is happening?"
"An omake!"
"?"
"…please?"
"…n-no…I-um, I don't want to be eaten."
"Awwww! Then can you bake me a cake then? Like that other time?"
"Other time? I guess…"
"Yay!"
And so, an amnesiac August and a hungry Gluttony set out hand-in-hand to create the best, biggest, tastiest birthday cake ever, even though it was neither of their birthdays nor did either of them even know their own birthdays.
…
…It ended with Gluttony gobbling up an entire town, the military being called in, everything on fire (thanks a lot Mustang), the rest of the homunculi suddenly appearing and destroying the everything as they tried to rip each other to shreds, Edward and Al fighting said homunculi, another statue of Major Armstrong that no one is sure how it got there (Yes we do), and August running off the nearest cliff screaming her head off where she fell and died.
The End.
