Chapter 5 – We're Baaack!

Elsie was sitting on the couch in the living room. Though the sun was just beginning to sink below the horizon she'd sent both Winry and AJ to bed. They were in desperate need of sleep. She herself was in need of some as well, but at the moment she couldn't face lying down just yet. There was a feeling of disquiet in her mind. Something was bothering her. She just couldn't quite lay a finger on what it was specifically. Her hands moved in a mindless rhythm with the partially finished crochet project which was resting in her lap. The metal hook in her hand flowed in a familiar dance among the threads, giving her something to distract her from her unease. It was true she had more than enough things to worry about at the moment. Between Alphonse's condition, her husband's likelihood of being in harm's way, and now her daughter headed off to join him…not to mention Adele's disappearance, Winry's emotional condition and the knowledge that Edward was about to receive some terrible news. And there really wasn't anything she could do to help, save for supporting Winry and taking care of things for her. Even if there was something she could do she rather doubted her protective husband would allow her into the thick of things with her pregnancy.

She frowned. Those were definitely all things she was concerned about. But the feeling growing inside her wasn't specifically attached to any of those issues. It was also…unnervingly familiar. Several moments passed, with the ticking of the clock on the wall and the sound of the crochet hook moving against the yarn being the only things that could be heard in the house. Then suddenly she froze, eyes growing wide. The feeling spreading throughout her chest multiplied and grew to a nearly crippling intensity so quickly it stole her breath away. She recognized it now. This feeling… she was very familiar with it. But she hadn't felt it in over 20 years… not since she'd entered this dimension through the gate.

She stood abruptly, the project slipping from her lap. The crochet hook clattered across the floor unnoticed. She raised a hand to her mouth as the feeling continued to intensify. Horror crashed over her in a wave. This couldn't be happening… but there was no denying the feeling inside her. She felt her energy draining away as a heavy, throbbing pain invaded her chest. It was like someone was carving out her insides with a dull scalpel. Where was this coming from? It wasn't supposed to work this way…

She turned her head towards the window and caught a glimpse of a figure standing in the front yard. Her heart froze in her chest and time seemed to slow. It was like she'd somehow crashed into a horrible dream. The feeling of dread inside her fixated on that figure causing her heart race and her breathing to grow fast and shallow. She had to get away from the creature in the yard. She needed to flee. But instead she felt her legs begin walking forward, carrying her out of the living room and towards the front door. She felt strangely disconnected from her body as she gripped the door handle and pulled it open. The door slipped shut behind her as she stepped out into the brisk evening breeze. Her heart stuttered unevenly as it was gripped in an unrelenting, painful grasp, like an invisible hand crushing the life out of it. A gasp escaped her lips as her gaze moved across the yard to the creature standing there.

"You," she whispered. She'd never seen the girl in her life, but that didn't matter. She didn't have to see the creature to recognize it. She knew it by feeling alone. It was strange. She'd never bothered to put a face to the unseen enemy that had dogged her relentlessly in her teens and had stripped her mother away from her. The girl that stood before her was no taller than herself but she was alarmingly thin. Black bandages covered her skinny arms and legs and a simple, V-necked dress hugged her figure, falling just below her knees with a slit up to her waist. The dark material glinted with a shade of deep blue in the setting sun. Her slate grey hair hung unevenly to her shoulders, remaining almost entirely limp despite the gusting wind. Against the darkness of her dress her skin looked unhealthily pale. But the most striking and deeply disturbing feature the girl possessed were her eyes. They were entirely black, lacking any white or iris, like dark holes in her face. A black line ran down from each of them over her cheeks to her chin, like a stream of black tears.

"What are you?" Elsie's voice was barely audible. She wasn't even sure why she was bothering to ask. She already knew…

"Despair," the girl's voice was hollow, devoid of all emotion. She didn't need to raise her voice above the wind. The empty sound of it seemed to cut through all other sounds, drowning them out. The single word seemed to ring in Elsie's ears. Staring into the creature's black gaze she felt her soul beginning to wither and die. A feeling of utter pointlessness and defeat swept over her. What was the point in staying alive? Breathing seemed more trouble than it was worth. A number of ideas tumbled into her mind. There were plenty of well sharpened knives in the kitchen or tools in the shop. Although walking in front of a vehicle in town would be faster... Of course that would involve walking to town and encountering other people who would likely attempt to interfere. She could jump from the roof of the shop, but that likely wouldn't be high enough to do the job properly. Then again, there was also rat poison under the sink…

The thoughts were cool and calculating. There was no real emotion behind them, but they were deadly serious. An alarm bell chimed in the back of her mind. This was absurd. She needed to get a grip. A feeling of anger rose up past the hopelessness. How dare this come back after so many years! She refused to accept it. There were far too many people she needed to live for.

"What are you doing here?" She hissed, eyes narrowing at the frail looking girl.

"We didn't come for you," the sound of the girl's hollow voice only intensified the crushing pain which was busy making its home in Elsie's chest. She grimaced, wrapping her arms around herself as she fought to think past the pain. She was so tired. She just needed to lie down… Suddenly she gasped, glancing down at the curve over her stomach which her arms were resting around. The baby… Even in her old world it wasn't healthy for the baby if the mother had episodes while pregnant. This was clearly different from an episode, but considering the severity of the exposure she doubted that mattered much. She had to get away from this thing… Its words echoed through her mind and she blinked, finally processing them. Her eyes widened.

"Then who…?" the answer flooded into her mind before the creature even responded and she felt her already pained heart seize up in her chest, "No," she whispered, horrified. This couldn't be happening. She'd already lost her mother to this twisted creature. Now it was coming after…? Her gaze filled with an unfettered fury that nearly rivaled her husband's.

"You stay away from my children you monster!" she lunged towards the creature, a murderous expression on her face. Adele was her daughter as much as her own child was. There was no doubt in her mind as to who had stolen her away now. She had thought the experience Elmina had described with her red haired assailant had sounded oddly familiar. Now she knew why. If depression had manifested itself in a human form and was calling itself Despair, then she saw no reason why mania couldn't do the same thing. She didn't understand how this could be happening, but it seemed her disorder had come back to haunt her in a very bizarre and unexpected way. Had Dante somehow dragged this out? It didn't seem likely that she would even know about the disorder which the gate had stripped away to begin with. If she really had drawn these creatures out then it was likely some sort of fluke or accident.

Before Elsie could lay a finger on the pale girl in front of her something grasped hold of her ankles and sent her sprawling. She managed to catch herself on her arms in the cool grass, glancing back in alarm to see what had tripped her. Black, tentacle-like claws had wrapped around her lower calves, seeming to have erupted from the ground. In a way they bore a resemblance to the shadows she vaguely remembered Pride possessing in a different version of the world she was currently living in. But these lacked teeth or eyes, and had an almost translucent nature to their swirly blackness. It felt like they were seeping into her skin, filling her with an icy chill. She glanced back at the girl before her who was regarding her with an unnerving, apathetic gaze.

"What do you want with them?" Elsie demanded, voice hoarse as she felt more of her strength draining away as the tentacles began slowly climbing up her body.

"Them? The only one we need is your blood relation. The blonde is merely for leverage. We have no use for her save for her attachment to your daughter. And as disappointing as it is that you slipped through our grasp for so many years, you are no longer of any use to us," its voice remained flatly emotionless as the tentacles continued moving up their prisoner's body. Elsie let out a pained breath, eyes trying to slip shut as exhaustion seemed to smother her. She was going to die. This thing was actually going to kill her. That shouldn't be possible. Emotions weren't lethal in and of themselves! Clearly things were different in this dimension.

Then the tentacles froze. Elsie blinked, surprised to feel some of the exhaustion lift from her.

"You're pregnant," there was the first hint of emotion she had heard so far in the girl's voice. She sounded almost surprised. Then the tentacles disappeared completely, freeing Elsie from their icy embrace.

"What does that have to do with anything…?" she gasped, struggling to keep from collapsing on her face in the grass. She hadn't felt this hellishly awful in a very long time. It had always amazed her that her body didn't just up and die on her from the sheer intensity of the discomfort it experienced during episodes.

"If your first child proves incapable of handling our presence then your second child provides a valuable fallback plan. On top of which…I suspect you'll be much more pliable after it's born," there was a hint of satisfaction in its expression. Elsie's eyes widened.

"You have got to be kidding me," her tone was incredulous. Was it seriously referring to post-partum depression? Her hands clenched into fists in the grass. No way would she let this thing take any of her children! She would do anything to spare them from that, even if it meant taking back her disorder again.

"Take me," she whispered, "Don't use them."

"We need a much younger host for our purposes. Don't presume to know what we're after. We have no desire to be trapped in your body again," the girl's tone was cold. Elsie stared up at her, a feeling of desperation growing within her. She didn't have a clue how to fight her disorder like this. It had been challenging enough when it was inside of her, but now…?

"I've wasted enough time here," its tone was crisp. Abruptly it reached a hand towards her. Elsie pulled back with a gasp but was much too slow. As soon as the tips of its fingers made contact with her forehead the world around her turned grey and began to grow hazy.

"No…stop…" she whispered. She couldn't let this happen… but the world around her dissolved into blackness and she lost consciousness.

Wrath stared at his niece resignedly. The dark haired girl's expression was decidedly not pleased as she sat back on the couch with her arms crossed. He rubbed his forehead tiredly. They both needed to get some sleep. Although since Elmina had already had a full night of sleep the night before, she was doing better than he was.

"He just wants to protect you, you know," he told her, wanting to somehow lessen the tension still in the atmosphere.

"And I want to protect Adele. How do you think dad would feel if someone locked him up and refused to let him search for mom if she got kidnapped?" she demanded sharply, glaring flatly at him. Wrath sighed.

"Look. We both need to get some rest. But I can't sleep if you're going to try to run off and look for Adele as soon as I close my eyes," his expression was as flat as hers. Her expression softened to one of desperate disappointment. "Promise me you won't go after her," he demanded. Elmina swallowed, looking thoroughly discouraged.

"I promise," she muttered. Wrath nodded feeling slightly relieved. Elmina wasn't one to break her promises, regardless of how upset she was.

"You should try to get some rest as well," he advised, "We're going to need it." He stared at her until she acknowledged him with a nod. "I can sleep on the couch if you want to get some sleep now," he offered. She shook her head.

"No, it's alright, you can have the bed. I'm not sleepy right now. Besides, I fit a lot better on here than you would," she pointed out. Wrath eyed her defeated expression for a moment before nodding.

"Alright. Try to get some sleep at some point though," he said, turning and heading down the hall towards the bedroom.

Elmina watched him disappear around the corner and heard him close the bedroom door. She let out a heavy sigh resting her face in her hands for a moment. This was awful. She desperately wanted to help her friend somehow. Being forced to wait here like this was the ultimate torture. And yet, she didn't have a clue where to even begin looking for her. None of them did, which meant they'd have to wait around until the kidnappers decided to make contact with them again. She shook her head in frustration. Who knew how long that could be? And after what her dad had said she was terrified by the possibility of them hurting Adele just for the fun of it. Though she didn't know the details of her dad's past, she trusted his judgement. If he really had been one of those creatures at one time then he would know better than anyone else what they were likely to do. She blinked, frowning slightly. She'd never put a huge amount of thought into what her parents' pasts had really been like. If her dad had really been some sort of monster, which was rather difficult for her to imagine, how on earth had he met her mom and become what he was today? She would have to pester them for a more detailed explanation of things at some point when all of this was past.

She rose to her feet and paced up and down the room for a moment, weaving her fingers into her hair as she battled with frustration and anxiety. She needed to burn some of this energy off. If she stayed cooped up in this room she'd go crazy. She'd promised not to go after Adele, and she had no intention of breaking that promise, but at the moment she really needed to go for a walk to clear her head. The most ideal thing would be finding a place to train or spar with someone, but that wasn't really an option at the moment. A walk would suffice. Or maybe a jog… She glanced at the door to the hotel room and then glanced down the hallway at the closed door to the bedroom. Wrath had looked pretty tired. And he wasn't expecting her to try and run off. Not that that was what she was doing…no, she was just getting some exercise... She turned and crept quietly over to the door leading out of the room. With a final glance behind her she carefully pulled the door open just far enough for her to slip though and let it shut silently behind her.

It didn't take long for her to get out of the hotel and navigate away from the crowded street outside. She needed a place where she could open up her stride and run without risking crashing into anyone. She glanced down an alley and smiled grimly. This would do fine. It was well kept, considering it was in a well-used spot of town. And with the sun just slipping below the horizon now there would still be light for at least another hour. If the alleys here were anything like they were in Dublith they would be connected in such a way that she could zip through them and circle around to wind up coming out near the hotel once more. It wouldn't do to be out too long and have Wrath wake up and wonder where she'd gotten to. If she ran into anyone that tried to harass her… well… they'd be in for an unpleasant surprise. She wasn't in a patient mood at the moment.

She took off down the alley, slowly allowing herself to gain speed until she was at a full out sprint. Dodging trash bins and darting around corners at a break neck speed, she navigated easily through the alleys. There didn't seem to be many people out an about in the narrow streets behind the various businesses in this part of the city. Not at this time of day in any case. It was likely a well policed area. She ran and ran until her legs began to ache and her breathing was labored. The longer she went the more she was able to focus entirely on keeping herself in motion and navigating the city. She didn't want to think. She'd never felt so scared or helpless, and she didn't have a clue what to do. There was no way to know where those creatures had taken Adele, or why they'd taken her for that matter. Realistically her dad and the others going out to search was rather pointless. She knew her dad wanted to keep her at the hotel to keep her safe, but the kidnappers had just left her lying in the grass after snatching Adele. Obviously she wasn't the one they were after. Well…the red haired guy's comment about having fun with her had been weird. She hadn't been quite sure what to make of it, so she'd shoved it aside and ignored it.

She flew around another sharp turn and was forced to come to a screeching halt as she came face to face with someone standing in the middle of the road. She staggered and just barely managed to retain her balance without crashing into them.

"Well someone is sure in a hurry," an alarmingly familiar voice drawled. She gasped, eyes widening as she staggered back several steps. Shock flooded through her mind. She'd never expected to run into this guy like this. Hell, she hadn't even been specifically looking for him! It was the creature from earlier with the red hair and eyes, and the odd outfit. He was standing casually in the narrow alleyway, arms crossed as if he'd been waiting for her. It took several breaths for her to recover from the surprise, but when she did anger exploded through her like fire. She wasn't sure if she was seeing red or if it was just the crimson aura the guy seemed to give off. Either way she was pissed.

"Where is she?!" She snarled, lunging towards him hell bent on beating the answer out of him. His expression was unconcerned as he extended an arm towards her, reaching out with a black nailed finger to touch her forehead as she threw herself at him recklessly. Instantly she froze, eyes widening in shock as the fire of her anger was utterly overwhelmed by a blazing inferno of energy, ripping through her veins with an intensity that left her paralyzed. He withdrew his hand but she remained stock still, effectively stunned by the painful sensation flooding her senses.

"I can't play with you properly yet," his tone bordered on sullen, slit pupil gaze slightly pouty. She swallowed hard as the fiery energy began to recede, allowing her to gather her scattered thoughts.

"What do you want?" she demanded hoarsely. His lips curled in a smirk.

"Hmm, good question. Honestly, it changes on a regular basis. Although at the moment I would love to have some fun with you," his tone and the wicked glint in his eye left her wondering rather uncomfortably what he meant by that statement. Why did he keep making that comment? "Unfortunately, as I said, I can't," he added ruefully.

"Then why are you here?" she demanded through gritted teeth.

"My partner sent me to deliver a message," his expression grew ever so slightly more serious, adding an unnerving intensity to his already nerve-wracking gaze, "If you want to see your friend again then you need to come find her yourself. Alone," his eyes narrowed on the last word. Alarm flickered across Elmina's expression.

"Why?!" she demanded heatedly, nails biting into her palms as her hands clenched into fists.

"Well you won't be able to find us if you bring anyone else with you," he replied blandly. She clenched her teeth in frustration.

"Why not?" her tone was stiff. The red haired creature rolled his eyes.

"Because we won't let you, Mouse," he retorted, "Involving other people is a waste of our time; in my partner's opinion anyway. Personally I think it would be rather fun," he sounded almost disappointed. Elmina stared at him, a little taken off guard by the random nickname.

"Why are you doing this?!" her tone was aggravated. His red eyes flashed and an alarming grin spread across his features.

"Oh we have our reasons. But my partner is always complaining I talk too much, so I probably shouldn't say," he replied. His expression made her distinctly uncomfortable. The pointed teeth weren't at all reassuring.

"Who is your partner?" she demanded, forcing herself to stand her ground rather than backing away from the unnerving creature. The last thing she wanted to show was that he intimidated her.

"You'll meet her when you come to get your friend," he replied simply. Elmina frowned.

"Where are you keeping her?" she asked.

"Are you familiar with the Old District of Central?" he countered her question with one of his own. The dark haired girl blinked.

"Not really…" her tone was uncertain. She'd never spent much time in Central and she'd rarely even entered the Old District.

"Alright, take this," he tossed something at her and she jumped in surprise, managing to catch it instinctively. She blinked, staring down at what appeared to be a folded up map. She hadn't even noticed he was holding it in his other hand… Not a good sign. He could have been holding a weapon which she had completely overlooked. She'd let her emotions distract her from the basic awareness necessary for a fight. She couldn't afford to be so careless! "Your friend's location is marked on there. It's underground below an old church. You shouldn't have too much trouble finding it," he told her unconcernedly.

"You aren't going to lead me there yourself?" she demanded warily. He shook his head.

"I have something I need to attend to. I'll meet you there. Just head underground and I'll find you," he replied, "And if you bring anyone with you, you won't be seeing your friend again anytime soon," his gaze was penetrating, driving home the seriousness of his statement. He seemed to be waiting for some sort of response from her so she reluctantly nodded. "Good," his expression cleared and his tone became cheerful, "I'll see you in a little while. Don't keep me waiting," he advised. The next thing she knew he'd sprung easily up onto the roof of the building next to her and disappeared down the other side. She stared after him, eyes wide. No human could make a jump like that from standing still… Could a homunculus do that? She didn't really know that much about the creatures her father had mentioned. She probably should have demanded a more thorough explanation of their abilities.

She glanced down at the map in her hand. It appeared to be just a normal map of the city. She unfolded it carefully and immediately spotted a red X drawn over one area of the map. It was near the middle of the Old District. He'd said it was underground… was it the Underground City? A frown creased her brow. It would take her some time to get there. It would likely be getting dark by that point. And who knew when Wrath would wake up? But… did she have any choice here? Obviously if she followed that creature's directions they wouldn't just hand Adele over to her. They were after something. But if she didn't go right now she'd miss this opportunity, and clearly trying to bring help along wasn't going to work. She ground her teeth in frustration and crushed the edges of the map slightly as her hands tightened on it. This was so stupid! She was about to play right into their hands and right at that moment, with anxiety and adrenalin eating at her, she couldn't think of any way around it. A heavy sigh escaped her lips. Well there was no helping it. She might as well get moving.

-Author's Note-

Mina. You're an idiot. Granted, being in the presence of that red haired creep does tend to affect one's better judgement. I would know.

I'm excited to get the next chapter uploaded! The story finally starts moving somewhere from here on out. Although…..I'd be a little more excited if I knew if anyone was actually enjoying the story…I'm really hoping you're all just too busy or too shy to comment. It would be terribly disappointing if I wrote all of this only for everyone to find it utterly boring. I'm getting pretty close to finishing it, but the last bit is proving very tricky to write and I'm stuck for the time-being. It's 20 chapters long so far and I suspect it'll finish up somewhere between 25 and 30. I'll likely start uploading this faster once I finally finish the story. Although, I spose that won't really matter much to people if they aren't enjoying the story thus far anyway… :/

In any case, you'll have to wait on this little cliff hanger for a few days. I know my beta readers are waiting with bated breath for me to finally finish writing chapter 21, so I'm hoping by the time you get there you'll all be just as engrossed in the story as they are. *sweatdrop*