Chapter 7 - Mania

Elmina followed after Mania as they strolled down a narrow hallway. The building he had led her to was surprisingly large, with numerous floors and rooms. There were only torches in the halls and stairwells they were walking through. The other rooms and halls they passed were shrouded in darkness. They descended another flight of stairs and came to the end of the hall. When they emerged into the next room Elmina came to a sudden halt. The sight before her was breathtaking. They were standing at the end of an enormous ballroom. Spectators' boxes lined the walls, gold carvings glittering despite the shadows clinging to the edges of the room. The only light source came from the giant chandelier in the center of the high ceiling. It was partly lit, the dusty pieces of cut crystal which decorated it sparkling faintly. But it wasn't the unexpected grandeur that had frozen her on the spot. It was the girl seated on the floor in the middle of the large room. Her golden curls glinted in the candle light.

"Adele!" Elmina yelped, dashing forward towards her. Her escort made no move to stop her. She was across the room in seconds, falling to her knees in front of her friend. "Adele, are you ok? What's wrong?" There was a desperation in her tone as she gripped the blond girl's shoulders. Something was definitely off about her. Adele's expression was blank. Her blue eyes were half lidded and there was an emptiness in her gaze which chilled Elmina to the core. She didn't even seem to be aware of the dark haired girl's presence. "Adele," she whispered, a feeling of dread gripping her. Upon receiving still no response a wave of frustration washed over her. She shot to her feet and whirled back to face the red haired man still standing at the entrance to the room.

"What did you do to her?!" She demanded, rage simmering beneath her threatening expression. Mania raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"I didn't do anything. Ask Despair," he told her frankly.

"Who…?" She trailed off as she felt a presence behind her that made her heart sink past her knees. She turned and saw the figure of a frail looking girl standing several paces away. Elmina barely noticed the blue dress or the dark bandages which covered her arms and legs. Her gaze was fixed on the girl's eyes. They were like black holes in her pale face, black tears staining her cheeks. The longer she stared at her the harder it got to breathe. It was like someone was crushing her chest

"Nothing I've done to her cannot be undone," the girl's voice caused Elmina's heart to clench painfully, the utter deadness of it seeming to seep into her bones. "Your friend's fate rests entirely in your hands. Accept us and I will return her to her former state."

"I don't know what you mean," Elmina's voice was hoarse from the effort of pulling air into her lungs to form words.

"Just let us do what we want with you without resisting and we'll let your friend go," she jumped slightly to hear Mania's voice suddenly so close to her. He'd come to stand next to her, just a short distance away. She glanced at him and felt the deadness in her chest flutter away to be replaced by extreme unease. His expression was a little frightening. She asked the first question that rose to her lips.

"Are you people homunculi?" her tone was shaky. She was taken off guard when Mania began to laugh. The slightly hysterical nature of it sent a shiver through her. When he finally recovered he grinned amusedly.

"Ha! Homunculi wish that they were as cool as us," his tone was smug. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Despair shoot him a look that almost seemed a little wilted.

"Ignore him. He's an idiot," the girl's apathetic voice held the faintest note of resignation. Mania rolled his eyes.

"You have no sense of humor," he muttered.

"What are you then?" Elmina demanded uncertainly.

"Agree to our terms and you'll find out," he smirked knowingly at her. She gulped. Did she have any choice? She had to save Adele, even if it meant dying. It was her fault her friend was in this condition. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she failed to save her now.

"What do I have to do?" she whispered.

"Just let us in. Don't try to resist," Despair's voice was flat.

"So is that a yes?" Mania's tone was lower than before, almost a purr. She shivered again, her skin seeming to prickle under his unnervingly intense gaze.

"You promise you'll let her go?" She forced her voice to remain even despite how rapidly her heart was beginning to pound.

"Why wouldn't we?" He demanded almost impatiently, "She's not the one we want," he stepped closer to her and she flinched slightly. She had to promise not to resist, huh? That went against every instinct she possessed. But they weren't really giving her much of a choice here. She swallowed hard.

"Alright," she spoke the word that would seal her fate. Mania's lips twisted into the same broad grin as they had earlier, the sharp looking teeth and the sudden hunger filling his gaze causing her heart to stutter in alarm. A voice in the back of her mind screamed for her to run, but she couldn't move a muscle. She was as paralyzed under his gaze as she'd been the first time she'd laid eyes on him. The next words out of his mouth brought her heart to a standstill, thoughts scattering in panic at the possible implications.

"I get her first," he said, barely sparing a glance at his partner before the full intensity of his gaze returned to Elmina. The anticipation in his tone combined with the hunger radiating from his expression genuinely scared her. What was he after?

He closed the distance between them a single stride. His proximity alone caused every nerve ending in her body to tingle in a way that was much too intense to be pleasant. He reached out, hands brushing past her cheeks to weave his fingers into her hair. She almost let out a shriek. His touch burned to such a painful intensity that she wondered if her skin would start to sizzle and blister. He brought his face close to hers and she wanted to recoil. She wasn't at all sure of his intentions, but if he kissed her she was certain it would be an agonizingly painful experience. Instead however, his forehead connected firmly with hers.

She let out a gasp, eyes widening as sensations exploded through her body. The painful fire burning through her veins shifted, becoming an exhilarating rush of energy and spreading a startling hypersensitivity across her skin. She squirmed slightly from the feeling of air tickling against her arms and neck, while the feeling of his hands in her hair and his forehead against hers made her begin to tremble. A fountain of energy sprang up in her core, bringing with it a rush of giddy euphoria. She was barely aware that a grin had spread across her face. Her thoughts had become so swift and jumbled that it was like she was thinking of nothing at all because she could barely hold on to each one for more than a second before it was replaced by another. There was a terrified panic flooding her, but at the same time she was utterly thrilled. She'd never felt so amazing. She knew with an absolute certainty that she was completely invincible, far surpassing anyone else in ability or strength. There was a solid conviction in her mind that she would be able to pull off anything she tried. Hell, if she leapt off the ground she'd be able to fly. There wasn't the slightest doubt in her mind. She blinked repeatedly as the room around them seemed to glow. Everything was so damn beautiful! How had she never noticed this before? It only added to the uncontrollable joy radiating from the core of her being.

Her gaze refocused on the creature who called himself Mania. His forehead remained resting against hers, so close that their noses were brushing lightly. His eyes were closed and there was a soft smile playing across his lips. It was the most peaceful expression she'd seen on his face since she'd met him. He let out a contented sigh, eyes opening half way.

"Delicious. You're as appetizing as your mother used to be," he murmured. The words went in one ear and out the other. She didn't even notice how very odd his statement sounded. A moment later his hands slipped out of her hair and he pulled away. But the wildly thrilling euphoria remained behind, coursing through her veins in a way that was somehow both painful and enjoyable at the same time. "Well then," he regarded her with a smirk, "Why don't we go have some fun?" he sounded rather eager. Her only response was her grin widening. Did he even need to ask such a question? A gleeful laugh escaped her lips as she turned and bolted for the door.

Envy and Wrath walked briskly down one of the main streets of the Underground City. They knew the place inside and out. They would begin their search by checking the places that would be probable hideouts, and then they'd methodically expand the search to the rest of the city. That was the plan anyway; except they hadn't accounted for the possibility that Elmina would actually come to them.

Envy froze in surprise as a figure strolled round the corner ahead of them.

"Mina?" Wrath's tone was startled. The dark haired girl was walking towards them casually, the grin on her face seeming rather odd given the circumstances.

"What are you doing here?" Envy demanded, anger seeping into his tone.

"Hello daddy," her tone was mischievous, "Did I worry you? Sorry about that," she sounded more taunting than apologetic. "By the way, I found Adele. She's in the giant ballroom," she added as an afterthought, not appearing overly concerned by this detail. Envy's mind reeled with momentary shock. Elmina hadn't referred to him as 'daddy' in years. He took in her expression with a feeling of extreme unease.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he demanded, not liking the uncharacteristic wildness in her gaze. Her grin broadened alarmingly, eyes flashing with an amusement that neither of the men could comprehend. What was funny about this situation? Envy was struck by how much she looked exactly like he'd used to look. He wasn't at all happy to see that look on his daughter's face.

"What's wrong? Aren't you proud of me for finding her?" she demanded, her expression abruptly slipping into a pout. Then suddenly she lunged at him. Taken off guard by the unexpected assault, he barely managed to block her fist hurtling towards his face. He sprang away from the kick that immediately followed and she pursued him, her blows raining down in rapid succession. He dodged around her and was forced to block several more punches before she managed to dart sideways and land a kick on his momentarily exposed side. He staggered slightly, drawing in a sharp breath. Her attacks carried more force than he was used to her dealing out. She wasn't holding back like they usually did in a sparring match. She was coming at him with the full intent to harm.

Wrath took her distraction with the green haired man as an opportunity to grab her from behind in an attempt to restrain her. She growled in outrage and slammed the back of her head against his windpipe with enough force to make him choke, forcing him to let go of her as he stumbled back.

"You guys are slow," she taunted before launching herself at her father once more.

"Mina, why are you doing this?" Envy demanded, dodging another punch and knocking aside a kick. Despite the ferocity of her attacks, her movements were careless and frequently left her open to a counterattack. He'd trained her better than that… Still, he didn't want to reciprocate with an attack of his own and engage her in an actual fight. Returning her attacks would do nothing to help the situation. She wasn't acting like herself at all. It was very likely the creatures had made contact with her and done something to cause this change in character. Perhaps she was even being controlled by one of them. Then a thought occurred to him that gave him pause. What if this wasn't even his daughter? Did one of the kidnappers possess the same shapeshifting ability which he'd once possessed? She was certainly behaving oddly…

"Oh come on! What's the matter with you? You never let me walk all over you like this. Or am I just that much better than you now?" her tone was smug as she abruptly changed tactics, darting under his guard and shoving him roughly on the chest. He flipped backwards with a handspring to avoid being knocked off his feet. He grimaced as his body protested the unusually vigorous movement. He felt a momentary prick of wistfulness as he recalled the ease with which he'd been able to fight in his homunculus body. Having a body that aged was a bit of a nuisance. He saw Wrath make a move to grab her once more but she darted away out of his reach. A slightly hysterical giggle escaped her lips.

"Man, you guys have gotten so much worse since the last time we sparred!" She sounded thoroughly amused. Envy frowned. As odd as she was behaving, he got the feeling that this was really her. Her attacks came in a manner he was familiar with, despite her unusual recklessness.

"What's going on? What did they do to you?" he asked. Her expression grew slightly pouty again.

"That's none of your business. Although…" a prick of mischievousness crept back into her expression, "If you can catch me then maybe I'll tell you," she grinned tauntingly at them. Then abruptly she took off, sprinting away down the road. Envy's eyes widened.

"Damn," he muttered, "Wrath, go get Adele," he ordered, before taking off after his daughter. The dark haired man blinked in surprise and then grimaced, hesitating a moment as he watched the two of them race off. A large part of him wanted to follow them and find out what on earth had happened to his niece to put her in such a state. But if Adele really was in the old ballroom then he needed to go find her. Envy would be able to handle his daughter… at least Wrath hoped so. He turned and headed off at a jog in the opposite direction from them towards Dante's old hideout.

He reached the large building before long and slipped inside. Navigating the inside of it wasn't a problem. He didn't think he'd ever be able to forget the layout of the place. It was burned into his memory by a number of unpleasant past experiences. He made for the large ballroom and was unnerved to discover torches already lit around the route that was most frequently used to get there. Obviously someone had been making use of this place.

He was partway down the hallway leading to the stairwell into the large room when he heard footsteps echoing up the stairs. He froze in place, tension settling over him. Was it one of the kidnappers? He held his breath, straining to hear each sound. From the weight of the footsteps whoever it was couldn't be an overly large person. They were probably female. Was it the other creature that Elmina hadn't gotten a chance to see?

The question was answered a moment later when the figure appeared at the top of the stairs. Relief washed over him as he recognized the familiar blond curls and large blue eyes.

"Adele!" he started towards her. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Wrath?" she came to a stop at the top of the stairs.

"Are you alright?" the dark haired man asked as he reached her. She didn't appear injured, but that wasn't any reflection on her mental wellbeing. It wouldn't be surprising if she was in shock after having been kidnapped. She frowned slightly.

"I…think so. Where's Mina?" her tone was concerned. Wrath hesitated. He wasn't quite sure what to tell the blond girl. Upon seeing his reluctance she continued, "The guy with the red hair did something to her. I'm not sure what it was, but they both took off not that long ago," she explained, clearly worried.

"How did you get away?" Wrath frowned.

"They let me go. They said they would if Mina agreed to do what they wanted," her expression wavered, filling with guilt, "If anything happens to her it's my fault…"

"Don't start beating yourself up now. Envy went after her. I'm sure he's caught up with her by now. Let's meet them back at the hotel," he told her firmly.

"What happened?" She demanded, clearly unconvinced by his reassurance. Wrath sighed. Sometimes her perceptiveness was inconvenient.

"She's…acting a little odd. You can see for yourself when we meet up with them," he explained. Then his brow furrowed in concern, "Are you sure you're alright? They didn't hurt you at all?" he hadn't been sure what condition they would find her in when they got her back. He was a little surprised at how ok she seemed. Adele shifted, glancing away with a slight frown.

"Well…they did something…I don't know. It's hard to explain. But I'm ok now. Whatever it was wore off," she met his gaze again. From her tone she was eager to drop the subject. Wrath eyed her for a moment, not particularly satisfied with her answer. Finally he grimaced.

"Alright then. Let's get going,"

Central City had grown in size since the days when Envy had roamed the streets in disguise as a homunculus. There were more vehicles on the roads and they moved at faster speeds than they had in the past. While the technology hadn't reached the same level as he recalled seeing in the world on the other side of the gate, it had certainly progressed. And right now that progression was making life extremely stressful for him.

He raced down the street after his daughter, dodging around people and cyclists. They'd left the Old District behind them. His daughter seemed to have an endless amount of energy. She also seemed to have completely lost her mind. Every now and then she'd cut out into the road, dodging around the moving traffic in what was either an attempt to lose him or an absolute careless disregard for the danger she was putting herself and the people around her in. A thrill of anxiety shot through him as he watched his daughter, who was about half a block ahead of him, dart out into the middle of the road again. There was the sound of screeching tires and honking horns as drivers swerved about in an attempt to avoid hitting the dark haired girl.

"Elmina!" he shouted, pushing himself faster. He was astounded she hadn't caused an accident yet. She was going to get herself killed! To his shock she came to a sudden stop in the middle of the road and turned to face him. She had a puzzled look on her face.

"What do you want?" she called. He made a sound of consternation.

"Get off the road you damn fool!" His voice echoed clearly down the street. She blinked, cocking her head at him. Envy's stomach dropped as he saw a vehicle zip around the corner, clearly going faster than the speed limit allowed. "Mina, get out of the way!" he yelled, a feeling of panic gripping him. He saw her glance back over her shoulder at the oncoming car, though she didn't appear particularly concerned by it. The driver slammed on the breaks, causing the vehicle to screech as it began to skid to a halt. Envy's eyes widened as he watched his daughter eye the rapidly approaching vehicle, and instead of darting out of the way she actually ran toward it. Then next thing he knew she'd leapt up onto the hood of the car, stumbled up the windshield and across the roof in a terrifyingly haphazard manner before leaping off the back of it and continuing down the road at a sprint. He swore under his breath and pushed himself faster. His heart stuttered in alarm as he watched her dodge to the left to avoid a van, the driver of that vehicle jerking sharply to the side and almost hitting another car in the next lane.

Finally the dark haired girl seemed to realize that it was more difficult to navigate through the middle of the street than it was to remain on the sidewalk. She darted back into the crowd of people walking past the downtown shops. She was actually drawing quite a bit of attention, with people making exclamations, pointing, and stopping to stare in horrified awe at the reckless antics of the teenage girl. To Envy's relief it appeared she was also beginning to slow down at a rapid pace. She'd likely pushed herself past her own limits. She'd been running for quite some time now. The green haired man was decidedly out of breath attempting to keep up with her. The only thing that had kept him going during the last couple blocks was the terrified adrenalin racing through him.

"Hey!" He called, dashing towards her through the crowd. People were scrambling to get out of his way, and to his surprise he saw several men attempting to stop his daughter's progress, clearly trying to prevent a potential accident. She staggered back and forth trying to dodge around them unsuccessfully.

"Mina," he finally reached her and grabbed her shoulder firmly. She spun to face him, eyes wide. For a moment she just stared at him. "What the hell is the matter with you?" he demanded harshly, "You're going to get yourself killed!" the crowd around them had drawn back slightly, many of the people pausing to watch the bizarre scene unfold. The men who had attempted to interfere had backed off, clearly preferring someone who knew the crazy girl to take over the situation. Elmina, like her father, was breathing heavily. She was also quivering from head to toe, which Envy suspected was due to adrenalin.

"Elmina," there was an unyielding edge to his voice, "Answer me," he ordered. He watched her waver for a moment, a terrible confusion filling her gaze. He was startled to realize that the cocky bravado from earlier had disappeared. She actually looked…frightened. A moment later her expression crumbled and a tear slipped down her cheek. It was followed by several more. A sob found its way out of her mouth. Then abruptly she latched onto him, hiding her face against his chest as she began to sob harder, each one wracking her body with an unexpected intensity. His arms went around her automatically but he stared down at her in shocked confusion. She sounded utterly heartbroken. He couldn't recall the last time he'd seen her cry like this. It was the sort of reaction he'd expect from her if she'd just found out Adele had died. This wasn't the overly dramatic crying of a pointlessly hysterical person. Something was seriously upsetting the dark haired girl. Her blatantly obvious distress made his heart clench. He tightened his hold around her. "Mina, what's wrong?" he demanded, feeling a frustrated helplessness fill him. What was happening to his daughter?

Then without warning she shoved herself away from him, staggering backwards slightly.

"Stay away from me!" she sobbed, hands coming up to wipe at her tear stained cheeks.

"Mina," he took a step towards her but she flinched away.

"Get away from me you monster!" she shrieked, turning and darting away from him. He actually staggered slightly, eyes widening in shock. She might as well have stabbed him for the effect that her tone and the terrified look in her eyes had had on him. For a minute he couldn't remember how to breathe. She'd never looked at him like that before. Well, except in some of his nightmares... What had happened to his daughter?!

The sound of her startled cry snapped him out of his daze. He felt a prick of surprise to see someone had grabbed her and was restraining her. Two someone's actually. He recognized their blond hair.

"Elmina, what on earth is going on?" he heard Edward demand, refusing to release the dark haired girl's wrists despite her struggling. She was crying too hard for the attempt to be very effective anyway. Sara's arms went around the younger girl's shoulders.

"Hey now, it's ok," her voice was soothing, "Just calm down," she told her firmly. Envy started forward and reached them a moment later.

"What's going on here?" Edward demanded, fixing him with a dead serious gaze, still keeping hold of the sobbing girl. Envy shook his head, trying to push aside the mass of tangled up emotions the last half hour had stirred up inside him.

"I have no idea. Those creatures did something to her. It's like she's lost her mind," he told him, forcing his voice to remain even. "We need to get her back to the hotel. It's not safe to have her out in public like this," he eyed his daughter, battling against the distraught anxiety which was attempting to completely invade his mind. What had they done to her? Had she literally lost her mind? Was it a permanent thing, or would it pass? What was he supposed to do to help her? He didn't understand what was going on inside her head. He'd never seen her like this before. He turned away from her for a moment, biting the inside of his cheek in an attempt to get his racing thoughts under control. It was extremely difficult to think straight with her sobbing in front of him like this.

"Alright let's get her back," Ed said, a cool practicality radiating from him. He cared about Elmina to a large degree, but she wasn't his own child. Emotionally he was probably in a better state of mind to rationally assess the situation. He also hadn't experienced her attacking him or racing wildly through traffic. Sara stepped away from her, allowing her father to put an arm around the dark haired girl's shoulder to pull her against his side, "Mina," his voice was gentle, but firm enough to get her attention past the crying, "I need you to come with us. Everything is going to be fine. We're just going to go somewhere a little quieter," he explained. She didn't pull away, and after a minute she nodded. The two of them started forward down the sidewalk. The crowd parted, allowing them to pass through, although there were plenty people still gawking at them.

"Go stare at someone else!" Envy snapped, feeling a surge of protective anger, "There's nothing to see here," his glare was enough to convince most of the onlookers that their time would be better spent somewhere else. After a moment he glanced at Sara.

"Let's go," he muttered.

"Are you alright?" Sara asked cautiously, following after him.

"What do you think?" he retorted, tone a little caustic. He hated feeling so out of control of the situation. He dealt with a number of unique, difficult experiences over the years, but none of them had been quite like this one. A deep frown creased his brow. He needed to speak with Elsie. From their brief conversation on the phone he suspected she would have a better idea about what was going on here than anyone else.

-Author's Note-

Yikes…..full blown manic episodes are…well there isn't quite one word that effectively describes them. Although WTF?! sort of comes close. *nervous laugh*

I like to write from personal experience. Sadly, I can't say that I lost my mind because a hot, dangerous creature showed up and head butted me. At some level I think that would have been preferable lol. Mental illnesses aren't fun or glamorous. They don't come with attractive characters and exciting story lines. Unless of course you're delusional/hallucinating and that just ends with you being drugged into a stupor in a psych ward (and in my experience you don't hallucinate stuff like that away…). I've chosen to turn my illness into something fun by writing this story and creating the characters of Mania and Despair to represent the two polar ends of Bipolar Disorder. I wish that in real life they could be as fun as they end up being in this story. But they aren't.

Those of you without a mental illness, savour your sanity. Because insanity is so overrated. It's a fun form of self-expression to claim to be different, a little nuts, "bipolar", etc. as long as you aren't. "I'm friends with the monster under my bed. I get along with the voices inside of my head." That's a catchy phrase from a popular Eminem song. It's so satisfying at some level. You're daring, different, you stand out from the crowd and apparently that comes across as attractive, as long as it isn't actually true. It's socially acceptable for sane people to claim insanity, because everyone knows it isn't 100% literal. But if you've actually been diagnosed with a mental illness... Well. That's an illness. Better be careful of those people. They've got serious 'issues'. Actual insanity is very uncool, and not something one brags about. It's scary, dangerous, and it often royally screws up your life. Everyone has their own issues. But if you don't have a serious mental illness, stop for a moment and be grateful because sanity is a blessing. Perhaps it seems ordinary and mundane to you. But once you've lost it once it becomes a very precious thing.

Nevertheless, turning insanity into a character (Mania) has been an absolute blast, and I hope you enjoy him. xP In real life I wish I could slap him. Really hard. But in this story he's just ridiculously fun to write. You'll see what I mean in later chapters. He'll grow on you. Like a red, sparkly fungus.

Despair…she's another story. We'll get to her later... *wilt*

For those of you who are interested, I've uploaded several pictures of both Mania and Despair to my deviantART account. You can find the link at the bottom of my profile page ;)