Chapter 20 – An Unlikely Ally
Early morning light shone into the living room through the large window. Elmina lay sprawled on the couch, propped up on an elbow. Her expression was unenthused as she gazed across the room at her friend. As usual, she was up far earlier than she would have liked, and once again she was being ignored.
"You already fixed me. Why are you still reading?" she demanded. Adele's nose was buried in a book.
"Because this is interesting stuff! Besides, I still haven't figured out a transmutation that will protect you from both Mania and Despair at the same time. That transmutation I did two days ago will hopefully protect you from Mania but you're now vulnerable to Despair again," the blonde said, glancing up from her book.
"Yeah, but when she does show up again you can just use that other transmutation and I'll be fine," Elmina pointed out. Adele raised an eyebrow.
"That's great, except that these transmutations exhaust me. They're a lot harder than a typical transmutation. So if Mania were to show up right after I got rid of Despair, there isn't anything I'd be able to do to protect you soon enough to keep you out of trouble. I've got to rest up a bit between each transmutation," she explained, "And anyway, we don't know for sure if this transmutation will work against the red haired creep. It should, but we'll only know for sure once it's been tested."
"I suppose…" The dark haired girl's tone was resigned. She hadn't had the heart to pester Adele for attention much since they'd gotten back. She felt guilty over how much her blonde friend exhausted herself to fix her. She also felt painfully useless. Adele had her alchemy to work on, AJ had his weapons, and her mom was busy helping Winry. Elmina had repeatedly asked to help out, but each time she'd been brushed aside.
"We have everything under control. You just rest,"
She was tired of resting! She wasn't an invalid! A sigh escaped her lips. Well she was fed up with sitting around. Maybe her mom needed help with housework or something. She pushed herself up to her feet.
"I'll be back in a bit," she informed Adele, strolling out of the room.
She headed down the hall into the kitchen. As it turned out everything was immaculately clean and her mother was nowhere in sight. Figures… She was likely in the shop helping Winry with something. She turned to head out the other end of the kitchen when a burning grasp clamped down on her arm. Her eyes widened in shock and she gasped. She whirled abruptly and staggered slightly in surprise when she came face to face with somebody's neck. Her gaze snapped up and she was frozen in place by a pair of red, slit pupil eyes. Shock crashed over her like a bucket of ice water. She hadn't even felt him show up! His expression made her stomach drop in alarm. He did not look happy and he was much too close for comfort.
An instant later she was yanked roughly into his arms, causing her to let out an involuntary squeak at the burning contact. The world around them blurred dizzyingly and she squinted against the inevitable blast of air which followed. When the world cleared once more she was startled to find they were now standing in the hall of Alphonse's currently unused home, which was about two blocks away from the shop. Unfortunately she had more things to worry about at the moment than their unexpected change in location. She jerked out of her captor's painful embrace and staggered away from him several steps. His expression actually frightened her slightly. She'd never seen him angry before.
"What did you do?" he demanded, his voice low and threatening. She swallowed nervously.
"What are you talking about?" she demanded, taking a step backwards uneasily. Well…that was actually a stupid question. The only thing she could think of that would provoke this sort of reaction was Adele's transmutation denying him the chance to mess with her. But Despair hadn't seemed to care. She was surprised by how upset he appeared. He raised his chin, eyes glinting dangerously.
"Don't play dumb with me. You know exactly what I'm talking about," his tone was severe.
"I'm just getting a break from you," she retorted weakly. She really didn't like the aggressiveness of his body language. He let out a low growl. The next thing she knew he moved blindingly quickly and she was slammed rather forcefully against the wall, his hands pinning her shoulders there. Unlike previous times, his touch seemed to burn right through her clothes to the skin beneath. The shock of the sudden, burning contact was overwhelmed by the surprise at what he was doing. He'd never behaved like this with her before.
"You are mine!" he hissed, eyes blazing with a ferocity that made her cringe slightly.
"I'm not a possession!" she shot back, voice raised despite the fear blossoming in her chest.
"Do you really think you have the right to deny me? You already submitted to my control. I will not be blocked out like this," his eyes flashed, "This is your final warning," there was a dangerous edge to his voice. She was too caught up in the tension of the moment to even react to the pain of her skin burning beneath his hands, or the uncomfortable prickling of her skin from the proximity of his face to hers.
"Why do you have such an obsession with me? Why can't you pick on someone else?!" she demanded shakily, though her frustration was readily evident.
"Because you're the only thing keeping me in existence!" He snapped. She was shocked by the unexpected desperation in the depths of his gaze. "I will not lose you," his voice was rough, the look in his eyes shifting to an emotion that made her stomach drop alarmingly. Then his lips crashed into hers with bruising force. The internal defenses Adele had built up for her shattered instantly upon his sudden contact and her entire body flooded with a fiery energy that surpassed any of the other times he had affected her. It was unbearable. She tried to jerk away to let out a scream but one of his arms had slid around her waist while his other hand had reached up to tangle in her hair, effectively trapping her in place.
Every thought was driven from her mind, her emotions utterly swept away by the raging inferno tearing through her. Its intensity only grew and multiplied. Within moments the sensory input was so much that she could no longer feel anything at all except the sensation of flames devouring her body from the inside out. A single realization made its way into her overwhelmed consciousness. She might very well die if this kept up. Her body had limitations and this amount of power was very close to breaking her. She was going to disintegrate. Her legs gave out beneath her but she remained supported by his arms around her. This was too much. He was going to kill her just by kissing her. She felt his lips move against hers and then something in her mind snapped. Apparently her body had met its limit. It was like someone had flipped a light switch. Everything went black and she lost consciousness.
The first thing she became aware of was the sensation of every vein in her body throbbing painfully. Everything hurt, from her head to her toes. It was a moment before her thoughts began to order themselves rationally. When they did, the first thing that came to mind was… what the hell just happened? Her eyes flickered open slowly. She was sitting propped up against the wall. Everything seemed to be glowing slightly in a disorienting way. A wave of nausea crashed over her and she shut her eyes again, letting out a pained sound.
"Oh good, you're still alive," she almost didn't recognize Mania's voice. It didn't usually sound so tense. She kept her eyes firmly shut until the wave of nausea passed. After a moment she slowly raised her hand, reaching up to lightly touch her lips and winced. It felt like someone had punched her, except her lips weren't split and bleeding and she wasn't missing any teeth. Her eyes flickered open once more with a resentful look. The glowing around everything had already lessened. Mania was a short distance off with his arms crossed. His expression was still frighteningly serious.
"Why did you do that?" Elmina demanded warily, her voice slightly hoarse.
"To make a point," he replied, gaze unreadable.
"What point? That if I try to block you out then you'll just force your way in anyway by brutally kissing me?" There was an angry edge to her voice.
"There is no defense you can build up inside you that I can't break through if I put my mind to it. But if you continue to force me to such extreme measures you are likely going to wind up dead," he informed her flatly. His piercing gaze was chilling.
"I'm not forcing you into anything," she protested weakly. Somehow his shift in attitude made him much more intimidating.
"On the contrary, my dear, you are. If I don't feed regularly I will disappear," he informed her. Elmina blinked, expression going blank.
"…Feed?" her tone was disbelieving. At this a faint smirk returned to Mania's lips.
"What? Do you think I come after you just for kicks?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Then he paused, "Actually…It's pretty entertaining, so I probably would," he appeared to ponder this thoughtfully.
"You're telling me that if you don't torture me regularly you'll disappear?" the dark haired girl demanded incredulously. His expression slipped into a pout.
"You make me sound like such a monster," he muttered. When she raised an eyebrow at him, clearly not thrilled, he smirked again. "Essentially, yes. Human emotion is my sustenance. Without it I'll waste away," he explained. Elmina frowned.
"Then why are you so fixated on me? There are plenty of emotional people in the world!" she pointed out, tone filled with consternation. Mania chuckled.
"How should I put this…?" his expression grew thoughtful again. "I need my host to be experiencing a high degree of emotion to gain anything very useful from it. And I'm sure you've figured out by now that people like you and your mother can experience emotion to a more intense degree than the average human. I can't push an ordinary person to anywhere near the level that I can push people like you to. To put it another way…" he grinned slightly, "A typical human, unless they are extremely worked up, is like a handful of peanuts. You, on the other hand, are like a superbly done, filet mignon steak," the satisfaction in his tone was readily apparent. "Do the math Mouse. Peanuts are a nice snack, but if I had to live on them I'd starve," he gazed at her through half lidded eyes. There was an extended period of silence while Elmina stared at him with wide eyes.
"Did you just call me a steak?" her voice came out as an incredulous squeak.
"Yes… but a very tasty, expensive steak. You should really take it as a compliment," he replied casually.
"You are insane," her informed him, expression disturbed. He let out a low chuckle.
"You like to state the obvious," he replied, eyes glinting with amusement. Elmina frowned.
"But, what about my mom?" she demanded. Mania raised an eyebrow at the vagueness of her statement. "I mean, if she's around then I'm not technically your only host," the dark haired girl pointed out uncertainly. Mania sighed forlornly.
"I wish it was that simple. See, in many cases, the older a host gets the harder it is for me to get the effect I want out of them. The rules are a little different in this dimension, but when it comes right down to it my ability to get any real nutritional value from your mother is touch and go. Trying to survive on her alone would be far too risky. And with the unborn baby I have the opposite problem. Often times I can't really get the effect I want from my host until they're at least in their teens. I'd be dead and gone long before your sibling matured to the point of usability," he explained ruefully. Elmina stared at him with raised eyebrows. Usability? He made the baby sound like an appliance…or a pair of shoes… or some other inanimate object. It wasn't terribly flattering. Then again, why was she surprised? Apparently in his mind humans were simply food he enjoyed playing with.
She shook her head slowly before shutting her eyes and leaning her head back against the wall.
"Ugh….I think you might have to carry me home," she mumbled. Her whole body was so very uncomfortable. She doubted she'd even be able to stand.
"That isn't the best idea. Too much physical contact with me in one day isn't healthy," he informed her, tone ever so slightly bemused. Elmina snorted.
"I don't think any physical contact with you is healthy," she muttered. He chuckled.
"I'll be sure to send someone to find you. Though, I was coming to inform you of something important before I discovered you had shut me out in the cold," his tone was dry. Elmina's eyes snapped open.
"What?" she demanded uncertainly.
"There's a force of Aerugans coming to take this village," his expression grew unnervingly serious again. The dark haired girl's eyes widened, clearly alarmed.
"What?! Why?" her tone was disbelieving.
"Because Sparky screwed up," he replied. Elmina blinked.
"Sparky?" she asked, puzzled. Mania rolled his eyes.
"Lover Boy's father. Apparently someone leaked information about the new weapons being invented. Probably one of the automail mechanics he got in contact with. When word of it got to your southern 'friends' they wisely decided to get their hands on the source of the weapons as soon as possible so as not to be taken off guard by them. Not to mention that now they know that your country knows about the invasion. They decided to move ahead with the assault ahead of schedule to forestall any preparations your country might try to make," he explained. Elmina stared at him in horror.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" she demanded, eyes wide. His expression grew flat.
"Give me a little credit. I can't be everywhere at once in this dimension," he retorted.
"Then we've got to go! We've got to warn people," her voice was panicky.
"It's a little late for that. They're already launching an attack on South City," he replied, bemused. Elmina's eyes widened in disbelief.
"How is that even possible?" she demanded.
"They have air support," Mania told her simply.
"What's that supposed to mean?" The dark haired girl frowned.
"Airplanes. They travel fast and drop extremely destructive explosive devices," he replied.
"Airplanes…?" Elmina asked in bewilderment. Mania sighed.
"Ask your mother about them. It seems some alchemists in this dimension finally got smart and invented them. Your country isn't the only one with tricks up its sleeve," he replied, "The planes are the frontal wave of the assault. The main ground force will probably arrive at South City sometime this evening. However, the smaller force that was sent ahead for the purposes of capturing this little town is your most pressing concern. They will likely be here by tomorrow,"
"Then what do we do?" Elmina's voice wavered, expression utterly dismayed.
"Don't fall apart on me now, Mouse. I'm trying to keep you alive," his tone was dry, "You now have an advantage because you know they're coming. Your attackers are under the impression that you aren't expecting them," he told her. Elmina shook her head slowly. This was unreal. But she couldn't afford to not take him seriously.
"Take me home," she demanded, voice stronger than before.
"I already told you, that isn't a good idea," Mania's tone grew unenthused.
"I don't care! Dammit Mania, we don't have time to argue about this," she snapped, eyes blazing with stubborn determination. He let out a resigned sigh.
"Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you," he informed her flatly. Then without another word he was across the room in the blink of an eye and she was scooped back into his fiery embrace. She couldn't hold back the slight whimper which escaped her lips. His touch no longer seemed to burn through her clothes, but it was agonizing against her still throbbing skin.
The air blurred and a moment later they were standing in the living room of the Rockbell residence. Adele leapt to her feet in alarm, book sliding out of her hand to thump on the floor.
"Mina?" she cried. Mania released the dark haired girl so swiftly she nearly fell flat on her face. Adele saw her sway perilously and darted across the room to catch her as her knees gave out, lowering her to the floor in a controlled manner. Elmina's head was spinning nauseatingly and her vision was growing dark around the edges.
"Adele, listen to me," her voice came out as a rasp, "Get mom and listen to what Mania has to say…" she barely managed to force the words out before her eyes slid shut and she slipped into blackness.
When Elmina drifted slowly back to consciousness for the second time that day, a single pained thought entered her mind. Perhaps Mania had been right about not touching her for a while. She felt awful. Everything was throbbing almost worse than before and she somehow felt dizzy even with her eyes shut.
"You should be able to get to East City ahead of the forces on the ground, but those planes are going to be problematic," at the sound of the Mania's voice from across the room Elmina's eyes snapped open in surprise and she glanced over at him from the couch where someone had seen fit to place her after she'd passed out again.
"Can't you help at all?" AJ spoke up from where he was leaning against the door frame across the room from Mania. There was obvious exasperation in his voice. Her mother stood nearby with Adele and Winry. Apparently everyone wanted to stay as far away from the red haired creature as possible. There was a momentary silence. Elmina glanced at Mania again to see a hard expression on his face. Goosebumps prickled across her skin. She preferred his typical obnoxious mischievousness. He was extremely intimidating when his expression was that serious.
"Listen boy," there was an edge to his voice, "My only responsibility is Elmina. I can guarantee her safety. But I'm not helping you out of charity. And more than that, I'm in no position to be recklessly expending my energy."
"Why not?" Elsie demanded, staring at Mania with a look that bordered on a glare. Elmina blinked. Her mother rarely used that tone. Apparently tempers were running high.
"Do I look like the ever-ready energizer bunny to you?" Mania's tone was sharply sarcastic. Elsie raised her eyebrows skeptically.
"Yeah, you kind of do," her tone was dry. The red haired creature rolled his eyes.
"Well I'm not. I have restrictions in this world. The energy I use has to be replenished or I'll use myself up. And at the moment my only reliable energy source is pretty tapped out at the moment," he gestured to Elmina.
"What's the ever-ready energizer bunny?" AJ's expression was blankly puzzled.
"Just an inter-dimensional inside joke," Elsie muttered, "More importantly, why is my daughter so tapped out?" her eyes narrowed at the red haired creature. Mania shifted, expression growing resigned.
"I may have lost my temper slightly…" He actually sounded somewhat reluctant.
"Slightly?" Elmina spoke up, utterly unenthused. Everyone's gaze moved to rest on the dark haired girl, startled to see she'd regained consciousness.
"You're okay!" Adele cried, relief washing over her expression as she dashed over to the couch. Elmina pushed herself up into a sitting position, giving her friend some room to sit down.
"You know, I'm not sure 'okay' is really the right word," she winced as every muscle in her body protested her movement.
"You should really be happy you're still alive," Mania smirked faintly. She shot him an unenthused look.
"And why did you lose your temper with my daughter?" Elsie's tone was startlingly intimidating as she raised an eyebrow. Mania let out an exasperated sigh.
"Because somebody got the bright idea to try and cut off my access to her. Without that access I'll die," he retorted. At this Adele winced, which was not something that was lost on the red haired creature. He narrowed his gaze at the blonde girl, suspicion entering his expression. "You know something about what blocked me out, don't you?" he accused. She cringed slightly under the weight of his gaze.
"So what if she does?" Elmina spoke up sharply. He glanced back at the dark haired girl with an unreadable expression.
"You should know I'm not terribly tolerant of things that threaten my existence," there was an edge to his voice. Elmina's expression slipped into a glare.
"If you touch a hair on her head I'll threaten your existence," she snapped. He raised an eyebrow skeptically.
"Actually…" Adele spoke up hesitantly, "I could probably reverse that transmutation…" she stated cautiously.
"He already destroyed whatever you did, so don't worry about it. He's just being a jerk," Elmina replied, still glaring at the red haired creature.
"No…that's not what I meant," the blonde replied. Mania glanced at her and she met his gaze nervously. "What I did with Elmina…if I…did the opposite on a normal person…would that give you access to them?" she asked uncertainly. He frowned thoughtfully.
"It wouldn't be quite the same as with Mouse. Although, I could probably still get some use out of it. Why are you offering?" his tone was skeptical, but his gaze had grown interested. Adele swallowed.
"Well… if you can't help us because you're worried about running out of energy…I could give you some more energy sources," she suggested tentatively.
"Who on earth would be willing to volunteer for that?" Elmina demanded incredulously.
"We wouldn't need volunteers. Why not use the people invading us?" Adele replied.
"But that would involve you getting close to the invaders," AJ protested, clearly alarmed by the idea.
"I don't like that idea," Winry spoke up, "How do we know we can trust him anyway?" she pointed out, staring at Mania with a guarded expression.
"We can't," Elsie said, an edge to her voice. At this Mania's expression slipped into a pout.
"Oh give me a little credit. It does benefit me to keep you all alive," his tone was a little defensive.
"It does?" Elsie asked skeptically.
"Let's put it this way. My existence is tied to Mouse, her eventual siblings, and their offspring. Technically I suppose I only really need to keep you and her alive," he informed Elsie, "But you're both much more likely to prosper if your circle of friends and family is alive as well."
"Are you saying you'll help us then?" The dark haired woman demanded.
"Well…If I'm guaranteed access to some new sources of energy that certainly changes things. And if you give me access to the Aerugan army then that makes helping you vastly easier," Mania's tone was thoughtful, "It might be kind of fun," he smirked.
"But if Adele gives you access to a bunch of other people then what reason do you have to keep all of us alive?" Elmina demanded, eyes narrowing. Seeing her expression Mania chuckled slightly.
"Oh, don't worry Mouse. You'll always be my favorite," his tone was filled with a mocking tenderness that caused the dark haired girl's expression to slip into an outright glare. "And in any case," he continued, growing a little more serious, "I very much doubt Blue Eyes will ever be able to change a person's genetic code, however skilled an alchemist she is. Whatever she did to block my access to you, it would have worn off eventually even if I hadn't counteracted it. Similarly, any access she gives me to other humans is only going to be a temporary thing and I'd need to be able to access quite a few of them to get the effect which I would like. Not to mention they won't taste anywhere near as good as you," he informed Elmina frankly. At this the dark haired girl's expression grew slightly disturbed.
"…Thank…you…?" her tone was a little creeped out.
"Umm, there's just one problem," Adele spoke up reluctantly.
"What is it?" Elmina glanced at her.
"Well…I'm going to need to talk to Elior about this or I might accidentally kill whoever I try the transmutation on," she explained, slightly sheepish.
"If you're planning to use it on the people invading us then why is that a bad thing?" the dark haired girl asked skeptically.
"Well, I can't gather energy from corpses," Mania pointed out, tone dry.
"How would you get close enough to the people to perform the transmutation anyway?" AJ demanded, clearly unconvinced.
"Umm…I'm not sure," Adele admitted, "I'd have to talk to Sara about that."
"Sara and Elior are both up North and we have no way of getting in contact with them right now," Winry pointed out.
"Well, I could take her to where they are. But we wouldn't be able to get back," Mania said. Adele's eyes widened a slightly, clearly a little alarmed at the idea of having to go anywhere with the red haired creature alone.
"Why not?" Elmina frowned. He sighed.
"Sadly, that ability only works within a certain range of you or your mother. I'd be able to jump there, but I'd be out of range for jumping back," he explained. Elmina pondered this for a moment, an idea immediately springing to mind that was less than pleasant but had the potential to solve the problem.
"Well…can you carry two people?" She asked reluctantly. Mania's expression grew flat.
"Yes. But I'm not taking you anywhere," he replied, "You're in no condition for another jump right now."
"Will it kill me?" She demanded, stubbornness entering her expression. Mania grimaced.
"Well…I doubt it," he admitted, "But trying to jump back here afterwards might. You need some time to recover," his tone was pointed.
"Then I can recover up North while Adele sorts things out with Sara and Elior," Elmina retorted. Mania stared at her for a moment before letting out a resigned sigh.
"You aren't going to leave this alone, are you?" it was more of a statement than a question.
"No, I'm not. Besides, can't you find some way to control your powers better around me?" she demanded. Mania frowned.
"Handling people with care isn't exactly my forte," he replied.
"Well if I really am your only reliable host in this world, I'd say you have some pretty good incentive to get better at it," she retorted bluntly. Mania appeared to ponder this for a moment. "Besides, if you really want to keep me alive, the best way to do that is by getting access to some other energy sources and helping us out," she pointed out.
"Hold on. I'm not sure this is a good idea," Elsie spoke up, a worried frown creasing her brow. Elmina let out an exasperated sigh.
"We don't have time to waffle over this! We need all the help we can get if we're going to survive this invasion," she pointed out impatiently.
"I agree with Elsie. I do not trust this guy enough to send you and my little sister off with him on your own," AJ spoke up, a hard expression on his face. Elmina glanced at him, expression wavering. She hadn't seen much of him over the last week. He'd had too much to do with preparing for the invasion to spend much time outside the shop. The tension caused by the incident with Mania the week before had remained mostly unresolved. She hadn't had the courage to bring it up and neither had he.
"Well, he needs me alive to stay alive, and Adele is offering him access to more people, so I doubt he'd let anything happen to us," Elmina pointed out. She glanced over at the red haired creature, "Right?" she demanded pointedly. Mania smirked.
"Your sudden confidence in me his heartwarming," his tone was dry. Then his gaze moved to AJ. "She's right though. Keeping them alive and safe benefits me," he said. The brown haired teen stared at him, clearly unconvinced.
"Well…assuming Mania will actually look after them, they'll probably be safer going up North with him than staying here," Winry spoke up finally. Everyone glanced at her incredulously.
"Mom, you've got to be kidding me," AJ stared at his mother in disbelief.
"AJ, be practical. If his life depends on keeping them safe, I'd say he's the best bodyguard you could ask for. And we have no way of knowing when those planes will show up here. I'd much rather have our daughters somewhere other than here if they do," the blonde woman replied, expression grim. There was a momentary silence as everyone pondered her words.
"I suppose you have a point," Elsie conceded reluctantly, her gaze moving to the two girls seated on the couch. "You two are really comfortable going with him?" she asked. Elmina shrugged. She hadn't had a choice any of the other times he'd shown up and grabbed her. At least in this case she was choosing to go with him of her own free will. She glanced at her friend. Adele appeared decidedly uncomfortable as she eyed the red haired creature.
"I'll be coming with you," Elmina pointed out. The blonde swallowed and nodded reluctantly.
"We need to get up North," she replied.
"Well then, it's settled. We should get moving. The sooner we get up there the more time Mouse will have to recover before we have to come back," Mania's tone was pointed. Elsie turned a hard gaze on him.
"Promise me you'll behave yourself with them," she ordered sternly. The red haired creature gave her a wilted look.
"Why wouldn't I?" he asked. Elsie's eyes narrowed.
"I know what you're like. I don't want you taking advantage of the situation," her tone was stern. Mania's expression grew bored.
"Yes mom," his tone was dry. When the dark haired woman raised a critical eyebrow he sighed. "Look, I've already promised I'll look after them. Have a little faith woman! I'm serving my own interests by doing this," his tone was mildly exasperated.
"That's what worries me," Elsie muttered. Sensing her underlying concern Mania smirked.
"What kind of monster do you take me for?" He asked, dryly amused. When she continued to stare at him flatly his expression shifted to one of bemusement. "Actually, don't answer that," his tone was resigned. Elmina rolled her eyes. They needed to get moving. Drawing in a deep breath, she steeled herself. There was no way this was going to be a pleasant experience. The sooner they got it over with the better. Gathering her remaining strength, she rose shakily to her feet. Adele rose swiftly as well, grasping her friend's arm to steady her.
"We should go," Elmina said. Elsie sighed softly, crossing the room to pull her daughter into a hug.
"Be careful," she ordered. Her daughter nodded.
"We'll be fine," she replied, pulling back to see Adele had been wrapped in a hug by Winry. AJ stood by, his expression troubled. Elmina felt a prick of guilt knowing how worried he probably was. She suspected the only reason he wasn't demanding to come along was because he knew he would be needed to help evacuate the town. She swallowed, wanting to reassure him somehow but uncertain of what exactly she could say. Well…they could quibble over the details of their feelings later. She didn't want to leave with things in an awkwardly distant state.
She stepped away from her mother, carefully crossing the room to where he was standing, and after a brief hesitation wrapped him in a hug. His eyes widened in surprise as he stared down at her, taken off guard. It was a moment before he managed to shake off his daze enough to return the hug. Elmina rarely shared affection with anyone other than her parents and Adele. It was a little shocking to say the least.
"We'll be back soon," she promised him, "Keep our moms safe, alright?" she pulled back to stare up at him. Unable to find his voice, he simply nodded. Seeing his still surprised expression Elmina flushed with embarrassment. She turned away swiftly and headed across the room to where Mania was standing. The red haired creature raised an eyebrow at her suggestively and she responded with a murderous glare, daring him to make a comment. It was so painfully inconvenient that he understood exactly what she was feeling almost better than she herself did. He grinned, eyes flashing with amusement, but mercifully he remained silent. After giving her brother a swift hug of her own, Adele came to stand next to her.
"Umm, how does this work?" she asked uncertainly. Elmina grimaced.
"Well, it kind of burns," she informed her apologetically.
"Actually, it won't for her," Mania said, "That's an experience reserved for people like you and your mother. She won't feel a thing," his expression was amused. Elmina stared at him in disbelief.
"But why?! That's so unfair!" She cried. He chuckled.
"It's just one of the joys of being you," he smirked. She glared darkly at him.
"You're an ass," she informed him. He rolled his eyes.
"I love you too," he retorted, amused.
"How do you plan on carrying both of us?" she demanded skeptically.
"Well, it's handy that I have two arms," his tone was dry. He glanced briefly at AJ and the two women. "We'll be back whenever Mouse has recovered enough for another jump. Try to stay alive while we're gone," he said. Then Elmina gasped and Adele let out a surprised squeak as his arms slid swiftly around their waists and they were pulled against him. The dark haired girl scrunched her eyes shut as her stomach lurched alarmingly and her veins began throbbing at a greater intensity. The intense pain his sudden contact was spreading throughout her entire body made his normal level of burning contact seem like nothing more than a bad sunburn. Her eyes stung with tears and she clenched her teeth to keep from crying out. The last thing she was aware of was the sensation of air buffeting them before she lost consciousness.
-Author's Note-
Well I'm currently visiting a friend (the friend who just so happen to be a major source of my writing inspiration) so I'll have to keep this shorter than normal. This chapter...I kind of love this chapter. XD It was so much fun to write. Even though I had to do major surgery on it a few times to get it right lol. Mania is...quite the guy(/jerk). I don't really want to spoil anything but you can probably see where I'm going with his character at this point. He's going to be around a lot throughout the rest of this story. I have way too much fun writing this guy. Like way too much fun. There must be something wrong with me.
Aaaaanyway. Review responses!
MissiB: *chuckles* Well he doesn't get punched in the face per say but...you'll see. XD And yeah. Elycia is definitely one of my favorite characters in this. (Although...picking favorites with OCs is a bit like picking favorites with your children...) I seriously loved Hughes, so I felt that his daughter needed to be as epic as I could make her in order to do him justice lol.
Penelope Jadewing: Oh yes...much worse cliffies. When my dad read chapter 26 (yeah...my parents read this XD) he was actually mad at me for leaving him hanging so badly lol. x'D *sheepish* And oh man. The friend I'm with at the moment teases me mercilessly about older Wrath. There's an 18 year old Wrath in the story we're writing together and...yeah... I... kind of... love Wrath. I'm admittedly a fan girl lol. Plus he's so angsty to write when he's older. It's fun! XD
nettlesnitch92: eheheh...yeah I was mean and gave them zero screen time this chapter...but...they'll get more! I promise! XD Wrath...takes his time to get his act together. But Elycia definitely made some headway with that little revelation. You'll see. ^^
And that about sums it up! I've been getting oodles of writing done the past few days (two chapters in 3 days! *fistpump*) so I'm actually hoping to get it finished soon! With any luck it'll at least be getting close to that by the end of the week...assuming I don't hit a writers block...eheheh...