Fullmetal Alchemist: Blood Brothers (3/5)

[jordannamorgan]

Title: Blood Brothers (3/5)
Author: jordannamorgan
Archive Rights: Please request the author’s consent.
Rating/Warnings: PG for one rather gory scene, and scattered instances of dhampiric blood-drinking.
Characters: Alphonse, Edward, Noa, and my cast of “Hunter” alternate-world doubles.
Setting: This follows my story “Blood Ties”, but it assumes two events in that continuity did not happen: Ed and Noa were not made human again, and Ed was not returned to Amestris.
Summary: An alternative outcome to my story “Blood Ties”. Even as Edward tentatively begins to plan for a future in his dark new world, the dying Alphonse makes a choice that could reunite them once more—but at a great cost.
Disclaimer: They belong to Hiromu Arakawa. I’m just playing with them.

CHAPTER III: RESURRECTION


Ed was not sure what awakened him, sometime later; but when he raised his head, at once fully alert, he saw Noa opening her eyes as well. He could feel that the sun had still not set, which meant it wasn’t nightfall that had roused them.

His gaze fell to Alphonse’s small body between them… and Al moved almost imperceptibly, fingers and eyelids barely twitching.

Noa saw the movement as well. With a somewhat startled expression, she rose quickly from the bed and started to turn toward the door, clearly intent on making a retreat.

Ed sat up, feeling sudden dismay and anxiety at the thought of being alone when he revealed their new reality to Al. “You don’t have to go.”

“It’s for the best.” Pausing at the foot of the bed, Noa placed a hand on Ed’s cheek, and bent her head to brush his lips with a gentle kiss. “It’ll be okay, Ed… Just give him love.”

Then she was gone, and Ed turned his gaze back to his brother-turned-foundling, overwhelmed with apprehension and uncertainty.

Dhampirs could wake instantly from normal sleep, but the first return to semi-life was a little slower. Ed watched as Al swallowed and turned his head slightly, showing signs of an initial discomfort that the elder brother vividly remembered. There would probably be some lingering pain for a short while yet, as the vicious damage within Al’s body continued to heal… and the taste of Ed’s tainted blood would still be in his mouth.

Al’s fingers curled into his palms, relaxed again. Then his right hand slid unsteadily up to his stomach, clutching at his torso, where the ache of healing would be centered. His lips parted in a faint grimace, and his eyes slowly, hazily opened.

His gaze was unseeing at first; but when his eyes finally focused, the first thing to meet them was the sight of his brother.

“Ed…” he whispered, his voice barely working at all.

With a pained smile, Ed took Al’s small hand in his own. “I’m here, Al. Take it slow. It’s alright.”

In his still-weakened state, the boy was unable to do anything other than obey that advice. He lay still, with a tension on his face that betrayed the pain he was in. His gaze remained anxiously fixed upon Ed, as if afraid the brother he had sacrificed so much to find would disappear if he looked away.

The single breath that was exhaled as Ed’s name was the only one Al had taken. There was no movement of the lungs within his chest. To Ed, it was almost more strange and haunting to see that stillness while Al was awake than during his corpse-like repose. The thought caused Ed half-consciously to draw a deep breath of his own, not wishing Al to notice too quickly how impassive both of their bodies were.

After a few minutes, Al made an effort to sit up—only to encounter the stiffness of his muscles, another hallmark of dhampiric resurrection. His movement turned into little more than an awkward flop against the pillows. Ed leaned close to calm him, placing his flesh hand on Al’s shoulder as a gentle restraint.

The thin fingers that locked onto his wrist had an astonishingly powerful grip. Clutching Ed’s arm, Al managed to pull himself up a little, until he was able to lean forward and slump into his brother’s lap.

Ed barely succeeded in choking down the sob that tightened in his chest. He gathered Al in his arms, pulled him more fully onto his lap, and just held him, as he had in the cemetery when Al’s mortal life faded away. A part of him dimly warned that such closeness risked exposing the physical signs of his inhumanity, but he couldn’t help it now.

They sat still for a long time, with Al’s fragile-feeling body sagging against Ed’s left shoulder. The elder brother had both arms wrapped around Al’s waist, embracing and supporting him, while his cheek rested on the boy’s soft hair.

“I did it,” Al murmured at long last against Ed’s collarbone. “I found you…”

“You crazy idiot,” Ed responded softly, with a broken smile, as a few tears succeeded in escaping.

He might have said more. He might have offered a further gentle reproach for Al’s madness in throwing away everything for him; but he was halted when Al stiffened against him, just a little. There was a brief hesitation before Al spoke—in a tone that was startlingly calm, considering his ominous words.

“Your heart isn’t beating… and neither is mine.” He raised his head, looking Ed in the eye with an unflinching steadiness. “Brother, are we… dead?”

A part of Ed could only marvel at the complete lack of fear in Al’s voice. At the same time, he was pierced to the core by that earnest question, and he knew that to answer it—to explain what they had both become—was one of the hardest things he would ever do.

“Not quite.” He bowed his head, leaning his forehead against Al’s, as his heart ached with contrition. “I’m sorry, Al. I never wanted you to be here… To have to know…”

“Where is here? What’s happened to us?”

Al’s mental clarity, if not his physical strength, was recovering rapidly. Ed sighed and drew back a little, realizing the truth could not be put off.

“This is a different world, on the other side of the Gate. It’s just like ours in a lot of ways—but not completely.” He paused, searching for words to convey only what was most important at present. “For now, all you need to know is that most of the human transmutation attempts in our world don’t actually produce homunculi there. The creatures that are born from it usually cross over to this world instead, and here… they take the form of vampires.”

A shadow of grim comprehension flickered through Al’s eyes. Of course, he knew enough of the folklore that was common to both worlds. He could easily trace the link between the concept of vampires, and the chilling silence of the brothers’ own hearts.

“Ed—”

“It’s true, Al.” Ed looked away, unable to bear Al’s gaze as he plunged into his confession of the worst of it. “I was infected with the blood of one of those vampires—with homunculus blood. Someone did it to save my life. And last night… after the Gate…”

“You did the same for me,” Al concluded faintly.

Ed’s silence was the only confirmation necessary. He lowered his head, pressing his automail hand over his eyes. There was a long moment of heavy stillness in the room, as neither Elric spoke or even breathed.

And then Alphonse uttered a single, extraordinary word.

“…Okay.”

It was a simple, profound statement of acceptance, too unexpected and impossible to believe; and for a few seconds, it made the world seem to stop. Edward’s head jerked up, and he stared at his sibling with wide, incredulous eyes.

“What?”

“I’m with you again—and I’m the same as you are. That’s what I asked the Gate for. It’s all I wanted.” Al’s firm expression grew more pensive. “Besides, I know you, Brother. If being this way was something evil… you wouldn’t have chosen to go on. But instead, you changed me too—and if you can live with this, then so can I.”

For a moment, Ed thought he might laugh from the sheer giddy shock of such a placid reaction. He shook his head in baffled awe. “Al, how can you say that so easily? Without knowing what—?” He stumbled into silence and made a futile gesture with both hands, unable to express the enormity of the difficult, painful fate Al accepted so unquestioningly.

“Because we’re alive.” Al frowned, pressing his palm over his unbeating heart. “Or at least, we’re whatever this is. It must still be better than being really dead… and if I hadn’t come through the Gate to find you, that’s exactly what I would be.”

“I don’t understand,” Ed breathed, with a flash of sudden anxiety.

Al’s lips twitched in a rueful smile. Although he was sitting up on his own now, he reached out, placing his hands on Ed’s shoulders. When he spoke, he seemed oddly and hilariously like a parent explaining something difficult to a child.

“The blood seal you drew on my old armor, Brother. It was your blood—and that got you caught up in the transmutation too. Most of my soul did bond to the armor, the way you meant it to… but a part of it bonded to you instead.”

A simultaneous wave of wonder and horror filled Edward. He had never known this. Never even imagined…

“Missing a piece of myself didn’t hurt me while I was living in that metal shell,” Al went on calmly. “But after I got my real body back, my soul wasn’t strong enough to keep it alive for very long. The two years we’ve been apart, I just kept getting weaker. To save me from dying, Teacher and I came up with a plan to put me back in the armor for good—but going on that way wouldn’t have meant anything without you.” He gazed at Ed with undisguised love. “Do you see now, Brother? No matter what I’ve become, this is what I chose. Even if I would have died last night, after seeing you again one more time, I wouldn’t have regretted it. But now that I know I can stay with you, and share whatever you’ve been going through…”

The boy did not continue, because Edward had buried his face in his hands, his shoulders trembling with silent tears.

“It wasn’t supposed to be this way,” he breathed, after a long moment. “The Gate should have taken my life, and made everything right for you instead. You were supposed to be safe and healthy in our world… even if I could never be there with you again.”

“This is what’s right, Ed. After you were gone, I didn’t belong in our world anymore. I could feel it. My dreams about the place where I saw you were more real to me than anything else—because my world is where you are.” Alphonse gently, fondly butted his head against Ed’s shoulder. “So stop crying. It’s the last thing I feel like doing.”

Helplessly Ed sniffled and raised his head, wiping his eyes. “What about your soul now?”

Al smiled. “I’m whole again now. I felt the missing part come back to me last night, once we were together. And even if it hadn’t…” The smile curved down into a thoughtful frown. “Maybe not having it couldn’t do me any more harm anyway, now that I’m a vampire.”

“We’re not exactly that.” Emotionally drained by the shock of Al’s reactions and revelations, and by the weight of the further confessions he knew were still ahead of him, Ed flopped back wearily on the mattress and stared up at the ceiling. “The homunculi that emerge in this world are the real vampires—soulless monsters with nothing human about them. Infected humans like us are only half-vampires, called dhampirs. We’re not nearly as powerful… but what matters is that our souls are still human. We’re not like them, because we still know how to choose right over wrong. That’s the only reason we’re able to go on living this way.”

“How long have you been like this?” Al queried somberly, as he crawled farther up the bed to settle himself close against Ed’s side.

Touched by that innocent gesture of affection, Ed surrendered to his own yearning. He took Al in his arms, letting his brother snuggle against his chest. The closeness offered a primal reassurance that made his nerves feel calmer, in spite of himself; and with his cheek pressed to the top of Al’s head, there was no eye contact between them. That made it somehow easier to go on revealing such painful truths.

“It’s only been a little over a week. Envy crossed the Gate before I did, and became a vampire, like the other homunculi here. It took him these two years to find me, but when he did… I never had a chance.” Ed shuddered and grimaced. “At least, not while I was human.”

“Was it his blood that changed you?”

“No.” Ed was unspeakably grateful for that fact. Had it been Envy who got the idea to prolong his torture by giving him a dhampir’s durability, as other vampires had done to their victims, he didn’t think he could have borne the horror of knowing that monster’s blood was in his veins. “It was another dhampir named Noa, who tried to save me. She got me away from Envy… but I was already hurt too badly to survive the way I was. So she gave her own infected blood to me.”

“I’m glad. I’m glad it wasn’t Envy, and I’m glad that woman saved you—even if it meant this change. I hope I’ll be able to thank her.”

“She’s nearby right now. Noa is a vampire hunter, and this place is the local headquarters of the Hunters’ organization. We’re among friends here…” Ed swallowed hard. “And that brings me to something else you need to know about this world, and the people in it.”

Delicately, even haltingly at times, Ed proceeded to tell Al everything about their situation. About the other Hunters who were doppelgangers of people they had known in their world. About the fact that alchemy had to be fueled here by human blood, and even then it could only affect beings who came from the other side of the Gate, such as vampires… and the Elric brothers themselves. Al listened intently, showing surprise at many of Ed’s revelations, but never a trace of disbelief. He remained as calmly accepting as he had been when Ed first confessed that they were no longer human.

But then, perhaps it wasn’t so remarkable that if Al could take that news without a flinch, nothing else would faze him.

Only once did Al become upset, when Ed explained that their father was exiled to this world too—and that he had died at Envy’s hands, a mere two nights earlier. Tears fell from the boy’s eyes as he absorbed that loss. When Ed explained how he and Noa were able to defeat and destroy Envy with alchemy, Al expressed a bitter gladness that Hohenheim had been avenged.

There was no visible clock in the room, but Ed knew they must have talked for hours, well beyond the setting of the sun outside. Eventually, he asked questions of his own: inquiring about the welfare of Winry and Pinako, Izumi, General Mustang, and everyone else who had mattered to them in their world. He was saddened by the thought that they would now grieve for Al, just as they did for him. However, it did his heart good to learn they were all doing well otherwise, going on with their lives and accomplishing good things for others.

It was enough. Knowing they were safe, he could say goodbye to them in his heart, and focus now on creating something meaningful from the difficult new life he and Al faced.

Through the entire time they talked, the brothers continued to lie curled up together. It was something they hadn’t been able to do in this way since they were little boys—and now that Al could feel Ed’s touch for the first time in seven years, he clearly craved it. Ed was glad to indulge him, stroking his hair, occasionally brushing flesh fingers across his cheek. His skin had cooled, but the elder brother hardly noticed, because it was no different than his own. All that mattered was that Al was tangibly there with him, in his rightful flesh-and-blood body that was soft yet solid in Ed’s arms.

In some ways, perhaps it would have been better if Al had come to this world in his old armor. Then he would never have had to know what it felt like to be a dhampir—and he would be safer from the dangers they surely had yet to face. Yet Ed suspected that even when Al felt the dark hungers and impulses of his condition, he would prefer its new onslaught of animal instincts and heightened senses to the complete void he once knew. To him, the armor’s invulnerability had been a poor exchange for the inability to experience the world around him, even if some of those experiences were unpleasant.

When a soft knock sounded at the door, only then did they both sit up, as Ed called for their visitor to enter.

He was not at all surprised to see Noa crack the door open, peeking in with a shyness that was an endearing contrast to her strong, forthright nature. Receiving a thin smile and nod from Ed, she stepped into the room, closed the door, and approached the brothers where they sat on the bed. The Hunter was holding something half-hidden behind her—and with a squirm of uneasiness in his gut, Ed realized what it was.

Forcing back that reaction, he introduced her. “Al, this is Noa. She’s…” He smiled wanly. “She’s the reason I’m still here.”

“I’m so sorry for everything you’ve gone through,” Noa said softly to Al, kneeling at the bedside to meet the boy’s eye level. “But I’m glad you’re with Ed again. And I promise, I’m going to do everything I can to help you both.”

In response, Al leaned forward and threw his arms around Noa’s neck, hugging her tightly.

“Thank you,” he whispered fervently. “For both of our lives. For saving Ed the way you did—and for keeping him alive to save me.”

Over Al’s shoulder, Ed could see the look of astonishment and powerful emotion on Noa’s face, and he couldn’t help smiling at it. He nodded approval as Noa hesitantly lifted her hands to squeeze Al’s shoulders, her eyes growing misty.

“I’m the one who should thank you, Al. Your brother has brought hope to this world… and he was able to do it because you kept him alive and fighting through all the years of your hard journey. You don’t know what that means to our future.”

Smiling ruefully, Al drew back a little from her. “I always believed there was a reason for everything that happened to us. A fate we were meant to live for. I knew it would be something important—but I never could have imagined it was going to change a completely different world.”

Ed snorted with mock irritation. “Oh, don’t get started talking to Noa about fate. She thinks she was literally born to be my bodyguard.”

“Well, we do need all the help we can get to keep you from getting yourself killed.” Al wrinkled his nose at his elder sibling. “Now that I’m not in my old armor anymore, I don’t think I can do it alone.”

Beside the bed, Noa was smiling, clearly entertained and delighted by the interplay between the two brothers. Edward loved to see that. The last thing he wanted was to disrupt the almost-lightness of the moment; but he was still thinking of what Noa had carried into the room, and he decided it was best not to put off addressing it any longer.

“I guess you brought us…” He grimaced. “Dinner.”

Noa’s face fell with an abrupt, awkward sadness. “Yes. I know it’s a terrible thing to deal with so soon, but Al needs all the nourishment he can take to get his strength back.” Slowly she lifted the bottle of red liquid from where she had set it at her side, meeting Al’s eyes. “Please don’t be afraid. This is only beef blood. It still isn’t very pleasant, but… this is what it takes for us to live.”

“…I understand,” Al said faintly. He was making an obvious effort to preserve his earlier poise, but he stared at the bottle with uneasy eyes. It was one thing to be told he had become a half-vampire, but it was very much another to face the stark reality of it.

“Would it make you feel any better if… if I drank first?” Ed asked gently.

After a hesitation, Al nodded slightly. Ed reached out with his automail hand, taking the bottle from Noa, and then paused a moment to gather his own nerves. He thought he had grown used to this by now, but the very thought of Al watching him feed upon blood made the abhorrence of it somehow new and fresh again.

Finally, refusing to let himself think about it any further, he twisted the cap from the bottle and raised it to his lips. He took only a small swallow of the blood, without looking at Al. What Noa had given him earlier was still enough… and it was Al who needed it now.

“Does it taste good to us the way we are?” Al asked quietly, his gaze resting intently on his brother—but without accusation or disgust.

With reluctance, Ed met Al’s gaze. “It’s hard to explain. The taste of it isn’t good, but it triggers such a strong need in us that it doesn’t matter. The way it feels on the inside is what’s… satisfying, in an awful way. Even if it’s cold, it fills you with a kind of warmth. It fuels our bodies… and it keeps our minds free from the cravings that would turn into something much worse.” He grimaced. “But it’s not something anyone in their right mind could ever enjoy.”

“That’s good. I wouldn’t want to enjoy it.”

Noa spoke. “You should start by getting the scent of it first, Al. Just know that… your body will react.”

Al did not look reassured. Nevertheless, he reached out and took the bottle from Ed’s metal grip. For a moment afterward, he visibly struggled with himself, as if he couldn’t quite force his hand to draw the vile stuff any closer. Were his change farther along, Ed knew the smell of blood would already have decided things for him, but his senses had not yet achieved their full strength.

At last, closing his eyes, Alphonse raised the bottle underneath his nose and took a deliberate sniff. The inhalation gasped out again softly as his eyes flew open, their color swiftly brightening from warm brown to vivid scarlet.

“Oh…”

His left hand rose to touch his parted lips. From there, his fingertips gingerly explored further, brushing against the sharp points that his canine teeth had suddenly developed. A deep shudder passed through him, and his eyes screwed shut again.

With a heart full of aching pain, Ed squeezed Al’s shoulders tightly. “It’s okay, Al.”

It was difficult to say whether the feeble attempt at comfort spurred Al to gather his resolve. In any case, he lifted the bottle and quickly gulped the blood, draining it so fast that he may not have tasted it—at first. There would be no escaping its bitter aftertaste, but at least he succeeded in drinking it down.

Once done, Al pushed away the bottle and sank facedown against the mattress, his small fingers fisting into the sheets. He was still for a long moment before he turned his head, to stare blankly at the far wall as his eyes faded slowly back to their natural color.

“I’m sorry,” Ed whispered in guilty grief, stroking Al’s hair. “But you’ll get more used to it. I promise.”

“I know.” Al blinked pensively, as the troubled tension in his face began to relax. “And I know this must be easier for me than it was for you. I have you to trust… but when you were alone here, it must have been so hard.”

Ed exchanged a touched and rueful glance with Noa. “It was at first—but Noa was the best teacher I could have. I can only hope to do as well for you.”

Noa smiled sadly at Al. “Neither of you are alone here—and not only because you’re together again. The rest of the London Hunters and I are here for you too. It won’t be easy to sort out the changes your alchemy has brought to this world… but whatever happens, you’re a part of us now. We’re going to take care of you both.”

In response to those words, Al turned over on his back, halfway sitting up. Although he said nothing, he smiled at Noa. The expression was pale and tired, but full of sincere warmth and gratitude.

For the first time since he was turned, Ed felt as if he had been touched by gentle sunshine.

---

© 2015 Jordanna Morgan


CHAPTERS: I. - II. - III. - IV. - V. - Epilogue