[Closed] If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks

[toukakoukan]

Characters: Ed toukakoukan and Hades kill_some_time
Location: Ed, Hades, and Al's room
Rating: PG-13?
Time: March 29th
Description: Al's soul has returned home temporarily, leaving Ed with nothing to assume but the worst.



It was a morning like any other. Only when Ed woke up, there was a distinct stillness in the room, something he’d made himself used to while being in Death City but something that’d been gone in the last few weeks. Sitting up slowly, he gave a stretch, rolling his automail shoulder to stretch out the nerves. Still loosely bandaged from his injuries acquired in the last mission, he barely felt the pain anymore and turned to look curiously around the room.

Hades was gone, but Al was here, leaning against the wall nearby like he always did while Ed slept. Ed felt his body freeze over, a chill trickling over him as he immediately knew something was wrong. Al didn’t move, didn’t turn in response to his brother awaking. Usually there was a “morning, Brother!” cheerful as if he hadn’t just spent the night awake and alone. Nothing now. As Ed stared at the suit of armor, his gaze quickly settled upon the eyes of the helmet, and the noticeable absence of light from them.

There was a beat, like a hard single heart-beat, before Edward scrambled off the bed and to the floor before the armor, grabbing it to shake his brother’s body and yelping out, “Al!!”

Nothing. The armor didn’t move, the eyes didn’t light up. There was absolutely no response. Ed suddenly felt like something heavy was upon his chest, laboring his breathing; taking in harsh gasps of air, he pulled the helmet off of the body, eyes finding the blood seal immediately. Nothing seemed amiss with it… but what was going on then??

It was difficult to think rationally and the alchemist found he was barely managing. Think, think, think! Where was Al’s soul?? Could it be possible it was somehow sucked back to the Gate? He might have thought it had something to do with this world, but Al had made it here just fine and nothing had happened for weeks. Why now all of a sudden??

“Al!!” he tried again as if shouting at the suit of armor would sudden awaken his brother. He tried again and again, voice breaking as rational thinking was giving way to panic. It was the panic that was buried not-so-deep inside him, the fear at losing his only family, his most important family. It was the fear that wracked his dreams at night and caused him to wake up in a cold sweat, the fear that coursed through him anytime he saw a life taken. Feeling sick, Ed’s body bent over the helmet, clutching it with his shaking arms. He barely held down the nausea, but he couldn’t move for several moments. He didn’t know how long it was before he slowly got to his feet, still holding the helmet as he weakly moved away from the body. He had to figure this out… he had to, even if it mean breaking through the bonds of this world back to the Gate to pull Al back.

Comments

[kill_some_time]

Hades returned in moderate time from his first experiences as a 'guide' on the training field. Between his way back home and actually arriving he had spent some time finding something to eat and a secluded area to consume said food.

Then had had come back home to hear Edward yelling. His ears peaked up in curiosity at his Meister's distress, the troublesome Weapon left himself inside wordlessly. Then he went looking for from where the ruckus came.

[toukakoukan]

As the door opened and Hades entered, Ed looked up, eyes filled with a sense of loss. He didn't say anything for a moment, because the initial reaction would be to ask if Hades had seen Al, but Al was right here. If Ed didn't know, Hades sure as well wouldn't either.

"He's... I don't know where Al's gone."

When Ed spoke, he hated how shaky his voice sounded. He felt disoriented though, trying to calm himself but feeling completely unable to. Al was the calm one, the voice of reason when he couldn't make heads or tails of a situation. Damnit... where was he??

Ed's fingers clenched around the helmet, automail scrapping against the metal. "It's like he's disappeared..."

[kill_some_time]

"His soul is missing?" The question was paired with the faintest note of curiosity, maybe surprise. Hades was more or less aware of the state the younger brother was - had - been in, so he didn't feel surprised that his body would be left behind.

Walking over, he peeked inside the empty armor before he reached out as if to touch the blood seal inside it. He had been wondering about what would happen if he put his newly acquired claws to it before. Touching a tip of one to right above where the seal began, he turned to give the Meister a thoughtful look while he let it waver.

"Do you think that his soul was just misplaced and will return?"

[toukakoukan]

Edward watched Hades as if in slow motion as he approached the armor and peered inside. But as soon as Hades hand went for the blood seal, the claw touching the metal wall above it, the alchemist sprung forward, voice raising in a shout.

"Don't touch it!!" Once close enough, he smacked Hades hand away from the armor, eyes blazing and large, almost crazed looking. His small body fit between the still suit of armor and his partner as if he had a territory to defend.

For a few moments, he couldn't tell if Hades had actually been trying to harm the blood seal or if it was merely curiosity, just as everything was for the god. Ed's brow furrowed in confusio, especially at Hades' question, but he didn't move from his spot.

"It's never happened before, not like this." At least, not as far as he knew. "I mean, there's always a chance of rejection but it's been years! Why now??"

[kill_some_time]

Having stopped at Ed's shout (actually 1,5 seconds after, just to draw out the tension a bit longer), the god gave his hand a mildly curious look after it was smacked, as if he had just noticed a sixth finger on it and was now wondering how he could have overlooked that for so long.

Then his eyes focused on Ed's battle-ready form in front of what was now an useless heap of old metal. Hmph. Even without the consciousness in it he still cared for it?

"Hmph. This is a stupid question, coming from you. When else would it be more likely to happen?"

[toukakoukan]

The truth of Hades statement hits him like a slap in the face, because while it's a truth that's been there, occurring to him as he runs through the possibilities, it's not one he wanted to face completely.

He stares up at his weapon in growing horror before looking back to the suit of armor, eyes focusing on the blood seal. No...

"It's not... I won't let it happen!!"

He practically shouts the words, dropping the helmet to crouch before the suit of armor. As in in a craze, he finds the closest thing with a sharp edge--a pen--and doesn't even flinch as he stabs it into the flesh of his hand, drawing it down enough to produce a free-flow of blood. His fingers move quick, drawing a new blood seal like he'd only done it yesterday, the act so fresh in his mind, on the shoulder of the armor. The blood still flowing, his next action was predictably to slap his palms together and to the armor as if the reaction will be different now from how it's been the past three months.

Nothing. Ed stares in shock for a moment before he's on his feet, smashing the lamp on the nearby end table with a shout of fury.

"Come on!!"

[kill_some_time]

He watched Ed's increasingly frantic actions with a mild sort of curiosity. It was fascinating how blind one could be to the most obvious points of logic if fear clouded one's thoughts.

While the his Meister was busy being foolish and destroying his things Hades gave the dislocated 'head' of Al a bored look. Then he picked it up, raised it against the light and peeked inside. As could have been expected it was empty and had some signs of wear as well as a forging technique that Hades hadn't seen for a while now. He would probably have to see to it that Ed cleaned his wound once he was done - pets that were sick were rarely entertaining.

After a couple of minutes, he calmly placed the helmet back on the ground. "That wasn't what I meant."

[toukakoukan]

Breathing raggedly, Ed stared at the floor for a long moment, seeming at a complete loss. He felt mentally and emotionally exhausted already, his mind rapidly trying to process an impossible equation, his heart seized with a fear he felt so often after that day.

Finally, he turned to look at Hades with eyes that didn't completely see the god. "What do you mean then?"

After a beat, he seems to look at Hades more, processing his presence and the truth of what he's claimed to be. Instantly, he rounds on his partner, stepping over to him with large, fiery eyes.

"You... you can do something, can't you?? If you're what you say you are, you can go to that realm and find him!!"

[kill_some_time]

He opened his mouth to explain and promptly shut it again when Ed suddenly decided to take him by his status as the god of the dead which he usually denied so much. From one moment to the other something behind his face seemed to shift, turning the bare hints of real warmth that usually animated his features into a wax-like mask with cold eyes.

Looking at Ed for a long moment, he pretended to consider the demand. It was the same so many had directed at him before, pointless, boring. His lips pulled into a haughty smile as he spoke with a voice whose tone was gentle but also without any hint of warmth or empathy.

"Why would I do that? I do not favor."

[toukakoukan]

"You do this for me because I'm your partner!!" Ed found himself yelling now, demanding rather than requesting at this point. "I've given you so much, the limits of my sanity and more!"

He was normally never able to read Hades' expression, but something had changed in it, he could tell that much. He could rant and yell and demand but there was no way even if Hades could he would do anything for Ed.

Feeling like every single card he had to play was gone, Ed exploded again, throwing up his hands.

"You're useless!! I knew you were just a liar, some has-been creature who claims to be a god! I knew it!"

[kill_some_time]

"Hmph," this was really getting pathetic. Attempting to bargain with him over things whose exchange he had already received was futile. Trying to appeal to his emotions would be futile.

For a moment his expression showed a cold flicker of distaste before it melted back into his usual amused smile. Giving Ed a look, he announced:

"Rage. Pleading will come next. Then trying to bargain with me. All that won't change anything." Except maybe the time when he finally decided to point out to Ed that truly 'dead' guests here tended to leave no bodies behind.