Chapter 8 - Myth and realities fine lines

It is good to see you again. I am sorry to have kept you waiting soo long. But even I myself get slightly distracted with everyday life from time to time. However let's not keep you waiting anylonger. As you should know, Edward was just turned into a child of the night, an immortal vampire. What powers will he now possese thanks to this dark gift, and what future events await him and his brother as their destinies intertwine with that of Sarah's clan and Shadow's group? Let's find out.

Shadow stalked through the vast city of Central, this was such a pain. Why couldnt the brat have bit him somewhere closer? No she had to go alllll the way to her damn mansion near the edge of the city. Such a pest she was at times. Not to mention he couldnt risk speeding through the town, what with all the soliders still roaming about. However when he passed a nearby allyway...something felt off. He stopped and looked towards the black shadowy area for a few minutes. Seeing nothing moving he just pegged it for a cat and continued walking, not noticing a hooded male with dark greyish skin and red eyes creep out from the alley, watching him as he sneered with a row full of sharp teeth glinting in the moonlight.

At the mansion Shadow was headed for; Edward was currently resting on the couch, head in Sarah's lap while she had an ice pack on his forehead. This of course was due to the fact that after a human is turned into a vampire, they obtain a massive headache. That is because they are still trying to get used to their super enhanced senses. It would be like putting on a pair of super powerful perscription glasses somewhat for a weak eyed person. After a few more minutes of the clock ticking being the only sound in the dark dusty room, the blonde decided to break the silence while he stared out the window.

"So; I'm curious. What is fact about a vampire, and what is fiction?" Edward asked in a soft tone, glancing up at Sarah who in turn chuckled softly, eyes locking with Edward's as she smiled.

"I dont blame you for being curious. And it would be wrong of me not to tell you. So ask away Elric." Sarah exclaimed with a playful smile to her features, said alchemist nodding as he thought.

"The stake thing, true? Not to mention the mirror thing too." He asked, sitting up alittle since he was starting to feel the headache subside just a tad bit as he now held the ice pack to his head himself while he awaited Sarah's response.

"If the stake is stabbed into the heart and left there yes. Otherwise if it's removed, the heart will quickly mend itself and we'll revive. So in otherwords it is a sort of half death state we are put in when staked. The mirror thing is very silly. We can see ourselves clearly in the mirror as anyone else can. If we couldnt, we wouldnt be such wonderful dressers." Sarah replied in a playful tone causing Ed to nod, feeling silly for asking the mirror myth now since she proved a great point.

"Alright then, holy artifacts, silver, and shapeshifting?" Edward now then asked after thinking for a few minutes, Sarah being quick to respond to this as she boredly looked at her nails as if she had been interviewed like this a hundred times before, which probly no doubt she was.

"Only truely evil black hearted vampires; such as my grandfather will get hurt by objects blessed by saints and what not. Otherwise they are harmless to good hearted vampires such as myself and defiently you. Silver is meant for lycans, not vampires so no it wont hurt us. Now the shapeshifting, it varies on the vampire's age and of course power. Mostly fledglings such as yourself will morph into something...eh something domestic. But with enough practice and training you would work your way up to something large and powerful such as a grizzly bear or tiger. And if you let enough years pass with more training, you could morph into a huge demon or dragon like some of the legendary purebloods of this world. Also time is limited in morphing. If you train well enough you could work your way up to a good hour or so. But if not you'd have ten minutes at least before morphing back to your orginal state, which wouldnt be good if you were out in public, since a vampire lacks clothes when they morph back. But with enough training and power at your disposel, you could make it so that days pass before you have to revert back to human state." Sarahfina then exclaimed, all the while being careful at saying the dreaded 's' word around Edward when it came to what type of animal he would be able to morph into at first. This was due to the glare Edward shot her way when she nearly said it; however managed to quickly save herself by saying domestic instead.

"Alright...how about mind reading and telepathy?" Edward asked, leaning back against the couch alittle more now while he continued to watch her, his headache starting to fade completly now since he was getting used to his senses.

"Unless the person has a very strong mental will power, we can read minds like home movies and open books." Sarah stated softly, stretching her hands over her head idly.

"And yes we can mind speak...or use telepathy as you stated. Fledglings can do this well enough without training, not to mention it comes in handy in situations where a vampire pack is split up and need to locate one another." Sarah then said to Ed mentally as she gave him a coy smirk.

"Interesting, wish I could read minds without having to train though, bet you have quite an interesting life story." Edward responded back mentally himself, catching Sarah off guard that he was already a natural at this for a first timer. Then again he probly read about telepathy in the tons of books he's obtained over the years when it came to myths. However she murred lightly at his statement, closing her eyes as she flicked her fingers, causing Edward to yelp as he was shoved by an invisible force off of the couch, faceplanting.

"Try it and see what happens you lil peeper. They say if a theif is caught stealing, his hands are cut off. Your fate would be much more grim I do think so. Dont try me, cause I would cut your eyes out with no hesitation Eddie." Sarah then said in a sweet yet creepy tone, causing the blonde to gulp lightly as he laughed nervously rubbing his head.

"Ehehehe I was just kidding...no need to get touchy. But anyways, what the hell did you just use there?" Edward said, getting to his feet dusting his pants off before looking to her once more with curiousity.

"Telekinesis. The ablity to move objects of any size or shape with one's sheer mind power. There is also the TK blast, which is a small focused blast of power sending said object flying away from the user. This also comes in handy in day to day life, plus it helps greatly in battle. There are also other uses of telekinesis too. Itachi would be happy to show you these ablities considering it's been awhile since him and Sasori trained a fledgling." Sarah stated, smiling calmly as she stated this as Edward beamed at the mention of training.

"That's perfect! And we could train downstairs in Tifa's hidden room we built for such a thing. Trust me it's big enough to fit an army in there, plus we are always expanding the room. We even put in a lounge next to it for relaxing after a long day's work out." Edward stated, being somewhat thrilled at the thought of being able to test out his new ablities with skilled vampires such as Itachi. After all, what he did to Shadow that night was very impressive, he disabled him with just a look. The thought of doing that to Roy made Edward smirk evilly as his mind drifted. Or better yet, morphing into a huge monster of some sort as he chased the skirt chasing colonel down for daring to call him a midgit all these years.

"Edward...of course you know you have to keep this a secret from the military. You dont want to be a lab rat do you?" Sarah then said, having read Edward's thoughts even though she pretty much didnt need to since his evil sinister grin said it all on what he was thinking. Upon hearing this Ed's face dropped as he turned around.

"Aw damn...cant I at least mess with the jerk alittle? Like tk blasting him down a flight of stairs...or ambushing him in the guise of a crow or dog and chasing him down the street?" the blonde then asked with a meek hopeful grin, this of course getting a laugh out of the ravenette who covered her mouth.

"I dont see any harm in that. Just dont kill him. But anyways, onto other matters. Feeding; yes we need blood. It sometimes varies on the nature of the vampire though. If they are super evil or a fat glutton they will usually be biting others like crazy or raping red cross blood banks. However if it's a good natured or old vampire, then usually a month or two will pass before they need to really feed. Otherwise we sustain ourselves with food here and there to get by. And also vampires dont hate garlic, I infact love garlic toast. However a fledgling needs to feed right away. If a week were to pass and it hasent fed, the vampire would starve and perish, falling into a death like state until blood were to touch it's lips. Another way to kill a vampire, is death by fire and scattering of the ashes. If the ashes arent scattered the vampire will come back to life again. And the most violent way is to rip it's heart out and destroy it. Because even if the heart is ripped from the vampire's body, it would still be able to fuction if it were placed back inside it's chest. Without the heart the vampire cannot go on, makes sense right?" Sarah said, causing Edward to nod as he shuddered at the thought. Damn even decapitation couldnt stop a vamp. He assumed as with Greed from what Alphonse said; that their heads just grew back like a freaky lizard hybrid.

"So...how old are you exactly?" Edward asked, soon regretting this when he got a pillow to his face, a heavy one, oofing and falling back on the floor twitching while Sarah snorted, her left eye twitching.

"You should know when it comes to talking to a woman never to ask their age Fullmetal. But if you must know, I'm around 467 years old. But you know damn well I look good for my age!" She snapped as Ed held his hands up defensivly.

"Easy easy I was just curious is all and yes you look very good for your age..." Ed said quickly, blushing then when he realized how that came out which earned him a playful grin from Sarah as she tilted her head.

"Well you just saved yourself there Eddie. And also I saw you were curious on regeneration, yes our heads would grow back. Plus if one were to get hacked to bits, they would reassemble. Not even one's hair can be cut off without it growing back in a mere few hours. So if you had plans of your hair being cut short, kiss them goodbye cause it's just going to continue growing now." she then stated making a playful waving motion with her left hand as Edward sighed in relief. Now if that bastard Mustang tried to burn his ponytail off like he did a year ago on April's fool day, he'd be in for a rude awakening to see it wouldnt have an effect for long. He was ready to ask another question about what other powers a vampire possessed, when he blinked and looked to the right towards the door, sensing an immense power level coming towards them.
"What's wrong?" Sarah asked, getting to her feet when she saw Ed's hard yet curious gaze. That question was soon answered when the door was kicked open; Shadow stepping through it with a bored look, hands in his vest pockets.

"Good you're still alive. So you took the offer...smart kid." Shadow said, Edward's eyes narrowing as he clapped his hands, shifting his automail arm into a blade as he then pointed it in Shadow's direction.

"The hell you doing here?! Back for more of me are you huh? Well I'm not going to be soo easy to kill this time around!" Edward snapped as Shadow gave him a dull look, walking up to him as he shoved the blonde backwards, knocking him into the couch with such force it flipped the whole thing over as Sarah jumped squeaking, her dark blue eyes glaring at Shadow now.

"Put that away and quit acting tough shrimp. I'm not here to kill you. I made a promise to your big sis of sorts to not hurt you or Alphonse when she mended my injuries awhile ago." the raven haired male exclaimed, idly scratching at his ear while he spoke, wanting to be anywhere else but this dusty old oversized shack.

"DONT CALL ME A SHRIMP YOU EMO JONAS BROTHER REJECT!" Edward barked out, leaping up over the couch while had to be held back by Sarah while he struggled. "Then why the hell are you here? I doubt it's to mock me!" he then asked after calming his nerves, Shadow then turning to walk off.

"To fetch you, since Alphonse is worrying like crazy along with Tifa about you. Considering the ice brat over here forgot to mention to Al and Tifa that she was taking you over to her home." Shadow then said, eyes locking on Sarah who in turn gave a nervous laugh.

"Whoops...my bad." She said, letting go of the Elric as he cussed and sweatdropped.

"Oh damn Alphonse! He's probly worried sick...and Tifa's gonna clobber me for making her worry. Yeah we better head back." Ed stated, praying to the highest heavens Tifa wouldnt send him through the wall for forgetting to check in during the seven whole hours he had stayed here. Turning he quickly followed after the taller male. He stopped however and looked over his shoulder. "Hey Sarah you coming?" he then asked, surprising her. You'd think he'd say bye to her and want to check in later. This blonde constantly confused her with the way he wore his heart on his sleeve. And another thing baffled her too...how was Edward able to locate Shadow's aura before herself? Especially when he went to the trouble of surpressing it.

"Oh right, coming!" Sarah stated, smiling to herself as she joined up with Edward, all of them managing after awhile to head back to the tavern. Alphonse was the first to greet Edward, running over and hugging him tightly as the blonde eeped and flailed.

"Brother you're alright! I was worried you were dead or hurt or something worse!" Alphonse stated, Louis chuckling at this scene as it brought back faint memories of his own past that he shared with his cousin. Shadow walking past the others while he then took a seat at the bar.

"Ack Al it's good to see you too...however you are crushing my ribs!" Edward said between gritted teeth, said suit of armor sweatdropping as he placed his older brother back on his feet chuckling.

"Sorry...just that I was worried is all. You gave me quite a scare...are you alright? You look alittle pale." Al stated, noticing the change alittle in Ed's skintone against the tavern overhead lights, Sarah looking away some while Edward himself nodded smiling.

"I'm just fine...I'll tell you later though incase you are curious. Right now though I am beat. Very long night it was that's for sure." The older Elric exclaimed with a loud yawn, covering his mouth while he did this so Al or Tifa couldnt see his new longer canines.

"What about Sarah...? Did she kidnap you?" Alphonse then asked after a few moments, turning his gaze to the female who had taken up a nearby chair as she sweatdropped feeling the suit of armor's gaze on her. Sure he was harmless in nature. But if he wanted to he could really kick some tail, and her kidnapping his brother would give him a good reason to pummel her if he was that type of person. Luckily Edward stepped in and patted Al's arm.

"Nah she's clean Al. She took me to her house and I asked her about everything. She's innocent of the crimes. Though this means we are still on a goose chase with that copycat killer." Edward then said, being very quick to think up a lie on the spot. Though still he didnt like to lie to his younger brother...however he couldnt exactly tell Alphonse right now what Sarah was...what he was.

"Oh alright, I'm sorry to have accused you of kidnapping my brother miss Sarah, I hope you can forgive me." Al then said, turning as he gave a light bow to the girl who smiled and waved a dismissive hand.

"Dont worry about it, I'm used to people judging me too quickly anyways. It's not really your fault." Sarah stated as Tifa smiled walking over to both Elrics, lightly clonking the older one upside the head as he yelped.

"You could have saved us both a few hours of worrying by calling you know. I gave you that cellphone for a reason." Tifa said in a stern yet gentle tone, Edward grumbling as he looked away, Tifa's red hues now resting on Sarah. "Plus I guess you would like to shack up here too? Shadow told me it's quite a hike up to your place, and I wouldnt want you taking forever to come here each day to see Eddie. So how about it, I got a few spare rooms anyways that are just collecting dust." she then added, Sarah blushing some at the mention of her coming to just see Edward while Alphonse gave a playful chibi hampster face at Edward's dark blush too.

"I would love to stay to be with all of you. It would be selfish to be here just to see the cute alchemist. You all seem like a wonderful kind bunch to hang with." Sarah said in a sweet tone, Shadow snorting at this statement since she had him pegged way off as Louis snickered at Shadow's response. "Also a few friends of mine are coming over too, to help Edward with some training." Sarah then added. But before Tifa could get out the question of what type, Shadow got to his feet when someone had walked through the door. His hardened gaze on the hooded man was very unnerving.

"Hey the bar's closed fella, sorry to have fooled you with the lights and all." Tifa said to the man. However he did not move, his gaze resting on Shadow as he breathed heavily behind his scarf. "Didnt you hear me...? I said the bar is clo-" Hoever she didnt get a chance to get the last part out, the man letting out a loud inhuman screech as he dove towards Shadow, claws and teeth being bared as he tackled the duel haired male into the kitchen, the others getting to their feet quickly as more howls rang out, more hooded figures leaping in through the windows while more came barreling through the doors.

"The hell is going on?!" Edward yelled, eyes widening as four of the hooded males with razor sharp teeth surrounded him, Tifa, Alphonse, and Sarah. However the group had no clue that was far more threatning things heading towards the bar, massive hulks of humans that let out rib rattling roars as they stormed through the streets like massive bulldozers. On the otherside of the city two figures stood, one bald and over muscular while the other was short and stout with black spiked hair, both adorned in samurai looking white and gold armor.

"The hunt is on. Let's see if that little clan can withstand our new army." The shorter of the two males said, both males then bursting into wicked laughter that carried on the harsh winds.

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