route_1065 | Sometimes people leave you, halfway through the wood.

Entry tags:

Sometimes people leave you, halfway through the wood.

Who: Alphonse Elric, Envy, Greed, and Wrath.
Where: An ill-fated bakery. All around Goldenrod. The freakin' basement.
When: August 11th onwards! This is a catch-all.
Summary: The world has been pretty good to the various monsters and serial killers hailing from Amestris, but one particular villainous wild child has yet to be rehabilitated.
Rating: PG-13 for talk of abuse, manipulation, brainwashing, all that good stuff.
Log:

Continued from here.

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_{[Wrath's lips purse for a moment as he considers this.]

[While it's true that Envy's changed his mind a number of times even since Wrath had first arrived here, he has managed to stick to this specific version of things for some time.]

[After silently weighing things up for a bit, Wrath sets his jaw and looks back up at Envy.]}

You gotta pinkie swear to it.

[Honestly, Envy's relieved that Wrath is even thinking about it instead of just dismissing it outright. He blinks, looking confused. He has to what?]

Pinkie swear? What's that mean?

[He doesn't look reluctant. WHATEVER IT IS, HE'LL DO IT. BUT FIRST HE NEEDS TO KNOW WHAT TO DO.]

_{[Wrath's expression grows grim.]}

It's something Joker taught me.

_{[Emphasis on 'Joker', because Wrath knows that he and Envy are friends. Therefore, it adds legitimacy to what he's saying. Of course, Joker hadn't... exactly... SPECIFIED WHAT HAPPENED WHEN A PINKY PROMISE WAS BROKEN.]

[Fortunately, Wrath has a big imagination to make up for that.]}

It means you promise something, and if you break the promise, first all your body parts start to rot off, but you don't feel it, so you just have to watch. Then your hair turns to cobwebs, and all your skin melts off, and you vomit up your organs one at a time.

Finally, you're a bunch of bones, and you can't move, because there's no muscles to pull on them.

But your brain is still inside, so you can still think.

And then bugs eat the brain.

And then you die.

_[......]

... And you DON'T come back!

Edited 2015-10-22 03:22 (UTC)

[Envy is pretty sure that Wrath is the one who made up all that about what happens when you break one, because that sounds like a VERY WRATH THING TO COME UP WITH. But he nods solemnly, even widening his eyes a little, like he believes every word.]

Then I really won't be able to break it, not even if I wanted to.

Okay, so how do we make this promise? Anything special we need to do to make it the real thing?

_{[GOOD. Envy seems suitably convinced.]

[Wrath holds up his hand, pinky extended.]}

You gotta hold the small finger on the end of someone's hand with yours.

And say what you're promising.

Like...this?

[What a weird way to make a promise. But it does seem like a thing humans would come up with. He extends his own pinky, linking it with Wrath's.]

I promise that I'll only tell you the truth, from now on. I won't change my story anymore.

_{[Once their pinkies are linked, Wrath gives Envy's hand a slow, firm shake-- just like Joker had done when he'd made Wrath promise to keep his nefarious deeds on the downlow whenever he planned on visiting the circus. Not that they'd quite upheld that one, considering Joker's first move upon finding out that the little ragamuffin had stolen AN ENTIRE VAPOREON had been to send Invidia out to sweep him off to the big-top, but WHO'S COUNTING...]

[Then Wrath lets go. And nods somberly.]}

It's sealed.

[Envy nods back, mouth set in a serious line.]

Sealed. No more lies, ever again.

[He lets out a breath. He really does mean it.]

...now will you believe me, when I say I don't think that your new team's punishments are going to be like hers were?

I'll still talk to the others about letting you out to go back to them. But I don't think it'll be the same as it used to be.

Here--sit down with me?

[He takes a seat on the stairs, gesturing for Wrath to sit next to him, if he will.]

_{[Wrath doesn't have much faith. But, well, Envy made a pinkie promise. If his limbs start rotting off, Wrath supposes then he'll know for sure.]

[He shoots another longing look at the door, unable to help letting out a low whine in his throat. But... after a second, he does sit down. A couple stairs down from Envy, but he does sit.]}

[He sure will!]

[That whine hits him a lot harder than the outraged shouts had when this started.]

I'm pretty sure we're going to let you out, if I bring it up to everyone else. We don't want you to get hurt or in trouble. None of us do.

[And as much as he REALLY DOUBTS that Team Rocket's discipline for its members is straight up torture like it had been with Dante...he doesn't really trust the idea of punishment either. It was too long ingrained for him.]

But if we do let you out...would you promise to come back? If you do, we wouldn't have to lock you up down here.

_{[Wrath furrows his brows deeply. He was on board until that last bit.]

[And honestly... it's less because he doesn't want to come back (although he really DOESN'T) and more because... Envy's ASKING?]

[Envy NEVER asks for anything. He just demands it.]}

... Why do you want me here?

Really?

If... if you're willing to let me GO, why would you want me back?

I'm really confused.

Because we want to keep helping you.

That's why we brought you here, because we wanted to help you. And if you'll let us...then there's no reason to lock you up, right?

[He's trying to explain this in a way that might make more sense to Wrath.]

And we...[He struggles for a second, gesturing. But he promised he'd tell the truth. And this is an important thing for Wrath to know, something Envy's been avoiding saying even though he knows exactly how important a thing it can be to just hear.] We do want you back. All of us do.

None of us want to be your enemy, Wrath. We want you around.

_{[Wrath listens, a sort of forlorn lostness in his face. Not in the sense that he doesn't understand what Envy's saying-- it's somehow deeper than that.]

[Here in this dimly-lit little basement (because eventually he'd started being able to lower the lights at night when he slept instead of just keeping them blazing all night long), sitting and looking up at the oldest of his siblings-in-sin, Wrath looks more like he did the FIRST time he and Envy met than anything else.]

[When he finally does speak, his voice is small and broken.]}

... And you... you wouldn't change your minds again?

_{[No one has wanted him forever. And the first lesson he ever learned was that rejection hurts.]}

[Envy feels something in his chest wrench, painfully.]

[He swallows hard, and shakes his head. It's a moment before he can find words, and even when he does, they're simple ones.]

No. No, we won't change our minds.

[...]

I won't change my mind.

[He puts on a small grin, genuine even though it wavers slightly, and gestures at his legs.]

And these aren't falling off, are they?

_{[Wrath looks down to Envy's legs, squinting.]}

... Well...

The rotting would probably start with the fingers and toes, not the legs.

But... those aren't rotting either.

So...

_{[He looks back up, not daring to LOOK hopeful but starting to feel the tiniest flutterings of it in his chest.]}

Right, no rotting here either.

[He holds up his fingers, splayed out for Wrath to scrutinize closer if he'd like. They look just fine.]

So I'm telling the truth.

We won't leave you alone, not on purpose. Not ever again. Okay?

_{[WELL, THE COMPLETELY MADE-UP THING THAT WRATH SAID WOULD HAPPEN ISN'T HAPPENING, SOOOOO... ENVY MUST BE TELLING THE TRUTH.]

[For probably the first time, Wrath actually finds himself accepting that.]}

... 'k.

[Slowly, the motion a mix of carefulness and hesitance, Envy reaches out one hand to lightly muss Wrath's hair. It seems like the right thing to do.]

Okay.

I can go wake everyone up to talk about letting you out. And you'll come back if we do, right?

_{[There are tears welling up in Wrath's eyes and he's not even entirely sure why. He's not sad, exactly-- and he has no idea that crying from happiness or relief is even a THING.]

[But he reaches up to wipe at his eyes, and manages a very thin, wobbly laugh when Envy ruffles his disastrous mop of hair.]}

Y-yeah.

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Sometimes people leave you, halfway through the wood.

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