The human mind is a mysterious and yet familiar thing; predictable, common, weak, and yet it is the one factor that separates humans from the rest of the natural world. Each person is born with one mind—a mind that will grow, learn, and mature over time. But what happens when a person discovers a second mind within themselves?
The military-issued vehicles ground to a halt outside of the old brick factory and the clicking of brakes chirped alongside the slams of car doors and the loading of guns. A shined black boot stepped easily into a small puddle, its owner leaning out of his car and into the mid-day sun. "Colonel Mustang, sir, your orders?" a young woman inquired from his right. Her blonde hair was kept flatteringly behind her head by a clip and it spiked out at the top of her skull creating a faux-fan. The man closed his door and re-tugged his embroidered gloves.
"All right. Squadron 1 will take the back entrance, Squads 2 and 3 will take the fire escape to go in from above, Squadron 4 will take the front entrance, and Squad 5 will follow me through the facility. Keep on your guard and unless they are in uniform, cuff 'em. Tempest hits in 5 minutes! Dismissed!" the man issued with a salute, his pale hand a stark contrast to the inky-black hair that adorned his head. The soldiers all saluted and nodded in return before heading to their teams and positions.
"Sir, if you don't mind my interruption…" the woman spoke again. He turned to face her and nodded for her to continue. She took a breath and then commenced. "Colonel Mustang, with all due respect, don't you think you should enlist some more back-up? As the main objective is for you to dispose of the target, you are really quite the prize for an enemy snipe." The colonel scoffed and flicked his hair out of his eyes. "Now, Lieutenant, why would I ever enlist some man I don't know when I have your eyes looking out for me?" he joked suggestively. The woman shut her eyes angrily. "Well, sir, at least another soldier would know who to hit, as I aim for the idiots and I fear you may be caught as an accidental mark."
Roy Mustang pursed his lips and whistled softly. "Jeez, okay, okay… Harsh." Lieutenant Hawkeye sighed and rolled her shoulders gently. "Sorry, sir." Roy looked up and squinted at the sun. "Just another madman needing to be taken down, huh?" he asked no one in particular. He looked back down and rubbed his temple. "This headache definitely won't help me in aiming at the sorry sod." Hawkeye leaned forward. "Do you need a tablet, sir? We still have three minutes until we move in, I'm sure the medical team cou—" "No. Not enough time for it to actually work so there's no real use to it."
The man stretched out his back and popped his fingers before heading over to where his team was meeting up, leaving a somewhat disgruntled Lieutenant Hawkeye behind him. "What is it?" he asked. She shook her head with a slight trimmer. "Just… The popping, Sir." Roy smirked. "Oh, you mean like this?" he asked slyly, turned his head to his shoulder, a loud cracking sound coming from his vertebrae. "SIR. PLEASE. STOP." Roy shrugged and stopped walking once the two arrived at the door.
The soldiers looked at the man and a couple of them moved behind him and kept their rifles close to their chests, hand ready on the trigger. Roy turned back around and closed his eyes to try and ease the throbbing in his head even just a tad before heading in on his hit. He had to be completely calm, had to stay within his protective shell of soldiers, and to take down the target swiftly with as few casualties as possible. He flexed his right hand easing away the slight tremble in the fingertips. Despite his years of practice, he still felt a twinge of fear and adrenaline whenever he was given a "sweep" mission. He opened his eyes and looked down at his watch and nodded to the first soldier. They nodded back and turned to the cars and raised his arm. Their drivers began to form a ring around the entrance and the medical van turned on its siren before backing into the alleyway, signaling all of the soldiers that it was time.
The sounds of busted windows and crashing metal doors rang out from all over the building and Roy snapped his fingers at the locked door in front of them to contribute to the noise. The door's hinges melted away from his alchemic fire and the soldiers kicked the shield down. The team began running through the base floor to the cover of the old shipment crates. They ducked down and took a few breaths before continuing on with their raid. Roy looked up and planned out his means of attack.
Acquire target.
Funnel into aim.
Target his spinal fluid.
Snap.
Target heart.
Snap.
Get out of the way.
File report.
Go home.
He took a deep breath and started off. He ran for the steel ladder and climbed furiously, hoping to out-climb any sniper who hoped to knock him off. He got to the office at the end of the metal railway just as the bullets started shrieking around his body. He ducked behind the wall and crawled away from the door and under the window. Glass shattered above him and he felt his scalp slice from an especially large shard. He heard his team's guns fire at his attacks and soon the guns were firing at each other rather than him. He could hear feet falling against the somewhat rusted railway he was connected to. He readied his hand and pointed it at the entrance way.
His lieutenant ran into the room and she was followed by five other men, the other seven now clearly left behind for protection. "Orders, Colonel?" one of the men asked. Roy blinked rapidly, his blood seeping into his eye. "Uh-Assemble formation Arrow once we get down the wall." The soldiers nodded and the team hurried out one-by-one and slid down a ladder that led to a hallway behind a wall. Roy grabbed onto the metal railing and jumped, but his falling was much faster than his other men due to his gloves. His feet met the ground sooner than he had intended and he felt himself stumble backwards into one of his soldiers. The man was very kind about the accidental impact much to Roy's relief. The team got into formation and began heading down the pathway which was surprisingly well-lit considering the factory had been out of work for roughly a decade.
"Sir, forgive my asking, but do all of these lights prove that the culprit has been here?" a very young soldier to Roy's right asked. Roy nodded a bit with a shrug. "Has been? Yes. But only them? Not likely." The team moved in slowly, their footsteps quiet despite the echoing tunnel. They froze when the lights began to flicker. Roy stepped forward and motioned for the lantern that one of the soldiers carried alongside his gun hilt. Roy snapped his fingers quietly and lit the candlewick inside the torch and it was alight for only a moment before the lights went out completely.
The only light in the hallway now came from the fire in Roy's hand and he stretched his arm out to try and illuminate the tunnel. He could hear the sound of running and caught a glimpse of a man in an apron running across the hall before disappearing behind the hall's wall again.
"HOLD IT! GET BACK HERE!" Roy shouted as he threw the lantern to the ground, leaving his men behind. "Colonel Mustang, wait!" Hawkeye shouted, her voice worried. Roy ignored her call and continued down the pitch black path and turned the corner before all light disappeared and he was running in blinding darkness. He ran on, hearing the footsteps of his soldiers behind him, but also a single pair of feet running in front of him. He saw a sliver of light against a wall in front of him to his right and a quiet door closing.
Running faster with his left hand trailing against the wall, Roy reached the break in the hallway. He turned quickly to his left and began heading down the pathway and ran forward with a hand outstretched to stop himself from heading blindly into a door. He felt cold, slightly damp metal and skid to a stop, his face mere centimeters from the door. He groped for the handle and when he found it, pushed and pulled against it, the distinctive clinks signifying that it was locked.
"Tch!" Roy tutted, bringing his hand in front of him. He activated the transmutation circle sewn into his glove and was now illuminated by a dull red glow shining from the thread. He moved the hand over to the side of the door and found the hinges. He snapped his fingers and the rusted metal glowed a brilliant orange before oozing off from their places. Roy slammed his body into the door and it feel back into the room it guarded, the sheer weight of its sound showing how large the room truly was.
Roy stepped on and over the fallen door, snapping his fingers again to send a small fireball into the room. The flames snaked slowly through the air as Roy manipulated them as to get the best picture of his surroundings. What they painted was a horrifying picture of the like Roy wished he could erase from his mind.
Blood glistened along the walls and the floor with a sickeningly red-brown reflection of the fire. Meat and fat was separated into different shelves and labeled with what looked to be toe-tags. Metal glistened like ruby-encrusted silver as blood dried. Roy could now smell the distinct scent of human decay and tugged his uniform collar up over his nose, the national emblem's pin pricking his nostril. He snapped his fingers again as the fireball died and maintained a small bright jet of plasma in the palm of his hand, using the light to watch where he trod. The nauseating aroma of raw innards churned Roy's stomach like a flooded brook, and he had to swallow down bile that tried to surface from his abdomen.
"S… Show yourself!" he barked, his voice louder than anticipated.
A small flint-like spark drew his attention to a floor-based ventilation duct, which reflected the hidden light. Roy snuffed out the flare and carefully got on his hands and knees as he cautiously peered through the metal tube. The light shining was bright blue and Roy could tell immediately from the electrifying crackle that it was residual transmutation energy.
Alchemy… Roy thought to himself, biting his lip out of nervousness. Taking a deep, silent breath, he started to crawl through the vent, his movements surprisingly quiet as he shuffled along in the metal passage. With his flame out, he skin now reflected the brilliant blue from the unseen transmutation and he could feel the air from the room before him warp and flux with each surge of energy that the hidden circle poured out.
He slowed to a halt as he reached the mouth of the chamber and slowly—silently—reached for his gun. He grabbed the holster and began to pull the weapon out but accidently hit the butt of the gun against the ceiling of the vent, sending a loud ring into both rooms. He set his jaw tightly as he waited for movement to sound. He heard only the crackling of the transmutation and nothing else. He exhaled through his nose and blinked slowly.
He opened his eyes to see a hand throwing itself out toward his face.
Roy's exclamation was muffled by his attacker's palm and he felt his skull being crushed by the mighty hand that was now pulling him out of the vent. He whipped his gun out from his side but before he could aim, the attacker slammed Roy's head to the floor, splitting the sliced skin on his scalp into a fault line of blood. The gun rattled to the floor and the perpetrator kicked it away under a cabinet. Roy tugged at his attacker's arms, trying to pry himself free from the crushing grasp. He felt himself being dragged across the floor and could hear the alchemic crackling growing louder with each step his assailant took.
No, no, stop it! Roy thought feverishly as he kicked and fought to be free of the man who was dragging him to the circle. He felt himself being tossed to the floor and the swirling feeling of energy from the circle enveloped his body. "NO YOU DON'T!" Roy howled, jumping up and tackling the man, sending both of them down to the ground. Roy punched the man alongside the left cheekbone and returned his fist across the nose, sending tiny specks of blood onto his pants leg.
The man reached forward and held Roy by the throat, forcing the man back down into the circle. Roy's screams were garbled by his collapsing windpipe and through his tearing eyes he could see the man's face. He stopped struggling.
"You…!" he choked.
The man smiled with wide, glazed eyes.
He forced his hand into Roy's mouth, the Colonel's muffled groans and pained yelps muted by the fist. Roy felt a slight burning in the back of his jaw but his mind registered it as choking and he coughed furiously. Finally, Roy was able to get his leg under the target's chest and he kicked him right in the solar plexus.
The man fell backward with a pained gasp but his intake of air was deafened by Roy's need to replenish his aching lungs. Roy turned to his side and gasped frantically, his blood still not oxygenated enough for coherent thought. "You… You bastard…!" Roy hissed, his voiced rattled by pain. He pushed himself to his hands and knees before feeling a sharp jolt crash into his stomach, the stinging clearly revealing to Roy that he was kicked.
Roy's vision was blinded by the bright blue of the circle as he poised his hand to snap. He felt the man's hand over his face and he snapped. A dazzling display of flame and electricity engulfed the room and the men's screams bellowed out through the vent into the bloodied chamber. Smoke swam through the duct and filled the room and poured into the hallway.
The soldiers turned their lantern in the direction of the hellish scream and the swirling particles revealed the frame of an entryway. They began to storm into the room, gasps and cries of horror escaping their mouths as they looked around themselves at the purgatory of a room they were in. Lieutenant Hawkeye fought her way through and looked around frantically.
"Colonel Mustang!" She called out, no reply coming forth.
"COLONEL MUSTANG!" She pleaded, silence choking the air more than the smoke.
"ROY MUSTANG, ANSWER ME, DAMN IT!" She screamed, her voice losing all professionalism.
Silence.
The lantern light shone through the haze and shone upon the whisps escaping from the ventilation. Riza gritted her teeth and ran headstrong for the opening. The other soldiers failed in stopping her but they held tight to her feet as she tried to crawl through the passage. "Colonel!" she called out, her hands tightened into fists. She could hear fevered gasps and the sound of… Water?
She grabbed her gun and kicked the soldiers off before crawling quickly toward the sound. She pushed herself out of the vent and pointed her gun in the direction of the sounds. The dimmed light of the lantern barely outlined anything in the room, but her closer proximity to the source of the sounds allowed her a better understanding of what was happening. She could hear the quickened gasps that accompanied the sound of slurps and squelching water.
Cocking her gun, Riza pointed her weapon at the unknown man.
He didn't acknowledge her presence.
She slowly moved out of the vent, her aim on the man remaining steady. She stuck her hand back into the duct and motioned for the torch to be passed on to her. When she felt warm metal touch her fingers she grabbed on and swung the light out into the room and she held her breath. She felt her knees buckle and she felt her insides twist into oroborous-like tangles.
Dropping the lantern, Riza's hold on her gun shook with absolute terror. She fell to her knees with a howl of disgust at the sight before her. The next soldier crawling through the hole quickened his pace and he jumped out with his gun pointed in the direction of Riza's fear. He shuddered.
"What the fuck…!" he stammered.
The lantern's top flap was now jut out and a pure beam of light shown on their target, flickering golden light against the oozing red blood that seeped from the red-haired man. Blood soaked Roy's uniform and body, his hair even dripping in it as he leaned forward to soak in his face in the fluid and his gasped breaths broke out only when he stopped biting and swallowing the meat he was devouring. His eyes were wide as was his demonic smile as he tore the victim apart piece by piece.
Roy froze, muscle dangling from his teeth. He rose his head painstakingly slow, blood raining down from his jaw onto his lap. He stared blankly at the soldier in front of him before smiling eerily.
Roy lunged for the man, but he fell forward from tripping over the body. He began to try and crawl for Riza but the soldier tackled him and held him face-down against the floor, Roy's snarled laughter chilling every man to their smallest particle. Riza felt tears fall down her cheeks as she watched her superior fight to bite the soldier who was valiantly trying to keep him down. More soldiers came in and helped cuff the man, who was now howling like a deranged monster, as Riza dropped her gaze to her knees.
She felt her heart tighten and her jaw quivered more with each breath. Wrapping her hands around her head she let out a moan of agony, setting everyone into a permanent feeling of dread. Roy ceased snarling and sat still under the weight of the men. He blinked rapidly, shaking his head slightly. He looked around himself and furrowed his brows.
"What… What's going on?" he asked under his breath.
He set his eyes on Riza and he gasped. "Lieu… Lieutenant? What's… What's wrong?" She looked up and could only shake her head in disgust. Roy nearly groveled for a better answer, but he felt his frame being pulled up off of the ground and up to his feet. "H-hey! Hold on, who-!?" He slammed against the wall and he felt himself getting a pat-down for weapons, as well and the removal of his strangely wetted gloves.
"What's the meaning of this!?" he stammered, his forceful voice now cracked and panicked. He looked back behind him and stared fearfully at his squad, all of whom either glared at him or turned away. "What the hell is going on here!? ANSWER ME!" he shouted before his face was pushed back into the cement wall. He caught a glimpse of his attacker from the corner of his left eye and he felt his insides freeze.
"Roy Mustang, you are under arrest for the… Illegal mutilation and devouring of a human being."