This story is manga based, and begins around the end of chapter 99. Enjoy!
The streets of Central were quiet. It was the Promised Day, and citizens hurried about their business with their heads down and eyes averted, eager to get back to the safety of their homes and out of the way of the coup. No doubt it was being wrapped up that very moment by the Amestrian troops. Central command must have been well on its way to capturing the insurgents; after all, the impressive but no less deadly display of the Hero of Ishval's alchemy had long since vanished from the streets, dragging its ringing explosions with it. It would all be over with soon, and the whole incident would be wiped from their minds as their own lives gradually returned to normal. There was absolutely nothing to worry about.
However much the citizens of Central assured themselves of this, they could not shake the ominous feeling in the air. It surrounded each of them, seeming to constrict their windpipes, coiling itself in their minds like a deadly snake waiting for the right moment to strike. Absurd; ridiculous, in fact, when the struggle for power was almost already over. Yet this is what kept them on the alert, eager to get home to their families and loved ones, just to assure themselves that no harm had befallen them. Yes, the streets of Central were bustling but quiet, the citizens alert to the tenseness of the situation but unable to do anything to identify what was really wrong or to stop it; while far below their city street, the battle that would decide their fates continued.
The underground room below the Central streets was a bloody confusion of bodies, ringing with the barrage of gunfire and alchemic reactions. The floors were rendered into a battlefield as mindless would-be Fuhurs attacked the four rebels, thwarting their every move. Colonel Roy Mustang was caught almost completely unprepared as he was rushed by three soldiers, nearly succumbing to their speed. Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye found it hard to get one soldier her line of fire before another forced her attention to her Colonel or another one of her comrades in an attempt to save their lives. The few tries she had made in taking the gold toothed doctor's life only ended in soldiers throwing themselves in front of her bullet, preventing any harm from befalling him. Scar's speed was, for once, not lending him any sort of advantage, with soldiers dodging his alchemic right arm at every turn. Edward Elric found himself indecisive, unable to forget that these 'spares' were human, but realizing quickly that simply fending them off was not going to cut it much longer. He swore loudly as the sword of one soldier came down hard on his automail arm, which was raised just in the nick of time to prevent it from imbedding itself in his left shoulder. Before he could shrug it off, the gravelly voice of the doctor rang through the chamber: "Numbers 16, 17, 21, 23, 26…Come."
The chaos that had reigned suddenly seemed to distill for a moment, and all eyes were on the unfortunate soldiers as they placed themselves in a perfect circle around the doctor and the alchemical circle he stood on. With a savage grin, the gold toothed doctor slammed his hand down in the center of them, making contact with the runes.
"It's time."
The moment his hand touched the ground, alchemical energy filled the air, and manifested as blue lightening around the sacrificial men. Offshoots of the reaction shot off into the room at large, illuminating it and the fighters with its blue light.
"What have you done?" Edward gazed upon the scene with horror; what was the man thinking, using humans to amplify his transmutation? Did he not realize the threat of the gate?
"Huh? This is just the first stage," The doctor grinned. "Anyone ever tell you exactly how many central alchemy research facilities were under the strict supervision of the Fuhrer?"
"There are four of them within the city limits…" Ed trailed off as the memory of the incident with Slicer and Barry the Chopper interrupted his thoughts, forcing out a gasp. "No..five…!" He connected the dots, his mouth almost ahead of his mind as he choked out "A five point transmutation circle!"
"The curved underground hallway back in research facility three, that was one of the points in the circle?" Hawkeye responded in horror. Although she was not an alchemist, the implications of this new information were not lost on her. She knew the devastating power alchemy could have, especially on scales such as this.
The only response she recieved was a grin as with a rumble, the alchemical power within the room seemed to heighten. It pushed against all those in the room like a physical force. Ed felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise as the five mindless soldiers were slowly eaten away by the reaction, long black hands grasping at their bodies and pulling them apart. A sure sign of the gate…what could they want with it here? With a jolt, he realized the hands had suddenly turned on him. Fear hit him with an icy fist as a glance down revealed a huge purple eye staring back at him, looking as though it had been plucked from the gate itself.
"What…is…this?" he forced out. Panic seized him as he felt the deconstruction start. He could feel himself slipping away; in a last ditch effort, he forced what was left of his hands together and slammed them into the ground. His frenzied mind hadn't even thought of a specific reaction, his only thought to stop the transmutation now before he was entirely consumed. The floor around him cracked on his command, fractures branching almost all the way to the doctor. The gate's eye seemed to widen for a moment, and the light from the doctor's alchemy momentarily took on a darker hue. However, his effort was too late. In the span of another second, the Fullmetal Alchemist was gone. The eye shut, the hands dissolved, and in the stunned silence that followed, the doctor saw that one of the five points on his circle was now marred by a hair-thin crack. A feeling of foreboding sucked some of the manic glee from his eyes as Mustang's cry of "Fullmetal!" echoed through the room. It seemed Edward Elric had done some damage after all.
Yet farther below this underground chamber was another much larger with a much more sinister purpose. It was spacious, yet dark and gloomy. Pipes swarmed up the walls and over the floors like the roots of some great tree. In the darkest corner, the now completely inhuman Father basked in the knowledge that his precious human sacrifices were on their way. He had felt the enormous rush of energy that had pulsed through the earth at their summoning. There was very little that occurred in central city that escaped his notice; and indeed, an alchemical reaction of that scale would have been hard to miss, even for simple humans. He imagined their fear if they knew what was coming, mindlessly swarming with panic like ants being disturbed in their nest. The similarities almost made him smile. They were so like insects, trapped by their own humanity and stupidity; so unable to see the bigger picture and powerless to save themselves.
Father turned his attention upward as with an exhilarating hum, the blue lightning of alchemy lit up the hall. It illuminated the walls, the pipes, and Father himself, grotesquely complete with all the bits and pieces of Von Hoenhiem protruding out of him at odd angles. One sacrifice was with him already; who would be the second to come and join him today?
Pieces of alchemic material merged together into a humanoid shape, complete with long black dread locks and sandals. With a curse, Izumi Curtis fell to the ground straight out of the center of the alchemic reaction.
"Mother F-!"
Lovely. However, her language could be excused for today. She was going to die, after all.
A hollow clank echoed throughout the chamber as a giant suit of armor dropped like a stone to the floor. It seemed Alphonse Elric had joined them as well. Perfect.
Von Hoenhiem, Izumi Curtis, Alphonse Elric. That made three; all that remained now was his fifth sacrifice (no doubt being prepared that very minute) and Edward Elric. Father sat secure in the knowledge that any moment now, the blond haired miscreant that had caused him so much trouble would drop from the heavens, and his collection of sacrifices would be nearly complete.
He waited.
And waited.
…and waited.
Refusing to let himself recognize his apprehension for what it was, he waited still longer. His plan was perfect. Nothing could have gone astray. Sure, the fifth candidate for sacrifice had taken longer than anticipated to find, but there should have been nothing wrong with the acquisition of the gold haired child. He was the cornerstone that had led Father to find two others like himself; strong willed humans with the determination to look the gate in the face and come back alive. Exactly what he needed. Surely he would be here any second.
Any second now, the boy would appear, and Father's plans for Amestis would reach fruition at last.
...Edward Elric never appeared.
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