The red glow could be seen for miles around and the screams echoed even farther. The bodies of the annihilated state alchemists decorated the ground like discarded play things and it was impossible to tell what body part belonged to exactly which person. The blood pooled so deeply in some places where small craters had formed that every time a soldier wasn't paying enough attention an ankle was sprained or almost broken and the smell that emanated from the scattered entrails was nauseating.
This was no place for a sixteen year old boy and his younger brother and yet this was where Edward and Alphonse Elric found themselves. The boys had never seen war and this, despite the gore and horror, was not a war but the doings of one person. The stoic Colonel Mustang walked alongside them in a silence that was so heavy it seemed to cause his shoulder to slump against their will.
Every step they took was greeted with the sound of a dying scream and the crunch of bone and they always arrived just in time to see the remains of whatever poor individual they had planned on saving. Edward had already heaved on the side of one house at the sight of a young baby that was cradled in its mother's arms. Just the arms. The rest of the body was splattered against the wall in a macabre silhouette. Alphonse had sobbed at the sight.
"How could all of this…have been done by one person? What kind of person could do this?"
"No person could do this. No human," Edward looked up at his younger brother, a determined and angry fire burning behind the queasiness in his yellow eyes. "Only a monster could kill like this…"
There was another sudden scream only this time the group had a good chance of finding the monster responsible for the killings. The scream came from just a half dozen meters away and the three alchemists ran towards it along with what was left with the small platoon of men that was with them.
The bright red light was brightest there and a shadow of a person could be seen. A wind raged around the person throwing their hair every direction and the outline of clothing could be seen flying haphazardly around the person's body. The wind was so intense that it threw the debris of the ruined house at the men and quick transmutations were made to shield the surprised men from harm.
All at once Edward recognized what was happening and a sick feeling of empathy flooded his stomach. He recognized that complete lack of control, the light, the sheer and devastating power that was before him. This poor person-he changed his mind very quickly about them being an inhuman killing machine-was the victim of an alchemical power overdose just as he had been in the basement of the fifth laboratory.
Alphonse recognized it too and looked at his brother, his entire frame shaking from the wind that was raging around them. Roy didn't hesitate like the brothers.
He moved to the spot where the wind was the weakest and snapped as fast as he could, sending flame after flame at the person, taking care not to injure them too greatly. What was left standing of the building exploded and went flying at the person, burying them in rubble and instantly stopping the light, the wind, and the killing.
The soldiers who had only been equipped with guns stood rooted to their spots as Edward and his brother and the Colonel ran to the rubble and began to dig the person out.
After just a few minutes they had unearthed the one responsible for destroying and entire small village settlement.
It was a girl. She was easily the same height as Edward and it was impossible to see the color of her skin or hair through all of the blood, dirt, and grime that coated her. Roy picked her up quickly and wrapped her in his blue coat to cover her exposed body. She was bleeding and the weeping wounds soaked his coat through the missing parts of her dress and stained his gloves crimson.
There was no way that they could get her to a hospital so Roy rushed her to the area where they had made a small encampment and ordered Hawkeye to clean the girl and dress her wounds. Edward was silent and stood outside of the large tent, his mind reeling.
He remembered stepping in the refined red water in the fifth laboratory and how it had affected him. How he'd had no control over what he did and the pain that had flowed through his body. Seeing it happen to someone else who didn't have anyone there to save her, someone who had killed so easily and completely put into perspective what could have become of him and he emptied his stomach again of anything that was left in it.
It was well over an hour before he could set foot in the tent again and when he did he found Roy and his men huddled in a corner speaking in curious hushed tones.
"Did she say who did it to her," was Roy's question. Edward saw Hawkeye's blond head nod.
"She said…God did it."