Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.
Tibby: This is a re-upload to do some minor edits to the chapter now that I've improved a little more on being descriptive. Not much, but a little!
"Ed, don't you think this is a little overkill?" Alphonse asked cautiously, looking around at all of the bodies on the ground. The bodies belonged to a gang of low class alchemists who also had a bad profile. One thing that they didn't appear to have was a brain, though.
Edward also surveyed his victims, huffing quietly with folded arms, "Bastards…. That's what they get for calling me shrimp and shortie. They shouldn't be waking up for a day or so." A particularly devious smirk formed on his lips before he proceeded to transmute a cage around the group and left a note on the side for them. After glancing over his handiwork, the young alchemist turned to make his way back towards the inn, "C'mon Al, let's head back. Maybe Winry is back at the inn now."
Alphonse nodded in agreement, moving to walk alongside his brother, "I just hope these guys aren't too angry at you once they wake up again." He hunched over a small amount, glancing back toward the victims of his brother's rampage as if expecting them to be taking their revenge any moment. "You don't think-..."
"Would you stop being so paranoid, Al?!" Edward snapped lightly, interrupting his sibling before resting a palm against the arm of the suit of armor. "Stop worrying over it already, would ya? You keep it up and you might have gray hair on your head once we get your body back, y'know?" He grinned a bit, giving his brother a playful shove before jogging ahead.
Both brothers failed to notice a hooded figure watching their movements from a rooftop, as if studying the two. Their 'spy' made no movements to follow them, instead turning and sprinted away at an inhuman speed before seemingly fading away into nothingness.
It wasn't long before they made it back and Edward entered their room, grinning widely, "Winry, we're back-!" The greeting was interrupted by an airborne wrench making a rather solid connection with his skull, causing him to clutch his head with a shout, "OWW!" He glared up at the blonde-haired woman, getting into one of his 'argument' stances, "What in the HELL did you do that for?!"
Winry huffed and mimicked his stance in return, hardly intimidated by her childhood friend, "Because you two came back so LATE! Haven't you heard what's been going on in this town?" She shoved a rolled up newspaper into his face, nearly making him fall over backwards from the sheer force.
He ripped it from her grasp with a snarl and scanned the front, his brother reading over his shoulder. His amber-colored eyes widened, a gasp escaping his lips before he read the headline out loud, "Mass disappearances in Lockheed continue! Reaches number 48!"
"That can't be just a coincidence!" Alphonse exclaimed, his own white orbs as wide as his brother's.
Edward scowled deeply, having found another article and pointed to it, "It's not- look. 'Drastic rise in appearance of beasts.' I bet you my left arm that these so-called beasts are chimeras." He narrowed his eyes even further, the gears in his mind starting to turn, "I have a feeling that there's a link between them. It could be that people are being kidnapped and turned into chimeras. If that's the case, then we have to find whoever's responsible for this and stop them." His eyes traveled up to Winry, "Don't wander anywhere by yourself around here. The three of us need to stick together."
She nodded in understanding, "Alright." Almost immediately after, the automail mechanic sighed in frustration and lightly tugged at the hair framing her face, "Now I'll never be able to visit that automail shop!"
The shorter boy shot her a glare, raising his finger from the paper to point at her in an almost accusing manner, "Would you rather get kidnapped and turned into a chimera? I'd like to see you try to get into that automail shop then or even be able to be an automail mechanic."
Another heated argument brewed between the two until Alphonse attempted to mediate, holding up his gauntleted hands, "Uh, guys, calm down. We really shouldn't fight, especially since we have other things to worry about." As both Edward and Winry fell silent and averted their gazes, Alphonse allowed himself to relax a little.
"Actually, maybe we should get some sleep. I have a feeling that a lot of things will happen tomorrow," Winry stated, stretching her arms up high over her head.
"Nah, you two go on ahead. I'm going to try to solve this mystery so I might know what to look for tomorrow," Edward responded in a distracted manner, his eyes once again skimming over the article.
"But brother-!" Alphonse started before being interrupted by Edward for the second time that day, "No, Al. I want to figure things out before more people are kidnapped. If they are being turned into chimeras, I need to stop it. I don't want another Nina incident! You understand, right?"
"Brother…." The suit of armor said quietly and sadly, memories resurfacing. He remembered Nina and how upset his brother had been when she had been transformed by her own father and then killed. Alphonse had also taken a great liking to the girl and thought of her almost like a little sister.
Edward offered them a small smile, "It's alright, I shouldn't be long anyway." He rubbed the back of his head, smiling sheepishly, "You know how I am; studious and a problem-solver."
"And stubborn," Winry added dully, earning a glare from him.
"JUST GO TO BED!" Edward shouted, fuming and pointing at the bed. Once again, Winry had managed to bring out the worst in him to some degree.
With a dramatic sigh, the mechanic plopped down on the bed on her stomach, "Fine grump." She turned her back to him, closing her eyes with a slight frown, "Better not be a grump to me tomorrow, Edward."
Alphonse watched before sighing and sitting down against a wall, "Don't stay up too late Ed. We have a big day tomorrow."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I shouldn't be up too late," the older brother responded, sitting at the table with the newspaper. He drifted into deep thought on the chimera subject, 'I know that the kidnapped people are being turned into chimeras, but by who? Whoever it is has to be someone as experienced as Tucker….' He rested his head in his palms, still thinking and trying to make sense of it all, 'And what could be their motive? Are they just doing it for thrills? Or maybe they're in the same position as Tucker was?' He messed up his hair, now clearly frustrated, 'Damn! I don't even have a lead to go on! I can't just sit around, waiting for some sign to slap me in the face!'
Alphonse watched him sadly, wishing he could be of more use to his older sibling, 'Brother….' He bowed his head, the white orbs beneath his helm disappearing into the darkness.