Complications and Cauterizations
"You could say that we are the next link in the evolutionary chain," she declares while slowly twisting the fingers that run through my abdomen. I grit my teeth and glare into her oddly slitted purple eyes, determined not to give her the satisfaction of making me scream.
She twists her fingers again and the world goes black for a moment. When my vision clears, I find myself lying at her feet, staring up as she shreds my glove. I slowly roll onto my hands and knees, groaning at the effort as she announces her intentions towards the rest of my team. "Damn you..." I growl, attempting to push myself to my feet. My vision blurs and I find myself on my back again, staring up into that damnable smile.
"Watch as your officer slowly turns cold before your eyes. You'll be joining him soon enough," she says, looking so damned amused as she turns to leave. No. Damnit, not again!
"Lieutenant Havoc..." I croak, turning to look towards him. "Hey, Havoc!" No response. I take a deep breath, ignoring the way the pain in my abdomen intensifies. "Havoc! Answer me, Havoc!" Not even a twitch in response. I used to wonder if I could've saved Maes if I had been there. Is this my answer?
I haven't felt so powerless since the funeral... "Damn it... Damn it, everyone goes before me..." First Maes, now Jean, and pretty soon Alphonse... and Riza. A nightmare vision of her beautiful face covered in blood flashes into my mind. No! I won't let them die!
"Havoc! I won't let you die before I do! Havoc! Hold on, damnit, that's an order!" I pause and take several slow, measured breaths. One of the first lessons my teacher taught me, even before my first alchemic circle, was the importance of calm. "Panic is death. A clear mind can pull victory from the jaws of defeat." I repeat the mantra under my breath twice more, breathing more evenly each time, then I feel ready to tackle the problem before me.
First, I must stop Havoc's bleeding, quickly. I'm no doctor, I only know one way to stop severe bleeding. Rolling back onto my stomach, I drag myself over to Havoc as quickly as I can bear. Rifling through his pockets, I soon find his lighter. A few moments of careful work later and I have my circle on the back of my hand, drawn in my own blood.
After pulling up the back of his shirt, I examine the wounds while manipulating the air around them through my circle. I haven't time to be as precise as I prefer, but I do what I can to keep the effected area focused as I flick the lighter.
Finally, a reaction. Jean comes screaming awake, rolling onto his back as he draws one of his pistols. "Welcome back, Lieutenant," I dryly greet him.
"Colonel." He looks down at his wound. "Shit. I have the worst luck in women..."
"Tell you what, as soon as we get out of this I'll take you around town, make a few introductions," I offer. "Lift your shirt."
"I don't know, Colonel, I remember the last time you got me a date." Jean grins ruefully at this as I prepare my alchemy.
"What, was there something wrong with Catherine? I thought you liked the bosomy types." I flick the lighter again, sealing his entrance wounds. "You could've been in the aristocracy by now if you'd played your cards right."
Jean takes a deep breath and forces a laugh, a bit of blood running down his face from where he'd bit his lip. "I wasn't her type," he sighs as I begin feeling out the wound on my back.
"So? That never means much." I don't think I'll ever understand Jean and his approach towards women, or lack thereof. My musing is cut short when I press the lighter's button again. It's hard to stay focused through the pain and I end up sending the flames wider and deeper than I'd intended, almost blacking out before I let the flame stop.
"You alright, Mustang?" Havoc asks.
"No," I groan as I roll over, "I'm pretty far from alright." And I'm wasting too much time. Ripping open my shirt, I quickly size up the wound before burning myself again. Trying to, that is. That's the problem with drawing a sigil in liquid. Any smudge, even the pressure of a light breeze, can shift a line and render the whole sigil useless. Time for something a bit more permanent.
Using my penknife I cut through the lines, carving my sigil into my hand. A quick flick of the lighter and my wound is sealed. But it was sloppy. Unforgivably sloppy in any other circumstances, but I need to get moving. The world wavers before my eyes as I push myself to my feet. Havoc hasn't gotten up yet and looks oddly worried. "Let's go Lieutenant!"
"I... Colonel, I can't move my legs!"
Shit. "Hold your position. I'll be back with a doctor after I destroy that homunculi." A half dozen stumbling steps bring me to the doorway. I retrace my steps in the closest approximation of a run I dare, leaning on a wall for support as I limp along.
My side burns and I nearly trip several times, but I dare not slow. My mind swims with the possible consequences of failure and these images will not allow me rest. A neat little row of graves, emblazoned with the names of my friends. Riza, dying at the hands of that homunculi Jean called Solaris. No, it must not be. I won't let it be!
"You bitch!" This is swiftly followed by rapid pistol fire and something I'd never heard before, Riza screaming in an absolute rage. I almost don't recognize her. Probably thinks she's avenging me. I rush along faster, praying I won't end up having to return the favor.
I continue my mad dash, tripping and pulling myself back up as the gunfire changes tone to a heavier caliber weapon. The gunfire falls silent. My heart sinks, and I find myself wondering if I could use the philosopher's stone in the homunculi to perform a human transmutation if I'm too late. I don't feel any pain anymore, only rage and desperation as I run on.
The homunculi's talking. Too much echo to make out the words, but I'm sure she just gave me some more time. The arrogant bitch apparently loves to hear herself talk. I hear the hollow-sounding voice of Al, sounding defiant as it echoes down the corridor, then the smug tones of the creature I hunt. Sounds like they're arguing. Keep talking, I'm almost there.
I finally close in enough to make them out when a third voice rises up. Riza. Still alive. "Run! At least you should live!" No, don't be noble, Riza! Stay alive, damnit!
"Never!" I hear him reply. Thank you, Al. "I can't take it! Because of me... People have died because of me being powerless!" I know the feeling, kid. "I just can't take that anymore! I can't stand watching someone I could have protected die before my eyes!"
"Well said, Alphonse Elric," I agree as I step through the doorway. There she is, kneeling behind Alphonse. Riza must be wounded, but she's still alive. She's close to the creature, I'll need to be precise. I'm adjusting the air composition when Alphonse raises a wall, shielding Riza and himself. Thanks again. No need for such precision now.
My first blast drops the creature to her hands and knees. She doesn't look so arrogant anymore. "The first thing one must do to gain control in battle is to immobilize one's enemy. Surprise attacks are also effective," I quote, adding insult to injury by pointing out her two primary tactical errors. "Make a note of that. Homunculus, you are finally on your knees," I taunt before burning her again.
"How?" she demands, shock writ openly across her face. "You should be bleeding to death!"
"I used fire to sear the wounds closed," I declare, relishing her incredulous expression as I pull aside my shirt to display my handiwork. "It almost made me pass out a few times!" Riza pokes her face out from behind Al's wall, then ducks back. I burn the creature again as soon as she's clear.
"When we met before, you said, 'There's still a long way to go before I die'," I repeat before burning her again. "In that case, I'll keep killing you until you stay dead."
She tries to scream as I rain flames down upon her. Good. The suffering you inflicted on Riza and Jean will seem like heaven after I'm done with you, homunculi. Her healing is getting noticeably slower. I can see her stone now, as she tries to stand under my onslaught.
She manages to rear up and attempt to counterattack, but it's too late. She no longer has the energy to heal herself or extend her fingers, and her body is beginning to actually crumble. There's not a thing she can do now to survive and she knows it. I can see it in her eyes.
"You win," she concedes. "I hate to admit it, but it isn't too bad getting killed by a man like you. I like those determined eyes of yours." She's crumbling faster now and no longer has points on her fingers. "I can't wait. The day your eyes will be filled with torment... ...very... ...soon..."
Nothing left but rapidly crumbling bones. I can see her philosopher's stone now, should be able to grab it. But it's crumbling as well. Nothing left of her but dust. I feel disappointment begin to swell up inside me from coming so close to a stone, then everything goes black.
The next thing I know, a very concerned looking Riza is holding me, easing me over onto my back. I guess she wasn't hurt quite as bad as I thought. "Oh, Lieutenant, you're safe."
"Worry about yourself, Sir!" she insists.
Al's standing over me now. "Alphonse... I want to thank you for protecting my officer..."
"Never mind that!" he replies. "We have to call a doctor!"
Good idea. "Yes... Get a doctor for Havoc... Please..." I'm relaxed now, content for the moment in my victory. It's done. She's safe. They all are. I slip away into unconsciousness again.
I'm almost shivering when I awake again. Lying on cold concrete in a wet uniform isn't exactly the most comfortable position I've ever been in, but at least I've woken into pleasant company. "Hello again, Lieutenant. Did I miss much?"
"You weren't out long," she answers. "Al left for help. We should have a few more minutes alone at least." Good. Things are looking up. "Reckless man. You need to stop rushing in like that before you get yourself killed."
"Sorry, I can't help it. I need you," I insist, reaching out to where she kneels beside me and taking her hand.
"No, you don't. You're the only one who's absolutely vital for your plan to work."
"No." I whisper as I reach up with my other hand and caress the side of her face. "Where would I be without my valkyrie?"
"There you go, being reckless again," she accuses, smiling as she pushes my hand back down. "What if someone walked in on us?"
"Easy enough. Delirious from my wounds, I forgot I'm not allowed to make passes at fellow officers. This reputation I've built gives me plenty of leeway. At worst I'll receive a stern memo from a superior officer, who shall underestimate me as a lecherous fool."
"Not if you keep pushing your luck like this."
"Maybe." I feel like a moth, desperately wanting to kiss the flame before me. But doing so could easily destroy us both. I'm already doomed in the long term due to my own plan, but there's no need to pull down my valkyrie with me. She should still have options after I'm gone, as long as no one suspects more than a professional relationship between us. I'll be patient, for her sake.
I hear the distinctive crashing noise of Al at a full run. "Hurry!" he yells, "We're almost there!" Well, there'll be plenty of time to steal kisses later, when we're in a more secure area. For now, I enjoy the feel of Riza's callused hand in mine as I mouth the words that I don't dare say aloud. I know she understands them, because of the smile on her face as she tells me again to stop being so reckless.
Author's Note: Well, I finally expanded into another fandom. It's been over a year since I last published something, so hopefully I haven't lost my touch. I actually started this after reading the unofficial Ynot? Translation, then picked up the official Viz one while revising. Each translation has some lines phrased better than the other, so I jumped around between them for the bits of this that happen 'on-screen'. As always, big thanks go to Noroi for betaing. And any reviews will be very much appreciated.