The Deal
Chapter 2

"I wonder where he's taking us…" Alexandra muttered for the third time in the last 10 minutes. Renee sighed, aggravated.

"Hey! What did I say about talking? Keep quiet until we get there!" The robber, now dubbed the kidnapper by the two girls, whispered fiercely at them. Renee grumbled slightly to herself and side-glanced at Alex, who gave her a glum, irritated look in return.

"Where exactly are you taking us? And for what reason?" Ren asked him, turning to glare at the man despite the fact he had a gun pointed at the back of their heads. She heard him scowl, and figured that she wasn't getting an answer anytime soon. Huffing, she turned back around and picked up her pace.

"Hey, do you think that he'd…" Alex trailed off, staring at Ren with a look. The Maxell girl blinked, and then shook her head roughly.

"No!" She whispered harshly. "No, I don't think he would. He didn't seem like he was interested in… that." Alex suddenly grinned.

"Well, you know what? You're a loser!" She whispered playfully. Ren shook her head, rolling her eyes.

"Your face is a loser." Renee muttered back, but a smile spread across her face.

"Your mom's a loser."

"Your grandma's a loser."

"Your life sucks."

"Both of you suck! Now shut up!" Renee and Alex winced at his sudden loud interruption and glanced at each other with withering looks. Then they stopped suddenly.

Looming above them was a huge building with gigantic double doors. It was sort of like an antique mansion with no one living there. There were broken stain glass windows, and it looked very ominous. Thunder suddenly boomed overhead, but despite all the oncoming danger, Renee and Alexandra stared in awe at the massive building.

"Whoa." They whispered in unison.

"Come on! Move it along!" The robber/kidnapper yelled at them, kicking them forward with his boots. They glared, but walked to the massive double doors. Alex turned around to give the guy a perplexed look.

"So, what's in here for us, Mr. scary robber/kidnapper guy?" The man seemed taken aback by the way he was addressed, but said nothing of it.

"Well, to not completely lie to you girls…" Renee rolled her eyes. "I'm taking you to my boss. The one who had ordered me to rob that pharmacy across from your school. He told me that if I'd found some good, willing people in their teens, then I should bring them back to him."

"What, is he going to rape us?" Renee asked sarcastically, and was praying monstrously in her head that he wasn't. The man, who Alex had dubbed Robnapper a few minutes ago, scoffed.

"And why would he rape you? He's got many companions to help him with things like that. Besides, he's gay." Alex grimaced.

"Ech. So didn't want to know that." Alex moaned out. Robnapper grumbled slightly and tapped them in the backs to keep them moving. "So, what is he going to do with us then, if he's… interested in men?"

"It depends, girl. If he sees you fit for travel and being able to pass through the gate soundly without paying a price, then he might make you his experiment." Both Renee and Alex stopped dead in their tracks.

"Whoa whoa! Hold up! Fit for what!?" Alex shouted, whirling to face Robnapper. He seemed surprised by her sudden anger.

"Listen, little miss, you'll find out when you get in there to see him." Pushing them both forward yet again, he added, "And who knows? It might be good for you to get sent there." Raising an eyebrow at his comment, Renee glared ahead and tried to be as stubborn as she could without getting shot. Alex didn't seem to be worrying about it that much for she was admiring all the windows and antique things inside.

They finally stopped at a small door that had a piece of paper stuck to it, saying "knock three times for entry". "Hey, boss! I robbed the pharmacy! And I found two girls who might make it across!" Alex and Renee watched the door warily, and then winced when loud footsteps hurried across the threshold, and the boss appeared in the doorway. He stood about 5"6, a little bit higher than Alexandra. He was balding slightly on his head, and he had a Santa Clause beard. He wore a huge black trench coat and all black clothes underneath. The boss eyed them carefully, then seemed to smile. It was hard to tell with all the fat around his cheeks.

"You did well, David." Alex and Renee glanced at each other. They liked their nickname Robnapper better. "Go and find Smith, I want to talk to these girls alone." David nodded and patted Renee on the head as he left. She flinched and backed away, turning to look at the boss. "Come on in, girls." He motioned inside his room, and Alex and Renee glanced at each other. They both crossed their arms.

"What if we don't want to?" Alex asked defiantly, glaring at the fat man. He didn't even blink, but put an arm around each of them, steering them into the room, closing the door behind him.

"Now, why don't you two tell me your names?" Renee blinked and scoffed.

"Yeah, why don't we just tell you our addresses and emails?" She asked sarcastically. The boss growled slightly.

"Come on…" He paused slightly and stared intently at their necks. He grinned triumphantly. "Renee." The Maxell girl's eyes widened a fraction before she reached up and grasped her collar. She swore, forgetting about her name being on her tag. "I only need to know one of your names. I have a question for both of you. If it were possible, would you two like to travel to another world? One that has magical powers and isn't plagued by wars as much as this one?" Renee and Alex glanced at each other.

"Right… and if this world exists, it'd probably be parallel to this one, yeah?" Renee asked sarcastically, but was surprised when the boss jumped up from his chair.

"Exactly! So how about it? Do you two want to go?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

"You make it seem like this world does exist, old man." The Emberwood girl asked skeptically. The man seemed to be on a roll.

"Oh, but it does. And I can take you there. Only, you'll be testing its limits out for me, so I know it'd be safe for travel whenever. We could make a fortune off this place with travelers and visitors!"

"So… all you want is volunteers to test out your little world?" Renee asked, turning to glance at Alex. "So how do you feel about this?"

"I don't know. Do you want to try it? It could be the answer of all mankind for a new travelling experience." Renee sighed. As much as she wanted to deny it, it did sound like a lot of fun. She turned back to the fat man.

"What's in it for us, other than going on a free vacation?"

"Well, my dear Renee, if this succeeds, and then you'd be able to pass through whenever you feel like you need a vacation, for free." The boss grinned smugly as he watched Renee's face. She seemed indecisive, but not unwilling. Finally, she sighed and turned to Alexandra.

"How 'bout it, Alex? Do you want an adventure?" Alex merely grinned.

"Are you kidding? Of course I do!" Nodding, Renee turned to the man. He had a huge grin crossing his face as he walked to them.

"Well, then. Let's get everything set up for you two."

About half an hour later, the two girls and the boss stood in a huge room with a circle painted on the floor and the ceiling. Renee stood, bent over with her hands resting on her knees as she studied the complex circle on the floor. Alex stood by, almost bored and pointed at the men who were currently painting, seeming to perfect it down to the last detail. "So, what's the graffiti for?" Alex asked, glancing at Renee as she traced her finger over the design after it was dry. The boss chuckled.

"Why it's to help you get to the gate! Once you're there, you'll either have to pay a price, or you won't. It depends, I suppose on how early you get there. But make sure when you get there, that you keep a good tight grip on each other." He warned them, smiling a little when they gave each other wary looks.

"Are you positive this is safe?" Renee asked again, standing up and eyeing the fat man. Having about an hour to think about her decision, she was starting to regret it.

"Of course!" He said loudly, laughing. "Now hurry, stand in the middle of the transmutation circle while we finish setting up." Pushing them forward, he turned swiftly and walked out of the room. Blinking in confusion, Alex turned to Ren.

"Is it me, or was he in a little bit of a hurry to get out of here?" Renee shrugged.

"I guess that was a speed faster than he was used to." She muttered, allowing a grin to escape. Alex stifled a laugh.

"You're horrible."

"You're worse." Alex made a playful scoff noise in the back of her throat.

"I am appalled you would think something like that." Renee grinned.

"All right, get ready girls!" The boss' voice yelled throughout the room, making Renee and Alexandra jump in surprise.

"DUDE! A warning next time, heh?!" Renee shouted back, sticking a finger in her ear.

"Sorry." He muttered, but she could hear it. Alex glared and coughed out what sounded suspiciously like an insult. Suddenly a bright blue, luminescent light filled the room, making the girls' gasp in surprise.

"H-hey! What's going on?!" Alexandra shouted, seemingly a little freaked out. Renee glanced around uncertain, and then she froze.

Something was raining down on them, and it was darker than water.

Glancing up stiffly, her eyes widened at the sight, making Alex run to her. "What are you looking at?!" She asked her, although there was no need to as soon as she locked her gaze to whatever had Renee frozen stiff.

Alexandra…" Renee whispered, grabbing onto the girl. Above them was about a mass number of men, hanging in a net near the ceiling transmutation circle. Alex and Renee noticed something off about them right away. They were all dead, and the dark liquid raining down on them was in fact, their blood. "I'm not so sure I wanna do this anymore."

"Yeah, I agree." And despite the situation, Renee had to playfully gasp and turn to her friend.

"Wow, you actually agreed." Alexandra scoffed.

"Yeah, your point? We do think the same on some things, you know." She muttered, and then suddenly threw her arms around the Maxell girl. "Renee, it's starting. I think we're about to come to the gate."

When they had been talking, they'd failed to notice the room fade and be replaced by a swirling vortex of yellow and blue. They began screaming and tightened their grips on each other when they saw tiny, black hands reaching out for them. Alex watched with horror when Renee was ripped roughly from her grasp and frantically reached to grasp her hand. The black hands were wrapping themselves around Renee's arms and legs. The youngest Maxell gasped when she saw the little hands working to pull off her left arm. Wiggling in panic, she gaped when she saw the shape her friend was in. Alex was beating the hound out of the little hands, trying as hard as she could to shake them off of her once she'd seen them reaching for her. Then everything went black.

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Author's Note: Yes, they're on their way to Amestris. What fun, yeah? Lol I had fun writing this part. It was almost like I was wishing the worst for my OC's. –grins- Next chapter coming up soon!

Disclaimer: I don't own any upcoming FMA characters, but Renee, Alexandra and anyone else in this chapter are mine for screwing up.