Thank-you for the reviews! I am very pleased! Okay, I've been trying to keep my rambling to a minimum, so I think I'm doing very well! Well, enjoy!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Big Brother, wait!"
A giant suit of armor was chasing Edward Elric, shouting for him to stop. For the past five blocks, ordering Ed to halt hadn't worked. Why would it work now? The suit of armor didn't know. But believing that his brother was merely ignoring him was a better thought then... Alphonse didn't know what.
"Where are you going, Big Brother?"
Edward Elric dashed behind a tall brick building, leaving Alphonse alone in the rain. The armor rounded the corner and his brother was nowhere to be found. Al looked around dumbfounded. Where was Ed?
The rain picked up steam. The weather sure had been strange that day. It had been sunny, drizzly, rainy, and raining with the sun out. Now it was pouring. And Alphonse thought he heard a rumble of thunder far off.
"Edward! Stop playing games! There's a chimera on the loose and it's dangerous to be by yourself! Just come out!"
A car passed Alphonse in the street, spraying him with dirty water. The suit of armor put its head down, walking slowly, with mud spattered all over him. Just who was that odd looking woman anyway? And why was she spattered with blood?
Alphonse nearly screamed. "Oh crap! Edward!"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edward ran silently, his feet not making a sound. It was a weird feeling; he had no control over his body, yet he didn't object to its actions. He was following the strange woman and he had no idea why. The only thing Edward could see was her beauty. What was her name?
The woman ducked into a hole in the side of an old brick building. The building looked dilapidated and appeared abandoned. It was consumed with mold and rot, but had a quality of mysterious splendor, beckoning anyone to it.
Only now could Edward control his body. He felt a need to go inside, but was able to pull away. Where was he? By the looks of it, he was in the slums of Central City. Had he really wandered so far? And where was that woman?
A few of the ancient red bricks crumbled and out of instinct, Edward turned his automail into a blade. He looked and saw only two rats, perched carefully on a fallen wooden beam.
Edward walked over to the hole in the building. He tried to peek inside, but it was too dark. A rotten, musty smell came over him and he had to pull his head back out.
But soon, curiosity got the better of Edward. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a kerchief, and wrapped it around his mouth and nose, tying it at the back of his head. Though the kerchief wasn't comfortable, it would keep the decaying stench from his nose.
The hole seemed to grow in size, consuming light like a hungry beast. Edward inched forward and the rats scurried off, finding a new hiding place.
Ed cautiously poked his head through, looking for danger. He stood still like that for a few seconds, checking and double-checking that no one would sneak up on him.
"Aw, to hell with it."
Edward threw all caution into the wind and jumped inside of the old building, leaping over the small pile of rubble at the entrance. He regained his bearings and began to tread into the structure.
As his eyes grew accustomed to the dim light, Edward began to take in his surroundings. The abandoned structure looked like it had served as a home in its previous life. A mansion, no less. There were lavish, moth-eaten furnishings and cob-web covered crystal chandeliers. Two grand stair cases met him in the middle of the room, leading to a second story. There was also a grand piano that had been left open, a music book sitting on the keys. It looked like the people living there had just decided one day to get up, leave, and never come back.
The house had to be hundreds of years old. Maybe even older. The slums of Central City must have been the richest part of town a long time ago. What had happened here?
Edward looked around and saw the woman at the top of the stairs, just watching him. He hadn't heard her come out of any rooms. The blonde managed enough courage to speak.
He shouted, trying to speak softly, "Ma'am? I-I saw you earlier. You looked injured so I followed to see if you were alright. I hope you don't mind me intruding."
The woman just stared at him, not moving from the spot. She seemed ethereal, almost ghost-like. It was probably just the lighting.
All of a sudden, Edward heard a girl laughing behind him. It was not a normal laugh. It sound like five people laughing, but only one person making the noise. He spun with his automail blade in front of him, ready to slice the crap out of whatever was giggling. And what he saw was even more chilling than any specter. What Edward Elric saw… was nothing.
He turned to look at the woman again, expecting to see her there, staring at him, watching him, but she was gone. What had happened here?
Edward felt himself drawn up the rickety staircase. He tried to leave the house, but found he couldn't. Climbing the stairs was inevitable.
The stairs groaned under the weight and threatened to give out. They probably hadn't been used in… since the house was abandoned. Except for the strange woman.
All of Edward's insides were throbbing in time with his heart. Pounding, pounding, pounding. He could feel the sensation throughout his entire body; through his feet and hands and head. Pounding, pounding, pounding.
The top of the staircase loomed ahead. It was foreboding, sending chills down Edward's spine. Pounding, pounding, pound.
Edward finally reached the top and now he started down the hall heading for the last door. He could hear a child singing. It was a pure sound, put for some reason didn't feel right.
Edward leaned against the door, listening. The song stopped abruptly, as if the singer knew someone was eavesdropping. Edward held his breath.
A child's voice filled the hallway. "Curious, boy?"
The noise made Ed jump, and he looked around for the source of the voice. Who was the owner of the creepy voice? Who was taunting him so?
The voice laughed eerily, "If you are so curious as to what's behind the door, than open it. Go on, I won't bite."
Silence passed between them. The only noise was the patter of rain on the crumbling roof. That sound was relief. It was an earthly sound, not of heaven or hell. Just of the between.
Edward Elric summoned the courage to open the ancient wooden door. It creaked forward slowly, moaning and groaning.
The expression Ed was wearing was solemn. Whatever was behind that door, it was his duty to deal with it. He flung the door open the rest of the way and saw the woman standing in the middle of the room.
Now that he could get a good look at her face, Edward could see it looked like that of a child's. It was perfect, without blemish. This was no normal being. And her eyes seemed overly feline. Could it be…?
Edward's eyes grew large and he pointed an accusing finger at the woman. "You're the chimera!"
The woman chastised in a soothing voice, "Now why would you think that?"
The blood on the woman's dress stood out, growing, covering the dress. Why hadn't he seen it before? Ed held his blade between himself and whatever that thing was.
The creature piped up, sounding pleased that she'd tricked him. "Come now, Edward. Why would you follow a strange woman into an old building you've never seen before?"
"I- I... I wanted to-."
"Be brave? Kill the evil chimera?"
"No! I-."
"Wanted my boss to pat me on the head, telling me what a good dog I was."
"No! I-."
"Am the tough guy who doesn't need anyone else."
"Shut the hell up!"
The chimera was hushed and watched the boy with mild interest. She seemed to be doing this because she was bored; no other reason. She even seemed bored with this. Maybe that was just the way she was.
The chimera cooed to Edward, "On Earth they named me Sphinx. I was supposedly a devil from the underworld. But that was a few thousand years ago. Lost track on my two thousandth birthday. But here on Amestris, they name me Chimera. What am I, really? A sphinx of Earth, or a chimera of Amestris?"
"Stop speaking in damn riddles!"
"I can't help it. I'm part lion. But the convenient part of being a chimera is that I have special abilities, like that of a lion. And I also have another strange knack."
"What would that be?"
"I can change from human, to lion, to sphinx. I can be all three. Right now, you're seeing my human side."
"A three sided chimera…"
"That's right, boy. And now I have a riddle for you! I absolutely adore riddles! You might not, how ever. Because if you answer wrong, I'll have to eat you. Ready? What had four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening? This is the riddle I gave ole' Oedipus. He thought he got rid of me when he answered right, but I only came back to Amestris. Had a little bit of fun as a human, now my sphinx side is hungry for flesh."
With the last words, the chimera went from a human appearance to a body of a lion with a woman's face. Edward jumped back in surprise. He thought that maybe he had gone mad.
"So, if I answer wrong, you'll eat me?"
"Correct."
Edward sat down against the wall thinking. He kept a watchful eye on the golden Sphinx at all times, but concentrated on the riddle. Four, two, three… four, two, three… four, two, three… four, two, three… four, two, three… four, two, three… four, two, three… four, two, three… four, two, three… four, two, three… four, two, three… four, two, three… four, two, three…
Somewhere in the mansion, a clock struck noon. It gonged twelve times and then lay silent. The Sphinx stood up coming close to Edward. She stood right in front of him. Edward could smell the reeking breath, cringing at the awful stench.
The Sphinx growled, "Time's up. What's your answer, boy?"
Edward clapped his hands and made a cage around the Sphinx, shouting, "My mission is to kill you, not to play games!"
The beast began biting down on the bars. They nearly melted in her mouth. She laughed, "No metal is strong enough to hold me, boy!"
The cage was gone in a matter of seconds. The Sphinx bounded in front of Edward. She roared and pounced ripping at his automail leg. The screech of claws on metal rang throughout the room.
Edward tripped and rolled onto his back, sticking his automail arm up just in time to block five inch teeth from sinking into his head. He heard his metal arm crack in two and saw it land on the floor. Ed pushed himself up, running for the door. Tears streamed down his cheek. It was hopeless.
"Al! Help! Al!"
A part of roof collapsed between the Sphinx and Edward, sending up a cloud of dust. He used it as a diversion and flung the door open and racing down the stairs. He could hear agitated roaring and knew the beast was after him.
The stairs seemed to move farther and farther away, slipping out of grasp. A flash of lightning lit up the hallway and illuminated the Sphinx slowly walking towards Edward. He was frozen to the spot, too scared to move.
"You can't escape, boy. Just hold still and I promise to go for your neck first."
Edward regained his will to move and dragged himself down the stairway. The Sphinx leapt down onto the first floor in one bound, positioning herself between him and the door.
The rain lessened a little. Edward was able to tell by the lighter pattering on the roof. The sun came shining through the hole in the wall, the exit of the mansion. It brightened the room considerably, making the Sphinx look less intimidating.
Edward sighed. He knew he was going to die. For some reason, now was an okay time. He fell to his knees and cried, looking at the brilliant light shining through the hole in the wall. It was encouraging and made him feel strong.
He whispered to himself, "I'm only human. There's only so much I can do. Human…"
The Sphinx cocked its head, getting out of her ready death crouch. She seemed intrigued by what the boy had said. She growled, "What did you say?"
"Human?"
The Sphinx looked like it was smiling, in an eerie way. She nodded her head, adding, "That is the correct answer to the riddle. I'm just guessing, but I believe you got it out of sheer luck. No matter. As agreed, I shall let you go."
Outside of the structure, a worried voice yelled, "Big Brother? Are you okay?"
Edward looked around and saw that the Sphinx was gone. He could have sworn he saw a flash of gold disappear up the stairs. But that didn't matter. He was safe now.
Edward cried, "Alphonse! I'm here! I'm in here."
A mud spattered, seven foot tall, gray, suit of armor made its way carefully through the hole in the wall. It ran over to Edward, asking if he was alright. Ed didn't respond, he just let his brother help him up.
"Alphonse?"
"Yes, Big Brother?"
"I'm glad you're looking out for me."
Alphonse carried his brother out into the sun, not asking any pestering questions.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So do you guys like it? Please R&R! If I don't get two reviews on this chapter and the last, I will stop writing. R&R R&R R&R R&R!
