Hey, guys! It's an early
update this week, mostly because you got a late one last time and I'm
going to Dallas this weekend! HAZAH! I hope you guys like this one,
because a LOT of plot is in a few parts here. And all of it has to do
with a little book in French and that odd design... DISCLAIMER:
I OWN ONLY MY OC, WHICH IS KIND OF LIKE A SELF-INSERT 'CUZ I WANTED
TO BE LAZY! ----Bits of episodes used in this chapter: First
part of Episode 13, but besides that, not much!----
Thank God For...
(A
FullMetal Alchemist Story)
*Chapter Three: It's a PUPPY!*
Yawning to myself, I stared out at Riza having fun. I had experienced this feeling of loneliness before when my friends and I had gone to a pub, but not really ever like this. I took a sip of the alcohol I had purchased. It went down to my stomach and kept me warm.
"Aye, she be havin' a real fun time, eh?" I looked to the bartender, Sam, who was looking at Riza as well. I smiled at him, since he was the only one attempting to socialize with me. I returned my gaze to the red-eyed woman who had housed me for the night. She danced with a strange man (who wasn't Mustang, I could tell) to an odd beat I had never heard before.
"Yep," I sighed. The bartender was wiping a glass clean. "Sam? Have you ever met a Jean Havoc?" The man nodded his dark, bald head. He held his gaze at the two in disappointment for a moment longer before looking at me again.
"Aye. Nice boy without much luck, it seems. Why you be askin', little miss?" I shrugged. Why was I asking?
"First person I met when I got to this city was him," I responded. It was a half-truth, actually. Sam nodded at me, like something was obvious. He chuckled to himself. "What?!"
"Aye, it be nothing, little miss. Just som-in' passin' through thoughts." I glared at the balding man (who had to be over forty or so), sticking out my tongue childishly. He chuckled again. "I guess it just be that you-un-him look alike in a way." I raised an eyebrow.
"We aren't related, Sam. There's no possible way that could happen. Trust me." The bartender shook his head like he knew what I was talking about and went to serve a customer. I sighed to myself.
Just another day in paradise...
"God, I'm so bored. If only I had a pencil and paper, I could sketch Riza's good time. Then we would both be having a bit more fun than one would believe." Growling to myself, I shook off the alcohol's effects. I was not some random, cheap drunk, dammit!
"So, little miss shower had the guts to appear out in public." I looked to my left as someone sat down next to me. I knew their voice, and I should not have had to look. I did, though.
Teapot sat on the stool next to me. I snickered to myself, realizing that this man was the one who had been so irritated at the Colonel's orders only a few hours before.
"Says the Teapot, short and stout," I covered my mouth to hide a laugh. "I bet I can find your handles and spout." The red-headed man turned a light shade of pink.
"You're the one who let Havoc down." Ah, good counter attack. But, yet, it was not. How had I let Jean down? And when?
"If it is a sin for having a moody bathroom, I repent." The Teapot winced slightly, like he couldn't believe I had used such a bad excuse. "Besides, it's not like Jean wanted to ask me out or anything. I'm just a passing stranger, trying to find home. Nothing particularly special."
"Probably not, with Havoc's luck." I punched him in his kind of squishy arm, but not at all hard. "But we are talking 'bout Havoc here. Who knows if the fisherman has caught his shark." Something sparked in my memory, and I smiled a tiny bit.
"First he's gotta reel it in without the line breaking, and that could take a while. But then the shark could bite." Teapot shook his head as Sam finally brought out his drink. "And then we gotta see if he can tell the difference between the said shark and seaweed, because he had caught nothing but that before the shark and could go stereotypical at any moment."
"That's deep," Teapot said, lowering his drink after taking a gulp.
"It didn't seem like it when I was talking to my friend back in Houston and reading my scholarship acceptance letter. But Heaven's awesome like that, y'know?" The red-head chuckled, even though he probably had no idea what I was talking about.
Teapot thought to himself for a minute before continuing on a different subject, "I hate to say it, but you're really lucky you got to go home with Hawkeye."
"How so?" I asked, examining my drink a bit closer than I had before.
"If you had stayed, you would've had to hear some of the rumors that are a-spreading." I groaned slightly, my palm making a 'SMACK!'ing sound as it hit my forehead. The man next to me chuckled.
"Damn you, rumor mill-you always kill me in the end!" I grumbled, rubbing my now-in-pain forehead. "Ow..."
I heard the song on the stereo change into something a bit slower and I heard Riza's 'click-clack' shoes as she walked over. When I looked back, she didn't have a man with her. So she didn't want the one night stand? Probably because she had me to watch after. Damn, I was the person to hate.
"It's late, Maddison," she stated. A bit obvious about that, wasn't it? "We should be heading back to the apartment." Afraid to testify or contradict the woman, I nodded.
"Goodbye, Lieutenant Breda," said the red-eyed woman. I waved sheepishly at him in a manor of 'bye' and he gave a nod of understanding.
We walked back quickly and without words filling the air. You would have thought the woman would lighten up after dancing with a hottie and drinking a bit but no.
Sighing, I rubbed my eyes to try and rid of the sleep. Needless to say, it didn't work. I really was a bit deprived, when you thought about it.
I realized that we had not gone that far from Riza's apartment when we walked only two or three blocks to return to the complex where the red-eyed woman was housed.
I wondered to myself if she had gotten her wish of Mustang-spying, but really didn't think too much about it. I guessed that Teapot had that night off, too. But I kind of wished Jean had been there instead. Though Sam was kind to me.
We walked quickly up the stars and down the dark hallway. When we stopped at Riza's door, she unlocked it and let me enter first.
I grunted as I flopped down upon the blond's leather couch. I hadn't been told I was to sleep there or anything, but it was kind of an unspoken agreement. I heard Riza shut the front door, chuckling at my near-unconscious form.
"I'll wake you up..." Riza's voice trailed off because I was passed out before she ended the sentence.
Dream
A
large, brown gate stood before me. I wasn't sure what the surface of
it was, but I didn't want to find out. Besides me and it, there was
only white surrounding everything. On the front of the said gate it
had a large eye engraved into the surface. For some reason, the thing
made me kind of jittery, like I wanted to leave. "Equivalence!"
Cried someone in a voice that I could not recognize. "One must give
to obtain! The law of equivalent exchange!" The sound was loud, and
it kind of hurt.
I
tried covering my ears to block out the words, but they grew louder
and more painful. I pressed as hard as I could possibly go
against my head, but I couldn't get the damn pain away. I fell to my
knees, nearly getting into a fetal position.
My
skull felt on the verge of breaking, and my breath was slowly leaving
my body. I gasped for oxygen, but I couldn't get much. My brain was
pounding with blood. My heart was starting to beat irregularly. I
cried out in pain as I felt my ears want to bleed from such high
volumes and pressures. But still that damn voice grew "You must give up something of equal value, Maddison!"
The voice yelled so loud it was almost like it was in my head. "Go
away!" I screamed, my hands still clamped over my ears. It
continued to yell at me about 'equivalence' and what not. My nails
dug into my scalp, trying to get it gone. I heard the voice
yell something, but I was going deaf and losing consciousness
quickly. Air! I needed The gate creaked as it
opened. I screamed louder with what little breath I had. "The
law of equivalence exchange must be obeyed!" The voice was nothing
less than a loud roar in my head. Many black tentacle-like arms
grabbed me and started to pull me by my arms toward the dark abyss
beyond the open doors. In the darkness I saw hundreds of eyes, all
different colors, surrounding one large eye that reminded me of the
eye on the front of the mentioned gate. I tried to scream
louder, but my voice was slowly becoming quieter and my breathing was
nonexistent.
"Your voice
is a good price," said the voice as one of the black arms held a
small yellow sphere that was glowing and seemed a bit fuzzier around
the edges.
I
kicked with all of my might, luckily hitting the arm that held my
voice hard enough that the sphere returned to my throat. I felt a
slight rush of wind as the familiar gas rushed to my lungs. Another
scream pierced the silence of the otherwise-empty place. The arms
started retreating "Equivalence!" The voice hissed, and
the noodle-like arms wiggled back into their confinement. When I was
sure the sounds were gone, I slowly removed my hands from my head and
brought them to my neck.
I clutched my throat as they left for now.
How thankful I was that they left! How thankful I was that they would not try to kill me anymore!
I
sighed as the few remaining arms dropped me to the ground and
returned back to the gate as it closed. I was safe for now,
thankfully. Thankfully... My eyes drooped, signaling my lack
of air finally getting to me. I didn't try to fight it, but I let the
calm wash over my self in the form of sleep.
End Dream
I awoke what felt like minutes later. I was not in a cold sweat like the night before nor was I the least bit damp. I sighed a bit loudly to see if my voice was there.
"I'm alive..." I said to myself quietly, my hand touching my throat as if it could confirm my voice was still in my throat. "I'm alive! Yes! I'm alive! And I have a voice, still!" I stood, dancing a bit to myself. That had been the worst dream of my life and I was ecstatic to be still amongst the living! Hazah, hooray! I was still alive!
"Are you okay?" Questioned a very familiar voice. I looked over and saw Riza behind the counter, drinking something that was steaming from a white ceramic mug. I nodded with a wide grin on my face.
"I'm better than 'okay'! I'm still alive!" I threw up my hands in happiness. The red-eyed woman shook her head, possibly thinking I had just had a horrible dream (which I had), and went along drinking her morning liquid.
I was so happy, though! How could she not feel my overjoy? I felt as jolly as old Saint Nick! I was so delighted at just being alive after that dream! I couldn't help but smell the air deeply for the oxygen!
After my joyful dance for life, I settled down as I remembered the dream I had been having a while earlier. Shuddering at the near loss of my voice (although it had been a dream), I sat back on the couch. I could remember every single detail, down to the black, noodle-like arms that had nearly murdered me and the loud, unknown voice that made my brain want to implode.
"C'mon," said Riza suddenly. I looked at her with a raised eyebrow-noticing for the first time that she was already in the military-like outfit I had seen others in before. "Let's get going. With any luck, we'll beat the Colonel and you can have a bit of time before you have your talk with him."
The way she was talking reminded me of going to the principal's office back when I was young. Was my experience with this man going to be like that? Or could it even be a bit more pleasant?
The blond woman I had resided with for the night already had her key out of her purse and the door open. I hurried to get out the door before she locked me in the apartment. She chuckled at how quickly I moved before she tested the said door, making sure it was secure, and locking it.
"Wow," I said to myself as we exited the apartment complex. The sky was such a dark and deep gray, it looked like a storm could hit as hard as a rock at any second. "It's all so gloomy today. This definitely ain't Texas!"
As we walked, I saw people glancing at the sky nervously. Did the storm look so horrifying to these people? Did they believe it would flood the city? Or could they have been afraid of the lightning that came with it? I couldn't be sure because the woman in front of me left no time for gawking. In fact, she constantly had to tell me to hurry my ass up.
I probably looked like a newborn baby with my large eyes staring at everything. I couldn't help it, though. It was just all so...new. It was like I might or might not have seen it before, because it was semi-familiar.
But while I kept after the woman in front of me, I thought of yesterday. God, Jean had been so toned. I could remember each muscle in his chest and abs that had looked so...hot. I wanted to drool at the thought of him...
I mentally slapped sense into myself. I didn't need to think those thoughts! It didn't matter how cute Jean was, I would have nil chances at ever getting to date him!
Running a hand through my hair I mentally scolded myself. I shouldn't have thought those things about the man! I had no chances like that! Besides, I wasn't even pretty enough for a guy like him to glance my way!
"Hurry up," Riza said, walking a bit faster. I muttered something to myself about fast people and quickened my pace. "East Headquarters is not that much farther."
Grateful to short distances, I hurried after the woman. I couldn't believe I would get to see Jean again. I hoped he would talk to me, or even give a friendly 'hello' if we passed each other in the hall.
How, though, would I gather enough courage to talk to the man? Would I be able to wave? Would he even notice me? Or would he realize that I wasn't normal and think me as insane? That was the most probable outcome.
When Riza soon opened the door to the building and we ambled up the blue wooden steps, I felt my heart beat quicker in my chest. I wasn't sure why, but I did.
"Good morning, Lieutenant," said two lower-ranking man as me and the woman passed. Riza gave them a look that said 'as you were' and continued on her way to wherever we were headed.
The glum gray-blue of the walls started to remind me of the sky outside and it made me feel a bit less confident. I could almost feel my stomach drop to my feet when I saw more people. Some were talking in hushed tones as the red-eyed woman and I passed. They were most likely conversing about the day before and its events.
Sighing, I straightened myself and looked more confident than I felt. It was just like High School all over again, but this time I had experience. I would not lose myself over the rumor mill this time. Last time that had happened, I never was able to really get a hold of my emotions and it cost me a visit to the hospital for a stomach pumping.
But that was then. I had changed since that time and I wasn't some weak little child anymore. I was twenty-one, an age of extravagance!
And, dammit, I wanted to see Jean again!
So I upturned my nose at all who snickered at me and just let it go. It wasn't important, anyways.
Riza and I quickly passed those people and were off. We continued to walk down the hallways and soon we got to a door. The woman seemed to know whose door it was, because she just walked right in.
"Morning," said a voice from the room. I looked past Riza and saw a man with dark black hair and onyx-colored eyes reading a newspaper. "You're early today, Lieutenant. And I see you've brought someone with you. Come in, come in."
The woman nudged me from out behind her and closed the door. She walked five steps down the hall before another door closed on my right. Now if I could remember that. The man at his desk waited a minute before speaking.
"There's been quite a commotion about you, hasn't there?" I gulped and nodded. My hands went behind my back in nervousness.
"Yes, Colonel." The man motioned for me to sit and I followed his orders. The man before me was silent, even as the rain started pouring from the sky like water from a shower head.
"How'd you do it, though?" He questioned, more to himself than me. "There's someone in the locker room at almost all times." I didn't think about a lie, because I was going to speak the truth no matter how crazy it was.
"I don't know how I got in there," I said, looking at my hands as if they were the most interesting thing on Earth, "but I think it could have something to do with a gate..." The man smirked to himself.
"What kind of gate?" He asked. I bit my lip as I shuddered and remembered the gate from the dream.
"It was large, sir. The surface was brown, solid material with a giant eye carved in the center of two doors. I'm not sure if the surface was metal or wooden, sir, but when it opened, there were many, many eyes looking at me and then there were the arm-like tentacles that nearly stole my voice." The man looked a bit disturbed by my speaking, but didn't stop me. I sighed.
"I have no idea what it was, sir. All I know is that I never want to see it again like I did before."
Nodding, the man set down his paper and stood. He turned to the glum storm outside and thought for a moment.
"Continue to stay with Lieutenant Hawkeye and don't go into the men's locker room again. That's all I have to say." The man continued to stare out his window in boredom as I stood. Bowing respectfully to the man, I swiftly left the room. I stopped just as I was turning the doorknob.
"Thanks, sir." I said quietly as I went into the hall.
I heard a scream in the next few rooms over on my right, in the room that Riza had gone into. It sounded like Teapot, actually. When I ambled over and opened the door, I immediately saw the oddest sight of my life.
The red-headed man was on a thing of shelves, close enough to the ceiling the where he could touch it. He looked like he was scared half to death. Squint, Riza and Jean were standing by the shelf, looking up at the military person.
"Scheech, Teapot," I said as I entered the room, shutting the door behind me. "I know banshees that screech quieter than that." Jean looked over at me, and I felt my face heat up a bit. He raised an eyebrow.
"Hey," he said, doing a half-wave. "I thought you would have headed home after your talk with Mustang." I shrugged.
"Actually, I'm homeless. Plus, the guy told me to continue living with Riza." Jean gave me a confused look before shaking it off.
"What's the problem, Breda?" Havoc turned back around to look at his comrade. The man pointed downwards to the ground.
"Havoc! Be careful! It-it's on the loose! Th-there's nothing protecting us! Over there!" Teapot said this all on one breath while pointing wildly at a small puppy. A small, adorable puppy, too.
"Aww, it's so cute!" I cooed as it wagged its tail. It had to be an ankle-biter pup, but its feet were actually pretty big. It would probably grow until it was as tall as my knees.
The dog was black in all places except for its white belly, tail's underside, and face. It kind of looked like a Shiba Inu.
"This is what you're scared of, Teapot?" I muttered to myself. The man let out a kind of groaning sound that was mixed with a whine.
"Care to explain this one, Falman?" Riza said, looking down at the cute puppy. Squint took a step or two forward.
"It is a dog, Lieutenant. Carnivorous canine mammal. I think the scientific name is-." the lightly-skinned man responded, like a human library. I looked at him, surprised at how many informative words this man could speak at a time. The blond woman cut him off, though.
"That's not what I'm asking, Falman," she sighed. "You need to loosen up." I giggled slightly to myself. How could they not laugh? Squint saluted the woman.
"Yes sir, Lieutenant Hawkeye. I will continue to work on that." I noticed Harry Potter stepped behind the tiny puppy. Resisting the urge to hug both the dog and the man, I just made a little 'squeak' of awe in the back of my throat.
The guy behind the puppy picked him up into his arms. The dog panted and wagged its tail happily. Apparently it had taken a liking to the shortest man.
"Sorry, sirs," said the royal blue-eyed man, "I found him this morning and he was all on his own."
"MSG, Fuery!" Said Squint, a bit irritated. I raised an eyebrow at the tall man. What the hell did that mean?
"So," Jean said, a hand on his hip, "you gonna keep him?" I saw that this man was smoking again. Was he a chain-smoker or something?
"I wish I could, Lieutenant Havoc," said Harry Potter. "But as I'm sure your aware that there's no pets aloud in the NCL living quarters." I frowned. Poor little puppy!
"Well that certainly doesn't mean you can keep him in the office, Kain." Riza had slight sympathy in her eyes for either the dog or the man holding the dog. Either way she looked sorry.
"I know it, it's just he was shivering out in the rain and I felt sorry for him. You're higher-ups, you could keep him." The kind man looked a bit hopeful towards the four. Falman raised his hand to about his chin.
"Not me, I'm in the dorms, too." I bit my lip, sorry for the poor pup.
"No way," Teapot said from his position against the ceiling. The shelves creaked and groaned quietly under him. "I hate those beasts!"
Sighing, Harry Potter looked down at the puppy. I saw Jean reach over and grab the said pup by the scruff of its neck.
"Don't worry," said the brunette/blond man, "I'll take him off your hands. I like dogs." So Jean liked them, too? Cool! The Lieutenant man walked away for a bit, still holding the puppy by its neck scruff.
"Thank you, Lieutenant," said Harry Potter, looking thankfully at the other man. "He's really sweet." Jean's cigarette twitched up then down a few times before he decided to continue.
"Sure," he replied, "I hear they're good when stir-fried...A few spices." The royal blue-eyed man looked skeptical at Jean's comment. I chuckled to myself. "Yep, here in the East they raise them as a delicacy, especially these plump ones." Riza swiped the pup from his hands before anything worse could happen.
"Let's try to find him a better owner, okay?" Riza said, handing the pup to Harry Potter.
"Good plan," Fuery sighed as he took the pup back. I giggled.
"Please," Jean said, "it was a joke." He rubbed the back of his head as the three looked a bit too reluctant to return him the dog.
The Shiba Inu pup started barking towards the door, and Fuery had to hold its mouth closed for a second to keep it from being discovered.
The said door opened, revealing a very short teenage boy and a large suit of armor. The teen had golden hair pulled back into a braid and his eyes were about the same shade. He was a cute kid, but he had to be about fourteen.
"So, uh," said the blond little kid, "should I come back later?"
"Hey, Edward, Alphonse," said Riza, a small smile on her lips. Fuery was holding the pup so it'd be quiet and not be discovered. "I guess this means your back." The two people at the door nodded before a long and loud 'meoooooooooooooooooooowrr,' came from the suit of armor. In the way that the armor made an 'oh, shit' noise, I guessed he was worried. The three cast a look towards the one I guessed was Alphonse.
"Strange," said Riza in a monotone.
"Excuse me," the one I guessed was Edward said, albeit forced. "Al and I need to talk." He grabbed a hold of the armor's arm and dragged him into the hall.
"Edward," called the blond I now resided with, "I believe you have a report to make." The shorter of the two kids ducked back in for a second and saluted as he talked.
"Thanks for the reminder, sir, I'll speak to the Colonel now." He then closed the door behind him.
"..." We all were silent until I shuffled over and petted the puppy in Harry Potter/Fuery's hands.
"So adorable," I said, a smile on my face towards the man. He smiled and held the dog out for me. I took it into my hands and smiled. "No one's gonna eat you, puppy. Not if I have a say in it." I glared at Jean for a millisecond, before breaking out in a fit of giggling. It was just too hard for me not to laugh at him and the joke.
I sighed, "Good luck to finding him an owner, Harry Potter." He smiled at me and nodded, taking the dog back into his arms.
"Thanks, I really hope I can, Maddison. Unless you want to keep him, then." I held up my hands to the man in front of me.
"I wish I could, but I'm not the best choice for him." I said, shaking my head sheepishly. "I'm still trying to find a job and I'm homeless. So after I'm let away from Riza's home, I'm out in the rain as well. And my kind of misery doesn't need the company of a dog." Harry Potter nodded, sighing.
I felt so bad for the guy and the pup, but I knew I couldn't take care of it.
But I was still living with Riza, which was good.
Thank god for the Colonel!
