Descendants

Chapter 6: The Fallen Butcher and the Ticket Booth

Kat sat down in a seat and watched as Hoenheim did the same. She stared at him. "Afraid of what?" She looked into his fading eyes. "I was afraid that I would cause him more trouble." The young girl laughed. "More? He can't really hate you that bad can he?" This time Hoenheim chuckled and she felt taken aback. "Has Ed ever talked about me or told you any stories of me?" Thinking a moment she shook her head in response. "Why does he hate you so much?"

Hoenheim sighed and frowned, thinking back to old and painful memories. He took in a breath. "When your father and uncle still just little things, I….left them and their mother, Trisha, without a word of farewell. Ed calls it abandonment. I left for my own reasons and for the safety of my family. This didn't exactly make positive feelings towards Ed." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Anyway, after years of being gone and unseen from anybody, including the military, I came back to see my two sons, only to be greeted by a metal knee." He put his hand on his cheek, remembering the deserved pain. Kat glared at him. "Why were you gone all those years?" He looked at her and shook is head. "I don't think you would quite understand." This made Kat angry. She glared at him still, turning red in the face. "Why won't you tell?" He sighed again. "You probably wouldn't much know about the gate." Kat crossed her arms and put her head down. "I know more about it than you think. I have seen it with my own eyes. That is the reason I can do this." She clapped her hands and created a ghostly image of her dad smiling down at her passed mom, who was looking up at him with longing eyes. "This is a picture I have of them at home in Central."

Hoenheim looked at her amazed. She picked up her head, no expression on her face. He took in another breath and stared out the window. "I have gone thru the gate, to the other side. Actually, your father has too." Kat gaped at this news. She remembered her dad confessing about human transmutation when he was younger, but she was never told about this. She teethed. "Why wouldn't he tell me?" She said this more to herself than her grandpa. He said nothing, instead, he pretended to be interested at the passing trees, hoping inside that Ed was alright and that Al would soon meet up with them.

Edward woke up and immediately felt a throb in the side of his head. He opened his eyes and found he was up off the ground. He felt his wrists straining slightly and saw chains wrapped around them and also his ankles. He struggled a moment, trying to find a possible way of escape, but found none. He stopped and looked around the darkened room. The moonlight was streaming thru the dusty window and he longed to be out of this building of horrid memories.

Ed let his head hang down on his chest, trying to rid of the scenes he had when he was twelve. He remembered coming here to find Winry, and instead he found the butcher himself. He than remembered waking up to no arm, chained to a chair with a crazy man talking to him, threatening him. What happened after that scared him that he couldn't sleep for days. He sighed and brushed away the images of the freakish man.

A door creaked open and James walked in, holing what looked like a steak knife, full of blood. Ed kept his head down, hoping he was not seen awake. James grunted and walked over to him taking his chin in his hands. Ed closed his eyes, pretending to be unconscious still. He felt a wave of relief that the man fell for it, and dropped his chin. James than walked to the sharpener. The sound of metal grinding metal met Ed's ears and he squirmed inside. He hated that noise. The sound suddenly stopped and the door opened again. "Larry, come to see the shrimp?"

Edward couldn't help but twitch. He hadn't been called that in a long time and he didn't know that it still ate away at him. He bit his tongue and swallowed his yell that was trying to break free. Larry cleared his throat, speaking towards him. "Is he still out?" "Yeah, but he should be coming around soon. I can't wait; I need to test something on him." Footsteps came towards him and he shut his eyes again, hoping he could still get away with it. A different hand held his head this time and he knew it was Larry. The man breathed his rancid breath in his face, making him want to gag, but he held it back, hoping no movement was made by him. Larry dropped him and walked back to James. "Give him a few minutes. Anyway, have you made some plans for the girl?"

James nodded. "Of course, I already have an area laid out just for her. I made it so her precious dad can watch her die!" The two men laughed and Ed felt his anger reach a boiling point. He picked up his head and gave a cold hard glare at the two cousins, making them jump slightly, surprised at this notion. "Don't you dare touch my daughter!" He snarled at the two men, who looked at him. After a few moments, they laughed, making him more angered. "What are you gonna do about it? You can't even move!" They continued to laugh. Ed said nothing, instead his eyes turned black with anger. (You know like they do in mangas and stuff.)

Suddenly, Ed touched his hands together, creating an alchemic reaction, making him drop to the floor. He continued to glare and with a quick transmutation, his legs were free. Standing up, he transmuted his arm into a long sharp blade. James and Larry stood in shock, and then picked up a few things. Larry held the gun and James a long blade. They charged towards him, blade and gun held out. James let out a yell and Larry uncocked the safety.

Edward charged himself, ducking from the attack of the blade and throwing James over his shoulder. He then turned to Larry who was pointing the gun at him, finger on the trigger. He smiled slyly. "Well, are you gonna shoot or what?" Ed saw the gun shake a bit, as if it was hesitant to let go of a bullet. Taking his chance, Ed knocked the gun out of Larry's hand and kicked him in the ribs. Larry doubled over, but quickly recovered, ducking from another blow. He than sent a punch to Ed's jaw, missing by inches as the alchemist slid to the side.

As Ed and Larry fought, James looked up from his spot on the floor and spotted the gun. He grinned and reached for it, pulling it into his grasp. He then stood and aimed right for Ed. Ed looked over at the gun and before he could move the gun let off a bullet. He knew it was the end. Time stood still and it seemed to take forever to strike him, but it never did. As Ed watched in what seemed like slow motion, he saw Larry lunge and tackle him, unaware of his bad timing. The bullet went thru his neck.

The big man dropped onto the floor, throwing Ed aside, hitting the wall. He picked up his head and saw James rushing to the fallen man. He dropped down next to him. "Cousin?" Larry said nothing but choked out blood, dying a few seconds later, his eyes boring into James'. The remaining butcher stifled a sob and looked angrily at Ed, who lost his streak of anger. "He was like a brother to me! You bastard, you shall pay!" James stood and ran towards Ed, who scrambled out of the way, watching as his attacker hit the wall like a ram hitting another. He ran to the door and found the handle, turning it and opening the door. He flung himself out of it and shut it behind him, taking off towards the train station.

Edward ran as fast as he could to the station, knowing that Kat would be on her way, arriving any time soon. He sprinted into every shadow he could find, staying as hidden as he could bring himself. Finding an alley, he turned and stopped, taking a break from running. He knew that he should keep going, but the lack of food and all of the exhaustion was catching up with him. Pounding footsteps reached his ears and he knew that James was looking for him. He peered around the corner and saw the man running into every alley he came across, and was getting closer to his own. Ed watched as James started down another alley. He then took off and went towards the farthest one on the street which was closest to the station. Reaching it, he turned and peered again around the corner. James didn't spot him, but he just entered the alley he was in moments ago. As he disappeared behind the corner, Ed took off again, reaching his destination quicker than he hoped. He hid behind the ticket booth and tried to catch his breath.

"May I help you sir?" Ed yelped from surprise and turned around and felt all his color from his face drain away. In the ticket booth was Frank, pointing a gun to his head….

I have updated this chapter! Tell me how it was, thanks! Oh and don't forget to review!