Chapter 2: "The Strength of Iron and Will"
Part C - Start
"Waaugh!" Rage cried, running away barefooted down the road. His wild black hair was tousled behind him, his feet seeming to disregard the sharp stones and rough dirt that they brushed over.
"Mommy, mommy, mommy, Ed's trying to transmute me!" Rage cried, running into his mother's open arms. Isis glared at the Ed, a vein throbbing in his temple. He glared at the child, who had managed to once again get lifted onto his mother's shoulder. Ed's hand was bleeding, sharp slashes all down his arm.
"You're trying to do what to Rage?" she cried. Ed twitched.
"Look at what that little twerp did to me!" he said, holding out his arm. "He bit me like I was lunch or something!" Rage peeked out from between his mother's arms and his wild hair that was in his face.
"You said you had food in your hand," Rage accused, "and he didn't want to share with me!" Isis patted him on the head, turning back toward the road.
"What? You're not even going to do anything?" Ed cried. Isis glared at him, putting her son down. She put her hands together.
"That's not what I– " Ed dodged out of the way as the earth rose to meet him, sealing itself back down. Ed pulled his body up, glaring as Isis lifted her son again, taking off down the street.
Ed sighed, catching up with his teacher.
"Here," Isis said, handing him a rag. He wrapped it around his only real arm, and stemmed the bleeding. He shook his bloody hand off, red residue still dried to his fingers.
"Eew..." Rage commented, "Ed's gross. He's got fleas."
"What?" Ed cried. Rage grinned, then cuddled back up with his mother. They made their way into the bustling city of Dezrith, heading toward one of the malls there. Inside Rage squirmed free of his mother's grasp, running excitedly up and down the walks, giggling and laughing excitedly. Isis smiled, leaving her boy to run around.
"Hope he doesn't get lost," Ed muttered bitterly. He turned around, the sign of the store he was next to making his stomach squirm.
It was a woman's lingerie shop.
"Excuse me," Isis said, sneaking up besides him, "I don't think you should be looking that way." She dragged him away, his face flushing furiously.
"You know I didn't mean to," Ed protested. Isis waved her hand, laughing.
"Sure Edward," Isis said, "you are a full grown man after all now... well, not so much the full grown part." Ed bit his tongue at the comment. He learned one thing about his teacher – backtalk gets you nowhere, except maybe the emergency room.
"Hmm," Isis said, inspecting a booth full of cutlery tools, "think Sim will like this?" Ed walked up, inspecting the knives.
"I dunno. Are you going to give it to him or give it in him?" he asked. Isis rolled her eyes, putting a large cleaver down. Rage walked up to them, his fingers sticky and gooey.
"What's that Rage?" Isis asked. Rage looked up to his mother, sucking on a chocolate covered finger.
"Nothing," he said, although the evidence was already present. Isis gave him a look.
"Are you sure?" she asked, pulling a bit of wrapper that was stuck to his shirt. "Where did you get this?" Rage pointed to a vendor next to a water fountain.
"That man gave me some," he said, "he says I'm gonna grow up big and strong if I eat lotsa chocolate." Isis glared at the man, grabbing her son by the hand, despite it being covered in brown gooiness.
"Excuse me," Isis said to the vendor, "did you sell my son a candy?" The man looked at Rage.
"Sure did," the man said, "may I interest you to buy even more candy to quiet him down? He's a handful. It took a couple of bars to shut him up." Ed saw Isis' expression darken, Rage still oblivious to the scene that was going on around him.
Ed reached out and grabbed Rage with his metal arm.
The world exploded with light, Ed barely able to catch Isis's slim frame running toward the booth. The man had rolled back, running away from the woman.
"You saying I can't control my own son!" she screamed. "You trying to say my son is difficult to maintain?" Isis clapped her hands again, slamming the man's cart. The cart began to glow blue, crackling with lightning.
The blue hue turned red, the lightning reaching out whatever was around it. Ed looked at his teacher, as she staggered, falling onto the floor. The alchemic reaction continued to spin out of control, Isis's body slowly being dragged to the cart, her gloves glowing red, both of the circles rebounding.
Ed rushed forward, after telling Rage to stay put. Rage said nothing, standing still and staring at his mother as she lay immobile on the floor.
Ed clapped his own hands, touching the glowing cart. He grimaced in pain as the lightning from Isis's alchemic reaction ran up his arm, tearing away the fabric of his sleeveless shirt and his own flesh. Ed saw the red lightning slowly recoil, the red turning back to blue. The cart hummed, and slowly melted.
Ed pulled his hands out of a ball of metal, collapsing onto his rear. He turned to his teacher, and saw Rage gently nudging her body. He was on his knees, his eyes wide and open. He placed his hands on his mother's shoulder, pressing her softly.
"Mommy?" he said, his voice cracking the silence that had proceeded the near disastrous alchemic reaction.
A teardrop fell from Rage's face, as he cringed, shaking Isis even more.
"Mommy? Mommy!" Rage wailed, crying out as his screams echoed in the silent room.
The cries of a scared child.
Part C – End
Author's Note:
I'm really surprised that some people actually like this. If you read it, do me at least the favor of letting me know if you like it or not. This is for all those people who read but don't review. I'd like a full perspective of how this is going.
And for those who have reviewed – We all love Rage! Yeah! Poor little kid – I feel guilty about what happened to him this chapter. I say we can all keep him. Rotate every other week. Hm... how would we do that?... Oh well. Anyways, Isis would get angry if anyone took Rage away. It's her baby. I suppose that no one wants that character bio thingy that I offered last time. Well, that's okay. I'll see if I can finish it up, and then put it in or something. Any comments , I'll listen!
KthnxBye!
