Hello! I am back! Sorry this chapter took a while to update. Life has been hectic.
Thank you to all my lovely reviewers. You definitely made my pain writing last chapter worth it!
Now, this chapter is when things start to be different from Cannon. No full-on plot changes yet, but changes in events, so to speak. You'll see what happens anyways.
Last chapter, the Nina Tucker incident happened. This chapter, we get to watch the aftermath. Which means I get to torture myself a bit more. Yippie.
Whatever. Just read the chapter, and tell me what you think. I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist is not mine. Boo.
And without further ado, on with the show!
Chapter 6: The Right Hand of Destruction
There was a tomato field down near the sheep farm in Risimbule, where Trisha had often gone to pick the plump red fruits. The field also had an old, rusted water pump, that some of the poor families in Risimbule; the one's who couldn't afford the running water that the Elrics and the Rockbell's had; would use to collect their freshwater for the day. The pump was still dripping with water from the last family who used it; most likely the Siehen family, who's daughter, Jane, was in the same pre-school class as the Elric brother's and Winry, and who Winry shared a bitter rivalry with because Jane had once knocked down a tower that Winry had made from sticks, since she claimed that Winry was "messing up the school yard" with her creation.
Edward could've been patient, and waited for his mother to come home with the tomatoes before showing her what he made, but he couldn't wait that long. He ran down the hill where his house sat, past the sheep farm, and the graveyard, where Granny Pinako's husband laid, resting in the dirt. Where Alphonse had thrown a fit, because they couldn't burry their dead cat in the graveyard with the rest of the other humans.
Edward ran into the tomato field, past the old water pump, where it still continued to drip, shouting in excitement, and nearly tripping over himself in the process.
"Mom, mom!" He shouted happily. "Mom, come look!
His mother turned to face him, where she held a pile of tomatoes gathered together in her apron. "What is it, Edward?" She asked kindly, laughing slightly that he had run all the way from their home to the field just to show her something.
Edward giggled, showing her his creation. A little horse made from paper, clay, and alchemy. "It's a present!" He told his mother.
Trisha gently scooped the horse into her hands. During a dinner conversation not so long ago, her boys had been discussing their favorite animal. Alphonse's was a cat, and Edward's was a dragon ("There's no such thing as dragons, brother!" "Yes there is! They live in Xing!"). They then asked their mother, who said that her favorite was a horse. Since then, her two son's would make horses for her as presents.
"Oh, for me?" She laughed lightly. "Where did you get this?"
"I transmuted it!" Edward told her, excitement radiating from his facial features. "I put it together with Alchemy!"
An ant crawled across one of the tomatoes. Birds occasionally let out a song to signal to their friends where they where. If Edward listened closely enough, he could here the buzzing of honey-bees pollinating the tomato plants so that they would continue to grow more.
"You did?" His mother said, surprised and impressed. "I guess you do take after your father!" She patted her son on the head. "Thank you, Edward. You really are special, being able to create something so wonderful,"
Suddenly, everything went dark, and silent. The only noise Ed could here was his mother talking. "But it's too bad…"
Her face fell apart, as blood gushed down her body, transforming it into something else. Something familiar.
That thing they had turned her into when they tried to bring her back to life.
"You couldn't put me back together too,"
The tomatoes fell, and the broken horse landed in the red juice. Something else was coming out of the darkness. A strange creature they failed to save.
He woke up before he would be forced to face it.
Edward watched reality fade in. His body was covered in sweat, and he had lost his breath. He sucked the air in greedily, hoping to find some sort of relief. Rain continued to drizzle outside, making the skin that was fused the the automail scream out in agony.
Edward collapsed in on himself, pressing his burning head against his cold metal knee-cap. "It hurts!" He cried out.
Edward and Alphonse wondered around the Armstrong summer house, reality fading in and out, occasionally. They eventually reached the kitchen, where one of the chefs where cooking up eggs and bacon.
"Ah, your awake," He said, not too overly peppy, but still in a good enough mood that it made the Elrics angry. Such a tragedy occurred and here he was cooking eggs and bacon while singing to himself, with a smile on his face. "Your friend, Miss Rockbell, checked in here, late last night. She's in the room next to Miss Catherine's,"
Ed and Al walked out of the kitchen, and towards the aforementioned room.
Winry sat up in bed, fully awake. Her hair clip laid on the bedside dresser, leaving her bangs to lay messily over her head. It was something of an odd look, since it wasn't often that they saw Winry with her bangs down. She had dozens of blankets piled on top of her, and was dressed in a warm pair of pajama's. Even still, she was shivering.
"Winry," Ed sighed, a small amount of relief flooding through the two brothers. So at least she was okay.
"Hey, Ed, Al," Winry hummed back, moving her head slightly to look at them.
The three of them didn't say anything. Eventually, the Elric brothers trudged over to the large bed that Winry sat in. Ed slipped into the blankets next to her, and Alphonse sat on the bed on Winry's other side. The three of them simply stayed like this for a little while.
"There's something I need to tell you," Winry eventually said, her voice barely above a whisper. She choked on a sob, as tears started running down her face. She didn't look either of her friends in the eye.
"Nina… she…" Winry tried to shove out, the words getting stuck in her throat. "She's… Nina is…" She curled in to herself. She didn't want to say it. She didn't want to say it!
Ed and Al where patient. They said nothing, just listened. Gave her all the time she needed.
"Nina's dead," Winry finally pushed out.
And the world came crashing down around the trio.
Everything was silent and still. Not even the dust in the air dared to move an inch.
Nina was dead.
She was dead.
They couldn't save her.
And now, they never would be able to.
She was dead. The little girl was dead. Both Nina and Alexander. The big, fluffy, loving dog. The bright little girl who was determined to make them happy. They where gone. She was just…
Gone.
"We shouldn't go outside today," Winry told them. "There's a killer out there. He's targeting State Alchemist. I saw him kill both Nina and Mr. Tucker. I tried to make him promis not to kill you Ed. I failed," There was so much guilt in her words. Edward hated it. He hated it when Winry and Alphonse felt guilty for something. The burden of guilt was almost too much for his tiny body, and here where his best friend and baby brother, carrying some of their own.
He couldn't let them.
He would not let them!
"It's fine, Winry," Ed told her calmly. "I'll be careful. I'll be ok, alright, Winry?"
Winry didn't say anything. She didn't even nod.
Alphonse let out a sigh. Those two hopeless fools. It seemed as if he was the only one who could possibly take care of them. He couldn't tell them how utterly hopeless this entire endeavor made him feel. He lost Nina. Not only that, but if Nina couldn't be fixed, was it even possible that he could be?
Now was not the time. For once, Alphonse was glad that he couldn't sleep. He was able to spend the night, when everyone else was deep into unconsciousness, to grieve for little Nina by himself. He would have to wait until it was night again to morn her passing.
He wouldn't do it in front of Ed and Winry. They needed someone to be strong for them. And Al will fill that role, no matter how much pain it brought him. It was the least he could do, after all.
"I'm gonna fire somebody," Hughes declared, sounding angry and frustrated. He and Armstrong currently stood at the gruesome scene that was Nina and Tucker's dead bodies, and knowing that a child was forced to witness the crime scene made the young father's blood boil. Especially with that child being a member of his precious Elric crew.
"Hughes," Armstrong hummed lightly, trying to calm the man down.
"No, the military MP's should've found her before she had to witness this!" Hughes snapped, lifting the sheets, a scowl on his face. "Ew," He cringed as the smell of decay flooded his nose. "But I say the bastard deserved it," He hummed, mostly to himself. "After what he did to his wife and daughter, and all,"
Even the concept a man loving anything more than his family where inconceivable to Hughes. The only thing that should ever come close where friends (friends that he didn't already consider family anyways). What a rotten thing to do. Anyone who would mutilate a child like that deserved to burn in hell.
And Hughes was perfectly aware and content that condemnation did extend to himself.
"It's a good thing our guy got him first, otherwise I would've killed the son-of-a-bitch myself," Hughes finally wrapped up.
"Hughes," Mustang chimed in. He had been standing off to the side, letting forensics do their job, and listening to Hughes angry rants. Mustang had to admit, when Winry showed up to the front of Eastern Command, soaked to the bone, shivering, crying, and blood pouring from her cast, he had been somewhat concerned for her life. Though, Winry, and the Elric crew in general, seemed a bit stronger than to die by something as simple as pneumonia or bleeding out of a reopened wound. However, it was enough to put his best friend in a horrible mood, meaning that Mustang had to deal with it. "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean," Hughes snapped bitterly, "That if Tucker hadn't been murdered, I would've done the deed myself! And after what he did he sure as hell would deserve—"
"That's not what I meant, Hughes," Mustang interrupted the Lieutenant Colonel, before he could go on another angry rant about how "Tuckers first chimera should've been investigated more thoroughly," or how "there should've been a fact check to figure out what really happened to his wife," or how "The MP's should've looked harder for Winry," or really anything. Hughes had been angry with it all. And it wasn't hard to see why. But Mustang had to assume it was a dad thing, since he was somehow more able to look at the situation with a lack of attachment then Hughes had been able to, despite both of them having seen the same shit out on the battlefield. "What did you mean by 'Our Guy'?" Mustang questioned.
Hughes and Armstrong shared a nod. "There's been a string of killings that are all similar, with similar targets, and the murder is all the same; it looks like their face had been taken apart from the inside out. And with Winry's witness report…" Hughes trailed off.
Armstrong nodded, finishing Hughes' point. "There's no doubt about this in our minds. It's him,"
Lior had fallen.
All chaos had descended. It had been like this for weeks now.
After the Elric Brother's broke the news of Cornello's fraud, the people had been shocked into a state of disarray. But then Cornello had come back out and spoken to them, telling them that the war against the Heathens had begun. And that it was up to the people of Lior to win the fight.
Some where enchanted by his words, and lured back into his lies with a false sense of normalcy and denial. But other's faced the truth head on, and refused to be deceived again by the false prophet.
The two sides had turned to each other and wen't out for blood.
Smoke roamed across the city as everything began to fall apart. Soldiers where sent in to calm things down, but it just made things worse. Multiple people where beaten to death in the streets. Soldiers had panicked and used firing squads against the citizens.
The magnificent city that the Elric Crew had entered not so long ago had been reduced to ashes, dust, and rubble.
Lust observed the chaos from a safe distance. Her body felt giddy as she watched the blood spill. How she loved the glorious sounds and visuals of torment! Her body felt hot, the sight giving her a strange kind of pleasure, that could only be described as sexual. Her passionate bloodlust is where she got her name.
"Look at that, Gluttony!" She laughed, feeling giddy. She leaned against the balcony she was watching from, keeping a straight face, using one hand to grip the pole and the other to caress her hips in pleasure. "Humans are such fools,"
"Fools! Fools!" Gluttony repeated, his short stature and chubby body keeping him from being able to quite look over the balcony. There where a lot of corpses piling up. He liked corpses; they where soft and chewy, and didn't struggle against him when he tried to eat them. He saw dead men covered in muscle; a part of the meat he so dearly loved. There where girls and their soft, chewy flesh, and there where people with a lot of fat on them. He loved the fat ones; they where the biggest snack. His hunger screamed, as it always did, and Gluttony began to wonder how long it would be before he was fed again.
"Quiet right," Said a third voice, as the figure this voice belonged to entered the room. "But when things work out like you plan them, that foolish quality can be so nice,"
Standing in front of Lust and Gluttony was Father Cornello, wearing his usual, just to wide smile. But there was something off about it. The smile had somehow extended into an unnatural size, even for the false prophet.
"Well, well, 'your holiness'," Lust chided, smiling.
"Holy-holy!" Gluttony laughed.
"Sorry you had to come out here," Lust hummed, seeming genuine, but slightly disinterested at the same time.
"Yeah, well," Cornello grunted with an eye roll. "When this is over I'm going back to the city that I'm in charge of,"
"Really," Lust hummed, observing the chaos once again, heightening her pleasure. "I was a little bit worried when that Fullmetal Boy messed up our plans, but as a result our work will be finished ahead of schedule, so he was actually a big help,"
Cornello chuckled. "All it took was for you to spread some propaganda among my 'followers' to get them started, and this is the result. Humans really are simple creatures,"
"Bloodshed begets bloodshed," Lust moaned, "Hatred begets hatred. The rage and emotion sinks into the land and stains it with a crest of blood," The simple concept made her body turn on. "No matter how many times they repeat themselves, they never learn. These sad fools," She hummed, with a hint of pity.
"That's why we can do anything to them, right?" Cornello stated with pride. Though something in his voice seemed as if he simply wanted the blood craving woman to confirm it.
Her wide smile and husky giggle said it all.
"Will a lot of people die again?" Gluttony asked his caretaker.
"Yes, I guess they'll die," Lust replied, ecstatic.
"Can I eat all the ones that die?" The stout man begged.
"No, you can't eat them," Lust told him, patting him on the head to make up for her denial to his craving. She then turned to the false prophet, a disgusted look on her face. "By the way, Envy, how long do you plan on using that voice and that body? It's making me sick,"
"Come on, I'm just setting the mood, that's all," Cornello joked, as some of his skin started to disappear in alchemical fragments, and a dark red glow. "But if I'm going to change shape anyway," The mans large hands transformed into slender palms with long fingers, coated by black gloves. The old face crumpled away, as black, corse hair grew out from the bald head. The clothing disappeared, as the big shoes where traded out for smooth feet, as the voice began to change. "Why should I be a crust old geezer…"
The sparks faded away as the transformation completed itself.
"When I can be young and cute?"
The shape-shifter flashed a wicked smile. With a youthful face, looking around twenty, and a body that leaned to neither gender, ey took on a form of a true changeling. Ey had pale skin and black hair, much like eir voluptuous companion, with lilac colored snake-eyes, big ears, and a button-nose. Ey was tall and lean, sporting a black crop-top and a black skort, with fingerless gloves on eir slender hands, and toe-less, heel-less black socks on eir feet. Eir black hair stuck out in bunches, almost reminiscent of palm-tree leaves, and where (rather unsuccessfully) kept our of eir face by a black headband. Much like eir partners, ey sported a crimson Ouroboros tattoo, which sat on eir left leg, right below eir skort.
Lust giggled in amusement at her partner's decision to be 'young and cute'. Didn't exactly show eir true personality. "Even though on the inside you're the most ruthless of all of us!" She quipped.
"Are you trying to pick a fight, Lust?" Envy growled, unamused. Normally, ey took pride in eir ruthlessness, but Lust was saying it like an insult!
"Y-YOUR A MONSTER!" Shouted a distressed voice. Envy and Lust turned to the newcomer, concluding that this human (Clay was their name? Or maybe it was Ray?) had seen the entirety of Envy's transformation.
"What's going on here?!" He screamed, distressed. "His holiness, what happened to the real Father Cornello? What in God's name are you!?"
Lust and Envy looked at each other, sharing annoyed expressions on their face. Lust sighed. "What should we do?" She asked.
"He called me a monster!" Envy declared, sounding comedically offended. "I am so insulted!"
"Can I eat him?" Gluttony asked.
Lust and Envy turned to the hungry guy, debating the solution in their head for a few moments before simply shrugging their shoulders. Apparently it was enough for Gluttony, since he was tearing into the poor man's flesh seconds later.
"By the way," Envy informed eir partner. "I heard that someone killed Shou Tucker from East City,"
"Tucker?" Lust questioned, trying to remember who ey was talking about. "Oh, yes, the Sewing -Life Alchemist," She scoffed, remembering the rather unimpressive man who claimed to have created the first talking Chimera. His attempt was rather pathetic, but his reputation still held it's use. "Who cares?" Lust groaned. "He was just a minor alchemist, anyways,"
"I don't care about Tucker!" Envy stated, almost a little too fast, as if terrified that eir partner might think ey had actual concern for the useless man. "But the killer, it's that guy from before again,"
Lust frowned. There was a killer targeting State Alchemist. She wasn't terribly concerned about him, but then he took down Terra Rigel, the Earthquake Alchemist. She was a strong, and skilled member of the State Alchemist program, and they had been eyeing her as potential, but then she was murdered. And the killer didn't simply stop at Terra Rigel either. He had also killed Clause Valentine, the Sky Alchemist, and Basque Grand, the Iron Blood Alchemist, two other State Alchemist they had been eying. It was quiet frustrating that those three had been killed, especially when they could've been so useful.
"East city is where the Flame Colonel is, right?" Lust questioned.
"Uh-huh," Envy confirmed. "Apparently the Fullmetal Runt is there too,"
"The Fullmetal Alchemist," Lust hummed. "It makes me mad that he got in the way of our work, but we can't just let allow him to die. After all, he and his little friend; They're our human sacrifices,"
"Lust, that was tasty!" Gluttony shouted excitedly.
"Wipe your mouth after you eat," Lust criticized, annoyed that the blood on his mouth was arousing her. It was gross that she felt that way when the blood was coating a guy who was technically her brother.
"About this man," Envy continued, ignoring the interruption. "I don't know who he is or where he's from, but we can't allow him to interfere with the plan,"
"Alright," Lust sighed, disappointed to have to leave the carnage early. "We've pretty much finished with this town, so I guess we'll go take a look. This killer of ours, what was his name?
"Scar?" Mustang questioned, upon hearing the name of Shou Tucker's murderer.
"We don't know his name, so that's what we call him," Hughes explained.
The small group of soldiers currently stood in the halls of Eastern Command. They had collected the bodies of Tucker and Nina, which they planned to cremate. Mustang couldn't blame his old friend for wanting to leave the Tucker estate before giving his explanation. The smell of rotting flesh and agony clogged the air back at that place.
"Not only is his background a mystery, but we don't even know what kind of weapon he uses or what his intentions are. It seems like he's everywhere," Armstrong informed the Colonel. "The only information we've received about him is what Miss Winry had told us about him, with his most memorable feature being the large X-shaped scar on his forehead," The major pointed to the spot between his eyes, at the bridge of his nose, just where Winry had told them the scar was located. They tried not to think about how a little girl had been face to face with a killer as dangerous as this "Scar".
"This year alone, he's killed five alchemist in central. In the country, he's killed a total of ten," Hughes told Mustang.
"Yes, we've heard the rumors out here in the east as well," Mustang hummed, remembering how shocked his men where when they had received the news that Terra Rigel had been murdered. Her alchemy was infamous throughout the military, with reports on how she desecrated the battlefield in the conflict against Creta. She left no enemies alive. It was shocking to hear that she could've been killed by someone.
But then Hughes said. "Just between you and me, I heard that he even killed old man Grand,"
This was a shock. Rigel may have been powerful, but she often got carried away with that power. This left her sloppy in the heat of battle. For an army, her weakness didn't really hinder her, since she didn't need to care about how or where the destruction was made, just that destruction was done. But against a one-on-one enemy; if said enemy was skilled enough, he would know exactly how to take advantage of such weakness.
But Basque Grand held years of experience. He wasn't sloppy, like Rigel, and never got so carried away by his Alchemy that he forgot where his enemy was. He kept a keen eye on whomever he had to face, and made sure that whatever alchemical feats he performed where precise and perfect, something he picked up from the battlefield. To think that he could be murdered.
The killer must've had to have been extremely dangerous to do something like that.
"Brigadier General Grand, the Iron-Blood Alchemist!?" Mustang gasped. Hughes couldn't have been talking about the same Grand. "He's a military martial arts expert!"
"It might sound crazy, but believe it or not, a guy this touch is roaming the city," Hughes snapped, looking stressed, saddened, and scared. The young father owed a lot to the Brigadier General. If it wasn't for him, Hughes might not have left the battlefield alive.
They weren't exactly friends, but Mustang knew how hard it must've been for Hughes to here that a man who was practically his hero had been killed.
No wonder he had been so incredibly angry that Winry had made contact with a killer like that.
"Let me give you some advice," Hughes continued, his voice level, and serious. Such a contrast to his usual upbeat and happy mood. "Double the security staff and lay low for awhile. I'm asking you this as a friend,"
Hughes' voice left no room for either arguments or protest. Mustang would look after himself, and keep himself safe. Hughes would make sure of it.
"The Elric Crew is currently staying in the Armstrong's summer home," Hughes sighed, starting to walk off. "I'm gonna escort them here. It's probably the safest bet for them,"
"Alright," Mustang hummed, trying to process the information he had received. Brigadier General Grand; dead. He never had a chance to properly thank the man for protecting his best friend.
"And Roy," Hughes turned around, his forest-green spheres meeting Mustangs pitch-black ones. "Please, be gentle with them. We've seen a fare share of hell. We know what its like,"
"I'm just pushing them along," Mustang tried to defend himself, knowing his friend had a point. He was harsh on those Elric kids, but it was because he had to be. "This world isn't going to coddle them,"
Hughes glared at him. "They know that," He said firmly. Mustang felt the sound pause at this statement. He knew that the relationship between Hughes and those kids was a friendly one. One could say he even acted like they where his children. He must've known them so much more personally than Mustang did. Maybe he should've tried to get to know them better. As much as he hated to admit it, they had wormed their way into his heart anyways. Why did he bother trying to stop them in the first place?
"They know that the world is cruel, and it sucks," Hughes continued. "It sucks because they've got nothing to put their faith in. They don't believe anything cares about them. I'm gonna prove them wrong, and if you know what's good for those kids, you'll do the same,"
Mustang let out a long sigh. "It's quiet charming how little you care for social boundaries, Maes," The man joked.
His friend gave him a small smile and a soft release of air in return. "The poor souls in hell are gonna enjoy me,"
Mustang laughed, a bittersweet feeling welling up inside him. "That they will,"
Catherine had been fading in and out of consciousness ever since she had fainted at the Tucker's residence. She had broken out with a fever, and had spent the day laying in bed, a cold rag placed on her forehead. She hadn't seen either Winry or the Elric brothers yet, and was growing concerned for them. Every time she asked one of her servants what was happening, they would just give her the run-around, stating that they "were fine". Catherine knew better. There was no way they where fine. Not after everything that had just happened.
Sunlight poured through the window, highlighting the edges of a figure peering over the young woman's bed. Catherine's eyes slowly adjusted to the light, recognizing the figure as Winry.
"Miss Winry!" Catherine nearly cried out in joy and relief. "You're alright!"
Winry was wearing a pair of warm pajama's that Catherine recognized as a pair of her's that had grown to small. She was wrapped up in a blanket, and her face seemed to have disturbing shades of blue mixed in with her already pale completion. Her hair seemed more thin, and there where bags under her eyes. The sky-blue orbs seemed to have dulled. If Catherine didn't know any better, she'd say that those eyes almost looked grey.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Winry hummed quietly. Catherine sat up a slight bit, the washcloth falling off her forehead, as she reached over, wrapping the blanket tighter around Winry.
"Your so cold," Catherine fretted, feeling Winry's ice-like skin. "Why are you cold?"
"Rain," Winry said simply.
Catherine pulled Winry out of the chair she was sitting in and onto her bed, in order to examine the cast her foot had been in.
"Looks new," Catherine observed.
"It had to be changed out," Winry explained. "I reopened the wound,"
The two women sat in silence for a while.
"Winry," Catherine finally said, her voice weak and quiet. "I had a horrible dream. Mr. Tucker had done something awful to Nina. Please, tell me it was a dream,"
Winry said nothing.
"I knew it," Catherine whispered. She fell back into her pillows, the sudden movement making her feel dizzy. Her hair swirled around her head. Catherine ran her fingers through the platinum blonde silk-strings, remembering how much Nina had loved her hair.
"It's so soft, Catherine!" Nina had declared. "I love it! It's so soft!"
Her family had always insisted that she try to look beautiful. They said that she was a woman, and woman needed to look their best. She had never considered her physical appearance anything more than a duty. People ogled at it. Admired it. Never loved it. Never enjoyed it. But she brought happiness to a little girl by letting her play with the hair she had always worked so hard to keep perfect. And suddenly, her physical appearance wasn't just a duty; it was something she could take pride in.
Catherine suddenly started to bawl. She let out a loud cry, as tears coated her face. The hurt was deep. It dug into her skin like a knife.
"Catherine," Winry whispered, tears flowing down her own cheeks. This was the hardest part. Winry hated this. She had seen what had become of poor Nina. She was the one who knew. So she was the one who had to tell the others what happened. "Catherine, there's something — I'm so sorry!" Winry cried, the words unable to come out.
Catherine bit her lip, wiping the tears off her face. Winry needed her. She was needed by Winry. So she sat up, and and wiped the tears out of her eyes again. She wrapped her arms around the little girl who she had spent so much time with.
She was hired by the Elrics to be a personal assistant for Winry. Providing comfort wasn't part of the job description, but she gladly did so anyways.
"Shhh" Catherine commanded softly, tracing Winry's spine with her fingers in a comforting motion. "Shhh, it's not your fault. You did nothing wrong. We gave Nina our love and our care. At least she still has that,"
Winry shook her head. "No," She sobbed. "No, she's gone! She's gone and she doesn't have anything!"
"What do you… " Catherine started, but stopped, simply trailing off. There was only one thing that Winry could've meant. "Oh. So, Nina's dead now. I see. Winry, do you believe in God?"
"I met God," Winry told Catherine. The young woman had never been sure what Winry had meant by that, but she had always assumed that it was something bad. "And God isn't kind. And I don't know if there could possibly be a heaven inside that place it was in,"
"Well," Catherine told her, trying to keep her voice even. She succeeded, though she was sure that Winry could feel her tears falling onto her back. "I believe that something happens after death. I'm not entirely sure what, but I'm sure of one thing. The good people in this world find happiness after they die. I'm sure Nina found such a thing. She had to,
"She had to!"
Hughes drove the members of the Elric Crew towards Eastern command. Despite everyone telling her otherwise, Catherine decided to brave her fever and accompany the Elric crew.
The only one that was dressed in outside clothes was Edward, who had fallen asleep in his boxers and therefore had been the only one with a reason to put clothing on. Winry and Catherine where both still in their pajama's, and had wrapped themselves in blankets. Winry's bangs still hung loose in her face, but the lady-bug clip Nina had given her sat in the breast pocket of her clothes.
Neither Hughes, or the other soldier who had helped with the escort, said a thing, besides the usual hello. He had given them hugs, however. Light, but comforting. He didn't want to overstep boundaries, but the children didn't mind. They where in need of a hug of any sorts, anyways.
The kids were walked through the pouring rain with giant umbrella's to shield them. Edward stopped in the middle of the walk. By the time Hughes noticed Ed was no longer walking with them, the boy was standing in the middle of the rain, his face tilted up to the heavens, as the water dripped down his face, almost like the tears he was so practiced at never shedding.
"Come on, brother," Al encouraged him gently. "We need to get inside,"
"The man Winry had come in contact with is a dangerous serial killer targeting State Alchemist. We call him 'Scar'" Mustang explained.
The men on Mustangs team, along with Hughes, Armstrong, and the Elric Crew, sat inside his office on the couches, as the three higher-ranking officers gave them a briefing on who they where up against. The other soldiers snuck side-glances at the Elric crew every so often, a pang rupturing through their heart over how completely downtrodden and miserable those poor kids looked.
"And we know from her encounter with him that Scar isn't exactly above harming children," Mustang continued, eyeing Edward. The young state Alchemist kept his head down, and the brilliant gold that his eyes usually where had greatly diminished. The fire in his eyes were dying. Mustang frowned, remembering Hughes' words. Ed was fifteen. Things shouldn't be like this. "Fullmetal," He called to the boy.
Ed didn't even look up. "What?"
"Take care of yourself, alright?" Mustang commanded. "And don't leave the Eastern Command today, got it?"
"Yeah, whatever," Ed grunted, lacking energy.
"I suggest you four go get a bite to eat," Mustang told them. "There's food in the cafeteria,"
The Elric Crew wondered around Eastern Command, not quiet sure what to do or where to go. They felt like they where walking through pitch-black water instead of air. It was excruciating.
"Hey," A voice rain into their ears.
The kids looked up to see Maes Hughes standing before them with sympathetic eyes, as he gave them a small smile of comfort.
"Lieutenant Colonel," Ed greeted, sounding exhausted.
"I don't know wether you'll like this or not," Hughes said. "But we're going to cremate Nina's body. Do you guys wanna say anything to her, or maybe just be there, or something?"
The Elric crew agreed.
The military crematory was a terrifying room, that the Elric Crew had never gone into, and felt as if their lives would've been a lot better if they had never been in there. Formaldehyde was the strongest smell. The next strongest was that of dead bodies, and third was the smell of ashes. Nina's body laid on a tray, covered with a blanket so that they couldn't see her, but the shape was unmistakable.
"Nina," Ed whimpered.
The young boy staggered over to her, arms out, emotions of despair, guilt, hate, and trauma twisting up his face, creating an expression that looked like agony. When he finally got to the tray she was laying on, his little body gave out on itself, and Edward fell to his knees.
"This… This wasn't supposed to happen!" He wailed.
Al sat down next to his brother, putting a hand on his small but muscular shoulder. Winry reached her hand down as Catherine pulled her wheelchair up close to her friends. Alphonse reached over and squeezed her hand. Neither of the two could feel the squeeze, but it was there, nonetheless.
"Should we… say something?" Catherine asked, feeling water fall from her eyes and down her chin.
Al took a deep breath, and stood up, looking at the black cloth that covered Nina's grizzly body from sight. He had to give her a proper goodbye. She deserved that much.
"Nina," He whispered. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry that we couldn't do anything to help you. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," His voice cracked and his armor rattled, as his body trembled. Nothing hurt. There was no pain coming from the cold body of his. It didn't sing in agony like Winry and Edward's pain usually did. It was a silent thing, a song that made no sound, and it hurt just the same.
Ed finally stood up. "We'll never forget you," He promised in a whisper.
"We'll always keep you in our hearts," Winry vowed.
"I'm sorry this had to happen to you, Nina," Catherine said. "Your still our friend, no matter what,"
With all their final goodbyes said, Hughes prepared the cremation chamber. "I'm sorry this had to happen," Hughes whispered. "You seemed like a nice girl, and you made my kids happy. I hope you can rest in peace, little one,"
He slid the tray into the chamber and shut the door. A bright light illuminated the chamber window, as orange flames danced around her body.
A giant pain flared up in Edwards body. His organs where gone again. They where in the cremation chamber with Nina. Burning, burning, burning.
Everything was burning. The fire crept out of the chamber and surrounded the room, as creatures of flame danced to a surreal tune. It seemed to be a harpsichord. That was right. Someone was playing a harpsichord and the flames where dancing to it. Ed's entire body began to shake. He couldn't breath. The smoke was chocking him. There was nothing in the room. Where had Alphonse and Winry gone to!? Had the flames taken them?
It was hot. Too hot. The fire was getting closer, and the harpsichord was playing louder and louder and louder. The flames deconstructed Nina's body, turning it to black. So much black clogged the room. It was the brightest black Edward had ever seen. Could black be bright? It couldn't, could it?
That harpsichord was too loud. Not a single sound entered his ear except for that goddamn harpsichord. He wanted it to stop. He needed it to stop.
He saw the dreaded instrument floating closer to him. There was a man playing the thing. A very familiar man. It was morphed; it appeared to be a demon from the darkest of hells, but the face was unmistakable.
Shou Tucker. The Bad Man who had done something unforgivable. Who had betrayed them. Who had taken away their friend.
Edward felt a surge of panic flow through him as Shou Tucker reached out to grab him.
Clap!
Ring!
"Ahhhhhhhh!"
Reality hit Edward with full force. There was blood. He had transmuted his arm into a blade, his usual weapon of self-defense. He had stabbed it straight through Hughes' arm.
Ed pulled the blade out on instinct, horrified when that made the young Father cry out in pain louder. Hughes gritted his teeth together, trying to stop himself from screaming, but by god, that hurt.
"Mr. Hughes!" Winry cried in concern.
"Ed! Why did you do that!?" Al screamed.
Ed felt the guilt burn through him as if he had just swallowed acid. There was something in the room that was ripping at him. His automail arm seemed shrouded in a dark cloud. This thing that he had used to hurt a good friend of his.
"Hey, Ed," Hughes said, as calmly as he could, gritting his teeth to keep the screams of pain he felt inside his mouth. "Ed, it's fine. It's just me,"
Ed bolted from the room.
The little boy wasn't sure where he was going. He couldn't see what was in front of him. His legs simply acted without his brains commands, while the scene played out in his head again and again and again. Hughes' blood was still on his automail.
That had been Tucker. He was reaching out, reaching for Ed, intent on hurting him, like he did his own daughter. Ed couldn't think properly. Why did he remember Tucker reaching for him? Tucker was dead. It had been Hughes who was reaching for him. Hughes wasn't like Tucker. He was a Good Man, not a Bad Man. He let them stay in his house, treated his wife and daughter like a queen and princess respectively. He took care of his family. He took care of them. Even more so, he wasn't an alchemist! He was not like Tucker at all! Why had Ed lashed out?
Big hands. Hughes had big hands. Bigger than Edward's own. Adult hands. The hands of a man who had finally grown into their skin and become a part of the world. A cog in the machine of life. Tucker was also this; an adult. Adult's where supposed to look after Children. That was their job. Tucker failed at his job. So many goddamn people failed at this job. Edward was fifteen. Winry was fifteen. Alphonse was fourteen. They where kids, dammit! Just some kids who where walking blindly through hell because nobody wanted to guid them. Adults had failed them. Absolutely failed.
Something cold was pounding heavily on Ed's body. He must've finally ran outside. The cold hit again, and again, and again. It soaked into his hair and his clothes, as it froze him from the inside out. The rain stole his body heat. Edward kept running.
He finally reached some sort of destination; a back-ally way. Ed fell harshly onto his hands and knees, as he gasped for air, trying to take it from the sky. But it refused to touch him. Not even the air wanted to be near someone like him.
He hurt Hughes. He stabbed his arm with his automail blade, and his alchemy. The blood was still there. It was wet, and red, and smelled metallic. He hurt someone who'd been good to them. Nothing but good. Why was he shocked, though? Winry and Alphonse had been nothing but good to him, and he hurt them too. He took something away from them, and forced them to walk through the most terrible of hells because of his arrogance. And now he had done it again. Used his alchemy to hurt someone.
Ed felt his left fingers curl around a stone. It would do.
CLANG!
Edward hit the stone against his automail arm. Again, and again, and again, and again. He let out screams of agony as he continued to beat the thing up. The first of the plating to come off where his fingers. The wires where soon exposed to rain. He beat the the arm more and more. A wire was cut. A joint came loose. More and more plaiting came off, until the entire hand was torn up.
Ed practically ripped off his coat, and went for the arm next.
He smashed the blade off. The piece of metal fell to the ground with a clang. More pieces fell. Some metal, some wires, some nuts, bolts, and screws. Off came everything.
He beat the elbow off next. And when that was done he continued up his arm eventually beating at his shoulder plating. His nerves screamed in agony as the wires attached to them felt themselves shaking as he pried the at the port, trying to get it off. Get everything of.
It took work, but eventually he had beaten all the plating off of his automail. With nothing encasing it, it looked like a skeleton arm surrounded by wires. He pulled those off too, this time using his hands instead of the rock. He broke it apart. Everything. The entirety of his automail.
"Why am I like this!?" He cried, pulling the wires apart. "Why am I such a fucked-up idiot that I do something like this!? I can't even save a little girl! I can't even protect my friends! I'm pathetic!"
All that was left was the skeleton. Edward stood up, grabbing his coat. He left the pieces to rust in the rain, as he moved along, unsure of where he wanted to go.
"I'm so sorry, Alphonse! I'm so sorry Winry!" Ed cried to himself. "I couldn't save Nina! I can't save anyone! How am I going to save you!?"
Ed let out a scream, as he started to bawl. He continued his tearless cry for a while, curling into himself as his body racked with sobs. "I'm worthless!" Ed shouted. "I'm worthless! I can't do anything!"
The rain continued to pour.
Hey! I actually made a chapter that wasn't a million pages long! Yippie.
So, more emotions, more crying, and more mental breakdowns. I wonder what the TVTropes page you guys made for me will look like after this.
So, new milestone, we actually get a good look at the homunculi! As you see, I've interpreted Lust's well, lust, as bloodlust. She gets sexual pleasure from looking at blood. When I write from her pov, my descriptions of her emotions might be a slight bit uncomfortable for some of us, me included. Writing about a characters sexual anything is not exactly what I'd like to spend my time doing. But, all characters have emotions, and I want to describe them. So expect more of Lust weird sexual attraction to blood to come up more later, at least whenever she takes the spotlight.
And then there's Envy. I'll be using gender neutral pronouns that I found on the internet for the palm-tree. Because Envy has no gender. Well, technically, eir gender is a shape-shifting lizard, but there are no personal pronouns for that!
And I think that's all I've got to say for this chapter. Hope you liked it. Sorry it took so long, and that it was a bit short. Leave a review, and all that good stuff.
~MotherUniverse signing out!