Set in Stone
Chapter 7
Betrayed
So here I sit in the middle of biology and I just got done taking a test. In other words...I'm bored out of my mind! Thankfully we have internet access (yay). So because I'm bored and because I love you all so much I decided to work on this now. (Wow I think this is the first time I've actually written something while it was light outside)
Wow that took forever to type (and it's dark again) wow sorry it took me like a few days after that to get it up, but I was busy. I do have a life you know (sorta kinda) but still this one was fun to write...sorry if it doesn't make sense yet, but it is relevant...all shall be explained in the next chapter XD Feel free to leave any questions of comments for me XD
The sky was pitch black and starless, polluted by the lights of Central. It looked as if some religions being had spilt a bottle of ink across the heavens, shrouding the world in darkness. The winds roared as they clawed against tree branches, ripping off the leaves. Yet despite the wind there was a quiet aura to the town, as if every living soul was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.
In truth something was about to happen…and it was big, very big. Lieutenant Jack Rosenburg stood uneasily at the edge of the small group of men chosen for this assignment. A few of them, like him seemed uneasy with this task. One of them turned toward Jack and whispered in his ear. "Are you sure this is right?"
Jack turned and looked at the younger man. "It doesn't matter if it is or not…we still have to follow orders," he said quietly.
"But…he's just a kid," responded his companion.
"Yes a kid…but a dangerous one at that," came the gruff response of their temporary commander. The man's name was Cooper Stenel and he was a big gruff man you'd hate to meet in an alleyway in the middle of the night. He stared down at them, his gray eyes like steel. "We're going to do this as quietly and as cleanly as possible. If all goes well this shouldn't take long."
Jack sighed and nodded, but he couldn't stop the reply that came out of his mouth. Thankfully for him, the officer was out of earshot when the words came from his lips, "No offense sir but has anything ever really gone well?"
As it turned out, Jack was right. The group walked up to the apartment door and knocked loudly on the door. The person that answered was young, but definitely not a child. His state seemed to shock everyone into silence. His golden hair was a tangle of knots which were held up in what used to be a ponytail. Heavy bags ringed his blood-shot eyes and there were dried tear stains running down the boy's cheeks. However it was those eyes that shocked him most of all, they were filled with so much emotion blended together that it was impossible to tell which was most dominant. When he spoke his voice was raspy as if it hadn't been used for awhile. "What do you want?" he growled.
Stenel cleared his throat and stared at the man. "Major Edward Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist I hereby place you under arrest…"
"You've got to be kidding me," came the fiery response. Despite the alchemist's tired appearance the anger in his voice rang out loud and clear.
"I am most certainly not 'kidding you' Mr. Elric," said Stenel. "Now if you'd come with me…"
Edward stared at the man blankly for a few moments before speaking. "Uh let me think about that…oh right my response to that would be…" Then he promptly slammed the door in Stenel's face.
Five seconds later said door was flow into the room and the entire squad of people burst into the room. A pair of golden eyes stared about at them. "I am so not in the mood for this!" came the annoyed growl. Then there was a bright flash of blue light that temporarily blinded the room.
Jack was one of the first to regain his vision and once he did he noticed the blonde was gone. He paused before turning and running back out the door. Sure enough at the end of the street a figure was running down the street.
Jack turn and followed him, the rest of his companions at his heels. They ran down the streets, being careful to remain as quiet as possible. He felt sort of bad for the kid, but he quickly swallowed the pity and returned his mind to the mission. He was certain if he failed he could say goodbye to the military.
He was so not in the mood for this. These fools would pay…as soon as he found out who was responsible. Arrested!? Yeah right, for what exactly? he growled in his head.
He ran down the empty street, hearing the footfalls of the soldiers behind him. He glanced back and cursed as he noticed the entire group following them. He'd have to loose them as soon as possible. He abruptly turned, glancing around as he did so.
To his relief he spotted and old warehouse which he instantly darted inside. He leaned against the wall, panting as he stared around the dark room. Very quickly his breathing slowed and he peered out a crack in the doorway.
The men were paused outside. One of them, the largest was yelling at the rest of them. He assumed he was the man in charge of this operation. Still that didn't mean he'd planned it…and that's what Ed wanted to know. Then they began to split up into smaller groups and began to comb the area.
He very slowly began to step backwards, one step at a time. Eventually, after many trips and stumbles, he made it to the back wall. Once there he found one of the many stacks of boxes and carefully climbed up on top of it. From there he waited in the shadows as the door ominously creaked open.
From his perfect view he could clearly see the faces of the two men reflected in the moonlight. Their wary features were young and they had obviously never seen battle before. They seemed nervous and he would have felt sorry for them, had he not been their target. Just when they were under him he jumped down and knocked out one with his auto-mail arm.
He grabbed the other's collar and pulled him up so he could stare into his eyes. "Who sent you!?" he demanded. "And what exactly did I do!?
The man stared at him with pity-filled eyes. "I don't know why…all I know is that Colonel Mustang…"
"That bastard!" hissed Ed, not even pausing to consider that it was a lie. He instantly dropped the man and turned and ran. He was too angry to think things through or to question why…all he could think about was beating the pulp out of a certain Colonel.
Roy Mustang stared at the empty seat where Edward had been sitting before. He hated seeing the boy so broken (not that he could blame him). His dark onyx eyes had taken in everything as Hoenheim had finally told his son the truth. Then there was the other thing…the thing he hadn't told Edward yet. After Winry had appeared she had told him Alphonse had gotten off their train with one of the homunculi. They had both decided not to tell Edward and he had sent a team of men to search for the missing boy. He wasn't looking forward to telling Edward later…but he was sure the alchemist didn't need any extra stress right now.
The flame alchemist cursed quietly and buried his hands in his head. "Fullmetal you are perhaps the biggest magnet for disaster I have ever seen," he said quietly. He thought about all the young man had lost. He'd lost almost everything and even what he had retained he knew Edward would give up in a heartbeat…all for the sake of his brother.
Now he had another problem…aging. They had all agreed to meet here tomorrow so Hoenheim could perform the transmutation that had ended Trisha's life one Edward again. Roy knew that would be hard on Fullmetal, but he also was well aware that the man would come. He was too self-conscious about his height to not come. Even if he didn't Roy would just drag him. He understood Fullmetal needed time to get over this, but that didn't mean the whole world would stop and wait for him to get better. Now…the world would keep turning with or without Edward.
To his great surprise there was a loud crash as something came flying in through the window. Glass shattered everywhere, burrowing in to carpet and furniture. But that was the least of Roy's problems; golden eyes blazed as Edward crossed the room, auto-mail gleaming in the moonlight. He turned and snarled at Roy. "What the hell did you tell them!?"
Roy stared at the angry alchemist, dumbfounded. "What are you talking about Fullmetal?"
"Why. The. Hell. Is. The. Military. Trying. To. Arrest. Me!?" demanded Edward, making each word its own sentence.
"You're a criminal?" asked Roy, confused.
Edward slowly eased up after Roy spoke. "You don't know?" asked Edward quietly. "But they said you…" He stared at the floor as he collapsed on a chair. His hand flew up to his head and he sighed loudly. "Perfect, just perfect!"
Just then the phone rang, causing both confused men to jump out of their skins. Roy went out of the room to answer the phone. He dashed into the next room and dived for the phone just as it stopped ringing. "Hello? Colonel Mustang speaking."
'Sir…'
He recognized the voice instantly. "Yes Lieutenant Hawkeye what's wrong?"
'It's Van Hoenheim,' Hawkeye's tone was strict and professional, but Roy had known her long enough to detect the hint of concern hidden beneath that. His heart sank to his stomach as he questioned her once more. Then as she spoke once more his heart fell all the way to his feet.
Mwahahahahah wanna find out what she says? Wait till the next chapter...I think I kinda already made it obvious anyway. *shrugs* Finally getting to the good part *does happy dance* can you tell I'm a little loopy? It comes from it being late at night and me having drank like a gazillion cups of coffee. Yes I am weird...I am aware...cya next week guys! I love you all for reviewing so much and giving me motivation. I'd like to thank you all (and coffee)
