Just typed this up really quickly for you, because I realized I've forgotten about posting lately. Lot's of stuff going on, you know how it is for a junior in high school. ACT preparation, AP preparation, band festival, Shutocon, et cetera. Anyway, here it is, lovlies! Review if you want to. I appreciate it!
I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist but I do own my original characters and ideas.
It looked as if they were transporting a serial killer, Ed thought. Were all the guns and soldiers necessary?
The group—that is, Ed, Mustang, the team, nearly a dozen extra soldiers (all heavily armed), and the Emerald Alchemist, or Emeril Langley, Ed had learned, were on a train back to Risembool.
Earlier that day, Mustang had gotten in touch with his team that he'd left to search for Sapphire. There was absolutely no sign of her, they'd reported—footprints, hair, blood, her body—nothing. Subsequently, Mustang called them off, telling them that he had a plan and to meet them at the station.
Ed wasn't allowed to tell Al, Winry, and Pinako what had happened, as per orders of Mustang. They were on a need-to-know basis, he explained, and what they needed to know was that Sapphire was safe.
Well, not yet. But soon, Ed hoped.
He'd noticed that Mustang, after slipping back into his usual stony military face, hadn't returned for more outbursts. It seemed that he was taking this as strictly business now. Honestly, Ed thought he was being stupid. If this was his niece he was trying to find, he'd be frantic with worry. Actually, that was how he felt. Even if she was going into the Colonel's custody as family, he still wanted to see her safe.
So cold.
Night had fallen, and it'd fallen like a bag of stones on Sapphire, snatching what little heat she had in a mere hour. The woods were unforgivingly icy, strikingly different from the fields that would soak up the April sunshine and slowly give it off at night.
In the short time she'd wandered in, she wandered around with outstretched arms, praying that the trees would thin and she'd find the edge of the hills and the field. Alas, she guessed, she was probably deeper into the woods than ever. It was a stupid hope.
Sapphire desperately wriggled into a particularly large pile of fallen leaves, as a last ditch effort to stay warm. They helped, but then again, if someone was starving to death, a mint would "help."
In her days as prisoner, she learned to take every day moment by moment. If she could survive this moment, this split second, she could survive the next. And the next. She'd wanted to survive and to escape. Well, maybe not survive exactly, but she sure as hell didn't want to die.
Now, though she did want to. She was a hopeless case. Any normal person could look up at the sun, deduce north, and probably escape unscathed. Sapphire would be stuck here, curled up in this pile of leaves until she died of starvation, exposure, or some animal bite. There wasn't a shred of hope inside of her. Just as she thought she was finally free from him, she wasn't.
As Sapphire shivered uncontrollably and clutched at more leaves, she started to think about her papa. For losing him at such a young age, she remembered much about him. His bangs were forever falling into his face, and he'd always shake them out or blow them out with an upwards glance. He used to love giving her piggy back rides all the time, and she remembered how she used to grip his hair if she got too excited. If she was sleepy, she'd fall asleep with her nose buried in it, breathing in his shampoo and the musty cologne that Uncle Roy had bought him.
He had this tic if he was sitting immobile for too long, like if he was reading over some notes in his study, and he would suddenly crack his neck and back with a series of consecutive pops that would make Sapphire jump. It scared her, but it was one part of her dad that she'd always remember fondly.
He wrote her a lullaby when she was a baby. It was simple, short, and had nonsense verses, but every night, whether Papa was busy with research or not, he'd tuck her in bed, grin lopsidedly, and start singing to her.
Why don't you sleep tonight?
I'll kiss you goodnight and turn off the light
You can pretend to be the gem you are
And dance in the sky with the stars
She mouthed the words as she lay on the cold ground, imaging that the leaves were a soft blanket that Papa pulled up to her chin.
Sapphire, my one and only love
As beautiful as the stars above
Like a sparkling jewel in the sky
So beautiful she makes me cry
After a while, she couldn't tell if she was dreaming of him or just hallucinating. If it was a hallucination, it was a very clear one. She didn't even feel cold anymore. It must've been a dream, though, for she started hearing unfamiliar voices talking, taking the plot of the dream into a new twist the way dreams do.
"Are you sure, Gluttony?"
"Yes yes! Gluttony is very sure. He smells her nearby."
"Alright. Just lead the way."
The first voice was silky and purred, while the other one was shrill. They seemed to get closer, and Sapphire heard feet crunching on the underbrush, getting closer.
"Here, here! Gluttony found the girl! Do I get to eat her?"
"No, Gluttony. I'll reward you with a nice juicy rat later. Is she buried underneath those leaves…?" Sapphire felt a warm breath near her face. "Hello? Sapphire? You OK, sweetheart? Can you hear me?
Sapphire couldn't muster up the energy to move her frozen lips and answer. After a beat, a pair of strong, slender arms lifted her up and a heavy cloak was draped on her. So warm… Sapphire thought before drifting off into unconsciousness.
There was another bout of wild clanking behind them as the alchemist tried to shake his handcuffs off. "Must I be bound?" he whined. "I can focus better when my hands are free."
"Absolutely not," Mustang barked. "We had an agreement. I'll let you free once she's safe."
The alchemist shrugged and stared off into space, his eyes glazing over. Man, Ed thought, he looked so easy to punch right now. As soon as Sapphire was safe with Mustang (a thought Ed didn't want to acknowledge) he would beat the living hell out of him.
They'd finally reached the forest, after hours upon hours of travelling. At the edge of the trees they stood, waiting for the alchemist's response.
"She's about two kilometers, plus or minus a few meters, north-northeast of here, curled up in a pile of leaves," Langley suddenly said.
"Let's go," ordered Mustang to the group.
Outside the forest, it was night, but nevertheless lit by a half-moon and the stars. Once they got under the black canopy of leaves, it became pitch black, impossible to see. Everyone who had them took out their lanterns, but even they weren't able to illuminate an area more than six feet ahead.
"Can I ask you something?" Ed asked Langley after a while.
"I can't make any promises about being honest, but go ahead, shorty."
Ed clenched his fists at the insult but when on. "How exactly do you know what she feels?"
Langley glanced sideways and down at Ed before answering, letting his impatience rise. "I formed a substance called green blood. If ingested daily, it replaces the red and white blood cells in human blood. Both I and the girl have it. After a few days of starting the experiment, I discovered that it gives us a connection where I could feel when she feels, and know where she is anywhere."
"That's so messed up," Ed heard Mustang mutter under his breath.
Ed spun to the Emerald Alchemist angrily. "You injected her with this green blood? What the hell is wrong with you?"
Langley froze mid-step, but not because of Ed's accusation. "Someone's with her," he said.
"What?" yelped Ed and Mustang in unison.
"Let me listen," he hissed. "They're speaking…one of them is called Lust and the other is Gluttony. Odd names."
Ed's heart stopped. Cold fear spread through his veins, chilling his soul. No. Not them.
He watched as Mustang took off, screaming Sapphire's name, and followed with the soldiers, blasting through the trees like a group of bullets. Not the Homunculi, Ed thought as he sprinted after him. Don't you dare hurt her.
"Right…up ahead," the psycho alchemist panted, struggling to catch his breath as they stormed through. Then, the spheres of light revealed a pair of red eyes in the distance.
"Why, isn't it the Fullmetal and Flame Alchemists!" Lust called. She stood from her kneeled position with a bundle in her arms. "What a surprise."
Gluttony stepped out from behind a tree, grinning from ear to ear. "Lust, may I eat them as my reward?"
"Seeing as I have the girl, yes. Why not?"
"Wait!" Mustang shouted, reaching out for the blanket bundle in the Homunculus's arms. "Don't you dare leave with her."
"Should we fire?" Havoc asked.
"No, you moron, you'd hit Sapphire!"
Lust laughed. "All this fuss for one girl?"
"We could say the same about you," Ed growled. "Hand her over."
"Gluttony? Have fun!" Lust called over her shoulder as she took off faster than eyes could follow.
"Someone go after her!" Mustang ordered. The whole lot took off in Lust's direction, leaving Mustang, Ed, and Langley alone with the other Homunculus. Ed clapped and deftly transmuted his automail into a blade, but Mustang was already one step ahead of him, his gloves on and fingers poised to snap. "Where is she going?" he snarled, addressing Gluttony. "Where is she taking Sapphire?"
Gluttony's massive pink tongue lolled out of his mouth hungrily. "Gluttony gets his reward for finding the girl. He's very hungry." Then he lunged.
Ed rolled out of the way. Mustang took a quick step to the left, snapping. His lick of fire missed Gluttony, though, so Ed dived blade-first, sinking it deep into Gluttony's chest. He glanced down, seemingly with no pain, and tried to bite Ed's arm, struggling to reach it. Within moments, Gluttony's wound crackled with crimson light, and the skin stitched itself up.
Mustang shot another flame at the Homunculus, managing to scorch a small portion of his face. "I don't want to deal with this!" he barked.
"Then go after Sapphire!" Ed yelled, slamming his hands on the ground to toss the adversary into the air. "I'll deal with Gluttony!"
"You can't handle him by yourself!"
"Like hell I can!"
As Gluttony rolled back up with a healed face, Ed clapped and hit the ground again, this time sending up dozens of spears and piercing Gluttony's body, pinning him in the center of the spears. He yowled beastly and struggled against the binds, but he was finally subdued. "There," Ed panted. "Go get her."
Mustang and Ed shared a look. Each knew what the other was thinking. Or so Ed thought. Before Mustang left, he turned to the Emerald Alchemist, cowering behind a tree, snapped, and precisely, shockingly lit him on fire.
Langley screamed, high pitched and wild, falling to the ground and rolling in vain. Mustang's pupils were bizarrely contracted for the dark night, but besides that, no emotion showed on his face. He mercilessly turned to the impaled Homunculus, who looked like a small worm on a hook. "My Lust," he whimpered once, a drop of blood falling from his lips. Mustang raised his arm and snapped again.
Ed was still kneeled in horror in front of the two burning beings as Mustang walked away into the night.
