Golden Scales Chapter 10
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist.
o.O.0.O.o
She shuffled her feet across the floor, dreading the sight she would surely find when she reached her destination. An unfortunate creature laying limp at the bottom of its glass prison. Just like the last four times she checked on it. She glued her eyes to the floor as she walked. She didn't want to see that awful sight. She didn't want to face that overwhelming sense of guilt and pity when she saw their miserable catch again.
Aliss always hated this part of the plan. Her sisters had stated many times that they didn't much care for it, either. But Aliss couldn't help but feel like she bore the blunt of remorse. Regret and guilt seemed to sink their fangs a little deeper into her with each attempt they made. She understood that they harbored a noble cause to justify their crimes. The need to save their youngest sister from a frozen, timeless coffin offered a pretty valid excuse for kidnapping a land-raised siren.
Yet, Aliss choked down an ugly sob. Her bottom eyelids pooled with liquid. Taking such a majestic creature away from everything it knew was just wrong. Even though the creature pretty much knew nothing about itself at this point.
Taking a deep breath first, she raised her gaze straight ahead of her. Peering through the darkness of the room, she could make out the glass of the tank glaring with moonlight. She paused once she arrived five feet away from the glass wall. And her eyes shot wide when she caught sight of their unstill captive.
It pressed its back into the corner of the enclosure, its chest heaving as it gawked in shock at something immediately in front of it. Aliss traced her vision to follow the siren's and noticed its beautiful tailfin gleaming in the square of moonlight. Aliss was allured by the sight, but its expression told her the siren didn't think the tail so beautiful.
Oh no… She thought, Here it comes.
Aliss squeezed her eyes shut and covered her ears with her palms. She braced herself for the deafening screech that would surely follow.
To her surprise, it never came. Slowly, with shaky hands, she removed her palms from the sides of her head. Prying her eyes open once more, she noticed that the siren's chest still heaved erratically. Its gills opened and closed a mile a minute, as if the siren couldn't get enough air. A pang of worry flitted through her stomach. If it kept breathing like that it would eventually hyperventilate and faint.
Quickly yet calmly, she surged forward. Immediately, the siren's head snapped up to face the sound of her footsteps. Its golden eyes widened in shock and fear. Aliss nearly choked, but pressed forward anyway. Once she'd circled around the tank and reached the glass wall directly to the siren's left, she stopped. Then, ever so slowly, she crouched down to be eye-level with it.
In real time, their noses were a mere ten inches apart, including the glass between them. Unnervingly metallic gold irises bore into Aliss's midnight blue. The former scanned critically for a threat while the latter wavered in guilt and nervousness. Aliss forced her voice steady and calm as she whispered,
"It's okay. I won't hurt you. I'll keep you safe."
The siren, seemingly picking up the quiet statement through the thick glass, narrowed its eyes in suspicion. Yet, its chest still heaved in panic.
"I promise." she added, her tone true and gentle.
Before the siren could respond, a window across the warehouse suddenly shattered.
o.O.0.O.o
She listened to the dull ring on the other line as she released an impatient sigh.
After what felt like hours, a sharp voice answered, "Well?"
The woman's lips curved into a neutral pout. "They're on their way now. They should reach it in a few days."
The other voice hummed. "Good. And you?"
"Everything's ready. Now we wait for those incompetent worms to hold up their end."
She could practically hear his scowl. "Those 'incompetent worms' are part of Father's plans, as are you and I."
She paused for a moment before replying, "Still, they've failed us three times before. I can't help but think they're actually working against us."
"Hm. I agree. However, I think those wenches have played a part in that as well. It seems we run into them more often than not. If they show up again this time, I'm afraid we'll have to dispose of them somehow. Father won't wait much longer."
The woman hummed in agreement. Then she glanced out at the sea below her, the moon's reflection rippling across the far tides. Its full waxed glow seemed to mock her. She sneered silently.
"There's one other thing, Wrath."
"And what would that be, Lust?" he asked.
Peering down at the moon once more, she replied,
"The lunar eclipse is approaching. We don't have much time."
o.O.0.O.o
A darkened figure stepped through the frame of broken glass. Immediately, the three sisters snapped into battle stance. The figure seemed to notice this, but chose to press further into the room. It moved slowly, seeming to deliberately create suspense and tension in the room.
Aliss's heart pounded as the figure shuffled along the wall. She stole a brief glance back at the siren's tank and noticed it had inevitably fainted. Quickly, she focused her eyes back on the intruder, tightening her fingers around the charmed beads that hung from her neck.
Finally, Amery lit a ball of violet flame in her palm, illuminating the room. The figure froze.
It was a human. Dressed in black, its face concealed by a black ski mask. In its hand, it clutched what appeared to be a pillow case. A small pocket knife rested unsheathed and ready in the other hand.
A burglar.
The witches released a collective breath, relieved. Allephe gave it her best wolf stare. It swallowed.
"W-Wrong house…" it said, voice wavering.
Then the burglar retreated up and back out of the broken window from which it came.
Aliss dropped her shoulders and sat down with her two sisters. Amery extinguished her fire, cloaking the warehouse in black once more. A good ten minutes passed before anyone spoke again.
"So," Allephe ventured, "Are you ready for the next jump, Amery?"
Amery lifted her hand and a fair amount of green smoke poured from her palm. "Almost. An hour now, I'd say."
Allephe nodded. "Good."
"Um, guys?" Aliss asked, "What are we going to do when the siren wakes up?"
Allephe frowned. "What do you mean? Was there something wrong with it?"
She twisted her fingers around the beads nervously. "No… Not really. It's just, well…"
Her sisters waited for an answer that couldn't come fast enough. Thirty seconds ticked by before one of them had had enough of waiting.
"Spit it out, already!" Amery snapped.
Suddenly, Aliss's eyes pooled with tears. And, voice cracked with emotion, she finally shouted,
"I don't want it to be scared of us, okay!"
Her sisters looked at her with blank, confused expressions.
She continued, "I hate how we take them away like this! And I hate how we can't tell them why! There has to be something we can tell it. Something that'll make it a little less terrified. I won't sit back and watch another siren suffer a living nightmare because of us."
She snotted into her sleeve, choking back sobs, before muttering,
"I-I just… can't live with that anymore."
Allephe was silent for a while. A thoughtful expression ruled her face. Amery just stared at her as if she'd grown a third eye. She was plenty familiar with how overly-sympathetic Aliss was towards pretty much everything. But she could not fathom why Aliss would become this upset over kidnapping their third siren.
Finally, Allephe sighed. "Fine. I was thinking about this earlier anyway, and, well, I think I know what'll fix this."
Aliss lit up. "Really?!"
The eldest sister gave her a look. "I don't think you'll like it. But the siren would definitely be better off."
Amery suddenly gasped. "Oh no, you don't mean that…?"
"What? What does she mean?" Aliss asked, glancing worriedly between the two.
Instead of answering her sister, Allephe raised her palm. Aliss's brow furrowed in confusion. Then her eyes widened as she noticed distinctive white smoke pouring from her hand.
Aliss panicked. "Wait! STOP!"
Before her sister could restrain her, Allephe flicked the smoke towards the glass tank. It sank through and enveloped the slumbering creature at the bottom. Aliss watched in horror as the smoke was absorbed, and a bright flash of white light blinded her.
o.O.0.O.o
On a dark hill, slick with mud and grass, a pair of nostrils scanned the liquefied soil. The large, humanoid creature moved with both front and hind limbs, almost mimicking that of a bloodhound's. Another similar creature with a thinner frame, stood upright and walked like a man behind the first one. An ugly scowl twisted his lips.
Suddenly, the creature in front halted. He sucked in as much air as his lungs would hold, yet he could not smell his previous trail. An animalistic frown replaced the former concentration. He looked up at the second creature, slightly upset.
"It's gone," he intoned nervously.
The second creature stopped. His voice was scratchy, rough, and hintingly irritated when he spoke. "Gone? What do you mean gone?"
"I can't follow further."
The thinner one face-palmed before asking, "Can you tell me why? Does the trail just stop here? Is it too far away now? Did it die? What happened?!"
The larger creature shook his head. "The scent is gone. Just vanished. Like it doesn't exist anymore."