Guess who's not dead!
Spoiler: it's me.
—
"…Guys?" Allen takes a careful step into the building. Havoc stands behind him, gun out and ready. There's no sounds nearby, only echoes of shouts and footsteps bouncing around the back of the building.
"They've already gone." Havoc sighs. "Typical." He starts to lower his weapon, but a loud crash beside them has it up in the air immediately.
A body, a middle-aged man, leans against the shattered window, glass spilling over the ground now wet with his blood. The blood, which spills over both the man's legs and chest. His eyes roll over to look at the pair near the entrance. Allen hears Havoc choke slightly at the sight.
"Holy shit." Havoc doesn't lower his gun.
The man doesn't move for a few more seconds, just staring. This gives Allen just enough time to notice the prominent gunshot wound in the man's chest, sporting a bright purple mark over the fabric and flesh. Unfocused eyes stare straight ahead as his limbs twitch. In an instant, the man is back up and charging forward.
"Woah!" Havoc fires, landing shots in the man's chest. One goes and hits the man's left eye, stunting him. Mid-run, the man stops, eye spilling with blood.
"Gross." Allen scowls, ready to jump out of the way.
The man, after regaining his bearings, drops back to staring at them.
"Didn't that work?" Havoc frowns.
"…The chest." Allen points to the purple mark. "Can you get it there?"
"Probably." Havoc slowly aims. As he does, the man starts moving again, although slower than before.
The shot goes off, sending the man to the floor. He doesn't move again, staring straight up at the ceiling with his one remaining eye.
"How'd you know?" Havoc asks.
"A guess." Allen steps forward, approaching the body.
"You sure you want to do that?" Havoc stays at a distance.
"It's probably fine." Allen shrugs, crouching down. The reaches out, poking the man's face. He doesn't move, which is about as much confirmation as Allen'll get. "Let's see…" He moves to look at the chest wound, now two. The two holes are almost overlapping, with only a few centimetres between them. Within the first, Allen fails to spot a bullet, which is expected from the twins.
"What's the plan, then?" Havoc asks, inching forward.
"Aim for the purple marks." Allen advises. "If you see two annoying guys with guns, run."
"I can work with that." Havoc turns back to the corridor. "We should go."
"Mm, okay." Allen gets back to his feet. "Lead the way."
…
"What the fuck!?" Ed ducks another grasping man. He gleaming of his police badge is almost completely muffled by running blood. The man's head is decorated with a large wound in his head, staining the skin and hair purple. Ed dodges another swipe and returns it with his own. The metal blade hits the man's head squarely, tearing into the skin. Ed feels the skull crack under his force and watches the man fall to the ground, still.
"Brother!" Al, beside him, takes his hand and pulls him away. "They're going ahead!"
"I got it!" Ed continues down the next hallway, half a dozen soldiers in front of him. "What's down here, again?"
"The storage room." A woman turns to answer. "It's pretty large, so it's likely where the rest of the officers are."
"Ah, thanks." Al turns to Ed. "Ready?"
"I guess." Ed glances behind them, where the hallway remains empty. "Where's Allen?"
"With Havoc, I think." Al answers. "They stayed back."
"Good." Ed turns back to the front just as they reach the large double doors. The entrance is barred with iron and locks, sealing the confidential documents safely inside. Just beyond, Ed can hear laughter, shrill and foreboding.
"Fullmetal?" Mustang, at the front, turns back to the others.
"Yeah, yeah." Ed steps forward. With a quick press against the door, he lets it dissolve under his touch, turning to a fine dust. It spills over the floor, clearly opening up the inside of the room.
"Yo!" A man stands in the room's centre. He's dressed almost entirely in black, complete with dark make up over his eyes. A large pistol hangs in his hand, glistening in the light of the burning room. Ed sees the stocks of paper disappearing into ash against the walls. He can't help but feel offended at the waste of information, years of documents of criminals, of incidents, lost in an instant thanks to this madman.
"Hi hi!" Another voice brings Ed's eyes upwards, to where another person hands off the wiry light. It takes a moment for Ed to determine that it's not some insane woman, just an insane man? Who's laughing his ass off above them.
"I'm Devit!" The first man laughs.
"I'm Jasdero!" The second chortles as he jumps from the light, landing near the other.
"Together," The say, in abnormal unison. "We're Jasdevi!"
"That's what Allen said, right?" Al squeezes up to stand by his brother.
"Sounds right." Ed nods, not taking his eyes off the pair.
"Well, now I'm bored." Devit turns to Jasdero. "What do you think?"
"Yeah!" Jasdero laughs. "Let's go!"
On cue, Ed sees a dozen figures emerge from the flames. It takes a second to stomach the burning of their skin, their clothes, their flesh. Ed watches the fire dance over them, even if they don't seem to notice. They shuffle forward, slowly turning black and ashen except for the bright splashes of violet.
"Stay alert!" Mustang calls.
"Woo hoo!" Jasdevi calls. They step back, letting the wave of figures overtake them.
"This'll be easy." Ed tenses. "Let's do this."
…
"Ah." Allen stops, hearing the sounds of gunshots ahead.
"Is that bad or good?" Havoc asks, the gunshots persisting.
"Let's find out." Allen frowns, continuing forward.
"Aye aye."
They pass another room, where bodies are strewn across the floor. Allen notes the warped floor and walls with a smile. "Ed's definitely been here."
"…Can you smell that?" Havoc scowls. "Gross."
"Smoke?" Allen pauses.
"I can deal with smoke." Havoc shakes his head. "Smells rotten."
"This way." Allen points down the next hall.
They head forward, approaching the loud sounds head of them. It doesn't take long for them to find the ex-door and storage room. Immediately, they're hit with the heat of the flames.
"Shit." Havoc slows at the entrance. Within, he can see more bodies, strewn over the floor.
"Ed!" Allen spots Edward at the far end of the room, with Al by his side.
"Havoc!" Mustang comes into view, frowning. "Hurry up!"
"Ah, right!" Havoc hops forward, stepping inside.
Mustang's eyes linger on Allen, however.
"What?" Allen stares back.
"Stay out of trouble." Mustang sighs. "Not that it'll make a difference." He steps aside, meeting a burning figure. "Go, then."
…
"Ed!" Allen calls, jumping forward. He pouches the burning man right in the head, knocking him sideways.
"What happened to staying out of it?" Ed scowls at him.
"A 'thank you' would be nice." Allen huffs.
"Are you alright, Allen?" Al asks.
"Peachy." Allen shrugs.
"Yeah, right." Ed reaches out to hit the wall, bursting forth a stream of hard concrete that splits through the fallen man's left arm, destroying the purple imprint.
"Yay! Yay!" Jasdevi, both now up on the light, swing back and forth.
"That's enough!" Mustang calls up at them. All of Jasdevi's 'zombies' have fallen, lying scattered across the floor. Around them, the fires have almost died out, leaving only bleeding embers in the ash.
"What?" Jasdero groans, staring down. "We're only just starting." He raises his weapon, aiming it straight at Mustang."
"Look out!" Someone cries out, but Mustang doesn't have enough time to move. The bullet hits him straight in the head, squarely between his eyes. However, he doesn't fall. Mustang continues to stare upwards. Where he was impacted is only a mass of violet goo. The goo spreads instantly, peeling over his eyes.
"Woah." Ed doesn't move, only watching from a distance.
Mustang, slowly, drops his head to look over at them. His eyes are still open but appear distorted through the violet.
"Sir?" Havoc steps forward, reaching out to the man.
"Wait!" Allen calls out, but Havoc still hits the floor. Mustang stands over him, gripping Havoc's arm dangerously tight.
"Hah!?" Havoc grimaces at the impact.
"Nice!" Jasdero laughs, almost tripping himself off of the light.
"Get back!" Allen cries.
"I'd love to." Havoc turns back to Mustang, who's still gripping his arm. "Um…"
"Move it!" Ed, suddenly by Mustang's side, happily elbows the man in the face, knocking him back. His grip on Havoc loosens, letting the man jump back.
In the background, Jasdevi continues to laugh above them.
"What's going on?" Al asks, heading after his brother.
"That thing over his eyes!" Allen says. "It's changing what he's seeing."
"Hah?" Jasdero peers down at Allen. "Whatcha' doin'!? Let us have our fun!"
"As if." Allen doesn't dignify the man with a look, only stepping towards Mustang.
"You going mad?" Ed scowls at Mustang.
Mustang doesn't speak, instead, he holds out his hand. The glove on his hand, along with the transmutation circle on its back, is impeccably clean.
"Stop him!" Allen orders.
"Right!" Ed throws his hands to the ground. Concrete jumps up into the air, wrapping around Mustang's outstretched hand. But, it's not fast enough. Before the concrete finishes its movement, a blast of orange heat bursts through the air.
Blinded, Allen hits the ground. He feels his gut protest with a sting of pain, but he ignores it.
"Allen!" Al appears by his side as the light fades. As everything fades back into view, Allen registers the hot sting over his skin. Al, beside him, appears flushed with heat, skin red. In front of them, Ed swears.
"Shit!" He pats hurriedly at his burning coat, smothering the lingering flames.
"Brother!" Al gets to his feet, reaching out.
"Phew." Ed grins as the last of the fire disappears, but immediately scowls at the dark marks left over the fabric. He looks up to glare at Mustang, who's still looking at them with glazed eyes. "Bastard! Watch it!"
"I don't think he can, Brother." Al says. "That's the point."
"Whatever." Ed turns up to Jasdevi, away from the concrete-stalled Mustang.
"Aw man." Jasdero groans. "That wasn't fun at all."
"Then, let's make it funner." Devit laughs. He raises his pistol again.
"Ed!" Allen turns to the blond. "Stop him!"
"Got it!" Ed leaps forward, happily jumping up on Mustang's restrains; they're lucky that the roof isn't that far off. Ed grabs the light, causing both Jasdero and Devit to cry out in surprise.
"Hey!" Jasdero yelps, trying to grab at Ed's hands. "Get off!"
"Go away!" Devit points his pistol down, but Ed jump away too quickly, standing level with the pair.
"Take this!" Ed kicks Jasdero squarely in the chest. Both twins topple down, hitting the ground with a satisfying crack.
"Hey!" Jasdero, on top of his brother, looks up to glare at Ed.
"Take this!" Devit, pistol still drawn points it up.
"Woah!" Ed doesn't have enough time to move this time.
A large blast of blue-tinted flames explode upwards. Ed instinctively raises his hands over his face to protect from the blast, but as the flames hit his skin, they don't burn.
"Huh?" Ed cautiously lowers his arms to see. A vibrancy of blues swirls around him, dancing in the air as they fill the room. Ed glances down, where he sees Al and the other soldiers looking around with the same confusion. The flames don't appear to be subsiding, letting Ed take a longer look around. He, eventually, finds Allen. Ed spots the familiar mop of white hair right beside Mustang, but with his back to Ed, he can't see what's going on.
Jasdevi, below, both start laughing loudly, the sounds echoing clearly in the stunned silence.
"What the hell is this!?" Ed takes it upon himself to respond, adding a strong glare to the pair.
"Wanna see?" Jasdero laughs. He pulls out his own pistol. He points it, not at Ed, but behind his head to where the group of soldiers stand. A black stream of smoke, too solid to be natural, spins out from the gun's barrel. It hits a soldier in the back from his staring up at the wall of fire. The man doesn't notice at first but, as the place of impact begins to spiral out into a black void, he turns around. His eyes meet the two laughing twins, confusion filling his expression. Beside him, his fellows cry out in surprise, pointing at the widening darkness. In an instant, the black spreads upwards, covering the man's face to a figure more reminiscent of a shadow than a man.
"What?" Ed stares, uncomfortable at the constant confusion rocking through him.
"Get away from him!" Allen's voice interrupts his thoughts. At his words, the group of soldiers scatter, abandoning the frozen man.
"Aw!" Devit groans. The man explodes into black air. The ashes spill into the room, but are quickly sucking into the blue flames. Ed grimaces, in watching the twins, he'd failed to notice the wall of fire extending to the corners of the room, blanketing every surface, including their exit.
The fire continues to burn. The blackness that was once a man persists, however, spinning with the fire. Ed can feel the light below him rock from an unknown force. His hair starts to spin in the air, sucked around from an invisible force.
"Ed!" Ed looks down to see Allen looking up at him. Mustang, face and eyes clear, stands unhappily by his side. "Don't let the fire touch anything else!" Allen points to the flames. "The more it burns, the stronger it gets! It'll suck everything, everyone in!"
"Stop it!" Devit spins around to look at Allen, pouting. "Don't spoil it! That's cheating!"
"It's your own fault." Allen turns to snipe back at them. "You're the ones reusing your old traps."
"But they're fun!" Jasdero complains.
"How do we stop this, then?" Mustang can't help himself from picking at his eyes, where the feeling of the goo still lingers.
"Split them up." Allen doesn't bring his gaze away from the pair, feeling almost triumphant at their matching scowls. "Knock 'em out, or scare 'em off."
Ed grins, listening in from above. "Gladly."
—
ok, so this did take longer than I'd like, but I'm finally off exams! Bad news is that the power's been out for a little while, so I haven't been able to get online to post this :(
Thanks for reading!
Please tell me if anything needs clarification, if i've messed up the continuity or just done something stupid. :P
Thanks again!
Love from,
Cheese Wizzard