Roy Mustang strode along the halls of Central, his pace leisurely in the early morning hour. His face remained sure and impassive to the perusing eye of those coming into work, but his mind drifted a million miles away. Stray threads of thought flittered in and out of awareness as his mind coped with waking up after another restless night, from organizing his day to how the sunrise looked a little too pretty for his mood this morning. Still, despite his ongoing exhaustion and the unsettling dreams he continued to endure each night, his stride and countenance did not betray his state. Such was the Game.
It was with some relief that the door to his office complex closed quietly behind him, shoulders relaxing infinitesimally as familiar and trusted faces surrounded him. Quiet grumbles of all variations of the morning greeting filtered through the room, his crew looking just as haggard and tired as he felt, having been working as ceaselessly as he this past fortnight.
"Sir," Riza greeted, and Roy couldn't help but notice how frustratingly fresh she looked, blonde hair pinned as impeccable as ever. But he knew his friend, and the soft shadows under her eyes belayed her own weariness, if not as strongly as her male counterparts on the other side of the room. Mustang blinked slowly, his eyelids stubbornly sticking together despite the cold shower he had taken that morning in an attempt to jolt himself awake. Wordlessly, Hawkeye held out a cup of steaming liquid and Mustang took it with a sigh, resigned to another cup of caffeinated sludge. He smiled slightly in thanks before wandering through the piles of paperwork littering his subordinates' desks and entering his inner sanctum.
For a moment, he just stood by the door, staring down into his coffee as he swirled it. Ugh, military grade. One should never assume that meant anything good unless it came to weapons. For everything else, it meant 'cheap as hell'. Huh, actually it looked extra frothy today….cautiously he took a sip and a slow smile widened on his face at the surprisingly rich flavor. His smile softened. That woman. He was going to have to give her a pay raise one of these days for always knowing just what he needed…
A low rumbling sound from the vicinity of his feet caused Mustang to peel his eyes open once again, moving the coffee out of his vision to stare down. Wide golden eyes stared back, too big for such a small face as Jäger plopped himself down in front of him, blocking his path. His long tail swishing back and forth almost expectantly. Roy narrowed his eyes at creature in suspicion, trying to figure out what it wanted. His eyes flicked to the supply closet in the corner of the room, next to which held a food bowl. Full. Still Jäger stared up at him. Mustang glanced down at his coffee, wondering if he suddenly took an interest in the stuff, but the chimera just continued to stare at his face, not his hand.
"What…" Mustang growled, too tired to deal with the little thing's quirks just then. "You trying to be cute with me…" his brows drew together. The chimera looked...better today, his flank brighter green and scales clearer than–Suddenly Mustang groaned, fingers pinching his nose in a silent bid for sanity. "Alright, where is it, you little bastard." He grimaced, wondering if he could get one of his people to clean up the mess he just new he was going to find somewhere inconvenient. Sure enough, there was a gross looking flaky something poking out from under one of his couches, and he averted his eyes to glare down at the unrepentant animal still purring at his feet. It even had the gall to start rubbing up against his leg, movements smooth and fluid since its restricting skin had been shed. Mustang rolled his eyes and sidestepped him, only to groan once again when he caught sight of the pile of paperwork on his desk. He took another sip of coffee, wondering vaguely if he would rather clean his windows than get into that mess. They were getting a bit dingy after all…
Before that little side track gained any momentum, a commotion outside of his office perked his ear and cause Jäger to bolt for cover under his desk. Rolling his eyes again at the silly animal he leaned back against his desk casually, crossing one arm over his stomach to lazily support the one holding his coffee, trusting his subordinates to either take care of the problem or let whoever was speaking so urgently into his office.
It wasn't a moment later that a knocking echoed through the room and his door clicked open without his acknowledgement. A stiff faced Riza entered the room with a young soldier who looked like she had a colony of fire ants in her shoes, nearly vibrating with energy. Snapping off a quick salute the soldier didn't even bother to wait for his answer before launching into her message.
Any reprimand that Riza might have given her however, died on her lips as what the soldier was saying registered. "Sir, there's been an explosion on the Marou River. Your presence is requested immediately, sir!"
"What," Mustang exclaimed before she even finished speaking. "Explain."
"I don't know much, sir, only that you have been summoned to investigate." With her message delivered, the young woman snapped off another salute before another question could be asked, looking harried as she walked out of the door.
Mustang pinched his lips together as he exchanged a glance with Riza. A simple explosion wouldn't have been any concern to him at all, it was a job for the city police to handle. Or it would be, if not for evidence found on the scene that corresponded with recent military investigations. And there was only one case that Mustang was officially pursuing at this time that would demand he be informed: Scar had been involved.
Weariness forgotten, Mustang pushed to his feet, coattails snapping as he strode towards the door, Riza opening it wide for him.
He paused his sudden march and grimaced as Jäger bolted from under his desk and launched himself on Mustang's jacket, settling himself against the colonel's back. "Urgh. Get off of me! I don't have time for this." He vainly tried to pry the creature off of his clothes, the angle awkward, but a warning growl and a swipe of a paw was his only reward. An amused chuckle from the door announced Havoc's presence as he leaned against the doorframe.
"Well, colonel, feeling a little pussy whipped?" He stood there and laughed at his own pun as Mustang glared, shaking out his sore fingers and plotting revenge. Havoc must have seen the promise in his eyes, because he coughed into his hand, cutting off his laughter and suddenly fearing for his life. Riza held out Mustang's black coat, expression carefully controlled, though he could see the amusement sparkle behind her mask.
"Hide him with this, sir. We should get moving."
"What would I ever do without you, Lieutenant," Mustang muttered, pulling the coat loosely over his shoulders to conceal the little demon digging its claws into his back.
"You would probably be just fine, sir," Riza said with a straight face, pulling a disbelieving snort from Havoc.
Before any more feline and whip related jokes could be made, Mustang strode from his office, snagging the front of Havoc's jacket as he passed by. "We have work to do," the colonel professed once he got the attention of his men, and Havoc shivered as his gaze locked onto him, a dark promise ringing in Mustang's words. Why didn't he ever keep his mouth shut, why!?
–_–_–
"Was it a gas leak," Mustang muttered to himself as he surveyed the destruction on the other side of the river. The damage was extensive. An entire section of the street had been destroyed, bringing down half of an apartment building behind it in what appeared to be a violent manner, debri blown everywhere as if some massive force had torn it apart from the inside. Several civilian and military police were scattered amongst the wreckage, shifting rubble while being carefully directed by the commanding officer on the field. A line of figures lay out in a short line, covered in shrouds. Mustang grimaced, knowing that the body count had only just begun.
Havoc stood beside him, a report clutched in his hand as he scratched the back of his head. A puff of smoke drifted in the air as he hummed to himself. "It looks like it," he answered the rhetorical question. "However, there are signs of a struggle, and a rather violent one at that, in the surrounding sewers."
"How far does the damage extend," Mustang asked. Jäger shifted on his back, but he studiously ignored him.
"Underground there is damaged infrastructure as far as two hundred yards along the river tunnel," Havoc explained, pointing to the east. "Also, this was found on the scene." He pulled a small square of paper from the stack in his hand and held it out, taking a long draw on his cigarette. Mustang grabbed it and stared impassively.
A picture of a yellow coat, bloodied and torn, was held up by a nameless soldier. There was no doubt about it: it was the same clothing that Scar had been wearing last they encountered him. A thrill of the chase sparked in Mustang's chest. They were close. He was here.
"Have they found the body yet?"
"Nope, not yet. Still clearing the rubble, though."
"I want your team working night and day to clear up this mess. I want his body found. Don't even take so much as a coffee break until it's done."
Havoc sucked in a quick breath, choking on the smoke in surprise. "Geze, colonel, give us a break. We've been working our asses off–"
Mustang's glare silenced him, brow darkened with anger. "I don't get to rest until he is found, so that means neither do you, understand?"
Havoc looked taken aback, and Mustang had to force himself to calm down. He pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. "I'll have someone come down with lunch in a few hours. Just get it done." He looked up at, gaze softening slightly.
Havoc nodded, taking the silent apology for what it was. Sure, they were colonel and subordinate, but they were still friends, and he knew Mustang had been under ungodly pressure lately, enough to break any man. "We'll find him, Roy," he said, quietly enough so only they could here. Then, before Mustang could do more than blink, Havoc saluted and made his way to the wreckage, shouting orders as he passed.
Roy watched his back for a second, a slight sliver of warmth almost bringing a smile to his lips before he suppressed it. Instead he set his face into a determined scowl and turned on his heels, stalking in the direction Havoc had pointed, lower ranks scrambling out of his wake. When asked he was directed to the service entrance to the tunnels, wrinkling his nose at the smell. As he walked through the open grate into the dank tunnel, he followed the lights of cameras flashing until he came to the team documenting the damage.
"Report," Mustang barked without preamble. The three startled investigators jumped at his presence, but swift salutes followed.
"Go get those photos developed and add it to the evidence file," one of the men said in a soft voice. The other two nodded and began walking towards the exit. "Please come this way," he then said to Mustang. As they walked, he began explaining in a succinct tone. "There has been a battle here, but as far as I can tell, no weapons were used. Instead, it looks like the same type of deconstruction alchemy that is the criminal Scar's M.O."
They came upon the first evidence of violence, a crushed section of wall, and both men paused. "He was fighting against someone," the man continued, pushing up his glasses. "Or something. Whoever it was put up a hell of a fight." He gestured towards the opposite wall, where more sections crumbled. It looked like impact rather than deconstruction, as if something was thrown hard enough to shatter stone. Mustang frowned, walking over to the indention.
"You don't say," he said to himself, brushing a gloved finger over the crumbled section.
–_–_–
"Empathy...kill him."
I had no time for more than a startled 'huh?' before the crazed man launched himself at me, hand extended like a claw. His forearm began glowing in the familiar light that I had witnessed shatter concrete and metal like they were made of pastries, and I screamed in desperation, throwing myself back in terror.
The wall where I had been standing shattered, spewing dust and filth in the air, and I choked on it, backpedalling desperately. But Scar wasn't through yet, and I only saw a flash of his malignant eyes before he barely missed a swipe at my head.
The world lurched and shimmered drunkenly around me, my equilibrium shattered by my time in captivity, and it was only through my enhanced strength and speed that I was able to keep up with the demon before me. But still I stumbled, my unnatural strength causing me to overcompensate, and I was flung into the opposite wall. I gasped as pain blinded me for a split second, shoulder cracking and ribs bruising as my body destroyed the wall behind me. I was healed a moment later, but the self inflicted blow staggered me, and I couldn't avoid Scar's next hit to my midsection. Air was knocked out of me, only winding me as he had used his non-lethal hand, and I was able to knock him away with a desperate shove.
Scar shouted in surprise as he was thrown into the darkness further down the tunnel, skidding across the filthy floor before dragging himself to a stop. He stared at me in disbelief before his anger hit me like a battering ram, violent and poisonous to my reeling mind.
I gasped, heart racing and bones quaking. What the hell. What the hell! I cast my eyes desperately around for Lust and found her standing calmly against a wall, watching us. I opened my mouth to demand she–what? Explain? Help me? She merely smiled cruelly, pointing to my adversary.
But I hardly needed the warning, his miasma of hate letting me know he was already close. I snapped my eyes back to the battle at hand and darted past him, hearing him roar too close to my ear and struggling to regain my body. I wasn't ready for this, I couldn't fight like this! I dodged around him and launched myself into the darkness, my enemy hot on my heels.
–_–_–
The investigator gestured for Mustang to walk further in, pointing out pieces of evidence as they passed. "Several footprints imbedded here, three more deconstructed sections of wall, several impacts…Blood."
And Roy could see it now, even darker stains on the already stained surroundings. He peered closely at the destruction, taking it in and trying to form a picture of what happened in his mind. He had seen many battlefields in his time, but nothing quite like this. It was raw, animalistic, and if the evidence team was to be believed, weaponless. Scar might have just gone on a random rampage, sure, but some of these impacts...humans were not capable of this. Not without alchemy. Another alchemist? It didn't look like it.
"Who were you fighting…"
–_–_–
"Ah!" The wall beside me shattered and I was once more blinded by dust as I ducked aside. I could hear Scar coughing and growling as he was momentarily obscured. How the hell was he even able to see in the first place, damnit! It was pitch black in here, he shouldn't–
"You can't dodge forever, creature," he roared, coming at me again. I cried out and threw myself back, using his own momentum to throw him away from me, but I underestimated his speed. He grabbed me by the arm, and I only had a blinding flash of alchemy as warning before I was thrown back by the violence of the transmutation, agony consuming me as it tore off my arm. I crashed against another wall, shattering stone behind me. The pain was gone in a matter of a few seconds, but as before, my psyche was having a hard time processing what was happening.
I screamed and launched myself at him desperately, trying to take him out before he could grab me again, but only crashed into another wall as he dodged out of the way. Red sparks danced and blinded me as we clashed, I barely able to control myself and he seeming to fare no better.
He had me pinned against a wall and I screamed as I dodged instinctively, dropping to the floor and letting loose a vicious kick to his ribs. Something cracked beneath my foot and Scar was flung down the tunnel with a howl of pain.
I froze as the sound hit me, stomach roiling in recognition. Scar was picking himself off of the muck, hunched over and eyes blazing, but his pain echoed in my mind, and suddenly I wasn't seeing Scar. Suddenly, I was seeing another man, in another place, tears in his eyes and a howl on his lips as I shattered the bones in his arm, completely devoid of compassion for his pain.
"NO!" I roared as the memory assaulted me, bringing me back to a time and place where I had lost control for the first time, nearly killing someone. It didn't matter that he had deserved it, that he was despicable, a murderer. It wasn't me.
Scar was coming at me again, but it didn't matter that he rained blow after blow on me, my wounds healing in flashes of agony and relief, because I was trapped somewhere else, hearing another voice.
You never go for the kill.
Orkan had said that to me a long time ago, and back then, I couldn't disagree. I always went to disable someone, never kill him. I could make this excuse and that, but deep down, something always stopped me, no matter how violent our missions became or who was after us. Whether they deserved it or not.
Empathy...kill him.
It was spoken so callously, demandingly, as if something of that nature was an easy, commonplace task. Just what kind of world was this that an order to kill could be given so heartlessly? Even what she called me made that statement all the more ridiculous. Empathy. How can empathy kill?
Because right now, I was feeling his pain, even as he inflicted it on me, tearing me apart. But nothing he was doing was easing his own pain, and I couldn't kill him no matter how much he hurt me or others. It didn't matter right now, in this moment, if he was going to finish me off and move onto the next victim, because it wasn't going to be me that ended his life. I can't.
Pressure began building up in me as I began to fight back, body remembering it's own strength as my mind was occupied. I was acting on instinct now, training coming back to me as if I had never stopped. I dodged and parried, danced around my increasingly frustrated adversary as my mind raced.
There had to be another way. No matter how violent this world became, I had never broken that unspoken promise to myself. So much has happened to me, but that was something about my nature that had never changed, no matter which form I was forced to be in.
Scar screamed at me, his attacks becoming more desperate and destructive by the second as I regained my equilibrium and dodged everything he threw at me. His pain was so potent, bared before me as if I could see into his soul, and an inkling of an idea began to form in my mind as I calmed in contrast, the familiar pressure I had become so accustomed to building behind my eyes.
Screw Lust. Or better yet, she could go screw herself. I may agree that this maniac had to be stopped, but I wasn't going to kill. Not for her, not for anybody. Because if I did, I might lose that last little piece of myself that I had left.
Scar was getting tired now, the tunnel in ruin, and I knew I had to act fast before it collapsed around our ears.
"Enough!" I screamed, and instead of dodging Scar's arm, I grabbed it and pinned him against me. I held him close as he roared, the thrill of holding a wild, untamed animal running up my spine as I brought my other hand to the side of his face. There was a hiss of something releasing and the smell of something acrid burned my nose as it washed over us, but I ignored it to keep him from struggling. "I will take away–"
His eyes widened as my own hand began to spark with the energy my philosopher's stone was generating and my own power manifesting. "–YOUR RAGE!"
Sparks erupted from my hand and seemed to flash behind his widened eyes, but before he could so much as gasp an explosion ripped us apart.
–_–_–
The walk came to an abrupt end as a wall of rubble blocked the path entirely. "This is where one of the gas lines leading to Central power plant ruptured," the investigator said softly, his quiet voice in stark contrast to the blatant violence that had happened here. "In retrospect it could have been a lot worse. Luckily the safety shafts were triggered, limiting the damage."
"That's all you have," Mustang asked, staring at the rubble and the patches of light filtering in from the street above.
"Yes, sir. Will that be all?" Roy cut the soldier a glance, seeing his obvious impatience to get back to work.
"Yes. Have a copy of your findings sent to me as soon as they are ready." The man gave the affirmative before walking back down the tunnel with swift strides. Mustang sighed once he was alone, a bad feeling pooling in the pit of his stomach. Something told him they would not be finding Scar's body anytime soon. He doubted that this explosion took him down.
But that wasn't really what bothered him the most at the moment, if he was being honest with himself. He restlessly scanned over the damaged areas again and again, wondering just who–or what–had given Scar such a fight. Edward's account of those who called themselves homunculi rang loudly in his ears as the suspicion formed in his mind.
As the last steps of the departing man faded into silence, Jäger squirmed and wiggled his way out of Mustang's jacket, causing the man to grunt in annoyance as the creature wound around his neck. It looked around with curious eyes, nose pointed in the air. Mustang was about to try and dislodge it from his person, but a hiss in his ear caused him to flinch instead.
Jäger suddenly tensed and launched himself from the man's shoulder, causing him to stumble a bit at the force. "Jäger, what the hell! I knew I should have–"
Roy cut himself off sharply as the beast began to shuffle around the ground, nose twitching and reptilian tongue tasting the air. It was vibrating, almost in excitement as a dark stain seemed to grab its attention. It jumped, tail slashing through the air as it began to dig in earnest at a pile of rubble on the ground. Mustang walked up behind it curiously, noticing the suddenly doglike behavior and wondering if had lost its little mind.
That is, until it found something. With sharp teeth the chimera pulled something from the rubble and dropped it, sniffing and tasting the air frantically. The colonel crouched in bemusement, picking up a soft piece of black fabric the creature had already lost interest in, snuffling around some more. He examined it closely, noting the burnt edges and dark stains of sticky moisture.
Was it significant? Did it belong to one of Scar's opponents? Why had Jäger reacted...Unless his hunch was right, and that homunculi were involved. But if that was the case, then...He eyed the chimera. It used to belong to Alex. Could he have been here…?
Jäger's ears suddenly perked, and the beast looked down the tunnel, shoulders tensing. Mustang only had time to straighten in alarm before it bolted into the darkness.
"Damnit!" Mustang took off in hot pursuit, cursing when he slipped on something slick. His heart began hammering in his chest as adrenaline spiked down his spine in a violent wave. The damn beast had smelt something. Alex had been here! He struggled to keep up, but the chimera was too fast, disappearing into the dark tunnel. Mustang cursed in every language he knew, frantically trying to pick up his trail. Why didn't he put a tracker on that thing when he had the chance!
He nearly bowled over the officer that had been assisting him earlier, but practically threw him out of the way, determined not to lose his only lead in ten days. A few minutes passed before Mustang was forced to stop, tunnel branching in three directions. Like a trapped animal his head swung from one direction to the other, struggling to find a sign of Jäger in the gloom, but it was no use. The chimera was gone.
He straightened and calmed his racing heart as feet pounding from behind him announced that someone was coming. Roy ran a frustrated hand through his hair, glaring into the darkness fruitlessly. Two soldiers came to a stop, asking if he needed assistance, but he ignored them. Alex had been here, fighting with Scar. But why? Had Scar found him, or the other way around? And, more importantly, had he been doing it of his own volition or was someone pulling his strings?
Mustang shook his head, filing away the questions for later. Alex had been so close, right under their noses. He turned and stalked back the way he came, cursing himself for not being faster. He could only hope that the beast found his master, because wherever Alex was Mustang felt sure he could use a friend. Jäger would just have to do until they could find him and bring him home.
Right now he needed to wrap up this manhunt with Scar and then find out where these tunnels lead. It was going to be a long day.
–_–_–
AN:
Hm. Not really much to say right now, I think. I like writing Mustang and the Gang. Also, Empathy finally uses his powers. I had that planned out from about halfway through Deliverance, and a lot of you guessed that he would have this ability. It's not as cool as shapeshifting, but not everyone can be as cool as Envy, haha.
Next Chapter: More drama in Central, and Alex meets the family.
