I actually can't believe I haven't updated this story in over a year. It makes me a little ashamed. Although, now that I'm entering my 3rd year in University I'm a little jammed for time….plus I once again started working 2 jobs. Oh how the years have treated me! Also, I get distracted when I start writing my original novel and I forget about my fan fictions. (Bad Jas bad! Keep yourself on top of everything!) I swear (for real this time) that I will update more frequently. I planned out the next few chapters in a notebook, so I know where the story is going (Thank God!)
Disclaimer: I don't own FMA or anything else except my original characters!
xx
Kitten was the first to rise the next morning, the second she sat up in bed a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. She couldn't help but grin widely as she looked towards the bedroom door. Winry was shifting around in her bed while she slept. 'Dieter! I found him! At last! Now I can save Sakura and Greed! But, first things first, I need to stop the homunculi. I guess that means putting my desires on hold for a while. I think I can manage, at least I found him.' Kitten thought happily as she threw the covers off herself and changed into a new outfit. She slipped from the bedroom, careful not to wake Winry from her slumber. Kitten tiptoed out into the main room, trying to stay relatively silent. Al turned his metal head and waved to her; while making sure his armor didn't clang. Kitten waved back and smiled warmly over at the younger Elric brother. She waltzed her way over to the small chair near the couch and sat down happily.
"Good morning Kitten!" Al said in a slight whisper. "Don't worry, big brother is a heavy sleeper." He added with a chuckle. Ed snored lightly in the background and Kitten giggled as well.
"Good morning Al! How are you doing this fine morning?" Kitten replied.
"Good I guess. I'm worried about everyone." Al admitted and hung his head, sighing.
"Aw, Al! Don't worry! I'm sure everyone will be fine! We always make it through in the end, don't we?" Kitten said and wagged her finger. He chuckled lightly.
"Yeah I guess, we always do seem to pull it together in the end." He agreed. There was a loud yawn from the other room; Kitten suspected that it was Dieter. Al and Kitten looked over towards the door, Kitten couldn't wait to talk to the doctor more. Al was interested as well; he had been the man that created Kitten and her immortal body, a highly skilled alchemist. Al wondered if he could be the most powerful alchemist, it made sense to him. 'Maybe he could Ed and I some of his tricks! That could really help us out!' Al wondered, he couldn't turn to see the door. There was a slight pause of silence after the yawn and then a muffled thump and sounds of scurrying could be heard. Kitten tilted her head to side in confusion. There was another thump and then a second pause. After that pause there was a gasp of shock, another thump, and the doorknob started jiggling like he was having problems opening the bed room door. Finally Dieter got it open, throwing it open so hard that it slammed into the wall loudly. Ed jumped and flipped off the couch in surprise. He hit the hard carpet and groaned loudly, the pain shot up his hip and he rolled over onto his back and groaned again.
"What the hell?" He growled under his breath and looked up, getting a weird angle of Dieter standing in the doorway. He was dressed in a sloppy manner and in his clenched hand was a piece of paper.
"What happened? Dieter?" Kitten asked and stood up, she felt like something was off.
"Doctor?" Al questioned and stood up quickly from where he was sitting, he ignored the loud clang as he moved.
"H-He's gone! That small child!" Dieter huffed and held out the letter. "I already read it." He added as Kitten hurried over and snatched the paper from him. She turned away and held the paper firmly in both of her hands. Al hurried over and looked over her shoulder at the letter. Ed had pushed himself to his feet and ran over to Kitten, he looked over her other shoulder, curious as well.
'Everyone,
I'm sorry for doing this but I have to so that I can fulfill my wish. I know it's selfish but I am willing to do anything for this. So on that note, I'm leaving and I don't want you to try to find me, but I know you will anyways, so I want you to know that I won't be coming back to you guys no matter what you do. I don't want to tell you who I went with, but I'm sure you can figure it out. I guess I should say that we are now enemies aren't we? Sorry. I have to do what I have to do, you wouldn't have let me do this when you found out what I would have to do. Goodbye, forever. Maybe after this is all over I'll see you somewhere, maybe then you can forgive me.
Goodbye,
Hans.
P.s: Sorry again.'
Kitten gasped as she read over the letter; forcing herself to read it a second time. Everything seemed too sudden. Ed gritted his teeth together and Al gasped as well. Dieter stood in the doorway silently; he waited.
"Do you know what this means?" The doctor asked softly when he figured everyone was done reading.
"He couldn't have, could he?" Kitten uttered, she didn't want to believe it. He seemed too innocent, too cute, and not to mention too sweet to do something like that.
"Hans. Hans joined with the homunculus." Ed stated the truth, plain and simple. Al stayed silent and watched Kitten.
"Correct." Dieter stated.
"Are you sure it's not a trick? A prank?" Kitten retorted and turned to look at him. His face looked stern and he moved out of the doorway so he could point over his shoulder towards the open window.
"That window was open when I woke up, it was closed last night. He left in the middle of the night through the window. His bag is gone as well. I'm sorry daughter, but he has most certainly fled." Dieter explained. Kitten looked away.
"This is now even more troublesome." Kitten growled under her breath.
"What do you mean Kitten?" Alphonse asked; he knew she was disgruntled about Hans joining the enemy.
"I didn't have the time to tell you before but, the homunculi were working in Central, in the government and when Roy found out he exposed them, creating a riot which is spreading quickly by the media." Kitten explained. "That means there is something deeper going on, something within the government." She added.
"Shit." Ed swore under his breath. Dieter frowned and took a step forward he grabbed Kitten's shoulders and turned her to face him.
"You don't know the truth Kitten." Dieter stated calmly. Kitten blinked in shock.
"W-What are you talking about?" She stammered. Ed turned to look at him too.
"What are you saying?" Ed questioned. Winry had woken up and pressed herself against the closed door to the main area, she could hear everything clearly. She couldn't help but shake in fear of what she was hearing. Homunculi in the military? Hans joining there side? Winry didn't know what to think.
"The truth about the military and those who run it." Dieter stated. Kitten stared at him in shock. Winry gripped her blanket tighter around her shoulders.
"The truth?" Kitten uttered. Ed and Al widened their eyes in shock.
"I thought you might have figured this out already, but it seems like you haven't. The Fuhrer is a homunculus. The homunculi have joined together, due to hatred towards the humans and plan to take over this country and create an immortal army using the philosopher's stone that is created through transmuting entire cities. After they make the stone they will need to secrets of your body Kitten because they think I've died, you are the secret to immortality." Dieter explained, leaving out the fact that he was immortal as well.
"Bradley has been a homunculus this whole time? Fuck, That would explain things I guess, the reason why they started the research in the first place." Kitten muttered. 'Damn, I should have known! He has been behind all of this! I can't believe a homunculus has been controlling this country and no one even knows!' Kitten thought bitterly to herself. Ed clenched his hands into tight fists and Al gasped in surprise.
"Can that really be true?" Al questioned softly.
"Think about all of his actions in the past, how he started wars, how he demanded teams to put together to create soldiers like Kitten, how he banned the study of human alchemy but continued it in secret inside the military, how he ordered all those who knew the secrets to be killed, how a homunculus was working for the government like Kitten said. All of these points are undeniable, you must believe me." Dieter explained again, he finally released Kitten's shoulders and she took a deep breath.
"With all of this new information we need to make a plan. We can't just sit around now; we need to stop them from making a philosopher's stone." Kitten stated and turned to face her friends. The two brothers nodded in agreement.
"What do you think we should do?" Ed asked.
"We should spilt up, I know it might not sound good but I think it would be best. You and Al should head to central and find Roy, get all the information you can from him since it seems there are homunculi there, and the Fuhrer should be there as well, you need to stop him. I will head after Hans with the doctor because it's my fault he even met the homunculi so I need to set things right." Kitten laid out the plan briefly.
"We can't spilt up! How will we keep in contact!" Ed complained, crossing his arms and narrowing his gaze at Kitten.
"Since you will be in Central we can call you, you can stay in my apartment building." Kitten replied, she had already thought it through. Kitten pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled a quick note on it to the lady at the front desk of her building; then she handed it to Ed along with her keys. "Give this to her and you should be fine. Not to mention, Winry would be safer there then following me into the depths of the homunculi hide out." Kitten added. Ed shoved the note and key into his pocket.
"Fine, fine. You win." He grumbled. Kitten smiled brightly and then hugged Ed tightly.
"Thank you Ed! I swear that it's the right thing!" Kitten exclaimed. Ed hugged her back; a blush crossed his cheeks.
"Yeah, yeah." He stammered. Kitten released him and turned back to the doctor.
"Get packed, we will be leaving soon, we can't afford to delay anymore." Kitten commanded. Dieter scurried back into the room. "Wake up Winry, we need to head towards the train station." She added another command.
"Y-Yes!" Al stuttered, he clanged back to the room and knocked on the door. Winry backed up until she bumped into the bed frame. The knock sounded from the door in front of her and Winry gripped the bed frame in her hands.
"Y-Yes? I'm awake." She half shouted, trying to stop her voice from shaking. She couldn't believe what she had heard through the wood, and she couldn't believe they were taking her to Central with them, although she was glad Kitten suggested they spilt up.
"Get dressed and come join us, we are getting ready to leave. Oh, and don't worry!" Al said happily through the door. 'Easy for you to say, you are used to this kind of thing.' Winry thought bitterly to herself as she looked at the bedroom door. She slowly moved around the bed to dress and re-pack her small amount of clothes into her bag.
"I-I'll be right out." Winry replied as she shoved the last of her clothes into her bag. Winry pushed the door open and slipped out into the main area of the room. Everyone was already standing by the door chatting under their breaths.
"Oh Winry!" Ed exclaimed when he saw her.
"G-Good morning everyone." Winry muttered and shifted her weight, swinging her suitcase slightly.
"Good morning! We are leaving, come on!" Al said happily and pushed the door open. Everyone filed out into the hallway. Winry walked alongside Ed, Al was behind them and in front Kitten walked beside Dieter. Winry stared at the back of Kitten's head; she watched her blonde hair swing from side to side. The cloak Kitten was wearing completely hid the shape of her body under its brown fabric. Winry wondered why she always wore that cloak; it seemed unnecessary. 'Wait, doesn't Edward wears something like that! I guess in a way it does remind me of his red jacket, only Kitten's doesn't have sleeves like Ed's does. Does she really admire him that much? It makes me mad, or is it the fact I can't help but be jealous of her. She's scary and strong but at the same time she is so nice.' Winry thought bitterly and then looked away from Kitten and snuck a glance over at Ed. He was staring at the back of Kitten's head as well. Winry felt a pang in her chest and she looked away from him as well, focusing her gaze on the plain white walls. The group walked in silence all the way to the train station.
"Okay, your train comes soon. You should hurry and buy tickets." Kitten stated, pointing towards the board where the train times were written in chalk on black board. Ed and Al jogged over to the ticket booth, leaving Winry alone with Dieter and Kitten. She looked away from them and bit her lip.
"Where are we headed daughter dear?" Dieter asked and looked at the board while rubbing his chin.
"Stop calling me that!" Kitten whined and shot a glare in his direction. He chuckled. "Anyways, aside from that, I'm not sure yet. I need to think about it." Kitten replied in a lower voice, Winry heard her but didn't open her mouth.
"You don't know yet? I thought you had an idea!" Dieter said and looked over his shoulder at Kitten. Kitten narrowed her gaze and looked into Dieter's eyes.
"I do." She said firmly and then crossed her arms. Dieter nodded and didn't ask anymore. Winry peeked over at Kitten, she was still looking at Dieter, and neither of them was looking at her. 'What was all that about? Are they doing something secret that Ed and Al don't know about?' Winry thought and then looked away, she didn't want them noticing she was staring.
"Winry! We got our tickets!" Al shouted and waved the tickets in the air. Winry nodded fervently and tripped a little before running forward. Kitten and Dieter followed her slowly. They stood on the platform.
"Well, our train leaves later." Kitten lied, but no one could tell. Winry blinked in surprise. 'Wait didn't she say she didn't know what train they were taking yet? Ah, but I can't say anything, I mean, I don't know what she'd say or do if I mentioned it.' Winry thought and looked away.
"Oh. Okay. I guess this is where we say bye then?" Ed breathed. Kitten nodded while the train pulled into the station behind them loudly.
"Remember what I told you and take care of my apartment!" Kitten stated and wagged her finger.
"Of course!" Al and Ed retorted.
"Kitten, be careful." Al said softly. Kitten smiled up at the suit of armor and quick stepped forward to wrap her arms around Al.
"I'm always careful, aren't I?" Kitten giggled. Al shook his head sadly, Kitten was never careful when it came to fighting, she was always getting hurt. Ed moved forward and grabbed her in a tight hug as well.
"Try to be careful, and make sure you get Hans back." Ed stated loudly while blushing. Kitten giggled and hugged him back.
"Will do! You make sure to find out what's going on in Central!" Kitten said with a grin. They released and then the brothers and their childhood friend jumped onto the train. Kitten and Dieter waved from the platform before leaving the station. When the pair reached the bottom of the stairs they stopped.
"You were pretty eager about getting them to leave, what is that about?" Dieter asked as soon as they stopped. Kitten hugged herself tightly and turned to look at the doctor.
"I have a secret request, eh, two actually." Kitten replied in a soft voice. Dieter reached out and patted Kitten's shoulder.
"Go ahead." He prodded her on.
"I-I. Something happened. I-I need to bring Sakura-chan back to life. C-Can you help me do that?" Kitten replied and looked away, staring up at the clouds.
"Something happened? You need to explain that in a little more detail." Dieter said.
"There was a large battle two years ago, she got controlled and I was forced to kill her." Kitten whispered it and Dieter grabbed her in a bear hug. Kitten gasped in shock, but the hug did feel good.
"Kitten." Dieter breathed. "Why don't we find someplace else to discuss this matter, like say, a bar?" Dieter stated and started pushing Kitten up the street.
"Eh? A bar! But it's the morning! No one drinks this early in the morning!" Kitten protested as Dieter continued to shove her down the sidewalk, a few passing people turned to look.
"When they have problems like you have they do!" Dieter retorted. He quickly spotted a bar not too far away, Kitten noticed it too.
"Are you saying I should be an alcoholic?" She questioned and narrowed her gaze at the bar that was ever drawing closer.
"I'm saying that a normal person would be." Dieter replied in a matter-of-fact tone. Kitten pouted and didn't reply, she just let the doctor push her up the sidewalk and through the doors. He pushed Kitten right up to the bar counter. She sighed and pulled herself up on one of the stools and slouched forward, leaning against the bar.
"I don't know how this is going to help me." Kitten groaned. The man behind the bar started hurrying around, grabbing glasses and fixing the bottles on the racks.
"It will help you loosen up so you can explain things easier, I promise you!" Dieter exclaimed and laughed loudly. Kitten rolled her eyes.
"Fine." Kitten snapped.
"What would you be having?" The bar tender asked; he looked between the two.
"Give us both some vodka, if you wouldn't mind kind sir!" Dieter replied with a grin. Kitten snapped up at the mention of vodka and an image of Greed flashed through her mind; she quickly forced it away. The bar tender nodded and fixed the drink.
"So, where should you start? How about with Sakura?" Dieter started the conversation, turning to look at Kitten. The bar tender sat the drinks down in front of them and stepped back.
"Sakura." Kitten breathed, she snatched the drink up in her hands and quickly chugged it in one gulp. The bar tender and Dieter stared in shock. The contents burning down her throat like fire and she winced slightly before slamming the glass back on the bar counter. "Another one." She forced out through her burning mouth, not even looking at the bar tender. He nodded quickly and grabbed her glass to fix another one.
"Well gee." Dieter chuckled. Kitten didn't respond but chugged the next one, and the next one, and the next one. Dieter and the bar tender watched in mild amusement.
"We fought, okay? And she was totally bent on killing me, so you know what? I just killed her. Just like that! I mean what kind of person kills their best friend in cold blood like that? Good god! Who cares if it was a war and everything, I mean war isn't an excuse for something like that!" Kitten wailed, and slammed her seventh glass of vodka onto the table. Dieter blinked in shock, he was still on his first. He didn't think she would get into it so quickly, she seemed to opposed to it at first.
"Didn't you mention there was something else?" Dieter questioned. Kitten grabbed the eighth glass that the bar tender just set down and chugged it as well.
"Greed. That bastard! H-He always drinks this fucking shit! God damn him! He's so stupid! Always doing stupid shit and shit, shit." Kitten ranted and waved her arms around. Dieter nodded.
"Mhmm." He stated and sipped his glass slowly, letting the burning sensation move slowly down his throat.
"He was always all up in my business, never like leaving me alone! And, and, and he would sneak through windows and shit and you know what! I-I liked it! Okay? IS THAT A PROBLEM!" Kitten shouted.
"Nope, not at all." He responded calmly. The bar tender had sat down on his stool on the other side and watched them. They were the only ones in the bar, it was pretty early, but that wasn't stopping Kitten.
"Then that asshole had to go get turned into some kind of monster, but I guess he was already a monster, but I'm a monster too so it doesn't matter! I don't care anymore! Dude! Get me another one of these!" Kitten continued her rant and shook her glass again, the ice cubes bounced around inside. The bar tender stood up and fetched her glass again.
"So someone transmuted him?" Dieter questioned. Kitten shook her head violently and then fell off her stool.
"Uh! Miss!" The bar tender shouted and quickly ran over to look over the counter. Kitten was sitting on the floor, her legs were up and resting on the legs of the stool.
"I wanna be a pop star." Kitten whimpered from where she was laying on the floor.
"One day you can be pumpkin." Dieter stated, he always wanted a kid, and he always wanted to call his kid pumpkin, at least once. It seemed perfect to do since she was unbelievably drunk at the moment.
"I want them back. I want them to come back to me, I don't want to be the only one like this anymore!" She whimpered again, tears started forming and dripping down her face. Dieter slid off of his stool and set a large roll of bills on the table.
"Tip is there too. Have a nice day." Dieter stated and bent down to scoop up Kitten. He slung her over his shoulder. Kitten just gurgled, not making any protest at all. The tears continued to drip off her cheeks and fall to the floor; she sniffed loudly. Dieter carried her on his shoulder the whole way back to the hotel. When they got back Dieter sat her down on the couch and clapped his hands together, he reached out and placed his palms on her shoulder. It sent the transmutation through her, evaporating the alcohol from her system. He removed his hands and Kitten groaned, rubbing a hand against her forehead.
"I know I shouldn't say this, but I feel better after that." Kitten breathed, a few final tears dripped down her face. "Is it silly of me to chase after both of them? Am I just being foolish?" Kitten asked and removed her hand so she could look into Dieter's eyes.
"Nothing in this world is foolish. I will help you Kitten, of course. I will observe this man, and then we can make things right together." Dieter replied in a soft voice. Kitten managed a smile.
"Thank you, Dieter." She sniffed.
"Oh, and do you still want to be a pop star?" He questioned with a grin. Kitten narrowed her eyes.
"Shut up." She snapped. Dieter started laughing, and before she knew it, Kitten was laughing too. When the laughing subsided the pair decided they would make a solid plan in the morning. Kitten nodded and retreated to her bedroom to sleep.
Kitten opened her eyes and sat up she was in the command center back in Central city. She felt her heart skip a beat as she looked around. Of the lights in the hall she was in were blinking, others were broken and black. The hallway was silent. Kitten pushed herself slowly to her feet and leaned against the wall, she could feel her legs shaking. A smell wafted through the air and it seized her heart when she inhaled. The scent of iron the scent of blood. Kitten lurched forward and fell to her hands and knees in the hallway.
"How many times will I relive this?" Kitten seethed through gritted teeth. The stench was making her stomach flip, but she knew she couldn't throw up here and that made it even more painful. Kitten clenched her hands into fists and stared at the floor. Suddenly footsteps echoed down the hallway around her. Kitten lifted her head and looked up, blood was seeping towards her from out of the darkness of the hallway. Kitten yelped and quickly shoved herself to her feet and took a step back and tripped over something. She fell once again to her butt and looked down only to find she had tripped over a dead body, it's face contorted in a look of terrible pain. A scream tore through her throat. Kitten looked all around only to find she was surrounded by piles of dead bodies. The blood was being to make a pool on the floor, rising up around her.
"Do you remember any of them?" A girl's voice echoed around her. Kitten pushed herself to her feet and looked around. Sakura wasn't anywhere to be seen.
"Sakura? Is that you?" Kitten shouted and continued to look around her. The blood on the floor was rising; it almost came up to her ankles.
"Around you are all those who you assassinated in the past. Didn't I warn you that you wouldn't like the truth? You killed all of these people because the homunculi told you to." The voice stated. Kitten winced and then looked around her at the bodies.
"N-No! I killed them because they were mob bosses, evil people bent on destroying the country! I-It was my job!" Kitten retorted. She could feel herself getting defensive; Kitten shook away all the thoughts that kept creeping up in the back of her mind.
"Mob bosses? Evil people? Maybe you should have looked closer." The voice stated. Kitten turned and looked at the bodies again.
"I-I don't understand! I did what was right!" Kitten shouted back, her tone getting even more defensive.
"You murdered innocent people, people who were going after things that could expose the homunculi early. You killed people that had found out secrets of the military that they couldn't allow to get out to the public and you were too blinded by power to even realize that." The voice explained. Kitten could feel her heart rate increase and she looked around again, terror gripping her soul.
"Y-You must be lying." Kitten stammered and gripped at her chest, trying to calm her beating heart. The footsteps became louder, Kitten couldn't tell what direction they were even coming from. Suddenly there was a breath on her back. Kitten tried to turn but the person behind her wrapped an arm around her neck, keeping her staring straight ahead.
"Didn't I warn you? There's not much more I can do for someone as stubborn as you, always driving head on into such things. It's such a pity." The voice sighed. The blood had risen even higher, now up to Kitten's knees.
"Sakura, you, I. I didn't—" Kitten started but her dead friend cut her off.
"Such a shame you had to go and kill me." Sakura's voice stated and then there was a pressure and a shooting pain. Kitten looked down to see a hand protruding from her chest and Kitten's heart was in the hand, still beating. Kitten let out another terrible scream and then she dropped, falling into a bottomless pool of blood. She sunk farther and farther into its depths. Kitten wildly looked around but didn't have the energy to swim towards the top.
"Sakura!" Kitten gurgled and the blood filled her mouth.
"Why do you search for death? Didn't I tell you already to let someone save you? Looking for the truth is so much more painful even for monsters like us, more painful than living." Sakura stated, floating up in front of Kitten. The red liquid obscured her vision, but she could still see her friend, the hole in her chest. Kitten tried to speak again but couldn't. She could feel the darkness creeping up on her and Sakura waved from where she was floating in front of Kitten as she sunk.
Kitten shot up in her bed, clutching the covers close against her chest. She was covered in a cold sweat and was panting. The images still haunted her mind as she sat there in her bed. Kitten didn't want to lay back down, she knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep after that anyways. Kitten threw the covers off her bed and slipped off. The floor felt cold on her bare feet but she ignored the feeling and shuffled over to the window. Kitten threw the curtain open and looked out over the sleeping city, the moon shining from the clear night sky. 'Was that true? What I was told in the dream? Was I really working for the homunculus this whole time without even realizing it? I couldn't have been could I? But no, I know it's true, I just learned the Fuhrer was a homunculus so that means I have been, and I knew it too didn't I? I just didn't want to listen to my inner thoughts. Those people I killed, I should have known. Damn! Ignorance isn't an excuse, I might have just found out the truth but that doesn't excuse my crimes, even if I thought they were right at the time.' Kitten thought bitterly to herself. She clenched her hands into fists and bit back tears. She turned and looked back at the empty bedroom behind her and it made her heart fall even further. 'I'm completely alone, the only one except for Dieter. Maybe this is my punishment, suffering alone? I guess I do deserve this. Maybe it's wrong for me to try to bring Sakura back, is this what I'm supposed to learn?' Kitten thought as she stared at the empty bed and the covers that were balled on the floor. A single tear escaped and rolled down her cheek. Kitten looked away from the bed and rested her forehead against the cold glass, she breathed out deeply, fogging up the glass.
The morning came quickly and Kitten hadn't gone back to sleep. She watched the sun set from where she was sitting cross-legged on the bed, she hadn't even bothered to pick the lump of covers off the floor. When she sun was shining into the room Kitten slipped off the bed and trudged over to the door that lead to the main area of the room, she could hear Dieter plop down on the couch. Kitten sighed and retreated back towards her bed so she could change. When she was dressed Kitten walked out into the main room and sat down in the chair that was opposite from the couch.
"Ah! Good morning daughter!" Dieter exclaimed. He had slept wonderfully and had formulated some plans during the night.
"Good morning." Kitten breathed, she was looking at her feet. Dieter's smile dropped from his face and look of concern replaced it.
"Kitten? What are you thinking about?" Dieter questioned and tried to look her in the eyes. Kitten sighed and looked up at Dieter, there were dark circles under her eyes.
"Maybe I should just give up on all of this. I shouldn't be trying to bring people back or save them for my own selfish reasons, I think this is my punishment, you know? Being alone, that's what my life is supposed to be like." Kitten stated in a monotone voice. Her words hung in the air and silence followed. Suddenly Dieter stood up and swung his arm, catching his fist in Kitten's cheek. Kitten went flying out of the chair from the force of the unexpected punch. She slammed into the wall and landed on the floor.
"W-What gives?" Kitten shouted and rubbed at her face. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth as she glared over at Dieter. The doctor didn't say anything but stalked over and picked up Kitten by the neck of her cloak, lifting her to her feet.
"Don't say things like that you stupid girl! No one in this life would be punished in such a harsh manner, and there is never a dream that you shouldn't chase! What is wrong with you?" Dieter shouted in her face. Kitten blinked in shock.
"B-But my dreams, they always tell me I shouldn't be doing this. The Sakura in my dreams tells me this is wrong!" Kitten retorted. When she said it aloud she realized how stupid it actually sounded. Dieter's eye twitched.
"You've been listening to your dreams? What is wrong with you! You're dreams are just showing you your inner fears and terrors because you are afraid! You can't let the fear of being wrong stop you from moving ahead with your dreams and desires! Be fearless! You always have been, when did you start acting so weak?" Dieter stated firmly, still holding her by the cloak collar. Kitten winced and adverted her gaze. 'Dieter is right. I've never been so unsure of something in my life. I thought I was unafraid when I left on this journey, but I've just been fooling myself and that's what my dreams are showing me. I shouldn't be afraid! I made a promise to myself to bring her back even if it was wrong! I can't regret what I've done so far!' Kitten thought. She snapped her head back and looked into Dieter's eyes again.
"T-Thank you doctor." Kitten uttered. Dieter released her and sighed.
"Gee. Don't worry me like that! I thought I was going to have to beat some sense into you. Literally." Dieter complained and smiled at Kitten. Kitten chuckled and then rubbed her cheek again.
"I think you already did. You punched pretty hard you know." Kitten replied with a smile. She felt relieved now, she wouldn't pay attention to her nightmares anymore, they were just dreams of her fears, they had nothing to do with reality.
"Well a normal slap wouldn't have affected you!" Dieter stated and Kitten laughed.
"I suppose you are right about that. But more importantly, we need to figure out where we are going first. We need to save Hans and stop them from completing their goals." Kitten stated. She crossed her arms and leaned back against the hotel wall.
"Well let's get a hold of your friends in Central, they must have found something important out." Dieter suggested. Kitten nodded in agreement.
"Let's go find a payphone then! That's our only hope." Kitten replied. The pair packed their bags and left the hotel, they didn't plan on staying there another night, they didn't have to luxury of time on their side anymore. Kitten dialed the number to the command center again; she could only hope that at least the welcome desk phone was able to be answered. The phone rang, once, twice, three times. Kitten was holding her breath and Dieter was standing behind her with his hand on her shoulder.
"H-Hello?" A man stammered into the phone.
"HELLO?" Kitten screamed into the phone loudly. She tightened her grip on the phone and grabbed the machine in front of her.
"W-Who are you? Don't you know what's going on? Do I have to explain to you too?" The man groaned. She could hear shouts in the background and other phones ringing.
"I know what's going on! Why else would I be calling! I'm Kitsumi, Kitsumi Nakahara, aka Kitten. I used to work under Roy Mustang. GIVE THE PHONE TO HIM NOW!" Kitten roared into the phone. Dieter backed up slightly, he didn't expect her to be so serious about the situation. At least her mod had changed from that morning. Kitten wouldn't be able to fix what was happening if she wasn't dedicated to it completely.
"Kitsumi? Are you really Kitsumi? God! Stay there! I'll find him and have him call you back!" The man commanded and then before she could respond he hung up. The line went dead and Kitten blinked in shock. She replaced and phone and turned to face Dieter.
"Kitten?" He questioned. It didn't seem like that conversation had went anywhere from what he had heard.
"The guy is going to get Roy, then he is supposed to call back on the payphone. So in other words we have to wait here until he calls and make sure no one else tries to use this payphone, we can't afford to miss his call!" Kitten explained and stood directly in front of the pay phone booth. No one was going to get in her way. Dieter chuckled and nodded.
"Understood! We will make sure you get that call!" Dieter announced and smiled widely. Kitten smiled back. 'I can't wait to hear Roy's voice again. I'm worried about him. I hope he hasn't gotten injured since this revolt started and I hope we can talk for a little longer this time too. I miss him, even though I know it's selfish of me.' Kitten thought as she looked over her shoulder at the black payphone. Hours past and Kitten had managed to scare away two women and one businessman. To force the businessman to leave she had to snarl and then bark at him until he finally gave up and fled. Dieter was laughing the whole time. While the time passed they also started planning how they would do things once they figured out where to go.
"So you think we can actually do something about Greed?" Kitten questioned while she kept her guard over the payphone booth up. Dieter crossed his arms and nodded, he had gotten tired of standing so now he was sitting in the middle of the sidewalk. People avoided the pair as they passed.
"I think we can, it is probably a simple alchemic transmutation that should be able to be broken, but before I can figure out how to break it I need to observe him." Dieter explained.
"Okay. Anyways, so when we find it the main goal is to get Hans back before he has time to complete the circle to make the stone?" Kitten questioned, running things over in her head again.
"Yes. We need to get Hans, although that most likely means fighting through all the homunculi and the alchemist that is with them." Dieter stated.
"Yeah, that alchemist is going to cause major problems. I've never seen the homunculus working with alchemists before, I mean I know they try to manipulate people to fit their needs, but this is weird." Kitten muttered. She wondered who that man was and why he was such an advanced alchemist.
"Actually Kitten. I know that man, and what he does." Dieter said slowly. Kitten looked down at him in complete shock.
"Are you serious? Why didn't you say so before?" Kitten snapped and narrowed her gaze.
"Because then your friends would have started quizzing me, I figured it was the right idea to save the information for you only." Dieter replied, defending himself quickly before Kitten had the chance to yell more.
"I guess that was a good idea." Kitten sighed. "But tell me about him now, we need to know everything we can about our enemies before we attack." Kitten added.
"Of course. Well, his name is The Damned, but I think you already knew that. He used to work for the military just like I did, except he worked on different projects. He excelled in human transmutations and in particular creating homunculus. First he used his alchemy for medical means. The Damned is able to create human body parts through his alchemy in which he could attach to people with missing limbs with his alchemy, although it is a very dangerous process. He is the only one who knows how to do it and refuses to share his knowledge with the rest of the world, he will most likely take it to his grave. Although, the military turned on him one day, slaughtered all of his work and assistants and then threw him in jail. They wanted to cover up the work they were doing before the public found about it, that was around the same time they cancelled my project as well. Now it seems that the homunculi are using his desire for freedom and knowledge to trick him into working for them. Dieter ranted off the whole story in a soft voice so no passing people could hear him. Kitten nodded along as he told the story. At end Kitten frowned.
"That isn't good news at all. I was hoping he wouldn't be so skilled. That really puts us at risk. He could keep throwing out homunculus after homunculus couldn't he?" Kitten stated, still frowning.
"Not really. You must remember that homunculi cores are philosopher's stones. So to actually bring the shells he creates to life he needs stones. It seems he already had some, or someone gave him some to create the homunculi we are fighting now, but it seems the stones have run out or they are running low, that is why they need Hans to make another one." Dieter explained.
"Why not have The Damned make the stone? Why do they need Hans for that?" Kitten questioned.
"I'm not quite sure. The only thing I can think of is that they can't afford to have something happen to The Damned, they need an alchemist with a lot of drive and someone who is disposable to them. Hans fits perfectly." Dieter answered.
"So then, we need to save hi—" Kitten was cut off as the payphone started ringing behind her. "THE PHONE!" Kitten screamed at the top of her lungs and spun around. She frantically grabbed the phone off the hook and placed it to her ear, shoving multiple quarters into the slot to make sure the call wouldn't time out on her.
"KITTEN?" The voice shouted through the receiver.
"ROY!" Kitten shouted back. Relief flooded her system and she allowed herself to relax slightly. It felt nice to hear his voice and know that he was all right in Central.
"Where are you? What are you doing? Are you safe? You aren't in Canibole are you?" Roy fired off all the questions. Kitten blinked, the last question confused her.
"I'm not in Canibole right now, and yes I'm safe. But why would it matter if I was in Canibole, what is going on there?" Kitten questioned. She remembered that town well. It had been the first town she had visited; the one she had saved from the dictatorship. Everyone there had been so nice, and she had met that sweet little flower boy there too.
"That town is dangerous now. We suspect that is where the Homunculi are headed, they must be planning something there. We sent some military members but now that town hates the military so they are fighting against us and it doesn't help that we are also fighting against the Fuhrer now as well and the troops under him that support the use of homunculus. I can't believe this!" Roy growled into the phone. Kitten couldn't move.
"Canibole." She breathed out.
"Kitten? What's wrong? Are you okay?" Roy asked worriedly.
"Ah. I'm fine. It's just, now I know I need to go to Canibole now. I know what they are planning Roy and I have to stop it! Ed, Al, and Winry are headed to Central and should arrive soon. They will surely explain everything to you." Kitten explained, she didn't want to go into detail over a payphone.
"Kitten! You shouldn't go there!" Roy snapped.
"Well you shouldn't be putting your life on the line exposing the homunculi to the world and starting a revolt in the military!" Kitten retorted. Roy was silent for a second.
"Okay you win." He admitted. Kitten smiled to herself at her mini victory.
"Good. Now be safe and make sure you keep that homunculi and the Fuhrer in Central." Kitten demanded.
"Why the Fuhrer? He is just some stupid human who is power hungry with the abilities of the homunculus." Roy said.
"No Roy, actually you are wrong there. Bradley is a homunculus too. Much to my dismay, I just found that out. So he is the real mastermind behind all of this. The whole military has been run by a homunculus, this whole time." Kitten explained. Everything was silent when she finished explaining. Kitten waited a few seconds. "Roy? Are you there?" She asked worriedly.
"Fuck." He swore into the phone.
"I know." Kitten responded. She had reacted the same way when she found out.
"Damn. Well okay, I'll make sure to hold them off. Just stop whatever they are planning at Canibole; I'm counting on you. Oh, and make sure you come back in one piece." He added. Kitten smiled as she held the phone tightly.
"I will. You be careful too Roy." She breathed into the phone. Kitten heard someone shouting something in the background.
"I got it! Yeah. Kitten, I'm sorry but I need to go." He stated and then the line went dead. Kitten replaced the phone and sighed.
"So where are we headed? Canibole I presume?" Dieter stated once Kitten had hung up the phone. She turned and nodded.
"Correct and we need to hurry. We can't let this information go to waste! We need to leave right now!" Kitten said and without waiting for his reply she picked up her bag, which was next to the payphone booth and started running down the sidewalk. Dieter chased after her dodging around people to keep up with Kitten who wasn't going to wait for him to catch up. They reached the train station quickly; Kitten got there first and ordered two tickets. Kitten was already standing at the platform waiting for the train when Dieter staggered in and came to a stop beside her. Kitten giggled and handed Dieter his ticket.
"You really run too fast, even when you don't really try." Dieter huffed.
"You made me this way, you know. So it's your fault." Kitten stated with a smile. Dieter smiled to himself and chuckled.
"Oh, that's right isn't it?" He replied and then laughed.
They waited for the train which came a little before the expected time. The fact that the train was early made Kitten smile, she had been worried it was going to be late or something. She jumped into the train the moment it stopped at the station and quickly picked a seat while others were getting off. Dieter followed after her, after letting the other people off, and sat in the seat across from her.
"I guess I'm going to have to put my goal of bringing Sakura back on hold for now huh?" Kitten sighed and leaned back in her chair.
"Don't worry, we will have all the time in the world once this is over." Dieter said with a smile, trying to make her feel better.
"Yeah. I suppose you're right. Everyone's safety is more important right now." She added.
When the train pulled out of the station they started talking. Kitten had picked the express train so it wouldn't be making any stops until it reached Canibole, which was exactly what they wanted. Kitten and the doctor talked, mostly about the past to take up time. Kitten explained what she had been doing and everything that happened to her in the past years. The doctor told her stories too; his were about all the places he traveled and some of the memorable patients that he had treated on his travels. Kitten liked hearing all the stories, his stories were much more interesting than hers and she listened intently.
Xx
Ah there! Chapter 11 out of the way! Sorry it's a year late guys. I can't believe it myself. Gosh. Someone should slap me. I'm a horrible person.