THE IRONY OF THIS CHAPTER.
WHAT IS THIS- I DON'T EVEN- IT'S JUST- I CAN'T!
Yep, it's chapter 12 of Twelve! I am proud to say that... well, it's chapter 12 of Twelve. How can you get prouder than that? It's like chapter 4 in I Am Number Four or chapter 6 in Power of Six (which I still haven't read yet )
Look at that! I updated during school! Surprisingly, I've completed the massive amount of homework we've received. We got six pages of math homework on the SECOND DAY. *grumble* Stupid academic math level *grumble* And we got an assignment that lasts until the beginning of December for novel study. Although, we got to choose the book we read so I'm happy.
Just so you know, I wrote most of the latest chapter of the fanfiction Iron Lieutenant by Bananna Bear. Check it out! It's about the Iron Fey, so if you haven't read that series... READ IT! IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL -
Yep, shameless advertising of my friends fanfiction. She didn't advertise mine in hers though... BLACKMAIL.
One other quick thing before we start chapter 12 (of Twelve). For my 100th reviewer, I'm thinking of doing a oneshot or something... since I don't have a deviantART account (although I really want one! then I could post pictures of Louise!), I can't draw you anything. So, it'll probably be a oneshot or maybe even a small cameo in this fanfiction... :B Review Review Review! But I will inform you guys if I get a dA. I (that's 12 reallys :P) want one soooooooooooo (12 o's) badly!
Disclaimer: In Soviet Russia, you don't own Fullmetal. Fullmetal owns YOU.
"They're accusing Lieutenant Ross?"
"Yep," I said to Ed. "That's right."
"B-but how?" he sputtered. "How could they accuse the lieutenant of something so serious?"
"Don't ask me," I said with a shrug. "I'm just the messenger."
Ed glared at me over his shoulder. "What the hell are you even doing here, anyway?"
"I told you, I'm the messenger," I said, leering at him. "And I just wanted to see your reaction."
Truth be told, I was actually worried about the Elrics. Despite the fact that I was pissed at Ed, his sanity was already dangerously close to breaking. Sure, I hated his little blonde guts (emphasis on little), but he saved my life more than once, and I was... alright, I might have been worried about him a little more than I was worried about Al. He was the older brother, the one who managed the family, although he didn't act like it sometimes, and he needed someone to keep him in line along with Al.
But don't think that I cared about him too much.
"Why don't you shut up?" Ed ordered, his glare becoming more intense.
"I don't think I have the brain capacity to understand your words," I sneered. "Could you please repeat them."
"Why. Don't. You. Shut. Up." Ed enunciated every syllable, his teeth gritted angrily.
"Oh, shut up," I said, pondering the words like I just understood them. "Hm, I don't think I like your temper, little boy."
"LITTLE?" Ed exploded. "WHO'RE YOU CALLING LITTLE?"
"Well, I'm obviously not talking about Al," I said, gesturing to the younger Elric.
"SHUT UP!" Ed shouted, his voice going shrill.
"Would you two stop arguing?" Al sighed. "I'm getting tired of it."
"Come to think of it, I am too," I said thoughtfully. "Let's be friends, shall we?"
Ed ignored me, but I could see the irritated tic in his brow. "C'mon, Al. We have business to take care of."
I shrugged again. "I guess I have no choice but to tag along." Ed stood up and stomped out the door, followed by Al, who gave me a look before turning his back. I swear I heard Ed mutter "If you're coming, at least keep your mouth shut." We walked through the hotel in silence, all the way down to the lobby. I wasn't actually getting tired of arguing with Ed; it was quite amusing to see him freak out over the tiniest (no pun intended) comment.
"I can't believe this," Al said in exasperation as we walked through the lobby.
"Maybe the Colonel or the Major will know something about this," Ed said.
"What about Winry?"
"We'll explain it to her later," Ed said with finality, and we kept walking.
"Where are we going, anyway?" I asked as we entered the street.
"The military building," Al said. "We need to talk to some people about Lieutenant Ross."
"Oh, I see." I nodded, and we kept walking. We walked through a few alleyways, taking a shortcut that Ed obviously thought would cut our time down a bit. I just went along with it.
Until I heard voices. And panting.
"Do you hear that?" I asked. Both of the brothers shook their heads.
"Maybe she really is insane," Ed muttered under his breath.
"May I remind you, Elric, that I have wolf ears," I said. "I can hear every word you're saying." Ed grumbled some gibberish as we came out into a four way intersection of alleys. Ed gasped at the sight in front of him.
"Lieutenant Ross!" the brothers said in unison.
"Edward! Alphonse! Louise! What are you three doing here?" the lieutenant questioned. She was in the company of a huge, fat-looking suit of armour with two meat cleavers and a helm shaped like the head of a wolf. He's hollow, I thought immediately. He smells almost exactly like Al. There was another guy there. He was wearing baggy pants and a strange yellow jacket with no shirt underneath and a belt slung across his chest that looked like it would hold a sword. He had long black hair tied back in a ponytail and bangs that brushed over his right eye. His prisoner ID tags (that made me a little sceptical, but Ross was wearing them too) said "Ling Yao" and a bunch of random numbers. His eyes were closed almost completely.
This guy must be the prince from Xing that Al told me about, I thought. He's kind of attractive.
"Hm?" the fat armour guy said.
"Huh?" Al grunted.
"AGHHH! YOU'RE THAT GUY!" they both yelled, pointing accusingly at each other.
"And Ling too?" Al said.
Ling chuckled nervously. "Aha, hey guys! What're you up to?"
"I could ask the same of you!" Ed shouted at the prince.
"Quit chattering!" Fat Armour Guy snapped. "We don't have time for this!" He started slashing at Al with his meat cleavers, causing the latter to jump out of the way. The edge of one caught my cheek and I jumped back.
"Watch it!" I hissed.
"Why you-" Ed said in fury, unable to finish his sentence.
"Alright, sweetheart, take that back alley and run straight to the warehouse district. The darkness oughta hide you," Fat Armour Guy ordered.
"Wait, hold on!" Ed objected as Lieutenant Ross started running. "Tell us about Hughes!" Ross stopped and looked over, her face stricken.
"Get going!" Fat Armour Guy shouted. "If the MPs show up, they'll shoot you!" Lieutenant Ross shot one last pained look in our direction and kept running.
"Lieutenant Ross!" Ed yelled.
"Stay back," Fat Armour Guy said, and I dropped into a fighting crouch, bending my knees slightly.
"No, wait!" Al shouted. "Lieutenant Ross!" We all shot poisonous glares at Fat Armour Guy and Ling, but as soon as we got to it, there was a massive explosion far to our left, where Ross had been running. Fire spewed into the air, creating a large mushroom cloud.
"What was that?" Ed asked.
"My thoughts exactly," I said.
"Looks like they got her!" Fat Armour Guy said. Was his voice... triumphant? Ed started running right past Fat Armour Guy and I followed. "Hold it! Get back here!" We were already far away from him, and Al took a swing but missed. I could still hear their conversation as we ran.
"Ops! Missed me!" Fat Armour Guy teased. "Let's go, Foreigner!"
"O-okey dokey!" Ling said, his voice a little squeaky.
"Wait! Ling!" Al cried. "What're you doing with a guy like him?"
"I'll have to fill you in later!" Ling yelled, giving a squeak of a laugh to match his voice.
"Argh! What now?" Al yelled, just as I crashed into Ed. The smell of burned flesh filled my nostrils, and I wondered how I didn't notice it before. Ed stood stock still in front of me, his breath shaking with horror. Across from us stood Roy Mustang in a long black coat, white gloves with transmutation circles stitched on them pulled over his hands, his back to us. Between us laid a charred, still smoking body.
The body that the ID tags identified as Maria Ross.
I turned away and gagged, bile rising in my throat. The smell was so intense, and it was even worse for a chimera with an enhanced sense of smell. I coughed and my hand came away covered with slime as I tried not to throw up. I wiped it off on the leg of my pants, disgusted.
"Hey there," Mustang said, his voice almost a sneer if his face wasn't so serious as he turned his head, "Fullmetal." Ed looked from the body to Mustang, and his fists clenched tightly.
"What happened here?" he said flatly. "What happened here, Colonel? Tell me!" The rage on Ed's face was evident as he yelled at Colonel Mustang. I tried to avoid looking at the body as my stomach roiled. Mustang was silent; he just glared at Ed and twisted one hand around his wrist.
"Why, Colonel?" Ed said through his teeth. His voice was cracking. "Why was Hughes murdered? Why would Second Lieutenant Ross..." Ed ran up and grabbed Mustang's collar. "Why didn't you say anything?" Mustang's eyes narrowed a fraction and he punched Ed in the face. The Fullmetal Alchemist fell onto his stomach and I stepped up beside him, glaring at Mustang. Even if I hated Ed with almost every fibre of my being, I owed him a lot, and he saved my life numerous times. I cared for him, if only a little.
"No one," I growled, almost so that Mustang couldn't hear. "No one hurts the Fullmetal Alchemist."
Mustang merely smirked and adjusted his collar. "You threaten a superior officer?" Hell yes we do. "You forget yourself, Elric!" Ed pushed himself to his feet, and I didn't bother to offer any help.
Bastard, I thought. Murdering a woman who is obviously innocent just to get revenge for someone who's already dead. Maria Ross never did anything against the law.
Ed stood a little hunched over, the hatred burning intensely in his golden eyes. He turned around and glared at Mustang, then ran at him, screaming. I grabbed his arm and tried to hold him back with what little strength I had compared to him. Al arrived just then and seized his brother in an almost bear hug-like fashion.
"Brother, don't!" Al cried.
"I'm going to tear you apart!" Ed threatened towards Mustang.
"No, I won't let you!" Al objected.
"Ed, stop it!" I ordered, but Ed took a whole new path to try and get his brother to let go.
"This bastard just killed Ross!" Ed said, not taking his eyes off the Colonel.
"What?" Al asked. "He did?" Mustang turned and started to walk away as Al looked down and gasped. "How could you do that, Colonel?" Mustang stopped walking.
"Maria Ross was a fugitive. Our orders were shoot to kill. So I did."
"That's all you have to say?"
"About Hughes' death," Mustang said (A/N author's note, for those of you who don't know. I had so much trouble understanding this line). "I'm sorry for hiding it. But you do not argue against orders." Mustang turned his head back to us. "Or ask for explanations. Just follow them. That's what it means to be a soldier." Mustang continued walking away.
We sat down against the wall of the alley silently. Ed looked too infuriated and distressed to make conversation with, and Al was on the other side of him. I sat there, trying to get the smell of burned flesh out of my nose until the military arrived and started taking pictures of Maria Ross' body.
"Colonel Mustang!" a high ranking officer of some sort called. "You will explain to me what happened here at once."
"The message went out that if she resisted we were permitted to shoot to kill. She resisted." Mustang's voice had no tone, not even a hint of guilt or grief. His face was impassive. "So I killed her."
"I understand the Brigadier General was a friend," the officer said.
"Yeah," Mustang replied. "He was a good man."
"Perhaps, then, it was one of your men who aided Lieutenant Ross' escape."
"One of my men? But why?" I don't like the way he's speaking, I thought. It just doesn't seem right. If he's a colonel, then he should have at least guessed that they would've suspected his men, whoever they are. There's something wrong here...
"Why, colonel?" the officer asked as the charred body was lifted. The disgusting smell still lingered and I rubbed my nose furiously. "I'll tell you why. So you could burn her to death with your own hand." People moved the body away.
"I think such speculation is best avoided," Mustang said. His eyes moved over the three of us. He caught my eye and I glared at him, but Ed's look was far scarier than I could accomplish. He looked absolutely murderous.
"They're probably taking the... body for an autopsy," Al said, his voice wobbly. "We should probably go and see to make sure it really is..."
"Yeah," I said, standing up. "Let's go then. The smell is making me want to puke, and unless you want to be covered in my last meal, I suggest you move."
Last meal, I thought. Were the other Subjects treated the same as me? Did they get food before they went in? I swallowed and pushed the thought away.
"Are you alright?" Al asked me.
"Oh, yeah, fine," I said, offering a little smile. "Just... thinking about stuff." We followed the military cars and their slow procession (like a funeral, although I'd never been to one) to another building. I lagged behind the brothers as they followed the body in, trying to get as far away from the smell as possible.
We walked through many hallways until we reached the end of one where there was a door. They brought the body in and we sat down outside. Mustang went around the corner, trying to get away from us. Then another guy showed up. He was really freaking tall and had no hair except for one blonde curl and a moustache. There was a bandage wrapped around his head.
"Hello, Elric brothers," the tall man said in a deep, rumbling voice. "I would say it's nice to see you, but it really isn't."
"No, it's alright, Major Armstrong," Ed said in a downcast voice. Those were the first words he'd spoken in a while. "This is Louise, by the way. Louise, this is Major Alex Louis Armstrong."
We share a name, I thought. Well, sort of. "Nice to meet you, Major. I guess..." We shook hands and he loomed over me rather scarily. He had a good three feet on me. There was a long, extremely awkward silence, until the Major spoke.
"I'm truly sorry for not telling you about Brigadier General Hughes' death sooner," he said. Ed's shoulders tensed a bit.
"It's my fault," he said. Armstrong raised his chin in speculation.
"Don't be so hard on yourself. His murder wasn't your doing, Edward." Then the doors opened and a guy in hospital scrubs came out. The smell of medical equipment and dead body mixed together caused me to put my arm over my mouth and nose and step back a ways.
"Is everyone here then?" he asked in a low, drawling voice. He had short black hair, glasses, and a toothpick hanging out of his mouth.
"Doctor Knox," Armstrong said, giving a brief nod. The man had papers and diagrams from the autopsy, but I didn't want to even go near him to get a look. He reeked of... well, everything.
"Her body was almost completely destroyed," Doctor Knox said. "But judging from what little dental work remained, I was able to conclude that this is indeed Maria Ross." Some military personnel were taking notes behind us, but I ignored him. "It's an awful thing you did, turning a beauty like her into a pile of charcoal." Indeed it is, I thought. "You must've held quite a grudge against her, didn't you, colonel." He turned his head to Mustang, who was sitting with his arms crossed. He raised his head and looked up at Doctor Knox. "Is the vengeance as sweet as you imagined it?"
The Colonel didn't say anything. He just huffed indignantly and looked away.
"The famous hero of the Ishvallan war, going this far against a little girl," Knox said, walking away. "It makes me sick."
"No kidding," I muttered. Mustang stood up to leave, but Armstrong spoke before he could walk away.
"Colonel," the Major said. "Please, allow me to apologize for one of my own officer's actions. I could never imagine that Lieutenant Ross would commit such a heinous murder!" The Major's shoulders were shaking, and I found it odd that such a big man could break down so easily. "She was so straightforward, and earnest, compassionate. A truly fine officer!" The Major finally snapped and sat down on a bench, covering his face with one large hand.
"Fatigue seems to be getting the best of you, Major," Mustang said. "Perhaps you should take some leave." The Major looked up, surprised at the Colonel's dismissal. "Back East, where I was. It's a nice place. None of the big city noise, and lots of beautiful women." He kept walking and Ed gritted his teeth and my fists were clenched, whether from fury or the smell, I didn't know. Ed's temper finally broke and he kicked a metal trash bin so hard that it fell over. I let out a small laugh.
"What are you laughing at?" Ed growled. "What the hell could you possibly be laughing at now?"
"I find it funny that you didn't kick me," I said. "Listen, I really hate to say this, but... I'm sorry for being such a b-" I sighed and cut myself off. "I'm sorry for being so rude earlier. But, don't expect it to not happen again. You have the worst habit of pushing my temper beyond breaking point." Ed was silent, still glaring, but he didn't really mean it. I could see confused anger in his eyes. "Come on, guys. Let's go home."
I started walking, and there was a moment where I couldn't hear any footsteps behind me. But the brothers caught up quickly, and we set off towards the hotel. We decided to hold off from telling Winry about the incident until the next day; we were all too tired to have to retell the story.
"Are you staying with us?" Al asked.
I sighed. "There's no point in going back to where I was staying. If I'm not intruding, I'll be sleeping here tonight." I picked up my bag and walked over to one of the couches.
"There is an extra bed," Ed said.
"No thanks. I'd rather it not smell like I do now when I go to sleep in it tomorrow," I said.
"What do you mean, 'smell'?" Ed asked.
"It's a chimera thing," I said, then fell onto the couch and got ready to go to sleep.
Later in the night, I was awoken by a huge pain in my chest. I gasped and fisted my hand in the front of my t-shirt, trying to hold off the pain. It disappeared, and I could feel blood bubbling in my mouth. I coughed and it came out all over my hand.
"Are you alright?" Al asked quietly.
"Fine," I muttered. "Just a... nightmare."
.:~*-*~:.
The next morning, Ed and Al faced a huge challenge: explaining the events to Winry. When they called the girl into out room, I left to have a shower, not wanting to hear the events and be reminded of the smell, which was still clinging to the fabric of my clothes. When I came out of the bathroom, the boys were still explaining things. I stayed at the end of the couch that Ed was lying on as they finished up.
"So, Colonel Mustang, he..." Winry trailed off, her face overrun with grief. "I can't believe he'd do something like that. But at least they... caught the killer."
"Yeah," Ed said distantly, staring up at the ceiling.
"Justice was served," I agreed. "But it didn't have to be like that." No one talked for a minute. Everyone strayed into their own thoughts about the murder, pondering whether it was right or wrong.
"Hey, Louise," Winry said.
"Hm?" I looked up from the ground at her.
"What you said yesterday about the other 'Subjects...' What did you mean?" I could feel my face turn stony as I sank onto the arm of the couch, the tip of Ed's boot digging into my back.
"Can she know?" I asked the Elrics quietly.
"Yeah," Ed said. "She should."
"Do you want us to tell it for you?" Al offered.
"No, I'll do this on my own."
"If it's really serious, you don't have to tell me," Winry said.
"It's fine. I need to practice telling it anyway." I took in a deep breath and looked at Winry. "I'll start by saying I'm different. Different, as in inhumanly different. When I was a baby, I was sent to Laboratory Five, along with eleven other infants."
"I thought Lab Five had shut down."
"It hadn't," I corrected. "At least, not until the building crumbled to the ground." I heard Ed and Al shift in their seats, but I ignored it. "When I was very little, two or three, maybe, they turned me into a chimera. A part human, part animal. I was fused with a hawk. The others were fused with other animals. We grew up together, each of us making up a huge family.
"From the day we were turned into chimeras, we were experimented on. Horrible stuff. They made us run until we dropped, there was a lot of surgery, and... and the drills." I shuddered involuntarily. "There was a routine for a good fourteen years of our life, until we moved to Lab Four.
"The scientists became desperate and started taking us away, one by one, until it was only me left. Every time one of the other Subjects was taken away, we could hear them screaming like bloody murder. When it came down to me, I was ready to look death in the face. But I didn't die. I became one third hawk, one third human, and one third wolf.
"Then, the scientists sent me out to find and... kill-" Winry sucked in a breath- "the Fullmetal Alchemist. But I didn't." I swallowed something unpleasant that had arisen when I recalled everything and hung my head slightly. "I'm not Louise. I'm Subject Twelve."
And there was a knock on the door.
"Yeah, who is it?" Ed asked, and got up and pulled open the door. "What do you-" I saw a large fist poised to strike and Ed raised his automail arm to block. I could see Major Armstrong in the doorway as Ed dropped and slid across the floor. "Major! What the hell did you do that for?"
"You listen to me, Edward Elric," the Major rumbled, looming over Ed on the floor. The alchemist squeaked. The Major reached down and picked Ed up by the automail arm and lifted him a few feet off the ground. "Hm, this is no good, no good at all! Your automail seems to be broken!" He flexed the metal appendage a few times.
"Um, okay," Ed said meekly, his voice really high.
"Yes, this is a serious situation indeed! We'll have to repair it at once." The Major turned away and a sparkle appeared next to his head. A sparkle. "There is no time to waste! Allow me to escort you to Resembool for repairs?"
"Eh, Major?" Ed shrunk back a little. "What's up?"
"What was that?" Winry asked, peeking out the door along with me and Al.
"You're going back home to Resembool?" Al questioned.
"I-I have no idea what he's talking about, Al!"
"And you, Alphonse Elric." Another sparkle appeared, and I blanched. He walked up to Alphonse, practically standing nose to nose. "You would stand out to much, so you will remain here in Central."
"Okay," Al said. The Major grabbed Ed by the back of his jacket and dragged him across the floor.
"Right! We need to make arrangements for transportation right away! Come along, Edward!" Ed let out a terrified scream that sounded almost comical as the Major yanked him down the hall, towing him along like a suitcase. Winry and Al stammered stupidly as I walked back into the room.
"Looks like it's time to put my tracking skills to the test," I said, grinning.
"Wait! Where are you going?" Winry asked.
"I'm going after Ed," I said, like it was totally obvious (which it was). "They'll be heading down to the train station, right?"
"Uh, yeah, but how are you going to catch up to them?" Winry sputtered.
"I did say I was part hawk." My wings sprouted from my back, right through the slits I'd cut in my clothing especially for them. Winry gawked at me. "I'll make sure to bring that idiot back safely."
"But I thought you hated him!" Al said.
"Do you want your brother back or not?" I asked, and Al didn't answer. "I'll be back in... whenever." I took off out the window and into the night, speeding towards the train station.
"Wait, Louise!" Al called. "Your bag!" I was too far away to turn around and get it without missing the Major and Ed. It had everything I owned in it.
Aw, shit.
Yeah, so Louise basically retold her story to Winry... aw snap. Sorry if these few chapters are boring for you guys, but they're of plot importance. I hate copying stuff from episodes. And that line with Mustang that I couldn't get... WTF was he saying? It sounded like "Thou chooses death" or "How chooses death." I had to replay it like 8 times before I got it!
Side note about this chapter: it's longer than usual. My usual chapters average at about 3,200 words (no, I didn't do the math, I'm just guessing) but this one is 4,329 and about an extra thousand for this author's note (DANG they are long this time, but I have a lot to say). :D It's a new record for the longest chapter!
So, ladies and gentlemen (are there any male readers? I'd like to know), I leave you to go eat dinner (which smells really good, by the way). My stomach has been rumbling rather loudly as I write this author's note. I smell garlic.
Do you see it? Yeah, you do. You know you do. You see that review button. Yeah. It's not just a review button. It's a review button that has your crush's face on it. And makes a puppy dog face that you know you can't resist. Click it. CLICK IT, DARN YOU!
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