Chapter twelve
Two large hands came down on either side of Ed. He moved quickly, ducking down and moved away. Taking a step back, he turned to see Mae standing there, still in shock.
"Mae, go get the others!"
"But what about you?" The mountain of a man attacking him, swung a large fist in his direction that he managed to dodge.
"I can handle this, just go!" Without a a second thought, Mae turned and hurried back inside. Once she was gone, he was able to focus on the situation at hand. "So why don't you just to tell me where my brother is?" The thin man standing before him let out a light chuckle.
"Why don't you just come with us and we'll bring you to him." Edward grinned maniacally at the notion.
"If you know anything about me, you know that's not gonna happen."
"Well that's a shame," the other man shook his head before addressing his two men. "Make sure you don't hurt him too badly."
uuuuuuuuuu
Mae hurried through the hallway until she made it back to where Heinkel and Darius were staying. Forcing the door open, she needed a minute to catch her breath.
"Edward's in trouble." As loyal as she thought the two chimeras were to Ed, the reaction wasn't so much concern then annoyance. Heinkel grudgingly got to his feet while Darius grumbled loudly.
"What is it this time? I swear that kid can't stay out of trouble for five minutes." Sluggishly the two of them got over to her, clearly irritated that their quiet stay was being interrupted.
"Come on, let's get this over with."
uuuuuuuuuuu
Edward ran down the main street, dodging people and several vendors in his way. Despite the amount of citizens out right now, it didn't stop the two large men from chasing after him. They moved faster then he expected through the crowd. Thinking quickly, he hurried into a side street. He had to put as much distance between them as possible. If he was going to get caught, he had to wait for Heinkel and Darius to show up so they could follow. As much as he hated the idea of it, he knew that this was probably the only way he was going to find Alphonse and figure out what was going on. Why this guy, from his country of all places wanted Al and him, he had no idea. Just as he thought he'd lost his pursuers, one of them jumped down from a nearby rooftop. The large man blocked the exit. Ed stopped short and turned back the way he came only to find that was blocked as well.
Realizing he was cornered, he did the only thing he could think of. He'd seen Mae do something similar once and hoped it would work for him too. Quickly drawing a circle on the ground, he placed his metal foot in the center of it. The circle started to glow giving Ed some hope that he might actually be able to pull Alkehestry off correctly. Now he just had to bring the ground up from underneath the two men and he could get around them. Just as he thought he had a pretty good grasp on what he was doing, he felt the ground start to move but instead of shooting his attackers up through the air, he was vaulted upward. Luckily he wasn't launched too high however landed hard in an open dumpster nearby. Coughing loudly, he struggled to get out but only managed to fall onto the ground.
"Somehow this is not going very well." Looking up, he noticed the two men in black were still keeping him from getting away.
"[The other one seemed more coordinated,]" the one said to the other.
"[I thought he was suppose to be some kind of threat.]" Ed remained down, rubbing his sore ribs. The other man brought out some rope, prepared to tie him up. "[Hopefully we don't get blamed for his injuries.]" Just as they got closer to him, there was a low growl from behind.
"Leave the shrimp alone. He belongs to us," Darius informed them.
"Why must you always refer to me as being small? And I don't belong to YOU!"
"Quiet, kid! You're really becoming a hand full. How are we suppose to find Alphonse if you keep getting into trouble."
"Can't we discuss this later?" Ed rolled onto his back.
"Fine fine, let's get rid of these two first," Heinkel muttered as he and Darius flexed their muscles, transforming. The two opponents stared in shock at the two chimeras preparing to charge them. Darius leaped through the air while Heinkel pounced from a lower stance. Darius landed hard, slamming his fists down on the one man in black. The Xingese warrior managed to get back up, also swinging his fists. The gorilla dodged the attack and slammed him into the nearby wall. Meanwhile Heinkel tackled his opponent to the ground. Straightening up some, he scratched at the man's chest only to find a solid sheet of armor. Edward weakly got back on his feet, still feeling dizzy.
"Sheesh, they always have to go overboard," he muttered. Mae ran around the corner and stopped when she saw the commotion. Luckily no one else was around to see the two half beasts attack. Frankly all this chaos was not something the citizens of Xing would handle well. Especially since it involved foreigners. Darius was tossed against a wall, getting Mae's attention. She hurried over to try and help but paused when Heinkel was thrown in her direction. Moving quickly, she ducked just as he went flying overhead.
"Ed," Darius managed to grab his opponent from behind. "What are you doing? You need to get out of here!" The blond nodded, realizing he needed to take this chance to get away. Heading further down the side street, he tried to get his barrings together. Somehow he had managed to get in over his head and until he could figure out how to get Alkehestry to work the way he needed it to, he had no idea how he was going to help Alphonse. With his head still hurting, he wondered further away from the fight.
"Did you think you could just walk away?" The voice from behind caught him by surprise as he spun around. Despite how helpless he felt, he glared at the other man from Amestris grinning at him.
"Where is Alphonse? And what do you want with us?"
"Funny you don't seem to be any position to be making any demands." That statement warranted a growl in response. "I saw that pathetic attempt at Alkehestry. You're really out of your league." Edward hated nothing more then to have someone under estimate him. Glancing around, he noted a nearby trash can and a stone on the ground nearby. Picking up the rock at his feet, he quickly scribbled a transmutation circle on the side of the can. Kicking it with his metal foot, it transmuted, warping into a weapon. Grabbing what he thought was going to be a metal staff, he glanced down to see a sword instead. At least he was getting somewhat better.
"Guess this will do, now you were telling me where Al is."
uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
Mae placed her hand in the center of the circle she'd scratched on the wall. Alkehestry bounced around the alley, ceasing any attacks from wither side. The walls started to close in, forcing Heinkel and Darius to get out of the way, as well as the two men in black. Now there was a barrier between them. The two chimeras seemed unhappy that they weren't allowed to finish the fight, however the stern look on Mae's face told them not to question her.
"We need to go find Edward," she informed them. Deciding they didn't want to argue with her, they trudged after the Xingese girl. Turning the nearest corner, Mae stopped short when she noticed the sword laying on the ground. Knowing he couldn't have gotten too far, she turned to the two behind her, concern written all over her face. "Where'd he go?"
Author's Note-So I got a review asking how Ed was using alchemy if this takes place after Brotherhood. I don't know how more obvious I have to make it that he's using Alkehestry.
