Now far ahead the road has gone,

And I must follow if I can.

Chapter 14

The Paths We Walk Are Freakishly Long

I didn't go back to the house in the forest. Instead, I followed the river down stream as I ran through h the possible people that could maybe help me.

But every time I thought of someone—Envy, Mr. and Mrs. Curtis, Paninya—my gut screamed 'NO!' and I was forced to keep moving without any idea of where I was headed. Did I have a purpose, now? I thought back to burning down the Headquarters building—since there was gasoline involved, they wouldn't suspect Mustang—and scared myself be feeling a strange sort of self-satisfaction. I was finally able to do something by myself. Oh dear.

That thing just so happened to be killing people. Envy would be proud.

But with fire?

Damn.

I made a promise to myself to buy myself another lighter or two, next time I pass a town. Then cringed at the thought of being comfortable with burning people alive.

Okay, maybe not burning people specifically, but maybe just fire in particular? I pretty much just labelled myself a pyromaniac (which was weird because I wasn't one in my previous life, though I held no discomfort around the element) but was indifferent to the idea that I'd kill people.

Maybe I could burn something down and everyone would be grateful? …Burn what, though? Certainly not a prison—there was more chance of the convicts escaping than dying. If I were to create the perfect trap…

Lab 5.

I needed more gasoline.

I turned and hefted myself out of the water, edges of my pants dripping wet. I was lucky I didn't have to wear shoes.

The first town I found was small. I still couldn't read Amestrian, so I couldn't figure out the name, but it didn't look at all like it was important; it was just kind of there, almost as if it was in the way.

I found my way to a general store, where (after pick-pocketing a few people) I bought a few white candles, a lot of gasoline, and three lighters.

I seriously had no other goal in life than to burn down old labs that were being used to create Chimeras. Wow.

I asked one of the locals which way Central was, and headed off, not really sure if Lab 5 got destroyed or not but just hoping to burn something. Old habits die hard, though, and I end up writing a little riddle and wrapping it around a candle, intending for it to remain untouched by fire.

Once in Central, the changes were quickly spotted. A good deal of the once-white stone building of the military headquarters had been either burnt or smoked black (I wasn't sure which) and people were rushing around trying to put out the remaining flames. I'd been gone for maybe two hours, but I was surprised at how much damage I actually caused.

I grinned, then looked around for anything that looked prison-like. Lab 5 was next to a prison, right?

Eventually I found buildings with tall chain mail fencing and barbed wire circling the top. On one of the buildings was a sign that claimed I found what I was looking for. Contrary to what I remembered from volume 4 of the series, the building was not entirely destroyed, though there was a bit of a chunk taken out of the center (which was currently in repair). Smirking, I climbed up and over the fence, opening up one of the containers of gas and beginning to pour, surrounding the perimeter of the building. From there I created spokes that went from this perimeter to the building, where I added another circle just to be sure, then I went inside and painted the floors with the smelly liquid.

As I was walking down the halls, a guard (whoa, a guard! Unexpected!) had spotted me—luckily he was human and not armour, and I was able to knock him out and drag him outside, before I finished up creating a trail of gas that connected to both circles I'd drawn, as well as the gas within the building.

This place would burn FAST.

I giggled with an adrenaline rush and lit a candle, glancing around to see if anyone was watching before dropping it and letting loose the heat and flame of what the past half hour had built up to. Fire.

Fire. Fire.

Let it burn.

Touched by fire, it is bright.

Constant use changes height.

Alive at night, out all day,

Use it too much and it'll burn away.

Old habits die hard, like I said. Those words were printed on the piece of paper that happened to be wrapped around the unlit candle in my hand—the candle that I then placed upright (I had to dig a little hole) in the dirt outside the outermost ring of fire.

I stared for only a few moments more before I heard footsteps and alarm bells, particularly from the prison next door, and I hurried off.

Next stop, as I decided in a quick passing moment—was the Fuhrer's house. The military's security sucks, anyways.

Honestly, running into people is more difficult than it seems, especially in a city as large as Central. So the fact that I bumped into Roy so many times, then that weird guy that acted like he recognized me, then Hughes twice—well, it was against a lot of odds. Speeding through the streets at human pace, looking like a street rat, I pretty much avoided any unwanted attention and encounters that I could've gotten myself into trying to find a map of some sort.

Did the Fuhrer even live in Central? I think so. In the anime it was a really big white house. And running through the streets blindly wasn't going to help me find it.

I searched around for where I could get a map (hopefully in the international trading alphabet…) and soon found a big board near some gate or other by the east exit. It pointed out where I was, then the military headquarters, but there was no Fuhrer household. Damn.

I ended up just wandering around the rooftops until I came to a house that had military men guarding the outer gates, and again on either side of the door. I smiled in this discovery and rounded up the gasoline (I'd actually stashed most of the containers because I couldn't lug them around with me) and set to work.

First, I discretely KO'd the guards by the gate, followed quickly by any others I encountered. I soon found out that there was also a patrol guard, and knocked them out as well. I dragged all the men to outside the gate, and hefted some gasoline to begin working.

By the time I was finished with outside, it was much like Lab 5—two circles surrounding the house, and then spokes that connected them. Before entering the building, I checked the windows (applying some of the flammable liquid on the sills as well) and made sure that the Fuhrer's wife was out of the house. I couldn't find the son, but I questioned if he was evil in this or not. In the anime, the poor boy just wanted to help his father. In the manga… He was the first Homunculus. Joy.

Well, I reasoned, he would end up dying in the anime anyways. And then I entered the house to complete my work.

The Fuhrer was in an office on the ground floor, with the door shut and probably locked, and lots of books inside. Therefore, he didn't notice when I took out the maids and butlers (also bringing them outside the perimeter and making sure everyone else was still unconscious) and lit a candle.

I looked around, like I had the time before, but there was one difference. A lady stood at the end of the street, in a long pretty coat. She had a gun pointed right at me and my lit candle. I couldn't clearly see her face, but the way she stood and held her weapon told me exactly who it was. Riza Hawkeye.

Now, my fear of guns had long since worn off, but I still despised them with a passion. Upon seeing this woman, I dropped the candle, allowing the flame to catch onto the gas and send everything to hell.

I was shot three times, running away. I didn't care if someone spotted me, because after the stunt I pulled burning down half the military building, I was kind of doomed. Just as long as I got away and wasn't put into a stone cell underground again, I was satisfied.

However, I didn't have much of a place to head to. And I was stopped before I got too far anyways.

This was how the sequence played out: Hawkeye appears; best shot in all the military. She begins to fire, and I turn tail and head the opposite way at top speed. She follows, but I lose her, turning into an alley to avoid a construction road block ahead. I scale a wall, using a final boost to throw my weight up and onto the flat roof, effectively rolling onto Mustang's shiny, polished black boots.

Wherein he then pointed a gun at my head, and Havoc and Breda tied my hands and feet. I didn't resist; I was kind of in a state of shock and realization. The road block had probably been set up by them, too…

But… "How did you know I was heading for the Fuhrer's house?" I asked with childishly wide eyes, feeling altogether helpless in the situation. Of course, I had the advantageous knowledge that I could break out of the ropes at any given moment, but there were things that (judging by the look on Mustang's face) apparently needed to be cleared up. And I had a nasty bruise where I landed that was taking its sweet time to heal up.

Not to mention the five or so bullet holes in my back.

"You mentioned several times since we met your dislike and avoidance of King Bradley." Roy informed me.

"We took it as a lead," Havoc continued, knawing on an unlit cigarette (the smoke would've given them all away), "and a chance. Looks like it turned out for the better." He and Breda stood up, then pointed their guns at my head as well.

"Damn…" I muttered, regretting my unfortunate love of spilling secrets. I wondered if they were going to throw me in a cell, or if Roy regrets assisting in my capture previously. "So… are you going to toss me underground again? Or are you going to try killing me? Last I checked, that didn't work. The proof happens to be the living, breathing, Homunculus sitting before your very eyes."

And without further ado, no one said anything, giving me some time to hum Kelas, which had been playing about my head for a while, but ironically was used for the FMA movie.

Eventually, Breda broke. "What's that song?"

"Hm? Kelas. A gypsy song, I think." I feigned ignorance of the details; I didn't know much about the song specifically, but I'd watched the movie maybe two times. I pondered idly if the storyline would carry the characters (myself maybe included) to that end, but gave up, recognizing that now that I couldn't die, I had less value of what living was and figured that I had all the time in the world, almost literally.

Even while I sat there humming, no one did anything. I glanced up.

"Uhm… so what exactly happens now? Repeat questions from before. Underground cell or no?"

"You sound like you want to go back to that cell."

"Quite bluntly, hell no. That thing wasted away a good month of my beloved and oh-so-fleeting life (taste some sarcasm, bitches) and I'd rather not have a repeat experience. But honestly, I'd love to know what happens next, seeing as my wonderful psychic skill is suddenly lost after I changed everyone's storylines."

It was fairly confusing to pretty much all of them, but they didn't get much time to muse it over in their heads as another gun click joined us all on that rooftop as the sun went down.

I could see the flames behind me, still. They kept growing.

Riza had caught up, and was right along with everyone else, pointing deadly weapons at my brain and making sure that my back was to the drop below. Now, this intimidation technique would have worked if I was human and could die, but unfortunately all I did was relish the similar light of the fire and the sunset.

"Want to know what happens next?" Hawkeye asked. I guessed it was a question that I wasn't supposed to answer.

Mustang finished off what Hawkeye had begun. "We're going to see how long you last."

And with that, Breda closed his eyes, and they all imbedded led bullets within my skull.

Which healed and fell to the floor.

Then they shot me again.

And again.

And again.

After the fifth time, I blanked out from the pain.

A/N: So, I'm starting to not like where this story is going.

Actually, I love the fact that Kit went crazy-- totally unplanned, but useful in the storyline. But I'm talking about the next chapter, that I might have to completely rewrite... No, wait, ideas are coming... muahahaha!

Okay, let me escape to my imagination. Busy yourselves with more fanfiction... or watch Moulin Rouge.

Reccommended song: The Kinslayer - Nightwish.