For once, I was right. This chapter has action. Yesss. You will love it and you will return for more...at least that's what I predict. As always, a heaping helping of thanks to corkxrew, YourFavoritePlushie, Assena, ElricKeyblace, TenshiElric, Chibi Hayaku Hashiru, Phantom SunsSong, lost cause, TinkerbelleTB, Dark Reborn, Call-me-Lie-chan, Guardian Angel of Wolves, Marie blaze, Phantom of the Pie, Wandering Hitokiri, Bar-Ohki, Katty and Sodoma for reviewing. And thanks also for being patient. Writer's Block really didn't want me churning this baby out at 2 in the morning...
Oh yes, and the responses?
corkxrew: Be careful with Envy's neck. I still need him.
ElricKey: There's an almost zero percent chance of AlxWin; I just felt like pointing out circumstances.
TenshiElric: If you're still here, I really wish you wouldn't leave! I'm no romance buff anyway, and the EdxWin is going to be even more toned down than I had planned, the way the story's going.
Chibi H H: I know that, and YOU know that, but poor Envy doesn't get it.
Phantom Sun: Yay blonde! There's probably not going to be AlxWin, and DEFINITELY no EdxEnvy. I hope your chemistry homework went well!
lost cause: Actually, there is. I've never personally used any, but I've seen it in stores, and I've heard about other people using it. I figure something like dye remover must be really chemical, which probably means it stinks to high heaven and can knock out the weak-willed. Hopefully Envy will get happy.
Tinkerbelle: Yep, that Envy and his angst. He should probably go ahead and become an emo. Riza's trying her best to lift him out of his funk, though; at least he trusts her with his hair.
Lie-chan: I'm glad you like it!
Guardian Angel: It's because I just like Envy. I make him empathetic. The Winry-sees-shirtless-Ed part was one of the most fun to write.
Bar-Ohki: A brief, but very poignant observation. You hit the nail on the head.
Katty: Oh, snap. Riza and Hohenheim? That scares me. Don't you try to plot-bunny me, whippersnapper!
And now, an extra-long chapter to reward you.
14: The Battle Begins
Friday, May 12th
3:20 PM
"Mother?" Lust ventured, poking her head into the crack into the door.
"Yes, come in, Lust," Dante said, not turning from the window as she motioned Lust in with a hand.
The younger woman stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. "We're ready, Mother," she said. "All the Chosen have mobilized their groups and the extended family. We have a lock on their location. We're ready to move when you give the signal."
Dante nodded at the window. "Good. Give them the go ahead. And have someone prepare the car."
"You're...coming?" Lust said in surprise.
Dante finally turned from the window, a smile on her face, but her amethyst-colored eyes cold. "Why yes, Lust dear. In order to completely squash this juvenile rebellion, I have to be there to lead my family. I must teach my boys the error of their ways."
Lust nodded slowly. "Yes, of course, Mother," she said. She exited the room quietly.
Dante turned back to the window. So all the exiles had banded together. Sloth, Pride, Envy. And they had mobilized at least five other people, including the traitorous Wrath. If they actually believed that they stood a chance, they were sorely mistaken. Dante had thwarted every force that had come against her family for years. A small gathering of untrained civilians had the same chance of winning as an infant lamb in a den of lions. Those fools would soon learn the futility of coming against her.
However, it wasn't all to be a massacre. Dante still knew Pride inside and out, and she knew his reasons for attempting to escape the family. She knew exactly what to do to have him return of his own free will. Her hold over him was stronger than he or anyone thought. As for her delinquent son...she would not even waste energy on him. He had committed an unforgivable betrayal in her eyes, and he would die with the others.
But once the dust had settled, Dante was certain it would be an incentive to all not to foolishly attempt to leave the family. She would finish off three of the deserters as an example. If Pride were anyone but Hohenheim's son, she would eliminate him as well...but revenge would be sweeter against his bastard father when she regained control over him.
An unpleasant smile crossed her face. Today would be a very good day.
4:30 PM
"Are we ready?" Juliet asked.
There were general nods. Juliet turned to her assistant. "Clara, if you would be kind enough..."
"Of course." Clara pulled out a bunch of keys. "Once everyone who's leaving is gone, I'll activate the security system."
"Then let's go," Izumi said firmly.
As the two groups began to say goodbye, Riza approached Juliet. "You're certain that they'll be arriving tonight?" she asked.
Juliet nodded. "I remember how the gang works. It will most definitely be tonight."
"And you and the others will be all right?"
"Better than you'd believe," Juliet said, smiling. She, Winry, Roth, Sig, and Clara were going to stay in the mansion while everyone else drove back to the prison, taking the cellphone that Juliet had said they would be tracking. Therefore, they'd draw the danger away from those not directly involved.
Izumi hugged Roth and Alphonse, and then gave her husband a kiss. "Help hold down the fort, dear," she said.
"I will," Sig said.
"Hey, when you get back, you'll help me dye my hair green, right?" Roth asked Edward.
Edward smiled and ruffled the 11-year-old's already wild hair. "Yeah, sure, if you get the okay from your mom."
Juliet extended a hand to Envy. "I know you'll probably want to pursue your own goals when this is over, so we might not meet again. I wish you the best, Envy."
Envy shook her hand, but didn't say anything. His face seemed a bit resigned.
Riza shook hands with Sig and hugged Winry. "Be safe, okay?"
"Of course, Miss Riza. Just come back?" Winry said hopefully.
"You know I will."
Once the farewells were finished, Riza, Roy, Edward, Alphonse, Envy, Izumi, and Hohenheim stood and faced the others.
"If you can, try to bring my guns back in working order," Juliet said.
"We might end up using them as clubs, but we'll try," Roy said, finishing the last of his coffee.
Edward turned to Alphonse. "Al, you know you should stay here, right?"
"Not a chance, Brother," Alphonse said, smiling at him. "I'm not letting you out of my sight for a second. You aren't going to run off and get yourself killed."
"I'm not that irresponsible," Edward said, frowning.
They waved a final farewell, and Clara led them to the garage. Juliet had already picked out the vehicles they would use--two armor-plated cars with inside access to the trunks, where the multiple guns had been stored. Roy took the wheel in one, with Riza in the passenger seat, and Hohenheim in the back, and Izumi took the wheel in the other, with Alphonse in the passenger seat and Edward and Envy in the back. Clara opened the automatic garage door for them, and they drove out, with Izumi's car in front.
Both cars were filled with silence. In Izumi's, Envy sat and watched his lap. Alphonse and Izumi watched the road, and Edward looked out the window at the house. It had occurred to him several times that this could be the final time he saw Juliet's home.
So this is really it. We're really going to go and fight Dante, Edward thought. Everyone's being pretty optimistic, but do we really have a chance? Dante is ruthless, and so are her "children". We could be driving to our deaths.
Edward was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't realize someone was touching his hair until he felt several sharp tugs. He turned slightly and managed to catch a glimpse of Envy doing something to his hair, before the 20-year-old pushed his head back into the position it had been in.
"Envy?" Edward said in confusion as he tried to catch his brother's reflection in the window.
Envy said nothing but continued whatever he was doing to Edward's hair that required him to pull and tug it in multiple directions. Finally he finished and slapped Edward on the shoulder.
"Okay, what did you--" Edward broke off as he reached behind his head to feel his hair. Instead of the loose ponytail he had thrown his hair into this morning, he found a neat braid. Blinking, he turned to his older brother. "Envy...?"
Envy was looking at him with an uncaring face. He shrugged. "NRA was right. You look better like that."
Edward's cheeks flushed. "Thanks?"
"Yeah," Envy said, looking back down at his lap.
Edward watched him, recognizing a strange air of sadness. Was he, too, thinking morbidly? "Um, hey--"
Envy looked back up. "Yeah? What?"
"Um...don't be negative, okay? We might walk away from this."
Envy smiled a sad smile. "You think so?"
Edward felt alarm. "You don't? Don't tell me you're giving up already! I mean, a defeatist attitude isn't going to do anything but--"
Envy hugged him.
There was a moment's silence as Edward struggled to catch up with his brother's actions. "Hey, what're you doing?" he said into Envy's right shoulder.
"Just shut up, dumbass."
Edward glared. "Don't call me names!" he said, muffledly.
Envy's arms tightened around his brother. "I'm pulling rank. I'm ordering you to shut up and promise me that you'll survive."
"Whah?"
"I mean it." Envy sounded angry now. "If you die on me, I'll kick your ass, got it?"
"Um...yeah...I guess," Edward said, still confused.
Envy still didn't let go, and Edward's back started to hurt from the strain of being pulled halfway across the seat to be hugged.
"Just..." Envy now spoke in a voice that only Edward could hear. "Take care of yourself."
"Envy," Edward answered in a voice that matched Envy's volume, "you sound like you're saying goodbye."
Envy abruptly let go and turned to face the window. Edward stared at the back of his head for a moment, confused and a little scared.
"We'll be there in ten more minutes," Izumi announced.
4:45 PM
Dante was watching the cloudless sky out the window when her cellphone rang. She flipped it open and put it to her ear. "Speak."
"We have confirmation that at least one of them is on the move from the locked location," Greed's voice said.
"To where?" Dante demanded, sitting up.
"From the direction they're headed, it looks like the prison. Think it's a trap?"
Dante sat silently for a moment. Perhaps they actually thought to have a plan. Did the fools imagine they could win? "Have your group and Lust's group change course and go to the prison," she said. "I'll be following. Have the remaining teams continue to the locked location."
"Yes, Mother." Greed hung up, and Dante resumed staring out the window, only this time with a frown on her face. Her driver needed no verbal command and followed two-thirds of the cars as they turned right.
5:01 PM
The two cars pulled up to the area where the prison was at nearly the same time. For what promised to be a very dramatic battle, it was ridiculously sunny. The first car, driven by Riza, pulled off to the cover of a small clump of trees and bushes. Izumi parked her car directly beside, and everyone quietly climbed out.
"It's quiet," Riza said.
"It's empty," Envy replied, crossing his arms. "They're all immersed in tracking us down. The prison was most likely cleared out a couple of days ago, so they could have all hands to come hunt us down."
Edward heaved a sigh. "Like that one time with the Stripes, you mean?" he said.
Envy nodded.
Izumi, Roy, and Hohenheim had already popped the trunk and pulled out the cases in which the guns were stored. There were four cases, each with six guns and a multitude of loaded clips inside. "What's the game plan?" Izumi said, looking from Edward to Envy and back.
"Our best bet is to take strategic cover and wait for them to track the phone here," Edward stated. "It's probably best to have one or two people on the roof, sniping, two or three people waiting outside for an ambush, and everyone else inside with the bulk of the guns."
"We need to get into groups and stay in them," Envy seconded, his gaze still turned towards the prison. "The f...they are obviously well-versed in gunfights and hand-to-hand combat, so everybody needs someone who can have their back at all times."
Edward considered, then turned to Riza. "I think you and me should be the snipers on the roof. Envy, Izumi, and Alphonse can take up a position outside, and Dad and Roy will be the third group inside with the weapons. The third group will have to be responsible for close-range sniping and giving out weapons to the second group when necessary."
Since both he and Envy were the ones with the most knowledge about the situation they were likely to face, no one argued. Riza and Edward took two of the cases, and Roy and Hohenheim took the other two.
"Everybody leave your walkie-talkies on," Edward instructed. "We need to be able to communicate as easily as possible. Focus on putting gang members out of commission as fast as you can. Don't leave your assigned area to assist another group until you're out of people to fight. And don't ever split up for any reason. We've got to stick together or we're all going to die."
They let this sink in. "Is there anything else we should know?" Izumi asked.
"Yeah. Kill the guys with guns first," Envy said, his back still to the group.
"Disable any armed gang members as fast as you can," Edward said. "They'll be the biggest threat. And, when all else fails, play possum. We--they--like to gloat."
Nods went around the group.
"Any questions?" No one had one. Edward took a deep breath. "Then we're ready to go. If I'm right, they should start arriving in around 20 minutes."
"Then let's go," Roy said decisively.
"Stay safe, everyone," Alphonse spoke up, sounding a little nervous.
5:12
"Miss Juliet?" Winry said, a bit nervously, looking through the blinds. "I think they're here." She watched as four large, black vehicles pulled up to the curb in front of the house.
"All right, everyone," Juliet said authoritatively, "you know what to do. Winry, Roth, kitchen. Now."
Winry nodded. Roth, for once subdued, had no problem with taking her hand as they hurried to take cover in the kitchen.
"Are we letting them make the first move?" Clara asked as she cocked a sniper rifle.
Juliet shook her head. "Let's use the element of surprise as well as we can. Mr. Curtis?"
"Yes," the towering man boomed.
"Make use of your strength. You're the bulk of our defense, besides the alarm system," Juliet said with a smile.
Sig nodded. He along with Winry and Roth were the only ones outfitted in bulletproof attire. The only way Sig could be harmed by a bullet was if someone shot him in the face, hands, or the rear.
Juliet wheeled herself to the stairs. Sig made his way past her and down to the front door. Clara stayed upstairs, carefully positioning her sniper rifle to take out the first approaching gang members. Winry and Roth hid out behind the armor-plated door to the enclosed kitchen.
"What if they get in here?" Roth whispered.
"They won't," Winry assured him. But she knew there was a possibility they might. That was why she had her wrench, the nearly full knife block, and several large frying pans within reach. She had also made a makeshift partition that would give her and Roth cover if they had to run and hide behind the counters. She hoped she was ready.
She hoped everyone was ready.
5:34
"I just got word that the unmanned groups are at the locked location," Lust reported. "They're preparing to set the attack."
"Good," Dante said as the parade of cars turned into the prison's area. "I trust we won't need to prepare for ours?"
"No, Mother. We're ready the moment we leave the cars."
"Have Kimbley drive his car through the doors," Dante said. "Everyone else can exit and begin the follow-up attack. Isolate and eliminate anyone who opposes you, but bring Pride to me alive. Understood?"
"Yes, Mother." Lust hung up, and Dante smiled as she watched one of the cars break out of the line and drive towards the prison doors at top speed.
Kimbley had been contemplating all the different ways he could blow the whole prison sky high when he received the call from Lust to bust open the doors with his fender. He sighed in disappointment, but cheered himself with the fact that he could shoot his gas tank after he got his car inside, which would blow up at least the first floor.
He turned his car out of the procession and towards the double doors, pushing the pedal to the floor. The roar of the engine excited him. Killing these rebels and whatever they were calling the civilians would be fun. Sure, he admired them standing up to Dante and everything, but he would enjoy being a part of their destruction.
Destruction. What a fun word!
Kimbley's car was mere seconds from making contact with the doors when a gunshot blasted from nowhere. There was a quiet tink of breaking class, and the car started to swerve crazily. A few gang members took cover behind their open car doors and started shooting up at the top windows and roof. Each of the answering gunshots, however, brought down one of the shooters with ease.
"Get in the building!" Lust yelled from her cover position behind her own car door.
Kimbley had crashed the side of his car into the wall of the building, revealing the bullet hole through the windshield. Nobody bothered to check and see if he had survived. There were more gunshots from the roof, and gang members who had strayed a little too far from their cover to try and shoot the mystery sniper went down quickly.
A few people drove their cars into a semicircle, which ended a few feet from the doors, giving them better cover to get inside. Gang members quickly exited the cars as the windshields were peppered with bullet holes; a few weren't fast enough getting out, however. There was more gunfire back and forth, but it was obvious that the mystery sniper or snipers were a lot better at their jobs and had the element of an ambiguous location on their side.
Dante remained in her car, watching through the window, not moving an inch so as not to draw attention. More of her subjects fell under the gunfire, but the bulk of them were going to make it inside.
Just as the first few gang members got to the door, two blurs leaped from the surrounding bushes and began a much more bruising assault. Izumi delivered hard, powerful blows to her opponents, punching and kicking and tossing people over her shoulder or into the wall. Envy's style was a little less fierce but just as effective. Several quick hits or a couple of well-placed kicks knocked down gang members just as quickly as Izumi's methods.
They were soon surrounded by gang members looking for a fight. Izumi and Envy glanced at each other for a split second before leaping in opposite directions and beginning to pummel the snot out of their opponents. Even attempting to gang up on them didn't work, as Envy was well-versed in unfair fighting, and Izumi was just too tough and too fast.
A couple of guys hung back from the general beatdown area, looking for a chance to throw in a few cheap shots. One man thought he saw an opening when Izumi's back was facing him, and he lunged forward, only to have his legs kicked out from under him. The other man whirled in surprise, fists up, but merely got a glance at the dingy white traction of a blue high top before Alphonse smashed his foot directly into the man's face.
The man who had been knocked down jumped back up. "Why, you little--!"
With no hesitation, Alphonse smacked the man across the face with a heavy tree branch he had found earlier. When the man clutched his face in pain, Alphonse expertly used a high kick to snap the man's head back and send him back to the ground.
Alphonse straightened and sensed a presence behind himself. He whirled, using a crescent kick to hit another man in the side of his face. At exactly the same moment, Izumi's foot came sweeping from the other direction and hit the man at knee-level. The combined kicks sent the man tumbling down easily.
"Thanks, Mom!" Alphonse said.
"Keep that guard up," Izumi sort-of praised, before reaching behind her and, without looking, smashing her fist into the jaw of another gang member who was trying to sneak up on her.
Up on the roof, Riza effortlessly downed a gang member with every shot she took. Edward wasn't as accurate, but he did manage to hit someone the majority of the time. Occasionally they had to duck or move aside to avoid a whizzing bullet, and one had grazed Ed's cheek. He had ignored it and continued to fire, letting a trickle of blood run down his cheek to his chin.
"My clip's almost empty," Riza said.
Edward nodded, ready to cover her area when she changed clips.
"Empty."
"Go." Edward shifted his position just slightly and picked up the rhythm Riza had been using to fire, so those below wouldn't know she had stopped. Riza, meanwhile, removed the empty slip and slid a new one in. She was set back up and firing again in less than six seconds.
"Have you seen Dante yet?" Riza asked.
"No," Edward said as he aimed carefully and hit a woman who, judging by where she was shooting, had been close to finding his position. "She might not have come."
"Okay." Riza fired once and managed to hit two people with the single shot.
"Show-off," Edward commented, firing through a windshield at a gang member still in his car.
Riza smiled briefly.
Roy waited quietly and listened to the cacophony of noise outside for what seemed like hours. He and Hohenheim were both poised with loaded guns, their backs against the walls right next to the doors, waiting to fire if anyone came in.
So far, they hadn't.
"Can you watch the door?" Roy asked.
Hohenheim nodded. "Where are you going?"
"To check and see if we can start sniping yet." Roy quickly stood and swung around to face the window. He peered out of the corner and watched Izumi, Envy, and Alphonse beat people up. He could see others firing towards the roof. If one of them hit his wife, it would be on.
"Well?" Hohenheim asked.
"I think they're handling it."
He finished the last word about one millisecond before the explosion.
I am sooo sorry. I just can't help how much I like cliffhangers.
If it makes you feel any better, the next one, I hope, will be just as long, if not longer. And crammed full of so much action your eyes will pop from their sockets...and hopefully get safely back in.
See you then!