Whoa, wait. 20 chapters already? But don't worry, there's still a lot left. This chapter definitely was one of my favorites. There's some humor, sadness and moments that are going to make you go 'Awww'. Even though I dislike the sad ending, I'm sure you'll all enjoy it. Added some EdWin *squees*. By the way, I'm truly terrible at writing fight scenes. Thanks to all my amazing reviewers!
Disclaimer: The only thing I own is the made-up arena challenges. I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or the Hunger Games.
AL P.O.VA small figure crawled out the bush. We all held our weapons ready; Winry with her wrench, me with my hands, and Ed with a knife from his pack. As I saw what it was, I lowered my hands.
"It's Mei's panda," I said in disbelief.
"How did that get here?" Ed asked, tossing his pack aside.
I shrugged. Did Mei smuggle it in?
"So, what are we going to do with it?" Winry asked, lowering her hand to the panda.
Before anyone could stop her, the panda bit her finger. Wincing, she pulled it off.
"Oh, yeah. It does bite. Be careful," I warned her. To the panda, I lowered my hand and said, "Hello, there. Remember me? I know I don't look the same, but I'm still the same person."
She sniffed it and climbed into my hand. "Brother, we have to keep it."
Ed shook his head.
"Come on, Ed. She doesn't eat much! Do it for Mei!" I pleaded.
Winry nodded. He sighed and said, "Just make sure it doesn't bite anyone else. We should feed it."
"And you have to eat, too, Ed," Winry reminded. I smiled.
"Just so you know, if there's milk, I'm not drinking it," Ed grumbled. Winry and I laughed. It was good to have brother back.
"The hell?" Ed yelled.
I ran over. "Brother, what's wrong?"
"The food's gone from my pack."
My heart lurched. "Envy?" I whispered.
"No, we would know. This is too secretive," he replied.
"Ed, Al," we both turned around. "I think I found your 'thief,'" Winry pointed.
It was a small, gray rabbit with the food in its mouth. On its side was a small red symbol- the same one on Colonel's gloves.
"That bastard's trying to mess with me!" Ed yelled. He jumped up and tried to capture the animal. Only, it ran faster than average. For five minutes, we watched Ed chase the rabbit, until it disappeared.
"Never mind that, Ed. Let's get some sleep," Winry suggested. "Is there any mats or sleeping bags in your pack?"
Ed searched through it. "Only two sleeping bags."
Silence. "I'll take one," I volunteered, breaking the silence and trying to get brother and Winry together.
"Guess that leaves you and me, Ed," Winry stated. Ed blushed a bit, but looked away so we couldn't see him. "Sure," he said.
Satisfied with my work, I stepped into my sleeping bag and fell asleep.
(SOMETIME LATER AT ONE OF THE TRIBUTES' CAMPS. AN HOUR, MAYBE? EVERYONE'S ASLEEP, THOUGH.)
ENVY P.O.VI looked down from my perch in a tree onto the camp. The three were all asleep in their sleeping bags, unaware of the danger that was lurking just above them.
Not now, while they're sleeping, I reminded myself. Too boring when they're asleep. No screaming or sense of what's going on. It's no fun.
I spied my target, alone in the sleeping bag, their family right next to them. Tomorrow, I promised myself. Tomorrow will be my chance to strike.
(THE NEXT MORNING)
PRIM P.O.VI woke up, unsure of where I was. Then, I remembered: arena, Hunger Games, fight to the death.
Peeta was also up, because he had last watch. "Morning, Prim. Breakfast?"
"What is there?" I asked.
"Berries, roots that Katniss found last night, and her squirrels. Raw, by the way. Too risky to cook."
I made a face. "No squirrel, please."
Katniss woke up. "Anything happen while I was asleep?"
Peeta and I shook our heads. She looked at the two squirrels she shot yesterday. "They should be cooked, but I have no way of knowing how we could without giving away our position."
"Too bad there's no force field, like in the Quarter Quell," Peeta joked.
Katniss nodded. "Should we risk a fire? The other tributes might see the smoke, though."
"Let's stick with the berries and roots and later cook the squirrels before they spoil," I suggested.
I heard a rustling noise coming from the tree right behind me. I whirled around to find nothing.
"Something wrong, Prim?" Peeta asked.
I shook my head. "It was probably just imagination."
Then, I heard a large crash. All three of us looked at our unexpected visitor.
It was Envy.
Katniss immediately reached for her bow and notched an arrow. "What are you doing here?"
"Just causing mayhem," he said with an evil smirk. Before anyone could react, he raced over to Katniss. She was about to release her arrow when he snapped the bow in half.
Peeta rushed at him, but Envy countered his attack and sent him flying onto the ground.
Envy turned onto me, but before he or I could do anything, a small, surprised scream pierced the air. He smiled. "You got lucky, Primrose," he spat at me before racing off.
Katniss rushed to me. "Prim, are you all right?"
I nodded, scared out of my wits. "I think it's safe to light a fire."
"Why?"
"Because Envy's going to be busy attacking the Amestrians."
ED P.O.VWhen I had woken up that morning, the sky was bright and clear. Al and Winry were still asleep. Another Colonel rabbit was stealing food.
"Bastard," I muttered to myself. I tried getting up to go chase it away, but I noticed that Winry's arms were wrapped around my shoulders. I decided it was all right for the rabbit to take a little bit of food. I settled back into my sleeping bag.
I woke up a while later to Al's surprised cry.
AL P.O.VI was up before brother and Winry, gathering up our supplies in case of emergency. I saw Ed wake up and I kept still. He and Winry were holding each other last night, and I didn't want him to know I knew that. Luckily enough, he went back to sleep. I smiled. What a weird place to show you love someone.
I heard a whimpering sound and turned to my right. The panda was staring at something behind me. I turned around and screamed in surprise.
Two chimeras were right behind me.
ED P.O.VWinry and I woke up instantly. She noticed where her arms were and took them off, blushing.
"Al? What's wrong?" I asked, and then looked. It was two chimeras that looked like a crocodile with a huge horn on their heads and tough gray skin. Both characteristics made them virtually indestructible. Thanks a lot, Mustang.
Trying to pierce its hide would just waste time, so I headed for the places it wasn't protected- his head and his tail.
"Al! Follow my lead!" I called to him. I pressed my palms together and laid them on the ground. The knife in the pack wouldn't be tough enough. Al followed and soon we were both armed.
"We need to distract it so I can get close enough to finish it off," I told Al.
He shook his head. "Brother, you'll get killed!"
"Look, it's either I die or all of us die! I can't risk losing both of you!"
"Just, be careful, Ed," Al told me as he raced toward the first chimera's tail. It made a snarling sound and snapped at him, but Al dodged and kept it busy. I rushed forward, missing its claws and sunk my spear right into its neck. I hated killing it for the sake of entertainment, but I don't think it would have the same compassion for me.
When the first one was dead, we moved onto the next. This one was quicker, but we finally got it.
"Nice job, Al," I said.
"Thanks, brother."
I turned around. "Winry, are you-"
The words caught in my throat. Winry was pulled into a kneeling position, a gleaming knife held to her throat. And the hand that held the knife was who else but Envy.
"Do I have your full attention now? Good, because you should listen. Who knows when I met get bored and 'accidentally' let my hand slip." He demonstrated with his knife- free hand. "Yeah, that would suck. Pretty rough fight, huh? The strange thing is, I had no idea the chimeras were here! Remind me to thank the Flame Colonel for that later. I heard you and came rushing over here. What do I see? The perfect opportunity: to kill your girlfriend when you were trying to protect her. Oh, the irony. Seriously, who knew it would go so well?"
I glared at the 'girlfriend' comment, but didn't go further. He could kill her at any moment. "Too bad we're here to stop you."
Envy laughed. "Too late? Pipsqueak, I defiantly am going to kill someone. Right here, right now, while you watch."
Normally, I would've attempted to kill him, but the situation was too dire.
He released the knife from Winry's throat and dragged her over to where Al and I were. He then walked back to where he first attacked Winry.
I stooped down to her. "Are you okay?"
She nodded. Al looked at me with fear in his eyes. I could tell he had no idea what to do, and I was on the same boat. Running wouldn't have solved anything except delay the inevitable. We just had to hope wherever Envy through his knife wouldn't be fatal to whomever he threw it at.
The silver knife streamed through the air. Before I could react or at least try to protect either of them, it lodged itself in the person next to me.
"No! ALPHONSE!"
Oh no, cliffy! See what I meant about sad endings? Next chapter, you'll see if Al lives or dies. I really don't blame you if you decide to hunt me down and kill me.
