"…it's over for me, isn't it?" Nerissa asked tiredly as she stared at the ceiling above her hospital bed and scared the hell out of Serena who had been listening to the doctor for the past half hour.
"You are awake?" the other blonde asked as she slowly turned around. "But yes, it doesn't look well for you this time. What the hell were you thinking, anyway? You freaked Vicky out this morning…"
"I also freaked out quite a few workers who found me lying in my own blood," Nerissa remarked drily. "Damn, this was not part of my plan. I knew that I might get hurt this time but … fuck, I didn't want to end up permanently paralysed because of that bastard…"
"So the injury isn't worth it this time?" Serena inquired as she sat down on the bed. "That doesn't surprise me at all … because no matter how dangerous this guy is, he isn't worth that you can't walk."
"Victoria is going to murder him when she finds him," the older woman smirked. "He is going after Nick next … and from what I saw of Victoria in the last few years, she won't like that – at all."
"Victoria grew too fast into the leader she was meant to be," Serena muttered. "I pray that there won't be another repetition of what happened so many years ago, Nerissa, because that might be our end."
"You can never grow too fast into what you were meant to be from the first second of your life," her sister replied in disagreement. "Your worries won't become reality. I did not fight since I can remember against the ties of fate to let this lowly bastard come and mess everything up. You of all people should know what kind of woman I still am – legs or not."
"You won't be able to fight the way you used to with this injury," the younger sister said calmly as she walked over to the window. "You will probably find a way to compensate for this as well but you really should consider taking a role where the danger of another injury is not existent. We cannot afford to lose you, Nerissa, and you should try to think about that the next thing you get in trouble."
"I am just like you, Serena," the master alchemist replied smoothly. "We accept Victoria as our superior and at the same time, we are dedicated to her in same way we all were dedicated to Lynn."
"Devotion…" the Mermaid Alchemist chuckled. "I am really a fool for making the same mistake twice, Nerissa. Blind devotion nearly got me killed once and now I am just as loyal to Victoria as I used to be to Lynn. I will never learn that the devoted ones are usually the firsts to fall…"
"But the traitorous ones will fall even earlier that the loyal ones," Nerissa snapped. "I am sick of hearing all these excuses, Serena. I do not care about playing nice and fair any longer. He is going to mess with my nephew and my nieces next – and I will be damned if I allow this."
None of them heard the light footsteps on the floor as a red-haired teenager returned into the room where everyone else was waiting. Victoria's fists were shaking and her purple eyes held thunderstorms of wrath but since everyone was too worried about Nerissa, no one noticed the murderous aura that radiated from her. She had been trying to keep it in but after overhearing that Nick and Laila were in danger now, she knew that she couldn't take it any longer. She was going to strike before anything would happen to her beloved siblings.
"…Serena is coming back," Roy stated as his cousin-in-law entered the room and it was the expression on Serena's face that told them the truth. Victoria sat down while her fists tightened to uphold the mask. Nick punched the wall in a sudden and strangely silent outburst. Laila collapsed onto the next chair. Berthold shook his head in disbelief. Catherina cried openly. Peter looked like he would break down a few walls later on. Luis was downright confused.
"This … this cannot be the end," Riza whispered. "That person might think that we are finished now that Nessa is down … that we are done and that it is over because he won his battle but…"
"Oh well, he can think that we are finished but as long as we are strong, we aren't through with this yet," Roy grinned. "So, guys, let's stop this for a second and ask ourselves: what would Nessa do now?"
"She would beat up that lowly bastard," Elicia shrugged. "Nessa never gave up the fight."
"Yeah," Cai nodded. "She would always stand up for what is right."
"Exactly," Riza said. "And now it's our turn to give something back to her. Whoever caused Nessa to get injured like this – he is going down. Right now, the only thing that keeps me from taking out my old rifle is that I know that Nessa inflicted some damage as well. Right now, we have to unite to fight. Up to now, the battle was terribly one-sided but we are going to turn the tables."
"We have hardly any time left," Berthold stated calmly. "But one thing is sure: the guy is going down."
"Yeah," Nick said in agreement as he looked up from the ground. "I can already feel the flames. I think that it's time to man up and prove the world that we were made off stronger stuff than that."
"Oh, please be silent," Victoria moaned as she held her head. "This is my war … and Nessa wasn't the first victim. I am going to take care of this soon enough because I won't tolerate being pushed around a second longer. I will be a force no one can ignore, an army for justice – and Nerissa. Yeah, justice…"
"Victoria, you are going down an incredibly dangerous path there," Berthold warned.
"This was a declaration of war, well, they will get the war they asked for – but they will get it strongly Victoria-flavoured. I am taking the next train to wherever they are hiding. They will get what they deserve." She grabbed her coat and walked to the door. "Oh, whoever wants to join me is invited."
Without a word, Riza, Berthold, Nick and Laila got up and followed her out of the room.
"Aren't you going to join them as well, Roy?" Serena snapped at him.
"No," he replied calmly. "I think that I am needed here. Nerissa has a few extremely hard weeks ahead of her, you have a wedding to plan and everyone else needs me as well. And I trust them to do nothing extraordinarily foolish. They are old enough to decide what's good for them."
"They know nothing about the things ahead of them!" the blonde screeched. "They don't know these people the way Nerissa and I know them! They are blind to the cruelness these people posses!"
"But aren't you underestimating them a little bit?" Elicia asked as she crossed her arms just like Nerissa often did. "All of them proved before that they are reliable and strong persons. I don't think that they will mess it all up now. They came too far to ruin it now. I say that they will come home in one piece after putting those people back into their rightful places. I believe in them because honestly, there isn't anything else we can do now. And as long as we have faith, everything will be fine."
"Well said, Elicia Hughes," her father said upon entering the room. "Hope never dies."
"Thank you, dad," she grinned as she sat down again. "But hoping isn't enough for me right now."
"Oh well, before I forget about it … Nerissa wanted to see you as soon as possible," Serena said in her usual serious voice. "And I need to get back to work now. I can't be seen slacking off."
"Alright," Elicia said as she got up. "I will see what she wants now … she should worry about herself instead of me right now…"
"Nessa was never known as someone who worries about herself when she was injured," Roy shrugged as he leaned against a wall. "I guess that she wants to see this just like any other injury she suffered in the past and I think that we should accept this wish because she did quite a lot for us along the years."
"…finally," Nerissa said as Elicia entered the room. "Serena probably nearly forgot that I wanted to see you before these drugs knock me out. Little advice from an older woman: never fall onto your back in a way that leaves you permanently paralysed, Elicia. It isn't worth the flowers."
"Your humour is appreciated yet I wonder why you wanted to see me of all people," the girl replied.
"You and I share a goal and since I am incapacitated right now, I fear you have to take care of this for me," Nerissa said as she looked at her in a serious way. "Elicia, grab Min Li, Owen and Cai and go after the others. This will be madness if you do not help them. There will be people who die just because of my current situation and as long as I can do something, I will keep fighting for their lives."
"I cannot go after them, Nerissa!" the girl protested. "I am hardly fit for a battle of alchemists."
"Riza used to say the same thing eighteen years ago and in the end, she stayed out of the main battle. The result was that Serena nearly lost her life. The time of hesitation is over, Elicia. Your father and his cousin were no alchemists as well … and yet they fought alongside my sisters and got hurt along with them. And because all of them fought until they could barely stand, Serena is still alive today," Nerissa said seriously. "You can be more than you think right now, Elicia. You can be taller and better than anyone who claims that you have to be an alchemist to defeat one."
"Why do you trust me with such a task? Why not Serena or Uncle Roy?"
"Roy and Serena aren't ready for this yet. Roy still blames himself for missing out the first battle of this kind while Serena is still in therapy to get over being nearly killed," Nerissa said as she held out her knives. "I forged them myself," she explained the fact that they were a little bit too perfect. "Originally, I wanted to give them my daughter or my son … but I have no children and right now, you need them more than I do, Elicia. You can take them."
"I will borrow them," Elicia stated calmly. "You get them back once you can walk again."
Falkenburg. A castle threw looming shadows onto the city. For the five people who were heading towards this castle, the whole atmosphere was bone-chilling and they stopped for a moment to look at each other but their resolve was still firm.
"Intimidating, I know," Riza said as she forced herself to smile.
"No," Laila replied as she stubbornly stared at the castle. "My guess would be pathetic."
"To hide behind thick walls is no sign of strength," Nick agreed. "It's a sign of complete and utter weakness … so we don't have to be afraid of this."
"Yeah," Victoria said as she paled slightly. "Well, let's shake them up a little bit."
"That's a word," Berthold said patiently as he crossed his arms. "Let's go."
They made their way down the street and reached the castle with the sunset.
"So, there we are," Laila sighed. "Are you ready?"
Despite looking peaceful, all of them were armed. Berthold wore gloves just like his former apprentice and son-in-law while Riza had more guns and bullets hidden on her person than on the Promised Day. Nick's gloves had a different style for his flame alchemy had been translated by Victoria who had made slightly different arrays while Laila's golden gloves gleamed in the red sunlight. Victoria was on the warpath. Her wrath knew no limits and to calm her anger, someone had to bleed. From the outside, she was perfectly styled as usual with her tight black dress that showed off her curves and the purple coat while her hands were covered with silver gloves as her braid fell over her left shoulder.
Riza exhaled deeply before she opened the huge door with the key she still possessed.
"Are you ready?" Berthold asked carefully.
"We have to be," Laila replied as she stepped into the hall. "What kind of horror movie is this?"
"The entrance hall," her mother stated drily.
"I wouldn't have guessed," Nick said darkly as he looked around with a grim expression.
"So, where are the elders?" Victoria asked.
"Good question," Berthold said. "But I have no clue where they are hiding this time … still, we should find them quickly because I sure as hell don't trust this silence."
"So you noticed it as well," Laila muttered as a shiver ran down her spine.
"Of course I did," he said calmly. "This castle always had this atmosphere when I came to visit."
"Teams of two?" Riza suggested. "It's a building so no one should get lost…"
"Yes," her father nodded. "Laila and Victoria go together and you go with Nick, Riza. I go alone."
"Do you think that this would be a good idea?" Laila asked.
"Yes," he said. "I can take care of myself."
Victoria was tempted to say that this should be normal for a man of his age but stayed silent. "Alright," she said. "Laila, let's go."
"The most capable of this youngest generation…" Berthold smiled as he looked at his nieces' children. "That's great for me to see and I am happy that I returned to see this sight…"
"I am still not happy about this," his daughter replied. "No matter how talented they are, this is extremely dangerous as you know as well…"
"It isn't the first time this happens after all," he nodded.
Her shoulders tensed. "I don't want to be helpless again," she whispered. "I cannot take it all over again … I would rather die than watch again how everything goes down the drain."
"I know," he sighed as he patted her shoulder. "Now go and help Nick, will you? I am fine on my own."
She bit her lip. "Just … just don't die," she muttered.
"I wouldn't even dare to dream of it," he said seriously before he disappeared into the shadows.
She shook her head before she looked at her son. "Let's go," she said before they walked down another dark hallway. Not again, she vowed as memories flashed through her mind. Serena on the ground, beaten and bloodied with her limbs stretched into inhuman angles … Martin, a few metres further to the right with a broken legs and unconscious … Maes, desperate to do something but nothing was working … Charles, lying on the floor like so many others but he was on the stairs with blood all over him … Kay, unable to fight a second longer because her body was shattered … Lynn, crying. It had been one of the few occasions the silver-haired sister had shed tears. And as Riza walked down the hallway, Serena's face was replaced with Laila's as Nick took Martin's place.
"-om, MOM!" Nick hissed. "You don't look well…"
"Not again…" she whispered. "Never again…"
"You look pale, mom," he said. "And what do you mean? What happened before, in this castle?"
She inhaled deeply before she spoke. "I nearly lost all of them," she muttered. "Lynn and I … we couldn't do anything but scream … they got hurt and we couldn't help them at all. It was a disaster … Serena might have died … I don't want to think about what might have happened. It was hell to me."
"How could you survive?" he asked. "If it was so bad, how did you make it out alive?"
"When everything seemed utterly lost and Serena was closer to death than to life, Lynn kind of snapped and somehow, she managed to defeat all of her opponents … and my dad involved himself because after he had lost Nessa, he couldn't stand to lose another family member," she said as she shuddered as they passed the stairs Charles had tripped down back then. "This saved us in the end … that Lynn lost her cool and that my father was there when we needed him the most."
"You don't like being here, right?"
"To be honest, I hate being here more than anything else."
"…perhaps we should separate," Laila suggested with a smile. "We would cover more ground this way, wouldn't you agree, Victoria?"
"I am not sure if I would be fine on my own," Victoria muttered as embarrassment coloured her cheeks deep crimson and she looked down.
"Tori, you are strong and if you believe in yourself, you will be far stronger than anyone in your way someday. C'mon, Tori, live a little, will you?"
"Alright," the red-haired girl sighed. "I will take this way, Laila."
"See you later," her older sister said as she took the stairs that led upwards.
Laila did never worry about Victoria and Nick because she simply knew that they would always be alright and therefore, there was no real reason for to worry about them in her eyes. Well, she had thought the same thing about Nerissa who had fallen harder than anyone had ever imagined. The idea that Nerissa would get seriously hurt had been a bad joke to most people up to now. Still, Laila did never worry about her siblings because it just wasn't her style – and it wasn't like Victoria and Nick to get hurt. Usually, they avoided injuries far better than normal people and therefore her steps where light and bouncy as she hurried down the hallway. If she had known, she would have turned around but she hadn't known and so she hadn't even looked back at Victoria who was entering the cellar.
It had always been fine after all and why should their luck run out today? She had never heard something this ridiculous before.
"No matter what's going on, I am in," Min Li said once Elicia appeared in front of her door. "This is probably about Tori's crazy trip to her family's castle. Cai mentioned something like this."
"You … knew that I'd come for you to help me with this?" Elicia asked with a frown.
"Darling, I am the only one who can actually find them – well, my parents could do it as well but they are still needed in the hospital," the older girl said as she stepped back. "Come in, the others are already here. Oh, and ignore the guy who is stalking me right now. I don't get him to stop it."
"I am merely fulfilling my duty, Min," the smooth voice of the black-haired teenager behind her said as he ran a hand through his black hair. "And since we have already established that a little bit of stalking is what you deserve right now, you don't even have to glare on me."
She grabbed his shoulder and smashed him against a wall. "And you should know by now that you cannot order me around, Jing," she said with a wide smirk. "Anyway, if we want to be in Falkenburg in time, we should get Elric to drive us. He could make himself a little bit useful as well, huh?"
"Great idea," Cai smiled as he crossed his arms. "But do me a favour, Min Li, stop flirting with Jing, will you? This is starting to freak me out a tiny little bit."
"I am not flirting!" she hissed back at him as she opened a drawer and took out kunai. "Well, even if I am going to hurt myself, this mission requires full equipment."
"…chimeras?" Victoria asked. "Who the hell would keep chimeras in the cellar?"
"You have an eternity ahead of you to muse about this, little girl," the hollow voice replied, "because there is no way in hell that you could defeat all of them, is there?"
"Let me think about it…" she crossed her arms. "After you guys permanently disabled my aunt and dared to think about putting your filthy hands onto my siblings … do you really think that anything could stop me right now? I am going to defeat these chimeras and afterwards, it's your turn."
"You are alone, armed only with a pair of gloves and there are fifty chimeras. I believe that the outcome of this battle is already obvious: you will lose, little girl."
"But I never cared about my odds and frequently proved them wrong," she replied as she looked around for something she could use as a weapon. "Well, let the games begin, I'd say…"
"Any last words to your family who will be severely decimated once the week is over?"
"Nah, I'm going to tell them myself what they need to know," she said. "But I do have a message for your boss: Leave my family alone, you fucking idiot, or there will be hell to pay."
"Judging your language, I'd say that you spend a little bit too much time around Serena…"
"I believe that I have every right to curse like that when someone dares to mess with my family."
"If you say so, little girl…"
"It's still Master Victoria to you and those who are like you," she spat. "And now, leave me and the chimeras alone, you bastard. I am going to have a bloody little battle against them."
"Of course, your Highness," the man smirked. "Oh, and if I was you, I wouldn't even think about using those swords on the wall. They are pretty heavy and seeing that you made yourself a name with your swimming and athletic skills, you would probably hurt yourself worse than any of your opponents…"
"That's mine to judge," she replied as she moved smoothly into her fighting stance. "See you later."
"Why don't you end your own suffering?" a voice in Nerissa's head whispered sweetly. "You cannot even walk anymore – how are you going to fight for the ones you love? You became worthless…"
"I am not worthless," she replied as she tried to fight the temptation.
"Of course you are worthless," the voice said. "You tried to be the hero by attracting the attention and you succeeded, it was you who fell and not Victoria who was supposed to. I have to admit that you fulfilled your duty as a protector of the family. But now, you are a broken tool. No, you aren't even this. That Lan Fan-girl used to be a broken deal but she could be repaired. For you, there isn't such hope."
"Victoria is going to make everything alright again. I just need to believe in her. This is everything I can do right now … and usually, it is a good idea to place your hope into her instead of other people."
"And you really believe that she will turn around and carry you through this? Her shoulders are already burdened … and no responsible head of your family would abandon her duty just to carry someone like you through the long years ahead … no, if this girl is just half as smart as most people give her credit for, she will learn to forget about you. Soon enough, you will just a faint memory to her … and everyone else. Why do you want them to remember you? You became weak. You used to be on par with Jade Mustang. Now, she surpasses you by far. Do you want to live with this shame?"
"Shut up!" the blonde ordered. "You know nothing about me or Victoria. She said that she would never leave anyone behind. She isn't like you. She is strong enough for me to be another burden to her."
"She is going to have more than enough trouble with your little sister…" the voice taunted. "You know that Serena is far more valuable right now because unlike you, she isn't paralysed. She is strong while you are weak. It would make more sense for Victoria to take care of Serena, wouldn't it?"
"You cannot compare the worth of two lives with each other, you fool!"
"You don't want to face the facts again, Nerissa," the voice said with more anger than before as a face formed into Nerissa's mind. It was the face of her mother, just as always. "You didn't want to accept that you are the only failure in your whole family. You didn't want to accept that your father never loved you the way he adored Kay and Lynn. You didn't want to see that everyone is more perfect than you."
"I told you to shut up!" Nerissa hissed.
"Oh dear, this is all happening in your head," the voice taunted. "Yes, my darling, you are just as crazy as you were before. It was too cute of you to try to be normal. You were always weird … and when you want me to shut up, well, you will have to kill yourself for I won't shut up a second earlier."
The next thing Nerissa knew was that she was grabbing the only knife she still had.
Sometimes, the man known as Scar hated his life and everything else. Miles was his friend, had been his friend for a long time. But lately, Scar was mad at his friend all the time because after the fiasco with Olivier, the man with the spiky ponytail had gone and gotten himself a new woman. This new woman was technically his old one but who cared about details like this?
The new/old woman was beautiful but that didn't mean much to the former serial killer. He also didn't care about the fact that she was half-Amestrian and looked just like every other Amestrian woman: tall, blue eyes and blond hair. He didn't care because her other half was Cretan and along the years, Creta had suffered under Amestris' iron fist nearly as much as Ishbal. She was smart and witty – and one hell of a fighter.
Usually, Scar had never paid much attention to whatever Miles was doing because usually, Miles knew what he was doing and so it was rare for him to need help with anything. But one day, the blond woman had arrived and she had messed up his world. He hated the way she shamelessly kissed Miles whenever she saw him somewhere in Ishbal because he always wanted to have a little bit of her attention as well but since Nerissa was pretty much unique, it was pointless to search for a woman just like her.
But for there had never been a chance for him to steal her away, he had played along all the time and acted like he wasn't bothered by the way they sometimes talked cute (even though it was slightly ridiculous seeing that both of them were warriors). A part of him had urged him to confess but there was no point in confessing when the woman was this smitten with his best friend – and it wasn't right in Scar's eyes to confess to his best friend's girlfriend, no matter how beautiful she was and no matter how much better he would treat her.
But he was always painfully reminded of the time he wasted by loving a woman he could never have because in Miles' office were so many pictures of Nerissa, hugging Miles and messing up his hair – not that the lucky bastard would mind. Scar sometimes wondered if his friend knew about the feelings he had for Nerissa and if he just ignored it because this would be his way to handle things like this. Still, Scar couldn't imagine if Miles would ignore things like this. It was obvious how much he loved the woman and it hurt Scar to know that she loved Miles as well and that she would never see him, no matter how funny he was or how cool he looked.
But now, things were messed up because Nerissa was in hospital and Miles was positively panicking because he had heard from Serena that Nerissa would never be able to walk again according to the doctors. And so they sat in the waiting room with the Xingese woman who kept more weapons in her bag and her clothes than a normal Xingese warrior.
"You never met, right?" Miles said in a desperate attempt to start a conversation. "This is Jun Li Wei-Yao from Xing where she used to work for the emperor. This is my friend … Scar."
The woman raised her gaze and studied him for a moment. "Lady Chang knows him, I gather," she stated in a strangely emotionless voice. "Nice to meet you, Mr Scar."
"Max," the Nerissa-lookalike of a younger sister ordered as she looked at the young doctor. "Tell me the truth. There was no stab or something like that. She fell straight onto her back. The spinal cord cannot be damaged. What the hell is going on?"
"You waited for Victoria to leave the town before you asked this? Bad girl," the man smirked as he lowered his folder. "Yeah, you are right. The spinal cord wasn't cut through. It was pressed together – which had the same effect. I called my father and according to him, therapy might do the trick and give her back her legs. Still, we aren't sure yet and don't want her to have any hopes we would crush later on."
A nurse stormed into the room and froze as she saw the fragile blonde on the chair. "Miss Hawkeye, your sister tried to take her own life," she choked out as Serena got up smoothly.
"It was reckless of you to let her keep a knife," the head of secret said in a voice that was too sharp to be truly hers. "Miles, Jun Li, I need you both in this. Max, make sure that word doesn't get out yet. I deal with this my own way."
Scar followed them to the room where another nurse was currently bandaging the bleeding wrists while a knife was on the floor, bloodied and yet beautiful.
"Suicide was never a solution, Nerissa," Serena said gently as she cupped her sister's face with her hands. "You don't have to worry, I promise. Vicky will make it all alright."
Laila glared at the other lightening alchemist she was currently facing. It was a good match, maybe a little bit too good because none of them could land a single blow on the other one and so it became more and more likely that the fight would be decided by who had more stamina because every kind of energy alchemy had the disadvantage of taking more power from the user than other kinds – and just healing alchemy took a higher toll from the alchemists who had chosen this path. Still, there were lucky ones like Victoria who had been born under a good star and who had arrays that reduced the loss of energy which gave them a higher tolerance towards all the transmutations they did.
"Judging your exhaustion, it is obvious that I won," her opponent panted as he struggled to stand.
"I am not sure about that – you look pretty exhausted as well," she replied and was proud that she managed to keep her voice even. "And I told you before: I won't back down. We came here to avenge Nerissa because one of your comrades was the one who put her into the situation that led to her injury … and now, we won't allow you to hurt another person we care for. Nerissa wouldn't back down either, just by the way … and we are just like her … made of stronger steel than anything the world has seen before and willed to win no matter how much it hurts."
"I recognise your mother in you, Laila Hawkeye," the man replied. "Kay hated Nerissa, didn't you know? I wonder how your mother would feel if she knew that you are ruining yourself to help a woman she hated with every fibre of her being."
"Lies," the blonde hissed. "Don't act like you knew my mother because you sure as hell have no clue of her. My mother was a proud woman yet her heart was kind, kinder than yours or mine. She would have avenged her sister's injury – and since she can't do it for obvious reasons, it's my job."
"Such a proud little girl … it's truly an honour to fight you."
"It's one-sided, believe me," she spat as she returned into her fighting stance. "And just like any other person I know, I won't let you weirdoes put a single finger onto my siblings. Hurt Nick or Victoria – and you will die slowly and painfully. Harm Helena or Rachel – and I will be the last thing you will ever see … because to protect my family and my siblings … that's my pride as a Hawkeye."
"And to overcome yours is my pride," he replied. "This isn't a battle of wills any longer, little girl. This is a battle of pride and families now … and I won't allow yours to beat mine."
"Too bad that I cannot allow you to beat me for the same reasons," she shrugged. "You were the ones who declared the war and now, we are giving you the war you were asking for … only to our own conditions and therefore strongly Victoria-flavoured. Be prepared to lose this damned fight!"
The attack she used to prove her point was one of the most powerful techniques lightening alchemy had ever produced and the soldiers who had served in Ishbal along with Kay had called tenderly the Lightening Goddess' Fist … and just like once Kay, Laila had mastered it on the level of perfection.
"You should have known," she said as she stepped over the unconscious man. "Never mess with a Hawkeye-woman. Pain is the only result."
"…I hope that you had no special emotional ties to Helena's daughter, Berthold," the cold and cruel voice of Maxime Hawkeye VII. said as the man leaned against a wall and smirked as sadistically as usual. "We had a few chimeras take care of her … she should be nothing but a few bones by now."
"I will mourn her once it is time – not one day earlier," Berthold replied darkly as he tugged on the ropes around his wrists. "And what about this? is it really necessary to tie me up? I'm an old man…"
"An old man who was capable of defeating Nerissa before her tragic accident that left her paralysed," Maxime chuckled. "No, Berthold, we learned our lesson: Ardelia's children are always a threat and to tie you up is the only thing that guarantees us that you leave us alive."
"I highly doubt that you really learned your lesson, Maxime," the flame alchemist said with an annoyed frown on his forehead. "The whole chimeras-in-the-cellar-thing is something you tried before … and Lynn walked out half an hour later with her hair in a mess and her hands bloodied while all the chimeras were defeated. That was nothing a shower couldn't fix. How can you believe that Victoria will die?"
"We doubled the amount of chimeras," his opponent smirked. "Fifty chimeras instead of twenty-five, I told you that we learned from our earlier mistakes…"
Berthold fell silent for a moment. "What about the other children?" he asked.
"Laila is currently battling one of my supporters and is probably losing," the madman said. "And Nick, well, I don't know. He went another way than the one he should have taken and now I cannot tell you where he currently is. And for your daughter … we merely locked her up and hope that she would interfere with anything because I would hate to murder her as well … such a pretty woman…"
Riza glared at the door and hoped that the metal would give in. She had fired a few rounds at the frame in hope that whoever had prepared this room for her had forgotten to strengthen this as well but it had been pointless. Now she sat on the floor and thought about other ways to get out of this because she had better things to do than to wait that someone would let her out. She had children to find and to protect and she would sure as hell not fail them like she had failed Lynn and Kay along with their husbands. This time, she would be there to save the day – well, as soon as she was out of the room.
"Kay would laugh at me," she muttered as she wrapped her arms around her legs. "She always said that I would regret the day I gave up on alchemy – I just never thought that it would be this early!" She threw the door another glare. "Well, what would Charles do if he was in my place? He would probably kick it down but his physical strength always was superior to mine…"
Martin would somehow find a way to open the door without physical strength and use his mind but he had always been better in such things than she was and so there was no hope that she could pull a Martin and open the door only by manipulating the lock or something like that. Lynn would use alchemy to open the damned door and Kay would do the same – just like most other people she knew.
"Alright…" she muttered as she stared at the door. "There is no other way, I guess. I can't give up now. I have to break the promise I made … and hell, I won't even regret it this time." She took a sharp knife from her boots and cut herself into the thumb before she used the blood to draw an array onto the metal door. "Not bad," she sighed as she rested her fingertips onto the cold metal. "Time to strike back, guys," she smiled before the array glowed and a door inside the door opened to let her out.
And as she ran down the hallway, she swore that somewhere above her Kay and Lynn were laughing.
There were three sets of footsteps which obviously belonged to adults and at least four sets of footsteps which belonged to children on the hallway as Nerissa awoke from her short slumber. She sat up as far as she could and grabbed the last knife she still had before she waited.
"Keep the knife to yourself, Nessa," Jade said as she slipped into the room. "We have a plan and need you for this. We don't like the situation – at all. We are sending reinforcements now."
"I expected someone else to have this idea, Mustang," Nerissa replied as she raised her left eyebrow.
"He said that he would stay out of this for it doesn't concern him," Jane Stevens said as she stood next to the door like the guardian she happened to be. "Well, this is the official version of course."
"Unlike the others, I won't watch how history repeats itself," Jade said as her eyes burned with the flames many had only known as stifled after Lynn's death. Nerissa who had seen the woman she had defeated as an equal once wondered briefly if she would be able to beat this Jade again but since her body was destroyed, it was not more than a brief thought, an idea.
"We have a plan but we need you since you are the only one who could stop him," Serena said softly as the pain in her eyes reached the level it had only once before after her pointless attempt on Human Transmutation. "You were gifted, Nessa, and it's time that you show the world what you are made off."
"I can't even walk," the older woman said bitterly. "And Lawrence just ruined my attempt to take my own life. Even Max wouldn't allow me to leave this hospital now, Rena. I am nothing but a failure."
"We weren't going to ask anyone," her sister replied as she held out her wrists where the tattoo was missing. "I am taking your place. We were told hundred times or more that we look like one and the same. It's time that we benefit from this, huh? And I am not as valuable in this fight as you."
"You are breaking the law if you do this," Nerissa tried to protest but there was the wheelchair and Serena was taking off her coat to reveal a pyjama just like the one Nerissa was currently wearing.
"Nessa," Jade said as she helped the older woman into the wheelchair. "In case you forgot, we are the law and therefore we cannot break it."
"The chancellor said that we aren't supposed to interfere," Stevens said calmly. "But I won't watch how a few mad scientists ruin the only chance of peace inside the country. I have been forced to watch for too long. I cannot do this anymore. If I watch now, I can quit the secret service and live a happy and peaceful yet incredibly disappointing life on the countryside."
"Who is in this plan besides you?" Nerissa asked as Serena took her place by wrapping bandages around her wrists. "This isn't just you, is it? You usually don't operate with a few careful chosen helpers, Mustang. Steven's lover won't leave her alone in any case and Havoc is surely in as well."
"Timms was actually a pretty good sniper back in his army days," Stevens said without any remarks towards the lover-comment for she was used to them by now. "To leave him out of this would be pretty dumb and therefore nothing we would do. We come from the Western Area after all."
"Mommy?" Jade's daughter Mia asked shyly as she appeared in the doorway. "Laura says that the doctors are moving again and Lars gave the sign that you should disappear really, really fast now."
"Thanks, darling," Jade smiled before she kissed her daughter's forehead. "You stay here with the other children until Claudio comes to pick you up, alright? And don't get in trouble – that's my job."
"Be careful this time, Jade," Serena said and looked at the blanket above her legs. "This time, Lynn won't be there to patch you up again, remember? This time, it would mean your end."
"To be careful would mean to hold back, right?" Jade said as she turned around and wheeled Nerissa to the door. "I never hold back. Whenever I do something, I give two hundred percent."
"That's the way it is supposed to be, huh?" Stevens muttered as she turned around to look at Serena while giving her a thumbs-up. "I keep an eye on the boss," she promised because she knew of the promise between Lynn and Serena so many years ago. "You don't have to worry, Miss Hawkeye."
"Thank you for understanding the situation," the blond woman said softly as the children entered.
"Don't worry, Rena," Nerissa said as she looked over her shoulder. "I will be back before anyone will notice that you took my place. It's a promise and I always keep my promises, right?"
Laura Armstrong-Llewellyn watched the way the blond woman on the bed folded her hands over her stomach before she smiled up at the ceiling. "Soar and fly, Nessa," she said despite her sister's current inability to walk. "You were meant for bigger things than a wheelchair. Prove me right, I beg you."
Lars, Laura's older brother, smiled cheerfully at her with two missing front teeth. "Mom says that you are made of stronger stuff than most people," he said.