Chapter Twenty-Six
When Al and his captor arrived in Central, Al was immediately taken to an alley not far from the train station, where he was blind folded and then picked up and carried to their destination. Al guessed that the man didn't want Al to know where they were, even if he were to escape. Al didn't exactly know the streets of Central very well, so he really would have been lost had he managed to get away.
When he was finally put back down, it was on, what felt like, a bed, or something similar to one anyway. And then the blindfold was removed and Al was able to see where he was. It was a room. A small room, with nothing more than a bed. The walls were made of cinder blocks, and there weren't any windows. The floor was concrete, and there was a door, which appeared to be made of metal, and it had a small window with metal bars.
Al looks down at his feet when he feels something clamp around his ankle. His captor had placed a chain around his ankle. "There, now you have no way to escape," says the man, in an accomplished tone. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll let my master know that you're here." With that said, he left, locking the door behind him. Al immediately flops over onto his side and buries his face into his pillow.
"Oh, and one more thing," says the man, and when Al looked up he could see the man watching him through the window on the door. "You'll serve your purpose dead or alive, so you might want to keep that in mind." And then he was gone, and Al buries his head into the pillow once more and sobs.
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This is bullshit, was the only thought in Ed's head as he sat on the couch and glared at the closed door. He wasn't a child! He didn't need to stay behind while the grown-ups went out and tried to save his little brother. Ed wanted to break out of the office and go after them, but Falman and Breda were on the other side of the door, so Ed knew that he needed a plan.
Looking around the room, Ed spots the window and immediately walks over to it. He opens it and looks down at the sidewalk below. It was too high for him to try and jump, but if he could transmute a ladder into the wall and climb down, that wouldn't be too bad. Of course, if Breda or Falman came to check on him and saw that he was gone, they would report it to Mustang, and then he'd be screwed, so he needed some sort of decoy or something.
Ed looks around the room again and comes across piles of paperwork that Mustang had sitting on his desk in two piles. One was huge and hadn't been signed yet, and the second pile was much smaller, but the papers were signed. Getting an idea, Ed grabs both stacks and carries them over to the couch were he unceremoniously drops them, before walking over to the desk and grabbing the mug of coffee that was sitting there almost all of the way full.
Ed picks it up and carries it back to the couch where he dumps it all over the papers, before dropping the cup onto the floor and clapping his hands together and placing them over the mess of papers and coffee. The power of the transmutation flowed through his body easily and it wasn't long before he had created a paper-mâché version of himself. Or, at least, a close enough version of himself, that as long as Falman and Breda didn't look too close they probably wouldn't notice.
After arranging the decoy on the couch to look like he was asleep, facing the back of the couch, Ed slips his jacket over it, to cover it up, and then walks over to the window and looks back down at the ground. With a clap of his hands and a little transmuting, Ed ad a ladder constructed on the side of the wall, and afterward it was easy to climb down to the ground. Now he just needed to find his way to Fifth and Ash Wood.
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When Hoenheim had gotten to "his" hideout, he knew that he was right about who had taken Al. He knew that it was "him", probably trying to lure Hoenheim there for something. Revenge? It was possible, although, in Hoenheim's mind, the only one who should be seeking revenge was himself. This man had already taken everything from him once, and now it seemed that he was out to do so again.
Hoenheim couldn't let that happen, but he also knew that going in alone was suicide. He'd told Edward to go to the military and await his call, so he decided to go ahead and make the call. When he called, he was patched through to Colonel Mustang's office.
"Mustang."
"This is Edward's father, Hoenheim. I told him to let you know that I was calling when I found out where my other son, Alphonse was. I believe that he is in a location on Fifth Street and Ash Wood Drive," explains Hoenheim, into the speaker, in the public phone that had been nearby.
"Fifth and Ash Wood?" he asks.
"Yes," says Hoenheim.
"I understand. We're on our way."
"Just one last thing," says Hoenheim, before Mustang could hang up. "Don't bring Edward. This is too dangerous for him."
"Understood. I'll make sure he stays here." And then the line went dead. Now all Hoenheim could do was wait for them to arrive. He didn't have to wait for very long, Mustang had shown up with a man and a woman, both of which who were carrying weapons.
"These two are Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc and Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye," says Roy, motioning to them as he introduces them.
"You can call me Hoenheim."
"So, what are we walking into?" asks Mustang, all business.
"The man who kidnapped my son is a very powerful Alchemist. I'm not sure how much good your guns will do you against this man, to be honest. I'm hoping that I'll be able to talk to him, without violence, but should I not succeed, I needed a back-up plan," explains Hoenheim, apologetically.
"Does this man have a name?" asks Mustang, following Hoenheim down an alley to a door. Hoenheim pauses in front of the door, with his hand on the knob, and seems to think about it.
"When I first met him, he was nothing more than a speck in a flask; 'the dwarf in the flask'. When I left, he was something completely different, but I didn't stick around long enough to find out if he renamed himself," says Hoenheim, before opening the door and peering inside. "It appears that there are chimeras guarding this place, please watch out," he warns, before stepping inside.
Mustang looks back to Havoc and Hawkeye. "You heard the man. Guns at the ready. We have Chimeras to kill." With that said, they follow Hoenheim into the darkness.
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It took Ed about thirty minutes and having to ask three different people for directions, before he got to Fifth and Ash Wood, and when he did, he found an alley. Ed really hated allies nowadays. With some hesitation, Ed began walking down the alley, his right shoulder twinging with every step, and noticed a door that was slightly ajar. Figuring that it couldn't hurt to try, Ed opens the door and steps inside, and then abruptly stops.
It looked like a butcher shop had exploded in the long tunnel, with malformed creatures lying dead on the floor, in pools of blood. Realizing that the creatures were probably placed in the tunnel to protect whatever was at the end of it, Ed decides to take it slow. He also decides to turn his auto mail arm into a blade, just in case one of them isn't dead.
Blade at the ready, Ed begins walking down the tunnel, past various creatures. From what he could tell, it looked as though the man had taken whatever stray he could find on the street and transmuted them with whatever person he found wandering around, probably drunk or homeless. He hoped that none of these creatures were his brother.
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It seemed, to Roy, that the four of them had walked for quite a while before they finally came to the end of the tunnel. Between their guns and their alchemy, the chimeras had been easy enough to pick off. Roy had been surprised by how skillful Hoenheim was with his alchemy. He hadn't even needed a circle! He didn't need to do anything in fact. He just transmuted! He could see why the military had been after him. An alchemist that powerful could be seen as a threat.
When they reached the end of the tunnel, Hoenheim stopped and turned towards them. "I'd like you three to stay here. If it seems like I need help, then you may come out," says Hoenheim, before turning and walking out into the room without letting them say anything.
Roy, Riza, and Havoc watch as Hoenheim approaches a man sitting in a chair in the center of the room. "Welcome, my old friend," says the man, jovially.
"Hello, dwarf in the flask," says Hoenheim, as he walks into the room. "I came to ask you why you took my youngest son away from my home."
"I'm offended. I haven't seen you in over 400 years, and now, you show up to accuse me of kidnapping a child that I didn't even know existed," says the man.
"I find it hard to believe that in all of these years you haven't been keeping tabs on me. That just doesn't seem like your style. In any case, I'm here, so what did you want from me?" asks Hoenheim. Instead of answering, the man grins evilly and suddenly his hand was in Hoenheim's stomach.
"I want what I gave you 400 years ago! I want your stone!" he shouts.
Deciding that Hoenheim's life was now officially in danger Roy moves to save him. Hawkeye and Havoc follow him, and watch as Roy snaps his fingers and the man is suddenly engulfed in flames, forcing him to remove his hand from Hoenheim's gut.
"Are you alright, Hoenheim?" asks Roy, rushing over to Hoenheim, who was standing holding his stomach.
"I'll be fine in just a moment," says Hoenheim, sounding a little out of breath. "I'd be more worried about protecting yourself and your men if I were you."
"What do you mean? I just barbequed that guy," says Roy.
"Not quite," says the man. Roy turns his head towards the man and finds the man standing in the exact same spot looking perfectly normal. "It's going to take a lot more than that to get rid of me!"
End Chapter
A/N: Thanks for reading! I'm sorry I took so long to update! I was lacking motivation, and I didn't really know how I wanted to end this chapter. Looks like this particular battle will last at least another chapter...maybe even two if I time things right...I hope you guys liked it! Please review and let me know! Okay? I seem to be getting less and less reviews lately...Okay, so please review! Sayonara! =]