Chapter Twenty-Eight: No Rest for the Weary
"Twenty-seven?" Kat repeated. "Surely you have another name."
"If I did, I don't remember," he shrugged. "I only remember waking up with this body, and these tatoos on my skin."
"Well that's depressing," Elly muttered. "It's one thing to live with horrible memories, but it's something else entirely to not have them at all. One more question...why do you want to exterminate us?"
"Well you see, ever since I was little I've always been in love with electricity," he began.
"I thought you said you didn't remember who you were," Elly pointed out.
There was a long pause. "Ever since I can remember I've always been..."
"Okay this guy is a fruit cake," Elly muttered in exasperation.
"Mr. Twenty-seven, I believe my partner asked why you wish to eliminate us," Kat asked in an overly pleasant manner.
"I dunno... cuz I was told to I guess? And it sounded like fun so why not? As far as I can remember, I've never fought another alchemist before, so I don't know what their expression would be like..." then his expression twisted into a smirk. "As I electrocuted them to death."
"Great, we've got another psycho path on our hands," Elly groaned getting back on her feet. "What do you say we end this quickly so we can get home."
"It might be for the better," Kat agreed. The two of them took their stances and braced themselves for a real fight...again.
Elly used the ground, made into sand, to create a kind of cloud cover as Kat created a spiked pillar of ice to shoot at Twenty-seven...or at least where he was. He had managed to make his way behind them despite the cover and watched their effort with amusement.
"If you only aim at where I was you'll never catch me," he laughed. "You have to try to get me at where I will be."
"Geeze he's fast...and it looks like he can see through that," Elly muttered. "Should we fight without any little tricks this time?"
"A direct assault appears necessary," Kat told her.
"Right then...cover me and I'll finish this in no time," Elly declared pulling out her wind weapon. Without waiting for an answer she rushed forward with weapon in hand and slashed at 27 again and again. She got closer and closer to him, but every time she missed he got her with a shot of slime.
Kat did her best to keep the slime off of Elly but her water would just roll right off of it without doing any damage. "Oh dear, it would seem this substance is purely non-polar," she sighed after Elly got hit for the fifth time.
"In English please!" Elly shouted at her.
"Meaning it will not dissolve in water," Kat informed.
"Well that would have been good to know awhile back," Elly muttered as she tried to fling the slime off of her.
"Don't get too distracted girlie," 27 laughed pointing at the ground in front of her. "Check that out."
Elly glanced down and saw that a small stream of slime went from her feet across the ground and connected to his. "Just great...this just isn't my day," Elly thought as she once again was electrocuted before falling to the ground. "I knew I should have stayed in bed this morning."
"You see...as long as I'm connected to my victim, I can send several thousand volts through their bodies," 27 bragged. "Plus there's nothing that can get through my gel...at least nothing you can throw out."
"Hmm, that is a nifty ability," Kat complimented.
"Stop admiring him! Anyway, why aren't you covered in slime?" Elly demanded.
"Simple, I don't charge in," Kat said pushing up her glasses.
"Really? Well we'll just have to fix that. Catch!" 27 said before tightening the slime connection into a rope and using it to fling Elly into Kat.
"And here I was trying to avoid messing up another uniform," Kat sighed after shoving Elly off of her, now covered in the sticky substance.
"Well now I think we're even," Elly muttered trying to get back on her feet. "So how about a double wammy?"
Kat agreed to try it, and the two got onto either side of him and attacked at the same time. He dodge both attacks before using his alchemy to call some of the sticky substance on their bodies to himself. Then he once more gave a hard jerk and pulled them into a collision course.
"Well that was a big fat chunk of failure," Elly panted starting to get out of breath.
"Indeed," Kat winced as she touched the newly formed bruise on her cheek.
"You guys are starting to bore me," 27 said clapping his hands together. "So why don't we rev it up some?" And the room was filled with sparks as he began once more shooting out his electricity.
For the next ten or so minutes, Elly and Kat went back and forth between trying to attack him and trying not to get hit. Though they wouldn't admit it, they were both secretly hoping that Central reinforcements would be arriving soon. Elly would throw her weapons at 27 but they'd just get stuck in the slime, lose their momentum, and sink to the ground. Basically the same thing would happen with her sand, and Kat's water couldn't freeze it nor could she boil it or use it for anything else...except a shield.
"Time for you girls to know the real meaning of electrifying," 27 said with a cackle as he ready the finishing blow. "See ya in the after life!"
Elly and Kat both braced for the shock, only to have it swayed by a loud explosion and a load of dust rising up and billowing around them. "Uh...Kat what just happened?" Elly asked opening her closed eyes.
"I think help just arrived," Kat answered in relief.
"Whoo...that was pretty scary there," 27 exclaimed rubbing his head. "What could blow my gel away so easily?"
"Give up now, criminal, "a gruff voice stated as the crunching of boots on rubble reached their ears. "You're dealing with the Iron Blood Alchemist now."
"Oh... I don't enjoy exploding weapons so much," 27 said backing away with a grin. "I guess I'll take my leave."
"I think not," the officer said before attacking the man with his alchemy. But the criminal was fast and within the span of a few seconds he had eluded the alchemist's attack and was gone. "Curses, he escaped." Then he glanced over and saw the two girls lying on the floor looking worse for wear. "Lt. Ice Cold... I never thought I'd see the day that you would be bested by anyone."
"My apologies, General Grantz," Kat said ruefully.
"This guy's a General?" Elly asked looking up at the guy. "And an alchemist to boot...well it's nice to meet ya."
"I had heard that you had acquired a partner, Ice Cold, but I never expected her to be so different from yourself," Grantz stated in his deep voice. "I laughed very hard when I heard she was an Ishbalan...pretty ironic if you think about it."
"This guy laughed?" Elly thought trying to picture it. The image she got made her shiver a bit and she shook her head to get rid of it. "Hey Kat...is he being serious, or was that just something he said to mess with us?"
"In any case, I was on my way to Central Headquarters when my men and I saw the disruption," Grantz continued as several soldiers began approaching them. "I see we arrived without a moment to spare."
"Indeed, sir. I'm sorry to say that he was too much for the both of us," Kat admitted. "And though my medical skills are rusty, I believe that his attacks have affected our central nervous systems."
"If that means that I'M HAVING TROUBLE'S MOVING MY LIMBS, then yeah," Elly grumbled.
"You two will need to receive medical attention immediately," Grantz decided before turning to the soldiers. "Get Ice Cold and her partner to the Infirmary in Central headquarters. Be sure to also inform Major Hughes of this incident."
"Yes sir," the soldiers saluted before one of them disappeared. The others did their best to help Kat and Elly to their feet. Elly they actually had to carry as her legs wouldn't move at all.
As they helped Kat to the car, Kat said, "General Grantz, I'd like to request a small favor."
Grantz turned to Kat and waited for her request in silence.
Afterwards Kat and Elly were loaded into cars and driven back to Central headquarters where they were placed in the infirmary where after their treatment, her brother burst in.
"Oh my poor sister, I'm so sorry...it was because of my request that you were in that place at such an inconvenient time," Hughes exclaimed as tears ran down his cheeks.
"Well at least he acknowledges it," Elly muttered from her bed.
Just then General Grantz walked in and stepped over to where Kat was resting. "Here is the item you asked for," he said before handing her a cute doll.
"Uh...." Both Elly and Hughes sweat dropped.
"Before we were taken away I had asked General Grantz to grab this for me," Kat explained with a smile.
FLASHBACK
A short man stood behind the counter of the small toy shop watching as the burly form of General Grantz roamed around his aisles. He was extremely surprised when the man actually approached the register and placed something in front of him.
"I would like to purchase this doll," Grantz said to the shop owner.
"Uh...of course sir," the shop owner replied once he got over his shock. "Uh...that'll be 100 cenz."
Grantz pulled out a bill and handed it to him. "Keep the change," he told him before grabbing the doll and walking out the door.
END FLASHBACK
"Pfh....a-are you serious? You actually....went and...bought a...doll?" Elly asked trying really hard to hold in her mirth.
"Is there something you find amusing about that?" Grantz asked glaring her direction.
The laughter died almost instantly. "Eh... not really."
"Hahaha, don't let General Grantz intimidate you," Kat told Elly with a chuckle. "He may look terrifying but he's a good man."
"Your tongue is as sharp as ever, Ice Cold," Grantz noted.
"I mean the utmost respect, General," Kat replied.
"Well...at any rate...thanks for saving our butts back there," Elly spoke up with a grin. "Sorry we couldn't do as much damage to him as we'd have liked but...when everything you do is useless...there's only so much you can do."
"You two did well in preventing him from causing as much trouble as he might have otherwise," Grantz told them. "Just be sure to rest up and get well soon."
"You have my many thanks, General Grantz," Hughes said with a salute to the general.
"Of course, Major Hughes," Grantz nodded. "It would be a great loss for the military if Lt. Ice Cold died."
After Grantz had gone, Hughes told the girls he would be busy for most of the day and they should spend the day recovering. He even agreed with the nurse when she suggested they stay overnight just to be sure there was no lasting damage from the unusual attacks they suffered. After wishing them both a swift recovery and promising to come visit as often as he could he left them. Immediately upon his leaving, Kat called in and requested several books from the library which were delivered within minutes. She immediately began pouring through them, skimming over the less important parts while Elly watched her curiously.
"Uh...can I ask what it is you're looking for?" Elly asked curiously.
"That man we fought wasn't human," Kat said not looking up from her reading. "I don't know who he's working for, but he's the byproduct of something highly illegal."
"Illegal...you mean like a chimera? Is that even possible?" Elly asked somewhat repulsed. "I thought the only chimeras they were able to make were still only animals mixed together."
"As far as I'm concerned, anything is possible," Kat said gravely. "And I want to be prepared if we ever face him again."
"It sounds like you're planning on facing him again," Elly pointed out. "What, are you planning on going after him like that Danzo guy?"
"I said 'if', Elly, you should listen once in a while," Kat said lazily. "I have no intention of pursuing him unless he gives me reason to."
"We should probably use this time to recover more than looking up ways to take him on again," Elly continued. "I mean after all....hey I can finally wiggle my toes again."
"It's called planning ahead, you should try it some time," Kat told her with a smile.
"Hey I plan ahead, just not as in depth as you do," Elly retorted. "My planning usually consists of finding out what the opponents abilities are and then working on techniques to beat him."
"I already have that much figured out," Kat sighed turning a page.
"Okay, care to enlighten me, Miss Chilly Academic?" (1) Elly inquired with a bite of sarcasm.
"I've figured out a possible way to counter 27's excretion, possibly making it so that we won't even be touched by it. Without a connection, he can't electrify us as easily."
"Heh, I get it," Elly smirked. "So we use this, chemical as a kind of gel resistant suit?"
"Precisely," Kat confirmed shutting her book and moving onto the next one. "Right now, I'm more curious about where our friend came from and what he is."
"Well...let's wait until we can talk to either your brother or the Colonel in private, then maybe we'll be able to come up with something," Elly suggested. "Until then let's get some sleep...after all we were rudely interrupted this morning." After that, Elly dozed off to sleep for a while as Kat continued her reading.
A couple hours later..............
"Lieutenant Ice Cold!" a voice shouted as Major Armstrong burst into the two girls' room. Elly sat bolt upright as he did so as if someone had just fired a gun. "I just heard about your harrowing fight. I'm very sorry I wasn't there to help you out. Allow me to show just how sorry I am by helping you heal through the power of my magnificent muscles!" He ripped open his shirt and Elly excalimed in surprise before falling off her bed.
"Miss Elly, you must stay in bed if you ever hope to recover," Armstrong said striding over to her and easily lifting her up before plopping her back onto her bed. "I was until you showed up," Elly muttered, disgruntled. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Major," Kat told him with an amused smile. "But you needn't feel remorseful for our loss. We were unprepared, such is life."
"Nonsense, I could have helped you out as well, since I was out for a morning run before work," Armstrong cut in. "It is my duty to protect those around me after all."
sorry that one was so short...i needed a little time to cool off. I had three conversations going on at once and was trying to keep up with them all
"Perhaps next time," Kat told him comfortingly.
"Next time? There shouldn't BE a next time," Elly muttered. "The one time I actually wanted to get some rest…"
"Isn't karma a wonderful thing?" Kat remarked.
"I don't believe in karma," Elly muttered. "It's never done anything for me."
"Is there some way that I might make it up to the two of you?" Armstrong requested.
"Uh...let me..." Elly started but Kat cut her off.
"Of course Major, we'd be delighted if you came to visit more often. After all, Elly is a fan of yours, it'll help her heal so much quicker."
"Kat, I'm going to kill you," Elly whispered darkly.
"I am honored to be held in such high regards by a fine young women such as yourself, Miss Elly!" Armstrong exclaimed tears of joy streaming down his face as he began flexing his muscles with newfound zeal. "Don't be shy now! You may feel them if you like!"
"Major, just..." Elly started but Armstrong wasn't listening.
"I'll be sure to drop by every few hours then," Armstrong exclaimed heading for the door still shirtless. "Have a good day ladies." And with that he left.
"I'm never going to get any good rest with you, your brother, and the Major around," Elly groaned.
"I can't imagine why," Kat said slyly as she turned a page in the book she was reading.
"I blame you for this," Elly muttered before turning over and resting back down.
After that, Elly fell asleep, and after a few more hours of reading and a visit or two from her brother, Kat fell asleep as well.
Much earlier............. (2)
Maes Hughes stood staring at the phone, debating on whether or not he should make the call. He knew that Roy would be angry once he told him the news, but then again he would be angry anyway when the girls ended up not returning to Eastern on time. "Hmm...I really should give him a call," Hughes murmured to himself. "But I know he's not going to be happy." He sighed heavily before picking up the phone. "Oh well, might as well get it over with."
RING RING! RING RING!
"Colonel Roy Mustang," Roy answered.
"Colonel Mustang, Major Hughes is on the line for you," the receptionist told him.
What could it possibly be THIS time? Roy wondered. "Put him through."
"Hello, Roy. How are things going over in Eastern?" Hughes asked excitedly. "Oh, did I tell you what my daughter did this morning? She..."
"Hughes, don't tell me you called just to talk about your family again," Roy muttered.
"Well, yes and no," Hughes admitted. "You see, I'm afraid my sister and Elly won't be able to return this week."
"And why is that?" Roy asked testily.
"Well, you see.... they might have gotten themselves in a scrape," Hughes said reluctantly.
"Again!?" Roy demanded and Hughes had to hold the phone away from his ear.
"But this time it wasn't their fault," Hughes told him quickly. "You see I sent them on an errand and this crazed freakazoid just so happen to be in the same area."
"So what, those two can handle any old freak off the streets," Roy replied.
"True, but this wasn't just any old freak," Hughes explained. "He was a trained alchemist who could use a strange substance the stick to anything...and I mean anything."
"Has he at least been apprehended?" Roy asked frustratedly.
"We're... working on it," Hughes said. "But no worries, Kat and Elly were thankfully picked up by General Grantz and are now resting safely in the hospital."
"They're in the hospital?" Roy demanded getting to his feet. "Hughes, I'll be over there by this evening. Don't let those two go anywhere."
Hughes winced as he heard Roy hang up the phone. "I had a feeling this might happen," Hughes sighed as he set the phone down on the receiver. As he did so, a smile spread across his face. "Oh well, I'll just ask Gracia to set an extra place at the dinner table."
"Lt. Hughes, please wake up!"
Kat's eyes were open in an instant to see a soldier standing over her bed, one she did not recognize. "What is it?" she asked, sitting up in her bed.
"Forgive me for interrupting your sleep ma'am, but I thought you should know, that strange alchemist you were fighting earlier, there were reports that he was spotted near the Hughes residence."
Kat's eyes darkened. "Has anyone been sent to take care of it?"
"Well...General Grantz was supposed to be alerted right away as was Major Hughes, but the General is in a very important meeting right now and cannot be disturbed while Major Hughes is at home with his family," the soldier explained. "We tried to call his house but the phone was busy and there are no other soldiers on duty that are not busy with other matters."
"I see," Kat said before tossing off her bed covers and walking out the room "Thank you for informing me."
The soldier watched her go before walking over to Elly's bed where she was still fast asleep and kicked her out of bed. "Oi, wake up, you're partner just left to go fight that crazy alchemist guy."
"What?!" Elly exclaimed landing hard on the floor. "Who are you?"
"Does it really matter? You should hurry and catch up. After all, that guy was a pretty tough customer. And who do you think will get blamed if Central's favorite weapon got scratched?"
"Geeze between her and her brother it's a wonder how I get any sleep at all," Elly muttered pulling herself up to her feet. "Why is she taking off on her own anyway?"
"Because he's been sighted near the Hughes home," the soldier answered. "I tried to stop her from going alone but you know Lt. Ice Cold can be."
"Yeah I do, all too well," Elly muttered. Then she jumped out the window to head Kat off.
The moment she disappeared, the soldier's face turning into a triumphant smile. "Humans are so easy to manipulate, especially when their loved ones are involved," he chuckled mirthlessly. "I leave the rest to you, 27. Finish off the annoying pest."
CM: (1) The 'Chilly Academic' is actually Vexen (from KHCOM) alternate title in the Organization 13.
(2) Maes actually called Roy right after his first visit to see Kat and Elly but we wanted breaks in between their POV's so that's how we worked it. Sorry if there was any confusion ^_^'
Next time.... they say if you you fail to succeed, try again. But what happens if you fail a second time? Stay tuned!
