Chapter 28 - A Thorny Situation

AJ stood at the edge of a small forest staring up at the skyline. Rolling, grassy fields dotted with the occasional patch of trees stretched out around him. A plume of smoke could be seen in the distance in the direction which he had come from. Apparently the soldiers had reached Resembool. His expression was grim as he watched. Whether the smoke was simply from the explosion at the shop or from the destruction of the entire town, there was no way to know. He could only hope and pray that they'd left the rest of the town standing.

He turned back towards the direction of Easy City and set off around the cluster of trees. He'd made some progress but he was still a few days away from where he needed to be. He'd brought some water and supplies, but he hadn't anticipated such a long venture. He'd have to be quite strict with rationing. Reaching back to the side pocket of his pack, he pulled out his water bottle and took a swallow. Water was what he was most concerned about. He could go without food for a day or two, but hiking all day across country under the hot sun would be a dangerously dehydrating experience if he ran out of water.

He slipped his water bottle back into his pack as he glanced up at the sky. It was drawing near evening. The Aerugan force had likely already moved on from Resembool. With any luck he'd be able to avoid them since he'd stayed clear of any roads. Still, he had to be careful. There was no way to know for sure if any airplanes had accompanied the ground force which had taken the village. If they had, he'd need to be able to take cover somewhere out of sight. Thankfully the landscape in this part of the country was dotted with numerous copses here and there. He could duck into one of those if need be. Although the closer he got to East City the less of them there would be…

Luckily this didn't end up being a concern. At that moment the air not far in the distance blurred oddly. He came to a halt and his eyes widened as two figures shimmered into view. Despite the distance he recognized them instantly. The tall, red haired creature was rather hard to mistake, and the smaller figure with long, dark hair could only be one person.

"Elmina!" He called, feeling some of the tension he'd been carrying inside him ease. He'd been worried ever since she and his sister had left as to whether or not they had arrived safely.

"AJ!" She cried, pulling out of Mania's grasp and sprinting towards him. She reached him moments later and threw her arms around him, almost bowling him over despite her small size.

"Whoa, are you okay?" He asked, returning her hug but somewhat startled by her enthusiastic greeting.

"I'm fine," she assured him, pulling back, "I'm just relieved you're okay. When Adele told me you stayed behind I was worried." AJ stared down at her with slightly raised eyebrows. Her grey eyes were bright but her face was pale and the dark circles betrayed her fatigue. He could sense the anxiety beneath the relief in her expression.

"What happened?" He demanded, a concerned frown creasing his brow. He knew the dark haired girl well enough to tell she had been shaken up by something recently. Elmina swallowed.

"It's complicated. I'll explain it when we get back," she replied, "But we need to pick up your father and Uncle Wrath first." At her words he blinked in surprise, but before he could ask for a clarification she grabbed his wrist and set off back in the direction of the red haired creature.


Adele was sitting next to the bed of her green haired uncle. He was still unconscious; an IV hooked up to his arm. It was hard for the blond girl to wrap her mind around the idea that beneath the crisp white sheets of the hospital bed, Envy was now missing a leg. Her fingers itched to pull back the covers and examine the stump. This sort of injury was one which she could actually speed the healing process of using the medicinal alchemy she had spent so long developing. It would still require some time to fully heal, but at least she'd be able to ease some of the discomfort during that process. And then, once he'd healed enough, she would hopefully be able to help him adjust to the automail which she knew her mother and brother would jump at the chance to build. She sighed, gaze moving to stare out the window at the dull landscape. Unfortunately she couldn't attempt any alchemy until he woke up and she had Elior there to guide her and monitor how things went. She couldn't afford to make any mistakes with this form of alchemy.

The door opened a moment later and Adele glanced over to see Elmina walk in. The blonde felt a wash of relief to see she was followed by AJ, Edward and Wrath. Apparently picking the three men up had gone smoothly. Elmina had only been gone for about twenty minutes. Behind them Mania strolled in, shutting the door behind them. Adele's eyes narrowed slightly at the red haired creature. She recognized the buzzing in her veins to be due to his presence, but it was fainter than it had been before. She suspected that meant the transmutation she had done on him was beginning to wear off already. It would probably wear off completely by tomorrow.

"How is he?" Elmina asked, coming to a stop beside the bed as she stared down at her father. Anxiety was quite plain in her expression, her hands clenched into fists at her side. It was the first time she'd laid eyes on him since they'd arrived with him injured earlier that day.

"No change. He hasn't woken up yet," Adele informed her, watching her dark haired friend sympathetically.

"Elmina tells me they had to remove the leg," Edward spoke up, his expression grave as his gaze rested on his half-brother. Adele nodded.

"It was crushed badly," she replied.

"How did it happen? And what happened when we left you?" Elmina asked, turning to stare at her two uncles.

"Well, we did manage to get the fuel destroyed. Thanks to Mania the guards didn't take much notice of us. Then we hid out in the forest which you found us in. We figured you'd come back for us eventually," Ed replied.

"But how did Dad get hurt?" Elmina pressed.

"One of the planes was in the air when we got there. It crashed nearby and a piece of the wreckage struck him," Wrath replied.

"Oh…" The dark haired girl's voice was quiet. There was silence for several minutes while everyone observed the unconscious man. Then AJ rested a hand on Elmina's shoulder. She glanced up at him uncertainly.

"Don't worry. I'm sure he'll wake up soon. And between me, Adele and Elior, we'll have him back on his feet in no time," he assured her. She managed to pull up a faint smile for him.

"Thanks," she replied gratefully.


The next day…

Roy Mustang stared down at his desk, a frown creasing his brow. The phone was pressed to his ear as he listened to it ring. Finally someone picked up.

"Hello, Gracia? It's Roy," he informed the woman on the other end of the line. "I'm well, thank you. Is Elycia there by any chance?" His tone was a little strained. At the woman's response his frown deepened. "Oh…I see…Well, if you see her please let me know. She never showed up for work," he informed her. He grimaced at the mother's worried response. "Don't worry; I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for it. She might have just overslept. She's been working herself pretty hard lately."

He continued a brief conversation with the woman before he hung up the phone and stared into space for a moment. Where on earth was she? It was past noon and she still hadn't shown up. He'd tried calling her apartment but she hadn't picked up. After asking around, he had discovered the last person to have heard from her was Sheska, who had gone for coffee with her the night before. If she wasn't at home or with her mother, he hadn't the slightest idea where she could be. She had never missed work without notice before. Something wasn't right. He picked up the phone again and punched in a number. The call was answered almost immediately.

"Fury," he greeted the man on the other end of the line, "I need you to do me a favor..."


Warm sunlight shone through the bushes outside the window of the small bedroom, golden dapples of it lighting upon the face of the dark haired girl, who was bundled in the twin-sized bed. Elmina drew in a deep breath, slowly rising to consciousness after a wonderful night of sleep. She was so absurdly comfortable she didn't even want to move. It was so nice to finally feel rested again! Except…she frowned slightly, though she kept her eyes shut. She could feel an odd prickling sensation across her cheeks and forehead. On top of which, her veins were in fact fizzing slightly, which could only mean one thing. Her eyes snapped open and her heart leapt up into her throat in alarm, a gasp escaping her lips.

"Oh good, you're awake," Mania's voice was cheerful. His face was centimeters from hers; his red, slit pupil eyes the only thing she could see given his extremely close proximity. His hands were on either side of her shoulders and the backs of his feet were resting on the footboard, meaning that while he was far too close for comfort, he wasn't technically in physical contact with her anywhere. His marvellous teleportation ability was the only thing that kept him from being clocked in the face by her head as she sat up abruptly.

"What the hell is your problem?" She snapped irritably, scowling at him. He reappeared standing at the foot of her bed, crossing his arms as he grinned down at her.

"Looks like Mouse isn't a morning person," his tone was amused. Her eyes narrowed, finding his cheerfulness to be an extremely abrasive thing to wake up to.

"You're an ass. What were you doing anyway?" She demanded suspiciously. At this point she wasn't even sure why she was surprised at the creature's antics.

"I was bored. It's terribly tedious that you humans require sleep," he replied, his tone rather rueful. She raised an eyebrow.

"Are you saying that you don't?" She asked.

"Nope. I couldn't sleep even if I wanted to," he replied. She let out a sigh of utter resignation and flopped back against the pillows.

"So you woke me up because you were tired of waiting around?" She demanded, staring up at the ceiling.

"I didn't wake you up," his expression was innocent. "You woke up on your own."

"Are you sure it didn't have anything to do with the fact that you were violating my personal bubble to an obnoxious degree?" She grumbled. Mania pursed his lips thoughtfully.

"You know, I've never understood this 'personal bubble' concept you humans have. It's so much more fun to be up close and personal. Especially given the interesting reactions it elicits from people," his tone was dryly amused. Elmina rolled her eyes.

"How did I get stuck with such a creep for a stalker?" she muttered disgustedly. Mania snorted.

"I believe a stalker is creepy by definition. And I'm not your stalker," he retorted.

"Oh yeah? What do you call it?" She demanded, raising her head to stare at him skeptically.

"I prefer to look at it as a 'symbiotic relationship'," he replied, his tone lofty. The dark haired girl's expression grew incredulous.

"How on earth is it 'symbiotic'? I'd say it's parasitical. It's not like I get anything out of it," she pointed out.

"Oh really? And what exactly is standing between you and Despair at the moment?" he raised an eyebrow. She blinked.

"Uh…" She trailed off. Damn…he did have a point there…

"My point exactly," his tone bordered on smug. She let out a soft huff.

"My life used to be normal," she mumbled regretfully.

"Hmm. That must have been terribly dull," he replied. Elmina sat up again, fixing him with a decidedly exasperated look as she slid her legs out of bed. She raised her hand to smother a yawn.

"What time is it?" She asked.

"Just past noon," he replied.

"What?!" She squeaked, "Why did they let me sleep so long?"

"They thought you needed your rest, and unfortunately I had to agree with them. Though, you may want to get up now. They just received some rather bad news," he informed her. Elmina's eyes widened.

"What sort of bad news?" She demanded warily.

"I don't know. I didn't ask." His tone was unconcerned. The dark haired girl shot to her feet and headed for the door.


The emotional atmosphere in the living room was such that even an ordinary human would be able to pick up on it. For Mania, walking into the room was a bit like entering a small greenhouse chalk full of strong scented flowers which weren't quite his favorite: impossible to ignore but not something to get terribly excited about. Edward, AJ and Adele were seated around the room on the couch and chairs. Their expressions were unusually somber. Wrath was standing at the window with his back to them, his head lowered and a hand over his eyes. Elmina had come to a stop several steps into the room, her gaze sweeping over those present. Her emotional flavour, as always, stood out from that of the other people in the room. There was appealing twist to it which made it pleasant to focus on. Her anxiety at that moment was practically tangible.

"What happened?" She demanded. No one responded for a moment. Finally AJ spoke up.

"Elycia's gone missing," he informed her. A thrill of shock shot through the dark haired girl. Clearly that was the last thing she'd expected to hear. From the emotional swirl which followed this revelation Mania surmised that she wasn't well acquainted with this Elycia individual, but she still held a certain attachment to her.

"But…what happened?" Elmina asked, a frown creasing her brow.

"We don't know for certain. She never showed up for work this morning," Edward replied. "Roy sent a man over to check out her apartment. Nothing was disturbed, although the balcony door was open and her purse was still hanging on the hook by the door. It's highly unusual," his tone was grim.

"Do you think it was foul play?" Elmina asked.

"What else could it be?" Wrath spoke up, his voice tight has he raised his head and turned to face them. "She isn't the type to just disappear without a word at a time like this."

Mania eyed the dark haired man curiously. He'd always overlooked this particular member of Elmina's circle. He wasn't a literal blood relation to the girl and his level of stoic, self-control had landed him in the 'boring' category in Mania's mind. But the intense emotional drama playing out inside the man at the moment was exquisite to behold, even for a human beyond his reach to tamper with. The red haired creature cocked his head, noting the clenched fists and anxiety readily readable in the typically guarded blue eyes. Interesting…so Tall-Dark-and-Handsome was in love with this Elycia woman… but hadn't realized it till now. Mania smirked slightly. It was entertaining to watch humans fool each other, but when they started trying to fool themselves it was even better. Apparently this one had been playing that particular game for a while now and had just lost.

"So what do we do?" Adele asked uncertainly. Wrath's gaze moved to rest on Mania.

"You can sense where she is, can't you?" he demanded. The red haired creature raised an eyebrow.

"That depends," he replied evasively. "What's in it for me?" There was a knowing glint in his eyes. Wrath's expression hardened.

"What do you want?" he demanded. There was an edge to his voice that hadn't been there before, but it was only the tip of an iceberg of hostility that had flared to life at Mania's words. The red haired creature had to hold back a snicker. If it was possible for a human to hurt him he might actually be worried. As it was the man's hidden...well, for lack of a better word wrath, was extremely entertaining.

"Oh, nothing much really. I just want Mouse's word and the word of her alchemist friends that they won't try to cut off my access to her again," he replied simply. If he was going to keep helping this group of humans then they needed to understand that his 'help' came with a price. It was of no use to him to help them if they simply intended to turn on him afterwards and try to get rid of him. And while they couldn't permanently kill him off as long as Mouse and her mother were alive, they could still cause him a large amount of grief if they put their minds to it. This was something he preferred to avoid. Wrath's eyes widened, clearly a little taken off guard by his request. Adele's subdued emotions abruptly flared up with a fiery indignation and she turned a glare on the red haired creature.

"That isn't fair!" She snapped. Mania blinked. It hadn't been at all obvious when he first met her, but he could definitely see the family resemblance between her and her older sister Sara when the younger girl's temper flared. They both possessed an impressively potent quotient for anger. The younger girl just required a very specific provocation apparently.

"Fair has nothing to do with it, my dear. I have to look out for my own skin. No one else will," he pointed out blandly.

"But—" Adele's protest was cut off as Elmina spoke up.

"It's alright, Adele," the dark haired girl's expression was resigned, "I can agree to those terms."

"But he just wants to use you!" The blonde cried, consternation evident in her expression.

"I know," Elmina's tone was flat, "But it's better him than Despair. At least he wants to keep me alive," she pointed out. Adele's expression grew pained as she stared at her friend.

"It shouldn't have to be this way," she protested.

"A lot of things shouldn't be as they are, but that doesn't change anything," she replied. Then she glanced at the creature behind her. "So will you take Uncle Wrath to find Elycia?" She asked. Mania stared down at her thoughtfully, weighing his options. This raised a definite problem, but there was also a very satisfying solution to that problem which was possible if the situation was handled correctly.

"There's one other thing," Mania said. "If I leave, Despair will very likely return. Since you defied her last time I doubt she'd hesitate to kill you this time," he pointed out. Elmina hesitated, her initially clear cut emotions abruptly clouding as she found her interests torn in multiple directions.

"Why not take Mina with you?" Adele asked, puzzled. Elmina's expression dropped at this suggestion. Mania raised an eyebrow. The dark haired girl clearly didn't want to leave her father. At least, that was what he surmised from the mixture of uncertainty, anxiety and guilt swirling around her. Somehow he wasn't surprised. The man was stabilized but he wasn't completely out of the woods and hadn't yet woken up. Despite the fact that it served no logical purpose, she wanted to stay close until he at least regained consciousness. However…in Mania's mind this had the potential to prove advantageous. Leaving her behind did pose large risk, however…

"In this case, I can't say I like that idea," Mania responded to Adele's question. Elmina blinked in surprise and glanced back at him. Apparently she hadn't expected him to take her side.

"What do you mean?" AJ spoke up, a frown creasing his brow.

"I'm less than inclined to take Mouse into an unknown environment, especially when there's a good chance that whatever is there will pose a significant threat to her safety. There are too many variables. I don't like the risk," he crossed his arms, tone indicating this wasn't something he was willing to negotiate on.

"You don't think you'd be able to protect her?" Wrath demanded, raising an eyebrow. Mania's expression grew flat.

"Humans are fragile and life is unpredictable. I'm not taking her there," his tone was final. In reality, he wasn't too terribly concerned over his ability to protect the girl, but he had something else in mind.

"Then what do you suggest?" Elmina asked.

Mania pondered her words for a moment. He had to work this carefully. It was a gamble; and one which he wasn't willing to commit to until he had confirmed his suspicions about Elmina's friends. Still, despite the risk, the spiteful, childish part of him, which was larger than he cared to admit, was quite excited about the idea. He raised a hand to stroke his chin thoughtfully as he stared into space. Then his gaze moved to rest on Adele. The surprisingly strong emotions radiating from the girl had definitely piqued his interest. It was rather fascinating how the meek, quiet girl suddenly grew a backbone and a set of vocal cords when her childhood friend was threatened. And her alchemic talent was no small thing. If she had the right incentive she could prove a valuable asset. His plan might just work…

"Unlike myself, Despair is vulnerable to alchemy," he began. His tone was unassuming but his gaze was calculating as he watched the blonde. Adele blinked, and then her eyes narrowed.

"How come?" She demanded. Mania smirked slightly, already having felt the emotional shift within the girl.

"As you know, at my core I am essentially energy. That energy is powerful enough to disrupt any alchemic energy used against me, unless I specifically allow it to work," he explained. "Despair, on the other hand, is the opposite. At her core there is a void. See, I'm much more generous than my counterpart. I share my energy with my hosts to get the emotional intensity from them I desire. Despair simply steals what her hosts have that she's lacking. Essentially she sucks the life out of them until they're nothing but a hollow shell of their former selves." Elmina grimaced, feeling a wash of agreement at his description. Mania continued, "Because she lacks my excessive energy she is unable to counter alchemic energy like I can."

"So you think we'd be able to fight her off?" Adele asked. Mania nodded.

"I don't see why not. I would suggest not attempting it by yourself. She's still a formidable adversary. But if your father gave you a hand I'd say you have a good chance of winning," Mania replied.

"Wait… I thought you said we couldn't kill her?" Adele frowned in puzzlement.

"You can't in the permanent sense. But you can destroy her physical body. As long as there are people who are vulnerable to depression in existence she'll eventually reform. But that'll take her quite some time; probably several months," he explained. Adele's eyes lit with something close to eagerness.

"But how exactly does one go about doing that?" Edward spoke up, a frown on his face.

"You'll need to make use of a transmutation similar to what your daughter used on me; with some minor modifications of course. You need to alter her powers enough that she'll be unable to access any hosts. With that done you'll just have to hold her off in battle until she fades away. That shouldn't take long."

"Why are you being so helpful to us with selling out your comrade?" AJ asked, a hard look on his face as he studied the red haired creature. The mechanic's blue eyes were boring into him with an unnerving intensity. Mania snorted, eyeing him with a certain amount of amusement. Despite AJ's painfully frustrating level of self-control, he couldn't help but like the kid. The maturity level of his emotions spoke of a sharp mind and an unwavering set of beliefs. His love for Elmina meant that her wellbeing numbered among his highest priorities, which suited Mania quite nicely. Unlike the Lover Boy, this young man was an ideal mate for his host. Granted, she might require some talking around, but the red haired creature was quite confident she'd see reason eventually.

"Comrade? We've never been 'comrades' exactly. And now we aren't even co-workers. Knowing Despair, at this point she wants to get rid of me, and the quickest way for her to do that is by killing off my hosts," his expression was unenthused. "Plainly put, it's in your best interests to get rid of her for a while. If you succeed in doing that then she'll think twice about coming after you again in future."

"Why don't you get rid of her yourself?" Adele raised an eyebrow. Mania's expression grew unreadable. The girl had no idea how much he wished he could do exactly that. Despite having always worked with the same individuals, and sometimes even at the same time, he and Despair had never liked each other. She couldn't stand his personality. He couldn't stand her wastefulness. It was one thing to have fun with a host, and sure, accidents happened. He wasn't blameless when it came to getting people killed. But, it wasn't one of his specific goals. He certainly didn't get any enjoyment out of it. If you killed the human, you killed the fun. It pretty much defeated the point in messing with them in the first place. And not only was Despair wasteful, she was wasteful with his humans. She'd always had more available to her than he had, so she could have her fun destroying them to her heart's content without worrying about running out of them; which was completely unfair. He was through with putting up with her at this point.

"Let's just say that would end very badly for both of us. I have no intention of letting her take me down with her," he replied flatly. There was silence for several moments as everyone contemplated what Mania had just explained to them. Finally Adele turned to Elmina.

"How do you feel about this? You'd be the bait after all," the blonde pointed out. She watched her friend closely for any sign of emotional distress, but the dark haired girl's face was completely blank, revealing nothing.

The only person in the room with any inkling of just how much turmoil was raging beneath Elmina's unreadable mask was Mania. She appeared calm; composed even. But the reality was she was absolutely petrified. The idea of facing Despair head on had filled her with an icy terror. The red haired creature suspected there was also a healthy dose of fear for her friends mixed in there was well. But she also seemed to feel backed into a corner. If she said no she'd either have to somehow talk Mania into taking her to find Elycia and leave her dad behind, or she'd have to let Wrath down and leave Elycia to whatever fate awaited her. Neither of those was appealing. So backing out wasn't really an option. To Mania's surprise there was also the faintest hint of another emotional thread beneath it all: a resigned sort of trust. She trusted that he wouldn't be willing to leave her if he thought they couldn't handle it. An ever so slight smile tugged at his lips. How cute. That trust wasn't unfounded though. After all, since his life was tied to hers, her dying would be very problematic for him.

"I'm for the idea," her words were firm but her tone was rather brittle. Adele stared at her, a concerned frown creasing her brow. Not surprisingly, she knew her friend well enough to know something was wrong. Wrath on the other hand was a little too wrapped up in another concern to notice.

"Alright, let's get going," he turned an intent gaze on Mania.

"Easy there, Tiger. I'm not going anywhere until the alchemists have a game plan," Mania's tone was dryly amused. Wrath opened his mouth to object but Mania cut him off, "Or do you want your niece to be slaughtered?" The red haired creature's tone was pointed. Wrath's jaw snapped shut as the implications finally struck him.

"I'm not going to be able to perform the transmutation that modifies that creature's powers," Edward spoke up, "I don't have enough personal experience with that form of alchemy."

"Let me handle that. I'd be more than happy to knock that bitch down a notch or two," Adele's tone was uncharacteristically dark. Everyone in the room turned to stare at her, taken off guard by the hostility in the blond girl's words. Her expression was one of steely determination. Mania cracked a slight grin. Oh yes. She would do just fine. It was about time Despair got a taste of what humans were truly capable of. Sure, they could be a pretty pathetic race at times. But there was a fiery strength in them as well that Despair had always refused to acknowledge. His gaze moved to rest on AJ, who was radiating an intensely protective concern as he watched the dark haired girl, and Mania's grin shifted to a knowing smile. Yes, Elmina would be just fine.

"You won't take her down without a struggle, but you're all a much more capable lot than she realizes. I'm not too worried," Mania said. Adele nodded.

"Alright, let's get this plan sorted out," her tone was firm.


The first thing Elycia became aware of was that she was decidedly uncomfortable. Her neck was killing her from the position she'd slept in and she couldn't feel her hands or her feet. Her eyes fluttered open and she raised her head, taking in the position she was in. She was seated in a chair, her wrists bound tightly behind the backrest. Her ankles were bound as well. The room she was in was small and empty aside from her chair. She suspected it was underground somewhere as the floor was made of concrete and there were no windows anywhere. The place was lit by an old, flickering light bulb. The only door to the room was directly across from her and on the wall beside it was a phone.

She shifted and squirmed slightly to see if she had any leeway but it was immediately clear that her bonds were far too tight for any real movement. She jerked side to side and found the chair was bolted to the floor. She blew a piece of hair out of her face in exasperation. Well this was just perfect. How had she wound up in this position? She couldn't imagine what purpose kidnapping her could possibly serve. She tried to move her hands and grimaced. They were completely numb, the ropes around her wrists tight enough to cut into her skin if she tried to struggle. Her ankles weren't any better off. Whoever had tied her up and made quite sure she wouldn't be escaping. She was thoroughly stuck. A slight panic stirred inside her but she firmly clamped down on it. Her freaking out would serve absolutely no purpose. She swallowed hard and drew in a deep, calming breath, letting it out slowly. She would just have to wait until her kidnapper decided to make an appearance.

She wasn't entirely sure how much time had passed. There was no way to tell what time of day or night it was. All she knew was with the level of discomfort she was in, it felt like a long time. She had slipped into a slight dose when she finally heard the doorknob turn. Her head snapped up as the door opened. A feeling of cold shock settled over her, and yet, she wasn't sure why she was surprised.

"You're awake," the tanned, dark haired man she'd been dating over the last couple months stood in the doorway. Dominic. He was readily familiar to her and yet she almost didn't recognize him. She'd never seen such a cold, distant expression on his face before. The friendly, laid back aura he always radiated had vanished. His dark eyes were emotionless and uncaring. She'd always assumed that he was the kind of guy who wouldn't want to hurt a fly, but she was rapidly re-evaluating that opinion. She swallowed back her anxiety and found her voice.

"Interesting. I'd never have pegged you as the bondage type. Guess you can't judge a book by its cover," her tone was dry. Her underlying agitation was carefully masked. Dominic's expression didn't change. He entered the room, shutting the door behind him. Without a word he turned and picked up the phone, punching in a number. The cord was long enough that he was able to turn and walk over to stand in front of her while the phone rang. After a moment someone picked up.

"I have Elycia Hughes," Dominic informed the person on the other end of the line. There was silence for a moment as the person responded. Then he pulled the phone away from his ear and held it up in front of her face.

"Tell Mustang you're here," he ordered. Elycia's eyes grew wide. Mustang? He'd kidnapped her in order to get at her boss? It was true that Roy had always been like a father to her, but it had never even crossed her mind that that fact could be used against him. So Dominic was trying to manipulate him by holding her hostage? She clenched her teeth, refusing to respond. There was no way in hell that she would willingly put Roy in that position. The country needed his leadership right now and he had enough to worry about already.

Nothing changed in Dominic's expression, which was why she was utterly taken off guard when a moment later he backhanded her harshly across the face with enough force to slam her against the back of the chair. She couldn't bite back the involuntary cry of pained surprise which escaped her lips. Apparently that was all Dominic required, since he pressed the phone against his ear once more.

"Now that I have your attention, I want you to agree to my terms. If you do then no further harm will come to her." His voice was still unnervingly emotionless. There was silence for a moment as Mustang responded. "I'll let you think on it for a while, but I wouldn't doddle too long if I were you. If you haven't decided by the time I call back then we'll get to find out how many fingers your late best friend's daughter will have to lose before you make up your mind," the cold, bluntness of Dominic's threat was chilling. Without another word he turned and hung up the phone on the wall. Then without so much as glancing back at Elycia he opened the door and left.

Elycia stared at the door as it closed with wide eyes, still reeling from the shock of what had just taken place. She could feel a warm trickle of liquid down her throbbing cheek where one of his rings had split the skin. Her heart was pounding a mile a minute and she felt oddly numb. The last thing she wanted was for Roy to bend to this psychopath's will and put her safety before the good of the country. But what on earth was she in for if he didn't?


-Author's Note-

Poor Elycia. Don't worry! Wrath is coming to rescue you! Assuming he gets there in time...

So the good news is, I survived my vacation! The bad news is, my arm still isn't quite better. I'm able to type a little bit, but not much. (Although I suppose a little bit is an improvement lol) I have a physio appointment next week so maybe that will do something? Who knows. The short story as to how I managed to hurt my arms involves working way too much on high level piano pieces, horseback riding before my arms recovered, having a muscle spasm that tore my left bicep (...twice...although the second time was much less severe than the first) and then having to deal with tendonitis in both arms. *sweatdrop* This all happened over the course of the last two months. I think they're finally on the mend now. They're just very weak. So I'm being very, very careful with them.

Despite that, I did manage to get a bit of work done on chapter 30 while I was away. It's about two thirds finished, so it might be delayed in getting to you depending on how my arms cooperate. Although I suppose I have two weeks to pick at it so hopefully I manage to finish it in time. It's the last chapter of the story. (Well, there's an epilogue after it, but that'll definitely be delayed since I haven't actually written any of it yet...) So this story is almost over...*sniff*

I'm really glad you guys liked the last chapter. :D It makes my day! I suppose I left you with yet another cliff hanger *sheepish* but at least it's not as bad as some of them have been. Rather than make this note any longer I'm going to use my remaining arm strength to go work on finishing the last chapter of this story for you. ^^