Strange Maze, What is this place?
Hearing voices over my shoulder
Nothing's making sense at all
Wonder, Why do we race?
And everyday, we're running in circles
Such a funny way to fall
Tried to open up my eyes.
I'm hoping for a chance to make it alright
When I wake up
The dream isn't done!
I want to see your face and know I made it home!
If nothing is true!
What more can I do?
I am still painting flowers for you!
I heard everything you said!
I don't want to lose my head!
When I wake up
The dream isn't done!
I want to see your face and know I made it home!
If nothing is true!
What more can I do?
I am still painting flowers for you!
Painting Flowers- All time Low
Chapter 35- The Shape of This Country
"Now you get to see the Brigg's way kids." Oliver muttered with a glare fixed on the giant homunculus in front of her.
I gulped and toke a step back. I think this lady might be insane. "T-the Brigg's way?" I struggled to get out. Buccaneer's hand was set on the top of my head making me jump.
"That's right!" Buccaneer's voice had a dark sense of humor to it. Which terrified me. "Come Alchemists! Give me a hand." He ordered now grabbing me and Ed.
"Brother!" Al called out worriedly.
"Athena!" I gasped.
"You two, tin man, blondie." Buccaneer muttered turning to Kaley and Al.
"Hey hold on! We can't just-" Ed was interrupted by Buccaneer's voice.
"Your both forced to help under arrest! How does that excuse work for ya?" Buccaneer asked with a sly smirk. Oh that dirty little bastard! He then saw Falman and turned back to us. "Who's this?"
"He's an old friend of ours!" Ed answered quickly with a devious smirk.
"Great, then he'll help too!" Buccaneer replied making Falman gasp in shock. He then dropped Ed and me now handing us each a tank of gasoline. "Hurry up! And don't spill any!" Al, Kaley, and Falman had their own tanks and shuffled up the stairs. But as Ed and I walked Buccaneer had a gun pointed at our heads. Oh I hate this guy... And the twisted thing was that he was smiling when he pointed the gun at us... That twisted bastard...
"Head for Gate 8!" Miles ordered.
"Sir!" Buccaneer replied with that big smile. Oh he's enjoying this... I could tell.
When we reached the 8th gate I climbed on some pipes above us with the tank by my side. I then heard a door open making my senses snap to the sound. The giant homunculus stepped in while looking around. "What is this place?" He asked in a grunt.
Buccaneer then ran in, grabbed his arm and flipped him on his back. My eyes widen. That man was twice his size! What?! "Alright! Do it now!" Buccaneer ordered making Falman, Ed, and I pour the gasoline on the homunculus from above. Then Kaley and Al poured their gasoline on him from behind. The only thing he did was look around in confusion. Falman, Ed and I climbed down as Buccaneer spoke. "Yes!"
"Okay, what next?" Al asked.
"How are you planning on getting this guy through the gate?" Kaley questioned.
"Stink..." The homunculus grumbled lowly. The elevator door behind us to reveal Oliver in a tank driving towards the homunculus. Al, Kaley, Ed, and I stared in shock as we backed ourselves into the wall. Okay, she's insane. I know that FOR SURE now.
"Move it! You little runts!" Oliver demanded making us freak out even more! The woman drove into the hallway now shooting at him. He slammed straight through the door which kept the cold out and stopped at the rail. "Hey! One more!" Oliver muttered ducking her head into the tank.
"We're out of ammo!" I could hear the man say.
"Well in that case." Falman sighed pulling out his gun and shooting at the icicles above the homunculus. The two large pieces of ice fell and hit the homunculus in the head.
"Pain! Oww!" Sloth groaned. Ed and I turned to each other with a nod. We both charged for him and kicked him right off the wall. He then landed in the snow with a loud thud.
"Nice!" We both celebrated giving each other high fives.
"That fuel is specially blended for the cold." Buccaneer stated walked outside. "It'll vaporize almost instantly and as it evaporates it will sap his body heat. This blizzard will help too. It'll freeze him, right down to his brain."
I could already see the ice freezing itself onto the large homunculus. "It's so... Cold..." I could hear him complain. "Body won't... Move... What... A... Pain..." Then he collapsed onto the snowy surface. I knew better than to think he was dead. To be honest. I doubted it.
"You can sleep there until spring monster." Oliver spat at the creature. "Alright Buccaneer! Now take those four away." Ed and I gaped at the woman. Was she kidding?! We just... Why?!
Buccaneer then grabbed Ed and Falman while two other soldiers lead Al, Kaley, and me away. "W-wait! Hold on a second! We helped you!" Ed stammered.
"You were forced to! That was just the excuse you needed to fight, right?" Oliver corrected in a harsh tone. "I'm not letting you four go anywhere until you explain exactly what that thing was."
Later
I had the blanket and my coat over me and it still wasn't enough to keep me warm. Kaley was already sound asleep though... Well ain't she the lucky one. I shivered under the coat and blanket with my eyes screwed shut. I let my eyes open only to see Ed trying to keep himself warm. I hoisted myself on my elbow and watched him with a soft gaze. He was shivering and trying what I was doing. From the looks of it the strategy wasn't working. The boy then opened his eyes and looked at me. "Hey Athena? You still up?" He asked in a whisper.
"How can I with this cold?" I asked softly.
Ed stared at me and saw the coat over my blanket. He smirked at me. Yeah, he was like me and I was like him. "How about I try and keep you warm?" He suggested.
I flashed him a grin and nodded. "I'll take you up on that." I teased lightly as I stood and walked to his bed. When I laid next to him he instantly pulled me into his chest. His hands might have been cold but his chest was still warm. I smiled at this. He was stroking my hair softly with a calming pace. "Your chest is so warm..." I whispered softly.
Ed looked down to me and smiled. "Well your colder..." He mumbled.
I smirked at him. "Well, they don't call me Frost for nothing."
"But it's not a bad thing... It's the right type of cold though." Ed corrected. He cupped my face lightly which made me shiver at the touch. I smiled up to him as he brought his lips to mine. Now that was the warmest feeling. His lips upon mine was one the best sensations in my life. Our lips was grinding in a perfect motion that made me go nuts. Then kiss soon got deeper as he trailed his tongue into my mouth. His tongue was playing with mine as he rolled over to where he was on top of me. My eyes widen at this movement. After a while he parted away from my lips and kissed down my neck. My cheeks were flaming hot at this and my automail fist was balled and grabbing the bed. As for my other hand it was in his hair.
In the corner of my eye I saw Kaley awake with a look of disapproval. She shook her head then she did a hand signal. Where she had her pointer finger and thumb to make a circle as she two fingers entering it in and out. I knew what she was telling me now and my cheeks went even redder. 'No sex.' My eyes were wide as Sam's words echoed in my head. 'No wonder Smith's over-protective of you. In no time you and Ed can have a dirty little secret.' He then kissed my soft spot making my breath hitch. The boy looked up to me and laughed at the sight of me.
"W-what?!" I stammered with bright cheeks.
"Your face!" Ed laughed rolling off me. "It's so red! You look like you just saw a ghost!"
"Hey! It's not funny!" I defended with my cheeks still at my red color. "I-I'm just not used to that stuff at all! You've only kissed me like that once!"
"I know that." He stated kissing my lips again then parted ten seconds after. "At least your warmer." I glared at Ed playfully as he pulled me back into his chest. This boy was going to drive me crazy. But him... Maybe it wasn't so bad. "Well I'm tired. Goodnight Athena."
Then I gave him a smile. "Goodnight Edward..." He rested his chin on top of my head and started to close his eyes like I started to do. Soon enough we both fell asleep.
Next Morning
When I woke up I felt a little warmer, but not as warm as I was when I fell asleep. Hmm... I wonder why. I sat up and saw what was on my wrists. They were wooden restraints that kept my arms apart... So I couldn't transmute. I glared at them. Damnit. I checked Ed's wrists and he had the same thing. "Good morning Athena... Nice chains..." Al sighed.
I looked up to him. "Oh, good morning." I chirped.
"How'd you sleep?" Al asked.
Before I could answer Kaley spoke. "I think she slept too good. No wonder they put those on you. I think they're saying something." She teased.
I gave a laugh before killing it and glaring at her. "Shut up."
Al and Kaley exchanged glances. Then I heard Ed mumbling something. "It's cold..." He then opened his eyes fully and saw the restraints.
"Again! Saying something!" Kaley reminded.
"Hey shut up!" I growled.
Then a doctor walked up to us with cups of coffee. "Hey you four! Did you sleep well?"
"Let me out! Give me a different cell! They're going to make out in front of me!" Kaley complained.
"KALEY!" Ed and I yelled with reddening cheeks.
"It's not like I was going to do something..." Ed grumbled under his breath.
The man chuckled at this and handed Ed a cup of coffee. "I heard you guys helped defend the fort." He stated as Ed took the coffee. The man handed Kaley and me a cup as we took a drink. "That's 100 Cens!"
I stopped taking a drink and turned to him. "AGAIN!?" I yelled.
"YOUR CHARGING ME FOR THIS?!" Ed complained.
"So, find anything else out?" Al asked.
"We sent a party down to investigate the hole. They should be back anytime now." He stated. "Also Major Miles is at the hospital."
"Is he hurt?" I asked.
"Hardly. He's there visiting a soldier who was wounded fighting Scar." He muttered.
"Scar's up north?" Ed whispered.
"Great, just what we need." Kaley grumbled in annoyance.
Then four more men showed up to see us. "They're awake." One of the men said in a casual tone.
"Hey, thanks for yesterday." The second man acknowledged.
"Yeah! You helped save our buddy's life." The third man spoke.
Ed and I smiled at them. "I'm impressed. You guys stick together, and you really care." I whispered softly.
"Well yeah." The forth man stated in a obvious tone. "Here we have to look out for each other."
"You saved our pals back there so that makes you guys our pals as well." The first man stated.
"Well you want to let your pals out of here then?" Ed asked.
"No! We're not allowed to do that!" The new four men and the doctor said at once.
I sighed and looked down. "Well it was worth a shot hun..."
Nobody's POV
At the Hospital
"Apparently they didn't find any sign of Scar body at the sight. Or your partner." Miles told Kimblee. "He can always be held up near by though..."
"That's true..." Kimblee muttered.
'That's interesting... First a search for a strange black and white cat, now a search for Scar...' Miles thought attentively. Miles then stood and looked at the man. "Alright, you can leave Scar to us. Focus on getting better." With it said and done Miles started to leave.
"Now hold it..." Kimblee muttered. Miles stopped and looked back to the black haired man. "I want you and your men to stay out of this. The Ishvallen is mine to hunt down."
This made Miles glare at him and walk over to the injured man. "I hate to tell you this but the soldiers of Briggs won't let a serial killer run around free." He muttered now taking off his glasses to reveal his red eyes. "Here in the North our law is survival of the fittest." Kimblee's eyes went wide as Miles leaned close to him with an ice cold glare. "You get careless, then you get dead. Understand?" Miles asked in a harsh tone. "You tell me what to do again and I'll make sure you'll never leave this hospital." Miles then stood tall and put his glasses back on. "This case is ours. The Briggs Branch will take care of everything and you behave yourself." Then he left Kimblee.
Kimblee stifled a laugh. "Another Ishvallen. That's interesting." He stared at the ceiling in silence until there was a knock on his door. His eyes darted to the door as it opened up.
"Hello Kimblee." A dark skinned man greeted with a smile. "How are you recovering?"
"Well hello General Raven! You got here quickly." Kimblee replied.
"I heard about the news and came as quick as I could. I was worried about you." Raven stated. "I assume Ultimate didn't make it back."
"No, he was killed by that red head." Kimblee muttered. He then pulled out his two Philosopher stones. The one in the shape of a crystal and the other in a sphere. "These are what your really worried about, aren't you?" He questioned.
Raven's look changed from relieved to serious. "Very good. Now we have work to do."
"I'm not exactly in great shape at the moment." Kimblee reminded.
"No problem!" He reassured as another man walked in. "I brought a doctor who knows alchemy and we have the stones as well. You'll be fine in no time!" Then the doctor grinned widely showing off a golden tooth.
Somewhere Else
May and Doctor Marcoh sat in an abandoned house waiting for the return of Scar, Hate/Red, and Yoki. In the mean time Marcoh looked through the book full of the research notes that Scar's brother spent time working on. "Alkehestroy seems to be pretty complicated. This Dragon Pulse is even more confusing." Marcoh sighed.
"It's about the chi of the land." May stated.
"The chi?" Marcoh asked.
May made a transmutation circle in the ground and put some kuanis in the circles edge. "I'll try to explain, basically it's an energy that exists in all things in this world. Like rivers of power flowing through it. Those rivers are reaching, they touch everyone and everything. All you have to do is understand how that power flows and where it enters and where it leaves..." May then activated the circle which made a sculpture of a panda made out of the ground. "And you can use it to effect just about anything."
"Just about anything? So the body too?" Marcoh asked.
"Yes!" May sang now walking behind him. "It can be, your back!" She then poke his back making him yelp in pain and fall over.
"MY LEG!" He yelled.
After the man recovered May continued. "Or else, your neck!" She poked his neck which made Marcoh yelled in pain again.
"WHY DID MY EYEBALL TURN WHEN YOU PRESSED MY NECK?!" He yelled even louder.
"Doctor Marcoh... You should take better care of yourself..." May mumbled with concern. "All the power in your body is starting to stag me..."
"So that's it? The theory behind your remote transmutation?" Marcoh asked.
"Then alchemy here doesn't use the Dragon's Pulse?" May guessed.
"They use the energy from the movement of the earth's crust. A great deal of energy is created then released from earthquakes and volcanic eruptions." Marcoh explained. "That's what fuels our alchemy."
"I don't know... That doesn't seem right..." She whispered softly. This made Marcoh stare at her in confusion. "I felt it ever since I got here. I noticed it whenever we were under Central. I can tell there's energy flowing under my feet... But it doesn't feel like it's coming from the land's movement. It feels like, a crowd of people, squirming around."
Athena's POV
So we were asked to go with General Armstrong in the tunnels that homunculus made. To be honest I didn't know what she wanted and I was kinda scared to know. Kaley sat behind Al's while I sat behind with Ed. "Wow... This is pretty serious... Isn't it?" I asked softly.
"I still can't believe an intruder was able to get this far through our defenses." Oliver grunted lowly under her breath.
"Has there been any other incidents where someone got in the fort?" Kaley questioned looking at Oliver.
"No, not at all." Oliver muttered. "But once nearly twenty years ago there was a strange incident where the mountain guard was attacked during the winter. Apparently a mysterious woman stole food and supplies for a whole month."
I covered my mouth so I could hold back a snicker. I wonder who that could be... 'Teacher said she was tossed out here for a month during her training. She survived.' Ed's words rang through my head making me want to laugh. I gave the boy a look with a wide smirk.
"This should be far enough..." Oliver muttered now turning to us. "You, dismount!" We nodded and did what was told. Edward and I was set in front of Oliver who stared at us fiercely. "Now then, we're safely away from prying eyes. You two can tell me everything without fearing discovery and I mean everything! Don't hold anything back, yesterday I asked about that monster. Remember what you two said? I can't answer that. You both refused me and that even as a hint is a dangerous thing to do. I told you both to answer my questions fully and completely. You both did not. I believe there is something that your trying to hide, and you'd risk your life's to protect it. Something or maybe someone." There was a silence that was overwhelming for me. I bit my lip and looked downward. "Now then, don't lie to me. I want the truth."
I looked down and closed my eyes. Then I heard Ed speak. "We need your help General." My gaze was on him as he explained the situation.
After everything was done she was tapping her finger. "The Philosopher stone, homunculi, Fuhrer King Bradley, mysterious man called Father, corruption in the Senior Staff." Oliver listed off in a low and thoughtful tone.
"And there are hostages involved as well..." Buccaneer added.
"Your childhood friend the engineer, your older brother, and Mustang's men." Oliver restated. "We've done some joint training with Eastern Command over the years so I know officers Hawkeye, Mustang, and Havoc. I would hate it if we lost any of them. I would like to help them."
"What about Colonel Mustang? You know? Sam's older brother?" Falman asked.
"Yeah... I couldn't careless about him." She replied. This made me smile on the inside. "I just want to see him fall from power. That would illuminate another rival." I got sorta embarrassed by this. I mean we are talking about my commanding officer, and my friend's older brother. I didn't know what to say to this. "Never mind him. The question is, what do we do next? This tunnel here I would like to know you alchemist's make of it."
I nodded and inspected the trails carefully. Falman pulled out a map for me to see. "Okay, first of all the tunnel probably didn't come from Dracma. It's just a guess but the chances are that it's dug into the shape of a circle."
"Why?" Falman asked.
"It has something to do with alchemy. We need to look at it more closely.." I whispered looking down at the map.
Kaley and Ed's eyes widen. Kaley then grabbed the pen from my hand and sat next to me. She then circled Ishval. "Falman, can you list off major events in Amestris that had blood shed?" The girl asked looking up to him.
"Bloodshed?" Falman repeated numbly. "What are you getting at?" He stared at the map more carefully and took an intake of air. "First there's July 1588. In Revia." Kaley circled the town given to her. "October 1661, Cameron Uprising. February 1799, The Soabman indecent. Fisk, Welles Lee indecent, the first southern border war, the second border war."
"What about Pendelton, in the west?" Ed asked.
"There's been fighting with Creta. Liore." Falman continued.
"Wait? What? Liore?! But why?" I gasped.
"I don't understand... Athena and I exposed the fake priest. Then we reported it to Eastern Command." Ed explained.
"Yes you did, but the Central forces came in and ran the troops out from the east. After that Liore fell to pieces." Falman stated.
"No..." I whimpered closing my eyes.
"There's no time for that. Back to work." Oliver demanded.
Kaley gritted her teeth and circled the town. "Now we have to connect the dots." She stated doing so. When she finished my eyes went wide and I gasped. I stared at that map in utter horror.
"How is that possible? It looks like a transmutation circle!" Falman asked.
"Not just any circle! It's the one from the 5th lab..." I shuddered. Ed then pulled me into a hug and started to comfort my shock.
"Is that so?" Buccaneer asked. "The Philosopher stone array that draws power from human lives. If they make a Philosopher stone with something this huge then how many people will have to die?!"
"The conflicts started in 1558..." Ed pointed out.
"Right, it was after the founding of Amestris." Oliver pointed out.
"They attacked Revia which was the neighboring country at the time then the military..." Falman started. He then grabbed the map and looked at all the locations. "That's it, it was the military! They were involved in all of this. Each indecent, like in Liore, the military would bring forces in to make it worse."
"It's gone on that long..." I gasped looking down.
"We kept growing, our country started out as a small nation. But we expanded as we took over more and more countries." Oliver stated. "That was all to create that circle?"
"So that means that... Not only are they using this country to fulfill their plans but they only created this country for that one purpose." I moaned now looking down.
"My country." Oliver hissed glaring at the map.
"Do you think that Hughes-?" Al started.
I nodded sadly. "Uh-huh..."
"Before he was killed he must have seen the Transmutation circle. He was serving in the Court Marshal office, he had all the information about the military. He would have known that something wasn't right. That must be why..." Ed started but then stopped himself with a gasp. I then started to think back.
'You lower life forms never fail to amuse me! You get a speck of power and you think you own the world! And you don't even know what that power is!' Ultimate's words reminded.
'And then you have the arrogance to assume your the one in control of the power' Envy's voice added.
I cupped my face in my hands and shook my head. "No... I can't... No more..." I whimpered in my hands.
"I don't like this!" Oliver yelled. "As far as I an tell there is one place left! If your right about your theory then the next place their going to hit is here in Briggs! Those bastards in Central! What kind of plans do they have for my fort!?" I shook my head nearly on the verge of tears. This scared me. I didn't like this at all. Ed had his chin on my head and stroked my hair softly.
"General!" I heard a voice call in the distance. "Your needed back at the fort! General Raven from Central is here to see you!"
Oliver let out an annoyed huff. "Looks like our time is up."
Ed then stood and lifted me up bridal style. "General? I'd liked to ask as favor of you. Do you think you can con come information out of Raven?"
Later
As we walked I heard Al speak. "Winry's apple pie..." He whispered softly. "That was the first thing I wanted to do when I got my body back, now even that seems like that's out of reach forever..."
I lowered my gaze to the ground and closed my eyes softly. But I didn't want Al to worry that he wasn't going to return to normal. "You'll have all the apple pie you could ever ask for." Ed reassured with a smile. "We are going to get our bodies back and those monsters that are messing with this country are going to pay." I gave him a slight smile at his words. "Starting with that Ultimate bastard." I couldn't help but smile wider at him. I could tell he said that to make me feel better and to be honest it worked.
Later
"I'm sorry for the chaos sir." I heard Oliver say through the tiny speaker in this closet. "We were attacked yesterday."
"By who?" Raven asked.
"I think it's most appropriate to call it a monster. Fortunately we were able to fend it off." Oliver replied.
"A monster? What do you mean?" Raven questioned now interested.
"We killed it but it wouldn't die." She stated.
Raven laughed at the thought. "Is that so?"
"I suspected that it originated in Dracma. But the Elric brothers and their friends, did I mention? The Fullmetal Alchemist, his brother, The Frosted Fire Alchemist, and The Vinned Alchemist are here." She explained. "I found it disturbing. They seemed to know about this monster. But they wouldn't talk. Obviously if we have three State Alchemists doubling as a spy for Dracma, that's a serious problem. I locked them up. Perhaps you'd like to speak to them."
"Certainly." Raven applied. "They won't tell you anything?"
"Correct. They said they came here to research living transmutation. What could be more suspicious? I didn't trust them instantly." Oliver spoke. "I had thought about torturing them to get the information, but I am a woman after all. The thought of hurting those kids lets just say I couldn't stand it."
Buccanner laughed at that answer. "Now that's rich! She would have tortured you in a second and not have thought twice about it!" I looked like I saw a ghost and felt sick to my stomach. The thought of that... Ugh... I swallowed hard and shuddered.
"But General Armstrong, aren't you known as the Northern wall of Briggs? Walls aren't as soft as that!" Raven laughed.
"You know General Raven, in my age most women are expected to have a child or two at least. Unfortunately I'm well past that now." Oliver stated in a velvet like voice.
"Come now! Surely men are lining up to have kids with you." Raven reassured.
"Hardly sir." Oliver answered quickly. "I hate to say, but like everyone else I'm getting older. And my body is too." This made me lean forward in my seat. Was Raven really going to take this bait? For our sake, I hoped so. "That Dracmen monster, it had an outstanding body. An immortal body. Like something from a dream."
"What if I told you that very soon, it wouldn't be a dream anymore?" Raven asked. This made Ed, Al, Kaley and I gasp. All four of us exchanged looks. "Tell me General, would you be interested in a legion of immortal soldiers?"
'He took the bait!'
Wait, waiting for a sign, crying to the sky
For love to come around so hope won't let me down
Shadows carry on, the light is all but gone
Your promise calls to me, a love so rescue me
There is a hope beyond this night
There is a Savior in the sky
Giving His life to set this world on fire
So as the darkness closes in
Know that the sun will shine again
Bringing salvation to a world on fire
World on Fire- Trading Yesterday
Chapter 36- Family Portriat