I'm baaaack. sorry for the delay. I've been swamped with stuff D:
Everything is so heavy… and so dark. Johanna thought, just as another pile of rock crumbled under her hands. Where am I? She wondered, hearing the sound of breathing, her breathing, roughly filling up the silence of the cavern. And a distinct rattling, the sound of chains. Am I locked up? She thought, panicked. No, that's impossible, I'm digging, right? A quick glance down answered both of her questions, no she was not locked up and yes she was digging.
"Such a bother…" A deep voice whined, catching Johanna off guard. She had expected something more like Truth, as that was usually who she occupied in visions like these. But this wasn't truth, no, she felt big, hulking, and strong. "It's so annoying, just digging and digging…" She trailed off, again pulling rock out of the wall in front of her.
Digging? But why? Johanna thought to herself.
"Oh well, I guess dying would be more annoying…" Johanna's body mused, suddenly reaching up above him, pulling out pieces of the ceiling. Johanna was terrified, as the ceiling began to crumble around her, surprisingly letting bright light into her lonely, dark, shaft. Slowly, ever so slowly, Johanna could feel her muscles begin to pull her up out of the hole.
It took several long seconds for her eyes to adjust to the bright lights that hung from the ceiling. The room was huge, covered wall to wall in concrete and pipes. Workers with hardhats and jumpsuits scattered around her, and above her an alarm began to blare loudly. Lazily, Johanna scanned the room, in big, bold letters above a viewing platform it read Developmental Level.
Where am I? She questioned, noticing just how tiny the workers were that ran from her, terrified. What am I?
"A homunculus!" A Familiar voice shouted. Johanna's head turned towards the sound of the shout, surprise be to her when she saw Edward and Alphonse standing about a hundred feet opposite of her. The shorter boy brustled with rage, his heavy winter jacket shifting on his tense shoulders.
Wait… Johanna gasped. That Jacket… He was just wearing that this morning... Johanna hesitated, feeling a shift inside of her body, she was irritated, irritated at Edward? No, no this wasn't irritation… She was so so sleepy…
Johanna woke up with a start, sitting up quietly in a foreign bed. There was a constant throb in her temple, her head ached horribly, as did the rest of her body. She was surprised to find that she had been stripped down to only her jogging pants and a light tank top.
"Where… am I?" Johanna asked to an empty, unfamiliar room. An alarm was blaring overhead, casting her room in a dark red light. She clutched at her head, the loud siren making it throb painfully. "That alarm." She gasped, panicked as she looked around the empty room. She recognized it, it was the same alarm as her dream. "Boys!" She cried, slowly getting to her feet.
She made to move, only to have her arm tug painfully away from her. In her arm she found an IV, a severe hinderance to her movement entirely. Without thinking about it, she tore them out, crying in pain as they ripped from her skin. She still felt so heavy, but not nearly as heavy as she had before she'd passed out. Johanna coughed, it hurt her chest, and she clutched at her bedside. To her left was a door, and she hobbled to it, before wandering out into a dark hallway.
The alarm was louder out here and Johanna cringed, refraining from dropping to the floor. The hallways were bustling with activity, though none of the soldiers around her seemed to noticed her in the hallway. Down the hall she spied an elevator, and slowly she made her way to it.
It's so HOT. Johanna thought miserably, wiping her warm forehead, leaning heavily against the wall. She waited patiently for her the elevator to arrive, relieved that the halls were emptying out. Apparently everybody had arrived at his or her respective posts, no more stragglers.
Once the elevator arrived, the door dinged quietly before opening. Johanna was prepared to fight her way into the elevator, but to her surprise, it was empty. My lucky day. She thought sarcastically, stepping unsteadily into the elevator. There were twenty five floors in this place, wherever that was, including a sub basement. The elevator told Johanna she was on floor twelve. Each floor was labeled, probably so no one would get lost as they navigated their way around. Johanna scanned the names carefully, until she came to the very bottom, the sub basement titled Development Center.
Without hesitation, Johanna pressed the button, nearly retching as the elevator dropped heavily, before evening out. She clutched at the wall behind her tightly, shutting her eyes as she could feel the elevator descend. It made her sick to her stomach. seventh floor…. fifth floor…. Come on, come ON. Johanna was impatient, terrified. she had no idea where she was, where the boys were. She had the sneaking suspicion that they were in danger, but she wasn't sure. All she did know is that she had to find them.
The elevator stopped suddenly, tossing Johanna to the floor in a weak heap. It dinged again, and slowly, Johanna pulled herself to her feet. There was only one way to go, which made it easy for Johanna to decide. Ahead of her, at the end of the red, dimly lit, hallway, were two double doors, on the other side of which Johanna could see light. She smiled, triumphantly, as she made her way down the hallway on shaky legs, clinging to the walls for support.
The double doors were sturdy and Johanna gave them a heavy push, whining as the doors didn't budge. She sighed, leaning against them, tired, the metal feeling cool on her forehead.
"Of course." Johanna chuckled, again trying to push them. There was a loud crash on the other side of the door and Johanna's breathing stopped. Screaming? Johanna shoved the door again, but this time she threw her shoulder into it gasping in excitement as it finally swung open enough for her body to fall through.
Johanna stumbled into the light, squinting as she did. She seemed to be on a platform of some kind, the floor extended about a hundred in front of her, where it ended in a guardrail, then dropped out to oblivion, for all she could tell. To her left was a wall that continued thirty feet before opening to the left, into what Johanna wasn't sure. Johanna turned, looking back at the wall behind her. There, above the door in bold black letters, was the sign from her dream. Johanna gasped, coughing loudly as she did.
Soldiers and workers alike rushed around her, heading towards a big, red, metal door to her far right. They carried and pushed boxes, barrels, anything they could find, creating a makeshift barricade several feet in front of the door. Johanna froze, as the door parted, the mechanic whir sending chills down her spine. There, in the doorway, stood a giant monster of a man, clad in a black, whole body singlet. In his unkempt hair, he wore a single black headband, which covered his eyes, and down his neck was a red line, that ran from where his right eye should be, to his wrist. She recognized him without even needing to see the tattoo; He was a Homunculus.
Johanna shivered as her mind wandered to her dream. Was that who she was? If so this was a new experience for her, she had never seen something as it happened, only the past.
If this is true, then Truth must be getting desperate. Johanna thought as the Homunculus stepped forward. The thought of desperate Truth terrified her. How fucked does their situation have to be to terrify god?
"It's warm here." The behemoth said, taking a step off the elevator. The workers made to stop him, when a commanding voice boomed from above Johanna.
"Don't move!" It echoed off the walls, stopping everyone, including the monster, in their tracks. Suddenly, the monster exploded, and Johanna screamed, falling to the ground. From above her, someone fired a bazooka, hitting the Homunculus in his chest. The ground around him went up in flames, flames that were so hot Johanna could feel them on her face.
To Johanna's credit, she was not surprised when the flames died down and the smoke dissipated, revealing that the creature was still very much standing and very much alive. Johanna's breathing stopped completely as the monster took several steps towards the workers.
"It's no use!" Another voice shouted from the stairs directly across the elevator hallway. "Firearms won't work on it!" The man shouted, waving above his head an automail arm. Johanna vaguely remembered this man, it was foggy, like a dream. The voice from above began shouting various commands, met with "yessirs" and action. Johanna began to cough, her lungs irritated by the dissipating smoke. Much to her chagrin, the vaguely familiar giant heard her, his eyes coming to rest on her tiny, prone frame. "You!" He shouted, leveling a metal finger at her. Johanna cried out, desperately crawling back towards the hallway from whence she came.
She'd almost made it, when a loud rumbling came from behind her. A tank had appeared from around the corner, which Johanna was thankful for, because it prevented the previously stated giant from reaching her.
It's not gonna shoot that thing, is it? Johanna thought fearfully, only to be deafened by a loud bang. The tanks shell collided with the hulking monster's face, nearly point blank. The blast only shoved him back a few feet, but still he stood. Again Johanna screamed. It was so loud, so much so that it caused her ears to ring. The room went quiet, and Johanna shakily returned to her feet, watching as the giant monster froze. She gagged, half of its face was gone.
"Owwwwww…" It muttered, its face sparking red where the shell had collided with it, repairing him almost immediately. "Pain is a pain." it rumbled lowly, taking slow steps towards the tank. "Pain is annoying."
"Load the next round!" Someone shouted from on top of the tank, the commanding voice from before. This was the first time Johanna noticed her, and Johanna marvelled at how familiar she was. The girl knew she'd never seen this woman before in her life, but her hair, blonde, like a model. And her eyes, they were so, so blue and if they had been on another person, they would have been so kind.
"Armstrong…" Johanna whispered before she could stop herself, causing yet another fit of coughs. The woman spared Johanna a single, albeit confused, sneer, before firing another shell, which the homunculus caught with his gut.
Again Johanna was deafened, but she did not take her eyes from the scene before her, as two more tanks joined the first one, firing off round after round. Each shell connected, earning a painful groan from the monster, who sparked red, healing just as fast as they could damage him. The Homunculus honestly seemed bored, bored and annoyed more than anything, but to Johanna's surprise, he ignored the tanks, instead turning his back to them.
The monster sent debris flying as he smashed through the barricade that was set up by the workers before the tanks had arrived. Johanna screamed as the debris flew her way, only blocked by a familiar looking concrete hand that emerged from the floor with ease. She shuddered, the boxes landing off to her left, splintering as they hit the ground.
"Johanna!" A familiar voice yelled, a flurry of red and silver heading her way.
"Ed-" Johanna started, coughing as she did.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Edward scolded her, dropping to the ground next to her.
"Brother, she's injured!" Alphonse chimed in, flanking her other side. Edward growled, grabbing her wrist to look at her arm.
"You pulled out your damn IV?"
"I'm sorry! I know it was stupid but I had another vision about that thing and-" Johanna began, as Edward covered her mouth. Johanna watched him with wide eyes as he brought his face closer to hers.
"Not here." He told her firmly. Johanna nodded her head ever so slightly, as Edward moved to cup her face. "What are you doing here, you idiot." He asked, this time his voice more quiet. Edward removed his jacket, placing it around Johanna's shoulders before his hand returned to her face. He stroked her cheek, noting how hot she still was, and how she still shivered. Reflexively, she nuzzled into his palm.
"I had to find you… I was so afraid." Johanna told him, shivering. "Where are we?"
"We're in Briggs, and you're safe now." He told her, another crash sounding in the background. Edward's eyebrow twitched. "Or at least you were before you left the infirmary!" Another tank shot sent Johanna crumbling, and Alphonse grabbed Johanna's shoulders, supporting her against his leg.
"Brother, stop them!" Alphonse hissed. Edward nodded, standing and running off towards the tanks. Alphonse grabbed Johanna, who sat limply on his left arm, supporting herself against his chest. Slowly he stood, as she wrapped her arms around his neck, coughing into his shoulder.
"It won't work, General! Try whatever you want to, but he wont die!" Edward shouted to the blonde woman.
"He won't?" She sneered at him.
"How do you know that?!" The familiar giant returned, as he sauntered up the the blonde woman's tank. Edward froze, his words catching in his throat, earning a scowl from the General. She growled impatiently, tapping the tank with her saber's scabbard.
"Drop the act!" She growled. Shit. Edward flinched. "You will answer all of my questions promptly and completely, first off; how do you know about that thing? Are you a Drachman spy!" The woman scowled, pointing her saber angrily at Johanna. "Should we have just left you die in the cold?"
"No! We're not!" Edward shouted, taking a step in front of Alphonse and Johanna.
"Is that thing a spy?!" The woman leveled her saber at the Homunculus, who was busy destroying pipes and machinery with abandon.
"I really doubt it!" Edward told her honestly. Father had been up to no good, but the fact of the matter was he was working with the Amestrian Military, why would he send a spy to destroy that relationship?
"Does that thing know you?"
"No! Apparently not!" Edward said, exasperated.
"Then what is that thing?" The questions continued and Edward frowned.
"I can't answer." He told her, defeated. The woman glared at him.
"Who does that thing work for?" She demanded.
"I can't answer that!" Edward growled.
"Why can't you answer me?" She asked again, but she already knew what he was going to say.
"I can't answer…" Edward sighed, defeated. He couldn't tell her, he would be putting so many people at risk if he were to reveal the truth. Winry, Johanna, even this entire base and it's command. She HAD to understand, it was for their own good The General regarded him with contempt, her eyes never leaving Edward and his companions. Again Johanna began to cough, her head resting weakly on Alphonse's shoulder. The General's eyes flickered to Johanna briefly before settling back on Edward.
"This is my last question, and it is an important one because if you don't answer it how I like, your friend will be left to rot in the brigg with the rest of you; Are you in league with that monster or aren't you." Finally, a question he could answer.
"I'm not with him! I don't want to see anyone here get hurt!" Edward pleaded. The General regarded him momentarily before turning her attention back to the monster.
"Then tell me: What is that thing made of?" The General continued, his answer had sufficed, for now.
"His body's structure and compositional elements are probably the same as a humans."
"The same as a humans, huh?" The General regarded Edward's statement momentarily, before turning to the familiar giant. "Buccaneer! Bring me some tank fuel now! We're going to douse it!" Edward growled, frustrated.
"I told you it won't work General! Set him on fire but he still won't die!"
"I understand! I learned from our last attack that we can't kill it. The best that we can hope for is to stop or delay it, so we'll have to hit him with something even stronger than fire." The General told him. Johanna shivered in Alphonse arms. And Edward turned to her with a frown. "Now you get to see the Briggs Way!"