Hello! As requested, the next chapter of Support! I just couldn't wait, and this chapter happened!
As always, rate and review!
Girls on the Battlefield
"There is news of Edward Elric and that man, Scar, battling in the middle of the streets," Fuhrer — no, Wrath — told Kaela as he, Gluttony, and Kaela made their way through the streets. Only moments ago, she had been watching over Gluttony and making sure he didn't cause any unnecessary trouble while he roamed the alleyways, sniffing the air when she had felt the presence of the other Homunculus approaching. Wrath signaled with only a slight wave of the hand as he walked past the side street, and immediately the other two fell in step behind him.
Kaela felt her pulse quicken at the news. She remembered just how dangerous the last encounter with Scar had been; Ed had almost died and Al was ripped apart. The mere thought of the man sent a tremor through her fingers, and Kaela clenched her hand into a fist to control the fear. "What would you have us do?"
"Do your duty as Father's children," Wrath said simply, and Kaela's heart fell. She knew what he meant.
Suddenly, Gluttony jumped between the walls with a quickness that shouldn't have been possible with a body his size. "I smell them! I smell them!"
Wrath didn't even spare Gluttony a glance, as he kept walking. The round Homunculus disappeared out of sight, and Kaela felt a little reluctant to follow this man alone.
A few moments later, there was a crash on a roof further ahead in the direction that Gluttony had run. Kaela found herself rushing past Wrath and toward the source of the blast. She hoped it wouldn't be the brothers …
She was right, but who she saw still surprised her. Gluttony had been thrown back and had destroyed the upper floor of an apartment. He stood up and looked across the street at the two figures standing there, one of which she recognized. It was the man from Xing who had hopefully passed a message on for her.
It appeared he hadn't seen her yet under the thin cloak she had swiped from a stall. (Oh, how her lawful mind cursed her. But the Fuhrer himself was the enemy, so what was the point in following his law anymore?) Currently, the eastern man and his masked companion were taunting Gluttony. Wrath walked past her, calm as ever.
"Oh, you can sense his presence, can you?" He spoke loudly enough for his voice to boom in the street. The people on the roof looked down at him, and, upon noticing her, Kaela watched the eastern man stiffen. Kaela pulled at her hood. But Wrath didn't give him time to say anything; instead, he pulled his sword from its sheath and continued his approach. "That's a pesky ability."
Wrath gained an immense amount of speed, approaching the masked person. The eastern man called out "Lan Fan," possibly the person's name, in warning, but it was too late. In seconds, the Fuhrer had destroyed the mask and revealed an eastern woman's face. She fell to a lower roof like a rag doll, her blood splattering to the brick just after her body.
Kaela instinctively rushed toward her, only to look up and find Gluttony pouncing upon the girl, mouth wide and eyes wild. However, his jump was cut short just as the eastern man sliced his head in half (though in futility; it immediately reformed). He picked her up and jumped away just as Wrath's sword came swinging down on him. They entered a constant attack-dodge cycle, with the man attempting to put as much room between him and Wrath as possible.
Gluttony's fist swung at the man, knocking him and his companion into a nearby building. The Homunculi followed suit shortly.
Kaela knew she had to move, to help the others of her kind, but she couldn't bring herself to. Logically, if she wanted to stay alive, she needed to follow them. She knew this was Wrath giving her one last chance. But she couldn't move.
This man had helped her — he had done a favor for a stranger and she owed him a debt. Was it at the cost of her own life? She didn't know.
What would Edward do? What would Alphonse do?
They would do what was right. But she knew they would also keep each other alive so that they could accomplish their goal.
Where had her spine gone? It had seemed that after her capture she was no longer strong enough to make her own decisions. She had carried many more burdens heavier than the one she was bearing now, so why was everything so difficult to do? All it came down to was the fact that she was weak. She was a weak human and a weak monster.
Kaela couldn't protect anybody. Not even herself.
Explosions echoed through the city to her right. That must be the boys, Kaela thought. Every fiber of her being wanted to run in that direction, to return to the ones she cared most about. But there was a man here to whom she owed a debt.
What would she do?
A bright light flashed from the hole of the building her companions had jumped through, spurning her to move. She had to move. Had to keep going, to keep looking for opportunities. Soon, she thought, would be an opportunity to escape.
Just as she had reached the shattered window ledge, the eastern man had run out of the building with a puff of smoke following him. Wrath sighed, standing up and retrieving his sword that had been lodged in the wooden door frame that the man had disappeared through. He seemed to be only mildly irritated, but when he looked at Kaela, there was a coldness in his eyes that seemed to bring more fury than a raging fire.
"Return underground."
Whatever Michaela was expecting, it hadn't been this. "What?"
"Return to Father now!" He all but yelled. "I have no use for a pawn who won't move across the board."
Kaela's stomach dropped but she gave him a quick nod and disappeared.
The Fuhrer huffed and turned away as she leaped from the building and presumably into the sewer system. "Children are quite irritating, aren't they, Gluttony?"
Gluttony giggled with delight.
Michaela's feet landed on the damp ground with a thickened thud. Over her head, the hinges from the manhole lid squeaked, as if to alert anyone and anything of her presence nearby. Father was surely alerted, as well, of both her appearance in the sewers and of her failure above.
Though she felt no emotional attachment to the being (he ripped her from her family twice), there was this strange, sick sense of guilt laying in the pit of her stomach, as if she were his child awaiting a scolding. It disgusted Kaela, and she fought her heart to keep it steady.
Wrath and Gluttony were surely chasing after Lan Fan and the Xing man. If she concentrated hard enough, she could hear explosions from above.
Hopefully, she could keep herself from getting in trouble. She didn't want to be in Envy's debt longer than she had to. Kaela wanted him to stay out of her business and visa versa — if not because she didn't want to consort with the enemy, then because she wanted him to be safe from the betrayal she would eventually wreak upon the Homunculi. And, in her heart of hearts, perhaps she also felt —
A splash.
The noise tipped Kaela off, breaking her reverie, and she grew still immediately. The source of the splash sensed her observation, and the sewers became eerily quiet. There wasn't even the sound of dripping water.
If there was one thing that the transformation had done to her that she could welcome, it was heightened senses. She focused her hearing even further, and from around that corner …
Ragged, but stifled, breathing. And there was also the stench of blood. Whoever it was, he or she was injured. If Kaela moved now, she could easily catch them. Although, surely, the person was ready for her.
Kaela always thought through her decisions, but she also knew time was important as well as the outcome. So, after the fleeting thought that could marginally count as a decision being made, she sprinted at the corner with frightening speed — speed she wasn't aware she possessed.
When she rounded the corner, Kaela skidded to a halt, nearly avoiding a kunai aimed at her throat. In this process, her hood had come off, so both people were free to observe their attackers.
Kaela felt her forehead scrunch when she recognized the woman. She was bleeding profusely from a missing arm, but it was still her.
"...Lan Fan?"
The other girl's eyes widened when she heard her name. However, she refused to let down her guard, and she turned her lost appendage away from Kaela as a form of protection. Her hand wielding the knife gripped it tighter.
In response, Kaela lifted her arms, realizing only after the fact that by doing so she flung her cloak behind her shoulders and revealed the Ouroboros tattoo above her navel. She winced, knowing how this must look to the other girl.
The blood dripped noisily to the ground as time seemed to slow for the two girls. Kaela's inner doctor took over, and her fear shifted aside for the more logical trait.
She took a breath. "My name is Michaela Rockbell. I have healing abilities. Let me help you so that your wound doesn't become infected."
The girl's weapon lowered a fraction after hearing the name, and Kaela could see the flash of realization in her dark eyes. But Kaela kept her hands upward. Lan Fan hadn't signaled that she felt safe enough to drop her weapon. However, something in her face told Kaela that she should keep speaking.
"I am close with the Elric brothers; I grew up with them. My sister is the one who made Ed's arm and leg. Please, trust me," Kaela said, hoping her simple explanation and slow words could help calm the girl.
Lan Fan lowered to kunai, but it wasn't because she had accepted Kaela's words. Her eyes fluttered closed and she fell to the ground, convulsing.
Kaela dropped to her knees, forgetting the tension that had been there only moments prior, and took her cloak from her own body, wrapping it around Lan Fan who was shaking violently. Kaela had noticed before, but her pale and clammy skin had gotten even worse by the moment. Though barely conscious, the eastern woman glared at Kaela with feral eyes.
Kaela sighed as she exposed the arm that had been torn off. Did the other Homunculi do this to her? "Your body is going into shock from blood loss. I'm going to temporarily close the wound and rebandage you."
As Kaela moved, she instructed Lan Fan on what she was doing, occasionally checking her pulse as she went. A green light erupted from her hands once she clapped them, the transmutation circle drawn on her palms in Lan Fan's blood. As quickly yet meticulously as possible, Kaela worked to create a thin layer of skin to stop the bleeding. There were a few times where she knew it would be painful for the other girl, but Lan Fan would just grit her teeth and allow no sound to escape.
It took around ten minutes in total. After she closed the wound, she began rubbing circles all over Lan Fan's body. Regaining control, and a little more trust in Kaela, Lan Fan looked down at the other girl between wheezes. "What — what are … you doing … now?"
"I'm making sure the rest of your body is being circulated. We need to keep as much oxygen flow going throughout your body as possible, otherwise, you could fall into another seizure." She moved up to Lan Fan's chest, rubbing soft but firm circular motions on where the heart would be.
"I thought you'd … closed it up … already?" Lan Fan seemed to be drifting off a little.
"Do not fall asleep, okay? I need you to stay awake and tell me how you're feeling." After earning a small nod from the other girl, Kaela moved onto the arm. "I closed the wound temporarily. That skin will probably tear in between now and getting you to the hospital, and we absolutely cannot leave you here where disease thrives. Moving oxygen throughout your body will keep you from re-opening it, number one, and number two, this will probably ease a bit of pain. Do you have someone coming to fetch you?"
Lan Fan's face contorted strangely before relaxing. "My king, he promised to return."
"The eastern man that was with you?"
" … Yes."
"Your friend helped me out, once. I didn't know he was a king."
"He's only a prince, for now," Lan Fan said, her eyes glassy for a moment. "But one day, Ling will rule Xing."
Kaela opened her mouth to say more, but before she could speak, a yell erupted from down the sewer corridor. "Lan Fan!"
A shirtless man ran full speed toward them, and, upon his impending arrival, Kaela realized it was the eastern man himself. "Well, speak of the devil."
The eastern man had noticed Kaela as well, and he skidded to a stop before falling to his knees on the opposite side of Lan Fan. Instead of immediately wailing on her, the man seemed to assess the situation as calmly as he could.
"What do I need to do?" he asked.
Kaela nodded. "Make round motions on her leg like this — no, the other way." She continued to make similar patterns once again on Lan Fan's heart. For a moment, she watched this Xingese man. He looked as though he were in as much pain as the girl lying on the floor. Kaela knew, from the way he would occasionally glance worriedly from Lan Fan's face, to her arm, and his own hands, that he cared a great deal for this woman. She smiled ruefully, remembering how she had once been in a similar situation herself.
She cleared her throat after several seconds, and the man looked up at her. "I hope you have a way to get this girl to a place where she can be safely operated on?"
"I can provide that sort of transportation, Miss Rockbell." Kaela's heart jumped as she looked up and saw Riza Hawkeye herself.
She didn't know whether she saw this as a mistake or an opportunity.
The car ride had been painfully awkward. With Lan Fan settled on both Kaela and the Xingese man's lap (whose name she learned was Ling) in the backseat, it was silent as Hawkeye kept glancing through the rearview mirror at her. Kaela knew the gears of her superior's mind were grinding quite fast, as she and her tattoo were fully exposed.
Not to mention, a completely tied up Gluttony was shoved in the car as well.
It was dark by the time they arrived at their destination. It was a house far from Central out in the woods, small enough to be called a cabin. Outside, a man with glasses and a stern frown waited with a lantern.
Once the car stopped, Hawkeye and the man, who seemed to be a doctor, helped Kaela and Ling lift Lan Fan out of the car and into the wooden house. No words were spoken besides grunts and occasional directions given by the doctor.
Eventually, Lan Fan was settled onto a cot and Gluttony had been tossed into a side room.
"I've heard you can perform healing alchemy," the doctor noted in a gruff manner, bringing in a tray of sterilized water and tools. Kaela nodded and vocalized affirmation. "Can you cut off her pain sensors for a bit?"
"Not a problem, sir."
With that, the man got to work, his hands and tools illuminated by Hawkeye's lantern and Kaela's alchemy. "Is this bit of skin your work?"
"Yes, sir. It was to stop the blood loss. The patient was going into some serious shock," Kaela said, and the doctor nodded.
"Good work."
And thus, it was quiet once again. It was enough to make Kaela have a hard time focusing on her work, and sometimes she would slip up and Lan Fan would groan. It didn't help that Riza stood over her, asking nothing aloud yet asking always. Time passed, and eventually, Lan Fan's breathing evened out.
The sound of the door creaking open and familiar footsteps entering the house caused Kaela to flinch. Oh God, not now. Why now? And yet, Kaela knew that these were the brothers' friends and they had every right to be here.
So where did that place her?
Luckily, the familiar voices stay in the hall outside the room, along with Ling's. Kaela and Doctor Knox were able to finish their work without any interruptions. However, once she could catch a moment's break, Kaela replaced her now bloodied cloak from Lan Fan with a warm blanket and shielded herself. She could feel Riza's gaze, but she didn't turn to meet it. It was hard enough not running away.
"She's stable for now," she heard the doctor say.
"Well, let's go see how she's doing," that familiar voice replied.
Oh, God, please —
His quiet steps and the clanking of Al's boots shook her to the core. This was a mistake. She wasn't the same Kaela they knew. They were going to be so disappointed —
They leaned on the bed, apparently not having noticed Kaela firmly planted in a chair near Lan Fan's head. The girl opened her eyes blinking slowly.
"Are you okay?" Alphonse's soft voice naturally soothed Kaela, even if they were meant for someone else.
"Is there anything we can do?" Edward, whom her heart immediately jumped for, leaned further into the bed, and Kaela looked away, hoping that the stray black locks wouldn't give her away.
"Your trap wasn't all that bad," Lan Fan managed to say. "But I'm useless now. I'll need a replacement arm.
A moment of silence, the shifting of automail. "Yeah, I can hook you up with a great automail mechanic."
"Is she as good of a mechanic as her sister is a healer?"
"What … how do you know about —"
Lan Fan must have motioned to Kaela because there was another silent moment, just before Kaela's hood was pulled back slowly, revealing her face full of fear and guilt.
Ed, who still had his hand on her cloak, didn't say a word. Kaela noticed Mustang, who in turn gave her a look of genuine surprise before motioning the doctor and Hawkeye to leave the room.
"Kaela?" Al's voice came from the helmet like a child's. Upon hearing her name, Kaela flinched. It had been a while since someone had used it. At least with that tone.
She cleared her throat, and for some reason, Kaela had to look anywhere but at the brothers who were towering over her. "Er, yep. It's me. How … how have you two been?"
"You … are here?" Ed asked, ignoring her question. His hand moved from the cloak to her hair, brushing his fingers through the dark strands, to her cheek, where he caressed her skin with the pad of his thumb. Strange as it was for him, Kaela leaned into his touch unconsciously without a thought for it.
There was a growing embarrassment, and Kaela could feel it in the form of heat rising to her face. She stood up suddenly, causing Ed's hand to fall from her face. "Let's take this elsewhere." Maneuvering around the boys, who were still slack-jawed, she left the room and effectively the house, ignoring the watchful stares of the adults and Ling. She exited the house and moved a few yards away to look up at the moon. She hoped — prayed, even — that for once the Homunculi and Father wouldn't show up, excluding Gluttony. Just this one night. She could forget that underlying anxiety and forget about the whole ordeal that had transformed her from human to monster.
No, there was no forgetting that. She would have to face the truth.
Before she could turn around, a sudden force caused her to stumble forward. She quickly realized that Ed had embraced her from behind, much to heart's delight. He buried his eyes into her neck, squeezing her waist and inhaling deeply. He mumbled something, something she couldn't quite make out.
Gently, she unfolded his arms just enough so that she could turn around and face him. However, he refused to remove his head from where he had settled it before. "Ed, let me see your face. I haven't seen it in a while."
He shook his head. Behind Ed, she saw Al standing awkwardly behind him, looking lonely. She couldn't help but smile as she reached out her hand, which the younger boy immediately took into his leather gloves. "I missed you two. I hope you weren't getting into too much trouble while I've been away."
Apparently, this was the wrong thing to joke about because Ed's hands were abruptly on Kaela's shoulders before he pushed her out to arm's length, causing Al to be forced to let go. His eyes were tinged with red around the rims. "Do you — Kaela, are you even aware of how Al and I felt? How we felt while you were God knows where?"
Kaela felt her face twist. She knew she probably looked like a wounded puppy. "Ed, I was captured. Did my message not get to you?" She looked between the brothers, hoping it had.
Ed's hands dropped, and she felt a little more lonely. "We did. I'm just … taking out my frustration." His chin met his chest and his metal hand palmed his forehead, wiping down his face.
Kaela paused before letting a sigh escape. She wanted to run from the nasty truth, to pretend everything was all right and the past month hadn't happened. But, even if this was a moment she had dreaded ever since she'd learned of her true birthright, Kaela would have to face her demons and tell the brothers everything, including her recent transformation. Now was the time to fill them in on serious matters, which would, unfortunately, cut the moment of relief and happiness short.
"There is a lot we must discuss," she began, meeting Ed and Al's eyes. Within their presence, she could feel her self-esteem returning. Instead of being in a frame of mind that was anxious and frightened, she was able to settle into a less emotional state and saw their positions from a more logical point of view. Still, a part of her wanted to stall a bit longer. "But first, we should probably deal with the present problems."
Al nodded, but Ed stood there for a few moments, studying her face. He looked as though he had much to say at that moment, but wasn't sure how to go about it. Finally, he huffed and turned away. "Right. Let's go meet with Ling first, and then we'll line up your story with his afterward."
You did it!
I'm sorry the reunion was a little (lot) rushed. I just get the feeling that Kae is avoiding all her problems, which include her feelings. Obviously, the boys would like to take their time, but the situation demands their immediate attention *shrug*.
Thanks as always for reading!