AN: Hi ya'll! If you don't know me already, then you don't know I tend to ramble in author notes. Yes, my other readers know I like to talk a lot. I reply to all my reviewers to show they are loved and appreciated. I hope you don't mind too much!
Goddess of Twilight: Wow… the first part of your review scared me…. I don't even want to think would happen if sparkles were real and you had some. Lol, it made me laugh. Nice review.
Torii: Glad to see you like it so far. I can't wait to see what I dish out too. Let's hope it's better then the stuff in my other fic, huh? Let's see if I can top my other story with crazy ideas!
heart of flame: Interesting plot? Yay! It's interesting! I was afraid most people would think it was just weird. At first I was planning on killing Armstrong, and then his sparkles came back from the grave. Someone told me people might get mad because I killed Armstrong, so I did it this way instead. Does it still work out alright?
IArguedWithGodOverEd: You got grounded? Poor you, we feel your pain and cry you a river. I'm glad you like it! It will get even better I promise!
saffiremoon21: Lol, Yes! The sparkles! Be afraid! Be very afraid! Where'd they come from? I have no idea where they come from. I know how this fic started though. I was talking to Torii, and we were talking about Hughes dying. Then I said, "Why can't they kill someone no one cares about, like Al?" Then Torii's like, "NO AMRSTRONG! KILL THE SPARKLES!" It pretty much came into being from that. Then Kiari got in on it, lol.
FullMetalChic: Yes, it is an amusing idea indeed. Would I write it if it wasn't? Don't worry, I'll keep it a goin'!
Kiari the Hell Cat: Good start? Yay! I'm so happy! I have no clue why FMA people stare a lot. Yes, Hughes gets stared at a lot. Yes, Hughes deserves it most of the time, but you would think after awhile the other workers would get used to it and not notice it anymore, wouldn't they? Don't worry; I'll update my other one. I can't just leave you hanging, now could I? Lol, you could try and hit me though the computer. If that doesn't work you could send me a virus. Eyes get big. Did I just say that out loud?
The Secret of the Armstrong Line Chapter 2: Who said Pink was Cute and Friendly?
Havoc is seen walking down the hallway, his arms full of folders. It is quiet and clam as he approaches the office door. Roy had received the office he had when he still worked in Central. It was empty and the Fuhrer thought 'oh why not?' Havoc was bringing in some cases they would work on while they where stranded there. Oh great… he sneered as he tried to shift one pile of folders on top of the other, freeing his hand. Almost… he thought as the heavy load leaned against his face and chest. After a few minutes of manipulating and calculating his was able to release one hand from the files. He slowly reached for the knob, trying to balance the folders on the left side of his body. Almost there… he said as his eyes were dead locked on the silver knob. Sweat began to travel down his brow as his hand neared the door.
Just as his fingertips touched the knob the door flung open and hit Havoc. The force sent the files spilling all over the floor, and caused the skinny blonde man to fall back on his butt. "Get out!" Roy snapped as he pushed Hughes out of the office. His usually calm face was overcome by rage.
"But… Roy…" Hughes whined as he tried to stop the Colonel from kicking him out.
"OUT!" Roy snapped as he gave Hughes a hard push.
"Ah!" Hughes shouted as he fell forward. His chin hit the green tile hard and the pictures spilled out of his pocket. 20 or 30 pictures of Elysia lay scatted around Hughes' body.
Roy glared down at him.
"Uh… Sir?" Havoc asked when he saw the angry expression on Roy's face.
Roy glanced over at him, the deadly glare still in his dark eyes, "Clean up that mess!" Roy snapped angrily at Havoc then slammed the door, leaving Hughes and Havoc alone in the hall.
"Roy…" Hughes whined as he sat up and looked back at the door. His face miserable and full of sorrow.
"What happened in there?" Havoc asked as he stared at Hughes, the files lay on the ground around him. The white loose leaf papers had slipped out of the folders, and now lay scattered and mixed up on the floor.
"He just doesn't appreciate the great Elysia," Hughes replied with a sigh as he began carefully picking up the sacred photos. Then his glasses lit up and he glanced back at Havoc, who had begun cleaning up the files, "But I know you do!" Hughes shouted.
"Hm?" Havoc glanced up at him. A confused expression on his face, and a cigarette in his mouth. Before he could even retaliate a photo was shoved in his face.
"Which do you think is cuter? This one, this one, or this one?" Hughes asked as he pulled out picture after picture. Little pink hearts began floating around his head.
"Uh?" Havoc didn't know what to say in reply.
"Awww, come on, you can tell me. She's just too cute, isn't she? I know how you feel. I couldn't pick just one either!" Hughes said with a proud laugh.
"Eh…" Havoc replied with a nervous smile. Hughes was going on and on in front of him. Now I know why Mustang threw him out. Havoc thought as he puffed on his cigarette. His expression returned to its calm normal self, even though Hughes was still rambling.
"Don't you just love this little swimsuit Gracia picked out for her? The pink really brings out the beauty in Elysia's eyes!" Hughes said, the little hearts continuing to flutter around his head.
Havoc didn't reply. He leaned on the white wall next to him and watched Hughes.
"Hm?" Hughes stopped cuddling his picture suddenly and stared at the motionless Havoc. He's been quiet for awhile now. I think Elysia's greatness has overcome his mind. The Hughes smiled in a friendly way. "Don't worry, Lieutenant," Hughes said as he stood up and bent over toward Havoc, laying a hand on his shoulder. "I get overcome at times too."
"Uh?" Havoc stared at him with a confused expression. His cigarette was almost gone.
Just then Fury was headed toward the office. His small arms full of files as well. "Hi there, guys," he said with a smile. "Why are you on the floor?" he asked when he saw the mess in the hallway. Confusion overcame his child-like face. Fury was very interesting looking. He was short, and looked somewhat like a child version of Hughes, though he was not a child. He was the Sergeant Major.
"Fury?" Hughes asked as he looked up. "Wow… First Havoc, now you, is Falman and Breda here too?" he asked.
"No," Fury replied, "I think they stayed behind to take care of the office while we were away."
"Oh," Hughes said somewhat disappointedly, "For a second there I thought Roy brought the whole crew along," he said with a little chuckle.
"Yeah…" Fury replied as memories of when they still worked in Central flashed through his mind. They had a lot of fun times here. It just wasn't the same around the office without Hughes and Armstrong around.
"So…" Hughes said, bringing Fury out of his thoughts, "What are all the files for?"
"Hm?" Fury looked at him confused for a second. "Oh these?" he asked as he stared down at the folders.
Hughes nodded. Havoc was still leaning on the wall. He had pulled out a new cigarette and thought he'd take this little conversation as a break from work. They can talk as long as they want. Hughes will take the heat from Mustang, not me. Who knows, I may get promoted for sitting though one of Hughes' picture fits. Maybe I'll be recognized as a war hero? A smile spread across Havoc's face as he imagined himself being surrounded by beautiful women in mini skirts and Roy on the sidelines glaring at him jealously.
"Uh… Sir?" Fury said after they had been talking for a few minutes. "I'm sorry, Lieutenant Colonel, but I really need to take these to First Lieutenant Hawkeye and Colonel Mustang."
"Ah, yes," Hughes said as the image of Roy's angered face appeared in his mind. "We wouldn't want him to get any grumpier."
"Sir?" Fury looked at Hughes confused.
"Oh, never mind! Good luck, Sergeant!" Roy replied as he gave the small man a big pat on the back, and walked away, laughing proudly.
"What did he mean by that?" Fury looked at Havoc.
Havoc, not wanting to get involved just shrugged his shoulders. His blue eyes stared at the ceiling. A blank expression was on his face as he smoked his now burnt out cig, and secretly enjoyed his fantasies.
"Hm?" Fury stared at the Lieutenant with a 'what's going on with you people today?' expression. Once he saw Havoc wasn't paying any attention what so ever, he went on into the office.
Havoc's blue eyes glanced over at Fury when he heard the door click. How did he get in there so easy? He wondered.
"Is this all?" Riza asked as she picked up one of the files that now sat on her desk.
"Well… Lieutenant Havoc has some out in the hall," Fury replied as Riza read some of the file.
Roy sat at his desk at the end of the room. His face was calm, but the fabric of his white glove covering his fingertips traced the underside of his desk, searching for a piece of gum he'd stuck under it the morning before. They would have office inspections soon. It would lessen his chances of getting a promotion if he couldn't do something as simple as keep a clean desk, and throw all used gum in the trash. Where is it? He wondered. His face gained just a pinch of irritation as his hand moved around the area. Got it! He thought as his trademark smirk appeared. His fingers grasped the gum as he began to pull. The gum was old and hard. He pulled harder, the part clutched between his fingers began to give way as it was ripped from the base of the now rock like candy. Come on…. Roy growled as he let the small piece of green clump fall into his palm. His fingers latched around the big base of the wad. His face was still calm and staring at Riza, pretending to pay attention to what she and Fury where talking about. Damn little bugger… he growled again as he yanked on the gum. His face gained a devilish grin. He felt it coming, but it was putting up a good fight. Another small growl came from deep within his throat as he pulled harder, he could feel the gum giving way.
"Hm?" Riza and Fury looked toward the Colonel when they heard the growling noises he was making.
"Eh?" Riza's expression stayed the same, but her feelings on the inside became unsure and nervous. Her stomach began to hurt and twist into knots when she saw the weird grin Roy was giving her. The growl coming from his throat, and his arm twitching gave Fury and herself a dirty image of what was going on under the desk.
"Uh… Sir?" Fury asked, unsure of how to address this strange situation.
Riza on the other hand, knew full well what to do. She regained her composer and pulled his hand to her waist.
"Hawkeye?" Fury asked when he saw Riza's expression take a deadly, yet still serious and professional glare.
"Colonel," Riza said as her eyes glared at Roy.
"Hm?" Roy came out of his thoughts. He froze when he saw Riza's silver pistol aimed between his dark eyes. "Lieutenenant?" he asked. His voice was unsure and a little nervous of what was going on.
"Colonel, Sir," Riza said again, her expression not changing, "No disrespect intended, Sir, but please remove your hand from your pants."
Roy stared at her for a few seconds. "Excuse me?" he asked, but slowly and cautiously slid his hand on top of the desk.
"Thank you, Sir," Riza replied as she closed her eyes, the calmness returning to her face as she put her gun back into its holster, and out of sight.
"Uh…" Fury just stared, unsure of what to say.
"Sir?" Riza voice broke the silence again.
"Yes?" Roy asked, not knowing if he wanted to know what she was going to say.
"Permission to go find Lieutenant Havoc, Sir?" she asked.
"Uh…" Roy replied, "Sure…"
"Thank you, Colonel Sir," Riza said and gave a small salute, then turned to the door. Her hand grasped the doorknob and pulled it open, but before she left her gaze went back to the Flame Alchemist. "May I give you a suggestion, Sir?"
Roy gave a small curious nod.
"Keep your mind out of the gutter," she said then left, closing the door behind her.
"Eh?" Fury and Roy just stared for a few minutes.
"What did she mean?" Roy asked as he looked over at Fury.
"Well... Sir… uh…" Fury began, his expression dumbfounded.
When Roy saw Fury wasn't going to give him a straight answer he got down on his hands and knees.
"Sir?" Fury asked when he saw Roy crawl under the desk.
A few seconds later Roy emerged and walked over to the trash, throwing out all the gum.
"Oh," Fury said when a smile spread across his face.
"Hm?" Roy glanced over at him.
Fury began with a nervous but happy chuckle as he put one hand behind his head and began rubbing his scalp. "It was all just a misunderstanding."
"Oh?" Roy replied, still confused, but he shrugged it off and sat back down at his desk.
"How did you manage this?" Riza asked she stood in front of Havoc. He quickly began cleaning when he saw the door open. Riza's arms were folded over the lower part of her stomach, her elbows rested in her hands. Her expression was as it always was, and her eyes fixed on the blonde haired man below her.
"I just tripped," Havoc replied, not wanting to say it was from Hughes, and he'd been sitting here doing nothing the whole time. A cigarette wiggled in his mouth as he tried to put the flies in the correct folders.
"Would you like me to help?" Riza asked as she crouched down low, so she was eye level with Havoc.
Havoc glanced up. His blue eyes met her amber ones. The ladies he was fantasizing about before suddenly came back to him. "No," he replied as he looked back down at the files, afraid Riza was about to see him blush.
"Are you sure?" Riza asked.
"Yes," he replied, "Thanks anyway," he said, puffing on his cigarette like everything was normal.
"Alright," Riza replied and stood up straight. "The Colonel and Sergeant Major Fury are going over some of the paperwork. They are waiting for your reports as well. If you finish before I get back please tell the Colonel I'm in the restroom," she said then left.
"Ok," Havoc called after her. He glanced up and saw her round the corner at the end of the hall. Then he went back to pushing the papers back into the folders. As he was working a light pink twinkle appeared in front of his eyes.
"Uh?" He stopped and stared for a moment. I wonder what that was? He thought as he put the folders in a pile.
Just then, more sparkles appeared. "Uh?" Havoc stared confused. "Are those?" he wondered as he watched the pink shapes get bigger and brighter. They began circling around his head. The spun at a fast pace, getting faster and faster by the second, spinning until Havoc saw nothing but pink. "ARMSTORNG'S SPARKLES!" he shouted as his eyes widened. "Get away!" he snapped as he flung his arms around, trying to get the sparkles to leave his range of sight. They did not retreat. His arms just went right through them. "I said stop it!" Havoc snapped as he stood up. The sparkles followed his every movement. "Get away!" Havoc shouted angrily as the pink shapes buzzed around him like a swarm of bees.
"Man!" he cursed as he tried to run away, but the pink light kept him from seeing the area around him. As he tried to run he tripped over the folders. The files spilt over the floor again as Havoc fell from the sparkles swarm.
He glanced up behind him and saw the sparkles hovering above him. Suddenly the sparkles stopped, it appeared as if they were glaring down at him. "Get him!" one sparkle said in a strange little cartoon voice.
Then suddenly the sparkles flew in a quick tight circle, and went up high, almost touching the ceiling. Once they were near the roof they went into a million glittery dive-bombs.
"GAHHHH!" Havoc screeched as the sparkles came barreling toward him. "AAHHHHH!" he continued to scream as he scrambled to his feet. He charged down the hallway, tripping and loosing his balance along the way as little sparkles hit the floor left, right, in front, and behind his body.
"Ahhh!" one of the sparkles called out in its cartoon voice as it saw it was going to miss its target. It hit the floor with a little fart noise.
The other sparkles continued to miss as well. The hallway was filled with fart noises. The other soldiers looked up from their duties when they heard the endless array of farts. Some of them sweat dropped, most just creped away.
Once the sparkles were all out of dive-bombers Havoc stood up straight and rushed down the hall.
"Isn't she cute?" Hughes asked Riza as he shoved a picture of Elysia in her face. He had caught her when she came out of the bathroom.
"Uh... yes… Sir?" Riza replied as Hughes got up in her face, a big proud grin on his face.
"I know!" he chimed as the little pink hearts floated over his head.
"AHHHH!" they heard a familiar voice coming down the hall. "Get away!"
"Hm?" both Hughes and Riza looked to where the voice was coming from. They saw a figure and a bight pink light heading toward them.
"AHHHH! GET AWAY DAMMIT!" Havoc shouted as he ran passed Riza and Hughes, the sparkles fluttering around his head.
"Lieutenant Havoc?" Riza stared in confusion.
"Or was it Major Armstrong?" Hughes asked, noticing Armstrong's trademark sparkles.
They continued to stare for a few minutes, unsure of what to make of this. Then a few minutes later Hughes broke the silence. "So what one do you think is cuter?" he chimed as he pulled some more photos from his pocket.
"Eh!" Riza looked back at him in surprise.
"Well?" Hughes asked. The proud expression once again on his face.
"Leave me alone!" Havoc cursed as the sparkles continued their assault. "Ah!" he yelled as he tripped and fell into a corner. "Ouch," He muttered as he sat up, and came face to face with the sparkles. "What do you want?" he asked angrily.
The sparkles didn't reply. They just swooped down and quickly passed over his chest.
Havoc's blue eyes widened. "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" He shouted as he lunged forward. "Not my cigarettes!" he gasped as he grabbed the square box with both hands and squeezed tightly. "Anything but that!" he whined as he tried to free the cigarette box from the sparkles wrath.
Just then the sparked lunched forward. "Whoa!" Havoc shouted as they pulled his body. The force of the jolt made him release the box. He fell face first on the green tile floor. "Wait!" he shouted as he turned around fast. His cigarettes had disappeared. "Give those back!" he said, half begging, half angry.
The sparkles twinkled very brightly. "Ahhh… the light… it burns…" Havoc shouted as he tried to shield his eyes with his arm. The sparkles continued to flash brightly. Havoc began to feel very strange. Suddenly he felt he could not look away from the pink glittery shapes. He put his arm down as his blue eyes stared into them, suddenly he felt the urge to rip off his shirt and make ridiculous poses.
What's happening? Havoc wondered, unable to stop his body. Before he knew it he was standing up and shouting, "This method of posing has been passed down the Havoc line for generations!" he shouted. His eyes were completely glazed over, as if he was in a trace. He quickly ripped off his military jacket, revealing his bare chest, and began tensing his muscles or his imaginary muscles, and started making growling noises. Some soldiers stood around and watched, very amused.
"Hmmm… Rmmm… Grrr…" Havoc mumbled as he took several different poses. His face dead serious and proud as his stick arms waved around wildly.
The soldiers began to laugh as they watched the Lieutenant put on a show. Then the sparkles positioned themselves around him, shining brightly. This continued for a few moments. Then one of the little cartoon voices were heard.
"Hmmm…" it mumbled. "Nah, not this one. He's too puny."
Then lots of 'yeahs' and 'uh-huhs' were heard. The sparkles quickly began to swarm again and dashed down the hall.
"What was that?" one solider asked.
"I dunno," the other replied as they all watched.
"Huh?" Havoc said as he came out of his trace. Then he noticed he was in a strange position. "Eh!" he glanced down and saw he wore no shirt. "Ah!" he screeched. "I'm a stripper!" he cried as he quickly grabbed his jacket and dashed down another hallway. Once out of sight he quickly pulled his shirt back on. What the heck was that about? He wondered as he regained himself. Then he put his hand in his pocket, his eyes widened. "NOOOOOOOOO! MY CIGRETTES!"
"Hm?" Fury glanced up. He had been organizing some of the files. "Did you hear something, Sir?" he asked as he looked back at Roy.
"zzzzZZZZzzzzzzZZZZZzzzz…" Roy was asleep at his desk.
"Sir?" Fury asked as a sweat drop appeared on the back of his head.
AN: So what did you think? Good? Bad? I want to know! Please tell me! Yes, I know, I don't think the sparkles can really talk either, nor do they have powers to make people pull their shirts off. It was just for humor purposes. Also, who do you want the sparkles to attack next? And I'm having a hard time coming up with ideas. Anyone have any ideas on what the sparkles could do to their next victim?