Each individual chapter will have a different rating, different pairings, different spoilers, and a different setting and timeline. Multiple people were involved in writing this fic, I do not claim to have written anything other than my own characters. I do however claim to have come up with the plot, story idea, and organizing it all. The others who write characters in this fic are well aware that I am posting it, and contribute willingly. This fic is an ongoing project with an unknown number of parts, with alternate storyline as of the fifth laboratory incident. Enjoy!


Cry, Let Slip Loose The Dogs Of War
Rating: PG-13 (For mild language use, violence)
Pairings: None
Disclaimer: I don't own FMA.
Spoilers: None
Setting: Ishbar
Timeline: Final assault on Ishbar Outstation 1 before Havoc's company can be withdrawn.
It was near midnight, and time to throw away the negotiable guise, so it had been decided finally. The relief squadron would never make it to the border, and as for that petty little platoon that was left...pity their souls in the afterlife...

The air was crisp and still, night sky crystal clear, yet dark with the new moon, seven shadows lined up just out of sight, signals given in silence as three broke off from the group undetected.

It was then that the first deafening shot rang out in the dead silence, giving the lookout just enough time to sound the alarms.

Havoc looked up sharply from the letter he was writing. The alarm bells were ringing, fit to wake the dead.

"Come ON, Havoc, we're under attack!" Mars yelled.

He grabbed the letter, folding it up and cramming it into his breast pocket. No worries, right? he thought. Grabbing his rifle, he joined his squad.

Perfect...let's see how they fare...good girl, Cruelty...

A howl split through the night.

"Havoc, what the hell was that?" Mars said, worried.

"I have no idea... but whatever it is, I don't want to find out," Havoc replied grimly. "I'll bet you pennies to a bun that this is the folks we were supposed to negotiate with."

Their orders were recieved. The entire platoon was to spread out in a flanking manover, spread their lines thin. It was insanity.

A sleek form darted past Havoc suddenly, wildly glinting eyes focusing on him for a milisecond before the weasle-like creature was gone, and the soldier to Havoc's left sputtered and choked on his own blood.

Havoc hit the ground, checking the kid's pulse. Dead. He cursed. Mars touched his arm.

"Everyone's getting slaughtered. It's horrible."

"Go back, tell someone, anyone what's going on. We're as good as dead here." Havoc slid his handgun out of its holster. "How many are left alive?"

"Five." A shriek made both men cringe. "Four."

"Three..." A familiarly sleek voice corrected, as Mars was torn from Havoc's side and pounded with a sickening crunch against an obtrusive rock. The large, scruffy looking figure grinned broadly, idly crushing the man's skull with his bare hand. Nothing but a disappointed snort huffed out of the beast, black eyes glittering darkly at Havoc in the dim light.

"You should've been out by now, Lieutenant...too bad...but you know too much as it stands, we can't let you leave..."

Havoc's eyes narrowed, shining electric blue with rage. Later he would cry, but now... "I knew there was something wrong with you..." He got his handgun up and fired an entire clip at the monster.

"Could've been a pretty slave..." Deceit laughed, easily avoiding the shots and ducking to come temporarily face to face with Havoc. "A pity, really...but I can't stand dogs..." The feline pupil shone eerily in the dark, the swish of fabric and a furry tail being the last the soldier saw of the one known as Deceit, before two shots rang out behind Havoc and the cat was gone.

Another snort, and Havoc was thrown to the ground, gun wrenched from his hand in a brutal motion that snapped his wrist, as the other hand was effectively dealt with similarly. A whiskered sneer was shot down at him before the stinging pain was evident at the side of his neck, and the hulking creature calmly trodded away, steps heavy in the sand.

Another howl pierced the night air, and the seven shadows slipped away, several of the soldier's bodies within their grasp. A feast was in store for these particular Abominations...sickeningly enough...

Havoc's eyes closed... What a way to go... He felt blood clot underneath him, mixing with the sand to form a gritty paste. A disappointment, really...

His last thought before he lapsed into unconciousness was the end of an old prayer his grandmother used to recite

The eager tread of those that go to die

Tell of the men, who, counting earth's dross,

For you will gladly yeild their latest sigh

For God have glory - Hell have utter loss.

-
Several days later, once the official report has reached Central...
-

Deceit lazily glanced around the small, overly drab room, lounging boredly on one of the few pieces of furniture. "Hmm...fetch me some whisky, will you, love?" One clawed hand waved nonchalantly towards Falsehood, and he grunted, shifting his position a bit. "Mischief dear my leg's cramping..."

Quietly, Falsehood did as requested, doing some fancy juggling with bottle and glass. "One or two measures?"

"Two, it's going to be a long night..." The feline chimera rubbed his temples lightly.

Mischief yawned, stretching in Deceit's lap and purring as she sat back up to absently nibble her master's ear, tail curled around her scantily clad form.

"If it's gonna be that bad, give 'em three," Slaughter remarked from the corner, his heavy voice vaguely amused. "Alchohol's the best painkiller, y'know."

Falsehood smiled fondly back at the big chimera. "Shut up, you big ox."

A quiet chittering sound came from the opposite corner, as Cruelty gnawed avidly at a bone, beady eyes darting every so often down at the hungry looking Sabotage, from whom she'd stolen said bone. She spat slightly, hissing at the boy for looking at her wrong and scurrying to a higher location.

Slaughter shook his head. "Honestly, what's the point of this? We're sitting here, doing absolutely nothing. The little 'un's are getting stir crazy."

Falsehood passed the whisky to Deceit. "Not to mention some of the big ones, too..."

Deceit simply chuckled at the behaviour, grinning a fanged grin as Sabotage growled at Mischief. He tilted his head up to the rafters, single emerald eye focusing on what lie above. "How's it hangin' up there ya old bat?" There was an amused tone to his voice.

He took the glass from Falsehood, taking a sip and grimacing slightly. "Strong...that's good...ahh...settle down you guys, there's no point in moving out just yet, so let's bask in the victory for a while, eh?"

"Doin' just dandy, boss." A black, fanged head poked out over a beam. "I'm bored as hell, though. I wish I could be out doin' something instead of pretendin' to be asleep."

"If the little wench would give me my damn bone back I'd be more than happy to let it be...why'd she have to come along anyway...I don't trust the little sneak.." Sabotage flicked a furry white ear, towards Mischief, golden glare apparent. "Little thief..." He slinked over to the couch, choosing to lounge at Deceit's feet now and give up on the bone, despite his instincts that made him have the inkling for ferret.

Falsehood leaned back against the rickety table. "Come on, Deceit. We don't look very victorious. In fact, old scabbychops over there," she nodded over at Sabotage, "looks like you just pulled him from the sewer."

"I resent that remark, viper..." came the snapped retort from the wolf boy. Deceit simply grinned. "Well...that's his problem, he's old enough to give himself a bath, isn't he?" Claws scratched gently behind Sabotage's ears. "You could always come down here and join us if you'd like, Discrimination...nobody ever said you had to stay up there all the time..."

"Ehh... not to fond of little snakes and sour wolves." Discrimination waved a bony wing-arm down at the motley gathering. "Safer up here than down there, you know."

Slaughter chuckled. "You think I'm very safe? I'm a big grass-eater surrounded by little meat-eaters."

"Keyword: Big," Falsehood remarked. "You could kill any one of us with a tap from your fist."

Cruelty took the chance to flash a sharp-toothed, snide grin. "About as dull as a river rock, though, and falls ten times as hard."

"I'll choose to believe that you're talking about my sense of humor," Slaughter said mildly.

"Take it how you wish to, oh large and blunt herbivore..." Cruelty flashed another grin, beady black eyes glinting from her high perch.

"Shut up, you little rodent!" Falsehood snapped.

Discrimination retreated back into his little nest. "Now you see why I'm not coming down?"

Cruelty's eyes twinkled again, but she remained silent, gnawing on the bone once again with sharp little teeth.

"I really thought I raised you all better, you're acting like children...and Cruelty...I know you always do your best to live up to your name, but please, do be considerate of your brethren..." Deceit smirked, Cruelty wouldn't defy him, he knew that, but as for riling up the others...she had a nack for it...

Falsehood sighed. "Again, Deceit. What the hell are we doing here?"

"Falsehood, calm down," Slaughter said gently. "Pestering him won't get you anywhere."

"True...it won't..." Deceit chimed in. "Just because not all of us are daytime creatures doesn't mean we shouldn't allow those who are a chance to sleep every now and then..." He purred, tilting his head to the lynx beside him, who was, despite all of the noise, fast asleep.

"Ugh." Falsehood stalked past, muttering uncomplementary things about the lynx. "You're all insane." She climbed up on Slaughter's lap, curling up into a fetal position.

Slaughter stroked her white hair absently. "But really, Boss," he said. "We're getting stir-crazy. A lot of us were used to being free to wander where we want, and being cooped up like this isn't healthy."

"I don't want to risk going out so soon after an uprising...I'm not going to foolishly put you all in the open after a massacre like that..." Deceit yawned idly, sipping some more at the whisky.

"It was fun, though," Descrimination said happily. He burped a little and giggled. "Tasty, too."

"Glad you had your fill, there's some seargent major left in the back if anybody wants a snack." The catboy grinned ferally, highly amused.

"Oh, for..." Slaughter put his large hand against his large head. "You're all nuts."

"Oooh! Ooooh! Me, me mee!" The bat-chimera fluttered to the ground. "I'll share with any flesh-eaters, too!"

"You're the only one of us that's an herbivore, Slaughter, it's almost a crime that you love to kill but don't take pride in the spoils!" Deceit prodded Sabotage lightly. "Go fetch him, will you?" The wolf simply grunted in compliance, sulking to the back as regally as possible to snatch the remains.

"At least I'm feeding the rest of you," the bison chimera said in a dignified manner. "I never said I didn't take pride in it either - I just don't EAT them."

"You know what I mean..." Deceit waved it off casually, then winced. "Dammit, Mischief, your claws are digging into my hip!" He gingerly removed Mischief's hands from his leg as Sabotage strode back in, already tearing off a rib and gnawing on it idly as he tossed the carcass into the center of the table. "Sorry to take first dibs...I know it's not polite of me, leader..." The wolf shied away to an empty corner, picking bits of flesh from his sharp teeth with the end of the rib.

Descrimination hopped up to the table, rooting around for the heart. He squeaked happily, yanking the organ out.

Slaughter cocked his head thoughtfully. "Whatever happened to that Second Lieutenant that you has such a fancy for, Boss?"

Falsehood choked and woke all the way up. "WHAT!"

Deceit leaned forward, snatching a wrist, and with a deft twist and a bit of stabilizing from his foot, he wrenched the arm from the rest of the body. "By my calculations, the poor fool should be dead, unless somebody actually managed to perform some kind of miracle to keep him from bleeding to death out there in the desert...but we did miss the heart, so it's possible he's still alive, despite the fatal blows that Cruelty made to his juggular..." With that, the feline tore into the flesh above the elbow, busying himself with chewing.

"Why didn't you let him live?" Slaughter inquired curiously. "He may have been of some use to us..." He was interrupted Falsehood's screech.

"WHAAAAT!"

Descrimination winced. "OW! Tone it down, lady!"

Deceit winced slightly as well. "He knew too much, and was definitely not the type to convert so easily...I'd had my eye on him as you know, and it's a shame we had to waste such a loyal soldier, I know..." The boy paused for a moment before resuming again after swallowing. "But he was loyal to Mustang, too loyal..."

Slaughter shrugged. "A pity. I would have liked to have gotten my hands on him." He blinked, realizing something. "You LEFT him there? Why the hell didn't you bring him back with the others! That way we would have made sure! YOU VERY POSSIBLY LET SOMEONE LIVE WHO KNEW WHO WE ARE!"

Deceit simply grinned, wiping a bit of congealed blood off of his face. "All the more interesting that way...I told you once we started that I planned to leave at least one of them alive...the mental trauma will be enough to drive them mad if nothing else...trust me, Slaughter, I know what I'm doing..."

"If this Second Lieutenant is anything like you've described him, I doubt that he's going to go insane," Slaughter pointed out.

"Point...but he should be severely incapacitated from those wounds, and if not...then we'll have something a bit more fun to go up against..." Deceit purred, returning to his meal.

Descrimination started in on the dead man's liver. "Good grief, Slaughter, you worry too much. If Deceit says he knows what he's doin', then he knows what he's doin'," he said, spotting the look on the big chimera's face.

"My only thing is, you may be overconfident about this," Slaughter said quietly, before subsiding.

Deceit shrugged, continuing his meal in silence.

Now it was Falsehood's turn to wax wrathful. She stalked over to the cat, yanking him up. "What ARE these people TALKING ABOUT!" she hissed into his face. "There's something you're not telling me, isn't there!"

Swalling his current mouthful, Deceit sighed lazily. "It's nothing important, Falsehood..."

"Why, you..."

"Why, I, what..." Deceit's tone became suddenly predatory, as a blue light crackled around Falsehood's wrist.

She shrieked, letting go. "Nnng..."

"Boss, stop it," Slaughter said. "She's just worried."

"If I've told you once I've told you too many times." The glow faded and Deceit settled himself back on the shabby couch with what was left of the arm. "There is no reason to be worried about my plans..."

"I don't think she was worried about your plans -"

"Shut up, you ox!" the woman snarled.

The feral grinned at that. "Jealous, much?"

Falsehood slid away with what remained of her dignity, curling up in her place in Slaughter's lap.

Meanwhile, Sabotage had dozed off in the corner, and Deceit simply continued his meal, tossing the tiny phalanges up to Cruelty, who snatched them out of midair and expertly rid them of what flesh they had left.

Descrimination finished off the liver and burped again. "Mmph. That was good. How long are we gonna be hangin' out here, boss?"

"A few days at least...then we'll head back north...Falsehood, however, will be heading out in the morning...certainly they'll be wary of your term of absence back in Central...do take care of any...Intelligence threats that may pop up as well...won't you, love?" Deceit purred the last bit.

"I'm assuming you're talking about Hughes," she said grumpily.

"You would be correct..." the lazy cat replied casually.

"What? You want him dead or just taken out of the picture of the time being?"

Deceit pondered that question for a moment, a grin sliding upon his lips. "Kill him."

Falsehood smiled, baring thin, sharp fangs. "Right. I'm assuming he's the only one I kill?"

"Off anybody else you deem necessary..." He purred, tossing the leftovers of his meal back onto the table, which gave a rickety creak. "Do have fun..."

She slid off her friend's lap. "I always do." She gave a mock salute. "I'll head out now, with your permission, sir."

"Permission granted." Deceit grinned at the mocking formality. "Safe journey, Falsehood, rendevouz in Liegenstadt, you've got two weeks."

"Got it." She scooped up a military jacket and hat, settling them on her. She disappeared out the door.

"Don't even open your mouth, Cruelty..." Deceit snapped, to which there was a clicked tongue and a faint scratching from the ferret in return. She had been planning to say something, but he knew her too well.


Please review, constructive criticism and questions appreciated, flames will be deflected back at you by Roy. n.n;