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!


The one They Called Fawkes

Rating: PG-13 (Implications, language)
Pairings: HavocxRoy, RoyxEd, HavocxEd implications
Disclaimer: I don't own FMA.
Spoilers: Noooooone!
Setting: Central Headquarters, Ishbar Outpost 1, known as Geriko by its inhabitants.
Timeline: Ed and Havoc return from Dublith to Central, then are dragged out to Ishbar by a frantic Roy.


"Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc, reporting in at Southern Command. I request a line into my battalion headquarters."

A slight pause where the hum and click of connection was painfully obvious.

Mustang's voice clacked a greeting. Havoc frowned, surprised. Usually, Hawkeye picked up the phone.

"Hullo, Colonel. Yes, I'm fine. Yes, I have the little terror with me. He's the one that pulled me out of the Medic Ward in the first place." He grinned at Ed's indignant squawk. "H'm? Oh, yeah. Command shuffled me into Special Ops. I'm now Major Elric's bodyguard – what? I guess they haven't made it public. Command seems to think Predator might go for Major Elric now."

"-me on the phone dammit! Don't just talk about me like I'm not here and-"

"Predator? That's the name of the group that attacked us out in the desert. Yes, I know. No – no, I don't. Command's already debriefed me. You could probably get a transcript if you asked –" Mustang said something, and all the blood drained from Havoc's face. "What? Sir, that's... No, I'm not denying... yes, I know... sir, I... Colonel, please. How did you find out? It's classified information on the skirmish in Ishbar – you weren't supposed to know until..." Mustang said something, and his face darkened. "Oh, really." Mustang confirmed his previous statement, adding a few details. "Saw me, then came running to you? That would explain a few things. No, we're back on speaking terms." He glared briefly over his shoulder. "But maybe not for long..."

There was a screech of protest in the background, along with the sound of something breaking.

Mustang interrupted him. Again, he blanched, even paler than before. "WHAT! Dear God, no... How? What? No marks? Sounds like the Major..." An epiphany struck. "Colonel, look. There's a woman with one arm running around in Central. Or was, I'm not sure. She may have escaped by now. But she's posing as a lieutenant colonel. She tried to kill Major Elric. It was just a kiss –" He smiled faintly at the nearly-audible growl. "But it was like he got hit with some type of poison. In fact she said something about an anti-venom serum...

"But she's not human, as you'd think of it. She's a viper chimera of some flavor, and now that I'm looking back on it, that's how Stanson died. Check the coroner's report for both Stanson and Hughes. If I'm right, the reports should look similar.

"And sir, if you see someone that looks vaguely off, or knows too much about the three of us, kill them... no, I'm not overreacting. There's four of them that I know of, and one of them is named Ashton Fawkes."

Havoc held the receiver away at the clatter and thud at the other end of the line, along with shouted obscenities and Hawkeye's calming voice. He frowned. "What the hell?"

Hawkeye's voice took up the receiver next, sounding a bit exasperated. "Sorry about the fuss, Second Lieutenant. No, he's fine… No, I just walked in-" she listened for a moment to Ed squawking on the other end of the phone, sighing. "You're expected back on the next train from Dublith, it leaves in half an hour, I suggest you hurry. The Colonel will meet you at headquarters."

Havoc grunted slightly after hearing a click, hanging up the receiver.

"Well? What the hell did he say!" Ed tapped his foot, glaring violet and gold at the chimera.

"We're to head back to Central on the next train out of here, leaves in half an hour so we'd better get going."

"I figured that much, I was talking about what the hell made you go so damn white!" Ed protested, stumbling after Havoc as the taller blond started to walk off. "Hey! Wait up dammit!"

Without missing a beat, Havoc tugged on the brim of his hat, pulling it down a bit. "We'll be paying our respects to the late Brigadier General Hughes when this is over…"

-

Roy was standing at the main doors of the headquarters, dark eyes focused on the gate ahead of him, waiting. His expression was set into the mask he usually wore, revealing nothing of the inner turmoil he felt at the moment, standing there in that crisp, impeccable uniform that, unfortunately, still bore the insignia of Colonel.

Straightening as he saw a car pull up, he watched as Jean Havoc stepped out and thanked the driver noncommittally. Roy swallowed the lump he didn't know had been in his throat, and braced himself to face what changes could have been so shocking that Edward had come running to his office in such a hysterical, frantic state.

Once Havoc was within fifteen feet of his person, Roy stiffened to attention in a respectful salute, knowing it wasn't necessary, but doing so just the same. Someone who had been through as much as Jean deserved it.

Havoc's eyebrows lifted up under the military cap when he saw his C.O. stiffly at attention. A smile quirked the corner of his mouth, though not so much as to reveal sharp teeth. He trusted Mustang not to run in panic at the sight of him, but he still wanted to keep at least some illusion of normalcy.

These thoughts brought him a few paces away from the black-haired man, and he straightened to attention, saluting. "Sir."

Roy nodded, relaxing his posture, though still retaining the clipped military air about his actions. "At ease, Lieutenant... or have they changed your rank as well?"

Havoc's grin widened. "Hell, no. Even if they did, I'd be busted back to lieutenant inside a week." He tapped a patch on the sleeve of his uniform. "Though, they did stick me in the Special Operations Corps. I'm still under your command, just doing a different job." He shrugged comically. "Guess Command wanted to fob me off on someone else."

The familiar smirk crossed the Colonel's features. "I would've had strings pulled and you would've been back under my command within no more than twenty four hours after I learned of such a transfer if it were to occur, though... but you know that..."

Roy nodded slightly and turned. "We'll discuss the situation further in my office." He opened the doors, pausing to wait for a response. It was then that he finally noticed what felt odd...

"Where is Major Elric?"

The grin dropped right off the blond man's face. "He had some... problems on the train back. He's in Medical Ward now, but he'll be okay in a few hours." Havoc slid fluidly through the partially open door. "He told me to say 'don't worry, old man, you don't have to drag me back yet.' I'm assuming that means something to you?"

Mustang made no effort to hide his scowl. "Lieutenant Hawkeye should be along later, she's currently attending to matters of the canine variety. Let's go."

Without waiting, Roy stepped inside the headquarters, and began the walk to his office, not looking back.

Havoc gazed, puzzled, at the back of his C.O.'s head. Shrugging, he slipped off his cap and followed him, making a face at some random petty officer that had stopped to stare at his leonine features.

Roy made a meager attempt at casual conversation during the walk, 'how's it been,' and 'they giving you better cigarettes in Special Ops?', but it didn't last long. Upon reaching his office, Roy instantly dropped the mask, slumping wearily down on one of the couches with a heavy sigh.

The Colonel that had met Havoc outside and the Colonel that sat before him now were like night and day. Despite the obviously neat uniform and hair, Roy couldn't help but give the impression of disorderly stress, it was like the man had just crumbled under the weight of three years of hell.

Havoc leaned against a wall, arms folded. "Things don't look so good for you. I take it things have been rough in the administration section?"

"Every time I think it's going to smooth out again, something like this happens to fuck it all up... I'm not quite sure what to do right now..." Roy admitted, running his hands through his hair frustratedly and making it a bit of a mess. "Tell me again what happened..."

"Oh, god, where to begin. I guess you know the basics, beyond what I've told you. Routine guard duty sent to hell by a bunch of Ishbar rebels calling themselves 'Predator', or whatever the fuck they're saying here.

"I guess you also got the dispatch, didn't you? It's pretty much like what it said. We were minding our own business, a day or two..." he caught sight of the bloody letter on Mustang's desk and turned a peculiar shade of green. "Well. I guess you know that. I didn't think they'd send that on, but I guess I was wrong.

"Anyway, the diplomat that we were dealing with was a man by the name of Ashton Fawkes. Red hair, green eye, strange. Arrogant. I didn't like him one little bit." A pause. "He smokes, too, but it's even worse than what they give us here. But the thing that really weirds me out is that he's not even fully human. He's a chimera, too, though badly done. He has a tail and I think he's missing an eye..." His voice became pained. "He's the one that shot me twice through the left lung and left me to die –" He broke off at the look on Mustang's face. "Sir? What's wrong"

Roy had suddenly paled at the man's description, and had stopped rubbing his temples in favor of a blank, glazed stare ahead of him.

Ashton Fawkes... smoker... red hair green eyes...

"I... think I must be hearing things... I thought I just heard you say that this man's name was Ashton Fawkes..." Mustang still stared straight ahead. "No... not hearing things at all... it makes too much sense now..." His eyes suddenly narrowed and he scowled at the memory of that arrogant kid.

"Predator... He called himself the Predator Alchemist... Major Ashton Fawkes... that was nearly three years ago, I'd all but forgotten..." Clasping his hands, elbows on his knees, his mouth was hidden behind his folded hands. "Was there ever a long lapse in communication between the negotiators across the border? Long enough, say, for one to travel back here to Central and dig around a bit before going back?"

Roy neglected to mention the fact that the man had known about Edward's death, had warned him that he would lose others close to him if he wasn't careful. He neglected to mention that the man had seemed to know a little too much about what was going on, and what would be happening. It wasn't important. Not now, anyway, Mustang thought. After all, he had the feeling that this Fawkes person had meant for him to know these things.

The situation was dropped so plainly and unhidden right in front of his nose, hiding in plain sight, and he hadn't listened to it. Colonel Roy Mustang, Flame Alchemist, was the fool here. If Ed had been around, or even Jean... They would've smelled the rat and gone at it with fangs and claws instead of continuing to feed it just what it wanted, thinking that perhaps it was a cat that needed shelter, rather than such a vile rodent.

Predator... The Predator Alchemist... Ashton Fawkes... Somehow Mustang knew that the man was smarter than that, wasn't stupid enough to so recklessly give out the same name and designation. No. The Predator had left openings on purpose. He wanted them to find out... and damn it all if Roy and all the others hadn't been playing right into his hands!

"Three months and two days lapse, on average" Havoc said warily, still not quite sure what all was going on. "Sometimes for up to as long as six months. But that's normal, Mustang. Both parties still have to communicate with their governments or whatever." Something clicked. "Three years ago... he would only have had to have been here a few times – enough to take the examinations and to show up a few times to keep the illusion going. But he wasn't the one doing the real snooping. It was the viper woman. The lieutenant colonel."

His catlike eyes narrowed. He didn't like the direction this was going.

"We've been played for idiots. Whoever's pulling the strings here – and sure as anything it isn't us – wants us to put certain select things together. Otherwise... why wouldn't they have made doubly sure that I was dead? I heard what happened to some of the dead: found in bits and pieces, eaten. Why didn't they do that to me? Why did they leave three survivors? Why did that woman tell me..." Another realization. "She must have put the serum there for me to find. Sir, there's too many inconsistencies with their behavior to be just a coincidence. It's almost like they want us to know."

Mustang sighed, closing his eyes. "I'm well aware of that, Lieutenant... These people... they're not idiots... quite the contrary, however..." He shifted his position, leaning back on the couch again and turning his head to look at Havoc. "That worries me... because a man only does something like that if he's well assured of his control over the situation, whether it be on his turf or the enemy's... We're dealing with something even greater than anything we've met before, my gut tells me that..." He sighed again.

"We know for a fact that the chimerae hiding out with the artificial human who calls himself Greed aren't much of a threat at all... after all, we know who created them, how they were created, what their limitations are..." Shifting again, Roy stood up, walking around the couch to place his hands on the back of it, seeming to suddenly be very angry with the wall opposing him. "Already these... creatures... have done more damage than we had thought possible... They were unmistakeably bred to kill and only for that purpose..."

With a look of frustration, he turned to look at Jean again, eyes finally just taking in the subtle changes that three years and a transmutation had brought. "Obviously they're superweapons... but what makes them so much more deadly than those that came out of the fifth laboratory? Sure, they've got claws and fangs, but that shouldn't make that much of a difference... What is it that makes them such perfect weapons?"

"Chimerae are often called monsters," Havoc said reflectively. "In some cases, and I like to think my own case, they're wrong. We still have our feelings and our memories of who and what we used to love and our sanity. It's because we were made by someone who knew what they were doing." He looked down at his hand, unsheathing his claws. "These... things, really, aren't even remotely close to what someone could call perfect. They're inhuman, bonded with animals..." He smiled, somewhat bitter. "They're the perfect fighting machines because they're not perfect chimerae. They're ruthless, cunning, and cruel to a fault. They're horribly strong and quick. They have hardly any human emotions. They've lost whatever humanity they used to have.

"Some of their actions are intelligent, almost frighteningly so, but I think that someone's ordering them around." His mouth quirked up again. "After all, we can only attack once our masters have pointed."

"Don't you dare for a minute lump yourself with the likes of them, Jean..." There was a dangerous fire in Roy's eyes as his tone became harsh and angry.

The undertone of guilt or sorrow might have been there, it might not have.

He would have denied either one.

Havoc spread his arms. "Why shouldn't I? It's the truth. Deep down, all human chimerae are essentially the same. We're all monsters, pets, guard animals, pack animals, friends, bodyguards. Don't say that I'm not – it's no use lying to yourself or me. I'll allow that I still have my human emotions and they don't, but that doesn't erase the fact that the Fuhrer ordered me to be made as an answer to Predator. I was made to kill."

"Maybe you were made for such intentions, Lieutenant, but you still retain a great deal of your humanity... and you most definitely were not born for such intentions."

"I'm a soldier before I'm a man," Havoc said quietly, looking Mustang straight in the eye. "I'll do what I was made to do before what I was born to do."

"Then keep living." Roy replied, flatly. "Don't you dare die on me out there, that's an order."

"I wasn't planning on dying, sir." He gritted his teeth, needing to point out reality but still wondering how pissed-off he could make Mustang in the space of one hour. "But sometimes it just can't be helped."

The smirk was put in place, a glint in dark eyes. "Good." Roy turned, walking slowly to his desk and sitting down in the chair, reclining slightly. "Back to the situation at hand... This viper woman... one arm and white hair, you said? I believe I've seen her before..."

"When! Where?" From the urgent tone in his voice, it hardly needed to be said that the viper was first on Havoc's hit list. He was in front of Mustang's desk before he even realized it.

She took your place in my office... Roy had the feeling that the truth would only worry his subordinate more.

"I'm not sure I remember when or where, Lieutenant. I simply remember that I did. After all, you don't see a dark skinned, armless, white-haired woman with an eyepatch very often..."

"Sir, I may be colorblind, but I'm certainly not blind," Havoc snapped. "You're lying."

At least he had intuitive subordinates, Mustang had to give himself that. Resignedly, he sighed, dark eyes looking up to meet Havoc's. "The Fuhrer assigned her to me in your place, Lieutenant... I wasn't at all fond of his decision, but you know what the stakes are, you know I couldn't refuse..."

"... my god," Havoc said, appalled. Feeling suddenly very woozy, he stumbled back, collapsing down onto the couch. "Dear god, that's how he knew..." He put his head in his hands.

Instinct had Roy up and around his desk before he knew it, sitting on the table in front of the couch and eyeing Havoc with a look that couldn't quite pass as placid. "There was nothing any of us could have done about it..."

"I should've realized it earlier, I should've warned you... now look at it. A hundred people are dead because I'm a stupid idiot."

Blue-green eyes shifted between pure sapphire and gold-flecked green in his confusion and guilt, the warring sides of his personality painfully evident.

Mustang's hands were suddenly gripping Havoc's shoulders almost painfully hard, dark eyes glaring into the shifting extremes as he leaned over the Lieutenant. "You couldn't do a damn thing about it and you know that! I couldn't have done a damn thing about it! Quit feeling sorry for yourself, Jean, it's not going to do anybody any good..."

Havoc snarled at the pain, eyes going completely green for one terrifying second. He brushed off the man easily, despite the powerful grip. "Don't touch me!" he snarled ferally.

Roy straightened, settling his face into its usual mask, but not before the slightest of hurt, longing looks passed his eyes. "If you don't watch yourself, Lieutenant, you're going to lose your humanity..."

Havoc's eyes slid back into their normal blue-green. He rubbed a hand over his face. "You think I don't already know that? Trust me, when you have an urge to hunt and kill your own supper, you get the hint that your humanity's slipping.

"And... it's not that I mind being touched, it's just that my body really doesn't like pain of any degree."

No... he hadn't missed that look in Mustang's eyes, and he felt terrible for incurring it.

"I'm sorry, sir..."

"It's not like you can help it..." Roy muttered, dropping down on the couch next to Havoc. "It hurts, you know..."

Havoc leaned back, digging through his pockets. "Well... I think maybe I can help it, I just don't know how." He chuckled sourly, pulling out a half-used pack of cigarettes. "One hell of a chimera, aren't I? I want to be a human, but there's always those little annoying reminders that I'm not." He began the long and arduous search for his cigarette lighter.

"I'll probably iron out the little quirks sooner or later. I've only been like this for a month or so, and I haven't quite found out all the little tricks to control myself."

Roy held out one hand, fingers poised to snap. "Need a light?" The tone was friendly, different than the military attitude Roy usually kept up. He only showed this side to a select few people.

Havoc held out a cigarette. "Go for it."

There was a quick snap and a tiny flame sparked forth, igniting the end of the cigarette and swiftly vanishing again. The smell of raw flint lingered in the air, and Roy frowned at it, instead opting on leaning against Havoc, head resting on his shoulder as he sighed.

Havoc idly looked over at his C.O.'s messy tumble of black hair and grinned slightly. "Hey, you're going grey." He delicately began to pick through individual strands. "Not even forty and you're going silver. It is to laugh."

Mustang winced as Havoc plucked a single hair, sitting up immediately and shoving the other man rather roughly down on the couch, firm grip on the uniform jacket and a slightly predatory gleam in his eyes. "It's none of your concern, Lieutenant... and I assure you that I'm still perfectly well-balanced in other areas of expertise..." That smirk was there, and the silky voice was almost purred.

Havoc smiled slightly, lidding blue-green cat eyes. "Never doubted it for a minute."

Roy sighed, gently cupping Havoc's cheek with one gloved hand, smiling slightly. "It's... been a long time..." His voice took on a certain regretful tone. "I only wish everything were the same as it was back then..."

Hawkeye rapped on the door twice, briskly- but having known the Colonel for as long as she had, and never one for too many formalities, she could afford to not wait for an answer. She paused only for a brief moment, shifting the folder of paperwork in her arms slightly, before reaching for the doorknob and unceremoniously pushing the door open.

Sharp eyes, accustomed to picking out targets hundreds of feet away with ease, took in the scene mere yards in front of her with speed. She blinked once, almost imperceptibly- but for someone who showed few reactions in the first place, it was quite an action. Her slight confusion was evident.

Upon hearing the knocks, Roy had suddenly frozen, and by the time Hawkeye had entered the room, he had barely snapped to his senses enough to stare with a look of sheer horror, expecting a bullet to be penetrating his skull at any moment.

Once the initial shock wore off, he managed to quickly regain his composure, sliding off the couch to stand and straighten his uniform before walking up to Hawkeye. "Lieutenant... I see you've returned..."

Havoc coughed demurely, not caring enough to feel any embarrassment. "Long time, no see, eh, Lieutenant?" He sat up, took a drag on his cigarette and waved cheerfully.

"Indeed, Lieutenant," she replied, fixing him with a level gaze- she was still too much in control of herself to warrant a glare- that demanded explanations. With one arm securely around the stack of papers, her other hand drifted lazily towards the ever-present holster at her side. Her eyes were still steadily boring into him, refusing to glance over at the flustered Flame Alchemist fidgeting off to the side.

Said alchemist paled slightly at the hand reaching for a holster, if it were even possible for Roy Mustang to get any paler, of course.

Havoc leaned back casually, running a hand through a slightly messy mop of hair. "I see you're just as touchy as ever." He squinted slightly. "That's an awful lot of paperwork..." He got smoothly to his feet, moving too fluidly to be comfortably human. "You want any help?"

She accepted the suggestion wordlessly, dropping the stack on top of the desk with a slight thud. She would let him evade the question for now- for the colonel's sake, she repeated to herself, catching the dark circles under her superior's eyes- but she vowed that by the evening, when their work was done, she was not letting either of them leave the building without giving her answers. "Your help would be much appreciated, Lieutenant."

And if all else failed, she'd let Black Hayate- older but retaining the same boundless energy that was even more formidable than it had been when he was a puppy because of his current size- have a go at them.

A momentary dark gaze was sent in Riza's direction, its meaning clear. 'Thanks...'

Running slightly shaky fingers through raven tangles of hair, Roy moved back to his desk. "Lieutenant Hawkeye... the files, if you would... and some coffee..."

"Sir." She acknowledged the command with a nod, performed what amounted to an about-face, and strode out of the room in the direction of the coffee machine.

But once out of sight around a corner, her composure slipped slightly and she glanced back at the door of the office almost wistfully. Then the moment passed, and her face was impassive again.

The Colonel reached out to pick up the first file in the stack, thumbing through it. "Hnn..." He mused to himself, moving on to the next file and thumbing through that as well, repeating the same pattern until he got about halfway down the stack and had just opened another file.

Leaving that open, he skimmed back in the other files, flipping one open and looking from one to the other, a growing look of horrific understanding on his face.

Everything happened in a second, and the next thing Havoc knew he was being carted out the door in quite a hurry, practically dragged by an unusually disturbed looking Roy Mustang.

"We have to get out of Central, no time to explain I'll do that on the way, where's Edward, we'll need to pick him up, don't bother bringing your things just hurry up!"

Havoc blinked, seizing on the only phrase he had picked up in the whole diatribe. "Elric's up in Medical Wing, Second Floor, Room 201." Then, when Roy had almost dragged him into the wall, he pulled his bruised wrist out of Mustang's grip, though he kept up with his panicky C.O. "Good god, man, what's wrong?"

"There's no time!" Roy hissed through his teeth, a vehement glare shot at his subordinate. "How fast can you sprint up there and get Major Elric back down here?"

"No idea," Havoc said, taking off his jacket and throwing it at Mustang. "Where do you want us to meet you?"

"Out front, I'll pull the car around..." With that, Roy headed off towards the entrance at a swift pace.

Havoc nodded, then took off at a full sprint. He was in the Medic Ward in a matter of minutes, then skidded to a halt in front of Ed's room. He shoved the door open.

More than just slightly bored, Edward was glad to see a familiar face, but the look on said face and the slight sense of panic in the air wasn't helping. "Jean? What's got you looking like that?"

"Damned if I knew," Havoc replied succinctly. "Mustang's in a panic, and he won't tell me what's wrong. Can you walk? Even better, can you run?"

"Of course I can!" The braided alchemist hopped up out of bed. "Thank god something finally happened so I can just get out of here! Just show me the way!"

"Forget putting on your shoes, kid – just carry them. We're in a hurry." With Ed close at his heels, he started off, making for the front parade ground where Mustang said he would be.

Automail clashed with the ground as Ed ran after Havoc, trying to keep up, dodging a few bewildered officers and nearly knocking over a water cooler. Reaching the stairs, he simply balanced his weight between his automail hand and foot and slid down the railing, skidding a bit across the floor before scrambling back to his feet to give chase again. "Hey! I haven't had anything to eat yet you know! I think... I..." The clank of metal against tile slowed drastically, pace starting to become a bit uneven. "I... don't... thi... Jean..."

Guess I should've taken it easy... heh... Jean and Roy both'll have a fit when I wake up... That was the last thought that ran through Ed's brain before he blacked out completely, right there in the middle of the hall, the clatter of automail limbs hitting the floor echoing through the lobby.

Havoc skidded to a stop. "Oh, for..." He caught sight of curious personnel closing in. "Back off!" he snapped, not in the mood for questions.

Deciding that it would all work out in the end, he swung the unconscious alchemist up into a secure grip and loped out into the parade ground.

As promised, a car was waiting out front, engine running and the driver apparently most impatient, as he kept revving the engine slightly. Perhaps it was nerves.

Havoc bundled the boy into the backseat (along with his boots), sliding into the passenger's side front. "Two questions for you, sir. One. Where the hell are we going? Two. What the hell is wrong with you?"

As soon as the door was closed, Mustang stepped on the gas, gaze set on the street in front of them. "See for yourself..." He made a brief gesture at the files between them.

"As long as you keep your eyes on the road!" Havoc snapped, hanging on for dear life around a sharp corner. "Whatever's got you so worked up will be a moot point if you get us killed with shitty driving!"

He grumbled and opened up the set of files, organizing them a bit haphazardly around his seat. As he read further, his eyes got wider.

The symbol of a chimerical transmutation... the mysterious disappearance of a certain State Alchemist named Paul Delgardie after the Fifth Laboratory non-incident... the disappearance or apparent destruction of Delgardie's research from the half-restored Central Library two years ago... two dead State Alchemists of high standing who were researching chimerical transmutations, found ripped to shreds (post mortem desecrations) thirteen months ago... the sealing of the homunculus called Greed, three years ago... the cryptic threats that Fawkes had given both him and Mustang... Major Stanton's death, seven months ago... Hughes' death, two months ago... his own near-death, two months ago... Ed's attempted murder, a bare week ago.

The lists of deaths and disappearances grew longer and longer, and he knew exactly who to blame. Predator.

"Roy," he said in a cold tone that brooked no argument. "We're going west. Now."

Roy understood perfectly, veering around another turn and clearing Central within half an hour.

Within two more hours, they had crossed the Armestris-Ishbar border, brights on against the unyielding dark.

"There's a military outpost, a half mile north from here," Havoc said quietly. "Leave the car with military personnel. We're going the rest of the way on foot." He checked the high-caliber pistol in his shoulder holster and the twelve rounds of ammunition in the old-fashioned beltpouch on his left hip. "Let me do the talking and try to keep Ed away from the woman's throat."

"Are you sure it's safe to go by foot..." Mustang turned slightly, heading northwest towards the distant lights of the outpost.

"Yes," Havoc said firmly. "In fact, it would be better. I can see in the dark, we'd be less noticeable... you might want to get rid of your military jacket, sir." Now that his initial panic reaction was over, he was back to using cooled formality. "You might get cold, but the people around where Lisa Delgardie live don't take kindly to military. Ah – here we are."

Roy brought the car to a stop, shutting off the engine. "And yourself? ...Nevermind... I'll take him in to get something he can eat, you wait here..." With that, he stepped out of the car, hauling Ed out of the back and carrying him inside.

It was quite clear that Edward Elric would be just fine once a loud and indignant screech was heard from inside, ten minutes later on the dot.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL HE COULDN'T EVEN PASS FOR A TINY MUSHROOM!"

Havoc burst out laughing, leaning against the car hood. Ed was more inventive creating insults for himself than Havoc and Mustang combined.

He grabbed the files when he spotted the two men emerging from the station. "Ready?"

Unable to hold back a grin, Roy nodded, dragging the enraged Elric behind him. "Come now, settle down, Fullmetal."

Having discarded the jacket, he was indeed ready to meet this Lisa... he wasn't sure who she was, but being related to Delgardie... she was most likely the one who had created... god how he hated that word - saved, that's much better - Jean...

Fuming silently, Ed was hit by another dizzy spell, leaning heavily against Roy for a moment or two and most definitely calming down. "Where... are we..."

"Welcome to West Bum Fuck, more commonly known in Central as Ishbar Outstation I." He turned and started moving off, the sand crunching beneath his boots. "Where the days are scorching and the nights freezing.

"The villagers might be a little hostile at first, but when they see you with me, they'll relax. Both of you, don't even think about doing alchemy."

Sighing slightly, Roy swept Edward off his feet and into his arms, walking after Havoc without a single word.

"I don't need to be carried I can walk just fine..." Ed mumbled against the Colonel's shirt, but didn't protest as his arms slid around the older man's neck and he nuzzled against the pleasant warmth and smell of smoke.

Havoc just rolled his eyes. "Do you two mind catching up? It gets dark out here, and you might get lost."

Turning his head for a minute to glare in the direction of the ground, Ed huffed. "I hate the desert..."

"It's full of sand..." Roy chorused, chuckling amusedly at Ed's reaction when he did. "You haven't changed that much after all..." In accordance to Havoc's suggestion, he quickened his pace.

After traveling quickly and in silence for twenty minutes, they made it to the dumpy little outpost town. On the edge of the water limit, a nicer house than the rest stood, a light shining by the door.

Havoc pointed. "That's Lisa's place. She has an extensive lab underneath the building in a small grouping of desert caverns. I don't know how it was built, but the place functions as an inn, hospital, and tavern. The woman's brilliant," he said, fondness coloring his voice momentarily.

"Oh, and sir? Make sure Ed doesn't kill Lisa, will you?"

Roy simply nodded in response, setting Ed down to walk on his own now.

Ed snapped awake. There was someone he had reason to kill. Someone by the name of Lisa.

And if they were going to this person for reasons other than to harm them, Ed could only think of one possible reason he would have to kill them.

"So... it was her... the one that did this to you... isn't it..." It wasn't even a question, gold and violet eyes narrowed and burning. Edward already knew the answer.

Havoc paused, poised to knock. "Don't you dare raise a hand against her, Elric. She saved my life. If you try to kill her..." He let the sentence hang, threat unuttered but obvious.

"Sometimes it's not worth the cost to live..." The boy pulled his red coat about his shoulders, his words having a bitter edge. "I've seen what you do, what's different... stability doesn't last you know..."

"Then if you have an issue, take it up with me. She's not part of this." He tapped gently on the door.

It opened quickly, Lisa looking out blearily, shoving her hair back with her left hand, the scarlet flamel tattoo shining in the light of the lantern. "How may I... Jean!" She threw her arms around his neck, kissing both his cheeks. "It's wonderful to see you again! How are you doing?"

"There are some issues, but there are other things we need to talk to you about."

"Then by all means, come in! There's tea, coffee, and brandy. There aren't any guests or patients in, so you have free run right now." She nodded back at Roy and Ed. "Welcome, you two. Our doors are always open."

Roy had moved to grab Ed's wrist before he did something stupid like try to punch the woman, but noticed that he simply stared... What was he staring at? He wasn't angry… "Edward?"

The blond boy gaped, raising one hand to point at the tattoo. "Where... wh-where did you... how... how do you know..." He couldn't seem to string together the right set of words.

"Yes," Lisa replied, pushing Havoc lightly inside and motioning for the other two men to follow. "You expected that you and your brother were the only ones of Dante's school, besides Izumi? Hardly. Why do you think that Jean is a so-called 'perfect chimera'? It's because I was taught to know what I was doing.

"Would you two like coffee or tea?"

Havoc had already helped himself to coffee and was settling down in a comfy over-stuffed armchair, the files on the low table in front of him.

"Dante! Teacher's..." Automail and human fists clenched tightly. "Maybe you were taught to know what you were doing... but you must not have been taught to know what's right and wrong in alchemy!"

"Ed, get a grip," Havoc said from the chair.

Lisa's smile quirked. "Fullmetal, you really shouldn't be talking. Not only is it the pot calling the kettle black, you don't know the terms of our agreement. I do chimerical transmutations for hopeless medical cases, and only if they sign a release form. Yes, there is what appears to be momentary insanity, but that usually fades after body and mind reach an equilibrium. The 'perfect' state of matter.

"And don't go yelling about the evils of chimerae in here. The two of us might take grave exception to it."

Havoc just sat calmly through Lisa's lecture, sipping his coffee.

"That's not the point!" The wall rattled as an automail fist was slammed into it. "You turned him into a goddamn weapon! Something that's just going to be used and thrown away!"

A step closer, violet swirling angrily in his eye that retained some amount of gold. "He's just going to end up getting killed!"

Immediately, Havoc was at Lisa's side. "And you think hurting her will stop that! It's wasn't her decision! It was mine!"

Roy stepped forward, sensing more instinctively what was coming, and wrapped his arms around Ed's waist, pulling the smaller boy back against him and nuzzling his face in blond hair. His voice was smooth and calming when he whispered softly. "Shh... Ed... shhh... it's alright..."

He swayed gently from side to side, just subtle enough to be calming. It was obvious whatever he'd done had worked, though, albeit painful to feel the gentle heaving of Ed's shoulders against his chest.

It was then that he shot a cold gaze towards Lisa. "I appreciate your intentions and efforts... but I'm going to have to ask you to refrain from chiding him... he's been through Hell and back... and not even for as short a time as you have..."

"I take orders from no one," she said scathingly. "Major Elric may have been through Hell and back, but he's still a child. And children must be punished according to their transgressions, however I don't have the authority that Izumi Curtis does."

Havoc could see that this could lead to an explosion of epic proportions. He rested a protective arm around Lisa's shoulders. "Sir, we don't have the time for this. If Ed can't understand, send him upstairs to sleep it off. We can't afford to have him flare off about something that can't be helped."

"Just... shut up... stop treating me like I'm a child, Roy... stop defending me I can do it myself..." Edward looked up, two pure-violet eyes meeting Lisa's gaze head on and unwavering, despite the tears that had recently made their way down his face.

"Maybe you don't know what it's like... maybe you do... I could care less... but people are supposed to stay dead!"

Havoc had had enough. "Elric, shut up!" he snarled. "Unlike you, I wasn't dead yet! You want the truth? I signed away my soul. But I did it for revenge, which is something you can't even begin to understand unless you've seen ninety-eight of your best friends slaughtered before your eyes! This isn't about you! It's about me, and getting justice for the people who were murdered and disgraced in death!"

"Revenge..." Ed sneered at the thought of it. "Vengeance... eye for an eye... equivalent trade? No. It's NOT equivalent trade... equivalent trade would mean a life was given as well as taken, and that wasn't the case. The very concept of revenge is as stupid as we were when we sat down at the edge of that damn circle eight years ago! And it's not just about you, either! Can't you ever just look at me for once and drag out some goddamn compassion! Or am I just a little leech clinging to your leg all the time that you don't really want there but you tolerate because you feel SORRY for it!"

Ed tried to lash out in anger and frustration, held back by Mustang's arms. "What the hell am I to you anymore, Jean! What was I ever to you, a good lay? I can't keep doing this!" Tears flowed again, pain evident behind anger.

Arms moved from around Ed's waist as Roy stepped back, dark eyes settling on Havoc. The message they sent was clear.

You fucked with him, you pushed him, you're going to have to fix him... there's nothing I can do anymore.

Once he was sure the message was across, he averted his eyes, taking Havoc's suggested route for Ed and climbing the stairs.

"Jesus Christ, Ed!" It was an old oath, one from his childhood, and everyone jumped when they heard it. "Do you honestly think that low of me? Have I now just become a monster because I want justice from those perverts that stole everything that I loved? Since the first time you ran from me, have you seen me as a monster?" He sorely wanted to lash out at the boy, but something held him back. "Should I just kill myself, here, right in front of you, to make it all better for you!"

He ignored Mustang. There were some things that not even he could fix. And this argument had been brewing ever since he had seen Ed again.

"No, Jean. You should fucking kill me! I was the one who was supposed to stay dead!" In the following moments, Ed could feel the silence pounding in his ears, threatening to crush his skull, he could almost see the things reaching out for him again...

Havoc screamed his frustration. Four long steps, and his right hand connected with the side of Ed's face, even harder than he had hit him in Dublith.

Cat eyes sparkled gold-flecked green, remorseless and pitiless. "I have no sympathy for you anymore, Major. If you insist on acting this way, then we're finished. I've tried to be understanding, I've tried to keep being there for you, but hearing this over and over again... one might think you scorn this gift you've been given."

"It's not a gift, Jean. It's a fucking curse... whether or not we can see it Al lost something huge in return for my body and my soul... everybody loses, there's a reason human transmutation is forbidden you know, and it's not just the high costs either..." Violet eyes still met Havoc's gaze, cold automail soothing his throbbing jaw.

Havoc gritted his teeth. "Fine. See it that way, I don't care anymore. It'll just cripple you and sour you. You'll push everyone away." He turned, going downstairs into the infirmary. Before he descended, he said. "If you let that happen, then you aren't the man I thought you were. If you decide to change your mind, you know where I am." He disappeared.

"I never have been..." Ed's voice was shaky, and he didn't move from the spot he'd landed in, aside from tilting his head back to stare blankly at the ceiling. "Never was..." An eerie ghost of a smile drifted onto the boy's face, and he reached out for someone only he could see. No sound came, but his lips did move.

'Mother... please... give it back... I need it...'

Lisa had watched the fight from an unobtrusive corner. "Major Elric?" she queried quietly.

Edward's voice squeaked in protest, but the words came out vocally now, even if just barely. "Mother... give it back, please... I... we need that... don't leave me here... Mother no! Come back don't leave me here alone... can't live without that... need it... bring it back..."

Lisa looked down at the boy, pity and anger struggling for supremacy. She turned her back on the struggling boy, knowing there was nothing she could do for him.

Let him learn, let him live, let him die... the things most precious to us are never realized until we lose them... and you're damn close to losing Jean. But you won't care until he's lost to you forever. She descended down to where Havoc was sleeping, to talk to him and give him a shoulder to cry on.

Even though chimerae couldn't cry.

"Why... why couldn't they take the pain... why did they have to take that part why!" Ed curled into a fetal position on the floor, shivering. "I'll trade my other limbs just give me back what you stole from me you thieving sadistic bastards! Stop coming for me and taking everything away! Give me back my soul! I'm not one of you! I WON'T LET YOU TAKE HIM TOO!"

Lisa intercepted Havoc on the way downstairs. "Nuh-uh, back in bed," she said sternly, blocking the stairwell. "Major Elric has to fight this one out on his own."

"But..." For all his hard words earlier, Havoc was still plainly worried.

"Jean, get back in bed. These specters he's struggling against can't actually harm him. They're a figment of an already stressed and unstable mind, a way of fobbing off blame for what he's done onto another, stronger entity. That's not to say they aren't real, but they don't precisely exist in our reality." It wasn't exactly the truth, but it wasn't exactly a lie. She didn't want him to get even more worried than he already was.

Havoc meekly allowed himself to be shepherded back into his comfortable bed. "You sound like Izumi..."

"Little wonder, really. She wrote me a few days ago asking for help in this case. As a chimera and a chimerical alchemist, I have run-ins with the Gate all the time."

"Is there any way to help him?"

"H'mm... since it means so much to you, when he faints, I'll give him a sedative and put him down here. I'm not going to risk putting him in the residential section, so I'll tell the other man –"

"Mustang," Havoc supplied thoughtlessly.

Lisa grinned. "Right. Mustang. I'll tell him that Major Elric is down here. As for you..." she viewed the obviously stressed chimera before her. "I can put you into a silent room and give you something to drink. You still haven't fully adjusted, have you?"

"No."

"I can give you some medication to help that. It won't completely cure it, that has to come from you; that is, you have to find an equilibrium between your two halves. I can run a psychological test on you, if you want."

"No thanks..." He cocked his head. "Hey, Lisa? Could you put some of that medication in with the sedative?"

"Good idea! If it works for chimerae, then it may work with partial homunculi." She kissed him lightly. "You're a dear, Jean." She fluttered upstairs, to get drugs ready, watch for Elric's inevitable lapse into unconsciousness, and to inform Mustang when everything was over.

Roy had tried to ignore it, ignore the rasping screams that grew steadily louder from downstairs, but he could only take so much.

Upstairs there was the soft sound of a door opening and closing discreetly, bare feet creeping towards the stairwell. Roy cringed at another particularly wrenching cry, pausing a moment before continuing.

Lisa wasn't quite sure how she managed to do it, but she worked doggedly through the mounting screams, preparing the medicated sedative for the hysterical young man.

When the cries abated briefly, she grabbed the boy's left arm, inserting a needle and injecting the sedative. She left it to do its work, and began to make three cups of tea, one laced with the medication for Havoc.

Hearing the cries stop abruptly, Roy hurried his pace just slightly, before he appeared at the bottom of the stairs, dark eyes slightly irritated from tears he'd never admit to letting fall focused on Lisa. The questioning was there, when his eyes darted to the prone boy on the floor, and back to her. But he trusted, and he made no move to assume.

Lisa smiled faintly. "He'll be fine. I just gave him a sedative, laced with the same medication that I'm giving Jean. The only side effect that I know of is that he'll be quiet for at least a day or two. If you'll help me to get him down into the infirmary, I'd be grateful.

"I made a cup of tea for those of us still awake and I think there's some poundcake in the pantry."

Roy nodded. "Thank you for your help..." He stepped up to Edward's unconscious form, carefully lifting the boy into his arms. There was a soft gasp of surprise when warm flesh and cold automail draped subconsciously around his neck. "I... apologize for his outburst..." Dark eyes averted the woman's gaze.

"No need to, really. I'll admit that I'm not particularly thrilled with the way he's conducted himself in my home, but then again, he still hasn't grown up. For all he's been through, for all his age, he's still just a little child crying for help in the only way he knows how." Her voice was non-committal, matter-of-fact. She put the teacups on a tray with three-thirds of a poundcake, sliced neatly. "Perhaps if I could still feel compassion, I would. This way, please. Jean should still be awake." She descended the stairs into the infirmary, careful of the slightly uneven steps.

With a brisk nod, Roy followed, just wondering if perhaps he saw just a bit of Izumi and Hawkeye in that woman that was leading him down the stairs.

Havoc looked up wearily at the goon parade coming down the stairs. He was in the pajamas that Lisa had lent him last time around – simple, soft gray flannel pants. "Oh, wonderful. Anyone else want to yell at me? I'm open for the next half-hour."

Lisa smiled humorously. "Jean, hush. We're not going to yell at you. In fact, I want to know why you suddenly showed up on my doorstep." To Mustang, she said, "Go through that door and lay Major Elric down on the bed in there. He won't be waking up for twelve hours." She set down the medicated tea. "Here. Drink up, you need it."

Roy instead just shook his head, somewhere deep down knowing that if he put the boy in bed he wouldn't be able to manage leaving his side. And so he just held Edward in his arms as he took a seat, shooting an apologetic look in Jean's direction before kindly refusing his own drink.

He cleared his throat a bit, looking back to Jean.

So... who's going to be the one to start explaining...?

Havoc stretched, wincing at the catch and pull of the scars on his back and chest. "Where to start? Lisa, does the name Paul Delgardie mean anything to you?"

"I'd say!" she said, setting down the plate of poundcake at the foot of Havoc's bed. "He's my uncle. Incidentally, he's the man that turned me into a chimera. He ran off to become a National Alchemist and we never heard from him again."

Havoc glanced over at Roy, rubbing one of the scars at his neck. The ball's in your court now, sir...

Features instantly smoothing into his usual mask, Roy nodded slowly. How he could look so professional and be holding a sleeping bundle of light in his arms was probably something to be amazed at, but not now. "Indeed he did become a National Alchemist…" and he'd cut off there, as this was something he hadn't even let Havoc know, before continuing, "He changed his name to Fawkes. The last the military heard from him before he scampered off to hell knows where was his project... He called it 'Predator'..."

Havoc choked on his tea. He started coughing so hard that little spots of blood showed on his hand. "You're kidding?" he rasped, horrified.

"Deceit... I wondered why..." Lisa mused. She showed no shock or horror, just a faint sadness. "What irony." She seemed to snap to herself. "Are you sure?" she demanded imperiously. "Uncle Paul couldn't hurt a fly! And now you're telling me he did that to Jean?" She pointed to Havoc's bare chest and neck.

"Quite the contrary... however I do believe he created the abominations that did that to Jean..."

Havoc sat and thought about it for a while. "So you're saying that 'Ashton' Fawkes is not the same as 'Paul' Fawkes?" He tried to look at Mustang, but failed, turning his head away. He sipped his tea uncomfortably. "But... there's something inherently wrong with that. I don't know what it is, but there's something wrong."

Roy's gaze fell on Lisa for a moment. "Your uncle was a very talented and brilliant alchemist, ma'am, though I'm sure you knew as much. The so called 'Ashton Fawkes' has no military records, nor is there any existence of a so-called 'Predator Alchemist'..." Dark eyes shifted to Havoc. "However, considering the difference in supposed and known personality traits... as well as the similarities... I believe it is safe to assume that the two men are in fact related..."

"Cousin," Havoc said abruptly, drawing the others' attention. "Ashton is your cousin. The scent is too similar to be anything else." He swirled the dregs of his tea thoughtfully. "Everything that Fawkes taught you must have been his preliminary research. You must have been his first experiment." He got up, padding bare-footed across the stone floor. "I'm going to get those files."

Lisa watched him, studying the fluid economy of his movements. Nothing registered on her face. "Jean and Ashton... those two are the missing links," she said dreamily.

It took a moment for the comment to set in, but when it did, Roy found himself holding Edward tighter, one hand slowly stroking the boy's hair.

"And what about him..." He wasn't quite sure the voice was his until after he finished speaking, though.

"The pinnacle of a forbidden research... the pinnacle and pitfall."

Havoc reentered, holding the stack of file folders. He spotted Mustang clutching the young man, and his jaw tightened. "Maybe we should discuss this later," he said shortly.

Lisa put a comforting arm around his bare waist. "No, the sooner we talk about this, the better." She reached up, holding the side of his face in a gentle hand, tracing his oddly-shaped, dark eyes. "Who knows. Uncle Paul may know you're here and then where would you be? Without a plan, without a viable mode of attack, without anything." She smiled warmly up at her friend. Perhaps a bit too warmly for Mustang's comfort.

Dark eyes focused on Jean, message too clear to even need to be hinted at.

Havoc coughed back a giggle. He could feel Lisa trying not to laugh either. When and if Mustang went back upstairs, they would be laughing hysterically.

"That brings up a good point, actually," he said, laughter thick behind his voice. He was trying so hard to be diplomatic, but it wasn't working at all. "We do need to figure out how to shut these maniacs down."

"If I remember correctly, a chimera is not 'immortal' in the sense that an artificially created human is... they can still be destroyed by normal methods..." And if there was a hint of worry in his voice, Roy would have denied it, along with the slightest flash of warning in his eyes as they flickered to Jean once more.

"We may be killable, sir, but we're also better able to take care of ourselves than the average human being is," Havoc pointed out. "Respectfully, I would be able to last a lot longer than you in a dangerous position, alchemy or no. All it takes is one lead slug, and you're out of business."

Lisa gently rubbed the scar on Havoc's back, easing the tight tissue. "If you're not willing to have an absolute nightmare on your hands, you have to figure out their flaw. Knowing my uncle, he would have built one in, just to keep them controllable."

Roy pondered for a few moments, absent fingers trailing through blond strands. After a moment he paused, looking up to the others. "Ashton Fawkes does know alchemy... there's... something inlaid on his left palm... An array. I remember him tracing it to light a cigarette when I met him and he posed as an officer..."

"That would make sense," both Lisa and Havoc said at the same time. They looked at each other and grinned.

"But he would have to have something that could turn him into a normal-looking being," Havoc continued. "He can't always be looking like a scraggly housecat dredged from the cistern."

He hunched his shoulders a bit. "M'mm... that feels good, Lisa. Harder, please?"

And if there was a growling sound coming from where Roy sat, he'd say it was his stomach.

"There's poundcake right there if you're hungry," Lisa said demurely.

And if Edward let out a startled yelp in his sleep and Roy jerked his hand back from his head, he'd say he hit a nasty tangle.

Just to make matters worse, Havoc started purring as Lisa's fingers worked their way up to massage the back of his neck.

Oh... now that wasn't something Roy needed. At. All.

Maybe it would have been a good idea to go with Edward and lay him in the other room... Then again... Roy had the feeling that would've ended up even worse...

Shifting slightly in his chair, much to the dislike of the boy in his arms, who would've probably kicked if he'd had the energy and awareness despite settling now for a growl of protest, Mustang cleared his throat, shooting a dark glance at Lisa and hoping for once she might just catch the goddamn drift and leave before he ended up doing something they'd ALL regret in the morning...

Lisa caught the look and grinned, completely unrepentant. "Well, then. I think I'll go upstairs and lock up for the night. Are you staying down here, sir?"

"I'm sure it would be better if I stayed with Edward..." And got a chance to be alone with my boyfriend so I could make him purr like that... went unspoken.

"All right." She scooped up the dishes and the untouched plate. "Jean, take it easy. That medication doesn't like being abused, so don't stay up too late." She disappeared upstairs, shutting the door behind her.


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