Desire

Chap.2

Sunlight peeked through the bars at the window on the wall behind Ed, and Iyuko was forced to shield his eyes. He took another glance at the teenager on the ground and scoffed, then exited the cell.

"Later." His voice had cracked, and he was moving so quickly, Ed hardly heard it. He cracked open his eyes, and realized the older teen was gone.

"He's gone…? But…." Ed glanced at the window. Bars blocked out some of the light that streamed in, but it was light. Light that felt reassuring.

"Edward?" It was a young woman's voice, and Ed's eyes dashed to the world outside his cell. "Oh…..Edward." The young woman shook her head.

She was a breath of fresh air compared to Iyuko. Her hair was a pale blonde, and she wore a pink Chinese shirt and a pair of matching pants. Her eyes were a pink color, but were the kindest things he'd ever seen.

"Who're you? A new torturer?" Ed grumbled. The young woman giggled.

"Don't be silly. I'm your supervisor. If we have kids here, we have to have someone to take care of them."

"Which part are you right now?"

"Currently, your chef." The young woman opened the cell, and brought in a tray of food. She handed him a spoon and uncovered a bowl of soup. "Try it. It's a real picker-upper if you're exhausted."

" ….okay." Ed took a sip of the soup, and as the warm soup filled his stiff throat, he thought back upon what had happened.

"Fullmetal, you've been here all night. You really need some rest." Mustang had told the boy at last. Ed picked his head up from the book he had been studying, and yawned.

"Well…maybe." He stood up and stretched. "Be seeing you then." Ed exited the library and made his way to the room he knew Al was waiting in.

"Hello, Edward."

Whose voice had it been? Ed couldn't remember. All that was memorable of the voice now was that it was drastically altered, and sounded like one of those deep monster movie monsters…for the few that talked.

"Hm….." The young woman cocked her head to the side.

"What?"

"Nothing." She chided, smiling. "If you need anything, just holler. Ask for Tashin." The young woman ran out. Ed arched a brow. He had seen her somewhere before. Somewhere….somewhere he couldn't remember. Why couldn't he? Something was up, and he needed to find out.

The room Tashin had run into was dark, and was devoid of all light, despite the blinding light outside. Her hands were balled into fists. Her brow was furrowed, and a frown marred the beautiful innocent face.

"……Fullmetal alchemist…this won't work you know."

"It will."

"Not the way you hope."

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong. We haven't come all this way for nothing. Fate will reward us."

"Like he always has? I don't trust Fate."

"There are many things you don't trust, my little poppet. Me, for example."

"Both have good reasons behind them."

"Fate is…a little confusing at time, but not completely untrustworthy."

"Fate contemplates our demise each and every waking moment. I want to end this right now. Before…before anything happens."

"Anything happens? What horrible deed could come of this? I know…this has been my dream, and with the boy…with the boy, the full potential of many things will be realized!"

"Do you even listen to yourself anymore?"

"I try not to. It breaks the spell."

"Maybe that's why we've failed so many times."

"We failed because we didn't have…the right alchemist. We have…the wicce, now all we need is the perfectly willing alchemist." (a/n: Read it wicka.)

"Is that why this…perfectly vulgar display is necessary?"

"Indeed….unless you would rather do it instead?"

"Both are idiotic."

"Then find some other way."

"How long?"

"I'll give you three days."

"So short?"

"Well…by that time, Mustang, Hawkeye, and the other Elric will be nipping at our heels. Any more time is impossible."

"Unless Fate arrives on time. Not likely."

"Fate prefers to be…fashionably late."

"Either fashionably late, or a no-show."

"Give him credit."

"For what? Leaving us in the dust?"

"Fine, fine."

"We have two lives left, and I want to use them wisely. So be warned, if this doesn't go right…I. Will. Kill. You. Understand?"

"This is why I forged a partnership with you, Tashin. You're so unique."

"If I were anymore unique, you'd be breathing through a hole in your neck."

"Feisty, too. Just like-"

"Do you even listen to yourself anymore!"

a/n: No, there is no pairing of Ed/Tashin here. There might be one of Tashin/Iyuko, though. Aw well…interactions between Tashin and Iyuko are bound to be fun. Cookie to whoever knows what Tashin means!