Author's Note: Character death in this chapter, folks. I feel really bad about it, they're one of my favorite characters, too. BUT I'm not giving away who it is, you'll just have to read it! (Muahahaha,evil laughter)
To my reviewers:
Wyldcat: Cliffie's are so evil when your reading, but they're so fun to write! No worries, though, no cliffie ending for this one!
Kellen: I know I've said it before, but I'll repeat myself: Thank you so much for your reviews! I'm so glad you're enjoying my story, andI hope you continue to like it!
Torii: Yes! I have done my job in making folks hate Wrath! Which is odd, seeing that I like Wrath.
Sangosfan: Yesh, Fuery rocks! Which is mainly why I'm so evil to him... I have issues... >
"Colonel, what-?"
The officers were all staring at the door, through which the commotion outside could be heard. Roy stood and crossed to it, opening it and looking out into the hallway.
"Hey." He called to a man who went running past. "What's happening?"
"There's an attack going on!" The man replied breathlessly.
"Shit." Roy turned back to the others. "Hawkeye, you come with me. Breda, stay here."
Roy and Riza thundered down the hallway towards the group of people gathered about a doorway. "Let us through!" Roy cried, pushing his way through the onlookers. He got to the front in time to see Wrath throw Fuery into the shelves. He plunged his hand into his pocket, pulling out the glove. "Why you-!"
Wrath looked up at the Colonel, gave the man a sly grin, and melded away into the floor. "Shit!" Mustang glared at the floor where the Homunculus had been only a few moments before, but then rushed to the pile of broken wood and glass that was currently covering Falman and Fuery, Riza right on his heels.
However, before they had gotten the chance to start removing the rubble, Falman's hand suddenly appeared. A few moments later he had dragged himself out from beneath the wood, and Hawkeye helped him to his feet as Roy began clearing the rubble off Fuery, whom hadn't moved.
Roy winced as he saw the blood covering Fuery's face. He couldn't tell where it was coming from, it was simply all over.
"Fuery..." Mustang shook the man's shoulder gently, but his eyes remained closed. "Fuery, wake up..." He shook his shoulder again.
Slowly Fuery's eyes fluttered open, and he blinked as the Colonel's face, fuzzy and indistinct, swam into view above him. He stared listlessly for a few moments, but suddenly sat up, looking panicked. "That kid! Where-?"
"Its alright, its alright, Fuery." Roy said gently. "He's gone."
A floor below them, Wrath was debating what to do. Though he may have injured them, he knew he hadn't killed either of the officers. I have to kill one of them, though... he found himself thinking. If I do that, mommy will be happy with me... He watched a few people go running past, but they paid him no heed. Suddenly it clicked. Sloth had told him earlier there were six officers in all. Four of them had been in the lobby when he left it, and that meant two were in the room still. And... Wrath finished with a smile... one is paralyzed.
Having come to a conclusion, Wrath stood, his violet eyes looking about. This lower floor... if he wasn't mistaken, it had almost the same floor plan as the previous one, which would mean... he drew the scrap of paper with the room number on it out of his back pocket and looked at it again. 243. He looked over to the number plate of the room next to him. 153. Could it really be that simple? He put the piece of paper back in his pocket and began walking down the hallway, reading the room numbers as he passed. 151... 149... 147... 145... 143. Stopping outside this one, his head tilted upward, as if his eyes could penetrate the ceiling and see the two officers almost directly above him.
Slowly the Homunculus opened the door and peeked inside, breathing a sigh of relief at finding the room unoccupied. Quickly he slipped inside, looking up at the ceiling. Having discarded the glass that had been melded to his arm, he decided he would have to fashion a new weapon once he got inside the upper room. He stepped back, up against the wall, and, closing his eyes, soon dissapeared into it.
Up above, Breda was busy pacing the room, waiting for the Colonel and the others to come back, and praying they were all okay. Suddenly though, he stopped, staring at the floor of the room in astonishment. Seconds later, his astonishment had turned to horror as Wrath almost exploded up into the room.
Wrath, now free from the floor, immediately pounced upon Breda, thrusting him back into the wall. He then leapt to the window, grabbing the curtains and transmuting them onto his arm, thus transforming it to a long serpentine hybrid of cloth and flesh. He turned, whipping out his arm, striking Breda across the face. Suddenly, though, there was a blast, and his arm exploded in pain. Turning, he saw Havoc, a gun level in his hands. Wrath growled, striking out, wrapping his arm about the gun, trying to wrench it out of Havoc's hand, but the man wasn't letting go without a fight.
Wrath leapt forward, bringing his other arm about, punching the man in the face. Havoc's grip on the gun slipped, and Wrath ripped it from his hand, throwing it to the other corner of the room. However, as soon as one gun was out of the way, firing came from the side.
This time Breda was the one with the gun, a cut on the side of his face bleeding slowly. His bullet hit Wrath in the shoulder, and the child stumbled, but wasn't down, and soon the wound healed. He growled, and leapt forward, whipping out his arm and winding it tightly around Breda's neck, lifting him off his feet. Breda choked, but raised his gun to fire. Wrath, seeing this, slammed Breda into the wall, squeezing his neck tighter.
Hearing a noise, Wrath turned, and suddenly something hit him full in the face, hard. Blinking blood from his eyes, he looked down to see an alarm clock, one side dripping blood. His blood. He looked up, glaring at Havoc.
"Let him go, dammit." The man growled.
Wrath just laughed. "Come and get me then. I'm only two feet away." He grinned as a look of terror crossed Havoc's face, and turned away, bringing his attention back to Breda. The mans strugglings had grown steadily feebler, until finally he barely moved at all. Wrath bent down to pick up the gun Breda had dropped, and as he did so the door flew open.
There stood a person Wrath recognized as the secretary whom had let him in in the first place. Without blinking he raised the gun and fired. the woman let out a shriek and crumpled, blood spewing from her chest. Suddenly, though, another person stepped over the secretary's body.
Lieutenant Hawkeye raised her own gun, firing before Wrath had the chance. Wrath crumpled, the shot hitting him in the face. Breda, released from the boy's grip, collapsed on the floor, coughing and gasping.
Riza shouted something down the hallway, the quickly crossed the room, wrenching the gun from Wrath's limp hand. She then knelt next to Breda, helping him sit up as he regained his breath. his neck had marks on it where Wrath had been squeezing.
Suddenly the Homunculus stirred again, but a shot from the doorway ended that. There stood Falman, closely followed by Roy and Fuery, whom looked considerably better now that all the blood was off his face, though he still looked a bit odd without his glasses.
"Good work." Roy said, glaring down at the Homunculus. "Falman, go make sure that woman gets help, and make sure no one disturbs us."
"Yes sir."
As the door swung shut behind Falman, Roy looked to Breda.
"You all right?"
Breda nodded, and Roy's gaze switched back to Wrath. After a few moments the boy's eyes opened. Roy drew his gun, pointing it down at him.
"Homunculus." He snarled. "This is the second time you've attacked and harmed my subordinates. Now you have only two choices. You can cooperate with us, or be killed."
Wrath was silent a moment. "I can' be killed." He said with a wild grin. "But I'm going to kill you!" He shrieked, leaping to his feet. Without hesitation Roy pulled the trigger, and Wrath fell back, gripping his shoulder.
"On the contrary, you can be killed." Roy said calmly. "All we have to do is keep killing you until you stay that way. I don't know how long that will take, but we have plenty of bullets and plenty of time."
Wrath glared at the Colonel, feeling his shoulder heal up again. He bared his teeth, and suddenly sprang at him.
In an instant the room was filled with the sound of guns firing. This continued for the span of about five minutes, until at a nod from Roy the shooting ceased. The silence that followed was almost as deafening as the previous chaos as they all stared down at the Homunculus.
"Its gotta be dead by now." Breda growled suddenly.
"It better be, I'm outta bullets." Havoc replied gruffly.
The tension in the room eased up slightly as Wrath simply lie there. Suddenly though, breda gasped. The numerous bullet wounds in the boy's body were healing up.
"Shoot him!" Roy cried.
"I'm out!" Havoc yelled.
"Me too!" Breda this time.
"Hawkeye!"
"I'm on it sir." Hawkeye said, amazingly calm as she reloaded her gun. But she was still too slow as Wrath regained his feet, grinning, blood dripping out of the corner of his mouth.
Suddenly six bullet holes, two in the head and four in the back, appeared in the Homunculus, and he fell to reveal Fuery standing behind him, his gun still smoking.
However, this time Wrath didn't spring up again. The boy lay, unmoving, as blood pooled out about him. The group let out exclamations of surprise as his body simply melted away. Roy's eyes widened as he caught a faint flash of red before it too dissapeared, leaving only a dim stain on the floor behind as a reminder of the Homunculus' exitance.
Roy sighed as Fuery let the gun clatter to the floor, his eyes wide and shocked.
"Two down."
End Note: Well, farewell to our... um...friend Wrath.I don't know about any of you, but I was sad to kill him.I love Wrath.Anyways, I'm just going to put a little not here about his death. I am using the Manga version of how the Homunculi can be killed. I felt the whole 'bones of their previous bodies' thing from the Anime was a bit too complicated for this, especialy when the plot goes by the Manga in the first place. I just wanted to explain that beforeI got reviews telling me it wasn't posible to kill Wrath. Sadly, it is possible. Poor Wrath. I'm gonna go cry in a corner now.
