The Winged Alchemist

Chapter 8: So it Begins

"Dammit." Edward propped himself up onto his knees and put his hand on the back of his head. He then opened his eyes to see that he was in the dorms of HQ. His dorm. He felt confused and looked up to see Maes Hughes. Ed jumped back in surprise and tried to stand up but Hughes pushed him back with his foot.

"Hughes, what are you doing?" Ed looked at him questionably and waited for an answer. Hughes just stared….with glowing red eyes. "You certainly have changed now haven't you Edward." He started to walk closer to Ed. Ed backed away. Maes looked down at him, sneering. "What's wrong scared?" Ed took a deep breath and kicked Hughes' legs from underneath of him, making him fall to the floor. Ed quickly stood up and made his auto mail into a blade, holding the point at his face. Hughes looked up at him and smiled.

"What are you gonna do, kill me?" He laughed menacingly. "Even if you killed Greed, you cried like a baby after it was over." Ed cringed at the memory back in Dante's house. He then punched Maes in the face. "You bastard!" Ed punched him again….and again. Soon anger filled the young teen and he kept swinging until something had struck him in the back. HE let out a yelp and fell, wincing as he went. "What is the meaning of this Full Metal!"

"Shit." Ed looked to see Roy glaring at him. He then helped the mangled looking Hughes up. "Havoc, escort Hughes to the hospital." "Right." Havoc walked in and took Hughes out of the room. Before the demon man left, he smiled wickedly at Ed, revealing his red eyes. He's planning something! I have to convince the Colonel to go after him! This is gonna be worthless, the man is his best friend. I'm screwed.

Roy closed the door. "What the hell are you thinking assaulting military personnel, and Hughes?" "What is wrong with you!" He could tell the Colonel was trying not to hurt him, and he was shaking because of it. "We have to go after Hughes." Roy shook and threw his hands in the air. "Why, so you can kill him!" He raised a fist at Ed and hit him. Ed fell back and looked at the Colonel, shocked at his action. Roy was just as shocked and stared at him.

"We have to go after him!" Ed had to get out there before anything could happen. "No." "Mustang, we have to go, he is gonna kill everyone out there!" "How would you know?" Edward screamed in rage and stood up, facing Roy with determination, showing no expression. With quick thinking, he took the point of his blade and dug it into the side of his arm, grimacing s he cut himself. Roy looked bewildered. "What are you doing?" "Shut up and watch!" Ed alchemically took care of the blade and waited.

After watching for a few moments Roy stumbled backward as the cut healed instantly, leaving no scar or any trace that it was ever there. He just stared and backed away, stunned. Feeling satisfied, Edward looked at Roy. "We have to go!" "N-no." "Fine then, you leave me no choice." Ed was getting a strong feeling that Hughes was going to go to Winry and Hawkeye to kill them. He glared at Roy and shut his eyes, saying the verse he knew all to well. Instantly, the wings formed and spread throughout the room.

Mustang fell on his back and just stared at the wings. "Wha, how, when, I?" Ed wasted no more time and turned to the small window. HE then kicked out the wall and flew out of the hole. "I have to find him before he kills anybody else!" He then moved his powerful wings up and down, gaining speed fast.

Hearing strange noises in the room, Winry opened her eyes. She looked around the darkened room and saw a dark form standing over her bed. "Who's there?" She waited for the figure to answer and was relieved to find that it was Hawkeye. "I am glad to see that your awake, but I need to ask you to get dressed." "Why, what is going on?" Hawkeye shook her head and handed her a pair of jeans and a hoody sweatshirt. Winry took them and climbed out of the bed, still quite soar. She winced as she tried to dress as quickly as possible. When she was finished, she looked over to Hawkeye, to see her in a tattered uniform. She must have been attacked in that uniform. I don't remember a thing.

"Shhhh, we have to get out of here unseen." She watched as she pulled her gun out of its holster and uncocked the safety. Winry felt confused, but went with it. After all, she had a loaded gun. Peering out the door, Winry watched Hawkeye dart across the dark hallways. She went in her place and followed shortly after, making sure that the coast was clear. Once she reached Riza, she looked at her and asked again. Before she could actually ask, Riza told her. "Hughes is here." Winry raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you hated his pictures that much." Hawkeye said nothing until the two ran to another dark corner, getting them closer to the elevator.

"Well, I don't like those pictures either, but that's not the reason." She looked around the corner. "There is something wrong with the Lieutenant. He has been acting strange and the other day I heard him talking of something that I never thought would come from him." "What was it?" "He was planning on taking you." Winry just stared at her, not sure whether to believe her or not.

When the coast was clear, the two made it to the elevator and went down to the first floor. From there they both exited the building and made their way across the street to a nearby rundown house. Hawkeye kicked open the boarded up door and went inside, Winry following. The two then sat down and waited. Riza kept watch out of the window and all was silent, until….

"Oh my…" Riza stared out of the window in disbelief and Winry looked at her. "What is it?" "Winry, is that Edward?" She pointed out of the window and Winry followed her gaze. She looked to see Edward, flying. "What in the-?"

Edward landed on the top of the hospital. He then felt the wings fold into his back and disappear. When they did, he began to walk towards the door to the inside. "Where do you think your going, Ed?" He turned around to the voice of Maes. He glared at him. "What do you want?" Maes glared back at him, only with a maniacal smile twisted on his face. "I have just been waiting for you to get here so I can take care of some personal business."

The young alchemist stared at him. "What do you mean business?" Hughes started to walk forward very slow and swift. "I have been waiting along time for the Dark Angel to be born in this damned world. I never expected it to be the shrimp Full Metal." "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLIN SO SHORT YOU COULDN'T SEE WITH A MAGNIFYING GLASS?" The man shook his head. "My point exactly." He came closer sending an uneasy feeling into the air. Edward sensed that he was plotting a strike very soon, and readied himself. HE watched Maes very carefully, making sure not to miss a single heartbeat. Why did it have to be Hughes? Has he always been like this?

As if he could read his mind, Hughes answered his questions. "I chose to be this way. I was tired of my mortal life. I wanted more." Ed looked at him, angered at the response he gave. He just laughed. "You wonder why I chose to live this new life. Ha! I don't know why anybody wouldn't! This life is full of power, and making other people cower is just the fun you can do." He laughed with twisted delight and then continued his stare on Ed.

The young alchemist cringed at the thought of when he had changed to this life. He hated it with a passion not being normal. He just wanted to become him again; he wanted to become the normal Fullmetal Alchemist, not the Winged Alchemist, although both names were catchy.

Suddenly without warning, Hughes had caught Edward off guard and struck him hard in the ribs. Ed coughed and fell back, landing hard on the ground. "You are a poor excuse for what you are supposed to be Dark angel. Here I thought I was going to have a challenge, but the way you make this look, I will only have to take five minutes out of my time…if that." Ed stood up, feeling anger rise. He could feel something rising in his veins, something strong and powerful. He looked down at his hands and saw they were transforming into something else. Claws. His nails had become long and sharp. He then felt his teeth grow longer and sharp. His legs seemed to be stretched, making him taller. It's about time I had my growth spurt!

After just a few minutes, Ed was nothing like human. His skin had become a fluorescent black, hardened for protection. His hands and feet had grown longer with nails so sharp they could rip steel. His hair had turned black and had an extra shine. The only thing that remained was his golden eyes, which stood out, still giving him a handsome feature, despite the whole demon transfiguration. His auto mail had even changed to demonic limbs, making him feel invincible. Not showing any expression, Ed felt totally flabbergasted in his thoughts, which were the only human feelings he had left. His actions had gone from humane to insane if anything didn't go his way.

Maes Hughes laughed then, but a nervous laugh it was. He then had a look of fear when the wings that Ed used for emergency travel decided to join his new look. Ed himself didn't know what he would exactly use them for, but he no longer cared. The only thing concerning him was the man in front of him. The only word that was in his mind now was kill. Hughes took a step back and all of a sudden changed to his own demon self. (Only hi was ugly, Ed is still hot) When he was fully changed, Ed wasted no time in lunging at his target. Clashing with each other, the battle of demons had begun…

Well, this must be the longest chapter that I have ever written. Some of it might not make any sense, but hey, it took me a range of days when I had time to write it. Believe me, if any of it is confusing, blame it on when I stayed up and was so tired, I didn't even know what I wrote. Well, anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this unusually long chapter and I look forward to your reviews! Thank you much!