Chapter 2; Her
Bane; "I don't own Full Metal Alchemist. If I did, you'd all be my minions, and Edward, oh! HE'D BE MINE!"
Bane; "Hey Drumstick? A?"
Chorus; "Yes?"
Bane; "Well, I was wondering…notice that fanfiction authors get more reviews when they don't update regularly…"
A; "Yeah…maybe…"
Drumstick; "Whatever. Just update."
A; "But, Drumstick, she has a point…perhaps she ought to wait a while between updates…"
Drumstick; "But it makes people happier if she puts up the next chapter as soon as she's done…"
A; "Yes…but it makes her even happier to read long pages of reviews."
Bane; "Or maybe it's me. Maybe my story doesn't sound interesting enough to read…so only thirteen people review over and over again (those of you, you know who you are; and you ROCK!)"
A; "Then let us turn to the reviewers; which do you think it is?"
Drumstick; "LAURA tells all; and she says update. Yeah!"
Bane; "And still, my friends complain that I don't always ask them for advice…"
A firm hand held her tightly by the elbow.
"Let me go!"
"Oh, now, I've been watching you… and my boys told me I could have you. After all, you've done alchemy before. Why shouldn't I get to try it on you—"
Her blow to his face did nothing; he only caught her other wrist, pulling her to face him.
"Never again!" She screamed, tears streaming from her colorless eyes. The sunglasses had been thrown away from her, lying shattered somewhere in the alleyway.
"Oh, surely it mustn't have been that bad…"
"Y-you do-don't… Try t-to u-und-understand me! Y-you don't want a-anything to d-do with deep a-alchemy!"
"Is that so?"
The four men surrounding the pair snickered.
"Look, Chim, it is okay if I call you that, right? I mean, you're gonna be my newest--half-breed buddy after all, and for once, your name will suit you… I really wouldn't call it deep alchemy. And believe me, I might not want anything to do with it, but by the time I'm finished with you, you'll be begging to committ yourself to it…"
"It'll ta-take your l-life if you're n-not careful." She choked out. Words were becoming difficult to form; he'd dented the automail, making it unusually harder to breathe.
"Oh, but I will be careful, at least, with myself…you? I'm not so sure…"
"Please! M-mercy!".
"Tell you what; I'll let you go if you can answer me one question."
"A-Anything!" She pleaded. He showed her the sleeve of his shirt. Everyone else knew what he was going to say before he said it; everyone but her. A flare of hope had begun to form within her. If only she could get away…
"Tell me what color this is!"
Their laughter burned fiercely in her ears. The cruelty poured into her inner being; consuming her. Tears fellonce againfrom her eyes. The agony agony of the bitter fluid caracked her voice as she struggled tospeak. She was trembling fiercely,shaking her head in shame of her weakness. It was alchemy that had done this to her. Alchemy.
"I--I c-can't!"
He threw her away from him, causing her seemingly frail body to collide into the brick wall behind her. Oh yeah, she'd definitely need new automail.
"Easy with her, there won't be anything left of her to make a chimera with."
The man turned laughing to his comrade.
"She can take it."
She took her chance limping out of the alleyway, into the marketsquare. He had knocked her groceries from her arms; the reason she had first walked foolishly into it to retrieve them.
With five men on her tail, she dashed into the crowd attempting to meld into the surroundings. If only she hadn't meddled in alchemy… The townfolk, most of who had heard of her, leaped smartly aside as though she possessed leprosy. The rest, seeing the others step aside for her, did so too, until he was standing in the middle of a nearly cleared road. She ran forward as the people on the sidelines watched, murmuring untold rumors about her.
"Help me!"
They only watched, whispers drowning in the silence. Still, she limped forward, the road filling back with people as she left. They smiled vaguely at the five men, after all, what did they care if she was caught by strange men? She was devoted to the sorcery of alchemy, and if they brought her to her death, she'd be indeed fortunate.
"Damn you!" she yelled, stumbling as she struggled forward. "Damn you all straight to hell!" Their answers were not whispered now.
"Assistance comes not to the traitors."
"Hell waits only for abominations like you!"
"Let those who bear the mark of steel be damned, not those who hold their souls in security!"
The crowd parting a small ways ahead caught his attention. What could all the screaming be about?
"Damn you!"
A girl, bruised and limping made her way through the street. Her breathing was uneven, her eyes averted to the ground, as though she wished no body to peer into them. Her hair, a deep red mahogany, streamed behind her. She wore a pair of baggy gray pants, shoes made for the agilant step, and a tight, dull vermillion tanktop that covered most of her sloping shoulders, and that revealed her lower midriff.
Not looking where she way going, she ran into Al, causing him to take a step back, and her to fall backwards completely.
"I-I'm so—so sorry."
Alphonse helped her up, wondering, after a moment, why she wouldn't look directly at him. A hiss sounded, growing larger as more people joined in. Whispers of, "He touched her!" or "He is of the damned, now." and "Let us pray for his salvation."
"It's okay, don't worry about it."
A shout echoed through the streets.
"Hand her over!"
Alphonse looked up, surprised to see a group of men a few yards away.
"Why should I?"
"She's ours."
"And what do you plan to do with her?"
The girl made to pull away, but Al held her fast.
"That is none of your concern!"
Alphonse seemed afronted. What was going on?
"Mmm. Well, that's great. But by the looks of it, I don't think she really wants to go with you guys."
"What she wants is not of your concern either!" Another piped, aggrivation seeping from all five of them.
"I have a deep passion for meddling in things."
One of them couldn't hold it any longer, lunging in to take the girl by force. Bad move. Two minutes, and he lay on the ground, face bloodied.
"Anyone else?"
They backed away slightly.
Al leaned over to whisper in the girl's ear.
She nodded, face still directed downwards.
"1…2…3!"
She burst into a run, the streets opening at her approach. Al faced the men, who were snorting in distaste now.
"Get to her, and you'll have gone through me."
Bane; "Leaving it at a bit of a short cliffy. Next chapter you'll learn more about this mysterious girl. She's about the age of Al, of his's age I'll have to go back and calculate to tell you in the next chapter."
A; "Bane wants to know what you think her so-called 'mentioned' automail replaces. It would be fun to see what you guys come up with."
Drumstick; "slight hint if you want to try to figure the girl out on your own; everything had to do with her eyes. Or, nearly everything. Basically; it's REALLY important."