Remember I said sort of? This is OFFICIALLY the Promised Day. I'm just triple-updating, so you get it all smushed together. We leave the fluff and joy behind now, and enter the action and chaos.
They returned to Kanama sort of twined together, unwilling to be too far apart in the wake of having everything out in the open. Lissa wasn't sure what she'd expected—honestly, she'd never thought far enough ahead to wonder how it might be after admitting her feelings—but it didn't feel too different, overall… Just…more comfortable somehow, with their hearts bared to each other. More secure. She wished they could've frozen time standing out there together, under the stars, but they had pressing things to worry about, the fate of their entire country to handle…
Still… Lissa would cling to the promise he'd made her, all through the day. 'After this…once Al and I have our bodies back… We'll all go somewhere together, and forget everything else for a while. I promise, Liss. We'll get time to just…be together again.'
They weren't looking too far into the future, not yet. They had seen enough in their lives to know better than to rush themselves. But even so… She hoped, deep in her heart, this would be…it for her. That she'd never have to look beyond Edward.
As they rounded the front of the slum to reenter it properly, dragging out as much time as possible, Ed suddenly darted forward and waved his hand at the group of people lingering near the entrance. "Dr. Marcoh!" he called out.
So that's who he'd seen! Lissa hurried forward behind him, both stopping just short of Marcoh. That close, Lissa finally tuned into the other senses—the familiar sand-scraping feeling of Scar, standing beside the doctor; and three chimeras. Darius, obviously, standing with who she recognized as Zampano and Gerso. Apparently they'd stuck around too, and were…arguing, quite violently, with Darius.
"Oh, Edward, Lissa," Marcoh realized, turning towards them in surprise.
Ed shot a sharp look towards the Ishvalan beside him. "So you're still working with Scar, huh," he mused. But then, recognizing there were bigger issues at hand, he turned back to Marcoh and continued, "I'm sorry to have to spring this on you right away, but we really need to get-"
He cut himself off, though, as a log went flying through the air, flung in anger from the chimeras' argument. Lissa crossed her arms and glowered at them for it. Couldn't they tell everyone was on the same damn side now?
"Hey!" Ed yelled, furious. "Piggy, Gorilla, and Fatty! Shut up and stop fighting!"
"Tact, Ed," Lissa muttered under her breath. "Tact." Louder, before the chimeras could lash out at him instead, she called out, "Don't we have bigger issues to handle? The Promised Day is tomorrow. We need a plan."
That worked, thankfully. Dr. Marcoh nodded, agreeing, and suggested, "Why don't we round everyone up and find someplace to talk?"
Within a few minutes, they'd tracked down Fu and Hohenheim, and dragged everyone outside the borders of Kanama, to the edge of the forest next to Hohenheim's dome for a little privacy. The chimeras went too, settling around a fire and talking amongst themselves, ostensibly bodyguards for the others—while Lissa, Ed, Lan Fan, Fu, Dr. Marcoh, Hohenheim, Scar, and even Yoki all grouped across the way from them, ready to figure this out. It was just like Lissa had told Ed before…it wasn't on him. Everyone was willing to contribute, much as they could.
First, Dr. Marcoh filled them in on what they'd missed. Apparently he'd taken down Envy, with Mei Chang's help, and after that they'd sent her back to Xing with Envy in a jar, hoping his diminished form would be enough to save her clan. Lissa wasn't sure…but she appreciated the importance of keeping the youngest of them safe. It was better for her to be elsewhere while this all went down.
The most worrying issue was that Wrath had disappeared, caught in a train accident orchestrated by someone else, perhaps somebody in the military—they didn't know. But while the others had been hopeful he'd died, Lissa and Ed were skeptical a mere train accident would kill him. Hohenheim agreed, which convinced the others to at least be wary that Wrath could reappear at any point.
Simultaneous to all this, Mustang had decided to take action. Lissa was half impressed, half horrified that he'd really gone as far as he had, kidnapping the Führer's wife and making a bid to fight back as well… But she was grateful for it nonetheless. It'd be a good distraction to keep the military off their backs, and maybe useful in the fight as well.
They had also deciphered Scar's brother's notes—and found not only the nationwide transmutation circle, but a reverse circle that would negate the effects of the original one. It was an astonishing blend of alchemy and alkahestry, clearly from someone with a brilliant mind and knack for creativity as well, and Lissa was deeply impressed. The existence of that circle gave them hope, too. Hope that they could actually pull this off and defeat Father and the homunculi, since that circle was being put in place…by the remaining Ishvalans in Amestris. The irony of that fact wasn't lost on anyone.
Once everyone had shared their piece, and agreed they were still willing to help…the real planning began. What they devised was risky, putting all their lives right at the center of the danger, but it was necessary. Scar needed to be at the center of the nationwide circle to activate the reverse array, which meant they had to infiltrate Father's lair. Yoki would be staying behind, and Dr. Marcoh, as well as Heinkel, given the extent of his injuries—but Zampano, Gerso, and Darius were all coming along. Greed had vanished after the fight with Pride, which was a concern, but Lissa didn't doubt he'd gone to Central to carry out his own plans. They'd find him. And he was unlikely to go after them, so for the moment, that wasn't a pressing issue.
So their team, to take down Father, consisted of four very powerful alchemists, three chimeras, and two utterly terrifying Xingese bodyguards. It…wasn't bad, really. Better than Lissa had hoped for, originally, better than their old odds had been. Lan Fan and Fu were definitely more interested in finding Ling and saving him, but the fact was, that task was tied in with the goal of saving Amestris. They'd be involved no matter what.
At the end, it was decided that Fu would do a little recon in Central, since he could move about without being recognized, while Lan Fan was remaining with their group on the way in. Lissa would be lying if she said she didn't like it… She'd grown to really like the Xingese girl, honestly.
"I feel better about this, I guess," Lissa murmured to Ed, as Fu ran off into the darkness. "Better than I did before."
He wrapped his arm around her waist and nodded. "Yeah. Now that we have a plan. Still…it'd be naïve to think it'll go perfectly. We need to be prepared for any number of things to go wrong. And…" His gaze darkened. "We don't have Al, either. So that's…gonna be weird. We're both used to him having our backs."
Lissa grimaced. He was right—they were used to fighting in a group of three. "I know. But we'll do it for him. We can't let our little brother down."
"No," he agreed, cracking a faint smile. "We can't."
Darius approached then with Gerso, seeing they were finished, and asked curiously, "Where'd the old guy head off to?"
"He's gonna do some recon in Central," Ed explained.
Darius's eyes widened. "By himself?"
Ed nodded, unworried about it. Fu could handle himself, after all. "Yeah. He pointed out that he's the only one who's kept his identity hidden. So it'll be easier for him to infiltrate the city." Though I advocated for disguising everyone… Oh well. "He also said that he'd do his best to update us on Colonel Mustang's actions. But…" Ed turned to watch Fu go, sighing. "I'm kinda getting the feeling that he's mostly concerned about Ling."
"Sure. That makes sense," Darius agreed, shrugging.
Gerso eyed the two curiously. "So you're all finished discussing things with Scar and the others?" he wondered.
"That's right," Ed confirmed. "We've figured out our strategy."
"Much as we can, anyway," Lissa added, leaning into him.
Darius nodded, giving Scar a contemplative look behind the Ishvalan's back. "That so? It's almost time then, huh?"
"It is," she confirmed softly. "Ed, c'mon. We should get ready."
Ed nodded reluctantly, and she understood—neither of them really wanted this day to start, but it was coming regardless of what they thought. So he bent and picked up his red cloak from where he'd left it, beside Lissa's own leather jacket, and shook out the dirt before handing Lissa hers as well. She absently copied his motion before sliding her arms in, tugging the material into place. It felt…more like being herself, honestly, after so long spent in disguise.
"Your younger brother's sure got some serious guts," Gerso observed, staring up at the dome beside them.
Darius shuddered faintly. "Trapped in total darkness with that monster? I think that I'd lose my mind if I were in his place."
"Yeah," Ed agreed quietly, following the chimeras' gazes. Lissa touched his shoulder lightly, both supportive and reassuring herself as well. "Al's doing everything possible to keep us safe. The rest of it… Well, that's up to us." His jaw tightened, resolute, and he finally slid his red cloak into place, staring across at the sun just beginning to creep over the horizon. All Lissa's breath left her lungs at once as she regarded him, the person he'd become, the strength she could see in his posture…
All of this, everything they'd been through… It had changed them both. Irreversibly, she knew. And yet…she didn't regret the changes that had come over them, everything that had led them here. All the decisions in her own life, in her childhood, the way she'd been so stubborn about being in the boys' lives at first… Even the things Mustang had done to shape her… Lissa didn't regret one single part of it.
And after today… Once this is all over… Our lives will be clear.
She reached out and grabbed Ed's left hand, sliding her fingers between his and tugging him into her. "Are you ready?" she asked him quietly.
He met her eyes and nodded, firmly. "Yeah. Let's go."
Their group convened together in the sunlight on a hill overlooking Central, a good vantage point where they could assess things before moving in. Seeing the city now, knowing what was to come, made it so much more real somehow.
Lan Fan, perched high in a tree above them, called down, "There's smoke rising from within the city… And I can faintly hear a siren as well."
Ed's brow furrowed. "I think it's safe to say the Colonel and the Briggs troops have made their move," he mused. "The city's gotta be in complete chaos by now." He cast his gaze upward, checking the position of the sun, and gritted his teeth. "I guess we should get going."
"Yeah." Hohenheim's voice was grave enough to make Ed turn to face him, Lissa gazing over his shoulder. "I do have a countermeasure for his transmutation circle…but I'd rather prevent him from activating it in the first place. He might've gotten too big for his old one, but he's still inside a flask… And if we destroy his container… We might be able to kill him. And not only that, we might be able to free all the souls that he has trapped inside him."
Lissa gripped down on Ed's hand tightly. Freeing all the souls within Father… That was a cause she could get behind, even if it meant killing the creature in the first place. After what happened last time they'd hesitated to kill someone, she didn't think she'd hesitate again. Not here.
"Well, how do we find the bastard, then?" Zampano asked shortly.
Oh, right. Nobody filled the chimeras in on the full plan.
"We can use the same tunnel that Mei and I discovered," Scar explained. He'd been…unusually helpful, during all this. "It's guarded by a pack of vicious chimeras, but we should be able to handle them."
Ed tugged lightly at Lissa's hand while the others talked, and she went with him without question, spotting his destination immediately—the dome. They were leaving…so it was time to say goodbye to Alphonse, at least for the moment. The reality of it made her heart ache. They'd been apart for so long, and now they had to leave Al behind to sit out this battle. It must he so hard for him, to be trapped and know he'd be stuck until the end…
"Hey, Al," Ed called out, rapping his knuckles on the dome's surface.
Immediately, Al's voice rang out from within. "What is it, brother?"
Ed's fingers tightened on Lissa's. "We're heading out now… And we're gonna kick that bearded bastard's ass."
"Just be careful," Al warned softly.
"Right," Ed agreed. He set his automail fist against the edge of the dome, and Lissa heard the answering thunk from Al mirroring his position. They were so in tune it killed her, especially now that they'd be separated again… It just wasn't fair.
Lissa forced her voice to stay even as she spoke. "You be careful too, okay?"
"I will," Al told her reassuringly. "I'll see you both afterwards. When it's all over."
"Love you, little brother," she murmured, touching her fingertips to the edge of the dome. They had to go…but she wanted nothing more than to sit there and keep Al company, or rip the dome open and handle Pride herself to free him… But that wasn't possible.
"You too, big sister," Al replied gently.
Knowing they'd never go if they didn't do it now, Lissa gently pulled Ed away, making the decision for them both. It was time to go. They had homunculi to fight, a nation to save… Later, once it was all over, they'd make it up to Al. Lissa swore it to herself.
—
Taking advantage of the chaos that had torn throughout the city, their group snuck into Central without much fuss. Soldiers were everywhere, though, so Lissa and Lan Fan stayed at the front of the group—she knew where the tunnel was as well, and remembered some of the paths Gluttony had taken to avoid being seen, so her knowledge was infinitely valuable in reaching the back entrance. Yet when they drew close, she and Lan Fan exchanged a sharp look and stopped there in the alleyway.
"What's wrong?" Ed asked quickly, frowning between them.
Lissa gritted her teeth. "Soldiers. Right outside the entrance, I think."
He screwed his face up unhappily. "Shit… We'd better check it out, just in case, but… This might not work."
That was bad… A very poor start to their plans, to hit a wall at the very first part.
They snuck up behind a half-broken fence, and Lissa knelt down beside Ed to see through a lower hole in the wood paneling. But just like she'd thought, the place was flooded with soldiers, trucks, even what looked like a machine gun emplacement.
"Damn," Ed hissed. "Not gettin' in there. The military's got it completely blocked off. So much for that."
"And we don't have enough men to force our way through," Gerso agreed lowly.
Lissa twisted her fingers into the edge of Ed's cloak, frowning across at the soldiers. "Okay, there's more than one entrance. The homunculi popped up everywhere. We can't use the one at Central HQ, that's ridiculous, but we know there's more than one because that one exists. So…do we know of any others?"
Ed inhaled sharply. "You're right, Liss. There's another way we can get in—the Third Laboratory! That's how Al and the Colonel snuck underground when they fought Lust."
"Right!" Lissa looked back at the chimeras behind them and nodded quickly. "Ed and I went in and found where they transmuted a wall to block it off. If we go past that…"
"Then we've got our entrance," Ed finished.
Lissa rose and ducked out from behind the fence, Ed and the chimeras following, sneaking back to where Lan Fan had been watching over the others. "We're going to the Third Laboratory," she explained quickly. "There's another entrance there. Ed and I know where it is, too, so hopefully it won't have as many guards."
Scar gave her a sharp look. "And you're sure this other entrance will get us in?"
"Positive," Ed confirmed, taking her shoulder almost protectively. "Al got in that way, he told us all about it."
Lissa grinned tightly across at Lan Fan. "You ready for round two?"
The Xingese girl just nodded, but that was enough. So they headed out again, the two girls falling into step at the front, working together pretty well, at least in Lissa's opinion. It was just…so damn relieving to work with somebody else who could sense the Dragon's Pulse. The whole thing made her feel so much more normal.
It didn't take long to reach the Third Laboratory. Seeking out a place to figure out what they were dealing with, Lan Fan led them into the foliage across the road from the lab, and they spread out among the trees and bushes, peering across at the entrance. This looked much better.
"They've only got three MPs guarding the entrance," Zampano observed.
Darius stood up, cracking his knuckles. "Now that's a number I'm comfortable with."
But Ed grinned a bit savagely and held out a hand. "No… This is perfect for me to throw some weight around and use my title," he asserted, stepping out of the bushes and hopping the fence before anyone could stop him.
"Should…we do something about that?" Hohenheim asked, pointing at Ed.
Lissa just smirked and shook her head. "No. Let him have it. He'll enjoy this, trust me." She moved to take his place, where she could see better, fully aware of where her boyfriend's head was. And it was kind of ridiculous, but…she wanted to let him have his moment.
Ed yanked out his pocket watch and held it up in his left hand, waving with his right as he raced across to the MPs. "Help me, please!" he cried. He stumbled to an exaggerated halt in front of the soldiers, panting hard, still holding his pocket watch aloft. "My name's Edward Elric, I'm a state alchemist," he told them quickly.
One MP stared at his watch in shock. "Wait, what was that? You said you're a state alchemist?!"
"I need you to help me," Ed begged, feigning terror. He pointed behind him, right back towards where the others were hiding, and proclaimed, "Scar is trying to kill me!"
Lissa bit back a laugh, ducking into the bushes. From that angle, Scar was visible—and startled, damn, he really hadn't expected Ed's plan at all. She couldn't help but get a little enjoyment out of the pure shock on his face.
The reaction was instantaneous. "That guy's on the wanted list!" one MP realized. They all drew their weapons and stepped forward, readying themselves to fight Scar. But behind them, Ed's grin turned practically evil as he turned to them—and pounced. Lissa just sat there and grinned as he laid into the soldiers, knocking them down with a sort of glee, which clearly stunned the others, while she just thought it was hilarious.
When the last soldier fell, Lissa waved the others forward and hopped over the fence herself, rejoining Ed by the entrance and wrapping her arms around his waist. "I think you enjoyed that a bit too much," she laughed.
He rolled his eyes and kissed her. "Psh. You'd do the same."
"Naturally."
Hohenheim, standing over the soldiers' unconscious bodies, gave Ed a withering sort of look. "That was a mean thing to do," he muttered.
Ed glowered at him. "Oh, shut up." He pulled Lissa with him as he headed towards the doors, after the others—who hadn't bothered to linger, she noted. "C'mon."
They headed inside, and Lissa stuck close to Ed on the way as he brushed past the scientists still working there. She supposed even amid the chaos outside, their jobs didn't stop—though she had no idea what their jobs were, come to think of it. Considering the real point of this country was to make a Philosopher's Stone… Were they given menial tasks, fake jobs, or what? How strange.
"Pardon us, coming through," Ed told the scientists brusquely, striding purposefully forward.
Yet as they went, Lissa noticed a little tension in his face. "Ed," she murmured, careful to keep her voice quiet enough that only he could hear her, "next left, remember?"
He squeezed her hand tightly. "Got it."
Sure enough, around the next corner, they spotted the wall they'd found before—the one with transmutation marks all along the bottom, the mark of a bit of hasty alchemy. Thankfully, because Lissa had the strangest feeling that if they'd taken much longer, one of the chimeras would've complained.
"Found it!" Ed announced loudly. He clapped his hands and pressed them to the wall, quickly making a door… A very gaudy door, beset with a face at the center bearing horns protruding from either side of his face. Lissa rolled her eyes privately. Her dummy just couldn't help being showy, he really couldn't.
They stepped through the doors into a long hallway, leading off into semidarkness to the left and right. Two options, of course.
"Mh…" Ed twisted his mouth up unhappily. "Should we split into two groups?"
Hohenheim nodded. "Sounds good. I'll take a team this way-" He pointed to the hallway on the right. "-and you two and Scar can lead a team the other way."
"WHAT?!" Ed pointed furiously at the Ishvalan. "Why do I have to go with him?!"
"It's best to divide the groups based on their skill in alchemy," Hohenheim explained, sounding a bit peeved. "Now, remember, you told me that he was somehow able to turn off your alchemy. Scar was still capable of using his, and Lissa was able to perform healing transmutations, but you were rendered helpless."
Lissa eyed the man irritably. "You don't have to be so harsh," she muttered, patting Ed's shoulder as he seethed. Really… He'd turned protective over Al, but he was still terrible with Ed.
"All right," Gerso agreed, before Ed could protest again. "I guess that means these three are together. So who are you taking?"
"My alchemy is a little unique, so I'll be fine on my own," Hohenheim asserted. But then he looked thoughtful, casting his gaze over to Lan Fan and smiling. "On second thought… It wouldn't be a bad idea to have a bodyguard, so I might as well take this young lady with me. Besides, we can divide who can sense the Dragon's Pulse that way."
Lissa gritted her teeth. Lan Fan… What the hell did Hohenheim want with her anyway?
Breezing on as though the Xingese girl wasn't sending Lissa uncertain looks, Hohenheim told them, "If any of us discover the enemy, do everything you can to destroy him."
"Roger that," Gerso agreed, lifting a hand in farewell.
Lissa grabbed Lan Fan's sleeve and tugged her in a bit. "Be careful," she murmured. "He means well, but he's out of touch too."
Lan Fan quirked a rare smile. "You be careful too, Lissa."
With that, Hohenheim and Lan Fan headed off down the hall into the darkness. It was fair, to divide up the only two of their group who could sense the Dragon's Pulse, but even so… Lissa didn't like it one bit.
"Are you sure that you're gonna be okay with just the two of you?" Zampano asked as they went.
Hohenheim grinned at them over his shoulder, waving a dismissive hand. "Of course," he demurred. "I prefer it this way. I'd rather keep this young lady's company for myself than share her with the lot of you."
Gerso turned his nose up. "Pervy old man."
Lissa glanced sideways at Ed. Whatever else he was, Hohenheim was still wholly in love with Trisha Elric. She still brought him to tears. So he had some ulterior motive here, with Lan Fan—and it wasn't some kind of creepy attraction, either. No damn way. Then what? Lissa didn't have the time or mental space to think it through, honestly.
Darius grunted his agreement. "Let's go."
Ed wrapped his arm around Lissa's waist as they went, his mouth downturned and eyebrows furrowed unhappily. "He's gonna let her go," he murmured.
"He's what?" Lissa blinked at him in surprise.
"Hohenheim's going to send Lan Fan away to look for Ling," Ed explained wearily, for her ears only. "He's a lot of things, but he isn't thinking about—that kinda stuff right now. He knows she doesn't want to be here and he's going to send her away."
Lissa nodded slowly. "I figured he had another motive. Well…that's okay, then. She should go look for him." She put her arm around him in return, across his back, and cracked a faint but genuine smile. "Lan Fan deserves that opportunity. And she's the only one who stands a chance of getting through Greed, besides. They…deserve the same chance we got."
"Heh. I guess you're right." Ed smirked. "Though really, I think Ling-"
Suddenly overwhelmed by a wave of…pain, Lissa recoiled away from him and grabbed her head, stunned by the ferocity of it. By the volume of it. So…much, so much pain, roiling agony… What the hell was that?!
"Lissa!" Ed grabbed her and caught her before she could fall to her knees, supporting her weight. "What's going on, what did you feel?!"
But she couldn't even speak—she was fighting the sense back, trying to soften it like Ling had taught her, to muffle it behind a thick blanket like one would cover loud machinery, but it was so hard to fight against something this strong… This overwhelmingly powerful… She could hardly breathe, hardly do anything besides cling to Ed and drown in the anguish.
"It's okay, it's okay," Ed soothed her softly, rubbing his hand on her back. "I'm right here, Liss, just push it down… I've got you…"
Ed… Right…
Lissa turned her focus elsewhere, sinking into the familiar sense of him, letting it surround her, calm her frayed nerves… And slowly the blanket settled over that other feeling, the horrible, debilitating one. "I'm fine," she breathed, finally able to stand upright. Her head was still spinning, but she could manage it. She had to.
"Damn," Darius muttered. "I never saw you get overwhelmed like that in North City, kid."
She swallowed hard. "Something's wrong. It felt like something…awoke and…it was in agony. Or lots of somethings. I don't know."
Scar's eyes narrowed. "Do you have it under control?"
Lissa met his gaze, unafraid of him now, strangely enough. "Of course. I was reaching out to make sure our path was clear, so I was opened up—but I'm fine now." She stared ahead down the hall, anxiety making her heart race. "But…we need to be careful. Whatever I sensed is still there, and I have no idea what it might be."
Even as she spoke, the air seemed to grow still… And shrieking echoed down the hall—frantic, almost human screams like nothing she'd ever heard before.
Ed's hand clenched down on hers hard, his automail hand seizing the edge of her jacket and pulling her into him as the noise echoed around them. Lissa knew, without a trace of doubt, that this was what she'd sensed. Whatever was screaming like this…it was what she'd felt. "That's it," she whispered. "That must be what I felt."
"Well, damn," Gerso muttered, staring unhappily down the hallway. "I don't like this at all."
"We have no choice but to continue," Scar intoned, crossing his arms. "You can turn back if you wish, but the rest of us have to continue on."
Lissa rolled her eyes and pulled free of Ed. "You can at least act like we're on the same side right now," she pointed out lowly. "Nobody's going anywhere. But if you knew what I'd felt…" A flicker of alchemical energy flitted over her hands. "Then you'd know he's right to be anxious. All of us should be. Whatever the hell that was…we're probably going to have to fight it." She reached out and took Ed's hand back, as if to underscore her point. "Let's go."
Despite her own fears, Lissa pulled Ed along with her and took the lead, striding down the hallway with as much purpose as she could muster, pretending she wasn't afraid. But she was. She was terrified they'd meet…whatever the hell she'd sensed.
The hallway eventually led to a large doorframe in the wall that opened onto an even bigger room, mostly white, with an enormous set of double doors at the end. And on those doors…were designs echoing what looked like a transmutation circle. In front of the doors was a set of scattered armor and a rotted body, all once belonging to Barry the Chopper… She couldn't say she was sad to see him go. Beside that was a transmuted wall, to which the faintest sense of Alphonse still clung. Lissa's teeth were set on edge from the moment they walked in, though she didn't dare tap into her senses to try and figure out why. At this point, it didn't really matter what or why, it just mattered when they'd meet an adversary. And she couldn't predict that with the Dragon's Pulse.
"That's quite a doorway," Zampano observed, as they approached it.
Darius turned his nose up, unhappy. "The air here seems foul," he muttered. "You're sure this is it?"
"Yeah," Ed confirmed. "It's exactly like Al told us."
"And who is this?" Gerso asked, jerking his chin towards the armor and body parts on the floor in front of them.
Lissa felt Ed tense up beside her, likely still affected by those old memories. She sometimes thought that being kidnapped by that serial killer was one of the worst things he'd ever experienced. "That was Number Sixty-Six, also known as Barry the Chopper," she explained, covering for Ed's internal struggle. "He was one of the guardians of the Fifth Laboratory. A soul bonded to armor. They kept his body around to use later, though."
Ed pointed past the gruesome mess, towards the doors just behind. "And I bet that's the way in. It's gotta open somehow…" He stepped past the remains and approached the door, considering it—then he pressed his hands there and tried to physically yank it open.
Did you forget that you're an alchemist, Ed?
"Er…Ed…"
He groaned and yanked harder at the doors, not hearing her. "Ugh, please, come on! Damn this stupid thing!"
Lissa stepped up beside him and crossed her arms. "You could try another method, y'know," she pointed out dryly. "I mean…even if that's how these doors open, you'd have to be as strong as Sloth to pull them apart just with your fingers…"
"Are you gonna make fun of me or help me?" he grumbled, not letting up. "How the hell do you open this, anyway?!"
She pressed her fingertips to the doors, trying to sort through the molecules and figure it out. It seemed pretty standard, honestly, but this was Father they were dealing with… There was a chance standard alchemy would be somehow locked out within the boundaries of this door, meaning they couldn't transmute it open.
"Stand back."
Lissa whirled around and jerked back, tugging Ed with her as Scar approached with his right arm out, fingers curled in preparation.
The heaviness of sulfur pressed down on her neck.
"Wait—Scar-"
All on their own, the doors slid open, stone grating on stone as they swung outward. Lissa was frozen in sheer terror. That sense was back, pressing hard against her, nearly ripping past her barrier by the force of the feeling.
"Oh, it's open!" Ed nearly cheered.
A disturbance rent the air, and though Lissa's throat was too tight to speak—that had nothing to do with her alchemy. She parted the air before her and snagged the back of Ed's cloak, yanking him back hard as…something…began to flood out from the doors. Lissa nearly gagged with horror when she saw them—pasty white skin, cut through with red lines along each limb, open mouths slavering, tongues lolling out…and a single, lidless eye protruding from their foreheads.
Then, the creatures began to attack.
Lissa dragged Ed back with her as the first few stumbled out, letting Scar step in to handle them, just trying to keep her feet under her and keep her damned boyfriend from being eaten!
"The fuck are these things?!" she yelled, releasing Ed and bringing her hands to bear.
Ed shook his head almost frantically. "I have no idea! But we gotta get through 'em!"
She glanced sideways at him, shared a brief, firm look—then they lunged forward into the battle. It was a physical fight, but she relied on her alchemy in hand to hand combat, so Lissa focused on that, fighting nearly back to back with Ed most of the time as they knocked down creature after creature. But…though she knew they were breaking bones, dealing serious injuries…it didn't seem to be…doing much.
Lissa cursed under her breath and twisted to gain momentum, transmuting the air as she swung her leg up and directly into the ribs of one of the humanoid creatures. She focused, heard the crack as she shattered ribs—but the creature only staggered and then renewed its attack.
Across the room, she spotted Scar using his devastating alchemy on one. Greenish blood sprayed from its head, and its neck tilted back at an unnatural angle… But then it tipped its head back up and stumbled forward, groaning something unintelligible and going for him yet again. "So they don't die?!" Scar growled angrily.
Their group circled back up at the center, all exhausted, panting hard—Lissa twisted her hands midair, transmuting the space between them and these…mannequins, forcing added resistance into the air to delay them and buy their group a moment to breathe. All around them, the mannequins groaned in pain, drooling from open mouths… And they could speak, in wrecked, rasping voices… Crying out in agony, begging for food…for their parents…
Lissa fought off a wave of nausea. Had Father created these things?! Who the hell could justify making something as awful as this?!
One mannequin reared up and screeched, "BIG BROTHER!"
Ed staggered back a step, all the blood draining from his face. "There's no way," he breathed, stricken. In a trembling voice, he spat out, "They used human souls to make these things?!"
"Human souls?" Lissa gasped, jerking her head around to face him. "Ed, are you sure?"
He nodded shakily. "It's like the faces on Envy's true form… Souls, Liss… Souls…"
"Damn," Zampano panted hard. "They just keep coming! What are these things?!"
Lissa could see he was right—more and more mannequins were stumbling out from the door, flooding the room, circling around them… But wandering further, too, around the circle, moving behind her and out of sight.
"How should I know?!" Darius demanded. "And why won't they die?!"
Even Scar was unsettled. "This is bad… If these things escape outside…"
They'd destroy Central… All the civilians, the people we passed on our way here… The city hasn't been cleared! Dammit!
"So now what?" Ed murmured, under his breath. "Any ideas?"
One mannequin lunged, going for Gerso, and he caught it by the wrists just before it got its jaws around him. "Get off!" he snarled, as he hefted the mannequin and threw it, full-body, across the room. As it landed, tumbling bonelessly to the ground, the chimera turned—and his eyes shot wide. "Oh, no! They're starting to get out!"
Lissa turned, panicked, to see some of the mannequins had wandered all the way to the door…and were heading right that way! They'd reach the surface!
Abandoning her hold on the mannequins around them, Lissa shoved her hands forward, sending alchemical energy scurrying through the air, and created a dense patch of air right in their path. "I've got them!" she shouted. "Ed, go!"
"Right!" He clapped his hands together, and knelt to ram his palms into the ground. His transmutation raced across the floor, beneath the mannequins' feet—and a wall rose up from the ground, sealing off the wide-open doorway in seconds. As soon as the wall was up, Lissa released her hold, sagging in relief as the strain ended.
Ed grimaced as he stood up. "Sorry. I guess I just cut off our exit."
But Darius shook his head quickly. "Don't worry about it. If you hadn't done it, I would've slammed the damn thing shut myself."
With Lissa's transmutation no longer keeping the circle of mannequins back, they began to advance on their group, and she shifted back into a fighting stance in preparation. There wasn't time to be exhausted, wasn't time to give into the dizziness clawing at her senses. She'd have to rely on her own combat abilities for a moment, but if she stuck close to Ed she'd be okay—and she could rest her alchemy for a bit, until she really needed it.
Zampano grinned fiercely. "And now we can really take these guys on!"
Darius slammed a fist into his palm. "Yeah! You said it, Zampano! Now that all these things are trapped here with us, we can really show our stuff! This is gonna be good!"
It was an enormous relief when the chimeras transformed, taking on their animal forms—their stronger forms. Lissa had nearly forgotten they could do it, so used to their human selves, but of course…this was the truth of being a successful chimera. Still… Would that be enough? Scar couldn't kill them, physical attacks didn't seem to do much… What could they possibly do to overcome these horrible things?
And now we know they have human souls in them too… If we kill them…
"How could they even think to create these monsters?" Ed hissed, wiping the back of his sleeve across his face. "Well…it looks like we'll just have to plough through them so we can get at that bearded bastard!"
That was it… If they could just get past these horrible things, then they could go deeper in and find Father!
"Come on!" Ed shouted, running forward. "Let's take these things down!"
There was nothing for it—they had to get past them somehow, and if these things weren't killable, then they had to find a different way to handle it. Whether that was shoving through the masses or somehow stopping these freakish creatures…they needed a solution, and fast. But the only way to figure something out was to fight and try everything in their arsenal.
Lissa gritted her teeth and followed Ed into battle, immediately ducking to his left and sweeping the legs out from underneath the nearest mannequin. It wouldn't be down for long, but while it was lying there, struggling to get up, all the ones behind it would trip over it. She didn't dare use alchemy right now—she was too exhausted, forcing back dizziness, and if she wore herself down too far then she wouldn't be able to use it at all—but thankfully, years of working together had given her and Ed a fantastic rhythm in battles. Not to mention they were even more attuned to each other now than ever before. He noticed almost immediately that she wasn't using her alchemy, and switched his own tactics to compliment hers. Rather than working adjacently, they began to simply work together, handling some by themselves but seamlessly coming back when the other needed support. She'd never felt this…in sync with someone else, like she didn't even have to speak for Ed to understand what she needed… It was remarkable, and some part of her wondered if this wasn't because they'd come clean just the night before. Maybe they'd opened some barrier now and this was the result.
Someone cried out behind her, and Lissa spun to see Darius struggling with a mannequin—which had managed to get its teeth clenched on the back of the chimera's neck!
"Liss, I need a boost!" Ed yelled, rushing for Darius.
She immediately shoved forward with her right hand, creating the corridor of resistance-free space he needed to get his speed up—and then altered it, following Ed's path as he leapt into the air and kicked the mannequin off Darius with an angry yell. The moment he landed, she let up on the transmutation and ducked around another mannequin to join the two, stretching her fingers in preparation, in case anything went for them while they recovered.
Darius rubbed the back of his neck and grimaced. "Good thing I'm so beefy," he muttered.
Yet again, their entire group had ended up in one spot, all sticking close to support each other—Lissa was surprised time and time again to have Scar of all people fighting alongside them. She'd never forget that moment in East City, when she'd flung herself over Ed to save him, and come mere seconds from being destroyed by Scar… But she was trying to keep Winry's actions in mind, in Baschool.
After all… What kind of person didn't allow for a little redemption in others? If the Ishvalan didn't go back to hunting them after this…perhaps there was room for a change in him.
Lissa sucked in a shuddering breath as the mannequins advanced on them still, muttering and groaning on their way, eyes roving aimlessly around the room. It seemed like they didn't have enough consciousness to think beyond just killing whatever was in front of them, which made the whole thing even more disgusting.
"I guess that shows you what a Philosopher's Stone can do for you, huh?" Darius grumbled, staring in revulsion at the approaching mannequin soldiers.
And to think…we spent so long looking for one…
Abruptly, Scar strode forward, right arm out purposefully, and rammed his palm into the legs of the nearest mannequin. Lissa cringed as he transmuted its legs clean off, leaving the thing crawling around on the ground, moaning desperately. "The legs!" he shouted, turning to the others. "Go for the legs!"
Lissa recoiled in shock, while the chimeras rushed to do exactly as Scar had suggested—only Ed hesitated beside her, face contorted in horror at the results of that method. Around them, mannequins were falling, trapped or incapacitated, writhing with only their hands left functional.
"We have to," Ed ground out, turning and giving her a weary, resigned look.
She nodded slowly—he was right, no matter how awful it was. "There's no other choice," she agreed quietly. Ed clapped his hands together, withdrawing a spear from the ground, his classic weapon—while Lissa yanked particles of iron from the ground and formed it around her right hand, molding it to the back of her glove and extending a thin, sharp blade directly outward. She couldn't risk upsetting her own balance if she needed to shift between currents for a quick escape, so she'd have to get in close… No extraneous weapons for her.
Fine. I'll do what I have to do, in order to save everyone.
Lissa lunged, quick on her feet, past Ed to cut the legs off a mannequin Gerso hadn't noticed coming up behind him. From there she turned, twisted underneath another mannequin's attempt to grab her, and sliced its legs off before moving on, a blur of motion. She'd always been fast, thankfully even without her alchemy, so she could handle being in this close—so she'd use that to her advantage.
But…there were just so fucking many!
As more mannequins poured out from the doorway, pushing their group further back, Lissa growled low in her throat—and twisted her hands before her, parting the currents of air and slipping between the walls of resistance, her right arm out as she rushed forward with her knees bent. As she raced past a line of mannequins, she severed their legs in one single sweep, knocking a full five straight to the floor in that one motion. But there wasn't time to stop. She angled left, still transmuting, taking a sharp ninety-degree turn and slicing her blade through another three mannequins' legs.
"They're really still coming?!" she heard Darius yell, the sound muffled as air rushed past her ears. "Why won't they die?!"
Enraged, Lissa stuck her blade into the abdomen of one mannequin and yanked it down, splitting the body—then she twisted and hacked its legs off seconds later. Dammit! How many were there?! How many fucking mannequin soldiers had those freaks created?!
She summoned the ambient iron in the air, what was in the immediate area around her, and formed a spike with a wider, flat end, which she flung clear across the room, boosted with alchemy, to pin a mannequin that had been much too close to Ed. He caught her gaze and gave her a quick nod, before ducking back out of sight and into battle, still wielding his spear.
"I'm running out of quills!" Zampano growled from nearby.
"My spit's starting to dry up too," Gerso panted, taking a staggering step backwards.
Lissa gritted her teeth, realizing just how far she'd really gotten from Ed, and immediately cut a quick path through the mannequins, taking their legs where she could, refusing to stay so far from him. She ducked beneath one mannequin's legs and sliced its left one off below the knee as she went, before leaping to her feet behind it and kicking it square in the back. It toppled into another and took that one down with it.
"Damn it!" she heard Ed snarl, just behind her.
She turned, ready to join in his attack—only to see him stop short as a fallen mannequin grabbed onto his left leg with both hands.
He yanked furiously against its hold, even as more moved in towards him, behind him, on all sides, hemming him in while he was distracted. "Stop it!" Ed yelled, his movements turning frantic, eyes wide with something just on the edge of panic.
"Look out!" she heard Darius cry.
Lissa felt the disturbance, higher up, as a mannequin leapt for Ed—she parted the air before her, around her, wreathing herself in starlight as she sprinted full-speed in and caught the mannequin in the chest just before it landed on Ed, her blade sinking through its flesh and protruding out its back. But it didn't stop. She shrieked and recoiled, dragging the thing with her as it snapped its teeth, hands grabbing onto her shoulders, claws digging into her jacket. The fabric ripped as she tried to yank her blade to the side, her arm jerking, but it was caught against what felt like the creature's ribcage. Lissa caught the mannequin under its jaw with her left hand and tried to transmute its head off, but only succeeded in making green fluids seep out its neck.
"Lissa!" she heard Ed scream, his voice panicked.
She cut her gaze to the side, in time to see as he let out a cry and turned away, fending off another mannequin with his spear caught crossways between them, both hands out to hold the creature back.
The moment cost her. Lissa wavered and lost her grip on the mannequin's jaw, and it lunged forward, teeth gnawing the air only inches in front of her face. Horror set into her soul. There was no one to save them—they had a fucking sea of mannequins between them and the others, and with them both pinned, with no way out…
No… Dammit, no, this can't happen!
The air by the sealed doorway simmered with heat. Lissa felt it, sensed the roar of heat…but beneath that, something else. Icy-cold metal.
Wait, that's-
The wall Ed had transmuted burst open with a sudden explosion, fire racing through the gap. Lissa gasped and recoiled as the mannequin she'd been grappling with was caught up in the blast, incinerated to mere ash in seconds, taking her transmuted blade with it. She could see the same fate had befallen the one that had pinned Ed, for he was on his knees now and completely free, either a stroke of serious good luck or…or… Or extremely precise aim.
"Things do always seem to get messy whenever you're around," a voice rang out into the resultant silence. "Maybe I could lend you two a hand… Eh, Fullmetal, Starlight?"
Lissa couldn't help the grin that split her face as the dust cleared, revealing Colonel Mustang standing in the doorway, arm outstretched, poised for another transmutation—and Riza just behind him, aiming a gun to cover him, face set and determined.
Ed was staring at him in shock. "Colonel?!"
Mustang smirked. "You just manage to make new friends everywhere you go," he nearly teased, clearly enjoying himself. But then, as he cast a look around the room, his eyes widened in surprise. "Is that Scar?"
"Long story," Lissa told him, rolling her eyes.
He shrugged that off. "I can't help but think of the last time we were here, Lieutenant," Mustang added, tilting his head back towards Riza. "As I recall, you were crying over me. Shame I don't get to see that softer side of you more often."
Lissa exchanged an exasperated look with Ed.
"The last thing I'm gonna do is start crying for you now," Riza told him sharply. "Water makes you useless."
She bit back a laugh, even as she darted in to join Ed, standing nearly back to back with him as the mannequins moved in and began attacking again. That's why we love you, Riza.
"Save your banter for later!" Scar yelled over at them, incensed. "Kill these things!"
Mustang rounded on him angrily. "Hey! Don't you dare give me orders!"
"He's right!" Riza cut in, stepping forward with her gun out, taking careful aim. "Just start shooting at these white guys!"
Ed spun away from the mannequin he'd just half-dismembered and shook his head fiercely, trusting Lissa to cover his back in the meantime. "No, save your ammo! Bullets won't even slow 'em down!"
Riza paled. "Not again! How else do we kill them?!"
Darting forward, Lissa sliced the legs off the nearest couple mannequins, and ducked back from another's swipe—managing to bump right into Ed's back in the process. "Sorry," she told him quickly, wincing.
He flashed a grin. "Don't worry about it. You okay?"
"Oh, I'm great," she muttered. "How about you?"
Ed swung his spear around and knocked another mannequin back. "Psh, I'm just fine," he told her, heavy on the sarcasm. "I love fighting things that won't die!"
"Wait, they're homunculi?" Mustang wondered aloud.
Oh, no.
Lissa turned, feeling Ed pause behind her, panting hard, to see Mustang raising his hand, fingers pressed together in that all-too-familiar pose. She just barely had time to spin back around and grab Ed around his middle, with her left arm, yanking him back and flinging her right hand out to protect everyone as Mustang snapped his fingers.
Fire ripped through the chamber, swirling neatly around their group and engulfing every single mannequin in a single, continuous blast. The air seared blistering hot around them, but Lissa's last-second transmutation created a barrier that spared their allies from the heat, though it was only an arm's span apart from most of them. She watched, with what focus she could spare, as the mannequins were burned alive, all screaming in a sudden wave of agony that made her head ache.
When Mustang finally released his attack, the mannequins' bodies disintegrated into dust.
Lissa dropped her arm, gasping for air, her vision blurry with a rush of lightheadedness, and clung to Ed for a moment as the reality set in. These things had human souls in them…and Mustang had killed them all.
"They were the enemy," he asserted lowly. "It had to be done."
She rounded on him, stinging from the mass death she'd just felt and the lofty position he was taking here. "You could've done it without nearly roasting all of us alive too!" she snapped. "What if I hadn't-"
"But I knew you had it handled," Mustang cut in smoothly, shrugging.
Lissa opened her mouth to retort, only to pause when Ed gripped her hand, grounding her. She was too on edge from feeling all those souls snuff out at once—and yelling at Mustang wasn't going to make her feel better. So she just nodded and let it go instead. He had saved them all. She had to remember that.
Something pushed at her senses—first lightly, then suddenly hard, insistent, so she tapped into it to see what was going on.
"Wait, something's…" Lissa cast her gaze upward, where the sense was taking her.
Even as she spoke, there was a thump from above, a rattling—and then the ceiling exploded, raining debris down just by the doors leading further inside. Lissa's jaw dropped when she spotted Mei Chang, landing hard atop one of the doors and dangling there, stunned.
"Is that Mei?" Gerso wondered, equally as surprised.
But Lissa had already focused elsewhere. "Homunculus," she growled, turning and pointing into the clearing dust just at the opening to the doors. "I know what I feel."
With a cough, a familiar homunculus rose from the dust, waving the smoke away.
Ed jolted in shock. "Envy?!"
"Huh?" Envy looked up and grimaced. "Not you guys!"
Beside them, Mei slid down the door where she'd landed and hit the ground running, racing over to their group before Envy could so much as grab at her. She went straight to Scar, unsurprisingly, standing in front of him in a defensive position.
"You damn fool!" he snapped, glaring down at her. "Why didn't you go back to Xing?!"
Mei turned to him, sudden tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. "B-but I… I thought… I just wanted to…"
Scar's expression changed, just minutely, and Lissa realized…she was seeing regret in his eyes. "Forget it. Don't cry," he told Mei, still harshly—but the undertone was clear. He really hadn't meant to make her cry.
How…weird. Does he care about her?
"Please forgive me," Mei begged, her breath hitching. "I'm sorry…"
Envy stuck out their tongue in disgust. "Bleh. Typical whiny humans. You're making my stomach turn." They jammed their hands on their hips and cast a look around, a bit disparately. "I gotta admit, you guys really made a serious mess down here."
Lissa gingerly pulled her hand from Ed's, where his automail had begun to dig into her hand just a bit too much, even though his glove, a result of the sudden tension in the room. She brought her hands up to cover her center, ready to transmute at any moment—there was no trusting Envy. This homunculus, of all of them, seemed to delight in screwing with people. They couldn't afford to let their guard down.
"So," Envy began, almost drawling the words, "we've got the Fullmetal Alchemist, the Starlight Alchemist, and the Flame Alchemist… And there's even Scar. And I've got a serious grudge with you filthy chimera." A smirk curled their lips up. "So, then… Who gets the pleasure of being first to die?"
Mustang squared his shoulders. "You're Envy, right? You're the homunculus who can change their appearance at will."
Envy grinned at him. "Wow! You've heard of me!" they laughed. "I'm flattered. Nice to meet you, Colonel." They suddenly turned baffled, though. "Wait, hold on. You're teaming up with him, Scar? You do know that he helped reduce Ishval to a hell on earth?"
Scar gazed at him contemptuously, but unwaveringly. "I'm aware of that."
Envy's jaw dropped. "What?! You're friends now?! You guys are no fun at all." They brought a hand to their head in something akin to exasperation. "What happened to trying to crush each other's windpipes? Look at the two of you!" Seeming almost genuinely confused, they flung their arms out to each side. "You obviously wanna kill each other, so do it!"
"We aren't going to be the pawns in your sick little game anymore," Mustang told him lowly, sighing.
"Really? And what about your sick games?" Envy asked with a smirk. "Don't kid yourself, Mustang. You know humans love to watch other people suffer while making fools of themselves." They flashed an amused smile. "I mean, why else would you constantly be at war with each other?"
Lissa grimaced when Mustang smirked in return. "Hm. There really is nothing quite like watching fools dig their own graves."
Envy gave an appreciative whistle.
"Especially…when that fool is an arrogant homunculus who's too stupid to see what they're doing," Mustang added, his smirk turning dark and mocking.
That made the homunculus's mouth turn down.
"I've humored you long enough," Mustang continued firmly. "So how about you answer a question of mine?"
Lissa looked uncertainly between him and Ed. What question could he possibly have to ask Envy? They hadn't met before… And it wasn't like a question was going to keep them from fighting Envy, likely in their giant lizard form considering the size of the room. What the hell was so important right now, with everything else hanging over their heads?
"I want you to tell me who killed Maes Hughes."
Ed whirled around to face Mustang, stunned, and Lissa's arms dropped to her sides. That. That's important enough for him to stall everything. Dammit, Mustang!
"And I want the truth, homunculus," Mustang demanded, his voice low and dangerous.
Envy jammed their hands on their hips. "Maria Ross did. Isn't that why you burned her to death?" they challenged.
"Shut up," Mustang snapped angrily. "I know that she didn't kill him."
"Huh?!" Envy was positively delighted, and Lissa felt sick. "You mean to tell me that you scorched an innocent girl to a pile of ashes?! Nicely done, you monster! Wow, must've been fun telling her family. Did you cry when you told them? Or did you sit back quietly and endure their outrage?"
This is bad…I can feel Mustang's anger from here… Shit…
"Quit running your mouth, you idiot!" Oh, he's furious. "I'm sick of you damned homunculi giving me the runaround when I ask you this question. Tell me the truth, or I'll burn it out of you, you worthless scum!" Mustang's voice turned deadly. "Tell me who's responsible for his murder."
When Envy began to laugh, Lissa truly thought she might throw up.
"Congratulations, Colonel Mustang," Envy laughed, extending a hand towards him and pressing the other to their chest. "You've finally hunted down your culprit." With that, Envy descended into what were almost giggles, a sick, twisted sort of humor.
Envy killed Hughes?! All this time, it was Envy?!
Mustang raised an eyebrow. "You're saying that you killed Hughes? I doubt a moron like you could pull that off."
Lissa spotted the bait right away, from years spent working with Mustang, knowing how he operated, how his mind worked… But of course, Envy had no idea. The homunculus was too busy self-congratulating to realize they were being goaded into revealing more details…into feeding Mustang's rage.
"Moron?" Envy scoffed. "Tell me who the real moron is here." The homunculus's body sparked red, skin shifting, clothing altering from the ground up—becoming someone else. "Because I don't think it's me! I prefer to use that term for someone who falls for a cheap trick like this!"
The red static faded—and Lissa took a step back in horror as Gracia Hughes grinned at them savagely, speaking with Envy's voice, wearing their evil grin. So this was how they did it! Oh no, no no no… This was why witnesses saw Ross at the scene! Envy took her form to kill Hughes—but…they took Gracia's form too… Fuck!
Envy, still wearing Gracia's face, barked a sick laugh at Mustang. "Hah! You should see your face! Oh, you're not gonna believe this, but that was the same look on Hughes' face when I shot him! The utter shock, the dumb confusion! You could see every emotion he felt as his own wife shot him!" Envy all but cackled, pressing their hands to that stolen face and grinning savagely, practically overcome with their own delight at what they'd done. "It…was…great!"
"That's enough," Mustang hissed, in a furious, wrecked voice. "You were stupid enough to confess…and even more stupid to boast. Everything you've said is fuel on your funeral pyre. So then…" Slowly, he lifted his right hand, preparing to attack, his whole body rigid with pure, absolute rage. "I think I'll begin…by burning out your tongue!"
Lissa gripped Ed's sleeve as Mustang strode forward, approaching Envy, while the homunculus just stood there smirking. "Stand down, all of you," he ordered harshly. "I'm dealing with them on my own. This one is mine and mine alone."
"Well, you heard him," Gerso agreed easily, unaware of the broader circumstances here. "Let's keep moving and find this Father guy.
But Envy wasn't having that—they shifted their left arm into the giant lizard form and stuck it out, stretching away from their body, right into the chimeras' path. "I don't remember giving you permission to leave," they chided. "I still owe you some pain and misery for what you did-"
Snap!
Fire rushed forth from Mustang's glove, a direct hit onto the homunculus—still in Gracia's form—sending Envy flying, screaming in pain. When their body landed, Lissa cringed in horror to see Mustang truly had burned their tongue out first. Gasping in pain, Envy slowly began to shift their body back, red sparks flickering all over.
"Keep your eyes on me, Envy," Mustang snarled. "Our conversation is the only one that should concern you." This is so bad… So bad… "It's kind of interesting how quickly the tongue can be rendered to a bubbling grease… It's surprising how easy it burns, isn't it?"
Ed gritted his teeth. "Lieutenant… I really think the two of you-"
But Riza cut him off firmly. "Edward. Just go. We can handle this one," she asserted.
"Are you sure?" he asked, clearly unconvinced.
"The Lieutenant said go, Elric. You've got more important matters to deal with," Mustang snapped at him. He only ever used Ed's surname when he was truly enraged—and that alone was enough to send alarms racing through Lissa's head.
Darius crossed to the two and placed his hand atop Edward's head. "He's right, Ed. Now let's go." Against Ed's will, the chimera began to march him right out of the room.
Lissa saw Gerso coming for her and ducked past him, slipping through the air to Mustang's side and grabbing his arm tightly. "Colonel-"
"Now, Starlight," he told her sharply. "That's an order."
She clenched her fists at her sides. "But I-"
His hand shot out, the flat of his palm pressing into her shoulder and shoving her back a step. "You've got someone else to look after," Mustang insisted, his voice turning quiet and firm. "Get out of here, Lissandra."
Slowly, Lissa took a step back, and then another. But he didn't budge. Feeling sick down to her soul, Lissa spun away and stalked after the others, glimmering blue as she stepped past Scar and Mei to rejoin Ed. She didn't quite know why she was about to cry… But tears were brimming in her eyes nonetheless, a horrible sense of wrongness settling over her the further they got. Hughes had been Mustang's best friend, ever since she'd known him… One of his biggest advocates, a driving force behind him… And now? Now there was nothing standing between Mustang and Hughes' killer.
He's going to go too far, she thought, with a cold certainty. His revenge is going to consume him…and we're going to lose him. That's why this hurts so much.
"The Colonel's gonna be fine," Darius told Ed and Lissa as they walked into a darker hallway, completely unconcerned. "You saw that back there. This won't even be a challenge for him."
"That's not exactly what I'm worried about," Ed murmured, scowling.
Darius looked surprised. "Huh? Then what's the problem?"
Lissa felt Ed's right hand slip into hers and squeeze down, and she knew he'd come to the same conclusion—that this…might well take Mustang's very soul.
Ahead, Mei had taken the lead, no doubt feeling the path with the Dragon's Pulse. Knowing damn well she couldn't just stand by while a little girl did all the work, Lissa parted from Ed for the time being, leaving a quick kiss on his cheek before she wound her way through the group to join Mei at the front. "Following the Dragon's Pulse, huh?" she asked the younger girl softly.
Mei looked at up her curiously. "You know about that?"
Lissa nodded. "I can feel it too. I know, it's weird, but I can help at least." She pointed ahead, at the left-hand path of two possible ways. "Over there, yeah?"
"Yes. The chi is stronger through there," Mei agreed, taking it in stride. Without a trace of hesitation, she padded along beside Lissa, eyes fixed on the dim corridor ahead of them. "I guess that explains why you feel different," the girl mused as they walked. "I've been sensing something strange about you right from the start."
Huh. So she felt it too. "We think I have Xingese ancestry," Lissa explained, seeing no reason to lie. They were all on the same side at this point. "Everyone from Xing I've met feels kind of…familiar, too."
Mei regarded her for a moment, frowning. "That…isn't all of it," she murmured thoughtfully.
"What do you-"
"This way!" Mei grabbed her hand and pulled her down another hallway, and Lissa cast a weary look back at Ed, who still looked troubled.
Between Lissa and Mei, their group made their way deeper into a labyrinth of halls, which rapidly deteriorated from normal corridors to being lined with creepy pipes, like the ones Lissa had noticed down in Father's chamber. She figured it meant they were going the right way—that, and her growing dread, the warnings telling her to run in the opposite direction the further they went. Father's energy was getting stronger, closer, and she was really not looking forward to facing him again. He felt purely evil, enough to scrape against her soul like a damn knife.
When the corridor straightened out and Lissa sensed no offshoots, no other paths—with her alchemical senses, not the Dragon's Pulse—she dropped back to rejoin Ed, letting Mei take the lead again. The chimeras were all paying close attention to her anyway, so Lissa felt the girl would be safe. It was odd that Scar was staying so far back, in such proximity to Ed, but she dismissed that.
"You holding up okay?" Ed asked her softly, as she slipped her hand into his.
Lissa nodded, a bit reluctant. "I guess. I'm just…" She gritted her teeth. "I don't like this, Ed. I don't like what I saw in Mustang back there."
He grimaced. "I don't either. We were all upset about Hughes, but this…"
"When I was younger…back at the institution…" She tightened her fingers around his. "Well, you know. I didn't exactly get along with anybody there, they hated what I could do… They'd lash out at me because I was different. But Mustang always discouraged me from taking revenge. He told me it was pointless. That I only turned myself into what they thought I was, if I attacked them out of vengeance." Lissa sighed heavily, her heart aching with worry inside her chest. "Envy called him a monster. I can't stop thinking about that."
"He's not gonna hold back," Ed admitted, sounding worried too. "From what Al said, he didn't have trouble taking out Lust—and he was angry because she'd just almost killed Havoc, too. That was bad enough. And I remember, after we heard about that whole incident…you were afraid you'd caused him to go too far, weren't you? So you already thought what he did here last time was going too far. Whatever he does now…it's going to be far worse."
Lissa hated this. Everything was pointing towards Mustang going irreversibly far… But…what could be done? How could they stop him?
Ahead, she saw Mei climb up and onto a raised section of those pipes, heading deeper into the darkness. "This way," the girl told them all firmly. "It's gotta be this way."
"We can't let this happen," Lissa breathed. "Ed… If Mustang is overcome by vengeance…" She tilted her head forward, towards where Scar walked only a few steps ahead. "We know what happens to people who get lost in revenge."
Ed gritted his teeth. "I know, Liss. Dammit… We have to stop him from killing Envy."
But how? How the hell do we stop him?
"This place is creepy," Zampano observed, following Mei onto the piping.
Darius nodded his agreement. "These tubes are like veins… And the further we get, the more it feels like I've got a bad case of heartburn."
"I'm not surprised," Mei told him. "I've got it too. There's a strong mass of rancid chi ahead."
"Rancid chi?" Darius wondered.
Mei squared her shoulders as she stared into the darkness. "You know how you can feel a crowd's fear before a disaster? It's like that, but it's far worse."
"I don't really understand," Zampano admitted, "but it sure is scarin' the hell outta me."
Gerso climbed up after the others, and Lissa felt a sudden sense of panic practically glue her feet to the ground. She pulled up short, Ed pausing beside her when he felt the resistance on his hand. "Liss…" He brushed her hair off her shoulder, where her ponytail had flicked forward. "I know," he murmured. "I…think I have an idea. Do you trust me?"
"Of course," Lissa told him softly. "Always."
Ed turned towards the others—towards Scar, who had stopped halfway up the pipes, likely when he sensed them stop as well. "Scar. I need to talk to you," Ed murmured, his voice tight—he didn't like this much, she could tell.
Yet…he was right. Lissa herself had pointed out that Scar—or at least, the way he'd been previously—was an example of what happened when vengeance took a person too far.
Scar regarded him evenly. "It's about the Flame Alchemist, isn't it?" he asked.
Ed just nodded.
The Ishvalan sighed and let his gaze drift, staring almost unseeingly at the wall. "It wasn't that long ago that I was a monster," he began slowly. "I understand the burning desire for revenge all too well. The way he's headed…" His jaw tightened. "He will destroy himself in the flames of hatred. And it's doubtful that he will ever recover."
Dammit. So that was it—the truth of the matter. If even Scar thought Mustang was heading towards self-destruction…
An explosion echoed from where they'd come, the hallway glowing with a sudden burst of red-orange light. Lissa hissed out a breath between her teeth. That…was unhinged alchemy. She could feel the disturbance in the air from the transmutation, the uncontrolled path, the excess spilling out… "He's not restraining himself at all," she whispered.
Ed's hand pressed into the small of her back. "This is bad," he muttered.
"You can feel it from here?" Scar asked of her, frowning.
Lissa nodded, feeling a bit strange about revealing her own abilities to someone she'd once regarded as an enemy—but it wasn't like he'd use it against her now. "Yeah. My alchemy lets me feel disturbances in the air, the way air currents flow, things like that… And I've worked with Mustang long enough to know what his alchemy feels like when he's using it normally. That…was something else. He's always controlled, but…right now…"
"We need to go."
She turned back to look at the Ishvalan in shock. We?
Scar's face was grim. "Someone has to stop him. Before he goes too far."
"Right," Ed agreed lowly. "We'll catch up with the others later." He took her hand back, tightly in his own, and nodded once, decisively. "Let's go."
(One more in the triple update! Hold onto something, lovelies, because we all know where this is going!)
