Note: I'm back from the dead! Can you believe it? I am so sorry I haven't updated this story in like a year! Really I am I just had a bad time at writing this chapter. I rewrote it completely differently about 5 times.. Thank you everyone for the reviews.

Lost Hope

Chapter 4 Death Dance

Something was terribly wrong. The hall was deadly quiet, the whitewashed walls gleaming spectacularly with a military starch clean, reflected silence. Nothing but the sound of her own obsidian boots reverberating through the isles, and the ragged melody of the soft breath from her mouth reached her ears. The atmosphere was that of a ghost town deserted and haunted, the place as clean as ever before but devoid of life, a feeling that made her wary beyond all measure. The women's pace quickened into a jog, at every corner she turned she was met with silence and no one to greet her. Her delicate fingers remained grasped under her military attire onto the infamous guns in their holsters waiting with a sharp mind for the slightest movement in the shadows of the corridor.

Ready to fire; she would not miss. Nor was she afraid to shoot, not even afraid to kill. She had before, there was blood on her hands and she would again if it meant protecting the one she was devoted to. But there was a sign of no one friend or foe, It was becoming unbearably silent, something frightening must have happened, she was suspicious of the lack of military personnel and rightfully so. Usually people would be running amuck the halls at all times, the ground would be rumbling with chatter, the lunchroom filled with the stench of burnt mush, guards at every important entrance, every official office. But now there was no one.

As she ran on nearing her destination everything began to seem almost shrouded, the walls becoming a blur with the tiled ground, her toes seeming to slip during every other touch to the earth, gradually at first and that smell, an enchanting scent yet revolting all the same seemed to fill her mind almost numbing it. Her tense muscles began to on autopilot start recoiling, her pace slowing down to that of a walk, her breathing becoming deep and dragged out tasting the scent that filled the hall almost mindlessly with a dazed hunger, the taste was all the seemed to exist.

The women's mind wandered onto her task at hand, but her limbs felt heavy her sight dizzy and wavering, feeling light headed and her thoughts increasingly becoming unfocused and frazzled. "What's wrong with me...?" She thought in a daze, slouching against the wall beside the telephone booth's oak door. She could feel herself sliding almost into a blissful nothingness her vision beginning to fade into ebony when the mangled picture of a bloodied Edward sprung into her mind. His deathly stillness and crimson stains sending a chill through her bodice. Then she thought of the look on the Colonels face that worried disconnected look of guilt.

She had a job to do, and she could not fail him, not now. "Hawkeye, pull yourself together." She thought in harsh encouragement but she felt immobilized, her legs paralyzed. She barely had the energy to lift up her chin when she heard the clanking of footsteps approaching. "No…I was so close. Move…Hawkeye move." But it was futile her strength was draining, her eyelids growing heavier. Straining her eyes and resisting the urge to fall into unconsciousness, the last thing she saw was a slender being, wearing tightly bound obsidian clothing smirking in triumph, deathly purple eyes glaring with a menacing laughter at her, long strands of hair hanging from a head band,and a mysterious can of gas in the creatures hand before all faded into darkness and she knew no more. The last thought in her head was of her great failure.

Maes darted through the flames, feeling the intense heat prick his pale skin. The office was becoming shambles from the uproar of flames. The drywall replaced with towering rows of the raging inferno. Yet Roy still seemed to be fighting undeterred. Maes eyes could barely see them through the suffocating smoke, the almost obsidian clouds obscuring his vision and clogging his glasses with filth. But he could tell that things were not going well for Roy. Rapid snapping and slices seemed to penetrate through the roaring flames; he could almost hear the colonel's ragged breathing as he once again twisted his body to dodge another blow from Lust's deadly finger nails. He could feel the intense hatred from Roy, and the cool mocking tone of Lust's flirtatious vocals.

His emerald eyes glanced down at Edward in mounting anticipation. The boy seemed to be growing worse each minute, his breathing more shallow due to the atmosphere. Hughes himself was starting to succumb to the melting heat, his lungs cried for fresh oxygen, his skin screamed from the over powering heat. Yet he was frozen in place with the dying Edward in his arms. Edward's very life was in his hands yet how could he turn his back and allow Roy to smolder alone in the heat. Something had to be done.

In nervous anticipation he dug a hand free of Ed's body into his pocket, desperately trying to think of some plan to get them out of this deathly mess, his hands fingered around the cotton exterior brushing across the now burning hot metal watch of Edwards in his hand. Perfect. This is my only chance, it damn better work or we're in even deeper trouble. Quickly Hughes tore off Edwards's jacket, his fingers clawing at the metal hook that latched the two sides to Ed's body. Ripping the jacket off the seemingly lifeless body as gently as he could. Suddenly the boy began hacking, crimson drops dripping from his mouth as he gagged for air through the ash. Dazed golden eyes lifted up and gazed at Hughes with a pained groan between the violent coughing. "I'm so sorry Edward please holds on..." Hughes whispered hoarsely gently placing Edward on the ground where it had yet not caught on fire. Turning his back on Edward for hopefully the last name he began to in a frenzy to tie the shining chain loop onto the clasp of Ed's jacket. His insides nearly froze as a terrible crash resounded and the first of the pillars that once held up the office slammed into the ground, shaking the entire ground and sending Hughes down harshly onto the smoldering floor. He could hear the crackling of the wooden beams breaking through the floor before it gave out from beneath his body and he fell with a yell spiraling towards the below floor.

It was like a never ending dance of death, only one would survive and Roy could feel it would not be him. He tried to reassure himself that Edward and Hughes had escaped the flames and that Ed was getting the medical attention he needed, as for him the main goal was buying more time for them all. Lust lunged in and out of the flames; her movement's swift and graceful, fingers slicing after him in fancy maneuvers. Roy kept on his feet dodging both her devilish blades and the rising torment of flames caused by his very own hand. It was a never ending hell, every turn was another wall of framed rising up over him, and sometimes her face could be viewed- pale and luscious glaring darkly from the shadows.

Roy swirled around desperately stamping the fire from his ash ridden military attire while snapping his gloved fingers hoping to catch the menace in a bought of flames. But a light tingle, cold and malice filled suddenly echoed right behind him a shrill devilish laugh. Suddenly he felt her surprisingly chilling hands on his neck, wrapping around delicately yet squeezing the air out of his already deprived lungs.

"Colonel, I don't want to have to kill you yet, you humans are so weak…" She purred her hands with her nails now retracted slowly tightening, tauntingly draining his life. "I'll make it last a little longer…" she chuckled as his hands gripped at hers trying to pull them away from his neck. She moved her bodice closer, hands gripping ever tighter. He struggled violently hands swinging backwards, punching the air. "Tsk...Tsk...Naughty, naughty..." She hissed at his attempts putting on more pressure, all the while stroking his neck in an almost flirtatious manner.

He was lightheaded and dizzy, Roy could hear her dim laughter over the flames, he needed air…he had to breath. He felt the life dripping out of him. This was not how he would die... Lifting up his hand weakly he snapped one final time, straight at the main pillar that still stood proud in his office turning it into a blaze of melting wood. The pillar weakened and creaked , it swayed and snapped, falling towards them at a rapid rate. Hearing the falling timber Lust let go of his throat at the last second attempting to dodge away before becoming crushed by the towering pillar. Roy leapt the opposite way with all his will power, disoriented yet determined. Still gasping for clean air now worse then ever he smirked with satisfaction as he heard a shriek, but his confidence fell, and his mood turned to most melancholy when he realized that was the voice of a man. Hughes...

As the floor gave away beneath him, Maes shut his eyes tight a final yell exploding from his vocals expecting to fall with trepidation into the sweltering blackness, he had failed…Now they all would lose their lives. Who will take care of my baby girl? He thought for a moment, envisioning his death to come somberly, but he was snapped out of it when he felt the tug of a hand grabbing the back of his shirt and felt the pull as he realized he was caught in midair. Hughes glanced up in shock, to see Edward hanging onto him with his automail hand trying to lift him out of the gaping hole.

Hearing his comrades scream Roy sprinted towards the location where it had came from. Leaping through the flames and feeling his skin catch and burn. But it did not matter fire was his element and he was not one to fear it. "Hughes!" He called out with a voice of command desperately hoping the man had not been killed but ended up with a coughing fit. He then spotted Edwards form leaning over the gaping pit he had just created. Racing forward. He saw the spectacular sight through the ash. Ed hanging on to Maes with what little life he had left. Quickly Roy reached down and gripped onto Maes arm allowing Edward to recoil. In a swift motion Roy lifted him out of the hole, onto the remaining ground of his once upon a time office. "Grab Ed and get out of here!" He yelled over the continuing roar of the flames as he began to speed towards the doorway. With a thankful nod Hughes picked up Ed in one swoop of his arm and chased after making his way out of the doorway into the deserted hallway.

"Is she gone?" Hughes panted as the sped down the smoke filled halls, the fire alarms were ringing shrilly in his ears the entire time.

"I don't know Hughes..we better not stall to find out...did you hear that?" All of a sudden sirens could be heard, not the alarms but no the sound arriving help. Hughes did not answer but put all his effort into making his legs move faster. Speeding through the last hallways panting in agony Maes rushed forward and body slammed the front door, shattering the glass across the wet payment. The cold carressing rain fell down on them all, soothing their skin with the gentle patter of cold rain drops and they were met with the sight of firemen running to greet them. Roy sighed in releif although knowing his troubles were far from over.

I know you all want to probably kill me, I know it was a crappy chapter and ending but that's all I could write in one sitting. I'll try to write the next chapter as soon as possible, really! And you guys are probably angry because this is being dragged out so much but next chapter things will move on a bit..