Disclaimer: I don't own FMA
Okay people, sorry i haven't updated in a while, but i had writers block! But, its finally here so R/R! Oh and a special thanks to Mugen No Ankoku for the idea for what the voice says!
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" Well, we're here." Edward said, looking up at the immense dark opening in the cliff side in front of him.
" Well, according to Andres directions this is a shortcut to Arioan." Alphonse said, recalling the bartender's words to them.
' Yeah, those caves up there are the quickest route to Arioan. Just go straight through and you'll be there in no time. Save you boys about 4 hours I'd say.' he'd said, and the prospect of saving 4 hours and using that time to sleep was a deal Edward could not pass up.
" Lets get going then, I want to make it out at least before 2." Edward said, striding forward into the cave, Alphonse trailing behind with a torch he'd gotten off the wall.
However, the boys had conveniently forgotten to read the sign posted at the entrance. It was just a normal everyday sign, stuck into the ground and almost half fallen over really, so you couldn't blame them for missing it, but its message was important. It read;
' DO NOT ENTER! DANGER! TURN BACK NOW!'
It seemed the Elrics famous streak of bad luck had struck again, and was about to strike twice.
A little while later, Alphonse being thoroughly frightened by now and Edward holding the torch, the two stopped and turned their heads to the left.
" D-did you hear that Nii-san?" Alphonse said, stuttering out of fear of the prospect of the sudden appearance of ghosts or ghouls or zombies or anything else of the sort.
" Yeah... it's probably the wind or something." Edward concluded, waving the subject away and continued walking.
But, suddenly, a pair of yellow eyes appeared in the shadows of the corner.
Alphonse gave a whine of fear and said " Nii-san! That is defiantly not the wind!"
Ed turned, to see a huge form lunging at him, foot long teeth bared and claws unsheathed. Out of reflex, Edward held up his left arm, which the creature bit down on, instead of some other flesh and blood part of his body. But, with a cold metal foot to the face from Edward, it was sent flying, smashing into a wall and landing in a huge heap on the ground.
But this creature, upon further inspection by the two, was discovered to be a chimera. With the head and front feet of a wolf, eyes of a cat, back feet of a tiger and body of a lion, it was nothing to be messed with.
" It's a chimera..." Alphonse observed as the torches golden light fell over the unconscious beast.
" Yeah, and that means someone in here is making them." Edward said, his eyes narrowing at the memory of a certain man with such an occupation.
" I wonder who it could be. I mean, could someone actually live down here, let alone create anything like this?" Alphonse asked, as his brother began to walk further into the cave, with no acknowledgment that he has heard his brother's words.
But suddenly, Edwards's vision blurred in front of his eyes. A dizzy feeling washed over him as the room spun and swam in front of his eyes. He could no longer tell up from down, left from right or either he was standing or sitting. But he did know one thing; this was not good.
The last thing he heard was a voice, a woman's voice, whispering something to him;
' Watch for those who dwell in darkness. Unknown are their powers, hunters of those who stray.'
Slowly, his scenes came back. First was his scene of smell, which made him aware of the damp smell of the...cave? Oh yes, he remembered, he had fainted in a cave. The second thing he smelled was oil, of Al's armor. He had cleaned it recently and the oily smell still hung to the metal. Then all of his scenes came back easily, and he slowly opened his eyes to see Alphonse above him.
" Nii-san, are you alright?" Alphonse asked, worry heavy in his voice.
It took a second for Edward to answer as he sat up and shook his head to clear the fog that had gathered in his mind.
" Yeah, I'm fine. What happened?" he asked, since, at that moment, he didn't remember.
" I don't know. I mean, you were walking away after the chimera attacked us and then you just fainted. Maybe it managed to hurt you before you hit it?" Alphonse said, forming a hypothesis about the strange event as he began to check his brother over for injuries. But Edward was to busy thinking to notice.
' What in the world was that? And what did that voice mean?' Edward thought, his chin in his hand in concentration.
" Nii-san? We should get moving to the next town, so you can get checked over by a doctor. Just to make sure." Alphonse said, as he stood, snapping Edward out of his thoughts.
Edward nodded, fixed his jacket back into place and stood. He followed Alphonse, though not really paying attention to where he was going since he was still going over the questions he had in his head, trying to come up with reasonable answers for them.
The boys reached the other side of the cave without further incident. It was dusk then, the air still and humid, the crickets chirping back and forth to each other in the bushes and grass. The scenery was much different from the other side, that having been covered in sand and heard ground and this in grass. There was a small dirt trail leading from the mouth up a hill, with woods on both sides. The sky was hues of pinks and oranges, the sun setting on the horizon and a few stars peaking out from behind the clouds.
" Well, we definitely missed our deadline, again. I think it was all those wrong turns that got us." Edward speculated, stretching and taking a deep breath of clean air, relieved to be out of the darkness of the cave.
" Yeah, we'll just have to camp out tonight, its another good 2 hours until we reach the next town." Alphonse informed Ed, his brother nodding.
A few hours later the boys had their tent pitched and a fire going, Alphonse cooking dinner over the fire. Edward sat in the doorway of the tent, his legs on the grass as he sat on the sleeping bag inside.
" Hey, Al" Edward began, as his brother looked up from the food at the sound of his name, " I just realized something. That this spot is only about 10 miles from Lab 5. So that chimera could be…."
" Yeah, maybe."
And the subject was left at that.
Later that night, as Edward lay in his sleeping bag, staring up and the ceiling of the tent, he thought about the day.
' There's so many things I don't know. The first voice yesterday, me fainting, and now this riddle. What does it all mean? And what is it leading us to? It looks like the questions only lead to more questions. I wonder if we'll find the answers.'
With those thoughts in mind, Edward closed his eyes and fell asleep.
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He sat at his desk, drumming his fingers on it impatiently. He had sent for her 2 days ago, so why wasn't she here yet!
" I she here?" he asked, for about the 5th time that day.
" Y-yes sir!" his assistant stuttered, having expected to say 'no' to his question, snapping to attention and saluting immediately at the sound of the mans voice.
" Good, send her in." he said, a triumphant smirk on his face.
The door to the office opened and a girl, appearing about 20, walked in. Her skin was tan and her eyes were red, all signs of her being an Ishbalan. Her clothes were simple, a tan skirt, ripped and tattered at the hem, and an old brown t-shirt under a long, cream white color hooded cloak. Her long, brown hair lay across her chest, her bangs peaking out of the hood.
" You will be much help to us. I am glad you could come." The man said, the smirk that had formed on his lips widening as he laced his fingers together.
But she didn't speak, and just stared at the floor in front of her. She would not help these people, she had decided. What they were doing, was sin. But, she could do nothing to stop it.
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Oh, lots of mysterys! And, none of them will be solved in the next chapter, but more questions will pop up. To insure that you people will tune in next time i have deised to give you a preview of the next chapter! Aren't i nice?
In the Next Chapter of ' Or Scars, Friendship and Alchemy':
Edward could do nothing but stare in shock at the man. It wasn't that he was anyone new or suprising to him, quit the opposite in fact. Edward and Alphonse had seen him a few times before, but those times the two had fought with eachother. But this time the man made no move to attack either of them. He just stared at them. Now, from what Edward knew about the man ( which was very little) he knew that somthing was up if he wasn't attacking him. But Ed did know one this, that this man was...
And that's all you're going to get! So, tune in next time to see who the guys is! If you have any guesses feel free to put them in you're reviews. Until next time!
