Hyperthia: Ugh! So sorry it took me forever to edit this! Is there such thing as beta's block? I think there is. School has been super busy, and my roommate makes gross sounds when she eats. Enough excuses! I declared my major this week, so I should be a little more on top of my game.
A/N: This is Morg. Forgive Hype, not her fault. She has college and all that wonderful stuff to take care of. But it's here! This is the....action-y part? No more filler-like chapters or poor grammar and spelling! Cause I got it edited! ^_^ Yay! Sorry. I've just been really phyched to get this chapter up. You should have seen my when I wrote it, I was all excited. My pacing is SHIT when I'm excited! Cause I just wanna get it all on paper! But yeah, enjoy!
Two weeks later...
After his most recent black eye had healed, Roy immediately wore a new one. He also had very sore shoulders from all the "friendly" punches that he received from the other guys. Really, they were just looking for something to hit and he happened to be standing there. The funeral did not seem to change anyone too much, but all the mounds of old dirt, behind the hotel, told him that they probably had plenty of death on their hands. Just how many gang members were there a month ago? A year ago?
But people seemed to take their boredom out on him, shoving him into walls as they walked past him, tripping him when he was not watching where he went. He even got into a fight with a guy around twenty-one years old. His name was Jared and he had darker skin than that Riley kid, as well as short spiky hair and an awful attitude.
Not that Roy had lost the fight within only two minutes... or anything like that. No, that did not happen.
But Fullmetal was not too impressed with a fight breaking out in the lobby over nothing. He threw the two opponents apart, and he yelled at them about how they were supposed to be family and working together, not getting into fights with each other.
Mustang decided to keep his mouth shut. He would not say anything about how he would never be their "family member,"or that he started the fight. Besides, it was Fullmetal who tried getting into it with Roy all the time, always sneering at how he couldn't clean anything worth shit and telling him how incompetent he was and asking why was he was even still there.
But Roy was not going to break that easily.
One morning Mustang was trying to force himself to eat, the pain of hunger had finally gotten to him. He checked the food before he ate it of course. He did not want a replay of his first morning there. However, it didn't seem as though he needed to worry much that day. His bowl had thin yellow broth with some meat that actually looked like chicken; it was even hot and of the correct texture instead of slimy and cold like his previous meals.
"Winry and Fullmetal got this. He even helped Winry cook it," Al said, nudging Roy with his elbow. "It's pretty good, huh?"
Roy nodded, glancing across their table past a few of the guys at Fullmetal's. He was sitting with Kevin and Winry, staring at his bowl with that sulky look again. Roy had never seen the kid show any emotion but anger and confidence. Now though, he looked like he wanted to drown himself in his own soup.
"What's the matter with him?" Roy asked, ducking his head and keeping his voice low so the others at the table wouldn't hear him. He didn't want to be accused of insulting their leader, as they seemed so keen on accusing him of anyways.
"He's… still a little upset over Riley's death. They were pretty close," Al muttered, also keeping his head bent.
"He'd probably laugh if I died," Roy said bitterly, prodding at his chicken with the poor excuse for a spoon.
"Trust me," said Al. "Despite what you may hear or think, Fullmetal doesn't like killing."
Roy turned to him, giving him a contemplating look before speaking up again. "How do you know so much about him? What makes you so special that you don't get punished when you talk back to him or even talk to Winry?"
Al gave Roy a quick smile, looking back down into his bowl and shoveling rice into his mouth. "Many years."
~*~
The mop made a wet slap as it hit the ground, which was covered in mud from well-worn boots. Roy had upgraded from a rag and scrubbing on his hands and knees, to a mop that had seen many floors--too many floors. They had the typical slop that night for dinner, and the higher-up Brats made sure to drop quite a bit of it onto the ground, making Roy's job all the more fun.
Oh, so fun! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I just love cleaning this filthy, disgusting, appalling, shitty-
The front door flew open in the lobby, and Roy could hear the loud, hurried footsteps of someone running. He looked up in time to see Kevin come peeling into the room. His boots squeaked on the floorboards and he almost slipped, streaking mud everywhere as he ran past Roy and shot up the stairs.
On any other day, Roy would have broken the mop over his knee, started swearing up and down, and walked out. However, the look of pure terror in Kevin's eyes had Roy gawking at the staircase, wondering what was wrong.
Dropping the mop to the ground with a barely registered clack, he bolted up the stairs, listening to the noise of Kevin's heavy boots stomping up the next flight of stairs. Was he going to the Fullmetal?
Roy arrived at the next set of stairs and could hear yelling from the third floor. More footsteps sounded in the old hotel, and something slammed like a door. He could hear the Fullmetal yelling out orders, and he tilted his head to listen better, but Fullmetal, Kevin, and Jeremy suddenly appeared at the top of the staircase. Roy cursed himself as the Fullmetal glared at him, descending the stairs.
"You. Get ready to leave," he ordered stepping past Roy. Jeremy followed closely behind him, making the hallway look much smaller with his massive size, and making the blond leader appear even shorter. Kevin stopped next to him, the fear still prominent in his eyes. He lowered his voice and handed Roy a pair of boots.
"Put these on," he said. "Ten of our guys are out to the northern border to speak with the other Brat'ja. You're the only guy available to come with us. Just keep your eyes peeled and do not stray away from me; I'll make sure you survive this."
"What's happening?" Roy said, ripping off his dirty, brown shoes to slip the boots on. He tied them quickly when Kevin told him to hustle.
"Four of our team got taken out at the border, but this isn't some normal break in," said Kevin. "I don't know if it was a Chimera or not, but whatever it was tore them apart. You couldn't even recognize the bodies anymore..."
Kevin looked away from Roy, eyes seeming to water. The image of what he saw had burned itself permanently into his memory. His friends had been torn to shreds, their blood and organs splattered across the lot.
Roy kicked the toe of his boot on the floor, noticing how light they felt despite their sturdiness. Nervousness and anxiety swept through his stomach, making his throat go dry as he followed Kevin down the hall and down the stairs.
"You're not going!" Fullmetal suddenly screamed at someone inside the food room, where Roy had just been cleaning the floors.
He frowned sulkily at the dirtied floor; all his hard work had gone straight to hell. However his attention became directed at Fullmetal, who was red-faced from yelling at Al. Roy blinked, shocked to see such anger on Alphonse's face. At that moment, Roy could see how much Al looked like Fullmetal, especially with that fierce glare.
"You need me, you idiot! You're not leaving without me! This is serious!" Al yelled, slamming his hands on the table set between him and Fullmetal. It seemed as though it had been strategically placed there to keep the two from strangling each other.
"I said no!" yelled Fullmetal. "I'm not your leader just because of the title! You need to stay here and protect the kids, because no one else can! What about Winry? I am not leaving her on her own!"
Al said nothing as he continued glaring, but it was obvious who had won.
"Fine! Just don't get hurt, promise me that," Al pleaded, his glare softening to an expression of serious concern. Fullmetal nodded, breathing out a shaky sigh and glancing up at Roy, as though he were acknowledging him for the first time.
"I hope you're ready for this. You survive and you'll be an official Brat. Too bad you have to have one of the hardest missions for your first job."
If even the Fullmetal said it was hard and seemed to be a little frightened, then Roy knew he should probably be pissing his pants by now.
"Alright, let's go."
~*~
"I'm going to have to recruit more guys. This leaves us with only fifteen," Roy heard Fullmetal say with a sigh, as they stepped out the hotel door. "I shouldn't have sent out ten of our gang. What's wrong with me?"
"It's alright, boss. We usually have to send at least seven of them. Maybe we should have forty guys here. There's plenty of room in the hotel," Kevin said, patting Fullmetal on the back. "Besides, who knows what the hell attacked those guys at the border. It's a gore fest up there."
Roy frowned as he kept pace with Jeremy, staying close behind Kevin and Fullmetal. He didn't know what could have the Brat'ja all worked up, but the knots in his stomach made him queasy with anxiety. Roy had never been in an actual battle since all the countries were at peace for now. Tonight however, it seemed he was going to experience something equally terrifying.
No, he could not be scared. He was in daily training to not be scared. But this was so different from all the mock battles he and the enlisted men were put through. It was completely different from all the missions he had been on, raiding drug houses and arresting people that attempted to blow up military buildings and banks.
Somehow, this chilled him to his very core.
~*~
Winry could hear all the yelling and slamming of doors, but she waited in her room, clutching a ratchet that she had been using on a new project before the sudden commotion interrupted her.
She had heard Kevin yelling about how four Brats got taken out at the border, all brutally slaughtered. It sent chills down her spine to think about it. She knew she couldn't stop Ed from leaving and going to kill whatever it was that tore those people apart. This was one of those missions that he had to go on or more people could die.
She wished she could help him with the guilt that he felt for all the deaths within the gang. She had tried, in the past, to go on missions but he practically screamed himself hoarse at her about how stupid she was for even thinking about going and how she wasn't going to get hurt because of him. He was honestly way too over protective—almost to the point of smothering.
But now, she felt her own urges to protect him as she listened to them leave. It had to have been a dangerous and urgent mission if he left without telling her, not bothering with their usual arguments. She tried busying herself with the roller blade in front of her, but everything was a haze as she thought of every possible bad thing that could happen to him. What if he got shot in that place just below his ear, where there was no metal plating under his skull? What if he had another system shut down? What if it was a chimera attack and he couldn't take this one down?
She sighed shakily, remembering the memories of him coming back, severely battered up and with broken bones, his clothing covered in blood and dirt from barely escaping with his life from the fearsome beast. He would have died if it weren't for his body, metal protecting those vital parts and enabling his quick speed. She could remember wanting to cry, but she only helped him limp to his room where she reset the broken bones and healed the minor injuries with Gurilyn, an ointment filled with steroids and a special antibiotic chemical that made cuts heal before your eyes. Al was in hysterics when he found out that Ed wanted to go and get the other two chimeras. Alone. Again. The first time was horrific enough, but it seemed Ed had learned his lessons with the first one and got the last two with some minor scrapes and bruises.
A high whine met her ears, sounding from the room next door. She could hear Al trying to calm whatever kid was crying; she couldn't quite hear what he was saying but she knew it was comforting.
Winry knew Al wasn't going to be allowed to go either. Despite how strong they were, with only two people and a bunch of kids, they were quite vulnerable. If Ed came back—no—when Ed came back she was going to tell him they were going to have to get more people. He hated adding new members of the Brat'ja; he got all paranoid and extremely pissy since he had to keep an eye on them all. Winry didn't blame him; some people were just not trustworthy enough.
Setting her tools down, she pulled her hair tie out and retied her hair back in a tight ponytail. She rubbed the back of her hand across her sticky forehead. There was no way she could concentrate on this project while Ed was gone. Sighing, she kicked off her shoes and left her room, heading towards the one next door. She knocked tentatively, careful not to wake any of the kids that Al had just gotten to go to sleep.
"Come in, they aren't going to sleep anytime soon," Al called; she smiled lightly, opening the door and peering in. Al was sitting on one of the beds with a book in his hands and all eight kids crowded around him.
"You kids should be sleeping now, it's not good to stay up too late, or you won't grow," She told them, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Is that what happened to the boss? He stays up too much?" asked one of the girls, Jessica, a cute little brunette with braided pigtails—Ed himself had inspired the braids.
Al started laughing, making Winry smile and pet the girl's hair down. "You don't want him hearing that, but I suppose that's what happened."
"Yeah, he gets mad when you call him little. But he's the boss! He's stronger than even Jeremy and he's big!" Aphid argued. His childish admiration was obviously still going strong.
"That's right, Aphid; size doesn't matter," Al told him. "The boss is a good example of that. Just don't let him hear you calling him short. He'd be devastated if you little kids even thought he was small."
"We're not little kids!"
"Oh? Well, you're not adults either-"
"You're still a kid too, Al!" Aphid yelled. Making Winry start laughing at Al's expression.
"Hey, I'm still older. So that makes me the adult"
"Hey, I'm twenty-one here. I'm the adult of the house." Winry intervened, snatching the book up from Al's hands. "Is this book any good?"
"Al won't stop reading boring books. These things are, like, a million years old!" Jasper—a black-haired boy—exclaimed with a huff before flopping down on the bed.
"Then I'll have to go get good books from the book store, won't I?" Winry asked, playing with Ally's hair. All of the kids quickly agreed, while Al sulked a little bit.
"They aren't boring."
"Al, we aren't all literature geeks like you," She teased, handing the book back. Al took it and opened it back up to the place he left off. He started to read out loud again, and Winry had to admit that it was a little on the boring side.
She laid her head on the spare space of the bed, already trying to stave off sleep as Al continued to read. She did want to talk to Al about Ed; to be reassured that he'd be fine and come back alright, but she didn't want to get the kids all worried and crying just after Al had gotten them to calm down.
Just as she had begun to fall asleep something jerked her awake; a small noise. She picked up her head, looking around the room before looking back at Al, who returned her a concerned look.
"What is it, Winry?"
"Did you hear that?" She asked. He stared at her for a moment, before it clicked into place. He set the book down and stepped over a couple of the kids and off the bed. Winry stood up, falling into pace behind Al as they made their way over to the door.
"I didn't hear anything," he whispered, looking back at her. "What was it?"
Winry stared at the door for a moment, straining to listen. Then there was an even louder crash. It sounded like glass breaking in the food room. Al visibly jumped, and Winry instinctively latched onto his arm.
"What the hell? Is one of the guys back?" she hissed, cursing herself for leaving her gun in her bedroom.
"No... They aren't due back 'till tomorrow afternoon," he said, reaching down to his pant leg and suddenly cursing. "Winry, grab my boots."
She nodded, scrambling over to the bed and grabbing one of them. She flipped it over and grabbed the hilt of a small, thin knife, dragging it out of the hidden compartment in Al's boot. She quickly grabbed the other one and ran back over to Al, handing them to him.
"I don't have time to put them on. Stay here-"
"I'm not letting you go downstairs on your own, Alphonse. Do not act like your brother at a time like this."
He barely nodded and eased the door open, sticking the knife tip into the door handle and twisting the lock mechanism to activate the lock. She stepped out and let him close the door, locking the kids in the room. She just prayed to God that none of them would wake up and start crying.
As fast as she could, she dashed to her room, snatching up the gun and lightly closing her door behind her before reuniting with Al.
"You ready, Win?" he asked, eyes lit up with apprehension. Winry felt the same.
Who knew how many people were downstairs, or what kind of weapons they had? All she and Al had were one measly pistol and two small throwing knives... and they were bare foot, which put them at an even greater disadvantage.
"Why does this have to happen when everyone's gone?"
"Maybe they planned it all. Come on, keep quiet and stay next to me," he whispered back. She took a deep breath and nodded, following Al down the stairs.
~*~
"Hey, did you hear that?" Roy whispered, earning a stern glare from Fullmetal. He had been told to keep his trap shut or face dire consequences ever since they had arrived at the border, near the murder scene. They wanted to lay low and sneak up on whatever had killed the Brats, and not announce their arrival.
"What?" Fullmetal hissed. Roy frowned, looking over at Kevin who was staring around the wide, cement lot. Empty brick buildings encased the area, making the whole place feel sinister and haunted. Fullmetal, however, looked right at home, the little creep.
"I heard-"
Clang!
Several metal trash bins fell over in a nearby ally, nearly sending Roy out of his skin. Then a cat darted out, streaking along the buildings before disappearing through an open window. Fullmetal watched it before glaring back over his shoulder at Roy.
"Do you want us to get caught, asshole?"
"No, I heard something else."
"There's nothing, come on," Fullmetal growled, still keeping his voice low. Kevin was still searching the area as he reached out blindly to hit Fullmetal's shoulder, never taking his eyes off their search around the lot.
"H-hey, Boss. I can hear it too."
Roy heard it again. It sounded like a high-pitched beep, and then it would stop. How could they not hear it? The hairs on the back of his neck and arms rose, goose bumps breaking out all over his skin as he glanced around. The noise came again, sounding closer and louder. Somehow the little noise sounded so... menacing.
"W-what the fuck is that, Man?" Kevin whispered eyes wide. This was the first time Roy had seen him seem so scared, but Jeremy and Fullmetal looked oblivious.
"What are you two talking about? I don't hear shit-"
There was a loud cracking noise, something metal screeched, making a similar sound to whenever Fullmetal clenched his fists too hard. Roy didn't feel scared, but something made his heart pound and his forehead feel drenched with sweat. Even his hands and knees felt shaky. He glanced over at Kevin, who seemed to be having the same problems, but one look at Fullmetal and Jeremy said they were calm and collected.
The screeching beep sounded again and Roy felt his chest constrict, his mouth opening, the lack of oxygen making him drag in hard breaths. Kevin shook harder, and Roy felt an unexplainable anxiety clutch his stomach in a tight knot.
Jeremy grabbed Kevin's shoulder, shaking him slightly as Fullmetal stepped up to him, brow furrowing as he stared at Roy.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Kevin? Hey, what's wrong?" Fullmetal looked back at Kevin, who seemed to be completely consumed with the anxiety attack. What the hell was going on?
There was another loud clanging noise and Fullmetal suddenly grabbed Roy by the collar of his coat and threw him to the ground. Hard. The wind was knocked out of him, and he gasped like a fish as Fullmetal rushed over to Kevin, throwing him to the ground in the same manner as he had Roy. He suddenly felt more clear headed, the feeling of irrational panic clearing from his hazy mind, as though the shock from hitting the ground snapped him back to his senses.
"Fuck... fuck! Damnit... You guys! Get up, now, stay on your toes. This is serious. Here."
Fullmetal grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and quickly ripped pieces off of it. Handing two bits to Kevin. "Put them in your ears and don't let them fall out. Here, Roy, you'll still be able to hear, but it'll keep the-"
Kevin shouted, pointing over near the alleyways. Roy snatched the cloth bits out of Fullmetal's hands and drove one piece into each ear hole, not waiting for an explanation. If it made this odd, unexplainable fear go away, then he'd do anything.
He regained his breath as he glanced towards the alleyways. His eyes were unfocused for a moment until they adjusted to the darkness, picking out a silhouette near the alley where the trashcans were knocked over.
A boy stood there. Only seventeen or eighteen years old, judging by height and his wiry frame. He felt calmer, realizing this must be another Brat member, feeling utterly relieved. Maybe not all the kids got killed at the border.
Looking up at Fullmetal he saw the steely glare, lips twisting in a tight frown, a look of disgust and… pity?
"Guys... don't move at all," he said under his breath, standing as still as a statue, making Roy's stomach clench in uncertainty. What the hell was Fullmetal talking about? It was just one kid, and even if he wasn't a Brat member, what did this kid have against Fullmetal and two of his best fighters?
The kid stepped forward. Watching them closely like some skittish animal. He stepped out near one of the lamps, the soft light casting a gentle glow on him. Roy stopped breathing.
Blood was splattered across his shirt and his mouth; it dripped down his chin and neck, his pale hair standing out brightly in the light. Roy looked at his eyes, his stomach dropping as he saw the stark black that they had become, no whites could be seen. The pupils of his eyes had dilated so much that they had taken over all the space in his eyes. He knew right then and there that the only possible explanation for that was physical experimentation. Whatever it was, this boy wasn't normal.
Roy glanced out of the corner of his eye and towards Kevin, who was also still sitting on the ground. He seemed to have regained his composure, and he stared darkly at the... thing standing across the lot from them. Staring and waiting.
It felt like forever. The thing just stared at them, almost as if it was contemplating whether or not it could take down four of them instead of three. Whatever that noise was before it must have come from this thing, but Roy didn't understand what it was or why it had affected him like that. And why didn't it affect Jeremy or Fullmetal?
Suddenly it bolted. Making Roy stare in amazement at how fast it ran. Fullmetal set off after it; his speed could easily compete with this thing. He yelled at them to stay still as he met it half way, throwing a right punch at its face.
It ducked, lashing out for his feet, but he brought up his left leg, blocking it. Part of the pant leg ripped off as Fullmetal brought his automail arm down on the back of its neck.
Roy thought for a moment that he had gotten him, but it ducked even further, showing off surprising flexibility as it brought up another leg, standing on its forearms for leverage and nailing Fullmetal in the chin.
"Boss!" Kevin screamed out as the blond fell over backwards, the thing was distracted from him for a moment, perking its head up and staring over at Kevin, cocking its head to the side. The curious look on its face sent chills down Roy's spine.
In a flash of white it darted, Roy swore loudly, scrambling up to his feet and hurrying over to Kevin to help him up. Something hard collided with Roy just as he grabbed Kevin's arm to help him up, sending him falling back to the ground.
Instinctively he started thrashing, trying to throw a good punch at the thing but it literally growled at him, making him second guess whether it was human or not.
It bit down on Roy's shoulder and he yelled out, starting to hit it again. But his punches went unnoticed by the creature. It almost felt... metal. Time slowed down as a hand shot out and grabbed the thing by its hair, ripping it back and pulling it off of Roy. The creature yelped loudly as it was thrown back.
Roy grasped at his shoulder, blood pulsed from the small but deep wound. The creature's blunt teeth had somehow torn a large chunk from his shoulder. Whatever the hell it was, it was inhumanly strong.
Sitting up, time returned to a normal pace, and he saw Fullmetal grip the back of the thing's hair, straddling its back and pinning it prone to the ground. He slammed its face repeatedly into the cement ground, and the creature scrambled to get its feet to grip the ground so it could throw Fullmetal off of its back.
"Fuck! Boss! Over there!" Kevin bolted past Roy, drawing a gun from his jean pocket and aiming it towards the ally way. Roy fought to get back on his feet as he stared in horror as another person showed up, a man roughly Roy's age, looking extremely thin and savage. His dark brown hair appeared black in the dark lighting.
Jeremy ran over to Fullmetal just as the creature had flipped him so it pinned him to the ground. The other dark haired man, seeing the commotion, ran to assist the creature that had Fullmetal pinned. Jeremy fought to tear it off before it could bite Fullmetal's neck, and Kevin quickly shot at the dark haired man.
Roy blanched as he heard a menacing growl behind him, and he instinctively reached for his hip. But then he remembered…
Fullmetal didn't allow him to have a gun.
~*~