Story: It Is What It Is, Chapter 21
Disclaimer: I don't own FMA.
This part has a lot of lose ends that have yet to be concluded, but I will try to do what I can in the next few chapters to complete it. And I'm sorry, I realized after writing it that it'll actually be the next chapter that'll be special... Ugh I feel so bad now. I SUCK AT MYSTERIES SO TRY NOT TO HATE ME
Replies to Reviews
KittyKatz009 said:
I really liked this chapter and how Ed was trying to use some of the suggestions. I liked the conversations he had with Ling; they felt really organic. I completely understand the feeling suffocated by everyone and I think you did a great job in making Edward feel that too. As for the part with Riza and Roy, I think you did that very tastefully, so great job! I can't wait to see what's in store for next chapter.
Yes, I was worried about the conversation with Ling and Ed, that it didn't sound good, I'm glad it did! I'm also very happy you thought about the scene with Roy and Riza.
Clairdetoile said:
Beautiful chapter. I'm waiting the next one!
I'm glad you liked it! :D
sincity27 said:
That was a beautiful and emotional chapter. From the Ed and Ling interaction to the Mustang and Hawkeye interaction. And I am so sorry you had to live with a traumatic event like that, stay strong and know you are not alone.
I'm glad you liked all it so much and thank you so much for your support. It means a lot! :D
...
They say that solitary confinement can make people go insane...
...
===ALSO : IMPORTANT: I'm going to act like the killer has been targeting Roy's acquaintances, and go back and edit it later.===
Three days Later
"Colonel...!" Riza came barging into Roy's office. She was out of breath, her face contorted with uncharacteristic dread. "Pardon my interruption, sir, but Edward is missing...!"
Roy's eyes widened in response, as he stood up. "What?!"
...
At first, it had seemed like a good idea, he thought he could handle looking for this mass murderer on his own. He knew the chance of running into the killer would be next to nothing; pure luck, but, to wander off on his own to get a breather, to get some time to himself had seemed favorable for him at the moment. It was a risk he was willing to take.
But he had been in over his head. Originally, it had seemed to go well. That evening, he ran into a middle aged blond male who introduced himself as Isaac.
"It's pretty late for a child like yourself to be all the way out here. Where are your parents, little one?"
Edward held back every urge to slap the guy for calling him 'little one'. It was obvious the man was up to no good, and he simply smelt of danger. Maybe if I act like a helpless child, I'll get to see what this guy is really about.
"They're not from around here. You see, I'm kind of lost." Edward smiled, feigning awkwardness. "Could you maybe show me around so I could get back home?"
"Of course I can, but first why don't we get you something to eat first? I'm sure you must be hungry." Isaac told him. Edward didn't know if this was really the killer or not, but he decided he could use this as a golden opportunity to find out.
However, it was only because he let down his guard enough that he didn't think much of the offer or expect the food to be poisoned. But in the moment that he was on the floor throwing up due to the level of toxicity, a wet rag reeking of ether was clamped over his nose and mouth.
Chloroform. Edward's eyes widened as he swung an automail elbow behind him, downing the assailant with a pained grunt.
"So you finally showed your true self, huh?" Edward smirked. However, there was apparently more than just one attacker that had showed up and before Edward could clap his hands together to transmute his metal arm into a blade they had grabbed each of his arms, the first man clambering back to his feet to knee Edward hard in the gut and forcing the air from his lungs.
Edward could hardly remember how to breathe when the chloroform soaked rag returned to his face. They pinned Edward, who was kicking and twisting, to the ground.
Shit... I guess I underestimated them.
It was only a matter of time before Edward felt the world around him fade to black.
...
When he awoke, he found his automail leg and arm missing, and his skin arm bound by some kind of chain above his head. Judging by his surroundings, he appeared to be in some kind of basement.
Damn it, I screwed up. This isn't the first time I've underestimated and failed to defeat my opponent in the last month. I have to find a way to get out of here...
"Hello, child. How's the room? I hope it's to your liking." Isaac's voice said, as he entered the room.
"Isaac!" Edward shouted. "You bastard! What did you do with my automail?"
"I destroyed it of course." Isaac said simply.
Edward's eyes widened at hearing that. Dammit, Winry's going to kill me for this! That is if I can even find a way to get away in the first place.
"Come now, don't give me that face." Isaac mocked. "I couldn't just let you continue roaming around with them, could I? They might have got in the way of my plans."
"What plans are we talking about? Why are you kidnapping and killing people?" Edward glared at him.
"Well, you're going to die in about a week anyway, so I suppose it doesn't matter. If you must know, I want to weaken Colonel Roy Mustang's support network."
"What?" Edward's eyes widened slightly. He felt sick.
"Think about it." Isaac smirked. "If everybody he loves and cares about is getting killed, he'll become vulnerable and therefore lose his overall effectiveness as a soldier. As such, Mustang won't be able to showcase his abilities as well and it will thus halt his climb up the ladder. On top of that, the bigwigs are liable to start suspecting him of murder."
"You're wrong, pops." Edward rolled his eyes. "The Colonel isn't the type to let his emotions impact his work, least of all the opportunity for a promotion. Anybody who knows him would know that."
In reality, that wasn't entirely the truth, but he was simply trying his best to keep from dying.
"So they say." Isaac noted. "But we won't know for sure until we try, right?"
"All you're doing is pointless slaughter!" Edward shouted at him.
Isaac barely spared him a glance. "Be that as it may, I don't care."
...
It had been a couple days, he was sure. He hadn't eaten anything, was no closer to finding a way out of this mess, and he felt like he was going insane from the dead silence. This was worse than the hospital, he decided. Back there, at least there was Roy and Riza and the beeping of machines to keep him company. Here, there was nobody. He was alone. And for anybody else, they may have been able to handle it, but for Edward, the loneliness was unbearable, and the silence and lack of warmth was pure torture.
It had only been two days or so and he already felt like he was dying on the inside.
...
"Ammonia, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Nitroglycerin, Helium, Hydrogen, Pneumonia, nitrogen trihydride, Aluminium sulfate..."
By the fourth day, Edward had learned to pass the time by listing different chemicals. It actually helped a lot more than he thought it would, as it was better distraction than none to hear his own voice.
...
On the fifth day, his stomach felt like it was on fire due to lack of food, he felt weak, his entire body was shaking, his hair was oily, and he couldn't sleep... This must have been their intention. To tear him down and weaken him, before killing him.
And it was working. He was beginning to wonder if he was going to be saved at all, if Roy and Riza would find him in time. He began to wonder if the others really would miss him if something happened to him in the end? He wasn't that likable of a person. He was constantly bitter and wearing down on the nerves and patience of those around him. And he could only ever cause trouble for those he cared about.
No...
He couldn't think like this. Ling wouldn't approve of it.
Alphonse was counting on him to help him get his body back, was counting on him to be there by his side as his brother. Mustang would tell him to keep his head held high. Riza would tell him that they would be coming soon and to endure it just a little while more. He couldn't give in just yet.
But what could he do?
If he got out of here alive, he would never get so cocky to think he could handle a mass murderer alone like this again. More importantly, how could he have been so stupid to take food from a stranger?
Mustang would never let him live it down if he found out.
...
"I think I finally realize what's going on." Roy said, catching the attention of Riza, as he looked through some records on his desk. "Pretty much all of the victims of this killer are people that I know. That means whoever's doing this must be trying to get at me somehow."
"Do you have any idea of who it could be, sir...?" Riza wanted to know.
"Not a clue." Roy said grimly. "All we can do is keep searching for any leads we can-."
Knock.
Knock.
"Come in." Roy responded to the door knocking.
"Sir..." A man stepped in. Beside him stood a girl about eight or nine years old, clutching at her dress.
"Karen. Hey there, kid." Roy smiled, as he moved over to kneel in front of her. "Do you need something?"
Karen was quiet for a long moment, a troubled expression on her face as she refused to look up at him. Roy's smile was replaced by a darker expression as he glanced up at the sergeant, who was also her father.
Under normal circumstances, children weren't supposed to be inside of the premises, but Central Command had been in chaos because of Scar, and these other killings, so there had been next to no regulation.
"She claims to know who the one behind the kidnappings is. I brought her to you since you're the one in charge of that case..."
"I see. Thank you." Roy said, nodding in response. "You can leave it to me."
"Sir." The sergeant saluted before exiting the room.
"Would you like some water?" Roy asked Karen, who shook her head in response.
"How about you take a seat on the couch then?" Roy gestured. Karen complied and did as asked.
Roy didn't know if it was true or not, since other children had came forward with ridiculous stories. Karen was just a child, but at this point, even the smallest possibility was better than nothing. He had to find Edward, no matter the costs. Of course, it wasn't that he thought Edward was weak, but even he had his limits. The boy wasn't invincible, especially not without his auto-mail, in the off chance they taken it from him.
Riza stood by the side, deciding to let Roy handle this.
...
"So you're saying you saw a guy luring somebody off?" Roy asked.
"Mhm." Karen nodded.
"Can you by any chance give us a description of this man?" Roy probed.
"He was pale-skinned, had short blond hair, blue eyes, a couple dents on the left side of his forehead, and he was probably about 6 foot."
For a child, Karen had certainly picked up on quite a bit. But what was more concerning were the dents that she had mentioned.
I could have sworn I knew somebody that fit this description...
That's it...!
Roy couldn't believe he hadn't seen it before. He looked to Riza with a sense of urgency. "Lieutenant, bring me all the case files regarding Isaac Kerr."
Riza's eyes widened for a moment and she froze, he feet glued to the floor.
"Is there a problem?" Roy asked, raising an eyebrow.
Riza looked like she desperately wanted to say something, but she didn't in the end. "No, sir... I'll be on it right away."
...
Edward was snapped out of his daze by the voice of Isaac, who had come into the room for the first time in nearly a week.
"And how are you today, sunshine? You look even better than you did when I saw you the first time." Isaac approached him, smirking.
Within an instant, Edward used whatever strength he had left to pull himself up with the chain and swing himself to kick Isaac in the face. "Rot in hell, Isaac."
Immediately after, Edward felt his body go limp from the strain.
"Sorry, I can't do that." Isaac shrugged it off, before smirking again. "After all, I'd rather keep my life for now if I can help it. But your life on the other hand... That's very expendable to me, as far as I'm concerned. I wouldn't even lose sleep over your death."
"Is that so?" Another voice interjected. It was Roy's. "I suppose we'll have a bit of an issue then. I, for one, would lose at least a little sleep if one of my fellow men were to die."
Edward slowly looked up at Mustang, before smiling weakly. "About damn time, you bastard..."
"Yeah, sorry I was so late, kid." Roy gave a pained smirk, noticing the disheveled state Edward was in, and the fact that his automail was gone, angry that the boy had had to go through this, but then he looked back at Isaac, his fingers ready to snap. "Step away from Fullmetal. Otherwise, I guarantee that this won't be a very pleasant evening for you."
Riza entered moments later by his side, holding up a gun.
"Mustang..." Isaac glared, before surprisingly complying as he turned his attention to Riza. "Oh, and it's you. Did you come back for more? I always knew you'd miss me eventually, Riza..."
Riza's eyes immediately widened at the man's words, her gun trembling momentarily, not going unnoticed by Roy, before she did her best to regain her composure. "Put your hands up where we can see them."
"Not gonna let me off the hook, hon? Too bad." Isaac sighed. Unlike Gerhard had done, he immediately tried to resist and fight back. However, Mustang, barely holding back, singed his hands with his flames, leaving him screaming in agony and unable to even think of using his alchemy.
"Now you'll think twice before ever using those filthy hands of yours again, Isaac." Roy said, glaring down at him in some satisfaction, but his mind still clouded with the desire for revenge for hurting both Riza and Edward. He was about to give into the temptation to burn him more, but Riza's voice cut him off.
"Ed, are you okay? Has he hurt you anywhere?" Riza asked, rushing over to Edward. Roy then decided to call in the other troops to take care of the situation.
"No, I'm fine, just... kind of hungry..." Edward smiled a bit, wishing he could forget that he'd been here for a whole week without food and that he'd been utterly alone the whole time, to forget the deafening silence he had endured. Somebody had brought him some water at one point, and he couldn't begin to imagine why, but it didn't matter. Because he was more grateful than ever to see Roy and Riza.
I could have died...
He knew this, but he told himself that he had to stay strong.
Riza felt a wave of relief wash over her at knowing that Edward probably hadn't gone through what she had. However, she still felt a huge pang of guilt due to how long it had taken them to find him and the fact that his automail had been taken away from him.
...
"Hey, Colonel,...?"
Roy looked over at Edward, who was in the seat beside him. They were in the car headed home, Riza driving.
"What is it?"
Edward was silent for a long moment, before finally speaking... "Do you... Do you blame me for Hughes getting killed?"
His shoulders were shaking, his bangs shadowing his eyes. He felt a lump in his throat.
Roy's eyes widened at the question. Where was this coming from? How many other things did he blame himself for that he had no control over?
"No, of course not." Roy said. "Why would you even ask such a thing? I would never blame you for his death, and nor would Hughes."
"But if I hadn't told him what I did, he would still be here...!" Edward snapped back.
"Whether that's true or not isn't the issue. The fact is you're not the one who pulled the trigger, Ed... So stop it."
Edward didn't respond, but Roy liked to believe that Edward got the message. Edward might not even accept it at first, but Roy would tell him the same thing no matter how many times he had to.
...
"Brother, thank god, you're okay! I was so worried about you!" Alphonse pulled Edward into a bare hug, Riza and Roy smirking a bit in the background. "Ling will be so glad to know you're not hurt! But what happened to your automail?!"
"That wackjob psychopath apparently destroyed it, or at least that's what he said." Edward said casually.
"Well... I guess it's about time for your maintenance anyways, isn't it?" Alphonse asked.
"Come to think of it, you're right." Edward replied, before shuttering at the thought of Winry nagging over him getting his automail taken from him. "But it's gonna be such a hassle..."
What about the cuts and scars on my arms? What would she think if she saw them...?
Either way, It's not really like I have a choice in the matter...
"Oh, come on, don't be like that. Ed. Winry just worries about you a lot." Alphonse said.
"If by 'worries a lot', you mean bites my head off over every little thing, then sure." Edward replied with a dry sarcasm.
If Alphonse had a body, he would have been sweat dropping at Edward's stubbornness.
"We should probably call her..." Alphonse suggested.
"Yeah, I know..."
...
A/N: This turned out pretty bad in my opinion. I don't have the talent for suspense. AND "Decide for Yourself" IS APPARENTLY GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER PART, BUT I SWEAR THE NEXT ONE WILL BE THE LAST ONE, AND THEN WE'LL GET ON WITH OTHER STUFF.