Kamaitachi Chronicles
By: Aviantei
Nineteen
Between me, Sergeant Ross, and three other men who testified that they all at least knew the basics of self-defense—with one of their number all but saying he was pretty good at street fighting—we had a pretty decent combative force put together. Their names were Luis, Xander, and Jasper, and that gave us a core unit of five, though the goal was to get out of this with as little combat as necessary.
The woman who had vouched for me as a State Alchemist was Kara, and Cassandra, another woman with the air of a schoolteacher, volunteered to keep track of everyone else and account for where they were so none of us got left behind.
Though I could have, I didn't cut everyone else loose from their ropes. I did, however, do a bit of alchemy to adjust the restraint into a knot that looked secure, but could get pulled apart with ease. A few people who had knives on them no longer had them in their pockets, so I'd just gotten lucky when the kidnappers had chosen to leave my capsule alone.
As much as I hate getting underestimated, I'll gladly take advantage of you thinking I'm nothing more than just a little girl, you pricks.
The last bits of preparation that I had to go through involved sketching out some pre-formed transmutation circles like I'd done during my little vigilante stint in East City, and then it was just a matter of waiting. I'd checked my pocket watch while I'd had my hands free, and we'd been holed up in here for under an hour. Simply locking people up for that amount of time did not an effective use of hostages make.
Everyone else in the room tried to keep up conversation to stop themselves from panicking, and I listened from my corner near the transmuted wall as the conversations wandered into mundane territory. Though we had a plan, it wasn't by any means perfect, and apprehension had wormed its way into everyone's hearts, including mine. And maybe it was better that we looked scared for when our captors made their way to us, but even I wasn't convinced in full by that argument.
Depending on how serious they are, people could die, and it would be my fault.
"You don't need to make such a serious face, dear."
Without my noticing, Kara had moved so she was sitting beside me. Worry was dancing in her green eyes, but she had on a kind expression that almost made my heart ache. "I know what you're going through is a difficult situation," she said, her voice soothing, "but you're handling it very well. I just wish that we didn't have to put all this pressure on someone so young."
I did my best to give her back a reassuring look. "I'm the one who volunteered for this. It's not your fault." Mustang may have shown me the path and opened the doors, but I'd been the one who decided to take the steps forward in that direction. Hell, even if I hadn't become a State Alchemist, I still would've tried to help in the situation if I'd been present. "I couldn't well call myself an alchemist if I didn't do something to help, right?"
Kara's eyes widened for a moment, but then she shook her head, as if saying, I suppose that's how it is. "Just take care of yourself, okay, dear? I'm not worth anyone getting hurt for."
"I"?
"Major Caiman," Sergeant Ross whispered to me from the opposite corner of the room. "I can hear footsteps coming. I think they're almost here."
Those simple words were enough for everyone in the room to tense up, myself included. Sure enough, Ross's assessment was right on the money, and the familiar crackle and light of alchemy opened up a door-sized hole in the wall, revealing a couple of men that looked between their mid to late twenties. One of them had an eyepatch with a nasty looking scar running under it, while the other had a automail forearm, the port right below the elbow. Both of them were pretty muscular, but they seemed to be alone.
"Alright," Automail said, his voice thick with a drawl I recognized from being characteristic of those close to the border with Creta, "in case you haven't guessed, you lot are our hostages for us today. So long as you and the military do what we say, you'll all make it out safe, so don't try anything crazy, and you'll be fine."
No one said anything, either too scared or trying to hold their tongues. So long as we kept ourselves from drawing too much attention, we might be able to catch them off guard.
"Scared shitless, huh?" Eyepatch said, his words without any notable accent. "Well, that's fine. The boss said to grab a couple of them for upstairs so we can get started, so might as well." With that, he stepped into the room.
They're not afraid to split us up to make us easier to handle. Depending on the situation in the hallway, we could be in trouble. Variables raced through my head as Eyepatch snagged Kara beside me, then he dragged me to my feet as well. Automail grabbed a couple of the noncombat men from the back, and they shoved us out of the room.
Doing my best imitation of a "scared shitless" teenager, I kept my eyes wide and looked around. Aside from our two less than well-mannered friends, there was one more person with androgynous looks standing by. Judging by the chalk dust on their fingers, they were the alchemist of the group that had helped with setting up our prison. They didn't have anywhere near as imposing of a presence as the obvious muscle duo, but the look in the alchemist's sharp amber eyes was enough for me to feel wary. They could just as easily be a deadly presence in a small package like I was.
There was another hard shove on my back, and I couldn't repress my scowl as I glared back at Automail. "Don't be like that, princess. We've got places to me, and trust me, you don't want to be late."
Dibs on kicking this guy's ass the moment the coast is clear.
I let him corral me a bit further down the hallway, and there was the sound of chalk on concrete again as the alchemist worked on making a fresh transmutation circle, their strokes quick and precise. The rest of the hallway was empty, without anyone around besides the three that had come to pick us up, and some sunlight was coming in from the windows—we had to be at least on the second floor of whatever this stupid building was.
I could work with that.
Eyepatch was at the head of our group, still leading Kara by the wrists. He also had a rather hefty looking knife hanging from his belt, so I had to be careful. Still, letting the alchemist close everyone up and leaving me in an effective one-on-three situation wasn't favorable, either.
Telling myself to stop fucking thinking and get on with it, I increased my pace, shouldered my way past the three other civilians and used them as half a smokescreen so Automail wouldn't see the moment that I slammed my boot into the back of Eyepatch's knee.
Eyepatch went down with a stunned shout and a satisfying crash to the floor, and I'd planted my boot on his back before he could start to right himself. Luis, Xander, and Jasper had recognized the signal, with two of them managing to grapple Automail while Luis was squaring off with our little alchemist friend. I pulled my hands free, transmuted my scythe, and jammed the end of the pole against the back of Eyepatch's head hard enough that I could hear the crunch of his nose breaking as he gargled into unconsciousness.
One down.
Our unarmed collective of civilians had followed their instructions to move up against the wall at the first sign of action, which gave me a clear path to assist with Automail. Even being the one in a two-to-one situation, he was holding his own pretty damn well. His arm wasn't just a prosthetic replacement, but a weapon in its own right thanks to the spiked knuckles he'd equipped since we'd started. Already, Xander had several bloody cuts along his arm, and Jasper's face was forming a bruise that spoke to the force behind the blow.
"You lot think a couple of scrappy fighters are gonna be enough to get past me?" Automail said, baring his teeth. "All you are is a ragtag group that's counting on a little girl to save you. And like hell I'm gonna—"
"Oh, piss off!"
Not in the mood for insults, I swung my scythe. He blocked the blow with his automail arm, and my blade made nothing but the faintest of scratches. It might have been a different story if I'd finalized my updated materials from Rosomak's stock, but thinking of what ifs instead of the situation at hand was only going to put me at risk, and then I wouldn't be able to help anyone.
Sure, you gotta understand how fighting works to be good at it, Rito had said once after knocking me to the ground for the nth time, but at the end of the day you're gonna just have to engrain everything into your body and let your instincts take over, you get me?
But I wasn't out of time to think just yet.
Automail knocked my scythe back, but, unlike the time against our East City murderer, I didn't let myself get thrown off balance, so I could retaliate in short order. Jasper and Xander served as good backup, adjusting themselves to surround our collective opponent. I hung back as they exchanged blows, coming to a plan and hoping the others could hold out long enough for me to get ready.
Balancing my scythe's handle in my palm as best as I could, I pulled out a scrap of paper that wasn't fully engrained with a transmutation circle and got to sketching. It wasn't the neatest it could be, but it wasn't malformed enough to disrupt its work. I don't know if Automail saw what I was up to, but I did look up in time for him to land a nasty blow to Jasper's gut, sending him to the floor.
"What's the matter?" Automail said whenever Xander paused. "You scared? Only weaklings count on winning by pure numbers. It's the real strong who have skill—"
"I'm one to think that the strong are the ones who never miss an open opportunity to strike!"
Luis was the one to make that bold proclamation, and he swung his bolted together hands down as one. His shout was enough for Automail to notice the incoming blow and take it to the shoulder rather than the head, but Xander didn't miss the opportunity, either, coming in from the side to close him in. I had to give Automail credit for easily handling both of them, but it wasn't like two was the maximum value of our fighting force.
Eat this, asshole!
I entered the fray, as well, my transmutation circle held tight between my fingers. It was a bit tricky with all the movement going on, but I managed to ultimately get a clear enough shot to slam both of my palms down on our adversary's automail arm, and the sparks and light show of alchemy followed.
I wouldn't call myself an expert in automail in any way. I understood some of the basic concepts, like creating receptors for living nerve endings to interface with the mechanical parts, but I had never looked into the subject in-depth enough to see what the inner workings of one looked like. Hell, I couldn't even confirm what metals were used in Automail's specific case, which put me at a disadvantage. So I just had to hope that I'd guessed correct and that my circle would hold true.
Soon enough, the orange-brown color of rust began to sweep over the automail.
"Nice one!"
"Damn right!"
Automail grunted when he realized what was happening. Sure, rusty metal wasn't enough to eliminate the use of his arm, and his left was operational, too. But it did make his movements a little jerkier, which would be enough to throw off his game. Automail glared at me, not pleased that a "little girl" such as myself had caused him such an issue.
I'd say it's your move, asshole, but I don't feel like giving you the opportunity!
With our collective assault, it was just a matter of time before we were able to wear Automail down. It was Luis who managed to land a nasty uppercut that knocked the man to the ground, and we were quick to use our own bindings to secure Eyepatch, Automail, and the alchemist kid that Sergeant Ross had kept secure for the last section of our battle, allowing Luis to join the fray.
"Make sure you empty their pockets," I said as Cassandra helped the rest of our hostage group stay organized in the hall. "Even if it doesn't look like a weapon, chalk's just as dangerous in an alchemist's hands as any gun or knife. Now, as for getting the rest of us out of here…" Letting the others work on securing our little group of opposition, I rushed over to the window I'd noticed in the hall before and observed where we were. I didn't recognize the district we were in, but we were on the building's third floor, and it didn't look like there were any guards patrolling—which gave me options.
I procured another pre-drawn circle from my pocket and transmuted the wall, creating a stairway straight down to the ground. "The path is clear!" I called back to the rest, jogging towards them. "I need you all to evacuate as quick as possible."
"Alright, people, let's get moving," Cassandra said. While the rest of our group looked nervous, our victory over the triad of captors had helped morale, and they all started to move. I traded a look with Luis, who moved to keep an eye on the connecting hallway by our new exit, then came to a stop back by our previous prison, which now contained Automail, Eyepatch, and the alchemist kid all slumped against the wall.
"No offense," I said, crouching down next to the half-completed circle and finishing it with my own chalk, "but I'm gonna keep you all here for a bit." Another flash of alchemy and the wall was sealed once more, though it wasn't like we were one-hundred percent in the clear.
We don't know how many people are in on this attack. Hell, we don't even know if there are more hostages. Getting everyone out of here okay is the priority, but we still don't have enough information, and waiting for the military to arrive and sort things out is…
Well, if nothing else, we didn't need to wait for military to arrive on the scene.
I was here, after all.
"Major Caiman," Sergeant Ross said. She had a gun in her hands that had probably come from one of the guys we'd just sealed away. "It looks like everyone is getting out okay. What should we do now?"
"Sergeant can you go with them? Take Xander, too. I don't want them to end up running into some other hostile and get in trouble. Once you're clear, contact whoever you can to get some backup here."
Reliable, Ross nodded—though she paused halfway through. "And you, Major?"
I exhaled, casted any doubts I had aside, and gripped my scythe tighter. "I'm going to do my job."
[Author's Notes]
Take some action up in here.
Don't mind me, I'm just trying to make handling this hostage situation seem realistic. Alchemy does make things a bit more complicated, though, but I'm having fun.
Apologies for not having something holiday appropriate going on here, but I hope you all have a great final weekend of spooky month! Go enjoy some candy or chocolate or treat of your choice.
Chapter 20 will drop next month, so please look forward to it!
-Avi
[10.29.2022]
