XVI

~ "Why did you kiss me, Havoc?" We had been having a stare off for some time now, and my chest was only getting tighter by each second that remained silent. He didn't seem to want to answer. All he did was continue to stare at me with pain in his eyes. "Why. Did. You. Kiss me?" With each word I closed the distance between us. I now had to look up to him, determined to get the answer. Still adamant, Havoc could no longer look me in the eye. It only enraged me more. With my tears starting all over again from the anger, I tried my best to shove Havoc. "Damn it! Why did you kiss me?!" His feet barely moved back.

"I'm sorry." Was all he said. If a car had drove by at that moment, I would've missed it. I stared at him in shock. Sorry? Because it didn't mean anything? Because he was drunk? Before I knew what I was doing, my hand made contact with his cheek. The sound seemed to have echoed in the quiet streets.

"Damn you! You bastard!" I continued to hit his chest with closed fist. There was this hallow feeling where my heart was, and my stomach only felt heavy. Havoc must have had enough of my pounding because he finally grabbed both of my wrist to stop me. When I struggled to get out of his grip, he pushed me back and pinned me to the lamp post. "How could you!?" I sobbed out one last time. I hung my head in defeat. I couldn't bear to look him in the eye anymore.

"You really want to know why?" His voice was stern, as if he was holding back from snapping at me. "Do you really want everything to change?"

"Yes! Please. Just...end this…" End this torture that's been going on for years. "I can't take it anymore." For a few moments it was silent between us. I could hear his breathing quicken with every second that went by. My heart didn't seem to want me to stop crying.

"Since the first moment I saw you…" It sounded like he was struggling with his words. The grip on my wrists tightened for a moment, before letting me go. I slowly looked back up to him, seeing the struggle in his eyes. "I've loved you." With those words, his eyes finally softened, and I had stopped breathing. One of his hands cupped my cheek as I continued to stare at him, again, in shock. "I can remember that day as clearly as you are now. I tried so hard to forget about you after graduating from the Academy. I figured I'd never see you again. That you'd just be transferred to Central or something, but no matter how hard I tried, you were all I could think about." For the first time in my life, my mind was blank, and I think my heart had stopped a few seconds ago. "By the time I recognized you when you were transferred to Eastern Headquarters, Mustang had already established that you were completely off limits. I thought it best to just carry on as it was, but the more we worked together, the more I got to know you; I only fell more in love with you." Still not being able to send anything to brain to speak, I continued to stare at him with my tears slowly drying. "I admit, Emily almost pulled me out of your spell." He finally looked away, as if he was going into another world for a moment. He slightly shook his head, snapping him out of his thought before looking back at me. "I kissed you that night for all the wrong reasons, and for that, I am sorry. A side from being drunk, I was hurt from breaking up with Emily. Angry from watching you be happy with another man. When it comes to you, Abby, I can't seem to control my feelings, or my actions. All of this has only made me realize one thing." He finally smiled. "It's always been you...and it will always be, only you." He paused for a moment, as if trying to read me. "I'm going to assume that the fact you haven't pushed me away or tried to run means you feel the same." I still had no control over my brain. I couldn't even give him a simple nod. Havoc's other hand gently cupped my other cheek, quickening my heart. "I'm going to kiss you, again." What?! "If you don't want me to…stop me." Havoc started to slowly, very slowly, start leaning in towards me while keeping eye contact the entire time. The closer he got, the more both our eyes closed. He was so close now. My nose was completely filled with his smell. Cigarette smoke, cologne, and the few beers he had. His lips brushed over mine as I took in a breath, preparing myself.

"Havoc!" Our eyes shot open again from the sudden presence of someone else, but Havoc didn't distance himself. Probably from fear of who it was. We both knew. "Who gave you orders to leave your post?" Mustang was not happy. "Say good-night to your girlfriend and get back ASAP!" Havoc finally stepped back from me, leaving me wide open for Mustang to see. I quickly glance at Mustang, who had Hawkeye park in the middle of the street. They both idled there, in complete shock seeing me standing there. Both Havoc and I had the biggest blush going on. We were caught red handed. I had to look at the ground, not able to stand Mustang's gaze any longer. "Both of you in the car." Mustang rolled his window back up. I don't know how Havoc was feeling, but I had a brick in my stomach.

"I guess we'll pick this up later." Havoc said as we walked around the car, making me blush all over again. I got in the back with Mustang, with Havoc taking the front seat with Hawkeye. The car ride was held in complete silence, with Riza taking quick peeks at me every now and then in the rearview mirror. I'm pretty sure she was smirking the whole time. I was dropped off first, leaving poor Havoc in the car with Mustang by himself.

"We'll talk later." Mustang said as I stood by his window on the sidewalk. I didn't say anything, just saluted as they drove off. I watched them turn the corner before making my way inside my apartment. When I reached my door, I quickly stepped inside and locked it before leaning my back against it, sliding down to the ground. I was hiding my still blushing face in my hands, trying to hide my big grin. My heart was still racing remembering everything that Havoc had said. All this time he still had those feelings. We always felt the same way towards each other. There was no way I was going to get any sleep tonight.

Only a couple days had passed, and work was as busy as ever. Mustang made sure that I had enough to do during the day that by the time I made it home, all I could do was sleep. Hawkeye had asked for a fake vacation, seeming 'angry' at the Colonel. Of course, she was staking out with Fuery, keeping an eye on Falman and Berry. Havoc also was on leave, staking out just a floor below Falman. Breda was sent out with Armstrong and FullMetal to show them that Second Lieutenant Ross was very much alive. While I, of course, got stuck with office duty. The Colonel was busy flirting away to 'Elizabeth' on the phone, like he has been since yesterday. The sky was glowing orange, indicating it was almost quitting time. I was trying to hurry and get my now dwindled pile of paperwork done.

"Hey." The soldier that now sat across from me, Havoc's usual seat, got my attention. "Doesn't this bother you?" He pointed at the Colonel who was having a grand time with 'Elizabeth'. I shook my head at the Colonel, smirking a bit.

"Not really." I chuckled a bit, answering the soldier. "I'm used to it by now." The room suddenly got quiet. I looked over to Mustang, who was staring back at me, with a serious look. He was now listening intently to the other side of the receiver. When he finally looked away, I tried to focus back on my work, but the silence was driving me crazy. Was something happening?

"What's wrong?" After what seemed like forever, Mustang finally asked, still selling the whole 'Elizabeth' act. I looked back at Mustang who was now sitting straight up in his chair. Something definitely was going on. He looked stressed. I wanted to ask so desperately but knew I couldn't. I swear I could hear muffled gunshots through the phone from where I was sitting. "Elizabeth…hey!" Mustang stood from his chair now, looking desperate. "What's going on?" I could see the panic in his eyes. The next second he threw the receiver down and practically ran out the door. "Lovington! You're with me!" Was all he said as he dashed out. I quickly ran out of my chair, catching up to him, leaving everyone else in utter confusion.

Night had fallen about ten minutes ago, and we were now all falling out of the car still following Berry's old, rotting body. On our way, we had learned a lot from Alphonse, who had volunteered to come with us. Turns out Homunculus' are real, and we probably had one hunting us down.

"My body ran in there. Seems to think it can hide from me." You could just hear the eagerness in Berry's voice.

"The 3rd Laboratory, huh? So, this ties them to the military." Mustang turned to all of us. "That's all we need for now…we're pulling back."

"Well, you have fun with that." Berry started heading for the 3rd Laboratory's front doors.

"Get back here!" Havoc snapped, knowing there was no stopping him. He was all geared up in an all-black outfit, with a mask that covered his face. Still didn't mask his cigarette smell though. I could hear Berry take out the scientist who were just standing outside the building. "That psycho stormed the building."

"Yep, it's our lucky day." Mustang seemed very pleased by the turn of events. Havoc seemed very confused by his enthusiasm. "You ready?" Mustang looked at me, signaling me to put my gloves on.

"Yes sir." I slipped them on quickly, as we all stormed the building, chasing after Berry. The halls were filled with women screaming and men ducking from the sight of Berry. We were trying our best to keep up with him. Everyone seemed surprised, and relieved, to see Mustang stroll in with all of us.

"All personnel must evacuate immediately!" Mustang shouted throughout the hall. A fellow soldier was walking with us, saluting Colonel Mustang.

"Um, Colonel?" He was very confused with everything that was going on.

"Stay back…the man who broke in is a derange murderer. My men will handle his capture." We were all lined up, ready to move to the lower level of the Laboratory. "Order your guards to seal off the exists!"

"Yes sir!" The soldier saluted once again before running off to fill his order. We all made our way down the stairs, with Havoc in the lead. We busted through the fenced gate, trying to figure out which way Berry went.

"How the hell are we supposed to find him?" Havoc was very annoyed. Mustang looked down the hall before looking to Hawkeye.

"We're gonna have to split up."

"Yes sir." Hawkeye agreed right away. I, on the other hand, thought it was a horrible idea; but orders are orders.

"Havoc and I will take this way. Alphonse, Lovington and you take the other hall." Mustang ordered as he made his way down the dark hallway. Hawkeye went in the other direction, followed by Alphonse. Both Havoc and I stood in place for moment, just staring at each other. He still had his mask on, so all I could focus on were his gentle blue eyes. It was as if we could read each other's minds. Be careful. I was the first to break away, running to catch up to Hawkeye and Alphonse.

The hallway was dark, and it wasn't getting any lighter. As the three of us ran our way through the darkness, I couldn't help but feel a sense of de ja vu. We had been running for a while, with no sign of Berry. All the rooms we passed seemed to have been some kind of torture room. At least that's what I took from it. Just then the whole hall shook, and off in the distance we could hear an explosion. It stopped us in our tracks looking back.

"Hawkeye?" The boys obviously ran into trouble. Anxiety was building up inside me as Hawkeye closed her eyes, struggled for only a second and continued down the way we were heading. Alphonse and I hesitated following her. Every bit of me wanted to turn around and find the boys, but Hawkeye was now in charge. Cursing myself, I stormed after Hawkeye. As we kept pushing, we could see light at the end of the hall. We rushed for it, with Berry becoming more and more visible. We stood in the center of the white room, catching our breath, trying to figured what had happened to Berry's human body. It was lying in a pool of blood with Berry standing over it.

"Sorry, but ya got here too late. Look at this mess, my body is damn near entirely decayed." Berry continued to ramble on about how a body can't hold up someone else's soul in it for too long. I took the time to examine our surroundings. This all felt so familiar. I was paying extra attention to the wall in front of us. It looked like a door. I wonder where it led? There was a set of footsteps behind us now, and when we looked back, we were graced with…

"I know you." She looked different now. Much different. She's Havoc's girlfriend, but what was her name? Berry chuckled taking me away from trying to remember her name.

"I was wondering when you were gonna show up, Lusty." Lusty? No, that's not her name.

"Number 66, care to explain why you're helping the Colonel?"

"I thought it would be fun to switch things up a bit. Besides…" Hawkeye and I were keeping our guns on her, ready for anything thrown our way. "I've wanted to chop you up since I met you." Berry really was a freak.

"You're such a handful, 66. And I'm sad to see you here armor boy." Havoc's girlfriend, who I guess goes by Lust, sounded more bored than sad. "You just had to tag along. Talk about a setback…It's bad enough to lose one, but now you're forcing me to kill a second candidate."

"Candidate? A second one?" Alphonse was reading my mind. What the hell did that mean?

"Yah, you and Mr. Gallantry."

"That's enough of the casual chit chat, Lust! All I want to hear from you is screaming." Berry was charging her before we could ask any more questions. He leapt in the air, and next thing we knew, Berry was in pieces on the floor.

"I do hate overconfident men." What…just happened? "Now then…" Lust brought her attention back to us. "Where were we? I think I was about to send the Lieutenant and Major to join their superior." What? Lust started to walk slowly towards us, as Hawkeye and I tried to piece together what she just said. Hawkeye seemed to have realized something.

"Wait a minute…" Her hands that were still pointing the gun now started to shake uncontrollably. "When you said you'd already had to kill someone…It can't be." No. "You didn't!" No! Lust just gave us prideful smile, sending both Hawkeye and I over the edge. "You bitch!" We both started to empty our guns on her.

"No, no, no, no!" I screamed each time my finger pulled the trigger. Mustang…Havoc…they were… "NO!" I kept pulling the trigger even though there was nothing left. I threw my gun at Lust while Hawkeye pulled out a fully loaded gun. Hawkeye had way more guns than I, but she didn't waste a second emptying each and every one of them on her. "Bring her down!" I screamed at Hawkeye, but she was all out of guns. Lust had red light shooting around her as she started to regenerate. After all that, she was still standing.

"Are you done?"

"Not even close!" I snapped my finger, sending a powerful streak of lightning towards Lust. It hit dead center, sending her body out of control. I darted for the hallway, running pass Lust, just as the first shock was subsiding I went to snap again, but Lust had lengthened her nail, piercing me right through the thigh. I came crashing down to the ground, trying my best to keep in a scream. She was still convulsing from the electricity, but that grin was still on her face. It pissed me off! I went to give her another dose of lightning, but she beat me to the punch. Using her other hand, she pieced my hand, ruining my transmutation circle. I didn't hold back my scream this time. We were screwed. Lust retracted her nails, making my blood run out of my body. I didn't know which wound to put pressure on. I looked at Hawkeye, who was now on her knees. For the first time since I've met her, I saw her crying.

"Such a sad and weak creature. Another typical human." I shot Lust the best glare I could muster.

"Shut up!" She had no right. I'm the one who always cries. Not Hawkeye. She's always the strong one.

"You on the other hand…you might be the perfect replacement for our sacrifice." Before I could even ask, Alphonse was walking in front of Hawkeye, catching Lust's attention.

"Stand up Lieutenant, you need to help Abby get out of here."

"Do you want me to kill you first?" In response to Lust's question, Alphonse clapped his hands. Without even needing to draw a circle, he transmuted a chunk of the floor into a spear. Lust was surprised, as was I. "Oh my, it appears you've opened the portal." Lust shredded the spear in pieces, then pierced his armor with three of her nails. "Such a shame, you are a perfect candidate." Candidate? Sacrifice? She keeps saying that but what does it mean? Lust then used her other hand and sent her nails to stab Hawkeye. Alphonse moved his arm in the way, blocking any damage that would've been done.

"Listen Alphonse…" Hawkeye was still sobbing. "Get Abby and save yourselves."

"Hawkeye!" I yelled a protest.

"No!" Alphonse also protested.

"Run!"

"I won't!"

"Go!" Hawkeye still persisted. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. She was giving up.

"I won't leave you! I'm sick of watching people die! And I just can't sit back and take it anymore! I won't let anyone else get killed! Not when I can protect them!" Lust had enough of the bantering. She quickly lifted up her hand, slicing right through Alphonse, causing pieces of his armor to fly into the air and crash on the ground behind Hawkeye. That's when I saw him out the corner of my eye.

"Well spoken, I couldn't agree more." I could feel tears of relief well up in my eyes from the sounds of his voice. Realizing what was about to happen, from the sparks dancing in Mustang's hands, Alphonse quickly made a wall out of the floor, shielding Hawkeye and him. Luckily for me, I was off to the side, out of fire range. Mustang sent the first hell fire towards Lust as she grunted in pain. Even though I was safe from the flame, I was safe from the heat. As the fire extinguished, Lust was now on her knees, knowing she was in trouble. "Looks like I can get you on your knees after all." He was holding his side, but I couldn't see exactly what he was covering from where I was. Mustang sent another fireball. I had to close my eyes from the heat. It felt like my eyebrows were about to burn right off.

"You should have bled to death by now!"

"I seared the wound closed. I came close to passing out from the pain." He said as he sent another wave of fire. Lust finally let out a blood curling scream, and I enjoyed the sound of it. He was such a badass! "You told me I couldn't kill you, but I'd like to try and prove you wrong!" He flicked the lighter once again. "So, let's see, how many times is it gonna take?!" He repeatedly set her on fire again and again, not letting up for even a second. Her screams continued on with the burning. His filled with hatred. Before the flame could go out this last time, Lust took it upon herself to start attacking, nails flying toward Mustang.

"Colonel!" I screamed a warning. I knew he saw her coming, and without even flinching he set her up in flames again, with her nail only inches away from his skull. I let out a breath of relief as the two of them stared at each other.

"You killed me." She started to slowly turn to ash. "I hate losing, but there are worse ways to die than at the hands of a man like you." Mustang's cold stare never wavered, even when she gave him a smile of defeat. "I love how cold and focus your eyes are. I look forward to the day those eyes will be wide with agony." Her body had now fully dissolved but we could still hear her voice, echoing through the room. "It's coming…it's coming." A red stone fell to the ground where she used to stand, and once it bounces off the ground, it too dissolved into the air. Not a moment later, the Colonel falls to the ground in pain.

"Colonel!" Hawkeye made her way over to him, kneeling at his side.

"Are you alright?" Mustang was able to grunt out.

"Forget about me, we need to get you some help! You and Abby." You could just see the relief on her face, even though there were still tears in her eyes.

"Abby?" Mustang was now looking over to me. "You alright?"

"Couldn't be better, sir." I mustered a smile. He then looked to Alphonse.

"Thanks Alphonse. Thank you for looking after my subordinates."

"Yah, sure, we need to call you a doctor."

"Oh..yah…hurry. Call a doctor for Havoc. Please." Havoc?! That name alone had me back on my feet, and with difficulty, running towards the dark hallway again.

"Abby!" Mustang saw me fall again to the ground.

"Abby, what are you doing?" I ignored Alphonse as I struggled to get myself back up.

"Alphonse, help her down." Mustang ordered. Just before Alphonse reached me, I was back on my feet, running out the door, ignoring Mustang's shouts. I kept trying my best to run down the hall. I didn't notice the first time coming down this, how many things were in the hallway. I swear I saw someone walking up the stairs to the upper floor, but I didn't have time to worry about it.

It seemed like I had been running forever, checking every room that I had passed, when I finally spotted him. He was lying on the ground, eyes closed, with his shirt ripped open. Looks like he passed out from Mustang searing his wound shut. I fell to my knees, in pain, by him, taking his hand. We'll have to wait for the doctors to get here before moving him. Hopefully he stayed unconscious until then. I sat there in silence while I waited for the others to catch up. I could hear them in the distance. Mustang was grumbling, probably about how careless I am. That's when I realized something. Havoc didn't seem to be breathing. I felt a cold shiver go through my body. I leaned my face towards Havoc's not feeling any breath come from him. I then laid my head where his heart was, praying that it wasn't true. Nothing.

"No…" I didn't know what to do. I stared at him, not being able to process the truth.

"Abby?" Alphonse voice seemed concerned. I didn't turn around to them. I couldn't.

"What's wrong?" Now Mustang was concerned.

"He's dead…" I couldn't believe I just said those words. I could feel the shock of the others.

"Are you sure?" Mustang wasn't ready to accept my words. I was in full panic now. I was rapidly trying to remember everything I had been taught in alchemy. Human transmutation was forbidden. Even with Alphonse here with me, as a visual example that it never works, I was still trying to think of a way.

"No…"

"No? He's not dead?" That's right! My alchemy! My teacher told me a story about how she had zapped a man back to life once. She explained everything to me, and the dangers of it, but…it's possible. As long as the body was recently dead, it's possible! She even taught me the technique she used. I had to really focus now. The slightest mistake would probably kill us all.

"You all might want to take cover."

"What are you doing?" Mustang asked, concern in his voice.

"I'm going to bring him back."

"What?!" Using my other glove, that was on my non-hurt hand, I snapped my fingers, immediately clapping my hands together. I now had electricity dancing around my hands. I had to be careful with how much power I put into this. I quickly placed my hands on Havoc's chest, making sure I was sending the power to his heart, trying to get it to kick start. It was painful. When the wave faded, I waited to see if it worked. Havoc didn't budge.

"Again." I did the steps all over again, but this time the pain was much more. Still no response. "Havoc!" I did again. No response. "Don't you dare! You need to live!" Tears started to well up in my eyes again when I was starting to realize the inevitable.

"Abby!" I ignored Mustang. It felt like I was losing my mind. I did it again, and again with no luck. "You can't leave me!" I screamed in the middle of a shock wave. Lightning was starting to dance everywhere. "Damn it Jean! Open your eyes!" I was about to do it again when Alphonse grabbed my wrist, stopping me.

"Abby…" I stared up at him, with the tears rolling down my cheeks. Please no. I looked back down to Havoc, still motionless.

"No." I whimpered to myself. Alphonse let go of my wrist, and it hit the floor. "We never finished…" I couldn't finish the sentence. I could feel my whole world going black as I stared at the man who gave me so much light. I was never able to tell him how I felt, and now, he'll never know. "You bastard!" I threw my fist down on his chest as I sobbed. No one was saying anything, no one could. It was very faint, but I swear I could feel his chest rise up and down. It was all in my head, just a wishful pray.

"Who you calling bastard?" I stopped breathing in that very moment, eyes shooting open again. I could hear the surprised gasps from Alphonse and Hawkeye. I was scared to look, but I had to confirm. Havoc's eyes were barely open, looking at me. I could feel a whole new wave of tears coming down, but this time, they were tears of sheer joy.

"You…you left me." I whimpered out. Havoc weakly raised his hand to my cheek, trying to wipe away the tears that were falling fast.

"But I came back." Even his smile was weak. I held his hand to my cheek, not wanting it to leave. It worked. He was alive.

"Welcome back." Mustang's voice was close. He must be right behind me.

"Thanks, but…why does it feel like I ran into a power line?" I couldn't help but scoff out a laugh. Havoc looked at me again, confused.

"I'll explain to you later. First we need to get you to the hospital."

"I'll go get a doctor!" Alphonse ran out the room and down the hallway. Hawkeye set Mustang down next to Havoc.

"Thought we lost you there." Mustang said softly.

"It's gonna take a lot more than a couple of puncture wounds to keep me down, Colonel." Only a few minutes from being back from the dead, and he's making jokes. "Besides, I have something precious that I can't leave behind." Mustang knew what he was talking about but didn't say anything about it. It wasn't the time or the place.

"How are you holding up?" Hawkeye was asking me, referring to my wounds.

"I'm fine." I said as I pressed Havoc's hand closer to my cheek.

"Are you hurt?" Havoc asked, looking at my hurt hand. His eyes widened when he saw the blood.

"I'm okay." I tried to reassure him. He didn't look happy.

"You'll have to come to the hospital with us." It sounded like an order. I laughed, thinking that he really had the audacity to order me around when I out ranked him.

"Yes sir." I didn't want to argue. Not now. I was still walking on cloud 9. We could hear Alphonse running back down the hall, and he had back up this time. I didn't want to, but the doctors helped me up first, assisting me out of the building and into the ambulance. Next, they loaded Mustang and then Havoc. Hawkeye said she would meet us at the hospital before they shut the doors. We all remained quiet the whole way there, silently thanking God, or whoever, that we were all still alive. ~

END OF CHAPTER 16!

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