Disclaimer: Hellboy doesn't belong to us and neither does Full Metal Alchemist and Edward Scissorshands *^_^*
Rating: M just to be safe because eventually we'll have some scene of violence and because eventually we'll be dealing with mature subject matter.
Oh! And before I forget, this is "talking", this is 'thinking' and this is talking in foreign language. Have a pleasant read.
Hellboy – A place to belong
Chapter 9
Edward was left in consternation at the entrance of the room, when his two companions rushed in. From where he was standing he hadn't see what caused such a debacle. The basement was left silent and he did not know if he should call them out or if he should simply follow them.
But doubts were holding him back. In fact, ever since the strange peoples of the BPRD entered the manor, Edward was plagued with doubts about the whole situation.
He did promise that he would not go outside anymore because Kim was certain that bad things would happen again. He kept his words for so long before boredom and solitude began to take their toll on him. Feelings he barely understood before his father went to sleep but after meeting her, they became almost unbearable.
When his tenants began to appear, slowly, one by one, it lessened the solitude. Even though they barely interacted with him, their presence soothed the pain.
In contrast, his new acquaintances, while a little distant toward him, shared some of his views about the world of men and how little they understood it or how much they mistrusted it. Like him they were cast out to this place that they now shared. But while this gave them common ground, he wasn't one of them. He was of the realm of men they said, something 'they' made.
Edward did not quite understood; while he admitted a physical resemblance he wasn't similar to them in mind, was it not what counted in the end? His tenants kept saying that he was 'made', to that he retorted: At which point, being born is different than being made when the end result is existing?
They never had an answer to that query and always looked at him perplexedly afterward. They never expected such level of complexity from him and did not know how to react to it.
They did try some of their tricks on him but since they never seem to take hold, all that was left was to treat him as... something that wasn't human but not one of them either.
He was a little hurt when they tried to put him under some of their spells, especially since in his opinion he never did anything that warranted such treatment. But would holding it against them help at all? Besides, compare to what the outside world did to him these small tricks are somewhat forgivable.
In time, they reach a certain coexistence, which became threaten when some promoter wanted to destroy their home. They banded together to stall the invasion. While he was able to quell some of the more worried minds, the more restless ones were ready to take out their anger on the workers as well as the machinery and some were even talking about going on the offensive.
And now, a bunch of strange characters presented themselves in his home, not too unlike how Mrs. Boggs appeared in his life. One even shares the same name as he ... only for some odd reasons that one seem to have a fixation on his height. It was not his fault the other was so short.
They claimed to have come looking for some missing children, not for him. In fact they ignore him most of the time.
Even if they were from the outside, they were not here to endanger him or his tenants nor were they here to destroy... even though one of them broke the floor. He felt really bad about this and hoped that he will make a prompt recovery from his accident.
As for the children, he was appalled by the idea that someone would take them away and hid them in his home. He really hoped they were Omnis Korrecta as his father sometime said.
The situation in itself was odd; beside the men with the big machines, the only other peoples that tried to come inside the manor were here to paint the walls. He did not understand why the fays kept saying it was a bad thing since the walls sure could use a fresh coat. But they insisted that it was not what he was thinking about; it was just another thing that did quite fit his definition.
"Graffiti" derived from the Italian word "graffito" which mean an art form were one produce a piece by scratching a design onto a surface. He did that all the time! What was wrong with it... that and he was also curious about their work.
Anyway, why would anyone bring children here? The one call Hellboy was sure someone did... and not wanting anybody else to get hurt he accepted to help the agents and serve as guide as they look for the children.
And now, something had happen in that room, he was sure of it. What should he do...?
Fleeting thoughts crossed his mind; of Kim and what she did for him, of Kevin who almost got it by that car and how Mrs. Boggs was upset when she believed her son was hurt.
With a vague understanding of a mother's worries he came to a decision, he was going to enter that room and see if his new found friends were fine, then they would continue their search.
And they had to hurry, because when a baby bird falls from the nest the mother will not take it back if you don't do this correctly. He really hoped the parents would still want them back.
.
At the same time, on the side of the hill the rest of the troop were slowly trekking down the path in hope of evacuating Major Havoc to the nearest medical facility.
While compared to the climb, the decent was suspiciously uneventful despite the darkness, the natural shrubbery and the uneven terrain that made Havoc moan in pain at every choc and bump.
There was one small bamboo grove that dared appear out of place to block the way but the collective glare it received made it shrink back to the ground.
Sometime a look is worth an hundred axes.
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Meanwhile in town, the BPRD car containing Abe and Armstrong was doing it best to keep all four wheels on a flat surface... by going through an alleyway half as large as itself. Left wheels to the ground, the right ones on the wall at a 60° angle, leaving as many tire marks as it left psychological scars on Abe's mind.
Armstrong, him was humming "Born to be Wild" accompanied by a chorus of police sirens.
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'What's love?' though Hellboy. Apparently it was an entire lake of mango juice with puppy-fish swimming in it. At least that's what's written on sign on the side of the paddle-wheel steamboat. A steamboat that was puffing marshmallow and was also a musical swan.
Oh! And the captain was Mickey Mouse.
Hellboy knew he was delirious. He had enough experience with oracle dream, shamanic vision quest and exotic alcohols binge to know that he was hallucinating... and hard. He did live through the '70s after all.
Right now he was hoppity skipping on a yellow bricks road along with Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Lion and the Tinman singing a sweet song while tap dancing. He didn't have that dream since he was a kid and he only ever told his father. Liz would be rolling on the floor laughing if she knew.
And for the love of her, he couldn't bring himself the will to care.
.
Everybody was there and time in the room slowed to a crawl. The children were in a happy daze and kept oblivious of their condition by the spell the fays put on them.
The fays hovered over the group, tending to the children while working their magic. However, they were clearly worried. They had been intruded upon while they were assured of never being discovered. Caliban's plan was perfect, or so he said. Not knowing what to do, they simply put the intruders under their spell.
All, except for one.
The only one they could never dupe or enchant. A body and mind filled with iron, the one who possessed the land and let them live here, their last refuge.
Now he knew and was approaching, a confused look on his face, not wanting to believe what he witnessed.
Caliban peeking from the doorframe was gloating inside. The hated interlopers were caught a mere meter before their goal. Only that pesky aberration was left standing and now that he saw, Caliban had to get rid of him. It should be so simple since he was so naive... he just needed to make a remarkable entrance, dispose of him and his iron innards and gloat to the fallen enemies.
But the cruel smirk on his elfin face was wiped off like a bacterium in a bucket of bleach. And from the look he was now sporting, it was painful as well.
Edward, clueless as ever didn't know what to do in front of the other two unresponsiveness drooling stance. So, what does one do in those cases? What would anyone doing those case really? Easy, you poke with your finger to see if they react or not.
.
Hellboy and Edward (the small one) were on a veranda, dressed as if they were part of the cast of 'Gone with the wind' sitting on biscuit chairs, drinking tankard of bubbling honey served by a flying cow in a butler suit.
The afternoon was beautiful, the grass green, the sky was blue and the monkey orchestra wasn't butchering Mozart symphonies too much, and both the boys where quite fetching in their 1860s southern belle's dress.
"Quite delightful my dear, would you like another beaver sandwich?" ask the Lady Edwardina.
"Oh, it would be wonderful", replied the duchess Anung de Rama, "And what news of the doctor? Will the operation to make you taller stick?"
"Oh oh oh oh oh", she said with a light laugh, "if I didn't know any better, I would say that you are calling me short?"
"Oh oh oh, I assure you the though never crossed my mind dear. Oh oh oh oh." She giggled, making her very opulent, err..., red balcony quake in a very interesting manner in the plunging neckline of her dress.
"Oh oh oh oh, I don't know why but I do feel the urge to slap you right about now, oh oh oh oh." In a more stressed fashion.
"I don't believe you could, oh oh oh oh."
"Oh oh oh." A vein was now about to pop on Lady Edwardina's forehead.
"Oh oh oh oh." Which sounded like 'come and get me tramp' in the hellwoman false soprano voice rather than a demure laughter.
"Oh oh oh." Her left eye twitching.
"Oh oh oh." (Translation: Bitch)
"Oh... Oh... Oh..." (Translation: I'm going to gut you little tart.)
"Oh oh oh ohaaaarghggk" (Translation: I would like to see you tryaaaarghggk.)
.
Funny thing about cold iron, it disrupts spells as well as do pain. Edward's scissors being made of steel, thus made of about 98% of iron, were enough to break the spell if it broke the skin ... which generally happens when you poke someone in the face with scissors.
Both Edward (the small one) and Hellboy dropped to their knees clutching their forehead.
The method, albeit a crude one, was quite effective. If you ask them right now to describe how it felt they probably would compare it to liking a giant battery, it was a chocking experience that left a metallic aftertaste.
With surprising synchronisation they looked at each other and nodded in an unspoken agreement, it never happened and they will never speak of it for as long as they live.
.
Caliban was clutching the doorframe so hard it was beginning to crumble. He missed his chance and he couldn't intervene, far too risky.
A sudden pain in his hands made him look down and saw the splinters, looking up he glanced at the frame, the wall, the ceiling...
Then inspiration came to him, he knew what he had to do.
.
The man with the scissors for hands leaned forward to observe the others, who were shaking off their daze.
"Are you alright? You were not moving?"
Hellboy who seemed to recover faster than his companion answered. "We're fine, thanks. You got us out off this dre... trance... whatever it was... Edward, you ok?"
A duo of 'yes' made him roll his eyes at the absurdity of the situation. Getting up he extended his hand to his co-worker and help him get to his feet.
"I meant you blondie."
"Yeah, yeah, I got that. I'm ok... what was that?"
"A Mesmer or some kind of hypnotic suggestion design to calm down their victims. First time getting hit?"
Only a nod was given by Elric, who was trying to avoid looking at his superior. Was it shame or because he was remembering his boss in a dress? It didn't really matter for he was ready to troop on again.
Beside, being relatively new to the BPRD meant that he didn't know that he would have seen him like that eventually. The Bureau frequently used 'Murder Mystery Games' to train their agents for various situations and they were always rigged in a way that either Abe or Hellboy or both would have to dress the part of a female character.
Hellboy turned toward tall, dark and clueless and looked at him with perplexity. Why wasn't he caught in the illusion? Was it because he was on the side of the changeling but if it was the case why did he free them? But the one who called himself Edward looked ignorant as they were in this story and his intentions were as transparent as tainted windows.
But did it mean that they didn't target him or that it simply didn't work or him. Mister sharp handshake wasn't quite like anything he ever encountered before but had many similarities to an old friend. The simple innocence he showed with an obvious intellect devoid of any malice reminded him of Rog...
"Boss."
His musings were interrupted by his colleague who was looking behind the last shelf.
The mission came back crashing into his mind like a ton of bricks and the numbness in his psychicfied brain vanish.
On a blanket, a dozen of children were either sitting or laying on the floor. Some were awake, their mind seemingly absent. Others were asleep, lost in beautiful dreams. But all were oblivious to the world around them, to the dark, cold, damp place with a drizzle of dust coming from the ceiling.
And behind them leaning against the wall was an assortment of absolutely terrified fays.
It wasn't just changelings but a plethora of different representative of the fairy race and to his knowledge they were all known to abduct children. But as far as he was aware there weren't any records of any of them ever working together before.
In his guts he knew that it wasn't just a band changeling who somehow decided to act on a larger scale but a far deeper plot. While those being could be seen interacting with each other from time to time, working together as a united group was an entirely new story.
For it meant something had banded them together, a cause... or a leader with one.
Nuada... no, he was dead and beside it wasn't his style, far too subtle for a guy ready to go on a warpath. No, this came from someone far more ruthless who didn't hesitate to target the young.
Beside vampires and reporters, which were newly added to the list of things he absolutely despised to confront, this was the worst type of enemies he could encounter.
A quick glance to his left showed a clearly distressed leather clad Edward torn between choc and disbelieve. So apparently, he really didn't know anything about this.
To his right, his short blond braided fellow agent looked ready for anything.
In front, the kidnapper wishing they could hide in the wall had nowhere to run.
And between them, the kids...
He signaled his companions to stay where they were, blocking any escape path, and he slowly sheathed his gun while contouring the circle of children to place himself between them and their captors.
Leaning toward the tallest of the bunch, who shall we say was about "hobbit" size and said in a growling voice: "You're goin' to let the kids go, I'm goin' to arrest each and every one of you without any fuss, they're goin' to take the kids to their parents and we're goin' to have a nice little chat about all of this. No discussion."
"Euh..." inquired a diminutive greenish 'person'... which is the polite thing to say, considering that the first thing that comes to mind when looking at a face like that is 'specimen'.
"Yes?", Hellboy's reply was so cold, it could have frozen vodka instantly.
"...but if we can't discuss, how can we chat?", nervously continued the vaguely human kidnapper.
"Do you want see the inside of your own anus?"
The group vehemently shook their head in negative.
"Then don't ask stupid question."
Behind him, Edward, the tall one, had a finger raised also wanting to know how they were going to talk if they could not discuss. But between Hellboy tone of voice and the other Edward who reached for his hand and taking it down while mouthing the words 'don't ask', he knew that it might be best not to pursue the issue.
Also, he did wonder how could one see the inside of their own anus but he felt that he probably would not have an answer of that one either. With a mirror perhaps...
The children began stirring, coming out of their magically induced stupor. Ed Elric, move to check on them, from the relief on his face it was easy to gather that they were ok.
And there was an even more pressing question on Edward's mind.
"Why?" his voice was so soft, they could have easily missed it if it weren't for the subdued silence.
As if they got tasered the whole group jolted and looked at him, guilt showing on the face of the captive along with a hint of fear.
Hellboy using tie wraps to cuff the perps, glanced at his companion from the corner of his eyes and from the reaction of the faerie peanut gallery, decided to see how this would play out.
The fays were looking at one another, none of them wanting to break the uneasy stillness or willing to see if the demon would make good on his promise.
A tiny winged creature, who looked like Tinker Bell's ugly cousin twice removed, was the first to crack.
Not that any of them stood a chance, a statue would get could sweat in a staring contest with Edward. He could make a killing in Vegas with a poker face like that.
"It's because we were told to!" ejected the tiny creature.
Edward kept staring at them, his gaze like a drill in their composure.
"But why?", he ask again. Was it because of his cluelessness or because the reasons matter more to him than who gave the order.
Now the drill looked about to pierce the back of their skull when another one spoke.
"Because... because we wanted to win.", he said lamentably.
Next to him, some kind of water fowl with a top hat continued, "We're tired of the humans, they take everything, force us to leave our land, our home. And they forget about us, like we don't matter anymore."
The hobbit lookalike, who definitively had goblin somewhere in his family tree, finished, "We wanted to hurt them as they hurt us."
"And a place to live in peace away from them.", quipped 'Tinker Bell'.
They were under his roof and they were bound by old edict to respect him otherwise they could be kick out of the house, something that seem very likely to happen now. Maybe if they get on their hands and knees afterward and grovel enough they might be allowed to pitch a tent in one of the far recess of the estate... if they survive this line of questioning that is.
The gaze continued on unrelenting. Constant, even and implacable, it carried on pushing forward etching at their resolve. A tidal wave would seem hesitant compared to the look Edward was giving them.
After a second of silence that felt like a year before both Hellboy and the Edwards asked simultaneously: "Who?"
Now they really appear afraid, which wasn't good. Whoever gave the orders clearly scared them more than the Edwards and Hellboy combine.
Elric had joined in the staring contest and the waiting game. As for the children, those that were awake, they were confused and some were about to cry.
The greenish one tries to give them answer, but panic had left him stuttering.
"Yes...?" pressure Hellboy in a tone that announce that if he didn't have an answer soon there were going to have a few eyeballs doing a colonoscopy in a very near future.
"It's C... C... CALIBAN!?"
Scissorshands looked like he got slapped, Elric was now submerged with youngsters, those that weren't crying were asking a thousand questions, and Hellboy had his 'superhero sense' tingling.
It was the creature's outcry that sounded like a question combine with the guilt of someone who got caught his hand in the cookie jar that rang the first bell, along with its terrified gaze that wasn't looking at them but at point beyond them that rang the second one. The third and final one came from good old fashion dramatic timing, that perfect moment were a villain would chose to reveal himself.
Looking behind him, Hellboy saw in between the shelves that were in the path of the unique door to the room, a child sized figure draped in shadows was standing in the doorway like he was blocking it with his frail body, his hands on the doorframe.
"You should not have talked.", he declared, "Now, I won't even regret getting rid of you."
The group of fays squealed in terror at the apparition. Elric vaulted around drawing his weapon and Edward looked like a puppy that didn't know why he was kicked.
"And you, the right hand of doom, betrayer to your own kind, you shouldn't have put your nose where it doesn't belong."
"Oh yeah?" , Hellboy retorted placing his left hand on his gun.
"Yeah," Caliban replied mockingly "but before I should really thank you, for now I have the chance to get rid of this revolting abomination." he carried on about the owner of the castle.
"And how are you going to that toothpick?" dared the demon.
"Funny you should ask..."
A crack of wood above and an increase in the trickle of dust brought back a recent memory, a floor giving way under Havoc's feet.
Hellboy barely had the time to shout "Get cover!" before the ceiling began to collapse.
.
.
Author Notes :
Shiroyuki:
Now, repeat after me: CLIFFHANGER! … Again, bouhou u_u
On a personal note, I strongly believe that it is a very bad habit to take, but still there was no better place to end this chapter, so here goes.
I know there were a few things I wanted to add about this chapter but I can't recall what they were. Anyway, I won't go around making any predictions or promises about the next chapter(s).
Such as, the next chapter is coming along nicely since Book and I get to sit to work on it more often than the last few months allowed us to do. After all, there's no telling if Book new job's will let us continue seeing each other once a week or if we'll return to once a months.
So, I won't talk about the epic battle that's on its way, no sir.
Nor will I talk about the… what..? ok, ok I'll shut up now.
.
Bookeater: Another one done. A big whooping 10 pages of practically doing nothing. Someone commented to us that for 10 pages, nothing really happened. Its just that there is so much going on at the same time that I needed to make sure to forget noting, that I don't ignore the character thought process, and put all the steps for the finish in the next chapter. At least I hope I have put a few good jokes in there.
The baseline for the hallucination parts were inspired by the short video 'Meet the Pyro' for the game Team Forteress 2.
Edward Scissorshand is such a hard character to write. It's difficult to make him appear simple but not stupid at the same time. I want the character to be deeper than in the movie and develop... I don't know in what direction but I want him to develop.
Tell me what you thought about that.
As for Hellboy development, I think it will happen more in chapter eleven since he don't have time to think right now. And the actions scene in the next chapter will be experimental for me since I am not used those type of story. I got some practice in my other fic 'How to know your place' but it will in chapter 10 that it will be put to the test.
On another note, I finally put something in my profile. Go check it out! I talk about what I am currently working on.