Okay! I'm back, people! To make a long story short, I flew down to Florida for my cousins' Spring Break. I was only supposed to be there March 29th – April 7th. I planned on updating on the 7th, as a "Welcome Back to Non-Spring Break!" But because I had a buddy pass, I got bumped about ten times on the 7th, 8th, and 9th. So my mom drove down and we stayed the weekend. I just got back today.
So if your spring break just ended, see this as a, "Welcome Back!" chapter. If you're about to go on Spring Break, see this as a, "Let's Start Spring Break off With a Chapter!" chapter. 8P
The Lovely Daaaarlings!
IceFire Dragon Alchemist73: Yep. He's a little coward.
Katsekala: Yay! My job was done then. xD And thank you!
PixieStixys: Thank you! And I did. It was awesome. 8D
StrawberryJasmine16: Thanks! I'm glad you like Riley. And as far as the titles go, thanks for letting me know. Like I said, I don't know anything in Spanish but half of what you generally learn in Kindergarten.
Totally CRAZY and Hyper: Thank you very much! And it was. They were doing "auto-resize", where you couldn't pick your deviation size. It basically helps art theft(Insert Sarcastic Smile Here)! But luckily, a few days after it happened, DeviantART took it down and you can now change your own sizing options again.
Rabid Cream Puffs: Haha, yeah, I didn't think about that when I came up with Radley until afterwards. Radley bashing! X'D COOKIES! Wow. I get cookies, ham sandwiches… You peoplez rock.
Want to Be a Lovely Daaaarling? Review! Bwahaha.
The chapter seemed short, but whatever. Make the font bigger. 8D
I don't own FullMetal Alchemist. I do own Blackburn, Riley, and all other original characters and content. Yay.
Chapter Thirty-Two:
Radley Blackburn
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
I hate ringing.
Sighing, I looked over to the bench where Ed, Hannah and Winry sat. Al watched them brush the dirt off their clothes. After I had slipped the ink container in my bag, Al hoisted us all up and over the edge. Being on ground level, we all managed to pull Al out. I rushed into town to find a phone, while the others followed behind and shouted things at me to slow me down.
But I wasn't having it.
"Hello?" Roy asked lazily, answering the phone.
"What the hell Mustang?!" I shouted, my knuckles going white.
I could hear him sigh. "What's wrong now?" He asked.
Glaring at the numbers on the payphone, I growled out, "We went to Radley's home. I found a picture of him and my dad. Next to it was a collection of letters they'd sent each other. Why didn't you tell me about this beforehand?!"
Roy was silent for a moment. "Riley," he paused a minute to think of what to say, "During the Ishbalin War, Radley had killed several people. We suspected he was with the Rebellion Army at the time, but there was no proof so it was dismissed. That's why I didn't tell you. It was just a theory. I didn't think it was true-"
I interrupted him angrily. "Well it was true! You could have at least warned me so I'd be prepared to find out my parents trained a serial killer!" I shouted. That was probably a bad idea, but I was pissed.
"Riley…," Hannah mumbled, walking over to calm me down.
"You keep this to yourself, Mustang!" I shouted, "If you let word slip that the Rebellion Army had something to do with a serial killer, finding Blackburn will be the last of your problems!" Within seconds, I had smashed the phone down, hanging up.
Hannah sighed, watching me quietly. "He tried to stop him, Riley… Give your father credit for that," She said softly, a bit nervous.
I only scowled. "My father raised a murder, knowing that he'd become one. Give my father credit for that," I hissed at her before walking off.
Hannah watched me leave in sorrow. She turned to the others to see they had the same feeling as her. "Should I go after her?" She questioned.
Winry shook her head, "She needs time alone right now…"
. . .
"To think I was doing a favor for Mustang… Making a mental note to never do that again," I grumbled as I sat down against a tree. It was quiet; silence at last. I really needed it. This was too much for me. I'd prefer running from Scar than this any day(Then again, Scar wouldn't kill me… Would he?). Sighing, I shook my head at my thoughts and rubbed my neck.
"You again?!"
My eyes widened in alertness, and I jerked up to attention. In front of me were the two troublemakers that caused my pain. What were their names? Lee and Marvin?… No…
As I tried remembering their names, they glared up at me. "I thought we got rid of you," The boy asked. Martin? Manny…
Shaking my head, I stuck my tongue out at them, "Well that shows you twerps! You have a lot of explaining to do!"
The girl glared and shouted, "Not if we kill you!" Lewis? Lacey? Lena…
"For the love of… What the hell are your names?" I asked, annoyed. I couldn't concentrate!
They looked at me in shock, offended I had forgotten. "My name is Lisa! This is my brother, Mark!" The girl shouted angrily.
"Oh yeah," I nodded before knocking my head, "I didn't think of those."
Lisa growled a bit. "I've had enough of you!" She shouted before charging at me. Her red pigtails flew behind her as she ran. Once she reached me, I lowered my arms and grabbed her wrists. She glared as she struggled, but it was no use. I was taller and bigger than she was, and as long as I had a hold of her from an arm's length distance, all was well.
But then I noticed Mark.
He placed a piece of paper down on the ground and slammed his hands onto it. My brow twitched as I heard rock and dirt behind me raise. I looked over my shoulder to see a large arm forming. It began to swing at me, and even though I considered swinging Lisa at it as a bat, I knew it would be low. Even for me. So, I dodged out of the way, dragging the girl with me. As my concentration had turned from her, she took it as her chance to spin away and threw her leg at me. I moved back a little and grabbed her ankle as it came near me. With a large swing, I flipped her into the air. "Lisa!" Mark shouted as she let out a yell, landing hard on her back.
"Amateurs," I said with a smirk.
The kids got to their knees beside each other and Lisa readied her paper. Mark transmuted the ground around me to rise, forming four arms to hit at me. I looked around and ducked one arm, clapping and placing a hand on it. It fell to the ground. I couldn't rejoice for long as I had to jump over a low swipe. I landed on the hand and placed my own on it, causing it to crumble as well. I saw an open hand coming at me and braced myself, holding my hands out in front of me. I wasn't sure if it would work, but as I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth, the hand rammed into my hands and crumbled. I dodged to the side avoid a punch, but suddenly a large branch hit my back, most likely Lisa's doing. With a grunt, I was thrown forward and the dirt fist slammed me into a tree.
That'll leave a mark…
Groaning, I slid to the ground as I grabbed at my stomach. "Damn you brats…" Lisa smirked and with the help of Mark, the two transmuted a tree infused with padded down dirt into a large ball. It was thrown at me with a dirt arm and I realized what they had done. "A make-shift bomb…?" I mumbled to myself, wide eyed. Just as the "bomb" had slammed into the tree I was against, I had been grabbed and taken away from the spot by strong arms. Looking up, I was surprised at who I saw.
"Master Gregory…?"
He glanced down at me blankly. "I heard you were looking for Blackburn," He said simply as he let go of me. "Something about you Maulers… Always looking for Radley," He grumbled as he looked up at the children. "Who are these two?"
I scowled as I rubbed my stomach, still feeling the brunt of hitting a tree. "Lisa and Mark… They're working for Blackburn, I think."
The kids glared at me and Lisa shouted, "We don't work for anybody! We're helping Blackburn!"
Gregory shook his head, "Pathetic…" Smirking, I nodded in agreement. The kids glared at us and began their old plan; sending dirt hands at us while Lisa waited for the right moment to stop us. Gregory jumped over the hands within an instant and rushed to Lisa. I began dodging the hands, keeping Mark busy.
Two hands smashed into me I groaned in pain as I stumbled to the ground. "Hurry it up already!" I shouted to Gregory.
Lisa tried hitting him with a tree, but Gregory easily ducked it and grabbed hold of her arm. Twisting it behind her, he looked down at her as she yelped. She struggled, yelling at him as he tied her hands behind her back. I dodged and crumbled several hands, when Gregory caught Mark, doing the same to him as he did to Lisa. I panted as I glared up at Gregory, "Glad you took your time!"
He smirked slightly but ignored me anyways. Asshole…
. . .
I walked into the hotel room with Gregory, the kids in tow; hours had passed since I stormed away from Hannah and the others. We considered leaving the kids tied up in the forest, but decided against it. Gregory said they'd come in handy.
"Riley…!" Hannah exclaimed, jumping up from her chair.
With a sigh, I glanced over at her. "Hey. Sorry I was out so late," I mumbled.
Ed glanced over from his spot at the table, "You were starting to worry everyone." It was then they noticed Gregory, and the kids. Ed glared at the two, "And what happened?"
I shook my head, "These two decided to attack me when I left you guys. Gregory showed up and helped out."
The kids glared at everyone as we pushed them onto the bed to sit down. Gregory stood by the door to make sure they couldn't leave. "You must be Edward and Alphonse Elric," Gregory said, looking to the two.
Ed nodded. "And you're Master Gregory…?"
"Correct," Gregory replied.
Knowing there'd be a bunch of introductions, I skipped it completely. I was far too impatient. Looking to Gregory, I asked, "What are you here for, Master Gregory?"
"To tell you what happened between the Rebellion Army and Blackburn," He replied. Hannah and Winry seemed a bit annoyed they didn't get to introduce themselves, but ignored it.
Sitting down, I looked him in the eyes. "Start talking then."
Gregory sighed, "Your father took Blackburn in when he found him on the streets. Blackburn had traveled to Dublith to find the Rebellion Army and join. Years passed and your father and Blackburn became closer – like brothers. But Blackburn was also becoming colder. More hotheaded. Less aware of his actions… He killed someone and word got to us fairly quickly. We were weak at the time; Blackburn and I were the only ones that could lead units aside from your parents. We needed Blackburn, so your father waited. He tried to remind Blackburn of the morale he once had. He tried to bring Blackburn back to his side… During the Ishbalin war, was when it happened. Blackburn finally turned. He killed several innocent people. Tried to go after the Rebellion Army when they put a stop to it. Your father was alerted immediately of Blackburn's betrayal. It wasn't long after that, that Blackburn disappeared for years until reappearing in Central. That's when the military got their hands on him."
I sighed. "I see where you're going with this then…," I grumbled.
He nodded. "For the Rebellion Army, and for the people, we have to kill him," Was Gregory's simple, casual response. Like he was talking about food…
"What?" Winry asked in surprise. The kids' eyes widened.
Gregory glanced to her and nodded, "Blackburn's escaped the military too many times. If all was well in the military, he would've been executed." He looked over at Ed and me, "You two should be able to pick up some information from that."
"Yeah," Ed nodded with a small scoff, "The military's full of rats."
Winry looked between us all before shaking her head, "You can't seriously believe Ed and Al are going to kill Blackburn, can you?!"
At first I thought Gregory had ignored her as he looked over at me. But I was wrong. "No. Because they aren't. Riley and I are."
Everyone fell silent.
Ed stood, glaring at Gregory, "Repeat that?"
Gregory sighed. "Blackburn's done a lot of damage to the Rebellion Army. As its leader, it's my responsibility to kill him. As the leaders' daughter, it should be Riley's as well," He explained, looking to Ed.
"No," Ed shook his head, "We already left Riley to her own before and look how that turned out."
"Hey…," I grumbled, pouting. Since when did I need babysitting, by Ed of all people? This was getting way out of hand.
With a small glare, Gregory replied, "I don't expect you to understand."
Ed glared back, "Al and I aren't going to just sit back while you go off with Riley to get Blackburn."
"And why not?"
"Because we've already gotten into this! We aren't quitting now," Ed retorted.
Gregory instantly stated, "Good. You can stay here and watch over Hannah and the other one." I almost snickered at the fact Winry was considered "the other one" but stayed silent when I remembered the situation was serious.
. . .
It was silent as Gregory and I walked. The kids followed us quietly. Gregory had somehow convinced Hannah and Winry to keep the Elric brothers inside while we went to find Blackburn. Much to Ed's dismay, I let them. This was beginning to get a bit personal for me, and it was personal for Gregory. I owed him this chance to finish Blackburn, as he should have been finished long ago. But at the same time, I was feeling a bit guilty. Ed and Al were already in this with me. Sure, at first Ed didn't want to be, but he eventually became part of it. Not to mention, the more we had to fight with us, the easier it'd be to fight. So… I was definitely having mixed emotions about this. But I had to shrug it off and go on.
Wind began to pick up and we stopped; Gregory looking around. Lisa's pigtails smacked at her face as I held my own hair down. Cracking of a branch sounded behind us, and we spun around to see it. I noticed smiles on the kids' faces. They knew what was going on. "Blackburn…," Gregory muttered under his breath.
I looked over at him in surprise and then back to where the branch had cracked. After a few seconds, a man walked out from behind a tree. His hair was black and long, mid-back length probably. Silver strands were here in there. His green eyes were emotionless; blank and cold. He was pale, his face aged and experienced as a few scars lined his features. He wore a long black coat, a grey formal blouse under it, along with black jeans. He was tall and thin, reminding me of my father. He looked to the children, and then to Gregory. His eyes almost unnoticeably narrowed at Gregory; and then he looked at me. I almost went stiff.
This was Radley Blackburn…?
Be Responsible. Don't Flame and Drive! Rawr.