lostmoonchild: It's 12:35 in the morning on April 5, 2010 and now we're on chapter nine. How long this story is, I'm not sure but I really, really suck at fighting scenes. Okay, and I just thought of an ending (if I did before then I just thought of a new one that makes more sense with the storyline) that I'll write down so I don't forget. Anyway, have fun and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own FMA or anything else unless I say otherwise.
Chapter Nine
Edward Elric never claimed to be a patient guy. Sure, he could be patient for a while but that patience eventually vanished without a trace after a while. He'd never have his mother's patience but he was fairly certain that nobody would ever match his mother when it came to seemingly limitless patience. Okay, so maybe the only person alive that could match his mother's patience was a saint but how many saints would be willing to deal with him, especially when he was a teenager? He would even admit to being dangerously impulsive at times and had been sensitive about his height as a teenager until he shot up like a weed.
He admitted to having faults and acknowledged that his faults were what made him human. No human alive was perfect and anybody who actually claimed that they were perfect was clearly full of shit. There was always some flaw that every human had that they had the option of trying to improve on or not. If they chose to work on that flaw and make it better, then that was okay. If not, well, that was okay too.
Ed was silent as he looked at Ross, seeing the dark shadows under the other man's eyes. If he ignored how the other man's body would suddenly and violently jerk to the side and occasionally force him onto the ground, Ed wouldn't have realized that his friend was sick. He would have just assumed that the gray-eyed man hadn't been getting enough sleep.
Hell, he could even believe that his friend had been drinking too much and that his falling to the ground was a result of the alcohol. The muscle spasms and involuntary noises that he'd sometimes make could be attributed to getting smacked in the head one too many times. The brain could handle getting bashed around in one's skull so often before its cells began to die.
He helped the other man back up to his feet after another violent spasm, seeing the pain in his eyes. Ross hated what was going on just as much as he did and seemed to understand that there wasn't much that he could do. "Will you help me?" Ross questioned as he sat down.
"This Jacob guy told you what they found out?"
"Yeah."
"And you want me to help bring it down."
"They're attacking alchemists and their families, Ed. Think of your kids. Think of what'll happen to Al and his kids when he finds that special someone and they have kids."
Ed sighed a bit as he studied the other man. For a moment, he could see that same look in Ross's gray eyes that Rose had carried until the day she finally surrendered to the virus. Ross didn't want to surrender for any reason whatsoever and knew that he was asking a lot.
Ross didn't have a family. Ed did.
The blonde thought about his family, knowing that if he didn't do anything then his family could possibly be next. Him and Al had earned a reputation that exceeded them and that reputation often resulted in problems. He couldn't count how many times their reputations had gotten them into trouble and how many times they had barely escaped with their hides intact. If whoever was doing this decided to focus on him or Al then they'd be screwed beyond belief and there'd be nothing that he could do about it. He couldn't let somebody kill him or do anything to hurt his family. "Fine," he agreed, "I'll do it."
"I'm not forcing your hand."
"I know, but the ones behind this will probably go after either Al or me next. If not us, then some other innocent person and their family." Ed shook his head slightly. "I can't stand aside and let innocent people get killed while I hide with my wife and kids."
Ross smiled a bit. "Thanks, Ed. You're a pal." Ross told him with a small smile.
Ed grinned a bit. "Yeah, that's what I hear. Okay, you'd probably better get some sleep. Let me know the stuff tomorrow morning and we'll work out a plan from there."
"Got it."
"You're going to fight a losing battle. Why?"
Ross stared up at the dark ceiling, waiting until he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. "Because I don't want anybody else to suffer like our family has." Ross answered finally. "It's as simple as that, sister. Would you want others to lose someone slowly? There's already diseases that's doing that and the world doesn't need another one. If we can stop it before it leaks out into the world and becomes a serious problem then it'll be worth it."
"So you're pulling the military bastard into this knowing that his wife is going to have a baby in a few short months?"
"He's already in this because he's an alchemist. The ones that are behind this want to get rid of alchemists for some strange reason."
"What if you don't win? Winry's going to be left alone with two kids if he gets killed. You know that and you still want to involve him?" He could hear the anger in her voice and could easily imagine her hands resting on her hips as she glared at him. If she were alive, he knew that she'd be beating the living crap out of him by now just for thinking about endangering somebody whose wife was pregnant. "You don't even know the absolute reason why they want alchemists dead. God, you're such a dumb ass. How in the world you managed to survive this long is beyond me but you must have a guardian angel that's just exhausted from trying to keep up with your ass. When you got sick, it was probably because your guardian angel collapsed from exhaustion and the moment that happened, bam! You got fucked."
He hadn't wanted to involve Ed but he knew that the blonde and his family would probably be targeted next. Something just told him that he needed to ask the blonde for help and Ed had agreed with only a little hesitation. Even the blonde realized that his family was possibly next and if they weren't, there was always that chance that they would be next until they finally were.
Ed wanted to help put an end to this madness before it got too far out of control. If they could stop it before it was too late, then there wouldn't be anymore casualties.
He could die knowing that things were okay.
Closing his eyes, Ross slowly drifted off to sleep with his sister's voice murmuring softly to him. He had no plans on surviving the attack, but at least Ed didn't make any comments if he did realize what the other man had planned.
"Right, so we know that these bastards were around for around thirty years, give or take." Ed stated calmly as he looked over Ross's notes.
"Exactly."
"There aren't any records that back up what he was saying, but some of the higher ups actually remember that event."
Ross frowned slightly. "So why weren't they put in any reports?" Ross questioned with a frown. "You'd think that something that concerns the military's alchemists would be put in a report somewhere."
"Maybe they're hiding it or refusing to admit that it happened."
"Either way, they're concealing important information that could kill innocent people all over the world."
Ed grinned a bit as he looked at the man, his eyes dancing slightly. "What do you say about questioning some higher ups?" Ed questioned with a grin. "Find out why they decided to keep their mouths shut about what's going on instead of putting it in a report?"
The gray-eyed man smiled a bit before nodding slightly. "I say that it'd be a good idea. Gathering information before we make out plan of attack." Ross said with a nod. "Then when we have everything, we blow these sorry bastards to hell."
"Sounds like a plan. Something tells me that this wasn't the first time that they've killed somebody. This is just the first time that they've gotten caught."
"And the first time that somebody's willing to hunt them down despite the risks involved."
"Exactly."
"Well, let's see who was around thirty years ago and work our way to the present."
Now that they had a plan of attack, things were surely going to go much easier.
lostmoonchild: What happened thirty years ago and why wasn't it put in any reports? I know that stuff that happens is usually stuck in reports but let's just pretend that some things happen that nobody wants to be reported so they carry it with them until someone either figures it out or they die.