Sorry it's a bit late :) I'm working on a one shot at the mo; hope you enjoy the next chapter!
As the blonde lunged for Bald, an ear-splitting explosion shattered the doorway. The team ducked to avoid the impact, ducking and covering their heads as they'd been taught to do so in training. The strong breeze of the wind from outside lapped at their faces, the dust soon to follow.
Roy grit his teeth in irritation, fine shards of glass littered his dark raven hair, digging into his scalp. As he reached to brush them from his dusty locks, he inevitably pricked his gloved finger. The sight was rather amusing. The Colonels fine black hair had been clogged with white dust and power, giving him the appearance of a grey man. He could feel an age related joke coming from Edward. It was just a matter of time. Black orbs scanned the debris, surprising to find most of the wall and ceiling missing... and Bald.
'Great' he though. 'That's one more problem to deal with'
"Everyone-ok?" he coughed, clearing the dust from his airways, roughly throwing a wooden beam aside from his lap.
"Yes Sir" Risa got steadily to her feet, wincing through the thick smoke and dust.
"Yes Sir-ahh" Jean rubbed the back of his head gently, not surprised to feel the blood sticking to his fingers. He groaned. At least it wasn't too serious, but that didn't stop it from hurting.
"Havoc?" Roy kneeled before his subordinate, taking hold of the man's chin and turning his head with a pair of gloved fingers. The blondes hair was already matted with a small trail of crimson, and no doubt would need stitched eventually. "Do you think you can hold out until later?" he asked, signally for Havoc to follow his finger from side to side. Jean nodded slowly, gritting his teeth as the wound twinged in disagreement. His head throbbed dully, already adding to the persistent headache that had plagued him since arrival. Brushing the irritating white dust from his 'spotless' uniform, the man was helped to his feet by a worried looking Colonel, who seemed to be scanning him for any extra damage.
"I'm fine" Jean insisted, ignoring the dull throbbing in his head, "You can quit examining me now-" before he could finish, Jean was interrupted by a fit of muffled coughing coming from the doorway.
Ed winced as he felt his lungs protest sorely, the thick dust clogging his airways. Each breath took more and more effort, draining any remaining energy the teen had left over. He leaned back onto the cold wall, the cool plaster nursing his aching back through the frail fabric of his shirt. The icy wind sent a sharp shiver gliding down his spine, lingering uncomfortably.
Ed cracked open an eye, squinting through the cloudy air and scanning it for any signs of Bald. Gone. His gold orbs drifted to the heavy weight at his flesh shoulder. A wooden beam was pinning him to the wall, the tip ridden with splinters embedded in his porcelain skin. As far as he could see, there wasn't much blood. Not enough to worry about anyway. He had other problems at the top of his growing priority list, never ending at that.
"Edward?" the Colonel knelt beside the injured teenager, whom cracked a sincere smile to himself.
"Just my luck..." he laughed half heartedly, wincing as his lungs protested once more, the beam restricting his chest movement. If he inhaled too deeply, the wood dug deeper into his skin, breathing too shallow didn't satisfy his lungs, which demanded more oxygen. Roy gently reached out a gloved hand to remove the beam quickly before the teen took notice. Ed batted his hand away and grit his teeth tightly. His metal fingers clasped the wood, and he tore it from his shoulder, holding back a muffled cry as the automail fist fell limply to the floor. The blonde felt a small trickle of blood drip down his torso, white shirt clinging to his chest.
"FullMetal, are you-"
"Relax" he interrupted his superior, "I've had worse. I'm just a little bruised, that's all" the teen brushed the plaster from his lap and heaved himself forcefully to his feet. The blonde was tempted to rest his weight against the wall, but soon decided not to. It would be just his luck if the remaining wall collapsed on top of him. Ed reached a hand into his hair and pulled out several shards of thick glass, dropping them onto the floor with a ping. "Any idea which way he went?" the teen took the silence as a no. He sighed, lowering his gaze to the rubble were the two chimeras once stood. He didn't dare look any closer.
Dodging the slabs of wood and ceiling, Ed ventured into the laboratory without a second thought, the glass crunching beneath his feet. "Quit looking at me like I've grown an extra head" he could feel Roy's gaze burn into his back, scanning him for any further damage.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Jean asked sheepishly. The teen ignored the man and continued to walk, curiously observing the neatly arranged needles and experiments laid neatly across the large tables. Unlike any other military funded lab Edward had seen before, this one didn't contain animals. At least there were no signs of any, just a large collection of research material and jars of brightly coloured chemical substances, which didn't look a healthy colour in the blonde's opinion.
The team cautiously followed behind him, paying no attention to the papers or equipment, but to the open door at the far end of the room that led to a neighbouring hallway. The lights flickered quickly, buzzing as the power cut in and out repeatedly.
"I thought you said it was a bad idea to come in here?" Roy asked the young subordinate cockily, watching as the teen searched through the scattered papers on the desk, a glossy chestnut colour. Whoever worked in there was sure a fan of bright colours.
"It is"
"Then why are we in here?" Risa asked, clutching the gun in her hand tightly.
"Well we can't go the other way. The rest of the hallway could collapse"
"Could FullMetal" the Colonel added.
"If you want to be buried alive, be my guest" the teen called back coolly, "I'm not digging you out for anyone..." he trailed off, reaching for the last file, a thickly compiled folder without a label. He took it from the pile and began to scan though its contents, observing the hundreds of sketched diagrams and arrays. "Say, Colonel... who works in here?"
There was a pause from Roy. "I don't know" he replied, "I've never come across this room before"
The blonde went back to absorbing himself in the arrays, most of which he recognised from his research, building DNA structure. From scratch.
"Judging by these dates, this was done quite recently... it took me years to learn all of these-" the lights clicked off again. But this time, they remained off. The echoing sound of footsteps grew louder, moving further and further down the hallway. Ed dropped the file back in its place; it fell quickly from his fingers with a light thud. The steps ground to a halt, much too close for Ed's liking. He and the figure were just inches apart, separated by a mere filing cabinet.
Unfortunately for team Mustang, the darkness swarming their vision meant they couldn't see the figure lurking in the doorway. Roy hoped whoever it was would dismiss the noise as a figment of their imagination and continued walking. The person had other plans. Risa, Roy and Jean stood painfully still, the only movements the slow rising and falling of their chests. After a long silence, the figure turned and stepped back into the hallway. Roy sighed quietly in relief. The figure turned sharply and began to laugh.
"Fooled you... didn't I?" the man walked into the lab, slowly tracing his steps towards the three soldiers who were backing into the unstable wall. "Unfortunately for you, I'm rather used to seeing in the dark... it's only natural after being locked inside for fifteen years..." he stopped just inched from Roy, bringing his face close enough for both pairs of eyes to see each other. Roy could feel the unsteady breaths of the man caress the side of his cheek, causing him to clench his teeth in disgust. A pair of green orbs glared deeply into his own, the man's head tilting from one side to another as he examined the set of black orbs.
"Tell me Colonel... are you afraid of a man who hasn't seen the sun in fifteen years?"
"You wish" the Colonel spat back, igniting a flame and aiming it directly in front of him. The man narrowly avoided a roasting and stepped aside. The viscous oranges and reds collided with the wall beside the cabinet. Edward quickly ducked to avoid a scorching, muttering curses to his lovely superior. It seemed the man had forgotten his subordinate was hiding in the dark corner. Hiding. The blonde tried to convince himself he wasn't hiding, merely- observing until he could conjure up a miraculous plan to save everyone... and his own ass. Smacking his head on the wall behind him, Ed knew now wasn't the time to be a coward. He had to-
Click. Another flame ignited the room, catching the desk, a small shelf of text books and the untidy pile of papers resting on its surface. 'Note to self' the teen reminded himself, 'singe Roy's ass for destroying decent reading material' he smirked at the very thought. Perhaps that would teach the flame to abuse a good book collection.
The light was a blessing to the Flame, as now he could see exactly who he was dealing with. A tall prisoner, dressed in a dull black and white stripped uniform that clung to his skinny frame, the shirt hung loosely around his shoulders revealing his flat torso. The man's hair was short and tussled, brunette with occasional steaks of platinum. In any other uniform, he would have looked relatively normal. But trusting his conscience, Roy Mustang knew this man was far from normal. It was something about his eyes. The way they lingered far longer than they should, tracing every detail of everything.
"What's your name?" Risa asked, walking away from the wall and stopping beside her superior.
"Name?" he laughed, "I've been called many things in my time. Sick, monstrous, heartless... you take your pick"
"I'll ask you again. What is your name?"
"Name... I used to have one... once. You can call me seven hundred and three! A nice ring to it... don't you think?" the sarcasm suddenly disappeared. Smirking and looking to the table from the corner of his eye, the man turned quickly and grabbed a syringe, lunging for the blonde lurking in the shadows.
Edward found himself pinned to a wall roughly, a cold, frail hand restricting his airways. The prisoner looked from the blonde to the tip of the long needle in his hand, the red liquid rippling in the plastic tube. Risa raised her gun, only to find a hand push the barrel towards the floor.
"You could hit Edward"
The man raised the needle to the light, a trickle of red oozing from the tip, cascading down his long pale arm.
"What's-in-that-thing" the blonde wheezed between breaths, trying to pry the fingers from his throat.
"Who knows..." the man grinned, pressing the tip to the teen's neck, "Care to find out?"
I rushed this a bit, sorry if you find any mistakes! Thanks for reading, see you next chapter!