Author Note: There has not been many followers or reviews but I'm having fun writing this so I'll keep it up. I hope more will come to enjoy it as much as I do.

Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist and its characters belong to Hiromu Arakawa.

Chapter 3:

I sat on the windowsill of my small hotel room and stared aimlessly out the window. I wasn't that worried that someone would see me, as it was clear that no one in this city looked up. All my time on roofs during my spying showed that. It felt so strange to be in a city; I had gotten used to my small town. It wasn't a bad place though. The buildings were nice and the people of Central weren't that different really. They lived their lives, whether they were blissful or tough, and had friends and family of their own. Seeing them all walk down the street with purpose brought a smile to my face but at the same time stabbed at my heart. There was no one walking down the streets now though as it was late at night.

My hand continued to gently run over the mask in my lap while I sat there. The cold feel of the black material was comforting against my calloused hand. My fingers traced the raised pattern of the mask as my thoughts went to what had happened today with the Elric brothers. The two seemed to finally be done with Marcoh's notes but whatever they found out clearly hadn't been good. The dark look on Edward's face as he stormed from the library proved that. They were now holed up in their hotel room.

I sighed, getting more depressed by the tedious situation I had unknowingly put myself in. Sudden movement on the sidewalk below drew my attention. I jumped up from the sill as Edward and Alphonse ran right below my window. They continued down the street and were quickly leaving my sight. I cursed and quickly threw on my coat. Without thinking, I secured the mask onto my face before jumping from the window. I gave chase but still kept my distance. It was then that I realized I was wearing the mask. It felt surprisingly natural; it didn't dig into my face much and felt almost like a cool second skin. It was much better than the bandages, which sometimes irritated the inflamed skin of the scar. Surprisingly, the glass that filled the eye holes didn't hinder my sight much at all. The mask covered most of my face with only my lower jaw and mouth visible. The fact that it covered most of my face was reassuring as there was less chance I would be recognized this way if anyone caught a glimpse of me. The string used to hold the mask in place wasn't the strongest but that would be easy to replace.

I got the feeling that the Elric brothers were going somewhere they weren't supposed to; Edward wasn't wearing his eye-catching red coat and Alphonse was running as quietly as possible, which wasn't easy as his armor clanked with each step. It made me even more eager to know where they were going. All that eagerness vanished in a flash when I saw the building they were running up to. I froze in place as terror seized me. My body started to tremble and shake as my memories took over. All the pain, terror, horror and torture I endured returned and stole all my strength. I fell to my knees as the shaking worsened. I had started hyperventilating but I was unaware of it at first. The memories were too strong for me to really notice anything else.

"PLEASE! STOP! NOOOO!"

My own remembered screams filled my head, drowning out all other sounds. My scar throbbed and my hands shot up to tear at it. It all stopped though as my fingers met the cool material of the mask instead of that cursed scar. The past vanished for the moment and the present came crashing back down on me. My lungs filled with air with one big breath as I finally gained control over myself. I forced myself to look at the building before me once more.

"It's different." I said aloud to myself once I got a better look. It was a lab but it wasn't that lab. It wasn't that much better but I was able to breathe a bit easier knowing that. I stood up slowly. My legs were still a little weak but my strength was quickly returning. Now that my fit was over, I was able to focus back on the two brothers. I didn't know what their purpose was for being there but that place was not a good one. A feeling of dread filled the air around me and it had nothing to do with my past. Worried, I shot forward and jumped up onto the wall surrounding the building. I was able to spot Alphonse easily but Edward was nowhere in sight. He was probably inside then.

Someone jumped from the roof right as I was contemplating whether I should go in after Edward or not. The gleam of light from a large meat cleaver caught my eye as the person headed straight for Alphonse and I jumped instinctively. I crashed right into the person and we both slammed into the side of the building. The person was unfazed and used that meat cleaver to slash my arm as we fell to the ground. I ignored the pain and blood though as adrenaline raced through my veins. I jumped up from the small crater we made and put distance between us. I ignored Alphonse's question about who I was as I took a defensive position in front of him; the incoming fight was all I was thinking of. Shock took over though when I saw my opponent clearly in the moonlight. This person was also dressed in a suit of armor like Alphonse but that wasn't what shocked me. It was the fact that he had no head or body. The helmet had been knocked off and I could clearly see into the armor and it was indeed empty. There was a strange bloody pattern inside though.

"Ah. You're just like me." Alphonse exclaimed, pointing at the empty armor.

"Oh? So you don't have a body either?" The empty armor asked. I was completely floored by the whole thing. I had seen some things during my time at the lab but this was new to me. I tensed as the armor spoke once more while putting its helmet back on.

"That's a real shame. I can't cut you up then." He, for it sounded male, lifted up the meat cleaver as he turned his attention on me. "But I can chop up your friend!" He yelled as he charged me. I was about to dodge but Alphonse ran in front and blocked for me, receiving a gash in the armor that made up his forearm. I was surprised; I hadn't expected him to help me. I didn't know how I was supposed to combat an empty suit of armor but I wasn't going to let Alphonse fight alone. I used the opportunity he granted me and kicked with all my might at the defenseless side of the armor. It was sent flying back but it just got back up again.

"Who are you? How did you get that body?" Alphonse asked.

"Me?" He started cackling. "You wanna know who I am? I'm the notorious killer, Barry the Chopper!" He clearly expected us to know who he was now but I had never heard that name and it seemed Alphonse didn't either.

"Sorry, who?" Barry was offended but wasn't bothered for long.

"You also asked how I got this body." He started to caress his meat cleaver as he spoke. "I was put in prison, you see. However, instead of being executed, my soul was ripped from my body and placed into this armor. They told me to guard this place. Why? Who knows…I don't care. As long as I get to chop up intruders, I don't care what they do to me." I shuddered at how bloodthirsty this man was. It also didn't help that his intended target right then was me. I wasn't that worried though. His strikes were fast but wild and he didn't have any defense. It wouldn't be too challenging of a fight, especially if Alphonse was going to assist me.

Barry charged again and I moved to intercept him. I stopped at the sound of a gunshot. Barry dropped the cleaver and stared at the bullet hole in his hand. I started to turn and see who had shot it but was hit with another bullet. My leg caved as the bullet pierced through it. I was forced to the ground once more.

"Stop!" Alphonse yelled, standing in front of me with his arms outstretched. "Not him!"

I was finally able to see the shooter, or shooters as it turned out. It was the two officers that had been following the brothers around. They didn't know whether I was friend or foe so it was understandable that they shot to incapacitate me. The building beside us started to shake and rumble. Barry took one look at it and fled.

That's not good.

"Brother!" Alphonse yelled, trying to make his way towards the building. The female officer was trying to stop him though. I forced myself to my feet, prepared to go in myself. I didn't have to though. Someone walked out of the crumbling building with Edward thrown over one shoulder. The man had wild green hair and strange black clothing. Alphonse and the others rushed forward to retrieve Edward but I was stuck staring. Something about this man unnerved me. I looked over him and something red caught my eye…something I was intimately familiar with.

I was stuck staring in shocked disbelief at the scar on the man's thigh, which was an exact copy of my own. I only knew one other person beside myself that had that scar…and he wasn't human. That would mean that…

I started to slowly back away, hoping the man wouldn't notice me. All my instincts were screaming at me again and this time I wasn't going to ignore them. I ran from that place as fast as possible, barely noticing my wounds healing along the way.

I sunk to the floor of my hotel room, mind spinning with thoughts of that man. The thought that there might be others like Bradley had never crossed my mind. It seemed there were more like him. I didn't know how many but it was terrifying to realize that there were others. I had thought that Bradley was the only one I needed to worry about but that might not be the case. He could be working with the others. There was no way I could do this alone. I really did need Edward and Alphonse's help and even they were probably not enough.

"Stop." I said to myself, knowing I was getting caught in a whirlwind of anxiety. "Focus on one thing right now." I stood up as my anxiety calmed.

"Focus on Edward and Alphonse."

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It was difficult but I managed to find where Edward had been taken. He was in a small clinic that wasn't run by the military. That was for the best considering he had been injured while breaking into a government lab. I was forced to watch from an alley across the way as they were on the ground floor and the roof didn't offer the best view of the room. I was still wearing the mask but I felt that best considering that Edward had been exposed to others with the same scar. I could have used the bandages but I still wanted to conceal my face as much as possible. No doubt it would draw attention but my hood cast a big enough shadow for my mask to go mostly unseen. I walked back further into the shadows of the alley as Edward got up from the bed, hoping to remain hidden.

Edward and Alphonse were taking about something serious. That much was obvious but once again I wasn't able to hear anything. I stayed and watched though. I hadn't been expecting it so I unprepared for Edward suddenly turning and looking straight at me.

"Shit."

I found myself unable to move though. He lifted his hand and slowly beckoned me closer. I didn't know what to do. I could have run but they were aware of me at that point so there was little point in that. I braced myself and quickly but carefully made my way over to the window. Thankfully no one was around to see me. I stopped outside the window then opened it when he gestured for me to do so. I hesitated but then climbed in once he backed away from it. I was reluctant to look him in the eye but ultimately did so. His eyes were even more captivating up close but it wasn't the best time to think such things. His automail arm, which was in a sling, caught my eye. I was surprised by it, as I hadn't known he had automail but it wasn't exactly a rare thing so I ignored it and focused back on his face. He was staring at me with narrowed eyes, clearly suspicious of me. He stared silently at me for a bit then finally spoke.

"Who are you?" He asked. I didn't know how to answer at first. I wasn't worried about whether I could trust them or not anymore. They clearly had no knowledge about the lab they broke into or about that man so it wasn't likely that they were involved with Bradley. I pushed my hood back so I would look a little less shady and took a deep breath once I decided on what to say.

"My name's Carter…and I need your help."

Author Note: Having Carter there changed Alphonse's battle with Barry. There was no "how do you know you're who you think you are" kind of thing.

If i had to give a close example to the mask that Carter uses it would be Allen Walker's from d gray man. I always loved the design of the mask.

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