"Yet another State Alchemist...God is putting them in my path for me," Scar said and got ready.
"Not backing down, eh?" Armstrong asked and then threw up scraps of rock. "THEN ALLOW ME
TO SHOW YOU THE ARM OF ALCHEMY PASSED DOWN THROUGH THE ARMSTRONG FAMILY LINE FOR GENERATIONS!"
"Are you okay?" Aunt Riza asked as she helped me and Ed up. It took a while before I could answer. My eyesight was blurry and I felt weak as hell. It took ounces of energy to just do a simple nod. Let alone speak. With one glance at Aunt Riza, I knew she was pissed. I sweat dropped. What can I do? I could speak to show her I was okay, for starters.
I nodded curtly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Where's the Colonel?" I asked. Aunt Riza shook her head, but I saw a small smile play on her lips.
"He's still sulking because I called him useless," she replied. Her smile faded as she took in my appearance. "What happened to you? You could usually just get away with a few cuts. You're in the worst condition I've seen you in." She got out some bandages and wrapped my head in it. I guess when we fell off of the staircase, I got a concussion. But on top of that, I hit my back pretty hard when Scar threw me into the wall. Wait. There's something missing. I'm missing something...But what?
I tried to lift my left arm, but all I was met with was screaming pain coming from my left. "Ow! Crap!" I yelled and then put my good hand on my left arm. "What the hell is that?" I tried to lift my arm again, but it wouldn't move and all I got in return was more screaming pain. I wasn't able to move my arm. Damn. Scar must have caused a lot of damage. I looked towards my right and I found Havoc helping Ed up. I didn't realize it as much before, but where his right arm was, was...well, nothing. What the hell happened back there!
"Who's that?" Ed asked, referring to Scar.
Before Havoc could answer, I answered for him. "Scar. He's the one who murdered Nina and Tucker." A look of devastation crossed Ed's face, but it was soon exchanged with anger as he stared at Scar. Havoc rose an eyebrow.
"Who told you?" Havoc asked. I shook my head.
"I dropped in on Mustang, Armstrong, Maes, and Aunt Riza's conversation. I didn't mean to, but I kind of just heard. That's why I was able to go and find Ed and Al before Scar got to them," I replied. Before I could finish my story, a loud alchemic bang was heard and I snapped my head in the direction of it. My eyes widened in horror as I saw Armstrong punch the floor and create spikes out of the street. On top of that, I saw damage on buildings caused by his 'spears of wisdom' as he calls it.
"Major watch what you're doing! We don't want to destroy the whole city do we!" Havoc yelled out in horror, seeing the damage Armstrong did.
"What do you mean?" Armstrong proclaimed. I sweat dropped. "DESTRUCTION AND CREATION ARE TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN! YOU MUST DESTROY TO CREATE! THAT IS THE LAW OF THE UNIVERSE!"
He struck a pose, and all I saw were sparkles and Armstrong's naked chest. I fell over. "Does he have to strip?" Aunt Riza asked.
"Am I loosing too much blood, or am I seeing sparkles...?" I asked feeling woozy.
"I'm not surprised. He's clearly insane..." Havoc muttered.
Armstrong looked down. I recovered from my hopeless state, but I knew that look so well. Oh, so well. Armstrong may be insane, but when he has a hunch. No. When he has a fact, he could overpower anything. And that look is displaying on his face right now. "As a fellow Alchemist, one would understand...Isn't that right, Scar?"
"An Alchemist...You mean he's an Alchemist too?" Mustang exclaimed, recovered from his sulking. Ed nodded.
"I knew it," Ed said and then scanned Scar's movements. "There are three major stages of transmutation. Construction, Deconstruction, and Reconstruction."
"That means he must stop at the second stage...Deconstruction!" Mustang said. I nodded. I figured as much. There is no possible way he could destroy things with such ease, such finesse.
"If he's an alchemist...He's defying this 'God' of his by using Alchemy he so clearly despises," I said. Mustang nodded.
"Yes...But why is he only going after those with military certification?" Mustang asked. I shrugged. Hell if I know. For all that I know, I'm probably hallucinating over blood loss.
Armstrong threw punches, easing Scar back towards a wall. Scar managed to dodge them, but only barely. Even Scar can't beat Armstrong. Armstrong pushed him into a corner, a great place to kill him once and for all. "I've got you cornered Scar!" He announced as he swung at him.
"There!" Scar said and pushed his right hand towards Armstrong's stomach. My eyes widened. Will he make it in time? Just in the knick of time, Armstrong pulled back. Scar stood in confusion and I smelt the gunpowder at Aunt Riza's hands. Before Scar could react, Aunt Riza shot at him. The first few shots missed, but I have faith in Aunt Riza. The last shot rung in my ears as it hit Scar, breaking his sunglasses. My eyes widened in horror. I have to warn them...I have to warn them... I HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING!
"He's fast..." Aunt Riza mumbled.
"Did you get him?" Mustang asked anxiously.
"I only grazed him," she replied.
"GUYS-! HE'S-" Before I could finish my sentence, everyone's eyes widened.
"Red eyes and brown skin...That means he's..." Armstrong trailed off.
"Of course! He's Ishbalan!" Mustang said.
Scar stood injured and bleeding. I smirked as I looked all around. He was surrounded. I chuckled. I'm not malicious or anything, but I'm quite enjoying his misery. I guess after someone tries to kill you, you'd feel this way about them. He was at many disadvantages. He was surrounded for one thing. He wouldn't be able to run away. He was also outnumbered. I don't care how strong he is, or if Mustang can't use fire. He wouldn't be able to face off this many people. And three, he was injured. If he somehow managed to escape, I'd just sniff him out from the blood he's loosing. He can't escape. I smirked as I began to stand up, intending to tell him of all his disadvantages.
"Seiren," a voice hissed. "Do not move unless told to. Do not speak unless spoken too. Do not leave unless given permission." I stood in shock as all the orders were piled up on me. If those three words were said, than I'll have to obey. "That's an order."
I fell to my knees as the words rung in my ears. Those three simple words are my own demise. My weakness. I turned to the voice to find Aunt Riza staring at me intensely. I looked down out of defeat. I had to obey. And she's the only one I will allow to say those words to me. My eye twitched as the words left my mouth.
"Yes, ma'am."
From the corner of my eye I saw Scar place his hand on the ground. Red sparks emerged from the ground, and engulfed an entire portion of the ground. The pieces of stone started to crumble, and began to fall at his feet. A dust cloud emerged from the scene, shadowing Scar from view. I strained my eyes to see what was happening. Scar fell along with the debris of pavement, encasing him in complete camouflage. I cursed under my breath. He got away.
"Don't go after him, Havoc," Mustang said.
"Shoot. And I was just about to jump in there too," Havoc said sarcastically and rolled his eyes.
Mustang turned to Armstrong. "I'm sorry. You gave us enough time to surround him and…"
"No, no," Armstrong said. "It was all I could do to not get killed, much less give you time…"
A scent reached my nose, and I rose an eyebrow. Maes…?
"Oh! Is it over?" Maes asked, popping out of nowhere.
"Lieutenant Colonel Hughes! Where have you been this whole time?" Armstrong asked.
"I thought it'd be best to lay low…" Maes said throwing up a thumbs up. It took all it had in me to not burst out laughing. Leave it to Hughes to cheer me up after what happened.
Mustang grew an anger mark. "You didn't think about maybe backing us up!"
"Of course not! A person like me shouldn't get dragged into a freak show with you pack of pseudo-humans! It's bad for my health!" Maes yelled and then shouted some orders to scan the area for any whereabouts of Scar.
"ALPHONSE!" Ed shouted. I snapped my head in the direction of the shouting.
I saw Ed running towards Al's destroyed body. I panicked. What happened to him! I only remember vaguely of Scar hitting him, but that's it. I didn't realize that he got destroyed! Something put their hand on my shoulder and I turned around to find Aunt Riza with a small smile. She motioned towards the Elrics. A small gesture, but I knew what it meant. 'do what you need to do.' I half smiled in thanks as I ran up to them, trying to see what was wrong.
"Alphonse!" I said, kneeling beside his ruined armor. "Are you okay?"
"Edward…" it was then when Al's fist was swung over my head, and hit Ed square in the cheek. "YOU IDIOT!" I stared in shock over what just happened. Alphonse just punched Ed straight in the face. "Why didn't you run when I told you to!" he yelled.
"No way! I'm not just going to run away and leave you behind!" Ed yelled back.
"THAT'S EXACTLY WHY YOU'RE AN IDIOT!" Al shouted and punched Ed again.
"What do you keep punching me for? If I'd run away you might have been killed you know!" Ed yelled.
"And maybe I wouldn't have been! When you could live, and make the decision to die is something an idiot does!" Al shouted.
At that comment I started to bubble up in anger. "He was just trying to protect you, you know! That's what family does!" I shouted.
"YOU'RE AN IDIOT TOO!" Al shouted and grabbed me by my collar. I stared at him in shock. "Sacrificing yourself for someone else's sake isn't the answer! If you've been killed protecting either one of us, I'd never forgive you!" he pulled me in closer, his grip tightening on my shirt. "No family? No friends? What about Mustang and Lieutenant Hawkeye! You consider them family don't you? And what about us? Do you really think that we don't care about you? We're your friends! You're not alone, Seiren! SO STOP ACTING LIKE IT!" Just then, his arm fell off and broke on the floor. I slumped down to the ground, stunned of what he just said. "Oh great! Now my arm's fallen off too! This is just WONDERFUL day!"
Despite of what just happened, I found myself giggling. Ed looked down too, and started chuckling. "We're a real mess aren't we? How uncool…." Ed said softly.
I smiled. "Tell me about it. You're missing a right arm, Al's destroyed, and I'm beat up like hell…" I said.
"But we're alive," Al said, his voice quivering. I looked up at him. Even if I can't see it, I can tell that Al's crying. Crying out of relief that we're still alive. "Yeah…" I agreed.
"We're alive."
XoXo… The Next Day …XoXo
I lay in my hospital bed, staring at the ceiling. UGH. I'm bored as crap, and I can't talk to anyone. It's not that I'm antisocial. Well, I'm not social, but I literally CAN'T talk to people. Aunt Riza's command is still on me and I can't talk to anyone unless they talk to me first. Damn it. I'm bored as hell! I sat up and saw my glass of water on the bedside table. I tried to reach for it with my left hand, but ended up with nothing. I looked down to find my left arm wrapped in bandages and in a sling.
I sighed. Oh yeah. Yesterday, Scar had used his alchemy on my arm, leaving it unusable. I still have no idea what happened to it. My arm wasn't the only thing that was damaged. A white cloth wrapped around my head, keeping me from bleeding. I must have gotten a concussion. Not only that, but the only thing covering my chest was white bandages. All I had on was the bandages, and some black pants. Normally I'd complain. But I'm not too worried. It's wrapped pretty thickly and it kind of serves as a sleeveless shirt. All around my torso was the white bandaging, covering my wound on my back. In a few days, it'll heal. It's only a small gash.
20.) Vampires heal faster than humans and can recover from wounds quickly.
The doors opened, and a scent reached my nose. Normally, I'd be annoyed. But in the current state I'm in, I'm actually happy to have her here. Her boots clicked on the tiled floor, and her curly blond hair bounced on her shoulder. I sat up as I shot her a look.
"I see that you're in lovely condition," she said.
I rolled my eyes. "About time you came. I had to basically scream at the doctors to not touch me and that I already have a doctor," I said bitterly. Her violet eyes gleamed in amusement as she sat down at my bedside. "So. What do you intend on doing, Auntie Amber?"
Auntie Amber placed her suitcase on my bed as she opened it up. Searching through it for something. "What did you do this time, Seiren? You're beat up more than usual. It's almost like before."
"Don't talk about it," I warned.
"Yes, yes. I understand how delicate that topic is for you," she said and then grabbed some antiseptic from her suitcase. "Let's have a look at your left arm for starters…"
I laid back down on the bed as I let her unwrap my arm. Usually, I wouldn't let her even lay a finger on me. But I had to admit. She was one hell of a doctor. And the only doctor I could actually entrust with my wounds. Since she's a vampire, she'll know how to treat me correctly. If any human had treated me, they'd freak out about my black cherry blood and say I have a disease. Besides…
I lifted my right hand to my left shoulder, feeling around. I flinched when I felt the two small bumps that indicated where Auntie Amber's fangs had bitten me. If anyone were to see this, they'd freak out. And then my cover will definitely be blown. I needed to be normal again. Not a…monster.
I winced as Auntie Amber hit my forearm. I glared at her. "Why'd you punch me?" I asked.
"Just as I thought. I only tapped you and you felt as if I had punched you." She lifted up my left arm and started examining it. "It's only natural that you'd feel that way after your entire left arm bones had shattered."
My eyes widened. "What?" I asked dazed. "My left arm bones….shattered?"
"Well, you can't move it can you?" she asked sarcastically. "Yes. Your entire left arm has shattered. That Scar man's alchemy had broken through your flesh and managed to shatter each and every bone in your left arm. The only thing that protected you from getting your entire left arm destroyed was your bow."
I rose an eyebrow. "Did Aunt Riza tell you all of this?" I asked. Auntie Amber nodded.
"Unfortunately, I couldn't go and get the last snippets of your bow…It seemed to shatter along with your bones." Auntie Amber put my arm back in its sling. "For the time being, you won't be able to move it or do anything with it. Scar had killed off the cells that made it possible for you, in some hope, grow back your bones."
My heart sank. "You mean my arm will be completely useless forever?" I asked.
"Well, I wouldn't say that," she said and then rummaged through her suit case again. "Scar hadn't killed your nerves, so maybe…Nevermind."
I sat up. "No, no. Go on. Go and say what you were about to say," I said hopefully. If there's any hope that I could have my arm back, I'll take it. I'm left handed when it comes to archery, so I'm screwed over if I can't do anything to get it back!
Auntie Amber shook her head. "I wouldn't recommend it, but…." she sighed. "But if you can somehow get automail surgery to get metal bones in place of your shattered ones, then connect your nerves, you won't have to amputate your arm."
"And it'll work fully functional?" I asked, eager to get any hope of not having my arm chopped off.
"Yes, it would. But the regulation of getting it checked and the surgery is very risky. By any chance the surgery fails, then you'll be killing a artery that is in your shoulder. If that's killed off, then you'll die," she said solemnly.
I stared at her in shock. If this somehow failed. I won't not only have to amputate my arm, but die in the process. If only I could go into this unafraid of what was going to happen. Will I die? Really? I sat paralyzed in fear. If this somehow fails…I will die. But I don't want to amputate it and get a full automail left arm! That's just out of the question. Even though that's the easier option, I'm not waiting two years to be able to use it again. I know I'll be able to get the correct calculations for my bones in a few days. I know I will! And if I survive the surgery, since I'm a vampire, I'll only have to wait a week for it to heal completely. The odds of me surviving the surgery are slim, but the time factor if I survive the surgery are in my favor.
"I'm going to get automail bones," I decided. "If I survive, it'll only take a week for me to recover from the surgery. Taking account the time I'll get the correct calculations for my bones, and making the metal replacements, it'll take about three days. The time recovering from the surgery will be about a week. And on top of that, I'll have to make my bow all over again…"
I did the math quickly in my head. Trying to get this to make sense somehow. I heard that automail mechanics can give you temporary replacements until they have everything ready, so if I make do with those ones, I'll save some more time. Three days to get my calculations for my bones. The mechanics can't do anything if they don't have the numbers. That'll take three days to get the tendons right, my bone size and structure, and the length of my bones itself is in the question. So, three days.
Three days, plus another three days to repair/create a new bow.
The materials will be a bit tricky to get, but if I could get someone to get me wood it'll be fine. The main problem isn't assembling it, but actually getting the materials finished. I'll have to cut some wood into the right size, sand it to make it curve, get a metal rod so that the bow won't break as easily. Damn! Getting the metal rod will be the hardest. If I could position it correctly, I could cut a hole in the wood and slide the rod into it and then secure it with more wood….
I shook my head. I can get my plan in action later. Right now, I have to get patched up. I looked up at Auntie Amber who had already got her needle and thread. I paled.
"Do I need stitches?" I asked.
Auntie Amber nodded. "Yes. You need to heal faster than normal, correct? Get stitches and the wounds will close easier." and with that, a silent agreement was made between us.
I'm getting stitches in my back, and leaving my arm wound open.
"The doctors already stitched up my head wound. That and a bruise was there. Nothing serious," I said, reassuring Auntie Amber. She nodded.
"Okay then, let's unwrap your bandages."
Just then, a powerful scent reached my nose. I coughed, and glared at the door. Why is this happening? I drank my own blood, so why are Fits appearing? I took a deep breath in. It could only be one person. Edward Elric.
"Hey, Cat Ears!" he greeted as he entered the room. I rolled my eyes.
"Is my name REALLY that hard to say? Sei. Ren. Seiren," I stated as he stood at the foot of my bed.
"But it won't be the same if I call you that," Ed teased. I sneered as I tried to cross my arms over my chest. I winced in pain as I clutched my left arm. Ed's eyes softened as he stared at me. I couldn't help but glare.
"Take a picture. It'll last longer," I said bitterly. Ed returned my glare, but I ended up sighing. "I didn't mean to sound like that. I just found out something that I rather…dislike."
Ed nodded. "Okay. Well, what's the deal with you?" he asked.
Auntie Amber answered for me. "She has a small concussion. Nothing to worry about. The gash on her back is minor, and for the wound to heal quicker, she'll get stitches. Her arm is the real matter here," Amber said as she adjusted her glasses. "All of the bones in her left arm had shattered. Unfortunately the cells that could allow her to grow back her bones have died. Fortunately, her nerves haven't died so she could get automail bones."
"Ms. Amber? Are you her doctor?" Ed asked. Auntie Amber smiled.
"Why yes, I am," she said and then cleared her throat. "As I was saying, she decided to get automail bones."
Ed rose his eyebrows. He darted his eyes at me, but then trained them on Auntie Amber again. "Automail bones? What are you talking about?"
"Automail bones work like automail limbs. They replace what has been lost, and function as the real thing," she explained. "Automail bones require less time to recover from than automail limbs do because there is already a part of the original body. The down side is that automail bone surgery is more fatal than typical automail surgery."
"What do you mean by 'more fatal'?" Ed asked, glancing at me. I stared at him in confusion. Why does he keep looking at me?
"What I mean, is that if the surgery fails, it will result in killing off and artery in her shoulder. The artery pumps blood throughout that part of the body. And it also is connected to the heart. When the artery dies, so will the heart," Auntie Amber said grimly. "And will result in Seiren's death."
Ed then whirled around to look me straight in the eye. It was an unfair fight. When my hazel eyes met his golden ones, they were locked in a gaze until eh looked away. His golden eyes seemed to mesmerize me, sinking me deeper and deeper into them. It made me unable to look away.
"And why are you choosing to do this when you can die?" Ed asked intensely.
My eye twitched. "If I don't do it, then my arm will be amputated," I stated.
"If you amputate it, then get regular automail, the surgery won't be as fatal," Ed reminded me.
I narrowed my eyes. "I know that perfectly well, Fullmetal," I said and then gripped my white sheet. "But if I do get automail, then it would take two years for me to recover. I don't have that kind of time."
Ed shook his head as he stared at me, but directed his question at Auntie Amber. "How long is the rehabilitation from automail bone surgery?" Ed asked Auntie Amber, keeping his eyes locked on mine.
"For an average person, two months," Auntie Amber replied. "But Seiren is of no means normal."
Ed looked away for a second, lifting the trance he sent me in. I sighed as I stared at my fist. "Anything but normal," I remarked quietly.
"What?" Ed asked.
Auntie Amber shrugged. "Seiren isn't like a typical human being," she started.
I threw my sight towards the woman to stare at her. What is she doing? Is she going to blow our cover? If she does this now, we'll have to kill Edward. And then his blood will be splattered n the walls, and I'll snap. What is she doing?
"Not like…" Ed trailed off, not following.
"She has higher senses, as you've probably heard. But her higher senses come from a disease she inherited from her father," Auntie Amber explained. "It's not like a disease, but rather like a gift. The disease makes healing wounds and stuff like that quicker, making her blood have a black tinge to it. That explains the black cherry colored blood you saw coming from her."
Ed nodded, following her lie. I slumped my shoulders. As much as an awesome lie this is, Edward and Alphonse are the two people I didn't want to lie to. I guess I'm a hypocrite, lying about being human and my past. But for the most part, I don't want to lie to them. They're…They're….
"We're you're friends Seiren! You're not alone, Seiren! SO STOP ACTING LIKE IT!"
I half smiled. Do they really consider me a friend? That's a first. I never had friends. Not like that. I could be killed, sure they'll cry, but they wouldn't be mad at me because I died protecting someone. They said that they wouldn't forgive me if I died protecting them. That's what gets me. I don't understand that. They're going to live, so why be mad at the person who allowed you to survive?
Auntie Amber brought me out of my thoughts. "The trade off for higher senses and her wounds healing faster is that she'd cough up blood every now and then. It's nothing to worry about much," Auntie Amber said, covering for my coughing up blood thing if it's ever seen.
Ed nodded. "Okay, I get it." He turned to me, but I refused to look up at him. The guilt would eat at me tonight, that's for sure. "So how long will the recovery be since she could heal faster than normal?" Ed asked.
"A week," Auntie Amber replied. "But the thing is, she has to do a few things first."
Ed rose an eyebrow. "What does she need to do?"
I looked up, finally meeting his eyes. This time I refused to go under his golden trance. "I need to get the calculations for my bones and tendons before I could get automail bones. And if you hadn't noticed, my bow's shattered so I need to make another one."
"How long will that take?" Ed asked.
"A week," I said shortly. Ed's jaw dropped. "Three days to get the calculations and measurements of my missing left arm bones and tendons. Three more days for creating the bow. That makes six days, and on the seventh I'll get the surgery. After that, it's a week of recovering from the surgery," I said, making sure I went slowly so that it would register in his brain that it will take two weeks for this whole thing to be done.
He stared at me in shock before he stuffed his remaining hand in his pocket, looking away stubbornly. "You're lucky that you're a girl. Otherwise, I'd hit you right now…" he muttered.
I jumped, and my eye twitched. "H-Huh?" I asked, panicked. "Why!"
"Because, I was intending to get back to Central as quick as I could. To get more research…" Ed said, cutting himself short before he revealed any information. I rose an eyebrow, and then I saw why he stopped himself. Auntie Amber was sitting at my side. I nodded. So he wants to keep what he's researching secret.
"I see," I said.
"I'll explain later."
I looked up upon hearing that. I heard wrong. Yeah, I definitely heard wrong. I ended up seeing Ed's golden gaze and was conflicted. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. Damn. I know what he's trying to say. By explaining later, he means he's going to finally tell me what he's researching. I looked down again.
That meant he trusted me. While I still don't trust him with my secrets. I feel horrible.
I gave a quick nod to show that I know what he means. Ed nodded back. "Okay. Well, I think I have to solution to your dilemma," Ed said mysteriously. "After all, I need to get a new arm if I'm going to put Al's armor back to normal."'
I noticed how he said 'Al's armor' instead of 'Al.' So that must be kept secret as well. I figured that out much. But what did he mean by 'the solution?' I cocked my head to the side. "Huh?" I asked, confused.
Ed smirked, sending my stomach flipping over. I knew that look. He had something planned. But what? Ed's smirk turned into a grin, and I couldn't help but slump my shoulders.
"I'm taking you to meet my automail mechanic."
BN: End of chapter. Sorry I took so long! Oh yeah, I forgot to mention this. I'm following the manga/brotherhood. So, if there was any confusion on that, there you go.
Oh yeah! THANKSGIVING BREAK! XD So maybe, you'll get more chapters!
UNTIL NEXT CHAP! =:D