Ed looked outside again. He wanted to be sure Orange was gone. If she really had been an assassin once, there was no telling if she was still out there. Something warm and fuzzy against his leg made him jump, yelping.
"A little jumpy, aren't you, Fullmetal?" asked Mustang, picking up a cat with long white hair and a black splotch on the back. "It's only a cat."
"Sorry for being worried about the fact that there may be an assassin out there!" Edward spat.
"Terios! Here kitty, kitty, kitty!" Strawberry called. The cat jumped out of Mustang's arms and ran to Strawberry. "There. You stay with cousin, okay? Good kitty!" she cooed, plunking Terios in Falman's arms. She's tended to his leg, telling them that he was out of action for about a week or so while his leg healed. "I think she's gone. I mean, she just told you to keep your nose out her business is all. I don't think she'll kill you yet…"
"True, but still, you should come to head-quarters with us. For all we know, she'll come after you for us dragging you into this." Al told her.
"Oh. Well… Okay…"
Al went outside first, to make sure it was safe. When he said it was clear, Mustang and Ed came out, followed by Dark and Strawberry, who were supporting Falman. After Falman was seated in the car, there was a meow back at the front door. Terios sat there, looking sad and lost. "No kitty! You stay home, 'kay, Terios? Mommy'll be home in the morning. You stay home." Strawberry ordered. Tail between his legs, Terios went back to the house.
Upon reaching HQ, everyone got out of the car. Strawberry screamed, Dark gasped, and everyone else whipped around. Two of the strangers from earlier were standing there. One was a young woman in a long black trench coat and a pale blue shirt. She held a knife to Strawberry's throat. The other woman wore a long white coat, a mid-thigh white skirt, tall white boots, and had the details of her out-fit done in black. She held a gun to Dark's temple. "Well, it looks like Orange didn't warn you off enough! You shouldn't just talk so freely, 'cause we have ears and eyes all over the country. But now, if you try to snoop in our business, you're gonna have a stiff on your hands, huh?" sneered the black one.
"Colonel, don't worry about me!" Dark cried.
"Brave little drummer-boy, aren't you? Careful or you'll end up with some lead stuck in your brain." chuckled the white one, pressing the gun to his temple harder.
"Dark, Strawberry, don't worry! We'll find you!" Ed told them.
For a second, the two women faltered. "Was that…?" gasped the white one.
"That was the aura energy of the Spectrum Alchemist!" the black one nodded.
"So they're somewhere in this hell-hole. We'll have to come back. Damnit." growled the white one as they started to retreat again.
"'The Spectrum Alchemist?'" asked Al.
"I get it now. Those two were the Black and White Alchemists. I remember once, a long time ago, there was a group just like this one. They called themselves the Rainbow Alchemists. There were nine of them, and they were advised by a were-cat that was also an Alchemist. There was Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, White, Black, and the Spectrum Alchemist. They were advised by the were-cat boy, but the Spectrum Alchemist was their due leader." Falman grunted.
"There are only eight. They're missing their Spectrum Alchemist." Mustang nodded.
"And the one of them, White, said they're coming back. We'll have to be ready for them." Ed growled.
The head-quarters was put on full alert. Patrols were doubled. Ed and Al were to stay with Mustang and Riza. The Fuhrer was warned.
It was him who heard the clatter. But he dismissed it until he heard it again. "Hold on, I think I heard something." he hissed, taking the lead. Gun-shots sounded off about two halls away. Everyone broke into a run.
"Gaah!"
The young girl in green rolled off of Ed, jumping up when she was a good ten feet away. She wore a green hoodie that was several sizes too big for her. Her hood was up, but it didn't quite cover the large tiger-striped ears. It did, although, almost hide the long swishing tail.
"Uh… Which are you, the were-cat thingy, or the Green Alchemist?" Al asked hesitantly.
"Do I look like a were-cat? No? Didn't think so!" she exploded angrily.
"No, I'm the were-cat." someone said softly.
It was a young man with long white hair, pale skin, and a white jacket. On the back of the jacket was a black human trans-mutation circle. To Ed, he seemed familiar. Then it hit him.
"Mustang, you bragged to Strawberry about cases you worked on didn't you?" he asked, a smile touching his lips.
"Why would you ask me that? This is an inappropriate time, Fullmetal!"
"No it isn't. Terios told them what was going on. Terios is a white cat with long fur and a black circle on his back. Check out the albino!" he grinned.
"Green, take this and run." ordered Terios, tossing a prism on a golden chain to the young girl. "It will light up in the presence of the Spectrum Alchemist. Follow it's glow. The others have distracted the soldiers back there, and I'll keep these guys busy."
Green took off down the hall. Gun-shots rang even louder, and all of the lights went out. "Shit!" yelled Terios. They could hear a scrabbling, and realized that he'd turned into a cat.
"Quick, quick, quick! Find him, find him, find him! 'Fore someone shoots him or something!" a desperate cry rang in the silent halls.
"He didn't willingly become a cat. Did he?" asked Riza.
"Apparently not. I think his metamorphosis is flip-flopped. I think Terios is human by day, a cat by night. He can control what size of cat, but he needs light to be human." Ed nodded.
As someone rushed past, Al caught him. "Oi! Careful, you'll crush my wings!" whoever it was shouted.
"It's Blue." Mustang growled, snapping. His small flame lit up the hall enough for them to see the face of the Alchemist. Crimson eyes glared at them from beneath a mop of dark blue hair. "Do you have a credible alibi this time, Dark?" he smirked.
"Lemme go. You won't get anything outta me." the young man snarled.
"I'll just have to handle this one." Ed growled, stepping up to Dark. But as he did, Dark clapped his hands together and put them on his body. Al's arms, adjusted to hold Dark's bulky wings, were too wide apart to hold just Dark, and the soldier slipped free.
"Later!" he hollered, speeding down the hallway.
"Oh, no, you don't!" Mustang spat, snapping. A whip of flame darted down the hallway, and Dark howled in pain.
Her stone grew warm and then cold rapidly and repeatedly. One of the group was in trouble! She turned and started running down the hall, feeling her obsidian grow hotter. She was close! The volcanic glass was almost burning her skin when she turned down another hall. Being the darkest of the Rainbow Alchemists, she practically had night-vision, and could see the Fullmetal Alchemist, his brother, Colonel Flame, and two others. One was on the floor, and when she looked at him, her stone flared, burning her chest. It was Dark! They'd hurt Dark!
But she also felt a comforting presence… The presence of the Spectrum Alchemist! Only… It was radiating from someone beyond Dark… It was coming from the Fullmetal Alchemist! Edward Elric was the Spectrum Alchemist!