Sonya: *sing-song voice* Oh Ace? Where are you?
Greed: *mimicking Sonya* You're so dead... once we find you...
Kayla: Nah, she's too smart for that. She already offered her apologies for updating late, and also says she's not coming out until she gets a guarantee she won't get murdered.
Sonya: I don't feel like it.
Lela: Oh yeah, and she gave me this! *waves magical chapter in air*
Greed: Finally! Now we can do reviews!
Roy: Um, Furorensu-Chan, my stick is totally awesome and can save me from whatever you may do to me.
Lela: ...
Roy: HEY, IT WORKED AGAINST FULLMETAL!
*note: Edo was actually "sick" that day due to Kayla going all ninja on him in the bubble bath with melted chocolate... and licking it off slowly...*
Lela: And yes, CSI Aphrodite, she's not asleep anymore, but, yeah, she's currently terrified for her life, so I don't think she's all too eager to come out yet.
Sonya: Double yay for love! I get confetti and badassery!
Greed: I'M GONNA KILL YOU, MUSTANG! *barely restrained by Sonya*
Roy: Oh shit. *runs away*
Sonya: *releases Greed* Hah! See, Lela, I do rock! Neoko-chan loves my line, which is one of Ace's favorites too, where I threaten Mustang. Too bad it'll all be in vain...
Lela: NO SPOILERS! *whacks on head*
Kayla: I rock! Guitar Hero told me so!
Lela: Hey, do you think Ace'll come out for cookies?
Sonya: How the hell should I know? I'm not her keeper.
Lela: No, but you're failing at the job you're supposed to be doing.
Sonya: Meh, Greed won't kill him.
Kayla: Can I has a cookie?
Sonya: Sure, I like Randomness, you may be part of the insane group robbing Wal-mart and stealing the boob guy's stolen Chez-whiz and whipped cream. You probably won't get mentioned in here though, Luna.
Lela: *stares at Ice Bird Alchemist's review, eyes huge, and suffers massive nosebleed*
Sonya: If you don't want the hidey-hole crap, can I have it?
Kayla: Ace would also like to thank you because you were the one who motivated her to put this up. We salute you. *salutes with dumb look on face*
Sonya: Ace5980 does not own FullMetal Alchemist.
Lela: *runs off with nosebleed*
Kayla: SQUIRREL! *runs off chasing squirrel*
Sonya: I guess I better go stop Greed. *stops off after the two*
4: Justice Without Due Process
Even though Sonya and Knowledge took separate cars, both of the rides were quiet and uneventful. The fact Knowledge knew everything meant any casual conversation with the weakly-disguised angel was quickly resolved. On the other hand, Sonya's tight focus and obvious disconnect from her immediate surroundings effectively ended any attempts to engage her before they even began. For her, the prospect of ending this five year nightmare was enough to sober her to reality. For him, the burden of knowledge merely had some side effects such as this and he was well-used to it by now.
When they arrived at their destination, a dilapidated factory gate several miles outside Central, the two angels conversed quietly to the side. Sonya seemed agitated, gesturing wildly, but Knowledge held firm. Startling the others, Sonya's large bat wings unfolded, and she flapped erratically over the spiked gate, landing in a crouch and stalking away. "Change of plans," the male angel explained to the dumb-struck humans, "Justice is going to be scouting ahead of us, independent of our efforts."
"What did you tell her?" Roy demanded, poignantly remembering her explicit threat to ensure her authority. Sonya wouldn't just go back on something like that, he was certain.
Knowledge looked away shamefully. "I told her that they'd created an angel... and were about to try again," he muttered quietly. He did not tell them the other part of what he'd revealed to the other angel, the part about these mortals knowing how to kill angels. There was only two ways to go about the deed, and they knew the easier one. To forever kill an angel, all you had to do was... He shook he his, forcing himself away from the thought. Everything would be find. It had to be.
"There's been a perimeter breach. One female, a bat chimera."
"It looks like Justice decided to skip all the due process this time around. No matter. Proceedings will still go ahead as planned, but as a precaution, release the mutts. They'll prove themselves both ample distraction and ample sport to their fellow hunter, wouldn't you agree?"
An eerie howl went up along the party, causing the humans to freeze and the angel to propel himself into the sky and manifest himself a brilliant golden bow with gleaming silver arrow already nocked. The tension in the air was suffocating as they waited for another howl to sound, which it did. "What the hell?" Jean whispered nervously, his hand fisted on the holster of his gun so tightly his knuckles turned white.
"Chimeras," Roy spat in distaste, recognizing the sound, poised to snap.
"Lovely," Alex murmured, scanning their surroundings anxiously as Riza cocked her gun loudly beside him. A cluster of silver arrows, however, proved to be the first weapons discharged, burying themselves in several approaching animals the archer had seen coming long before the others had. Riza studied the shots with an approving eye; she would have been hard-pressed to match any one of them herself, even with a scope.
"Keep moving," Knowledge said dully. "I've got everyone covered." Slowly, the humans advanced, their approach occasionally heralded by a silver arrow or two arching ahead of them. A light drizzle picked up, forcing Roy to hide his gloves in his pocket and Knowledge's aim to go from impossibly accurate to extremely accurate. The angel's wings darkened slightly, but since the feathers weren't deteriorating, he remained an airborne threat. Catching the Flame's eye, he yanked out a pair of feathers and murmured, "Rub it on your ignition gloves, the oils'll keep them dry."
Roy had no sooner done that when a small group of wolves materialized before them. The archer hurriedly shot both of the browns but left the dull gray one. The wolf may have been too far away to properly see its eyes, but somehow, the alchemist knew they would be yellow, like a predator. "Kayla!" he called to it, and the creature froze, staring at him. Embodied, he called again. "Kayla!"
The first time the name was called, Specimen 17 froze, shaking off her current obedience. She knew that voice. It wasn't Edward, whoever he was, but it was someone important. The drugs in her system made it hard to concentrate, but she managed to extract a snippet of memory. This man, his name was Colonel Roy Mustang, was good. She trotted over dazedly, a little hopeful wag in her tail.
"This is what Fullmetal spent so long looking for?" Jean blurted, seeing the dirty gray fur and glazed yellow eyes.
"She's been drugged up to her gills to keep her here, Havoc," Roy said, running a bare hand gently through her fur. "It's a miracle she even remembered I wasn't an enemy."
"Roy have gold metal?" she asked childishly, staring up at him.
It took him a moment to figure out what she was talking about. "Sorry, Kayla," he murmured dejectedly, "I don't know where Edwar- Fullmetal is."
Her tail drooped. "No Edward?"
Knowledge landed then in a flurry of bedraggled damp feathers. "Not exactly. You can find Edward, Kayla. You're the only one who can."
The wolf chimera and the angel looked at each other for a long moment before she dipped her head, inhaled the scent of the fabric, and bounded off, stopping at the top of the hill and patiently waiting for them to follow. Shrugging, Roy started after her and the rest fell in behind him, Knowledge using his great white white wings to propel himself back into the air. Nothing else challenged them, but Knowledge didn't exactly tell them he'd come here last night to take potshots at any and all chimeras he could, nor of the epic fight Sonya'd had with a pack of chimeras with rotting wings barely strong enough to lift their misshaped bodies off the ground.
Ed: *crawls over* Are they gone?
Envy: *in similar condition* I think so.
Ed: They tortured us.
Envy: And all we did was go looking for Narnia.
Ed: Reviews will be met with, uh...
Envy: This lion pelt I found there.
Ed: Found?
Envy: It's a long story.
Ed: Okay then. Let's just go find a nice hiding place then, shall we?
Envy: Yes, let's.
*a few moments later*
Kayla: OMFG, WHERE'S EDWARD?
Lela: WHERE'S ENVY? You know, other than his normal murdering people thing, but normally he leaves a note!
Kayla: I HAVE TO FIND HIM! *runs off*
Lela: *pouting* I was gonna make him my plushee...