Al glared at Kimbley as the other alchemist strode towards him looking a little too pleased and overconfident. And it burned him to see the two homunculi dragging Elysia and Richard around like rag dolls. He allowed himself a quick glance to see that they were alright. Physically they looked healthy but exhausted. As to their mental health after this ordeal… that would be a different story.
His eyes met Elysia's and she recognized him immediately. Her mouth dropped open then shut immediately and her eyes began darting around as if she were waiting for Edward to jump out of wherever he was hiding. But she quickly turned her eyes back to Al and they conveyed her concern and fear; both for her brother-in-law and her husband. Al hated to disappoint her and didn't want her to think the worse but she'd see Edward soon enough he promised silently. He didn't know what to expect from Richard. But the way he looked at Al was almost the same way Elysia looked: disappointed. Al had the distinct feeling Richard knew he wasn't Edward too. And soon Kimbley would be close enough to realize he was not the Fullmetal Alchemist.
He brought his attention back to the situation before him and reined in his temper. Elysia and Richard looked well enough to run when Lin and Havoc would come in to get them. He looked around, keeping track of everyone around him. The firing squad stepped out of their rigid line and looked between Kimbley and their General, who seemed preoccupied with glaring angrily at Kimbley and looking up anxiously at the hill.
"You're not an easy one to kill, Fullmetal," Kimbley said with a smirk.
"I should hope not," Al said then bit his tongue, wishing he hadn't said anything at all. It wasn't that long ago Kimbley had fought Edward and he didn't sound anything like his brother. He tried not to look nervous. He thought maybe Kimbley hadn't noticed. He was wrong.
Kimbley was only ten feet away now. He stopped and peered closely at Al looking slightly confused. He quickly composed himself and smirked as he moved forward stepping through the middle of the loose line of Drachmans. They parted and allowed him through, leaving a wide berth of space between themselves and the crazy alchemist.
"Well, isn't this a surprise? Fullmetal is outsourcing his dirty work it seems. Either he's dead or he's around here somewhere." Kimbley said stopping within several feet of Al.
The Drachman General looked at Kimbley sharply then at Al, confusion written all over his face.
"Wouldn't you like to know," Al said petulantly and noticed the General's attention pulled back to the hill.
"Well, if he's here let's see if we can bring him out of hiding," Kimbley said pulling Richard in front of him. "Let's see how long it takes to snap your son's neck, Fullmetal!" He called out loudly and wrapped his hand around Richard's neck and began to squeeze.
"No!" Al yelled and moved forward. As he did so he heard a slight hiss in the air then felt something hot and painful scrape the side of his head. He cried out in pain and ducked down. He reached up feeling his warm sticky blood seeping through his hair. He realized he'd just been shot at and to confirm he felt something zip through the air right by his hand. He ducked even lower so he wasn't an easy target using Kimbley and the Drachman guards still in front of him as a shield. As he did so he heard Kimbley roar in anger. He looked up to see the Crimson Alchemist let Richard go. He fell to the ground and scrambled towards Al, gasping for air. Then Kimbley turned his fury upon the Drachman General.
"I told you he's mine and so is his stand in!" Kimbley yelled and clapped his hands together.
A flare of energy shot out towards the General, engulfing the Drachmans to Kimbley's left in a fiery explosion that incinerated everyone and everything in its path. Al fell backwards from the powerful explosion and barely created a barrier to his right in time to protect Richard and himself from the intense heat. But he was still momentarily blinded by the bright flare.
Time stood still as everyone - too stunned to move from fear and shock - watched as the flames died down snapping and crackling, debris from the jeeps falling around them. Kimbley looked on with a wild look in his eyes enjoying the destruction he had just caused. Then he turned his attention to Al.
As Al prepared to face Kimbley the Drachmans - who were left - recovered their senses from the sudden blast and began to fire at him. He staggered back taking two shots in the chest. As the wounds began to heal Kimbley put his hands together and got rid of the Drachmans the way he'd gotten rid of the others. Al created a new barrier to his left to protect himself and his nephew again from the other explosion.
Al, not blinded this time made a grab for Richard. Just as he was about to reach his nephew, Kimbley got to him first and dragged the boy by the leg out of Al's reach.
Suddenly Kimbley cried out in pain losing his grip on Richard who was finally able to scramble away. Al grabbed him by the arm and pushed his nephew behind him as Kimbley turned to face his attacker.
Havoc saw the sun reflecting off the scope before he realized Al had already been shot at. Instinctively he aimed and fired at the spot knowing the sniper was well out of range. Then everything went to hell when the Drachmans and their jeeps went up in flames. He ducked back feeling the heat of the explosion glad it was contained within a few yards and wouldn't set off the boxes of ammunition he was using for cover.
When he peeked out again a minute later there was another explosion and he ducked back again. As the flames of the second explosion died down he watched in shock as Russell, who had been holding onto Elysia, let her go and ran back inside the bunker slamming the doors shut behind him.
Kimbley was distracted with Al and Havoc took the opportunity to break cover and ran towards Elysia. As he ran, avoiding the flames of the first explosion he heard the faint zing of bullets in the air and the ground around his feet exploding. The sniper was aiming at him. He paused to fire back uselessly and when he looked back at Elysia he paused, too stunned to move as he watched her hit Kimbley over the head with something.
Damn it! He thought. She's been with Ed too long! And he hustled after her to get her away before Kimbley turned his fury upon her as well.
Elysia was shocked she was still alive after being so close to those two explosions. When the first one went up she watched as Greed changed before her, a hard black shell covering his exposed skin. He didn't move but she did though it was hard to hide behind him while he still had hold of her arm. But it was enough to avoid most of the heat of the first and second blasts.
Then Greed let her go and disappeared. She looked around and didn't see him. She didn't care why so she turned around and saw Kimbley dragging Richard away. Then her motherly instinct took over and she didn't realize what she was doing until after she'd done it.
She had escaped death and now she was facing it again. She stood in front of Kimbley, holding tight to a lug wrench that had been thrown from one of the exploding trucks. She didn't remember picking it up. It was hot and burning her hands but all she had known at the time was to get Kimbley's filthy hands off her step son. Now she stood frozen, her fierce determination slipping away leaving her a mass of trembling uselessness. A wall appeared suddenly, blocking her from Kimbley, stretching far to her right and left. She relaxed slightly and looked around.
To her left she heard running footsteps. She turned to see someone in a black mask running towards her. She brought the wrench up, ready to swing. The person skidded to a stop before she swung and held up his hands.
"Elysia, it's me, Jean," he said ripping the ski mask off.
She dropped the wrench in relief but she was disappointed he wasn't Edward. "Where's Ed?" She couldn't help to ask.
"No time to explain, we have to go," Havoc said rushing forward and grabbing her by the arm.
As long as she was getting out that was fine by her. Questions could be asked later and Elysia went along willingly. Then the wall blew apart behind them and Havoc ran faster slipped around the end of the wall.
When Al saw Kimbley turn on Elysia he created the barrier to protect her having seen Havoc running her way. Just as he turned to hustle Richard away Lin came running up to him.
"Al, you alright?" Lin asked coming to a stop and helping Richard up.
"Yes, just get Richard out and I'll deal with the homunculi," and he turned quickly to face Kimbley watching from the corner of his eye Lin running off with Richard in tow. Then Elysia and Havoc appeared around the corner of his barrier and the four went running off back to the brush they had entered the valley from.
He expected Kimbley to attack him while he was distracted. But to his surprise the Crimson Alchemist was yelling angrily as he ran back to the bunker. Al went after him.
Kimbley blew the doors open and stumbled in. Then the doors reformed and Al put his hands out to stop himself before he ran face first into them. He clapped his hands together and placed them on the doors. The blue alchemical energy washed over them and they began to melt but then it stopped and they began to reform back into their regular shape.
Al cursed and tried again and again but each time it was the same thing. He punched the door out of frustration, glad he hit with his right knowing he could have broken his hand without the protection of the metal sleeve. But he was too angry to take comfort from the small favor. The doors were too thick to hear anything through them but he knew Kimbley was on the other side laughing at him and his futile attempts to get in. No matter what he tried Kimbley would be on the inside undoing it.
As Havoc ushered Elysia into the brush following after Lin he looked back and saw Al going after Kimbley towards the bunker. Then he looked towards the east and his heart stopped. Trucks jammed packed with more Drachmans were rumbling their way.
He looked back at Al who was still trying to get through the bunker doors.
"Jean," Lin said noticing Havoc wasn't following. "Let's go, Al will handle it."
"No," Havoc said shaking his head. "Something's wrong and he's running out of time. Take Elysia and Richard back to the truck. We'll be right behind you."
Before Lin could argue with him he ran back. He wouldn't leave Edward's little brother alone to face an army of Drachmans.
"Al!" He yelled running and pointing towards the Drachmans that were getting closer by the second. "You have to hurry, more Drachmans are coming!"
"I can't get through," Al yelled back angrily as he turned to face Havoc.
"Shit," Havoc hissed and came to a stop looking around, trying to think what they should do now. But standing out in the open as targets for Drachmans was not an option. "We have to go then," he concluded.
"But the homunculi…" Al began motioning towards the bunker.
"No time," Havoc cut off removing a grenade from his belt. "I'm going to blow those boxes of ammo," he added nodding towards the boxes he had used for cover earlier. He pulled the ring and chucked it towards the stacked boxes but it fell short. Al clapped his hands together quickly and hit the dirt. A ramp sprang up under the grenade and it rolled closer to the boxes then went off.
It wasn't much of an explosion until one of the boxes went off then another. It was a chain reaction that seemed to go on forever; a fiery mass of debris and heat falling all around them. There were more explosions that shook the ground. Al clapped his hands together again creating an even bigger barrier that contained the explosion on the Drachmans side.
"That should hold them back for a while," Havoc said tugging at Al's sleeve urgently.
Al looked back at the bunker. He couldn't get in and if Kimbley and Russell activated the army they were outnumbered.
"It's okay," Havoc reassured, knowing what Al was thinking. "We got Elysia and Richard, mission half accomplished. It's not wise to be here when we're outnumbered if the homunculi army moves out."
"I know," Al said through clenched teeth and reluctantly followed Havoc. "But what if they follow us?"
"We've already bitten off more than we can chew," Havoc said. "We'll go where we have some back up."