I'm going to be nice to everybody, you see this? Yes, it is complete. why? Because I am posting two chapters at once! That's right! To finish off this story (Finally) I decided I would just post the two chapters together, now that i've cleaned them up. instead of that miserable wait I always give you I now annoyance the last two chapters of How Could This Happen to me!
Disclaimer: for this and the next chapter. Honestly? if you don't know that I don't own this by now, go check who the creator is. for everyone else, enjoy!
Roy glared at the man across from him. Annoyance seared through his veins. While Roy and his men had managed to kill or capture almost all of Howard's men and creations, one or two had escaped. On top of that, even though his hand was bandaged and he was in shock from the stones' eruption, he still looked rather serene and amused. Roy didn't care though, all he wanted was answers.
His thoughts flitted to the bandaged Elric. Edward, who looked even younger because of this person, still lay unconscious on the hospital bed. Loss of blood, damaged cartilage and a broken shoulder all lead to a rather weak boy, already weakened by the effects of becoming a chimera.
Roy mentally frowned as he looked over at Howard. He sat at a table with his hands folded in front of him and his obsidian gaze was sharp, eyeing him with a mischievous gleam.
"I'll get straight to the point. We recorded your statement, so the least you would get for those crimes would be life, however I am willing to make a deal."
Howard paused for a moment before he tilted his head. "Deal?"
"Thirty years, if you give us the information we need, how does that sound?"
"Hm… I'll be an old man by that point, but who wouldn't take a deal to get out sooner than that?" Howard's grin widened as his eyes sparkled in lunacy and glee.
Roy frowned but didn't comment.
"So what information is the great Roy Mustang in need of, dating advice?"
Roy's eyes sharpened before he let his hands drop. "A way to return my subordinate back to normal, without having to kill him."
"Ah… that… see, I'm not quite sure, I just discovered how to create those beautiful beings, I never took the time to figure out how to take them apart, as you can tell with my many previous failures."
Roy's frown deepened as his hand tightened until his knuckles shown white.
"However…"
Roy paused as his grip loosened. "Since your little one was created using only one baby kitten and the philosopher's stone, their maybe a way to pull them apart. Of course, since the main portion of his body is still himself, he'll survive, but in all likely hood, the kitten is already dead." The man stated with a shrug. "If you use a philosopher's stone, and maybe some ingredients, it might do the trick. Of course… the ingredients aren't exactly things kept in the open. You might have to look underground for a few, probably today, if you know what I mean..."
"Ingredients?"
Howard's smile widened before he leaned forward.
Roy paused, looked toward the doorway then back at the man. "I'm listening."
Edward blinked blearily before he opened his eyes to see a familiar white ceiling. He was sick of seeing familiar white ceilings.
He groaned and slowly tilted his head to look around the barren room. Sterile white walls and curtains glared back at him as a soft breeze drifted through a partially open window.
"Brother! You're awake!" Edward shifted his gaze towards the doorway to see Alphonse rush in. Al sat next to Edward practically bouncing in the seat with relief. "I was worried…" Al said as he twined his large fingers around each other. "You weren't waking up."
"Al…" Edward slowly tried to sit up. Pain flared up his side but he ignored it as he turned his head to fully face his little brother. "Good to see you're alright… how long was I out?"
"Brother…" Alphonse sighed, "About two days or so, I think the strain from the…" Al paused for a moment as Edward's ears twitched down in recognition. "Yeah, that's probably part of the problem…" Al trailed off weakly as Edward tilted his head to stare up at the ceiling. His tail swayed gently over the bedspread as his ears flitted back and forth.
"I see…" Edward shook his head and went to continue when the door slid open. Two sets of gazes shifted to the doorway to see a familiar man. The broad shouldered male had a smile that crinkled up his eye patch and a long sword lay clasped at his hip.
"Fuhrer Bradley?!" Alphonse yelped as Edward just stared in surprise.
"Oh! Sorry to intrude, just wanted to see how everything was going. Seems like you're doing better." The Fuhrer lifted a hand in a slight wave as he quickly closed the door behind him.
"What are you doing here?"
"Hm?" The Fuhrer paused before he opened his eyes to look at the two. "Actually, I came to say my apologies."
"Huh?" was the genius duo's intelligent response.
"It seems like my substitute secretary caused a lot of problems." The Fuhrer sighed as he walked over. "The problem with choosing personnel is that some aren't that reliable. She's the one who convinced me to have the one you recently brought in join the military and suspend the case on the chimera incidents around here. It truly is a pain when you don't know what's going on, so job well done. Also, my wonderful secretary is back so we won't have to worry." The Fuhrer finished with a cheery smile.
Edward blinked slowly and stared at the ruler of his country. "So… it's because of a bad secretary?" Edward trailed off as his eye twitched in annoyance.
"Sad to say, but yes." The Fuhrer shrugged before he tilted his head back toward the doorway. "Oh, one other thing, because of the state in which you were brought in, plus some unfortunate leakage from intel, I have a feeling that some of my officers might already know of your condition. I just want to warn you. Either find a way to fix the problem… or resign."
Edward froze as the Fuhrer waved before footsteps sounded down the hallway. "Well, that's my cue to leave. I wish you the best of luck getting your body back." He let a grin cross his face before he raced toward the open window and jumped out.
Edward and Alphonse just stared as The Fuhrer raced away.
"That was… odd…" Alphonse muttered before Edward slumped down to stare at the ceiling with a frown.
"Problem is… he's right. If the rest of the military found out that I was… this. Then I would be forced to resign, and we would have no way to look for the Philosophers stone…" Edward growled in annoyance as he curled his hands into fists. The sheet scrunched up under his thin fingers as he pursed his lips and his tail bristled.
What were they going to do? They couldn't save Nina… how… how would they be able to change him back to normal and so quickly? They didn't have time… How could he get his body back to normal, when he still hadn't gotten the rest of himself back in the past three years?
"Ed… are you alright?"
Edward's gaze shifted to Alphonse before he smiled softly. "Yeah, I'm fine, just thinking…"
Alphonse nodded before he slowly stood up. "Since your finally awake your probably hungry, I'll go get you something to eat, though it might take a little while. For some reason they put the cafeteria on the other side of the hospital..."
Edward chuckled softly as the door opened to reveal two harried officers, looking around avidly. "Have you seen?-"
"He just jumped out the window," the brothers said, pointing toward said place. The two groaned and raced through following the Furor out the window. Edward raised an eyebrow. Al chuckled and stood up. "Well, I'll get you something to eat, so why don't you rest?"
"Yeah, Thanks."
Alphonse gave a short nod and stepped out the door, leaving Edward in silence. He leaned back, staring up at the ceiling quietly as the soft breeze blew through the room.
Everything had happened so fast. He finally gets back to headquarters just to be thrust in another mess. Winry would have his head if… when she found out. At least this time I didn't damage my automail. Edward thought as he looked down at his arm, only to freeze.
He felt himself pale as he stared at the plating.
It was dented, probably from the fight.
He groaned and let his head fall onto the pillow in annoyance. He just couldn't win, no matter what he did…
"Is he asleep?"
Edward paused, ears twitching at the voice, it sounded very familiar… hadn't he heard it recently? He rolled onto his side and closed his eyes slightly to convey sleep.
"Hopefully, since we're obviously not getting our money from our boss we'll have to get it another way." Another voice stated as the door swung open.
"Tch, grubby rich men will pay for anything. It should fetch a good price."
Edward stiffened under the sheets before quickly relaxing. He slowly shifted, putting his hands together as the footsteps came closer.
Or, at least he tried.
Pain seared up his damaged shoulder and it was all he could do not to yowl in pain. The men must have caught it for, the next thing he knew the sheets were ripped off and something was being shoved over his mouth.
By god, Chloroform would be the death of him one of these days, either that or kidnapping. Next time he saw truth he was beating the shit out of him for putting him through this crap.
He gazed up through tired fluttering eyes to see the two men above him. They were two of the henchmen from before, the one holding the cloth to his mouth was Charles, the same man who had bound him and his brother when they were trapped in Howard's place.
He cursed, but there was nothing he could do as slowly darkness slipped over his eyes and he fell to sleep.
The next time he awoke was to an odd feeling of lightness. His eyes fluttered open, only to be met by darkness. He tried to reach his arm up, only to freeze.
"He's awake. How fitting."
Edward's gaze snapped up. He couldn't see a thing but he could hear. There was a sound of dripping and cries in the distance. Soft breaths and scrambling footsteps surrounded the place. A putrid smell filled the air, layered with many different conflicting scents.
He could even smell humans, not just regular but others. With his eyes bound his nose decided to enhance to the point where everything was just downright pungent. He could almost smell the emotions in the air. Fear, hunger, lust, all these horrible emotions it disgusted him and also scared him a little. It didn't take a genius to figure out where he was.
"Here are the things he came with. What is the price for each?"
Edward cursed. His automail was gone, disappeared. His shoulder was still wounded and thus mostly paralyzed. His eyes were blindfolded, that he could tell because of the texture around his face. On top of that he had a gag in his mouth.
By god! Did people really need to gag him so much?! How could he scream and rant at them if he was gagged!
He knew it was a stupidly rhetorical question, but he was frustrated and couldn't move. His ears were pushing into his skull sideways and his tail was tightly wrapped around him, probably for comfort.
"Oh! This is an authentic State Alchemist's watch! These can sell for a pretty penny. We also have an automail arm and leg. The arm seems dented, but the leg should still be good. It seem like pretty fine workmanship too. Only problem is it's specific for him so the price would be lowered. As for the boy his missing limbs would usually cause the price to be lowered, however this is the first time I've seen a child with such appendages."
Edward hissed as footsteps sounded next to him. He tilted his head up, only to withhold a yowl as someone grabbed his ears tugging.
"Ah! Their real! And what of his eyes?"
"Gold."
There was a whistle as fingers moved over his body. He kicked out, unable to do much else, only to screech as the person grabbed his tail and pulled sharply. "Interesting! Even with the missing limbs he could probably catch quite a bit. Plus he has a good build, a nice face and looks to be rather healthy." The person pulled away, his footsteps moving out of range. Edward curled inwards, shivering as his nerves tingled with pain.
"So?" That was probably Charles, at least that's what it sounded like.
"I can't say for certain, we'll have to let the buyers decide. You will have to stay. The auction should begin in an hour anyway. Why not take a look around at some of the shops?"
As he thought, he had ended up in the black market. Lady Luck just loved him didn't she? He could practically hear Truth giggling at his predicament even as sarcasm dripped from his thoughts. He was sick of it, sick of all the shit he had been going through lately.
Not only that, but he was tired. No matter what he did he screwed up. He hadn't managed to defend himself not just once but twice! He felt so weak. It was annoying. Yes, he understood that he was in the hospital the second time, but still! That just made it worse!
He felt hands and tried to kick out, growling fiercely as his tail twitched violently ears sharply pointed backwards. His hand moved, fingernails digging into skin. There was a cry before pain. Edward yowled before he curled inward trembling. He wasn't even sure where the pain came from anymore.
Once more he felt hands lift him up and they were moved, closer to the voices, closer to the crying and the smell of fear.
Why didn't they take his blindfold off? What was the point of it? He couldn't really run with one leg.
His questions weren't answered. Instead he heard chains clinking and screams. He shuddered in the man's grasp. Without his automail and with his changed body he felt incredibly light, so it would explain why it was so easy to be carried around.
After a few moments he was placed back down, this time onto cold stone floors. At least, that's what it felt like, he couldn't be sure. He could hear quiet sniffling near him and whispering voices. He tilted his head up, feeling his hair fall around his shoulders.
Guess they had also taken his hair out of its braid, damn. He heard the chink of metal against metal and then a click. Probably the closing and locking of one of those barred doors seen in jails. He let out a low groan and slowly tried to push himself up, wincing in pain as his damaged arm took his weight. His tail smoothly ran up and down his arm, as if to sooth it. He finally managed to get into a sitting position, but that was about it. He couldn't figure out where he was, what to do, or who was there.
"Kitty?"
Edward stiffened at the soft, scared voice sounded near him. He turned his head toward the voice, ears twitching. Now that he was sitting up he reached his hand up and removed the gag, he went to remove the blindfold only to click his tongue in distaste, barely holding in the loud rant that wanted to erupt from his lips. The damn thing was tied so tightly it would have to be cut off instead of being un-tied, no wonder the person from earlier hadn't taken it off.
"Who?" This one was an older voice, probably a woman if the soft alto was any indication.
Edward shuffled, trying to get some purchase on the floor, but failed miserably, having trouble just keeping himself up. After a moment he sighed and turned to the voice and spoke, "Edward, whose in here?"
"Edward… that's a nice name," the woman from earlier said, "What…" she trailed off and Edward frowned, if she asked what happened he would be rather annoyed. "Amelia, Amelia is my name. Do you know where you are?"
"I can guess," Edward replied, trying to keep his voice polite.
"I see. Than you know that… this is a slaver's auction…" Edward nodded as the woman trailed off again, chocking slightly. He had to give her some credit. Having the courage and ability to talk in this situation isn't exactly easy. Edward froze suddenly when a small hand landed on his leg.
He jerked but didn't move as that childish hand hesitantly touched his tail.
"Mary!" the whispered anxious voice called out from whom he presumed to be Amelia.
The girl, Mary, hesitated only to dart behind him when the door's opened again. There was a cry than someone was pushed into the room, slamming into the floor before the door closed once more. Edward felt his pulse race, not in fear, but in anger. How dare someone treat others like this! He felt the child tremble behind him. He could smell the fear, self-loathing and despair in the air and he had to admit, it hurt. Plus that dripping was still there, annoying him to no end.
"Are you okay?"
The question only received a weak groan in response. Edward closed his eyes, tired of straining to keep them open in the darkness. He had to think, to think of some way to get out of here. Problem was, he couldn't see, he didn't have his arm, he didn't have any chalk or even equipment besides his ragged hospital clothes and himself. He figured he was either in a building or underground, or both, he couldn't tell. He could guess he had probably been out for an hour or two, but honestly? He had no clue. He mentally cursed trying to keep himself calm.
He didn't even realize the soft giggling behind him until he felt something on his tail. He focused his senses, realizing that his tail was swishing lightly back and forth and the little girl, for that was what she sounded like, was giggling, sometimes grasping lightly for the tail. Edward shook his head as he smelled the sense of relief, this time from whom he suspected to be the mother.
How cruel…
Time passed as he tried to think up ways to escape, but nothing worked, he couldn't see a way out unless he either got his automail back, or some sort of miracle occurs…
Yeah, with his luck, he was screwed.
He wondered about Al, was he panicking? Figuring out where he was? What was his little brother doing? He was worried. He heard the cage door open before someone grabbed his hair. His head was tilted back harshly, neck exposed. He felt something being sketched on his throat, than pain. So much pain!
"Alright! It's time to begin!"