Ch. 3

Edward's team gathered at the front door and looked out the windows. The rain was starting and from the way the guards from outside stayed inside the house as soon as it started sent a note to Ed's brain. He hung his head and sighed heavily.

This was going to be a tiring, cold, wet, trek to the sewer, which would be flooding.

"Okay, guys, don't bother bringing a coat or anything. I know it's raining and it's probably gonna be cold, but having long coats or umbrellas will only slow and hinder us. Okay?" Ed's team nodded and Hawkeye adjusted her newly donned uniform so that her gun would be slightly dryer in the downpour. Edward opened the door and they stepped outside.

Actually he took one step and his foot sank in the thick, clay mud. "Ah! Gross… Freaking automail…" He tugged on his leg until it came loose and then started again with his flesh leg, which was less heavy so it was easier to walk on that.

But he had to put his left foot down again and he felt a vein pulse on his forehead from anger.

Hawkeye wrapped an arm around him and helped pull him out of the mud that surrounded the hotel and led him to where it wasn't as quick to engulf him. He nodded a thanks to her and she relinquished her hold. Edward shielded his eyes from the rain that now hissed as it whizzed by.

"Quite the storm, huh?" Ed had to practically yell, but it wasn't like he didn't anyway. Marty nodded and pointed ahead to where they could take out the map. They all hurried under the cover of an old restaurant's porch. Chris took out the map, which thankfully was still holding together despite the rain. He pointed to where they needed to go and started speaking.

"If we are to go to the old Yorkshire Manor… We'll need to pass through the square and then we-" "No." The man's eyes fell upon the young boy's face. "Sir?" Edward shook his head. "We aren't going to the Manor, we're going to the sewer connected to it." Marty and Chris let a look of surprise and disgust overtake their faces. Edward scowled. "We agreed earlier on that…" The men nodded and sighed. "Well, we'll still have to go through the square to get there. Only problem is… Well…"

Edward raised a brow at the unfinished statement. "Is what?" Marty coughed nervously. "Well… The square is the most heavily populated area in town…" Edward shrugged. "So? What about it?" Riza elbowed him softly. "You remember what they called this place?" Edward blinked.

"Uh… Limixi?"

Hawkeye shook her head. "No, I mean what do they call it now?" Edward stared at her confused. It clicked suddenly. "Oh!... Oh… Why are you two nervous then? They're chimeras, not monsters." Chris popped in suddenly. "There's a difference?" Hawkeye gasped. She quickly grabbed Edward, just before he tried to attack the man.

"OF COURSE THERE'S A DIFFERENCE, YOU IDIOT! THEY'RE STILL PEOPLE! THEY STILL HAVE SOULS! THEY ARE HUMAN WHETHER THEY LOOK LIKE ONE OR NOT! IF YOU THINK THAT THEY'RE MONSTERS, THEN THE ONLY MONSTER HERE IS YOU!" Edward gasped for breath as the rain was the only noise heard amongst the silent soldiers around him. He glared daggers into Chris' face, who currently looked terrified by the dangerously angry boy.

Edward growled and head out in to the rain. "We're going! NOW!" The soldiers rushed after him, Riza trying to resist the urge to talk Ed down to a calmer attitude. However, she knew how much it hurt him to hear what Christain had said. She remembered Nina; the sweet little girl, and then her mutilated body splattered against a wall like a splash of paint. Her mind hadn't been all there as she was very young, but she still had a human soul. She suddenly remembered who they were looking for.

And she realized just how pained Edward was now.

She sped up to pass the other men and she walked next to Ed. She walked there in silence, not looking at him. She raised her arm and wrapped it around his shoulder, her hand sending signals of cold as she grabbed his automail shoulder in an embrace. He walked slower, and he glanced up at her. His eyes were so strained. She knitted her brows and gave a slow nod to him.

He sighed and continued on.

He had learned from the Colonel his and the lieutenant's little silent language. It was an interesting one when they weren't using literal code, which he still didn't understand. It was a matter of studying each other's faces and looking for the slightest difference from a blank expression. Even an incredibly subtle change in the focus of their pupils would translate to a whole phrase. Roy had tried to teach it to him once before, but Ed had found it far too awkward for him to learn. The boy had to stare at Roy's face for a full five minutes, memorizing where his muscles were, how his eyes were when relaxed, the way he breathed, and even how he blinked.

All while being within a foot's distance from his face.

Needless to say, it ended with Edward having to write an apology letter for the bruise left on the man's face that distinctly resembled an automail fist.

But even though he only lasted a minute before losing his cool, he did actually notice things later on about people's expressions. Even some things that the people themselves were oblivious to what they were showing. Again, another lesson taken into his repertoire.

He wondered if he would ever see his boss's face again…

He huffed a sigh. Of course, even if he did, he sure as hell wasn't getting that close to his face ever again. EVER. He turned the next corner and he stopped. He couldn't believe his eyes.

There were chimeras everywhere. Some on four legs, some on two, some even had three! He also took notice how none of them looked human except for their actions and the way they behaved. He nearly shrieked when a small chimera ran past him, being chased by another larger chimera. Both had very different vocals, the smaller having a voice similar to a cat and the other a goat. Edward noticed how some of the other chimeras got a little nervous as these two chased each other and he feared one of them might actually be attacking, but he quickly relaxed as he saw they were indeed only playing.

"They're so weird…" Chris mumbled, and Edward sent a glare of death in his way. He quickly shut his mouth and flashed a look of apology. Edward continued on, looking at the used-to-be people that flooded the square like the water falling from the heavens. "Do they not mind the rain?" Hawkeye shook her head. "They've all lived here long enough, some maybe all their lives. Rain is a daily thing for them that I doubt it would bother them at all."

Edward nodded, his wet hair shifting to his face and it stuck there before he wiped it away. He walked up to a particularly deer-like chimera and put an innocent smile on his face. The chimera turned toward him and cowered slightly, as though Ed were to attack or hurt it. He put his hands up and shook his head, and the chimera calmed. Edward then asked, "Hi, uh, my name is Edward. I'm here to try and help you all and also find a friend of mine who might be in the same predicament you all are in. It's a little hard to see the street signs in all this rain—would you mind pointing us to where the Manor is?"

The chimera's eyes grew wide and it looked back and forth, as if making sure there were no stray eyes watching. Ed suddenly noticed it was in fact a she. "Ma'am…?" The chimera looked back to him and stepped closer, making Marty and Christain shift their feet, their bodies tensing up. She looked Ed in the eyes and the muscles that would've controlled her eyebrows knitted together and she nodded.

She raised her strange hoof-like hand up and pointed down the street and then motioned which ways they would need to turn. She looked back to Ed and he smiled. "Thank you very much, ma'am. I hope I wasn't too much of a bother!" He nodded farewell and he was off, his team following him. The chimera woman stood there in the rain and watched them go.

"Well, she was nice, wasn't she?" Edward tried to ease the tension in his team. Marty scoffed and Chris coughed awkwardly. Hawkeye sighed and nodded. Ed turned around and shook his head. "You know these are still people, right? Whether they look it or not, they still think and have human souls." Marty crossed his arms as they walked.

"No disrespect, sir, but how would you know?"

Edward stopped, rain dripping from his face as he stay still. "I don't want either of you men to tell anyone of what I'm going to tell you, and it's a matter of trusting my life secret with you two." Marty swallowed. "And how important is it that we keep this secret sir?" Hawkeye turned to them, glancing at the young alchemist as he stood still.

"It's a matter of, if it got out, he would be given the death penalty and his brother would become an experiment of the military."

Mache and Northrop couldn't help a gasp. How could this kid have a secret so bad that it would end up costing him his life if it got out to the public!? And now he was trusting them with his secret? No, they couldn't take the information. They wouldn't.

"Sir, with all due respect, I would rather not risk such a thing. I'll just take your word for it." Edward raised his head and looked back to the men. They both were holding their heads down in a bow, which caught Edward completely off guard. "Excuse me?" Marty looked up. "Sir, we appreciate the trust you are trying to have in us, but I believe it would be best if a secret is kept secret."

Edward folded his arms. "Well, the soldiers here would learn soon enough anyways… But are you sure you don't just wanna know it now?" The two men nodded quickly. Edward wiped the wet hair out of his face and grumbled, "Okay, okay, but you're gonna know sometime or later…"

The team headed back on their trek through the downpour and thick mud of the dirt streets. Just before they turned the corner of the Manor, Edward stopped them and pointed to the sewer that was on the corner. Hawkeye nodded and stepped back. The alchemist clapped his hands together and slammed them into the muddy road in front of the grate. Energized light crackled from his palms and engulfed the sewer opening. Soon, there was a large hole to enter and a ladder to climb down.

Edward started down the ladder and jumped down once it ended. He looked up and saw the lieutenant following suit, and he held back a chuckle as Marty and Chris exchanged scared glances and debated who would take the ladder first. "Ya know, guys, it's perfectly safe! Just be careful not to slip since it's raining and all!" Edward waited for both of them to make it down before he closed the ground back up and soon the only light in the pipe way was from the drainage holes.

They took the map out again and followed the pipes that supposedly led to the Manor.

Edward felt his knees tremble slightly. If what they were looking for was somewhere nearby, would he still be okay? Or would he be too far gone to help? Or even worse? Ed's blood began to boil.

If a single thing was wrong with Mustang if—no WHEN—they found him, he swore under his breath that he would find whoever had done the wronging and make them pay. He may not have liked Mustang, but he was still a human he knew and trusted. And when the Fullmetal Alchemist trusts someone…

Anyone who messes with them will be in for a world of hurt.

"We should be really close now… Right now we're in the entrance way." Edward nodded. There were now no lights to speak of and Edward was having to constantly transmute his automail so that they would have light to travel by. It was no easy task. The other soldiers didn't notice, but Ed's face wasn't still soaked by the rain water, it was soaked with sweat. Edward couldn't recall any time where an alchemist had to do this.

Except maybe by Roy, but his special niche was fire, the natural source of light. It was easy for him to keep it going. Edward started to think 'where's that bastard when you need him?', but shook the thought away. He shouldn't think like that. Not now when Roy possibly needed them.

They all paused when they heard a crash up above.

"What the hell? I thought you said no one was in this house anymore!?" Edward hissed at his men, excluding Riza. They both jumped and Edward stopped when he realized they were just as terrified as he was. "Damn it… Seems like I was right…" Marty asked quietly, "Sir? What do you mean?" Edward sighed softly and motioned for the team to huddle close so they wouldn't make too much of a noise.

"Didn't you think that a man who owned this place just mysteriously died only a few days to weeks before the first report? It seems a little too strange." Edward lowered his head and listened for movement, but didn't hear any that weren't water drips.

"Hey, Chris, how far down under the house are we exactly?" Edward whispered to Christain. "We should be about ten feet under or so." Edward nodded. He continued on, being careful not to talk too loudly as he briefed them on his plan.

"Okay, what we need to do it search all over these pipes until we meet back in wherever it is I make a marker. We meet back there whether or not if we find something. If we find something of interest, we need to go back to the marker and tell everyone else. If not, then we need to start to head up and investigate the Manor. Maybe inside we'll meet whoever…"

Edward stopped walking.

"Edward…? What's wrong?" Hawkeye asked, her voice sounding very concerned. She saw that Ed was looking to his right and had his mouth agape. His brows were pulled together and his breathing became shaky and quick. The woman slowly walked around him to see what he was looking at.

She noted before she was completely behind him that he was at the mouth of another large pipeline. She turned all the way around him and stared. She couldn't believe what she was seeing…

At the end of the tunnel, tangled in ropes, was a large chimera.

It wasn't moving.

The rest of the team moved in behind Ed to see what he was looking at and they gasped quietly. "But… What is one of them doing here?" Chris muttered. Edward took a step into the tunnel, his boot sloshing some of the water that was draining down from the hole above the chimera.

He took another. Again, a slight splash of water. He took another.

And his foot hit a small stone.

The chimera's eyes slowly opened. Edward held his breath as it stared at the wall before it. He could hear a small, almost silent whine escape from it when it breathed. He swallowed, his throat thick.

He coughed quietly, alerting the beast that he was there. It flinched, but only slightly. It let out a soft, pained whimper as it slowly turned its head to look at Ed. Its pale white eyes flashed a look of horror and fear as it turned to look.

And once they landed on Edward they stopped.

Ed stared at the beast's face.

And it stared at his.

They stared at each other, the only sound coming from the water that spilled out next to the creature. Neither made a sound. Edward's pupils shrank as his mind unraveled what lay before him.

He slowly started walking toward the chimera. He no longer was transmuting and the entire pipe was consumed by the blind darkness. He didn't care. He ran his hand down the side of the tunnel as he slumped down to his knees.

"Um, sir? I'm sorry, but could you do that alchemy thing again? None of us can see anything." Edward scowled. "FINE." He clapped his hands together, and he heard the chimera move out of fear from the sudden loud noise.

Edward transmuted his arm into a blade and he focused his mind to keeping it transmuted, adjusting the tiniest flakes of metal so he would use the minimalist effort. The light showed that he was in fact only a few inches from the creature and he heard his team gasp, though mostly from Chris. He looked at the feathered beast before him.

It looked back at him, its eyes only barely showing a slight change in color from the eye to the iris and pupil, but all were shades of pale grey or white. Edward remembered those eyes. Only he remembered the last time he was this close to ones like them… Well…

He extended his left hand out to the creature, slowly moving toward its head. It made a small sort of chirping sound and moved back a little, but it quickly stopped and began coughing. It hurried back its old position and gasped for air.

Edward felt his heart clench when he realized it.

The chimera wasn't just tied up—it was tangled up by a lengthened noose!

"H-hold on! I'm going to try and get this off of you, okay? I need you to be completely still so I don't accidentally nick you, you hear?" The chimera looked up at and stared into his deep golden eyes.

And it smiled.

It took a minute for Edward to get over that before he shook away his noticeable surprise. He motioned to his team that he was letting it loose and the men nodded, but Hawkeye suddenly opposed.

"Edward, don't! It could be dangerous!" She insisted, her hand poised over her signature 8mm. Edward almost yelled back, but caught himself before he did so. "So what!? If it is, then that's my own fault and you can blame me—but I will not let it just waste away here being strangled!" Hawkeye knitted her brows and nodded slowly, but she did not move her hand away from her gun holster.

Edward put his left hand over the rope and he hissed in disgust when he realized he couldn't move the killing weapon at all, not even to slip a finger under. He looked to the chimera and took a deep breath. "Well… Remember to stay completely still, okay, buddy?"

The chimera let out a sort of scoff and took a (barely) deep breath as it braced itself.

Edward took a breath as well and he began slowly sawing away at the rope. In the darkness, he heard the rope squeak slightly as it was being cut. Watered down, it was even harder to cut than it would normally be. He was careful not to rush his actions though. If he had even one slip up, this chimera's life would be draining away down with the rain water.

He suddenly heard a snap and pulled his arm back as quickly as he could. He heard a loud gasp as the chimera filled its lungs completely after what must've been an eternity. Ed began transmuting his arm again, still being weakened by the act. He looked back at the now breathing creature.

It turned to look at him and it smiled again, though now Ed noticed the strange teeth it possessed. It had no lips, and yet it did on the ends, and it had six teeth protruding from the skin around its mouth—two large canines on the bottom and four less large ones on top. He forced himself to look away from them and back to its actual face.

He swallowed as he stared into its deep, seemingly blind eyes. It blinked and cocked its head though, showing that it could see. Edward lifted his left hand to its face and slowly cupped its jawline. It blinked in confusion. Edward leaned in close it, nearly nose to… Wait, does it not have a nose!? No… No nose. Weird.

Edward pulled this chimera's head up slightly and he squinted as he studied its face. Its brows were raised in a sort of surprised confusion, but they settled back down as the boy before it studied its features. Edward slowly shook his head and his face changed to a look of sorrow.

He put his other hand up against its face, being careful to avoid a transmutation involving it. He slowly pulled on the fine feathers that surrounded its pale face. He began to brush them back and paused when its face was completely visible.

And he stayed frozen for many moments.

His hands began to tremble.

His lip quivered slightly.

He lowered his hands and hung his head. The chimera's feathers shifted back to their natural positions. It gave a sort of cooing sound and tried to look at Ed's face. Edward glanced up from behind his wet bangs. He bit his lip to keep from choking a sob back.

"Do… Do you understand what I'm saying?" he asked quietly, his voice quivering. The chimera blinked and nodded. "Okay… Were you… Human…?" The chimera frowned sadly and nodded again. Edward's pulse pounded in his body. It was time for the big question.

This was it.

He was sure of the answer.

He knew it had to be.

He just knew it.

He took a deep breath. He looked up at the beast. He asked.

"Are you Roy Mustang?"

The chimera stared at the boy. It opened its mouth to speak but only a garbled sound came out. It winced. It shut its eyes, as if trying to shake the sound out of its memory. It looked back up at Edward and smiled, the hints of tears brimming its eyes…

It nodded.

It nodded again and again and again. It nodded and it whimpered. It cried with a smile.

Edward's breathing grew shakier and shakier with every passing one. He lifted his left hand—shaking terribly—and he rested it on its head. He felt his lip quiver. And yet, still no tears came. No, he was still too prideful to let them fall. He instead turned to Hawkeye and stared at her with a look of pure anguish.

She hurried to his side and wrapped an arm around him as she looked at the chimera before her. She kept herself from gasping, but that didn't mean it didn't still shock her. It looked just like Roy. Aside from the obvious changes in anatomy, all the proportions were right, all the subtle muscles. Even the hair atop of his head was the same, though slightly longer. And the way he was looking back at her…

As if he were seeing an old friend long since passed.

She reached out and slowly ran her hand down his face, wiping away some of the tears. He smiled again and tried to wipe some away himself, but winced. He looked down at himself and growled when he saw he was still tangled in the rope. Edward quickly grabbed one part of the rope and cut it off.

Roy stared at the boy as he continued cutting away ropes.

GOD he had missed this kid.

Hawkeye pulled the ropes off of her commander as Edward moved from one to the next. She was careful not to pull on his feathers or hurt him. She glanced back at his face and she sighed sadly. He picked up on this and he knitted his brows, and forced a smile. She blinked slowly back to the ropes.

Roy's smile faded and was replaced by a sad frown.

Edward pulled the last piece of rope off of Roy and smiled. "There ya go, Colonel. You're free. You need some help getting up?" Edward asked as he stood back up. Roy stared at him with a sad expression. "What's wrong?" Edward grew concerned as the chimera looked away with a look of shame on his face.

He glanced at his arms and gulped as he saw he no longer had any. His arms now were in the form of two very large black-feathered wings with curiously sharp talons near where he guessed the wrist was. He felt a bead of sweat fall down his cheek. "Ah… I see, uh, well… Automail! There's no risk with automail! Here, let me help you up."

Edward reached down to grab Roy's 'wrist' and started to help him up. Roy squawked out of surprise and worry. His feet splashed water every which way as he tried to stand. However, his feet shook and his knees buckled. He came crashing down on the hard concrete and let out a whimper of pain.

"Colonel!" Edward stooped down quickly to try and help the pained chimera. He rested his left hand on his back and he flinched. He ran his hand down Roy's back and let out a shuddered gasp.

"You're… You're so thin!" Roy looked up at the boy through a squint and stifled a choke. Edward wrapped an arm around the creature's waist and hoisted him up. "Hey! Marty, Chris, I want you two to hurry back to base and get a place set up for him!"

"Sir, don't you want me to look at him first?" Marty asked, moving his hand to his satchel. Edward shook his head. "No. This is a little different than what we came prepared for. You two go. NOW!"

The two men headed off down the pipes, luckily remembering their way out.

Edward shifted his grip and draped one wing over his back and opposite shoulder. "Can you at least stand, Mustang?" Roy shook his head, his eyes becoming droopier by the second. "Hey, you need to stay awake for us, okay?" Roy stared at the ground beneath him and scoffed.

He closed his eyes and his body grew heavy on Edward's small frame.

"Hey! Colonel! No, c'mon, wake up damn it!" He started to shake him, but he still got no response. He hissed through his teeth as he pulled the chimera up higher. "Hawkeye, can you help?" She nodded and took the other side.

Edward and Hawkeye began half dragging half carrying the Colonel out of the sewer, following the water as it drained out. Edward's transmutations grew dimmer and dimmer as he tried to focus on carrying his boss along their path. He glared forward, the blue light reflecting off of his bright amber eyes.

Whoever had done this was going to pay heavily for their sins.

As soon as the two officers met a sewage grate that shone moonlight through into the darkness, they felt their steps quicken. Edward stopped transmuting his automail and they traveled by the stripes of moonlight that danced off of the water. Even with their quickened paces it still took them at least fifteen minutes to get to the ladder Edward had made.

He noted how the grate had been removed for his men to crawl out through. He made a note to himself to apologize for not remembering to change the entryway back. He handed the Colonel over to the Lieutenant and he transmuted the opening to be larger in order to get the large chimera out with greater ease.

Once they got Roy out of the sewer Edward changed the opening back and got rid of the ladder by forcing it back to brick. He grabbed Roy under the wing and he and the lieutenant dragged him through the rain and mud back to the hotel.

Little did they know that they were being watched by a pair of glowing green eyes…