Chapter Nine: Cliffs

Not long after Delta and Beta made it to bed, the sun rose, signaling a fresh morning for all. Sunlight streamed through the blinds of the empty barracks room where Misaki slept. Even though there were at least two dozen bunks, nobody else joined him there, having found more private rooms to suit their needs.

The teen's eyes fluttered at the morning light and he slowly sat up as the wheels of his mind began to turn again. Misaki got up and pulled off the cotton shirt and pants that served as his lounging clothes. Everyone had similar garments they'd taken from the military supplies, but few wore them outside of bed. In all honesty, the white body suits they'd first awoken in were much more comfortable, and had many additions built into them as well, such as temperature controls and glowing in the dark. Misaki silently pulled his on, a shiver coursing down his form. The building was always so cold, especially at night. The island itself was quite hot and humid, but it cooled off pretty fast when the sun went down, so Misaki wondered why the air conditioning was always so high.

As he sat down on the bed to pull on his boots, snippets of conversation he'd had with Miyagi began to pop up in his mind. The teen swallowed uncomfortably, a bit at a loss for what he should say to everyone today. Habits of the normal pre-super Misaki leaned towards apologizing to everyone for the shameful inconvenience, but the newest part of his personality forged of stress wondered at whether he'd done anything wrong at all. Shinobu had been the one to start the fight….but still.

With a quiet sigh, Misaki decided to apologize at least to Nowaki and Miyagi…and if Shinobu didn't snarl at him today, maybe he would get one as well. As for Alpha, Misaki didn't know what to think. The guy was locked up all day in his control room, and he sure didn't know what their leader was always up to.

His shoes on, Misaki stood and walked out of the room and into the hall, a little surprised at how empty and quiet the building was. He wandered down the corridor, checking the mess hall and the front room, but no one was around. He had at least expected Nowaki or Miyagi to be up, but seeing as they weren't, he was a little lost at what to do. Misaki thought about going back to the mess hall and cooking some breakfast, but he just didn't feel up to doing it. At the thought, a slight memory stirred at his mind and the teen's brow furrowed as he tried to comprehend it.

"I…I like to cook." He murmured slowly. "I'm good at cooking…"

The small proclamation made a hint of a smile surface, and the teen felt proud that he had uncovered a memory all by himself. The act made him feel much more like Misaki, and less like Digamma.

Even still, he decided not to. He didn't feel hungry and navigating a strange kitchen sounded like more trouble than it was worth. Instead, the teen looked out a nearby window at the trees and the seashore. The quiet and unexplored terrain struck a chord with him, and Misaki went out the front door and headed past the concrete landing pad, going in the direction of the ocean.

The teen's heavy boots sank in the wet sand as he strolled along the shoreline, the ocean breeze ruffling his chocolate hair. He stared at the expanse of sky and sea before him as he walked, but could see no other signs of land. This place had to be really far out on the water.

Misaki continued on as the beach turned into a stretch of cliffs, watching the waves rise like a flock of birds and crash back down onto the rocks. He lifted his chin, his eyes searching the horizon hungrily as a low sigh left him.

"Ni-chan," He whispered. "I can hardly believe what's happened to me in only a few days… I—this place…it's just so lonely and I miss you so much…but at least you're in heaven, where you're not suffering anymore…"

The teen dropped his head as his eyes grew misty and he blinked rapidly to dry them. Now was not the time to cry. He had to toughen up so he could live through this…

"Misaki…Misaki!"

Misaki's eyes fluttered open as he heard Alpha's voice ring loudly in his head. Though oddly enough, his tone sounded a little frantic.

"Y—yes?" He spoke. He heard Alpha sigh with growling relief.

"Where in the hell are you?"

"Just on the beach," Misaki answered timidly. "Am I… not supposed to go out?"

"I guess it doesn't matter," Alpha said with a slight grumble. "But get back to the base. We have things to discuss."

"We?"

"Everyone. Now accelerate your ass back here on the double."

Alpha's voice faded and Misaki cocked his head curiously. But deciding to wonder later, the teen clicked the switch in his back tooth and flashed down the hill, the landscape a sweeping blur as he ran faster than the blink of an eye.

He rolled to a stop in front of the building, and immediately noticed a scowling Hiroki leaning against the door frame, tapping his fingers impatiently. Taking the hint, Misaki jogged up and followed him inside, going down a hallway he hadn't been in before. Hiroki punched a code into a steel door and it opened, revealing a dark room where everyone else had gathered. Alpha was at the front of the room, leaning against a control panel. He nodded to the two of them somewhat unhappily as they entered, and Misaki stopped as Nowaki walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't just run off like that, okay?" The second said quietly. "You had us all worried."

"Oh, sorry." Misaki whispered back. The teen's eyes wandered around the room and he noticed Gamma and Epsilon sitting by the far wall. Shinobu's eyes shifted over to meet his, but the two broke their gaze immediately, not quite ready to face each other.

"All right," Alpha spoke, his voice carrying all around the room. "Now that everyone is here, we can begin."

"What's this all about?" Hiroki said, his eyes narrowed calculatingly.

"As most of you know, I have been using this base as a means to intercept transmissions from various FMA bases, looking for information that might be useful in attacking them. And I have had such luck."

Akihiko clicked a remote and a large map was projected onto the wall.

"This is a diagram of base 2038, the second largest operation they have, and their supercomputers house all the info we would need to storm their primary base and destroy it, crippling their resources and bringing their organization into the ground. But the building for 2038 is extremely old, and underneath the base lies a series of aqueducts that act as the sewer system. Once we enter the sewer, it's only a matter of five hundred feet to their main control room, where we can use a virus to hack their computer and glean the information we'd need to take them down."

Alpha left the slide up and turned towards his audience.

"I have also recently gained news that they have finished engineering a brand new type of nuclear missile. Their transmissions suggest that they know we are hiding on an island, but they aren't sure of our exact coordinates. I fear that if we wait too long to move, they will begin bombing desert islands in attempt to wipe us out.

"I've said this to you all before, but I'll say it again: all of you are human beings capable of making your own choices. I will not force this plan of action on you, but know this: in two days time I am heading to base 2038, and I need to know who is willing to follow me."

Akihiko's eyes traveled to each face in the room, reading their reactions to his speech with a discerning eye. And not surprisingly, Gamma was the only one who was capable of hiding his thoughts. Equally as predictable were Epsilon and Digamma's looks of fear and the worrisome crease in Beta's brow, as well as the fact that Delta stepped forward and looked Alpha straight in the eye.

"Akihiko," He said soberly. "This is too easy."

Alpha lifted his chin in question and Hiroki gestured to the map.

"Your plan might work if we were going against a standard military division, but the FMA is made up of unlisted black ops! They would never leave such an obvious opening in their defense unless they planned to use it against us."

At this new information almost every face in the room blanched.

"I realize the plan is risky," Akihiko continued. "But it is also a rare opportunity we can't afford to pass up—"

"The hell it is!" Shinobu cried. "You're leading up into a trap! We'll all be taken!"

"Would you rather wait here and be blown up Epsilon?" Alpha shot back.

"If it's a choice of dying here or dying there, I'd take it!" Shinobu screamed, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. "I won't fall into his hands again!"

"That's enough Shinobu!"

The blonde teen immediately fell silent as Gamma's voice rang above all others. Everyone turned and stared at Miyagi's expressionless face. Sensing something, Akihiko titled his head.

"Gamma, do you have any premonitions?"

The third shook his head.

"Not yet as far as I can see… but in regards to your plan Alpha, if you go, I will come with you."

Shinobu's mouth dropped in horror and he clutched Miyagi's shoulder desperately. Miyagi placed a hand over the teen's and continued.

"Not because your plan is perfect, because it's not, and not because I'm afraid of them nuking this place. I will go because I believe with all my heart that we are a match for them. Whether we like it or not, all of us were given these powers for a reason, and if we can work past ourselves, develop them, and meld them into a group with a purpose, then I say nothing is impossible for us. And this can be our first step in realizing that."

The control room went pin drop silent at his words as each person struggled to wrap their mind around Miyagi's words. But it didn't take long for Delta to raise his head and give a characteristic scoff.

"Well, I for one can't let Bakahiko and the blind bat go into combat by themselves. You'll need someone who's good with a gun."

A corner of Alpha's mouth curled and he nodded.

"Glad to have you on board, old boy."

"If Hiro-san goes, I go." Nowaki said boldly, walking forward and taking Hiroki's hand. The fourth glared daggers at him, but didn't try to jerk away the giant's paw.

Shinobu's eyes fluttered between Miyagi and the floor, and he finally swallowed hard and spoke.

"If Miyagi goes," He choked out. "I'll need to go. H—He needs me to be his guide."

Miyagi's entire face lit up proudly at the boy's declaration and he wrapped a lean arm around the fifth's trembling shoulders, knowing full well how much bravery it had taken Shinobu to utter those words.

Alpha nodded at the two, then slid his amethyst eyes over to the last one left among them. Misaki leaned against the back wall, staring hard at the floor as his mind tipped back and forth undecidedly.

Hiroki gave a light "hmph."

"Kid would sure come in handy," He muttered to Akihiko, but the first shook his head.

"He can decide for himself Hiroki." Akihiko replied, his eyes still locked on Misaki's fluttering doe eyes. But as the green orbs slowly lifted and meet his gaze, the first paused, and for a brief second he wasn't even sure if he wanted Misaki to say yes…

But the teen gave a shaky sigh and began to nod.

"…I'll go." He said, casting his eyes pleadingly to Delta, Beta, and Alpha. "But please… show me what to do."

Nowaki gave him a compassionate smile and was about to reassure the frightened teen, when Alpha reached out and gestured to him.

"I will," He said. "Everyone has a part in this plan now, and no power will be overlooked. Come, let us prepare. We leave in two days."

Misaki swallowed hard and slowly walked over, being the first one to follow Alpha to a large table with more diagrams and maps, where they would each be given a role in their leader's plan. Even though not one of them knew whether it would triumph or fail.

Helllooo peeps, happy to be sending you guys another update :) School finally started for me this week and needless to say I'd rather be doing more important things than suffering my way through lectures (like updating lemons) but que cera cera I guess.

If you haven't noticed, I finally got around to finishing my cover for this story :) very happy with the way it came out and hope it pleases. If you want to see the full-sized pic you can go to my deviant art account. Here is the link.

theblackflamingo101dot deviantartdotcom

Alexisz, Artemis Fortune, Pengwens, Kiyame Hikari-Chan, Seshomaru94, SakuraFlowersFalling- Can I have a giant group hug again for all you awesome readers :3 THANK YOU!

Fauchocholat- sorry to hear about your hospital stay, even though it was a month ago. I hope you are doing well and I'm thrilled you liked the Egoist chapter so much :) Keep on rocking!

The-seinshen-of-egoist- Oh darn, you've made me blush. So glad you like my stories, and believe me I have as much fun writing those parodies as people do reading them. Glad you're really into this story and hope to keep hearing from you!

Leigh's Last Laugh- well, who's the bigger sap? The one who tears up during the angsty dribble or the one who spouted it out? And hmm, raunchy super-powered victory sex. What a lovely set of words...I must do something with them...

JoanIncarnate- Dear God...if/when you ever do draw that, show it to the world (and me). Something like that needs to be seen by everyone *.*

Onto the action and sneaky mission impossible theme music montages we go!

With Love,

TBF101