Author's note: There will be a bit of swearing in this chapter, though nothing major. Also, there will be descriptions of violence, so be warned. If you're squeamish, don't read. Enjoy :3
Roy walked into the room as Edward pulled her jacket on, still sat on the bed while Lydia carried the old bandages to a bin in the corner of the room. It was plain on Ed's face that she wasn't happy, and he figured it must have been something Fu had said to her. Lydia left the room, only to appear with a sweater and pants in her arms moments later, dropping them at the foot of the bed. Roy glanced between the two women and doctor, perplexed as their sudden foul moods. Ten minutes ago they were all smiles.
"Have you been experiencing any pain?" Fu asked bitterly as he rummaged through the drawer against the wall, not even looking at her while he spoke.
"Once or twice, mostly when I stretch." Ed answered curtly, pulling her braid out from under her coat, before getting up and grabbing the clothes.
"That's normal. Come back in two days to get the stitches removed." Fu moved with them to the door, only stopping momentarily to grab the basket of veggies, shoving it unceremoniously into Roy's arms. The door slammed shut behind them seconds later, leaving Roy standing on the steps, completely confused.
"What the hell happened in that room, Fullmetal?" Roy asked as he caught up to her, as she stomped down the road, clutching the clothes in her hands tightly. "When I left the room so Fu could check on your wound, everything was fine. Is it the wound? Has it not healed properly?"
She glanced at him as she spoke, her voice thick with anger. "The wound is fine. He started questioning me like a common criminal, insisting that we're not doing anything to solve the murders."
"What did he expect? We would have had so much more to work with if he hadn't kicked my team out of the town." Roy growled. True, they had spent a whole day with Tisha yesterday, and Ed had told him that the little girl wanted to spend the day at their place again today, so they would probably get no work done, again. But there wasn't much they could do either way. Firstly, the crime scenes where all contaminated. He had had a look at the first one before, and even he could say without a doubt that too many people had traipsed through the area for him to get any information from it.
Then there was the fact that the second and third victims were found on the street. He had quickly figured out that they had been dumped there after they were attacked, so there wasn't much to go on. He hated to admit it, but they had no choice but to wait for the killer to strike again. Fu had agreed to not have the body moved, so they could assess everything properly. And then there was the little problem of him not really being a detective. True, he had the basic skills to solve most cases, but Maes was the real expert.
Roy followed Ed as she wound through the streets; heading straight for what he could assume was the little girl's house. When they stopped in front of a rundown building, Roy noticed her demeanour had changed. She still seemed unhappy, but the frown she had worn earlier had disappeared, instead replaced with a soft smile. He couldn't help but smile as well. After the previous night, the little girl would be a welcome distraction.
Ed hopped up the couple of stairs, knocking on the door firmly, each one making the door creak, as if it was going to crumble under her touch. After a moment, the door swung open, revealing a pale woman, her black hair hanging around her thin cheekbones in messy clumps. Her pale green eyes scanned Ed for a moment, before pulling open the door fully.
"Can I help you?"
"My name is Ed; I'm here to pick up your daughter." Her hand reached out to the woman, expecting her to shake it. A few seconds later though, she dropped it back to her side, the woman still staring at Ed blankly.
"You're the girl she was talking about last night? I thought you'd be… taller."
Roy let out a chuckle as Ed's muscles tightened, her smile turning into a glare instantly. To his amazement, she didn't fly off the handle though, instead speaking in a rather controlled tone. "Is Tisha home?"
"No. She left about an hour ago, said something about finding her sister." The mother said, before closing the door in Ed's face, making her growl at the door. Ed descended the steps again, stopping next to Roy as she scanned the street.
"I should probably go look for her…"
"Just leave her to it, Fullmetal. She'll come to the cottage when she's found her sister." He ran his hand through his hair as he spoke.
"No, she won't. I told her to wait for me here. So when she gets back, she'll be expecting me to come pick her up." She let out a sigh, handing the clothes she was carrying to him, before moving back down the street they had just come from. "I'll see you later, Mustang." She muttered before getting out of earshot, leaving Roy stood on the spot, a frown on his face as he watched her disappear.
Turning, he headed towards the cottage at a pace that one could almost consider jogging. He would just check if the girl had perhaps decided to head there after having found her sister. If she wasn't there, he'd drop off the stuff and head out to catch up to Ed. It was evident that the little girl had, in fact, not gone to the cottage, as Roy swung open the door moments later, the only sound that of the birds in the treetops. Dropping the basket and clothes on the counter, Roy slammed the door shut behind him again, before jogging towards the town again.
Ed's eyes scanned the buildings as she walked past them, biting her lip. The wind tugged at her coat, her hair whipping around her face, sending shivers down her spine. The day had been getting colder and colder. Turning down another street, Ed tugged the hem of her polo neck where it had risen to expose her stomach. The streets were all empty, aside from the brave person who occasionally ran across the street to disappear into another building. The smell of soup filled the air as she passed another building, making her stomach growl slightly, suddenly wishing she hadn't skipped breakfast. Though she wouldn't change what she had done for anything. A blush crept onto her cheeks as she recalled lying in Mustangs arms, his chin on her head.
Her thoughts were interrupted as the smell of soup turned into a different smell, one she had experienced before. Her head snapped from side to side, her breath quickening as her eyes scanned for the source. The smell intensified drastically as she passed an alley, making her stop. Peering into the dark alley, she tried to make out the shape on the ground, willing it to be her imagination. As her foot made contact with the liquid, she instantly knew that it wasn't her imagination at all. She could barely make out the shape in front of her, but she knew it was small.
"M-Mom…" a voice croaked from the figure, making Ed's eyes widened, her breath caught on her lips as she recognized the voice.
"T-Tisha…"
"Big S-Sis…" Ed dropped to the ground, taking her tiny hand in hers. "You came f-for me…" Her voice breathed out, barely audible.
"Shhh, it's okay now. Don't talk." Ed moved her hands underneath the little girl, biting her lip as Tisha groaned in pain. "I'm going to lift you up now, okay? It's going to hurt, very much, but we need to get you to Fu. So bare it, for me, okay?" The little girl nodded slowly, wincing as Ed lifted her up gently, cradling her in her arms. Ed turned on her heels, heading straight towards Fu's. Tisha's breathing became shallower as Ed ran down the street, before stopping in front of the doctor's house. Without a second thought she burst through the doors, calling out Fu's name before heading into the room she had been in earlier that day. Lydia appeared first, a look of horror on her face as she saw the little girl in Ed's arms.
What happened next, Ed wasn't sure. Everything seemed to blur together. She was vaguely aware of the weight in her arms disappearing, before being shoved into the kitchen. At some point, she could have sworn she heard mustang's voice, but she wasn't sure. The only thing she was one hundred percent sure of, was that she was going to find the bastard who hurt this little angel, and rip his throat out.
"What the hell are you two doing in this town?!" Fu's angry voice ran through the house, pulling Ed back to the present. He stood in front of her, waving a glove in her face, dried up blood moving in and out of her vision as it moved.
"Back off, Fu." Mustang growled behind her, making the glove halt its movement, drooping in front of her. "I will say this again, if you hadn't sent away my team, we would have been in a better position to prevent shit like this." His voice deepened threateningly as he spoke. "If you had let the past go, then we could have been in a position to not only protect the people in the town, but also analyze the crime scenes better, bringing us closer to finding the killer. But as it is, I have three contaminated crime scenes, and no men to help me analyze the fourth, thanks to you."
"Are you saying this is my fault?" Fu yelled, making Ed flinch. "I'm not the one wasting my time doing nothing. You and your military are nothing more than useless heaps of shit."
"Now you listen here." Ed turned to Roy, never having heard him use the tone he was currently using. His eyes were hard, fingers strained in the snapping position. If he had had his gloves on, Fu would be little less than a pile of smouldering ash at that moment. "I will not have you insult me, my men or the military. If it wasn't for Ed, I would have taken this town by force days ago."
"I dare you to try it, dog. Now get out of my house."
A strong hand slipped under her arm, pulling her to her feet instantly, though to her surprise, it was gentler than the movement should have been. "I expect the autopsy report this evening."
"Don't order me around, dog. I don't work for you or your shitty military. You will get the report when I'm done with my work." Fu started closing the door, only to stop half way, a thought occurring to him. "Tomorrow when your military contact comes to town, make sure the two of you leave with him. We'll deal with the killer on our own." The door slammed shut as Roy opened his mouth to protest, leaving him glaring at the door. Growling, he headed towards their cottage, his hand still around her arm, pulling her with him as her feet moved on their own.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"What you told me to do, what else?" The man dropped the apple he was inspecting back onto the table next to the others.
"Don't fuck with me, Frank. I told you to wait!" Her voice cracked as she yelled at him, making him shake his head. "I'm not ready yet, and if you keep going like this, we'll have to move to another town to get what I need."
"Can't you just put it on ice?" His fingers ran through his hair, clearly bored of the conversation he was currently having with the woman across the table from him.
"Don't be absurd. Things like that can only stay on ice for a short time. Besides, it's better if it's fresh." Dropping a file on the table in front of him, she got up, moving deeper into the room, her figure barely visible. "I found your next target, but there's a bit of a complication with this one."
"I can handle it." Frank picked up the file, flipping it open, scanning its contents. "She's pretty."
"I need you to practice constraint with this one, Frank. I've never seen any like hers, and I don't want to lose them because you can't control yourself. Do I make myself clear?" Her voice growled from the shadows, though the man she was talking to couldn't care less. He held the picture under the candle light, a soft whistle escaping his lips as he studied his next target's face.
"What's the complication with this one?"
"She's set to leave soon, and once she does, it will become harder to get to her. So we need to get her to stay." He didn't need to see her to know she was smiling. "I'm sure you can figure out some way to keep her here, yes? Without killing her, of course."
The photo dropped to the table, as he sat back in his chair, smiling himself. "I can think of a few ways, yes."
Roy sat the couch, his hand running through her hair softly as her head lay on his lap. Though Tisha was still alive, the shock of the whole incident had rattled her, so much so that now she lay asleep on his lap. Though, he honestly didn't mind. The autopsy report of the first young girl she had found was in his free hand, his eyes scanning it for anything he might have missed. The picture at the top of the page had the face of a little girl on it, and it looked a lot like little Tisha, though he knew that it would. When she had mentioned she had a sister named Michelle yesterday, Roy had put two and two together, figuring out that the dead girl was her older sister. Figuring that their mother probably didn't have the heart to tell Tisha yet, he had thought it best not to meddle. But now…
Growling, he dropped the paper on the table next to him before running his hand through his hair, his eyes closed. Why did Ed have to be the one to find Tisha? It had been bad enough on her to have found Michelle, but having to see little Tisha like that, especially after becoming attached to her, it was cruel. Sighing, Roy lifted her head gently, as not to wake her, placing a pillow under her head after moving. He knew he had very little time to get to the crime scene before Fu contaminated it. True, he had said that he didn't want their help anymore, but since when did Roy Mustang give a damn about what some civilian said they wanted? Covering her sleeping form with a blanket, Roy glanced at her one more time before leaving the cottage, his hands in his pockets as he headed towards the alley.
The sun hung low in the sky, painting it a bright orange, making it clear he didn't have that much time before night took hold. Though it didn't matter at all. Roy knew there would be very little information to be gained from the scene. Turning into the alley, he stopped short, the smell of blood making it hard to breathe. His eyes scanned the walls slowly, and when he found no blood on the walls at all, he knew that Tisha had been moved here after she was attacked, just as he had thought. Roy let out a heavy sigh as he dropped down to inspect t the ground as well. Even though the smell of blood was heavy in the alley, there wasn't that much on the ground, at least not nearly as much as would have been with the wounds she had sustained from the attack. That could only mean that the killer had only dumped her after he had thought she had lost enough blood to bleed out.
Honestly, if Ed hadn't found her when she had, Tisha would certainly have been dead. As much as he had wished that Ed hadn't seen what she did, if she hadn't, they would have four corpses on their hands. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought, an image of Elisia jumping into his mind for some reason. Shaking his head, Roy got to his feet again, scanning the alley one last time, looking for anything out of the ordinary. But there was absolutely nothing. The killer was exceptionally experienced, and it really bothered him. Biting his lip, he headed back to the cottage, the sun fading into darkness behind him. The only thing he could hope for now was that Hughes would show up tomorrow instead of Havoc. Not that it mattered at all. Roy will have Ed secured the moment his subordinate arrives, and then he will order his men to move in and take the town by force.
Roy opened the door to the cottage, closing it behind him before moving into the kitchen to start dinner. After the day she had had, Roy figured he should skip the meat, instead opting for a nice vegetable soup. Getting everything ready and boiling, he moved back to the couch, only to notice Ed wasn't sleeping on it anymore, the blanket also gone. With a shrug, Roy dropped down onto the couch, figuring she had probably moved to her room after she woke up. He closed his eyes, deciding to take a short nap while waiting for their dinner to finish.
Onyx eyes flew open as the smell of soup filled his senses. Stretching as he got up, Roy moved over to the pot, turning off the gas after making sure it was ready. Moments later he opened her bedroom door, peeking inside with the bowl of soup in his hands. His eyes scanned her room slowly, a frown crossing his brow, his hands tightening around the bowl.
Ed slowly became aware of the sharp pain in her shoulder as she woke up, shifting uncomfortably. Her eyes slowly slid open, scanning the room around her. Wasn't she just on the couch in the living room? Her eyes took in the table in the middle of the room, much higher than it should have been from the couch. Eyes flying open fully, it hit her. She wasn't on the couch anymore; instead she lay on the ground, cold cement under her shoulder. Try as she might, she couldn't get her arms to move either, figuring she was probably tied up. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she scanned the room once more, trying to figure out where she was. The only light in the room was a single candle on the table. Ed couldn't make out anything else in the room, but she figured from the sound of dripping, there was water nearby, the cold seeping into the room making the pain in her shoulder sharper by the second.
Biting her lip, she pushed onto her back, turning around to scan behind her. The room wasn't very big, she realized, as her eyes met another wall not even a foot from her. Turning back to the table, she started to sit upright, stopping halfway as she heard footsteps heading towards her. They weren't in the same room as her though, so she lay back down, closing her eyes. Perhaps if she pretended to still be asleep, she could figure out what they wanted with her.
"… Her up now." A male voice echoed through the room as the door opened, midway through his sentence. The footsteps halted inches from her, the only other sound in the room the dripping. After a few tense seconds, however, Ed howled out in pain as a steel tipped foot connected with her stomach. "Time to stop pretending to be asleep, princess."
Her eyes flung open, a growl on her lips as she looked up at her attacker. To her disappointment, all she could see was two white eyes in a sea of black cloth. The bastard didn't even have the decency to show her his face. Another kick to her stomach made her howl out in pain again, as the man growled at her. "Don't look at me like that, princess."
"Wha-what do you want?" Ed breathed out, her hands clenching into fists as the pain radiated through her body.
"We want what you have. Don't worry, princess, you won't die today." The man bent down close to her face, his fingers running through her hair fondly, making her jerk back on instinct. "Though when I'm done with you, you will wish that you were dead. Now, let's get started, shall we?" She watched as he got up again, turning his head to the side before speaking over his shoulder. "Is everything ready yet?"
"Just…" Metal hit the table with a loud thud, before the voice continued, "There we go. Everything is ready now."
"Good." The man purred, reaching down to her, his fingers running through her hair again. This time though, pain followed it shortly as she was pulled up by her golden hair, clumps being pulled from her flesh, while the most of it only caused major pain as she was flung towards the table. The man chuckled as he moved the hair that had been ripped from her scalp towards his nose, taking a sniff while purring. "You smell so good, princess. Such a shame I can't keep you. Oh well, at least I get to have my fun with you…"
Edward watched in horror as the other man dragged her onto the table properly, chains attaching to the restraints around her hands, before he moved to her legs, clamping them tightly against the table. On instinct she struggled to get lose, making the man laugh even more, obviously enjoying it. "Please, princess, struggle as much as you can. I enjoy it when my toys fight back; it makes it all so much more interesting." He moved closer, his fingers still tightly wrapped around the hair in his hand. Taking another sniff, he tucked it into his pocket, patting it once for good measure, before picking up something from the table next to her. She didn't have to wonder what it was for long though, as the blade moved into her field of vision, the man smirking at her. "Now, princess, where shall we start? Perhaps I'll start slow, take one of your toes. What do you think?'
"Fuck you…" Ed spat out, howling in pain as the blade connected with her leg seconds later.
"Is that really any way to talk to me? Show some respect, you brat." The blade moved out of her flesh, blood pooling from the wound, dripping on the floor to echo the sound of the water. Ed glared at her attacker as he licked the blade, purring again. "God, you even taste good. How does she expect me to control myself around you?" The blade pressed against her stomach, the tip biting into her flesh, making her bite her lip in pain. Slowly, he moved the blade up, cutting her shirt as it moved, exposing more of her skin. A soft chuckle escaped the crazed man's lips as her shirt fell open, the only thing keeping her breasts hidden, the bandage that Lydia had applied earlier that day. The blade tugged at the flimsy material, as Ed wished for Roy to save her from what was surely coming next.
A/N: I figured I'd stop here, as evil as it might be. I don't want to carry on with the details now, and I don't really want to have to up my rating either. Now the fun can really start *evil grin* Also, this is a bit early, but I was just so excited to get this out there, I couldn't help myself. The next chapter should be out Saturday or Sunday, since this one is early :3 Remember to review, and message me with any questions. Until next time ;3