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Fullmetal Alchemist: Conspiracy
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Fullmetal Alchemist quote:
"Quiet, child. This is what you wanted, isn't it? I will show you... the Truth!"- The Truth
"Talking"
Thoughts
Chapter 16: Chimera Attack
"What the…..What was I doing?" Edward asked confused. His golden eyes looked tiredly around the white area he was in. Everything was completely white around him. He turned around and saw a big gate towering over him. "What?"
"Hey, over here!" A mocking and amused voice called to him.
Edward whipped around. "Who's there?"
"Here, here. I'm right in front of you, alchemist." The voice said.
Edward looked around. "Where?" His eyes found a white figure that was in the shape of a human sitting on the ground. "Who are you?"
"Ah, thanks for asking!" The person said excitedly, throwing his arms into the air in excitement. "I am called by many names. I am the "world". I am the "universe". I am "God". I am "Truth." I am "All". I am "One". And I am also," He pointed a finger at Ed. "You."
Edward's eyes widened and stared in fear at the Truth. He heard the Gate behind him snap open.
"You have dared to knock on the door and now the door has opened." The Truth said.
Edward turned around to find a big eye staring at him from inside the Gate. Little black hands came out of the Gate at him. He tried to run away, but the hands grabbed him before he could take more than a step away. They started pulling him into the Gate, him screaming all the way.
"Quiet child. This is what you wanted, isn't it? I will show you…..the Truth!"
The Gate doors snapped shut. The little hands wrapped all around Edward and pulled him farther into the Gate.
Information was poured into Ed's brain all at once, making him scream out in pain. It felt like his head was going to explode.
"STOP IT!" Edward cried out in pain and fear. "IT'S TOO MUCH! IT'S TOO MUCH! STOP IT!"
A bright, white figure appeared before Edward. The form of the figure looked like his mother.
"Mom, please!" Edward reached a hand out to her.
As fast as she appeared, she was gone and Edward was in front of the Truth again.
"How was it?" The Truth asked.
Edward lowered his hand and looked back at the gate. He began walking to it. "I see. My theory of human transmutation wasn't wrong. It can be done. It's still just missing something." He slammed his hands on the Gate. "Please, you have to show it to me again."
"I can't do that." The Truth said. He stood up. "I've already shown you all that I can for the toll you paid."
Edward looked back at him confused. "Toll? What toll?"
The Truth held out his right arm and lifted his left leg. His arm and leg began to turn tan, the color of Edward's skin. "These. Surely you knew."
Edward looked down at his arm and leg to see them beginning to disappear. Alchemical energy cackled around his arm and leg as they disappeared and reappeared on the Truth. He fell back against the Gate as he lost his balance and stared up in shock at the Truth when he appeared in his face.
"It's the law of equivalent exchange, right, foolish alchemist?" The Truth asked.
The vast white area disappeared and Edward find himself in his basement. He screamed in pain as he noticed that his arm and leg were still gone. He turned himself onto his stomach and looked into the transmutation circle. A mismatched figure lay in the center, gurgling blood coming from the body and it reached an arm that was covered in blood out. It fell against the ground and scrabbled at it, trying to pull itself forward.
"No, this isn't what I wanted. No." Edward cried out.
"BROTHER!"
Edward jolted and lashed out at the voice.
"BROTHER, WAKE UP!"
Edward's eyes snapped open. They stared up into the scared face of his little brother. "Al?"
"Are you okay? It looked like you were having a nightmare." Al said, concern washing off him in waves.
Edward pushed his brother to the side so he could sit up without hitting him. He looked over his brother's shoulder to see the mechanics and officers still sleeping around the fire. Major Lyes, with his back to the boys, was sitting in front of the fire. His shotgun was resting against his shoulder, ready to be picked up and fired at any moment.
"He didn't see. We're too far away and in the dark." Al replied, knowing that his brother was worried that someone else saw him having a nightmare. He was worried they would think he was weak if they knew he had nightmares.
Edward nodded his head. He chose to sleep away from the group because he was mad and wanted to be alone. His brother must have joined him sometime after he fell asleep. "I'm sorry about our fight."
"I'm sorry too, brother. I was just upset that you were…..are keeping secrets from me. I don't like having secrets between us. We're all that we have left. We shouldn't keep secrets between us." Al replied. "We never have."
"Al, you know I am in the military. I might learn some things while in my job that I can't tell you because you aren't in the military. You're going to have to get used to me keeping some secrets from you." Edward replied sadly.
Al frowned. "We'll deal with that when it comes, but what happened at the train station has nothing to do with the military. Why can't you tell me what is going on?"
"Because I don't want you to worry, Al. Just let it go." Edward said, staring at the stars. "Everything will be fine. We should just focus on the mission right now. That is all that matters right now."
Al nodded his head and sat down by his brother.
"I have a feeling that there is going to be trouble soon. We have to be prepared. Do not take your gloves off ever on this mission, Al, not even when you are sleeping. You have to be prepared at all times." Edward said, looking intensely at his brother.
Nodding his head, Al looked around the open field. A small hill was a few yards away from them that led to the dirt path. All the mechanics and officers slept in sleeping bags around the fire. Their back packs were thrown into a pile to the side. "It's going to be hard to protect thirteen mechanics with only eight officers and two alchemist."
Narrowing his eyes in thought, Edward laid back down on his sleeping bag. "The officers will be guarding the mechanics. We are to take care of anyone attacking us. When did you come over here?"
"I joined you about an hour after you fell asleep." Al replied, shifting on his sleeping bag so he could crawl into it. "I wanted to talk to you. I hate fighting with you."
"Remember when we fought in Resembool? You would always run to the river and sit there until I came to get you." Edward reminisced. He propped himself up on his elbow to look at his little brother.
"Looking at water is very peaceful and calms me down. It's my personal relaxant." Al replied, staring at the moon. "Staring at water slows my heart. Water is calm and flows in one direction, like the world. It all goes in one direction. We can't go backwards."
"We have to work past everything. It's the only way we can live in this world. We can't hold grudges. Holding grudges will just cause you a lot of problems in life." Edward added. "It's getting late. We should go back to sleep. We going to need all the sleep we can get."
*B*R*E*A*K*
"It's going to take forever to get to East City by walking. And our food probably won't last long enough to get us there so we'll probably either starve again or hunt, but I'm not sure if there is anything here to eat. Why these idiots want to walk there I will never understand." Edward grumbled.
"I don't see why you are complaining. It is such a nice day out here. It's so beautiful!" Al replied cheerfully, looking at the bright blue sky, sun, and open field. He grinned at his brother. They were walking ahead of the group today.
Edward shielded his eyes as he looked up at the sky. "It's not that. It's just thinking about how far we have to walk to get to New Optain. Then we have to walk to East City from there. This mission would be so easy and go by fast if we could have some type of transportation. It is just completely insane to walk all the way there."
"Try thinking about the officers and mechanics and have some sympathy for them. They've been walking since they left North City." Al retorted, still grinning at his brother.
"I don't see how you can always be in a happy mood." Edward said monotonously.
"I don't see how you can always be in a bad mood." Al replied in the same tone.
"Because we can never be in the same mood. We must be complete opposites." Edward retorted. He looked at his brother with a mischievous smile. "How dare you always put me in a bad mood? I thought you loved me!"
Al grinned evilly. "As much as I love you, brother, I don't like being in a bad mood so I shall steal the good mood before you wake up so I can have it and you have to take the bad mood. So you only have yourself to blame. You the one who loves sleeping so much."
Edward scoffed. "You're the one to talk. You hate mornings."
"So do you." Al retorted playfully.
"I only hate mornings because you have to wake up and take the good, happy, cheerful mood. Maybe if you just left it for me for once." Edward replied, hitting his brother's shoulder playfully.
Al hit his brother back. "First come, first serve."
"Aw, come on, Al. Don't be like that." Edward replied.
Grinning like a mad man, Al ran forward away from his brother.
Smirking, Edward ran after his brother. "COWARD! HOW DARE YOU RUN?"
Laughing, Al picked up his speed. "You should know, brother, a good soldier knows when to fight and when to run." He called over his shoulder.
As soon as Edward got closed enough to his brother, he dropped to the ground and skidded, knocking Al's feet out from under him. Al let out a shocked sound. When his body hit the ground, he twisted around and kicked his brother in the side, sending him skidding to the side and down the side of the hill.
As he was rolling down the hill, Edward clapped his hands and slammed them on the ground. A ledge was created out of the side of the hill. The state alchemist landed on the ledge. Rubbing his side, he stood up and began climbing the hill.
"The simple things are more fun than anything." Al said when his brother made it back to him. He smiled brightly at him.
Smiling, Edward swung his flesh arm over Al's shoulder and they continued down the dirt path.
"I love traveling, but I really do miss the simple life in Resembool. I never really thought I would be traveling all over the place back then."
Al grinned at his brother.
"What?" Ed asked confused.
"I just never noticed how much you are like Master." Al replied, laughing.
Edward blinked. "What are you talking about? I'm not like her."
Al shook his head and laughed harder. He wiped a tear away from his eye.
"I'm not. She's crazy and always reacts violently to everything." Edward growled.
Al straightened himself out and got control of his laughter. "So do you. She hates being called old and you hate being called short. You both react violently when called them. You two have the same philosophies as well. Don't help anyone unless they have the will to help themselves, but not the means. You also both love to travel. You're just like Master on so many levels. We were only with her for six months but you learned more than just what she taught us. You became violent like her and learned to love traveling from her."
"Just please don't mention Master." Edward moaned, hanging his head. "I hate to think of what she would do to me if we ran into her. I broke both conditions that Master gave us before she trained us."
"Yeah, but breaking the second condition was against your will." Al pointed out.
"Do you actually think Master will see it that way?" Edward groaned.
Al put his hand on his chin in thought. "Good point."
Edward sighed. "You're not making me feel better, Al."
"Do you want me to tell you the truth or lie to make you feel better? You know I hate lying!" Al replied, throwing his arms into the air.
Edward shrugged and fell silent as the boys continued walking forward. He thought about his dream from the night before. He relived it last night. The night he received the Truth. The Truth.
The Truth.
The Truth.
The Truth.
The Truth.
Edward's eyes widened and he pulled his brother to a stop. "The Truth!"
"What?" Al asked confused.
"I received the Truth." Edward replied shocked.
Al scrunched his brows together. "The Truth? Didn't Master mention that to us before? She said she was acting as the Alchemy formula. Her hands act as the circle in her transmutation. And now you can do Alchemy without a circle as well because you received the Truth. How did you receive the Truth?"
"I received the Truth when I attempted to bring mom back. The Truth guy there gave me the truth, but made me pay for it by taking my arm and leg." Edward explained.
Al's eyes widened. "But for Master to have received the Truth she would have had…."
"Yes, she had to have attempted to bring someone back, but I don't know what she lost. Unless there is another way to receive the Truth. But not many people know about the Truth so there probably isn't any notes on it. So, the only known way to receive the Truth right now is Human Transmutation." Edward replied, nodding his head.
Al ran a hand through his hair. "It's hard to believe that Master would do that. She always told us to never bring a human back because it goes against the flow and isn't possible. And to find out that she attempted it herself."
"It's probably why she knew so much and made that one of her main life lessons to teach us." Edward replied thoughtfully before sighing. "Master and apprentice both make the same mistake."
"We could be wrong. Maybe Master got Truth a different way. We should ask her." Al said.
Edward shook his head. "Not if you want me dead."
"Good point. I don't like the thought of seeing Master. She'll probably beat us up again." Al muttered. His eyes lit up evilly. "Especially you when she finds out what you did."
Edward glared at his brother. "Stop reminding me."
Someone clearing their throat stopped the boys from continuing their conversation. They looked around to find the officers and mechanics waiting impatiently behind them.
"Hey, you finally caught up!" Edward said surprised.
"You two seem happy today." Cluke commented.
Edward shrugged and the group continued forward.
"Do you actually know how to get to New Optain by walking?" Al asked.
"Not a clue. I figure the Lieutenant Colonel should know and he will yell at us if we go in the wrong direction, but right now," Edward shielded his eyes as he looked ahead. "The only way to head is forward."
Al sighed and clasped his hands behind his back as he followed his brother down the dirt road.
In silence, the boys walked for an hour. Al looked around at the scenery. He always loved looking at nature. It was a calming affect for him. The nature was always beautiful to him. He enjoyed just sitting on a hill and drawing the scenery in front of him. His drawings were becoming much better as he drew more and more. It was one of the skills he had that his brother didn't have.
The older brother kept his hands shoved in his pockets. His eyes continually roamed over the landscape, looking for anything suspicious, suspicious looking people working in the fields that didn't belong or items that were lying around that wouldn't be found out in the country. Anything that was suspicious could be dangerous to them. His Master taught him to keep his eyes opened and know what is going on in his surroundings. Breaking concentration just once when in a dangerous situation was deadly.
Back when he was eight and training under his Master he remembered her drilling that lesson into his and Al's heads. She would send them to Yock Island and they would have to last anywhere from five hours to forty-eight hours without getting caught by her. That test started at five hours, but as they trained under her she added more and more time to that test. It was a test to sharpen their attentiveness, observant, alchemy, and fighting skills. It was one hell of a challenge, especially when the opponent was their Master.
Looking around the land, Edward stared with more concern at the forest that they were approaching. A forest was a perfect place for an ambush. Someone could hide in the shadows of the trees and wait for the target to be close enough before attacking. The target would never know what hit him/her. Edward learned that lesson the hard way.
Al noticed the forest too and narrowed his eyes. He readjusted his gloves on his hands in a nervous manner. Before a fight he always got a little nervous. He was a pacifist so he always tried to solve problems peacefully. Having been trained by his Master and living with his brother, Al knew that not all problems could be solved peacefully. This was one of those moments.
Being nervous before a fight always made Al more cautious and not reckless like his brother. His brother would just jump into fights, not thinking or worrying about the consequences. Even when the fight was over his brother never thought about the consequences. The job of worrying, thinking about the consequences, and being the voice of reason was left to Al.
As the trees loomed over them and cast them into shadows, the brothers tensed up, ready to use Alchemy at the slightest indication of trouble. It was an automatic reaction for them when they are in a dangerous situation. It showed just how hard their Master trained them.
Light shined through the canopy of trees, giving the group sight to see ahead so they knew where they were going. It was only a few spots on the ground here and there, but it was enough for the group. Shadows not only helped the hunter, but also the prey. The shadows gave the prey coverage.
Crack! Smash! Whoosh!
Acting on instinct, Edward grabbed his brother and pushed him to the ground. He jumped over his brother to shield him as he raised his arm to block whatever came out from the trees. It latched onto his arm, making him clench his teeth in pain. Reacting as quickly as he did, he raised his flesh arm in defense, not his automail.
From the ground, Al clapped his hands and slammed them on the ground. Spikes shot up from the ground, stabbing the creature in the stomach to make it release his brother. The creature howled in pain, allowing Ed to wrench his arm away, blood was running down his arm, starting at his elbow.
Edward watched the creature scrabbled at the spike in pain as it slowly bleed to death. He clutched his bleeding arm, straining his white glove red. He looked the creature over. The upper part of it had the bottom of a lion while the bottom half of it was that of a panther. "A chimera."
"What's a chimera doing out here?" Al said, pushing himself off the ground and looking around. He squinted his eyes to try to see better through the trees. "There has to be an alchemist around if there are chimeras."
"What's the situation, Major?" Lieutenant Colonel Myers demanded, hand resting on the hilt of his gun.
"Chimeras. We think there might be an alchemist around." Edward replied, glancing back at the soldiers and mechanics. "Keep your guns out and be ready for anything."
The soldiers immediately pulled their guns out and clicked the safeties off. Major Lyes pumped his shotgun so it was ready.
"Brother?" Al asked.
"We continue forward, Al. Just be ready." Edward murmured.
Al looked at the pool of blood on that ground. It was a mix of the chimera's blood and his brother's. "What about your arm?"
"We'll worry about it later. I don't like being surrounded like this. We have to get out of here first." Edward replied. "Besides, it's not that bad of a wound."
Al shrugged, but still looked worried as the group moved forward again. He kept glancing at his brother out of the corner of his eye. His brother didn't notice; he was too busy looking into the trees, looking for the enemy. His injured arm hanged limply at his side.
BANG!
Edward and Alphonse whipped around when they heard the sound of a gun being fired. Lying at Major Lyes feet was a chimera, bleeding from its head where the bullet hit it. Lyes pumped his gun and nodded at the boys when he saw them looking.
"So, there are more." Edward muttered, turning around. "Who knows how many more are around? We can't walk anymore. It's too dangerous. We have to get out of this forest quickly."
"So, we run?" Al clarified.
Edward bit the inside of his cheek as he thought. "Al, I want you to lead them out of the forest. I'll follow behind the group."
Al nodded his head. After a quick look through the trees, he ran forward with the officers and mechanics following. Edward waited until they were a few yards away before he started following them. He wanted some distance between them so he could see both sides of the group.
Ahead of him Edward could hear his brother's use of alchemy to create walls or spikes to attack the chimeras that jumped out at the group. The soldiers began sending round after round at the chimeras, killing or seriously injuring them. The mechanics ducked their heads and threw their hands over their heads when the soldiers fired. Apparently they could make the weapons but they didn't like seeing weapons used or the killing.
Edward clapped his hands together and jumped forward, landing on his knees and slamming his hands on the ground. Walls formed on the ground around the group to block the chimeras. With the walls protecting them the group could run without having to worry about the chimeras for a while. It also gave the soldiers time to reload their guns.
One of the mechanics, a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties tripped and fell onto his face. His pale face was covered in sweat and his brown eyes were full of fear. As he was pushing himself to his feet a giant bird chimera swooped down and grabbed him by the shoulders in its talons. The man began to screaming and clawing at the talons to get it to put him down.
Clapping his hands quickly, Edward slammed them on the ground to produce a pillar with him on top of it. He clapped his hands again. This time a beam shot out of the pillar. The beam dug itself into the chimera bird's chest, making it release the mechanic, who hit the ground with a thud and laid there stunned. The man's friends pulled him to his feet, where he immediately collapsed. The fall had twisted his ankle. One of his friends pulled him up and threw his arm over his shoulder and helped him walk.
Edward jumped down from the pillar, landing neatly on his feet. He couldn't blame the man for twisting his ankle when he fell, no matter how much he wanted to. The man didn't have the training he did and wasn't expecting to be drop all of a sudden.
Ahead he saw the officers and Al fending off ten chimeras. Where the hell are they all coming from? Who would make this many chimeras? Edward thought as he stayed behind the mechanics. He wanted to go help his brother, but knew he couldn't leave the rear end of the group unprotected so he had to settle for watching his brother and officers fight on their own. He didn't want to use any alchemy from where he was because he could accidently hit a mechanic, an officer, or his brother. He was not going to take that risk.
As he was watching them, Warrant Officer Walts ran out of bullets and had to stop to reload. That moment of cease firing was all it took for one of the chimeras to get through and tackle the Warrant Officer to the ground. The chimera wasted no time in biting her neck. It tore away all her skin from it, allowing her to bleed to death. The blood swarmed around her into a pool. It took less than a minute before she was completely drenched in her own blood from head to toe. His chestnut hair looked like it was naturally red with how much blood there was.
Major Lyes shot the chimera in his head a moment too late. His comrade was already dead by the time he turned around and shot it in the head.
When he caught up to the soldiers and Al, Edward looked at the dead woman and couldn't turn his eyes away from her, no matter how much he wanted to. Her amber eyes were opened. They were so dull and blank; the way a dead person's eyes looked. Blood was splattered against her clothes; more blood kept spilling from her throat.
"Elric, we need your help!" Major Lyes shouted at him.
Tearing his eyes away from the body, Edward looked at his comrades and brother to see them still fighting off the chimeras. "Everyone move out of the way!" He ordered. His hands were raised in front of his chest, waiting to be clapped.
The soldiers looked at his raised hands and immediately moved out the way, still firing away at the chimeras. Al performed two backflips to get away from the chimeras. He landed by his brother's side, worry shining in his eyes. "There are too many, brother. What do we do?"
"Leave it to me." Edward replied before clapping his hands. He dropped to his knees to put his hands on the ground. Blue alchemical light shined around them, causing Al to shield his eyes. He squinted his eyes open a little to see what his brother was doing. Waves from the ground were pushing the chimeras back into the trees.
Al's mouth fell into a small 'oh.' "Everyone get moving now!" He screamed.
"What about Walts?" Captain Sellick asked.
Edward shook his head. "She's dead. We can't take her body with us. Let's go now!"
Sellick sent one more sad look at her dead friend and comrade before following the others.
The group ran the rest of the way through the forest with the soldiers firing a few rounds at chimeras through the trees. Edward threw a few walls up to block the path from the chimeras.
By the time they reached the edge of the forest all the mechanics were covered in sweat and breathing heavily. The soldiers were turned to the forest with their guns raised, waiting for something, anything to come out of the forest and attack them.
"We have to keep moving. We can't stop here." Edward replied, not out of breath at all.
"Can't we take a break?" An older mechanic with graying hair and deep electric blue eyes shined with wisdom and a darkness that showed he's seen a lot in his life asked.
Edward frowned at him. "You should know we can't stop here, not this close to danger. We are to move now!" He snapped.
Lieutenant Colonel Myers turned to glare at him. "I'm in control here, brat."
Edward snarled at him. "What's your problem?"
Lieutenant Colonel Myers angrily motioned to the forest. "You let Warrant Officer Walts die."
"You're blaming me? I was sent here to help, but I'm not God. I can't save everyone. She was a soldier. She knew the dangers of being a soldier. All soldiers know there is a chance they will die on the next mission they go on. It's not my job to protect the soldiers. It's my job to help you escort the mechanics to East City." Edward said angrily, fists clenched at his sides. "Death is all part of a life. People die every day whether it is in battle, from illness, or natural cause. I'm not God and can't do anything about that."
Al smiled sadly and placed a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder. He knew his brother was remembering his human transmutation. Edward shot his brother a grateful look.
"Come on, it's time to move. We need to get away from here and treat our wounds." Edward murmured, clutching his bleeding arm again.
"I forgot about your arm!" Al cried, eyes wide, and began fussing over his brother, who sighed, pushed his brother away, and started walking again. The younger alchemist ran after his brother to keep an eye on him.
Scowling, Myers motioned to his team and the mechanics to follow after the boys who insisted on running this mission and not listening to his command and making their own orders. Oh, he was going to have to a lot to complain about when this mission was over.
The group walked for about two miles with Al fussing over his brother's arm, the soldiers continually glancing back towards the forest for any sign of danger, the mechanics complaining and grumbling, and Edward beginning to get ignored with the mechanics. He only lasted two miles before he got so annoyed and yelled that they were going to stop in the field for the night. Not waiting for approval from the Lieutenant Colonel, Edward stomped down to the field. Al shrugged apologetically at Myers and followed his brother.
In the field, the mechanics sat on the ground, not bothering to set up camp yet. They needed to rest. They had no idea of how those two young boys could still have all the energy they had left.
While Al went to get some medical supplies from First Lieutenant Haze, Edward looked at the soldiers and mechanics. Altogether there were only three injured soldiers and the one mechanic with the twisted ankle. Captain Sellick had two huge gashes; one on her leg and the other on her arm. Second Lieutenant Hanks looked like he had a horrible bite on his hand that was bleeding furiously. Major Baez had claw marks on his chest and huge gash on his cheek that would definitely leave a scar.
When Al came back, the brothers moved away from the group. When they thought they were far enough away, Al used alchemy to put walls around them so the soldiers, mechanics, and anyone who might be wandering around couldn't see them. Ed slid down the wall, stretching his legs out in front of him.
"How are you and tell me the truth?" Al growled, dropping down on his brother's left.
Edward shrugged. "I've had worse." He raised his right arm to prove his point.
"You were an idiot to not block with your automail arm." Al muttered.
Edward sighed. "I learn from this mistake. I'll remember to use it next time." He pulled his red coat and black jacket off, tossing them to the side. With the sleeves out of the way the boys could see how bad the damage was. The chimera's teeth left holes in his arm; holes that were still bleeding badly. There were also two gashes on his arm from when the chimera's teeth scraped against his arm after getting stabbed by the spike from Al.
Al winced in sympathy for his brother. He knew that his brother's arm had to hurt. He just wouldn't admit it to him or anyone. His brother hated being weak, especially showing weakness in front of others. That's why his brother never said if something was too much and he couldn't handle it. "We need to clean it out." He pulled out a water bottle and poured it over his brother's arm. His brother didn't react to the water falling over his arm. Usually something like that would make a wound string a lot, but his brother didn't show the slightest bit of pain to it.
"Only two days into the mission and we are already down one soldier with three more injured and one mechanic injured. This mission might just be harder than I thought." Edward gave a small smirk. "Better than that last mission. A mission with a challenge."
Al rolled his eyes at his brother and pulled out a towel. "It's sad that Walts was killed though."
Edward frowned. "I know. I wished I could have saved her, but I wasn't close enough."
"I know, brother. I know you would have done something if you could have. You are a good person, but as you said, you aren't God." Al replied as he wrapped the towel around his brother's arm. He patted it down to get his brother's arm dry. Blood seeped through the towel, straining it red.
Edward looked down at his automail hand. He flexed its fingers. "No way near him."
Al grabbed the gauze and started to wrap it tightly around Ed's arm. "I wonder who is controlling the chimeras. I didn't think there were any alchemists in the Eastern Liberation Front."
"We might not be dealing them. Remember we faced them on the train and they were wimps. These chimeras had to have been made by a great alchemist, considering how many there were and how strong they were." Edward replied.
"So we might just have two enemies to face." Al summarized.
Edward frowned and looked at the sky. "Maybe three."
Al stopped wrapping his brother's arm. "Why do you say that?"
Edward shook his head.
"Oh, great. We're back to you keeping secrets again." Al snarled angrily. He went back to wrapping the gauze around Ed's arm a few more times to make sure the blood wouldn't seep through.
"I think that's enough wrapping, Al." Edward pulled his brother's hand off the gauze. "And I'm not trying to upset you. I'm just not sure what is going on. I don't see any point in worrying you about it if there is nothing to worry about."
Frowning, Al taped the gauze down on his brother's arm. "Maybe I can help you figure out whatever it is that you are trying to figure out. You don't have to do everything by yourself, brother. I'm here to help you. That's what brothers do."
Edward didn't reply. He turned his attention to his clothes and fixed his jacket and coat with alchemy. When they were fixed, he pulled them back on. He looked at his gloves that were strained with blood. Sighing, he tossed them into his backpack and pulled out a fresh pair. His Master always told them to be prepared for anything so he always had an extra pair or two with him.
"You shouldn't keep secrets from me. I tell you everything. How would you feel if I suddenly just started not telling you everything?" Al asked, staring up at his brother, who had stood up to get dressed.
Edward looked at his brother out of the corner of his eye. If his brother suddenly stopped telling him everything he would feel hurt, confused, and sad. It would feel like his brother no longer trusted him.
"Brother?" Al asked when his brother didn't reply.
Edward drew in a large amount of air and slowly exhaled through his nose. He turned back to face his brother with a serious expression.
"Isaac is back."
A/N: Please Review!