Hello! I have returned with another chapter! Sorry to leave the last one on such a…kind…note. Also, I do apologize this update came later than I had originally intended. Thank you guys for being so patient with me. Anyways, on with the story!
I still do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. I just own my cult. I love my cult. Cults are fantastic…just kidding, don't go join a cult.
"Why don't you get Falman to cover for you for a little bit?" Breda suggested. "You could really use some rest. I'm sure he won't mind."
Fuery rubbed his eyes before giving him a grateful look and leaving to find the Warrant Officer. Breda couldn't help but feel for his comrade. It pained them all to hear Ed scream like that. He wanted nothing more than to hear the order to invade the Sanct, even General Grumman had looked hopeful.
Unfortunately, after that scream, the order never came.
It would be so easy to invade the Sanct anyway, but it wasn't logical. Despite knowing that, it didn't make staying at their new base any easier.
Then there was the fact that they heard Absalom asking Ed about what he knew about human transmutation. That did nothing to ease the tension within their team, especially with the General there to listen in with them. Even though he was more concerned about the man's intentions, the Colonel's men couldn't help but worry that the higher ups would have some questions about the young alchemist and how he really lost his limbs.
Colonel Mustang trusted General Grumman, so they should too; however, the paranoia was still there. The incident where one of the soldiers let it slip about the military being involved didn't help matters in the slightest.
Speaking of the General, he was coming toward him and the Warrant Officer now.
"Lieutenant Breda, join me for a minute."
Surprised at the order, he instantly got up and followed the man to the front of their base. Several soldiers were already there waiting. A car was approaching. Once the vehicle stopped, a lone man got out.
"I'm surprised to see the military out here," the man commented as he walked toward the base.
The corners of Grumman's mouth turned up into a seemingly friendly smile. He opened his mouth to greet the man, but was interrupted before he even had the chance to speak.
"I can assure you all that there's no reason to even be here. I know you sent in those two from child protective services to interview the children, so you should know that the Jones brothers and their followers wouldn't hurt a fly."
The General stepped forward, extending his hand.
"I'm Lieutenant General Grumman," he said, completely ignoring everything the man said. "I wish we had the pleasure of meeting under better circumstances."
The man was obviously annoyed, but shook his hand anyway. Even he knew it was rude to dismiss such a high-ranking officer of the military.
"I'm Jonathan Sutton, mayor of Freyvale."
"Even though you may think otherwise, I'm afraid our presence out here is necessary."
"I've known the Jones brothers since they were kids. They've done absolutely nothing wrong. Anything you might have against them is just a misunderstanding."
Grumman's eyebrows rose at the mayor's protests. He motioned to the Second Lieutenant.
"Lieutenant Breda and his team have evidence that implies otherwise. It seems that there was a violent altercation between the brothers and a few of the members of their congregation and our representatives from child protective services. I'm sure the Lieutenant would be willing to show you our evidence if you want to see it. Of course, if we deem it to be a misunderstanding as you so claim, our presence out here shouldn't cause any problems then. We'll just return to East City after a few more days of investigation."
The mayor's hands curled into fists and he stormed back to his car.
"I hope you understand that this is just a waste of your time!" he yelled as he climbed back in the vehicle.
The soldiers watched as the car left their base. The General turned to the few men standing to his right.
"Follow him," he ordered.
Not needing to be told twice, they sprang into action. He motioned for Breda to walk with him back to his station.
"Why—"
The Second Lieutenant didn't need to finish his question.
"No one knows we're here," Grumman explained. "I made certain of that. No one was out in the streets of Freyvale when we moved out last night. He had to have a reason for coming out here."
Breda's eyes widened at the realization. He was even more shocked when the General continued.
"When I said we had evidence that the brothers might be getting violent with their followers, he didn't even demand to see it. If he truly believed what he was saying about the Jones brothers, he would have wanted to hear the recording of the altercation. His only goal in speaking to us was to get us to leave. I'm almost certain he knows something about those brothers."
The Second Lieutenant grinned. Finally, they didn't have to wait on an order to help their comrades in this mission.
*break*
Jean flinched as Ed's tortured scream echoed through the empty hallways. He was pretty sure everyone in the Sanct had probably heard that. Their forces in Freyvale certainly did. He wondered if they would soon raid the Sanct. As much as he knew they needed to figure out who drew the transmutation circle, he couldn't help but hope their forces would come.
Ed had been through enough.
However, there was a part of him that knew his young comrade wouldn't allow that. He wanted to stop these murders probably more than any of them, especially after befriending Zayne and seeing how the members of the congregation were being deceived concerning the true fate of their loved ones. Unless his life was in danger, he wouldn't order their forces to raid. Even then, the kid would hesitate.
The Second Lieutenant shook his head, as if that would get rid of the thoughts buzzing around in his mind. He had to focus. The sooner they had answers, the sooner they could get Ed out of this insanity and to safety.
He navigated his way back to the sanctuary. It was empty. For the first time since this mission began, luck was on his side. He strode up to the back wall of the massive room. Feeling around the wall, it finally gave when he accessed the hidden door.
He shut the door behind him immediately, lest anyone decide now would be a good time to go to the sanctuary to pray. A dim, orange glow illuminated the bottom of the staircase. With a hand on the wall, he carefully guided himself down the stone steps.
Upon descending the stairs, he was stunned to not see the Colonel or First Lieutenant. A lone lantern sat in the middle of the circle.
"Havoc!" Riza hissed.
He spun around. There was another hidden door within the far wall. He would have missed it if it wasn't for the First Lieutenant poking her head into the small room. She motioned for him to join her. His eyes widened as he took in the unexpected sight.
It was much bigger than the previous room with several lanterns providing slightly better lighting. Shelves of books lined the walls. Two desks sat on opposite sides of the room, one had a variety of powders and chemicals stored in beakers and test tubes. The other had books, notebooks, and papers strewn across it, which was what the Colonel was currently looking through.
"How did you two find this?" he asked.
"We wouldn't have if the door hadn't already been opened," Riza explained. "Someone's been down here. Recently if I had to guess. These lanterns were already lit when we got here."
The Second Lieutenant mentally kicked himself. If he and Roy had thought to search for another door last night, they could have found more answers. Ed could have avoided getting whipped.
Ed could be safe right now.
Although, the more he thought about it, he and the Colonel had to make contact with the forces in Freyvale. Recalling how pale his commanding officer had turned when he saw the transmutation circle, it was also fair to say that they both had other things on their mind. At least they would have more to tell Ed the next time they checked on him.
"This doesn't make any sense," Roy muttered.
Both Lieutenants snapped their heads in his direction. Their commanding officer walked over to them with one of the books.
"Have either of you seen this before?" he asked.
Riza's eyes widened as when she took the book and started to flip through it. Various arrays were scattered through the worn pages accompanied by words she couldn't even begin to understand.
"What language is that?" Havoc wondered as he looked over Riza's shoulder at the book.
Roy shrugged.
"Hell if I know. I was hoping one of you could tell me."
"It looks so old," the Second Lieutenant commented.
That was an understatement. The only thing it lacked was dust, but someone had obviously been taking good care of these books.
"That's what I thought," Roy continued. "I was wondering if these were the 'Scriptures' the brothers found when they first came to the Sanct."
Riza continued flipping through the pages of unfamiliar arrays.
"Have you checked what's in the notebooks?" she asked her superior.
He shook his head. The two went over to the desk and began sifting through the papers and notebooks. Jean walked over to the other desk. He stared at the perfectly organized chemicals and powders. There were a couple papers on the desk full of equations he didn't even want to try to understand.
"Looks like someone's constructing a bomb down here," he muttered to himself.
It would have been funny if it hadn't been very well possible. He moved to the shelves of books that lined the walls. Some looked ancient. He took a few off of the shelf to look through.
"I think these notebooks are a translation of what's in these books," Roy said, breaking the silence between him and his First Lieutenant.
When he compared the notebooks and the books, he noticed the same arrays appearing in both. The notebooks seemed to be filled with the arrays and detailed explanations of how to draw them properly. It wasn't until he reached the end that the blood drained from his face and he nearly dropped the notebook.
"Colonel?" Riza asked when she noticed the tension in her superior. Her concern grew when he didn't respond to her. "Sir, what is it?"
Roy swallowed thickly before trying to find his voice. He didn't want to believe what he was reading.
"It seems to be a theory for human transmutation."
Riza's brow furrowed. Something like that wouldn't shake up the Colonel. It wasn't until he continued that she understood.
"It calls for sacrificing another human to bring back the dead. It says only a living soul can be considered full payment for another."
Her eyes widened and her blood ran cold. She didn't know a lot about the taboo. All she knew was what the Colonel had told her about Ed and Al's transmutation, how they had gathered all the chemicals and elements that made up a human. She couldn't imagine anyone that could come up with such a twisted theory.
Suddenly, the notebook she was holding was yanked out of her grasp and Roy was frantically flipping through the pages. When he didn't find anything in that notebook, he reached for another. The First Lieutenant thought it best to let him be. He was obviously on to something.
He scoured through the papers and books, trying not to make a mess but desperately searching. Even in the dim light of the lanterns, she saw his eyes light up as he seemed to find what he needed. She saw him compare the notes to the translations.
"The clipeum array," Roy whispered as he scanned through the pages.
One of the first arrays in the translations was a diamond with multiple zig-zagged lines surrounding it in the middle of a human transmutation circle. Dread pooled in his stomach as he searched through the notebooks. He was really hoping he was wrong.
Unfortunately, he wasn't.
Whoever drew that transmutation circle, he was certain he found their research notes. Two arrays were drawn on the first page. Only a few notes accompanied the drawings.
First transmutation: unsuccessful.
Rebound broke every bone in both the deceased and the sacrifice.
I remain unscathed. Clipeum array works as intended.
He turned the page. The clipeum array was the same on every single page, but the second array was different. Similar notes were made on each page. After the fourth page, the notebook was blank.
"They're experimenting…."
The thought of that absolutely sickened the Colonel.
"Boss, you might want to see this."
The Colonel turned toward Havoc. While he was looking through the notes, his two subordinates had moved one of the bookshelves, revealing yet another door. However, this one was pushed back and to the left behind the rest of the wall, revealing darkness beyond it. How many secrets did this place have?
"I was looking through the books when I saw it," Jean explained. "The door was partially open. This looks like a tunnel."
All three of their heads whipped toward the other small room when they heard footsteps echoing down the stairwell. Instantly, Roy arranged the books on the desk as he had originally found it before grabbing two of the lanterns and joining the two in the tunnel. As quickly and as quietly as they possibly could, he and Jean pulled the bookshelf back to its original place against the wall before closing the door, but not completely.
Within the shelter of the tunnel, Roy kept the door cracked open. He handed the lanterns to Jean and Riza. He didn't want to risk the light peeking out from behind the bookshelf. He stood on his tip-toes to see through the space over the top of some of the books and the next shelf.
He had to catch at least a glimpse of who was behind this. His eyebrows rose when Absalom entered the room. He walked straight to the desk with the notebooks and picked one up. The man didn't seem to notice anything out of order or the absence of two of the lanterns. He left as quickly as he had entered.
He turned around to his subordinates.
"It was Absalom."
Neither military officer was too shocked at the news, but both were quite obviously confused.
"That doesn't make sense," Havoc whispered. "He and his brothers have alibis each night of the callings."
Roy had a hunch the second he saw the transmutation circle. There was no way these experiments could have been conducted by just one person.
"Someone else is helping the brothers."
*break*
Ed's agony-glazed eyes darkened when the door to his makeshift prison opened again.
"Leave me alone," he painfully growled when Absalom entered his cell.
His knee was still throbbing, causing pain to shoot through his flesh leg every moment he remained conscious. Unlike the whipping, he wasn't fortunate enough to pass out from the excruciating torment. The man carried a bag into the prison and set it down in front of the young alchemist.
"If you tell me what you know about human transmutation, that can be arranged," he said as he rummaged through the bag. He pulled out a notebook and pen. "You can feel free to start anywhere you like. I just want to know how you did it and what rebound occurred."
Ed glared at the cult leader before him. Like hell he was going to tell him anything, especially with that microphone in his pocket. It was already bad enough their forces overheard Absalom trying to interrogate him the first time.
A long, tense silence passed between the two.
Absalom was running out of patience.
He suddenly gripped Ed by his arms and lifted him off the ground. Ed had to stifle a cry of pain as his beaten body protested the movement.
"Come on, you little freak! Tell me what you know, and we'll both be better off!"
Ed still remained silent. Absalom dropped him, and this time he wasn't able to prevent the pained cry as he roughly hit the ground. The man looked through the bag until he pulled out a thick leather belt and several nails. He turned the beaten alchemist on his stomach and ripped off one of the bandages on his upper back, causing streams of blood to flow from the wound.
Absalom dug his fingers into the newly exposed, mangled flesh. The kid writhed at the contact. With the blood covering his fingers, he began drawing on the stone floor.
Ed couldn't do anything but watch as the deranged man made what looked like a transmutation circle in his blood. He couldn't be certain of what it was. His vision was blurring too much. Despite this, he didn't miss the familiar flash of alchemy.
Absalom smirked at his latest creation. The nails were now alchemically embedded in the belt. He sat Ed up against the wall yet again. The kid couldn't struggle as he fastened the belt around him.
Ed's eyes widened and he let out a choked scream as the nails pierced his flesh. He kept expecting the torment to eventually end, but it didn't. Absalom's smirk turned into a full-fledged grin as he saw the pained resignation on the teen's face. The nails were short, so he knew they wouldn't puncture anything vital.
But it still hurt.
"Once you tell me what I want to know, I'll take the belt off." He chuckled when Ed still said nothing. "Be smart about this, kid. I am in complete control of how you spend your last few hours alive. All you have to do is speak up. I can even make your death quick and painless, just a simple snap of your tiny neck. If you continue to be so stubborn with me, I can make it excruciatingly slow. It's up to you."
Ed clenched his eyes shut, trying to bear his newfound torture. He didn't notice the man smearing the blood on the floor, destroying the evidence of the transmutation circle. He barely heard the sound of the door opening and someone else joining them.
"Brother," Jeremiah greeted. "Do you need Corinthian or myself to assist you?"
Absalom shook his head.
"There is still Darkness inside of him," he explained. "His soul is almost completely purified, but I still have some work to do. He tried to speak deceitful words to me, so I'm making sure he's paying for his sins. Don't listen to a word he says. The Darkness within him is trying to save itself. We have to be strong. We have to be faithful, Jeremiah. Soon enough, the Moon will save us all!"
Jeremiah nodded and extended his hand out to his brother, who gratefully took it. Once he was off the ground, the two left the cell.
*break*
"I saw the clipeum array in all of Absalom's notes," the Colonel explained as he and the two Lieutenants walked through the tunnel. "According to those books, it can prevent a rebound from affecting the alchemist that performed the transmutation. My guess is the rebound hit both victims since it didn't have anywhere else to go. It was powerful enough to break every bone in their body. I can't believe they had enough nerve to try that. If anything went wrong, that would have been an excruciating death for whoever actually activated the circle."
"What about the other arrays in the books?" Riza asked.
Roy shrugged.
"I've never seen any of those arrays before. The translations didn't have much information about any of them except for the clipeum array. I think the brothers are experimenting with them until they find one that will help them perform a successful human transmutation."
"That's sick," Jean muttered.
The Second Lieutenant couldn't imagine people caring so little about human life that they felt justified in using it for their personal experiments. Although, he shouldn't be too surprised.
Humans could be cruel, more so than he ever wanted to think about.
The trio stopped when the tunnel diverged.
"We need to split up."
Neither Riza nor Jean protested their superior's suggestion. While they didn't want to, they knew they had to.
They had to figure out where these tunnels led, hopefully to more answers.
There's chapter eight! In case anyone was curious, "clipeum" is Latin for "shield." At least that's what Google told me. I thought it was interesting and appropriate for this story.
I hope you guys liked a little perspective from the rest of Team Mustang. They're going to make another appearance next chapter, and I am so excited to write it!
Anyways, I apologize again for this chapter coming out later than I anticipated. I'm going to make absolutely no promises on when the next update will come. I am writing as often as this semester allows, but it hasn't been as much as I have been hoping it would. I do promise to post it the second it's finished! Until then!