Major General Roy Mustang was not having a good day...again.
"Are you telling me that one of the most potentially dangerous people on the planet has vanished?" the dark-haired man asked, straining (fairly unsuccessfully) not to raise his voice.
Lt. Hawkeye stood there as calmly as if he'd asked her about the weather. "Yes, sir," she said in a tranquil voice that perfectly matched her stance.
Roy ran a hand through his graying hair.
"It seems whoever hit the bodyguards did a professional job," she continued, placing the file on his desk. With a hand that most certainly was not shaking, he reached over and opened the folder. His experienced eyes scanned over the page.
"One of the bodyguards survived," he said aloud. "How long until he wakes up?"
Hawkeye shook her head. "We don't know sir."
"How do we know it wasn't...him?" his dark eyes glanced up at her, sharp despite the slightly milky tint.
"The angle is inconsistent. We found the point where the sniper hit from, a local building rooftop."
He stopped, blinking up at her. "Good?" he asked.
She nodded grimly. "Very, Sir. If the bodyguard hadn't been wearing a vest, he would not have survived."
"Nothing left?" She shook her head. He swore, sitting back in his hair and putting his folded hands in front of his mouth as he stared into empty space, thinking.
After several silent moments, he spoke up quietly. "It's Clemin." She didn't respond visibly, but he could tell she agreed. "He's been busy," he continued. It seemed as if all of Central had reached an unspoken consensus that the ex-general had become the new leader of the FFO. Them obtaining decent leadership after he disappeared was too much of a coincidence otherwise. Now if Roy could just uncover their sponsor...their rather elusive sponsor sho obviously had experience in hiding their money trail.
Finally, Roy sighed. "Send out a 'missing' report to every field agent and outpost you can, military or otherwise. Post a usual reward. We can raise it later if necessary."
Riza nodded, but paused. "What should put on it?"
Roy stood up, placing the folder in his desk drawer as he did so. "Only that 'Selim Baker' is missing. The fewer people that know the better."
She bowed, blond bangs swinging attractively before her eyes as she stood back up. "Yes, sir."
Ignoring his unhappy smile, she turned on her heel and walked out the door.
Roy watched the door for a moment, a sad, almost longing look on his face before the expressionless mask snapped back into place and he followed. It would be his job to report to the Fuhrer. He just hoped she was in a good mood...
xXx
Weakling, a voice hissed at him in the darkness that had just a touch of red to it. Selim flinched away from the words. Pathetic...just like them...not worthy...
With some effort, he ignored the voice, instead focusing on the relative darkness that for once he found comfort in. Normally, he hated darkness with a passion. Of course he would never admit even to his mother now much it scared him still. Now though, he welcomed it. It seemed to bring a sort of hazy comfort and peace that he didn't often obtain. That is why he found himself disappointed when it began to slip away.
The first thing he noticed was the warmth. The days had been becoming steadily cooler as the later, winter months approached. The last thing he remembered, he'd been outside. Apparently he wasn't anymore, as at the moment, he felt rather snug. Maybe even a bit too warm. He wouldn't complain as he'd always preferred higher temperatures. It actually felt rather nice...except for it being a little stuffy.
He also felt material over his head, but he didn't seem to be in his bed. Far too many lumps. He was about to throw all of that to the wind and try to go back to sleep when a sudden jolt brought him fully awake. He was moving...and tied up. Heavy ropes bound his wrists, and he could hear noises of air rushing by and metal moving against metal. A train then.
That's when it all came rushing back. That's also when he realized that whoever had grabbed him had stuffed him into a sack.
An extremely small sack.
A little light came through, so he wasn't completely in the dark, but that only barely took the edge off of the sudden fear that shot through him. His breathing sped up and he felt his heartbeat begin to race too.
A sudden noise like someone sliding a door open caused him to freeze in panic. "I still don't see why you had to kill the bodyguards." an annoyed, female voice said heatedly. "Probably scarred the kid for life!"
"No witnesses," a second, cold tenor voice responded.
"You tried to kill him too," the first accused. Selim gulped. This wasn't doing anything to help calm him down.
"The concession was 'dead or alive'," the second voice said.
A loud clang resounded above the rumbling din of the train and the woman swore. "I'm okay with kidnapping if it means taking out a threat. I never signed up to be an assassin."
"Killing him would have 'taken out' the threat too," the second voice pointed out. His emotionless tone sent shivers up Selim's spine. All in all, staying still was becoming more and more difficult by the moment, but he didn't want them knowing he'd woken up. What if they killed him then? Who were they? Why were they here? Who had hired them to kidnap him and why? He wasn't anybody!
Except the possible son of an artificial being... The thought ran through his traitorous mind and he had to fight back a wince.
"You're not killing him," the first voice insisted. "Not while I'm around."
A deep grunt from the area of the door voiced an agreement. A third person then?
"Why did you take this job to begin with?" the cold voice finally answered.
"We're bounty hunters. That's what we do," the woman responded flatly. Then she added on, almost as if she were pouting, "I didn't think he'd be a kid."
Then, without warning, Selim felt something on his head, and shrunk away with a yelp. That suddenly, the bag was gone. He couldn't help but feel grateful, despite the fact that a hand had entangled itself painfully in his hair and yanked his head back.
"It seems he's awake," the second voice said from somewhere above him. Through the cracks in the box car that surrounded them, enough light shone in for Selim to see the man that voice belonged to. He had dark hair that seemed to have auburn highlights, although that could have just been the poor light. The uncombed mess had been stuffed haphazardly under a narrow-rimmed hat. Beneath that, a sharp, dark business suit clad a smallish frame, but Selim could tell that said frame had a good deal of muscle behind it. And the way he moved belied a good deal of some sort of training. His pale skin made him stand out despite the dim lighting, making him appear almost ghostly.
Selim also caught a whiff of iron. The man was packing heat, and Selim had no doubt he would use it at the slightest provocation. He gulped, and his eyes shot to the other two.
The woman looked to be in her late twenties. She wore a low-cut sweater, a dark, form-fitting skirt that almost reached her knees and had snow boots. She also had gloves, and her light, almost-white hair had been twisted up into a loose knot on her head. She also wore sunglasses and gloves, but Selim could still tell she was concerned, and unhappy with the situation in general.
The second man seemed to be much older. In the prime of his life, he must have been a body builder or professional fighter of some sort, because Selim caught a residue of strength around the man's aura. A lot of that muscle had been let go to flab though, and he moved in a slow, careful way that only came with age and a good deal of experience. He also had light hair, although his seemed to be a mixture of gray and blond. He wore a heavy, buttoned jacket over wrinkled slacks and watched Selim over the collar of said jacket with sharp, gray eyes. This man was not someone to take lightly. None of them were.
"W-what's going on?" Selim asked, hating how shaky his voice came out.
The woman walked over and reached down towards Selim, who flinched away. Then, to his surprise, she grabbed the first man's wrist.
"Let him go," she said dangerously. The man returned the look with a completely unfazed gaze of his own. Selim knew that look, although he couldn't remember from where. It said that this woman only remained alive until he had no more use for her. What scared Selim though, was the fact that he held no remorse or anger. His eyes stated that like it was just a simple fact.
Of the three of them, this man was the most dangerous.
After a moment, he let go of Selim's hair and stood up as if it had been his idea to begin with. Brushing non-existent dirt from his coat, he turned and walked back out of the door.
After that, the woman bent down with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry about that," she said. "I think someone shoved a stick so far up his backside that he wouldn't be able to remove it with surgery. It's the only explanation I can find, in any case." She shot a rueful look at the doorway where the older man was looking after the younger one who had turned out of Selim's sight, presumably to leave them be.
Selim couldn't help the small smile at her joke, but the overall fear and confusion drove it away almost as quickly as it appeared. None the less, he refused to just give in and be a blubbering little ball of nothing.
"Who are you?" he asked, straightening his back and lifting his chin. "And what do you want with me?"
The woman's own smile vanished and she stood up. "It's nothing personal, kid. We were sent to take out a threat named Selim Bradley. According to the job description, you were supposed to be some sort of monster or demon."
Selim felt a shot of anger rush through him. "Clemin," he growled.
The woman raised an eyebrow. "Who?" she asked.
Selim turned his glare on her. For a moment she looked startled, and then slightly afraid. Standing up, she backed away warily. "Ex-Brigadier General Clemin," he hissed. "Is he the one who hired you?"
She blinked, looking unsurely back at the old man. Selim followed her gaze and was surprised to see a gun in his hand. He gasped softly and glanced between the two of them. For a moment, the woman had made him think he could trust them, but he'd forgotten himself. These two had probably been the ones to actually capture him to begin with.
The man sent her a nod of assurance and she returned it silently. Selim watched the exchange closely. These two seemed familiar with each other, and both of them were apparently at odds with the third memory of their group. He could use that...maybe.
"The FFO hired us," she responded slowly.
Selim's eyes opened wide. "The FFO? That terrorist group? What would they want with me?"
The woman shook her head. "They're a rebellion, not a terrorist group. Besides, it's not a smart idea to try and figure out what is going to happen to your targets. Like I said, nothing personal." Any warmth that had been in her voice before was gone. The woman that stood before him was exactly what she claimed to be: a bounty hunter.
"So you're just going to take me away from my mother and my life just to throw me into some unknown situation run by people who think I'm nothing better than a monster or a threat. I'll give you two guesses as to what they'll do to me."
He caught only the smallest hint of guilt from the woman as she turned to look away. "They're not a group like that," she said softly, although she sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than everyone else. "At least, they didn't used to be." Then her eyes hardened. "Anyway, it's none of our business. We're just out to live our lives. Sorry you got mixed up in it, kid.
"We're probably going to get there in a little over an hour, so you may want to prepare yourself. And don't try anything funny. Marlin here is going to be watching you for this last leg. He doesn't miss much."
Selim eyed the graying man and didn't doubt it.
With that said, the woman turned on her heel and walked out, shooting a look at Marlin and nodding again before she left him alone.
Sighing, Selim leaned back against the wall of the box car and tried to get comfortable. Thankfully, they hadn't shoved his head back in the sack. Now that he looked around, he could see crates of all sorts stacked at the edges. He could also see quite a bit of baggage. A passenger train then. So they'd had to smuggle him into the train. Dragging a drugged, tied-up kid onto a train (even if he had been in a sack at the time) would undoubtedly raise more than a few questions. He could use that too...but only if he waited for the right moment.
His eyes slid back to the man at the door. He'd lowered his gun, but hadn't put it away. He hadn't taken a seat either, and looked as if he weren't exactly inclined to talk. That suited Selim just fine. He didn't particularly want to have a heart-to-heart himself.
Unfortunately, patience wasn't exactly one of his strong suits. Slowly he began to work at the ropes on his wrists. He had one hour to work himself free, may as well start in the easiest place. If worse came to worst, he could think of something a little more drastic later.
His stomach grumbled loudly, but he ignored it and continued to work at his hands as the minutes passed by.
"You won't be able to untie that," Marlin said suddenly, his low voice easily carrying over the train noise. "If you're smart, you'll just relax in for the ride."
Selim narrowed his eyes at the man. "Pardon me," he said with more than a little sarcasm. "I'll be sure to sit here calmly and obediently so you can hand me over to people who want me dead."
The man didn't look impressed, staring at Selim flatly. Then he cocked his head. "What did you do to tick them off?"
"Who?"
"The FFO," Marlin responded.
"I have no clue," Selim muttered, slouching back against the wall of the box car again. "My mother used to work for Fuhrer Bradley and is distantly related to his wife. That's about the only real connection to anything I can think of...unless they know who my real father is."
Marlin raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
Selim sunk even lower against the wall. "I don't know. I was adopted and no one wants to tell me anything." He did not like the way the man looked at him after that. He'd just connected something, Selim could tell. Probably how much he looked like Selim Bradley. Not for the first time, he cursed his resemblance to the dead boy.
"How old are you?" Marlin asked. He wasn't looking at Selim, who blinked in surprise. That didn't seem like something the man would simply ask.
"Fifteen," Selim responded. "I have a birth certificate if you want to look it up."
"Hmm," the man grunted in response.
They sat in silence for a while while Selim tried not to fidget too much. It took him a few minutes to realize that silence didn't work in his favor. He needed some sort of distraction to take the man's attention off of Selim trying to free himself.
"What about you?" he asked in a conversational tone. "How did you end up as a bounty hunter?"
The strained atmosphere suddenly went frigid, and Selim realized it had nothing to do with the weather. Right. Taboo then.
He searched his mind for something else, and came up with a random question. "Are you an alchemist?"
"Shut up, kid."
Selim scowled, throwing that idea to the wind, and went back to working on his wrists. He could feel the skin coming off as he moved them around, but he had almost slipped his wrist out when a sudden noise from the outside caused both pairs of eyes to shoot to the door.
After a few moments it slid open and a girl rushed in, directly into Marlin's gun point. Realizing what happened, she squeaked and backed away a step, hands held up. She had dark, curly hair that came down only just past her ears and large, hazel eyes. A large, tan coat that had obviously seen better days almost drowned her small frame. She didn't look to be older than about sixteen or seventeen.
"Who are you?" Marlin growled.
The girl didn't take her eyes off of him. "M-mandy Parkins," she managed to get out.
"Why are you here?" He growled, moving the hand with the gun to draw attention to it threateningly.
She suddenly looked contrite. "I...was hiding."
"From who?" The woman looked away. Even in the dark, Selim could see a blush rise on her freckled face. Marlin caught on quickly. "Stow away, huh?"
"I had to get transport!" she blurted. "There's supposed to be a job for alchemists in Parlim county. I need the money!"
Selim blinked in surprise. She was an alchemist? She certainly didn't look like any alchemist he'd ever seen or heard about.
Marlin sighed, finally lowering his gun. "I won't turn ya in, but hide somewhere else."
With an 'eep', the girl nodded and bolted out the door. Selim felt a ping of disappointment. She hadn't so much as looked around. There was little chance she'd noticed him. Not that she'd be of much help anyways. And that's if she'd decided to go against the large, obviously competent man with the gun.
The old man watched her off down the hall for a moment before he walked back in and slid the door closed, muttering something about impulsive teenagers.
Selim sighed, and went back to working on his wrists in the silence.
Ten minutes later Selim reassessed his previous thought of almost having his hand free, but he refused to give up. This whole thing stunk of Clemin, and if he really was behind everything, Selim doubted he'd live very long past arriving at the station.
Unless the shadows decided to take on a mind of their own around him again...and even then.
Of course, if he'd ever needed supernatural protection, now would be a good time.
Ignoring the annoying idea that kept coming to mind about how he was being stupid, he concentrated on the shadows, willing them to move. There weren't a whole lot here as it was mostly dark with only a few hints of light peeking through cracks, but any light was enough to cast a shadow.
After several minutes of this, despite the chill of the air, he began to sweat, pouring all of his effort into getting the shadows to move.
Nothing happened.
He tried harder. Still nothing. That's when he noticed the train slowing down.
"No..." he whispered, suddenly feeling more determined than ever. It didn't help. Marlin stood up, tucked his gun away and reached down for Selim. In one motion, he'd both torn the cloth sack off of his captive and thrown the struggling teen over his shoulder. Then began to pick his way around the crates and boxes until he reached the side of the train. A large, sliding door had been placed there; easy access for the loaders. With a mighty heave, Marlin threw the door open, took a deep breath, and jumped out of the still rather quickly moving train.
"Are you crazy?" Selim shrieked just before he became weightless. The strange feeling only lasted a moment before they rocketed towards the weed-covered dirt and landed hard. Amazingly enough, Marlin did not let him go once, and he took the brunt of the fall. Old or not, this man had to have bones of steel and muscles of iron.
For a moment, Selim wondered if the man had automail legs or something.
"Are you trying to get both of us killed?" he yelled.
"We were never in any danger," Marlin replied calmly.
Selim grit his teeth, not willing to believe the man for a second.
After a moment, Marlin stood calmly up and began walking through the brush. Trees and bushes scattered rather sparingly around them, and the air felt drier than Selim was used to. So somewhere towards the East by Selim's guess.
Behind them, Selim saw the train's caboose pass by and sighed.
He continued to work at his bonds, giving up on the shadow idea completely. His trek through the woods was, to say the least, unpleasant. He hung over the man's shoulder, hands and feet beginning to fall asleep while Marlin walked along at a surprisingly bouncy pace for an older man. Every step seemed to jar Selim's teeth, and drive the man's shoulder deeper into his stomach. He could only be thankful that it wasn't bony or particularly sharp.
They had been walking for several minutes when Selim caught the scent of someone from behind them. Surprised, he lifted his head (with some strain) and looked back as best he could. No one was visible, but the wind blew in their direction and he caught the smell again.
They were being followed.
But why? Why would Marlin's partner follow them? Or maybe it was the other man?
Before he could contemplate on it more, the ground around them sparked and started to glow.
"What the-" the man said, stepping back defensively.
Selim's eyes widened, realizing that the bright sparks had formed a perfect circle. Then, before their eyes, the ground quickly rose around them into a dome. Marlin growled and lunged at the rising wall far too late. Selim felt his heart clench in fear and panic. The shadows responded again—he could feel it somehow this time—but not quickly enough. In moments, they'd been shut completely in the dark.
For just a few moments they stood there in the blackness. Then Marlin let Selim drop unceremoniously to the ground. Then he apparently launched himself at the wall again because Selim heard something hitting the transmuted stone repeatedly. He didn't care.
He was trapped in the dark, in an enclosed space. Memories of helplessness and anger flashed through his mind, and a metal clinging sounding over and over again in a message. There wouldn't be anyone to get a message to this time, though. He was trapped.
"NO!" he yelled. "Let me out! Don't keep me here! No! No! NO!"
And why weren't the shadows doing anything now? Surely utter blackness counted as a shadow? Didn't it? He managed to slide over to a wall and positioned his feet to start kicking at it. His ankles had been tied together just as tightly as his wrists, so he had to use both feet. That was fine by him. He'd take bruised ankles over the enclosed darkness any day. All he knew was that he wanted out now!
"Let! Me! Out!" he screamed.
"Shut up, kid!" Marlin said, annoyed.
"You shut up!" he yelled back, a few more colorful expletives escaping after that. "You don't get it! I can't stay in here! I can't live like this! If I stay here, I'll be completely useless! It'll be just like..."
He faded off. The phrase that had come to mind was 'Father's original form'. But that didn't make any sense! Just how...? Then the panic surged again, and he shook the thought from his head. It didn't matter right now. All that did matter was getting out.
"NO!" he yelled again. His voice had begun to sound harsh and raw with all of the screaming, and he renewed his efforts to kick the wall down again. His desperation rose to new levels as the claustrophobia continued to grip his mind. He had to get out! His chest started to hurt as he began to hyperventilate. Somehow, even though he couldn't see the walls, he felt like they were closing in on him, ready and willing to crush him under their immense weight.
Slowly, his shouting faded into terrified whispers, and he kept repeating, "They can't leave me here! They'll all leave me here! They can't! They can't!" Somehow he knew he wouldn't be able to survive.
"KID!" a firm hand reached clumsily for his shoulder. He yelped and tried to back away, but the hand held him fast. "Calm down!"
"I can't calm down!" he hissed back. "I let it happen again! But no one's coming this time! No one's there to help! They'll leave me here! They'll keep this dome here and there's nothing I can do about it! No one knows! No one-"
His panicked rant was cut off by more glowing light below him. For a second he saw Marlin's lined, surprised face as a wall of transmuted rock shot up between them. Selim's own shocked eyes remained fixed on the wall until the light faded and he found himself completely alone. It took a moment for his mind to process that, but before he could utter a sound, the wall behind him practically exploded. Blinking, and taking more unsteady breaths, Selim looked over at the figure standing in the light.
At first he couldn't see, but then the figure stepped calmly into the dome. It was the girl from the train, the one with the dark, curly hair. The girl who had squeaked like a mouse and left the cargo car almost faster than Selim could blink.
The proud, confident woman standing in the light didn't seem like the same person. She paused a moment, probably trying to adjust to the dim interior, then her eyes fixed on him.
"Hi," she said with a confident grin on her face. "You looked—and sounded—like you needed a bit of help. Mind if I take the honor?
Selim stared at her as she continued to smile down at him. Outlined in the light streaming through the dust that had just begun to settle it seemed as if she were some kind of heavenly messenger. Not that he'd ever tell anyone that.
"B-but you...I...why?" Selim managed to get out.
She shook her head as she walked over, a knife appearing in her hands. For a moment, Selim backed away, but then she reached gently down and began to work on the ropes.
"I have my reasons," she said with a wink. "Helping out a cute kid like you? That's part of why I became an alchemist! Come on, we gotta get you outta here."
Selim felt a blush rise to his cheeks. "Th-thanks, but I didn't need any help."
She shot a dry look at him. "Uh-huh."
The dark-haired boy clenched his fists. "Look, I-" he started but she cut him off.
"I heard you screaming and was afraid I'd actually hit you with my wall or something. Glad you're alright."
He blinked as the embarrassment pushed his blush higher. "I...um...yeah, I'm fine." This was why he hated panicking in front of people. It always took far too long for his brain to catch up with his mouth.
She looked glanced up at him, curly hair bouncing. "So why were you screaming? Did he hurt you?"
"No," Selim answered immediately. Then his voice lowered to a mumble. "I...don't like the dark."
Her response to this was a positively sweet smile that seemed just a little too genuine and more than slightly teasing. Even as he felt the blush rise to his cheeks again, his fists clenched in anger. He didn't say anything though. The last thing he needed to do was make an even bigger fool of himself.
Then the ropes snapped, freeing his arms and thankfully distracting him from his lack of intelligence and the teasing girl. He immediately went to stand up, eyes fixed on the opening that would let him out of the nightmarish darkness.
"Slow down there, champ," she said, putting a hand on his chest and pushing him back down. "You have to get those cut first." She gestured down to the rope tying his feet together. He looked down, then back up at her, contemplating just pushing her aside and making a break for the door anyway. He'd gladly walk on his hands if it got him out of the dome. Hopping didn't seem that difficult.
Before he could decide, a dull thump practically shook the wall near them. Both of them jumped and looked up at the rock. An image of a very angry Marlin practically bursting through the stone came to Selim's mind.
"Right, give me that," he conceded, taking the knife from her hands.
"Fine, Mr. Grabby," she muttered. "Don't cut yourself, K?"
"Please stop that," he said, ignoring the quiver in his voice.
"Stop what?" she asked.
"I am not a five-year-old to be coddled, nor am I a child with an intelligence seriously inferior to yours." He finished sawing through the rope and a second snap resounded. Ignoring all of that, he shot to his feet and made a break for the door as calmly as he could. When he got outside, he took a deep, calming breath and turned around to face her. "As a matter of fact, it may be the other way around."
To his utter annoyance, she hid a smile behind her hand. "Right, sweetie. By the way, I'm Mandy."
"Selim Baker," Selim responded absently just as another thump came from the general area of the dome. After exchanging a glance, they both came to a silent consensus getting away from the site would be a very good idea.
"This way!" Mandy said as she took the lead.
"Where are we going?" Selim asked, ducking quickly around some branches, easily keeping up with the girl.
"The city," she responded.
"What city?"
"New Optain."
Selim stopped dead in his tracks. He'd been outside of Central once or twice, but never that far. They'd gone much further to the east than he'd originally thought. After a moment, Mandy realized he wasn't with her and stopped.
"Come on," she said, snapping him out of his shock and gesturing behind them. "We have to get there before 'Old-and-Big' catches up."
"Right," Selim shook his head hurried to catch up with her.
"You okay?" she asked, falling into step beside him, only slightly breathless.
"Yeah," he muttered. "I just haven't ever been this far from home..."
She giggled. "I'll get you home, kid."
He shot a glare over at her. "You do realize I am maybe four years your junior at most."
She giggled again. "You're cute when you try to act grown up."
His scowl deepened at her comment and he turned to look ahead, picking up the pace. In moments, he'd pulled several feet ahead of her.
"Hey," she yelped. "Wait for me!"
Selim nodded in satisfaction. It wasn't exactly revenge, but he'd take it.
xXx
Like any city, they came across large farms and open fields surrounding the town. After some nearly disastrous run-ins with a few bulls, they decided to try and find a road into town. Mandy was tentative about the idea, but Selim insisted. He wasn't used to the fence climbing, mud wading, biting bugs or general disregard for large, painted signs that said "no trespassing". The latter she completely ignored without a second thought. She also seemed to love dirt with the way she splashed through the stagnant puddles large enough to be ponds.
It took them hours to find a decent road, and Selim couldn't help but wonder if Mandy was purposefully leading them out of the way. One part of him approved. If they went the long way, there was less of a chance they would run into the bounty hunters again. Another part of him wondered if she just liked torturing him. Every time he caught a glimpse of her she seemed to be snickering at him. It didn't take long for her to start wearing on his nerves.
"So," he said aloud, trying to converse as they traipsed through a half-grown corn field, carefully avoiding the plants. "You're an alchemist?"
"What gave you the first clue?" she asked sweetly. He felt a vein begin to throb in his forehead.
"What kind of circle did you use to trap us before? I would have thought a four-point circle based off of Grahm's diagram would do the job, but you would need to channel a lot of raw power through just a basic design. What symbols did you use to increase the power output that didn't detract from the quality and thickness of the finished product?"
Oh, the look on her face was priceless. She actually stopped, turned and stared at him, blinking only occasionally for several minutes.
"You're an alchemist?" she asked.
"No," he responded with a shrug, "but I've extensively studied the subject."
"And you get it?" she asked skeptically.
He nodded with a shrug. "What's not to get? The ideas are fairly simple once you can differentiate between them."
She eyed him skeptically, as if reassessing him. He almost heaved a sigh of relief. Maybe now she'd stop treating him like a little kid.
"Will you let me see your circle?" he asked.
She raised an eyebrow, still looking at him. Then a smile spread across her lips. "I would, but then I'd have to kill you," she said with a wink. "Come on, sweetie."
That throb in Selim's forehead came back. So much for that idea. Seriously, the sooner he could ditch this girl the better.
They finally reached a road leading into town, and all Selim wanted was a warm bath and a change of clothes. From all the mud splattered on him, he doubted people could still see his skin. Probably looked like some giant mud-monster lunging down the road to devour helpless children...
A glimpse down at his shadow stopped that train of thought.
His stomach let out a loud, whining rumble that brought a blush to his cheeks as Mandy giggled helplessly.
"Let's get you something to eat," she said after a few minutes, when she could finally talk again.
"Yeah," he muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets, despite the dirt on them. "Thanks."
"Aw, he's pouting."
He clenched his teeth. "Please stop it," he growled. "Why do you insist on speaking to me as if I had no ability to comprehend anything that comes out of your mouth?"
She just snickered and continued walking along. With a long suffering sigh, he followed.
The fields and farms gradually gave way to more industrialized areas, with factories sprouting in brick buildings at random intervals into the horizon. Despite the obvious turn for the more modern, Selim found himself surprised by the clean air. Much cleaner than Central in any case. It felt good.
Just inside the city limits, they were able to stop a policeman and ask for directions. He let them know where they could find a convenience store that would let them use their bathroom sink to clean off somewhat. A small market wasn't too far away, and they soon were walking down a side street for a little privacy as Selim downed several apples and carrots. With his stomach somewhat abated, he found his disposition greatly improved, and even managed a smile, despite Mandy's presence.
"You know," she commented, eying the almost empty bag in his hands, "that would have normally lasted me for a week."
Selim suddenly stopped and looked down at the apple in his hand. "Did you want some? I can pay for it. I still have a little on me."
"It's okay," she said, that perpetual grin back on her face. "You were obviously hungry. Besides," she reached into her pocket, rummaged around, and pulled a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket. "That came into a station I was at yesterday. You'll pay for plenty."
Selim took the paper and stared at it in surprise. A photograph of himself grinned back out at him above the words "Missing child! Reward if found: 500 Silver."
"A reward?" he asked, surprised.
"Didn't know you were worth anything?" Mandy laughed.
Selim shot her an annoyed glare, but otherwise ignored her, looking over the missing poster again. "Wow. That was fast. I've only been gone for what, a night?"
"Guess your mom really cares." He looked up at the tone in her voice. She was still grinning at him, but he'd heard a definite note of...what? Sadness? Longing? He wasn't sure, but something. "So, let's get you home to her!" She went on happily, slapping him on the back and almost causing him to lose grip on the groceries left in the sack.
She had a good arm on her.
Trying not to let his discomfort at her gesture show, he glanced back down at the poster and handed it back. "Sounds like an excellent plan to me. So how are we getting back?"
"A train," she said simply. "I can't afford to take a coach all the way to Central with the food we just bought, and I doubt you have enough for that."
"What about the bounty hunters?" he asked. Just as the words left his mouth a sudden chill passed over them and a much larger shadow obscured theirs.
"What about us?" a gruff voice said. Selim's eyes flew wide and he whirled around just as a large hand grabbed him. In seconds he was dangling above the ground, his dropped bag of food below his feet as the contents rolled and scattered along the pavement. Marlin, looking none-too-pleased, simply glared at him before shooting a similar gaze down at Mandy, who looked far more serious than Selim had previously seen her. "So that was you, Missy?"
She gulped and took a step back. While Marlin was distracted, Selim decided to take matters into his own hands. Reaching up, he grabbed Marlin's arm overhead and swung himself up with just enough force to twist out of the man's grip. Surprised, he yelped a protest at Selim, who landed neatly beside Mandy.
"She isn't part of this," Selim said. "Let her go."
For once, the dark-haired girl shot him annoyed look. "Not happening!" she said, withdrawing a small piece of paper from her sleeve and slapping it against the wall with both hands. "I am not letting my meal ticket go!"
Selim would have rolled his eyes if he wasn't busy watching the alley in front of them. The stone suddenly surged out from the wall she'd put her hands against, separating both of them from other man.
"Come on," she said, grabbing Selim's arm and turning to race down the road only to see the woman from the train standing there with two guns pointed in their direction.
"You would both be wise to stop right there," she said matter-of-factly.
"And what if we don't?" Mandy asked defiantly, transmutation circle ready.
The woman raised an eyebrow in her direction. "It's not me you should be worried about," she said. "I have a...an acquaintance who is rather good with guns long-distance."
Selim felt his face drain of color.
"Don't," he said to Mandy, who turned to look at him, surprised. "There's a sniper."
Her own eyes widened, and her mouth set into a firm line, but she let her arms fall to her sides.
"That's right," the blond woman said, sounding both stern and relieved at the same time. "I really don't want to hurt you, kid."
Selim shot her a dark look. "Then you wouldn't give me over to the FFO!"
Beside him, Mandy gasped and looked back at the woman.
"We've been over this before, brat," she said, almost growling. "Monster or not, I promised to hand you over, and I don't break promises."
"Well you'll have to break this one," Mandy said, letting a second card fall to the ground and stepping forward with her hands up as if in surrender. Both feet touched the card, and then everything exploded.
Suddenly, a cloud of dust obscured Selim's vision and he felt himself falling into much dimmer surroundings. With a yelp, he flailed, trying desperately to gain some sort of equilibrium without success. He landed on his backside, hard. He'd be feeling those bruises for months.
Holding back a cry of pain, he forced himself to move, trying to get his bearings. He'd fallen under ground somehow. The air smelled positively foul and it felt much cooler. The air was just beginning to clear when, out of nowhere, a hand reached down and grabbed his.
With another panicked yell, he jumped back, ignoring the pain.
The shadows responded, coming up to slice that hand off, just as he realized who it was. Mandy. Of course. Who else would it have been? But the shadow was still coming, and he knew it had too much momentum built up for him to stop it. So he did the only thing he could think of, and willed it to be something—anything—but a blade. Instead of slicing right through the girl's arm, the shadow wrapped around it, yanking it out of the way before receding almost reluctantly back into the darkness.
Mandy, who had opened her mouth to say something, stood staring at him slack-jawed and silent. She looked more than shocked, and Selim felt too much relief to do anything but relax again. It actually took the blond woman yelling and cursing from above to jolt the boy to his senses first.
"Sorry," he muttered, looking away.
"That was you?" she asked, almost awe struck.
"W-we should go," he said softly, reaching out to grab her still offered hand and biting his lip to ignore the bruises again.
Then he stopped short. Ahead of him was a long, dark, very, very narrow sewage tunnel. He could already feel his heart speed up at the thought of going in there. Now that he thought about it, he didn't much care for the idea of being down here now.
Meanwhile, Mandy also seemed to snap out of her reverie.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"I-I can't go in there," Selim replied, unable to take his eyes off of the darkness.
"We have to!" Mandy hissed. "Or do you want to get caught by them again?"
Selim glanced back at the hole in the ceiling and the clearing dust. It wouldn't take them long to find a way down there.
"R-right," he managed, then took a deep breath and plunged into the darkness.
Alright, so there it is. Chapter 3!
Please let me know what you think of my major dumping of original characters here. Do they come across strongly or not? You don't have to like them, but are they good characters? Someone you could imagine meeting in real life, or someone you could see in the FMA universe?
Thanks again to my friend-turned-beta-reader Daricio (who's amazing!), but I'm still looking for a beta reader if anyone is interested.
Please review!