The girl, Janet if Selim remembered correctly, seemed to be a walking history text on the Mahnion Hotel. The group had discovered this when Marlin had asked if Janet knew any history about their target. She did indeed and was more than happy to share with them. Unfortunately, it seemed that was all she knew about it.
The actual building had been constructed over a century before and had stood as an elegant statement of New Optain's general upper-class caliber, or that's what the most recent owners had stated when they'd bought the old building more than two decades ago. It had been a renovation project, one that had been rather successful as it had gone from a nearly-condemned building to a five-star hotel that tended to attract well-off customers…which was why it had been a target. It hadn't exactly been a hidden fact that many of the upper-class families who had evacuated to New Optain had taken rooms at the hotel. No one had thought to look past the current security because it had already been fairly good. Just…not good enough.
Now, as Selim crawled through the abandoned tunnel that would take them to the basement of the hotel, he could see why someone might have missed this particular area of security and why such entries could be appealing to a covert group. According to Janet, the hotel had been a major part of the Underground a hundred and thirty or so years ago. Selim remembered that time. Some laws had been passed that the general populace didn't agree with concerning the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Those laws had been implemented to create contention and were a major factor in one of the later wars, although the pathetic humans couldn't see it at the time. Before those laws were repealed almost a decade later, there had been a resistance of sorts that hadn't fought back so much as they'd sneaked around under everyone's noses.
The idea of the hidden tunnels had become more or less a local legend, which was why Janet hadn't brought it up before. No one, it seemed, could prove those tunnels existed. Once she thought about it, however, she began to suspect that someone in the FFO had found one and that's how they had infiltrated the hotel in the first place.
Selim, through his shadows, managed to find a house just outside the barricade's border that had a good number of people with guns guarding what looked like a trap-door of sorts, confirming her theory. He'd immediately retracted his shadows and had then sent them in search of a different passage (and he'd enjoy the memory of the girl realizing his powers for a long while to come).
After that, it was just a matter of time before Selim located another obviously unused trap door in a basement similar to the one the FFO was guarding. Unfortunately, it had taken quite a while to find and the final location had been several blocks away from their position. Getting there unseen had taken most of what was left of the afternoon and what remained of the light was beginning to fade into dusk by the time they'd reached the (thankfully) abandoned house.
From the looks of things, the family that had occupied the home until the military had evacuated them had no idea the entrance even existed. It had taken a combination of Marlin, Bonnie and Selim to lift the heavy, stone door blocking the tunnel.
Of course, that was when Selim had realized that he would be crawling about in a most undignified manner and silently lamented yet another blow to his pride.
"Where's Sloth when you need him," he'd muttered bitterly to himself as he stared down into the cob-web filled hole.
"What?" Bonnie had asked.
"Nothing," he'd responded as he sent his shadows down into the hole. Janet, not trusting Selim and being more than a little afraid of his shadows, had insisted on taking the rear so as to be furthest away from Selim as he led the group now crawling through the tunnel. He'd volunteered to do so partly because he simply didn't want to look at a bunch of human backsides and partly because he would probably have the best chance of opening the door on the other side.
He'd refused to go without some form of light, and so they'd scoured the basement and had come up with an old but still usable lantern that had enough oil in it. Once they managed to light it, a little shadow curving down into a hook from the ceiling was all Selim needed to hold it in front of him as he moved forward.
Now they'd been crawling for…well, far too long in Selim's opinion and he still couldn't see an end. It was a small, dark and enclosed space on top of everything else that had happened, and the more human side of him was not handling it well. He'd been alright in the dome outside the Elric's home because the structure itself had been built and controlled with alchemy, something he understood very well, and he'd had an escape planned if it had proven necessary. He hadn't cared for the box car ride in the dark, but at least it had been larger and more open than this. Right now it was taking all of Selim's will-power to keep himself in check, which meant he was more than a little snappish. Thankfully the group had unanimously decided to remain quiet as they crawled, for whatever reason. It may very well have saved their lives because Selim would not be held responsible for his actions had they asked any pathetically stupid question while he was in that state of mind.
He shook his hand as yet another spider ran across it. That had been something else he hadn't been thrilled about—the abundance of insects and other similar creatures that had made this space their home. He'd taken to stabbing at them with his shadows whenever he could, wishing that they could replenish the energy in his stone. Sadly, even if they could, he doubted their minimal life force would do more than make up for what little energy he'd expended in stabbing them. Still, it released some of the pressure he'd been feeling while allowing a tiny outlet for his frustration as well as providing something to concentrate on besides the darkness.
Glancing over his shoulder, he narrowed his eyes as he speared the arachnid he'd just shaken off and continued to follow his lantern down the passage.
It was several more minutes before he spotted the end, but the relief he felt couldn't have been more palpable when he did. Ahead of him he finally saw a small, wooden doorway with peeling, black paint and an old, rusted handle covered (of course) in cobwebs. As soon as he caught sight of it, he reached out with his shadows to open the door and sped up his pace. The thick strands of black wrapped around the handle, but it wouldn't budge. He frowned. So that meant it was either locked or rusted shut. Extending his shadows into the lock he found the mechanism that would unlock it and it clicked loudly.
"What was that?" Marlin asked, not missing a beat.
"I was unlocking the door," he replied shortly.
"We're there?" Janet asked, relief plain in her voice.
Selim rolled his eyes. "Yes."
"Oh, thank goodness."
It bothered Selim that he agreed with her at all, but he kept that to himself. Once again, he used his shadows to try and open the door. Another soft click sounded, loud in the silent darkness as the door opened. Selim didn't push too far or too hard. If the handle had been that rusted, he didn't even want to try the hinges and risk a creak giving them away to anyone that might be on guard. Heck, the clicks might have already. He sent his shadows through the small crack to observe the other side.
He did hear two muffled voices and through the crack his opening of the door had created he could see a faint light. Allowing a small smirk onto his face, he sent his shadows out and into the more open area. He could see three guards talking to each other. One of them shot a 'fine' over his shoulder as he walked towards the door Selim and his misfit group hid behind.
He sent his shadows to intercept the man but paused when a thought occurred to him. The men, all three of them, had to go. As Pride he wouldn't have hesitated to assimilate their souls into his stone. As Selim Baker he'd look for a way to incapacitate them. As a being that was neither (or both, he still hadn't quite decided) he was at a complete loss.
This was his chance to replenish his stone. These people were the perfect candidates. They had no tie to Selim whatsoever, they would probably not be severely missed once all was said and done, and they would have no idea as to what had hit them.
A tap on his foot had him glancing back at Marlin, who held a hand up in a questioning manor, probably wanting to know why Selim wasn't moving. The homunculus held a finger up to his lips and then held up three before pointing towards the door.
"Is one tall and blond?" Marlin whispered lowly.
Selim blinked and looked at the approaching man through his shadows again. He'd have to come quite a ways across the enormous underground area to find them, but he was steadily and somewhat warily coming closer. Then Selim glanced at the other two and found, to his dismay, that one of the two by the secret door on the other side of the room did indeed have light-colored hair (although he couldn't tell if it was blond in the dim light).
Alright, so he'd have to refrain from killing humans again so as not to alienate the people currently watching his back. Not that he needed them, but they could prove useful. He blatantly ignored the relief he felt at the decision and the tiny thought that said he could probably kill the other two without serious repercussions.
After a moment, he nodded as he glanced over his shoulder at the larger man. "I'll take care of them," he said and quietly sent his shadows to wrap around each of the men slowly and covertly.
By the time they'd realized something was wrong, Selim had practically incapacitated them. He managed to stifle any of their yells of alarm before they'd gotten so much as a peep out and then (as calmly as he could) pushed open the door. It did creak rather loudly and Selim felt satisfied in knowing he'd made the right choice.
He instantly felt better when he set foot inside the large, basement room, even with the old clutter and boxes everywhere. He let out the smallest sigh of relief and turned to face the people crawling out after him.
"We still need to be quiet," he whispered, "but we should be alright for now. The three men are over there. Go and see if one of them is the…person you're looking for." He said it as neutrally as he could. Tensions were high enough as it was. The last thing he needed to do was antagonize people at this point, no matter how difficult not doing so would be. If they as a group got in, got their people and got out, that would be the easiest. Of course, things rarely went that simply, but trust between the four of them would make their chances of success that much higher.
"You go and see, Janet," Marlin said quietly to the girl crawling out. "The fewer people they see, the better."
Janet scowled and looked like she wanted to say something but didn't. After a moment she went stalking over to the struggling group Selim held with his shadows and peered at each of their faces. They didn't seem too happy to see her and started struggling even harder. To her credit, she didn't acknowledge their efforts in the slightest, and after a moment she sighed and shook her head.
"No. None of them are him."
Marlin and Bonnie both nodded their heads, looking grim. Selim simply shrugged and knocked their heads together, hard. He didn't care that he'd likely given them all concussions as that would make it all the harder for them to sound the alarm if they woke up.
"We should get some rope and tie them—" Marlin started but Selim shook his head.
"No, we don't have time. I've rendered them unconscious for now. We should, however, take their weapons and means of contact."
"So all their radios and guns," Marlin considered his words thoughtfully.
"Not only guns are weapons," Bonnie muttered as she walked past them and knelt down by the men. It took her less than five minutes to find most if not all of their weapons and those they decided they couldn't take they threw in a dark corner. They turned the volumes of the radios down and strapped them to their belts. Fortunately they were newer in make and not too bulky. Selim took the gun and knives he'd been offered with a grimace of disgust. Reduced to using human weapons…he really doubted he could recover from sinking to this level of…actually, he couldn't seem to come up with an appropriate word that accurately described lowliness of his current situation.
After that it only took them a few moments to hide the still unconscious men behind some of the clutter and then, with a mutual nod, they approached the stairs leading out of the basement.
Janet may have known about the hotel, but that was about as far as her usefulness went. No one knew the exact layout. Of course this left Selim to lead the group cautiously onto the first floor of the basement. He ignored the feeling of his energy draining as he had to continue to use his shadows. There was no other way around it, really. They needed the foresight his shadows gave. The lavish halls seemed to be rather empty though. Either the guards had all gone on patrol or they'd been spread thinner than originally thought. Either way, no one was about to look a gift-horse in the mouth.
"Look for hostages," Janet whispered from somewhere behind him. "Barton will probably be guarding them."
Selim allowed himself the luxury of rolling his eyes. He was looking for a hostage himself, after all. Stupid, greedy humans.
"Then I'm going to need a safe room to work from so I can scout and map the hotel."
"Will any room work?" Marlin asked.
Selim shrugged.
"Then let's just go in this one right here," he said, pointing to the nearest room, a number 132.
It took Selim all of three seconds to slide his shadows through the crack on the floor and open the door from the inside. All of them slipped in and shut the door quietly behind them. The room had apparently been occupied because belongings and suitcases had been scattered and left everywhere. Ignoring it all, Selim situated himself on a bed and lay down, getting comfortable. It wouldn't replenish his already worrisome energy supplies, but it might help a little.
"Don't touch me until I move," he said.
"Again?" Janet sighed. Selim refrained from responding to the impatient girl. She wasn't worth it.
As subtly as he could, he sent his shadows out and into the hotel.
The first floor had very few guards patrolling it. Most of the FFO's people had been situated around the entrances. A few sat or paced nervously behind the office desk but no one noticed when Selim slipped a few pieces of paper and some extra pencils away from the desk and brought them back to the room. There, he'd have a few maps to hand out.
The hostages had been separated into two groups. The larger of the two had been shoved into a large sitting room on the third floor. The second, much smaller one consisted of most of the more prominent military family members and had more people guarding them on the fifth and top most floor. Of course he would find Johan and his mother in that group.
He checked to make sure that they seemed unharmed so he wouldn't have to change his plans. Fortunately everyone appeared frightened but healthy.
That was when he saw Clemin. The man was standing a few yards away and discussing something Selim couldn't hear with a few other men. He considered taking Clemin out right then and there. He could…but doing so would sacrifice many hostages because they'd undoubtedly retaliate (probably had orders to start shooting if anything happened to their leader in all truth) and he could not at his current energy level even hope to take all of them out at once.
He glanced over at Johan and his mother. Could he risk it? The homunculus inside of him said he shouldn't care and taking out one of his most hated enemies would definitely be an acceptable exchange for worthless human lives. But he still wanted to ask Johan why…why he'd still wanted to be friends after he'd figured Selim out. The disgusting, human side of him also wanted to save his friend, even if it meant Clemin would escape.
It really came down to understanding. He could understand Clemin. He could predict the man's strategies and knew his motives. He couldn't say the same about Johan. He really just…didn't get it, and the idea that he didn't understand bothered him for some reason he couldn't place.
Annoyed with himself, he grudgingly finished mentally mapping out the top floor and then withdrew his shadows.
Opening his eyes, he glanced around the room and saw the three former FFO members in a quiet discussion in the corner. Dismissing them, he sat up and threw his legs over the side of the bed.
"Selim?" Marlin asked. Selim ignored him and grabbed the paper and pencils his shadows had deposited by the door before heading towards the desk.
"Let me draw out a map and we can come up with a plan," he said dismissively as he pulled out a chair, pushed some of the belongings aside and sat down.
It didn't take him long to draw out a basic map of the floors on each of the different papers and note where the patrols and sentries had been placed.
"Alright," he said, drawing the others out of their conversation again. He frowned and raised a questioning eyebrow at them.
Marlin glanced at his companions before speaking up. "We're discussing as to whether we should help the hostages or the FFO."
"If we help the hostages we'll be helping the government!" Janet hissed angrily.
"And that's better than leaving innocent people to suffer?" Marlin returned just as heatedly.
"Helping the FFO will not help the country at all at this point," Bonnie said with a nod of her head.
"I told you," Janet growled, "we're not here for any stupid ideal! We're here for revenge against the government for what they did to Liore!"
Selim couldn't help his derisive laugh. Everyone turned and looked at him in confused surprise.
"What's so funny?" Janet asked through gritted teeth, hands clenched at her sides but mostly hidden beneath the large, misshape sleeves of her jacket.
"The only man still alive who was a part of planning all of that out is now leading the FFO. I just find the irony entertaining. Humans are so pathetic."
All three of them went from surprise to outright shock, Janet's being the most pronounced.
"Y-you're lying," she stammered angrily after a few seconds.
Selim raised a sardonic eyebrow. "And why, pray tell, would I lie to you? The truth is far more entertaining."
"To get my help! To stop me from joining back with the FFO! To—"
Selim scoffed again. "You overestimate yourself and your usefulness. Typical human."
Janet sputtered as she tried to come up with something else through her anger, but Bonnie cut her off. "What do you mean?"
Selim deadpanned. "Overestimation definition: when—"
"No, about the new leader," Bonnie cut in heatedly.
Selim raised an eyebrow. "It's a long story and we don't have time for it right now."
"Then summarize," Bonnie insisted, hands on her hips.
Selim glanced around at each of them and sighed. They wouldn't let this drop, so he should probably just hurry up and get it over with.
"This country, Amestris, was founded by…someone like me. My father, actually. He set up the government and ran it all from behind the scenes for…well, longer than I've been alive."
"Of course," Janet scoffed. "You're what, 16?"
Selim regarded her coolly. "I'm coming up on my 320th birthday actually."
"Yeah right."
Marlin laid a hand on her shoulder. "He's not lying."
Janet paused, her eyes going wide. "B-but that's not possible!"
"I told you," Selim cut in. "I'm not human."
"What are you then?" she returned.
Selim blinked at her for a moment before deciding that he really didn't have much to lose and shrugged. "A homunculus."
"What's that?"
Selim rolled his eyes, praying to anyone that would listen for patience. "We've gotten a little sidetracked. Ask them later," he nodded to Bonnie and Marlin.
"Actually, we're not really all that sure either," Marlin commented.
The homunculus brought a hand up to the bridge of his nose. "Later. We don't have time. Do you want to know what's going on or not?"
The three exchanged glances, and Janet didn't look like she wanted to drop it, but they did none the less after a stern look from both Marlin and Bonnie.
"To get back to 'summarizing'," he glanced at Bonnie dryly, "human souls can be used as an immense alchemic energy source. My father wanted to use all the souls of the humans in Amestris to become a god."
"What? That's terrible!" Janet shrieked. "It's disgusting! How is that even—"
"Shhh!" Bonnie hissed but neither she nor Marlin looked happy about the revelation either. Janet glanced over at her in acknowledgement, but didn't lose any of her ferocity.
Selim chuckled dryly. "Yes, it is rather disgusting." The homunculus side of him didn't want anything to do with humans, and while he could handle living off of their souls, he would prefer to not have to rely on the disgusting creatures at all. The human side of him was disgusted and disturbed at the very idea and felt for the poor, tortured souls that had been sacrificed for his very existence.
"You can do that too," Marlin said suddenly, drawing Selim's attention. "You can get power from human souls too. That's why you were considering…" Marlin trailed off as he seemed to be putting things together.
"Killing you?" Selim finished for him. "Yes."
"And why didn't you?"
Selim's chest clenched at the question. "Let's not get into that again. I'm still having problems figuring it out."
"You haven't killed anyone yet," Bonnie pointed out.
Selim remained quiet, but he couldn't meet their eyes feeling simultaneously proud and ashamed of that fact.
"And you trust this…thing?!" Janet asked, gesturing wildly to Selim.
"Watch it," he heard himself growl menacingly. "You can quite easily be my first kill in 16 years."
"I don't have to stand for this!" Janet said.
"Janet," Bonnie said, her voice low but it stopped the younger girl none the less. "We need him. His telling us the truth only helps his cause in my eyes."
"How do we know he's telling the truth?!"
"It is not surprising that you would believe what you want to believe and not care about the truth."
"Selim!" Bonnie rounded on him. "You're not helping either your case or your situation by antagonizing her."
Selim shrugged nonchalantly and leaned back in his chair.
"Janet," she said. "The least you owe him is to listen to him. He got us in here when he didn't have to and he hasn't hurt us or anyone else, despite having ample opportunity. Now stop acting like a five year old brat and shut up while he finishes telling us."
Janet scowled, but sat down on the bed with her mouth shut, pouting, but she stayed. Selim ignored her and went on with his story.
"So my father wanted to become a god. He theorized that with enough raw power at the appropriate astrological moment, he could accomplish his goal. He had one of his children spend over a century digging a transmutation circle around the entire country. Then he brought in the government officials so as to create blood seals on certain points in that circle. The more blood spilt, the better. He gave them the locations and they took care of it as they saw fit.
"Liore was one of those places." He shot a look over at Janet. Her shocked and horrified expression said it all. Well, at least she was listening.
"The government officials agreed to be a part of it in exchange for immortality. They all wanted their own philosopher's stones." Selim scoffed. "Pathetic, greedy…" he faded off at the glare Bonnie and Marlin were shooting him. Right, keep on track.
"Clemin was a part of that. Ishval, Liore and Briggs were some of the last blood seals."
A tense silence fell over the room. Even Bonnie looked shocked and more than a little angry. Selim knew the enormity of the plot would be enough to overload their tiny human minds. It had been part of the reason he hadn't wanted to explain.
"And you were a part of it too?" Janet asked finally, her voice quiet and tense.
Selim didn't answer for a moment. "I did what father asked. In my defense I…had little choice. Homunculi are indentured to the person that creates them. My father created me, and my only thoughts were to bring about his goal. I realize now that…"
He stopped and shook his head. "That is beside the point. My father was killed and I was incapacitated by the same person, one Edward Elric," he had to refrain from spitting the name and putting as much hatred as he possibly could into his voice, consequently missing the enlightened glance Bonnie and Marlin exchanged. After a moment he calmed himself and went on. "He and many of the other lower officers in the government at the time figured out my father's plan and tried to stop it. The only man from the higher ranks of the time that survived was one Brigadier General Clemin—the man currently leading the FFO.
"Oh, and as a final note, the current Fuhrer, Olivier Armstrong, was one of those people fighting against us. So by helping the FFO as it is now, you are not only enabling the people that destroyed your lives, as it were, but you are hindering those working against them.
"See the irony?"
"You're lying," Janet said again.
"No," Marlin said as he sat down, "he's not."
"How do you know?"
"Because it makes sense…and it confirms some other facts we've discovered," he responded. Even Bonnie looked overwhelmed and sick at the overload of information they'd just received.
Janet put one hand over her stomach and one hand to her mouth. "I've been…helping them?"
"I…we really had no idea…did we," Bonnie said quietly.
Selim looked down. "That was the point."
"Alright, I'll help free the prisoners," Marlin said. "Just tell me what to do."
"And I," Bonnie said quietly.
Selim nodded to them. Then the turned and looked at Janet who didn't say anything for several seconds. Finally she looked up, tears in her eyes.
"I just want to save my brother."
Selim sighed and conceded the point. It was really the best he could reasonably hope for. Not that he really needed their help, but still, it felt good to not have to watch his back. It also felt good to know that he could keep an eye on these people and incorporate them into his plan instead of having them go off half-cocked on their own.
"When you find him," he suggested, "tell him about Clemin. Leave me out of it. Leave the homunculi out of it. It will take too long to explain and probably only confuse him more. Simply say that Marlin and Bonnie came across the information that Clemin was responsible for Liore and you may be able to convince him."
Janet stared at him for several seconds before nodding and looking away, obviously still trying to work through her shock. "Alright," she said, her voice barely above a low whisper, "I'm in."
xXx
Special Thanks to Gamoden (my Beta) and Shade 40 for pointing out a few problem areas.