A/N: Morning, long time, no see! I'm sorry for the long wait, and thank you so much for sticking with me. Here's a new chapter that will bring up even more questions than there were... but hey, where would the fun be if there were no questions? I hope you'll enjoy this chapter, don't forget to review, follow and favourite. Thank you for reading!
Now, per warnings - swears, violence, same old, same old.
Okay, that being said, on with the slaughter...
Chapter 20 – Burning trees
The bullet blew off Fey's brain, spraying it across the neatly trimmed lawn of the parade grounds. The body turned backwards with an awkward twist, the lifeless form crumbling down like a heavy rock. The pistol the Xingese was about to get out of his dress pants fell from its holster, landing a few steps away from the gruesome scene of blood and grey matter.
Roy, whose uniform started to stain from the blood that splashed on it, looked around him, searching for the one who shot his interlocutor. Seeing Crendell holding a gun in a shooting position, not too far away from him, with his gun drawn out and blankly gazing in the corpse's direction, he hurried to him and charged at him, throwing him off balance.
They both fell to the ground, Roy delivering a well-aimed punch to Crendell's face, who responded with a kick in the abdomen. They let go of each other and hastily got to their feet. Roy swung back and prepared to get to Crendell, but only got to see the sky from a kneeling position, as the other officer threw himself in front of him and pushed him down with all his force.
Seeing himself on the grass, the alchemist started swearing, kicking furiously. "What the fuck?!" he made and attempted kicking Crendell off his feet to only sense hot liquid dripping on his face. He shot his eyes up and saw a pouring hole in Crendell's shoulder.
Crendell clutched his wound and bowed slightly form the sudden wave of pain. From his boot, the man pulled out another gun and shot in the general direction of the bullet that was obviously meant for Roy. He couldn't see if he has hit anyone.
"What do you say now, Mustang? Don't fucking punch me, dammit!" he shouted in Roy's ear as the brunette pulled him out of the way, behind one of the nicely trimmed bushes.
"Don't shout in my ear, dammit! What the hell was that?!" Roy barked back, looking into the dull green eyes of his saviour of sorts. "Why did you shoot that man? What the fuck is going on, Crendell?!"
Crendell pressed a hand to his shoulder, which was bleeding earnestly. He merely cast Roy a glance full of disbelief and sighed, shaking his head. "What do you think it's going on, Mustang?! There are people wanting to kill you, obviously! That man wanted to shoot you, and I've stopped him, as you can see!" he said, momentarily closing his eyes. "Fuck, this hurts..." Albert held the wound tighter, feeling himself getting weaker from the shock.
He really forgot how nasty getting shot could be.
Roy watched the man in front of him shiver slightly. The blood evaded past his clenched fingers, staining their clothes further, the crimson red turning stale. With clinical precision, the alchemist ripped a piece from the skirt that was adorning his uniform pants and proceeded to bandage the wounded officer. As he wrapped the fabric around the man's shoulder, securing it under his arm, he asked, not fully certain of the trust he could offer to the military policeman "Tell me, how did you know this would happen?"
Crendell didn't look at him, opting to look down. Not getting his answer, the alchemist added in a sour voice "I doubt he would have shot me, he was too close to me to make it stealthy, you know. He didn't even make a move, or do you now have some future prediction skills? That, unless..." Roy stopped talking, things suddenly making sense.
"Do you think he was on a suicide mission?" he finally inquired.
Crendell hissed lightly when the makeshift bandage was knotted under his arm pit. He looked at Roy, nodding. "I don't know, it seems so" he said simply, looking down at his torso. "I've caught wind of some... things... he might as well be working with someone who is covering him from a longer distance, I'm not yet sure of it"
Roy blinked a few times, thinking hard about the past few months. He received so many death warnings, he actually started not to pay them any attention at all. Now, that he thought of them, it was almost obvious that his life would be threatened at such an event, where he was surrounded by so many people and had so little space to move and hide. It was a planned hit, most likely.
Not very well planned, by the looks of it, but still planned in advance.
His mind returned to assessing what was in front of him, his reverie being interrupted by the now cursing officer. "Fuck, it hurts like hell" Albert muttered under his breath, pushing the air out of his lungs in irregular huffs.
"Let me guess, you haven't been shot in a while?" Roy asked, smiling lightly. He lifted his head upwards to see if there were any other threats and if they could leave their hiding to get the fallen officer to a doctor.
Crendell snorted. "Haha, caught me. I forgot how this shit stings"
Roy smiled sympathetically, deeming their vicinity clear of any hostile presence. He couldn't make out too much from their bushy cover, but he needed to take the other officer to a medical tent as he wasn't sure what the bullet pierced through, if there were any organs that were hit and might cause complications. As he slowly rose to his feet, he demanded, his voice plain and clear "Why did you jump in front of me?"
The man looked at the alchemist, not really wanting to answer. He sighed loudly, looking over his interlocutor's shoulder.
"You see Mustang, that's my jo- HEAD DOWN!" Crendell yelled and pushed Roy down as another bullet flew in their direction. The said bullet exploded midway as the alchemist managed to snap his fingers before it caused any harm.
"Okay, I've got it from the first shot! Dammit! Who the hell keeps shooting at us?!" Roy growled and raised his head from behind the bush, preparing to fire. To his surprise, no one seemed to be fazed about what was happening. Did nobody see that one man was shot in the bloody head and another was hurt?
And that someone was shooting, for crying out loud! There was all that noise!
From his position on the ground, the brown haired officer tried to figure the direction where the last bullet came from. They were surrounded by a perfectly plain terrain, making it virtually impossible to shoot from the angle of the projectile. Looking up to see Roy at his full height, he exclaimed "What the hell, Mustang, get... err... what is with everyone?" Albert asked dumbfounded as he looked at the crowd that was still cheerfully talking and toasting. "How did no one...? Why is everybody behaving like nothing happened?" he muttered, eyes wide at the display. Crendell gazed in awe, cover fully forgotten. "What is this supposed to mean?"
Roy chewed his lip, trying to reason with what was going on. He looked at the people who laughed and the children running around. He couldn't quite put his finger on what he was seeing, that unless...
"I'll be damned..." he whispered to himself, earning himself an approving hum from Crendell.
The alchemist pressed his lips together in a hard scowl. He remembered something that happened some time ago, but never put too much thinking into it from that particular accident. "I'll be damned!" he repeated, shaking his head as if he didn't believe what he had just thought. "If it isn't that pal of mine!" he said turned to look at Crendell. "Listen, do you have ammunition?"
Crendell nodded, looking at the barrels of his guns. "That, I do... you say you know who is be-"
"Great" Roy interrupted him. "I think we are having some heavy-duty alchemist messing with us, and yes, I think I know who is behind this, but it's only a hunch" Roy scratched his head, thinking of a plan. "I need you to cover me, I may have to transmute some shields around us. There will be no one seeing what happens, we must have been isolated from the rest of the world by the creation of mirrors around us. I might be wrong, but I highly doubt it"
Albert looked at Roy like one would look at a person who talks in loud voice to themselves. With a sympathetic look, he patted Roy on the shoulder and retorted "Mustang, I don't know a thing about alchemy, but hear me out – you go find your boyo and stick close to him. If you say there is alchemy involved, he might be able to help, right? He might even be able to see you!"
"You mean Fullmetal? Ah... well, technically speaking, only if I manage to break this mirror game, he could see me. I don't know if I can bring anyone in, or get myself out. But he might feel the flux of energy from the ground"
"Whatever you say, Mustang, whatever you say. If that is so, I will go look for his brother and maybe I can find the Armstrongs you are so fond of, and we will back you up. And find Hawkeye too, she must be around. She has far better eyes than I do, she might see the bullets if there will be any. I don't think it's a good idea to stay together because we might not find anything and remain stuck in here. So, you find a way to make us visible to the outer world, and then we get the hell out of here, I don't like this inter-dimensional thing. I don't even understand it"
Roy wet his lips, finding reason in Crendell's words. He kept on looking around them to see from where to start. From the looks of it, the bullet that flew right over their heads was the same bullet that Crendell has shot, and that got mixed into the mirrors reflection, sending it backwards to them. That meant their shield could not be broken like that, it only reflected what was thrown at it.
"I won't ask when you found out that Alphonse Elric is in town" he said matter-of-factly, not knowing how to explain their situation to the other officer.
"Good that you don't ask yourself how I found it" Albert commented as he loaded his pistol.
"Habitual occurrence, I guess" the alchemist replied.
Much to their surprise, a waiter came to them, looking quizzical. "Sirs, excuse me, are you feeling well?" He mimicked to the way they were laying behind a bush.
As if on cue, Crendell asked, pointing at his stained uniform and the wound on his shoulder. "Do you see this?" The waiter made a face, not understanding the question. "It's.. it's your uniform, Sir. I see it" he responded with the face of someone who wanted to help but didn't know how.
"Mustang..."Albert mumbled, his eyes impossibly wide. "Why can't he see the blo- SHIT!" he said, putting his hands in front of his face, protecting himself from the waiter who suddenly dropped forward. All he could see was the hole in his head and the blank expression in the dead's eyes.
"I say we move out of here" Roy suggested and pulled Crendell with him, leaving the dead waiter behind, nobody realising someone else was killed. They hurried to a tent that seemed to be more fortified, and dropped again to the ground, closer to a table that could be easily turned upside down and transformed into a shield.
"Might sound crazy, but are bullets supposed to appear out of nowhere and nobody see people being shot? Or hear the noise? And that waiter? He didn't see the blood! Was he, I don't know, possessed or something? Is that even possible?" Crendell asked confused. "I told you I don't know anything about alchemy, but I don't think it works like this"
"About possession... I've seen it when Bradley was still around, with the Homunculi... I believe you have heard of that? One of them entered the body of a man, and was able to control him, but I don't know if so many people can be controlled like that. But I'm not sure if that's it. And I think the bullets are ricocheting through some invisible walls, that or someone is making them. There might be some time disruption, too. I'm not sure of everything yet"
Crendell nodded, trying to look like he understood. With a smile, he said "I have no idea what that means, it's your field of expertise, not mine, but I don't like the looks of it"
"I have to agree. Look around well and find Alphonse, I'll get Fullmetal. And remember the angle in which you shoot, if needed only, and make sure you don't stand in the same position. It might come back to you" Roy said and left Crendell alone. The man gathered his force and left the back of the tent with his gun drown out.
This was so much more than what he expected to find when he returned to Central after all those years of wandering, he couldn't help feeling a little excited over the prospects of a ghost chase with Mustang. He had always wanted to see the man in the field, as he never had the opportunity to do so due to his branch of choice.
It would get exhilarating, he was sure of that.
XXXXX
Edward slowly sipped from a tall champagne flute, looking far away into the distance. He watched the trees bend under the slow wind, their leaves rustling in the commotion of the crowd.
He shook his head and sighed. He was terribly bored by this kind of events, they held little to no appeal to him. He had no idea how Roy could resist spending hours and hours to such parades and show-offs. These things were annoying and galling and exasperating, and he easily could find another few synonyms if needed. They were utterly bothersome; he couldn't imagine how anyone could stand them. He knew a few who were enough of a freeloader to attend with great pleasure, but he sure wasn't the type.
Bored out of his mind and with this single thought in his mind, Ed wondered where Roy has disappeared, the last time he had seen him, he was with a Xingese, most likely discussing their newly formed alliance or something. He had no care about politics or anything affiliated.
Whatever the General did at that moment, he hoped he could go home as soon as possible, he was getting tired of having to behave as the masses ate him with their eyes. He felt like he was under the magnifying glass, watched by everyone like he was some rare prized animal.
He put the glass on a picnic table and rubbed his sore neck. He stood up perfectly straight for too long, his head positioned way higher than its supposed height. He groaned, searching the crowd for any familiar faces. Anyone would do, he told himself. Anyone at all, though if he could choose, he preferred finding someone tall to hide behind.
With not too little surprise, he noticed a sturdy silhouette, its shoulders covered in long blonde hair. A taller white haired male shadowed the figure like a watchtower. He sighed relieved and walked into their direction. At least he recognised someone friendly.
Somewhat friendly, at the very least.
"Hello, Major General" he said, frowning at the woman. He didn't want to look too pleased to see her, no matter the fortunate chance encounter.
The female turned to look at him. "My, Fullmetal, decided to pull that stick from your ass and come here? I thought you would grow roots into the ground if you kept staying in the same spot for so long. You seem lost. Tell me, have you lost your daddy, kiddy boy?" Olivier Armstrong teased, a crude smirk forming on her previously disinterested face. Miles, who stood next to her, frowned momentarily, but he was in no position to comment on his superior's cruelty towards the alchemist.
Edward narrowed his eyes, not caring it was visible he was seconds away from pulling the woman's hair out of her scalp. If he had thought he was glad to see her, now he was wasn't at all. "Wonders you took your frozen backside in here, aren't you melting in here, Sir?" he slurred, taking a fresh glass of champagne from a passing waiter.
"Aren't you too young to be drinking?" she asked, sipping from her glass, ready to defend herself.
"Aren't you too old to be alive?" Edward counteracted, drinking in his earnest and glancing at the woman with sparkles in his eyes.
Olivier opened her mouth to respond, growing slightly furious. Sensing the visible tension between the two officers, Miles subtly coughed, ending their imminent row of insults. "It was a delightful speech that you've given, Fullmetal. It was very good"
Edward cleared his throat, noticing the interruption. Maybe he went a little overboard, but damn him if he regretted anything. "Thank you, but I've only read it. Mustang wrote it, or the Lieutenant, or some other guy in his subordination, for all I care. I don't know why they've made me say it, everybody knows I hate public displays of anything. I'm not that good at them"
"Don't we know it..." Armstrong said as she brushed some invisible dust off her coat. "However, you should start being more visible, and not only because of your good deeds to the citizens. Rumours are that you will be taking Mustang's place when the time comes. Or so I've heard"
"What?" Ed shot his eyebrows up. Him, a commanding officer? He couldn't command himself, not to mention a regiment. "What crazy thing is that supposed to be?"
"I don't know, I am merely stating rumours" she made, and looked at her black skinned subordinate, who nodded slightly, looking for prying eyes around them. "But of course, rumours are only rumours, but they can turn the world upside down if they are well placed"
"Meaning?" Edward inquired, cocking his head to the side.
"I'm just saying, Fullmetal. Get your things together and grow up, you're no longer a child. The military has no need of snotty noses" she replied and downed her glass, leaving it on the table behind her.
The blond alchemist looked down at the glass in his hand, thinking about Roy. It was more than predicable that his lover would choose him to follow into his footsteps after he had become a Fuhrer, making him a second in command. He didn't know if he should be ecstatic or not, but probably he would be too young to take over such responsibilities when the time finally arrived.
He opened his mouth to say something when a sharp pain almost bended him over. He felt his metal limbs burn, the ghost pain making him shiver. The glass in his hand fell and rolled on the grass, spilling the remaining content.
Both Miles and Armstrong looked at him with concern, the woman being the first to vocalise it. "Fullmetal, are you okay? Are you hurting anywhere?"
The pain subsided, only to come back in full force. "I, argh... I don't think so..." he muttered, his feet giving up. Olivier crouched to catch the younger officer, only to fall to the ground. "What the..."
Ed's eyes widened, seeing something suddenly flying over their heads. "Miles, get down!" he shouted, and the black officer obeyed, not questioning. As he did so, he felt the whole scenery spin, and the sky, if only for a moment, took a strange shade of grey.
"What is going on?" he asked, his red eyes unfocused.
"I think someone is playing with the earth flow, big time" the alchemist explained, trying to understand what was going on. People around them didn't even notice they were crouching, and were looking through them, like they weren't even there.
Why couldn't anybody see them?
XXXXX
Nine years ago, in the Eastern City
Jean Havoc threw his cigarette on the sidewalk, stepping over it. The crushed bud let a low hiss in the deafening silence of that moonless night, crushed under the man's weight. He rubbed his tired blue eyes and looked at his commanding officer. "Sir, I think it's time" he said, earning himself a nod.
Roy cast a glance behind his back, signalling Riza Hawkeye to get to her post behind a long sniper rifle. She nodded and crouched, placing her right eye behind the viewfinder, shutting the other.
With Havoc and Breda armed and covering him from proximity, Roy took a step forward from their hiding and into the open air, his long coat's hem flying behind him.
He walked the distance to the door they had been following for a while and knocked abruptly, making the wood vibrate. He waited for an answer that never came, and took a step behind. Havoc positioned himself in front of the door and kicked it open, the entrance falling forward from its rusty hinges.
"Breda, go to the backdoor and assist Falman if needed. Havoc, come with me" Roy commanded and entered the house.
Inside, there was an indescribable mess, papers scattered everywhere and furniture destroyed. It was all crooked and bended in impossible positions, splinters scattered everywhere in the terrible dust, cobwebs hanging off the edges of what was still intact. It looked like there had been some struggle.
Preparing his fingers to snap if needed, Mustang searched with his eyes for evidence that there had been someone inside in the near past. He hadn't heard of anyone being able to evaporate into thin air, he knew there was someone inside, and was sure they didn't manage to escape this easily, not with his men's eyes everywhere.
Just as predicted, he heard the commotion coming from the back entrance. Maybe Breda and Falman managed to apprehend their target.
The small inside team proceeded to get out of the house as, out of nowhere, a bullet flew in Havoc's direction. With a stroke of luck, he managed to crouch before the bullet got him, only to see it disappear like it came. "Boss..." he said, looking at Roy with panic in his trained eyes.
Roy had to bend backwards to avoid a bullet that came from an impossible angle, like it was shot from the very walls around them. The bullet hit the wall behind him and bounced back, grazing his arm. He managed to set it on fire. "Get out of here! There are reflecting walls!" he shouted.
The three soldiers flew through the back door, moments before the house exploded.
XXXXX
Alphonse cut through the crowd, fighting his way through the many blankets randomly placed on the vast lawns of the military parade grounds. Everyone was cheerfully participating at the picnic, laughing with their friends and family. The many officers and enlisted personnel were mending with the commoners, forgetting their ranks and status. Some were standing with more pride than others, struggling to maintain a pale resemblance to the proper etiquette, though the general mood was light and jovial.
He had to smile at that, it wasn't that bad. He remembered how he and his brother went to such celebrations in their hometown, in Resembool, when their mother was still alive and they had little care about what went on around their limited universe. They always laid a blanket next to the big river at the foot of the hill, brought food they shared with their neighbours. They played with the children in their village while Winry worried over them because they got scratched or bruised in the river rocks.
Those were beautiful times, so far behind them... he wondered how they could let those things pass with such ease. He never regretted what he did with his brother, it was a mistake to attempt bringing their mother back, he had to admit that to himself, but that's what has gotten them that far in their development. That's what made them be themselves, what they were.
He took great pride that he and Edward managed to atone for their unspeakable sin, and that they were alive.
He was alive, in flesh and bone, with blood flowing in his veins. He could feel warmth, coldness, rain, sun, pain, he could feel everything. He had no idea how to thank his brother for what he did.
Smiling, he passed by a group of children screaming their lungs out in a game of soccer, the ball flying right next to his head. He saw a little red haired girl run after the said ball, and decided to help her by chasing after it. "I'll get it!" he told the children, who all looked at him like one would look to a life saviour.
He started running after the ball, watching it tumble, on and on. It rolled until it finally came to a halt, allowing him to catch up with it. When he bended to pick up the ball, it disappeared for a moment, and then reappeared before him, rolling backwards and stopping in front of his feet.
"What the..." he said, staring at the soccer ball. He touched it, feeling it rather hot. "How did it...?"
"Mister! Mister!" the children yelled after him, getting impatient. He turned to them and kicked the ball hard, making it land in front of the soccer team. The children screamed their thanks and went back to their game, their mothers telling them to be careful not to hurt anyone.
He would have smiled to the scene, it was quite endearing, but he couldn't comprehend what was happening. Was he starting to have hallucinations?
He looked at the spot where the ball has landed on, seeing the grass look like it has never been touched. He could have sworn it was flat after the ball rolled on it.
Alphonse got to his knees, palpating the patch of grass. It was under a tall tree, the shadow covering the land. As he looked up at the sun, he noticed something unnatural.
The shadow was misplaced, as strange as it sounded. It was in the opposite of the direction it was supposed to face, and it was much bigger than the sun would have allowed it with its position.
"Interesting..." he hummed, rubbing his chin quizzically. "Could it be alchemy?" he wondered, standing back on his feet, only to feel his arms being pulled forward.
But there was no one to grab him, only air and a deep shadow.
XXXXX
Nine years ago, after the targeted house's explosion, in the Eastern City
Hawkeye changed her position as she saw the house she has been surveying blowing up, bricks flying up in the sky with a horrifying noise. She felt panic bubble up in her chest, fearing her teammates have been hurt. Or worse, killed.
She ran to another post in the abandoned building she was currently in. From there, she could see the backdoor, and how a tall figure, probably Havoc, ran after another one.
Good, they were alive, she sighed relieved, and started to secure a good shot to what appeared to be her target.
On the ground, Roy was dodging bullets that kept appearing from the air, trying to set them on fire with his alchemy. He didn't understand what was going on, but he read enough about their target's skills to figure it was its doing.
Mark Jansen, better known to the military as the Mirror Alchemist, was currently a former state alchemist, discharged after sustaining terrible wounds to his feet in Ishbal. In his file it read that he was a very skilled master of a very unstable form of alchemy – disrupting time and mirroring it to reflect the reality. Very little was known about his methods, and that's what made it so delicate. He tried to find any research notes about what the man did with his talent and how he honed it, but there wasn't anything written down.
His alchemy style was a very dangerous practise, as events could be paused and then resumed without having the outer reality change, only what was happening inside the perimeter that the mirrors created. The time practically stopped in a certain area where the alchemy was used, and no one outside it could sense it, unless they were caught in it or allowed to.
This strange aptitude also allowed the alchemist to replay everything that was happening inside the alchemy circle, and breaking it was extremely hard. Matters worse, anything that was hitting the invisible reflective walls inside the circle, was bound to bounce back into it, containing everything and never letting it go out.
"Don't shoot! It will come back at us!" Roy screamed after his team. "Fall back!" he commanded, pushing both Breda and Havoc out of his way.
The two men fell backwards. They saw Falman staring into blank space. "Where did they go?"
All sets of eyes darted to where their boss had previously been, only to see him gone. Simply vanished.
...
Roy could see his men looking at him, through him, and not noticing he was still there. Happy with the outcome and without putting any thought into what he has just done, he started running after the fleeing person.
"JANSEN! DON'T YOU DARE ESCAPE ON ME!" he shouted, hurrying his running pace. He darted through the poorly trimmed garden of the houses, avoiding the occasional trees. Damn, he hated running, it was hard to get a clean shot of his target.
Hearing him, the chased alchemist bounced sideways, however, not managing to lose Roy. He wanted to know how the officer still remained in the perimeter, no matter how hard he tried to throw him out. But maybe he could use that to his advantage. He smirked and continued at the same pace.
Behind him, Roy started shooting at him with balls of fire, all the time struggling not to point it into the reflecting surface. Not that he knew where it actually was, all he could feel was a sensation which pulled his body closer to the ground, making his knees weak and shaking. He avoided the places which made him feel that way. If only he could make a circle of fire around them and stop this chase...
Jansen started to grow tired from their running and the immediate need to transmute around him. The leg that was injured in the war was beginning to take its toll after the extensive exercise it needed to sustain. He noticed that the mirrors weren't affecting Roy, immobilising him like they were supposed to, so he stopped making them, opting to find a secluded spot and start shooting.
His mistake was that, when he stopped the transmutation of the particles of water around them, resuming the temporality in their bubble and exposing them to the world, he didn't take into account that Roy's best backup eyes were sitting higher than them.
Jansen took a sharp left and fell next to a bulwark covered in vast climbing ivy. He slipped down the moist wall, landing with a thump. Looking at his right leg, he saw blood pouring out of a round hole, perfectly aimed right under his knee. Mustang stopped in front of the former officer, his ground team catching up with them.
"Alright, so we stop the chase" Roy said, a little out of breath. That bastard might have been injured in the war and had enough metal in his legs to make a tank out of it, but damn him, he could still run.
"What do you want with me, gentlemen?" the alchemist on the ground asked, narrowing his eyes dangerously. His dark hair fell into his yellow eyes, plastered to the scalp after all the running.
"Shouldn't you have asked that before making us chase you around? You are obviously under arrest, Jansen"
"Why so? I didn't do anything" the man said, rubbing his palms on his dirty pants.
"Now, really? Allow me to not believe that I've ran after someone innocent" Roy said, looking back at Falman, who started evoking the reasons. "Unauthorised use of destructive alchemy, public property damage, smuggling military goods, arms trafficking, engaging in terrorist attacks, assassination of four Aerugo dignitaries and several others from Xing, Creta and Drachma, and that only in the past one and a half year"
"And attacking officers on duty!" Roy exclaimed, adding one more offence to the list. He was impressed that the slender figure in front of him was capable of so many criminal offences, but orders were orders and he had to bring that man to justice. The military court would take care of proving the accusations and giving him his penalty. "We know you were behind the terrorist attack in the South at the begging of the year, your mirrors amplified and contained the explosion. Because of you, many lives were lost, and many corpses weren't even found until a few months ago in extensive state of decay"
Jansen looked unfazed, slowly standing up. "Hah" he sighed. "Took you some time, alright! Damn, your investigating team is slow, but I have to give you some credit. I wonder how you saw it, but it seems you are better of an alchemist than I've thought. Let me give you some insight. You see, a man has to survive after they were thrown out of the army with no money, and it was a miscalculation on your part to leave such skills at large, wouldn't you say?"
"Maybe, but it doesn't explain your actions"
"I think it does! If you were me, would you allow such exploding talent like mine go to waste? It took me ages to make it better and stop when it was at its peak? No, thank you, Sir! And I have this feeling you understand what I'm saying" Jansen said mockingly with a smile as bright as the sun.
Roy clicked his tongue. "If your talent has to be shown, then share some of it with me - how do you disrupt time?" he asked, wanting to know more. He, as a scientist he thought himself to be, had more interest in finding about that strange alchemy and what was causing it than just find who was ordering all the attacks the man made. It was highly unlikely he worked alone, it was nearly impossible to do so much harm all by himself, so he might as well need to find his accomplices.
"How do you set a human on fire?" the man asked, now at his full height. He paid little care to the guns that were aimed to him, and opted to smile carelessly. "If you ask me about my knowledge, you should give me some of yours, isn't that fair? I thought you were aware of the equivalent exchange in alchemy"
"Answer my question!" the raven haired alchemist hissed, hitting the man with the back of his hand, sending him back into the wall behind. Remembering what he came for, he left his curiosity subside and his duties took their rightful place. "Who hired you for the attacks? Who ordered you to kill Aerugo's ambassador in South City?"
Jansen smiled. "Oh! I know the answer to this one!" he made cheerfully. "Someone here, someone there!" That reply got him another hit, this time harsher.
"Try that again"
"Another one here, another one there? Did I get it this time?"
Roy punched the man hard, making him double over and cough from the impact. "Come again?"
"That one here, that one there!" Jansen continued, smiling through bloodied teeth. "Come on, that's the good answer!"
Roy hit him again. "I am burning you alive if you don't answer me now. I was sent to get you alive for further interrogation, but I think I will make it look like an accident. So talk, now. And say what I want to hear"
The man raised his head from the ground. "Do how you please, child, but don't cry when it will hit you" he said, smiling all the time. Roy raised his hand once again, determined to break a few bones. He sharply inhaled, determined not to give in. He needed to present the man to the martial court, even though he was no longer an officer, he was still under their jurisdiction.
"What will you do, Colonel? Will you keep on hitting me, like you do with all your targets? Come on, we both know you want this. I've heard about how you work" Jansen said, his eyes darting upwards, boring holes into Roy's forehead. He grinned, showing again those bloodied small teeth. "I've seen you. How you snap those fingers, how you look at the copses burning. Don't you want to see that fire again? Don't you want to hear it? To smell it, to feel it against your skin, warming your cold bones. Aren't you cold? We both know that, we know..." The voice turned into sly whispers, making Roy shiver slightly.
"Jansen, I'm warning you..." Roy started, his ears burning from the blood rushing to his head. Havoc noticed his clenching jaw, and advanced cautiously. "Sir, we came to take him to the court. We should handcuff him and go, we have other matters to attend to"
Roy's neck twitched, as if he wanted to turn around, but his body was frozen at the words that escaped the former officer's mouth. He could remember those faces, every one of them, burning and twisting and slowly shrinking, turning into ashes, smaller and smaller, lesser and lesser, bones cracking in a cacophony of warm colours, red and orange painting everything, warming his core, burning his insides, hotter and hotter, harder and harder.
The fire... he had always craved the fire.
"Won't you burn me, little flame? You are our hero, why won't you burn us all?" Jansen whispered only for Roy to hear, his eyes shining like twinkling stars in the darkness of the night.
The Flame Alchemist shot his hand upwards.
"Yes, burn us, burn me" the whisper slurred.
"Sir, please!" Havoc said, darting to catch Roy's hand, only to collapse on the concrete, getting glued to the pavement like he was part of it.
Then the fire burst, lighting the ivy on the wall.
Jansen grinned wildly and shot his hands up, pressing them together like he was praying. The wall behind Jansen suddenly distanced itself from Roy's arm range, giving him all the space he needed to transmute. He clapped them a few times, in a well-practised rhythm. He threw the small amulet he had in his palms upwards and it suddenly lit, starting changing the air back into the mirrors that previously enveloped them all.
Seeing that, Roy snapped his fingers again, this time well pointed. His final image of the Mirror Alchemist was the sight of his burning hands, desperately clutching the small artefact he used to make himself invisible to them.
Then, it was nothing, just a wall with fuming ivy and a few soldiers looking dumbly at it.
"FUCK!" Roy cursed and punched the wall, making the remains of the climbing plant slide under their weight. He knew he had lost his target, and who knew when he would get a hold of him again.
Once again, the fire deceived him when his temper got the best of him.
His beloved fire, that unfaithful lover of his.
XXXXX
Edward and the two Northern officers looked at each other eerily. They were sprawled on the grass, feeling heavy and immobilised to the ground.
The alchemist tried to roll on his side, but it was impossible. He attempted moving his flesh arm, only to find it glued to the lawn they were on. Struggling to move, he managed to move his metal leg.
Ed turned his eyes to see Armstrong on her knees, looking at her hands shocked. He patted the ground with his automail, getting the woman's attention. "Major General, it seems you can move" he said, noticing Miles' numbness, equally rigid.
"Yeah... it's hard, but I can" she explained. "But you can't? How's that possible? Do you have any idea what is going on? Fullmetal?"
"No... none..." Edward said, deep in thoughts. He turned it over and over in his head, trying to get an angle. He stretched his metallic limb, mindlessly bending his knee and twisting it in the air. Then it hit him.
"Say, do you have any metal implants? Anywhere?" he asked the blonde General, who gave him a sceptical look. However, Miles was faster to answer. "Yes, she has a few screws implanted in her spine, left hip, the right knee and both shoulders"
"It's only the right shoulder, Miles. I've only dislodged the left one, remember?" she said, glaring at her partner. "Now that you know about my drilled bones, what is your point, Edward?" Olivier demanded, her cheeks a faint red.
"I can move my automail leg, but not my hand, I think it's because my arm is made from a special alloy, to make it more resistant, but the leg is pretty much hard metal. You have metal parts in your joints, making them flexible, even though you can't move the rest. It's the metal that allows us to move"
Armstrong raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I think I get this. It means I'm the only one who can actually move, right?"
"Yep, quite right. That's if I am also right. But it sounds like that's the thing" Ed replied.
"I see. So, what do I have to do to get us out of this situation? And how come no one noticed us?"
Edward looked at his right, seeing a small group chatting. He breathed in. "I don't know, believe me that I don't. But you should try to get to Miles, and pull him. I think there has to be a space gap... I know when this kind of things happen, one has to find anything natural that stays in a strange way, or looks artificial. I've read it in Mustang's case diary, so I guess my theory is correct"
"I wouldn't bet my money on that one, to be frank" Armstrong said, slowly raising to her feet. "But let's trust him this once" she added, doing as she was instructed, slowly moving to the Ishbalan. She moved like a broken toy, her bones cracking and screaming under her weight. With great effort, she caught his left leg. "Got the dead weight here. Say, Fullmetal, which direction now?"
"Um..." Ed mumbled. He looked at the trees around them, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. His plan might as well be undoable, and he might not remember well what he has seen in Roy's vast collection of detailed reports of the many cases he had while he was stationed in the East. Everything was possible at the moment.
He continued looking, his eyes stopping at a strange shadow very close to them. "To that tree! The one with the great shadow underneath! I think it's a rift. Or that's what Roy says in his reports, if I remember it correctly. Don't blame me for the distance"
"Are you kidding me? It's so fucking far away..." she complained, glaring at Miles. "I hope you didn't get any heavier, soldier"
"I doubt it. And don't complain, it can't be worse than carrying you around" Miles said, trying to smile from his position. Olivier snorted "When I can properly move, I'm beating the shit out of you, do you hear me? To the pulp!" she whispered to the man, who only chuckled with a look of concern on his face.
She dragged the Ishbalan to the bottom of the tree, the process tedious and hard. Her back ached, Miles was anything but a light weight, but she has carried bears on her back. She could manage him.
XXXXX
Alphonse struggled to sit straight, feeling his arms being pulled by an entity he couldn't see. The force of the pull was overwhelming, and it was getting harder to sit on his legs. It felt like two invisible hands grabbed him and they were trying to get him deeper into the dark shadow that surrounded the tree, far too wide for the position of the sun at that moment.
With a final jerk, Al freed himself from the unknown hands that were holding him. He fell on his back and, as he opened his eyes that closed with the impact with the ground, a silhouette flew right over him.
He opened his eyes impossibly wide, the gold in them shining in confusion. He has seen people disappear into ether, he saw a portal to another dimension, his body lived in another world for some years, for crying out loud! But for the love of him, he has never seen anyone appear like that, from the air.
He turned to look at the flying person. It proved to be a slim man with shallow green eyes just as confused as his.
The said man turned his head to the younger Elric brother, smiling toothily in a mad gesture. "Alphonse Elric, right? I'm right, yes? Hah, I've found you!"
"Um... yeah?" Al made, not grasping what was going on. He looked at the uniform the man wore, the stars of a General shining wildly in the dim light under the tree. The officer, or at least that's what his decorated shoulders told him, was inspecting his coat with great surprise. The cloth was covered in blood, but it was still in one piece. He palpated himself, humming surprised to see he wasn't hurt at all. He untied the knot under his armpit and gasped at the unharmed arm underneath the makeshift bandage. "I'll be damned... Mustang was right about that guy bending time. That's amazing! Amazing..."
Al looked incredulously at him. "Do you know the General?"
The man looked at him with the same wide smile. "Roy Mustang? Yes, he's a friend of mine. Not entirely, now that I think of it, but let's ignore this aspect" he quickly added. "Let's say we are working together, for the sake of it"
"Alright, if you say so. But who are you, Sir? I don't think we've met before" the blond said, shifting as far away from the man as he could without seeming rude.
"Oh, no, don't be afraid! My name is Albert Crendell, I work for the Military Police branch. Mustang and I worked on several occasions, and I've met your brother a little while ago" Crendell said, extending a hand. Alphonse shook it cautiously and asked, looking away, "What happened? How did you appear here?"
"Here's the funny thing. I have no clue at all!" Crendell replied, moving his previously injured shoulder to make sure there was no pain left. "I'm not an alchemist, I have to say this from the start. I was with Mustang, and there has been an attempt of assassination"
"What?! Oh my god! Is the General okay?" Al panicked, his voice getting a little higher.
"Yes, he's peachy, I shot the aggressor, all is good. This doesn't matter though, because the thing is, and I know it sounds crazy - I think he is trapped with some lunatics inside a time rift or whatever he called it. He told me about an alchemist he has hunted down and whom he lost sight during a mission. It appears this fellow can control the flow of time and space, and do some strange things with it"
"Is that even possible?" Al said, the matters sparking his interest.
"You're the scientist, you tell me!" Crendell made exasperated. "I'm better with applying the written laws, I'm no good with formulas and research. Anyway, Mustang suggested finding you, so I did. He will try to locate your brother. He needs to get the mastermind out of the safety of the dimensional shit he has created, and we need to pull them out. That's what he said"
"I understand... But how do we do that? How did you escape? Was it an accident, or was it on purpose?"
"Kind of an accident, really. I was trying to locate you, and I was hit by a ball. I kicked it back and it disappeared, so I threw myself in that direction and then I've seen you, so I've gotten your arm" he explained, scratching his head. "I don't know what any of this means, so I need you to figure it out"
"Sound like there were actually two such rifts, one in another. The first is the one in which you were originally and where the ball hit you, and you've sighted me from the second one. I think I have an idea, but we need to find brother. If the General has already dealt with this alchemist you are talking about, brother must have read about him in his reports. He will remember such crazy thing"
Crendell nodded, smiling at the blond. "I hope you're right, Elric"
XXXXX
Roy looked around himself, trying to assess the situation he was in. He hoped Crendell has found Alphonse, not that he trusted the man that much, but he seemed like he wanted to get to the bottom of what was going on. He was too much of an obsession to the military policeman to actually be left there with some maniac. Knowing Crendell, he would love to watch him in the middle of the problem, that much of a creep the man was.
He wandered around, keeping his head low as not to be shot by any aimlessly flying bullet. He didn't need to see if his theory about the reflected ammunition was true and pay with his life, he very much enjoyed his brain in his skull and not on the grass.
He replayed in his mind the last encounter he had with the one he supposed was behind all that madness. He didn't know of the existence of anyone who could mess with reality like that beside that target he once had. He played the scenes over and over, trying to remember what has gotten the man to stop transmuting the air into mirrors.
"Oh, that" he groaned, mentally slapping himself.
The fire, that's how he burnt the vegetation that prevented him from transmuting, but that was also what determined him to drop the mirrors for a while. If that was what made Jansen able to transport himself in the mirroring bubble, why not use it to get him out of it?
So he started snapping his finger in every direction he could, hoping it would not reflect and set himself on fire.
XXXXX
Olivier Armstrong managed to drag Miles under the shadow that Edward has directed them to. Still, nothing happened. She looked at the alchemist. "Okay, Fullmetal, what now? Don't tell me I had to walk all this distance to-AGH!" she gasped as she fell on her back, dragging Miles with her. "What the-?!" she made, hitting the ground behind her hard, her back bending awkwardly on the impact. At the last possible moment, Miles caught the back of her neck before she hit her head on the thick tree under which they have fallen.
Olivier looked into the deep red eyes staring into her blue ones, panting slightly. Her mouth opened and, for a moment, she had no voice. In the end, she asked "Can you move?"
"Seems so" Miles made, looking at his body. "Are you alright, my queen?" he asked, sounding concerned. He looked at her carefully, making sure nothing has bended in the wrong direction.
"Yeah... I am. But... Dear, where is Fullmetal?" she said, looking at the spot they had last seen Edward. He was nowhere in sight.
"He... he's gone" the Ishbalan muttered, gasping. "Where did he go?"
"Err... I completely hate to say this, but I think we need to find Mustang. I don't know anyone who could help us in this situation" Armstrong said, looking concerned. "Of course, just this once, I'm not saying that no good idiot could actually be helpful"
"Of course not" Miles nodded and offered a hand to lift the woman up. "But I agree with you"
"Of course you do" she said and took the offered hand with a little smile.
XXXXX
Roy walked forward into the open, making sure he had burnt everything that he could around him. It was not like he destroyed the vegetation, he only damaged what was in the time rift. When the time came back to normal, everything would be as it previously was.
He continued scrutinising the distance, looking for something to peak his interest.
He looked at his silver pocket watch, shaking it lightly to make sure the mechanism was intact. The little arrows trembled, but they ultimately showed the same hour. The scenery didn't change, the sky had the same colour and the sun was in the same position. Time didn't really flow for him in there, and he wondered if he would return to the exact same moment when he disappeared or if time continued to pass in the real world.
He racked his head to understand his situation. He was nearly shot by a foreign dignitary, who was then shot by the one who was supposed to track him out of the military for some reason. Then, he was once again saved by that man, who was then shot. Then the bullets he has fired to the possible threat started darting back and forth, flying around until he set them on fire.
That's where he lost the concept of reality.
He knew the scenario very well, after all, he was the one who had investigated that case back when he was stationed in the East. It was his first and only failed mission, and he had buried it very deep in his files. He knew it was coming back to bite him, after all, he let a political criminal escape.
It had to be him. Whether it was about getting revenge for the gift he had given him on depart or it was about a bounty Roy had over his head, he would have to wait and see.
He clenched his teeth and walked forward. He felt heavy, but continued to move his feet, not halting his pacing. He walked through the grandiose parade grounds, searching for the one that was causing his problems.
He looked around himself, and was surprised to see a tall tree appear in front of him. He could swear he hadn't seen it the last time he looked in that direction. He walked to the tree to find a person looking up to the sky, firmly planted on the ground. "Edward?"
The blond rolled his eyes to Roy. "Hello, General" Ed said with a smile in his voice despite looking more like a dead fish than anything.
XXXXX
Five months ago, in Aerugo's capital city
The man looked out of the window, his yellowish eyes shining in the powerful sun. His orbs looked like they belonged to a cat, big and round, close one to the other. Freckles framed his nose, looking misplaced under his dark hair, strands neatly falling off his forehead and shielding a pointy nose.
He stared at the stained glass of the window, without seeing what was outside. He leaned back on his seat and continued to play with his hat, spinning it on his gloved finger in the rhythm he set with the tapping of his foot. Tap, tap, tap, again and again, the sound echoing throughout the enormous room, tap, tap, tap.
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap... louder and louder, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap...
"Mister Jansen! Thank you for your arrival at such short notice" another man said brightly in a strong accent.
Mark Jansen halted his tapping, smiling with satisfaction. "Short notice is an understatement, gentlemen" he said to the three men that entered the room. He turned his head to look in the eyes of the ones who rudely called him all the way to Aerugo, considering he was in Creta the previous day.
The three men took a place in their respective chairs around the low coffee table. The first to talk was the one who greeted the alchemist. "Mister Jansen, I believe you are aware of the reason of this encounter"
Jansen cocked his head to the side. "Am I? Please, do enlighten me, Signor Ermacora, for I have little to no idea. Allow me to guess before you tell me. Your midnight calls, as mine was last night, involve some rather underhanded things from me, so I would consider this as a reason. Am I right? Or am I wrong? If you be so kind to share it with me..."
The one on Ermacora's right narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Do talk politely to the prime minister, Mister Jansen!"
"But there is no rudeness here, Garfagnini" the prime minister said, elongating the old counsellor's name. Both men had olive complexions, kissed by the powerful sun of Aerugo. Ermacora, a politician in his late forties, young for such an important function, was a tall man with a sly smile and slight wrinkles around his mouth from laughing too much, well-built and with hazel hair bleached by the sunrays always cascading his country. At the opposite pole, his close advisor was a sour man with a sour face and a sour mood. His hair was white from age and his face wrinkled, by far an unpleasant company, with his rigid mannerism and high talk. However, he was versed in the political affairs and respected among the guild.
As much as respect went in politics, that is.
"As much as I would normally enjoy this exchange of opinions, Signori, I have to ask you to explain me the matter at hand, rather than chatting" Jansen said, rubbing his clothed hands together. No matter how hot it was, he wouldn't get off his white gloves.
"The nerve!" Garfagnini made, gasping at the alchemist's words.
"Yes" the third man stated simply. "We have a proposal for you" he added and, from his place at the prime minister's right, he scrutinized Jansen's face, searching for reactions.
"I'm listening" the former officer offered, leaning forward. In front of him, an envelope was produced.
"Here is the proposition" said the third man, named Polzin, his face stern and unmoving. He was from Drachma, the harsh figure not blending in with the bright population of Aerugo.
Jansen nodded, taking the folder and opening it. He looked over its contents, then closed it with a snort. "I thought I had some dangerous jobs, but this one tops them all"
"What do you say, then?" Ermacora asked.
Jansen snorted again and leaned back on his chair, rubbing his gloved fingers. He threw the file on the low table at his feet.
"You want me to assassinate Roy Mustang? Really? Do you know what kind of security he has? He might be walking freely, but he has an entire arsenal protecting him. Not to mention he has a reputation of a swift killer, if needed. Don't forget his role in the war, gentlemen"
"I believe it won't be a problem, Jansen" Polzin said, crossing his arms over his chest and looking coldly at the Amestrian.
Jansen chuckled. "No, it won't. But I would like to know the motives, I'm really curious in here. What is the reason behind this?" he asked, in fact not that fazed by the proposal. It was no secret how fearful the foreign countries became of Amestris' golden boy, but he made it a point to always ask about his employers' reasons. It made the deal more personal and far more enjoyable.
"He is forming dangerous alliances, and his foreign policy is disadvantaging our position in the trading routes. Rumours are that he will be named the next Fuhrer of Amestris, and he will begin a defensive stance against our nation" Ermacora explained, getting impatient.
Jansen clicked his tongue, noticing the prime minister's demeanour. "Alright, alright, I understand. Who am I to ask, after all. Now, back to business. What are the stakes, gentlemen?"
The Drachmann handed him a note with a price. The alchemist wetted his lips, his face disapproving. "If you want me to trouble myself with such a big fish, it will take more than that. It's going to be an ample operation, it will eat up many resources"
Ermacora fidgeted in his chair. "How much more would that be?"
"A thousand more" Jansen replied, shifting his eyes to the window. "I'm feeling generous today, you see?"
Garfagnini shook his head, looking at him with his old eyes. "No, Mister Jansen, we cannot add any amount"
"And why is that, Signor?"
"Because with this, there comes your revenge as well. I believe we are paying more than enough for your benefits out of this deal" the old man said, his eyes shining with mischief.
"Revenge, hah!" Jansen said, rubbing his hands, this time slower. "Indeed, you are paying me well, if I look from that side. I'm not one for revenge, but I think it will be sweet to burn him a little. I might consider this payment, after all, you are one of my best clients"
"Do we have a deal?" Polzin asked, nodding to the folder on the table.
Jansen smiled, feeling his metallic fingers itch under his white gloves. "A deal? Oh, yes, gentlemen, that, we do have"
XXXXX
Edward looked incredulously at Roy, who explained him what happened in the short period they were separated. "So, the guy you supposed that wanted to have your head killed the one who was actually going to have your head. Nice. Still, I'm not sure what to say about the story with this place"
"Trust me, it is true. I sent Crendell out to look for the Armstrongs, but I need to find my guy"
"Your guy?"
"Yes, Edward, my guy. Haven't you listened to me?" Roy made in exasperation.
"Not really, no" Ed replied disinterested.
"You are impossible" Roy snorted and looked at the sky. "I need to find him and get him for good, he is wanted for more assassinations than we have fingers on both our hands. He is a wanted criminal"
"Funny how I've never heard of him" Ed lied, waving his automail foot in the air. He still couldn't rise from the ground, but he wasn't going to tell Mustang that. Not then, anyway.
And nor was he going to say that he has been reading Roy's records about the old cases he had when he was in the Eastern City. He didn't need to know he looked into his private affairs.
"There are many things you haven't heard of, and believe me, you don't want to hear them" he heard Roy say. Hearing him say that made Ed believe there was even more than he had read or knew about the man, he still had a long way until he figured out his lover, the eternal mystery that he was.
He opted to snarl, feigning ignorance. "Seeing how everyone you've met in the past wants to kill you, and I am always dragged in your shit, I think I should at least have a bit of briefing about them, don't you think?"
"I've met you in the past, and you don't seem to want to kill me" Roy retorted, sounding sheepishly. He had little desire to talk about a failure he had in the past.
Fullmetal's nose wrinkled, his amusement visible on his face. "I think that is going to change, believe it or not! Until I figure a way how to kill you, can you tell me how the hell do we get out of this? I was with your crazy woman from Briggs and Miles, and I have no idea how, but... well, they disappeared"
Roy's interest peaked up. "How?"
"I told you I don't know!"
"Edward..." Roy made, narrowing his black eyes.
"Okay, easy, Mustang!" Edward pointed his automail leg in the trees' direction. "Through there. The shadow was very strange, now it is looking normal... I've told them to go there, and then they disappeared"
Roy shot his eyebrows up, high on the forehead. "So, it is the trees after all... that's why he wanted me to burn the ivy... I was right..."
"Huh?"
The General rubbed the bridge of his nose, thinking. He paced for a few moments, fixing his boots with a heavy stare. His eyes suddenly focused, shooting up to look at his lover with a face full of determination. "Tell me, have you seen anything that didn't look like it was supposed? Like that place was trashed by some struggle?"
"Hm... I don't think so... I've passed next to a tent that was slightly crooked, it looked like it was going to be blown by the wind"
"Where have you seen it?"
"It's rather close, I can point it to you, I think" the blond said and shifted his eyes up.
Roy scratched his head, trying to find the reason why he hadn't seen the things he had apparently passed right next to. 'Are there more rifts than just one?' he asked himself. He looked at the path he followed before he met Ed, and noticed there were no burns on the ground. He was sure he had burnt everything behind him on his way there.
Turning his attention back to his lover, he came closer to him, looking down to meet his eyes. "I will need you to come with me, I might need your help"
"Um, you see... that, I don't seem to be able to. Roy... I can only move what is made of metal. The arm is a bit tricky, though"
"How so?" the older alchemist asked surprised.
"Do you think I would bask in the sun if I knew?! I don't know, it was the same with Miles, only the Major General could. She said she had some screws in her joints, so I guessed that's how she could move. Do you have too? I see you have no problem"
"No, I don't know, maybe it's how you've landed in this place. I think it was a coincidence that you've entered this bubble, I was meant to be captured by it. I don't know about Crendell, but definitely not you, neither Mira nor Miles. Anyway, let me get you up, you've been sitting around for some time" With that, Roy bended and lifted Edward up, holding him from behind his waist. "Try to move your legs"
With great effort, Ed made his flesh foot listen to the mental command, and started walking slowly. After a few more steps, he felt his arms move freely under his mental command. "Thanks... Roy, what have you done?"
"For once, I don't know and I don't care. Let's go, I'm tired of this game of mirrors, it's not even fun"
XXXXX
Jansen searched the distance with his eyes, rubbing his hands together. This habit was getting neurotic, twisting his fingers together again and again, hearing the white leather rustle.
He looked at his hands and frowned. He continuously twisted his fingers, bending them in unnatural ways, only to have them roll in the direction they were instructed to with a slight oily screech.
If only he could feel what he was doing to them, feel the pain he was inflicting to his own members, feel the joints snap and twist... he would do anything to feel that odious sting and stretch of the tendons underneath the skin... but there were no bones in his hands to be crushed, no skin to be broken.
There was only metal. And metal couldn't feel.
He took out one of the gloves and stared at the automail hand in front of him. His real hands burnt long ago, and he had to watch them turning to ashes and stomp them with his soles, preventing the flames to extend. Mustang knew what he was doing, he didn't want to kill him, but to prevent him from using alchemy.
So he took his hands, the only part of the human body that was valuable to an alchemist.
But what the officer didn't anticipate was that Jansen was a rat, and rats survived even when their tails were cut. He found a way to use his alchemy anyway thanks to surgery.
He had to replace both his hands with automail, being in dire need to protect himself from anyone who would want him dead. And they were quite a few, after the many mercenary acts he undertook. He did all kinds of things for those who paid him the right sum, no matter who was his employer. Be it a state or a person, it was the same to him. Maybe that's what caused the Amestris' army force to chase him down, he reasoned. He used to be a state alchemist and the military disposed of him, but the contract of loyalty on his behalf was forever.
Now that he thought of it, it wasn't all that fair, was it? If one former soldier wanted to become a paid assassin overnight, well why not? A man had to live one way or another, that's what he knew.
The night he lost both his hands, he almost got arrested for the many crimes he committed after the war finished. He always told himself that he did it all because he had to live, and his form of alchemy, with little contribution to the common good, had to be used for what it the best – isolate the target and then eliminate it without traces. So, if he continued with this train of thoughts, he was doing a service to the community.
With this conviction in mind, he became one of the most expensive mercenaries. He actually wanted to be caught, to have the thrill of being chased, but he apparently was that good he had no one on his tail. That, until Roy Mustang caught wind of him.
Of course he heard about this particular man, he was a national alchemist like he used to be. And a very talented one, he heard. His alchemy was also a rather destructive one, and it was used for what it was meant to do – burn and maim. So why couldn't he use his own form of alchemy for what its purpose?
He wondered, had Mustang been injured like he had been and get discharged, would he have followed the same path?
That was a question which shadowed him every day after that faithful night. The Flame alchemist burnt his hands while they were in the real space and time, so no mirrors or time bending could return his body to its original state. The loss he experienced that night was terrible, and the recuperation was even worse, but he couldn't hold a grudge to Mustang. He did his job, just like him.
He respected those who did their jobs.
Jansen chuckled and pulled back on his white glove. Perhaps if he didn't provoke Mustang the way he did, he would still have his hands. That wasn't a guarantee, but he might have stood a chance.
Again, he didn't resent Mustang. He was his current target, and if he were to resent all his targets, where would he get? He would only get sleepless nights plotting revenge and such stupidities, and he very much valued his sleep.
He had as many feelings about this ordeal as a cow has over the grass it eats, that's what he told himself. He killed those he was asked to in order to eat. He wasn't that far from being a cow chewing a lawn.
He wondered how much he would have to wait for Mustang to figure what was going on, he had a feeling it wouldn't take that much time. His plan was simple and with little variables, or so he hoped. He instructed a Xingese immigrant who was stationed in Aerugo, a contact provided by his current employers, dressed him up nice and guaranteed his protection from any harm. The man was supposed to point a gun to Roy, who would notice it in the end, and then he would work his mirrors around both men, so that only Roy was caught in the void. For that, he created two concentric rifts, one in which Mustang would be caught at first, and a second in which he waited for the alchemist to find him. He wasn't going to chase him.
Continuing going over his plan, he realised he didn't care about the Xingese, he could as well not to be saved from the General's fire, but he might be able to use him in other missions as the man might prove himself useful due to his common face that could be very well forgotten. If everything went well for the Xingese, he should have appeared with Mustang on his toes.
However, that was a while ago. His man still hadn't showed up, so he decided to look around.
Jansen stood up from his chair and had to bow in order to get out of the tent. His type alchemy altered the place from which he controlled it, making it rather delicate to hide. Of course, to the untrained eye, he easily masked this flaw with a few well-placed mirrors made from the humidity in the air, but to those who knew what they were dealing with, it was unnecessarily difficult.
He got his head out of the crooked tent and looked at the grass around him. He hated his surrounding, the vegetation was weakening his alchemy and could even prevent him from taking his power from the earth flow, but if he unnerved Mustang and made him use fire, he could mirror the flames to burn the grass. He could trap and ultimately kill his target.
He could use a good challenge, so he paid little mind to his disadvantage.
He shrugged and exited the tent, looking at the sun making reversed shadows on the trees. The reality around his time bubble was always mirrored in order to compensate the altering that occurred inside of it. It was a simple exchange, and few paid notice to the changes. He could see the people roaming in the distance with little care, not seeing what was going inside his intricate system of reflection.
Jansen whistled, listening to the sound blending with the wind blowing the leaves of the trees, singing along with their silent song. It was a serene melody, interrupted only by a rhythmic rustle of grass and the slight creak of metal on metal. When he looked better, he noticed something was burning, raising hot smoke.
Jansen picked up his pace, hurrying to see what was happening. Did Mustang start burning the grass in this dimension? When did he enter it? He didn't expect that, but he would make-do with it.
"JANSEN!" he heard behind him, and his lips twitched in amusement. He chuckled and turned around, cocking his head to the side. At the sight in front of him, he bowed mockingly and slipped an amulet out of his sleeve, throwing it up into the air and then catching it with both his hands, pressing his palms together with a faint thump.
The wind fastened, raising dust into the air and blowing his guest's hair.
"Missed me?" Roy asked, his eyes narrowed.
"You have no idea" Jansen waved and clapped his hands again with a smirk. What a fool the officer had been to burn the grass around their perimeter, it only amplified his powers over the earth flow. "So, I believe I've gotten you this time?"
"Seems so" Roy nodded, looking at the burning circle he made around the tent. "I came to find out the answers to my questions from nine years ago. I think I got the time right, no?"
Jansen laughed. "Yes! Very well. I'm sorry, I still can't tell you who hired me. But let me give you a hint, as we know each other"
"I'm all ears to you" Mustang said, stepping closer to the man.
"Alright then, I'll tell you! I'm supposed to kill you good, what do you say? Do we proceed?"
"Hah, sounds fair. So, should I start running or something? That's what you did last time, it seemed effective" the General taunted, cracking a great smirk.
"You have no idea" the man chuckled and flipped the little amulet in his hand, making it fly up. As he waited for it to come down and catch it in his palm, the earth started moving upwards, sending them both higher than the ground. The charm fell on the dirt and rolled off the cliff that was created by the unexpected earthquake, making Jansen throw himself after it.
Roy caught the back of his collar, picking him up from the ground. "Okay, now I've got you..." he said, and then stopped, looking at Jansen who was holding another amulet he had in his sleeve.
"No, you haven't" Jansen retorted and pressed his hands together, forcing Roy to fall back as terrible pain numbed him. In his fall, all he could see was blood shooting up like it was from a fountain, making him wonder to whom it belonged to.
It was a nice colour, he decided, just as he hit the ground with a grunt.
It was the colour of fire burning the trees.
A/N: That's it for now, the story will be continued in the next chapter with more explaining. Thank you for reading and I hoped you enjoyed this! Don't forget to leave a review, follow and favourite!
Till the next time, bye, bye!