Important message: If you haven't read the real chapter 27, go back! It's fixed! For some reason it was a carbon copy of chapter 25…So, the first, like, 15 of you who tried to read that chapter and were like 'wtf', you can see it now. Anyway.
In the second story of a decent sized house in Central City, a young boy lay snoring softly in the dim glow of the gloomy dawn. The sky was still covered in gray clouds and the gentle rain pattered against the window, soothing the sleeping young man. Loose blonde hair, a dull gold in the dim light, covered his closed eyes. One who knew him would know that when those eyes were opened, they were a fierce challenging gold. But for now, they were closed peacefully. He was wearing a black tank top that rode up his exposed stomach, and an automail hand rested on his navel. It gleamed dully in the light as well, the steel trailing all the way up to the sleeping boy's slightly exposed collarbone where it met flesh with jagged scars. His other arm, tanned even in the pale light, hung off the bed. His legs were obscured by the blanket, which was draped over his lower half, one leg bent at the knee and the other, another automail limb, resting in the tent made by the white cloth. With the dull dawn behind him, he looked like a sleeping angel; all smooth, hard planes with a soft expression, relaxed in slumber. I almost felt bad for what I was about to do…Nah.
"EDWARD!" I screamed exuberantly, shattering the peace like a bomb going off in a church.
"GAH!" The sleeping angel suddenly became a mess of terrified limbs as he jumped a foot into the air and scrambled to his knees, getting tangled in the blanket in the process. He arched his back in the air like a startled cat and looked around the room with wide blurred gold eyes. "What! Where's the fire?" His eyes locked on me and squinted at my bright expression. "Alex…?"
"Big brother," I shouted, tackling Ed back onto the bed. Ed landed with a huff, looked down at me hugging his waist tightly in bewilderment.
"Alex, what the hell?!"
I pushed off of him and he grunted, winded. I threw my arms out wide and said to the world in general, "It's a glorious day! How could you possibly still be sleeping on a day like this?"
Ed looked up at me, still sprawled out from where I had practically thrown him, and looked out the window. It was pouring buckets, of course, and he looked back at me as if I was the craziest person in Amestris.
"…Right," he said, shuffling off the bed and backing away slowly. A chuckle drew our attention to the door, where Alphonse stood against the wall. Edward shot a look at his younger brother and gestured towards me questioningly. Al just shook his head, amused.
The little chimera crawled out of my shirt, startled at my sudden jerky movements, and I grabbed it off my shoulder and began spinning around with it. It screeched and wriggled about, but I just laughed. With an angry swipe of its paws it escaped my manic grip and ran out of the room, complaining loudly all the while.
"Ouch," I said with a wide grin on my face, rubbing where it had swatted me.
"Alex…are you feeling alright?" Ed said tentatively, lifting his hands in front of him.
"Why, Edward, I'm wonderful, thanks for asking!" I exclaimed, suddenly pulling the slightly shorter boy back into my arms and squeezing hard.
"Gah! Ok, ok, leggo!"
"Alex, you're suffocating him," Al said lightly from the door, his voice shaking with laughter. I looked up at him with big innocent eyes and then looked down at Edward, who was struggling to breathe. I let him go and he stepped back with a gasp.
"Heh, sorry Ed."
Ed glared at me and suddenly pounced, throwing me back on the floor. We mock wrestled for several minutes, me laughing at Ed's irritation. Hughes found us a few minutes later.
"Well, aren't you boys lively this morning," He said, poking his head into the room.
"Morning Hughes," I wheezed, my head locked behind Edward's arms, cutting off my air supply. Ed was still glaring down at me, but had frozen when Hughes entered the room. I tapped his arm in defeat and he finally let me go.
"Not by choice," Ed grumbled, looking over at the clock and groaning at what time it was. It was only six in the morning.
Hughes strolled into the room, already in his full military blues, and put his hands on his hips in amusement. "Well, might as well get up then. The kids are already awake and Gracia's making scrambled eggs! We are expected at eight, Ed, so get ready."
Ed, who had perked up at the mention of breakfast, wilted back down again. "Ugh, I really don't want to see Mustang's mug so early in the morning," he grumbled.
"Awe, don't be like that, Ed, he's really a great guy once you get to know him," Hughes said, smiling.
Ed gave him a dubious look and Hughes left with a chuckle. "Breakfast is in twenty minutes," he yelled over his shoulder. Ed grunted and then looked down at me. I was still sprawled on my back, watching the goings on with a big grin still plastered on my face.
"What's got you so worked up this morning," Ed grumbled irritably. He looked down at my fully clothed form with questioning eyes and I just shrugged.
"Nothing really, I just played with Al all night, that's all."
"You still can't sleep then," Ed asked, frowning slightly. I blinked in surprise.
"How did you know…"
Ed lifted his eyebrow and gave me a 'do I look like an idiot to you' look. "Alex, you couldn't keep a secret to save your life."
"Oh…" I said, frowning slightly. I hadn't expected even oblivious Edward to notice something was up. Just how transparent was I? I thought I had been hiding it so well…
Ed flicked me hard on the forehead and I yelped in surprise, swatting his hand away. "Doesn't matter," he said with a small smile, "I'm just glad you're feeling better."
Twenty minutes later found us all sitting in the Hughes' dining room, once again sharing a meal together. Nina was sitting on my lap, feeding me biscuits. She giggled every time I dramatically took a piece from her small hand and thanked her profusely.
"So, what are you boys going to do today," Hughes asked me and Alphonse. I looked up from Nina and exchanged a glance with Al. I hadn't thought about it, but while Edward was doing whatever it was he was supposed to be doing while not out on missions, we wouldn't have anything to do.
"Well," Al said thoughtfully, "I guess I could check out the library. I heard that there is a great resource for alchemists at the first branch."
"Hm…I think only state alchemists are allowed into the first branch," Hughes said, rubbing his chin.
"Oh…"
"Can't they make an exception, dear? Alphonse did pass the written exam after all," Gracia said, noticing Al's suddenly forlorn figure.
"Afraid not," Hughes said with an apologetic smile. "You can check out the second branch, though. It is the branch used by all of the universities in the region."
"Really," Al said, seeming excited. I rolled my eyes. I had never met anyone who was so enthusiastic about studying. "I'll check that out then."
"What about you?" Hughes asked, looking over at me. I glanced between my two brothers, one going to a library of all places and the other one probably going to be filling out paperwork or something all day. I sighed. Not exactly the most exciting choices. What I really needed was a bit of exercise.
"Hey, do you think I could use the military's training grounds," I asked suddenly. "I could really use a few sparring matches. Feels like I've been doing nothing but laying about lately."
"Hm, well it is a bit unusual, but I don't see why not. You just need to ask permission from the commanding officer on the field today and you should be able to use them."
"Great," I said, brightening up.
"You want to be out in this rain?" Ed said, glaring out the window into the sodden streets.
"Did you stop training with Izumi just because it was raining?" I shot back. Edward grimaced and then shrugged.
A few minutes later we were all walking out the door to make the quick dash to Hughes' car. The chimera was nowhere to be seen, and I found it a little lonely without it clinging to my chest, but I shrugged it off. Maybe it had finally gotten sick of me and was on its own now that it felt better. Whatever the case, I hoped it would stay safe. I got into the car without a backwards glance.
Edward and I were walking down the hall towards Mustang's wing alone some time later. Al had immediately wandered toward the library and Hughes had bid us good morning before strolling to his own department. Ed walked through the doors without so much as a 'how do you do' to the others in the office and walked straight into Mustang's office, a sour expression on his face.
I sighed after the volatile boy. "Good morning, Alex," Hawkeye said, delicately bringing a cup of coffee to her lips and giving me a small smile. She looked fresh compared to the other officers who seemed to still be waking up that morning.
"Good morning, Lieutenant Hawkeye. Radiant as always I see," I said, leaning against her desk and giving her a charming grin.
"Now don't start that," Havoc spoke up from behind me. "Female officers are off limits," he said, gripping his ever-present cigarette between his grinning teeth.
"That's not what you said yesterday," the younger looking officer with thick rimmed glasses, Furey I think his name was, said with a mean smile.
Havoc's face suddenly fell and a depressed cloud hung over his head. "Don't remind me," he moaned.
"What, she dumped you already? That was fast, even for you," A large man with short blonde hair and a goatee said, sipping his coffee.
"Shut up, what do you know, Breda!"
"I have a girlfriend."
I watched the bickering behind me with interest. They were really starting to get at each other's throats, Breda and Havac. I wondered if they were close friends.
"So, what brings you to the office today," Hawkeye said, unfazed by both my obvious come-on and the bickering going on in the background.
"Didn't know what to do with myself, really," I said, glancing at her. "Ed and Al are busy doing either work or studying," at this I rolled my eyes, "and I asked Hughes if I could use the sparring field for a bit."
"Well, Major Armstrong is using the field today, so I'm sure he won't mind."
I looked over at her curiously. "Do you guys usually allow citizens to use the training fields?"
"Heh, no," Furey said, breaking into our conversation, "but you're kind of famous around here. Everyone's heard about how well you can fight." He assumed an announcer voice and lifted his hand dramatically. "'Alex Elric, brother of the famous Fullmetal Alchemist! Younger than even Edward himself and still just as strong'! Like that."
"Oh, I didn't know we were all that famous," I said, a bit amused. "Well, I guess if it lets me use the training grounds…"
"NO WAY!" I heard Ed suddenly shout through the doors of Mustang's office. Everyone stopped what they were doing, even Breda and Havoc who were having a mock wrestling match, and stared at the closed doors. Ed suddenly burst through the doors and backed away, a stubborn expression on his face.
"Come on, Ed, you can't keep going around in leather pants and a bright red jacket. You're a part of the military now," Mustang said, walking out after him with a smirk. He held up a blue uniform on a hanger and Ed backed away as if he was being threatened by it. "I even had it tailored to your size."
"What's that supposed to mean!" Ed shouted angrily, although he kept retreating.
"Well, I had to have it custom made for you since you're so…"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence, you bastard!"
"Just put it on, chief," Breda said from the other side of the room. "It's not all that bad. People respect the uniform."
"Chief…" Ed mumbled to himself before shaking it off. "No way! I'm not going to dress like one of your cronies, Mustang."
"Ouch," Havoc said, placing his hand over his own blue uniform.
"Awe, come on Ed, I think you'd look great in it." I glanced Mustang up and down, taking in the uniform. "It's actually pretty fashionable as far as military uniforms go." It had a high collard jacked that was lined with a gold thread over the blue, and it had a flap at the chest that seemed more fashion than function. Under the jacket was a pair of high waisted blue pants that had a kind of skirt over them that opened in the front and back. They finally tucked down into black cargo boots. Overall it was pretty elaborate and I wondered if it was a show of intimidation by the display of wealth. I realized my stare was lingering a little to long on Mustang and cleared my throat with a slight blush. "And besides, people won't mistake Al for the Fullmetal Alchemist anymore if you actually look the part," I said, pretending not to notice Mustang's smirk.
"He's got a point there, kid," Havoc said, shrugging. Ed, realizing he was outnumbered, grimaced and backed away like a cornered animal. "No means no!" He shouted before running out the door.
Mustang sighed and pinched his nose in annoyance. He tossed Ed's uniform over to Havoc and the man caught it with a questioning look. "You convince him, Jean. I don't have time for babysitting today."
"You got it, boss," Havoc said, grinning a bit deviously. He waved merrily over his shoulder at us before taking off down the hall after Ed.
"Pft, he's just happy to be getting out of paperwork," Breda muttered, looking down at the pile on his desk. Mustang waved over his shoulder before disappearing back into his office and everyone seemed to go back to work. Feeling awkward just standing there, I asked Furey where the training grounds were.
"They are at the north exit on the first floor," he said, his ever present smile on his face. I wondered how such an innocent looking man got into the military. "It's the big field in the center of the complex, you can't miss it!"
After thanking him I left the now quiet office, heading down the stairs. I passed a few uniforms, and to my surprise, they all acknowledged me as we crossed paths. Huh, there really must have been something to what Furey was saying about us being famous. I wondered what exactly they had heard…
I exited through the doors Furey had indicated, instantly getting soaked in the rain. I didn't mind it though, because I saw exactly what I was looking for. A large field surrounded by white buildings was populated by a large group of soldiers, the mud covered men and women seeming to be going through military drills. Their shouts echoed of the stone walls as they appeared to be having a mock battle. Off to the side, another group of soldiers looked to be practicing with weapons, and yet another group seemed to be doing physical training through an obstacle course. I jogged over to that group, as it looked like several were just standing in line waiting their turn on the course, and asked a couple of large soldiers for help.
"Excuse me, where can I find major Armstrong?" I asked, tapping one of the men on the shoulder. He turned and I jumped back in surprised recognition. He had black, short cropped hair and grey-blue eyes that stared down at me in surprise, and he looked to be around Mustang's age.
"Oh, it's you. Never thought I would see you again," he said, his voice as monotone as I remembered it. It was one of the men I had seen in Youswell working for Yoki. I remembered how coldly he had spoken and how he had almost injured a boy from that town and I stepped back, gritting my teeth. The tall man put his hands up in surrender to my raised hackles. "Whoa, don't be so hostile. I'm not going to attack you or anything."
"You were one of those jerks with Yoki! I watched you almost maim some poor kid," I spat.
"Nah, I wouldn't have done it. I noticed that your brother was there and figured he would stop me. Although, I thought it would be the tall one in the armor, not the short one who did." Edward had stopped him right before he had brought a wicked looking sword down on a kid who had insulted Yoki.
I lowered my guard slightly, confused. "So, you weren't really following Yoki's orders?"
The man shook his head. "Me and my partner were there to investigate Yoki, same as you. That man had been getting away with bankrupting that town for years and embezzling money from the military. We were sent in by the investigations department to check it out. We were gathering information from him after we earned his trust. If Edward hadn't shown up, we would have brought him down through military means. But, well, his way worked to I guess…" he scratched the back of his head. "Ruined months of work," he mumbled.
"Oh…um, sorry about that," I said, standing up again and giving him a dubious expression. "So…investigations department, huh. So you must work with Hughes…"
"Yeah, he's my commanding officer. My name is Barret, by the way. I don't think we've ever properly met," he said sticking out his hand. I took it, still not entirely sure he was telling the truth. "Are you here to train?" he asked suddenly, still gripping my hand. I nodded. "Then we should have a match. I see you've been trained by my father and I want to test your skill."
My mouth dropped open in surprise. "You're Orkan's son?!"
"The one and only," he said, smiling for the first time. And then it clicked. He had the same lopsided grin as that old man, and I recalled that when he had been walking away from me in Youswell he had waved in a gesture that had seemed so familiar at the time, although I couldn't place why. Now I realized that it was a gesture he must have picked up from his father.
"I had no idea…" I said. "Master Orkan never talked much about himself."
"Yeah, that old man doesn't like talking about himself much. He never told me about you either. It's strange. I thought he had given up on training students," Barret said with a frown. He suddenly looked over his shoulder as his name was shouted across the field. The captain was waving at him to take his turn on the course and he waved in acknowledgment. He let go of my hand and gestured to the other side of the field. "You'll find major Armstrong training the new recruits over there. Whatever you do, don't let him hug you." With those mysterious words, the man spun around and began the course, falling on his stomach without a second thought to the mud staining his uniform and crawling under barbed wire. I watched for a moment with my mouth hanging open before spinning on my heel and walking in the direction he indicated. That was…unexpected. I never even knew that Orkan had married, let alone had a son. Excitement rose in me as I remembered how he had expertly used a sword in our brief encounter in Youswell. I couldn't wait to cross blades with him. Orkan's son had to be as least as skilled as he was! I resolved to call that old bastard and scold him for not telling me something so important.
I skirted around the edge of the yard and immediately spotted the man who must be major Armstrong. Actually I was pretty surprised I had missed him in the first place. He was huge! I was wondering where in this world there were men large enough to where suits of armor as big as Alphonse, and here was my answer. Armstrong was towering over the recruits he was having do pushups in the mud he was gesturing widely with huge muscular arms. For some reason, the large man wasn't wearing a shirt, although it was pretty cold outside. As I got closer I started to hear what he was saying.
"That's it men," he shouted in a deep exuberant voice. "Push like your life depends on it! There's only one way on this earth to obtain such exquisite beauty and strength as this, and it is through hard work! Pour out your very souls if you ever wish to be as gloriously strong as me! Alex Louise Armstrong!" He flexed his considerable muscles and the soldiers in front of him gave him looks varying from consternation to outright confusion. I myself had never seen a more flamboyant man, and I stared dumbly in surprise. I even imagined that he was surrounded by sparkles.
I backed away slowly, not quite sure I wanted to talk to the bald man, when he suddenly spotted me, and before I could react, ran over to me in three large bounds and slid to a stop. Up close, I could see that he wasn't entirely bald, and for some reason had a single lock of hair curling on his forehead, blonde like his mustache, and sparkling blue eyes. He came at me with all the force of a truck and it took all my courage to not back away.
"You," he shouted, and I wondered if that wasn't his default voice. "You are Alex Elric, am I correct?" I nodded, my eyes wide. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit. Did you want to experience my superior training style up close?" He gestured widely to the recruits still struggling to do push-ups, looking like they were about to collapse in the mud. I wondered how long they had been doing those.
"Um, no. I was wondering if I could use the training grounds while Edward was busy," I said, intimidated. Armstrong started shouting again, causing me to jump.
"Oh, such dedication! To come here to train even though you aren't in the military to support your brother! Such devotion!" Before I could react, the exuberant man had me locked in his arms in a bone-crushing hug. I gasped, unable to breathe and seriously worried about my suddenly aching ribs. He released me just as quickly and spun me around to face his men. "Look at young Alex here and follow his example, troops! I myself showed such devotion at his age, and look at me now! Why–"
He began ranting at his still struggling men, some of them glaring at him, and I slipped out from underneath his arm and pulled a tactical retreat. I ran halfway across the field, still holding my newly bruised ribs and feeling as though I had barely escaped with my life. What a character…hard to believe I shared a name with someone so ridiculous.
I assumed I had permission, so I scanned the field looking for Barret, wanting to take him up on his challenge. I spotted him climbing over the last wall of the course and started to head over. He spotted me and I waved. He wiped some mud off his front and began to head in my direction.
"Mew…" I stopped dead in my tracks at the familiar sound. I was standing near the wall close to the building that held Mustang's wing and scanned the ground. It couldn't be…I thought it had ran off…
"Mew…" It was closer now, and I nervously looked over my shoulder to make sure no one had noticed me. I looked forward again. There, crawling along the edge of the wall, was the small chimera that had been following me around. It reached my feet and started to rub against my leg. "What are you doing here," I hissed. This was not a good place for it to be wandering around. What if that general guy spotted us? I noticed that Barret was getting closer and I snatched the small creature from the ground and shoved it in my shirt, the feline giving a startled yip.
"What was that?" Barret asked. I laughed nervously.
"It's just a kitten," I said quickly.
"Really," he said in his monotone voice. "Because it looked like one of those escaped chimeras to me." I gulped and he raised his brow. "Investigations, remember? Anyway, if you want that thing to live, you'd better get it out of here now."
I nodded and looked around furtively before starting to leave. "Don't forget our match," Barret suddenly said. "You owe me one!"
"I'll buy you coffee to make up for it later," I said, waving behind me and running back into the building. Before I dove inside, I noticed that there were a few soldiers staring at me with cold eyes. Not good. I raced back to Mustang's wing and burst in, not caring that I was covering the floor in mud from my boots. I stopped short in surprise. Ed was standing in the middle of the room, frowning deeply. It looked like Havoc had managed to get him into a military uniform. The boy was clad head to toe in blue, and he looked just as good as I thought he would, even making him look a bit taller than he was, the gold thread highlighting his naturally blonde hair. But then again, that boy seemed to look good in anything he put on. I reflected again that that boy would be absolutely gorgeous when he was older... Hawkeye was helping him adjust his collar as he sulked and the other soldiers in the room carefully averted their eyes, although I could tell they were amused. Hawkeyes fussing almost made her look like the boy's mother, preparing him for his first day of highschool or something. The chain from his pocket watch gleamed prominently on the front of his pants.
"Wow, Ed, you look so…professional," I said, for lack of a better (or more appropriate) word.
"And you look like a drowned cat," he said angrily, glaring in my direction. The little chimera squeezed its paws against my chest, reminding me of my current situation.
"Um, Ed, we have a slight problem," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.
"What is it," Ed said, stepping back from Hawkeye. I grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the room, the boy protesting loudly at the rough treatment. I shut the door in Mustang's men's bewildered faces and dragged my brother through the halls. I filled him in as we ran.
"That thing came back? I thought it ran off this morning!"
"Yeah, well, it somehow found me, and worse, some soldiers saw me pick it up."
Someone shouted at us from down the hall and Ed cursed and grabbed my arm, pulling me out a side door. "You aren't going to get rid of that thing, are you," Ed said, as we waited for the footsteps to pass. He had pulled us into a dark empty room.
"No," I said, "this little guy doesn't deserve to be slaughtered!"
Ed sighed. "I swear you and Alphonse could be the so alike sometimes." He rolled his eyes to the ceiling, then sighed again. "Alright, fine, let's just get this thing out of here first."
I smiled at the reluctant boy and nodded. "Right."
We waited for the footsteps to pass and then we bolted out of the building and into the rain, Ed's blue uniform turning almost black as it got wet. I followed after him as we sprinted out of Central Command and down the street. We ended up next to a small clock tower at the top of a hill, a large staircase going down to our left. We stopped to catch our breaths.
"Alex, brother, what are you two doing out here," Alphonse, who was climbing the staircase, yelled at us from across the way with a wave. He jogged up to us as we rested on the base of the clock. "I was just about to go find you."
"Um, we ran into a little trouble," I said.
"Yeah, genius here got caught with a chimera," Ed said, punching me lightly on the arm.
"You mean that little one? I thought it ran away."
"Yeah, well," I said, getting tired of explaining myself. "It came back. Look, we need to get it somewhere safe before we get caught. Those guys who saw me seem to be after us. If we don't move we'll be in trouble."
"Too late," A male voice said from our right. We whipped around and saw none other than Brigadier General Basque Grand himself. We jumped to our feet as the large man started walking towards us. He was wearing a deep scowl on his face and his iron fisted hands were rigid at his sides.
Edward grabbed my arm and started to run, but we were stopped by the general's commanding voice. "Where do you think you are going Fullmetal? Acknowledge your superior officer."
Ed stopped in his tracks and turned around slowly, his eyes blazing in fury. For a moment he looked like he would rebel, but then he reluctantly snapped a salute. "Yes sir," he gritted out between clenched teeth. Grand loomed over us and glared down from his impressive height, causing Edward to go rigid.
"Careful, Fullmetal." He leaned into Edward's face, and I could hear the boy grinding his teeth holding back from punching the man outright. "I would hate to see you disciplined for insubordination. Now hand it over."
I bit my lip, suddenly worried. Was this creature really worth Edward getting in trouble with the military? I looked down between the shivering lump in my shirt and my older brother. Reluctantly, I decided it was not. I stroked the creature one last time in apology and then pulled it out of my shirt. Grand's cold eyes turned to me and I glared back, thrusting the creature at him. It made piteous noises from being exposed to the cold and my hand started shaking, urging me to pull it back. I didn't.
"That's more like it," Grand said, making me shiver in disgust. "You should take lessons in obedience from your younger brother, Fullmetal. You might live longer." The large man snatched the chimera from my hand and I almost threw up trying to hold myself back from attacking him. Alphonse placed a hand on my shoulder and I felt his helplessness and disgust as well, but he held me, and I noticed, Edward, back.
Grand stepped back from us, holding the chimera harshly by its neck. "I have no idea why you are protecting this disgusting thing. It was made by alchemy, an abomination of nature." His words hit me like hammer blows, and I could feel Alphonse was affected as well. He could have been talking about either one of us, not just the squirming creature in his hand. "It was created by alchemists only to be experimented on and then destroyed. It's not even worth as much as a real animal." With a final snort, Grand turned his back on us and began to walk away, the little chimera howling in his grip. Edward looked to both Alphonse and I and saw that we were both shaking. His eyes narrowed and he surged forward suddenly and furiously.
Before Ed reached the general, however, Grand stopped on his own in surprise. In front of him was a tall man with a large scar on his face, his eyes obscured by purple sunglasses under his shock of white hair. With a jolt, I recognized him as the man I had seen shortly after the Tucker Incident.
"Get out of my way," Grand said fiercely, but the man did not budge.
"You're Basque Grand, the Iron Blood Alchemist," the man said in a deep, quiet voice.
"Who wants to know?"
The man lifted his hand in front of his face. "Foolish alchemists who turn their backs on the ways of God," he clenched his hand into a claw, his forearm bulging under his yellow coat, "shall all be punished."
"I see," Grand said, "You must be the blood-thirsty murderer who's been targeting State Alchemists lately," he threw the chimera harshly to the side and it skidded across the ground before getting to its feet and bolting with a cry. Grand lifted his iron-clad fists in front of his face. "Well, you've chosen the wrong target!" With a crash he slammed his fists together and then into the ground. In a flash of blue light the ground convulsed beneath him and cannons were created, immediately firing at the mysterious man. My brothers and I backed up in alarm as the two were suddenly thrown into all out battle, but stayed where we were, watching in bewilderment. It was like watching two titans or demigods clash.
The scarred man dodged Grand's attacks easily, even as he changed tactics and sent iron chains in his direction. "You're not getting away that easily," Grand shouted. He fired a cannon from his hand and the surrounding buildings were damaged badly as the scarred man dodged and weaved.
Suddenly, the scarred assaulter jumped forward and got into Grand' face. With an angry bellow the general brought his fist down, but stumbled back when his opponent slammed his hand into his face and gripped it hard. "Now you perish," the stranger said, and with a startling flash of light, Grand's body seemed to explode from the inside. Ed, who had been standing closest to the fight, flinched back badly as Grand's blood was spewed from the back of his head, splashing him with crimson.
The area was suddenly silent again as we all gaped in shock at the mysterious murderer who still gripped Grand's massive body in one hand. The scarred man dropped the once powerful general, and the body fell with a sick smack on the ground. Edward stumbled back a few steps and I gripped his shoulder, terrified. My other hand hovered over the small of my back where my weapons hid, but I couldn't seem to force myself to move. We stared with wide eyes as the man suddenly turned his harsh eyes onto us.
"So…" he said in his deep voice. "You were a State Alchemist as well." He looked between Edward, Alphonse and me. Then he glared hatefully at the chain of the pocket watch that was prominently displayed at the front of Edward's pants. "I shouldn't be surprised, really, seeing the atrocities you have created." Ed threw his arms back, trying to protect Al and me behind his body. I could feel him shaking just as badly as we were as the menacing man began to stalk forward, carelessly stepping over Grand's body. "I will destroy you!"
Ed spun around and looked at us both with wide terrified eyes. "Run!" I looked back over his shoulder at the menacing devil that was stalking towards us with the promise of death in his gaze and a hand covered in blood. This foe, who had destroyed someone clearly so powerful so easily, was beyond any of us. Without further prompting, Alphonse, Edward and I ran for our lives.
Yay, action! Finally! I know you guys appreciated the last chapter, but I love myself a good action scene. it will only get more intense in the next chapter as Scar goes after them with a vengeance. EEEEEEE! So exciting.
Also, Orkan has a son? You bet! Because...I wanted to. So there. I hope I'm keeping this story fresh for you all by mixing it up with the new characters. Don't worry, we haven't seen the last of lizard cat or Barret. I'll have fun messing with them later. Just a warning: the next chapter will be from several perspectives so if that confuses you...sorry. It will be cooler to write it that way.
Next chapter: Scar angry. More buildings are destroyed. Nuff said. See you next time! I have to study now...sigh...
Review!