Chapter 8 : Move
"You know the plan?" A gruff looking man asked his apprentice.
"Yes." The boy answered hesitatingly.
"Good. Then let's go." Brutus nodded and gestured to the door.
"It's show time."
And together the two left the building they'd been hiding in.
On a rooftop across the street two people immediately snapped to attention when they saw the men leave the building. Behind them the sky was already darkening and the barest outline of a silver sickle could be seen against the violet canvas of twilight. Ed and Ivy stood up and stretched, they'd been following the men since dawn and had been sitting on that same rooftop for a little over two hours now.
"Neh, Edo, where do you think they're going?" Ivy asked enthusiastically, a drastic change from his earlier demeanor and if he weren't so focused on the mission Ed might have grown suspicious.
"I don't know." Ed answered gruffly, obviously not in the best of moods. A mood that may or may not have been caused by his companions chipper and impatient behavior over the last couple of hours.
"Do you think they're really behind the disappearances? That little one looks like he wouldn't be able to hurt a fly, never mind a person." Ivy continued on curiously, oblivious to the alchemists mood.
"WHO ARE YOU CA-" Before Ed could even realize it Ivy had come up behind him and slapped a hand over his mouth. "shh, I wasn't even talking about you," Ivy said indignantly, though if Ed could have turned around he would have seen the spark of mischief in his eyes. "You should keep quiet you know? Else they might hear you." He finished in a lecturing tone..
Ed just bristled at the unfairness of it all. Here he was, being perfectly quiet and this chatterbox, a chatterbox that hadn't shut up once in the last three hours might he add, was telling him he should be silent. He knew he shouldn't have allowed him to stay.
Gently Envy let go of the infuriated Chibi. He knew he shouldn't be teasing him so much but he really couldn't help himself, Chibi was just so cute when he was angry. Besides the excitement was getting to him just a little longer and he'd finally be 'free'. He silently suppressed a cackle, oh if only Chibi knew how free he'd be.
Ed grumbled as he was gently lowered to the roof again, damn tall people. He was about to turn around and give Ivy the scolding of a lifetime when the kid tapped his shoulder.
"What?" He grunted.
All Ivy did in return was point over the alchemists shoulder, looking at where the green haired boy was pointing Ed cursed. The targets were getting away.
"C'mon." He said, softly this time, and climbed of the roof using a ladder he'd created earlier, Ivy following right behind.
Stealthily they made their way towards the targets. The two men, Mark and Brutus, were walking side by side, talking amicably. Ed gestured for Ivy to stay back and crept closer to the two males, trying to find out what they were talking about.
If he had expected anything interesting though, he would be sorely disappointed. The men had been ordered to act as innocently as possible, that way it'd be more fun when it was time for the 'surprise', or so they had been told anyways.
Finally the master and apprentice made their way into what seemed like an abandoned street and Ed and Ivy were forced to fall back, lest they be discovered. When the suspects made a sharp turn and disappeared into a dark alley to the left they slowly crept up to the mouth of the alley. The two looked at each other and gave a sharp nod before following the alchemists into the dark.
Only the dark suddenly wasn't so dark anymore. As soon as the two stepped foot into the alley a bright blue light flashed, followed shortly by another. Before Ed could recover from the temporary blindness the lights had caused a blunt object slammed into his side and threw him against the alleys wall. Ed slammed into the cold bricks and felt their rough exterior make some small cuts on his arms. He'd left his coat at the inn today because it would stand out too much, now he wished he'd worn it anyway. Looking up he finally saw their attackers and wasn't surprised when he identified them as the men they'd been trailing. The taller of the two, Brutus his mind supplied, was standing a ways off from him, holding a large and heavy looking hammer and was slowly making his way over.
His apprentice, Mark, was holding Ivy up against the wall by the neck, a small but deadly looking sword in his grasp. Ivy was struggling for all he was worth, biting and clawing at his opponent who seemed like he was having trouble keeping the boy still.
Ed was about to go over and help but was forced to stop so he could dodge a hammer strike from Brutus. Doing a quick back flip out of the way gave him the time he needed to clap his hands and soon his automail arm was sporting a shiny new blade. Seeing the older alchemist would not let him get to Ivy he sent a quick apologetic look to the other boy before charging at Brutus. He'd have to take care of him first.
Ed ran as fast as he can to the brute alchemist and swung his arm back, preparing to strike. The other alchemist was surprisingly fast though and managed to dodge his punch, countering quickly with a skull cracking blow of his hammer. Luckily for Ed he saw it coming, and he managed to transfigure a shield out of the lid of a nearby trashcan just in time. The weapon impacted the metal with a harsh clang and dented the now-useless shield, but it held. Seeing an opportunity Ed threw the shield at Brutus face to distract him then ducked low and made a swipe with his armored hand at his legs. Brutus though, just jumped back and let the shield fly over before performing a back flip and flipping over Eds swipe. The large man countered by bringing his leg down on the still crouching Ed but Ed managed to bring his arms up at the last minute and block the powerful strike. Thinking fast he brought his hand with the blade forward and created a large slash on the man's leg.
Brutus cursed and jumped back to evaluate the damage, giving Ed the opportunity to run over and help Ivy.
Ivy was still struggling but seemed like he would have to give up soon. The other boy had a tight hold on his neck and was chocking him. There were several cuts on his captors cheeks and arms and even what looked like a very large purple bite mark on his left underarm.
Ed came up from behind the unsuspecting boy and, thinking fast, kicked in his legs. A sickening crunch was heard and the kid fell to the ground screaming, clutching his now useless legs. Ed grabbed Ivy's hand and tried to pull the scared boy with him but he refused to move.
"C'mon Ivy, we don't have time for this." Ed tried to coach the pale boy into following him. Ivy just remained frozen though, focused on something behind Ed.
A feeling of trepidation took over Ed and he was about to turn around when he was slammed into a wall for the second time that day. The small alchemist sunk into a groaning heap at the bottom of yet another alley wall. But even though he hurt something fierce he still struggled to get back up again.
When he was finally standing however it was already too late. He looked up and could just make out the tall form of Brutus, the unconscious forms of Mark and Ivy slung over his shoulders as he limp-sprinted his way out of the alley.
Ed tried to run after them only to fall to the floor once more, instinctively pressing a hand to his broken ribs. "WAIT!" He roared out, Brutus just kept running however and he soon lost sight of them. "IVY! WAIT!"
Ed just stared on disbelievingly, he hadn't been able to save him. He'd lost another person. He'd failed again. Suddenly images started to flash before his eyes, his mothers smiling face and warped corpse. Alphonse as a child, when he was more than just a suit of armor and a soul. Nina as the innocent child she was and the chimera she'd become. The clearing they'd found Ivy at blood dripping from the trees and a scared boy covered in crimson. That same boy smiling and laughing now as he talked to Al. That boy, unconscious and being carried away from him, a lone tear sliding down a bruised cheek.
"DAMNIT!" He slammed his fist into the ground, "Damnit! Damnit! DAMNIT!" He kept hitting, not even noticing when the pavement started to crack under his metal fist. Eventually he had to stop though as the pain in his ribs became too much. He sat there for a while just staring out of blurry eyes. His anger was gone now, long since replaced with a feeling of pure hopelessness. The images of all the people he couldn't save mocking him, of all the people he had failed. If only he'd be a bit more powerful, if only he'd been a bit faster, if only he had had a bit more time to figure things out…Time!
Ed's eyes widened with the sudden realization, he still had time!
Wheezing he grabbed hold of the wall next to him and pulled himself up. As soon as he was standing he started to limp to the center and Alphonse as fast as he could.
Pure determination shone from his eyes as he continued limping, thinking of the boy that might not be lost yet.
He would get him back,
A burning golden glare flashed from the dark as he made his way into the light once more.
And he would not fail again.
(special Bloo edition ending)
And then a really, really awesome horse that just screamed awesomeness (and possible you can tie up captives here target) with a nametag that said Sparkie came running by. The end. ;)
An/ Hmm not really sure I'm happy with how this came out…oh well, it'll have to do for now since I don't really have much time to change it, (exams and such).
So who guessed Envy would kidnap himself? Poor Edo-chan, I think he finds this even worse than being kidnapped himself, which is why I did it…Well that and the fact Envy is a drama queen xD
To Guest : Don't worry, I don't mind ya guessed wrong, at least this way I know I'm not getting too predictable. And sorry for the extra suspense. Don't worry though, Vy-chan will get his fun next chapter ;) thanks for the review and hope you enjoyed, ~4ever
To Sarah D : Bite his ear off? That's hilarious XD Hmm maybe I put too much gore in this when people start thinking like that….*shrugs* nah, probably not. I'm definitely gonna put that in somewhere though… it's awesome XD Thanks for the review (and typo correction, old chappie's been replaced) and enjoy the (for you at least :P) super fast update ~4ever