24Okay. Where to start... Um, school, work...yeah. That pretty much explains the lack of personal time, a.k.a. writing time. I was really hoping to get this posted sooner, but life decided to throw large tests, a college-level essay, and work after school on most days and on the weekends at me. All in nearly one go. *Sigh* But, here it is. Chapter 4. Enjoy! ^^
Disclaimer: Uh, yeah. I got nothing but my laptop. But even that was bought by my Dad and under his name. So I guess I just use it? Pooh...
Dual Sympathy
Chapter 4
The clouds hung heavily over the city, outstretching as far as the mountain range and the forest on its North East side. Silence rang through the forest, shattered only by the churning of wheels digging into the hard-packed soil. Several cars trudged through the rarely tread-through expanse of wildlife, uprooting precious flowers and homes belonging to ground dwelling animals.
This was the last thing on the minds of the humans occupying the vehicles, however. Rescuing Edward and Alphonse came first.
Roy shifted in his seat, anxious to get this mission over with. He sighed, finally leaning against the door with his elbow, hand on his palm as he stared out the window. Riza watched her superior with a tinge of sympathy. She felt just as eager to get to that compound and get the boys out of there. But that was the problem.
What if they weren't in there? Or they were, but something had happened to them? It was hard not to think of these worse case scenarios, but having been in the Military for so long, every officer always found it difficult not to calculate the worst that they could face.
Trees flew by in a green topped brown blur. Breda whispered bets to a half asleep Havoc who mumbled his opinion and money about. Fuery, for once, backed out of betting, feeling bad about doing such a thing. If circumstances were lighter then he wouldn't mind doing so, but this whole situation just made him nervous.
Falman turned the page of the file containing information on the documented case and the building's schematics from years ago. He flipped through it several times, each time coming across something that just wouldn't leave him alone.
"Breda," The redhead looked up from waving a hand in front of a sleeping Havoc's face. Leaning over toward the aging Warrant Officer, Breda took the held out folder and looked up at the man questioningly.
Falman pointed at the blank portion of the blueprints near the center. It was unlabeled, but the its size was just too big to be empty space. "This has to be something." Breda muttered, hand cupping his chin as he mulled over what that space could possibly be.
Roy looked up, interest peaking at his normally on-top-of-things subordinates' confused looks. "What's got the two of you stumped?"
They looked up at the colonel and Breda handed over the blueprints. Roy say the folder on his lap so that both Riza and he could see it. Riza's delicate brows scrunched slightly. "There's just...nothing in that area." She noted, tracing the near-square with her index finger.
Silence fell upon those in the car, thickening as the seconds rolled by.
"Or maybe there's actually something there." Roy thought aloud, finally breaking the silence. Five pairs of eyes, including Havoc who was nearly thrown out of his seat when the car ran over a rather low ditch, flickered to the colonel.
"Sir, what are you-" Hawkeye began to ask but was cut off by Falman. "You mean to suggest these people may have some sort of secret room for something they may not have wanted the Military to know about?"
Fuery lightly slapped the side of his fist onto his other palm at Mustang's nod. Hawkeye nodded slowly, thinking it over. "That would make sense. If it's not on the official blueprints, then it would be overlooked as what it appears to be, nothing."
"That's right. I saw this before on a case long ago." Mustang explained. "It was one of the first I was involved in as a member of the Military. Wasn't anything major, but the hidden room that was labeled as just empty space had illegal and tampered with items that had belonged to the Military. Stolen, of course, weeks before." Roy recited smugly, but it dissipated as indigo orbs fell back onto the various lines and phrases that marked the inner design of the building they were getting very close to.
"We're approaching our destination now, Colonel." Reported the sergeant driving the car. Too lost in his thoughts, Riza responded for him. "Thank you, Sergeant."
The jostling of the others gathering their needed equipment they had brought with them, namely guns and ammunition, snapped Roy back to reality. Within seconds he was ready to leave, fixing one of the gloves on his hand as he glared at the nearly invisible building.
The structure was painted in various random patterns of dark greens, light greens, and browns that made it nearly impossible to distinguish it from the rest of the forest.
Roy was the first to hop out, heading towards the main truck that the many underlings were to report to for further instruction. They had managed a small group of men to back him up. Had it not been for Lieutenant Hawkeye's unrivaled negotiation skills convincing the Fuhrer of this lead's importance and how this may actually turn something, or in this case someone, up, they would not have been able to get the back up they knew they would need.
Some were ordered to cover the outside while the rest went inside to scout ahead. Roy and his crew waited patiently by the truck. Five minutes passed as orders were being given out to the leaders of the smaller groups and the groups were taking their primary positions.
A soft wind blew through the woods, picking up small amounts of dirt and loose leaves. Roy raised a gloved hand to cover his eyes as he watched the building in anticipation. 'Stay calm, Roy. We've got to take things slowly just in case.'
"Lieutenant?" Hawkeye stepped to stand by his side, following his gaze with a similar spark of determination. "Are we ready to proceed?"
She looked up at him and nodded. Roy rubbed his forefinger and thumb together as he did his best to hold back his impatience from public view. Being friends for so long, his loyal group of subordinates could see right through the facade of calm. He was just as ready for this as they were.
"Alright everyone, places." Mustang announced as his group, labeled Squad 1, approached the doors covered in moss and ivy. The handle, once a shiny silver, was now rusty and taken over by ivy. A spiderweb, freshly spun, lay between the handle itself and the door. There was a faintly visible straight crack up through the gathering vegetation, sure signs of recent use of the doors.
"No doubt about it." Fuery said as he gave what the could see of the door a good look over. "Someone was either here recently or are still here."
Roy nodded, silently calculating this new bout of information into the equation. If someone was here, were they dangerous? Maybe it was just a hiker who needed a place to rest and stumbled upon this place? There were too many possibilities. Caution would have to be used greatly as they treaded literally uncharted territory.
"Ready?" He asked his crew. Without hesitation they took their positions, Riza on one side of the door, Falman on the other. Fuery and Breda carefully pried open the door, each grimacing at the loud squeals the doors made as they were forced open. Just how long had it been since the hinges were given a good oil?
They relaxed when nothing of immediate danger sprang at them. Slowly they made their way inside, other small groups following behind them as back up. Each door they passed, a designated group would enter a room and scout it out for any possible information on the building and what it could contain. Usually they came up with nothing, but one large, dimly lit room changed all of that.
Colonel Mustang took the lead as they passed various cages, most filled with dead animals and chimeras. "Shit!" Havoc coughed out, quickly pressing his free arm up to cover his mouth and nose. The thick fabric was barely able to hold the nauseating smells of decaying flesh and unkempt cages at bay. But even as the seconds passed and they moved further into the room, the smells permeated their clothes and seemed to stick grossly to their skin making them shiver involuntarily.
For those who had been in the war, they struggled to suppress the memories of the numerous dead bodies and rotting corpses strewn across the ground where they had died from any number of possible causes of death.
However, this room held an even greater evil. A feeling of dread that washed over them, drenching them in shadows thicker than those covering a great portion of the room. Cages upon cages lined the room. Blood splattered the walls and glowing eyes from the creations or those yet be used for someone's sick and twisted experiments peered out from between the old metal bars.
Nothing in this room seemed to have been taken care of properly in a long time. Fuery whimpered at the sight of all these abused animals. His eyes scanned the room, noting the empty food and water bowls–in some cages, what was left of them.
Pained groans met their ears, piercing through the air thick with whines and growls. These sounds were different. Human.
Roy tensed as he listened more intently, filtering out the horrid screeches filling the room as each creature caught their scents and the need to quench their hunger took a front row seat in their garbled minds. He narrowed his eyes, concentrating harder. Had what he heard just been a trick of the mind?
Riza watched him, wondering what in the world the man was trying to do. "Sir-" He shushed her quickly, taking a step further into the room, finally giving into having to cover the lower half of his face with an arm. The scents in the room prickled at his eyes, making them water. He blinked away the liquid and forced himself to ignore everything but that one sound. It most definitely hadn't fit amongst the cacophony of wails and scratches against thinning bars of steel.
They waited for something to happen. Waited for the Colonel to find what he was looking for. But still there was nothing-
Wait... There!
Silently Mustang signaled his team to follow him as he traversed between cages, dodging swipes and biting jaws as they made their way to the back of the room. A lone cage sat away from the others, remarkably smaller but newer and in slightly better condition than the rest. Once again a small groan was heard and this time all of them heard it.
Breda and Falman carefully squatted so they could peer into the low-ceilinged cage. Darkness swelled heavily in the far side of it and they almost missed the figure laying in the back. If it hadn't been for the heavy breathing and groans of pain, they would have missed them completely.
"H-Hello?" Fuery stammered nervously.
"Who-" The figure croaked out weakly before falling into a fit of coughs. It didn't matter. That was all they had to hear to know who this was. Relief filled them at varying degrees and immediately they raced to get him out.
His subordinates stepped out of the way as Roy aimed and snapped his fingers. Flames licked away at the metal until it sank to the floor in a molten red goo. It quickly cooled as it touched the icy stone floor.
Without wasting a moment, careful of the once metal lock sticking upward haphazardly eerily resembling a claw on the floor, Riza crawled inside the cage and wiped the familiar sandy-blond locks out of tightly-shut eyes. Pale skin rippled as the muscles beneath shivered from the cold. Once healthy with toned muscles, now weak and malnourished.
"Alphonse. Al look at me." Hawkeye asked quietly as she carefully tried to turn the boy over to face them. Like a rag doll his body followed her guided movements without resistance. His face was dirty, matching his rumpled clothing. It looked like he hadn't been able to take a proper shower in quite a while.
Slowly hazel orbs cracked open. As a whole they released a breath they hadn't known they'd been holding. At first he looked in their general direction, a hazy film obscuring his vision enough for him to be unable to recognize these people. Then sudden they popped open and a renewed light flickered uneasily in his wary eyes.
"Is this a dream?" The boy breathed, glancing to each of the faces he had caught glimpses of in his tantalizing dreams. False hopes and desperate wishes of being rescued chased him in both his waking hours and as he slept.
His whole demeanor changed and his eyes closed as he released a shaky breath. "This has to be a dream. Like all the rest..."
Riza looked over her shoulder, receiving shrugs at her concerned look. With a sigh she turned back to the broken child in front of her and decided that she would have to think of another way to convince him this was real. That this was not a dream. Being an Elric, he would probably be stubborn enough to stick to his current belief this was a false reality. That when he woke up again he would still be alone in his hell-born captivity.
'Well,' She thought as she came up with an idea. A smile formed on her lips. 'If he won't believe words, then this will be sure to pull him out of his little shell.'
Hawkeye reached over and pulled Alphonse into her arms, all the while noting how small he had become. Just how often had he been fed? When was the last time he had water? Worry for Al's life made her hold the teen tighter and her eyes even began to water.
'No,' Riza shook her head, a determined look appearing as she pulled him all the way out. 'It's not over yet.'
The other watched curiously as she readjusted her grip on Alphonse. Wait a sec. Why was she holding his ankles-
"Lieutenant!" Roy blurted out in shock as the woman flipped the sudden awake and flailing teen upside down like a bully dumping out a poor kid's lunch money from their pockets. Al yelped, feeling nauseous at the continuous up and down jerking.
"Okay! Okay, this is real! Just put me down please!" Al pleaded. Smiling triumphantly, Riza complied, lowering him to his hands and letting him walk out before gently dropping his feet to the floor. He laid there for a few moments, catching his breath and forcing down the bile that was threatening to rise every five to six seconds.
Yes. He was counting.
Falman helped him to his shaky feet as Fuery ran out to get a medic. Returning with one quickly, they all stood back as he was inspected. The medic turned and saluted, reporting the results, "Other than being under fed, slightly dehydrated, and exhausted, Mr. Elric is fine. However this is only preliminary. I would highly suggest transporting him to a hospital for further inspection."
Roy nodded. "Thank you Sergeant. Relay the results to the doctor outside and arrange a car to take him to a-"
"No!"
Heads turned in the direction of the voice. Breda was helping to support the tired teen, a thin arm over his shoulder, one of his own arms behind Al's back gripping his other side. From the way he flinched slightly when Breda fixed his grip, he must have a bruise there. It made the Colonel wonder how many more were hidden beneath his clothes.
Al shook his head and said, "I'm not leaving until we find Brother." Navy met caramel. Roy sighed in resignation. A fire burned in those eyes, mirroring the spirit of determination as thick and hard as steel. Only in Edward had he seen this flame in which he could not control. Not with his alchemy and most certainly not with words. There would be none, in any order, strong enough to budge either of the Elrics once they had their hearts set on a goal. However, Alphonse was still weak and needed medical attention.
Perhaps a compromise would suffice.
"Fine, you can wait at the medical station outside." Mustang spoke with finality. He refused to cave into the challenging look Al gave him and finally won as the teen sank in mild defeat. The only thing keeping him from yelling back was the fact he wouldn't be shipped off until he was reunited with his brother. That alone made the rest seem okay. For now he would just have to go with the flow. It wasn't like he had much of a choice. Even if he had the strength to get past them and search for his brother, he knew it would be suicide, with all of the experiments going on...
As he was guided out of the room, Al paused and looked over his shoulder. "Please find Brother and bring him back safe. I don't know exactly what's going on here and it's been far too long since I've seen him – I'm afraid to think what's become of him – but no matter what, please help him."
And then he was gone, leaving a group of confused and worried soldiers behind.
Within minutes they were ready to move on. A few soldiers were stationed to scout the room for anything of use to them and their search, but nothing came up as they left the room. If anything were to be found, they would be alerted immediately.
Colonel Mustang led the way through the various narrow corridors. Breda and Havoc would quietly as possible kick open doors they would come across and Falman would back up Mustang and Hawkeye as they entered the rooms, armed and ready for anything. Including an ambush.
Countless sets of eyes glowed from the darkness. Lights from above flickered their dull lighting as they fought to grasp the little electricity making it through their frayed and exposed wires. Some had already died out long ago, leaving an eerie air about the room.
Growls and clicks became louder, chimeras of all different shapes and sizes approaching. Some were curious, others were protective. The ones up front dripped thick strings of saliva from their agape mouths, slipping through impossibly sharp teeth. None of them looked friendly.
Humans had hurt them, created them, destroying their reality and ripping through their very being just to thrust them into this Hell. A few of the newer chimeras seemed sleeker, more in control of themselves, as if there was progress in the creation of these monstrosities. These sins against nature.
"Sir," Riza breathed, the grip on her cocked gun tightening. Roy glanced around the room, a look of pity flashing across his eyes before being replaced by a cold, uncaring mask.
"Get behind me." He ordered smoothly and his subordinates didn't hesitate to follow. They knew what he was going to do, with the way he held up his hand and pressed his thumb and middle finger together. They turned away at the snap and pressed an arm over their mouth and nose as the room burned. Screeches and cries engulfed the room, tearing into their ears and engraving a deep abyss in their minds.
"Let's go. Finding Fullmetal is our top priority." Roy said as he left the room. Fuery was the last to leave, closing the door behind him. His wide, black eyes watered as he tried to push out the sights, sounds, and smells from just moments ago, but to no avail. All he could think about were the deaths behind the door he was leaning against. Though they had not been human, he had always had a soft spot in his heart for animals, big or small, and it seemed even suffering chimeras.
He took a deep, shuttering breath, trying to calm himself. It wasn't until a voice spoke to him that he became aware of his surroundings once again. "Fuery, are you alright?" Wine red eyes gazed at him softly. Suddenly he realized just how tired she looked and wondered how often she had to witness death. Perhaps not always by the Colonel's hands, literally, but by either others or even herself.
"It's better that he did that for them. Otherwise they would either eventually of die starvation or the military would've gotten their hands on them and dissected them." She took a deep breath, forcing a smile. "It's best they have a swift death. From what I understand, Chimeras are imperfect creations that suffer from pain because of being forcefully combined."
Fuery looked up at her then the others behind her. The Colonel was the only one looking away. "It was a merciful thing to do." And she left it at that. The Sergeant nodded slowly and pushed off the door. They had to move on. They couldn't let this hold them down.
Heels clicked lightly against the smooth linoleum floors. According to Falman's quiet murmurs, unwilling to speak any louder to break the uncomfortable silence, they were nearing the unlabeled area.
Mustang and Hawkeye approached the door, the others holding their guns out, cocked and ready to fire. Nodding to each other, they kicked open the door and took the lead entering the room-
-stopping dead in their tracks.
Several tubes sat on small bases along one side of the room, a counter stretching from one side to the other on the opposite side. Across the room from them was a door with yellow and black stripes. Something about this room gave them each the chills, and they couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.
"Alright men, time to move! Find Fullmetal!" Roy ordered, leading the way. Edward was not getting away from him again. He lead them to the large door across the room. A soldier played with the padlock and all tensed when it hissed, opening up to another room, this one shrouded in darkness. The two pairs of large, glowing eyes instantly made them pale. Some even fainted as sharp, feral teeth were exposed in a deep growl that shook them to their core.
Roy regained himself and stepped forward, ready to put an end to this. Just as he raised his hand, the creature went silent.
"Sir! Uh-um-I-I think you might w-want to look at this!" A Private stuttered, backing away from the only active tube. Roy took a step back, noting with curiosity the large beast did the same, easing its way back into the shadows where only a hint of its presence could be guessed.
Roy walked over to the tube, continuously glancing back at the other room. He didn't trust it not to surge forward and snap its knife-like incisors at them.
"I-It moved!" The Private exclaimed, finally tearing the Colonel's attention away from the beast and to the over-sized test tube. What he saw in the smeared away condensation nearly made his heart stop.
A pair of glazed over golden eyes, partially covered by thin eyelids, stared back at them.
"Edward!"
Alrighty then! The results for the poll!
As of Monday October 26th, 2009 65% of voters voted for Aquamarine to be my main focus! I'm sorry, for those who like this story. However, this story got second place, so once Aquamarine is finished, I'll be focusing on this story if there are enough votes, as I will put up another poll similar to the one that was up for the past two, three? weeks. This will be the last update in a while, but I'll update when I can. I'm not giving up on this one completely, just remember that I won't be focusing on this one. If I do get the proper motivation, I may be able to type up some more chapters and post them, hopefully soon.
Thanks again for voting!
Please be kind and review. Thank you! ^^