Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Dying to Please ❯ Chapter 2

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

((Chapter 2))

"He actually did it. Al actually did it." Winry mumured, petting Den on the head.

"I always knew he could do it. That boy was always head strong. He just like Ed in so many ways..." That was Pinakp Rockbell, she was so proud of those boys and everyone knew it. Al had his memory back and he'd been searching for Ed ever since. He swore that he would find a way and he had...They hadn't seen him, or heard from him, only in letters, in a few years.

The last letter they had gotten from Al had shocked them all, caused a stir. He had done it, they didn't know all the details but he had done it. Ed and Al were together again and back. They had found each other and were coming home.

Izumi knew without a doubt that Al had seen they gate, he had survived and she was as proud of him as everyone else.

Winry smiled, leaning back on her elbows, over looking the hill down below. "I bet Ed's as short as ever."

Pinako smiled over her pipe. "Well, it has been a long time and you never kn-"

"Who you calling short?" Winry, Pinako and Izumi all about fell down the hill they were gazing at as the voice, so remembered, was spoken. They spun around and there he stood. Al and Ed. Finally.

"Well, I would have thought I would have gotten a better home coming than this..." Ed scratched his head. "Damn. Ow.." Izumi grabbed him by his ear, a soft look in her eye as she spoke. "Watch your language."

"You guys could have called." At least she didn't hit them over the head with a wrench.

"You haven't changed at all Winry." It was so like her to say something like that. They all hugged and laughed, welcoming them back where they belonged. A home. And as Ed had said, who was she calling small, he had grown, he was actually taller than Al and a little taller than Winry but Ed was still a little short for his age.

Pinako tugged at Ed and Als hair. "You boys both need a haircut." Al snickered. "I said the same thing to Ed, about this hair, but he said he likes it, that it makes him look older."

Ed blinked as Pinako pushed Ed at Winry. "You need to carry her inside, she has a sprained ankle. She was carrying some of her tools down the stairs and fell."

Izumi smiled. "You can carry her Ed, I'm tired of helping her."

Ed sighed and squatted down in front of Winry. "Climb on." Winry climbed onto his back, careful of her left ankle. She looked at the back of his pony tail..."Hey!" Ed looked at her over his shoulder as she started to braid it. "Thats how I remember you." She patted him on the shoulder and looked around as he started walking. "This feels different. I'm so used to you carrying me when you were short though your still kinda short...hey!" Ed almost dropped her purposefully. "I swear, I'll drop you."

He followd Al and the others inside and set Winry down on a chair in the kitchen. "Gramps. I'm hungry...what? Me and Al come back and no home coming dinner?"

"Well, if you boys would have let us know you were coming we could have had something cooked up for you." Pinako arched an eyebrow.

"Yea, but then this wouldn't have been a surprise, would it?" Ed grinned.

Winry chuckled. "Welcome back Ed, welcome back."

"We're going back to Central, AFTER we stay here for a while." Ed added quickly from the looks on there faces. "I'm sure they'll be glad to see us."

"You do know that Roy Mustang is the Brigadiar General now?" Izumi questioned.

"I do now." He scratched his head. "He sure moved up.

..........................................

"I'm so glad we get upper class on these things, it would be a drag if we didn't, its bad enough we have to stay couped up in here for hours." Havoc tapped the train window, watching the outside in a foggy whirl of green pass by, misty from the rain.

"Ahhh! Get that thing away from me! Why is he coming?!" Heymans brought his legs up in the seat and glared at Black Hayate. "I don't like you, can't you see that?"

Havoc and Heymans were sharing a train bench, (seat, two of them) and it was clear that Havoc was enjoying watching Heymans being terrified. Falman and Fuery were sharing a seat in front of them and behind them Roy and Riza were sharing a seat. Havoc traded places with Falman so he was sitting directly behind Riza. He laid his arms on the back of her seat.

"You know Hawkeye, they said the killer goes after pretyy girls. Beautiful women." He exagerated over the word beautiful. You could be at risk-" Havoc shutup, feeling the barrel of Hawkeyes gun under his chin. "Hey!" he muttered, gulping.

"I do believe you are the second person to say something of the same quality to me, Havoc." Havocs eyes twitched as she slowly removed the gun, she hadn't even looked up from the book she had been reading. Always so calm and collected, some times it was scary. But part of that was why she was so well respected by lower ranks, considering she was a woman with the rank of COlonel.

"Well, sorry to insult you by saying that..." It was the only thing that he could think to say, he, on the other hand, was thinking that she didn't like to be called such things, it didn't go with her calm self that everyone knew her by.

Heymans shuddered. "I bet she shot the man dead who called her that." Riza put her gun away and looked up. "I did not." Roy glanced at her but didn't say anything.

"What did you do?" Fuery leaned forward and turned around to watch.

"I told him to shutup and eat." Havoc widened his eyes purposefully. Was she trying to be sarcastic, there Riza? Roy folded his arms over his chest and smiled but still, kept quiet.

Slowly it registered on them, Heymans, Fuery, Havoc and Falman. "What were you doing with him?!" Heymans turned around in his seat as well.

Havoc blinked. "You were on a date? You?"

Riza looked up from her book and closed it with a snap, they all jumped back in there seats. "It was not a date."

Roy tapped his chin thoughtfully and looked back at Havoc. "You think she poisened his food?"

"I don't know...I doubt it, why do that, when she could just shoot him? What were you feeding him Hawkeye?"

"I do believe, thats none of your buisness." It was clear by the way she leaned back in her seat and resumed reading that they weren't getting anymore information out of her.

Heymans wailed again and Riza stuck her arm out, across Roys chest, and snapped her fingers. Hayate came running from Heymans to sit at her feet like a good dog.

"But, like I was saying before, Sir, considering he goes after women, do you really think its safe for her to come along...and you yourself?" Meaning his rank, to put himself in danger, along with Hawkeye, was not something good to do.

Roy shrugged. "I decided to come and we may need Hawkeyes expertiece with guns. Shes good with the damn things and besides, the specifically said they wanted her to come along..."

Riza slipped each bullet into her gun with a precise click. "Shes not even scared." Heymans muttered.

"Should I be?" Was all she replied.

..........................................

"He couldn't have done it here." Falman said, examining the body of the victim. "He had to have brought her here AFTER." It was sickening to look at, what crazed man could have done such a thing?

The body was a mass of bloodied cuts and bruises, deep cuts and even chunks of skin missing, maybe even a body part or two. There was quiet a bit of blood as well, as if he had decided to torture her some more, before he left for good.

Riza kneeled down, bringing her arm up over her nose against the stench of blood and death. "How many killings did they say they have had all together, Sir?"

Falman looked down looked down at the sheet of paper in his hands. "In two months, 16, this one making it 17. They say hes slowing down, for now."

Riza glanced up as Roy walked back over to them. "What do you think?"

Roy and Riza walked back over to the body and squatted down, putting to a cut on the victims shoulder. "See that? Its bigger than some of the others but look closer, look closely at the edges. Their torn and ragged, they look slightly burned as if they were sizzled at a mere touch. Now, if he had torched the blade and cut her with it, it would have been a clean cut, slicing clear through the skin but this is different."

"Alchemy." Riza said quietly.

"Yes. I'm sure of it. We're not dealing with just a normal serial killer here. He's using Alchemy partically as a weapon." Roy nodded at Falman, letting him know they were almost through here.

People were gathered around the yellow strip surrounding the scene and and that was bad enough. Whispers were going around, wondering why the military was involved.

"Excuse me, Sir, but your not allowed back here." Riza grasped a man by the elbow, walking him outside the yellow strip. He looked down at the ground with a sad look on his face. "They let me in to see her...I had to know...it was my...my wife."

"I'm sorry Sir." She mumured to him as he was lead away.

It was dark when they were finally able to leave. Havoc sighed. "Damn mystery, thats what this is. Where did Heymans go?" Riza glanced at Havoc as she picked up Roys jacket, laying it over her arm. "He was sent back, they re-asigned him."

..........................................

"If only they knew..." I'm here, right under your noses, he thought. He had been so close. "Oh yes." She would be the next victim, there would be a few more before her but those wouldn't really count. His big plans weren't for them. She was just perfect. She would be the big blow to them all and they would know he was the best and he had been right under them...so damn close.