Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Replacement ❯ Plans for a Family Reunion ( Chapter 10 )

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA but I do claim several pornographic dreams with Roy as my co-star *wink wink*

 

 

~*~

 

10 - Plans for a Family Reunion

 

~*~

 

 

Ed stared at the skull rocking back and forth as the Marcus-chimera shivered on the floor in obvious horror.

 

“Who?” the Marcus-chimera whispered and the woman laughed.

 

“The one that Traitor loved the most out of the family, she will suffer for trying to interfere with My Family,” the woman said as she lifted the skull off the floor and returned it to the bag.

 

“Not the Detective…” the Marcus-chimera whispered and the woman snarled. He quickly shut up.

 

“Do not use her name, she is no longer part of the family,” the woman stated before placing the bag in the tub and Ed felt his rage boil over as she brushed the child's head before heading out of the room with the Marcus-chimera at her side.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Envy watched Woodgrove as she worked on a blackboard.

 

“Staring at the back of my head does not impress me, Sin,” she stated as she erased the last four inches and wrote something different.

 

“I'm bored, you told Lust and Gluttony to look for this `guilty' person while I had to stay here. Lonely are you?” he teased and the woman looked at him before chuckling darkly.

 

“Oh yes, very lonely, but even with your…talents…you'd never be my type,” she stated as she worked and Envy glared at her back. “Ooo, if looks could kill.” He glared harder.

 

“What did you bring in last night?” he asked and the woman stood up and turned to face him, approaching him, getting so that they were almost nose to nose, her height advantage being displayed.

 

“Curious? Would you like to know what I'm making?” she asked and Envy pressed against her, if she thought he would be intimidated by size she had another thing coming. General Gran was before her and she smirked, an expression that would be more at home of Envy's own face. “While I'm certain I could make you another sibling, I'm doing everything according to Equivalent Exchange. I'm not an Elric, I know the rules and I follow them. Unlike present company.” There was a knowing look that Envy wanted to beat off her face.

 

“Your mouth will get you into trouble one of these days,” he hissed before assuming his `true' form.

 

“Been there, done that, anything else you want to add, Elr…Envy,” the slip was not accidental and Envy wondered how much Hohemhiem shared with his partner.

 

“After all this, I may have to kill you,” Envy stated and the woman stepped back, a long lock of brown/red/black hair swung between her eyes, having escaped her tight bun. There was a moment of intense silence.

 

“You'll have to wait your turn, many men have staked claim on my life, not all of them were human either,” she said with a smile that again would be better suited on Envy's own face. It was a psychopath's smile.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Detective VanBuren was still not happy and Maes was having a grand old time with it. So far there had been several Woodgrove sightings…none had developed into anything more than a game of tag in the Hollows.

 

“I swear, even if she is innocent, I'm going to kill her for this!” VanBuren snarled, throwing a picture frame across the room, shattering the glass and Roy sighed as he began picking up the pieces, more for something to do besides listen to the pregnant woman bitch about Woodgrove. As he picked up the pieces, he turned the frame over to show three young women sitting in a circle of flowers, dressed in lovely dresses. VanBuren was dressed in a bright yellow dress as she sat on a bench beside the other sister…what the Hell was her name again? Guinevere? Genevieve…there we go…Genevieve was in a dark pink dress next to VanBuren as the two held hands and giggled as Woodgrove reclined on the ground in front of them. Woodgrove was in a dark purple-blue dress, resting on her side in front of her sisters feet, holding her head up with one hand while the other drew something in the grass, Roy had no doubt it was an array.

 

Roy sighed as he tossed the glass away and placed the frame down on a nearby bookshelf. Looking through the room there were various pictures, since the detective sisters had shared this office to work on this case it wasn't surprising so many images of their family were present. Everywhere one looked there was a face that somewhat resembled the two sisters. The phone rang and VanBuren ripped it out of the cradle.

 

“VanBuren,” she growled and Roy wondered how the person on the other end of the phone was feeling. She froze and there was the sound of a masculine voice yelling at her. “I'm sorry! Well, no, but… That's not fair! I have to put the job first! But she's the prime suspect! I know. No. I can't do that, not even if I believed she was! I can't. I don't, she fits the profile perfectly. What? I can't believe you would say that to me! Thomas that isn't fair, you always believe her just because she was a State Alchemist! I don't care!”

 

The group was silent, this was a twist to the normal.

 

“Just because you served with her does not mean you know her! How often did you talk to her after she married that bastard? What about after her son died, huh? I didn't see you sitting with her as she cried while curled around one of his stuffed animals! So what? She could easily change! I want to know who called you to let you know! I'll use my status as investigating detective to make you! What?! Oh this is rich, you're going to believe her, the main suspect, compared to me, the investigator. I do know how to do my job, Thomas, thank you very much, I've been doing it longer than she has! I am not being harder on her than I would on any other suspect. That's a lie, I would never use that as an excuse to antagonize her! Fine, you stuffy bastard, come out here and help! I'll look forward to meeting you tonight at the station. Good bye!” VanBuren slammed the phone down into the cradle so hard the frame of the phone cracked. “Oh, Angelina, you had better hope he finds you first.” There was something behind those blue eyes that made Roy suddenly wonder a little more about the Woodgrove family and their seemingly bad luck.

 

 

~*~

 

 

“She loved you the best,” the woman whispered as she stroked the skull, polishing the bone slowly, taking away the dirt and dust that decay caused. Ed watched in horror as she had started this job after feeding Havoc and him. She was gently scrubbing the skull as the young boy whimpered from behind his bindings. “She did, you were her favorite. The fact she wouldn't share you with me always annoyed me, you are part of the Family, no matter that you have a different family name.”

 

Long fingers stroked the bone in a loving caress, moving around the eye sockets and over the cheek bone.

 

“She shouldn't have favored you so,” the woman spoke to the bones as she took a cloth and began buffing the bone so that it glowed in the dim light. “After the experiment with Joshua, seeing that look of horror and despair, I knew how to make the next one better. She won't be able to kill you, not after she took such good care of you, playing with your hair for hours, dressing you up like a doll, oh no, she won't be able to kill you once I've brought you back.” The skull was set on a blanket behind her, facing up.

 

Ed's heart was beating hard as he looked at the child who was beyond hysterical. The little boy's shorts were stained with his urine and his wrists were bright red, soon his thrashing would draw blood.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Al looked at the phone. The light gleamed off the black handle, the smudges of grease from the hands of the previous users left grayish fingerprints across the blackness of the handle.

 

Al shone too, not that he could appreciate it, his feather iridescent in the afternoon sunlight streaming through the dirty window of the bar. His back a line of silver-blue in the smoggy environment.

 

Had he had his real body, his eyes would be brimming with tears and he would more likely than not, be gnawing on his bottom lip. His cheeks would have been flushed and his hair and clothing a mess. Al, however, did not have his body, instead he stood like a metal statue, glowing with light from a filthy window, like a mythical warrior about to slay some terrible demon.

 

The demon was free, running around doing who knows what, while Al had to become a messenger of pain. There were two people that cared for the boys that did not know. Not Ross and Brosh, they had been ordered to remain in Central and take up the slack from Hughes and Armstrong's being here. No, the people that needed to be told were not from Central, but from Rizenbul and they would not take this well.

 

Al lifted up the receiver and listened to the operator come on, he gave the Rockbell home a call.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Winry Rockbell's heart was in her throat as she stared at her grandmother's face. Pinako was the strongest person Winry knew, nothing could scare the young woman more than to see tears welling up in her grandmother's black little eyes. Pinako hadn't cried since the news of her parents' deaths had come. No, this was bad and there was only one reason that Pinako would be fighting back tears. Ed and Al.

 

“What do they know?” Pinako's voice was calm and soothing, she was talking to Al, Ed, no matter what was wrong, was given a commanding tone. Pinako knew that in a crisis between the brothers Al was to be comforted and Ed was to be given orders. It was what happened, Ed could take being beaten any day of the week, but to see Al hurt was to render Ed a ball of helpless emotions that couldn't decide where to remain. Al was calling and Ed was hurt…or worse.

 

“At least eight months, well, it's only been how long?” Pinako asked and Winry couldn't understand. What was only at least eight months? What was going on? “I understand Alphonse, don't worry. Do you need anything? If you think you can handle this. Call us the second you find out more. I'll break it to her gently, Al. He's in our prayers.” Winry was about to attack her grandmother when Pinako turned to the young girl.

 

“Well! What's wrong with Ed?” she cried, ready to shake the old woman's head off. The tears were already in Winry's eyes.

 

“Sit down, Winry,” Pinako whispered and Winry listened.

 

 

~*~

 

 

From outside of the Rockbell Automail Shoppe there came a wail of abject horror and sorrow and birds flew into the air from the surrounding meadows.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Al stared at the phone as he held it against the cradle.

 

“They had to know,” he whispered before turning and leaving, unaware he was watched by two less than human figures in the corner.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Woodgrove was asleep, something that astonished Envy when he went to annoy the woman. When she ignored his fifth insult he had gotten right into her face and realized she had propped her head up using her arm so that it would look like she was going over the contents of a book. He was less than amused with his company, then he looked at her. He had been around humans so long, but he never really looked at them. The woman was pale, like their naturally white skin, however, she had pink cheeks, roses on the points of her cheekbones. Her eyes had been shadowed by a natural purple that Envy was assumed was due to sleep and now looking at her, the purple was nearly gone, seeming to have vanished with the restoring of energy provided by sleep.

 

Envy stared at the human as she slept, she was not like the Midget, no, she was dignified in unconsciousness, hell, when he had seen the Midget sleep the child had drooled all over himself.

 

Envy's study on the difference between humans as they sleep was interrupted by the woman sitting up and letting out a scream.

 

“Don't you touch him!” her voice was ragged and harsh as if she was being physically attacked while weak. Her eyes seemed hazy as if there was a dull varnish covering the truth of her gold. It made the predator in Envy giddy until she thrashed out of the chair, striking him in the groin. The two were face to face as her eyes became clear, like a cloud slipping out from in front of a dawning sun. “What the hell…” she looked around before shaking her head. “Damn.”

 

“Sweet dreams, I assume,” Envy snapped and she looked at him before chuckling.

 

“Sorry,” she stated, shocking the homunculus. “I tend to get violent after one of those.” With that she got up and headed into one of the back rooms, the energy of alchemy made Envy nervous and he quickly followed only to find the room empty. The Gate knew where the hell that woman had gone, but Envy would be far more cautious the next time he studied her. He rubbed his bruised manhood as he looked around the room before exiting.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Ed stared at the skeleton being assembled on the floor, the glowing white bones making him more and more nervous about why the child was present, he was trying to delude himself, deep down, Ed knew that the little boy was more likely than not an orphan. The child would be used to give this…homunculus life, and turned against the Detective searching for Havoc and him.

 

“I was so jealous of you, she was there to comfort you through your troubles, but she totally ignored me when sorrow struck me, now you'll be the tool to cause her downfall,” the woman laughed, all through the cleaning of the bones, she would talk to them as if the skeleton would suddenly start talking back to her.

 

“Soon, so soon, I will destroy her for trying to stop the reformation of the Family,” the woman whispered, kissing the rib she was cleaning before laughing.

 

 

~*~

 

 

“You all didn't need to accompany me to the train station,” VanBuren stated as she glared at Roy, Hawkeye, and Hughes.

 

“Well, we're anxious to meet Colonel Woodgrove,” Hughes stated with a smirk and VanBuren glared.

 

“I'm still shocked you didn't know him,” she stated and Roy shrugged.

 

“He's part of foreign affairs, he's been in Ishbal helping to rebuild, most of the officers in that division are not there by choice,” Roy stated and VanBuren nodded.

 

“He volunteered. He wanted to make up for Danny and Joshua's sins I guess,” she stated as she paced the platform, looking at her watch before forming a holding pattern of twenty steps across, eight steps down, twenty steps back across, and eight steps up. Roy and Hughes reclined on a bench while Hawkeye went to check on the ETA.

 

The sound of a train whistle brought the group together to watch the train pull into the station and a very small number of people got off. One was a tall, broad, blond, green eyed man in a uniform.

 

“Catherine,” he chided as he marched over to him, his skin was baked a rich gold, like some bronze god of days of old. His green eyes were sharp and similar to his nephew's born of his younger sister. He turned to look at the three officers and took note of their ranks, he stared and the two inferior officers saluted, then both superior officers gave each other the motion of respect. “I was unaware you all were still present, is the Fullmetal Alchemist really so important at only sixteen years of age?” The group looked amongst each other.

 

“We have more than just professional interest in him, Colonel Woodgrove,” Hughes stated. “A few of us have taken on a parental bond with him.” There was a softening to those green eyes. A hand was extended to Hughes.

 

“Just call me Tom, I'm on military leave for a few weeks,” the man said and there was a sad smile. “Angel's always been one of the boys.”

 

“Angel?” Hawkeye asked.

 

“Thomas, Joshua, and Daniel always called Angelina Angel, I wasn't in on the joke,” VanBuren stated and Tom shook his head as he shook each officer's hand with a smooth palm that seemed to comfort on contact.

 

“Catherine, keep that forked tongue in your mouth around me, I have a short temper with you,” Tom growled and there was a similar set to their mouths as they glared at each other. He had the height advantage by a foot and a half.

 

“Whatever, I suppose you'll be wanting the spare room…” she was cut off.

 

“I won't be staying with you, I'll be at Angel's,” he stated and the look of abject horror was frozen on her face long enough for a smirk to appear on his.

 

“That is a crime scene!” she hissed and the officers decided to let the family members fight.

 

“That has turned up nothing, Rinny, I will stay there so I don't interfere with your home life. I will remain on the sofa like I have every time I visited her,” Tom stated and there was no room to argue. The two glared and she looked away.

 

“You haven't grown up at all, Thomas,” she snapped and he laughed before kissing her cheek, through it was obvious she wanted nothing to do with him.

 

“And you've turned into Mother,” he stated before looking at the officers. “However, I need a drink. Care to join me?” The officers nodded, perhaps there would be a few more answers.

 

 

~*~

 

 

The trio of homunculi stared at the woman as she began drawing a large transmutation circle on the floor of the other room. The beds she had given them were pushed against the far wall to give her enough room. The paintbrush that was the size of a small mop was leaving trails of red liquid on the floor.

 

“What is that?” Envy asked and Woodgrove ignored him. She moved around the circle, it looked like she was doing some strange, cultural dance.

 

“Envy,” Lust whispered as she watched the concentration that was on the woman's face.

 

Slowly, the circle became more and more intricate, each stroke adding onto the previous strokes until it was as if she had woven the red liquid together. She took a step back and touched a transmutation on her sleeve, the liquid began to glow and the three watched as the liquid was dried after the light was gone.

 

“Hand me that smaller brush,” Woodgrove stated as she extended her hand to the homunculi, they looked to see a smaller hand brush on the desk and Lust approached with the brush and stopped short of handing it to the Midnight Alchemist.

 

“What are you doing?” Lust asked and Woodgrove sighed before looking at the three.

 

“I'm going to make…an atrocity to stop that bitch,” she hissed as she glared at the trio of non-humans. Lust handed her the brush.

 

“Don't kill yourself before we save Fullmetal,” she stated and Woodgrove smirked.

 

“It's not nearly to the level of atrocity as you all are,” Woodgrove stated before removing all clothing that wasn't skin-tight. She began crouching over the circle, supporting herself with one arm while continuing the circle.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Ed stared at the skeleton that lay on the blanket in the corner of the room. The woman had long since gone, leaving the three prisoners the light. The oil lamp made the bones gleam, making the shadows in the skull, ribcage, and pelvic bone all that more contrast.

 

The little boy was frantic, she had redone his bindings, forcing the little boy to lean against the tub, his wrists behind his back tangled by the ropes with the foot of the tub. The ropes were in his mouth, working as a gag, making his mouth pull back in some horrid half smile. His legs were spread so his ankles could come back and be bound to the same tub foot as his wrists.

 

The child hadn't stopped staring at the skeleton and Ed didn't blame him, it was like a magnet for the eyes. You would look away for only a moment before it would pull your eyes back to it.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Tom sat in the chair with his jacket over the back as he drank his beer. His blond hair was longer than it appeared at the train station because it was held in a ponytail, not very long, but enough that when one of the waitresses saw him and pulled it out to flirt, when it was put back up a few stray locks framed his face…making him seem younger.

 

“So…Tom….why are you here?” Maes asked and the Colonel stretched, he was neither taller nor broader than Armstrong, but his presents seemed to fill up more space.

 

“Angel called me,” he stated calmly as he sipped his beer, eyes moving around the bar. “She told me everything about the case before telling me that Catherine was attempting to arrest her for the crimes.” He took another sip before his dinner arrived and he ate.

 

“Why do you disregard Detective VanBuren's side so easily?” Hawkeye asked, her fingers unconsciously moving toward her gun.

 

“Simple, they've hated each other for years, Angel's always been more like a man, choosing to ignore Catherine's hatred and not bothering to hide her own,” Tom said as he smirked, seeing something that no one besides family probably could see. “I respect Angel, she's always looked out for us, when Catherine offered her the chance to work on the case I thought she'd given up the hate, I know Angel did.”

 

“What caused it?” Hughes asked. “This rivalry.” Tom sighed as he rubbed his brow.

 

“It's a lot of family politics,” he stated as he looked at them with those piercing green eyes. “You have to understand both our parents were skilled alchemists, who naturally assumed all their children would be too. Sadly, only Angel, Danny, and Baby ever showed any talent, but man, what talent they had.” A small smile formed as his eyes closed. “They would compete with each other for hours, each one transmuting an object until it was so different from the original form that the other two couldn't come up with something to top it.”

 

“Wait, I thought your youngest brother was minus an arm,” Roy added and Tom laughed.

 

“Yea, Baby was, but he could draw a circle in a matter of seconds, if he had lived long enough for us to pitch in, we'd have gotten him the automail and I'm sure Angel would have taken him to Central with her,” Tom was obviously lost in memories. “She loved being the Midnight Alchemist and couldn't wait for Baby to get old enough.”

 

“You were saving up for an automail attachment?” Maes asked and Tom nodded.

 

“Dad knew that attaching too soon would stunt his growth and Mom liked having a child to baby so we siblings were pooling together to get him the automail for his eighteenth birthday,” Tom smiled.

 

“Wait, you were going to allow him to become a State alchemist at eighteen?” Roy asked and Tom nodded.

 

“Sure, when we ran away to join the military Joshua was only eighteen, Angel was sixteen, both Danny and I were fourteen and were taken in as trainees for five years. Danny didn't become a State Alchemist till our third year together in the army…right in time for Ishbal,” there was the same sorrowful look on Tom's face that had been on Woodgrove's. “I was lucky, I was transferred into the foreign affairs department while Danny was taking his State Alchemy exam…Angel had been helping him while doing her work with Hohemheim, it was…”

 

“Did you say that Woodgrove worked with Hohemheim Elric, the Light Alchemist?” Roy cried and Tom looked at him before nodding.

 

“Yes, only for a few months before the Alchemists were called together to go to Ishbal. She left before the war started, met her husband the day she came home. Kind of sad that her son barely saw the end of that damn war,” there was a moment of silence.

 

“So Woodgrove was only sixteen when she became a State Alchemist?” Hughes asked and Tom nodded.

 

“She's not the youngest, until Hohemheim's kid the record had been fourteen, but that was before even my father,” Tom stated. “I'm kind of shocked Catherine would think Angel would kidnap Hohemheim's kid, Angel couldn't stand Hohemheim.”

 

“Really, I always found the man pleasant company,” Roy stated and Tom actually let out a belly laugh.

 

“Sure, if you're working with him, Angel was working under him!” Tom chuckled, finishing his dinner and beer. “Angel said he was the most anal man with transmutation circles and it took hours to get those damn circles drawn. No, Angel really did go out of her way to get kicked out, made our Dad furious, not that Angel couldn't get away with murder with Dad. She got the Chimera Squad tattoo, she married a non-alchemist, and she used her talents to fix random objects around Laketon, and Dad forgave everything.”

 

“If you don't mind me prying, but how did VanBuren and Woodgrove's rivalry begin?” Hawkeye asked and Tom sat for a moment.

 

“It was really about Angel's behavior, way back when we were teens. You see, Angel's two years older than me, exactly, I'm ten months older than Danny, and two years older than Catherine, meaning Catherine and Angel have four years difference,” Tom explained. “Catherine grew up fast, mentally, and she started acting like a `proper' lady way back when she was eight. She got on Angel's back like no body's business, always telling her to be more of a lady. I'm sorry but Angel was raised in the middle of a bunch of boys, she's a fine damn lady if you ask me. Deep down, I think Catherine's jealous. Angel always took after our mother in appearance, height, shape, coloring, I think Catherine was jealous. Mom was a great lady, neat, proper, and utterly embarrassed that her first born daughter was a tomboy. I'd say our mother bred the rivalry. Catherine embraced the favoritism while Angel stuck with us boys.”

 

“What about your mother?” Maes asked.

 

“What do you mean?” Tom asked.

 

“What about her makes you think she was firing the competition?” Maes specified and Tom leaned back in his chair.

 

“She was embarrassed that only one daughter had any alchemic talent and that two of the boys did. Mom always was very competitive, she competed with Dad a lot. They encouraged the alchemy contests between Angel, Danny, and Baby. I think Mom wanted to show Dad up, make the better adult out of the girls. Mom and Dad raised us together, but Dad was the better teacher, Mom really took the younger kids under her wing, trying to prove that she was better,” Tom sighed. “In all honesty, I think she saw Angel as a second chance for herself, you know, trying to live through her alchemic daughter. I think, deep down, Catherine recognized this and hated Angel for it, because Mom would try and use Catherine to make Angel jealous.”

 

 

~*~

 

 

The trio of homunculi watched as the Midnight Alchemist used the fine paintbrush, to make thin, spider-like lines through the complex circle on the floor. Her brow was gleaming with sweat as she remained in the one armed push up position she had been crab walking around in for the past two hours.

 

“What is this for?” Envy demanded, the irritation in his voice was undeniable. Finally, her brush stopped moving and the woman stood up, the audible sound of her shoulders and hips popping startled her and she chuckled.

 

“Getting old sucks,” she laughed as she rubbed her shoulder before dropping the brush and touching the circle that dried the fresh…paint. “What are you bitching about now, Sin?” She looked at them and Envy growled, she either liked toying with him or she completely tuned out the world while drawing that damn circle.

 

“What is that substance? And what is that circle for?” he demanded and Woodgrove wiped her hands clean on a towel.

 

“Pig's blood mixed with paint,” Woodgrove stated. “Have to use enough organic materials for this.” She looked at the homunculi and then at the clock. “You three get out of here, I don't care where, just make sure you aren't getting chased by cops tonight.” Slowly the three left the room and she smiled at them before transmuting the wall so the door was gone.

 

The three stared at the wall for several minutes, slowly, there was a faint shrieking sound behind it, like a piglet.

 

“Another homunculi?” Envy asked and Lust shook her head.

 

“I can't tell you, but I'm thinking more along the lines of Majhal,” she sighed before heading out.

 

“You're going to listen to her?” Envy asked and Lust shrugged.

 

“I don't plan to listen to that,” Lust stated and with that she left followed closely by Gluttony, leaving Envy alone to listening to the increasing squeals. Envy transformed to look like Lust.

 

“I don't plan to listen to that,” he made a face before making an unladylike gesture at the door before changing back to himself. “Nothing better to do anyway.” With that Envy jogged to catch up to the younger two.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Ed cried out threats to the woman behind his gag as she began dragging the child out of the cell. The child had been screaming since the chimeras had appeared to lift the blanket with the skeleton on it up and to take it up the stairs.

 

“Stop struggling, you're disturbing Marcus and Alexander!” the woman hissed as she shook the child and the boy's eyes pleaded with Ed and Havoc to help. Both were struggling as the child's shrill cries echoed through the chamber, coming back to them like the sound of a pig about to be slaughtered.

 

“Enough,” she hissed and shook the boy till his head rocked back and forth. “Now come.” This time the door was slammed shut and Ed felt his heart pound as the squeals became softer and fainter.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Woodgrove sweated as she forced the struggling creature into the cage, her breathing hard as she pulled the blanket with the needed materials closer.

 

“Alright…here goes nothing,” she whispered. “Think about Joshua.” The power of alchemy began to build.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Ed could feel alchemic energy throbbing through the walls and his eyes widened as the power began to resemble the power that had been around him the night they had tried to revive Mother. Wide gold eyes watched the room, as if expecting the power to come and remove another limb.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Wide gold eyes watched the gold energy swirl around the circle, the screaming creature and the materials.

 

“Come on for Momma,” she hissed and the light flashed.

 

 

~*~

 

 

The creature in the center of the circle looked up at the woman and tilted its head as it tried to stand.

 

“Mommy?” it whispered in a weak, soft nearly feminine voice.

 

In the corner the Marcus-chimera was curled up, his misshapen limbs over his head as eyeless sockets were clenched as closed as they could be. Harsh barking sobs were pulled from his no longer human throat as the voice of a dead relative whispered in the chamber.

 

 

~*~

 

AN: What do you think? Want to beat me up for another cliffy ending? Still, I had so much fun with this chapter. However…I think this story may be coming to a conclusion soon. Give me some loving before it does, let me know what you think.