Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Snake in the Playpen ❯ Part 5: Endgame ( Chapter 5 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Sailor Mac 
Ed finally confronts the bordello's liason to the bomber gang -- an alchemist who is far more dangerous than he was expecting.
Anime/Manga: Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Drama / Hentai / Romance | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 01.29.2006 | Updated On: 02.03.2006 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 604 | Status: Completed
Ed finally confronts the bordello's liason to the bomber gang -- an alchemist who is far more dangerous than he was expecting.
Anime/Manga: Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Drama / Hentai / Romance | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 01.29.2006 | Updated On: 02.03.2006 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 604 | Status: Completed
SNAKE IN THE PLAYPEN
A Fullmetal Alchemist Fanfic With Lemon
Written in Response to Challenges #2 (“The Audience,”) #15 (“The Bordello, or Dude Looks Like a Lady of the Night”) and #30 (“The Playroom, or, Wow, Santa Never Brought Me *That* Kind of Toy!") on the 30_Lemons Community
By Sailor Mac
PART FIVE -- ENDGAME
Russell sat at the kitchen table of the Tringham family’s old house in Central. It was basically the Elric-Tringham house now. Whenever the Tringhams were in town, all four of them stayed there.
Up until now, Ed had resisted Russell’s offers to live there full-time even when the Tringhams were in Xenotime. He hoped that he would reconsider now that their relationship had deepened.
In front of him was the notebook he’d taken from the bordello. He studied the arrays, decomposing them line by line in his head.
*This is definitely not the work of an amateur*, he thought. *This Maggie seems talented enough to be a State Alchemist.*
He knew Ed was up against a formidable foe, and that worried him. He knew his lover could take care of himself, and then some, but still . . .
Fletcher walked into the room, a piece of paper with some writing on it in his hand. “Did you find anything else out, Brother?” he said.
“Only that this Maggie is someone to be very concerned about,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “What about you and Al? Any progress?”
“Her code is tough to crack,” Fletcher said, opening the icebox and taking out a pitcher of lemonade. “Al and I think we’re on to some of it, but the rest . . .”
“I’m sure you’ll get it,” Russell said, smiling quietly. Fletcher was the *real* genius in the family, he knew that. And Al was just as brilliant.
“That Madame Marie must know something about alchemy herself,” Fletcher said, taking three glasses out of the cabinet and starting to fill them. “She knew *just* what she was looking for in a partner.”
“I think most of those people do,” Russell said, accepting a glass from his brother. “Remember, even Baddley turned out to be an alchemist. And they were going to . . .”
He didn’t even want to complete that thought. He remembered all too well how they had kidnapped Fletcher with the intent of forcing him to work for their cause.
Fletcher suddenly put the pitcher down and threw his arms around his brother’s shoulders. “You’re worried about him, aren’t you?” he said.
Russell covered Fletcher’s arm with one of his hands. *How does he do it?* he thought. *How does he always know what I’m thinking?*
He took a deep breath. “Yeah,” he said.
“He’ll be all right, Brother,” he said. “Whatever this Maggie can do, Ed can do better.”
“I could probably do even better than him,” Russell replied.
Fletcher rolled his eyes. “*Brother* . . .”
“It’ll all be over in a matter of hours, right?” Russell said, “We’ll get this code cracked, and take it to Mustang, and . . .”
“We’ll back you up, Brother,” Fletcher said, giving him a little squeeze. “When you go in there, we’re coming with you.”
Russell frowned, turning around so he could see his younger sibling. “Fletcher, I don’t want you in a place like . . .”
“I *know* what goes on there, Brother,” he said. “And it’s not like we’re going to *stay* there.”
Russell patted his arm. “I’m not going to persuade you otherwise, am I?”
“We just want to help, that’s all,” Fletcher said, sliding his arms away. “Hey, we’re all family now, right?”
Russell smiled at the sound of those words. Family. What they hadn’t had since their father left, their mother died . . .
“Yeah,” he said. “We are.”
“We’ll be in the living room,” Fletcher said, picking up the other two glasses. “Let us know if you need us.”
Russell picked up the notebook and started to study the arrays again, the word *family* resonating inside him like the slow echo of a gong.
* * *
Ed had just intended to lie down for a moment and rest after changing into casual clothes. But the late night and all the vigorous lovemaking had gotten to him, and he dropped off to sleep.
He’d been napping for about an hour when he was awakened by a loud *thud* outside his door.
Sitting bolt upright, he strained his ears, trying to detect any other sounds, any sign of movement. There was none.
He opened his door and peeked out. All he saw was an empty hallway.
Then, he looked down -- to see Maggie on the floor, apparently passed out, wearing a black silk teddy, the tattoo on her thigh fully visible.
It was an array, all right. One that looked very complex, and very dangerous. Ed had an instant flashback to Psiren, and the array tattooed on her cleavage.
The first thing he had to do, though, was make sure the woman was all right. He bent over, listening to her breathing, feeling her throat for a pulse. He shook her gently, she didn’t respond.
*Okay, I have to get help,* he thought. *She might have been poisoned, there might be someone else working against her group in here.* He started to stand up -- but he couldn’t resist pausing by her thigh, looking at that array, trying to analyze it . . .
A hand suddenly shot out and grabbed his. “So, you *do* know what that is,” a voice hissed.
“You’re not exactly shy about flashing it around, are you?” he said. “You *deliberately* lured me out just now.”
“Bingo,” she said. “You just confirmed what I’ve been suspecting about you all along.”
“Really, now?” he said. “Well, it’s nice to know we *both* know what each other’s really about.”
Maggie sat up, eyes burning. “You’re the Fullmetal Alchemist, aren’t you?”
“Nice guess,” Ed said, wrenching his hand out of her grasp and clapping. “Shame to see a brain like yours going to waste working for a bunch of extremist bombers.”
He reached down, intending to transmute the boards into a cage to hold her fast to the floor . . .
Then, she touched her array, there was a flash of light, and a sudden, sharp blast of wind knocked him head-over-heels across the room.
* * *
Al and Fletcher rushed into the kitchen, nearly knocking each other over in their haste. Russell looked up from the notebook. “What’s wrong?” he said.
Al was pale, trembling. He held a page out to Russell. “You have to read this,” he said. “We broke the code, and . . .”
Russell took the paper, scanning it quickly. His eyes widened, and he felt the blood drain out of his face.
He looked up at the younger brothers. “We’re going down there,” he said. *Now.*”
* * *
Ed skidded across the floor, knocked head-over-heels, feeling as if a freight train had just slammed into him. He managed to stumble to his feet, glaring at his opponent.
“You’re not bad,” he said, clapping his hands. “Unfortunately for you, I’m better.” He started to slam them to the floor -- only to get knocked down by another blast of air that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. He rolled over and over, hands scrabbling at the floorboards . . .
Dimly, he was aware of other people coming out of their rooms, of the sounds of whispers and shouts. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Kate and Susan clinging to each other . . .
“Get out of here!” he yelled at them as he clapped his hands again, this time not bothering to stand up. He sighted his target at the other end of the room and sent alchemic energy into the floorboards, forcing them upward into a cage to trap her -- but Maggie touched her array again. It glowed, and there was a *whooshing* sound before the wind blasted again, flattening the boards.
*Like Lyra,* Ed thought, *before Dante took over her body. Dammit, I *knew* I should have recognized that array, it’s like the one on Lyra’s pendant!*
His hand grabbed for something, anything that could help him, and came up with a small table in the hallway that held a potted plant. He pushed the plant to the floor -- he’d just need the table for this.
“So, a wind alchemist, are you?” He clapped his hands and brought them to the table. A crackle of electricity, and the wood thinned out, elongated, reshaped itself into a shield that was nearly as big as Edward himself. “Ha! Blocked you!”
He clapped again, directing the energy to the plant. He’d seen Russell turn regular plants into weapons, shields, ropes to tie people up . . .
The leaves elongated, and shot toward their target -- who was calmly removing a long, thick metal chain from around her neck. And on that chain hung a charm that was . . .
*Crap, another array!* Ed thought. He saw Maggie touch it, saw the chain transmute into a long, thin sword, which she used to cut the branches.
“Did you *really* think I’d be a one-trick pony?” she said. “I work with metals, as well.”
“Good,” Ed said, clapping again, the sparks and streaks of energy surrounding his own metal arm. ‘Cause metal’s *my* specialty as well!” A blade shot out from his automail, and he grabbed the shield, charging at his opponent. She swung her sword, his arm-blade connected with it.
For a long moment, neither moved, blade pushing against blade, the two combatants glaring at each other, waiting to see who was going to make a move.
*She’s strong,* Ed thought. *And powerful.* Her metal alchemy was near-flawless -- that sword she’d made was showing no signs of cracking like the sword Russell had made a seeming eternity ago.
“Planning on standing here all day?” she said, cooly.
“No, I plan on taking you down,” Ed said.
“How?” Maggie’s face wore a smirk that was not unlike Roy Mustang at his most annoying. “You have to clap to work your alchemy. If you let go of that shield, I can blow you away.”
“And if you go for your array, you’re going to have to lean over,” Ed said, “and that’ll leave you open.”
“Did you really think I’d have just one wind array, too?” she said.
“You’re bluffing.” He fixed her with a steely-eyed gaze.
“Am I, now?” He saw her reach for the wrist that held the sword -- yes, there was a bracelet there, but he couldn’t see if it had an array . . .
And then, another plant leaf whip came flying out of nowhere, heading for Maggie. She turned to slice it out of the way, activating the wind array on her thigh at the same time.
Ed whipped around -- he knew who had done that, there was only one person who could have created the plant whip -- just in time to see Russell, Al and Fletcher get blown across the room.
“AL! RUSSELL!” he shouted, rushing after them, carrying the shield as he ran. He saw with a sickening feeling in his stomach that his brother and lover were rolling toward the stairs . . .
And then, Ed heard a yell, and a thump, and the wind stopped. He turned to see Fletcher, the plant he’d knocked off the table in his hand. He’d elongated a branch enough to knock Maggie off her feet.
“Nice work, Fletcher,” Ed said, starting to clap -- only to have a long metal lasso come flying at him, wrapping around his hands, binding them together.
“You have *no* idea what you’re up against, do you?” Maggie said, smugly, getting to her feet and going for the wind array again.
And then, there was the sound of feet on the stairs, and a familiar voice yelling, “What’s going on up here?” Madame Marie . . .
Ed struggled with the chain that was binding him. When she got up there, she was going to use her *own* alchemy, and chances are she’d be as strong as Maggie, and Ed would be *damned* if he’d let her . . .
But as the madame got to the top of the stairs, Maggie activated her wind array again -- this time, aiming the blast solely at Madame Marie. The woman tumbled down the stairs again with a scream.
Ed wheeled toward his opponent. “What did you do THAT for?” he shouted.
“Why do you think?” Maggie said.
“You mean . . . you’re not . . .”
“Oh, please. You think we’d work with a greedy bitch like *her*?”
“It’s what we came to tell you, Ed,” Russell said as he activated the array on the plant he’d managed to retrieve, its leaves flying toward Maggie -- which she promptly blew away with her wind array. The three alchemists hit the deck, bracing themselves so they wouldn’t roll all over the floor again . . .
And Al managed to get close enough to Ed that he could clap his gloved hands and touch them to the chain. It loosened and fell away from the boy’s hands.
“Ha!” Ed grabbed for his wind shield. “You may not be a one-trick pony, but you can only focus on one kind of alchemy at a time!” He dashed for his own room, shooting a glance over at Russell -- he was going to need their help for what he had in mind.
Maggie chased after Ed, activating the array on the chain, trying to create another lasso -- but before she could, Ed reached the bed, clapping and touching his hands to the headboard.
The bondage straps he and Russell had used elongated and shot out toward her. She promptly went for the wind array to blow them away.
“Now, Russell!” Ed shouted. And a plant whip flew into the room, wrapping around Maggie’s waist, trying to pull her off her feet. She stopped the wind and went for the chain array, transmuting it into a sword --
But before the transmutation was complete, the straps wrapped around her, bonding her arms to her side so she couldn’t go for *either* array.
It was here that Al and Fletcher sprung into action, rushing into the room, Fletcher carrying the plant he’d had before. He transmuted the leaves into long spears, wrapping around and around her to make sure she was secure, while Al clapped his hands and touched them to the very chain she’d used before, turning it into a fine net which he then fastened to the floor.
“No idea what we were up against, you said?” Ed said. “More like *you* had no idea what *you* were up against.”
“You just got lucky,” she mumbled.
“I’m going to check on Madame Marie, Brother,” Al said. “Fletcher . . . can you call the Colonel?”
Fletcher nodded and began to walk out with Al -- but not before Russell stopped them at the door and hugged them both. “You did well,” he told them. Looking at Ed, he said, “They cracked the code that was in Maggie’s journal. The passage said she knew you were the Fullmetal Alchemist, and she was going to take care of you.”
Maggie nearly turned crimson at that. “How the hell did you get hold of that?” she said.
“You think I wouldn’t recognize the *smell* coming from your room?” Ed said. “That wasn’t exactly perfume. So tell me -- megaweapon? Or something worse?”
“If you *must* know, I was coming up with a new formula for the megaweapon which didn’t need red water soil,” she said. “Had to do *something* between whoring assignments. Unlike *you*, I was willing to *really* put myself out for my cause.”
“Which was gathering information?” Russell said.
Maggie was silent.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Ed said. “After all, the voyeur network was right there, wasn’t it? And Russell and I can’t be the only people to ever stumble upon the one on the pets’ floor by accident.”
“The pets *thought* they had privacy up there,” Maggie said. “Found out there was a voyeur network on that floor my first day. Madame Marie wouldn’t let *anyone* in this place go unspied-on. Greedy bitch used to watch *everyone* to make sure they were giving her *every penny* they collected from their customers and weren’t pocketing anything.”
“And she knew *nothing* about your activities? Even with all that spying going on?” Ed said.
“I alchemized my mirror,” Maggie replied. “When I didn’t want her to see what was going on . . . it would look like the room was dark.”
“One more question,” Ed said. “How come you were so eager to let me go into Madame Marie’s office? You were meeting with a contact, weren’t you? Passing on information?”
Maggie was silent.
“Fine, that just proves I’m right,” Ed said.
There were footsteps and voices outside. “Well, it seems like it’s time for me to turn you over to the military,” Ed said. “Too bad you won’t be earning any more money for your *cause*.”
Maggie turned her head toward him and snapped, “There’s more of us out there than you think, Fullmetal Alchemist! You’re not going to get all of us!”
“Just you watch,” he said. “I think we will. I told you -- you’re the one who doesn’t know what you’re up against.”
He turned and left the room, gesturing for Russell to come with him, as uniformed military personnel started storming in.
Russell took hold of Ed’s hand. “It’s over,” he said.
“For now, at least,” Ed said. “You heard what she just said.”
“At least you can come *home* now, Ed,” Russell said.
The two watched as Maggie was led out, toward the stairs, military personnel all around her, arms securely bound to her sides -- and Ed noticed they’d put an extra binding over her wind array. She shot him a venomous glance as she passed.
Ed reached for Russell’s hand again. “Hey, Russell?” he said.
“Hmm?” Russell replied.
“Thanks. For everything. I couldn’t have done this without you.”
Russell squeezed the hand. “I wasn’t about to let you go in here *alone,* was I?”
Ed just smiled quietly as they headed for the stairs. For the first time since his mother died, he really could say that he was going *home.*
* * *
Marie Werner was lying on the couch in her parlor, a group of her worried workers clustered around her. Her ankle was wrapped up, and she had a few bandages here and there, but she had, luckily, escaped serious injury.
She raised her head as Ed came down the stairs, suitcase in hand. “Thomas!” she said. “Or . . . that isn’t really your name, is it?”
“Nope!” he said. “I’m Edward Elric. And this” -- he indicated his companion -- “is Russell Tringham.”
Madame Marie started to sit up. Her charges instantly began to push her back down. “I can’t thank you enough,” she said. “You got rid of that horrible traitor. To think I had someone like *that* working for me . . .”
“Hey, there was no way you could have known, right?” Ed said.
“Oh, I was so disappointed when I found out what was going on . . .”
*Well, I’d be too, if I was harboring someone like Maggie,* Ed thought.
“I was disappointed to find out you really wouldn’t be working for me! Imagine all the money I could have made with you. Beautiful boys with automail don’t grow on trees!”
Ed turned crimson, then purple. “WHAT? Are you saying I REALLY look like a whore?”
Russell pulled on the back of his coat. “Come on, Ed, we’re going.”
“No WAY would I do that!” Ed said, as Russell nearly dragged him away. “I had ENOUGH of this place to last me the rest of my life!”
Russell smiled to himself as they headed down the walk and out to the military car waiting to take them back to headquarters. He knew very well that there was *one* thing in that place Ed hadn’t gotten enough of.
After all, they had a souvenir in his suitcase in the form of two sex toys.
____________
AUTHOR'S NOTES
I joined the 30_Lemons community with a couple of friends back in the summer. I know the community was created with the intention of doing short fics and drabbles, but . . . I just *knew* I was going to make a long fic out of several prompts. And when I got "The Bordello" as a theme, the idea for the story just fell into place. (Besides, who could pass up a chance to write Ed in a leather corset?)
I had two betas on this story, Steve Savage and Mistress Quickly, who I am eternally grateful to. Thanks also to Sonya (who came up with the "I signed up to be the dog of the military, not its whore" line), the RussellXEd community and Hellcon!
Fullmetal Alchemist is property of Hiromu Arakawa, Square Enix and Studio BONES. These characters ain’t mine, I’m just borrowing them for a little while.
A Fullmetal Alchemist Fanfic With Lemon
Written in Response to Challenges #2 (“The Audience,”) #15 (“The Bordello, or Dude Looks Like a Lady of the Night”) and #30 (“The Playroom, or, Wow, Santa Never Brought Me *That* Kind of Toy!") on the 30_Lemons Community
By Sailor Mac
PART FIVE -- ENDGAME
Russell sat at the kitchen table of the Tringham family’s old house in Central. It was basically the Elric-Tringham house now. Whenever the Tringhams were in town, all four of them stayed there.
Up until now, Ed had resisted Russell’s offers to live there full-time even when the Tringhams were in Xenotime. He hoped that he would reconsider now that their relationship had deepened.
In front of him was the notebook he’d taken from the bordello. He studied the arrays, decomposing them line by line in his head.
*This is definitely not the work of an amateur*, he thought. *This Maggie seems talented enough to be a State Alchemist.*
He knew Ed was up against a formidable foe, and that worried him. He knew his lover could take care of himself, and then some, but still . . .
Fletcher walked into the room, a piece of paper with some writing on it in his hand. “Did you find anything else out, Brother?” he said.
“Only that this Maggie is someone to be very concerned about,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “What about you and Al? Any progress?”
“Her code is tough to crack,” Fletcher said, opening the icebox and taking out a pitcher of lemonade. “Al and I think we’re on to some of it, but the rest . . .”
“I’m sure you’ll get it,” Russell said, smiling quietly. Fletcher was the *real* genius in the family, he knew that. And Al was just as brilliant.
“That Madame Marie must know something about alchemy herself,” Fletcher said, taking three glasses out of the cabinet and starting to fill them. “She knew *just* what she was looking for in a partner.”
“I think most of those people do,” Russell said, accepting a glass from his brother. “Remember, even Baddley turned out to be an alchemist. And they were going to . . .”
He didn’t even want to complete that thought. He remembered all too well how they had kidnapped Fletcher with the intent of forcing him to work for their cause.
Fletcher suddenly put the pitcher down and threw his arms around his brother’s shoulders. “You’re worried about him, aren’t you?” he said.
Russell covered Fletcher’s arm with one of his hands. *How does he do it?* he thought. *How does he always know what I’m thinking?*
He took a deep breath. “Yeah,” he said.
“He’ll be all right, Brother,” he said. “Whatever this Maggie can do, Ed can do better.”
“I could probably do even better than him,” Russell replied.
Fletcher rolled his eyes. “*Brother* . . .”
“It’ll all be over in a matter of hours, right?” Russell said, “We’ll get this code cracked, and take it to Mustang, and . . .”
“We’ll back you up, Brother,” Fletcher said, giving him a little squeeze. “When you go in there, we’re coming with you.”
Russell frowned, turning around so he could see his younger sibling. “Fletcher, I don’t want you in a place like . . .”
“I *know* what goes on there, Brother,” he said. “And it’s not like we’re going to *stay* there.”
Russell patted his arm. “I’m not going to persuade you otherwise, am I?”
“We just want to help, that’s all,” Fletcher said, sliding his arms away. “Hey, we’re all family now, right?”
Russell smiled at the sound of those words. Family. What they hadn’t had since their father left, their mother died . . .
“Yeah,” he said. “We are.”
“We’ll be in the living room,” Fletcher said, picking up the other two glasses. “Let us know if you need us.”
Russell picked up the notebook and started to study the arrays again, the word *family* resonating inside him like the slow echo of a gong.
* * *
Ed had just intended to lie down for a moment and rest after changing into casual clothes. But the late night and all the vigorous lovemaking had gotten to him, and he dropped off to sleep.
He’d been napping for about an hour when he was awakened by a loud *thud* outside his door.
Sitting bolt upright, he strained his ears, trying to detect any other sounds, any sign of movement. There was none.
He opened his door and peeked out. All he saw was an empty hallway.
Then, he looked down -- to see Maggie on the floor, apparently passed out, wearing a black silk teddy, the tattoo on her thigh fully visible.
It was an array, all right. One that looked very complex, and very dangerous. Ed had an instant flashback to Psiren, and the array tattooed on her cleavage.
The first thing he had to do, though, was make sure the woman was all right. He bent over, listening to her breathing, feeling her throat for a pulse. He shook her gently, she didn’t respond.
*Okay, I have to get help,* he thought. *She might have been poisoned, there might be someone else working against her group in here.* He started to stand up -- but he couldn’t resist pausing by her thigh, looking at that array, trying to analyze it . . .
A hand suddenly shot out and grabbed his. “So, you *do* know what that is,” a voice hissed.
“You’re not exactly shy about flashing it around, are you?” he said. “You *deliberately* lured me out just now.”
“Bingo,” she said. “You just confirmed what I’ve been suspecting about you all along.”
“Really, now?” he said. “Well, it’s nice to know we *both* know what each other’s really about.”
Maggie sat up, eyes burning. “You’re the Fullmetal Alchemist, aren’t you?”
“Nice guess,” Ed said, wrenching his hand out of her grasp and clapping. “Shame to see a brain like yours going to waste working for a bunch of extremist bombers.”
He reached down, intending to transmute the boards into a cage to hold her fast to the floor . . .
Then, she touched her array, there was a flash of light, and a sudden, sharp blast of wind knocked him head-over-heels across the room.
* * *
Al and Fletcher rushed into the kitchen, nearly knocking each other over in their haste. Russell looked up from the notebook. “What’s wrong?” he said.
Al was pale, trembling. He held a page out to Russell. “You have to read this,” he said. “We broke the code, and . . .”
Russell took the paper, scanning it quickly. His eyes widened, and he felt the blood drain out of his face.
He looked up at the younger brothers. “We’re going down there,” he said. *Now.*”
* * *
Ed skidded across the floor, knocked head-over-heels, feeling as if a freight train had just slammed into him. He managed to stumble to his feet, glaring at his opponent.
“You’re not bad,” he said, clapping his hands. “Unfortunately for you, I’m better.” He started to slam them to the floor -- only to get knocked down by another blast of air that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. He rolled over and over, hands scrabbling at the floorboards . . .
Dimly, he was aware of other people coming out of their rooms, of the sounds of whispers and shouts. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Kate and Susan clinging to each other . . .
“Get out of here!” he yelled at them as he clapped his hands again, this time not bothering to stand up. He sighted his target at the other end of the room and sent alchemic energy into the floorboards, forcing them upward into a cage to trap her -- but Maggie touched her array again. It glowed, and there was a *whooshing* sound before the wind blasted again, flattening the boards.
*Like Lyra,* Ed thought, *before Dante took over her body. Dammit, I *knew* I should have recognized that array, it’s like the one on Lyra’s pendant!*
His hand grabbed for something, anything that could help him, and came up with a small table in the hallway that held a potted plant. He pushed the plant to the floor -- he’d just need the table for this.
“So, a wind alchemist, are you?” He clapped his hands and brought them to the table. A crackle of electricity, and the wood thinned out, elongated, reshaped itself into a shield that was nearly as big as Edward himself. “Ha! Blocked you!”
He clapped again, directing the energy to the plant. He’d seen Russell turn regular plants into weapons, shields, ropes to tie people up . . .
The leaves elongated, and shot toward their target -- who was calmly removing a long, thick metal chain from around her neck. And on that chain hung a charm that was . . .
*Crap, another array!* Ed thought. He saw Maggie touch it, saw the chain transmute into a long, thin sword, which she used to cut the branches.
“Did you *really* think I’d be a one-trick pony?” she said. “I work with metals, as well.”
“Good,” Ed said, clapping again, the sparks and streaks of energy surrounding his own metal arm. ‘Cause metal’s *my* specialty as well!” A blade shot out from his automail, and he grabbed the shield, charging at his opponent. She swung her sword, his arm-blade connected with it.
For a long moment, neither moved, blade pushing against blade, the two combatants glaring at each other, waiting to see who was going to make a move.
*She’s strong,* Ed thought. *And powerful.* Her metal alchemy was near-flawless -- that sword she’d made was showing no signs of cracking like the sword Russell had made a seeming eternity ago.
“Planning on standing here all day?” she said, cooly.
“No, I plan on taking you down,” Ed said.
“How?” Maggie’s face wore a smirk that was not unlike Roy Mustang at his most annoying. “You have to clap to work your alchemy. If you let go of that shield, I can blow you away.”
“And if you go for your array, you’re going to have to lean over,” Ed said, “and that’ll leave you open.”
“Did you really think I’d have just one wind array, too?” she said.
“You’re bluffing.” He fixed her with a steely-eyed gaze.
“Am I, now?” He saw her reach for the wrist that held the sword -- yes, there was a bracelet there, but he couldn’t see if it had an array . . .
And then, another plant leaf whip came flying out of nowhere, heading for Maggie. She turned to slice it out of the way, activating the wind array on her thigh at the same time.
Ed whipped around -- he knew who had done that, there was only one person who could have created the plant whip -- just in time to see Russell, Al and Fletcher get blown across the room.
“AL! RUSSELL!” he shouted, rushing after them, carrying the shield as he ran. He saw with a sickening feeling in his stomach that his brother and lover were rolling toward the stairs . . .
And then, Ed heard a yell, and a thump, and the wind stopped. He turned to see Fletcher, the plant he’d knocked off the table in his hand. He’d elongated a branch enough to knock Maggie off her feet.
“Nice work, Fletcher,” Ed said, starting to clap -- only to have a long metal lasso come flying at him, wrapping around his hands, binding them together.
“You have *no* idea what you’re up against, do you?” Maggie said, smugly, getting to her feet and going for the wind array again.
And then, there was the sound of feet on the stairs, and a familiar voice yelling, “What’s going on up here?” Madame Marie . . .
Ed struggled with the chain that was binding him. When she got up there, she was going to use her *own* alchemy, and chances are she’d be as strong as Maggie, and Ed would be *damned* if he’d let her . . .
But as the madame got to the top of the stairs, Maggie activated her wind array again -- this time, aiming the blast solely at Madame Marie. The woman tumbled down the stairs again with a scream.
Ed wheeled toward his opponent. “What did you do THAT for?” he shouted.
“Why do you think?” Maggie said.
“You mean . . . you’re not . . .”
“Oh, please. You think we’d work with a greedy bitch like *her*?”
“It’s what we came to tell you, Ed,” Russell said as he activated the array on the plant he’d managed to retrieve, its leaves flying toward Maggie -- which she promptly blew away with her wind array. The three alchemists hit the deck, bracing themselves so they wouldn’t roll all over the floor again . . .
And Al managed to get close enough to Ed that he could clap his gloved hands and touch them to the chain. It loosened and fell away from the boy’s hands.
“Ha!” Ed grabbed for his wind shield. “You may not be a one-trick pony, but you can only focus on one kind of alchemy at a time!” He dashed for his own room, shooting a glance over at Russell -- he was going to need their help for what he had in mind.
Maggie chased after Ed, activating the array on the chain, trying to create another lasso -- but before she could, Ed reached the bed, clapping and touching his hands to the headboard.
The bondage straps he and Russell had used elongated and shot out toward her. She promptly went for the wind array to blow them away.
“Now, Russell!” Ed shouted. And a plant whip flew into the room, wrapping around Maggie’s waist, trying to pull her off her feet. She stopped the wind and went for the chain array, transmuting it into a sword --
But before the transmutation was complete, the straps wrapped around her, bonding her arms to her side so she couldn’t go for *either* array.
It was here that Al and Fletcher sprung into action, rushing into the room, Fletcher carrying the plant he’d had before. He transmuted the leaves into long spears, wrapping around and around her to make sure she was secure, while Al clapped his hands and touched them to the very chain she’d used before, turning it into a fine net which he then fastened to the floor.
“No idea what we were up against, you said?” Ed said. “More like *you* had no idea what *you* were up against.”
“You just got lucky,” she mumbled.
“I’m going to check on Madame Marie, Brother,” Al said. “Fletcher . . . can you call the Colonel?”
Fletcher nodded and began to walk out with Al -- but not before Russell stopped them at the door and hugged them both. “You did well,” he told them. Looking at Ed, he said, “They cracked the code that was in Maggie’s journal. The passage said she knew you were the Fullmetal Alchemist, and she was going to take care of you.”
Maggie nearly turned crimson at that. “How the hell did you get hold of that?” she said.
“You think I wouldn’t recognize the *smell* coming from your room?” Ed said. “That wasn’t exactly perfume. So tell me -- megaweapon? Or something worse?”
“If you *must* know, I was coming up with a new formula for the megaweapon which didn’t need red water soil,” she said. “Had to do *something* between whoring assignments. Unlike *you*, I was willing to *really* put myself out for my cause.”
“Which was gathering information?” Russell said.
Maggie was silent.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Ed said. “After all, the voyeur network was right there, wasn’t it? And Russell and I can’t be the only people to ever stumble upon the one on the pets’ floor by accident.”
“The pets *thought* they had privacy up there,” Maggie said. “Found out there was a voyeur network on that floor my first day. Madame Marie wouldn’t let *anyone* in this place go unspied-on. Greedy bitch used to watch *everyone* to make sure they were giving her *every penny* they collected from their customers and weren’t pocketing anything.”
“And she knew *nothing* about your activities? Even with all that spying going on?” Ed said.
“I alchemized my mirror,” Maggie replied. “When I didn’t want her to see what was going on . . . it would look like the room was dark.”
“One more question,” Ed said. “How come you were so eager to let me go into Madame Marie’s office? You were meeting with a contact, weren’t you? Passing on information?”
Maggie was silent.
“Fine, that just proves I’m right,” Ed said.
There were footsteps and voices outside. “Well, it seems like it’s time for me to turn you over to the military,” Ed said. “Too bad you won’t be earning any more money for your *cause*.”
Maggie turned her head toward him and snapped, “There’s more of us out there than you think, Fullmetal Alchemist! You’re not going to get all of us!”
“Just you watch,” he said. “I think we will. I told you -- you’re the one who doesn’t know what you’re up against.”
He turned and left the room, gesturing for Russell to come with him, as uniformed military personnel started storming in.
Russell took hold of Ed’s hand. “It’s over,” he said.
“For now, at least,” Ed said. “You heard what she just said.”
“At least you can come *home* now, Ed,” Russell said.
The two watched as Maggie was led out, toward the stairs, military personnel all around her, arms securely bound to her sides -- and Ed noticed they’d put an extra binding over her wind array. She shot him a venomous glance as she passed.
Ed reached for Russell’s hand again. “Hey, Russell?” he said.
“Hmm?” Russell replied.
“Thanks. For everything. I couldn’t have done this without you.”
Russell squeezed the hand. “I wasn’t about to let you go in here *alone,* was I?”
Ed just smiled quietly as they headed for the stairs. For the first time since his mother died, he really could say that he was going *home.*
* * *
Marie Werner was lying on the couch in her parlor, a group of her worried workers clustered around her. Her ankle was wrapped up, and she had a few bandages here and there, but she had, luckily, escaped serious injury.
She raised her head as Ed came down the stairs, suitcase in hand. “Thomas!” she said. “Or . . . that isn’t really your name, is it?”
“Nope!” he said. “I’m Edward Elric. And this” -- he indicated his companion -- “is Russell Tringham.”
Madame Marie started to sit up. Her charges instantly began to push her back down. “I can’t thank you enough,” she said. “You got rid of that horrible traitor. To think I had someone like *that* working for me . . .”
“Hey, there was no way you could have known, right?” Ed said.
“Oh, I was so disappointed when I found out what was going on . . .”
*Well, I’d be too, if I was harboring someone like Maggie,* Ed thought.
“I was disappointed to find out you really wouldn’t be working for me! Imagine all the money I could have made with you. Beautiful boys with automail don’t grow on trees!”
Ed turned crimson, then purple. “WHAT? Are you saying I REALLY look like a whore?”
Russell pulled on the back of his coat. “Come on, Ed, we’re going.”
“No WAY would I do that!” Ed said, as Russell nearly dragged him away. “I had ENOUGH of this place to last me the rest of my life!”
Russell smiled to himself as they headed down the walk and out to the military car waiting to take them back to headquarters. He knew very well that there was *one* thing in that place Ed hadn’t gotten enough of.
After all, they had a souvenir in his suitcase in the form of two sex toys.
____________
AUTHOR'S NOTES
I joined the 30_Lemons community with a couple of friends back in the summer. I know the community was created with the intention of doing short fics and drabbles, but . . . I just *knew* I was going to make a long fic out of several prompts. And when I got "The Bordello" as a theme, the idea for the story just fell into place. (Besides, who could pass up a chance to write Ed in a leather corset?)
I had two betas on this story, Steve Savage and Mistress Quickly, who I am eternally grateful to. Thanks also to Sonya (who came up with the "I signed up to be the dog of the military, not its whore" line), the RussellXEd community and Hellcon!
Fullmetal Alchemist is property of Hiromu Arakawa, Square Enix and Studio BONES. These characters ain’t mine, I’m just borrowing them for a little while.