A Shadow Of Who He Was (A Fullmetal Alchemist FanFiction)

Chapter 5

Amber eyes snapped open, instantly alert and scanning their surroundings. Although it was dark, Edward could easily make out the shapes of people beneath his perch in the tree. Who..? 

He snarled suddenly, eyes having adjusted so he could see the glint of the barrel of a gun. He was surrounded...if he could just break free from the circle--"Fullmetal!" A familiar voice barked, and Ed went into the defensive. Springing up, he leaped into the higher branches, growling animalistically as a shot whizzed past his ear.

"Come peacefully and we wont hurt you!" Roy Mustang's voice barked again. There was a pause, and then Edward's voice, raspy from his interrupted sleep, called out.

"Is Hughes there?" The voice was cold, calculating. 

"Come down and see." Was all Roy responded with. Riza stood next to him, her sniper rifle held in her hands with her pistols within easy reach should anything happen. They had received an anonymous tip about Edward's whereabouts, and Roy was truly weirded out by how fast Edward had traveled from Resembool to Central.

Military Police stood in a circle around the tree, some of them looking around towards the other inhabitants of the slums, seemingly unnerved by the gleaming, cat-like eyes or the low growling of others. Some made soft, chirping noises that resembled song birds.

Ed climbed down, for the moment grateful that he had made his wings disappear earlier. However, he was ready to allow his claws to appear at a moments notice. His neck itched where the collar had been digging into his neck not even a month earlier, and he scratched at it nonchalantly. The action, of course, got more guns aimed at him. Then, there was movement in the crowd of officers. 

Hughes stepped forward, and stared in disbelief at the boy in front of him. Not even two days, and the boy looked far older, eyes gleaming maliciously and a cruel smirk playing at his lips. Shirtless, his emaciated and scarred torso was clear for all to see. There were more than a few gasps of shock and horror.

"Hughes," Edward greeted him warmly, as if he didn't secretly have plans to kill the man. "You look good. Oh, what am I saying? Of course you do, traitor." He spat, both figuratively and literally. The globule of saliva landed at Hughes' feet. 

The man's face turned guilty, and he tried to speak. "Listen, Ed, I-"

"You panicked, Hughes, I get it. I really do, but that was no excuse." He tilted his face to the side, and his bangs shifted to reveal the slowly healing, scabbed over wound from the knife the green eyed man had thrown at him. 

Immediately, he had the extreme pleasure of watching regret flood Hughes' eyes.

Roy took a step forward. "Elric, what the hell are you talking about?" He barked, and Ed flinched violently, his golden eyes flitting over to Roy.

"Ah, Mustang, forgot you were there. What do you mean, what am I talking about? Surely the bastard has told you?" Ed grinned, the madness in his mind cheering him on, urging him to shift and slit all their throats, one by one.

"I don,t know what you're talking about, Edward. Just come along peacefully, and we can have your trial over and done with by the end of the week. After all, you didn't kill Brosch, or that kid." 

The smile that lit up Edward's face was that of a heroine addict about to get their next fix, but somehow more sinister. Darker.

"Oh but I did, Mustang." The smile was accompanied with a low laugh now as the last threads of his sanity snapped, the remains burned, and the ashes burned as well. "Brosch screamed, and so did Ross, when she found him. At least, it sounded like Ross. I had been considering going back to kill her as well, but then I found that poor, sweet kid." He snickered. "I'm guessing his mom had died, or some shit like that, because he practically begged me to kill him so he could see her. Of course, he didn't know he was going to die until I dropped him. It was rather amusing, the fear and betrayal in his eyes. He fucking reached out to me, like I would save him or some shit."

Riza's grip on her gun tightened substantially, enough so that her knuckles bled white. Although her body remained stock still, she was trembling, trying to not associate the killer in front of her as the boy that had once been so determined to succeed, to never give up.

Roy's eyes were wide as he listened to Ed's euphoric rant, his hands instinctively going to snap.

Maes...he was the worst effected. An indescribable sadness and regret made his knees weak and his hands shaky.

"And I had the pleasure of killing Alphonse as well." The smirk grew smug. "He always was too trusting." 

Several things happened at once.

First, Riza's hands started to well and truly tremble. Where was the boy she viewed with a mix of awe and maternal instinct?

Second, Maes' left knee buckled, sending him stumbling.

Third, he bumped into the already tense Hawk's Eye, and her finger instinctively pulled the trigger.

And fourth, a bullet left the chamber of her gun, burying itself in Edward's stomach.

The boy didn't even flinch, merely looking down at his torso to the hole in his skin where crimson blood was already beginning to pour.

He smirked. 

"Now, Hawkeye, since I knew that wasn't on purpose, I'll let it slide. But Hughes...you could have stopped that." He spat, before his eyes gleamed. "You dislike innocents being hurt, right?" He purred. 

Not waiting for an answer, his talons were revealed, gleaming in their razor sharp glory. In a single, fluid movement, he had stabbed one person and torn out the throat of another. In another instant, six more had fallen. 

A single snap led to an eruption of fire, and Roy's eyes gleamed darkly from the flames. He controlled his flames carefully, making sure they touched no other person than Edward. 

But when the torrent of heat subsides...there was no Edward. 

Only a single, miraculously unharmed golden feather.

Roy turned to Maes, grabbing his friends shoulders and shaking him roughly, fighting back the urge to be sick as he saw the carnage that Edward had wrought. "Hughes, what the hell was that all about?" He snarled.

Hughes hung his head, before looking back up at Roy, eyes dull.

"I hurt him, Roy. He trusted me, and I hurt him." He sounded broken.

"What do you mean?"  He growled.

"He...he's a chimera. He hid it well, and at first, he tried to warn me, but I tried to touch him and he lashed out...barely nicked me, but I freaked out...this is all my fault." He said, voice cracking. The remaining police looked absolutely terrified, standing in the carnage of their fellows, and Riza's sherry eyes were wide. 

"A chimera?"

"Yes, Roy. A fucking chimera! I told him to leave and to not come back, and I hurt him..." His voice grew ever quieter.

--1179 Words--

Too tired to do any more, so yeah. Plus I don't have much more time in class for writing. -.- Still no phone, and I can't get on here on my DS... ;-; Damn I miss writing. So...Stay creepy, my Nightmares.