Colonel Mustang had stationed Havoc, Falman, and Barry in a location as bait to draw out the group behind Hughes' murder and Lieutenant Hawkeye was positioned on a nearby building, ready to snipe whoever comes. Right now, Colonel and her are communicating through code in case anyone was listening, her being 'Elizabeth', a woman who Colonel had supposedly flirted recently. "Hey, Elizabeth, how are you?" He grinned fakely on his side to make it seem real. Pause. "That's okay, she's not here. And I'm able to call you like this because she's isn't."
Pause. "That's right. I haven't had a day off since I got here, so I'm thinking about going on leave."
Soldiers nearby gritted their teeth at the Colonel's behavior. It took all of my willpower to resist a laugh. I just But my lip and trembled in my seat. "Lately, I've been caught up fishing," Colonel continued. "Care to come along?"
A long pause. "What's the matter?" Colonel asked, concern growing in his voice. He glanced at me and I flashed him the okay sign, as the soldiers in the office had left out of annoyance of his behavior. "Elizabeth! Hey! Elizabeth!" He shouted over the phone.
Receiving no response from "Elizabeth", Colonel slammed the phone down and stood up. "Joyce, we're going!" He shouted.
"Where?" I sputtered, tilting my head to the side.
Nosy soldiers were peeking in and noticing my signal, he grinned at me. "Why, I need to pick up a flower bouquet for Elizabeth!" He laughed, grabbing my arm and dragging me away. "I need your feminine side to help me out!"
Soldiers facepalmed once again as I laughed nervously, my embarrassment for real this time as he dragged me out of Central Command and to help Lieutenant Hawkeye.
*~*~*~*~*~
Colonel and I ran up the stairs of the building Lieutenant Hawkeye was in. Without thinking, he slipped on his gloves and recklessly snapped his fingers, setting whatever was on the other side on fire. Screaming was heard as whoever he set on fire fell backwards out of the building. He dropped his hand, "I barely made it."
Furey dropped his gun and sighed with relief as Black Hayate, Lieutenant Hawkeye's dog, whimpered. "Colonel..." she closed her eyes to compose herself but then starting shouting. "Why the hell did you leave your post? You could have eluded the enemy's pursuit, regardless of what happened to us! And you come waltzing in here, plain as day. ARE YOU A COMPLETE IDIOT?!"
"Yeah, fine, fine, I'm an idiot. Happy?" Colonel picked his ear from the scolding he got from Lieutenant Hawkeye.
"Colonel!" Barry shouted from below. "The target is on the loose, sir!"
"Sergeant, clean up this place!" Colonel ordered. "Don't leave a single trace!"
"And you stay right by the sergeant, Hayate!" Hawkeye ordered.
"Yes, sir!" Furey saluted and Black Hayate barked back in response.
We descended down the stairs. "Colonel," Lieutenant Hawkeye said.
"What is it?" He asked.
"Thanks for saving us."
"Save it for later. Right now, we're on a mission."
"Yes, sir." She smiled softly but quickly returned to her usual frown.
We got into a car and Colonel started up the engine, driving into an alley and spotting Havoc. He skitted to a stop. "Get in!" He ordered.
"Yes, sir," he nodded, getting in.
More footsteps approached and we looked out to see Alphonse. "This has something to do with Mr. Hughes' case, doesn't it?" He asked.
We were silent, thinking for a bit. Since Alphonse already knew, it wasn't worth keeping him quiet. "Are you coming?" Colonel said.
"Yes," Alphonse nodded.
There was a shadow in front of the sun, jumping from building to building. Barry was keeping up, following it on the ground. Alphonse got into the car and we drove up to Barry. "Don't lose sight of him," Mustang ordered.
"He's not getting away from me," he laughed, speeding up. "My whole soul is abuzz, saying 'This way! This way!'."
Was that man jumping roof to roof Barry's original body? Who knows. Lieutenant Hawkeye began to reload her pistols. "Is that monstrous, fat guy going to show up again, too?" She asked.
"I don't know," Colonel responses. "Who was that guy, anyhow?"
"I shot him several times in critical areas, but he still kept a straight face," Lieutenant Hawkeye added, loading her gun.
"By any chance, did he have an Ouroboros tattoo?" Alphonse asked.
"Tattoo?" Hawkeye replied. "There was one on his tongue. Is that what you're talking about?"
"That was...probably...a Homunculus," Alphonse stated.
Colonel Mustang jerked the steering wheel in shock of the information, causing the car we were riding in to start skidding. I screamed, already crushed by Alphonse's body but being forced to the side and having another metal body pressed up against me didn't help. "Watch out!" Barry shouted, nearly getting ran into.
"Hold on a damn second!" Colonel shouted, slamming his fist in the steering wheel. "A Homunculus? There's no such thing!"
"Down south, I met a Homunculus by the name of Greed," Alphonse explained. "He told me, 'There's no such thing as no such thing'. Homunculi have incredible regenerative abilities. Greed had half of his head knocked off, but he was back to normal soon after. Although, I doubt you would believe me."
"I have no choice to believe you after what I saw," Lieutenant Hawkeye stated.
"You're not trying to tell me that even after he got scorched and fell out of that high tower, he's still isn't dead?!" Colonel cried.
"Probably so," Alphonse nodded.
"Wonderful," Colonel scoffed. "Just a never-ending arrival of freaks!"
*~*~*~*~*~
The man we were following had entered through Third Laboratory. Havoc, Barry, Lieutenant, Alphonse, Colonel, and I staked out outside by the gates. "My body fled here," Barry stated.
"The military's Third Laboratory?" Colonel Mustang asked. "Now I've got something to hold over the senior staff. That's a good enough catch. We're pulling back."
"Can't hear you!" Barry singed, running into the laboratory.
"You idiot!" Havoc yelled. He glanced up, scavenging the damage Barry is causing. "This is not good, Colonel."
"No, it works to our advantage," he smiled softly.
We went into the laboratory, dodging screaming researchers as they dodged Barry's attacks. Colonel, Havoc, and Lieutenant Hawkeye raised their guns in the air. "All remaining personnel, evacuate immediately!" Colonel ordered.
"Colonel?" A guard nervously asked.
"The intruder is a violent killer," he added. "Leave his capture to us. Have your guards seal off all the exits!"
"Yes, sir!" The guard nodded, running off.
We ram down the door and Lieutenant Hawkeye, the Colonel and Havoc held out their guns, while I drew my swords as we looked around. It was just a dark corridor. "Where has Barry gone off to?" Havoc growled in frustration.
"Split up into two groups," Colonel issued out an order.
"Yes, sir," Lieutenant Hawkeye nodded.
We broke off-me being with Colonel and Havoc while Hawkeye and Alphonse were together and we went off in two directions. We saw a room with the door ajar and stepped in. "Looks like it's been a while since this place was abandoned," Colonel commented.
"Was this...a laboratory?" Havoc asked.
"If so, it doesn't look like they were doing legitimate experiments," Colonel muttered.
"My, what are the chances?" A familiar seductive voice asked.
They pointed their guns at the shadowed door as I readied myself into my battle stance with my swords and footsteps approached us, revealing Lust, "It's and enough you stood me up at our date, and now you point a gun at me? You got some nerve, Jean."
"Solaris?" Havoc sputtered, dropping his gun. "What are you doing here?"
"Hey, Havoc," Colonel gestured his gun between her cleavage, where a tattoo was located. "Your girl's got the tattoo."
"Yeah...first time I've seen it though..." he muttered.
She smirked and flounced, making her chest jiggle. "Quit staring," she giggled. "It's not very polite."
"Well, I can you how she tricked you," Colonel sighed. "You've always been a sucker for big boobs."
Havoc flinched, crying comical tears as a comical spotlight shine down at him. "I can't help it," he comically sob. "I just love them!"
He stood there and I facepalmed. Colonel just stared in disbelief, "Did you tell this woman anything?"
"I never said anything about work!" Havoc snapped out of his trance.
Lust frowned at the Colonel. "Do you know who Maes Hughes is?" He interrogated.
"He was a quick-witted man, wasn't he?" She stalled. "I'm only sorry I didn't get to strike the last blow."
Colonel shot her leg to injure her. "On your knees, now!" He barked. "Tell me everything you know."
"I can't," Lust's wound regenerated immediately, just like Alphonse said. "You three can't make me get in my kn--" Colonel shot her a few more times at various parts on her body. She grinded her heels into the ground to hold her place. "This is what you'd expect from the Hero of Ishval; no mercy."
"You're a Homunculus!" Havoc gasped, the information finally stealing in.
"My, aren't you well-informed, Jean?" She smirked, extending her fingernails and stabbing them into her chest. "As a reward, I'll show you this." She pulled out, pulling the wound open, exposing what was inside. We all flinched at the brutality of it. But, in her chest, there was a Philosopher's Stone connected with veins and muscle ligaments. "Can you see it? It's a Philosopher's Stone. People who are created with these Stones at their core, like we are, are Homunculi."
"You monster!" The Colonel shouted.
"How rude," she frowned. "We do have feelings. We have affection towards our parents. We are human."
Havoc gulped. "If you're telling us such an important secret, it means you're not planning on letting us out of here alive," Colonel said.
"Yes," she nodded. "It's a shame, too."
She slashed her fingernails, cutting his gun to bits while also nicking his face. He cried out, slipping on his gloves but Lust smirked, thinking way ahead. "Too slow!" She shouted, attacking the pipes from above, dropping water on all of us. "Oh, no, did I get your ignition gloves wet?" She laughed, kicking up the items on the table and cutting them up, launching them at us. We screamed fleeing the room and staking out behind the entrance.
"What do we do, sir?" Havoc panicked. "At this rate, she's going to slice all of us up!"
"Actually, she did me a favor," he smiled, looking at the flooded floor. "With this much water, I just have to decompose it to produce hydrogen and oxygen!"
Havoc pulled out his lighter and the Colonel slipped on his other glove, slamming his hand onto the ground, creating sparks. Pure air rose up and Havoc threw his lighter, setting the air on fire and consuming the entire room in flames.
Once the flames died out, we stepped into the charred room. Havoc picked up the lighter and flicked it, "Aw, crap. I got this from an ex-girlfriend of mine. Damn, Colonel, can you give me a light?" Colonel stared at Havoc blankly, waiting for him to realize what happened to his gloves. "Oh, right, I guess not." He grinned, holding an unlit cigarette in his mouth.
"Yeah, but those things will kill you!" Colonel shouted. Becoming serious again, he scavenged the burned remains. "No doubt about it, that woman is cooked," he remarked, holding his hand at his nose.
"How can you tell, sir?" Havoc asked.
"The smell. I've smelled a number of burned bodies."
"You mean your experience in Ishval?"
"Still, we can't count out their regenerative abilities. Stay alert."
"Yes, sir."
Fingernails emerged from the ground and stabbed Havoc in the back. He yelled in pain in shock, spitting out his cigarette as he collapsed. "HAVOC!!!" Colonel screamed as Lust emerged, skin forming on the muscles of her build. Colonel kneeled by Havoc, "Havoc, stay with me!"
"Don't kid yourself," Lust rolled her eyes. "He's a dead man."
"No, he's not!" Colonel yelled, picking up Havoc's shotgun and shooting her in the head, making her fall down.
"It's no use!" She laughed. "I'm still not dead!"
"They way to save him is right here!" Colonel said, sticking his hand into her regenerating chest and yanking out her Philosopher's Stone. Lust opened her mouth to scream but couldn't. Instead, she choked as she fell back down, crumbling away into ashes.
I sighed in relief. Finally, Lust is dead. The Colonel fisted the Stone as he knelt my Havoc once again. "Medical field alchemy is outside my expertise, but by using this to increase my abilities--"
Muscle began to form around the stone, and Lust reformed on the Colonel's hand. "It seems that you should buy a girl dinner first, before you stick up your hand in her chest," she laughed, sounding weird since her vocal cords were still reforming.
The Colonel gaped at her in shock and she extended her fingernails. "COLONEL!!!" I screamed, shoving him aside and detaching his hand from the stone. But, still in the middle of the attack, Lust plunged her fingernails into my side. I coughed out blood as I leaned over her nails, weakened by the attack. "CLOCKWORK!!!" The Colonel screamed as she pulled out. She glanced at him and smirked, slashing her hand and slitting his throat. He covered his neck as he walked backwards into a wall and hit it, sliding down.
"I told you, the Philosopher's Stone is my core," she reminded. "I'm sorry. You and Evelyn here were both potential candidates for sacrifice, but both of you must now die." She knelt by Colonel's slumped body and pulled off his glove, shredding it with her nails. "Die, as you watch both your men grow cold before your eyes," Lust smirked as he walked out of the room.
When her footsteps were gone, the Colonel shakily got up, still holding his hand around his neck to stop the bleeding. "Just a few centimeters away from death..." he sighed before stumbling over to us. "Lieutenant Havoc! Wake up! You're not allowed to die just yet! Not when I'm still around!" But Havoc didn't respond and seeing what I was in a much worst state he went over and picked up my body. "Joyce? Major Joyce!" He yelled. "Wake up! Evelyn! Don't die just yet!"
I opened my eye a little bit, just enough to see a blurred vision of the Colonel. Knowing in this state I couldn't fight and that Lust will go after the rest of our group, I had to sent the Colonel out to protect them both. "Go..." I muttered.
"Go? Are you insane? How can I--"
"Alphonse...the Lieutenant..."
"What bout them?"
"She'll...go...them..."
"How can I worry about them when you and Havoc are dying in front of me--"
"Go...who's gonna protect them if I can't...?"
*~*~*~*~*~
Colonel Mustang stood up as Evelyn collapsed in his arms. Blood rushed to his ears as he figured out what to do next. Evelyn was right; he had to get to Alphonse and Lieutenant Hawkeye before Lust did. He began to run out of the corridor and retrace his steps to figure out where they went.
He heard a loud sob and gunshots ringing and he hurried, pulling out a knife and carving his transmutation circle on the back of his hands. Just as he neared an entrance where there was light, he heard the voice of Alphonse. And he was yelling, which was unusual for the boy. "I said no!" He shouted. "I'm sick of people dying before my eyes! I've had enough! I won't let anyone get killed anymore! I'll protect them!"
There was the sound of slicing metal, which told the Colonel that Lust had Alphonse in her grasp. He finally arrived at the light and spoke up, "Well spoken, Alphonse. I couldn't agree more."
Everyone was shocked at his voice. Alphonse, thinking quickly and knowing what he was about to do, transmuted a wall to protect him and Lieutenant Hawkeye. Colonel pulled out the dead lighter Havoc had and lit it, sparking the transmutation circle he carved onto his hand and flames erupted over Lust, mimicking the effect when he had his gloves.
Lust, surprised at the Colonel's sudden appearance and attack, fell over on her hands and knees and looked back at him. "So, I can get you on your knees," Colonel remarked as he flipped the switch again, sending another attack of fire at Lust.
"You should of bled to death by now!" She screamed at him.
"You were close, but not close enough," he replied, making Lust aware of her mistake.
He sent another wall of fire at her and she screamed, the fire licking around her. "You said you still weren't dead, were you?" He demanded as another ball of fire was sent at her. "Then I'll just have to kill you until you're dead!"
He sent ball after ball of fire at Lust, burning layer upon layer of regenerated skin that she manage to recover with little time he left in-between to heal. He could hear the yells of Lieutenant Hawkeye over her agonized screams, but he chose to ignore them as he continued his attacks.
Lust, finally having enough and seeing a window of time, jumped up and extending her nails, screaming as she aimed for Colonel's head. But, he calmly sent a wall of fire at her face as a response. Once he was done, Lust stood in front of him, nail still out, as she looked defeated. Her nails disintegrated into ashes, her body following afterwards.
"I've been defeated," she sighed. "I hate to admit it. But being killed by a man like you isn't so bad." Layer upon layer of her skin tissue and muscle were reduced to ashes as she fell back, smirking, "Those eyes look straight ahead, unwavering...I can't wait...until they day they are wide with agony." Her existence finally crumbled away, wth her voice echoing "It's coming" as her Philosopher's Stone fell, crumbling away as well.
Once everyone was sure she was finally eradicated, Colonel sighed, letting his arm fall. Lieutenant Hawkeye and Alphonse emerged from the charred wall. Hawkeye sobbed, grateful and glad he was alive as she approached him. "Colonel!" She cried.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
"Never mind me, please. Worry about yourself, sir!"
"Alphonse, thank you for protecting her."
"Never mind that," Alphonse waved off the thanks and worries as well. "Let's hurry and get you to a doctor!"
"Yeah..." Colonel grinned painfully. "Hurry and call a doctor for Havoc and Joyce. Please."