Iserlohnn - continued

ARACHNAPHOBIA

At exactly midnight Major Armstrong’s bulky form appeared in the doorway. The big man looked in and, seeing Edward was asleep, he quietly entered motioning to Hughes it was okay for him to go. Hughes got up and stopped when he saw the lights in the hallway and the low nightlight over Edward’s bed starting to hum and flicker. Alphonse went to the doorway and looked out. No one was in the hall and, as he stood there, the lights flickered one last time then went out. The low red emergency lighting came up bathing the hallway in an eerie sanguine glow.

Suddenly in the hallway a figure appeared. Alphonse saw it was a man and he was looking around tentatively before heading down the corridor towards him. He was about to engage him when at the last moment he recognized the Colonel. Alphonse sighed relieved.

“Colonel, what’s happening?” Alphonse asked.

“Not sure,” he responded gazing warily down the hallway.

From out of nowhere came a large child’s ball and it bounced down the hall past the Colonel and Alphonse. They both watched too amazed to move.

Meanwhile, in the dim red glow Hughes spotted what looked like a huge tarantula on the ceiling. He pointed it out to Armstrong, who gasped when the one spider suddenly became hundreds of black hairy arachnids. They started dropping from the ceiling in a pile and. as this pile began to quickly assume a human shape; Hughes knew they were in big trouble.

“Get Ed and Tenshi out of here!” Hughes ordered.

Before Armstrong could grab him Edward had leaped out of his bed like a cannon shot him his IV snapping off him leaving a thin trail of blood in its wake. While in midair he clapped his hands completing his Alchemic circle and dove head first into the mass of squirming insects. The bug pile exploded when hit by Edward’s alchemic blast but for every dead spider there were two more live ones taking its place. Cockroaches, weevils, maggots and other insects that fed on decaying and rotting flesh quickly joined the spiders. Soon the wriggling mass coalesced into a form that was inhumanly familiar.

The second the White-Haired Man was recognizable Hughes peppered him with a half-dozen of his razor sharp throwing knives. The Lieutenant Colonel moved so quickly Edward didn’t realize he had tossed the knives until he saw them sticking out of the White-Haired Man’s chest. The White-Haired Man ignored Hughes and moved towards the sheet that surrounded Tenshi’s bed. He ripped it down in one swift motion and got a face full of ball lightning as his reward.

The powerful blast sent the White-Haired Man flying across the room and he hit the wall with such force it left a crater with him at its epicenter. Tenshi was up and moving the too long pajamas hiding his metallic feet. He joined Edward, who had finally plucked the last of the insects off his body, and the two Alchemists were side by side when the White-Haired Man got to his feet.

“Impressive,” the White-Haired Man commented looking directly at Tenshi.

Before anyone could do anything Armstrong landed a concussive blow on the White-Haired Man once again sending him splayed into the wall. He turned his red-eyed gaze onto the big man and a ball of energy shot from his hand hitting Armstrong square in the chest. The big man went flying through the wall landing in the room next door.

Tenshi could see through the opening Armstrong’s passage had made through the wall and he gasped. The Strong Arm Alchemist was lying on the floor unmoving. Suddenly a little afraid, he took a step back so that Edward was slightly in front of him. The Fullmetal Alchemist glared at his opponent and stood with his hands crackling with unspent energy. Edward noticed his brother and the Colonel in the doorway. Something in the hallway had the two of them enraptured. Whatever it is it can wait, thought Edward hotly.

“Mustang! Get your ass in here NOW!” Edward commanded.

The Colonel heard his name and hesitated for a second. What the…?

Hughes’s knives again came out of seemingly nowhere and embedded themselves in the back of the White-Haired Man’s neck and back. He casually pulled one out and threw it back at his attacker without even looking. Hughes managed to dodge it but just barely. The sharp blade grazed his cheek drawing blood.

“Roy! We need some help here!” Hughes called urgently.

The Colonel was pulled out of whatever spell was holding him mesmerized and he entered the room. He saw Edward and Tenshi facing off with the White-Haired Man and Hughes was standing there razor-sharp knife in hand ready to go toe-to-toe with this guy if he had to.

Before he had a chance to do anything Edward ordered, “Don’t just stand there! TORCH IT!”

Mustang didn’t need to be told twice. He let loose with all the firepower he could muster given the availability of combustible oxygen in the room. Edward added to his attack by unleashing an Alchemic blast that the Colonel knew would have disintegrated any normal person. The White-Haired Man’s body was enveloped in blue-hot fire and as he stood there immolating he was laughing an eerie hollow laugh that sent chills up everyone’s spine. That horrible laugh made Tenshi lose whatever self control he had and from his small hands came a ball of light Edward could tell was fueled by a combination of fear, rage and desperate self preservation.

Tenshi’s attack was the last straw. The White-Haired Man’s body exploded sending a tar like goo flying everywhere splattering everything and everyone with its oily sticky mess. The laughter stopped cold. The lights in the building sputtered and then resumed their function. Under the fluorescent glare they could all see what the slimy black goo they were covered with actually was.

Dead insects. Many dead insects squashed together so much they were liquefied.

Tenshi bolted for the bathroom. The sound of his being sick was audible from where Edward and the others stood. Hughes removed his goo-covered glasses with a heavy sigh. Mustang ignored the fact that this was the third uniform he’d messed up in as many days. He saw Edward standing there eyes still flashing with unspent anger and he seemed like he was totally ignorant of the fact he was dripping with black slime.

When Mustang’s eyes met Edwards the boy indicated his filthy uniform and commented, “Not my fault.”

“This time,” Mustang shot back.

“We can’t stay here any longer,” Edward told him. “It’s not safe.”

Mustang noticed the bandage around Edward’s midsection was soaked through with blood. All the exertion had reopened his wound. He wasn’t in any shape to leave yet he had a valid point. They couldn’t let any of the Divines fall into the hands of this monster. Stationing a garrison at the hospital wouldn’t do much good since conventional weapons didn’t seem to do much against this thing. A Ward would work if they had a piece of him to use as the focal point for the spell. But Mustang seriously doubted the goo that was all over him could be used as a focal point. He had a feeling that what they fought wasn’t real. It was a construct, like a homunculus or a chimera. And without something real that belonged to the White-Haired Man, there would be no way to create an effective barrier against him.

Hughes went through the hole in the wall to check on Armstrong. He wasn’t hurt. The blow just knocked him flat momentarily stunning him. He came back and stared mouth open at the mess. It was beginning to smell as bad as it looked.

“Ugh, this is disgusting!” Armstrong said trying not to step in any of the goo on the floor. He looked at Edward whose hair was now an interesting shade of black and blonde and asked, “You all right?”

“Nothing a shower wouldn’t cure,” Edward retorted still looking VERY pissed off. Then glaring out at the room and to no one in particular he stated hotly, “Somehow, some way I swear I am going to FUCKING KILL THAT THING!”

“Ed we don’t even know what that thing is,” Alphonse pointed out.

“Then we’re going to have to find out, even if it means raiding every library between here and Iserlohnn,” Edward told him. “We have to stop it. If it gets control of The Gate-”

“That won’t happen,” the Colonel interrupted. “It will be stopped. One way or another.”

Edward looked at Mustang. “So, now you understand what happened to us in Iserlohnn. Why we failed.”

“You didn’t fail,” Mustang corrected. “Princess Katarin is alive and well because of you. But I don’t think the city can be freed until we destroy the one really responsible for taking it hostage.”

“Any suggestions on how we do that?”

Mustang was fresh out of ideas. He looked at Edward’s goo covered body and remarked, “Maybe after you’re out of the shower I’ll have something for you.”

“You could use a wash and brush up yourself.”

Mustang chuckled. “Yeah.”

A horrified scream at the door made everyone turn. A nurse coming to check in on Edward freaked when she saw the state of the room and its occupants. She took off before anyone could stop her. The sound of Edward laughing suddenly broke the dead quiet of the room. The group rounded on him as a unit.

“It’s NOT funny,” Alphonse chided his brother.

Edward sobered quickly saying, “Now you see why being here is a bad idea. We need to relocate to that safe house!”

“Not you. Not now,” Mustang told him. “Go clean yourself up Ed.”

Edward turned on his heel and stalked out of the room. When he entered the bathroom, he saw Tenshi standing before the sink looking pale and shaken. He also was covered in goo and looked like he was about to lose it.

“Is this ever going to stop?” he asked choking back tears.

“Yes,” Edward stated firmly taking Tenshi by the shoulders. “You just have to keep it together a little longer.”

Tenshi embraced Edward burying his face in Edward’s chest. Edward sighed and wrapped Tenshi in a protective embrace. He had faced many strange enemies in his day but nothing like the White-Haired Man. He was beyond anything in Edward’s experience. Edward had a feeling none of the others had fought anything like this either. There had to be something somewhere about this guy. He didn’t come out of nowhere. There was going to be some major library time coming up and, as long as Edward was stuck in a hospital bed, he was going to have to do some serious delegating to get the mission accomplished.

After a few minutes Tenshi managed to pull himself together. He wiped his eyes with the back of his sleeve and tears mixed with goo smudged the pale blue flannel.

“I need a shower,” he sniffled.

“You’re not the only one,” Edward said with a wry grin.

A glint of mischief tinged Tenshi’s lilac eyes as he looked at the large shower stall and said, “There’s room for two in there.”

Edward glared at him. “Don’t get any ideas.”

Tenshi blushed crimson. “I’m not!” he cried defensively.

Edward laughed. He ruffled Tenshi’s gooey hair saying, “I know. Come on, Kohai. Let’s make ourselves presentable...”

By the time Edward and Tenshi were cleaned up, the other gooey members of their team had managed to do the same. Mustang and Hughes were both wearing surgeon’s scrubs and their demeanor made them look both appear to be convincing as doctors. The only thing that gave the Colonel away was the silver chain from his State Alchemist pocket watch that was hooked to the waistband of his pants. His special gloves were hidden in the pants pocket in case he needed them. Somewhere hidden on Hughes were his infamous razor sharp knives but where they were no one could tell with a casual glance. The only military man still in uniform was Armstrong and that was because he had managed to avoid being sprayed by the goo.

Edward and Tenshi were relocated to another room in the hospital. Edward had reopened his wound in the fight and needed to have it sutured shut again. After the surgeon was done repairing Edward’s injury he gave Edward enough tranquilizers to knock out a horse insuring the young Alchemist would stay in bed and sleep for the next twelve hours. The doctor warned them another repeat of what just happened could kill Edward and the group as a whole promised to do what they could to keep Fullmetal on a short leash.

Alphonse had seen his brother get banged up in fights but he never got hurt this badly. He found a place in Edward’s room where he could be close to his brother yet out of the doctor’s way and set up camp there. Mustang and Hughes were both too beat to go home so they crashed on the padded armchairs that were against the wall opposite Edward’s bed. Armstrong volunteered to guard the door and sat where he could see whoever was approaching before they entered. After visiting for a moment by Edward’s bedside, Tenshi crawled into the other bed in the room and lay for a long time watching Edward sleep before he, too, drifted off.


When Edward finally awakens it is early afternoon and he finds he is in his room alone. On his bedside table are a stack of books on Wards, Scrying, Portals, and other investigational and co-location Alchemy topics. He also finds his journal, pens and a pad of plain paper on his tray table with a note-attached saying: “Make yourself useful.”

He recognized the Colonel’s handwriting and growled. Useful indeed, he thought to himself as he crushed the note to confetti in his Auto-mail hand. The Ward had to be constructed first and then a Port Key and a Receiving Array. Edward was thinking of doing an overlay of a Port Key onto a receiving Array so that the circle could be used to either go to a fixed local or bring someone to you. He and Alphonse could make good use of such a combined Array. He wished he had the metal disks and his etching tools but all that was back in his office and he wasn’t going to ask anyone to fetch them. Pen and ink on paper had worked just fine for him in the past and he could make good use of it now.

By the time Edward had completed the design for the Ward and his blended Portal Circles night had fallen. A nurse brought him something that resembled food and told him he should eat since he hadn’t had anything to eat all day. Edward took one look at the mystery meat hidden under a layer of brown ooze he thought might be gravy and decided he’d just order some take-out later. He was fairly certain he could sweet-talk someone into brining him a nice sloppy burger from McFly’s. He had caught enough eyes ogling him to know he had a good chance of persuading at least one of those girls to get him some real food.

A knock on the door caught his attention. It was Colonel Mustang and he had a bag of something with him. The smell reached Edward long before the Colonel did and he quickly made room on the tray table to receive the bounty.

Edward dove into the bag and quickly found and consumed two greasy cheeseburgers before Mustang had a chance to tell him anything. He knew better than to get between Edward and edibles when the boy was ravenous. Mustang stood there silently and watched in awe as Edward put away enough food for two grown men.

When Edward seemed sufficiently sated Mustang quipped, “Don’t they feed you?”

Edward raised an eyebrow. “Hospital food is a contradiction in terms.”

“Hope you left me something. Some of that WAS my dinner.”

“WAS being the operative word,” Edward said belching so loudly Mustang wondered how a noise so big could have emerged from so small a stomach.

The Colonel sighed. He would have to get himself something on his way home. “Okay, you eat my food, swipe my books, and ruin my uniforms. I hope you managed to do something productive to make up for all the inconvenience.”

Edward opened up a scroll displaying a blended Array Mustang recognized as being a combined Port Key and Receiving Circle. He took the paper from Edward’s hands letting out a low whistle of approval. He knew what Edward had constructed was possible but it was considered by many to be beyond the skills of most practitioners of their ancient art. And here Edward cranked one of these out in an afternoon. Mustang knew he was right when he told the State Alchemy Board four years ago Edward was brilliant and persuaded them to allow him to take the certification exam. The boy may or may not be an Alchemy god but he sure as hell was an Alchemy genius.

“So I take it you approve?” Edward queried breaking the silence.

“Its…perfect.”

“It should really be etched onto a hard disk,” Edward said. “According to the texts this was meant to be transcribed onto something more lasting than parchment.”

“That will have to wait until you have access to your equipment,” Mustang told him. “In the meantime this is more than acceptable.”

“I made more than one,” he said. “One of these is for Al. Just in case, if you know what I mean.”

The Colonel nodded. Since discovering Alphonse was one of the Divine Virtues keeping him safe along with the Princess and Tenshi had become a priority. He looked at the circle asking, “Have you attuned these circles yet?”

“Only my half,” Edward said. “My key will get me to wherever Al’s circle is and he can activate his Receiving Circle to bring me to him.”

“You overlaid a Summon into this Array?” Mustang gasped.

“Yes, I thought it might come in handy.”

Mustang shook his head. He knew the kid was good but he had no idea he was THAT good. He noticed there was a third scroll on the table and he asked, “Is that the Ward?”

Edward passed it over and the Colonel opened it up to examine his handiwork. It was a fairly standard Ward of Protection. Once cast upon a location it would bar from entry anyone whose essence was not recognized by the Ward. The way the Ward worked is that the essence of those it is meant to keep safe is fed into it via objects to which they have a special bond. The circle could be cast multiple times in multiple locales. The only hitch was you had to have fresh objects each time you did the spell. This is because once the essence of a person is sucked free from their things those items are left empty of spiritual energy. Which was why they would wait until they were in the safe house before the Ward would be created. He knew their group was seriously lacking in objects of spiritual significance and this casting was going to be hard enough to do once let alone twice!

The Colonel handed the scroll back to Edward saying, “I think after all of this is over you I’m going to ask Obaba-sensei to take you on as her student. I haven’t met anyone outside of Iserlohnn who was so talented in the Old Ways.”

“Are you saying I know more about this than you?”

“Right now…yes.”

Edward let out along sigh. After a thoughtful pause he asked quietly, “When was the last time you looked at any of this stuff?”

The Colonel wasn’t looking at him when he responded; “I haven’t opened any of those books since the day I left home.”

“Baka.” Idiot.

Mustang shot him a glance. Edward was glaring at him. For a split second Mustang could almost see Obaba’s face in the boy’s expression. She would be furious with him if she found out how much he’d forgotten. She would be even angrier if she knew the reason why he let the knowledge slip away. It was lost in the wake of his personal ambition. His desire to one-day lead Amestris pushed aside everything else that used to matter to him. Now when the Old Knowledge was the key to saving those that he cared about as well as his nation he had turn to a gutsy kid from Resembool for help.

The Colonel was about to explain himself when Edward suddenly vanished in a blazing shimmer of light.
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MORE TO COME - MY internet is back YAY!