Two

"What the hell was that about last night?" Edward demanded when he and Alphonse went into the colonel's office that morning. His Lieutenant, Riza Hawkeye, was standing by his desk. She was a serious woman, blond hair tied back with stone cold eyes. But she was feminine and a good woman.

     "I knew you two wouldn't let it go," Colonel Mustang said with a sigh. "So, I'm going to let you in on some information. But, you have to swear you won't tell anyone outside of the military. Meaning, you can't tell your friends in Resembool. Understood?"

     "Yes sir," the boys replied.

     Colonel Mustang was close to emotionless, except the occasional laughter at Edward's expense. He had cold black eyes with hair black enough to match. His voice was a deep monotone, which made his emotions an enigma, except for when he was angry.

     "Alright." Colonel Mustang cleared his throat and faced the boys. "She is number 31, codename Lucy. She is an experiment that some scientists in the military under mine and the fuhrer's command are working on."

     "W-What?" Edward asked.

     "Exactly what I said," the colonel replied. "She's an experiment. What for, I can't tell you. But, she's not quite human."

     "What do you mean by that?" Alphonse asked.

     "She has a special power our scientists developed in her when she was a baby. And, yes, she's been an experiment since then. Her power is being able to kill with her mind. It's like...she has the invisible hands to work with."

     "She kills people?!" the boys yelled.

     "Only men and women that are to be executed," the colonel assured them. But it wasn't really reassuring.

     "I'm not following," Edward said, narrowing his eyes. "Why was she roaming the hallways? Why did she have a stuffed rabbit with her? And why the hell did she call you papa?"

     "31, or Lucy, likes to walk around at night," the colonel said like it was normal. "I'm surprised that last night was the first time you've heard her. She's always roaming down that hallway, and she's been here longer than you two have.

     "As for the rabbit, it's a little something that Lieutenant Hawkeye gave her when she was little." Edward glanced at the lieutenant, her face an enigma.

     "Lucy may look like a sixteen year old girl, but her brain isn't well developed. She has the mind of a small child. Curious about everything, but calm and learning new things every day. Like you two, for example.

     "And then, there's the fact that she hates loud noises, and she doesn't always follow directions. She's always getting punished."

     "That still leaves one question," Alphonse spoke up. "why does she call you papa?"

     "For the same reason she calls Lieutenant Hawkeye 'mama'," Colonel Mustang said. "She sees us as her parents because I'm the one the Fuhrer wanted to see over the research. And since Hawkeye is my Lieutenant, I've dragged her into it with me. We've been watching over Lucy since this whole mess started."

     "What's it's purpose?" Edward asked. "Since she's 31, does that mean there are thirty others?!"

     "I can't tell you the purpose, and she's the thirty first attempt at getting it right."

     Edward's blood ran cold.

     "You people took innocent babies and did experiments on them, turning them into monsters," Alphonse said, sounding calm. "and I'm guessing that the first thirty either died or failed."

     "The first thirty experiments have died at young ages," the colonel said, not meeting Edward's gaze. "mostly around ages six and seven. But number 31 has made it to sixteen. We have high hopes for her."

     Edward was about to say something, when there were those footsteps out in the hall again. The brothers turned to face the door, and soundlessly, the door opened and number 31--Lucy--walked in.

     "Lucy, you're supposed to be in your room," the colonel said as if he was talking to a small child. "What are you doing here?"

     "I don't like it in there," she said in that spine chilling voice, her rabbit tucked under her arm. "It's hard and cold."

     "You're supposed to stay in there until we say you can come out," the colonel continued. "If you don't, you're going to be punished. I let it go last night, but I'm not letting it slip again."

     "I don't like the punishment," she said, her voice staying level but her eyes widening a bit in fear. "Papa, don't."

     What could the punishment be, if she's so afraid of it? Edward thought.

     "Lieutenant, take Lucy back to her room," the colonel said.

     "Yes, sir." Lieutenant Hawkeye walked over to Lucy and said, "Come on, now, let's go back to your room."

     "Mama, don't make them punish me," she said.

     "We'll see."

     "Hold it, Lieutenant," Colonel Mustang said, remembering that the Elric brothers were still in the room. "Take Edward and Alphonse with you, because they're so curious about this whole thing. Heck, let them watch the punishment."

     "That's cruel, sir," the Lieutenant said quietly.

     "It's an order," he replied. "Maybe they'll stop asking questions once they see it."

     "Fine," Hawkeye said. "Follow me, boys. Come on, Lucy."

 

Lieutenant Hawkeye led them deep into the command center, and to an elevator big enough to fit maybe fifteen people. Lucy and the Lieutenant stayed on one end, the Elrics on the other.

     "Where are we going, Lieutenant?" Edward finally asked.

     "To the laboratory below Central Command," she said tonelessly. It was a silent ride the rest of the way down; no one felt like talking. Lucy kept her lifeless eyes glued to Edward and Alphonse.

     Once they reached the bottom, they walked through a darkly lit hallway. Lucy glanced back at Edward and said, "You're the boy from last night. The one who yelled at me."

     "I-I didn't mean to," Edward said lamely. "I'm sorry."

     She stopped walking all together, and so did the Lieutenant. The Elrics took a step back.

     "Liar," Lucy said, a dark tone in her voice. "I don't know you. That makes you a liar." She turned to Hawkeye. "Mama, I want to rip his limbs off."

     "You can't rip his limbs off," the Lieutenant said, sounding calm. "Let's keep walking."

     "I'm going to rip off his limbs," Lucy said coldly. "One. At. A. Time." The hallway got dimmer, and Lucy's eyes seemed to glow a little brighter. There was a strange flash of light from her left eye, and Edward's AutoMail arm was ripped out of it's mechanical socket.

     "Brother!" Alphonse shouted. Edward stood frozen, and then felt the pain of his nerves being unconnected to his arm all at once. He fell to his knees, holding in his scream of pain.

     "Lucy, what did I say?" Lieutenant Hawkeye said sternly. "Now you're definitely going to be punished." She grabbed hold of the back of the girl's neck, and Lucy looked truly terrified.

     "No!" she gasped, holding the stuffed rabbit as tight as she could. "I don't like the punishment! It hurts, mama! Let go!"

     "Edward, Alphonse, follow me," Lieutenant Hawkeye said, walking them down a hallway. Edward picked up his arm, and he and Alphonse hurried behind her, but keeping distance from Lucy.

Reviews

[C.S. Posthumus]

I don’t know if I like this colonel character... But I’m eager to continue reading. As for ‘Lucy,’ I’m enjoying reading about her... I’m wondering about why her eye began to flash... What will the punishment be? Hm...

[Koda Demitri Tucker-Elr..]

Mama Riza...Papa Roy...I saw what you did there lol. A little bit of Royai? OH YEAH! LOVIN IT ALREADY!

[Anonymous]

OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! LOL! She's a Diclonius! AND HER NAME IS LUCY! CONTINUE, QUICK! I HAVE TO READ ABOUT THE PUNISHMENT!