Descent

Chapter Nine

Censored swear-word warning.

~Kala~

Edward and Winry leaped out of the bed and bolted to the window. They could see smoke in the distance, not quite on the other side of the city, near Central Headquarters. A jolt went through him as Ed realized it was Central H.Q. He watched the last of the building tumble and crash to the ground, and he prayed that nobody was in the building, even though reason and logic told him that there was no chance of the Military's main area of operations being completely deserted. He could hear people screaming in the distance, and, much to his horror, he could distinguish the between the screams of terror from the onlookers and the screams of pain from those in pain. "Aw, shit!" He yelled, running from the room, almost crashing into Riza on his way out.

"Did you hear that? What was it?" Riza asked, her voice bordering on frantic.

"Central H.Q just crashed to the ground!" He exclaimed.

"Shit!" She repeated, and together they ran from the hallway to the door of the apartment, barely waiting for Winry to catch up and not noticing Mustang's appearance from his room. Just as he yanked open the door, he felt a hand grasp his shoulder, and he looked up to see Riza shaking her head at him. "You're not going out there Ed." She told him. "I's not safe for you until I've found the one hurting you. "You'll stay here. Mustang!" She called, to a disheveled Mustang, running towards them. "You can stay here and make sure Ed stays safe." She ordered her superior.

"Yes, sir!" Mustang said mockingly, going so far as to salute his Colonel.

"No! I'm coming!" Edward said, trying to mask his panic.

"No, you're not, Ed." Winry whispered from behind them.

"Winry-"

"No, Ed, unless you can tell me right now who's hurting you, I agree with Riza, you can stay here, where it's safe." She said, her tone indicating that her word was final. It was like she was already his wife. Winry and Riza both ducked out the door, then, without waiting for him to answer, Hawkeye already pulling a gun from a holster she had hastily strapped on, handing it to Winry, and pulling another gun our for herself from another holster attached to the first strap.

"Wait, Winry!" He cried out, in a desperate attempt not to be left alone with Mustang. "Will you stay with me?" He asked, once she had turned back, the pleading tone of his voice reminding himself of a small child.

"I'll be fine!" She laughed. "I'm with Riza. And don't worry, you'll be fine too, Mustang's here with you."

"Yeah...Mustang..." He whispered, all the while thinking please take the hint please take the hint please take the hint! She didn't, and turned round quickly and dashed after Hawkeye, who had already flown down two flights of stairs. He himself watched her go, not daring to move, hardly daring to breathe. He waited for the sudden pain he so expected to strike him, squeezing his eyes shut, trying to imagine a happy place.

Winry leaped down the stairs after Hawkeye, her mind not even bothering to process Edward's pleas for her to stay with him. She hadn't seen any kind of action for...well...she couldn't remember any action she'd actually seen; not a single thing came to mind. She was absolutely itching for something exciting to finally happen to her, and this could be it. Though she detested the gun in her hands, hated the feel of it, the weight, the fact that she held in her hand the potential lives of fifteen people, it made her feel secure. That no one could hurt her while she held it. It was the only reason she didn't toss it to the floor. Besides, she didn't necessarily have to kill anyone with it, but f someone tried to hurt her she could always shoot them in the leg or the foot or something. If it came down to it, she would rather cause someone injury than death. Injuries could be healed. Death was permanent.