this turned out longer than i expected so... sorry about that but hey, a nice long chapter for a story i havent' worked on in a bit

also, remember, if the wolves are 'talking' it's only other wolves that can hear their actual speech but humans hear growls and gruffs.

Colben led them to the door where they were supposed to go but hesitated a little. He didn't want to go in there… He swallowed hard and put the key in the lock, opening the door. The first noise they heard was the low painful, mournful cries of some poor creature. Maes looked at Colben and he went inside.

"What does he do with them? Are they in cages?"

"Yes, they are."

"How many of them fail out of the experimentation?" Riza asked, using her flashlight to light the dark room.

"Probably a 1:10 ratio; out of about fifty men, five of them will not successfully turn. Sometimes we get lucky and it's lower than five but I've seen him do it in groups of ten before and have one in every group just not take hold."

"How can you tell if it doesn't take hold? I mean, what if it's just that their bodies aren't strong?" Alphonse asked.

"Well, the serum acts pretty quickly. Usually within ten minutes the transformation has begun and then by the end of thirty minutes the transformation should be complete. If the person isn't going to take then… they will begin the way the professor did: in agony."

"So you're saying that if someone takes to the serum they aren't in pain?"

"Usually they get dizzy and pass out before the transformation begins. If it doesn't take then they don't pass out, they just start feeling horrific pain and then they begin to feel every part of the transformation."

"Why can't you just stop it?" Maes asked.

"Interrupting the transformation process will result in death or a horrid half version of man and beast. It's best to let them turn and then work backwards from there."

Another mournful cry came from the bottom of the stairwell and Riza moved her flashlight around.

"Um… Are the failed transformations… dogs?" Alphonse asked.

Colben didn't say anything and Maes grabbed his shoulder.

"Colben?"

"Sometimes they are and… sometimes they… aren't…"

"If it's the same serum-"

"Failed transformations are just that, failed. The serum just reacts differently to them. If we hurry we might not have to really see any of them or wake them up. Lieutenant Hawkeye, if you wouldn't mind turning out your flashlight?"

Hawkeye made a face but turned the flashlight off, making the decent pitch black.

"I can't see a thing." Maes said.

"There is lamplight at the end of the hallway. Just follow that." Colben said pointing in front of him. "I have to go help your friends with all the wolves."

"Alright then."

They began walking down the steps and finally hit level ground. Alphonse accidentally clanged into something and reached out, trying to figure out what it was.

"H…eee….l…p…. me…." Something moaned pitifully beside him.

"Don't worry, that's what we're trying to do."

"Alphonse, keep up." Riza said.

Alphonse moved away from the cages and followed the shadows of his companions to an office that was in the corner with a not too inviting lamp.

"It looks like he may have been down here earlier." Maes said.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Riza asked, opening up a filing cabinet.

"Anything that looks like a notebook with information in it…"

Alphonse lifted a notebook off the table and opened it up. If he had had eyebrows he would have lifted them.

"Mr. Hughes, I don't think we have the time to look through the notes. Have you seen how he does things?" he said, showing him the notebook.

Maes took it and turned his head a little. He then turned the book to the side and then upside down.

"What the hell is this gibberish? He's he playing us?"

"It might be in code." Riza said.

"Mm. A lot of scientist and especially alchemists write in code so that officials or people looking to steal their research can't read it readily. It's something that will probably need to be translated but we don't know the key to the code. If we have him tell us, then maybe… but Dr. Hasch is dying as we speak."

"Then we'd better just grab what we can and get the hell out of here."

A haunting howl caught them off guard and they all jumped. Maes breathed in and fixed his glasses.

"As quickly as possible."

They closed the door and began to look through the files in the filing cabinet.

Edward pushed the front door open and limped out to see Roy. Roy was sleeping on his paws, his strength sapped from the fight and it was starting to get to the later part of the night and closer to sunrise. Smelling Edward, he raised his head and then turned his head at his beaten state.

"Who did that to you?" he asked.

"You did, you jerk." Edward literally barked.

Roy's ears went back. "I… I know that. I meant turned you."

"Who do you think?" Edward's legs gave out from under him and he slightly collapsed/slightly laid down beside his superior. "They said they may have a cure."

"I hope so."

"What's it to you? You get to turn back into a human. If they don't find the cure then I'll lose my mind and forget who I ever was. How's that for life?" he grumbled with a roll of his eyes.

"Then I'll make him-"

"You can't do anything to him. He's dying. Between Shiro Kiba's saliva mixing with yours, he's not gonna make it."

"What does my spit have to do with anything?"

"You're a second party contributor and there hasn't been anything like you before so no one really knows what it will do. We're assuming it does the same thing that Shiro Kiba's does and if that's the case well…"

Roy looked up as he saw the light from the sun inching over a hill in the distance. Edward looked too and laid his head on his leg.

"Well, it looks like your time is up, Colonel." Roy looked back at him. "Help us out, alright? You've got a lot of wolves depending on you."

"You act like we won't see each other again."

"I don't know if you'll be able to understand me when you turn back into a human and who knows how long it will be before you turn back or I turn back."

"For you, not long."

Edward gave what grin a wolf could give.

"I'm counting on it."

"That's it?" Havoc said with a look that was a cross between anger and sadness.

Colben wasn't sure how to react around him and so he took a step from him.

"I'm afraid so…"

Havoc pointed. "You mean to tell me that out of the seventy or so men that came up here and got fucked over by that doctor, only twenty seven of them have their full mental capacities?!"

"Well that's why I put them in three groups instead of two. This group is mostly made up of the people before you who were transformed. This group is from a few groups back; they remember humanity enough to have a slight conversation with me. They are a little… on the edge. This last group, though, doesn't remember anything."

Havoc looked at the largest of the three groups as the wolves sat there. These men who were no longer men… Havoc clenched his fists.

"Damn it…"

He front door opened and everyone looked over. Edward limped in and took a seat in the corner when a hand took hold of the doorframe and someone walked into the building. Havoc began to unbutton his jacket and walked over as Roy stumbled in, shaking on two legs. Havoc stopped just short of his superior as Roy looked at him with a tired expression.

"Welcome back, Colonel."

Roy smiled a little and practically fell into Havoc, but he caught him and put his jacket around him.

"What… what's the report on everything?" Roy rasped.

Havoc chuckled as Roy pulled the jacket from his shoulders and tried to tie it around his waist.

"I think you should rest a little before we go into detail. Hughes, Hawkeye, and Alphonse went to go get some notebooks that might have a cure in it. You can rest until they come back and then we'll bring you up to speed."

Roy was a little disoriented anyway and nodded, putting his hand to his head.

"Okay…" Breda stepped up to take him but Roy growled at him and he stepped back. "Not you."

"Um, why?"

"I can still smell your fear and it's overwhelming. Fuery."

Fuery nodded and took Roy from Havoc to find a place for him to rest.

Breda looked down but Havoc put his hand on his shoulder.

"Despite the harsh words, you know he's only doing what's best. I mean, we all know you have a phobia of dogs and from what you told us happened, you have every right to be a little afraid still."

"It was just… he still seemed the way he was before."

"I wouldn't expect him to be the same."

Breda nodded when the door to the basement opened up and Maes, Hawkeye, and Alphonse ran in, slamming it back. They all held the door with their bodies and something thudded on the other side, a long somber howl echoing from the other side.

"What the hell was that?"

"A failed experiment." Riza said. "One of them got out-"

"Heeelllppp! Plllleeeaasseee!" it wailed on the other side of the door. "I want… I want my mommy… Help me… help me find my mommy…"

"Is that a child?" Havoc said.

"No, it's a really young sergeant." Alphonse said in all seriousness. "He wasn't that old when he was assigned here."

"We flashed the flashlight on him and I recognized him from the last entrance ceremony." Maes said as the door rattled violently. "I remember thinking he was way too young to join and someone mentioned he qualified and passed the tests."

"I want to go home."

The shaking stopped and one of the wolves picked his head up from taking a little nap.

"I… I just want to go home. I won't cause any trouble." He said softly from the other side of the door.

The wolf barked and a couple others turned to the door as well. Havoc watched them as Riza and Maes walked over and Alphonse locked the door, putting a chair in front of it.

"Are you just going to leave him there?" Havoc asked.

"Colben." He looked over from studying the condition of the professor. "Those experiments: are they dangerous?"

Colben looked at the door where it rattled again and lifted his eyebrows.

"That one is… he's… different."

"Why?"

"He's the only one that didn't change physically." Hasch said from the cot on the floor, he himself oddly calm.

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you let him out?"

"We didn't let him out. He was in a cage like everyone else and did it himself." Alphonse said.

Edward watched a few wolves walk over to the door and sit down at it, watching it with great interest as the door rattled again. A couple of them whimpered. Shiro Kiba was also watching them, her tail twitching in unsettlement.

"Major Joseph Nestlinjer. He is the only dangerous failed experiment. The serum didn't change his body but his mind. He has the mind of a wolf, the instincts of a wolf, but he can talk and reason like a man." Hasch pointed to Colben. "He made him."

Colben looked confused and Maes was about to throttle the professor.

"Are you telling me we went down there and got your notebooks when it was his experiment?!" he screamed, pointing to the door.

"You don't understand…" Haschvagan said, wincing as he sat up on his elbow. "Major Nestlinjer attacked Colben."

"Shiro Kiba said that Colben was only a small child when he was created."

"As was Shiro Kiba." The professor snapped. "Shiro Kiba and Colben were cubs when I got them and discovered Shiro Kiba's ability but Colben- Okuro didn't seem to be able to do anything. That was fine… until Major Nestlinjer turned into a failed experiment. Okuro was a young pup when the major found him and practically mauled him as if he were a wolf. When I came back from getting help I found a helpless child on the ground instead of a pup."

"Then why-"

"Only because Okuro was a wolf already did it work. The major's saliva turns animals into humans but… it also turns humans into animals." He groaned, putting his hand on his wound. "I tried to extract the saliva to make it work for me but all it did was cause problems and the major was quite violent."

Shiro Kiba barked and Alphonse turned to where she was looking.

"Wait-"

It was too late and the wolves moved the chair, causing the door to burst open. Major Nestlinjer fell through and seemed a little paralyzed for a second. The wolves who helped him out walked a little closer when he reached out and grabbed one of the paws. They yelped and then howled when he broke their paw. The others ran away as a red wolf walked out a little.

Shiro Kiba ran in front of everyone and growled as Major Nestlinjer got up. He cracked his neck and his fingers and then turned to look at everyone.

"I want… to go… h-home." He was shaking but looked determined. "Fix me."

Shiro Kiba growled at him and looked over.

"I'm not going to hurt anyone." He looked at Colben and laughed a little. "It worked… if… if it worked on you then… then it could…"

"Your saliva doesn't work that way, Major." Maes said, his hand hovering his gun. "The professor said it only works on pure things."

"N-no it doesn't… it… it works on everyone. The guy beside me… He… he's human. I think… I… I'm not very smart anymore but I know I work. I know…"

"Don't trust him. His mind isn't stable." Haschvagan said.

Major Nestlinjer looked at Hacschvagan and his lip lifted angrily at him.

"He kept me down there because I was the cure."

"If you're the cure, then prove it." Havoc said. He pointed to the pack of wolves. "Pick any soldier and turn them back."

"Did you not just see him break that-"

"His foot was already broken!" the major yelled. "You broke it when we got here and I put it back. You're trying to make me- me-" He suddenly screamed and squatted down on the floor holding his head. "I can't think! I'm trying so hard but I can't think!"

"Take your time, Major." Alphonse said softly.

Nestlinjer quieted for a moment, rocking back and forth and whimpering. Finally he seemed to gather himself and stood back up, wiping his face, shaking.

"I attacked that little cub because I was delirious and scared and something inside of me made me want to make sure he knew I was dominant. He threatened me and I just snapped but… then I found out what happened and tried to bite others to see if it was true but I was told I was a danger. So they locked me up down there, saying that my mind was taken over by the wolf and- and maybe it is but I know I work. I just want to go home and I know my men want to go home… I just want to go home…"

"Then prove it to us." Maes said again.

The major rubbed his arm. "I… have to bite them."

A little red wolf scuttled over to the major and barked up at him. He looked down and turned his head.

"Petty Officer Shables?" He barked again. "Um… o-okay…"

Orwen sat up and waited as Major Nestinjer swallowed hard.

"I… can't just…"

"Do you need motivation?"

Orwen growled and suddenly attacked the major, trying to get at him. As if he turned into a different person, the major growled back and they fought for a second when he bit into Orwen. He yelped in pain and the major watched him for a second. Orwen whimpered and suddenly fell over. Shiro Kiba growled angrily at the major.

"You're a liar!" she snarled.

"Wait… look…" Edward said, hobbling up to her.

Everyone watched as the fur seemed melt away from Orwen and he grew about three feet. Pale white skin patched through the thick red fur until the only hair left was long on his head, glistening scars and blood on his skin.

"Holy shit…" Havoc whispered.

"It worked."

A shot suddenly rang out and everyone turned to find Roy holding a smoking gun as Haschvagan howled in pain as he held his stomach. Everyone looked at him as he turned them, his black eyes no longer black but a golden yellow color.

"I want anyone capable of doing so to harvest Major Nestlinjer's saliva and make a serum to counteract the professor's. I want my subordinate back in his human state as soon as possible and then these men returned to their families."

"Sir, some of the men don't… they don't remember."

"Then they can find new memories. No one turned will be left as they are."

Haschvagan began to laugh. "Except you."

Roy growled a little. "And you." He looked at Major Nestlinjer. "How are you a major at such a young age?"

"I know I look young but I'm twenty-seven, sir. I rose the ranks quickly."

"I see. Most likely you won't be able to be the same either."

"I- I know."

"And I want this thing to be kept in the military for experimentation of their own. They can do whatever they want with him for all I fucking care. Someone subdue this bastard and take him away from here. When everyone is accounted for and free, burn this bitch to the ground. Got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Hawkeye, please call for back up."

"Is there a reason why you shot him?"

"So he can suffer more." He seethed at the professor. "We have a doctor who can keep him live, right?"

"I… don't' think I can." Dr. Quincy said. "He's bleeding quite profusely."

"Sorry about that. Here, let me help."

Roy walked over to Havoc and grabbed his lighter.

"Hey!"

"I need this."

He walked back to Haschvagan and poked his finger in his blood, drawing something on the back of his hand. He then flicked the lighter up and cauterized the wounds closed, causing the professor to scream in horror and pain as he thrashed about.

"That should do it."

Dr. Quincy looked shaken and Roy turned to Riza.

"What."

"Nothing, sir."

"That's what I thought. Do what I asked."

He walked off and Riza released the breath she didn't realize she was holding.

ah, the colonel is back and taking care of business. although he might not be quite the same as he was before... and haschvagan is a dick a lick...