Chapter 15

(-Padma-)

None of this made any sense.

There had never been a reason to doubt Gillian before. Doubt could not exist in Padma when it came to Gillian. That would mean that she couldn't trust her, and Padma trusted the older girl with her life.

So…why now? What was going on?

Confusion overcame Padma, making the small girl more insecure than ever. Gillian had taken her to meet the people she claimed helped her. She also claimed they were trustworthy. Then why had she told Padma not to speak to them? To stay in Gillian's sight no matter what? The people themselves…they unnerved Padma, although they showed no hostility. They completely ignored her. What's more, they didn't pay much mind to Gillian either. They listened to her explain how Padma knew the locations of two other chimeras and they set out immediately in several cars with Gillian and Padma leading the way.

Padma had been nervous, but she wanted to help in any way she could. Gillian said this was a good thing. So Padma led them to the area she knew Serah was staying in. She pointed out the correct house, and for some strange reason, Gillian did not want to go in. She had smiled and said, "Let these guys handle it. Besides, we gotta catch up to that other girl, right? Don't want her to slip away." Padma didn't think this to be a good idea. What if Serah felt threatened by these strangers? Even if they had good intentions. It would have been best to go in with them and explain the situation. Instead, they remained in the car and left to the hotel where she'd seen Serah's friend. Many of the men had stayed behind, and in the back of Padma's mind she wondered why they needed so many people. The same went for the rest of the people Gillian and Padma were with. There had to be at least eight…

When they arrived at the hotel, Gillian opted to remain in the vehicle, saying that Padma should as well. As the strangers around them prepared to go in, Padma gave Gillian an incredulous stare, "Why Gillian? Wouldn't it make Kayla feel better if there were others like her with her? She might get scared…"

Gillian gave an unconcerned wave, "Relax, little bit. She'll be okay. These guys, they're adults. They don't like kids getting in on their business. They like to do things their way. You know how silly grown ups can be." She rolled her eyes, as if annoyed.

"But…that's never mattered before," Padma mumbled to herself. Gillian had never been the type to listen to adults when she didn't agree with them. Yes, Gillian could be respectable when called for, but in a situation like this she was more likely to brush aside the adults' orders and charge in where she felt she was needed. Why was Gillian being so submissive to them? Why was she acting weird?

Padma watched as the team of people went to the hotel, for some reason splitting up to go in each entrance. Why would they do that? Were they trying to find the room faster? Padma had told them which room it was. It seemed a little over the top to her. These people took things too seriously. They appeared like average, run of the mill pedestrians. If she didn't know any better, looking out the car window, she would mistake them for being normal customers intending to get a room at the hotel. Something still felt off to the twelve year old.

A minute had gone by, a tense minute of silence, and Padma had come to a decision. If Gillian wasn't stepping up to the plate, then she would. Again, the strangeness of the situation made her queasy. It was like their roles were suddenly reversed, Gillian being the cooperative one and Padma wanting to push the line of obedience. But Gillian had said they were good people, right? What's the worst that could happen? All Padma wanted to do was make this easier on Kayla.

"Padma?!" Gillian choked out as the younger girl slid out of the car and began walking across the street to the hotel. None of the strangers had stayed behind to stop them, though Padma didn't know why they would need to be stopped. Were they worried about regular people seeing their chimera features?

Padma had reached the sidewalk when Gillian grabbed her elbow to bring her to a halt.

"What the hell are you doing? Get back in the car, you idiot!" Gillian yelled at her. This was new. Gillian didn't usually yell at her unless something was really wrong. It made Padma feel so guilty, thinking that she had done something bad. She wasn't sure where Gillian's sudden frustration was directed towards. She sounded nearly…desperate with worry. Why was she worried? So confusing…

"I know what you said, but Kayla's going to be scared! She's like us. And if strangers suddenly came up to me, I don't think I'd even wait to hear what they had to say. What if she panics? What if she runs away before we can help her?" Padma pleaded with Gillian by giving her a begging stare.

Gillian took a calming breath, glancing nervously around, maybe for people who might overhear them, "I told you not to worry, Padma. They know what they're doing. I know you want to help but the best way for you to do that is by waiting patiently in the car."

Padma couldn't believe that. For the first time she couldn't believe Gillian. Things weren't adding up like they should be.

Padma took off in a run, hanging a left around the corner of the building. She wouldn't go through the front entrance, too nervous about the amount of people in the main lobby. No, she would go through the back or side door if there was one.

"Padma! Damn it, stop! Get back here right now!" Gillian yelled at her, chasing her.

Something in Padma snapped. She stopped in the side alley and, not wanting to beat around the bush any longer, she rounded on Gillian, "Why? Tell me that much, Gillian. You're acting weird, and those people are acting weird. What's going on? What is it you don't want me to see?"

Gillian froze, her mouth slightly open and her onyx eyes unable to tear away from Padma's blood red ones. Hesitation was written all over her, something Padma was unused to seeing in Gillian. Gillian always had a plan, an answer, a reason. Why was she looking like she was searching for an answer? Didn't she already know?

Don't lie to me Gillian. Don't lie, don't lie, don't lie. I can't take it.

Words had yet to form on Gillian's tongue when Padma's ears twitched at a loud sound from above them. The mouse chimera glanced up, her eyes unintentionally seeking the familiar window belonging to the room Kayla was staying in. Another muted thud reached her ears as she saw a body be tossed into the window pane.

Padma's eyes widened in horror, recognizing the figure to be that of a chimera. It was Kayla, and she had dodged a grab made by one of the men they had come here with.

"Sh-she's fighting them!" Padma gasped. "Gillian, she's scared! I told you she wouldn't wait to hear them out!"

Gillian glanced up at the window, frustration rolling off her in waves. She tugged on Padma's arm, "Come on, Padma." She tried to pull Padma away but Padma was having none of it.

Wrenching out of her grip, she made a beeline for the side door, "We've got to help her, Gillian!"

"Padma, no!" Gillian called out to her. Padma didn't wait for her, knowing that Gillian would follow her in. The problem was that Gillian wanted to keep Padma away, not go in and help. Why? What was she afraid of?

Padma rushed up a flight of stairs and ran out into the second floor hallway with Gillian hot on her heels. She ran down the hall and zeroed in on the only open doorway and skidded to a halt there.

She had only wanted to help. But…now Padma saw why Gillian wanted to keep her away. Gillian didn't want her to see… If only Padma knew what she was actually seeing. All she knew was this was wrong.

Padma took in the destroyed room, fear skittering down her spine in a near painful series of shudders.

"No! Let go!" Kayla screamed, her inhuman eyes darting around in fright, cat ears slicked back against her head, half her face covered in blood. She wasn't much older than Padma herself…

Padma's head shook slowly back and forth as she stared in a trance, her long white braids swinging from side to side.

They held Kayla down, smothering her cries with a cloth. Soon, her flailing limbs starting losing their strength, her eyelids fluttering closed.

This was wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.

"Padma!" Gillian hissed at her, trying to drag her away, but Padma couldn't move nor look away.

"Hey, what are you doing here?!" one of the men asked, having spotted them.

Padma broke out of her trance, barreling into the room and into one of the men holding a now unconscious Kayla, "Stop it! You're hurting her!"

What was this? What was going on? Padma did not know. She hardly knew what she was even doing. She just wanted everything to stop.

The man grunted as she knocked him off his feet, his head hitting against the overturned coffee table painfully.

"You little freak," the man seethed, staggering to his feet.

Padma stood there, her legs refusing to move as she looked up into the angered face of a man she instinctively knew could and would kill her.

He grabbed her throat, picking her up easily and causing her to squeak a high pitch sound. Before she could begin to miss the air he was choking out of her, he threw her into the small bookshelf. An acute pain in her shoulders blossomed and she whimpered. The guy tried to kick her but she rolled out of the way and onto her feet. She wanted to run but they still had Kayla!

"Let her go!" she yelled, her words coming out more like a sobbing plea. She picked up a wooden chair and swung for one of the guys near Kayla. The legs were caught, the man barking at the others to stop Padma. One of them backhanded her, forcing her to lose grip of the chair. Another one pulled out a handgun.

In hindsight she never should have tried to fight them. She was not a fighter. She hated violence and the sight of blood made her stomach churn. Every bone in her tiny body was against confrontation. All of this made her want to hide. And she was against eight grown men to boot. But then…what kind of person would she be if she didn't try? Fighting was okay, when it came to fighting for something worth protecting. Gillian had taught her that much.

"No!" Gillian roared, grabbing the guy's arm and causing the shot to miss its mark. Barely a sound was produced by the gun. It had a silencer then? Padma could barely register any of this, so focused on Gillian was she. "You said you wouldn't hurt her. You swore! I did everything you wanted!"

"We promised not to kill her," the man with the gun corrected. "But when she gets in our way, she becomes a liability. Kind of like how you're being." Then he ordered his comrades, "Now subdue that pesky chimera already."

"No!" Gillian growled, her voice distorting as her face changed shape. A muzzle formed and her eyes began glowing a terrifying shade of yellow. Her razor sharp teeth bit down into the junction where shoulder met neck, the sounds of flesh tearing almost as sickening as the splash of blood that went flying. The guy's screams filled the air.

The rest of them hurried to his rescue, attempting to pull Gillian off of the screaming man. None of them were making any headway, Gillian's jaws refusing to unclamp from her prey. Nothing besides Gillian herself could make her release him, so it confused Padma when Gillian suddenly let go with a sharp gasping growl. The men gripped her tightly, pulling her off to the side and she could only stumble back in their hold.

Now that Gillian was facing her, Padma could see why she had let go. The front of Gillian's shirt was swiftly becoming soiled in her own blood. The guy…he must have shot her…

"Miss Ana's not gonna like this," one of them said. Padma couldn't tell which one, her vision tunneling. All she could really focus on was Gillian.

Gillian, her face and muzzle covered with dark fur and blood, lifted her head to meet Padma's gaze. Her yellow eyes screamed at her with regret and fear. "Run, Padma!" she gasped out desperately. Those yellow eyes faded to black once more. Then they closed for what could be the last time. Gillian now hung limp in their grasp.

Tears spilled from Padma's eyes, her heart thundering in her chest. She spun on her heel and raced for the door, ducking under one of the men's lunge for her. They couldn't catch her; she was too fast.

Her feet pounded into the floor. She didn't look back for fear of what she might see.

(-Ed-)

The whole room gaped at the girl who had surfed down the stairs on the back of one of the intruders. Everyone except Elysia, that is. Young Elysia had no idea what was going on and was crying into Edward's shoulder, gripping his shirt fiercely. Ed absentmindedly patted her back as he gawked at the grinning newcomer. Her posture radiated the confidence of someone acquainted with fighting, the knocked out guys at her feet telling him that she was adept in combat.

That's the girl from the library, Ed realized with a start. Add that fact to her fighting abilities, he concluded that she must be affiliated with the military in some way. A regular soldier? A State Alchemist maybe? Even so, that didn't explain her presence here. Or who the unconscious shmucks were. Guess he'd have to ask her. And by ask he meant demand answers.

Before he could say anything, Gracia exclaimed, "Serah?!"

"Serah…?" Ed muttered, the name ringing a bell. Come to think of it, Hughes and the rest had mentioned something about a girl staying with them. That would explain why the name sounded familiar, except they had never mentioned her by name.

"Where'd you come from?" Hughes asked, his words being heard just fine due to the lapse in gunfire. Ed didn't like how quiet it'd suddenly become.

Serah rubbed the back of her neck and shrugged, "Oh, I've been chilling upstairs for a couple hours now."

Hughes blinked, "Upstairs?" They apparently weren't aware their guest had returned at some point.

"Are you alright?" Gracia asked, scanning her over attentively.

"Yeah, they got the jump on me, but I don't think they were expecting me to fight back," Serah smirked, thumping the toe of her shoe into the side of one of the men's bodies. Her rich, brown eyes surveyed the room and zeroed in on Hughes. Her face fell, "Oh God, Maes! You're bleeding!"

"Well look at that," he glanced down as if just noticing his wounded shoulder, obviously teasing her.

Serah balled her fists and growled, "Stop being a smartass while I'm being concerned over your health!"

"Serah! Don't use those dirty words in front of my little girl!" he gasped, appalled.

"Give it a rest, you guys!" Ed barked, standing up and letting Elysia down on her feet beside him where she clung to his leg. He needed his hands free in case he had to fight or use alchemy. "We've got bigger fish to fry."

"Ed's right," Alphonse agreed, causing all eyes to fall on him. "Someone had to be shooting from outside. There's more where these guys came from."

Serah's expression evened out, then she nodded, "You got a point, um…armor dude." Al went to correct her and she interrupted him, "Proper introductions can wait. We've got some butts to kick. So what should we do, Maes?"

"First things first, we need to get a call out to-"

Serah let out a sharp shriek. Turns out the guy she had been nudging with her foot earlier was not as unconscious as they believed. He had stabbed the red-head in her thigh with a knife, the silver blade digging in deep. Al moved to help her, making the mistake of crossing in front of the window and the shooter's line of sight. Shots rang out and Al's helmet went flying off. In the same moment, another armed intruder appeared from the staircase to attack Serah from behind.

"Damn it!" Ed seethed in irritation. Hurriedly, he clapped his hands and transmuted the table to cover both of the dining room's windows, affectively blocking the shooter's view. Hughes took advantage of this and darted over to help Serah, shooting at the large man who had Serah in a headlock just as a headless Al was knocking the guy on the floor out, and this time for sure. Meanwhile, Gracia rushed across the room to sweep Elysia up into her arms. With Elysia in safe hands, Ed joined the fight as another intruder descended the stairs.

"Just how many of you guys are there?!" Ed grunted, disarming his opponent. He gave two swift punches that sent the masked man stumbling backwards. With his gun knocked across the room, the man resorted to a nasty looking knife.

"Okay then, have it your way," Ed said. The knife's blade cut the tips of blonde hair as Ed leaned out of reach. The swing left the guy open, allowing Edward to spin upwards and drive the heel of his boot into his opponent's temple, sending him to dreamland.

Ed shook his head. Why did the bad guys always have to choose the hard way? They never learned.

He turned around to see how his friends were faring. The rest of the enemy had been taken care of and everyone was staring at Serah (excluding Al who was tying up the unconscious men). Ed couldn't help but stare either, watching the girl coughing and massaging her sore neck as she leaned back against the archway that led into the dining room.

Her coughs subsiding, Serah glared down at the blade lying on the hardwood floor that had originally been embedded in her thigh, "Oh shit, this knife better be sterilized. I am not in the mood for getting an infection and my leg falling off." Noticing the stares, she asked, "What? It's a legitimate concern."

That's not what they were staring at her for. But how could they tell her it was because she had sprouted animal ears and a bushy tail while they weren't looking? As it was, all Ed could do was gape.

Finished with his task, Al stood up and faced the group. He saw for the first time Serah's new features while Serah got an eyeful of Al's empty armor. Needless to say, they freaked out.

"AH! WHAT ARE YOU!?" they both screamed at the same time, pointing at each other.

"This is an unexpected development," Hughes commented, appearing stumped by the turn of events.

"Are you saying you didn't know she was a chimera!?" Ed raged. How could he be so ignorant of who he lets stay in his house?

"Chimera? Where?" Serah asked, glancing around the room in surprise.

"YOU'RE THE CHIMERA!" Ed, Al, and Hughes shouted at her in exasperation.

Serah jumped back a step at their loud screams. She squinted one eye as if in pain, rubbing her ear while she complained, "You people trying to make me deaf or something? Use your inside voices for…God's…sake…" Their words having caught up to her, Serah's eyes widened. Her hands scrambled for her head and, to her dismay, she found the ears there. "You…have got to be shitting me."

"I wish," Hughes said seriously. He scratched at his head, "Alchemists, gunmen, chimeras… And my family's stuck right in the middle of this freak show."

Serah winced, her ears twitching sporadically and reminding Edward of how Kayla's own ears would betray her emotions…

And that's when it dawned on him who Serah really was. To think, Kayla's missing friend had been right under Hughes's nose this entire time.

"Well, I'm no more a freak than he is!" Serah snapped, waving towards Alphonse. "What the fuck is he anyway?"

"Hey!" Ed growled, his ire making his irises flame in protective fury. "That's my brother you're talking about!" Friend of Kayla's or not, that wouldn't stop him from teaching her a lesson.

"Please don't be frightened," Alphonse begged, attaching his helmet into place. "This is how I am."

Despite Al's best intentions, Serah inched backwards and stared at him, creeped out, "How are you talking? Or alive for that matter?"

"Why don't you leave the questions to us," Ed said, his tone leaving no room for negotiations.

"Alchemy," Al answered her.

Ed practically face planted on the ground, "Alphonse! What'd I just say?!"

Al poked his forefingers together, "Sorry, Brother."

Great, now the serious moment had been killed. Ed huffed, "As I was saying, explain to us what a chimera from the fifth lab is doing here?"

"She said she was looking for a friend, that they had gotten separated," Hughes told him, observing Serah in a new light. "I wouldn't be wrong in assuming that this friend of yours is also a chimera, would I? No wonder you wouldn't let me help you."

Serah scowled at them, "Of course I wouldn't! The first thing you'd do is ship us back to some military lab! And why not? We're just monsters now anyway! Lab rats with no purpose other than to fulfill your sadistic little experiments!" She probably would have said more, had her yelling not irritated her abused throat. Coughs wracked through her body and she winced at the pain.

Her outburst had surprised them, causing Al's sudden question, "Do you really think of yourself like that?"

"Don't all of you?" she asked, her voice rough as she fought to stifle her coughs.

Ed's face darkened, "No. Because if I thought of you as a monster, then…" Flashes of Nina, Kayla, and finally his own brother entered his mind's eye. Alchemy had changed each of their lives. It's what alchemy did; it changed things into something else. But those base elements were still there at the center. Humanity, the soul… Even when most of Nina's mind had been lost, it was still Nina.

His gaze lifted to Serah, determination setting in his features, "If I thought of you as a monster, then I'd have to think of my brother that way too. Alchemists can transmute things into different forms, but you still have your soul, don't you? That's what makes us human."

Serah hid her face behind a curtain of red hair. The fire had simmered down, giving her a apathetic appearance, "…Then what will you do with me?"

Hughes looked to Edward, "Well Ed? This is the assignment Roy gave you. He's going to want to hear about this."

Ed had a feeling that if he said he'd bring Serah in to Mustang, the girl would take off. They could more than likely catch her, but that's not what he wanted to do. Just because they were chimeras didn't make them monsters, nor lab rats.

"…You've got a friend out there who needs you," Ed finally concluded, causing Serah's head to jerk up as she stared at him with wide eyes. "She still needs you to find her."

Serah's shoulders stiffened, "No one mentioned my friend's gender…"

Damn it. He'd slipped up.

"We ran into her a few days ago. Said her name was Kayla." It was the truth. Not all of the truth, but the truth nonetheless. He didn't want to reveal anything to Hughes. Knowing him, he'd run off to tell the colonel.

Of course, Hughes wouldn't let things go that easily, "There's something more isn't there?"

"Why would you say that?" Ed shrugged nonchalantly. The older man wasn't buying it and neither was Serah.

"You know where she is," she accused. Anger flooded into her body, making her shake. "Tell me where she is! I swear, if you've hurt her I'll kill you!" she screamed, lunging at Edward and grabbing him by the collar of his coat. He was so startled that she managed to push him into the back of the living room couch.

Edward struggled against her, "Back off! I didn't-"

That's when one of the living room windows exploded inward. Something grazed his cheek and instinct controlled his body, his hands grabbing hold of the infuriated chimera and bringing them both down to the floor behind the relative safety of the couch.

More gunfire followed. Hughes shouted at everyone to get down. Gracia shushed Elysia who was screaming and crying in bewilderment. Ed's ears rang and he shook his head to center himself. He met his brother's gaze from where he hovered protectively in front of Gracia and Elysia. They needed to end this before someone got killed.

Beside him, Serah covered her animal ears to block out the sharp sounds. She'd forgotten her anger towards Edward in the midst of the attack and was now focusing on morphing into a full human form. The distinctly fox-like tail shrunk until it disappeared underneath the bottom of Serah's thin, orange-brown jacket. Not even Kayla, who was the most successful blend of animal and human that Ed had seen, could fully revert into a human visage. The alchemists at the fifth laboratory had succeeded in creating the perfect chimera. Ed briefly wondered how much this cost, how many lives were lost in the process, the pain and torment the victims must have suffered.

Ed shook his head again. Now was not the time to contemplate such things.

"Well Mr. Alchemist?" Serah yelled at him over the rain of bullets. Although she didn't attack him again, the animosity was still there and going strong. "Aren't you gonna do something?"

He gritted his teeth, "Maybe, if you'd get off my back so we can focus on who the real enemy is. Agreed?"

Serah frowned, but ducked lower when a shot hit the cushion above her head. "Alright, alright!" she conceded. "But when this is over you're taking me to Kayla!"

That'd been the plan anyway, but he let her think she'd won. "That's if we can make it out of here in one piece!"

"Don't jinx us now, Ed!" Hughes told him, returning fire from behind the staircase when he could.

Ed deliberated on what to do next. They needed to take out the shooters positioned outside. That meant someone would need to go out there. He wasn't doing any good indoors, so it might as well be him.

"Hughes, cover me!" Ed shouted, performing a fast crabwalk from the couch to the staircase before the man had given him the go ahead. In seconds, he was crouched behind the stairs with Hughes, and surprisingly enough, Serah had trailed behind him.

"Give a little warning next time!" Hughes berated him, scanning them over for bullet wounds as his hands deftly slid in another clip of bullets into his gun.

Ed smirked and announced, "I'm going outside to say hi to our unexpected visitors. Hey Al, hold the fort down while I'm gone."

"But Brother!" Al protested.

Hughes's glasses slid down the bridge of his nose and he stared at Ed in disbelief, "Ed, I know you're insane but you're not stupid. I can't let you go out there alone."

"Lighten up Hughes. I do this sorta thing all the time," Ed shrugged like it was no big deal. It was true. More times than he cared for he'd been shot at by enemies. Usually, he'd have the reassurance that Alphonse would be there to have his back, but in some circumstances they had to split up. Someone had to stay inside to protect everyone. Hughes was injured and Ed didn't want to take the chance in leaving him alone to defend everyone, so Al should stay behind. Ed could stay here and let Al go handle things, but Ed had a better chance of sneaking up on the shooters since he was smal-….a less obvious target.

"Besides, he's not going alone," Serah said as if this were obvious.

Ed's eyes widened in alarm and he shook his head sporadically, "Forget that. No way am I letting you come with me."

Her eyelids formed into dangerous slits, "What, can't trust me? Afraid I'll attack you as soon as your back's turned?"

"That's not it," Ed denied honestly. "You'd be in the line of fire."

"Hellooo, already in the line of fire here," she pointed out.

Ed suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, "How about this then? They're here for you, and I'm not about to give them what they want."

Her jaw dropped, "What the hell makes you think they're here for me? There are more reasons for them to be after you, Mr. State Alchemist."

"Don't talk to me as if you know me!" Ed growled, thoroughly annoyed. How could someone timid and quiet like Kayla be friends with a girl so loud and headstrong? "Yes, I work for the state, but I'm well-known for being a good guy, I'll have you know."

"Yeah, when you're not blowing up stuff," Hughes muttered, his words almost being lost in the cacophony gunshots.

Ed bristled. Why could no one appreciate his good deeds? He'd only blown up a building once…

Or twice…

Or eleven times…

Serah smirked, "Bet you they're here for you, Mr. Alchemist."

"It's Edward," he emphasized, getting tired of her nickname for him. "And a thousand cenz says they're here for you." They had to be. It couldn't be coincidence that a human chimera was here and shady guys with guns showed up.

"You're on." Then she turned to Hughes, "Hey Maes, lemme borrow a thousand cenz."

Hughes sweatdropped, "Why are you betting if you don't have any money?"

"Honey!" Gracia called. They all turned to the other group where they had moved behind the dining room wall. Gracia was giving Hughes a worried, questioning look as she held their daughter in a comforting embrace.

"Just stay where you are!" he told her. "I'm sure one of the neighbors have called the police by now. If we can just wait it out…"

"Forget waiting. These fuckers tried to strangle me," Serah said, darting down the hall leading to the backdoor.

"Serah!" Hughes shouted after her, nearly standing up in his desperation to keep her from going outside.

"I got her!" Ed said, rushing after the idiot. This girl clearly had a death wish.

He found her hunkered down at the back door attempting to use a towel she must have snagged from the kitchen as a makeshift bandage.

"I told you, you're not going! Get back to the others," he hissed at her, watching her fail miserably at wrapping her thigh where her knife wound had soaked the thigh of her pants in blood.

"Hey Edward," she said his name mockingly. "Why don't you shut it? I'm going and nothing less than throwing me in a cage will stop me."

"Don't tempt me," he seethed. "You're already injured, you moron. You'd just get in the way anyway."

"You know what happens to people who underestimate me? They end up with broken bones and bruised egos. I can take care of myself."

"Obviously," Ed deadpanned. She said that…as she was epically failing to bind her thigh.

He sighed and silently snatched the towel from her. Before she could pitch a fit, he transmuted the bulky towel into something more manageable.

"Here," he offered the cloth bandages to her.

She didn't take them right away. Her body taut, she stared at them with apprehension.

He frowned, "They're not gonna bite you."

She glanced at him. At his statement, Serah regained her composure and quickly took the wrapping from him. "Right. Alchemy sets me on edge, okay?" she told him begrudgingly, accomplishing her task much faster now.

Ed would have laughed, had it not been for the meaning behind that sentence. He'd be antsy around alchemy too if he'd been subjected to experimentation by it. He wondered if Kayla had an aversion to alchemy as well but couldn't recall a time when he or Al had performed it around her.

"There. Good as new," Serah smiled wryly after she tied a knot to keep the bandages in place. "Now, let's go kick some ass."

"I don't-"

"Uh-uh, not having it," she interrupted, rudely he might add. "I know my way around the fighting block too, so don't have a cow. I can help you. This injury is no excuse; it's a flesh wound. There are at least two guys out there and they have the advantage because they know where we are. But if we can work together we can get the drop on them."

"Oh yeah? And just what did you have in mind?" he asked, mostly peeved but a little curious too (which he hated himself for by the way). And then there were the whispers in his head telling him to transmute her to the floor so he could get on with things already. It sounded awfully tempting.

Serah tapped her nose, "My animal instincts are good for something. They're probably hiding in the bushes and trees surrounding the house. If I get outside, I can sniff them out or hear them long before you figure out which direction the bullets shooting through your body are coming from."

The jibe at his skills was not unnoticed. But somehow, a plan already began to form in his mind. He was crazy for letting himself even consider going along with it…but bullet holes did not sound promising.

"Fine," he relented. "But you wanted this. Not me." Ed ushered her out of the way and, to his surprise, she complied, allowing him to open the door a crack and peek out. From what he saw, his plan should work…

"Well?" Serah asked impatiently from over his shoulder.

"I'm going to take their sight from them."

She paused, then let out a chuckle, "You sadistic bastard."

"Not like that," he rejected whatever bloody scenario she had in mind. "I'm going to distill the dirt on the ground to form a cloud. That way they can't see us coming."

"Yeah, I know boys are gassy, but can you really let one rip big enough for that?"

Ed's cheeks reddened as he snapped, "I'm going to use alchemy, you dolt!"

Serah blinked several times, then looked up in thought, "And here I thought I'd been called everything in the book. Dolt's a keeper."

"Let's do this before I regret it," he grumbled.

It's been like...what, over a year since I updated this? Man, times flies. I hope there are still people out there reading this. I know of one person, TunnelDragon, who messaged me last week telling me to get up off my butt and update this. You have him to thank because I don't think I would have updated until later on if it weren't for him.

It's been a year, but my plans for this story haven't been forgotten. In fact, I recently talked with Rokuchuchu and some of my plans have changed for the better! Now, let's see if I can stick with Forsaken long enough to actually write them out. I hope to get another chapter out within the next couple of weeks, so here's hoping!

...you know, looking back on this chapter, it almost seems like it's going to become an EdxOC story too with him and Serah. I actually thought about it, like what kind of character she would be most compatible with, but then I thought, "Hey, she's probably a lesbian." I toyed with the idea for a little bit, but I don't think it fits her personality. I think she'd like this certain type of guy, and I was surprised to realize who fit that certain type of guy. Jean Havoc! XD I think they'd hit it off really well, or is it just me? She always really likes or hates someone right after she meets them, and I can imagine that she's not sure what to think of Havoc, and then that throws her for a loop.

Last thing. If you guys were a chimera, what animal would you want to be blended with? Okay, that's it for me. See ya later my furry friends! Now scurry off and go feed a duck or something.