Fullmetal Alchemist: Lost and Bound

Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. Hiromu Arakawa does. I only own the OC characters.

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Salazar was out of breath by the time he reached Dr. Martin's study. All the while, his thoughts kept tumbling over each other. It was most definitely the military who had showed up at their doorstep. How they had found their exact location was beyond him, but he knew that was the least of their worries. When he burst through the door and slammed it shut behind him flustered, he found the other three chimeras had beat him. Martin was having a heated discussion with Roxy at that particular moment.

"I told you that you needed to cover your tracks! Your carelessness has led the military right to us!" the doctor screamed.

"We did our best, Martin! It's not our fault that the military actually has some smart people in it. We want the Stone as badly as you do, but I told you it was a bad idea to kidnap someone as important as a State Alchemist. The military would have been on our ass either way!" the female chimera sounded like she was losing her patience.

"I don't want or need any lectures from you, you wench!" Martin retaliated. Glancing at Salazar who had just entered the room, his expression became firmly set. "Salazar," he addressed, dangerously calm. "You've arrived. Tell me, where is the Fullmetal Alchemist?"

Salazar swallowed. "He's safe in his room, Martin, you don't have to worry," he replied.

Martin, who was standing behind his desk, moved out from behind it, running a hand through his hair. "We have no choice but to use the alternate escape route. We have to go and retrieve him now. We're leaving."

"But we don't even know if that's safe. If we do escape, where will we go? We'll be constantly on the run from the military. It'll be better if we just leave the runt here," Salazar reasoned.

Martin stopped just in front of Salazar, his face inches away from the chimera's. "He's too valuable to give up right now. We're on the verge of achieving the dream we always wanted. Do you want to throw that away just because of a little setback?"

Salazar found that he couldn't stare into that intense gaze for very long. He looked down at the floor, hiding his eyes. Martin moved past him. "I didn't think so," he threw back over his shoulder. He stalked out the door, the chimeras following after him.

When they reached Ed's door, the doctor stopped in front of it. "Wait here," he ordered. he shouldered his way into the room, leaving the chimeras by themselves. Salazar knew that this would be his opportunity. "Guys, over here," he waved them into a huddle, facing away from the door. "There's something I have to tell all of you."

Without hesitation, Salazar told them the secret of the Philosopher's Stone. He explained why Edward would want to keep the Stone from him at all costs. When he finished, everyone was just as shocked as he was.

"I never liked the little bastard, but I understand," Roxy agreed. "We can't let him stay in Martin's grasp for much longer."

"Chung doesn't get it. Would Martin betray us? He's done so much for us," the monkey-like chimera asked.

"He only rescued us so we could do his dirty work for him," Salazar explained. "I'm sorry, Chung, but he's not who we thought he was."

Chung visibly sagged. Bimbo spoke up next. "How are we going to get the little guy away from Martin? He'll never let him out of his sight," the bronze giant pointed out.