Amaud took a defensive stance when he saw Roland enter the fray. One of the few alchemists he had no extensive knowledge of. But of course, everyone had heard the rumors... In a flash of blinding light, electricity crackled out of the Lightning Alchemist in a broad, deadly arc. Hotblooded saw what was coming, and immediately did the only thing he could. With a swift snap, the nerve connections to his own automail leg came off, and even as he screamed and collapsed his knee, he tossed the glorified lightning rod in the way.
The assault was extremely weakened by the tactic, but one could only do so much against that much power. Lightning surged through Amaud's body, distorting him as he twisted and contorted from the pain. His face locked into a mix of anguish and rage as the assault continued.
When at last it was all over, smoke rose from his coat as Amaud struggled to raise himself even slightly off of the floor. As Anton freed the Lieutenant Colonel, Octivir realized that he was fully outmatched. "Damn it. I really thought I had you guys; but, maybe I can try one last--"
Amaud clapped, and slammed his hands into the roof.
[hr]
Alchemic transmutation is a process composed of two major steps: destruction, and reconstruction. That is, an object is broken down, and then reformed into something new. Some alchemists, with proper skill and the correct technique, stop at the destruction phase of transmutation. This is what happened to the roof of the warehouse; it practically exploded with released energy, rubble and dust dropping out from beneath the entire present company's feet, and that of Amaud's as well. They all dropped down back into the factory they had been in moments before, but in a new area. It was a smaller room, with only a few shelves on the walls, with a metallic walkway looking over it. All of them fell into the lowest level of the room, where boxes stuffed with food, blankets and other basic necessities cushioned their fall.
[hr]
They laid there in silence for a few minutes, the shock preventing anyone from moving. Then, the blue sparks of alchemy lit up the area, and the first to emerge from all the debris was Amaud, clutching a wooden crutch to stand. Blood dripped down his forehead and lower lip, and one eye was clamped shut, blinded by some stray bit of shrapnel. He held his fractured ribs with one hand as he gazed at the still room. "Maybe now you'll all shut up long enough for me to speak."
He began to talk as the others came to, hearing him and seeing him. "My nephew, Eric. Eight years ago, he died of pneumonia. His parents were gone, and they had left him to me to take care of. It was like my own son was dead. I did everything I could to try and find a way to save him, to bring him back. But nothing worked." There was an odd sort of serene smile on his face. Happiness in resignation. "No human could defeat death. But then, I was approached by an individual all know: Fuhrer King Bradley. He told me that the military was working on a way to bring back the dead, told me that I could be the head of the division testing it. Eric could be the first one they revived. So, of course, I accepted. But what I didn't realize was, their experiments weren't ever about bringing back the dead. It was all about this--"
He clapped his hands, to illustrate his point.
"In the end, I never got my nephew back; my son back. But I had learned from my mistakes; I had discovered the Truth. The Truth to everything, to Bradley, to the military, everything they had planned. So I took the research notes of my project, and everything else incriminating I could get my hands on, and I ran. Bradley doesn't want me because I stole that information; he wants me because I know the Truth. It's that everything you know is a lie; about Ishval, about the military, all they really want is lambs for the slaughter!" He clapped his hands again. "And this?! The secret to this power all along... was human transmutation. It's a sin, but they don't care! They WANT us to do it! It just gives them more human sacri--"
SKLRTCH!!
[hr]
"a-a-ah-haaaa-ahh....?"
As the others looked on in shock, Amaud was frozen in place. Four long, spiked tendrils shot through his back and out the front. One through the heart, one through each arm, another through the spine and the final through his mouth. Blood oozed from each wound as the Hotblooded Alchemist drew his final breath. His body convulsed, and finally collapsed to the ground as the tendrils retracted. The blood-slicked spikes flew back into their original shape, the fingers of their owner.
A tall, curvaceous woman with long black hair and thin eyes, in a long black dress. Leo's heart sank as he saw Solaris murder his target in cold blood, and with a power than no human being should even possess.
She stepped forward into the light provided through the broken roof, and at once the red tattoo on her chest was visible and pronounced to everyone present. Those who looked close realized that it was the symbol known as the Ouroboros. Her red lips smiled as her heel drove itself into Amaud's broken back. They heard a bone snap.
"My, my. You always seemed so harmless, Hotblooded. To think you'd nearly give away all of our plans like this... I suppose credit is due where it is due. But that doesn't make you any less dead, now, does it?"
