Into the Malice Box:

Simone’s Notes:

Redemption is a concept common to several theologies. It is generally associated with the efforts of people within a faith to overcome their shortcomings and achieve the moral positions exemplified in their faith. In some forms of Buddhism, redemption is inherent in the discipline of giving up attachments to desires. While other religions view the satisfaction of certain desires as the mark of salvation, Theravada Buddhism teaches that the extinction of desire is the prerequisite to salvation. While other religions hold up eternal life as the consequence of redemption, the redemptive goal of Theravada Buddhism is release from any and all forms of life. While other religions provide assistance to man in his quest for redemption, Theravada Buddhism teaches that in this quest one can rely on no one and on nothing but oneself: neither gods nor priests, neither church nor sacraments, nor faith nor works are of any avail. Other disciplines are not so desolate, and "each Buddha and Bodhisattwa is a redeemer", assisting the Buddhist in seeking to achieve the redemptive state. The assistance rendered is a form of self-sacrifice on the part of the teachers, who would presumably be able to achieve total detachment from worldly concerns, but have instead chosen to remain engaged in the material world to the degree that this is necessary to assist others in achieving such detachment. In varieties of Buddhism that include ideas of reincarnation, this relationship may be predestined from earlier life-experiences.

Mustang drove over to hospital with puzzling thoughts from this morning. Lt. Oldman and the Malice Angel was the same person? It didn’t make sense. Mustang shook his head of this. He used not believe in anything but alchemy. But now, he just didn’t what to believe anymore. The Malice Angel’s dead body before him sealed it all.

I need to fix this mess before it gets even worse, he thought. Mustang finally made it to the hospital. Visiting hours had just started for the day. Mustang got out of the car and walked into St. Mary’s Touch Hospital.

“Good morning sir,” a first year nurse greeted him.

“Good morning,” Roy said back.

“Back to see Shepherd again?” she asked. The general noticed the tone in her voice. He raised an eyebrow at her.

“Yes, why?” he replied. The young blonde-haired woman looked around.

“Another nurse is seeing him right now,” she said. Mustang would have normally dismissed this claim and left. But, he had known when the nurse came to see the boy and tend to him. The last check-up should have ended minutes ago.

“Any reason why she would be running over time?” he asked. The nurse shrugged at him.

“Come to think of it,” she went on. “I don’t think I have seen this nurse before in my life.”

“Is she new?” Mustang asked.

“I can’t be too sure,” she replied as she made an uncertain face. Mustang had all of the answers that he needed from what he gathered.

“I see,” he replied. Then, he headed right for Alex’s room. The young nurse began to panic.

“Sir!” she cried. “Where are you going?!? You’ll get me in trouble! Get back here!”

“You didn’t see anything!” Mustang yelled back as he hurried down the hall. He made it right to the Lamb’s room. Faerie stood over him with a needle in her dainty fingers. She looked up when she heard footsteps enter the room. Mustang mentally prepared to battle as he caught his breath. Faerie gave him a little smirk.

“My, my, my,” she said. “You just saw something you weren’t supposed to see!”

“What the hell are you?” the general asked. “And what are you doing with Shepherd?”

“Aw, does this boy mean so much to you?” she questioned.

“Step away from him now!” he snapped. The man held up his hand to snap his fingers. Faerie chuckled.

“Don’t you know that there is oxygen in these? You don’t want to kill this darling boy, do you?” she mocked him. Mustang gritted his teeth.

“Since you seem so desperate to save your precious lamb, I’ll make you join him!” Faerie boomed. Then, she took the needle in her hand and threw it right at him. Mustang smirked as he tried to dodge the attack. But then, the needle just vanished. The general looked all around him.

“What the--?!?” he asked. Then, the man felt a sharp pain his neck and crashed to the ground. He still had a hateful look in his eyes at assailant. Faerie tittered at him.

“Oh, that wasn’t any regular needle,” she said. “Enjoy my special blend and sleep tight.” Mustang struggled to stay conscious, but the heavy black veil came down anyway.

Moments later, Mustang slowly drew his eyes open. Wood as far as the eye could see. He tried to sit up and look around. Okay, the man was in a wooden room right now. This place looked like something out of a little girl’s doll house. There was a shut door at the far end of the wall. Roy tried to steady himself as he rose up to his feet.

“What is this place?” he mumbled.

“The core of a prison,” a small voice replied. Mustang looked up and saw Alex sitting at the low table all alone. He looked sickly and underfed as usual. Mustang squinted his eyes for a better look.

“Alex?” he asked. “What are you doing here?” The boy blinked at first.

“General Mustang? Is that really you?” he asked.

“Yeah…” Roy said back. Alex didn’t speak at first. Then, he broke down into laughter.

“Oh my goodness!” he said. “I am so happy to see you! I thought I was going to lose my mind being alone in here!” Mustang looked at him still confused.

“Okay… where are we?” he asked.

“In my mind,” Alex explained. “It’s really confusing.”

“So, you’ve been here this entire time?” the general asked. Alex shook his head.

“Not in this particular spot,” he said. “It’s a long story.” Mustang took another look around him.

“Right, right,” he said. “How exactly do we get out of here?” The glow from the boy’s face slowly began to drain.

“There isn’t a way out,” he said.

“No way out?” the man asked. “That’s just not possible. There’s a door right there.” He walked over to the back wall and tried to open the door.

“That doesn’t work,” Alex said as Mustang turned the knob and nothing came. “I tried that already.” Mustang took and step back and snapped his fingers. Nothing. Not even a little spark. The general tried again. Still nothing. A puzzled look came onto his face.

“What is with this door?” he asked. A female’s voice echoed through the air. Both boys looked up. A younger version of the Malice Angel floated before them.

“I told you silly,” the girl’s voice said. “You can’t get out of here!” She looked and noticed Mustang studying her closely. She cocked her head at him.

“Oh, who are you?” she asked ever so child-like. She looks so familiar, he thought. Mustang narrowed his eyes at her further. Suddenly, a light bulb shot on in his head.

“It’s you!” he exclaimed. Mini-Malice still stared at him.

“What about me?” she asked.

“It’s been you all along!” Mustang shouted. “You’re the one that’s been causing all of this mess!”

“What mess?” the girl asked.

“Don’t give me that!” Mustang shouted. “Everyone’s guilt, misery, Alex being here, and the suicides! It was all you!” Mini-Malice laughed aloud.

“Why yes!” she cheered. “It was me! It was me all along!”

“But why?” Mustang asked with gritted teeth. Mini-Malice giggled.

“I just wanted to play!” she said. “Mommy said I could!”

“Mommy?” Mustang asked.

“Yep-yep!” Mini-Malice cheered. “Mommy loves my sisters and me!” The general gritted his teeth at her. But then, an idea crossed his head. He just might have the perfect way to end this mess and get him and Alex out of here in one swipe.

“Oh really?” he challenged.

“Yeah!” Mini-Malice almost shouted. Mustang smirked at her.

“Well then, why are your sisters dead?” he asked. The girl paused and looked at him.

“What?” she asked.

“I saw their bodies in front of me this morning,” he said.

“They are not!”

“Oh, yes they are. They held a black kiss card in their hands as proof.”

“Liar!”

“Looks like your mommy had no use for them after all. She didn’t really love them!”

“You’re lying! Shut up!”

“Okay, if I am lying, attack me!”

Mini-Malice froze there, staring at him. “Uh… Uh, well…” she mumbled. Mustang smirked at her.

“Oh, I see it,” he said. “You can’t, can you?”

“Of course I can!”

“Then do it already!”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t want to!”

“More like you can’t!”

“Shut up, I can!”

“Then do it already!”

“Uh… well…”

“You can’t do it!”

“Yes, I can!”

“No you can’t because you’re just merely a little puppet for your mother to throw away!”

“NO! THAT’S NOT TRUE!”

“But, you’ve known that all along haven’t you? Why else would you take your misery out on this boy and others on the outside?”

“No, that’s not true! I… I…”

“You what?”

Little Malice just sank down onto the floor in tears. And with that, the door behind them opened wide. Mustang turned to Alex and helped him out the door. The lamb went quietly out the door. Mustang followed close behind.

“Don’t leave me!” Mini-Malice whimpered out. Both boys ignored her as the door slammed shut behind him and walked down the stairs.

When Mustang opened his eyes, he found himself back in Alex’s hospital room. He looked around and found himself sitting in a chair. The man found himself perplexed.

What just happened?, he thought.

“Oh good, you’re awake,” a female’s voice said. Mustang looked up in a jump. Ella stood inches away from him with a smile on her face.

“Hey there,” she said. Mustang blinked at her.

“Ella?” he asked. “What happened?” The deity stepped back a little bit.

“Faerie tried to trap you in the same prison as Alex here,” she said. Mustang looked up and saw Alex still in a coma in his bed.

“I see,” the general said.

“Yep,” Ella replied. “You crushed the Malice Angel’s power and trapped her into her own prison.”

“And Alex?” Mustang asked. The deity gave him a little smile.

“Just give him some,” she said. And with that, Alex slowly opened his eyes and looked over at them. Mustang stood up and walked over to him. The lamb gave him a little smile.

“Hey,” he whispered. Alex looked over and saw Mustang looking down at him. A little smile inched onto his face.

“You saved me,” the boy whispered.

“Shhh,” Ella whispered. “You just get some sleep now, okay?” Alex nodded at her.

“Okay,” he whispered. The boy slowly shut his eyes to go to sleep in a normal way. He was out of danger—for now.

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