I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, but I do own Sapphire, the Emerald Alchemist, and other original characters.

The light had just begun to turn pink with the nearing dawn when there was a loud knock at the door of the dorm. "Fullmetal, get up. Mustang has a new mission for you," someone called sleepily from outside.

Al turned towards the door from the far wall. "We'll be right out, Havoc!" he said cheerily. He turned to the lump underneath the covers of the bed next to him and called, "Brother?"

"Mrrrph!"

"Brother, wake up. Havoc's here and he says Mustang has a new mission for us."

"Havoc can kiss my—"

The door flew open with a bang, causing Ed to gasp and flump out of bed.

"ELRIC BROTHERS! GOOD MORNING TO YOU BOTH! WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MORNING THE WORLD HAS BESTOWED TO US!"

A shirtless Armstrong stood in the doorway besides an exhausted-looking Havoc. "Well, Armstrong, it isn't morning yet if the sun hasn't risen," he snapped.

"I second that," mumbled Ed from his cocoon of blankets."

"Mustang told me to get you two up. Don't think that I enjoy waking up at thee crack of dawn to wake your asses up. So…get your asses up." Havoc glowered and strode away, Armstrong following close behind and saying something about the love watching the sun rise being passed down through the Armstrong generations.

"Brother, I think it would be best if we woke up."

"And I'd think it'd be best if you shut up."

Al took a step back as if he had gotten slapped. Ed pulled himself off the floor and rubbed his remaining arm. "Aww, Al, you know I didn't mean it. I'm just not a morning person."

"I know. Let's get ready and grab some coffee before we meet with Colonel Mustang."

Fifteen minutes later, the pair was sitting in Mustang's office, Al with his hands folded in his lap, and Ed with his clutching on a cup of military-brewed coffee.

"Sorry for waking you up, boys," Mustang said briskly, sipping his own coffee. He made a face. "they still haven't improved the coffee since I became a State Alchemist. Anyway, Fullmetal, I need you and your brother to go out and investigate a lead for me. Ten years ago, we had a very intelligent alchemist quit suddenly from his job here at Central. His name was the Emerald Alchemist.

Edward's ears perked up. "The Emerald Alchemist…I've heard of him."

"Have you? Well, we haven't heard anything from him after he ran off. Yesterday, however, we received an anonymous phone call from what seemed like a teenage girl. I have the recording here." Mustang pulled a tape recorder from underneath a towering pile of paperwork and pressed PLAY.

"Hello, this is Central Command. How may I help you?" one of the many secretaries of Central said on the tape.

"Hello? Please, help me!"

"What's your name? Who is this?"

"Please get me!"

"OK, calm down and tell me what's wrong."

"He's sleeping, please save me now!"

Mustang paused the tape and said, "At this point, the secretary began to trace the call with Hawkeye."

"Who's sleeping? Your father? Boyfriend?"

"The Emerald Alchemist, he's asleep and I escaped, I'm free but—oh God no!" There were pounding footsteps, a struggle, and a bloodcurdling scream before the dial tone cut them off.

"She sounded so scared," Al said quietly.

"Yes, she did," Mustang replied. A worried look escaped his stoic stone face. "I will admit that this isn't just about finding the Emerald Alchemist and his lab—which I suspect he has set up in his days since Central—as it is about finding the girl."

"What if this call was a hoax? It sounds pretty fishy to me," Ed drawled, leaning back in his chair.

"Well, even if the call was made by a bored girl with her friends, I'd like to investigate anything to do with the Emerald Alchemist. The call was triangulated to a block a few miles south of here. It was an old abandoned warehouse. That's where I believe he's set up his lab."

"Why all the fuss, though? What did he even do?"

Mustang gave Edward a long look out of his eyebrows. "The fuss is that before he quit, a private found a notebook of his that contained a few hastily scribbled notes and diagrams. They explained how to use plant energy to create a Philosopher's stone."

When the duo reached the warehouse, the previously clear sky began to darken with angry-looking clouds. They looked up the face of the building. "Great," muttered Ed. "Let's hope it doesn't rain. I don't want my hair to get wet." With that, the sky opened up. Al shrieked and ran inside, Ed on his heels.

The foyer was spacious but dark and dank. "Smells like something died in here," the Fullmetal Alchemist said, pinching his nose.

"And it's kinda dark…oh, why didn't we bring a lantern?" Al lamented. Ed, the loving brother he is, quickly clapped and placed his hands on the ground, pulling a crafty lantern out of the concrete floor. It illuminated the expanse of the room. The sign of hasty alchemy showed on the floor and walls, indicating that someone had quickly or carelessly remodeled the place.

"You don't think that he's gone, do you, Al?" Edward asked worriedly.

"Well, let's investigate the entire place before we come to that conclusion."

Al noticed that there was a dark hallway off to the left and gestured to it. As Ed hurried ahead with the light, Al stayed close behind. The hallway's walls were full of signs of alchemy, not to mention cockroaches and spiders that frequently burst out of cracks in the wallpaper. Ed shuddered. "Who'd want to set up a lab in this craphole, anyway?"

"One who'd want to keep hidden," Al answered as they came across a door. He tried to turn the knob, but it was locked.

"I got this, Al," said Ed, kicking down the door with a crash.

All shook his metal head. Always the assertive one, he thought, pushing the fallen door aside. When he looked up, he laid his eyes on what was very obviously an alchemist's laboratory. The room was lit by a multitude of lanterns scattered around tables that were stacked ceiling high with books and isolated vials of liquids. One side of the room was reserved for plants—there must have been thousands of them, all in pots and all of them large. Vines creeped up the wall and across the ceiling. Al walked over to one that must have been a sunflower—but the center of the flower head looked a lot like—

"Al!" He spun around to see a door behind a stack of books burst open and before he could cry, the vines lashed out, tying Ed and Al up t0ightly.

"Who are you and why are you in my laboratory?" a long-haired, lanky man in a green, sweeping coat hissed from the doorway. One arm was outstretched, green alchemic tatoos encircling his hand. He was using alchemy on the plants, the brothers realized. The other arm clutched the collar of a teenage girl, who stared off into space.

"You're the Emerald Alchemist!" Ed shouted, struggling against his green binds in futile. The man grinned widely and with a flick of his hand, tightened the vines. "Yes, I am. I see my reputation precedes me. But who are you two? Disturbing my research, how rude."

The girl suddenly looked up and around crazily. "Someone's here? Hello? Did you get my call?"

The Emerald Alchemist spun her towards him and began to choke her. "You CALLED people when you escaped? How dare you!"

Al, who was not one to raise his voice, felt fury rise up in him. "Escaped? So, is she your prisoner? Let her go!" he yelled, tearing away from the tendrils and barreled towards the man. He quickly pulled out a gun and pointed it at the metal boy. "Take another step closer and I'll pop you!" Al stopped in his tracks and glance at the girl. If he let the alchemist shoot him, it could bounce off and hit the poor girl, who continued gazing around the room with widened eyes as if it were pitch black. She's blind, Al realized in shock.

"Al, don't risk it!" Ed shouted. "Let's just get out of here and get Mustang!"

"Oh, no," the Emerald Alchemist said warningly, shaking the gun. He addressed Al," Yu and your little friend aren't going anywhere!"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING LITTLE YOU TREE HUGGING HIPPIE?" In a burst of green leaves and scarlet fabric, he clapped, transformed his automail into his usual blade, and flew towards the alchemist. There was a metallic ping as the blade bounced off the gun, sending it flying across the room. The other alchemist turned his hand around, revealing an alchemic tattoo with leaves in the center. He brought his hand down in a sweeping wave. Following it was a wave of sharp, thorny branches that tore at Ed's face and chest. Blood dripped into his eyes and he fell to the ground, bellowing. "You bastard!"

"Brother!" cried Al, crouching down to help. A flash of green drew his eyes towards the girl. She stood with a cord wrapped around the Emerald Alchemist's neck. He was flailing and scratching at the cord with bulging eyes.

"Die you scum," the girl shrieked. "Die, die die—"

"No!" Al lunged towards the girl and tore her away. She started to scream and spasm in his arms. While the alchemist gulped for air, Ed wiped the remaining blood from his eyes and, with a sickening crunch, laid a blow with his automail arm to his head. He fell to the ground, unmoving.

"Let go of me!" the girl wailed. She attempted to lay blows to Al's head and face.

"Relax, you're safe!" Ed said.

"We're here to rescue you!" Al added.

She slowly relinquished her fit. "Who are you?"

Al set her down and answered, "I'm Al Elric. This is my big brother, Edward."

"You can call me Ed," he said, extending his hand.

"Umm, brother?" Al said warningly. Ed, staring stupidly at the girl, brought down his hand when it dawned on him, I'm surprised he didn't realize sooner, Al thought, shaking his head with a clank. She had been staring unseeingly throughout the entire fight.

"Why don't we get going?" Ed offered, pulling handcuffs out of his coat pocket and handcuffing the unconscious alchemist. "Al, could you…?"

"Sure brother." Al hiked the man over his iron shoulder.

As Al settled the handcuffed alchemist on his shoulder, Ed saw the girl's eyes flutter, and lunged to catch her as she crumpled. Poor thing, he thought. He scooped her up and held her like a child. She was so light—too light for being fifteen or sixteen, as he'd thought. Her limp, thin black hair fell over her face. The whole image made her look like a bedraggled rag doll.

With a sudden start, he said, "Um, Al, would you get the lantern? My hands are a little full." Al nodded and took the lantern. The two began to trek out of the freakish lab, the light casting a golden glow onto the face of the pale girl. That's when Ed noticed that, like the Emerald Alchemist, she had a hint of tattoos on her neck, mostly hidden by her long-sleeved shirt. He pushed a sleeve up and saw transmutation circles on her forearm. "Al, she's covered with tattoos!"

"What kind of tattoos?"

"Alchemic ones." Ed remembered Scar and his tattoos that enabled him to practice alchemy. "Do you think she can do alchemy?"

Al thought for a moment. "You know how many alchemists use tattoos to preserve their research? What if this is the case?"

Ed balled his fists in anger. "If that's the case, this alchemist is one sick bastard to do that to a girl!" he glanced down at the teen in his arms. Not only did it seem as if he starved her, her skin cried for sunlight. Who knows how long she was held captive for, and what he did to her that whole time…

Ed shuddered as the brothers reached the exit. "The nearest payphone is about a block this way," said Al, pointing. "We'll have to call the Colonel right away and tell him everything."

"Not her."

Al looked at his brother in surprise. "But why? She might need medical attention."

Ed looked down at the pile of skin and bones. "Because, Al, they'll arrest the Emerald Alchemist, confiscate his work, and destroy the lab. And they'll lock her up somewhere, whether it be a hospital or orphanage. I'm pretty sure she doesn't have any family. And I'm totally sure she doesn't want to be locked up again."

"What would we do with her?"

Ed thought hard, biting his lip in concentration. "We'll take her to Granny Pinako and Winry. She'll be safe there. Trust me, Al," he begged .They approached the pay phone and Ed, with some difficulty (the girl was still in his arms), dialed Mustang.

"Colonel Mustang," he said curtly from the phone.

"Hey, it's us."

"Fullmetal! Did you get anything?"

"Yeah, we found the Emerald Alchemist. We got him handcuffed and unconscious. His lab was there, and you'll probably wanna check it out. It was bizarre."

"And the girl? Was she there?"

Ed paused and looked back up at Aphonse before answering. Al nodded. "No. There was no one else there."

A long silence permeated the air as Ed waited for Mustang to speak. Oh. Alright. Thanks anyways, Fullmetal. We'll get some men out there right now."

"So, Colonel, I think me and Al are gonna take a little vacation, go see Winry and Pinako and take a break, it's been crazy at Central, sooooo we'll drop Emerald here off at Central and be off so see ya!" He promptly hung up before Mustang could finish his "Fullmetal!"

"Trust me, Al," Ed said again quietly.

Al knew the real reason that Ed wouldn't hand the girl over. He associated her with Nina. And since Ed couldn't protect Nina, he vowed he'd protect everyone else.

After dropping the rogue alchemist unceremoniously at Central, they headed to the train station. The man at the ticket booth gave Ed an off look; one would be normal to be suspicious at the sight of a teenage boy carrying an unconscious girl through a busy train station.

"I'm a State Alchemist, the Fullmetal Alchemist. Just give us three tickets to Risembool," Ed said crossly. The man nodded, though continued to look alarmed. They exchanged money and tickets, and, in half an hour, the boys and their companion were on the way to Risembool.

Ed had laid the girl on the seat in front of them, the complementary pillow underneath her head and his coat draped over her ice cold body. He sat across from her on Al's side. Any sign of movement from her wouldn't escape his eyes.

"Have you thought about what Granny Pinako and Winry are going to say when we get there?" Al asked, careful to keep his voice low.

Ed turned, put his feet in Al's lap, and yawned widely before answering. "I'm sure that they'll be so glad to see us that they won't even mind. Don't sweat it."