Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or the characters.
Please read and review, your feedback helps me to write better stories.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Hounding the Truth
Their first thoughts were very simple; breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out. They knew instinctively that this was the first step in living. Living, living was new to them, but it was something they craved more than they could currently comprehend. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out. Once they had a rhythm the action became instinctive, something they could do without thinking.
With that out of the way they took the next step. They started to move. As they wiggled on the ground they slowly became aware of the dimensions of their body and of their limbs. Once aware of their limbs they started to test how they moved. With their range of motion figured out they flipped and squirmed around, eventually standing up, wobbling and struggling their way across the stone paved ground. They didn't have a grasp of time yet, but after what seemed to be longer than the rest of their existence they were able to move around. It took a while longer to perfect what most people took for granted as an ability but it was less time than a regular child would have taken.
With yet another step taken they became aware of something, a deep hunger. They sniffed the air, smelling something just increased their appetite and drew them towards it, slowly stumbling through the dark streets. They didn't know what it was they were going for, but they knew instinctively that they had to have it, to consume it. Their pulse quickened as they approached, all of their senses heightening in anticipation. Their mouth started to water, saliva building up. A steady noise started to fill their ears, urging them forward.
Soon, their prey was right in front of them. On instinct and without hesitation they leapt into the air and onto their prey. They got the first bite before the prey even knew what hit them. The beast let out a strangled cry as their throat was ripped to shreds, the gurgling sound music to their ears. Fresh blood spurted out, decorating them. Several drops touched their tongue and they knew they had what they wanted. They drank of the red liquid, the taste of iron a delicacy they could get addicted to. As the blood flowed out the tempo of the heartbeat that filled their ears changed. At first it quickened in the last spurts of fear of the prey's final moments, the blood spurting out in time to it. But as the blood and life ran out so did the heartbeat, quieting to nothing.
Even with the heartbeat gone they continued to drink, slacking their hunger and thirst, finally feeling alive. Thoughts, emotions and memories flooded their mind, almost too quickly for them to take. They let up a scream into the night to relieve the pressure on their mind. With their hunger sated and their mind relieved briefly, they ran off into the night to find somewhere to rest and process everything. As they ran away they heard the sounds of people going outside to investigate. They heard the sounds of screaming as the body was found. Their mouth curled up into a smile, satisfaction filling them at their first kill.
Claus walked through the streets of town, her gloved hands resting in her pockets. She let out a yawn, tired from the all-nighter she'd just pulled. Numbers, formulas and various symbols floated through her mind.
"Hey Claus! How's it going?" Claus looked over to see Mr. Braun paused in tilling his field and waving to her. She took a hand out of its pocket and waved back.
"Doing just fine!" replied Claus. "How's the farming going?"
Mr. Braun smiled at her and held up his hoe. "Going great now that you repaired my hoe! The thing's as good as new!"
Claus grimaced. "Be careful with that! It's not good as new, just repaired with alchemy. I'm still a beginner, so make sure you don't overdo anything!"
"Hahaha! Sure thing!" Mr. Braun went back to work and Claus continued walking, her mind now filled with reviewing how she'd repaired the hoe. In theory the whole thing should have been reconstituted perfectly and easily. In practice she could have easily built it back wrong, accidentally building a flaw into its structure. She gave a large sigh, worrying about it wasn't going to make it better. Everyone she'd shown it to had said the hoe was perfectly fine, but still it was hard to not worry the first time something was done. She'd never repaired anything prior, and the process still took a long time for her. Maybe if she was a skilled enough Alchemist to pass the state exam she'd have been sure of her work, but she doubted she could pass at her current level.
"Aw man…" muttered Claus. "Edward passes the exam at twelve and here I am at seventeen barely fixing up a hoe. Some people have all the talent…" She gave herself a self-deprecating smile. She knew intellectually that when Edward had passed several years ago he'd been way more talented and experienced than she could ever hope to be. He'd been practically born into it from the biographies about him she'd read. He'd already been on the level of their town's local alchemist Majhal when he'd visited all those years ago as just a kid before taking the exam.
Claus strolled off of the dirt road into a graveyard. She walked past rows of gravestones, knowing by memory where the ones she was interested lay. She stopped first at her elder sister's, a victim of the madness that had gripped Majhal all those years ago. She'd been killed as he'd tried to bring back his love, Karin. Karin's soul had refused to bond to any of the dolls he'd made due to her still being alive, just without her memories and stranded in another town. Claus muttered a small prayer for her sister and continued walking through the graveyard for her true destination.
"Hello Karin," greeted Claus, kneeling down by the gravestone. "How are you doing?"
The gravestone was silent, not responding to her question, but then Claus would have been surprised to get a response anyways. Karin had always drilled into her that death was not a domain that could be tampered with by humans, the result was only failure and harsh divine punishment. Claus didn't believe in divine will or punishment, but she didn't doubt that something terrible would happen to her. She'd seen Edward after all, she'd heard what had happened when he'd tried to bring his mother back to life. It hadn't stopped the thought from crossing her mind when Karin had died a year ago, but it had only been for a brief moment before she'd banished it.
"I've been keeping up on my studies like you told me to. I've expanded into subjects that would make your head spin!" Claus giggled briefly before sobering up again. "Honestly, I don't know how you were still able to have faith in alchemy after everything that happened with you and Majhal. Or why you insisted on being buried next to him. I guess love is a strange thing after all. I wonder, will I ever feel anything like that? Not that I have time for that I guess. Alchemy is to be used for the people and I need to study a lot to be able to help any people. I did repair a hoe recently though, and it seems to be working properly too! Everyone wants me to repair their tools also but I've put them off, insisting I want to make sure everything is fine before I continue. Majhal spent his whole life studying, researching and experimenting. There's a mountain of books and material in his home. I'm glad you went through and organized it all for me. You weren't an alchemist but you were smart, and you'd listened to him when he spoke. You were the best assistant and the best teacher I could have ever had while learning."
Claus choked up with emotion there and fought to keep it down. She'd gotten further than last time, but she knew it would take her a while longer to finally clear everything she wanted to say to Karin. She'd gone through a similar process with her sister. Except in that case she'd only been able to start the healing after seeing her sister's killer killed himself. Karin had been devastated by Majhal's death and comforting Karin and learning Alchemy with her assistance had distracted them both. Claus's father was a nice man and a good father, but he wasn't someone she felt comfortable talking to about these sorts of things.
Claus stood up and released another sigh, wiping the tears from her eyes with her long sleeves. She stuck her gloved hands back into her pockets and walked slowly out of the graveyard, allowing her eyes to wander around the plots. So it was with some surprise that she just stopped short and stared at what lay behind one of the gravestones.
"Is that a little girl?" asked Claus aloud in surprise. She walked over and knelt down by the girl. She was young, probably no older than ten, Claus wasn't very good at guessing ages though so maybe even younger. The girl was completely naked, covered only by several layers of dirt and her long brown hair that looked like it had never been cut. It also looked like it had never been washed as it was dirty, greasy and in one part near her head, caked and matted with something red. Claus stood up and looked around the graveyard but saw no one else around. Kneeling back down she tentatively reached out a hand and tried to shake the girl awake. "Hello? Are you alive? Can you hear me?"
The girl was unresponsive, even as Claus started to shake her a little harder. Her body temperature was distressingly low but Claus thought she saw her chest rising and falling as she breathed. Claus was starting to get panicked, suspecting that the stuff on her head was blood from a head wound. Not sure of what to do she scooped up the girl in her arms, surprised by how heavy she was for her size and carried her out of the graveyard. As she walked quickly back down the road she was getting more worried as the girl didn't wake up. She didn't encounter the farmer from before but she did encounter a large group of people standing around by the edge of town looking at something as she approached. One of the women, Ms. Ziegler, turned to her and gasped.
"Oh my! Who's that you have there?" she asked, drawing some attention of those standing around her.
"I don't know," admitted Claus. The town wasn't that large and she knew everyone who lived there. This girl wasn't one of them. "I found her in the graveyard, I think she's hurt. I was just taking her to the doctor. What's everyone doing standing around here?"
"Haven't you heard?" asked Ms. Ziegler. "There's been a murder! Konrad apparently got a little too drunk the other night and just passed out on the street. This morning he was found dead! It seems a beast or something ripped out his throat!"
One of the men, Max, stepped forward, looking at the girl in Claus's arms and then up at her. "This is a day for strange things apparently. You find a strange girl and Konrad dies without a single drop of blood being spilt!"
"Wait, he didn't bleed? With his throat ripped out?" asked Claus, confused. She'd studied a little about human bodies when researching alchemy but even common sense told her that was wrong.
"Well, there were a few drops around him," admitted Max, "but not nearly enough! It's like something drank his blood as he died."
Claus felt a chill go down her spine and felt the urge to investigate some more. She fought it down though, more concerned with the possibly dying girl in her arms. She started to walk off, ignoring all the stares she was now attracting from the people who had been gathered around talking about Konrad's murder. "I'll be off now! I need to get her to Doctor Lang now. Maybe you can tell me more later?"
Claus started to jog lightly down the street, ignoring the stares she drew. She was used to being stared at on a normal day anyways. A girl wearing men's clothes and studying alchemy was definitely a draw in town, even if everyone was used to it. She'd once heard someone comment that she got weirder by the day. Claus couldn't deny the accusation, and was amused by the fact that people didn't really know just how weird she was. The girl would just add to her infamy and give the town something to talk about when they weren't talking about Konrad's murder. The rumor and gossip mills were going to go crazy. Claus stopped in front of Doctor Lang's door and reached out a hand to ring the bell, the girl cradled in her other.
"Yes? Who is it? I'm not answering any questions until I'm done with the autopsy so you can just leave," said the doctor, opening the door. Doctor Lang was a greying man who was approaching the end of his middle years but he still stood up tall and strong. He stared, surprised to see Claus standing there instead of a horde of curious onlookers. "Oh Claus, what are you doing here? Who's that in your arms?"
"I don't know who she is," replied Claus. "I found her in the graveyard. She's alive but she seems to be badly injured, or sick or something, I don't really know. Could you look over her quickly?"
"Sure thing," said the Doctor with a small smile. "Just let me quickly change into something less covered in blood. Take her to the free bed farthest from Konrad. And throw a sheet over him if you can. I was in the middle of an autopsy, although I feel the cause of death is pretty obvious."
Doctor Lang let her in and she carried the girl over to a bed, laying her down gently. The girl looked so small and fragile, Claus wondered what tragedy could have befallen her. She walked over to Konrad and threw a spare blanket over his body. It was a pretty gruesome sight but she'd assisted Doctor Lang in operations and in an autopsy before a few months prior, so she was at least prepared for if not used to such sights. Over in another room she could hear Doctor Lang fussing around changing into something else.
"Ugh, I really should get separate rooms for this sort of thing," he muttered aloud. "It's not sanitary or pleasant for the sick person who wakes up. It's not often this happens, but I guess it never hurts to be prepared. I guess I could order Wilson to build me up another connecting room. Hey! Do you think you could build me a room with your alchemy? I've heard of alchemists who use their powers for construction uses after all."
"No, I don't think I'm at that level yet," replied Claus, looking around idly. "It's not really my branch of study either, you understand, right?"
"Yes, yes," replied Lang, walking out of his changing room in fresh clothes. "Healing people is my realm but occasionally they expect me to cut up someone! If there was anyone else anywhere nearby I'd tell them to go to them, but there's no one, so alas I'm stuck with such grisly jobs. Well, if you know anyone who is able to do so with Alchemy, you should refer them to me."
"Sorry, I don't," said Claus. "I used to know someone who might be able to do the job, but he's not really in this world anymore."
"Ah! Alas that is the curse of time…," muttered the Doctor. He looked right at her. "If I may ask, what is your field of alchemic study anyways? I don't think you've ever told me."
"Don't we need to check to make sure this girl isn't dying?" asked Claus evasively. Lang studied her critically for a moment before letting out a sigh and turning to look at the girl. He started to run tests, checking every part of her. He'd constantly mutter out different diagnoses and comments on her condition. Occasionally he'd ask Claus to fetch him something from a shelf or to mix together a solution. She did so without comment, observing him as he worked.
"Ugh, this girl definitely needs to bathe," muttered Doctor Lang. "I'm not sure she's ever done so!" she's covered in lice and ticks and things. You'll probably want to wash too since you held her. Start to heat up some water in the cauldron I keep in back. Use two of the large ones for water and a small one for tea."
"Got it," answered Claus, running off to comply. Once she was done with that Lang ordered her to prepare several different types of shampoos and sponges and to get a box of tea leaves off of a high shelf in preparation.
Once that was all done she walked back over to the table. The girl still wasn't awake and Claus was starting to get worried. "Is she going to be okay?"
Doctor Lang just shook his head. "I don't know. She seems to be in remarkable health and extremely sturdy for her age, but she's inflicted with several ailments and issues, I'll need to cure each one at a time. Ugh, I wish I had one of those fancy freezers I've heard about in central to keep Konrad there in better shape while I deal with this. Is that water ready yet?"
"Not sure, I'll go check," replied Claus, walking into the kitchen. There were several fires going but nothing was hot enough yet. "Damn, this is taking so long."
An idea occurred to her. She grabbed a large empty cauldron and filled it with water. She brought it into the washroom and filled up the tub with water. She continued doing so until there was enough water in the tub. Praying it would work, Claus drew an alchemic circle on the side of the tub with a piece of chalk that she kept in her pocket and laid her hands the circle. Running equations through her head she willed the circle to activate. In a flash of blue light the circle went to work and with a hiss, steam started to rise out of the tub. Claus stood up excitedly and stuck a hand tentatively into the water, finding it the perfect temperature.
"Yes!" yelled Claus excitedly. She ran out into the operating room to find Doctor Lang staring at her in surprise. She flashed him a smile. "I heated the water with alchemy, the bath is ready to go!"
"Good show!" complimented Lang. He lifted up the girl and carried her into the washroom. He stuck a hand in the water and touched the side of the tub. Smiling slightly he gently lowered the girl into the water, making sure to keep her head up. "There we go. Now get me the shampoos!"
Claus did as she was asked. Soon dirt, blood and bugs were washing off of her, revealing a skinny, malnourished young girl. Claus grimaced at what she saw but continued to follow the Doctor's instructions. They washed her, dried her and dressed her in fresh clothes. Her father had kept some of her old clothes as mementos and she'd grabbed up a purple dress from the pile. While doing so she made sure to purge herself and the girl's bed of any bugs or other pests, putting new sheets and clothes on. She tied her shoes, pulled on new gloves and headed back to Doctor Lang's.
Several hours passed and the local constable dropped by to get a report on Konrad's autopsy. Doctor Lang told the officer he hadn't finished but it was very likely some type of beast with sharp teeth had ripped out his throat and apparently drained a couple liters of his blood.
"Could he have been killed somewhere else and then moved?" asked Claus.
"Maybe," replied the officer, flipping through his notes. "There was no signs of a struggle but with how out of it witnesses said he was last night after drinking, that's not surprising. He could have been killed and bled somewhere else but we can't seem to find where that would have been. His clothes probably would have been changed also. And there were no signs of being dragged, so that theory would lead to multiple murderers, which is something I'd rather not think about. But I will take it into consideration and just pray there's a feral dog out there that just needs to be put down."
The officer left, leaving Konrad's body for the moment. Later as Claus and Lang chatted, waiting for the girl to break through a fever and wake up, the undertaker and some assistants came by and took Konrad's body. Claus busied herself with cleaning up the operating area, sterilizing everything. As she was finishing cleaning up she heard a groan and looked over to see the girl stirring.
"Hmm," muttered Lang, putting his hand gently on the girl's forehead. "She's still got the fever but if she wakes up we can see if we can get some food and water in her. Now go clean up so that you can help when the time comes."
Claus followed the Doctor's instructions, washing herself and changing into yet another new pair of clothes. She wasn't sure she believed Lang's theory that disease was caused by tiny, tiny little monsters that made a person sick and staying clean was a good way to avoid getting sick, but it did make more sense to her than curses and evil spirits.
Clean now, Claus walked back into the operating room to find the girl flailing in the bed, Doctor Lang trying to hold her down. He turned and snapped at her. "Don't just stand there! Help me hold her down before she hurts herself!"
Claus ran over and assisted the doctor in holding down the girl. She was surprisingly strong for her size and age and was more difficult to restrain than she'd expected but eventually they managed to do so. As she flailed she also screamed, most of it gibberish but there were some names in there too. "Daddy, please daddy, I'll help you daddy. Alexander and I will do anything daddy. Don't worry about your test daddy. Big brother Edward could help you daddy, he's very smart…What are you doing daddy? It hurts daddy. No, please stop, you're hurting me daddy…NO!"
The girl gave a frightful scream and her eyes opened, her large brown eyes filled with fear. For a few moments the girl didn't seem to see them standing there, holding her down, but soon recognition filled her eyes and they were once again filled with fear.
"Who are you!" yelled the girl, flailing madly against Claus and Lang. "Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!"
"Calm down!" yelled Lang, fighting to keep his grip. "You're safe here! You're sick and we're just trying to help you! Calm down before you hurt yourself!"
"No! No! No! No! No!" yelled the girl, tears coming out of her eyes. "Where's Daddy?!"
"Doctor, let go!" yelled Claus, releasing her grip before the girl hurt herself or them. Lang did so too, mostly without a choice as he couldn't keep hold of the girl. The girl bounded out of the bed and ran into a corner, cowering there. Claus held up a hand to hold the doctor back and walked slowly towards the girl. "Don't worry, we're not here to hurt you. My name is Claus, I found you and brought you to Doctor Lang over there. You're sick and we're just trying to help you get better. Now, what's your name?"
"I don't know," sobbed the girl, still not facing Claus.
"You don't know your name?" asked Claus.
"No!" insisted the girl.
"Do you know the name of your family so that we can bring them here?"
"I have a family?" asked the girl, turning to give Claus a confused expression.
"Of course you do," replied Claus. "You were just muttering something about your Daddy."
"I don't have a daddy!" insisted the girl angrily. "Daddy hurts me…"
"How did your daddy hurt you?" asked Claus gently.
"I…don't know…" admitted the girl. "I just know, daddy not good…"
"Then what about the big brother you mentioned?"
"I don't think I have a brother," said the girl, sounding confused and looking at Claus with a puzzled expression.
"You said something about a big brother though," said Claus, tired of getting nowhere. "A big brother Edward?"
"Big brother!" said the girl excitedly, her face lighting up. Then she became confused again. "Who is he? I remember the words big brother, and little brother, but I don't remember…"
"You don't need to remember right away!" said Claus, seeing how frustrated the girl was getting. "Just let us help make you better first and then we can find your family, okay?"
"You promise?" asked the girl, looking at Claus. "You promise to make me better and find my family?"
"Of course," replied Claus with a smile. She knelt down just a few feet from the girl and held out her hand. The girl looked at it briefly and then ran past it and gave her a tight hug. Claus wrapped her arms around the girl and hugged back. "I promise."
"That's good," replied the girl contently. She allowed Claus to lift her up and carry her back to the bed. Claus deposited her onto the bed and they separated. The girl smiled at her. "You smell comforting."
"Thanks," replied Claus with an awkward smile.
"You smell like big and little brothers…" the girl fell silent then, stuck in her own thought.
Doctor Lang walked into the room from the kitchen, a cup of tea in hand. He smiled at the girl and handed the cup to her. "Drink this, it'll make you feel better. But be careful, it's hot, so drink slowly with small sips."
The girl did as she was told, slowly drinking the tea. Claus went and got some water for the girl to drink and prepared some stew. The girl ate slowly at first but with increasing speed, going through several bowls of stew. Claus had to wonder where she kept it all or whether she'd ever eaten before in her life. She fell asleep soon after finishing eating. Claus and Lang discussed the girl quietly while they ate. It was decided that Claus would stay the night to watch her while Lang slept. She ran back to her house and grabbed up a book on alchemy she was part way through reading and brought it back. She lit a lamp and read under the soft light as night descended on the town.
It was sometime just before dawn as Claus reread the same paragraph for the fourth time that the girl stirred, sitting up suddenly in bed. The girl looked around, her gaze falling on Claus. Claus closed her book and gave the girl a tired smile. "Good morning. How're you feeling?"
"Better?" replied the girl, sounding unsure. She looked from Claus to the book in her lap, her face lighting up. "Is that a book on Alchemy?"
"Uh, yeah, it is," replied Claus in surprise. She held up the book. "You know about Alchemy?"
"Of course!" the girl said proudly. "Alchemy is the science of understanding the world and the practical application of the natural forces of the world and science!"
"Wow, that's impressive," said Claus. "If you remember that does it mean that you remember your name?"
The girl's face fell and she looked down at her feet. "I-I don't know. I don't know why I know what Alchemy is. I just want to know who I am but I-I don't-"
Claus reached out with a hand and laid it gently on the girl's head, smiling at her. "It's fine. You'll remember when you remember. There's no need to rush things. Until then, just work on getting better. You were pretty beat up."
"I was?" asked the girl. Her face scrunched up in concentration. "I remember waking up here. I don't remember anything else…"
They became quiet for several minutes after that. The girl just sat thinking, staring at the ground. Claus just studied the girl, sure that there was something weird about the girl but not exactly sure what. There's something about her beyond her memory… thought Claus. Something just doesn't sit right here. I don't think she's dangerous but I have this strange feeling that I'm missing something. Now that I think about it, there's been a buzzing in the back of my head. Claus closed her eyes and focused on the shutting out the buzzing. She managed to lessen it but it was soon replaced with her hand itching. She scratched at it with a gloved hand but it wasn't doing any good.
The girl looked at Claus, confusion on her face. She looked down and Claus's hand and pointed. "Are you okay?"
Claus flashed the girl a smile. "Uh yeah, I'm fine. Just uh, slightly itchy for some reason. Maybe bug bites I guess. You were covered in bugs."
"I was? I'm so sorry then!"
Claus continued to scratch, but it wasn't working. She started to tug off a glove and continued to smile reassuringly. "No, it's not your fault. How about you, how are you feeling? You were covered in those things after all."
"I'm feeling fine. Thank you." Claus finally got the glove off and started to scratch the back of her hand. The girl's gaze fell to it and she gave out a small gasp. "Is that a transmutation circle on there?"
Claus realized she'd forgotten about the tattoo on her hand, a pentacle in a circle with lines coming from two of the points and running up her arm and under her sleeve. "Oh, uh, yeah, it is. That's a good catch. You really do remember alchemy, don't you?"
The girl cocked her head to the side. "I guess…" she leaned in and studied Claus's hand. Claus felt self-conscious since no one else but Karin had seen them before. The girl looked at Claus's book then back to her hand. "There's something familiar about this design…"
"Well, the pentacle is a common symbol."
"Pentacle…" muttered the girl. Her eyes suddenly lit up in comprehension. "The five pointed star! It's the symbol of the five elemental forces! Right?"
"Correct," complimented Claus, impressed that the girl knew that.
"What's that symbol in the center of the star?" asked the girl pointing to the two tiny right angles written inside of the pentacle.
"Oh, those are to help activate the properties of the pentacle. The pentacle provides the power for the transmutation and the symbol activates the three stages."
"The three stages?"
"Yeah, the three stages of Alchemy. First is analysis, figuring out what something is made of. Second is deconstruction, taking apart something. And third is-"
"Reconstruction," interrupted the girl, not seeming like she even realized she was doing so. "The process of creating something new…"
"Yeah, that's correct." Claus studied the girl, feeling like she was missing something obvious; her hand still itching. "You know quite a bit about alchemy for your age. It's impressive. At your age I was busy deciding between dresses and pants." She gave a small chuckle at that.
"And you decided on pants?" asked the girl.
"I decided that there was no need to decide, it's whatever I felt most comfortable in at the time," replied Claus with a small smile and a wink. "I guess I've mostly settled on pants, newcomers confuse me as a guy pretty often. I think everyone in town is resigned to it, it's like their little joke."
The girl studied Claus's hand again. "Those lines, do they keep going?"
"Uh yeah, they run across my body to another pentacle, one line to here and one to here," replied Claus, pointing to her chest and then to her back. "I've also got pentacles on my other hand and my feet. Those hurt to get tattooed."
"Did you draw these on yourself?"
"I had someone else do them. A good friend of mine."
The girl was quiet for a moment, seeming to consider something. "Is that why you wear gloves and long sleeves, to cover these tattoos?"
Claus was surprised by the question and took a moment to answer. "Well, I like the clothes, but yeah, I guess I do. Not even my father knows I have these. Only you and I know now I guess."
"But what about your friend?" asked the girl.
"She passed away from this life a while ago," replied Claus simply.
The girl reached over and touched her hand with her own. She smiled comfortingly up at Claus. "Don't worry, it'll be fine. Daddy passed away too."
"Wait, your father is dead?" asked Claus, surprised by the girl's words.
"I think so?" replied the girl, frowning. "I don't really know…"
Before anything else could be said a scream tore through the early morning. The scream was filled with an unearthly terror and made Claus's skin crawl. The girl covered her ears at the sound, shivering in fear. Claus stood up and put a comforting hand on the girl's head. "Don't worry, it'll be all fine. I'm going to go check on that, so stay right here, got it?"
"No!" yelled the girl, reaching out and grabbing Claus's sleeve with both hands. "You'll die!"
Clause flashed her a comforting smile. "Don't worry, big sister is tough." The girl let go of Claus's sleeve, curling up into a ball on the bed.
Claus rushed out of the house and into the dimly lit streets, the sun just starting to peak over the mountains. She looked around and her gaze stopped on a grisly sight, her blood running cold. There was Sabine, one of the women of the town who was always up early to get chores done, laying on the ground face first. A small trail of blood was starting to run from underneath her. On top of Sabine was a small form, huddled over her, drinking from the side of Sabine's neck. Claus pulled out the chalk from her pocket and knelt down, quickly drawing a circle on the ground. She put her hands on the circle and concentrated. There was a flash of light and the ground in front of her rippled and churned. The stone started to rise and shot out towards the figure. The stone split apart over the figure and, came down to form a barred cage around the thing. The thing looked up from its meal and looked around at its new cage, growling. Claus allowed herself a small smile of satisfaction at successfully moving the amount of stone and earth she had.
Suddenly the figure started to shake and Claus was surprised to hear laughter. Before she could react the figure jumped straight up off of Sabine, sending bone, blood and flesh flying and shattering the cage in a shower of stone. Claus raised up her hands to protect herself from the stone, although she felt some of it hit her. The figure landed on the ground next to the cage on all fours. Then it stood up and in the dawn Claus had her first good look at it. The thing wasn't that large, just a child. Its body was covered in a skin tight black body suit that covered everything but the hands, feet and head which were all bare. It had shoulder length bone white hair that was covered with splotches of blood. The thing had glowing purple eyes but it was the face that was most disturbing. Claus recognized the thing's face, it was the same as the girl currently in the house behind her.
"What are you?" asked Claus.
"Your better," replied the blood covered girl. Claus barely managed to respond in time to dodge as the girl rocketed towards and past her, crashing into the wall of Doctor Lang's house. The stone of the house was cracked, pieces falling off around the girl. She just turned to look at Claus, a large smile on her face. "You're fast. This'll be more fun."
Claus was itching all over her body now, the buzzing noise back even louder than before. She tried to ignore it all to focus on the girl in front of her. No, not a girl, a monster. "You're not human," said Claus. "What are you?"
"A homunculus," replied the girl. Claus's blood ran cold as she recognized the term. Homunculus, a created human by the use of alchemy. They were supposed to be just a theory, no one had ever created one to her knowledge. Either the girl was lying or the books had been wrong.
The girl crouched again and came rocketing at Claus once more. Claus tried to dodge to the side but the girl was ready, and Claus was hit by a vicious kick. She went tumbling through the air and crashed to the ground, gasping. She was starting to believe that the girl really was what she said. The question still remained though, why did she look like the girl Claus had found earlier in the day?
Claus looked up to see the homunculus looking down at her, the large smile still on her face. "You were so close, but you lose this game. Now I get to eat you, just like the other two."
"Why?" gasped Claus, clutching her side.
"Because I'm hungry and you're tasty," replied the Homunculus simply. Suddenly the color drained out of the homunculus's face and she turned to look at something. Claus followed the homunculus's gaze and saw the girl standing in a purple dress right outside of Doctor Lang's house, watching them with a look of horror on her face.
"Get back inside!" yelled Claus.
"You!" yelled the Homunculus, her face contorting in anger. "What are you doing here?"
"Do you know who I am?" asked the girl, starting to walk slowly towards them. Claus was surprised as the homunculus took a step backward and then another, away from the approaching girl.
"Of course I do!" yelled the Homunculus. "You stole the life that should have been mine!"
"I don't understand," said the girl, stopping and holding her head in both hands. "Who am I? What's my name?"
"You don't remember any of that?" asked the Homunculus incredulously. Suddenly she started to laugh hysterically. "This is just too much! You get the body and I get the memories! It's all a sick joke…"
"What are you talking about?" asked the girl. Claus looked up at the Homunculus and saw that her attention seemed to be completely focused on the girl. Claus shifted the stick of chalk in her hand and started to slowly draw a circle, covering it with her body. "Who are you?"
"Me? I don't have a name, you were born with it instead! I'm the forsaken child, created on accident!" The homunculus stopped ranting, cocking her head to the side as she thought. "I guess you could call me Envy if you want, but soon I'll have your name. Soon I'll be the real Nina!"
Claus recognized the pattern as Envy crouched slightly, preparing to rush at the girl, Nina. Claus moved off of the circle she'd drawn and put her hands down on it, concentrating. A spike shot out of the ground, impaling Envy before she could move.
Nina gave a gasp at the sight of Envy's lifeless body dangling from the blood streaked spike. "Why did you do that?" she asked, her voice shaky, tears forming in her eyes.
Claus stood up, wincing in pain. She wasn't sure, but she was worried that she might have broken a rip or something. She looked over at Nina, feeling cold inside. "She was a homunculus, a created human. She killed two people and was preparing to kill us both."
"But she had my answers!" protested Nina.
"I still have your answers," said a voice. Clause looked over and saw Envy smiling predatorily at her. The homunculus kicked at the spike and it shattered. She landed on the ground, pulling the remaining protrusion out of her chest. With a crackle of energy the wound started to close up, leaving no sign it had ever been inflicted. "I just only plan to give you the ones that hurt."
Claus tried to react but Envy was too close and too fast. Another kick lashed out, knocking her backwards onto the hard ground. She felt something crack under the kick, sure that if she hadn't had any before, she now definitely had a broken rib.
"Claus!" cried Nina. "Stop hurting her!"
"I don't take orders from chimeras," replied Envy.
"Chimeras?" asked Nina, sounding confused. "Animals mixed together with alchemy?"
"Yes, like you."
"But..I can't be…I'm not…"
"You can be and you are! Our sicko father wanted to resurrect his daughter that he'd killed with his own hands. He used his knowledge of chimeras to create a soulless vessel. And with the philosopher's stone, he attempted to give it life. He created you, without memories, and he created me, with all of his memories and those of Nina! I know so much, but I can hear them, the voices that tell me I'm someone else…I'm not someone else, I'm me, I'm Envy!"
Envy seemed to be getting more and more frantic by the second. She started to stomp on the ground, cracking the stones below her with each step. Claus tried to move but groaned in pain. She tried to focus on something else, this time focusing on the buzzing in her head. Now that she actually paid attention to it she realized that the buzzing was a warning signal and it was reacting to both Envy and Nina.
Of course, thought Claus, scolding herself. One of the features of the tattoos is to identify any artificial life created with or modified by alchemy. I guess this proves that my theory was correct at least. The first step of alchemy, analysis, and I completely missed it.
Envy continued to rant, oblivious to Claus's racing thoughts. "But if I kill you then there'll be no one else but me. No one will know but me. I'll be the real one, the only one…" Envy started to stomp towards a frozen Nina, stone shattering underneath her with every step.
If the tattoos react to her to warn me they should activate for the second stage too, thought Claus. She tried to stand, but pain shot through her, sending her to her knees. Damn it, I can't even move. What am I going to do?
Envy stopped in her approach towards Nina, her body suddenly violently shaking. The homunculus bent over and threw up a bunch of red crystals onto the ground. The crystals melted into small puddles of blood that ran together with bile. Envy used an arm to wipe her mouth and continued forward. "Damn it! Even your presence hurts me! I will kill you!"
Claus started to draw another circle on the ground as quickly as she could. Nina finally took a step backwards but Envy just reached out and grasped her throat in her hand. She lifted the trembling girl off of the ground by her throat, drawing gasps for breath from Nina. She kicked her feet weakly through the air but Envy wasn't stopping. Claus completed her circle and put her hands down on it. A stone hand shot out and wrapped around Envy, surprising her. She let go of Nina in her surprise, dropping the gasping girl hard onto the stone ground. While Envy struggled in the stone hand's grasp Claus shakily stood up and walked slowly over to the two girls.
"When I get out of here I'm going to tear both of you apart!" screamed Envy. Claus was worried that her cries would wake up and draw out the villagers into a situation she couldn't easily explain. Even if Envy's cries didn't then everyone was soon to be awake and about anyways to start their days. She ignored Envy briefly and looked at Nina.
"Are you okay?" she asked the girl.
Nina coughed roughly a bit but managed to get to her knees. "I-I think so." She looked at Claus and let out a gasp, wincing as she did so. "You're bleeding!"
"I am?" asked Claus. She looked down and saw that one of her pants legs had torn in her fall earlier and her knee had scraped against the stone, fresh blood flowing from the wound. "I guess I am."
Claus's attention was drawn back to Envy as the girl's cries and struggling intensified. Looking she saw small cracks start to appear around the stone. She gave a small groan. "Envy!" she said, trying to grab the flailing homunculus's attention. "If I let you go, will you promise to leave Nina alone, to leave this village and to stop drinking the blood of humans?"
Envy stopped struggling briefly just to sneer at Claus, spitting on the ground at her feet, a red crystal like the ones from before being carried in the spit and melting onto the ground. "Why should I make promises to weak humans? You can't kill me, but I'll kill you when I get out of this!"
Claus reached out with her uncovered hand and placed it on Envy's head. She closed her eyes, focusing on the alchemic patterns running across her skin. Now that she knew what she was looking for and at, she knew how to properly use the first part of the alchemy from her tattoos. She could see clearly in her mind's eye that Envy wasn't human, her body composition completely different. In her peripheral sense Claus could also sense Nina. The girl's body was human unlike Envy but there was also the sense of something different, something added.
That must be her chimera parts, thought Claus. I would have spotted this all sooner if I'd just studied a living chimera. Then I might have known the differences and signs. I should head to central to see if I can find one to study. Putting aside those thoughts and plans for later, Claus focused once again on Envy. Along with the sense that told her how the homunculus worked, there was also a different sense. She knew how the homunculus worked and conversely she was able to see how to break her apart. All it would take was a thought, and Claus could deconstruct Envy just like she would anything else in alchemy.
But she hesitated. She's killed two people and has promised to kill more, thought Claus, but she's still just a girl, homunculus or not. She was just born and isn't really any different from Nina. Is it really alright for me to decide to just kill her? Underneath her hand Envy had increased her struggling, the stone cracking even more around her. Small chips started to fall off and Claus could hear the stressful cracking of the stone hand. A madman made her apparently, but she also refuses to agree to change. Doesn't that mean this is justified? It's protecting others and self-defense.
But still Claus hesitated. Unfortunately her hesitation was all the time Envy needed. The stone hand finally had more than it could handle. The whole thing broke apart, sending stone flying in all directions. A large chunk hit Claus's knee, sending her to the ground in pain. Several chunks flew through nearby windows, drawing cries of surprise from the occupants.
"Told you I'd get out of that," mocked Envy with a large smile on her face. Around them doors were opening and people were starting to come out onto the street. There were murmurs of surprise and confusion at the scene plus several screams as Sabine's destroyed body was discovered.
Claus heard Doctor Lang exit his house behind her, giving a cry of surprise. "Claus!" he exclaimed. "Another girl? Who's this?"
"I'm Envy," smiled Envy broadly, waving at the Doctor. "Are you tasty?"
"Am I wha-" the Doctor started to ask but he was cut off as Envy jumped on him, trying to bite into his throat. He fell backwards, hitting the stone hard, fighting to keep the homunculus off of him. His words broke down into incoherent babbling as fear overtook his reason. Claus tried to get up, but was unable to stand. She flopped over onto her back, giving a groan of pain. She was able to see Envy and the Doctor struggling but she was unable to reach them.
"Damn it…" muttered Claus, having a hard time breathing. One of the villagers rushed over to help the doctor but Envy lashed out with a fist. With enormous strength for her size the man was sent flying backwards, landing hard on the ground in a groaning heap. This discouraged the other villagers from approaching. Luckily it also had the side effect of allowing Lang to get in a better position. He got his legs underneath the Homunculus and kicked, launching her over Claus. The homunculus landed on her feet, scowling at them.
"You annoyance!" yelled Envy, apparently getting angrier by the minute. "You're all getting in my way!" She leapt once more at Doctor Lang who was trying to crawl on all fours back into his house. A brown shape leapt up and intercepted Envy midair, sending both of them tumbling away from the Doctor. Nina and Envy rolled around on the ground, wrestling with each other. Nina wrapped herself around the other girl, pinning both her arms and her legs. Envy screamed as she once again fought to get out of restraints. "You mutt! I'll kill you and everyone you know or have ever met! I'll drink their blood and leave their bodies to rot! I will kill you!"
"I won't let you!" yelled Nina, not letting go. The strain was evident in her voice but the little girl still held on. "I like Claus! And I like Big and Little brothers!"
Now! thought Claus. She rolled over onto her knees and started to crawl over to the two girls. She reached out and grabbed Envy's leg. Claus could feel Envy's alchemic make-up once again and she focused on the sensation. The tattoo's on her hand and arm glowed, even shining through her shirt. She released the energy into Envy. The Homunculus let out a scream as her body was reduced to its base elements. The eerie scream lasted in Claus's ears even after Envy had turned to a pile of dust.
A hush fell over the area as everyone just stared. Nina stood up shakily, wiping the remains of Envy off of her dress. Claus saw Doctor Lang peeking out from his house. "Is she gone?" he asked, looking around.
"Yes, I deconstructed her," replied Claus, having trouble breathing. Lang seemed to notice and came to her side, kneeling down.
"What's wrong? Where did you get hurt?" asked Lang, his eyes studying her.
"I think I've broken a rib or two and my right knee is banged up pretty bad," replied Claus. "Plus everything else just hurts."
"I bet, you look rather torn up. We'll need to get you inside, quickly so that I can examine you more in detail." Lang looked up and yelled to the ground. "I need several people to come and help me carefully carry her inside! Hurry!"
Claus was barely aware as three men rushed over and carried her inside of Lang's house, placing her on one of the beds. She was barely aware as the men left, giving fearful glances at Nina who had followed them inside. She didn't notice the same glances they gave her also, the light of the tattoos on her body just starting to fade away. She briefly noticed Lang removing her clothes to better examine her, sharp stinging pains running through her as he moved her slightly to do so. Exhaustion from staying up all night and from the fight finally caught up to her and she started to feel her mind slip away. As her consciousness faded, Claus wasn't aware of Nina coming up to her side and gripping her hand with both of hers, crying at her side.
It took several days for Claus to feel strong enough to walk around on her own and to be able to move without pain. It took a few weeks for her to be mostly healed. She didn't allow herself to be idle in this period of time either. Once Doctor Lang allowed her to she explained everything to him, including information about Envy, Nina and her own alchemic tattoos.
"They're meant to help deal with rogue alchemic creations," explained Claus, sitting up in bed propped up by a large number of pillows. In the bed next to her was curled up Nina, the girl having fallen asleep after yet another long vigil by her bedside. Doctor Lang was sitting in a chair he'd pulled close, his face pinched in thought.
"That's your branch of study? Artificial creatures?" asked Lang.
"Correct."
Lang's frown deepened as he thought. "Is this because of your sister?" he asked.
Claus let out a sigh, glad that when she did so her chest didn't hurt. "Yes, it is. She was killed by one of Majhal's experiments. I decided that when I took up alchemy I was going to study how to destroy things like that, things that tear apart people's lives…"
"And what about this girl?" asked Lang, pointing to Nina. "You said she's a chimera, correct? Are you going to destroy her too?"
Claus hesitated for a moment. "I-I don't know. She's been nothing but sweet and helpful since we met. She didn't ask to be created this way, she just was. Envy didn't ask for it either, but she gave me no choice. I didn't want to, but she planned to kill people…"
Lang cleared his throat, drawing Claus's attention. "Did you know in my younger years I served as a military Doctor? I got to witness the aftermath of a lot of brutal slaughters. But it was this one time, when an enemy soldier got into the medical tent that I was really shown the true reality. He shot two of the nurses, killing them both. Before he could get to me I had picked up a gun that we had just taken off of an injured soldier. I fired it, taking the man's life. I was a mess for years after that. I left the military, lauded as a hero but deemed no longer mentally fit for such a job. I retreated to a nice quiet town. I spent several years just relaxing, living off the money I'd saved up. Eventually a man was injured in an accident, he'd been crushed by a cart. There was no town Doctor, but someone had heard that I had once practiced. I took the man in, and did the best I could. He lived another day and managed to say goodbye to his family. They came and thanked me for allowing them that, even with my failure. A couple months after that I did my first autopsy, on a person found murdered in the next town over. It was gruesome work but in the end the family came up to me and thanked me. It felt wrong to me, all this praise for my failures as a doctor. But to these families, these were victories, it meant something important to them."
Lang became silent after that. They just sat there in silence for a few moments. A whistling noise came from the kitchen, signaling that the hot water Lang had been preparing for tea was ready. He stood up without a word and went into the kitchen, leaving Claus alone with the sleeping Nina. She looked over at the girl, and was surprised to find her staring at her. "You're awake," commented Claus.
Nina just continued to stare at her. "Are you going to destroy me?"
Claus took a deep breath and let it out before responding. "That depends. Do you want to die?"
"No."
"Do you plan on hurting others?"
"No!" replied Nina, her eyes large in surprise.
"Do you think you're dangerous?"
Nina looked down at the ground at that question. "I…I don't know…"
"Well, neither do I," replied Claus, drawing a hurt look from Nina. Claus reached out and put a hand on top of Nina's. "But I plan to find out. I want to learn more about chimeras and other alchemic creations. We can look more into your past if you want, if you come with me that is."
"Really?"
"Yes, really," replied Claus with a smile.
Nina beamed briefly before becoming downcast again. "But what if I try to eat people like that other girl?"
"She was a homunculus," pointed out Claus. "Nothing's really known about them, but it's possible that was just part of being one. Even if you need to eventually, we might be able to fix that before it happens."
"You could do that?"
"In theory, but this is all groundless. We have no information about any of this, we need to fix that."
"How do we do that?" asked Nina.
"We research, first through the books in Karin's house. Then we head to Resembol, there's something I need to do there. Finally, we take a trip to Central and see if we can find any leads there."
"That's a lot to do," commented Nina.
"And you're not doing any of that for a while," grumbled Lang, walking into the room with a tray with a teapot and cups. He placed it down on a table near to Claus's bed. "You're injured and will be in bed for a at least another week. We need to make sure that everything is healed in you."
"Can I at least get some books from Karin's?" asked Claus.
The doctor shook his head. "No, you rest. I'll get the books for you, just write me a list."
"But I don't know what I'm looking for, I need to go through everything."
"Then write me a list of what not to grab," replied Lang. "You're not going outside until you're healed."
"Can I help?" asked Nina.
"No, you have to wait here too," replied Lang.
"But I'm not injured!" insisted Nina.
"No, and I plan to keep it that way, for the both of you."
Claus studied Doctor Lang for a moment. "Is there something wrong?"
"Only that a rather quiet town has just been introduced to a mysterious little girl and her creepy twin that killed two people. People are kind of nervous out there. Your father has been fielding questions since that morning and I'm surrounded whenever I go outside. Oh, and the fact that you just reduced a girl to dust with a touch and have glowing tattoos all over your body surprised people too."
"I guess when you put it like that…" muttered Claus.
Lang shrugged. "They'll get over it in time, but it might not be a bad idea to go on that research trip. Once you're healed that is."
"Understood," nodded Claus.
Lang poured out three cups of tea and gave one to Claus and Nina. He held up his own cup, a wry smile on his face. "To anymore weird things not happening in town."
"I can't promise that," laughed Claus, holding her own cup to his.
Nina held up her own cup with both hands. "To weird things!"