Joan walked toward Central headquarters. She had to find out if her suspicions about a secret state alchemist program were true. If it was, she was determined to join it. She already had the watch. Joan hurried to Central headquarters, and she showed the guards her watch once she got there. As expected, they let her in. Civilians aren't normally allowed in headquarters without an appointment and she definitely did not have one. She wandered the halls until she found an official's office.
"The President's office. Perfect." Joan thought upon reading the label above the door. She showed the guards her watch and they let her in without question. She saw the president sitting in his seat, doing some official documentation.
"And you are?" he asked, not in the mood to be interrupted from his important work.
"Someone who wants a question answered," Joan replied, somewhat ominously.
"They let you in for that?"
"No, they let me in because of this," she held up the watch, it's silver body glinting from the overhead lights. "I just want to know if there is still a state alchemist program."
After an hour or so of talking, Joan was told that there was indeed a secret state alchemist program, and he let her become one after she showed him her ability to use alchemy without a circle. Because there was no need to replace the one she had, even if the state alchemist watches were made differently and not out of real silver anymore, he let her use the watch she currently had. She was given the nickname "Gemstone Alchemist" though not entirely sure why, she was told that it was supposed to remain a secret.
So they could keep in contact anytime she was needed, Joan was also given a communicator. Which she hoped wasn't often. It was supposed to be inserted in her right ear, but it was uncomfortable and would probably be rarely used.
The President told her he would contact her if any news about her father, who she was searching dutifully for, was found. That was the whole reason she wanted to be an actual state alchemist. After failing to even find a clue as to his whereabouts over the past few years, she figured she could use the help.
Joan hoped that she'd run into Clarissa and Laura again. She liked them, but wasn't about to go searching the city for them. She stepped back outside and put her hands in her pockets. Not sure what she'd do before the chimeras either showed themselves or were found, she walked forward as she fidgeted with the communications device in her ear.
...
After a bit, Clarissa stopped running with no clue where Joan had gone. Stopping by Central Headquarters, she still didn't see Joan anywhere. Ready to give up, she noticed Joan walking away.
Why was she coming out of Central headquarters? She wondered, her interest increasing ten-fold.
Laura caught up to her sister and saw Joan, and then she waved to her.
Joan walked past and didn't seem to notice the sisters until a moment later. Once she saw Laura wave whilst standing next to Clarissa, she silently scolded herself for being so careless as to be followed like that. Even if she had hoped to run into the two Mustangs, she didn't want to be spotted coming out of the Headquarters. "How am I going to explain this without giving too much away? The State Alchemist thing is supposed to be a secret."
Joan waved back. "Crud. What am I supposed to tell them?" She thought, any possible excuses eluding her.
Laura laughed and informed Clarissa, "She looks nervous!"
Joan heard her laugh and decided to get her act together. She was a state alchemist now and couldn't show such weakness. She still wasn't sure what she was going to say, but now she looked more confident, and acting that way even helped her feel a little more confident. She'd think of something, maybe. Laura smiled at Joan as she came nearer. Joan smiled back and acted like nothing was out of the ordinary.
"What are you guys doing here? I thought I left you guys at the cafe." She said, pretending she didn't know they had been following her.
Laura points at her sister like that's all there is to it, shifting as much blame as she could off of herself.
Clarissa smiled guiltily. "Sorry, my curiosity got the best of me. You shouldn't have mentioned that you were going someplace secret. I'm addicted to figuring out things like that."
Laura smiled and confirmed, in case there were any doubts, "She is."
"I guess I'd be the same." Joan shrugged. "Besides, it was only a suspicion I had that I had to see if it was true. I would've looked silly if I told you before I knew." She purposefully didn't tell them what she was doing in Central Headquarters, she hoped that they'd drop the subject, but somehow doubted it.
Just as Joan expected, Clarissa pressed for more information, "Well, what did you find out?"
"I'm not permitted to tell you." She said officially, unintentionally telling them that it was an even bigger secret than they originally thought, only spiking their interest.
Laura sighed and tried to act casual, though desire to know rang clear in her voice, "Okay, that's cool, I guess."
"I guess she respects the fact that it's a secret more than Clarissa does." Joan thought. But that still didn't guarantee anything.
After an awkward moment of silence, Laura asked, "So what do you guys want to do?"
Joan shrugged, she hadn't been sure before and she wasn't now either. Mid-shrug, her State Alchemist communicator, the one that sat uncomfortably in her ear, made a beeping noise and a voice started coming from it that only the wearer could hear.
"Chimeras found on Main Street, they're coming from the sewers!" The voice, one of her fellow State Alchemists, announced. He seemed calm, so either the situation couldn't have been too bad, or they were all really good. Whatever the case, Joan decided she should go help and make it her first mission as a State Alchemist.
"I just remembered I have to be somewhere." She told Laura and Clarissa, turning and heading toward Main Street while forcing herself to walk casually with limited success.
Laura turned to Clarissa. "Why's she in such a hurry?" When her sister merely shrugged, she continued, "Never mind, let's just follow her."
Joan predicted that they'd follow her, so she would just have to lose them. She broke into a run the second she turned a corner and was out of sight, and as she did, she made a lot of unnecessary turns to lose her followers, but wouldn't lose any time getting there.
The Gemstone Alchemist got to a police tape that said "Do Not Cross" but crossed it anyway. It's not like she was a civilian anymore. The tape had been strategically placed so that anyone who didn't cross would not be able to see the battle very well, if at all. It didn't seem overly suspicious, but it helped hide the existence of the State Alchemists. And whoever did see the battle would think they were all vigilantes who were fighting off the chimeras.
Joan joined the fight, the other state alchemists having been informed about her right after she officially joined. The sounds of the battle became louder than any of the alchemists liked. It was probably audible for at least half a mile. Anyone at the "Do not cross" tape would be able to hear it clearly.
Joan was no stranger to fighting and was even pretty good at it, her dad having taught it to her when she was younger and all too happy to please him. But these chimeras were sure something. A chimera, large, grotesque, and resembling a mix between a gorilla and a crocodile, caught one of the other state alchemists and slapped him to the ground. He was unable to suppress a pained yell, which could be heard from the "Do not cross" tape. Immediately, a state alchemists that specialized in healing got to work easing his pain. They may not be able to completely heal him, but they could dull the pain and mend some tissue.
As she stopped to watch the medical alchemy, Joan thought she spotted a person's head, blue cloth wrapped around the forehead as a headband, peek out from underneath a manhole cover. It quickly retreated and Joan thought nothing more of it.
...
Stopping at the police tape that said "Do not cross", Laura debated on whether or not to cross it and get thrown in jail or don't cross it and stay free. The jail scenario was probably unlikely, a big scolding was more likely, but she wasn't too eager on risking it.
Laura gasped when she heard a big crash. She looked at the "Do not cross" tape and sighed, biting her lip. "What do I do?" she thought to herself.
Laura suddenly bit down hard on her lip, drawing blood, when she heard someone cry out. Then she crossed the tape on a sudden impulse. She ran to where she heard the fighting, with Clarissa right behind.
Joan didn't notice Laura and Clarissa at first, but nearly panicked when she did. She found an opening to escape and went over to them.
"What are you doing here?" she asked. "Didn't you see the 'Do not cross' tape? It says 'Do not cross' for a reason!"
The worried look on Laura's face wasn't very well hidden. "Well we weren't going to until we heard a person get hurt!" She said, defending herself and her sister.
"We've got it covered." Joan motioned to the guy who got hurt being taken care of by the medics. Joan was afraid they wouldn't leave but would insist on helping. The sentiment was appreciated, and the newly appointed State Alchemist could understand, but the situation wasn't for them to handle.
Laura looked around the ruins then at the big chimera, letting out a defeated sigh, "Fine, suit yourself, we won't help if you don't want us to! Come on Clarissa." she said, dragging Clarissa behind her. In truth, Laura wanted to stay and help, but she knew it wasn't the place to be at the moment. The worry could be seen on her face even as she turned away from Joan and headed away from the battle field.
Joan couldn't really stand to see their disappointment. "Wait! You... you can stay and help," She caved. Then added, "But don't get in the way! And I can't guarantee that you won't get in major trouble for this."
Laura turned around to look at Joan. "Okay, I got that part when I crossed the 'Do not cross' tape." she said with a smile then clapped her hands together and slapped them on the ground, making a giant earthen fist that slammed into the gorilla-crocodile chimera. It yelped like a dog in pain and Joan helped her, not that she even needed it.
"Try not to let the other alchemists see you do that. I don't know how they'll react. I just barely met them." Joan cautioned.
Soon enough, several chimeras were captured, including the gorilla-crocodile one, but several others also got away. But some captured was better than none. And no one died either, which was always good.
After that incident, Joan decided to catch a bus to the other side of the city so she could continue searching for her father. She doubted he'd be in Central, but maybe she could find someone who had seen him or has an idea where he could be.
"Guys, I'm headed to the eastern side of the city," she told Laura and Clarissa. "You can come with me if you want or you can stay."
Laura nodded. "Sure, we'll come!" she said, after deciding it with Clarissa over by a corner. They didn't have anything better to do. Neither could remember the reason they'd decided to come to Central over their midnight telephone call.
Joan nodded. "Alright." She didn't plan on telling them who she was looking for or that she was a State Alchemist until she knew she could fully trust them. Until then, it would remain her secret.
Following Joan to the nearest bus stop, Laura couldn't help but wonder what Joan was going to do in the East side of the city. She knew she shouldn't pry into other people's business, but it was still bothering her.
Joan sat on a bench and started absently swinging her silver pocket watch around in the air. Completely forgetting the significance the watch held.
A girl with long brown hair caught a glimpse of Joan's watch as she walked by. Once she got out of sight, she pulled a little notebook out of her pocket and wrote a quick note, folding it up. The note said: "Are you a state alchemist?" Turning around, she walked past the bench and dropped the note in Joan's lap as she passed, continuing along the street.
Joan looked at the note that landed in her lap with surprise, glancing at her two new travel buddies, but neither one of them noticed the note or seemed to have been the one to drop it onto her lap. She opened and read it carefully, after folding it back up she looked around for who gave it to her.
"I'll be right back." She let Laura and Clarissa know, and then went to catch up with who she thought gave her the note. "Hey!" she called to the mysterious girl.
The girl looked back, and then went into an alley, gesturing for Joan to follow. Joan cautiously followed, unsure of what to expect. Why does this girl want to know if she's a State Alchemist? Most people though that they didn't exist anymore.
As she walked into the alley, the girl wrote another note with expert speed, as if that was the only way she communicated. As Joan walked into the alley, the girl handed the note to her. It said: "I need your help. Can we meet behind the train station tonight?"
Joan read it then said, "Wait, what makes you think I'm a State Alchemist?" Then she realized that she was still holding her pocket watch in her hand. "Oh, that." She chuckled nervously. She pretty much just gave herself away. She made a mental note to get better at keeping this a secret.
Joan sighed and said, "What time?"
The girl held up a finger. One o'clock.
"One o'clock? As in, one in the morning?" Joan said in disbelief, but agreed to meet the girl at the proposed time and place however suspicious it seemed. She walked back to the bus stop and sat on the bench. "One in the morning. I'm going to have to set my alarm."
The girl then continued on to where she was headed before seeing Joan.
The bus she had been waiting for came and she had to tell the driver she wasn't getting on, leaving Laura and Clarissa confused.
"Why aren't you getting on?" Laura asked with a slightly tilted head.
Joan sighed, "Something came up and I have to stay here a little longer." She's still wasn't happy about getting up at one in the morning. But the girl did say she needed help, and it must be serious if she needed to get help from a State Alchemist. "But we do need to find a hotel to stay the night at."
"You can stay at the hotel I'm staying at." Laura offered. Joan accepted the offer, not in the mood to search for one herself.
"We might as well go there now. Unless you have anything you guys need to do now."
Laura shrugged. "I don't have anything to do now and I don't think Clarissa does either."
"You'll have to lead the way. I don't know where you're staying." Joan motioned for her to lead them there.
Laura nodded and started walking. When they arrived, she proclaimed, "Here it is."
"Not the best hotel in town, but far from the worst. How did you afford this?" Joan asked. Laura by no means appeared to come from a rich background, and was too young to have a reasonable-paying salary.
Laura frowned. "Poppy's mom helped me afford it." She answered, a hint of sadness prevalent in her voice.
"I see." Joan said with a sympathetic frown, remembering the story of how Laura was living with her friend. "You really loved your mom, didn't you?"
Laura nodded. "Yeah I did, I was the one who lived with her, and watched her die." She forced a smile, though it was weak. She changed the subject, "Well then, let's go inside."
"I loved my three siblings too." Joan reminisced quietly before she realized she was actually talking. She didn't really want to talk about this, but it just started coming out. "That's why I tried to bring them back. It was the biggest mistake of my life. I lost my legs and my left arm." She quickly apologized, suddenly realizing what she was talking about and said, "I'm sorry to bother you about it." She abruptly rushed to a different room and jumped onto the bed and went to sleep, tears staining the pillow as the memory of the terrible night came back to her.
Laura and Clarissa, the mood much too sullen for a casual conversation, went to their rooms and plopped onto the beds, falling asleep.