Chapter 2: Repowered
Alphonse P.O.V.
Our trip, as you can imagine, was uneventful. All the alchemists that Mustang was afraid might come after me and my brother never appeared. In fact, the most exciting things that happened were when the food server on the train gave Ed a glass of milk with his breakfast and when a giant junebug landed on Brother's sandwich and he bit into it when we were trekking through a forest. He did not finish either item.
When we finally reached the little town, it had just finished raining and the cobblestones were dangerously wet and dark clouds remained in the sky, threatening to let loose another downpour.
Brother looked down at a piece of paper and then up at the soggy, wooden house that we stood in front of. "Well, Mustang says this is the place, but an alchemist of her caliber is payed better and should be able to afford better than this run-down piece of junk. I mean, it's like she is trying to keep people away." Ed commented.
"Brother!" I scolded, but in the mean while admitted to myself that he had a point. I mean, seriously, the place was faintly lit by a few candles.
Ed knocked softly on the door with his right hand as if he was afraid to break it. A soft voice came from the other side of the door saying, "Come in Edward and Alphonse Elric and Major Alex Louis Armstrong."
As Brother reached for the knob, it turned itself and the door opened to reveal a small Xingese teenager. "My master has been waiting for you." She said, her voice strong and powerful, making the words even more ominous. It was not the soft voice that told us to enter.
"Yes, um, we kind of noticed." Ed said sarcastically.
My eye caught something moving in the background. A person about Mustang's height and was wearing a navy blue cloak with the hood pulled up. I only saw the back of this person, but I did see a gloved hand reach out to the table that sat next to her to grab a large grey mask. "How many times do I need to tell you not to call me master, Moja?" She asked in a soft, gentle voice. Her voice was nice enough, but it sounded like it had much power and regret.
Moja stepped aside and let us in. The little house had one worn couch and two chairs of the same state in the living room surrounding a glass coffee table with a wooden frame in front of an open fire. Even though the fire was burning, the wood and air in the house smelled wet and soggy. "I'm sorry if my home does not appear pleasant, but I want to keep uninvited guests away." She said from the comfort of one of the worn chairs. She stood up and turned around to face us. Her cloak covered everything from head to toe, and the mask covered her entire face. "So, are there any questions you'd like to ask before we get started?"
Brother appeared startled by this, as well as everyone besides the home's residents. "You mean we can start now? There aren't any necessary preparations?" Ed asked.
"Any preparations that were needed have already been prepared and this isn't exactly automail surgery, Edward." She commented coolly. "I just need a patient and the proper knowledge of alchemy, both of which I have now. So, any questions?"
"Yeah, do you know anything about Mustang's niece who went missing thirteen years ago?" Ed asked outright.
Due to everything that everything was covered, it was impossible to read her body language, but her eyes said quite a bit. They showed fear and a small spark of hope. "Why do you think I would know anything? And why hasn't Mustang given up on her yet? It would be foolish to believe that she is still alive yet has not returned to him or contacted him in all these years."
Mustang received some intell that said you might know where she is. As for why he hasn't given up, he cares about her and misses her. He has no reason to believe that she is dead. There was no body found, just a lot of blood."
"I'll talk to Mustang over the phone later." She replied curtly.
"So, you do know something!" Armstrong exclaimed. It was amazing that he had stayed that quiet for that long. "Please tell us what you know so that we may share in the happy news!"
She titled her head and gave Armstrong an eerie stare. "Who said it was good news?"
An eerie silence fell upon everyone in the house, even Moja seemed disturbed by the Masked Alchemist's comment, and it was Moja who first worked up the courage to break the silence. "Mistress, where do you want to do the operation?"
"In the backyard. Get my chalk and meet me back there." She responded as she started to walk down the hall and out a door.
"Yes, Mistress." Moja replied and bowed.
A frustrated sigh was easily heard from the cloaked alchemist, but she made no comment.
When we finally made it outside I noticed the sun had a few of its rays peaking out from the clouds. I noticed nothing in her backyard was withered or dead. Her grass was a lushes green that stood at an average of three feet and flowers that consisted of red roses, petunias, lilies, violets, some flowers that looked like golden pom poms, and various other flowers that grew freely and without restriction. The only thing that made her backyard look like a backyard and not a jungle was the wide cobblestone path that lead from the porch to the back of her yard. She positioned Ed right in the middle of the path and took a piece of chalk from Moja, who had just arrived. She squatted down and began to draw a transmutation circle around my brother, who decided to open his mouth and ask, "Why are you drawing a transmutation circle? Roy told me that you could transmute without a circle?"
The Masked Alchemist froze with her long, white gloved hand gripping the chalk so hard it might break. "He wasn't supposed to tell you that." she muttered through gritted teeth. The chalk in her hands did more than break, she had held it so hard that it crumbled into a fine powder. She stiffly stood up and grabbed some more chalk and continued to draw. "The circle is for your safety."
When she finished she threw the stub of chalk aside and from her squatting position warned us to not be alarmed on what was about to happen, be even though she warned us, we were still alarmed because I saw tiny black hands appear and take them both away when she put her hands on the circle, leaving nothing but their clothing.
Edward Elric P.O.V.
I panicked at the sight of those familiar black hands, but before I could tell the Masked Alchemist to stop or even before I could do anything, the hands pulled us in. I blacked out for a second, but when I came too, everywhere was white except for a large door, a featureless figure, and someone who stood with her back facing me.
Her skin was milky white, except for the red crescent scars that seemed to appear occasionally on her body. She had one on her right heel, calf, and butt cheek, her left side of her waist, shoulder, and forearm. It definitely felt awkward that we were both nude, but I had to know who she was. She had long black hair that was in a single braid that reached down to her mid-waist. The woman took a step towards Truth, and I noticed that she had two automail limbs, her right arm and her left leg.
"Wait!" I called. The figure stopped. "Who are you? How'd did you get here? Do you know what you are doing?"
She turned her head so that I could see the right side of her face. I gasped at what I saw on her face. It had a red crescent scar that went from the middle of her forehead to the middle of her chin. The dip of the crescent narrowly avoided her eye. Her blueish grayish eye that calmly stared back at me.
"I'm getting back your alchemy, Fullmetal." The way she said it sounded the way Roy did when he thought what he was doing was quite obvious, even though it rarely was.
"You're the Masked Alchemist?" Another thought came to my mind when my eyes nervously darted to her Truth for a brief second. Her Truth had he arm and leg. Blood... everywhere... that's what Mustang had said. "You're Royal Mustang, aren't you? You're Roy's niece? And you committed human transmutation to try to bring back both your parents, didn't you? It's surprising that you're alive. I mean, my brother and I tried to bring back one parent and it nearly cost us both our lives."
A small smile formed on her lips. "I knew you would figure it out. That's why I drew that transmutation circle around you. It not only keeps you from leaving that spot and interfering, it also erases what happens right now from your memory once we return to the world we belong in."
"I'm waiting, Royal." Truth said impatiently. Huh, I've never heard Truth sound impatient. Someone seems to know how to tick off Truth. I think I'm liking Royal already. "What is it that you desire this time?"
"I want you to return his alchemy. He needs it for an upcoming battle that shall affect all of Amestris." Royal said in a commanding tone as she faced Truth, the same being that had taken her limbs.
Truth laughed. "You sure you want to waste your last mark like this?"
I heard Royal grind her teeth. "I wouldn't be wasting it. Once I receive my last mark I will have more power than most alchemist, and maybe even you!"
Truth moved into a startled position. "How'd you know that?"
Royal used her flesh hand to tap her left temple. "You gave me the gift of foresight, remember?" She smirked. "I may not be able to see much of the future, but it is enough for me to know that we'll need all the power we can get for this upcoming battle."
"Did you also know that if you do not have a strong enough will that this final mark will kill you?" Truth gloated.
"No, but I am willing to take that risk, if it means that we have the strength of this superb alchemist in the Amestrian military once again. Give him his alchemy now." She didn't sound frightened or confident, just determined.
Truth moved its hand towards me and the transmutation circle began to glow blue and crackle with alchemy, and just before I blacked out again, I saw Truth make a slashing motion towards Royal's neck and she didn't even try to avoid the blow. Then the world went black.
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