DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. I only own my own OCs and this fic. Have a nice day.
Two
When the group had gathered around the table, Delilah noticed that Dr. Mauro—Marcoh?—had skinned his palm when he had fallen to the floor. Hesitantly, Delilah took his hand and grabbed a piece of chalk from her dress pocket, drawing a small transmutation circle on the table before she healed his hand. Once she was done, she cleaned up the chalk with her hands and wiped them on her dress, which was already white to begin with.
"Now, Dr. Marcoh, would you mind explaining some things to us?" Major Armstrong prompted.
The doctor was silent for a moment. "I couldn't stand it anymore. Having to obey their orders, dirtying my hands to research those things, and then seeing it used in the Ishvalan Civil War. So many people died in that awful war….
"I couldn't make up for my actions if I paid for them for the rest of my life. But I still try to do what I can here as Dr. Mauro."
There was a heavy silence before Delilah quietly spoke up. "Were you ever going to tell me your real name?"
Marcoh had looked pained throughout the entire conversation so far, but at this he grimaced even more. "…When you were older," he said. Usually, Delilah had a terrible read on other people, but his words sounded somewhat hollow.
She nodded mutely, feeling betrayed by the fact that she had been apprenticed to a man whom had been lying to her for years.
Before the silence could stretch on for long, the Major spoke up. "What were you researching before you left? What did you take with you?"
Marcoh paused and put a hand to his forehead. "I was making the Philosopher's Stone. I took it and the research data with me."
Delilah frowned, remembering a passage out of one of the alchemy books that Dr. Mauro—Marcoh— had given her. According to the book, the Stone was a mythical substance that could bypass the laws of equivalent exchange. She remembered trying to ask Marcoh about it, but he had always changed the subject. Well, now she knew why.
But it always did confuse her, how something directly related to alchemy could bypass the laws of equivalent exchange….
"You really have it?" Edward exclaimed as Marcoh went to retrieve a bottle of red fluid from the depths of the medicine cabinet. "Hey—if it's the 'Stone,' why is it a liquid?"
In response, Marcoh pulled the stopper out of the vial and poured the contents onto the table, where the liquid took a wobbly, round shape, looking almost as if it were solid. Delilah and the Major peered at it while Edward poked it.
"The Stone has several names. It isn't surprising that it might not be a stone at all," Marcoh explained. "But this is experimental," he continued as he put the Stone back in its container. "It's an imperfect compound, and it's impossible to know when it will reach its limits and cease to work. Even so, these compounds were used secretly throughout the civil war and were successful. I only use this one here in case I have a patient that I can't treat by normal means."
Understanding clicked in Delilah's mind. "You used that on me," she stated. She sounded uninterested, but in reality, Marcoh's secrets were affecting her greatly. She felt as if her mind would never stop racing with the information that was being presented to her.
"It may be imperfect," Edward began, not giving Marcoh time to respond to the girl, "but the fact that you made it means that it must be possible to make the perfect Stone someday, right?" He suddenly slapped the table with his left arm, and Delilah finally noticed that his right one was missing. This information felt so irrelevant to the thoughts running in her mind; the distraction made her feel relieved.
"Dr. Marcoh!" Edward pleaded. "Please show me your data!"
Marcoh gave a start. "What? What would you do with such a thing?" He turned to the Major. "Who is this child?"
"A State Alchemist."
"This boy?" Marcoh put a hand to his forehead once more and began muttering. Delilah noticed that he was covered in a thin sheen of sweat. "He has a state license at his age? He must've been lured by the promise of privilege and research money…. How foolish!" His voice rose in volume. "Do you know how many alchemists threw away their licenses after the war? I wasn't the only one who hated himself for being used as a weapon, but you still—"
"I know it was foolish, but I had to!" Edward yelled, causing everyone to jump a little. He took a breath and looked down at the table. "I have to get the Stone so Al and I can get our original bodies back," he admitted. "…We tried to transmute our mother back from the dead. I lost my leg, Al lost his body, and I had to give my arm to get him back."
There was a moment of silence. Delilah's mind swirled with the information, imagining how it must have felt, how it must have happened, and how they thought they could get their bodies back. She looked over to Alphonse. Even though he was steel, he seemed downcast, his red eyes drooping slightly. Seeing this made her face wilt as well.
Being lied to is one thing, but what is it like to lose one's body? she wondered. She looked down at her lap and frowned somberly.
"So, you committed the ultimate sin," Marcoh noted. "I'm surprised you were able to transmute a soul. If you have that kind of talent, you might even be able to create a complete Philosopher's Stone. But, I cannot allow you to see my data!"
Edward, who had begun to look hopeful, gritted his teeth. "But why not?"
"I've said everything I'm going to say." Marcoh stood and walked away from the table, as if he couldn't look at them all anymore. "Getting your original body back… The Stone couldn't be used for something so trite."
"Trite?" Edward exploded, rising to his feet in anger.
Marcoh ignored him. "No one will ever see my research. It's the work of the devil. It can only lead straight to hell."
"I've already seen hell!" Ed yelled at him, causing Marcoh to jerk at the noise.
"…No," the doctor said finally. "Please go."
Edward leaned with his one arm against the table for a moment, his muscles tense. Without warning, he lurched away from the table and stalked toward the door before wrenching it open and leaving.
"Brother!" Alphonse called, but Ed was already too far away to hear him. The armor-boy sighed.
The Major stood. "Thank you for taking the time to speak with us, Dr. Marcoh. Thank you for your help, miss." With that, he picked up Alphonse's crate and began to leave.
"Thank you, Dr. Marcoh," Alphonse said as they left. "It was nice to meet you, Delilah."
As they passed her, Delilah caught a whiff of the sheep scent that still clung to Alphonse's armor. The smell cut through her thoughts of the lies and dark secrets, and she suddenly became more aware of herself and the situation.
"Oh…," she breathed. She stood and followed them out the door, only to find that the Major and Alphonse were already down the steps, and that Edward was already a reddish speck in the distance. "Good luck!" she said, raising her voice only as loud as she had to for the Major and Alphonse to hear her.
The Major stopped and turned to wave at her politely, while Alphonse paused for a beat before calling out in surprise. "Thank you!"
Delilah watched them leave, but her thoughts were already distracting her. She wandered back into the house, not paying attention to her surroundings.
What could it be like to lose my limbs, or my body? Would Dr. Mau…Marcoh ever have told me about himself? How can the Philosopher's Stone bypass the laws of equivalent exchange if all alchemy is supposed to follow it? Those boys must have really missed their mother to try to perform taboo…. Will they ever get their bodies back? If Edward lost both his arm and leg, how is he walking—automail? Then why does he only have one arm? Does it have anything to do with why Alphonse is in that crate, all broken up? I wonder…
"…you ever going to listen to me, Delilah?" Marcoh sighed.
Delilah raised her head, becoming aware again, and looked at the man she thought she had known. "I do not know what to think about you."
Marcoh ran a hand through his hair, looking utterly tired. He was already an old man, but he seemed to have aged a decade in an afternoon. "…You have every right to be angry if you want to be." He paused. "Do you still trust me?"
Delilah calculated. "Eighty percent."
The man smiled grimly at her honest answer. "…What do you think about those boys?"
She didn't even need to consider the question. She could learn so much from books, but those two were a challenge, a wealth of information not easily gained. Not only that, but they had been the first who hadn't looked at her as if she was still sick. "I want to know more."
"And by that you mean everything," Marcoh guessed. He was correct, so she nodded.
He paused, his brow furrowed. "…They'll probably get themselves killed…. But…" He was silent for a moment, then came closer to her. "Listen to me, okay? If you're a doctor like me, you want to help them, right?"
Delilah considered the question for a few seconds. "Yes."
He ran a hand through his hair once again. "Perhaps it would be good if you learned your social skills from others…. And it might be good for you to leave for a while," he muttered. "What if you go with them to Central and help them to decipher my research? And when you're finished, you can call and we'll arrange for you to come home, okay?"
Delilah blinked slowly, considering the options. "…That seems logical. Okay."
"Go pack, and hurry," Marcoh instructed, shifting from serious to rushed. He hurried over to the counter to retrieve a piece of paper and a pen before he began to scribble something down before shoving the paper in an envelope.
Delilah went to her dresser and grabbed her dresses and other clothes, as well as a few other travel necessities and her medicine. When Marcoh saw that she wasn't ready when he was, he grabbed her briefcase and emptied it of the patient files before he hurriedly helped shove her belongings inside. Once they were packed, he slammed the case shut and unceremoniously handed it to her. (Some parts of her clothes poked out, and she briefly wondered long it would take for them to get dirty before she had a chance to fix that problem.)
Finished, Marcoh practically dragged her out the door, and they rushed to the train station. Delilah wasn't completely out of shape, but as she didn't usually have to rush at top speed to catch up to a boy with only one flesh leg and another with no usable body at the moment, she was out of breath when they came to the station. Marcoh paid for a ticket and they went onto the platform.
It was an easy feat to find the travelers—they were the only other people on the platform. The Major and Edward were sitting on one of the few benches, and Alphonse was on the ground beside them.
"Hey!" Marcoh shouted, hurrying over while Delilah followed closely. He held out an envelope to Edward, who stood. "This is the place where I hid my data. If you can look the truth in the face, then do it. Then you might be able to reach the truth that lies within the truth."
Edward's face scrunched up in confusion, and Marcoh simply shook his head.
"I've said too much already. Anyway, my notes may be…difficult to decipher. If it's no problem, I recommend that you bring Delilah with you; I highly doubt she won't be able to help you. Though…you might have to keep an eye on her, she tends to wander."
Delilah had no idea whether to take that comment seriously or not, so she let it drop (although she frowned slightly, as it was a bit true).
Ed gave a start. "What! Al and I don't have time to babysit her! We have our own stuff to do!"
"Brother!" Al scolded in exasperation.
Major Armstrong hit Edward lightly in the shoulder with the back of his hand. "Mr. Elric! How impolite! The doctor has kindly offered you the help of his lovely young assistant, and you speak this way! You should apologize!"
"Apologize?" Edward sputtered.
Very suddenly, the Major loomed over the young alchemist, his muscles gleaming in the sunlight. "Yes. Apologize."
Edward sweated nervously, then turned to Marcoh and Delilah. "S-sorry. You know…it might be okay for her to come," he grumbled.
The Major smiled, suddenly back to normal (as normal as such a man could be). "Was that so hard?"
"Now, it's just until you're finished with my research," Marcoh explained. "Once that's over, she'll call here, and we'll arrange for her to come back. She shouldn't be with you for too long. But take care of her."
"Don't worry, doctor!" Alphonse called from his box. "We won't let anything happen to Delilah."
Marcoh smiled. "Good." He turned to Delilah. "Take care, okay?"
Delilah nodded. Even though this man had lied to her and the town, a pang of sadness hit her. She knew it would be a good thing to be away from him for a little while to better deal with the situation, but she would miss him. "You as well, doctor."
With that done, Marcoh began to walk away. He raised a hand in farewell. "I'll pray for the day that you two can return to your original bodies."
Edward and the Major stood stunned for a moment before Ed bowed respectfully and the Major saluted.
Though Delilah was quite the thinker, she never considered the possibility that she wouldn't see Marcoh for a long, long time.
a/n: Well, there you have it! Chapter two. This was updated quite quickly for me, huh. Usually I can go forever between updates. Must be because this story is new. XD;;
Yeah, I felt we had to slog through some stuff in this chapter, because you all know this stuff about Marcoh's research and whatnot. But yeah, this is probably just an OC-insert. I told myself I would try hard not to do another one of these...oh well. XD
As a side-note, I'm taking quotes/scenes from the VIZ translation of the manga. I have 9 volumes, so that should last me until the next 3-in-1 volumes come out, but if not I'll just go read a scanned one.
Have a good day! And don't forget to drop a review on your way out~ (Seriously, it doesn't take long.)
-Rose