I opened my eyes squinting at the light on the ceiling and the slight pain in my head, it traveled to the front of my head and slowly disappeared. My black bomber jacket stuck to my back and my hair had turned frizzy from the rain outside. I felt sticky and wet.
I sat up peeling my jacket off making the cold touch leave my skin.
I glanced around recognised the infirmary, I was back in Eastern command a few doors down from Roy's office. It was dark outside so I hadn't been out for long.
I slung my jacket over my shoulder raking my hands through my ratty black hair swiping up the red juice apple on the counter, I sunk my teeth into it.
My stomach rumbled thanking me for feeding it, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and stuck my head out the door.
The corridor was dimly lit and there was no one in sight, I stepped out and made my way to Roy's office to see if he was still here or decided to leave me here over night so he didn't have to deal with me at home.
I took another bite of my apple.
"Fine I have no choice, I have to go see my mechanic" that sounded like Edward Elric and it was coming from Roy's office. I wonder if they caught Scar or if he got away again, the military was having a bit of trouble catching him.
"Someone will have to escort you since you are unable to protect yourselves" that was Roy, he hadn't left yet. The door was open ajar.
I stuck my head in curiously.
All Roy's subordinates including Armstrong, Ed and Al were in here. Roy saw me and went silent staring at me, that made everyone else look at me. I knew that face. That was the 'I'm very unimpressed with you Alexis' face.
"Don't look at me like that" I said stepping through the door, he crossed his arms still not responding. I aimed my apple into the bin next to Roy's desk, with a flick of my wrist it landed straight in it.
I smiled at myself.
Roy was still staring at me.
"Silent treatment?" I asked him, "a bit immature don't you think?" everyone else around me stayed silent and didn't dare respond to my comment.
"Go home before you do something stupid again" he told me finally speaking up, "I just can't deal with you at the moment" I crossed my arms over my chest and frowned.
"Hey I didn't choose to get into that fight" I protested, "they ran into me" I gestured to one arm Ed and broken Al.
"No one asked for your help, I told you to leave!" Ed snapped at me, I raised my eyebrows at him.
"Seriously?" I asked facing him, "if I didn't get between you and the Alchemist killer your brains would be anywhere else but in your hard head" his face turned red. I had angered him which believe it or not wasn't overly hard.
"Alexis no one wants hear it" Roy said cooly trying to interrupting my rant at Ed, but neither of us took any notice to Roy, he was just background noise.
"I had it under control!" Ed snapped getting all defensive.
"No you didn't brother!" Al stepped in, he caught our attention. "If Alexis hadn't stepped in, you would have let Scar kill you which wasn't your decision!" that shut Ed up.
He looked away clenching his jaw.
"You're welcome by the way" I added. Ed looked at me and just glared at me, he didn't say a word but he didn't need to, that look was slightly terrifying but I shrugged at him.
"Go home Alexis" Roy said again, "I'm not going to say it again" I looked over at him and stood still. His eyes were saying go home before I drag you there myself.
I sighed in defeat.
"Yeah whatever" I said turning towards the door, "you're all boring me now anyway" I added pulling my coat collar up for effect.
"I expect you to be home when I get there!" Roy called out but I ignored him, ill be home when I decide to be home.
When I got home Danny was fast asleep and Roy wasn't anywhere in sight, I had obviously beat him home which might just come in handy. I changed into dry and warmer clothes before I got myself sick and headed for the kitchen.
I jumped slightly at the loud banging noise above me.
"Damn neighbours" I grumbled to myself, how Danny slept through the commotion I will never know.
The neighbours were going at it again, the wife was bonkers. She was always screaming about how her husband can't do anything right, it used always drive me nuts. I went straight to the no Lexie zone in the kitchen, which happened to be the cabinet full of Roy's favourite drinks.
I took the bottle of whisky before I went next door and really told Mrs Leffley what I thought about her. I took a mouth full of the alcohol and swallowing it before I had time to gag, my throat started to burn but it made my stomach feel nice and warm taking the chill off my skin.
"Can't you get anything right?!" Leffley screamed at the top of her lungs, "you're an idiot, I can't believe I married you Joseph!"
I laughed softly.
"I can't believe Joseph married you, you're the crazy bitch" I muttered under my breath, I took another swig of the whiskey walking into Roy's bedroom.
Lets get down to business.
I wanted to know more about Edward and Alphonse Elric, I had already managed to get my hands on their military records but they had nothing of interest, especially no details about Al being an empty suit of armour. Roy already knew about Al so that meant he probably knew what happened to both of them and since Roy discovered the Fullmetal Alchemist, he had to have something on them, anything.
I spun around in his room with the bottle of whisky in my hand, I took another sip and staggered slightly over to his desk. There had to be something here, he wasn't overly organised without Hawkeye around so his desk was a mess. I placed the whiskey down and picked up a small black book.
There were a bunch of dates and names in here with scribbled notes under them, I was about to give up until I saw the name Elric. There wasn't a lot but there were dot points and enough to make me stop for a second with wide eyes. I wiped the spaces between each word out of habit while reading it.
On the page it said:
•Von Hohenheim's children
•Human transmutation was preformed
•Oldest lost right arm and left leg age: 11
•Youngest lost entire body age:10
•Oldest bound youngest soul to armour
"Holy shit" I muttered to myself, these two were a lot more than meets the eye. They preformed the biggest taboo at such a young age, now I see why Ed is a state alchemist. They are prodigies in the making.
I picked up the whiskey and took another gulp of it throwing the book back onto the desk.
I turned around and ran straight into Roy.
We both stood there for a second staring at each other, I stayed frozen not expecting to run into him and he had fire in his eyes again. His eyes traveled down to the whiskey, back to me, to his desk then to me again.
I said nothing.
"Im surprised you can even read my notes" he said snatching the bottle of whiskey out of my hand, that was a low shot even for him.
I glared at him gritting my teeth.
"Im dyslexic not stupid" I growled up at him. He put the bottle of whisky down and pushed me up against the wall, he bent down to my level.
"I don't understand why you turned out like this" he hissed, "your mother was never like this, your brother is practically an angel yet here we have is you" he paused and laughed slightly.
"Of course your father was quite troublesome when he was younger but he grew out of it when he was your age" him mentioning dad made my hands curl into fists, "you act like the bratty girl that can't stay out of my stuff or drinking my alcohol" he gestured to the bottle.
"Am I going to have to put locks on everything just to keep you out of my stuff?" I deserved the insult, I did put him under a lot of stress but I just shrugged, too drunk to care.
"You do know I can pick locks right?" I asked, he stepped back throwing his hands in the air.
"Why can't you be like any normal seventeen year old girl?!" he snapped, "I understand you had it rough, so have I but I'm not screwing my future up. Thats what you're doing Alexis, you're hurting yourself by doing this and I can't save you every time you get into trouble" he was trying to guilt trip me which would have worked if I wasn't intoxicated.
"How about fuck you!" I snapped back, he laughed clapping his hands trying to mock me.
"Thats so mature Lexie" I stuck my finger up at him in response.
"So are you happy?" he asked, "nearly getting yourself killed tonight?" I shrugged.
"Would be a load off your shoulders, right?" I asked pushing past him trying to pretend I could walk straight. Danny stood at the door watching us, his hair sticking up in every direction with his blanket wrapped around his shoulders.
I came to a stop.
"Can we not do this tonight?" he asked yawning, "I don't want to turn into next door where everyone can hear everything. It's really embarrassing especially when I have to go to school and everyone knows that my sisters been drinking again underage and my uncle doest know what to do with her" I stared at him not knowing to say. Even through my drunk mind I could hear the hurt in his voice, it made my stomach hurt and a lump form in my throat.
"Im sorry you've got to deal with this" Roy spoke up, "but you should go to bed" I walked up to Danny and ruffled his hair.
This is why I shouldn't be here.
"Yeah I'm sorry" I muttered and walked past him.
The award to best sister of the year goes to me, right?
I wish.
I used to be a good sister. I used to rock him to sleep and let him sleep with me when he had nightmares but then I lost myself. I hated myself for putting him through it, a good part of me dies every time I hurt him.
I slumped in bed looking up at the ceiling, ill wait till dawn and everyone is fast asleep then ill go and this time ill make sure I don't get caught.
When the sun started to rise I crept out of bed not making a sound. I packed what I needed and got out of there, I didn't want to be stuck one more day in that place.
I opened the window and climbed down the drainpipe into the dark alley.
I didn't have a lot of cash on me but enough to get me to central, ill go there and find something useful to do as well as staying away from military soldiers that could recognise me.
I tucked my hair inside my hood and made my way to the train station, it wasn't overly busy but there was still people getting off and on of trains. I bought the next ticket to central and waited for the train with my head down, I was lucky I hadn't drank enough to give myself a hangover otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get out of bed.
When the train pulled into the station I waited for everyone to get off then boarded with everyone else, I noticed some military officers crawling around the station and made a quick dash onto the last carriage before any of them noticed me. I doubt they were looking for me but best to go unseen than for them to see me and know where I was heading.
When the train started moving and I knew I was safe I walked through the carriages looking for an empty seat, I didn't want to sit next to some creepy guy or the seats that had kids jumping all over them. I moved onto the next carriage giving up on this one, I opened the door stepped through and closed the door behind me.
I turned around and saw a large figure who looked familiar then the little gold headed kid sitting across from him. I froze in my spot and Ed looked up staring at me. He frowned at me and I shook my head at him putting my finger to my lips trying to convince him not to say anything, but he only raised his eyebrows even more confused.
Armstrong turned around in his seat to see what Ed was strangely staring at, he spotted me before I managed to get out of the carriage and I knew I was caught.
"Alexis?" Armstrong asked looking at me puzzled.
Dammit!
What the hell was he doing here?!
"Oh hey Armstrong" I said nervously. I didn't move any closer to them.
"What are you doing here?" He asked me, "the Colonel wouldn't have approved..." his voice trailed off when he realised what I was doing. He stood up making Ed jump back in his seat.
"You are running away!" He exclaimed.
I shook my hands at him.
"Of course not Armstrong" I laughed nervously, "what on earth would make you think that?" I asked.
"Well I doubt you got on a train just to go for a ride" Ed pointed out.
I glared at him.
"Shut up" I spat him.
He shrugged at me as Armstrong pointed at me.
"You are not going to do this to the Colonel again!" Armstrong roared.
I moaned loudly.
"Out of all the trains I could have got, I got the one you're on" I practically cried to myself. "How could I have let this happen?" I asked myself, "I was so damn carful this time!" I had everything planned out I just didn't plan this bit. Armstrong was the hardest person to get away from and no doubt he would drag me back to Roy who would be furious at me.
"Come here" Armstrong ordered, I didn't refuse him and walked up to him with my head down. "Sit" he said pointing next to Ed, I just raised my eyebrows at him having no intention in sitting, "now" he growled. I coward under his gaze and sat down in the empty seat.
"Now explain yourself Alexis Mustang" He said sitting across from me.
I glanced at Ed and he shook his head.
"Don't look at me, I'm not about to get you out of this one" he stated, "I've already saved your ass once from Grumman's men, I'm not about to do it again" I had no way of getting out of this one.
I was not going to make a run for it, have you seen Armstrong running at you full speed?
I can tell you its one of the scariest things I have ever experienced. I will have to bide my time and get away from him when he wasn't paying attention.
"You really want to hear my excuse?" I asked Armstrong. He didn't say anything expecting an excuse out of me.
I sighed loudly.
"I really don't have an excuse for this one" I muttered slouching in the uncomfortable seat, "you caught me" I said holding my hands up in defeat.
My honesty seemed to satisfy Armstrong.
"You will have to come with us then" he chuckled, "I can't take you back now so you will join us" he said grinning at me.
"You're going to drag me along to where ever you've gotta take him?" I asked annoyed pointing at Ed.
"Oh fun" Ed grumble from beside me not overly impressed.
I glanced at him.
"Im just as thrilled as you" I grumbled back.
"I will have to take a few precautions" Armstrong spoke up, we looked at him and he snapped a handcuff to my right hand and Ed's left hand.
Both Ed and I looked down to our cuff wrists, looked at each other then to Armstrong in pure astonishment.
"Oh no" I whispered to him.
"What the hell Major!" Ed snapped, "why do you have to punish me with her?!"
"Come on Armstrong" I moaned, "think about this" I shook my arm around making Ed glare at me but I ignored him.
"Ive only got one arm left!" Ed exclaimed, "I would at least like to keep it that way!" Armstrong completely ignored us like we weren't even there.
We were not going to get out of this predicament.
This is defiantly not how I planned my run away trip, it was full of adventures not being handcuffed to Ed. I stared out the window and realised something.
We weren't heading to central.
"Where are we going?" I asked wide eyed.
"Resembool" Ed mumbled from beside me. I slammed my feet into the train seat making Ed stare at me.
"I got on the wrong train!" I snapped at my self, "I can't believe this!" I couldn't believe I had made this mistake. I was too busy about not being caught that I got on the wrong train and got caught, just perfect!
Ed laughed slightly.
"Well you're most defiantly the expert at this whole running away thing-" I jerked the hand cuff making him stagger forward.
"Did I ask for your smart ass opinion?" I asked him, he opened his mouth to reply but I beat him. "No I recall not asking you a damn thing" he looked at me glaring at me.
"Don't get angry at me, you're the idiot who got on the wrong train" he said shaking the cuffs. I opened my mouth and Armstrong stood up.
"What are you two fighting about?" Armstrong asked looming over us. We both shrunk in our seat staring out the window.
"Nothing" we said together not wanting to anger him. He sat back down.
"I guess we should probably get along or this trip is going to get even worse" Ed said glancing at Armstrong then back to me, he was right.
I nodded.
"Probably right there" I replied, no more bickering or Armstrong might take even more dramatic measures and handcuff me to him. Now thats something I will avoid.
"And I guess I should say thanks" Ed said staring out of the window, "for last night" he added quickly, I looked at him shocked. I did not expect that, but he had done a few things that had been unexpected to me.
"Are you saying thanks to me or the window?" I asked watching him, he turned his head to stare at me. He didn't look impressed.
I smiled slightly.
"We didn't die so I guess thats what counts" I said as the train came to a stop. "Friends?" I asked holding my left hand for him to shake, he looked at me for a few moments like I was an idiot then sighed.
"Friends" he said smiling and shook my hand awkwardly.
Armstrong stuck his head out the window.
"Dr. Marcoh?" He roared out the window directing it to an old man wondering past the stopped train. The old guy turned around and stared at us with wide eyes, he staggered backwards and raced off down the street like Armstrong was a threat.
That intrigued both me and Ed making us sit up and watch the guy running off into the distance.
"Well, he looked happy to see you" I spoke up first, I looked up at Armstrong when he pulled his head back into the train. "What did you do him?" I asked, "Squash his new puppy?" I laughed at my own joke.
Armstrong shook his head at me taking no notice to my sarcasm.
"He's a skilled alchemist" Armstrong explained, that caught Ed's attention making him sit up straighter listening to Armstrong.
"He was involved in the alchemy research department at central" Armstrong paused and glanced back out the window, "he was studying for medical purposes but vanished during the civil war" Ed stood up which launched me off the seat. I stumbled into him and we stumbled into Armstrong. Armstrong steadied us by putting both his hands on our heads, we shook him off.
"Lets get off" Ed said dragging me with him, I grabbed my bag in time before we stepped off while Armstrong got Al.
Both Ed and me waited in the train station for Armstrong to get Al, while we waited we both stared at the cuffs.
"I can unlock them" I said to him.
Ed looked up at me.
"Why are you telling me?" He asked, "do it!" I held my hands up at him.
"Im just thinking about the consequences-"
"Do it!"
"Okay okay" I said searching my pockets, "don't get your panties in a twist" I pulled out a thin piece of wire. I stuck it into the lock and fiddled with it.
"Wait wait stop!" Ed exclaimed making me stop.
Armstrong came around the corner carrying Al on his shoulder joining me and Ed. We both pretended like we hadn't just tried to get out of these cuffs.
Al noticed me and looked down at me from his crate on Armstrong's shoulder.
"Hey Lexie what are you doing here?" Al asked. I lifted my right hand which was attached to Ed's left hand and shook it which scored me a glare off Ed.
"Armstrong's doing" I said.
"She got caught running away" Ed muttered trying to keep his arm still.
"Did not" I muttered shaking my arm even more.
"Did so!"
"Did not!" we glared at each other. We tried our hardest to be as faraway from each other as we possibly could while still being attached at the wrists.
"While you two sort out your differences I'm going to ask around for Dr. Marcoh" Armstrong said putting Al down and wondering off, Ed and I said nothing in response to Armstrong.
Looks like neither of us were willing to do that, we were stubborn as each other.
"More the merrier" Al chimed happily. At least someone was happy to see me. "I'm sure Winry would love to meet you" I lifted my eyebrows.
"Who's that?" I asked curiously.
"Ed's mechanic" Al's tone implied something else, I wiggled my eyebrows at Ed and he gave me a weird look back.
"She your girlfriend?" I asked, his face dropped into frustration.
"No, she's a family friend" he snapped while throwing his arm in the air. Mine quickly followed.
"Not quite, we've known her for as long as I can remember" Al said saving Ed, but 'not quite' wasn't a no. I was still grinning enjoying Ed's embarrassment.
"You're really getting on my nerves" he growled at me.
My grin grew.
"And what you gonna do about it?" I asked facing him. "You've got one arm that won't get you very far, you really don't want to fight me or you will hurt your man pride" he put his face in mine. I think I just found his limit.
"You're really testing me" he growled, I pinched his cheek.
"So much anger in such a handsome guy" his face went from being to pissed off to being confused, he blinked at me not knowing how to reply.
I smiled.
His anger was easy to defuse.
"I think I found Dr. Marcoh" Armstrong said coming up behind us. "But he's going under the name of Dr. Mauro and has been treating people for free, people have been saying theres a flash of light when he treats them" Ed's face went into deep thought completely forgetting our conversation.
"Thats alchemy" Ed whispered, "he's gotta be using alchemy" I raised one eyebrow confused with one thing.
"So he's using an alias and living in the country side, but why?" I asked too curious not to ask, "who or what is he hiding from?"
"Well apparently when the doctor disappeared so did some of the top-secret research" I was surprised Armstrong answered my question. When I ever asked questions about military affairs I got put back into my place, but being attached to Ed literally might come in handy.
We followed Armstrong as he led us to what we could only assume was where Marcoh was living.
"So he's hiding from the military?" I asked seeing how far I could push Armstrong to get more information.
This Dr. Marcoh was doing a good job at hiding, it was hard hiding from the military and I knew that first hand experience. When anyone in the military goes after you they will sniff you out like blood hounds.
"It was rumoured that Dr. Marcoh stole the top-secret information and ran" Armstrong said leading us towards a small average house. It didn't look any different to any other house on the street and certainly didn't draw any attention to itself.
This is where Marcoh must be living.
Ed made sure he was first up the steps which dragged me along behind him. He climbed the steps two at a time eager to talk to Marcoh and nearly making me trip up the stairs and head butt him.
Ed and I stood at the front door. He knocked on it but there was no answer.
"Hello?" Ed called out, he banged a little harder but still no response. He tried the door handle and the door slowly creaked open. Ed looked at me like he was asking for permission to poke his head in.
"Anybody home?" I asked doing it first, Ed followed me quickly to have a gun pointed at his head. We both froze with wide eyes.
"Aww man" I whispered.
I saw Marcoh put his finger on the trigger and I pulled my arm backwards forcing Ed onto the ground, the cuffs made me fall next to him just as the gun went off. The noise made both me and Ed shriek in shock.
"What did you come here for?" Marcoh asked as both Ed and I clutched our chests in fear, my heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest.
"I think I just had a heart attack" I gasped for air.
"The gun wasn't pointed at you!" Ed snapped at me, "why are you freaking out?!"
"Do I look like I want your brains on me?" I asked him, he turned to stare at me and grit his teeth in frustration. "Oh don't even look at me like that, you're the one who insisted we find this guy" I said to him crossing my arms over my chest. His arm hung in the air so he tugged on it making my arm fall back to my side.
"Man you're a bitch" I just heard Ed mutter under his breath while Marcoh still stood in front of us with a gun.
I instantly glared at Ed.
"Great comeback short stack" that got his full attention. His face went bright red with anger and I saw the fire in his eyes.
"Don't call me short!" I squinted at his shrieking voice. His elbow slammed into my ribs and I gasped not expecting him to lash out. I instantly reacted and turned around slamming my fist square in the face, I sent him back to the ground but I made sure I didn't go down with him.
"Please clam down doctor" Armstrong said stepping over me and Ed. Ed sat up to stare at me. I didn't intentionally punch him, it was just an automatic reaction.
"Ouch" Ed spat at me clutching his nose.
"Sorry" I muttered looking away from him.
"Did you come to take me back?!" Marcoh shouted now pointing the gun at Armstrong. Ed and I climbed to our feet actually working together to get it done then peered around Armstrong. We made sure he was our shield while we watched him calm down Marcoh.
"Ill never go back to that place! I beg of you please let me go!" Marcoh pleaded. His hands were shaking furiously while he still held the gun.
"No thats not it please listen" Marcoh wouldn't listen to Armstrong.
"So you came to kill me to shut me up for good-" Armstrong pulled Al off from his shoulder and threw it towards Marcoh.
"Hey watch it Major!" Ed protested, "thats my brother you're throwing!" But Armstrong ignored him.
"I said please calm down" Armstrong roared.
After a lot of convincing from Armstrong, Dr. Marcoh finally put the gun down and allowed us inside. He was explaining what the military forced him to do but I had no interest to listen to his sins, I just wanted theses damn cuffs off.
My arm was killing me and no doubt Ed's was as well so I decided id try and unlock the handcuffs again, Ed was watching from the corner of his eye and leaning forward so Armstrong couldn't see what I was doing. I was just about to get it unlocked until Marcoh said the word Philosopher stone, that was when Ed jerked his arm making me drop my wire.
"Oh good one Ed" I grumbled but he took no interest in me, he was too tranced when Marcoh placed a small vile on the table in front of us.
It also caught my attention.
It was a little vile with pink liquid in it, Ed leaned forward inspecting it taking me with him.
"What is it?" I asked since no one else had.
"A philosopher's stone" Marcoh answered, I frowned. It was a liquid though.
"I thought it was supposed to be a stone not a liquid" I said looking at it closer. I had heard stories about this stone but thats what I thought it was supposed to be.
A stone.
But that wasn't what was in front of us.
Marcoh opened the vile and tipped it upside down. Ed's mouth dropped open and I thought he was going to have a heart attack again but when it hit the table it turned into some sort of jelly substance.
I raised one eye brow and poked it, it just wobbled like jelly and felt like rubber under my touch.
We were both bent over it moving it around with our fingers.
"Weird" I muttered.
"Super weird" Ed muttered back, we slouched back into our seats when Marcoh picked it up and away from our hands.
"It was created for experimental purposes, it's an imperfect compound" Marcoh put it back into the vile.
I watched Ed's face light up.
He jerked his arm forward pulling me into him. I tripped over my own feet and fell into him but he used his body weight against mine, stopping us from falling to the ground. He grabbed my arm pulling me to my feet while still staring at Marcoh.
His eyes sparkled with happiness towards Marcoh that I had to take another look at him to make sure thats what I was seeing.
"Dr. Marcoh!" Ed exclaimed, "Can you please show me your data?" he practically squeaked with excitement.
It made me wonder what he wanted with the stone. I didn't know much about it but what I did know puzzled me as to why he'd want it. It was an extremely powerful alchemic compound that I didn't even think existed until now, there had to be a good reason to why someone like him wanted it.
"What do you mean to do with such a thing?" Marcoh asked then turned to Armstrong "who is this child?" he asked.
"He's a state alchemist" Armstrong said softly, Marcoh looked at Ed in disappointment. Ed saw the disappointment and his face dropped to a blank expression.
Marcoh shook his head.
"He's just a boy" Marcoh said to Armstrong, "he has obviously been lured by the promises of privilege and research money" Armstrong didn't say a word.
"How foolish" Marcoh added with a mutter. It was like Marcoh's words hit Ed in the chest because he fell back into his chair and sunk in it.
I watched him strangely wondering why he cared so much for this stone.
"Do you know how many alchemists threw away their licenses after the war?" Marcoh asked Ed but continued before anyone could speak up, "I wasn't the only one who hated myself for being used as a weapon but you still…" Ed's head dropped.
For a kid who was a pain in the ass with a huge mouth, I didn't think I would see the day he'd shut up and look disappointed. Here he was, quiet with pain in his eyes. Marcoh was right but something didn't add up. Why would Ed join the military at his age just to do the militaries dirty work like every other dog?
He was using the military for some reason and from his excitement at the stone, thats what he's been looking for but why?
There had to be a reason to why he wanted something so powerful that it would defy the rules of alchemy.
What would mean the most to him?
Could it be the person he and his brother had tried to bring back through human transmutation, but no that would be foolish, he was obviously not stupid so there had to be another reason.
I looked at Al.
Everything clicked into place.
He wanted to give his brother a normal body again, Al had to be 14.
What 14 year old wants to live as a suit of armour unable to eat, sleep or feel touch?
No one wants to live like that, its cruel. I didn't quite know the full story but I did know something, Ed was trying to help his little brother, it was called caring and I knew what that was like, watching your little brother suffer for the things you did.
I held my breath but the words tumbled from my mouth, I couldn't control my impulsive side.
"What would you know?" I spat out, "you have no idea what he wants it for" everyone looked at me. "You instantly think its for some foolish child's reason because thats what you see him as, a foolish child joining the military at a young age for the privileges of money" I chuckled slightly. "You're all the same, you all think the same of kids like us, did you ever think there might be another reason?" I asked.
Marcoh just stared at me.
"This kid is practically a prodigy but what would you know? You have no clue what he's capable of" I pointed at Al. "Look at him, thats a fourteen year old boy, does that look like a fourteen year old?" I asked but continued before anyone could speak up.
"They did something stupid and man are they paying for it but did you ever consider that maybe they are trying make it right?" I had no clue what had gotten into me, I wasn't the one to speak up for people like this.
"Being young makes you naive, I would know" I said pointing at myself. "We've all done stupid things but not everyone has the balls to make it right!" I pointed at Marcoh, "you ran away, so before you criticise him for his choices" I gestured to Ed. He was just staring at me, "ask yourself something, what have you done wrong and what have you done to fix it?" everyone was deadly silent. All eyes on me, maybe I should have stayed quiet.
"Are you related to Roy Mustang by any chance?" Marcoh asked, I was taken back by the sudden interest in me.
"Seriously?" I asked back annoyed, "thats the question you ask" I sat back and crossed my arms.
"Yes I am related to him" I grumbled in a huff.
"You sound like him" thats the last thing I wanted to hear, but it shut me up and made me lose my train of thought.
I slouched in my chair pulling my arm backwards making Ed sit in his seat, I looked down at the ground not wanting to be apart of this conversation anymore. I should have just stayed out of it, my big mouth always makes a fool out of me.
"She's right" Ed spoke up. I was shocked to hear him agreeing with me, I was expecting a fist in the face not for him to agree with me."I know I'm naive but I have to achieve my goal" he paused sighing, "even if it means sleeping on this bed of nails" it went quiet for a long moment.
"All we wanted was to see her face again" Al whispered from his corner.
"All we wanted was to see our mum again" Ed spoke up again softly, "she died and our dad had left us when we were young so all we wanted was our mother back."
"But it didn't quite go as we planned" Al added, "we had read about human transmutation and thought if we succeeded we'd have mum back but we were too young to think there would be consequences" he said looking down.
"You preformed human transmutation" Marcoh mumbled, "the ultimate taboo" Ed nodded.
"I lost my right leg and Al lost his entire body so I gave up my right arm to bring his soul back" Ed explained.
These two were just full of surprises.
"I bound his soul to the armour, we were so young, so naive" he looked up at Marcoh, "but we need the stone, to make things right."
I really had no idea what they had gone through, I did understood what it was like being called foolish for doing something you thought was right. But how are we supposed to know any better when you don't have anyone to teach you the ropes of life, whats wrong and whats right. You're bound to do something stupid, when your alone you've got to learn the hard way but you do eventually learn from your mistakes, its called being human.
"I'm surprised that you were able to transmute a soul, if you have that kind of talent then you might be able to create a complete stone" Marcoh stated.
Ed's face lit up and shot out of his seat again, I was ready this time and didn't stumble over when I was hauled out of my chair.
"But I cannot allow you to see my data" I looked at him in shock, he gave the poor kid all this confidence then shut him down completely.
"What?! Why not?" Ed asked in astonishment.
"No one will ever see my research, it's the work of the devil and it can only lead straight to hell" Marcoh got out of his chair and opened the front door gesturing for us to leave.
He had no intention to help.
Ed slammed his hand against the table bring mine down with his making the noise louder, it bounced off the walls and I could tell how pissed Ed was. It was like hanging a treat in front of a dogs face then deciding you don't want to give it that treat, it was cruel.
"I've already seen hell!" he roared in defeat but nothing was going to change Marcoh's mind.
"Leave" was all Marcoh said, we all had no choice but leave, so we did. We left and headed back towards the station having no need to stay here any longer.
"You figured it out" Ed said to me, he had slowed down causing both of us to hang back while Armstrong took off down the road.
I frowned at him.
"Why I want to the stone so badly" I nodded.
"You want Al to have his body back" I replied.
"How?" he asked, "how did you figure it out?"
"I saw how protective you were of Al, like yesterday when I was looking inside Al in Roy's office and then again with Scar" I wasn't stupid, I knew what it was like to have a little brother that meant everything to you. "I have a brother of mine own Ed and id do anything for him as well" Ed chuckled slightly.
"Nothing gets past you" I laughed in agreement, "you really are a Mustang" I stopped laughing and jerked my arm forward making Ed stumble.
"Watch it" I muttered, one thing I hated was being compared to my uncle.
We sat on one of the chairs waiting for the next train to arrive, "you could have taken that stone by force if you wanted to" Armstrong was the first to snap everyone out of deep thought.
"Yeah I wanted to so badly that I could taste it" Ed leaned his head back to look up at the sky, "but when I thought about the people Marcoh helped and that it was his way of making up for the bad things he had done, I decided that if I stole the thing he used to heal them just to get my body back" he paused and sighed. "It would leave a bad taste in my mouth and I can always find another way to get our bodies back" Al nodded in agreement.
"Well we're back where we started, this road sure is long" Ed mumbled to himself.
"It's Just a bump in the road, if you give up you'll just be proving how weak you are" I mumbled back, Ed glanced my way.
"Thanks" he muttered rolling his eyes, "that was so inspirational" he said mockingly.
I shrugged.
That was me being as nice as I possibly could.
"Look at that Alphonse!" Armstrong cried dramatically. Oh no he was getting dramatic again, "they are starting to understand each other" Ed and I looked at Armstrong.
"Im not quite sure thats what was happening Major" Al spoke up but Armstrong was long gone already ripping his shirt off.
I sighed putting my head in my hand.
"Oh great here he goes" Ed muttered under his breath.
"They both know the feeling of losing a loved one, the love for their brothers is strong and they have both walked difficult paths!"
"Armstrong you're talking nonsense-"
"Its just so beautiful!" he cried ignoring my attempt to get him to shut up, he scooped us into a hug that was very unnecessary but when Armstrong hugs you theres no escape. Ed glared at me while we were both wrapped in his arms.
"This is your fault" he muttered, I sighed.
"I know, next time ill keep my mouth shut" I muttered back. Armstrong put us down when someone called out to us.
"Hey you!" We turned around to see Marcoh racing towards us with something in his hand, "this is the place where I hid my data" he handed the paper in his hand to Ed. "If you can look the truth in the face, do it, then you might be able to reach the truth that lies within the truth" we looked at him puzzled.
"Never mind I've said too much" he added quickly and ran off before anyone could say anything.
Ed unfolded the piece of paper it said inside 'national central library, 1st branch Tim Marcoh.'
"Smart if you want to hide a book hide it in a library" I spoke up first.
Ed smiled.
"The road seems just a little less harder" he said smiling at Al. I just pushed Armstrong away as he started to get emotional again, the last thing we needed was another Armstrong hug.
