Silent Song

Chapter 4- No Place Called Home


Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. I do own the original content in here.


Edward collapsed on the ground, too exhausted to move. He had lost again. "It's not fair. You can't get tired." he moaned to his brother.

"It's never fair," Al replied. "Now move. You're going to crush some of Lark's plants."

Ed rolled over and pushed himself back onto his feet. "Does she really use these in medicine instead using alchemy?"

"Yeah, she has an entire store room full of them. But I did think I saw something to do with alchemy."

Edward stayed silent, and then his face broke into a grin. Al knew that smile. It was the face he had every time he came up with a plan.

"Where's that room?" Ed asked Al. "I want to go check it out."

"We shouldn't try to do that. It's invading her privacy."

"C'mon! Don't you want to find out what the things that had to do with alchemy is?"

Alphonse sighed. He knew Edward wouldn't take no for an answer. Besides, he could see him slowly inching toward the house. He led his brother to room with a huffed "Fine". Lark had left the door unlocked, so they entered without having Ed resort to using his alchemy.

Edward whistled when he stepped into the room and flicked on the light. "That girl is a neat freak."

Al agreed with his brother, but he would never say it out loud. Instead, he pointed to a paper lying on the countertop. "I think that one has to do with alchemy."

Ed walked over to where the armored boy was pointing and picked up the paper. His brow furrowed as he tried to break the code. When his forehead relaxed, Alphonse knew his brother had figured it out.

"This paper's about how to close a wound. I'm not too good with medical terms, but if there is internal bleeding, this teaches you how to stop it." He picked up another paper. "These are all written in the same code."

He continued skimming the papers, until one word stood out.

"AL!" He yelled. Al had been looking at a diagram that showed the body structure of a cat. He swung around to answer his brother.

"Wha-" He started before Edward interrupted him.

"There's something about the Philosopher's Stone here!"

The younger boy was completely shocked. "Are you sure?"

"Yes! No! Maybe! It says that they found a way to bypass Equivalent Exchange!" Ed exclaimed in excitement. "Then it goes on to say how big of a discovery it is. I can't find anything else on it." His voice faded at the end of the sentence. There had to be more!
Al wasn't so sure. "Can't it just be a coincidence?"

"Don't you understand? There are no coincidences! She can transmute without a circle! Isn't that proof enough?!"

Suddenly, the brothers heard the door open, and then slam shut. They hastily backed out of the room, closing the door quietly behind them. Ed and Al walked into the waiting room to find Lark collapsed on the couch, knees drawn up to her chest, face covered by her hands and undone hair. She was shaking and made sniffing sounds.

"Lark?" Alphonse said gently. "What's wrong?" The girl looked up at them. Her eyes were red from the tears streaming down her face. She looked away and pointed to the door.

Edward, forgetting about the Philosopher's Stone, walked over to the door, curious about what Lark meant by it. He opened it a little bit and was immediately assaulted by angry shouts.

"An alchemist!"

"It's people like you who destroy everything!"

"Why did you lie to us?!"

"STOP HIDING!"

He shut the door quickly. The yells were muffled, but if he listened closely, he could still understand them. He turned back to find Lark's body trembling with another wave of misery. She sobbed silently, her head resting on her knees. Al patted her back comfortingly. Even Ed was surprised that the normally calm doctor was crying like a child.

"So they didn't know you were an alchemist, huh?" He mumbled, half to himself, half to the crying girl. She froze, and then slowly shook her head. After her tears had run dry, she reached shakily for the notepad in the table. She picked it up, and wrote furiously on it. When she was done, she handed the book to Edward. He read the words aloud.

"'My parents were both alchemists. They had moved here before I was born. The villagers hate alchemists, so my parents never told them. As I got older, they taught me alchemy. I never used it in front of the people because I was afraid this would happen. Today, I saved a girl from being killed by a falling wall by making an earth shield around her using alchemy. The townspeople all saw, and now they want me out of here, or they will end up killing me."

He was completely shocked. "You helped all those people! Why would they do that to you?!"

Lark pointed to the "The villagers hate alchemists," part and shook her head sadly. They stood silent for a few moments. Then Alphonse spoke.

"Why don't you come with us?"

"We're going to East City," Ed added. "Maybe the colonel can help you."

She stayed still for so long the boys took it as a "No". Then she nodded her head. Edward smiled faintly at her.

"Get packing. We're leaving tomorrow."


I slowly walked back to my room. I had to get bag to put my things in, as well as pack my clothes. The boys were taking me with them. From what I could tell, they had no permanent home. They just wandered from place to place like nomads. Their only stability was each other. My heart ached when I realized it had been the same way between my sister and I, until she died.

I suppressed the memories threatening to resurface. I had something to do now. I would leave the house where it was, taking only the things I needed. The villagers could do whatever they wanted to it. I opened my closet. All I had were some dresses and a few jackets in there. I already had on a blue dress with a pair of lace-up boots. The boots were coming with me. Good ones were hard to come by around here.

Anyway, I digress. I picked out a gray and a lavender dress to take with me. I could get more useful clothes in East City. I also took with me a few changes of undergarments and a black jacket. I didn't have much else.

When I rifled through my other belongings, I picked up a picture. It was a picture we had took before my parents died. My sister and I stood up in front, our parents smiling behind us. I was holding up some carrots we had grown, a proud grin on my face. My sister, Glory, was beside me, carrying a small pail of snow peas. We were both covered with dirt from gardening. My mother had thought we looked adorable, and all but begged our father to take a family portrait like that.

It reminded me of the happier times in my life. I put the photo in my bag, and then entered the study. I opened the safe that sat in the corner. Inside were the silver pocket watches my parents had, and about ten-thousand cenz. There was also a small notebook I had compiled of all my parents' research. I took out the all the money and the notebook, leaving the two watches behind.

As I walked past the brothers' room to get to the other side of the house, I couldn't help but overhear their conversation.

"AL! Get that thing away from me!"

"But Ed! It's just a cat!"

"It's trying to attack me! Can't you hear the noise it's making?!"

"It wants to play with you. And that noise is it purring."

"Whatever! We are not keeping it!"

"What if Lark wants to keep it?"

"Don't you dare try to pull the guilt card on me! Put it back where it came from!"

I laughed inwardly. Despite how upset I was, the two boys managed to cheer me up a little. Their good-natured arguments always had that effect in me.

I crossed to the other part of my house and entered the storage room. I immediately noticed that some of my notes were in different places from where I had set them. The boys must have gone through this place when I was out. My mood darkened once again. No one was allowed in this room unless I came with them; I had made that very clear. To think that they violated my privacy while I didn't ask a thing of them! Judging by the way the notes were scattered, they had been looking for something specific. I snatched up a paper and read it. It was the one about how my parents had discovered the exception of Equivalent Exchange. The note had been lying on the ground, wrinkled on the sides from someone holding it roughly.

I stormed out of the room holding it, working my way to the Elrics' room. I knocked briskly, and when Alphonse opened the door, I pushed my way past him. I held the note in Edward's face, anger apparent. He paled once he saw my angered face, my eyes questioning.

"Uh... We were just looking around!" He stuttered. "I just happened to pick it up!"

I glared at him, daring him to feed me more lies. I guess I must have looked really scary, because he let out a squeak and his voice went up an octave.
"Okay! Okay! I was wondering why you couldn't talk and Al mentioned something about alchemy notes in your lab thing. I thought the two were related so I made him take me to the room! Then I saw that paper had information on the Philosopher's Stone on it. That's all I read! I swear!"

I crossed my arms, satisfied by his answer. After processing what he said, I perked up and looked around for a paper for me to write on. I found some in the drawer, so I wrote, "Why are you looking for the Philosopher's Stone?"

Alphonse read over my shoulder. "She wants to know why we're looking for the Stone."

Edward's mouth flapped up and down like a goldfish. "How did you know we were looking for it?!"

I rolled my eyes, answering with a written, "The note never said anything about the Philosopher's Stone, just a way around Equivalent Exchange."

Al told Ed what I wrote and Ed pushed his face into his hands. "Ugh. Wait, you know what the Philosopher's Stone is? What do you know about it?"

I narrowed my eyes, scribbling on the paper. Al read it back for Ed. "'Of course I know what the Philosopher's Stone is. Every alchemist knows. What I know about the Philosopher's Stone is none of your business."

It was harsh, but I was still furious that they had violated my privacy. Edward looked like he wanted to go hide in a corner. I didn't know whose side Alphonse was taking; he just sat there silently. So, when he spoke, he surprised me.

"How about an exchange? We tell you what happened to us, and you can tell us what you know about the Stone." I would not have expected the younger brother to use such a tactic. Apparently, neither did Edward.

"Hey!" He exclaimed. "We have to discuss those kinds of things. We can't go around blabbing to random people!"

"But, Brother," Al answered his brother in a logical manner. "We disregarded her rules, and she'll be traveling with us. She won't trust us if we keep everything from her."

Edward growled. Al did have a point. Even though I was mad at them, I still was planning to go with them to East City. With them keeping so many things from me, it was hard to trust them. Ed relented with a muttered "Do what you have to do".

Alphonse turned back to me. "What do you want to know?"

My curious side got the best of me, and I knocked on his armor, staring at him accusingly.

"I'm hollow." He replied. I gave him a sarcastic look. I usually didn't act that way, but my emotions were running up and down that day, I couldn't control myself. Thank goodness Al was understanding, because he stayed calm, while anyone else, namely Ed, would have been agitated.

"Well, um..." Alphonse was trying to find a way to say what he was going to say in a way that wouldn't upset me. "We-"

Edward interrupted him. "We tried human transmutation." My eyes widened. What could have driven the boys to do something like that?

"We just wanted to see our mother again," Alphonse said pitifully. "She was the only family we had left." Now I understood. Their situation was so close to the one my sister and I had. Only, they still had each other.

"Al lost his body, and I lost my leg," Ed explained. "It cost me an arm to bind his soul to the armor. The only people who know about this are my mechanic, my superior, and now, you. We want to find the Philosopher's Stone to return our bodies to normal."

No one made a move afterwards. I was still taking in what they had told me. Then I decided I could think about that later. I had a deal to fulfill.

I took another sheet of paper and started writing. The thing that could be heard in the room was my pen moving across the paper. When I was done, I handed the paper to Alphonse. He read it out loud.

"'The Philosopher's Stone, also known as the Celestial Stone, the Immortal Elixir, and the Sorcerer's Stone, has the ability to bypass Equivalent Exchange. Even people with no prior knowledge of alchemy can use it. It can create something out of nothing, regardless of the volume and mass.'"

"'However, the Stone itself must be made by an alchemist. I do not know the ingredients, though I do know that there have been many attempts to make one. The few somewhat successful attempts had only worked for a small while, before rebounding and creating mass destruction. The methods used to make them varied, from using a combination of rare chemicals to extracting various toxins. The side effects also differed. Some causes people to go insane, while others caused disease. There have been rumors that someone has created a real one and the military covered it up. Apparently, the methods used to achieve the real one were too dangerous for the public to know.'"

Alphonse finished reading, breathless (figuratively) and Ed whistled.

"Wow. How did you know so much?"

I ran out if paper, so I pointed to his state alchemist watch.

"You're a state alchemist?" He guessed.

Ugh. I hated when I had to convey something to people by them guessing. I shook my head. He tried again.

"Another state alchemist passed through here?"

Shake.

"It's written on the watch?"

Shake.

"I told you?"

Glare.

"Al told you?"

Another glare. Never in my life had I felt so frustrated with a person. His younger brother interjected, also getting impatient.

"Your parents?"

I clapped my hands together and pointed at the armored boy. Edward gaped at him.

"How did you know?"

"She told us before that her parents were alchemists, and honestly," Alphonse retorted. "You aren't the best at guessing or understanding girls."

Ed looked at me. I nodded along with what Al said. The teenager let out a sigh and asked, "Are you done with your packing?"

I straightened up, suddenly remembering what I had been doing before. Hastily, I shook my head and walked out of the room. After going back to the storage room, I picked out a select number of herbs to take with me. These herbs would be helpful if I got sick or just wanted to spice my food. In truth, I was bringing them for nostalgia. However, I would need the emergency kit that had a burn salve, some alcohol wipes, gauze, and other things for emergencies. The boys looked like they were the cause of a lot of trouble, so they would probably need my medical attention.

By the time I was done packing, it had turned to night. Edward's stomach had started making a growling noise, telling me that it was time to eat. He sat in the dining room while I prepared a vegetable soup, rereading the paper I had given him. Al joined me in the kitchen, helping me wash and cut the food. The environment was a peaceful kind of quiet, which I truly enjoyed. I whistled as I worked, happy for once, today. The feeling was mutual, because Alphonse turned to me and said, "This reminds me of when Brother and I were kids. I helped Mom in the kitchen, but when Ed tried to help, she would throw him out because he caused too much trouble."

I smiled, not finding it surprising. The soup was boiling, so I turned off the stove. After waiting for it to cool a little, I spooned it into two bowls. I reached for the third bowl, but stopped and turned to Al, silently asking him if he was eating. He seemed amazed that I noticed something as small as that.

"Oh! I don't drink and sleep, either. But, you need more food for Brother; he eats a lot." I nodded and put away the third bowl. I filled the second bowl up more, before walking into the dining room. Ed looked up.

"You have food!" In a blink of an eye, he had cleared the table. He patted the space on the table in front of him, eager to start his meal. I set the bowl where he had indicated, and he immediately dug in. When he came up for air, Alphonse asked him a question.

"Is it good?" Ed nodded, too busy reaching for the second bowl I put in front of him. I eyed the armored boy across my bowl I was sipping, curious to see what was going on.

Edward finished the soup and continued, "Who knew you could make something like this? It's delicious! What's in it?"

I rolled my eyes. The boy had managed to give me a backhanded compliment for the umpteenth time. I wrote out the ingredients on a sheet of paper, and then handed it to Ed. He squinted at the list. "What's ci-lan-tro?" He pronounced the "lan" like "land" without the "d".

"Brother, that says cilantro," Al sighed. Then he nodded towards me. "Can I try your soup when I get my body back?" His voice sounded so hopeful, I couldn't help but flash him a confirming grin.

After dinner, I washed the dishes by myself. Edward had wanted to discuss with Al about what I had given them on the Stone, so they had retired early to their room. The blond had wolfed down just about all my soup, saying that it was so much better than what he had expected. I had ignored him, something that I did quite often. There wasn't much to clean up, and no food was wasted. I finished in no time.

I climbed up stairs to my bedroom, planning to read something before going to bed. However, the day has taken its toll on me, and I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.


I woke up at the crack of dawn the next day. Judging by how silent the house was, the boys were still in their room. Ed was probably sleeping like the late riser he was, while Al did whatever he did at night.

All my stuff was packed and waiting downstairs, so all I had to do was wash up and make breakfast. I quickly showered and dressed per usual, hair in a side braid, bandanna tied around my neck. Instead of a doctor's coat though, I put on the black jacket over my sleeveless yellow dress. The desert would be cold at this time.

By the time Edward and Alphonse came downstairs, I had Ed's breakfast waiting for him. He ate it just as hastily as the meal before, barely stopping to chew. We sat in silence, the only sound being Ed's noisy eating. I washed the dishes, and then we gathered our cases.

"Are you ready?" Alphonse asked me gently. I nodded.

We walked east, towards the desert. When we reached the edge, I stopped to look at Percole. The sun was shining on the town, casting a warm glow. It was breathtaking.

"Hey, you coming?" I heard Edward shout from behind me. I turned around, showing my back to the town where I had lived my entire life, walking to the outside world.


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