Sasha: Where's the Lunatic? Shouldn't she be here? It is HER story, after all…
Ed: I think she was kidnapped by Greed.
Al: What?! Why??
Ed: Greed wants a starring role in this story.
Chander: Well that's a shame, because this fanfic has no need for another hero while it has me.
Lovely Lady Lunatic: Yo.
Sasha: Hey! How did you escape, Lunatic?
Lovely Lady Lunatic: I told Greed that I was Envy in disguise and that I was going to go tell Father on him if he didn't stop harassing me.
Ed: He actually fell for that?
Lovely Lady Lunatic: Apparently my smirk is very convincing.
Chander: What a moron. It will be so easy to defeat him.
Al: Miss Lunatic owns nothing. Please-
Sasha: -Reeeview~!
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Mr. Tucker's house was the most beautiful house I'd ever seen. However, it was also the BIGGEST house I'd ever seen. Meaning I got lost constantly.
After 20 minutes of wandering the immense hallways, I finally found the HUGE library which Ed and Al had basically set up camp in.
Ed's eyes were glued to the book in his hands, seeming oblivious to the world. Al was also trying to read, but he was being distracted by Nina, who wanted to play. Chander was napping, perched on a windowsill far out of a curious Alexander's reach. I smiled at the cozy scene, but books- especially boring old alchemy books- weren't exactly my thing.
"Hey guys, I'm going shopping." I declared.
"What for?" Ed asked without tearing his eyes from his book.
"Clothes, obviously." I gestured at my white sundress and woven sandals. "These are all the rage back on Shaloma Island, but here it's completely out of style."
Nina squealed excitedly. "I used to go shopping with Mommy all the time! Can I come too? Pweaase??" I melted.
"Of course you can, sweetie! But we should ask your daddy, ok?"
"Ok!!" She grabbed my hand and together we raced through the halls to Mr. Tucker's study.
I peeped in. Mr. Tucker was crouched intently over a worn book. Sheesh, is that all alchemists ever do? "Mr. Tucker?"
He started, slamming his book shut as though it were something private. Huh. Whatever.
"Nina and I want to go shopping. Do you mind?"
He recovered quickly. "Not at all! It'll be good for Nina to have a girl's day out. Here-" He reached into a drawer and pulled out a wallet. Counting out a generous amount, he said, "This is for Nina's purchases and both of your lunches."
"Oh, you don't have to pay for my lunch. Roy gave me a lot of spending money-"I said quickly.
"Consider it my treat." He flashed a smile at me.
"Big sister, Can we go now?" Nina asked, tugging on my dress. Mr. Tucker handed me the money.
"Yes, you two can go. Be safe, alright Nina? Behave yourself for Sasha, now." Mr. Tucker patted Nina's head with an oddly pained expression on his face. I vaguely wondered what that was about, but I didn't ask. None of my business. He's probably just upset that he never does anything with her. Satisfied with that conclusion, I took Nina's hand and we left.
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Some people (like Ed) are terrible with little kids. I am not one of those people. I think it's because I'm rather childish myself, so I just click with them. But I have a good excuse for being so immature- I didn't really have a childhood, now did I?
We raced around Central, hyper as can be. We tried on pretty much everything we saw. Nina found some ADORIBLE dresses that made her look like a little princess, and I found a bunch of cute outfits as well, my favorite of which was a red tank top, black shorts, and black boots. After I bought them, I changed into them in a bathroom and took Nina out to buy icecream, which we ate on our way home.
"We're baaack!" I sang as we entered. I stopped when I saw an officer with a cigarette in his mouth.
"Hey there." He saluted. "I'm here to pick up you and the boss- huh?" he looked over my shoulder with an amused expression. "What are you doing, boss?"
Ed was lying face down with Alexander on his back. "I'm taking a study break." He said, his voice muffled by the carpet.
"Does that mean you found something useful?" Mr. Tucker asked. Ed looked sheepish. "It's alright, you can come back tomorrow."
"Big sister, big brothers, you're coming back to see me again?" Nina asked us.
"Of course! We'll play again tomorrow." Al waved goodbye to her.
Cigarette Man stopped in front of the door. "Oh yeah. Mr. Tucker, I have a message to you from the colonel. He said that evaluation day is coming up, don't forget."
Mr. Tucker was quiet for a second. "…I understand."
We left. "What's an evaluation?" I asked Cigarette Man. (I really needed to remember his real name…)
"Once a year, state alchemists have to submit the results of their research. If they don't do a good job, their licenses will be revoked."
"Huh." I murmured. Maybe that was why Tucker had seemed stressed…
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"So your mom and dad split up, huh?" I asked Nina the next day. She nodded sadly.
"Yeah. Daddy said she went back to her family."
"You must get so lonely…" Al sounded upset.
"No, it's ok! Daddy is nice, and I have Alexander, too!" She sounded like she meant it. But then she paused. "But… It's been kinda lonely lately, 'cause Daddy spends all of his time in his lab."
We were all quiet. Then, with what must have been tremendous effort, Ed surfaced from his book. "Ok, I'm starting to feel stiff from all of this reading."
"Maybe you should exercise a bit, brother." Al suggested.
"Yeah. Hey! Mutt!" He snapped at Alexander, who sat up eagerly. "I need to exercise, so I'll play with you!"
"Come on, Nina!" Al called to her as we followed Ed and Alexander. She squealed happily and ran after us. The moment we got outside, Ed took off at a dead sprint, Alexander at his heels. Al laughed.
"For one with such small legs, he runs surprisingly fast." Chander commented from the tree that he had claimed as his own.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THAT- AGGGGH!!!!" Ed was flattened once again by Alexander.
I suddenly had an idea. "Hey Nina, wanna see something cool?" Her eyes brightened and she nodded eagerly. I picked her up from around the waist and concentrated. Suddenly, we were flying through the air. She screeched in pure delight as Ed, Al, and Chander looked on in amazement.
"You failed to mention that you could fly." Chander said in a strangled voice. I snorted.
"I didn't know I could. But apparently I can."
"Big sister!!" Nina yelled. "Let's fly around my house!!"
"You got it, girl!" I swooped off, zooming over the roof. When I did, I caught a glimpse of Mr. Tucker through one of the windows. He was watching us with a frighteningly desperate look on his face. I flinched, wondering if I had just seen something private, and decided not to mention it to anyone.
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"Ugh, what nasty weather." I grumbled, staring at the sky. "It looks like we won't be playing with Nina outside today." Ed nodded.
"Yeah, it's defiantly going to rain."
"Why has the beast dog not attacked you yet?" Chander asked, puzzled. Ed and I exchanged a glance. That was kind of weird, seeing as he had tackled Ed in greeting every day so far.
Al was knocking on the door. "Mr. Tucker? …Huh?" He opened the door. "Weird. Nobody's here."
I walked in. "Yo! Tucker? Helllooo?...Hey wait. Isn't this trespassing?" The brothers ignored me, going deeper into the house. We stopped when we saw Mr. Tucker in an open doorway.
"Oh, hello there. Take a look at the finished product. This is a chimera that can learn language." He gestured towards a- WHAT THE HECK?! What the hell was it???
"Watch this." He turned to the chimera. "This person is Edward."
The chimera cocked its head. "Ed- ward?" Ed gaped in amazement.
"Good job!" Tucker patted its head. Ed crouched next to it, looking awed. I kept my distance. That thing was freaky.
"I sure saved my neck!" Tucker told me, smiling in relief. "I'll pass the evaluation for sure now!"
Meanwhile, the chimera thing had been croaking out Ed's name. Then it looked at me.
"Big… Sister?" It asked.
I felt my blood freeze. Ed looked as though he had just swallowed poison.
"Mr. Tucker, when did you first create a talking chimera?" he asked quietly. Mr. Tucker looked puzzled, but replied.
"2 years ago, I believe."
"And when did your wife leave you?"
"…2 years ago."
"One more question. Where did Nina and Alexander go?"
Al gasped as Tucker sighed. "I hate perceptive kids like you."
"You foolish man." Chander said in a deadly soft voice. "You are going to hell."
Ed socked Tucker in the face and started screaming at him. I crumpled onto the floor and crawled over to Nina- Nina… Tears slid down my face as I stroked her nose. She licked my hand.
"Why are you so mad?" Tucker asked Ed in such a freaking calm voice that you'd think we were talking about the weather. "Experimentation is the only way scientists can learn things. Surely even you-"
"NO FUCKING WAY!" Ed screamed.
"Do you truly believe you can rationalize murder?! Because that is what you have done!!" Chander hissed. Al and I were too stunned to do anything but stare at Nina's twisted form. Yes, I could see the resemblance now.
"HOW DARE YOU TOY WITH LIVES?!"
That was when Tucker started laughing. "Yes, toying with lives! Just like you and your little brother!! We are the same, you and I!!"
Ed snapped and punched Tucker so hard I thought his head was going to fall off. "YOU'RE WRONG!!! YOU'RE WRONG!!! I- I-I-"
Al grabbed his wrist. "Stop brother, or he'll die."
"Who the hell CARES?!" I finally managed to choke out, hugging Nina tightly. Ed lowered his fist, shaking madly. Then he turned and approached us, crouching and hugging Nina as well.
"You can't get anything done if you don't dirty your hands…" Tucker chuckled weakly. Al turned around sharply.
"Keep talking and this time I'll shut you up." Wow. He could be scary. He came to where we where were huddled and took Nina's face in his hand.
"Nina. I'm sorry, but we can't restore you with what we know right now. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Nina just stared at him.
"Pla-ay. Let's play. Let's play."
We all cried.
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Sasha: How depressing.
Chander: At least you got a new outfit.
Sasha: True. Review.