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Tsume-n-carnet: I'm soooooo sorry for the long wait! Thanks for the great reviews. Now for the next installment from me! Here you go!
P.S. hopefully updates will be coming sooner as me and Dragonelf8 have a plot finally all worked out… there's even the chance of a sequel if this one continues to be well received. Thanks and Enjoy!
(A/N): I put in here that Laura knows what alchemy is, completely, and I wanted to make sure you knew that knowledge was given to her by the gate. So the whole she knows things without remembering how… it ties into that. Make sense? I just didn't want you to think I was implying that she knew it all before hand.
State Alchemist
Roy sat glumly at his kitchen table, looking over the mounds of paper work strewn before him. He had gotten up early for once, unable to sleep, and decided to get a head start on his 'homework.' He had actually managed to make a decent dent in the work, but he still had another good two hours of work ahead of him. He sighed and stretched looking over at the clock for what must have been the thousandth time. 8 o'clock. He'd been at it for nearly three hours already.
Roy would never understand his 1st lieutenant's need to torture him so regularly. He sighed and got up, deciding to brew some more coffee in case Laura woke up soon.
Roy had managed to get Laura home and settled into bed by around 6 P.M. The girl had continued to sleep quiet soundly for the remainder of the night and had yet to stir. Not that he could blame her.
He himself had hardly gotten any sleep last night, Laura's ordeal playing over and over in his head. What had it all meant? Was it possible she had remembered something of her past? And if so, what could've happened in her life before to terrify her so?
Roy had just gotten a new pot brewing when his phone rang. He stretched one more time before moving to answer.
"Roy Mustang," he greeted as usual.
"Good morning, Colonel," a woman's voice answered him. Roy noted it was a receptionist from HQ. "I'm sorry to disturb you so early in the morning, sir…"
"It's fine," Roy cut the woman off before any more apologies could be made. "What is it?"
"I have a Lieutenant Havoc on the line for you, sir," she answered.
"Havoc? Very well, patch it through."
"Yes sir." There was a pause and then a slight clicking noise as the line was connected. Havoc's smooth voice sounded through the receiver. "Colonel?" The man sounded tired and worn but excited about something.
"Havoc, what is it?" Roy started calmly, suppressing a rather large yawn.
"Hey chief, I have a report for you on the serial killing incident," Havoc started. Roy waited impatiently for his lieutenant to continue. "We've managed to apprehend the killer sir; we have her in our custody now."
Roy's eyebrows shot up in surprise. He hadn't anticipated the case to be solved for at least another week.
"Well… nice job, lieutenant," he started.
"Actually, chief, it was all thanks to a free lance Alchemist we met here. She got herself kidnapped and managed to capture the killer on her own," Havoc explained.
Roy blinked a few times before finding his voice.
"Another alchemist?"
"Yes sir. She's a young woman who goes by Damon Keo and she's quiet talented. She's got an 'Elric flare' to her alchemy, if you know what I mean," Havoc explained. Roy halted what he was going to ask at the dropped hint.
"She does alchemy without circles?" he asked, hard-pressed to keep the wonder out of his voice.
"You got it. I think you should take a look at her, Chief. We're all taking the morning train to Central in about two hours. Seems Ms. Keo's got it in her head to become a state alchemist. I said I'd put a word in for her with another alchemist who may be willing to train her, sir."
Ah, that explained the call.
"And are you suggesting I take the responsibility, lieutenant?" Roy asked, his voice telling Havoc to stop beating around the bush.
"I'd suggest you take a look at her first, but yeah, chief. I'm certain she'd make a great asset to the State Alchemists," Havoc answered.
Roy rubbed his eyes, looking up as Laura emerged from the hallway and gave him a shaky smile. She had put on a maroon scoop-neck shirt with too-long sleeves and a pair of black slacks that lead down to bare feet. She still looked exhausted and worn, her dark hair falling around her shoulders, her eyes somewhat dull and tired, but Roy couldn't help thinking she looked wonderful.
"Sir?"
"I'm here," he snapped.
Roy returned the small smile to Laura before nodding to the coffee pot in open invitation. Laura smiled again before moving to get her own cup of coffee, cocking her head slightly as if to ask who he was talking to. He shook his head and mouthed 'in a minute' before turning his attention back to Havoc.
"Why don't you bring her to town, get her set up in a hotel or something, and I'll schedule an interview with her tomorrow after you're formal report," Roy instructed, raising his eyebrow as Laura dumped five spoonfuls of sugar and three of creamer into her coffee.
"Will do, chief. See you tomorrow morning," Havoc agreed before hanging up, knowing a dismissal when he heard one.
Laura sipped cautiously at her sweetened coffee, watching Roy put the phone down and stifle a yawn. Without having been asked, she picked up the pot and moved to refill Roy's empty cup on the table. Wordlessly, she picked it up and handed it to him. Roy smiled gratefully before taking a long sip.
Laura returned to leaning against the counter as she watched him. She waited a minute more before voicing the questions on her mind.
"Who was that?" she started carefully, not wanting to sound like she was trying to demand answers.
"A subordinate of mine. He's asked me to take a look at a potential State Alchemist he's come across," Roy answered, noting a mix of relief and disappointment in those blue eyes.
"State Alchemist?" Laura repeated, rolling the words around in her mind. They sounded familiar, as though she knew what it meant but couldn't quiet get a grip on it. Roy blinked a few times before slowly answering.
"Alchemists who are enlisted by the State's military for their specific talents," he explained slowly. "In exchange for serving in the military as 'relative peace enforcers,' they get funds for research and access to some of the biggest libraries and research facilities in Amestris." Even the most rural of areas had heard of that part of the military, even if one couldn't believe every rumor spread about the infamous 'Ace weapons' of the military.
'Who are you?' his mind asked the girl in front of him desperately.
Roy shook himself as Laura's eyes seem to cloud over in thought. "I have the title of the Flame Alchemist," he added, almost as an after thought.
"Alchemists…" she said slowly, her mind finally putting ideas to the word. She knew what alchemy was and what alchemists did… but that got her wondering, could she do it? She had never, to her knowledge, tried to perform alchemy… but the knowledge was there… maybe she should give it a go and see what happened?
Laura turned her blue gaze out to the back yard. It was spacious with a few trees here or there and a high wooden fence running around the large perimeter. That would do nicely.
Roy watched curiously as Laura seemed to make up her mind about something, her determined gaze fixed on the back lawn.
"Have you eaten, Roy?" she asked suddenly, nearly startling the Colonel. She turned her attention back to him and flashed a wonderful smile. Roy couldn't help but smile back, his stomach suddenly growing very demanding at the prospect of food.
"Not yet, I'm afraid I've been too assaulted by paper work to make anything more substantial than coffee," he answered, motioning to the fresh pot. Laura let out a soft chuckle as Roy's stomach made its own demands known with a loud growl.
"Poor Colonel. Let's get something in that stomach before it decides to eat you."
With that, she moved to prepare breakfast for them both, Roy relaxing at the table to watch her smooth movements. Everything was great, as it had been the day before. As Laura finished cleaning up, Roy sat glowering at the paperwork still occupying the table. Laura almost wanted to laugh at the distraught look on the Colonel's face but figured it wouldn't be polite. Instead, she decided to offer a distraction.
"How long have you been working?" she asked curiously, trying to decide which stack was finished paper work and which had yet to be filled out. They looked about the same.
"About… three hours," Roy answered, signing off on another work order.
"Care for a break?"
Roy looked up at the innocent question, looking curiously over the woman before him. There was a slight twinkle to her eye he wasn't entirely sure about.
"Have something in mind?" he checked, pen paused over paper, willing to do just about anything other than paper work. Laura was fiddling with her coffee cup, her eyes intently studying its design.
"You said you're an alchemist, right? I was just wondering… would you be willing to show me some alchemy? I'm curious to see it."
Roy blinked a few times. That was probably the last thing he had expected her to ask. He set down his pen and smiled.
"I think the back yard should be sufficient enough space…" he trailed off, standing and heading for the door. Roy heard Laura following him and he tugged his gloves from his pocket.
"How did you become a State Alchemist, anyway?" Laura asked as they stepped down from the porch and onto the lawn.
"I took the State Alchemist Exams, same as everyone else. Fire alchemy isn't as simple as some people think and they were impressed with what I could do. So I got accepted," Roy explained, flexing his hands in his gloves. He looked over to find those blue eyes intently studying the red circles embroidered on the white cloth. He held his hands out, palms down, to offer Laura a better view.
"Fire alchemic symbols?" Laura asked, lightly tracing one with her finger. At Roy's confirming nod, she turned her gaze back to the gloves. "How do you make a flame?"
"These gloves are made with a special material called ignition cloth," Roy explained retracting his hands. "When I snap," he demonstrated and a small flame sparked from between his fingers. "The cloth creates a spark and the alchemy allows me to take it from there."
"How much control do you have over the flames?"
"I can pretty much get the flame to do anything I want, from blowing things up to creating images." Roy snapped again and this time a delicate flame erupted up and twisted around until it resembled a rose in full bloom floating just above his fingers. "It takes years and years of practice to perfect flame alchemy; there are some things even I wouldn't attempt."
Laura smiled as the rose dissipated in a small puff of smoke.
"Could you teach me?"
Roy blinked a few times at the question.
"Have you ever done alchemy before?" Roy asked, nearly smacking himself as he saw a haunted look pass over Laura's features. "Never mind, tell you what, let's give you something a little more simple and see if it clicks… then we'll talk."
Laura nodded and smiled again, gratitude clear in her eyes. Roy picked up a short stick and quickly drew a simple circle on a dry patch of his lawn. He really had to look into fixing his sprinkler system.
"This is a transmutation circle. Like the ones on my gloves they are the tools scientists have developed in order to perform alchemy," Roy began explaining, Laura nodding along with him as though she knew this already. The Colonel offered the stick to Laura, indicating that she should copy his circle, tilting his head when she frowned at the offered tool. "Something wrong?"
"Can you perform alchemy without the use of circles?"
"Not usually," Roy started, his dark eyes serious. An image of Edward Elric passed through his mind and he remembered Ed telling him that his 'Teacher' had possessed the same ability. "Though there have been a few alchemists along the way who have gleaned the ability to carry out transmutations without them. It is a very rare occurrence. I only know of two living alchemists that have been able to abandon circles for good." Roy thought it best to leave out exactly how these two had gained the ability.
Laura seemed to process that fact, before dutifully copying Roy's circle in the dirt. The Colonel was about to try and explain the transfer of energy into the circle in order to activate it when the brunette simply knelt down and pressed a hand to the design. Blue light flashed around a cloud of dirt and when the dust settled, Laura was holding a slender, metal staff in her hands, looking at it judgmentally.
"Was that right?" she asked, turning blue eyes to startled black. Roy shook himself, remembering what the doctor had said about Laura regaining abilities even if she didn't remember learning them. Besides, he had a sneaking suspicion that that was not going to be the last time that this girl was going to surprise him. He held out a hand for her staff.
Laura handed it over, watching as Roy ran a hand over the smooth surface.
"Pulling natural minerals and metals out of the earth and reshaping them," he mumbled. He smiled over at Laura. "Good work." Handing it back to her he activated his own circle.
Another blue flash and dust cloud and the Colonel stood with a staff to match. He smirked and then winked at Laura.
"Up for a little physical activity?" he asked, motioning to the staffs. Laura smiled in return, beginning to love that smirk. In response to the inquiry, she simply raised her staff and let her body move into a stance.
Roy raised an eyebrow at this but adapted his own stance and waited… and waited… and waited. Laura's steady blue gaze stayed locked onto a point almost dead center on his sternum. From the way she was so focused, it seemed she was waiting for him to make the first move. Roy took a steady breath, and moved.
At first, his moves were slower, softer, as he allowed himself to warm up while trying to gage Laura's skill level. However, as they moved around each other, Roy found he had apparently underestimated this young woman.
Laura's movements were quick, smooth and had a long practiced air to them. The staff seemed to weave itself about her hands as she forced Roy back bit by bit on steady feet.
For every hit Roy gained, he received at least two and even though neither of them were using their full strength, Mustang had a feeling he'd be sporting bruises by morning.
Breathing heavily now, Roy delivered a hard smack to Laura's thigh. Feeling the hit, Laura allowed her leg to buckle and fell with it, pulling her staff around to hit the Colonel's side just below his ribs.
With an undignified 'Oof,' Roy staggered back and stood looking at the woman now breathing heavily on the ground. Chuckling slightly, he offered one end of his staff to Laura.
"Truce?" the gentle teasing in his voice brought a small grin to her full lips.
"Truce," Laura agreed, grabbing the offered end of the staff and allowing Roy to pull her up.
"So," she began after they'd both had a chance to catch their breath and down some water. "Any assessment of my skills so far, Colonel?"
Roy couldn't help but chuckle at the near challenge glinting in those sapphire eyes. Well, it was better then the haunting blankness that had been lingering there for the past day or so.
"Well you picked up the energy transfer concept easily enough," he began, pulling off his gloves. "Hold on a second."
Roy ran inside to grab a notebook, a pen, and an 'intro to Alchemy' book. He found Laura sitting on the bottom step of the porch when he came back outside. He handed her the notebook and alchemic text with his usual smirk firmly in place.
"Let's see what else you pick up?" he hinted when she gave him a blank look. Returning the smirk, Laura strode out into the yard and opened the book.
They spent the rest of the afternoon experimenting with varying types and difficulty levels of alchemy until, before they knew it, it was just beginning to get dark. Calling it a day they headed back inside, Laura fixing them a late lunch/early dinner, over which she convinced Roy to let her help with his paper work. Once he discovered her quite capable, and a tad disturbing, forging skills, the colonel agreed and they plowed their way through what remained of the mountain.
Much later that night, after Roy had finished his work and the two had long since said good night, Laura found herself in 'her' room, staring at the alchemy book on her bedside table. There was something about it that was nagging at her about how much she had known today. Granted there was no way she had been anywhere close to as proficient as Roy, but for a first timer, even he had said he'd been impressed.
Laura sighed, turning back to stare at her ceiling, trying to will herself to sleep. Yeah, that was really working.
She sighed again and climbed out of bed, pulling on a sweatshirt and grabbing the book. It wasn't that cold outside, but she didn't really know how long she was going to be out there.
Setting up in the same spot she and Roy had used earlier, Laura sat down and started to read. She spent maybe three to four minutes skimming the book, maybe even less before she placed it down.
Laura really wasn't sure exactly what she wanted to try but something was nagging in the back of her mind as she set the notebook she'd brought along for circles down as well.
She knelt on the ground for a moment, struggling to pick up the hint her subconscious seemed to be trying to throw at her. Finally, she sighed and went with her gut. Roy was no longer around to see if she failed so it wouldn't matter if she ended up looking foolish.
'Might as well see what happens,' she thought dryly. Taking a deep breath, Laura brought her hands together in a firm 'clap' and placed them on the ground.
There was a bright blue flash and the ground before her began to shift and mold. It couldn't have taken more than a minute for the final shape to emerge.
Laura stood up, smiling proudly at her detailed stone statue of Roy standing in full uniform she'd seen in a picture, metal flames curled around his form, right hand poised in a snap.
"It worked?" she chuckled to herself. She really hadn't thought that she would be able to get away with that. She had to show Roy in the morning!
Smiling to herself, Laura skipped back up to her room and promptly fell asleep.
Tsume-n-carnet: I AM SO SORRY! That was entirely my fault. I'll be waiting for your next chapter Dragonelf!
