Silent Song

Chapter 10: From Gold to Red

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. I do own the original content in here.

Our guide must have been called away on other duties, because he wasn't there when we came back up the stairs. Never minding that, Ed already knew his way back to the lab. As we stood just outside the doorway, and I heard Mugear murmur to himself: "Not to worry. That was nothing compared to what these boys will fashion for me."

"Which boys? You mean us?" Mugear's head jerked toward Ed. "There's one more thing I've been wondering: whatever happened to Nash Tringham? Just in case we have any questions to ask him."

"Nash Tringham," The older man muttered darkly. "Oh! His research wasn't making progress anymore, so I had to let him go."

Edward stepped into the room, Al and I trailing after him. We all cast wary glances at Mugear.

"Huh. You don't strike me as the type of guy who lets someone who knows all his secrets just walk away clean."

The aura of the room had gone dark. "I'm afraid I missed the implication."

Edward glared at him. "I'm saying I don't answer to murders. You got that?"

Mugear dropped his act of cluelessness. "Really? Then in that case, you're not getting out of here alive." From behind his back he pulled out a strange contraption. It looked like a kettle made of glass, filled with a red liquid. He held the handle of it like a gun, and the end of it protruded like the barrel of one. "There are plenty of other alchemists I can use."

He fished something out of his pocket. I saw a small red stone wink at us.

"Another stone?" Al gasped.

"So he's got more than one of those things?" Ed cried.

This was not going as planned.

"It may not be as potent as that other one, but it will do." Mugear dropped the stone into the strange contraption in his hand. The metal expanded over his arm, and gunshots fired out of it.

I ran across the room to avoid being hit, ducking as low as I could, but he wasn't aiming at me. Al ran the other way, while Ed rolled right. The shots chased after him, and then suddenly stopped. Edward crouched down in front of the bookshelf.

"Is that all you've got?" he called out.

Mugear pulled out another handful of stones from his pockets, which seemed to have no bottom, an evil grin spread on his face.

"Bad question."

The crazed man cackled. "Didn't think I had more stones?"

He dropped them all in the weird container. It glowed, and more barrels grew out of the front.

Definitely not what any of us had expected.

"Oh crap!" Edward cried as bullets flew all over the place. We all dove behind a nearby column. The bullets stopped coming, so I peeked out from behind it.

"Can't hide for long!" Mugear called as he dumped more stones into the water. More gunshots sounded out and I ducked my head back behind the column.

"Yeah, I'd hate say it, but he's right," I looked to Ed. "We need a way out. And fast."

The firing suddenly stopped again. Mugear had run out of red stones, which apparently powered the entire thing. He reached for his pockets. "Not. Done. Yet."

He let out a cry of outrage when he realized vines were restraining him. My line of sight followed the greenery to their origin. The Tringham brothers were kneeling next to a pot, plants crawling out of it. They had used agricultural alchemy to accelerate the growth the vines and direct them to Mugear.

"Now's our chance!" Ed cried as he figured out what was happening. "Push!"

The column had been dramatically weakened by Mugear shooting at it. Even with our meager strength, we were able to push it over. With a loud crash, the pillar landed on Mugear. Dust swept through the room. I heard people all over the house shouting. I flinched when I realized that the impact would have killed him.

I had seen people die before. It was something that every doctor witnessed. I couldn't save everyone that needed my help, especially since I couldn't use my alchemy. It left me feeling sad, and just a little useless. But I had never killed another person on purpose, even though this was self-defense. The feeling was different. I was disgusted with myself.

The older Tringham's voice snapped me out of my trance. "Well, Ed, I do hate to interrupt, but you did need the help."

"Nah." Ed replied tonelessly. He was a proud person, refusing to admit he needed another's help. I could tell he was a little miffed that we had only survived due to the other boys.

The other boy laughed, and then stared at Ed defiantly. "We're not going to be chasing our dad's dream anymore. You were right. It's time we live our own lives."

It warmed my heart to see that the boys had finally reached their resolve. Everybody needed a purpose in their life. However, nobody else seemed too freaked out that they had just killed a man. How often did they do this?

Fletcher's eyes widened as the dust cleared. He pulled on his brother's sleeve. "Russell..."

"Brother..." Al said to Ed in the same intonation. He pointed to the ground.

Involuntarily, my eyes went to where he was pointing. I expected to see Mugear's broken body lying there, but instead, there was a set of stairs leading underground. He had escaped.

Relief flooded me, chased away by fear. If he had escaped, then he could still trick people into producing red stones for him. Did I really want him to be alive?

Ed swore. "A secret passage? Come on, guys. Time for a chase."

Before Edward could dart into the tunnel, the older Tringham brother- Russell, I believed that was his name- shoved gas masks into everybody's hands. Al waved it away. After all, he didn't have a body that could be poisoned.

"The air's toxic down there. It won't do you any help if you die on us."

Ed nodded to him, tugged on the masks, and headed down. I had no choice but to run after him. Being with the Elric's was a workout. My stamina had never been good, but the boys basically forced me to run everywhere, and I was always sore and tired from it. Yet, I still managed to keep up with the pace as we ran through the tunnels.

"Russell!" Ed yelled. "How much farther?"

"The spring the red water comes out of is just up ahead," Russell shouted back. "We're almost there!"

We all screeched to a stop upon seeing the entrance blocked off by an earthen wall. It was smooth, but still had signs of hasty alchemy.

Russell gritted his teeth. "Mugear! He blocked our path!"

"He forgot who he's dealing with!" Edward clapped his hands together and slammed them onto the wall. There was a flash of light and a hole formed on the wall.

Beyond there, I saw Mugear crouched down beside something. It flared, and a large projectile came flying at us. I ducked behind the wall, everybody else doing the same. The missile landed on a wall behind us, a loud crash ringing out.

"I'll never surrender the spring!" He cried. "As long as I have the red water, nothing can stop me! Least of all a diminutive state alchemist and his copycat friends!"

Ed straightened up, standing in the center of the hole he made, yelling: "Diminutive state alchemist? Points for the big word, but you're still going down!"

"Oh yeah?" Mugear snarled. He fired another projectile at us. Still crouched down, I placed my hands on the wall and closed it before the shell could hit us.

Dust flew everywhere when the missile collided with the wall. I crawled away just as it made contact, but the impact still shook me. I steadied myself by clinging onto another wall like it was a life preserver. Mugear wasn't so lucky. He was blown back by the blast, and landed on his back.

Edward, who had avoided being thrown back, stepped over the rubble. "You see now? Even with your stones, we're still on a whole other level."

Just as he finished his sentence, the ground started shaking like an earthquake was coming. When I tried to stay close to the wall, it threw me back. The entire mine was crumbling.

"Mugear!" Ed yelled over the rumbling. "What's going on?"

Rocks fell from above, getting larger by the second. I backed away from the entrance of the spring, where most of the heavy stones were falling. The others did the same, only Ed still stood in front of the fallen man.

"Ed, that's enough," Russell bellowed. "Let's get out of here!"

"Brother!" Al cried, trying to push through the rock to grab his brother.

Mugear got in his knees and crawled toward the fountain. He looked pathetic, a grown man crawling on his hands and knees for a broken possession. "I'll never surrender the spring!"

The red water sprayed everywhere; nearby surfaces were doused in it. The ground under it cracked, even of the liquid more flooding the tunnel. Edward turned on his heels and ran away from it all. The ground convulsed more violently. Mugear made his way to the top of the fountain, yelling and cursing at us all. He was silenced when a giant boulder crushed him. For good. I looked away in horror.

Without a second thought, I sprinted away from the approaching wreckage. There was nothing else I could do. The others ran after me.

Russell stopped abruptly, head tilted like he was listening for something. I glanced back at him, about to drag him with us, when he yelled, "Rushing water. The red water's overflowing!"

The rest of us kept running, hearing the roaring as well. Ed managed to stop for a second and create a barrier, and then catch up to us. "That should hold it for now."

I shook my head furiously, hair falling out of my already messy braid. If the red water was coming as fast as it sounded, it wouldn't last a second.

"I did the best I could," Ed replied snappily. "We don't have much time."

"Won't it just come out somewhere else?" Al asked, a worried time in his voice.

My eyes widened. There was probably more red water than what was in the spring. I suspected this tunnel was under the mountain in the outskirts of town. The red water would come out through the mountain, and completely flood and contaminate Xenotime.

"That shock probably weakened the support beams." Russell shouted over the din. He hadn't heard Al's response. "We should leave."

Right as he finished, the light ahead told us that we had reached the end of the tunnel. We burst outside, just as the rest of the tunnel collapsed on itself. The tunnel exited near the top of the mountain, overlooking the forest and the town.

The light temporarily blinded me, and the running had made me out of breath. I looked behind, black spots dancing in my vision, at the cliff, and nearly had a heart attack. The red water was flowing like water falls down the rocks, into the forest, toward the town. So Al had been right.

I grabbed the people closest to me, Fletcher and Alphonse, and pulled them to the highest hill in sight, Ed and Russell trailing behind us. Edward saw the water running down the mountain, and quickly performed a transmutation. A large wall surrounded the area, enclosing the mountains in a circle. That would keep the red water from crashing into the village. The height of the water slowly rose, until it was just a few feet from over flowing. It wasn't high enough to reach our hill, but it still frightened me.

"Now them," Ed muttered, almost to himself. "We just need to find a drain."

Immediately, Fletcher ran downhill, out of my grasp, towards the mass of trees. He stopped at the nearest one, and pulled out a piece of chalk. He began drawing, chalk clacking on the tree bark. When he finished, I saw that he had made a transmutation circle.

Fletcher placed his hands on the circle, leaned his head on it, and concentrated. The circle began glowing green, a sign of agricultural alchemy. We all held our breath to see what would happen next.

The flood of red water started going down, the drain that Ed needed. Slowly, the trees themselves turned red.

"The trees are absorbing the red water," Ed voiced exactly what I was thinking.

"I saw something like this back in the lab." Al mentioned.

Edward nodded his head thoughtfully. "That's right. They were detoxifying red water with the plants."

I remembered the many plants that were in the labs. At the time, I had shrugged them off, thinking they were there for decoration. However, the Tringham's knew agricultural alchemy, so they must have known what to do with the plants.

Russell stepped behind Fletcher wordlessly. Fletcher looked up, eyes shining with pride. "See, it works."

"They pulled through. Well done." Russell gave Fletcher a soft, gentle smile, and placed his hands next to Fletcher's, the glow of the circle intensifying.

"Thank you, trees." Fletcher mumbled as the red water disappeared.

Slowly, the trees changed from a vibrant red to a crystalline blue. One by one, they shattered, blue pieces like glass flying through the air. And then they disappeared in the wind, only sparkling when they were struck by sunlight.

It was a beautiful work of alchemy. I had forgotten that it could be so breathtaking.

I reclined in the seat, thankful for the rest. I breathed out a sigh of content and then turned my head to face the window of the train.

The train had come through just hours after we saved the village from the red water. All that the villagers knew though, was that Mugear's mansion had crumbled from a terrible earthquake, taking him along with it. Edward decided that we needed to get on it, for his superior didn't appreciate Ed taking his sweet time getting to East City. In truth, I was itching to get there. It would be the first major city I would ever visit. Not to mention all my clothes needed to be traded out for more useful ones.

Elisa held up a basket of lemons to us. "Take them. They're from my uncle."

Elisa, Fletcher, and Russell had stopped by the train station to see us off. Belsio had been too busy, tending to his lemon tree grove. The other villagers hadn't known we were there, which we were taking as a good thing. They would have probably tried chasing us away with knives and pitchforks.

"Thank you very much." Al said as he took the basket, ever the polite boy.

"Stay out of trouble, you guys." Elisa reminded us with a crooked smile.

"Yeah, and come back to see us." Fletcher added.

"Of course we will." Alphonse answered.

I ignored their chattering, deeming it harmless. A more interesting conversation was happening between Edward and Russell.

"So you're sure you'll be able to make it in this town?" Ed asked the other boy.

Russell gave him a definite nod. "Belsio wants is to do work for him. Our agricultural alchemy should be useful around his farm," He leaned in closer to Ed and lowered his voice, but I still managed to catch a few words. "So, Ed, you'll hunt for the Philosopher's Stone after this?"

"…Yeah."

"If you want, I can tell you exactly how we crystallized the red stone."

Edward stared at him blankly. "But why?"

"It's not so much out of atonement, but just because you deserve to know." For once, Russell managed to look humble.

"Thanks a lot, Russell, but no thanks," Ed said confidently. "We'll find the real article on our own. You can count on that."

Fletcher joined into the conversation, despite having no idea what they had been talking about. "You'll see. When you guys come to visit, this town will be even better."

"Maybe you can teach me how to make those muffins, Lark," Elisa said to me. I smiled and patted her head with a nod. She giggled and glanced at Edward. "And by that time, I'll probably be taller than you."

"Come on; show a little respect for your elders!" Ed cried, while the rest of us dissolved in laughter. Not only was the way she had said it adorable, but it was probably true.

"I'm serious!" Ed yelled as the train began moving. The others stepped back, waving as we sped past them. Al and I stuck our heads out the window to bid them farewell. "Why's that funny, huh?"

He slumped back into his seat and glared between Al and me. We avoided eye contact with him, me whistling idly and staring at the empty seat in front of me, while Al became fascinated with the basket of lemons.

Giving up on bothering us, Ed eyed the basket, noticing something in it. "Hey, a letter."

"It's for us?"

"Yeah. Let me read," He plucked it out of the basket and unfolded it. We watched patiently as his eyes leisurely followed the words, until they bugged out at something he read. "What?!"

Al and I looked expectantly at him. "What does it say?"

"Drop it. It's nothing," Ed answered quickly, stringing his words together. "Okay?"

I scooted closer to Ed, and Al leaned in. "Oh?"

Al leaped at Ed, wrestling for the letter. "Let me see! Letmesee! Letmeseeletmeseeletmeesee!"

"Get away from me, Al!" Ed struggled in his brother's grip, thrashing to and fro. He pushed at the armor, barely even moving him. I searched for an opening where I wouldn't get crushed by the two of them. Ed's arms were flying all over the place, the letter clenched tightly. Taking my chances, I hovered over the seat, and grabbed at the piece of paper, like an animal fishing. There were only a few other passengers in the train, none of them close to us, and they all gave us strange looks.

I succeeded in snatching the letter, and settled into the seat near Alphonse. Holding the paper like a flag, I whistled for the boys' attention.

"Hey! Lark, you got it!"

"Give it back!" Ed jumped across the seats, but I planted my foot in his face and pushed him back. Defeated, he lay face down on his seat. "Ugh."

Al sat next to me, reaching for the paper. I stopped him with a hand, smoothed down the letter, and then handed it to him. He read aloud.

"'Ed, thank you for all the help and wisdom you have us. I'm sorry I was such a smart ass to you at first, but I am trying to be a better older brother to Fletcher, and I'll try hard to follow your example. I guess you being a year older than me makes a big difference. Well, have a good trip. Russell. P.S. Lark, next time your laundry flies away from you, just use your alchemy. It makes life so much easier.'"

I flushed a little bit at the note to me. So he had seen me climbing the tree like an idiot.

"Damnit," Edward moaned. "I can't believe he's a year younger than me, and so much taller. Life's so unfair."

"You think those two are going to be alright?"

"Yeah, they'll be fine. And we will, too."

Alphonse reread the letter, and turned to me. "What was that about flying laundry?"

I tapped my thumb on my lip twice.

It's a secret.

Next chapter's going to be the one everybody's been waiting for: Lark arrives in East City! I would threaten you guys to give me more reviews or I won't update, but I think I like getting my content looked at more. Oh, well.

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