Don't ask me why, because even I'm not sure, but for some reason Mizore brought me to an unpopulated lake. Crystal clear water and no one around... what the fuck are we doing here?
"Hey, Red, why are we here?" I asked as she stripped to her underwear. No modesty, such a fun a trait in a woman.
"I wanted to swim, do we need more reason than that?" She asked, running towards to edge of the small cliff we're on to dive in. I heard her splash in just as I reached the edge myself. She bobbed to the surface, grinning like an idiot. "Come on!"
"Automail is heavy!" I yell back.
"Deal with it! This is great!"
Dammit, I'm not going to win this. My limbs are relatively lightweight, but they still don't have any buoyancy, which makes it much easier to sink. Well it's not like I can drown. Well, I can... I just won't stay dead.
I took a few steps back, tossing aside all but my boxers, then ran over the cliff and cannonballed into the water. I immediately felt gravity start to pull me to the bottom, but I fought hard against it and got to the surface.
"This is great!" I said, shaking my head and flinging tiny droplets of water from my hair.
"I told you," Mizore said, splashing me.
I splashed her back, beginning a war of water. We continued for minutes; just a simple action, yet it entertained us to no end. Finally, splashing wasn't enough and the dunking began. This went back and forth for a while until I decided to mix it up. I dived, grabbing her ankle and pulling her under with me. So began an underwater wrestling match, both if us ignoring our dwindling air and the increasing distance to the surface. We were way deep, and getting a little rough. Mizore shoved herself away, both of us propelled through the water by the force of the movement. She went back, too far back, whacking her head on the stony underwater cliff face. She immediately went limp, floating in the near-nonexistent current. Fuck.
Air is gone, she's out and my automail is waterlogged. This could end very badly. I swam to her, feeling my lungs ready to burst. Throwing her over a shoulder, I rocketed to the surface as fast as I could, which with tens of pounds of metal and assassin girl weighing you down isn't much. I breached the calm waters, greedily sucking in air before spotting a tiny island a few hundred feet off. Struggling to swim and keep her head above water at once, I somehow made it to the island. I dragged myself onto the sand, setting her down beside me. Water sloshed out of my automail as I checked her pulse. It's there. That's good, but she's not breathing. Shit, shit, shit!
CPR is standard training for Amestrian soldiers, just in case just such an event occurs, but I hardly paid attention to the lessons.
"Let's see... you pump their chest, then breathe for them... fuck, this just had to happen," I nervously said, placing my hands on her chest and trying to do the compressions without breaking her ribs. "Tilt their head back, pinch their nose shut and..."
I knew what I had to do, but felt just a moment of trepidation. It's not that I care about kissing her... actually that's exactly what it is. I'm basically about to kiss my friend. Things don't get much more awkward than that. But this is no time to worry about my own embarrassment. My face turning red, I leaned in and blew a breath down her throat. Getting up, I started the compressions again, then back to giving her air. Fuck, it's been nearly two minutes. Permanent brain damage is becoming a very likely possibility.
Her pulse is getting weaker and she's turning pale blueish. This is bad, this is bad, fuck this is bad! A horrible feeling was settling in my stomach. I might not be able to save her. I continued the process, but I'm losing hope and getting desperate. I think I have to call it...
She coughed and spit out a pint of water, gagging and trying desperately to get fresh air in her lungs. Sitting up, she coughed more and heaved to her side.
"Shit, I thought you were gone!" I exclaimed, unconsciously wrapping my arms around her.
"That was the scariest few minutes of my life by far," she said, her voice weak a little ragged. Her own arm was around my waist, holding herself close. Then we realized the position we're in. We let go, scooting away and trying to hide our blush from each other. Talk about awkward.
"Thanks... for saving me..." Mizore said, breaking the silence.
"You're welcome..." I said, remembering that I basically kissed her about twenty times and feeling blood rush to my cheeks again.
"Well... we might as well do a little training while we're here," she said, running a finger through the sand and drawing an alkahestric circle. She walked across the small beach, drawing another. "Now transmute something over here!"
Near-death experience and she just glosses over it. I like this girl. I placed my hands on the circle, feeling the Dragon's Pulse and redirecting it to bring both circles crackling to life. The sand around the circle I was at started moving and shifting. I focused harder and it stopped, the transmutation occurring across the beach at Mizore's feet. The sand melted and reformed into a glass rose. She picked up, examining it.
"Didn't fall apart at my touch, that's good. Most can't do it this well their first few times," she said, critiquing my work.
"I guess I'm gifted."
"Alright, hotshot. Do it again, but faster. Fast enough to be practical during a fight."
And so the training continued.
#~#~#
We sat back on the cliff we started the day at. The sun was halfway sunken over the horizon, giving it a red hue with the rest of the sky turning gold. It was beautiful, the first time in a while I've appreciated the horizon. I've got to appreciate it more often.
Being an alchemist, I can easily tear apart this scene before me into elements, mathematical formulas and numbers; I could analyze it with cold logic and still feel just as awestruck and amazed by its beauty. Even a scientist like me can't refute the natural wonder of things like this. Just like any casual observer, we're entranced by it. It's our nature to be. I'm beyond ecstatic to be able to live in this world, that I'm still alive and can continue to see these sights. The only thing that could make this better is having those I've lost here enjoying it with me.
Wow, that kinda got away from me. It's a pretty sunset, and it'll make a damn fine memory is the point I was trying to make.
"Hey, Drake, I've been wondering..."
"Wondering what?"
"What's the origin of alchemy?"
Oh thank the gods. Thought she might ask something harder to answer. Like my history. Or if I liked "kissing" her.
"Well, the exact origins are likely lost to time, but we have a legend that supposedly tells of how alchemy was discovered and Amestris was born. About four hundred years ago, the civilization of Xerxes fell. For reasons unknown, the entire country was destroyed in a single night. One man walked out, heading west. He came to what would be Amestris and taught us alchemy. We used these teachings as a weapon and conquered the surrounding lands. We went from a few tribes to a full-blown nation in record time. No one knows where that man went, but we still remember him to this day. Hair and eyes of gold, he was known by some as the golden, 'perfect', being. The name most commonly associated with him, though, is a little more grandiose; the Philosopher from the East. He's the namesake of the Stone, well one of its namesakes, showing just how important he is."
I leaned back, remembering days long gone. Liz used to love hearing stories like that. Or she acted like it. Either way, she would always ask to hear any old stories or legends of Xerxes or alchemy that I heard. And it always made me feel happy to see her so enthralled by my words. It was a mutual trade; Equivalent Exchange. I haven't felt that in a long time. Never had anyone to share my good stories with since then.
"That's really wierd."
"How so?"
"There's a similar legend in Xing. They say a man came from the west and combined alchemy with traditional 'medicinal' practices of Xing to form alkahestry. They say he too had golden hair and eyes, and this started the perception of golden being synonymous with perfect. But we call him the Sage from the West."
"That is weird. Do you think it's at all possible they're the same person?"
"I don't know. Maybe."
"This world is a strange place."
"Now there's something we can agree on."
The sun finally sank completely over the horizon and leaving now seemed stupid, even dangerous, as it was already dark. We stayed, getting comfortable on the grass, under the stars. Luckily, the night remained warm and we hardly needed our clothes. It was a damn good night.
#~#~#
I woke feeling the sun shining on what litte body I have, habitually stretching my mostly nonexistent muscles. Old habits die hard. Really hard.
I turned to Mizore, seeing her start to wakeup without opening her eyes. Her hand covered her eyes as she sat up. Like I said, last night was warm, but comfortably so. She was as near-naked as me, with possibly even less care for that fact. The way her hair stuck to her neck and face tells me she had a bad night.
"Rough night?" I asked.
"I guess you could say that," she said, much less bubbly than normal.
"I get some pretty bad dreams too. You ever need to talk..."
"Why would I come to you?" She asked, her voice becoming cold. "Just because I like hanging around with you means I'd divulge all my secrets and past to you? Fuck that."
Wow, that was unexpected.
"Alright, no need to get aggressive. Come on, something is going down in Central. I can feel it."
I pulled on my clothes, ready to leave. I few movements of my limbs told me I needed to get my automail checked. Probably got some sand stuck in them after yesterday's mishap.
"Off to nearly die again," Mizore muttered, fully clothed once more.
#~#~#
The streets seemed too mainstream, so we took the rooftops. Mizore is acting more like herself again. That's good. I hate the quiet, self-loathing types. I also hate the types that let themselves suffer alone. Ironically though I'm like that. Ed and Al are like that too, but they have each other and, when needed, me and Winry. She's got no one. I've got no one either. We're just too damn similar.
"Wait, stop."
I turned to the streets, scanning the crowd.
"What is it?" Mizore asked, stopping next to me.
"Can you feel that? Aw shit," I said, spotting an unassuming man, "it's him."
"What the fuck? Why does it feel like he's got an army inside him?"
"Because he does. And he's already being hunted."
A blur ran between shadows, intent on killing the man. Lan Fan, our fellow Xing assassin, knows what he is too. That's good, means we'll have an even easier time ripping him apart.
Being a highly-trained warrior, Lan Fan detected us with ease. Likely formulating attack patterns in her head, she nodded and prepared to begin the onslaught.
She rushed forward, slicing deep gashes into his body. Blood sprayed into the crowd, making people scream and run in terror. The streets cleared quickly, allowing Mizore to toss a healthy number of flash bombs and grenades. They exploded, rocking the building and causing more screams. Red lightning arced around his body inside the cloud of abrasive dust. I jumped, falling on him and firmly planting both fists in his Palmtree face.
Bones cracked under my metallic fists, the sickening noise only enticing me to beat him more. I pulled my hand back, extending my blade and driving it through his heart. He screamed, music to my ears, as the cold metal sliced through bone and muscle. His hand grabbed my wrist, bending and warping the material. A thousand amp current ran through it, burning and melting the flesh of his hand. He screamed more as the same began to happen to his chest, and in moments his entirety burned black. He pulled his feet under me, kicking me hard in the chest. I flew back into the building across the street, smashing through the wall and into the second-story apartment.
Walking back to opening, barely fazed by the attack, I saw him on the run. Lan Fan and Mizore were chasing after him, tossing bombs and kunai. I jumped back to the street, running after him and blasting painfully non-lethal bolts. He ran toward the bell tower, and it seemed there was another fight going on up there.
"I'm through fucking around!"
My hands outstretched before me, black lightning blasted forth; an ugly stream of near-pure energy smashing him into the tower. A torrent of flame burst from the top, sending a crispy fat ass down to land on Envy. The ground cracked and splintered at the hit. Their charred bodies were already healing, both of them rising to see their situation. Mustang and Hawkeye stood at the top of the tower eyeing them. We had them surrounded down here.
"Come on, Gluttony, I don't like our chances," the Palmtree said, smashing the wall into a smokescreen.
"Dammit!" I said as Roy and Riza came out.
"We need to track Barry. He might lead us to their HQ," he said as he jumped in his car.
"Lan Fan, track those two. I'm going with Mustang," I said, jumping in with him.
"So am I," Mizore said, sliding in next to me.
Mustang, Hawkeye, Havoc, Mizore, and me. Whoever is at their base is in for a hell of a bad time.
#~#~#
We were led to Lab 3. Just what I need, another alchemic lab adventure searing horrible memories into my brain for eternity. Ah well, if it keeps the pansies that aren't me alive and well, I guess it's fine.
We met up with Al, which gave us another juggernaut for the fight. Of course fitting him in the car was a bitch. And it was really sucky being squished next to him. So Mizore and I followed from the rooftops. Nothing like running at highway speeds to get you ready to kick some ass.
We went deep, into sections that shouldn't exist. Tunnels deep under the city, and it feels like were about to be attacked. Despite the perceived danger, we decided it was best to split up. Me, Riza, and Al go one way; Mustang, Havoc, and Mizore go the other.
"Why do I have to go with the chain-smoker and Ponyboy?" Mizore asked, pouting about the decision.
"It makes more sense. Me and you can read the Dragon's Pulse, that means we can detect anything coming close. We split up like this and neither group is in the dark," I explain.
"But why do I have to go with theeeeem?" She asked, sounding like a spoiled child.
"Wait, you're just pissed because of it being them, aren't you?"
"Yes! So whyyyy?"
"I don't know... it evens things out. Two teams; two guys and one girl each. Is that good enough?"
She turned away, pouting still. She is stubborn as a mule. Why does she even care? Are chain-smokers and ponyboys really that bad?
Arms crossed over her chest, acting like a spurned child, she walked away with the two men. I really hope she doesn't let them get attacked to spite me. It's probably what I would do.
Following Barry was easy. After splitting up we found a trail of blood from his body. Even a blind squirrel would be able to find him. The trail led to a giant room made of pure, white marble. On the opposite side was a set of massive doors, a few dozen feet wide and over a hundred tall, probably at least a dozen feet thick. They were carved with an alchemic engraving and some stuff in ancient Xerxesian. Something about the father and the redeemer or something. Those doors gave me an ominous feeling of being at the Gate.
Barry was near them, slicing his own body to pieces.
"Such a shame you ended up like this," he said, twirling his cleavers in anticipation, "but I guess this is what happens when a soul is bound to a foreign body."
The little red orbs that are Al's eyes flashed wide for a second. He's scared. I can feel it. His bare soul makes him even easier to read. But I can't blame him. He's been bound to armor for three years, he could give out at any moment. He might not even last long enough to get his real body back. I will not let him fade away. I'll make sure he accomplishes this goal. It's the least I can do for a brother-in-arms.
Something is coming. A Homunculus. I've felt this one before, but only once. Lust.
"Such a shame, I have to kill two more Sacrifices," the ridiculously sexy monster said. We whirled around to face her, the vixen looking on with some interest as she brushed an ebony lock behind her ear.
"Let me kill her!" Barry the Butcher ordered, rushing ahead to chop the meat.
"You're a disgrace, Sixty-Six," she declared, impaling him on her talons. "A traitor like you deserves death."
Let me hold things up a second. I don't think I accurately described what happened to Barry. Her fingers grew into fucking fifteen-foot lances and impaled his armor like tissue paper. Then, with a flurry of movement, she cut him to pieces. The room was filled with the echoing sound of metal clanging on marble as what was once Barry fell to pieces. I'm not going to like this fight.
"Those fools thought they could hurt me," she mused in a sultry tone, "They're all just chunks of flesh and bone now."
Bullshit. Mizore, Mustang, even Havoc, are all way too strong to be killed by her. Together, she wouldn't stand a chance. Yet here she is. And they're no where to be found.
While I kept belief that they're alive, Riza heard those words as the truth. Tears flowed freely down her face as she fell apart before us. But who could blame her? The person she's fought through a war with, who spilled blood with her, who stood by her side since the moment they met, is supposedly dead. They were close, closer than two officers, closer than friends. This was all that could be expected. She's a strong, strong person, but this is her breaking point. When the strong finally break, they shatter, and every piece is a deadly weapon to everybody around them. If only shards worked better on Homunculi.
She pulled her pistol, unloading the clip in the Homunculus. When it went dry she tossed it aside and pulled out another, and another. Over three dozen rounds were fired, every one hitting their mark, but she didn't even slow down. Riza finally gave up, hanging her head and accepting defeat. Lust raised her claws, ready to spear her head, but instead speared Al's arm. She ripped them free, raking them through him again and again.
"What are you doing?! Go, save yourself!" She yelled.
"No! I'm done sitting by and watching my friends get hurt and die! I won't let that happen anymore! I'm going to stand up and protect all of them!" The tiny voice in the armor declared, suddenly becoming strong and thunderous.
"That's the way a real man talks, Alphonse. But I can't let you do that, I can't let either of you lay down your lives like this!" I shouted in response, electricity crackling between my fingers. "You've both got people to go home to, and I'm making damn sure you do!"
Lightning arced from my hands, forming a network of energy leading to the Homunculus. Charged enough to hold her in place and scorch her flesh, I hope the pain is greater than anything. She deserves it, for attacking my friends, for hurting them, for making Riza cry!
"Hearing you two kids talk like true warriors, it gives me hope for the future."
From the shadows came the Flame Alchemist, bloodied and hurt, but alive. His gloves were shredded, but he had carved his signature circle in the back of his hand, and held Havoc's lighter at the ready.
Riza saw the man she thought dead, new hope blooming in her teary eyes. I knew they weren't dead. They're just too strong.
"Don't forget me! I wanna see this bitch die!" Mizore screamed from close behind.
Mustang let loose a scorching blast of flame on the creature just as my lightning ended. The Homunculus fell to her knees, her body destroyed. She looked between the two of us, wondering which will finish her.
"She all yours, Colonel," I said, raising a wall to protect myself, Al, and Hawkeye.
I heard the lighter scrape the flint, spark, then whoosh as Mustang unleashed his namesake on her once more. Again and again it came, charring her repeatedly. The smell of live flesh being burned to nothing filled the air, a smell that I once hated, but here it does not turn my stomach, it makes me eager to join in on her suffering. But this one is for Mustang. His sin is Lust, so I'll let him have this one. Mine is Envy, and nothing will stop me once I know I can kill him.
"I cannot wait for the day when those eyes, so clear and determined, are filled with the ash and sorrow of your defeat! I cannot wait to stand above you on that day!" Lust madly said as yet another torrent of fire burned her to nothing.
I stepped aside just in time to see her Philosopher's Stone fall to the ground and shatter like glass. Lust is well and truly dead.
"I knew that bitch couldn't kill you," I said, walking to my fellow soldiers. "Hey, Mustang, sorry I called you a baby killer. And said you really earned the title 'Hero of Ishval'."
"Don't worry, I knew it was just an act," he claimed.
"You are still an asshole, though."
He smirked, knowing it was true.
"Good to see you didn't... die while I looked after Ponyboy," Mizore said, limping to me.
"You hurt?"
"It's nothing... compared to what happened... to Havoc..." she said, falling into my arms.
"You're too tough for your own good," I told her, feeling that she couldn't stand anymore and had to be carried.
"That makes two of us, doesn't it?" She asked, looking up from my arms like a child.
"Yeah, it does."
I turned to see Al nearly falling apart and Riza still overcoming hysteria, but they were otherwise fine. I hope Al can hold himself together long enough to carry Havoc out of here. My hands are a little full.
"Can you walk, Mustang?" I asked the pained alchemist.
"Don't want to move at all, but I can. I wouldn't even be alive though if it weren't for your little girlfriend. She's a devil on the battlefield, killed the bitch five times before she got a scratch."
I chose to ignore the girlfriend comment, instead focusing on him actually praising someone. It's pretty rare to get praise from that man. Even rarer to hear him admit they saved him. He's quite an arrogant man, so him saying someone did what he couldn't is huge.
Mizore could detect it, or was just reacting to the girlfriend comment, and blushed like a schoolgirl. Funny how a cold-blooded killer can do anything like a schoolgirl.
"Let's get topside, I don't want anyone dying down here."
#~#~#
"Hey, I came by to check on you. Hope you don't mind that I brought a couple of idiots with me," I said, entering Mizore's room with Alyx and Jess at my back.
"Great to see you. I could use a few idiots right now, I'm bored out of my mind," the Xing girl said from her bed.
She was more than lucky. Pierced through the shoulder, chest, and stomach, she avoided having her vitals hit my millimeters. Though her vitals are fine, she was still impaled straight through, not to mention multiple lacerations and a few broken bones. She needs to stay here to recover for a while. Should take over a month, which means she'll be following me around again in a couple weeks. No way she'll do what's best for herself.
"At least you're alive," I said, taking a seat at her side, Alyx and Jess staying close by me like scared children. Why do I always end up feeling like an old man around people?
"Well that is true. But hospitals here are so different from what we have back home. Here you almost never see the same person twice, the food is mass-produced slop, and you have to share your room with other patients," she complained, flipping her hair out her eyes in a cute and endearing way. Wait, did I just call her cute and endearing? I didn't mean that, I meant uh... uhmmm... fuck it. I said it. But we're just friends. Seriously just friends.
"Sounds like hospitals in Xing are treated more like homes," I said, ignoring the burn of a blush on my cheeks.
"Well they were more like clinics than hospitals, but that is an accurate way to describe them."
Alyx noticed the color in my cheeks and couldn't help but be herself. "Oh, someone has a crush, don't they?" She teased.
"No I don't!" I answered at the exact same time as Mizore. We were both shocked for a moment, looking to each other and watching their face turn bright red.
"Oh I can see it now; you in a black tuxedo fit to your impressive frame, her in a pure white dress that accentuates all her curves-" she mused to herself.
"Shut up!" We yelled, again in unison, interrupting her absurd thoughts. Dammit, that won't help anything. That twisted little vampire probably thinks we've done it. It's a logical assumption, considering how sex is one of the only thigs she's capable of thinking about, the other being blood.
"Say what you will, I know love when I see it."
"That's enough!" We yelled. Damn, three for three. This is getting even worse.
"Alright, alright," she said, holding up her hands like we were going to arrest her. She listened and shut up, but still muttered fantasies to herself.
"What about you? You got something stupid to say?" I ask Jess, who had been quiet thus far.
"You're... you're really pretty..." she mumbled, almost too quiet to hear. Unexpected. I thought she'd lay claim to me or something equally annoying. And is that a blush I see dusting her cheeks?
"Oh, thank you. I've been hearing that often recently," Mizore replied, a pink blush forming on her cheeks too. There's a lot of blushing happening today. Somehow I feel like there will be more.
"It's easy to see why," Jess said, looking down and avoiding her gaze.
"You're just saying that. No need to lie to me just because I'm hurt."
"I'm not lying. You really are beautiful." I don't think I've heard Jess this sincere before. Could she have a crush on Mizore?
Unfortunately though, Alyx heard this and again decided to be herself.
"Sounds like someone else has a crush," she said.
Jess didn't say anything, just blushed bright red. Told you, more blushing. And it seems I was right. Interesting.
"I'm just acknowledging her beauty. I've done the same of you," she eventually said, though that's not a real denial. And it sounds like a lie.
"Well I hate skipping out during such a fun moment, but I'm sure there's some bullshit I have to take care of back in South City," I said, getting up. "You two staying?"
"I want to know your girlfriend better. I'll stay," Alyx said, stealing my seat. I repressed the urge to zap her, pretending not to notice the comment.
"I'll stay too," Jess said.
"Of course you will. Bet you can't wait to eat h- OW!"
I cut her off with a quick zap, deciding she deserved it.
"Then I'll be back later, maybe tomorrow if I'm too tired," I said, heading to the door, "Goodbye."
"Bye."
I walked out, feeling an emotion that's always plagued my life. I felt jealousy for Alyx and especially Jess. But why? Because they get to stay with Mizore? Granted I feel a little lonely without my deadly sidekick, but jealousy? Strange.
#~#~#
Once more I am unable to post the next chapter. Like before, it can be found on AO3.