After meeting up with Alphonse, they all returned to Dr. Knox's place. Ed had explained to both on the way that no one's alchemy was active while they were underground, and that their best bet was to talk to the girl who - right next to Scar - was the only one able to transmute.
"This must mean they practice a different type of alchemy," he came to the conclusion.
All three were excited by the concept but were surprised when finding the house little-girl-free.
"Where could she have gone?!" Ed growled at Dr. Knox. "When did she even leave?"
"I don't know," the doctor snarled back, "it's none of my business!"
The alchemists groaned in frustration.
"You two think of a plan - I'm going to go check on Lan Fan." Iris walks away into the room her friend was quartered in, leaving all the boys behind.
Although already walking in, she knocks at the door frame. This wakes Lan Fan up, and she smiles half-heartedly. Surely she was hoping for a different, Xingese, male face.
"Hey, how are you feeling?"
"Better. But I..." She stops herself, her expression confused.
"Miss your prince?" Iris supplies. Lan Fan looks down as if almost ashamed.
"...Yes," she admitted. "Speaking of the young lord, we wanted to ask you about something. Since he is not here, I suppose I'll ask you myself."
This peaked the alchemist's interest. "What is it?"
"We had noticed this when we first fought the homunculi Gluttony and King Bradley. How did you learn to read people's qi?"
"People's what?"
"Qi is what the Xingese people believe is life energy that flows through the earth," she explains factually. "Every living thing emits a qi. The homunculi have a very strong qi because there are so many beings living inside of them."
"So all this time I've been feeling qi?"
"Have you ever been to Xing? How long have you been experiencing these emotions?"
"N-no. And... all my life, really."
"That can't be. Qi is learned, not something you are born with."
Iris's eyebrows furrow. "Does qi also tap into people's memories? Like seeing and hearing and living through people's pasts?"
Lan Fan draws back. "No, not at all. What is it that you're dealing with?"
"I don't know," she confesses. "Maybe my powers are just something bigger than qi..."
The boys had left while the two girls were conversing, then Lan Fan was ordered more rest by Dr. Knox, so that left Iris to seriously contemplate the true origins of her powers. Honestly, she was left with more questions than answers.
She's never been anywhere outside of the country, let alone Xing, which was across the desert! She was a native of Amestris with Ishvalan blood from her father. Qi? Maybe it was somewhat true, but why are her powers so enhanced? And her sister's as well? This was all coming at her too fast.
Ed and Al eventually came back with no leads about the girl who knows alkahestry.
"Well, we sure as hell can't ask Scar," Iris says with annoyance, lifting up her shirt just a bit to show her wound from what seemed like so long ago. Ed frowns at her midriff.
"We did see the Colonel, though, Iris," Al mentions.
Her eyes light up instantly. Really? What did he say?! Did he say anything about me?"
"He said he got our message from Hawkeye. And that he hopes to see you soon, and that he and Madame Christmas will find a way to get you away from the Bradley's." Ed finishes. The girl grasps him in a tight embrace. For a second, he doesn't respond verbally, his face just going pink.
"Hey," he finally speaks up, "what do you think you're doing?!"
"Shut up!" she yells. "I'm pretending you're Mustang!"
That makes him push her off. She lands on the couch on her back and laughs, but it dies down quickly.
"Fuck, I hope so," she whispers to herself in response to what her adopted brother had said.
Edward looks from above at her, arms crossed impatiently. "Get up. We've still gotta find out clues about alkahestry!"
"Okay, okay." She gives in, tumbling off the couch and standing up. "Let's go."
•••
"This little girl will be the death of us," the female alchemist groans, holding out a hand to Alphonse. "Carry me, would ya?"
"Oh, shut up," Ed retorts. "We're here."
"Here, where?"
"The library. If we can't find the girl, we can at least learn something about alkahestry."
This makes Iris light up. He was right. If alkahestry was linked to Xing like that alkahestrist, then surely she could find something about qi. Maybe even something about what she was experiencing. She tried not to get her hopes up, but it was difficult not to.
The library was always such a welcoming place for Iris. She would almost hate to go on business; she'd become so enamored by every book that caught her eye. She lost track of time so quickly here. Of course, the brothers split off into opposite directions immediately, leaving her in the dust.
She sighs in exasperation, not knowing where to start. Walking further into the building, the hairs on her arms stood up and dread was increasingly building up in her system. It was the all-too-familiar feeling of a lurking homunculus.
Her first instinct was to shout out to one of the boys, but she decided against it. She didn't want to get herself kicked out then have no way to tell them about the threat. Plus, letting the homunculus know that she knew of its presence could be a disadvantage. So instead, she tried to casually roam the library, hoping not to look suspicious. She found Alphonse first of course; his armor was a dead giveaway and almost towered over the bookcases themselves.
"Alphonse," Iris whispered to him, mindlessly picking out books from the shelves. "We need to find Ed. One of the homunculi is here."
"What?" He tried to quell the worry in his tinny voice. "Why would one be here?"
"I don't know, but let's go," she pressed urgently. She put away the books and grabbed Al's gloved hand to drag him into the aisles.
"Did Ed say what section he was going to?"
"No idea. He always does this."
She groans in frustration. They turn another corner and finally, the homunculus was right in their faces. Well, they had to look down some. (Or for Al, quite a bit.)
"Selim!" Iris yelled in surprise, coming over and quickly giving him a hug despite wanting to strangle him instead.
'I know you're acting,' she thought to him, 'but you don't know I am.'
She let go of him, opting to ruffle his hair instead. He mostly ignored the gesture and looked all the way up to the boy in the suit of armor, completely starstruck.
"Are you Alphonse Elric, State Alchemist Edward Elric's younger brother?" He turns to the girl, his now adopted sister. "Iris, you didn't tell me you knew the famous Elric brothers!"
She laughed nervously. "Well of course I did!"
'Did Selim need to know that, or did the homunculus?'
"Did you see Edward anywhere, Selim? We'd really 'ought to be going..."
"I haven't! I would love to meet him! Will you introduce me?!"
That is how the two alchemists got stuck guiding the child to Ed. He was deep into the library, sitting on a stack of books and reading through a letter. Iris repeated his name many times but got no reaction until she kicked some of the books from under him. He toppled but caught himself at the last moment. He glared at her and put the letter away in his inner coat pocket.
"What is it?"
"We need to go," she said through her teeth.
"What, why?"
Iris side-stepped, revealing the tiny, but evil child smiling and waving at him in adoration.
"Selim Bradley?"
•••
"How did we end up here?" Ed griped quietly to Iris who was sitting on the loveseat by herself in between the two couches. On one couch were the two brothers. On the opposite side were Selim and his mother.
"I didn't want to be here either," she grumbles angrily at him.
"I'm sorry that Selim dragged you here," Mrs. Bradley chuckles, "he's just such a big fan of yours."
"Of me?" Ed asks, touching his chest.
"Why, yes! He adores you!"
"Mo-ther," Selim groans, embarrassed. "I want to become an alchemist, so of course I would look up to Edward!"
"You want to be an alchemist?" Al inquires, actually surprised. Iris wished they would remember that all of it was a complete act.
"Yeah! So I can help my father run the country!"
All three alchemist's faces dropped. Iris tried not to make it too obvious, but it was then that Ed and Al truly realized the corruption of the family, and they pitied Mrs. Bradley tremendously. The poor woman had no idea.
She goes on to talk about her who she thinks is precious son, even venturing off to the entire family of her husband, then Iris, of course. But the said girl isn't paying attention, just smiling and nodding, grinning and bearing whenever she was brought up by her new mother.
"Speaking of Iris," Ed butts in, giving the woman a hopeful grin, "I was wondering... Do you mind if we take her on a bit of a road trip?"
"Wherever will you be going?"
The boy looks to his friend and his brother. "North!"
