Chapter 24 –
"Has there been any news about Lotor?" Ed asked as he, Al, Shiro, Lance, Blue and Black walked into Mustang's outer office two days after their search party failed to turn up any further signs of Lotor than what Ed had found in the tunnel filled with chimera corpses.
"Only tips from citizens," Hawkeye told him. "No one from the military has spotted him while they were on patrol but we are running down the tips we've been given. So far, none of them have panned out," she said, a touch apologetically.
Ed groaned in annoyance as he sat in his usual spot. "Nothing else has come in? No reports of break ins where only things needed to survive were taken? No reports of an abandoned building suddenly showing signs of someone living in it?" he asked but let out a small whine of irritation when Hawkeye shook her head.
"Nothing like that," she confirmed verbally.
"It's been over two days since he snuck into Central! How the hell has he been surviving if he hasn't been stealing anything?" Ed asked grumpily.
"He could have brought plenty of supplies with him when he entered Central. He just might not have needed to restock yet," Shiro suggested.
"That is so inconvenient of him to be prepared," Ed muttered, making several people at the table chuckle at his expression.
"So what are your plans, Chief?" Havoc asked, causing Ed to sigh once more.
"Well, I can't really do much except follow up on the more promising sounding tips," he admitted before he looked at the members of Voltron who were in the office. "If I can wrangle at least three more soldiers again, you guys are gonna split up so you can help," Ed told them and Shiro gave a nod.
"That sounds fine," Shiro said honestly. Having been part of one of the search parties above ground two days ago, Shiro had seen firsthand how the average citizen had reacted to the Lions. Though they'd obviously been wary to start with, the two days of searching for Lotor and just being out and about in Central had warmed a lot of the citizens up to the Lions and strangers with them. They were still obviously unsure of them but they didn't, for the most part, duck out of sight the moment they saw them either, which was a massive improvement. Just walking from Gracia's to the base this morning had shown how quickly most of the citizens had adapted to seeing Lions roaming around their city.
"What sounds fine?" Pidge asked as she entered the outer office, closely followed by Green and the remaining members of Voltron. Mustang was the last to enter and quirked a curious brow as he closed the door behind them.
"Splitting into five teams and running down leads from tips sent in by citizens concerning Lotor for the day," Ed told her.
"Oh," she said, scrunching her nose. "Sounds kinda boring, to be honest, but I've finished with your tablet so I don't have anything better to do with my time," she said, sighing slightly as she pulled Ed's tablet out of her bag and handed it back to him.
"Oh, thanks," Ed said as he took it back and looked over it. "What did you end up doing to it?" he asked curiously seeing as the tablet didn't physically look different.
"I hooked it up to my laptop and managed to connect it to my tablet, which is still on the Castle-Ship," she told him, grinning when Ed's jaw dropped. "I got to talk to my dad, Matt, and Allura last night," she announced, her grin growing wider when nearly everyone's jaws dropped at the news, leaving only Pidge, Keith, Hunk, and Mustang as the only ones aside from the Lions who didn't look surprised.
"You did?" Shiro asked and Pidge nodded, looking utterly satisfied with herself. "What's been happening? Are they okay?" he asked and Pidge gave another nod.
"Matt, Dad and Allura have been working around the clock on the dimension-jumping teleduv but they're still quite a ways off from getting it working," she told them. "Dad thinks it'll be at least another week before it's running and they can use it," she warned them. "Allura wanted me to tell you that so far they've managed to keep the fact that Voltron has disappeared a secret. No allies have reported having problems they need us to take care of and the Castle-Ship has been able to deal with the remaining Galrans that have caused a planet to send a distress signal. Allura told us that she's claimed that we're busy dealing with Lotor – which is true, technically – and that's why we weren't with the Castle-Ship. When the planet's leader had asked why Lotor was deemed more important than their people, Allura told them the truth about what happened to Judellie and what Lotor was searching for. She also told them about the fact that Lotor had stolen it from one of Markeri's moons, which is also when she let it slip about how dangerous the trans-reality stone was. The leader backed off and apologised for doubting us," Pidge informed them, a smugness in her voice as she imagined that scene going down.
"So we've got at least a week to find and deal with Lotor?" Lance asked.
"Yeah," Pidge confirmed. "Dad and Matt want to try using different materials to build the machine since they think that could be part of why they couldn't get it working earlier," she said. "The material they want to use is pretty rare though so that's why it'll take them a while," Pidge explained. "They're also going to build a drone to send it through once they've gotten the machine working, just in case something happens to who- or whatever as they enter the portal," she said, "and that'll likely result in a couple more days of experimenting if the drone is destroyed," she added as an extra warning.
"I think I'd prefer being here for a few more days to being maimed or killed going through the portal," Hunk admitted with a slight chuckle.
"Me too, dude," Lance agreed.
"We agree as well," Green said, nodding in a way that meant Ed or Pidge didn't have to translate for her so everyone else knew what she said.
"So I can call your tablets from here?" Ed asked, still looking at his tablet.
"Yeah, you can video-call us," Pidge told him. "I'll teach you how to do it tonight," she offered.
"I'd appreciate that," Ed said, giving her a smile before he hid his tablet in the reinforced jacket pocket he kept it in if it had to leave Gracia's house.
"Since you're planning on splitting into five teams, I assume that means you're going to take someone from each team again?" Mustang asked and Ed nodded.
"Figured Breda and maybe Simon would like some time outta the office today," Ed said, causing the portly red-head to perk up with interest. "I was gonna see if Brookes would give me Owen for the day," Ed added with a shrug.
"I have no problem with Breda assisting you," Mustang told him. Only the upwards twitch of Mustang's lips gave them any hint that he'd seen Breda's fist pump of victory. "You'll have to ask Lieutenant-Colonel Lambert if she can spare Simon," Mustang instructed, earning himself an eyeroll from Ed.
"Really? I just assumed Lambert wouldn't mind if one of her men went AWOL for a day," Ed snarked.
Mustang opened his mouth to reply but the ringing of Hawkeye's phone interrupted him. He settled for glaring at Ed – who merely smirked in response – while Hawkeye answered the phone. "Brigadier-General Mustang's office," she answered, voice professionally polite. "Oh, hello, Gracia," she said, sounding mildly surprised and no one could really blame her for it. It was very rare for Gracia to call the office when she was at work. "They're both still here. I'll put Ed on for you," Hawkeye said before she held the phone out to Ed pointedly.
"Hey, Miss Gracia," Ed greeted once he had the phone held up to his ear. "What's up?"
"Ed, I'm so sorry for asking you to do this but would you mind picking Elysia up from school at noon?" Gracia asked, her voice apologetic. "I completely forgot the teachers were having a half day today to get some class-planning done until one of the other ladies mentioned it and I can't leave work early because we're short-staffed," she explained before Ed could say anything.
"Chill, Miss Gracia," Ed said with a light chuckle. "I'll go get her. It's not a problem," he assured her. "She can spend the rest of the day here annoying Mustang until we're finished chasing down leads or you're done with work, whichever happens first," Ed told her, getting a roll of eyes from Mustang and a relieved chuckle from Gracia.
"Thank you so much, Ed," Gracia said, her voice a lot more relaxed now that her problem had been solved.
"All good," he promised her. "We'll see you later, Miss Gracia," Ed said.
"Bye, Ed," Gracia said before she hung up.
Ed handed the phone back to Hawkeye before he answered the question everyone seemed to be about to ask. "Elysia has a half-day today but Miss Gracia forgot about it so I'm picking her up at noon," he explained.
"That's odd," Al said, frowning slightly. "Elysia usually reminds us when she doesn't have school or won't be at school all day. I never heard her mention that school would be only a half-day today," Al said.
"Unless she forgot with all the excitement of the past few days," Ed pointed out.
"You probably have a point," Al conceded. "So I guess that means you're going to investigate the tips in the area El's school is?" he asked and Ed nodded.
"I'll branch out from that area once I've dropped her off here," Ed told him.
"How do you plan on keeping Elysia entertained while she's here?" Mustang asked. "It's not like we've got child-friendly things around the office for her," he pointed out.
Ed shrugged. "She'll have homework to do and once she's finished that she can watch some movies on my tablet. That'll keep her occupied until Miss Gracia picks her up or we call it a day," Ed told him.
"I don't have any meetings scheduled for today, do I?" Mustang asked Hawkeye, who immediately checked his schedule.
"No, there's nothing penciled in for today, sir," she told him.
Mustang gave a nod. "Elysia can use your tablet in my office without us worrying about someone accidentally seeing it then," he said.
"Awesome," was all Ed said in response to that. "I'm gonna go talk to Lambert and Brookes and get us all lists of leads to chase up," Ed told them, heading for the door. "And before you can ask, yes, some of you can come with me," he said, grinning at the Lions, all of whom were looking a little sheepish at being so obvious.
"I'm going," Pidge immediately said, which made Green look delighted.
"So am I," Red claimed half a second after Pidge finished telling them.
When Keith didn't put up any argument, Ed nodded. "I'm taking those four apparently," he said as he opened the door. "We'll be back in like half an hour probably," he told them, letting the green and red pairs head out of the office before him.
"Stay out of trouble, Chief," Havoc called as Ed went to close the door.
"No," Ed said simply before he shut the door.
"Truly, I don't actually know what I expected in response," Havoc stated, causing the others to laugh as he shook his head.
"Since we'll apparently have Elysia keeping us company this afternoon, I suggest you get started on your paperwork before you're distracted, sir," Hawkeye advised Mustang, her voice level but everyone could hear the hinted threat of what she would do if he tried arguing with her.
"That's a good idea," Mustang said with a nod, pretending not to notice his team's amusement. "If Fullmetal can't get Simon or Owen, Falman has my permission to go with one of the Voltron pair," Mustang said, knowing that someone would tell Ed. Once he was given a nod from Hawkeye, he turned to the remaining members of Voltron. "Have fun chasing down leads," he said, knowing full well how interesting those could end up being just from stories his team had told over the years.
"We'll try," Shiro said wryly, giving Mustang the impression that the Black Paladin knew exactly what the amusement in his tone had been about.
With a warning look from his captain, Mustang headed into his office with the order that he was to be alerted when Elysia arrived or if one of the teams had found something. He made sure the door was shut before he glared at the stacks of paperwork on his desk. He'd thought his promotion to brigadier-general had come with a significant increase in paperwork but his promotion to the head of the State Alchemists branch had shown him just how much more it could increase by. Sighing, he placed his cover on a hook, along with his black overcoat and military jacket before he took a seat and did as his captain had told him to do. Ed's tablet may keep Elysia entertained for a while but Mustang knew he'd likely get drawn into helping his goddaughter/niece with her homework or drawings at some stage that afternoon and he didn't want to be too far behind in his work and give Hawkeye an excuse to use her gun on him.
"How long until we go pick Elysia up?" Yellow asked as she walked in between Ed and Hunk, making their way to the next address on their list.
"We have half an hour before we have to go get her," Ed answered, "which means we should have enough time to get two more leads checked before we head out," he said.
Yellow groaned in annoyance and Ed really couldn't blame her. They'd spent all morning walking around this suburb of Central and had so far not gotten any solid leads for their troubles. Ed knew that most of the tipsters were just trying to be helpful when they called in but Ed just wished they wouldn't call in because they spotted someone who might've had white hair (they didn't; it was an elderly lady with long, greying hair) and would only call in if they actually spotted Lotor. Unfortunately, the universe never worked in Ed's favour so he would have to deal with all of the useless tips coming in.
"It's only two more houses," Hunk said, trying to soothe his Lion's annoyance.
"I know," Yellow said sulkily. "I just wished we had more of an idea of where Lotor is and what his plans are. So far all we've got is that he was probably underground at some point and likely has plenty of supplies still because no one has reported any food stolen from their store or home during the night," Yellow complained.
Ed and Hunk both scratched her behind her ears. "We know but we'll get him eventually. He'll have to slip up at some stage," Ed told her, trying to be the optimist his brother insisted he wasn't.
"It had better be soon," Yellow grumbled and earned herself another scratch from each of them.
They walked in silence for a couple more minutes before Ed checked his file full of addresses. "Alright, this is the next one," he told them as they took in the small but well-maintained wooden house nestled in between two two-story houses. "The caller I.D'd themselves as Jessica Brown and told the secretary who took the call that she'd seen someone suspicious near her work," Ed said, reading the information straight out of the file in his hands.
"I guess we should go see whether she can elaborate on that any further," Hunk said, not sounding hopeful as he looked at the white door in front of them.
"Let's get it over and done with," Ed said before he raised his automail fist and knocked on the door solidly. It didn't take long for someone to come to the door and open it to greet them. "Miss Jessica Brown?" Ed asked, taking in the middle-aged lady in front of them.
"Mrs. Brown," came the correction and Ed gave a nod of understanding. "Who are you?" the woman asked, glaring at them suspiciously. There was fear in her eyes when she took in Yellow but, to her credit, Mrs. Brown didn't let it show any further than that.
"My name is Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, and these are Hunk and Yellow," Ed said, introducing the three of them quickly. Mrs. Brown's eyes widened in recognition and she seemed to stand a little straighter. "We're here in regard to the tip you phoned in to Central Command yesterday evening," he told her.
"I've been expecting someone to come and see me about that ever since I phoned it in. I would've thought the military would've been here sooner with how dangerous this criminal is," she told them, lips pursed in displeasure.
"Well, you weren't the only one to phone in a tip," Ed informed her bluntly, "and we've been chasing done leads all morning, as have the other teams working the streets today," he said, taking a small amount of pleasure in the sheepishness he could see in her body language. "We just want to ask some clarifying questions if you aren't too busy?"
"No, I've got some free time," she told them, a touch politer than she had been before.
"This shouldn't take too long," Ed promised and she gave a nod. "Firstly, at what time did you see the suspect and where were you?" he asked.
"It was nearing 6:30pm and I was walking home from work," she told them. "I think I had just passed the grocery store on the corner of Cranley and Taylor streets when I spotted him," she said.
"Okay," Ed said, noting that. "What made you think it was the criminal, Lotor?" he asked.
"Well, I'm not certain," Mrs. Brown admitted and Ed felt a sigh build up in his chest. "In all honesty, when I first spotted him, I didn't think much of him," she told them, "but he looked around the area, almost like he was expecting someone or making sure no one was nearby, the streetlight he was near shone on him and I could've sworn his skin was a light purple," she said, laughing lightly. "It sounds a bit silly and it was probably just the way the light reacted with his skin that made it look that way but I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something off about him," she admitted. "It wasn't until I was home last night and saw the front cover of the newspaper that I remembered the military was searching for a war criminal from another country and thought I should call it in," she said.
"And we thank you for doing so," Ed said, feeling a small flame of hope flutter in his chest. The military knew, of course, that Lotor had purple skin but that hadn't been a detail released to the media – on Brookes' orders – so they would have a way to prioritise leads. If someone mentioned seeing someone with purple skin, their lead was investigated immediately. Unfortunately, Mrs. Brown had only mentioned seeing someone suspicious loitering near her work, which was why Ed, Hunk and Yellow hadn't visited her first thing. "Can you tell me exactly where this man was standing?" Ed asked.
Mrs. Brown hummed in thought. "Well, he was standing on my right as I walked east along Taylor street," she told them. "He was on Cranley street, heading south. He was standing in front of a small store. I think it was a bakery, actually," she said. "I don't know where he went however since, as I said, he gave me an uneasy feeling and I didn't want to linger," she said, a touch of apology in her voice.
"That's alright, Mrs. Brown," Ed assured her, giving the older woman a small smile. "Can you remember what he was wearing?" he asked.
"Oh, it was nothing special. A long-sleeved white shirt and a pair of brown slacks. He had a black jacket on that had a hood and I remember that because I couldn't see his hair since he had the hood pulled up," she recounted. "The clothes he had on were filthy though. I don't think he's washed them recently," she said, her nose wrinkling slightly in disgust.
"You didn't see anyone else suspicious on the street?" Ed asked but she shook her head. Ed figured it would've been too much to ask for. "Do you have any questions, Hunk?" Ed asked the Yellow Paladin.
"Actually, I have one," he said and Ed nodded for him to go ahead. "Did you see him carrying a bag of some sort?"
Mrs. Brown hummed slightly. "No, not that I can recall," she finally said.
"Okay," Ed said when it was obvious Hunk didn't have any more questions. "Thank you for your time, Mrs. Brown. If we need any more details from you at a later date, we'll be in contact," Ed told her, closing the file he'd been writing in.
"You're welcome," Mrs. Brown said, looking a little startled that there weren't any further questions.
The three of them headed away from the house, staying quiet until they heard the soft click that indicated the door had been closed. "Alright, we're heading to that bakery she thought Lotor was standing near," Ed said. Hunk and Yellow looked completely unsurprised. "I'm hoping they've got some kind of security, even if it's just someone who watches the building," Ed said as they turned onto another street.
"Is that common?" Hunk asked. "Businesses hiring people to just watch their buildings at night?"
Ed waved his hand in a 'so-so' motion. "It's more common for major businesses, as you can imagine," he told them and they both nodded. "However, if a business can afford it or if they're in a high-crime area or if they've been targeted several times and it's cheaper to hire a watcher, they will," Ed explained. "Some businesses are lucky and their neighbours have hired a watcher who will report anything they see happen to neighbouring businesses. Business owners will sometimes go in on hiring a watcher or watchers since it works out a little cheaper," he told them.
"Do you think this bakery will have a security system?" Hunk asked while Yellow looked at Ed curiously.
Ed shrugged a shoulder. "If it's the bakery I think it is, then maybe," Ed said. "The owner is a genius with pastries so it's very popular," Ed told them, nearly drooling as he remembered the last time he'd grabbed something from there. "I know she suffered a couple of break-ins before Promised Day. I investigated one of them since there was evidence an alchemist had been behind it," he explained. "I caught the dickhead that night as well. Idiot wanted to try and find her recipes so he could start his own bakery but Elena doesn't keep her recipes in the store so he didn't get them. Al and I were actually at Elena's home that night to ask some follow-up questions when we heard a window break in her guest room. Caught the moron as he climbed in through the window," Ed told them, chuckling as he remembered his own complete disbelief as he'd watched the alchemist drop in through the window, climb to his feet then catch sight of him and Al standing there.
Both Hunk and Yellow laughed as they imagined that scene. "You really weren't exaggerating when you said criminals here were idiots, were you?" Yellow asked, chuckles still evident in her voice.
Ed grinned widely as he led the pair down Taylor street. "I really wasn't," he told her.
"So what happened after you found him?" Hunk asked curiously.
"Well, once the idiot realised he'd been spotted, he tried claiming he was trying to surprise his girlfriend," Ed told them and earned himself another round of laughter. "I'm not sure why he tried using that lie since we were in Elena's house and it was obvious she didn't have a boyfriend since there weren't any items around the house to indicate there was someone else living there and Elena was right behind us and immediately told us she was single," Ed said, shaking his head at the stupidity shown by the would-be thief. "Once he'd come to the conclusion he wasn't going to be believed, he tried to leap out of the window he'd just broken through. Fortunately, Al was far quicker than he was and had managed to grab him by the ankle and drag him back into the room. I arrested him for breaking into Elena's home and questioned him about the break-in into her bakery. At first he denied it – obviously – but then he'd slipped up and said he hadn't been anywhere near her bakery at midnight, which was when we'd suspected it had been broken into," Ed explained.
"Wait, why was that a slip-up?" Hunk asked, a little confused.
Ed grinned. "Because we hadn't told him when it had been broken into and because the break-in had happened after the newspapers for that day had already been printed, the media couldn't run the story until the next day. Even the radio stations hadn't mentioned the break-in, at our request," he said. "I ended up going back to her bakery and home the next day and repairing the damage and placing a few traps around them so she didn't have to worry about someone breaking in again," he added.
"Wow, what an idiot," Hunk said, shaking his head slightly in amusement and disbelief.
"I know but he wasn't even the stupidest criminal Al and I have taken down, believe it or not," Ed told them. The two of them certainly didn't look like they believed him, which caused Ed to chuckle as he turned left and headed down Cranley street. "It was probably one of the easiest cases Al and I ever investigated though," he added thoughtfully.
"It would've been. He practically handed himself to you!" Yellow exclaimed.
Ed hummed in agreement. "Honestly, easiest case I can think of right now," Ed told her before he came to a stop in front of the bakery three buildings down the street from the corner.
Looking around, Ed could see the grocery store Jessica Brown had mentioned on the corner in front and opposite him. At this distance and in broad daylight, it was laughably easy to see the people walking in and out of the store. Above him and to his current left was a streetlight that seemed to be perfectly functional, though it was off right now, so Ed knew the chances of Mrs. Brown not being able to see the colour of Lotor's skin were pretty slim. Her eyesight had seemed perfectly fine to Ed when they were talking to her, in any case.
"So this is the bakery?" Hunk asked, taking in the building with a curious eye. 'Elena's Bakery' was written in a nice, easy-to-read cursive in black letters that stood out clearly against the white of the of the building.
"This is it," Ed confirmed before he entered the building. The small bell attached to the top of the door frame chimed when they opened the door, alerting the workers to a new customer. "Morning," Ed greeted the teenager manning the front counter.
"Morning," she chirped back automatically before she took in the Yellow Lion with them. "Uh, pets aren't allowed in the store?" she said, looking like she was doing her best not to run at the sight of Yellow.
"She's not a pet but I promise you that she is very clean and she won't go near the food displays," Ed told her, trying to not show his amusement at Yellow's indignation at being called a pet. "Besides, I won't be long. Is Miss Elena in?" he asked.
The teenager nodded, looking thoroughly relieved that she wouldn't have to find an excuse to try and leave the front counter. "I'll go get her for you," she said.
"Thanks. Let her know Ed Elric is the one asking for her," he requested. The teenager barely nodded before she fled the area. "It never gets boring seeing people's reactions to you guys," Ed remarked casually as he perused the food displays and debated what he should get and whether he would be nice enough to buy stuff for the team to eat.
"Edward!" a happy voice called from where the teenager had disappeared to and the three of them looked up to find a woman in her late thirties with strawberry blonde hair and a massive smile on her face walking towards them.
"Hey, Miss Elena!" Ed said, his grin almost as wide as hers. The woman wrapped him up into a hug that Ed returned after a moment. "How have you been?" he asked once she let go of him.
"Really good!" Elena said. "Business has been really taking off lately. I'm honestly thinking of opening a second bakery on the other side of Central," she told him.
"Really? That's awesome!" he told her, honestly happy for the vibrant woman. The sound of a throat clearing itself in his mind reminded him there were others with him. "Oh, right. Miss Elena, please let me introduce you to Hunk and Yellow, one pair of the foreigners who arrived in Central recently," Ed said, gesturing to them. He could see the teenager watching everything from the doorway that led to the massive kitchen area in the back of the bakery.
"It's a pleasure to meet the two of you!" she said, smiling brightly at them. "I've been hoping you might bring some of them by so I can say I've met one of the lions everyone is talking about," she told Ed.
"Well, I'm glad I could do that for you," Ed laughed, watching as Yellow walked right up to Elena and circled her, as though checking her out and making sure she was trustworthy.
"I like this one," Yellow declared as she sat next to Elena and nudged her head up under her hand, encouraging the woman to pet her.
"This is awesome!" Elena declared, her eyes sparkling as she scratched Yellow's ears. "As great as this is," Elena said after a few moments where she was just petting Yellow, "I'm assuming you're here for a reason that's not just grabbing yourself a few treats?" she asked, nodding to the file Ed held in his hand.
"You'd be right," Ed told her, getting to the point of why they were there. They did have to go pick Elysia up soon, after all. "A woman walking home from work last night called in a tip to the hotline to tell us she saw a suspicious person loitering near your bakery. She had reason to believe it was the criminal we've been looking for and after hearing her statement, I'm inclined to believe she did spot him here. I was hoping that you had a security system in place that could help us figure out where he went?" Ed asked.
Elena gave him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Ed, but no, we don't," she told him. "Crime around here has dropped pretty low. No one's been targeted in the last few months so we haven't hired anyone to keep an eye on the place," she said. "I mean, we haven't had to hire anyone since word got out that you placed alchemic traps around the bakery," she divulged.
Ed let out a small sigh before he nodded. "I figured it was a long shot you had extra security measures in place," he said, giving her a smile that told her he didn't blame her. "Do any of your close neighbours have watchers?" he asked but was once again disappointed when she shook her head. "Guess they don't need them since crime has been down in this area," he commented and she gave him a nod.
"Yeah, that's pretty much their thinking," she confirmed.
"Alright, thanks anyways, Miss Elena," Ed said, giving her another smile.
"Anytime, Ed. I just wish I could've been more help," she said, looking regretful.
"Don't worry about it, Miss Elena," Ed told her. "It was good seeing you again and I'm really glad business is going so well for you," he said, gaining a smile almost as big as the one she had greeted him with from her.
"That's sweet of you to say, Ed," she told him. "Do you guys want to grab anything before you leave?" she asked and Ed nodded enthusiastically.
"We'd be idiots not to," he told her honestly, causing her to laugh.
Elena scratched Yellow once more behind the ears before she rounded the other side of the counter and readied herself with a pair of tongs. "What would you like?"
"I'll take an apple turnover with cream and," Ed said before humming, "I'll grab one of your raspberry twists for Elysia, as well as two bottles of orange juice, please," he decided. "What do you two want?" he asked, looking over his shoulder to Hunk and Yellow.
"Oh, I'll grab a custard tart for Yellow and I'll get…" Hunk trailed off as he contemplated his choices carefully. "I'll take that mini caramel and cinnamon pull-apart and just a bottle of water, please," he finally said.
Elena was quick to bag each food item while her employee grabbed the drinks from the fridge, obviously having realised by now that Yellow wasn't going to eat her. "Here you go," Elena said as she handed the four bags over. Ed was quick to palm them off to Hunk while he grabbed the drinks from the teenager. Once Hunk had his water in his hands and Ed could do so, the blonde dug around for his wallet. "You don't pay in this store and you know it," Elena informed him before he could grab his wallet.
"Yeah but normally I'm grabbing stuff for me and Al," he said. "At least let me pay for their food," Ed said but Elena shook her head.
"Nope. You two gave me the bragging rights about getting to pat one of the lions. That's payment enough," she told him firmly, a smirk on her face.
Ed sighed but gave in, knowing full well that Elena could be more stubborn than him if she wanted to be. "Thank you, Miss Elena," Ed said, giving her a big smile. "We'll see you later," he told her as he nodded to Hunk and Yellow, silently telling them to start heading for the door.
"No problems, Edward. Make sure you bring your other friends around if you can," Elena told him.
"Will do," Ed said as he nudged the door open and held it for Hunk and Yellow since Hunk had his hands full. "See you!"
"Bye!" Elena called back, waving at them as Ed shut the door behind himself.
"She was really friendly," Hunk said as Ed grabbed his and Elysia's food from the Yellow Paladin. "It was really nice of her to give us the food," he added.
"Yeah, she's one of the better people around Central," Ed told him as he led the pair back up Cranley street. "Al likes to call her a ray of sunshine since she's always really happy. Even after discovering her store had been broken into, Elena was really upbeat," he said. "I envy her optimism sometimes," Ed laughed.
"So do I," Hunk told him with a chuckle. "Do you want your custard tart now or later?" he asked Yellow, who hummed in contemplation.
"I'll have it now," she told him. Giving her a nod, Hunk checked both bags before he grabbed out her tart and fed it to her while they were waiting for some traffic to clear before they crossed the street. It didn't take long for Yellow to devour it. "You weren't kidding when you said her food was good," Yellow said as she licked her chops, mourning the fact the tart was gone so quickly.
"I haven't met a pastry chef who has beaten her yet," Ed told him, a bit of pride in his voice for his friend. "I'm glad we made the detour though," Ed said. "Elysia's school is closer to Elena's bakery than it is to the other address we were going to head to originally," Ed told them.
"Plus, we got good food," Hunk added and Ed laughed.
"Yeah, that was definitely a bonus," he agreed, chuckling a little, before he pulled his pocket watch out and checked the time. "Alright, we've got under ten minutes to make it to Elysia's school," he told them. "Wanna use that time to take bets on what people's reactions will be to seeing Yellow?" he asked, grinning cheekily.
"You're on," Hunk said, his grin widening when Yellow gave him an annoyed look that had no heat behind it. "What are you willing to bet?"
"Big Brother Ed!" came the delighted squeal from Elysia they had been expecting the moment she laid eyes on the three of them standing near the gates. "Hunk! Yellow!"
"El!" Ed called back, waving to the excited nearly seven-year-old who was now running straight for them. Ed wanted to laugh at the awed looks on her schoolmates' faces and the expressions ranging from disbelief to worry on the adults' faces as they watched her fearlessly run straight for him and the Yellow Lion. Elysia crashed into him first and Ed happily returned the hug. "Were you good today?" he asked.
"I was!" she told him, grinning widely before she latched onto Hunk's legs then Yellow's neck. "How come you guys are the ones to pick me up?" she asked once she finished hugging the two.
"Your mum couldn't leave work," Ed told her. "She wanted me to tell you that she's really sorry she couldn't but that you get to spend the afternoon annoying your Uncle Roy while Hunk, Yellow, and I keep working," he said.
Elysia's face fell when she realised she wouldn't get to spend time with them but it brightened at the thought of spending time with Mustang. "Okay, big brother!" she said happily before she spotted the bakery goods in his hands. "What's that?" she asked.
"Well, before I came to get you, we went and paid a visit to Miss Elena," Ed told her, grinning when her face lit up with excitement, "and I got you a raspberry twist and orange juice," he continued saying, "but you can only have them if you tell me honestly about whether you have homework that needs to be done today," he told her before she could get too excited.
Elysia deflated immediately. "Yeah, I do," Elysia told him, sulking a little. "Mr. Bryan gave me lots of homework," she whined.
"Sucks to be in school, huh?" Ed said sympathetically, barely holding his laughter back when Elysia nodded solemnly. "Well, since you were honest, here you go," Ed said, holding out the bag containing her tart. "Give us your schoolbag," he said, holding out his right hand for it. Elysia didn't hesitate and Ed hooked it over his shoulder before he twisted the lid on her juice, breaking the seal, before he tightened it a little and handed it to her.
"Thank you, big brother!" Elysia said happily as she took the juice from him.
"You can eat and drink while we walk," Ed told her. "We've gotta get you to the office so we can get back to work and hopefully finish earlier rather than later," Ed said, taking her spare hand so he could lead her through the crowd while she concentrated on eating her twist.
Ed made sure to keep an eye on the parents they walked through. He knew the teachers wouldn't do anything since Gracia had scared them so much after the Belmont incident but he wouldn't have put it past a few of the parents trying to approach him and chastise him for bringing an animal as 'dangerous' as Yellow was around children. Yellow, for her part, looked thoroughly unphased by the attention she was getting as she walked as close to Elysia as she possibly could, however Ed and Hunk could sense her worry. She didn't want to cause any problems just by walking through a crowd but Ed was quick to soothe her worries, telling her silently that he wouldn't let someone start something just because they were too thick to figure out she was harmless if not given a reason not to be otherwise.
Thankfully, none of the parents did anything more than stop their child from trying to pat Yellow as they passed them, which Ed was grateful for once he heard more than one parent whisper to their child who he was and that he was probably busy and couldn't introduce them to the lion that day. Once he heard that though, he just knew that Elysia would be coming home from school tomorrow night and begging him to bring the Lions to her school one afternoon so everyone could meet them. From the look he got from Hunk and Yellow, they knew it as well.
Ed made the executive decision to eat his apple turnover while Elysia was busy with her food so that the young girl wouldn't be interrupting him with questions and stories if he tried eating it later. Hunk seemed to have the same thought since he pulled his own treat out soon after Ed did and started devouring it. Utilising the years of practice he had at eating something messy while on the move, Ed polished off his pastry quickly without leaving a mess of icing sugar on his black shirt or jacket. Crumpling up the empty bag, Ed tossed it in the next bin they passed before doing the same with his juice bottle, having sculled the contents.
"How was school today?" Ed asked once Elysia had thrown her empty bag in another bin and finished the last bite of her twist.
"It was fun!" Elysia told him enthusiastically. "We had arts and crafts this morning since school wasn't going to be going all day like it usually does and the teachers know we like arts and crafts better than everything else so they thought it should be first," she explained before eagerly going into detail about her class at Hunk's prompting. Ed made sure to pay close attention to what she was saying so he could comment here and there but for the most part, he just allowed himself to enjoy the down-time before they had to get back to the annoyance that was running down leads.
"Mustang in his office? I have a delivery for him," Ed said in lieu of greeting as he carted a giggling Elysia into the outer office.
"Hello, Elysia," Hawkeye greeted, giving the young girl a warm and friendly smile before she paid attention to Ed while the others said their own hellos to Elysia. "Yes, he's in there and no, there's no one in there with him right now," she told him before he could ask.
"Awesome," Ed said. "Would you mind doing me a favour while I get Elysia set up in there?" he asked her. When he got a nod, he continued. "Can you call Brookes and see if I can drop by in like fifteen minutes?"
"Of course," Hawkeye told him. "Make sure you don't distract your uncle too much, Elysia," she said to the young girl.
"Don't you listen to her, El," Ed stage-whispered to her, causing another bout of giggles. "Say goodbye to Hunk and Yellow. You might not see them again today if your mum beats us here," he told her, releasing his hold on her so she could do just that.
"Bye, Hunk! Bye, Yellow!" Elysia said as she hugged each of them tightly, only moving on to Yellow when Hunk had hugged her back.
"She is too cute for this world," Yellow cooed as she nuzzled Elysia's cheek. "I'm half tempted to steal her when we leave," she confessed.
"Miss Allura wouldn't have to invent a dimension-hopping machine if you did because Miss Gracia would figure out a way to jump dimensions herself to get Elysia back," Ed told her through their bond, laughing slightly when Yellow pouted in response.
"Come on, El," Ed said, keeping it a bit quieter since Hawkeye was now on the phone. Elysia was quick to let go of Yellow so she could follow Ed to Mustang inner office. "Oi, Mustang! Pretend you're doing work so you can make a good impression on Elysia," Ed said through the door instead of knocking before he pushed it open.
"Uncle Roy!" Elysia squealed loud enough for Ed to flinch slightly at the volume.
Mustang barely managed to hide his own as he smiled at Elysia, pushing his chair back so he could let his niece clamber into his lap to give him a hug. "How are you, Elysia?" he asked, hugging her back.
"I'm good, Uncle Roy," she said. "Big brother Ed and Hunk and Yellow picked me up from school today!" she told him, oblivious to the fact that he already knew that.
"How nice of them," Mustang said, getting an eyeroll from Ed, who was now placing Elysia's backpack on one of his couches.
"You have homework to get done today, missy," Ed reminded her, making her pout, "and your uncle has paperwork to get through, by the looks of it," Ed added, smirking when Mustang pouted. "Come on, El," he told her, beckoning her over to the couch. "The quicker you get started on this, the quicker it's done," he reminded her.
"I know," she sulked as she did as she was asked. "Homework is so boring though!" she told him as she sat in front of the coffee table Ed was setting up as her desk.
"I know but unfortunately you still have to do it," Ed told her. She did not look impressed. "However, if you get all your homework done before your mum or I get back, you can watch some movies off my tablet, so long as there is no one other than your uncle, Miss Riza, Havoc, Fuery or Falman are this room, okay?" he warned her. "No one else is allowed to see it, remember?"
"I remember, big brother," she said seriously. It had been one of the few things Ed had been given that he'd stressed the importance of it not being seen about and Elysia hadn't slipped once, not even to her best friends at school.
"Good," Ed said, giving her a hug. "I'll leave it with your uncle but I've gotta go," he told her. "We had a promising lead about a bad guy and I've gotta see if it'll take us anywhere," he said. Though he was speaking to Elysia, his words were more for Mustang.
"Alright, big brother," Elysia said. "Be careful," she ordered, giving him a big hug as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Always am, kiddo," he told her. "I'll see you tonight. Do your homework," he ordered once more, grinning when she sighed but dutifully picked up her pencil once she'd let go of him.
"Where was your lead?" Mustang asked as Ed approached his desk, pulling out his tablet from its reinforced hiding place.
"Near Elena's Bakery," Ed told him, keeping his voice low so Elysia wouldn't overhear him. "A woman spotted Lotor near there last night. Told me and Hunk about seeing a man who looked like he had purple skin standing outside Elena's and looking around like he was waiting for someone or checking there was no one nearby," Ed reported, handing over his tablet.
Mustang took it with a frown of concern on his face. "Did Elena have any security systems in place that might've caught him?" Mustang asked but Ed shook his head.
"No, so Hunk, Yellow and I are gonna talk to Brookes and get a list of addresses who had called in tips near Elena's and see if we can't find something," Ed told him. "Make sure she actually gets her homework done before Miss Gracia picks her up. She won't be doing it after her sugar high runs out," Ed said, smirking when Mustang shook his head in exasperation.
"Of course you fed her sugar," he said, a grin playing at his lips before he hid the tablet in one of his desk drawers, just in case someone came into his office before Elysia was finished her homework.
"Absolutely. Had to keep it interesting for you somehow," Ed told him with a grin before he headed for the door. "We'll be back this afternoon. Bye, El!" he called out, looking over his shoulder to find Elysia waving at him.
"Bye, big brother!" she called back, giggling when Ed pointedly gestured to her homework book and dug back into it.
Ed saw Mustang's slightly worried expression and though he felt himself warm at the show of concern, Ed merely rolled his eyes while grinning at his boss before he left the room, closing the door behind him. He didn't get a word out before Hawkeye was talking. "Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes said he is free all afternoon," she told him.
"Awesome, thank you for doing that," he said, nodding gratefully to her. "We're gonna head back out after meeting up with Brookes so we'll see you guys later," Ed told them, already walking towards the door where Hunk and Yellow were still waiting.
"Stay safe out there, you three," Hawkeye ordered.
"We'll do our best," Ed told her, pairing the promise with a grin. "Have fun!"
"We'll do our best, Chief," Havoc laughed, echoing Ed's own words and earning himself the finger from the blonde alchemist before he disappeared out of the office with the Yellow team. "What's the bet -?"
"No betting," came the strict order from their captain, making sure Havoc's sentence wasn't allowed to be finished. Havoc pouted for exactly one second before the arched brow and hand twitched towards her weapon got him and the others back to work without another word said. No one was brave enough to mention the small, satisfied smirk on Hawkeye's lips as they delved back into their paperwork.
Both Widdon and Combes glanced at one another before they took in the brunette woman in front of them. "You're Terry Fisher?" Widdon asked, consulting the file that he'd stolen from the military records room.
"Yes," she answered curtly. "What does the military want with me?"
"Your alchemic speciality is lightening? Producing it from nearby electrical sources and any electrical charges in the air around you?" Widdon asked, ignoring her question.
The brunette frowned. "Yes," she told them. "What is this about?" she asked.
"You applied to become a State Alchemist at the last set of exams but was turned down," Combes said bluntly and Fisher's lips thinned until they were almost invisible, a sure sign of her irritation.
"Yes," she practically hissed. "The military decided my alchemy wasn't unique or useful enough for them to use and since I'm not a genius like the Elric brothers, my application was denied." The way she spat Ed and Al's last name made Widdon and Combes grin slightly.
"We looked over your application file and we think you're extremely talented. It says here that you created your alchemic array from scratch?" Widdon asked. When Fisher nodded, he made sure he looked appropriately awed. "That is very impressive," he told her.
"How much would it mean for you to join the State Alchemist branch?" Combes asked.
Fisher's brown eyes misted over slightly and Combes wanted to sneer at the show of emotion. It was one of the reasons he thought women only belonged in the military as secretaries or other such roles. "It's been my dream to join the State Alchemy program since it was first initiated," she told them. "That's why I worked so hard on my array. I've never heard of an alchemist who could do what I can. I spent years developing and perfecting that array, as well as making sure I was somewhat competent in other areas. When I heard a 12-year-old was admitted to the program, I felt sure I would be as well. My alchemy was unique and it would be extremely effective on the frontlines, after all. I spent another five years perfecting my array," she told them before her expression darkened, "only to find out I was rejected! An ability as unique as mine was thrown out like it was nothing! Like I hadn't sacrificed years of my life to perfecting it!" she snarled.
Widdon and Combes shared another look as the woman in front of them seethed. The file in Widdon's hands told them why she had been turned down. Her alchemy, as impressive as it was, wasn't versatile and could only be really used during a fight, as Fisher had said. With Grumman in charge and trying to steer their country towards peace with their neighbouring countries, alchemy that could be extremely effective on the frontlines, like Fisher's, but wasn't versatile weren't sought after anymore. As she had said, Fisher was only competent in other alchemies, which didn't read well with the exam proctor and her psychological exam had left a lot to be desired as well. All in all, the proctor who dealt with her thought Fisher's questionable alchemy skills paired with her psychological issues meant she wasn't suitable for the program and had rejected her.
Now, six months later, it was obvious that Fisher was still angry about the decision and that was exactly what the two generals were hoping for. "We believe the military made a mistake in rejecting your application," Widdon told her. Her head snapped up so quickly, it startled the two generals.
"Really?" she asked hopefully and both generals knew they had her.
"Really," Widdon confirmed, lying through his teeth. "We would be honoured to back you at the next State Alchemists exam," he told her. Fisher practically glowed with hope and it took everything in Widdon and Combes to not sneer at her obvious display of emotions. "However, in order for us to be honest about your abilities, we would need to see them in action," Widdon told her, making sure to look apologetic about this obstacle.
"And we have the perfect opportunity for you to do so," Combes told her before she could say anything. "Tomorrow afternoon we are planning a coup against two of our State Alchemists and a civilian alchemist. It has come to our attention that these three have brought dangerous criminals into Amestris and are acting as though they aren't. These criminals pose a massive risk to Amestris and her people and they have chosen an innocent civilian of their home country as their scapegoat," Combes told her, feeling an enormous amount of self-pride when he managed to get through the first half of the lie without showing his glee at the idea of taking Mustang and the Elric brothers down for good. "With the help of this civilian, we plan on luring the criminals and traitors into a trap where we will then rid ourselves of them however we could use an alchemist of your calibre to help us save Amestris and her people," Combes said, allowing some false pleading to enter his voice. Really, the things he did to rid the military of troublemakers like Mustang and Elric were nothing to be sneered at.
"Who are the alchemists?" Fisher asked, looking shocked at the news.
"The Elric brothers and the Flame Alchemist," Widdon told her immediately. The moment the name 'Elric' was mentioned, her eyes darkened dangerously and both Widdon and Combes grinned at the fact that they definitely had her on board now.
"The Flame Alchemist is the only reason that child was permitted into the Sate Alchemy branch. He probably had a hand in turning down my application. He is in charge of the whole branch," she seethed. Widdon and Combes were quick to nod in agreement in an effort to make sure she agreed to help them and Lotor. Fisher suddenly turned serious as she looked at both generals. "If I help with this, you two will back me in the next State Alchemist exam?" she asked.
"Not only will we do that, you will be known as a hero for helping us rid our country of thirteen extremely dangerous threats," Widdon told her, keeping eye contact. The generals, of course, had no desire to back her next application nor did they plan on publicly revealing her help in the small coup they had planned but she didn't need to know that.
Widdon's words seemed to solidify Fisher's decision and she nodded, missing the victorious grin the two shared as she imagined herself being lorded as a hero. Looking back up at both the generals and making eye contact with them, Fisher asked the question the two had been waiting for. "What do you need me to do?"
A/N - Here's chapter 24 for all of you! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and I think I can now be certain that this story will be finished with 37 chapters in total. Maybe 38 if I get carried away but my aim is for 37 so there'll only be another 13 chapters before this story is completed!
I would also like to let you know that once this story is finished, I will not be working on anymore stories for this series. I am not calling this series finished as there is still the chance of a CSI: Miami crossover but I'm going to be honest, the lack of response to this story has made it so any motivation to start another in the series is practically nonexistent. There are a couple more FMA crossovers I do have ideas for but it'll very likely end up being my Spirit Animals AU crossed over with whichever fandom I choose.
Anyways, thank you to those of you who left reviews on the last chapter and I really hope you enjoy this chapter! Please let me know what you think!