Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fullmetal Alchemist or Bloodlines

With that complication out of the way, I moved on to the next problem on my list. I still had to contact the Alchemists, to inform them that I had 'escaped' from Keith. My intention was to play the role of the victim, claiming he had held me hostage to escape the facility. I just hoped that Keith and his father were competent enough to deal with the security footage and help enforce my story.

Before getting online, I had to find a place to speak to them in private. Jill was typically my roommate, but she was more than willing to comply when I asked if I could have some time alone in our room. She said that she had a date with Micah anyway, looking away dreamily as she thought of her boyfriend. Apparently, things were going well for them, even if I still hadn't spoken much with him yet.

After my time in Virginia, I now had a new login for the Alchemists' server. Logging on was complex and took quite some time, especially now that I was unfamiliar with the system. After a few moments and a bit of typing, I was in and pulling up the contact information for Donna Stanton, the women in charge of the operation here in Palm Springs and my superior for he moment.

"Ah, Miss Sage, this is quite the surprise. I was informed that Mr. Darnell was rather….violent in his escape." she stated, getting straight to the point as the call began. She didn't even bother saying hello, though it was just a formality at this point.

I nodded, doing my best to look a bit flustered and afraid as I began to reply. "He was….he took me as a hostage to ensure he could escape unharmed. I believe he had every intention of keeping me around too. It was only through sheer luck that I escaped," I told her, watching her nod on the screen. It was a video call, so I could tell that she was still waiting for me to elaborate on my story.

"He got too comfortable once he was outside of the facility. He relaxed and let his guard down, enough for me to free my hands from the rope he had used to bind me and lash out in an attack. I didn't do any major damage, but it was enough to daze him and allow for me to run away. I never looked back. I'm ashamed, m'am, but I have no idea where he is now," I told her, doing my best to look upset over losing our escaped prisoner.

She seemed to study me closely for a few moments, trying to read my expression closely. "You cannot be blamed for what happened, Miss Sage. At the moment, you're hardly better trained than one of our novices. That is why we have decided to send your sister in to assist in your duties. She will not only get hands-on experience in this job, she will also be able to remind you of the things you have forgotten," she told me, making my eyes grow wide.

I didn't care who it was, I could not let another Alchemist come down to Palm Springs. I was dabbling in magic and hiding a fugitive from the Alchemists. It was a recipe for disaster if someone came to try and help me become more like I used to be, since there was no doubt in my mind that I would be unable to go back. "I assure you, I am fully capable in serving you in any way you need. I may have lost my memories, but my intelligence remains," I told her, trying to argue my case.

"I'm afraid there's nothing to be done to change our decision, Miss Sage. Zoe has already received her tattoo and is on her way to Palm Springs as we speak. I do hope you manage to live up to our expectations. You were an exceptional Alchemist before, a rising star in our ranks. With a bit of effort, that title can be earned once more," she told me, sounding proud of my old performance. It was like that was all gone now, as if none of my work mattered without my memories.

I nodded, knowing better than to push this matter with my superior after her words. This would be a problem, but I would have to figure out a way to deal with it. "Thank you, m'am, I will do my best. When will Zoe be arriving, and what is her cover story going to be?" I asked, moving on and adjusting fairly quickly.

Donna seemed pleased, smiling at me as she nodded. "She will be there in just a few hours. We have already arranged for someone to take her to Amberwood, and she is being enrolled as your cousin. Due to your current…undesirable living situation, we have adjusted your roommate as well. You will be staying with Zoe, while Jill rooms alone. After all, it is the safest plan to keep her away from humans," she explained, her tone implying the hatred all Alchemists had for vampires.

I nodded, copying the same gesture I had seen many Alchemists use during my trip to Virginia. Drawing a cross on your shoulder was a symbol they used quite often, a way to ward off evil somehow. While I didn't believe in that anymore, I still had to comply with the conformity for now. "That is much appreciated, m'am. It will be refreshing to sleep without my usual worries," I responded, though I had no such concerns.

Donna looked appeased, nodding in response. After just a few more remarks on Jill's status here in Palm Springs, the call was ended and I was left alone in my room, unsure of what to do now. I supposed I had to get packed to switch rooms, and I then I had another dilemma. Adrian was supposed to go visit his father tomorrow, and I was his ride. I had little to use to excuse myself for an entire day to LA with him, especially since the job here focused on Jill, not him.

Thinking about the recent changes, I thought I could possibly make it work to my advantage. Was there anything that required a spirit user to investigate out of town? I began to get at least the slightest beginning of an excuse, calling the trip and extension of our research on restored striogoi. As I began to pull my things out of the closet, I tried to come up with a bit more of an explanation, since it would be fairly obvious that there were no more restored strigoi in the area.

It seemed that I didn't have as much time as I had thought, though, because just a few moments after I began packing, someone walked into the dorm. She was a bit shorter than me, with eyes the same color as mine and a golden lily emblazoned on her cheek. "Sydney! Can you believe it? They actually made me an Alchemist!" she cheered, sounding so excited over this fact.

I nodded, unsure of what to say. According to Stanton, this was my sister, but I had no recollection of who she was. "That is great news, congratulations," I told her, not having much else to say.

She seemed disappointed in my response, her smile dropping ever so slightly. "It's true, isn't it? The rumors about you losing your memory. I know Dad said it happened, but I just didn't want to believe it," Zoe commented, coming closer and surprising me with a hug. If only I had a bit of a stronger connection with her, then this wouldn't feel quite so strange. "I'm sorry, Sydney, I wish we hadn't ended things like that before. We were fighting, and now I'm never going to get the chance to forgive you because you can't even remember what you did."

I patted her hair awkwardly, doing my best to at least treat her like family. "Hey, don't worry about it. Why don't we just pretend that it never happened?" I suggested, an easy feat for me. Zoe nodded after a few moments, her earlier smile returning as she stepped back away from me.

"Right. Anyway, I'm here to show you to our new room. I bet you're glad to finally get some space from that vampire. It had to be hard rooming with one of them." she stated, shuddering slightly. Zoe suffered from the usual Alchemist hang-ups, it seemed. I found it rather amusing, considering the people that created them were also the ones with the deepest hatred for them now.

"Thank you. It doesn't really look all that different from my last room." I commented once we were inside, setting down the few possessions I had managed to prepare to bring with me.

Zoe laughed, shaking her head at me. "Of course it is, that's how dorms work. They're supposed to look practically identical, that way no one feels like they are missing something when they move in," she commented, while I shrugged, unconcerned. While I might have a desire to continue learning more, perhaps even go to college one day, there was no desire to live in dorm rooms like this.

"Sorry if I seem a bit strange, I've been told that losing my memories altered my personality a bit," I told her, watching Zoe nod, beginning to unpack her things.

"That's alright, I'm sure you'll remember soon enough. After all, you've got me here to help you remember your life back at home. Plus, I get to help you remember how to be an Alchemist! This is going to be amazing," Zoe insisted, still sounding eager for this job. "Dad is going to be so proud when we're done," she added, a wistful note in her voice. I got the feeling that he was just as hard on her as he had been on me during my phone call.

I nodded, not wanting to ruin her hopeful attitude. I was doubtful of getting his approval in any way, and I had no doubt that he would find some way to fault us on this mission. "Oh, I forgot to mention, I will be going to LA tomorrow," I told her, watching Zoe frown at me.

"That isn't right, we've got to focus on the mission," Zoe insisted, trying to keep me on track.

I nodded, coming up with some flimsy excuse. I just hoped she would buy it. "I know, but this is rather important as well. You know that they are doing research into spirit magic and restored strigoi," I commented, watching her nod. She seemed a bit more tense with the mention of magic, understandable considering how most Alchemists reacted to it. "Well, Adrian Ivashkov claims that he sensed a spirit user nearby while he was in Los Angeles. He is irresponsible and reckless, constantly running off with Lee to go party or something over there," I stated, hoping I sounded believably in my criticism of Adrian. I wasn't entirely sure if the comment about Lee was true or not, but I needed some way of getting Adrian to LA without me or a car of his own. He did not seem like the kind of guy that would go through the effort of getting a bus there.

"From what I've heard of Adrian Ivashkov, that sounds about right. He's worse than the others, not even caring to take any of our work seriously," Zoe stated, while I nodded silently.

"Anyway, I have to drag him along with me to LA, since he doesn't have a car of his own. They want to see if this spirit user knows anything about restored strigoi. For all we know, it might actually be the spirit user that restored Lee," I told her, watching her eyes grow wide.

"Well….I guess that is alright. Just be careful around them, you can't let your guard down for a second, Syd," Zoe said, while I nodded. "I wish I could be as strong as you. I can't even bring myself to meet Jill yet, let alone go on a three hour road trip with one of them."

I smiled over at her, patting her arm gently. "Don't worry about it, I'll handle the scary stuff with the vampires if it makes you more comfortable. I really don't want this to be an inconvenience to you," I responded, watching her smile brightly back up at me.

"No…that wouldn't be right. There's no way I'll become a stellar Alchemist if I make you do all the hard work for me," she argued, sighing as she leaned back in her bed. "I'll meet the others when we take Jill to her….feeding," she stated after a few moments, another shudder going through her at the thought of that event. I nodded, giving Zoe a small smile of encouragement. Maybe being her sister wouldn't be so bad. She seemed like a sweet girl, and already I could tell that her heart was in the right place, even if her judgment had been clouded by others.

"Don't worry about it, Zoe. I'll be right here the entire time," I told her, knowing that she still saw me as her sister regardless of what had happened to me. In the end, we were family and I had to treat her as such. I would support her in whatever way I could, though my ability to do that would be limited at the moment.

"Man, I've gotta take classes now. Do you realize how frustrating math is going to be? They put me in the advanced class! I can't believe they gave me work that would be that much harder, when I already have this job to focus on," Zoe complained, moving on quickly. She didn't seem to want to dwell on the vampires, which didn't bother me at all.

I smiled at her, shaking my head. "It won't be that difficult for you. I'm sure you are excellent at math, considering we were both raised by the same man," I told her, thinking back to how much knowledge I had. "He had to have taught me something if I know so much, right?" I asked, watching her nod, her gaze looking sad again.

"Yeah, he did. We were homeschooled, and Dad was really hard on us. We were supposed to excel at everything, so we could be the perfect Alchemists. Mom was a bit nicer about it, trying to encourage us to follow our hearts. She was a mechanic, that's why you know so much about cars. You loved spending time with her. In fact, I think you liked hanging out with her more than with Dad," Zoe explained, clearly trying to fill in the gaps of my memory.

I nodded to her, grateful for the attempt, but it still did nothing to unlock them. Based on what I had learned, they were locked away somewhere in that realm where the Truth was, and I would not be getting them back unless I returned somehow. "Somehow, that does not surprise me. We didn't get along too well during our phone conversation before," I replied, remembering how I had been tempted hung up on him completely due to my anger.

Zoe laughed at that, shaking her head at me. "That's because you haven't figured out how to talk to him yet. Dad is big on respect, he wants us to show it to him by being polite. In a way, he's kind of like our boss. He's higher up than us in the ranks of the Alchemists, so he has to be tough on us since we are not his equals. Still, I just want to make him proud in the end. That's what I'm hoping I can do here, by showing him that I can be just as amazing as you and Keith were at this job," she stated wistfully, playing with the ends of her hair as she spoke.

I disliked the way our father treated us, if that was how she viewed him. A father was meant to show love and compassion for his children, not this crazy professional attitude demanded by ours. If he thought I would comply to that, he had another thing coming. "That isn't right. He's our father, he isn't supposed to be a business associate," I argued, already showing my irritation towards him.

Zoe shrugged, not really having much more to say about it. "He still loves us, Sydney, he just isn't good at showing it. I mean, he gave us an amazing education, right? He also provides for our family with his work…I'm sure he just got so used to the job that he finds it hard to separate that cold, professional demeanor from himself," she argued, sounding like she was trying to convince herself of that along with me.

I didn't want to push her into sadness over this, so I simply nodded and dropped the subject. "Thank you, by the way," I said after a few moments of silence. She glanced over at me, looking confused. "You're still treating me like your sister…even though I don't remember you at all. I'm sure that I must seem different to you, and that it must be hard getting used to this," I told her, watching her shake her head.

"No, you're actually not all that different from before. You're still overly protective of me, and you clearly still have all your knowledge that Dad taught you. As far as getting used to this goes…I don't honestly think I will. I mean, I want whoever hurt you to pay for what they did, and I don't even know who it was, or what happened. I feel so angry on your behalf, yet you seem so calm about it yourself, and that just leaves me confused on what to do," Zoe explained, leaning back as she fiddled with the edge of her shirt. She seemed nervous, uncertain of herself without the approval of others.

"I guess I'm calm because I've had time to adjust with it and come to terms with what happened. In the end, there is no guarantee that I'll remember anything. I think I'd actually be fine if that happened. I still have the chance to move forward in life, and from what everyone tells me, those memories were holding me back in some way. I kept myself guarded around others, distant and aloof, never standing up for myself. I can't imagine living that way right now," I told her, watching Zoe frown but nod.

"Don't you want to know what happened? Typically, amnesia like this is brought on by some kind of repressed memory. Something horrible could have happened, and you have no idea what it was," she stated. This time, it was enough to break through my control over my expression. I could feel the downturn of my mouth, the way my entire expression seemed to darken. I knew exactly what horror I had witnessed, that was not what had been repressed. Those shadowy hands, the images within the gate, and the smiling white figure were all ingrained so heavily on my mind, that I knew I would never forget any of it.

Zoe noticed the change in my expression, her face lighting up. "Did you remember something? Sydney, what is it?" she asked, sounding eager for an answer.

Staring down at Zoe and her bright mood, I realized I couldn't burden her with this. There was far too much darkness in my mind, in the world of alchemy, for her to know the truth. "Nothing. It isn't all that important, anyway," I told her, turning away and staring out the window. She continued trying to get answers out of me, but I remained silent for the rest of the day until she gave up and went to bed. The haunted look never left my eyes, not with her voice constantly reminding me of what I had done and the things I had seen.

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