2.

The morning sun filtered warmly through Roy Mustang's office window. He glanced out it, admiring the way the clouds had passed so quickly from the previous day. There was a knock at the door.

"Yes, come in."

A young brunette walked into the room and bowed a little bit, holding in her hands a manila folder containing the results from the exams. "They're here, Colonel Mustang, sir."

He waved her in. "Good, good…Let's see them"

She pushed her hair behind her ear and walked over to his desk, opening the folder and setting a stack of about five sheets of paper in front of him. He picked them up and, seeing what he was looking for, smiled faintly.

"Thank you, Jennifer. Please send out letters informing all the participants that there will not be any further testing as a choice has been made." He said. Upon seeing the girl about to leave, though he held up his hand to stop her. "Oh, and please contact Miss Lark Johansson and ask her to see me at her earliest convenience, please."

Jennifer nodded and left the room. As she continued down the hallway, she saw Daniel striding along with a displeased look on his face. She smiled to herself.

"How's the library, Daniel?" she simpered.

Only deepening his scowl, he did not reply.

Stopping mid stride and placing a hand on her hip, Jennifer tilted her head back, looking down her nose at the boy. "Aww, don't be jealous!"

"I'm not jealous!" Daniel fumed. "I just don't see what got you in so good!" Creasing his brow in puzzlement, he pointed to the door she just walked out of. "Isn't that Colonel Mustang's office?"

Jennifer's smile grew. "It was decided that I should be his assistant instead."

"You've been promoted!" Daniel cried out in disbelief. "You've gotta be kidding me! Great…while I'm helping this Lark person find checkout records and bibles, you're getting promotions in only a week!"

Shrugging, Jennifer smiled. "Good things come to those who wait!"

"A WEEK!"

Something snapping in her head, Jennifer realized she had heard a familiar name. "Lark? Her last name wasn't Johansson by chance, was it?"

Unsure about the sudden subject change, Daniel shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, I don't remember…but how many "Larks" can there possibly be in the world?"

"Do you know where she is?" Jennifer asked impatiently. "I need to give her a message from Colonel Mustang."

"Yeah, I think she went to Major Elric's room." Daniel groaned, though. "WAIT! Why the heck am I helping you!"

Laughing behind her upraised hand, Jennifer strolled past him. "Thanks, Daniel! You're a big help!"

Clenching his fists at his sides Daniel's face flushed with anger. She drives me nuts! He thought.

Lark shook her head. "There's one problem with your story, though." She said. "The Cemetery of the Innocents isn't what 'Saint-Jacques-la Boucherie' means. For one, 'boucherie' is French for butchery, and Saint-Jacques-la Boucherie is a church in Paris. I've been there. This guy, I guess, must be the grave I saw. He was buried under the church, but you are right about the alchemic symbols. Real weird, evil looking pictures…but as far as I'm concerned all alchemic art is sorta scary. I had no clue what it meant." Lark shrugged her shoulders. "But I'm not really an alchemist…Just sorta fell into that one. Now, chemistry I can do...I just get a little confused with some of the elements sometimes." Her eyes lit up. "Now, if you wanted me to storm a castle…"

Edward picked at his watch chain. "So, you say you've seen this grave?"

Lark nodded. "Yep. You should go there. I bet you could find something out about the stone. OH! Aaaand, I was in the library and came across what you were looking into and I found this book called Voyage dans la Touquie by Paul Lucas, and it said that this Flamel guy is still alive." Her sudden usefulness had her a little happier.

"What!" Ed stood to his feet. "Wait…what was the name of that book again? When was it published? Where did it say he's living!"

Laughing, the girl crossed her legs and propped up her chin in the palm of her hand. "Easy there, partner. Okay, the book is called Voyage dans la Touquie. It was published in…ah…I think the date was 1718 or 1719 or something like that. It said that he and his wife Pemelle staged their deaths after they found the stone and that it served like some sort of life elixir." She stopped, her mind going blank. "What was the other question?"

"WHERE IS HE!" Ed cried, irritated.

"Oh, yeah. He lives in India or something." She finished.

"Or something? Are you sure it's India?" He pressed. "You remember that for sure?"

"Yeah, yeah. It was India!"

A knock sounded from the door.

"Come in." Alphonse answered, now trying to calm down a very excited Edward who was trembling with anticipation.

A young woman opened the door and smiled pleasantly. "Miss Lark Johansson?"

Lark stood up. "Yes, that's me."

"You're requested by Colonel Mustang at your earliest convenience. I believe it's in regards to your test results." She informed her.

Nervously biting at her lip, Lark leaned forward a bit. "I didn't pass it did I?"

Jennifer shook her head. "No, actually, I think that you did. My assignment after this is to inform all the participants that there won't be any more testing."

The color drained from Lark's face. "W-wait…I passed!"

"That's my understanding." Jennifer replied.

"WOW! I thought I did horrible!" Lark sat down, shocked "Wow…"

Ivy ran over to her daughter and embraced her. "I'm so proud of you, honey!"

"Congratulations!" Al added emphatically.

Ed's expression changed from exited to flaccid. "Yeah, great job."

Exchanging a glance with her mother, Lark turned her attention to the little blonde and heatedly asked, "What?" an obvious snap in her voice.

Edward shrugged. "Just looks like they'll let anyone in these days." He explained.

"Yeah, I hear that it all started when they let some twelve-year old join a while back." Lark retorted bitingly. "Have you got something you'd like to say, Elric!"

Getting up and taking his book with him, Edward headed toward the door. "Thanks for your help, Lark. Al, start to pack, okay? We'll leave tomorrow. I'll be in the library if you need me."

Closing the door behind him, Edward started toward the library.

Jennifer, now feeling a little uncomfortable, cleared her throat. "I-uh…I should go." And that being said, she left to finish her assignment.

Lark fell silent for a time and a moment later, she rose to her feet. "I'll be back in a while, I guess."

Her mother nodded. "Okay."

Lark headed out toward her destination but, the more she walked the more she realized she was more angry than hurt. "Who the hell does he think he is anyway!" she grumbled. "I'm just as good an alchemist as anyone here! I could beat the crap outta him if I had to!" Stopping in front of Mustang's office, she knocked firmly twice and when she got clearance to enter, she firmed up her face and stepped in with confidence.

"Miss Johansson," he smiled, rising out of his seat, one hand on his desk. "Please, have a seat." He extended his hand to a couch positioned near the desk and she nodded briefly, sitting down.

"I assume you know why you're here." He began, folding his hands in front of him. "I've sent word of your acceptance. You'll receive-"

"Let's cut to the chase." She cut him off, abruptly. "I'd like to be permitted to study the markings on the grave of Nicolas Flamel in the Saint-Jacques-la Boucherie in Paris." Lark took a moment to allow that to sink in and then, looking into his eyes to tell him she meant business, she added, "As soon as possible."

"Flamel?" Mustang inquired, his voice thick with skepticism. "Don't tell me that Fullmetal has gotten you caught up in this Philosopher's Stone nonsense, too."

Lark's expression stayed unmoving. "No, sir. I've decided that it was not a stone at all. And, to add to that thought, I'm surprised any alchemist would dismiss the Philosopher's Stone as nonsense. It's like the holy grail for you people."

"Us people?" He asked her, musingly. "Then you, even after passing state certification, are not 'one of us'? An alchemist?"

"No, sir. I'm not here because I want to be, I'm here because it's what my mother wants." Lark sat rigid and kept the corners of her mouth pointed downward trying hard not to cry. "I come from a long line of scientists. Regardless of my own desires, it would be irresponsible of me to betray my heritage by chasing juvenile dreams."

The Colonel's face filled with pity as he said, "Lark, tell me, have you expressed any of this to the professor? I'm sure she would be understanding of your-"

"Stay on subject, Colonel Mustang." She said firmly. "I have come upon some recent evidence that leads me to believe the Philosopher's Stone is not a stone, but rather, an elixir. One that grants immortality and cures all."

"The 'Great Elixir" theory?" Roy mumbled. "That has certainly been a point of interest in the past, but will you allow me to say something before you go gallivanting all over Europe in search of unicorns and mermaids like Fullmetal and his poor brother?"

Suddenly feeling like her plan, derived entirely out of spite, was not going to take her in the same direction that she thought it would, Lark swallowed hard and nodded.

"The Philosopher's Stone was a point of great interest in the earliest development of alchemy. It was a theory that kept man searching for a way to make alchemy work in its stages of infancy. But now that we have unlocked the keys to its success, modern alchemy has no place for such fairytales. The Philosopher's Stone…the Grand Elixir; they're nothing but ancient myths." Sighing, Roy ran a hand through his hair and looked with sadness at the woman before him. "I really don't have the heart to say it to Fullmetal, though. Telling him that restoring he and his brother's bodies is a lost cause isn't the kind of news I'd like to break to him."

Letting a grin slither to her mouth, Lark shook her head. "Tsk, tsk, Colonel. I thought that, of all people, you would believe in our good cause, but I'm not entirely sure I like your theory."

Suddenly interested, he shifted in his chair to cross his legs. "Enlighten me."

"Well," she began, leaning languidly over her own crossed legs. "what if I don't buy that it just doesn't exist? There is a good chance that this Nicolas Flamel held the key to the Elixir and with it, cheated death."

The sun was beginning to shine more brightly through the window as noontime approached. Closing one eye against it, Lark put up a hand to shield her face, but then instead got up and walked right up to Roy's desk, planting her hands firmly on it and leaning in.

"It's a shame that God spreads the knowledge to achieve greatness so…" Lark stopped, choosing the word carefully. "…parsimoniously." She finished. "Perhaps there is a reason that only ONE man was given the resources and the instructions on how to create this panacea, Colonel Mustang."

There was a long pause as the two State Alchemists looked at one another, both having their own thoughts. In eventuality, a thin spread smile found its way to the Colonel and he took Lark's chin in between his thumb and his index finger.

"Then I suppose we will have no choice but to fund your research."

He spun his chair around and got up, handing her a paper from the top of one of the many piles on his desk.

"I had the Fuhrer make this in advance. We both knew that because of what happened last year, you would be admitted one way or the other."

Lark looked down at the paper and read it, frowning in thought.

"The Elemental Alchemist?" she grumbled. "Doesn't look like a whole lot o' thought went into THAT one!"

Daniel was replacing books in the far reaches of the library that his eccentric new friend had taken out. The area was dark and smelled strongly of decaying paper as all of the oldest texts were kept there. In all honesty, this particular part of the library had him a bit anxious and, as he fought to see the numbers on the sides of the books, he could almost feel hands coming up behind him to wrap themselves around his neck…

Vigorously shaking his head to throw the thoughts out, he struggled to match the numbers faster, holding up a small lamp. As if from nowhere, at the end of the shelf he heard a loud crack, then a thud. Startled, he nearly leapt from his skin, and threw the book from his hands. Slowly, he peered down to the end of the bookshelf, that part of which was entirely encompassed in darkness. He swallowed hard and lifting his lamp, tip-toed to the end of the bookcase. He closed in on the end and putting the lamp around the side he saw nothing.

Sighing with relief, he was about to leave to finish, when he noticed a strange outcropping in the wall. Daniel frowned inquisitively, as he reached out to touch it. As he did, he felt it give way slightly and pulled back his hand. His heart pounded furiously and his arms began to shake with the thrill of discovery. Turning to make sure he was still alone, Daniel licked his lips and pressed on the small, stony protrusion.

A sound like the shifting of thousand year old gears on rock reverberated from behind the wall. It was short and loud and caused him to jump, but only a moment after it, the wall slid back and shifted to the side. A hefty amount of dust shot out of the cracks in the wall as the ancient doorway set into place. A dank and unpleasant smell leaked forth from the hallway it unlocked. The air was thick and sulfurous. Holding out his lamp, casting shaky shadows into the passageway, Daniel saw several rats scurry out of the way of the light that had been foreign to them for so long. There on the ground was a torch that had, until only a minute ago, been set into the stone with an iron holder. It now lay crumbling on the floor, decaying before his eyes in the illumination from his lantern.

Stepping cautiously over it, Daniel held out the light in front of him and listened for a moment. A deep, hollow noise sounded from far beyond the corridor as if someone, or something was breathing…it made a sharp intake and turned to a low, guttural laughter, chilling his soul. He cried out and fell to the floor, dropping his lantern. He turned frantically and scurried out of the doorway on his hands and knees, pressing the outcropping and closing the entrance.

Breathing heavily, and shaking like a newborn calf. Daniel felt a fear well up within him he had never felt before…