Scar glanced down at the crumpled and bloodstained notebook with the painfully neat handwriting.
Occurrence 3 - suicide Mjr. DeSadde, Alchemist Close range bullet Clinical Depression? No. History none. Witnesses: None Deployment - Ninth Battalion
Occurrence 4 - suicide
Mjr. Russel Schirte, Alchemist
Window
Laughter?
Inebriated? No.
Drugs? No.
Clinical Depression? No
Witnesses: 1 - Mr. Shou Pin-Yu - Flower Shop/neighbor
Deployment: None
Suspected murder? Yes.
Motive? Personal Gain?
Opportunity? Alchemist Killer… copycat crimes?
Pattern? Apparent Suicide
Alchemist Killer? No - wrong M.O.
Who?
Next in line?
Suspect:
Mjr. John Tucker Ambitious Comments, Open disdain of alchemists, known backbiter
Lt. Yves Lilith (uncertified alchemist?) Tattoo. No proof. History?
Tattoo was circled several times.
He remembered reading in Major Konai's dossier that she was head of West Headquarters Military Investigations Unit. This must have been her latest assignment.
Scars fingers seized momentarily, crumpling up the paper. He'd been twitching involuntarily for the past two hours. That shock that should have killed him had done quite a number on him nonetheless. He really should have been dead. Again he mentally thanked God that he was alive to carry out His will.
He turned to his own list of alchemists. The next in the West was Major Perseus Evans, the Green-Lion Alchemist. He lived in the dormitories at West Headquarters. Scar planned on going there tonight.
"You know, I really wanted to thank you." a voice behind him made him start. Turning around he saw a military officer leaning up against the brick of the alleyway, hands tucked into pockets nonchalantly.
Scar tensed, ready, "Thank me?"
She shrugged, the corners of her mouth quirked up, "Oh sure, Ice-Wire's time was just about up anyway. She was getting to close for comfort. But now… well, I don't have to worry about that, do I? Lieutenant Holmeson will be promoted to Chief of Military Investigations. He's not stupid, but any idiot could see that Ice-Wire's death was the work of the Alchemist Killer, thus taking any further suspicion away from me. Also, I believe that's her notebook you have there?" She chuckled nastily, "She didn't keep multiple copies." He tensed again as she heaved her weight off the wall and walked towards him, hands still in her pockets. He could see now that her tuft of white hair concealed a red tattoo of an eye in the middle of her forehead. It was the only eye visible to him, her real eyes were concealed by mirrored sunglasses.
Scar looked down at the notebook in his hand, at the word tattoo circled several times, "Who are you?"
"Who are you?" She echoed back at him, "I know you are the Alchemist Killer. The one they call Scar. That much is perfectly clear. The way her skull was exploded all over the street like that…." She chuckled again and Scar felt strangely horrified. "We have a lot in common, you and I."
Scar took a step backwards as she continued to advance, "I don't think we do, Major Yves Lilith."
She chuckled again in answer, "I wonder what makes you tick. Why you do what you do. Ahh but since I am grateful for the opportunity you have presented me, I think I will restrain myself."
"Unless you wish for death, come no closer." Scar brandished his tattooed arm in warning,"
"Oh, I have no intentions of dying, nor of killing you, so you can put your toy away now."
"Ice-Wire's notes… are you an alchemist?"
Her eyebrows flew up with an amused expression on her face, "Did she figure that out? Impressive. She was closer than I thought. How lucky you came along when you did. But yes, I fancy myself as the Third-Eye Alchemist … but I'm uncertified, of course. It would make life much more difficult if my alchemical specialty was known."
Her hand left her pocket and wrapped itself tightly around his left arm. How did he let her get so close? His tattooed arm made a swipe for her head, but his hand chose that moment to go into another spasm. His fingers just brushed her sunglasses shattering the lenses in several places. She leapt backwards grinning as pieces of lens fell from their frames and shattered on the ground at her feet.
Scar let out a cry of disgust, "You- you're Ishbalan! An Ishbalan alchemist!"
She grinned broadly. "I told you we have a lot in common."
"We have nothing in common, demoness!" Scar growled and rushed forward.
"Demoness?" Her laughter echoed around the alley as she swung herself onto a nearby fire escape, "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, only he who is without sin should cast the first stone. And that person isn't you."
The fire escape's floor shattered from underneath her, and she scrambled like a cat onto the next level up, and then slid down a nearby drain, running a safe distance away from Scar. Suddenly the street buckled underneath her and a large pothole opened up. Her ankle twisted, and she let out a cry as she felt her ankle shatter. Scar couldn't tell whether she was laughing maniacally or crying uncontrollably. She freed both her hands and put them to her temples with a flash of white-blue light. The laughter now was unmistakable, "Oh thank God for alchemy! Oh thank you Almighty Ishbalah! Hahahahaaa!"
She giggled and watched as Scar picked his way through the rubble, "You going to kill me now?" She said between giggles, "I don't care you know, Mr. Big Man, with your scary tattoo. I can't feel it, I can't feel anything now." She giggled some more, there was something wrong with her. Her eyes were strangely shiney, and dilated until they were black disks rimmed with red, like a solar eclipse.
"I will give you a moment to pray. Although I don't think you deserve it."
She laughed at him, "And what has prayer done for our people? Not a damn thing. Where was Ishbalah during the Massacre? Answer me! Since you two seem to be on speaking terms." She chuckled nastily.
Scar said nothing.
"I like you. Hehehe… you're alright. In other circumstances, I think we could have been good friends, lovers even. I like you so much, I have a going away present for you." Her hands darted to his head and pulled it to her. He couldn't imagine where she had gotten the strength or the speed. She should have been in incredible amounts of paralyzing pain.
Before he could react to her sudden movement, she brought her lips up to meet his in a quick kiss before pressing her forehead to his, and her palms to his temples. An alchemical light arced between her palms and her forehead and Scar flew backwards.
He couldn't move, or think, nor did he want to either. From far away he could hear the shifting of rubble and maniacal laughter. It didn't matter to him, nothing mattered at all. The only thing important to him at that moment was the incredible feeling of euphoria that was warmly trickling down from his head down throughout his body. He felt like laughing himself, or taking a nap. But slowly he was moving away from where he was, disconnecting. He was drifting somewhere, some force was pulling him towards something important. But he felt no urgency.