Chapter 3: Recuperation
He spent the better part of three weeks in the hospital in Central. Every day, a new doctor or specialist would come in and examine him. After about the first week, he didn't think there was anything left to examine. He was wrong, though, and for the next two weeks Alchemist specialists came in to examine his arms, since none of them had ever seen those transmutation circles before. The "specialists" finally left, and now all he wanted to do was rest so that he could get out, even though he had no idea where he was going to go when he left.
"What do you mean you lost it!"
"I am sorry Mistress, we cannot explain what happened. The stone was there before and during the Military raid, but after they left, the stone was gone."
"How is that even possible, what would react with the stone like that?
"Perhaps the souls within the stone were drawn to a greater power of some kind."
"A greater power...Find our lost prisoner! I think he knows where the stone went to."
"Of course, Mistress. Come on Gluttony, we've got work to do."
It was his last day in the hospital and he was getting his stuff together. While he was packing, he heard the door creak open, and a familiar feminime voice say to him:
"You may have escaped us once, but you will always be scarred by what you've done."
He turned around to see the blurred figure of a tall woman with long dark hair move through the door and out of sight. He ran into the hall to try and catch her, but instead ran into a young woman right outside the door.
"Oww, I'm terribly sorry about that," she said as she tried to pick herself up.
"No, no, it was entirely my fault, I wasn't paying attention," he said as he helped to pick her up.
The young lady became slightly distracted as she looked into his face. There was something about him that intrigued her.
"Sorry...Where are my manners? Hi, I'm Lieutenant Maria Ross."
"Hi, my name is...Vincent."