(A/N: First of all, thanks for all the reviews. Oh, and the alchemy books referred to are real.The Ripley Scroll is from the 16th century. The rest are from the 17th century.)
The Colonel had become quite good at balancing his pencil on his nose. He'd tried many a thing to keep his mind busy and do as litte actual work as possible; it was a learning experience and, sad to say, he'd actually taken a few pointers from The Bastard, miracle of all miracles.
Being confined to the office and doomed to do paperwork for the rest of eternity under the watchful eye of Lieutenant Colonel Hawkeye was not something he was fond of, though... nor was becoming a human sieve. He liked his internal organs, thank you very much.
Even after all this time- how long had it been, anyway? Two years?- he was still grumpy. He shouldn't have to sit around in an office all day. Whatever happened to sending him out on pointless missions? At least those had been fun. Sure, a pain in the ass, with that damnable bastard breathing down his neck and wild goose chases and having to come back with nothing to report and... and... something to keep him going.
With Al restored and living happily back in Risembool, helping Winry design better automail with the use of alchemy... and what Roy had done for him... What was he supposed to do now? Waste away in a boring job like this?
Just as he was pondering sending himself on a damn mission, Major Audura knocked and opened his office door.
"Colonel Elric, you've been requested to head an investigation about something south of here, near the edge of town. Something about alchemy."
Finally, Ed thought, standing. "Great. We'll leave immediately. Round up my team and get me the location. We meet at the gate in ten minutes."
Audura saluted. "Yessir!"
"We've had our men cordon off the area. No one's been allowed inside, not even the military. We figured the expertise of the Fullmetal Alchemist would be the best idea to go from," the driver said, pulling up to a large building that looked about ready to fall over.
Ed got out of the car, shortly followed by three others. They went closer before he raised a hand to stop them. "This looks dangerous, so I'll go in first. Check the perimeter and the cordoned area thoroughly for any signs of disturbance or alchemy while I'm gone. If I need backup, I'll call."
The three men saluted and separated, one to each side of the building, leaving Ed the front.
He took the steps carefully, moving on the balls of his feet. Once he got inside the door, though, he thought better, taking a small flashlight from his breast pocket and drawing his gun. Only then did he continue.
It looked like the building hadn't been used recently; the steps he took caused small puffs of dust to rise. The motes danced in the beam of his light as it swept the room. Nothing unusual.
He kept moving, ignoring the stairs to the second floor for the moment. Through a hallway hung with pictures was a small library. The door squeaked when he pushed it fully open.
Books were scattered, some open, far more in stacks and hardly any on the bookshelves. Loose papers coated the floor. He stepped over several stacks, coming to the middle of the room, and picked up some papers, leafing through them.
Alchemy notes. Ingedients for transmutation, sketches of arrays. Ed recognized all of the symbols that he'd memorized long ago; fire, water, creation... and the omega, the sign for death.
Brow wrinkled in confusion, he scanned the books.
The Ripley Scroll, The Glory of Light, The Hermetic Triumph, The Hermetic Arcanum... All of these were allegorical and philosophical. Then, something caught his eye. The Six Keys of Eudoxus.
He knelt in front of that stack and looked at the books around it. Physical alchemy. All of them. They all had to do with the Stone and properties of organic transmutation. Human transmutation, chimeras and vague, unattempted ideas.
What the hell is this? he wondered. His eyes dropped to the last book on the stack and he paused. There was no dust here. Someone had come recently, and more than once. He stood, stalked back through the door and continued down the hall, running his fingers along the ugly wallpaper.
Two doors. He let the first swing open; a plain bathroom with a white tile floor. Nothing interesting. Ed tried the second door's handle, but it was locked, from the inside, no less. Either there was someone still in there, or they had escaped some other way.
There is no other way, he reminded himself as he clapped and alchemized the lock open. The door swung easily, causing no noise from the well-oiled hinges.
It was dark, but there were stairs, and a sliver of light illuminated the bottom step. The stairs groaned and creaked in protest as he made his way down, gun and flashlight at the ready.
The light flickered. Ed stopped and almost held his breath. It went steady, then flickered again, though it didn't go out. A candle. Ed breathed out and took the last few steps.
The door to the second part of the cellar was partway open, letting the candlelight spill out. He got close and looked through, but saw no movement and no shadows.
"Military Operations. Cease activity and put your hands in the air. I'm armed and will not hesitate to fire," he called, then waited. No answer. Once again, he pushed the door open silently and stepped forward.