After procuring a new sword for Crono and an extra gun for Lucca, Fuhrer Bradley led them through the streets to a gathering of military personnel. A woman with blonde hair bound at the back of her head was standing in the center, taking information and handing out orders. The men parted and saluted for the fuhrer.
"Colonel Riza Hawkeye is in command of this case, so you'll be reporting to her until it's over," Bradley said. He turned to the woman. "Colonel, these are Crono and Robo, and of course you already know Lucca. I've worked out a deal with them, and they'll be helping you in whatever way you see fit."
"Yes, sir!" Hawkeye said.
"Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some important work to be doing," Bradley said. He waved, then headed back toward Central Command with his bodyguards.
Hawkeye looked them over. "You're certainly an eye-catching group."
Lucca shrugged. "So, uh, what's the deal exactly? We're not quite familiar with this place."
"The fugitive we're hunting used to be a state alchemist, so he's very dangerous. He's already killed well over five people, and his movement has been unpredictable. We have no clue what his plans are."
"What's an alchemist?" Lucca asked. "I've heard people talking about them, but I've never heard of them before."
"I don't have time to explain right now. What you need to know is that he's able to move and change the temperature of water using the transmutation circle on his right hand."
"Alright, what do you need us to do?" Crono asked.
"Stick with me for now," Hawkeye answered. "Are you good fighters?"
"I like to think so," Crono said.
"Our combat success rate is roughly 99%" said Robo.
Hawkeye looked at him with a curious expression. "Good, then you're going to be heading straight for him at the first sign of trouble."
"Call a medic!" said someone from a nearby street.
"Speaking of," Hawkeye said. "Come with me." She cut through an alley, then went down the street to where a group of soldiers were clustered around a body that was pink, blistered, and steaming. "Another dead. He's nearby! Double search efforts!"
Before the men could even respond, however, a cloud of dust and water shot up from another nearby alleyway. Stones went flying through the air, and as they landed, Crono realized they were all shaped like a man's head.
"He's there! Let's go!" Hawkeye shouted.
They, and all the nearby soldiers started running toward the alley. Crono got there first—his sword already drawn—with Lucca and Robo close behind. There were two men in the alley: a large, muscular bald man with a thick blonde mustache, and a disheveled-looking man with black hair. Both were wearing blue uniforms, but the bald one's looked significantly cleaner. They both turned to look at the newcomers.
"Stop right there, McDougal!" Lucca said, pointing her gun down the alley.
"You're open!" the bald man said in a loud, boisterous voice, using the distraction to make a swing at the other with his fists, on which he was wearing a pair of bizarre steel knuckle spikes. The smaller man ducked, then threw a canteen into the air, which exploded into a cloud of hot steam that quickly filled the alley. Crono and Lucca dove away, and McDougal darted out of the alley, dodging Robo as he tried to grab him.
Lucca drew her gun on him, but he grabbed her arm. Before he could kill her, though, he was struck in the chest by Robo's fist, which he had extended out with a rocket punch. Crono kept the pressure up, slashing at McDougal as Lucca recovered her weapon. His reflexes were quick, but their teamwork had been honed by their many battles. Crono stepped aside just in time for a jet of Lucca's fire magic to stream past him and toward McDougal.
McDougal's eyes widened, but he reached his hand into a puddle beside him and called up a wall of water to block the attack. Crono jumped straight through the gap in visibility and surprised McDougal with a slash that hit him in the arm. He screamed, then fled down another nearby alley. Crono started to give chase, but McDougal grabbed a pipe on one of the walls, causing hot water to burst out toward him. Using more of the water from the pipe, McDougal made steps out of ice and walked up the wall.
Before he could escape through the rooftops, Crono used his own magic, raising his arms and calling a bolt of lightning from the sky. Just in time to avoid being struck, McDougal created a bubble of water around himself, causing the lightning to flow through it and down to the ground. "The hell!? That wasn't alchemy!" he shouted, before disappearing over the edge of the roof.
The bald man from the alley caught up to them, followed by Colonel Hawkeye. "And who might you be?" he asked.
"These are the people that appeared in Colonel Mustang and the Elric brothers' places," Hawkeye said. "He's Crono, she's Lucca, and the big one's Robo. The fuhrer has asked them to help with the McDougal case."
"I see," said the man. "I am Major Alex Louis Armstrong, the Strongarm Alchemist. Nice to meet you, you fight well."
"Thanks," Crono said. "What now?"
"We must chase after him, of course!" Armstrong said. "Come!"
The four of them went off in pursuit.
"Hey, Lucca," Crono said as they ran. "Does your magic feel different to you? That lightning spell took way more energy than it did before, and I don't think I can cast any of the more advanced ones."
"I know what you mean," Lucca said. "It feels like when we first got it. I guess Lavos could reverse time, but couldn't take away the spark that Spekkio awakened."
It took until nightfall for them to find McDougal again. He was standing on the edge of a building, looking over the city. He didn't seem to notice when they came out of the door to the inside. They'd split up, so it was only Crono and Lucca. They drew their weapons, then crept closer.
"Give it up, murderer. You're cornered," Lucca said.
McDougal turned around. "You again. Tell me, how are you able to bypass the Law of Equivalent Exchange? Do you have a philosopher's stone too?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
McDougal frowned, then looked at Crono "And you. To my knowledge, no kind of alchemy can create lightning. What's your secret?"
Can't hurt to confuse him more, Crono thought. "No secret," he said. "It's magic."
"Magic, pah! Not that it really matters. More importantly, you don't wear uniforms. Why are you working with the military?"
"Long story," Lucca said. "What's it to you?"
"Fuhrer Bradley is a monster. He and his military are going to lead this country to ruin, you can't trust him!"
"We don't," Lucca answered, "but we can't trust you either. And so far, between the two of you, you've given us a lot more evidence that we shouldn't trust you. Why should we listen to a murderer?"
"I only kill because it needs to be done! What Bradley ordered us to do in Ishval was far worse."
"Well, right now, you need to be stopped," Lucca said. She held a hand up, and a flame appeared above it.
"No transmutation," McDougal noted.
Lucca spun her arm around her head as the flame grew in size, then she flung it at McDougal. He reached down to a pipe on the roof and shot out a wall of water to block it. Then, jets of water blasted out of the pipes at points along the whole edge of the roof, some of them aiming directly at Lucca and Crono. Crono was momentarily blinded, and when he got his bearings, he saw McDougal escape to another rooftop over a bridge of ice, which crumbled as he stepped off. Crono was about to cast another lightning spell, when he jumped down into an alley and out of sight. A shot from Lucca's gun hit the spot he'd just been.
"Damn," Lucca said.
"Come on, let's get back down," said Crono.
Robo and Major Armstrong were individually patrolling the streets, when Robo turned to see McDougal, crouched in an alley. There were large statues of Armstrong's head throughout the alley, and one of the walls had a hole, along with some cut-off spear shafts extending from it, and Robo recognized that this was the same alley where they had first seen him.
McDougal heard Robo approach, and turned around. "Heh, you're too late," he said, standing up.
Behind him, a circle of chalk with a pattern and strange symbols inside started glowing red, the light reaching high into the sky. There were similar lights emerging at other points in the city. Ice started forming on the circle, which slowly expanded into a wall that began to fill the whole alley.
"Whoever you are, just stay out of my way. I'm doing this for the greater good!" McDougal said.
"That does not excuse murder and mass destruction," Robo replied.
"You don't know what you're talking about!"
Robo rushed forward, trying to tackle McDougal, but he sidestepped and retreated to the edge of a canal in the street. The frost on the ground reached the canal, and the entire thing froze and expanded upwards. McDougal grabbed the iron railing behind him as it was pulled out of the ground and ascended the ice wall. Robo launched his fist at him, but he created an ice shield to absorb the attack and continued unperturbed.
Robo ran ahead of the wall as it crawled down the street. Armstrong was standing before it in the middle of the street. "Major, is there anything you can do about this?" Robo asked.
"Indeed!" Armstrong exclaimed. "Witness the alchemic art passed down the Armstrong line for generations!" He punched the wall head-on, but it only redirected into the nearby buildings. "That's unexpected," he said.
"You have worsened the situation," Robo said.
"Uh, well, I was only trying to—"
The ice broke through some more buildings behind them, returning to its original path.
"He must be stopped," Robo said.
"I'll try to destroy the transmutation circles. See if you can apprehend him," Armstrong said.
Robo started running toward the ice wall, and was joined by Crono and Lucca emerging from an alley.
"Did McDougal do all this?" Lucca asked.
"I believe so. The major has asked me to apprehend him," Robo answered.
"How are we gonna get up there?" Crono asked.
"I was in the midst of analyzing options," Robo said. "I have determined that I cannot. However, I might be able to throw you two onto the wall."
"Let's do it," Crono said.
Moments later, he was hurtling through the air above the city. He hit the top of the wall and rolled to a halt. "Ouch," he said, picking himself up.
"You again!" McDougal shouted. He touched the ice beneath him, and it deformed into a wave that crashed toward Crono, who jumped and vaulted over it, drawing his sword. Lucca landed behind him. "You guys just don't quit," McDougal said.
"It's a talent," Lucca said, standing up.
McDougal tried to touch the ice again, but Crono rushed forward, slashing at him. McDougal jumped back, but lost his footing and tumbled down the side of the wall, which had stopped just before the moat around Central Command. Crono and Lucca followed him down, where he was laying on the ground, blood trickling down his arm.
"Why can't you fools understand? I'm trying to save this country!" he said, getting to his feet.
"Oh, save it," said Lucca. "This isn't the way to do it." She looked at Crono. "Ready?"
"Ready," Crono said. He raised his sword, and Lucca shot a stream of fire into it, coating it in flame.
McDougal grimaced. He extended his arm beside him, and a stream of blood solidified and flew towards Crono.
Crono sliced them away, spinning about as he dashed toward McDougal. He saw McDougal's eyes widen, and just before the flame went out, Crono cut him across his chest. He stood in silence, stunned, then fell backwards. He was dead. A tiny red ball fell out of his clothes, then disintegrated.
Crono wiped the blood off his sword then sheathed it. The frost that had began climbing up Central Command from the moat stopped.
Major Armstrong and a division of soldiers had been attacking the ice for some time, when it suddenly stopped growing back from damage.
"Now! Hit it with everything we have!" Colonel Hawkeye said.
Three cannons all hit the ice at once, blowing a huge hole into it. Armstrong stepped forward and punched deeper into the ice, revealing the transmutation circle on the ground beneath. He punched the ground, shaking the earth and breaking up the circle, and the red lights across the city went out. The ice began to break up.
Crono and Lucca had rejoined with Robo, and were watching the ice crumble, when they heard footsteps behind them, and Fuhrer Bradley approached them.
"Fuhrer, what are you doing here?" Robo asked.
"I thought I'd see if I could help out," Bradley said, "but it seems that wasn't necessary. Great job, I clearly made the right choice in recruiting your help."
"Thanks," said Lucca. "So, does that mean—"
"Of course. You're free to go. If you'd like, you're welcome to stay at Central Command for the night. You can figure out where to go next tomorrow. After losing three of our best alchemists, I'm sure the military would be happy to accept you."
"Thanks..." said Crono.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to get this body taken care of," Bradley said.
They spent the night in the spare office Lucca had woken up in. When they woke from their much needed rest, Colonel Hawkeye was already at the desk doing paperwork.
"Ah, you're awake,"she said.
"Yeah," said Crono.
"Well, I have an offer for you from the fuhrer, when you're ready for it."
"Shoot," said Lucca.
"I'll be transferring back to Eastern Command soon. If you join me, you'll be taken care of for the time you're there. You don't have to join the military, just help out if it's requested."
"So you can keep an eye on us?" Crono asked.
"Officially, given the prowess you showed in confronting McDougal, and as thanks for your help on that case, the fuhrer has determined that you'd be fit to fill the void left by Colonel Mustang and the Elric Brothers," Hawkeye said. "But unofficially, you're probably right. You are still three mysterious outsiders who appeared at the same time three highly valued members of the military vanished."
"Right..." said Crono. "We'll be leaving to look for our friends if they show up."
"Of course," Hawkeye said. "We're not asking you for any kind of commitment."
"We'll think about it," Crono said.
They spent some time recuperating in the office, Lucca checking on Robo and re-installing some of his upgrades, until Lieutenant-Colonel Maes Hughes, the man whose home Crono and Robo had appeared in, entered the room.
"Hey, I hear you've been promoted to colonel," he said. "So I'm guessing Roy hasn't been found?"
Hawkeye sighed. "No, sir," she said.
Hughes nodded, looking somber, then he addressed Crono, Lucca, and Robo. "So, you were the ones who finished off McDougal, huh?"
Crono and Lucca nodded.
"Well, that's awfully impressive," Hughes said. "You're not alchemists, are you?"
"Nope," said Lucca.
"Interesting. Well, I'm sorry to bother you lieu— er, colonel," Hughes said.
He was about to leave, when Lucca said "Hey, wait a sec."
He turned back around. "What is it?
"Do you think I could talk to Armstrong? I'm interested in learning about alchemy."
Hughes scratched the top of his head. "I don't think he's got the time to be teaching at the moment, but I'll see," he said, before exiting.
"I'm fairly certain there's another state alchemist in East City," Hawkeye said. "If you come, I can probably get you an audience with him."
Lucca met Crono's eyes, and he shrugged. "Alright, then. We'll go," she said.
"Good," said Hawkeye. "We'll be going shortly."
Author's Notes: Hey, so I realize this chapter isn't much different from the actual episode of the show. It might be like that for a little bit, especially on the FMAB side, but I promise things will play out differently by the end.