AN: The characters and concepts of FullMetal Alchemist belong to Hiromu Arakawa. This story revolves around the first anime of FullMetal Alchemist, not the manga. Do not flame because of that small difference, I've read the manga and seen the real anime that follows it, but the first anime is what captured my heart about FMA, so this story is tribute. Enjoy the story. The lyrics are "This Is How I Disappear" by My Chemical Romance, I do not own the lyrics to the song. -Carrie.
"To un-explain the unforgivable, drain all the blood; and give the kids a show.
By street light, this dark night; a séance down below.
There's things that I have done; you never, should ever know!"
Havoc squeezed Carlina tighter as she mentioned 'family', putting her down when he felt her wince. "What's wrong," he asked, beginning to panic when she clutched her ribs with her automail hand. Ed shook his head and grasped the top of her human arm, pulling her away from Havoc a little, "Come on, you got hit pretty hard in the stomach. I wouldn't be surprised if something got fractured or broken. You need medical attention." Carlina twisted her arm out of Ed's hand and backed away toward Havoc, "No Ed, I need to see the others. They've probably been worried sick."
She turned back toward Havoc, frowning when she noticed the concerned look on his face. "Broken? Hit? What happened to you? Were you rough-housing with Jeremy again," he joked, grabbing her automail wrist to pry her hand away from her side.
He froze when his hand locked around her wrist, pulling down the glove to show the automail underneath. Looking into her eyes, he backed away as they shimmered with tears. "Why are you a year late to come take your exam, and why hasn't Carlton contacted me in four years," Havoc asked slowly as Carlina rubbed her eyes against her sleeve. "It's- a long story...I would rather tell it all at once," she spoke carefully, the brothers staring at the floor somberly. Havoc nodded his head, readjusting the grip on her wrist to pull her behind him through the halls. The brothers followed them until they reached the doors to Mustang's office, turning around to leave for the reunion.
"You're both staying with me." They turned at the sound of Carlina's voice shaking, looking them both in the eye, "I need others who know the details. I can't...I can't recall it and not have someone to look at who isn't crying or shocked."
Al uneasily looked at Ed, who bit his lip before sighing and smiling lightly. "Well, then I suppose we're going to witness an overdue reunion today," he said, surprised as Carlina hugged him tightly around the neck. "Thanks guys, I need this," she said, blushing in unison with Ed before hastily separating herself from him. Havoc unceremoniously entered the office first, shielding Carlina behind him with the brothers walking beside him. Havoc stood with his back nearly against the wall, Carlina still hiding behind him. The brothers sat on one of the couches next to Fuery, with Falman and Breda lounging on the other one. Hawkeye stood next to Mustang, seated behind his desk.
"Ah Havoc, you brought the Elric brothers with you. I had no idea they were returning to Central so soon after leaving for Resembool," Mustang drawled, raising an eyebrow at Havoc's position against the wall, "why don't you take a seat with Breda and Falman?"
"Sir, I need you to call Lieutenant Hughes and Major Armstrong right away," Carlina heard Mustang chuckle and felt the tension rolling off of Havoc. "Right away, Mustang...he has something to show them," Ed spoke, Carlina imagining the surprised and probably confused look on Mustang's face. Shaking his head, Roy picked up the phone and mumbled something into it. Once he hung up, Falman and Breda started small talk to bridge the uncomfortable silence that descended upon the rest of the occupants. Hughes and Armstrong finally strolled in, closing and locking the door behind them at Havoc's suggestion.
"Alright Havoc, Hughes and Armstrong are here. What is so important you insisted I call them and have them report here immediately?" Havoc took a deep breath and stepped a few feet to his right, leaning against the wall next to Carlina.
The room was silent as all eyes stared at the girl, confused, before Hawkeye asked, "New girlfriend, Havoc?" Carlina took a deep breath before stepping away from the wall, her hand snapping to her forehead in a salute. "Carlina Joihanson reporting for duty, sir," she announced calmly, staring directly at Mustang. All mouths excluding the brothers' and Havoc's dropped open instantly. Riza dropped the paperwork in her arms, covering her mouth with her hand, while Roy slowly rose from his desk. Hughes and Armstrong were leaning on each other for support, while the three men on the couches were frozen in place. "Sir, I hope my extended leave and delayed return for my exam was not a problem," Carlina continued, dropping her arm and looking at the floor.
Kain was the first to regain his voice, leaping over the back of the couch and hugging Carlina tight against his chest. "Oh god, no one has heard from or seen any of your family in years...did Bella come with you? Is she waiting outside," the words poured out of his mouth, pulling away from Carlina and spinning toward the door. She grabbed him by the top of his arm, biting her bottom lip and looking at Al, "I need my suitcase.."
Al hastily brought her the luggage, Kain tilting his head as she stuck her human arm inside and began rummaging around. Her fingers brushed a chain and she pulled, a ring swinging on the chain as she pulled it out. The ring had three clear blue topaz hearts with diamond accents, the silver metal polished and gleaming. Fuery froze as his eyes rested on the ring, looking down at Carlina and starting to shake his head. "It took me months to save enough to buy that for her, she said she would never take it off...she hasn't found someone else, has she," he asked, choking up as he took the ring on the chain from her. "I wish it was that simple...Havoc, come here," she spoke as Kain took his seat again, fingering the ring and refusing to look at Carlina.
Her hand plunged into her suitcase again until her fingers brushed against leather, pulling out a worn journal and passing it to Havoc. "Is this what I think it is," Havoc asked slowly, going to open the front cover as Carlina closed it with her hand. "Don't look yet," she said softly, continuing to rummage in her suitcase.
The girl pulled out a bag from inside the suitcase before closing it, strolling over to Riza and Roy. Riza uncovered her mouth, holding her hand out with her palm up as Carlina pulled out a string of pearls and placed them in her hand. Roy took his seat with his elbows on the desk and his mouth against his entwined hands. Putting her hand into the bag again, Carlina pulled out another ring meant for a man, the remnants of a small red stone in the fixture. She rested it on the desk in front of him and walked up to Hughes, her hand already searching in the sack. Maes watched as she handed him a stack of photographs, starting to go through them once she moved unto Armstrong.
Carlina held out a metal cuff wide enough to fit over the Major's large upper arm, transmutation circles similar to the ones on his gauntlets engraved on the surface. Armstrong's eyes were wide as he turned the cuff over in his hands, as though it would break just from touching it.
Ed and Al continued to watch the spectacle in confusion as Carlina made her way toward Breda and Falman. She pulled a velvet sack out of the bag and tossed it to Breda, who immediately opened it. Inside was a set of chess pieces, half black onyx and the other carved from pure white marble. Turning one of the pieces over, his breath hitched in his throat upon seeing the name 'Aimee' carved into the bottom of it. As Breda continued to find the same name carved on each piece, Carlina plunged her hand into the sack and pulled out the last item.
She handed the Luger 908 and the box of ammo to Falman, who somberly began reading the message engraved on the side, "To my Uncle Falman, who taught me to shoot a pistol, albeit not too well. While I have my alchemy, you rely on weaponry. I hope this serves you well."
"When did Jeremy-" "He bought it for you before his ninth birthday. Father thought it was for him, until he read the engraving. He was so surprised, but you know...it's how Jeremy always was," Carlina spoke softly, looking down at the pistol lovingly. "Was? So, they're all dead," Mustang slowly questioned as Carlina nodded her head, the occupants who had received the items looking at what they held in their hands in dismay. Fuery began to cry and Al wrapped an arm around his shoulders, the brothers looking uncomfortably around the room at the possessions that they received.
"Kain, you hold Isabella's promise ring, the one you got her when she was almost fifteen. She had every intention to marry you, the ring does belong to you though...Carlton wrote detailed descriptions of all the places his research took him in that journal for you Havoc, he knew you would have loved to see them with him. He was going to head to Central after the party, it was in his things," she explained as Havoc opened the front cover.
"Jean, you'd love the places I've seen. There are pretty women all over the world, brother, you should have been here with me. I'll start the next journal once I deliver this to you, a few pages have some photographs tucked inside," he stopped, closing his mouth and sliding down the wall until he was sitting. "Mother always knew you wanted pearls Riza, those were her favorites and I know she would want you to have them. Father wrote in his will for you to receive his ring, Mustang, he said it showed the Hell you went through together," she continued, not catching the look Mustang shared with Hawkeye, Hughes and Armstrong.
"Hughes, my parents wanted you to have our family photos if none of the kids were eighteen, so they would stay safe in one place. You asked father to commission you an arm piece to amplify the power of your gauntlets, Major, that's the finished product," both men looked at Carlina when she said this, before their eyes dropped back down to their gifts.
"Aimee willed me her chess pieces for all the matches we played when she stopped by to visit Fuery with her sister, right? Jeremy obviously bought Falman the pistol as a sign of gratitude," Breda concluded before Carlina could speak, the girl nodding her head to confirm his suspicions. The room descended into silence as the trinkets were held by their new owners, Fuery finally calming down enough to break away from Al. Mustang cleared his throat, forcing all eyes on him, "So, you're the last Joihanson... Young lady, you're a year late for your state exam, and you neglected to tell your godmother and I that you were safe."
His voice rose until he was nearly shouting, rocketing to his feet and slamming his fist on the desk. Everyone jumped at the sound except for Carlina, who strode up to the desk and got in Mustang's face.
"I'm here now, and I'm ready to take that exam when you get me in," she spoke cooly, a smirk spreading across her face as he clenched his jaw. "You're cocky, just like your father. Riza and I were worried sick and you couldn't bother to give us a call," he drawled, his brow knit tight. "I'm sorry, after surviving the slaughter of my entire family at the age of ten I took shelter in the summer cottage. Oh, after I burned down the mansion, and all the bodies inside. Lets not forget that you and Riza are my godparents my father chose, the ones my mother chose are dead but their relatives have cared for me the last four years-" "-we would've taken perfectly good care of you-" "-and yet I still would've ended up with fucking automail!"
At her outburst Carlina flung off the top part of her shirt, standing in a plain black spaghetti strap tank top. Everyone including the Elric brothers gasped, since it was the first time any of them were seeing the full automail arm.
It gleamed in the light filtering through the windows, a more slender and feminine design compared to the one Ed had. It was clear that it still held as much power as Edward's own arm did despite its sleeker design, obviously less beaten and worn than his as well. Most of the occupants' jaws had dropped, Roy looking at the arm in morbid curiosity and Ed looking at it with a green tint across his skin. "How did you-" "-it's taboo, I'm not allowed to speak about it," Carlina said, low enough for only Mustang, Riza, Hughes, and Armstrong to hear. Hughes and Riza exchanged startled glances while Armstrong met Roy's eyes in a stony glare.
Mustang's jaw clenched harder along with his trembling fists, looking down at the desk for a second before shaking his head and looking back up into Carlina's eyes.
"You want to take the State exam? Obviously you've got the guts for it, I'll call it in for you to begin the first part in the morning. If you pass, I'll speed it up and have you in the second part by lunch. I don't think you'll have any problems with the first two parts, so I'll expect to rush you into the third part right after dinner. I'll also expect to have a watch ordered and ready before sundown," he declared, the tension slowly beginning to diffuse from the room as he relaxed and his jaw unclenched to show a small smile. Carlina's frown dissolved into a grin and she threw herself across the desk to hug him, the remaining tension evaporating instantly.
Since the Elrics brought her to Central under their care, Mustang thought it best for Carlina to stay with the brothers in their room. After an hour debate, Carlina won the argument to sleep on the couch, to the great displeasure of both brothers.
At the end of the night, when the Elrics were heading for their room, Carlina stopped them by grabbing both their hands. "I just wanted to thank you both for being there, it really meant a lot to me," she chirped, kissing each on the cheek and sending them off to bed. The pinkette sunk down into the blanket and pillow donated from Ed's bed, drifting off to sleep surrounded by his smell. Al and Ed were up for another hour before Ed started to drift off, still feeling a small spot tingling on his cheek.
AN: Carlina is finally going to do what she was born to do, become a State Alchemist! Seems she and Ed are also finding out they get along better than they probably hoped ;) Special thanks to Hetaliacrazed98 and Ed's.Curious.Kitten for the reviews on the last chapter! Thanks for reading, I hope it was enjoyable. More reviews and feedback are always appreciated! -Carrie.