"Better a cruel truth
than a comfortable delusion."
- Edward Abbey
"No."
"Just let me look at it."
"I said no!" Amelia clutched her phone tighter to her chest, glaring at Edward as she huddled up more in her seat on the train.
"At least tell me what it's made out of!" Edward snapped as he tried to reach for it, only for Amelia to turn so that the phone held tight against her body was facing away from him.
"Back off!"
"Brother, just leave it alone." Alphonse insisted, trying to get the pair to stop fighting. He wouldn't deny he shared his brother's curiosity at the little device that Amelia had, but she clearly didn't want to share what it was.
"She's been just messing with that thing for two days, Al." Edward said, "She says it's this technology or whatever, but I just want to see what it is!" He lunged and Amelia's immediate reaction was to thrust out her foot and it landed on his chest, knocking the breath out of him for a second before he fell back in his seat, "Ow!" He rubbed at the spot she had kicked.
"That's what you get for trying to touch my stuff!" Amelia snapped at him.
"Didn't anyone teach you how to share?!" Edward snapped back, only to be met with a rather loud raspberry from Amelia, making sure she got some spittle in his face.
"Children, please-" Armstrong was cut off by both of them.
"I am not a child!"
"I told you, I'm not a kid!"
Alphonse observed the pair and let out a sigh, his armor clinking as his shoulders slumped, "Brother, just let it go. She clearly values whatever that thing is very much."
"It's a phone." Amelia corrected him.
"Not like any phone I've ever seen," Edward muttered, still rubbing his chest.
"That's because you've only ever seen landlines."
"What does that even mean?!"
"If you're not smart enough to figure that out, that's your problem!"
"If you let me see it, I could figure it out!" He reached again and Amelia scowled as she turned away from him.
"I said back off, you little grub!"
"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!" Alphonse reached for his brother to pull him back before he did any real damage, though he did end up kicking Amelia's shin as he was pulled away, thrashing in his little brother's arms.
"Ow!" Amelia glared at him, tucking her phone away to return the favor and kick him back, but her teacher grabbed her before she could, "Hey! Let go!"
"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Armstrong's booming voice went through the car, making everyone in it jump as he got the attention of the two teenagers, "You both need to stop arguing and calm down!" He put Amelia back in her seat as Edward was put back in his own. "We have been traveling for too long, and I know that it is frustrating and we are all very tired, but arguing with each other will help no one." Amelia only kept her arms crossed and Edward did the same without realizing. "Now, why don't you both apologize to each other so we can move on?"
"What do I have to apologize for? He started it!" Amelia griped.
"Only because you're selfish!" Edward snapped back.
"It's my phone! I can do whatever I want with it!"
"Will both of you be quiet?!" Alphonse's voice cut through their bickering, both of them jumping at the sound since it was pretty rare for Alphonse to get angry, "It's amazing how similar you two are, and yet you can't get along?" That got reactions from both of them.
"What?!"
"I'm nothing like her!" Edward pointed at her, "She's selfish and bratty! I'm not like that at all!"
"I'm not bratty!" Amelia snapped, "At least I don't have the world's shortest fuse like you do! You have no restraint at all!"
"I have tons of restraint!"
"You blow up every time someone even mentions the word 'short'!"
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT HE COULD BUILD A TREE HOUSE IN A BUSH?!"
"She didn't say that, Brother."
"Will you both shut up?" A passenger snapped at them from down in the car. "I can't think with you guys shouting!"
"How about you shut up?!" Amelia snapped, leaning her head over the back of the chair to see who it was.
"Yeah! You're making noise, too!" Edward yelled back at him.
"You're bothering everyone!" Amelia continued.
"No, that's you!" The passenger said before he opened a book and buried his nose in it.
As the train whistle blew to show they were nearing the station, there was a very audible sigh of relief from the other passengers sharing the car with the bickering teens. Amelia looked back at Edward, who glanced at her. She glared at him, hating the idea that they were even remotely similar to each other, especially considering he had such a terrible sense of style along with his monster of a temper. She would rather be more of an alchemist like him since that would help her more, but asking him for help with that would take more humility than she was capable of showing. He glared back at her just as harshly, sharing similar thoughts of how she was a spoiled, selfish brat who trusted no one. He didn't know how Major Armstrong put up with her, though he supposed the bonus he got from the Fuhrer's office helped with that.
"Alright, let's all calm down." Armstrong said, putting his hand on Amelia's shoulder to put her back in her seat, which she did with crossed arms, still glaring at Edward, "When we arrive in Central, we should get something to eat and take a moment to relax. We've barely had any in the time that we've been traveling."
"After we go to the first branch of the library," Edward said, and Armstrong sighed.
"Yes, after we go to the first branch." He lamented.
"I say we ditch them to research so we can get some food," Amelia said, still glaring at Edward. It was almost a staring contest between the two of them to see who could glare harder.
"For once, I agree with that notion." Edward said, "The library would be a lot quieter with you gone."
"We will not," Armstrong said firmly, and Amelia grumbled quietly, but didn't say anything more as she and Edward kept glaring at each other. It seemed their arguing had finally tired each other out.
When the train came to a stop, there were a few passengers more than eager to get out of the car shared by the Elric brothers before they left. And the group carried on with their own luggage as they headed out of the train station to make for the library.
"I think you will rather like the library, Amelia." Armstrong said, "It is filled with vast alchemical knowledge that we can study to help improve your alchemic technique." He held up the little glass ball she had made, "You already show promise from this transmutation."
"Thanks." She said, smiling a little at the praise, but it fell away before anyone noticed it. They made their way into a taxi cab, with Amelia sitting next to her teacher and Alphonse next to his brother. It was an interesting thing to look at, should one peer through the car windows, seeing a massive man sitting across from a suit of armor on one side, and seeing two teenagers huddled against the doors to avoid the large man and the suit of armor on the other side. The ride to the library was quiet until Alphonse and Edward started talking about how they might identify Marcoh's research notes. They spoke of what the book might look like, saying it would probably be a journal of some kind, something small and not easy to notice, with earth tones to match the rest of the books in the library so it wouldn't stand out too much.
Though, when they arrived at the library, it wasn't going to be easy to do something like that.
When they arrived at the building, they found the place in ruins, walls scorched with the roof caved in, ashes spread all over the ground, the whole area reeking of fire and burnt paper. Amelia held a hand to her nose as they approached the building, trying to block the smell with the scent of her own skin. "So, where is the library anyway?" She asked, looking at the other buildings. They had all been far enough away to avoid any fire damage like the one in front of them.
"I'm afraid we're looking at it," Armstrong said, and Amelia's eyes widened as she looked at the building.
"But it's completely destroyed…"
"Doctor Marcoh's research…" Edward's voice came through, and Amelia and Alphonse glanced over at him, seeing his shoulders shaking a little as his head was held down, his bangs covering his face, preventing them from seeing his expression. At first, Amelia thought he might be on the verge of crying, and she could imagine why - after all that they had been through, to have the library suddenly burn down after getting a lead on the philosopher's stone had to be devastating.
"Brother?" Alphonse called to him concernedly, only to jump back when Edward let out a loud yell in frustration.
"GAAHHH! Doctor Marcoh's research! It's all gone!" He shouted into the sky angrily.
"This is an unexpected tragedy," Armstrong said, his voice surprisingly flat where Amelia would have expected a more emotional performance. "There may be a few books left in the building that survived."
He didn't need to say anything more before Edward ran past the yellow and black striped caution tape that kept the area cordoned off. "Brother, wait!" Alphonse ran after him, with Amelia and Armstrong walking behind the pair up the stairs into the remains of the library. Amelia hated the smell of the place, both hands coming up to her nose to block out the stink. She looked over when a white handkerchief was put in front of her.
"This may make it a little easier to breathe." He said, "It's scented." She took the handkerchief from him, surprised to smell lavender on the thin cloth that helped her to relax a little.
"It's nice." She said through the handkerchief, and she looked back at him, "Why do you have this?"
"Catherine gave a pack of them to me as a present," The major beamed proudly when talking about his younger sister, though his attention was put back on Edward as they found him crouched over part of the floor, reaching for the remains of a book, only to have it crumble and its ashy remains flying away from his hands.
"There's nothing left here but ashes, everything's gone," Edward said to himself as he looked at the remains, slowly pushing himself up. The group had been caught up in looking at the library's remains that no one noticed a pair of soldiers making their way towards them.
"Major Armstrong!" At the sound of the new voice, everyone turned to see who it was. They were faces that Amelia and Armstrong knew well enough.
"Ah, Second Lieutenant Ross and Sergeant Brosh. To what do we owe this pleasure?" The Major asked as he looked at his saluting subordinates.
"You have been ordered to report back to the Command Center, sir," Ross said as she stood at attention, her hand going down from her salute.
"We'll be taking over supervision of Edward Elric and his brother effective immediately," Brosh said, doing the same as his partner.
Armstrong let out an approving hum whereas Amelia let out a relieved sigh, her shoulders slumping. "Very well, he's yours." He said.
"What is this?" Edward complained, "Just when I think I'm home free, they saddle me with more bodyguards? This is getting old!"
"Hey, at least we don't have to deal with him anymore." Amelia said through the handkerchief, looking back over at the two other officers, "Be ready for him, he's a real handful."
"Oh, that's rich, coming from you." Edward scowled, and she returned the gesture behind her handkerchief she had borrowed.
"Then we'll let you tend to your duties at once!" The Major said as he put his arm around his student's shoulders, who was still glaring at Ed as he pushed her forward, eager to separate the two before another argument broke out.
They returned to the Armstrong estate, where Amelia was welcomed by Strongine and Catherine, as well as the twin maids Delilah and Dianna. She was glad to be back in the comfort of luxury. Although there had been nothing wrong with the coziness and warmth of the Rockbell home in Resembool, she couldn't help but feel out of place. But in this home, surrounded by velvet sofas and grand pianos, she felt like she belonged. It was the society of the rich and condescending, an environment she knew too well and survived in perfectly.
After getting a good meal in her, she had taken off to do some more alchemy lessons and she learned more about transmutation on the small scale, with Armstrong telling her how important it was to recognize the chemical makeup of common furniture as she may need that knowledge in a tight situation.
"Like, in combat?" She asked him. Her teacher's face hardened a moment before he nodded.
"Yes, state alchemists carry with them a great deal of honor and respect, but the title also brings enemies." He said solemnly, "To fight for the state is a great privilege, but you must be prepared to fight for the state with your life. That is one of the main reasons alchemists are part of the military. We are the reserve team for when regular soldiers cannot end the fight. We are expected to finish it."
"Is that how it was in Ishval?" The question came out before she realized how insensitive it was, but her teacher stopped her before she could apologize.
"That is exactly how it was." He said, "And as terrible as the war was, you need to realize that you may face your own Ishval Civil War someday. This is part of the weight that comes with being a state alchemist." They didn't talk on the subject anymore as they began to discuss the chemical breakdown of concrete so that she could transmute it in a pinch if she was fighting outside in the city. She learned to transmute some blades, something simple if she needed it. But after just a few, she felt exhausted and they ended the lessons for the day.
She asked where the Armstrong family kept their books and wasn't too surprised to find they had a private library. She went with Dianna and Delilah behind her since the twins were going to act as her supervision while Armstrong returned to the Central office to return to his work in the investigations department. She intended to put back the book he had loaned her The Heart of The Golden Rose and also find the next book. She had finished it on the train ride back from Resembool, and while the ending was sweet with Rose and Damien finding love together, she wanted to know what would happen next since she knew there was a saga.
The library had an entire room, filled wall-to-wall with bookshelves pressed up tight against one another and towering up to the high ceiling of the room. She found a few chairs here and there for comfortable reading and found one of them occupied when she came in. At first, she thought it was Strongine, but on second glance she saw the golden ringlets of Strongine's hair was replaced with a sharp-cut blonde bob instead. "Oh, you're Amue." She smiled at her briefly, not wanting to be rude, "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt your reading." Amue didn't say anything as she turned her attention back to the book she held. Amelia was surprised she was so quiet in comparison to her boisterous identical sister and brother, but she supposed every family had to have a black sheep.
She went through the bookshelves, wishing she knew the organization system in place, as she wasn't sure how to do it. Her first thought was that the Armstrongs organized their books alphabetically by author name like she had seen in other bookstores and her own family's private library, but soon enough she realized the books were categorized by some system she didn't know, and then alphabetized by title. She was struggling a little with finding the right book, unable to see the ones on the top shelf since she didn't share the massive height of some of the family, though there was a ladder available that she took. She had to guess they put it in for Catherine since she was she smallest of the bunch of them. Her fingers moved over the spines of the top shelf, reading over the titles, slowly going down as she looked for the name of the author of the book she held in the hopes of finding the second one.
She had gone through the first two bookshelves when Amue spoke up, "What are you looking for?"
Amelia nearly fell off the ladder at the sound of her voice - it was so high! And so feminine! It wasn't like Strongine or her teacher at all! She looked back at Amue, "Um… the next one." She said, holding up the Golden Rose book, and she watched her face light up at the sight of it.
"Oh, I have it here!" She said, closing the one she had been holding and taking out her bookmark. Amelia came down and she exchanged the first volume for the second, "Do you like it?"
"Yeah, it's actually a really good story," Amelia said as she looked over the second, casually flipping through the pages. "And the relationship between Rose and Damien is… surprisingly believable."
"Isn't it just?" Amue looked down at the first book with a fond stare and a smile, "It's my favorite series. And it's still ongoing you know. I almost wish it would stop so that Rose wouldn't have to suffer, but at the same time it's such an enthralling tale."
"It kind of is." Amelia agreed, tucking the book under her arm. "How many books are there now?"
"Five, book number six is set to be published sometime next June." Amue let out a delighted giggle as she held the first book to her chest, "I'm so excited, I've already reserved three copies." She looked up at Amelia, "Oh, you must tell me when you finish the second one. It introduces a new character that you'll simply adore."
"Really?" Amelia looked down at the new book, then back to Amue, "I didn't know you were such a big reader."
"It's my favorite pastime," Amue said with a smile. "Don't you enjoy it? Getting lost in the world created by words alone." She held her book to her chest with a wistful sigh, "Getting taken away to a world unlike your own. I've always loved it, ever since I was small."
"Well, I suppose you have an entire library to choose from," Amelia said as she looked at the rest of the books. "You must read a lot."
"Yes, whenever I'm not busy with other things." She said, opening the first volume and flipping through the pages.
"What else are you busy with? I didn't think any of the Armstrong women had jobs." Amelia said as she took a seat, getting comfortable as she and Amue spoke. The family was rich enough that technically none of them needed to work, the only that did was her teacher, as far as she knew.
"Mother likes to make it so that we are proper ladies." Amue said, "She makes sure that we are educated deeply in the arts, as well as etiquette, with rigorous training to prove the strength of the Armstrong line." She closed the book to put her attention on Amelia, "It can be a little tiring when you don't find something you love, but once you do, it becomes much more enjoyable."
"She makes all the girls do this?"
"Oh, no. She would never force us to do anything against our will." Amue said quickly, "We all chose to do this, just as our eldest sister decided not to do any of it." Amelia's head tilted to one side curiously.
"Eldest sister? I thought you were the oldest, you beat Strongine by two minutes, right?"
"No, our eldest sister is Olivier. She currently serves the military in Fort Briggs, up near North City." Amue explained, "She was always quite the tomboy, never one for the arts, or painting, or piano, or singing, or cooking. But she and Alex share a deep loyalty to our country, and the fierceness to fight for it. She's quite skilled in combat."
"Oh." Amelia kind of liked the sound of that. Strongine and her got along because they both found the Armstrong traditions a little ridiculous, and she wondered about Olivier, if she was anything like that, "So, what rank is she?"
"I believe she's a general."
Amelia hummed nonchalantly at first, but she felt her eyes grow wide as she realized Alex was only a major; she outranked him, and Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, and Colonel Mustang. That was the highest rank someone could be honored with. "Wait, seriously?! She's that high up?!"
Amue was a little amused at her delayed shock, "Yes, she's done an excellent job. Though I think part of that goes to her general ruthlessness. She's not the most… ladylike Armstrong." Amelia's eyes were still wide as she tried to picture what this woman looked like. She had to look like Amue and Strongine did, or at least have some serious muscle on her to rise through the military ranks like that. "But we still miss her, she brings a liveliness that we don't often see at home, whenever she does come to visit." Amue stood and put the book back in place before turning to Amelia, "Well, I won't disturb your reading." She smiled and went to another part of the library, taking a book and then leaving with it.
The next few days passed without too much incident. Amelia kept to her alchemy lessons with Armstrong and learned some combat from him. He started teaching her fighting techniques alongside the alchemy, teaching her how to box almost. It was the first time she had ever really bothered learning self-defense and she picked up on it quick enough. She was hardly an expert, and her punches didn't really do a lot without hurting her own knuckles, but she felt she was getting better as time went on.
One afternoon, their training was interrupted as one of the butlers came to tell Alex that Amelia had a visitor. "It must be Lieutenant Colonel Hughes coming to do his report." Armstrong said, "We'll take a brief respite so you can speak to him."
"Awesome." Amelia was more than glad for the break, taking a towel and some water with her to meet with the Lieutenant Colonel. She tried to dry herself off of sweat so she wasn't a complete mess in front of the man, but to her surprise, it wasn't Hughes that had come to visit.
"Hello, Amelia." Alphonse greeted her happily as she came into the parlor room where she found the suit of armor.
"Hi, Alphonse." She greeted him slowly. She looked around the room, not seeing his brother anywhere, "What, uh… What are you doing here?"
"I came to visit you." He said simply, and he held out a small book to her, "And to give you this. It helped Ed and I a lot when we were first learning alchemy." She reached out and took it, the title reading, "Alchemy for Beginners."
"Thanks, but I already have the latest edition of this book." She said, holding it out to him to take, which he didn't do.
"No, please take it. It's me and Brother's personal copy. We scribbled notes in the margins about performing transmutations. I thought it might help you learn alchemy a little faster." Alphonse said, and Amelia opened it up to see each page had little notes scribbled in here and there, words were underlined and expanded upon in different paragraphs, "We don't need it anymore, so I thought you could make better use of it."
"This is… thoughtful, Alphonse. Thank you." She closed the book and looked up at the suit of armor, "But I thought you and your brother were busy with Marcoh's research? How's that going?"
"Well, we found someone who was able to help us with getting a copy of the research notes." Alphonse informed her, "Her name is Sheska, she worked in the library and she has this amazing mind that can remember everything she's ever read. She's working on making a copy for us now."
"Oh, that's pretty lucky." Amelia said, tucking the textbook under her arm as they continued to speak, "You mind if I sit? The more time I spend with you is less time I spend training."
"Oh, sure." Alphonse took a seat on one couch and she took a seat on the one opposite him. "How is your alchemy training going, by the way?"
"It's going faster now that I understand how to transmute some things." She said, "Armstrong said I'm doing well for a beginner," She shrugged, "So I guess it's going well."
"That's good to hear," Alphonse said, sounding happy. Amelia didn't really say anything after that, she wasn't sure what to say. She and Alphonse hadn't spoken much in the time that she had traveled with him, and on the train ride back home they didn't really talk about anything other than just small talk.
"So… where's your brother?" She asked him after a long pause, wanting to keep the silence from being too awkward. "You guys are always together."
"Brother's getting some dinner right now." Alphonse said, "So I thought I'd come and see you, and check up on you since the Armstrong estate wasn't too far from where we're staying."
"Why didn't you just go with him?" She asked, wondering why he felt the need to come and see her instead of spending time with his brother that he was clearly closer to.
Alphonse's hand reached back to rub the back of his helmet awkwardly, "I don't really feel comfortable in restaurants…" He said.
"Is it because you can't eat?" Amelia asked, and Alphonse's helmet bobbed in an affirmative nod. "So, you just… don't have dinner with your brother?"
"Only when it's in a restaurant." Alphonse said, "It's just… they always expect you to order something, and I can't really do that with this body… I feel like I'm just inconveniencing them." He let out a small laugh, "But it's okay, it's all the more food for Brother, anyway. I don't think it's possible to share a table with him and not have him eat everything on it." Amelia smiled a little at the joke, but she couldn't help but think that Alphonse was just trying to make light of the bad situation so she wouldn't ask him more about it. She decided it was better to drop the subject, and perhaps end this visit since there wasn't much the two of them could talk about, anyway. She didn't want to make things too awkward by having him stay too long.
"Well, that's good, I suppose." She said, moving to stand up, "And it was nice having you visit to give me this gift. I appreciate it." Alphonse stood up shortly after he did, "I was expecting military personnel to come and interview me… but I guess you are military personnel, aren't you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you're always with Ed, so you're kind of working for the military, right?" She asked, knowing he wasn't state certified like his brother, but he must have some kind of influence.
"Um… I guess so. I don't really think of it like that." He said, "Brother's the one with the certification. He has a lot more power than I do in the military. I'm really just a civilian."
"Hm," Was Amelia's nonchalant response. "Well, I hope the research thing goes well for you."
"Thank you, I hope you get good use from that book," Alphonse said, and the pair started to walk to the parlor doors, where the butler that had escorted her there was waiting to escort Alphonse out. He followed the butler, with Amelia going the opposite direction down the hall, but she paused as a thought came to mind.
"Hey, Alphonse?" The suit of armor looked back at Amelia.
"Yes?"
"When you guys… When you guys find out what the philosopher's stone is made of, can you tell me?" She asked, "I want to know if I can make one to pass the alchemy exam." And also to see if it has enough alchemical power to send her back home so she can forget this whole mess.
"Oh, sure!" Alphonse said cheerily, nodding and she turned to leave to go back to the training.
The next day, Amelia received her expected visit from Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, who smiled at her in a friendly way as they went to a parlor room to do their interview, the same one she had met Alphonse in yesterday.
"So, how's alchemy training going?" Was his first question.
"It's going well." Amelia said, "I've learned how to transmute stuff, so that's a start." She smiled a bit, "I feel like I'm getting better at it. Apparently, from this point, it's all about calculating and figuring out your materials. I'm learning to identify a lot of different elements."
"Sounds like more progress than the last time I saw you. That's good." Hughes said, writing on his notepad. "And what about Armstrong? You feel like he's a capable teacher?"
She shrugged, "He's good enough. I can't really think of anyone else willing to teach me alchemy, anyway." Hughes wrote some more on his notepad.
"Well, it seems like you and him are getting along better since you almost escaped." Amelia frowned at the words.
"I wasn't escaping, I told you."
"Right, just like how you weren't trespassing."
Amelia glared at him, "I know what you're implying, and I'm taking it as a personal insult." She said, crossing her arms as she sat back in her chair.
"Alright, alright, no need to get all huffy," Hughes said, still grinning a little to himself as he tried to keep the mood light. Amelia didn't respond to it. "So, traveling with the Elrics went well?"
"Yeah, it went fine." She said nonchalantly.
"No issues or anything?"
"None that I can think of."
"You didn't get into any trouble with them, or…?"
"Why are you asking so many questions about it?" She saw him shrug.
"I heard you and Edward got into plenty of fights while you were on the train." Amelia frowned.
"Yeah, because he's a stubborn asshole." Hughes let out a small huff of a laugh but said nothing as he wrote something down on his notepad again.
"So, you liked going to Resembool? I hear the country's nice this time of year."
"Sure, it was kind of weird being there." She said, "I mean… it was basically his house, and his mechanic and stuff lived there… I don't know, it felt weird being there." She shifted a little in her seat, remembering how close they all were, how that house was so warm and inviting, but she hated that she was never a part of that warmth. She felt out of place, and it didn't help that being around a family reminded her of her own, which didn't help anything at all.
"You want to elaborate on that weird feeling?" Hughes asked.
"No."
He raised his eyebrows at her curt response but wrote something down anyway. "Okay, then. And once you guys got Ed's arm fixed up, you guys separated at Central station and he went on to East City?"
"No, he got off with us." She said, watching as his eyes shot up from his notepad at her words, "He got a lead on the philosopher's stone, so we left him at the library."
"He's in town? Do you know if he's going to be here for long?" Amelia shrugged again.
"I don't know, they were talking about finding some research notes and figuring that out. I don't know how long it'll take them."
"I'll need to look them up." Hughes grinned as he wrote something down again, "That little… I told him to give me a shout the next time he came to Central." He shook his head with a good-natured smile. He looked up at her, "So, you think everything's coming along well so far? No hiccups or anything to stop your alchemy training?"
"I think so." She said, "I mean, Teacher's sisters seem to like hanging out with me, and I don't really mind it. But that's only when the big guy's out of here and at the office or something."
"And there's someone watching you while he's gone, of course?" Hughes asked.
"Yes, and it's getting annoying to have someone shadow me all around the house. Even to the damned bathroom!" She whined, "Seriously, can't I have a little trust from the military and be without a babysitter for a while?"
"Nope, sorry," Hughes said, though he didn't really seem all that sorry at all. He smiled and stood up, "Well, I think that's all I need for now."
"Always such a short interview," Amelia pushed herself up from her seat and stood. "Whatever, I guess I can go back to training and junk." She stretched out her limbs a little, and Hughes noticed something interesting right away.
"Looks like you're getting fit." He commented, and Amelia looked over at him oddly.
"What?"
"You look like you've lost a little weight." He said, standing up, "Are you taking part in any physical activities?"
"Yeah, the training regimen." Amelia said, "Oh, and he said he wants to teach me how to box so I know how to fight. We've been working on that a little." She reached her hands down to her stomach, had she really lost weight? She hadn't really thought about it that much, but when she'd been exercising for almost two weeks straight, going on three… well, it would make sense that she would lose at least a little bit of fat off her figure. The thought made her smile a bit, maybe there could be something good out of the torture of exercising with the super fit family after all.
"Come on, let's get you back to the Major." He tucked his notepad under his arm and he led her down the halls, "I trust he's keeping good surveillance on you."
Amelia rolled her eyes exasperatedly, "Yes, he is. I'm not allowed to go to a different room without someone watching me. Except for my room, I'm allowed to have privacy there, at least." Hughes let out a small, interested hum, but didn't pursue the subject further.
"So, I take it from here on out, it's just making sure you're trained in alchemy proper, is that right?" He asked.
"Yep," She looked over, seeing him smiling.
"Well, then maybe you can make some plans later in the month!" He said cheerily, and Amelia suddenly felt wary.
"Uh… what plans?" She asked, and her answer was a handful of pictures shoved in her face of the same girl he had given before.
"My cute little Elicia is turning three in less than a week!" He said, "I'm sure she'd love to have some extra presents for her birthday!" Amelia tried to look around the pictures of his daughter in little sundresses and jumpers.
"I'll think about getting her something." She said, if only in the hopes of getting him to put the pictures away.
He didn't, though. He continued to gush about how cute she was, and how the present Amelia would get her would have to be as cute as she was. Like a big teddy bear, or a bunny rabbit, or a cute doll. She was just quiet and listened to him go on, though she did pick up the pace a little faster so she could get back to the training area that Major Armstrong had put aside for her. Last she remembered, he had been setting up a couple sandbags for her to practice punching with.
He had just finished by the time they had arrived, and greeted them with his usual enthusiasm, "Good to see you, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes! I trust the interview went well?"
"About as well as to be expected," Hughes replied, calming down from his gushing to speak to his colleague, much to Amelia's relief. She felt like she was listening to her teacher as he went on some rant about his muscles… "That's some good equipment."
"The Armstrong family always has the best equipment for a prime physical figure." The Major said proudly, and she could swear the man sparkled in his pride, "Amelia, go ahead and get started with your training, I want you to get started with the large sandbag there."
"Okay, do you want me to wrap up my hands first?" She asked, and the Major nodded.
"Please do. I don't to see your hands getting hurt." She went over to where the hand wrap was, starting to move it around her knuckles like the Major had taught her, leaving Hughes and Armstrong to speak to one another privately, keeping their voices low. "Are there any results on the search for her companion?"
"None. We've gone ahead and ruled it a false report." Hughes said, "She hasn't asked about her at all since I've started these interviews. She wouldn't create a face like that if she cared enough."
"So, the blame for trespassing rests entirely on her, then…" Armstrong said, glancing over at his student as she finished up her wrapping and started to get to work on the sandbag. If another person had been involved, it would have created reasonable doubt and might have let Amelia have a lighter sentence, should she be placed before a judge. But without any evidence of this other person, she would likely receive the full punishment. Hughes looked at him critically.
"Major, I feel that I need to remind you that Amelia is a convicted felon, not just your student." He said, "I know that children and women are a… a soft spot for you." He was aware that, once, Armstrong's guilt in Ishval had gotten the better of him and he tried to help a family escape. Kimblee had seen it and taken them out before they had a chance to get very far, but Hughes had seen it happen through a pair of binoculars, and he hadn't reported it to the higher-ups, but he made sure to speak to him once he had a chance. "I don't want to remind you that you have a duty as her teacher, and as her guard. You can't let her escape."
"Of course not."
"She said she gets a room to herself with total privacy? Is it secure?"
"She doesn't know that we inspect it when she leaves." Armstrong assured him, "And I've sealed the windows alchemically with materials different from what she's able to see from inside. Any attempt to change it would be difficult to do without knowing the materials, but we've seen no sign that she's tried to use alchemy to escape. No transmutation circles or anything like that."
Hughes looked over at Amelia as she started to punch at the sandbag, keeping a proper boxing form like he had seen with Armstrong in battle. "You're sure? After the incident at the Tucker house…"
"She's under almost constant surveillance," He assured his friend again, "We're keeping an eye on her, but I still want her to trust us enough so that she can feel comfortable. It would be pointless to teach her if she can't focus on her alchemy."
Hughes was quiet as if he was unsure, but he sighed and nodded, "Alright, you sound like you know what you're doing. I'll head back to Headquarters. Do you happen to know where the Elrics are staying, by any chance?"
"I believe they're staying in the hotel off the main square." Armstrong bid his friend goodbye before going back to his student, "Come, you can hit it harder than that! Don't be afraid to feel the pain of the throwback!" He encouraged her, leading her in her training to hit harder, and faster. She did as he instructed, and she was glad that she ended up wrapping her knuckles since it kind of hurt to hit something so heavy so hard.
When they got to the end of it, she let out a small sigh and relaxed as she unwrapped her hands, seeing her knuckles were red, feeling her pulse through her fingers. "Man, that kills a little…" She muttered to herself as she tried to shake it off. She looked up as a water bottle was put in front of her, reaching up to take it and gulping down the cool liquid inside. "How long did you have to do this before it stopped hurting?"
"It never completely stops." Armstrong said, "But it did lessen the more I trained. It is now nothing more than an annoying, dull ache for me." He took a seat at an outdoor table, "So, shall we go over yesterday's lesson before we move on to today's?"
"Whatever," Amelia said with a shrug, taking the seat next to him as she wiped off the sweat from her forehead. Her arms hurt, too. She was going to be in a lot of pain come tomorrow. "Where did we leave off?"
"On calculating the quantity of alchemical structures and conversion rates," Armstrong said, and Amelia nodded.
"Right, you're supposed to calculate the weight of the element you want to convert it to before you take what materials you have," She said, "And then…" She paused, remembering something like this in the book that Alphonse had given to her, "And then it's a matter of understanding how much weight that is in comparison to what you have. On the spot calculations can be difficult, so it's better to calculate for slightly less than what you have in your assumption, just in case… right?" Armstrong's eyes widened and he nodded.
"Yes, that's right. I didn't think we had gotten there."
"Well, we didn't, but I read it in the book that Alphonse gave me, so I thought-"
"Alphonse Elric?" She paused when she looked up at her teacher.
"Yeah, didn't I tell you? He gave me an old book that he and his brother used when they first studied alchemy."
"When was this?" He asked, clearly unaware of that.
"When he came to visit me a couple days ago," She said, unsure if she told him, "I thought I told you?"
"You didn't! I wasn't aware he had come to visit you, that's very kind of him." He smiled, "We must remember to thank him when we get the chance." He beamed at his student, "And give him an appropriate gift in return."
"Wait, really?" She asked, "But that seems kind of… unnecessary. I already said thank you to him in person."
"But this book has clearly been of help, we should give him a gift of equal value!" He insisted, and Amelia stopped fighting him, knowing she probably wouldn't win in an argument without him taking off his shirt and using his muscles as a reason to do the 'right thing' in his eyes.
"Okay, fine, we'll get him a gift. Can we get back to work?" She said, and so they went back to their lessons, with Amelia learning more about transmutations, starting to create alchemical statues, but none of it was exactly perfect… most of them just kind of looked like weird lumps of dirt that were supposed to be a shape that they weren't. Armstrong assured her that this was normal and would take practice, but she still felt that she could do better, and continued to practice until she started to feel dizzy and couldn't really do much else other than rest. She was taken back to her room to rest, and she ended up napping until someone brought her dinner because she slept through it.
The next day, they went out shopping for a present, and it was a little tricky as Alphonse was a suit of armor, so getting him something like a scarf to keep warm, or flowers that smell nice was kind of pointless. She had to actually think about her gift to him, and she remembered how he said that his body didn't really allow him to sleep back when she had been at the Rockbell house. Maybe he could use something to occupy his time during the night? She ended up getting him a book that was popular in the bookstore. It was some adventure novel, but she figured it was good enough for Alphonse.
They headed to the hotel where the Elrics were staying, with the receptionist asking them to sign in before he informed the brothers they had guests. Instead of being given permission to go up, they were told to stay in the lobby and Ross and Brosh came down to meet them, saluting the Major as they saw him.
"Lieutenant Ross, Sergeant Brosh, as you were." He greeted them as he saluted in turn, "Have you come to escort us to the Elrics room?"
"Actually, the Elric brothers aren't seeing guests currently." Ross said, "Their research has been… arduous and they just want to rest. They don't want to see guests, they just don't have the energy."
"Oh, well. What a shame." Amelia said, glad to not have to go through the awkward process of giving a thank-you gift. "Let's go home." She had barely taken a step before the Major pulled her back by putting his hand on her shoulder.
"That can't be good for them to stay in their rooms all night. What about their dinner?" He asked.
"We've been taking their food to their rooms." Brosh assured his superior, "They're fine, they're just tired is all. Marcoh's research is encrypted, and they've been working at it for the last few days to crack it."
"I see. Then we will come back when we next get the chance." The Major said.
"Well, I could just give you this, then." Amelia said, holding out the book, "It's for Alphonse, to thank him for giving me his old alchemy book." Ross was about to take it when Armstrong took it from her hands.
"You will give it to him in person."
"Oh, come on!" Amelia scowled up at him, "He's tired! Can't I just leave it here? They can tell him it's from me!"
"There are manners to be had in situations like this," Armstrong said, handing it back to Amelia, who pouted grumpily in a manner not unlike that of a child. "You will give it to him in person when we return tomorrow."
"God, fine…" She muttered, holding onto the book as she and the Major walked out of the hotel to go back to the estate.
As Armstrong and his student left, Brosh and Ross shared a nervous look. They were going to come back? Would they believe that same excuse they had just given them every time?
This went on for a few days, Amelia would have the usual routine of training with Armstrong, learning alchemy, and spending time with his sisters when he went to work at headquarters. When he returned, they would go to the hotel to see the Elrics, only to hear they were too tired to see guests from all their researching. By the fourth day, it was starting to get a little old.
"What's this now? The Elric brothers are holed up in their room again tonight?" Armstrong asked, growing a little irritated.
"Yes, and they haven't been eating, either…" Ross said, sounding worried.
Armstrong hummed, putting his hand to his heavy jaw thoughtfully, "The fatigue must be catching up to them. They seem to have devoted all their energy to these notes…" Amelia noticed how Ross and Brosh shared a glance before turning away to whisper to each other. She carefully stepped a little closer to listen while her teacher tried to think of options to help get the Elric's energies back up.
"They worked so hard to decipher those notes, only to find out that…" Ross said.
"It disturbs me, too, just thinking about it. I bet I'd act the same way." Brosh agreed.
"What did they find out?" Amelia asked, letting them know she'd heard them, and the pair jumped away from her. "Did they figure out how to make a philosopher's stone?"
"Oh, uh, n-no, no!" Ross said quickly, "Not yet, they're still working on it…!"
"But you just said they figured something out, what was it?" She asked, knowing that the brothers had been researching the philosopher's stone exclusively. The pair of soldiers looked around, trying to find anything to work as a distraction or an excuse. Apparently, they hadn't expected someone to overhear, even though Armstrong and Amelia were less than three feet away.
"Well… um…" Brosh stuttered nervously, neither of them able to look at Amelia or the Major.
Armstrong stepped forward to approach them, "Your behavior is most suspicious!" The two cowered a little under their boss, who towered over them easily. "Perhaps you should tell us what the Elric brothers have found?"
"We can't really say…" Ross said.
Armstrong let out a hum as he stood up straight, "Then let me convince you of the right choice in this matter!" Amelia knew that proudly triumphant tone of voice too well, and she turned her head away as her teacher threw off his shirt to expose his muscles, "LOOK AT THE BEAUTY OF THESE MUSCLES!" He grabbed his subordinates, who wailed at being caught in the embrace next to his naked torso, "FEEL HOW THEY PULSE WITH STRENGTH AND INTEGRITY! THIS METHOD OF SHOWING THE GREAT DISCIPLINE AND VIRTUE OF A TRULY LOYAL SOLDIER HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN THE ARMSTRONG LINE FOR GENERATIONS!" As he was saying this, the two of them were pressed up against his chest, which he was flexing as well as the muscles in his biceps and triceps as he held the pair of them against his body. Amelia didn't envy them, and felt sorry they had to feel that kind of embrace from Major Armstrong, "DO YOU NOT THINK THAT THIS IS THE SIGN OF A MAN YOU CAN TRUST? CAN YOU FEEL THE POWER OF THE LOYALTY AND DISCIPLINE THAT COMES FROM THE STRENGTH OF THIS FORM?"
"Stop! Stop, we'll tell you!" Brosh wailed and Armstrong released them, reaching to pick up his shirt again, dressing himself once more as the pair of soldiers moved over into a hallway so they could speak privately.
"The Elric brothers did figure out the ingredients to create a complete Philosopher's Stone," Ross began quietly, "They found out that the main ingredient was human lives."
"What?" Armstrong let out a quiet, yet horrified gasp. Amelia's eyes went wide as well at the news.
"What you mean, like… actual live people?" Amelia asked, and Ross nodded, her face pale. Sergeant Brosh's was the same way, the two sharing the same expression.
"We didn't believe it at first, but that's what we understand to be the truth," Brosh said grimly. "The Elrics haven't taken the news well, they've just been kind of… sulking. They've hardly come out of their room."
"I see." Armstrong said, "It is… horrible to know the news of this research, and that the military allowed it as well…"
"Maybe they were looking for an alternative way to make a philosopher's stone?" Amelia offered, "I mean, Marcoh had an incomplete one, but it seemed like it worked for those people…"
"Wait, you met Doctor Marcoh?" Ross asked, and Amelia jumped a little, forgetting that Marcoh was technically supposed to be MIA so the military wouldn't find him.
"Um…" She didn't get a chance to make an excuse.
"I'll speak to the Elric brothers right away. Take me to their room." Armstrong commanded his subordinates, who led the way up the stairs to the room where Edward and Alphonse were staying.
Armstrong pounded his fist on the door, wanting to make sure they heard him knocking, calling for them through the wood, "Elric brothers, I know you're in there! Open up! This is the Major!" In between the pounding knocks, Amelia could hear the brothers behind the door.
"What do we do?" Alphonse sounded worried.
"We ignore him, that's what," Edward replied. At hearing this, the Major decided to force his way in, his hand going to the door handle and, upon finding the door was locked, pushed the handle through the door to break it open and barge his way in. Amelia was a little frightened to know he was willing to do that, the hotel would probably ask him to give some money to repair that door…
"I know what it said, Edward Elric!" He declared once the door was open, meeting the horrified screams of the brothers who were either screaming because he just broke the door to talk to them, or screaming because he knew why they had been in their room to begin with.
"HOW TRAGIC!" He started to cry now that the shock from the news had gone, "TO THINK THE LEGEND OF THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE IS BUILT ON SUCH A TERRIBLE SECRET!"
Edward looked behind the Major to see Amelia with a book in her arms, and Sergeant Brosh and Lieutenant Ross looking sheepish and ashamed. He glared at them, knowing they would have been the only people who could have told the Major.
"We're- We're really sorry," Ross said.
"It's hard to keep quiet when someone like him asks you…!" Brosh said, looking over at the Major, who was still showing his emotions as tears flowed down his chiseled cheeks.
"Imagine the military being behind something like that!" Armstrong continued, "Often the truth is more cruel than we bargained for…!" Edward looked about ready to tell the Major to take a hike (though with much more vulgar language intended) but he stopped at the word "truth," remembering Marcoh's words.
"The truth…!" He gasped, drawing everyone's attention.
"What is it, Brother?" Alphonse asked.
"Do you remember what Doctor Marcoh said at the station?" Edward asked, and Alphonse took a second to think.
"Wasn't it something like… 'Find the truth hidden within the truth'?" Amelia asked, remembering the odd phrase that Marcoh had said.
"Yes, exactly." Edward said, a small smirk growing on his face as his mind started to work, "I didn't have a clue what he was talking about then, but now… it's the same as with alchemical notes. What you can see on the surface is only a portion of the truth." He lifted his head, a determined gleam in his golden eyes, "There's still more to find here. There has to be." He turned to the Major, "Do you think we can get a map of places we can look at? A place that would be performing alchemical research with connections to the government."
"I'll see what I can find." The Major said, turning to his subordinates he asked, "Lieutenant Ross, see what you can find in terms of government-sponsored laboratories from the office. I'll find a map with their locations on it. Sergeant Brosh, please keep watch on Amelia while I'm gone."
"Sir!" They both saluted him as he left the hotel room, leaving Amelia with Brosh as Ross left with the Major.
"More babysitters…" She muttered unhappily, glancing over at Edward. Their room was dark, save for the light coming through the open (broken) door and the windows. She could see his automail arm on full display, and she couldn't help staring at it a little. She looked at how it was connected to his shoulder, seeing all the different screws and metal layers that topped each other. It looked almost pristine, and she could see the hard work that had been put into it, she had no doubt that Winry had put everything she had into making an arm that looked so… solid and sturdy, at least in Amelia's eyes. Ed noticed her staring and she looked away. She felt her cheeks turning a little red, ashamed that she had been caught doing something so rude. Still, she had rarely seen anyone without an arm, and to see his prosthetic arm so exposed like this was a little shocking to her. "Uh, sorry." She quickly apologized.
"Whatever," Edward shrugged it off like it was no big deal and walked out of the room. Alphonse went to turn on the light before he looked at the door and sighed.
"They're going to be really mad when they see the damage that was done…" He said, trying to right the door that had been knocked off its hinges.
"I'm pretty sure the Major can pay for it," Amelia said, watching as the armored boy went to right it, setting everything back in place. "I'm sure he'll feel guilty about it when we leave. He's not one to leave a mess without cleaning it up."
"Yeah, I guess that's true," Alphonse said. The sound of a closing door drew Amelia's attention, and she saw Edward coming out of the room he had left to a moment ago, now wearing his leather jacket and gloves. He met her gaze, but looked away as quickly as he had looked towards her. He had covered up his prosthetic arm, Amelia wondered if she made him feel a little self-conscious about it because she had stared at it, she felt like apologizing again, but Edward left to another room.
"I'll get you something to drink." He said, going into what looked like a kitchen, starting to make tea.
"Um, you don't really have to. It's fine." Amelia called after him, but Edward didn't seem to hear her. She looked back at Alphonse, who had seen the whole exchange, "I didn't make him feel bad about his arm, did I?"
"No, Brother's just making sure he looks presentable," Alphonse assured her, though she didn't really feel any better.
It was only a moment later that the Major returned with a map, and Ross with her information on the buildings. Edward came out from the kitchen, taking a seat on the couch, and the Major took a seat in the one across from him. Alphonse stood behind his brother, and Brosh and Ross stood to the other side of the Major. Amelia took a seat on the armrest of the couch where her teacher sat, still holding the book for Alphonse to her chest as Armstrong spread out the map of Central city. "Currently there are four operational alchemy laboratories in Central that have connections to the government." He pointed out their locations that he had marked on the map, "We can narrow it down even further. Marcoh worked in the Third Laboratory. We should start with that one, it's the most suspect." He said, pointing to the exact laboratory he was talking about.
"Hmm…" Edward rested his chin on his hand as he looked over the map, "Al and I have been to all the laboratories in the city. None were doing any remarkable research…" He paused and he pointed to a building that read "Fifth Laboratory (CLOSED)" and was marked out with a red X. "Here. What's this building used for?"
"It was designed for the Fifth Laboratory," Ross said, reading from a small booklet that contained descriptions of what Amelia assumed was the labs in Central. "But it isn't currently in use. The building isn't structurally sound, so it's been classified off-limits."
"It's there," Edward said confidently.
"Huh? How can you be so sure that's it?" Brosh asked, looking over Edward's shoulder to get a closer look at the map.
"There's a prison right next door," Edward said, pointing it out.
"Okay, so?" Brosh said, still confused.
"What was the main ingredient for a Philosopher's Stone?" Edward asked him.
Brosh stood up as he started to think, "You said it needed live humans-!" As he said that, the answer seemed to strike him like lightning and sent a disgusted chill down his spine. "Ugh…"
"There'd be plenty of condemned criminals in the prison," Edward said, "Officially, they'd be recorded as executed." Amelia frowned a little at the news.
"Well… I guess if you wanted a steady supply of humans, a prison would be a good place to get it…" She said. Though, remembering she herself was technically a prisoner, the thought didn't sit well with her. She had the potential to become part of a Philosopher's Stone without having done anything else.
"They're using the prisoners to make the stone…" Ross said, her face ashen, looking like she was going to be sick.
"Don't look at me like that, I don't like talking about this any more than you!" Edward said quickly.
"Prisons from other jurisdictions could be used, too," Alphonse said, "I wonder if the government is involved?"
Brosh and Ross both looked terribly anxious, like a heavy weight had been deposited on their shoulders, "Why do I have the feeling that we're getting involved in something really dangerous here...?" Ross asked.
"That's why we told you to pretend like you'd never heard anything!" Alphonse scolded them. The Major had been silent through hearing these theories, and he reached down to pick up the map and roll it up.
"This has the potential to become a political nightmare before long." He said, standing up with the map, and Amelia stood up as well. "I'll look into what we've talked about tonight." He turned to Brosh and Ross, "In the meantime, Officers, speak of this to no one!"
"Sir!" They saluted him as they agreed to his order.
Armstrong looked back at the Elrics on the couch, "And you, Elric brothers, behave yourselves!"
The two looked at him in shock, as if they didn't understand where that order was coming from, but Armstrong didn't seem to buy their false surprise. "Hrmmm?! Don't act so surprised! I know you two boys, you were thinking about sneaking into this building and taking a look around, weren't you?! Admit it!"
"We weren't, we weren't, we promise!" The two brothers said together frantically. The Major glared them down, and they stayed where they were, but eventually, he seemed satisfied.
"I should hope you weren't." He said, he turned to his student, "We should return home, Amelia. Too much has happened here in this moment, and I think we need to return to the estate. I'll begin investigations tomorrow morning."
"Alright," She said, and was about to step towards him to follow him out, when she looked down at the book in her hands, "Oh, right." She turned back around and held out the book to Alphonse, "Here, this is for you."
Alphonse looked down at the book silently before taking it, "For me?"
"Yeah, it's um… to thank you for giving me your old alchemy book." She said, her cheeks turning a little red, feeling embarrassed that she had almost forgotten to give it to him, and that she had to give him a thank-you gift to begin with. Part of it did seem a bit silly to her, "I haven't read it, but it's supposed to be a good story, it's pretty popular in bookstores." She looked down shyly, "I thought… maybe you could read it at night, since you said you don't really sleep. I figured you could use something to do."
"Oh…!" Alphonse let out a happy gasp as he looked at the book, realizing what it was for, "Thank you, Amelia! This is really thoughtful of you." He said, beaming. Amelia got flustered at his sincere gratitude, not really used to seeing it.
"Yeah, well… I-I hope you like it." She said, and turned around to get to the Major's side, following her teacher out into the hallway as they left to return to the estate.
After they left, Alphonse looked down at the book happily. He had read every book that he and Edward had available to them, so having another one to read was something that helped make it easier to spend his nights alone in silence. He felt so glad to know that Amelia had been so thoughtful in picking out a present for him. Edward, who had watched the whole exchange, had been surprised by Amelia's reaction to his brother. He wouldn't have thought that a girl who had been so straightforward and bratty could also be so shy about giving a present. A part of him almost found it cute, before he remembered how many 'short' jabs she had thrown at him when they had been traveling and he brushed it aside.
In the hallway, Alexis followed her teacher down the stairs, glancing over at the rolled-up map in his hands, "This is some heavy stuff." She commented idly.
"Indeed, I'll need to research the laboratory for any sign that this kind of experimentation took place." He said. "It hasn't been used for years, there might still be some sign of what happened in that place."
"I guess so," Amelia said, walking out with him to the lobby. It was strange to know the main ingredient for a Philosopher's Stone was human people, and while they were alive no less. She wondered why they had to be alive instead of just their bodies? But the more she thought about it, the more she realized it probably had to do with the human soul as an energy source. It was a scary thought to think that a human soul could be used for energy, but at the same time, it seemed… efficient. It was a power source that lasted for decades in a human body, someone must have attempted to use it as a power source when the idea of the Philosopher's Stone first came to be. She wondered if she might still be able to use it to get home… She glanced at the map in the Major's hands again.
There was the possibility that, in the evidence left behind, one of them might be a Philosopher's Stone. But he said it hadn't been used for years, but if she had come across one that she could use… If she could find some tiny morsel of a stone left over from the experiments, it might be just enough to get her home. She doubted the Major would let her see the map again, and when they returned to the estate, he escorted her back to her room. She could only assume he was planning on keeping the map with him for the rest of the night. She glanced at the clock, noting the time. When it was late enough, she decided she would go and steal the map from Armstrong's room in the hopes of going to the Fifth Lab and finding a Philosopher's Stone to get her home.