It is not death that a man should fear,

but he should fear never beginning to live.

-Marcus Aurelius

Amelia was taken home after it was confirmed that she didn't have any injuries, despite the blood on her hands, and on her clothes. There were stains on her pants from where she had been kneeling in that pooling blood. She was cleaned up and allowed to return to the Armstrong estate. She would remember how red the water looked when she had been washing her hands of Hughes' blood as she went back to the car. She knew it was over, but in her mind she kept replaying the scene, trying to figure out what she could have done differently, what she could have done to help more, maybe even to save him.

She didn't realize the car had stopped and they had arrived until the door opened. She could see Major Armstrong holding the door open for her. She didn't know how long she had been sitting in the car for him to have done that since she would have normally done it herself. "Sorry…" She said quietly, apologizing for the inconvenience as she stepped out and the two of them headed inside. She headed inside with him and was brought to her room. She waited to hear the sound of the door closing behind her, but it didn't come. She turned and looked back at Major Armstrong, who was looking back at her. "What is it?"

"Amelia, if you have any difficulty sleeping, you can call for someone." He told her, "What you experienced was not something that one can easily sleep through."

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind." She said, turning to the dresser to look for something to sleep in.

"Amelia," She turned back when he called her name again, "Tomorrow, you will be asked to speak for an interrogation since you were the last person to see Lieutenant Colonel Hughes alive. You will need to be prepared for that." She nodded, "And if there is anything you can't discuss with the interrogators that you remember." Amelia's mind flashed the image of the woman.

"There was…" She turned to him, "We went to the archive room, and I had to leave for the bathroom, but when I came back there was a woman." She said, "She had the, uh… the snake tattoo thing on her chest." She pointed to where it was on her own body. The Major's eyes widened at the mention of it, and he stepped into the room, closing the door behind him.

"You mean the people that Edward spoke about?" He asked, "The ones with the ouroboros tattoos?"

"Yeah." She said, "And when she left, she said… something." She frowned, "She didn't see me, I think. I was hiding behind the pillar." She tried to remember, her mind had been flooded with those last moments with Hughes, it was hard to think of it, "She said… she said to send someone else after him? She had blood on her face, I think Hughes got her somehow but…" She could feel her frustration growing, she had clearly heard every word that woman had said at the time, but she had been so focused on everything else, she couldn't think of that moment. "I can't… She said something and I can't…"

"Amelia, it's all right." The Major said, putting his hands on her shoulders and squeezing gently, "It has been a very difficult night for you, no one would blame you for not remembering everything." He had her look up at him, "You can not tell the interrogators of this. They knew that the Lieutenant Colonel was investigating them. If we include more people, we will be putting them at risk. On top of the fact that this is top secret by the Fuhrer's orders…" He sighed, "This will not make interrogation easy for you."

"So, what do I tell them?" She asked.

"Tell them everything, but don't tell them of the woman." He said, "If word gets out about the ouroboros tattoos, there's a chance they will come after you as well." She nodded, feeling her gut twisting in fear at the thought of those people coming after her. "Is there anything else that you remember of them? Any other sign?" She shook her head.

"No, I don't remember anything else from those people." She said. The Major seemed a little relieved and he pulled away.

"Good, good…" He let out a breath of relief. "We need to make sure this information doesn't spread. Not yet." She nodded slowly in agreement. He looked down at his student, who didn't still to be quite herself. "Well, you should get some rest. You have a long day tomorrow." Amelia nodded and he left the room so she could get comfortable. She was rather tired as it was, after so much running and moving around, her body was exhausted. It didn't take her long to get to sleep.

She stood in that white abyss, seeing Kate again. The outline of that person again.

Kate spoke but her words were muffled and Amelia couldn't hear her. She wore the smile of a person terrified, like a mother trying to console a scared child despite being scared themselves. She couldn't hear what she said like she was listening to her underwater.

Amelia turned to see the outline, the strange being with no face smiling. A second passed and Kate stood in its place, giving her a grin that spoke of a kind of malicious indifference. "If nothing else, this should be very interesting." It was Kate's voice, but also the voice of the thing it once was.

The massive doors before her opened, and those black tentacles shot out, wrapping around Amelia's arms and legs and tugging her in. Amelia could hear her screams and nothing else as she called out, reaching for Kate who watched her get pulled in, still bearing that smile of that being, as if it was so far above her that her concerns for safety would never reach, for what did it care?

She kept crying out, feeling tears running down her cheeks as she was pulled away deeper and deeper into the strange darkness of the gate, watching the light disappear as the gate closed. She could hear thousands of voices yelling at her in the darkness. The tentacle's grip on her hands was the tightest as she struggled against them, trying to get them off.

"Amelia!"

She jumped awake at the sound of her name and she looked up to see Bernice holding onto her wrists, looking at her worriedly. Amelia was breathing heavily, her skin sweating, and she didn't understand why.

Bernice let out a sigh and released her wrists, "You were crying out in your sleep. I thought you were going to wake the whole estate." Amelia lay back down, panting a little bit, realizing that it was a nightmare, but it didn't quite seem to fade like one now that she was awake. "Are you alright, Miss Seymour?"

"Um… yeah." She said, her voice hoarse and she realized she had been screaming. She had never had a nightmare that intense before. "Sorry for waking you up."

"It's been a difficult night for you," Bernice said, moving the blankets that had become disheveled and messed up to bring them up to her chin, almost tucking her in. "Try to rest, if you need something, just call for me. I won't be far." Amelia only nodded and closed her eyes as Bernice left, hearing the door close. She took a deep breath in and out, trying to calm herself. She needed to calm down, it was only a nightmare… even if it did feel more real than anything she'd ever felt in dreams.

Amelia was woken up the next morning for the training regimen, and she took part like she always had. She slept a lot better after the nightmare had ended, and didn't remember her dreams from the rest of the night. Once that was over, breakfast was served and the day went about as it normally did for a while, with everyone chatting about the upcoming reunion which was apparently in a couple days. She hadn't realized how close it was, but it seemed odd to talk about something so festive after last night. Still, she went along with it, with Strongine managing to convince her to play Hallelujah with Amue singing vocals as an exhibition of talent for the oldest triplet.

Once breakfast was over, Major Armstrong took her to the investigations department, where he took her to be interviewed for everything she saw regarding Hughes's murder. She knew she couldn't mention the woman, so she made sure not to bring it up.

She was brought to a room that she had seen before - Hughes had brought her here her first day to ask for her personal details. It hadn't changed, metal furniture, with a solitary lamp hanging overhead. She looked up at the officer that came in to interview her, taking the seat across from her. He had harsh and sharp features on his face, making his resting frown look more like an angry scowl, but his voice spoke that he was trying to be delicate about this, "My name is Henry Douglas, I'm part of the investigations department for Internal Affairs. I've taken on the Maes Hughes case." Amelia didn't respond to him, "We understand that you were the last one to see him. We'd like to talk about that." She nodded and looked down at the table, "Can you tell us what happened?"

"Well… the Major had to go to the recruitment archives, so he left me with Lieutenant Colonel Hughes-"

"Brigadier General." Amelia lifted her head and looked at him oddly, "It was announced this morning. Maes Hughes was promoted to Brigadier General for dying in the line of duty."

"Oh… I didn't know that." She said, "Well, um, I was left with Brigadier General Hughes so he could watch after me since I'm not allowed anywhere without military supervision." Officer Douglas nodded.

"Yes, I'm aware of your custody situation." He said, "Go on. What happened?"

"He was working on something for a while… and then he left to go to the archive room." She said, "I don't remember why, he just kind of thought of something, I think, and just wanted to look into it more."

"You think?" Douglas asked, "You don't remember?"

"It was something to do with some riots." She said, "I'm not sure… He was reading the evening edition before he left, it talked about that. I remember reading the headline." Douglas nodded, gesturing for her to continue, "We got to the archives, and I went with him. He had me get some binders from the shelves-"

"Do you remember what they were?" He asked. Amelia wasn't sure she should say, considering she knew what he was looking into.

"...No. It was just some logs or something." She said vaguely, "I don't remember what ones specifically. After a while, I had to go to the bathroom, so I asked if I could go and he said yes-"

"He let you go alone?" Douglas interrupted her, "He didn't come with you?" Amelia shook her head. "Did he send someone to monitor you once you left?" She shook her head again.

"No. It was right down the hall, and he said if I wasn't out in five minutes, he'd drag me out of the stall." She said, "That was enough incentive to make me pee quick, I guess." Douglas didn't say anything as he wrote something down on his notepad, and Amelia continued, "When I came back to the archive room, he was gone, and there was blood on the floor."

"You didn't hear anything? No signs of a fight, no people shouting?" Amelia shook her head again.

"No, it was pretty quiet in the bathroom." She said, "And the archive room was a mess when I got there." She looked down at the table, "I saw the blood on the floor and I followed it out of headquarters to the phone booth where he was."

"Do you remember seeing anything when you were following the trail?" Douglas asked, "It's quite a ways from the archive room to that phone booth. Did you see or hear anything suspicious at all?" Amelia shook her head.

"Not that I can remember." She said, "Everything seemed normal, and the halls were mostly empty since it was kind of late." She looked up at the officer, "When I was going to the phone booth, I heard a gunshot and I ran to get there." Douglas wrote down something on his notepad.

"Did you see the shooter?" he asked, "Or hear anyone trying to run away?" She paused as she remembered the figure she saw briefly in front of the phone booth, but she wasn't sure if that had been a phantom of some kind in her imagination, or she had really seen it.

"Well… I don't think so. I thought I saw something just when I got there." She said, "But it was gone in a second. I don't know if it was a person or not." Douglas nodded again, "And when I got there… Hughes had already been shot, and I tried to… I tried to stop the bleeding. And when he stopped breathing I tried to do CPR, but I didn't really know how so… I-I don't know if I made it worse." Douglas said nothing, "After that the ambulance came and… They took him to the hospital." She looked up at him, "That's all I can remember."

"Do you remember where he was shot?" Douglas asked, and she nodded.

"Yeah, right here." She pointed to a spot on her chest, "It was right here. In his heart."

"Did he say anything to you when you arrived? He was still alive, yes?" She nodded as she remembered.

"Yeah… barely. He didn't say much to me… He recognized me, so he said my name." She said, "That was it."

Douglas's natural scowl seemed to deepen, "And you didn't see or hear anything suspicious at all? What about the person you saw? Can you describe them?" Amelia shook her head.

"No… I don't really remember seeing what they looked like. It was dark, and I couldn't really see a lot."

"And you leaving headquarters as you said…" Douglas looked at something in his notes, "That's highly unusual that you would be left alone at all, given those very strict orders about your being under military surveillance." Amelia looked up at him, a little concerned about where this was going. "He really just let you go?"

"He was timing me." She said, "He was only going to give me five minutes in the toilet."

"And somewhere in those five minutes Hughes was injured by whoever attacked him, and you didn't see that person or hear the fight at all?"

"No…" She got a sinking feeling in her stomach as he was starting to point out things that were missing, "I'm sorry, but that's all I remember." Douglas looked up at her from over his notepad.

"In the five minutes you were in the toilet, Maes Hughes was attacked and left, and so did his attacker, and you didn't see either of them?" She shook her head.

"No, I'm sorry." Douglas's scowl deepened.

"Do you realize that this information makes you highly suspect?" He asked, "You were the last person to see him alive, and you just happened not to see anything that went on before following him out to where he died?"

"I'm telling the truth!" Amelia said, "I didn't do anything wrong except leaving headquarters without any surveillance. I swear!"

"Do you know the caliber of gun that Maes Hughes was shot with?" Douglas asked, and Amelia shook her head, "A .45 caliber. It's standard issue for all military officers. Your Major Armstrong happens to have such a gun in his possession. You could have stolen it from him and used it to kill Major Hughes before hiding it away."

"What gun?" Amelia asked, "The Major never uses it! I've only ever seen him use alchemy. I didn't know he had one." Douglas frowned and Amelia only grew more nervous, "I swear! If he has one, I don't know where he keeps it." Douglas' scowl only deepened and she started to wonder if her days with the major were over. She had to admit, he made a compelling case against her… would she really go to jail?

"You're right." Amelia felt her tense shoulders relaxing a little bit at the words, but she was confused, "The Major no longer has a gun. He returned it to the armory shortly after the Ishvalan Civil War, and has never renewed any request for one." Amelia relaxed a little more, "I apologize for the third degree, but I needed to make sure of something." She let out a sigh of relief and sunk back in her chair.

"God, don't do that…" She muttered, "I almost had a damn heart attack."

It wasn't much longer after that, he asked a few follow-up questions about Hughes' behavior that day, and she answered them as best she could without giving away too much about the philosopher's stone and their investigation into it. When she was finished, he let her go and she looked up at the Major who had been waiting outside, with another pair of officers that looked familiar

"There's some work that's come up that I need to attend to at once. I'll return you to the estate and then we can prepare for your alchemy training." Amelia nodded and she let him lead her off the property to the Armstrong estate again, "And it seems a date has been set for Lieutenant Colonel Hughes' funeral."

"Brigadier General Hughes." Amelia corrected him, "The guy in there told me, he got promoted for dying in the line of duty."

"I see…" The Major nodded along, accepting the news, "His funeral will be tomorrow at two o'clock. I assume that you wish to attend?"

Amelia nodded, "Yeah, I do." She wanted to pay her respects to the man. They didn't get along all that well, but he was a good man, he deserved to at least have a proper farewell. She wanted to make sure she helped in that, considering his last moments. She could still remember the feeling of blood under her fingers, feeling a shiver go down her spine as she thought of it.

"Then we'll have you dressed properly. If we don't have a black dress for you now, we'll have one tailored for you." He promised her as they headed to the car.

Amelia watched as she stood up in front of a mirror, seeing Amue, Strongine, and Catherine going through the youngest sister's closet to look for a pair of dresses for Amelia to wear. "I still feel weird about taking your clothes like this." She admitted to her as she watched the girls go through Catherine's closet and dresser.

"Oh, it's fine," Catherine said, "I still have a lot of old clothes from when I was younger, and they should fit you alright." She went back to looking through her closet, with Strongine beside her as the two walked deeper into it (because of course, Catherine would have a walk-in closet) and looked for some of the old dresses she mentioned.

"Ah, here we are!" Strongine pulled one dress off the rack, showing it to Amelia to see it was the black dress she would need for the funeral tomorrow. "This should work perfectly, this was a dress that she wore for a New Year's party." She walked over to hand it to Amelia, "Go and change behind the screen, dear. Let's see how it fits." Amelia took the dress and went to the changing screen, where Delilah and Dianna were waiting at either end to help her put on clothes, and help adjust them as well.

Amelia could hear the sisters still talking as they looked over all the different clothes they might bring out for her since the other dress was going to be for the Armstrong family reunion. "Oh, what about this one?" She heard Amue ask, "The skirt might be a little short, but I think it can be extended."

"No, no, that color's all wrong for her." Strongine said, "It's lovely, but you're right about the skirt. It's just short enough to be a little too scandalous. It suited Catherine much better when she was 10."

"You're finding me 10-year-old dresses?" Amelia asked as she heard that bit of information. "I'm not small enough to fit in those!"

"Well, it might be the only thing that might fit you comfortably." Strongine said apologetically, "You and Catherine don't have quite the same figure."

"You don't have to remind me…" Amelia grumbled bitterly as she pulled on the dress, "Can someone get the buttons on the back here?"

"Allow me, Miss Seymore." Said Delilah as she came back behind the screen to get the buttons on the back of the dress. Slowly, Amelia was learning to tell the difference between the two uniformed redhead twins. Delilah had a habit of biting her nails, and she couldn't feel anything scraping her skin by accident as the woman did the dress. She stepped back to look at Amelia in it, "It does seem a bit… large." She said, looking at the dress, "But it shouldn't be too noticeable, certainly no need for a large adjustment."

"Oh, let us see, Amelia!" Catherine called out, and Amelia stepped out from behind the screen to show them, "It suits you well, considering the occasion."

"Thanks." She said, and she looked at the dress that Catherine had draped over her arm. "Uh… what is that?"

"This? It's the dress I picked out for you." She said, holding it up to show her, "I thought you would look lovely in a bright color like this."

"Catherine that dress is piss yellow," Amelia said dryly.

"It is not!" Amue said quickly, "It is marigold yellow." Amelia rolled her eyes at the correction. "And don't say that word. It's incredibly vulgar for a woman to say 'piss.' I happen to agree with Catherine, I think it would look lovely on you."

"I don't do yellow. I'm not wearing it." Amelia said firmly, crossing her arms.

"At least try it on." Strongine said, "Just so we have an idea of where to look for dresses that fit properly."

"Fine…" Amelia sighed, taking the dress from Catherine and going back behind the screen to change again. At least she found a dress for the funeral, that was the more important one in her mind. She wasn't exactly looking forward to attending the reunion the day after, especially since her attendance meant there would be more than a few military guards around the place to make sure she didn't somehow escape with the crowd. She put up the black dress and started to pull on the yellow one, hearing the sisters still talking on the other side.

"Oh, Strongine, I got a few RSVPs back from our Cretan cousins, it looks as if the entire branch will make it," Amue said.

"Wonderful! Have you heard anything from the Temples?" Strongine asked.

"Yes, it looks as if Reginald, Melissa, and Charlotte will come, but not Terrence."

"Oh, why not?"

"Apparently Terrence has another affair, Melissa didn't go into detail."

"Shame, I suppose we'll have to give up his seat for a guest."

"Oh, and they're all bringing guests. I forgot to mention."

"The Temples?"

"The Temples and the Castellanos in Creta. All of them."

"All of them are bringing a guest?"

"Are we going to need more chairs?" Catherine piped up.

"No, no, we should be alright. Worst case scenario we move some couches into the ballroom." Strongine assured her. "So with the Castellanos and the Temples, and everyone bringing a guest that's… 20 people."

"No, 18. Terrence isn't coming, remember?" Amue corrected.

"Oh, yes, 18. You're right." Strongine said. "Amelia, have you finished putting on that dress yet?"

"Almost!" She called back, trying to do the buttons on the back herself, though it wasn't going well, "Dianna, could you…?"

"Of course, Miss Seymour." Said the twin as she came over and quickly did the buttons on the back of the dress. Amelia stepped out to let the sisters take a look at her.

"Amelia, you look lovely in that dress, I think you should wear it." Strongine said, "It's a little… airy in the chest area, but that's to be expected with Catherine." Amelia looked down at the dress, reaching for the skirt and moving it around a little to get a feel for the dress itself.

"I look like Belle…" She said, looking at her reflection in the mirror. She didn't care to dress as a Disney Princess for their reunion.

"Oh, you do not, but if you think the figure is that unflattering, we won't dress you like a bell." Strongine said, "But at least it tells us where to look in terms of dresses you can wear."

"What about this one?" Catherine asked, pulling out a purple ball gown with a blue trim, Strongine gasped happily at the sight of it.

"Oh, I remember this dress! I haven't seen it in years." She said, coming over to look at it, Amue doing the same to admire the gown.

"Didn't you wear this to you first poetry exhibition?" Amue asked, "That was such a wonderful time, and you created such art, Catherine." Catherine beamed at the praise from her sisters.

"I thought this might work for Amelia. I was about the same size as her when I wore this." She said, coming over to Amelia to show it to her. She had to admit, it was a lovely gown to wear, off shoulder sleeves, the fabric seeming to be a mix of lilac-colored lace with blue satin covering the sleeves and the collar, as well as the bottom trim of the dress. "What do you think?"

"I like it." She said, "Let me try it on." She reached for the dress from Catherine and took it behind the screen with her to change.

"I think that might be the one." Amue said optimistically, "I remember it looked wonderful on Catherine, she was about your age the first time she wore it."

"Yes, I was 14 at the time of that poetry exhibition." Catherine said, "I was right in the middle of my growing years." Amelia took that to mean it was when she was right in the middle of puberty. The dress seemed to fit well enough, though it was a little roomy in a couple places… but it still fit. She stepped out, and the three sisters all beamed at the sight of her.

"Oh, you look darling!" Amue said with a smile. "Truly beautiful, Amelia!"

"I must agree, you look wonderful," Strongine said.

Amelia took a look at herself in the mirror, unable to help smiling a little at the sight of herself. She really did look nice, "Yeah, I guess I can wear this." The sisters all clapped as she agreed to wear the dress, and she couldn't help chuckling a little at knowing how easy it was to please them.

"Perfect! Then let's get it adjusted. Delilah? Dianna?" Catherine called for the twins who quickly stepped forward, Dianna had a pincushion on her wrist, and Delilah came with pins to put everything in place. Amelia watched them work in the reflection, hearing the party planning conversation that was being held between the three women. She had to admit that in the time she spent here, she enjoyed her time with Catherine, Strongine, and Amue. They always made her feel welcome, even if it was mildly annoying at times with Strongine's insistence on her piano playing. She wondered briefly if this is what it was like to have sisters of her own, and in that brief moment, she thought it would be nice to have sisters like them.

After the fitting, Amelia returned to her room to do some composing, trying to sound out the songs she remembered how to play by heart and write them down. Somehow, in the midst of the dress picking and fitting, she had been convinced by Strongine to play Hallelujah, with Amue on vocals. They planned to practice after her alchemy training that day, though Amelia told her how the verses went, and she was writing them down as well for reference - assuming that Amue could read music.

She spent a good deal of time doing just that, writing and composing the song she remembered, which was fairly easy for one song. When she finished, she started on another and started on another when she finished that. She was half-way through the third before she checked the time, and realized that she had been writing for almost two hours. She glanced back at the door of her bedroom, a little confused. Shouldn't Major Armstrong have been back by now? Well, he would probably burst in at any moment, so she chose to continue her writing for as long as that would be, but another hour passed and the major still didn't show up.

She started to get a little worried, so she got out of her room - followed closely by one of the house servants, of course - and made her way to the parlor room, where she saw the head of the household enjoying some tea. He noticed her coming in and he smiled, "Ah, Amelia! Come in, come in, Have some tea with us, won't you?" He gestured to the seat across from him, and she saw that he was with his wife as well.

"No, that's okay, I'm just wondering if the major's come back yet." She asked, "He said he had some work to attend to, I just didn't think it would be this long."

"Has Alex not returned yet?" Philip asked, turning to his wife, who shook her head.

"No, I haven't seen him." She said, reaching to put her teacup down, "Should we call and see when he plans to return home?"

"No, that's okay." Amelia said, "I just wanted to check if he was home yet. He'll probably be back soon."

"Oh, well then join us, my dear!" Philip said, waving her in, "Come and have a cup of tea, I'm sure you'll enjoy it." Amelia felt a little awkward about joining their private moment, but she didn't want to seem rude, either. She came into the parlor room and took a seat that was apart from their own, watching as the Lady Armstrong stood up to pour her a cup. Amelia was always a little amazed at just how tall she actually was at her full height, easily as tall as the Major himself. She had forgotten just how easily this woman could loom over her.

"There you are, Amelia." She said, passing her a cup and saucer before sitting down across from her husband again. "It's a rather deep blend from Aerugo, it has a most interesting flavor."

"Thank you." Amelia said, taking a brief sip of the tea, wrinkling her nose a little at the strength of that 'deep' taste the Lady Armstrong had mentioned. "It's… certainly interesting. It's almost like coffee. But kind of… I want to say a chestnut flavor."

"Very good," Philip praised her, "It is indeed a chestnut sort of blend to it. It's lovely, isn't it?" He took a gulp from his own cup. "I don't believe we've spoken to you very often outside of dinner, Amelia. Tell us, how are your lessons with Alex going?"

"Oh, they're going well." Amelia said, "I'm starting to figure out how to calculate for larger transmutations, and my elemental manipulation has gotten a lot better."

"Wonderful, wonderful." Philip nodded, "As is to be expected of the Armstrong heir! He is an alchemic master! Just like his father!"

"You know alchemy?" Amelia asked, a little surprised since she had never seen him transmute anything once.

"Of course! The art of alchemy has been passed down the male Armstrong line for generations!" Philip said, "I was Alex's tutor when he was about your age, and he caught on remarkably well. I'm glad to see that his student is able to do the same."

"It's only passed down to the males?" Amelia didn't realize it was a family tradition, "I thought anyone in the family who wanted to learn it could do it. The major mentioned more than a few female alchemists in the family…" She didn't remember their names since it was so long ago that he had taught the Armstrong lineage, but she remembered it wasn't only men.

"Ah, yes, those in the cases where no son was born." Philip said, "And that was our plan until Alex came along, he was a happy surprise."

"You… didn't plan on having a baby?" She asked, wondering if the triplets were unplanned.

"Oh, no, we were planning on twins." Josephine Armstrong said, "Alex was a happy surprise, we weren't expecting triplets."

"Yes, the Armstrong line does have a habit of multiples once in a generation or two." Philip said, "We were expecting multiples after Josephine's belly proved to be larger than before, but triplets were a marvelous surprise! And with my first son!" He began to laugh, his torso shaking with each laugh. "And not too long after them, we had our beautiful Catherine! A perfect set of children for a perfect Armstrong line!"

"Sounds like you guys had quite the baby fever," Amelia muttered to herself, knowing that it would be rude if they heard her. "So the tradition is for just the men to learn it? Unless there are no sons born?"

"The firstborn son." Philip specified, "But it is open for all those who wish to learn it. However, I'm sure you know that alchemy is a complicated science and not everyone can learn it easily. So it's reserved in training for the firstborn son, and anyone else who wishes to participate. We're not about to bar our own family from learning, that would be very counterproductive."

"I see." Amelia said, "So I guess I fall into the category of everyone else that wants to learn? Or would I fall under the next generation since we're probably about that far apart in age?" She was sure that the Major was at least 30, he certainly looked like it. Philip shrugged as a response.

"We don't really categorize you for the most part." He said, "You're simply Alex's apprentice, even if you are one that's convicted." She frowned a little at the mention of her status as a prisoner, but she couldn't deny that it was still true.

"Still, I've never seen you perform alchemy." Amelia mentioned, "Could you show me a little something?"

"Not on my china, he won't." The Lady Armstrong said firmly, and Philip chuckled nervously at the sight of her glare.

"Of course not, my dear, I wouldn't manipulate anything like that." He said as he put his teacup aside, reaching for a nearby book, "But this should be simple enough, now if I just had a pen- Ah, this will do." He reached over for an inkwell, Amelia watching as he dipped his pinky finger (which was still rather thick) into the blackness and began to draw a transmutation circle on the back of the hardcover book. She watched as he put his hand to it, and it began to take the shape of something new. She wasn't surprised to see it turn into a statue of someone surprisingly familiar.

"I guess you and Alex take a liking to making statues of him." She said as she looked at it.

"Whatever do you mean?" Philip asked, "This is not Alex, this is a statue of myself in my younger years!" He gestured to the statue's head, "See here? My hair curl was significantly longer than Alex's when I was in the military." Amelia didn't really see much difference, but she let him go on with that.

"Well, I guess I know where Alex gets his looks from." She said simply before sipping her offered tea again. "So… where does Catherine get her looks from?" She looked over at the Lady Armstrong, "Did you look like that at her age?"

"Oh, she doesn't get it from me," Josephine said, "That unique beauty comes from Philip's side of the family. She looks a great deal like her aunt Marilyn."

"It's true! She could be the spitting image of my sister." Philip agreed, "Oh, and speaking of which, I have a delightful story about her, would you care to hear it?" Before Amelia could answer, he was already going on about his childhood with his sister, and his five other brothers and Amelia listened politely. She looked to the Lady Armstrong, who seemed content listening, but she also looked like she wasn't really paying attention, focusing on her tea and eventually picking up a book and starting to read it as Philip went on.

She listened to his family stories for the better part of two hours, after the sun had gone down, and dinner was ready. She ate with everyone, still listening as Philip went on, getting sympathetic looks from his daughters as she was right by his side as he told his tales. She would later find out that Philip Gargantos Armstrong had a bit of a talkative streak and loved to tell his stories to anyone that would listen.

It wasn't until after dinner that Major Armstrong came back and Amelia was quick to go and meet him, "What the hell?" She scowled up at him, "I thought you said you were only going to work for a while and come back for my alchemy lessons? You know how long I've had to sit here listening to your dad tell stories?" She kept her voice down so the head of the household wouldn't hear her complaints, but she was still upset at having missed her lessons.

"My apologies, Amelia." He said, "My workload ended up being more than I thought it would, and before I realized it I had missed the window for your alchemy lessons. They shall resume tomorrow before the family reunion, there is no need to worry." Amelia frowned at his answer, but she didn't have much choice in accepting it.

"So what happened to your workload anyway?" She asked.

"Well… because of the Brigadier General's death, his cases were divided amongst the people working under him in the investigations department." Armstrong explained, "Since I worked directly under him, I received a rather large helping… But I will make sure it will not get in the way in the future. I have leave time for the reunion tomorrow, and we can make up for lost time tomorrow morning." He promised her, and then went to the dining room where his family greeted him and sat with him as he was served his portion of a lukewarm meal, and Amelia did the same as they all continued to talk to one another about their day, but most of it was talking about planning for the reunion tomorrow. She spoke with them, and she spoke with the Major a little about scheduling since they would be attending Hughes's funeral tomorrow as well, and she wanted to make sure that she got her alchemy training in while she could. She knew she could stand to improve her alchemy if she wanted to be anywhere near the level of a state certified alchemist.

The next day, after a good night's sleep, Amelia was woken up with everyone else for the daily training regimen, her schedule starting to go back to what it had been before the increased security measures and having her taking part in the same training as the rest of the family. Once that was finished, and she was all washed up from the sweat and back to herself, she dressed up in black and pulled her hair back into a braid to look nice for the upcoming funeral. She and the Major drove there in his car, coming to the graveyard and joining a rather large group of military soldiers all waiting. She was surprised to see the Fuhrer had attended as well, all the soldiers dressed in uniform, with a black sash over it to signify their mourning.

Amelia's heart broke as she looked over to see Gracia Hughes on the edge of tears as a sermon was delivered by another soldier, who spoke of Hughes's achievements in the military, saying of how he was known as a loving father and husband to everyone that met him, "A talented individual who the military will be remiss without." as he put it. Gracia held onto her daughter Elicia, holding her close as the little toddler tried to wipe away her mother's tears without shedding any herself.

When the time came to bury him, everyone walked up to the hill where his grave had been dug, his coffin carried by four officers, bearing the flag of his country as he was slowly lowered into the ground. Amelia listened as orders were given by a drill officer, and they gave Maes Hughes a 21 gun salute. She watched as the Fuhrer himself was the first to shovel a pile of dirt over the coffin, and that was the signal to the gravediggers to do the same and carry on from there. Everyone remained silent for a time as all they could hear was the sound of dirt hitting the coffin.

"Mommy?" A tiny voice broke the silence, "Why are they putting all that dirt on Daddy?" Amelia looked over at Elicia, who was staring at the grave with innocently wide eyes, with Gracia barely holding back her sobs as she used a handkerchief to wipe her tears.

"They're burying him, dear," Gracia answered her.

"But if Daddy gets buried then he won't be able to do all his work…!" Elicia said, tugging on her mother's hand as she tried to get her to act. Amelia's heart was broken as she realized the girl was too young to understand what death was, or what was happening to her father, feeling a lump forming in her throat as she looked over at the small girl. She looked away as Gracia picked up her daughter, her shoulders shaking as Elicia looked back at the grave and held out her hand, reaching for her father, "Daddy said he had a bunch of work he needs to do! No! Stop it! Stop putting dirt on him! Daddy!" Amelia couldn't look at the sight anymore, turning her head away. She looked up at her teacher, seeing him bringing a hand to his face as he shed tears of his own, his heartbreaking at the sound of a child calling out for her dead father.

Amelia wiped at her tears as they kept burying Hughes, hearing his daughter's pleas turning into open sobs as she cried into her mother's shoulder, frustrated and confused at what was happening. It was horrible that this happened to him of all people, Hughes was a good person from what she had known, and with the way he obsessed over his wife and daughter, she knew he was a family man. This could not be an easy thing to recover from and she felt terrible that this had happened to Gracia. Once the burial was finished and people began to disperse, they all came to Mrs. Hughes to pay their respects, expressing their condolences and shaking her hand.

Her eyes were red and puffy, and Elicia was still in her arms, in a very similar state as her mother, but also tired and whining as she held onto her mother's clothes. When it came time for the Major to greet her, his tears had dried and he shook her hand, "Your husband was a great man, I am so sorry for this terrible tragedy."

"Thank you, Major." Gracia's voice was still shaky as she answered him. Amelia was next up, looking up at Gracia, and she met her eyes.

"I didn't know him well… but I know that this hurts. It was a lovely service." She said, offering her condolences. Gracia only nodded and they departed from the crowd, heading back to the car. The more she realized what was ahead of them that day, the heavier her heart felt. She looked up at the Major, "Um… do you think we can maybe stop somewhere before we head back?"

"Is something wrong?" The Major asked.

"Well, I just… I kind of…" She wanted to get something to soothe this heavy feeling, and her first thought was to stuff her mouth with something smothered in chocolate. "I sort of have a craving for chocolate. Can we stop somewhere?"

The Major nodded, "I happen to know a cafe where they make the best hot chocolate in the city. It's not too far from here." She got into the car with him and they were driven into town, heading to a little corner cafe a little ways off of main street. It was small, and floral, in that everything about it had floral patterns. She didn't care that much for it, but it was a refreshing sight after seeing nothing but black clothes on people. She and the Major took a seat together, with the Major removing his hat once they had a table. A waitress came up to greet them with a cheery smile to ask what they wanted to eat, and Amelia ordered a hot chocolate, with the Major ordering the same.

The Major looked over at Amelia once the waitress had gone, "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm fine." She said, looking down at the table, "Just… funerals are depressing." She reached over for the napkin holder, taking one out and starting to fiddle with it so she had an excuse not to meet the Major's eyes for a moment. "But I guess if they were happy occasions, that would be kind of disrespectful to the people who are grieving or whatever."

"It is not often that I see you shed tears," He said, and Amelia frowned at the mention of it.

"You were crying, too." She pointed out, "I mean, Elicia didn't understand anything… who wouldn't cry about that?" She started to fold the napkin, trying to make origami out of it.

"It was very heart-breaking." The Major agreed. "But I did not think you and Hughes were very close."

"We weren't." She replied, still trying to make the origami from the napkin, "He was just the guy in charge of keeping up with me for those weird reports." She paused and looked up at the Major, "Who's going to do that now that he's gone? Do you know if anyone's been assigned?"

"Actually, the lieutenant- I mean, brigadier general Hughes volunteered for that position." He said, "The Fuhrer wasn't sure it was necessary, but he insisted. I'm not sure if anyone will be taking his place since it was voluntary."

"Oh." Well, not having to do those reports with anyone else was something of a pleasing thought.

She looked up when the waitress came back, depositing two cups of steaming hot chocolate in front of them both, "Enjoy your drinks." She said as she left with that same smile she had worn before, and Amelia took her mug, gently blowing on it before she took a sip, only to pull away with a frown.

"Ugh, too hot." She put the cup down and waited for her burning tongue to calm down a little more. She watched as the Major had his own sip and put the cup down.

"Have you attended a funeral before?" He asked her, and Amelia shook her head.

"No, I don't have a lot of extended family, and my grandparents died when I was a baby." She sipped at her drink again, pulling away when it was too hot, staring down at the cup.

"I suppose it is a good thing that you have not lost anyone in your life." The Major said as he sipped at his drink again, showing none of the signs of discomfort that Amelia was feeling. "I cannot say the same."

"Well…" She paused before she quieted herself. With a family as big as the Major's, she imagined he might have lost a few people in his life. She sipped at her drink to keep it from coming out of her mouth, though. Saying that out loud might not be the most appropriate thing right at that moment, "He was a good man… and we know that those guys did it." By 'those guys' she meant the people with the ouroboros tattoos, "So what do we do now? I know you guys have orders not to investigate and all…"

"We can only follow those orders at this time." Armstrong said, "I do not wish to place you or myself at risk if we further our investigations. It is best to lay low until such a time as we are able to begin again, and look to the senior staff."

"Oh, hey, by the way," She looked up at him, "Do any of them have a background in alchemy? I never did ask." It was the reason they had been separated that night, and she was a witness to Hughes' murder.

"I looked into it, but none of them have any known background in alchemy. They were all recruited as soldiers and simply worked their way through the ranks." The Major said, "We are no closer to finding our target than we were before. The closest I did find would be Brigadier General Bas Grande, but he has already passed."

"Maybe his death was faked?" Amelia asked, trying to offer some hope into finding the one responsible in this investigation.

"He was murdered by Scar," Armstrong said, "I saw his corpse myself. He is undoubtedly dead." Amelia grimaced a little.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up." She said, sipping her hot chocolate again. She was starting to feel a little better as she drank it, the sweet taste helping to wash away the sour feeling of depression that had been hanging over her at the funeral.

"It's alright, you are simply trying to think like an investigator," The Major gave her a small grin, "I appreciate your efforts in trying to brainstorm who this great villain might be," The smile fell into a serious look, "But it is best not to discuss it any longer. As much as we should be looking for these people, it is better we do not pursue it for now. We should not bring any more attention to ourselves and what we have done here."

"Or we'll end up like Hughes, right?" She asked, seeing Armstrong nod in response. Keeping her voice low, she asked another question, "Do you think his death was a warning?"

Armstrong's brow furrowed and he looked down into his cup, scowling as he frustratedly thought of such an option, "It is possible that is exactly what his death meant." He said, "It is better to take that warning and heed it, Amelia." He looked over at her in concern, "You do not need to be in a grave similar to his, nor do we need to arouse any more attention. Your focus should be on your alchemy training."

"Right, right…" She had to agree with that, sipping from her mug again, "But you know, this is really good hot chocolate." She gave him a half-hearted smile, "I'm starting to feel a little better."

He smiled at her in turn, "As I told you, they are the best in the city. And I imagine sweets like this do help to soothe the heavy heart once in a while." He sipped at his drink again, and Amelia couldn't help but wonder if he figured that out because he had been looking for a way to soothe a heavy heart. She remembered that night she snuck into his room, how he grabbed her hand, in a cold sweat and half-asleep, begging for forgiveness. A part of her wondered just how much of his thoughts were haunted by his actions in Ishval, and how much of it he kept buried for the sake of his family not worrying about him.

"Right…" She mumbled as she took another sip, "So, um, speaking of my alchemy training, how much do you think we'll be able to get in before the reunion?"

"I think we may be able to get in an hour or so before you have to prepare," Armstrong said, glad for the change in subject, "And then, of course, you will need to take some time to prepare for the reunion, as will I. I am sure you are aware that you will be monitored at all times during the festivities."

"I never doubted that I wouldn't be." She said, sipping her cup again, "Your sisters are always giving me Catherine's old dresses like they're the only ones that would fit."

"Well, Strongine and Amue were much larger than Catherine at your age."

"How much larger, though? Did they hit six foot or something? I have, like, a thousand questions on your family gene pool because there are so many things I don't understand about how you parents can make someone like Catherine, and then someone like you."

"I'm not sure what you're implying." Armstrong seemed genuinely confused by her words. "We are all of Armstrong blood, there is no doubt of this."

"Well- yeah, see, you I get. Your mom's super tall, your dad's all muscle-y and wide and whatever. Catherine looks nothing like either of them, and you… kinda look like your dad." Amelia tried to explain. "Like Catherine is… I mean, she could be a model."

"What a lovely compliment to give to her."

"Okay, no, but that's not the point!" Amelia was growing a little frustrated.

"Major Armstrong?" The conversation was interrupted by a new voice, and Amelia looked over to see a blonde woman in uniform speaking to them. She had a serious expression on her face, and it took Amelia a moment to recognize her, though she hadn't had much interaction with the woman. "Colonel Mustang would like to speak with you."

They went with Lieutenant Hawkeye to a familiar phone booth, and Amelia got a little nervous as she remembered that night. Desperately trying to perform CPR on a dying man when she didn't know how, blood covering her fingers and spilling through the seams between them. She reached for the Major's sleeve for comfort without realizing it, the man was surprised at the gesture, but didn't comment on it, knowing she would be embarrassed if he did. In front of the bloody phone booth, which had been marked off as a crime scene, was Colonel Mustang. Amelia remembered him after the Tucker house incident well enough.

"Colonel," He turned at the sound of the Lieutenant's voice, "I've found Major Armstrong, as you asked me to." The Major saluted and the colonel looked at him, and at the alchemic apprentice that stood next to him, holding onto his shirt sleeve. Amelia couldn't look at the phone booth, turning her head away so she wouldn't have to look at the blood. The memories of that night were too fresh for her, and she didn't care to relive them again.

"Let's talk somewhere a little more private." The colonel said, directing them away from the guard posted by the phone booth and further into the park, enough to be out of earshot of the guard, as well as any passerby. As they walked further from the phone booth, Amelia realized she was holding the major's sleeve and dropped it, a little ashamed that she had let herself do it, to begin with. When they found a quiet spot, the colonel spoke again, "Major, I want you to tell me what you know about the Hughes case." He looked over at Amelia, "I know that your student was the last one to see him alive, and with you being the officer directly under him, you're taking charge of his murder case, correct?" Amelia looked up at her teacher with wide eyes, not realizing he was the one that had been assigned investigations. What about the guy who interrogated her? Was he not involved or just someone working under the Major?

"That's correct, sir." Armstrong confirmed, "We have a strong lead on the potential suspects in the murder of Lieutenant Colonel Hughes."

"Then why aren't you hunting them down right now?" The colonel asked.

"We're confident that we know who committed the crime, but we're unsure of their identities."

The colonel frowned at his response, "That doesn't make sense, Major. Clarify for me."

Armstrong shook his head, "I'm afraid I cannot."

"I'm telling you to explain as your commanding officer." Mustang's tone was stern, "You're disobeying a direct order, Major."

"I cannot tell you." The Major insisted, which only deepened Mustang's frown. He glared up at the Major, who stood still and looked right back. He had been ordered not to tell anyone of that information by the Fuhrer, though the colonel did seem the type to punish him for not following an order, Amelia thought. Wasn't his disobeying enough for a court-martial?

The colonel looked to Amelia, "And what about you?" She jumped when she was suddenly dragged in, "What did you see when you found Hughes?" She wasn't really sure how to answer that at first since she was under threat of jail if she revealed that information to him, and she didn't want to get in more trouble than she was already.

"I… um…" She fumbled over her words, "I-I told the interrogator everything I could, you can just look at his report or something…" It was the best answer she could give, at least better than 'I cannot answer' she thought.

Mustang frowned again, but sighed as he relented, "Fair enough." He looked up at the Major, "I apologize for my tone. You're dismissed." The major saluted and he began to walk away, with Amelia behind him. She wasn't sure they were doing the right thing by withholding information, but what choice did they have? Armstrong was under orders, and she would go to jail if she told. When Armstrong stopped walking, she stopped as well.

"Actually… Sir, there's another matter I neglected to mention." Armstrong said, "The Elric brothers were recently here. They only departed a couple of days ago."

"They were here? In Central?" Mustang sounded curious, and Amelia looked back at him over her shoulder.

"Yes, sir. For a number of days." Armstrong answered him.

Amelia watched as the corners of the colonel's lips turned up into a badly-withheld smirk, "And did they find what they were looking for?"

"No, sir. That would be rather difficult as they are chasing a legend." Armstrong answered.

"Is that so?" The smirk had turned into a satisfied grin. "Well, thanks for your help." The Major nodded before he continued walking, with Amelia behind him. She looked back at the colonel as he spoke to his lieutenant, though she couldn't hear what they were saying.

"I feel kind of bad." She said, "He just wanted to help, right? It sucks we can't tell him about this."

"Don't be so sure." The Major said, "The colonel is more clever than he appears, and I gave him plenty of clues so he can find the answer on his own."

"You did?" Amelia hadn't caught any of them at all. "Wait, so what if he finds out? What if they do to him what they did to Hughes?"

"I am confident that the colonel is more capable than you realize." Armstrong said, "He is, after all, the Flame Alchemist. I'm sure you remember his display of power from the McDougal incident." Amelia nodded, remembering feeling the heat of the explosion on her skin, despite being so far away, "There are very few men I know that are brave enough to go up against him."

"Well… I guess that's good for him, then." Amelia muttered, "Let's just get out of here. I want to get in some more alchemy lessons like you owe me."