A day after the incident, Mustang and the others tried to keep things as normal as possible. As much as Roy wanted to jump right into the action, the others wanted to slow down. It would take a lot of work to prove what the real threat in Amestris was to the Senior Council. Roy knew that it would take a lot more manpower.

It was right in the afternoon of the next day at the cafeteria and the usual lines were dreadful as always. People going for the best things while others got sloppy seconds. To have some normalcy, Roy wanted to enjoy his usual favorite sandwich. After continually catching up on his paperwork, a certain muscled man walked by the table. "Room for one more please?"

With a smile on his face, Roy replied, "Always Armstrong, you're welcome wherever I sit."

Both men slightly chuckled, however he turned right to the colonel. "So, what exactly are you wanting from me?" Armstrong answered.

"I normally wouldn't want to ask you like this, but something's going slightly foul. I swear Victor has been driving me nuts." He knocked his hand on the table, with a distinct thud to it."

"Oh, you say?" Armstrong retorted, he took his fork and tapped it right next to his plate."

"Yeah, I kinda feel bad for the guy; Iris has been keeping me posted about his mental condition."

Armstrong furled his mustache, but his eyes had that curious look to them. "What can I do to help her out? A gentleman like myself wouldn't let a girl worry."

"I think for right now the best thing would be to contact Robert. He's her neighbor and would know what to do." Every once in while Roy would continue to take a bit of his food and make it look like he was jotting some notes down. "Besides, if you want to call yourself a gentleman whose a part of a family with lineage, why don't you take her out for a bite to eat at Umbridge's?"

A slight twinkle was seen underneath all of that muscle, Armstrong took a proud bite from his sandwich. "Well, I would never back down from something like this. Any woman should feel special."

Just as the colonel finished his meal, he left a piece of paper down for the major. "Besides, if you don't hurry, it might be too late and Spencer might enter the picture."

/

The day slowly transformed into the night. The clouds also slowly rolled in and ambience was felt across Central City. Streets were lively and people were enjoying the food and wine. Roy wanted to spend a night visiting his adopted mother's bar, gathering intel from the gals who worked for Madame Christmas. The rumors were about recent deaths and about medical instances connected to the illness that the Amestrian doctors couldn't even diagnose, these didn't amount to much of anything.

On that night, Roy spent a little bit longer at the bar than usual. One of his favorite bartenders looked like she was onto something. With her golden hair and charming smile, she could a put smile on anyone's face.

"Look, Rita, no matter what you or the others try to get, we've got nothing. The only thing I've got is a dead woman and I couldn't save her." The aroma of brandy left its sting in the back of his throat.

Bells chimed, a few more patrons came in, except they weren't the usual clientele.

"Roy, you could've invited us for a few drinks?" Riza calmly asked, she looked absolutely lovely in her attire. The navy pleats from her skirt complimented her shimmering, dull gold blouse; she normally liked to dress simply, but tonight felt special to her.

"Huh, so this is where you like to meet your lady friends? When you called me that you wanted a drink, I thought it would be fair to invite the others." Jean sarcastically added, the smell of cigarettes still permeated through his nicest garbs.

"Well Jean, maybe I can help you with Rita. I hear that she just became single and is always looking to date someone from the military. Havoc, I think you fit that description pretty well. Am I right?" his words had that slight charm; Rita's face was covered with a red hue on her cheeks.

"Mustang, don't be so chivalrous. However, I think there's something that all of you need to be made aware about with these random sick spells." He turned and faced them each in their face, "Through some digging and I think even Madeleine was able to dig up some other information; the people who have died as of recent, all of the medical exams show the exact same thing that each person received their annual checkup. Now, that wouldn't be out of the ordinary, except Abby was able to play up her nurse card and schmoozed one of the doctors to look at some of those reports."

Kain looked sick to his stomach, as if he wanted to pass out.

Riza put her hand on his shoulder to reassure him, "Kain, what's the matter?"

Thoughts rushed through Kain's mind, something about a doctor's visit his parents had recently. "I just had a doctor pay a visit to see my parents. I wonder if this doctor did something to them that I won't be able to do anything about."

"Fuery, we still don't know who or what the cause is, if we act panicked it'll only cause more chaos. We can only act with evidence. Carry on Rita."

"Thanks sir. So, Abby told me that each of these patients had some kind of immune and/or breathing problems. They'd be given an injection to either completely cure it or alleviate the symptoms. Sometimes they were given additional supplements. In one of the reports, they all had just the initial of the letter "M" and when she tried to ask who the doctor was, she would be told, 'He's hired for private clients.' I know people like to hire private doctors if they're rich, but for the amount of people who were sick it seemed a bit strange."

Kain had a sigh of relief. "Phew, the doctor my folks saw last wasn't from the main hospital. We haven't been fortunate enough to get one of them; instead, it's been a friend through the community center."

"Like, how many are we talking here?" Riza inquired, none of this set well with her.

Rita looked down at her hands, dread was on her face. "At least fifty plus."

"What?!" they all responded with, Havoc looked like he was ready to an order another drink and Heymans was at a complete loss of words. The military was supposed to protect people from physical threats, but this threat was just as invisible as a ghost. Images of fallen soldiers, slaughtered Ishvalans filled their minds. They didn't want to see something similar happen to the citizens.

Screams and cries of agony from sheer pain was something the other male soldiers were attuned to, but during the war Roy was able to silence the noise in his head.

Every one of them felt guilty of not being able to do something about it, but a bottle slammed by Jean woke them up.

"What good are we if we just mope around and not doing anything?! Rita, I'm not saying you haven't done anything, but you've helped us significantly even with something I wouldn't have been able to get my hands on. However, if we just keep sitting here and dawdling more people are going to die. If there's some sort of conspiracy going on, then we better make sure we cover our asses in the process. The last thing we need is for someone to-"

Before Jean said another word, he felt a pat on the hand by Roy. He knew the look Roy would have when he was ready to make a major move.

The Colonel knew how to play his pieces, each of them had their strengths and weaknesses. This game of chess was no different than other games he's played; whether if they were to play against an old man like Grumman or to topple a person who caused a medical epidemic, eventually they would crumble and the victor would stand tall and proud.

"Havoc, we're going to need more people than just us. I have a feeling Edward and his company want a piece in this. In fact, we might need to find our own place to put our own plans into action. Riza, make sure you keep Armstrong posted about everything; we need him."

/

The hours went by and Edward impatiently waited for the train to make its final destination. So many thoughts raced through his head. Was Amestris in a safe place? Could the people be able to equip themselves with the best care possible? Was even Pinako safe with her age and health?

Getting himself flustered about it wasn't helpful; the only things he could worry were the ones in front of him. Edward always had a knack for making people crack even if they wanted to lie in front of him; that's how he was able to become a doctor, he was able to make a diagnosis when the other doctors clearly missed the signs.

Muscular dystrophy, a degenerative muscle disease… Similar notes like that along with transmutation circles filled up his journals. A lot of the time, he found solace in writing, logging, and journaling. That's how both an alchemist and a doctor were alike, finding clues to a mystery that could be unlocked; a basic understanding of human anatomy was the key to it all.

Bump after bump, the train screamed along the railway. In the back of his mind, Edward couldn't help thinking about the safety of Winry, Alphonse, and even Pinako again. If you want to be an adult, start making your decisions. Don't worry, I've got my own boys to keep me protected just in case. The old granny's smile was clearly seen in his mind, he looked to her as a parent. Even at his lowest low, the old spitfire was able to give Edward a new life.

All of a sudden, he heard a murmur from a few cars away from his. People ran in horror, almost as if someone needed help.

This can't be good at all.

He quickly threw his red coat on and bolted as far as his short legs would allow. "Out of the way! A state alchemist and a doctor are here."

Some of them turned around and were shocked to see how young Edward was.

"What kind of credentials do you have to be a doctor? It seems like anyone can put on a coat and call themselves one. Go home kid, quit playing dress up with the adults." an older male patron retorted with, his smile was so smug. He didn't seem to be too concerned at all, but his breath reeked of alcohol.

A ding filled the room, a bright blue light appeared on the man's watch. Suddenly, the wiring popped through the dial and shocked him in the process. "You watch your mouth; what if this person was your lover, your parent, a family member? Would you be that much of a pompous asshole to speak about them like that? I'd be willing to teach you a lesson about humility and clock you into next week." Edward responded with a fiery tone and through deep pants; he had to contain himself from unleashing an alchemical hell. "Can someone tell me what happened?"

Another commuter walked over to Edward, almost skittishly. "It's my sister Jeanette, we were talking about where we wanted to travel and how she's been feeling better, but she suddenly collapsed as we went towards the food car."

"What's she been sick with?"

"Oh, she's always had a breathing problem as a child. My name's Amelia. Our parents believed it was some kind of advanced form of asthma, but she even had some heart problems added on top of it. If she pushes herself too hard, she can make herself ill, but she's not a quitter. She just got a check-up within the last week and was given a prescription."

Right in the middle of the train car, Jeanette's young face was so flushed, devoid of any color. Carefully, Edward leaned towards her and did hear a faint breath from her lips. Quickly he took off his coat and laid it over her. He wanted to make sure no one would block that doorway.

"I will be right back, I have a small medical kit back in my suitcase. She looks like she's dehydrated; a shot of saline should help her momentarily. However, as soon as you and she get off this train, I recommend visiting the Central City hospital." Crap, I should've brought my case with me; how reckless can I be? He assured of himself, a smile brandished across his face. The older sister gave him a grin back.

"Thank you." Amelia firmly grabbed Jeanette's wrists.

With quick haste, Edward ran back to his train car. Everything in his mind was crystal clear, an obvious medical case he could solve.

However, that reality was in Edward's dreams. He knew what needed to be done so that people would be okay.

Like shattered glass, Jeannette's condition worsened. Every limb on her body tightened, a horrifying shrill echoed throughout the entire train. Almost like a seizure-induced episode.

Edward was just flabbergasted. No, are you kidding me? What now?

Just as Edward tried to fumble for a needle, the woman's body continued to contort and her back severely arched. She couldn't speak any words, just a jumble of sounds no human could possibly emit on their own. Almost like a demon possession in front of Edward's eyes, something he couldn't fathom. "Jeannette, can you hear me? Please, I want you to squeeze my hand as hard as you can."

He held his breath thinking that she could follow a simple task. Agonizing seconds passed on by, they felt like an eternity, but even when Edward tried to fumble his hands onto hers, her rigidness prevented him. With a quick check by his stethoscope, her heart rate was irregular. "I'm going to need you to hold her still because hopefully a shot of adrenaline might kick her body back into regular function."

A few other people looked at him willing to help out, two burly men were able to hold her arms and legs down.

"Perfect, this shot should be the trick."

A silver needle gently pierced skin: its contents flowed smoothly into her body. For a moment, she was able to take a full breath. Dulled, blue eyes looked at her older sister. Edward then followed in suit with his shot of saline. "Amelia, I'm so sorry for scaring you like this." Tears slowly formed; all of her strength slowly drained away. "All I'm good at is causing so many medical problems in our family; the numerous amounts of times I've made our parents for my bills because my body hates me. What kind of life am I living?" While she couldn't physically emote the pain, her eyes said it all. She looked scared, terrified what could happen to her next.

"Listen, Jeannette, I just gave you a shot of adrenaline while you were unconscious and some saline for your dehydration. It'll take a little bit for your body to adjust but take it easy and go to a hospital just in case. Please let them know Dr. Edward Elric was the one who took care of you. However, in the meantime, you have to keep pushing forward. In life, we may not be dealt with the best of hands, but it's what you can do with your own two hands and legs. You have the greatest thing right here for you every second. Chin up."

Amelia was at a loss for words, either from the amount of screaming she did before or the blush on her cheeks. "Thank you, doctor."

Throughout Edward's life, he was so used to having things taken away from him; his arm and leg, his brother, the possibility that he could die at any day, be stripped down to the dog of military. However, there was always something that pushed him forward. It could've been his stubbornness to never back down and to achieve his goals whenever he sets them. Unlike most alchemists, he had this quality that set him apart from others. It was something that King Bradley saw in him, but even more so when people were dying. Edward couldn't bear to see people not have a chance to live, that's why he's so determined to make it through to the end.

With some peace in his mind, Edward went back to his train car for a catnap. Working long days with Tim did drain him a bit, but it was all worth it in the end. From learning about certain procedures, types of stitches, to how to properly diagnose someone, they were all valuable. An alchemist will take anything they can learn to put it in practice. Edward could stitch up the ground with the right transmutation; figure out which elements were needed to make a compound.

A few more silent hours passed on by, the sisters were napping in their car and the drunken man eventually fell asleep too, his watch was still damaged and didn't pay a mind to it. Blurs of meadows and plains filled the train car window, as antsy as Edward could get, nature did have its calming effects on him. He wanted to get some sleep, but his mind tends to race at bad times. Although, it was starting to get a little stuffy in his car, so he cracked the window down. Breezes filled his train car; the smells of flowers and farm animals took their course. It was train rides like these Edward found some solace from.

His eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and the usually rambunctious alchemist got a few winks. All he could dream was one day finding a way to get his body and Alphonse's back to normal. Winry could continue her work in Rush Valley and Roy would be able to make a difference for the country.

A grinding stop at Central City sort of forced him awake. He quickly turned by a mirror and could see that the stress lines and dark circles looked most prominent on his face. That's it. I am getting us a hotel room because I need an actual nap.

All he could do was yawn, but as he was getting off the train, he saw the sisters trying to get off carefully. Jeanette looked better than she was, but her walking ability was a little stifled. They're good for each other.

"Edward!" a young, female voice yelled. Her blonde hair sashayed in the breeze and looked radiant as ever.

Alphonse waved, his body radiating happiness. "Big brother! I'm so happy to see you!"

"Hey, Winry, Al! Long time no see?" Excitement shot through Edward's body, he was just so happy to see another face and not another textbook. "Did you guys have any problems getting here?"

Both shook their heads, although Winry didn't give a firm shake. "Well, someone else on our train passed out and had to wait for a doctor to get there so we had a bit of delay. However, from the looks of it, it worked out in our favor and here we are." Her tone was always so happy; she rarely let anything get her down.

This made Edward a little confused. "Huh. I had someone else on my train ride pass out, but I was able to help her pretty quickly-"

Just as he was about to finish his sentence, a scream echoed at the train station.

Winry was horrified; her body couldn't move. "Edward, what's going on?" Alphonse quickly stood in front of her, ready for anything to come by their way.

He tried to look for a conductor or even a police officer, but no one was around. "Shit. Jeanette, are you okay?!"

"Who's Jeanette?" Winry asked. She tightly grabbed her bag and even reached down to grab her wrench.

"She was the gal who passed out on my train and I don't know why she screamed, but something's going on." Thoughts rushed through Edward's mind, what on earth could have happened to the young woman now?

All of a sudden, crowds of people ran away, almost like a zombie apocalypse. People tried to maneuver around luggage, knocking it over.

Edward dropped his bags and ran towards the chaos. "Alphonse, look after Winry. Something's bad going on, and it can't be just from passing out."

To his horror, the once smiling, young-spirited woman was squirming on the ground. All orifices were filled with blood, eyes were rolled back into the head.

"OH GOD! JEANETTE! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" the once calm, older sister just broke down in front of her younger sister. Tears streaked her face and tried everything, slapping, pinching, to get some kind of attention or focus.

Jeannette's body continued to spasm, and her ability to speak was completely diminished. Blood continued to pour out; her thrashing was more severe than the last time.

However, all of Jeanette's strength threw Amelia a good couple feet in the air. "Sister, what's wrong? Talk with me." A few cuts and bruises decorated her face, but Amelia was determined to get through to her.

Edward turned his head and saw Alphonse running towards him. "Winry, stay right there! Big brother needs my help!" Every worst thought rushed through the younger brother's mind. Ed, please don't be reckless.

However, for the older Elric, Jeanette's resilience proved to be a bit of a challenge. Somehow, she forced her body up and was able to keep it still. A few bones in her neck cracked loudly, her head sunk down. Deep, panty breaths came from her mouth, a slight growl was there. "Do you know what it's like for a human to lose their shell, their humanity?" Her words had no real attachment, like she couldn't have control at all, almost as if her conscious weren't there. It was as if something within her came to fruition. With one finger, she slowly cracked each knuckle on her right hand. "I've always wondered what it would be like to see the world burn."

"Jeanette, this isn't you. Look at me," Amelia pleaded. She didn't want to break down any more in front of her sister.

"Let everything burn into the ground, watch humans burn to ashes; everything that is necessary for a new world order, I think this is what he wanted to happen." Everything that Jeanette said, her lack of humanity, her lack of real human connection, this wasn't something Edward could let happen.

Blue streaks of light formed into a spear right in the alchemist's hands. "I don't know what's made you change your mind, but humans are pretty resilient creatures. We won't falter, never, even when things seem bleak. That's my goal; to never back down from a challenge! Besides, who is 'he?'"

Slowly and carefully, the altered woman peeled at her skin revealing pure, white scales underneath. Flesh slowly dropped onto the ground, her mixture of breathing and growling grew. Her hands had more of a clawed appearance; her once blue eyes manifested turned pitch black, red, prominent veins crept up.

Alphonse was just horrified. "Edward, you need to make a transmutation circle to contain her. Winry, call the military. Things are about to get ugly."

Both Elrics were ready to fight, the fire in their eyes was there.

Just as Jeanette took one step forward, her entire body was swallowed by massive flames. Embers as bright as the sun, she shrieked like a banshee. She tried everything to fan out the flames, but nothing would stop the inferno. "Amelia, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."

Jeanette desperately tried to reach out for her sister, but just as the two nearly made contact the transformed woman's body turned into ash. Although, there was a smile on her face and she quietly whispered, "I love you."

Dark ash covered Amelia's hand, but more people were horrified by what they saw.

"What does this mean for Central City?"

"Are there seriously monsters running amok here?"

"Am I going to be next?"

These were the question the citizens found themselves asking, but no one could answer them.

Thankfully, the sirens of a military car were pleasing to their ears, but the military had a lot to answer for. Would the people of the city be able to get a direct answer? Or, can the military qualm their fears down before it goes viral to other cities and nearby countries? A couple of ambulances came on by for good measure.

There stood Amelia, absolutely shocked, the only sister she had in her life gone. Winry ran over to try and comfort. "I can't imagine the pain you're feeling to lose a sibling, but I know the pain of losing loved ones. My parents died in the Ishvalan Civil War, but if you need to talk to someone, feel free to visit me in Rush Valley. Bearing a loss alone is absolutely painful, but when you have other people supporting you, it can lessen it over time."

A few soldiers and medically trained staff walked towards the citizens to try and calm them down, but one particular ranked soldier walked towards Edward. With his stern demeanor and scowl, Brigadier General Basque Grand knew how to make others uncomfortable with his presence. Metal gauntlets gleamed underneath the blue military coat. "So, Edward, what was it that you fought against? Some creature sent by the Ishvalans to create a disturbance? After all, they're nothing but savages."

Anger coursed through Edward's blood; no person deserved to be talked like that. "No, and before you make such a grandiose bullshit claim, why don't you actually look around you what's really going on. People are dying and I'm doing my damn best to make sure people can live to the next day."

A gruff chuckle escaped from the older man; he wasn't used to such younger alchemists putting him in his place. "Huh, my job is to protect the people of the country and your hacked medicine hasn't done shit to protect people now has it?" Scorn was burned into every word he uttered, he wanted to get a reaction from Edward.

"You piece of shit-"

"ENOUGH. BOTH OF YOU."

Suddenly, the Furher appeared and the tension in the air was so tight, a knife could cut it. There he stood, with the highest rank in all of Amestris, the one to defend an entire nation. He turned his gaze towards the Brigadier General. "I would expect someone of your rank Basque to maybe treat our esteemed alchemist and doctor with a little more respect. In this dire time, we need all the help we can get and even if it's the tiniest amount, it's better than nothing. Edward, I would like you, your brother, and your companion to come with me, I've got a few questions to ask you and I want to know the status of Marcoh's research."

King took the time to walk over to Amelia to comfort her. She was so shocked to see a leader with such compassion and showing her kindness.

"I'm so sorry about your loss, and I will personally take care of all funeral expenses. Here's my card so when you call your parents and the funeral home."

Tears formed in her tear ducts, just at a total loss of words, but her smile was all that King needed to see.

However, everything that Edward witnessed just didn't sit right in his stomach, a nauseating feeling that couldn't go away. Alphonse was shocked as ever, shook to his core.

/

More and more humans crumbled, their bodies could only endure so much. Morfran and his colleagues stood there, smug in what they wanted to create. A special arrangement was made for them.

Father sat off to the side alongside with the other Homunculi. Envy's boredom grew exponentially. "Father, when can I go outside to tear up the humans a little more? It's no fun trying to create your mannequins or homunculi, we want a piece in the action."

Lust gracefully filed her nails, her long locks of hair fell perfectly around blushed eyes. "So Morfran-" her words trailed with a sultry tone, "I do have to ask, why is that you think these humans possess qualities that a purebred Homunculus already has?"

"It is actually really simple, Lust, most of our bodies will be able to handle the next evolution. Your current state is quite powerful, but when I had my doctors look more into it, there is a component in almost every person's body to evolve. Call it a gene and we discovered that Homunculi do have similar genetics that humans do. Morfran is on the brink of finding what that gene is; which is why he's been scouting people with certain genetics, bloodwork, ailments, their DNA that can be compatible with a Philosopher's Stone. Well, not a pure Philosopher's Stone, a pseudo stone we call it. Once that initial injection is given and the supplements, which really contain fractions of that same stone, BOOM! Your army is ready at the snap of the finger. Father, you are able to control every stone out there in the world!"

Blood curdling screams escaped from a few containment rooms. Arms reached out for any kind of hope. Men and women with blood pouring down their faces filled with horror and fright.

"PLEASE, MY CHILDREN NEED ME!"

"WHAT KIND OF DOCTOR ARE YOU?!"

One golden tooth gleamed against the pool of red, a smug grin across his wrinkled face. "Mankind is on the brink of a new creature, something much stronger than a Homunculi. While your regenerative abilities are quite profound, your abilities are meant to evolve. Time to shed what humans think of normalcy, into a new age that science can help recreate."

Pride and Greed stood off the side, rolling their eyes at what the doctor was doing.

The avarice of Greed couldn't help but chuckle. "Man, oh man! It's this crazy to believe that we'll be writing our part into mankind, quite literally. Walking and trampling over their blood, I have to say this will be quite fun." His ever-famous sharp teeth gleaned in anticipation.

While Sloth and Gluttony continued to sleep throughout most of the day, Pride looked straight on into one of the cell's dingy mirrors. His shadows became more prominent, red eerie eyes peek through and their fangs hissed.

Pride found a broken pipe on the ground and tapped it against metal pipes, tapping them how long and high loud the sounds are. Morse code that any soldier could translate. Man, I begin to wonder what Father is thinking about this. I bet he's happy on the inside to finally deliver the ultimate punishment humans deserve.