Live for yourself this time around, Little Alchemist
Chapter 007
I'm no idiot!
Author: Black Dragon on the Rocks/Animealam/Alandrem
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Nope, the characters here don't belong to me. I'm not making any money out of this, and it's for my own enjoyment and that of those who read it.
Summary: Truth did not accept Ed's alchemy as payment for his brother, instead It asked for Ed's body and two favors. Ed would be able to do what no male alchemist could, bring forth life. The favors? Save a world were his counterpart died during the Human Transmutation, and live for herself this time around. Ed agreed, he'd do anything for Alphonse, even becoming a girl. Not Mpreg, no slash.
Characters: Edward Elric, Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye, Truth, Jean Havoc, Heyman Breda, Kain Fuery, Vato Falman, Granny Pinako, Winry, King Bradley, Various Homunculi, Alphonse Elric, Van Hohenheim, OCs, Mentions of the Avengers, Maybe some Avengers, Tony Stark almost a given.
Warnings: Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Dimension Travel, Alternate UniverseDe-Aging, Fem!Ed, Violence, Angst, Drama, Gore, Magic, Mentions of Rape, Mentions of Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Alternate Universe, OOCness, Canon typical violence, Mentions of sexual harassment, Roy/Ed very far in the future, World Building, Other Fandoms Not Mentioned in Tags, Explicit Language, Ed swears... a lot, Modern Era, Modern Amestris, Protective Team, Parental Roy... for now. Will add tags as I go.
Pairing: Future Fem!Ed/Roy... maybe.
Timeline: Mixed timelines. Starts with Brotherhood - Post Promised Day, then it's mostly Anime 2003 until after Youswell, Some Brotherhood, Starts - Post Ed's 1st human transmutation, Avengers Movie.
Author Notes: I have to apologize for taking so long in posting this chapter, it was done last year but the holidays got in the way, with my nice coming over after we hadn't seen her for over a year. That was great, even if we spent most of the time at home watching TV because of the pandemic.
I would have posted last week, but we got some bad news, two of my relatives (distant, and yet we had more contact with them than the rest of the family) who have serious health conditions got COVID, one left us on Thursday, may he Rest In Peace, and the other is in the ICU. We haven't got any news, but as they say, no news is good news. Either way, we don't have much hope since he was already in a very bad shape because of his age and pre-existing condition.
So please, please wear a mask to protect your loved ones, and yourselves; and if you're religious please pray for all of those who are alone at hospitals, and the heroes who take care of them.
Ok, now on to better news, this chapter was getting ridiculously long, nearly ten thousand words, and I haven't written chapters of this length in years... since my first fic Present Time (InuYasha) so many years ago. So I had to cut it, and... Well there really wasn't a good place for it.
Also, in Brotherhood and the Manga, Tucker made his talking chimera in 1912 after Ed had become a State Alchemist. In the 2003 anime, Tucker made his chimera two years before Ed met him. This is the timing I'm using for this part of the story, not Brotherhood or the Manga (I haven't read it, but would love to).
Keys:
"Dialog" Normal dialog.
'Thoughts' Thoughts
"Dialog" Conversations on the phone, radio, video.
Words with Notes: 6,286 (W/O Notes: 5,690) (Notes: 596)
"So you want me to spy on this... Tucker guy?" Ed asked as she looked at the file resting on her lap.
She absently munched on a croissant Breda had been kind enough to bring her, along with some apple juice from the mess hall when he went for his lunch earlier—he was braver than she thought for daring to eat there. The croissant was actually quite decent, though. Unlike the mess at East City, the food in Central's mess was awfully bad, so locating something edible was a very rare find. They got lucky in East Command, because, while General Grumman—who was the one in charge of East City's military Headquarters—was thin, he ate a lot, and he liked his food to be tasty, so food at the mess was very decent, as well as safe to eat.
Ed was sitting crosslegged on one of Mustang's borrowed office's couches, still tucked under his coat, which she was not giving back just yet, or... at all if it was up to her. It was a cold, cloudy autumn day in Central, and her automail ports were aching a bit—on top of her other aches and pains—and that coat was warm. If she could get away with it, Ed was appropriating the black coat, even if it was huge on her. She would grow into it, she was sure.
The coat smelt heavenly, comforting, masculine, like a warm campfire, with a good mix of Mustang's own personal scent and the man's favored cologne. As a guy Ed had always wanted to ask the Colonel where the man bought it, because it really smelled good, but he never did fearing the bastard was going to make fun of him. Ed could not help it, she loved its scent, and had committed it to memory already.
The fact she was plotting how to... borrow Mustang's coat permanently, did not distract her from the fact things were, once again, out of whack. In her hands she had the Sewing-Life Alchemist's file; unable to help it, she scowled at the photo. Ed really, really hated the guy... probably as much as she hated Envy—or perhaps even more for what he did to his own daughter—and that was saying something, as she could not tolerate the palm tree wanna-be.
They had not met Tucker until she was fifteen, right after Liore. But now, like with meeting Hughes—whom she and Alphonse had met before going to Liore—it was happening almost four years earlier. At this point in time, Ed was not even a State Alchemist yet. At least she could hope her foreknowledge of what that fucker planned to do would help her save Nina and Alexander from becoming a chimera this time.
"Yes, there's something about his chimera, the talking one he created two years ago, that seems... off somehow; and Tucker hasn't been able to recreate it," Roy admitted to Elric as she studied the alchemist's file.
He was sitting before the tiny girl, who seemed to have appropriated his coat, or was plotting to. She looked ridiculously small wearing it, and the coat was huge on her, yet, Roy could practically see it in her eyes, she was planning to borrow it permanently. He was going to have a fight if he wanted it back, which he did because it was his favorite coat, and the only one he brought to Central for this... mission.
"I'm no bio-alchemist, so I really can't tell what's wrong. It's just... a feeling that hasn't left me for quite a while." Since he began overseeing all of the State Alchemist's research requisitions to be truthful; and that was when he was recently transferred to East Command about two years ago. Tucker had just gotten his certification, shortly before .
"Hmm..." She hummed absently as she scanned the pages for something she could use to justify mentioning a human chimera.
The bastard, and Ed was not sure she could keep calling him that because this Mustang was being quite nice—and so unlike her own—had surprisingly collected so much information on Tucker. But then, she could not deny the still Lieutenant Colonel was surprisingly good at information gathering. Ed always wondered how he managed to do that, because it was supposedly more up Hughes alley than his.
What Mustang had on Tucker was actually more than she expected, even if there was not much about his research specifically. What he requested for his research was very telling if one knew what to look for. Grand tried to keep everything regarding that... fucker under a tight lid, but it was clear he did not think his requisitions, and other minutiae gave up any information about what the man was doing. Brigadier General Basque Grand was clearly stupider than she had thought.
Her eyes moved fast over the many pages... and bingo! Ed found four mentions of the wife leaving, for four different reasons, and to four different people on different dates. They were all official reports which had to be filed for different important documents, like Nina's full custody, and the divorce. There was even one life insurance claim—something that had not existed in her Reality but which she found out was rather common here—but that one did not go through because there was no body, no proof the woman was dead.
According to the date of one of the reports, Mrs Johanna Tucker had disappeared three days before her husband, Shou Tucker, transmuted the talking chimera, and he presented his State Alchemist Exam a day after that. Ed knew it did not take Tucker too long to make the chimera; a few hours at most, so he must have kept the wife caged somewhere, because he had not lived in that huge house at the time. As Ed looked at the many forms in the file she saw there were other things they could use against him too.
"Do you have a trusted technical analyst?" Ed asked raising her eyes to look at Mustang for a moment, the Colonel had actually gotten comfortable on the couch, before going back to the file.
Ed knew technical analysts were a... 'thing' now, and they were in charge of gathering all electronic information available. Thanks to how modern things were in Amestris—like the rest of the world for that matter—almost every document, no matter how insignificant or obscure, was stored in one database or another. A good technical analyst could find just about anything they needed about a person, and she had no doubt Fuery was probably such a person for Mustang's team.
"Master Sergeant Kain Fuery, and second Lieutenant Heymans Breda. They are both members of my unit, and very trustworthy. Fuery is a wizard with a computer, while Breda specializes in intelligence gathering. Together they make an unbeatable team," Roy responded. "You have something?"
Roy was surprised, because he had not found anything to justify a formal investigation by the Internal Investigations Department in Central, which was the only option available to him. Anything else, Basque Grand would block, and would be out for his blood, not that the man needed a real excuse for it. The Iron Blood Alchemist did not like him much already, and Roy was not quite sure what his reasons were... there were several possibilities.
"A hunch," she admitted looking up again. "I'm not that well versed on chimeras"—even if she had learned a lot from her and Alphonse's experiences in her original Dimension, and she did know a couple of human ones—"but logic dictates that to make a talking one," Ed went on, "you need a starting point.
"At the very least, you need one animal which can talk in one way or another—you need vocal cords that can emulate human sounds—and at least another with a complex enough brain to at least be trained to communicate with humans." Seeing Mustang's frowning face she asked, "you can see that, right?"
"I do," Roy agreed after thinking about it. It was indeed the logical conclusion, and it actually followed the rules of alchemy. You cannot obtain something from nothing. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and giving the girl his complete attention. To his surprise she blushed. "So... going on, Miss Elric?" He encouraged her to keep explaining what she clearly found out.
"Ed, or Edward," she asked rather uncomfortable at being called Miss Elric, though she supposed she needed to get used to it. Ed suspected that was something she was going to deal with all her life, which most guys did not have to. She also had to fight the blush that she had been unable to stop, because having Mustang's full attention was... rather intense, and also something she had rarely had back in her original Dimension.
"Very well, Ed, continue."
"I'm no expert," Ed admitted humbly... for her, "but I know there are several kinds of parrot species, most from South America and Australia"—countries which did not exist in her original Dimension—"which can... talk. I remember seeing in a documentary some of those birds can be as smart as a three year old child." She loved the Discovery Channel (1), Animal Planet (1), History Channel (1), and both NatGeos (1). Television was such an amazing invention. "None of his reports... or requisitions show he ever used such birds.
"He also never used any of the great apes, like gorillas, chimpanzees, or orangutans, which would be obvious candidates for a chimera capable of communication, even if those species are even more protected than some of the birds," she told him. Her face showed what she thought about using such amazing animals in experimental alchemy, Ed did not approve... to put it mildly. "There are studies in other countries where some of those animals have been taught to use sign language. I've no doubt the military would provide the hominids," and she mentally included humans in there, "for him if he wanted some—"
"Unfortunately, we would have," Roy muttered, and it would have been his... duty to procure them for Tucker had he asked, just like he procured most of the animals, and he really hated giving him dogs and cats. While he was no fan of documentaries, he had seen a few through his life, and he had always thought the big apes were rather interesting.
"—which he clearly didn't," Ed continued ignoring the brief interruption. There was no doubt in her mind they would have, even if the experiments were not ethical. "Because, while I can't be certain until I see his notes, I really don't think this Tucker asshole actually knows what he's doing. He's supposedly a doctor, but... I don't know, some of the things the idiot asks for make no sense, like... AT ALL."
Ed could see Mustang was looking rather impressed at what she knew, and she could not help but preen a bit, her Colonel Bastard rarely showed his approval of whatever she did. It was one of the reasons why they were always at odds. Ed might never admit it aloud, but she had wanted the Bastard's approval. It really felt good to know she had some of it in this Dimension.
As to her knowledge about apes, well there was an easy explanation, when she was unable to do much while she waited for her injuries to heal, binge watching TV had been a good distraction from the pain when Granny would not give her more painkillers because she already had as much as someone of her age, size, and the amount of missing limbs could safely take.
Watching the TV had also been a good way to learn more about her new Reality. Besides, Ed was a bookworm by nature, she was always up for learning new things if she found the subject interesting, and she had found a good number of documentaries interesting. Since she arrived to the Dimension, it had not always been alchemy, even if it still was her favorite subject.
"Those experiments proved the hominids—or greater primates—are capable of expressing themselves, not just repeating a learned response." Frankly, the use of a human to make that chimera had been so obvious, she could not believe no one suspected it... or perhaps they had not wanted to see it, including herself and Alphonse. "So... where is his equivalent exchange? What's he giving up to make the animals smarter, and capable of speaking, because I don't see it anywhere!
"From these requisitions, I can see he's been using cats, dogs, racoons, squirrels, ravens, lab rats... Those species, while relatively smart, simply don't have the brain capacity for something so complex as learning a language, and then try to communicate... well the ravens might. They are actually quite smart and can vocalize, but the others?" Ed shook her head. "He might get them to parrot words, on a good day, and after at least months of training, if not years. But actually speaking for themselves? Specially without the proper vocal cords to reproduce the sounds?
"Not possible," Ed said categorically. "I really don't believe anyone could make a talking chimera with the species he used. Then there's also the issue of his timing, because he would've had to train those animals to communicate, and that's a process that might take years as I said, even if he somehow found a way to enhance the animal's intelligence, which again I can't tell until I get a look at his research notes.
"So then, his wife goes missing just three days before his State Alchemist exam, and after she 'left'," and she made air quotes, "he suddenly had a talking chimera? One that understood our language well enough to be able to express its desire to die? Nope, not fucking possible. I really don't buy it. He had to have used a human... his wife," Ed stated with certainty. "It's so obvious! I also think if those who reviewed his 'experiment' were knowledgeable in Bio-Alchemy at all, they either chose to turn a blind eye, or he has a powerful unscrupulous sponsor... or both," she told Mustang with conviction.
Ed was sure Brigadier General Grand knew Tucker used a human, and for whatever reasons he chose to turn a blind eye on it. Transmuting human chimeras was as much of a taboo, as Human Transmutation was, and Ed did wonder what Tucker used to make the exchange equivalent. Because she knew the chimeras she had known back in her original Dimension had been created using either the lives of prisoners, or low powered Philosopher's Stones.
The asshole had not seemed to have lost any body parts, and from what little she remembered from seeing his lab, his chimeras were grotesquely deformed. Ed knew there were ways to balance the transmutation, and use body parts as part of the exchange, but from those vague memories, Ed knew Tucker had not thought about it. It really was a miracle he actually managed to make a talking chimera.
Perhaps he was using a fake Philosopher's Stone, this time she would ask better questions in hope of getting more answers. If someone had access to the Philosopher's Stones at the moment, it would be Brigadier General Basque Grand—and the homunculi—because the alchemist had been in charge of Lab five before he was killed. This information was something that had not been easy to find, since there really were no records of Lab five. She did not remember well, but Ed thought it had been Barry who told Alphonse.
Back in her original Dimension Grand had only arrested Tucker because Mustang and Hughes got involved. Too many soldiers had heard her and Alphonse speak about Nina, they actually saw her, and knew Tucker had used his own daughter and her dog to make the chimera. Those same soldiers, and several of the neighbors that had come out to see what happened also heard them saying Tucker's first talking chimera had been his wife. So no matter what he tried, Grant knew he could not hide what his protégé had done, and the best he could do was feign ignorance as to the composition of the chimera which gave Tucker his title of State Alchemist.
"I see..." Roy said thoughtfully as he analyzed the information Elric provided.
The girl really was a prodigy—as he thought when he saw what remained of her Human Transmutation array—because after reading the file he provided her with, Ed had quickly noticed the discrepancies, analyzed them, and had been able to present the case in an understandable way. What Edward told him was clear enough even a non alchemist like his best friend would understand, and he was seriously thinking of asking her to write a report on her findings for Maes.
They needed to look into things with a fine tooth comb... just like she had done, and those in investigations would have more leeway to search for Mrs Tucker than he would. Because the missing persons case was still open, and the same happened with the one hundred million cenz insurance claim. Roy also wondered why no one had actually questioned how it was the chimera knew how to use their language. Because now that Edward had pointed it out, it was obvious someone had to have taught Amestrian to it, if it had indeed been a pure animal combination.
Unfortunately that chimera had let itself die leaving those questions unanswered... too convenient for Tucker, although he could not blame Mrs Tucker—if it was indeed her—for wanting to end her pain. He had seen some photos of Tucker's chimeras, and the transmutations looked to be incredibly painful, if the malformations resulting from them were anything to go by.
"You want Fuery and Breda to search for Mrs Tucker?" Roy asked just for confirmation, although after what she told him, he was going to have the Major Sergeant, and the Second Lieutenant do it anyway. He was also going to ask Maes to get his people on the case as well. They were quite good at uncovering whatever information they looked for. Perhaps he would have a few words with the Madame just to cover all bases, as his aunt was quite good at finding all kinds of information.
"Yeah, I don't think they'll find her, though. Even if what you've here is the bare minimum of the information on his research, I'm sure that chimera was her," Ed stated with finality. "The most damning evidence available, are the four reports he filed on her going missing. He told four different stories about her disappearance to four different people, and it's all in writing.
"Someone should've had to find that odd, I really don't understand how no one did," and she was really puzzled about that. Although perhaps Ed should not be. The talking chimera experiment was practically Grand's pet project, so maybe he had done something to obstruct the missing person's investigation. "Anyway, I'd like to read whatever notes he made available, I'm sure he left quite a lot of things out—if it was me, I would've—but you can also tell much by what's missing."
"Yes, someone should have," Roy could not help but agree, and he frowned suspecting Basque Grand had something to do with it, which made him complicit in the disappearance of Mrs Tucker. He was not sure they would be able to do anything against him if the General indeed knew what Tucker did. "As to his notes, it's unfortunate his research has been classified at the highest level, only those alchemists authorized by Brigadier General Grand have access to it."
"And you can't get to his notes?" She asked curious, as Ed knew Mustang had contacts just about everywhere, and quite a lot of people owed him favors. She always wondered how he managed that.
"I'm no bio-alchemist, Ed, so no; and before you ask, I can't request them for you either. You're not yet a State Alchemist, and frankly your age doesn't do you service, no one's going to believe you know enough to read those notes and understand them," he told her, and the girl clearly looked offended.
"I'm not an idiot!" Ed could not help exclaiming in indignation. "I'm probably smarter than a lot of them!"
"I know, Ed," Roy said placatingly, because he could see Edward Elric was easily offended when her intelligence... and height were questioned. "I know some of what you're capable of, and that between your ears there's actually a brain which could put most people to shame." His words did seem to placate her, and she preened slightly, almost... subconsciously, like she was not used to being complimented. It... saddened him.
"Damn right," she agreed with a curt nod.
"While I can't access his notes, I do get his requisitions, as well as any non classified reports on what happened to the supplies provided, and that includes the animals. Brigadier General Grand might be the highest ranked State Alchemist at the moment, but I'm second to him, which is why I'm in charge of reviewing all requisitions for any State funded alchemy lab, and the State Alchemists personal research projects in the whole country."
'He is?' Ed thought shocked. 'Although that makes sense, there weren't that many State Alchemists left after the war, and I never heard of any of the others being higher ranked than Mustang, with the exception of Grand; and Scar killed the guy.
'No wonder he was swamped in paperwork,' she mentally commiserated. 'Perhaps I should work on getting trustworthy alchemists into the military, and under Mustang's command. They sure would be an immense help when Promised Day comes.' Now, that was an idea worth exploring... a school... or... perhaps teach an advanced class to alchemists and/or soldiers who wanted to join the State Alchemist program... that... that... might actually work.
"I had the feeling his requisitions weren't matching the type of research he was supposed to be doing," Roy explained to the girl, who was listening intently. "I do oversee other chimera labs"—he hated that, because he did not really agree with the creation of chimeras just because they could—"and they didn't match. Unfortunately I can't investigate him openly because the Brigadier doesn't want anyone to interrupt Tucker's research."
"Ok, I'll do it," she said after appearing to think about it.
Ed had already known from the moment Mustang gave her the file on Tucker she would be involved in whatever the bastard was scheming about. This time she would save Nina and Alexander from becoming a chimera, and Scar's third—as far as she knew, because he had killed aunt Sarah and uncle Yuriy in Ishval—civilian victim... if that ever happened in this Dimension. She now had her doubts, as everything was changing.
"Will this investigation help me become a State Alchemist?" She asked curiously, might as well see if she could benefit from it.
"If it's successful it will count, and even if for some reason it doesn't, you will get paid as an external consultant. Your legal guardian will have to sign the contract, though," he informed the girl, suspecting a trip back to Resembool was in order after he had Falman help him redact the contract.
"I've no legal guardian," Ed told him, which was shockingly true, specially in this modern version of Amestris. In both Realities she and Alphonse had fallen through the cracks in the system. "Granny never signed the forms for us. Everyone knew we were practically orphans, and since the bastard up and left before Mom died, no one ever asked for a guardian's permission or whatever. So I raised myself, and my brother.
"Besides, no one knows if the sperm donor's dead or alive, so no one ever asked. I don't care either way," she said with a shrug. Ed knew Hohenheim was alive somewhere, but she still could not make herself care. "Besides, Resembool's small enough we don't have an ACPA office. The closest one is... about three towns away, I think. That's a problem?"
Having no legal guardian had not been a problem before. Everyone in town knew they were orphans, and while they clearly felt sorry for them, no one had done anything about it. Well... those who had worked the lands for their Mom had still done so for them. They sold their produce to the garrison, and the military surprisingly paid fairly, not caring they had been dealing with a kid.
Unlike what happened to them before, Ed had discovered there were several new laws which did affect her. Laws which the people of Resembool, and Granny had ignored. Laws created to protect children—all children—from those abused at home, to those left orphaned, not that they worked perfectly, but it was still more than had existed in her Dimension, which was around one hundred years in the past.
Roy pinched the bridge of his nose, then released it. That was a shocking revelation, but it explained why Edward Elric was the unique character she was. She not only raised herself practically on her own, but also her brother. She was clearly used to doing things herself, and probably learned not to ask adults for assistance... if there were any she would have actually gone to. Perhaps the Rockbell woman, but while she apparently cared, she had not cared enough to be responsible legally for the children's well being.
"It might be," Roy admitted after a long silence. Who was he kidding? Of course it was a problem, children in her situation ended wards of the State, because Edward was too young to be emancipated. There was a military garrison in Resembool, and Roy had to wonder why they did not report the orphaned children to the ACPA. "Once you become a State Alchemist I'll be responsible for you, as your Commanding Officer," he told her, but that was not a given.
Anyone higher ranked than him could have her transferred to their units, and there would be little Roy could do to keep her, and protect her from the greedy and unscrupulous men and women who were in the military. There were good people, with morals, and loyalty to the country, but it would be a gamble. It definitely would not do, as he was the one who brought her into the military, and despite her initially being a way to get a promotion, Roy already felt incredibly responsible for Edward. He was also feeling more than a bit protective of the girl, even when so far she had proven to be quite capable of taking care of herself.
"Unfortunately the exam is three months away..." he began.
"What? It's in three months?" Ed interrupted surprised, because that was... unexpected. In her Reality Ed had simply gone to Mustang, and the man had requested he be tested. The bastard had then instructed him to take a train to Central so Ed could take the exam.
"Yes, before, anyone could request an exam no matter the date, but surprisingly there are a good number of candidates each year, even if practically almost no one passes. Some even take the exam several times either until they pass, or someone takes pity and tells them not to return.
"There's been years when no one passes." Last year was a prime example, which was why he ended in Resembool searching for alchemists, and met a just injured Edward. "This is why the Führer," Roy went on, "decided it would be better to have them twice a year, one in January, and the other in June. Halcrow is sponsoring you, along with me, for the January exam," he explained. Roy was beginning to have his doubts about having Halcrow involved being a good idea, even if it was necessary. "After what you did yesterday, he wanted you under his command."
"Yeah, he did ask, told him I wasn't interested," she responded nonchalantly.
Roy smirked. "During our briefing yesterday, the General informed me, you told him you'd only join the military if you were in my unit, and under my command." That had been a surprise, but he was quite pleased, as it told him he had some of her trust.
Unfortunately, with the General interested in becoming Edward's Commanding Officer, Roy might have trouble keeping her as his subordinate, specially once Halcrow found out she was not a boy. The Major General was not a good man, and there were rumors—more like everyone in the East knew, they just could not find a way to prove them—about his proclivities which put Edward in danger. He definitely had to find a way to keep Edward under his command, at least until she was eighteen.
Roy knew some of the higher ranks would take advantage of her, and not just her alchemy, but her body as well. Sexual harassment was not as common as it used to be, due to a protest by practically all female members of the military along with Mrs Bradley. The military had made great strides in trying to stop the discrimination, as well as sexual harassment of all its members, females and males. They, in fact, had set the example for the rest of the country.
Unfortunately, despite all Mrs Bradley's and her Department's work, that type of abuse, as well as the gender discrimination still happened, even if the instances of it had significantly reduced since the protest. The women had originally complained to their commanding officers, but when they were just ignored, they organized themselves, and threatened to quit, something no one wanted. Female soldiers now made almost half of the full might of the Amestrian Armed forces.
After the protests, and with Mrs Bradley being quite involved in them, to her own husband's surprise, the higher ups along with the Führer came with a set of very strict rules to protect them. They also created a new Department to deal exclusively with gender discrimination, and sexual harassment—this did include men, as some officers of both genders had been known to order subordinates to please them.
The Führer's wife herself—Beatrice Bradley—presided the Department of Equality Rights and Fair Conduct, as it had been named, or DERFC for short. It was feared by all male members of the military—and some females as well. No one was exempt from its reach, no matter the rank. Roy still feared Edward would be hurt before the DERFC could protect her. Should he bring the case to Madam Bradley herself?
The rumors of Halcrow preferring young girls as bed partners abounded, specially the pretty ones between the ages of twelve to sixteen. Ed was boyish, both in behavior, and the way she dressed, but sooner or later Halcrow would learn she was no boy, and she was a very beautiful child. Roy was sure he would make a move to get her then, or at least he would wait until she passed the State Alchemist exam.
The man had a family—a wife, and two young children, one of each—but that did not appear to make him stop doing what he was doing to many girls, some of them children of his own people at New Optain Command. Those girls had been easily accessible after all. No charges had ever been pressed against him, simply because most victims disappeared... their parents were transferred to other units, or they were moved out of the province with their families, and were never seen again, which was... convenient, and concerning.
Perhaps Roy should talk to the Führer, and negotiate a special contract which took into account Edward's age, gender, and status as an orphaned child. He was the one who brought her into the military, so he should be the one to make sure she was safe, or as safe as possible with her being a soldier.
Roy's mind started going over what he knew of the military's regulations which could help him keep his future subordinate safe, and it was not just because she would be an asset to him. He suspected she had been left to fend on her own for far too long, and his conscience demanded he do something.
"I see... So that's part of the reason why you want me to stay with that guy, while I look for proof that he transmuted his wife into a chimera," Ed deducted. She clearly needed a place to stay, and... because of those child protection laws she might not be allowed to buy or rent her own place, which threw a wrench into her plans.
"Yes," Roy confirmed, although things had changed because she had no guardian. He still planned for her to spy on Tucker... once he solved the guardianship problem. "I believe you'll have a better chance of finding any evidence if you have access to his house, and staying there will provide it."
She sighed, not quite sure she could be in the same room as Tucker and not strangle him, or worse, actually stab him with her arm blade. "Ok, I guess I could try to stay there, and do my best not to strangle the guy for what he's doing to all those animals, and his wife."
'And what he did to Nina back then,' she thought with a mental growl, 'because like hell am I letting that bastard hurt her this time around. Not when I know what he's capable of doing when he's desperate.'
"Good, although spying on Tucker will most likely have to wait." Frankly he was coming to the realization they had to settle her guardianship before they could actually make any plans. "Now, going back to your guardianship, I just realized the fact you have no guardian leaves you in legal limbo..." He had been thinking hard about what to do, and as he remembered some things, Roy made a decision.
(1) These channels belong to their respective owners.