Chapter 4

The alchemist, and the man clearly was one, looked confused, but at least he was on top of it. Unlike the rest of the humans. He checked the hole and, seeing no one else, resealed it.

The group stood awkwardly for a moment after that, taking each other in. Four of them were dripping a bit. Outside, the man Pride guessed was in charge had broad shoulders, black hair that was graying, and dark eyes. The alchemist was the tallest. Brown hair, brown eyes. He was on the pale side, and there was something off about him, though Pride couldn't guess what. The woman had red hair and green eyes. She was small, but clearly on the older side. And the woman who'd been in the hall with them had blond hair done up in two braids, blue eyes, and Pride wasn't entirely sure calling her a woman was accurate. His first guess had been teenager.

"Who are you?" the man who was clearly in charge asked, turning to the two.

"Right. I'm the Doctor. This is my student Pride. We're on vacation."

"We're always on vacation," Pride injected under his breath.

"Who are you?" the Doctor pressed on.

"Those cannot be your real names," the dry woman said.

"I'm Lilly," the other woman said, so quickly was probably trying to save them a debate. "That's Ruth. Our boss is Ivan, and our alchemist here is Simon."

"You're Amestrian," Pride said, specifically to Lilly. "I recognize your accent."

The others were not. Considering all work Father had done to make Amestris the alchemy capital of the world, it was almost insulting the alchemist wasn't the Amestrian.

"You have the same accent," Lilly pointed out.

Pride nodded, and the corners of Lilly's mouth twitched up a bit.

Ivan cleared his throat. "Well, if you're so familiar with each other, why don't you keep an eye on these two, and get them some dry clothes. The rest of us better investigate the damages, and what caused them."

"What? But sir, I can help with that," Lilly said. "I saw what attacked us. It-"

"And I'm sure you can fill us in later, but we all have work to do," Ivan said pointedly.

Then he took the other two. With a huff, Lilly led them down the hall, her silence continuing to be moody. Pride took the time to look around. The hall was shaped like the inside of a white tube. He hadn't seen any windows to the outside world yet. They were on his home planet, but based on the technology they were in the future. He knew they weren't in Amestris, but he couldn't place the country.

"You alright there?" the Doctor eventually asked Lilly. "You seem upset."

No, you think? Pride thought sarcastically.

Lilly huffed again. "Nothing you did. This is just the story of my life."

"Being stuck on babysitting duty?" Pride guessed.

"That, or other menial tasks that take away from the real work," Lilly confirmed.

She led them into a room. The trio walked in, and Pride proceeded to stare. Because there was a window in here. He moved closer to it. They were in a large body of water, so far below the surface it was probably the ocean. His vision was limited by the only light being in this room, but he could see rocked formations in the distance, and schools of fish swimming by. Seeing the sights was a major reason he'd gone with the Doctor in the first place, but he'd forgotten for a moment.

Now it made sense why there were no Amestrians here except Lilly. Amestris was landlocked.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Lilly asked.

Pride turned back. Lilly's expression had softened into a genuine smile. She walked towards the window, standing just behind him. "The ocean takes up 70% of the world. It's so full, but we still know so little about it. Aerugo had the idea of underwater towns to help with overpopulation, but does there really need to be a reason for living someplace like this?"

Pride looked out. He saw something sleek and flexible, with flippers, swimming in the distance. It was probably some sort of seal.

He shrugged. "It's impressive," he allowed.

Lilly cleared her throat. "Right, well. I said I'd get you dry. Here's some towels." She handed one to Pride while tossing the other one at the Doctor. "There should be something in here for the Doctor, but I'm going to have to look for something in Pride's size. Give me just a moment."

The room did seem to be like a really big closet, clothes hanging in rows in most of it. Lilly grabbed a white dress shirt and black pants for the Doctor. Based on the Doctor's expression, she found those terribly boring, but she still took them. Then Lilly left the room.

Pride turned to the Doctor. "Why are you still saying you're my teacher?"

"Because you're still learning," the Doctor said. If that was supposed to be a jab, he had far better reasons to be mad at her. She rubbed a towel on her head, hair going everywhere, and walked along the racks. "This is all far too boring. What do you think?" She pulled out a purple feather boa.

"Please. Don't," Pride said dryly. Not that he expected her to listen to his advice.

"I'm going to do it." She disappeared behind the clothes racks, trying to find the other end of the boa. When she reappeared, she was changed into the outfit Lilly had given her, and the boa. "I think I'm going to go investigate. It's not everyday you almost drown. If Lilly comes back, I'm sure you can come up with some explanation."

She tossed the towel aside and headed for the door.

"I'm not coming with you?" Pride asked. He stepped forward, but stayed relatively far behind her.

"No," the Doctor said. "Just . . . stay here. I'll handle this."

Pride stopped, and the Doctor left. She'd handle this? So, he was a nuisance underfoot now? She seemed considerably moodier now than before. Was this just because of his identity? Because if so, she'd respected him more when she thought he was a kid. If he knew she was going to be this patronizing, he would've rethought this plan.

And what would you have done instead? Become a runaway on this planet?

Pride let out his breath, forcing himself to stop being so emotional. The Doctor wasn't the only one who'd been less emotional once. What was wrong with him? He blamed the human body.

The door opened, Lilly coming back in with a bundle. "Okay. I think I got you something. Hey where'd the Doctor go?"