"... she'll gonna kill me, won't she?"
"Yes, sir."
"Probably rip my limbs off my body."
"A definite, sir."
"Maybe roast me, too? That'd be ironic."
"Very, sir."
"Maybe she'll make something that'll rot my body in a short time period?"
"Highly likely, sir."
The rest of Roy Mustang's team gave both him and Riza Hawkeye horrified looks. For some reason, ever since that blond kid received his pocket watch and title all those years ago, which hadn't been that long, their superior had been acting... odd? Well, odder than usual, to be precise. The Flame Alchemist had been hunched over in one corner for hours now, muttering incoherent things as waves of dread rolled off him. It was just a few minutes ago when he started talking loud enough for them to hear.
"Or that virus of hers?"
"Don't joke about that, sir."
Fuery perked up at this, an epiphany hitting him when Roy mentioned the word virus. "Um, First Lieutenant? Could the person he's been talking about be... is Major Hong?" Roy buried his face further in his knees when the techie uttered the woman's name who's been plaguing him since that morning. Havoc raised an eyebrow at this. "The same woman from the letter? Jeez, sir, why don't ya just chalk it up with her? It's been years." For some weird reason, the dread rolling off Roy intensified. Havoc flinched in surprise at that.
"Don't you know?" Breda mused on his desk, flipping through the stack of papers. "The Cataclysmic Alchemist went MIA near at the end of the war. No one knew why either."
Havoc blinked before his jaw dropped ever so slightly. "You mean the person chief's been brooding over is that alchemist?!"
"I'm surprised that you didn't know. She's kind of famous." Falman commented from where he was. The blond man almost swallowed his cigarette. "Of course I'd know her! I just didn't know her name goddammit! And no one told me all these years?! Unbelievable!"
Riza rolled her eyes at the antics of her teammates yet a miniscule smile graced her lips. She glanced at her friend before a sigh escaped her. "Colonel," the sniper called out with a clipped tone. "I'm sure she'd actually kill you if you don't look after those boys properly." That sent another wave of depression roll off him. "Ever since they've been a part of the military, which she hates with all her being, of course, all you can do now for her is not to let those boys get themselves killed in a mission."
"... that's hardly comforting, First Lieutenant."
"I'm simply stating what is true, sir."
The ravenet sighed in defeat, accepting the fact that Ana would murder him in the near future. At last, Roy sat back down behind his desk, his fingers interlaced as he rested his chin on top of them. "Any reports?" His team got used to his sudden mood swing when it concerned the other woman in his life; especially when it happens ever so often. It entertained them a bit, to be honest. "Nothing has happened in Laboratory Three since the last incident..." Roy quirked an eyebrow when Riza trailed off.
"And?"
"... rumors of an alchemist coming in from the East helped a town whose main source of income is agriculture." The ravenet perked up at this, his attention piqued the moment his First Lieutenant finished. "Agriculture, you say?"
"Yes. For the last few years, the town of Helios had been visited by drought numerous times a year. Just a few months ago, in the middle of drought, an alchemist arrived and brought forth 'miracle' to them." At this moment, a soft smile graced Riza's lips; drawing the same conclusion like Roy's in her mind. "A well materialized from the sand and water came forth with a clap of the alchemist's hands. After that, this rumored miracle worker did something to the dried plot of land Helios has. Crops of the highest quality had grown in a matter of weeks."
"So Helios started trading again?"
"Yes, and rumors of this alchemist spread and even reached Central."
Roy hummed in response, separating his interwoven fingers with a familiar smirk painting his features. He looked at Falman, who stood in attention and saluted. "Get Fullmetal for me. I have a... very important mission for him."
After almost four years of disappearing to who-knows-where, it was time for a reunion.
oooOooo
Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, grumbled under his breath in disdain as he once again crossed the desert. It hadn't even been that long since he came back to Central and Mustang already gave him a job out at the East... in the freaking desert of all places.
It hadn't been just one town but two, for Truth's sake. First was in Liore which he and Al already finished with. They were on their way to Helios, a halfway point between Liore and Youswell.
From what he knew, Helios was separated into two climates; the Western Helios was filled with sand and the Eastern Helios was surrounded by mountains. By some odd miracle, it was a town whose agriculture is rich.
Sandy loam soil dominated the central part of town. "Oi, Al, you still with me?" Silence met him. "Al?" When he turned around, he just saw... sand. "Alphonse?!" The alchemist called out in a panic before shrieking in horror when something grabbed his ankle.
It was Al's hand.
It took him roughly ten minutes to dig out his brother out of the sand, even opening his chest plate to let out some of it that got inside him. "Dammit, Al, stop getting buried!"
"I can't help it, brother!" Alphonse whined as he shook out the last handful of sand inside him. Edward groaned in exasperation, the heat making his vision blurry. "Al... is the sun getting bigger or what?"
The red eyes of the armor blinked and looked up, seeing the sun glaring down at them like it had been this past few hours. "I think you're getting delusional, brother. The sun is the same as always." When Alphonse received no answer, he turned to face his brother; only to gape in disbelief.
Edward collapsed and snuggled into the sand. "B-Brother!" The suit of armor clamored loudly as he picked up his brother in haste. Alphonse ran the remaining distance towards Helios with Ed in his arms, muttering gibberish in his dehydrated and delusional state.
The town of Helios came to sight. He didn't have time to be in awe, however, as he approached the nearest civilian to him and asked where he could find a hospital. "There's no hospital but we do have a clinic." With the directions given to him, Alphonse set out and have his brother checked up on.
The doctor of Helios, an old graying woman who still seemed so strong despite her sagging skin, told him not to worry. Ed had only a mild case of dehydration and some hallucination for being out in the heat for however long; especially with his automail. It must have burned him a little.
Alphonse, relieved that his brother would be okay, decided to check out the town. The doctor said that Ed should stay there for at least a day to recuperate. That was why Alphonse decided to do a little investigating of his own.
The town seemed to be rich with greenery despite the climate. A water system— irrigation, he corrected himself— ran along the ground and seemed to work at certain times in the day. People sold minerals and vegetables; an odd combination but he could see why Helios caught the Colonel's attention.
From what he informed them, Helios had been plagued by drought for some time now, and the town had almost been left to rot if it weren't for this strange alchemist a few months ago. It amazed him how the town prospered in just a short amount of time.
"Hey, you, in the armor!" someone called out which made Al pause in his steps. A child stopped in front of him; her amber hair braided into twin tails, her large sandy-colored eyes looked at him in earnest. Al's heart melted at the sight of her cuteness. She couldn't be older than nine. "Are you here to see Miss Jullia?!"
The name sent a jolt of familiarity and shock into his soul. He caught himself before he jumped into conclusion. Maybe it was just a person who had a similar name to their big sister? Then again, her name was odd and unique; in all their traveling, they haven't met someone who had so much as a similar name to hers.
"Is that the person who helped you guys?"
"Mhm! She's really nice and pretty and— and she's strong! Lots of people come here just to see her!"
Hesitation flooded his eyes. He kept debating with himself if he should wait for his brother to wake up or go see this person by himself. But then, Al remembered that Ed seemed a bit... bitter when someone mentions a guardian or if Al accidentally brings up their sister.
The suit of armor glanced at the child, his head tilting the slightest bit. "Could you help me find her then?"
"Sure thing!"
If he still had a physical heart, Al was sure it would be racing in anticipation right now. It wasn't for certain but they might find their sister again after all these years. Sure, he wasn't looking forward to having his ass handed to him when she finds out what he and Ed had done; but she would finally be with them again.
With nothing but his armor clanking and the girl chattering away, the world became muted the closer they got to their destination. "— and Miss Jullia spends a lot of her time in the farm! She really likes plants and stuff and tells us that eating vegetables is good and that they are really good for us and Miss Jullia always says that alchemy isn't the answer for everything when she started teaching us the basics and if we do something stupid with it she said that we wouldn't want to know what'll happen—"
Alphonse shuddered at that. Actually, he was starting to think if he should just go back and bring his brother with him. That way, he wouldn't be the only one who would die a horrible death in the hands of their sister.
"We're here!"
A shiver made his armor clank loudly in the natural silence as he watched the kid ran up to a figure that stepped out of the hut a few feet away from him.
"Youngest munchkin, I thought I told you not to stray too far."
"But someone wants to meet you, Miss Jullia! And he's really weird for wearing that armor in the desert!"
Everything blurred into the background the moment Alphonse set his eyes on this Miss Jullia. The name alone sent his armor clamoring in familiarity; now that he heard her voice, there was no mistake about it. That ginger hair. Those sharp stormy-blue eyes. That toothy grin and freckles splashed across her nose and cheeks.
In front of him, Julliana Hong smiled a familiar smile that sent warmth through his soul. Even when he couldn't feel her comfort anymore, just the sight of her smile made Alphonse remember the times when he did feel it. "And you are? We hardly get lone visitors; it's usually a group that comes here."
No words left the stunned Elric.
He watched as her eyebrows furrowed in worry, her lips set into a familiar frown that made the brewing sadness inside of him to intensify. Alphonse wanted to hug her; to feel her warmth and comfort and her soothing presence and just... everything.
He missed being scolded, too.
"I-I—" he managed to stutter out, the lines her face caused by worry smoothening out at his voice. "— I'm with my brother; we went here together."
"Is that right? Did you get separated?"
"I, uh, no. He's, um, at the clinic."
Really, Alphonse didn't know what to say. With this armor as his body, she wouldn't be able to recognize him, at all. Why was it so hard to tell her that he was Alphonse Elric?
Probably because she'd kill me before I could get my body back?
"Miss Jullia!"
The tension Al felt dispersed at the arrival of a civilian, who seemed to look a little bit frantic. "Chris from Eastern Helios is back." A groan left Julliana, her expression painted with annoyance. "Again? That shit doesn't know when to quit, does he?"
Lili gently pat the woman's cheek. "You said a bad word!"
Alphonse watched them with aching heart, the sadness overwhelming him when he saw Julliana roll her eyes ruffle Lili's hair. It took everything he has to not let anyone hear his sobs. He didn't let them echo in his armor. In fact, he tried to bury his feeling at the moment because the anxiety rolling off from the messenger made him snap to attention.
"Rey, think you can get Lili to a safe place?"
"I, uh, sure... but what for?"
"I think it's time that shit fall from his high horse. I've had enough of his attitude." Lili pouted as Julliana handed her to Rey, who proceeded to leave and warn the rest of the townspeople. Alphonse almost shrieked in terror when Julliana's narrowed eyes landed on him.
"Hey, big guy, know how to fight?"
"Y-Yes, ma'am!"
The mischievous smile that graced her lips made Al a little nervous. He knew that expression; someone was about to get their dignity ripped off... badly. "Come on here, then."
Al hesitated but in the end, he walked until he was beside her. Everything seemed a little unreal for him at the moment, in all honesty. "Um, Miss Julia?" the woman hummed in response. "Who's this Chris? And why did Mister Rey look as if he just came from a squirmish?"
"Chris is a little bastard who thinks he owns everything now just because his father's on his death bed— Al gasped in surprise at that. "— due to old age, don't worry. Anyway, he thinks he has the right to control the price of the crops, thinks he knows what and how it should be planted, and how everything is supposed to work. In short? He thinks he's mister know-it-all. Saying something about me being a woman or some shit like that and I shouldn't be overseeing this, that moron."
Al was pretty sure that he wasn't supposed to hear that last sentence. "So he wants everything to go according to what he thinks things should supposed to work?"
"Pretty much. I know his old man; strong and kind-hearted... kinda reminds me of a pair of boys I know, really." Al froze at that, and despite not being physically able to, the suit of armor began to sweat in nervousness. Any second now and he might slip up and expose himself.
I'm not ready to die yet!
Her stormy-blue eyes pierced right through him as if seeing right through his very soul before a grin replaced her stoic expression. "Get ready to kick someone's ass, big guy."
At the other end of the field, a man riding a horse appeared followed by a handful of men at his side. The way they simply strutted right through the field and destroyed their hard-growned crops caused anger to bubble up inside Al.
"Miss Jullia!" the leader, Chris, greeted with a charming smile. One that Julliana scoffed at. "Chris the Ass; how kind of you to stop by." Al had to stifle his laughter at that, noticing how Chris— a man who's fairly handsome with dark hair and brown eyes— twitched in annoyance.
The suit of armor suddenly noticed how Julliana clapped her hands together, the tiniest glow and crackle of lightning catching his attention. He then wondered what she had just done when he realized nothing happened around them. "So what are you and your men doing here? I thought your father told you not to come here."
Chris smiled down in a rather condescending way at her as he hopped off the saddle of his horse, followed by his men behind him. "I just want to talk, Miss Jullia." The clicking of the safety of a gun reached Al's ears and suddenly, he and Julliana were at gun point by at least ten men. "And the deed for this land."
Julliana wasn't impressed and gave him a blank look. "Look, asshole, this land is for everyone. I wouldn't have any qualms if your father asked but since it's you..." The ginger head flipped him the finger. Chris' eye twitched. "... go to hell. You're not getting even an acre from the farmers."
"Is that so..." Chris gave his men a look and all of them fired consecutive shots.
Alphonse gasped and covered Julliana with his body which earned him an incredulous look from the woman. "Big guy, stop! You're going to get—" she stopped when she heard several clicks and yet no gunshot. She peeked behind him and saw Chris and his men gaping in shock.
One of them took out a pistol with shaky hands and shot at Al's head with surprising accuracy. His helmet flew off and clanged when it fell on the ground. Alphonse shrugged it off and asked, "You didn't get hurt, did you, Miss Jullia?" He noticed her blinking rapidly in shock.
"T-There's no head!"
"He's a monster!"
With them distracted, Alphonse charged at them; his empty inside visible for them to see. All of them squealed like banshees when he reached them. None of them were trained at all, and their confidence came from the weapons they have. It didn't even take Al a minute to dispose of them.
He left Chris alone, however, since he sensed as if Julliana wanted to deal with him personally.
"Big guy," Al paused from tying up the men he had just beat up. The amused smile on her lips surprised him. "I was just hoping for you to intimidate them. After all, I already did the damage." In eerie unison, Chris and his men doubled over and hugged their stomachs.
"Y-You— what did you do?!" Chris ended with a pained groan as he clutched his midsection tighter. "You better get to a bathroom soon if you don't want people see you shitting your pants."
In a rather comical way, all of them ran away, followed by their horses, and back to Eastern Helios. Chris shouted something in the distance, suspiciously sounding like, "I'll get you back for this sorcery, Miss Jullia!"
All Alphonse managed to do was blink at the scene in front of him the second he placed his head back in its place. "What... was that?" Awe laced his voice. He had never really seen their sister in action or even use alchemy like that. On that note... "How did you do that?!" Al exlaimed in excitement, causing Julliana to laugh in response.
"Bacteria— salmonella, in fact. Transmitted by air and had them inhale it or had the bacteria land on their mouth. Then again, it's kind of fast-acting so saying it's just salmonella may be incorrect."
"B-By air?! But you'd have to have crazy precision so it wouldn't spread uselessly, big sis—!" Alphonse caught himself but it was too late as those two words escaped him. A pair of stormy-blue eyes that darkened in response to his slip up sent shivers down his spine.
Her lips parted and the name she uttered made him freeze. "Alphonse," it lacked the humor and delight it had earlier. "I knew it was you. Your body might have been different but that voice—" Al flinched. He didn't think she'd recognize him that way! "— I knew that voice."
She took a step towards him and even if he wanted to move, he couldn't. The look in her eyes froze him in place. "You... You two did it, didn't you..?" Al gasped at that; he didn't think she'd figure it out in an instant! Instead of the beat up he'd been expecting from her, Ana hugged him; her arms circling his waist, her cheek resting on his chest plate.
The moment could have lasted for hours if it weren't for the fact that Ana suddenly jumped away with a yelp of pain.
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Touching hot metal is not a good idea, dammit!"
oooOooo
Alphonse finished recalling the events that led to him being stuck in that armor, what he and Ed had been up to all these years and the like. "That munchkin joined as a State Alchemist..?"
"Y-Yes..?" For some reason though, Ana looked like she was about to head into a murder spree.
"And Roy was the one who invited him?"
"Y-Yes!" Al squeaked out in fear as he cowered across from her. The way her eyes narrowed dangerously sent alarming bells ringing in his head. Maybe Alphonse shouldn't have mentioned those parts? "I'll kill that little shit!"
(Somewhere out there in Amestris, Roy Mustang violently sneezed and had everyone around him jump back in surprise.)
The young Elric cowered more at her declaration. Maybe it had been a mistake to tell her just about everything. "And... um, what about Ed? You said he was at the clinic..." her sudden mood swing practically slapped Alphonse back to reality.
"Just a little dehydrated... and had a few hallucinations to accompany that..." Al laughed in nervousness, rubbing the back of his head a bit sheepish out of habit. "The doctor said that he'll been fine after resting though. He'd have to stay the night, unfortunately."
"I see... I'm glad then."
Al tilted his head upon sighting the sad expression on her face. "He hates me, doesn't he?"
The younger Elric winced at that which she took notice. Al had hoped that his brother would have forgotten aout his bitter feelings against their sister when they finally meet again. Unfortunately, his hopes were crushed. "It's fine, Al," she reassured him. "I would hate me, too, for disappearing on you guys without warning."
"... where did you go, sister?"
"I can't tell; not yet, anyway. There are a few things I have to do, things I need to figure out, and things I need to end. Until then, I can't say." His shoulders visibly sagged at that, dismayed by her words. A finger lifted his chin in a gentle manner, his eyes focusing on the sisterly smile on Ana's lips. "I'll make sure to tell you and Ed first, alright? I won't tell anyone else until I've told you guys."
"... promise?"
He saw her blink in shock before she laughed like the chimes of bell on a particularly cloudy day. "A promise I won't break this time, other munchkin." It took every single bit of his willpower to not breakdown in front of her. That inexplicable joy that spread through his soul rendered him speechless in happiness.
Julliana Hong was back and Alphonse would do anything before someone takes her away from them again.
oooOooo
The Fullmetal Alchemist wore a frown as he burned holes into the door with his eyes. He woke up in an unfamiliar place with an old woman tending to him. A smack to the back of his head had him obeying her every word. "Where on earth did Al go? He's been gone for hours." Just as he muttered that to himself, the door opened and revealed his brother... who seemed to be in a rather good mood.
Ed raised a suspicious eyebrow as he watched his brother with a careful eye. "You look happy."
"Oh, am I?"
Alphonse sat beside him on the couch and a dreamy sigh came from him; causing a look of incredulity to appear on his face. Ed was a little creeped out with how his brother acted. "So... what happened while you're out?" Al giggled all of a sudden, adding up to the creepy factor. "It's a secret, brother! By the way," the armor looked at him. "I want you to meet someone! That alchemist we came here for!"
That caught Ed's interest. "Ha, that's cool, Al. Is he nice?"
"She, in fact, is very hospitable, brother. Just be on your best behaviour tomorrow and we won't die." Ed blinked several times, trying to process what his brother just said.
D... Die?!