Enigma
By TeriyakiPrinces
Rating: Mature because blood and a lot of swearing which makes fanfiction net want to kick me out.
Warnings for the chapter: creepy Fuhrer and reference to genocide, blood, murder of our beloved Maes :(
Disclaimer: Not mine. To see original content, look up Hiromu Arakawa.
A/N: A special treat, even though rather short (last few chapters have been a bit short, haven't they?). My birthday passed a week ago, and it was pretty good, but finally getting over some of the motivational blockage helped me get this churned out for you guys.
Please leave a review if you enjoyed (or didn't, I don't judge if you explain yourself) this chapter or Enigma in general.
She wanted to sob. He knew her name, and she wanted someone, anyone, to help her, to get her out, and fuck this was the closest she had been to a panic attack in, like, 3 years.
But the fact remained that Fuhrer King Bradley was in the same room as her, and she really really really wanted to be anywhere but near him at that moment
The Fuhrer of Amestris, King Bradley, sat straighter behind the large mahogany desk. He puled towards him, without breaking eye contact with Gaia, a large file from the corner of the desk. He opened it, but Gaia's eyes were as if super-glued to his one, bluish-black iris.
"Just because your family history 'checks out' doesn't mean your appearance in my personal study has been forgotten." Gaia knew that, she knew that, but being told so being face to face with the goddamn Fuhrer was pretty hard-hitting to her psyche.
"If a 16 year old with no knowledge of how she came to be in a secured facility can enter the Fuhrer's personal quarters with nary a security alarm, then we've got a problem. It could mean a major security breach, don't you agree?"
He made a damn good point, and without right out stating he was suspicious of her, too, the bastard.
And honestly, Gaia had not seen his being a homunculus from afar when she was reading about this world. He had been in power for quite a long time, and no one in the series had seemed to find him suspicious in the slightest – right up until he massacred Greed and his underlings. Even Mustang saw him only as an obstacle on his way to his ultimate goal – being the Fuhrer.
"But first, I have some questions to ask you – would you indulge an old man?
"Alright, fire way."
"Good, good. Tell me, have you had any formal training in Alchemy?" Gaia shook her head.
"No? That will have to be rectified." he muttered under his mustache, and she was almost scared of what that would entail.
"Mister Fuhrer, why are you doing this?"
"You mean trying to learn more about a talented young Alchemists such as yourself?" he rested his chin on his laced fingers, staring at her with his dark eye.
Apparently, he was going to indulge her.
"No, sir. Why are you putting so much of your personal time into interrogating somebody like me? I understand the security risk my appearance three years ago caused, but I'm sure you have military personnel trained for extracting knowledge from suspects in Military crimes, such as I am now."
She knew it was stupid to press him, to test his patience so much, especially as his temper could flare dangerously at any moment. His embodiment of a deadly sin was Wrath for a reason.
"You are more a witness than a suspect to the murder of Brigadier General Maes Hughes, Miss Maurer, and so until his murderer is caught and brought before a tribunal, you will not be interrogated. You are here because your dedication to the science of Alchemy has been carefully observed during your stay in Resembool, and it is certainly viewed by specialists as a drive that not many hold in this field – and of those who are as driven to perform, the majority are State Alchemists. Furthermore, having you under me as a State Alchemist would be beneficial in my surveillance of your movements."
Gaia stared at the (second) most powerful man in this country, nearly gaping. She had expected the compliments – not because of her being arrogant in her alchemical proficiency, but because it was easier to catch a fly with honey rather than vinegar.
But for him to outright tell her he was watching her, he must have been angling for something.
So, here was the Fuhrer-President taking an interest in her, her history, and her Alchemy. That's when it really sank in-
"You want me to become a state Alchemist."
And, furthermore, he wanted her in the State Military to keep her under his thumb – which meant the homunculi and Father probably knew about her.
That was, undoubtedly, bad news- very very bad news.
The homunculus laughed long and hard, and she wondered how he could make it sound so warm and patronizing at the same time.
"A sound conclusion, dear Miss Maurer, and true."
"There's another more important reason as well, Miss Maurer, that you have been brought before me. I'm sure you've heard of the recent pardoning of a State Alchemist by the name of Solf J. Kimblee?" His one eye born into hers.
She forgot how to breathe. Flashes of red, of entire neighborhoods burning, body parts blown across blocks from explosions so powerful that -
They stay with you forever, those memories. And even if this particular Gaia Maurer did not live in this world for 16 years, she remembers the scorched sand and screams and the Cheshire Cat grins.
She has no words, no thoughts as to where this damn half-man is taking this conversation, so she sits and stares and says nothing as he signs for death warrant with honeyed words.
"Ah yes, it seems you've heard of him. I pardoned him myself for one purpose – for him to carry out my bidding, do my dirty work for me. Running a country such as Amestris is a hard job, you must understand, and requires me to take, ahem, some drastic and decidedly underhanded methods, While still keeping up appearances for the masses.
"Now, don't misunderstand, Miss Maurer. I know perfectly well that Kimblee's a psychopath – but right now, he is a loyal psychopath. As long as I give him enough lee-way to use his own Alchemy and spread his own brand of chaos, he will follow orders." He sat back in his plush chair, steeping his fingers in front of him.
"That, unfortunately, will not last. Someone as volatile as Kimblee is not only hard to control, but also hard to keep satisfied. He'll get cocky, too arrogant in his position of power. And then he will become useless to me. That is where you will come in, Miss Maurer. You will be the counterweight in my operation – your strong morals to his lack of a moral code, your clear head to his chaotic mind. And most importantly, you will be his executioner." Gaia startled at the snarled word.
"You will be apprenticed to Kimblee, you will learn everything you can about him, and his alchemy. You will then judge the best way to dispose of him. I am sure, Ms. Maurer, that you will enjoy dispatching him immensely."
Gaia's eyes narrowed, her hands ripping the armrests of her chair, and barked "I would never enjoy killing someone! Even that bloody murderer!"
"I believe I have misjudged you, I'm sorry. But, tell me, would this not be the perfect opportunity to avenge the thousands he slaughtered? I know you were in Ishval, during the Civil War. One of the Rockbell's patients, were you not? A lost little orphan girl, stranded in a war zone."
How could he have known that? She hadn't said anything about it during her detainment years ago. How did he know?!
"When in containment three years ago, you were reported to have spoken in your sleep. The words kill, genocide, Ishval, blood, and desert were recorded as having been uttered, so it was not too hard to come to the right conclusion, no? In addition to that, the surveillance we had on you in Resembool picked up hints of your history with the late Rockbell couple."
"I- why should I accept? I'd be signing my life away to the crazy arsonist, with no guarantee of survival. I could get Major Armstrong to be my teacher, and take the exams in my own time – if I even wanted to. Why should I risk my life to do something that I may not even be able to do?"
"Aha, dear Gaia," she did not like how her name sounded, dripping like oil from his lips, "You act like you have a choice – like you have nothing, no one, to lose." He was smug, oh so smug, and Gaia's soul seemed to freeze up in realization.
"Quite frankly, I thought you'd be quicker than this."
Oh dear Lord, he was right. She didn't have any realistic choice – her family and friends would be put on the line.
Winry – if she didn't agree to this, Winry would bear the brunt of the harm.
Gaia should have known he wasn't beyond blackmail.
And dammit, it worked like a fucking charm.
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