Applications of Truth
xxxxx
"Then you understand what is happening." I looked back up at Ari. Her face remained almost expressionless, but I could see sympathy in her features this time. She knew what I felt, more acutely than I ever hoped to know. "And do you understand your options?" That comment surprised me.
"Options?" I asked, not quite following.
"Yes," she replied, and the dull look in her eyes was replaced by one of determination. "You can stay here, become a lab rat of these humans," she spat the last word like it left a bad taste in her mouth, "or you can help me to escape." I had no idea what her plan might be, but whatever it was, I knew I had to go with it.
"Just tell me what to do," I said with conviction.*
xxxxx
"The humans will have to feed us if they want to keep us alive. We're not useful dead, after all. When they do, that is when we will strike. They've suppressed my psychic powers with this infernal collar so I won't be able to do anything fancy, but I'm not useless; I know a physical move or two. I will still need as much of your help as possible if we are to escape successfully." Ari replied to me, outlining her plan as if she had gone through it many times before. Which, when I thought about it, was probably the case. "For now we will wait."
I nodded in confirmation and at the logic of her plan. It made sense that the humans here would want to keep us alive if they wanted to keep us. Not that I'd let them keep me, I thought. I wouldn't fight for anyone but Alphonse; that was a special case. As for the collar she mentioned, I shuddered when I took notice of it. Black and constricting, it was a mix of metal and leather like material that tightly clung to her neck. The thought of such a device was simply awful. Ari seemed used to it, however, if the way she expressed no emotion about it was an indicator. Yet that was somehow more awful. I ultimately ignored it in favor of continuing the conversation. "I understand. You want me to attack when they come and open the door?"
Ari shook her head. "That will not work. I tried that before. They have some kind of paralyzing stick. Although…" Ari looked to the side considering something. "No, it will not work. Especially not as you are now. Instead, we will need to take the keys they use. They're usually hooked to their waists. That will require a distraction, one which I will provide. I will need you to take the keys from them when that happens. Do not get caught when you do."
"Right." I nodded again. Inwardly, I was relieved at the plan. Ari's plan made sense, and it was much safer than simply an all-out attack and rush to the exit. Specifically, I was glad that I wouldn't have to attack a human; I didn't even know if I could. It wasn't that I liked them at all, far from it. In fact, between the kidnapping of Alphonse and me, as well as the abuse that was evident on the espeon in front of me, I couldn't despise them more if I tried. Regardless, the idea of attacking some in anything but self-defense made me feel queasy. It was too in-line with what my clan would normally do. It was what Sirene would do. Stealing from these humans, however…
"What will we do in the meantime?" I asked, brushing away my thoughts. In all honesty, I had a vague suspicion about what she would say. Wait and heal.
"For now, we will wait," Ari started, her voice losing its earlier confidence in favor of tiredness, "And we will rest. Heal from your injuries and regain your strength." With that said, she wandered over to the corner of our cage and laid down, curling up into a light pink ball. She looked at me motioning to do the same, so I did so, curling into myself into my own ball of gray-black and blues.
A long moment of quiet passed before I let out a sigh of frustration. I could not rest. I knew that I needed to if we wanted to escape successfully, but I couldn't. Thoughts of Al, the girl, and the other world of Amestris were plaguing my mind. What had happened to Ed when we left? Was he able to stop Isorfold? Or did he fail, and Isorfold now had an army? I didn't know what Isorfold would want with an army of pokémon, but I could tell it wasn't anything good. Ed was certainly a capable fighter, but he would be outmatched in comparison. Then there was the girl that had been captured when we came here. Had she been hurt by the humans here? What of Al? Thoughts of what might have happened to Ari's own trainer struck me, and I feared the worst.
Oh, Al. I hope you're alright. Please don't be hurt. I pleaded with myself for his safety as images of his body, turned to eviscerated scraps or melted into a pile of unrecognizable metal, flittered through my imagination. I shook my head vigorously, shouting inwardly that no, Al was definitely alive. Still I tossed and turned, thinking unrelentingly about his fate. After a while I started to wonder what he meant to me, thinking about such things obsessively. Was he just a friend? Or was he what we pretended when we met the girl, a trainer? It couldn't be, but if it wasn't, why else was I so concerned. Wondering about it brought me towards Ari, and her trainer, and their fate. Something happened, and now Ari was alone. A question popped into my mind, one that I regretted thinking about, but was too important to ignore.
I turned over to face Ari, who was still curled up in the corner of the room. "Ari," I began, dread in my tone. I knew I shouldn't have been asking, but I couldn't stop myself. "Ari, what happened to your trainer?"
Ari's head shot up instantly, giving me such a nasty glare that it immediately made me wish I never asked. Her eyes were narrowed and her were held back ears back against her head, the barest tips of her fangs protruding out from underneath the edges of her snarling frown. I couldn't bear to keep looking and turned away. "My trainer?" She started, tone dark but with an undeniable undertone of sadness. "She promised that she would stay with me. Then they took her from me. And then they killed her. Do yourself a favor and keep your faith away from human beings. They'll give you something precious and warm called friendship. Then they'll tear it away from, and they'll leave you behind completely." He her words were bitter. "For you, it may have already happened."
My eyes widened in horror at what she was saying. I stood up and glared her, my eyes narrowed and teeth bared, angry. "No! Not Al! That's not who he is! That's not what would happen to him" I cried.
"Don't fool yourself." Ari snapped back, voice far too cold and indifferent for an espeon. "He's gone. Probably even dead. Accept it. You'll be better off in the end."
"Al's not gone. And he's not dead either." I insisted, not entirely believing my own words as my voice began to shake. There was no way Alphonse could just up and die as the espeon before me was saying. It was a thought that was too horrible to accept, and yet I could not deny its possibility.
Ari didn't take to kindly to that, her expression becoming angry once more. "Oh really, is that what you think?" She snapped back. "What exactly makes you say that?"
I paused and looked down at the floor. Hot tears were threatening at the edges of my eyes, but I held them back. I had no evidence that Al really was still alive. But I knew it still none the less. A renewed vigor welled up inside me, like a fire bursting in my spirit. A small, confident smile grew on my face, and my eyebrows furrowed. Ari took a step back, flinching at the look I now sported. My voice was hard set; opposite of what it was earlier. "I know he's alive, because he's an alchemist."
xxxxx
Elina was fairly sure that this day was the worst day of her entire life. It wasn't enough to simply be attacked by a wild zangoose (which weren't even native to Sinnoh) on the first day of her adventure, but her brother (and said zangoose) would then be whisked away by that horrible blue lightning. It could have simply ended there, and she would still forever be scarred for life. Fate wasn't done with her, it seemed, and decided that being attacked by Team Galactic was a perfect way to cap the day off. Or at least, she thought it was Team Galactic anyway. The black colors and red 'R' that they wore on their uniforms were different than those of the other team. Not that it mattered at the moment.
She sat there in the dimly lit and barren room, starring at the wall, or rather pastit. Her legs were curled up against herself, tucked in by her arms, and her eyes were hollow; expressionless. Her skin prickled at the coldness present in the room, but she failed to register it. She couldn't really feel anything. The weight of the events that recently transpired had made her numb. Daryn, her only brother, was gone. Initially those words were easy to accept, but now their true gravity was beginning to sink in. Hot tears ran down her cheeks, and she could feel a sob coming on. She tried to hold it back, thinking that her brother would want her to be strong. Yet she sobbed anyway, burying her head into her knees as her whimpers resounded throughout the room.
Mom and Dad were standing before her with grief stricken faces, a man in a blue uniform with a silver badge standing next to them. He was an officer, but neither Elina nor her brother (gone) could see his face fully underneath the shadow cast from his black cap. They could only catch the tired scowl that he bore as he explained, with little attachment in his voice, what had happened the previous night to the small family.
"We scoured the scene of the crime as thoroughly as possible, but we couldn't find it. It disappeared. I'm sorry, but your egg has been stolen."
Her memories of the past were interrupted before she could stew in them, however, when two of the Team Galactic (were they Galactic?) thugs came in with a suit of armor held up between them. They didn't seem to notice her huddled form as they walked it to the other side of the room, struggling at the apparent weight. It took a moment for her to realize that the armor belonged to Alphonse, the tall boy who was wearing it when she met him. Or rather, he met her after her brother was taken. When she did realize who it was, she stifled a cry of relief, not wanting the grunts to notice her. They dropped him unceremoniously into a corner, where the armored boy landed in an awkward position. They left not long after dropping him, closing the metal door to the room (in actuality a bar-less cell) shut with a dull "thunk." behind them
Almost an hour passed where Elina simply sat, staring at Al, who was hunched over with his arms jutting out oddly, resting on his leg in a way that looked painful. Eventually she managed to find the strength to crawl over to him, albeit slowly, and grabbed his shoulders. She tried to sitting him upwards, apprehensively expecting it to be momentous task and instead found it deceptively easy. Looking into his helmet, the girl fount that the glowing orbs he had possessed when they met were gone.
"Al? Al are you awake?" She whispered, softly shaking the boy's shoulders.
The armor did not move. Al didn't respond. Was he unconscious?
"Al, wake up!" Her voice began to rise, panic and earlier sorrow creeping into her voice. "Please, you're scaring me!"
Still the armor did not move, and Elina found herself becoming increasingly afraid. The armored boy was not awake. He wasn't even there.
xxxxx
The first thing that Al saw were flashes. Flashes that were filled with painful, horrible things. They sped fast through his mind, quick enough to see, but not quick enough to recognize. The images were familiar nonetheless, and it tool Alphonse a moment to realize that they were memories. When he did he started to recognize them, and then he saw everything.
Flash! Him and his brother, so young, so complete, standing in the basement of their family home, preparing the human transmutation circle they would use to try to bring back their mother.
Flash! Both he and his brother had activated the circle with wide smiles and hopeful eyes, watching the blue light as the transmutation started.
Flash! The transmutation had failed, ricocheting back onto him as black tendrils tore at his body, breaking it down piece by painful piece; he cried out to his brother.
Flash! He was in an intense and empty void, feeling an ominous presence behind him as he stared at a ghostly white figure; he was terrified.
Flash! The gate opens, pulling him inside as he screams; the white figure watches with a grin that is impossibly wide for its face. The gates close on him, turning the world of white into a world of darkness.
A final flash! Ribbons of information like the reels of films are flying around him, converging at a point obscured in light. The information that they contain pour into his head as they fling past him; the cycle of human life by every individual cell until death; the entire layout of the Earth's natural food chain; every single war in human history; the chemical composition of everything. All this information spirals around him, into him, before he can properly recognize and understand it, before he can even know he has it. The flow of information doesn't stop filling his head even after Al's brain has already taken all that it can hold, and it hurts. Oh does it hurt.
"Stop! STOP!" He cries and is promptly ignored. The reels don't stop coming, hurting unbearably; they tear into his head past the point where he feels his skull should have cracked. "Please! It hurts! It-"
He stops pleading suddenly. A bright, white figure appears before him; its hair wispy and long, and its arms spread out towards him as if for a warm embrace. Alphonse reaches out his right arm towards it, crying. "Mom! MOM!" The figure reaches out its left to grab his right. He cries out one more time, "MOM!" The figure then grabs unto the wrist of his right arm harshly, becoming flesh in its grasp. Soon the figure's face becomes his own, horrifying the boy with a wide, maniacal grin. Alphonse is picked apart once more.
Then it's all over. Alphonse's mind is left black, and he finds himself in shock, numbed. It is a moment before something clicks in his mind. Those memories were from the accident, when he was transmuted. When he saw truth.
"Al… when you got transmuted, didn't you see… that thing?"
"What do you mean, "That Thing"?"
That "thing" that his brother referred to, Alphonse realized, was the portal of truth he had seen in his memories. He had seen the truth as his brother had. Even now, as the memories of the incident and all the details therein faded, never to be returned, he was sure of that. Did that mean he could do alchemy as his brother could now? He questioned. Without a transmutation circle?
Al was unable to ponder it further when he heard a voice calling out. He struggled to hear it in the darkness; it sounded so far away. It called out again, and he realized that it was calling out to him. It sounded like… who does it sound like? Eventually the darkness began to fade, and Alphonse tried to blink it away completely before he remembered that he didn't have eyes or eyelids to blink with anymore. When the darkness finally disappeared he saw that he was in a barren concrete grey room. His foggy mind also registered that he was lying on top of his own leg, and that one of his arms was bent in a way that would be impossible if he wasn't hollow. It was a moment before he registered the significance of that detail, of being hollow. He was in the armor again.
Eventually, the armored boy sat himself up, holding onto his head as he did so. It is less out of pain (he feels none, he remembers) than it is out of habit. The voice called out again, excited this time, and even though it sounded far away to his foggy mind, he knew it was coming from behind him. Finally a name comes to him to place on the voice. Elise? No! It was Elina! The last of the fog in his head cleared up, and the boy remembered the situation he is in currently. He and Tasha were transmuted and sent to another world, then they met a startled and terrified young girl, then were attacked and kidnapped. It took a few moments before he could properly attach an emotion to that, and when he did, he was unable to describe the flurry that he felt. Eventually, Alphonse shot up from the ground at the realization, startling the young girl beside him and forcing her to scramble away.
He turned to the girl sitting on the floor and staring at him with concern, himself still somewhat dazed as he asked a question. "Where… where are we?"
It was a moment before she spoke, and when she did her voice was shaky. "We're, uh, we're in a prison cell, I think." Her voice was cracking. It was then that Alphonse foggy mind noticed the redness of her eyes, and the stains on her cheeks. Has she been crying, he wondered?
"Al, are you okay?"
"Wha-what do you mean? Of course I'm okay." Alphonse lied, his voice just as shaky as hers. "I was only asleep. That's all!"
"Well, I just, I thought that you were dead…" She started saying, her voice cracking again.
"No! No! It was nothing like that; honest!" Alphonse was quick to say, waving his bound hands in the air. "I was just unconscious. It was nothing serious at all, okay?"
The young girl nodded, wiping her face in her arm with a sniffle before picking herself back up. Al sighed internally when it looked like she had calmed down. The girl was going through too much, he thought. It would be best to get her out of here, to safety. With that, he took full notice of their prison cell and found… that it was just as dull and grey as the room they had used for interrogation. It was to be expected; Al only really cared about the door, anyway. It was on the far right on the wall to his left, and shone in the dim light like his armor; it was obviously metal. A closer look revealed tracks at the top and bottom of door, indicating that it slid into the wall. That detail in turn indicated that the wall was hollow, and filled only with more metal and concrete. Turning his attention to the bindings that held his hands together revealed that they were made of metal as well. If Alphonse could have smiled he would have; both were perfect for alchemy. While the boy did not know if he would be able to use alchemy as his brother was able, by clapping his hands, he knew there was a chance if he had seen the truth. He didn't have to be Ed to know that was better than nothing. And besides, it's not like it will hurt to try, he thought to himself.
Al turned to look at Elina with a fierceness in his glowing orbs that startled the girl. He nodded at her, and she hesitantly nodded back, confused. Alphonse was ready to escape. He moved over to the wall where the door was connected, and paused, as if taking in a deep breath. Here goes nothing, he briefly thought. He clapped his hands and felt both fulfilling satisfaction and relief as he felt the energy of a transmutation begin to build up, a chemical formula in his mind. He paused for a moment before looking back at Elina, who held a raised brow and wide eyes. A concerning thought crossed his mind; the only alchemy that Elina ever saw was the alchemy took her brother away. If he wasn't careful, she might freak out or, even worse, faint.
"Elina, Can you make me a promise?" He asked, his voice soft yet strong, fully commanding her attention. "I need you to be strong. We're going to escape now."
"I… promise I'll be strong. But," She hesitated, eyebrows furrowing. "How can we escape from here without any pokémon?"
"Simple. We use alchemy." He said, speaking as if it really were that easy. He turned his attention to his bindings, absently taking notice of the girl's increased look of confusion. The energy of the transmutation had long since dissipated in the time he addressed Elina, so he clapped his hands once more. A second wave of relief fell over him as he once more felt the beginnings of a transmutation in his mind once again. Without wasting a second, Alphonse touched his fingers to the base of his cuffs and watched in awe at the display of light and lightning. In less than a second the bindings were shattered into a satisfying mess of metal scraps, the remains of which fell to the floor. The transmutation finished, Al rubbed the wrists of his armor, relishing in the freedom from the restraints.
"Hmm. Not bad for my first time." Al said, with no small amount of satisfaction evident in his voice. He turned back to Elina; the girl had stepped a few steps back away and was holding her hands to her face over her mouth, brows raised, and eyes as big as proverbial dinner plates. Alphonse thanked himself for prepping her. If he had jumped straight into it, like his brother would have, Elina would likely be far less composed than she already was. Still, she needed to be addressed.
"Are you okay?"
Elina simply starred at him before registering his question. "What-what was that, Al? What did you do? And why did it look like…" She paused, trailing off where Al expected her to ask about her brother. Her brows furrowed together for a quick second before raising once more in evident realization. "Was that… alchemy?" She nervously asked.
"Yup!" Al nodded, voice cheery. "It's how we're going to escape from our cell too." His voice lowered, becoming serious. "I'm going to make us a door with alchemy, Elina, and once we leave here we can't stop moving, alright?"
The poor girl darted her eyes back and forth between him and the remains of his cuffs on the ground, brows still raised high and forehead furrowed. Alphonse didn't blame her for her confused state, considering the events of the day. Elina eventually leveled her gaze at his face and nodded, slowly, in agreement. Alphonse internally sighed in relief. Still she had a look of worry on her face intermittent with the confusion.
"But, won't we be captured again?" She started saying, frowning. "Without any pokémon, they'll just-"
"That won't be a problem." Alphonse quickly interrupted. "We're going to find Tasha and the rest of the pokémon these goons have captive here. And we're not going to be captured again. That I promise you."
With that, the armored boy turned his attention back to the wall and the door, taking a mental breath of confidence to reassure himself. Normally such brash actions, to transmute whatever and make a run for it while "sticking it" to their captors, was something his brother would usually do. His brother wasn't here, though, and as much as he hated that fact he had to accept it. Tasha and Elina were in dire need of his help, after all. So the boy steeled himself, clapped his hands, and placed them on the wall. Before his eyes the makings of a door appeared before him, awash in the blue glows and dancing lightning of a successful transmutation. Within seconds it was finished; it was as plain stark grey as the concrete stone it was formed from with gunmetal grey hinges. It was as simple as it needed to be, and with a light push, the transmuted door opened swiftly, revealing a brighter lit corridor before them.
xxxxx
It had taken quite a while for Edward to fully explain the situation to Armstrong. As the alchemist was spoke to the large man, every now and then Daryn would speak up to further elaborate where Edward was being vague. They recounted everything about the fight to him; being awoken by the ghost pokémon; Ed and Daryn tag-teaming it; Ed getting hit by the Confusion attack (much to the said alchemist's chagrin), and then capturing it with Fang. They even told as much as they could about the events beforehand. Rin sat in his lap, content to listen to the two converse to the large man as they sat at a repaired table. Ed's pichu had long since descended the teen's shoulder, now finishing a bowl filled with what looked like dried Oran berries. Looking at the corner, Daryn found his-the zangoose, Fang, standing in against the wall, eyeing the major. Daryn turned his head away from her quickly and back to Ed, whom was nearing the end of the story, when she caught his attention. Once Edward finished recounting previous events, with arms crossed and eyes closed, Daryn noted the wide eyes and the white face of the stunned major.
"Uh, are you okay, mister?" Daryn asked with furrowed brows, worried.
"…Yes." Armstrong said after a moment, hand raised to his forehead, clenching it. "It's just quite a story, is all. Colonel Mustang had already filled me in on some of it, but I don't think I would have fully believed it. At least not until I saw one of these… pokémon, for myself. And to think that one of them can speak!"
"Yeah, we were kind of in the middle of figuring that out until you barged in major." Daryn flinched at Ed's bluntness. "If you left us alone, instead of wasting our time, we might have figured it out, too." He coldly added, narrowed eyes glaring at the large man.
"You wound me, Elric." The major replied with mock hurt. "Can't a fellow compatriot console one another for their loss?"
"Hell No!" Ed snapped back, before adding with clenched teeth, "But I appreciate the thought. So if that's all you're here for—"
The large man brought up a single, meaty hand, interrupting Edward with a sudden and serious expression. "There is, actually, a more important matter that I am here for. Colonel Mustang has requested that I escort you to him as soon as it is convenient."
"What for?" The teen growled out, his eyes narrowing. "I just saw the bastard yesterday." Daryn silently scooted his chair away with his ralts clutching him tightly. "He's not going to give me another mission is he? I don't have the time or patience to run anymore of his errands. Especially considering how this one is turning out."
"I assure you that it's nothing like that at all." The Major curtly replied. "All that he told me was that it was urgent, and that it regarded information that could help you find Isorfold."
Ed seemed to perk up at that, losing his stern expression in exchange for slightly widened eyes and a significantly smaller scowl. He quickly got up from his chair, gabbing the red coat that had been hanging off of it. Daryn thought that he had heard the teen mutter a "right" under his breath, before turning to the kitchen where the pichu, Chimera, was. As if that were a signal, the little pokémon came rushing over, jumping up and unto the teen's face. Daryn had to stifle a laugh as Ed almost toppled over, struggled to quickly regain his balance, and grabbed at the electric mouse, yanking it off his face. He looked at the pichu with a hard glare.
"Is this seriously going to be a thing with you?" He asked with an incredulous tone.
"Pi" Was the only reply that the pichu gave him, puffing up its face and putting its tiny arms on its waist.
Ed rolled his eyes before placing the pokémon on his shoulder. The teen looked over at Daryn, replacing his glare with a softer, yet still stern, stare. "We're leaving."
"Oh, uh, right." The young trainer sputtered, nodding. He looked down at the ralts in his lap, who had in turn looked up at him, head cocked to the side. "I'm sorry Rin, but it's time for us to go. You have to go back in your ball."
The green haired pokémon seemed downtrodden at that, yet he gave a small nod nonetheless and jumped off his lap down to the floor, where he turned around and looked back up at him. Daryn stood up from the chair and pulled out a pebble sized red and white ball from his belt; Ed and Armstrong began watching him closely. With a click of the frontward button, the ball enlarged in his hand, now the size of a baseball. Daryn held it forward towards Rin and it opened, pouring out a white light and washing over the small pokémon like liquid. In less than a second the ralts was soon converted into the same white light, which poured right back into the open pokéball as it snapped shut, and shrunk again. Daryn turned to face Ed and Armstrong after returning the once again tiny ball to his belt; he blushed at their slack jawed and wide eyed faces.
"What?" He asked, sheepishly.
"That was incredible…" The large man started to say, sputtering over the few words he managed. "How did you do that?"
Daryn raised an eyebrow. "The pokéball?" He looked down at his belt, where said object now rested, and narrowed his eyes, lips pursed. He never really thought about the objects. "I don't really know. That's just how they work, I guess."
"However it works can wait." Ed said, recovering quickly from the display and snapping Daryn away from his own wondering.
The young trainer nodded (he seemed to be doing that a lot this morning), and grabbed another red and white pokéball from his belt. He turned to face Fang, the zangoose, still in the corner of the room, and gulped. He held the ball out to her, pushing the button on its front and letting it resize in his hand. "Alright, Fang. It's time to…"
"What part of "don't push your luck" do you not understand, human?" The mongoose pokémon interrupted, growling. She glared at him with slit eyes under narrowed eyebrows, a fierce scowl on her white furred face.
"So it really can talk." Armstrong choked out, mouth open and wide-eyed again.
Daryn glanced back at the large man (not so large now that he was sitting), then at the ball in his hands and at the zangoose in the corner, and then back and forth again. "B-but, we're leaving and you-"
"Forget it." Edward abruptly interrupted. His tone was irritant and his were eyes narrowed sharply. "We can come back and get her later. Let's just get this over with already. The sooner we can get back to finding Isorfold, the better."
Daryn reluctantly nodded, putting the ball back on his belt and turning to join the group. The group of four soon left for the front door of the home and left, leaving the Zangoose to herself. Daryn shivered, wondering if leaving so hastily was a good idea. He wouldn't argue, though, and decided to look forward to meeting Mustang. Ed was right after all; the sooner they found Isorfold, the sooner his life would return to normal, and he could go home to his sister.
xxxxx
Arrow flew silently over the clustered houses and grey buildings of the neighborhood, searching out for the home that belonged to the two humans that he had heard Tasha call the Elric Brothers. It was a nondescript home that was only distinguishable for its bright red doors in comparison to the blacks and greens of the other houses. When he found it he was able to catch a brown box with wheels and protruding pipes speeding off into the distance from the corner of his eye. A human vehicle, he realized, called a car. He pondered it briefly before landing on the black tiled edge of the roof, searching out the alleyway where he had last met up with Tasha. After recognizing a particular metal cylinder (a trash can, if he remembered correctly) he confirmed that he was at the right spot, and flew down to the side of the house.
Arrow needed to meet up with Tasha. She needed to know about the… odd thing he saw when he was searching for Sirene. That, and he felt the need to apologize for leaving her to face Isorfold while he went chasing after a luxray he had mistaken for being Sirene. It was almost as odd as the other thing he had caught that night before for which he had come to speak; Arrow saw it leaving Isorfold's building from the other end and attempted to follow, but it disappeared in blue light (not unlike he had seen the humans conjure up) around a corner. Frustrated and confused at losing the pokémon, he had circled around to catch sight of it before giving up and returning to the building. When he had flown back, however, the building was completely empty, devoid of people and pokémon. Night had fallen by the time he had left, and with it brought more strange sights. The very same sights that he come to discuss today.
As he hovered around the house, checking for windows to see inside, Arrow began remember what he saw after his failed pursuit of the disappearing luxray. He had been wondering over a particularly rundown area of human settlements when he had caught the sounds of fighting and bright flashes of lightning from a nearby decrepit alleyway. When he swooped down to get a better look, there was an even greater flash of lightning, and with it there was an explosion. The explosion created a dust cloud that quickly covered the surrounding area along with the immediate sky above. Arrow had been forced to fly away from it and land on the flat roof of a more well-kept building in the neighborhood and watch, waiting for it to clear away. When it did, he had taken flight and arrived once again to the alleyway, this time able to clearly see what had happened. In a quite literal sense, there had been nothing; the alleyway where the scene had taken place had been all but obliterated. The walls on either side were destroyed completely, revealing dilapidated, empty interiors of the buildings within. The street of the alley itself had collapsed and fallen into a lower tunnel, littering it with rubble.
What was of real interest to him though were the occupants of the collapsed alley. There had been a man in a tan coat and black pants, seemingly untouched by the carnage save for a patch of red on the left side of his torso. On the other side, and much worse for wear, was a luxray that was unmistakably Sirene. Unlike the man that faced her, however, she was much worse for wear. Strewn haphazardly on the pile of rubble, from what Arrow saw, she had been leaking blood from everywhere while her back leg was twisted into a position that was definitely not natural. A mixture of disgust, curiosity, pity, and delight washed over him when he had seen the hated pokémon in such a state. He had wanted to swoop down and get a better grasp of the scene (or to finish Sirene off for himself), but he had found himself compelled to stay back and continue watching. The decision rewarded him when he saw two other individuals enter the scene. A shapely women and an obese man had seemingly taken the man off guard with their arrival when he whipped around with a look of surprise. The three humans conversed for a short moment before they charged at him to attack, exhibiting powers Arrow had never seen before. The man in the tan coat grabbed the fat one, and with very familiar blue lightning, somehow blew him apart. To Arrow's shock and awe, the fat man seemed to recover instantly from the other man's attack, leaping at him at the same time as the woman's fingers elongated into sharp long claws and began slicing at him. Soon the first man had conjured up more of that strange blue lightning and destroyed the alleyway even further. Another cloud of dust had been thrown up because of that, and Arrow was once again forced to leave.
Those events led to where he was now, circling the house to look for Tasha. Upon rediscovering the window he had first seen the shinx on his first visit, Arrow was torn from his remembering. Whereas he had hoped that the humans would once again leave Tasha behind so that they could speak, the pokémon he actually saw in the house was someone completely different. With its white fur, red markings, and pointed ears it could only be a zangoose, much to his surprise. Where had it come from?
Quickly dropping from the air to the ground underneath the window, Arrow suddenly found himself nervous, heart beating faster in his chest. This was not without good reason; of the pokémon considered especially dangerous, such as the luxray, the voltorb, and various dragon-types, his father had given him special warning to avoid zangoose. They were they only pokémon who could outmatch luxray like Sirene and go claw to talon with staraptors like his father. If the stories he was told about their territorial conflicts with the seviper clans were anything to go by, their battles were often deadly, fierce, and bloody.
To find one in alone and inside the house where Tasha should have been-in an enclosed space, for that matter—put his instincts on edge. He still needed to see the shinx, however, and that overrode his natural feelings. There was also the fact that, from what he had seen from his quick glance, the zangoose was being peaceful. Peaceful in the home of the humans that Tasha had taken a liking to. Surely that had to count for something, right? Finally, there was also the possibility that, apparently being with the humans in question, the pokémon might itself know where Tasha was.
Steeling himself as best he could, Arrow flew out from under the windowsill and to the window itself, hesitantly knocking his beak on the glass. Instinct yelled at him, telling him to leave, to flee from the potential predator. Yet still he stayed, doing his best to ignore his innate feelings, and remained flapping in front of the window. He tapped once more on the glass to get the zangoose's attention.
The zangoose lazily opened a single eye, peering at him from its place in the corner. Its eyes opened completely once it noticed him, combining with a small scowl to form an expression of boredom. It opened its mouth to say something, but Arrow couldn't be hear it from behind the glass window. Arrow signaled as such, landing on the windowsill and pointing towards himself the best he could with a talon, shaking his head. The zangoose merely raised an eyebrow at him, dashing his hopes that it would understand his body language. He tried to be simpler by merely pointing to the side of the house, where he had once seen Tasha come out from, and motioned for the zangoose to come outside. This time the zangoose did seem to understand, yet instead of doing as he non-verbally asked, it merely narrowed its eyes before opening its mouth and closed it in rapid succession, trying to say something to him. Arrow could only guess that it was something along the lines of "I don't take orders."
Arrow sighed. He didn't know what he was expecting from the pokemon. Making a show of rolling his head (he couldn't quite roll his eyes as other pokémon could), the staravia flew away from the window. He made his way around the house and to the back where he last remembered Tasha appearing from. When he found the spot he found a door, one with some kind of flap at the bottom of it. Arrow landed in front of the flap and poked his peak at it, knocking it gently back and forth. It was a tight squeeze, but Arrow managed to get himself through the hole that the flap covered. He flapped his wings and took flight as soon as he was inside the house, being extra mindful and deliberate in his movements as he navigated the human residence. There were wooden structures and appliances in every odd place making it difficult for the bird pokémon, but he was able to keep himself from crashing nonetheless. Soon he made it to the room the zangoose was in, and landed on a nearby table. All the while, the zangoose had watched with bemused interest.
Once he was settled onto the table and able to properly confront the pokémon who most definitely had the advantage over him at the moment, Arrow looked it over with darting eyes, sizing it up. The zangoose returned the analyzing stare, face unchanging. Arrow continued to stare, almost challenging the creature, and an awkward silence began between the two.
"You know," The zangoose started, breaking the unbearable silence after a long moment. Arrow noted the feminine tone of its voice. "It's a pretty stupid idea to leave yourself alone in an enclosed space with someone like myself, of my kind, bird." Her half-smile became a predatory grin.
Arrow did his best to ignore it and decided to get straight to the point. He hoped she would be civil. "I'm actually looking for someone here. Perhaps you've seen her? She stayed in this house with the humans who owned it. She's a shinx, about this tall." He held up his right wing just below the middle of his torso. "Her name is Tasha."
The zangoose's predatory grin widened, showing him a set of sharpened fangs. "How do you know I didn't kill her?"
Arrow narrowed his eyes as best he could, tilting his head down ever-so-slightly to turn his expression dangerous. "Because if you did," He started, voice dark and low, "I would be tearing you apart, limb from limb."
Her grin became wider, unnerving, and she held up one of her purple claws. It shone from the sunlight coming in through a nearby window. Arrow didn't falter at the gesture; he countered with a glare and positioned himself so that his own sharp beak would shine just as well. Neither of them moved for several minutes, a tension forming between them. She was challenging him, and he her, trying to goad one another into an attack. Arrow's body was tense, and as he watched the zangoose he saw her shaking subtly in anticipation. The tension continued until the zangoose suddenly broke out into a fit of laughter, holding her stomach and throwing her head back. He started at the display, taking a step back and tilting his head to the side.
"You've got guts, bird. I like that." She said, returning to her half bored expression and turning away from him to return to her corner. "To answer your question, no, I haven't seen hide nor hair of your little shinx friend."
"I… see." Arrow said, eyes downcast. That information was distressing. Although… He looked back up to her, a new hope rising within him. "Maybe you've seen the human she was travelling with?" He asked, hoping to the edge of the table to close the distance between them. "He wears a suit of armor that looks like an aggron? He's extremely hard to miss."
"Nope. Haven't seen that one either."
Hopes crushed. Now what was he to do? Tasha was missing, streets were exploding, and there was no sign of either the mad human, Isorfold, or the luxray, Sirene. Arrow was evidently speaking out loud, for at the mention of Sirene the zangoose was asking him whom he was talking about, snapping him from his thoughts.
"It's a long story." Arrow said with distaste. "To put it simply, she's somebody who has a lot of beatings coming her way. She worked for the human that brought us here, Isorfold."
The zangoose gave him an odd look, eyebrow raised. She didn't say anything for a moment however, and Arrow began to feel uncomfortable.
"What?" He asked, flustered.
"The human who lives here," She began, frowning, "short, with blond hair. He told an interesting story that this Isorfold to some freaky-as-hell bald man." She paused, cupping her furred chin with a claw, eyes looking to the side. "Actually now that I think about it, he mentioned your shinx friend and this armored human of yours too."
In an instant, Arrow was practically in her face, his beak almost touching her nose. "What did he say!?"
The zangoose pushed him away none to gently. "Sorry." She began, her tone conveying anything but remorse. "But I don't remember. I wasn't really paying any attention. I also didn't care."
Arrow flew back unto the table, irritated and crestfallen (but mostly irritated). He rubbed his face with a wing, feeling very sorry for the humans that were stuck with the pokemon. I'm back to square one, he thought, turning away from the zangoose and preparing to fly out of the house. He was just about to beat his wings and leave when the zangoose spoke up again.
"Although…" She trailed off, closing her eyes and crossing her arms. "If you want to find your shinx friend, I'd stick around these humans." She continued, tone begrudging. "The ones that were here, they're looking for that guy you mentioned, Isorfold something-or-other. If you hang around them, or follow them, they might lead you to your friend."
Arrow stared at the zangoose for a long moment, beak open and eyes wide. Eventually he composed himself after the pokémon shot him an incredulous look. "Thank you." He almost sputtered, truly grateful.
"And I really don't care." She added.
Arrow almost chuckled at that. He looked away from the pokemon, staring out the window and past the houses to see the early sky. He took a deep breath, and exhaled. Strange events were happening all over. Everyone, both enemy and ally, were suddenly going missing. There were eerie blue lights, humans with super powers, and collapsing streets. Things are getting very weird now, he thought. It seemed the only lead to the answers he needed was exactly what the zangoose had suggested. Follow the humans.
xxxxx
This was the second time that Daryn had found himself in front the Eastern Headquaters, at least their gates. The military base was just as imposing as the first time he laid eyes on it. A long walk on paved brick led to a four story building framed by the green flags of Amestris. Bleached white concrete made the front building's outer layer. On either side of the main bulding were longer, shorter buildings built in the same manor. At the very back, like horns reaching to the sky, were white concrete towers. The walkway was surrounded by the longer buildings, leaving only one way forward and into the larger main building and its grand staircase.
Just like the first time the young trainer was brought here, Daryn found himself completely uncomfortable. The astute presence of a military body that was so casually integrated into this world, Amestris, was something that he had only seen from the illegal team organizations like Team Rocket or Team Galactic. Even then, he was only partially aware through what he had seen on TV.
The drive that it took to get to the military command center was considerably short compared to when he came there with Ed last. That was probably because the trip was done by car versus by feet. It was something that Daryn found himself thankful for. It wasn't that the young trainer found Armstrong dislikable. On the contrary, he actually quite liked him. It was just that he found the large man… imposing. Perhaps it had to do with how the man had literally barged in into Edward's house, stripped and flexed for all those present. Either way, he was glad to be at the military base (despite how uncomfortable it made him) in short time.
The car that the major had drove them in, much like the man himself, had taken him completely off guard. It was for different reasons however. The car that he had been driven in was the spitting image of the old cars that he had seen on a trip to a museum once. They were the kind of cars that were developed shortly after the invention of the automobile in the first place. The sight of the vehicle had reminded him of the restaurant menus on his first day in this world; they were not laminated where all modern menus were. The observation left him with a lot of questions and thoughts. What was Amestris' time period? How much technology was there? Maybe it was a mix; the alchemy and the fake limbs certainly seemed advanced.
It was when the car came to a stop that he had been snapped out of his thoughts. Edward, who had been sitting in the back seats and had been staring off into the distance for the entirety of the trip, mumbled something about "Mustang" and "cocky." He was also sure there were a few swears too. As Ed unbuckled his seat the teen grabbed a rather sickly looking pichu, carefully placing the pokémon alongside his red coat under and cradled in his arm. Before he could make a comment about it, Daryn was given a look from him that made him immediately made him gulp it down. As for the teen's pokémon, Daryn could only guess that the ride did not sit well with it. Quickly he followed Ed's example, unbuckling his own seatbelt (barely more than a strap) and followed the young man outside the car door, where Armstrong held it open on a sidewalk.
There was a couple waiting for them when they got out, but from the uniforms that they wore and the way they held themselves, Daryn doubted they were romantic. Of the two, Daryn recognized only one with wide eyes. Dressed in that same royal blue coat that Armstrong was wearing was Ms. Hawkeye, the woman he met from before. Just as he last saw her, she was holding herself in a friendly way, but her stance was rigid and her hand was always near the holster on her hip, poised to attack at a moment's notice. Directly beside her was somebody that Daryn had never seen before. He too wore the blue military uniform, but he stood less tense than the woman beside him, and he sported black hair and charcoal eyes versus the blonde and blue of his companion.
When the man saw the group he grinned, raising his head slightly to look at them properly. Edward was quick to swear.
"What the hell do you want, Mustang?" Daryn flinched at the venomous tone in Ed's voice. "We're supposed to be catching Isorfold right now. We don't have time to run around and do more of your errands. And you sent the Major too? What the hell? You know you could have just called me right?" The red coated young man was now directly in the other man's (Mustang's) face, yelling with a contorted expression.
Mustang didn't seem the slightest bit perturbed, his face unchanging. In fact, Daryn balked when the man's smirk grew wider shortly after. "Is that so?" He asked to no one in particular, voice haughty. "I thought you'd appreciate the Major's company, Edward. He's a very empathetic man; I couldn't think of anyone better to approach you in your state of depression."
"Screw you!" Ed snapped back through clenched teeth, his face beat red.
Mustang continued unhindered by the retort. "As for Isorfold, just where were you going off to find him? Did you somehow gain a new lead overnight, or were you just going go trouncing about until you found him by luck? Do you really know where to go?"
Edward was sent stuttering and stepped back a step. Daryn struggled to keep himself from laughing at the display as Edward audibly ground his teeth at Mustang. Thinking about it, Daryn found that what the man said was true. He certainly didn't know where to find Isorfold, and if his reaction was anything to go by, neither did Edward. Eventually Edward calmed down, huffing in defeat.
"Alright, Mustang," The young man growled, "What have you found?"
Mustang smiled. "Much better. Now then, you probably knew that the alchemist's notes were encoded, correct?"
Edward nodded; Daryn frowned. "Encoded? Why were his notes encoded?"
"We alchemists have a motto. Be thou for the people. It means exactly what you think it means. That said, an alchemist's research is sensitive, and dangerous in anyone else's hands. So we encode our notes so that only we, and maybe other alchemists, can understand them." Ed answered without looking at the other teen, his tone matter-of-factly. "I only got a quick look through his notes, but it didn't look too heavily encoded. I don't think Isorfold tried too hard to hide anything."
"You're correct, Fullmetal. His notes were far from difficult to decode and understand. At this point in time, at least." Mustang continued, nodding. "So far they seem to be written as a cross between personal journal entries and the notes of an animal researcher. He writes vague descriptions of exotic animals that he "discovers" day to day, obviously the pokémon." Mustang lost his smirk and narrowed his eyebrows. "What's concerning is the number of injuries he describes in conjunction. Either he's describing failed transmutations, or that his early transmutations were harmful, maybe even fatal, for the pokémon involved even when they were successful. And from I've decoded so far, he's been at this for a while."
Daryn shuttered at that. He may not have known what alchemy really was, but if Mustang's description was any indication, he was feeling increasingly lucky to be alive. Then he thought of the pokémon the mad scientist must have gone through before he finally was successful, and shuttered again. Before he could ask with a pale face about what happened to those pokémon, however, Mustang had already moved on. At the very least, Edward himself looked just as perturbed; his face had changed to bear a larger scowl, narrowed eyebrows, and pinprick, angry irises.
"In the sections shortly before or after those descriptions, Isorfold describes off-handedly where he was at the time. Mentions of "breath taking star lights" and "high suns" are obviously times of the day, but I'm also certain that he's describing the alchemic process themselves. More importantly, there are specific mentions of "home's in the cold" and "mountains that touch the sky." This could very well be more alchemic metaphor, but it's very obscure and counter to the ease of the notes if that's the case." Here Mustang began smirking again, and Dryn noticed that Edward became more focused on the man before them. Even Armstrong, who had been standing some distance behind them, stepped closer with interest.
"More than likely," Mustang continued with a returned smirk, "he's referring less to the process than he is to the place. It would be odd otherwise. After all, if I were Isorfold, studying this particular field of transportation alchemy, why use such terms? "Home in the cold" would be far less indicative of the pokemon's origins than it would be if he used "home away from home." There's only one place with a mountain range that "touches the sky" and cold weather at all times of the year…"
"And that's the north." Edward finished for him without missing a beat. The young man turned to Daryn quickly, telling him that it was time get moving. Daryn nodded, but before the two could actually get moving, they were stopped by the towering figure of Major Armstrong standing in their way.
"And just where do you think you're going, Fullmetal? We're not done here yet. There is still more that needs to be discussed."
Ed's face twisted in rage; his eyes narrowed, his nostrils flared, and his mouth turned into a snarl. Daryn took a step back, swallowing loudly. "And why the hell not?! I've got my lead, you've got your job, and the sooner we get on them the sooner they'll be finished!"
"There's more to it than just that!" The older man yelled back, quickly losing the smirk he had previously maintained. Just as quickly, however, he relaxed. His shoulders slumped, and an arm fell dumbly to his side, the other clinching his eyebrows as he let out a single sigh.
Daryn and Edward, and to some extent Armstrong, started at the sudden display. Something had clearly upset the man, Daryn realized. Something important. After a brief moment of silence, Daryn was the first to ask. "Uhh sir?" He started, tentatively. "Did something… bad happen?"
The colonel started, turning and looking at Daryn with wide eyes as if noticing him for the first time. "You must be Daryn, right? I don't believe we've met properly." He said, extending out a hand to shake; the young trainer gladly accepted it. Daryn blinked at the texture he felt in his hands, a gritty, sand-paper like texture mixed with cotton, and he looked down to examine them closer. The man was wearing a pair of white gloves unlike the pair that Edward wore to conceal his prosthetic that sported an intricately designed circle (probably alchemy related, he thought) in red.
The man nodded once after retracting the handshake. "I'm Colonel Roy Mustang. No doubt Fullmetal here has told you absolute falsehoods about me. It would be in your best interest to forget them." Daryn heard the teen in question curse under his breath from behind him. "To answer your question," he continued, promptly ignoring the red coated young man. "Yes, something did happen. Two things specifically. Both last night, and probably at the same time."
Daryn narrowed his brows and looked at Ed, who looked back with the same expression. "Which one is worse?" Ed asked impatiently after the two of them returned their attention to the Colonel.
"Both." He answered gravely.
"We've received reports from our civilian sources that a battle of sorts took place a short distance away from Isorfold's last known residence." The major continued for Mustang, gathering the attention of the group. "The area where the battle took place was an alleyway before, but is now nothing more than collapsed rubble. Based on the reports, it took place between a black and blue cat chimera." The major paused, looking down at the ground before closing his eyes. "And a man wearing black pants and a tan coat, with an x-shaped scar across his forehead. Scar."
At that, Daryn saw Ed's eyes widen immediately. An air of intensity overcame the group, of that Daryn was sure despite his confusion as everyone else went completely quiet. Who was Scar? And what did he mean by a blue and black cat chimera? Daryn voiced the questions quickly forming in his mind. "Um… who's Scar?"
"He's an Ishvallan and a murderer." Ed answered darkly, not looking at the teen.
"Oh." Daryn dumbly replied. Wait, what?
"And," Mustang continued, "He targets state alchemists like Edward and I. He usually wins. The problem here is that Isorfold never received a state license. Why would he target the man or the pokémon his transmutations have brought?"
Daryn frowned. Someone was going to have to explain to him precisely what they were talking about sooner or later. This conversation was beginning to go over his head.
"Could it be a random encounter perhaps?" Armstrong questioned with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms.
The colonel hummed, rubbing his face with a gloved hand. "It's a possibility, although somehow I doubt it. It doesn't really matter now. Scar opposes alchemists; it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine him going after Isorfold, especially since he'll likely think the pokémon are chimera."
And there was yet another word he didn't understand. Daryn's eye twitched and his hands clenched. It was time to get answers, never mind waiting. Before he could ask, however, he was preemptively interrupted by Edward who yelled out in frustration, causing Daryn and the major to flinch, while the colonel looked at him with widened eyes.
"Damnit! First Isorfold and now this? Does somebody hate me or something?" He pulled his hair through his fingers and looked at the colonel with puckered eyebrows and a thin frown. "What else was there? Was anybody killed?"
The colonel shook his head, causing most of the group to let out varying degrees of relieved sighs, with Edward's being the most audible. "Fortunately no. Preliminary examinations report no bodies in the vicinity. There was, however, a lot of blood amongst the rubble. Apparently, Scar destroyed the ground and exposed an underground sewer. Again. So it's likely that either he or the chimera fled when the opportunity presented itself. Not without injury, of course."
Daryn narrowed his eyes. Didn't the colonel mention another event happening that night? "Wait, you said that there was something else too. What was it?"
Colonel Mustang's frown deepened. "Right." He sighed. "One of the pokémon we captured earlier this week… turns out it escaped before it could be transferred to the Research and Development Branch. Another pokémon apparently broke in and freed it while it momentarily unguarded."
"A pokémon? Which one was it? What did it look like?" Daryn interrupted, asking rapidly. This was his only chance to get some answers once and for all! "And what's an Ishvallan? Or a chimera for that matter? You guys keep using that word like it's the word for pokémon. And what about all this alchemy stuff. Can you guys please explain everything?"
Mustang blinked, looking back and forth between Ed and Major Armstrong, both of whom just shrugged. Eventually the man cleared his throat and regarded the young trainer to answer himself. "The pokémon that escaped was dark green and tan in color. It could also sprout fire from its back. As for the one that broke it out, we don't know. All we know is that the cage being used to contain the pokemon was cut open by something with unnaturally sharp claws. To answer your other questions-"
"I'll give you an explanation later, Daryn." Ed said, interrupting the colonel (whom now bore an irritated expression at being interrupted so often). "It'll take forever, and we don't have that at the moment."
"Oh. Okay then." Daryn said, blinking. He turned his thoughts to the pokémon that the colonel earlier described, and his eyes widened. The description that he had given perfectly matched the fire-type pokémon called typhlosion. With that realization Daryn remembered seeing a news report with his parents about one that went missing from its trainer. It had happened a little over a week ago, and it was said that the pokémon had disappeared… in a show of blue lightning. How long has this been going on, He wondered?
"Great. So we're exactly back to square one then." Edward said in an irritated huff, tearing Daryn back to reality. "Well, at least we have an idea where that bastard is going. Still, all this in one night? What the hell has been happening lately?"
"Anyway," Mustang began with a calm tone again, taking back everyone else's attention, "Now that we have Scar lurking out and about, it's too dangerous to have you going alone, Fullmetal." He gestured a hand over to Armstrong, who was resting his hands on his hips in a pose. For a brief moment, Daryn swore he saw the man sparkling again. "I've asked the major here to keep you boys' company, as an impromptu bodyguard."
Ed's reaction was immediate. "What!? No! No, that's not necessary. I mean, the major's probably really busy anyway! And we can take care of ourselves just fine!"
The Colonel leaned over Edward and Daryn, and the young trainer found himself forced to take a step back. Mustang bore an almost evil look across his face as he looked straight at the older teen, his charcoal eyes boring into him. "Now now, Fullmetal. Major Armstrong informed me that he had plenty of free time, in fact. He even volunteered. As for your safety; I don't think I need to remind you how Scar completely trounced you last time you two fought. Of course, I'll understand if you want to go alone and get yourself killed, but I'll have to get you court martialed if that's what you decide to do. You wouldn't want that, would you?"
With a glare and groan of frustration that Daryn couldn't help but sympathize with, Edward Elric relented.
xxxxx
Mustang stood there, outside the stone wall of the Eastern HQ's boundary, watching the group depart in the black buggy they had driven to him in. He felt some small level of satisfaction. For as much dislike he managed to make the Fullmetal feel (always an achievement in its own way), there was no doubt that he had been directionless. That was his job as the Fullmetal Alchemist's boss; give him the proper direction that he needed (and work he didn't feel like doing). Yet he also felt disappointed in himself; watching the dark spec of a car disappear into the distance with a goal, he couldn't help but think of his own, and how little progress he had made on it. That tidbit about Isorfold was all that he could offer as lead; he had been unable to discover anything else as of yet.
Then there were the incidents the night before. Between losing the pokémon that had been earlier captured, and the sudden appearance of Scar, it was exactly as Edward had said. Back to square one. Mustang scratched his chin, looking down at and past the concrete. Still, as long as he had the mad alchemist's notes there was still hope. There was still much to decode; many secrets still hidden away for his prying eyes to decipher. The colonel put his hands into his coat and turned around, steeling himself and ready to return to his office. He was stopped before he could begin the trek back to his office when his lieutenant spoke aloud.
"I'm surprised sir." She said in a tone belaying anything but.
Mustang turned around to face the woman, eyes wide with a single raised brow. "About what, Lieutenant?"
"You didn't confiscate the pokémon Ed was carrying. It could have made up for our previous loss. He wasn't exactly hiding it."
Mustang hummed to himself, considering the lieutenant's words. In honesty, the thought had not occurred to him once throughout their conversation. As he remembered, he realized that Hawkeye was right. The pokémon she had spoken of was indeed present; Fullmetal had been holding the creature under his arm, where it looked almost sickly since leaving the car. Perhaps it had gotten motion sickness? Also, and more importantly, why hadn't he taken the pokémon? Mustang smirked, turning around and restarting his walk towards the Eastern Command building. He waved his arm, motioning for the lieutenant to follow. It was probably best that he let Ed keep the pokémon for now, he said as much to her.
"Who knows?" He said with a tone of amusement. "Maybe it'll come in handy for him in the future."
xxxxx
The rocket grunt fell to the ground instantly, his face battered and bruised. His fall brought about a soft, wet thumping noise before a figure; his unconscious face landing in front of a boot. A moment passed, and the foot stepped over and past the grunt's knocked out body, over his head, and followed by the other as the figure that possessed the limbs continued forward. He was soon followed by a set of light orange, stumpy legs with clawed and scaled feet.
The two vastly differing figures walked a short distance past the defeated grunt and stopped at a rocky cliff face. The first figure wore a dark blue set of pants and a vested shirt with dark orange highlights. Draped across his shoulders, buckled by a silver chain, and drooping past his knees was a black cape with a crimson interior. The overall effect was a regal, if imposing, image. Joining the figure was a rotund, scaled, dragon-like pokémon with webbed wings the color of emerald. Its face was soft with large, brown eyes and a rounded snout; whisker like antennae protruded from its head just below a single, stubby horn.
The pokémon gave a light growl at the man, who merely smiled back and patted its shoulder. It seemed to calm down at that and settled itself a short distance away from him. The man smiled once more before twisting his neck such that a small pop could be heard, and regarded the cliff face before him. A moment passed and he then spread his hands outward onto the rock, feeling about and mumbling quiet and indistinguishable words to himself. Eventually, he found a purchase on a jutting piece of stone, and with a breath of satisfaction, he pulled.
Nothing happened.
He groaned aloud, palming his face before slowly stepping backwards an approximate foot so as to get a properly observe the cliff face once more. His dragon partner. He looked back, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish smile before looking back at the rock wall, eyes narrowed and mouth a-scowl once more.
"I know my tip off was right. That grunt confirmed it." He scratched his chin, thinking out loud to the pokémon beside him. "After all, what's the point in stationing a guard if there isn't a door for him to guard in the first place?" He paused, eyes searching for something standing out amongst the jagged wall of rock. "Let's have another look, Dragonite."
The dragonite nodded and the two repeated a groping session of the rock. For the first few minutes, it was a repeat of the last, with both human and pokémon growing steadily more irritated. They searched high and low; at the base of the wall and on top of one another's shoulders as far as they could reach. Still they found nothing that they were looking for - until the man found a loose slab of rock on the cliff face and smiled. The dragon pokémon smiled a slightly more predatory smile with him, bearing just the barest glimpse of a fang here or there, all the while maintaining the perpetually jolly expression on its face. It began stepping back as the man pulled.
The rock he pulled on slid out, revealing a large rod of black metal connecting the back of the rock to the wall it originated from. The man cast a glance between dragonite and the rock, before letting go and stepping back quickly himself. The rigged rock quickly sprang back to its position on the cliff-face with a ringing clatter. The end result of the action was a series of metal clunks and clanks and the sound of gears whirring together. There was a low click, and a large section of rock slowly slid down into the ground. The two beings took a look inside the revealed cave entrance where slab had been, and they saw a concrete hallway leading to a set of metal doors.
There was most likely an elevator behind those doors, the man thought to himself with a mad smile. A quick glance at his partner revealed that the dragon pokémon was bearing an expression that mirrored his own. "Well, buddy," He began, voice laden with confidence, "Let's see how well these Rockets handle Lance the Dragon Champion."
xxxxx
It is time to strike down on your oppressors. Do not hesitate in your actions, for they will only serve to undermine your goals. Especially when you come face to face with unspeakable horrors.
Next Time
Cruel Discovery