Chapter Two

One day, their father came to them and said, "Take this food to your mother, for she is not feeling well." So they took the food he had given them – milk and bread, as well as a little cheese and butter – and set off for their mother's house. Now the path to their mother's house ran through a forest where, it was rumored, wolves lived and preyed on travellers. The sisters, however, did not know what dangerous creatures wolves could be.

- from the fairy tale "Little Red Riding Hood"

"I can't believe State Alchemists are being sent on errands!" Trisha exploded as the Elric sisters walked the half-mile from their hotel to the Headquarters, joining the streams of businessmen hurrying along the streets. It had already been a week since they had been accepted, and their first day seemed to be the model for the course their lives would take. "'Trisha, file these papers!'" Trisha imitated Dirk's voice comically. "'Nina, bring me some tea!'"

Nina wasn't really listening; she was much too busy reliving a glorious moment from the evening before. She and Trisha had been preparing to leave for their hotel (their father absolutely forbade them to lodge in the dorms with all the men), and Lieutenant Colonel Mustang had looked up from a report he was reading. "Goodnight, Nina...Trisha." He had smiled that dashing smile of his, and it had been all Nina could do to murmur something in reply.

"Okay, stop right there!"

"Huh?" Nina nearly ran into Trisha, who had placed herself in Nina's path, hands on hips.

Trisha's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Something's fishy. Right about now, you'd be talking over me, saying 'We oughta complain' or something, but you're not even listening! And it's not just now, either! You've been like this the past week! What's gotten into you?!"

"Huh? Oh...I dunno," Nina said uncomfortably, not meeting her sister's eyes. "I've been...thinking about other things, I guess."

Trisha's confused expression melted away into a knowing grin with alarming speed. "Ooh. A certain...'someone,' maybe?"

"What're you talking about?" Nina asked irritably, pushing past Trisha to continue on her way. Beneath her irritation was a fear of discovery; she could never hide much from her younger sister.

"Ha! I was right!" Trisha crowed in triumph, though Nina couldn't see how her words had incriminated her. Trisha slung her arm through Nina's and asked conspiratorially, "Is it Lieutenant Colonel Mustang?"

"What?!" Nina wrenched her arm away. "What are you talking about?! How could I like the Lieutenant Colonel? Trisha, he's got to be at least five years older than me, and besides-"

"You might want to pipe down," Trisha said with a smug expression. "We're at HQ now, you know."

Nina clapped her mouth shut, fuming inwardly as they passed through the massive entry hall and the green-tiled hallways. The Lieutenant Colonel, she thought. Me, flipping out over my own superior officer! Really, the nerve! And then she thought her legs would give out under her: Lieutenant Colonel Mustang himself strode purposefully down the hallway right towards them.

A smile broke out on his face when he saw them. "Hello Nina...Trisha," he said in that wonderful baritone voice of his. She caught a whiff of his cologne as he passed.

"Good morning!" Trisha called out cheerily with a wave.

Nina managed to gurgle out, "Hi, sir," before Mustang disappeared through the doorway into his office. As soon as he was gone, Nina let out a low moan and dropped her head onto Trisha's shoulder. It was soft, and smelled comforting, but Nina barely noticed. "I've got it real bad, Trish!" she groaned. "He's just so...so..."

"Cute?" Trisha suggested. "Handsome? Dashing and debonair?"

"Nice," Nina breathed dreamily, thinking of all the times she had seen him treat his subordinates as equals, as friends. She had never met anyone quite like him before.

"Yup," Trisha said grimly. "You've got it bad, all right."

"So what's our mission this afternoon?" Trisha asked Fuse glumly later that day, as the three of them trooped back to the office after lunch. "More paperwork?"

"No," Fuse replied with a quick smile as they walked through the hallways to the office together, the tinkling of the fountain fading away behind them. He looked even sleepier than normal, as though he had stayed up all night, and as he walked he fiddled with his fraying shirt sleeve. "Here's where life in the military gets interesting."

"What do you mean?"

"I've heard we're being sent to suppress a riot that's threatening to form on Sixth Street. The Sect, you know."

Nina felt a sliver of dread trickle down her back. Even in the remote village of Risenpool, there had been news of the Sect, a group of violent protesters who often caused riots. "Why do those Sect guys cause so much trouble?" she wondered aloud. "I mean, what's their problem?"

"Well, you have to understand that not everyone likes the way this country's run," Fuse replied with a frown as they started up the final staircase. "A military state can cause a lot of problems for the people, you know – getting caught up in wars and everything."

"But the Fuhrer does his best to maintain peace!" Trisha protested.

"Yes, well..." Fuse seemed to be searching for the right words. "It started when the last Fuhrer was assassinated. I suppose you weren't even born then, so you wouldn't understand. Everything was in turmoil; it seemed that every officer in the military was fighting for the top position. And while they fought, anarchy reigned on the streets." Fuse wore an ugly expression as his gaze turned inward on his memories. "Groups who protested against the infighting in the military became more and more violent, till ordinary civilians were under threat. Innocents – women, children – were being slaughtered. Finally the present Fuhrer managed to gain the top position and stabilize things, but some saw this as just another form of oppression. That was when the Sect formed. They continue to fight, even though public opinion has since turned against them."

Fuse smiled a little, suppressing a yawn with difficulty as they reached the top of the stairs. "You've got to hand it to them: They've got a lot of guts."

Nina shook her head. She still couldn't see how anyone could think they would make the country better by fighting the government. "And we're going to suppress them?" she asked, feeling her stomach tighten as it had on her first day of work.

Fuse nodded and glanced at Trisha, whose face was pale. "Usually, we're just trying to capture the rioters. Imprison them, you know. There are some casualties, but the Fuhrer's made it plain he wants none outside of accidents, if possible." He gave them a half-smile as he paused before pushing open the door to the office. "And our Lieutenant Colonel always keeps an eye on us, so don't worry."

Inside the office, the men were bustling about with preparations. Nina and Trisha stood off to the side near the coat rack, not sure what to do or how to help. Nina hugged her red coat against her body, thinking of her father and all the adventures he had had in his time. All of a sudden, she wondered why she had ever wanted to become a State Alchemist. The thought that she would be risking her life chilled her to the bone, and she didn't feel like the daughter of the Full Metal Alchemist at all. She scratched her nose impulsively.

"Hey, Sis," Trisha spoke up, low enough so that the men couldn't hear. She absently twirled her hair around her finger. "You remember that story Dad used to tell us? The one where he caught those bandits on the train to Central?"

Nina nodded; it had been one of her favorites.

"Do you remember why he and Uncle Al did all that stuff, walking on top of the train and risking their lives and everything? It was because of that girl they met. It was to protect her."

Nina looked at her little sister in confusion. "What are you getting at?"

Trisha smiled, her blue eyes warm and reassuring. "We can't back down now. We're going out there today to protect little girls like that."

"Quite a profound statement," a voice suddenly said behind them.

Nina whirled around and felt her stomach vanish like fog on a sunny day. "L-Lieutenant Colonel!" she gasped, saluting sloppily.

Mustang returned the salute absently, still looking at Trisha. "You know, I feel precisely the same way about this. The reason we're fighting the Sect is to protect civilians." He smiled at Trisha, and Nina found herself suddenly envying her little sister's slightly wavy golden hair that spilled over her shoulders, catching the light attractively.

But Mustang was already turning to the other soldiers in the room. "Ready, men?" he asked, his face taking on a very serious expression.

"Yes, sir!" all five of them cried as one.

Lieutenant Colonel Mustang led his subordinates through the streets, which were chillingly empty of civilians. Nina wondered if everyone who didn't support the Sect had gotten wind of the impending riot and fled the streets. Whatever was the case, the overcast sky molded with the concrete of the buildings and sidewalks till it seemed the whole world must be grey, and the six of them were the only spots of color. The smell of damp was in the air, suggesting that it was going to rain soon, and a cool breeze swirled around them, making Nina shiver. They could hear the faint sound of shouting in the distance, but it was too far away to guess at how many people there were.

When they had nearly reached Sixth Street, Lieutenant Colonel Mustang began giving out orders. "Now, there are only supposed to be around ten men, right Fuse?"

"Yes, sir," Fuse replied, hastily setting up a portable radio in a secluded alley off of Sixth Street, setting it down between two piles of garbage. "We've received reports of them breaking windows, making a racket, trying to rile up a crowd. We have to stop them before it turns into a full-scale riot."

Mustang nodded curtly. "They'll be using guerilla tactics, so it's business as usual. Dirk, Bones, go in and lure them out to this intersection."

"A trap?" Dirk asked, frowning a little.

"The Elric sisters will see to that," Mustang replied, smirking slightly as he looked at Nina and Trisha's surprised faces. "Show us what two State Alchemists can do."

This is it, Nina realized. Now we can prove to them that we can do more than just run errands. Then she noticed the Lieutenant Colonel moving farther back into the alley, and asked in surprise, "Sir? Where are you going?"

Mustang turned briefly to flash his smile at her. "Every hawk needs a branch to perch on." With that, he was gone.

"Come on, Solid Stone," Trisha said playfully, nudging her sister in the ribs. "We'd better get in position to spring the trap."

Dirk peeked around the corner of the alleyway as Bones cocked his gun with a surprisingly loud click. To Nina's surprise, Bones looked up at her and grinned, his small dark eyes sparkling. "We're up against the guerillas," he said, glancing around at his fellows. "Let's give 'em bananas, boys."

Dirk gave the signal, and he and Bones rushed out of the alleyway, their footsteps receding into the distance as Dirk's light hair and Bones's large bulk disappeared around the corner. The sound of shouting suddenly grew louder and fiercer, and suddenly Nina realized that she should be formulating a plan for how to trap the protesters. "Hey, Trish," she hissed. "How're we gonna-?"

Suddenly Nina realized that Trisha wasn't at her side anymore. "Trisha!" she yelped as she saw her younger sister darting across the wide street. Trisha made a perfect target, with her light hair and red coat sailing out behind her, and the shouts drew nearer by the second. Gunshots began to slice the air as well. When Trisha reached the other side of the street, Nina mouthed Stupid at her and furiously pulled out her brand-new piece of chalk. She understood what Trisha was planning, but it had been a foolish risk to dart out like that in plain view.

Still fuming, Nina finished her circle in the mouth of the alley. Trisha had managed to find cover directly opposite, and hastily drew a circle complementary to Nina's. As they started on their second circles next to the first ones, the shouting grew even nearer, and a crowd came rushing into view. Nina gasped; there were many more protesters than the number Lieutenant Colonel Mustang had given. She hoped the trap would still work.

Dirk darted past the mouth of the alleyway, diving for cover behind a parked car and clutching his bloody arm. He seemed to have lost his rifle, but as Nina watched in shock he pulled out a pistol and fired several shots from behind the car. She could see Bones farther down the street, firing from behind the inadequate cover of several garbage cans. Gunshots pinged and whizzed past like tiny birds of prey, and the cries of the protesters who had been hit were like the squeals of mice as a hawk swooped down on them. Then Nina wrenched her gaze back to the street teeming with Sect members, and slammed her palms onto the transmutation circle she had drawn. Blue light shone around her as a stone wall materialized out of the ground, meeting the matching wall Trisha was making. The stone met seamlessly with a resounding boom in front of Dirk and Bones, cutting the protesters off from them.

Even as the Sect members stared up at the wall in confusion, Nina activated her second circle. She saw the answering blue light from Trisha's transmutation on the other side of the street, and a huge iron cage formed around the protesters, crackling into existence. One man towards the back, however, managed to leap out of the way before the cage had fully materialized, and he pointed a pistol where he had seen the blue light of the transmutation. Nina's breath caught in her throat as she stared at the tiny barrel for one prolonged moment.

Before her mind had time to realize that she was in danger of being killed, a tiny something hit the man's arm and he dropped the pistol with a cry of pain. Even as he clutched his arm and whirled around, searching the empty street for a sign of his attacker, another silent shot hit his leg. The man fell to the ground with another cry, and suddenly Trisha was there, transmuting a gigantic stone hand that closed about the man, immobilizing him.

"Sis!" she called out, rushing over to Nina, her face white with terror. "You okay?"

Nina nodded absently, looking around to find her savior. Trisha grinned shakily and pointed upwards; when Nina looked up, she saw Lieutenant Colonel Mustang squatting on the roof of the building next to her, holding a silenced rifle. He saluted her, then disappeared from sight to return to the ground. Nina thought she might just melt into a puddle of adoration.

Bones placidly bandaged Dirk's wound as they sat in the entrance to the alleyway, his large fingers handling his comrade's arm gingerly. "You wanted us to lure the rioters into a trap," Bones rumbled calmly. "With all due respect, sir, we were the ones who were ambushed."

"Yeah," Dirk said, carefully pulling his jacket back on once Bones had tied off the bandage. "It was just a bunch of teenagers at first, but then more and more kept on coming, like they were waiting for us. Lucky for us, they don't know how to deal with two State Alchemists." He grinned at the State Alchemists in question.

Lieutenant Colonel Mustang stood in the alleyway, arms crossed, glaring into space. "Fuse!" he barked.

"Yes, sir?"

"How could this happen? The military's better than this! How could our scouts fail to notice that they were setting up an ambush? The Sect is hardly known for subtlety or well-trained fighters!"

Fuse's eyes darted around nervously, almost as if he was searching for a way out. "Well...I've thought of an explanation, but...I hesitate to say it, sir..."

"Say it," Mustang snapped, glaring at the protesters, who were being led away by men in the blue military uniform. The grumbles of the Sect members, and the sharp commands of the officers, added uneasy background noise to their conversation.

Fuse paused, biting his lip as though trying to find a way to make his words as gentle as possible. "Maybe..." he said at last. "There might be a...a traitor. Someone who deliberately gave the wrong information, hoping we would be overwhelmed." Fuse stopped there, looking up worriedly at the Lieutenant Colonel.

Nina looked up at him as well from where she sat on an empty crate next to Trisha. Mustang's face had fallen completely still, all anger suddenly gone beneath an expressionless mask. "If there is..." he said softly, his eyes following the man who had nearly shot Nina. "He will be sorry he ever deceived me."