Alone in her small, messy office, Alee sighed. She looked around distractedly at all the alchemical and medicinal research books lining the walls, thinking about her master, Isaac McDougal, the Freezing Alchemist. He'd always made it a point to keep in touch which made his silence all the more disturbing. As his prodigy, he was as proud of her as he was frustrated when she had received her State Alchemist license. She'd taken his alchemy, an intricate water based science, and gone on, not only to apply it to medicine, but to become one of the most powerful alchemists in history. To its limits anyways.

All alchemists, of course, lived by three simple rules: obey the military, do not create gold, and absolutely, under no circumstances, transmute a human being. Alchemists were still bound by the laws of reality, namely, the conservation of mass. In order to tansmute something, something of equal value must be given up. This was the basal law of equivalent exchange. It made transmuting human beings a taboo, because there was nothing that could be exchanged that would equal a living, breathing, thinking person. It was strictly forbidden.

So, naturally, she'd attempted it.

And paid the ultimate price.

Isaac had been disappointed, but not at all surprised. "Greatness," he'd told her, "doesn't satisfy for long. I knew one day you would test the laws of the cosmos, but you, my dear, are not all powerful, and now you have to bear the burden of your transgressions."She had taken it in stride. Both kinder and harsher words had been spoken to her before but she had been glad for his understanding. He was like a father to her, more father-like than her own, and so the fact that he seemed to be ignoring her now made her extremely ill-at-ease.

Alee had never shared this with Jean, but she had been contacted by Isaac recently enough.

A few weeks ago, a crazed, distracted Isaac called her in the wee hours of the morning with a puzzling, cryptic message. She'd barely had time to dissect the event herself, let alone tell anyone about it. Besides, she swore to stay silent…

"Hullo? Whoisthis?" Alee mumbled sleepily, squinting at the numbers on the alarm clock on the bedside table. They read three twenty-six AM.

"Alee?" Isaac's deep voice gasped. It wasn't slow and soothing like it usually was. He sounded awful, desperate, deranged.

"Master?" Alee cried, instantly awake and alerted. "What's wrong? Why are you calling me now? Has something happened? Where are you? I've been looking all over the place for you! When I stopped getting your letters, I didn't know what to think! And no one has seen or heard from you—"

"Stop! Alee! Shut up, I don't have much time!"

Alee's words died in her throat. She was taken aback and extremely hurt. Isaac has never spoken to her that way before, not even when he learned she'd attempted human transmutation.

He made an exasperated sound on the other side of the line."Look, I'm sorry, Alee," he said more calmly now, but it sounded forced. "I know you must have been worried but there's no time for that now. I've discovered something…something terrible within the military."

Alee just listened in stunned silence.

"There's too much to explain. I won't explain, I couldn't bear to think of them coming after you because of me… Which is why if they ask you anything, anything at all about me, you must claim ignorance. Never speak to anyone of this. Promise me." He waited for her to respond, but dread had made her whole body go numb. "Promise me, Alee!" he snapped.

"Y-yes," she stuttered. "I-I promise, Isaac…"

He breathed a shaky sigh of relief. "Good… Good girl. You've grown up so much in all these years into such a glorious woman. You were a perfect pupil who became more than I had ever hoped you could be. I…" He paused. Alee hung onto the phone like it was a lifeline. "Alee, I need you to listen to me now, the way you always have, are you paying attention?"

Alee nodded mutely before realizing he couldn't see her. She carefully licked her dry lips and whispered, "Yes."

"You need to leave the country. Please? You must quit the military and flee the country as soon as possible! It's not safe. The military is dangerous, trust no one! They have been up to terrible things, really horrible workings, things you can't even imagine…" He stopped again. Alee couldn't breathe. Was he in pain? Where was he? And what was all this military nonsense? "Can you do this?"

Alee didn't know what to say. Quit the military she had been a part of, worked so hard for, for twelve years? It was preposterous! This was crazy. She just wanted to see Isaac, help him, make him stop talking so crazy. He was really staring to scare her. "Yes?" she finally managed, feeling tears spring to her eyes. What else could she possibly say to a madman?

"I need you to do this, Alee. I need you to be strong, stick to your convictions, think for yourself…like you did in Ishval…my Ice Angel."

She gasped. She thought no one knew about that. Maybe it was a coincidence? Did he even realize what he was saying now?

"I'm about to do something…" he whispered now, more to himself than to Alee. "I have to act. I cannot forgive myself if I simply stood by, not again, not like in Ishval—"

Was he cracking?

"It's a slim chance it will work. We are dealing with greater powers now—"

"Isaac, please," Alee begged, finally finding her voice. "Come here, to the east. I've just been transferred, but you can stay with me. Please come find me. Talk to me. Isaac…" The tears spilled over, falling, unbidden, down her cheeks.

He laughed humorlessly in response. "Were it so easy," he murmured. "Alee? Whatever happens… I hope… I just wanted you… Nngh! Just, be safe, Alee. Do as I say. If all goes well, I will come find you, if not…." The line went silent for such a long time, Alee wasn't even sure if he was still on the the other side. "Alee, I love you." Then the line clicked off as Isaac hung up, leaving Alee clutching the dead receiver.

That was two weeks ago.

True to her word, she hadn't told a soul, but she certainly hadn't fled the country and she definitely wasn't quitting the military any time soon.

She'd kept her eyes and ears peeled for any news of activity (within and without the military) but there was none of that. There was no sign of Isaac anywhere. Not that she knew quite what to say to him if he did turn up. His message had left her unnerved to say the least, with his last words ringing in her ears for days.

But where was he now?

~A Note From the Author~

My apologies for it being so short. The next bit will come out soon (probably the weekend when I don't have practice) and then from there, the chapters will get pretty lengthy, I promise.

Also, even though McDougal is from FMAB, I play with his character here, he doesn't go the way he does in the anime. Just a heads up.