Ughhhh
well it's ok
not like I wanted and I hate the ending but... meh
here you go, sorry for the wait ^^; I really need to get better at updating quickly
Another day, another book or job, another night. Nothing ever changes for the young state alchemist. Everything is always the same, and it's grown dull to her. She walks through the streets in the morning towards work alone, and a car slows down beside her. At first, she shows it no regard, until the driver rolls down the window and calls to her. "Oi, Stone Blood!"
Elena turns to see Lieutenant Colonel Hughes in the driver's seat of the car, which has now come to a stop as he's turned to talk to her. "Yes, sir?" She asks in a formal tone.
He casts her a cheery smile, ignoring the dull monotone. "Care for a life? We're both headed to the same place, and it's dangerous as of late for a state alchemist to be walking the streets alone, especially one as young as yourself."
Elena sighs and shoves her hands into her pockets, quickly debating in her mind the pros and cons of accepting a ride to work from this man. It's not long before she's joined him, sitting stiffly in the passenger's seat as he drives on. "How how've you been?" Hughes asks in an attempt to start a conversation.
"I have been well, sir. I trust that you have as well?" She responds in her usual drone, putting a slight damper on the man's attempts.
He isn't stirred, but rather gins broadly. "Oh, yes. My little girl did the cutest thing yesterday! She wanted to play in the pool, but…" As Hughes rambles on about his family, Elena gazes out the window quietly, her hands in her lap. To anyone else, it may have seemed as though she were ignoring them, but Hughes picks up on the faint sings; the distant look in her eyes, and the way she relaxes ever-so-slightly, a strange sort of half-smile playing on her lips. He stops talking suddenly, causing the young woman to look at him in vague surprise.
"Elena, why do you act like that? Why do you hide your emotions?" The lieutenant colonel asks suddenly.
The state alchemist blinks at the random question. Generally, people don't question whether her emotionless front is real or not. "My apologies, sir, but I am hiding nothing." She says quietly.
Hughes just sighs and shakes his head, driving for a short while in silence. Then he speaks again. "I met a young man about your age once, named Dante Knights. He claimed he knew you. Is it true?" He watches Elena out of the corner of his eye carefully, taking in her reaction curiously.
This time, her change in mood is slightly more distinct. Her face softens, and she lets out a tiny sigh as her hands clench and unclench, her tattoos carefully hidden against the cloth of her uniform. "Yes, it is. We were classmates, once upon a time." She drones. Of course, they were more than just classmates, but this is not a topic she will discuss.
Hughes gives a sigh. "What are you hiding?" He asks Elena once again.
"I have nothing to hide, sir." There is a tightness to her voice that was not there before, as they finally arrive at Central Command.
The lieutenant colonel merely sighs as he parks his car, finally letting the subject drop. Elena and he go from the car to into the building, before going their own ways. As he separates from the young state alchemist, Hughes goes over the conversation he's just had. Perhaps, he muses, Stone Blood is not so stone-faced after all.
-o-o-o-
"His alias is Scar, given to him because of the X-shaped scar on his forehead. He's been targeting state alchemists as far as we can tell. He's fast, and he uses alchemy to deconstruct his targets. Do you think you can handle that?" Roy Mustang loads information on the young woman standing before him.
Elena stares back blankly, her face expressionless. "Your intention is to send a state alchemist to take down someone who's attacking state alchemists? Sir, is that not a bit contradictory?" She drones, seeming almost bored as she speaks to her superior.
The colonel raises an eyebrow. "Regular military personnel have proven inefficient against him, and besides, with your skill level and style of alchemy, you should be more than able to take him." He says.
The Stone Blood Alchemist nods. "I see, sir. I will make sure he is taken in." She turns to go without another word.
It isn't hard to find the man named Scar. He's left an easy enough trail to track, and as Elena wears her uniform as she hunts for him, it is not long before he approaches her. This wouldn't be a problem, if it weren't for the fact that the woman has just walked into an alley. It's open-ended, so there are two exits, but the area is still cramped, causing evasion to be that much more difficult. "Another heathen to send to God." The dark-skinned man lunges at the young state alchemist, his right arm outstretched as though to grab her.
The girl dodges narrowly, her blue eyes narrowing as she studies this man's skillful defense. He's strong and fast, and his arm is highly destructive. Still, he's larger, clumsier, and slightly slower than she, so she dodges his attack with grace and skill, her hands shoved into her pockets.
She knows that she could easily end this. All she'd have to do is activate her alchemy. There's plenty of stone around him, and all she needs is direct palm-to-stone contact, and she can reach through it to affect him. If she acts now, she can win.
She does not act, unfortunately. Instead, she continues to dodge, her mind running wildly. Logic tells her to use her alchemy, but every fiber of her being screams not to as well. Her alchemy is sick; repulsive. She believes that even this man does not deserve to be turned into stone.
I didn't know.
The man continues to attack her, and even as she dodges him, she can feel herself growing weary. If she doesn't do something soon, she will fall to this man.
I didn't know my father was going to have me do something so awful. I didn't know it was going to kill her. Too late, I learned what my alchemy would be. I was so nervous when I activated the circle; I concentrated so hard I didn't realize what was going on until I heard her scream. The stranger screamed so loudly, her eyes brimming with tears.
I caused those tears.
Scar's palm collides with the wall next to Elena, blowing it to pieces and knocking her off her feet. She stumbles to the ground, her eyes widening as she looks to him with sharp concern.
I didn't understand what was going on. I tried to stop, but it was too late… far too late. The transmutation finished. I was left to stare at my handiwork. I'd been tricked into creating a monster.
Now he comes crashing towards her, and with an expression of grim determination, Elena Bloodstone rolls out of the way. His hand touches and destroys stone, right where her head had just been moments ago.
The circle wasn't perfect. It turned her into something in-between. My father had been hoping for a perfect statue, but she'd only become a partial statue, and in places stone had cracked and ripped through her, leaving her innards and blood to pour onto the floor. Her eyes were still wide, her stone-specked face taught with fear. I was horrified; I had done this.
Elena's hands slip out of her pockets as she rises to her feet, panting breathlessly. The fight has worn her out, and she is nearing the end of her endurance. She has to finish this fast, and yet still she can't bring herself to use her alchemy.
The scarred man flexes his tattooed arm. "Bow before the wrath of God." He says coldly, before charging at her. She raises her hands, her eyes wide.
Would I be willing to kill again?
She's pretty sure she knows the answer, and it seems that she may be facing her last fight, before suddenly a sword moves between her and her attacker, slicing at the dark-skinned man. The blade cracks, and Scar pulls away, blood dripping from his wounded hand. The strange intruder kicks at him now, an automail leg slicing through the air dangerously close to the serial killer's neck.
Scar backs away and glares as she cloaked figure attacks with the sword now. The former immediately drops to the ground, the blade slicing over his head. He destroys the ground, before making his get-away quickly, knowing his chances of winning this fight now are low.
The intruder turns to Elena, pulling down his hood to reveal obsidian-black hair and bright green eyes. "You know," he smiles at her, "if you keep acting reckless like that, you'll die before I get to take you on a date."
The young state alchemist merely sighs, as she shoves her hands back into her pockets. "I do not care to go on a date with you, so that doesn't really matter." She says in a dull monotone, looking in the direction her target fled and debating vaguely whether it would be worth it or not to chase after him.
Dante sighs and shakes his head before giving her a cheerful grin. "For now." He says. "I'm not giving up on you any time soon, though."
The Stone Blood Alchemist gives a small shake of her head and starts to walk away, behaving as though nothing out of the ordinary has happened; as though she hasn't nearly died or anything else in between.
"H-hey, where are you going?!" The man follows after her, and she sighs.
"Home. I'll continue my work tomorrow." She drones.
Dante winces, as though bothered by the fact that she's just leaving. "Can't we even hang out for a little bit?" He asks of her in a pleading tone.
The young woman turns to him, her blue eyes blank as she shoves her hands into her pockets. "You are the Stray Alchemist—a thief. If I were to 'hang out' with you, as you wish, my job would be at stake." She drones.
He blinks in surprise. "There's no proof that I'm a criminal, though!" He protests defensively.
Elena shakes her head. "I caught you in the act. You should consider yourself lucky that I haven't simply turned you in as it is. Good day." She turns and walks away.
Despite the fact that she reveals no emotion whatsoever, Elena Bloodstone's heart is beating fast, and her palms, hidden in her pockets, have grown sweaty. It takes all of her self-control not to run back to her old friend, but rather to remain cold and distant. If only things had gone differently, she thinks with a quiet sigh, and it were okay for me to respond.
She knows full well that this is foolish, wishful thinking, but she can't help but think it regardless.