Chapter 11 – The Mustang Residence

Wrath watched the blonde woman sitting across from him as she ordered a drink from the waiter. They were seated in their own enclosed booth. All of the booths in the coffee shop were set up in such a manner. It appeared the real purpose of the place was to provide privacy to its customers. When the waiter left Elycia turned and met his gaze. She still appeared friendly, but a calculating seriousness had entered her expression.

"How on earth have you survived as an agent this long?" she asked curiously. He stared at her incredulously. She'd taken the words right out of his mouth. "No offense, but you seem painfully inflexible," her words were blunt. Wrath raised an eyebrow.

"I can be flexible when I need to be. But I expect a certain level of maturity from my associates," his tone was equally blunt. At this Elycia smirked.

"Uh-huh," she leaned back in her seat, clearly amused, "I thought you were going to hit the roof when I grabbed your arm back there. You wouldn't hit a woman, would you Wrath?" her tone was teasing but the calculating look was still in her gaze. Wrath narrowed his eyes at her.

"I believe we're here to discuss the situation with our friends in the Council, are we not Miss Hughes?" his tone was pointed. She sighed.

"Well if you insist. But call me Elycia. Miss Hughes is far too formal for two friends chatting over coffee," she replied.

"Is this a suitable location to be discussing things?" he asked skeptically. If they needed to keep up the appearance of friendship then that suggested they weren't in a secure area.

"Oh, no one will overhear us here. This place is tried and true. But you might as well get used to calling me Elycia because I'm never going to remember to call you Mr. Curtis," she told him frankly. Wrath stared at her with an unenthused expression. She smiled sweetly at him before continuing, "So, I'm assuming you've been filled in about the situation by Roy?" she asked briskly. He nodded.

"Who else is aware of our current situation?" he asked.

"Roy has some associates within the military who he keeps informed about information he deems important for them. But only he knows everything that's going on in its entirety. I don't know the details about the mission he sent you on, but he informed me about the assassination plot you uncovered. It's safe to say only Roy, you and I are aware of it at this point," she replied. A cool seriousness had entered her tone which brought the dark haired man a certain amount of relief. He could tolerate the giddy air head act if there was an actual brain working underneath it.

"Actually, my brother and his wife, as well as Edward and his son are now aware of the situation as well," he informed her. Her expression grew unreadable.

"You told them?" she asked. He nodded.

"The only reason I'm helping Mustang is because I wish to protect those close to me. He is well aware of this and trusts my judgement as to who I share information with," he explained, "If we're going to work together on this then you might as well know where I'm coming from."

"So essentially anything I tell you might end up being relayed to your family. So much for secrecy," her tone was faintly amused, "But if Roy trusts your judgement then I'm not overly worried. In any case, I'm personally familiar with all of the people you mentioned and I don't see any potential issues there. I appreciate the honesty though," she replied, a bemused smile pulling at her lips. He nodded. Then her expression grew grave. "On the same note though, you need to be careful who you share information with. Roy hasn't informed his son about any of what's been taking place, and I would ask that you refrain from enlightening Edward's eldest daughter Sara. Since the two of them are state alchemists, they answer to the military. Not that I think either of them would sell out their families, but its better if they know nothing for the time being rather than risk an information leak. On top of which, if their knowledge were to be discovered it would land them in some very hot water. We don't know for certain the extent of the Aerugan infiltration of our military as of now," she informed him.

"I completely agree. How many people do you know for sure are working for the Aerugans?" Wrath asked.

"There's a number of people we suspect. But there's at least one person I'm one hundred percent sure of," Elycia replied, a faint smirk pulling at her lips.

"Who is this person?" Wrath raised an eyebrow.

"My boyfriend," she replied with a grin.

"Mina?" a hand on her shoulder shaking her gently roused her from sleep. Elmina's eyes flickered open to see her mother leaning over her. She frowned slightly, feeling disoriented after being woken from such a deep sleep. Where was she? "How are you feeling?" her mother inquired.

"Uh…" Elmina blinked several times. Oh right…she was at the hotel…but when had she gone to bed? "Groggy," she replied finally, "How did I end up in bed?"

"You passed out after you found out Adele was ok. Not surprising really. Manic episodes are taxing on your body at the best of times, and Mania really put you through the ringer last night. You're probably going to be feeling it for a few days," Elsie explained, a sad smile pulling at her lips. Elmina's thoughts returned to the previous day. It was all so jumbled and she still couldn't remember large chunks of it. Her dad had said she'd ran all the way from Old District to very near where the hotel was. She wasn't entirely sure how she'd managed that. But that would explain why her feet were currently throbbing uncomfortably. She probably had some impressive blisters. Someone had removed her boots but left her socks on. She wasn't sure she wanted to take them off to check. "I'm sorry to wake you. I'm sure you could've slept for the rest of the day and night. But we're leaving the hotel now," her mother's words made her blink in surprise.

"Where are we going?" she asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"Well… Roy has invited all of us to stay with them for a few days," her mother replied hesitantly. Elmina turned to stare at her.

"Why?" she demanded incredulously. Elsie's expression grew slightly guarded.

"Alphonse is being moved there from the hospital… and there are some things your father and I need to discuss with Roy and Riza," her mother explained carefully.

"Like what?" Elmina's tone was both puzzled and unenthused. Having to live under the same roof as Titus wasn't a terribly appealing thought.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with at the moment. Your father went back to the hospital earlier with Edward and AJ to help with making arrangements for Al to be moved. Titus is coming by the hotel to pick up Sara, Adele and the two of us," her mother replied briskly.

"Hurray…" Elmina's tone was sarcastic. Then her brow furrowed. "But why is Uncle Al being moved? I mean, he is going to wake up…right?" she asked uncertainly. Elsie smiled reassuringly, though it was a little strained.

"Eventually he should. But there isn't anything the doctors can do for him. There's no need for him to be taking up a hospital bed," she replied, "Anyway, Titus will be here any minute now. We should head down to the lobby. Sara and Adele are already there," she offered her daughter a hand up. Elmina took it and rose stiffly to her feet. She grimaced as her feet and legs throbbed more vehemently. Something told her this was going to be a long day.

They emerged into the lobby a short time later. To Elmina's surprise, evening shadows were already descending on the city outside the hotel doors. Maybe the day wouldn't be so long after all, seeing as she'd already slept through most of it. She spotted Adele and Sara sitting on one of the couches near the doors. Upon seeing her, Adele leapt to her feet and crossed the room to greet her.

"Mina! Are you okay?" she demanded, looking the dark haired girl over anxiously. Elmina smiled tiredly at her friend's worry.

"I feel like I pulled an all-nighter after running a marathon. But aside from that I'm great," she replied dryly.

"You look better than you did this morning," Sara commented as she joined them. At the older girl's tone Elmina glanced at her and was surprised to note an unusual guardedness in Sara's expression. The dark haired girl felt a prick of uncertainty. What had she done to deserve a look like that?

"Yeah well… I'm back to my old self," she replied, not entirely sure how to react to the other girl's unease. Sara nodded but said nothing.

"Your mom mentioned an idea to me earlier that might help protect you from those creatures. I might be able to use my alchemy to keep them from gaining control over you," Adele piped up. Elmina's eyes widened in surprise before her expression slipped into a frown.

"I don't want you getting involved with them. It's not safe," she stated guardedly. Adele gave her a wilted look.

"I know that. I'm not suggesting confronting them personally. They're exploiting you through a chemical imbalance in your body. If I could fix that imbalance somehow it might protect you from the worst of their influence," her friend explained. Elmina's expression grew thoughtful. That was an interesting possibility. "I want to examine you when we get to Titus's house. The sooner we get started the better. I don't know when that other one will come after you," Adele's tone was anxious. Elmina blanched.

"You mean Despair," she stated uneasily. What Mania had put her through hadn't exactly been pleasant, but as unnerving as he was, the girl with the black eyes had been decidedly more disturbing. Mania had said he wanted her first, which implied Despair would come for her next. It wasn't an encouraging thought.

"Looks like Titus is here," Sara commented, glancing out the glass doors. A vehicle had pulled up outside. Elmina glanced at it and her lips pressed into a thin line.

"Guess we shouldn't keep him waiting," she muttered resignedly. Sara shot her a bemused look.

"Your enthusiasm is overwhelming," the older girl's tone was faintly amused, "Though, I don't think you have too much to worry about. I know he's a jerk sometimes, but after seeing you last night I don't think he'll give you too hard a time. Even he was a little worried," she told her reassuringly. Elmina's eyes widened in shock before a very different, unhappy emotion filled her gaze. Her jaw clenched as her cheeks grew red, eyes flashing in anger.

"I don't want his pity!" She snapped defensively, turning on her heel and walking away towards the doors. Sara blinked, taken off guard by the unexpected severity of her reaction. She opened her mouth to call after the dark haired girl but stopped when Elsie rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Leave her be for now," the older woman murmured softly, "It's humiliating for her to know other people saw her like that," her expression was sad.

"I would've thought the idea of Titus being nice would be a relief," Sara replied, her tone puzzled.

"Under other circumstances it probably would be. But the thought of anyone feeling sorry for her, especially him, is a blow to the pride. It's more embarrassing than helpful," Elsie explained.

"I see," Sara replied thoughtfully.

Outside Elmina climbed into the back seat of the waiting car. She fastened her seatbelt and stared determinedly out the window, refusing to glance at the dark haired driver. There was a tense silence for a moment.

"It's nice to see you too," Titus muttered finally, sounding exasperated. Elmina rolled her eyes but relaxed slightly. Good. That was a tone she could tolerate. A moment later the doors opened and Sara and Adele piled in the other side while Elsie climbed in the front.

"Thank you for coming and getting us like this," The older woman said gratefully as she fastened her seatbelt.

"Don't mention it. It's good to see you again. It's been a while," he replied politely.

"Likewise. How has your mother been lately?" Elsie asked as the younger man put the vehicle into drive and headed off down the road. Elmina watched the city going by outside the window, their conversation going in one ear and out the other as she lost interest in it. The Mustang residence was on the other side of the city. She still couldn't quite fathom why they were staying there. Sure, Roy and Riza were friends with her parents, but they didn't see them very often. Whatever it was her parents needed to discuss with them had to be important. She'd been too tired to pester her mother about it earlier, but she wasn't thrilled about being kept in the dark again. Whatever was going on, she wanted answers. Sooner rather than later if it could be helped.

Sometime later they arrived at the Mustang residence. The house was a large one, suitably impressive for one bearing the title of Brigadier General. They were met at the door by Riza herself. She greeted them warmly and ushered them into the living room.

"Can I get you anything? I've got the kettle on for tea and there are homemade biscuits if you want any. The men brought Al here and got him settled in a little while ago," Riza told them.

"Can we see him?" Adele asked anxiously.

"Of course," the older woman smiled.

"You girls go ahead. I need to talk to Envy about something," Elsie told them, expression pensive.

"The men are all in Roy's office at the moment. I'll take you there. Titus, would you take the girls to Alphonse's room?" the blonde woman asked. The dark haired alchemist nodded. With that the two women headed off down the hall. Titus glanced at the three remaining girls.

"His room is on the second floor," he told them.

"Lead the way Mr. Ember," Sara replied. Titus gave her a flat look, but turned and made for the staircase. The girls followed after him.

"Mr. Ember?" Elmina raised an eyebrow.

"His state alchemist title," Sara replied, "He's the Ember Alchemist. You know that," her tone was chiding.

"Oh…right…well considering he never seems to use his trademarked style of alchemy, it's an easily forgettable title," the dark haired girl retorted.

"Alchemy isn't a toy," Titus's tone was unenthused.

"He's right. The ember style is used for combat. It may not be as flashy as genuine fire style alchemy, but it's still too destructive to casually mess around with," Sara agreed.

"Flashiness is unnecessary and gaudy," Titus replied coolly. Sara's expression slipped into glare. The dark haired young man glanced back at her with a smirk. "Whoops. I forgot. Your specialty is flashing people," his tone was mocking. Sara rolled her eyes.

"Ha-ha. Like I've never heard that one before," she retorted. Elmina snorted. Adele blinked.

"What…?" her expression was mildly disturbed. Her three companions glanced at her with raised eyebrows.

"Light alchemy…flashing…get it?" Elmina asked. Adele abruptly turned red.

"Oh…right…" she murmured, glancing away in embarrassment. Sara chuckled.

"Titus, you're making my little sister blush. Shame on you," her tone was amused.

"Forgive me. I am unaccustomed to being in such innocent company," Titus glanced back at the younger girl with a gravely apologetic expression, though his eyes betrayed his amusement. Adele reddened further upon meeting his gaze and she swiftly glanced away. Seeing her friend's discomfort Elmina leveled an irritated look at the dark haired young man. Noticing her expression Titus rolled his eyes, "I'm apologizing. That hardly warrants such a dark look Elmina," his tone was crisp as he turned back towards the direction he was going. The dark haired girl's eyes narrowed at the back of his head, but she bit back the sharp retort which wanted to rise to her lips. There really wasn't any point. She didn't have the energy to argue with him.

They reached the top of the stairs and headed down a hallway. The bedroom they arrived at a moment later was small, with a window overlooking the city. Alphonse lay tucked beneath the covers of the single bed. An IV was attached to his arm, the bag hanging from a stand next to the bed. There was a small table and a chair pulled up beside him for anyone who wanted to spend time there. Adele came to a stop by the bed, staring down at him with a troubled expression. Elmina moved to stand next to her. He looked like he was just peacefully asleep. There was color in his cheeks and his breathing was steady.

"I can't believe he hasn't woken up yet," Sara murmured, hanging back with Titus, "How can someone just lose consciousness out of the blue?"

"I don't know. It's certainly odd," he replied. There was a moment of silence as they stood observing the sleeping man.

"Who's going to change his IV?" Adele asked finally.

"A nurse is coming to check on him each day. She'll take care of that," Titus replied.

"Well, there isn't anything we can do for him right now. We should get started on the alchemic thing you wanted to try with Mina," Sara spoke up. Adele blinked, breaking out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, you're right," She murmured.

"Alchemic thing?" Titus raised an eyebrow.

"She wants to see if she can protect Mina from those strange creatures by adjusting the chemicals in her body," Sara explained. The dark haired young man frowned.

"That sounds somewhat risky," he commented.

"Maybe, but I'm pretty sure I can manage it," Adele said, meeting his gaze, "I just need to figure out how to analyze the chemicals that are currently there and see which ones are out of balance," a spark of confidence had entered her expression. She turned to Elmina, "Let's go. We shouldn't try to mess around with stuff here in Al's room" she told her, abruptly grabbing her friend's arm and heading for the door. Elmina stumbled after her, a little taken off guard by her sudden briskness.

"Try not to drag Mina off her feet," Sara commented dryly as she and Titus followed after them.

"You know, I should probably be concerned by your sudden enthusiasm," she glanced at her friend skeptically.

"What are friends for if not to experiment on with alchemy?" Adele asked, a slight smirk pulling at her lips. Elmina let out a resigned sigh.

"Well you had better know what you're doing," she replied, unenthused.

"If she knew what she was doing it wouldn't be called an experiment," Titus commented. Elmina shot a dark look over her shoulder at him.

"Gee, how reassuring," she muttered as they came to a stop outside a room. Adele chuckled, opening the door and stepping inside.

"Don't worry. I doubt you'll be at much risk with this," she assured her. Elmina followed after her, expression still skeptical.

There were two beds in the room and a closet. Elmina sank down onto one of them as Sara closed the door behind them.

"So how does this work?" the dark haired girl asked.

"I need to get a feel for the balance of chemicals in your body," Adele replied, regarding her thoughtfully.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Elmina demanded.

"That's the main difficulty," Sara commented, "I don't think you can look inside people with alchemy," she glanced at her younger sister, "What are you wanting to try?"

"Well…actually you can look inside people with alchemy. Although, I suppose it's not really called alchemy. It's that stuff they practice in Xing. They call it alkahestry," Adele replied, expression still thoughtful.

"And you know how to use alkahestry?" Titus raised an eyebrow.

"Well…I've never actually tried it. I've read a lot about it though. I'm wondering if I apply some of its principles to an alchemic transmutation if I'll be able to achieve a similar effect," Adele replied thoughtfully.

"That sounds a little sketchy to me," Sara's tone was skeptical.

"Well, I just want to see if my idea will allow me to sense what's inside her. It's like…sensing the ingredients I'm using in a transmutation…I think…I'm not going to try to alter anything at this point. I need to talk with Elior before I try anything like that," Adele admitted, "He's coming tomorrow right?"

"Wait, Elior's coming?" Elmina asked in surprise, gaze flicking from Adele to Sara. She hadn't seen Rose's son in a while.

"Yeah," Sara smiled sheepishly, "Well I wasn't planning on staying down here for more than a day or two, but with everything that's happened I can't go back just yet. I've kind of left him hanging. Plus he wants to have a look at Al. So he decided to come join me here for a bit," she explained. Elmina raised an eyebrow.

"He is one patient, trusting guy. If I were him I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with my fiancé going off on a trip with some other guy," the dark haired girl commented dryly.

"Are you implying something might happen between Sara and myself?" Titus asked skeptically. Sara made a face.

"Yuck. That's just gross," her tone was disgusted. Titus shot her a mildly affronted look.

"Well that was a little harsh," his tone was reproachful.

"Your pride can take the hit. The list of girls in love with you is lengthy," Sara retorted unconcernedly. At this comment both Elmina and Adele reddened rather noticeably. "But you're right, Elior is a sweetheart," Sara continued, "I've missed him," an unusually soft smile had crept onto her face. Titus snorted.

"Alright love bird, we're getting off topic," he pointed out. Sara stuck her tongue out in response, the very picture of adult maturity.

"Does anyone happen to have a pen on them for drawing a transmutation circle?" Adele asked.

"I have one. Although I'm not sure this is such a good idea…You could hurt yourself if you do it wrong," Titus pointed, expression reluctant.

"Don't worry. It shouldn't be a hugely draining transmutation. I'll be fine," she reassured him. He raised an eyebrow, obviously not entirely convinced.

"Well, if you're sure. But if you're trying to determine what chemicals are off balance in her body, shouldn't you start by looking at someone who's normal first?" he suggested. Adele blinked. Elmina's expression grew flat at the implication that she was somehow 'abnormal.'

"He's got a point," Sara said, "Although I can't say I'm terribly eager to let you try your experiment on me. What you're suggesting seems a little far-fetched."

"I suppose you want me to volunteer," Titus's tone was resigned. Sara smirked at him.

"Isn't that what gallant young heroes of the state are for?" she inquired innocently.

"It's touching how quick you are to throw me under the bus," his tone was dry.

"Well…I don't know… maybe Sara is right… I could do some studying first…" Adele spoke up, expression suddenly wavering with an uncertainty that hadn't been there before. Titus glanced at her, expression faintly amused.

"I'm teasing," he informed her, "I have faith in your abilities, even if your sister doesn't," his gaze was steady as it rested on her. Adele shifted nervously under the weight of it.

"…Umm…ok…" she agreed timidly.

He pulled a pen out of his pocket and offered it to her. She took it reluctantly, avoiding eye contact. She rested the pen tip against the palm of her other hand, her expression shifting from uneasy to thoughtfully focused as her thoughts turned towards the transmutation she had in mind. A moment later she began to carefully draw. Several moments of silence passed before she finished it.

"There," she said finally, lowering the pen and giving the finished circle one last critical look, "I think that should work," she passed the pen back to Titus, meeting his gaze again. "Are you ready?" she asked. He nodded calmly. She swallowed nervously and let out a breath, closing her eyes to focus. Then she reached up and rested her palm against his forehead. A moment later a glow of soft blue light surrounded them. It lasted several moments, the telltale crackle of alchemic energy the only thing that could be heard. As it finally faded away Adele lowered her hand from his head, swaying unsteadily. Elmina's eyes widened and she half rose to her feet in alarm, worried the blonde would collapse entirely. Her concern however, was unnecessary. Titus's arms went around Adele swiftly, steadying her as she fell against him slightly.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked softly, an obvious concern filling his expression as he stared down at her. She had gone rather pale and she seemed a little disoriented.

"I umm…" she blinked several times, glancing up to meet his gaze. Then abruptly the color returned to her cheeks with startling intensity as she realized their rather close proximity. She swiftly straightened up, pulling back out of his grasp. "I-I'm okay," she stammered, taking a step back to put a more comfortable amount of space between them.

"Are you sure?" he asked. She nodded swiftly, quickly breaking eye contact. Sara raised an eyebrow at how flustered her younger sister appeared.

"She's fine. She'd be passed out on the floor if she wasn't," she spoke up, tone unconcerned.

"What happened?" Elmina frowned.

"Umm…I think I'm going to need to do a little more research," Adele's expression grew sheepish, "It didn't work quite the way I had hoped," she admitted.

"It's nice to see even prodigies struggle now and then," Sara commented, sounding ever so slightly smug. Adele glanced at her skeptically.

"I am trying something that's probably never been done before," she pointed out.

"Excuses, excuses," Sara waved a hand at her dismissively. Adele gave her a wilted look. The older girl chuckled. "You need to be tormented occasionally. AJ and Mina baby you too much," she informed her sister lightly, "In any case, I'll stop by the state alchemist library at some point and see if I can find something that'll help you figure this out. Surely there will be something useful amongst the wealth of knowledge there," she said. At this Adele's eyes lit up.

"Seriously? You're the best! I wish I could come with you and take notes," she replied, tone a little rueful. Sara snorted.

"I'm more than capable of taking notes for you. Sheesh, let me be useful for something," the older girl retorted.

"Alright," Adele grinned slightly.

"Come on. Let's go harass AJ. I haven't had a chance to pick on my younger brother in a while," Sara pushed off the wall and strolled towards the door.

"I've always wondered why your siblings actually look forward to your visits," Titus's tone was dry as he turned to follow after her.

"They miss being tormented. Their lives are incomplete without it," Sara replied loftily, exiting the room. Adele rolled her eyes.

"Right. That must be it," she muttered, a rare edge of sarcasm in her voice. Elmina rose to her feet and crossed the room to her friend.

"You sure you're ok?" She inquired, giving the blonde a critical look.

"Yeah," Adele smiled sheepishly, "It was just a bit more tiring than I expected."

"Well, alright. Let's go with them. This should be entertaining," Elmina smirked, turning and making for the door. Adele sighed bemusedly and followed after her.

-Author's Note-

I had absolutely no idea what to call this chapter... x'D I did some fairly major surgery on it recently and have been staring at it for far too long. So if it feels like it flows weirdly in places...yeah, that would be why.

Ah, the joys of teenage crushes. That's really all I have to say lol. Elmina and Adele respond rather differently to their feelings. Good thing they're both mature enough not to get in cat fights because of them. That's more than I can say for some people I've known... *bemused* Breaking up a friendship over some guy is hardly ever worth it. Advice to those of you with a friend crushing on the same guy. Then again if your friend feels differently there really isn't much you can do about it. (I'd offer the same advice to the guys reading this story, but I'm not a guy, so what would I know? :P)

Thank you to those of you who have reviewed! :D You make my day! Even you quiet people who follow the story and say nothing still make me grin. ^.^ It helps motivate me to actually get this story finished!