(AC: Requiem of the Brigadier General)
Central City
It was a little before noon in Central as Fuhrer Grumman, Brigadier General Roy Mustang, Lieutenant Colonel Alex Louis Armstrong, the entire Armstrong Family, and numerous Amestris State Military Officers, wearing dress uniforms stood at attention as the flag adorned coffin of Maj General Oliver Mira Armstrong was moved towards her final resting place within a mausoleum belonging to the Armstrong family at the Central City Cemetery. Alex, while his face retained a strong facade while he saluted his fallen sister's coffin as it passed, clearly showed his grief as his saluting hand shook with sorrow. His youngest sister, Catherine Elle Armstrong, was openly weeping, crying into her father's shoulder as the procession walked past. Mustang stood with Captain Hawkeye over his right shoulder, both officers saluting as the coffin rolled past. Grumman stood to his immediate left, proudly saluting her. On a nearby hill, a squad of soldiers adorned in the white uniforms of the Briggs Mountain Guard fired the twenty one gun salute to honor their fallen leader. To Roy, it reminded him too much of when Maes Hughes had been killed two years ago. The memory was permanently burned into his brain. An hour passed and Oliver had been interred inside the mausoleum and Roy was one of the few remaining officers left at the cemetery along with Hawkeye and Lieutenant Colonel Armstrong.
"Sis…she was strong. The strongest woman in all of Amestris. The Northern Wall of Briggs. She wanted nothing less than a warrior's death and she was robbed of that by a mere car bomb planted by a band of rogues." Armstrong muttered angrily under his breath, his fists clinched tight at his sides. Roy remained silent, staring at the mausoleum in quiet contemplation.
"If I could get my hands on those Red Kingdom animals, I'd show them what the Armstrong Family is truly made of!" Armstrong said angrily.
"You're dismissed, Colonel." Roy said plainly, startling Armstrong.
"What?! But General I-!" "Go home, Armstrong. You'll do your sister's memory a disservice by letting your anger get the better of you. You'll get your chance at revenge, Armstrong. You have my word that you will get your chance." Roy said as Armstrong grimaced before saluting.
"Yes, General." He replied, realizing that Roy was right. He then turned and walked away.
"Shall I start the car, sir?" Hawkeye asked as Roy looked towards another part of the cemetery.
"In a minute Captain. I figure that since I'm in the neighborhood, I'd drop by and visit an old friend." Roy said, as Hawkeye smiled sadly and saluted.
"Yes General. Would you like me to accompany you sir?" she asked, Roy not taking his eyes off a particular headstone.
"That won't be necessary, Captain. Wait in the car." Roy said before walking off into the cemetery. He came to a stop before the grave of Maes Hughes.
"So Hughes…how's heaven treating you? I imagine it's a lot better than down here." Roy said with a small but sad smile.
"Look, I won't lie, things are rough down here. We just lost General Armstrong and we're no closer to stopping the bombings here in Central than we were when they began. It's usually moments like this where you'd pop in, barrage me with photos of your wife and daughter until I threatened to burn off your eyebrows, and then you'd drop a casual hint about where to look next on your way out." Roy said.
As he had for the past two years, Maes remained silent, buried beneath several feet of earth.
"I guess…I guess all I'm asking for Hughes is one last bit of help from you. Something, anything that gives us a better idea and a better hope of stopping the Red Kingdom from doing more harm." Roy said.
As usual, Maes remained silent.
Finally Roy took a deep breath, standing at attention and saluting.
"Well…take care of yourself Maes. I'll see you…well, hopefully not too soon. Preferably long after I've become Fuhrer and subsequently retired." Roy said with a smile before turning and walking away. As he walked towards the gates to the cemetery, the wind suddenly picked up, blowing his hat off his head.
"Damn it." Roy cursed under his breath. He was tempted to simply burn the hat with a snap of his fingers but given the wind, he knew the fire would spread too easily so he resisted the urge and opted to retrieve it. The hat had landed just in front of a civilian tombstone and as he approached where the hat lay, he bent over to pick it up when he saw something on the headstone in front of him that made him pause. The headstone marked two graves, side-by-side to each other but there was only one date on the entire headstone: 1900. He looked and saw no indication that the headstone had been altered or that the second date had been chipped away so it meant that the people buried there died the same year they were born: an infant's grave. It wasn't the date that he noticed though, but the names. His eyes widened in surprise at the sight before his familiar smirk appeared on his face. He immediately looked towards Hughes's grave and smiled.
"Thanks Hughes. I knew I could count on you." Roy said, placing his hat on his head and walking to his car, leaving the grave of a Michelle and Rachel Garand, born and died in the year 1900, behind. (End AC)
…
(AC: Heroic Bolero – FMA:B OST 3)
Back at Central Command, Roy stormed into his office, headed directly for his desk, his squad standing at attention as he barked out orders.
"Sheska! Fuery! Falman! Start digging! I want you to look up the names Michelle and Rachel Garand! See if they have any connection to Dr. Victor Garand and/or his Ex-wife Dr. Elizabeth Morser!"
"Right away sir!"
"Havoc! Breda! Catalina! I want the files regarding the bodies found under Laboratory Five and the break-in at Laboratory Four on my desk immediately!"
"Yes sir!"
"Hawkeye! Get me the reports on-…" Roy said as his phone started ringing. (End AC)
"Oh perfect." Roy grumbled as he picked up the receiver.
"What?!" he asked into the receiver before paling and standing at attention.
"Uh! My apologies, Fuhrer Grumman, sir!" Roy stammered as he listened to the Fuhrer for a moment then scowled.
"Right now? Uh, yes sir, right away sir!" he said, saluting for a moment before.
"Yes sir. I'm on my way sir!" Roy said before hanging up the phone, sweat dropping as he hunched over in frustration.
"Impromptu meeting with the Fuhrer, sir?" Hawkeye deduced while writing something on a clipboard in hand.
"Yeah." Roy mumbled, as he put his hat back on his head.
"Considering that you're now the highest ranking officer in the military, second only to the Fuhrer himself, it should come as no surprise that you'll be inheriting a lot of General Armstrong's duties." Hawkeye commented as she followed him towards the door.
"Yeah." Roy grumbled as he walked out the door, Hawkeye right behind him. In a matter of minutes he was walking through the doors of the Fuhrer's office where Grumman sat behind his desk, speaking with someone in one of the chairs across from his desk. Flanking the doors were a pair of uniformed guards that didn't look at all like Amestris military uniforms.
"Ah, here he is now. Brigadier General Roy Mustang, may I introduce General Xiao Fujin of the Xingese Royal Military." Grumman said as Roy immediately raised a hand to greet the General.
"It's an honor to meet you Gen-…" Roy stammered as he saw the General rise to her feet. The General was about his height, wearing a blue dress with a golden dragon motif, her hair was pulled back into a large bun with two metal chopsticks in it and she wore two black closed toe shoes. The sight of the woman General caught Roy off guard.
"The honor is mine, General Mustang. You seem surprised that I am a woman, aren't you?" Xiao Fujin commented with an amused smile, greeting him with a polite bow. Roy cleared his throat and placed his hands behind his back.
"Enjoy it, General. I'm not easily caught off guard." Roy said with a friendly smile.
"A vigilant protector of the country. Admirable, very admirable indeed." Xiao replied as she looked Roy over with a look that implied more than a passing interest.
"General Fujin is here to discuss the security arrangements. I hope you'll forgive the disarray, General but we only recently lost the General in charge of foreign security so General Mustang will be handling the arrangements." Grumman said as Xiao smiled at Roy who looked curiously at the Fuhrer.
"Forgive my ignorance sir, but I'm afraid I haven't been briefed on the situation. What sort of security arrangements are we arranging here?" Roy asked.
"The opening of the Cross-Desert Railway of course. As it is the first railroad that crosses international borders, it falls under the jurisdiction of our border security oversight, the late General Armstrong's area. Xiao Fujin made the trek across the desert to meet with us to ensure the security on our end is adequate." Fuhrer Grumman explained.
"I see. Well then shall we discuss the arrangements, General?" Roy asked Xiao who smiled and bowed.
"We shall, but I'm a little weary from the trip across the desert. Perhaps we can discuss these arrangements over dinner tonight? I would also like to take the opportunity to sample the local cuisine. The Emperor says the food here in Amestris is quite delectable." Xiao asked Roy who gave her one of his charming smiles. He could tell quite clearly that she was baiting him to take her on a date. He immediately gave her a gentlemanly bow.
"It would be my honor, General. Would six tonight be good for you?" Roy asked as Xiao smiled at him and turned towards the door.
"I shall see you at six, General. I appreciate punctuality so don't be late." Xiao said before departing, her Xingese bodyguards in tow.
"If that will be all Fuhrer, I'll be returning to work." Roy said as Grumman opened the lap drawer on his desk.
"One thing, Mustang. I think you dropped this after our chess game the other day. Thought you might like to have it back. What's a chess set without one of its rooks?" Grumman asked, handing Roy a white rook piece. Roy smirked and pocketed the rook before saluting, Grumman returning the salute. As Roy returned to his office, with Hawkeye close behind, he quietly pulled the rook from his pocket and unscrewed the base of it, revealing a hollow compartment with a rolled up piece of paper inside. He pocketed the rook piece and unrolled the paper, reading the note which read…
"RK – Xing Xing."
Roy knew exactly what it meant and smirked, snapping his fingers and burning the note to ashes. He also knew Hawkeye had seen the note over his shoulder. Hardly anything escaped the Hawk's Eye's notice.
"Captain, I presume you knew what that note meant?" Roy asked.
"Not completely sir." Hawkeye replied as they entered Roy's office, the rest of the squad was out performing the tasks that Roy had given them before being summoned to the meeting.
"The note said that the Red Kingdom was planning something at the Xing Crossing in Ishval. That's why Xing was written twice." Roy said as he sat down at his desk.
"The abbreviated form of the word crossing." Riza replied.
"Right. That's likely the reason why the Red Kingdom assassinated General Armstrong. She was the head of foreign security and it should've been her making the security arrangements with Xiao Fujin instead of me. The first train from Xing is set to arrive in three days' time. There must be something about it that has the Red Kingdom interested. I have an idea what it is but-…" Roy said as something caught his attention on his desk. It was an ordinary file folder that was placed neatly at the corner of his table.
"I don't remember filing these." Roy said as he opened the folder, looking through the files.
"They're the requisitions forms that General Armstrong had sent over when they ended up in her office by mistake. I authorized Private Sheska to file them for you." Hawkeye said as Roy silently looked the files over, his gaze suddenly narrowing. (AC: Laws of Alchemy~Instrumental~ - FMA:B OST 3)
"Wait a minute." He mumbled as he pulled some of the forms from the file, laying them on his desk in a row. Hawkeye watched him guide his finger from specific lines on one form to another line on another form, seemingly tracking something. She couldn't tell what was going on in Roy's mind but it made sense to him. Finally his familiar smirk appeared on his face as he put the pages back in the folder.
"Sir?" Hawkeye asked as Roy sat down at his desk, locking his fingers together in a tent pose. She recognized the look on his face. It was the same one he'd get when he had some kind of a plan formulating in his mind.
"Well played, General. Well played." Roy said, turning to his chess set that was set up in the corner of his desk, placing the white rook piece from his pocket in the dead center of the board. At the same time, Falman, Fuery, and Sheska ran into the office.
"General! We've got something!" Falman exclaimed as the three approached Roy's desk and saluted.
"Report, Falman!" Roy said.
"Sir, the two names you asked us to look into, Rachel and Michelle Garand, they are connected to both Dr. Victor Garand and Dr. Elizabeth Morser. Rachel and Michelle Garand are their stillborn twin daughters! They died seventeen years ago sir!" Falman reported.
"Excellent. Hawkeye, before the meeting I was going to have you get me the reports from the station attendants from the train bombing. Can you get them for me now?" Roy asked as Hawkeye cleared her throat.
"They're already on your desk sir." She replied, motioning towards a file beneath where the requisitions forms had been placed. Before Roy could open the folder, Breda, Havoc, and Catalina entered with folders in their hands.
"Better yet, get it straight from the officers who wrote the report. Havoc! Catalina! Front and center!" Roy ordered, the two officers in question scrambling towards his desk, saluting.
"The Station report, now!" Roy ordered.
"Station attendants reported seeing nothing out of the ordinary on the day of the bombing sir. No suspicious packages or individuals save for the suspects identified as Edward and Alphonse Elric and their Chimera companions Zampano and Jerzo." Catalina reported.
"Any unusual occurrences? Any individuals that seemed to be having some sort pain?" Roy asked.
"As a matter of fact, yes sir. Station attendant reported having witnessed Alphonse Elric helping an old man onto the exact train car that eventually exploded. Other attendants also reported helping this same man up the stairs to the station platform earlier to the incident." Havoc explained.
"Did they mention why he needed help getting up the stairs?" Roy asked.
"Yes sir. He claimed to have just been released from the hospital, having had knee surgery. He also complained of having some indigestion." Havoc said as Roy's eyes widened. Something had occurred to him and he rose to his feet, a grin on his face.
"We've got 'em." He mumbled to himself, clinching his fist in front of him.
"Sir?" Hawkeye asked.
"Alright men, fall in. We've got work to do." Roy said as the unit fell in.
"Uh, sir? What exactly are we doing?" Fuery asked.
"I have a hunch that the bombings in Central, including the train bombing with the Elric brothers involved, even the assassination of General Armstrong, are all randomized." Roy said, startling the entire unit.
"Random, sir?" Falman asked.
"The Red Kingdom just got lucky that they managed to eliminate Armstrong. Her death is nothing more than a pleasant bonus to their cause. They don't plan the bombings at all. They just loose their bombs into the wild and then claim responsibility when they blow. Well now we're on to them and it's time to put an end to these bombing, and this is how we're going to do it." Roy said as he placed his hands on his desk. (End AC)
…
It was 5:58 PM as Xiao Fujin, adorned in a beautiful green kimono with pink floral patterns stood waiting in her hotel suite for her escort to arrive. She glanced at the clock just as it hit 5:59. She patiently started to approach the door but as she reached for the handle, there was a knock at the door. She looked to her escorts and gave a nod, the two Xingese guards nodding back before approaching the door, opening it to reveal General Mustang in a suit and tie with a bouquet of flowers.
"I believe we agreed upon six o'clock." Roy said, opening his State Alchemist's watch to show the time as exactly six. Xiao looked at the clock on the wall, showing the same time and smiled approvingly.
"Punctual. I'm impressed, Mustang. And please, since neither of us are in uniform right now, you should feel free to address me as Xiao." Xiao said as Roy offered her the flowers.
"I don't know about how you do things in Xing, Xiao, but here in Amestris, it's customary for a man to bring a woman flowers." Roy said as Xiao accepted the flowers.
"These are exquisite." Xiao said, admiring the flowers as Roy extended his arm.
"Shall we, General?" Roy asked as Xiao smiled at him and accepted his arm.
"We shall, General." Xiao said as they started down the stairs, her guards following closely behind. As they exited onto the street, they found Captain Hawkeye, in uniform, with the General's car behind her, saluting the two.
"Oh, I wasn't aware that you were bringing one of your officers with you." Xiao said, eyeing the Captain curiously.
"This is Captain Riza Hawkeye, my adjutant and second-in-command. She volunteered to be our driver for this evening." Roy introduced.
"Pleasure to meet you General Fujin, ma'am." Hawkeye greeted, still saluting. Roy returned the salute. Hawkeye began to open the door for the two when she suddenly paused.
"Captain?" Roy asked, curiously. That's when they heard the sound of squealing tires nearby. They turned to see a fruit truck swerving wildly on the road, veering straight towards them, the driver and passenger quickly bailing out. Riza quickly shoved the two out of the way before she turned and drew her gun, shooting out the tires on the truck and leaping clear just as it crashed into the side of the building.
"Are you alright?" Roy asked as he held the unfazed Xiao.
"I'm fine. You can let go of me, General." She said as Roy realized where one of his hands were on her chest and removed both hands immediately.
"(Ahem) My apologies, General." Roy apologized, bowing to Xiao who gave him a dismissive wave.
"Heat of the moment, General. No apology necessary." Xiao replied as they heard a moan from the ground nearby. They turned to see Hawkeye, lying on her left side, clutching her shoulder in the fetal position.
"Captain?!" Roy asked as he knelt down at her side.
"Landed too hard on the pavement sir. Dislocated my shoulder." She grimaced, pain clear on her face as the driver and passenger of the truck came running up, one a young bespectacled man with black hair and the other a bespectacled brunette woman, both wearing typical farmer's garb.
"Is everyone alright?!" the man asked as Roy opened the passenger side door of the car. Miraculously, the truck had missed the car entirely.
"I need to get this woman to the hospital!" Roy ordered as Xiao handed her bouquet of flowers off to one of her guards and stooped over to help pick the injured Captain up.
"Allow me to assist, General. I am an expert in Xingese Alkahestry. I can heal her wounds." Xiao said, surprising Roy.
"Thank you, Xiao, and no disrespect you or your capabilities, but I'd like to have her checked out by one of our doctors as well." Roy said as Xiao gave a nod.
"I understand completely General. It never hurts to be extra precautious. I would likely do the same were our positions reversed." Xiao said as she helped Riza into the car, the two guards climbing in with them while Roy got into the driver's seat. He then looked at the two civilians with a stern glare.
"You two, wait here for the authorities to arrive!" Roy ordered before starting the car and driving off, not giving the two a chance to reply. As soon as the car was out of sight, the two civilians let out a sigh of relief.
"The General will bail us out right?" Sheska asked Fuery who glanced down the road.
"I hope so. I just hope his plan pays off." Fuery replied.
…
A few minutes later, Roy pulled the car up to Central Hospital, Roy honking the horn and yelling for a wheelchair, two off duty orderlies quickly scrambled inside to follow his orders. In the backseat, Xiao was examining Riza's shoulder, the Captain having removed her uniform jacket, leaving only her black shirt, her left sleeve rolled up, a bruise clear on her shoulder.
"From what I can tell, your shoulder isn't dislocated at all but you do appear to have bruised it pretty badly. Have you dislocated your shoulder before?" Xiao asked.
"Yes ma'am. Years ago during the Ishval War." Riza replied as Xiao nodded understandingly.
"There you have it. You've suffered a similar injury before in the past and you seem to have aggravated it. It will pass in time. I'll do what I can for the wound but your physicians should still examine you. I prefer having second opinions and I am eager to see your doctors work." Xiao said as an orderly arrived with a wheelchair.
"Thank you General." Riza said as she climbed out of the car, sitting down in the wheelchair before being escorted inside. Roy then walked around to help Xiao out of the car.
"On behalf of the Fuhrer and the people of Amestris, I'd like to apologize for the events of this evening." Roy said but Xiao gave him a dismissive wave.
"Nonsense. Part of my reasons for coming here was to see your medical practices. I am a practitioner of Alkahestry after all and the medical sciences fascinate me. It's a hobby mind you since my clan specializes in military power." Xiao said as Roy escorted her inside, her two guards following along behind them.
"Really. I suppose that's how you rose to become a General." Roy commented as Xiao smiled proudly.
"The Fujin clan has produced proud and accomplished Generals for many generations. As the eldest child of the previous Emperor I was groomed from birth to become a leader, swearing to keep the people of Xing safe while crushing Xing's enemies." Xiao said as Roy glanced her way.
"Then you should be pleased to hear that the people of Amestris consider your current Emperor a hero. He helped us root out a coup forming at the very heart of our government. Were it not for Ling Yao, there's no telling what might've happened." Roy said as Xiao nodded.
"Indeed. I am very pleased with my half-brother's success. Although there are some clans who would say otherwise." Xiao said as Roy arched a curious eyebrow.
"Oh?" He asked as they came to a stop in the hospital lobby.
"There are always dissenters whenever there's a change in command. Some clans may disapprove of how an Emperor runs the country but they are scarcely remembered. Any attempt on his life would be met with harsh reprisal from the other clans. In my brother's case, there are some who disapprove of his unification of the clans, putting an end to the clan wars. There are also those who dislike the railroad being built between our two countries. They feel Amestris is untrustworthy as an ally. I myself am in favor of our alliance. Then there are those who covet the treasure that my brother uncovered here in Amestris, the one that impressed our father enough to pass down the title of Emperor to him: the Elixir of Life." Xiao said.
"Over here, we call it the Philosopher's Stone, and its research is illegal. Very few alchemists in Amestris know what it takes to create them and we'd prefer to keep it that way as it would result in the deaths of countless innocents." Roy explained as Xiao looked at him curiously.
"Deaths? How does the Elixir of Life, an object of immortality, do that?" she asked.
"I'm sorry, but that's all I can say on the matter." Roy said, looking away from her.
"I understand." She replied as one of the nurses approached.
"General Mustang, Captain Hawkeye has been taken to room two-oh-four on the second floor. The doctor will be with her shortly." The nurse said as Roy gave her a nod.
"Thank you. I'll be outside for a minute. This smell bothers me." Roy replied, referring to the sterile smell of the hospital, as he turned and headed for the door.
"I will remain here, General." Xiao said as Roy gave her a polite nod.
"I'll be back shortly." Roy said as he walked outside. He stood waiting outside, leaning against a decorative marble post that acted as a corner post to a fence around a flowerbed that ran the length of the hospital. As he stood there, contemplating, he heard footsteps approaching from behind him.
"Aw hell, not you again."
"Dr. Knox. Glad to see you're in a good mood today." Roy said to the former mortician turned physician as the latter leaned against the fence next to him, lighting a cigarette.
"Every time you show up here Mustang, trouble always follows. What is it this time?" Knox asked as Roy kept staring straight ahead.
"Nothing serious. My Captain bruised her shoulder. She's getting it checked out right now." Roy replied.
"Quit with the act. You're angling for something. Well out with it." Knox said as Roy smirked slightly.
"Alright. Have you noticed any new personnel arrive at the hospital in the past few months?" Roy asked.
"People come and go from hospitals on a regular basis. It's impossible to tell a new guy from an old one." Knox replied.
"But there are new staff." Roy stated as Knox sighed heavily.
"I guess." Knox said, relighting his cigarette. Roy noticed his lighter curiously.
"Is that a new lighter?" Roy asked as Knox glanced at him curiously.
"Nah, I gotta replace the damn thing. Leaks like a sieve if I hold it the wrong way." Knox grumbled as Roy smiled.
"Mind if I take it off your hands?"
…
Hawkeye sat in her room on the second floor, waiting for the doctor to come in. As per hospital procedure, she had changed into a hospital gown and had even chosen to let her long blonde hair hang down around her shoulders. She was staring blankly out the window when the door opened. She looked and saw Roy standing in the doorway with a bowl of flowers in hand.
"Thought you could use something to brighten the room up, Captain." Roy said as he entered with the bowl.
"That was unnecessary sir." Riza said as Roy set the bowl down on her lap, Riza looking at the flowers curiously.
"Nonsense. You'd do the same for me. But feel free to throw them away if you think they're lousy." Roy said as Riza sighed in defeat, placing the bowl on the stand next to her bed.
"You know I have a brown thumb sir." Riza commented as Roy smirked at her and shot her a thumbs up.
"Well let's just test that shall we?" Roy asked before leaving. (AC: Infiltration – FMA OST 1) On the roof of the building opposite the hospital, with a clear view of Riza's window, Havoc and Catalina lay in the prone position next to each other, Havoc with a pair of binoculars while Catalina looked through the scope of her rifle.
"That's the signal." Havoc said as he spotted Roy's thumbs up to Riza.
"Things always this shadowy in the Mustang unit?" Catalina asked, cocking her rifle.
"Nah. Sometimes we overthrow the country for the fun of it." Havoc replied.
"Sounds like fun." Catalina said with a smile.
"Alright the General's leaving the room. Stay on alert. If anyone comes in, keep your sights on them." Havoc said, adjusting the binoculars.
"I know what I'm doing, handsome, you just keep your eyes on that window…and not on my ass." Catalina commented with a flirtatious smirk as Havoc grinned innocently.
"Can I help it if I have good taste?" Havoc asked.
"I thought Breda said you were more into upstairs than downstairs." She replied.
"I'm kinda sworn off for the big chested kind. Last time I went in for one, I ended up paralyzed from the waist down for several months." Havoc muttered with a scowl.
"Yeah, Breda told me about that too. Is it true you never noticed she was a Homunculus, even though the telltale sign that she was one was right on her sternum?" Catalina asked as Havoc sweat dropped.
"Remind me to shoot Breda in the foot next time I see him." He grumbled as Catalina grinned with a snicker.
"Oh, heads up. We've got a guest." Havoc said as he saw someone enter Riza's room. A nurse more specifically, pushing a cart into the room. (End AC)
"Captain Hawkeye? The Doctor sent me in to give you some painkillers to help dull the pain." The nurse said as Riza nodded.
"Right. Go ahead." Hawkeye said as she watched the nurse pick up a syringe and fill it with a clear colorless liquid. As she moved to inject Riza, the Hawk's Eye spotted something in the syringe that made her suddenly grab the nurse by the wrist. (AC: Brilliant – FMA OST 2)
"Captain?!" the nurse asked as, Riza twisted her wrist, causing her to drop the syringe onto the bed. Riza quickly grabbed it with her bad arm and looked at the internal end of the plunger inside the tube and narrowed her eyes angrily.
"Care to explain why there's a transmutation circle is inside this syringe?" Riza asked as the Nurse's eyes widened in alarm.
"What are you talking about, Captain? There's nothing there! It's probably the pain from your shoulder causing you to see things. People can have hallucinations when they're in pain." She explained but Hawkeye glared at her.
"That's true, but I've been hurt far worse than this. Besides, my arm isn't even bruised. You'd be amazed what a little makeup can do." Hawkeye said as she used part of her blanket and rubbed at the bruising on her arm, causing it to smear, causing the Nurse's eyes to widen in alarm again before narrowing with a scowl. She immediately grabbed a second needle off the cart, holding it in a reversed grip. Riza could tell there was a transmutation circle in this one too. The nurse took a swing at Hawkeye who rolled quickly out of the bed, missing her strike, the nurse plunging the syringe into the bed. Riza stood in a hand-to-hand combat stance opposite her, the two staring each other down.
"So I take it you're the Red Kingdom's bomb maker." Riza said.
"And you're a stooge of the military." The nurse grumbled in annoyance.
"We know the bombings have been random. You've been turning people into living bombs and letting them loose into the city." Riza said as the nurse scowled.
"You're rather bright for a common military dog. It doesn't matter though. Amestris's days are numbered. Soon it will burn and the Red Kingdom will rise. Those that don't join us will only exist to give their lives to those of us who accept the Immortal Alchemist's vision of the future." The Nurse said as Hawkeye scowled at her.
"Really. And what future is that?" Hawkeye asked but the Nurse smirked.
"Sorry but I'd just be wasting my breath on you since you're not going to live long enough to find out." The nurse said as she pressed the plunger on her syringe down, causing the syringe to crackle with alchemical energy for a moment before revealing it to have been transmuted into a crude dagger with a metal grip and glass blade. The nurse immediately leapt at the Hawk's Eye, the dagger raised but Hawkeye caught her wrist, keeping the nurse from stabbing her. The two started to spin as they fought over the dagger until finally Hawkeye spun around and pried the dagger from her hands, shoving her back. The Nurse caught herself against the wall and was about to charge towards Riza when a gunshot rang out, the nurse suddenly spinning to the ground, a gunshot wound in her right shoulder. Hawkeye looked towards the window which now had a round bullet hole in it, courtesy of Rebecca Catalina. Riza started to approach the nurse as she tried to back away towards the door, clutching her right shoulder before spotting the original syringe full of liquid that Riza had knocked from her hand earlier. She grabbed the syringe and held it in her left hand, holding it like a dagger. That's when she heard the door open, revealing General Mustang standing in the doorway, his hand raised and just itching to snap his fingers and immolate her.
"I would drop the syringe if I were you." Roy said as the nurse snarled at the sight of the Flame Alchemist, fully aware of his power.
"The Red Kingdom shall rise." She hissed before quickly moving to stab herself with the needle but Roy snapped his fingers, causing the needle to explode in her hand, blowing off three of her fingers. (End AC) The nurse screamed in agony as Breda and Falman, disguised as orderlies, approached with their guns drawn.
"An interesting usage of simple alcohol. By breaking down the individual components of the alcohol and injecting it into the victims while alchemically altering the victims' bodies to gradually produce a few unstable chemical compounds so that, eventually, once they've built up enough of the compounds in their systems, they become volatile and explode. Walking time bombs." Roy said as the nurse grimaced in pain towards Roy, snarling angrily at him.
"Captain, are you alright?" Roy asked as Hawkeye nodded.
"I'm fine sir. Her skill in hand-to-hand combat was novice at best." Hawkeye said as Breda and Falman picked up the wounded nurse, setting her in a wheelchair to be taken to Central. The minute she was set down, she dug into her pocket with her lone good hand and pulled out a small revolver, attempting to aim it at Roy but Hawkeye spotted her.
"General!" Riza shouted before she grabbed the bowl of flowers off her stand and threw it at Roy, hitting him in the chest and knocking him to the ground before a gunshot rang out. When Roy sat back up, he saw Hawkeye leveling a derringer towards the wheelchair behind him. When he looked at the wheelchair he saw the nurse, dead in the chair with a gunshot wound in the center of the forehead. The derringer had been transmuted from the lighter Roy had gotten from Dr. Knox.
"Damn!" Riza cursed, frustrated at having killed their prisoner.
"You did fine, Captain. We've still got an opportunity to catch ourselves another prisoner." Roy said as he climbed up off the ground just as Dr. Knox burst in.
"What the-…WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!" Knox asked in outrage, aghast at the sight of the dead and disfigured nurse.
"I apologize for the recent events, Doctor. But they were necessary if we were to put a stop to the Red Kingdom bombings. Turns out this nurse was one of them and had been turning some of the patients into walking bombs." Roy said as Knox blinked at the sight of the nurse.
"Wait a second! I recognize her!" Knox said.
"Who was she?" Roy asked as Knox looked down the hall.
"She's assigned to one of the doctors here, they both were new hires! Hadn't been here for more than two months!" Knox said as Roy looked at him.
"Which Doctor? Where is he?" Roy asked.
"She's in and out all the time. Older woman, loves flowers. Has a personal assistant, real goon kind of fellow." Knox said as a man with a black flattop hairdo in the white orderly uniform ran in with a stretcher to take the deceased nurse away.
"Can you describe him?" Roy asked.
"That's him right there!" Knox said, pointing to the man as Roy tightened his gloves.
"You! Hold!" Roy called as the man paused, glaring at Roy. Roy then started to approach but as he did, the Orderly suddenly threw the stretcher at him but Roy sidestepped it and watched in annoyance as the man proceeded to transform into a towering bear-like chimera. (AC: Battle Scherzo – FMA:B OST 2)
"Big mistake!" Roy declared, snapping his fingers, setting a patch of the chimera's fur on fire, causing the chimera to let out a yowl of pain and leap at Roy. Roy hadn't anticipated the chimera to attack despite the flames and quickly dodged a swipe, only to see the flame alchemy transmutation circle on the back of his left glove get torn off.
"You think that'll stop me?!" Roy asked, raising his right hand and snapping his fingers, setting more of the chimera's fur on fire but it still didn't stop it. The Chimera let out a roar as he ran forward and swiped at Roy again, this time destroying the other circle while knocking him onto his back. The bear chimera proceeded to stand over the General, his claws sharpened and ready to attack.
"General!" Breda exclaimed as he raised his gun only for Falman to lower it for him.
"Hold fire! You might hit the General!" Falman replied as Riza stepped out into the hall, swiping Breda's pistol and taking aim.
"General!" Riza yelled before firing a shot that grazed the Chimera's shoulder, earning its attention. Roy took advantage of the distraction and quickly clapped his hands and snapped his fingers, igniting another patch of fur but was startled when he noticed something. The bear chimera's fur had stopped burning. The oils in its skin and fur were fire retardant and were causing the flames to die out before they could do much damage, leaving only patches of burnt fur behind. Roy was stuck. His flame alchemy was virtually useless against the creature.
"Captain! Fire!" Roy ordered as Riza fired a second shot, hitting the chimera across the back but the chimera only roared at her in anger.
"Captain I told you to fire!" Roy yelled.
"We need it alive, sir!" Riza argued as Roy snarled in frustration before clapping his hands together and slamming his palms into the floor, causing a hole to open up beneath him, dropping him and the chimera down onto the bottom floor into the lobby where they landed with a loud crash. (End AC)
"General!" Riza yelled in alarm. Down below, Roy quickly staggered to his feet but was startled to see the bear chimera shake it off.
"Come here, Mustang!" the chimera said as it leapt at Mustang, the Flame Alchemist snarling defiantly at the beast. Suddenly Roy saw Xiao land between them and with a single high kick, launched the chimera against the back wall. (AC: Xing Symphony~Overture~ - FMA:B OST 2)
"General Xiao. I wasn't expecting you." Roy said as Xiao pulled the chopsticks from her hair, revealing them to be six modular blades that, when put together formed two chopsticks.
"Few ever do, General Mustang. I presume this is one of those Red Kingdom animals that I have heard of." Xiao said as Roy gave a nod, the dazed Bear chimera starting to stand to its feet.
"It's called a chimera. A twisted hybrid of two beasts, but in this case, it's a combination of a man and a bear." Roy said as Xiao popped open a fan, revealing a purification circle printed upon it.
"The human part will suffice, then." She said before throwing the six blades with one swing, all six of them landing in a circle embedded in the wall behind the chimera. She then proceeded to drop to one knee, pressing the fan to the ground then pressing another hand to the fan. The blades behind the chimera started to glow with red energy before the chimera's right arm started to grow massive lesions and tumors until it suddenly exploded in a gory shower of blood and bone, the chimera roaring in absolute pain. Roy was stunned by Xiao Fujin's use of Alkahestry as the chimera fell to the ground, clutching its stump as it reverted to human form (End AC).
"Nice work. Although I thought Alkahestry was meant for healing purposes." Roy said as Xiao closed her fan, motioning towards the chimera, her two guards quickly moving to apprehend it.
"That which can be used for easing pain, can also be used to cause it. Much like alchemy as I understand it. The creature should be fortunate that you needed him alive, much like you had preferred to take that terrorist upstairs alive. That was your intention all along this evening, right?" Xiao asked as Roy smirked at her.
"It seems I owe you an apology." Roy said but Xiao merely popped open her fan, hiding all but her eyes behind it.
"Not necessary. We seem to be cut from the same cloth, Mustang. I suspected that everything that had transpired from the moment I saw your adjutant waiting for us at the car to this very moment was part of some scheme you had concocted to apprehend these Red Kingdom fools. I would have likely done the same thing had our positions been reversed. I'm actually honored to have had front row seats. Adds to the excitement I suppose." Xiao said as Roy arched a curious eyebrow, smirking at her.
"And what gave us away?" Roy asked as Xiao showed him the tips of her fingers, showing a light purplish coloration to them.
"The false bruises were a start." Xiao said.
"I see. Maybe tomorrow we won't have this problem." Roy said but Xiao shrugged.
"Unfortunately, we won't have tomorrow. Today was the one day I had allowed for frivolities as tomorrow we must focus on the task at hand." Xiao said as Roy gave a nod.
"I apologize that your evening didn't have as much 'frivolity' as you might've liked." Roy said but Xiao turned away from him towards the door.
"Don't be silly. I had a wonderful time. I enjoy myself more when I'm on the battlefield, than when I'm off of it." Xiao said as her guards handed the chimera off to Roy's men and quickly fell in step with her. Soon military trucks were rolling up for the Red Kingdom chimera, muzzled with his bleeding stump covered in bandages for treatment at the military base, to be loaded up for transport to Central Command. Roy and his men stood off to the side, overseeing the transfer while Xiao and her escorts watched from nearby. Hawkeye had gotten back into uniform since then and Havoc and Catalina were packing their equipment back into one of the military vans.
"Alright, standby! Prisoner coming out!" one of the soldiers called as the chimera was escorted at gunpoint out of the hospital entrance and towards the back of the truck.
"There's something that still bothers me." Roy said, his hand to his chin.
"About what, sir?" Hawkeye asked as Roy looked towards Dr. Knox as he stood yelling at a team of military engineers that had arrived to repair the damage to the hospital. Hawkeye was back in uniform although her hair was still down.
"Knox mentioned that there were three new hires, all working together. The nurse, the orderly, and a Doctor. A woman doctor by the sounds of it. If those two were here, then the doctor must be around here somewhere as well." Roy commented. As the chimera stepped into the street, six knives suddenly landed in a circle around him from overhead.
"Wait! What's that?!" Roy asked as the circle of knives suddenly glowed with red energy before the chimera suddenly let out a pained roar before its innards were alchemically imploded. (AC: Greed – FMA OST 2). Everyone had been caught off guard by the chimera's sudden execution. Roy snarled and turned back towards Xiao who appeared just as shocked as the rest.
"LOOK! UP THERE!" they heard a soldier shout. They all turned to look and saw, standing on the roof of the hospital were two individuals, a figure clad in Xingese ninja garb, similar but clearly different than the ones Lan Fan wore, standing next to a woman in green with long greying brown hair, holding a bouquet of flowers and a lighter in her hands.
"General Mustang! Congratulations are in order for removing our bomb maker! Unfortunately, you cannot be allowed to continue your pursuit against us! It's time for all of Amestris to make peace with God for in three days, Amestris will begin its fall and the Red Kingdom shall rise amidst the ashes!" Morser declared before throwing her bouquet of flowers, the flowers withering and dying in midair. She was about to flick her lighter when she heard a clapping sound followed by a snap, the gas released by the flowers igniting sooner than she had anticipated, the fire from the explosion disappearing quickly, to reveal everyone unscathed but when the fire cleared, Morser and the Xingese figure had vanished.
"Impossible! That warrior! That was a member of the Fang clan!" Fujin exclaimed as Roy looked at Xiao curiously.
"Fang clan?!" Roy asked.
"They're a clan in Xing, a retainer of one of the noble clans. They're renowned assassins. They must be in league with the Red Kingdom!" Xiao said as Roy glared at the empty rooftop.
End Chapter 12