Hi! I'm back!
I went back to the previous chapter to get rid of the typos I spotted - sorry about that, I wrote the whole thing in a week and posted it in one go so I hadn't really checked for errors...
Anyway, there should be less mistakes now...
On another topic, for the several questions about the Roy/Riza relationship - I always thought it could be interpreted two ways: romantically or as a sibling bond. Needless to say I chose the sibling route here.
Chapter VI: 1913-1914
Ariana stepped out of the train with her brothers, numerous people thanking them around "Welcome back, FullMetal, EarthBreaker, WindBlade and... what the hell happened on this train?"
"An idiot tried to rob us." Al shrugged "And he called brother a..." he glanced at his brother, confirming he wasn't hearing them "A shrimp. It didn't end well for the would be robber."
Roy snorted, and Al asked "So, what gives us the honor of you meeting us at the station, colonel? Trying to ditch your date with paperwork yet again?"
"Why do you three insist on calling me a slacker?" he protested
"Because the others can't since they respect hierarchy, so they rely on us to remind you of it."
"Where the hell did Ari disappear to?" Ed wondered as he finally managed to escape the well-wishers
The colonel started to look around too – and with his height advantage, saw that the youngest alchemist was...
"Why are you hiding, WindBlade?"
"I'm not! Well maybe a little," she admitted "but I had to escape..." a slight blush" That kid didn't want to let go of me..." her eyes widened "He wanted me to 'come and play' with him!"
At that, Roy laughed "You do realize that its what normal children do, don't you?"
"Yes, but seriously... Can you imagine me? Playing with other children my age?" a shudder "They cry when the scorch their knees, and are afraid of blades, and..."
"Alright, alright," he snickered "No playing with children for you." truth was she was right – he couldn't see her playing like a normal twelve year old "Here, for you to forget the horrors of playing children!" he said, getting his notes out from his uniform inner pocket
The girl's eyes lightened and she immediately started to leaf trough the pages, barely looking around her – and using her soul sense and battleground awareness in order not to bump into anything.
"So, colonel bastard," Ed teased "Missed us?"
"You couldn't believe how much I enjoyed the calm while you weren't here." he retorted "But the Southern Military were nearly begging me to take you back, too much collateral damages or something like that..."
"What! Bullshit!"
"Brother has made a lot of progress on repairing the damages he does when fighting." Al nodded "Teacher was a great help with it."
"That woman really seems to be something!" he praised "Maybe I should invite her in East city sometimes..."
"What!" Ed protested immediately – but then, his eyes took on a wicked gleam "Oh yes, please do!"
"Er... brother?" Al wondered
"He's thinking about setting mister Curtis on the colonel." Ari answered, nose still in her newly obtained notebook
"Oh! Oh..."Al laughed "Too bad it wouldn't work!"
"What! Why?" protested Ed
"Well the colonel is always flirting with birdbrain idiots." Al shrugged casually "Which is why he never sees them twice."
"Uh. Then why doesn't he goes out with an intelligent girl?" Ed wondered
"You do realize I'm right here, don't you..." Roy sighed as they got to his car "And really, with my ambitions, does it look like I've got time to waste on a woman?"
"I hope you never said that in front of Maes..." Ari commented with a shudder of dread
"I did. Once." he winced "Never again!"
"Still it is a pretty sad view of relationship." Al commented
"It is." his sister nodded "Sometime, its in the darkest times that you find the most precious light for you after all."
"Am I getting counseled by pre-teenagers?" Roy wondered loudly "Where did I go wrong with my life for something like that to happen?" he commiserated
"I'd say about the moment you were born." Ed answered automatically
¤.¤.¤
"So," Roy said as they arrived at the office "Now that you've all made fun of me," at that the rest of the team, that was pressing around to greet the three siblings laughed "I was promised a present and I want it."
"Such a demanding man." Ariana laughed "Maybe that's the true reason why you can't keep a girl!"
"I told you, Ari," Ed commented "a bastard like him doesn't deserve any souvenirs!"
"And us?" Riza asked, amused at the Elric antics
"Of course!" Al smiled, opening his messenger bag "There was a festival in Dublith just before we left, so to celebrate Ari's recovery we spent the whole day there!"
"Recovery?" Roy sharply stressed "What do you mean, recovery?"
"Er..." by now, the girl was blushing as every single person in the office was looking at her
"Ari decided that physical limitations didn't apply to the WindBlade and used a very advanced alkahestry array to heal a man that had a really rare condition." Ed improvised – the best lies were the closest to the truth after all
"But it was really hard and tiring, so Ari spent the next three day sleeping..."
"I'm alright now!" their sister protested at the accusing looks she was getting "And I already was lectured for hours by teacher!"
"She was right." Ed, Al and Roy commented as one, before sharing a surprised glance
"Can we drop the matter?" the young girl pleaded "This kind of condition is really uncommon, so I probably wont have to do anything like that anytime soon."
After that, the welcome back party the team had organized was back on track – with lots of food and teasing aimed at Edward's bottomless stomach.
Within the hour, Roy and Ari had escaped to the colonel's office to debate about his new theories and were in deep conversation about the possibilities of mixing two kind of alchemy in the same circle rather than use several successive arrays, having forgotten everything about the rest of the team that was till loudly partying next door when Ed barged in "You shouldn't be alone with this bastard, Ari! It's not safe for you! After all he's already a womanizer, what's being a pedophile next to this?"
"Are you, yet again, implying that I'm trying to assault your little brother?" complained the colonel loudly
"Well, if it fits." smirked Ed
¤.¤.¤
"You know," Havoc mused "I wonder who's the strongest between the colonel and FullMetal? I mean the colonel's got his flames, obviously, but FullMetal has gained quite a reputation as a close-ranged fighter..."
"Well, there's only one way to confirm it!" Breda loudly proclaimed "What about a fight between them?"
"Ah but the damages that would follow..." Fuery sighed "And we'd need the general authorization."
"General Grumman just gave his authorization." Riza stated while hanging up the office phone
"Yeah! Let's have a fight between East City's two strongest alchemists!" Havoc loudly proclaimed
"Er..." Al interrupted "If it's a fight between the Colonel and the best fighter among us you want, it's not brother you should be asking for..."
"What?"
Ed grinned "I'm the one that does the most damage around during a fight, but I'm a brawler more than anything else..."
"Then... Al?" a disbelieving Havoc asked
"I don't really like to fight." denied the kind boy, not really surprising anyone
"Ari?" he stated, even more incredulous, looking a the small and delicate silhouette that was already starting to change into that of a woman – how the colonel still hadn't caught up with the fact she was in fact female was starting to be a mystery for him
"Well, Ari is the one who charged at the man that was attacking us with only a knife and no alchemy at seven year old." Ed shrugged "Don't mistake Ari's usual calm for pacifism."
"I thought you were joking when you said Ari was a knife-maniac..." Breda admitted
"So... A match between the colonel and Ari then?" a sigh from Havoc "Ah but it seems a lot less wild..."
At that, Ed and Al burst out laughing, and pointed toward the open door of the colonel's office, the two already assessing each other with maniac grins.
"Never mind." the Second Lieutenant breathed at the blood-thirsty atmosphere that had suddenly appeared
"I thought the colonel didn't like fighting because of the war?" Fuery asked, feeling a bit clueless
"Killing helpless civilians isn't fighting." Falman explained calmly, before adding "Colonel, the courtyard is cleared up if you want to."
As the team made it's way to said courtyard, that was indeed clear, but had a lot of people loitering around, clearly waiting for them, Al couldn't help but wonder if people in the Military district really were that bored that so many of them dropped their work as soon as the word got around that two alchemists would fight.
There were some disappointment in the crowd as it became apparent that FullMetal wasn't the one fighting – but then, the fight started, and any disappointment was swiftly forgotten.
¤.¤.¤
The second Al had declared the start of th fight, Ariana had jumped forward, Fuurin in her left hand, dancing between the explosions coming her way with an uncanny precision, before jumping toward the colonel – who leaned back to dodge and already was out of her way.
She tried to get him with a volley of blades like the one she'd used during her exam, but he had learned from then and dodged low before sprinting toward her – provoking surprise among the bystander, after all wasn't the Flame Alchemist renowned as a long range fighter?
"It's not that he specializes in it." Riza corrected as Fuery asked this "It's just that most of the time he doesn't need anything else." an amused smile "I don't think I've ever seen him go all out against his opponent. They just aren't worth it most of the time."
"But WindBlade may well be just that good." Breda mused as the two alchemists danced around each other
"Ah, but she's still young, so he's got the experience advantage."
A large fire ball was sent back to it's owner with a gush of wind, then Ari had to dodge as the other was suddenly coming at her with a short but heavy blade that she didn't even know he had on him – apparently it had been hidden in his right boot. Hand snapping toward the ground she made a wall while jumping side-way rather than backward – except of course the colonel wasn't stupid and had guessed correctly at her move.
"Wow," Al commented, a bit awed "Sis really is having fun."
"It's not often that she finds another fighting freak like her." Ed pointed out "Most people we know only fight to defend themselves, or for work. Not because they like it. The colonel bastard was hiding himself well, I hadn't even noticed he was just as bad as her." then suddenly a despaired groan, as he had a revelation "This means they're going to spent even more time together doesn't it?"
The rest of the team laughed at his showy despair, while Al patted his back reassuringly.
"Did she just used a fireball too?" Breda muttered a disbelieving
"She did." Riza nodded "She does know the same kind of alchemy as the colonel."
"But... I thought wind was her thing?" Havoc muttered
"Ah! That!" Ed burst out laughing, remembering about it "When we went through the exam, that was among her worst skill... On the other hand, she's a natural pyro"
Riza eyes widened at that affirmation – she had know the three kids were good, Roy had said as much after the exam, but that good?
More impressive even, the fact that she had the kind of battle awareness only seasoned fighters or naturals had, using the ground around her to her advantage, taking good guesses at her opponent tactics and actions...
And the colonel too, did look like he was enjoying himself – which, like she had said earlier, didn't happen all that often as he had difficulties finding a good enough, or interesting enough opponent.
As for Ariana – the fight was exhilarating, but what really caught her attention somewhere along the way, was that...
He moved and fought a lot like in his previous life – which shouldn't be possible, souls were wiped clean of any memories when then went through reincarnation.
But there was no denying it was there, the uncanny grace and ability to guess at her more unpredictible moves. Yet, she knew that he didn't have his memories, that was evident – changed appearance or not, he would have recognized her. So what could be going on?
The girl had to repress a frustrated groan as she dodged the gleaming blade coming at her – in her previous life it had taken years before she had been able to fight him to a draw, and now, he was back with a lead of nearly fifteen years.
And she refused for that damn, arrogant man to win all their fights yet again!
¤.¤.¤
Then, just as a last fireball produced a large smoke cloud, he managed to get behind her and swiftly blocked her wrists in her back – how the hell did he know how to place her automail in order to nearly block that arm?
"Well, WindBlade?"
"I lose." she admitted a bit grudgingly, while trying not to redden at the sudden and unexpected proximity
Judging by the amused smile on the team's faces and Edward's own red face – in anger for him – she guessed she wasn't all that successful...
"Alright, alright, congrats colonel bastard, you won!" her brother grouched "Now let go of Ari!" the demand made the bystander still there laugh
As for said colonel, he did indeed let go of Ariana's wrists – only to drop his arms around her to trap her in a hug, unable to see the reaction he provoked on her, but immensely enjoying her brother's temper tantrum.
"Why, FullMetal? I won after all, doesn't it mean I earned some kind of prize?"
"Ari isn't some kind of prize!"
As for Ari, she was spluttering a bit, taken aback by the surprise hug but her independent nature rebelling against the 'prize' comment...
"Hmm... You really are a bad elder brother, considering your siblings as a prize for a fight..." retorted the Flame Alchemist "After all, I never said Ari was the prize, did I?"
With that, he snapped his finger, and used the unnatural large amount of smoke to escape, dragging the girl along a shouting toward Riza "I'm entrusting them to you for the day! Do finish all the paperwork still to be done!"
The lieutenant eyes widened as she remembered the pile of files still to be treated of his desk, and she groaned, not believing she'd fallen for that trick.
"You do realize I'll use this as an argument each time you'll try to tell me you're not a slacker now?" Ari commented as she was getting dragged out of the military district
"Ah but you're getting out of your work too! You're an accomplice!"
"I'm being abducted!" she protested hotly
"And I'm not slacking off, I'm spending time with a fellow alchemist to do theory work for my next assessment!"
"The next assessment is a year away!"
"Better start preparing early!"
She groaned at the answer and let herself fall in a boneless heap in the passenger seat of his car, not even bothering with asking where they were going – it was after all apparent that the colonel was crazy and would do whatever he wanted!
It was only a while later than she realized "Are we going out of the town?"
"Just a bit out of the city's boundaries," he answered "I've got the feeling that any testing done with a dual-alchemy circle will either work or fail explosively right now..."
"Right," Ariana agreed, getting her notes out from her Inventory where she'd shoved them when the fight had been decided
"Where the hell were you hiding this?" Roy wondered, glancing toward her then taking his attention back to the road "Never mind there are too many unexplained things happening around you Elric..."
A bark.
"Nope, not asking how he managed to sneak on either..." he decided
"He jumped in as I was closing the door."
"Is this dog some kind of ninja? I didn't see him at all!"
"He blends well in the shadows..."
¤.¤.¤
In the end, they spent the rest of the day experimenting with the theories they were theorizing on earlier, getting singed by quite a few blast, just as predicted. Even if most of their circles ended in failure, the theory did progress well thanks to those tries, and it was easy to guess that the application, once they managed these, would be tremendous.
When they finally got back to the military district, where Ariana shared a room with her brothers, Ed was still spitting mad at the colonel – or even worse, since Riza had decided that since it was his fault Roy had ditched work, he would be helping with the work the man had dropped on them.
"And you," Ed added as they were getting back to their room "I saw you! You... you blushed! Like a girl!"
"Brother," Al sighed "Ari is a girl!"
"I know! But, but... she can't like that bastard!"
"Why?"
"Because he's a bastard! And he's old!"
"Note how the bastard part comes before the old one!" Al stage whispered to his sister, making her laugh, before answering his brother "Truth be told, the colonel is pretty decent toward Ari, he just enjoy annoying you. Because you're just too easy to anger."
"I'm not!" he protested, looking toward his sister for support
"You are." she confirmed, dashing his hope
"And as for the age problem, I don't really see Ari throwing herself at him just right now."
"I don't 'throw myself' at people,"she sniffed haughtily "I'm just so awesome people naturally love me!" she teased
"Oh no, Ed's arrogance was contagious!" fake panicked her middle brother
"Alright, alright, I get it, Ari can think for herself and she's not stupid... But must you really like the colonel?" he whined
"You're the one that's saying I like him." she protested hotly
A snort, coming from both her brothers as they shared a glance and sighed together "Denial." before patting her back
"Hey!"
¤.¤.¤
Ariana had taken advantage of the fact she was outside of the city to share with the colonel the discoveries they had made in the South, and the pass phrases decided on with Greed and his subordinates.
"It really would be best if we found Von Hohenheim," Roy had sighed "Only taking guesses at the circle being made component is dangerous."
"I wonder if we would find anything about this in Xerxes ruins..." Ari wondered back "Too bad automail doesn't react well in the desert..." a sigh, at times like that, she really missed cooling charms – then it hit her, and she swiftly snatched the fountain pen the other was using from his hands
Instead of protesting, he watched in interest as she jolted bits of calculation and a circle soon started to form
"A dual air and water circle linked to a fire one in a general earth array... "he analyzed as she put the finishing touches on her first try "Something... a regulation of temperature!" he realized
"Automail is bad in the desert because it heats the metal, and burns the bearer through the ports..." she explained "But with this applied on both the port and the limb..."
"There would be no heating problem."
"I don't think this'll work just yet, but it's a good start." she admitted "I'll probably test it on loose parts first..." a shudder "Because Winry's going to pummel me if I try something like that directly on her work..."
With that, dual-alchemy became Ari's next project as the three siblings went back to their usual routine of being sent around the East.
"Children of God who live on this Earth, have faith and thou shall be saved." Ed snorted as the old radio post on the counter of the small open air worker restaurant they were eating in was spitting it's drivel
"The god of sun, Leto, enlightens thy path." Ari, who was busy eating while jolting down notes on the side raised an eyebrow "Behold, having descended from his throne, the lord shall save thee from your sins." at that, she snorted too "As a messenger of god, I am your father."
"A sermon on the radio?" Al noted, intrigued, and ignoring his sister's evident amusement at the dubious preaching
"This is Lord Cornello!" the barman exclaimed happily
"Eh?"
"Father Cornello!" the bartender repeated, visibly having trouble believing they didn't know who he was talking about "Messenger of the sun god Leto!"
Visibly, the locals around all knew what he was talking about as they started to sing the man's praises "he is a holy man who came to town a bit more than a year ago and showed us the way of god!"
"He's got the power of miracle!"
"It's really incredible!" another nodded "Definitely the powers of a god!"
"Hey, are you even listening?"
"Not really," Ed denied easily enough "After all, your guy sure sounds like a fake."
The blunt answer provoked angry replies from the bystanders, that were soon drowned by Ariana's happy exclamation of "Got it!"
"Got what?" couldn't help but ask the curious bartender, glancing at the complicated looking diagrams and calculations she had been working on while eating her stew
"A functional array using two different element sources!" she explained – not helping him understand anything, but making her brothers brighten at the news "Watch!"
With a flash, an intricate circle glowed briefly at the tip of her fingers, and she grabbed her empty glass of water – nothing visible seemed to happen, but she dumped it in her brother's hands "Wha... Cold!" he protested, accidentally letting go of it
"Brother," Al sighed jumping down from his stool before clapping his hands, repairing the glass casually while asking "So you managed to craft an array to regulate the temperature of an item, didn't you?"
His question was drowned by the onlookers shouts of surprise, and they were soon assaulted by awed citizens "You've got the power of miracle too!"
"The power of miracle?" Ed parroted, a bit annoyed at them going on once more about their cult "No, we're State Alchemist! This is science!"
"I didn't know alchemy could do this," muttered one of the people gathered
"You look awfully young to already be part of the military!"
"Well of course," Ed puffed up "We three are the youngest alchemists to ever pass the exam!"
"I've heard of you!" another exclaimed "You're the Elric Siblings! What are you doing in Reole?"
¤.¤.¤
The siblings shared a glance – there was no way they would answer this question by the truth – somehow they got the feeling that 'we were sent to investigate the rumors of a fraud trying to create an army of fanatics by indoctrinating them with a fake religion' wouldn't go well.
Thankfully they we saved from answering when a girl with brown hair and pink bangs arrived, cheerfully greeting everyone.
"heading to the church again, Rose?"
"Yes! I've got some offering to do! Oh, some newcomers! " she smiled brightly at them, welcoming them in town – and leaving just as fast
"That girl..." Ari whispered sadly "Why is she smiling when she's suffering so much inside?"
"You can tell, eh?" the barman answered, not expecting her insight "Rose has had a harsh life, she has no relatives, and her boyfriend just died." a smile "But her faith saved her, it did."
"Faith in Leto, he who gives everlasting life to the living and rebirth to the dead." another quoted "And with the power of miracle as proof, it gives her hope to see her beloved again one day."
The other nodded along – and the three siblings shared a glance, frowning.
The colonel had been right to send them, something fishy was definitely going on...
"Let's take a look at that church." Al suggested
"It's as good a starting point as anywhere else." Ed agreed – with that, he paid, and they were trailing toward the largest building of the small town.
"Oh, you again! Did you come to learn more about Letoism?" the girl they'd seen earlier asked
"No thanks," Ed quickly denied "I really don't care about a fake god like that."
"How can you say something like that!" Rose hotly protested
"It's me that should ask that question!" he retorted back, plopping on one of the banks "Pray to god and he'll bring back the dead and save everyone?"
"Definitely!"
"And why would a god help people that cannot even be bothered to help themselves?" Ariana asked coldly – making her brother share a surprised glance
"We pray..."
"You spent your days asking for a superior being to help us when you can't be bothered to help yourself!" harshly interrupted the young alchemist "All the while trying to impose your faith on others!"
"It's our duty as believers to share our faith with those that are in the wrong without knowing it!"
"So... people that don't believe in Leto are wrong..."
"Of course!"
"But if he made the humans, isn't he the one to gave them freedom not to believe? Then... isn't it pure arrogance to decide that you small human knows better than your god and try and force your will on others?"
"I never said I knew better than Leto!"
"Wow, sis sure is harsh on that girl..." Al whispered to Ed
"I think it's because she feels bad for her." he answered in a low voice
"Er?"
"Think about what was said earlier... This girl just lost the one important person she had in her life, yet she's not mourning him but disillusioning herself into hoping her god will bring him back. That's not really healthy, isn't?"
"It's just as bad as when we were trying to bring back mom, isn't it?" Al sighted "Except there's no one to tell her she on the wrong path..."
"Better Ari trying to wake her up now, than a harsher awakening later on." Ed nodded, before heading to the church's door "Still, should we go?" an amused smirk "After all, it's nearly time for the show!"
"It's not a show!" Rose protested hotly again, firmly ignoring Ari and speeding past them "It's a sermon!"
They got out on the central plaza, and Ed snorted, looking at the delirious crowd and flower petals in the air "Yeah, right... not a show..."
As for Ariana, she faltered a second as her attention zeroed on the cult leader, a frown marring her face
"Ari?" Al asked
"Souls." she breathed while regaining a hold on herself "In that ring."
¤.¤.¤
The two brothers nodded, distractedly following the show – and Ed definitely wasn't going to call this pointless gathering anything else; here was a man with a Philosopher Stone, even if small, on his hand, and all he was doing were parlor tricks, small scale transmutation to put the ignorant public in awe. If he wanted to be known as the envoy of a god, shouldn't he at least perform meaningful miracles?
He said as much to Rose, that had came back stubbornly toward them, still bent on converting them – even if she was pointedly ignoring Ariana.
"So," asked Al "We know he's a fraud. It's our job to expose him. How do we do it?"
"Let's go see him!" Ed decided
"And after that he dares affirm he makes plans..." Ariana sighed
As for Ed – firmly ignoring his younger siblings protests, he was already rushing back to Rose, that had been separated from them in the crowd "Hey! Take us to your leader!"
"What! But why?"
"Why don't you see it as a chance to convince us?" proposed Ariana before her brother could say anything stupid
So they were back to the church – albeit the private part of it rather than the public shrines this time.
And soon – far too fast, if the three mistrustful siblings were asked – they were led to a large and dimly lighted room by a tall man in religious garb "You're lucky, the founder is a busy man who doesn't have a lot of free time, but he just so happen to have a free spot right now."
"Right," Ed nodded, irony barely hidden in his tone "Really lucky of us."
"Don't worry," his sister added with a charming smile "We don't intend on taking too much of his time."
"Of course," the man confirmed, "We'll end this quickly!" a gun was suddenly pulled, and killing intent flowing "Just like this!"
The firearm echoed loudly in the large and empty space of the room they were in, as Rose gasped loudly "What is the meaning of this, brother?"
"These men are heretics that were going to attack the founder, Rose." explained the man, while two other men suddenly appeared to point spears at Ed and Al
"Even thought, the founder wouldn't have allowed something like that!" she protested
"Oh, but the founder has allowed this. And his are the words of god!"
"That's a mean god for sure." Al mused from his spot, while deflecting the weapon aimed at him with one hand and knocking out the man holding it with the other, Ed following suit before turning to his sister on the ground "Oy, stop pretending to be dead."
"What!" the man still up protested, before his gun was violently ripped from his grasp and alchemyzed into a small but intricate wolf statue, making the two brothers roll their eyes
As for the man who'd just lost his firearm, he was already knocked out.
"I can't believe those idiots fell for this." Ariana laughed, whipping the small blood trail on her cheek – Al was immediately fussing about it, and healing it with a clap
"Well they saw red liquid and thought blood," shrugged Ed "It's not like most people are able to gather the humidity in the air and the colorants in the ground to fake this you know."
"Thank god you're safe..." Rose sighed, trembling a little
"Still believing in your benevolent god?" Ed asked bluntly
"Of course! This has to be some kind of mistake!"
The boy rolled his eyes "Blind faith truly is some kind of miracle in and of itself." he sighed "To think that you can know your holy man ordered some kids' death and still believe in him..."
"Well, we just have to ask the holy man himself, don't we?" Ariana smiled
Al groaned at the smile that his two siblings shared – he just knew they were coming up with some kind of convoluted plan.
¤.¤.¤
A few moments later, they were in front of the heavy doors to Father Cornello's chambers.
"Welcome to our holy church!" a bald, falsely benevolent looking man smiled a them "Have you come to learn our teaching?"
"Of course," Ed smiled "We've even got a bunch of question! Like... why are you tricking our believers with fake parlor tricks if you're truly a holy man?"
"Don't you trust in the power of miracle?"
"We only saw a barely passable alchemists doing easy tricks I could do as a four year old while bypassing the basic laws of alchemy with a tainted Stone!" Ariana answered blandly
"Oh!" the benevolent smile suddenly turned sinister "Well, I should have expected no less from three State Alchemists, shouldn't have I? You even guessed about the stone!"
"I wonder where a third rate alchemist like you got this?"
"Why? Do you want one?"
"We don't want something as distasteful as that." Ed denied harshly
"Distasteful? My, how opinionated!" Cornello lightly commented "This stone is a wonder, a marvel!"
"Yet you only use it for cheap parlor tricks."
"Ah, I should have guessed children like you couldn't understand the magnificence of my plans!"
"Well then, by any means, please enlighten us!" Ariana invited with a smile and a gesture
"These parlors tricks like you call them are all I need to gain the sheep of this city's faith! With such small shows of power, I gained followers that line my wallet full with their donations and believe blindingly in me!" he burst out laughing "These idiots are becoming an obedient army of follower that would even happily die for me since they foolishly believe I will bring them back! With them, I'll soon conquer this country!"
"This must be one of the lamest declaration of intent from a villain I've ever seen..." Ariana sighed
"What are you saying!" he protested hotly
"Well, your plan is unoriginal, for one." Al commented "We've grown up near Ishval so we saw first hands what lengths the Fuhrer will go to stop an uprising. And at least, Ishvalian had highly competent warriors trained from birth. You only have civilians. So your plan was doomed from the beginning..."
"And you're so bad at your 'conquering the country' thing that you didn't even hid well enough. The military heard about you!"
"What! Impossible!"
"Er... You realize that, as State Alchemists, we are in the military?" Ed asked "So if we're here, it means someone sent us here to investigate..."
"Our instruction were pretty much to come and see what was going on and neutralize you if you were a fraud." Ariana said "The army has nothing against religions, but it doesn't like trouble-makers like you."
"You really think you are going to stop me! There's only three of you against all my servants! They love me! If I tell them to kill you, they will, because those fools are persuaded I'm the living envoy of their god!"
"Such a touching speech," Ed clapped enthusiastically "To think you admitted to all of this by yourself, thank you!"
"What do you mean?"
The door slammed open, Rose's silhouette revealed in the framing "I can't believe this! How could you lie to us, founder? You said you would bring him back!"
"Ah, Rose," Cornello smiled "I may have lied about being god's messenger, but I am the only one who can bring your beloved back! Be a good child and come to me, as long as those heretics aren't left to threaten my religion, I can bring him back for you."
The girl trembled a bit, eyes watering – she so wanted to go to the man that was promising to her the only thing she was wishing for.
But one thing held her back.
¤.¤.¤
"Tch, well then I guess I'll have to get rid of you too!" the cult leader shouted as it became apparent she wouldn't come to him, before activating a lever "Behold my chimeras! Isn't it amazing what that little Red Stone can do?"
The next moment, a large beast looking like some kind of lion and dragon hybrid was rushing toward them, so fast Ed didn't have the time to dodge and biting through his leg "How does those fangs that can go through iron feel?" Cornello laughed
Rose let out a terrified scream as Al grabbed her and pulled her out of the way of another chimera, Ariana rushing at the new beast, tanto in hand.
"How is it possible!" the founder protested, as Ed threw the beast that was trying to chew at his leg against the wall
"Al told you, didn't he?" Ed commented, sticking to the 'official version' "We grew up near Ishval." tearing at the fabric that was now hampering him, he revealed the gleam of metal "We got burned in the conflict."
"Automail..." realized the man "I was wondering what a brat like you had done to earn the name FullMetal..." his smile was back "Don't think a bit of metal will prevent me from taking care of you!" with that, the red glowing of a transmutation powered by the Philosopher Stone appeared
And sputtered down, as Ari, who'd had the time to take care of the chimera that had been aiming at Rose had made her way in the man's back and had taken hold of the arm on which the ring was – probably dislocating said arm while doing this, not that she really cared.
Her eyes were glowing, flickering between green and gold, as an array lightened up in her free hand, aimed at the ring – or rather the red ornament embedded in it, that glowed in answer before bursting in pieces.
"What have you done!" Cornello protested in a panicked shout "How could you destroy it!"
"This Stone isn't something that should be used by humans." Al answered calmly but distaste clear in his voice "And without it, you won't be able to fool the citizens anymore."
"And just listen..." Ed said lightly - in the following silence, they could all hear a background noise steadily growing louder "I think they're already here!"
"What are you talking about!"
"You didn't think Rose was the only one to hear your speech, did you?" Ariana smiled "Do you know about sound propagation properties? Transmuting part of this church in order for anything said in this room to be heard all around town wasn't all that hard you know..."
"Impossible!"
Ariana shrugged "Doesn't matter if you don't believe me... Your followers are here, and they don't look too happy with you..."
With that, she roughly dropped the man to the ground "Well, shall we go? I'm pretty sure we'll be able to catch the last train of the day if we don't waste too much time..."
[Side Quest Complete!+25XP
Reward: 1 pair of Fighting Alchemist Gloves Lv35 (light armor: +25 defense, +10 concentration, +10 mind speed)]
With that, they were out of the room that was beginning to fill up with the town's inhabitant, It's only as they were out of the church, where Padfoot, Tempesta and Paws were waiting for them, that a loud "Wait!" made them turn
Stopping, they waited as Rose ran to them "I just wanted to say thank you..." she said
"Don't." Ariana contradicted, still rather cold toward the girl "It's not as if you truly woke up after all."
"What..."
"If you weren't afraid the rest of the villagers would turn against you, you would have helped that bastard against us. So save you breath."
At that, the girl let anger take her "Yes, yes I would have!" she shouted "What would you know about it, when you've got family still! I'm all alone!"
¤.¤.¤
Ed slapped her.
It wasn't all that hard, but it made her stop shouting, stunned.
"We lied in the church." Al admitted, rolling up his sleeve to uncover the metallic limb "What kind of strange attack could cost three kinds and three pets the same limb after all?"
Rose's eyes widened at the affirmation.
"When mom died and father was nowhere to be found, I decided that we would bring her back." said Ed
"But.. but then..." mumbled the girl "If you paid such a price, you had to gain something in return, didn't you? You said it yourself, alchemy is based on equivalent exchange!"
"There is no equivalent exchange when you infringe of the domain of the gods." Ed contradicted "It's just a matter of sacrificing enough to come out of it alive."
"The thing we made didn't even look human," Al continued "Yet it still took my whole body and Ed's limb, and Ari's arm. And because then didn't want to abandon me, they came back for me, and Ed gave his arm, and Ari gave most of her life expectancy to get me back."
"Ari told us for years that it wouldn't work, what we were trying to do. Yet when the time came she was the one who paid the harshest price." Ed shrugged "So don't be an idiot like me and mourn your fiancé, instead on continuing in believing in disillusions until it coasts you your life. After all, if he really loved you, I don't think he'd want for you to destroy yourself for him, wouldn't he?"
"He would want me to be happy and go on with my life." she admitted, finally letting herself cry "But... But I just miss him so much I don't know how to go on!"
"One step at a time." Ariana smiled in answer any coldness gone from her demeanor – she didn't like her brothers rehashing what had happened to them, yet she knew it could help the girl so she had let them talk "You're free to believe me or not... But there is one thing we learned from that fake attempt..." well it wasn't there that she'd learned it, but who cared "The dead don't come back, but their souls do get reincarnated eventually. So even if you don't meet again, he will be reborn one day and live a new life. So since he's getting a new chance at being happy, may be you can find yours too..."
A low rumbling made the siblings jump "Ah! The train..." with that, they were rushing off "Take care of yourself and go forward, Rose!" shouted Ed as a parting
"I will." she shouted back between her tears, smiling despite herself – the first truly happy smile she'd smiled since her fiancé's death
The three siblings shared a smile as a notification appeared
[Hidden goal complete! To find the will to go on!
Thanks to your encouragements, Rose Thomas has found the strength to move forward with her life
Reward: +50XP, 1 pair of Military-grade fighting boots Lv35 (medium armor: +50 defense, +25 speed)]
[Level up! You are now level 39!
+1SP]
Chaos' Game was sometime frustrating, with the snippets of notification coming of as mocking from time to time – but it was well worth it for notifications like this one, that proved they had managed at least something, even if it was just bettering a bit the life of a young woman...
"So..." the colonel summed up, leafing thought their report "A third rate alchemist with a Red Stone he? Just as expected then..."
"The town is probably one of the blood-point for the circle." nodded Ariana darkly "We did what we could, but it's doubtful unrest won't arise again there..."
"We'll keep an eye on it." nodded Roy "Did any of your automail get damaged in the fight?"
"Nothing Ari couldn't take care of." answered Ed, waving off his concerns
"Ah!" the girl reacted, the comment reminding her of something "But I finally managed to get the temperature regulation array! So we'll have to jump by Rosembool to have it inscribed in our ports and limbs!"
"Why?" Al asked "You did it easily enough with that glass..."
"It was only temporary." she explained "There would have been an energy perdition eventually. Whereas if the circle is inscribed in the item, the perdition will be much slower, and any alchemists with a basic understanding of the various alchemy type used..."
"In other words, only the four of us and teacher..." Al lightly commented
"Would be able to recharge the array." finished his sister without really minding the interruption
"Well," commented the colonel "I'm pretty sure we can make any change to you automail fall under the reparations needed because of the fight in Reole then." he said "And if I'm not wrong, automail demand a bit of time to adapt to when it's being changed, so you should take advantage you that to take a break in your home town..."
"We'll be sure to bring you back a souvenir." Ed laughed "Something old and dusty, just like you!" he added, before dodging as a small detonation happened in the place he was the second before "You pyromaniac!"
As for said pyromaniac, he waved them off laughing, knowing at the elder brother's that they'd correctly interpreted his suggestion – after their stop at Rosembool, the siblings would be heading for the desert, and exploring the remaining ruins of the old Xerxes kingdom.
"So, how long will they be away?" Riza asked
She had to hid her amusement as a suddenly dismayed colonel answered "At least three weeks, more probably a month..."
"Hey! Colonel bastard!"
He repressed a groan as FullMetal loud voice was heard and opened his window, an object coming flying toward him "Here, Ari's notes!" he announced, visibly disappointed that the colonel managed to avoid the item and grabbed it instead of getting brained by it
"Sorry for my idiotic brother," Ari commented just beside her brother "He insisted. Well, we're off!"
"New notes?" Riza sighed "That means you aren't going to get any work done for the next week, doesn't it?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about, lieutenant." he protested, eliciting snorts from the rest of his team
"Anyway," the blond woman continued, hitting his hand away from where it was creeping to open the notebook "Please wait until after your meeting with the general to open this!"
He sent her a pleading look, to which she answered by a stern "Puppy eyes stopped working on me after the first week Padfoot spent here, colonel!"
"I can't believe I'm being compared to Ari's mutt..." muttered the colonel while stowing away the notebook in his uniform's pocket while getting ready to leave – like Hawkeye had said, he was supposed to meet General Grumman in a couple of minutes and had been cutting it short with his meeting with the three Elric
Time always seemed to pass faster when those three were in East City...
¤.¤.¤
Meanwhile, the three Elric were – yet again – in a train, Ed already sleeping deeply on a bench
"You know sis, I've been thinking..." Al fidgeted "That armor in the basement, I would've been stuck in it if you hadn't been there..."
Ari raised an eyebrow to show she was listening, but let him struggle with the words he wanted to put on his feelings. This looked like something that had been haunting him regularly from the wait he was talking about it.
"I'd like to do something about it..." he explained "Because it's something that would have saved me in a way, but right now it's just gathering dust in our old home..."
"What do you want to do with it?" she asked curiously
"Maybe..." he thought about it a bit "Melt it down and use it for something useful? It just seem a bit sad for it to lay forgotten in the basement when it nearly had such an impact in our life..."
"Well, I'm sure Winry and granny Pinako could use it for parts." Ariana suggested "They could even make something for you, or ask the blacksmith to do some kind of weapon for you."
"I'd like that." her brother nodded "I don't want to forget about this old armor." his smile was brighter at the decision
Winry had been overjoyed to have them back for a while – and after Ariana explained her array, she had been even more impressed "This could change life for people with automail!" she exclaimed "it's too bad so few people would be able to recharge them!"
"We're not a lot to understand elemental alchemy for now," Al explained "But once Spring 1915 is gone by, we'll have more free time..." a smile "I'd like to teach alchemy to more people." he admitted "Because like you say, they are so many useful things to be done with it yet most teacher are really stuffy, I'm sure they're a lot of people around who could be good at alchemy if only they had been given the chance to learn it..."
"I'm sure you'll be great as a teacher!" the blond girl happily encouraged him "You're kind and patient, but when you're interested in something you make it sound interesting!" she said, while throwing a wrench at Ed who was trying to get away discretely "Not like your idiotic and temperamental elder brother!"
"Temperamental?" said brother protested "You're the one trying to knock my brain out each time you see me!"
"If you didn't try to get out of the therapy needed when adjusting automail each time I wouldn't need to resort to violence!"
"We're not adjusting the automail right now, so why the violence?"
"I do need to take measurement you idiot! How am I supposed to adjust the new parts otherwise? Or are you such a midget that you did not grow at all in three years?"
Al sighed as the two continued bickering and decided to get back to the kitchen, where Ari and granny Pinako where talking and making supper.
¤.¤.¤
"Ah, young love." the elder woman commented with a wistful smile "I remember the time when I was acting the same toward my late husband..."
"I'm pretty sure normal couple aren't supposed to act like that, granny." Ari pointed out laughingly
"Well I'm pretty sure normal couple aren't supposed to enjoy beating the crap out of each other, nor consider alchemy theory a romantic topic." Al countered "So you don't have any room to speak."
"I'm sure I have no idea what you mean, brother mine." Ariana lightly commented "Beside, it's not like you can pretend to be some kind of love expert, can you? The only women you're ever around with are granny Pinako, Winry, Riza and me!"
The rest of the week was spent crafting new ports and limbs for the group.
Winry had taken over doing most of the work for their automail, leaving granny Pinako free from working on other customers, as the teenage girl was proving to be more and more a genius of her own when it came to mechanics.
In the years that had gone by since she did her first automail surgery on them, her work had become much more refined, the limbs growing both lighter and more sturdy.
She had also enlisted Ariana's help, and was surprised to see that even if she was a lacking regarding the more hand-on aspects of the work, she hadn't slacked off regarding the theoretical knowledge – and since Ari had always been better with learning when doing things, she was soon being used as a helper by her childhood friend.
"Here," Winry handed out the outer casing of Ed's new arm to the younger girl "Do the engraving while I start working on your arm," a smile "after all I can't just do it like your brother's arm, a girl's limb need to be more delicate! And cute!"
"Can you put a space for throwing knives in it?"
"And lethal, I guess..." she sighed at the hopeless fighting freak "Give me a knife for me to see." an alchemy flash "Why do you need a space to store them if you can make them easily?"
"The ground making isn't always rich enough in iron or carbon." she shrugged "And I was thinking of making a few sets with Al's armor, one for each of us, so I would need to keep them."
"Right." nodded Winry, who had been brought up to date about Al wanting to do something about the armor
She hadn't really understood at first – but then, Ariana had finally come clean about her past, and Chaos' Game.
And now, Winry was used to the gaming interface she was living with, particularly happy about the new options it opened for her art – because, yes, she did hold automail mechanics as an art – and she understood Al's need to make something meaningful out of the armor set.
She had even started her own side project with a few scraps of metal she had obtained out of it when crafting the main parts of the siblings new limbs. Even Tempesta, Padfoot and Paws were getting newly outfitted!
¤.¤.¤
Ariana dropped into a chair, proudly gazing at her work.
She couldn't believe it had taken her so much time before getting around to try to work with both runes and alchemy, but they had been so busy that she just hadn't found the time for it, especially given how she was the only one knowing anything about runes in this world.
Working the runic theory and arithmancy calculation within the alchemical diagrams and calculation hadn't been easy too – from an external eye it may have seemed as those two were very similar, and in a way they were, but since ground work behind each was completely different, blending them wasn't all that easy.
Still, she had managed, taking advantage of the few days she had to spent without an arm while she got used to the new imported port Winry had fitted her with recently.
And now that she'd gotten her arm back – which, true to Winry's promises, was a work of art, and did hold an empty emplacement that could fit three throwing knives, she had just finished said knives, making a set of three for both her siblings and herself, and engraving them with an array that mixed all for alchemy with three runics alphabets, on of them being the one used for blood magic – and, according to Death, the alphabet used by vampire, even though she wouldn't know as she hadn't really met any vampire just yet...
The knives were made of one block of metal and had a silvery sheen, with a finger ring between the blade and the handle. The array on they made them extra resistant to elements, always sharp, and blood bound to their owner. They would also eventually return to they true shape if said owner transmuted them.
"You know," finally managed to said a dumbfounded Ed "Each time I think I've pretty much gotten a handle on the impossible things you do, you manage to surprise me all over again." his smile made the remark into a compliment rather than a default, as he knew she was quite sensitive about the way her family saw her
"And they're made from my armor," Al smiled "Thanks, sis."
"Speaking about armor!" Winry interjected "I made something too!"
"You didn't have to!" Al protested "You already made us our automail!"
"I wanted to," the girl replied "Here, it's not as useful as those knives but..."
"Thanks." the siblings interrupted her, surprising her with a group hug as each received the iron pendants crafted in a circular shape – one rarely used in Amestrian alchemy, but having quite a meaning for them, as it was associated with chaos - even Tempesta, Paws and Padfoot had their own pendant
¤.¤.¤
As they let go of their childhood friend, Ariana loosened the leather band that was always tied around her neck to add it the iron wheel, prompting Al to ask "You know, I've always seen you with this necklace... And well, it looks a bit like a bullets so... What is it?"
He certainly didn't expect the light blush his innocent question prompted – making Ed raise an inquisitive eyebrow.
"It's the gift with which my husband promised himself to me in my past life." she admitted
"Husband?" Winry squealed, heart in her eyes "You were married in your previous life?"
"I was." she nodded, before tilting her head at her brothers surprised looks "You do realize I lived up to my thirties two times already... It's not that surprising."
"So... You were wedded twice?"
"No," she denied "My fiancé died during the war in my first life and I didn't have the heart to find someone else." a smile "But I did fell in love in my second life, even if I guess you could say our relationship was quite... unique..." her smile was a bit sadder as she added "But I still died too young to see my children grow up."
Al's eyes widened at the affirmation – then at his brother's reaction "I think you broke him," he laughed "I think it was the idea of his little sister wedded and with kids..."
"Indeed." Ariana laughed "You think he realizes there is a possibility I don't stay single all my life?"
"Oh? Do you have someone in mind?" immediately asked Winry
Her negative answer was drowned by Al talking about the colonel, their childhood friend's loud squeals and Ed finally coming out of his shock to insult said colonel.
Finally, she decided that honesty may be warranted given her two brothers tendency to talk about the man "Even if he did feel something toward me and I wasn't that young I probably wouldn't engage in a relationship with him."
"Why?" Al immediately asked, rather surprised by the affirmation "You clearly like him!"
"It's just... I don't know if it's him I like, so it wouldn't be fair..."
"What do you mean?" Ed asked quite calmly, sensing this was pretty important
"I can feel souls, remember?" her hand instinctively went to her neck, grasping the bullet that was hanging there absentmindedly "The colonel has my husband soul, so of course I love him... But if I'm loving Renato Sinclair rather than Roy Mustang, when he doesn't remember being him, that wouldn't be very fair on him, would it?"
The three nodded, understanding well what she meant, for all that they never had been trapped in such a conundrum, but Al eventually said "You know, you shouldn't worry about that. Because you may have seen your husband in him at first, but I'm sure you see the colonel for himself now."
"Of course she does!" Ed proclaimed loudly "After all, it's not like the man could have been an alchemist in your past life, yet that's one of the thing that makes you spent most of your time with this bastard!" a groan "So you most certainly do love the bastard for himself rather than his past life..." he concluded with a dejected sigh
¤.¤.¤
"I can't believe you're moping again!" Riza sighed
"I'm not! Why would I?" Roy protested "It's their job to go around so it's not like I'm not used to them being away all of the time!"
"I don't know, why don't you tell me why?" she challenged him
He closed his mouth on the inane retort he'd been preparing, and wondered at it himself.
Why would he feel so restless each time those three were away? There was an evident answer of course, not that he could really explain it to Riza.
The irritating feeling of looking for something was gone when the Elric Siblings where in East City. Or rather – and he couldn't believe he was admitting to it, even if only mentally, said nagging feeling was gone when Ari was around.
Which didn't made sense in the least – before he found those three brothers, he had been pretty sure this feeling had something to do with women, as it always seem to lessen somewhat when he was dating.
He had been nearly ready to believe in Maes insufferable preaching about needing a stable relationship in his life.
But then finding that the feeling wasn't only lessened, but pretty much gone as long as spent time with the young alchemists had sent this theory to the bin. He'd started to wonder if it had something to do with alchemy, which could have been possible, since Ari had started back his interest in it – but as the stupid feeling was back each time they were away, even if he still did enjoy getting back into alchemical research, it destroyed that theory too.
Adding to that the fact that he had confirmed when he abducted the youngest sibling that it was Ari, and not the other two that was the source of the feeling, and he was coming to a disturbing conclusion.
¤.¤.¤
"Say, Riza..." lieutenant Hawkeye raised en eyebrow at the uncommon lapse in title when within the military district "You're my consciousness aren't you? The one that will make sure I doesn't stray from the path I've chosen?"
She nodded, understanding that this was a real question "I am Roy. I told you, I'll follow you into hell itself for our goals, but if you start to become as corrupted as those we want to depose, then I'll get rid of you myself. After all, that's what family is for..."
He smiled, thankful for the confirmation of their strong link.
Then groaned, repressing the urge to bang his head on his desk as he admitted "I think I'm obsessed with a twelve year old boy. That's bad isn't it?"
She couldn't help it – she laughed at the question, while answering "Well, if Edward heard you saying that..."
He paled "He'll say he was right, won't he?" then, a shudder "But, he is right in a way isn't he?" a despondent mutter "FullMetal right... He can never know..."
"Well he would be right only if you had any... intentions..."
"I'm not some kind of child molester! I'm fascinated by Ari's mind and intelligence and fighting aptitude, I don't want to defile him, he's worth far more than that..." then realizing what he'd said "Fuck..."
"You've got it bad." Riza agreed "But I don't think I need to shoot you just yet." her amused smiled gained a threatening note "Of course it's only as long as you keep your hands to yourself as long as Ari's under the age of consent..."
"How did I became more interested in a teenage boy than in all the beautiful women I date?" he mourned "I can kiss my reputation goodbye if this goes out..."
"I really don't understand why you're so proud of your womanizer reputation! It's not something you're supposed to take pride in!" she chastised
"I know that!" he protested "And it's a useful reputation for gathering information..."
"True enough..." she sighed, before taking a decision "Ah well, I guess you've beaten yourself enough for the day, so I'll let you in on one piece of information FullMetal was withholding for fun..."
She went out of the office, ignoring the curious looks of the rest of the team who was wondering why they had heard the colonel shouting about child molesters, and getting out a file from her own desk.
¤.¤.¤
"The Elric files?" the colonel remarked, wondering what it was in them that he had to see
"It was easy to miss the information because the only identification used in reports is the State Alchemist name," commented Hawkeye, leafing unto the right page "Here, read."
He obeyed, eyes widening, before finally giving in to the urge to bang his head "How the hell could I miss this? She's probably thinking I really am some kind of utter idiot, isn't she?"
"Well, to be honest..." Riza trailed "She's a bit vexed, I'd say. She's going to be thirteen in less than two months, so it is becoming visible. And even before, she never really did look like a boy..." a shrug "I think you were in denial."
He couldn't help but agree mentally – he had avoided carefully thinking too much about the issue after all, and would have happily kept on if Riza hadn't forced the issue.
He really loved the woman dearly, but she was just like a sister – annoying parts included...
Then realizing something else "The whole team must have been laughing their ass off at me haven't they?"
"Well, there are a few bets going on around." Riza admitted with an amused shrug – then letting out a sigh "I fear I just made Breda won. That man is far too intelligent sometimes..."
Roy smirked – he'd have his revenge on his team, one way or another, for all the fun they'd had at his expanse; FullMetal wouldn't even know what hit him!
And well, Riza had said he was in the clear as soon as WindBlade was legal. That meant only two years and two months, he could deal with this; and it would gave him time to make her forget he'd... mistaken her for a boy for three years...
In the team's office, a collective shudder was felt as he began plotting his retaliation.
As for Riza, she smiled softly – the colonel had been off-kilter for months while he was avoiding being honest regarding his feelings toward the youngest, and only female State Alchemist.
But now that he'd came clean with himself and had her benediction, he was back to his usual self-assured and a bit arrogant self.
She went back to her desk feeling proud of a job well-done – even if she would have liked to avoid the inevitable revenge he'd extract out of them...