Chapter VII: 1913-1914
"We're here." Al whispered
They were in what looked like the ruins of an old palace, standing in front of a large mural.
"Five suns, a two-headed dragon..."
"lines and lines of formulas..."
"It's really different from modern alchemy isn't it?" Ariana commented
"With part of the thing missing we wouldn't be able to understand a thing if we didn't learned a bit of the old language from dad's books." Al added
"But now it looks it's what we were looking for... And we are probably at one of those five points..." he added, feeling a bit sick at what was, for them clearly written of that wall – then he moved, dodging as a man they had felt approaching was suddenly attacking them before grabbing him violently and throwing him to the ground
"Recouping with the map of the old ruins the man of the Xingese liaison gave us, we should be able to find out which point we're at easily enough." added Ariana, Fuurin in her left hand coming against the throat of another man, her three knives in the other ready to be aimed at the rest of the attackers.
As for Al, he'd downed a third man easily.
"Ishvalian, eh?" Ed noted "You tried to rob the wrong travelers."
"We aren't doing this for money." corrected one of the attackers that had stopped when his compatriots were threatened "You are to be hostages to negotiate with the military."
"Are you stupid?" Ed wondered "Negotiating with the military doesn't work! Didn't you understand that well enough when you were slaughtered even after your most holy leader tried to parley for peace?"
"What would kids like you know about that!"
"We're from Rosembool." Ari answered calmly "We may not approve of the pointless bloodshed Fuhrer Bradley endorsed, but we also remembered that the Amestrian weren't the only one killing innocents."
"What can you understand of our suffering! Your lands weren't stolen from you and your family and friends butchered under your eyes."
"And so you want to get revenge by doing exactly the same to us, thus furthering the Amestrians resentment toward your people."
"The Amestrians citizens will have to react if they see the military letting their children getting killed!"
"And you think their reaction will be to want to help you to regain your country?" Al laughed "How naïve can you be?"
"It's truly a sad day when children understand more about the world than you, isn't it." an old voice commented "Stand down, you idiots!" he added harshly toward the three siblings attackers
"Mister Shan..."
"Are you idiots trying to ruin the name of Ishval?" then turning toward the three Elric "Would you please release them? We won't attack anymore."
"That you say." Ed commented doubtfully while still letting go of the man he was still holding hostage
"I'm sorry for our youths transgression. We may resent your people for what they did to us, we understand that not all Amestrians are heartless thugs."
"We were saved by Amestrians doctors after all." a young teen that was helping the old man walk around added, heavy scarring visible on his left shoulder "And even though he never said anything, I know the alchemist that was in charge of the region for a while always missed the hospital one way or another, making fire big enough that it looked like nothing could survive from the outside, yet that never propagated toward us in the inside... and he did so until he was sent to another sector..."
"Fire?" Ed whispered "That sure sound like that bastard colonel..."
"Those doctors," Al asked hesitantly "Were they a married couple?"
"You..." the kids eyes widened as he smiled "You knew the Rockbell?" then, the smile died down "We always wanted to express our gratitude to them... They saved so many life..."
"Even when the rebellion worsened an the order to exterminate us was issued, they never abandoned us." said the old man
"How was their last moments?" asked Ari
"They were killed by an Ishvalian." the old man admitted, shame in his voice "A man that seemed to go mad when he regained consciousness..."
"He had the tattoos of a Warrior Priest," added the teen "But his face had been heavily scared. We're sorry, we couldn't do anything to help them..." he sighed
"I'm sure they would be happy you're still alive." Ari commented "They took pride in they work after all."
"Still..." commented the old man "I'd like to be able to express my thanks to them... And apologize..."
"We'll go to their grave for you." promised Al with a small smile
¤.¤.¤
After that, the refugee group had left them alone, and they spent a moment more in from of the large mural "We shouldn't left this here, should we?" Al wondered
"Let's make a drawing of it and destroy it." Ed nodded "On the off chance someone could understand what it's about..."
And so they did, soon on their way to the next ruins. If that circle had been here, it may be found elsewhere too.
Seems like they wouldn't be back to East City just yet...
"Still..." Al sighed "To think this was once part of a prosperous kingdom... and yet it was all gone in a day..."
"We will stop the homunculus." Ed reassured him firmly "One way or another."
They spent the following month going around the ruins, getting rid of any traces of the horrific array while managing to complete it in their notes and starting comparing it to what was going on in their country – soon finding that several town where military forces had to be used to repress dissident, or border city in frequent conflict with the neighboring country were indeed placed in points that related to the Xerxesian nation-wide circle.
"This idiotic old man could have done this himself," Ed grumbled as they arrived to the center of the array "He's had four centuries, seriously! How did he manage not to think about erasing any traces of the thing that destroyed his country!"
"I don't know if I'd have the heart to come back if I had lost everything in one night..." Al answered "It still seems so strange..." he looked around them "Do you realize dad grew up here? That... Among the people here, some probably were our own family! Not like, ancient ancestor but grand-parents, or or uncles and cousins!"
Ed and Ari nodded – they hadn't really realized it at first, when they only had their father's story to go on, but exploring the ruins had made it more real somehow.
The people that had lived and died here had been their people just as much as Amestrians were...
"Somehow, it's more personal now..." Ed reluctantly admitted "These souls stuck under our feet in Amestris... They are our people..." he sighed "I guess I can understand why our bastard father feels like a monster. The souls stuck in him... He knew them, he was friend with some of them, grew up with others, probably didn't get on well with others..."
They nodded somberly "Somehow, beating that homunculus isn't only a matter of saving Amestris..." Al trailed "It's also about setting free the Xerxesian souls that are still suffering... You know, your Soul Art may be really useful, I still don't envy you for it, because I can't begin to imagine how it must feel..."
¤.¤.¤
Ari smiled at the honest comment – it was with simple remarks like that that Alphonse proved he was really wise beyond his age. Then she stopped as they were passing by a heavy door that looked closed.
"Ari?"
"I think we should check it in here." she said "Just a feeling..."
"Well, let's then." Ed nodded, trying – and failing to open the door, then to alchemyze it open
"It's blood-locked!" realized his sister, understanding better what had been nagging at her, before nipping the tip of her finger on one of her knives
The alchemical glow was red, and seemed to last a few more seconds than what was normal before the doors slammed open.
"Er... How?" Al asked
"Well, at first I just intended to override the lock with my Blood Art," Ariana explained "But it appears that one of the blood keyed in here was father's. So I managed to trick the door in thinking I was him. You probably could too."
The atmosphere in the room was dry and heavy – apparently, it had been locked well enough that it had remained air tight for four centuries. And it clearly was an alchemy laboratory, that still looked as if it had been in used but hours before the country was destroyed.
Research diaries were scattered around, leather-bound books were neatly aligned on shelves and chemistry was still arranged for an experiment...
"This... this is Von Hohenheim's writing," Ariana recognized, stunned "I think this was his master's laboratory."
[Hidden Goal Complete! Echoes of a Distant Past...
Retracing the steps of your ancestors, you uncovered their lost knowledge
Reward: +100XP, Lost Knowledge Perk (+5 Xerxes language, +5 to Earth, Air, Water and Fire Alchemy) unlocked, new Grimoire entry Xerxes Lore]
[Level up! You are now level 41!
+2CP, +2SP, +1PP]
[Perk available:
- Smooth Talker: double rate of learning Communication and Awareness Skills
- Fighter's Mind: double rate of learning Survival and Ground Skills
-Spirit's of the Pack(1/3) Libeccio's gift: they may haven't been able to follow you, but the hunters that followed you did sent a gift to you, +3 Agility (unlocks Spirit's of the Pack (2/3) Rashaba's gift)]
Ariana's eyes widened - this was the first time she leveled up twice at the same time in this life, but what was even more surprising was the new Perk that had been made available to her - Libeccio, Rashaba and Chinook had been a fox, a wolf and a dog that had been her animal partners in her previous life, and even if they weren't as intelligent as Padfoot, or as powerful as the holy familiar would be one day, they had been loyal companions.
How fitting, to receive a gift from long gone partners in the ruins of their long gone ancestors...
With that, the Spirit of the Pack Perk was chosen.
They had spent the day organizing and packing most of what was in the room, filling it out in their Inventory before continuing resigning themselves to make camp for the night. They had managed to avoid sleeping in the ruins up until now, but never until now had they found ruins that well-preserved – as such, they hadn't even gone through half of the zone in the day.
The siblings had taken advantage of a dormitory room next to the laboratory that was quite well-preserved too, and had probably been the slaves' bedroom seeing how spartan it seemed to be. The bed carved out of solid rock weren't particularly comfortable, but alchemy resolved the problem easily enough.
In the end, they spent three days exploring the place, eventually arriving to the throne room where the ritual had been activated.
Time had done its worked and eroded the place, yet somehow the large mural of the circle that had claimed the life of all the citizens of the kingdom was still whole, a few glass shards polished by time lingering under it.
"This is here that it happened isn't it?" Al whispered looking at the shards "To think something so small could cause such a large scale calamity..."
"It doesn't have anything to do with size." Ed corrected, for once not overreacting to the word "In the end, it's all because of human's arrogance. If the king hadn't blindly followed the homunculus in his quest for immortality, this could have been avoided."
"And whatever excuses he used about it, he still used his own people as blood price for the array." Ari added "That's not something a ruler should ever do."
Ed approached the gigantic mural, and clapping his hands resolutely pushed them around the stone, the array disappearing under his influence and being replaced by a large, familiar symbol.
"You are so flashy, brother..." Al sighed helplessly as he took in the Chaos symbol that was now on the wall
"This is art!" he protested loudly "Now, let's get back, we've made the bastard wait enough!"
Ariana smiled amused – Chaos would probably get on quite well with her loud-mouthed elder brother, so it was fitting that he'd adopted the symbol Winry had given to them. And it was still better than the lethal array...
By the time they were out of the desert and back into East City, it had been nearly seven weeks since they'd been gone, and they had gained a healthy tan, making Winry laugh as they dropped by for a day before catching the train
"Golden eyes and hair weren't enough yet, you had to go for golden skin too!" she had commented, amused – but Ariana had caught her small blush as she glanced at Ed before admitting "Still, it suits you well..."
And with that, they were back to East City.
"We were starting to worry!" gushed Havoc "Good to have you back, kids!"
"I can't believe you didn't even sent a message!" Riza reprimanded
"There weren't any phones available where we were." Al awkwardly explained
"Only sand." Ed groaned "Lots and lots of it, infiltrating everywhere..."
"Even without our automail heating, brother didn't really like the desert." Ariana commented, amused
"The desert? So no souvenirs then?" Havoc asked, deflating
"Well..." Al reddened a bit "I did this when we were bored at night..." he took out some small sandstone figurine
The team started gushing about the presents handed around, making the boy blush even more, then the door to the colonel's office was violently slammed, a man stalking out of it, looking furious.
"Yet another moron from New Optain trying to browbeat the colonel..." Breda sighed "Wonder when they'll understand its useless..."
"Anyway, the colonel's schedule is empty right now so you should go ahead and give your report." Riza suggested
"Why do we have to give report even when on our down time?" Ed groaned while entering the office
"Because you always manage to get entangled in stupid situations, FullMetal." the colonel answered "Welcome back, EarthBreaker... WindBlade. You're late."
"There was a lot more to find than we expected." Ariana explained
"Anything useful?"
She simply slid an open notebook with the old array an the speculations about the current one, making his eyes widened.
In only one page their expedition was fully justified. Talk about efficiency!
"The first site we visited had a partially destroyed mural of this circle," Al explained "So we went on to all the important spots to destroy any traces of it."
"And it was present in all five sites, no to speak of the central point." Ed continued, eyes darkening "This was..." it wasn't often that the eldest brother was out of words "We can't let this happen to us, colonel..." even rarer that he forgo the 'bastard' after that title
But then again, both siblings seemed just as solemn – the colonel hadn't expected that trip to the desert to have such an impact on them.
Guessing at the officer's surprise with ease, Ariana explained in a soft voice "They were our people, colonel."
He nodded, realizing that it was true – and that they had probably never really felt it before...
Then, having finished leafing through the official report, Roy was turning his attention back to them, a smirk on his face that made Ed shudder, somehow knowing that things were about to go very bad.
"So, I heard you owed Breda a thousand Cenz..."
"What? I don't..."
The smirk grew wider "You do."
The meaning of the affirmation dawned on them, and Ariana cheered "Hell yeah! Now I won't need to go through with your stupid idea!"
"Chest binding wasn't a stupid idea!"
"Say that when you're the one having to wear them!"
¤.¤.¤
Roy sweat-dropped at the bickering, while Al merely groaned, and informed him "It was supposed to be a short-timed joke before Ed learned of your reputation... Then, with how stubborn he is, it was easier going along for the ride..." a smile "So, why did Riza tell you?"
"I asked for your file for a report to the General." he lied easily
"Is it me or do you actually do your work when we're not here?" the middle brother wondered
"Why don't you three go annoy the rest of the team if you're already back to calling me a slacker..." the colonel groaned " After all, I've got your report and I'm sure lieutenant Hawkeye will find something for you to do..."
"Wow," Ariana said in wonder "Complaining about being called out on his laziness while dropping his work on Riza in the same sentence... Are you getting worse colonel?" she asked while opening the office door
"No he's sick!" Breda corrected loudly "He's only been on six dates in the past month!"
The affirmation made the three siblings turn back toward their superior officer.
"Definitely sick." Ariana agreed immediately
"You should use you diagnosis array." Al suggested by her side "Who knows what he may have caught..."
"I'm not sick!"
"Colonel bastard," Ed sighed "You not getting around with women is just like Winry not fangirling about automail or Ari not liking pointy items... It just doesn't happens!"
"Did you make a breakthrough in some kind of alchemical research?" Ari wondered – then, seeing the others looking at her nonplussed "What? Ed manages to forget about food when he's doing some interesting research!"
"Oh," Fuery nodded "It makes sense then. You should have told us colonel, we were worrying about you."
With a sigh, said colonel decided that it was the best way he could get out of the topic and let it stand.
It took most of the following week for Edward to start guessing that maybe it wasn't alchemy research that had changed the colonel habits.
Because what Breda hadn't mentioned, when talking about the man's lessening dates, was that all the remaining ones were with his spies. In other words, the man hadn't lessened his dates, he'd completely stopped them.
And he was spending far too much time around Ariana.
¤.¤.¤
There was only one conclusion to come to "I knew it! You really are a pedophile!"
The colonel and his sister shared a glance, and the man finally moved from where he was tackling her to the ground, helping her up.
"I can't believe I lost again." Ariana groaned, massaging her sore arm while glaring at her brother "And you!" Ed recoiled, recognizing the irritation in her eyes "You've interrupted sparring time! And you know what the penalty for interrupting sparring time is..."
At that, Ed threw his red coat in the way of the small teenage girl that was rushing toward him, transmuting his arm in a blade while shouting "I still totally blame you, colonel bastard! Teacher shouldn't be anyone's role model!"
Roy laughed and settled back against on the gym walls – served the FullMetal brat right.
Like he'd admitted months before, he wasn't a true fighter contrary to his sister, and it didn't take her long before he was pummeled to the ground. Still, at least he couldn't enjoy the view – Ariana fighting, and Ed getting beaten down in the same scene, that was a treat!
"Age of consent, colonel." sing-sang Riza as she entered the gym, eyes full of mirth
"Lieutenant!" he protested – he hadn't done anything after all! enjoying a fighting show wasn't a crime!
As for Ariana, brother down, she was heading back toward them, distractedly adjusting her tank top.
"Winry really did a good job," she commented as she came up to them "I still can't believe how light this new arm is..."
"And beautiful," Riza commented, admiring the limb usually hidden under her coat, done in dark metal that didn't shine yet still had some light iridescent glints her and there
"And what's this?" wondered Riza, looking at the pendant that had fallen out of her top "I think I've seen Ed and Al with something similar..."
"The Chaos wheel." Roy recognized "A surprising yet not inaccurate symbol for the three of you..."
"Winry thought it fitting." Aria nodded "She's the one that made them for us. Padfoot, Paws and Tempesta got their's too."
"And this?" the colonel wondered while fingering the small bullet, not noticing Riza's eyes widening at the bold move, given where the pendant was "It's familiar somehow..."
Ariana felt her heart skip a beat at the affirmation – and for a second, she decided to let herself hope.
She was more Kazami than Ariana, more Shadow than WindBlade when she smiled secretively and taunted "Why don't you try and guess?"
"And if I guess right?" Roy asked back, eyes darkening and falling in the familiar game without even realizing it
"Then you'll get a prize..."
As for Riza – she was pretty sure she was crimson.
A girl so young shouldn't be able to look and sound like – like a seductress!
And the colonel had been just as bad, even if he had the excuse of being known as a womanizer!
She felt as if she'd spied a much more intimate scene than what really had transpired.
"It's that time of the year again hu?" Ed sighed "Assessment time... I hate assessment time! I don't like doing paperwork!"
"That's because you always wait until the last minute to do your work." Roy commented lightly from his desk
"I don't want to hear this coming from you, bastard!"
"Ah, but I already finished my research reports for the assessment two weeks ago!"
"That's because you had Ari to help!"
"I'll have you know that while the colonel and I did indeed work together for this year's assessment, our research reports are completely different." Ari primly announced
"She's mocking me, isn't she?" Ed asked Al
"Well you interrupted her twice during a sparing session this week alone." his brother answered "And you forgot that it was your turn to clean up the room this morning."
"Oh. She's mad then."
"Stop harassing her about the colonel for a few days and it should be alright. Speaking about that man... Colonel, are there any alchemists working with chimeras in East City?" he asked a bit louder to reach the man that was in his office
"There's the LifeBinding Alchemist." answered said colonel from there "Why?"
"I've been wondering about helping mister Feng subordinates..." admitted Al, using the alias Greed was now using "I've studied a bit more alkahestry in the past year, but I would still need to know a bit about how normal chimeras are done..."
"Well," the colonel mused "I had been thinking about paying the man a short visit, so I could introduce you."
"Let's go!" Ed enthusiastically agreed
"You'll still have to complete your paperwork after you realize?" his sister commented lightly, making his head drop in despair
A few moments later they were in the colonel's car, heading toward the alchemists house "So, what can you tell us about that man?" Ed wondered
"Shou Tucker. He became State Alchemist a year after you by presenting a chimera capable of speech..."
"A chimera speaking without a human in the mix?" Al doubtfully asked
"Supposedly. The only thing that chimera said was 'please kill me' and it then proceeded to let itself die of hunger." the colonel added, the doubts clear in his voice
The siblings shared a glance – clearly, their superior was thinking that something was going on, and they were tempted to agree. This stint at the alchemists place wasn't going to be only spent on alchemical researches.
Soon enough, they were at the LifeBinding Alchemist's house.
¤.¤.¤
And apparently, the man was a slob...
"I'm sorry, the house's been like that ever since my wife left." he explained as they found a place in a small office filled with paperwork
He was also a single father, as had become evident the moment the door was opened by a small girl named Nina, followed by an enormous dog that promptly proceeded to squash Ed – his way of playing, according to Nina...
Still, Shou Tucker accepted their presence easily enough, letting them browse through his library while he worked on his research for the incoming assessment.
They soon lost themselves in the shelves upon shelves of files, easily finding the one regarding the chimera making basics.
"No wonder the results are grotesque at best most of the time..." Al muttered as he was going thought the files "It seems that they didn't think to study that much the biology of the animals they were trying to meld together..."
"And there isn't a single mention about alkahestry either." Ariana nodded "When according to your research, I'm pretty sure it would ease the process a lot!"
"It feels a lot like a kid trying to put a cube and a triangle in a circle-shaped hole and wondering why it doesn't work..." Ed added – then seeing his siblings impressed looks "What?"
"You made a comparison that wasn't related to food!" commented Al, eyes wide "That's like... super rare!"
"I'm not obsessed by food!"
Two doubtful look.
"I'm not!"
The argument was cut short by Alexander, Nina's dog, trying yet again to flatten Ed.
"Alexander thinks you work too much, just like daddy!" the little girl commented
"Well," Ariana smiled softly at the blatant attempt at gaining attention "If Alexander says it, he must be right, mustn't he?"
The little girl squealed happily as the three siblings came to play with her – Ed and Al had been a bit dumbfounded at first with Ariana's unexpectedly soft manners toward the little girl, before remembering she had been a mother; and after spending a bit of time with Nina, they soon saw a bit of themselves in the loneliness she was trying to hide being her large smile.
Nina may not be an orphan like them, but she still knew about being alone, with her mother having disappeared one day two years ago and her father always nose deep in his alchemical work.
As such when at the end of the day the colonel came back for them, it was to find Ed at the bottom of a puppy pile composed of Alexander, Padfoot and Tempesta under Nina's happy clamoring, the little girl soundly snuggled in Ariana's arms.
"Er..." Al smiled embarrassedly "We were taking a break?"
"Are you already going away?" Nina pouted not wanting to let go of Ariana "I had fun, don't go!"
"Well, I'm sure they'll be back tomorrow," her father reassured her "except if you've already done with what you were looking for?"
"Not at all!" Al quickly denied "There's so much material to go through!"
¤.¤.¤
And so in the following days, routine settled on – the siblings spending most of the morning and early afternoon working before devoting time playing around with the little girl who'd quickly grown attached to them, even calling them big brother and sister.
As for the LifeBinding Alchemist, he seemed more and more under stress, and was rarely ever seen out of his laboratory.
"From what we've read in his files, what he did with that chimera two years ago is pretty much impossible..." Ed was tempesting "But we've got no proof that he's done anything illegal..."
"Did you try to trace his wife?" Ariana asked softly
The colonel sighed "So that's what you're thinking too, eh?"
"Wha..." Ed eye's widened as he understood what his sister was implying at the same time as Al was "You don't think..."
"The only way for a chimera to talk if for it to be part human." Ariana confirmed "We've deducted that much. And his wife disappeared at the same time as he made that chimera that earned him his watch..."
"So that's why you're emphasizing the fact you're coming to see Nina again each day." Al realized "And that's why you look for her first time in the morning each day!"
"As long as there's no proof of what he's done, we can't take his daughter away from him," the colonel sighed "Legality really is tiresome..."
"It was much easier working from the shadows." Ariana nodded with a sigh
"And I can't even put an unofficial watch on that man," the colonel added, thinking loudly "because those incompetents from New Optain are too busy spying on me."
"Someone progressing too fast along the ranks will always be regarded suspiciously at best by the old geezers, you had to know that when you started on this path." Ariana commented darkly
"Doesn't mean I like it."
"Shit, does this mean we really can't do anything?" Ed protested despondently
"Continuing what you're doing." Roy said "I'm hoping he's feeling watched enough that he doesn't do anything stupid, and with you going thought his notes you may be lucky enough to find something incriminating.
Two weeks had gone by, with the siblings feverishly going through the LifeBinding Alchemist's notes, even going as far as rummaging through his office when he was holed up in his laboratory. Still, they found nothing compromising, and soon, the only place they hadn't gone thought was the laboratory itself – but to go there, they'd have to dislodge the man from his sanctuary.
¤.¤.¤
Because they were all so worried about Nina, Ariana had taken to let Padfoot stay with the little girl, the dog using his godly familiar abilities to hide in the shadows when needed in order not to be caught by her father.
And that night, as they were nearly back to the military district, she suddenly saw her personal interface pulse, indicating a fight starting – and since she wasn't in any fight, it could only mean one thing.
Padfoot was the one in battle
"We've got to get back! Padfoot's fighting!"
Even though he did wonder how she knew that, the colonel didn't doubt her and turned-about immediately, going back toward the LifeBinding Alchemist's house.
"Too slow..." she muttered, not even realizing that her eyes were starting to flash back to green
"Sis..." Ed stated, intriguing Roy "Go on ahead, we'll worry about explanations latter."
The next moment, with a thankful smile, she was gone, black flames flashing a few hundred of meters ahead, nearly unnoticeable in the shadows for those that didn't know about them.
Even if her flames still weren't powerful enough to take her across the country, she had trained with them during the past few years, learning to use them in fight against her brothers or in the Arena – and now that she'd reached the rank 25 with them, she could use them to travel faster than most modern transportation in their world.
"We'll explain later." Ed said to the still stunned colonel "Just hurry up, because she'll be there a lot sooner than us..."
The eldest Elric was thankful that the colonel was so good at adapting, merely nodding and speeding up. It was at time like that he understood why his sister liked the bastard...
When they arrived at the house, the door had been busted open, and there wasn't any noise to be heard.
Rushing upstairs, they soon were in the lab, door wide open and blood splattered around.
Padfoot was whining, limping weakly – his automail had been damaged, and some of the blood seemed to be his.
Some more blood seemed to be from Shou Tucker, the alchemist unconscious, though still alive, pined though the wall by Fuurin in one hand, the free arm visibly broken – Ariana hadn't held back her blows.
Some of the blood, it seemed, came from Ariana too – the chimera around them had been set on her, and some had managed to hurt her before dying.
But most of the blood came from the messy array in the center of the room.
"I'm so sorry I'm late, Nina..." she was whispering, power twirling around her "But it's going to be alright, I promise..."
Roy felt nearly petrified at the sheer familiarity of the heavy power filling the room – and as a piercing headache made him stumble and nearly fell to the ground, he could have sworn that the girl in front of him should have black hair instead of golden ones, and green, green eyes...
Ed and Al shared a worried glance at the unexpected reaction – but didn't have time to think on it, as the next second a newly traced array came alight glowing red from the blood runes mixed in it, deconstructing and reconstructing the little girl that had been defiled by her own father in the name of scientific progress.
¤.¤.¤
"It hurts!" the little girl sobbed, sticking herself to Ariana, still terrified
"She was aware the whole time..." Al shuddered, instinctively knowing it at the child's reaction
As for his sister, she was still reassuring Nina, completely bypassing her own exhaustion. Because the melding between Nina and Alexander had been so brutal, and barely functional, rearranging the body left to give her back a somewhat human form had been much harder than it would be for the much more successful chimera rescued by Greed – or well, Shan Feng, as he was calling himself nowadays to keep to his new cover identity...
As such, Ariana had had to use quite a bit of Blood Art, and had also taken on the inevitable pain that came with the transmutation, not having the heart to put the girl through it once more after what her father had just done – even to help her.
Right now, she was clinging to awareness only by sheer stubbornness, knowing that the little girl still needed her.
"How are we going to explain this?" Ed wondered
"Ari forgot a file and came back for it, but surprised mister Tucker as he was experimenting on his daughter. She was too late to save the girl, but did manage to subdue the man." Al said after barely a second of thinking
"Why too late for the daughter?" Ed wondered bemusedly
"Take a look at Nina, brother! We can't let the military get their paws on her, think about what they did to mister Feng's men!"
Ed, who had been to relieved to see the little girl back only then realized what his brother had seen before him – the furry ears and fluffy tail clearly marked her as a chimera, Al was right.
"There was a phone in the office," the colonel remembered "I'll call the team for the preliminary investigation."
"What are we going to do about Nina?" Ed wondered despondently as the officer left the room
"We have find a way to hide her new appendages..." Al affirmed "Then we'll take care of her."
"We're always traveling around, that's not a life for a kid! And we're children ourselves in the eyes of most people!" his brother logically pointed out
"I know, but..." a sigh, and he pointed at the still trembling girl "I don't see her trusting anybody but Ari or us just right now." a shrug "We'll manage."
"We'll have to change her name and her appearance." Ed mumbled, already thinking about how to make it works "It will already be dubious enough that we suddenly gained a new charge just after declaring that the bastard did his daughter in..."
"She is a girl you picked up in the desert." the colonel said, coming back from the study "You've had her with you for weeks, anyone in the team will attest to it."
Nina, while still in shock, had still heard a bit of what was going on around her, and with the insight of a child that had been thrown in hell an survived it, she turned toward Ariana "Will you give me a new name?"
"Do you want me to?"
A nod, as she said "Brother Ed said I had to change otherwise they would take me away from you..."
"Well, what about Anastasia then?" the Elric sister suggested after taking a moment to think it over "Anastasia Elric sounds good, doesn't it?"
Edward smirked at the name's meaning – resurrection indeed.
¤.¤.¤
By the time the team arrived, Nina, or rather Ana, was sporting golden blond hair just like her new siblings and a healthy tan, Alphonse having been the one to get the idea of changing around the pigmentation rate in her hair and skin to differentiate her from the former Nina Tucker.
Edward had healed up Padfoot and vaguely patched up his automail.
The golden dog ears had been hidden in the girl's hair by changing her hair style from a pair of braid to two side-buns and pig-tail, and her tail was tucked under the baggy skirt Ariana had transmuted for her. Getting cleaned and disguised seemed to have helped the little girl, who finally accepted to let go of Ari – to stuck herself to Edward, which accepted his new role with a disgruntled sigh contradicted by his small but warm smile.
"I think Ari needs a hug too," Ana then said to the colonel firmly "She's tired."
The affirmation made the dark-haired man smile, and the teenage girl redden "Don't you dare..." Ed started – too late of course, as his sister somehow found herself in Roy's arms
"Well, I had to obey Ana's instructions didn't I? You wouldn't want to make her sad, wouldn't you?" the colonel teased
"Big brother doesn't want Ari to have hugs?" said girl asked with large, questioning eyes
Ed pointedly ignored the bastard's smug smirk as he surrendered "Of course Ari can have hugs too..."
As for Ari – while she had debated initially, the stress was soon making itself known now that the small girl seemed better.
Within moments, she was falling asleep against Roy – and that was the scene the team arrived to, Meas Hughes in tow.
"How cute!" he gushed "You hid from me you liked your woman younger you old dog!"
Roy groaned as the loud man started babbling around – and Ariana mumbled lightly before snuggling a bit and falling back deeper into sleep – making most of the team laugh and Maes gush even more.
"She's going to sleep for days again isn't she?" Al sighed
"Probably." Ed agreed "With what she did..."
Deciding that this mystery would wait a bit – like, for example, until the situation calmed down and they could get out of this house, Roy asked to his best friend "So, what the hell are you doing here? I would have asked for an Investigation team, but I doubt you had some kind of premonition to show up that fast."
"There's been sighting of Scar in the East, so I was sent to Investigate and alert East City."
"Scar?" Ed inquired, while adjusting his hold on the other Elric girl that had fallen into Circe's arms too
"A killer who's going around targeting State Alchemists. He got five in Central City and ten around the country in a few months, but it's the first time he's been sighted in the East..." explained Maes, growing serious "The strangest thing is that the investigations haven't managed to uncover how he kills his victims. And they aren't rookies either, he got the IronBlood Alchemist a week's ago."
Roy winced – Maes was right, if even that Ishval veteran had been killed, that Scar man was dangerous.
And if he was after State Alchemists, he would go after the Elric Siblings; at that realization, his grip tightened a bit on the sleeping girl in his arms, a surge of protectiveness briefly invading his senses.
After that, the Investigation had been wrapped up and Shou Tucker taken in custody, the man still in shock and babbling about a green-eyed goddess of wrath.
The team easily concluded that he was already unhinged – he had after all used his daughter in a forbidden transmutation – and didn't bother listening to his prattle as he was sent to the military district to await for his trial. As for Ana's presence – a pointed comment from the colonel about the adopted sibling the Elric brother had introduced them to weeks ago as their had arrived had taken care of that.
The perks of a trusty team...
It was at their exhausted behavior as they entered his car without question that Roy was reminded of how young the siblings were – an additional proof of how tired they were was the fact that it took Ed nearly five minutes to notice "This isn't the military district's direction, bastard."
Even the insult lacked its usual punch.
"I'm taking you at my place." he answered "It's nearer and we all need to sleep."
The eldest Elric didn't even protest.
Sleeping arrangement had been sorted as fast as possible, everyone more than ready for sleep; and it hadn't been that hard as the two brothers had simply informed their colonel that they were quite used to share a bedroom, and even a bed when needed – and if Roy got the impression that the need right now was for the Elric siblings to have their family within touching reach in order to be able to have any peace of mind after the mentally testing night, he didn't say anything...
As expected, by the time he woke up, still tired but internal clock not caring about it, he found that the now four Elric Siblings had fallen a sleep in a puppy pile, pets protectively surrounding them.
It took several more hours before Al and Ana emerged from the bedroom.
"Morning," Al mumbled, accepting the breakfast laid out on the kitchen table with a thanks "Aren't we supposed to already be at work?" he then asked as he started becoming more aware of his surrounding and noticed in was nearly ten AM
"We've all been given three days of rest by the General after last nights events."
"Good." the boy approved, munching on his pancake while checking Anastasia was eating too "I don't think we'd be up to anything today..."
"Morning, Al, Ana, bastard."
"Morning FullMetal."
"You shouldn't use such language in front of Ana." Al chastised "Did you check on Ari?"
"Sleeping like the dead, like we predicted."
"Is sister tired?"
"She used some very special kind of alchemy to heal you," Al explained "So she is a bit tired now. But she'll be alright in a few days, don't worry."
"Special alchemy, eh?" Roy repeated "And those black flames?"
"An ability she was born with." Ed answered "Just like her Soul Art."
"Really, how many secrets does this girl have?" the colonel wondered, a bit exasperated at the constant mystery that shrouded the Elric sister
¤.¤.¤
"You have no idea..." Ed mumbled, able to sympathize a bit "She still manages to surprise us regularly after all."
"Surprise you about what?"
"Ari! You're awake already! We thought you wouldn't be up for days!"
"I'm not up to fighting a Boss just right now, but I'm awake." his sister confirmed, shaking a bit with exhaustion and quickly letting herself drop into a chair "Still, it's good you were working on alkahestry to help Dublith's gang or I would never had been able to save Ana." she admitted "The transmutation was really instable..."
"Speaking about transmutation..."
"I can use blood like other alchemists use elements as source of their alchemy." she explained "I don't really talk about it because people could easily mix it with human transmutation."
"So that's how your notes are locked!"
"Wow," Al praised, a bit jealous "I can't believe you caught on that one so fast... It took me weeks..."
"Even if we're off duty, we'll still have to drop by headquarter," announced Roy as they finished their breakfast
"Depositions to confirm and sign?"
"Exactly." a mocking smile "And for the latest of us, an assessment to file in..."
Edward groaned, and within minutes he'd taken his report out from nowhere and was speeding through it to finish it.
As for Ariana, she was writing too, but in her notebook – and a curious colonel glanced to recognize some of the unknown symbols he'd seen the day before "What are you working on?"
"Some kind of array to help Ana hid her features when needed." she answered "I was wondering if I could tie some kind of trigger to her blood so that only she could turn it on and off..."
Within minutes, the two were in their bubble, working about various theories and Aria answering the numerous questions Roy had about her newly uncovered talent, making Ed groan and Ana laugh.
"They are cute!" she affirmed loudly, making the two realize they had forgotten all about the rest of the people present for a moment
¤.¤.¤
It was mid-afternoon by the time they got to the military district to get their paperwork done.
"Colonel Mustang!" an aide loudly called a as they were nearing the large plaza where the main entry was "All State Alchemists are to report to General Grumman ASAP! The LifeBinding Alchemist has been..."
They felt the killing intent at the same moment the aide fell to the ground, blood splattering
"Close your eyes, Ana." Ari instructed to the little girl in her elder brother's arms – she had been denied the right to carry her as she was supposed to still be recovering – not really caring about that right now, Fuurin slithering easily in her grip
"The Flame Alchemist! It seems I'm lucky today!"commented the tall, dark-skinned man with a large X-shaped scar on his forehead
Roy dodged out of the attack nimbly, while sending a burst of fire toward his attacker, and somehow, he wasn't surprised to see Ariana's silhouette rushing toward the man, fury burning in her eyes – wait, were her eyes green? He pushed back the headache that was menacing from resurfacing and focused himself on the fight.
"FullMetal," he commanded "Get out of here, this isn't a place for Ana."
For once – or rather twice in two day, it really was becoming strange – the teenager didn't protest and broke into a run toward the entrance – only to have to jump back, as the man had managed to push back Ari violently before going after her brother "Another State Alchemist! It really is a good day!" he affirmed
"What's your problem with alchemists!" Ed shouted while dodging and trying to protect his new sister
"If there are creators, then there must be destroyers." the man stated "Alchemist twist the natural state of thing into a degenerate, unholy state! That is a sacrilege and as messengers of god, it falls to us to carry judgment!"
"I see." Ed interpreted, eyes growing colder "You're just another arrogant man wanting to justify his actions by yammering the name of a god then..."
His answer angered the already furious man, but he had to evade Mustang's flames, giving Ed enough time let Ana slide to the ground "I want to run toward that big door, alright?" a nod, and the girl was dashing, surprisingly fast and nimble for her age
Just as expected, Scar didn't seem to care, focused on the alchemists.
All of his attacks were coming from his right hand, they soon noticed – and when his hand connected with Ari, then Al but didn't do anything, he seemed really surprised – until, of course, Al's sleeve was thorn, revealing his automail "Ah, I see, metal limbs..." his smile grew wider "It's not human deconstruction I should have used then..."
It was with that that they understood what it was doing – he had been kind enough to spell it for them after all – in the three basics steps of alchemy of comprehension, deconstruction and reconstruction, he was stopping at the second step. No wonder the Investigation squad hadn't manage to find out how he was killing his targets...
Things went from bad to worse the moment he understood about their automail, the man swiftly getting rid of Al's arm, effectively putting him out of the fight – Ed jumped in just in time to prevent his next attack to connect with his brother, and Roy managed to produce enough smoke for Al to retreat toward the gate, where noise was coming from – the echoes of their fight had finally been noticed then.
As for Ariana, she had been running on pure adrenaline in this fight, seeing as she had already been drained before it – but by now, anger was adding itself to adrenaline, as became apparent as she rushed toward the man, surprising him enough that Fuurin left a bloody mark on his cheek "I really despise hypocrite like you." she said "You've got a grudge against States Alchemists because of Ishval, don't you?"
he laughed, and did discard his shades revealing as expected red eyes "So what little girl? What could you know of it?" he taunted, a hand to the ground making it crumble under her
"I know that you dare act all and mighty when you're no better than us State Alchemist! After all, didn't you kill the Amestrians doctor that saved your life when you received this scar?" she spat back at him "You're using your god as an excuse, but you're nothing more than a mad beast! What was the Rockbell's crime when they saved you, tell me?" she asked, while dodging the unstable ground toward him, next attack grazing her but getting only the fabric, but not the metallic limb under it
Jumping away, Ari took a shuddering breathe, feeling that her limbs were growing heavier by the moment as she wasn't able to push her exhaustion away anymore. Thankfully, it was also the moment reinforcement finally arrived in the form of a tall and muscular man in uniform.
"I've come to help you against the fiend that dared kill an unarmed man an attack children! How distasteful! I the StrongArm Alchemist will take you on!"
"They keep coming one after the other!" the man commented with an amused smile, before dodging the new alchemist heavy attacks "But I guess with so many at the same time I'm at a disadvantage..."
With a last large-scale attack, he made the ground crumble, forcing everyone to jump out of the gaping hole that had appeared and gave way directly into the city's underbelly.
Then, a familiar blue vest was dropped on Ari's head as she was taken from the spot she had collapsed on "I can walk!" she protested feebly while trying to keep the vest on – having realized that with her coat blasted into pieces and her top mostly gone she wouldn't be covered for much longer if she moved too much
"No, you can't." Ed swiftly contradicted – making Roy wonder if the boy was scheming something as he was taking his side for the third time in two days
The next moment, Ana was rushing toward them, tear stains on her cheek but smiling, and they finally were able to enter the military district – now with twice as much paperwork to fill, as loudly complained Ed.
¤.¤.¤
Now that he knew that Ariana was a girl, Roy had swiftly found back his equilibrium – but then, weeks went by, and it was soon apparent that those damn siblings were late.
He was starting to worry, but thankfully they did eventually return a few weeks after the new year. He enjoyed immensely spending as much time as possible with the little alchemist in the following weeks – and it had the added value of annoying her brother to no end, which was always entertaining...
He had been rather happy at Al's request for a chimera specialist, hoping that the siblings would manage to expose the trash for what he was – except they did, but were nearly too late. And Roy didn't even want to think about the poor girl if Ariana hadn't been able once more to go past what he thought was possible and give her back a body as normal as possible given the circumstances
Even if he wouldn't admit it to FullMetal, he was impressed by how swiftly they took in the situation and decided to take the girl as their own sibling, acting once more mature way beyond their actual age.
But what truly haunted him that night was the strange power that clearly hadn't been alchemy, and the silhouette of a woman, achingly familiar, that his mind seemed bent on associating with Ariana.
Still, when the WindBlade Alchemist unexpectedly woke up, he didn't push her ever though he knew she wasn't being completely honest - she hadn't even been truthful toward her brothers for years, in spite of their close relationship, so he could accept that she needed some time before feeling ready to confide.
And what she did explain of her abilities still had been fascinating...
Then, that blasted Scar attacked them, and those green eyes were back, nearly making him loose his focus.
The fight ended with Scar running away, but it was still frustrating to realize the damn Ishvalian had been able to keep up with the four of them – because even if WindBlade had been spent from the get-go and FullMetal had had a child to protect before anything else, it didn't change the fact.
This had been a total failure.
And Roy Mustang really despised failing.
¤.¤.¤
But for now, he had another problem – because he really couldn't afford to be distracted in a fight because of echoes of someone he didn't even know, it was far too dangerous. And it wasn't in his habits to avoid problems – well except one notable exception Riza had taken care of. Still...
So as soon as he could afford with the chaos that followed the attack, he whisked Ariana away into his office, locking the door in order not to be interrupted – and forcing himself not to stare at his uniform on her, this was more important dammit!
After all, who better to demand answers from than the one provoking theses strange reactions? And even if logic dictated that the young alchemist probably wouldn't have the first idea about what he was going on about, and would think him completely mad, instinct was telling him that she knew something.
"Colonel?" Ariana asked, surprised
"I lied when I said Riza told me about you because I need your file. She told me because I realized I'm completely obsessed with you."
This wasn't what he had intended to talk about – yet he couldn't help himself.
Which seemed to be the norm when it came to Ariana Elric, the one girl to mange to catch his fancy...
He could hear her breath caught in her throat at that affirmation – and evidently, she had understood exactly what he meant. Which wasn't unexpected, it was her intelligence that caught his attention first after all.
"And I'm pretty much certain you aren't indifferent either." he pursued with a mirthful smirk
"You damn, arrogant man." she grumbled "Of course I'm not, and you used every occasion you could to make me blush. Ed is right, something must be wrong with my brain for me to have fallen in love with you yet again..."
His eyes widened at that affirmation, and it was like a dam broke.
Ariana gasped at the familiar energy gathering around him – memories and feelings of two life flashed in his mind and merged, then the next moment, familiar green letters were appearing in front of his eyes from the first time in this life...
[Reincarnation Challenge Complete!]
Dismissing the multitude of notification that followed for latter, he focused on the petite silhouette he'd been towering over, he leaned closer, taking in her part-surprised part-hopeful look, and in a whisper, confirmed "I'm back, bambina."