(Age 15)
For the past two and a half years, Colonel Mustang has had the three Elric siblings on civic duties. This provided them with plenty of time to research the philosopher's stone, but little of interest when working. Most of their time was spend camped in the library, where they researched, read, referenced, and cross-referenced so many books and journals that Elizabeth was nearly sick to the sight of paper. Being cooped up all day made her restless, to say the least.
Relief flooded her when Edward called her over, to inform her of a lead he had found. Alphonse was excited as well, as there was a small town called Lior with some very big miracles happening. There weren't a lot of details to be found, but rumors about the dead being brought back to life were circulating.
Alphonse had gone to buy tickets, while Edward and Elizabeth stayed to make sure everything was packed for the trip. While they waited for their little brother's return, Elizabeth couldn't help but notice the similarities between her brother and herself.
Edward had grown ever so slightly, just enough to be a bit taller than her. His hair had grown a lot, and was the same length as hers. Both fell to the twins' shoulders in a neat, golden braid. Edward's braid fell on his red coat, which seemed almost too big on him, with the length down past his knees and large sleeves. The symbol of their teacher, Izumi, was on the back in black threading. Elizabeth's coat, however, was standard-issue of the military, blue and white.
Edward noticed his sister's odd silence and felt her watching eyes. "What's the matter?" He asked, a bit concerned. He thought, perhaps, she was worried about the town or just nervous over their first big lead.
Elizabeth just brushed it off, muttering, "Nothing, just excited, I guess."
She touched her bangs, wondering why she parted them the same way as her brother, straight down the middle. She didn't like it, but changing it would have to wait until later, unfortunately.
The train ride to Lior wasn't a silent one, but it felt uneasy to Elizabeth. Her brothers were talking the entire time, about the town and excitement and alchemy, but Elizabeth was drowning in her thoughts. She didn't like how complacent and dependent she felt she had become. Only noticing it today, the hair alone bothered Elizabeth. It was like a physical manifestation of how she had come to follow, depend, and ask for help from Edward.
As the conversation between the two boys came to a lull, Elizabeth took the opportunity to ask Edward, "How long has my hair been the same as yours?" The abrupt question, particularly one from someone who had been quiet most of the ride and one so off topic, surprised Edward.
Blinking a few times, he hesitated in answering, "What do you mean-" once the question registered fully, his eyes darted to Elizabeth's brain and he shrugged, "I don't know, for as long as you thought I was awesome enough to imitate?"he replied smugly, relaxing back into his seat.
Deadpanned, Elizabeth stared at him for a few seconds before sighing and turning to Alphonse, "Your memory is a lot better, do you know?" she asked curiously.
Alphonse also hesitated a moment, but from recollecting, not processing. "I'm not sure, exactly," he admitted, "Probably a little after we moved in with Pinako and Winry?" His answer was almost a question, "Ed started growing out his hair then, and once you both had long hair, you both started braiding it."
Elizabeth nodded silently, dropping the subject and allowing her brothers to return to their previous conversation. She knew they were a bit confused, but it was concerning to her how long she and Edward had kept up the same appearances.
So the three found themselves sitting at a drink stand, in the middle of the little desert town of Lior. They were a sight to see for the townspeople, with Alphonse barely fitting under the stand's overhang, Edward in a bright red coat, and Elizabeth, with an aura of someone ready for a fight. After thinking it over on the train, She realized her problem was not that she looked like her brother, but that she had little to no femininity.
The man behind the counter took care not to look at Elizabeth too long, for fear of creating a problem. Instead, he looked to Edward and Alphonse. Elizabeth played with the straw in her drink, trying to relax. The man's eyes darted between the three of them a few times before finally asking, while cleaning cups, "Are you guys street performers?"
Edward nearly choked on his drink. He set his cup down, and glared at the man. "Seriously?" he spat, "Do we look like street performers to you?" Elizabeth rolled her eyes. She didn't exactly like being called a street performer, but his guess was as good as any.
The man stopped polishing the cup in his hand momentarily, "Well," he gave a half-shrug, "yeah." Edward sighed, thoroughly annoyed and deciding that the fight wasn't worth it.
Hopping down from the tall stool, Edward gestured towards the center of town. "Come on, let's go," he said to his siblings. The drastic loss of high was almost laughable. Elizabeth followed in suit without word, offering the drink stand owner a polite smile. Alphonse, however, stood up only to crash into the roof of the stand. The siblings watched as a radio, which has been broadcasting about some preacher, fell to the ground and smashed to bits. In hindsight, perhaps being perched on the roof of a small structure wasn't the best place for it.
The man flew over the counter, leaning to the point of his entire torso being laid across the top, to look at the damage. "Easy now!" he cried, most likely assuming it was done on purpose, "I didn't mean anything by it!"
Edward rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Even he could see how it looked like it was done out of spite. "Sorry, it was an accident," he explained briefly, "We'll fix it though, don't worry," Edward tried to reassure the man. Elizabeth was nearly ready to leave without interference, but she knew that it was always an enjoyment to watch alchemy.
The man pursed his lips together in disbelief, "How?" he asked, "The radio's smashed beyond repair!" None of them took his concern seriously. Edward motioned to Alphonse to begin. After all, the one who broke it should make the amends.
Nodding to his brother, Alphonse stooped down to the ground to draw a circle in the dirt. He encompassed the broken radio, then added a few additional, but simple, aspects to the transmutation circle. Bringing his armored fingers to the edge of the circle, Alphonse triggered the transmutation, which enveloped the smashed pieces in blue light. Parts flung together and remelded, others smoothing out and leaving slight indications of being transmuted. By the time Alphonse stood back up, only moments later, there was practically a brand-new radio sitting at the center of his circle.
"Amazing!" the man from the drink stand cried, once again leaning over his stand to see, "It's a miracle! You've been touched by the sun god, Leto, just like Father Cornello!" Elizabeth's mind tugged at the name, was that the man speaking on the radio earlier? She thought there was a preacher airing.
Edward cocked his head at the man, "Who?" he asked, looking for further information. Unfortunately, the lights had attracted a small crowd. His question went unanswered as he added, "It wasn't a miracle, either."
Alphonse piped up to clarify also, "It was alchemy."
"Right," a young man near the front of the crowd said, "I've heard of alchemists. Some are even hired by the state."
Edward perked up, smiling as if someone had stroked his ego, "Maybe you've heard of us as well, then. The Elrics." He waited patiently for a response, expecting it to be good.
A short moment of silence caused Edward's demeanor to falter, but was short-lived as the drink stand owner hummed to himself, "The Elrics...?"
An exclamation broke his train of thought. Another young man, near the first, called out, "Hey, I've heard of them." A middle-aged woman with a child hugging her leg added, "Edward and Elizabeth, right?" The child nodded, adding quietly, "The Fullmetal and the Broken Flame Alchemists." He gripped his mother's skirt a little tighter as people looked to him, then explained, "My older sister said they're really popular in Central."
Elizabeth was instantly surrounded by a few people who wanted to know all about flame alchemy. "Well," she started, thinking of how to explain in simplest terms, "I transmute the gasses in the air and make a spark with my metal hand to set it on fire." She let the small group hold and pull and prod at her hand for a few moments. "It's all in practicing really, but gasses are harder to transmute because you can't see them."
Elizabeth looked over to her brothers, both in rather expected situations. Alphonse, being a suit of armor, had attracted the remainder of the crowd, many of whom were gushing over the fact that his armor must be the reason for his alchemist title. Edward, being the real Fullmetal alchemist, remained unnoticed by the people of Lior. Although it irked him slightly, he was placed in similar scenarios often enough not to lose it every time it happened.
Alphonse humbly corrected the mistaken people around him, "Oh no," he assured the small crowd, "my brother is actually the Fullmetal Alchemist," he clarified, pointing in the direction of Edward.
One teenaged boy looked thoroughly unimpressed, "That little guy?" he asked, obviously underwhelmed by the drastic change in stature from what he had been expecting. Edward clenched his jaw and moved to give the boy a piece of his mind. Most likely an angry, and loud piece.
Before he could march up to him, however, Elizabeth grabbed Edward's arm and reminded him in a hushed tone, "We're here to investigate Father Cornello. Not to pick fights." Her grip tightened in a warning gesture before releasing.
Edward huffed, but acknowledged that she was right. He shooed the crowd away, still rather angry and more harsh than necessary, but effectively getting the people to go back to their business.
The commotion around the small drink stand took longer than it should have to disperse, with a few younger people and curious souls trying to stick around longer to see the alchemists for just a little longer. The preacher on the radio could still be heard, Elizabeth clearly heard his name this time, Father Cornello. The miracle worker had piqued the Elrics' interest. The rumors might, the three sincerely hoped, be a good lead.
Elizabeth spoke first, gesturing to the newly fixed radio, "Who is this guy?" Edward leaned against the counter, waiting nearly eagerly for his response.
The owner started polishing glasses, looking a bit relieved to have the crowd gone, "He's the leader of the town." He glanced around at the various buildings that made up the small desert town, "We were lots before he came and taught us the ways of the sun god, Leto."
Edward had become noticeably silent, but neither of his siblings commented. Elizabeth continued the conversation, "Could you tell me some more about Cornello and this Leto?" The man nodded.
"I have to admit I'm not overly religious," he began, "But Father Cornello has preached that Leto grants eternal life to the faithful believers. If it weren't for all of his miracles and power, I would have chalked it up to a crazy cult. But this guy is real, he can even resurrect the dead in the name of Leto."
The golden haired girl was speechless. Miracles were one thing, those can be attributed to alchemy. But full-blown resurrection? That would be impossible without divine intervention-or at the very least, a philosopher's stone.
"This guy's claiming he can bring back the dead?" Edward asked monotonously, breaking his sister's train of thought, "Now that's something we've got to see." Skepticism was oozing from the boy, more so even than his siblings. Though they both knew the unlikely nature of the preacher performing true miracles, at least Edward's siblings wanted to have a little hope.
The trio had been lucky enough to come to Lior on a day when Father Cornello was showing a miracle. He stood in front of a grand church, the center of the town, with an enormous statue of a man donning a draped toga, a scepter, and a golden crown that gave the impression of the sun. The man of the hour, Father Cornello, could barely be seen from where the Elrics stood, near the back of a very large crowd. He held up a red flower, Alphonse thought it resembled a rose, high in the air for the crowd to see. A red glint on his finger, a ring as best as Elizabeth could tell, seemed to spark a transformation. The small red flower was enveloped in a red light, growing and twisting into a large, stone statue of a rose. The red light left Elizabeth with a nasty feeling in her gut, one that assured her that Father Cornello's alchemy wasn't natural.
Edward nodded slowly, taking in what he saw, and processing his observations. "So that's how it goes, huh?" He looked back at his brother and sister, "What do you guys think?" The two glanced over the crowd and back at the statue.
Al's armor clunked a bit as he shrugged, "There's nothing to think, really." Elizabeth nodded in agreement with her little brother, "Alchemy." She added, "No doubt about it."
Edward's gloved left hand covered the lower half of his face. "Yeah," he said slowly, pulling himself from deep thought, "but somehow he's ignoring the law of equivalent exchange. Not to mention the complete lack of a rebound for such a large transmutation that does ignore that law."
"You're right," Alphonse agreed, "The total mass shouldn't change at all, unless some is lost. For him to be able to transmute something small into something much larger, not to mention organic matter into inorganic, should be impossible."
Elizabeth thought back to the red glint that seemed to spark the transmutation. "Unless his ring is a philosopher's stone."
The crowd at the church, much like the one at the small stand, eventually scattered back into their daily lives. Once a path was cleared, the three made their way into the church. Elizabeth was a bit surprised at the sight of a girl already there. Knelt by the alter, with a sense of devotion obviously much stronger than the crowd that just left, was a girl praying to Leto. Her face wasn't visible to and of the Elrics, but her dark brown hair fell down her back, laying softly on her plain white dress.
"-here my prayer, I beg of you." The siblings listened in silence, standing between the two rows of pews. The girl lifted her head up to speak directly to the large statue of Leto, "Bring him back!" Her bangs swept back, a dark pink color, to frame her face. Elizabeth felt a pang of sympathy. She had lost someone, and was praying for his return.
Edward cleared his throat quietly, "This is the almighty Leto?" He asked, announcing their presence and surprising the girl.
Though she was surprised, she composed herself quickly and stood from her kneeling posture to greet them. "Welcome!" she said warmly, "Are you interested in Letoism?"
Edward shook his head, a look of disdain briefly shadowing his face. "Nope not really," he replied bluntly, void of any tact, "We're not exactly the religious kind." Elizabeth watched the girl curiously. Although she was a bit surprised and confused, there was nothing negative in her reaction to Edward's response.
Instead, she lowered her head slightly. "That's too bad," she replied solemnly, "To know God is to know hope and to receive divine grace. Through Leto, all things are possible." She looked to Edward, "If you were to believed, I'm sure he would bless you," Elizabeth winced, she could see it coming already, "and make you taller!"
Much to her surprise, however, Edward didn't lash out at her. Agitated, he took a seat in the front pew and stared at the girl. "What about the resurrection of the dead," he asked, his agitation melting into determination to see this trip through the end, "do you believe in that, too?" There was a hint of sarcasm, most likely only noticed by Elizabeth and Alphonse.
"Yes." she replied whimsically. The twins let out a disappointed sigh with uncanny synchronicity. They were concerned about her desire for the man from her prayer to return from the dead. Edward nodded, almost to himself, and dug into his pocket to retrieve his notebook.
Reading off the list, in a monotone, paced voice, Edward began, "Water, thirty-five liters. Carbon, twenty kilograms. Ammonia, four liters. Lime, one-point-five kilograms. Phosphorus, eight-hundred grams," The girl with pink bangs grew more confused the more his listed, while Elizabeth grew angrier. She knew that list, and exactly where he was going with it. Edward continued without hesitation, "Salt, two-hundred and fifty grams. Saltpeter, one hundred grams," He snapped his notebook shut, "And fifteen other elements in trace amounts."
The girl made a noise of confusion, which Edward took as a prompt to explain. "That list right there," He said, bringing his elbows to rest on his knees and his hands to hang limp, "represents the complete chemical makeup of the human body for an average adult. It's been calculated and recalculated, down to the micrograms." He took a deep breath and sat up against the back of the pew again, throwing an ankle up to rest on his knee. "Yet there has never been a single report of creating a human life." His expression turned from factual to scorned, "And you're trying to tell me that you can do with praying that which modern science has failed to do?"
"Lift thy voices to god! And the Prayers of the faithful shall be answered!" she replied, as if reciting some verse of her holy book. Elizabeth felt on edge.
Edward laughed, "Did I mention? The ingredients I listed, a kid could buy with the spare change in his pocket down at any market! Guess humans are pretty cheap." Elizabeth winced. She knew how he felt and she understood it, but to have it all splayed out without care was crushing.
"No," she replied, "We-We're all children of god, created in his image!" The girl was deteriorating fast, trying to maintain what was surely her idea of a good follower, yet unable to tolerate the things Edward was saying about her faith.
"You have to understand," he said, somewhat reasonably, "We alchemists are scientists. We don't believe in concepts like god that can't be proven. We observe the physical world and the laws which govern it, to try and learn the truth. Ironic, isn't it? Through our applications of science, we're almost able to play god ourselves." A humorless laugh escaped him, how much good had playing god done him?
That was the straw that broke the camel's back. "So you're putting yourself on the same level as god?!" the devoted girl cried, "That's just-just sheer arrogance!" Her anger showed on her face, which was now flushed.
"You know," Edward replied, "There's an old myth of a hero who flew on wings, made of wax. He thought he could touch the sun, but when he got too close," Elizabeth looked to her younger brother, then to her twin. She felt aged and despair. "His wings melted and he came crashing back to earth. Right, Al, Liz?" He glanced at them from the side.
And the Elrics had crashed. "Brother," Alphonse began, trying to stop Edward before he got too far into insulting her beliefs.
"Well, this is difficult for me to ask, Miss," Edward interrupted, "but do you think that your Father Cornello could even save an arrogant scientist like me?" he bowed dramatically, making Elizabeth want to roll her eyes/
"Of course!" the girl said softly, her composure once more regained and her demeanor back to being timid and demure, "If anyone can lead you to the creator's light, he can!"
Rose, as the girl had introduced herself by, led the Elrics down a small hallway that flared out at the end, where a large double-door was closed. On either side of the door were two men, as if they were guarding the entrance to a fairly large and important room. Rose asked one of the men for a conference with Father Cornello. The two brothers exchanged glances in silence. Elizabeth turned slightly towards Rose while they waited/
"So," Elizabeth started carefully, "how long have you been a part of this church?" She regretted her words as soon as Rose's face fell.
The girl with pink bangs bore a distant expression and she replied, her voice lacking the previous energy, "For about a year now. Ever since my fiance died. Father Cornello was the one to bring me to the faith, and promised that Leto would reward my devotion."
Elizabeth's heart ached for the young woman. She didn't seem much older, but Rose had been through more than most people do. It made her feel more connected to Rose, knowing that both of them suffered through events that are never expected. A slight rush of guilt ran through Elizabeth as she remembered, at least it wasn't Rose's fault her fiance died. Forcing herself not to think about it, Elizabeth simply nodded attentively at Rose's answer, not really sure what the correct response to that would be.
"You know," Rose began speaking after a moment, "you and your brother are very much alike." Elizabeth gave a small frown. That's not usually a comparison she enjoyed. Noticing her displeasure, Rose added, "Your hair is beautiful and I've never seen eyes the same color as yours." This time Elizabeth smiled, at least she wasn't being compared to his manners.
"Thank you," she said, still smiling, "How do you get your hair so pink?" Elizabeth asked in return, making small talk.
Rose subconsciously reached for her pink bangs, "Oh, there's a small shop in town that makes beautifully colored dyes from the desert flowers nearby." She reached for Elizabeth's braid, "But I wouldn't change your hair color at all! It's like the color of Leto's rays themselves!"
The reminder of why they were here-to investigate Father Cornello and his sham-came back to Elizabeth like a punch to the gut. She forced a smile and let the conversation die. Getting too involved with someone so close to this could end badly for her, and for Rose. She knew that Rose would be hurt, because she knew that Father Cornello had no intentions of bringing back her love.
Edited.