Happy Holidays to everyone! Also, to everyone else working retail hell right now, I raise my glass in sympathy.
Roy was starting to get a little worried, as he hadn't seen his favorite short tempered alchemist at the party yet. Olivier had assured him repeatedly that she had met Edna, though she refused to tell him what the girl was wearing.
To ease his mind and to steady himself for the upcoming conversation he was about to have with his fellow co-conspirators, Roy headed to the drinks table.
And found a vision of absolute beauty waiting for him.
He wondered how he missed her, because she was easily the most stunning woman in the room. Sleek, golden hair that was held up in a delicate bun against the nape of her neck. Tanned skin that spoke of long hours in the sun, partially obscured by the long strip of cloth that went down her right arm. Her hands were hidden by delicate gloves, but he had no doubt that she was a fighter from how toned her exposed left arm was. She had legs that could go on for ages, which ended in sensible heels that only added to the effect.
When she partially turned to face him, it only got better. Sharp, intelligent eyes that were a golden hue that reminded him of the sun stared briefly at him, accented by light indigo eye shadow. Her lips were painted with a hint of crimson, and her cheeks given a maidenly blush with a bit of pink hue due to the make-up she had on.
She wore a pair of sapphire earrings that dangled halfway down to her neck, and a sensible necklace that was neither garish nor untrendy.
And the way she held herself was nothing short of a queen.
Roy was in love and he didn't even know her name. And he wasn't the only one judging by the sheer number of admirers she had lingering around the table eyeing her up.
He was making a beeline for the table before he even had a thought otherwise the moment his brain fully registered her existence.
Hughes, who was there with his wife, watched the entire trainwreck with glee. While he would never consider anyone but his wife, he was still a guy and could appreciate a pretty girl.
Gracia however had frowned upon seeing her. Not because of jealousy, but because she partially recognized the young woman.
As the woman discreetly excused herself for an errand of nature, Gracia opted to do the same.
The second she got closer to the mystery woman, she knew. Call it a mother's instinct.
She was desperately trying not to laugh, just not for the reasons outsiders might think.
Edna grinned at her, knowing what Gracia inferred.
"Would you like a copy of their gobsmacked faces when they realize that the 'shrimpy, hot-headed Fullmetal' does in fact know how to dress up and act in fancy parties?"
"God, yes," said Gracia laughing. "He is never going to live it down. Especially Roy once he figures it out."
Edna shared a conspirator's smile with the older woman. The boys had it coming for a very, very long time.
One by one, the co-conspirators excused themselves from the party. Edna hadn't bothered to return to the main hall, as she was sick of the guys leering at her. The only one she'd allow to touch her in that way was Idia.
Roy, when he registered her presence had to stare. Then he brought himself back to task by asking...
"Has anyone seen Fullmetal? I've been searching for her all evening."
Edna was positively vibrating with glee. Since this was a game, screenshots were possible and she was going to be taking multiple pictures and sending it to Al's MagiCam account.
His private one which was for family and friends anyway.
"Why Mustang I'm surprised you didn't figure it out already. Then again, why would you ever suspect that the short, shrimpy, hot-headed Edna would ever know how to dress or act like a proper lady," drawled Edna, closing her fan with a sharp snap.
The moment realization dawned upon the faces of the men was absolutely glorious. Edna was snapping and sending so many pictures it wasn't even funny.
"EDNA/FULLMETAL?!"
Edna straight up cackled, watching their brains melt from trying to equate the tomboyish Fullmetal Alchemist...to the absolute goddess that was before them, dress to the nines. Even more hilarious was that her demeanor had yet to slip once back into the devil-may-care attitude she used to have.
Olivier gleefully took pictures herself, and would happily share pictures with Edna and many others later.
Outside the game...
Alphonse was wondering who was spamming him at four in the morning. The first pic had him sitting up, the second one had him in full panic mode. However he also knew Vil would murder him outright if he woke him up, as while this was critical information it was also something that could wait until a decent hour.
They had know from the outset that this game had far too many ties to the Gate of Truth.
However none of them had any clue that whoever was draining Idia's special magic had done so to either recreate, or worse trap the souls of Mustang and the others in the game with them!
The next morning
"So let me get this straight...whoever trapped Idia did so to likely fuel a spell that would summon and trap the souls of your former friends in the game with him? Why?" said Vil.
He had a headache, though he would admit it was nice to have a face to the man who had shaped his cousin so much.
Alphonse had a tired expression on his face.
"What better way to trap Edna and convince her she's in the past than by using her friends? They would never be able to replicate them for too long, but by dragging them into the game they could potentially convince her it's real," said Al.
"So why aren't you panicking?" asked Ortho (alpha) curiously.
"Two things tell me Edna likely figured it out pretty quick she was still in a game, and not the real world," said Al dryly. "And both of them tie into screenshots."
"Screenshots?" said Ortho Beta.
Alphonse pulled up two screenshots in particular. One was a picture of the armor he once inhabited. The other was the gobsmacked faces of Roy and Hughes.
"There's no way Edna would forget she freed me from the armor, and the fact she was able to send this to my private MagiCam account tells me that she's able to reach out since her minder isn't there to bust the fact she's aware of what's going on," explained Al. "Whoever trapped Idia must be using the avatar of my old armor to keep tabs on her, which is why she hasn't reached out before now."
"That makes perfect sense, but doesn't explain what we can do to help her," said Vil.
"You can't help her...I can, but the timing will be tricky," said Alphonse.
"What's that supposed to mean? I am not letting her face them alone," said Vil.
"One, you don't really play games to begin with," said Alphonse flatly. "Two, you're exceptionally busy, and would stand out entirely too much in Central. And three, which is the main reason, you wouldn't know the terrain or how to blend in with the time period."
He had a point, as grating as it was.
Alphonse knew that he would have to act fast in order to be ready for the "special event" in the game. Idia's magic levels were dangerously low, which meant the mastermind would have to work fast to use Edna for their plans.
The Fated Day was the name Hohenhiem used to describe the disaster that destroyed Amestris.
Edna and Idia were running out of time, and he knew Edna could use all the help she could get. They had no idea if the 'fake' NPC's that contained the souls of their friends would be able to help after all.
To that end, Alphonse got a new VR headset, had Ortho disguise the location data, and logged in. Edna had been captured because they were looking for her. The homunculi had no idea what he looked like or that she had successfully restored his body without a stone.
Creating a character would be fun, as he only only needed a few alterations to slip past. With Mustang's reputation, he decided on a character that loosely looked like him to make his cover story believable.
The only one likely to recognize him was Edna.
"I wish I could go with you," said Ortho Alpha.
"I know, more than you realize," said Alphonse. "However we need Beta's ability to hack the code from the outside, and there's no telling what sort of traps are waiting for us in there. You're just as capable as Idia."
It was something he wished someone had said to him, before Edna was taken.
"Alphonse. Be careful in there. I can't lose both of my favorite cousins so soon after meeting them," said Vil.
Alphonse nodded in response...before he put on the headset.
It was disconcerting, being in a mockery of Amestris again. He could tell right off the bat who the players were and who the NPC's were. It became even more painful seeing people he recognized from their shared past. Even if they wouldn't recognize him in return.
Without a second thought, Al flipped the hood over his head. If he knew Edna, he wouldn't have to look hard to track her down.
If there was one thing Idia had quickly figured out about his captors, it was that they were complete noobs at games. Seriously, the monster stats were a total joke and it was likely they had outsourced the actual game code to real programmers.
It would explain a lot.
Worse was having to listen to their damn gloating, complete with cheap second-tier villain bragging in front of their captive as if he wasn't aware of everything going on in front of him.
Vil would be appalled.
Idia wanted to sigh, but that would give away the game. Easier to pretend he was asleep and unaware, while silently hacking into the game code.
Envy, the shape shifting asshole, had been dumb enough to log into the game from the same computer being used to hold him hostage...complete with his admin password.
Edna had done something that had caused them to perform minor alterations to keep the ruse she was in Amestris, not a digital copy.
Idia had figured out in less than three in-game hours that Edna was well aware of what was really happening and was playing along to hide her endgame.
So when he saw a code that he recognized all too well as his own, he had to suppress a grin. Someone else had joined the game. Someone on their side.
Well...far be it for him to be lazy while others are trying to save him. If it were Edna, he knew she'd never stop trying to get back to them.
Under any other circumstances, he might have waited it out. But this was a game world, a realm where the hackers reigned supreme.
Idia used their security cameras against them. He knew it was unlikely they'd figure out what he was doing, especially if he did it right.
A little 'gift' for the players to prepare them for the first major event to come.
A set of special armor, and a sword that at first glance looked utterly useless.
However if the requirements were met...say, a specific poem were to be said aloud during the event...then it's true form would be unlocked.
Sure, there was a chance that someone would figure out the requirements to unlock the true power of "Strider's Song" before the event, but since it was so wide spread it was unlikely they'd realize his plan.
In anyone else's hand, the sword and armor were just that. A sword and armor.
In Edna's hands, it was a reminder of the trials she passed as a Knight and her new signature weapon.
Idia was rather eager to see his girl rip these bastards a new one.