[FMA Fic] 1:10 to Central (1/3)
Title: 1:10 to Central
Author: bay115
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 10,614 this chapter
Characters: Ed, Al, Winry, Ling and his bodyguards, Isaac McDougal, ensemble
Warnings: AU/alternative timeline, some violence
Summary: Ed, Al, Winry, Ling and his bodyguards go back to Central after Hughes's death. Something goes wrong in Central that separates the group.
Notes 1: This is the help_japan fic for evil_little_dog. ELD wanted something AU when Ed, Al, Winry, Ling, and Lan Fan stayed at Central and the prompt "Girls being badass, guys being terrific". SO SORRY this is two years overdue and that the story probably didn't fit the prompt right. ;_; Originally I was about to wait until this is finished, but I figure I'll show what I have now. I'm close to the ending (waiting for my beta to look through my outline for the last part), so Part Three I hope to post around May the latest.
Notes 2: Thanks to
haganeneko for the great betaing and suggestions on making this story better.
Part One
This was the third time Lust had gone out with Jean Havoc and for tonight's date he suggested something a little more relaxing. She had hung out at bars before but was never a fan of them, and had always hated the scent of alcohol and smoke that lingered in the air and the loud crowds. Nonetheless, she agreed with that idea if it meant a chance to get some information regarding Colonel Mustang.
Lust’s decision to hook up with Havoc was based on Envy’ observations during the homunculus’ weekly stroll about Central. Of all Mustang’s men, Havoc seemed the most likely to spill any military secrets. She happened upon him getting coffee at a café one day and purposely bumped into him in order to meet him; the look he gave while staring at her breasts was quite funny. It wasn't long until he asked her out on a date and she agreed to it for reasons unknown to him.
Havoc ordered beer while she had cranberry juice and the two chatted for a while. Lust tried her best to make Havoc slip up and disclose any information from the office, but to no avail. It was as if he wanted to avoid and discussing anything about his work, which was frustrating for her. She wasn't going to give up on him yet, so she played along with their conversation.
"I really want to thank you for helping me out after I moved here," Havoc said, beaming at Lust. “This is the first time I'm living in a huge city. It's a bit intimidating, me coming from a quiet town like East City."
Lust forced herself to smile. "No problem. You'll get used to living at Central."
"I think I will." A content expression appeared on Havoc's face. "I'm already liking some of the bars and eateries here."
"Speaking of eateries, I know a great restaurant that’s across the flower shop at Ville Avenue, Mary's. We could go there for our next date."
"That sounds great!" Havoc stopped to check his watch and gasp. "I really have to go now because I have work early in the morning."
"Oh, okay. Mary's next Thursday, then?"
"You bet!" After Havoc kissed Lust on the lips, he rushed out of the bar. Lust frowned and propped her elbow on the table.
"Another unless date," she muttered in irritation.
"Having second thoughts about Havoc?"
Lust blinked, only to see a man in casual clothing and neat black hair sitting across the table from her. She then raised a skeptical eyebrow at him.
"Envy, what are you doing here?" she whispered so no one else would hear.
"It's Eugene for now," Envy said, lowering his voice too, "and I came to tell you something very important."
"And what that might be?" Lust asked with annoyance.
“While I was at Central Command today I stumbled upon someone there that mentioned that Mustang is looking for more information on Hughes’ death.”
"So he's sniffing around about that, huh?" Lust heaved in a deep breath. This wasn't good news at all, and just when she thought this night couldn't get any worse. "How much did he find out?"
"I believe he knows quite a lot already, which makes me a little worried. Should we take him down if he gets any further into this business?"
"Not a good idea as he's an important sacrifice. It looks like Mustang won't let this go if he isn’t forced to."
"How about your information source? Did you get anything out from him yet?" Envy asked.
Lust shook her head. "No, I haven't. It seems he's avoiding any subject regarding his work, but perhaps he doesn’t have a clue to what’s going on. We're going on another date next week, so I'm going to try to get something out of Havoc again.”
Envy snorted and then said, "Good luck."
The two turned quiet for a while. Lust then noticed the sinister grin stretching Envy’s features.
"What are you smiling about, Envy?"
Instead of saying anything the homunculus pointed to the right. Lust turned her head in that direction and noticed a man with his hair tied in a ponytail sitting alone at to the counter. Lust wasn't impressed.
"What's so special about him?"
"He's Isaac McDougal, the Freezing Alchemist. I saw him in battle during the Ishval Extermination, and he’s quite good with water alchemy. He left the military right after the war, like other State Alchemists have. I heard he's working with the anti-establishment and is a wanted man."
Lust still wasn't sure what Envy was getting at. "I'm not following you, here."
"We need Mustang to get his nose out of the Hughes case, right? We can use McDougal as a distraction."
"How are we going to do that?"
"Simple. We tell him Amestris is nothing but a Transmutation Circle and he'll go against Central Command. Of course he can't know everything, just enough for him to go berserk."
"Are you sure about that?" Lust already had doubts about the idea. "Pride isn't going to like us causing a commotion at Central."
"Think of it this way. The military wanted him for quite some time and now's the chance for them to do so. It'll look like he's attacking for no reason."
Lust stared at McDougal with great interest and pondered. It might be good for Mustang to focus on something else for a bit. There was still the problem of McDougal going to destroy half of Central, but sacrifices have to be made to get what you want sometimes. Having made her decision, Lust crossed her arms and closed her eyes.
"All right, I'm willing to go with your plan. Don't say I didn’t warn you when Pride gets mad at us if this gets out of control."
"Don't worry, I don't think anything too serious will happen."
When Lust opened her eyes, she saw Envy rising from the chair and heading towards Isaac. She soon followed suit, hoping this wouldn't cause too much trouble.
+++
The train seems to be going faster than usual, Edward had mused early that morning as he rested his head on the window. The scenery outside would change in the blink of an eye, so he wasn’t able to keep track which cities the locomotive had passed recently. It didn’t matter though as long as this trip goes as planned.
He, Al, and Winry had left for Central a few days before. Edward and his brother were returning there to find any more information on the Philosopher’s Stone and the Homunculi while Winry joined them to see the Hughes family again; he and Al hadn’t told her the real reason for their trip to the city as the two wanted to keep it to themselves. They were supposed to be at Central already, but an incident at Rush Valley-which involved his automail arm needing fixing-delayed things, which annoyed him a lot.
The sooner we get to Central, the better.
“Brother, are you all right?”
“Huh?” the young boy responded as he lifted his head from the window and sat straight. Across from Ed sat Alphonse and Winry, who was giving him a worried look. He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.
“Sorry, just glad that we’re going to be in Central finally.”
Al chuckled. “Same here.”
“I can’t wait to meet with the Hughes family again,” Winry said cheerfully. “I’m excited to have Mrs. Hughes try my new apple pie.”
“Oh, an apple pie? What’s that?”
Ed flinched and swung his head to see Ling Yao cracking a wide smile at Winry. He glared at him, but doubted the prince of Xing noticed. The alchemist wished he could say he enjoyed the train ride with his new...travel buddy, but that wasn't the case as Ling kept asking him about his life story and loved to talk about his own. Ed forgot why Ling and his bodyguards Lan Fan and Fu, who were most likely still up on the roof of the train, had tagged along with them when it was their fault the trip halted.
“It’s a baked dessert in which you have a piecrust and apples,” Winry gladly answered the Xingese’s question. “It’s quite easy to make.”
“Oh, that sounds neat! I don’t think my country has those kind of desserts.”
“You never tried a pie before?” Ed asked and cocked his eyebrow in confusion, now interested in having a conversation with Ling. For some reason, it surprised him a little that the other young man had never tried pie before.
“Nope.” Ling shook his head. “I would like to try it, though!”
Winry beamed. “Sure! I don’t mind giving you a piece. In fact, you can come with me to see the Hughes’ if you like.”
Ed cringed upon hearing that and in an instant pointed to Ling. “Wait, you’re bringing him with you to meet with the Hughes’?”
“Why not?” Winry stared at him sharply, her hands on her hips. “I don’t think Ling will cause any harm Mr. Hughes and Ms. Gracia are happy to welcome new guests.”
“How will you explain that the guest has two bodyguards that can sneak up and kill you?”
“Hold up!” Ling shouted. “My bodyguards won’t do such a thing unless my life is in danger!”
“All right, I think that’s enough.” Al said gently before the three could argue any further. He stood up and had gestured at everyone with a sweep of his arms. “We’ll be in Central in the afternoon and none of us want to be stressed out.”
Knowing Al was right, Ed sighed and went back to watching the farms and towns pass by once more. He could hear Al’s armored body making klang sounds as his brother went back to sit down next to Winry. Yes, just a little while longer and the train would reach Central. Now that Ed thought about it, it wouldn’t be a such idea if Ling didn’t tag along while he and Al went to Central Command. He wouldn’t have to put up with his voice and ugly face any longer.
+++
Isaac McDougal began having second thoughts over meeting with the pair he had talked to at the bar last night, a feeling of dread running down his spine.
Downtown Central was busy with people and traffic, so he made sure to cover himself in a long coat and hat in case someone recognized him. He continued walking on.
Two strangers suddenly appeared in front of him as he drank his beer alone. One was female with very pale skin and silky black hair that fell down onto her shoulders. The other person was male, who looked to be a few years older than him and with a much neater hairstyle.
"You're Isaac the Freezing Alchemist, right?" the lady asked.
"Wait, how do you guys know my name?" he asked in a stunned voice.
"We have been trying to track down several past State Alchemists because we believe something bad is going on in the military," the other stranger said.
"Hold on, you two are saying there's a conspiracy going on within the entire military? And why are you looking for past State Alchemists?"
"If you want to know more about this conspiracy, meet us in the alley between Belle's Sandwich Shop and Central City Book Shop tomorrow morning."
The man and woman left right after, leaving Isaac to wonder what had just happened.
Isaac left the military after being involved in the Ishval War of Extermination, very sickened by what he had done while there. He had become a State Alchemist to make a difference in the people's lives, not to destroy them. Soon after Isaac went to hiding, he heard how several other State Alchemists left the military because they were enraged over this also. Throughout the years, the more he thought about it, the more he was certain there was something going on in the military, but Isaac couldn't figure out how.
So much bloodshed during the war, and all it took was State Alchemists being ordered to get the job done. It was as if I was used as a human weapon.
His eyes still felt heavy he hadn't gotten much sleep due to thinking about this all night. those two oddballs at the bar sounded very confident that they knew what was going on behind the scenes. Were those strangers to be trusted? Where were they able to get their source of information? He wouldn't get his questions answered unless he talked to them.
Isaac stopped a second when he was between Belle's Sandwich Shop and Central City Book Shop like he was told to do and headed straight through the alley. He took several more steps before seeing strangers from the night before. One of them, the lady with the long black hair and very pale skin, greeted him with a warm smile.
"Glad you decided to come meet us here, McDougal," she said in a very sweet tone. That rubbed Isaac the wrong way for some reason. "I'm Solaris and this is my friend, Eugene."
Isaac turned his attention to the other stranger. The man’s only response was a smug look.
"You guys said something about the military?" Isaac asked.
Both of them nodded and Eugene then responded, "Solaris and I are working undercover to find out more about the military because we believe something is going on behind the scenes.”
"Are you guys like journalists or something?"
The woman, Solaris, smirked. "You can say that."
Isaac wasn't convinced, but mentally shrugged it off. Whether professions those two worked as wasn't important, even though it would give them more credibility. "First off, I wonder how you guys happened to know I was a former State Alchemist."
"I interviewed several State Alchemists in Ishval during the war and I saw you a couple times," Eugene said. "That's how I recognized you at the bar last night."
“After looking over his notes, Eugene realized that the State Alchemist were very distressed, and thought that something wasn’t right with the Ishval Extermination,” Solaris explained further. "That was then we decided to secretly get to the bottom of this."
The former State Alchemist pondered over this. It seemed there were other people that thought the same thing as him. He was still skeptical, but began to trust them slightly more.
"Can you tell me a little more about what you guys found out so far?" he asked them.
"Well, we found out a few days ago that the old fifth laboratory was destroyed."
Isaac raised an eyebrow. Fifth laboratory, that sounded familiar...
"Wait, Laboratory Five?" His eyes grew wide. "I heard rumors that it was shut down long ago."
"That's what we thought too," Solaris said, "but it seems that we were wrong. The night before it was destroyed, someone informed Eugene and me that the fifth laboratory was still in operation. We immediately went there and noticed an armed solider guarding the place, leading us to believe the military is hiding something inside. We went back the next night, only to see the building in shambles. That gave us the red herring."
Isaac pondered over what Solaris and Eugene had revealed to him before saying, "I do agree that something weird is definitely going on here. Is there anything else you found?"
"The same person that told us Laboratory Five was still open tried to track down some information on the scientists working there, but they mysteriously disappeared," Eugene said.
The scientists mysteriously disappeared? That didn't sound good. Isaac’s mouth twitched slightly. He remained quiet.
“We decided to drop the Laboratory Five case for a while, but then another one of our informants sent us this after we requested him to look back past conflicts happened at Amestris.”
Eugune took out a folded paper from his coat and handed it to Issac. The alchemist didn’t waste any time unfolding it and a stunned sound escaped from his throat. In front of him was the map of Amestris but with ten points connecting one another into a double pentagon. He recognized several of these markings-South City, Ishval, Fotset, Pendelton, and Reole-as conflicts happened not long ago. His hands began shaking.
“That…that looks like a Transmutation Circle!”
“We weren’t sure what it was until that person explained it to us,” Solaris said. “Apparently this has been planned this whole time.”
Isaac was speechless, unable to find his voice for a moment. Ishval, Laboratory Five, the Transmutation Circle…it all made sense.
“Amestris is nothing but a Transmutation Circle.” When he said that, it left a bitter taste on his tongue. “The military has been playing us this whole time.”
“There are still some other things we need to look over, but Eugene and I are quite certain something sinister is about to happen.”
A sick feeling sunk deep into Isaac’s stomach. His suspicions over the military were confirmed for the most part. That was all he needed to know.
“There is one thing I don’t get, though. Why are you guys telling me this?”
Both Eugene and Solaris flashed Issac a cunning smile, which didn’t sit well with him. He swallowed hard.
“It is evident from your look last night you hated Fuhrer Bradley and the military. You wanted something to be done with them,” Eugene said. “We gave you what we know and you have more than enough reason to do just that.”
“Are you guys actually suggesting I go against the military all by myself?” Isaac snapped, perplexed over what they just said. He stopped a moment. “I find that to be awfully strange.”
Solaris giggled. “We’re not forcing you into doing anything, although it would be great to see the whole military be brought down. It’s your choice in the end.”
“If you do decide to try your hand at justice, though…” Eugene took an envelope out of his coat, approached Isaac closer, and gave it to him. “This might help. Good luck!”
Before Isaac could check to see what Eugene handed him, he saw that the two strangers are slipping away. He shouted to them to come back, but they keep on running. Distressed, Isaac gave out a sharp sigh. There were still several questions he wanted to ask and never got the chance to. Isaac stared at the envelope he had in his hand before finally opening it.
No, it can’t be…
A little red gem flickered like a light about to burn out. This was no doubt the Philosopher’s Stone. He had used one during the Ishval War, aware that it had made his alchemy much more powerful. Isaac gave the Philosopher’s Stone back to the Generals when they asked back for it, which was fine because he wasn’t comfortable using it. How Eugene and Solaris were able to get their hands on this? Most likely one of their informants had found it, but Eugene said this would help him in overthrowing the Fuhrer and the rest of the military. Isaac was also still confused as to why they had given that little stone to him. They knew more than what he was told, but it was too late to ask them that.
Isaac found himself unable to tear his eyes from the Philosopher’s Stone, still very warm on his palm.
Will I have to use that again?
Solaris and Eugene were right when they said that he wanted to take down the military and he thanked them for motivating him to do that. He was split, though, over whether he should use it again or not. Although he felt uneasy thinking about it, something told him perhaps he might need it later. Isaac decided to put the stone inside his pants pocket. He needed to plan his action before making his move.
+++
After the meeting, Roy went back to his office and instantly slumped down on his chair with a heavy sigh. He stared up at the ceiling, not up to steering straight to the paperwork yet.
He still couldn’t stop thinking over the conversation with Armstrong back in the restroom. Ever since Edward Elric had joined the military at the very young age of twelve, there was always the fear that boy was going to be thrown onto the battlefield. Luckily that hadn’t happened yet, but it was bound to happen sooner or later. Would he be ready for it? He only hoped Fullmetal and his brother Alphonse got their bodies back before worse things happened to them.
Roy then thought about another topic he and Armstrong discussed, Hughes’s death. They will find out, eventually, he had told the Major. He understood why Armstrong hadn’t told Fullmetal and Alphonse about that-once the Elric brothers knew, they would be very devastated-but believed he was soft on them. The Colonel thought he should be the one to tell them once he met up with the brothers again. The news most likely to their goals and he didn’t want that. On the other hand, they shouldn’t be left in the dark over this.
Interrupted from his thoughts, Roy heard footsteps approaching him. He turned around to see Hawkeye approaching him with several stacks of folders tucked under her arm.
“How did the meeting go?”
“It was fine, although shorter than expected.” Roy shrugged.
Hawkeye gave a single nod and the two became silent for a brief moment. She then shot Roy a strange look. “Something wrong?”
Roy frowned. He wasn’t surprised the Lieutenant had figured out there was something preoccupying his mind, but was a little hesitant telling her that.
“I bumped onto Armstrong before coming into the office today and we talked about Fullmetal being in the military at such a young age.”
“Edward is very intelligent, that’s for sure.” A sad smile appeared on Hawkeye’s lips. Roy saw her set aside the folders on his desk.
“We also talked about Hughes’s death. Armstrong hadn’t told the boys when he met them in the south.”
“Are you going to break the news the next time you see them?”
Roy let out a sharp breath and said, “I’m still thinking about that. They have to know, but I don’t want them to give up on their goal to find their bodies.”
“It is a tough decision to make indeed,” the Lieutenant said in agreement. “You’ll figure it out, eventually.”
A soft laugh left Roy, but he questioned when that would be the case. “I hope so, Lieutenant.”
+++
It was another few hours until the train Edward and the others were on made it to Central. The young alchemist drew in a relief sigh when he, Al, Winry, and Ling stepped out of the train. The train station itself was filled with many people returning from their trips and getting ready to go on to their destinations.
"It feels like just yesterday we were at Central," Al said in a nostalgic tone.
"We were away only a couple of weeks before coming back." Edward chuckled before finding himself glancing at the clock on top of one of the columns: ten minutes after one. Our train was twenty minutes ahead of schedule it seems, he mused.
"You think Lieutenant Hughes is at Central Command now?" Al asked. He then said in a whisper, "I hope he was able to collect more information relating to the Philosopher's Stone.
"He should be, yeah," Ed said, lowering his voice also. "And so do I, but Fuhrer Bradley is watching over him, so who knows."
"What are you guys talking about?"
Ed swallowed hard when he saw Winry giving him and Al a funny look. Damn it, she almost caught on what they were up to. Only able to come up with an answer off the top of his head, Ed blurted out "Men talk."
"It's always like that,” Winry said and then pouted. “Either way, I want to come to Central Command with you guys first. I want to see Hughes too."
"That's fine," Al said immediately.
Ed made a sound of agreement sound and nodded to Winry. He saw no harm in that, although once he and Al talk to Hughes about the Philosopher's Stone it should be in private.
"Came I come too? I'm interested in what Central Command looks like and I would like to have a glimpse at the Fuhrer."
For some reason Ed cringed upon hearing Ling wanting to see Fuhrer Bradley. He didn't like the thought of that. Then again, it wasn't like Ling requested to have a long chat with him. The prince just wanted one look at the Fuhrer and that was it.
"All right, you can tag along with us too so long as you and your guards don't do anything stupid." The only other thing Ed was worried about was Lan Fan and Fu causing a commotion. That was when he noticed those two weren't with him. "Speaking of your guards, where are they?"
At that instant Ed screamed when Lan Fan and Fu flew out of nowhere and landed front of him and the others. The guards bowed to Ling.
"My lord, you want us to keep an eye out on anything suspicious?" Fu asked.
"That would be great, thank you very much," Ling said. Fu and Lan Fan straightened.
Ed couldn't help but let out a deep sigh. This was going to be a long day.
Eventually everyone made it out of the train station and into the streets of Central. Edward would looked around and saw several people rushing to wherever they were supposed to be and heard the loud noises of cars passing by. He then glanced at Ling, Al, and Winry. Wait, Ling's bodyguards are missing...
"Don't tell your bodyguards are hiding," Ed said in a distressed tone.
Ling laughed and said, "Well, I did tell them to keep a watch if something goes wrong, and the best way to do that is to not let yourself be seen."
"I don't think we need your bodyguards to look over us, but I guess it's better to be safe than sorry," Winry said, a smile pulling at her face.
Edward glanced at his brother, who shrugged. He grumbled and shook his head, but decided to leave that alone. The group continued to walk to their destination in silence. Ed glimpsed at his surroundings once more and there seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary until he heard shouts not too far away.
"Hey, wait!"
Turning around, Ed saw two military police officers chasing a man in tattered clothing who, without hesitation, slammed his fist into a puddle and created icicles that that cut through the officers’ bodies, killing them instantly. That man then ran past Ed and the others as if they didn't exist. Ed's throat hitched.
"Brother, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Al asked. Ed assumed by the tone of his voice that he was just as stunned as he.
"Yeah. He must be an alchemist. We should stop him before he does any more damage." Edward swung his head to look at Ling. "Ling, take Winry to the hotel where we're staying. She'll give you the directions."
"Wait, you guys are actually gonna go after him?" Winry asked with worried eyes. "He might kill both of you!"
"Will you and Al need my guards to help you? They are able to track him down easily."
Ed took a second longer to consider Ling's offer. Some back up would be nice, but he didn't want anyone else get involved with this. He wasn't sure how Lan Fan and Fu would fare fighting against him.
"He does look tough, but Al and I should be able to handle him," Ed said.
"If you say so," Ling said, sounding a little disappointed. He then turned to face Winry. "We should get going."
When Winry hadn't said anything yet, Ed figured she still didn't want him and Al to chase after someone so dangerous. Soon she looked at both brothers with a brave smile.
"Just be careful, you two."
"We will, don't worry," Al reassured.
Winry gave a small nod before leaving with Ling in the opposite direction. He knew he had to catch up with the runaway alchemist and fast, so Ed took off with Al trailing behind him.
The brothers had to pass several crowds before eventually finding the man, who had just ran through a nearby alley. Ed saw the alchemist throw him a shocked look before jerking his head back. The young State Alchemist tightened his jaw and stopped to clap his hands and slap them on the ground, and blue light flashed in front of him. Behind Ed, Al halted too. A short distance away, a huge wall was created that blocked the other alchemist’s way. He turned around to glare at the brothers.
“What you think you two are doing?”
“Stopping you, that’s what!” Ed answered.
The man stared at Ed for a while but then cackled, as if he had realized something he should have known in the first place. “Wait a moment, you’re Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist!”
Ed smirked, not surprised the man figured who he was; his name had been well known for a while, now. He noticed, though, that the man’s finger pointed straight at his brother and not him. Ed’s jaw dropped.
“Er, I’m not him,” Al said in an embarrassed voice and pointed to Ed. “He’s Edward. I’m his brother, Alphonse.”
A stunned expression distorted the man’s face. “Wait, so the little guy here is the Fullmetal Alchemist?” he asked, tossing Ed a long stare.
This was also something Ed was used to and had become extremely tired of, everyone mistaking his younger brother for the Fullmetal Alchemist. Unable to control his temper, he slammed his hands on the ground again and a huge stone fist punched the man into the air to crash down onto the pavement. Unfortunately for Ed, he stood up already and took deep breaths.
“Well either way, I won’t be taken down by the both of you guys,” he threatened.
The next few moments went by in a blur for Ed. The other alchemist rushed towards him and caught his arm; however, the large man’s eyes grew wide when he saw metal through a large tear in Ed’s coat. Ed took that opportunity to break from the man’s grip and took several steps back. He saw his brother already behind their opponent, grabbing him with both arms, and just as quickly the man was able to push Al away with an elbow before hurrying off. Both brothers clapped their hands and were about to hit the ground, all of a sudden a blast of water fired at them. Ed avoided getting soak due to Al’s armored body tower over him, protecting him.
As soon as Al stepped aside, Ed noticed a damaged canteen lying on the ground and picked it up. He gritted his teeth; the other alchemist was nowhere in sight.
“Fuck, he got away,” Ed growled, clenching his fist.
“Considering the men that the alchemist killed were from the military, I bet Central Command already knew what happened here,” Al said.
“Yeah, you’re right.” Ed closed his eyes as he sighed. “Speaking of which, we should go there to find out more about the Philosopher’s Stone and meet up with Lieutenant Colonel Hughes.”
Al gave Ed a nod of agreement and both boys quickly headed out of the alley. Upon approaching the streets again they bumped into two men and everyone but Al went crashing down. Ed got up first and froze when he realized the men still on the ground were Second Lieutenants Breda and Havoc.
“Lieutenant Havoc, Lieutenant Breda? Why you two are here?” Al asked, sounding just as confused.
“We heard about a disturbances happening around Central and decided to check it out,” Havoc said as he and Breda got up at the same time. “Didn’t expect to find you here, Boss.”
“Did you two try to stop him?” Breda asked, his eyebrows slightly raised at both brothers.
“We did, but he got away,” Ed said. “I’m not sure where he is now.” He hoped that the man hadn’t gone too far, but wouldn’t be surprised if he were a fair distance away already.
“Havoc and I are going to Central Command to let the Colonel know about this. You guys had better go back to wherever you’re staying at.”
“Actually, we need to go to Central Command right now for important business. Can we come?” Al asked.
Havoc and Breda looked at one another briefly, making Ed wonder if they were thinking about saying ‘no’ to the idea. He was relieved when the two officers answered with an affirmative nod; now they could where they needed to go. All four then hurried to Central Command, not too far from where they were.
+++
Roy was hoping to get back to Room Three and see if he could find out more information concerning Hughes’s death. The Colonel hadn’t gotten the chance to do that when he heard there was a disturbance going on at Central. That annoyed him as he hadn’t been in headquarters for a week and knew for certain he might have to handle that case. He was about to go find his men to let them know the news, but before he made it to the elevator he saw Hawkeye coming towards him. Also with her was Havoc, Breada, and…
“Fullmetal? Alphonse?” Roy said aloud and his eyes went wide.
“They were involved with the attack that just happened at Central,” Breda explained. “We found them after the intruder escaped.”
“Really?” Roy heaved in a deep breath, already irritated over hearing that. “Breda, Havoc, I want you two to find Fuery. Let him know I’m having a meeting at my office concerning this in a few minutes.”
Both Havoc and Breda nodded to Roy and quickly left him alone with Hawkeye, Ed, and Al. Roy wanted to talk to Fullmetal a little bit before going back to his office, so he turned around to face the young alchemist and smirked.
“I take it the encounter with the runaway criminal didn’t turn out so well?”
Ed threw Roy an unpleasant look. “If you must know, Al and I bumped into a crazed alchemist, tried to stop him, but failed. We’ve dealt with alchemists before, but this guy is trickier than we thought.” Ed then changed the subject by asking, “What are you doing here in Central, anyways?”
“I got transferred to Central Headquarters a few days ago. What brings you and your brother here in the first place?”
“We came to do more research on the Philosopher's Stone and Homunculus.”
“What?” Roy sighed once more. “The military restricts human transmutation, so I doubt you’ll find any information on that.”
Ed made a face. “Is that so? At least I already know how much information I’ll be fine.”
Roy didn’t want to repeat what he had told Ed about researching Homunculus, so he remained quiet. There was a brief silence until Roy heard footsteps approaching him. He turned on his heels to see a man he didn’t recognize stop in front of him and saluted.
“Colonel Mustang, I’m Storch, Fuhrer Bradley’s personal assistant.”
This was the first time Roy had seen Storch. When he transferred here several days ago, he heard how the man wasn’t much for chit-chat and had an intimidating air to him. Roy hadn’t sensed that from him yet. The Colonel quirked an eyebrow as he wondered why Stroch was here to see him.
“What seems to be the problem?” Roy asked.
“The Fuhrer wants to have a word with you over the attack in Central earlier today.”
Roy heard collected gasps from the Lieutenant and the Elric brothers. He, too, was stunned upon hearing that.
“Did he give the reason why?” Hawkeye asked in a firm manner.
Strorch shrugged. “He didn’t tell me. I guess he wants you to find out yourself.”
Roy considered what Fuhrer Bradley’s assistant had said. It was odd that Fuhrer wished to discuss this subject with him at this instant, although it must be urgent if that was the case. He had made his choice.
"Tell the Fuhrer I'll meet up with him right away."
Storch nodded and immediately took off. Roy watched him briefly and then faced Hawkeye, Al, and Ed. "Lieutenant, I want you to take the boys to my office because I also want them to know how my meeting with the Fuhrer went."
The Lieutenant gave a single nod and gestured for the brothers to follow her. Roy could tell from Ed’s face and Al’s confused sound that they were skeptical about staying at headquarters a little longer. Nonetheless, they followed Hawkeye without any questions. Roy then noticed Al stopped, which caused Ed and Hawkeye to stop too.
"Oh, Colonel! Is Hughes here today?" Al asked.
"Yeah, where is he?" Ed asked also. I thought he would show up to investigate this case."
Roy’s heart sank. He didn’t expect to see the brothers this soon and already needed to make a decision whether to let them know of Hughes’s death now or not. He decided in that moment.
"Hughes is not here anymore. Lately there have been a lot of disturbances in Central. He retired and went to the countryside with his family."
A stunned expression crossed Ed's face. He then lowered his head and said, "Really? Ah man, that sucks."
"That's understandable. We wanted to meet with him again and say hi," Al said after, disappointment coloring his voice.
Roy smiled at them. "Perhaps you guys will meet him again someday." He stopped for a moment before saying in a serious tone to Ed, "All right, so Philosopher's Stone and Homunculus, right? I'll look them up and will let you know if I find anything." Again, he paused. "I'll see all of you along with the others in a little bit."
Without looking back at the brothers and his subordinate, Roy made haste towards the Fuhrer’s office. In the back of his mind he had an idea as to why the Fuhrer wanted to talk to him about what had happened today, but unsure how that would go.
+++
When Bradley first heard of the attack in Central, he was furious. Worse, it was Isaac McDougal, the Freezing Alchemist. Why had he come out into the open all of a sudden? It seemed all out of place, especially since McDougal had been in hiding since the end of the Ishval Extermination. Bradley got his answer, though, when Lust said Envy was the one that suggested the idea. He was going to have a talk with the rebellious Homunculus later.
Several minutes ago Bradley had send Storch to let Mustang know he expected him in his office immediately. He didn't need to wait long before the door opened-Mustang entered his office and halted after taking several steps.
"You wanted to see me, Fuhrer?"
"Yes, Mustang. As you probably heard, a lot of commotion has been going on in Central now involving a former State Alchemist."
"I'm well aware of that, Sir. Are you considering having me deal with this case?"
Bradley smiled. It shouldn't be a surprise that Mustang caught on fast that he was going to be the one handling that mess.
"That's correct, because this isn't just any ordinary case." Bradley stopped a second to think over how he would reveal this to Mustang. "Do you remember Isaac McDougal the Freezing Alchemist?"
"Of course. I fought alongside with him during the Ishval Extermination. He then left without warning and has been on the military's wanted list ever since." A stunned look suddenly came over Roy’s face. "Don't tell me he's the one causing trouble now."
"From the reports I had been gathering, that's him all right. It seems he slipped into Central recently and was just seen today. He can be quite dangerous, so that's why I want him to be caught as soon as possible."
Mustang kept a straight face, but Bradley sensed that the man was thinking over this assignment. As far as he could tell, there was no hint of the Colonel being against it.
"I should be able to capture him, you have my word,” Mustang finally responded.
"I have no doubt that you will, Mustang. You're dismissed."
Mustang gave the Fuhrer a salute and slowly left the room. Before Bradley could take a moment to breathe, another solider instantly entered. He closed the door, his eyes set on the Fuhrer. Bradley already had an idea who the solider was.
"I take it Mustang is going to take the bait after all." The soldier’s body suddenly burst with red electrical sparks and revealed Envy.
"He is. Lust informed me this was all your idea."
"Yup." Envy cracked a grin. "McDougal should keep him busy."
"I'm well aware the Flame Alchemist is trying to get more information on Brigadier General Hughes's death. Like Lust, I don't want all of Central to be destroyed."
Envy pouted and lowered his head a little. "You guys are joykills, sometimes."
Brushing off that comment, Bradley asked, "How much does McDougal know about our plans?"
"He somewhat knows about Laboratory Five and that Amestris is a Transmutation Circle. Nothing more."
Bradley digested over what Envy had said. So now McDougal had a vague idea of the main reason Amestris was created in the first place. It was risky for Envy to reveal that information to him, although if what the Homunculus said was true, then that former State Alchemist was still in the dark over Father's true intentions for this country.
"I guess that's fine as long as everything else hasn't been revealed."
"I know of Father's plan. I wasn't going to spoil it by telling some measly former State Alchemist."
Bradley remained quiet. He admitted, this was a good way for Mustang to be busy with something else, but hoped the McDougal case wouldn't get too out of hand. It was hard to tell which direction it could go.
+++
"The Freezing Alchemist?" Ed asked.
"Yes. His name is Isaac McDougal and he served the military as a State Alchemist, his specialty being water alchemy. He left after fighting in the Ishval War without going through the resignation process and has been in hiding ever since."
As soon as Colonel Mustang made it to the office, Al and everyone else listened to him explain his meeting with Fuhrer Bradley. He told them how the Fuhrer wanted him to take care of the case concerning The Freezing Alchemist, who was responsible for the attack that occurred today. This was the first time Al heard of him and by the sound of Ed's voice it was his, too.
"My brother and already found that out about his alchemy when we fought him earlier today," Al said.
"One thing I don't get is why he popped up all of a sudden," Ed said.
"I don't get that either. Perhaps he has been planning this all along and waiting for the right moment to strike." The Colonel dragged out a deep sigh. "Either way, he's out there somewhere now and is very dangerous, so you and Al need to stay at the military hotel and help me deal with McDougal."
"Wait, what?" Ed shouted. "You don't want us to leave Central Command?"
"I'm going to need you and your brother to not stray too far off from me and my team while we try to capture him. Also if something happens to you and Alphonse, none of us may be able to help you. May I remind you the incident with Scar?"
Al caught his brother's horrified expression, which then faded. He guessed Ed realized Mustang had a point and found himself agreeing with him. It was a good thing the Colonel and his men had made it on time before Scar was able to finish them off.
"It's not like we're keeping an eye on you twenty-four seven, Edward," Hawkeye explained. “ It’s just for now all of us want you and Alphonse to be careful while McDougal is still running around the city."
"Fine, we'll help you and not be far away," Ed said after a defeated sigh escaped him. "Hopefully this isn't going to take long."
"It shouldn't be, as all the men in Central are aware of McDougal's presence and are keeping careful watch on him."
"We'll get to work on that immediately in the morning, yes. I'll let you all know which areas we should search."
Glancing around, Al realized someone was absent. “How about Warrant Officer Falman? I noticed he isn’t here today.”
“He’s away for a few days for a family emergency. I’ll inform him about the case when he returns.”
An awkward silence followed. Al was glad to hear that this task might not take long. He and Ed had been through quite a lot of incidents over the past several weeks, and Al was very weary of fighting. The sooner the criminal was found, the better. He then remembered Winry and Ling, who were most likely worried about where he and Ed were. Part of him actually worried more about them, even if Ling had his guards watching over them.
"Colonel, we have some friends who are waiting for us at the hotel we're staying at. Are they going to be fine?"
It took a moment until Mustang said with a smile, "I'm sure they will." Mustang’s expression turned stern. "Havoc, escort the boys to their room. The rest of you, that'll be all for tonight."
Al saw everyone but Ed salute the Colonel and shout, "Yes, Sir!" to him. Breda, Hawkeye, and Fuery walked out of the room before Havoc told him and his brother to come along. They followed the Lieutenant without any protest.
"Are you boys going to call your friends to let them know you’re all right?" Havoc asked as they continued walking.
"Of course we are," Ed said and shrugged. "Hopefully they won't get too mad."
Eventually, they made it to the elevator and Havoc pushed the button for the door. The Second Lieutenant was the first one to step inside as they opened and the brothers followed after. While they rode down, Al thought back to when the Colonel told them about Lieutenant Colonel Hughes retiring. He glanced at Ed, wondering if his brother was thinking the same thing.
"It's a shame we weren't able to see Hughes again," Ed said in a low voice.
Al made a sigh-like sound. "Winry isn't going to like the news when we tell her. She was looking forward to seeing the Hughes family."
"She won't, but she has to know."
The brothers didn't say anything after that. Al thought their stay at Central was off to a bad start.
+++
The night sky fell upon Central as Winry gazed outside her hotel room's window. She noticed her own anxious expression reflected back at her from the glass.
Where could those two be?
Winry grew worried over Edward and Alphonse, fearing something horrible might have happened to them. If they were fine, they probably would have been here by now. Why did they always need to play hero?
"Still concerned over the Elric brothers?"
Taken aback by that statement, Winry made a "huh?" sound and jolted a little. She turned around to see Ling looking at her, frowning.
"I'm just wondering what could have taken them so long. They're probably at the hospital...again."
"Again?" Ling asked, a perplexed expression crossing his face.
"Well, a couple weeks ago I had to come to Central to fix Ed’s arm. Al would have let me know by now if that's the case."
Ling laughed and shook his head. "I believe they're all right, don't worry."
Winry still felt a tinge of uneasiness, but nodded. If Ling believed that, she would too.
At that instant the phone rang, which caused Winry to squeak in surprise. She frantically went to answer it.
"Ed, is that you? Where are you and Al?"
"The both of us are fine," Ed replied at the other end of the line. "We're at the Central Command Hotel now."
"Central Command Hotel? Why are you guys there?"
Edward explained how, after the battle with the man they had run into earlier, Breda and Havoc found him and Al and took them to Central. He then said how “Colonel Smugface” wanted their help but not let them out of his sight while the Freezing Alchemist was still around, so they were forced to stay at the military's hotel.
"I see," Winry said after listening to Ed and stopped a moment to think over what he had just told her. If Ed and Al needed to help Colonel Mustang with capturing that criminal, it sounded like the Freezing Alchemist wasn’t going to be easy to deal with, which made her unhappy. “Well, be careful out there."
"We will. The Colonel said it would only be for a short time, so we should be back soon. You stay safe too."
Winry was speechless for a second. This is was the first time she heard Ed being concerned about her and it touched her very much. She smiled and was about to say goodnight, but another thought occurred to her.
"Wait, did you guys get to meet with Lieutenant Colonel Hughes?"
When Ed didn’t answer Winry instantly, she became suspicious. "Ed? Ed?"
"The Colonel said Hughes had retired early and moved to the countryside with his family."
"Wait, really?” She frowned.” That's a bit disappointing. I wanted to see him again."
"Yeah, me too." A short pause. "Well, good night."
"Good night, Ed. Also tell Al I said good night to him, too."
"Don't worry, I will!"
Once Ed had hung up on the phone, Winry placed the phone back on the desk and sat down on the bed. Ling sat down next to her soon after.
"That was Ed, right?"
Winry nodded. "He and Al are at Central Command now because they’ve been asked to help out capturing this Freezing Alchemist guy."
"Freezing Alchemist? You mean the same man we bumped into earlier?"
"Same one."
A thoughtful look appeared on Ling’s features as he crossed his arms and tipped his head down a bit. “Sounds like he’s going to be a tough opponent to beat. When are Ed and Al going to search for him?”
“Tomorrow morning. Why do you ask?”
“Are you considering we try to find that runaway criminal, young lord?”
Winry screamed in fright when Fu, who was the one asked that question, while Lan Fan suddenly appeared from seemingly nowhere to kneel in front of Ling. She wanted to ask Ling how his guards managed to get inside a closed window, but decided against it.
“Yes I am,” Ling told his guards. “If you guys can track down both that man and the Elrics, tomorrow, that would be great.”
“As you wish,” Lan Fan said as she and her grandfather lowered their heads in a bow.
Ling turned to Winry, “My bodyguards should be able to find them and also let us know what’s going on in Central.” He then offered her a reassuring grin.
Winry wasn’t able to make herself smile back. Even though she had faith Fu and Lan Fan would be able to spot Ed and Al, she still feared something bad might happen to them.
+++
Central Prison, one of the largest and most guarded prisons in Amestris, was well known by all in the city. Almost everyday there would be news of convicts being sent to there, and because the facility was under control by the military, a solider being jailed there was a big deal. Isaac wasn't able to keep track of all of the military officers housed, but there was one he definitely knew he would find without a doubt.
Kimblee.
Before leaving the military unexpectedly, Issac heard about how the Red Lotus Alchemist had blown up several high ranking officers and had been imprisoned at Central Prison ever since. The man assumed that Kimblee’s actions had been an act of justice, just like how he wanted to take down Central Command. Hence, his reason for visiting the prison. Isaac had heard that Kimblee's cell was separated from the other prisoners and that there was a guard standing by almost at all times.
The alchemist waited until nightfall to make his move. He knew there would be some guards patrolling, but not as many as he were to break in during daytime. Not only that, almost all of the prisoners would be sleeping by now. Causing a ruckus during the day would only make it easier for him to be found out. The prison itself was surrounded by a stone wall and a wooden gate several feet high at the entrance. Hiding behind a tree that was close to the gate, Issac kept an eye on a guard who seemed to be very watchful of his surroundings. It should still be pretty easy to take him down, though.
Readying the gauntlet that covered his arm, Isaac activated the transmutation circle on it lit up as he hurried towards the wide-eyed guard. Before the man was able to pull out his gun, Issac grabbed the guard's face and burned it. The guard started to scram but fell silent as he died in the next instant. Issac glanced at the dead man, his face unrecognizable due to the burnt marks covering it. This was the first time in a while he had used alchemy to boil water, but it was just as easy as transmuting freezing water. Isaac got out a canteen and splashed some water on the wooden doors before slamming his hands on them, causing an explosion. The gate now had a gaping hole and the wanted criminal didn’t hesitate to go through it.
Isaac took several steps before stopping to stare at a six-story building, He could see that most of the windows were dark except for a few, which still glowed with dim light. He wasn't sure where Kimblee's cell was, but believed it was likely on either the first or second floor; Isaac needed to quickly figure out where the other alchemist was before he was discovered. In a few more steps, he reached the entrance doors and took hold of one of the handles, opening it and went inside. Isaac quickly looked both ways before deciding to dash to the left.
Earlier that day, he had broken into an abandoned building to create one of the transmutation circles needed for his plan to destroy Central Headquarters. However, two military police officers caught him just as he finished. He hoped they hadn’t figured out what he was up to.
As he ran on, Isaac thought back to his encounter with Edward Elric. The former alchemist was stunned when he found out the young man's right arm was made out of metal. At first it hadn’t worried him as much, because there was a chance that Elric had been involved in an accident that took his arm. Issac then noticed that both the Fullmetal Alchemist and his brother were able to use alchemy without using a transmutation circle. Just how they were able to do that?
Those two can't have that skill, unless...
He had heard stories about alchemists who had performed human transmutation that had come back without limbs or other body parts. Edward had lost an arm and Alphonse mostly likely didn't have a body (when Isaac hit the armor with his elbow he had heard a hollow sound, which disturbed him). Isaac had a feeling that those two having done the ultimate taboo and not need to use a transmutation circle were somehow connected. The brothers were most likely still going to try to find him, so he wouldn't be surprised if he met them again.
Isaac halted when he caught sight of a guard in front of a gate, and across from him a door; he was certain this must be Kimblee’s cell and remembered that the Red Lotus Alchemist was in solitary, with a guard outside at all times. His attention was directed back to the guard, who seemed frightened in spite of having a gun aimed at him.
"Hold it right ther--"
Already Isaac gripped the guard's arm and froze him solid. After snatching the key from the dead man's belt, Isaac used it to open the cell and walked in a short distance. For some reason he felt an unpleasant feeling sinking into his bones. Issac heaved in a deep breath.
"Kimblee, are you here?" Isaac asked, lowering his voice a little just in case other guards might come soon. It wouldn't hurt to make sure.
Silence, and then a sinister chuckle. "Isaac McDougal, is that you? I thought you would've been caught."
No surprise over Kimblee hearing about the attacks that had happened earlier today. The way he said it suggested Kimblee wanted him to be dealt with, which Issac mentally shrugged off. That, too, hadn't surprised him and at this point he had business to attend to.
"I came here to ask for your help in taking down Central Command."
+++
In the morning, Riza was the first to enter the Colonel’s office. She wasn’t expected for another half hour, but felt it would be better to come early in case he wanted her to check up on a few last minute things before the group, including the Elric Brothers, left. Riza blinked when she saw Mustang with his chin on his hand and elbow resting on the desk, a distant look in his eyes.
“Morning, Colonel,” she said, hoping that would get his attention. It did and Mustang looked at her with a sheepish laugh.
“Oh, sorry. Good morning. I was just wondering if I made the right decision in not letting Fullmetal and his brother know about Hughes’s death yet. I only did that so those two won’t have their progress delayed.”
Riza frowned. She had guessed as much that the Colonel was having seconding thoughts over that his decision to not tell the Elric brothers about Hughes’ death. It took her a while to figure out the right words to say to him.
“I think it’s understandable. They should still focus on getting their bodies back.”
“I still feel bad about lying to them, even if it is for the best.” A sad chuckle escaped from Mustang. “I guess I’m being too soft.”
“Nothing wrong with that, Sir.” Riza felt a slight smile pulling at her lips.
There was silence between the two, but it was short lived when a solider hastened into the office and gave a stiff salute.
“Colonel Mustang, I got word that former State Alchemist Isaac McDougal broke into Central Military Prison last night.”
Riza saw Mustang’s eyes flew wide in shock. She, too, gasped, very surprised at the news.
“Are you sure?”
“There’s evidence that several prison guards have been either frozen or burned.”
The solider handed Mustang a folder, and he wasted no time reading it. Riza leaned in to have a look at the report; it was more or less what he had just said. She then glanced at the Colonel, who had a stern look set about his face and nodded.
“Thank you. I’ll let my team know about this.”
The solider nodded and left. Riza raised an eyebrow at Mustang as he rose from his chair and pulled on his coat.
“I’m going to the prison to visit Kimblee.”
Riza flinched once she heard that name. That particular man, back from the Ishval Extermination, was still fresh in her mind, even after several years. A cold sensation ran down her spine as she thought about him now.
“Why him?” she managed to ask.
“Kimblee was a former State Alchemist too, which was probably one of the reasons for McDougal to break in the prison and visit him. I want you to wait here until I get back. If the others come in while I’m away, tell them I’m checking up on a lead in as to where McDougal was.”
“All right,” Riza said without questioning it.
Before the Colonel left the room, he nodded to Riza and waved in a farewell, which she returned with a salute. She still was uneasy with Mustang going to visit Kimblee, but trusted that he knew what he was doing.
+++
It had been a while since Roy visited the prison, but each time he went there, it always gave him the chills. It reminded him that he might end up in there after his plans for changing Amestris were in full motion, but didn’t want to think about that right now. The Colonel kept on following the guard that was taking him to Kimblee’s cell until they made it there. After opening the door, the guard turned around to face Roy. He continued to follow the guard until they stopped in front of Kimblee’s cell. After opening the door, the guard turned to face Roy.
“I don’t know why you insist on questioning him, Colonel, but each to their own.”
“I believe McDougal had visited Kimblee before leaving the prison.”
The guard didn’t say anything. Instead, he gave Roy a shrug and stepped aside so the Flame Alchemist could pass. As Roy entered the cell, he gasped to himself as a sinister laughter came from the other side of the gate in front of him. He had heard how Kimblee was restricted to his own room given his sociopathic tendencies; Roy was glad of this.
“I dreamt of the day the Flame Alchemist would come visit and it has come true.”
“I’m not here for friendly chit chat, Kimblee,” Roy scolded. “I want to ask you some questions concerning McDougal.”
Another chuckle left Kimblee’s throat. “McDougal, huh? If you’re wondering he came to talk to me, then you’re correct.”
Roy jolted slightly, but forced himself to relax. All right, so far so good. At least he knew that part was true. There was still the question as to why, though.
“How come?” Roy asked in a demanding tone.
“He wanted to recruit me for his plans to attack Central, but I refused. From what I heard, it seems he’s doing a pretty good job on his own.”
Roy stayed silent for a short moment, not wanting to respond to the other man’s remark. He then asked Kimblee, “Why did McDougal want you to help him with that?”
“He’s aware that both of us saw the horrors in Ishval and believes that’s the reason why I blew up those officers. I corrected by telling him I did it because I could.”
“Ishval…” Roy murmured. He was very certain Ishval was the reason as to why McDougal left the military, but hadn’t thought he would use that to convince Kimblee to help him. The Colonel gave a soft cough and said, “That’s all I wanted to know from you concerning McDougal, Kimblee. Thank you.”
“It’s my pleasure. I wouldn’t be a gentleman if I hadn’t answered your questions. Good luck finding the Freezing Alchemist because you’re going to need it.”
Shaking his head, Roy mentally let out a heavy sigh and exited the cell. He didn’t want to admit it, but Kimblee was right that he was going to need all the luck he could get on this case.
Go to Part Two
This entry was originally posted at http://bay-alexison.dreamwidth.org/89431.html. Feel free to comment wherever you like!
Author: bay115
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 10,614 this chapter
Characters: Ed, Al, Winry, Ling and his bodyguards, Isaac McDougal, ensemble
Warnings: AU/alternative timeline, some violence
Summary: Ed, Al, Winry, Ling and his bodyguards go back to Central after Hughes's death. Something goes wrong in Central that separates the group.
Notes 1: This is the help_japan fic for evil_little_dog. ELD wanted something AU when Ed, Al, Winry, Ling, and Lan Fan stayed at Central and the prompt "Girls being badass, guys being terrific". SO SORRY this is two years overdue and that the story probably didn't fit the prompt right. ;_; Originally I was about to wait until this is finished, but I figure I'll show what I have now. I'm close to the ending (waiting for my beta to look through my outline for the last part), so Part Three I hope to post around May the latest.
Notes 2: Thanks to
haganeneko for the great betaing and suggestions on making this story better.
Part One
This was the third time Lust had gone out with Jean Havoc and for tonight's date he suggested something a little more relaxing. She had hung out at bars before but was never a fan of them, and had always hated the scent of alcohol and smoke that lingered in the air and the loud crowds. Nonetheless, she agreed with that idea if it meant a chance to get some information regarding Colonel Mustang.
Lust’s decision to hook up with Havoc was based on Envy’ observations during the homunculus’ weekly stroll about Central. Of all Mustang’s men, Havoc seemed the most likely to spill any military secrets. She happened upon him getting coffee at a café one day and purposely bumped into him in order to meet him; the look he gave while staring at her breasts was quite funny. It wasn't long until he asked her out on a date and she agreed to it for reasons unknown to him.
Havoc ordered beer while she had cranberry juice and the two chatted for a while. Lust tried her best to make Havoc slip up and disclose any information from the office, but to no avail. It was as if he wanted to avoid and discussing anything about his work, which was frustrating for her. She wasn't going to give up on him yet, so she played along with their conversation.
"I really want to thank you for helping me out after I moved here," Havoc said, beaming at Lust. “This is the first time I'm living in a huge city. It's a bit intimidating, me coming from a quiet town like East City."
Lust forced herself to smile. "No problem. You'll get used to living at Central."
"I think I will." A content expression appeared on Havoc's face. "I'm already liking some of the bars and eateries here."
"Speaking of eateries, I know a great restaurant that’s across the flower shop at Ville Avenue, Mary's. We could go there for our next date."
"That sounds great!" Havoc stopped to check his watch and gasp. "I really have to go now because I have work early in the morning."
"Oh, okay. Mary's next Thursday, then?"
"You bet!" After Havoc kissed Lust on the lips, he rushed out of the bar. Lust frowned and propped her elbow on the table.
"Another unless date," she muttered in irritation.
"Having second thoughts about Havoc?"
Lust blinked, only to see a man in casual clothing and neat black hair sitting across the table from her. She then raised a skeptical eyebrow at him.
"Envy, what are you doing here?" she whispered so no one else would hear.
"It's Eugene for now," Envy said, lowering his voice too, "and I came to tell you something very important."
"And what that might be?" Lust asked with annoyance.
“While I was at Central Command today I stumbled upon someone there that mentioned that Mustang is looking for more information on Hughes’ death.”
"So he's sniffing around about that, huh?" Lust heaved in a deep breath. This wasn't good news at all, and just when she thought this night couldn't get any worse. "How much did he find out?"
"I believe he knows quite a lot already, which makes me a little worried. Should we take him down if he gets any further into this business?"
"Not a good idea as he's an important sacrifice. It looks like Mustang won't let this go if he isn’t forced to."
"How about your information source? Did you get anything out from him yet?" Envy asked.
Lust shook her head. "No, I haven't. It seems he's avoiding any subject regarding his work, but perhaps he doesn’t have a clue to what’s going on. We're going on another date next week, so I'm going to try to get something out of Havoc again.”
Envy snorted and then said, "Good luck."
The two turned quiet for a while. Lust then noticed the sinister grin stretching Envy’s features.
"What are you smiling about, Envy?"
Instead of saying anything the homunculus pointed to the right. Lust turned her head in that direction and noticed a man with his hair tied in a ponytail sitting alone at to the counter. Lust wasn't impressed.
"What's so special about him?"
"He's Isaac McDougal, the Freezing Alchemist. I saw him in battle during the Ishval Extermination, and he’s quite good with water alchemy. He left the military right after the war, like other State Alchemists have. I heard he's working with the anti-establishment and is a wanted man."
Lust still wasn't sure what Envy was getting at. "I'm not following you, here."
"We need Mustang to get his nose out of the Hughes case, right? We can use McDougal as a distraction."
"How are we going to do that?"
"Simple. We tell him Amestris is nothing but a Transmutation Circle and he'll go against Central Command. Of course he can't know everything, just enough for him to go berserk."
"Are you sure about that?" Lust already had doubts about the idea. "Pride isn't going to like us causing a commotion at Central."
"Think of it this way. The military wanted him for quite some time and now's the chance for them to do so. It'll look like he's attacking for no reason."
Lust stared at McDougal with great interest and pondered. It might be good for Mustang to focus on something else for a bit. There was still the problem of McDougal going to destroy half of Central, but sacrifices have to be made to get what you want sometimes. Having made her decision, Lust crossed her arms and closed her eyes.
"All right, I'm willing to go with your plan. Don't say I didn’t warn you when Pride gets mad at us if this gets out of control."
"Don't worry, I don't think anything too serious will happen."
When Lust opened her eyes, she saw Envy rising from the chair and heading towards Isaac. She soon followed suit, hoping this wouldn't cause too much trouble.
+++
The train seems to be going faster than usual, Edward had mused early that morning as he rested his head on the window. The scenery outside would change in the blink of an eye, so he wasn’t able to keep track which cities the locomotive had passed recently. It didn’t matter though as long as this trip goes as planned.
He, Al, and Winry had left for Central a few days before. Edward and his brother were returning there to find any more information on the Philosopher’s Stone and the Homunculi while Winry joined them to see the Hughes family again; he and Al hadn’t told her the real reason for their trip to the city as the two wanted to keep it to themselves. They were supposed to be at Central already, but an incident at Rush Valley-which involved his automail arm needing fixing-delayed things, which annoyed him a lot.
The sooner we get to Central, the better.
“Brother, are you all right?”
“Huh?” the young boy responded as he lifted his head from the window and sat straight. Across from Ed sat Alphonse and Winry, who was giving him a worried look. He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.
“Sorry, just glad that we’re going to be in Central finally.”
Al chuckled. “Same here.”
“I can’t wait to meet with the Hughes family again,” Winry said cheerfully. “I’m excited to have Mrs. Hughes try my new apple pie.”
“Oh, an apple pie? What’s that?”
Ed flinched and swung his head to see Ling Yao cracking a wide smile at Winry. He glared at him, but doubted the prince of Xing noticed. The alchemist wished he could say he enjoyed the train ride with his new...travel buddy, but that wasn't the case as Ling kept asking him about his life story and loved to talk about his own. Ed forgot why Ling and his bodyguards Lan Fan and Fu, who were most likely still up on the roof of the train, had tagged along with them when it was their fault the trip halted.
“It’s a baked dessert in which you have a piecrust and apples,” Winry gladly answered the Xingese’s question. “It’s quite easy to make.”
“Oh, that sounds neat! I don’t think my country has those kind of desserts.”
“You never tried a pie before?” Ed asked and cocked his eyebrow in confusion, now interested in having a conversation with Ling. For some reason, it surprised him a little that the other young man had never tried pie before.
“Nope.” Ling shook his head. “I would like to try it, though!”
Winry beamed. “Sure! I don’t mind giving you a piece. In fact, you can come with me to see the Hughes’ if you like.”
Ed cringed upon hearing that and in an instant pointed to Ling. “Wait, you’re bringing him with you to meet with the Hughes’?”
“Why not?” Winry stared at him sharply, her hands on her hips. “I don’t think Ling will cause any harm Mr. Hughes and Ms. Gracia are happy to welcome new guests.”
“How will you explain that the guest has two bodyguards that can sneak up and kill you?”
“Hold up!” Ling shouted. “My bodyguards won’t do such a thing unless my life is in danger!”
“All right, I think that’s enough.” Al said gently before the three could argue any further. He stood up and had gestured at everyone with a sweep of his arms. “We’ll be in Central in the afternoon and none of us want to be stressed out.”
Knowing Al was right, Ed sighed and went back to watching the farms and towns pass by once more. He could hear Al’s armored body making klang sounds as his brother went back to sit down next to Winry. Yes, just a little while longer and the train would reach Central. Now that Ed thought about it, it wouldn’t be a such idea if Ling didn’t tag along while he and Al went to Central Command. He wouldn’t have to put up with his voice and ugly face any longer.
+++
Isaac McDougal began having second thoughts over meeting with the pair he had talked to at the bar last night, a feeling of dread running down his spine.
Downtown Central was busy with people and traffic, so he made sure to cover himself in a long coat and hat in case someone recognized him. He continued walking on.
Two strangers suddenly appeared in front of him as he drank his beer alone. One was female with very pale skin and silky black hair that fell down onto her shoulders. The other person was male, who looked to be a few years older than him and with a much neater hairstyle.
"You're Isaac the Freezing Alchemist, right?" the lady asked.
"Wait, how do you guys know my name?" he asked in a stunned voice.
"We have been trying to track down several past State Alchemists because we believe something bad is going on in the military," the other stranger said.
"Hold on, you two are saying there's a conspiracy going on within the entire military? And why are you looking for past State Alchemists?"
"If you want to know more about this conspiracy, meet us in the alley between Belle's Sandwich Shop and Central City Book Shop tomorrow morning."
The man and woman left right after, leaving Isaac to wonder what had just happened.
Isaac left the military after being involved in the Ishval War of Extermination, very sickened by what he had done while there. He had become a State Alchemist to make a difference in the people's lives, not to destroy them. Soon after Isaac went to hiding, he heard how several other State Alchemists left the military because they were enraged over this also. Throughout the years, the more he thought about it, the more he was certain there was something going on in the military, but Isaac couldn't figure out how.
So much bloodshed during the war, and all it took was State Alchemists being ordered to get the job done. It was as if I was used as a human weapon.
His eyes still felt heavy he hadn't gotten much sleep due to thinking about this all night. those two oddballs at the bar sounded very confident that they knew what was going on behind the scenes. Were those strangers to be trusted? Where were they able to get their source of information? He wouldn't get his questions answered unless he talked to them.
Isaac stopped a second when he was between Belle's Sandwich Shop and Central City Book Shop like he was told to do and headed straight through the alley. He took several more steps before seeing strangers from the night before. One of them, the lady with the long black hair and very pale skin, greeted him with a warm smile.
"Glad you decided to come meet us here, McDougal," she said in a very sweet tone. That rubbed Isaac the wrong way for some reason. "I'm Solaris and this is my friend, Eugene."
Isaac turned his attention to the other stranger. The man’s only response was a smug look.
"You guys said something about the military?" Isaac asked.
Both of them nodded and Eugene then responded, "Solaris and I are working undercover to find out more about the military because we believe something is going on behind the scenes.”
"Are you guys like journalists or something?"
The woman, Solaris, smirked. "You can say that."
Isaac wasn't convinced, but mentally shrugged it off. Whether professions those two worked as wasn't important, even though it would give them more credibility. "First off, I wonder how you guys happened to know I was a former State Alchemist."
"I interviewed several State Alchemists in Ishval during the war and I saw you a couple times," Eugene said. "That's how I recognized you at the bar last night."
“After looking over his notes, Eugene realized that the State Alchemist were very distressed, and thought that something wasn’t right with the Ishval Extermination,” Solaris explained further. "That was then we decided to secretly get to the bottom of this."
The former State Alchemist pondered over this. It seemed there were other people that thought the same thing as him. He was still skeptical, but began to trust them slightly more.
"Can you tell me a little more about what you guys found out so far?" he asked them.
"Well, we found out a few days ago that the old fifth laboratory was destroyed."
Isaac raised an eyebrow. Fifth laboratory, that sounded familiar...
"Wait, Laboratory Five?" His eyes grew wide. "I heard rumors that it was shut down long ago."
"That's what we thought too," Solaris said, "but it seems that we were wrong. The night before it was destroyed, someone informed Eugene and me that the fifth laboratory was still in operation. We immediately went there and noticed an armed solider guarding the place, leading us to believe the military is hiding something inside. We went back the next night, only to see the building in shambles. That gave us the red herring."
Isaac pondered over what Solaris and Eugene had revealed to him before saying, "I do agree that something weird is definitely going on here. Is there anything else you found?"
"The same person that told us Laboratory Five was still open tried to track down some information on the scientists working there, but they mysteriously disappeared," Eugene said.
The scientists mysteriously disappeared? That didn't sound good. Isaac’s mouth twitched slightly. He remained quiet.
“We decided to drop the Laboratory Five case for a while, but then another one of our informants sent us this after we requested him to look back past conflicts happened at Amestris.”
Eugune took out a folded paper from his coat and handed it to Issac. The alchemist didn’t waste any time unfolding it and a stunned sound escaped from his throat. In front of him was the map of Amestris but with ten points connecting one another into a double pentagon. He recognized several of these markings-South City, Ishval, Fotset, Pendelton, and Reole-as conflicts happened not long ago. His hands began shaking.
“That…that looks like a Transmutation Circle!”
“We weren’t sure what it was until that person explained it to us,” Solaris said. “Apparently this has been planned this whole time.”
Isaac was speechless, unable to find his voice for a moment. Ishval, Laboratory Five, the Transmutation Circle…it all made sense.
“Amestris is nothing but a Transmutation Circle.” When he said that, it left a bitter taste on his tongue. “The military has been playing us this whole time.”
“There are still some other things we need to look over, but Eugene and I are quite certain something sinister is about to happen.”
A sick feeling sunk deep into Isaac’s stomach. His suspicions over the military were confirmed for the most part. That was all he needed to know.
“There is one thing I don’t get, though. Why are you guys telling me this?”
Both Eugene and Solaris flashed Issac a cunning smile, which didn’t sit well with him. He swallowed hard.
“It is evident from your look last night you hated Fuhrer Bradley and the military. You wanted something to be done with them,” Eugene said. “We gave you what we know and you have more than enough reason to do just that.”
“Are you guys actually suggesting I go against the military all by myself?” Isaac snapped, perplexed over what they just said. He stopped a moment. “I find that to be awfully strange.”
Solaris giggled. “We’re not forcing you into doing anything, although it would be great to see the whole military be brought down. It’s your choice in the end.”
“If you do decide to try your hand at justice, though…” Eugene took an envelope out of his coat, approached Isaac closer, and gave it to him. “This might help. Good luck!”
Before Isaac could check to see what Eugene handed him, he saw that the two strangers are slipping away. He shouted to them to come back, but they keep on running. Distressed, Isaac gave out a sharp sigh. There were still several questions he wanted to ask and never got the chance to. Isaac stared at the envelope he had in his hand before finally opening it.
No, it can’t be…
A little red gem flickered like a light about to burn out. This was no doubt the Philosopher’s Stone. He had used one during the Ishval War, aware that it had made his alchemy much more powerful. Isaac gave the Philosopher’s Stone back to the Generals when they asked back for it, which was fine because he wasn’t comfortable using it. How Eugene and Solaris were able to get their hands on this? Most likely one of their informants had found it, but Eugene said this would help him in overthrowing the Fuhrer and the rest of the military. Isaac was also still confused as to why they had given that little stone to him. They knew more than what he was told, but it was too late to ask them that.
Isaac found himself unable to tear his eyes from the Philosopher’s Stone, still very warm on his palm.
Will I have to use that again?
Solaris and Eugene were right when they said that he wanted to take down the military and he thanked them for motivating him to do that. He was split, though, over whether he should use it again or not. Although he felt uneasy thinking about it, something told him perhaps he might need it later. Isaac decided to put the stone inside his pants pocket. He needed to plan his action before making his move.
+++
After the meeting, Roy went back to his office and instantly slumped down on his chair with a heavy sigh. He stared up at the ceiling, not up to steering straight to the paperwork yet.
He still couldn’t stop thinking over the conversation with Armstrong back in the restroom. Ever since Edward Elric had joined the military at the very young age of twelve, there was always the fear that boy was going to be thrown onto the battlefield. Luckily that hadn’t happened yet, but it was bound to happen sooner or later. Would he be ready for it? He only hoped Fullmetal and his brother Alphonse got their bodies back before worse things happened to them.
Roy then thought about another topic he and Armstrong discussed, Hughes’s death. They will find out, eventually, he had told the Major. He understood why Armstrong hadn’t told Fullmetal and Alphonse about that-once the Elric brothers knew, they would be very devastated-but believed he was soft on them. The Colonel thought he should be the one to tell them once he met up with the brothers again. The news most likely to their goals and he didn’t want that. On the other hand, they shouldn’t be left in the dark over this.
Interrupted from his thoughts, Roy heard footsteps approaching him. He turned around to see Hawkeye approaching him with several stacks of folders tucked under her arm.
“How did the meeting go?”
“It was fine, although shorter than expected.” Roy shrugged.
Hawkeye gave a single nod and the two became silent for a brief moment. She then shot Roy a strange look. “Something wrong?”
Roy frowned. He wasn’t surprised the Lieutenant had figured out there was something preoccupying his mind, but was a little hesitant telling her that.
“I bumped onto Armstrong before coming into the office today and we talked about Fullmetal being in the military at such a young age.”
“Edward is very intelligent, that’s for sure.” A sad smile appeared on Hawkeye’s lips. Roy saw her set aside the folders on his desk.
“We also talked about Hughes’s death. Armstrong hadn’t told the boys when he met them in the south.”
“Are you going to break the news the next time you see them?”
Roy let out a sharp breath and said, “I’m still thinking about that. They have to know, but I don’t want them to give up on their goal to find their bodies.”
“It is a tough decision to make indeed,” the Lieutenant said in agreement. “You’ll figure it out, eventually.”
A soft laugh left Roy, but he questioned when that would be the case. “I hope so, Lieutenant.”
+++
It was another few hours until the train Edward and the others were on made it to Central. The young alchemist drew in a relief sigh when he, Al, Winry, and Ling stepped out of the train. The train station itself was filled with many people returning from their trips and getting ready to go on to their destinations.
"It feels like just yesterday we were at Central," Al said in a nostalgic tone.
"We were away only a couple of weeks before coming back." Edward chuckled before finding himself glancing at the clock on top of one of the columns: ten minutes after one. Our train was twenty minutes ahead of schedule it seems, he mused.
"You think Lieutenant Hughes is at Central Command now?" Al asked. He then said in a whisper, "I hope he was able to collect more information relating to the Philosopher's Stone.
"He should be, yeah," Ed said, lowering his voice also. "And so do I, but Fuhrer Bradley is watching over him, so who knows."
"What are you guys talking about?"
Ed swallowed hard when he saw Winry giving him and Al a funny look. Damn it, she almost caught on what they were up to. Only able to come up with an answer off the top of his head, Ed blurted out "Men talk."
"It's always like that,” Winry said and then pouted. “Either way, I want to come to Central Command with you guys first. I want to see Hughes too."
"That's fine," Al said immediately.
Ed made a sound of agreement sound and nodded to Winry. He saw no harm in that, although once he and Al talk to Hughes about the Philosopher's Stone it should be in private.
"Came I come too? I'm interested in what Central Command looks like and I would like to have a glimpse at the Fuhrer."
For some reason Ed cringed upon hearing Ling wanting to see Fuhrer Bradley. He didn't like the thought of that. Then again, it wasn't like Ling requested to have a long chat with him. The prince just wanted one look at the Fuhrer and that was it.
"All right, you can tag along with us too so long as you and your guards don't do anything stupid." The only other thing Ed was worried about was Lan Fan and Fu causing a commotion. That was when he noticed those two weren't with him. "Speaking of your guards, where are they?"
At that instant Ed screamed when Lan Fan and Fu flew out of nowhere and landed front of him and the others. The guards bowed to Ling.
"My lord, you want us to keep an eye out on anything suspicious?" Fu asked.
"That would be great, thank you very much," Ling said. Fu and Lan Fan straightened.
Ed couldn't help but let out a deep sigh. This was going to be a long day.
Eventually everyone made it out of the train station and into the streets of Central. Edward would looked around and saw several people rushing to wherever they were supposed to be and heard the loud noises of cars passing by. He then glanced at Ling, Al, and Winry. Wait, Ling's bodyguards are missing...
"Don't tell your bodyguards are hiding," Ed said in a distressed tone.
Ling laughed and said, "Well, I did tell them to keep a watch if something goes wrong, and the best way to do that is to not let yourself be seen."
"I don't think we need your bodyguards to look over us, but I guess it's better to be safe than sorry," Winry said, a smile pulling at her face.
Edward glanced at his brother, who shrugged. He grumbled and shook his head, but decided to leave that alone. The group continued to walk to their destination in silence. Ed glimpsed at his surroundings once more and there seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary until he heard shouts not too far away.
"Hey, wait!"
Turning around, Ed saw two military police officers chasing a man in tattered clothing who, without hesitation, slammed his fist into a puddle and created icicles that that cut through the officers’ bodies, killing them instantly. That man then ran past Ed and the others as if they didn't exist. Ed's throat hitched.
"Brother, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Al asked. Ed assumed by the tone of his voice that he was just as stunned as he.
"Yeah. He must be an alchemist. We should stop him before he does any more damage." Edward swung his head to look at Ling. "Ling, take Winry to the hotel where we're staying. She'll give you the directions."
"Wait, you guys are actually gonna go after him?" Winry asked with worried eyes. "He might kill both of you!"
"Will you and Al need my guards to help you? They are able to track him down easily."
Ed took a second longer to consider Ling's offer. Some back up would be nice, but he didn't want anyone else get involved with this. He wasn't sure how Lan Fan and Fu would fare fighting against him.
"He does look tough, but Al and I should be able to handle him," Ed said.
"If you say so," Ling said, sounding a little disappointed. He then turned to face Winry. "We should get going."
When Winry hadn't said anything yet, Ed figured she still didn't want him and Al to chase after someone so dangerous. Soon she looked at both brothers with a brave smile.
"Just be careful, you two."
"We will, don't worry," Al reassured.
Winry gave a small nod before leaving with Ling in the opposite direction. He knew he had to catch up with the runaway alchemist and fast, so Ed took off with Al trailing behind him.
The brothers had to pass several crowds before eventually finding the man, who had just ran through a nearby alley. Ed saw the alchemist throw him a shocked look before jerking his head back. The young State Alchemist tightened his jaw and stopped to clap his hands and slap them on the ground, and blue light flashed in front of him. Behind Ed, Al halted too. A short distance away, a huge wall was created that blocked the other alchemist’s way. He turned around to glare at the brothers.
“What you think you two are doing?”
“Stopping you, that’s what!” Ed answered.
The man stared at Ed for a while but then cackled, as if he had realized something he should have known in the first place. “Wait a moment, you’re Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist!”
Ed smirked, not surprised the man figured who he was; his name had been well known for a while, now. He noticed, though, that the man’s finger pointed straight at his brother and not him. Ed’s jaw dropped.
“Er, I’m not him,” Al said in an embarrassed voice and pointed to Ed. “He’s Edward. I’m his brother, Alphonse.”
A stunned expression distorted the man’s face. “Wait, so the little guy here is the Fullmetal Alchemist?” he asked, tossing Ed a long stare.
This was also something Ed was used to and had become extremely tired of, everyone mistaking his younger brother for the Fullmetal Alchemist. Unable to control his temper, he slammed his hands on the ground again and a huge stone fist punched the man into the air to crash down onto the pavement. Unfortunately for Ed, he stood up already and took deep breaths.
“Well either way, I won’t be taken down by the both of you guys,” he threatened.
The next few moments went by in a blur for Ed. The other alchemist rushed towards him and caught his arm; however, the large man’s eyes grew wide when he saw metal through a large tear in Ed’s coat. Ed took that opportunity to break from the man’s grip and took several steps back. He saw his brother already behind their opponent, grabbing him with both arms, and just as quickly the man was able to push Al away with an elbow before hurrying off. Both brothers clapped their hands and were about to hit the ground, all of a sudden a blast of water fired at them. Ed avoided getting soak due to Al’s armored body tower over him, protecting him.
As soon as Al stepped aside, Ed noticed a damaged canteen lying on the ground and picked it up. He gritted his teeth; the other alchemist was nowhere in sight.
“Fuck, he got away,” Ed growled, clenching his fist.
“Considering the men that the alchemist killed were from the military, I bet Central Command already knew what happened here,” Al said.
“Yeah, you’re right.” Ed closed his eyes as he sighed. “Speaking of which, we should go there to find out more about the Philosopher’s Stone and meet up with Lieutenant Colonel Hughes.”
Al gave Ed a nod of agreement and both boys quickly headed out of the alley. Upon approaching the streets again they bumped into two men and everyone but Al went crashing down. Ed got up first and froze when he realized the men still on the ground were Second Lieutenants Breda and Havoc.
“Lieutenant Havoc, Lieutenant Breda? Why you two are here?” Al asked, sounding just as confused.
“We heard about a disturbances happening around Central and decided to check it out,” Havoc said as he and Breda got up at the same time. “Didn’t expect to find you here, Boss.”
“Did you two try to stop him?” Breda asked, his eyebrows slightly raised at both brothers.
“We did, but he got away,” Ed said. “I’m not sure where he is now.” He hoped that the man hadn’t gone too far, but wouldn’t be surprised if he were a fair distance away already.
“Havoc and I are going to Central Command to let the Colonel know about this. You guys had better go back to wherever you’re staying at.”
“Actually, we need to go to Central Command right now for important business. Can we come?” Al asked.
Havoc and Breda looked at one another briefly, making Ed wonder if they were thinking about saying ‘no’ to the idea. He was relieved when the two officers answered with an affirmative nod; now they could where they needed to go. All four then hurried to Central Command, not too far from where they were.
+++
Roy was hoping to get back to Room Three and see if he could find out more information concerning Hughes’s death. The Colonel hadn’t gotten the chance to do that when he heard there was a disturbance going on at Central. That annoyed him as he hadn’t been in headquarters for a week and knew for certain he might have to handle that case. He was about to go find his men to let them know the news, but before he made it to the elevator he saw Hawkeye coming towards him. Also with her was Havoc, Breada, and…
“Fullmetal? Alphonse?” Roy said aloud and his eyes went wide.
“They were involved with the attack that just happened at Central,” Breda explained. “We found them after the intruder escaped.”
“Really?” Roy heaved in a deep breath, already irritated over hearing that. “Breda, Havoc, I want you two to find Fuery. Let him know I’m having a meeting at my office concerning this in a few minutes.”
Both Havoc and Breda nodded to Roy and quickly left him alone with Hawkeye, Ed, and Al. Roy wanted to talk to Fullmetal a little bit before going back to his office, so he turned around to face the young alchemist and smirked.
“I take it the encounter with the runaway criminal didn’t turn out so well?”
Ed threw Roy an unpleasant look. “If you must know, Al and I bumped into a crazed alchemist, tried to stop him, but failed. We’ve dealt with alchemists before, but this guy is trickier than we thought.” Ed then changed the subject by asking, “What are you doing here in Central, anyways?”
“I got transferred to Central Headquarters a few days ago. What brings you and your brother here in the first place?”
“We came to do more research on the Philosopher's Stone and Homunculus.”
“What?” Roy sighed once more. “The military restricts human transmutation, so I doubt you’ll find any information on that.”
Ed made a face. “Is that so? At least I already know how much information I’ll be fine.”
Roy didn’t want to repeat what he had told Ed about researching Homunculus, so he remained quiet. There was a brief silence until Roy heard footsteps approaching him. He turned on his heels to see a man he didn’t recognize stop in front of him and saluted.
“Colonel Mustang, I’m Storch, Fuhrer Bradley’s personal assistant.”
This was the first time Roy had seen Storch. When he transferred here several days ago, he heard how the man wasn’t much for chit-chat and had an intimidating air to him. Roy hadn’t sensed that from him yet. The Colonel quirked an eyebrow as he wondered why Stroch was here to see him.
“What seems to be the problem?” Roy asked.
“The Fuhrer wants to have a word with you over the attack in Central earlier today.”
Roy heard collected gasps from the Lieutenant and the Elric brothers. He, too, was stunned upon hearing that.
“Did he give the reason why?” Hawkeye asked in a firm manner.
Strorch shrugged. “He didn’t tell me. I guess he wants you to find out yourself.”
Roy considered what Fuhrer Bradley’s assistant had said. It was odd that Fuhrer wished to discuss this subject with him at this instant, although it must be urgent if that was the case. He had made his choice.
"Tell the Fuhrer I'll meet up with him right away."
Storch nodded and immediately took off. Roy watched him briefly and then faced Hawkeye, Al, and Ed. "Lieutenant, I want you to take the boys to my office because I also want them to know how my meeting with the Fuhrer went."
The Lieutenant gave a single nod and gestured for the brothers to follow her. Roy could tell from Ed’s face and Al’s confused sound that they were skeptical about staying at headquarters a little longer. Nonetheless, they followed Hawkeye without any questions. Roy then noticed Al stopped, which caused Ed and Hawkeye to stop too.
"Oh, Colonel! Is Hughes here today?" Al asked.
"Yeah, where is he?" Ed asked also. I thought he would show up to investigate this case."
Roy’s heart sank. He didn’t expect to see the brothers this soon and already needed to make a decision whether to let them know of Hughes’s death now or not. He decided in that moment.
"Hughes is not here anymore. Lately there have been a lot of disturbances in Central. He retired and went to the countryside with his family."
A stunned expression crossed Ed's face. He then lowered his head and said, "Really? Ah man, that sucks."
"That's understandable. We wanted to meet with him again and say hi," Al said after, disappointment coloring his voice.
Roy smiled at them. "Perhaps you guys will meet him again someday." He stopped for a moment before saying in a serious tone to Ed, "All right, so Philosopher's Stone and Homunculus, right? I'll look them up and will let you know if I find anything." Again, he paused. "I'll see all of you along with the others in a little bit."
Without looking back at the brothers and his subordinate, Roy made haste towards the Fuhrer’s office. In the back of his mind he had an idea as to why the Fuhrer wanted to talk to him about what had happened today, but unsure how that would go.
+++
When Bradley first heard of the attack in Central, he was furious. Worse, it was Isaac McDougal, the Freezing Alchemist. Why had he come out into the open all of a sudden? It seemed all out of place, especially since McDougal had been in hiding since the end of the Ishval Extermination. Bradley got his answer, though, when Lust said Envy was the one that suggested the idea. He was going to have a talk with the rebellious Homunculus later.
Several minutes ago Bradley had send Storch to let Mustang know he expected him in his office immediately. He didn't need to wait long before the door opened-Mustang entered his office and halted after taking several steps.
"You wanted to see me, Fuhrer?"
"Yes, Mustang. As you probably heard, a lot of commotion has been going on in Central now involving a former State Alchemist."
"I'm well aware of that, Sir. Are you considering having me deal with this case?"
Bradley smiled. It shouldn't be a surprise that Mustang caught on fast that he was going to be the one handling that mess.
"That's correct, because this isn't just any ordinary case." Bradley stopped a second to think over how he would reveal this to Mustang. "Do you remember Isaac McDougal the Freezing Alchemist?"
"Of course. I fought alongside with him during the Ishval Extermination. He then left without warning and has been on the military's wanted list ever since." A stunned look suddenly came over Roy’s face. "Don't tell me he's the one causing trouble now."
"From the reports I had been gathering, that's him all right. It seems he slipped into Central recently and was just seen today. He can be quite dangerous, so that's why I want him to be caught as soon as possible."
Mustang kept a straight face, but Bradley sensed that the man was thinking over this assignment. As far as he could tell, there was no hint of the Colonel being against it.
"I should be able to capture him, you have my word,” Mustang finally responded.
"I have no doubt that you will, Mustang. You're dismissed."
Mustang gave the Fuhrer a salute and slowly left the room. Before Bradley could take a moment to breathe, another solider instantly entered. He closed the door, his eyes set on the Fuhrer. Bradley already had an idea who the solider was.
"I take it Mustang is going to take the bait after all." The soldier’s body suddenly burst with red electrical sparks and revealed Envy.
"He is. Lust informed me this was all your idea."
"Yup." Envy cracked a grin. "McDougal should keep him busy."
"I'm well aware the Flame Alchemist is trying to get more information on Brigadier General Hughes's death. Like Lust, I don't want all of Central to be destroyed."
Envy pouted and lowered his head a little. "You guys are joykills, sometimes."
Brushing off that comment, Bradley asked, "How much does McDougal know about our plans?"
"He somewhat knows about Laboratory Five and that Amestris is a Transmutation Circle. Nothing more."
Bradley digested over what Envy had said. So now McDougal had a vague idea of the main reason Amestris was created in the first place. It was risky for Envy to reveal that information to him, although if what the Homunculus said was true, then that former State Alchemist was still in the dark over Father's true intentions for this country.
"I guess that's fine as long as everything else hasn't been revealed."
"I know of Father's plan. I wasn't going to spoil it by telling some measly former State Alchemist."
Bradley remained quiet. He admitted, this was a good way for Mustang to be busy with something else, but hoped the McDougal case wouldn't get too out of hand. It was hard to tell which direction it could go.
+++
"The Freezing Alchemist?" Ed asked.
"Yes. His name is Isaac McDougal and he served the military as a State Alchemist, his specialty being water alchemy. He left after fighting in the Ishval War without going through the resignation process and has been in hiding ever since."
As soon as Colonel Mustang made it to the office, Al and everyone else listened to him explain his meeting with Fuhrer Bradley. He told them how the Fuhrer wanted him to take care of the case concerning The Freezing Alchemist, who was responsible for the attack that occurred today. This was the first time Al heard of him and by the sound of Ed's voice it was his, too.
"My brother and already found that out about his alchemy when we fought him earlier today," Al said.
"One thing I don't get is why he popped up all of a sudden," Ed said.
"I don't get that either. Perhaps he has been planning this all along and waiting for the right moment to strike." The Colonel dragged out a deep sigh. "Either way, he's out there somewhere now and is very dangerous, so you and Al need to stay at the military hotel and help me deal with McDougal."
"Wait, what?" Ed shouted. "You don't want us to leave Central Command?"
"I'm going to need you and your brother to not stray too far off from me and my team while we try to capture him. Also if something happens to you and Alphonse, none of us may be able to help you. May I remind you the incident with Scar?"
Al caught his brother's horrified expression, which then faded. He guessed Ed realized Mustang had a point and found himself agreeing with him. It was a good thing the Colonel and his men had made it on time before Scar was able to finish them off.
"It's not like we're keeping an eye on you twenty-four seven, Edward," Hawkeye explained. “ It’s just for now all of us want you and Alphonse to be careful while McDougal is still running around the city."
"Fine, we'll help you and not be far away," Ed said after a defeated sigh escaped him. "Hopefully this isn't going to take long."
"It shouldn't be, as all the men in Central are aware of McDougal's presence and are keeping careful watch on him."
"We'll get to work on that immediately in the morning, yes. I'll let you all know which areas we should search."
Glancing around, Al realized someone was absent. “How about Warrant Officer Falman? I noticed he isn’t here today.”
“He’s away for a few days for a family emergency. I’ll inform him about the case when he returns.”
An awkward silence followed. Al was glad to hear that this task might not take long. He and Ed had been through quite a lot of incidents over the past several weeks, and Al was very weary of fighting. The sooner the criminal was found, the better. He then remembered Winry and Ling, who were most likely worried about where he and Ed were. Part of him actually worried more about them, even if Ling had his guards watching over them.
"Colonel, we have some friends who are waiting for us at the hotel we're staying at. Are they going to be fine?"
It took a moment until Mustang said with a smile, "I'm sure they will." Mustang’s expression turned stern. "Havoc, escort the boys to their room. The rest of you, that'll be all for tonight."
Al saw everyone but Ed salute the Colonel and shout, "Yes, Sir!" to him. Breda, Hawkeye, and Fuery walked out of the room before Havoc told him and his brother to come along. They followed the Lieutenant without any protest.
"Are you boys going to call your friends to let them know you’re all right?" Havoc asked as they continued walking.
"Of course we are," Ed said and shrugged. "Hopefully they won't get too mad."
Eventually, they made it to the elevator and Havoc pushed the button for the door. The Second Lieutenant was the first one to step inside as they opened and the brothers followed after. While they rode down, Al thought back to when the Colonel told them about Lieutenant Colonel Hughes retiring. He glanced at Ed, wondering if his brother was thinking the same thing.
"It's a shame we weren't able to see Hughes again," Ed said in a low voice.
Al made a sigh-like sound. "Winry isn't going to like the news when we tell her. She was looking forward to seeing the Hughes family."
"She won't, but she has to know."
The brothers didn't say anything after that. Al thought their stay at Central was off to a bad start.
+++
The night sky fell upon Central as Winry gazed outside her hotel room's window. She noticed her own anxious expression reflected back at her from the glass.
Where could those two be?
Winry grew worried over Edward and Alphonse, fearing something horrible might have happened to them. If they were fine, they probably would have been here by now. Why did they always need to play hero?
"Still concerned over the Elric brothers?"
Taken aback by that statement, Winry made a "huh?" sound and jolted a little. She turned around to see Ling looking at her, frowning.
"I'm just wondering what could have taken them so long. They're probably at the hospital...again."
"Again?" Ling asked, a perplexed expression crossing his face.
"Well, a couple weeks ago I had to come to Central to fix Ed’s arm. Al would have let me know by now if that's the case."
Ling laughed and shook his head. "I believe they're all right, don't worry."
Winry still felt a tinge of uneasiness, but nodded. If Ling believed that, she would too.
At that instant the phone rang, which caused Winry to squeak in surprise. She frantically went to answer it.
"Ed, is that you? Where are you and Al?"
"The both of us are fine," Ed replied at the other end of the line. "We're at the Central Command Hotel now."
"Central Command Hotel? Why are you guys there?"
Edward explained how, after the battle with the man they had run into earlier, Breda and Havoc found him and Al and took them to Central. He then said how “Colonel Smugface” wanted their help but not let them out of his sight while the Freezing Alchemist was still around, so they were forced to stay at the military's hotel.
"I see," Winry said after listening to Ed and stopped a moment to think over what he had just told her. If Ed and Al needed to help Colonel Mustang with capturing that criminal, it sounded like the Freezing Alchemist wasn’t going to be easy to deal with, which made her unhappy. “Well, be careful out there."
"We will. The Colonel said it would only be for a short time, so we should be back soon. You stay safe too."
Winry was speechless for a second. This is was the first time she heard Ed being concerned about her and it touched her very much. She smiled and was about to say goodnight, but another thought occurred to her.
"Wait, did you guys get to meet with Lieutenant Colonel Hughes?"
When Ed didn’t answer Winry instantly, she became suspicious. "Ed? Ed?"
"The Colonel said Hughes had retired early and moved to the countryside with his family."
"Wait, really?” She frowned.” That's a bit disappointing. I wanted to see him again."
"Yeah, me too." A short pause. "Well, good night."
"Good night, Ed. Also tell Al I said good night to him, too."
"Don't worry, I will!"
Once Ed had hung up on the phone, Winry placed the phone back on the desk and sat down on the bed. Ling sat down next to her soon after.
"That was Ed, right?"
Winry nodded. "He and Al are at Central Command now because they’ve been asked to help out capturing this Freezing Alchemist guy."
"Freezing Alchemist? You mean the same man we bumped into earlier?"
"Same one."
A thoughtful look appeared on Ling’s features as he crossed his arms and tipped his head down a bit. “Sounds like he’s going to be a tough opponent to beat. When are Ed and Al going to search for him?”
“Tomorrow morning. Why do you ask?”
“Are you considering we try to find that runaway criminal, young lord?”
Winry screamed in fright when Fu, who was the one asked that question, while Lan Fan suddenly appeared from seemingly nowhere to kneel in front of Ling. She wanted to ask Ling how his guards managed to get inside a closed window, but decided against it.
“Yes I am,” Ling told his guards. “If you guys can track down both that man and the Elrics, tomorrow, that would be great.”
“As you wish,” Lan Fan said as she and her grandfather lowered their heads in a bow.
Ling turned to Winry, “My bodyguards should be able to find them and also let us know what’s going on in Central.” He then offered her a reassuring grin.
Winry wasn’t able to make herself smile back. Even though she had faith Fu and Lan Fan would be able to spot Ed and Al, she still feared something bad might happen to them.
+++
Central Prison, one of the largest and most guarded prisons in Amestris, was well known by all in the city. Almost everyday there would be news of convicts being sent to there, and because the facility was under control by the military, a solider being jailed there was a big deal. Isaac wasn't able to keep track of all of the military officers housed, but there was one he definitely knew he would find without a doubt.
Kimblee.
Before leaving the military unexpectedly, Issac heard about how the Red Lotus Alchemist had blown up several high ranking officers and had been imprisoned at Central Prison ever since. The man assumed that Kimblee’s actions had been an act of justice, just like how he wanted to take down Central Command. Hence, his reason for visiting the prison. Isaac had heard that Kimblee's cell was separated from the other prisoners and that there was a guard standing by almost at all times.
The alchemist waited until nightfall to make his move. He knew there would be some guards patrolling, but not as many as he were to break in during daytime. Not only that, almost all of the prisoners would be sleeping by now. Causing a ruckus during the day would only make it easier for him to be found out. The prison itself was surrounded by a stone wall and a wooden gate several feet high at the entrance. Hiding behind a tree that was close to the gate, Issac kept an eye on a guard who seemed to be very watchful of his surroundings. It should still be pretty easy to take him down, though.
Readying the gauntlet that covered his arm, Isaac activated the transmutation circle on it lit up as he hurried towards the wide-eyed guard. Before the man was able to pull out his gun, Issac grabbed the guard's face and burned it. The guard started to scram but fell silent as he died in the next instant. Issac glanced at the dead man, his face unrecognizable due to the burnt marks covering it. This was the first time in a while he had used alchemy to boil water, but it was just as easy as transmuting freezing water. Isaac got out a canteen and splashed some water on the wooden doors before slamming his hands on them, causing an explosion. The gate now had a gaping hole and the wanted criminal didn’t hesitate to go through it.
Isaac took several steps before stopping to stare at a six-story building, He could see that most of the windows were dark except for a few, which still glowed with dim light. He wasn't sure where Kimblee's cell was, but believed it was likely on either the first or second floor; Isaac needed to quickly figure out where the other alchemist was before he was discovered. In a few more steps, he reached the entrance doors and took hold of one of the handles, opening it and went inside. Isaac quickly looked both ways before deciding to dash to the left.
Earlier that day, he had broken into an abandoned building to create one of the transmutation circles needed for his plan to destroy Central Headquarters. However, two military police officers caught him just as he finished. He hoped they hadn’t figured out what he was up to.
As he ran on, Isaac thought back to his encounter with Edward Elric. The former alchemist was stunned when he found out the young man's right arm was made out of metal. At first it hadn’t worried him as much, because there was a chance that Elric had been involved in an accident that took his arm. Issac then noticed that both the Fullmetal Alchemist and his brother were able to use alchemy without using a transmutation circle. Just how they were able to do that?
Those two can't have that skill, unless...
He had heard stories about alchemists who had performed human transmutation that had come back without limbs or other body parts. Edward had lost an arm and Alphonse mostly likely didn't have a body (when Isaac hit the armor with his elbow he had heard a hollow sound, which disturbed him). Isaac had a feeling that those two having done the ultimate taboo and not need to use a transmutation circle were somehow connected. The brothers were most likely still going to try to find him, so he wouldn't be surprised if he met them again.
Isaac halted when he caught sight of a guard in front of a gate, and across from him a door; he was certain this must be Kimblee’s cell and remembered that the Red Lotus Alchemist was in solitary, with a guard outside at all times. His attention was directed back to the guard, who seemed frightened in spite of having a gun aimed at him.
"Hold it right ther--"
Already Isaac gripped the guard's arm and froze him solid. After snatching the key from the dead man's belt, Isaac used it to open the cell and walked in a short distance. For some reason he felt an unpleasant feeling sinking into his bones. Issac heaved in a deep breath.
"Kimblee, are you here?" Isaac asked, lowering his voice a little just in case other guards might come soon. It wouldn't hurt to make sure.
Silence, and then a sinister chuckle. "Isaac McDougal, is that you? I thought you would've been caught."
No surprise over Kimblee hearing about the attacks that had happened earlier today. The way he said it suggested Kimblee wanted him to be dealt with, which Issac mentally shrugged off. That, too, hadn't surprised him and at this point he had business to attend to.
"I came here to ask for your help in taking down Central Command."
+++
In the morning, Riza was the first to enter the Colonel’s office. She wasn’t expected for another half hour, but felt it would be better to come early in case he wanted her to check up on a few last minute things before the group, including the Elric Brothers, left. Riza blinked when she saw Mustang with his chin on his hand and elbow resting on the desk, a distant look in his eyes.
“Morning, Colonel,” she said, hoping that would get his attention. It did and Mustang looked at her with a sheepish laugh.
“Oh, sorry. Good morning. I was just wondering if I made the right decision in not letting Fullmetal and his brother know about Hughes’s death yet. I only did that so those two won’t have their progress delayed.”
Riza frowned. She had guessed as much that the Colonel was having seconding thoughts over that his decision to not tell the Elric brothers about Hughes’ death. It took her a while to figure out the right words to say to him.
“I think it’s understandable. They should still focus on getting their bodies back.”
“I still feel bad about lying to them, even if it is for the best.” A sad chuckle escaped from Mustang. “I guess I’m being too soft.”
“Nothing wrong with that, Sir.” Riza felt a slight smile pulling at her lips.
There was silence between the two, but it was short lived when a solider hastened into the office and gave a stiff salute.
“Colonel Mustang, I got word that former State Alchemist Isaac McDougal broke into Central Military Prison last night.”
Riza saw Mustang’s eyes flew wide in shock. She, too, gasped, very surprised at the news.
“Are you sure?”
“There’s evidence that several prison guards have been either frozen or burned.”
The solider handed Mustang a folder, and he wasted no time reading it. Riza leaned in to have a look at the report; it was more or less what he had just said. She then glanced at the Colonel, who had a stern look set about his face and nodded.
“Thank you. I’ll let my team know about this.”
The solider nodded and left. Riza raised an eyebrow at Mustang as he rose from his chair and pulled on his coat.
“I’m going to the prison to visit Kimblee.”
Riza flinched once she heard that name. That particular man, back from the Ishval Extermination, was still fresh in her mind, even after several years. A cold sensation ran down her spine as she thought about him now.
“Why him?” she managed to ask.
“Kimblee was a former State Alchemist too, which was probably one of the reasons for McDougal to break in the prison and visit him. I want you to wait here until I get back. If the others come in while I’m away, tell them I’m checking up on a lead in as to where McDougal was.”
“All right,” Riza said without questioning it.
Before the Colonel left the room, he nodded to Riza and waved in a farewell, which she returned with a salute. She still was uneasy with Mustang going to visit Kimblee, but trusted that he knew what he was doing.
+++
It had been a while since Roy visited the prison, but each time he went there, it always gave him the chills. It reminded him that he might end up in there after his plans for changing Amestris were in full motion, but didn’t want to think about that right now. The Colonel kept on following the guard that was taking him to Kimblee’s cell until they made it there. After opening the door, the guard turned around to face Roy. He continued to follow the guard until they stopped in front of Kimblee’s cell. After opening the door, the guard turned to face Roy.
“I don’t know why you insist on questioning him, Colonel, but each to their own.”
“I believe McDougal had visited Kimblee before leaving the prison.”
The guard didn’t say anything. Instead, he gave Roy a shrug and stepped aside so the Flame Alchemist could pass. As Roy entered the cell, he gasped to himself as a sinister laughter came from the other side of the gate in front of him. He had heard how Kimblee was restricted to his own room given his sociopathic tendencies; Roy was glad of this.
“I dreamt of the day the Flame Alchemist would come visit and it has come true.”
“I’m not here for friendly chit chat, Kimblee,” Roy scolded. “I want to ask you some questions concerning McDougal.”
Another chuckle left Kimblee’s throat. “McDougal, huh? If you’re wondering he came to talk to me, then you’re correct.”
Roy jolted slightly, but forced himself to relax. All right, so far so good. At least he knew that part was true. There was still the question as to why, though.
“How come?” Roy asked in a demanding tone.
“He wanted to recruit me for his plans to attack Central, but I refused. From what I heard, it seems he’s doing a pretty good job on his own.”
Roy stayed silent for a short moment, not wanting to respond to the other man’s remark. He then asked Kimblee, “Why did McDougal want you to help him with that?”
“He’s aware that both of us saw the horrors in Ishval and believes that’s the reason why I blew up those officers. I corrected by telling him I did it because I could.”
“Ishval…” Roy murmured. He was very certain Ishval was the reason as to why McDougal left the military, but hadn’t thought he would use that to convince Kimblee to help him. The Colonel gave a soft cough and said, “That’s all I wanted to know from you concerning McDougal, Kimblee. Thank you.”
“It’s my pleasure. I wouldn’t be a gentleman if I hadn’t answered your questions. Good luck finding the Freezing Alchemist because you’re going to need it.”
Shaking his head, Roy mentally let out a heavy sigh and exited the cell. He didn’t want to admit it, but Kimblee was right that he was going to need all the luck he could get on this case.
Go to Part Two
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