Chapter Text
She said it again, this time almost a whisper. “I never asked for this damned body.”
Nico just looked at his sister, his face crumbling. Then he said in an even softer voice, “I...I’m so sorry, Bianca.”
He went on, his voice shaking, “It’s all my fault that this happened. That’s why I want to get you back to normal as soon as possible.”
“Is there any guarantee?” Bianca’s voice seemed a little cold. “Is there really any guarantee that we can get our bodies back?”
Nico gave a weak smile and tried to sound encouraging by speaking a little too loudly. “Of course, Bianca. I’ll get your body back. You have to believe me.”
“Believe you?” Bianca’s voice was rising. “How can I believe anything in this empty shell of a body?” She went on. “We were taught that human beings are made up of a body, a mind and a soul. But has that ever been proven? Memories are nothing but data. It should be possible to construct them artificially.”
Nico looked at his sister, his face unreadable. “What are you saying, Bianca?”
“Brother, you said there was something you wanted to tell me, something you were afraid to tell me. Maybe you wanted to tell me that my memories and my soul are fake, that you created them.”
Nico couldn’t say anything; he just stared at her.
“Well, Nico, can you prove that a person named Bianca Elric ever existed? Isn’t it possible that you and Will and Granny Naomi are lying to me? So, brother, what do you say to that?”
Nico brought his fists down on the table with a crash. Then he glared at his sister. His voice was quiet again, but it was trembling with anger. “Were you keeping this bottled up the whole time? Is that what you wanted to tell me?”
Bianca just looked at him. He stood up and said “I see.” Then, without another word, he walked out of the room. As he went into the hallway, he passed Beckendorf and the two lieutenants, who had been drawn by the sound of his arguing. He didn’t spare any of them a glance as he walked down the corridor in silence.
The stillness in the room was broken when Will spoke to Bianca.
“You,” he said softly, but then he shouted. “YOU IDIOT!!” He picked up the heaviest wrench in his kit and slammed it against Bianca’s helmet.
“What are you doing?” Bianca asked. The wrench had no effect on her Stygian iron body, but it made a terrific clang. She looked at this boy she’d known her whole life. Will Rockbell was a gentle soul at heart. He had a temper when her patients (read Nico) didn’t take proper care of their automail, but he was essentially a pacifist. Not now. His face was contorted with a rage she’d never seen in the boy.
“YOU IDIOT!” he shouted again and swung the wrench again. Bianca moved back in time to avoid another ringing strike, but Will’s words struck deeper than any physical impact. “YOU HAVE NO IDEA OF HOW NICO FEELS, DO YOU?!?”
“The thing he was afraid to talk to you about,” Will’s voice started to crack, but he went on, “was whether you blamed him.” He sat down hard on the bed, and tears started to roll down his cheeks.
Will hated to cry, especially in public, but he couldn’t help it as he told Bianca about that night so long ago.
Nico was lying on the bed in their little surgery back in Resembool, recovering from the agonizing process of having the automail stitched to his nerves. Will had seen grown men screaming and fainting from the pain, but even when he was 12 years old, Nico had borne it all. He’d never shed a tear; he’d barely cried out throughout the whole operation. Until this night when Will had come upon him lying in bed, tears streaming down his face.
When he’d asked if Nico was in pain from the operation, he’d gasped out, “It’s not that… it’s just…this is all my fault. It’s my fault Bianca’s stuck in that metal body. She can’t eat. She can’t sleep. She can’t feel anything. What if she blames me?”
Naomi had come into the room and taken Nico’s hands in hers, a gesture of infinite tenderness. “I’ve known the two of you all your lives. You and I both know she doesn’t blame you.”
“But what if she does?”
Naomi smiled and said, “Why don’t you just ask her?”
Nico pulled back. “I can’t. I’m too afraid. That’s why I have to get her body back as soon as I can.”
Wiping the tears from his own eyes, Will stood up. Bianca had sunk onto the bed, and, as large as the suit of armor was, Will seemed to tower over her. “He cried himself to sleep that night.”
Then he struck at Bianca’s shoulder, not with a wrench, but with his fist. “And then you went and said what you did. What idiot would risk his life to create a fake sister?”
Will picked up the wrench again, as if he was going to slam it into Bianca, but instead, he threw it onto the floor and collapsed onto the bed, sitting next to Bianca.
“All you guys have is each other,” he sobbed. Then he straightened. “You!” He jabbed his finger at Bianca. She drew back in surprise, but Will continued, jabbing at her with each word. “What are you waiting for? Go after your brother. Now!”
On his last word, Bianca sprang to her feet and ran off down the corridor. She knew where her brother would be. Whenever he was upset, he’d head up to the roof of whatever building he was in. He’d go to the edge and stare out into the distance as if he were in the crow’s nest of a ship, trying to figure out what course to plot.
When he heard Bianca’s metallic footsteps, he turned around slowly. Then he spoke. “I’ve been feeling out of shape. It’s because we haven’t sparred in a while.”
Bianca said in concern, “What are you talking about? Your wounds haven’t healed yet.”
Nico launched a kick, landing it in Bianca’s midsection. She fell back, putting her hands up in a defensive pose. “Nico, stop. You’re going to reopen your wounds.”
It didn’t deter him. Nico continued to land blows on his sister. Finally, he hooked his foot behind her, and brought her down with a crash. He stood over her and proclaimed, “I’ve beaten you. That’s the first time I’ve ever beaten you.” Then he fell to the ground, exhausted.
“You know, sister,” he said, panting, “we used to fight over all kinds of things.”
“Yeah, and most of them were dumb things.”
“I know,” Nico agreed. “We fought over toys.”
“We fought over who got the last cannoli,” Bianca said.
“Remember when we were playing by the river?” Nico asked.
“Yeah,” and you tried to throw me in. I also remember the time you fought me because I said I didn’t want to marry Will.”
Nico laughed at that. “And then he said he didn’t want to marry you either.”
“We fought at Teacher’s house, too,” Bianca said.
Nico laughed again. “And then she told us to shut up and almost killed us herself.” He went on. “Do you really think all those memories are fake?”
Bianca muttered, “Sorry.”
Nico continued, “Back home, you told me you would do anything to get your body back. Was that fake?”
“No,” Bianca replied.
Nico sat up. “That’s when I decided to take the state alchemy exam, so that we could get both our bodies back.” He paused for a moment. “I mean it Bianca, I’ll get stronger, I’ll get better, so that we’ll succeed. Whatever it takes.” Then he gave his sister the warm smile she wanted to see. “Even if it means eating my vegetables.”
Her gauntleted fist bumped his automail one. “That’s right, Fratello.”
Will and Beckendorf had come up to the roof and looked at the siblings. Will remembered the other’s words and quoted them. “Sometimes, things have to be said.” The corporal just nodded.
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Back in the hospital room, they were going over what had happened at Laboratory 5. Nico said, “I don’t remember what happened after that woman, Akhlys, kicked me. But I do remember seeing that all three of them had this tattoo. It looked like the alchemical symbol for Earth, a downward triangle with a horizontal line through it.”
Beckendorf scratched his chin as he ran through the list. “Human souls trapped in armor bodies used as guards, human sacrifices, you allowed to live, this Akhlys woman...this Earth tattoo.”
“And a transmutation circle for the philosopher’s stone,” Nico added.
“This is too many mysteries for this just to be about the philosopher’s stone,” Jason threw out.
Beckendorf groaned, “And the lab is a dead end, because it’s been reduced to a pile of rubble.”
In the corridor outside the room, Lou Ellen and Cecil were staring in amazement at the approaching figure.
“I might be able to find something in the criminal records division. Maybe somebody knows about this tattoo,” Beckendorf offered.
“And I can see who was working with Dr. Chiron,” Jason began, but he was cut off by a commanding knock at the door. When it opened, Jason and Beckendorf snapped to attention.
“Fuhrer King Kronos!” they both said.
“At ease, men,” he responded easily. “I’ve come to see our patient.” He pulled out a mesh bag full of fruit. “Do you like melons?” He handed Nico the bag. The smile faded from his face as he turned to Jason.
“I understand you’ve been doing a lot of digging into military records, Major Armstrong.”
“Well, sir, I’ve been…” Jason began, but the king cut him off with a gesture and turned back to Nico.
“And you, Stygian Iron. You’re searching for the philosopher’s stone, are you not?”
Nico’s face stayed still, but his eyes grew wide, as Kronos continued.
“How much do you know? A great deal depends on your answer.”
Time seemed to flow more slowly than usual for a moment, but then Kronos laughed. “Just kidding. Honestly, you guys are so uptight.” He stopped laughing. “There’s been some suspicious activity going on around HQ lately, and I want to get to the bottom of it.”
He picked up one of the sheets of paper that Jason had brought out. He looked at it for a moment. “This is a list of all the researchers doing work on the stone. My goodness, major, you’ve done a very thorough job. Unfortunately the whereabouts of all of these researchers is currently unknown. They all disappeared shortly before the explosion at laboratory 5. It seems that our enemy is one step ahead of us. I want to know how much they’ve infiltrated the military. Major Armstrong, Corporal Beckendorf, Elrics, I trust the four of you. I am giving you this order for your own safety. I will not allow you to speak to anyone about this matter or stick your necks into it any further. Is that clear?”
Armstrong and Beckendorf saluted in response. Nico indicated his still damaged automail arm to indicate that he was unable to give a proper salute. Kronos just winked at him, an unsettling gesture from a man with an eyepatch. Then he said, “When the time comes, I will make certain that you are informed when the time comes. And now gentlemen…” he nodded to Bianca, “and Ms. Elric, I have to get back to my guards before they realize I’ve slipped away.” With that, he climbed out the window.
No sooner had he gone than Will came into the room. “What’s up with you guys?” he asked with a smile. “You’re acting a little weird.”
“A minor storm just passed through,” Nico said.
“Whatever. I picked up the train tickets you ordered.”
“Is that wise? You’re not fully healed.” Jason was starting to act like a mother hen.
“I can’t stay in an infirmary for three days. There’s a place Bianca and I have to go to,” Nico said.
“Where are you headed?” Beckendorf asked.
“A little town called Dublith,” Nico replied.
Will stood up excitedly. “You didn’t tell me you were going to Dublith!”
“So what?” Nico said.
“Dublith is right next to Rush Valley!” Will was practically shouting with excitement. “Rush Valley, the automail engineers’ Mecca. I’ve always wanted to go there!” He began to punch at Nico’s automail arm. “You have to take me there!”
“Why can’t you take yourself?”
“Oh come on, you know private travel is expensive. You’re a state alchemist. I can travel at a discount if I’m with you. Besides,” Will said, giving Nico a sly look, “you might need me to do some maintenance. You’re always wrecking your automail.”
Bianca sighed. “Brother, you might as well say yes.”
“Fine, whatever,” Nico grumbled.
=====
As the train pulled out of the station, Will leaned forward in his seat to wave at Beckendorf, who’d come to the station to see them off. Then he sat back, facing Nico.
“You never told me why you and Bianca need to go to Dublith.”
It was Bianca who answered. “We’ve decided to see our old teacher.” She turned to Nico. “She’s gonna kill us for sure.”
Will looked alarmed. “What kind of teacher is gonna kill you?”
“Don’t ask,” Bianca and Nico said in perfect unison.
=====
Beckendorf was poring over the reports that had come in while he was at the hospital. “Riots in Laore?” he asked the aide who’d brought in the latest dispatches.
“I heard it started when this cult leader was exposed as a fraud. All the people he’d taken in turned on him, and it turned bloody. I don’t know. It seems like there are riots starting up all over Amestris. There’s no pattern to it.”
When the aide left, Beckendorf thought about what the man had said. He pulled out a map of the country and started to mark it up with the locations of the riots. In short order he saw that the aide was wrong. There was a pattern. It was a pattern he had just seen a few hours ago in the drawings Nico had shown him. This couldn’t be!
“I’ve got to tell the major about this,” he said. He rose from his desk. Then he carefully folded up the map he’d marked and put it inside a book of nautical charts that Percy had given him when he first got this job. Then he headed for the door, but before he reached it, it flew open. A striking woman with flaming red hair stood blocking the doorway.
“A little birdie told me someone’s been looking into things he shouldn’t have been,” she said.
The woman was beautiful, but Beckendorf only noticed one detail.
“Nice tattoo,” he said, indicating the design just below her collarbone, a downward triangle with a horizontal line through it.
“You know too much,” she said, reaching out a hand with fingernails that turned into impossibly long talons,
Before the razor sharp claws could connect, he’d pulled out a sidearm and shot her point blank in the chest. She fell back, more from the impact of the bullets than from any damage they’d done. In a flash, Beckendorf was out the door, but not before one of this monster’s talons had dealt him a fierce blow, drawing blood from his side. Beckendorf managed to fire a few more shots before he ran down the stairs.
He stopped at a bank of phones and grabbed one. He hastily dialed a number.
“Put the phone down, Corporal.” It was a woman he thought he knew. She had a gun pointed at him.
“Who are you?”
“You know me. I’m Second Lieutenant Lou Ellen Ross.”
“You look like her, but you’re not. She has a birthmark under her left eye, not her right one.”
“Oops.” She closed her eyes for a moment, and the birthmark faded and reappeared in the correct place. “Is that better?” she asked with a smirk. The smirk faded when she saw that he’d taken advantage of her brief pause to draw his own gun. He fired without hesitation, but instead of aiming for a lethal shot, he’d shot at her hand, causing her to drop her gun.
“Clever. A shot to the heart wouldn’t have done anything,” she said.
He didn’t wait to respond. His call had gone through, and he had to get the most vital information through first. “Your first gift,” he shouted into the phone, hoping that his message would be understood. Then he took aim for a second shot.
“Maybe a heart shot wouldn’t work, but how about a headshot?” he said, raising the gun.
“But could you shoot your own wife in the face?” she asked.
Beckendorf froze in horror. Somehow she’d become the image of Silena. “But how…” was all he could gasp.
She smiled coldly, in a way that his beautiful wife never had. “Well, misery takes many forms.” Then she shot him point blank in the heart. He fell back onto the phone, breaking the connection.
Akhlys heard people coming, drawn by the sound of gunfire. Before they arrived, she shifted her appearance back to Ross. “Might as well spread the misery,” she said before she left the building.
=====
Percy stared at the phone in his hand. He’d heard Beckendorf’s voice, saying, “Your first gift,” then gunshots. “Beckendorf,” he called into the dead phone in a choked voice.