Beta:TaintedLetter
(óヮò)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
Elizabeth woke up to the gentle nudgings of Selim's shadows. She slowly opened her big green eyes, staring up at several pairs of red eyes glistening from the shadows. She smiled sleepily at her best friend, reaching forward to pat his smooth shadows. "G'morning, Selim."
"Good morning, Ellie. I thought you might want to know that your stupid little friends are in the hospital," Selim said.
Elizabeth abruptly sat up, adrenaline causing her eyes to widen and a gasp to escape her. "What? Who? Why?"
"The Elrics... why don't you go down and see if they'll tell you what happened?" Selim suggested, his tone not unkind. "I know how much you care for them."
"Y-Yes, of course. Thank you so much for telling me, Selim. I'll get to the bottom of this right away," Elizabeth declared, throwing back her covers and hurrying out of bed. As she began to quickly get ready for the day she asked him, "Do you know anything?"
"I know some things," Selim responded. "But I'm more interested in what the brothers tell you and anyone else."
Elizabeth tossed her dirty clothes in the hamper, pausing in her morning routine at Selim's comment. Now that she had been awake for more than a minute she noted the odd tone in Selim's voice.
It was also downright weird for Selim to bring up the Elric brothers willingly. Elizabeth knew Selim found them insufferable and only tolerated them on her behalf. She never would have thought that Selim would be the one to bring to Elizabeth's attention that they might need her.
To be frank, Elizabeth thought that Selim would have no issues watching the brothers bleed to death from the shadows while he enjoyed tea time with Elizabeth.
She frowned at that, looking back at his shadows with a curious look. "Selim, what's going on? You don't like them, so why do you care?"
The shadows twitched, and his mouths turned down into frowns.
Noticing the immediate change in displeasure Elizabeth was quick to add, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I'll always do my best to help you and if you want me to find stuff out for you, I will. I was only curious."
"The brothers got in too deep. It's important, for their own sake, they don't know too much," Selim responded. "I may not be fond of them, but they are valuable assets and I do not wish for their untimely demise."
That made sense. The boys were stubborn and curious by nature. If they came across a military secret they shouldn't know about—like the philosopher's stone, Elizabeth would be willing to bet—they wouldn't let it be.
And if it was a true military secret, then they really shouldn't know.
Considering the... technique used to create the philosopher's stone Elizabeth knew the brothers would never condone it.
On a moral stance they were correct.
On a practical stance, they were incorrect.
Amestris was a country, and the military's job was to protect said country. As a soldier, and scientist, Elizabeth understood the necessity of sacrifice. There were times where one had to disavow their morality for the greater good of the country, of the citizens they were sworn to protect. It would not surprise Elizabeth if the philosopher's stone was a prime example of this.
In the long run, the stone could only do more good than harm for the country, right?
Then shouldn't that justify the means? It's not like they were picking random innocent civilians. The labs had been using criminals already sentenced to death by society.
Elizabeth saw no issue in this.
Sacrifices had to be made for the greater good of science, and humanity. Why mourn a tree when you could save the forest?
That being said, the brothers had said that Dr. Marcoh had not perfected the stone. Which meant that the stone was still in experimental stages and thusly should not be released to the public, or to really anyone else not working on it.
If the brothers had left it alone after what they had uncovered it could simply be done at that. Knowing that much was bad, yes, but not enough to justify imprisonment. Especially since it was well known the brothers would never kill someone, let alone experiment with live humans. There was no chance of them recreating the stone from the knowledge gained.
But if there was more information to be found... information that the brothers decided to uncover...
That would be bad.
That would be very, very bad.
Secrets existed for a reason. Taboos were forbidden for a reason.
And something like this?
It would be like walking into a burning building with a blindfold on.
As a friend, Elizabeth was concerned for them.
Selim wasn't concerned as friend, but concerned with how much they uncovered. How much damage them knowing could do to the military—to Elizabeth's new family—and to themselves.
If they knew too much it wouldn't be a stretch to think that Papa might issue their arrest.
'Oh boy,' Elizabeth thought with a sigh, finishing combing through her hair. 'Edward... Alphonse... what did you get yourselves into?'
She hoped for their sake it wasn't too late.
She finished getting ready by including her hidden weapons—all kept under her dress, attached to her thighs. She added the new Vestard grenades, idly wondering if she would ever have to use them. The only weapon she kept visible was the rapier Papa had given her, and she hooked it to her bow on the back of her dress.
(óヮò)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
Elizabeth arrived at the hospital early that morning. Her shoes clicked through the tiled hallways, and staff moved out of her way as she made her way to the Elric's hospital room.
Standing guard were the two officers that acted rather rudely the night before.
'Clearly they can't do a good job guarding, either,' Elizabeth thought sourly, offering them a mild glare. They both stood upon seeing her, Second Lt. Ross offering her an apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry young lady, but Armstrong ordered no visitors until Edward has woken up," she said.
"A good thing I outrank him, then," Elizabeth snapped irritably. "Move aside, or I will make you."
"You what?" Sergeant Brosh blurted out.
Resisting the urge to knee him, Elizabeth pulled out her identification card. On it showed her identification as the Spring Alchemist, and her rank: Colonel.
The rank was an unfortunate necessity to obtain the legal ability to do paperwork for Papa.
Papa did not want to do paper.
Ever.
In order for someone to approve said paperwork on behalf of the führer, they had to be of colonel rank or higher.
(Yes, Führer King Bradley literally promoted his adopted daughter for the sole purpose of avoiding paperwork.)
The two officers paled upon seeing her identification, and stammered to salute.
Second Lt. Ross stuttered as she said, "A-Apologies, ma'am!"
Elizabeth ignored this, though, and headed directly into the room.
'Why are so many humans either incompetent, or cruel?' Elizabeth wondered for the hundredth time. Perhaps her judgement was harsher than normal since the two officers had the unfortunate task of being in the way of Elizabeth seeing to her injured friend.
It didn't help that they also failed in their task of protecting said friend.
She opened it to find a sleeping Edward laying in bed, bandages covering his form. The golden haired boy looked oddly at peace, despite the horrendous damage he had been through.
Alphonse sat at his bedside, quiet as ever. When Elizabeth entered the room, he offered her a tiny nod.
Elizabeth silently pulled out another seat beside Alphonse, folded her hands together, and watched over her friend.
If Alphonse wished to speak, she would oblige, but something seemed to be weighing heavily on her friend. He continued to stare mutely at his brother, an undeniable aura of pensive thought making it hard for Elizabeth to break the silence.
She supposed that made sense. She would be in a foul mood if anyone had hurt Selim.
She reached over to place a comforting hand on Alphonse's gauntlet, giving him a small smile. He turned his helmet to stare down at her hand before his head bowed even further and he slumped over.
In a small, tiny voice, he asked her, "How do you know you're you?"
'Odd question,' Elizabeth thought.
She considered it nonetheless, chewing it over in her mind for several minutes before coming to an answer. She whispered, "Because I have Selim."
Alphonse raised his head at that. "You trust him to tell you that you're you?"
"Of course," she answered confidently, keeping her voice low to not wake Edward. "I am me because of him. Without him, I'd—well, I definitely wouldn't be here today."
Alphonse glanced down at his brother. "I'm here because of my brother."
"And do you trust him to tell you who you are?" she asked him. As his silence prolonged into minutes, Elizabeth added, "If you don't, then you're just going to have to trust yourself."
"How?" he asked her. "How can I be sure my memories are my own and not made... made by my brother?"
"What a silly question. Do you do everything with your brother?" she asked him. "No. There are plenty of times where you've worked with me while your brother did something stupid. How could he give you memories he couldn't have? You're your own person, Alphonse."
"How can I be sure I'm Alphonse, though? What if I'm just another soul, and—"
Elizabeth clucked her tongue at that. "Are you an amnesiac?"
Alphonse hesitated. "No, but—"
"Then just... ask someone who knew you before," Elizabeth gestured to his suit of armor, "you know, and see if what they saw matches up with what you know."
"And if they're in on it?" he countered.
"How paranoid are you?" she retorted. "You're a scientist, Alphonse, think with your head. Were the people who knew you before that twisted?"
"N-No."
"Well there you have it. Go ask them."
Alphonse fell silent again, but this time he didn't speak until his brother woke up.
(óヮò)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
Edward woke up when the sun had risen well above the buildings outside. The late morning light filtered in through the window, gently urging the young boy awake.
He slowly opened his golden eyes, staring tiredly up at the ceiling for a few minutes before he pushed himself up and rubbed at his head. When he noticed Elizabeth and Alphonse he offered them a groggy grin. "Mornin'."
"Idiot," Elizabeth immediately scolded him.
Edward chuckled sheepishly, scratching his cheek. "Heh-heh..." A quick glance towards the closed door made him wince. "Are they still standing guard?"
"Yeah," Alphonse answered for him. "They've been there since you called Winry."
Edward let out a big sigh before looking back over at Elizabeth with a raised eyebrow. "How'd you get 'em to let you in?"
"I ended up pulling rank," she muttered irritably.
"Oh, yeah?" Edward laughed. "See! Something good came of your old man giving you that rank, oh Colonel of Paperwork."
Elizabeth made a face like she bit into a particularly sour lemon. "I hate that title."
"Why, Colonel of Paperwork?"
"I'll slip you super laxatives if you don't stop," she threatened.
Edward's grin stretched over his face. "Oh, looks like the Colonel of Paperwork is in a tear-ibble mood."
"You are awful," Elizabeth groaned, burying her face in her hands.
Edward laughed good naturedly at Elizabeth's eternal suffering over the bullshit title forced upon her by her adopted father.
"Do you think you'll get promoted to Brigadier General of Paperwork soon? You've been working so hard," Alphonse teased.
"You've got enough experience to be a Major General of Paperwork!" Edward added.
"Stop!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "Don't say those things, you'll just give him ideas."
"I think you've more than earned the honorable title of General of Paperwork," Alphonse sweetly added, while Edward nodded along, a mocking twinkle in his eyes.
"I hate you both," she muttered, causing both boys to laugh.
(óヮò)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
The mood was kept light for the rest of the morning. The trio of friends tossed back gentle teasing between one another, and the more they talked the better off all three of them felt.
Elizabeth's heart settled when she saw how well her friends were feeling, and whatever Alphonse had been pondering about seemed to be set aside long enough to enjoy time with his brother and friend. After a few hours (and dozens of paper puns) lunch was brought in.
The milk was immediately handed off to Elizabeth, who gladly started to sip from it as she sat beside her friend.
"Mm. Delicious," Elizabeth said, drinking the cool, refreshing milk.
"Your taste buds are so bad they honestly make me question whether or not you deserve to be General of Paperwork," Edward deadpanned.
"I will shove this down your throat," Elizabeth threatened.
"As long as I don't get a papercut—"
"Argh!" Elizabeth swatted at her friend while he snickered at his own jokes. Even Alphonse let out an adorable giggle. "I'll show you a papercut!"
"I'm sure you will," Edward laughed, making Elizabeth hit him a touch harder. Edward held up his good arm in defense, and Elizabeth playfully batted at it. Before Edward could push Elizabeth's buttons hard enough to make her really mad the door opened up. Both Elizabeth and Edward paused midway through their play fight to look over at their new guests.
Elizabeth of course recognized Armstrong who held up his hand in a friendly greeting. She did not recognize the tall pale blonde girl who stared at Edward with a face that could only be described as shock with a touch of horror.
Elizabeth carefully slid off Edward's lap and back into her seat, fixing her dress and hair. It was fine to goof off when it was only her friends, but now that company had arrived she had to be presentable again.
Edward tossed her a smug grin—he thought it was silly that she cared about her appearance and if her hair was loose and not in a braid he absolutely would have ruffled it—which she returned with a haughty glare.
"Just as a precaution," Alphonse said slowly, lifting Elizabeth from her seat and placing her in his lap. "We don't want another Ambrosia Incident."
Oh, yes.
The Ambrosia Incident.
Edward gulped at that, scooting away from a smug Elizabeth who allowed Alphonse to restrain her in his lap. Edward offered her a sheepish smile in truce before turning over to the tall girl in the mini skirt.
"Ah, um, Winry this is our friend Lizzie," Edward said, jerking his finger to Elizabeth.
Elizabeth did a half curtsy since she was still sitting in Alphonse's lap. "Hello. I'm Elizabeth Luxanna."
Winry smiled shyly, rubbing the back of her head. "Oh, hello. I'm Winry Rockbell, this idiot's automail mechanic."
"Oi," Edward protested.
"He is a bit of a moron," Elizabeth said with a knowing nod. "Always testing people."
"Right? He always gets on my nerves," Winry said with a small smile, nervously looking over at Edward's battered state. "Let me guess, you pissed someone off again?"
"Uh..."
"Oh, this isn't so bad," Elizabeth said dismissively, smiling brightly at the reminder of the Ambrosia Incident. It was the first time she had ever truly lost her temper with Edward. It was so bad that Papa had to come out to rescue Edward. Oh, boy Elizabeth had never been so furious prior to That-Thing-That-She-Will-Absolutely-Murder. But something spectacular came out of it in the end, so she looked back on the memory with fondness. "You see, one lovely Sunday afternoon—"
"I said I was sorry!" Edward hissed out, his cheeks flushing red.
Elizabeth held up her hands in a gesture of truce, a coy smirk on her face. "I know."
Winry tossed them a genuine smile, relaxing at their nonchalant banter. She still looked over Edward's injuries with a nervous eye, but seeing how relaxed the two friends were put her at ease.
"It sounds like a fun story," Winry said, setting her tool box to the side of the night stand. "I'd really like to hear it."
Edward glared sourly at Elizabeth when she opened her mouth to do so before he brightened up. "Only if Lizzie admits she'd be the best General of Paperwork."
Elizabeth gasped. "How dare you!"
"Suffer through embarrassment with me like a true friend," Edward said with a triumphant grin.
"Feh," Elizabeth scoffed. "Fine. But only after the story."
"Deal!"
Elizabeth glanced over at Armstrong and his idiot soldiers before giving them a small nod. "You all might as well listen, too. It's a good story. It all began on a lovely Sunday afternoon..."
(óヮò)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
"... it was a long trip back, but we were friends again by the end of it. And Selim bought new ambrosias for me to regift, and he even took a picture with me!" Elizabeth finished cheerfully, pulling out her second photo of Selim.
This one was of the two of them, as taken by Wrath. In it was Selim and Elizabeth closely next to one another, smiling with sincere warmth in a field of ambrosia flowers.
It hurt having her greenhouse, and the ambrosia flowers Selim originally grew just for Elizabeth destroyed by Edward's mistake, but everything turned out alright in the end. Elizabeth forgave Edward for his mistake, and Edward forgave Elizabeth for nearly killing him in her temper tantrum.
Winry was shaking her head as she fixed Edward's arm. "How stupider can you get? You owe her a thousand more apologies."
Edward rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Nah. Worth it now," Elizabeth said, rubbing her cheek against the photo of her and Selim. "Besides, I think after that Edward and I truly became good friends."
Edward chuckled, a touch of fondness in his eyes as he reached over to pat Elizabeth's head. "Yeah. Putting that greenhouse back together was certainly something."
It was then that the door to the hospital room swung open again and a grinning Maes Hughes stepped in. "Yo, Ed! I'm told you invited a girl into your hospital room to service you."
While Elizabeth eep'd at the innuendo Edward was quick to snap out, "She's just my automail mechanic!"
"You've seduced your mechanic, huh?" Maes asked with a shit-eating grin.
"I say one thing you completely turn it around," Edward bemoaned, clutching his head.
Maes ignored Edward's frustration, heading straight over to Winry to take her hand and shake it. "Maes Hughes, pleased to meet you."
"Winry Rockbell," Winry returned with a polite smile.
"Are you sure you should be skipping work now?" Edward muttered.
Maes gave him a thumbs up. "Not to worry. I gave Sheska some overtime."
"You're a demon," Edward informed him.
Maes laughed it off, ignoring the comment and plowing on ahead. "By the way, I hear you guys aren't going to be under guard for much longer."
"Wha—under guard? How much trouble are you two in?" Winry demanded, peering at a flustered Edward.
Elizabeth almost giggled at her friend as he struggled to come up with an answer before he abruptly turned away and said, "It's none of your concern."
Winry stood up with a huff, packing up her supplies. "Fine. You two never tell me anything anyway. I'll see you tomorrow, but for now I need to find a place to stay."
"What? In that case come stay over at my place," Maes said, grabbing Winry and starting to drag her out. "My wife and daughter will be delighted! Alright, let's go, hahahaha!"
(óヮò)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
When this chapter hit 20 pages I decided to split it in half. Maes gets his spotlight next chapter. :)
I did try writing out the Ambrosia Incident but I never liked how it came out, so you get the abridged version.
To confirm: Selim grew ambrosias for Elizabeth to congratulate her on finally surviving a full ten minutes of sparing against Wrath. He moved them into her greenhouse overnight, but Edward & Alphonse got caught up in one of their shenanigans and chased a bad guy into Elizabeth's greenhouse. As a result of their fight the greenhouse and flowers were destroyed. Selim and Elizabeth flipped the fuck out and while Wrath was busy trying to keep Pride calm Elizabeth showed Edward her displeasure. Once both parties had chilled out, Edward properly apologized and helped rebuild her greenhouse and regrow her hybrids.
Answer: Don't think I'd make the stone, but I'd definitely take it and use it for good if I could get it.
Question: What homunculi do you identify best with? Would you become one if you could?
Reviews are love!