Fullmetal Alchemist A.U. [1x1] Bot and Lynnie ONLEH

lurker count! ( ._.)-c<-_-)

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[Lynnie Pop]

.1x1.
lurkers: welcome!

[Anomaeus]

Edward Elric

Alphonse Elric

&

Eruo

The horrors of the Ishvalan war still plagued his mind as he sat; rotting within a cell. His State Alchemist uniform was replaced with a raggedy jumpsuit. The amount of space within the confines of the cell was limited, he wasn’t meant to live out the rest of his days in comfort. In fact, it was just the opposite; his hands were to remain cuffed behind his back at all times. The guards were afraid of what he was capable of doing.

The only things that kept him sane in such an environment were thoughts of his wife and children. He yearned to see them once more before leaving the world.

Just once…I want to say goodbye. Why have I been forsaken to such a cruel fate? He raised his hands to his face to hide the tears that formed. Though it was dark, he didn’t want his fellow inmates to see or hear him crying. It would end up subjecting him to ridicule.

The footsteps of guards echoed through the pitch black corridor.

They came to a stop in front of a cell not too far away. The man clutched the cold steel bars tightly. He knew exactly what cell they stopped at. His eyes widened slightly, the men spoke in murmurs…He couldn’t hear what they were saying from that far away, but they opened up the cell and removed someone’s handcuffs. It seemed like they were going to walk away, but a one set of footsteps came to an abrupt stop. They began to go toward the man’s cell; he knew exactly what it meant.

“Eruo…I was the reason you were in here, right?” The man’s voice was sinister and cold, but Eruo regarded him with a fairly pleasant tone.

“Indeed, Kimblee. I believe you owe me a debt.” Eruo tried not to make it sound so demanding, but Kimblee wasn’t interested in making anything of it. He brought his face closer to the bars and grabbed them tightly; causing them to explode upon contact.

“How were you able to pull that off?” Eruo stepped out of the cell and noticed that the corpses of the two guards who let Kimblee out lied idly at his feet.

Kimblee merely showed Eruo two red stones, “Military issued. You better get out of here.” Kimblee approached Eruo so they were face to face. He reached out; Eruo flinched instinctively, but Kimblee reached around Eruo’s back and destroyed the handcuffs that bound his hands behind his back. With that, Kimblee was gone.

Eruo followed Kimblee outside; greeted by an overpowering ray of light.

“Damn…” Eruo almost forgot what it was like to see the sun. He shielded his eyes and watched Kimblee climb into a car and drive away. Eruo didn’t think that Kimblee was aided in that little stunt, but it made sense. Kimblee wasn’t exactly a strategist. He was a long way from civilization, but it wasn’t like there was any rush. He didn’t want his family to see the toll that his sentence took on him.

“Brother...” A soft voice emitted from the suit of armor that stood alongside a young blonde boy. The boy didn’t answer; he was flat against a brick wall in an alleyway; waiting for ideal moment to move.

“Brother!” The blonde turned his head, “I don’t think she’s going to show…It’s late. This isn’t a very good lead, maybe we should just look for Marcoh.” The armor suggested, but the boy seemed to be tuning him out. He had a look of determination plastered across his face as he waited.

“No, she’ll show, I’m sure of it. We can worry about Marcoh later…Who would’ve thought she was so close by? Even when hiding out in a small town like this, word gets around.” An enthused smile went across his lips.

While fulfilling his duties as a State Alchemist, the blonde heard rumors of a woman who knew of the Philosopher’s Stone. She wouldn’t be as useful as Marcoh; who created the very first stone, but she was nearby. Her knowledge goes as far as knowing how to construct a Philosopher’s Stone; which was a key detail that the blonde was more than eager to know. It would bring him one step closer to restoring his brother and his own body to normal.

“We’ve been here for three hours…It’s getting late. You need to get some sleep. We have to be in Central in three days to report the success of your mission. Why do you insist on neglecting your duties?” Al insisted they leave, but the blonde hush him with a wave of his hand.

“If she knows anything, this’ll be a huge step closer to our goal. We’ll at least be able to go to Marcoh with some knowledge on the Philosopher’s Stone; we’ve got to do this.” The boy wasn’t planning on arguing with his brother. He ultimately decided what they did and didn’t do. Not to say that his younger brother didn’t have a say in it, but he rarely objected.

“We don’t know anything about this woman. Haven’t you stopped to think how she obtained such information? With all the people we’ve talked to, not one of them knew how to construct a Philosopher’s Stone.” Al pointed out; bringing up a good point, but his brother didn’t respond.

The two were in pursuit of the mythical Philosopher’s Stone; which they had to keep a secret. The older one, Edward Elric only took the title of State Alchemist so that he could freely roam the land in search of the stone without having to deal with any of Amestris’s forces getting on him for the illegal practice of alchemy. It also granted him access to a seemingly unlimited supply of information and yielded quite a bit of money. Respect was something he didn’t care for, but he was rather young to possess the rank of Major, so people looked up to his success. He was known as the Fullmetal Alchemist; Hero of the People.

The empty suit of armor was his younger brother, Alphonse Elric; who had his soul attached to the armor in a failed Human Transmutation. Though Ed paid the price of one leg, Al gave his whole body and soul in equivalent exchange. Ed brought his brother’s soul back from beyond an intangible gate and attached it to a suit of armor found in the basement of his old house.

They originally wanted to return their mother to life to see her smile and feel her warmth once more, but the experiment taught them an important lesson. The dead were best left undisturbed. Nothing good came of it…

They just wanted to restore their bodies to their original forms.

After Ed heard whispers of a woman possessing some knowledge of the Philosopher’s Stone, Al and he set out for Lastrina; a small town a good distance away from Central. They still had to report the success of their most recent mission to the man whom they worked under; Colonel Mustang.

It took some time, but they were able to find out where she might be staying. The town was really small and sort of average, so they had no trouble finding the local Inn.

It was wedged between two larger homes. It was sort of secluded, but that’s why it made for a good hiding spot.

[Lynnie Pop]

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Dabbled too far… That’s what happened… She stuck her nose exactly where it didn’t belong, like always, and now she knew too much. People are always saying knowledge is power… No… no, it’s not… Knowledge is a curse; when you know something you aren’t supposed to know it’s just going come back full circle and with full force.

Camden never stayed in one place too long. The knowledge that she possessed was too great a risk to have her staying rooted in one spot. She had to keep moving; push forward; away from the prying eyes. Maybe it was paranoia; maybe she was developing schizophrenia, but it was with just cause… Everyone wanted to know what she knew…

“Should’ve never stayed that night… I should’ve left…”

Memories of a small bonfire; a blonde man with sadness etched so deeply into his face and reflecting so obviously through his eyes flashed through her mind. She’d been alone like always; searching for answers about it and that bonfire seemed cozy enough; he was kind enough to welcome her to join him… He knew too much… now she knew too much.

“I should’ve never stopped.” Adjusting the helmet on her head, one she picked up from a man trying to make a flying device but died tragically before finishing, Camden walked silently down the dusty roads of the small town of Lastrina, pulling her jacket tightly around her even though it wasn’t even cold. It might make her look suspicious and conspicuous, but she had a weapon to conceal at her back and she’d much rather have people wonder about the weird girl and her jacket than the weird girl carrying a weapon.

Weapons were only for the military… she wasn’t military.

“Gotta get outta here… Gotta keep moving.” Camden whispered to herself as she blinked bleary, golden eyes. Her eyes used to reflect a passion for learning and a sprinkle of naivety but now… she probably looked like a tired old woman with the dark circles and light lines of exhaustion beneath them. Just like the man she’d met at the bonfire… she rarely smiled anymore. What was there to smile about? Knowing what she knew… there was nothing to be happy about.

With a loud huff, Camden eventually relaxed enough to stick her hands in her jacket pockets while her stomach rumbled its protest to walking by many pubs, taverns, restaurants without bothering to stop at any of them. Her body was whining at her for not taking the time to enjoy the Inn boasting comfort and relaxation. No way, she couldn’t afford the luxury nor could she afford to tell someone her name only to be sought after while she slept. Someone could be searching for her right now to grab her, torture her… or kill her.

Paranoia… sucked.

Camden would eventually find a comfortable enough tree to lean against or a well-concealed bush to hide in for the night. Maybe a rabbit would waltz by… her stomach growled again causing her to sigh and roll her eyes.

[Anomaeus]

Edward Elric

Alphonse Elric

&

Eruo

“Brother, she’s not coming. It’s getting late…Let’s at least get a room at the Inn. Maybe we can phone the Colonel from here and let him know how things went.” Al was usually the voice of reason, but Ed didn’t really pay too much attention when he was determined. The blonde convinced himself she would show…The town was far too small for her to just disappear. Where could she go?

Ed stepped out from behind the wall and stood out in the open as people walked passed him without a care in the world. They didn’t know how importance of whom they were harboring in their little town.

The knowledge that this woman contained was more than enough to get her killed.

“What are we going to do when we find her anyways? She’s probably not going to just tell us everything just like that. She wouldn’t be hiding out in a town like this if it wasn’t for a reason.” Al pointed out, “Yeah, but I’m sure we’ll be able to convince her. It shouldn’t be too hard.” A cocky grin went across his lips, “Besides, if it comes to that…I’ll just have to force her to talk.” Ed placed his left hand on his right shoulder and began to spin the artificial join around to loosen himself up.

Al shook his head in protest to the prospect of creating such a ruckus in a small town. They would only end up drawing unnecessary attention to themselves.

“We can’t do that, brother. There are too many people…We can’t be responsible for making a ruin of this town.” Al pleaded with Ed, but he shrugged it off and continued to walk. Someone caught his eye, he wasn’t sure if it was the woman he was looking for; he was at wits end with his search regardless.

The blonde pursued the woman for a while; trying to figure out what was wrong with her.

Her movements were so indecisive. It was like she was lost…How could she be lost in a small town? No, it seemed as if there was something on her mind. She was distracted…As he got closer, he noticed that she was wearing a helmet. It was just like the vague description he was give. He burst into a sprint suddenly with Al not too far behind him.

“Hey, you! Stop!” Ed called out to her, which he immediately regretted. He was hoping to get the drop on her, but that only ended up warning her of their pursuit.

[Lynnie Pop]

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Camden had been too immersed in her thoughts to notice that someone was following her. Her dull, golden eyes were staring forward but her thin legs were pulling her through the small town without her knowing exactly where she was headed. Not like she ever really knew she was heading in the first place. Anywhere but here; too many people may have seen her face already so it was time to jump ship and stumble upon the next town.

Where everything would start all over again…

“Wait a minute…” Her shoulders straightened as her body went rigid with paranoia. There was the sound of footsteps behind her, she now realized. One of them sounded off… a limp? The other sounded… metallic? How odd. She wouldn’t risk turning around to see who was following. Instead she picked up the pace until the footfalls behind her became hurried and someone called out to her.

Hell no!

Camden pumped her thin legs as hard as she could as they cramped up in protest. She was a pretty good runner seeing as she’s been on the run for some time but the exhaustion was just too much and her adrenaline just didn’t seem like it was enough anymore. They’ll get you and kill you! She yelled to herself as she ran, breath heaving painfully through her lungs.

Rounding a corner, Camden chucked the “borrowed” jacket off her shoulders and grabbed a hold of the blade bumping against her back as she ran. The metal hissed and whispered as she unsheathed it before swiping it across her left forearm, letting her life’s blood soak the metal before smearing the red liquid on a well hidden alchemic formula. It flashed a brilliant red before the thin blonde woman sliced the blade across the building beside her causing a reaction.

The area where her blade made contact caused the structure to explode and deconstruct until the unbalanced weight had it tumbling to the side. She wasn’t doing it to kill whoever was coming after her, she preferred to keep people from dying, but maybe the crumbled building would get in between them and she’d be safe to run out of town.

If her legs and lungs didn’t collapse first.

[Anomaeus]

Edward Elric

Alphonse Elric

&

Eruo

It didn’t come as a surprise when the girl began to run away. The only thing Ed found weird was that she didn’t even look back to see who it was that was following her. She seemed really afraid…Perhaps she was tipped and knew that they were coming, or mistook them for someone else.

“Brother, she isn’t stopping!” Al called from alongside Ed as they continued their pursuit.

Ed contemplated using alchemy to force her to stop, but decided against it. He didn’t want to end up hurting her or scaring her anymore than she already was.

The jacket that once clung to her torso came flying back and collided with Ed’s face. He snatched the jacket angrily and discarded it while keeping a steady pace behind her. When he saw her draw a blade from her back, he readied himself in case she aimed to use it against him. Ed’s eyes widened when she brought the sword across her own forearm. It was then that he took notice to an alchemic seal etched across the blade itself. Her blood seemed to be the required medium in activating it’s power…He would’ve been intrigued had he not been so pissed off that he was still having to chase after her.

“Brother!” Al grabbed the back of Ed’s red hoodie to keep him from running into the collapsed building. Ed didn’t even notice that she cut the building down with a simple thrust…The power of her sword was truly amazing. The blonde smirked and clapped his hands together in the shape of a transmutation circle. He placed both palms on the poorly paved ground, causing the ground to rise and lift him above the debris created by the fallen building.

Al remained idle on the other side of the rubble; watching as Ed confronted Camden.

“Damn it…I just want to talk.” The blonde brushed some dirt that accumulated on his clothing and looked up at the girl that stood before him. His eyes narrowed and his expression hardened.

“What do you know about the Philosopher’s Stone?” He decided to cut right to the chase. He assumed that she knew he didn’t chase after her like that just to make small talk. He was only there to obtain information, nothing more, nothing less.

[Lynnie Pop]

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Ignoring the persistent stinging in her arm and the steady dripping of blood coming from the shallow gash, Camden kept pushing forward with the sword still in hand. “Gotta… gotta get… out…” She huffed to herself while still running, listening to the sounds behind her; were they still following her? Her great hearing said no but her paranoia said don’t look back and keep running or she’d die.

“You wouldn’t… be chasing me if… you wanted to just talk!” Camden called back in between deep gulps of air. Keep running.

The only reason she stopped as when a small blonde boy was standing in front of her saying that he just wanted to talk to her. Where’d he come from? Did she black out while running? It didn’t make sense…

Until he asked the question. Alchemist.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Playing stupid was her best bet at the moment. Glancing to the side, Camden noticed there was a… suit of armor hanging out on the sidelines. She was virtually cornered and hated feeling that way. “There isn’t a Philosopher’s Stone! It’s a myth!”

She knew too much and she was not going to let anyone else know. It would go with her to the grave. “Stop chasing after the impossible.” Camden said before smearing more blood on her blade and jabbing the tip into the ground as hard as she could causing the cracked gravel to disintegrate into a mass of tumbling rocks; a large hole was made where she was standing making her fall through the instable ground and into a very old sewer system. As soon as her wobbly legs hit the ground she propelled herself forward not bothering to sheath her blade.

While she ran, hoping she got away, Camden realized that the boy looked so oddly familiar… She’d seen someone like him before but couldn’t remember exactly…

[Anomaeus]

Edward Elric

Alphonse Elric

&

Eruo

“You wouldn’t stop, that’s why I had to chase you. Just answer the damn question!” Typical, she began to deny the existence of the Philosopher’s Stone. He knew good and well that it existed. There was no use trying to fool him…Her words only fueled his curiosity. If she wanted him to believe that it didn’t exist that badly, then she must know a lot about it. He took a cautious step forward; not wanting to alarm her.

Al managed to climb the debris and slide down alongside him as Camden created a huge hole in the ground.

“s**t! C’mon, Al!” Ed jumped down into the sewers below and listened as her footsteps echoed in the distance. Once he determined which way he ran, he began his pursuit yet again.

By the time he finally caught a glimpse of her, he was barely able to keep his balance. His lungs burnt as he struggled to catch his breath while still keeping a consistent pace behind her. She must’ve had a lot more endurance than he did, she didn’t even let up for a moment.

If I don’t do something now, she’ll get away. I can’t run for much longer…The blonde observed his surroundings; looking for a way to keep her from escaping.

Clapping his hands while still sprinting after Camden, Ed came to an abrupt stop and placed his palms forcefully against the sludgy floor. The ground began to rumble and shake violently as it rose in front of Camden, allowing Ed to get close enough o take her down. He shoved his body weight against her and forced her down to the ground; immediately pinning her to keep her from moving.

“What the hell is your problem!? I told you we weren’t going to hurt you…Stop trying to run away.” Ed managed to say in between gasps. He took a moment to catch his breath before deciding to interrogate her again. This time he wasn’t going to give her the opportunity to escape.

“Stop playing stupid, we know that the Philosopher’s Stone is real. We also know that you might know a thing or two about it. Talk!” He pulled her up to her feet and forced her back against the wall.

[Lynnie Pop]

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Camden cringed as she ran through the nasty sewers barefoot. She once owned shoes but those happened to break and she’d never cared enough to buy another pair. Besides, being shoeless she was faster and made less noise when she walked around. She’d do anything and everything to make herself as unnoticeable as possible. Obviously that didn’t work this time because these two people were still coming after her.

A wall rose up ahead causing her to blink and skid to a halt. It hadn’t been there earlier… he had to have used Alchemy, of course.

Her inner musings were stopped short when the smaller of the two barreled right into her, knocking her off her feet while the sword went skidding off to the side, stopping at the ground that had risen from the alchemy used. Wincing at the pain jarring through her frail body, Camden tried to get back up only to find her being dragged to her feet; helmet toppling off her head.

You’re so dead…

“They always say they’re not going to hurt me. How can you be any different!?” Camden shrieked on an angry snarl before he pushed her back against the grimy walls of the old sewers. They were both breathing heavily and her legs were actually happy for the small reprieve even though she was probably going to die at this point.

Paranoia at its finest, “Please, don’t ask about it…” She said on a soft sigh. “Just, forget it…” She didn’t acknowledge that she knew about the Philosopher’s Stone but at that the same time she didn’t deny it. “You’ll be better off that way.”

[Anomaeus]

Edward Elric

Alphonse Elric

&

Eruo

It seemed that she was more afraid of talking about the Philosopher’s Stone than anything else. Ed stood back and allowed her some room to breathe. There was nowhere for her to run anyways. He brushed some sweat from his forehead and let out an exasperated sigh. He was hoping that the encounter would be relatively harmless and quick, but it started to feel like he would just end up wasting his time.

“Like I said, I’m not here to hurt you...I’m a State Alchemist.” Ed pulled out a silver pocket watch to convince her that he wasn’t there to kill her. He crossed his arms and turned his back to her.

How am I going to explain this to her without giving away too much information? He stared down at his gloved palm; contemplating whether or not he should show her his automail. He would have to explain everything that led up to that…It was sensitive information, but so was the Philosopher’s Stone.

“Stop pretending as if you know us. It’s not like we’re after it for our own selfish gain…” Ed muttered distastefully. He quickly regretted speaking to her in such a condescending manner; there was no way she could’ve known what happened to them to cause them to search for the Philosopher’s Stone. Even if she did know, he wasn’t sure she would talk anyways. She made it seem as if she was doing him a favor by keeping it a secret. The secrecy behind the stone was beginning to piss him off.

Edward stripped off his hoodie roughly and unbuttoned his black collared T-shirt.

Once he handed the two articles of clothing over to Al; who remained silent during the confrontation, he displayed the mechanical arm and scarring it took to obtain such a thing.

“Brother, what’re you doing?” Al whispered; a little surprised that Ed would give away their secret so quickly. He didn’t even tell anyone within the Amestris military about the failed human transmutation experiment that cost Al his body and Ed his leg and arm.

“It’s the only way you’ll understand…This is the result of a failed human transmutation experiment. We’re only looking to restore our bodies to normal.” He didn’t go mention the fact that Al was a hollow suit of armor. At that point, he figured that she might’ve caught on already. He began to put his clothing back on; hoping that what she saw might have changed her mind.

“Please, anything you know will be of great use to us.” Al pleaded; hoping to get through to her.

[Lynnie Pop]

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As soon as he stepped away from her, Camden crumbled in on herself like a weakened tree being weighed down by snow. Her arms were wrapped around her middle as she tried to make herself as small as possible almost as if she were trying to ghost herself through the wall at her back. She knew she wouldn’t escape this. Her right hand came up to cover the bleeding wound on her forearm as she averted her gaze from her captors; it would scar along with the rest of the ones littering every inch of her body.

“Great, a State Alchemist. He told me the military would come after me eventually.” Camden said in exasperation while eyeing the pocket-watch. It was a pretty little thing but symbolized nothing but pain… He’d told her to never let the military know this kind of information…

He said she was better off dead than letting them know…

Camden had been in the process of writing a small transmutation circle against the wall at her back with the blood from her arm when she saw the State Alchemist begin to undress. “What the hell are you doing?!” She shrieked, trying to back up into the wall further which only had her splaying her hands against the wall while she got up on tip-toe as if trying to run away from a rat that had scurried by.

Is he going to rape me first? Torture usually came before killing… “S-stop what you’re—“ Her hysterical ranting stopped when she eyed the automail arm along with the jagged, grotesque scaring. Her body had similar lacerations but they were less… angry looking and most of them were from her own blade.

“You’ve committed the taboo.” It came out on a bit of a chuckle as her eyes followed the lines of scar tissue before resting on the metal of the arm. “But that isn’t equivalent exchange…” Immediately Camden’s yellow eyes went from wide fear to understanding as her eyes briefly went to the suit of armor, “He’s the equivalent exchange; there’s no one in there.” It was a statement, not a question.

Slowly her body began to relax, but she stayed pressed firmly against the wall as she brought her hand around the wound on her arm to staunch the thin flow of blood that had begun to slow down. “No.” She shook her head and gave them both solemn smiles. “I can’t tell you. No one should’ve known.”

Glancing towards Edward, Camden scrutinized his features briefly. “You look like someone… I’m just not sure…”

[Anomaeus]

Edward Elric

Alphonse Elric

&

Eruo

When Camden referred to Al as being the main component of the exchange; Ed couldn’t help but feel guilty. He never got the chance to ask Al how he felt about everything…Deep down, Ed blamed himself for what happened. He wished that he could take Al’s place as a hollow suit of armor…He couldn’t stand to see his brother suffer because he was too much of an idiot to see what they were doing was wrong.

“How can you be the judge of that!?” The blonde demanded angrily, but a metal gauntlet rested on his shoulder. Al shook his head; signaling for Ed to calm down.

“I’m Alphonse Elric; this is my older brother Edward Elric. Please, we just want to get things back to the way they were before we made this mistake. We just wanted to see –“ Al wasn’t able to finish before Ed interjected, “There’s no reason to say anything else, Al. She already made up her mind.” He muttered distastefully; crossing his arms over his chest to signify his indifference. Al wasn’t about to give up, they had taken a huge diversion just to be able to speak with this girl. He couldn’t just let it go to waste.

“What’s your name?” Al’s adolescence was personified through his soft tone of voice. He lost his body before having the chance to mature, so he was in a state of limbo. His soft voice was harshly contrasted by his overwhelming size; which usually led to some skepticism on who was older.

“Look like someone?” It was surprising to hear that…Was she trying to make a joke?

“Back there…You turned your blade on yourself. It seemed like when your blade was coated in your blood, you were able to activate that alchemic seal, right? You were able to destroy that building and a portion of the ground using it...Deconstruction, I’ve heard of someone with a similar ability.” Ed turned back to Al; he knew exactly who is older brother was speaking of.

[Lynnie Pop]

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Camden was immediately cringing against the wall again when Edward pretty much exploded on her. Sure, it made her look weak and frail but there were too many people after her and the paranoia that had developed within her always made her fear anything and everything. She wasn’t a strong girl, it was obvious in how thin she was and the way she was always trying to make herself seem even tinier by the way she seemed to crumble up on herself. The only way she felt truly protected and a little bit in control was when she had her sword in hand and the helmet covering her head.

Right now, she had neither of those items which made her feel virtually naked and vulnerable. Her hands came up to clutch at her blonde head as if trying to ward away the noise while Edward calmed down. “I can’t be the judge of that… sure… but I can see the pain this taboo has caused you and I’m not talking about the pain to your bodies; I mean psychologically you’re wounded by the death of another life…”

What she knew of the Philosopher’s Stone would devastate them.

Camden let her hands drift down from her head as she looked up at the hollow suit of armor. “You can’t go back; not this way. Fine another way, please!” There was a glimmer of emotion in her tired eyes but she immediately blinked it away before staring at Edward’s distasteful glare.

He warned me… I’d become an abomination of the world with this kind of information… He’d warned me.

“C-Camden.” That was all she was going to say. They didn’t need to know anything else about her anyway. If she happened to get away then all they’d have is her first name and what they remembered of her face. It was a lot of information but it was just enough to give her hope that she would get away and survive.

As soon as he began speaking about her beloved sword, Camden stood straighter, looking less like a scared puppy but still scared nonetheless. She wiped at the dried out blood on her forearm and stared at the red smear along her skin for a moment. “Yes, I use my blood to activate it. It seems to be a much quicker method than having to redraw the seal each and every time I plan to use it.”

It was easier for her to talk about this kind of alchemy, or any kind for that matter, than the Stone. “There’s another who does this?”

[Anomaeus]

Edward Elric

Alphonse Elric

&

Eruo

Seeing how Camden reacted to his agitation almost made Edward feel bad. He didn’t think the tone of his voice warranted that kind of reaction. It wasn’t hard to figure out that she was afraid for her life, but he didn’t know how to make her understand that they were there for diplomatic purposes. They weren’t looking to fight with her…

“Camden, that’s a very nice name.” Al tried to be as kind as possible, for he could see the fear written all across her face. He wanted to be gentle with her, but it wouldn’t be easy if Ed had another outburst again.

“Yes, you’re able to activate it while mobile…That’s very useful. The thing that confuses me is the fact that it takes your blood to activate it. The man I saw who used this ability was able to activate it without sacrificing some of his own blood. There’s a seal drawn across his arm…” Ed demonstrated where the seal was located, “He’s able to use the deconstruction ability just by making contact with his palm.” The blonde explained; pacing back and forth as he tried to assess the difference between the abilities.

Ed stopped in front of Camden and observed the blade a little closer.

“This man is a lot different than you…He’s an Ishvalan; for one.” A stifled laugh escaped him, “He also uses his abilities to kill State Alchemists. A bit of a contradiction, but he’s not one to listen to logic.” After observing the seal a little bit closer, he merely shrugged his shoulders. Even though it wasn’t his intention, he still somehow got wrapped up in small talk…

The sewer wasn’t exactly the best atmosphere to conduct the interrogation, especially since people were beginning to gather around the gaping hole created by Camden’s blade.

“Alright…That’s enough. Anything you know about the Philosopher’s Stone can help return us to our original bodies. There’s no other way, Camden; I can assure you of that.” Ed’s voice was stern, but he was careful not to let his voice escalate.