Noon Day Nine, Earth Nation Fortress
“Ah, I can't really speak for my teacher,” I pointed out,
suddenly nervous for some reason. “I'd have to consult with him.”
“Go ahead, of course.” Fong gestured magnanimously.
I hesitated. “Here?”
“I don't mind.” He smiled.
I turned to Ed, trying to keep my frown off my face. “Ed, I'm
going to say something but I don't want you to overreact...”
“They want us to teach them alchemy,” Ed said, leaning back on
his human foot and crossing his arms behind his head.
“How did you...?”
“I heard the word for alchemy a few times, and the demonstration
kind of cinched it.” He flicked his eyes between Fong and his
secretary, then to the dozen men situated around room. “Plus while
you've been stuck in the hospital I've had a chance to wander around
the place the last couple of days. These people are desperate. I can
see it in their eyes, even if I can't understand the language. I've
seen that expression before.”
“So what do you want to do?” I asked.
“First, tell me what you think we should do.”
“A test?”
He dropped his arms to his side and shrugged. “Not a test.”
“Well...” I paused and thought about it a second. “Frankly...
I haven't thought about what we should be doing. I mean, I don't even
know why we're here, or what is happening, or even where here
is or why I'm...” I slowly curled my hands into fists. “But I'm
not certain I want to tie myself here. I can see this getting out of
hand too easily and I'm not certain I trust that General.”
“Is that it?”
I ran my tongue over my teeth and snapped my fingers. “What about
Al?”
“Al?” Ed gave me a direct look.
“We can get these guys to help us. We explain that Al knows
alchemy too and that the Fire Nation may be torturing information
about alchemy out of him. Not that I think they are,” I hastily
added. Ed turned and looked out the window. “But if he really
thinks that it could change the course of the war he'd be willing to
help us rescue your brother, to keep that kind of knowledge out of
their enemies hands if for no other reason. Then we can teach them a
bit of alchemy in return. Equivalent exchange.”
A few seconds passed in silence. “That's what you want to do?”
He looked over his shoulder at me. “Just help my brother?”
'I want to help you.' I did not say. I wanted to tell him
that over the last week, the more time we had spent together the more
I had thought of him and... I looked down at my feet. How could I
tell him things like that while I looked like this? So instead I only
said, “Yeah.”
Ed snorted. “No. I won't teach them a thing.”
“Huh, but why?”
“Back in Amestris, the state commissioned alchemists to use their
skills for the military. I've seen exactly what happens when alchemy
is allowed to be viewed as a weapon.” His eyes narrowed. “If I am
going to introduce alchemy to this continent, I'm going to do it the
right way.”
“ I see...” I nodded. “Now we just have to break the news to
him.” I nodded my head towards the general.
“I take it from your friends posture the news isn't good?” Fong
said with a self-effacing smile.
“No, sir.” I bowed in apology.
“Ah, well. Still, you should rest for a while longer here. Perhaps
you will rethink your position before you leave?”
“He seems adamant, but...” I rubbed at my face. “Stranger
things have happened.”
*
We had no sooner gotten back to our room at the infirmary when Ed
claimed his need to go for a walk and had left the room. That left me
alone with nothing but my thoughts. That was not a pleasant place to
be. I'd been relying on various distractions to keep me from thinking
about my situation, but now it had been thrown into my face again.
My body felt wrong, like a badly fitted dress. And my face was
itching on top of all the other little niggling details. I reached up
and rubbed at it only to pull my hand away as if it was burned. Was
that... hair? I rubbed at the face again, grimacing in disgust. Oh
great, I was growing a beard. A beard!
My face fell into my hands and I just broke down. I don't know how
long I spent crying by myself, but eventually the sound of heels on
the stone floor drew my attention.
“I'm not interrupting, am I?” It was the general's secretary.
She was standing in front of me, her arms crossed under her breasts.
Her outfit was cut such that this displayed more of her cleavage. I
snorted in amusement.
“What do you want?” I asked thinly.
“I was hoping to talk to you, actually.” She smiled
coquettishly.
“About?” Great, on top of having my body betray me, I now had
women flirting with me.
She leaned down so her face was level with mine.“I think General
Fong is planning on throwing you into prison,” she whispered.
My head snapped up. “What?”
“Perhaps we should take this conversation elsewhere.” She gave
a significant look towards the walls before leaning back up and
giggling then continuing in a more normal volume. “Don't make me
repeat it, I'm embarrassed.” She cupped her cheeks with her hands.
“I've just never met a genuine hero like yourself...” she trailed
off an gave another significant look at the door.
I rose mechanically to my feet and followed her as she sashayed her
way out of the infirmary. Every eye in the place followed us, well
her, until we were out of sight. The courtyard was wide enough and
empty enough that it wasn't long before we were out of earshot of
most people, though she kept strutting.
“Uh, not to tell you your business,” I said, “But are you
trying to get everyone's attention.”
“You and your friend are being watched,” she said softly.
“There's no way to get to you without anyone knowing. This way,
everyone is paying attention to everything other than my mouth.”
“Yes, well...” I coughed into my hand. What was this feeling?
I... felt really angry towards her. I didn't like her one bit.
We walked for awhile in silence, eventually she led me to a stairway
which led up to the top of the wall. The view from the top was
breathtaking, with narrow valleys through the mountains stretching
out in all directions like a maze. The sun was just dipping to the
horizon, but it was on the far side of the fort. Glancing around, I
saw that the wall was virtually abandoned, except for a pair of
guards in a tower almost a quarter turn around the wall.
“As good a place for a private conversation as any,” I said,
turning to her. She was standing artfully outlined in the light. “So
what the hell were you talking about?” I asked sullenly.
“General Fong wants to secret of your... alchemy.” She walked to
the parapet and ran a hand along it. “And he means to have it. If
you refuse to teach him those secrets, he'll force you to.”
My mood darkened even more. “Why are you telling me this?”
“I'm part of a secret society,” she said. “ Our people can be
found all throughout the elemental countries. We've been spending the
last hundred years preparing for the Avatar's return.” She turned
to me. “And yours.”
“Wait... mine?”
“You don't think your arrival here was an accident, do you?”
“You know why I'm here?” I asked, suddenly stunned.
“Yes.” She walked up to me and reached out with her hand towards
my chest. I took a step back, flinching. She paused, her hand
hovering over my heart. “And I know that you are... incomplete.”
Her eyes softened with sympathy. “Trapped in that body, it must be
like a living hell.”
“I... you really know about that?”
She peered into my eyes. “Yes. And we can help you, fix you.”
She stepped back. “Unfortunately if we stay up here any longer,
we'll attract the wrong kind of attention. If you want our help,
sneak out of your room at midnight and meet me at the base of that
tower.” She pointed at the nearest guard tower. “I'll get you and
the Elric out of this fortress and somewhere safe.”
“Wait... somewhere safe?”
“Yes.”
“Can you help us rescue Ed's brother?”
She paused. “We can't risk taking you to the Fire Nation right
now. Not before we've had a chance to prepare you for what you need
to do.” And with that she vanished down the stairs.
*
Ed slid the door closed behind him with a loud crack. I looked up
from the bed, my frown softening. “All right, we're getting out of
here.”
“We are?” I asked.
He nodded. “I'm not going to trust that general. I've been in
fortresses before. I know a thing or two about getting out of them.”
“I...” I took a deep breath and told him about my encounter with
Tsubaki, the general's secretary. The only thing I held back was her
talking about my condition. I wanted to tell him, but I chickened out
at the last second and only told him something vague about her
knowing something about how we got here. His frown deepened as my
words continued. When I finished he crossed his arms.
“I don't trust her.”
“Why not?”
“I don't know... something about her just makes my skin crawl.”
He shook his head. “We're breaking out of here by ourselves and
heading North to look for my brother.”
“Ed, this is important to me. She can... she might be able to help
me.”
He sighed. “I have to find my brother,” he said firmly. “And
I'm not going to trust anyone in this fortress but you.”
I ducked my head, my cheeks burning at his declaration.
[ ]Go with Ed's plan.
[ ]Part ways with Ed and trust Tsubaki, we have to pursue a chance to
be normal again!
[ ]Reason with him. Trusting Tsubaki is the best choice for both of
you.
[ ]We don't have any proof that Fong is going to betray us, confront
him first.
-------------
Epsilon
“Ah, I can't really speak for my teacher,” I pointed out,
suddenly nervous for some reason. “I'd have to consult with him.”
“Go ahead, of course.” Fong gestured magnanimously.
I hesitated. “Here?”
“I don't mind.” He smiled.
I turned to Ed, trying to keep my frown off my face. “Ed, I'm
going to say something but I don't want you to overreact...”
“They want us to teach them alchemy,” Ed said, leaning back on
his human foot and crossing his arms behind his head.
“How did you...?”
“I heard the word for alchemy a few times, and the demonstration
kind of cinched it.” He flicked his eyes between Fong and his
secretary, then to the dozen men situated around room. “Plus while
you've been stuck in the hospital I've had a chance to wander around
the place the last couple of days. These people are desperate. I can
see it in their eyes, even if I can't understand the language. I've
seen that expression before.”
“So what do you want to do?” I asked.
“First, tell me what you think we should do.”
“A test?”
He dropped his arms to his side and shrugged. “Not a test.”
“Well...” I paused and thought about it a second. “Frankly...
I haven't thought about what we should be doing. I mean, I don't even
know why we're here, or what is happening, or even where here
is or why I'm...” I slowly curled my hands into fists. “But I'm
not certain I want to tie myself here. I can see this getting out of
hand too easily and I'm not certain I trust that General.”
“Is that it?”
I ran my tongue over my teeth and snapped my fingers. “What about
Al?”
“Al?” Ed gave me a direct look.
“We can get these guys to help us. We explain that Al knows
alchemy too and that the Fire Nation may be torturing information
about alchemy out of him. Not that I think they are,” I hastily
added. Ed turned and looked out the window. “But if he really
thinks that it could change the course of the war he'd be willing to
help us rescue your brother, to keep that kind of knowledge out of
their enemies hands if for no other reason. Then we can teach them a
bit of alchemy in return. Equivalent exchange.”
A few seconds passed in silence. “That's what you want to do?”
He looked over his shoulder at me. “Just help my brother?”
'I want to help you.' I did not say. I wanted to tell him
that over the last week, the more time we had spent together the more
I had thought of him and... I looked down at my feet. How could I
tell him things like that while I looked like this? So instead I only
said, “Yeah.”
Ed snorted. “No. I won't teach them a thing.”
“Huh, but why?”
“Back in Amestris, the state commissioned alchemists to use their
skills for the military. I've seen exactly what happens when alchemy
is allowed to be viewed as a weapon.” His eyes narrowed. “If I am
going to introduce alchemy to this continent, I'm going to do it the
right way.”
“ I see...” I nodded. “Now we just have to break the news to
him.” I nodded my head towards the general.
“I take it from your friends posture the news isn't good?” Fong
said with a self-effacing smile.
“No, sir.” I bowed in apology.
“Ah, well. Still, you should rest for a while longer here. Perhaps
you will rethink your position before you leave?”
“He seems adamant, but...” I rubbed at my face. “Stranger
things have happened.”
*
We had no sooner gotten back to our room at the infirmary when Ed
claimed his need to go for a walk and had left the room. That left me
alone with nothing but my thoughts. That was not a pleasant place to
be. I'd been relying on various distractions to keep me from thinking
about my situation, but now it had been thrown into my face again.
My body felt wrong, like a badly fitted dress. And my face was
itching on top of all the other little niggling details. I reached up
and rubbed at it only to pull my hand away as if it was burned. Was
that... hair? I rubbed at the face again, grimacing in disgust. Oh
great, I was growing a beard. A beard!
My face fell into my hands and I just broke down. I don't know how
long I spent crying by myself, but eventually the sound of heels on
the stone floor drew my attention.
“I'm not interrupting, am I?” It was the general's secretary.
She was standing in front of me, her arms crossed under her breasts.
Her outfit was cut such that this displayed more of her cleavage. I
snorted in amusement.
“What do you want?” I asked thinly.
“I was hoping to talk to you, actually.” She smiled
coquettishly.
“About?” Great, on top of having my body betray me, I now had
women flirting with me.
She leaned down so her face was level with mine.“I think General
Fong is planning on throwing you into prison,” she whispered.
My head snapped up. “What?”
“Perhaps we should take this conversation elsewhere.” She gave
a significant look towards the walls before leaning back up and
giggling then continuing in a more normal volume. “Don't make me
repeat it, I'm embarrassed.” She cupped her cheeks with her hands.
“I've just never met a genuine hero like yourself...” she trailed
off an gave another significant look at the door.
I rose mechanically to my feet and followed her as she sashayed her
way out of the infirmary. Every eye in the place followed us, well
her, until we were out of sight. The courtyard was wide enough and
empty enough that it wasn't long before we were out of earshot of
most people, though she kept strutting.
“Uh, not to tell you your business,” I said, “But are you
trying to get everyone's attention.”
“You and your friend are being watched,” she said softly.
“There's no way to get to you without anyone knowing. This way,
everyone is paying attention to everything other than my mouth.”
“Yes, well...” I coughed into my hand. What was this feeling?
I... felt really angry towards her. I didn't like her one bit.
We walked for awhile in silence, eventually she led me to a stairway
which led up to the top of the wall. The view from the top was
breathtaking, with narrow valleys through the mountains stretching
out in all directions like a maze. The sun was just dipping to the
horizon, but it was on the far side of the fort. Glancing around, I
saw that the wall was virtually abandoned, except for a pair of
guards in a tower almost a quarter turn around the wall.
“As good a place for a private conversation as any,” I said,
turning to her. She was standing artfully outlined in the light. “So
what the hell were you talking about?” I asked sullenly.
“General Fong wants to secret of your... alchemy.” She walked to
the parapet and ran a hand along it. “And he means to have it. If
you refuse to teach him those secrets, he'll force you to.”
My mood darkened even more. “Why are you telling me this?”
“I'm part of a secret society,” she said. “ Our people can be
found all throughout the elemental countries. We've been spending the
last hundred years preparing for the Avatar's return.” She turned
to me. “And yours.”
“Wait... mine?”
“You don't think your arrival here was an accident, do you?”
“You know why I'm here?” I asked, suddenly stunned.
“Yes.” She walked up to me and reached out with her hand towards
my chest. I took a step back, flinching. She paused, her hand
hovering over my heart. “And I know that you are... incomplete.”
Her eyes softened with sympathy. “Trapped in that body, it must be
like a living hell.”
“I... you really know about that?”
She peered into my eyes. “Yes. And we can help you, fix you.”
She stepped back. “Unfortunately if we stay up here any longer,
we'll attract the wrong kind of attention. If you want our help,
sneak out of your room at midnight and meet me at the base of that
tower.” She pointed at the nearest guard tower. “I'll get you and
the Elric out of this fortress and somewhere safe.”
“Wait... somewhere safe?”
“Yes.”
“Can you help us rescue Ed's brother?”
She paused. “We can't risk taking you to the Fire Nation right
now. Not before we've had a chance to prepare you for what you need
to do.” And with that she vanished down the stairs.
*
Ed slid the door closed behind him with a loud crack. I looked up
from the bed, my frown softening. “All right, we're getting out of
here.”
“We are?” I asked.
He nodded. “I'm not going to trust that general. I've been in
fortresses before. I know a thing or two about getting out of them.”
“I...” I took a deep breath and told him about my encounter with
Tsubaki, the general's secretary. The only thing I held back was her
talking about my condition. I wanted to tell him, but I chickened out
at the last second and only told him something vague about her
knowing something about how we got here. His frown deepened as my
words continued. When I finished he crossed his arms.
“I don't trust her.”
“Why not?”
“I don't know... something about her just makes my skin crawl.”
He shook his head. “We're breaking out of here by ourselves and
heading North to look for my brother.”
“Ed, this is important to me. She can... she might be able to help
me.”
He sighed. “I have to find my brother,” he said firmly. “And
I'm not going to trust anyone in this fortress but you.”
I ducked my head, my cheeks burning at his declaration.
[ ]Go with Ed's plan.
[ ]Part ways with Ed and trust Tsubaki, we have to pursue a chance to
be normal again!
[ ]Reason with him. Trusting Tsubaki is the best choice for both of
you.
[ ]We don't have any proof that Fong is going to betray us, confront
him first.
-------------
Epsilon