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Time's Scar	By : RotSeele Category: Fullmetal Alchemist > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 828 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. I do not make any money from this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Time's Scar
- 2-Two
- 3-Three
- 4-Four
- 5-Five
- 6-Six
- 7-Seven
- 8-Eight
- 9-Nine
- 10-Ten
- 11-Eleven
- 12-Twelve
- 13-Thirteen
- 14-Fourteen
- 15-Fifteen
- 16-Sixteen
- 17-Seventeen
- 18-Eighteen
- 19-Epilogue
- 8
- 9
- 10
Nine
He landed on his feet but stumbled backwards as the world spun. He clutched at something solid - it felt like brick - that wasn't moving and closed his eye until the world stopped spinning. Well, at least he wasn't lying about that part. He opened his eye and stared around at the tall buildings he remembered but knew weren't his. Everything looked the same, even though he knew it wasn't. At least he'd ended up in the right place, but there was no way to get word back to tell his subordinates - or Winry - that he was safe, whole, and on the right trail now. His quarry had days on him; it was possible that he wasn't even in Central anymore. But before he moved on, he would have to make sure.
Because if he didn't find Edward here, Roy wasn't sure what he'd do. He couldn't return home empty-handed, because that would feel like failure, and he'd refused long ago not to fail anymore.
Righting himself, Roy Mustang straightened his clothes, pulled his brown leather duster tighter around him and made sure the hat he wore covered most of his face. Even if someone saw him and thought they recognized him, the eyepatch he wore would hopefully deter the person long enough for him to escape. The warning that Ed had left him with, along with the alchemy notes and a small selfish letter, had warned him that letting people know who he was might backfire, especially if he ended up somewhere where his name was well-known.
A deep sigh left his lungs, and the Flame Alchemist took a step forward and emerged into the crowds and streets of Central.
Edward and Alphonse found themselves waiting impatiently at the Central train station, watching for the eastern train that would be carrying Roy. After Ed had explained the situation to his superior officer, Roy had taken the first train out of Eastern Area that he could. It still would take him a few days to reach Central, no matter how fast the train moved. So Ed and Al had filled that time by pouring over the files they were allowed to read again, trying to find something, anything, that would allow them to locate if not capture the killer.
The killer, too, was a subject of conversation the brothers broached only when they were certain they were alone. They talked about the mysterious woman, the name Olivier, and they looked for things that didn't make sense, whether it was a building leased by a strange name or an apartment bought by Alfons Heiderich or even Olivier. As predicted, they found nothing. If they asked Mallory if they could talk to Rhys or any of the surviving project members, they were sternly, and politely, told to mind their own business and focus on finding the killer.
So when the day arrived that Roy would arrive, the boys made their way to the station to wait. It was all they could really do, since they'd exhausted all the materials they had at their disposal and nothing new was cropping up. Alphonse had even walked the streets of Central at night, hoping maybe the killer would come to him, even at a distance. But he never did, and so the Elric brothers were at a complete and total loss as to what to do with this case.
Thus Roy.
While Roy was more than happy to delegate missions and assignments out to Edward because he was Ed's direct superior, he wasn't one to ignore a plea for help, especially if it came from the Elrics, because Ed and Al wouldn't ask for help unless they truly needed it. The boys were fiercely independent and didn't respond well to people trying to help before it was needed.
The train wheezed into the station, steam hissing out as it came to a rest. The conductors opened the doors to let out the flood of people that traveled to Central every day, whether it was to work, to shop, or to visit friends and family. Ed stood on a bench to be able to see over the crowd while Alphonse sat beside him, hands clasped, watching the faces of people as they passed by. Then Ed lifted an arm and waved.
Alphonse looked up to see Roy Mustang striding toward them, a long coat over his navy blue uniform. He looked impeccable as always, tall and imposing with black hair and black eyes. His expression could be mistaken for a scowl, but the Elrics knew better. He wasn't happy, but he wasn't mad at them.
"Fullmetal, Alphonse." Roy greeted the boys.
"Colonel." Alphonse returned politely.
"Thanks for coming, Mustang." Ed said as he jumped from the bench to the ground. Alphonse sighed. His brother couldn't ever really be polite toward Roy, heaven knew why. But they worked well together, so Alphonse only lightly admonished his older brother. Ed shrugged. "There hasn't been any new developments. Mallory and his superiors won't let us talk to the survivors of the project, so there's no way we can at least try to bait the killer into attacking them. So, we're stuck."
Roy listened quietly, a frown creasing his brow as his mind followed Ed's line of thought and reasoning. Finally he regarded both Elrics and said, "I doubt there's much I can do regarding the survivors, but I can throw my weight around as far as Lieutenant Mallory is concerned. This is my case after all; you two were just working it for me."
Ed shrugged again. "The point is, Mustang, we can't catch the bastard because he's gone to ground. The people pulling his strings were never in the light to begin with. On top of that, there's something weird about the killer."
"How so?"
Alphonse described his encounter again, not leaving out any little detail no matter how insignificant it might be. Alchemists didn't think like normal people; their minds made leaps and bounds and scientific jumps that a non-alchemist couldn't understand. Even Alphonse, who was a master alchemist himself, knew that his brother and Mustang thought on a different level than he did, and hopefully between the two of them, they might had able to figure out why the killer not only spared Alphonse, but was able to heal him. Because, right now, both Elrics wanted a different explanation than the theory they had already. "And we haven't seen him since." Alphonse finished.
Roy rubbed his chin. "There are plenty of places in Central someone who didn't want to be found could hide. The police and military personnel rarely go there, and from what I understand, there's an agreement between the police and the underground. They don't bother each other, and nothing particularly damaging to either side happens."
"So we need to give the killer an incentive to come to us." Ed reasoned.
"Easier said than done." Roy replied. He gestured for the brothers to walk with him. As they left the platform, Roy continued, "The killer isn't stupid, if I understand your story correctly. Beyond that, he'd definitely know anything regarding his prey is something to be wary about. He may be anticipating a trap. Right now, it's in his best interest to lay low and hope the brass relents enough to let the survivors begin to work again."
"Because if they start to work again, he'll be able to find out where they are." Alphonse reasoned.
Ed made a noise. "Because being the skilled alchemist he is, it'd be cake to find out where certain supplies are going. And since he's targeting these people, this project, specifically, he'd know exactly what supplies to look for."
"He wouldn't necessarily need to break into a military installation either," Roy agreed. "He could just as easily look at train manifests and narrow things down until he's successful."
Alphonse shook his head. "It seems so complicated. For someone to go through that much trouble just to kill someone... They must be doing it for a reason."
"Whatever the reason," Roy said, "it's clear he doesn't want to involve innocent people more than he has to. As for what he did for you, Alphonse, I'd say you and he have some connection somehow."
It was a hedge, a way of confirming what the brothers thought but didn't want to say. Ed rubbed the back of his neck. If what their theory was was true, then the people on the project would have a lot of explaining to do, especially if they wanted to keep Ed from nosing around. And knowing how the military was with secrets, Ed wasn't sure he'd like the price that would have to be paid for that knowledge. Equivalent exchange didn't just apply to alchemy, and the military was loathe to give up secrets for free.
"So what should we do?" Ed asked finally.
"We'll have to catch him. And to do that, we'll need a trap." Roy said. "But first, let's see if I can get any more answers out of the people you're dealing with. The more information we have, the better."
The three of them finally made their way into the precinct building. Not one of them realized they were being watched.
Ed and Alphonse hung back as Roy made himself into a one-man army. Most of the military personnel who worked here barely knew how to handle someone like Roy, since they didn't deal much with State Alchemists who were also Colonels. Even Mallory, when he saw Roy, looked at a loss of what to do. Then his eyes fell on the Elric brothers, and his face reddened as his lips twisted into a severe frown.
"Looks like we're in trouble, brother." Alphonse says quietly.
Ed made a soft noise but didn't really respond. He watched Mallory, aware the man was taking note of everything and would no doubt report this to his superiors. Of course, there really wasn't anything they could do about it, since Roy was the one who was supposed to be working on solving this case anyway.
Finally, after a few hours had gone by, the Elrics and Mustang found themselves in a large meeting room surrounded by papers and boxes and Mallory, who continuously wrung his hands and stared at Roy like the Colonel was going to snap his fingers at any moment and fry him to a crisp. Ed could tell by Roy's expression that he was seeing the same things Ed and Alphonse had. He kept quiet for a long while, pouring over the papers with an intensity that seemed off for the man who normally hated paperwork. Finally, Roy put the papers down in s neat pile and looked at the Elric brothers.
"It looks like the only way to lure out this killer is to take the project survivors and put them back into danger." Roy said.
Mallory spluttered. "You can't do that! They're too important to Amestris to use for bait!"
Roy looked at him with an arched brow. "Then how do you propose we catch the killer? He's after these few remaining men and women for a reason, and that reason has to do with this translocation alchemy. Someone doesn't want us learning the alchemy, or perfecting it. That someone has sent a highly dangerous assassin after these people, an assassin who knows alchemy just as well as a State Alchemist, if not better. Whatever the reason for this is, we won't get any answers until we have one party in our custody."
"But you're suggesting using people as bait." Mallory protested.
"No, not the people themselves," Ed said, "but the idea of them."
Mallory looked at the elder Elric, confused. "What do you mean?"
Ed waved a hand. "Our killer has gone to ground, and if he's smart, which I don't doubt he is, he'll wait until the military's become complacent and secure in themselves again. Eventually, those people are going to want to go home. They're going to want to see their families. All he has to do is wait until they're released back into the public to go back to hunting them. But if we say they're back working on the project in a certain location, we might be able to gamble on the killer's need to get his assignment done."
Now Mallory seemed to understand.
Roy added, "If we do this, then we have to pick a place that seems like it would be safe and secure - to add to the illusion that the alchemists are there working - and a place that we could easily set up in our favor to capture our killer. We would have to have a sufficient guard to make it look like his targets are there, plus a supply shipment. If we gamble correctly, he won't be able to resist the bait."
"And between me, Mustang, and Al, we should have no problem catching him." Ed said. "He's a good alchemist, but I don't think even he could fight off three of us at once."
Mallory mulled over the plan for a long while, searching all of their faces. Even Colonel Mustang seemed to trust this plan, and Mallory wondered if the rumors and other things he'd heard about the young Colonel were true. Finally, he said, "I'll have to pitch it to my superiors. They're very adamant that this gets solved."
"Unless you want to wait years and handle increasingly angry alchemists, this is the only way." Ed said blandly.
Mallory nodded. "I'll do my best to convince them."
- 8
- 9
- 10
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Time's Scar