Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ The Storm Within ❯ Secrets ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2: Secrets

 

The sunlight of a warm midmorning day woke Celeste from a deep slumber. She groaned and rolled over, away from the light that burned her sleepy eyes. `Damn it, just another hour.' She pulled the covers over her head and almost fell asleep again. It was an annoying knock on the door that finally woke her. “What?”

 

“Miss Dominique, breakfast is ready.” Al said from the other side of the wooden door.

 

She smiled and sat up to stretch. “Give me a few minutes Alphonse. It's been a week since I slept in a real bed.” She listened as his armored suit clanked away from the door and down the hall before uncovering herself completely. The pendant and its jewel glistened in the sunlight as she combed her hair with her fingers. In the mirror, she saw it and touched it with her right hand.

 

She dressed and looked at her reflection once more before opening the door. She wore another sundress since her army uniform hadn't been issued to her yet and felt it necessary to wear to keep cool. But the last thing she expected was to run into Edward after opening the door. She almost ran him over.

 

“Oh Ed! Good morning.” Celeste blushed as she helped him stand since she'd knocked him to the ground.

 

He brushed his jacket off. “Celeste, Colonel Mustang's waiting for you downstairs. He's been waiting for almost an hour, so get moving.”

 

“Sorry, I didn't know he was here.” She walked behind him and came down to meet the stern face of Roy Mustang. “I'm sorry Colonel Mustang for keeping you waiting.”

 

He just frowned and said, “Don't make a habit of this Miss Dominique. When training begins, make sure you're up by five and be prepared for night calls.”

 

She bowed.

 

“Now, one of our State Alchemists reported in sick today and we need you to go on patrol.”

 

Straightening, she plastered a serious face on and put her hand up to her forehead in a salute. “Yes sir.”

 

“Ed will accompany you since he's patrolled this area before, so he'll give you a tour then you'll separate.” He turned to Ed. “Once she's on her own, don't stray too far. After all, we don't know who's out there.”

 

“Yes sir.” Ed said monotonously. After he'd left, Elric turned to Celeste. “Ready to go?”

 

“Yeah, let's go.” And the walked out the door to begin patrol duty.

 

***

 

“This quadrant is actually really easy to manage. Just a few blocks and that's it.” Ed marched down the street with Celeste in tow and listening closely. “We patrol these parts because we are also this city's police force.”

 

“I understand.” Celeste looked at the area with obvious distaste. The streets were in need of repair and it looked unclean. And seedy, definitely seedy. “Are there specific kinds of people I should look out for?”

 

“Anything that you think is suspicious. Do you think you can handle yourself?”

 

Celeste nodded. “Yes, my alchemy skills were what stopped numerous robberies in New York City. Should the need arise, they'll come in handy here too.”

 

“How fast can you draw an Alchemy transmutation circle?” Ed handed her a piece of chalk.

 

She knelt and drew an artillery circle. She put a piece of scrap metal from a nearby garbage can in the circle and laid her hands on the circle. A gun was produced after a light had resided. “I've got more intricate ones for canons, stronger guns and other sorts of heavy artillery. I can even make bombs.” Then she frowned. “Unfortunately, I've had times where they haven't worked, including very crucial moments. That's why I was sent here for training. Major didn't understand what was missing.”

 

Ed cupped his chin with his automale hand. Silver poked out from beneath his glove. “If something like that happens, I'll be in the area patrolling with you, so don't hesitate to run.”

 

Celeste nodded, but defiantly reminded herself that she'd be fine without him.

 

***

 

Roy Mustang sat at his desk and looked over Celeste Dominique's file as a blond haired woman in a soldier's uniform walked into his office. “Colonel Mustang, you asked for me?”

 

He looked over the paper he held up, and then set it down. “First Lieutenant Hawkeye, I've a mission for you.”

 

She sat on the chair in front of the desk. “I need you to look up any information on Miss Dominique. I need her past references and experiences.”

 

“But sir, shouldn't all that be in the information department already?”

 

“With Brigadier General Hughes dead, information has had problems sorting out and even receiving info on new Alchemists.” Mustang stood with a sad expression on his face. “But we all know why, of course. He's dearly missed.”

 

“Yes, sir.” Hawkeye stood and saluted. “I'll get right on it. Anything else you need, sir?”

 

Roy smiled. “Yes, Risa, as a matter of fact there is one more thing.” He leaned in towards her. “How about a date on Saturday?”

 

Risa sighed. “Seriously sir, anything else?”

 

“I thought I was being serious?”

 

“Then I'll have to decline.”

 

As she left, Roy said, “Actually, there is one more thing.” He sat in his chair again. “I'd send the Elric brothers, but they've got their hands full with Celeste right now. We've got another Alchemist coming in from America. He's arriving in three days in another town miles from here to visit friends and I need you to pick him up.”

 

“Another trainee?” Risa sat again.

 

“Actually,” The Colonel laid out some papers. “He's a transfer who's had good training and is ready to do fieldwork.”

 

Hawkeye raised a suspicious eyebrow. “Where did he...?”

 

“I said he had friends in this country, didn't I? He received training here, and then he was transferred to the United States to train new Alchemists shortly after. He's coming back from the California branch to train Celeste.”

 

“So I should pick him up. What's his name?”

 

“Hunter Phillips,” Roy paused to give her a picture of him. “Also known as the Midnight Alchemist.”

 

***

 

`Click.' The pocket watch in Celeste's hand opened and she read the time. `Click.' She closed it again. “For a seedy part of town, it sure as hell is boring here.” She sighed and put her watch into her dress pocket.

 

It had been hours since her patrol had begun and, quite honestly, Celeste couldn't have been more bored. No one had so much as stepped outside that day and it appeared no one intended to. She even contemplated telling Ed that she could handle it on her own. The problem was she couldn't find him.

 

In the shadows of an alley, he watched as she easily kept balance on a bench as she surveyed the area, and then dug out her State Alchemist watch again. The silver glinted in the afternoon sunlight and anger coursed through his veins. He narrowed his red eyes and pushed his sunglasses back onto his nose. He held his right arm, almost as if it pained him, and then whispered, “Stupid dogs.”

 

Celeste looked right at the tan skinned man and waved in greeting. “Good afternoon sir. Fine day today.” When he didn't answer back, she stopped smiling. The way he stared at her - was it disgust - sent shivers up her spine. Then the scar upon his face became more apparent. It was a white `X' that crossed just above his nose and spread over his eyes and down to his cheeks, and it stood out against his tan skin, more than it would have had he been fairer skinned.

 

He started to walk towards her, holding his arm again. Unease swept through her in waves and her lungs constricted. He meant her harm. “Halt! Come no further!” She yelled in a stern voice. “I am a State Alchemist and...” He kept going. “I said halt!”

 

“Do you know who you're working for?” He asked, taking no regard of her orders. “You're working for the military; you're a dog and nothing better.”

 

“How dare you!” Anger and pride swelled in Celeste's chest. “We protect our country using a science that will revolutionize the way we live! We...”

 

He put his arm out and hushed her. “Enough! You've obviously been brainwashed by these bastards of the military!” The tattoos on his arm began to glow an iridescent red. “You filthy dogs deserve nothing but death!” In a burst of outrage, he pounded his fist into the ground and shock waves scattered across the hard pavement.

 

“Damn!” Celeste turned on her heel and ran from the surge, but behind her the ground exploded. She flew forward and skidded on the ground on her chest. Her battered body slowly sat up, only to find herself in even more danger. Her head was directly in his right hand. “Wh-what are you?”

 

His hand tightened around her forehead, just beginning to crush her skull. “Your salvation. May God have mercy on you.” His arm began to glow again.

 

`No, I can't...I won't lose to him.' Celeste thought and clenched her fists on the pavement. `There's no way I'll lose to him.'

 

I circle of blue light encompassed the area Celeste sat in. Taken aback, the man let go of her and stepped back pensively. He watched as she opened her eyes and looked on in shock as she produced a weapon from where she sat. “What...How did I...?” She held a large gun in her hands with a long barrel pointing out from the handle. `Even my most complex transmutation circle can't make a gun like this.' She inspected her prize. `But...how did I...?' When she looked up again, the tan man was glaring at her.

 

“How were you able to transmute a gun without a circle? There are no tattoos on your arm; no transmutation circles on your hands.” He approached again, but with caution. “Do you possess it?”

 

“Po-possess what? I have nothing on me that could do such a thing!” Celeste aimed her gun at him. “One more step and...”

 

“The Philosopher's Stone; is that what gave you the ability to do this?”

 

She inhaled sharply. “Philosopher's Stone? No, I...”

 

His gaze fell below her neckline and stayed on the chain that carried the pendant underneath her dress. “What necklace are you wearing?”

 

“None of your business.”

 

“It must be...but it can't...”

 

“Celeste!” Edward called out, running down the street after seeing the man looming over her as she sat on the ground with a very big gun up in defense. “Scar, you get away from her! She's with me!”

 

`Scar?' Celeste looked up at him, and then at his arm. Her eyes widened in horror. `His arm, those tattoos; they're transmutation circles!' She dropped the gun and backed away. “Your arm...who are you?”

 

His attention turned from Ed to Celeste again. “Ed, do you realize that she may be wearing the Pendant of the Gods? Have you seen the necklace she has on?” His right hand reached out and grabbed the chain around her neck, pulling her to him in an easy sweep. She felt her airway being choked off almost immediately.

 

“Hey, what're you…?!” Ed yelled out as Celeste struggled to get away. “I said let her go! She's with me!”

 

He ignored the boy's pleas. “This pendant,” he inspected the little Celtic circle and blood-red stone, “Is the Pendant of the Gods, an imperfect creation of the Philosopher's Stone. Still, it's the closest thing to it.” Scar pulled Celeste closer and touched her face with his other hand. She flinched. “Tell me girl, where'd you come across this?”

 

“It was a gift, now let me go!” She pulled away but her chain tightened around her throat.

 

He smirked. “Do you realize how incredibly lucky you are? Until now, no one has been able to put on that necklace without dying instantly. Of all the people who've come across this, you are the only one to wear it and not be blown to bits.”

 

Her esophagus was being squeezed closed and her vision began to blur and grow dark. “I…could've…”

 

Ed stepped forward, his face slightly angry. “Celeste, who gave you the pendant?”

 

“The Cryst…Crystal…” Her face paled as she swooned and dropped to the ground.

 

Scar released his hold as Ed rushed over. “Take her and go. I recommend you get that pendant off of her. It's a danger to her…and to the people of Japan.” He turned and started to walk away.

 

“What was your motive? Why'd you attack Celeste?”

 

“A State Alchemist is nothing but a dog of the military, yourself and her included. While you understand this, she does not. I recommend you make her understand.” He said after stopping, but kept his back turned to Ed. “If you don't, she'll be one of my next targets.”

 

***

 

“The battle must've gotten to her more than we thought.” Ed sat by the bed Celeste had been placed in. “She's got a long way to go before her training's over.”

 

Al only nodded.

 

“Is Roy stopping by? I need to speak with him about this girl's encounter today.”

 

“He said he'd stop by after seeing a few things taken care of.” The tall, metal boy sighed. “Do you think she's okay?”

 

A knock resonated and Colonel Mustang entered. “Edward, you wished to speak with me?”

 

He nodded. “Al?”

 

Without another word, the metal boy left the room. Colonel Mustang looked at Celeste as she slept, covers coming just past her chest. “What happened?”

 

“Scar attacked her during out patrol.”

 

“Any reasons why?”

“His usual ones.” Ed walked forward and reached under the covers. He brought out the Pendant of the Gods. “This is what saved her apparently. It transmuted a gun without using equivalent exchange or a transmutation circle.” He laid it down against her chest. “The Pendant of the Gods, that's what Scar called it. Before passing out, she managed to say `The Crystal'. I think the Crystal Alchemist, Tim Marco, sent her that pendant.”

 

Colonel Mustang sighed in regret. “How could he though? He's dead and he should have kept it locked away.”

 

“You knew he had that?”

 

“I gave it to him to keep an eye on back before the Ishbal Massacre. He must have accidentally put it in that tin with the watch…”

 

“But Celeste said it was a gift. And had he done it by accident, how would she have known who put it in there?”

 

Roy closed his eyes. “What motive did Tim Marco have to give this to her?” He turned to leave. “Take it off of her. Right now.”

 

“Don't you think I've tried? Every time I try, the necklace glows and becomes as hot as burning metal. Somehow, I think if I took it off of her, it'd kill her instantly.”

 

At that, Roy turned back to him. “Ed, you know what the Philosopher's Stone needs to be perfect. What do you suppose made this imperfect and unstable one?”

 

Ed frowned. “I think it may have been a smaller amount of human blood than what Tim Marco's `recipe' calls for.” He gazed back at the necklace on Celeste's chest as it rose and fell with her breathing. “Did he make it?”

 

“No, and nobody knows who did. Many Alchemists over the last twenty years have put that on and died instantly.” Mustang finally reached the door. “Keep an eye on her, call me when she wakes.”

 

He was stopped yet again when Celeste groaned and slowly opened her plastered eyes. The faces that surrounded her were blurry, and as her eyes focused again, she found out that her head pounded and her body was sore. “What the…ow. Where am I?”

 

Roy smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. “You gave us a real scare, Celeste. How do you feel?”

 

“Like I got run over by ten trains.” She rubbed her eyes. “Did Scar get away?”

 

Colonel Mustang looked at Edward and signaled him to leave. He obeyed as the Colonel sat in a chair beside Celeste's bed. “Yes, he got away?”

 

“Oh.” She replied meekly. The smiled had faded from his face and he gazed at her in a way that made her want to squirm. She resisted the temptation to do so, but when he started to reach for her chest, she flinched. But he didn't grab her improperly; he only picked up the pendant that rested on her chest.

 

“Where did you get this?”

 

Celeste looked into his stone-cold eyes and answered, “With my pocket watch. I thought every Alchemist was assigned one…”

 

“Where was it in your case?”

 

“Under the foam padding. I'd dropped my…”

 

He didn't let her finish her explanation. “So it wasn't out in the open. If it was hidden, why did you assume everyone got one?”

 

Celeste frowned, turned her face away from his, and closed her eyes. “I don't know.” Looking up at his face again, she said, “The Crystal Alchemist left a note in with the necklace. It said it was a welcoming gift.”

 

“And you thought nothing of what this necklace could be? Or what it could do?” His tone had taken a bite to it now and it made Celeste recoil.

 

“No sir, I did not.” She touched the chain carefully. “I thought it was harmless.”

 

“It is when no one is wearing it.” He leaned back again after dropping the pendant. “Now you can never take it off.”

 

Her eyes widened. “Never take it off?”

 

“Because it accepted you, the only way to take it off is to do so and die. Its power matched up with your Alchemic abilities and now it won't let you go.” He stood. “And if that wasn't enough, if we don't find some other way to get that thing off of you, your Alchemic powers will become unstable and kill you anyway.”

 

“K-kill me?” She laid a hand over the Pendant itself and felt her hand warm the cool metal.

 

“Yes, kill you.” He looked down at her distressed face and smiled slightly. “Don't worry, we'll find a way to get it off, I promise.” He turned to leave.

 

“Roy,” She stated quietly, stopping him at the door. “This pendant, while it can kill me, I can still use it, right? I mean…” She paused. “It would be a great asset for now.”

 

He nodded, opened the door, and left without saying another word.

 

&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&

 

(Blanket Disclaimer: All Fullmetal Alchemist characters mentioned in this story do not belong to me. The OC's and story line are off limits.)