The Bloody Alchemist

Changing Tides

        The warm air of central greeted Cecelia when she got off the train. She looked around the station, half hoping to see Ling still waiting in the spot she had left him. But the station was empty, no one besides half-asleep guards and ticket vendors. Cecelia stoically returned to her hotel. When she got to her floor, she found Lan Fan and Ling sitting quietly outside Edward's door.

"Cecelia!" Ling hopped up to greet the girl, but she stepped away from him. "Are you okay? You had me so worried! Why did you take off like that?" he asked ferociously.

"I'm fine," Cecelia said half-heartedly. She heard Edward's distinct voice inside the room. "Ed's back?"

"Yeah, he came just before you did," Ling answered. Cecelia stepped around Ling but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. "Hey! Tell me what's going on with you."

Ling seemed honestly concerned for her wellbeing, "I will, I promise Ling." Cecelia opened Edward's door and closed it behind her, knowing Ling was watching her closely.

"You're back!" Alphonse greeted.

"Ling told us you took off for no reason," Winry explained. "What happened?"

Edward spoke for her. "It was me." Winry and Al waited for either of them to continue. "You went to go dig up your transmutation, didn't you?"

Cecelia nodded. She felt the hot tears pool in the back of her eyes, but she willed herself to keep them back. "You were right. That wasn't my brother. I made a mistake." Cecelia covered her mouth and looked at her feet.

"But, that's good, right?" Alphonse asked.

"That means you're brother didn't suffer again."

Cecelia couldn't tell the boys that she had a philosopher's stone. She was convinced that they would want to use it for their bodies, not to mention, Ling was outside, listening. And even if their friendship was growing, she was sure he'd take the stone back to Xing in a heartbeat.

So she nodded and swallowed her tongue, though she couldn't bring herself to lie. She looked right at Edward and spoke. "You heard what happened to Jean, right?" Ed nodded. "Then you know that we're going to tear those homunculi apart."

Edward grinned ear to ear, "Glad we've got you on board."

Edward established that returning Alphonse to his body was still a possibility and that the soul in the armor was, in fact, Alphonse, thanks to Al and Winry sharing a memory. The next morning the three of them stopped to visit Roy and Jean in the hospital, Cecelia was sure to buy another pack of Jean's favorite cigarettes.

"Jean will be happy to see you, Cecelia," Fuery smiled, "He and the Colonel have been bickering all day."

"Are you coming to visit?" Ed asked.

"And bringing a little present," He waved the rolled-up map in his hand.

Cecelia went to Jean's bedside first, presenting the cigarettes from Juniper and her husband. Roy complained at his lack of gifts, as usual. But the map Feury brought made everyone focus back on the issue at hand. Riza was able to calculate the dynamics of the tunnel they had encountered the homunculi in. The radius connected all of the laboratories, Central Command and even the Presidential Estate.

"The Fuhrer might even be involved," Roy concluded.

"But that doesn't make any sense," Alphonse stated.