The Frost Alchemist

Chapter 22: Taken

When I woke up I was somewhere dark, at first, I thought I was alone but I could hear breathing. I couldn't see the person but my guess was that they were across the room from me.

"Hello?" I asked. The breathing changed from easy steady breaths to something else, something more alert.

"Who are you?" came the reply. It was a woman's voice.

"Levy Armstrong, and you are?" I asked.

"Armstrong? You're the kid Olivier adopted?" she asked.

"Yeah but you didn't answer my question," I replied.

"Izumi Curtis," she said and my heart rate sped up.

"Mrs. Curtis? Is that really you?" I asked as I tried to stand up noticing for the first time, as I feel to the ground, that my automail limbs were missing. All of my automail limbs. 

"Damn it," I said before she answered.

"What?" she asked.

"My automail is gone," I explained with a sigh.

"Let me guess, you performed human transmutation," she commented.

"How would you know that?" 

"They're preventing us from using alchemy. My arms and legs are chained away from each other, they wouldn't have taken your limbs unless you could have used alchemy," she explained.

"Are the others that are missing here? Is your husband here?" I asked.

"I haven't seen or heard from Sig. But what others?" she asked.

"Alchemists have gone missing all over the country, I was just really starting the investigation when they attacked the Elric home," I explained. 

"Alphonse would be in here with us," she commented.

"They didn't get to them. I protected them and gave myself up, at least I bought them some time to make a plan," I replied pausing for a second before continuing. "But you couldn't stop them... I could barely distract them... all my friends are going to end up here. My uncle. The Elrics. The Ishvalan. The Fuhrer. They're probably going to kill us all."

"You're a very negative person," Izumi commented. "The Elrics took down Homunculi when they were children, the Fuhrer helped despite being blind. They overcame something that had seemed impossible. And we are going to beat this."

"How are you so optimistic? I am missing three of my limbs. You are chained to a wall and we have no idea where the other alchemists are if they are even alive," I reminded.

"Miracles happen," she said and I could hear the smile in her voice.

"Not without a big cost. Equal exchange," I commented. We were quiet for a while. "What do they even want us for? Why take alchemists? I mean they took everyone from the most well-known to the most obscure and even in training alchemists. Why all of us?"

"That's the question isn't it?" she asked and I sighed. It simply didn't make sense. There was no logical reason for taking us all. 

"Alchemists were instrumental in taking down Father and the Homunculi correct?"

"Yes, I suppose," she said. I knew that Olivier and many non-alchemists played a few key roles, but the attacks were lead by alchemists. It was alchemists who figured out how to ruin the plan and how to actually kill the seemingly indestructible.

"What if that's why they're taking us down?" I asked and Izumi didn't reply, I couldn't tell if she was thinking or what so I just continued. "What if they're trying to do it again? The giant transmutation circle? Killing everyone inside. Having true immortality. If they take out every alchemist then they have no one to really stop them, at least no one with the knowledge to stop them."

"Those records are encrypted and hidden, no one knows about them, at least no one that wasn't taking down the circle," she argued.

"Yeah and the Elrics brother discovered the secret of the Philosopher's Stone through recipe books when they were teenagers, encryptions mean nothing to smart minds or resourceful people, I mean didn't the library burn the books when it was destroyed? The boys still found a way to get that information," I reminded. 

"It could be the Bradley boy," she commented.

"No Selim is innocent," I immediately said. Then I recalled the last thing I saw before passing out. Darkness attacked my ice wall. Shadows attacking ice. I read about Pride's power before and even heard first-hand accounts of it. But Selim didn't remember being a homunculus. He wasn't Pride any longer, so how could that power be used then?

"That's it? He's innocent? Nothing more?" Izumi asked. 

"He's a good person Izumi," I said and it was her turn to sigh. "It doesn't matter anyway if we can't do anything about it. I can't even stand up."

"You'll figure something out," Izumi said. "You're an Armstrong aren't you?"

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Hey guys, I know this chapter is shorter than usual, but hey a chapter is a chapter am I right? Good news is that I'm now on winter break (FINALLY) which means more writing time. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. See you next time! Happy Holidays!!!