Hiding In The Shadows (a Full Metal Alchemist FanFic)

The truth within the truth

Scarlett's P.O.V.

The next morning, we said our goodbyes to the Rockbells.

"Keep your automail well oiled." Winry reminded Ed for the fifth time from the balcony above.

"Alright, alright.." He muttered back.

"Oh, and before I forget!" Winry threw a small, silver screw, which I caught easily. "You owe me!"

"I'll pay you back before I die!" I promised. We got back on the train, and traveled back to the crowded streets of Central.

"Welcome back sir!" A woman and man saluted Armstrong. They said that he needed to return to HQ as soon as possible, and that they were going to replace his position to keep an eye on the Elrics. This pissed small Ed more.

"What the hell with the guards???" Edward sighed, throwing his hands into the air. I patted his shoulder and gave a little chuckle. "Not funny, Scar." He growled. The two soldiers introduced themselves.

"Maria Ross." She saluted. Maria looked nice, but she seemed afraid of Ed. Probably because of his status I believed. She had very short brown hair and a small mole under her left eye.

"Denny Brosh." The man also saluted. Denny had longer, sandy blonde hair with a silly expression pasted onto his face. Oh, right, I should probably salute back.

"Scarlett Reems. The Black Shadow Alchemist." I said. Their eyes went wide and their salute became tighter.

"W-WELCOME BACK MAM!" Both of them yelled, attracting unwanted attention. "Colonel Roy Mustang would like to hear a report from you right now." Lieutenant Ross added. "Don't worry, we'll look after the Elric brothers until you come back." I smiled and started to walk out of the station.

"Wait! Scarlett!" Ed called out across the train station. I couldn't hear what else he said because the train whistle sounded off. I simply smiled and made a quick salute to them.

"Back and reporting for duty sir." I stood in front of Roy's desk. Everyone smiled at me, and gave me high fived me. Roy turned around in his chair, giving me a concerned look.

"Anything to report?" He asked. I knew I couldn't lie, but I didn't want my only father to go to jail. I mean, yeah, he was an asshole, but he still was my true father. "I only want to make sure you're safe." He reminded me. I sighed and relaxed.

"My father did try to contact me while I was a Resembol, but he simply tried to talk to me. Nothing more." I lied. I hated lying to him, but I couldn't avoid it. He nodded and looked down at the papers scattered across his desk.

"You are dismissed." Roy said, taking out a pen and beginning to sign the papers. I saluted and walked over to the group of subordinates.

"Hey! You're back!" Falman smiled. Breda looked up, half of a sandwich still clamped inside his mouth.

"Welcome back General Reems." He mumbled through the bread of his sandwich. Riza rolled her eyes and handed me badge. I immediately shoved it into my pocket. I'll forget about it later. I exited the room and headed for the phones. I've already been at headquarters for two hours, and I'm already wondering what those two boys are doing.

"Outside call to the Elric Brothers." I asked the operator. Waiting takes forever. Why aren't they picking up? The other line clicked and I heard Alphonse sigh.

"Hello?" Al asked.

"Hey. It's me, I'm almost done at the station. I only need to make one more arran then I'll meet you guys." I told him.

"Al! How the hell are we gonna find Marcoh's research notes now?!" Ed yelled. I'm guessing they found out that the 1st branch of the library burned down while we were gone.

"I don't know brother, but we'll find a way!" Al answered before hanging up. I chuckled to myself as I walked out of HQ. My pocket watch jingled as it's silver chain shone in the sun. People passing by whispered things, and pointed in my general direction. I'm guessing Scar is still at large. I single handedly took him on last time. I'm not dying before him. I turned down a alleyway, and kept walking until I reached a small door. Knocking twice, the door opened to reveal a elderly woman who wore mostly rags.

"Hello." Her raspy voice greeted me, allowing me inside the small shack. I walked through the kitchen as the floorboards beneath me creaked terribly. I clapped my hands together and touched the old wood; it's color changed and the wood became stronger so it could support me. I continued out of the kitchen and into a small bedroom.

"Scarlett!" A small cheered, clapping his hands together happily. I smiled at him, fishing out the screw I obtained from Winry.

"Hey Rico. Guess what I have?" I asked him, holding the part behind my back. Rico lost his leg when he was born, and his family could not afford a automail leg, so I've been scraping together all the spare parts I could to help him create his own leg. Today was his tenth birthday. Hopefully, this will be the day he stands.

"Is it a promotion? Did you become Furer??" He asked anxiously. He always believed I was best for the country. I laughed at the thought.

"Nope, and Happy Birthday!" I exclaimed, thrusting the screw into his hands. His eyes widened. He fumbled as he quickly threw the covers off his legs. I had to hand it to Rico, he did a good job of putting the leg together. He put the screw into place and grimaced at the nerves connecting to the metal machine. He stepped out of bed, swaying slightly. His mother, Carlotta, with tears in her eyes, helped her son to his feet.

"Thank you, Scarlett. Bless you.." She cried.

"I want to help you now. You deserve it!" Rico began to walk closer. I leaned on a support beam as he came closer.

"I'm fine, Rico." I assured the boy. "But there may be a day you can pay me back. Having a civilian friend can do miracles if you know what to do."

I said goodbye as I walked out of the door. If the Elrics were able to gain Marcoh's notes, where would they go? I turned down the street headed for the library.

Edward's P.O.V.

I sighed, looking up at the tower of papers that was Marcoh's research papers. Well, I better get back on this decoding. Al looked up from his writing and waved to someone.

"Hi Scarlett!" He said. I can only see her flaming red hair over the piles of paper.

"You're back." I grunted. She laughed and walked behind the papers.

"I didn't even see you back here!!" She laughed harder, Al joining in.

"Ha ha. Let's get back to work." I rolled my eyes.

For the next ten days, we tried decoding the notes. Scarlett helping wherever she was needed, and she was needed a lot. She was more experienced in alchemy than us, so it was only logical of us to ask for her help....hear that? Only logical. Saying we saw her usefulness and exploited it. It does NOT mean we actually need help. I held up the newly decoded notes. Al and I were waiting for this moment an- ......

"DAMN IT!" I screamed to the sky, pushing every paper in sight to the floor. I crumbled to the floor, Scarlett at our side calming us down. Ross and Brosh burst in the room. Seeing us at our current state, they relaxed.

"I now see why it's called the Devil's Research...." I mumbled, shoving my palms into the floor.

"Don't give up! You'll decode the notes soon enough!" Maria tried to think positive, but it only made me angrier.

"We did." Al answers

"What?"

"We decoded the notes."

"The main ingredient for making a Philosopher's Stone.... is live humans." I stuttered.

______________

Hope you like the chapter!! Disclaimer: I never want to do this again so I'm only saying this once. I do not own any of the characters from FMA or any other fandom I use. The only characters that are mine are...well, you know who they are because they aren't in the series. So, yeah. Never gonna explain that again.

Comment

Like

Follow.

~ Saturnthehero