The Truth Within the Truth: A Fullmetal Alchemist RP

[Redryhno]

"Orders are to find a man hiding in the city with sensitive research, Victor, and don't call me Major unless it's either important or we're among superiors,"Kallu walked to the bed, pulled the man up by the shoulders, and set him against the back of the bed.

"I was born a simple man, the Stone called me when I was young and protecting Amestris has become my life. I'm nothing more than that. The only reason I'm here is because I'm more a detriment to the mission than a help, I'm a bit conspicuous,"He allowed one of his rare smiles through, and pointed at his body, all four and a half feet of muscle and carved skin of him.

"Consider me an equal, Corporal, we are both soldiers, though with different methods of killing and protecting what we value."

He paused and looked out the window for a moment. Feeling the gentle press of the wind against his skin, he longed for the road once again. But that was a long time coming, he feared.

"Now, for the other reason I came here, what are you doing sitting in bed? According to the doctors in camp, you suffered a minor breakdown. Recovery should be a simple thing."

 

[Jedoro]

About damn time, Elias thought, giving a short wave in return as Anton wandered off. I swear, I wish I was back in the field. He turned and continued walking toward the slums, taking in the surroundings as he walked.

He could almost smell the desperation in the area. The military had done what it could, but as long as the wars had gone on, there just weren't enough resources to win them and take good care of the disabled veterans, and it was obvious which one had paid the price. It was hard to tell which were the lucky ones: the physically or mentally scarred.

Then there were the soldiers whose girlfriends, boyfriends, and families had grown tired of the military life and left without a goodbye. Amestrians were tired of all the wartime taxes, as well as all the killing in general, so there was little help to be found back in the real world for these people. Just like he thought, all they had was each other.

Those who were able took the jobs they could get, and those who weren't had to hope they shared or that someone would make them share. The soldier spirit of "we're all in this together" carried over somewhat into these circumstances, but so did the looting mentality that some soldiers had felt during the invasions: "if it's there, take it."

Of course, the soldiers had just joined in with the poor civilians who had been here before. Children ran around barefoot, wearing bits of clothing that were full of holes or patchwork. Several children had rags tied around their heads, but Elias swore to himself that he saw one with white hair.

Yeah, back to the field, huh? You probably killed his parents.

 

[CJ1145]

The woman laughed along with Leo. It was light, and sophisticated-sounding. "Is that so?" she asked. "My name is Solaris. It's a pleasure to meet you. Tell me, what brings a man like you out to East City?"

[hr]

"I..." Victor paused. He looked embarrassed. "The doctors wanted to make sure nothing was seriously wrong. They said they doubted it, but with Kimblee they... they couldn't be sure. He's a monster, Kallu."

Victor looked out the window as he talked further. "He's a monster who doesn't care about what anyone thinks... and, and the worst part is that he makes sense. He told me so much, and I don't understand how he learned it all; but it made sense. H-how I was endangering you all by keeping myself on the team. H-how my own screw-ups could get you killed. It's weird, he, he doesn't lie. It's almost like he doesn't need to lie, since--well, the truth is so dangerous on its own."

He leaned back into his pillow. "I don't like being cooped up in here. I want to get back out there and help. I want to prove that I'm not worthless." He looked at Kallu with a pleading sort of look on his face. Stone imagined that if he had a child, they'd be giving him this same look asking to get a puppy. "D-do you think, maybe if you asked the nurse, you could get me released early?"

[hr]

As Elias watched, the children ran through the streets, playing some sort of game he couldn't comprehend. But his eyes rested on one kid long enough to notice something wrong. He stood out in broad daylight, but a shadow passed over his head. It was vaguely man-shaped, and came from the rooftops. He looked up and saw that there was no one there. Whoever it was, they were heading deep into the Industrial District.

 

[Jedoro]

I'm on the right trail, being observed, or being lured into a trap, Elias thought as he began walking towards the Industrial District. Once he was out of sight of most people, he reached back and made sure the safety was off on his handgun. Let's just hope whoever it is doesn't know just how much automail I have. Without that arm, I'll need every advantage I can get.

Elias decided he'd reached the edges of the Industrial District when he began seeing women of various degrees of attractiveness standing around and throwing glances at the factories. Looking at their demeanor, he could point out a handful who had recently gone from one of the oldest professions in history to the other, and he was torn between sympathy at their situation and pride for their willingness to overcome it at any cost. Despite the distractions, he kept his eyes mostly on the rooftops, looking for a trace of his lead.

 

[CrazyBlaze]

James got a running start to jump over the hole Hotblood had left. Jumping, he hit the ground running, switching his current bullets for his blunt bullets, orders were to stop not kill. James gritted his teeth a Octivr turned a corner and started to run as fast he could. Years in the field had kept him fit, and his long leg helped him fast but he was never a really fast runner. He turned the corner and saw Octivr running and limping. James raised his gun and fired five shots at Octivr's back.

 

[Averant]

As he jogged down the main road, Amon couldn't help but wonder at the size of the industrial district. He'd been to a lot of places, both in his childhood and in his time as a frontline soldier. But while each place he visited was exotic and unique, there simply wasn't anything like the grandeur of the massive buildings that he passed by now. Smokestacks billowing massive columns of smoke, the sound of metal on metal crashing as the workers got about their day, and the rush of people as they hurried to and fro on their way to work, or home from it.

Sometimes there IS more to life than metal, isn't there? Amon thought.

He grinned. He'd have to change that.

He clomped to as stop. Maybe they did tell him to find some fancy ass alchemist, but really, what could he even do? Keep an eye out at the most, he supposed. He wasn't really a talker, as he wasn't interested in much other than metal. And he observed enough already. Doing just that would be boring.

Amon folded his arms and looked around, lost for anything to do.

 

[TheIronRuler]

A man like me... , Leo felt somewhat confident after he showed the miss how he could move. "I'm travelling around, looking for good music and companionship - I came from the West", Leo said confidently, raising his eyebrows for a moment when he mentioned he was looking for companionship.

 

[Redryhno]

"Solf has a way of bending half-truths into full truth. I've never heard nor heard of him utter a full lie to anyone. But you must stand strong as the Stone. You may be picked away at by the wind of Kimblee's words, and the Stone may scatter, but it finds strength and experience in the breaking. They can then be used to form a new stone, stronger, more durable."Kallu pulled a stone from his bag and crushed it with both alchemy and his considerable strength while he spoke, turning it into a powder, before reassembling it.

"You are the Stone, Victor, you must reassemble the pieces, become stronger and better than before,"He set the Stone on top of Victor's lap,"Now, would you prefer to worry over words that have no meaning? Or listen to the small voice inside you telling you that there was a good reason you were chosen for this tasks group?"

"I'll wait here until you decide, and then I'll tell the hospital to let you out of it's care if you are sure you are ready."

Kallu walked over and stood by the window, again longing for the road, and the stone he had found near the ruins of Xerxes, a wonderous thing, strong and ancient as the people that had once called that place home.

 

[Pappytech]

Isaac was about to exit the Furher's office, ready to begin scouring the city for Octivar's location, when suddenly, "Let me introduce myself, my name is Roland Striker, the Lightning Alchemist. I've heard about you Steel Web, and I think that your Alchemy is quite unique, and could work well with mine."

Isaac blinked in surprise at Striker's greeting, before offering the State Alchemist an apologetic grin. "Well Mr. Striker, I suppose I should thank you for the compliment; praise is always enjoyable. I'm sorry to say that I haven't heard about you, however. News about other State Alchemists tends to blend together over in West City."

Seeing that the Furher had dismissed the party, Isaac began to vacate the office, waving for Roland to follow him. Turning a scrutinizing eye towards his companion, Major Berelan began to muse out loud, "But, I suppose your title is fairly self-explanatory. Clearly electricity based; I'm assuming based on your interest in my alchemy that you use metal to conduct the charge."

Ignoring Leo's destructive pacing, and the conversation between the three other Alchemists further down the hall, Isaac offered the Lightning Alchemist a respectful salute. "Looking forward to working with you as well, Mr. Striker."

 

[JdaS]

"What brings a little soldier-boy to this part of town? We've got nothing, and the only crime you'll ever be able to pin down on these guys is bein' ugly."

"Fear not Mr. Barman, I'm not here for you. I'm in the market for some information, you see..."

Anton swiveled on the bar stool to face the cut-throats and backstabbers, who by now had all trained their gazes on the liutenant. Anton raised his voice slightly.

"I'm looking for a Liutenant Colonel. Amaud Octivir, The Hotblooded Alchemist. He has no doubt tried to recruit some of you malcontents for whatever goal he's pursuing. Now... Who's feeling chatty?" Anton asked, as his trademark smile widened to a mischievous grin.

 

[nuba km]

even if that isn't our target a man running across the rooftops is something that needs to be investigated Ken thought has he made a stone ladder on the sight of the building using alchemy, once ken reached the roof he looked all round searching for the figure he saw.

 

[CJ1145]

Elias's vigilance was well-placed. His first glance up at the rooftops caught him an excellent view of a shadowy figure quickly darting out of sight. He didn't have time to get a good look, but they appeared to be very thin, probably at least a head shorter than him. They were moving further in. If Elias had to guess, he deduced they were probably heading for the abandoned storage warehouse. In the past, it had been used to hold excess supplies, but the military compound's recent expansions had made it obsolete. It now stood empty, and held dozens of little alcoves and forgotten, dark places where a fugitive might hide.

[hr]

The first three shots pinged off of the wall uselessly, bits of shattered brick going with it. Firing while running at this speed was a gamble at best. The fourth shot was more successful, slamming into Amaud's right leg. Instead of stopping him, however, he seemed to run with greater fervor than before.

To heighten his distance, the fugitive Lt. Colonel clapped his hands together again, and slammed his right hand against the wall he was hugging at the moment. A massive jutting barrier slid out, blocking James passage yet again. This time, however, it was only a delaying tactic. James had gotten a good enough look to know this alleyway only led to a dead-end, up against the wall of an abandoned factory.

[hr]

"Really?" Solaris asked, sounding intrigued. "I've never been out west before. Perhaps you could show me around someday?"

Joy would be insufficient to describe Leo's current demeanor. Solaris held a hand up to her lips and gave that noblewoman's laugh again. "I'm getting ahead of myself. I won't be going anywhere until I finish business here. Oh, maybe you could help me? I'm looking for an old friend of mine, but everyone keeps telling me he's disappeared; have you seen a man named Amaud around?"

[hr]

Victor sat silent for a moment, watching Kallu as he stared out the window. "...Thanks, Kallu. But you don't need to wait around here any longer. Please, tell the nurse that I'm ready to go; I need to get to the quartermaster, and you should, er, probably get searching again."

[hr]

The conversation in the bar stopped, as dozens of patrons cast shifting glares and glances at Anton. The barman grimaced, and put on an odd tone, almost as if he were courteous.

"Oh, Octivir wine? Rare stock; not sure if I have any. Come to the backroom with me, I'll see if there's any left."

The barman led Anton down a staircase behind the bar and down into the cellar, where he kept all the various booze he sold. As soon as the door was shut behind them, he grabbed the soldier by the shoulders and shook him violently.

"Are you insane or something?!" he asked in a growling tone. "Almost every patron here is a veteran from the Ishvalan War; they don't sell out their own, so I'm willing to bet you've just made yourself a lot of enemies up there." He let Anton go and backed up a bit, lighting up a pipe from his pocket to take a puff from. "I, on the other hand, am a more pragmatic man. But if you want to know anything about that guy, you're gonna have to offer me more than a smile. Tell me what you can offer, and I'll tell you what I know."

[hr]

As Ken reached the rooftops, he looked due south and saw his target. Or, at least, a target. The thing was silhouetted by distance, but it was unlike any individual he had seen. It was massive, at least three times the width of a normal man, and a bit shorter than average. Nonetheless, it danced across the rooftops like it wasn't even a challenge. It seemed to be making a beeline towards the Industrial District, particularly a cluster of warehouses.

 

[TheIronRuler]

I wonder why would she look for a wanted state alchemist... This isn't right . "I haven't heard of him... what's his last name?". As Leo's suspicion grew, so did his hunger. "Do you want to take a break and visit a coffee shop with me?", Leo asked nervously, but then retreated, "Unless, of course, you're already engaged".

 

[JdaS]

"I, on the other hand, am a more pragmatic man. But if you want to know anything about that guy, you're gonna have to offer me more than a smile. Tell me what you can offer, and I'll tell you what I know."

"Heheheh... So that's how it is, eh? Well then, would this be enough of a tip Mr. Barman?"

Anton pulled a stack of 1000 Sen bills from his jacket pocket. Must have been close to 20000 Sen in there.

No point in killing him if a little money is all it takes to lubricate his vocal cords.

Anton waved the stack of bills firmly in the grip of his claws in front of the bartender.

"Well?"

 

[CJ1145]

Solaris chuckled a bit at Leo's daring come-on. "I would certainly enjoy that, Mr. Leo, but I'm afraid that this really is urgent. His name is Octivir, and the business I have with him cannot wait." She paused for a moment and considered. "Of course, if you'd really like to, you could help me search? Another set of eyes and hands would always be useful."

[hr]

The bartender stared at the bribe for a moment, considering whether or not he might be able to get more. Eventually, though, he just shrugged and took the bills from Anton, pocketing them as he expounded.

"Amaud Octivir's a fugitive, big-time sort of fella in the community. Everybody who's anybody among the AWOLs goes to him for info on how to duck the military. Where to go, who to know, what to get, et cetera. He hides out in the big, old abandoned storage warehouse in the center of the Industrial District. That's not gonna be a whole lot of help, seeing as how damn big the place is, but it's all anybody knows. So that's your best bet."

He then gestured towards the cellar door back to the bar. "Now then, you've got two choices. Either you head up there again and find yourself with about twenty new best friends to get 'acquainted' with, or you pay me another 500 and I'll let you out the back door. Up to you."

 

[CrazyBlaze]

What is going on. Octivr just clapped his hands and made that wall. At first I thought he had his transmutation circles tattooed to his hands. James stepped back and bit his thumb drawing three circles on the ground, clapping his hand he made three new cartridges, all of blunt bullets. Tucking them into his waist band he pulled out his gloves. Clapping his hands, he hit the ground as blue lighting surrounded him. A large cannon appeared out of the street, a large switch appeared with it as well. James pulled the lever and watch the wall Octivr had made crumble.

James walked through the hole he had made, his gun raised high, cautious of whatever Octivr had planned.
This may be a dead end but with his alchemy Octivr could blast his way through the walls. I need to be careful.

"Give it up Octivr. You know what I can do and what I'm not afraid to do. I just have to make sure you an talk. I have no orders about bringing you back with your entire body intact. Give it up now and save yourself a lot of pain.

 

[Fragrance of Mtn Dew]

Marlin watched curiously as the three men broke off from the crowd and ducked into a nearby alley. They were clearly not his target, but it was also fairly likely that they were involved in some shady business. Even if they aren't Amaud, they may know of him. Either way, I suppose I have no better leads yet. Marlin pondered the dilemma before taking one last glance at the crowd. He saw nothing of interest, so he quickly followed the men into the alley.

"... Hope this isn't a waste of time...." He muttered quietly to himself.

 

[nuba km]

What the hell is this? well only one way to find out ken thought just before he starting running across the roof tops as fast as his feet could carry him, the things seemed to be covering a great distance across the roof tops with ease as it showed now sign of slowing down as ken was only slowly starting to catch up with it. The thing didn't seem have noticed him for some strange reason, ken was just about to land on a stone roof top at the same time as the thing was about to jump to the next. Ken landed with his hands on the rooftop, using his alchemy a stone hand rose out of the roof trying to grab the thing before it reached the next rooftop.

 

[CJ1145]

As James stepped in through the alleyway, he found his speech falling on deaf ears. That is to say, no ears at all. The place was empty. James tried to figure out what had happened, and only too late picked up the sound of alchemical energy crackling. It was coming from the other side of the walls.

The walls to his right roared to life, two gigantic pillars of stone smashing into the Lieutenant Colonel's side and tossing him straight through the wall on the opposite side. Brick and mortar broke, dust flew with the State Alchemist as he tumbled through, into a darkened area only lit by the tiny streams of sunlight coming through his makeshift entrance. His surroundings were indeed a warehouse. Rows upon rows of empty shelves where stock would have once been, all creating a soulless and echoing chamber to wander through. As he worked his way back up to his feet, a voice called out to him.

"Projecting. You shouldn't have come alone."

Blue sparks from the top of one of the shelves caught his attention. But rather than the metallic shelves it was the ceiling above him that reacted to the transmutation. A square pillar jettisoned from its parent structure, dropping straight down toward Projecting's head.

[hr]

As Marlin approached the alleyway, he found the three men had met up with a fourth. He was not wearing one of the bandanas, and looked significantly older than him. By the boots he wore, Deep Blue recognized him as a military veteran. He looked scared, backing away from the three thugs.

"T-this isn't right." he said. "Amaud said he'd meet me here personally; he didn't say anything about other people!"

"Hey, easy, relax." the apparently leader of the trio said with a soothing tone. This completely contrasted with the lead pipe he produced from the inside of his pants. "Don't take it personally; we just don't like you military twerps movin' in on our territory, is all. Nothing against you, but we need to send a message. And you'll make as good a messenger as any."

The trio moved in closer, the other two holding pocket knives with malicious grins on their faces. The veteran backed up as far as he could go, but it was clear he was unarmed and in no mental condition to fight. "Please!" he cried. "Somebody, anybody help!"

[hr]

Ken managed to grab the thing by the leg, but what he got was absolutely, positively NOT what he was expecting.

"My snack came to me?!" the thing cried out in a voice of childlike glee. "Wait til I tell Lust!"

The big lug opened its mouth wide and, rather than any logical attack, bit at Ken's arm.

 

[JokerboyJordan]

"Looking forward to working with you as well, Mr. Striker."

"As am I "
Roland flashed a brief smile before returning to the task at hand.

"Well, the others are surely following up leads as we speak, I've arranged with the quartermaster to meet us ahead with sets of civilian clothes."

And then proceded to walk at a brisk pace, catching up to and past Isaac.

He reached into his pocket and produced a pack of cigarettes, he took one and placed it between his lips, and offered Isaac the packet.

"Do you have any kind of idea of where we should start Mr. Beleren?"