Chapter 2: A part of something greater

The Iron Sole Alchemist (Chapter 2) A part of something greater.

by Howlin

(Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to this universe, places, or characters, and only claim the protagonist as my own creation. This is fan fiction, and I don't profit from it. Please don't sue me.)

. . .

After several days of wandering, the desert gave way to grassy plains, and eventually I spotted a town on the water. There were train tracks through the city. If I couldn't find what I needed here, at least I'd be able to take a train to somewhere I could.

I'd been keeping my bandages clean using alchemy, but I knew I was going to need a doctor for my right leg. Limping into town, I stopped the first person I encountered, an attractive woman with long, red hair.

"Excuse me, Miss," I said. "Can you point me in the direction of the hospital?"

"I'm sorry, young man," she replied, "but the Aquroya hospital was torn down over a year ago."

"That's not good. I managed to stop the bleeding and keep it clean, but I'm not a doctor. It's been days since I lost my foot, and a dull ache's been spreading up the leg slowly ever since."

"My, that does sound serious I'll tell you what. I used to work at the hospital before they tore it down. Most of the doctors left soon after, but I know a surgeon who's still practicing out of his home."

The woman, who called herself Ann, led the way to a small house next to a canal.

"Head inside," she said. "This is the best doctor in Aquroya, Dr. DeRocha." Then she left.

. . .

I knocked on the door, and was almost immediately greeted by a middle aged man in a white coat. Before I could say a word, he saw my leg, rushed me inside, and had me lying on a table.

I began to explain what had happened, that my foot had been bitten off a few days ago, and how the pain was getting worse. Meanwhile, the doctor grabbed a pair of scissors and shredded my pant leg, leaving my wounded leg bare.

I'd been cleaning the bandages with alchemy, and hadn't actually removed them since I was first injured. The entire leg, up to the mid thigh was discolored. A red line ran up the leg, while the flesh nearer the wound was either bruised black or sickly yellow.

"This looks bad. The wound has been infected, and the infection is spreading. If I don't amputate, the blood poisoning will reach your heart, and you'll die."

"You're the doctor, not me. Do what you have to do." The thought of losing my entire leg wasn't exactly appealing, but it was a hell of a lot more appealing than dying. Part of me wanted to seek a second opinion, but what the doctor said made sense, and the longer I delayed, the worse off I'd be.

The doctor applied his scissors on my shirt this time. I was about to ask what he was doing, when he produced a needle.

"Don't worry," he said. "This is just a general anesthetic. It'll be better for both of us if you sleep through the operation. We can't have you squirming around while I'm trying to make precise incisions, can we?"

"Like I said, do whatever you think is best."

The doctor slid his syringe into my shoulder, and almost immediately, I felt a numbing sensation spread from the injection site. In no time, I'd lost all feeling in my right arm, and the feeling of numbness was spreading through my chest. A momentary fear of suffocation subsided as my torso succumbed to the doctor's drug, and my breathing regularized. It was incredibly relaxing, and as the numbness crept up my neck and over my head, my eyes closed and I was drifting near sleep. I experienced the remaining loss of sensation in this state of near stupor.

. . .

When the doctor's powerful drugs began to wear off, I felt a dull ache at the point of my mid thigh and the numbness below the pain refused to subside. Coming more fully awake, I looked down at my right leg. There was scarcely anything left of it.

I was moving to sit up, when the doctor came in and laid me back down.

"You're going to need to stay in bed for a couple more days yet. I'll need to keep you under observation and keep an eye out for infection until the wound closes over."

"I guess I was pretty luck I ran into that red headed nurse first thing, huh?"

"Red headed nurse?"

"Yes, she said her name was Ann. She used to work at the hospital before it got torn down."

"I've never even heard of a red haired nurse at the old hospital, and the name Ann doesn't ring any bells either."

"Strange, she seemed to know you."

. . .

I stayed with the doctor for two weeks before he declared me well enough to leave.

"I'm afraid there aren't any automail mechanics here in Aquroya. Since you're going to be on crutches for a while anyway, you'll probably want to make a trip to Rush Valley."

"What's in Rush Valley?"

"Rush Valley's the home of the best automail engineers in the country. They call it the automail capitol of the world. If you want to be able to walk again, Rush Valley is the place you'll want to go."

I asked the doctor about my clothes, but since he'd shredded them, the only thing he hadn't thrown out was my left shoe.

He gave me some old clothes that were much too big for me, and I payed him for his services and the old clothes. I thanked Dr. DeRocha again before setting out for the train station.

As I was heading through town, I happened to catch a glimpse of my reflection in a window. My brown hair was a matted mess, dropping over my brown eyes, partially covering my left eye. The doctor's clothes hung off my slender frame, completing the sloppy look.

I shook my head, and lifted myself off the ground by my crutches. As my left foot came down, I activated the array on my shoe. I watched the transmutation in the window.

My entire body began to glow purple. Arcs of violet light passed over my left shoe, causing the dust and mud it had accumulated to flake off, leaving a well shined, thick soled, black boot. the energy arcs moved up the tan pant leg. As it contracted to a perfect form fit, the light tan color darkened to a deep brown, and the felt material was transmuted to a denim like consistency. The over-sized flannel shirt the doctor had provided was split by the transmutation into a white, sleeveless undershirt and a brown pancho with a geometric pattern around the collar. The glow wrapped around my body began to fade as the final arcs of the transmutation reached my head. A couple of purples sparks shot through my hair, spiking it up.

The transmutation had just completed, and I was smiling at the change in my appearance when a metal cuff closed around my right wrist.

. . .

I was nervous as I was dragged to police headquarters. I'd taken part in an armed insurrection against the state military, and been aware ahead of time of Scar's plan to annihilate the city. I was contemplating my odds of escaping on one leg when the first question came, taking me completely off guard.

"Where's Psiren?"

"Who?"

"Don't play dumb with me. I know you're working with her."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"One year ago, a master thief escaped police custody. Her real name was Clare, but she isn't stupid enough to keep using that name. The only lead we have left is that she commits her crimes using alchemy."

"So? What, you drag every alchemist in off the street and give them the fifth degree?"

"I'll ask the questions here. Now what do you know about Psiren?"

"I'd never heard of her until you dragged me in here."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"It's the truth."

"Let's go over this again from the beginning."

The interrogation went on for hours, and by the end of it, I was no closer to convincing the detective of my innocence. He grudgingly released me from police custody only because he didn't have enough evidence to hold me. As I was leaving, the detective said one last thing.

"Don't leave town."

. . .

My return to civilization wasn't exactly going according to plan. Thanks to this detective making me a suspect, I was stuck in this city indefinitely. Not to mention that without an automail mechanic in town, my entire stay was going to be spent on crutches.

I was upset, but I decided that if I was stuck here, I might as well see if I could use the time to start researching a more permanent solution for my leg. After asking around town, I made my way to the Aquroya library.

The building that housed Aquroya's library was an architectural marvel. I approached it in a skiff, since the front door was canal side. There was a large central dome visible from the outside, and marble columns supported an overhanging roof.

Once I actually entered the building, the view was breath taking. The ceiling dome was painted with a masterful depiction of a hand reaching out for a blood red stone against a background of golden light. Shelves of books covered the walls, and spiral staircases led up to higher levels.

"Beautiful isn't it?"

I must've been staring, because I hadn't noticed the dark haired woman approach.

"I'm sorry for staring. I was actually looking for books on alchemy. Can you help me?"

"The Aquroya library has a rather extensive collection of books on alchemy, but I'm afraid I don't know my way around that section very well. There is another librarian though. She's rebinding books in the back. Maybe she can help you find what you're looking for."

"Thanks, I'll go ask her."

With that, I headed over to the door the woman indicated. It was slightly ajar, and as I approached, a faint, pink light streamed through the partly open door. I peeked inside, and saw a red haired woman with her shirt partly unbuttoned. She was holding a water damaged book, and as I watched, the pink light I had seen earlier enveloped the book and it was transmuted into pristine condition.

"So, you're an alchemist too," I said a I opened the door. The woman jumped a little as she turned to face me. I recognized Ann. Tattooed on her chest was a distinct transmutation circle.

"Oh, it's you."

"I'm glad I ran into you. I was starting to worry I wouldn't get the chance to thank you. If you hadn't introduced me to that doctor, I'd probably be dead by now."

"It looks like you lost the whole leg."

"Yeah, but it's better than the alternative. My only real complaint is that obsessed detective."

"Detective?" Ann seemed nervous.

"He's looking for some alchemy using thief, and when he saw me transmute my clothes, he dragged me in for questioning. You're an alchemist, you must've run into him too."

"I don't think so."

"Don't worry, then. Your secret's safe with me. Thanks to that detective, I'm stuck in Aquroya until further notice."

"I'm sorry."

"There's nothing for you to be sorry about. It's not as though any of this is your fault, but there is something you might be able to help me with."

"What's that?"

"I'm looking for books about alchemy on living structures. Creating chimeras, medical uses of alchemy, human transmutation-"

"Human transmutation! Why would I know anything about that?"

"I was hoping there was something related in the library here. The other librarian said you could help."

Ann breathed a sigh of relief, buttoned up her blouse, and began leading me through the library.

. . .

As it turned out, the library's collection of alchemy texts was indeed extensive. The problem was that the majority of the texts were either basic alchemy, or junk and speculation written by people who had no idea how alchemy worked.

Once Ann helped me to sort through all that, there were only three books which might have been relevant. one was an introductory text on the creation of chimeras. Another was a theoretical paper on the properties and use of the philosopher's stone.

The third was a collection of letters in a loosely bound folio. When Ann reacted with shock at its contents, I suspected that this book probably shouldn't be in the library at all, and that it's presence here was likely an oversight. The letters were discussing human transmutation, using alchemy to raise the dead.

"Is this what you were looking for?" she asked in a horrified whisper.

I was too absorbed by the contents of the folio to notice her tone. "Sort of," I replied. "I mean I'm not trying to raise the dead or anything, but the anatomical structures and body compositions they talk about might be useful."

"So if you aren't trying to raise the dead, what are you researching?"

"I'm trying to find out if there's a way to use alchemy to replace or regenerate my right leg."

"I think I understand. You do realize, though, that you're talking about human transmutation, a practice more strictly prohibited than using alchemy to make gold. Now, I understand that sometimes slavish adherence to the law isn't the right thing to do, but you really should be more discrete about this sort of research. Not everyone's going to understand that like I do."

Until that moment, it had never occurred to me that anyone would object to my research. I suppose it must've been common knowledge that human transmutation was taboo, so much so that none of the alchemy texts I'd read in Central had even bothered to mention the taboo. Still, I didn't grow up with that taboo, and I had no intention of being bound by it.

Ann was right though. If it was illegal to do this kind of research, I'd have to be more discrete.

"Thanks."

. . .

By the time we'd found those books, it was pretty late, so I said goodbye to Ann and left to find a hotel room, deciding to get a fresh start in the morning. I found a hotel near the library and approached the front desk.

"Hello, sir," I began, "how much is it to rent a room for the night?"

"50,000."

"What!"

"Aquroya's a tourist town. A lot of folks come here to see the sights, and they all need room and board. Supply and demand, you understand."

I had some money. I'd brought quite a bit with me when I left Central so I could pay for transportation and lodging on my trip to Liore. I could afford the room, but only for a couple of days. I had little choice but to pay for that night, but the next day I'd have to come up with something.

. . .

When I woke the following morning, I decided that my best option would be to spend the day touring the city. I figured I'd check out the shops to see if there was something in demand in this city that I could make with my alchemy.

The streets were more crowded than the day before. As I made my way through the crowds, I heard people talking.

"It says here Psiren's announced her next heist."

"Man, I can't believe I'm actually going to get to see her."

"I just can't wait for the cops to fall flat on their faces."

"Psiren rules!"

I couldn't believe it. All these people were treating this thief like some sort of celebrity. I picked a discarded newspaper off the ground. There was a picture on the front page of a woman in an absolutely ridiculous costume next to a picture of a building which the caption identified as a museum. Between the pictures of Psiren and the museum was a shot of a jeweled necklace, presumably her target.

The hotel owner had told me that Aquroya was a tourist town, and judging from the groupies, Psiren was the main attraction.

A plan formed in my mind, I found a trash can. Digging through it, I extracted aluminum cans, glass bottles, and discarded paper. Carrying the trash I limped my way to a clear place in the town square. I placed the papers in a pile on the ground, and on my hands and knee, I traced a transmutation circle around the pile of papers.

A few people stopped to stare at me as I traced the array, and they got a show when I activated it. Golden light streamed from the chalk outline and enveloped the papers. A whirlwind of alchemic light drew the papers off the ground, smoothed out their folds and wrinkles, and drew them toward a point in the center. One by one, the papers found their place and were transmuted into wood.

The transmutation had drawn many eyes, and when the light faded they saw a small wooden stall. On a sign drawn by alchemy out of the ink of discarded newspapers there were the words, "PSIREN SOUVENIRS".

"Well, I'm impressed," said one of the onlookers. "What exactly are you selling?"

"I'll show you." With that I quickly traced an array on the table, and placed some of the broken bottles and crumpled cans in the center.

"You're selling garbage?" he said skeptically.

"No," I said as I activated the array. The bottles and cans became fluid for an instant, twisting together. When the light faded, the final product was revealed to my wide eyed customer. "Replicas of Psiren's next target."

. . .

The tourists were lose with their money, and by the end of the day I'd made enough to handle my expenses for a week. My first impulse was to spend that week researching at the library, but then I realized that if and when I got out of the city and made it to Rush Valley, I'd need to have some money saved up to pay for my automail.

Since I was in no immediate danger of being allowed to leave town, I settled on dividing my time more or less evenly between earning money toward the prosthetic and researching human transmutation at the library.

I'd been working for three days, selling souvenirs until noon and researching alchemy until past dark, when a familiar face approached my stand. It was the detective who was after Psiren.

"Well, well," began the detective, "isn't this interesting. You claim you aren't working with Psiren, but the day her robbery is supposed to take place, I find you making counterfeit necklaces. Very interesting indeed.

"I'll bet you're planning on providing Psiren with these fakes so she can switch it for the real thing tonight. I've got you now, admit you're working with her!"

"What are you talking about?" I yelled back at him. "I wouldn't even be in this city at all if you hadn't dragged me into your interrogation rooms and then put travel restrictions on me so I couldn't leave town!"

"Don't give me that!" he exclaimed as he slapped his hands on my counter. "I ought to haul you in."

"If you had enough evidence to do that, we'd be having this conversation at the police station instead of here in the streets.

"Look," I said, taking a deep breath, "it seems to me you're not going to let me leave town until you catch this thief, so why don't you let me help you?"

"You? Help? You're a suspect. Besides, what could you possibly do to help?"

"Well, for starters, have you considered Psiren's motive?"

"Motive? Isn't it obvious? She's in it for the money."

"And that's why you need my help, detective. You've managed to identify the one motive that can't possibly be right."

"What do you mean?"

"By all indications, Psiren's a talented alchemist. We also know she doesn't have a problem breaking the law. If money were all she was after, she could've just transmuted gold."

"You've got a point."

"Let me help you put this thief away, so I can move on with my life."

. . .

That afternoon, when I met up with Ann at the library, I told her I wouldn't be staying late that night.

"Looking to get a good spot to watch Psiren's museum robbery from?" she asked, half teasing.

"Something like that-" I started.

"Don't worry about it," she replied forestalling my explanation. "I never miss a Psiren appearance. Maybe I'll see you there."

She winked as she said that last sentence, and went to gather the books for this afternoon's research.

The transmutation of living creatures and still having them be living afterward is one of the most complicated, delicate, and challenging kinds of alchemy there is. Even though the chimera book was an introductory text, I'd been struggling for days to master even the most basic concepts.

More than the complicated nature of the material I was studying, I was slowed by ethical concerns. In alchemy, as with any skill, there is a learning process. A certain about of initial failure is to be expected. Few people can get something perfect the first time they try. With alchemy on inert matter, those initial failures and imperfections aren't so important. When dealing with living creatures, that flawed technique could lead to the painful death of my subject. I wanted to be as prepared as possible with theoretical knowledge and to learn as much as possible from the mistakes of the alchemists who came before me, recorded in books like these, before trying my hand with real animals.

. . .

I left the library early to meet up with the detective at the museum. He was set up with half a dozen police and museum guards. The necklace was under a glass display case, and the room itself was securely locked. The large, glass, fifth story window offered a terrific view of the crowd outside the iron gate leading to the museum entrance.

"All right, alchemist," began the detective when I arrived, "I'm going to give you a chance. Psiren's robbery is planned for tonight. The only ways in or out are the door and window there. I've got three men covering each.

"The way I figure it, if you are working with her, even if she gets away tonight because of you, you won't be able to run on that leg."

I had a seat on the window sill, and stared intently at the prize we were guarding. As I watched the display case, I noticed a dot of pink light moving in a rapid circle along the floor around the display case.

"Detective!" I shouted just as the floor beneath the display case detached itself from the rest of the floor, leaving a circular hole behind as the display case dropped on to the floor below. There was the sound of glass shattering as the case fell, and a cloud of dust and debris obscured the view through the hole to the floor below.

The police were still processing what had just happened when the sound of breaking glass could again be heard. I glanced out the window and saw a woman in a black mask and costume jumping through the window just below us. Holding a rope secured inside the room she just left, she began repelling to the ground below.

I only had a few seconds to think of a way to stop her before she reached the ground and fled. An idea half formed in my mind, I threw myself out the window. Psiren started as I fell past her. Shifting my weight to keep my foot under me I activated the array on my shoe just as it touched the ground.

A purple flash of light accompanied the transmutation of the ground beneath me. Due to my alchemy, the ground below me compressed rapidly, cushioning my fall. The top of my head was a good foot below ground level by the time my fall had been completely broken. Now safely on the ground ahead of Psiren, I again activated the array on my shoe.

A violet glow poured from the hole I was in as I transmuted the ground back to its original form. As I rose up, Psiren repelled down, reaching the ground just as my transmutation completed.

Psiren turned from the wall to face me, and seemed surprised for a moment when our eyes locked. Taking advantage of the opening, I raised myself onto my toe then firmly planted my heel. Arcs of purple energy surrounded Psiren as I began transmuting a semicircular wall to trap her between it and the museum wall.

My opening didn't last long, and Psiren's momentary surprise was over before my wall had risen to waist height. Theatrically displaying a deck of playing cards in her left hand, she squeezed the deck, and a dozen cards sprung at me. As each card left the deck, it was wrapped in pink alchemic light.

The cards hit me in the chest with the force of a hammer, knocking me on my back. When my foot broke contact with the ground, my transmutation was disrupted. As I moved to raise my knee and get my sole back on the ground, Psiren hopped my partially completed wall. While still in the air, pink streaks of light seemed to shoot from her general direction like bullets. Before I was fully aware of what had happened, I was held immobile by the transmuted playing cards which had pinned my clothes securely to the ground.

As I lay there, helpless, Psiren knelled beside me.

"Better luck next time," she said in a tone that could be either mocking or flirting. With that, she bent down and kissed me on the cheek before running off into the night.

. . .

Despite the lengths I'd gone to and the risks I'd taken, I'd gotten nowhere in earning the detective's trust. Psiren had escaped and that was all that mattered to him. The detective's continued suspicion was nothing compared to my wounded pride.

The only thing that got me through the following day was the fact that I was finally ready to attempt the creation of my first chimera. I didn't set up my souvenir stand that day, instead spending my morning tracking down the animals I would be experimenting on.

I'd decided to start small, with insects and other animals who's nervous systems were too simple for them to feel pain. Once I'd refined my technique, I could try it with more complex creatures.

I arrived at the library that afternoon carrying a heavy satchel. I didn't see Ann at first, so I made my way to the private study room we'd been working out of. I sat the bag down next to the table and plopped into my chair. Leaning my crutches against the table, I reached into the satchel.

Two large jars containing fish were placed at the far left side of the table, and the jar of beetles was placed next to them. Next I took out a jar filled with nothing but water, which would serve as my experimental chamber.

I'd just finished setting up my workspace when Ann arrived. "So," she began coyly, "did you have a good spot to catch the action from last night?"

"I guess you could say that," I said evasively, not wanting to talk about my failed apprehension attempt. I decided to change the subject. "Today's the day," I said, gesturing to the jars of creatures in front of us.

Ann blanched visibly imagining the end results of today's experiments. I couldn't blame her. Up until this point, all that'd been happening was reading books and memorizing formulas. Today was the day things get real.

I took a sheet of paper from a nearby stack and carefully constructed an array. Then I transferred one of the fish from my stock jars into the empty one, and placed the jar in the center of the transmutation circle. Using a set of tongs, I dropped one of the beetles into the water with the fish. All the components prepared, I placed my hands on the array, activating it.

A golden glow rose up from my transmutation circle and enveloped the jar. The two creatures were drawn together by the energy of the transmutation. As they touched, both the fish and the beetle began to be broken down starting at the point of contact. Scales and exoskeleton were peeled back by the alchemy exposing muscle, bone, and internal organs. These tissues twisted around one another, joining into a single structure. Finally, when the internal structures were mostly assembled, the scales and chitinous shell merged together, flowing over the body of this new creature like a liquid.

When the transmutation completed, the end result, a hard shelled, fish shaped crustacean was supporting itself on six insect-like legs and a pair of chitin covered fins at the bottom of the jar.

"It worked," I said, trying to keep the surprise out of my voice.

"That was disgusting," said Ann who was still staring at the creature in the jar.

"It was a beginning process, designed to help familiarize the alchemist with the processes at work inside a body during a transmutation. Separating skin and tissue that way risks infection and the introduction of inorganic impurities, but more advanced alchemy involving living things all builds on this initial work."

Before moving on with my next transmutation attempt, I thoroughly examined the chimera. The two creatures had indeed been fused into one, but all the systems were out of balance. Parts of the shell had rendered some of the joints immobile, the heart was too small to support the new animal, the gills were partially covered by the shell, and the structure of the mouth was too heavy for the muscles there to operate effectively. The creature was still alive after the transmutation, but it was unlikely to survive an hour in this state.

I took a new sheet from the stack, and constructed a new array with a different purpose than the first. Carefully tracing each component in the array, I was pleased to note that the creature was still alive when I finished. I moved the jar onto the new array, and activated it.

As the jar was bathed in a golden glow, another transformation took place within it. This one was more subtle than the first, but which required more advanced concepts I'd taken the time to study before moving to live experiments. The slits for the gills opened wider, the small legs thickened and lengthened slightly, and the tail shrank somewhat.

When the light faded, the chimera's mouth began to open and close, and its labored breathing eased. An examination revealed that my attempt to transmute some of its unused muscle tissue to reinforce and enlarge the heart had succeeded.

I spent the remainder of the day creating chimeras of various types from the same two component animals. Some that could swim, some that crawled. Some that had scales, some with shells. Some that breathed water, some that could survive short stays in open air.

With each new chimera, my feel for the balance of organic systems improved, and they required less and less correction after the initial transmutation. By the time I'd run out of time and test animals, I was able to create these simple chimeras with one, flawless transmutation into a stable form.

. . .

With Psiren's robbery over, the tourists started to dwindle. After the first couple of days, my replicas stopped selling entirely. There were still some Psiren groupies and fans around town, but they just weren't interested in replicas of an old robbery target. Fortunately, now that I'd met Psiren, I had additional options. My repertoire expanded to include decks of the playing cards Psiren used, masks modeled after Psiren's, and even a service unique in Aquroya where I transmuted a perfect, form fitting Psiren costume directly onto a customer.

I had just completed such a transmutation for a particularly devoted female fan when I saw the detective in line right behind her. As she walked off, the detective approached my stand looking exceptionally irate.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?" he demanded.

"Running a souvenir stand," I replied.

The detective picked up a deck of cards. "And what's this?"

"A souvenir."

"Don't give me that. First you let Psiren get away, then I find you as good as supplying that thief."

"First of all, 'let her get away'? I jumped out a window after her. Where were your men? As far as this stand, how else am I supposed to survive? I was on my way out of town when you dragged me into your station, and turned this city into a prison for me."

"Say what you want, alchemist, but after that performance last time, I'm even more convinced you're working with Psiren. I will find a way to prove it. Mark my words."

"Say what you want, detective, but you and your men have proven yourselves incapable of adapting to, and dealing with, the added possibilities an alchemist brings to the table. Like it or not, detective, you need me."

"Let me make one thing crystal clear. The only reason I'm letting you tag along tonight is because I know you'll slip up sooner or later, and when you do, I want you close at hand so I can arrest you."

With that, the detective dropped the deck of cards back on my stand and stormed off. To my surprise, Ann was right behind him in the line.

"So, Psiren's merchandising agent is working with the police," she teased.

"Heh, I guess my secret's out," I replied nervously.

"I guess that means you got a better view of the robbery than you let on."

"I got a pretty good view, alright. The woman's an impressive alchemist. No doubt about that." With that, I reached into the pocket that held her transmuted cards, "but tonight, I'll be ready for her."

. . .

"What's this circle for?" asked the detective as I moved a rug into place concealing the large array I'd drawn on the museum floor.

"If I'm right, this array should limit her options, and hopefully, give us enough of an edge for your men to catch her."

Psiren's target this time was a large, cut ruby on display in a tower of this former castle turned museum. The only current way in or out was through the heavy oak door leading to the stone spiral staircase below. A window was present, but it was little more than an archery slit, far too narrow for a person to pass through.

The detective and I were alone in the room, the rest of his men guarding the entrance downstairs. the sounds of a struggle came from downstairs, and we knew it was time to get started. I'd just made it into my position by the window when the heavy lock on the door clicked open.

The door opened slowly, revealing a profoundly confident Psiren poised for her entrance, deck of cards in hand.

"Well, Psiren," I said, "I've been waiting for you, and our little rematch."

"My, my," she smugly replied, "yet another obsessed admirer come to overpower me." With that, she flicked her wrist theatrically, and dropped her deck of cards scattering them all over the floor. A shocked look formed on her face. "What?" she began before she was cut off by the sound of the detective closing and locking the door behind her.

"It's all over, Psiren," he said.

"How?" she asked, turning from her scattered cards to face me.

"Simple," I replied, "your card tricks rely on your use of alchemy to alter the structure of those playing cards. You can use alchemy to impart momentum, or rearrange the atomic bonds of the carbon in the plant matter to make a diamond edged cutting tool. You can even mess around with the metals in the ink to add strength and reinforce the structure to a metallic consistency, but none of that will work in here."

As I spoke, the detective locked a handcuff around Psiren's left wrist. "I've finally got you," he crowed.

"But how?"

"Your little souvenir gave me everything I needed," I responded, withdrawing one of the cards from my pocket. "You can transmute these in a thousand different ways, but the mass and composition remain constant thanks to the law of equivalent exchange. That means no matter what you try to change them into, since I know the composition from your little present..." Using my crutch, I moved the corner of the rug I was standing on, revealing part of the active transmutation circle. "...I can always transmute them right back into harmless playing cards."

With that, a slight smile began to play on Psiren's lips. "That's pretty clever. I guess I'll have to start taking you more seriously." With that, Psiren used her free hand to pull down the zipper on her top. I wasn't sure what was coming, but I braced myself for the worst.

Then I recognized the glowing transmutation circle tattooed on her chest. Ann. I was transfixed by the array when the jet of water struck me prone from behind. The water washed away my array, and the moment it was gone, Psiren's cards leaped to her cuffed hand, slicing through the metal as they went.

The cards coalesced into a sword, which she used to slice open the display case before grabbing the ruby. Wrapping her body in water up to the waist, Psiren was swept up in the flow and rode her jet of transmuted water out the door and down the stairs.

. . .

"So it's you."

Ann had just walked into the room where we were conducting our daily meetings.

"What are you talking about?" asked Ann, feigning confusion.

"I have to admit, you're quite a talented actress. All this time together and I never even suspected. It took seeing the transmutation circle to open my eyes."

"I told you I understood how slavish adherence to the law isn't always the right thing to do," she said, dropping her innocent act.

"So tell me. How is you stealing priceless artifacts from the museums the right thing to do?"

"I'm doing it to help you." I was taken aback by this answer, and by the unfamiliar sincerity in her eyes. It wasn't long before I regained my sense of reason and realized how impossible that explanation was. Damn she was a good actress.

"Nice try, but you're the whole reason I'm stuck in this town in the first place. You've been stealing since long before you ever met me, so tell me another one."

"But it's true." There was a pleading look in her eyes. Then she turned her head, looking at a wall. "Did you know this library is scheduled to be torn down this week?"

"Are you telling me you've been stealing these artifacts to raise money to save this library?" I asked cautiously.

"That's right," she said.

A glow suddenly drew her eyes to the table, where I had just finished a transmutation. I held up a gold pen for her inspection.

"They don't make laws against things that are impossible. Transmuting gold may not be easy, but I'm sure a savvy alchemist like yourself would have no problem pulling it off."

I transmuted the pen back to normal then continued. "I knew from the beginning that you weren't in it for the money. Do you know what I think?"

"What?"

"I think you do it for the rush. You enjoy breaking the law and daring anyone to try and catch you."

"Well," she asked, her muscles tensing, "what are you going to do know?"

In answer, I reached under the table and picked up cages of mice and birds. "I'm going to get back to work."

"What? Why aren't you turning me in?"

"Well, I've got a few reasons, but the most important one is that I owe you. You saved my life. And really, the only reason I'm helping the police at all is because they won't let me leave town until they catch you. For now, I'm content to stick around here and finish up this research."

. . .

When the detective brought word a couple days later about the next robbery, I told him I was sitting it out. Besides the fact that I now knew her identity, I was also getting more than a little tired of her humiliating me.

Instead, I decided to work the crowd Psiren attracted every time she announced one of these robberies. The fans were rabid, and even the casual and curious travelers were buying everything from binoculars to souvenirs.

It would seem my reputation had spread farther than I had thought, since out of towners were approaching me saying they'd heard from their friends that they had to check out my stand. It would seem I'd become a part of the Aquroya tourist culture without even realizing it.

By the end of that night, I'd made more money than I had in the weeks before. I probably had enough to buy a decent pair of automail legs if I was ever allowed to leave Aquroya.

. . .

When I arrived at the library the following morning, I was greeted by a disturbing sight. Where before a massive structure that was practically a work of art in its own right once stood, there was now only a pile of rubble.

It seemed Ann was telling the truth about the library being scheduled to be torn down. I was just getting over the fact that I'd lost my private work space when I realized that the books were still in there. Either there was no other place for the books to be moved to, or Ann had made her "I'm going to save the library" speech to someone who worked there, delaying them in moving their collection until it was too late. Whatever the cause, I could actually see books lying among the rubble.

Without thinking of how long it would take to search the rubble, I pushed off from my crutches and flung myself head first into the debris. I had dug up and discarded a handful of books when I heard a familiar voice behind me.

"Looks like you could use an excavator," came Ann's cheerful voice.

As I turned angrily toward her, I caught sight of her outfit. She wore a white blouse under a light leather vest, glasses, and a helmet with a light affixed to it. A leather satchel at her side visibly contained brushes and rock hammers.

"What's with that getup?" I asked, then thought better of it. "Nevermind. How could you not mention the demolition was this close?"

"Well," she pouted playfully. "I told you the library was going to be torn down. Sadly, I wasn't able to save it in time." Her eyes were sparkling with the beginnings of tears.

"I already told you I don't buy that story about you trying to save the library," I responded annoyed.

"And so," she continued ignoring me, "when I saw this great repository of knowledge laid low, I realized my true calling. to do what I could to help recover lost knowledge."

"Uh huh."

"But, tragically, the museum that hired me to restore their lost relics is going to be torn down."

"That still doesn't explain the helmet. Wait! You're working in a museum!"

"You shouldn't take that tone, or I might have to reconsider giving you your present."

With that, Ann produced from her satchel a heavy leather bound folio, a paperclipped stack of papers, and a hard back text book.

"You saved them!" I exulted and lunged to embrace her. Unfortunately, in my excitement, I forgot about my missing leg, and fell toward her as I tried putting weight on my nonexistent leg. As I tumbled forward, I grabbed for anything within reach to break my fall.

"Well, I knew you'd be excited, but don't you think this is a bit overboard?"

It was then that I realized what I'd caught hold of. My face turned red as I immediately took my hands off her chest, and promptly finished the face-plant I was in the middle of when I grabbed her chest for support.

. . .

By the time Psiren announced her next robbery, I'd reached the limit of what I could learn from this text on Chimeras. The paper on the philosopher stone, while interesting in its own right, and potentially useful should I ever obtain a philosopher stone, wasn't directly useful to my goal. As for the folio, that had some promise. It dealt directly with the alchemic assembly of human tissues from inorganic matter. The anatomical information was incredibly detailed and a complete breakdown of the body components provided me with a shopping list for when I was finally ready to transmute my leg.

Perhaps more importantly, these were letters, which meant they contained the names and addresses of experts on the subject. And all that stood between me and finding those experts was the detective's order not to leave town.

There was nothing more I could learn about organic and medical alchemy staying in Aquroya. It was time for me to wrap up my business here and leave. Still, I couldn't just turn her in. She saved my life, helped me with my research, and I owed it to her to play the game, to catch her fair and square.

The trouble was, I'd gone up against her twice already, and failed to bring her in either time. I was going to need a plan. Psiren's alchemy style was to use her transmuted playing cards and Aquroya's plentiful water as the base material for her transmutations. I'd already tried neutralizing her card tricks with a counter transmutation, and I doubted the same trick would work twice. No doubt she'd already switched to cards with different compositions to prevent just that.

I had little hope of matching her in a physical competition of strength or speed with a missing leg, so whatever I decided I'd have to be able to do it standing still. I knew she'd' be most on her guard during the actual robbery, so my odds would be better if I confronted her someplace she'd feel more relaxed and secure.

I decided that with her penchant for using water in her alchemy, she would probably be very confident if the contest took place on skiffs on open water. I knew where she was going to rob, and I also knew where she'd be staying, so I chose an appropriate spot along her likely route.

. . .

There was a full moon on the night of the robbery, and I waited on the water, listening to the crowd in the distance. When I heard a massive cheer rise, I lifted myself to a standing position using my crutches. From my bag, I withdrew a fist sized metal ball, on which I had enscribed several transmutation circles.

It wasn't long before Psiren arrived, riding a skiff of her own.

"Well, what brings you out here?" she asked in mock surprise.

"It's time for me to leave town, and unfortunately, the only way for me to do that without becoming a wanted man is by taking you in."

A smile of anticipation crossed her lips. "I hope you don't expect me to just turn myself in." With that, she passed a hand over her deck of cards, forming it into a sword.

"If I did, I'd have asked you before you put on the costume. You did save my life. I owe you a fair fight."

With that, Psiren used her alchemy on the water under her boat, causing her boat to speed toward mine. As she sped toward me, she shifted her weight, intending to use her sword to cut my right crutch in half.

I was ready for her. Lifting myself by my crutches and stomping down with my left foot to the deck of my boat, I transmuted the carbon in the wood of my boat and crutches into a diamond lattice, mimicking the paper alchemy Psiren used on her cards.

Her blade struck my alchemically reinforced crutch and shattered, reverting to ordinary cards and falling into the water.

Seeing an opening, I lobed the metal sphere into the water beneath her boat. When the ball hit the water, the filings I'd packed into some of the grooves came lose, causing the transmutation circle to complete and activate. Glowing violet under the water, the exact nature of the transmutation being performed was concealed.

Psiren braced herself for an unknown threat, and that saved her from falling from her boat when three metal spikes punctured the bottom of her boat, anchoring it to the bed of the canal via transmuted chains.

Acting quickly, Psiren activated the array on her chest. Points of pink light on the surface of the water glowed brightly against the dim underwater purple glow from my transmutation. The cards that had fallen into the water earlier shot at me like daggers, fueled by Psiren's alchemic power. I let go of my crutches, taking cover by lying prone in the bottom of my skiff.

As I did so, Psiren's cards turned in midair and began to rain down toward me. With nowhere left to dodge, I struck my left foot against the skiff. The boat glowed purple as the sides bent and twisted, wrapping me in a protective cocoon.

I heard the transmuted cards impact my shield and embed themselves into it. once the impacts stopped, I transmuted the boat back to normal and saw all of the cards embedded a few inches into the wood.

"It's over, Psiren," I said as I climbed back to a standing position.

"Now, now," she replied. "You know I have more up my sleeve than card tricks." With a dramatic flourish, Psiren moved to raise a tentacle of water. The tentacle lashed toward my skiff, but just before it struck, a creature resembling a starfish, granite gray in color, and possessed of eight "points" flew out of the water and wrapped itself firmly around Psiren's left hand.

Her concentration disrupted by surprise, the tentacle of water she was employing fell apart and broke over my boat like a wave rather than a hammer. I was wet, but otherwise unharmed.

Meanwhile, more of those gray creatures continued to leap out of the canal and latch on to Psiren. Before she was able to react in a meaningful way, she was covered in the creatures and completely immobilized.

"These are-" she began.

"Chimeras, yes. A combination of octopus and barnacle. That orb had more than one array on it. One for tying down your boat and one to make these chimeras. As for making them target you and not me, our mutual detective friend helped out with that. I had him douse your loot with a highly concentrated composite pheromone."

. . .

I began to separate these chimeras back into their component creatures, releasing Psiren from her organic cocoon so the police who'd arrived could replace it with a more conventional restraint. While I worked, Ann and I had a chance to talk and say our goodbyes.

"You really should be proud of yourself. You're the first to capture me since a young man named Edward Elric."

"The Fullmetal Alchemist!" I'd had no idea Psiren had any connection to the state alchemist who'd ousted Cornello.

"That's right, and since you captured me, I'm going to do for you what I did for him, point you in the direction of what you're looking for. Edward was missing a couple of limbs himself. His right arm and left leg. I don't know how it happened, but I do know he asked me about the philosopher stone."

"You mean he was researching-"

"The same thing you're researching. I think so. Go to Central. A resourceful alchemist like you ought to have no trouble getting your hands on any reports or research notes that may be in the military's possession."

"Thank you.

"Oh," she added as she was being put into the car, "If you run into Ed, let him know I'm still looking forward to him stopping by for another match."

. . .

As I made my way to the train station the net day, I passed by a group of people holding newspapers and talking excitedly.

"It says here, Psiren escaped custody before they could even get her to the prison."

"They'll never hold her."

"What do you guys see in her?"

When I heard that, I remembered something she'd said to me, and I felt compelled to answer.

"Psiren's the life's blood of this town. Without the tourism she brings in, I would have starved to death on the streets. I'll wager the same can be said of you."

With that, I continued on my way, her words still echoing in my thoughts. "I'm doing it to help you." Thanks to her, not only did I have a good start on my research, but the tourism business she brought Aquroya earned me enough money to afford my pick of automail once I got to Rush Valley.

. . .

Author's comments:

Thus concludes the second chapter. I hope you all enjoyed the nostalgic return to Aquroya, and had fun with seeing everyone's favorite phantom thief again. As I said with the last installment, I don't have a schedule for writing this, so again, it could be a while before I get the next chapter up.