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Episode 4: The History of the Phantom Lady


"Lieutenant," Colonel Mustang said to Lieutenant Hawkeye as he sat behind his desk, drumming his fingers together.
"Yes, sir?" she replied, as she positioned herself in front of the Colonel's desk.
"Last night didn't exactly go well, did it?"
"No, sir."
"I want to find out who this Phantom Lady, is. I want her arrested as soon as possible," Mustang said standing up.
"Yes, sir. I'll put Falman and Fuery on it right away, sir."
"Wait a minute, Lieutenant," the Colonel said, turning to the window. "I've been thinking about what the Phantom Lady said when we first met her. She said she was reborn. I wonder if there may have been another Phantom?"
"I haven't heard of anybody going by that name," Hawkeye replied.
"Yes, I know. I want to search all archives at the Central Library," the Colonel sighed. "It may be an exhausting search."
"Yes, sir," Hawkeye said, turning toward the door.
"Wait," the Colonel said again, "I don't want Falman or Fuery on this assignment. They weren't there, so they don't really know what they would be looking for. I want you to put Dark and Fullmetal on this one."
Hawkeye looked at him for a moment. "Yes, sir."


There was a knock at the door. After staying up all night, Edward lay sleeping on the couch, his stomach hanging out. The knock came again, but Ed just gurgled in his sleep. The knock came again but was louder. One of Ed's eyes opened slowly. He looked at the door as he slowly came into consciousness. He stood up, yawned, and slowly walked over to the door.
Sergeant Brosh stood at the door as Ed opened it. He held a piece of paper, on which Edward saw the Colonel's signature.
"Don't tell me there's another assignment," Ed yawned.
"Afraid so. The Colonel wants you and Al to research on the Phantom Lady. I do believe that Miss Faize will be joining you," Brosh said, smiling mischievously at his last sentence.
"Don't even start on that. I'm too tired to argue," Ed grumbled as he took the paper out of the Sergeant's hands.
"Oh fine. But I heard that a girl is visiting ---" Brosh started before Ed slammed the door in his face.
Ed walked over to the couch and slumped onto it. He held up the piece of paper so he could read it.
"I have to be at the Library at noon," he said lazily. He looked down the hallway to his bedroom door. "I want my room back Winry."
Ed walked into Al's room. Al was lying on his bed, like he usually did, since he was unable to sleep.
"Hey, Al. We got another assignment from the Colonel," Ed said, picking up his clothes off the dresser.
"Why are your clothes in here, Ed?" Al asked.
"I moved them in here before Winry had completely taken over my bedroom. You know, so I wouldn't have to go in there while she was sleeping."
"Oh - I would have thought that you would have wanted to leave your clothes in there then," Al snickered.
"What do you think I am, some kind of pervert?!" Ed yelled, as Al continued to laugh. "Stop it! It's not funny! You're just jealous!"
"And what do I have to be jealous of, if you don't like Winry?"
"Exactly! So stop being jealous!"


"What do you mean I can't get those records!?" Danielle asked, as the librarian told her the news. "I have permission from Colonel Mustang!"
"It's not under his jurisdiction. He can't even look at them without Lieutenant Bradshaw's permission. Bradshaw's the one who conducted the investigations in those files."
Danielle looked at her and quietly turned toward the door. "I'll be back - with the Lieutenant's permission." She walked out the door and down the steps. "I can't believe this! I can't even get it with the Colonel's permission."
"Danielle Faize," said a voice behind her. She turned to see Lieutenant Bradshaw step out of his car.
"Sir, I need your permission to get a certain set of archives from the library," Danielle said, saluting him.
"I'm sorry," Bradshaw said, in an unconvincingly sympathetic voice. "Those archives can't be seen by just any State Alchemist. But - you're not just any State Alchemist, are you?"
Danielle didn't say anything.
"Tell me your secret and I'll give you permission."
"What secret? Last time I checked, I didn't have any."
Bradshaw's face began to grow angry. "Be careful about your lying, the Fuhrer might label you as a traitor to the State. And then -"
"Hey, Danielle!" called a voice from down the street. Ed and Al walked up beside her.
"Of course I'll give you permission, dear girl. I'm surprised you thought you had to ask," Bradshaw laughed. He took out a piece of paper and signed it. "Here you go! You kids have a great day."
He got into his car and drove off.
"What was that about?" Ed asked.
"Nothing," Danielle replied. "So, I see you made it on time. The Colonel said you might not be here until two."
"What!!?" Ed yelled.
"Ed, please -" Al said.
"What?! All I want to know is why Mustang is suddenly making me look bad!" Ed replied.
"You think he's doing all this on purpose?" Danielle snapped at him. Ed turned to say something, but he restrained himself.
"Can we just go now?" he sighed. He walked up the steps with Al. Danielle stood there, watching him.
"No comeback?" she asked herself. "Maybe he's finally giving into my superiority."
"Superiority? What superiority?!" Ed yelled down to her. "You have no superiority! I older and smarter!"
"I didn't hear 'taller'," Danielle smirked. Ed ran down the steps and over to her in a split second.
"Do you want to finish this here and now?!" he yelled.
"Not really," Danielle said smoothly, walking past him. "Maybe another time."


"Here's something, but it doesn't say it was the Phantom Lady exactly," Al said, as he flipped through pages. "It says a mysterious woman broke into the research labs in Central."
"Yeah, I found a whole bunch of crap on stuff like that," Ed added, skimming through a book. "Says that the thief took records on top secret Military research. --- Oh, here we go. Here it says that the thief was given the name 'Phantom Lady', because very few had actually seen her. I guess the name got stuck."
" 'Police suspect that alchemy was involved with the break-ins'," Al continued. "So she did create the dolls herself."
"She disappeared five years ago," Danielle said, reading out of a book.
"But now she's back," Ed said, setting the book down. "But what does she want with you?"
"Maybe it has something to do with the way you use alchemy," Al suggested. They both looked at her, but Danielle seemed deep in thought. A streak of black electricity shot from her hand and transformed the book she was holding into a grotesque paper doll.
"Why did you do that?!" Ed yelled.
"I - I didn't mean to," Danielle stuttered.
"What do you mean, 'you didn't mean to'?"
"It just happens sometimes, okay! When I build up a lot of emotion, my alchemy reacts!"
Ed and Al just stared at her.
"That's so weird. I've never seen anything like that before. I wonder if there's anything in any books about that. How did you learn how to do that-" Ed said before Danielle's hand flew across the table and smacked him across the face.
"You're a jerk, Ed!" she yelled before running out of the library.
"Hey what was that for?!" Ed yelled, grabbing his cheek. He turned to Al. "What's her problem?"
"I think you should apologize, Ed," Al commented.
"Why, what did I do?"
"You sounded a lot like Lieutenant Bradshaw, asking a lot of questions."
"What's wrong with that?"
"Did you really have the right to?"
Ed looked up at Al.


"Hey, I'm going to the store," Winry said, standing in front of Ed and Al. "I'm buying food for this place. Do you guys want to come?"
"I'll go with you, Winry," Al said standing up. They both looked at Ed.
"I don't feel like going," he replied to their stares.
"Oh - okay," Winry said. She continued to stand in front of him. "Ed -"
"What?"
"I need some money."
Ed looked at her, sighed, and pulled out his wallet. He handed her some money. Ed and Al exchanged glances, then Al and Winry left.
Ed continued to sit on the couch. Al and Danielle's words kept running through his head. He stood up and walked into his study. He sat down in his chair and grabbed his notebook. He jotted a few things down in it.
Ed stood up, stretching. He glanced out the window and saw Danielle walking by. He thought about whether or not to apologize.
"It's not like I meant to make her mad," he said to himself.


Danielle stopped a few feet from the front gate of the Elric house. "Stupid jerk," she mumbled. "He didn't even bother to apologize."
"The front door opened and Ed stepped out. They looked at each other for a moment before Danielle turned and continued to walk.
"Hey, wait!" Ed called as he ran to the gate. "Do you want to come in? Winry's not here so we can talk without being disturbed."
"And why would I want to talk to you?"
"Because I want to apologize."
"Nice place you got here," Danielle said. "It's so clean."
"It's temporary. We're just staying here until the Colonel says we can go to do more research."
"What, doesn't Central have enough books?"
"It's more than just book research. Besides, my study has most of the books I need anyway."
Danielle turned to him with her arms crossed.
"Alright, fine," Ed sighed. "I'm sorry for asking so many questions that I had no right to ask." Danielle continued to hold her gaze. Ed had seen that gaze before, from Colonel Mustang. "What? I said I'm sorry!"
"Oh I suppose I can forgive you - this time," Danielle said coolly. "But you may not be so lucky next time."
"I'll remember that," Ed laughed.
"So, who's Winry?"
"Jealous?" Ed smirked.
"No - I was just wandering why she likes shorties -"
"Who are you calling so small that you could step on him like a bug!?" Ed yelled, flailing his arms about. Danielle laughed.
"So, where's your study?" she asked. Ed was thrown off by this question, but showed her to his study.
"This is all of your books?!" Danielle exclaimed.
"Most of them at least," Ed said proudly.
"Can I look at them?"
"Go ahead." Danielle started rummaging through a pile of books. Ed watched as she disappeared behind a bookcase.
Ed sat down at his desk and stared out the window. He picked up his notebook and opened it. In it were his notes from over the years. Only he could understand his notes though, since he always wrote in code. He read a few pages, sighed, and sat the book down..
Ed looked down at his right arm. A thought hit him. He stood up and ran behind the bookcase to Danielle.
"You used alchemy didn't you?" he asked. Danielle turned and looked at him. "You used a forbidden alchemy, and that's why there's something wrong with your arm."
"No," Danielle merely said. Ed looked at her.
"What do you mean, no? It makes perfect sense!"
"It would if there wasn't one problem with your theory."
"And what's that?"
"I didn't perform the forbidden alchemy, it was performed on me." Ed looked at her, shocked.
"What do you mean?"
"Tell me what happened to you, Ed. You were pretty exact on knowing how forbidden alchemy works," Danielle said.
"Why don't you ask the Colonel, I'm sure he'll tell you," Edward replied. Danielle looked down.
"I already tried," she muttered. "He said that you would tell me if you trusted me enough."
"That's - what he said to me. What's up with the Colonel these days?"
Danielle turned back to the bookcase. Ed looked at her. She pulled out a book titled The Forbidden Sciences.
"This is the book -" Danielle explained. "- It has the procedure." She slumped to the floor.
Ed continued to look at her. "You don't have to tell me," he said, sitting beside her.
"It's not that I don't trust you, because I do," she muttered, clutching the book to her chest. "It's just -"
Ed smiled at her words. "Hey, you don't have to explain to me. I trust you, too."
Danielle looked up at him. Ed seemed to be deciding something.
"We used human transmutation to try and bring our mother back from the dead. I lost my left leg and Al lost his entire body. I sacrificed my right arm in order to attach Al's soul to the suit of armor he's in."
"Ed -"
"Don't worry. I wanted to tell you."
"Can I see it?"
Ed took off both of his jackets and his white glove. His mechanical arm glistened in the setting sun's light.
Danielle looked at it, and then at her own.
"The skin on my hands can't come into contact with each other, or so much alchemic power will be created."
"What happens then?"
"I don't know, it happened once, right after the accident. I woke up in the hospital, with Colonel Mustang by my side. I don't remember anything."
"So nothing's in that suit of armor?" Danielle asked.
"Nothing but his soul."
"A spirit attachment is very impressive."
"Yeah, I get that a lot," Ed replied, standing up. Danielle stood up too.
"You really are a prodigy, aren't you, Ed?" Danielle smiled, slapping him on the back. Ed laughed and returned the slap, a little too hard. Danielle stumbled into the bookshelf. The books came tumbling down on them.
Danielle got on her hands and knees and looked at Ed, who was lying underneath her.
"Hey, Ed! We're back!" called a voice outside the door. The door flew open and Al and Winry stood there.
"Uh - er - this isn't - we weren't - damn, this sucks," Ed stuttered. Danielle stood up very quickly.
"You must be Winry!" she laughed nervously. "I'd say I heard so much about you, but me and Ed hardly talk, rarely ever at all. Um - actually, I've never heard of Edward Elric!" She slowly inched her way toward the bookcase. Winry reached out and grabbed them both.


"Do you think Winry is mad?" Al asked, as he and Ed sat on the couch.
"Nah! Are you kidding? She's just ... shocked," Ed replied. There was a loud crash in Ed's room. He sighed. "Of course, after that lecture we got -"
"Yeah, I got it too, and I wasn't even the one who snuck a girl into the house. I thought you weren't looking for anybody."
"What?! What?! No, we were just talking and the books fell - we weren't - damn it, Al!"
"And I didn't think it would be Danielle, at least.'
"Why, what's wrong with her?"
"Nothing, she just didn't seem like your type."
"She's a good friend. Even though she has a short temper."
"Look who's talking," Al mumbled. "So why was she here anyway?"
"You told me to apologize, so I did."
"Wow, Ed, I'm proud of you."
Ed sat in silence. Al looked down at him.
"Don't worry, brother, I'm sure Winry will forgive you."
"What?! Why would it matter to me?!" Ed yelled.


"Where have you been?" Colonel Mustang asked. Danielle stood in the Colonel's study.
"I was at the Elric house, sir," she replied.
"And why were you there?" Lieutenant Hawkeye entered the study.
"We were talking."
"Did you say anything?"
"I just told him what was wrong with me, not what happened."
The Colonel thought for a moment. He and Lieutenant Hawkeye looked at each other for a moment.
"In the city of Windal, there's been a report of an alchemist causing trouble. I'm sending you, Fullmetal, and the other two female alchemist to look in on it."
"Aleeya and Isabelle have been notified. The train in scheduled to leave at 0845, sir," Hawkeye reported.
"Good, now, I want you to go and inform the Elrics of their assignment."
"Yes, sir," she saluted. She turned and walked out the door. Danielle looked from the door, to Colonel Mustang. He continued to stare at the door.
"Why don't you tell her how you feel?" Danielle asked. Mustang looked at her.
"Why don't you tell Edward how you feel?" he replied. Danielle stood there in silence for a moment.
"Because there's nothing to tell," she said. Colonel Mustang looked surprised at her answer. Then he smiled.
"I feel exactly the same," he said. Then he gave Danielle permission to leave.


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Danielle turned from him.
"Well if you don't think they're trouble, then go and continue being happy!"
"What is that suppose to mean?" Ed replied.
"Why are you still back here?"
"I was making sure you were okay!" Ed exclaimed. Danielle continued to look at him.
"I don't need you to look after me. Besides, nothing going to hap -"
The window shattered as someone slammed through it and threw Ed against the wall.