FicWad

Her green eyes watched the ground as she walked the streets of central. Her thoughts were clouded by her brother's unrecognition of her. How could he not realize it was her? Didn't he remember her? He thought she was dead. She sighed in hurt and frustration as she approached the hide out of the Ishvalan refugees. She looked around to see if the coast was clear as she always did before entering. She didn't want intruders to find them. When she was sure all was clear, she entered the darkness beneath the city.

"Freya." she heard a low voice call. She immediately recognized the voice calling out to her.

"Where were you today?"

Freya took a deep breath, "I went to take the tests... I passed and I'm now a State Alchemist. Are you going to kill me too?"

A pair of large but gentle arms wrapped around Freya's shoulders, a chin resting on the top of her head. Freya slowly started to lose control of her emotions, silent tears running down her face. "No Frey, I could never kill you." Freya turned, looking up at the man that had become her father. He looked just like most Ishvalans with his dark skin, red eyes and white hair. He kept his hair shaved on both sides as well as the back, leaving the top alone. He was quite a large man and the top of Freya's head hardly reached his armpits. He wore his customary loose white shirt and black pants with a white stripe down the left leg and a cross on the other. His boots, jacket and glasses must have been left in their tent.

Freya looked at his right arm, the scars and tattoo that covered it before looking back up at the x shaped scar on his face. "Really? Although I've known you for about 8 years that doesn't change how I know you Ishvalans feel about Alchemy. To add to that you've been going around attacking, if not killing State Alchemists, Scar!"

Scar sighed before stepping back, letting her go. "I've told you before that if I were going to kill you for your alchemy, I would have left you somewhere once I found about it, and I would be a hypocrite as well. Anyways, you really think that any of the refugees care about that? They were the ones to give you your name and they know that before the Military your loyalty goes to me first."

Freya smiled slightly before taking his hand and leaned against him, guiding him to their tent. "Of course, "Be Thou For The People." Maybe now we can find you what you need." The rest of the walk was in silence. No one was out. The people at this camp didn't come out often and wouldn't be there for much longer. Central didn't like the refugee camps being so close, even the nomadic ones. Entering the tent the two did their usual routine to get ready for bed before laying down on the two cots.

"Did you find him?"

Freya turned on her side "No, I didn't find Roy." One final tear fell as she closed her eyes.

The day dawned brightly as five people awake from their beds: one went about preparing to leave; two were having an argument about drinking milk; while the final two laid in their beds each contemplating what the day ahead of them would bring. "Well, time to face the music."



The morning was a hazy one as Hughes walked down the hallway toward his friend's office. A lot burdened his mind, most of which related to events and conversations of the last weeks. But what boggled his thoughts the most was a conversation he overheard last night. A conversation he was about to relay to Roy Mustang, a lieutenant colonel of the Amestrian State Military and state alchemist. He approached the door. He laid his hand upon the doorknob and prepared himself.

"Good morning!" he announced as he barged into the room with the biggest smile on his face. "Isn't today the brightest of days?"

"What are you going on about?" said Roy plainly without looking up from the papers on his desk.

Hughes made his way to the front of the desk, bending down to eye level to make sure Roy saw his happy face. "I mean," he whispered seriously as he reached into his jacket. "Just look at this face!" he shoved a picture of his daughter Elicia into the colonel's face. Roy's brows went down low, his mouth curled into an angry frown. He grabbed the picture right from Hughes' hands.

"I don't have time for this!" he shouted.

Hughes cried that the colonel was crushing his daughter and demanded he apologize. Roy sat back down in his chair and tossed the picture across his desk forcibly. "If you have nothing important to say, then you should go finish the paperwork on your desk!"

Hughes stood up and shrugged. "I have all the time in the world to get that done. It would eventually disappear." he smiled.

Roy leaned back in his seat and sighed. He wasn't going to get anywhere. "Is there something you wanted or is this a 'friendly' visit?"

The seriousness returned to Hughes face. The time for humor was up and now it was time to get down to business. Hughes grabbed a chair from the side and put it close to the desk before taking a seat. "Where's your lieutenant?" he asked.

"Out." replied Roy hardly.

Hughes nodded. "It's about the Steel woman."

Roy's eyebrow rose in curiosity. His friend had been digging as was the reason for his job description; investigations. "So what is it?"

Hughes tilted his chair back and brought every detail of the conversation to the front of his mind. "I overheard a conversation she and the Elric brothers had last night."

"Go on." said Roy, his interest peeking. He knew the Elric brother's interest in her would come in handy.

Hughes relayed everything to the last detail. To how she learned alchemy, how her alchemy works, and the most important fact that she believed her parents were killed in an explosion.

Roy leaned back and placed his feet on his desk, crossing his legs and placing his hands behind his head as he took in all the details of Hughes' encounter.

"Huh," he said with a laugh. "So she appears to know nothing of what actually happened in Ishval."

"Appears so."

"But that doesn't mean she can't be lying. After all, why would she tell anyone her true agenda or knowledge of events. Especially to a couple of immature boys."

"So you're still going to keep an eye on her."

"There was never a plan to stop. She is still a Steel and just because she plays ignorant, doesn't mean that's just cause to turn a blind eye."

A knock came at the door, both men looked towards it and told whoever was on the other side to come in.

"Found her looking for you lieutenant colonel." said Hawkeye as she walked in and behind her followed the very woman he and Hughes were speaking of only a moment before.

They took her in. She was dressed in her usual attire, black shirt, boots, and coat with navy pants. Her face looked well rested but still devoid of any feeling.

"Right on time Steel." said Roy as he looked at the clock. It had barely hit nine o'clock.

"Good morning sir." she said, her voice still had its warmth to it, softening her cool appearance.

"Well I'll leave it to you Roy." said Hughes as he got up and walked to the door. He gave Oksana a blank stare from the corner of his eye as he passed her and walked out of the room.

"Take a seat."

Oksana took the seat Hughes had been sitting in. She looked to Hawkeye then to the colonel. She felt uncomfortable and felt as if the two were watching her like hawks waiting for a prey. "You wanted to discuss my position." she said breaking the ice.

"Yes." replied Roy as he placed his feet on the ground and sat forward in his chair.

"Your first mission will to be to accompany the Elric's."

"The Elric's sir?" she said seeming not to understand why they would need a babysitter.

"Yes, keep an eye on them. They seem to get into trouble every time they leave my office." he recalled the bar incident of their latest mission. He twitched as he recalled the amount of damage they did and the high bill that was sent directly to him from the bar's owner.

"But sir, I am very capable handling my own missions. I'm not some children who play military's babysitter."

"An order is an order Silver Alchemist." he said as he looked at her from the papers on his desk.

"Silver Alchemist?" she said.

"Yes. That is from now on your alchemist name. If you have a problem with it, deal with it."

Oksana's lips turned into a fine line, his attitude was beginning to irritate her. "No problem." she liked the name and she figured he only named her that because of the color her alchemy appears in and of course, he probably couldn't come up with anything better.

"Is that all sir?" she said with slow sarcasm.

Roy smiled at her challenge. She was witty and obviously knew how to play the field. "No, you can go."

Oksana got up to leave. "And please tell Fullmetal to come see me. I still need to have that talk with him." he said with so much intensity that Oksana thought that whatever the boy did, sure put the colonel into a fret.

"Fine." she couldn't believe she ended up turning into a messenger boy her first day on the job and to be some kids babysitter as well. She began to form a dislike toward her new superior, he was aloof.



Ed barged into the office, ignoring the glare that he received from both Hawkeye and Roy. Al followed him slowly after, bowing in apology as he did so. "That's it Mustang! I'm tired of you having people follow us around all of the time!" Ed marched forward and slammed his hands onto Roy's desk. "Just because you think you're so much better than the rest of us doesn't make it so."

Roy raised an eyebrow as he leaned back in his chair. "First off Fullmetal, I am, that's just a fact. I'm in a higher position than you and have the right to do what I want." Roy smirked as Ed understood the double meaning, Roy was taller than he. "Second, this is my office so please don't go around yelling. Lastly I'm not sending anyone else to follow you anymore."

"You have no..." Ed's eyebrows furrowed, "wait what?"

"I'm not sending anyone else to follow you."

Ed blinked a few time as he looked at Al. Al shrugged his shoulders, he didn't understand what was going on either. "Okay then you have our report, we'll see you later."

Roy waited until the brothers were at the door before he spoke again. "Actually Elric, we have to talk about that. You see I got a funny piece of paper the other day saying that I owe quite a bit for you destroying a bar and a few surrounding buildings." Ed halted in his tracks, not daring to turn around so see Roy's face. "Expect a shortage in your 'research funds' for a while until this is all paid up. You see, I'm not going let you get away with this one so easily. But because it was the fault of an alchemist as well, the funds will not come completely out of your pocket." Roy turned his chair around and stood up, walking over to the window and looking out. "Oh, and you'll be teaming up with Steel until the next report is due."

"Fair enough," said Ed. He knew he wasn't getting out of paying for the damaged he caused. He sighed loudly at how much he'll be losing, 'no more shopping for Winry' he smiled to himself. But then another thought crossed his mind, no more awesome food or places to stay. His head hung low as he thought about how cruel Roy was beginning to seem to him in this punishment. But then his head sprung up in thought. He would make Oksana pay for some things while they were out, after all it was the colonel's choice in her coming with them. He'll just tell her that it was Roy's idea and to get her repayment from him, yeah that would teach him. He opened the door for himself and his brother with a wide smile across his face, but stopped short. "And one more thing before I agree to anything," he said with menace.

"And what's that?" said Roy with suspicion.

"We're taking Snow Fire with us." He walked out of the office and Roy stood spun around, his eyes wide in shock that the Elric brothers would willingly take someone with them, let alone one of their choosing. He didn't know how long he stood there before a knock on his door shook him from his shock.



Freya looked around as she walked through the building, people bustling around her. It wasn't all too hard to find the building with Roy's office in it, the real trouble is finding the office in a building of offices. A short man with black hair and glasses walked over to her, his military uniform impeccable. "Pardon me but can I help you?"

"Yes, actually I'm looking for Colonel Mustang's office. I have a meeting with him at noon."

The man nodded, "You must be the Snow Fire Alchemist. I'm Sergeant Major Kain Fuery. I work under the Colonel." The two started to walk off down one of the busier hallways in silence until they came to a large wooden door. "Just go on in, he'll be expecting you." Kain walked off to go and finish his work. Freya took a deep breath and knocked.

"Enter."

Freya opened the door and allowed herself in, shutting it behind her. She was hardly inside for more than a few seconds when she greeted the colonel and saluted. Roy saluted her back in a casual manner before picking up a folder from his desk. "Major Hughes dropped this off this earlier but there's not much in it. Apparently when he asked why, he was told that this was all the information that you had provided." Roy opened the file and slid it to her. Freya looked through the file, even already knowing what was in it: Her title, age, place of birth and reason for joining the military; a need to respect her brother, a warrior of the Ishval War. "You don't seemed all too surprised."

"I'm not sir. In fact, I'm surprised that they couldn't find out anything else about me. I know how hard the military tries to know everything about their lapdogs." She hadn't meant to be rude or snap at him but he wasn't even looking at her. Not once. "Sorry sir, that was out of line. If you wouldn't mind telling me where I'll be located at or what assignment I am being given."

Roy stood up straight and turned back to the window, "Go find the Elric brothers. Your assignment is to remain with them until further notice." He tried to keep his voice steady. This girl reminded him of himself. She insults the military and yet joins it; doesn't stand out too much but at the same time holds a huge presence, and if what her 'other' file said was true she was well known throughout most if not all Ishvalan refugee camps and a few cities nearby them. He could see this girl as what his little sister would have become if she hadn't died in Ishval so many years ago; but his little sister was too much of a cheerful girl back then. Nothing like this distant teenager. He heard the door shut a few seconds later.

Freya marched through the hallways, tears wanting to burn her eyes and fall. She had a job to do. First she needed to find these Elric brothers and then she needed to tell Scar that she would be leaving for a while. They had planned for it since he was leaving somewhere as well, but she still wanted to say goodbye to her father. Freya didn't notice the blonde woman with wide brown eyes take off running down the same hallway that she had just left, her usual calm demeanor gone. "Sir! You won't believe who I just saw. I don't believe who I just saw."

Roy sighed in frustration, "What now?"

"I just saw Freya leave this building. I thought you said that she was dead Roy!" Riza raised her voice in annoyance. She had either just seen the ghost of her childhood friend's sister or the real deal. But she doubted that it was a ghost since the girl was older than she remembered Freya being. "What the hell is going on?"

"What are you talking about Riza? Freya has been dead for eight years, you were there." All formalities were gone now. Now it wasn't boss and employee, it was friend and friend. Both aggravated with the other.

"We never found a body. The only body found was that of a State Alchemist, nothing else." Riza's eyes softened, "I'm surprised to hear you gave up so easily Roy. You and I have been some of the last ones looking. I still have people out there whose only job is to look for her. That girl I just saw, she has your mother's eyes, your unruly black hair, everything about her screams that she's like you. Tell me Roy, how could that not be Freya?"

"Riza, do you hear yourself? You're getting too emotional. You were the second closest to my sister, don't let your imagination run wild because you miss her. I miss her too, but that girl is nothing like my Freya."

Riza sighed in anguish as she back handed Roy as hard as she could. She didn't even say another word before storming out of his office.



Freya watched as the blonde woman rushed out of the room from the edge of the hallway, their argument was so loud , everyone could hear it. The woman headed straight for her, everyone in the hall stood there watching her as she continued to walk not giving them a glance. When she turned the corner, she looked down at Freya for a second, giving her apologetic smile with her body slumped. Freya saw water swell in the woman's red eyes as the she walked away from her. She turned her eyes back down the hall toward Roy's office half expecting him to go after the woman but nothing happened. Freya began to feel her own eyes swell with tears. She felt abandoned by her brother's heart-stricken words. And with feeling as she did in that moment ran to comfort herself with Scar before they too would go their separate ways.