New meetings & information gathering

[velinda]

((I only use them for words I don't know. >.< Usually, if I'm using a word, I know what it means already. XD))

She looked at the armour- now named Mike. He didn't seem too fond on talking about that woman- Solaris, so she didn't pursue it. However, after a moment or two, he started to speak again about her, asking if it was that obvious. "I-it was just a guess, but I guess it was right... It was just a... feeling I got from you... that's all..." She looked down, and noticed that her rune was showing, and took out two white gloves that almost seemed to match Roy's, but the symbol on them were different...

She blushed as he called her "ojou-san" and looked away somewhat. She nodded to show she heard his words, and understood them. She said in her quiet voice, which seemed to fit her, somehow, "I-i guess.. I would be afraid of someone like that, too..."

[amouri]

((=O from what I gathered Onii-san is like big brother amirite? I might have gotten it wrong, but I think ojou-san is a way of saying young lady ain't it?))

Slicer smiled inwardly.
She's a timid little thing. Why she wants to become a state alchemist...It just doesn't seem right.
He placed a hand on her shoulder. "For now it is alright. As I said before, many people in this world aren't what they pretend to be. Just because one is not human doesn't mean one is monster." He hesitated. "Well...IN some cases it does. But thats just bad luck."

He glanced at her again as they walked on.
"Say, I didn't quite catch your name. What was it again? Krystal...Something?"
He had a feeling she was a rather lost little girl.
And even though she seemed to be very determined to become an alchemist, he definitely wouldn't just let her go without having a say in the matter.

He might be a killer, but he wasn't ruthless. He couldn't imagine her becoming a human weapon, a military dog. That was just absurd.

[velinda]

((Yeah, you're right on both accounts, though I do believe "ojou-san" is "daughter," in an honorary term, but that works, too.))

Krystal glanced to the man. She didn't know what to expect, but he seemed to know what he was talking about, and she nodded in agreement. "Y-yeah... I know..." she smiled at the man when he asked her name again. " Krystal Hikari... Crystal Light. My parents chose that name for me..." she looked down at the mention of her parents, and her voice became saddened. "I need to become a state alchemist... for them..." her quiet voice spoke to him, albeit in a sad, yet not shaky, tone. She glanced back up to the man, her eyes showing hints of tears, and smiled sadly to him. "I think I can do it too... with my alchemy..."

[amouri]

((Ah. XD Now I understand why she blushed.))

Slicer sighed and a hint of sadness showed in his blue orbs.
"You are aware of...the things that they have done? The things they will make you do? The sins they will force you to commit? Trust me, it isn't the best choice. You'll become bound like a dog, forced to kill innocents if used as a human weapon. Are you ready to make that choice?"
He paused.
"If you want my opinion, no parent would be that cruel to a child. Are you sure your parents wanted you to do this?"

[velinda]

Krystal stared up at the man, her eyes filled with sadness. "To tell you the truth... I don't know. I can't ask them.. anymore..." she looked down again. "But they left behind... their work... which I expanded on... and made it... a reality..." she shook her head. "I believe... Fullmetal Alchemist is what he's called...? He joined... I think, for much of the same reason I am, and I'm willing... to become a dog of the military... to help my parent's find peace... And to start... I need to join... and find where Fullmetal is..." She turned her head away, startled that she had told this... stranger so much... but she felt like she could trust this man, somehow...

[amouri]

Slicer narrowed his eyes.
"Krystal-If you don't mind me calling you that-You MUST understand. Alchemy can be used in a better way than when bound by the state. You can help people, even the fullmetal-" His eyes darkened slightly.
"Even the fullmetal will once pay the price for becoming a state alchemist. When war comes, he will be used."
He grabbed her shoulders softly and stared into her eyes.

"Alchemists are for the people. Not the state."

[velinda]

She kept her face away from him the entire time, until he grabbed her and said those simple words. Her voice turned cold, unbefitting her quiet and soft voice. "You think I don't know? You think I didn't think long and hard about this? You think I'm just jumping in here without knowing what I'm doing? Well- you're wrong. I know what it means to be bound to the state- but how else am I going to get the records they have, unless I break in. I'd rather not waste away in some kind of jail cell, or be wanted by the Military. Or do you have a better idea? How else will I get the information I need? How else will I put Mom and Dad to rest? Tell me, if you got a better way. I'll gladly listen." Not only was her voice cold, but it seemed to be inlaid with anger by the last three sentences, which even added more to the image of unbeffitting.

Her voice remained barely above a whisper, yet he could hear it plain as day, the anger now prominent, the coolness dissipated from it. "You don't know my family. You don't know the sacrifices my family had to make. The research was growing, and so was the Military's interest. They wouldn't stop ignoring it for long... but when my parents... died... they stopped hounding me, and therefore- and therefore, the research. I continued it to appease my parents, to give them rest that their research was complete... and now, with a a little more, they can rest in peace forever... and to help with that... I need the military's info..." She couldn't help it. She didn't want to say too much, but she needed this man to know why... why she wanted to join the military...

[amouri]

Slicer listened in silence to her words, letting the information seep in gradually.
He sighed deeply, and then cast a look to both sides.
"I might...Be able to help you." He paused.
"I am a part of the military, so I probably shouldn't be talking. But Hikari, I can help you."
If he could somehow gain the information she needed...It shouldn't be too hard.
"But first you must promise not to tell anyone."
He hesitated for a split second.
"And secondly...I want to show you something. Something that might be slightly...Disturbing."
He had to convince her the horrors of becoming a state alchemist. She couldn't just walk in there unknowing.

[velinda]

Hikari looked to the man, and heard he was in the military. "You could help.. but if I'm not in the military, and I get caught, then I'm in trouble, big time, for what I want. I guess you can already figure out what I want, right?" she asked. What she wanted was the Philosopher's Stone, and she wanted it to ressurect her parents, not really knowing that it could backfire so easily... but with a stone, it should work, right? She knew that making a human come back from the dead was hard, but with a stone, shouldn't it be possible? She heard the man talk about something disturbing. "I know how bad the military is- they, in an indirect way, were the cause of my parents' deaths. If they would've stopped breathing down their necks, they wouldn't have felt the need to rush, and not properly figure out what to do, especiallly in the dangerous area that they were in at that time. I also know... about Chimera's... and how I know about them... I don't want to tell..." she said, shivering. It wasn't because of the Lab 5 incident... it was much farther ago that she learned of the Chimera... another thing she learned about, thanks to the military...

[hakuforever]

Lyn was still in shock, an honest to god homunculi, she had found one. In all places, Central, the last place she would suspect to find one, she was smiling ear to ear, this was brilliant. The woman left her with a plan for meeting back at that place in a few hours and Lyn planed to be here but first she wanted to be prepared for anything unfortunate happening so she used her alchemy of wind and flew down from the building and onto the ground, she was going to get some more gloves with her transmutation circle on them, just as back ups, so she was off to the clothing store.
[exit]
(OCC: Lust I'll make new thread for us.)

[suigintou]

Lust thought for a few an dcontinued to walk in teh direction they went. she wasn't sure what to do, if she could help her find envy, that would be wondercul.

[amouri]

Slicer looked at her uncertainly.
"You wouldn't be involved in any manner. If anyone gets the blame, it will be me." He said flatly. "After all, it was me that suggested to help you in the first place."
He looked at her again. "No...I'm not actually sure what it is you want. But I have a bad feeling about this anyway." She couldn't possibly be going after the same thing as fullmetal...

He looked both ways again.
"Alright, you can be trusted. But Hikari, you must see this. Come."
They had now reached the alleyway where Lust had discovered him in the first place, lurking behind the trashcans.
He pulled Krystal into the shadows, and then once more checked that they weren't being followed.

"Please...Don't scream."
He slowly reached up towards his helmet, but found that he couldn't reach.
His brothers work.
He sent a sharp glance towards his torso, and with a mighty effort he managed to break free of his brothers control, and reached up.
With slow, deft movements he undid the cloth around his face, and let it hang limp to one side.
He opened his helmet, to reveal the gaping space inside where a human should have resided, the gaping space that revealed the crude smear of blood that was his bloodseal.
"You see Hikari. This isn't what you want to become." He said sadly. "Look Krystal. Look what I have become. This is state alchemist's that have done this, to gain your knowledge you must rebel! Not become their lap dog to use as they will. Do you understand?"

[velinda]

She looked at him uncertainly. "Are you sure about that?" she asked him, as she thought she'd still get in trouble for getting their information. However, she had no time to dwell on that as he brought her into the alleyway, and apparently tried to reach for his head, but he stopped sharply, and looked down to his torso. She assumed that he was trying to get his body under control, but she would never have guessed at that point that he was actually doing it, but getting it from his brother.

When he lifted his helmet off, her eyes widened, but then closed again with understanding. "I've heard about this... but I never thought I'd see it... And I don't know what's worse, but I'm going to go with being a chimera..." she shivered again. "I-if you are really willing to help me, then I'll take it. Joining the military was a last-ditch effort, because I had no help before. But also... If I use my alchemy, and don't get arrested for it, then they'll come after me anyway, to force me to join, won't they? And... I'm sure you've guessed that I want... the Philosopher's Stone." Once again, she looked down to the ground. "And I want to meet... the Fullmetal Alchemist..." she said, though more quietly than her other words.

Another thought struck her mind. "I've... just thought of something... what if... a homunculus- the false entities of life- gets interested in my alchemy...? What should I do...?" How did she know about the Homunculi? Let's just say, she did some research on what she planned on doing, to see the downfalls of it- and came across them. However, she didn't know that woman was a homunculi, at least not yet, nor would she, really, unless the homunculi told her....

[amouri]

His eyes softened with respect as she merely looked down in understanding.
"Damn, now you've gone and done it!" A sharp hiss came from his chest.
He looked down sharply.
"Do not be alarmed. I must confess that I can't really be seen as ONE person...Because I am two. The devils that bound me and my brother to this body thought it funny to see how we would cope so close, me as the head and him as the body."
A low sigh came from his brother.
"HI. I guess I'd be...Mike number two then." his younger sibling said grudgingly.

He sighed. "Believe me lass, there is nothing worse than this. When one is a chimera one still has senses, and in addition to that one knows all the glory of an animal, but when one is like this..." He gestured silently.
"It is a fate worse than death."

He looked up.
"Ah yes, the philosophers stone." He paused. "It is a hard object to obtain, or at least even hear rumors of. I will try to help you, seeing as I wasn't exactly planning on staying with the military forever anyway.
What he had told the major was a lie.
He wasn't a loyal person. He was the person to flee when it was best, and when he could see that his powers could be used for better things than what he was ordered to.

He looked up.
"Krystal...You have already been found."
He said softly.
"That woman Solaris...She is a humunculi."

[velinda]

She didn't seem to be too startled when the man spoke with another voice. "Wow... I never thought that could be done..." she said quietly. "Yes, you still have senses as a chimera, but you also constantly rage war with the inner beast, never knowing what you truly are." She sighed. Did they truly know what a Chimera felt? She supsected they didn't.. but she knew. She knew because she had made friends with one... one that they had- She shook her head. She didn't want to remember that- not right now, anyway. She looked to the male. "At lest you keep your sense of self."

She smiled when he said he'd help her get the stone... but it faded when he heard his last sentence. "Wh-what? SHe's a homunculis...?" she stammered. "And she knows that I'm an alchemist... she might come after me now..." she looked behind her warily. "Will she...?"

[amouri]

Slicer's expression darkened.
"A sense of my self? You are aware of, that there has not been one moment in my entire time of being like this, that I have stopped wondering...Whether I really was real at all. These hands..." He lifted them to gaze at them.
"This body...This mind...These faded memories...glazed over by time and the agony of remembering...I do not feel, I do not eat, I do not drink, breathe, sleep, cry, or feel pain. I cannot know if I actually exist." He said with a hoarse chuckle.
"What if its all an illusion? I might just be an experiment, an attempt to create an artificial soul. Or maybe this is all a dream...And when I wake up there is nothing."
He looked at her solemly. "Now do you see?" He reached out to touch her hand.
"I cannot feel the warmth of your skin, you might not even be there. My eyes and mind might be decieving me. In this state, there is no reality. All we can do is hope that we are real...And whtehr we used to be humans or not..."
His voice trailed away.

A strained noise came from his brother. "Brother..." The voice of his younger sibling trailed off.
They had mutual understanding. It had been a long time since they last felt the need to voice such feelings. But they never stopped considering them.

"She probably might." The oldest slicer ten went on. "Lust is her name, and I can tell you that she is a dangerous female. Then again, she might not know how powerful you really are."

[suigintou]

"How cute Slicer, i guess there is nothing to hide now is there? lust asked as she looked at them, she looked at him "what a shame, and I was going to leave you alone for once, but now i guess i really dont have a choice." Lust then attacked slicer first, and was now furious. She looked at Hikari, and looked at her "If you walk away right now, and not mention what you have been told, or what you ahve seen, i can get you straight into the military easily." Lust then looked at Slicer.

[velinda]

Hikari looked at the male. He couldn't feel anything... and that made him doubt his own reality. She looked down to her feet. "That's... not good, either..." she said slowly, and looked away. "If she's as dangerous as you say... what of her finding out you've done this?" Almost as if on cue, the homonculi attacked Slicer, then talked to her. "I-i could... but..." she stuttered to the female. "I-if there's a way... th-that requires less killing... I-i'll take it..." she whispered quite quietly, and stumbled backwards, but stayed on her feet. She had a decision- keep herself alive, and possibly lose Slicer and others... or possibly die, but possibly save both Slicer and the randoms she didn't know... "I-is there... any way... y-you won't... h-hurt Slicer...?" she asked. She wondered what the homunculi would say... and she hoped she would be given an option- even if that is at least to walk away if she wanted to...

[amouri]

Slicer was too occupied with Hikari to notice the vicious attack from behind.
He stiffened as he heard the swish of the deadly talons through the air, and whipped around, drawing his sword.
With a deafening screech the carbon-coated edge of the blade struck against the talons, drawing sparks as the blades slid in his grip.

He immediately felt his brother surge to his aid, their combined strength holding the humunculi in check.
He cast a quick glance at Hikari.
"Krystal! Go! I'll...hold her...here." He said with an effort, straining against the strength of the deadly female.
He had no idea how he would manage to get out of this mess...He had just let Lust creep up on him like that.

[suigintou]

" I hate to tell you but, i doubt he is getting out of this alive!" Lust then managed to threw the sword from his hands, and she smirked, and sliced at him more and more. She looked at the girl " its your choice...stay and Die, or live, and not say a word of what you have seen!" She kept her eyes completely on Sliver and his brother the entire time.