Chapter Text
I’d already washed his uniform the night before, during a stretch of time I just couldn’t stand to look at papers anymore. We had to take a cab to the library, and the entire ride was spent trying to explain the idea of vaccination versus immunization and how my way was going to be safer. I kind of hated myself for how surprised I was once again by the fact that he really did know what he was talking about when it came to alchemy [Wasn’t his brain part of the allure here in the first place?]. I fell into the same hole as everyone else did, assuming he was a pretty boy who’d been gifted some fancy gloves, only knowing how to blow shit up. For God's sakes, he had transmuted a complex medication for me in that other dimension.
It wasn’t difficult to find the books I needed. I had names for what I was missing, and though the people who discovered and invented them were different, Sheska was still the same. I made a mental note to get her transferred to Investigations as soon as possible; she was wasted here. Our next stop was securing an actual lab, which was mostly done by Roy and the judicious use of that pocketwatch of his. He also insisted it would be good for the cover story if we had one. Apparently, we’d been using a ‘private lab’ until this point, and now that we were going public with it, we might as well use a government one.
I followed Roy into the lab, pausing the moment I crossed the threshold. The windows covering the wall directly across from us let in ample light, reflecting off the metal tables and what were likely the most advanced instruments of this time period. There were three microscopes along the table at the far right wall, next to the deep sink set into the green/blue counters. The shelves lining the walls to the left were covered in empty flasks, bottles, test tubes, glass slides, and anything I could have wished for. It was only just now hitting me the resources that State Alchemists had at their fingertips. As the Sonic Alchemist, I’d never needed an actual laboratory environment before, according to the state. All of those other projects that could have benefited from one were kept out of the public eye. Roy’s amused voice interrupted my musing,
“You’re drooling.”
“Am not.”
Just a little bit. Not that I would admit it.
I flipped the switch by the door on, flooding the room with artificial light, then crossed to close the curtains. “If I end up keeping this lab for any decent amount of time, then I’ll tint the windows for privacy, until I know that I’m not going to fuck with the structure of anything too much.”
But I was going to rearrange the shit out of it.
It took no time at all for the ‘research’ we’d had before to grow, multiply, and spread across the entire lab. We roped Maes into bringing in boxes of ‘files’ that were actually blank papers for us to use, but helped the illusion that we had a heavy base of research to work off. The actual materials we needed were located in various storerooms along the floor. Roy reported that many were amused to see a Lt. Colonel reduced to ingredient fetching.
It was halfway through the process that I slammed my head on the table, startling Roy from whatever sample he was peering at in the microscope [and goddamnit why does science look good on him-].
“Goddamnit! I’m going to have to give you people penicillin, aren’t I?”
“...what?”
I looked over at him, still irritated with myself for not realizing earlier, and wondered when he’d lost the outer blouse to his uniform. He was left in the black under armor, one of my own bulletproof variety, judging by the crest of bow and arrow set over the heart. Had to be able to tell them apart from the other shit at first glance, after all [I wasn’t laying claim to my people, this was just practical-]. His hair was mussed from running his hands through it in frustration so many times, and the missing jacket was tossed carelessly behind him over the high-backed stool he was perched on. I dragged my eyes away from him quickly, leaning back in my seat and twirling a pen in one hand, tugging gently at my military standard bun with another.
“Back in my first country, this one guy let a sample get contaminated. It grew a mold while he was on vacation, and that mold...long story short, it created antibiotics, used to treat and prevent bacterial infections. It was revolutionary, and since we discovered it by pure accident, I’m going to feel no shame in ‘discovering’ it here. Well, a little bit of shame. But honestly, if I’m using alchemy, unlike the original discovery, then technically I’m doing something new…”
Roy cleared his throat. “What does that have to do with this project?”
“Not much really...except for a lot.”
He groaned. “Could I get a real explanation, please?”
“Okay, people used the antibiotics so much that the diseases and shit became resistant. They morphed and got worse and harder to treat; that was when the vaccines I know about came into being. I thought the infection wasn’t that difficult to toss out because it was alchemy doing it, and alchemy is...fucking awesome, to put it bluntly. No, it’s because this particular strain never got a chance to build up an immunity to lighter shit. If...we go about this carefully, it won’t mutate. We have a heads up on the dangers of overuse of antibiotics, and all that jazz, so if we use it sparingly...we could stamp out a lot of illnesses almost completely, if not totally.”
He grinned at me, laughing slightly before turning back to his microscope.
“Of course you have about ten ways to revolutionize medicine sitting around in your back pocket. I feel a bit bad that you’ve been distracted with this government mess. I can’t even imagine what would happen if you put your entire heart into it.”
I did not blush, but I did spend the next five minutes shuffling under the sink for chemicals I didn’t even need, so I could get my breathing even. Finally, I stood up, clearing my throat,
“I’m going to need more-”
I stopped speaking immediately, the feeling at the edge of my mind catching my attention instantly. A Homunculus was in the building. Roy noticed me, of course he did, slipping down from the stool and pulling on his ignition gloves in one smooth movement, standing by my side in seconds. The back of my mind was humming happily at how readily he moved to the defensive when he saw me off-kilter, the front was focused on the problem.
“Chalk. Or paint. Whatever you have on you now.”
He handed over the chalk without complaint, following when I went to the door and sketched a familiar circle, tossing the chalk back to him and clapping, touching the wood instead of the array I had just made. The wood stretched, then carefully absorbed the circle preserved, just out of sight.
“I really should have guarded against eavesdropping first, but better late than never. Did I ever explain to you how I use alkahestry to sense people? Or did Hughes tell you?”
“...Maes informed me. Is someone here?”
“There is someone in the building that I recently witnessed brutally murder someone… and then watch their partner eat the remains.”
There was silence, and I turned back to the table, gathering the samples of the virus we’d snagged from a different lab that was miles away from the cure we were sitting on. I’d be using them to weaken the virus and create the vaccine, the first few samples would be tested on lab rats, which I would observe the effects of using alchemy, a few of the completed products would go with Roy to Eastern to the entire office crew, along with a treatment, just in case they’d gotten it from close contact with Kain. The rest would go into mass production. Amestris being what it was, the military would get it first, then rich private citizens, then it would be available for sale to the general public. I was going to put in a request, as creator, that it go to schools after the military. I was sure I could spin it in a way that they’d look like heartless dicks to refuse it. Not that it would stop them if they were having a bad day.
I started slightly when a hand touched my shoulder. The only thing stopping me from lashing out was the familiar scent of sulfur, mixed with...my own shampoo? For all that it said ‘scentless’ on the bottle, that only meant it wasn't a fruit extravaganza. I shelved that observation for later, instead looking up at him.
“Maes told me what happened. You were outnumbered and would have given away our greatest tactical advantage. It was the only option you had.”
“...thanks.” I wasn’t sure what else to say, but I was grateful to hear it from him. For all that Maes had told me, and that I told myself, hearing it from him made it more real. “...also, there are underground labs here that aren’t included on the flooring plans. The creature went down there just now. I...have issues with elevation, so I can’t tell you how many levels there are. Want me to check it out?”
He frowned thoughtfully before shaking his head, hand [sadly] slipping from off my shoulder as he turned back to his work.
“No, we’ll put a pin in it, but for now we have to get this done if only to cover our own asses. Though this will save many a life and career. Any other vaccines I can expect from you in the future?”
“You want the ones I’m using as an easy way out of research so I can focus on our coup?”
“Please don’t call it that. But sure, hit me with that first.”
“Polio, flu, smallpox, measles, tetanus, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, shingles, you said there’s already one for diphtheria, I might take a look at it, but it’s probably fine- why are you looking at me like that?”
There was a strange expression on his face. “...your people, they were extremely advanced, weren’t they?”
“Little bit, yeah.”
Honestly, most of these I knew because either someone close to me or I was given one, and like hell was that going near my body or my family’s if I didn’t know what it was. It’s not like everyone ran around with vaccines in their back pocket. Sometimes even I lose track of what's rattling around in this brain of mine. Especially after the little ‘nanite’ renovation incident.
“What could destroy them, if they were so far beyond us? Is it something we should worry about?”
I snorted into my microscope, “They destroyed themselves. A house divided will not stand.”
Well, not a lie, they were on the way down when I left. Nuclear war was on the horizon if my aunt was to be believed, and I’d studied the ebb and flow of empires before. The trends weren't hard to see.
“Are you trying to fix other countries because of what happened to yours?”
I hesitated for a second too long because he was backtracking, quicker than I thought he would, but I held up a hand, waiting for him to stop before putting the hand back to the correct focusing knob. “Yes, and no. I was...kidnapped, so I didn’t have to see it happen. But by the time I was capable of going home, it was too late, and my home was somewhere else anyway. Not that it lasted, but now I’m here, and I’m content with that.”
“Kidnapped? Do you mean ‘abducted’?”
“My grasp on Amestrian is stellar, thanks, no matter how funny I sound to you. I was 17, so yes, I meant kidnapped. 17 is still a child, where I’m from. I was shunted into the military once I was ‘unkidnapped’, I didn’t have papers, you see, so there was no other option for me since I had no country anymore. But I made friends right from the beginning, and I was found by the right group of people. They earned my loyalty, though I doubt I ever fully had theirs...though when I was sent into a trap, they came for me guns blazing...dropped everything to carry me out of there themselves.”
There was silence for a second. I couldn’t tell if he was breathing, probably too afraid to interrupt, afraid this secret-spilling session would end. When I didn’t continue, it wasn’t a question he delivered but a statement.
“You miss them.”
“I know better than to wallow; I’ll see them again.”
“You believe in an afterlife?”
Not a subject I wanted to think about, what with the dimensions, gates, and bullshit lying around. “I believe in many things, because I’ve seen some ridiculous shit. But it doesn’t matter. Put your behind in the past, and past behind you and all that.”
“A quote? From what?”
“A children’s...book, actually. Now that I think of it, I need to procure a copy of it for Elicia.”
“You spend a lot of time at the Hughes’ house?”
“Not as much as I’d like. Gracia’s cooking is divine. When I’ve been holing myself up and not eating for too long, she senses it and sends food, the goddess. Last time I was over, I helped teach Elicia to play checkers, which was an event. That was...three weeks ago. Fuck I’m a horrible person. I’ll get that book and drop by as soon as I get this mess sorted.”
“...you realize Elicia is two years old?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Isn’t that a bit young for checkers?”
“That’s what Hughes said about chess; checkers was the better option. She did fine; her method of ‘completely random’ is a surprisingly sound tactic.”
We worked in silence for a short while longer. He was just returning from getting saline when I noticed he looked grim. He set the materials down on the table situated behind our main work area, leaning back against it, bracing himself with one hand, and rubbing his face with the other. I swiveled my stool so I could face him,
“Something happen?”
“Just met up with some of the local brass in the hallway. You...they expect you to take the next state alchemists exam, presenting this project as your ‘demonstration’.”
I sighed, tamping down the feeling of being trapped, the panic that I had felt before. This time, I was ready for them, this time...this time, I wouldn’t fall into any trap of Kimblee’s.
“I kind of figured. How long do I have?”
“Two weeks.”
“Nice, I was expecting more in the days.”
He looked away from me, examining the ceiling tiles above him instead. “There was already one scheduled for a small group; they added your name to it. Until then, you are to come with me back to Eastern Command to finish up your apprenticeship.”
“Excellent! I’ve missed those guys!”
He lowered his eyes back down to meet mine, eyebrow lifting. “You’re taking this rather calmly for someone who’s about to become a human weapon.”
I snorted, turning back to the microscope. “Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt. There’s not much more soul left for these people to force me to stain; it’ll work out.”
After a brief pause, he inhaled audibly. “Do you want to talk about it?”
I froze in what I was doing, hesitating. Did I want to have confession time? Talking about things of that nature were known to help, but there were some things he wasn’t ready to hear. Things that he couldn’t trust me anymore after he knew. My- that is, the other Roy [because he was never mine in any way-], had distanced himself from me after several instances. I couldn’t afford to accidentally push this one away as well, not right now.
“Not today, Lt. Colonel. Not nearly enough booze handy.”
He accepted that as an answer, not giving away what he was feeling, and we continued working in silence.