damned_institute | Day 70: Bill's Hardware (Morning)

The other members? Anise had to think about that. It had been a while.

For now, she answered Alphonse's other question. "Yep! I wanted to look at tool belts. There might be something that can hold my weapon here." Along with other supplies. Looking at most of the products around them, though, it was looking like she wouldn't be able to find anything that suited her usual tastes. She was probably going to have to compromise her cute style a little. Too bad.

As she started leading the way towards the aisle that looked like it would have what she wanted, Anise went back to the previous question. "The other members... There were some weirdos that me and Ion worked with sometimes, but I don't think they were alchemists... oh! And the leader was this really handsome soldier. Colonel Mustang!"

He blinked in surprise. "Oh, I didn't even think about tool belts! I may grab one of those for myself then. What weapon are you using? There's a chance Brother and I will have leftover materials after tonight, and I could improve it if you wanted."

His head snapped around, and he stared at her, the rest of her statement forgotten. "The Colonel was here?! H-how long ago?" He hadn't ever said a thing about this place! Even if he and Ed were often out on the road, surely they would have noticed or someone would have mentioned something!

“I usually use staffs and maces, but right now, all I have is a meat tenderizer.” Not the most glorious weapon. As if reading her mind, Alphonse offered an improvement, and her eyes lit up. “Really!? Oh, but after tonight, I…” After tonight wasn’t going to work if Anise’s current plans worked out.

There was (perhaps fortunately) no time to finish that thought, as Alphonse was already asking more questions. “You know the Colonel?” Anise asked, looking as surprised as he was. Oops. Maybe it was kind of insensitive to talk about his disappearance so casually, then. “The last time I saw him was, like… five weeks ago. Sorry.”

Al nodded--a mace of her size wouldn't take much material, especially if he used the meat tenderizer for the shaft--but her second response made him pause. "You have some sort of plan?"

"He's my brother's commanding officer...or he was. We were on the run back home before we were taken here." Alphonse grimaced and shook his head. "That doesn't make any sense, I know we saw him before that! How could he have been trapped here at the same time?" Did they make doppelgangers to replace those they took? Homunculii of some kind...if the Fuhrer could be made to look human, who could say they couldn't create mimicries of them? Or humanoid machines--who knew what the doctors were capable of!

Anise wasn't sure how wise it would be to answer any questions about her current plans. If he asked how she found the underground tunnel, it would eventually lead back to that passage in the kitchen, and the death trap beyond it. Well, Alphonse's other line of questioning seemed to be more important to him, so maybe he wouldn't mind if she focused on that.

Not like that was an easy subject either, though. "It's complicated, but I had the same problem. People from home would come here and say 'I just saw you yesterday!' even though I'd been here for weeks..." She frowned as she thought back on how much grief it had caused her, trying to figure out why this could be. All the possibilities she could think of were terrifying.

"I think... it's got to be one of two things. Either they can mess with our memories, so they don't line up with our friends'... or else they can actually kidnap people from different points in time." Anise didn't know which was worse. The former was scary on a personal level, but the latter meant the Head Doctor was unfathomably powerful. And they needed to beat that guy.

Alphonse shuddered, shaking his head. "And neither of those options is very comforting," he said, giving voice to both their thoughts. "I guess it could be that some people are taken from alternate realities of ours, but that's not much better."

He looked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder sympathetically. "I'm sorry, Anise. I can't imagine how hard that's been for you." At least he'd arrived with his brother, and those he knew here remembered all that he did.

Alternate realities? Anise wasn’t sure she could fully wrap her head around the concept. In any case, it had the same problems as the time travel idea. Landel was just way too strong! And there was another thing to worry about: even if Anise and her friends found a way back home, would they be going back to the same place? She was beginning to have doubts.

She was a little surprised when Alphonse moved to comfort her. Anise was used to being fawned over by adults, who pitied her for going through so much at a young age. And she didn’t mind that! She’d even milk the attention from time to time. But when the consolation came from someone her own age, it felt more genuine, in a way. And that was weird.

“Um, thanks…” she mumbled, not quite sure how to react.

“A-anyway, let’s check out those tool belts!” she finally blurted out, leading the way over to the shelf. There were leather ones for $18, and cloth ones for $6. The leather ones were probably better for what she needed, but that was a big chunk of her allowance. Anise picked one up and examined it, comparing it to the ones around it. As she looked over the loops and pockets, something occurred to her. “…Hey, I just remembered. I still have a bag of metal I was going to deliver to that club. The club’s not around anymore, but maybe you and your brother could use it.”

Al blinked in confusion when Anise suddenly went over to the tool belts, but shrugged and followed along--that was why they were here, wasn't it? He examined them as well, frowning a bit at the prices. Jeez, their money wasn't much to work with, was it? Maybe he could try haggling the price down on a leather belt if he could find a damaged one...

He smiled brightly when she mentions the spare metal. "Really? That's really generous of you, thanks! If whatever plan you mentioned before doesn't pan out, I'd be happy to make something for you in return."

After looking over the belts one after another, Anise finally settled on one. Though the color was an un-cute beige in heavy leather, it was sturdy and had all the pouches she needed.

"Ehe! Well, you know, that's how I am! Always trying to help," Anise giggled, trying to look modest. In truth, she really hoped she'd get to make use of his offer sometime, somehow. Now he owed her! "What's your room number? I can stop by first thing tonight." She was fairly confident that she could drop off the materials and still meet up with Guy and Claude before they'd start to worry about her. Depending on where his room was, it might even be on the way!

Al nodded happily, settling on a belt himself. It wasn't quite as sturdy as the one Anise had taken, but if he needed to it would be much easier for him to repair it. "I'm in M1--Brother and I will be in my room for a while messing with some chemicals we got hold of last night, so you don't have to hurry too much."

He frowned. "I know the dorm area is supposed to be safe, but my friend was attacked by a monster there recently. I'd hate for you to get ambushed and hurt trying to bring me something." That definitely wasn't something he wanted to befall anyone else. The more people that knew of the incident, the less likely anyone was to fall prey to it again.

“M1…” Why did that sound familiar…?

Oh, no way. Was Landel doing this on purpose?

“That’s weird… That was the Colonel’s room when he was here.” Which meant it was actually where Anise was originally planning to deliver the metal. Was this really a coincidence? It was kind of eerie.

“Anyway, it’s really nice of you to worry, but I’ll be okay! This petite little body of mine is perfect for sneaking around.” Not that she was trying to imply she was a sneaky kind of person, or anything. Just that she was good at staying out of trouble! “And I was going to go that way anyway, to meet with some friends.” Well, normally they met in the main hall, but if she was quick, she could intercept them closer to their rooms.

"...it was?" Okay, that's just creepy. Did Landel have some sort of special plan for him and his brother?

He nodded with a relieved smile. "Okay. I just wanted to give you the warning, since it's apparently something new." By then they've reached the counter, and Al steps aside to let Anise handle her purchase first. "Ladies first!"

It was pretty uncommon for monsters to show up in the patient halls, Anise had to admit. She’d seen some around the blocks, but they usually didn’t come to close to the patient rooms, and never went inside.

Unless…

Anise hated to consider it, but it was possible that the monsters turning up near patient rooms could have once been patients themselves. It wasn’t that long ago that Anise had been cured. What if there were still sick people around?

In any case, it was best to leave those morbid thoughts unspoken. “Ooh, you’re such a gentleman. Thank you!” Anise chirped when Alphonse allowed her to go ahead of him. She presented her card to the cashier, who scanned it and handed it back to her along with a plastic bag containing the belt. Seven dollars left… She was going to have to make good use of her remaining money. For now, she stood to the side of the counter, waiting for Alphonse to make his purchase.

Alphonse stepped forward to make his purchase once Anise was finished, and was left with nine dollars on his card. He thanked the cashier and then looked to Anise. "So, where to now?"

Anise held her bag close to herself with a smile. "Well... I should probably look for my friend, Luke. Do you know him? He's got short red hair, maybe a little older than you, kind of slow on the uptake?" The description was a little more honest than it needed to be, but the smile on Anise's face didn't budge.

Al frowned a little, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, I haven't seen anyone like that. I hope you can find him; when was the last time you saw him?"

Edited 2013-04-24 17:12 (UTC)

From Alphonse’s sympathetic response, Anise realized some clarification was in order. “Oh, I don’t mean he’s missing! I just have something I need to talk to him about. If you see him, can you tell him I’m looking for him?” Anise hoped she would run into Luke before that, but it wouldn’t hurt to have another pair of eyes on the lookout, in case she missed him.

"Oh!" Well, now he felt a bit silly. "Sure, I'll let him know, no problem!"

“Great! Thank you!” Anise looked pleased. It was important to find Luke as soon as possible, but with her, Guy, and now Alphonse on the case, she was sure they’d find each other before the day was done.

“I better get going. I’ll see you tonight, okay?”

Al nodded with a smile. "Yeah, see you then!"

Day 70: Bill's Hardware (Morning)

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