Mission: Coal, It's a Dirty Job

[Balketh]

Bal carried Bella into her house. It didn't appear as though she needed any help at all, but Bal still helped anyway. The maid came in with a scream, and stumbled back a bit, before rushing off to get bandages. Bal dropped the heavy metal fist at the door after removing the hand still inside, and wriggled a chair out, before carefully placing Bella in it.

"I know that was pointless... Anyway, let's take a look at those cuts." Bal said gently. It seemed in the midst of things, he'd completely forgotten about his own wounds, which were much deeper than they looked. There was a long slash down his back, one on his right arm, and a cross-slash on his chest. He opened his bag, to reveal many books. He dug through them, careful not to get any blood on them, and pulled out a bolt of red cloth he kept in there. He normally used it to Alchemise new clothing for himself, but instead he just tore long strips from it.

He balled up one of the strips and pulled a bottle of water from the bag. He wet the ball, and dabbed gently at the wound on Bella's left shoulder. He folded that same balled strip into a pad, and carefully, gently AND nervously slipped it under her dress strap. He then proceeded to bandage it, each time going nervously under the strap.

He was only past his first wrap when he looked even more nervously at her hip.

"I... I..." Bal gulped and looked away, going red again.

"I think you might have to get the maid to do that one... I uh.... I don't... My hands aren't gentle enough..."

Yeah.. Great excuse...

He was still struggling with the strap.

[Bloodlust Alchemist]

Isabella winced as he cleaned the cut on her shoulder,"Your blushing." She smirked and motioned for her maid to step into the room. "I can do my hip on my own. My maid lacks the skill of bandaging wounds. I tend to not come in here for her help if it is too serious." she grabbed the first aid kit out of the maid's hands and sent her own her way," Thank you, Angelica. Please, do not throw up on the expensive rug agian!" She yelled after her maid as she ran out of the room.

Bella sighed and motioned for Bal to turn around. As soon as his back was to her, she lifted the hem of her dress and started to clean the slash that covered the length of her right hip. She quickly bandaged it and pulled the ruined dress down agian."ANGELICA! I need a new dress. Preferably one of the white ones."

Bella smiled and made her way infront of Bal,"Now, sit down and take off your shirt. Your wounds are pretty serious and need to be taken care of." She pushed him into the chair gently and waited for him to strip off what was left of his shirt. "Your leaving your bag here now. These injurys will slow us down enough without you caring a bag. As soon as you get bandaged we can be on our way."

Angelica ran into the room, her hand covering her nose and her mouth. "Here Madam, I made sure it was identical to the dress you have on at the present. Of course, I did get you one made of a lighter frabic with the military insignia on the right breast."

Bella smiled and took the dress," Thank you once agian, Angelica. Now, after you prepare Monsieur Balketh's room, you will have the day off. The only thing I need you to do is protect the mansion." Angelica grabbed Bal's bag and quickly ran out to prepare a room for their guest. "She is strong. Your posesions will be safe in her hands. I assure you."

[Balketh]

Bal smiled, a little embarrassed, and turned around. He tapped a little tune out on the floor while he waited, before almost being forced up into the chair. His words of resistance fell on deaf ears.

"No... Really... I don't need bandaging... Please... No... They'll heal on their own... Take my 'what' off?!?!" Bal went as red as his coat. It seemed that there was no swaying Bella, she was determined to help.

"Fine... Just... Just promise you won't freak out..." Bal said, as he took off his coat. He paused as he started to lift his shirt, sighed, then lifted it. What he revealed was terrible. He had hundreds of scars, some, tiny little scratches, others, stretching almost all the way across his chest. A few of them were covered by metal plates, or steel weaving. In combination with his automail, he looked like he had slowly become half metal.

His back was just as bad. The long cut on his back was interrupted by some hard scars, and a few plates, as were the other wounds.

Even with all the scars, Bal was definitely in good shape. Bal stayed red, again.

"You know... I'm pretty sure I can do these..." His words of protest STILL fell on deaf ears.

[Bloodlust Alchemist]

Isabella looked at all the cuts and sighed," I guess being the Human Typhoon has a price." She grabbed a bottle of acohol, a pack with a steril needle, clamps, and surgical thread.She thread the needle and placed it correctly within the clamps."I hope you aren't a big baby or anything.Though, I can't imagine how that can be possible."

Bella pushed Bal forward and poured a little acohol into the wound that ran down his back. It hissed as it began cleaning out the wound."This might hurt. I still can't see how with all of these marks on your back. Your tough to have all the metal attachments." She quickly stiched the wound close, he hands moving as fast as a practiced docotor's would."I can take the stiches out for you in three weeks."

Bella pushed him back and cleaned the wounds on his arm and chest. She quickly bandaged the wounds, not pausing for even a second."Done," she said, making her way behind a shoji screen in the corner of her room,"well almost." She changed into the new, clean dress."Now we are done and ready to go," she giggled and gave him a thumbs up.

[Balketh]

Bal sort of went numb as Bella worked. She was incredibly quick, but her touch was as soft as a feather. He didn't wince at a thing she did, but just watched with a curious eye.

Bella quickly stood and went behind the screen in the corner of the room. For the first time since Bal had met her, he got a good look at he physique. Her slender, female form cast a silken silhouette through the screen. Bal's jaw dropped.

When she stepped out and gave him a thumbs up, he hadn't shut his mouth yet, so he must've looked stupid.

"I... uh... You.... We.... I need... Need to make new clothing." He could barely take his eyes off her, but he eventually tore them off, to look at the red cloth. He smiled. What Bella hadn't seemed to notice, was that the bandage on her shoulder, at the back, was done up in a pretty bow.

Bal stretched his arms, checking his available range of movements, before slapping his hands together. The bolt of cloth unraveled furiously, and shredded, as did his old coat and shirt, only to reform into a brand new coat and shirt, Red and Black respectively.

He stood, and started to put his shirt on. He intentionally flexed as he did, but didn't look at Bella. He put his coat on, and went to snatch up his bag, before he realised.

"No... bag..." His hand dropped, and he smiled.

"Ah well... Your whip is over there by the way." He pointed to the metal fist in the corner.

"And... about the... Human Typhoon... thing... I better give you the short version... My brother.... did.... some things... some things I'll never forgive... I was in central one day, and I saw him. Naturally, I went into a fit of rage, and before I knew it, I was high in the air, Blue Flame forming a massive typhoon around me. I could see everything as clear as day, though. I rampaged through buildings to get to him, but when I got there, he was gone... Everything sort've stopped after that. I fell, landed painfully, and everybody saw me. Since then... I've learned to control it... SO I can use it when the time comes..."

Bal went quiet. He looked at the ground, ashamed.

"That's why I acted the way I did when you said H.T. was a murderer.... I can't ever bring myself to kill someone... And yes, I've thought it over, I wouldn't kill my brother either. Just cause him a hell of a lot of pain... Anyway. Let's get on with the mission."

Bal walked to Bella, and offered his hand.

"Shall we?"

[Bloodlust Alchemist]

Bella laughed,"You can close your mouth whenever."She watched him make the clothing with slight interest.She had never tried to do it, but she knew it was pretty easy."The fabric looks brand new. That is pretty awesome."

She watched him slide the shirt on, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.He was flexing his muscles, and the effect wasn't lost on her. She shook her head. She couldn't let herself be drawn to him. That would be like stabbing Kindara in the back. Even after his death she wasn't letting him go. I need a good pschyatrist...

She linked her arm with his and smiled,"Angelica will despose of that thing that used to be my whip. I never use any of my metal dust more than twice. It becomes worn down and weak after that."She smiled at him," It was a rumor that it all happened during an accident, not that it was intentional. It was never even proven that you where involved. The Human Typhoon was never even found afterward."

She tugged on his arm slightly as she began to walk toward the door,"Lets go!"

[Balketh]

Bal looked at Bella with a curious twinkle in his eye.

"Too true... Let's go." He smiled. A light blush came back over his face.

Can she read my mind or something... I thought about this... and it happened.... Wait.. Maybe she CAN read minds! Uhh... Hello? Bella? If you can hear me, stop and do a spin... What am I doing? Thinking to myself.... I'm terrible... Bal sighed, and put his available hand on his face in exasperation.

Bella was like a pretty little girl on his arm. She was slender, delicate, she laughed a lot, and she wore clothing that suited that of a young girl. The red bow on her shoulder only made her seem younger.

If Bal wasn't careful, It'd look like he had lured a little girl to go along with him.

"Y'know, We've been together for a day... Well, not together, like together together, but together... Oh... You know what I mean... And I've been so distracted by... by how.... by how beautif... By some things.... That I haven't even asked WHAT the mission is yet... So... What is it?"

Wow. That was stupid. If you're going to tell her she's beautiful, WAIT FOR THE RIGHT MOMENT! Just don't ask what I was about to say instead of 'some things', Bella, PLEASE DON'T...

[Bloodlust Alchemist]

"Distracted? I don't blame you. Being hunted down by trained asasians can be distracting," she laughed lightly," and hella fun."They walked out of the house and made their way toward a dirt road that lead to Coal.She was having doubts about what she should tell him about the mission before they arrived.

"Listen, this mission is relatively easy. It is a simple investigation." She paused for a moment, losing her train of thought even though she never stopped walking."Prepare yourself though, the death toll in this place is numbered to be among the thousands. Someone burned all the people alive and destroyed what was left of Coal. That is the name of the town, Coal. Please just don't freak out when we get there. It will be pretty gruesome."She looked at him, her eyes filled with remorse,"I am used to this, so it will not effect me. If you want to stay behind today that will be alright."

[Wilhelm of Coal]

(meanwhile several hours earlyer near the ruined vilage of Coal)

"Geez, I sure hope that nobody thought it suspicious that I torched everyone and burned down the town." Wilhelm thought to himself as he poked the fire near his tempory campsite where he would live until he felt up to traveling again. He had after all, just recently, lost a massive amount of blood only 2 weeks ago. "for now I guss I'll stay in succulsion until I'm fully healed. It should be pretty soon I think, as a mater of fact I may just leave this wretched place tommorow if I'm felling ambitious."

To an outsider of Wilhelm preception, they would consider this type of casual thinking of the death of an entire vilage a complete travistry. And would probably take their own life just to join the rest. Wilhelm, however was used to the cycle of life being the adopted son of the mid-wife, who escentally served as the entire vilage's doctor, healer, birther and undertaker. At an early age Wilhelm had seen many being born and many die. But even for the most hardened surgon he was taking this extreemly well, but he was still seriously depressed about it.

"I wonder what those people in the milatary uniforms were doing", Wilhelm wondered to himself, "I'm only glad I was well hidden or their could've been some sort of confrontation..." Wilhelm's Idea of a "confrontation" was people shooting and/or brandishing sharp objects at him and missing quickly followed by him knocking them on their butts and leaving them to the mercy of the village miners with their pick-axes and shovles. The only reason he didn't do this this time was that he didn't want any unnecessay blood on his hands.

And as Wilhelm rolled over to go to sleep he decided to leave sometime tomorrow, if he felt like it. But Wilhelm felt that he was in for an unpleasent suprise tomorrow, just a felling...

[Balketh]

Bal stopped. He looked at Bella with sad eyes.

"Think." He said gently, as he brushed one of her bangs out of her face.

"I lost my parents. Their souls are... trapped... Trapped with my brother... And he's using them for unimaginable purposes. I've seen as much death as you. Maybe more, Maybe less. Either way... You know I can take it."

He smiled.

"...They don't call me the Human Typhoon for nothing..." He whispered to himself.

The smell of... burnt... filled their their senses. All of them. The smell, the taste, the sound, the feel.... and the sight. Bal walked a little more quietly, treating each step like it was on thin ice. Something didn't feel right.

Something was gone.

That something was the Village of Coal.

As Bal and Bella traveled over a small hill, a terrible sight came to them. They soon realised why their senses were being assaulted like this.

The entire town was burnt to ash. Buildings were either completely gone, smoldering, or still on fire.

There wasn't a human sound to be heard apart from their breathing. Bal took a sharp breath. His lungs filled with soot and ash that wafted in the thick air.

"This is the mission? Well...."

Bal touched his hands together, then placed his free hand to the air.

"This isn't natural... Not at all... This was done by someone... By alchemy..."

[Bloodlust Alchemist]

Isabella frowned and turned her gaze toward her feet,"Yes, I forgot. Please, forgive me."She gasped and covered her mouth and nose."Flesh...its the smell of burnt flesh."Tears escaped from her eyes, not from sadness, but from the taste that was currently coating her tongue."This is disgusting. I never imagined it would be this bad.It tastes like a human barbecue on my tongue, the human being the main coarse." There were other smells too, fainter smells, of burnt wood, coals, and oil.

As they mounted the hill she gasped."Yes Bal, this is the mission. We are to investigate this town and try to figure out what truly happened here."She walked ahead of him, having unlinked her arm to cover her mouth."This looks like more than alchemy. It might even be the doing of someone that was contained in the papers."

[Balketh]

Bal moved a little closer to Bella. There wasn't much distance between them at all now. Maybe a good inch or two. He put his hands gently on her shoulders from behind, being careful of her wound.

I'm the one who should be asking if you can handle it.... Why am I being so cruel in my own head? Bal thought.

"Are you gonna be alright? I'm sure we can get you a mask or something... If you need any help, please, don't think that I'll think worse of you if you ask." He gave Bella a weak smile.

There were other things that Bal picked up. Traces of someone... Or something... That'd done this, but he didn't say anything.

[Wilhelm of Coal]

"Greeting Strangers" said a cold voice
the new acquantince they had found in the ruins steped out of the shade to make his presence felt to a greater extent, the moring sun and had a mist of dirt and ash arizing form his shoulders made his figure look rather out of focus.

(edited form origional)

[Balketh]

Bal didn't hesitate. As he spun around, a ball of visible air was thrust at Wilhelm. It was charged like an electrical cloud. Visible streaks of plasma passed through it, and as it hit Wilhelm in the chest, it busted, sending sparks of lightning everywhere.

Bal suddenly realised he'd hit a kid. Younger than both Bella and himself.

"Oh geez..." He slapped a hand on his face in exasperation, before walking to the once-hidden figure, and offered him a hand.

"You've learned your first lesson. Never assume. You'll figure out what I mean sooner or later." Bal smiled as he pulled the boy up. Without warning, he twisted the boy around, and brought his arm up behind his back. He held him in place with his Automail arm.

"You are being detained in accordance with the investigation of the destruction of the Village of Coal, on the charges of Suspected Arson & Suspected Multi-murder. Key word being Suspected. You have the right to remain silent, although if you tell us what we want to know, it might be your ticket outta here."

Bal didn't speak in the usual, casually BLAND military voice, he spoke a little more upbeat. Not happy, but with more tone depth, and variation of volume. He was still serious though.

[Wilhelm of Coal]

(OOC- sorry, your point is well taken, won't let it happen again)

"Yah thanks for your concern at my well being, is it traditional for the folks in the southern regions to greet people with swift alchemical blast to the gut"


"I'll save you the trouble of doing an investigation of the things you can easily find out by just asking people," Wilhelm straightened himself out to his full hight
which was a good 3 inches higher then his new acquaintance.

"Yes, I burned this village to the ground but it was however, already on fire, I just helped the process along in my rage. Yes, I was cremating the people of this village. I did not however kill the people of the village, they were dead when I found them, 'Why did I cremate them?' you are more than likely going to ask ask me as that is the next logical question to ask, because otherwise their rotting corpses would spread disease and pestilence. You are, in fact looking at the final Villager of Coal. Wilhelm of Coal, to be precise as I have no given surname as I was orphaned as an infant. Any further questions?"

[Bloodlust Alchemist]

Isabella bit her lip,"I am fine Bal. I don't need a mask. This isn't the worst I have smelled or seen and it will never be on the top of that list."She coughed slightly, though she would never admit it, the smoke was getting to her."Listen, this place is buzzing with a familar energy. It is almost, dare I say, unhuman."

Bella jumped at the sound of the kids voice. "AGH!" She stumbled back and somehow tripped over her own feet. This is perfect, she thought, as she landed on her butt. SAVE FACE! SAVE FACE! ABORT! ABORT!She jumped up and pointed at the ground,"Umm...hehe...spider..."

"I've got this Bal."Bella nodded to him and quickly grabbed the kid,"Listen, I am sorry your village was murdered. I am also sorry that you have to go through this without anyone you loved or cared for near you. This is devastating, but please, I must know who did this? If you saw him you must tell me everything."She smiled and the kid and gave him a quick hug,"You won't get in trouble for any of this. I get why you did it. For your sake though, I think I might just add this to my stored lists of 'Mysterys of the Universe' and leave it at that. The Fuhrer has absolutely no heart when it comes to stuff liek this. So we will keep this between the three of us and Hughes, well he will only know if I deem it neccesary."

She let go of the kid and looked at both Bal and Wilhelm with a stern glance,"Am I clear?"

[Balketh]

Bal looked like Death himself, straight at Wilhelm.

"You're crystal clear, but that doesn't mean I'm not gonna hit it with a hammer." Bal pulled the boy back to him, and picked him up by the scruff of the back of his shirt. Even though he was a bit taller than Bal, he still had no trouble lifting him off the ground.

"You messed up. Big time. Worse then just burning some bodies. You've made our jobs" Bal motioned between himself and Bella with his free hand "FAR harder than they have to be, and I love being lazy. When someone takes that love away from me, I get mad. You did a stupid, stupid thing, and I'm not letting you off AT ALL."

He was harsh, and he should have been. The boy had destroyed crucial evidence towards solving the mystery of who killed these people.... That... And he might have been a LITTLE bit jealous of him getting a hug from Bella. Just a little bit.

"You know, I'm starting to think you did a little more than burn this place down... That's why I'm gonna do this."

Bal dropped the boy. Before his feet hit the ground, Bal had begun the alchemical process, and within seconds, the boy's hands were bound behind his back, in thick metal bonds, like someone had smelted them right onto his arms.

"We MIGHT not tell the Fuhrer, or Roy..." Bal said with an evil smirk.

"But, since we're doing something NICE for you, EVEN THOUGH you've made our lives even more difficult than they already are, and believe me when I say that they are difficult, you can do something nice for us. You'll be sticking with us, telling us ALL you know about who did this, and who did this ONLY. We're not going to do the life story thing."

He looked at Bella, and suddenly felt bad. Not just for contradicting Bella, but for what he's done to the poor kid already.

Don't let up! Save face! Just because she's seen a soft side of you, doesn't mean you're all soft!

But I am!

Well ACT!!!

(OOC: It wasn't my choice to chew you out Wilhelm, or to contradict you, Bella, but... Sometimes the higher-ups who will remain unnamed need to lay down some law. =/ )

[Wilhelm of Coal]

"No hold on one darn second here! I DO have evidence, and if your nice enough to put me down I may just give it to you. Besides, I have an alibi, and legal documentation of what happened before everyone was murdered. And it's not a total loss as far as evidence. The manor they were killed in was unlike any I have ever seen. They all died of being, literally. exploded and incinerated. Their bones were deformed and cracked as if they were brittle pieces of wood, even now if you can muster the stomach for it you can clearly see that they were killed like so"

Though anyone else would be extremely panicked in a situation like this Wilhelm managed to stay absolutely calm, with monotone voice and a stony stern look.

"At my temporary campsite at the northern side of the village you will find a briefcase with the little evidence I have found, along with the aforementioned legal documents that would clear my name. The little evidence I did find was a single strand of dark hair, which upon further inspection looked somewhat synthetic, and a red jell like substance I collected form a lead shot off the ground in the main street in front of the local bar, It's cause to spill was apparently a shootout. Anyway the jell like substance seemed to have a mercury base along with other metals and refined hydrocarbon chains, and it even seemed to bond with the lead shot, very powerful stuff, their was also a trail of it leaving the village. Form what I could tell form the scene they (meaning the villagers) put up a good fight but were ultimately slain by the murderer. I'm pretty sure their was only one assailant. Anyway luckily for you I have yet to personally destroy the surroundings where I found the evidence, although it was pretty damaged when I got around to visiting the site. Now if you would be so kind to take my word for it, I will lead you to their and show you how unorthodox the scene of the crime looks, for the record I did my best not to disturb it."

(OOC: It's fine Bal that's just how you roll apparently, trying to find what ever it is you are looking for. and to Bella, you behavior confuses me.)

[Balketh]

Bal looked back at Bella with a 'Let's get this over with' sigh, and roughly moved Wilhelm.

"We'll decide what goes on record and what doesn't. Take us there." He said in quite a gruff voice. After a bit of poking and prodding, he finally moved Wilhelm, and made him walk in front of them.

He walked next to Bella, with Wilhelm a metre and a half in front of them. He leaned over to Bella, getting within an inch of her face, and, as quietly as possible, whispered to her.

"I don't trust this guy... Burns down a village, calls not guilty... I say once we look at this bar, we take him in... Of course, that's just my two cents... What do you think we should do here... After all, you're the senior officer..." Bal said with a gentle smirk, looking directly into her eyes.

[Bloodlust Alchemist]

(OOC: So sorry for the wait. I was in alot of trouble yesterday and was told that the computer was off limits for the night. It is all good now though, so our rp can continue as planned. To Wilhelm, my behaviour has a lot to do with my past, so you will understand as more is learned about my character.)

Isabella sighed and walked quietly beside Bal. He had just undermined her athourity. Things weren't exactly going as she had planned anymore. This kid seemed very believable. Why in the world was Bal doubting him? Oh well, she truthfully could care less. She was just pissed about someone lower in rank than her had decided to completely ignore her wishes.

"Do you have to put the kid in bindings?"she said, her jaw clenched tight."He is willing to help us. Why are you acting as if you have to force him?"She glared at Bal,"Actually, lets forget this for now, but we will talk about it later."She leaned close to his face and stared into his eyes,"I promise..."

She sighed and whispered to Bal, "Well obviously what I want has nothing to do with what will happen.To make myself clear, the kid is in MY custody and will stay at MY home until I decide he is worth turning in. You will not hit him or treat him harshly without consequence. He won't talk if we treat him like a prisoner either...DUH!"

She quickened her pace and began to walk next to Wilhelm,"My name is First Lieutenant Isabella Necquille. I am a State Alchemist and I am also a lead researcher in the alchemic lab in the Northeren Depot. I am Monsieur Balketh's Superior, though it may appear different. We were sent to investigate this, and it is true you have made it quite difficult. Your evidence is very much appreciated." Her voice was flat, emotionless, and authorative, the voice of a military officer."I still want the description of the man who killed off these people if you can provide it."