Edward stared at Fletcher ins surprise as he told them about what happened earlier with them. "I see…" he spoke quietly. They would have to worry about that later, first came Nova. Hearing the older one whisper he looked over and stared in shock as he watched Nova change. "Stay back!" Al warned, pushing the other bothers behind him. "Please, stay back and don't make any sudden movements. Let me and my brother handle this. It's for your own safely." He told them, not knowing what was going to happen as he stared at Nova. Edward had come up next to him his face pale and in shock at what they were witnessing.
Russel stepped back when Al had suddenly pushed them back, and pulled his little brother behind him protectively. The hell was going on? In a matter of moments, a mid-sized brown wolf laid in the place of their friend. Slowly, the wolf began to get up and looked at the brothers, growling in warning. With Nova unconscious and barely hanging on, her wolf blood was allowed to take control as a defense mechanism. Ed slowly knelt down, keeping his lowered, but still on the wolf… on Nova. "We're not here to hurt you, you're safe here." He spoke softly. "We're friends, we're family. You know our scent." His mechanical hand was outstretched slightly, but he never moved an inch otherwise.
"Please, just say behind us… we don't know exactly what is going on either, but we've known her since we were kids." Al spoke quietly, not turning away from the wolf. This must have been what Nova told him about. And he would keep his promise to her. She wasn't going to kill anyone. The wolf growled again, only louder, not really understanding the words being spoken right now. She bared her teeth when Edward began to outstretch his hand and she bolted.
At first, it looked like she was going after Russel, but right before she got too close, she turned directions and headed for the open window. Russel and Fletcher were both awestruck, and scared.
Fletcher shook his head. "We have to stop her before she gets into town!" The younger said, snapping his brother out of it. Edward cursed and immediately both he and Al used their Alchemy try and put her in a cage. The brothers had to act fast, they didn't know what she could do when she was like this and ran out behind her. They had to do something. Quick. Nova was fast, and faster as a wolf. She managed to avoid the cage the boys had created. Russel used a piece of their "stone" they were working on that he was holding onto, to seal the window shut before she could escape, it producing a faint red glow when he used it. Nova rammed the sealed window as if trying to break it open.
She didn't like it here. She could feel something very bad happening outside, and her instincts were telling her to go there. Outside. Fletcher blinked as he watched the wolf ram the window. "Maybe she knows..about Mugear?" He spoke quietly, earning a glance from the wolf. Russel frowned. They couldn't let her outside with her running rampant like this. Ed watched Nova carefully, his gut telling him that she knew something was wrong, but the other brothers had a point. Instead of saying anything, he walked over to the wolf and knelt down. "Hey, you need to calm down. We can't let you go off on your own like this." He told her sternly.
"Brother…" Al cautioned knowing they were all right about this but had a bad feeling about Mugear. "It might be… if we could get her to talk to us or turn back to her other form, we might understand… do you two know anything about what has planned in the mines?" he asked, letting Ed handle Nova.
Nova stared down Edward as he approached her, and knelt as he tried to talk to her. She didn't understand stand half of what he was saying to her, since she was running on pure instincts.
The boys shook their heads when Al asked them about Mugear's plans in the mines, and Russel stepped forward. "I think talking to her is pointless. By the looks of it, she only changed forms because of how badly she was affected by the red water fumes.." He said. "She changed forms when she stopped breathing." Russel said quietly. Fletcher blinked, confused by what was going on. Edward looked over at Russell annoyed. "She does understand, at least part of it. You don't understand the bond we share. She'll calm down." He gritted his teeth, glaring at the boy. He didn't care what he said, this was still their Nova. Their best friend who frew up with them and Winry.
Russel rose and eyebrow, and Fletcher went to his brother. "You shouldn't act so big.." He murmured quietly.
Nova glanced between Edward, and Russel, before growling quietly at Russel. She lowered down some before Edward and sniffed his jacket. Edward chuckled at the way Nova growled at the kid, letting her sniff him, but didn't move otherwise. "You see her differently, but that's only because you don't know her. She is so much more than she appears. This form is just another part of her." He spoke softly with a smile as he waited to see what Nova was going to do next."Is there anything that you've read or overheard him talking about, anything at all would be helpful." Al asked softly.
"Nova is our friend, she's still herself, no matter what form she's in." he also defended their friend. The fact that Nova wasn't growling at him was a big improvement already. Nova lifted her head to the window and growled, then looked at Edward and whined. They needed to go outside. Now. Fletcher glanced at Al and told him that they reason to believe the water source was down in the mines, and Russel nodded lightly. Ed looked down at Nova, and frowned, nodding his head. "Alright, but stay with us, okay? No killing." He hoped she understood as he looked over at Al, having heard what was being said.
"Come on Al, Nova's going to show us the way." He then looked at the brothers. "If you want to redeem yourselves, start by clearing that basement up or finding a way to stop that water from being drunk." He suggested and opened the door so they could all leave. "You can do better than following a man like this." Al added, following his brother and Nova. Russel shook his head. "We're coming with you, Mugear lied to us about our father and his research. This is our fight too." And Fletcher nodded. Nova waited for the boys before leading them to the mines and following the unfamiliar scent. The brothers nodded and followed Nova. Ed trusted her to stay with them, and he hoped that she wouldn't try killing the man. Right now, they needed to keep him alive so they could all get answers.
The mines were deserted when they finally arrived, and Ed lit a torch so they could see where they were going. Nova lead the four boys deep into the mine where he had a fountain of the red water made, and Nova stopped in her tracks to growl at the man. It was like he was waiting for them.
There was a lot of stuff said, and little answers before a fight started and it didn't take long for mine to start collapsing. The fountain and Mugear were both crushed and the red water began to pour into the mine, causing the five of them to haul ass out of there, with the help of alchemy to slow it down. Once outside, Fletcher went to one of the trees and drew an array on it, just for his brother to join him. They used the trees to catch the water, causing them to slowly grow and turn red. Then they turned blue and started to disappear. Ed panted as he, Al and Nova stood off to the side, watching as the other brothers worked. It amazed them to watch as the leaves of the trees began to turn red as their roots soaked up the toxic water.
At least now the town would be safe again, and their illnesses should hopefully start fading. "I'm impressed Fletcher." He admitted to the younger boy, he was a genius in his own right. Nova watched as well, letting out a low howl as if to say goodbye to the trees. She then slowly began to change forms once more, and once she took her human form, she collapsed. Ed had turned to Nova, just as she transformed and caught her before she fell to the ground. He shrugged off his coat, laying it over her as he let out a sigh. He checked her pulse and breathing wanting to make sure she was okay as Al joined him, having sensed something happening. Nova was still, her breathing nonexistent.
Russel felt grief tug at him and he shook his head. This was his fault. Fletcher glanced at his brother and nodded, before going over to them. The red water effects hadn't subsided, and yet she pushed herself. "We have to get her to Belsio, he can tell you where there's a good doctor." Edward looked up at the brothers, his eyes lowering to Nova. "He mentioned a Tim Marcoh… before." He spoke softly. "I don't know where he would be though..." he sighed and gently picked Nova up. It pained him to see her like this, and it bothered him that he had no idea how to help her. "Hang in there, Nova.. please.." Edward said softly. Russel approached them. "Belsio knows, but he swore he'd keep it a secret. Take Nova to him, he'll tell you. Marcoh is probably the only one who can help her." He said calmly.
Edward nodded his head. It was worth a shot, and they needed all the luck they could muster to save her. "We will, thank you." Al spoke for his brother. Standing, the Elrics headed to Belsio, hoping he would help them once more. Belsio was surprised to see the boys, and immediately noticed the shape their friend was in. He couldn't help seeing Elisa in this girl. "What happened?" He asked, concerned. "She split up from us without us knowing… she was in the toxic air… we don't know for how long though… we were told you know where doctor Marco is… can you please tell us, we can't lose Nova again." Al pleaded, seeing how Ed had gone almost mute as he carefully held and carried Nova.
Ed was at a loss, he and Al knew very little about biological Alchemy, and knew nothing about medicine. Belsio sighed softly and nodded to the younger brothers plea, and told them where they could find the man, also telling them that he wasn't going by that name anymore, since it carried a heavy price. The brothers nodded with Al thanking him for them both. The managed to catch a train to town the doctor was in, all the while the two did their best to try and make Nova comfortable. Hopefully they could find him in time. The train had pulled into the station, and a man resembling the man from Belsio's description wasn't hard to pick out from the small crowd of people.
Tim Marcoh sighed as he greeted the people with a smile. He was lucky to find a town like this, it was small, remote and no soldiers ever looked twice at him. "Uhm… doctor Marrow?" a shy, young voice asked curiously, causing the man to turn and look in surprise at the two boys in front of him. Before he could ask them anything, he saw the girl in their arms and fear gripped his heart. "Come with me," he instructed them, and immediately showed them the way to his home. "where did you boys come from?" "Xenotime, sir." The suit spoke softly. Once at his home, he instructed the blonde to set their friend on the bed so he could look at her, and found himself frowning as he began washing his hands.
He instructed the boys to wait in the main room and started his work. He knew exactly what was wrong with her, and the only way to treat it was with his stone. He hated that he still had it, but it helped when he had difficult procedures like this. Using his knowledge in Alchemy and using the stone, he healed their friend with a bright flash of light. After the flash of light faded, Nova slowly opened her hazy eyes and began coughing as if choking on the air that entered her lungs. Taking several minutes to regulate her breathing, she stared at the man in the room. Marcoh let out a sigh of relief as he gently placed a cold cloth over her forehead. "Just relax, you're safe. Your friends brought you here to be healed. I'm a doctor." He told her in a soft, gentle voice.
He honestly didn't expect what he did to work, she was very close to crossing the veil as it was. He would call her friends in soon, but he wanted to make sure she was fine first. Nova didn't recognize him, or his scent, which nearly caused her anxiety to spike, until he spoke. His words, and voice made her want to trust him. "Who.. Are you?" She asked softly, still pretty weak. "I'm sorry, that was rude of me. I'm Tim Marcoh, but everyone in this town calls me Doctor Marrow." Marcoh said gently. He got up from his stool, walked over and grabbed a glass of water before coming back and sitting down.
"Here, I'll help you sit up so you can get something to drink." He offered gently. Tim.. Marcoh? Nova blinked when she heard his name and her amber eyes widen. She had heard that name while in the lab! She slowly sat up and grit her teeth some, for different reasons. "Don't touch me.." She murmured quietly. Marcoh looked at her sadly, recognizing the look in her eyes as he set the glass on the table next to them. "I'm sorry, going by your reaction, you must have heard many horrible things about me…" he bowed his head.
"I don't know you… but I can tell you have been through hell… I'm sorry if this is caused by what I have done in the War… it was cruel times, I did so many horrible things… I didn't want to though… I'm so sorry." He was genuine in his apologies, the guilt within him never ending, and he was trying to all he could to heal people the way he was meant to. Nova lowered her head and her hair fell in front of her eyes. "Dr. Marcoh.. You didn't cause this..." She murmured quietly. "My name is Nova.. If you've heard of me, you'd know what they put me through, and as much as I'd like to blame you.. You didn't do this.. Mark Ross did this, pretending to follow you."