It's been a long time since I've last updated! School is becoming such a de-motivator for me. It literally saps away all of my motivation for writing new chapters. Now that I'm back, I wanted to celebrate my return by giving you Jade's reaction to Mustang's request!

Also, Greed's feelings for his "greatest possession" reach a new all-time high in this chapter ;D So I truly hope you enjoy it~

Last updated: January 17th, 2015

"What?" Jade said, staring dumbfounded at the Colonel.

"I want you to become a State Alchemist."

"No, I heard what you said, I'm asking what in a sense of you don't remember 10 years ago?" She said with anger in her tone. "And what you guys did to me."

"Jade―"

"Shutup. No excuses. You did what you did to me and you expect me to become one of you guys now? Hell no, never."

Her reaction was understandable, after what they'd did to her when she first embodied a Philosophers Stone he wouldn't want to be a state alchemist either. "Jade, please understand."

"What is there to understand?! I already understand perfectly well what was asked of me! And I'm not doing it." She said, glaring daggers at the Colonel. "There's no reason why I'd want to become a damned state alchemist! This country is not my responsibility, its yours! If you can't keep Amestris―your country―in check, then what is the point in having the military here?"

"Jade." Mustang chided harshly, tossing her a glare. "That's enough."

"So now you're upset because I'm bad mouthing the Amestrian military? Oh, boo hoo―" She was pushed up against the wall, pinned by Mustang's arms on either side of her head.

"I said that's enough, Jade!"

Jade herself was surprised that he'd gotten this angry; the Colonel was usually calm, collected, and calculating like a normal military man. It still didn't sway her decision; what they did to her was unforgiveable. Mustang's reaction kept her silent nonetheless.

"You never let me explain why I asked you! I knew you'd react this way, but now you're just spatting whatever you can to avoid the fact that we didn't know what you were at the time. We thought you were a monster. We didn't know it was you when you embodied the Stone! We didn't know you lost your body! We didn't know you were Reynolds' sister! There's a lot of things Fürher Bradly ordered that I regret and objected to but―"

"But what?" She hissed. There was a tense pause. "Spit it out Mustang! But what?!"

"But there wasn't anything I could do! If there was I would've done it! But I've been trying to work my way up to the title of Fürher so something like that wouldn't ever happen again! Now do you understand why it happened?! There was nothing Hawkeye or I could do! We couldn't oppose the Fürher!

"There's a lot of things I did that day to you that I wish I could take back, but you and I both know that you can't reverse time, even if you still feel guilty for something back in the past!"

Jade kept her silence. She didn't really know what to say honestly. She bit her bottom lip and considered his words. He basically just apologized but its―

"Jade," he said, interrupting her thought. "I'm not asking you to forgive me―to forgive us―I only ask that you lend your power to us―to the military. If you forgave us in the process, then that'd be a relief. So will you?"

"Will I what?" She said, biting her lip once more. She already knew what he was going to say.

"Will you become a state alchemist and lend your power to us? Or will you cower away and continue to dwell in the past?"

She closed her eyes and calmly pushed him away. "Fine―" There was a whistle or two here and there and happy smiles breaking out through the thick tension in the room. "―but what's it in for me? What do I get out of becoming a state alchemist?"

"You get around the clock protection, and pocket certification watch which you use for when you're out, and you get constant action. And we all know you love action, Jade."

"I'll get protection around the clock only in Central?"

"Correct."

She paused for a moment before deciding. "Fine. When is the state test?"

"In three weeks, in Bradley's quarters. He along with many other higher-ups will assess your power and certify you if you're in control of it. Clear?"

"Crystal."

Mustang turned to the door abruptly after. "Well, I'll be going now. Paperwork awaits me." He looked back towards Reynolds and Jade. "Rest well, Amano. Good luck, Jade. Hawkeye." Riza rose from her seat and followed behind him. When the door closed behind them, Reynolds threw his older sister a suspicious look.

"Sister, you gave in too easily. What're you planning to do?"

"Nothing for you to know, Reynolds."

"Jade," he said warningly, glaring. "Don't mess this up for me. It took me a lifetime to get to this point and I would rather die than to not be able to take care of my sister. This job is my only direct income. This is the only way I can keep you in your apartment. So please, if you're going to investigate or infiltrate anything, do it with some restraints. Otherwise, you and I will lose everything."

She gave her brother an icy stare. "Who ever said I was plotting something against any of these dogs? I'm trying to get to the Fürher―to see what he's really about."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm trying to conduct an investigation on your precious Fürher. Because I don't believe for one second that he's doing what he's doing for the country. I think its for personal gain. I can't really say―but my conscience is telling me that beyond the naked human eye, he's playing with everyone's minds and tricking them into believing that he is who he says he is. At the moment, its only a suspicion, but I will find out soon enough whether its true or not―" her gaze flickered to the bright sunlight on the floor. "―and when I do, there's a possibility that Bradly might know about my plans already.

"But just know, I'll be conducting it with some discretion. I'll be completely careful and I'll be sure to cover up all of my tracks. You don't have to worry about me messing up. I've done this for years."

"I'm not worrying about you messing up, I'm worried about you finding out too much. Just remember that some things should and need to be left undiscovered. And you might learn something that wasn't meant for you to know. You might shed light on something that should've been left in the dark."

Jade rose up from his bedside and headed for the door. "I may leave some things undiscovered, due to your request for some discretion, but no promises. I'm intending to look for everything I need, some things need some light shed on them. Knowledge of the undiscovered needs to be let out; even if it'll hurt some of us one way or another."

"Just be careful, sister. I don't want one of my comrades coming to me and telling me you're dead."

She nodded. "I leave you to rest, little brother. I'm taking the evening train back to Resembool. When the time comes for my assessment, that's when the investigation will officially go down."

Reynolds nodded. "Remember: use some discretion."

"I got it. See you." She said, waving lazily to him before leaving. Geez.

Can't believe that little bastard figured me out.

Mustang and Hawkeye were in his office, filling out paperwork. There was complete silence between them, but it just happened to be comfortable with them. Mustang sighed as he finished another sheet of paperwork. "Hawkeye,"

"Sir,"

"You and I both know Jade gave in too easily. She's doing something; I just don't what."

"I was about to say the same thing, Colonel. She usually would've put up more of a fight. Something's up."

"Hm. I want to investigate myself but this paperwork is piling up."

Riza shot the Colonel a withering look. "Just make it quick and simple by asking me. You don't have to have an explaination for everthing, sir."

He smiled in exasperation before pausing to examine the next sheet of paper. "Can you do it?"

"Find out what she's plotting? Sure," she said, scribbling something down on the paper before tapping her pen twice lightly at the desk. "But you have to try and investigate here to try and find out what she deems to be important in the archives."

"No sweat," the Colonel replied, tapping twice lightly the same way. "Paperwork first before inquiries."

The blonde lieutenant hummed in response. She paused and scribbled something on the sheet and moved it to the side. "Be on your toes, Colonel. Some discretion is in order."

"Same to you, Lieutenant."

By then it was evening, and Jade was running as fast as her feet could carry her in order to get to the train station on time. "I shouldn't have taken a nap," she said in between intakes of air. She felt like her lungs were going to explode if she kept running any faster.

She sighed in relief as the train station came into view. "Only a few more feet and I won't end up missing the train!"

She could hear the yelling of "all aboard" and the hustling and bustling of people and luggage from far away. She sped up, pumping her lungs and pushing past her limit. "Come on, come on, almost there," she muttered, clenching her teeth. I can get there! I can't miss the train!

In the midst of her sprint-leap, she ran into a cold and large suit of metal armor. She gasped in pain before falling on her behind. "Ow..." she muttered, hissing.

"Are you okay?!" She looked up to the armor, examining it.

Did it just speak? "...ah, you're bound to that armor aren't you? Not the first I've seen something like this," she said, standing. She put her hands on the breastplate of the armor and took in the coolness of the metal, eyes sparkling from the luster. "Very nice metalwork..."

"Um, miss? Are you alright?" In her opinion, it sounded very much like an adolescent boy, around 14 years. Poor child, she thought, eyebrows scrunching sadly. He's so young, and he doesn't even have his body. I feel lucky to have mine back.

"Yes, I'm fine. Jade Amano." She said, shaking the embodied armor's hand. His metal body is cold but his hand is warm? Strange.

"Amano?" He said, leaning forward. "Oh! You're the sister Reynolds is always talking about! We've heard so much about you!"

"Alphonse!" Another voice called out. Jade turned the direction it came from and examined the boy in the red cloak running towards him. "We need to hurry to Mustang's office! We're late!"

"Oh! I'm sorry, Miss Amano! Let's go, brother!"

The two boys ran off the way she came from, avoiding running into more people as they went. "...Strange. Very strange." She'd realized she'd forgotten all about the train. "Oh no! The train is gonna leave in two minutes, and it's gonna take me about that same amount of time to get there..." She hung her head, upset that she'd wasted money buying an evening train ticket.

She perked up when she'd seen a carriage ride past her. "Hey! Sir!" It'd stopped at her calls, waiting for her to come up to it. "Can you drive me as fast as you can to the train station? The train is leaving in two minutes and I don't have enough time!"

The friendly carriage driver accepted and waited for her to climb in. "Thank you so very much!" The driver slapped the reins as hard as he could, pushing the horses to their limit. The station was gradually becoming closer and closer as time was ticking.

Eventually, the carriage stopped and Jade hopped out, pushing her lungs once more. "Thank you!"

She urgently looked for the train she need to board; the number 76 train. "76..." She only had a minute left, and she was having trouble finding the train. "No! I'm gonna miss the train!"

With luck surprisingly on her side, she'd found train 76 last minute. Tears pooled at the corner of her eyes as she boarded her train home. "Finally...now I can rest my legs." She sat down in the last row of seats and looked out the window at the bright and beautiful sunset. She sighed in relief, taking in the wonderful view.

"I wonder what Greed is doing..."

After two hours on a train, Jade was finally back in her hometown, Resembool. She felt much safer here than she did in Central, which was supposed to be the complete opposite. She just felt more at home in Resembool.

"I should ask Dahlia for a day off tomorrow. Things were just too hectic today and I need to get my mind together."

She was comfortable being here; walking alone in the evening light. There hasn't been any criminal activity in years and everybody knew her. Everyone enjoyed her company, and she enjoyed theirs. Even citizens on the outskirts of Resembool came occasionally to see her and Dahlia, and buy some treats. Her life was just going well in this town.

Except for one simple thing.

Greed.

The embodiment of the sin was sitting alone in her apartment, unwatched and unknown. And if anyone had expected activity in her "empty" apartment, Greed would most likely go and answer the door.

"Maybe I should hurry back," she said, urgency in her tone. Then she remembered his words.

"Don't worry, Gem! I'd never do anything you wouldn't want me to do!"

She contemplated his words. Maybe I should chill out. He said he'd wait for me; and for some reason I believe him. "Hm..."

She continued walking at a leisurely pace, not worried about her apartment being torn apart by the incarnation of the sin Greed. She knew it'd take about 10 minutes to get there, but at the pace she was walking it'd take about 15. "Greed can wait. He'll be fine. My home will be fine. Everything will be all good and neat when I get back." She said, trying to convince herself.

Though, deep inside, she wasn't fully convinced. Something inside told her that Greed went against her wishes and torn her abode apart. Part of her believed it to be so. I'd have to get there to find out.

She felt worried, yet unconcerned as she took the long way home. What if Greed hadn't torn her home apart? What would she do? How would she react to him actually following directions for once? All those questions ran through her mind, but one that topped all of them was why does she even care about Greed? She'd said to herself before that she didn't care for the Homunculus' wellbeing. So why was she even concerning herself over Greed? She didn't understand; she couldn't understand.

"I don't care about him. I never did. Did I ...?" Great, all I'm doing now is confusing myself. Confusing myself over Greed no less.

She just heaved a tired sigh. "What's wrong with me?" She officially decided to drop all her concerns and thoughts until she got home.

There's something strange going on with me. And I have a feeling its due to Greed.

Jade was standing silently in front of her apartment door, fiddling with the keys in her pocket. She was contemplating whether she should go in now or come back later. The thought of Greed doing something she asked him not to do is what drove her to go in.

She stuck the key in the lock and turned it, pushing the door as she pulled it out. "I'm home―come out and face my wrath, Greed."

Greed came from the kitchen, mouth full with chocolate she'd made. "You're back~" He said, abruptly hugging her. He was extremely happy to see her, even though she'd only been in Central for one day. The warmth he'd been missing was great to have upon his chiseled chest.

"Hands off, Greed," she said angrily, trying to push him off. He wouldn't let go of her at her first command. She began mewling in his arms. "Greed, let go~"

"Nope~" he said, slinging the woman over his shoulder and carrying her up the stairs. He threw her on the bed and climbed on top, trapping her with his arms. "You have no idea how much I've missed my greatest possession."

After he finished his sentence, she'd slapped him hard. "I'm not a possession."

He flashed a devilish grin as he leaned down, nose almost touching hers. "Sorry, babe," he said teasingly, licking her neck and nibbling the moist flesh gently.

"Greed―p-please~" She couldn't help but mewl and gasp; its been a long time since the last time she'd felt this pleasure. With every nibble and lick, she lost little portions of her composure. She was losing her rational sense of mind due to pleasure. Anymore of it and she'd lose control of all her senses.

Jade felt the movement of clothing as it was being pulled and lifted. Greed took his hand and felt over Jade's lower abdomen, getting a sudden muffled groan. She was getting too deep in her euphoric bliss that his name wouldn't even pass through her lips. It just felt too damn good.

He groaned in response from her nails digging into his firm back. A deep chuckled rumbled within his chest when she'd gasped from his bite. She pinched his back as he teased her. "Quit teasing me!"

"No way, Gem," he said, smirking into the crook of her neck, where many other love bites were nestled. "Your neck is marvelous."

"Mmm." She hummed euphorically, trying to save the little bit of her composure she still had left. She gasped when he gave a semi-vicious bite at her collarbone. That one will definitely stay awhile, she thought, still hanging on to her tattered and broken composure. She was shocked that she'd sunk into submission so easily.

"Greed," she muttered, nearly incoherently. She was dizzy from the heat. She was drunk on ecstasy; sweet euphoric bliss. He gave a sweet nibble at her collarbone again, earning a pleasing jolt from her.

"...hm?" He shifted further up, licking her earlobe before taking it between his teeth. Her breath hitched for a moment before she spoke. He was playing with her; teasing her because he knows from her marvelous reactions that she loves it.

And all of a sudden she was thinking of Vince. Her first lover; almost her first rapist. Her eyebrows scrunched together as she whimpered.

"Gem?" Greed rose from where his face was nestled in her neck, somewhat surprised at her reaction. "What's the matter?" Greed rolled over on his side and let her up from where she'd been for the last few minutes.

"...nothing. I just need some space... and maybe a bit of air." She'd grabbed some folded clothing from under her blanket and rushed to the small bathroom within her bedroom. She slammed the door shut and immediately looked in the mirror, examining the hickeys he marked her neck with. "They look identical..." She muttered, referring to the marks Vince left on her neck when she'd allowed it. "They look exactly the same but...Greed's are different...they actually have meaning..." she finished, letting her head fall between her shoulders.

She was contemplating on whether she should let Greed continue or stop them before she fell any further. "What's wrong with me...?" She questioned herself. "I never use to be this way. Never..."

Flashback: About 9 years ago (Jade's POV)...

I was young, reckless, and extremely impulsive. My father had just been enlisted in the Amestrian Army and was just stationed in Central. I was living with my temperamental mother who could no longer put up with my rebelliousness. With my dear brother and I being identical twins (with me being the oldest), he and I were one in the same. He behaved the same way as me; rebellious and impulsive, only a bit lesser than I.

When I was 14, I was rude, impulsive, yet quiet. Having a short temper plus anger issues on top of that was a combustible mix within me. The world, the other children use to reject me, so I rejected the world. The only person I really had was my brother. Any friends I ever made secretly wished to leave me be. And I suspected that from them. Their behavior, their posture when I was around them, their vague speech. The pain and disbelief slowly slashed at my core; it tore me apart. I began acting out in school. Defacing school property, fighting, mouthing off to my teachers, everything you would expect from a problematic child.

One unfortunate day, I had gotten in a fight and beaten the poor boy up pretty badly. Though I did regret what I did once taking a good look at him, I knew that I'd done it in a blind fit of rage. Nothing could stop that rage, not even my brother, who was the one who normally calmed me down. A teacher had stopped me from knocking the boy unconscious and took me to the principals office. The principal in turn called my mother, which officially set my mother off. I was not only embarrassed in front of the principal, but in front of many children in my grade level as well. My mother continued to yell and screech at me, which only fueled the children's laughter.

I knew inside that they'd never let me live this down. They'd chant, "Her mother doesn't love her, her mother doesn't love her." And it'd pain my ears and my heart. I couldn't take the pain anymore. I tore away from my mother's grasp and ran all the way home with no regrets. I felt like I couldn't escape the pain. Everywhere I went, a large gray cloud would follow my heart, even if I felt a bit of happiness. It was like an emotional prison.

That night, after hours of avoiding my mother in the house, I heard her call me to the living room. My brother was sitting on the sofa, eyes full of sadness that I'd never seen him wear before. "Reynolds? Why are you upset?"

"Because I've had enough of your rebellious behavior, Jade," my mother said, throwing a glare her way. "The doctor said I cannot let my blood pressure rise or I'd risk dying. The only way to prevent that is to send you and your brother with your father."

I'd returned the glare. "If that's how it has to be, then so be it. I wouldn't mind going with father."

My mother narrowed her eyes. "If so, then you and your brother pack your things right this minute."

"No problem, mom," I said mockingly. I'd had enough with my mother as well. Everyday after school, all I'd hear is yelling from her. It sickened me. Everyday, I use to laugh at what the world said about mothers. How they say, "Never mess with a mother's wrath," was a joke. My mother was not the most heartwarming person. Honestly, she was the person I hated seeing most and I'm sure she felt the same way. There have been occasions where my brother had to stop my mother and I from going toe to toe, even though discipline was forbidden in our house. On those occasions I'd never once felt bad about almost fighting my mother.

I'd stormed into my room with my brother following in tow. I grabbed a large suitcase from my closet that I felt was big enough to store all the clothes from my closet. I'd grabbed some storage cases and fabric bags from around the room and threw them on my bed, continuing to pack my clothing.

"Rey, you should go pack like mom said. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can leave this wretched place."

"It wouldn't be so bad if you'd follow some rules for once, sis. Rules aren't made for nothing."

"If they aren't made for nothing then why is there such a thing as criminals? Explain that to me." I retorted, shooting down his statement. "Why listen to a witch who doesn't love me? What would be the point?"

Reynolds was silent as I ranted to him. "...sis, you know mom loves you. It's just the way you act makes it seem like she hates your guts."

I sighed in exasperation. "Reynolds, you should go pack before you get in trouble. For your own sake."

I packed all my belongs away in the cases, not leaving a thing behind. Maybe this is what I need to be at ease within. Maybe I needed to leave the children who rejected me behind. Maybe I needed a new school, a different setting. Maybe it was just unavoidable. Maybe it was just time for me to go.

I stuffed the last of my things in the bags and turned in place to see the profound emptiness of my room now that everything has been packed away. It was completely desolate; it had me wondering if a tumbleweed would roll across the peach colored carpet. I laughed. Strangely, I felt happy. I felt at peace with myself and my animosity. I felt free. There was only one word that could sum up this entire moment.

"Finally. I'm finally free."

Yo! It's been so freaking long since I've updated on here! I meant to do so but summer break surprisingly goes by really fast even when you don't count the days (I honestly think it was because I use to stay up until really early, yikes). I don't know the next time I'll be able to update, but I did try to finish this chapter because it's really important to Jade's slow character development. This chapter and the next will contribute to Jade's evolvement into who she is now.

I'm honestly really excited for the next chapter because Jade's a really dynamic character, and dynamic characters are my favorite type of characters!

I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! See you next chapter!

-Vertan Yamamoto