State Alchemist and Soldiers
Part 1
Chapter 1
A Full Metal Alchemist fan fiction
By Jaxson Jaguar
Okay time to get the particulars out of the way. I do not own anything even remotely related to the Full Metal Alchemist universe except for my own characters. Its original creator, Hiromu Arakawa, owns Full Metal Alchemist and the production studios BONES, Aniplex, Square-Enix, and Mainichi Broadcasting. Also to fully cover myself lets include the series director Seiji Mizushima and the broadcasters Animax, TBS, Bandai Channel, and again Mainichi Broadcasting. These guys own various portions of the Full Metal Alchemist franchise, not me.
Okay if you do not like fan fictions that have a lot of fan made characters with little or no interaction with the original characters you are going to hate this fan fiction. If you are fed up with fan fictions that have fan made characters hooking up with original characters totally chopping up the original story, you may like my work. Finally, if you have ever wondered what else is happening or happened in the world before, during, or after the adventures of the main characters maybe, just maybe, I can give you some idea.
One night in downtown a group of newly appointed State Alchemist is out having a few drinks and celebrating their accomplishments. They are not alone for a group of military academy graduates are also their celebrating their graduation. It is a good night for this pub. Nights like this keep the place open. It's an old pub but well kept. It has with stood enemy invasions, bombings, riots, and organized crime. Through it all, the pub has stood since the early 1900's.
It's a friendly place, sure there is the occasional drunken bar fight but it is relatively good-natured atmosphere. The same family has owned the pub since it opened and the current owners continue the tradition. Nights like tonight that allows them to keep it in the black and in the family. Sure sometimes the officers and the alchemist don't get along well but the owner takes precautions. His best bar tenders man the bar, his toughest waitresses work the tables, and his biggest bouncers watch the door and the crowd. Yes, nights like these make it all worth it.
At one end of the bar two young men sit working on a couple of pints of the houses signature drought. One is a tall one, about 6'0 or taller and quite muscular but not too much. The other is maybe a head shorter, about 5'6 or 5'7 average for a man his age. They both had short brown hair; the shorter had green eyes while the taller had blue eyes.
"So can I refill those glasses for you gentlemen?" One of the bar tenders asked as he approached the two.
The smaller one finished off his drink and pushed the glass aside.
"My good man this is some fine beer you have here, but I'm afraid it may be too much for me to handle." He explained.
"However I will buy my big brother here, the newly commissioned 2nd Lieutenant William MacClenny another round." He said as he put down money for the first round for him and his brother along with enough for another round for his brother.
"Bro you don't have to do that but then again who am I to turn down a free drink. So by all means filler up bar keep." William said as he passed his glass to the bar tender.
They are the MacClenny brothers William the oldest aged twenty-four and Jacob the youngest at twenty-two. Will had just graduated from the military academy while Jake had just passed the State Alchemist exams. On this night they celebrated each other's accomplishments since their parents had to return to their hometown early. They didn't mind much; all that mattered was that they were there to see their boys off on their new lives.
"You know after tonight it may be along time before we see each other again bro." Will said as he took another gulp of beer.
"All the more reason to enjoy the night, big guy." Jake said as he patted his brother on the back.
"Jake, you and me both know where you would like to be tonight." Will said with a grin.
"Your right, but Kira has finals tomorrow and it would have been rude of me to ask her to come out with us. The last thing I want is her complaining she got a bad grade because she felt obligated to come." Jake explained referring to his girlfriend Kira Baker, who was attending the University of Amestris. She had long dirty blond hair, green eyes and was maybe an inch or two shorter than Jake.
"That makes sense. You still invited her right?" Will asked as he took another gulp.
"Hell yeah man. As much as I didn't want her to be mad at me for making her feel obligated I sure as hell didn't want her to accuse me of leaving her out of things." Jake explained as he ordered a soda.
"You see that is why you two work; you both know each other more than you think. You still plan on asking her to marry you after she graduates?" Will asked.
"Of course I do. But the next couple of years will be trying. She'll be doing her college thing; I'll be doing my State Alchemist thing. I just hope it all works out in the end." Jake said as he spun his bar stool around and leaned against the bar.
Jake and Kira have been together almost all their lives. They were childhood friends while growing up in Risembool. Whenever Jake wasn't with his brother he was with her. The three were practically inseparable. One reason Jake and Kira went together so well was that they were both good at alchemy among other things.
In High School she decided to go to the University of Amestris in central because they had classes that specialized in "Medical Alchemy". Her parents were doctors and she wanted to learn how to use alchemy for medical purposes, so when she learned about the classes at UA she became determined. Jake hadn't given much thought to his future until the night the two finally got together as a couple.
At the end of their first day of their senior year at Elric Senior High School she found him sitting on a bench outside the school long after everyone had gone home for the day. She walked over to him only to find out that his girlfriend at the time had just dumped him and dumped him hard. Kira sat next to him and they spent the rest of the afternoon talking. Later that week they had their first date and had been a couple ever since.
"Don't worry about it, you two have been trough a lot I'm sure this time apart will be good for you two." Will said reassuring his brother who was beginning to look worried.
"You know you're right. In fact you are so right I think you earned another drink on me big brother." Jake said as he spun around and bought his brother another round.
"Damn, dude you trying to get me hammered or what?" Will Laughed as he handed his glass to the bar tender.
"Well make this one your last because I am not buying you another." Jake proclaimed.
"Fair enough, fair enough." Will responded as he took this one a little slower.
Just then there was a commotion at the other end of the pub.
"You alchemists are nothing compared to the rest if the military. Even we officers do more than maybe three of you alchemists put together." A young Lieutenant proclaimed.
"Yeah but who do you officers call when you need like a wall, or a bridge, or any other resource that you need faster than the engineers can build?" An alchemist fired back.
Another officer then stood up.
"Are you saying engineers are slow or something? It's a new millennium alchemist; soon your brand of cheap tricks will be a thing of the past." An engineering officer proclaimed in defense of his profession.
"Damnit, Pete can you go one evening with out getting into a fight with the regular military?" Jake said as he stepped off his stool.
"Jake, watch yourself." Will said as he finished his beer and began to follow.
Peter Warner was a fellow alchemist Jake had met while studying for the State Alchemy exams. He was a vocal supporter and defender of need for alchemist, which often got him in trouble with those who were starting to see alchemy as an outdated and less important practice.
"Gentlemen, chill out." Jake said as he made his way to the crowd before the bouncers.
"You guys keep this up you'll ruin this evening for the rest of us. Why don't you all just step outside and get some air. Some air will do you guys some good you can then come back here and continue to get shit-faced drunk like you most likely planned." Jake said as he started motioning the group out the door.
Cooler heads prevailed for the moment as they started to heed his advice. Still though the two brothers decided to follow them outside, for they knew that there was going to be a fight. Getting them outside was too easy. A few other people sensed the same thing and followed them out leaving the rest of the patrons to enjoy the rest of the celebration in peace.
"Pete, do me a favor and just go home or something. I don't want to see you tossed in jail over some stupid argument." Jake said as he pulled his friend aside.
"It's not stupid Jake. I'm tied of people not taking us seriously. Alchemy is just as important now in 2003 as it was back in 1903." Pete argued his breath reeking with alcohol.
"Dude your drunk lets go home." Jake said as he started to flag down a cab.
As he raised his arm a rock hit him in his ribs. He instantly brought his arm down and doubled over in pain. Upon lifting his shirt he noticed he was bleeding.
"Where you going? Is the high and mighty State Alchemist running? I knew you second rate magicians were cowards." One officer taunted.
"Jake, lets get out of here they're not even remotely worth it." Will said as he helped his brother to his feet.
"Will, if you don't mind, hail a cab for us. I'm gonna give us some running room." Jake said as he reached for a pair of gloves. After a brief inspection of the transmutation circles he began to slide them on.
"Jake, don't do anything stupid." Will warned as Jake walked toward the officers.
"I'm not going to hurt them." Jake assured his brother.
Jake stood in front of the officers and showed them the transmutation circles on the palms of his gloves.
"These circles are perfect for this situation. All the stuff I need to bring you guys down is all around me. All I have to do is supply the right circles." Jake explained.
"Is this how you fight? You gonna lecture us into submission?" The officer asked.
"Not quite." Jake then put his palms on the sidewalk. As soon as the circles hit the pavement the cement came up and formed a cage around the officers.
"Rock type transmutation circle number forty-five. A favorite among cops." Jake said as he showed them the circles again.
"It hasn't been made official yet but I think I have enough criteria to earn the title The Transmutation Circle Alchemist. I have categorized and created to date well over five thousand transmutation circles. I have used even more. I have published two books detailing many of my findings. That said I am well on my way to someday becoming a foremost expert on transmutation circles. You guys didn't stand a chance." Jake bragged as he pointed to them and laughed.
"You know I cannot tell you how long he has worked on that speech." Will said rubbing the space between his eyes.
"Tell me about it, I was his study partner remember." Pete said as a cab pulled up.
Jake walked back to the group ignoring the drunken jeers and curses coming from the caged officers. The three squeezed into the back seat of the cab and off to their apartment.
The next day Jake stood in the courtyard of the University of Amestris waiting for Kira to come out of exams. It was early summer and it was a generally hot day with a refreshing cool breeze blowing. Earlier that day Jake reported in to receive his State Alchemist uniform, which was a variation on the outfit Ed wore way back when. Only now the black shirt was just a regular black shirt, the boots were the same; the pants were black khakis, (Jake wished they could be jeans but that was fight he would never win.) The over coat was still red but Ed's Flamel symbol was replaced by the official State Alchemist symbol that was found on their watches. Which, by the way he hadn't received yet.
He wiped the sweat from his brow and sat on a bench under a tree. The shade helped a bit but it was still hot. As he started to roll up his sleeves, he glanced over and saw Kira walking out of the test hall. He stood up and walked over to greet her. Unfortunately he couldn't see her face that well so he had no idea how she did. She was wearing a long denim skirt with a red shirt and an old but clean pair of tennis shoes. Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail, but as soon as she crossed into the light of day she let it down and put on some sunglasses.
"Hey K-Bay." He called out to her. K-bay was a childhood nickname he gave her that consisted of her first initial, obviously, and the first two syllables of her last name.
"You okay? You want to go get something to drink, eat, or maybe some ice cream, or something?" He asked assuming the worst.
"You know I am dying for a smoothie right now." She responded sounding rather groggy and drained. She looked groggy and drained.
"You look like I did when I finished the State Alchemy exam." He said trying to cheer her up.
"Didn't you almost collapse from exhaustion after that?" She pointed out squinting at him.
"Yeah you're right I did look pretty horrible." He replied with a slight laugh.
"I'm just glad the damn things over. I can't believe I got a few more years of this." She moaned as she leaned on him almost begging him to carry her.
"Don't worry about you'll do fine. You know what how bout tonight I kick out Will and Pete and make us a romantic dinner for two?" He suggested. She always liked it when he did things like that. He was also a good cook and she loved it when he went out of his way to cook for her.
"You know what that sounds nice; I could use a quiet night in after what I went through." She said as she let go of him and stretched.
"So is that your uniform?" She asked, as she looked him up and down.
"Yeah I just got it today, no watch yet though." He replied as stepped back to let her get a good look.
"You look handsome but in a cool way." She commented.
"Well thank you. I was wondering what you would think. So anyway you're off next week right?" He asked.
"Yeah summer break will start. I got some jobs lined up, ones at that pub you guys went to last night." She told him with a grin.
"Really?" H responded rather impressed.
"Yeah during the interview the head waitress ran me threw some "drills" and she was impressed. She said what ended up getting me the job was my slap and punch. She was very impressed with my slapping skill." She said glowing with pride.
"Yeah you do have an awesome follow through." He said as he hung his head and rubbed his face remembering the times she slapped him.
"What's the other job you have lined up?" He asked.
"Oh, it's just as cool, I'll be working at that open air shop at the lake. It's cool because there is no uniform and I'll manage to get some sun." After she said that she leaned in close to his ear.
"Maybe after you leave I'll send you some pictures of my new bikini, and perhaps more." She whispered into his ear.
"Damnit woman you know how I hate to be teased." He said with a grin as he pulled her in front of him and wrapped his arms around her.
"Do you know when you'll get your orders?" She asked.
"Soon, most likely when I get assigned my watch and official title." He said as their foreheads touched.
"I'll miss you. Don't forget that ok." She said as she rested her head on his chest.
"I won't forget, and I'll be missing you too." He replied as he held her closer and gently stroked her hair.
"You still want that smoothie?" He asked.
"Not yet, I'm not finished." She said as she continued to hug him.
To Be Continued.
