Hello~

Welcome to the first chapter of the D. Gray-Metal rewrite - Good Morning Exorcists (GME)! This is also on AO3, under the same title and theFrenchMistake16 (also me, by the way, don't freak). I have a better idea of where I want this to go and a decent end game, so there's some stuff that's changed around in order to get it.

Anywho, enjoy the first chapter!

-Captain Jap

The man sat in a rickety chair, eyes focused only on his treasure. Dark circles were prominent on his pale skin and his tongue flicked across his chapped lips every few seconds. Howls and screeches came from the cages in the room he sat in. Disfigured animals and dying monsters rattled the bars in an effort to get to the man and to each other.

The noises fell on deaf ears and blinded eyes.

There was only one thing that could hold his attention at this moment in time.

Laboratory 4 wasn't as talked about as the others. It was nestled in a warehouse district in Central City. No one really knew what happened in there, or that it even existed. Supposedly, it was going to be shut down with Laboratory 5, but it never happened. An alchemist – state alchemist – managed to convince his higher ups that keeping the lab open would be worthwhile… that he was working on some amazing project that would guarantee the superiority of the Amestrian military… and let him keep the title of the Tuning Alchemist. Seraphy Royce was extremely excited, indeed. Everyone in Central Command thought that he was going to fail his recertification because of some stupid memory loss. They thought that he changed from his kind, weak demeanor to something much darker. Be thou for the people. Well, the people would thank him later when they dominated the surrounding nations. First, Amestris would start by taking out Creta (weak) and Aerugo (valuable). Once Aerugo was controlled, the military could control the seas.

Then, finally, Drachma would get what was coming to them. No longer would there be news of those bastard Drachmans pushing against the northern border. Of course, thought Royce, the soldiers will have to die. Older men will be put into enslavement. Children will be added to the Amestrian superpower. Women can be auctioned off to the highest bidder. A cackle escaped from the alchemist's body.

Of course, the next step was total domination.

To make the world cower at the sight of the Amestrian military.

"It's right through here, sirs." Major Royce said, opening the door and stepping aside for his guests. Mustang took another glance around at those who had joined him (though for different reasons, in all likelihood). Hakuro and Archer were the more prominent figures. The former looked excited at the possibility of an all-powerful weapon falling into the hands of Amestris, while the latter looked bored. However, Mustang wasn't a colonel just for his battle prowess. He could see the calculating look in those dangerous eyes, could tell that Archer was here for the weapon as well.

As power-hungry as Mustang is, the reason that he really was here was because of a rumor of Royce balancing on the edge of insanity. And with his skill in bioalchemy, the higher-ups really didn't want the alchemist running around unchecked (should the recertification attempt fail). It had worked out beautifully, as Hawkeye had received a letter from the man in question that was to be delivered to Mustang as soon as possible (which just so happened to be when he was leaving the meeting with Bradley).

Royce continued to lead them through the dimly lit hallway to a metal door, before grinning at his guests and fishing a small key from one of the pockets of his uniform, "Wouldn't want anybody stealing my ideas, now would I?" As he opened the door, a glow highlighted the entry to the room. "What is it, Royce?" Hakuro asked, a greedy glint already entering his eyes. Royce chose not to answer, instead stepping out of the way to allow the officers access to the room.

It wasn't the dozens of cages of chimeras that caught Mustang's attention, nor was it the various empty bottles and spilled medicine all over the floor. Even the noise from the caged beasts had dulled, his ears instead filled with a static sound (if the colonel had really been paying attention, he could've made out a faint metallic ring in the background).

A large green crystal floated in the middle of the room. Mustang moved forward, reaching out a gloved hand to touch the anomaly. Just before he touched it, a wave of energy erupted from it. Dust and pieces of cement rose from the ground as it moved throughout the room, causing the military men to fall over, machinery to spark, and the chimeras to riot against their prisons. "This is the power I spoke of! With this, we can achieve world domination," cried Royce, "The future is bright, my fellow officers, and its glow is green!" The alchemist began cackling, running his hands through his stringy auburn hair. The look in the officers' eyes was a mix of greed, excitement, and acceptance as they picked themselves up off of the ground. Analytical minds were already running through the possibilities of what the Amestrian military could achieve with such power. The exception was Mustang, who was still staring at where the crystal was floating. Or… had been floating. It had lost its elevation, the tip of it now resting in the ground. In addition, it looked as if it was… shrinking?

The crystal hadn't actually shrunk in size, now that Mustang looked closely at it. It was slowly elongating into what the colonel faintly recognized as an Xingese blade. Yet it continued to defy the laws of physics and it took a moment for Mustang to actually see why. A teen was stooped in a crouch, the blade now moved across his front. Distrustful dark eyes surveyed the now-eerily quiet room. None of the officers moved, years of military experience drilled into them – as long as they were not the aggressor, they could not be punished for any harm that befell the boy (however, Mustang could see the shining glint of at least one gun in a hand). Even the chimeras seemed to sense that something was going on and had quieted down. Until Hakuro took half a step forward and said, "Who are you, boy? And where did you come from?"

The teen's eyes narrowed and he slowly rose from his crouch. Mustang could now see the attire the teen wore – though not the strangest he'd seen. Actually, it was quite… tame. A long red and black coat sat over black pants and a pair of plain black boots. Two chains reached from the right side of the coat to the left, where an emblem sat over his heart. Several parts of the outfit looked like they were in ragged shape, torn and, in some places, darkened by what Mustang could only assume was blood, but it was definitely a uniform. Military, then?

The stranger deigned not to answer, instead letting out a noise that sounded suspiciously like "Che." He leaned forward slightly and gripped his blade tighter. It was those details that probably saved Mustang's life. At the same time the teen moved, he snapped and let loose a streak of flame. The resulting sound did nothing to mask the distinct pop of a pistol going off.

Yuu Kanda was not happy. Well, he was never actually happy (at least not that he would admit). Right now, he was in a rare state of confusion. There were a group of men in matching uniforms (military, most likely) staring at him like Beansprout stared at his dinner. Speaking of which, where was Beansprout? It doesn't matter. The idiot was going to pop up eventually (like he always does).

His eyes flitted back and forth, finally able to focus his dazed head on the one who was speaking. One blink, two blinks, and the exorcist rose from his crouch. Kanda tightened his grip on Mugen and began to move forward. A snap preluded an intense explosion right where he was standing. It was only years of training that helped him move out of the way to lessen the damage, but his leg was still engulfed in heat and pain. At the same time, the sound of a gun being fired accompanied sharp pain in his arm. And that was when his mind flashed into overdrive. He had to get away. Danger. No known backup. Flee and recover. Yet, his pride wouldn't simply allow him to run away.

So after the military bastards he went.

The first one who went down was the sandy-haired older man – the one who had shot him. It was a simple swipe of Mugen to disarm him and then a kick to the side to push him out of the way (Kanda gritted his teeth as pressure was put on his burned leg. Heal faster, damn it!). Then, to the pale-faced snobby brat who was attempting to sneak up behind him (yeah, right. Enhanced reflexes, dumbass). That one only took a knock to the head with his fist. Finally, onto the – shit! Kanda bent in half to avoid the trail of flame that was aimed at him. Unknown factor. Unknown abilities. New level of akuma? He hissed in annoyance, trying to get his mind to focus as he finally – finally could feel his curse kick in. Fight or flee?

The door being unguarded made the decision easy. Casting one last glare at the fire-controller, Kanda leapt from the room, up the short staircase, and found himself in a… warehouse? Okay, not what he was expecting when he woke up in some laboratory basement. He could hear his captors climbing the stairs. Keep moving, stay alive, gather thoughts later. A door sat just over there, but did it lead outside? No matter, he really didn't have time for this. Behind him, he could hear the fire-controller yelling "Hawkeye!" (What the hell is a hawkeye?) and felt the heat on his neck before the snap registered in his mind. Oh, no. He was not getting caught by that trick a second time. The exorcist hit the ground in a roll, coming out of it in a full-blown sprint to the door (which had coincidentally been blasted open by the fire-controller). He had to suck a breath as another sharp pain hit his back, thankfully missing his spinal cord (that would have taken longer to heal than he had time for) and continued to run. The ground peppered with shots taken from different guns, the owners apparently hidden up in the rafters of the warehouse. Another caught the edge of his foot and he stumbled through the very-hard-to-ignore pain. This was not working out at all.

In the end, it took a total of five shots to take down the teen.

One in his lower back.

One in his foot.

One in his shoulder.

One through his leg.

And the last grazed his neck.

Yet somehow, Mustang thought, astonished, he's still alive.

Kanda's eyes blinked open, dazedly taking in his surroundings. This is happening far too often, he mused. Mugen was nowhere in sight. His hands were latched to the wall and his feet were bound in chains and weights. Unsurprisingly, he felt no pain, only stiffness. Cracking his neck only relieved a little of that problem, before his thoughts were interrupted by someone outside the cell.

"Awake, finally? Good, I have more than a few questions for you." Ah, it was the fire-controller from before. Kanda raised an eyebrow, then turned his head away. Ask away, he thought, I will not answer.

"The first being how did you survive five gunshot wounds? Your body spit out the bullets before we even got you here and sealed itself over." Silence was the only answer the man received. "Quiet one, then? How about you tell me about your friends that are here. Usagi, was it? And Lenalee? Oh, and Moyashi? You uttered that name quite a few times while you were out." Kanda's eyes flashed open and his head turned back around to look the fire-controller in his eyes.

He only spoke three words, but they were uttered in such a dangerous tone that the exorcist could see the fire-controller visibly stiffen. "Where are they?"

"Brother! Colonel Mustang is on the phone!"

"What does Colonel Bastard want now?"

So it's kind of different. I think I'll post the next chapter in a couple of days - or if I get... ten reviews?

Sure.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading, favoriting, or reviewing. It means a lot for your support!

Signing off,

-Captain Jap