Chapter 1: A New Leaf
General Roy Mustang took a small sip from the cup of tea on his desk and continued his conversation. "Former Second Lieutenant Heymans Breda". Brigadier General Rylance flipped through his dossier in the folder to read about the man while he was talking. "First in his class in strategy. Unfortunately the last in his class when it comes to physical fitness", he laughed. "He's a pretty good shot with a gun, but excellent when it comes to deduction and reasoning. And if you still remember, he was among the best students the Academy ever had". The brigadier general had his doubts; if this so-called former second lieutenant was a 4-flat student, then why did he leave the army after only a few years of service? "He resigned to join the rebellion against the late King Bradley, so now I'm asking from his behalf to ask for a job in the Military Academy", Mustang interrupted the Brigadier General's thoughts, already guessing the doubts from that wrinkles on his forehead, "Besides, he prefers to retire from the field and just sit under the roof. And I trust that you already know the real reason behind his resignation".
Rylance asked for a refill for his tea and said, "I am fully aware that his resignation saved his fat head from being shot. Otherwise he would be guilty of treason for leaving the battlefield. Why didn't he join you instead? And why this academy? Tell me, Mustang. Besides, if I were him, I would gladly join you back after the rebellion that you've caused. Help me become democratic here, just like this fresh, new country you and President Grumman had made. He could have a rank promotion if he wanted to". Mustang scowled at this sarcastic remark on his former subordinate, but he knew better not to burn this arrogant brat down if he were to ask for help. Rylance knew that the few seconds-silences Mustang gave had defeated his psychological attack, so he decided to agree." Very well then", he said with a chuckle, "Tell Breda that he can start teaching tomorrow. But first, he must come to my office to introduce himself".
Dazzled by the blaze of the unusually hot morning sun, Heymans Breda narrowed his eyes to look around at the concrete jungles of Amestrisian Military Academy, the place where he had graduated years ago. The cool wind carried the scent of freshly-mowed grass, sweetened by the roses which had been planted along the paved roads. Slowly he passed by the rectory building and walked towards the Department of Human Sciences. He was no longer shaking from the interview by that pompous rector, but a new surge of fear gripped his mind. He was not only there because of his new job; he was there to go back on track as a part of Mustang's team, working in discreet as a spy. He is Captain Breda now, promoted after the coup de tat, or the Mustang Rebellion, as the media now called it. Earlier that morning, General Mustang gave him a file containing an unsolved case regarding a recent disappearance of students in the academy. A small transmutation circle was found on every last known location of each student, but not a single evidence lead the case to human transmutation. Breda sighed; it was not the case that he was worried about. It was his future students.
Chapter 2: First Class
Breda wiped his nosebleed upon entering the lecture hall. "Thank the god!" his heart screamed as he eyed his personal heaven of angels in blue. Nearly all of them were girls, the cause of his nosebleed, and some of them proudly wore their foreign faces of exquisite beauty. They gave him a salute while he put his papers on the desk, and he silently thanked General Mustang for such rare opportunity. "Alright, people. Good morning and welcome back to the academy. I am Captain Heymans Breda, and I'll be replacing Colonel Hubbard this semester in Creative Thinking as well as Strategy Planning. Our Colonel has decided to retire, and I hope that all of you will give full cooperation to me. Understand?", "Yes, sir".
Breda gave his students a few minutes break after a half an hour of ice-breaking, and resumed his place on the leather chair. Not bad for a first timer, he said to himself. Still, he couldn't forget the voice of the young cadet sitting next to the first row's window. "Cadet Kimayra, sir!", she told her name during the ice-breaking session. He started to wonder what kind of a family who dared to have its surname sounded like a fearsome creature. She was looking at the scenery outside, having nothing to do as this was just the first day of the semester. He had always liked women with wavy hair, and Kimayra's dark brown waves were no exception to his eyes. It is a pity, he said to himself, if only she's slimmer, she would have joined the rest of those angels over there. He wondered if she has descendants from Xing because of her Asian eyes, and her name…
He immediately flipped open the brown file on his table and looked at the pictures of the missing students and their last known location. Could it be that this was not a human transmutation at work, but an attempt to create a chimera? The pictures of each location surely had not displayed the tell-tale remains of dead homunculi, but the design of the transmutation circle was unheard of. Yet Breda couldn't comprehend the possibility of students being transmuted into chimeras in public. According to the reports, the students simply vanished on the spot right after they found the circle drawn on a piece of paper hidden between the pages of their books. Interestingly enough, all of the missing cadets were recorded, or at least identified among their respective departments, as delinquents. "Not a prank, I hope. Time to visit the doctor", he muttered to himself.
Chapter 3: Cold Revelation
"Who did your boss think I am? A forensic scientist? I don't give a damn if he's the Vice Fuhrer, but find someone who actually does this kind of stuff. How many times do I have to tell him I'm a surgeon, for goodness' sake?!" Knox fumed after being asked about the identities of the skeletal remains. Breda gave a smirk; surely Dr. Knox knew why he had been chosen by the General. "Fine. Here's the report. Apparently those were the remains of a male and a female, and their teeth samples match the dental records of two state alchemists missing since 1890. Their identities are in those papers, so good luck to you. And tell him not to misuse my profession, you got that? This is my last warning". Breda thanked Dr. Knox and went out of the hospital lab.
"State alchemist and his wife, huh? Why didn't the academy make any announcement on them?" Mustang asked.
"Sir, if we look into the report, those missing people were known for their experiments on chimera. Remember the ones that you fought with Barry the Chopper few years ago? That could be some of their works with Bradley, sir, and their disappearance just simply wiped out the fact that such experiments existed. There. Mystery solved".
Whatever stuffs that Breda spoke out made sense to him, but Mustang was not satisfied. He was sure he had heard about these husband-wife alchemists before. Mustang only wished to clear what's left of Bradley's legacy, and he did not like the idea of having chimeras attacking civilians after a regroup or being used as pawns by some crazy people. It would be better if he could find a cure for them or at least recruit them into an elite unit. That is, IF the disappearance had anything to do with turning students into some kind of parahuman hybrid.
"Capt. Breda, I want you to find out with whom they worked for. If this bastard is still alive, we could possible retrieve those missing cadets." Having received his order, Breda rose from the chair and saluted his superior. As he walked out of Mustang's office, he could see the General gave a sad momentary look at Capt. Hawkeye, his personal assistant, while she gave a soft rub on his back. Maybe the General is having a bad day today, Breda thought. He and the rest of Mustang's subordinates knew that those two lovebirds couldn't get married, and it was all because of their duties. Any soldier would know better that the military does not allow marriage between a superior officer and his subordinate within the same team for the fear that the soldier would bring his marital problems to his workplace; should the General wished to get married, Capt. Hawkeye would have to be posted elsewhere, hence a loss for Mustang since there would be no person trustworthy enough for him to watch his back. And of course, there would be no one to watch over his demeanors and private matters. Breda sighed. This is none of his business. He was worried that Mustang and Hawkeye would remain single until their retirement, but he was even more worried when he remembered his mother's recent letter asking him to bring home a bride. "Tch! I don't have time to think about this", he scolded himself.
It was a cold, autumn evening, and Breda drove out of Central Office's gate in a hurry. He had skipped his lunch today to see Dr. Knox, and now his stomach growled as a protest for the absence of its 'fuel'. Still, he cannot blame General Mustang for the delay of his dinner. A job is still a job, and that's what made him a man. He parked his car in front of Christmas' Bar & Inn and went inside; his stomach would be more than happy if it received a glass of scotch accompanied by lamb stew served with bread to dunk in. it was Madame Christmas herself who took the order from him, much to his surprise. He was expecting Vanessa or any of these barmaids to come up so that he could take a peek on their melons. And as she left his table, he found a note under his copy of order: 'Meet me at room 1.3 after your dinner.' Breda groaned. Christmas' Bar & Inn was the all-time favorite hangout for Central officers (including President Grumman), and the idea of spending a night with Madame Christmas was like asking for General Mustang to burn him to ashes if any of the officers present spread a rumor about him sleeping with the General's aunt tomorrow morning. Still, he mused himself with the idea of free-of-charge food and a bed service. It would be worth the rumor if it ever happened, he said to himself.
Much to his surprise all that waited for him at Room 1.3 was not a frisky Madame Christmas; she was there, but with a file on the bedside table. "My 'son' wanted you to have this", she said, "Apparently the boss you're searching for is still alive, so you might want to pay him a visit". When Breda flipped the file open, he found a paper from Immigration Department, declaring that the James Benson, also known as the 'Wolf Alchemist' for his love of experiments on wolves, had married Serena Chong, an uncertified alchemist from Xing, thus granting her citizenship. The next paper contained their employment records. He ran through the details…birth date, birth place, eye color, everything that could help him search for the person in question. He found nothing except for the fact that the couple's last jobs were as assistant researchers at the military academy for the past 7 years, and surprisingly no police report was recorded on their disappearance.
The homework can wait, he assured himself.
"Maybe I could take Vanessa or any of your girls as a bride back home when I'm finished with this case. I'm tired of my mom nagging me for being a bachelor", he joked, giving Madame Christmas the widest grin he had ever gave in front of a lady. She gave him a smirk in return and said, "Don't let me hit you on your way out, Captain. Jealousy kills".
