Chapter One
I awoke from my sleep when my head smacked against the train window. I rubbed my head and looked out the window. I could tell we were close to Central.
I was a wanderer. I hadn't really had a home since my mother, father, and little brother had been murdered by a man whom I only knew as Scar. My father and mother had been bodyguards for an alchemist and were killed when they tried to protect their charge. After that, I took my brother and we wandered through town after town searching for a place to stay. We ended up in Central where my aunt lived. My family had also lived in Central before everyone but me was killed. My aunt was a State Alchemist. I left my brother with her because I thought that he should have a home. I hugged him and left, promising to return.
A year later I returned to Central to visit my brother and my aunt. I went to her house and knocked on the door. When my aunt saw me, she began to cry.
"Areku," she said, sobbing, "your brother is dead."
She told me about how one day a few months ago my aunt and my brother were on their way to buy some food at the market when they ran into Scar. Scar knew that my aunt was an alchemist. My aunt picked up my brother, but before she could run, Scar reached out his hand towards my aunt's head. She ducked and his hand landed on my brother's head instead. Scar used his destructive and incomplete process of alchemy on my brother instead of my aunt. Thankfully, my aunt managed to escape from Scar somehow before she was also killed. My aunt was now my only remaining family member. I was going to Central to visit her.
I sighed as my train drew to a halt at Central's train station. I grabbed my suitcase and got off of the train. I immediately headed towards my aunt's house.
When I got to her house I noticed that it seemed strangely empty. I knocked on the door a few times, but she didn't answer. I looked through a window. It was dark inside.
"Hmm, that's strange," I said to myself.
I decided to go to Central Command and talk to the people there. She worked there, so someone was bound to know where my aunt was.
Not much longer after that, I learned from Colonel Roy Mustang, a superior to my aunt, that she had been murdered by none other than Scar.
"What do you mean killed!" I yelled out of grief and anger.
"The Major was killed by Scar along with two guards," said Mustang.
"But that...can't be," I said.
"Ten State Alchemists have been killed in this month alone," said Mustang. "And he still hasn't been caught. Scar's on the move. He's killing every alchemist within his reach, and anyone else who gets in the way."
I stared at the floor. I knew all about that. "How will he be stopped?"
"In whichever way we can stop him," said Mustang.
My gaze stayed on the floor.
"If you need a place to stay for the night, you can sleep over there," said Mustang, pointing to a black couch in his office.
"Thank you sir."
Mustang nodded and got up to leave for the night.
"Sir?"
Mustang turned around to face me. "Let me guess, you're going to tell me that you want to become a State Alchemist.
"How did you..." I started.
"Your aunt told me about your ambitions to become a State Alchemist, and also about your talent. I understand that you work with medicinal alchemy?"
"Yes sir."
"I believe that if you really have the talent your aunt has said you have, you might be of use to the military," said Mustang. "The Alchemy Exam is in one month. I suggest that you prepare yourself."
I nodded. That was really soon.
"I also suggest that in addition to your medicinal alchemy, you also have a way to defend yourself. Your aunt has informed me that you have never used your alchemy in the means of a battle."
"No sir," I said. "I haven't. But with all due respect, how am I supposed to learn how to defend myself with alchemy in a month?"
"I have a better solution to that," said the Colonel. "Be here and ready by 6:00am."
"Yes sir, I will."
"Good."
I saluted as he left the room and then I laid on the couch to get some sleep. Sleeping turned out to be almost impossible. My head was full of thoughts about Scar and I wondered how he could just kill people like that. My head also swam with memories of my family. My memories was all that I had left of them.
