Warning: The following paragraph is back story for Fullmetal Alchemist. This is here for those who have only seen Attack on Titan. Feel free to skip it if you've seen Fullmetal Alchemist, or read it and comment on how good a summary it is. This fanfic follows the Fullmetal Alchemist manga/ Brotherhood storyline. Contains spoilers, of course, and I will attempt to avoid manga spoilers for Attack on Titan.
Alchemy, the study of the natural world and its principles. At the heart of alchemy is the law of "equivalent exchange", in order to gain something you must exchange something of equal value. Those who practice alchemy can do extraordinary things, from raising a stone wall from the dirt in the ground to repairing a broken radio near instantaneously. The philosophers stone, a mythical artefact, can break the laws of equivalent exchange, allowing extraordinary acts ranging from bringing someone from the brink of death to destroying entire cities in minutes. However, there are rules that must not be broken under any circumstances. One such rule is to never attempt to create human life, for nothing is it's equal. Two young boys, Edward and Alphonse Elric, broke this rule attempting to bring back their mother, and suffered the price. Edward lost his right arm and left leg, while Alphonse lost his entire body, having his soul bound into a suit of armour. Edward joined the military of Amestris, becoming a State-Alchemist, in order to find a philosophers stone, and restore their bodies. However, he found that in order to create a stone, human lives must be sacrificed. So the brothers swore off using a stone to restore their bodies, loathing their very existence, and sought another way to return their bodies.
"So that's the guy huh," said a young blonde boy wearing a red coat, seemingly to an empty suit of armour next to him, "Arnold Steiner, the one claimed to be able to heal any injury?" "Yes brother," replied the armour, in the voice of a young child, "maybe he'll be able to repair your arm and leg."
The pair were called Edward and Alphonse Elric, and they were watching a man in a white coat entering a large building outside of a small town in Southern Amestris. Edward spoke up, "Sorry Al, but I still don't like me getting fixed while you're still stuck like that. After all, it's my fault that..." "Just stop Ed!", whispered Alphonse loudly, "I won't have you missing your chance to get your body back just because you feel bad!"
"Alright Al, but I still won't give up on getting your body back, and it's probably just another hoax."
The pair walked up to the door and knocked loudly, "Hey Steiner, I wanna talk to you about fixing my limbs!", shouted Edward. A small, worried face looked through a small grate at head height for a normal person, focusing first on the large suit of armour, before lowering to the child next to it. "Go away, I'm not working tonight!" he shouted, before shutting the grate.
"I didn't wanna have to do this, but I'm a state-alchemist, and if you don't open up I'm gonna bust down this door!" replied Edward, in typical boisterous fashion. "Damn stupid kids, I don't have time to deal with small fry now..." whispered the man behind the door, shortly before the young man outside burst into a rage.
"WHO YOU CALLING SO TINY YOU COULDN'T TELL HIM FROM AN ANT!" Edward shouted, before promptly blasting the metal door open using alchemy. "We need his help brother, we can't go attacking him!" chided Alphonse, knowing full well how mental Edward went at any mention of his vertical deficiency. "It's fine Al," replied Edward in an annoyed tone, "see? He's still able to run. But where's he running to I wonder? Come on Al, let's go!"
The brothers followed the healer into the building, deeper and deeper until they finally reached a large room. Inside, they saw Steiner pleading with a dark-green haired person, who was looking both bored and pissed at the same time. "Envy..." muttered Edward, knowing the homunculus well, the monster who had killed his friend, Maes Hughes. "Well well, the Elric brats, ya shoulda told me Steiner! I would've been happy to deal with 'em! Just do your job you weakling!" cried Envy, before leaping to attack the two alchemists. Edward and Alphonse were hard pressed to fight the homunculus, Envys incredible strength and speed easily able to match their alchemy and combat skills. As the fight pressed on, Ed noticed that Steiner had disappeared into a room to the side of where they had entered from. Edward managed to direct the fight so it lead that way, and when he saw what was inside, he stopped dead. A huge, what could only barely be described as a man, was slumped inside an alchemical circle, which had just been completed by Steiner. "Don't do it!" shouted Edward, as Envy kicked him to the ground from behind. "Go on doctor, finish your mission" retorted the homunculus, as Steiner placed his palms against the circle. What happened next was the opening of a gate, but not the gate that anyone expected. The thing in the circle disintegrated, and a hole in reality appeared in it's place. It swallowed up Steiner, who was screaming in agony, and then Edward fell unconscious.
In the year 845 Wall Maria had been breached by the Colossal and Armoured Titans. The Titans had flooded through, consuming everyone who was unable to flee beyond the safety of Wall Rosa. 2 years later, Captain Hannes of the Defence Force was staggering home after a shift on the Wall, drunk as usual, when he came across a young blonde boy wearing strange, wealthy seeming clothes collapsed in an alley. Hannes couldn't rouse the boy, and while normally in a situation like this he'd take the boy to a Military Police outpost, he thought "Seeing as I'm headed home already, I might as well take him with me. I can always take him to an outpost on my way to the Wall tomorrow after all." He hoisted the deceptively heavy boy over his shoulder, and continued on his way. When he got home, he found a note from his darling wife, berating him for being home late drunk again, and saying that she was staying with a friend for a while to help her get over a bad breakup. Hannes sighed, and placed the boy on the couch, then jumped back at the clatter he heard. "What's he got under that coat?" he thought, as he removed it. Hannes was stunned for several seconds, as he saw the boys arm completely armoured. "Why the heck would he be wearing armour?" he mused aloud, as he left to get another much-needed drink from the cupboard. When he got back to the boy, he saw the boy groaning and attempting to rise. "Easy there kid, you were collapsed in an alley when I saw you. Any idea what happened?"
The boy mumbled, "What the heck happened, last thing I remember I was in the lab, Steiner was drawing a circle, and... Where's Al?!" The last words were shouted as the boy leapt up, followed by him falling back to the couch as he was overcome with nausea. "Wait," thought Hannes, "there was someone with him?" Hannes thought a short while, and said "When I found you, you were alone in that alley. If anyone was with you, they were gone by the time I got there. By the way kid, mind telling me your name?"
The boy attempted to draw himself as large as possible, before replying "Edward Elric, State-Alchemist." "State-Alchemist? What's that?" replied Hannes, completely lost. "What, you never heard of State-Alchemists? Next you'll tell me you've never heard of Amestris." chided Edward. "Nope, never heard of it," replied Hannes, with a hint of bemusement. "Obviously this kid is still lost in fantasy land. Not a bad place to be, certainly better then here at any rate" Hannes thought to himself, as Edward started thinking. "So, you've never head of Amestris, or Alchemists, or anything like that? Where am I then?" Edward asked the clearly drunk man.
"Why you're inside lovely Wall Rosa, just outside the Trost district." Hannes replied with a grin.
"So I'm in a place where no-ones even heard of Alchemy, " thought Edward, "and I have no idea where it is. I'd better feign like I hit my head or something."
"Hey, sir, my head hurts pretty bad, and I'm not thinking too straight, you mind explaining to me exactly where Wall Rosa is?"
Hannes was incredulous. This kid was either crazy, or was suffering from pretty serious memory loss. Either way, he'd probably need a good doctor. As Hannes explained the Walls, and wound up giving a general exposition on the entire situation of humanity, trapped inside the walls hiding from the monstrous Titans, his thought returned to Dr Grisha Jeager, the greatest man Hannes had ever known, and his wife, Carla. He'd failed to save her, instead of killing the titan, he fled with her son Eren and adoptive daughter, Mikasa. That act had caused him no end of personal turmoil, thinking he had failed to repay the debt that he owed Dr Jeager for saving his wife during the sickness almost a decade ago. Hannes finished his explanation of the military structure to Edward, who seemed to drink it all in like it could change his life, and stood up, shaking the stiffness out of his legs. "Well, I don't know where you're from kid, but I do know that you can't stay here for long. My wife will kill me if she finds out I'm bringing waifs and strays home with me, so tomorrow I'm dropping you off at one of the Military Police outpost, see if they can find out who you are and where you're from."
"No need," replied Edward, a wicked grin spreading across his face, "I'm gonna sign up, I'm 15, the right age to join at from what you've said, and what better way to find out information than joining up with the Military Police." Edward thought that, seeing as the Military Police was restricted to the best, and had almost universal access to many libraries, they might have some information relating to other worlds, and how to get back.
Hannes was about to try and convince the young man otherwise, but upon seeing the look in his eyes, the same one that filled Erens when he vowed to exterminate the Titans, he changed his mind, and instead said "Look, I don't know if you'll make it into the top ten, but I'll try and help you out for now. In return for my help, and putting you up for the night, I want you to try and help out a kid I know if you can. I owe his father a great debt, and it would be easier on me knowing he had friends to help him out. His name is Eren Jeager."
Note: Sorry this first chapter is pretty long. This is the first fanfic I have ever written, and I had to establish what was going on with the story, including how in the hell Ed could possibly arrive in the AOT universe. Please leave a comment describing what you liked and disliked, and don't worry, next update will include the characters we know and love/tolerate/despise.