Edit - August 06, 2010 - Fixed some terrible typos I made.

Hello, people. This happens to be my first fanfic here, or anywhere for that matter, so I hope you like it. It's in the world of Fullmetal Alchemist, but it takes place about halfway through the Ishbal War, around six years before the main story with Edward and Alphonse. Please read and review. As my first fanfic, I really want reviews so I can find out if it's worth continuing with this story.

The Eastern Rebels

Chapter One: Ambushed

"Move, move, move!" yelled the officer to the small group of soldiers following him. Ten men dressed in blue uniforms ran into the one and only street of a desert town, guns raised at the windows of the houses that lined the street.

"It looks secure, Captain!" A soldier yelled to the officer.

"Good. You can enter now, Major Steele," the officer said to a man standing next to him.

"Thank you, Captain Prescott. Although I don't see why you find it so important to protect me. I'm fine on my own," the man replied with a grin. His dirty blond hair shone in the desert light, although it was quickly fading, and soon it would be night.

"Orders from the higher ups," Captain Prescott said with a shrug as he and Major Steele started to walk down the street, "Now, what are you supposed to do once we've deemed this place secure? I was told you were a State Alchy-something?"

"A State Alchemist," Steele said, showing Prescott a silver pocket watch dangling on a chain from his waist, "Normally we only use our powers to help around Amestris, but Fuhrer Bradley is thinking about sending a few of us into Ishbal as soldiers. He thinks our skills can be used to quell the rebellion faster than with normal soldiers. I've been sent in along with a few other alchemists to battle for a while. If we are able to effectively win battles faster than usual, he might make a formal decree. Ok, now get ready to see something really interesting."

"And what would that be Maj- LOOK OUT!" Captain Prescott suddenly screamed as he ducked down along with Major Steele and took out a pistol. In a few of the windows on the other end of the town the sound of gunfire could be heard, and two of the soldiers that had been sent into the town fell to the ground, already dead. The other eight made a semi-circle around the Major and Captain, hunched down, and fired back at the gunmen. One of them fell out of a window, but another soldier fell too. The man was wearing simple robes, but was carrying a military-issue rifle. It was hard to see from a distance, but he had dark skin and red eyes.

"Retreat!" Major Steele yelled to the remaining soldiers, which was now down to a meager four, as he pulled a pair of gloves out of his pockets and put them on his hands.

"But our mission is to protect you from the Ishbalans! Ouch!" Prescott exclaimed, but then winced as a bullet grazed his upper arm.

"I'm a Major, and you're a Captain. Get out," Steele said quietly, and turned to the four soldiers, "Protect him. I'll meet you up on the outskirts of this village. This is a direct order from me, Major Joseph Steele! Now move!"

The remaining soldiers hastily retreated, dragging Captain Prescott along with them.

"Now...time for the show," Joseph Steele mumbled, and crouched down to the ground. He put both of his gloved hands on the rough, sandy street, and watched as the circles etched onto his gloves began to glow. Within moments, a circle, roughly 5 feet in diameter encircled him. Within the circle was a marking that began to glow brighter and brighter, "Take this, Ishbalans!"

The bullets stopped flying when the glowing began, but once the men in the houses regained their senses, they began to shoot again. Before a bullet could hit the alchemist, a wall of stone came out of the ground and around him. He heard the shooting stop again, so he ran into a house about 4 blocks away from where the shooters were. Joseph walked to the wall of the house, which was pretty much a stone and straw shack, and put his hands on it. The circle that had encircled his earlier appeared on the wall, which suddenly burst into pieces. Joseph walked over the rubble, and did it again on the next wall. In a few minutes, he had made it to the house where a few of the gunmen were. He pulled a bayonet out of a sheath attached to his belt, and a pistol out of the other side of his belt.

The house he was in now was 2 stories tall, and he slowly walked up the creaky stairs, knowing fully well that it was too loud to apply stealth. When he got to the top of the stairs, he stared at the door blocking his path, and put his head closer to it. He could hear the faint click-clack of a shotgun being loaded. He aimed his pistol around where the man's chest would be if he opened the door. He took a deep breath, and kicked the door. The moment it flew open, he fired 3 shots with his pistol, and the man on the other side had fallen before he could register what had happened. He spun around and gasped as another Ishbalan, his red eyes only enhancing the look of rage on his face ran at him, with his gun flipped around like a club. Joseph jumped to the side and ducked, and the man ran right past him. Joseph took the bayonet in his hand and threw it at the Ishbalan's back, killing him. Steele looked at the floor, panting.

There's still more of them across this street... he thought, I could go and fight, but they'll mow me down. Time to use my alchemy for the reason I got sent into battle.

He walked back down the stairs, and opened the door of the house. He took a step outside, and jumped back instantly as a cloud of dust appeared in front of him from the bullets that began to fly at him.

"Alright," he said quietly, "One." He pressed his hands together. "Two." The circles on his gloves began to glow. "Three!" He ran out of the empty house and looked up for a second to see which window he was being shot from, then jumped down and pressed his hands to the sand. An circle, even larger than the last one, appeared around him. Suddenly, the sand and rocks around him started to form into large spikes that grew out of the ground. The spikes grew longer and longer at a faster pace and smashed into the house where the Ishbalans were hiding. The wall facing the street quickly broke into broken pieces of wood and brick. The house began to wobble on it's foundations, and with a loud crash, it tumbled down, all the gunmen in it dead.

Major Steele turned away with a sigh and took a few steps back to Captain Prescott when he head a crack and a rustle to his right. An Ishbalan, his clothes ripped and his face covered in dust, stumbled out of the ruined house, the stone spikes still looming over the rubble.

"How-" he stopped to take a deep breath, "Did you do that?"

"Alchemy," Major Steele replied calmly.

"What is your name?" The Ishbalan asked.

"Major Joseph Steele."

"Of course. I was told to be careful around this area of Ishbal. You 'State Alchemists' were being sent in to battle us. You monster, using the art forbidden by Ishbala! And to kill, nonetheless."

"Silence, Ishbalan. I'm not interested in your religious beliefs. As a survivor, you're going to have to be put into custody. I'm not evil enough to kill you now. You had enough guts to shoot at me and my comrades, then come out and yell at me. I'll commend you for your bravery. Now move."

The Ishbalan looked around, and ran off as fast as his feet would carry him, but Joseph just sighed. He crouched down, and put his hands on the sand again. A small circle appeared around only his hands, and about 40 feet ahead of him, the Ishbalan fell flat on his face. The sand he had been running on suddenly began to move, and tied itself around his legs, rendering him immobile.

Joseph walked back to the other end of the town, where the 4 remaining soldiers and Captain Prescott were waiting for him, along with a military truck.

"Yeah, you sure showed them!" Prescott exclaimed, and gave Joseph a pat on the back, "What you did with that stone wall, and then those giant spikes! No wonder they call you the Terraform Alchemist!"

"Yeah, um, thanks," Joseph said, and made a small smile, "There's just one thing. There was one survivor, and I have him sitting at the end of the street. Could you-"

"Of course!" Captain Prescott exclaimed, then pointed to two of the soldiers with them, "There's an Ishbalan that survived that crazy attack. Could you two go down there and get him for us?"

"Yes, sir!" they both said with a salute, and started to walk down the street.

Joseph looked at the two men and thought at what the Ishbalan had said.

I've been in Ishbal for little more than a week, and already I'm hated even more than any of the other soldiers. He called me a monster...I'm just fighting for the people...aren't I? He thought.

"Joseph, snap out of it. Hey, Joseph!" Prescott yelled, "What time is it?"

"Huh, what?" Joseph exclaimed, "Uh, sorry." He look out his State Alchemist's pocket watch and checked it, "It's 7:48."

"It's getting late. Once they get back with the Ishbalan, we should head back to base."

"Good idea," Joseph said, as the two soldiers returned.

"Here he is," one of them said. The Ishbalan had been put in handcuffs and a blindfold had been put over his eyes.

"Where are you taking me, alchemist!" he exclaimed, "You're a monster! First you kill my people, then you take any survivors prisoner!"

"Shut up. You're lucky Joseph here didn't kill you," Captain Prescott said as the two other soldiers joined in to put the Ishbalan in the back of the truck, and then all four went in too. Prescott got into the driver's seat, and Joseph joined him in the passenger's seat. As Prescott began to drive away from the ruined town, Joseph's eyes began to close, and he soon fell asleep.

I hope you guys liked the first chapter. I'll attempt to make another chapter for tomorrow, even if you didn't really like this one (Although I really hope you do :P)

Don't forget to review!