I was fifteen when my brother enlisted to the State Military. He never stopped talking about it when we were kids. It was something that he always wanted to do. He wanted to help people. And I, always wanting to be like my big brother, followed in his footsteps when I turned eighteen three years later.
In those three years of waiting, I sought out an alchemist to teach me anything and everything about alchemy so I could get stronger. I was never quite as strong as my brother was physically, and my body never seemed to want to build up any significant amount of muscle, no matter how hard I tried. I didn't want to hold him back or make him worry. That's where the "lightning" alchemy came in.
The entire world, everything you know, even your own body, has an electrical current. Master electricity, and the sky's your limit. I mastered the art of Lightning Alchemy in about two years, practicing and learning practically everyday; without my parents knowing, of course. Even though I had basically perfected my art, I knew I wouldn't have the time to stop and draw out symbols in the dirt if a situation ever called for it. I asked my teacher what my options were. That's when I got my arms tattooed. From my elbow to my wrist on both arms are the alchemical symbols for Lightning Alchemy.
On my birthday, I enlisted into the state military. I had a little trouble-physically-in the academy but managed to get through unscathed. I wanted to keep my alchemy talent on the down low as much as I could until graduation simply for conventional reasons. On the day of graduation, I showcased my abilities and landed myself the title of The Lightning Alchemist and got a State Alchemist pocket watch to go with it.
My brother by then had made it to First Lieutenant. Jared, my brother, told me that he was proud of how far I had made it, even though he was a bit worried about what I had put myself through to learn alchemy. I got to meet everyone he had been friends with and who he had met in the academy: Roy Mustang, Maes Hughes, Jean Havoc and Riza Hawkeye. There were many others but I'm not going to waste time listing them all. Mustang was the biggest flirt I had ever met. Havoc started up a bad habit in me that was damn near impossible to quit but he was fun to be around. Hughes was starting a family and always knew how to lighten the mood. Hawkeye was pretty laid back and probably the most responsible out of all of us.
We didn't have all that much time to socialize, considering that this was during the Ishval Civil War. The war had been going on since 1901. It was then 1906, I was barely 19 and there I was, smack dab in the middle of a war, slaughtering people who had done nothing wrong. At least I wasn't the only one who hated the war. None of us ever really talked about it other than Jared and I when we were alone. I knew they hated it too. It was written all over their faces. They wanted nothing to do with the war but there we were.
Two years later, 1908, Order #3066, also known as Presidential Decree #306, was issued by Fuhrer King Bradley. All state military personal of Ishvalan origin was stripped of their status and dubbed traitors. Meanwhile, State Alchemists and any soldiers deemed suitable were sent to the front lines. My brother and I were apart of this front line.
My brother and I got separated into different units. I was with Mustang. Jared went with a unit filled with people neither of us knew.
Before we had gone separate ways, he promised me that we'd both make it out alive and go out for a drink once all of it was over. He turned to me, looked me in the eye and told me: "Just promise me one thing. Whatever you do, don't die." It was such a normal thing to say in the military. But the way he looked at me made my throat tighten. His eyes were filled with fear. He was afraid. We were both afraid. We didn't want to lose each other. He gave me a tight hug and told me he loved me.
"I'll see you soon, okay?" He said with a bright smile shining on his face.
There is no excuse for the things I did during the war. I killed so many innocent people. Men, women... children. It was slaughter. It was wrong. When the war had ended, we regrouped, most of everyone's faces were riddled with guilt, regret, hatred; Mustang, most of all. However, there was someone missing... My eyes scanned over familiar faces, unfamiliar faces, and the faces of my brother's unit. But where was he?
His unit was laughing and carrying on as if the war had never happened. They had this look in their eyes that can only be described as savage. Part of me knew... but I didn't want to think it was even a possibility. I approached them. I had to know for sure.
"Where's First Lieutenant Jared Covett?" I asked formally, trying to keep my voice steady. They looked at me, gave a half-assed salute and then at each other before one of them spoke up.
"First Lieutenant Covett had been working with the Ishvalans to overthrow Amestris. He was neutralized."
I was silent. The world had froze and my chest tightened. My brother and I had always been so close, so connected. The war only made us closer. We were inseparable through most of our lives. Everywhere he went, I went. Everything he did, I did. He was my idol. He was my inspiration, my anchor. My mind raced back to the smile he had on his face the last time I saw him. I quickly turned away from them and walked back to where I was previously standing beside members of my unit.
I didn't cry. I was in shock. I just stood there, unable to move for the longest time. I was staring at the ground and nothing at all simultaneously. The pressure in my chest was unbearable and I could barely breathe. And what they told me? It was bullshit. He loved the people of Ishval, yes. But he wasn't "working with them to overthrow Amestris". I closed my eyes, as the tears began to flow, trying my best to hold what little composer I had left.
"Alex...?"
I looked up at Mustang who stood next me and I saw his expression soften with sympathy. He could tell just by the look on my face that Jared had died. War creates this intense bond between people. It's more than being brothers or sisters via blood. The bond is stronger than anything like that. there aren't words to describe the connection you have with someone after you fought, and killed for them. Because, once you're on the battle, you aren't fighting for a cause anymore. You're fighting for each other's lives. And with that bond, comes an understanding. He could tell just by taking one look in my eyes what news I was just given. He was close to Jared too. They had been on the same battlefield. We both mourned in silence over those we had lost, staring at the dirt at are feet. We mourned over the the deaths of the people of Ishval. That wasn't the only thing we had lost either. A piece of us had died on that battlefield as well. We knew that there was no going back to who we were before all of this had started
Bodies were collected-not all of the soldiers that had been lost, but at least half-and the families were left to plan funerals. When we returned to central, promotions were made for select personnel and most soldiers were dismissed. I went home for a little while but I couldn't get their faces out of my head. The way they had told me that Jared was a "traitor" made me know that they were hiding something. And I was pretty sure, they were the ones responsible for his death.
At my brother's funeral, his unit was present. They were a few rows behind my parents and I could hear them snickering amongst each other, making jokes as if they were at some party. I was about to turn around a deck one of them square in the face if Hughes hadn't been there. He put a hand on my shoulder and brought me back to my senses. I'm glad Hughes was there at the time, otherwise, I would have made a fool of myself. And the last thing I wanted to do was make a scene at Jared's funeral.
I dedicated all my free time to trying to find out what really happened. When I was on duty in Central, I kept a close eye on those fuckers but could never catch them doing anything bad or saying anything about my brother's death. I couldn't find any dirt on those bastards and was left with two options.
a.) Find an Ishvalan who could have possibly witnessed my brother's death (which had about a 12% chance of success)
b.) Confront them
Considering what had just taken place, an Amestrian was the last kind of person that an Ishvalan would like to see and I doubted I'd get any cooperation. So, I went with plan B. I waited until they were off duty, followed one of them, Seth Jones, and waited until he noticed me following him. He caught on pretty quick and tried to lose me in an alley. Lucky for me, it had just rained. A large puddle sat conveniently at the entrance of the alley and stretched till about halfway through. I turned into the alley and brought my hand down into the puddle a lot harder than I had planned. Twelve million volts of electricity shot through the puddle and up the bastard's legs. He dropped like a rock, his head coming down hard onto the pavement with a loud thud.
He groaned as I grabbed him by the collar. "Alright, Jones. I'm going to make this quick and you're going to be honest with me. What happened to my brother?"
He squinted at me, cringing at the soreness in his body. "Who?"
I shoved him down into the concrete, slamming his head into the pavement before bringing him up again. "Don't fuck with me. Covett. Jared Covett. What happened to him?"
"He's dead! Who the fuck care-"
I slammed him down again, this time taking my hands off his collar. I lifted a hand over his stomach, careful to not hit his heart. "One more chance. Tell me what happened."
Jones groaned again, squinting his eyes shut as his head pounded. "What are you going to do, kill me?"
I brought my palm down and watched his muscles clench and tighten as electricity coursed through his body. "Tell me what really happened to my brother." I remove my hand, allowing him to regain composure for a moment before grabbing him by the collar once again.
He coughed but said nothing, staring at me in silence.
A low growl escaped my throat and I slammed his head a couple more times into the pavement. "Tell me."
This time, he spoke. "Okay... okay... "
The bastard went on to explain what had happened the day Jared had died. An Ishvalan family was involved. A man, his wife, and their daughter. The parents had already been shot and killed but Jared through himself in front of the girl in order to protect her. They shot him instead for getting in the way; not by accident, but intentionally. The girl panicked and ran off before they could get to her.
After hearing what I wanted to hear, I placed my hand on his forehead and pumped as much electricity I possibly could by draining everything in the area I could reach, the current in his own body, my body, the air and from the ground, forcing it into his skull.
My nostrils filled with the smell of burning flesh...
-
{[ SIDE NOTE: Thank you so much for reading! I'll get the next chapter out as soon as possible. I'll be sure to leave as many cliffhangers as I can ;3
It's honestly mostly because I lose my train of thought and think "fuck it, I'll do it in the next chapter"
-Things are just starting to spark up! Stay tuned to see how her actions will cause in the long run. ]}