Edit: That's right, already. I revised the chapter, and it hasn't even been up for twenty-four hours. I just realized that I'd accidentally put an old draft of the last scene in this document, one from before I'd really cemented the dynamics between the villains. So that's been fixed, but that's all that I changed.
Pairings: EdWin, with developing (to various extents) Royai, LingFan, and AlMei. So, in short, canon pairings.
Disclaimer: I would love to be able to draw well enough to write my own manga. However, I can't, so you should be able to gather that I don't own FMA.
If you would all, at the end, be so kind as to review this chapter and tell me how I'm doing, that would be wonderful. Feedback is great, and it encourages me to keep writing.
Note: This is strictly based on Brotherhood/the manga. I admit to not having read much of the manga, but they're pretty similar, so it should work either way. Furthermore, the first section of the prologue starts right off in the last scene of the last episode of Brotherhood, with Ed and Winry at the train station. However, from there it diverges, so unfortunately I had to employ canon-lifting, because honestly the scene is stronger with the whole conversation. Besides, didn't Ed just look like he was going to ask Winry to come with him? I was unsatisfied with the ending, so I had Winry take matters into her own hands. This way, at least, you don't have to go look up the episode.
"Listen Winry," Ed said, overcoming his hesitation.
"Well, what? Just come out and say it," Winry replied.
Perhaps Ed's hesitation wasn't quite so overcome…he gasped and gulped in an effort to choke out his words before finally managing to say, with a blush on his face and his finger pointed Winry, "Equivalent exchange!" There was no turning back, so he mustered on, "I'll give half of my life to you, if you give half of yours to me!" Having gotten that out, Ed gasped, still blushing and unsure how he'd be received.
Winry just stared for a long moment before sighing, "Awww, come on. Do you have to treat everything like alchemy?" she asked, her tone strained. "The whole equivalent exchange thing is just nonsense."
"What'd you say!" Ed demanded, his finger still in the air solely because he lacked the mental capacity to lower it.
"It's nonsense!" Winry proclaimed. "How about I just give you my whole life?"
Ed and Winry looked at each other for a minute before Winry processed what she'd just said, blushing even deeper as she gasped. "Uh, maybe not all of it," she backtracked, her voice nervously high-pitched. "Ninety? Maybe eighty percent? Seventy? That's not enough," her fingers counted in some obscure calculation, "Maybe eighty-five? Yeah, eighty-five is a good number."
Ed watch, almost incredulous, before he burst out laughing at that. "What!" Winry demanded.
Ed couldn't stop laughing even as Winry yelled, "Shut up!"
"I'm sorry, really," Ed managed to get out between laughs, but he trailed off laughing again, to Winry's annoyance.
"Edward!"
"You are so incredible," Ed told her, bent over from laughter. "You knocked equivalent exchange flat on its butt in just a few words!"
"Uh, and what's that mean?" Winry asked, not nearly as loud as a minute before, when she was annoyed. "Are you making fun of me?"
"Not at all," Ed replied, finally managing to stand back up before pulling her into a hug. Winry, in her surprise, just went with it; When did Ed get so tall, she couldn't help but thinking. At half a head taller than her, she could no longer mock his height.
"Thanks for cheering me up—" Ed began, only to be interrupted by the woman currently in his arms as she finally regained her wit, realizing she had to renew the argument they'd been having on the way to the train station. It's now or never, she thought.
"I'm glad you think I'm magnificent Ed," Winry replied with a half-smile, shattering the moment a little, "but I'm still going with you."
"You keep saying that," Ed groaned, still hugging her and realizing that there really was no way out of it—Winry was determined. Still, he felt obligated to put up some sort of protest. "But—but what about your clients? Or midget granny? Or the fact that most other countries aren't so advanced when it comes to automail? Or the fact that we're gonna be travelling nonstop, on trains and always moving, and it's sure as hell not always gonna be comfortable?"
"Ed!" Winry snapped, and honestly Ed was surprised that she didn't hit him with her wrench. "I just promised you eighty-five percent of my life, and I think we used up a lot of that fifteen percent when you were gone for so long these past few months; ever since you joined the military to get your bodies back, in fact! I didn't make my promise lightly, and don't you dare take it that way! I want to spend time with you, travelling sounds interesting enough, and I'm going to make good on my promise!"
"Geeze… Fine. You can come. But don't blame me if being on the move all the time annoys you…"
Winry stared at him with a look that was half-way to a glare, but almost in askance. "What?" Ed asked. "You're looking at me like you think I don't want you to come."
At that, a smile spread across Winry's face, almost glowing. "Just wanted to settle that."
Edward scoffed. "You doubted me? Equivalent exchange or no, I'll give you over half my life, because I want to."
Winry's grin grew even more, and Ed found himself happy as well as he returned it. The tumultuous, desperate period of his life had finally ended, and things had started to work themselves out. Especially with Winry.
"Come on, then! After all, we've got places to go! People who sit around doing nothing are boring!" Winry beckoned enthusiastically as she broke their embrace, grabbing his now-normal arm and dragging him across the threshold and onto the train with one hand, her suitcase in the other.
Ed's grumbling protests and exasperation were largely a front; he enjoyed being with Winry, even if she tended to manhandle him. Being like that, painful as it could sometimes be, was intrinsic to Winry and the vivacity and tenaciousness that made her the woman Ed loved.
"I can't wait to see what sort of developments in automail these other countries have made; even if we don't find anywhere like Rush Valley, because of the wars there hasn't been much contact and they could've gone in completely different directions! They might not be as advanced in terms we know, but they had to have progressed somewhat! And if not there, than in other types of engineering or biology I could still study. Just think, new alloys implemented in new ways, different designs, maybe even they even found a way to overcome how awkward the joint coupling circuits can be—"
Ed's muttered response of "Gearhead," however, was totally genuine; despite that, he meant it with fondness, while Winry was evidently cheerful enough to overlook it.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
"After all that, I can't believe I'm still stuck as a general, even after all that," Mustang grumbled, a complaint his second was well-used to hearing since their entire group, the former-colonel included, had been promoted following the coup.
"It's probably because Fuhrer Grumman got so annoyed by all the complaining he had to put up with from you over the years," Hawkeye replied with mild exasperation.
"Please," Mustang scoffed, "like I'd hamper my chances of promotion by complaining to a superior officer, even one relaxed enough to let me do so."
"Of course not, sir."
"Hey, I meant that. There's no need to be sarcastic," Mustang replied, the corners of his mouth turned down a little at his adjutant's tone.
"Of course not, sir." Hawkeye's tone, however, remained exactly the same, while her face stayed impassive.
With a sigh, Mustang complained further: "Now you're just mocking me."
"Only a little," the blonde replied, as a faint smile tugged at her lips, hinting at a sense of humor few saw.
"Ugh." Roy groaned, before he changed the topic with a drawled comment. "Hey, Major Hawkeye, I need some advice."
"Sure thing: stop procrastinating." Riza didn't even look up from the papers she was shuffling to give the alchemist a dry retort.
"I didn't mean it like that…" Mustang paused before continuing, as if trying to increase the dramatic tension. "Havoc has suggested I grow a mustache," he pronounced with finality. "Now I'm a little wary of taking his advice; what do you think?"
"Frankly, general? Horrible idea." Despite having the same tone as most of her comments, that Hawkeye meant that with total honesty. The general would look…bizarre with a mustache. She wasn't entirely sure where Havoc had gotten the notion it would look good, but he was wrong.
"Fine, fine," Roy said, taking her advice and dismissing the idea. "By the way, you and the others are going on that field mission Thursday—the one about the kidnapping ring—along with Nelson's team. They could use the backup."
"I'm not sure I trust you to actually do your paperwork if I leave you here alone," Hawkeye replied, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Don't be ridiculous. I'm coming too, of course. I meant it when I said they could use the backup," Mustang told her, and though his tone was mischievous, it clearly implied that there were no other options.
"You realize," his adjutant replied with a sigh as she ran her hand along her hair, which was now shorter than Roy's own, "that being a general is mainly a desk job. Where you usually deputize people to do work like that, while you coordinate operations in the East?"
"Ah, but which sounds like more fun to you?" Mustang smirked.
"Fieldwork, I'm sure, especially for someone with your attitude towards paperwork. However, for your information, it's supposed to rain on Thursday."
Roy might have twitched at the implication in Hawkeye's tone and words.
oooooooooooooooooooo
"That was the most boring thing I've ever done," Ling announced, forever the drama queen.
"You're the one who wanted to be emperor, young lord," Lan Fan replied, her tone not quite lecturing. After all, it was not her place to criticize the emperor of Xing.
"Lan Fan! I am officially emperor, as of ten minutes ago! Or as of sometime in the past eight hours of that far-too-long ceremony! Stop calling me 'young lord'!" Somehow, he managed to undermine the dignity of the red and purple ceremonial robes he still wore from the coronation. The crown, on the other hand, managed to look ridiculous but fitting over his squinty, petulant, and artificially-dramatic expression.
"You're a year younger than me, young lord," Lan Fan reminded him from the perch in the shadows. Not that her presence was particularly subtle, the way they were arguing, but she enjoyed the practice and artistry of stealth.
Ling pouted in less-than-silence. The whole thing was rather unbecoming of an emperor, as they both knew, but Ling relished it while Lan Fan was too well-disciplined to comment.
"In the mean time," Ling said, becoming serious, "how are our plans coming along?"
"We can be ready in a week," his bodyguard replied, lowering her voice even softer than his. "However, I advise you to wait until you have been on the throne for longer, to avoid looking like we planned this or inciting unrest among the other heirs before you establish your rule."
"Hmm…" Ling mumbled, contemplating her words. "How far along is the research? Are they getting too close to anything?"
"No; it seems Amestrian alchemy is sufficiently different that they currently pursue the wrong angle. Between that and our ongoing sabotage, there is little danger at the moment."
"Hmm. Continue sabotaging the research if you can do it with absolutely no risk of detection. However, I want plans to destroy all of it enacted by the end of the year. I will not have anyone in my kingdom pursuing such a bloody path to immortality."
"Yes, my lord."
"Good," Ling replied. Instantly, he was back to his normal, exuberant self: "Now! Let's see my new chambers! Can you imagine how grand they must be? There'll be gold everywhere, I'm betting you!" He gesticulated grandly, turning to face the shadows where he knew his friend and bodyguard hid.
"Well it is the emperor's quarters; an overabundance of gold seems likely," Lan Fan agreed, smiling behind her mask.
"I know, right? Awesome!" Ling replied with a massive grin as he walked up to open the doors of the emperor's imperial quarters. His imperial quarters.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
"You know, I knew before we set out that the desert would be hot, but I didn't realize it'd be this hot," Alphonse complained as he trudged through the sand.
"You're telling me," Zampano grumbled. Neither he nor Jerzo particularly liked the situation either.
"My animal instincts want me to get out of this place. Frogs are amphibious. They're supposed to be near water. Not here," Jerzo griped as his weight made him sink even further into the sand that the other two.
"Gah. I never thought I'd miss a thing about that suit of armor, but it was be nice to not be able to feel all this heat. Or this sand getting absolutely everywhere."
"You're not allowed to say stuff like that," Zampano reprimanded him. "Don't say stuff like that, or else you'll bring us two down."
"Fine, fine. I suppose I'd just sink into the sand anyway, which is even more inconvenient…" Al said.
"Look at it this way: Just four more days till we're in Xing!" Jerzo's attempt to cheer the other two up failed pathetically, only making them groan.
oooooooooooooooooooooo
"You should not have done that," a deep voice rang out after the other had finished explaining her plan.
"Too late. And it worked. I guarantee you, it worked." The woman's voice was not bragging; it was a statement of fact.
The man sighed, "It may have worked, but that doesn't mean it was a good idea." Questioning her, he realized, might not be the best idea, but her idea… She was clearly taking initiative here, impatient even though they'd been progressing steadily enough. At the same time, the idea was something close to lunacy.
"We all agreed that we need someone to handle Amestris. If I recall, you were the one who was most insistent. Here's an answer."
"That said, I would rather we recruited someone who's a bit easier to trust," the man replied frankly. "And, for that matter, a bit easier to kill in a fight. This guy comes with neither predictable motives, nor an easy way of killing him if he turns on us."
"If it works, though, he'll probably be our greatest weapon because he is so hard to kill," the woman stated, but she could see from his frown that the other wasn't buying it. "Tell me you have a problem with having that sort of strength on our side. Because it would be pure idiocy if you did."
"Not that I'm questioning your skills," the man replied with what might have been a slight eyeroll, "but what if something goes wrong? Are you even sure he's the only one who'll return?"
"Don't insult me," she sneered, "as if I'd try something like this without thoroughly checking everything. There will not be any new variables, at least not as a result of my mistakes. There is no possible way; there are no other vessels besides him. Besides, it's more than you've done lately, a hiatus which had better be about to end."
The man refused to take the bait, sighing again. "Fine. As long as you're not going to make me or Zhuo work this out. You'd better be willing to get your new little weapon on our side."
"I wasn't going to ask you to help," the woman replied, jutting her chin out.
Changing subjects, the man said, "Speaking of Zhuo, I assume she was involved in executing this plan? The skill and the power it would require, though… it's impressive. Do you know how she powered the transmutation?"
"She fried a government and military outpost in Aerugo. Apparently, the reaction created a domino effect, meaning we didn't have to kill a number equal to the amount of ambient souls that were gathered. You'd have to ask her for the full details. You two can review it all in exhaustive detail when she gets back."
"I think I will," the man replied mulishly. "Hopefully, when she gets back, she'll be able to explain to me how this is supposed to work. After all, you wouldn't know if she missed something…"
"Take that up with her; everything on my end went perfectly. In the highly unlikely event anything goes wrong," she replied, the edge in her voice increasing with every word, "None of it will fall on us, I'll make sure of it. But we'll find a way to turn any crisis to our advantage. You just worry about your own responsibilities."
"Fine," the man grunted.
"If you'll excuse me," the woman began, her tone in harsh contrast with her words, "I'm going to pack my things. I have a new recruit to find." Combat boots thunked on the floor as she walked away, head held high.
Dun dun dun dun. Hopefully their plans weren't too terribly obvious. As you may have noticed, those three are OCs, largely because I didn't want to undermine the work of the entire series, and the characters' journeys, by bringing Father back. Hopefully you found them interesting, and I promise to write them well.
Lastly, if you have constructive criticism, advice, encouragement, or any other sort of thoughts to share, please submit a review.