AURGH. I know I shouldn't be starting another story D: Buhh, I couldn't help it! This idea, it just... Guh, it had to be released.
IMPORTANT(ish) NOTE: The writing style of the first section will not continue past that section. I promise the weird way it's written is only because the story itself is fuckin' weird. x]
Disclaimer: If I owned FMA, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction for it-_- the story would've gone how I wished, like fo` DUHR.
It had started out simple.
Well, now that I think about it, everything starts out simple. The entirety of everything started as one idea, one basic thought, and developed into functioning systems and cogs working together and against eachother in perpetual complexity... But still, simple. The basicness of the beginning of the thought that led to ideas, and then experimentation, and then disaster; It was all so simple.
And Ed. Well, he had been a victim of complexity.
What had started out so very simple had woven itself into ideas and systems and cogs and became complex. The simplicity had been The mission.
"And you've no idea where and why this bastard's doing this?"
"Well, sir, we've settled on an area of effect around sector 15. The where is already determined, but I couldn't think Of the why."
"Guess We'll just have to ask him when we find him."
"You can't just jump into this, Fullmetal!"
"Calm down, Colonel. It isn't like he's that big of a danger."
"Sir, with all due respect, should the Elrics really be here?"
Right. The mission. Around three months ago- that is, before the complexity- A series of nuerobiological experiments where found throughout Sector 15. Each one getting more complicated and complete than the last. Ranging from Memory loss to personality disorders to retardation. Each seemed completely un-purposeful. Like they were experiments gone wrong. Central had been dutiously investiagting, but always turned up with nothing. Seven weeks after non-stop searching, one foot soldier requested authority at a site where one experiment had been found, and offivers discovered something that led them closer to the by all intensive purposes- murderer.
There were research notes.
"Al, look at these."
"What is it brother?"
"Just read the first two paragraphs."
"..."
"Do you see what I do?"
"Brother... These are diagrams."
"Of?"
"...Human transmutation."
"Exactly."
Well, no. Not exactly. You see, it wasn't the kind you're probably thinking of. You see, although the transmutations and experiments had been on humans, they had already been alive, and nothing in their body had been altered. Atleast... Nothing visible.
The notes found at the crime scene were not notes on successful ways to bring a loved one back to life. They were step by step instructions on how to create the perfect soldier.
"I see... You take away the emotions, and you take away the individuality. That one person lives solely on logic... and it all depends on what they understand logic to be."
Ed was entirely correct. The mysterious person- We'll call him Dr. Hugo Franz- Had been nuerologically altering the limbic systems of each victim, each time decreasing the amount of feeling they had in basic mammalian scans, but causing adverse and irreparable effects. This Dr. Franz was obviously new at this.
"Brother! Come look at this!"
"What is it, Al?"
"There are some jumbled notes here, see, in the margins. They're hard to make out, but it mentions Peripheral nerve fibers... Something about paraplegia as well... You don't think..."
"This might not be entirely nuerological..."
Most people are astounded when faced with the intense genius both Elrics harbor.
So now, Colonel Roy Mustang's entire disposal was charging- quite dramatically- into the pre discovered lair of one nameless Dr; Dr. Franz, that is. The entire team was on it's toes, having had this case for quite a while. The possibilities of nabbing this bastard were causing the officers to salivate.
Of course, at that point in time, the genius brothers were already making their way through the building, searching skulkily for Dr. Franz. The beloved and revered Colonel Roy Mustang hadn't been informed of this little excursion prior to it being carried out and, consequently, was in no hurry to back up the two boys who should've been in their dorm. This left the two of them completely to their own devices... atleast until the Colonel decided to begin.
Ah, and here's where it starts to get complex.
You see, shortly after the Elrics had entered the premiss, and alarm had gone off in a small study near the far left part of the house. A few minutes afterward, as Edward and Alphonse were so swiftly sneaking through hallways and checking rooms, someone had taken a pipe to both brother's heads. A bit cliche, but effective enough... or so Dr. Franz had thought.
His head felt stuffed with tissue, like someone had taken a wad of it and plugged up every opening they could find in his face. There were vague sounds around him; a voice, the scratch of chalk on stone, screaming. He made to rub his brow, but found that his hands were restrained. Now as alert as he could be, he tugged, grunting as he tried to free his arms.
"I see you're awake. Well, it's about time. You've been out for about 3 minutes, and I have been as patient as I could possibly be." Came an exasperated voice, like a parent scolding a child for making a mess.
"What the fu- Alphonse? Alphonse! Are you here?" Ed yelled, a slight growl to his voice. Really, you'd think he'd be used to getting kidnapped by now.
Hugo just chuckled, walking over and condescendingly patting the now 17 year old alchemist on the head. Ed tried to bite him. "Don't worry, young man. Your... brother? Yes, well, he's being taken care of- and I mean that quite literally. I do hate the mess that killing someone makes." He cooed, now patting Ed's cheek. Only and inch closer and the blonde could've sunken his canines right into that gross, clammy hand. Dr. Franz straightened himself and moved over to the other side of the room, picking up several documents and seemingly checking this, a few 'mhm's and 'oh, alright's were heard.
"Well, I think this is lucky number 34, don't you think, alchemist?" He grinned, setting down the papers and wiping already clean hands on his coat. "You're going to be so much stronger after this, I can't wait to see the results!"
A sinking feeling leveled itself in Ed's gut, and he started struggling with renewed vigor. Nononononono NO! Ed panicked, his breath quickening as the Doctor stepped closer and made to put his hands on a large array under Ed's foot.
"You're fucking insane! Let me go! It'll just be another failure, you bastard! Please- I have someone I have to get back to" Ed started to sob dryly, blind panic racing through his skull, blurring his vision. He kicked out and ended up on the floor, the skin on his face smudging a line in the array. Franz tutted, looking down at the boy with something some would mistake for pity.
"Don't worry, boy. I assure you, if you were to have any feelings after this- which you won't- you would be thanking me."
Ed started shaking his head in denial, trying to crawl away from the circle... it was quite difficult without any leverage, or the use of his legs and arms.
"This is it! I know it is! Lucky number 34!"
Hands slammed onto the array, and Ed was blinded by the alchemic light. He closed his eyes and felt a strange pain in the back on his skull. Grunting, he fell forward again, squirming and trying to make the weird sensation stop. Franz was heard mumbling something in the background, but the slight pain in Ed's head was distracting.
"-tissue being arranged and pressing against your skull. It'll stop momentarily. Of course, you can't feel a good portion of the transmutation, as there are no nerves in your brain."
Ed made a noise somewhere between a whine and a grunt, the hands tied behind him turning white from how hard he was clenching them. The pain in his head started to slowly die down, only to be replaced by a searing burn covering his entire body. Every nerve, every cell was on fire and freezing at the same time. Ed made to scream, but was unable to, the only thing escaping being a silent breath of pure agony.
"Those are your nerves slowly being burnt out. This part was the most difficult, because I had to pinpoint every single one."
The boy in the circle couldn't help himelf. He passed out.
Upon awaking, he knew something was different.
Ed's eyes opened slowly, and he blinked, trying to clear his vision. He looked down to his body, and lifted his arm, experimentally flexing his hand. Blinking again, he looked to the other arm, and flexed that hand, followed by his toes. He even clenched his butt.
There was nothing.
His head slowly turned to the right, where an impatient Dr. Franz was watching with unconcealed worry and excitement. Ed tilted his head to face him better, and blinked once more.
"So, young man, can you feel anything? Anything at all? What if I did this?"
Franz scurried over and took delight in pinching Ed's cheeks. Ed looked up at him, not understanding why he would do it, and did nothing.
"Can you feel that?" He asked, giggling as he poked Ed's ribcage.
"No."
The response was so monotonous, so completely devoid of any emotional reaction that Dr. Franz couldn't help himself. He shivered, and his face split into the biggest shit-eating grin that Ed had ever seen.
GAH, I know. That was terrible xD Anyway. PLEASE REVIEW! I live off of them, and it's weird, but reviews totally inspire me to write faster and better, dontcha know :3