Metal Wings

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters.

Chapter 1: Boy

Two figures walked down a dusty, dirt road toward town. One, covered in shiny armor, clanking as it took long strides. The other was a short teenage boy wearing a red coat with a black shirt and matching pants. A pair of white gloves covered the boy's hands.

"Brother…" the one in armor began.

"Yeah, Al?" replied the boy in red.

"Do you think Colonel Mustang had something else in mind for us when he sent us here?"

"Alphonse, that guy always has something in his mind to make our lives a living hell." The two made their way to the entrance of town in silence before the one in armor, Al, spoke again.

"But Ed, why do you think he would send us to a town like this? I mean, it doesn't look like a small town like this could have much for the military to be interested in."

The boy called Edward stuck his right hand into his pocket and grasped it around a silver pocket watch. "The military doesn't need a reason…."

Leaving the conversation at that, they walked through town, finding where everything was for future reference. The streets here were also made of dry, dusty dirt. They passed a bar, a pharmacy, and a market. As the two wandered through town they passed many interesting looking people. Most of them seemed as if they got along in life well enough, probably as farmers or merchants or running some family business. However there were a few people lying out on benches. Some had small boxes with their valuables in them. Others had boxes sticking out of alleys as a makeshift home.

"Brother, why don't we go check into our hotel?" Al suggested.

"Sure…." Ed replied looking away from the beggars.

Walking toward the hotel, they came upon a group of boys walking toward one of the alleys near their hotel. They had sticks in their hand and looked like they were ready for a fight. The oldest looking one went in first. Shouting was heard as the others quickly followed. A couple minutes later a black dog shot out of the alley. Taking a quick sniff of the air, it turned its head toward the direction of Ed and Al. Running towards them; it grabbed a hold of Ed's jacket and tugged in the direction it came from. Letting go it took a few steps before looking back at them.

"I think it wants us to follow it, brother."

"Yeah….let's go."

As they got closer to the alley, the dog started growling and ran towards it. Breaking into a run, Ed and Al could hear thumps and yells coming from the alley. Reaching the entrance, their eyes widened at what they saw. The group of boys was beating something as the dog fought to protect it.

"Hey! What are you doing!" Ed said. The boys stopped and turned around. A murmur went through the group as the oldest one stepped through them.

"What does it matter to you?"

"And who are you? The leader? I asked you a question."

"Yeah, I am. And we were just havin some fun with our pal over there."

"Your pal? You mean that there's a person over there?"

"So what if there is?"

Ed got into a fighting stance. "I suggest you leave. Now."

"Your going to make all of us leave? Yeah right. Ok, boys, go get him!"

"I warned you." Ed reached his left hand up to his other arm and pulled of his glove to reveal a metal arm. He then proceeded to transmute it into a blade. The boys that had been running at him stopped in their tracks. Their leader came up in front to see why they had stopped. Catching site of Ed's blade, the teen put on an awkward smile and said "We were just kidding, ya know." Ed stepped to the side as He ran out of the alley, the rest of the boys following behind.

Ed and Al watched as the dog walked over to a limp form in the corner of the alley. "C'mon, Al. Lets check it out." The two brothers walked over to the end of the alley to make sure the person was ok. Telling the dog to move and bending down to get a closer look at the person, Ed gasped at what he saw. A little boy, no more then eleven was lying on the cold ground by some blankets and a box. However, this wasn't what made Ed gasp. It wasn't all the wounds on the boy either. This little boy was missing limbs, both arms and his left leg to be exact.

I'm going to stop there for now. Tell me what you think of it so far by reviewing.