Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist! If I did, I would have the movie translated in every language so that the world didn't suffer anymore!
My second fanficiton ever! Enjoy!
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There is an Earthly fable about a thing call a sphinx. It has the body of a lion, long, golden mane, dagger-like claws, and a playful tail. But it has the face of a woman, beautiful and mysterious.
The story is that a king was told by a prophet that his on would murder him, so the king sent his son to a shepherd to be killed. The shepherd pitied the child, and raised him as his own. The shepherd named the boy Oedipus.
Oedipus became a hero for many good deeds. His most famous, was destroying the sphinx that was attacking a village. The sphinx gave Oedipus the riddle 'what has four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three in the evening?'
Oedipus answered 'a man. He crawls on all fours as a baby, walks on two legs as a man, and leans on a cane and his own two legs as an old man.'
Of course, Oedipus was correct and the sphinx supposedly died. Some say it ate itself. Others say it starved. But what if the sphinx didn't died? You never know…
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A large suit of armor stood with a kitten cradled in its arms. The kitten was rubbing against the giant suit of armor affectionately, giving a soft purr.
Behind the armor stood a teenager. His arms were crossed and his face was all frowning, but his eyes were sad and gentle. They were an unusual shade of gold, making him seem very distant.
The blonde-haired boy spoke to the suit of armor kindly, but sternly. "Come on, Al. We can't take care of this cat. I don't like being the villain here, but someone has to."
The armor said, almost in a sob, "No you don't, Big Brother! We could all just be heroes. Not villains."
"I'm sorry, Al. Just put the cat down."
"It's only a k-k-kitten!"
"Al! Be reasonable! We can't take any dumb animals with us!"
The suit of armor made a wailing noise, forcing the blonde to cover his ears. He groaned. Why did Alphonse have to like animals so much?
"Br-brother! You know what it's like having to put a stray back!"
"Yeah. But I was stupid for wanting to take in every animal, Al."
The armor started to make crying noises again, making the blonde bang his head against the wall. It began to drizzle, causing the blonde to sigh.
The two were in an alleyway. Al had dragged him in there because he said that he had heard a cry for help. The blonde teenager would have never guessed it was a cat's cry for help. But as Alphonse's brother, it was his duty to be patient and understanding.
"Alphonse! Put the damn cat back and let's go!"
The suit of armor was about to run away when a little girl rapped his metal. She looked only six years old. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying and she seemed very melancholy.
"'Scuse me. I'm looking for Mr. Duffles. Have you seen him?"
The suit of armor spoke to the girl gently. "What does Mr. Duffles look like?"
"He's only a baby. He has brown fur with white socks."
The teenager gaped at the little girl and yelled, "Number one, how did a baby run away, and number two, what kind of baby has brown fur!"
The girl giggled a little and said, "No, silly. Mr. Duffles is a kitty!"
Alphonse looked down at the kitten cradled in his arms. It had tawny fur with white paws. It looked exactly like this Mr. Duffles.
Alphonse nudged the blonde. "Hey, Edward."
"Yeah."
"I think the stray is Mr. Duffles."
"That's wonderful! We can help this girl and get rid of the cat all in one foul swoop."
Alphonse turned to the little girl, displaying the kitten. It mewed softly.
"Mr. Duffles!"
Edward grinned. "Great. You found your cat, Alphonse doesn't have one anymore. I'm happy. Let's go Al."
"Coming."
Edward and Alphonse Elric walked out of the dim ally and out onto the sidewalk. The cobblestone street was busy with hurrying automobiles, sending sprays of dirty water onto the sidewalk. Edward began pulling out some change as they passed a hotdog stand.
"Brother, you'll spoil your appetite."
"So what. All they serve at the mess hall is beans, soup, and milk."
"It's free, though"
"Yeah, and so is water. Yet we pay for plumbing to get not free water."
The woman manning the hotdog stand lazily handed Edward his hotdog and change. The food was soggy from the rain, but Edward's stomach didn't care. He downed the dog in two bites. Then the two continued walking.
"I suppose I should hurry back to report to Mustang, right Al?"
Alphonse looked away. He seemed lost in thought. Or maybe he just down from the because of the rain. Ed placed his arm on Alphonse's shoulder.
"What's wrong, Al?"
"Nothing. Well, I'm just a little sad that our last lead on the Philosopher's Stone was a dead-end. I was really hoping-."
"Don't worry! I promised to return you to your body, and no obstacle will get in my way. For too long, at least."
The suit of armor seemed to cheer up. Or maybe it was just because the sun came out. Edward didn't know.
It was a strange sight, seeing the sun out while it rained. It both gave you hope and took it away. It chilled you and warmed you at the same time.
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The office Edward sat in was very nice. It was just missing a homely touch. The tile on the floor was glossy and there was a red rug in the middle. Around the rug sat two couches and a desk with a leather chair behind it. It was very nice. Maybe it was just the man sitting in the chair that fouled everything up.
"So, Edward, where's the written report?"
"Right here, sir. It's a little soggy, but I think that you'll get over it."
"Can't you keep anything dry or safe, Elric?"
"Sorry, sir, but it was raining!"
"I guess rain would inconvenience the keeping dry of papers."
Edward nodded, restraining himself from tackling the man in the chair. He had always wanted to hurt the man, but he never worked up the courage to do so. Instead, Edward released his anger in small bouts when people called him short.
"So, Mustang, do I have a new mission?"
"That's Brigadier General Mustang, Fullmetal!"
"Yeah, yeah."
"And yes, you do have a new assignment. But I don't know if a shorty like you can handle it."
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THAT CAN'T EVEN GET A NEW ASSIGNMENT BECAUSE HE CAN'T BE SEEN OVER A DESK!"
"Calm down. I never said that. And if you want your new mission-."
"Fine."
"Anyways, some bodies have been appearing around the outskirts of Central."
"Any patterns?"
"No. Except for the killing method. It looks like a giant animal has been eating the victims. That's why I'm giving you the case instead of crime investigations. I don't think it's been murder at all. I think it's been a loose chimera attacking. And I want you to put an end to it, whatever it is."
"You want me to kill it?"
"Yeah, isn't that what I said?"
"Yes, sir."
"Oh, Fullmetal?"
"Yeah, what?"
"Your fly's down."
Edward turned a bright shade of red and reached down to zip his pants. But he found they were already zipped. He turned to Mustang.
"You freak. You're a sick liar!"
"You're dismissed, Fullmetal."
"Asshole!"
Edward stalked out of Roy Mustang's office. Alphonse was waiting patiently outside. He jogged to catch up with Ed, asking in a childish voice, "How'd it go, Big Brother? Do you have a new assignment? What is it?"
"Mustang's an asshole!"
Al chuckled a little. "Brother, you've already told me that!"
Edward slowed down for his little brother, sighing. He was much stressed, and didn't need Al's constant questioning. Ed turned to his brother, putting on a fake smile.
"Yeah, I got a new assignment. This one sounds exciting, too."
"Good. You have something to be happy about, Big Brother."
"Yeah. Apparently these bodies have been turning up on the fringes of the city. Mustang said they looked half-eaten."
"A cannibal?"
"No, a chimera. Here are is the folder with all of the information."
Alphonse took the folder in his hands, bending the pages so that no passing military personnel could see. The papers had pictures of corpses that looked ripped limb from limb. Alphonse replaced the information in its folder.
"Big Brother, this is probably dangerous."
Ed nodded eagerly, his bangs bouncing up and down. He gave a thumbs-up sign to his brother. He grinned, and said, "I know! It's way better than inspections!"
Alphonse sighed and the pair kept walking. They reached the wooden door, pushed them open and stepped out into the light. The rain had stopped, making everything smell clean. Edward gave Alphonse a playful punch.
"Al, you gotta stop worrying about me."
"If I don't, who will?"
"I'm the older brother. I can look out for myself."
Edward saw Al's sad look and quickly recovered.
"But you can look out for me too if you want. Just don't act like a parent, okay? We're brothers. We gotta have fun while we're young enough to."
Alphonse laughed and the two continued down the steps, light-hearted and happy. Ed playfully shoved Al and Alphonse shoved back a little too hard, sending Edward flying into the bushes.
The blonde picked himself up, pulling twigs out of his hair. Alphonse was on the ground, laughing. Edward grew angry and threw a rock at the suit of armor.
"Very funny."
"I'm sorry, Big Brother. You're just so light weight and small-."
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THAT YOU CAN THROW THEM INTO BUSHES AND ANYWHERE ELSE YOU WANT TOO!"
"I didn't say that, Big Brother."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Let's go, Al."
The duo made their way through the crowded sidewalks of Central city, discussing how to find and kill the chimera. Alphonse suggested that they train it and keep it as a pet. After Edward shunned the idea, Alphonse suggested separating the two animals and freeing them. Ed reminded Al of Nina Tucker and the two grew quiet.
As they walked, they passed many different people. A beggar, a mother with two babies, an old man leaning on a cane. They were all going places. They were all living, breathing. Nina had done all of that. But no more. She was dead, gone for good. Mr. Tucker had made the poor girl into a chimera, and then Scar had deconstructed her using alchemy. Nina was gone.
Edward simply said to Alphonse, "We'll get some bait at the butcher's, lure it, cage it, kill it."
Depressing gray clouds moved in to block the sun, dampening Edward's and Alphonse's spirits. It began to drizzle again and everyone seemed to hurry to their destinations, seeking to get out of the rain. Ed and Al did the exact opposite. They seemed to slow down, trudging with their heads' down.
Edward felt someone slam against his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He clutched his belly, looking up at the person who whacked him.
He saw the back of a woman. She had dirty blonde hair, all the way down to her waist. She was tall and muscular. But what Ed noticed most was that her plain white dress was soaked with blood.
Edward managed to groan, "Miss? Are you alright?"
The woman turned and looked straight at him. Her eyes were golden, just like his. But they had long, thin pupils in the center. And they seemed to pierce him. Edward couldn't look away from her. Those menacing eyes held him.
Edward stood up all of the way and didn't move any more. His eyes didn't move, his hands didn't move, his lips didn't move. Then, the woman slowly turned and began to walk away. Silently, Edward followed.
Alphonse watched helplessly. He shouted, "Big Brother! Where are you going, Big Brother," but Edward didn't seem to hear him. So, Alphonse followed too.
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Okay, my first chapter! I've had this idea for a while, but I was trying to focus on my other fanfiction. Well, I decided that I would take a little break from it and do a different one. Hope everyone like it, C ya!
PLEASE R&R! A WRITER LOVES TO KNOW THAT PEOPLE APPRECIATE THEIR WORK!