Characters:
Hikari Blackstone: a 15-year-old state alchemist called "the Dark Blade alchemist". Her parents were killed when she was a child and after the death of her older brother, Hikari breaks the taboo of human transmutation and tries to bring him back. Needless to say, she failed and ended up with an automail right arm and the power to use alchemy without a circle. She joins the state alchemists so she can find out what her brother was researching before and how it resulted in his death. Now she and her two childhood friends, Vince and Caleb are searching for answers. Answers to why Hikari's family was killed and to find out the deadly secret that the Blackstone's have been keeping for centuries. Her personality is usually happy and upbeat but can change in an instant to serious if the situation calls for it. She is completely loyal to her friends and would do anything to protect them. Her favorite thing to do is to prove Vince wrong about something they were arguing about. Her biggest pet peeve is when people call her kid or (this sound familiar?) short.
Vince Mollis: 16-year-old friend of Hikari's. He's a master of technology although lacking in common sense. He has a strong heart and would do anything to help Hikari or his step-brother Caleb. Vince and his mother, Elenea, came from New Ishbal (yes, it is a country in this fan fic!) to Amestris and met Caleb's father, Cid. Vince acts like a big tough guy but really, he has a heart of gold and can't resist helping someone in need. However, you DO NOT want to get on his bad side. His weapons of choice are two hand guns that are usually loaded with liquid knock out gas pellets but he occasionally switches to deadly bullets (depending on how urgent the occasion is) he detests killing but will if he or his friends are threatened. He loves to joke around and get Hikari pissed off. However, according to Caleb, Vince secretly has a crush on Hikari.
Caleb Links: 15-year-old friend of Hikari and step-brother of Vince. He's an amazing automail engineer and used to help his father out in his automail-repair shop as a child. Caleb is the most level headed one in the group and constantly keeps Hikari and Vince from killing each other when they begin to argue (which is often) He and Vince aren't biological brothers but they act like they are. They're so close (who does this sound like?) you'd never know they weren't related by blood. Caleb's mother died after she gave birth to him leaving him and his father alone until Vince and his mother came along when Vince and Caleb where both around 4-years-old. Caleb is a master of karate, ninjitsu, and many other fighting styles. He normally fights with kunai or hand to hand. He sometimes uses a gun but prefers his fists. He is normally quiet and reserved but loosens up when it's just him and his friends. Caleb very rarely loses his cool but it's been known to happen in a crisis. He loves to flirt with girls and tease Vince about his supposed crush on Hikari.
Renee Mustang: Ha Ha! The last name was a surprise wasn't it? She's the grand daughter of (wanna guess?) the one the only, Roy Mustang!!! But that's not all! She's also (are you ready?) the Furher!!! Bet that was a shocker, right? She is also the new Flame Alchemist and the god mother of ………..Hikari Blackstone! Renee and Hikari's mother were both state alchemists and best friends so its not a surprise that Renee was named her god mother. Although a few people aren't very happy with a woman Furher, Renee has made her career off fixing the messes that the furher before her, Darwin Sanchez, left behind after he died. She brought the country out of the war ridden state that it had been in before and made it a prosperous and peace filled land. Although she is Hikari's god mother, she doesn't give the kid any easy rides! Renee never plays favorites among her subordinates and that includes Hikari. But that doesn't mean that she doesn't watch out for her, she still considers Hikari a "little kid" and tries to make sure that she stays out of trouble (this doesn't always work out well) Renee (like Roy) has great ambitions for herself and the country.
Seth Rivers: He's a state alchemist called "The Red Light" alchemist and a colonel. He's who Hikari files her reports to and prompted her to take the alchemy exam. He was a close friend of Hikari's brother, Tristan (the "White Lightning" alchemist). His sarcasm and lazy personality make him seem more like Roy's descendant then Renee. He and Hikari have a very similar relationship to that of Ed and Roy's; Hikari hates him with a passion and Seth constantly sends Hikari out on missions so he won't have to complete them himself. In spite of his slacking attitude, Seth has complete loyalty from those who follow him and is considered the all around good guy by everyone………except by Hikari.
CHAPTER 1
"Where the hell is that damn car?!" Hikari yelled angrily. Her two friends, Vince and Caleb, knew exactly how she felt, they'd been waiting outside the train station for the past 2 hours waiting for a car that was suppose to take them to Central Commend. Hikari was very impatient and the heat wasn't doing much to improve her mood. "It was SUPPOSE to be here at exactly 2:30. It is now…" she flipped open her silver State Alchemist pocket watch and checked the time."….5:49!!!How the hell did it get that late?! Oh crud, I was hoping to be OUT of Central by now….."The reason they were in Central City now was because Hikari had to give her monthly report to Col. Rivers. This was something that she detested doing. She detested col. Rivers even more. "Hey, Kari can ya calm done a bit? You're making a scene" Vince whispered to her. It was true; almost every head outside the station was turned curiously toward the three youths on the sidewalk.
"Fine, I'll TRY to calm done..." she said sulkily and sat down on a near by bench. "This is odd," Caleb said. "The colonel usually sends a guy right on time to meet us…". "Yeah," said Vince looking up from the corndog he was devouring. "Maybe we should call and make sure we're in the right place…" he looked at Hikari. She was the only one of them with a working cell phone. "What? No way am I using my precious cell phone minutes to call someone whom I have no desire to talk to!" "Fine then," Caleb said with a grin. "I guess we'll just have to wait in this sweltering heat, which means we have to spend MORE time in central and LESS time researching." Hikari threw him a nasty look "Have I ever mentioned that I hate it when you're right?" "Only every day" he shot back playfully.Hikari gave him another withering glance as she whipped out her cell phone and dialed the number. The phone was black, like most of the things Hikari owned. She was wearing a black, sleeveless shirt with a black coat that had a red alchemy symbol on the back, over it. Her jeans were baggy and had chains hanging from them. These too were black and her dark wardrobe (combined with her right arm of automail) drew worried glances from mothers who held their children closer and were careful to stay out of her path. This was a normal response to her clothes so she ignored it. Her hair was a dazzling silver color and her eyes were a deep, icy blue that had a cold glint in them. Her companions' attire was far less outlandish then her own, Caleb wore a green tee shirt with blue jeans that set off his green eyes and blonde hair perfectly. Vince had on a white tee shirt with gray jeans with his reddish-hazel hair and bright red eyes.
Hikari finished dialing her number and waited for someone on the other side to pick up. Someone did but not who she had expected. "Central Command, Col. River's office, how can I help you?" "Hector?" Hikari said in surprise. She had been expecting the colonel to answer. Figures he'd get someone ELSE to answer his phone for him. "Hey, Hikari? Well, well I haven't seen you around here lately. What's up? You need to talk to Seth?"
"Ahh, no, no……you just caught me a little off guard. Since when are you Rivers' secretary?" Hikari replied hastily. There was a chuckle on the other side as Hector answered "It's just a one time gig. There was a bombing down town earlier this week, no one was hurt thankfully, but there've been people calling all day asking what Seth intends to do about it, downtown being his jurisdiction and all. He went out for a walk and I'm holding down the fort." "I see, was the bombing resistance work?" Hikari answered, thankful that she didn't have to talk to the Col. "we suspect so but we have no evidence saying it was them so we officially have no idea." Hikari was silent for a moment and then said, "Where did you say the bombing was again?" "I didn't." Hector replied coolly "and if I did give you that information what would you be planning to do with it? Go after them yourself? Listen Hikari, we're not even sure that it WAS the resistance; it could have just been some wack job setting off bombs for his own amusement." Hikari was silent on the other line. She hated the resistance for the reason that they had killed her mother. No one ever gave her any information about the resistance knowing that she would most likely go after them herself. "I wasn't planning on doing anything, just curious that's all." She silently cursed herself for being so eager for information. It's none of my business, she told herself. They can handle it without me; I have more important things to do. "Uh-huh, I bet." Hector said skeptically, "oh yeah, why did you call in the first place? According to Seth's files, you should have been here a few hours ago." "That's the problem!" Hikari said, "The stupid car that was supposed to pick us up never came!!" "Well…….um….lieutenant Ruston was that one who was supposed to be driving…….he's a new recruit and may not have been expecting……ummm….." "'ummmm' what?" Hikari said getting angry. "Well…" Hector tried to chose his words carefully. Hikari's temper was legendary around Central. "Alright I'm just gonna say it, maybe he wasn't expecting a couple of KIDS!!!" he waited for the explosion that was Hikari's temper but it never came. She must be learning self control, he thought. About time too. Hikari was struggling to keep her voice leveled, "fine, we'll go look for him, he's wearing military uniform right? He won't be THAT hard to spot." "Wow, Hikari, that's so out of character for you. It's so optimistic." Said Vince who had been listening in on the phone call. She gave him an I'm-not-going-to-kill-you-now-because-we're-in-public-but-you-are-so-dead-later look. He replied by pretending to be scared. "Thanks Hector, bye" she said into the phone "buh-bye kid" he replied and hung up before Hikari could register that he had called her a kid. She sniffed angrily and put her phone away. "So what's the problem? Are we getting a ride or walking to HQ?" Caleb said. "I REALLY hope that we're not walking, it's about a mile or two away…." Vince complained. "Relax guys…." Hikari said, "All we gotta do is find a guy wearing military uniform and convince him that he came here for us." "Yeah that'll be a real snap." Said Vince sarcastically, "Like he'll believe that a pipsqueak like Kari is actually a state alchemist. Especially with the way she's dressed…….." Hikari punched him on the shoulder. "Ohh, I'm soooo scared of the LITTLE girl and her WEAK punches" Vince said, challenging her. (Now, Vince did two things that are very dangerous to do. He insulted Hikari's strength AND called her short at the same time. Imagine what Ed's reaction to this would have been and you'll get what Hikari's was)
Before Hikari could have done any REAL damage to Vince, Caleb came between them and said, "Shouldn't we at least look for our ride? After that, you two can kill each other all ya want and I won't stop you." Hikari and Vince decided to continue their fight later and began to scan the crowd for a man wearing a military uniform. They found him rather quickly. It wasn't hard to spot the heavy, blue military uniform among crowds of tang-tops, tee-shirts, and shorts.
They approached him as Hikari said, "uhhh….sir?" he looked up. "Are you by any chance Lieutenant Ruston?" "Yes, I am." He replied, "And who are you?" "I'm Hikari Blackstone .I'm pretty sure that you're supposed to pick us up here, right?" For a moment the man looked confused, them he smiled and broke into a loud laugh. Hikari stared at him, her temper rising, knowing what was coming next. "Thanks kid, I needed a laugh now you and your friends can run along now." "Who the hell are you calling a kid!!!!" the only thing that stopped her from trying to kill the man was Vince's hand on her shoulder. She took a deep breath and calmed down. "look sir, regardless of what my age is I AM a state alchemist, here's my watch as proof." She reached into her pocket and took out her silver state alchemist pocket watch. As the lieutenant eyed it skeptically Hikari added, "I can transmute something if you want, to prove my identity…". Ruston looked up from his inspection of the watch and said, "Ahh….no that wont be necessary…..please follow me to the car…." He began walking towards the parking lot with Hikari, Vince and Caleb behind him. Vince and Caleb were trying desperately hard to keep Hikari from noticing their urge to laugh. She noticed. "Yeah, this is REAL funny! Wanna know what else is funny? Broken bones!!" she said quietly. The threat just made the boys laugh out loud. Ruston turned around and said, "Here we are" as he opened the back door of the car to let the three youths inside. Great, he thought. My four year training at the military academy and for what? To play doorman for some pipsqueak alchemist and her friends. I should have listened to my mother and went into the dry cleaning business when I had the chance……he got into the drivers seat and began toward central headquarters and (to Hikari's displeasure) to Col. Seth Rivers.
"So, you're telling me that you learned absolutely NOTHING while in Liore?" Col. Seth Rivers said to Hikari (who was, at the moment, resisting the urge to give a sarcastic remark). Instead, she swallowed her pride and said, "I already told you, the city was almost completely deserted. Liore is out in the desert!!!And in this heat, all of the smart people packed up and left on vacation the minute they could!!" They went to Liore searching for a man name Dr. D.J Albert who had help Hikari's brother, Tristan, on a project he had been working on. Tristan had died before finishing it.Hikari was hoping that the doctor would have some kind of clue as to why her brother was murdered.
When the three had gotten to the desert city, it had resembled a ghost town. Hardly anyone was to be seen in out in the intense heat of the sun. All of the people who couldn't leave had been locked inside their homes with a T.V and air conditioner. The only person who had actually been willing to talk to them was Vince's cousin, Monica. Monica was 15 and the only person who could even come close to beating Hikari in hand to hand combat. She had told them that the man they were searching for had packed up over a month ago and no one knew where he went. Since all of their leads had ended up dry, they had decided to stay in Liore a few more days as a mini-vacation. The heat was pretty bad but they had fun and now, Hikari was bitterly wishing that she had taken Monica up on her offer of staying for another week. To Hikari, ANYTHING would have been better then being at the Colonel's office in Central. She was expecting Rivers' to make some sarcastic remark or start giving her a long lecture about how she should have come back to Central right away instead of wasting precious time(and military resources) in Liore if she had no business there. However, he did something VERY out of character that made Hikari wonder if he was sick, he sighed and said, "Well, I guess it cant be helped if he had already left a month ago. You did your best..." Hikari was speechless; she opened her mouth then closed it again. She had no idea how to react to this side of the colonel, he usually said things like, 'you could have done better!' or 'you should have known that that was false information!' but he NEVER just said 'you did your best' and left it at that. Hikari thought that it was actually a bit scarier then when the Colonel was yelling, at least then she knew what to expect. "Ummm...if that's all you needed me for...I'll be going now...". She quickly got up and headed for the door but, before she even had her hand on the doorknob, the colonel said, "Not so fast Dark blade, I have some information here that I think you should know about." He gestured for her to sit again. Hikari sighed, THIS was the colonel that she knew and loathed. She slowly walked over to the chair and sat again. "So, what is this information?" She said as she sat down. "Well I'm not even entirely sure that I should be telling you this, it might scare you a little." Hikari was about to laugh, then she looked up and saw Rivers' eyes. He was dead serious. Hikari suppressed a shiver, whatever he said probably WOULD scare her, but she wouldn't let him know that. Instead she said, "Ok, so what makes it so bad that you think it would scare me?" The Colonel turned to looked at her, "Someone's been asking quiet a lot of questions, about you". Hikari gulped and said, "I'm confused, that's creepy, I'll admit but it isn't very scary". "That's not the scary part. The scary part is WHO is asking then questions, and I'll tell you", the Colonel said as he pressed a button on the computer keyboard on his desk. An image of a man appeared on the monitor near his desk. The man's face was badly scarred and his mouth seemed to be twisted into a permanent sneer. On his arm was a long tattoo of a green snake with eerie bright red eyes painted on it. Just looking at the image made Hikari shiver. "This is the guy who's been asking so many questions about you. His name is Jake Hunt but he's mostly known by his nickname, 'The Green Viper'. We don know much about him except that he works for the resistance". The colonel's voice was strange, like he was trying to hide something from Hikari."What exactly does he do for the resistance?" she said, fighting to keep her voice clear and calm. She was scared that she already knew the answer to her question. The Colonel looked at her, "This is the part that I was afraid would scare you. He's an assassin, Hikari. One of the best too, his success rate is 100". "So why exactly is he so interested in me? What did I do to piss off the resistance so much?" Hikari said. She was a little proud of herself, the Colonel's information had more then scared her, it had terrified her but, her voice was still calm and cool." My informants aren't entirely sure that he's been hired to kill you. He may just be interested in your career; a lot of other people sure as hell are". The colonel said. Hikari was able to muster up a smile at this. She certainly WAS a very unusual case. Passing the state alchemy exam at age 11(with top marks on the written portion!) and having a mysterious name (The Dark blade Alchemist) was enough to grab anyone's attention. Even a world class assassin would probably be impressed. However, even though Hikari's mind was a little more at peace with the thought that she probably would not be an assassin's next victim, Col. Seth River's mind was racing. He didn't believe for a second that Hunt was interested in Hikari because of her achievements; he had only said that so Hikari wouldn't worry. It would be bad if she left here in a panic and Hunt cornered her in some alley, she wouldn't be able to think straight. No one would if they knew an assassin was after them, especially a 15-year-old girl. "Well, that's all so you can leave now if you want...". He said as he gestured to the door. Hikari quickly got up and left.
The minute she had closed the door behind her, Seth picked up his phone and dialed a number. Someone picked up, "Hello. Central Internal Investigations, how can i help you?" said the voice on the other line. "This is Col. Seth Rivers; please connect me to Major Hector Hughes". "Right away sir". A few moments later Hector picked up. "Hey, 'sup Seth? Any problems?"."Hi, Hec. We have a bit of a problem". He quickly explained the situation about Hikari and 'The Viper'. When he was finished, Hughes was already flipping through files on his computer. "So, you want to place a body guard on the kid without her knowing, right?" Seth smiled, "It's like you read my mind. So what options do we have?"."Let's see here...Armstrong's on vacation..."Hughes replied as he scanned the data. "Which one?" Rivers' asked, referring to the twin Armstrong brothers. One was a state alchemist and the other worked in the Internal Investigations branch of the military. "Both", Hughes replied. "Some kinda family thing, i think their grandfather is turning 120 today and he's a retired war hero so the higher ups gave the guys a few days off". He paused for a minute, "Well, Leng and Nolmes are free, they're both just warrant officers but they're expected to get to higher places". "They'll do fine and besides, they're only there if something goes wrong. I'm pretty sure that if anything happens to Hikari, Vince and Caleb will take care of the problem", Seth replied. "Seth, you don't seriously think that the resistance actually wants Hikari dead, do you? I mean, she's just a kid and no danger to them. And hiring Hunt like that...what are they thinking?" Rivers was quiet for a moment then said, "You have to remember Hughes, they killed her mother and the Furher is almost 100 positive that they had a hand in the deaths of Tristan and Matt".Brigidiar General Matthew Blackstone had been a great leader in the military. Even after the death of his wife he still carried on his military duties and his role as a single father perfectly. "Wait, I know that Tristan's death was highly suspious but I thought they ruled the brig. General's death a suicide". Matthew Blackstone had been found in his office with a gun in his hand and a bullet hole through his head. Seth shook his head, "Hector, if you had met him, you would know that he was not the kind of guy who would abandon his two kids. He was in a bad state after Lauren died but was able to get through it because of Tristan and Hikari, he wouldn't have left them alone"." Well, being a father myself, I can see what your saying and it is highly unlikely that it was a suicide", Hector replied. "Well, I'll send over Leng and Nolmes over to you in an hour and you can give them their directions". There was a muffled sound in the background then a shuffle of papers."Whoa! Can i get back to ya later Seth? Linda just brought in a whole new stack of paper work that needs my signiture".Seth laughed, "yeah, bye".
He hung up the phone and stared out the window, thinking about what he had told Hikari and the conversation he had just had with Hector. Maybe it's nothing, he thought. Maybe the fact that Hunt is asking questions about Hikari is just a coincidence. He really wanted to believe that but, his better judge meant told him that there was trouble brewing and Hikari was somehow at the center of it. At that moment, Seth Rivers didn't know how right he was.
While Seth was having his phone conversation with Hector, another conversation concerning Hikari was taking place. "The little brat's back in Central". said a tall women. "Yes...I know that." said another woman. "but that assassin, Hunt, is there as well and rumor has it that his next victim is the girl" said the tall one. The other women put her hand to her temple for a and closed her eyes. A moment later she opened her eyes and said, "Send one of the others there to watch over her, we cant afford to let her die...no...we've come to close". "As you wish, master". The tall women left the room and came into another occupied by a young man. "Go to Central and watch over the kid, those are the master's orders". She said to him. He only nodded and made his way down a dark flight of stairs.
Trouble was brewing and Hikari did indeed seem to be at the center of it all.
