Meh, this should be fun. I'm a huge fan of FMA in general and especially of the manga. For any of you who haven't read it, or for those who have and would like to get some extra enjoyment out of it, this is for you. Actually, I got the idea from my sister who is currently in the midst of doing something similar for the Megaman NT Warrior/Rockman.EXE manga. And BTW, these chapters are going to be huge so don't expect quick updates. Just to give you an idea, my sis does the chapters of the Megaman manga in about seven pages each in Word. Those chapters are about 25 to 30 pages each in the actual manga. In FMA, the first chapter alone is 60 pages!!! The rest usually average about 40 or so. sigh In any case, enjoy the FMA manga in novel format. (Oh God, what did I get myself into…?)

Alchemy: the science of deconstructing matter and then reconstructing it in another form. But like all scientific processes it must follow the natural laws set forth before time began. But when some try to go against those laws, the consequences can be grave...

"…Al? …Alphonse?! …ALPHONSE!!" The cries echoed around the small room, but there was no one else there to hear them other than the one from where the words had come. The young boy slammed his fist into the ground. "Damn! Damn it! How could this have happened?!" He ran his hand over the edge of the complex circular array drawn on the floor of the room. "It… it wasn't supposed to be like this…" The boy bowed his head, leaning forward on his arms, trying to comprehend just what had gone wrong. As he did, he happened to glance behind him. "Oh no…"he breathed, eyes widening. Where his left leg had been, only a bloody stump remained, cut off just above the knee. The gravity of what they had tried and the consequences of those actions dropped on him like a sack of bricks. "HE'S GONE…!!"

Teachings that do not speak of pain have no meaning. For humankind cannot gain anything without giving something in return. This is the founding principle of alchemy.

"Children of God who dwell upon the Earth… There is no salvation without prayer and faith. The sun God Leto will illuminate thy path." The voice echoed through the highways and byways of the town, issuing from speakers placed at points in public places, not to mention nearly every private radio in the town. The speaker spoke in a calm voice, low and soothing, like a father speaking to his children. "Behold! The Lord hath descended from His heavenly throne to save thee from all thy sins." At a small outdoor food vending stand located near the center of town, two companions sat listening as the voice continued. "For I am thy father… I am the Emissary of the sun God…"

"…A religious broadcast on the radio?" the first one questioned.

"'Emissary of the sun God?'" his somewhat shorter companion repeated, sticking his fork into his mouth. "What the heck is that?" he scoffed.

"Actually, I was going to ask the same thing about you two…" the stand's owner said, surveying the pair. "Are you guys street performers or something…?"

The shorter one spewed drink in response. "Hey, wait a minute, Pops!" he demanded. "What is it about us that makes you think that we're street performers?!" Though it didn't seem strange to the pair of customers, the fact that one of them was completely encased in a seven-foot tall suit of armor was attracting looks from passerby and other customers alike. The other was dressed mostly in black with a long red jacket over it and white gloves. His gold colored hair was pulled into a short braid at the base of his neck and one piece of hair stuck out at an odd angle in the front almost like an antenna.

The proprietor stammered for a response. "Well… I mean… what else could you be…?" After receiving a glare from the shorter one, who was obviously the stronger personality of the two, the stand owner changed subjects hurriedly. "I haven't seen your faces around here before. On a trip?"

The short one nodded fiddling around his fork. "Uh-huh. We're trying to track something down." He glanced up at the radio that had continued broadcasting throughout their conversation. "By the way, what's with this broadcast anyway?" he asked.

The stand owner looked at him in disbelief. "You've never heard of Father Cornello?"

Apparently he hadn't because after a moment, the short one responded, "…Who?"

"Father Cornello, the sun God Leto's emissary!" the stand owner explained. The other customers present were more than happy to throw in their little pitches for Father Cornello.

"He's the founder of the church of Leto. He can work miracles!" one said excitedly. "He's a wonderful man who came to this town a few years ago and showed us all the way of God."

"Yeah, he's amazing!" another customer agreed.

"They're real miracles! It's the work of God!" a third exclaimed.

The stand owner turned back to his foreign customer with a smile of satisfaction on his face. However that quickly faded when he discovered that they had turned away a little, chin resting on the counter and a thoroughly bored expression on their face. "You're not listening, are you kid?" he said.

"Nope. I'm agnostic," came the response. (For those who don't know just what that means, you can probably get an idea of it from the context, but Webster says it's "one who believes it impossible to know if God exists." This single educational fact brought to you by Warrant Officer Falman. Not really. Right, back to the plot.) The short one stood up, deciding he had had enough of all this religious talk. "Thanks for the eats," he said, nodding to his companion. "Let's go."

"Okay," his armored friend agreed and stood up as well. The only thing about wearing a giant suit of armor is that you tend to misjudge just how tall you actually are. As he stood up, the helmet bumped into an overhanging shelf that supported the radio that the broadcast was coming across.

"AAAAAH!!" the stand owner yelled as the radio plummeted downward. It crashed to the ground, smashing to pieces.

The armored one looked at it. "Oops…" he said.

"Aw man," one customer commented. "Radio's trashed…"

"Hey! Could you please be more careful, sir?" the stand owner pleaded. "Frankly you shouldn't walk around wearing that suit," he added.

The short one waved an apologetic hand. "Our bad. Don't worry, we'll fix it right away," he assured him. A swift nod to his companion and the armored guy bent down, took out a small piece of chalk, and began drawing around the shattered radio.

"You think you can fix it…?" the stand owner said, sounding doubtful.

"Just sit back and watch," the short one said as his partner finished his sketching. Now around the radio was a circular array with another circle inside it and a hexagram inscribed over that.

"Okay. All set!" he reported, standing up. He crossed his hands directly over the radio. "Here we go…"

The stand owner still didn't get just what was going on so needless to say when there was a bright flash of light and a loud boom, it sort of took him by surprise. "AAGH!?" As the smoke cleared, the stand owner noticed a small figure of an object sitting where the broken radio had been. "Wha…?"

"How's that?" the short one asked, pointing down at a brand new radio.

"That… That's amazing!" the stand owner said in disbelief as the radio began broadcasting again as if it had never been broken. "Can you work miracles?!"

"Miracles…?" the short one groaned. Don't demote our abilities to your religious fanaticism, he thought.

"We're just alchemists," his companion explained.

"We're the Elric brothers," the short one said. "A lot of people have heard of us," he added proudly.

"Elric, eh…" the stand owner said. "The… Elric brothers?"

"Hey, I've heard of you guys!" one customer exclaimed. "They say the older brother is a state alchemist they call the 'Fullmetal Alchemist,' Edward Elric!!" The short one seemed happy to finally get some recognition.

"So you're the master alchemist that everyone's talking about!!" one customer said. "Wow, can I have your autograph?"

"Oh, I get it!" another one realized. "They call you 'Fullmetal' because you wear this armor!"

"Uh, no…" the armored one corrected. "It's not me. It's him," he said pointing over to his companion who was having some kind of breakdown from unintentional identity theft.

"Huh?" the "fans" said. "You mean the little guy?"

Now, let's point out something here. It's bad enough that you mess up the guy's identity, but then you go and mention the one thing that's taboo around him. Of course, we couldn't expect them to know any better. Idiot extras.

The short guy went ballistic on them, as he rightfully should have. "I'M NOT LITTLE!! DON'T CALL ME MIDGET!! OR SHORTY!! OR SHRIMP!!"

Townspeople scattered from his path, regardless of whether they had actually been part of the discussion or not. "But we didn't say any of that!" one whined.

The armored guy got him calmed down slightly before explaining their true identities. "I'm the younger brother," he said. "Alphonse Elric."

"It's me!" the other one said, who was needless to say a little ticked off. "I'm the 'Fullmetal Alchemist!!' Edward Elric!!!"

The townsfolk were still traumatized by Ed's rampage. "S-sorry about that…" one managed to stammer out.

It was at this point that another townsperson approached. "Good day, sir," she said, addressing the stand owner. "My, you're awfully busy today."

"Oh hello, Rose," he answered. "Going to the temple today?"

"Uh-huh," Rose answered, taking out a small purse and some bills. "With some offerings. The usual, please." As the stand owner began packing things up for her in a bag, Rose noticed the two brothers who stood there. "Oh, some new faces…" she commented.

Ed stopped in the middle of replacing the fixed radio on the counter long enough to say "Hello." Al greeted her also.

"Yeah, they're alchemists," the stand owner said. "They say they're looking for something." He placed the filled bag on the counter for Rose to take and accepted the payment for it.

Rose took the bag in her arms and smiled happily at Ed and Al. "I hope you find what you're searching for. May Leto bless you!"

The stand owner watched Rose walk off down the street. "Rose's become so happy lately," he observed.

"Uh-huh," one customer agreed. "And it's all thanks to the Father."

Being new to the area, Ed was left blank. "Huh?"

"Not only does that girl have no family," the stand owner explained, "but she lost her boyfriend last year in an accident…"

"It was hard to see her so sad," a customer remembered. "I felt really bad for her."

A second customer continued the story. "That's when she was saved by Father Cornello! He taught her about the sun God Leto!"

"Preach on!" a third customer agreed, as the narrative turned inevitably back to praising "the Holy Father." "He raises the dead and the souls of his faithful live forever! Cornello's miracles prove it!"

"You should see them for yourself!" another customer prompted the brothers. "It's definitely the power of God!"

By this point, Ed had learned to tune out the mindless praise, but there was something one of them had said that struck a very sensitive nerve. "'Raise the dead', huh…" he muttered to himself. "I don't like the sound of that…"

Across town, in his office at the temple, Father Cornello, a rather large bald man with a kindly face, concluded his sermon for that morning. "…and the grace of His light will sine upon all of His children." Putting aside his Holy Book, he flipped a small switch next to him that shut off the microphone through which he was broadcasting.

"A fine sermon, your Holiness," one of the brothers of the faith complimented.

"Yes, thank you, your Holiness!" another agreed. "It's always an honor to hear you preach."

Another voice called out as the Father exited his office with his attendants. "You Holiness!"

Cornello smiled warmly at the speaker. "Oh, it's you, Rose. My, so dedicated! You're an example to us all."

"No, I'm just doing my duty," Rose responded. She began wringing her hands nervously as she got to the reason she had come. "Um… by the way, Father… When will you be able to…?" Her voice trailed off as Rose become unsure if she should be asking or not.

Cornello smiled softly at her. "Yes, I know what it is you ask. God has seen your good deeds."

Rose brightened up considerably. "Then…" she started

Cornello laid a hand on her shoulder. "But it is not yet time, Rose. You understand, don't you? Hmm?"

Rose's face fell. "…Yes, Father. You're right. Not yet…"

Cornello smiled again. "That's a good girl, Rose." With a final comforting pat on the shoulder, he left Rose with her disappointment.

Rose slowly wandered out to the main part of the temple, which featured rows of pews and a large carving of the sun God Leto at its front. She recognized two figures standing there staring at the carving. "Oh, you two again!" she exclaimed approaching Ed and Al, who looked up surprised. "Are you going to join the church of Leto?"

Ed quickly discouraged that idea. "Naw… Sorry, but I'm not religious."

"That's not a real answer!" Rose objected before going on into her own view of the religion. "If you believe," she explained, "you can live with hope and gratitude every day. It's wonderful!" Then she tried to bring it to a personal level for Ed. "If you have faith, you'll grow taller for sure!"

Ed began to advance on her. "What was that…?" he asked dangerously.

Al restrained him. "Easy, easy, brother. She's not saying it to be mean."

Ed conceded and wrenched his arm from his brother's grasp to go plop down on a pew in the front row. "Sheesh… how can you honestly believe these things?" he sighed. "Do you really believe that if you pray to God, the dead will come back to life?"

"Yes, I do," Rose answered resolutely.

Ed sighed again, pulled out a small notebook from his jacket, and began reading out loud. "Water: 35 liters. Carbon: 20 kilograms. Ammonia: 4 liters. Lime: 1.5 kilograms. Phosphorous: 800 grams. Salt: 250 grams. Saltpeter: 100 grams. Sulfur: 80 grams. Fluorine: 7.5 grams. Iron: 5 grams. Silicon: 3 grams. And 15 other elements in small quantities."

Rose was completely left in the dark. "…Huh?"

"That's the total chemical makeup of the average adult body," Ed explained. "Modern science knows all this, but there had never been a single example of successful human transmutation. It's like there's some missing ingredient… Scientists have been trying to find it for hundreds of years and do this day they don't have theory." Ed closed his notebook and put it away. "They say science is a lost cause, but I say it's better than sitting around praying and waiting for something to happen. For that matter," Ed went on, "the elements found in a human being is all junk that you can buy in any market on a child's allowance. Humans are pretty cheaply made."

Rose was offended by this remark. "People aren't objects!" she protested. "That's an insult to the Creator! God will punish you for saying things like that!!"

Ed merely laughed her off. "Aha ha ha!! Alchemists are scientist. We don't believe in unprovable concepts like 'God.'" Rose still didn't appreciate Ed's obvious disrespect for her beliefs, but didn't say anything as he went on. "We strive to uncover the principles of creation in the matter of the world, to pursue truth…" Ed laughed to himself as he thought of something. "It's ironic that we scientists… who don't believe in God… are in a sense the closest things to him."

"What pride…" Rose scoffed. "Are you saying you are God's equal?"

Ed smirked, crossing his left leg over his other knee. "Well… it's like that myth about the hero…" Ed glanced over at Al for quick second before going on. "He made wings out of wax so he could fly… But when he got to close to the sun… to God… the wax melted and he crashed to the ground…"

Rose didn't get the meaning of what Ed was trying to say and looked on, confused, as he and Al walked out.

A little while later, Father Cornello made an appearance in front of his followers. The townspeople were unbelievably excited, cheering and throwing flowers up in the air toward Cornello. Inevitably, someone finally shouted "You Holiness!! Give us a miracle!!" Cornello was only to happy to oblige. Catching a small rose blossom that someone had thrown, he cupped his hands around it. There was a bright flash of light and a bang and then Cornello lifted a giant sunflower above his head. The crowd ate it up, praising Cornello even more.

At the back of the crowd, Ed and Al stood looking on. "…What do you think?" Ed asked after viewing the miracle by standing on top of his suitcase to see over the people.

"That kind of transmutation has to alchemy," Al concluded.

"That's what I thought, too," Ed agreed. "But what about the laws…?"

By this point, their voices had attracted the attention of another viewer standing nearby. "So you came to see him after all," Rose exclaimed, walking over. "See?! He does have miraculous powers. Father Cornello is the sun God's child!"

Ed, predictably, was unmoved, much to Rose's annoyance. "Naw, that's alchemy, no matter how you look at it. Cornello's a fraud," he added flatly.

"But he can bypass the laws for some reason," Al observed.

"Yeah… that's the problem right there," Ed agreed.

"'The laws?'" Rose questioned.

Al explained. "Most people think that alchemy can do anything and create whatever you want, but in reality there are certain concrete laws."

Ed took over from there. "I guess the two big concepts are 'The Law of Conservation of Mass' and 'The Law of Natural Providence.'" Explaining the science he knew so well, Ed got a little carried away into the technical side of it, leaving Rose completely behind. "Although some conjure with the four elements, or with the three principles…" He would have gone on, but Al stopped him, pointing out Rose's obvious confusion.

"Um… let me try…" Al suggested. "A substance can only be created from the same type of substance. For example, if something's mostly made of water, you can only use it to make other things with the attributes of water."

"In other words," Ed cut back in, wanting to get his say, "the basics of alchemy is the 'Equivalent Exchange!' That means that to obtain something, something of equal value must be lost. But that old guy," Ed continued, referring to the "miracle" they had just witnessed, "is making too much out of too little… Alchemy-wise, that's breaking the law."

"See?!" Rose burst in. "So why don't you two have faith that it's a miracle already?!" Her pleas fell on deaf ears as the two brothers discussed among themselves.

"Brother…" Al said. "Do you think…?"

"Yeah, I do," Ed confirmed, eyeing the red stone ring Cornello wore. "I think we've found it." With a sudden change of attitude, he whirled around to face Rose, a bright smile on his face. "Hey lady, I'm starting to get interested in this religion! I'd love to speak to his Holiness! You think you could take me to him?"

Rose was completely convinced that Ed had had a change of heart. "Oh my! So you're finally starting to believe?" she asked happily. And of course, she was only too happy to take the two back to the temple to meet with his Holiness.

Later that day, a brother of the faith, whose name was Cray, knocked on the door of Cornello's office. After receiving the "Come in", he opened the door to report. "Your Holiness, there are some people here who are requesting an audience with you. It's a boy and a man in a suit of armor. They say they're the Elric brothers…" he added.

Cornello was in no mood to hear this. "What? I'm busy ­­-- Send them away!" Cray nodded and headed back out the door, but Cornello stopped him. "Wait, hold on. The Elric brothers? Edward Elric?!"

"Yes, it was the boy who called himself that…" Cray confirmed. "Do you know him?"

"Aaggh…! This is bad!" Cornello groaned. "It's Edward Elric…" he explained. "The Fullmetal Alchemist!!"

Cray could hardly believe it. "Wha…? But he's a little brat, only this high!" Cray exclaimed holding his hand halfway up his chest. "You're kidding, right?!"

"Fool!" Cornello muttered. "Alchemic skill has nothing to do with age! I had heard that he obtained the title of State Alchemist at age 12… So… the rumors about this brat were really true…"

"What is a State Alchemist doing here!?" Cray wondered. "Could it be that our plan…"

"It seems the dogs of the military have good noses," Cornello said.

"Shall we chase them away?" Cray suggested.

"No, that would cause more suspicion," Cornello pointed out. "And eve if we did chase them away, they'd come back… and bring more." An evil grin spread over Cornello's face. "Let's just say… they never came here. How does that sound?"

It took a moment for Cray to understand what the Father was suggesting, but once he did a smirk appeared on his own face. "It shall be as God wills…" he answered.

Sorry, to disappoint you all, but I'm gonna have to cut it off there. This chapter is just way too long to do all in one shot. Gives you something to look forward to. Review as always… and later days.

Just a minor thing though, I find it kind of funny that Ed hates being called short and I was calling him "the short one" for about half of this chapter.

Ed: (offscreen) WHAT WAS THAT?!

Uh, nothing...

Ed: GET BACK HERE YOU!!

AAAGHH!! RUN AWAY!!

Fullmetal Alchemist © Hiromu Arakawa. Sadly…