Author's Note: Hello everyone! Welcome to the first chapter of Equivalent Exchange! This fic idea kind of hit me like a train and I couldn't shake it. This is just the pilot chapter to test and see how it goes. The normal chapters won't be this short, I promise! Please let me know what you think! Ciao!
Disclaimer: I do not own FullMetal Alchemist or Naruto. Sadly.
Chapter One:
Principles
"Alchemy, it is the scientific technique of understanding the structure of matter, decomposing it, and then reconstructing it. If performed skillfully, it is even possible to create gold out of lead. However, as it is a science, there are some natural principles in place. Only one thing can be created from something else of a certain mass. This is the Principle of Equivalent Exchange."
It was silent.
The only sound that could be heard was the slight scratching of chalk against stone. The tap, tap, tap as lines were added and circles were drawn.
"That oughta do it."
The voice came from a small boy who looked to be no older than eleven. His short blond hair fell in front of his face and he reached up to push it away. A determined smile tilted at his lips and his amber eyes looked up towards the two other children in the room. The boy held a wooden stick about the length of his arm in one small hand and he lowered it back down to his side, a small piece of chalk sticking out of the end.
"You ready?" He spoke again, his amber eyes lit up in excitement.
"Are you sure this will work, Ed?" The unsure voice came from his left and he turned his head to look at the girl next to him.
The girl shared much of the same looks as the boy, Edward. Her golden hair hung down her back in soft waves as she leaned over on her knees to examine the outline in front of her. The girl's eyes, about two shades darker than Edward's, took in the neatly drawn chalk lines. After years of preparation and study, it had been drawn to perfection.
The giant circle of white chalk outlined the stone floor in the center of the basement. Liquid ingredients muddled with dirt and blood were laid out in the center of the circle as if in offering. Chemistry beakers each filled with varying measurements of ingredients were spread out around the three children. A tome, filled with notes and dog-eared pages, sat on the floor behind them. In the back corner of the room stood a tall suit of armor, the metal flickering in the candle light. Posters filled with alchemy notes were plastered all over the empty spaces on the concrete walls, hanging above bookcases and cluttered workbenches.
"Alena," Edward smiled at her, "everything's perfect, no need to worry."
The girl sighed and shook her head. "Shouldn't I be the one saying that? I'm the oldest after all."
Alena was older, it was true, but she was only older than Edward by a year; a fact he never let her forget. She sat back on her haunches and blew a stray piece of hair out of her face. They had been preparing for that very moment for the last four years. Not only had the three of them spent years and years pouring over books of research, but they'd also been off studying with an alchemy master for the past six months.
They were ready.
"What about you, Alphonse, are you ready to do this?" Alena asked the last of the three children. Her littlest brother, younger than her by two years, looked over at her with wide sepia eyes. His hair, a shade darker than his sister's, looked brown in the candlelight. He was nervous, but he wouldn't tell them that, and he fisted the soft material of his pants.
"Don't be scared, Al." Edward reassured his little brother and reached over to squeeze one of Alphonse's clenched hands. "We've been preparing for this for years. It's now or never."
Alphonse paused before releasing the death grip he had on his pants. He nodded.
It was now or never, after all.
"Alright then." Alena breathed in deeply through her mouth and exhaled out of her nose. "Let's do it."
None of the children heard the rain pounding outside.
Alena leaned forward and placed two small hands on the outer circle and watched as her little brother's followed suit. She felt a burst of energy flow through her body, into her hands, and spread across the circle. It was like a pull, a small tug from the bottom of her being, her very self. It joined the energy coming from both of her brothers and she squinted her eyes as the transmutation circle in front of them lit up in yellow light. The energy pulsated, sending gusts of wind into the air and Alena's hair whipped around her face from the force.
She grinned as flashes of electricity burst from the center of the circle. It lit up the room as the transmutation circle thrummed with energy. The center exploded into a tornado of wind, almost ripping the breath from her lungs. It was working. She could feel it. She could almost reach out and grasp it, it was so palpable. Alena looked over at her little brothers and laughed at the euphoric looks on their faces. It only took a second.
The energy suddenly turned dark and the circle started to pulsate with need, with hunger.
Alena's eyes widened as she saw a streak of red lightning burst through the room. It wasn't supposed to turn that color. That wasn't supposed to happen! Her heart sped up, the muscle beating into the cage of her chest.
Bump, bump, bump.
"Something doesn't feel right." The panicked voice of Alphonse came somewhere to her right. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think. The dark energy pulled at her, tugging at the very seams of her soul.
She tried to yank her hands away from the cold stone floor, but they wouldn't budge. She couldn't move. The air left her lungs as the middle of the transmutation circle transformed. The chalk lines disappeared and she found herself staring into the depths of a giant ringed eye. Black tendrils burst from the outer circle without warning, and she watched as four of them attached themselves to Alphonse's left hand.
His scream pierced the room as his hand disintegrated.
"Al?" Edward's frantic voice drew her attention. His wide amber eyes were fixated on the spot where his little brother's hand used to be. "Al-"
Edward's voice cut out in a pained scream.
Alena looked down.
His left calf was severed in half.
Black tendrils wrapped around the detached limb, their nonexistent mouths devouring it.
Edward had collapsed onto his stomach, his eyes wide and his mouth open in a silent scream.
"It can't be," his voice shook with pain and fear. "A rebound?"
It wasn't supposed to go wrong. It wasn't supposed to be this!
Alena didn't even have time to react.
A black tendril flew at her, attaching itself to her left eye. It pulled and tugged until it too, disappeared. She screamed and grasped at the place it used to be with a shaking hand. Blood ran down her face in rivets and her throat tightened in fear.
"Brother!"
Her head flew up and her remaining eye widened.
Alphonse was being dragged, piece by piece of his body being ripped apart by the tendrils. He screamed so loud that the blood vessels in his eyes burst. She could see the bloodied whites of his sepia eyes as he reached out a hand towards Edward.
Edward reached out a hand towards Alphonse.
And then he was gone. Her baby brother disintegrating into nothing.
Crash!
The sound punctured through what once was relaxed silence. An accompanied thud followed as a girl no older than five years old fell onto the floor. She blinked hazidly up at the white ceiling above her. The girl's body was tangled in a pile of blankets, half of it still hanging off of the couch next to her. Shakily, she pressed her fingers to her forehead. The dream she had been having had felt so real.
"Rock Lee! What have I told you about running in the house?"
At the sound of furious yelling, the girl pushed herself back onto her elbows to try and peer around the coffee table next to her. She could just barely see the small form struggling to get up in the hallway right outside of the living room. A little boy of six years wobbled onto his feet, his arms flailing outwards in an attempt to balance himself. Clutched in one of his tiny hands was a small wooden block. The girl's eyes moved down to see a mess of stacking blocks spilled out all over the hallway.
"I'm sorry, Aunt Nanoko." The little boy, Rock Lee, apologized. His sad, dark eyes dejectedly took in the mess on the floor. "I just wanted to play blocks with Matsuko-chan."
A tall woman stood near the other open doorway into the living room and she stared at the mess in front of her in silent anger. Nanoko's long dark hair had been pulled back into a low ponytail and it swished as she slowly shook her head. In her hands was a weaved basket full of supplies and she grasped it with white knuckles. She already had her shoes on, a pair of sturdy brown leather boots, pulled over her long black pants. Her black long sleeve shirt had been rolled up to her elbows, exposing her slightly tanned skin.
Dark eyes narrowed and lips pinched, Nanoko clutched the basket tighter to her hip. Nanoko didn't spare the child another glance as she turned on her heel to walk towards the front door. She paused for a moment before reaching out for the door handle. "Clean it up."
And then she left, the door closing behind her. She would be gone for most of the day working down at a fish stand in the market. Not that it mattered really, since she was always gone.
"Big brother?" The little girl scrambled out from under her prison of blankets and hurried to the boy's side. Ignoring the mess on the floor, she reached out to smooth down a loose black hair that had fallen out of his braid. Rock Lee nodded at his sister, lower lip jutting out in a sad frown. His other hand, the one not holding onto the wooden block, clutched at the white shirt he was wearing. The boy stared down at his bare feet, his brown pants falling just above his ankles.
Matsuko narrowed her eyes at the closed front door and reached out and poked his cheek. "Let's play blocks."
Rock Lee looked up at her then, black hair framing his face. "I don't want to anymore."
"Why not?" The girl huffed. She reached out and poked his cheek again. "Because of her?"
Her brother just shook his head at her, frowning. Matsuko sighed and blew a strand of her own black hair out of her face. Her brother was always a cheerful, smiling kid. But their stupid aunt somehow always managed to make him frown.
Both of their parents were dead. Killed during some attack on the village that Matsuko had no knowledge of. She had been a baby then, barely a month old when it had happened. Rock Lee had been only a year old during the time, so he didn't really have any memory of it either. All they knew was that their parents were gone and they had been forced to live with their aunt. Nanoko had been the only living relative the two young siblings had and they had been placed with her instead of in an orphanage. Though Matsuko believed that their aunt would have rather had them be placed in one.
"Let's do something else then!" Matsuko grabbed her older brother's only empty hand and tugged gently.
"Like what?" Rock Lee asked, his big round eyes staring up at her from underneath his long eyelashes. Matsuko took a moment to think, her other hand coming up to rest on her cheek. She jabbed a finger in the air when the idea hit her.
"Let's go to the park!"
"But won't Aunt Nanoko get mad?" His voice came out as a mumble and Matsuko scowled at his sad face.
"Who cares? Not like she'd notice anyway. Come on!" She tugged on his hand, completely ignoring the mess of blocks in the hallway, and pulled him behind her towards the front door.
Matsuko let go of his hand in order to shove his blue sandals into his arms and lean down and tug on her own. Rock Lee didn't protest as she grabbed his tan, high collared coat from the hook next to the door and shoved that into his now empty hands. Matsuko pulled on her own blue coat as her brother slowly buttoned the front clasps of his own.
"Let's go have fun!" Matsuko grinned, reaching down to grab his hand again. She felt happiness well up inside of her when he matched her grin with his own.
The door slammed shut behind them, but the whole way to the park the girl couldn't help but feel like she'd forgotten something.