鋼の錬金術師 (FullMetal Alchemist)
The Promise to the West.
Chapter 1 Past the Frontier
Ed ran towards the group of bandits, with his arm already transmuted into his blade. Al transmuted the roof of the wagon into a wall, as the bandits started shooting. They received the ricochet of the bullets, and the Elric brother's jumped over the wall.
They crossed the gap between the wagons, and kept running.
The people underneath them heard the stomps on the ceiling. The kidnappers that were holding them wondered what was going on, but their leader's orders had been clear. They had to stay put.
Ed and Al jumped over the coal wagon, and got really dirty. Ed transmuted it into a big, single block. They walked out of the wagon, transmuted the coal again, and jumped to the steam engine.
The bandit there shot Ed in his arm, but the bullet ricocheted away, and Ed knocked him down.
"Ok, Al, that's for starters. Now, how do we turn this thing on?".
"Try pushing that 'start' button over there".
"Oh…Yeah!".
Once he pushed it, the trained started moving slowly. They jumped off, and ran to the wagon before the coal. That was the first class wagon, where the bandit's leader ought to be.
The jumped in as the train moved faster by every passing second.
Ed did a little alchemy, and a little head with his distinctive little hair appeared inside the wagon.
"To the leader of the band. You are surrounded, so give it up".
"I will not listen to a tiny doll!". He yelled at Ed's cartoony image.
Ed broke the door with a smashing punch, and stormed in.
"WHO DID YOU CALL A MICROSCOPIC TOY THAT CAN'T EVEN BE SEEN WITHOUT ANY CIENTIFIC INSTRUMENT?".
Al, expecting this reaction, transmuted a wall to protect his brother from the shooting. Ed transmuted it back, and ran towards the bandit so fast, he could barely be seen.
He crashed his head against the wall, knocking him out, and then kicked the guy behind him. Al just went to the other guy, and knocked him down with a kick.
Ed pulled the chief to the little doll of himself, and then transmuted one for each wagon.
"Now, talk to your guys and tell them to toss their weapons through the windows, or you'll go severe on them".
He did as he was told, since Ed's blade was so close to his neck.
The train kept accelerating.
"Uh… brother…".
"What?".
"Shouldn't the train be slowing down? I think we are close to the station".
Ed took his head out through a window and looked.
A beautiful city was rising, not a kilometer away from them. It was made of big towers, and great houses and manors, all in Xing's traditional style.
But the train wouldn't slow down.
Ed and Al ran to the engine without time to think.
"WHY DO YOU ALWAYS DO SO RECKLESS THINGS?".
"YOU TOLD ME TO PUSH THE BUTTON!".
"BUT I DIDN'T TELL YOU TO ACCELERATE US TO OUR DEATHS!".
"JUST HELP ME SLOW THIS THING DOWN!".
"HOW?".
"I DON'T KNOW!".
The train started slowing wildly. Both Elric brothers fall ahead as the train went into the station.
Hohenheim, Envy, Gluttony, Winry, Pynako, Hope and Lust walked through the plataform until they reached the Elric brothers.
"Dear sons… such reckless fools… I had to activate all the emergency brakes at once".
"Thanks, dad…". Al said, coughing the dust of the coal that had just fallen on top of them.
o0o
The capitol of Xing, in which they had just arrived, was called Xian-Jei. Many legends were told about this legendary city. The most amazing building weren't the towers, but it was the gigantic Imperial Palace in the center of the city.
As a matter of fact, in the center of the palace, there was a font. It was surrounded by the gigantic statue of a dragon, and many inscriptions were done in that place.
Hohenheim was the only one who had already been to this city. He new the most interesting sites, but he took them to the hospital, before going to the palace.
"Why would we go to the hospital?". Envy asked.
"To eat the diseased people!". Gluttony shouted.
Everyone looked at him.
"Oh, right… Eating people: bad… I'm hungry, anyway". He said, lowering his head.
"I'm taking you to the hospital to see the medicine of this country".
The hospital was just a house. It was just a little different from the other houses, but it had the same style. Hohenheim walked them in, going through a beautiful garden, where many nurses were helping people pick up flowers, and drink pure water from a little pond.
"Such a beautiful place…". Winry said, hugging Ed. He kissed her in her forehead, and then hugged her back.
"Come on in, Ed. This will be interesting". Hohenheim called him.
Many people were laying on a big mat on the floor. They all suffered the same illness. Ed wasn't sure of what it was.
A young Xing doctor came close to the mat, and laid his hands on the floor. A circle shined, and the ill people stopped crying. They all started standing up, and talking about how they were feeling better. Many came to the doctor, and vowed before him with a hand in their hearts. He did the same, and thanked them for being so patient.
"That was amazing!". Al said.
"They call it Rentanjutsu. It's their country's alchemy. They use it mainly for medicinal purposes. Only other's sake, no personal affairs are dealt with it". Hohenheim said, smiling.
"Now, that's something new for me, and I'm for hundred years old!". Envy said.
o0o
After seeing some more Rentajutsu, they walked to the market of the city. They looked for a restaurant in which to eat some typical foods, and sat down on a large table.
After an hour sitting down, the only one still eating (guess who?) was Gluttony. He kept on calling the waitress. The menu had already been tried fully by him.
"Heavens, Gluttony… If only you weren't yourself, you would blow up!". Lust said.
"Well, we have to stop him some time or another. If he eats enough, he can grow many times his own size, and become a monster…". Al said.
Ed was hit, and fell from his chair. The gang of the train was surrounding him in a circle, and were aiming at him.
"Go ahead, we won't give you enough time to transmute a thing!".
"And, we got your friends!".
Ed looked at the bandits. They had grabbed the whole group. Hohenheim wasn't worried. His face showed he was annoyed, although. His Homunculi friends were just looking around, and didn't fight because they didn't want to put out a show.
The ones he was worrie about were Winry, Al and Pynako.
"I should've stayed at home!". The old lady said.
"Let go of them, if you don't want any trouble!". A voice shouted.
The bandits started looking around, until they finally saw him.
He was accompanied by a person dressed in black, holding some kunais on her hands.
The two figures jumped off the roof. The man pulled out a blade, and cut the guns the bandits were holding. The ninja wounded them in their legs, tossing them to the ground.
Envy kicked the guy that was holding him, and set the other Homunculi free. They released Al, Winry and Pynako, and they all helped holding back the bandits.
After tying them up, Ed greeted their saviours.
"Never mind, Ed, I'm just glad to find you".
Ling said, hugging Ran Fan.