Fullmetal Scales
Chapter 1: Change
Eastern Headquarters
Colonel Roy Mustang sat at his desk and, instead of doing the paperwork he had been assigned in front of him, he was intently staring at the door as if expecting someone to arrive. Sure enough, the sound of several different kinds of footsteps approached the door. The door banged open and in walked Edward Elric, followed shortly by his younger brother Alphonse and Lieutenant Hawkeye. Edward, or Ed, was the youngest State Alchemist to ever join the military several months ago. Alphonse, or Al, was a large suit of armour that had glowing red eyes. What wasn't known to the public was that Al actually was the suit of armour, his soul being latched onto it by Ed after a failed attempt at reviving their dead mother through alchemy. The process cost Ed his left leg while Al lost his entire body, the former sacrificing his right arm to bound the latter's soul to the armour. Riza Hawkeye led the two brothers to the seats in front of Mustang's desk. While it was impossible to tell what Alphonse was thinking, it wasn't hard to grasp Ed's line of thought as the diminutive blonde alchemist glared at his superior with a look of disdain and annoyance. It was no secret the younger alchemist had no love for the Flame Alchemist.
"What do you want, Colonel Bastard?" Ed asked rudely while glaring at Mustang with golden eyes, his normal left hand being clenched by his artificial right hand made out of automail, full metal prosthetics.
"Good to see you too, Fullmetal," Mustang greeted as if he wasn't just insulted, making sure to use the boy's new codename while addressing him. He then asked lightly, "Any luck on finding the Philosopher's Stone?"
"We'd have better luck if you didn't keep calling us back here, Bastard," Ed grumbled as he crossed his arms.
Al placed a comforting armored hand on his older brother's shoulder before saying in a respectful tone, "What I think my brother is trying to say is we're following several leads, but we'd be happy to help out here."
Mustang nodded to the armored boy, ignoring Ed getting increasingly agitated. Mustang nodded as he pulled out an envelope from his desk. Clearing his throat, the Flame Alchemist got the attention of the entire group. Flipping the file open he began, "Several months ago, there has been a steady increase in the amount of missing person's cases. At first they seemed random, but then patterns began to emerge." He then pointed at several of the papers within. "All the people kidnapped were missing a limb of some kind. Many were from Ishval, but there have also been reports of others who had lost their limbs through other means. Another common factor is that most of these people didn't have the means which to purchase automail limbs. Finally, this man has been spotted in the area of all the alleged kidnappings. Curtis Connors, a former State Alchemist who excelled in medical and biological alchemy. He lost his arm during the war and he soon after left the Military."
Looking briefly over the files provided, something caught his eye. "It says here he was Dishonourably Discharged," he observed.
"Yes," Mustang answered before continuing. "He did not take the loss of his arm very well and was later declared to be mentally unbalanced. He left the military and then fell off the map for a few years, and yet now he returns just as a series of mass disappearances occurs? Seems too big to be a coincidence."
"So why not have the military police handle it or one of your men?" Ed asked. While he may have a slight hero complex, the elder Elric brother knew that Mustang wouldn't call him for a task like this unless there was some sort of advantage for himself.
"There are two reasons, Fullmetal," the Colonel responded while holding up two fingers. "Number one is that while he hasn't been in active service for years, Connors was a highly skilled alchemist during Ishval and knew his way around a battlefield. I'd need someone also skilled in alchemy on the job. The second reason is because of the common trait you share with the current victim M.O." he then gestured to Ed's right arm and left leg, the parts of which are automail. "He has been targeting amputees, so seeing you in the area might be enough to draw him out."
"So you're using us as bait, huh you bastard," Ed sneered.
"Of course," Mustang said flippantly, earning him a hard glare from Ed. He then gave the brothers a serious look, "However, I feel you two have the best chance of taking Connors in. Be careful though, he won't go down easily. Also, see if you can find the location of the missing people. Dismissed!" with that, Mustang returned to the work on his desk effectively telling that the meeting was over.
Lieutenant Hawkeye then escorted the Elrics out of the office while Ed was grumbling about 'jackass colonels.' She gave the boys a serious look. "I want you two to be careful, alright?
"Yeah." Ed said, almost dismissively, the Lieutenant meant well but the meeting with the Colonel had put Ed in a bad mood.
"I'm serious Ed." She replied sternly, "The Colonel was right saying you shouldn't underestimate Connors; I knew him a little during the war. While he wasn't much of a fighter, he knew how to avoid enemy troops through evasion and distractions and, when backed into a corner, he would easily set up a trap to defeat anyone before they knew they had lost."
Several Hours Later
"Right, so this is one of the most recent areas that a kidnapping occurred at," Ed mused as he looked up and down the sparsely crowded streets. About an hour into the search, Al suggested that the two split up to cover more ground and meet back at Headquarters before the sun set to see if they had found any clues. "So let's see if this guy is as good as they say he is," Ed finished as he looked over the surrounding area.
Several minutes went by but there was no sign of anything amiss. Sighing, Ed looked up to see that the sun would be setting soon. "Guess I should go check in with Al," he muttered.
Walking towards Headquarters, Ed passed by a long alleyway when a small flash of light drew his attention. Squinting, Ed looked into the alleyway before his eyes widened. There, standing casually by the wall at the end of the alleyway was none other than Curt Connors. He was a fairly average looking man with messy brown hair and green eyes. His most noticeable feature was that he was wearing a white lab coat and that the sleeve of his left arm was rolled up, showing that he was missing his arm.
Smirking, Ed walked down the alleyway, keeping an eye out for any traps. When he got within ten feet of the former alchemist, who had yet to move from his spot, Ed stopped and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "So, you're this Connors guy everyone's been talking about." He tilted his head, "Funny, I figured you'd be less…average."
"And you're the Fullmetal Alchemist I take it?" Connors said lightly. "I figured you'd be taller."
A vein throbbed in Ed's forehead as he shrieked, "Who's so small he needs to buy all his clothes in toddler size?!"
Connors sweatdropped at this. "I…didn't say that," he deadpanned. He then said normally, "Anyway, what does the youngest State Alchemist want from me?"
Ed, regaining his composure, asked calmly, "Are you the one responsible for the disappearances that have been occurring in this area?"
"I am," Connors replied with no hesitation.
Ed, while taken aback by the rather blunt reply, instead gave a confident grin. "Well then, that makes my job easier. I'm going to have to take you in, but do you want to do it the easy way or the hard way?" he asked while smacking his automail hand into his flesh hand.
Connor's grin intensified and replied smugly, "Well, I've heard nothing worth having is easy, so come on and try to make me go with you," he finished with a 'come here' gesture.
Edward grinned as well and shouted, "Easy way it is then!"
He then charged towards Connors at impressive speeds for a kid his age and launched into a spinning kick. However, when his booted foot made contact with Connors, the man's body shattered, revealing that the one he was talking to was nothing more than a cleverly placed mirror.
"What the-?" Ed started before he felt a sharp stinging sensation in his neck. Reaching up, Ed pulled out a now empty dart from his neck. Before he blacked out, the Fullmetal Alchemist saw Connors walking out of a shadowy part of the alleyway with a blowgun clutched in his remaining hand.
Unknown Location
Edward groaned as he opened his eyes and fought off a wave of vertigo that stabbed at his mind.
"Ah, you're awake. Good," a voice crackled through a loudspeaker. Blearily, Ed forced himself up into a sitting position before noticing his lopsided posture. In panic, he realized his automail arm and leg had been removed, leaving just the ports on his stumps.
Suddenly, the lights flickered on, nearly blinding him. When his eyes adjusted to the brightness, Ed found he was in a small barren room of sorts that had three concrete walls and one glass wall. Behind the glass wall, Ed could see Connors staring at him beside several covered objects with a condescending smirk on his face.
"So glad you could join me, Edward Elric. After all, I wouldn't want you to miss what is about to happen," he said cheerfully over the loudspeaker that allowed his voice to be heard in the small room.
"W-where am I? What are you doing, you bastard!?" Ed growled defiantly.
Connors' smirk, if anything, grew bigger. "Ah, you still have a good deal of fight left in you. Good, that will make the next part even better. As for your questions," the former State Alchemist made a sweeping gesture with his remaining arm. "This is my laboratory. Not as glamorous as those state sponsored ones, but quite functional all the same. As for what I'm doing? Why, I'm about to make the medical breakthrough of the century, Mr. Fullmetal Alchemist."
"You know my brother will find this place soon!" Ed bluffed, hoping that some clue left from where he was abducted from.
"Oh I have no doubt about that," Connors chuckled. Seeing Ed's confused look he explained, "By the time the results of my work is made known, I should have little trouble convincing the courts to overlook my…less savoury methods of experimentation," he finished grinning smugly.
"Experi-? The missing people!" Ed gasped as he connected the dots before intensifying the glare he sent at the madman. "What did you do to them?!"
"Oh they're all still very much alive and intact…Well, alive anyway," Connors shrugged before continuing, "You see Edward, in order to make progress, some sacrifices must be made. This concept is not only familiar with Equivalent Exchange, but the world in general. Ishval made it abundantly clear for me that sometimes extreme measures must be taken in order to get results." He grabbed where his left arm used to be at this before letting go and continuing, "After the military oh so graciously 'retired' me, I looked high and low for a way to become whole again, as well as to help those who have lost limbs over the years through various means. You'd be surprised at the amount of people in the world have to make due as a result of not being able to afford automail.
I searched high and low for a possible answer, from all known books in Amestris on medical Alchemy to Xingese Alkahestry, but none had ways of fixing entire limbs. That is when I made a discovery that provided an answer so simple, I was amazed no one had thought of it before! Do you know what that was?" He asked with giddy glee to Ed, who was half listening and half trying to find a way to escape, but the room was sealed tight.
"What?" he grunted, hoping to keep the deranged alchemist talking to buy himself some time, yet a part of him was genuinely curious on what Connors' solution to the problem he himself was trying to solve was.
"This!" Connors declared with glee as he ripped off the tarp of the items next to him, and when Ed saw what it was he stopped and stared in bewilderment.
In each cage was a type of lizard. Some species he recognized, others he didn't. Going from cage to cage, Connors affectionately patted each one with his hand as he described the lizards within. "Chameleons, capable of camouflaging their body's to match their environment. The sailfin lizard, capable of running on water to escape predators. The gecko, capable of scaling any surface. The horned lizard, one of the best defensive capabilities with hard scales, can run at incredible speeds for quick bursts and is even able to shoot blood out of its eyes to distract predators. The Komodo Dragon, has one of the most toxic bites in the world and is capable of swallowing its prey whole by detaching its jaw. And do you know what the best part is? Most of these lizards have the ability of regeneration!"
Ed quickly began to connect the dots on where the alchemist was going with this. "No…" he whispered in horror.
Mistaking the blonde boy's terror for awe, Connors continued, "Yes, quite the brilliant conclusion if I do say so myself! By making humans into chimera with different lizards, not only will they be able to replace their lost limbs but can be improved upon as beings all together!" he then laughed, a disturbing sound given the circumstances.
"Is that what you've been doing to all the people you kidnapped?!" Ed demanded in a rage.
"Quite so," Connors answered simply before flicking a switch on the wall by him, causing the other lights in the room to come on. When Ed saw what was being hidden in the darkness, he could only gasp in terror. In cages similar to his own were large, lizard like creatures that did different things in their cages from pacing (both on the walls and on the floor) to sitting and staring blankly ahead, to eating what looked like bloody deer carcasses that had been thrown in. There was at least a dozen of them, but the truly terrifying thing was that most of the lizard-like creatures had scraps of clothing on them, identifying them as once being human.
"Sadly, like with all experiments, this involved a lot of trial and error. As you can see, all my previous attempts were able to restore the subjects' bodies but their minds have regressed to some sort of primal state. However, I have worked out all the kinks and I'm sure your transmutation should go off without a hitch!" Connors continued jovially.
"What?!" Ed screamed at the man. "There is no way you're turning me into one of your experiments! I'd rather die first!" He then began to continue his struggles in earnest, but due to missing half his limbs he couldn't even stand properly.
"I'm afraid your compliance isn't a factor," Connors said in a no longer joking voice, his face dead serious. "After having run all the calculations, I am completely positive that this will work. Not only is your body young and easily mouldable, but you've shown to have a strong mind if your little excursions aren't just newspaper propaganda. I do hope that the alchemist, as well as the amputee part of you understands and appreciates what I'm about to do…one day at least. Now," he clasped his hands together before pressing them on the floor underneath the lizards' cages. "Let us begin!" he finished with a mad grin in place.
Edward then saw that a light was shining under the lizards' cages, and that there was now a light shining under his body as well. He didn't even need to turn around to know that there were intricate patterns of a transmutation circle on it. 'He built the entire room as a transmutation circle! And its connected with the transmutation circle outside?! How-?'
Before he could finish that thought, Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist's, world erupted in pain. He screamed loud and long, the surges of alchemical energy running through his body, breaking it down and reforming it with the lizards over and over again until it stabilized. Not even when Al and he had opened the portal and he lost his limbs had the pain been this bad! He wanted to black out, but his mind was going haywire as several foreign presences forced their way in. He wasn't sure how long it lasted, or even if he was dead or not, but after what felt like an eternity, the light faded and the pain stopped. Leaving a gasping blonde child on the floor of a small room.
Ed lay there, trying to catch his breath. 'Please…let it have failed,' he prayed for the first time in his life, 'Let the transmutation been a failure…'
With every ounce of his remaining strength, he managed to get into a sitting position. Connors was still there on the other side of the glass looking at him expectantly while the previously full lizard cages were now devoid of their occupants. Ed hoped beyond hope that something had happened and he wasn't a chimera, but it soon became difficult to concentrate when an itchiness began to spread on the stumps where his right arm and left leg used to be. Soon, the itchiness became a searing, burning sensation accompanied by a tight pinching around where his automail ports were. Staring at the areas, Ed could see that the flesh around the ports was inflamed and swollen like he had an infection.
Before he could voice any concern, however, the ports on both stumps shot out like a champagne cork, striking the cement wall opposite him and clattering to the floor. Ed could only watch as the flesh, blood, bone, and nerves on his stumps began to expand and reshape, lengthening out and taking the familiar form of his limbs. After only two minutes, his arm and leg were whole again as if he'd never lost them. Ed stared at his newly restored limbs in shock, flexing his fingers and wiggling his toes just to make sure they were real.
"Subject has just passed the regeneration phase with minimal difficulty. Now we wait for phase two to begin." Connors' voice drifted from the loudspeaker. Ed turned and saw that the man was speaking into a recorder he had brought out at some point to record the process.
"What's stage two?" Ed asked nervously, though he had an inkling on what it was. Connors didn't answer and for nearly five minutes they sat in silence. Finally, Ed began to crawl to his feet, a little unsteady on the newly formed leg whose nerves were a little raw but was feeling better as time went on. However, before Ed could try to walk again, the itchiness returned but this time it spread throughout his entire body.
Edward started to scratch himself with his newly formed hand to get used to the feeling again, but a sharp pain from the point he scratched at forced him to stop as he resisted the urge to yell in pain. Looking at his hand, Ed couldn't stop the short scream from escaping his lips as he saw his hands were no longer tipped with finger nails. They were claws.
Frantically, Ed stared at his other hand and confirmed that they were now tipped with inch long ebony claws as well. It was then he noticed that his hand looked scaly and rough, like his skin was dried out. The look spread down his arm to his body and Ed was sure it was covering every inch of skin on him. The skin seemed to crack as it finally formed into greenish scales. Ed was about to scream but a throbbing pain entered his teeth. Running his tongue (which he noticed seemed longer and more pointed than before), he could feel his teeth lengthening and sharpen, becoming needle like fangs. Ed's scalp itched as his long blonde hair retracted into his scalp and on every other pore on his body. Looking down at his feet, Ed saw that his exposed left foot had fused his toes together so now he only had two large, clawed toes. His boot on his right foot bulged before shredding as his other foot followed suite.
It was then that his tailbone and face had a sharp pain stab them. Both parts of the boy's body began lengthening, his tailbone becoming a long whipping tail covered in scales while his face became a reptile's muzzle. Finally, it felt as if his insides were trying to push out of him as his body slowly expanded, turning his four foot frame past five, then six feet, his muscles swelling out like balloons. When it was all said and done, the chimera formerly known as the human Edward Elric got onto his two toed feet, standing in his ripped clothes at just under seven feet tall, and gave a loud roar, his yellow eyes forming into slits.
"Edward?" a voice crackled over the loudspeaker, making the lizard creature whip his head up to the sound with a snarl. "Edward, can you understand me?" the voice continued.
Enemy, hunt, prey, kill!
The chimera launched himself at the loudspeaker, taking the entire thing into his jaws and ripping it from the wall before spitting it out and letting out an enraged roar.
Outside the cage, Connors could only sigh at yet another failure. "Oh well, back to the drawing board I guess. Seems he couldn't keep his mind either. What a disa-eh?" he cut off as he saw chimera Ed punching the glass wall to his cage. Chuckling, Connors went to stand in front of the feral lizard. "It's no use Edward. That class it reinforced, it'd take a tank to even scratch the surface!" he mocked. However, that's when he noticed the chimera seem to give the glass a studying gaze before brining both of its clawed hands together. "That's… impossible!" Connors breathed as the lizard placed its hands on the glass.
Sparks of transmutation leapt from the area and before his very eyes, the glass he was so proud of fell apart like sand. "Impossible! Impossible!" Connors shrieked as Chimera Edward stepped out of the glass and began stalking towards him, his fangs glistening. "You can't perform alchemy! You no longer have cognitive thought to work with!" The desperate alchemist screamed as the chimera picked him up in his large clawed hands and lifted him off the floor like a rag doll. Connors struggled feebly in the chimera's grasp as he was brought closer and closer to those glistening fangs. "Fullmetal!" he finally screamed in fear.
That word seemed to strike a chord within the lizard's primal brain. His slit pupils widened until his eyes took on a more human appearance as he suddenly dropped Connors like a sack of potatoes. Grasping his head in pain, the chimera roared as memories and thoughts began to pierce through the hazy cloud of instinct and aggression.
"All is One, and One is All."
"Whether it be an arm, or a leg, or even my heart you can take it! So give him back... he's my little brother and he's all I have left!"
"It's all my fault... Al lost his body, and it's all my fault! He can't eat anymore, he can't sleep, he can't feel cold or warmth... He's my little brother, and I'm supposed to protect him and I did this... How can he ever forgive me!"
"I go by many names. I am the World. I am the Universe. I am God. I am Truth. I am One. I am All. And I am You."
"One year!"
"Big Brother!"
"The Fullmetal Alchemist."
"Edward."
Edward Elric gasped as his mind came back full force. He stood in a daze, staring at his now clawed and scaly hands. Remembering the bloodlust, he just felt, he shivered. 'I…I wanted to kill Connors…rip him to shreds…to eat him!' That last thought drove him to his knees, emptying the contents of his stomach in the process.
Suddenly, there was a large bang on the door at the other end of the building they were in. Ed and the still dazed Connors turned their heads just in time to see the door burst open in a fury of flames. As soon as the dust cleared, Colonel Roy Mustang walked in, his ignition gloves on his hands. Following shortly behind him was Riza Hawkeye, pistol in hand and sharp eyes surveying the surroundings. Finally, Al stepped in, his glowing eyes darting around frantically.
All three spotted Ed and Conners nearly simultaneously. Seeing the monstrous looking chimera, Mustang raised his hand with his fingers in a snapping position while Hawkeye raised her pistol, already locked and loaded. Al, however, immediately looked past the scales and claws as he saw familiar, scared golden eyes looking into his own glowing ones. Looking down, the armoured boy's suspicions and fears were confirmed when he noticed the ripped up clothes that clung to the chimera's body.
"Wait!" Al called out, holding out a large armoured hand to stop either soldier from firing. Ignoring their questioning looks, Al asked hesitantly as if hoping that he was wrong, "B-Big Brother?"
Edward, using transformed vocal chords that sounded rough and inhuman even to his barely visible ear holes, chocked out, "A-Alphonse…"
A/N: Roll credits! Here is the updated version of mellra's challenge, credit goes to him for this chapter, anyway, thank you all for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it. If you're fans of Naruto I have a Naruto and FMA crossover some of you may be interested in. And with that, I hope to see you next chapter, drop a review as I'm always looking for constructive advice and hopefully I'll see you guys next time.
