Summery: Ed is not the youngest State Alchemist. Another 12-year-old has claimed the title. She popped out of the woodwork, and the only thing anyone knows about her for sure is her age. Seriously, this summery doesn't do my plot justice; I honestly can't say anything more without giving something away!

Rated: T

Disclaimer: The only thing I own here (as if yet) is Tammy, the Energy Alchemist and the Void Alchemist along with their alchemy styles. More original chars will probably pop up as they are needed, or if I feel like giving a random person a random name with a random purpose in life.

Mind Games

Cursa

Chapter 1

Mind control: the Military's latest obsession;

the perfect weapon in any war.

But such a gift comes with a price.

I have paid that price.

A 12-year-old girl dressed in white from head to toe leaned stiffly against the wall. Her short blond hair was light enough to make her tan look darker than it really was, but it still didn't hide the fact that she looked to be about ten. Her face was blank, but on the inside she was fighting a losing battle to try to calm the fluttering of her heart that seemed to resonate in her stomach. There was nothing she could do to that worked. She had tried pacing, when that didn't work, she resorted to fidgeting, and now she was standing still as a statue, waiting for the doors to open and for her to learn her fate.

The handle turned and she tensed. Juliet, the President's new secretary, calmly poked her head into the. "They are ready for you now." The woman told her, moving aside to let her pass.

Now that the time had come, she found the fluttering in her stomach had turned into a heavy knot. Moistening her lips, she pushed off from the wall and entered the room, Juliet closing the door behind her.

Inside, was a large meeting table with two men sitting at the far end: President Bradley and General Gran, otherwise known as the Iron Blood Alchemist. She saluted them both dutifully and watched as Juliet walked back to her seat.

"Good afternoon," Bradley greeted pleasantly and after receiving a cautious 'Good afternoon, Sir' in return, bid the girl to sit down in the empty seat on his left. Once she was seated, he nodded at the other man who promptly produced a large folder 300 pages deep and placed it in front of her.

"What's this?" she asked, blinking at it. She had never seen a folder that thick.

"It's the contract we wrote," the President replied, untroubled by the question. "You need to sign it before you leave the room."

The 12-year-old looked up at him sharply.

"As you know," he continued, leaning back in his chair, "we have discussed your situation and came to the conclusion that your research is now tantamount to a human transmutation; it is simply too dangerous to look into any further." When the girl continued to frown at him, he waved his hand at the contract. "It is all stated in the folder. Please."

And so began three tedious hours of skimming through the paperwork, reading over carefully the parts that caught her attention the most. At last, she sat back in her chair, trying to absorb what she was about to do.

"You want me to renounce my name?" she asked in shock, absently taking the pen Juliet handed her.

"We had you under house arrest for six months for a reason," the general stated flatly. "Nobody will recognize you anyway. It's as if you were a totally new Alchemist."

"But it says here," she set down the pen and flipped to page 203, "that I am to 'forfeit my name and Alchemy title.' What name am I going to go by, then?"

"If you picked one out for yourself, that could tell them something about you we don't want them to know. We will just have to wait and see." Gran answered.

"Yet I keep my status as State Alchemist?" she asked doubtfully, skipping to page 274 to reread that section.

"Correct." Bradley agreed, "Without having to retake the Alchemy Exam."

"That reminds me, Sir." She said, flopping the folder shut and looking directly at the Commander in Chief. "There are rumors going around that you allowed a twelve-year-old to take the Alchemy Exam." She watched his calm face and saw immediately that he wasn't going to deny it. "I also heard he passed."

"Is that so hard to believe?" the President asked smilingly as Juliet pushed another pen into her hands and opened the folder to the last page of the contract. "You claim to be twelve."

She glared at him. She had known the two men for more years than she could count, yet they treated her like a child. To add insult to injury, she looked young for her age. Young enough, in fact, that on her way to the meeting, she had been stopped three times by soldiers of different rankings asking who she was looking for. While she waited outside, two more soldiers had stopped to ask if she was lost. She had shaken them all off by pretending to see someone she knew. Luckily, everyone had been too busy to truly want to take the time to help her.

When Bradley continued to look at her complacently with his good eye, she soon dropped her gaze to the papers before her and reread the last paragraph.

"I agree to the above terms and from here on in, forfeit my current name, Alchemy title, and personal past, adopting those that my superiors give me as my own, and will immediately move in with my assigned caretaker upon signing on the line below

Glancing up at the two adults in the room who mattered, the girl bit her lip and signed her name on the line, along with the date, before handing the pen back to the secretary.

"Excellent." Bradley said, standing up. "We have already taken care of the move. Your new room number is 202. I think you will find it quite comfortable. The young lady you will be living with will be here in the morning, along with your first assignment."

She stood herself and looked up at the adults. Bradley and Juliet were smiling in approval, Gran was looking grim. Something about the three of them made her feel as though she had just sold her soul. Of course, she had done that when she first became a State Alchemist, so it wasn't a new feeling.

The President raised his hand in salute. "You are dismissed, Alchemist." He told her lightly.

The young girl saluted back, "Thank you, Sir." She said a little stiffly, before turning on her heel and moving down the long table to the door. Slipping outside, she closed it quietly behind her and leaned against it in relief. She was still a State Alchemist. She wouldn't be doing any research, but what she had learned already was enough. All she needed now was a drink to help her relax completely.

Leaving headquarters, she found a bar in town. At four o'clock in the afternoon, no one was in there except the bar man, who looked up as the young alchemist entered. "No kids allowed." He grumbled gruffly.

The girl stepped further in and pointed her left hand at him in such a way that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. "Didn't you hear me? I said no kids."

In no mood to deal with being mistaken for a ten-year-old, she walked closer, her gloved hand still pointed at him. The bar man clenched his fist nervously, suddenly over come by the feeling that they were being watched, even though he knew for a fact his bar was empty. Who was this kid?

"I want a drink," she said, hopping up onto a bar stool. Sensing there would be trouble if he refused her again, the man swallowed. "Alright, alright," he amended shakily. "What'll it be?"

Hmmm… I think that will be the end of chapter 1. I don't want to make it too long don't worry; there is a reason why an innocent 12-year-old girl is getting drunk at a bar. All will be revealed in later chapters