-Central Headquarters 10:00 p.m.-
"The Freezing Alchemist, really? He's here?"
"We have information saying he was able to slip into Central a few days ago." Fuhrer Bradley reported. "That's why I summoned you here, Colonel. I want you and your men to smoke him out, and bring him in."
"Consider it done sir." Roy Mustang responded immediately.
"It's nice to have you here in Central with us, Colonel. It's good to know I have someone here I can count on." The Fuhrer chuckled, his deep voice seemingly pleased.
"Sir."
"Um, one last thing. Our rising young star is here as well, I'm placing him at your disposal."
"I'm sorry, sir, but you do you mean—?"
"I do. The Fullmetal Alchemist. Edward Elric."
You let out a grunt from outside the room, your ear still pressed against the door when you heard Roy's steps nearing. You backed away from the door and leaned up against the wall beside it as Roy exited the room, adjusting his blue uniform accordingly. He nodded to you, and you pushed yourself off the wall, to walk beside him. The two of you looked forwards and walked in silence for a few strides before he broke it.
"You heard that?"
"Unfortunately." You responded distastefully.
"Your first day back to Central and you get to deal with all the excitement." Mustang joked, and you merely rolled your eyes.
"Wow, my luck just never seems to run out." You replied sarcastically.
"It's been a while since we've heard of him."
"No kidding…"
"When was the last time you saw him?"
"What kind of question is that?" You asked annoyed. "You already know the answer."
"I just want to check that it's the same as mine." Roy commented, and you stared ahead, your expression turned stony.
"Ishval."
Edward Elric's Point of View
You watched from above, as the criminal below you used the water in the soldier's veins to kill them, one by freezing it, the other by boiling. You clapped your hands and pressed them against the ground, drawing a long spear from the stone beneath you before hurling it towards McDougal. He leapt out of the way just in time to dodge it, his eyes growing wide as he realized that the spear was alchemically manipulated.
"What a nasty thing to do." You muttered, passing by the frozen and burnt bodies respectively.
"You of all people should know great deeds require great sacrifice." The Freezer stated, his eyes growing wide. "Isn't that the law of equivalent exchange?"
"Save your breath, the laws of alchemy don't justify murder!" You slammed your hands together again, the energy rushing through you as the blue sparks emanated from your fingertips. Slowly you reached out towards the spear that had embedded itself into the ground and imagined the club you wanted to form, the stone shifting into the desired shape.
"No transmutation circle?!" McDougal exclaimed, and you narrowed your eyes.
"Don't be too impressed." You snarled before charging forward, the club in hand. "Now!" You shouted, and Alphonse appeared from the darkness and attempted to grab the Freezer before he realized what was happening, but McDougal was too quick. He ducked right as Al tried to snatch him, and you brought the club down on him while he was on the floor. Right before it hit, he put his arms in front of him, and blocked the blow with metal arm guards that you hadn't seen. 'Damn.' He rolled, trying to get back to his feet and you continued to hit him, each one blocked by his arm. Suddenly, one hand reached out and grabbed onto yours, sparks flying as you flew backwards from the force.
"What?!" He growled, as Al attempted to take advantage of his surprise, but he merely threw the suit of armor over his head. "No, I should have had you! Any water in there should have boiled!"
"If it's any consolation, you did ruin my coat." You hissed, your metallic arm gleaming in the moonlight through the shredded red fabric.
"An automail arm. A young gifted alchemist. One who doesn't use transmutation circles…I know you, you are the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric!" There was a pause, where McDougal looked from you to Al and then back again. "So it's not you?" McDougal asked, pointing to the giant suit of armor, and Al merely scratched the back of his head.
"Um, no, I'm his younger brother, Alphonse."
"But he's a runt."
"Oh yeah, can a runt do this?" You screamed, your anger boiling over as you slammed your hands to the ground again, and earth suddenly surrounded McDougal, squeezing him from all sides.
"I've heard the stories, but I never imagined this! The Fullmetal Alchemist is just a little kid? I thought I only had to deal with one of those." McDougal grunted.
"Don't call me little!" You roared, your hand against the stone still, creating a hand of rock that slapped him hard, causing the earth around him to break.
You were just about to celebrate with Al, when blue fire suddenly erupted from the sky, lighting the alleyway so that all shadows were instantly eliminated. You jumped back, your eyes scanning the roofs for the intruder. Cracking of rock made you turn to look at McDougal, who had broken out of your rock bind with ease.
"Blue fire?" The Freezer roared, his eyes directed upwards, his beady eyes searching frantically. "Where are you Vinerain? Come out!" You could hear a soft chuckle from above, and then you saw her; crouching on a fire escape, clothed in black and a smirk upon her face. Even in the darkness, her golden eyes seemed to pierce the night.
"Long time no see, McDougal." She replied, her smirk slipping from her face to be replaced by a cold disappointment. "Though, I was hoping it would be on better terms."
"You were there, Vinerain. You know what it was like—I'm just trying to right the wrongs."
"You've killed six innocent people."
"In Ishbal we killed hundreds! We had no right to invade like that! We fought together; you saw it all, you understand! The things Bradley ordered us to do!"
"I'm not interested, McDougal."
"I'm surprised. You of all people should understand! After what they put you through? You don't think that was Bradley's order too?"
"I said I'm not interested." Her voice was crisp, and the stinging iciness of it seemed to pierce the air for moments after she'd stopped speaking.
"Fine. We'll do this the hard way." Water exploded upwards, and a wall of blue flame quickly turned to a cloud of steam as the water hit it. When it cleared, she was gone. "Where did you go, Vinerain?"
Another shot of blue came from above, and the Freezer continued to scour the skies for any signs of the mysterious girl. You would be lying if you said you weren't doing the same.
"You always were quick to draw." The voice seemed to echo in the alley, and you couldn't seem to narrow into where she'd gone.
"You've been blinded, Vinerain! And I always thought you'd seen things so clearly!"
A small scoff came from above, and finally, in the darkened sky you noted a pairs of golden eyes gleaming down at you.
"Don't question my intentions." She responded, and McDougal finally zeroed onto her as well. She snapped her fingers once, blue fire rocketing towards the Freezer before he summoned some water to block it, a huge cloud of steam forming in the alley. You had to cover your eyes, from the light, but when you removed your arm both the Freezing Alchemist and the girl named "Vinerain" had gone.
"You underestimated your opponent, Fullmetal." Roy jeered, his voice calm but the jesting dripping from his tone.
"Who is this guy anyway?" You snapped, your irritation clear on your face. You hated it when this guy tried to tell you what to do, and relished when you did it wrong.
"You'd know that if you listened to the briefing like I told you to, but no, you had to go charging right out there." There he goes again…
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I'm sorry, 'kay? Whatever."
"Next time a superior tells you to pay attention, you may just try it."
"Fine."
"Now then, his name is Isaac McDougal, or as he was known back in the day, Isaac the Freezer. He's a former State Alchemist."
"Former?"
"That's right, he served in the Ishbalan war. During that time, he gave us no signs that he'd turned traitor. But after, he immediately resigned his commission and went into hiding. He's been working with the anti-establishment movement ever since. Taking him into custody is a matter of top priority—whether it's dead or alive it's up to him."
"No way, I'm not killing anyone for you."
"And that's your choice, your orders are simply to help us contain him, that's all." He answered you, but you still crossed your arms, as if skeptical. "Off topic, have you found any leads on how to get your bodies back to normal?"
"Maybe if you gave us anytime to look!" You shouted, but were swiftly interrupted when another military officer burst into the room, a pair of square glasses perched on his nose and his hair spiked.
"Roy! How goes? Heard you let them put you in charge of catching the Freezer, huh! One hell of a nasty assignment, but hey, could be your chance to earn that promotion to Central! And see, looks like my timing was perfect! You two are the Elric brothers, right? Why, it's an honor to finally meet the second youngest State Alchemist around here. I'm Colonel Maes Hughes, it's a pleasure!" Hughes held his hand out to Al, who shook his head, his hands raised in misunderstanding. This guy was talking so fast you weren't sure you even comprehended what he said.
"Um, actually I'm his younger brother, Alphonse." Alphonse squeaked, clearly intimidated.
"What?! You're the Fullmetal Alchemist?!" He asked, his attention turning to you. "I had no idea you'd be so—"
"Second youngest?" You interjected, momentarily distracted from his potential short comment.
"You mean you haven't met—?" Hughes asked but was cut off by Roy who simply looked annoyed.
"Devin!" Roy called angrily, and you could hear a giggle in the hall causing you to turn your attention from Hughes to the door. "I thought I told you to keep him out of here!"
"Come off it Roy." The voice was smooth as light footsteps neared the door. "You know I couldn't do that. This is Hughes we're talking about." Then she entered the room, and immediately you caught yourself stalled in a stare. She wasn't very tall, probably only an inch or two taller than you with a very slender build and tanned skin. Her short brown hair nearly covered half her face, yet you could still see the piercing golden eyes peering out from beneath it, and a singular blue streak ran through a portion of her bangs. She was wearing all black, and you recognized that smirk immediately…you'd seen it in the fire escape just hours before.
"Hughes, what are you doing here? Go home." Roy grunted, but Hughes ignored him.
"Why are you always so mean, Roy?" The girl quipped, and he growled, but she cut him off before he was about to speak again. "What? You aren't going to introduce me?" She laughed, and Roy gave her an annoyed stare before turning to you.
"This is Devin Vinerain, also known as the Wild Fire Alchemist." Roy stated begrudgingly causing her to smirk in triumph once again. "She's the youngest State Alchemist in history."
"I just love making you angry." She giggled, giving the Colonel a lighthearted push before she turned to you and smiled again, holding her hand out to you. "It's an honor. I hear you're the Fuhrer's new favorite play thing."
"It doesn't sound that great when you say it like that." You muttered angrily, and she simply shrugged, withdrawing her hand with another dazzling smile.
"It's what we are, like it or not." There was a moment of heavy silence as you stared at her and she returned it, a playful light in those golden eyes.
"I'm his younger brother, Alphonse." Al interrupted panicked, thrusting his large hand out to her.
"It's a pleasure." She shook his armored hand, even though his dwarfed hers easily. She turned to Roy after; who was to be glaring at her with intensity you'd never imagined him to have. "I'm taking off, he's your problem now." She walked out of the room, giving Hughes a good-natured punch before swaggering down the hall and disappearing. Your eyes followed her involuntarily.
"Worthless."
"She's the youngest?"
"And only female. She joined the military a nearly two years ago, but don't get any ideas Fullmetal."
"What does that mean?!"
"She's out of your league." He responded coolly.
"What?!" You exclaimed, anger boiling up within you suddenly. "What made you think that I'm even remotely interested?!"
"I saw the way you looked at her." He smirked, turning away from you. "Let's go. We've still got to catch McDougal, and it'd be best if we do so before daybreak."
"Daybreak?!" You growled, the pains of this job already getting to you.
"It's going to be a long night."
"Where did that girl go?"
"She's setting up the ambush. I plan to meet up with her, while you try to find the Freezer and lure him to us."
"Yeah, whatever." You grunted as you exited the office.