The Darkness Alchemist
Chapter 1: A New Kind of Alchemy
Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist or any of the characters involved except for Guardian D. Darkness
It was a normal day, cool, breezy, just nice all around. In a dessert at the far end of the empire, a figure walked among the dunes. It stopped and looked up at the sky, shielding its face with its arm. This, is Edaward Elric, A state Alchemist also known as the Full Metal Alchemist.
"Alfonse!" he shouted to the emptiness of the desert.
"Down here brother" A faint voice replied from the sand, a large metal hand ripped itself from the dust and grabbed Ed's pant leg.
"Hey! Al, wait a minute!" Ed shouted
Edward clapped his hands together and put them to the ground, a blue light glinted into existence, In an instant a large suit of metal ripped itself from the ground. Ed lifted his hands and sighed.
"It's official. I hate sand." He took a step forward and tripped in weariness.
"Oh come on brother, it's not that bad." Alfonse replied energetically
"Not that bad! Al, you keep sinking in and I can't do anything with sand." Edward put his chin in the sand.
"If only it was grass then I could transmute it into bread." He mumbled
"Cheer up brother, when we reach the city we'll be able to rest and eat." Alfonse replied
"Yeah, we'll get everything we want and gorge ourselves." Edward said, drooling as he imagined the scene
"Then let's go." Al went to take a step when he fell into the sand once again.
"Jeese Al!" Ed went to clap his hands again when the shadows of a nearby hill began to shift and move, they dove under the sand and ripped Alfonse from the ground. Setting him down softly next to Ed.
"What was that?" Ed asked still holding his hands close together.
"I don't know, but whatever it is it can't be all bad, I mean, it saved me." Al replied
"I'm not an it you know." A voice called out
The two looked up and saw a figure garbed in a black sleeveless training Gi top, the front had been neatly cut open. On his legs were a pair of pants that made his legs look as thick as Al's arm, but when he moved the two noticed they legs laxed. On his shins and forearms he wore thick rolls of what looked like gauze. His hair had a 'blown-back' look to it and an odd feature about his face was his upper right canine tooth was sticking below his upper-lip inconspicuously.
"Who are you?" Ed asked
"I don't think you deserve to know." The stranger replied
"Then why did you save Al?" Ed asked throwing his arm back toward his brother
"I felt him inside the sand, his soul gives off quite a signal. Anyone who could detect something like that will know you two from three miles out." The stranger explained
"That doesn't explain why you-"
"His body was telling me he was in trouble." He replied, cutting Ed off
Ed remained silent for a moment "Come on Al." He said moving toward the stranger, slightly adjusting their course to walk around him before resuming their journey.
"Might it interest you I know about the Philosopher's stone?" he asked
Ed's head lifted and he immediately turned toward the stranger. "Tell us what you know!" Ed demanded
"Uh uh, I don't just give away my secrets." The stranger said waving a finger at them.
"Then what do we need to do?" Ed asked
"Accept my offer I'm about to propose to you: In return for my information and my services to you in the near future. You help my people in a war in three month's time." He explained
"What kind of war?" Ed asked
"A war the likes of which you've never seen before." He stated
Ed thought about it, after a while Al looked down at him "Brother…?"
"We'll do it." Ed replied angrily
"Good, now, here's what I know about the philosopher's stone." He signaled for them to lean close and they walked up before leaning down.
"It's a mystery." He told them mystically
"Well no duh! We knew that!" Ed shouted
"Anything else?" Al asked
"Nope, that's it." He replied crossing his arms
"Dang, you jerk!" Ed shouted
"Now brother, calm down." Al said to him holding up his hands
"No Al! This guy is making fools of us!" Ed shouted pointing at the stranger
"Oh no, how did I do that?" The stranger asked showing complete confusion.
"Like you didn't know! You lied to us about the philosopher's stone!" Ed continued shouted
"No I didn't. I told you I knew about it, I didn't say if I knew anything about it." The stranger explained
"So he didn't lie to us." Al added
"Still! That was a load of crap!" Ed shouted swiping his arm through the air
"Says you, where I come from you ask what you want and you get just that." He explained
"Well we're not where you're from. You're here!" Ed shouted
"There's also another tradition where I come from, those who insult me have to fight me to prove their statements true. You call me a liar and a cheat. I'm not saying anything about you. Let's see if you're right." He crouched then jumped into the air landing a fair distance away from them.
"Here's the deal, we fight until one of us gives in!" he shouted at them
"Fine!" Ed shouted back throwing his red cape off his back toward Al.
He immediately clapped his hands and turned the sand into a spear. Then rushed forward at the stranger
"Prepare to die!" He shouted
"Fear the power of Darkness." The stranger replied dodging the attack then clapping his own hands together and putting them to the sand. The nearby shadows of the dunes removed themselves from the sand and attached to Ed's shadow, wrapping his shadow's arms and legs. When they finished Ed couldn't move.
"What is this?" Ed shouted struggling to get free
"Darkness Alchemy, a style invented and named, after me." The stranger replied
"So, that makes you Darkness?" Al asked
"Yep, that's me. Guardian D. Darkness at your service." He said bowing, his shadows released Ed as he did so.