Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction:
People rush around the arena, their faces lit up with excitement. Murmuring and gossiping about the show card. Slowly pushing his way through the crowd that has amassed Central's Arena is a young man with a distant look on his face. Most of his attention put towards his thoughts and observations. The young man pushes through the last of the crowd to enter the arena, making his way to his seat. The seats weren't terrible, but they weren't front-row either. The hype of this month's show is that a champion from a few years ago, Herbaval Claving, The Puppet String Alchemist, called out the officers within the military saying that the real warriors of Amestrice were the men fighting in the arena. One of the officers decided to answer the claim. The officer who stood up to the claim is Minato Rishera, The Stone Reaper Alchemist.
The people outside the arena now flood into it as they take their seats as the upbeat announcer begins the salutations to begin the show. There would be six undercard fights before the real titans of the arena would swing blows. These matches were only meant to pump up the crowd. "Connor!" A relaxed voice says from behind the thoughtful young man.
Connor looks to where the voice was coming from and sees an old friend from school "Hey, Luis" Connor says politely, not being much of a socialite.
Luis climbs over the people in front of him to get closer to Connor "So," Luis says after squeezing in between two people "Who do you think is gonna win?"
Connor examines the pre-mature facial hair patched across Luis' dark skin and shrugs "Personally, I give it Minato easily" Connor says with nonchalantly "I've heard of Minato, he's been in all of the deadliest battles and in each one was in the most deadly part of the battle…" Connor says with a smile "and that part of the battle was so deadly because he was in it."
Luis laughs and lays a hand on Connor's shoulder "True, I have also heard of some of the battles Minato has fought in but as far alchemic depth, Herbaval knows animation alchemy and many other branches."
Finally the feeder fights were over, and the main event was about to begin. Connor smiles "Say what you will, but I'd put money on Minato's victory".
Luis smiles mischievously "Really, now?"
Connor nods confidently "I'd bet a hundred cenz on it."
Luis grins and shakes Connor's hand "You're on!"
From the left end of the stadium is a hulking man with swept-back, black hair. A shiny-white white smile that emanates confidence. The man wears black-leather armor, the armor ending in leather straps that reach the knees. The announcer yells "This is a man that needn't a introduction, the ground shaker, the man who took down the Drachma terror, the man who's charm is only matched by his might, it is….HERBAVAL CLAVING!" Herbaval Claving steps into the light of the arena, turning as he soaks in the roars of approval, flexing his arms, thick metal cords around his forearms that had to weigh at least 35 pounds each.
Without waiting for the introduction of Herbaval to finish, Minato storms out of the tunnel and into the arena. Minato wearing the standard issue blue military uniform of Amestrian militants, but his black hair grown out very long, reaching the small of his back. Minato slowly wraps up his hair into a bun onto the top of his head, being sure that all of his hair is out of the way. Minato then slips his arms out of the sleeves of his uniform and slowly slides off the top part of his uniform, the shirt and the overcoat hanging by his belt at his hip. Minato revealed a plethora of scars that riddled his entire body, but the ones that Connor noted were the ones sitting on both sides of both hands, each finger, on his elbows and knees, and on both sides of his feet. The scars were intricate transmutation circles.
Connor felt safe with his bet when he saw the look in Minato's eyes, Minato wasn't here to impress or entertain…he was there to prove a point. Herbaval smiles at Minato from across the arena and waves to him "Ready to fight, Stone Reaper?!" The crowd explodes with approval to Herbaval's show of confidence. People sat forward in their seats, their fists clenched as they wait for the clash. Herbaval places his hands on the opposite wrist after a blue light the metals around the Herbaval's wrist come to life. The steel slithering through the air like metal snakes. Without warning Herbaval begins to whip away, the metal snakes jumping at Minato at a deadly speed. Minato gracefully moves his body out of the way of the coils, jumping and weaving between them easily. Herbaval retracts the coils and weaves his arms together and like a spring pushes his arms forward, sending the intertwined coils rocketing towards Minato. Expecting Minato to gracefully duck under it, but instead Minato jumps into the air and then stomps his feet down on the ground. The second his feet slam into the ground a giant slab of the earth shoots into the air, creating a shield from the coils. The coils stab into the giant slab of earth, Herbaval tries to retract the coils but fails. Immediately after the coils are stuck into the slab, Minato slams his palm into the earth, sending a giant column flying out of the earth slab. Herbaval narrowly dodges the column by abandoning the coils. Herbaval back steps as Minato swirls around the slab of earth and presses Herbaval on his advantage. Herbaval touches his hands together and then touches the ground and out of a blue light is two stone lions that jump from the earth. The lions immediately bound for Minato, their attacks vicious and relentless. Minato stomps with his left foot and a spike of earth stabs through the first lion and as the second one jumps towards him Minato smashes it into pieces with a single punch. The crowd roars with approval as Minato continues forward. Herbaval wipes sweat from his brow as he continues to send stone lions running at Minato. Minato continues to destroy Herbaval's desperate defense. Herbaval continues to back-step, but Minato finally catches Herbaval with a sweeping leg kick that sends him falling to the ground. As Herbaval does fall, Minato stomps on the ground, erecting a small pillar of earth that catches his head and rockets it into Minato's fist. The pillar explodes into a dust cloud as Herbaval falls to the floor like a sack of rocks.
Minato looks around at the crowd, his displeasure apparent on his face. "I do not fight for entertainment, I fight for the safety and liberty of you and all that you hold sacred. These 'warriors' of Amestrice are not the standing line between your freedom and those who would crush it. Remember the men who fight for that freedom and DO NOT take us for granted." Minato walks out of the arena without waiting for the announcer to claim him as the winner.
Connor grins as Luis presses crumpled up cenz into his hand. Connor stands to his feet and walks out of the stadium "Good doing business with you".
Connor couldn't get that fight out of his mind, his admiration for Minato Rishera only growing now that he's witnessed his prowess. Connor finally reaches his home, which was a small cottage sitting outside of Central. "Lily!" Connor calls out as he steps into the house, sliding his shoes off slowly. A young girl steps into the hallway "Yeah, Connor?"
Connor smiles at the sight of his younger sister "How was school?" Connor asks with a gentle smile "those boys aren't still bugging you, are they?"
Lily shakes her head "No, they leave me alone now," Lily smiles "and school is good, I need help with math though!"
Connor nods "I'll make dinner, and then we'll sit down and see about that homework!"
As Connor carries Lily to her bed, Lily mutters "I miss Dad…"
Connor nods as a knot grows in his throat "I do too, Lily"
"And he's never coming back?" Lily asks solemnly, her eyes barely managing to stay open as she stares at her older brother.
Connor nods, the knot in his throat growing even tighter as he speaks "No, he's never coming back" Connor takes a breath "But, one day, we will go to see him"
Connor lays his sister down gingerly onto her bed as he tucks her in, and walks out of the bedroom with a grimace. Connor walks out into back patio of the house, the patio overlooking Central "I guess it is time to join" Connor says with a confident smile as his eyes gaze down at Central Headquarters.
Later that month the state military exams began and among the two thousand people standing in front of Central Headquarters hoping to become the next best State Alchemist is Connor, smiling confidently as he stares up at the gigantic building. Central command had been renovated after internal strife that was caused by the tyrant known as "Father" and his accomplices known as homunculi. Headquarters was built twice as large as it was before, spanning over 150,000 acres. The main building standing over six-hundred meters and housing over 75, 000 soldiers.
Paper, practical, combat; those are the categories of the exams to enter the military. However, you only need to score extremely well in two of the categories to gain entrance. At four-thirty, the doors to the main building opened and people filed in to begin the first exam. When inside they led you to a testing room where other State Alchemists stood and watched over the testers. The packet they handed each person was thick and had over two hundred questions. We had an hour and a half to finish. It was fairly simple stuff, basic chemistry, asking for the chemical make-up of certain objects, and algorithms and formulas. I finished in little over an hour.
I step out of the main building with a smile as Lily runs up the stairs to greet me "How'd it go?!" Lily asks excitedly "Did you crush the test?"
Connor hugs his little sister and says with a laugh "Of course I did, I told you I was going to!"
Connor and Lily walk down the stairs, making their way to a diner near the base so they could get some food before the next exam was given.
Lily slowly cuts up a waffle and looks up "So, what part of the exam is next?" Lily asks through a mouthful of food.
Connor points to his little sister "Hey, don't talk with your mouth full; do you think you're a cow?" Connor says as he cuts apart his eggs "they draw a card to decide what section I have next".
Lily raises an eyebrow as she chews up her food and swallows it "What are the options?"
Connor shrugs "Everyone starts the exam with the paper portion and then the card drawing begins; I either have a practical skills test or a combative test."
Lily nods, taking another bite. After swallowing she asks as she wipes her mouth "Which do you want?"
Connor waves his hand "I suppose it doesn't matter, I'm fairly confident in both subjects."
Lily nods again, but the table goes quiet as they eat their food, Connor sending occasional smiles at his younger sister.
"Connor," Lily says after finishing her waffles.
"Yeah, Lil?" Connor looks up as he wipes his face with his napkin.
"Dad would be real proud of you if he were still here." Lily says with a solemn smile.
Connor reaches over the table and runs his rough fingers through her hair "I know, he'd be even more proud of you Lils."
The people who were selected for combative portion of the exam looked very nervous, clenching their fists as they watch the officers within the military stand above them on the balcony. Peering over them with excited grins. "Out of all of us, you look the least nervous." A man says with a nervous laugh as he walks up behind Connor.
"I'm just really good at hiding my nerves" Connor smiles modestly "it's not being nervous that matters, it's what is created by those nerves that really matters. Either your anxiety institutes greatness…"
"Or it creates failure" the man finishes for Connor with a shaky smile.
Connor nods and places his hand on the man's shoulder "And that is why it is good to be nervous, you can use it as fuel to generate inspiration and greatness" Connor looks at the man "We have all we need to achieve greatness".
The man smiles and extends his hand "The name is Bellamy Grace"
Connor shakes Bellamy's hand "Nice to meet you, my name is Connor Gales"
The first person to fight was a man who looked like he hadn't left the house in years, his skin pale and his body meager and shaky, and thick glasses covering his face. Connor watches the man apprehensively, hoping that this shut-in had a trick up his sleeve. The shut-in did have a trick up his sleeve…kind of, when the fight first began, the man knelt down and tapped the floor twice, signaling that the fight was over. Connor leans forward "Is that allowed?"
Bellamy shrugs "Sure, some alchemists are joining just as scientists and trust that they're skilled enough in the other two categories to drop out of the combative portion."
Connor nods slowly "Interesting game plan; you going to fight Bellamy?" Connor asks, trying to be polite as he looks at Bellamy. All of Bellamy's hair now gray and wrinkles starting to develop around his eyes; but still seemed to be strong.
Bellamy nods with a smile "Of course!"
A lot of people got smacked down into the tile by the advanced fighting techniques of the senior officers you had to fend off. "Participant 1,213: Connor Gales!"
Connor steps forward into the middle of the room with a serious look on his face, examining as many of the senior officers as he could before he jumped out to fight him.
The proctor of the exam pointed at an officer and he jumped forward. As the officer ran at him, Connor decided it was time to play his ace in the hole to wow the Senior Officers. Without clapping or drawing a circle, Connor sends a pillar of tile smashing into the face of the attacking officer, his unconscious body slamming to the ground and sliding past Connor's feet. Connor looks up at the Senior Officers sitting up in chairs up above him; their jaws practically touching the floor, bewilderment clear on their features. The senior officers whisper to each other "We would like to send another officer in to further test your true combative abilities, is that permissible?"
Connor smiles, figuring that the Senior Officers wanted to confirm that he could transmute with clapping nor a circle "Fine by me."
Connor knew that the next officer would be a very strong officer, so he clenched his fists, getting ready for a tough fight, true anxiety now building in his chest.
Jumping down from the balcony is a legend among the military, Vixon Rew, the Monster of Amestrice. Out of all the officers to test if my alchemy was just a trick, Vixon would be the best to do it, being known for his skill in neutralizing alchemy with sheer speed and strength of combat.
Vixon raises an eyebrow and without another sign of interest bolts forward at an unbelievable speed, drawing his sword as he bolts forward. I send hurdles of tile jumping out of the floor to try and slow him down, none of it works. I lean backwards, barely dodging Vixon's sword point as he swings at me. I continue to sway and dodge his lethal strikes, systematically sending fists of earth punching at Vixon.
Vixon and I dance away at each other, barely staying afloat as I narrowly escape his unrelenting attacks. I continue to dance around his sword point, throwing in attacks of my own trying to create a window of opportunity. Finally right as Vixon swung his sword I sent a small column of tile flying at his support leg, although Vixon dodged the column it allowed me to swing my body in close and grab his forearms. I slide my hands down his arms and over his sword, knowing that Vixon's blade, Miracle, is made out multiple metals to throw off alchemists. I feel the surface of the blade and as I slide my hands down the blade have all the information I need and melt his blade into liquid metal. Instead of discarding the liquid metal, I have it levitate behind my back. I kept my defense up not wanting to let it down just because I got rid of his sword. My precaution paid off as his fists plowed into my defense and I back-stepped a few times and swatted away punches, waiting for a haymaker. Right on queue, Vixon steps into a powerful right hook, I lean to the right of his hook and utilize the liquid steel and as Vixon passed by hardened the metal into handcuffs and chains, tying his arms back in a straitjacket position and using the little metal I had left to turn into a small knife that I pressed against the back of Vixon's neck.
Applause filled the room and I promptly unchained Vixon and re-transmuted his sword. I then bowed before him "It was an honor".
Vixon smiles mischievously "Next time won't be as easy, I'll be ready for you next time we cross paths."
Connor shakes Vixon's hand with a large smile "I look forward to that."
Bellamy continues to clap as Connor merges back with the other participants "Incredible!" Bellamy exclaims "You can transmute without moving!"
Connor nods and as he begins to explain the proctor then calls out "Bellamy Grace!" Bellamy ties back his gray hair and with a smile he says "Hopefully, my win is as enjoyable as yours!"
Connor shakes his hand "It will be, Bellamy."
Bellamy takes off his shirt, revealing a muscular body that raised the eyebrows of everyone in the room. Connor smiled, having noticed the scarred knuckles and scars around his eyebrow, and his puffy ears. Bellamy was not new to fighting. Bellamy drops down into a fighting stance, his legs wide-set, his power hand set in a fist and his lead hand open and set into a claw position. An officer steps out and doesn't wait only shoots forward. Everyone gapes as the two exchange punches, their fists moving at an incredible pace, Bellamy's features calm as he swats away attacks and throws out ploys, testing the water before sending real attacks out. Neither person moves as their fists fly, their hands and feet only increasing in speed as they fight. Slowly, Connor could see the officer gaining advantage as small, quick punches were landing on Bellamy. Connor felt his fingers twitch as Bellamy's fists continue to fly, the punches barely providing a hiccup as Bellamy shakes of the punches. Suddenly, a punch lands and the officer's head whips back and his body crumples under the weight of the punch. The crowd waits for the officer to stand to his feet, but doesn't.
Connor shakes Bellamy's hand "Holy shit! You can fight, Old Man!"
Bellamy shrugs "After living as long as I have, you learn a few things."
Connor smiles at Bellamy "Well, you definitely had a good teacher."
Bellamy's eyes grow distant for a moment as he smiles "Yes. Yes, I did."
The senior officers call Connor into an office and stare at him, whispering and muttering among each other, taking occasional glances at Connor and then continue to mutter. "You can transmute without a circle or clapping?" one of the senior officers asks curiously.
Connor gets where this conversation is probably going "Yes, that is correct".
They continue to mutter until Connor raises a hand passively "Excuse me," the senior officers look at Connor "my name is Connor Gales, son to Benjamin Gales who died serving this military in the war against Shing; and grandson to Vitoli Gales, who died when combating the threat known as 'Father'. I was born and raised in Central, my family has always served this military. I am not only human, but I am dedicated to becoming a militant to this great nation, to using my unique skills to better the nation I live in and my younger sister will grow up in."
The senior officers stare Connor who stares back at them with sincerity in his eyes "Okay, Connor Gales, but please explain, how do you do it?"
"Transmute without a circle or clapping?" Connor asks with a small smile
The senior officers nod slowly.
"I've always been good at alchemy, it just clicked in my mind. To ascertain the chemical make-up of an object and using the energies in my body to form an array within myself and expand it to affect the external world; I know that isn't much of an explanation, but that is as close as I will get to explaining how I do it."
The senior officers smile at me "We have decided that you will not need to complete the third portion of the exams, you scored perfectly on the two portions you did take."
Then a man steps into the room, his body strong and carrying a large great-sword "I apologize for my tardiness, I didn't assume a participant would complete testing so quickly." The man takes a seat in the middle of the senior officers "I am Fuhrer Jaeger"
Connor coughs "Hello, sir!" Connor says hurriedly as he bows, Connor's calm is shattered at the appearance of Hans Jaeger, the Fuhrer of Amestrice, Hans Jaeger's reputation in battle unequalled by anyone.
"Please, call me Hans or just Jaeger, I hear you have quite the alchemic skill."
Connor smiles "It's been rumored".
Hans laughs as he pushes back his red hair "Modesty is an admirable trait." Hans stands up to his feet and walks up to Connor "Well, I welcome you to the Amestrian military; I expect great things from you."
Connor steps into his home to see that his old friend from school was asleep on the couch. "Jaime, you can leave now" Connor says gently as he shakes her gingerly "I'm back from the exams, thank you for watching Lily.
Jaime swats Connor's hand away "I'll leave in the morning."
Connor chuckles as he tucks a piece of her hair out of her face "Alright, see you in the morning."
Connor steps into Lily's room and climbs into bed with her, quickly falling asleep as Lily's arms cling around him the second he laid in bed.
Connor steps out of bed, and walks into the kitchen to see that breakfast was being made by Jaime. Jaime smiles as she sees Connor "Good morning!" Jaime says as she ties back her long blonde hair "How many eggs do you want?"
"Only a couple." Connor smiles "Hey Jaime, could you cut my hair today?"
Jaime raises an eyebrow as she stares at Connor's long, brown hair that has grown out for years "You sure?"
Connor nods with a smile "Yeah, I'm a military man now"
Jaime smiles, but her smile masking her worry "I suppose you are".
Connor stares at himself in the mirror, his hair now clipped short and tidy, and a blue military buttoned up to his neck. Connor couldn't lie to himself, he'd wanted this for a long time. Connor smiles staring at the golden buttons of his uniform and then walks out of the house with Lily holding his hand as he walks her to school.
"How you doing?!" Bellamy bellows as he sees Connor walking up to base.
Connor greets Bellamy with a hug "I knew you'd make it!"
Bellamy shrugs "Of course, they couldn't turn down all of this ancient knowledge!"
Connor laughs as he walks onto base with Bellamy "So Bellamy, what kind of alchemy do you study, I didn't see you use any during your fight."
Bellamy smiles "my alchemy isn't used for fighting, I am studying medical alchemy and furthering it's advancement in Amestrian alchemy."
Connor nods slowly "A noble pursuit, how long have you studied it?"
Bellamy laughs "Since before you were born"
"Who do you think will chose you?" Another chosen alchemist asks Bellamy as we sit at the lunch tables in the mess hall.
Bellamy shrugs "I dunno, I suppose it doesn't matter" Bellamy turns to me "Anyone you want in particular, Connor?"
Connor raises an eyebrow "Chose?"
The other chosen alchemist laughs "Yeah, today officers will choose to guide under their leadership, it's almost like an apprenticeship."
Connor nods slowly "I suppose it doesn't matter, but it would be cool if Minato Rishera chose me."
"Connor Gales, report to room 456" A courier says to Connor dutifully and then briskly makes his way past Connor.
Connor gulps as he makes his way to the place the courier said to go, curious about who is sponsor would be.
"My name is Maes Mustang, and I am your sponsor" Maes says, his voice kind but stern. Despite being over fifty years old, Maes barely looks like he's over thirty. Despite wanting Lieutenant Rishera, getting Lieutenant Colonel Mustang, the Living Flame Alchemist, isn't too bad Connor thinks as he looks at the legendary soldier. His untidy black hair makes him look unprofessional until you stare into hawk-like eyes that don't miss a detail. Connor extends his hand "Nice to meet you, sir"
Maes shakes Connor's hand and says with a stern smile "Welcome to my company Connor," Maes then takes out a envelope and hands it to Connor.
Connor rips open the envelope "To be honest, the name is a little obnoxious" Maes says with a chuckle.
The paper read:
In the name of Fuhrer Jaeger,
Connor Gales is now part of the Amestrian military under the name of:
"God's Hand Alchemist"
Part 3:
