Chimera
Chapter 1
Ed walked briskly away from the command centre. He was annoyed, having just lost an argument with the Colonel. Roy had been yelling at him again for making a mess on his last mission. He was headed off to meet up with Al, and take some time off from his military duties. As he walked, Ed became lost in thought, and suddenly, blackness.
Colonel Mustang looked up as Al ran into his office. Even though he was a suit of armour Roy could tell Al was worried.
"What can I do for you Alphonse?"
"Ed's missing!"
"What?"
"I can't find him anywhere," Al let out a loud metallic sob, "but I did find this." Al held out a piece of Ed's signature red coat.
Roy stood up with speed. "RIZA!" he yelled, "GET EVERYONE IN HERE!"
Once everyone was assembled Roy explained the situation. "We have to find Ed, I fear he is in great danger." He was answered by a numerous number of 'SIR!'s as the members of his team left his office to find Ed.
Ed woke up with a groan, he tried to stretch his aching muscles only to find himself tied down. He heard footsteps and looked up as they stopped in front of him. He glared at the man in a lab coat that now stood before him. The man gave the young alchemist a twisted smile. A pair of men appeared in Ed's field of vision. The scientist turned to these men and started giving orders.
"Bring this boy up to the lab, make sure he remains tied up, I don't want him to escape."
"Sure thing Boss." The 2 men grabbed Ed roughly and dragged him through many hallways, doors and past many cages, each one making various noises. Ed was still groggy and a little disorientated, he had a confused look on his face as he was dragged into a large room. The 2 lackeys tied Ed down to the floor. Ed's eyes widened, he was in the middle of a huge transmutation circle! The scientist grinned and activated the circle. The marks glowed and Ed screamed out in pain. He heard someone else crying out too, but he was completely helpless.
Chapter 2
Ed blinked. He saw the metal bars of a cage all around him. He tried to stand up but fell over. He groaned and tried again. He succeeded but he sat down again quickly, knowing he couldn't stand for very long. He looked up to see a small, dirty mirror in the corner of the cage. He stumbled over to it and looked at it. Staring back was a large, golden dog. He blinked his big, golden eyes multiple times as he took in his reflection. Long, golden fur, a fluffy tail, ears sticking straight up from the top of his head. He opened his mouth, admiring his white fangs. He wagged his tail, watching the fur swish back and forth. He noticed 1 of his front legs and 1 of his back legs were fake. Auto mail. The word came unbidden into his mind.
The big, yellow dog paced around his cage. He had no memories. Where did he come from, what was his name? He whined, confused. A voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Hey." It was a smooth, male voice. It came from the cage next to him.
"Um, hello." The golden hound replied.
"Don't worry, we all started out like you. It's normal, I think. Oh well. Anyway, the name's Rune. Who are you?"
"Um, I don't know. I, I think it might be, um, Full, um, Fullmetal, I think." The golden dog sounded unsure, but the name Fullmetal had come to his mind just like that odd word, auto mail.
"Nice to meet ya Fullmetal."
"What is this place Rune?"
"Dunno. They randomly take us in and out of cages, some don't come back. For some reason they call us an odd name, what was it again? Oh yeah, they call us Chimeras. Dunno why."
Fullmetal looked up in shock. For some reason that name stirred something deep inside him. Another word came to him.
...Nina...
"Hey, you okay in there Fullmetal?"
"Yeah, um, it's nothing." And the big gold dog curled up and fell asleep.
Roy sat at his desk with his head in his hands. They had been searching for days, and still no sign of Edward. He was getting desperate. He cared deeply for the Elric brothers, though he would never admit it. He looked up to see Riza gaze at him with sympathy. He sighed deeply and stood up. His eyes were haunted and distant as he put on his jacket and walked back out into the city, determined to find his young subordinate.
Chapter 3
Fullmetal yawned and stretched his strong, sinewy muscles. He began to pace his cage again. He had been in this cage for days and only 1 thought swirled around his mind. He had to get out. There was something important waiting for him out there. When he slept, he dreamt of strange things. He heard the sound of armour walking, he saw flames appear at the snap of fingers, he saw a blonde girl yelling at him, he saw things appear at the clap of a strange pair of hands, and he heard someone argue affectionately with him. Whenever he woke up, Fullmetal was even more confused. He felt he would have started to go insane if it wasn't for his conversations with Rune. There were no lights in this place, so Fullmetal had no idea what Rune even looked like. Strange noises echoed throughout his prison. And every day Fullmetal sat there, trying to remember.
"Hey, Rune?"
"Huh? Oh, sup Fullmetal?"
"We have to get out of here. I don't know why, but I have to get out."
"Got any plans genius?"
"Not yet."
"Hmm."
Roy hadn't slept in days, and it showed. But he wasn't the only one falling apart, poor Al had all but given up. Roy and Al combed the streets day after day, never giving up. The others could do nothing but look on in pity at the pair of them.
Fullmetal sat silently in his cage, waiting for the right moment. He pricked his ears at the sound of the door opening, right on time. This man came around once a day to feed the Chimeras. Fullmetal narrowed his eyes. He only had one chance. He watched the man go from cage to cage. When he came to his cage, Fullmetal hung back in the dark and whined as if he was in pain. Worried, the man opened the door to Fullmetals cage. When he heard the latch open, Fullmetal pounced on the man, forcing the man to fall back with force. The man landed hard on the concrete, knocking him out.
Fullmetal ran over to Runes cage and opened it. A big black dog leapt out, and the 2 of them ran for the door. They pushed it open and bolted, searching for a way out. They ran up a flight of stairs and found themselves in an ordinary looking house, they dodged a group of large men that had spotted the pair of them. They sprinted around the house full of energy fuelled by fear.
The pair got lucky, an open window was in front of them, and the 2 large dogs wasted no time in jumping out and running down the street as fast as they could.
Chapter 4
Fullmetal and Rune had stopped running and fallen asleep in a dark ally. When they awoke, they pranced around, overjoyed. They were free! For the first time they saw each other. Rune was even bigger than Fullmetal, and pitch black. He had burning golden eyes and a thick coat. They wandered around the town, not knowing where they were actually going.
Fullmetal lifted his head and he perked up his ears. A man in a blue uniform that seemed familiar was stumbling along a nearby alleyway. His black hair fell over his dark eyes and he looked completely run down.
As before, a word came unbidden into the golden dogs mind. Colonel. Fullmetal cocked his head as he tried to figure out what this word meant. He didn't know why he did what he did next.
Fullmetal barked and ran up to this odd man, wagging his tail.
Roy heard a dog bark and looked up as a dog ran up to him. His eyes widened as he looked at the dog. The dog had a golden coat, familiar golden eyes, and auto mail limbs! Roy couldn't believe it. Was he seeing things, or just being hopeful? He watched a big black dog join the golden one. Roy knelt down and looked the golden dog straight in the eye.
"Ed?" His voice seemed desperate.
Fullmetal cocked his head. Ed? It seemed so familiar. So did this man. But why? Who was he? Fullmetal frowned. Then a searing pain shot through his skull. Edward! He was Edward Elric! The FullMetal Alchemist! Hero of the people! So many things ran through his head. Al, Winry, the Military, his Mother, everything! He barked with joy. The man in front of him was Roy! How could he forget everything? Ed jumped on Roy, tail wagging like crazy as he licked the Colonels face. Roy hugged the overjoyed hound.
"It is you!" Roy couldn't stop the tears that ran down his face.
Chapter 5
Riza and the others looked up as Roy strode into his office. They had never seen him look so happy. He was absolutely beaming.
"I found him!"
They all leapt up at these words and looks of shock and surprise as a big yellow dog with auto mail limbs trotted into the office, followed by an even bigger dog. Tail wagging, Ed ran forwards to greet his friends. A clanging noise came from the door as a suit of armour arrived in the doorway. With happy barks Ed ran to greet his brother.
After everyone had calmed down from the excitement, Riza brought up the one thing on everyone's minds.
"Who did this? And can we reverse it?"
Roy sat up. "Everyone, get your weapons. We're going after the bastard who did this."
It didn't take long for the team to be ready. Roy knelt down to Ed's height. "Ed, I need you to take us to where you were being held."
Ed and Rune both whined in fear, but Ed nodded. The group of them followed the big yellow dog as he led them back to that house of horrors.
The group of them walked as silently as possible as they approached the normal looking house, but Ed and Rune both showed extreme fear. In all his time working with the young alchemist, Roy had never seen Ed so afraid.
Roy sighed. "A group this large can't sneak in, we will have to enter by force."
They all nodded their understanding and the 2 dogs began to growl softly. Roy held up 3 fingers, and slowly put them down in a silent countdown. When all of his fingers were down, Armstrong forced the door down and he ran inside the house, followed quickly by the rest of the group. Ed guided them to the door that led to the secret underground area.
After entering the underground area the group split up and soon sounds of fighting could be heard from all over the place.
A low chuckle came from around the corner and Roy, Ed and Rune stopped in their tracks. The 2 canines began growling and snarling like crazy as a horrid looking man in a lab coat stepped out in front of them. "Well well," he cooed, "I see my darling pets came back."
Rune barked and ran towards the man in the lab coat. He aimed for the man's throat, but the scientist pulled out a hidden knife and slashed the big black dog open. Rune went down with a yelp and didn't get up. Ed let out a horrified cry and glared at the man in the coat with murderous hatred. Roy bought his hand up and snapped his fingers. Roy strode forward and grabbed the now injured man and lifted him up by his coat.
"How do I reverse the Chimeras?" Roy shouted at the man but the scientist only laughed.
"It can't be reversed, stupid man! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" There was insanity in the eyes of the man responsible for ruining so many lives.
Roy snapped his fingers again, and the insane scientist went up in flames, laughing all the way.
Chapter 6
Ed loped over to the unmoving black dog. He whined and nudged Rune with his muzzle. Rune let out a quiet whine and Ed wagged his tail, glad to see his friend was alive.
"Ed?" The big black dog tried to lift his head.
"I'm here Rune."
"I, I remember."
"Your past?"
"My name, it was Oliver. I, I was a state alchemist. I was new, and so naive. I just wanted to help others." Rune coughed up blood. "Yeah, I was Oliver, the RuneReading Alchemist." Rune's body arched with pain as he coughed up more blood. The big black dog laid his head on the cold ground and sighed. His eyes grew distant and his tongue lolled out of his mouth.
Ed pushed Rune with his nose, but got no response. A look of horror and grief plastered itself onto Ed's face. The yellow dog flung back his head and let out a howl, full of utter pain and sorrow. Roy knelt down beside him and put a hand on Ed's back, not sure how to comfort him. Ed turned and buried his big yellow head in Roy's chest. Roy hugged the grieving dog, wishing he could more for his young, traumatized friend.
Roy looked up as Riza appeared, having heard Ed's devastated howl. She looked around and saw what happened. Pity filled her eyes as she took in the shaking form of Ed, who refused to leave the comfort of Roy's arms.
"Sir, I think you should look at this." Riza handed Roy a pile of paper. Roy skimmed through it and his eyes widened. He didn't even look up as the others gradually arrived. Hope shone in his eyes.
"TRY IT!" Roy handed a piece of paper to Al who quickly read it. Al nodded and bent down to draw on the ground.
Once Al completed the transmutation circle he looked up with a bit of uncertainty. Roy nodded at him. Alphonse took a deep breath and activated the circle.
Chapter 7
The transmutation circle glowed a bright red. Ed let out a loud yelp as pain shot through his body. Roy held him close so Edward wouldn't thrash around and injure himself. His eyes widened as he watched the golden dog shift and change. It wasn't long before a small, whimpering, golden haired boy was in his lap.
"Ed?"
A small whimper answered him. Roy took off his jacket and put it around the shivering, naked young man. Roy picked up the groaning boy and looked at his friends. "I think we should get him to a hospital."
Ed groaned and blinked his tired eyes. Sunlight was streaming through the window and he had to close his eyes again from the brightness. Then he bolted up. He looked around him. He was in a hospital. He looked down at himself. Human limbs! He looked up and saw a mirror. He was human!
Ed jumped as he heard a noise come from the corner. He looked over to find a snoring Colonel Mustang. Not trusting his legs to carry him, Ed picked up a pillow and threw it at Roy. The Colonel woke up with a jolt as the pillow hit him. He looked around confused, only to find a sniggering Ed looking at him.
Days went by as Ed recovered. Roy told him that they had reversed many of the Chimeras back to their original form, all of which were recovering in the same hospital. In a halting voice, Ed told Al and Roy everything that had happened.
When he was well enough, a ceremony was held for those who hadn't survived the experimentation. Even though he was upset, Ed refused to cry. Roy watched over the young alchemist from afar as he healed.
Ed looked down at Rune's grave. His eyes hardened and he clenched his fists. "I'm sorry Rune, I would never have made it out of there if it wasn't for you. And I promise, I will prevent anyone from suffering like we did, like we all did." Tears spilt down the determined alchemists face. And standing under a tree nearby, Roy smiled. As Ed wept, Roy knew Ed was healing, and that he would be okay. Roy walked up behind the boy and put his hand on Ed's shoulder, not saying anything. Ed wiped away his tears and stood up straight. He nodded at Mustang and the 2 alchemists walked away, both dressed in the same blue military uniform.
R&R welcome
Second FanFic ever, so be nice!