Act I: Alchemy Twins
Alchemy
The science of constructing, deconstructing and reconstructing matter. It is both the dicipline and weapon that gave rise to one of the most powerful nations in the world: Amestris. The unitary state, ruled by the Führer King is where alchemy and Alchemists themselves flourish and grow, turning into the larges practiced field of science in the entire country.
And the government has no qualms about exploiting this fact. State Alchemists, or as the citizens of Amestris have taken to call them, Dogs of the Military, are those alchemists employed by the Amestrian State Military. These special Alchemists are given the rank equal to that of Major and are privy to the most advanced alchemical resources and near-unlimited amounts of funding, all for the progress of their research and – in some cases – to serve as unstoppable human weapons.
This is the story of two such State Alchemists, who give up everything in order to save those they love.
Amestris
The night was cool, as it normally was in Amestris. However, that was about to change. In a matter of moments, the air became dry and a series of explosions rang throughout the streets. As a column of smoke began drifting from the streets, a figure flies out onto the rooftops and begins running.
Her slim figure was shrouded by grey rags and thick gloves, her short red hair bobbed in the wind and the scars that marred her horribly disfigured face began to ache due to the climate. She turned her head, her one good eye squinting against her surroundings, searching for her pursuers. She smiled a broken toothed smile as she saw no sign of any of them.
"Ha! Pathetic children." The woman taunted. After a few blocks of running, she stopped and began to make her way down to a dirty alleyway between two houses. She looked out one side of the alley to see a large gleaming white building illuminated by a dozen spotlights and the national symbol of Amestris plastered all over it.
"Perfect." The woman grinned. She then began to dig into a brown knapsack slung around her shoulder, pulling out a piece of chalk. She then knelt down, scribbling something on the ground. She finished in a few moments and after putting the chalk back in her knapsack, proceded to cover the scribbles with bits of trash scattered around her. She had just finished covering up the scribbles when she felt a tingle in her spine.
She whipped around, turning just in time to see sparks of blue electricity crackle around the ground. Out of nowhere a solid concrete wall sprouted out from the ground, effectively blocking her exit. The woman cursed and frantically started to look around for anyone.
"Veronica Pyre, also known as the Bomb Alchemist." Said a young voice. The woman, Victora, turned towards the other entrance of the alleyway and there stood one of her pursuers.
He wore a simple dark blue shirt and grey pants with a pair of white gloves and black boots. Over his clothes was a hooded red cloak that reached all the way down to his feet, where on the back was printed a Flamel. He was a young man with brown hair and a child like face, and on his forehead was a strange birthmark that looked oddly similar to a star constellation.
"I don't know you boy but you seem familiar. You've been chasing me for a while now, but I've never actually gotten a good look at you before. Where's your friends boy?" Said Veronica, clutching her hands into fists as she stared down the young State Alchemist.
"Y-You… ahem… as ordered by the Führer King, you are under arrest for high treason, murder and the misuse of Alchemy amongst other crimes. Come peacefully and you will not be harmed." Said the young boy, however, his stoic response did not hide a tinge of nervousness.
"Treason? Murder? Ha! You of all people should know that all deeds require great sacrifice! That's the law of equivalent exchange isn't it?" Veronica shouted with a crazed look in her eye. At this statement, the nervous look in the boy's eyes dissappeared, replaced by anger.
"The laws of Alchemy never justify murder." He said. The boy then clapped his hands together, then grabbed onto a steel pipe next to him. Suddenly the pipe sparked with blue lightning, its form shifting and changing until in his hand the boy held a spiked club with the image of a pine tree at the very tip. The boy spun the club in his hands and stopped in a battle stance.
"What?! No transmuataion circle?!" Exclaimed Veronica
"That's not all my surprises!" The boy charged Veronica, who raised her hands in defense. "Now!"
From the rooftops above, another figure jumped down behind Veronica, smashing their fists on the ground. In an instant, blue electricity sparked underneath Veronica and she barely managed to jump left, barely avoiding a stone pillar shooting out from the ground. However, this meant that in the narrow alley she had placed her back on the wall, where the boy took the opportunity to try and club Veronica over the head. Veronica however was fast and was able to put one of her hands up, blocking the strike with her forearm. The boy look surprised but not afraid as the other person who fell from the rooftops rushed Veronica, intending to punch her in the stomach. Once again Veronica was fast enough to block the strike with her forearm, and now her second assailant was identifiable.
It was a young girl who looked strikingly similar to the boy, except with long brown hair and a different outfit. The girl wore a dark blue turtleneck and purple skirt but the same black boots as the boy. Instead of white gloves like the boy, she had on two metal gauntlets that covered her hands with spikes on four knuckles and a strange alchemical circle on the back of her hands. Her hooded coat on the other hand was a light blue shade and had the same Flamel design on the back.
"You ok bro-bro?" asked the girl with a toothy grin. The boy rolled his eyes in response.
"Can we please save the talking for after we catch this lady?" replied the boy. Veronica, slightly annoyed that she was being left out, pushed both the boy and girl's hands away and tapped her palms on their right forearms.
She smirked as orange lightning stemmed from her arms and onto the boy and girl's arms. The cloths on each of their arms were torn to shreds, first exposing Veronica's gauntlets, similar to the girl's, only with a different alchemical circles (one set on her palms and one set on the back of her hand) and the gauntlets were thicker, reaching all the way to Veronica's elbows. Both boy and girl jumped back, the boy loosing his club. Veronica expected them to be a bloody mess by now, but other than their clothes, they were seemingly unharmed. The girl tried to go for a punch to the head, but Veronica pushed off the wall, grabbing the girl's arm and flipping her over towards the boy.
"What the hell?! How are you both still alive?! Anything organic should have exploded!" She exclaimed in confusion.
"Well, you did ruin the coats I made!" Shouted the girl, standing and raising her right arm to reveal a gleaming metal prosthetic underneath. "Do you know how long I spent designing this thing?! Days crazy lady! DAYS!"
"Calm down sis, I'll just fix it later." Said the boy, who Veronica saw also had a metal prosthetic right arm. It was then a huge realisation dawned on the Bomb Alchemist.
"No… wait… Gifted young twin alchemists. One of whom doesn't use transmutation cirlces. And both have auto mail right arms. I know who you brats are." Veronica braced herself for any attack. "Mabel Pines the Strong Arm Alchemist and Mason Pines, the Fullmetal Alchemist."
"Actually lady… the name's Dipper, and we prefer the Alchemy Twins." Said Dipper, crossing his arms. Mabel did so too and both twins leaned on each other's backs.
"B-But you're both runts…" Deadpanned Veronica and you could almost see the blood vessels on Dipper's head pop out.
"Who are you calling a runt?!" He shouted, pumping his fist in the air and stomping his feet.
"Calm down bro!" Mabel tried to hold her brother back, but to no avail.
"CAN A RUNT DO THIS?! HUH?!" Dipper clapped his hands together and placed them on the ground. Blue electricity sparked from them, and then moved to surround Veronica. Suddenly, hundreds of small stone pillars shot out from the walls and floor, effectively trapping Veronica, leaving only her face visibile, albeit sqished up.
"I heard the stories," Veronica said, the pillars constricting her mouth. "But I never imagined you guys would just be a couple of little kids."
Dipper looked even angrier, clapping his hands once more and slamming the wall beside him.
"DON'T CALL ME LITTLE!" A stone palm blasted out from the wall and slammed onto Veronica, breaking the pillars that trapped her but also sending her flying.
"Umm… you know Dipper, I don't think she was talking about our height just now." Mabel said and Dipper seemed to deflate a bit, but then he returned to being angry.
"Well even if she wasn't she still pissed me off!" Dipper continued to rant and rave about being called short, even as a troop of Military Police rushed past them, apprehending and disarming Veronica. While they were doing so, Mabel took Dipper's coat off him and walked over to the alley wall, using a piece of chalk she fished out of her pocket to draw on the floor.
Dipper watched her, but was interrupted by an MP officer coming over to him.
"So you guys are the Alchemy Twins we've heard so much about!" He grinned. "Thanks for the assist!"
At this statement, Dipper lost all of his previous passion and returned to being a nervous nelly.
"Uh-er… no problem officer." He said, awkwardly rubbing his auto mail. A blue glow eminated from Mabel's direction and when Dipper and the MP looked, she saw her happily put on her newly repaired coat and threw Dipper his.
"Fixed it!" exclaimed Mabel. "C'mon Dippingsauce, let's-a-go! We've got a train to catch remember?"
Dipper sighed and shook his head but followed regardless, all the while the MP officer looked at the two Alchemists as if they were insane. As the twins were leaving, Veronica Pyre was also being taken away in handcuffs by the MP's. The Bomb Alchemist was ticked off that she was captured so easily, especially by children. But, she was not beaten, not yet.
She smirked, slipping off a glove she was wearing underneath her gauntlets to reveal the same set of alchemical circles tatooed on her palm and the back of her hand. So as she was walking, Veronica caught sight of a puddle of water. She then fell over, the back of her hand dropping into the puddle.
The sudden action caused Dipper, Mabel and the MP's to turn in alarm, but it was too late. The alchemical reaction had already started, causing a large cloud of water vapor to flood the alley, effectively covering Veronica's escape. The mist quickly dispersed, leaving the MP's, Mabel and Dipper a coughing mess.
"What was that? Steam?" Asked Mabel
"Mabel!" Said Dipper, tapping his sister's shoulder, "She's gone!"
Veronica, had indeed, dissapeared, leaving a pair of broken handcuffs, two MP's incapacitated and the rest dumbstruck during her escape, all of which made Dipper go back into angry mode.
"Dammit! Now I'm really ticked off!" He shouted, stomping his foot on the ground. Mabel on the other hand didn't seem to mind as she draped her arm over her brother's shoulders. Dipper stopped being angry and looked to his sister who was smiling widely.
"Hey hey hey Sir Dippingsauce! We still got a whoooooole bunch of time to catch that crazy lady." Mabel cheered and Dipper smiled as well.
"Yeah. Thanks Mabel." Dipper was encouraged by Mabel's words and his anger dissapated, replaced with lighthearted humor.
"Besides, with a face like that I doubt she'll get far." Whispered Dipper and Mabel snorted before playfully punching Dipper and laughing.
"Hahaha, you're a jerk Dip." Mabel once again grabbed onto Dipper's shoulders as they both walked off, heading back to Central Command to report the nights events to their superior.
Central Command Offices
The Alchemy Twins were called up to meet their superior in his office. It was a standard Central Command office complete with beige walls, wood floors and the officer's desk situated in front of two matching brown sofas. Dipper sat normally with his arms on the armrests and a straight posture, while Mabel on the other hand sat sideways with her legs dangling off one armrest and her head leaning on the other.
"So… is now a bad time to ask how she got away?" asked Dipper. The man behind the officer's desk sighed and rubbed his temples.
"Well maybe if you'd both listened to the briefing like I'd told you to instead of running off like that, I would have explained it in more detail." Spoke the officer. He had on the standard issue blue officer's uniform, with the stars and pins on his jacket that denoted the rank of a Lieutenant Colonel. He was fairly aged, his black hair beginning to bald slightly, however his dark grey mustache still was thick and well kept. His most noticable feature however was a mole above the right side of his mustache.
"Hey, Mabel was the one who ran off. I tried to get her back, but then we ran into the crazy explosion lady; who, by the way, I only knew because I read the State Alchemist personel files." Dipper ranted to the officer who had his eyebrow raised. This made Dipper gulp audibly, regretting his forwardness. "Umm, Lieutenant Colonel Powers – sir."
"Only you Dipper would read through the names of the people we work with for fun." Mabel teased, fiddling with her gauntlets.
"Hey I was curious! Besides, if we're going to work with these people we should at least know their names."
"You know you could have just went up and asked them who they were."
"Umm I, er… was busy with research. No time for socializing."
Lt Col. Powers sighed in exasperation, wondering why in god's name these two were assigned to him.
"Next time a superior tells you to pay attention, you both might just try it." Said the Lt Col. Dipper looked a bit guilty however Mabel seemed completely nonchalant about the whole situation.
"As you know Dipper, her name is Veronica Pyre, the Bomb Alchemist. A former State Alchemist back in the days of the Ishvalan War." The Lt Col. stood from his chair, walking to the window of his office. "She was well known as the Pyronica because of her alchemy that allows her to speed up the kinetic energy of molecules in organic and inorganic matter, depending on the type of transmutation circle she touches them with."
"Which causes the object in question to explode from the resulting energy." Dipper concluded. The Lt Col. nodded.
"During the war, she was tasked with clearing out a small area of resistance when she was heavily injured from a mortar shell and sent back to Central for medical care."
"So thaaats why she looks like a jigsaw puzzle with the picture ripped off!" Mabel interrupted, a look of extreeme realization crossing her face. Dipper facepalmed, but the Lt Col. contintued to speak.
"Anyways, she recovered fully – except her face of course – but instead of returning to the battlefield, she immediately resigned her post as a State Alchemist and went into hiding. After the war ended, she resurfaced, working for the Anti-Establishment group ever since." Lt Col. Powers abruptly turned to face the twins. "As of now, her capture is of top priority. Dead or alive is the order from the brass, but that's really up to her."
"No way we're killing anyone for you." Dipper crossed his arms, a frown on his face. The Lt Col. just smirked and shrugged.
"I'm not asking you to. You two were just brought in to contain her, that fight in the alleyway was just a coincidence." The Lt Col. went back to looking out the window and into the night sky, his unusually stoic face even more neutral than before. "So, off topic for a bit: have you two found any leads for getting your bodies back?"
"Well maybe if you actually gave us time to look." Mabel exclaimed, sitting upside down on her couch and pointing to the Lt Col. Dipper gave her a look that said: Show some respect, but Mabel – as usual – didn't really care about the chain of command or authority.
Without warning, the doors to the office were kicked open and all eyes in the room turned to a figure with his hand in a salute.
"Lt Col. August Powers, sir!" Said the man. "First Lieutenant Trigger reporting for duty."
Lt Col. Powers looked miffed at 1st Lt. Trigger's sudden entrance, and the Alchemy Twins had no idea why. He seemed like a pretty generic soldier: he wore the standard uniform, his light brown hair was close cropped and looked several years younger than Powers.
"At ease Trigger. I've told you a hundred times to stop saluting me like that." Said Powers, shaking his head.
"I understand sir. Just habbit sir." Trigger replied, his attention leaving the Lt Col's eyes twitching in annoyance and moving over to the twins. "Oh! Excuse me sir! Ma'am! I did not see you! I am First Leiutenant Tom Trigger! Aide to Lt Col. Powers. You must be the Alchemy Twins Strong Arm and Fullmetal."
While Lt. Trigger saluted them both, Mabel grinned and did a mock salute while Dipper nodded nervously.
"Great to see you too Lt. Trigger! Say, is that your real name or some sort of secret code name? Oh! Are you like a super secret agent for Central or something?!" Asked Mabel at the edge of her seat and stars in her eyes.
"No ma'am!" Trigger said, "My job as personal aide to Lt Col. Powers is to act as his second in command and relay his orders to his subordinates! And also, Trigger is not a nickname."
Mabel still looked pretty starstruck, likely thinking about Lt. Trigger in a suit and fedora, hiding in a dark alley.
"Well, it's been good Lt Col., sir, but we best be getting home. It's late and we've got a manhunt to get to in the morning." Dipper said, standing up.
"Oh no! I forgot to tell him we'd be coming home late!" Mabel said, alarmed. "Do you think he'll be mad?"
"Really Mabel?" Dipper asked skeptically. "I doubt that man will even be home. He's probably in someone's house playing poker with our research grants again."
The twins kept talking as they left Lt Col. Power's office, and as Lt. Trigger closed the door behind them, he looked to Powers with a questioning look in his eyes.
"Sir… are they really the Alchemy Twins?" Asked Trigger and Powers raised an eyebrow.
"What makes you say that Leiutenant? Are you doubting their skill?" Powers asked and instead of replying in his usual respectful manner, Trigger just said in a normal voice:
"No sir, it's just… why would anyone as young as them willingly become dogs of the military? I mean, what are they? Fifteen? Seventeen? Kids like those should be in school not living as human weapons."
The Lt Col. sighed heavily and sat back down in his desk.
"Trigger, those kids have seen and done almost as much as we have. It's a true wonder they still act as normal as they did." Lt. Trigger didn't ask any more questions after that, he simply nodded and stood beside Lt Col. Powers, where they both discussed their next move in catching Pyronica.
Tell me what you guys think of this AU.