Chapter 1: The Rebound
Alchemy is the science of Comprehension, Deconstruction, and Reconstruction. In other words, using 'transmutation' one can manipulate an object into another of equal value. But, one cannot change an object of a different element into that of another, such is the law of Equivalent Exchange. In other words the basis of alchemy is "exact trade", if one wished to make something, they would need something of the equivalent cost.
There are rumors of a stone, which can bypass such law. But, if one did not have such stone, and bypassed said law, what would be the equivalent cost?
"ANNELIE!" his scream could be heard from a mile away, it certainly sounded like the Fullmetal, the man smirked to himself. He has been waiting for the day to meet face to face with Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, for a long time. He had always been so predictable, shouting and giving attention to himself before he attacked... wait, no! Fullmetal is way too cunning to do something like that. He would only yell like that to distract his enemy!
The masked man desperately scanned the warehouse for any opportunities of sneak attacks. But he was too late.
The man watched from inside as the door to the abandoned warehouse opened with a screech as rusted metal on metal scraped together. A large shadow stretched over the man's face from the light of the moon, but whom the shadow belonged to was not that of a man, but that of a child. The man smirked at the young boy, the Fullmetal Alchemist.
No, Fullmetal should be an adult by now, although this boy most certainly looked like him, he was not the Fullmetal Alchemist. Time changes when you spend too much of it in a prison. But he had left the message of his kidnapped daughter for the Alchemist, who else could have received it?
The boy held an expression of fury on his face that looked so much like said alchemist, the man thought, for a minute, that he had transported back in time.
"Give me back my Sister, you Bastard!"
"Fuhrer!" He was still trying to get used to that name. Soldiers standing attention for him whenever he walked down the halls.
"Fuhrer, Mustang, sir!" Ooo, that one was a little more formal than usual, must be a new kid.
Fuhrer Roy Mustang walked down the halls of Central with pride on his face, he finally got the job. He's actually had it for two months now, it was all so sudden when he was finally elected by the new board to become Fuhrer. Better late than never.
Of course the previous Fuhrer after Bradly, was Fuhrer Grumman who died a peaceful death just last year. What had infuriated Fuhrer Roy Mustang was the fact that it took them a whole damn year to decide that he was fit for the job! Oh well, he still got it like he knew he would. After all, not only did Grumman write a letter prior to his death preferring Roy Mustang, but the electoral votes had him win by a land slide.
Down the hall he could hear the voices of the new Major, the Incendiary Alchemist, and Major Armstrong, well actually it was more like Major Armstrong was yelling down the hall and at the new Major. Oh, he already took off his shirt for the new comer.
"Have you heard of the Elric Children? They are the Fullmetal Alchemist's offspring!" Major Armstrong yelled at the flustered Major.
"Actually," Mustang cut in, "Edward Elric is no longer the Fullmetal Alchemist, Major Armstrong," frightening the new Major, who's eyes bulged before standing in attention, "Fuhrer, sir," so this sir thing was what all the newbies said.
Major Armstrong just turned to Mustang looking down at him from his impressive muscles, then burst into what could have been a smile behind his large mustache, "Of course Elric is no longer the Fullmetal Alchemist! I have gotten so accustomed to that name, old habits die hard!" he laughed jovially
After having a hearty conversation with the Major, Fuhrer Mustang finally moved on, and back on his course through the halls, reveling in the sea of colonels and lieutenants standing in attention.
"Lieutenant Hawkeye,"
"Yes, sir," came the reply Mustang always relied on.
"We haven't seen Edward Elric in a long time,"
"Not since the Final Battle, sir,"
"I think it's time we pay a visit."
Lieutenant Hawkeye knocked on the door of the familiar building out in the country side of Resembol. Only this time the sign out front that said Auto Mail had been changed to "Winry Elric's Auto Mail". Mustang could hear the thumping of feet on wood before the door opened revealing a young girl with blonde hair and wide blue eyes.
At first, Mustang and Hawkeye became very confused and flustered at the young girl, for she looked almost exactly like Winry as a child, until she gave them a very familiar dead eye look, pointed, and said, "who the fuck are you?" in a very rude manner that gravely insulted Fuhrer Mustang's ego.
But instead, Mustang found the incredible urge to laugh, and it burst forth from his mouth, startling the young girl. Although the young girl did look closely like her mother, there were more things about her father that stood out even more now that he noticed. The girl's attitude definitely being one of them.
"Annelie!" came a familiar, yet unfamiliar voice, "how many times have I washed your mouth with soap for that language?!" the door then opened further to reveal Winry Elric, who now looked more robust and womanly than her thin figure from her teens. But that was expected to happen from motherhood. Fuhrer Mustang had no idea that 4'11 pipsqueak Edward Elric would be able to change a woman in such a way, but before he could get carried away, Mustang quickly swallowed that thought before it ran away with him.
Winry's blue eyes blinked at them, "Lieutenant Hawkeye?" she said as her eyes moved on to Mustang, "Colonel Mustang?!"
"Fuhrer Mustang actually," Mustang replied lightly, smiling at the young woman.
Winry just blinked again, "Yes, of course, it's Fuhrur Mustang now. I guess I'm just so used to calling you Colonel!" Winry chatted awkwardly, it was understandable, after all they hadn't seen each other in so long.
"Yes, it has been a long time, hasn't it?"
"You know we've been getting a lot of visits as of late, Major Armstrong just visited last week!"
"Did he?"
The fuhrer and lieutenant sat down at the kitchen table, the young girl who had answered the door watched them suspiciously as she handed them a slice of Apple pie and coffees.
"So Edward Elric really did have children didn't he?" Fuhrer Mustang laughed, "you know your children are all the gossip around Central."
The young girl, perked up at this news, "really?" She grinned, "I'm not that surprised, after all i am practically famous," she joked in a cocky manner, swishing her long hair behind her shoulder.
Suddenly a metal fist lightly tapped on the young girls head, and there was a tall young man that looked almost exactly like Fullmetal, the only think that clued the Fuhrer and his lieutenant that he wasn't his father was that his hair was kept in a short half ponytail.
"Annelie, show some respect towards the Fuhrer," he scolded his little sister, then he suddenly made a similar evil grin that again looked akin to the Fullmetal, "or else i'll call you a pipsqueak again," he threatened, his grin widening.
The young girl, Annelie, then began to turn a shade of red that rivaled a tomat and gripped the metal arm on top of her head as if to do something incredibly dangerous with it. But instead she smiled at the Fuhrer and said, "Please forgive my behavior, Fuhrer Mustang."
This surprised the Fuhrer, but he excused her anyway with a laugh.
These kids were so much like their parents, it was whiplash. One minute he saw Edward Elric, then Alphonse Elric, and then Winry. It was distracting to say the least.
Mustang then focused on the boy's automail arm, so there was a reason why Major Armstrong had given such a major clue to visit the Elric Children, something happened here.
"Boy," Fuhrer Mustang called out to the young man.
"Yes sir?" The boy replied almost automatically, it was strange to see someone almost just like Edward paying attention like that.
"What is your name?"
"Weston Von Elric, sir,"
The Fuhrer smiled at the boy's name, "good name," Mustang complimented, "but why don't we address the elephant in the room, so-to-speak."
The boy frowned nervously, he then sighed patiently and sat down at the worn wooden table, "You can ask, I will answer."
"But, brother!-"
"Annelie, it's fine," he cut her off, "I have nothing to hide anyway."
"The masked man forced my hand, and trust me I knew the consequences of what he had asked me to do. But, he had my sister, he threatened to use her for 'alchemic research' but i knew what that meant. He was going to experiment on her. So I committed the taboo, it rebounded and I lost my arm." Weston took a breath, clenching his hands on the table, "he did it for revenge on my father, he said so! And when we finally got home, we couldn't find him, we waited for days and days, we're still waiting, our father is missing."
The silence that filled the room was deafening. Edward Elric is missing, his son lost his arm, and there is this strange masked man, Mustang has his work cut out for him.
"What was it, what did you create that cost you your arm?" Mustang demanded, the boy shook at his question, his mouth agape as if to say something, he looked down at the grain of the table in despair.
His sister, who sat beside the boy, held his hand, "I think you know what he created," she saved her brother from explaining. He created a being, a misshapen person that was not meant to be born in such a way. Fuhrer Mustang only knew how lucky he was to never be able to see it, and if he did, he wouldn't waste a second to put it out of its misery.
"It was in pain," she continued, "it was dilapidated and groaned out, reaching towards somebody, anybody to help it."
"What happened to it? Did it die?"
"No," Weston replied before his sister could for him, "the masked man fed it, I knew what he was feeding it, my father didn't particularly enjoy telling me, but he knew he had to, so that i didn't make the mistake he did," Mustang could tell this kid knew to swallow his pride, and learn something when needed, just like his father.
"He fed it philosopher stones, he had so many," Weston shuddered.
"I created a homunculus."
to be continued...
A/N: okay, so i wanted to keep going lol, but i felt that i was taking way to long on this chapter. Forgive me if i misspelled, I'm using my kindle fire and its auto fill gets a little weird sometimes lol. Like it would replace masked with naked XD
This chapter was actually going to be completely different, i was going to start out with a fighting scene, but i changed my mind, and it just played out this way, :P
I know that Major Armstrong moved up in rank in the 2003 anime, but i like to follow the Brotherhood more than the 2003, although i might refer to it a little, like with the homunculus.
I did not move Riza Hawkeye up in rank either because i feel that she should always be Roy Mustang's lieutenant :P
Please review! Tell me what you think :) Thanks!