Prologue: A Storm Brewing

'Bored….'

Roy Mustang sat lethargically in his seat, flicking a pen in and out for some much needed entertainment. He sighed dramatically, gazing longingly out at the sun filled day and cursed being stuck at work for the umpteenth time. Lately things had been slow at Central Headquarters; with Scar having dropped off the face of the Earth and all the State Alchemists back in town…The peace was pretty much assured. Mustang, who usually loved lazy days found to his dismay he was in desperate need of something to preoccupy himself. It was too quiet, eerily so. The pen he'd been clicking quickly lost its appeal and he threw it half-heartedly into the top drawer and glared at the stack of paperwork on the edge of the desk, the only company he'd had all day. He decided something needed to be done, before he torched the building simply for the momentary excitement. He eyed his gloves a moment, weighing the pros and cons but then a better idea struck him and he jumped to the phone, a sneer on his face.

'Can someone find Fullmetal and tell him I need to talk to him right away." He said excitedly as soon as his secretary answered. "Yes, you can tell him it's an emergency." He said sternly, and then hung up. He sat back in his chair; finger's drumming in anticipation of the hilarity that would surely follow once Edward arrived.

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Ed sat impatiently in his chair, a foot tapping out of sheer irritation. The subject of his frustration sat behind the large mahogany desk, hands folded calmly in front of him, the most annoying smirk playing across his handsome features. Ed felt his patience wearing thin, he'd been called away from the library by an MP saying there was urgent business with said Colonel and Ed had ran the whole way from the library only to find the Colonel alone, bored, and utterly smug.

"What….Is so damn FUNNY??!" the teen finally snapped at his commanding officer after five minutes of enduring the smug, silent grin.

"Oh nothing…" Roy Mustang replied lazily, his dark eyes glittering. Edward knew that this meant the Colonel was intent on causing trouble, and began thinking of witty retorts. "It's just that your coat reminded me of a story I heard when I was a boy. The main character had a red cape, just like your coat and it brought back fond memories…Would you like to hear it?" The smirk returned in full force. Ed narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"I would much rather hear the story of Elycia's birth and life, complete with pictures, a million times over than hear your stupid story. Which--by the way, is very well known. It's called 'Little Red Riding Hood.'

Roy's mouth twitched, barely holding back laughter. As usual, Ed had walked right into his traps. It was lovely how Edward often dug his own grave, had he kept quiet, or simply walked away…He may have escaped the annoyance soon to follow. He tsked softly and shook his head.

"My my…This won't do, you've only heard the old version of the story!" He said in mock surprise. "There's rumor of a new one, one that's much more interesting…It's all over town. I'm surprised you haven't heard it yet." Standing, he crossed the room to where Edward had been trying to stealthily sneak away and carelessly pushed him back down into his seat, chuckling in a way that was anything but reassuring.

"It's called…..The Shrimpy…..Red-Hooded….Alchemist." He finished with a grin as Edward shrieked his anger.