Chapter 1

Welcome to Amestris!

Matthew Schmidt

I awoke with a ringing in my ears, and a throbbing pain in my head.

Where am I-? Wh-Where was I? I wondered dully through the pain. What was I doing?

"Hey! Hey!" somebody was slapping my cheek to wake me up. "Hey, you okay?"

"Nnnggg. . . ." I croaked. My eyes fluttered open, meeting a flash of gold and red. I wasn't able to make out much because my vision hadn't quite cleared up yet.

"Look brother! He's awake!" a different voice said.

"Yeah, I see, Alphonse. C'mon, help me get him up."

I sat up on one elbow, even though it was a little uncomfortable on the gravelly ground. "Eh. . . . . Where - Where am I?" I wondered aloud.

My vision began to clear up, and I was able to get a clear look at the people trying to help me.

I had to do a double take to make sure I wasn't fooling myself.

One of them was a boy of about fifteen years, with golden blonde hair in a braid and golden eyes. He wore a bright red cloak and had white gloves on his hands. He wore black pants and black boots. I could see a little silver chain leading into his pocket and I knew instantly that this boy was who I really thought he was.

The person behind him was even more confirmation. A bluish grey suit of armor stood behind him, and I was pretty sure if he knocked his head off I wouldn't have found a person inside.

My eyes widened. I sat himself up properly. "E-Edward Elric? The one and only Fullmetal Alchemist?"

The blonde boy looked back at his armored companion. "You know who I am?" Edward asked.

"Edward and Alphonse Elric. . . . Standing in front of me. . . This- This can't be real! I must be dreaming, this is too good to be true!" I said.

"Brother! He didn't mistake me to be the Fullmetal Alchemist!" Alphonse said.

Edward looked at me. "You're right, Al," he said. "Have we met somewhere before?" he asked. "What's your name?"

I was slightly taken aback, because you don't often have somebody important (or fictional, for that matter) like the Fullmetal Alchemist himself ask you for your name. You may as well have Major Stonewall come up and ask you where the bathroom is or Kelsier ask you for allomantic metals.

"I-It's Matt. . . Matthew Schmidt," I stuttered. I began to stand up.

Edward took my hand and helped me up. "And you already know who Alphonse and I are."

I nodded, rubbing the back of my head. "Where are we?" I asked.

Edward and Alphonse looked at each other. "You don't know? You're right in front of the Resembool Station," Al said.

I turned in a full circle and took in my surroundings. There were a few people walking past us, going about their business. In front of me there was a large train station, painted simple brown and tan with marble pillars in front. I could taste dust in the air and smelled the smoke from the train. I heard a loud whistle, signaling that a train was about to leave.

Holy- I-I'm actually in Amestris. I'm in Amestris. . . . But how? How can I be in Amestris? I thought.

"Matthew? You okay?" Edward said. "You're staring off into space."

I looked at Ed. "I'm fine. And just Matt," I said.

"OK, that's fine by me, Matt," Edward said. "We were actually just about to leave Resembool. We're heading to Central. Is that where you're going?" he asked.

I didn't really want to leave the two brothers and be left to my own devices in Amestris, but I didn't want to lie to him either. "Er. . . Actually, I don't know. . . I don't even know how I got here," I said. "Do you mind if I travel with you for a while?" I asked hopefully.

Ed looked at Al and shrugged. "Sure, why not? It's always fun, traveling with somebody besides this ol' tin can."

"Edward!" Alphonse said.

Ed laughed. "C'mon, Al! Or we'll miss our train." He looked at me. "Let's go!" we ran to board the train.

We boarded the train just after the conductor called "All aboard!"

For the first time, I understood why Ed didn't like train seats. They were hard, but kind of soft at the same time. Man, these things must be plastic wrapped in red fuzz! I thought.

"Where are you from?" Edward asked me, interrupting my train of thought. "You're clothing is different, strange, almost; so I'm assuming not Amestris."

I wondered whether or not I should tell him the truth. "I'm from a place called America." I chose partly truth. "It's a country to the West."

"America. . ." Alphonse mused. "Is is like Amestris?" he asked.

"Well. . . . Kind of," I said. "Just a bit more advanced."

Hey, I wasn't exactly lying.

"Sounds interesting," Edward said. He looked at Al. "Maybe we should visit sometime."

I kicked myself mentally. I should have just told him I'm Xerxian or something. Okay, maybe not Xerxian. . . . They're extinct, and besides, how was I to know if this was the Brotherhood world or not? "Well, we're rather. . . . How do I put this. . . War-ready?" I said, trying to deter him. "We're pretty much ready to nuke anybody who crosses us. It's kind of a joke around where we live."

"Nuke? What is that?" Alphonse asked.

Shoot, I've screwed myself. . . I thought. "Well, it's- Uh-"

"Last call for those who are unloading into Central or coming to West City!" I was so relieved when I heard that call.

"Oh, crap! We're gonna miss it! You can tell us later - Matthew, we've gotta get a move on!" Edward said, grabbing his suitcase. We hopped off the train - Barely in time.

Fuhrer King Bradley, Central Command

The man in the blue uniform of the Amestrian military stood, hands behind his back, looking out the window, down onto the training soldiers below him. The eight golden stars on the stark golden stripes on his shoulders signifying his rank of Fuhrer - The highest rank of the military.

The door opened behind him and Brigadier General Basque Grand, known as the Iron Blood Alchemist stepped inside. "Fullmetal and his brother are coming to Central in search of Dr. Marcoh's notes, Sir. We were able to figure out that much - But we still are unaware of the whereabouts of the Crystal Alchemist," he said.

The Fuhrer kept his back to the Brigadier General, already knowing that he was deceased. "It's all right, Envy. You can change out of that form," he said, turning around.

The man who seemed to be the Iron Blood Alchemist transformed into something else - A man wearing a black miniskirt and a sort of bra like thing on top. On his right leg there was a Tattoo of Ouroboros, the sign of a homunculus. His hair was a long greenish black spiky mess - In fact, he could be mistaken for a palm tree if your eyesight was bad enough and was often teased about it by the other homunculi. He also could be mistaken for a woman, and though he'd never admit it, the Fuhrer had mistaken him to be so when he first met the homunculus. Greed had once made a joke, saying that Envy was a transgender palm tree in a miniskirt - And Envy made him pay dearly for that.

"Let them come - It is wasteful to us if we keep them from finding the research - We need it, after all. But keep a close eye on them, Envy," he said.

"Very well." Envy bowed mockingly and transformed back into the deceased Brigadier General. He saluted to keep up the act of a respectful soldier, then left.

Let's see if Fullmetal can do what we wish. . . Bradley thought. Let us test him. He stood lost in thought for several minutes before leaving to a council meeting.