What could that idiot Colonel possibly want now?
He had called Ed all the way from Central, saying that he needed to come immediately. The infuriating thing was that Mustang claimed it was too dangerous to talk about it over the phone, and Ed would have to wait until he arrived to find out what it was. Ed just hoped it was worth it. The trip from Resembool to Central was long and boring, and Winry always got anxious when he left.
Plus, since Ed wasn't a State Alchemist anymore, there was no reason for him to get called in. After the Promised Day, Ed had lost his ability to perform alchemy, and seeing as his brother, Alphonse, had restored his body, Ed didn't have any reason to continue serving the military. Ed still missed doing alchemy, but giving it up was a small price to pay to get his brother back.
After a long, boring, and uneventful train ride, Ed arrived at Central Command. He sat in the hallway outside Mustang's office, waiting to get called in. Seriously, it's like that dumb man is trying to keep me waiting! Ed thought to himself.
Suddenly he spotted a familiar face walking by. "Hey, Lieutenant Hawkeye!" he said, running over to the blond woman.
She blinked in surprise. "Edward! I haven't seen you in a while. How have you been?"
"Fine. How have things been over here? What's the Colonel been up to?"
"Haven't you heard?" Hawkeye asked. Edward shook his head. "Colonel Mustang has been promoted. He's now General, and a prime candidate for the next Führer, once Grumman decides to step down."
"Ugh. Great. Just another thing to boost his ego," Ed muttered.
Hawkeye smiled. "He should be ready to see you in a moment."
"Do you have any idea why he called me here?"
She shook her head. "He said it was classified until further notice."
"Thanks anyways," Ed said. At that moment, the door of Mustang's office opened and a man walked out.
"Excuse me, are you Edward Elric?" he asked.
"Yep, that's me. The hero who saved Amestris," he said, pointing to himself and grinning ridiculously.
"Uh, ok, sir, General Mustang is ready to see you now."
"Well, it was nice seeing you, but I think I'd better be going now." Hawkeye said as she turned and walked away.
Edward waved goodbye and entered Mustang's office.
"Ah, Fullmetal, you've finally arrived," Mustang said. Ed couldn't help thinking to himself what a familiar scene this was: the sunlight streaming in through the large windows behind the desk, piles of paperwork lying around, probably never to be done, and Mustang lounging in his chair with that sickeningly stupid smirk. Ed had been in here so many times when he was looking for the Philosopher's Stone that he could recognize every detail, but it was strange seeing the room with a two real arms instead of a metal one, and without a suit of armor sitting by him.
"I've been here forever, Colonel Bastard. Or is it General? Congratulations, you're an even bigger bastard now," Ed said as he sat in a chair facing Mustang. Aside from the two of them, the room was empty.
"Now, now, is that any way to talk to your superiors?" Mustang asked teasingly.
"In case you've forgotten, you aren't my commanding officer anymore. And you were never superior than me. Now cut to the chase. Why'd you call me here?"
Mustang smile melted into a frown. "Ah, yes. Well, as you know, Drachma, the huge country to the north, has never had a very good relationship with Amestris. About a year ago, they tried to assault Briggs, but they failed. Since then, they haven't been very active. But recently, soldiers in the north have been disappearing, and Drachma is suspected to be responsible. The public hasn't been notified yet, as we aren't sure of what is happening, and we don't want anyone panicking. Soldiers and State Alchemists from Central were sent in as reinforcements and investigators, but they haven't found any leads, and some of them are starting to disappear too."
He paused, looking at Edward to see his reaction. "What does this have to do with me?" Ed asked. "I'm not a State Alchemist anymore."
Mustang sighed. "No, you're not, but your brother is. Alphonse was sent in to investigate the disappearance of the soldiers in the north a couple of days ago, and he hasn't been seen or heard from since."
Ed felt like a cold fist was squeezing his heart. After Edward had lost his alchemic powers, Alphonse had decided to become a State Alchemist in his place. Ed had been against it, but Al had joined the military anyways, believing that with the homunculi no longer corrupting the government, they could actually do good for the people. Ed cursed his brother's naïvety.
"Are you saying... Are you saying my brother is missing?" Edward asked, gritting his teeth.
Mustang closed his eyes. "It seems so."
Ed slammed his fist on the desk. "That idiot! I told him not to join the military, but he didn't listen!"
"Fullmetal, calm down—" Mustang started, but was interrupted by Ed.
"How can you expect me to calm down?!" he yelled. "That's my little brother! He could be in prison, or tortured, or dead! And you're just sitting there, acting like its no big deal?!"
"Fullmetal, that's enough," Mustang said firmly. "I didn't tell you this so you could yell about it. I told you so that you could find him yourself."
Ed was momentarily stunned. "You want me to go find him? All by myself?"
"What, are you scared to?" Mustang asked him.
"Hell, no!" Ed said angrily. "It's just that... Normally you wouldn't be telling me to do something so reckless."
"True enough," Mustang admitted. "But I know well enough that I can't stop you. And maybe you'd have better luck than all the other soldiers. You always manage to do impossible things somehow."
Mustang opened his desk drawer and pulled out an envelope. He held it out to Ed. "This envelope contains everything you need to get to Briggs. If you leave now, you could probably get there by tomorrow morning. You'll have to find the Drachman hideout from there."
Ed accepted the envelope. He stood up and headed to the door. It wasn't until he had his hand on the doorknob before he muttered, "Thanks." Then he walked out into the hallway and headed for the nearest train station.
I swear I'm going to find those Drachman bastards, he thought. I'll save Al, then I'm going to kick their asses!
Author's Note: So that's all for chapter one, pretty uneventful, but I'll update soon! It will get more interesting (I hope). Reviews are always appreciated, and sorry if anything seems OOC or incorrect according to the anime/manga, that's all accidental. Ciao!
~Ice Inferno