Author's Note - Hello everyone and welcome to the first chapter of Mask of a Fox! I've been wanting to write a Fullmetal Alchemist story for a long time now, and I'm really excited to finally have the inspiration to kick one off. Before you start reading, though, I thought I'd give you a bit of background first - this story is an AU and it's also a bit of a mixture of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and the original one - though I intend to base it mostly off Brotherhood. So there may be a few things mixed in that actually happened in the original - just so you know.

Also, this story does involve Ed being a Chimera, so if that's not your cup of tea, then that's fine!

I just found the idea of being one very interesting and wanted to explore it with my own story, so I hope you enjoy it and feel free to give me feedback!

Case Files

Subject #103

Code Name "Ed"

Gender: Male

Species: Human Fox Chimera

Age: 15 years old

Status: Alive

Percentage of Success: 90%

Unique Traits: Subject #103, like most Chimeras, has heightened senses. He possesses a remarkable sense of smell and hearing. Another trait to be noted is that his eyesight is sharp and has the ability to see in the dark. His night vision is not as refined as a true fox, but it's still quite impressive. Subject can summon retractable claws and canine-like teeth at will - he's quick on his feet and his ability to leap is one of his specialties.

Subject History Notes: Subject's age could not be determined upon arrival to the lab, but he was estimated to be 8 years old. The fox used for the transmutation was also fairly young - a juvenile. In previous studies, it's been proven that the success rate of the transmutation is much higher when both subjects of the experiment are of similar age. Subject does have a history of being rather volatile at times - caution is advised. He usually behaves, but is known to lash out time to time - especially if his companions are threatened.

Chapter One

Pain.

It was a feeling that he was used to by now. It was a welcomed feeling, though. It'd often remind him that he was still a living being. He made a promise to himself that he'd never forget that. It was so easy to forget when being stuck behind bars for so many years. So, whenever the scientists would come and do the routine testing, he didn't complain or scream - it wouldn't help him anyway. He learned that the hard way during his earlier years in the lab - any who would try to rise up against the organization would have a one way trip to solitary - or even worse, death. Usually the death sentence was only reserved for multiple offenders, though. They were "important" specimens after all and most of the time the people working here were rather reluctant to destroy their so-called precious work if they could help it. Ed sighed softly, leaning back against the cool concrete wall. The top half of him was bare - covered with old scars by multiple medical procedures. The people who worked here had the decency to allow them to wear pants (and bras if female), but that's about as far as their generosity reached. "You look like someone scarfed down your lunch ration, kid." A familiar voice made him sigh a bit and he glanced up.

A short man with dark hair stood in front of him, a grin on his face. "Cheer up - would you like to play cards with me?"

Cards - the thought made him smile a bit. While it was true that he had limited access - being in a cell and all that - that hadn't stopped him from trying to keep his mind sharp by practicing alchemy. If he ever had the chance to bust out of this place, the first thing he'd do is dive back into his studies. He missed being able to read books. Everyone thought he was crazy - alchemy was what caused them all this pain in the first place, but one thing about this group is that nobody judged. Everyone had their history and wants - and that was something they all agreed to respect. Ed brushed a bit of his hair out of his eyes. "Sure, Dol. But are you sure you're ready to be beaten again so quickly?"

"I almost won that one time!" Dolcetto gave a huff, causing a few of the others to lowly chuckle.

One of the others, Roa, leaned over to whisper to another. "How much d'you wanna bet the kid's gonna beat 'em again?"

The other man beside Roa - Ulchi - smirked. "How about your bowl of pudding? It tastes like shit - but hell it's the best tasting thing around here."

Roa barked a laugh. "Sounds good."

Before they even had a chance to set up a card game, though, a shock wave went through the building, causing them all to lose their balance as the walls shook. In a few places, the cement walls around them were showing web-like cracks, and by the time they were able to regain their balance, one of the walls outside of their cell was completely demolished - causing the circuits of the cell doors to short out and unlock. All eyes were locked on a figure as it slowly walked out from the rumble and then a voice cut through the silence. "Let me break this down nice and simple - you can either remain here as lab rats or you can choose to follow me to rain down hell upon those above us."

Everyone's doors opened and the man looked up as a few of the creatures cautiously stepped out - some seemed too frightened to do so, while others wasted no time. Ed exchanged looks with his cellmates and Roa was the one who stepped out first. The man folded his arms, his eyes narrowing toward the stranger. "And who would we be following?" There was a challenging note in his voice. Ed knew the man well enough, though, that it was only half-hearted. Nobody was going to waste a chance like this - even if it met having to take orders from a complete stranger.

The other man grinned. "You can just call me Greed." As soon as he said the name, alarms began to go off and Greed narrowed his own eyes. "So are you guys in or not? I, for one, am not stayin' here longer than I have to."

"We should go." A voice behind Ed made him glance over. The only woman of their group was stepping forward, her eyes steeled with determination. "There's no time to think about it now. We need to go." That was all the motivation they needed and with no further hesitation, they followed Greed to their escape.

That was about a month ago - now, currently, they were all holed up in a pub called the Devil's Nest. While it was in the rougher side of Dublith, it was home and misfits of all kinds were welcomed to it. When Ed had his first taste of freedom in nearly seven years, he had no idea what he wanted to do at first. He found out quickly that Greed wasn't terrible - he had questionable habits, but he provided for everyone. It irked Ed for a bit when their leader referred to them as "his possessions", but he let it rest after time passed. He could take being called that if it met his freedom. Whenever Greed gave him his share of cenz, Ed spent it mostly on books. He'd change his entire appearance though - now he could wear his hair back instead of it being all over the place and he ditched the lab scrubs for black pants, shirt, and a red coat. It was a bit flashy, but after a life of bland colors - he had a good excuse. "Got your nose in a book again, ey kid?" Greed's voice pulled his gaze away from the words on the page.

Greed was leaning against the door frame of his room, offering him a light grin. "Not sure how you sit day after day in front of those dusty things."

"Well, I used to read all the time before I was dumped into the lab - it was one of my favorite things to do, so - " Ed shrugged helplessly, offering a grin in return, "I've been pretty excited to get back into studying."

Greed laughed. "Fair enough, kid. Anyway - finish up whatever your reading. I have a small job I want you and Martel to take on." With that, their leader pushed off the door frame and disappeared back down the hall.

Ed finished up the chapter he was on before marking his place with a bookmark. He wandered down the hall after Greed, ending up in the main part of the pub. Martel was waiting for him on one of the couches, waving him over. Ed sat down next to her, frowning a bit when he noticed Greed wasn't in sight, and then he glanced at her. "So what's this job the boss what's us to do?"

Martel shrugged a bit, taking out a sheet of paper. "Apparently he wants to visit East City - there's been reports of a talking Chimera there and the boss wanted to see if it was someone like us - thought maybe we could convince them to join us. Since you and I are one of the best for in and out stealth missions like this, I'm not too surprised he picked us."

Ed slowly nodded, but then frowned. "What if they refuse to join?"

"Then they refuse," Greed's voice made him jump a bit in surprise as he fell in behind him - the homunculus always managed to catch him off guard, no matter how tune his senses were, "not gonna force 'em to join if they don't want to. I don't need anyone who drags their feet."

Martel stood, giving a stretch. "We should probably start getting ready to go. Pack what you need and we'll be heading out - Greed's already got us some tickets for a train."

He didn't have too much to pack - all of his possessions were mainly books, but he did put a couple changes of clothes in his suitcase, along with a map of Amestris, and the book he was currently reading. That's all he figured he'd need - perhaps a small first aid kit just in case. Greed wanted them both to have pistols - and while he didn't protest against having one to make the Boss happy, there was no way he was going to use it. He'd already seen too many being shot down in the lab.

Martel didn't seem opposed at all - she could handle it if anything.

Coward. A quiet voice whispered in his mind. You've always hidden behind others.

Shut up. He growled, trying to push the thoughts away.

There was a light knock on his door as he shut his suitcase, and without glancing over he said, "Come in." Martel walked in, a bowl of dark liquid in her arms and when he did look over, he frowned at it. "What's that?"

"Hair dye. I know that you'll probably hate it, but I felt like it might be a good idea to dye your hair while we're traveling around. It's only been a month and no offense, but your gold hair is a dead giveaway. That lab we were in probably has eyes everywhere - it'd be risky to assume that they wouldn't notice."

She was right - he wasn't too keen about turning his hair another color. But a part of him understood her logic - his more instinctive side. He sighed. "Okay." It was going to be a bitch cleaning it out once they returned, but he wasn't about to get re-captured over something as stupid as his hair.

The dye turned his hair black - it looked natural enough unless one looked too close. Since his eyes were rather unique as well, they decided on him wearing some shades too. Martel disguised herself along with him, but she didn't have to change too much - which made him grumble. Now he really felt like he was a punk. Martel smirked as she admired her handiwork. "Now you look almost as edgy as Greed."

"Oh shut up."

They managed to catch the next train headed for East City in the nick of time - it almost left without them, and they managed to receive a few unamused looks from the train's attendants as they practically launched themselves into the train as it started to move. They found an empty seat in the back of the car, and Ed flopped down, trying not to look out the window too much. There was a time where he loved train rides, but ever since his first time riding one in years, it made him incredibly nauseous. He hoped it'd be something that passed - if it ended up where he became sick during every train ride, he would be out of luck. It was one of the main sources of long distance travel in the country. Yawning, he leaned back in his seat. "I'm gonna take a nap - wake me when we're there." He shifted a bit more comfy. Martel hummed in acknowledgement, but didn't reply and he closed his eyes.

"Hey kid, where are you off to in such a hurry?" An unfamiliar voice made Ed pause to look up. He'd never seen this man in his life, but he knew he was Military just by the uniform he was waiting.

Hesitating only briefly, Ed narrowed his eyes. "Not your business." He shrugged. He wasn't sure why he was being so defensive right off the bat. The man's question seemed innocent enough, but something about him made he feel a bit uneasy. Maybe it was the look in the other man's eyes… they were steel, cold. "Anyway, I gotta go." He couldn't waste anymore time. Al was sick back at home. He should've just gone to Old Lady Pinako's and Winry's place to grab some medicine, but that thought hadn't occurred to him for some reason until he was already more than halfway to the general store. So stupid. Now this idiot was slowing him even more down. Both him and Al were making plans to train under an alchemist called Izumi Curtis, but he wanted to make sure Al was feeling better. They were in this together and he wasn't going to leave him behind.

Before he had the chance to run off, though, a heavy hand fell upon his shoulder - keeping him place. "Hey! What gives?" He growled, trying to squirm away from the grip.

"I'm afraid you'll need to come with us, boy - we can't have children running around at this hour." It was evening, but not late evening - what was this guy even talking about?

"It's still light out!" He snapped in return, "besides I need to get med-" He didn't even have a chance to finish his sentence when there was a heavy thump on the back of his neck, causing his body to fall limp and his vision to black out.

For the longest time, it was just him and darkness. In retrospect, had he known what waited for him on the other side of being conscious - he would've been just fine remaining in that darkness - it would have been much more bearable.

But he did wake - and the first thing he saw were the terrified eyes of a young fox.

And then there was the Pain.

Ed woke with start, his breath hitching sharply. For a moment, his gold eyes were slitted and he could feel the touch of his canines breaking through his gums - reacting to his brief moment of panic. His breathing calmed some, though, when he realized where he was. It was just a dream.

"You okay?" Martel asked him gently.

A shaky breath escaped him as he settled. "Yeah." They all understood - the flash backs. None of them spoke about it, but years of torture didn't just fade away in a month.

They were quiet for the remainder of the trip and Ed felt his thoughts turn toward something else that his dream reminded him of. Al. His brother - his friend Winry - Pinako. He never forgot their names - he'd always try to think of them whenever things became really rough - remembering all the happy memories. It was a bit hard to recall some of the memories after all this time - but he remembered most clear as day. He wondered what Al was doing… did he end up training with Izumi Curtis? It made him feel a bit sick thinking about him - what did his brother think of him now? He would have seemingly vanished that day - the day Al was sick.

I hope he didn't think I abandoned him - like Dad. The thought was enough to make him feel even more nauseous.

They'd been so determined back then.

Alchemy was their life - they wanted to learn everything they could. So when a passing Alchemist came to Resembool, they didn't waste any time trying to convince her to take them on as apprentices. Izumi agreed - but a few days before they were going to head off to start their training, Al had fallen ill and was in no condition to travel at time.

Damn it. I hope you're okay, Alphonse.

"We're here." Martel's voice drew him away from his inner turmoil and Ed glanced up. The sight of the city made him perk up a bit. Maybe he'd be able to sneak a peek in one of the libraries here. Greed's orders were pretty loose after all - all they had to do was check into the whole Talking Chimera business and stay low.

As they stepped off the train, Ed stretched his arms, grunting a bit when his bones cracked. "Are we splitting up?" He wondered curiously. If so, that'd also make it a whole lot easier to sneak into a library.

Martel seemed to consider it for a moment before frowning at him, her eyes narrowing just a touch. "It would make it easier to cover ground - but you have to be careful, Ed," She looked around cautiously, before lowering her voice, "This place is crawling with Military. If they have an inkling of a suspicion, it won't turn out good."

"I know, I know," He sighed, "I'll be careful."

She nodded. "Good. Let's meet back here in a couple days."

He watched her head off and he stifled another sigh, running a hand through his hair. It felt all stiff now that it was dyed - it'd only been a few hours, but he was ready to wash it all out. After messing with his hair for a bit, Ed turned toward the city and a bit of a sly smile appeared upon his face.

"Right, East City - let's see what you have to offer."