The train rhythmically thudded over the tracks, as the landscape moved by. 15-year old Edward Elric sat bored watching out the window, waiting for something interesting to happen. Nothing but the desolate western landscape, the spare cactus, and a lone tumbleweed. The dry, cracked earth that sped by only made Edward even more desperate to reach town. Metal started clanking behind him. Edward lazily turned around to see a large suit of armor, with a pink loincloth and spiked shoulders, sitting right by him.
"What's wrong, Alphonse?" Edward said, trying to find something to do, other than listen to the train's rattle along the tracks and look at the shrubbery and weeds that grew along the tracks.
"Nothing. Don't tell me that you are bored already?" the suit had said, looking at Edward, the hollow empty armor clanking against the seat. His eyes glowed white in their sockets, however Edward knew those weren't eyes. After sighing, Edward retuned his attention to the bleak landscape speeding by.
"I can't help it Alphonse; I just hate not doing anything. I would rather be walking than waiting here." Edward put his feet up on the opposing leather seats. He leaned back against the seat, and let out a large yawn, slanting his eyes downward.
"That is your problem. Learn to enjoy downtime a bit more." The suit of armor got up, and opened the coach. His footsteps echoed with a metal clang. "At least we got the coach seats this time." Edward sighed, and closed his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah..." he muttered, his eyes falling even lower, as he was lulled even deeper into sleep. Alphonse had exited the coach, the door still sliding closed, and the hollow metallic footsteps echoing down the hallway. Edward relaxed a bit, and let his mind drift, to worse times.
Edward and Alphonse Elric had a glorious childhood; better than a dream. They had friends, and a beautiful mother who cared for them. That's more than made up for the bastard that Edward was forced to call his father.
That all changed; their mother had died from an illness that she had kept secret. Edward and Alphonse searched for an Alchemic teacher; someone who could give them the skills required to bring their mother back, despite it being an Alchemic sin. He and Alphonse were scared; they wanted their mother back, no matter what, and they would do what they needed to do to accomplish that goal. After years of long, arduous training, Edward and Alphonse had finally the ability and mindset to revive their late mother.
Then, it happened. Everything seemed to be going great, and Edward believed that he had seen their mother, however...then it went wrong. The Alchemic energies repulsed, taking the shape of rogue lightning, and started absorbing the brothers. Edward's left leg was absorbed, and Alphonse was completely dissimilated. Desperate, Edward sacrificed his right arm to tag his brother's soul to a large suit of armor.
Alphonse had brought Edward back to their neighbors, where they quickly bandaged the wounds Edward had. A few days later, the Lt. Colonel of the State Military had offered Edward a position as a State Alchemist. Edward declined, and the Lt. Colonel had departed. A few days later, Edward changed his mind.
"I need Automail." he told his neighbors, and Edward looked to them, Winry and Pinako Rockbell, who were automail engineers.
Edward and Alphonse were innocent. They were young. Edward had always told himself that. No matter what, however, in the end, they were wrong, and so, they paid the ultimate price for their ultimate sin.
The coach rattled. Edward sat up, and looked at his solid steel arm.
"That is why...we need the Philosopher's Stone." Edward muttered. He stood, looking around the coach he was in, with its fine red regal adornments. He never cared about things like that; so long as he had a ride to where he was going. He sighed, and listened deeply. Alphonse had not returned for a while, and still could not be heard. Edward left the coach, and walked down the aisle. No Alphonse, anywhere. Edward started calling out for Alphonse, but to no avail. Edward left the car, wind blowing through his long, golden hair that he had braided into a ponytail-like fashion. Looking at the scenery speed by, he grabbed the ladder on the car in front of him, crossing his leg over slowly. One slip, and he was dead.
The train rattled, and Edward almost fell off, but he grabbed on to the ladder with his arm, and pulled himself onto the next car. He climbed to the top of the car. The wind blew his crimson cloak backward, and Edward's hair flowed with the wind. He walked across the top, looking through the windows for Alphonse.
The train rattled again, knocking Edward off balance, and he almost fell off. He kneeled closer to the train, so he had more balance in case the train rattled again. He noticed a window nearby, which revealed two people, who appeared to be conversing. Edward clapped his hands, energy flowing throughout his body, and tapped them to the window. Feeling life's flow through the train, with his power; he modified that life, changing glass material to a more thread-like substance, and subtracting large quantities of matter, as glass had more mass than thread. The window transmuted into a thread screen, as well as a small pile of thread leftovers that sat by Edward, which flew away in the train's wind before long. The two appeared to not notice the magnificent transformation that had just occurred, and they continued the conversation, only now Edward could hear.
"...It appears that the Fullmetal Alchemist is aboard, sir." said the one on the left, looking frightened of the one on the right, in what seemed to be a storage room, with boxes and wooden crates.
"You mean the armor? We could take him on easily. Just rip off the armor, and he isn't 'Fullmetal' anymore, now is he?" said the one on the right, in a gruff, charred voice.
The screen started to snap under Edward's frontal body weight, and when it finally broke, he fell through it to the ground, almost face planting in front of the men, who stepped back, startled.
"Ow...my back..." said Edward, as he stood. The two men pulled pistols on him, as he stood and raised his hands.
"Who are you?" said the one with a gruff voice, solidly pointing the pistol.
"Me? I am Edward Elric, the Full-" he started, as one man starting freaking out.
"The pipsqueak talks?" said the other one, who fired two shots, that Edward dodged.
Edward stood there, rage boiling.
"Who...who are you..." Edward started to say, looking at them both. He clapped his hands and ran at the one with a gruff voice. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A PIPSQUEAK THAT'S SO SHORT THAT THEY COULDN'T SEE OVER AN ANT!"
He ran his flesh hand over his metal one, this time modifying not the material, but the shape of the mass, sharpening it to a point, creating a blade coming off of the arm. He dodged the bullets, and socked the one with a gruff voice in the leg, with his bladed arm.
"GAH!" the man screamed, and Edward blocked three bullets from the other with his metallic bladed arm, the metal clang still echoing.
"You fired five bullets..." Edward said, turning toward the other man. "…in a pistol that size, the barrel holds, hm, six to seven bullets. I suggest that you not waste those last two bullets on me."
The man started walking backward. "Wh-who are you?" said the man, and he tripped over his feet, falling to the ground.
"Me?" said Edward, walking towards the man. "No one special. Just another Alchemist." The man's face contorted in fear. "I am merely someone who failed at Human Transmutation and is paying the price. I am the Fullmetal Alchemist."
At that time, the man fired a bullet, and ran toward Edward, sticking the pistol in his face. "Surrender, Fullmetal Alchemist!" he said, shaking.
"I can tell when you bluff. Right now, we have a 50/50 chance of me being right, and you bluffing, or me being wrong and you being severely lucky." Edward said, giving the man a stare as cold as Death. "Are there six bullets, or are there seven? No matter what, you will now face whatever consequences that will ensue."
Edward smiled, attempting to unnerve the man. The man started sweating like crazy, and his finger slipped. The trigger was pulled. A gunshot was heard. Edward almost dropped, ready to die, but realized that it wasn't that pistol that had fired.
"Phew!" Edward sighed, and looked at the man, who was slowly backing off.
"Oh, no." He gave an exasperated chuckle, "You are not getting away!" Edward clapped his hands, and slammed them on the floor. For the usual instant, Edward felt the World's flow, and he slightly bent it. He modified the steel material of the room, turning the Luggage Carriers on the rack into a steel cage that blocked the man's escape. Edward then grabbed the man's pistol, he tossed it into the air, clapping his hands, and snatching the pistol once more, transmuting it into handcuffs and a key.
"P-please...don't hurt me..." the man pleaded, and Edward looked at him.
"It isn't me who you'll be dealing with." Edward cuffed the man, pocketing the key.
Edward opened the coach car, and started to look around. There were terrorists everywhere, and Alphonse was doing battle with them. "Please, stop!" Alphonse yelled and he palm-punched one terrorist in the jugular, making him pass out cold. Edward sighed. At least this was something to do, he thought.
"Hey, just stop it, okay?" Edward said, walking to stand by Alphonse.
"Who is that pipsqueak?" said a terrorist, and Edward leaped at him, but Alphonse grabbed him by his crimson cloak, pulling Edward backward.
"Edward, letting your temper get out of hand won't help the situation at all..." Alphonse said, sighing, letting Edward go as soon as he had calmed down.
Edward looked at the terrorists, who were all laughing at him. "Wanna keep laughing? Huh?" Edward yelled, and clapped his hands, slamming them onto the ground. The flow of the universe surged through him again as he transmuted the aisle into a slope, causing all of the terrorists to slide off of the train, and out of their way.
Hearing something behind him, Edward turned around, and saw a large man, wearing a grayish brown cloak. "So, the pipsqueak is the Fullmetal Alchemist?" the man ripped the cloak off, revealing a large automail arm.
"Ah," Edward said, holding some anger back with interest. "Automail brethren, are we?" Edward pulled his right sleeve up, revealing a large, metallic silver arm.
"So that is why you are called Fullmetal, hm?" the man said, looking in disgust. "I have more metal than you. What makes you different?"
Edward sighed. "You really don't want to know." The man didn't say anything. He pointed his automail at Edward, and Edward realized that it was machine-gun loaded.
"Alphonse! Defense!" Edward shouted, and Alphonse snapped to attention. He stood in front of the pelting bullets. One bullet knocked Alphonse's helmet off, and revealed the emptiness within him. The man took a step back.
"An empty suit of armor...automail limbs...you committed the Ultimate Taboo, haven't you! You committed Human Transmutation!" The man shouted for all to hear.
"Equivalent Exchange, we traded our bodies for a failed experiment. We need the Philosopher's Stone, the legendary Alchemic Amplifier, to increase our abilities and return our bodies to normal!" Edward shouted back, still taking cover from fire by hiding behind Alphonse.
"Please, sir, before we have to hurt you…" Alphonse said, stepping forward with his hands up. "Leave us alone. Please. We seek no trouble." He explained in his ten-year-old voice that he had since the mistake that they had made. Edward looked at the man, seeing around the armor.
"Hmph. All State Alchemists must perish. Your title proves that you are indeed a State Alchemist; a Dog of the Military." the man said, taking a step forward, and raising his arm. "All of you must die!" the man started firing rounds again, and Edward started to get a headache.
Edward clapped his hands together and transmuted a wall before Alphonse took on too much damage. The train started to make sounds of stopping, as Station 5, their destination, came into view. Edward tugged at Alphonse's pink loincloth, and whispered hurriedly,
"Hey Alphonse, let's jump off when we reach the station!" Alphonse nodded in agreement, realizing that it was rare for Edward to call a retreat.
Fullmetal Alchemist owned and originally created by Hiromu Arakawa.