Mira: The second chapter of The Element Alchemist!

Jack: Yay!

Ed: *still mad*

Al: Mira doesn't own Fullmetal Alchemist!

Jack: But…sadly…she owns me…

Mira: Yes and I have many things planned *evil grin*!

Winry: *reads folder labeled "Mira's Evil Plots: Fullmetal Alchemist Edition" I can't see me, yet!

Mira: Just wait…

Winry: *makes "Whaaaat?!" face* Ed's gonna do what?!

Ed&Jack: Lemme see *makes grabs for the file*!

Mira: *snatches back* No peeking! *throws file in safe and locks*


The Element Alchemist

A Fullmetal Alchemist Fanime

Chapter 2

JACK'S POV

Just then the door opened and in came a little girl with blonde hair and green eyes, "Sister!" she flung herself into my arms.

"Tyler?" I pulled her back to arms length. The ten-year-old grinned up at me.

"So did you do it? Are you a State Alchemist, Sister?" she laughed, "I'm sure you are! Right, Jack?"

"You should be home…" then it dawned on me, "How'd you even get in here?!"

"A really big guy let me in!"

I looked at Edward, "Any idea of who she's talking about?"

"Armstrong…"

"Show him to me later and I'll hurt him…" I replied dangerously.

"Um…"

"Now come on," I grabbed my sisters hand and led her out the door.

That is until it slammed into my face.

"Ow!" I glared at Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye, "Watch where you open that thing!"

"Mustang requests…well more orders…that you house the Elrics until tomorrow."

"Whaaaat?!" two voices (one from me and one from Edward) chorused.

Then Edward recovered, "Fine then. Hey Girlie! Looks like you're going to need to rush home and cook us dinner."

"Brother!"

"What did you say?" I asked quietly, and dangerously.

* * *

EDWARD'S POV

I rubbed my eye, which was hurting quite a bit. I was sure it would bruise, "What do you mean?"

Riley took Tyler's hand again. The little blonde girl looked curiously at me and Al, "I mean," her older sister retorted, putting her hand on her hip, "I want you to stay here while I bring her to my…" her mouth stumbled over her words for a second, "…parents house. I'll come back to get you and then we'll go to where I live."

"You don't live with you're parents?" Al asked.

She shifted her gaze to my brother…and…very shockingly, her expression softened a bit, "I just…don't."

And then she left.

A couple of minutes of silence and I looked over to my brother with a face I knew he'd recognize.

"Ed…I don't think--"

"You think we should follow her?" I gave him a thumbs up and jumped up, "Great idea!"

* * *

JACK'S POV

I knocked on the door of my parents house warily.

"Coming!" my mother's cheery voice came towards the door along with her little footsteps.

The door opened and I caught a brief whiff of chocolate chip cookies. I also caught the expression on the blonde woman's face. It was happiness at having a visitor…shock when she caught sight of me…anger when Tyler brushed past me and her into the house.

"How dare you!" she struck me across the face. The slap made a sharp sound and an even sharper sting on my cheek, "I told you not to come back here!" she hit me on the other cheek, "I told you not to come into contact with your sis--my daughter anymore!" she raised the metal spoon she held in her hand, "Alchemy is forbidden in this house!" she was about to hit me on the top of the head with it, but I grabbed the handle and pushed it away.

"…I know…I'm going…" I turned to walk away and bumped right into something metal.

"You dislike your daughter…because of Alchemy?" Alphonse steadied me as I bounced off of his metal chest.

I glanced over and saw that Edward was here, too. He was glaring at my mother.

"…just…just drop it…" I grabbed the sleeve of Edward's jacket and tried to pull him away, but he wouldn't budge.

"No way! I can have her arrested for assaulting a State Alchemist!" he yelled, still glaring at my mother, "You can have her arrested for assaulting a State Alchemist, Jack!"

"'Jack'?" the booming voice of my step dad came from behind me, "So, you're familiar with this runty State Alchemist?" he grabbed me by the neck of my coat and shoved me off the front steps. I stumbled and turned around to face the door.

"I'm leaving…don't worry…"

* * *

Ed continued to rant all the way to my house, "Why did you just leave? How can you take that?" He said this for about the hundredth time as I showed them into my house. But this time he added, "You're mother and father shouldn't treat you like that!"

"He isn't my father…" I mumbled, stopping in the middle of the living room.

"What?" Ed's footsteps stopped behind me.

"He's not my father!" I spun to face him, "He's my step dad! I have no relation to him whatsoever!"

EDWARD'S POV

"He's not my father!" she turned to me, "He's my step dad! I have no relation to him whatsoever!" I saw her cheeks were wet and her eyes were puffy, "He's not…My dad was an Alchemist! My mom didn't like it! And…and then he died and…and," she wiped her cheek clean with the bandages on the back of her hands, "Ho--how dare you even think…!" she swung at my face and I caught her fist in my hand.

"Be careful," I warned her as she stumbled forward, "you're unbalanced and could get yourself hurt."

"Hurt?" she blinked up at me, surprised.

"You could have broken your hand on my Auto-Mail…funny…you weren't so flustered fighting me before."

This fact seemed to dawn on her and she brought her fist back, "I-I'm sorry…"

"I'm sorry…if what I said offended you…"

"It was my fault…I…overreacted…"

* * *

"Thank you so much for letting us stay here," Al told Jack…for about the hundredth time.

"It's no problem, really Al!" she sniffed. I couldn't see her face (she walked ahead of us, leading us up a staircase) but I could tell she was a bit shaky still.

She lead us into a bedroom. There were two beds, but only one looked like it had been slept in for a while. Long bookshelves covered one of the walls. Against the shelves was a desk with leather-bound books all over the top, "This is my room," she glanced back at us, "Get yourselves comfortable…but don't touch anything that you think I wouldn't want you to. I'll go cook up some dinner."

"What happens if we touch something you don't want us to?" I asked.

"Bad things…very bad things…" she chuckled darkly.

"There are only two beds…" Al pointed out.

"No…really?" she smirked at him.

"Well…what I mean is…where are you going to sleep?" Al asked.

"Oh…that's what you were getting at…" she rubbed the back of her neck, "…I'll camp out on the living room couch."

"But…won't you be…"

"Uncomfortable?" she cocked her head to one side at my brother. He nodded, "Not really…I can sleep anywhere…"

* * *

JACK'S POV

As I was chopping up some vegetables, I heard footsteps behind me.

"I don't know what's weirder…" Ed leaned up against the counter next to me, "The fact that you are cooking…you're holding a knife and not killing anything…or…" he stopped.

"Or what?"

"…or that apron," he smirked at me as I tried to glare him down.

"Do you have a death wish, Elric?" I growled.

"'Elric'? And here I thought you were calling me 'Ed', Riley," he laughed as I brushed past him and opened the refrigerator door.

"'Riley'? I mimicked him, "And here I thought you were calling me 'Jack'…" I shoved some ice into a towel and gave it to him.

"What's this for?"

"That black eye looks pretty bad," I dumped the chopped vegetables into a pot of hot boiling water, "I didn't realize that I hit you that hard…"

I heard Al come down the stairs and stop at the kitchen door.

"Apology accepted…" Ed placed the ice over his eye as I stirred the veggies.

"I never apologized…" I opened the fridge, "…I just didn't realize that you bruised like a pansy."

"WHAT?!"

I looked out from the fridge, "I was holding back," I let him steam as I turned to Al, "Hey big guy! What do you want for dinner?"

There was a small pause.

"Well…" Al started.

"What is it?"

"I don't…" Al fidgeted, "…well…I can't eat…"

"Oh…" I blinked in surprise, processing that, "Then what do you want, Ed?"

"You're not going to…?"

"Ask why?" Al nodded, "Nope. Eat or don't eat. Natural or Auto-Mail," I glanced at each boy in turn, "It's really none of my business why…or how…"

Even though I so desperately wanted to know…

* * *

It was late. I got into a comfortable position on the couch and took out a notebook. The fireplace was lit and flames cast a warm glow over the blank white pages. I held a pencil to the page and drafted line after line onto the white sheet. In about an hour I had a complete picture in front of me.

A knock at the door startled me back into the real world.

I threw on my hooded sweatshirt over my cami and boxer shorts and opened the door.

"Hello," a woman with dark hair and violet eyes stood at my threshold. She was beautiful, but her eyes had slanted pupils, like a cat's. She seemed to stare right through me, "Would you happen to know where I could find the Fullmetal Alchemist?"

Right then I made a split-second decision.


Ed: Aw crap! That's not who I think it is, is it?

Al: Brother! We better get out of here!

Winry: What's happening?

Jack: Like I know…

Mira: Ah…the confusion…it so rocks!