Disclaimer: I don't own full metal alchemist or any of the characters in this story but Kai and Walter.

And remember this is my first fic so please R&R.

Chapter 1

Edward woke with a start as something crashed to the floor in the room upstairs.

He raised his golden eyes to the roof and cursed under his breath, making a metal note to absolutely crucify his brother for waking him up so early.

Grumbling, he got out of bed and stomped into the kitchen of the small shabby house that the two brothers had rented out while they were staying in the area and began raiding the fridge, trying to balance eggs, butter, and other food scraps in his arms.

As Edward put everything down on the table, Alphonse came in with a small sheet of paper.

"Hey Niisan, I got-"

"WHAT THE HELL WAS WITH THAT RUCKUS UPSTAIRS?!?"

Alphonse ignored him and sat down on one of the small chairs in the dining area.

"- a message from the colonel about some possible clues about the philosopher stone. It says that -"

"YOU STILL HAVEN"T ANSWERED MY QUESTION!!!"

"- there's an old stone monument that they recently uncovered close to here that has information about souls and what some people think might be a reference to the gate. So I was thinking we could go take a look."

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE – The gate?"

Edward sat down beside his brother, leaning in unconsciously.

"So how old is the writing supposed to be?"

If Alphonse had a mouth, he would have smiled.

"They don't know yet, but from what a specialist at the site said, it's roughly a hundred years old."

Ed whistled, looking impressed.

"I guess we could go take a look. Just let me eat something first."

Ed stood up and brought his hands together, before lightly touching the food on the table. Blue sparks flew from Edwards outstretched fingertips as the food wavered and changed shape. After a few seconds, the sparks died down and the food on the table has been reduced to a steaming pile of mush.

"Niisan, you really should just cook it normally you know."

Edward whirled around to face his brother.

"HAVE YOU EVER TRIED COOKING SCAMBLED EGGS WITH ALCHEMY?!?"

"You could have at least removed the containers before you started."

Ed scowled and quickly re-transmuted the paste so that the plastic casing and the 'eggs' were separate. Now the mush looked slightly more edible.

"Happy now?"

"Use a plate ni-san."

Alphonse left to pack their things for the trip and pay the hotel manager while Ed ate (or at least tried to) the 'scrambled eggs' on the bench top.