Gohan's Venture Into Amestris - Chapter 2.
Arriving at the destination, they indeed found themselves in a small village which was for the most part, abandoned. Barely any grass grew here, most of the ground was dry dirt, baked in the intense Sun rays. Fortunately they were only to go to the outskirts of the desert and not in one, Edward was thankful at least.
The group, Mustang, Riza, Alex, Edward and Alphonse, took their time walking through the village, remaining cautious. Mustang approached one of the houses, knocking on the door, an elderly man opened it. He gave a good once over on the group before asking "Military? Why would the military be here?" The Elderly man asked with a frown.
"I think you know why, sir. We're looking for this boy," The Colonel brought out a picture of Gohan and showed it to the man "Have you seen him?"
The Elderly man gave pause at the picture "I've never seen the boy in my life."
The Colonel could tell he was lying 'Why would he be hiding him?' Mustang thought. "I can tell you're lying, just please tell us where the boy is. It is an urgent matter." He pleaded.
The man knew he would have to speak up eventually "H-He's not here right now. He'll be back later - He is a good boy, he helped me out a lot!" The Elderly man became nervous.
"And what did this boy help with?" Roy asked.
"He hunted down some food for me. We're a poor village." The man informed.
"Okay, do you know where he went?"
"I have no idea, I've told you all I know." The man ended.
The Colonel was satisfied enough "Fine. Have a good day, sir." The Colonel said before turning and leaving with the rest of the group.
They came upon a couple more houses, the residents not knowing where the boy had gone off to either. They were walking along the main road to some more houses.
"Well this blows." Edward said, kicking a rock.
"... He doesn't sound like a bad person. He hasn't killed anyone." Alphonse concluded.
"That may be so, but it's best to keep your guard up. We aren't exactly sure what he's capable of." Riza warned.
"Would that person you're talking about happen to be me?" Came the voice of a young man from behind the group, making them instantly turn around, it came from none other than the boy in the picture, Gohan, who stood a fair distance from them "Wow, only five of you this time...? The military must place you above the others or something." Gohan smirked.
Mustang stood forward "Gohan, the Fuhrer believes your powers would be useful, you could help a lot of people. You've injured many good soldiers, you know... Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way - Your choice." He said firmly.
"Humph, they attacked me first... It seems you already know me, so why not start by telling me your names?" Gohan began, ignoring Mustang's warnings.
"...Fair enough. My name is Colonel Roy Mustang." Roy began introductions.
'The Flame Alchemist, huh?' Gohan contemplated.
"Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye." Riza introduced, her face stern.
"Major Alex Louis Armstrong, of the Armstrong family-line!" Alex stood forward.
"I'm guessing that big fellow over there in the armour must be the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric." Gohan assumed, smiling.
"Oh no, I'm not. I'm Alphonse, his little brother." Alphonse replied sheepishly.
Edward drooped his head "I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist..." He whined.
Gohan had a look of confusion on his face "... Really?"
"Really!" Edward replied with a scowl.
"Huh... I didn't realize they let twelve year olds become State Alchemists..." Gohan contemplated with an innocent look on his face.
"I'm sixteen!" Edward fumed.
"But... You're so... Short!" Gohan looked shocked, pointing at Edward.
"I'm. Not. Short!" Edward shouted at the top of his lungs, lunging towards Gohan before Alphonse could grab him. Edward clapped his hands and then ran his left hand over his right hand, producing a blade.
'Interesting...' Gohan thought, keeping an even face as Edward ran to him for what looked like slow-motion.
"Edward!" Alex shouted.
Edward's blade was stopped 'short' mere inches from Gohan's face by... Gohan's hand, gripping the blade "I see your... Point." Gohan stated, giving Edward a smirk.
Edward went wide-eyed "Eep." He gave a small squeak.
"Brother!" Alphonse shouted, dropping to the ground to make a transmutation circle.
Gohan quickly let go of Edward's blade and grabbed him by the wrist "Bye now." He said and threw Edward behind him.
"Why me~?!" Edward shouted as he flew a fair distance and began rolling across the ground.
Alphonse finished his circle and placed his hands on it, making a large alchemic arm appear from the ground in route towards Gohan.
Gohan dodged it to the right and formed a small energy ball in his hand, he shot it at the ground just to the left of Alphonse which had just enough energy to send a shockwave at him, blowing him away by a few metres to the right.
Riza didn't know what to do, she knew he could just dodge bullets, she needed to wait for the right time to hit him in the leg.
Gohan stood straight again, facing Mustang "Roy Mustang, correct? I hear you're the Flame Alchemist." Gohan said with a smirk.
Mustang returned the smirk "I am. So I guess you know what I am capable of. I wouldn't advise it - But are you challenging me?" Mustang questioned. 'I'll just give him a scare. I'm not going to kill someone as young as him.' Mustang thought to himself.
"Yes." Gohan said simply, gaining the attention of everyone. It was then, staring directly into the eyes of Gohan that Mustang saw something in him 'Those eyes of his. I've seen them before, on myself and my comrades who joined me in Ishval. And on one so young... I've got to stay on my toes.'
Mustang stepped forward "Alright then. Don't go crying to your mother when I beat you." He taunted.
Gohan chuckled "I heard you're pretty useless when you get wet."
Mustang frowned for a second "Heh... Well, it's a good thing there isn't any water around for miles, huh?" Mustang replied smugly, trying not to make it known that the words hurt deep inside.
"I... wouldn't be so sure." Gohan said plainly.
'Huh? What's that above Mustang? Is that... A barrel?!' Edward thought in shock.
Riza saw Edward's shocked expression, looking up. She scanned above the Colonel's head until she saw it... A large barrel over his head.
"Colonel!" Riza shouted as she drew her gun at the barrel.
Mustang, seeing the Lieutenant draw her gun and twisting his way, immediately ducked; Placing his hands over his head.
Riza fired several rounds at the barrel, hoping it broke so as to do less damage to the Colonel if it dropped.
It broke, but not as she had intended; It burst at the bottom, releasing contents from it, the contents 'conveniently' being... Water. The water 'conveniently' landing all over the Colonel - And just 'happened' upon his gloves.
"What the?!" Mustang shouted, confused as to why he was soaked in water.
Que: A big fat 'Useless' falls out of the barrel and lands on Mustang.
"I win!" Gohan exclaimed as he pushed the barrel behind Mustang with his telekinesis, letting it drop to the ground harmlessly, he himself falling backwards and rolling on the ground in laughter.
Mustang stood slowly, still in shock, looking at his soaked gloves.
Riza stood there with wide eyes and was taken aback, looking at the wet Colonel, she held her gun pointed to the ground, her cheeks turning Scarlett red.
'Did he just...? Oh man, this guy is gold... I wish I thought up something like that.' Edward thought as he began to laugh and point at the soaked Colonel.
Alex and Alphonse stared at the Colonel, wide-eyed, Alphonse tried not to laugh but it got the better of him. Alex snickered and tried to hide it with his hand.
"Colonel... I..." The Lieutenant stammered, her snickers escaped her mouth regardless of her trying to hold it in.
"You too, Lieutenant?!" He whipped his head around at her, fuming, embarrassment written all over his face.
She quickly put her hand over her mouth "I'm sorry!" She said under her hand.
Gohan got up, still laughing "Man, I wasn't expecting that, I was just going to do it myself, but your Lieutenant did it for me." Gohan smirked. Riza had a guilty look on her face. "You're no use to anyone now. You should probably go and sit this one out, Colonel while laying your head low," Gohan said in-between his laughter "I don't want to see a grown man cry." Gohan continued, proceeding to laugh some more.
Mustang glared daggers at Gohan, his eye twitching before he lowered his head and turned walking to a nearby porch to sit on, head still hung low.
"Now you will fight me!" Shouted Alex as he threw off his shirt and made a series of poses flexing his biceps, he was wearing some kind of spiked knuckle dusters that covered the back of his hands, also, with inscribed transmutation circles. Bright sparkles surrounded him out of nowhere. 'Where the heck did those come from?' Gohan wondered.
"You are under the jurisdiction of the state for as long as you are within the borders of Amestris! Even if you manage to get through us, you will have to contend with the entire Amestrian Army! You should just hand yourself in now." Alex warned.
"Unless you've got something other than guns and whatever this Alchemy stuff is, I'm not worried. Send as many as you'd like." Gohan stated matter-of-factly.
'Is this boy serious? How could he take on an entire army?!' Mustang figured it was just a taunt.
"Is the military sending bears to bring me in now?" Gohan mused.
"I shall take that as a compliment." He replied gruffly. "I am the Strongarm Alchemist!" Alex pulled out a large brick from apparently nowhere and held it in front of him "You are facing the technique that's been passed down the Armstrong line for generations!" Alex gave a more detailed introduction.
"Well then, let's just see how strong you really are." Gohan said as he got into a stance.
Alex let the brick fall and then gave a loud grunt as he punched it in mid-air with a large swing creating yellow sparks as it connected, an Alchemically charged spearhead of yellow energy sped towards Gohan. Gohan didn't move as he covered his hand in a white glow of energy and swatted the attack away with the back of his hand, making it fly off into the distance.
' What?! No one's done that before!' Alex thought with astonishment. "It seems I underestimated you. But it's not over yet!" Alex shouted as he brought his arm up, fist facing down and punched the ground, creating an Alchemically charged crack in the ground to head straight for Gohan, large rock spires shot from ground towards him as well. Gohan slightly levitated off the ground brought his hands up slightly from his sides creating a white Energy Shield, the spires crashing against it instead.
The group was awestruck as Gohan was surrounded in some sort of shield sphere. "H-He can use light shields now?!" Alex exclaimed.
Gohan let out a humph as he landed his feet on the ground, the Energy Shield disappearing, facing Alex "What else have you got for me?" Gohan said, his smirk never leaving.
Alex ran forward and swung at him with a right hook, Gohan dodging it with ease. The hulking form of Armstrong began throwing more punches but he couldn't get a single hit on Gohan as the boy leaned side-to-side as the punches came. He tried Alchemy a few times but Gohan just leaped back from the spires.
"Stop running and fight, Coward!" Alex shouted.
"I am fighting," Gohan stated "You're just making it too easy." Gohan chuckled.
"No, you're not!" Alex accused as he threw more enraged punches.
Gohan sighed as a right fist came towards him "All arms-" He stood his ground this time and caught the fist, bringing it to a halt. Alex was amazed that the boy could still stand after how much strength he put into it "-No legs." He finished, making Alex raise an eyebrow. Gohan brought Alex's fist horizontally to the right, turning Alex's form and then dropped low, kicking at Alex's legs with his right leg making the hulking form fall to the ground. Gohan leaned backwards very close to the ground as Edward's Alchemic stone 'Arm' whizzed overhead.
"Huh~?" Was all Edward could get out as his Alchemy whizzed harmlessly over Gohan. 'What the heck is he?!'
Gohan slowly rose up to stand straight again "That's very rude, Fullmetal. Care to try that again?" Gohan chuckled, not even bothering to turn.
Edward just let his mouth open and close a few times trying to speak but the words wouldn't come.
"You rely far too heavily on your upper body strength. You're going to need to use your entire body and then some if you hope to even lay a scratch on me." Gohan told the Major, crossing his arms.
"You got lucky!" Alex exclaimed as he threw a left fist at Gohan.
Gohan just stood there and took the punch to the face.
"You're not so tough now are-" Alex started but realised it didn't have the effect he wanted as Gohan was still standing there unfazed, not hitting the ground "Uh..." He muttered.
"Well, I did say 'And then some.'" Gohan grabbed Alex's wrist with his right hand before kicking Alex into a house.
'Now is my chance while he's distracted!' Riza thought as she pulled her gun on Gohan, aiming for the leg she started firing bullets. Gohan heard the gun and phased out in front of each of the bullets she fired until his fist was inches from her face.
"Lieutenant!" Mustang called.
Riza's face was in shock. "Excuse me, are these yours?" Gohan said smirking as he opened his hand and dropped the crushed bullets onto the ground in front of her, Riza gulped. Gohan grabbed the gun she was carrying. Riza quickly went for her other one, only to see an empty holster.
She looked back and down at his hand to see that he had both of her guns, she went slightly red in the face "Um... C-Can I have those back please...?" She asked in embarrassment, putting her hand out.
"Go sit down next to the Colonel." He said with a friendly smile, passing her guns back to her. Riza gave him a nervous nod and a "Thanks." Before she done so.
"I'm not done yet!" Alex shouted as he appeared with rocks in his hand, standing on a porch with a roof overhead. He threw the rocks into the air and then punched them towards Gohan, the rocks forming arrowheads during flight. Gohan caught them and threw them back, not hitting Alex "You missed!" Alex chided.
"Did I?" Gohan said coolly.
"Huh?" Alex muttered, he looked up as the roof above him began creaking, the support beams giving way and dropping on him, taking him to the ground.
Gohan stood there for a moment "If you've got nothing else to throw at me," He spoke up to the entire group "I suggest you all leave now." Gohan said firmly.
Edward and Alphonse closed in on him, not getting too close just to be safe. "We're not leaving until you give us the Philosopher's Stone." Edward said, resolute.
"Philoso-what now?" Gohan asked, confused.
Alex had managed to shake off all of the debris laying on him by now. He looked over to where they had gathered 'That boy has remarkable skill and instinct in a fight that I've only ever seen on very few battle-hardened warriors. He was able to stop one of my punches as if it were nothing. Where did he learn all that? It can't have been a Philosophers Stone.' Alex had some respect for the boy, regardless if they were currently adversaries.
"You heard me! I know you have one! Or else you wouldn't have been able to do all the things you just did!" Edward reaffirmed.
"Sorry, bud. I have no idea what you're talking about. All of what I did was me." Gohan replied.
"But... That's impossible!" Edward shouted.
"Nothing impossible about it." Gohan waved him off.
The Colonel stood up and walked to a safe distance from Gohan, Lieutenant in tow, "It seems we aren't a match for you, although I'm loathe to admit it, but tell me something Gohan, why are you angry at the military? My guess is it has something to do with Ishval." Mustang questioned.
"Ishval? What's that?"
"You... Don't know what Ishval is?" Edward asked, stunned.
"I don't know what this 'Philosopher's Stone' is, or this 'Ishval'. I'm angry at the military because they..." Gohan clenched his fists.
"They...?" Mustang asked, raising an eyebrow.
"They shot up my breakfast!" Gohan fumed.
Everyone minus Alex fell over.
"What..." Edward deadpanned as they began to stand up again.
"You're... Angry at the military for shooting your breakfast...?" Mustang questioned in disbelief.
"All this because you lost your breakfast?" Alphonse asked nearly falling over again.
"...Really?" Riza questioned.
"M-Hmm. It all began when I was sitting at the table of one of the residents homes, thanking the lady who was kind enough to to cook for me, seeing as I can't cook very well - When it happened." Gohan began his story.
*~Flashback~*
Gohan was sitting at a table in a small dining room of one of the residents houses, a man and a child were sitting at the table as well "Thank you, ma'am! This looks great!" Gohan exclaimed.
Gohan had helped the residents of the household acquire food and water as much of the village was running short. He had travelled many miles in his search for the cunning prize.
"No, we should be thanking you. You saved our village, kind sir," The lady thanked, giving him a warm smile "Now dig in."
Then a knock came at the door, Gohan had dug into his breakfast, only faintly acknowledging the knock at the door.
The man of the house said he would get it and went to the door, opening it "Excuse me sir, we have word that a boy named Gohan was staying here, we would like to speak to him in private." Came a stern voice.
"Why? What for?" The man replied in question.
"It is official state business, we cannot release any information."
The man stood there in contemplation, he couldn't refuse entry to soldiers of the state "F-Fine... He's just having breakfast, I'll have my wife and child moved to another room" He conceded.
"Your cooperation is appreciated."
Soon, the residents had left the room to go upstairs which just left Gohan and two officers.
"Boy, stop eating so that we can talk." One of the soldiers ordered. Gohan kept eating, barely acknowledging their existence, he was that hungry.
"Are you deaf, boy? Stop eating." The other soldier ordered, getting frustrated. Gohan had refused from what they could tell, making him mad "Fine, boy, you asked for it!" He shouted, he pointed his gun at the table, the other man went to calm him down, but it didn't work "Come on, this will wake him up." He said as the other guy pointed his gun at the table and began shooting.
Bacon, Eggs and whatever other assorted foods went everywhere, the table collapsed in the middle, taking all the food with it. The grumpy soldier began to laugh "Now are you ready to talk?" He asked in a snarky tone.
Gohan sat there wondering why all his food went to the floor, pushing his chair out and standing up. He held his hands out in front of him, thinking about all the food he had at his fingertips. He became wracked with grief "Why~?!" He cursed at the heavens, loud enough that the whole village could hear
The two soldiers were shocked, wondering what was happening.
Gohan then remembered he could hear gun shots, it was faint, but he remembered. Then he saw two soldiers with guns in their hands and gave them the deadliest of all deadly glares to rival that of Vegeta. The two soldiers gulping under the pressure exuding from his eyes.
*~End Flashback~*
"It got messy after that..." Gohan finished his story.
"That explains why two of the soldiers came back with several broken bones..." Mustang concluded.
"Really? All this over breakfast?" Alphonse questioned.
Alex had a lone tear come from his eye after the story, as he listened from a distance.
"No-one gets in my way of a meal." Gohan shot the four a glare reminiscent of the one in his flashback, making them shudder and nod their heads.
"THAT IS ONE OF THE MOST TRAGIC STORIES I HAVE EVER HEARD!" Alex appeared out of nowhere, tears in his eyes.
"It was... It was... Right there... In front of me... And-" Gohan started as his eyes began to water.
"It's okay, Gohan, I remember the first time I lost my breakfast, the pain I felt lasted for months, it still hurts somewhat till this day..." Said Alex, remembering that most terrible day, placing a comforting hand on Gohan's shoulder "It will pass in time."
"Yeah, you're right... At least someone understands me." Gohan said, cheering up slightly.
"What the hell is going on?!" Edward shouted in confusion.
"THIS YOUNG WARRIOR LOST HIS MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY," Alex got in Edward's face with his biceps "YOU DON'T GROW MUSCLES LIKE THESE BY SKIPPING BREAKFAST AND NOT DRINKING YOUR MILK!" Alex told Edward in intensity, making Edward feel even smaller than he already was, which now made him 2 feet.
"That's what I'm saying!" Gohan agreed "I love food!" Gohan said cheerfully.
"FEAR NOT YOUNG MAN. I, ALEX LOUISE ARMSTRONG, SHALL TREAT YOU TO A MEAL BIG ENOUGH TO FEED ANY WARRIORS STOMACH AS RECOMPENSE FOR YOUR TROUBLES AND DISCIPLINE THOSE WHO COMMITTED THIS MOST HEINOUS CRIME ACCORDINGLY!" Alex stated.
"Aw, really? Thanks big guy!" Gohan cheered.
"COME WITH ME BACK TO THE EASTERN COMMAND CENTRE AND WE SHALL BEGIN. FEASTING OF WARRIORS IS A TECHNIQUE THAT HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN THE ARMSTRONG LINE FOR GENERATIONS!" Alex stated proudly as he and Gohan began heading towards the Train Station.
"Would someone care to explain to me what just happened?" Mustang questioned in confusion.
"I... Have, no idea." Alphonse responded, equally confused.