Sweetly Broken
Chapter 1: A new face
3 Years Later, Central
Edward and Alphonse had just returned from their fight with Wrath and Sloth after overcoming another dead end to their search for the red stone they have searched for. Ed looked frustrated as ever, while Alphonse had a disappointed look in his soulful eyes.
"Great, another false lead. What next, eh Al?" Edward sighed heavily. Al gave a grunt in acknowledgement as they made their way to Central Command. Edward dreaded the moment when he had to finally confront Colonel Mustang about his research for the Philosopher's Stone, he could just picture it.
"Struck out on the Philosopher's Stone again, huh?" Mustang said in a silly mocked voice of Edward. He sighed heavily and waited for Mustang to shut his mouth.
"How do you expect me to keep funding this goose chase?! Money doesn't grow on trees there, Chief!" The dark eyed soldier questioned melodramatically. He then opened his eyes to scan the room, planning to tease Edward once again.
"Eh? Where'd he run off too?" He questioned himself, very aware of his younger friend's death glare. He glanced over his paperwork, smirking.
"Oh, there you are! I couldn't see you there behind my paperwork. Seeing as how short you are." He cried out dramatically, chuckling loudly at the small blonde.
Edward glared daggers at the upcoming iron bars, guarding the fortress behind it. The rain pattered softly against the cobbled streets of Central City, drenching the Argent stone to a dark Cadet. Alphonse shook his brother out of his daydream, pointing him towards the corner of the stairs. Edward gasped inwardly, wondering why that was there.
A little girl sat on the wet stairs, appearing to be silently scarfing down a bun of honey glazed tiger bread. A Cornsilk coloured cloak was wrapped around her small frame, blocking any view of her face. Loose strands of Gainsboro were hanging behind the cloak, obscuring the little child's face. Edward and Al moved forward towards the girl, hoping to get some sort of reaction from her.
"Uhm... Hello?" Edward said gently. She did not respond, instead, she just continued to eat the bread she held in her small hands. Now that Ed and Al were close up, they could see that this young girl's skin was extremely pale, her toes beginning to turn blue. He suddenly became panicked about this poor girl's health.
"Hey, kid! We need to get you inside where it's warm!" Ed exclaimed loudly. Alphonse swiftly lifted the girl up into his arms.
"Put me down." She said quietly.
"No way, kid! You're gonna catch your death out here in this weather!" the young blonde shouted determined, as Al proceeded to bring her inside of Central Command. The little girl tried struggling, but gave up after she realised it was futile. She just lied there in Alphonse's arms, limp but not dead. They eventually found a doctor who was able to get her a bed and something warm.
"Al, why don't you go report to Hawkeye and Mustang? I heard Black Hayate had been brought in for Sniffer Dog Training." Edward told his brother.
"Okay brother, I hope she's alright, but she seems strange, you wouldn't think a girl her age could stand staying quiet or still." Al replied to his older sibling before Edward heard the suit of armour clank off towards The Lieutenant's office.
Ed thought Al was right, she was very strange. He really had never seen a child who could sit still or be so quiet. Thankfully, the little girl took whatever consumables they offered, but did not offer a single expression to them or utter a single word. Ed began to get tired of this for a few hours, before confronting this little girl.
"Hey." He spoke gently. She didn't answer, her face was facing down towards her lap underneath the thick, warm covers of the hospital bed. He was just about to speak again when she cut him off.
"Hey." She said almost inaudible. Ed was surprised he got her to speak. He decided he would turn this into an interrogation.
"I'm gonna ask a few questions, try to answer them all, if you can." He said softly, so he wouldn't scare the girl. She nodded, but didn't turn or look at him.
"Ok... What's your name?"
"Don't have one." She said almost straight after he had asked.
"Uhh... Ok, where are your family members?"
"I don't know. I think they're dead." Ed gasped at her. He knew he shouldn't ask what he was going to ask but he did so anyway.
"Do you know how? Tell me what you remember." He said slightly less kindly, leaning forward to gently touch her bare shoulder. She didn't flinch or shiver.
"All I remember is the car crash. It hurt to breathe, then it all went black. I felt so cold, then I saw this person, he was pale white and had no face. I talked with him for a while, then I felt little black hands grab me and pull me towards a big door. Then I saw dead people and I was in the middle of a strange Transmutation Circle. I also saw a young lady with short, black hair. She wore a tall collared dress with a pendant. There was a guy with green hair, a chubby guy and two really pretty ladies. I think one of the ladies came up to me and I saw them holding a red stone and pressing it to my forehead, I felt so much pain and I passed out after that, but then I ended up in a different place..." What she said shocked Edward.
A guy with green hair.
That must be Envy, Edward thought, and those two ladies must be Lust and Sloth. That's when it hit him. The person that she met was Truth, the dead people were the sacrifices for human transmutation, a Transmutation Circle, in the middle of a Transmutation Circle. This young girl, she wasn't a normal child, She wasn't even a technical child! She was a Homunculus.
"Listen, girl, do you know what a homunculus is?" He asked hesitantly. She turned and looked at him with large childlike Byzantium coloured eyes. She nodded slowly.
"A Homunculus refers to the mythological concept of an artificially created human, presumably brought into existence by certain means of alchemy." She said slowly, which shocked Edward at her knowledge. He smiled gently as her head sunk back to the covers.
"And what about alchemy, do you know anything about it, maybe the rules?" He asked, praying he was wrong about her. She nodded again.
"Alchemy is, as it is understood as the ancient metaphysical science of manipulating and altering matter by using natural energy. This act is known as 'transmutation' and its sequence is usually described as comprehending the material, then deconstructing the material to its most basic elements and then reconstructing it as something else, but you cannot exceed the original material structure's makeup formula,"
"Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange." They said in unison. It all went quiet for a while until the older boy spoke up.
"Heh, you sure know your stuff..." he said. He saw her smile weakly under the clumps of silver hair.
"How old are you?" He asked with the same softness in his voice.
"..." She didn't reply, but her face showed deep thought. Soon enough, she lifted her head up, looking at him with the same shining yet dull Byzantium coloured irises.
"I... I think I'm 15 years old..." She replied, unsure of herself. Suddenly, she sneezed twice, then began shivering.
"C-c-co-old..." She stuttered while holding her arms. Edward's eyes widened slightly and turned to call someone.
"Lieutenant Ross! Al, where's Maria!?" He shouted down the hall. He heard footsteps of the familiar short haired older woman running to the hospital room Edward was in. She stopped and saluted to him out of courtesy.
"Yes sir! What's wrong?" She asked sternly. He pointed to the young girl shivering.
"Take her to the baths and give her a nice hot one so she can warm up." He commanded as she rushed over to get the girl up.
" Hello dear, can you stand?" Maria asked nicely. She nodded and she slipped from under the covers and held onto Maria's sleeve hesitantly. Edward smiled at this. She led the girl to the bathing chambers and turned on the hot water with a little cold. Maria then walked over to the girl, smiling in a motherly fashion.
"Sweetie I need you to go into the stall and change, please." She said calmly as she knelt down to the girl. She nodded once again and stalked over to the small booth. The blue clad soldier sighed and turned around to turn the hot water off, but suddenly getting the feeling something was behind her. She froze, unable to move out of uncertainty. Lieutenant Ross slowly reached for her front holster, which lay her gun. She grabbed the gun and swiftly turned around, pointing the gun at the figure that stood behind her...
Hey guys, hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Sweetly Broken. Next chapter might be longer, can't make promises though