I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Fairy tail.
The redhead straightened up as her partner did. Her face relaxed a little, but it was far from the smile that Natsu was sporting. Mustang could only guess that she wasn't as trusting as the pink hair hybrid. The first to turn to leave was Hawkeye. Even with her back turned, the general knew that she was still watching the two of them. Erza seemed to be watching Hawkeye too, the uneasiness never leaving her shoulders. Just what was causing her to be so uptight to a possible doppelganger Mustang could only guess.
It only took ten minutes to make it back to headquarters. They quickly made it to his office, avoiding the stares from the other officers. Mustang kept his spine straight, signifying he was in control and knew what he was doing. He understood the need to keep things civil. Another fight is not what he wanted right now. For goodness sake, Hawkeye's throat had only healed a month ago and his vision was still blurry around the edges.
The quartet made their way into Mustang's sizable office. He took his place in the big chair behind his desk and motioned for the two strangers to sit anywhere they pleased. The opted to take the couch on the right, and Hawkeye came to stand behind the general. He hated that she stood as if she was under him, but he also loved the power of the two of them together like that. It told the world who was in charge, both of them. His power was nothing without her next to him.
"Okay, General Mustago, have you seen our friend?" the pink haired one said. He put his elbow to his knees and held his head in his hand. Apparently, if this boy had been taught manners, then he must have not thought Mustang was deserving of them. Mustang knew he needed to put this boy in his place.
"The name is Mustang, Nastu. And I expect you to remember it. I am a General in the military of Amerstis. I am personal friends with the Furheor, King Grumman. The woman behind me is my personal bodyguard, First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye. She is also a First-class sniper. No one revivals her sharpshooter skills. If I were you, boy, I would show a little respect."
Natsu sat up at that, an apologetic look on his face. Mustang guessed this boy must have some arrogance in him, but he couldn't be too bad if he didn't smart back like a certain Elric brother used to. The thought of just how Ed would react to that statement made the general chuckle. The smile confused his Lieutenant, who gave him a questioning look.
"It's okay Hawkeye. I was just thinking how much he reminds me of the shrimp."
Hawkeye rolled her eyes at him, small enough that the others couldn't notice. She spoke up next.
"Which issue would you like to address first? Your missing friend or our obvious similarities."
"Lucy, have you seen her," Natsu piped. "She is blonde and cute, with boobs about as big as Erza's." Natsu reached over and signaled his hands around the woman's chest, an action that would have earned Mustang a smack (if not a gunshot) from his Lieutenant if he ever tried something like that. Yet the redhead was unfazed. It was as if she was completely comfortable with this boy being in such close proximity of her breast. Maybe they were siblings?
"She is also a wizards, as us." The redhead chimed in.
"I'm sorry, but your explanation leaves something to be desired. Cute blondes with big boobs are not uncommon around here, and I have no clue what you mean by wizard. If she is an alchemist then I might know someone, but I doubt it."
"What's an alchemist?" Natsu asked.
"You're an alchemist, aren't you? You use science to control fire."
"Uh, no. I use magic taught to me by my father."
"Magic? There is no such thing."
"Yes there is. Watch."
At that moment Natsu lit his hand on fire. The act alone amazed Mustang. He could make fire with his ignition cloth, but he still would get burned if it touched him.
"That's impossible. How can you do that? Do you have some fire proof gloves or something?"
"No. My fire dragon scales keep me from getting burned. Fire doesn't hurt me. In fact, if I eat it then it energizes me."
"How the hell do you eat fire?"
"Easy, if you got some I will show you."
"Why don't you just eat the fire that is in your hand?"
"Dammit. Why does everyone keep asking me that? Do you have a pet General Mustang?"
"No, but my Lieutenant here had a dog."
"Okay, why don't you cook him up for dinner tonight?"
"Why the hell would I do that?"
"Exactly."
Mustang got the point, sort of. Anyway, he understood that the boy needed an outside source of fire in order to be able to eat it. He didn't want to let the cat of the bag so soon, but he figured he would show the boy his skill. Mustang reached into his desk for his white glove. After slipping it on he made his signature snap, earning a quizzed look from the boy. The tiny spark grew as Mustang manipulated it, causing the boy's eyes grow wide. Once he had a sufficient fire, he hurled it at the pink haired freak. Natsu smiled in anticipation. He opened his mouth wide and engulfed the entire flame, much like gluttony did all those months ago.
"General, did you notice that? He reminds me of someone." Hawkeye whispered.
"Yeah, but how can we tell? It's not like we can just shoot them to see if they stay dead or not?"
"What are you two whispering about?" Erza asked. She had a look of complete distrust on her face now.
"I was just wondering if you two were homunculi." Mustang answered.
This time the pink haired one asked the questions, "What's a homunculi?"
"It is an artificial human. Flesh and bone, but no heart."
"Well then, the answer is no. We are both very human."
"So then, if I shot you, you would die?"
"I supposed, if you hit my head or heart, then yes."
"Hm. Well, no matter. I still don't know where your 'wizard' friend is. Now we can discuss why my Lieutenant and your redhead look and sound so much alike."
At this the woman snapped up at each other, sizing the other up. Their eyes darted up and down, noting the similarities and the differences. Mustang could feel the tension in the room and decided to address the issue right then and there.
"Alright you two, cool it. I understand how unpleasant it can be meeting yourself, but does it really have to cause such conflict. You two, you act like this has happened before. You mind filling us in?"
The redhead hung her head, preparing to speak. It took her an entire minute for her to gather her thoughts.
"You are very perceptive, General. Yes, this had happened before, to both of us. We both found ourselves in a world that paralleled ours, and therefore everyone we knew had an exact copy. Well, not exact. While some traits stayed the same, there was always something drastically different about our doppelgangers. For example, Natsu here is very strong and confident, earning him courage beyond belief. His counterpart on the other hand was cowardly, and had little self-confidence."
"I see. And what are your characteristics that challenged your counterpart?" Mustang inquired.
"I am loyal, strong, and a leader. My ganger was the same. She was loyal to her leader till his end. The only difference was that the man she followed and the one I follow were day and night. My master understands the value of life and family. He took in Natsu and I when we were children and many others at that. He considers all of us as family and had raised us as such. He taught us to use our magic to protect any and every one, that there wasn't one person out there that didn't deserve to be saved.
But, the other Erza had a corrupt king. He was the ruler of the land, and he was scared of losing power. He slaughtered millions using her hand, and she did it proudly. It wasn't until I beat some sense in her that she realized the value of life. She almost killed me and my friends in loyalty to her corrupt king. I haven't seen her since our fight, but I hope that she is now serving a righteous man."
Her story scared the Lieutenant. Mustang could see the fear in her eyes. These two really were the same woman. She was loyal to him to a fault. No, that wasn't true. She was more than prepared to shoot him when things got out of hand. He almost turned into the same monster as Scar, but she stopped him. She wasn't like this third 'Erza.' She was righteous of her own nature.
"Ah, so I see. You are afraid of whether or not we are on the side of life or power?" Mustang deduced.
"Yes. I am sorry. I find it hard to trust myself after what happened."
"Don't apologize. If you two came here a year ago, your worries would have been valid. You see, our king was also corrupt. He slaughtered millions for his own personal gain. And he used people like us to carry out the dirty deeds."
Natsu and Erza stood, not sure whether they were going to attack or not. Mustang motioned for them to calm down.
"There is no need for that. We may have been the 'bad guys' back then, but the wars caused us to realize who the real enemy was. Together with our comrades we rose up against the king, and we beat him back to where he came from. We are now free of the tyranny. We are building a new nation here, one that isn't founded on the blood of its citizens, but rather on the sweat of their brows."
His speech earned him a slight smile from Natsu, and even an approving look from Erza. They could sense the truth in his words. And he meant them. No longer were they going to be weapons. They were in charge now, and they would protect their people with every fiber of their being.
"So, now that we understand each other, I have only one more question." Mustang injected during their touching moment. The duo looked at the general, questions playing in their minds. Mustang smiled as he got to the point, "If Natsu uses 'magic' to control fire, then what is it that you, Miss Erza?"
Erza's smile widened to something wicked. She answered the general, "Tell me, sir, are you a breast man?"
Mustang was taken aback by the question. The corner of his eye caught Hawkeye's glare, and he had to suppress the nosebleed threatening him. "Um. Well, not really. I like them, but I prefer a woman as a whole."
"I see, then I have the perfect demonstration for you." With that, Erza began to glow.