Chapter Two.
Armstrong family reunion. The soldiers ship out. Memories of Xing and learning alchemy. Skip the bold if to get right to the story.
Authour's rant.
I thought about having a long, long boring section about military training, drills, and all that goodness. I realized however, that the ragtag groups of misfits always have a better story to be told. Expect Armstrong to come back for this chapter, as well as some regular soldiers from Fullmetal Alchemist. Armstrong is a very interesting character. It is hard to tell, is he really that open and obvious? Or, is it all an act, a disguise that covers a deep complex character? On another note, Fessel is a glory seeking twit, and unfortunately was not included on the Brotherhood anime. He was from the original manga. Yes, i know the whole "Join the army" thing was quick, but that is how it was meant to be. If Fessel could make it look like he was convincing droves of men to join the army, it would look really good. Abuse of Power seems like a very convenient way to do this. For next chapter, I am planning on making a chapter devoted the ordinary soldiers of the Amestrian Army. Maes will be there, and Riza, and even Rebecca possibly. There will even be some sections devoted to the Ishbalian points of view. Also, there is a debate between Ishval and Ishbal. I use Ishbal. Personally, i like Ishval better, but it started with Ishbal and I plan to stick with it.
Enjoy, Josh
East Amestris. Present day.
Training? No, it would be a joke- no, an insult to call it that. Nikoli shuttered. Give them a uniform, give them a gun. Yell at them fiercely for the rest of the day. That seemed to sum it up. It seemed that the Brigand General would do this often, charge men with a crime only to force them to sign up. Of course, on paper it looked as if Fessel had been bringing in plenty of men, and the paperwork never mentioned why the men signed 5 years of their life away, it only showed that they had indeed promised 5 years of service to the Fuhrer and his military. Thus a ragged band of street kids and criminals had formed. The group was known as "the Slums" by other soldiers. Weapons ranged from poorly maintained training weapons, outdating and obsolete firearms and rusty rifles that seemed to have gone through hell and back. Luckily for Nikoli, there were a few good men in the "Slums" Soldiers who had survived the earlier years of the conflict and readily passed on knowledge to the new recruits in an unofficial training program. Fessel didn't need to know that they were helping, and even if he did, he wouldn't care.
Fessel himself had said, "They are just going to die on the street. Might was well make them good for something. Who knows, it seems to me to be a perfect way to weed out some good soldiers, the weak ones will die first. Any survivors will learn quickly the way of the battlefield, and maybe even turn out to be good soldiers." His unspoken words were: Either way, I get a promotion.
Even the uniforms seemed to be of a cheaper make, or maybe they all itched like this, Nikoli thought as he walked down the camp, armed with a single bolt action rifle. He didn't even have a side-arm or combat knife. His trusty kunai from his time in Xing was stashed in his boot of course, but that was always meant to be a souvenir, not an instrument of killing. As he walked forward, he collided once again with a wall of pure steel.
Well, pure muscle would be more accurate. The kind face of the Major loomed above him. Armstrong was his name, wasn't it? His eye flick to a shiny object in his pocket though, was it what he thought it was?
"Well well, I can assume you did not join this great army to hear the rest of the Armstrong family history, although if by chance you did. I would happily oblige. The Major prepared to flex.
"Uh- No Sir no! I do have a question though! Are you, by chance, an alchemist?" Nikoli sputtered out quickly.
"Ah yes, the Armstrong family is famous for its unique alchemy! I will show you now-" Nikoli cut of the Major quickly.
"No thank you Sir, perhaps another time though, I am more interested if you know a Charles Zhan?"
"Hmmm, Zhan you say. That name is familiar. Of course! The DeadLeg Alchemist!" He replied.
Nikoli grimaced at the name. With age, he quickly knew why his father, who was paralyzed from the waist down, despised his Second Name. Long before Nikoli was born, his father had been out in a storm when a bolt of lightning toppled a nearby tree. The massive tree had nearly killed his father, landing square across his back. He survived, but not without lasting injury. The paralysis as well as breathing problems forced his father to turn to alchemy to earn a living.
Major Armstrong surveyed the young lad before him. "You do have his eyes you know. I can only assume you are related. How you ended up in the Slums- I mean under Fessel's command is beyond me." He pondered for a second before looking up. "I could tell by your rifle. My father has one in the kitchen, a memento of his time serving our grand country." His eyes narrowed slightly. "Fessel may not outfit his men well, but that weapon will serve you well if you treat it right."
Nikoli looked unconvinced at the rusty bolt action and ragged wood that made up his "rifle". "If you say so Major. I was hoping I could get a chance to talk to him. He is my father after all."
Armstrong sudden looked upward with tears in his eyes. "NO! The Sorrow!" His shirt burst as he flexed. "Oh the unfairness!" He yelled as tears poured down his face. Nikoli tried to speak, but he was swept into a bone crushing hug. "No one has seen him! He went missing in the midst of his researching! Many expected foul play, but then again, his family had left long before he disappeared!" Armstrong shouted.
Nikoli's eyes opened wide. "Foul play! What do you mean? Tell me, tell me Major!"
Armstrong gave him a vicious look, "It is gossip! There is no worse dishonour than spreading idle GOSSIP!" His eyes faltered for a second though. "Very well, you are aware of his research no?"
Nikoli nodded solemnly.
"Lightning alchemy, the force that robbed him of his mobility! He wanted to contain it, to use it! He was not alone in his pursuit though! Another alchemist, a General who had risen from the simple state of State Alchemist, also sought those secrets! The Deadleg Alchemist was pressured into working for this General before his disappearance; some claimed that the General had become jealous of his success, or angry that he would not share secrets with him. Either way, your father went missing, and lightning alchemy remains a mystery.
Nikoli was about to ask for this General's name, but Armstrong suddenly was running. "I have said too much! I will not be a gossiper. Best of luck child! Fight proud for your country!"
The Major disappeared from sight, running in a nervous manner. Nikoli was suddenly slammed from behind.
"YOU! SLUM SOLDIER!" and angry voice filled his ears. "We are DEPLOYING! GET YOUR ASS ON THAT TRAIN!"
Nikoli quickly obeyed, not even bothering to see who had issued the order. He ran straight to the train, not pausing to look back until he was in his cabin with the other Slum Soldiers. Only then did he contemplate the Hell that lay ahead.
"My son! My son has come to visit me!" The stocky figure of Philip Armstrong, the head of the Armstrong family, walked down the stairs of his mansion with precision and grace. His son stood rigid straight with honour.
"My father, I am honoured to be here!" Alex replied with a salute, before embracing his father with a massive bear hug, trying to pick him up. The shorter Armstrong would not have it though, he broke free from the hug, only to re-hug his son and lift him off the ground. Alex Armstrong let out a small chuckle.
Later at the dinner table, his mother and father seated him next to his little sister. Little Catherine clung to his arm.
"Brother! What were you doing? What adventures have you been on?" She asked excitedly.
"Well-" Alex cleared his throat. "I was in the East; I was helping train some new soldiers, bright lads. There were even a few cute ones you'd like Catherine!" He winked as his little sister became very red with a small smile on her face.
"Were they as strong as you, Big Brother?" Catherine asked with cheerful face.
Alex just laughed. In fact, the whole Armstrong family laughed, a deep loud laugh that no doubt had been passed down the Armstrong family.
His mother then looked with a serious face. "Son, how is it going to the East? We hear such rumours here at central. Half is hogwash, and the other half makes no sense. Do you think you will have to fight this so called "Civil War"?
Alex looked upwards, pondering. "It is no glory bath. The men tell me that it is more slaughter than anything. As for me fighting, I would no doubt assist them greatly if I did." He looked down. "I will follow my orders though, this war will not need alchemists help. The army could crush the rebels at any time. I am not sure why they simply let this draw out."
His father nodded approvingly. As a former General, he understood Alex's mindset. A group of rebels would be no match for the army, unless the military was purposely trying to kill each individual.
"Do you think that it is meant to be a true extermination Son? Slaying every man, woman and child would give these rebels' lion hearts to defend their land. It would also mean that the army could not force a surrender, as the army would only be satisfied with the death of all Ishbalians." He said with a frown.
Alex looked up with a start. His father continued. "Son, stay away from the East. Even if it means moving to the West division, or even hiding up North-"
"Would Olivier run?!" Alex shouted as he slammed his hands on the table. The table grew quiet.
"If not for your sake, then for mine." Alex's mother spoke. Alex's eyes welled with tears. He could not disobey his mother for anything. He bowed his head in respect.
"I will do as you wish mother.
"I can tell by your uniform, you are one of those guys drug into this war by Fessel eh?" A young man pointed at Nikoli with an accusing finger.
"It's not like I wanted it to happen!" Nikoli shot back quickly. The man just crossed his arms.
"Hmmmp I know your kind." His eyebrows scrunched up. "You wave your heartbreaking story around! You get all the girls, leaving none for the rest of us, the NOBEL SOLDIERS. We who joined BECAUSE WE WANTED TO HELP! Will any girls give us a glance? No! They are too busy ogling over your sad backstory!" The man sat down, having had stood up to deliver his lecture. The man beside him, an old scarred veteran, merely rolled his eyes.
"I think it might be those outbursts, rather than your lack of tragedy."
The man turned; his long ponytail of black hair swinging fiercely. "Don't get me started on YOUR tactics! You play the nice father card! All those girls go gaga over your little, Tough Old Man tactics! You just wait you old piece of-"
Nikoli just rolled his eyes. He reached out and patted the man's back. "Don't worry man. I'll take you out one day and you can claim to be my older brother, separated at birth, then brought back together by war! Those girls won't know what hit them."
The man stood silent. "You'd-you'd do that for me?" Nikoli nodded. Immediately, he was knocked over by a vicious bear hug. "I miss judged you, you are a gentleman! I was wrong." He yelled in the midst of the hug.
Nikoli tried to push him off. The man pulled himself off, and then with a rigid back, he offered a professional handshake. "The name is Andy. Last names are such a drag so I usually just go by Andy."
"It's because of his last name you see," The older man began. "It means-"
Wham!
"Shut up Walter you old man!" Andy slammed his fist into Walter's face.
The two started scrapping, but Nikoli just leaned back and closed his eyes. It was starting to remind him of Xing, he thought to himself.
Xing 1903
"I won! I won! Look mama, I beat that odd boy!" A girl ran to her mother proudly, dropping her training sword on the ground. Nikoli sat on his butt in the grass, trying to rub the red paste off his neck. The instructor stood with his arms crossed over his thick chest, smiling warmly. Nikoli just scowled at the back of the girl.
"And again." The instructor said unexpectedly. The girl had beaten Nikoli, not once but twice, and two out of three was a sure victory. Of course having a third round after losing twice was pointless, but the instructor used many different methods to teach his students, many that made absolutely no sense.
The girl frowned before running back to the ring, picking up her bokken and rubbed on another coat of marking paste. This paste, a unique recipe, was used to coat the end of the training sword, and would rub off when brought in contact of cloth, or even flesh. It was easy to make, easy to clean, and added even more embarrassment to the loser, having to clean a bright red smear off AND still have the bruise underneath.
Young Nikoli stretched his neck, before whirling his bokken in lazy pattern. The girl looked unimpressed. No doubt she wanted to end this at two wins and no loses, but she also seemed eager to win all three, and thus embarrass him more. He did not know why she disliked him, heck, he did not even know her name.
"Let's get this over with." He muttered in Amestrian.
"What did you say? Speak Xingese! Or are you too stupid?" She shouted out loud in Xingese. Nikoli's brows furrowed. Even after these years in Xing, his Amerstrian was still much better.
With a sudden smile he looked up and answered in Xingese. "I was saying, Your hair is very beautiful today" His Xingese was passable, it definitely was not poetry.
The girl actually stopped dead, literally halted in an instant. Her forehead scrunched up as she looked at him. Suddenly, A blade swung down, aiming for an instant neck hit.
She managed to lean back and block just in time. "Damn!" Nikoli thought to himself. "Almost had her."
He pressed forward, using long powerful swings to keep her off balance. She tried to regain her balance and mount a counter attack but Nikoli's flurry of swings kept her on the defence. She stumbled on a loose rock and dropped to one knee. Nikoli jumped forward, eager to have a least one win against her. Overconfidence quickly turned the table in her favour as Nikoli's overhead swing was deflected to the side by her blade. She twisted, lashing out with her foot in a leg sweep that sent Nikoli on his back. She lunged forward, hoping to score a hit on him. He managed to bring his blade up, stopping her swing as she stood over him. She lifted her sword to swing again, but Nikoli had drawn his feet up close and had landed a vicious double kick to her stomache. As she stumbled back, Nikoli rolled to his feet, lashing out with a series of fast slashes from different angles. He finished with a vicious, upward diagonal slash from the bottom-left to top-right, another stomache kick, and a quick downward blow as she fell back. A sharp pain in his abdomen stopped him however.
"Match finished. The winner is Sang." The instructor said in a clear strong voice. Nikoli looked down at her sword, pressed up into his stomache. As she fell, she had extended it like a spear, hitting Nikoli hard as he had jumped forward to end it. She put her sword down as Nikoli pondered the paste mark on his shirt. A smile came across his face. The girl had one hand on her stomache, obviously sore. He looked down and let out a small laugh.
"That was good. That was excellent. You fought really well!" he said in his "not perfect" Xingese. Again the girl furrowed her brow for a second before letting out a small smile.
"You weren't bad for a foreigner either." She said quietly as Nikoli grabbed her arm and helped her up. She limped back to her parents as Nikoli suddenly remembered that his stomache was sore as well, quite sore. He rubbed the point of impact softly as he walked back towards the change room. HIS mother, of course, was far too busy to watch a stupid sparing match of his. His instructor interrupted his thoughts though.
"You are probably wondering why I had you fight and lose another time yes?" He said in an even voice.
Nikoli looked up at him. "I did much better than the other two times." He thought to himself for a second. "Sang does not seem like that mean of a person either." He continued.
His instructor was beaming. "Friendship is a powerful force, one that can defeat any stereotypes or judgements. This was not only for you, but for her as well. Now rest your wounds young one. A much greater teacher will be in this village in a few days. If you are wise, you will learn all that you can from him." Nikoli looked upward questioning, but his instructor merely walked to the next set of duellers.
This new instructor was very different indeed. There was no sword training, no work out; not even a stretching session. The other children all sat in a circle around the aged man. His looked like his wrinkles were the only thing holding him together. He was talking about something called Alkahestry. Nikoli had heard it multiple times in the years here, but he had never seen it in action before. The man rambled on in monotone Xingese, drawing a shape on the ground. Suddenly Nikoli's eyes were riveted by what looked like a transmutation circle on the floor. "Alchemy!" Nikoli said quietly in Amestrian. The man looked surprised at him.
"An Amestrian yes? You have seen alchemy before." He said in surprisingly clear Amestrian.
Nikoli looked shocked for a second, then recovered. "I speak Xingese fine. And yes, my father was an alchemist." He spoke it all in Xingese, except for alchemist of course. The other children turned to look at him. Nikoli had always been relatively low in all the training exercises, and it was odd to have an instructor take specific interest in him. The instructor looked at him smiling.
"I will talk to you after this lesson." He said in Amestrian. Then he continued the lesson. Nikoli had become a much better listener though. He leaned forward, trying to catch every single word, still missing quite a few though. If only his Xingese was better. No one tried to transmute anything, but everyone seemed eager to. As the sun dropped low, the old man finally dismissed the class. As Nikoli stood to leave, the man's hand lightly touched his shoulder.
After everyone had left, the old man brought out a large book. "I have a feeling that you will not learn Alkahestry as easily as some of these children. Not everyone can, sensei before me only selected the best of his class to learn from me. I have no doubt that they will all learn it, whether it be fast or slow." Nikoli looked down at the slight put down. He was glad that the man was speaking in Amestrian. "I have always wanted to teach alchemy however. I learned it in my younger years when I was travelling abroad. I think that you will learn it quickly however."
The old man drew a circle on the floor, and then filled in three smaller circles, on in the middle, and the other two at the top and bottom, opposite sides of the circle. He connected them all with a straight line, than drew a curve from the center to the left and another to the right. Then he put a small bowel of water in the middle. "Think of this water, in your country, alchemists call it Hydrogen Dioxide. One part hydrogen, two parts oxygen. The simplest thing to do is simply to shape it." The man placed his hands on the circle as the water suddenly flowed upward into a column. "This can be done with water, but more frequently it is done with earth. There are two ways though, one that is specific to a certain material, and another that is indiscriminate. The basic way is to do it indiscriminately." The man drew another sign. "Using this I can take this dirt, which is full of multiple minerals-" The dirt swirled into the shape of a small ball. "-and form it to your wishing." Nikoli stood staring.
"What about the other way?" Nikoli stammered. The old man chuckled. He drew a similar symbol but with a rune in the middle.
"By doing this, you can extract certain materials, in this case iron. There are trace amounts in soil; however it takes considerably longer to draw all of it to you." The circle glowed and a small ball of shiny iron formed. It formed very slowly however. "For ground alchemy, this is not very useful, especially in combat. It is much easier to simply take it all. It does have other uses however."
The man turned back to the water. "There is much more to alchemy than merely shaping a substance though. The first step to alchemy to "Identify." This basically means to figure out what it is. The second step is decomposition, breaking it down into useable particles." The man picked up the small iron ball. "To make this, I freed the iron molecules from all other substances, and then shaped it into this ball. I identified the iron, broke it down, and put it together as I wished. As for this water-" The man drew a simple shape on the ground, then stuck one finger in the bowl and placed the other on the circle. The water started letting off steam. Nikoli watched as the man took out a small flint and a knife. He struck it sharply letting off a spray of sparks into the mist. Instantly a flare lit up, warming up Nikoli's face. His eyes were wide. The man smiled knowingly at his expression. "Hydrogen and oxygen. Together, they make water of course. Apart and in gaseous form, they are very combustible. A small spark and BOOM!"
At the end of the short lesson, the Sensei gave Nikoli a large book. "Read this. I know you will not finish it in one night. Take your time." He said before leaving the room. Nikoli ran home clutching the book tightly to his chest like a small child.
Closing remarks.
Oh dear. My head is exploding, i want to introduce Nikoli's form of alchemy! Don't worry, lightning alchemy remains just out of reach. I have noticed a trend in lots of FanFictions. Original characters, (Especially when based on the Author) always end up being some sort of ULTRA GOD character that are near indestructible. I will try to make my original character an underdog, much like how Edward was not indestructible, nor immortal. If I ever stray to this path, yell at me angrily. Stay tuned for more action, as well as some more cameos from your fav characters.
