Fullmetal Alchemist

EUROPA WAR II

Chapter 2

STORY OF AN ALCHEMIST (2)

Opening Theme: Asu e No Kizuna (Valkyria Chronicles)

Ishval is a time in my life I'll certainly never forget. It was my first experience with war and I saw and learned more things in my year there than at any other time of my life. The war had been ravaging the Ishvalan's land for six years by then and the war was just entering its final year when I arrived, bright eyed and eager to do whatever I could to help stop the bloodshed. Yes, I'll never forget Ishval… no matter how hard I try.

Vine: Age 22

Vine walked through the streets of the small Ishvalan town that had just been devastated during the battle that had only ended an hour ago. He had been in Ishval for almost a full year and still couldn't comprehend what was happening to the country. He knew that Ishval had technically started the war, but he couldn't understand how their protest about the shooting of an Ishvallan child justified all this.

"I guess just slaughtering Darcsens isn't enough for people anymore," he sighed, "now the Ishvalans have to suffer too."

"There you are, Blast Alchemist," a voice shouted at him. He turned to see a young girl with shoulder length blonde hair, wearing a Gallian uniform standing behind him, smiling broadly.

"Nikki, will ya stop calling me 'Blast Alchemist'? My name is Vine. It's not that hard to remember," Vine replied.

"But Blast Alchemist sounds so cool!" Nikki exclaimed in reply, "so what're you doing out here?"

"Scouting the area," Vine replied.

"Oh? That doesn't sound like very much fun," Nikki replied, "come on, the fighting's done, we should do something fun. You should come play cards with me and some of the others."

"No thanks, I'm not much of a card player," Vine replied.

"Oh, fine. Well if you're not going then I'm not going either. I'll scout the area too," Nikki declared.

Vine sighed, "you have way to much energy, kid."

"I'm not a kid! I'll have you know, I'm 15 years old!" the girl shouted.

"Fifteen? Man, they just keep letting younger and younger kids join the army. I know fifteen is when you're allowed to join in Gallia, but that still seems awfully young to me," Vine sighed.

"You talk like you've been part of the army forever," Nikki declared.

"The last year has sure felt like forever," Vine replied, stopping suddenly and looking around, "do you hear that?" Nikki stopped too and listened for a moment before she heard a sound.

"It sounds like a woman crying," she replied looking towards a badly damaged building, "and it's coming from in there!" she exclaimed running towards the building.

"Be careful kid," Vine ordered as he followed, "it's still pretty dangerous around here."

The two Gallian soldiers entered the building cautiously and immediately saw the crying woman, kneeling over a small, frightened looking boy who was clutching the woman's dress. His leg was covered with blood. Both were Ishvalan.

"That boy's left leg looks like it's hurt pretty bad," Vine said calmly as he began to walk towards the boy and woman.

"Vine, be careful. It could be a trap!" Nikki exclaimed. This caught the woman's attention and she looked up at the two soldiers, her eyes wide with fright.

"S… stay away!" she pleaded as she tried to protect the child.

"Take it easy, we're not gonna hurt you," Vine declared, reaching to his belt and drawing his standard issue sidearm which he threw to the side, "see, I don't have a weapon. I'm here to help." The woman didn't seem entirely convinced, but she knew she had no choice if she wanted to save her son. Hesitantly she nodded and Vine approached and began to inspect the boy's leg.

"Looks like he caught a stray bullet during the fighting," Vine revealed after his inspection, "luckily, the wound isn't very deep. I can pull it out, but this is gonna hurt," he revealed as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small device filled with a glowing blue substance. "Don't worry, this is ragnaid. It's incredibly effective at closing bullet holes and cleaning out infections. I'm gonna apply it to your wound after I get the bullet out. It'll sting for a second, but it'll be worth it, alright?" Both child and mother still looked frightened but the child finally nodded.

"Alright, Nikki, hold his leg still for me," Vine declared as he began to work.

….

It didn't take long for the bullet to be removed and the wound cleaned and bandaged. Vine sighed with relief as he held up the bullet.

"I know the metal from these things are worth a good bit of money, but next time, try picking them up after the battle instead of trying to catch them yourself," Vine suggested. The boy looked a little confused by the statement, "sorry, I'm full of cheesy jokes."

"Not to interrupt, but I think we should probably move him outside. This building doesn't seem very stable so it might collapse any second!" Nikki shouted. Just as she said that, there was a loud cracking sound from above them.

"You had to say it," Vine declared as he quickly drew a transmutation circle in the ground. Several large stones began to fall towards the group, but Vine transmuted a thick stone shelter to protect them from the rocks before they hit. "Let's go!" he ordered as he picked up the child and led the mother and Nikki out of the building.

"Phew, that was fun!" Nikki shouted, "I gotta hang out with you more often."

"I'm glad someone feels that way," Vine replied, "I wasn't sure if we were gonna make it for a second there."

"Excuse me," the woman spoke up, "thank you, thank you so much for saving my son."

"Huh?" Vine replied, "oh right, don't mention it. All in a days work for me. My name is Vine by the way."

"Well well, what do we have here?" a male voice shouted suddenly. Vine and Nikki looked towards the source of the voice and saw a group of Gallian soldiers. A large man led them.

"Captain Damon?" Nikki asked, surprised to see the man.

"That woman and child. They're both Ishvalans, aren't they?" Damon demanded.

"Yes sir, just a woman and an injured child though. They're nothing to worry about," Vine replied.

"Quiet, Raymond, I don't recall asking you anything about whether or not we should worry about them," Damon replied angrily.

"And he wonders why I don't like him," Vine whispered to Nikki.

"I don't have time to be dealing with Ishvalan civilians," Damon declared, "put them both down."

"Come again?" Vine asked.

"You heard me," Damon replied, "take your gun and shoot these two. It'll be easier that way."

"Easier? How can you say that! They're just civilians, you can't…" Nikki began to protest.

"They're nothing but worthless Ishvalans," Damon replied, "you're doing them a favor, and don't you dare question my orders again, Private Collins. Now I won't say it again. Private Raymond, execute these two now."

"You and I both know that's not gonna happen, Damon, so why don't we just skip to the part where you yell at me for a while and then run away with your tail between your legs," Vine replied.

"What was that Raymond!" Damon demanded.

"I said I'm not gonna do it, Captain," Vine replied.

"You can't ignore my direct orders, Private. Now shoot these two Ishvalans or I promise you there will be consequences!" Damon shouted angrily.

"Don't care," Vine replied in an uncaring tone.

"Why you…!" Damon shouted, obviously getting flustered by Vine's lack of respect, "do you know who you're talking too?"

"Captain Georg Von Damon, Gallian Army, incompetent fool and royal, pompous, pain in the rear. Let me know if I missed something."

"Why you… I'll have your head for this! Private Collins, put these two dogs down. That's an order!"

"You can ignore that order Private Collins," another voice called from behind the Gallian soldiers. The Gallians turned to see that their Amestrian allies had caught up with them. At the head was…

"Mustang," Vine said, smiling triumphantly.

"The Flame Alchemist?" Damon exclaimed in dismay.

"I believe you have other things to attend to, Captain," Roy Mustang declared, "You hardly have time to concern yourself with two Ishvalan civilians."

"Grrr, this isn't over," Damon hissed at Vine.

"No, I think it is," Vine replied confidently as Damon left with his troops, "You know you didn't have to get involved. I had that under control."

"Mouthing off to Gallian Captains and Amestrian State Alchemists all in one day, you sure do love getting in trouble," Mustang replied sarcastically.

"So what's the news?" Vine inquired.

"I actually have some good news for a change," Mustang replied, "I'm supposed to deliver this to you." Reaching into his military jacket, he pulled out an official looking envelope.

"Don't tell me they're finally going to promote me," Vine said as he took the letter.

"I can't say. It's your mail," Mustang replied.

"Open it Vine! Open it!" Nikki pleaded, "maybe they're making you a Captain!"

"Promoted from Private straight to Captain? I don't think so, kid," Vine replied as he opened the envelope and looked over the note. "This can't be right… are you sure it's for me?"

"What's wrong, Vine? Aren't you getting promoted?" Nikki asked.

"No, I'm getting promoted," came the reply, though it hardly sounded pleased, "but… I'm also being recalled to Gallia."

"What!" Nikki basically shouted at the revelation.

"Recalled?" Mustang repeated, "does it say why?"

"No, but there is one other thing that's bugging me. The letter is addressed to Private Vine, not Private Raymond. It's written as a letter to a Darcsen soldier.

"But… I thought no one in the military knew you were a Darcsen," Nikki whispered.

"In order to keep Archduke Randgriz's image from suffering, my father has tirelessly worked to cover up our Darcsen heritage for as long as I can remember. I wonder what could have happened," Vine wondered.

"As for the recall notice, as much trouble as you've been getting into with your superior officers, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that it was Amestrian leadership that pushed for this transfer," Mustang revealed.

"When do you leave?" Nikki asked sadly.

"I'm supposed to report to the train station tomorrow, and from there… I'll be transported nonstop to Randgriz."

….

I didn't find out until a couple of years later what had happened. News that I was constantly in trouble with Captain Damon had reached Archduke Randgriz who had informed my father. In desperation, my father revealed his true heritage as a Darcsen. The uproar was fierce and almost instant. People all over Gallia were disgusted that Darcsens would have the gall to associate themselves with the Valkyrian Randgriz family. My family was stripped of their home and land and relocated by the archduke to a small town in central Gallia. I was seen as a disgrace to the Gallian military who were bravely serving in Ishval and was therefore recalled to Gallia. The last time I saw archduke Randgriz was when he discharged me from my 'honorable service' as a Corporal of the Gallian military. I didn't see him again before he died. I haven't seen Corde… the Princess since I left the train station to travel to Ishval. As soon as my dischargement was finished, I was taken to my new home in the town of Grenall where I was surprised to learn that while I was in Ishval, my mother had had another little girl, my baby sister, Lara. Thanks to my alchemical ability, I was able to quickly gain a job as a local repairman and the people, who were largely accepting of us despite us being Darcsens, came to trust my father for his reliability. My family and I thought we would be able to live their peacefully for many years. Then one night, all that changed.

Ending Theme: Heart of Sword (Rurouni Kenshin)