Negima Remix!
Chapter 7: Full-Metal Mayhem; Be Thou for the People
"ACHOOO!"
Seiji sneezed while sitting in his seat with Hughes and Havoc on the train. Havoc asked, "You okay, kid?" Seiji sniffed up and merely shrugged, "Yeah I'm fine; I think someone was talking about me." It was then that he saw Maes was looking at him slyly, and then Havoc afterwards. Seiji felt a little uncomfortable about it and asked, "Okay….what is it?" Havoc was the one who asked with a stupid grin, "It's a girl, isn't it, kid?"
Seiji looked a little confused at this but then suddenly, the memory of Nodoka kissing him popped in, causing him to blush. He shook his head and shouted to them, "IT'S NOT A GIRL!! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR DATING!" He huffed as he looked out the window. The two soldiers looked a little doubtful and they somehow thought the same thing, 'Yep, it's a girl, alright.'
Day 1
They had left the Mahora train station after Seiji had met up with Maes and surprisingly Havoc, and were currently on their way to Yuesdale. He had met up with Maes and Havoc when he got to the station and almost didn't recognize them due to the fact the two soldiers were wearing civilian clothes, but luckily he recognized Hughes. They had left around the same time Negi and his group entered Library Island.
While on the train, Maes asked him where his brother was, and Seiji explained the whole situation. Maes just laughed out loud of the situation, "Well, that's Negi for ya…always doing first and not thinking ahead when it comes to that.", Maes laughed. But then he straightened out for a moment and replied to Seiji, "So do you think he'll be alright?" Seiji just turned to face him and smiled, "It's Negi and Laz, Maes. Those two'll be alright." Maes also asked, "So I hear that a girl named Asuna found out about you and Negi's little secret." Seiji was a little surprised by that, but he knew Maes could trust him and Negi's decision, so he stated, "Don't worry about it, Asuna may be a demon girl, but I know that she's true to her word when she said she wouldn't tell." Maes just smirked by that and Havoc couldn't care less as he leaned back.
Now that he was a State Alchemist, he would have to be ready to leave at a moment's notice. They had settled down in one of the cars and were going over the mission as it was. What Seiji had to do was inspect the mineral deposits of the mine to see if they were any good for Alchemic research….or at least that's what he was told. It was nagging Seiji, and finally he just had to ask, "Maes…" the gentleman looked at him with a puzzled look, "is this kind of mission really a job for a State Alchemist?"
Hughes just sighed and shrugged, "Well, the mission details for you to inspect the mine's resources. And seeing as you are an Alchemist, your resume shows that you've got an extensive knowledge on metal and mineral deposits." Seiji nodded in his reply; Seiji's best subject was always metal urging and other Alchemic abilities that had to do with metal and the minerals mixed in them. But it was still tugging his mind was why did he have this kind of mission.
Havoc saw the look on his face and decided to say something to take his mind off the situation, "You know, I like traveling by train. You can just watch the world go by you…" "There's something else in the mission besides mine inspection, isn't there?", Seiji asked, ignoring Havoc's decoy. He sighed, not sure as to how to tell the kid, but he didn't have to as Maes stated, "It's also a recruitment mission." Seiji raised an eyebrow, but stayed quiet as Maes explained, "Ya see, Seiji, in Eastern HQ, we've only got like three State Alchemists: Mustang, the other guy you haven't met, and you. Word has it that there's an Alchemist in Yuesdale around your age. "
Seiji then asked, "But I thought that…." Havoc stopped him there, "An Alchemist is an Alchemist, kid. As long as they're not in diapers and can hold their own, they're welcomed to join up." Seiji turned to look out at the fields passing by, trying to make sense of that. He guessed that was plausible as he sighed, "I guess you're right about that."
As they stayed silent for the moment, the only thoughts that were popping into his head were of the mission and of the Alchemist they would try and recruit.
Day 1
Afternoon
Yuesdale
In the afternoon on the second day, the three State officers had arrived at the dusty old Western town of Yuesdale after they had taken the ride to get there. It was practically one and a half day from when they left Mahora and had finally arrived. The town looked like a coal mining town from out of the old Wild West. But the town looked almost dead as most of the workers looked exhausted and destitute. That was one of the first things that the three noticed when they got off the train and walked right into town. Seiji guessed that business was slow for these guys, seeing as how they were barely working at all. He was also told that the town of Yuesdale was isolated and very private, seeing as how the people in the twon knew about the existence of Magic and Alchemy. This would make keeping things secret for Seiji pretty good.
"Man, this place looks dead.", Seiji stated out loud as Maes agreed, "You're telling me; this place looks like it's been out of service for some time." Havoc then took a drag out of his cigarette and stated, "Maybe it's been a slow…", then suddenly, a large 2x4 slammed into his stomach as he hunched on the ground, gasping for air. The duo then looked to see a boy around the ages of 9 and 11 in work clothes with short dirty blonde hair and dark green eyes.
The boy turned around to see that he had struck Havoc, "Oh, sorry about that; didn't see you there." It was then that the boy got a good look at the three who had just shown up out of nowhere. He smiled as he asked, "Hey, are you guys tourists?" He then nearly got into Seiji's face asking various questions on where they would be staying or if they had eaten. Havoc mumbled, "Hell of a welcoming committee.", while Seiji scratched his head and replied meekly while looking down at the boy, "Uh, well….I don't think we have anyplace in particular at the moment." The boy's smiled widened as he shouted upward towards a bridge above them.
"Hey, Pa! We've got tourists! Big spenders!", he shouted. Maes and Seiji looked at each other for a moment and asked, "Big spenders?" Just then, a man around thirty, wearing mining clothes and well built for the line of work, with short dirty blonde hair and a moustache popped up. He smiled and looked down at the trio, "Big spenders, eh? Name's Halling; I run the local Inn." The three lit up at that, knowing that now they would finally have a roof over their heads at their stay in Yuesdale. Halling then said, "Don't worry about a thing, boys, we'll take good care of ya."
Inn Restaurant
Night
The Hotel looked like a pretty good place; it was well built and no sign of it falling apart on anyone. When they had gotten inside, they saw the workers all having a good drinking time. Some of them looked pretty rowdy, but it was probably to be expected of hark working fellows. The three seemed to think it was a pretty good place here, and then Halling popped up to hand the two men a drink. He stated, "I know it's not much, what with the wages being so low, but at least with this place, I can keep two hens on the fire."
Seiji just smirked, "It's okay, I used to live in a place like this once." A lady, who was later revealed to be Halling's wife after Havoc tried to ask her out, was behind the register, signing them in, "Now that'll be three adults, right?" The gentlemen nodded and Maes asked, "And what are your rates?" Holing, who was serving a drink to one of his friends, answered, "Well, they ain't cheap." Seiji shrugged, "No problem, I'm sure we can cope with it. Despite our appearance, we've got plenty of cash."
Halling smirked and simply stated, "$200,000"
"$200,000? THAT'S INSANE! WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING TO DO, PUT GOLD BARS ON OUR PILLOWS?", Seiji shouted in anger and shock, while Maes and Havoc had their jaws drop to the ground. Halling merely shrugged as his son, the boy who beamed Havoc who was named Kyle, joined in with his dad as he explained, "It's a fair price, seeing as how our Inn's the finest in Yuesdale." Kyle added, "Not to mention it's the only one in Yuesdale." Halling patted his son on the shoulder as he went on, "We haven't had many customers in a while, so we've got to milk you guys for what you've got."
The three soldiers just went pale with their jaws dropping. After a while they finally snapped out of it, huddled together, and pulled out what they had. Maes only had around two hundred and a picture of Elisia, Seiji had only fifty on him, while Havoc had only fifty cents, and a pack of cigarettes. Maes asked, shocked, "This is all we've got?" Havoc looked at Seiji, pretty suspicious like, "Hey, Full-Metal, are you sure you're not holding out on us?" Seiji looked at him with a glare, "Look who's talking. What's with the cigarettes?"
Seiji sighed, "It's not even close to what we need." The three men sighed in defeat at this scene, but then Seiji sighed the most, "I guess we'll just have to move on to Plan B."
A Few Minutes Later
Plan B had worked better than they thought it would. Seiji's plan was to pay for the Inn by earning it by using his Alchemy to fix things that were already broken, and that in way would help pay for the room. He had fixed most of the tools that the miners used, and even fixed the vase that Halling's wife loved. Halling smiled as he stated, "Who would have ever guessed that we had a real live Alchemist over here." Kyle then asked out of curiosity, "So what brings you all over to Yuesdale?" It was then that Maes simply said, "Oh, it's mainly business…we're here to inspect the coal mines."
Just then, the room was deadly silent as the three noticed that the people were giving them looks of surprise or glaring at them. Halling, now with a frown on his face, asked, "Inspect? Then that means you're with the military?" Maes nodded, and Havoc replied, "Yep, that's Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes of Investigations, and I'm Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc."
Suddenly, both Maes and Havoc were tossed out on the street, with their luggage landing on Maes' head. Havoc got up and shouted, "What the hell was that for?" Halling replied with a not too friendly tone in his voice, "We have no food or beds to offer for the Military Dogs." He then turned sharply towards Seiji and nearly interrogated asked, "You one of them, Kid?" Seiji, a little startled by the change of attitude from this guy, was about to answer, but was cut off by Hughes, "He's got nothing to do with us! We just met him on the train!"
Seiji was a little surprised by this, but couldn't do a thing as Halling stated to Havoc and Maes, "Fine then, you two can sleep out here like the rest of the Dogs.", and slammed the door shut on them both.
After everything had settled down, Seiji was drinking a glass of milk, while Kyle sat across him. It was strange that the Military was somewhat stationed here and this would be the reaction that they'd be getting. So Seiji brought up the subject, "Your dad sure feels strongly about not liking the military." Kyle not looking up, and squeezing his glass really hard, shot out, "Of course he does! Everyone here hates the stupid army, including that greedy sucker, Yoki." Seiji lifted an eyebrow at that, "Yoki, eh? Is he the guy in charge here?"
Kyle nodded as he explained the situation. It seemed that during his time stationed here, Lieutenant Yoki had put a huge rein of tyranny on the people; shortening their wages and raising the taxes. "That sounds like complete idiocy! How does he expect you guys to pay taxes if your wages are shortened?" Halling, now bringing Seiji his food, stated, "Because he can, now that he's forced Reina to work for him."
Seiji raised an eyebrow, "Reina? Who's that?" Halling sat down and looked saddened, "Our resident Alchemist. She was always dreaming of becoming a State Alchemist, but when Yoki came into town, he made her his personal slave." Now Seiji was on the verge of almost punching this guy Yoki, whenever he would meet up with him. Halling then looked at the window, stating, "The old Slogan for a State Alchemist was 'Alchemists Be Thou for the People'. Now thanks to people like Yoki, they've practically slimed it up."
Seiji then looked at his glass of milk, and wondered if one day he was or would become something like that. He shook his head to clear those thoughts out, 'No way! I joined to help people, not myself. And that's the way it'll stay as.'
Outside
"Moon, old buddy, I wish you were made of cheese.", Havoc moaned as his stomach growled. Maes just sighed, "If you're that hungry, why didn't you sneak something on the train?" Then suddenly, they heard footsteps and saw Seiji walk up to them, carrying a tray of food, "Here guys. I was able to sneak this out for you." Without a moment's hesitation, Havoc was grabbing the first thing he saw and started guzzling it down.
After he had gotten comfortable, Seiji told them the situation of the miner's hostile attitude towards the military. Hughes sighed, "So that's why they hate the military." Seiji then asked, "If this Yoki's making life so miserable, how come Eastern HQ didn't do a thing about it?" Havoc, now completely full, simply shrugged, "We haven't heard anything about this, or maybe that Yoki guy's too slick for us."
Seiji then told them about Reina, and about her being the Alchemist. Maes then raised an eyebrow, "Well, at least we know where she is now."
It was then that they heard someone speaking out loudly inside. They got up and looked towards the nearest window to see who it was that was causing such a ruckus in the Inn.
Inside
There were two big mean looking fellows with a State Military uniform on them both. Another one, slightly smaller, thinner, and had a ridiculous hairstyle with his slick black hair, and stupid moustache, and handkerchief over his mouth and nose was standing in front of them. But right next to the man, acting almost like a slave, was a girl around fourteen with pale white skin, had short light green hair that went to her shoulders and one of her bangs were swept over the side to her right, and dark green eyes filled with sadness. She was wearing a tattered red long-sleeved shirt with a tattered black long skirt, and black dress shoes. But from what everyone else saw, her right hand and lower left leg were bandaged up.
The man with the handkerchief scoffed, "Your Inn is as deplorably filthy as ever, Halling." Halling, now sitting down, shot back, "Lieutenant Yoki….you know you should cover your face more often; it's a good look for you." Yoki sneered at that comment but didn't attack, "Enough small talk! The taxes on your Inn are past overdue, Halling" he then chuckled under his breath, while the girl just lowered her head, "And not just you; I could say the same for the rest of the miners here." Halling just glared some more and stated, "The reason we can't pay, Yoki, is because you've lowered our wages too much."
Yoki scoffed, "The only reason your wages have been lowered is because you're worth less than nothing." Now the miners were getting pretty miffed off as the miners shouted, "That's unfair!" "Yeah, you know you've lowered our wages down, and that's why we can't pay you taxes." One of the soldiers stated, "The State gave Lieutenant Yoki unilateral authority over the town and the mine." Yoki nodded his head, "Well put, soldier" Another miner shouted, "The only reason Yoki got to where he is, because he bribed his way there! He didn't earn Jack Squat; he just used the money we sweat and bled for!"
Yoki raised his eyebrow and sneered smirked, "Well if you've figured that out, then try bribing me." Then he threw out another quote that caused one worker to snap, "But don't blame me because you have to grease the wheels. It's the way of the world." One worker was seething with anger as he shouted back, "Yeah? Well then sometimes the way of the world is the little man gets beat!" He then charged forward, about to punch Yoki's lights out.
Yoki nearly backed away in cowardice until he looked to the girl and sneered. The girl saw this and nearly squeaked in fear, but turned to the worker in question. In a quick motion, she got in front of Yoki, and clapped her hands. Then she got into a stance, and then made a sort of wave motion with her left hand towards the worker. Then suddenly, out of the ground in front of her, a large jade crystal like structure shot out in front of the worker. Luckily he stopped before he even got close to it, but then more crystals lined up around him, growing in size and making a crude cage of Jade crystal.
The man was trapped much to his shock and of the workers. Yoki smirked at this accomplishment and placed his hands on the girl's shoulders like a father figure, "Nicely put, Reina." Instead of smiling to such praise, the girl, now known as Reina, merely lowered her head in shame with her sad eyes, almost begging the miner for her forgiveness. Yoki then looked at Halling and his friends with a look of judgment, "It seems the rumors were true about this establishment being a hangout for thugs and rebels." He then gave them all a devilish grin, "I'm afraid I'll have to close this place down."
Kyle was upset at the news that his dad's place would be closed down, "No! You can't do that!" In his anger, he threw a soggy cleaning rag at Yoki's face that slid down off and on the floor. The soldiers, miners, and even Reina gasped at this action, knowing it would spell the boy's doomed fate. One of the soldiers ran up to him and kicked him across the floor. Halling and his wife couldn't do a thing as they watched the soldier walked up to him while unsheathing his sword.
Yoki merely stated while wiping his face off and smiling, "Don't kill him; just make him into an example." The soldier raised his sword in the air, while everyone, especially Reina, watched in horror as the sword came down on the terrified boy. Then suddenly, at the last second, Seiji ran up and caught the end of the sword in his left hand. Then as the silence went for only a moment, he broke the end of the sword with only his left hand and tossed the piece aside.
Yoki, now really pissed off at this turn of events, shouted, "Who the Hell are you?" Seiji, not phased by the outburst, casually walked aside the soldier and stated with his own glare to Yoki, "When I heard that a Lieutenant Yoki was dropping in…", he then pulled out his State Alchemist Watch to show to everyone, and finished, "…I'd thought I'd come by and say hello."
Yoki then paled at this turn of events, "Is that the…?" The soldier standing behind him asked, "Who is this kid?" Yoki whispered, "You moron! That's the Dragon Pentagram Watch." The soldier, not getting it asked, "So?" Yoki groaned as he answered for this man's stupidity, "That watch makes him a State Alchemist! Meaning he reports to Fuehrer Mabuse." The soldier was a little surprised by this, but not as much as the Miners, Halling, his wife and kids. The most surprised was Reina, who looked at the young man who saved Kyle's life, 'He's a State Alchemist? But…but he's a year older than me.'
Yoki, deciding to suck up to this Alchemist, went into Brown-Nosing mode, and slithered straight up to Seiji. "I do apologize for my subordinates' idiocy. I'm Lieutenant Yoki, the man in charge of Yuesdale." Seiji already hated this leech; this guy obviously was trying to get on his good side to get something in return. Well it wasn't working as Yoki went on, "So-----what business might you have in our humble little bird?"
Seiji, calmly holding his urge to punch this guy, stated his mission, "Well, I'm just here to conduct an inspection on the mines." Yoki smiling at this, decided to invite Seiji to stay at his mansion to begin his inspection. "I hope you didn't have to mingle with these unwashed masses for too long?" As they almost exited the door, Seiji whispered when he was next to Reina, "Actually, their company's much more pleasant than yours, Yoki." This caused Reina to slowly let out a small smile on her face to his reply.
However, the miners were now scowling and glaring at the boy for his deception. Halling only let one name slip out in a mumble, "Loathsome dog." Maes and Havoc, both still outside to keep an eye on the Inn, silently wished their teenaged Alchemist luck on the test at hand.
Mahora Academy
Night
In one of the cafeteria rooms, Takahata, and surprisingly Col. Mustang, were playing a game of Chess. It seemed that Mustang was gaining the advantage at this as he was almost about to get Takahata's King. "So, both boys' are being put to the test. Eh, Roy?", Takahata as he was planning his next move, and Mustang nodded, "Yep." Takahata then lost one of his bishops as he asked, "I understand why Negi has to take a final test, but why Seiji? I thought the State already put him to the test."
Mustang then mentioned as he moved a pawn, "Anyone can pass the three tests, but I need to see if Full-Metal has what it takes." Takahata then asked, "What's that then?" Mustang, losing a Knight, stated, "Loyalty, Commitment, Determination, and Belief." Mustang explained the four to Takahata in order to clear up the confusion. Loyalty for those one serves, such as superiors, friends, or the people themselves. Commitment to one's duties as well as to one's destiny and others as well. Determination in what they do and courage they have to face. And finally Belief in one's actions and what they believe is right and wrong.
Takahata had to smile at the Col.'s own beliefs, "To me and someone else, those are the four basic components a true State Alchemist has to follow." Takahata had to smile at this and at what he saw on the Chess board, "I must say Negi's an extraordinary wizard in training. But I've also got to give credit to Seiji and his brother." Mustang raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean by that?" Takahata shrugged, "Ah, nothing. But Seiji does remind me of a certain female Alchemist on your team not so long ago during the War."
Mustang then went into deep thought and smirked, "Yeah, I guess he does remind me of the Demon Alc…" "Oh, look…Check Mate." Mustang got out of thought as he looked down and saw that Takahata took his King and Queen. He groaned as he was about to say, "D…" "Ah, come on now. No do-over's, Col."
Yoki's Mansion
It was on top of a hill not too far away form the town as it was built as a Military front but was pretty ritzy as well. Inside, Yoki was sitting at a table with Seiji sitting across from him, both waiting for dinner to arrive. Reina was setting the table, but surprisingly, she was dressed up in a maid's outfit. Yoki then stated, "I must admit, it's a great honor to have a State Alchemist in my presence."
Seiji not saying a word, let Yoki continue as Reina was setting his plate down. Reina merely looked at the State Alchemist she had just met but turned away from him as Yoki stated, "You know, Reina, you should allow him to see your Alchemic attempts. Seeing as how a gifted young scientist is in your presence." She merely nodded and was about to show him, but Seiji interrupted, "Nah, I already saw through the window outside."
In truth he did as he explained how she did what she did. He explained that she had rearranged the minerals and atoms around the area she was in and proceeded to use the two forms in the process of Crystallization: Nucleation and Crystal Growth. The first step, was she had to cluster the molecules together until they were at the size she wanted by temperature, super saturation, and removing irregularities. The atoms were then rearranged in a defined crystal structure. Next in the Crystal Growth, he explained she also caused the heat and cool molecules to control the crystal's growing size and shape. Once the super-saturation was exhausted, the solid-liquid system of the crystal reached the equilibrium and the crystallization was complete. But in her process, she was able to change the form in which the crystal grew and the rapid growth and size of the crystal as well. That's how she made the crystal cage.
Reina was completely amazed by this, but before she could praise him, Yoki interrupted by asking, "You mean you could deduce all that just by watching her?" Seiji nodded, "I'm also going out on a limb here, but I also think that not only can Reina here cause the crystal to grow at an accelerated rate and size, but also change the shape and density to anything she wanted to." He looked to Reina and smirked, "Isn't that right?" She somewhat blushed at his smiled as she turned away from his face, "Um…yes, you're right."
Yoki then butted in, "You know, poor Reina Makati was an orphan when we first spotted her." Seiji was listening as Yoki went on about finding her when she unleashed her Alchemy to save someone's life in the mine. Ever since then, she was enlisted as Yoki's personal bodyguard. Seiji didn't buy it, as seeing form Reina's expression there was more to it then that.
Reina, forgetting the small talk, blurted out, "I...I also am planning to become a State Alchemist. Just like you, Mister Crevantes." Seiji was a little surprised, "Like me?" She nodded, slightly blushing at what she had said, "Yes. I want to help and do what I can for the people…and the state." Seiji was a little surprised by this girl's goal in her life. Then Yoki then spoke up as the other maids came in with their dinner, "And now bone apetite. You'll need your strength for the work ahead, Mister Crevantes."
Seiji got a good look at the food and realized it was too ritzy, almost too expensive like in a five star restaurant. He raised an eyebrow as he pointed, "You sure do eat pretty good…considering the economical problems in Yuesdale." Yoki explained times were tough on everyone; in reality he was the one making things tough. He also pointed out how much trouble he had in town due to the people's brutish obstinate ways when he was collecting taxes from them. Seiji then asked if by obstinate he meant the right to assert their rights and refusing to pay him more than he earned.
Yoki merely nodded, "See? You get it! I knew you were a great man of understanding." Seiji, swallowing his anger from beating this guy up, merely stated in a calm manner, "To understand, we Alchemists must understand Alchemy's greatest principle and rule: Equivalent Exchange." He then looked to Reina as he stated, "You can't get anything without giving anything in return." Yoki nodded, as he stated that he too has followed a similar principle, as he ordered Reina to make that principle of his in action.
Frowning in shame for herself, she pulled out a small satchel and placed it next to Seiji. Seiji knew what this was, but felt a little insulted by this, "Is this supposed to be a bribe, Yoki?" Yoki merely smiled, "That is such an ugly word, young Crevantes. I rather call it 'Equivalent Exchange'." Yoki then sneered in a snidely way, "Now then, there is the matter of your inspection…" Seiji, not liking this, decided to play along for now, "I get your drift." Reina merely was saddened by this; she had hoped that this Crevantes was different than Yoki.
Yoki merely stated, "I knew you would; you truly are a man of great understanding." He then looked to Reina and mentioned, "Oh, and I have a feeling that the town's people will start behaving themselves from now on."
Later that Evening
Maes and Havoc were both sleeping outside as they still weren't allowed to sleep in the Inn. Maes thought as he watched the stars, 'I sure hope the kid's alright.' Just then, they heard the sound of cracking crystal growing and colliding with wood and brick. The two soldiers got up and ran towards where the sound was coming from. It was the Restaurant Inn, and it was being torn apart by large spikes and glaciers of Jade colored crystals.
The miners were running out of the Inn, and the last ones to make it out, and the last ones to get out were Halling and his wife. However, Halling noticed that his son didn't come out, but he was about to run in until Maes and Havoc grabbed him and tried to hold him back. Halling shouted, "Let go of me! My son's in there!" Havoc tried to talk sense into him, "The whole house is gonna collapse! If you go in, you'll both be lost!" "I don't care! My son's in there!", Halling shouted, completely ignoring the danger.
Maes, understanding of how a parent would do anything to protect their child, let go of Halling and ran inside. Both Halling and Havoc shouted back to him, but after a few seconds that Maes entered the collapsing inn, the building came crashing down as the Crystal structures resided back into the ground. As the dust settled, Halling and Havoc ran forward in search of those still inside. But as the dust settled, they saw some form of jade crystal ball around the size of an outhouse standing in the center of the rubble.
Then the crystal ball began to open, with Maes and Kyle completely unharmed. But standing behind them, as the crystal subsided, was Reina with an apologetic look on her face.
Day 2
Morning
Everyone was huddled together as they were looking at the rubble to where their only home in town was. Maes and Havoc were keeping a watchful eye on the one who did this, Reina, who stated that she was only doing what Yoki ordered her to do. Since they didn't know if the townspeople would try and attack her, they decided to take her in protection. However, no one even tried to go after her, so they guessed they weren't going to blame her after all.
"I take it this is Yoki's doing then?"
The two soldiers, as well as Reina, turned around to see Seiji, with a look of seriousness on his face. Last night he had heard some kind of explosion in his room and went down town to investigate. As he walked up and saw the Inn, he thought, 'So this is what Yoki said when he mentioned the town's people would start behaving.' Then Kyle walked up to Seiji, with a begging plea in his eyes, "You're some kind of super State Alchemist, right?" Seiji turned to the boy as he then asked, "So…can't you just make some gold?"
Seiji, Maes, and Havoc were a little shocked and surprised to hear that question as he continued, "You can use it to save the whole town." Seiji closed his eyes and lowered his head in shame, "I can't." Kyle shouted, "Why not? It won't cost you nothing." Maes explained, "Kid, I may not be an Alchemist, but in Alchemy, the law of Equivalent Exchange always demands a price." Seiji, after hearing that, tightened his hands into fists, but when he looked at Reina, she sorrowfully hugged herself as if trying to shield herself from some unknown shame.
Kyle grew angry at this and grabbed Seiji by his jacket sleeve, unfortunately he was too short to grab his collar. "So we have to bribe you too?", Kyle shouted angrily, "And you call yourself a State Alchemist!" Seiji, not reacting at all to this, swatted Kyle away and calmly stated, "Transmuting gold's a serious offense. If I'm caught doing it, I could lose my license and get thrown in jail." Kyle then stated, "Then do it so you don't get caught." "Even if I did, the gold'll then just be taken for taxes."
Kyle sunk down to the realization that this was all hopeless, until Seiji asked, "If it's so bad for you all here, then why don't you just move to another town." The townspeople looked at him with a seriousness and a swell of pity for not just him, but to themselves. It was out of this moment of silence, that Reina spoke up, "You might not understand this, but Mr. Halling once said that this place….well…it's not just their home, but their coffin."
Seiji then realized the seriousness to this problem as he started to walk away from them. Maes and Reina followed behind him, while Havoc just stayed there grinning with himself in deep thought, "Home and Coffin; it's got a nice ring to it."
Seiji and Maes were walking down to one of the railroad cars, with surprisingly Reina following them. Maes had noticed that Seiji was particularly quiet about this. He then caught up to him as he asked, "Something on your mind, Kid? You've been awfully quiet for a while." Seiji then simply said, "You know, I always thought that Equivalent Exchange was just the primary law of Alchemy. But…I think it goes more than just that….it's also one of the many factors of life."
He stopped when he was near one of the coal carts, and Maes and Reina stopped as well. Then Seiji stated out loud, "Reina." She nearly jumped as he spoke out as he continued, "You're left leg and right arm….they're fake, aren't they?" She nearly paled at that as she tried to deny it, "I…I don't know what you're…." "I read a report about you from Hughes. You're family comes from a line of Alchemists that deal with minerals, such as crystal or jade. However, both your parents went missing in the Ishbal Incident and you were orphaned in town." He then turned to face her, "I'm taking a wild guess here, but I'm guessing that you were experimenting on a way of using Crystal Alchemy to create some kind of defensive property for yourself. And somehow along the way, it backfired and transmuted your limbs."
She lowered her head and collapsed on her knees on the ground crying, "It's true. And when Yoki found out about it, he used it as leverage to make me his personal Alchemist pet." She couldn't stop crying at this; first Yoki found out and used it as a leash, now these people would arrest her. She pleaded, "I was trying to follow in my family's footsteps as a respected Alchemist and all I did was commit Human Transmutation on myself."
"That's not Human transmutation…", Seiji stated, catching Reina's attention, "All you did was change your limbs' physical structure. Human Alchemy is only called that when you try to use it to bring back the dead." She then looked up at him and saw him smile at her, "If you let something like this ruin your life….then you're not the Alchemist your parents wanted you to be. You need to be brave and stand up for yourself instead of feeling sorry for yourself."
But before she could say anything, he jumped into the coal cart and surveyed to see what he had. The car was full of coal, possibly not used at all in a while. He then took out the satchel of gold that Yoki had given him and opened it, dumping the gold coins out on the coal. He then said without turning around, "Maes. Reina. What you two are about to see stays between the three of us."
He then clapped his hands together and placed them on the coal with the coins. Then suddenly a flash of light erupted from the cart as golden lightning flashed away at the coal changing it. Reina and Maes both watched in awe as Maes smirked at the kid's ingenuity, 'Ah, I see…'
Yoki's Mansion
"You want to buy the Yuesdale Coal Mine?", Yoki asked as Seiji stood in his office with a smile on his face. Seiji came in along with Reina and Maes and stated he wanted to buy the mine. Seiji nodded, "Yep. And while we're on the subject, I'd like to throw in everything else, including the trade routes and the town itself. And as an added bonus, I'd also like to have Reina accompany us so we can instate her as a State Alchemist of Eastern HQ."
Yoki was not on the verge of selling out; he could do without the brat, Reina, but the town wasn't an option. He politely declined, "Well, I suppose you can have Reina on your squadron. But even for a State Alchemist such as yourself, the mine…just isn't for sale."
Seiji, now acting disappointed, looked to Maes and Reina, stating, "Gee, that's too bad…" Maes then opened the main doors to the office, and in the next room, much to Yoki's greedy surprise, were countless stacks of gold. "…and we just lugged these up here for nothing." Yoki, completely hypnotized by the shining allure of the gold, walked forward like a zombie with his eyes nearly bulging out, "Is…is that….real gold?"
Seiji smirked seeing that his plan was on the right track, and continued to bait him in, "Turns out the mine's full of unexploited minerals. It would be a real booster shot for Alchemic research." He then turned to become uninterested as he signaled for Maes to follow him in walking away, "And I'd hate to miss out, but if it's not on the market…."
Yoki stopped him before he missed out his chance, "Don't be absurd. Although the mine was entrusted to me by my state to govern, so selling it for my own personal gain might seem…"
"Don't worry I've thought that one up." Seiji explained that none of the gold appeared on the books or would ever, so as long as he and Yoki would keep quiet, no one would be the wiser. And also, Seiji suggested that Yoki would write up an official deed stating he handed over all rights to the mine to Seiji, free of charge. Then he could take all this as, an unrequited gift from him to Yoki.
Yoki, now looking at the gold with a sparkle in his eyes, couldn't see anything wrong with this plan whatsoever. He then began to write up the paperwork, leaving Seiji and Maes smirking in secret with this turn of events.
That Night
"Why? Why cant I fight?", Kyle shouted, not liking the situation. Seeing that the Inn was destroyed, they had settled in one of the warehouses. Some of the miners were talking about planning a coup de ta on Yoki, but Halling was acting as the voice of reason. He simply stated with his head lowered, "Because I can't…I cant lose you again, Son." If it wasn't for that Military officer, Maes, nor Reina, his son would have been dead. He was fortunate that they got lucky; if they went to attack Yoki, he didn't know if his son would be alright.
"Hey, come on, cheer up you guys." Everyone turned to see Seiji and the other three standing in front of the door with a smile on their faces. Kyle, not wanting him here, as well as the others, shouted, "What do you want, you Leech?" Seiji shrugged, "Hey come on now, is that any way to treat your new boss, landlord, and overseer?" The miners were a little surprised at that and asked, "Overseer? What are you….?" Maes whipped it out to show everyone what they were talking about, "as you can see, I hold the deed to Yuesdale; mine, trade routes, and the whole town." The miners were a little shocked by this as Seiji finished, "In other words, pretty much everything here belongs to me." He then pointed, "However, me and my friends, as well as our newest recruit, Reina, have to be getting back to Central. I'm not even sure the deed's worth holding onto. I might lose it in my paperwork."
Halling then snarled, "So…you're gonna try and sell it back for a profit."
"You bet, and it ain't gonna be cheap.", Seiji smirked up seeing the reaction he knew the miners would have, "After all not only is this deed written on high ground parchment, it's got gold lace trimming on the edges. It comes in a box decorated with finely crushed jade, in a non-chalant, yet at the same time, luxurious design. Oh yeah, this is craftsmanship, and the key itself is sterling silver." The whole time he gave out the details, the miners were all glaring at him; in a feeling they would tear him apart. He then smiled as he knew of the reaction to what would happen next, "I'd say this would be worth…oh, around 200 K."
Halling's face went wide with shock at the simple price, "200? For the deed to Yuesdale?" One of the miners asked, speechless, "That's all? Really?" Seiji then said, "You know, now that I think about it….a room at your Inn costs 200 K." He then smirked, "I got it! My three friends and I can spend the night there and we'll just call it even." Halling then smirked up, seeing this kid's cleverness, "Equivalent Exchange, eh?" But the Kyle pointed out, "But our Inn was destroyed last night."
Seiji smirked at this and turned to the door, "Really, then what's that outside?"
Outside
Everyone was gathered to see the Restaurant Inn had been restored to its original state before it was torn down. But they also saw a few changes to it, like the Jade Crystal lanterns hung up on the edge of the roof. Halling's wife hugged Reina for the gift and Reina just could help but blush in embarrassment. The miners were all equally impressed and happy, seeing their home restored. Seiji then walked up to Halling, holding the deed to him, "So this should cover our stay here, right?" Halling took the deed generously from Seiji and smiled to the boy in gratitude, "Yes, thank you, Seiji."
Seiji then smirked broadly, "Good, then it's an even trade." Then suddenly, tires screeched and then an all too familiar voice was heard, "CREVANTES!" Seiji and Maes smirked as they turned and saw Yoki and his men, holding what appeared to be bars of coal, as Yoki whined, "What's going on here? All of a sudden the gold bars you gave me turned to coal!" Seiji then acted completely ignorant of this, "Gold bars? I don't know what you're talking about, Lieutenant." Yoki shouted, "Don't toy with me, boy! I traded you the deed of Yuesdale for a mountain of gold bars!"
Maes then acted the same way as Seiji did and stated, "No, I'm pretty sure you gave it to him, free of charge." He then whipped out the letter that Yoki wrote down and stated, "At least that's what is says in the letter you wrote." Yoki's jaw dropped as he realized what had happened, "NO! You swindled me, you little…!" Seiji brushed it off stating, "Oh, that's such an ugly word. Why don't we call it, a gift from you to me."
Yoki growled at the boy mocking his words and exploded, "THE TRANSACTION'S INVALID! MEN!" The two soldiers shook their heads and ran for the back of the car, opening the doors. Then suddenly, two seven foot crystal golems came walking out. The Miners stood there in shock along with Seiji and the others, while Yoki smirked, "These Crystal Golems were the end result of an experiment that I had Reina perform. True they're not as intelligent as any officer, but their strength and power make up for their lack of brains."
The golems raised their arms and then suddenly, a barrage of crystal like daggers were shot forward towards the miners. Luckily, Seiji jumped in quickly, and making a quick transmutation, converted the ground in front of everyone, into a shield wall that shielded them from the barrage of daggers. Seiji then ran up and jumped from the wall, and was shot at by the Golems. Luckily, due to his frame, he was able to jump and dodge their assaults as he got farther away from everyone, to make sure they stayed out of the crossfire.
As soon as they stopped firing, Seiji stopped in a crouched position and got up. He then looked to Yoki, "Alchemist; Be Thou for the People! That's the motto for the State Alchemist!", he then pointed to him angrily, "If you had any respect for it, you wouldn't slime it up by making Reina's research only useful for war!" Yoki merely huffed at that and stated, "A State Alchemist may protect the people, but they're also Alchemists of the State! So how does a brat like you get off with defying an officer of the Military you serve?"
The Golems then fired again and were dead on with their target on Seiji. Luckily, he had been able to block and smack away their advances with his left hand in a few impressive martial art moves. As soon as the Golems stopped fighting, it was then that not only the Miners, Havoc, Yoki, and even Reina got a good look at Seiji's left hand. The glove had been torn in some places and revealed a cybernetic hand. The hand was well designed in an almost organic way, but with a few mechanical details, like the smooth bolt knuckles and the screw that connected the hand to the wrist. Seiji then stated in a stern voice to Yoki and his men, "Because I don't work for scum-sucking leeches like you, Yoki."
Yoki then growled as he shouted, "Don't just stand there! If your Crystal bullets can't kill him, then cut him up!" the golems roared as their left arms changed from human shape to an half moon axe blade, and charged forward. Seiji then muttered, "I think I can top that off.", he then ran forward to meet them heads on. But then he clapped his hands and then transmuted something on his left arm; an arm mounted sword blade. He ran towards the golems and with two mighty swipes, he stopped right behind the first Golem. He then tapped his sword blade a little and then suddenly, the first Golem broke at the waist and then at the head vertically down.
However, Seiji didn't have enough time to react to the second golem, until he heard another slash sound. The Second Golem then broke in half vertically and crumbled to the ground, revealing to Seiji Reina, standing there with a jade crystal ax appendage on her right arm, with the bandages hanging loose. It then shifted back into a flawlessly smooth right hand and arm as she smirked, "I just couldn't let you fight them all on your own." Seiji smirked at her bravery and quick thinking, "Thanks then, Reina."
Yoki wasn't gonna stand for this as he shouted, "You cursed children!" he then turned to his men, "Seize the deed from…!", he stopped and gasped at the scene in front of him and saw his men, surrounded by the miners and by Havoc and Maes, who was also holding a few throwing daggers of his own. Yoki paled at this, but not until two miners got behind him as Miner#1 stated while cracking his knuckles, "Now we're gonna do to you physically, what you've been doing to us financially, for years." Miner #2, sporting a few veins on his head, smirked, "Never underestimate the strength of a coal-mining man, Lieutenant."
After that, all could be heard was Yoki's pathetic screaming from the beat down all that night.
Later
In the Inn, everyone was having a huge celebration at the town's newfound freedom from Yoki, before Seiji and his three friends would take the train to return to Tokyo. The four were having the time of their lives as the party went on. Halling, standing next to his happy wife, smiled at both Reina and Seiji in gratitude and apology for thinking all Military were scum like Yoki. Halling's wife then mentioned, "You know, Honey…I think our Inn's nicer than before." Halling nodded, "Yeah, and all thanks to Seiji Crevantes: the Full-Metal Alchemist."
Back in Eastern HQ
Mustang was sitting at his desk, reviewing a registration paper, while Hawkeye read the report that Seiji had Maes sent through. Thanks to the incident there, Fuehrer Mabusa decided to reorganize the staff that put Yoki in charge of that place. Mustang smirked, "It seems that Crevantes almost did us a favor in some way, during his test." Hawkeye was a little surprised by this as she asked, "Sir, don't tell me you planned this form the start?"
Mustang then went back to his paperwork, "Come on. You think I know everything on what goes on in that boy's head?" Hawkeye then stated, "As for Crevantes, it seems his reputation's already spreading throughout the military. They're saying that there's a champion of the people among the State Alchemists." Mustang smirked at that hero comment, "Hero, huh? Like Mother, like Son." Hawkeye raised an eyebrow at that but was dismissed as Mustang went over what he had.
The Registration of Reina Makati: the Emerald Alchemist.
Next Chapter: Baka Rangers, Unite! The Final Test pt.2
