Whispers Behind Backs
Author: Bar-Ohki Beta: ehxhfdl14
Disclaimer: I've written so many of these things, and the fact hasn't changed. I own nothing! Except Truman. I own him.
Other Stuff: I managed to get a program to give me an error and give me output at the same time. A remarkable feat if I do say so myself. Sorry about the late update, I had a friend over this weekend and a lot of homework on top of that. Juggling a social life, school, fan fiction, and artwork is difficult, and sometimes I don't always get around to everything. That and during the week I've been bogged down and somewhat uninspired…..
Beta's Stuff: It seems that the skill of doing many things at once is more and more frequently used each year…
Chapter 9: The Headquarters Within Headquarters
Edward had a big smile on his face; he was excited. There was finally a new plausible lead to follow, one that probably wouldn't involve killing people.
"Sir?" Truman asked Edward, making him stop in his tracks.
"…Did you just call me 'sir'?" Edward looked confused.
"Well, sir, you are my commanding officer. It's just protocol." Truman was grinning, amused. "I was wondering if you had any orders for me."
"Uh…Not any that I can think of." Edward admitted, he wasn't too comfortable with the idea of ordering someone around at all.
"So I'm on my own, then?" Truman asked.
"Wait! Aren't you supposed to be protecting me?" Edward asked back, remembering that.
"Ah, then those are my orders." Truman rolled his eyes. "You have a long ways to go before you'd be a decent officer."
Edward glared, slightly pouting.
"Now since you brought that subject up, we need to discuss your and Alphonse's security." Truman was deadly serious. "I think we should find Alphonse for his input."
"Can't you just tell me what to do?" Edward raised an eyebrow. "I mean, you're the more experienced one in this field, here."
"Sir, you're the person I take my orders from, I don't order you around." Truman was almost laughing. "I think some lessons in commanding are in order as well."
Edward snorted and rolled his eyes, walking towards the library. Truman shook his head and followed. It was not long before the two arrived in front of the large doors that led into the large room full of books. Respectfully, Edward turned the knob and opened the door. The room was immense, tall bookshelves lining the walls, almost overflowing with the amount of books inside. Truman let out a long whistle.
"This is my first time in the muggle library…." He remarked absently.
"Is it?" Edward looked smug.
"It smells of old dust." Truman rolled his eyes. "Not terribly impressive."
"Hey!" Edward growled, he was fond of this library.
"Quiet, please!" A nearby librarian hissed. Both men looked sheepish, remembering their place in the library.
"There you are!" Fuery whispered loudly, signaling the other two to come over. When Edward and Truman arrived Fuery saluted them, following protocol. Edward, to his credit, remembered to salute back and say 'at ease'.
"We need to talk about security." Truman announced, sitting down.
"Yes, we do." Fuery rubbed his temples. "We really do."
-Present, unknown-
There was a man walking down the dark, shadier streets of town. The streets where vermin are often seen scurrying away from the sound of footsteps, where the gutters are the trash cans and whores are seen at every corner looking for patronage. Seeing the man in this part of town was not uncommon, and he looked like he fit right in. He wore a pair of tight, black leather pants, an even tighter black tank top, and a black leather vest, with white feathers peeking out of collar. His over-greased black hair was slicked up so that it stood on end. (1) And to top off the look he wore a pair of thin wire-framed sunglasses and bore a red tattoo on his right hand.
This was a pretty unique tattoo; it had a serpent devouring its own tail coiled around a star, with a pair of wings on the top.
"The Ouroboros." A voice from the shadow the man had just walked by commented lightly. The man stopped and looked at the shadowy figure, slightly perplexed.
"What's it to ya?" He hissed, showing off almost sharp, fanglike teeth.
"Fangs too?" The bodiless voice chuckled. "You are certainly remarkable!"
"Look, I've got other shit to do, so if you're done wasting my time-" The man never got to finish. A long, wand-like piece of wood shot out from the shadow, pointed at the man.
"Oppungo!" The voice cried.
There was a moment of halted action, tension charging the air.
Then all the vermin, whores, crows, and those nasty, creepy durggie/drug dealer types that only lurked in this sort of alleys came rushing over, attacking the man.
He was perhaps a bit fazed, but not daunted. Quickly he lashed out with kicks and punches, using his inhuman strength to keep the offenders at bay. One of the creepy men had a knife and used it to cut off the man's hand- which, disturbingly enough, just grew right on back.
"Not human then, are we?" The voice chuckled. "Well, I've been wanting to meet someone like you for some time…."
The man said nothing, and instead threw one of the people at the source of the voice. The body hit another person, there was a groan followed by the pleasant sound of some small-time villain eating pavement (or as one might know it better, falling on his ass).
"Dammit!" The man hissed. The people who had been attacking him moments before were now blinking in confusion. He just shoved them aside and ran, knowing that sticking around was not in his best interests at the moment.
-Present, Central Headquarters, State Alchemist's "Muggle" Library-
"We still need to be able to move around and continue our research." Edward explained to Truman.
"You keep on going on and on about your research, why is that so important?" Truman sounded frustrated and exasperated. "Is it as important as your life?"
"My life is not worth living if I can't research this!" Edward snapped, slamming his hands on the table as he leapt to his feet in anger.
"Brother!" Alphonse protested while reaching, ready to grab Edward and restrain him at a moment's notice.
"Truman," Fuery began, "I think a better question to ask them is about their story." Truman paused, remembering what Mustang had mentioned about the Elrics' past.
"Then tell me." Truman said, the words almost a order. Edward took a deep breath and sat back down. Over the last few weeks he had gotten to know Truman pretty well, but Edward still didn't fully trust the man. Still, the logical part of Edward reminded him of his responsibility for Truman's life and of the fact that Truman already knew part of the story. In the end reason won, making Edward take a deep breath in preparation for the flood of emotions that were about to come.
"We're orphans," Edward began, "that bastard abandoned us when I was three."
"Bastard?" Truman looked confused.
"Our father." Alphonse supplied quickly. "We grew up in a small town out East, nothing big ever happened there."
"When we were little we read the alchemy books the bastard left behind, that's how we learned alchemy." Edward went on. "We preformed our first transmutation when I was six."(2)
"Is that young?" Truman asked.
"Very." Fuery answered him quickly. "Most people don't pick up alchemy at all until they are around nineteen or so."
"Oh." Truman looked at the two in silent awe.
"We studied alchemy really hard because it made Mom happy." Edward explained with a sad smile. "We found out later that it was because it reminded her of Dad."
"During Ishbal, our good friend Winry lost her parents. They were surgeons, got killed in a raid." Alphonse added, sounding mournful.
"So Winry went on with her Grandmother and learned the automail trade." Edward pulled off the glove on his right hand and showed it to Truman. "She's my mechanic now, made this arm and leg for me." Edward tapped his automail leg to demonstrate his point.
"I see." Truman nodded. "But how were you orphaned?"
"Our mother got sick, really sick." Alphonse would have been crying by now if he could. "She didn't make it."
"The doctor said she'd been hiding it for years." Edward shut his eyes, trying to fight back the painful memories. "To us it was sudden. We had just come home and there she was… on the floor, passed out sweating with a fever."
"She died a few days later." Alphonse bowed his head in sorrow.
"We decided we were going to bring her back using alchemy. Make a homunculus." Edward went on. "About a year later we did it. And we paid for it."
"I lost my body, and Ed…." Alphonse gestured to himself.
"Lost my arm and leg." Edward finished. "I used my arm as a sacrifice, to bind Al's soul in that suit of armor."
"You sacrificed your own arm?" Truman's eyes went wide. Edward nodded. "And your research?"
"Is to find a way to restore ourselves." Edward answered.
"Nothing to lose and everything to gain…." Truman muttered. "I get it now."
"Did the Colonel tell you the official story?" Fuery asked. Truman nodded.
"You aren't allowed to talk about it with anyone unless me or Al tells you that you can." Edward ordered. Truman nodded, after all this wasn't Truman's secret, it was theirs.
"Are you planning to do something about the homunculus you created?" Truman asked them, making both Elrics pause, stunned. "You mentioned that you had encountered a homunculus that can shape-shift, so wouldn't the one you made still be around?"
Edward fell into his chair, looking a bit mortified. Alphonse wasn't much better.
"Or it appears as through that thought has yet to cross your mind." Truman observed, feeling a little guilty.
"Fuck." Edward muttered after a while. "We'll have to destroy it."
"How do you destroy a homunculus?" Truman inquired.
"That, I'm not too sure myself…." Edward admitted. "You can cut their heads off and they just grow them back."
"That's a muggle approach!" Truman half scoffed, half laughed. "I could easily just transfigure one into stone, I'm sure that'd stop it."
"Transfigure?" Edward gave Truman a flat look.
"It's the fancy term for transforming things. As close to transmutation as magic gets." Fuery explained. He then pulled out his wand, which was made out of what appeared to be black marble. (3) Fuery grinned, swished it a few times, and then tapped it once on a pen. The pen wiggled, shifted and turned into a pencil.
"That's physically impossible…." Edward muttered, freaking out slightly.
"Magic does have a nasty habit of defying physical laws." Fuery remarked casually. "If it makes you feel any better Breda still can't look at his pencil case straight."
"What did you turn his pencil case into?" Truman inquired, amused. Fuery's eyes were glimmering with amusement.
"A puppy."
"That was mean." Alphonse glared at Fuery.
"You mean you can turn inanimate objects into living things?" Edward looked serious and calculating.
"Not a human if that's what you mean." Fuery answered. "Unlike alchemy, the taboos of magic aren't just no-nos, they are just impossible."
"Ah, I see." Edward nodded.
"I think it might be possible to transfigure a Philosopher's Stone…." Fuery remarked after a while.
"What!?" Both Elrics jumped to their feet.
"And that would also solve the problem of you two journeying for the time being!" Truman announced, smiling.
"Eh?" Fuery looked confused.
"You boys will be wanting to read up on the Sorcerer's Stone, that's what us Mages call it." (4) Truman found himself quickly continuing on with the pressing looks the boys were giving him. "Using the Stone you can refine the Elixir of Life, which when drunk will grant the drinker immortality. You can also use it to conjure gold. If the book I read was anything to go on…."
"Book!?" Edward's eyes lit up. "There's a book!?"
"Yup, I'm pretty sure I know where a copy is too." Truman smiled. "It's in this building."
"In… here?" Alphonse gasped.
"We Mages have our own library." Fuery confessed. "It'll be some work getting you two in though…."
"Work?" Edward frowned.
"Yes, there is a lot of paperwork and processing that allows a muggle access to the Headquarters within Headquarters." Fuery explained. "I'll start the filing process for you and Alphonse today, but I'm warning you, there's a good chance Major Elric wouldn't get clearance, let alone Alphonse."
"Why is that?" Edward asked.
"Mages and alchemists usually don't get along, it's an unwritten rule." Fuery sighed. "The Colonel tried to get clearance after he joined and they granted him access for a while..."
"Mustang was able to get in?" Edward gave Fuery a flat look. "Well, if he can, I can."
"It's not that simple Edward, most people let him in because he already knows about magic, the moment they found out he was researching and studying it, he was kicked out and lost all of his privileges." Fuery sighed. "The other reason was that the board that approves it was hoping to get some political advantage through the Colonel."
"Political advantage?" Alphonse asked.
"The Mustangs are- among the world of Mages- probably the single most influential family. One could argue that they have more power and respect than the Lieutenant Fuhrer." Truman nodded.
"So do they have more influence than the Armstrongs?" Edward asked Fuery.
"Comparing the two is like comparing a two year old's ability to persuade the mother to buy them sweets, and an excellent politician convincing someone on the street that they know what they are talking about." Fuery shook his head. "The Mustangs are in a different league altogether."
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Well I brought you a long update, again, sorry for the delay.
1- His hair is probably greased with something organic; bacon fat was not too uncommon. Or he could just have freakishly impossible anime hair. Or he could just not be human and therefore have a right to have hair that defies the laws of physics. Or he could have enchanted magical hair. You decide.
2- Me and my Beta had a slight argument over this factoid. According to The Perfect Guide 2, Edward was five when he preformed his first transmutation and Alphonse was three. From what I remember from the anime there was a little notice that said 'Older Brother: 6 Younger Brother: 4'. If I am remembering wrong, sorry. Because this story is officially AU, I'm going to keep Edward's first transmutation at the age of six. This isn't really that important, I doubt it will affect anything later on.
3- In Amestris they use, in addition to wood, metals and other materials for their wands. Not only do their wand cores differ, but the very material a wand is made out of does as well. Some cores do not mix with certain materials. In about 50 years all the wizarding nations of the world are going to switch to wooden wands because they are lighter, and generally less destructive when used by a foreign user. For example, Haukro's wand is metal, it melts when held be a stranger. Fuery's wand is made out of black marble and is extremely heavy.
4- I am aware that the title of the first Harry Potter book everywhere except America (which is where I am from) was called 'Philosopher's Stone', in America it was released at the 'Sorcerer's Stone'. In this story the two objects are different and need a distinction to prevent confusion (as I learned with the two characters both named 'Hohenheim' in my last fic).
Was the action enjoyable? Will Edward get clearance to read in the magical library? What the heck is with Mustang and the rest of his family? And who the hell was that dude in the shadows!? Drop a review and the answers will come sooner!