I just got this idea in my head all of a sudden and just had to write it. Don't know how long it will be, but it will be multi-chapter at least.
Knowing myself, I am just going to warn you already that there will probably be some violence later on.
I will probably be posting chapters almost on a daily basis, so there won't be long to wait between the chapters, I hope.
Enjoy!
Chapter One
Edward Elric was in the library, reading as usual.
"Brother, you need to answer her…"
"Huh?"
"You need to answer the lady standing behind you."
Ed suddenly jerked back to reality, turning around and startling a black-haired young woman so much that she fell backwards to the ground.
"Oh, sorry!" Ed said.
"M-Mister Elric, Sir, there's a phone call for you," the girl said, standing up shakily.
"Oh, thank you."
The girl gave a little bow, then she ran off.
Ed shrugged and went over to the front desk, giving a little wave to the librarian on shift before he picked up the receiver on the phone. "This is Edward Elric."
"Finally, Fullmetal. Now I want you to report to my office in twenty minutes," Colonel Roy Mustang said.
"What for, Colonel?"
"I'll explain once you are here."
Then he hung up.
Ed went back to his brother, sighing. "Al, I need to report at the office in twenty minutes, I'll be back here after I'm done."
"Okay, good luck, Brother."
"Thanks."
Ed walked over to East City HQ and found his way to the Colonel's office. He said hello to Havoc, who had his usual cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth, before he sighed and kicked open the door.
"Wow, Fullmetal, you're actually two minutes early," Mustang said smugly.
"What did you want me here for?"
"Fuhrer Bradley is gathering all the State Alchemists at Central HQ five days from now. That includes you.
"What, why?"
"They wouldn't say. Anyway, you must show up in the grounds there at 9 AM on Monday, okay?"
"Fine. Is that all?"
"Yes. You're free to go. Just make sure that you are there at the correct time, okay?"
Ed just stood up and left, slamming the door behind him.
Five days later…
Ed kept having people shove him when he was walking to Central HQ. He was going to be there fifteen minutes early, just to spite the bastard Colonel. He was about ready to kill the next person who tried shoving him out of the way. He had slept badly and he hadn't had any breakfast either.
He suddenly felt a hand on his left shoulder.
"And just where are you going, kid? If Mummy or Daddy works here, you have to walk around to the other side of the building," a stern man in his late fifties with short grey hair and a big stomach said.
"I'm supposed to be here!"
"As if, how old are you, kid? Nine?"
"I'm twelve, dammit!"
"Anyway, you shouldn't be here."
"Are you deaf?! I'm supposed to be here!"
"You know what, you insolent little brat, I'm taking you off these grounds right now!"
Ed had heard just one word of that sentence.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING LITTLE!"
And then he clapped his hands and slammed them to the ground, sending a large fist shooting up from the ground behind the man, lifting him up by his legs and letting him hang there, upside-down.
"DON'T CALL ME "MIDGET" OR "SHORTY" OR "SHRIMP"! I'M A DAMN STATE ALCHEMIST AND I DESERVE SOME RESPECT!"
"What the hell, kid?! How did you do that?" someone said behind him. Ed had obviously created a bit of a scene, but he didn't care. He should be researching a way to get his brother's body back right now, not being stuck here being looked down upon by strangers.
"It's called alchemy, you should know!" Ed said, turning towards however had spoken. It was an unknown man in his early twenties with brown hair.
"I guess that means you're the new kid, then! Elric, right?"
"Yes." Ed was calming down slightly, finally getting some of his hard-earned recognition.
"Cool! I see why you're causing such an uproar!" The man walked forwards, his hand extended. "Harry Mills, the Green-Leaf Alchemist."
Ed shook his hand.
"YOU DAMN KID! LET ME DOWN NOW!" a voice said furiously behind him.
"Fine." Ed clapped his hands again and let the man fall non too gently back to the ground. He snorted and walked off.
"Who the hell was that?" Ed asked Harry Mills.
"He's from the same district as me, back West. "He's the Moving-Earth Alchemist, Brigadier General Ivan Banks. You should tread lightly around him, he generally sees anyone under forty a waste of space, especially teenagers."
"What's his problem, then?"
"Don't know, really, but he just dislikes them a lot."
"Well at least he knows not to mess with me from now on."
"I wouldn't be so sure, he's got a bit of a reputation… Anyway, I guess you don't really know many here, you did only pass the test about a month ago, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, you can join me at least then."
"Great."
"So, you're stationed in East City, right? Under Colonel Mustang?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"Cool, must be nice to be working under the "Hero of Ishbal."
"He's actually a bit of a bastard."
"You, think so, Fullmetal?" Mustang's voice said from behind him.
Ed swore.
"You should be careful about saying things like that about your commanding officer, it might be taken the wrong way," the Colonel said with a smug look.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever."
"But at least you are on time, that's twice in a row, I think you might have set a personal record."
Ed grunted and started moving through the crowds, Harry following him curiously.
They found a place a few meters from the stage that had been set up in front of the sea of blue (plus red and black in Ed's case.)
"So, when did you join?" Ed asked Harry.
"I only got in about five months ago, so I was really the new kid until you came along."
"Cool."
"So is it true that you can just clap your hands and then perform transmutations?"
"Yeah."
"Wow! I guess you really are a prodigy then!"
The crowd suddenly fell quiet as the Fuhrer suddenly walked up on the stage.
"Hello everyone! I have called you here because of a new program we are going to try out to inspire more unity within the ranks. It is known as the "Trust Project," and if it works well with our State Alchemists, we will introduce it to the rest of the military as well. What is going to happen is that you will all be split into groups of three and the mission you receive, will be done in said group. Now, the trios have been decided randomly, so they are completely fair. I will call you up here in your groups, and you will receive your missions on a document each."
What the hell? Is he joking?!
Apparently he wasn't, as he began calling up names, handing out missions.
They had got through a bit more than half of the teams, when Ed recognised his own name.
"Fullmetal Alchemist Edward Elric will be teamed up with… Moving-Earth Alchemist Brigadier General Ivan Banks and … Flame Alchemist Colonel Roy Mustang."
AH HELL NO!
Harry put his hand on Ed's shoulder. "Good luck, kid."
"I think I'm gonna need it."
He got a few sympathetic pats from Harry as he walked past him and up to the stage.
The bastard Colonel looked unfazed as ever, but Banks looked absolutely furious.
This wasn't going to be fun at all.
They shook hands up on the stage, and then Fuhrer Bradley handed them the document stating their mission, and so they went of the stage and out of the grounds.
"Why don't you have a uniform, kid?" Banks growled.
"I don't want one."
"If you're going to be in the military, brat, you're going to have to comply to the rules."
"I'm not wearing a stupid uniform!"
"As his commanding officer, I have not required it of him, and so it is his choice, Sir," Mustang said, surprising Ed.
"You really shouldn't be so lax with how you treat your subordinates, Mustang. They'll pick up bad habits and become derelicts just like yourself."
"I find my subordinates treat me just fine, Sir."
"Let's just look at this mission, okay?" Ed said, unrolling the document.
You are to report at the Leyson gold mines in order to perform an inspection as there have been an unusual amount of gold in circulation in that area. What you must do is find out if rogue alchemists are in the area, illegally transmuting gold.
You will report at the Leyson military office and state your names and ranks there.
Your train will leave tomorrow at 10 AM.
Sign. Fuhrer King Bradley.
Good luck with the project.
"Then I will see you tomorrow at 9.45," Banks grunted, then he left.
Mustang didn't seem to mind.
"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then, Colonel," Ed said, moving to leave.
Mustang put a hand on his shoulder, holding him back. "Wait a minute, Edward."
Since when does he call me by my first name?
Ed turned around curiously.
"Why don't you join me for a cup of tea?"
"What!?"
"We need to discuss something before the mission tomorrow."
"Why, what's so important?"
"It's about Banks."
The way the man was looking at him, silently pleading with him to trust him on this, Ed relented.
"Fine."
Mustang began walking down the pavement, not speaking, and Ed followed, curiosity peaked.
They reached a little café and Mustang went inside, showing Ed to the most private of the small stalls.
A girl in a white dress and a red apron walked up to them, handing each of them a little menu, smiling brightly, before she left the table.
"Have you had any breakfast, Fullmetal?"
"No."
"Then pick something from the menu, it's on me."
"O-okay?"
Ed began studying the menu, deciding upon a chicken sandwich and a stack of waffles, as well as the originally agreed upon cup of tea.
They ordered, Mustang going with an omelette and toast.
"So, Colonel, what's up with this guy?"
"Wait until we've got the food."
"Why?"
"Trust me."
Ed groaned. They made some very strained small talk until the food came.
"So, Colonel, spill," Ed said before taking a large bite of his sandwich.
"You need to be careful around Banks. Very."
"Whatchu mean?" Ed said, chewing.
Mustang began buttering his toast, before he carefully cut up his omelette and put the slices on the toast. "He's not known for caring if a subordinate gets in the way of a criminal. If there are hostages, they usually die. Either that or the criminal loses heart and gives himself up."
He took a few bites. "Back in Ishbal, he made sure to hurt the Ishbalans before he killed them. He's a sadist, and I would say a war criminal too."
"You could have just told me that. There's something more."
"Twenty years ago, his wife and one-year-old son were at home when a group of teenagers broke into their house. The robbery went wrong and the son died when one of the kids panicked when it wouldn't stop crying and hit him with his gun. Two years later the wife hung herself from the ceiling. He has had this idea ever since that that's what teenagers are like."
Mustang took a few more bites.
"There have been stories about kids disappearing from where he lives, but no one can pin it on him, and it could just be someone else entirely."
"So you're saying that he wants to kill me?"
"Not necessarily, I'm saying that you should keep an eye open just in case. I saw what he did in Ishbal, he would plan the way he would make buildings collapse so that it would take hours for the people trapped inside to die. There's something fundamentally wrong with him, Fullmetal."
Ed just nodded. They ate their food in silence for the rest of the time. Then Mustang paid and Ed thanked him for the meal.
"See you tomorrow, Fullmetal, and remember what I told you."
"Sure, Colonel, I will."