A/N: Bold: Anime viewing
Normal: Reaction of Character
CH- 2 (The first day)
"Alchemy is the science of understanding, decomposing, and reconstructing matter."
"A new opening already?" Havoc asked.
"However, it is not an all-powerful art. It is impossible to create something out of nothing. If one wishes to obtain something, something of equal value must be paid. This is the law of equivalent exchange, the basis of alchemy. Alchemists have a taboo, and it is human transmutation."
With those words, Ed and Al as children appeared on the screen.
"Kid chief and Al are on the screen." Breda said.
"I'm beginning to think this is focused on the Elric brothers." Scar said, glancing at the boys.
"Oh, great." Edward said sarcastically. "Just what I wanted; my life detailed."
"It is that which no one must commit."
"And now it is the opening theme." Havoc said.
"It is a good song." Kain commented.
"Would you people shut up?" General Armstrong growled.
A train whistled sounded when the opening was done.
"Brother…" Al said, looking at his brother who was staring out the window of the train.
"Hmm?" Was Ed's reply as he looked away from the window.
"What do you think about the stories of this priest in Liore?" Al asked.
Edward pressed two fingers to his forehead, frowning. "About his miraculous works? They say he can transmute flowers out of thin air, right? It could just be simple sleight of hand."
"Supposing it's not, though?" Al asked.
A smirk crossed Ed's lips. "Yeah. Supposing it's not, then it just might be, huh?"
"Chief has that evil look again." Charlie said, adopting the kid's nickname without realizing it, causing the soldiers in Mustang's unit to grin.
"Would you shut up?" Edward shouted. "I swear you all have something against me."
The screen faded to a book for a flashback. "The celestial stone that destroyed Xerxes in one night." Edward's voice read. "The grand elixir, sealed away by the Eastern Sage. It goes by different names, but in short, it's something that intensifies alchemy. That's the Philosopher's Stone." A serious looking Edward appeared on the screen, sitting in a wheelchair with a book a on his lap.
"This was before your automail surgery?" Maria asked.
Edward nodded. "Yeah, I hadn't healed enough to have the surgery just yet."
"If only I had that, I might be able to get your body back, Al." Ed glared at the book. "Damn! Write more information about it, will you?"
Time flashed forward once more to Edward, smiling, as he turned to his brother. "Al…"
"What"
"I sure hope this is it this time." Edward said
"Mm-hmm, right.". Al said as the episode title screen came up
The First day
"What the hell does that mean?" Denny muttered confused.
"Al," Edward whispered.
"Yes, brother?"
"I don't like the sound of that title."
Al nodded. "I don't either."
"Ed! Al! Where are you?"
"Ah, damn it!" Edward shouted. "We were right! It's our past!"
"Really?" Maes said excitedly. "We get to see Ed and Al as cute little kids?"
Edward knocked his head against his brother's armor.
"Oh, this should be good." Havoc grinned along with his comrades, rubbing his hands in eager anticipation.
Mustang glanced at General Armstrong and her men. They weren't the most talkative people and didn't care for people unless they earned their respect so it didn't surprise him that they didn't get involved in the conversations much. As for Scar, he kept mostly to himself since he was the enemy here. Despite all that, they seemed to be enjoying watching the episodes so far. Maybe it was because it was just amusing to watch Ed freak out so much over being called tiny. Though, he didn't think that was enough for General Armstrong… or Scar.
"I wish I had some pictures of you two as kids." Maes said.
"Why does it have to be our past?" Edward groaned, letting his brother pat him sympathetically on his back.
"Oh, my." Trisha said, staring down at her sons.
"Woah, is that your mom?" Havoc gasped. "She is really pretty."
"Was." Edward snapped.
Havoc winced. "Sorry. But what I said still stands."
"Hmm, she is. But neither of you inherited her hair or eye colour." Mustang commented, glancing at Ed. "So, you must get your looks from your father."
Edward fell on his side. "Awkward." He mumbled. "And don't mention that bastard"
"Brother, please!" Al pleaded, tugging his brother's arm.
"No, I think you're a bit wrong, Roy." Maes objected. "Sure, the hair and eye colour are different, but I can see a bit of their mother in Ed."
Riza nodded. "I must agree with Hughes on that one. What is your mother's name?"
"Trisha." Al supplied.
"Thank you, Alphonse. I can see a bit of Trisha shining in the shape of Ed's face and his complexion a bit." Riza finished, smiling at Ed, who was banging his head against Al's armor.
"Why am I stuck here with you people?" Ed muttered to himself.
"Good looks must run in the family." Maria commented.
"Can we please move on?" Edward cried, desperate to get this episode over with.
Mustang smirked in amusement. Fullmetal was just so much fun to tease.
The screen changed to reveal Ed and Al sitting on the floor of their father's study. Al was lying on his stomach with a book in front of him while Ed had a transmutation circle in front of him.
"Um, Ed, Al, you two didn't happen to self-teach yourself alchemy at first, did you?" Maes asked.
Edward blinked. "Course we did."
"H-how old were you?" Havoc stuttered in surprise.
"Five." Edward answered as if it was obvious
"Definitely a prodigy." Richard said, smirking
Mustang nodded. "Most alchemists can't even understand a single word in a beginner alchemist's book."
"How the hell did you find these kids?" Alexandre asked
"A misprint. In the file on Edward, it said he was thirty-one." Mustang explained, smirking. "Best misprint ever."
"Some of us might disagree." Izumi growled dangerously, glaring at the Colonel who dragged her ex-student into the military.
"I think you will find it a good thing I did appear in Resembool and offer Fullmetal that chance." Mustang retorted.
Edward blinked, turning to stare at the Colonel. "Did I really look that bad?"
"Yes."
Izumi frowned. She would never accept this man. It was because of him that Ed even thought of joining the military.
"Messing up your dad's study again?"
"Again?" Riza asked
"Brother had a bad habit of–"
"Say no more, Alphonse. If it's Fullmetal, it's to be expected." Mustang interrupted.
Edward scowled. "Hey, Al was a part of that too. In fact, he was the one to knock all the books off the bookcase that one day."
"You still remember that?" Al asked surprised
Ed shot him a glare. "How could I forget? They all fell on me!"
"It was an accident." Al muttered quietly
"No, you mustn't scribble there like that."
"Yeah, but it's not scribbling." Edward replied
"Aww, what a cute voice you had as a child." Maes teased, causing Ed to start banging his head against Al again.
"Brother, please, I don't want you to injure yourself."
"Well, that's my goal. Maybe I'll knock myself out." Edward muttered, causing his brother to sigh.
"Watch." Edward said. He put his hands on the ground and caused a transmutation, though it couldn't be seen what was transmuted as the screen was on Trisha, watching her sons.
"That's alchemy, right?" She asked.
Ed's transmutation shown to be a little bird
"Seriously? That was your first time?" Havoc asked to which Ed nodded.
"It actually turned out really well." Richard commented.
"Nicely done, Edward Elric!" Armstrong shouted happily.
"Did your dad teach you that?" Trisha asked, now kneeling in front of her sons.
"How can we learn anything from someone who's not here?" Edward asked.
"This was after your dad abandoned you?" Mustang asked.
Edward nodded.
"Your dad abandoned you? I thought he just died too." Kain said.
Edward sighed. He and Al didn't like talking about their past so there seemed to be a few misconceptions. Nothing that wouldn't be cleared up soon though, it seemed.
"We read the book, and it was written in there." Al explained
"It's not normal!" Rebecca cried. "What kind of kids are you?"
"Is it really that strange?" Al asked as it seemed he and Ed were both oblivious.
"Alchemy is a very complicate science as both of you know, so yes, it is strange!" Izumi growled. Not even she could self-teach herself alchemy like that.
"It was written in there?" Trisha asked.
Both of the boys looked downcast. "Should we not have done it?"
Trisha clapped her hands. "Not at all." She said reassuringly, smiling brightly. "Amazing! You're your father's sons, all right!"
"You know, Al, that was the first real smile she gave us since he left." Edward said, staring at his mother on the screen sadly.
"But she smiled before this." Al said confused
Edward shook his head sadly. "They were all forced or full of sadness. She was hiding how much pain she was in after he left. She never got over it."
"How observant was you as a kid?" Havoc muttered amazed, but he felt sad inside. No child should realize the truth of fake smiles at such a young age.
"Your mom is proud of both of you." Trisha said.
Ed and Al smiled brightly.
"And that was it. Mom praised us. We were so happy about that, that we became caught up in alchemy." The exterior of the house was shown as Edward's voice continued the story. "But the summer of that year, there was an epidemic, and Mom passed away."
"I don't like this flashback anymore." Maes said gravely
"Why" Kain asked.
"I think we are going to see it again." Maes said
Edward tensed. If they saw it again, then that meant all the pain was going to come searing back into his body, a hundred times worse than the first time.
"Isn't once enough?" Charlie muttered, growing pale. War was horrible enough, but to see kids suffering like those two times in the same day. It was not something any human wanted to see.
A bouquet of flowers was shown on top of a grave. The two boys sat in front of the grave, looking downcast. "Brother, I'm hungry." Al said. "It's cold. Let's go home. Once Dad comes home…"
"Don't you talk about him!" Edward shouted angrily. "That bastard doesn't care about us. He didn't even come home for mom's funeral."
His words caused Al to look more upset as he glanced at the gravestone which had their mother's name engraved in it.
"I wonder if we can bring mom back." Edward said.
"I'm not surprised that it was you who suggested it." Mustang commented without thinking.
Edward slammed his automail fist onto the coffee table, shooting a glare at Mustang. "You think I don't know that it is all my damn fault?" He snarled.
Mustang blinked in surprised. "Fullmetal, I wasn't blaming you."
Edward snorted, staring at his automail hand as he let it curl into a fist again. "I know it's my fault. I suggested it. I put Al through it all. I ignored all the warnings, and because of that, he has to live without a body. Instead of doing my job properly as his older brother and protecting him, I trapped my brother in a suit of armor because of my own foolishness and greed."
"Brother!" Al cried, reaching out to grab his brother's wrist. "I don't blame you for any of this. I'm just as much at fault as you are. I knew it was wrong, but I went along with it as well. I was just as greedy to have Mom back as you were. We are equally at fault.
The young state alchemist shook his head. He put his elbow of his left arm on the table and buried his face in his palm.
Sadness ran its course through Alphonse as he watched his brother suffering terribly in guilt. He wrapped his arms around his brother's small frame from behind him, offering what comfort he could.
"They're too young for such guilt." Maria said sadly.
"They live with their sin every single day." Scar said softly. "Both blaming themselves, but never daring to push the blame on the other."
Mustang glanced at Scar. How insightful of Scar. He was very much correct. These brothers were probably the closet brothers he had ever seen. They would never betray one another. Their mistake tied them together. And hopefully, both of them could accept that neither one of them was completely at fault. They shared this blame.
"But it was written in that book that creating people is something you're not allowed to do." Al replied.
Edward stood up. "That's why it will be our secret."
"You're here again." A girl's voice said, catching Al's attention.
"What do you want, Winry?" Edward asked, turning around
"Grandma says that every time you think of a dead person and cry, the more tears you shed, the more the dead person in the next world feels sad too." Winry said.
"We're not crying!" Edward shouted. Al glanced up at his older brother in surprise. "What about you? Your mom and dad are always out somewhere, and you cry because you miss them."
Winry blushed. "I-I don't cry."
"Are you sure?" Edward teased.
"I was worried about you for nothing." Winry shouted. "If you're slower than me, you don't get any supper."
"What's that for?! Wait up!" Edward yelled, running after her
"Ah! Wait!" Al called after her.
"What great friends you three seem to be." Maes smiled. "Who is she anyway?"
"Huh? Winry?" Edward asked, lifting his face from his hand as he finally got his emotions in check. "Her family is a family friend. She's also my automail mechanic."
"We grew up together. She and brother are always arguing and throwing insults at each other. She is very kind and caring, though. Though, sometimes, I have to wonder about that with how she is always hitting us wrenches." Al mumbled.
"Argh," Ed mumbled, rubbing his head at the thought of that. "Don't remind me of that. I think she is trying to give me brain damage."
"It really was a shock when she threw that wrench at you when we went to Resembool a couple weeks ago." Armstrong commented.
"Wait, she literally threw a wrench at you?" Havoc asked, paling.
Ed nodded. "She has really good aim too."
"She has a lot of target practice since you annoy her so much, brother." Al pointed out, chuckling slightly.
"Her fault for being such an automail freak." Ed grumbled.
Maes nodded, glad to see the brothers returning to normal. They seemed to be more traumatized than they let anyone realize.
"I gratefully accept this meal." The children's voices rang out.
Al gulped down his meal eagerly.
"Come on, Ed, you drink your milk, too." Pinako said as Al wiped away a milk moustache.
"I hate milk." Edward said.
"No wonder you're so short if you don't drink your milk." Mustang commented.
"It has nothing to do with the milk!" Edward screamed. "What the hell is wrong with you people and thinking milk and height go together?"
"Why do you even dislike milk, brother?" Al asked.
"It tastes horrible!" Edward growled. "Can't drink something I dislike."
"But you like stew." Al pointed out.
"Yeah, well, I can't taste the milk in it, can I?" Edward retorted.
"If you don't drink it, you'll stay short." Pinako said
"Who are you calling a runt, you sawed-off old hag?" Edward retorted.
"Even as a kid." Havoc said, sweat dropping.
"Though it seems his rants weren't as creative then as they are today." Breda pointed out.
"What as that, you little bean sprout?" Pinako snapped
"Seriously?" Brody, a Briggs soldier, asked shocked. "Isn't she supposed to be the adult?"
"Between her and Ed, there are no adults." Al said blandly.
"Minimum hag!"
"Micro-peewee."
As the two shouted insults at each other, Winry and Al just calmly ate their dinner in the background with bland looks.
"So, Al, you are and Winry looked annoyed. Common occurrence?" Riza asked.
"You have no idea." Al replied.
"Traitor." Ed mumbled to his brother, who just chuckled.
"Baby-ant-sized."
"Now that I think about it, all those fights with Granny Pinako may have been what helped Brother with his creative rants." Al said thoughtfully.
"Atom-sized!"
That was the last insult as it turned to daytime and a school bell was chiming for the end of school.
"School? You actually attended?" Mustang said shocked.
"Yeah, most kids go until they are at least ten out there then they focus on learning their trade." Edward replied.
"I'm more surprised you actually knew what one is." Mustang retorted.
"You're reading a book that's not from school again."
"And surprise, surprise, you weren't paying attention to the lesson."
"I don't see why Winry is talking. She is the one who fell asleep in class." Edward grumbled.
"How did you even notice?" Al asked. "The teacher was throwing chalk at you while you defended with a book."
"What? It's her fault for having such a boring math class." Edward retorted. "And she was throwing chalk at you too, so I don't want to hear it!"
"What were you doing that annoyed your teacher?" Maes asked, shocked that a teacher would do such a thing.
"Studying alchemy." Ed and Al replied.
"Stupid question." Maes sighed
"School is a waste on you two." Havoc commented.
"You have to listen in class." Winry continue
"Leave us alone" Edward said
"Say, what sort of book are you reading?" Winry asked
"It's a secret" Al replied
"It's none of you damn business, Winry." Edward elaborated, causing his brother to smile.
"No fair. You two always keep secrets between yourselves." Winry huffed.
"Bye now!" Al said.
"Hmm, you two weren't living with them?" Kain asked.
"What was the point when we had a house?" Edward asked.
"The laws." Havoc pointed out.
Edward blinked. "Laws?"
Havoc slapped his forehead. "Forget it. You ignore most of them anyway since you're a State Alchemist."
"Ed! Al! We're going to be having stew tonight!" Winry yelled after them.
"You don't live with them, and yet, they feed you?" Brody asked bemused.
"Hey, do you want to trust a couple of kids to make dinner by themselves?" Ed retorted.
Al looked at his brother, confused. "But brother, you are a great chef. I still remember that cake you made for my tenth birthday. It was delicious."
Edward slammed his head into the ground. Trust his little brother to cleverly reveal something in a way that made him look completely innocent. How dare his brother betray him like this…. again?!
"Oooh, the Fullmetal Alchemist knows how to cook?" Maes teased.
"Shut. Up." Edward hissed angrily, much to the soldiers' amusement.
"Mr. Hughes, you should have brother make Elicia's birthday cake sometime." Al said chirpily. "He makes an awesome strawberry cake and icing. But his chocolate cake and white cake and brownies are really good too."
"Al," Ed whined, hiding his blushing face in the carpet. "You're killing me. And I haven't baked in years so I don't think I could do it again."
Hiding his snickers behind his hand, Mustang felt a smirk tug at his lips. "Well, I wish you told us sooner, Alphonse. Think of all the orders I could have thrown out for a nice gourmet dinner?"
"Tsk," Ed growled. "I'd sooner poison you."
"Brother!" Al scolded.
Ed frowned. "You're right, Al. I shouldn't ruin perfectly good food like that. It would be such a waste."
Al bowed his head. "That's not what I meant."
"A strawberry cake, huh?" Maes mused
"Don't. Get. Any. Ideas!" Edward snarled at him
Maes held his hands up in fake innocent, making Ed scowl at him. Evil, manipulative people.
Al turned around, throwing his hands into the air in excitement. "All right!"
Edward just raised his arm without turning around. "Yeah, see you later!"
"Aww, you were just so cute as a child, Al." Riza smiled at the suit of armor, who would probably be blushing right now if he had a body.
"And the chief is still just a punk." Havoc said, smirking at the kid.
"A punk? I was not a punk as a kid." Edward snapped.
"Brother, you knocked Rufus out for calling you short." Al retorted.
"You're not helping my case, Al!" Edward snapped.
"Don't worry, Ed. You are just as cute as Al as a child. The punk you are the best look for you. It really works for you as a child." Maes said, smiling down at the boy.
"You can all go to hell." Edward grumbled.
"You know something, whoever invented stew is great. It even has milk in it, and it still tastes so good."
Al narrowed his eyes, but was smirking at his brother. "What do you mean by that?"
"The idea of sticking milk into vegetable soup is amazing. A scientist needs those kinds of leaps of imagination too." Edward explained.
"Maybe you're right." Al murmured.
"Sure I am. I'm sure a leap of imagination is what we need for human transmutation too." Edward said.
"From then on, we looked into what we would need to perform human transmutation, to bring Mom back to life, and honed our skills under an alchemy teacher." The scene changed to show Izumi watching over Ed and AL's training.
"It took years and years, but we wanted to see Mom's smile, and we wanted to live happily with Mom again." The boys were lying on the floor of their basement reading their books. "With those thoughts in mind…"
Edward signed a paper with his name as he finished the plans for human transmutation.
"Fullmetal, you're right-handed?" Mustang asked surprised.
"I was. I can't write with automail though so I had to learn to be left-handed." Edward explained.
"That would explain why your writing is so messy." Mustang mused, feeling a bit bad for scolding the boy all the time for his horrible handwriting. In his defence, Edward never did tell him anything.
"Done."
The sky turned red and a crow cried as Ed said that one word.
"Oh no, not this again." Sheska groaned, shifting uncomfortably. She didn't want to see her friends go through this hell again. It was hard enough the first time.
Ed shifted on the ground nervously.
"Brother?" Al asked worriedly, but his brother just shook his head.
"Water, 35 litres; carbon, 20 kilograms; ammonia, 4 litres; lime, 1.5 kilograms; phosphorus, 800 grams; salt, 250 grams; saltpetre, 100 grams; sulphur, 80 grams; fluorine, 7.5 grams; iron, 5 grams; silicon, 3 grams..." Edward's voice rang out.
Water was poured into a pan that was sitting in the floor.
"All right, now to write the constructional formula." Edward said.
The array was drawn on the floor with an asterisk being the last thing drawn.
"Now, we just need some soul data." Both boys cut their fingers and let their blood drip into the pan before moving to the edge of the array and kneeling down. They put their hands on it. "Here we go, Al."
"Mm-hmm." Was Al's reply.
Edward shifted on the floor again. Oh, this was going to be so uncomfortable. He glanced at his brother, and wondered if he would feel any pain, considering he was a soul in a suit of armor. He desperately hoped he didn't. His brother didn't need to go through this pain. He didn't deserve it.
The transmutation circle lit up with bright blue light, followed by electricity crashing down on the ground. Soon black lights came up from the array, surrounding the circle and the boys.
"Brother, there's something strange here." Al said while his brother stared around them.
A giant eye suddenly opened up in the array along with black hands protruding from it. These black hands latched onto Al's arm and at that moment his hand suddenly disappeared into particles.
Edward glanced sharply at his brother, but didn't notice any change in his behaviour. So, did that mean Al wasn't feeling anything because he wasn't in his body? As he thought this, he felt a sharp pain in his own hand at the moment. He glanced at it sharply, eyes widening. What the hell? He didn't get much time to think on it.
"Al!" Edward yelled when suddenly his leg snapped from his body into little pieces.
Sharp pain shot up Edward's leg. Pain worse than anything he could have possibly imagined. A blood curdling scream tore from his throat as he fell onto his back, hands going down to scratch at his leg. It was too much! He needed that adrenaline back in his system. He needed something, anything, that would cause this pain to lessen.
The soldiers glanced down at Ed in pity as the boy screamed his lungs out. Al was sitting next to his brother, but didn't dare touch him in fear of worsening the pain for his brother.
Edward screamed in pain before falling onto his chest. He glanced over his shoulder to see his leg being grabbed by those black hands.
"What the hell is this?" Skylak, an Eastern soldier, muttered, staring at the screen in horror. Alchemy was amazing, no doubt about that, but it sure did some horrible things.
Edward didn't hear a single word. All he could do was desperately roll onto his side and back onto his back as he screamed and screamed and screamed. Why? Why the hell was this happening? What was wrong with simply watching what happened without the feeling of all the pain they went through? He felt tears prick at his eyes as the pain started to overwhelm him. His senses were beginning to black out. If only his whole mind would shut down, then he could escape all this pain for a while.
"Brother?" Al asked worriedly, leaning over his brother to stare down at him. It came as a great shock to him when he saw the tears in his brother's eyes, but at least they weren't running down his face.
"It can't be…. a rebound?!"
"Brother!" Al shouted, distracting Ed from his thoughts. "Ed! Help!" He screamed, tears glistening in his eyes as he reached out for his brother, only to be decomposed before Ed could do a thing.
Suddenly, the pain in Ed's leg meant nothing when extreme white-hot pain began to radiate all through his body. It started as a simple fast throbbing pulse that he felt all over his body before it grew into the rapid, agonizing feeling of having his whole body stolen from him. What… what the hell was this?
A scream tore from Ed's throat, shocking all the soldiers around as he collapsed onto all fours. His limbs were only able to hold him up for a few seconds before he collapsed down and curled one of his arms and his legs closer to himself. His other hand scrabbled at the carpet, desperately trying to reach for his brother without him realizing it.
Shocked by what was happening to his brother, Al reached towards the hand coming towards him, but before he could grab it, another blood curdling scream ripped itself from Ed. His hand went flying back to grab his hair, along with his other hand. His body arched back as his legs scraped and kicked at the ground.
"I-IT'S TOO MUCH!" Edward yelled, the tears already in his eyes falling down his cheeks
"What the hell is going?" Mustang screamed, flying from his seat. "He's not the one hurting yet."
"Forget that!" General Armstrong growled. "Hold him down now!"
Miles and Brody jumped into action without a word, along with Havoc and Breda. Havoc and Breda grabbed Ed's arms, forcing them away from his hair, probably ripping a few strands out as they did, but that didn't matter right now. All that matter was keeping the boy from injuring himself. The other two snatched his legs and forced them straight to make it easier to pin them. Of course, none of this was easy as Ed was twisting and fighting against them all the way.
Scar watched in semi-horror. What was going on? The boy had only lost his leg and he wasn't screaming this much earlier. Did that meant that the pain increased tenfold this time around or was there something more going on?
"N-NO!" Edward pulled his automail arm free, swinging it to the side, which hit Breda in the face and sent him stumbling back with blood tricking down his lip. With an arm free, Edward struggles increased until a few more soldiers came over to help pin the boy, which got a few more bruises and some blood everywhere.
Al could only watch in horror, too afraid to help as he might hurt his brother or the soldiers with his metal body and the spikes on his armor. Damn it, why was this happening? Why couldn't he do anything to help his brother?
Like Al, Armstrong stood to the side, feeling discourage at not being able to help his young friend escape from the pain he was in. It hurt him very much to only be able to stand to the side and watch as a child went through immense amount of pain. What use were they as soldiers if they couldn't even help this child?
"Al!" Ed screamed, trying to reach his brother's hand before it completely disappeared. Their hands were just an inch apart when there was a blast of white.
Scar frowned darkly as he watched this. This was the horror that was alchemy. It ruined the lives of those kids. They should be enjoying their childhood, but, instead, they are forced to wander around trying to fix themselves because of the dreadfulness that alchemy caused. It needed to be destroyed.
Edward gasped as the pain radiating in his body stopped throbbing and getting worse and he ceased his struggles to escape the soldiers. His eyes, which had been closed during the ordeal, cracked open to stare at the soldiers, who were staring warily at him. He frowned when he noticed they had broken noses, cut lips, and bruises lining their faces and arms. Who know, he might have even hit some of them in the chest and fractured some ribs. He didn't know for sure. It was all just a blur, a very painful blur.
By now, all he felt in his body were the warm tears that had cascaded down his face and the throbbing pain and soreness that was still present in his body. At least it wasn't a continuous screaming agony anymore. He turned his head to each side to stare at each of his arms which were still pinned by multiple hands, along with someone holding down his shoulders. "'IM sorry." He mumbled tiredly, suddenly feeling drained of all his energy
"What's there to be sorry for, Chief?" Havoc asked, smiling sadly. He released his grip on the boy, though warily as he was worried, he would start thrashing around again.
"Hitting you." Edward mumbled, staring tiredly at his comrade.
Havoc ran a hand over the bruise that now tarnished his cheek. "This? Don't worry about it." He grinned. "One punch from a little punk isn't going to do us in."
"Yeah, don't worry about us, Fullmetal. We're not weak like those Central soldiers." Clarink, a Briggs soldier, said.
"Fullmetal." Miles leaned over the boy. "How are you? Do you still hurt?"
Edward blinked before a goofy smile came over his face as he noticed Miles glasses slipping down his nose to show him red eyes that didn't process in his mind. "'M fine." He slurred.
Miles leaned back on his heels, pushing his glasses up. "Right. He's not fine." He decided as he moved away.
"Brother?" Al took the place of some of the Brigg soldiers to lean over his brother. "Are you okay? What was that all about?"
Edward blinked at his brother, trying to comprehend what he was talking about, but his mind just came up with a blank haze.
Izumi appeared on the other side of Havoc. One of her hands gently caressed Ed's cheek as a frown came over her face. "We should wait a little while before asking him anything. He seems a little out of it from the pain." She removed her hand from his cheek so she could, instead, slip both of her hands under him and pick him up. Edward blinked up at her for a moment, tensing at first when she picked him up, but then relaxed at the familiar grip from his training.
"Where are you taking him?" Mustang asked, watching as the woman went beyond all the couches.
"There are beds in these rooms. I'll put him in one." Izumi replied before kicking one of the doors open, then slamming it close behind her.
Al stared desperately at the door, wishing he could go be with his brother. But then he saw all the stares being directed at him. "What?"
"Do you have any idea what that was?" Riza asked softly. "He didn't seem to be in that kind of pain from just his leg?"
Al's hands curled into fists. "I wish I could tell you, but I don't have a clue of what is going." He cried helplessly. He wished he had his body right now just so he could go to his brother and offer the warmth and comfort he could to his hurting brother. Why did his brother have to go through so much agony all the time? It wasn't fair!
"Poor Edward." Sheska cried, hands clutching at her shirt. She was scared to death when Edward had started screaming his head off and needed eight soldiers to pin him down. This reaction had been so much worse than any of them were expecting. It has left many soldiers paling significantly and a few with quite a few injuries, which were being treated by the doctors from Briggs with a first aid kit they found in one of the rooms.
(A/N: These are the doctors that tell Ed about the frostbite and the one that helps Buccaneer with his automail. Their names are never mentioned so from this point on they will be known as, Dr. Young and Kei.)
"Damn, he got you good." Kei said as he looked at Brody's chest. "It's just a couple fractured ribs."
"Heh, this is nothing I can't handle." Brody said, hiding a wince as Kei prodded at his chest. He turned to Breda. "And what about you?"
"Just a cut lip, bruised cheek, and a sprained wrist." Breda said as Dr. Young finished wrapping up his wrist.
"That kid is dangerous." Avery said as he held an ice pack to his black eye
"Eight soldiers to pin one kid." General Armstrong growled. "That is just very pitiful or he is stronger than he looks."
Mustang didn't have it in him to smirk after what he just witnessed from his subordinate. "Fullmetal isn't a weak little kid. I wouldn't let him travel around so much if I thought he might get killed." He said with a tired sigh.
Hughes knocked a fist against Al's chest as he kneeled in front of the armor. "How are you feeling, Al?" He asked quietly with a worried frown.
"I'm completely fine." Al said, though there was a helpless pleading in his voice as he kept glancing at the room that Izumi took his brother to.
"Hey, none of that." Hughes said, knocking on Al's helmet. "Your teacher seems like a good lady. She'll take real good care of your brother and he'll be back out here before you know it."
"I just feel so helpless. I couldn't do anything to help him. He was in all that pain and all I could do was sit here and watch." Al said, voice lacing with pain as his mind flashed to his brother reaching out to him for help.
A hand clamped down on Al's shoulder, causing him and Hughes to glance over at Buccaneer. "We all know that feeling, kid." He spoke. "It is always painful to just sit around, forced to watch a buddy go through pain. To get through, get stronger so you can save them so they don't have to go through it again."
Al nodded, fists tightening. That was right. His brother protected him, gave up so much for him, and he had to do the same for him. They had to watch each other's back. He had to get stronger to protect his brother's back and all those who needed their help.
"Hey Al, sorry to ask, but we need some information." Hughes said, breaking into the boy's thoughts.
"Sorry, but I don't kn–" Al started
"Not about this specifically." Hughes interrupted. "But, is he usually in that much pain? Does he usually show how much pain he is in?"
*Bedroom*
Izumi gently laid her ex-student down on top of the covers of one of the beds. She looked at his eyes to see them still opened a crack and watching her. "Edward, just try to rest some. The pain in your body will go away soon enough." She said softly as she went to work taking his boots off. She was just pulling the first one off when Ed jerked on the bed and tried to sit up. Dropping the boot to the ground, she shot a glare at her ex-student and pushed him back down. "What do you think you're doing?"
"D-don't ne-need you to w-waste y-y-your time on m-me." Edward mumbled, trying to push himself up, but his body couldn't support the heavy weight of his automail or the trembling in his flesh arm from the pain shooting up it and he collapsed back down.
"Clearly." Izumi said dryly as she went to take the other boot off. When she put it next to the other boot on the ground, she moved to the head of the bed and sat down on it. She gently brushed the tears on his cheeks away. "It's alright to accept help from someone. Even us adults can't do everything by ourselves." Not waiting for a reply, she went to work on his jacket and unsnapped the clip before getting to work on getting his arms out of the sleeves.
Edward watched her through half-closed eyes as his body began to succumb to the tiredness and pain he was feeling in his body. "T-Teacher," he said before sleep began to win its way. "Th-Thank you."
Izumi paused in removing the gloves from his hands, a soft smile filling her features. She hung the gloves and jacket over the bedframe before moving the connecting bathroom. There, she got a washcloth and wetted it with cold water before moving back to the bedroom. She wiped the sweat and tears from Ed's face and neck before folding it into a rectangle and placing it on his forehead. She brushed his bangs away, gently tugging at them as she did. "You really don't realize just how good of a person you are." She whispered, bending over him to give one of her precious "sons" a kiss on his cheek.
*Main room*
Izumi closed the door quietly behind her and moved back over to her seat.
"Teacher!" Al said upon seeing her, relief filling his voice.
"How is Ed?" Maria demanded worriedly. She wouldn't be surprised if Ed scared a few years off her life with that event. It was so frightening to see her young friend screaming and in agony like that, which caused her, and she doubted she was the only one, to curse V.H. for the pain factor. From her view, it looked like he was slowly being tortured to death and that made the situation that much scarier. This whole thing just got ten times scarier. She hoped there were no more serious injuries after this. She didn't think she could handle anything like that again.
"Yes, he is just sleeping now." Izumi replied. "He will re-join us when he is ready. So, did you alchemists come up with any theories as to what happened to him?"
"None." Armstrong said sadly. "We truly do not understand his reaction to what has occurred. Al has informed us that it was too much of an extreme reaction to just losing a leg."
"That is true, especially considering the reaction that we got earlier." Izumi mused thoughtfully.
"Well, you are an alchemist as well. Any ideas?" Mustang asked.
Izumi didn't even get angry or glare at him this time. She just looked thoughtful as she thought about what could have possibly caused such an extreme reaction. "I do not know. This is a totally new situation for all us. With no prior experience or knowledge, I cannot tell what caused this."
Mustang sighed. "So, we're back to this?"
"Maybe we should just continue with the episode. Maybe you'll learn something." Charlie suggested.
"It's all we can do at the moment." Mustang said.
Edward suddenly found himself standing in a completely white area with a giant door behind him.
"Okay, and this is?" Mustang demanded. "I've never seen anything like this."
"Good!" Izumi shouted. "You don't want to see that damn thing!"
Edward blinked and looked around. "Al? Huh? What was I doing again?"
"Hello." A voice rang out, scaring Edward. There, sitting right in front of him was a white figure outlined in black.
"This is so creepy." Richard commented, earning a few nods from the others.
"This is Human Transmutation?" Riza said confused. "I didn't think transmutation dragged you into unknown areas like this."
"It certainly is strange. I didn't see anything like this." Al said.
"You didn't?" Mustang said surprised. He figured both boys had the same experience since they were performing the same transmutation.
Ed or Izumi could have explained what they thought was Al's situation, but Izumi kept quiet, wanting to get passed this scene quickly. And Ed, well, he was passed out in a bedroom, unaware of what was going on.
"Who are you?" Ed asked. This question caused the figure to be excited as it threw its hands in the air.
"Oh, I'm so glad you asked that! I am called by many names. I am the world; I'm the universe. I'm God; I am Truth. I am all. I am one and I am also," The figure pointed at Ed. "You." The gates behind Edward suddenly opened, shocking the boy when he heard it. The same eye that was on the array appeared in the opened gateway. Edward slowly turned to face it. "You have dared to knock on the door. Now, the door has opened."
"What the freaking hell?" Havoc shouted.
"I really don't like this." Maes mumbled, looking at the boys in worry.
Many of the soldiers watched the screen in horrified fascination. This was simply too amazing and horrible. To them, alchemy was an amazing thing. But this, this was nothing wonderful at all.
Black hands came out from the gate, scaring Ed, who tried to run away. But it was futile. The black hands swarmed from the gate, wrapping themselves around the screaming boy and pulled him back into the gate.
"Quiet, child. This is what you wanted, isn't it?" Edward still screaming, tried to reach out of the gate as the doors slowly started to shut. "I will show you the truth!" With those words, the doors slammed shut.
"That truth guy is a real bastard." Charlie growled darkly.
Edward was pulled through a completely dark area before it was suddenly alit with strands of pictures and memories.
"It was like a tremendous amount of information was being stuffed directly into my head."
"Stop!" Edward screamed. "It's too much! Make it stop!"
Once again, Edward felt his body being decomposed.
"I'm being broken down!" Edward shouted. "No! Stop it!"
"Did it hurt that badly?" Al asked himself, wishing his brother was here to answer him because then he would know that he was truly fine.
*Bedroom*
Edward twisted around under the covers of the bed, hand scrabbling at the covers for something to hold for some sort of comfort. He was sleeping peacefully before, but now it felt like his head was going to burst open the inside. What was going on?
"Make it stop!" Edward screamed.
"It felt like my head was going to burst open. But then suddenly, I understood. This was truth."
A white figure that looked like his mother appeared in front of Ed, who tried to reach out to her. "M-mom." The figure's white hand reached for his, but before they could touch, Edward was suddenly outside the gate, hand still stretched forward.
"How was it?" Truth asked.
Edward put his hand down and turned back to face the gate.
"Horrible." Havoc growled.
"Painful." Brody added.
"Scary." Sheska said.
"Despicable." Scar said quietly to himself.
"Terrifyingly amazing." Izumi said to herself.
Al glanced at the bedroom door again, wishing he could go see his brother. He needed to see for his own eyes that he was safe and sound.
"Yeah," Ed murmured, walking towards the gate. "My theory of human transmutation was not wrong. But it's missing something. What I seek was just ahead…the truth about human transmutation. Please, show it to me again!"
The truth freak stood up. "I can't. I can only show you this much for the toll you've paid."
"Toll?" Edward asked.
"Yes, toll." Truth held out his left leg which began to form into Ed's leg as his own disappeared.
"There are taboos for a reason." General Armstrong said darkly, but she did feel a bit sorry for the kid. She wasn't so cold hearted that she would let anything cruel like this happen to a child. Though, seeing as he was a dog of the state, he would have to handle himself. She would not go easy on a soldier. Though, what he went through earlier, that was horrible and something no one should have to go through.
Edward stumbled back horrified before finding Truth in his face. "It's the law of equivalent exchange, right, young alchemist?"
General Armstrong growled. She despised equivalent exchange. It was because of something like that, that this would happen to all those foolish enough to try to bring someone back because they didn't know what would happen. They were told it was forbidden, but not why or what would happen. Without that knowledge, things like this were bound to happen.
Edward awoke once more in his basement, hands clutching his bleeding stump.
A bloodcurdling scream rang throughout the room, everyone turning to stare at the bedroom door. Al started to climb to his feet to go see his brother, but Izumi grabbed his arm.
"Wait, Al. Let's just get through this as quickly as possible then he will be free of the pain."
"We should still check on him to make sure he isn't killing himself." Mustang growled as he climbed to his feet and jumped over the back of the couch. He threw open the bedroom door causing the screaming to become louder as there was nothing left to muffle the noise.
*Bedroom*
Another bloodcurdling scream ripped from Ed's throat as one of his hands grasped tightly at the covers while his other hand grabbed his leg. Soon, very soon, this would all be over. That was all that got Edward through this pain, just knowing that it wouldn't last for long.
*Main Room*
Mustang leaned against the doorframe, watching his subordinate with a worried frown. He didn't look like he did earlier and wasn't thrashing around, so he should be fine. But, just to be sure, he decided he would stand here until it was over.
Screams and sobs mixed together escaped Edward. "Damn! This can't be happening!" He turned himself onto his stomach and crawled over to the transmutation circle, bloody hands scrabbling at the ground. "It wasn't supposed to…Damn it all! It's been taken away!" He fell over onto his side, tears pricking at his eyes. "Help! Someone! Mom! Mom…"
His eyes opened as the transmutation finally ended. But what he saw in front of him couldn't even be considered human. It looked like a monster with its insides all sprouting out.
"How horrible this all is!" Armstrong crowd, watching in horror and pity at the hell these young boys had put themselves through. He cared deeply for the Elric brothers so it bothered him greatly to see everything that happened to young Edward with that Truth guy. No one should treat a child like that!
Edward stared in horror at what his transmutation had created. The thing reached an arm out to him, blood pouring out from it. "No…this is wrong…this isn't…this isn't what we wanted! Al…Alphonse…Alphonse! Alphonse!" Ed's bloody hands curled into fists. "This is all my fault! Alphonse!"
The suit of armor in the basement fell over and Edward scrabbled over to it as best he could with one leg. "Damn it. Damn it!" He drew the array in his own blood in the armor. "Give him back! He's, my brother!" Edward now sat up with his left stump of a leg hastily bandaged. "Take my leg! Take my arm! Take my heart! Anything!" He shouted in anguish, tears streaming down his face. "You can have it! Just give him back! He's my little brother! He's all I have left!" Edward clapped his hands in front of him, fury and determination shining in his eyes.
Blue alchemical light resounded throughout the room before it all went dark.
"What happened after that?" Havoc asked.
"Brother probably went through the truth again since he sacrificed his right arm to bind my soul to the armor." Alphonse replied, to the horror of the soldiers who didn't know how his brother lost his arm.
Mustang watched as Edward settled down as the human transmutation ended. He noticed a washcloth that was lying in a heap on the ground and went to pick it up. He went into the bathroom to rinse it out and cool it down more before going back to the boy and placing it back on his forehead. When he was done, he went back to the main room and closed the door. "Your brother is fine now. He is resting peacefully now that the pain is over." He told the worried brother, who was staring at him, eagerly anticipating the answer.
A clipboard with a picture of Isaac on it appeared on the screen.
"Yo, are you still in Central?" Maes's voice asked. Mustang appeared on the screen.
"Luckily, I'll be able to go back to the Eastern Command Center."
"Aren't you the hard worker?" Maes said, leaning back in his chair in a relaxed state.
"Next time you come here, see to it that you've made Brigadier General, Colonel."
"Easy for you to say." Mustang replied as he walked farther into the room.
"Oh, right. If you're leaving, I'll give this to you now." Maes stood up and held a file out to Mustang.
"What is it?"
"The final report on Isaac McDougal. It probably hasn't reached your office yet."
"Yeah." Mustang said, taking the file and looking at it. "Xing's alkahestry?"
"Apparently, that's something they have. To be honest, I have no idea what it is. Do you know it?" Maes asked.
"No, first I've heard of it." Mustang replied.
The two friends left the office and walked down the hall.
"By the way, how are the Elric brothers doing?" Maes asked cheerfully.
"I'm not their guardian." Mustang replied.
"Hey," Maes said, getting serious. "Why did you decide to make Ed a State Alchemist? He's still just a child."
"The million-dollar question that we would all liked answered!" Walkers, a soldier from Eastern Command, said.
"It sounds like everyone have something against him?" Al said amused since his brother wasn't here to say it.
"No. It's just, a kid in the military is really strange. We just want to know what possessed the Boss to give him this chance." Havoc replied, smiling at his young boss's brother.
"As long as he's in the military, he'll end up having to go through hell someday." Maes said. "Like we did."
They walked out of the building. While Maes stopped there, Mustang went down the stairs as he was leaving. Maes held up a hand in farewell, which Mustang responded to with his own raised hand.
"Hell, huh?" Mustang thought as he walked away.
"Oh, they've seen hell. Both of them, and plenty of it."
The screen changed to four years earlier, showing the boys' house. Mustang was seen staring in horror at what he saw on the basement floor, which was the array and blood as the creation was gone. "Lt. Colonel," Hawkeye said as she came into the room. "They're not in back, eith–What is this?"
"Were you horrified by what you saw?" Al asked quietly.
Hawkeye frowned, eyes flashing sadly. "Yes."
"Brother and I were too whenever we went back in there after this happened." Al said.
"You went back?" Kain said shocked.
"Why?" Al didn't reply. He and his brother had their reasons for going into that room, and they weren't something they liked to talk about.
"Where are they? Where are the Elric brothers?!" Mustang demanded to a surprised Hawkeye.
The Rockbell house was shown next with Den barking wildly at the door. "Be quiet, Den"
Pinako's voice said. "Don't bark at our guests."
As she said this, the door was opened. Mustang pulled it the rest of the way opened and went inside with Hawkeye.
"Wha–hey, you! What are soldiers bursting in here for?"
"Now that was rude." Hughes commented. "No matter how angry you are, you should still be polite and not barge into someone else's house."
"Are you really going to lecture me about manners?" Mustang asked amused.
"Aren't you the rude one when you interrupt everyone's work with your pictures?" Hughes pouted.
"I only interrupt them when I notice they are stressed. Pictures of my cute little princess and beautiful wife will knock the stress right out of them."
"I think that only works for you." Havoc muttered, recalling all the times that they were almost burned alive or their work was destroyed and they had to start all over again after Hughes bothered the Colonel with multiple calls and pictures when he was around.
Mustang ignored her as he looked around until he spotted Edward sitting in a wheelchair with a suit of armor standing behind him. A look of shock passed over his face for a moment before it was replaced by anger. He marched forward to the lifeless Edward and picked up by his shirt.
"Damn Chief. He looked horrible." Havoc commented.
"You sure that's him?" Karin, an Eastern soldier, said shocked. Whenever she saw the boy, he looked so lively, even if he was not always happy. This boy who looked so lost and hopeless was not the boy that all the soldiers from the east had come to know.
"I didn't think anything could ever get him down like this." Jackson, an Eastern soldier, commented, horror struck. To him, Edward was someone always ready for a fight. There was always a fire in those determined eyes. Nothing ever beat him. That was the image that the boy had built and shown all the soldiers.
"I guess we have all forgotten." Hawkeye murmured, causing Al to glance at her. "You and Ed always show how strong you are. You never show weakness so everyone just forgets that you are still just children."
Alphonse blinked at her before shaking his head. "Nah, no worries, Lieutenant Riza. You guys showed up like two days after we did it. We were still just in shock, and brother was still recovering from severe blood loss. Besides, we gained valuable knowledge from that experience."
"Are they always like this?" General Armstrong asked Mustang.
"Never asking for help?" Mustang asked, before nodding. "Yes. They are children in an adults' world. They think if they show weakness, they'll be looked down upon and not taken seriously. Because of that, they never turn to any of us for help."
"Foolish." General Armstrong growled. No one could do everything by themselves. Everyone needed help sometimes. These boys had to rely on themselves for too long if they thought they could do it all alone.
"We went to your house! We saw the floor! What was that?" Mustang demanded, but Edward just stared blankly and defeated at him. Mustang words hit home to Ed as he bowed his head and didn't reply.
Al reached out, grabbing Mustang's arm, causing the soldier to look at him. "We're sorry. We didn't mean it. We're sorry…We're sorry… We're sorry."
"Wait, are you…" Mustang whispered. The exterior of the house was shown for a moment.
"This is a surprise." The dining room was shown with Mustang, Pinako, and Ed sitting at the table with Al standing behind his brother. "I had heard that there was a brilliant alchemist here, so I came to see him," Mustang looked at Ed. "But I never imagined that a child like this could ever perform human transmutation, imperfect though it was, and even bond a soul." He looked at Pinako. "He is more than qualified to become a State Alchemist."
"You didn't even have a reason to offer it to him?" Maes growled dangerously, making people flinch away from. It wasn't often that Maes got mad, but when he did, he was not someone you wanted to be around. And right now, he was upset with that fact that a child was dragged into the military.
"I merely offered. I didn't make him do a thing." Mustang retorted.
Edward merely sat in his wheelchair with his dull gold eyes staring down.
"Once he becomes a State Alchemist, he will have to serve as a soldier in the event of an emergency, but at the same time, he will receive various special privileges, and research of the highest level will become possible for him." Mustang said. He looked at Ed out of the corner of his eyes. "They may even find a way to get their bodies back, or–"
Pinako whacked her pipe on her ashtray. "After he came stumbling in here, covered with blood, I went over to their house. What was there…" A picture flashed on the screen of Pinako staring at the boys' creation before flashing back to the present. "What was there was not human!" The screen changed to look at Mustang, who was looking at her with a neutral look and crossed arms. "Is alchemy what created that horrific thing?! I'm against it! Would you have these boys go through hell again?!"
The scene changed to Hawkeye, who was sitting in the living room.
"Here you are." Winry said, holding out a tray with tea on it to her.
"Thanks." Hawkeye said, taking the mug before Winry sat down next to her.
"Um, Lieutenant." Winry said.
"You can call me Riza. Riza Hawkeye. Nice to meet you." Hawkeye replied, holding her hand out to Winry, who didn't take it.
"Miss Riza, have you ever shot anyone?" Winry asked.
"She's a soldier. I thought that would have been obvious." Miles said, pushing up his shades.
"I think it was more of a way to open up to what she really wanted to say." Al explained.
"Yes." Hawkeye said.
"I hate what you soldiers do." Winry said. "Soldiers like you are the reason my mom and dad left during the war and soldiers are the reason they are dead." Winry bowed her head, shading her face with her hair.
"She's an orphan too?" Havoc said sadly. That war took too many lives and destroyed too many families. It really was tragic.
"And now, you are here to take Ed and Al away too."
"If they go. That decision is theirs, and theirs alone." Winry looked at Hawkeye, shocked.
"Yes," Hawkeye said.
"They will decide for themselves." Ed appeared on the screen with Mustang's voice saying,
"I'm not forcing you. I'm merely offering you the possibility." Hawkeye appeared next, staring into the distance.
"Whether to move forward, or stay still." Mustang appeared on the screen next, but he wasn't looking at Ed.
"Will you sit in that chair, wallowing in self-pity, or will you stand up and seize the chance the military can give you?"
The screen changed back to Hawkeye. "It's their choice. They choose their own path."
Once again, the screen went to Mustang, who was now standing up and staring down at Ed. "If you believe the possibility exists for getting your bodies back, you should seek it out. Keep moving, whatever it takes. Even if the way ahead lies through a river of mud."
The screen changed to Ed's lifeless eyes, then to Winry staring at Hawkeye.
"How manipulative." Edward's voice said amused. Al jerked his head around to see his brother standing behind Mustang, leaning his arms on the couch.
"Brother!" "Fullmetal!" Mustang turned in his seat to stare at his subordinate. The stare turned into a glare when he saw the boy's arms trembling as he struggled to stay up.
"You shouldn't be out of bed."
"I'm fine." Ed retorted.
"Something as stupid as this isn't going to get me down." Mustang shook his head at his subordinate's stubbornness. Instead of ordering him back to bed, he leaned in closer to boy and whispered, "Go to your brother. He has been really worried."
Nodding his head, Ed pushed off the back of the couch, but didn't let it go as he used it to keep him upright as he walked around the couch. When he got passed that couch, he noticed Havoc tensed, as if getting ready to catch him if he fell since there was nothing for him to hold onto. Scowling at him, Ed forced himself to steady his walk over to his brother. Al watched his brother carefully, worried that he might collapse again. But his worries were worthless when Ed knocked him on his helmet and sat down next to him.
"No worries, Al." He said softly. "I'll be good as new in no time."
Just to ease his worries and have his brother safely with him, Al hugged him from behind once again. Sighing, Ed leaned onto his brother's chest, knowing his little brother needed this after the scare he gave him.
"What did you mean by manipulative?" Maria asked once Ed got comfy in his brother's arms.
"He was saying that to get me to wake the hell up then come chasing after the chance he gave me." Edward explained.
"So, you noticed?" Mustang asked.
Edward rolled his head. "I always noticed, bastard. I just never called you out on it because you said what I needed to hear and gave me the chance to research how to get our bodies back, even if you were just doing it for your own selfish needs."
"It was also because he almost did the same thing as you boys." Maes said. Edward blinked.
"What? He almost did human transmutation?" Maes glanced at Mustang, who was glaring at him.
"Yes, it was after the war. He was so wrapped up in guilt over it that he almost made the same foolish mistake. I had to punch him to wake him up. At least he woke you up in a better way than I did." Fullmetal looked at his superior in shock. He always looked so damn cold and powerful that it never occurred to him that he could ever have weak moments. What he didn't realize was that all the soldiers he's met before this had thought the same thing about him before the truth was shown to them.
"Miss Riza, why did you become a soldier?" Winry asked.
"Because there is someone I have to protect." Hawkeye replied, surprising Winry with her answer. The door to the dining room opened and Mustang came out so Hawkeye stood up, grabbing her coat as she did.
"We're leaving." Mustang announced. "Yes, sir."
"Well, goodbye, young lady." Hawkeye said, now standing outside with the girl.
Winry held her hand out to Hawkeye. "It's Winry."
"Did I earn her respect?" Hawkeye asked the brothers.
"Looks like it." Edward said.
Hawkeye smiled. "Okay, Winry." She took the girl's hand. "I hope we'll meet again."
Al, Pinako, and Winry watched the wagon leave with the soldiers.
"Will they be coming?" Hawkeye's voice asked as the scene changed to the interior of the house to show Edward in his wheelchair.
"Yes, they will." Mustang's voice said.
"That boy, I've never seen anyone look so defeated." Hawkeye's voice said. Mustang appeared on the screen, smirking.
"That's what you saw?" Edward appeared on the screen again.
"No," Mustang's voice said as Ed's eyes were shown. "There was fire in those eyes."
"There's the chief we all know and love!" Havoc cheered. Edward snorted.
"Don't ever lose your spirit again, Chief." Havoc continued.
"I don't think I could take a half-dead Fullmetal."
"Riiiight." Edward drawled, though it seemed the soldiers all agreed with Havoc. The lively Fullmetal was much preferred over the quiet and dead looking one.
A train appeared next with its whistle blowing. Edward was seen staring out the window as Pinako's voice said, "Sure you won't regret this?"
"Mm-hmm, I've already made up my mind." Edward's voice replied. The scene changed to Edward on a bed with Al, Pinako, and Winry surrounding him.
"Automail surgery?" Falman asked.
"Yep." Edward replied before twitching.
"I hope they don't show the actually surgery."
"Why?" Kain asked confused. "Because it hurts like hell!" Edward shouted.
"Don't they sedate you?" Havoc asked. Edward shook his head.
"Because they are connecting the automail directly to your nerves, you need to have a clear head to help them along with making sure they don't mess up with your nerves."
Sheska paled greatly. "Dear god, that sounds absolutely horrible. Don't they bolt it into your bones?"
"Along with having to open up the area where the port will be." Edward mumbled. "How long was the surgery?" Breda asked. Edward scratched his head. "Um, Al? I didn't have a clear sense of time then."
"Let's see. You had to get two limbs, so it took double the amount of time. They spent two days wiring the nerves in your arm, gave you a day of rest, then they put the port in and had to get the wires for the arm already in it. Then, they gave you another day of rest before they spent two days wiring the nerves in your leg, then another day of rest, then they put the port in and got the wires all set up from the leg. Then they gave you two days of rest before they attached your limbs. The first four days you also had a severe fever they said and you weren't eating properly." Al replied, glancing at his brother. It was so painful for him to see his brother like that.
"What Al said." Edward said, pointing at his brother.
"That was a twelve-day surgery!" Brosh shouted, paling a lot at the idea of going through that for so long.
Edward nodded, rubbing his shoulder at the thought of it. "I know. I was stuck in that room forever"
Sheska went doubly pale as did many other people. Most of them were no strangers to pain, but even they knew automail surgery was not like anything they have ever experienced before.
Fullmetal was truly a force to be reckoned with. First, getting his limbs ripped off, then facing this extreme pain not much later.
Many of them probably couldn't do it, and they fully knew that. "Let's just hope they don't show it. We don't need you thrashing around again."
Havoc said dryly, causing Ed to glance guilty at their injuries.
"They are nothing." Avery said.
"How long will the surgery and rehabilitation take?" Edward asked.
"About three years." Pinako replied.
Edward breathed in deeply. "One year." He declared.
"Are you insane?" Maes shouted.
Grinning, Edward lifted his automail arm and slammed his flesh hand on the upper part of it. "I did it, didn't I?"
"After four months of coughing up blood practically every day." Al pointed out. Edward waved him off.
"I knew that was coming. It was a risk I was willing to take."
"You are definitely a monster, Fullmetal." Mustang said, making the boy grin in an evil manner.
"You're gonna be spitting blood." Pinako warned.
Ed gave a really small nod before turning to his brother. "Al, hang in there for a little while longer. I'm going to get you your body back."
"Mm-hmm, and when that happens, Brother, your body will be with it." Al replied. Edward nodded as the scene fade on his face to a face of his that was a bit older and with longer hair.
"Yes! Surgery skipped!" Edward cheered, pumping a fist in the air.
"I'm amazed." Kain said, staring at the young state alchemist.
"I have never seen him act so much like a child."
Breda nodded. "Yeah, it's nice to see the change."
He ducked under a punch from Al, then jumped in the air to avoid a kick. He twisted and slammed his automail foot into Al's arms as the armor guarded.
Edward used his momentum to flip backwards in the air and landed on his feet. He just threw his automail arm up to block Al's fist in time. His automail foot came up to hit Al, who dodged. In a flurry of dust, they slammed their right arms together.
They separated and Ed curled his automail hand into a fist. "Your body is perfect now." Al said. "Yeah! Now for the alchemy. I haven't used it since then, after all."
Edward replied, smiling at his brother. "Right, not since you transmuted my soul." Al said.
"So, this is a year later?" Havoc asked. "Yeah."
Edward replied. "A year in which Al spent a lot of time training by himself so he could beat my ass in all our spars while I struggled learning how to walk again and hold things without breaking them."
"I didn't spend all my time doing that." Al protested. "I was helping you with learning how to walk again seeing as how if we took our eyes off you, you would wander off somewhere and collapse, coughing up blood if you walked too long then we would have to spend hours looking for you."
"Oh, yeah." Edward murmured, staring at the ceiling.
"That sounds like the chief." Havoc said blandly. Falman nodded in agreement. "Always wanders off without thinking."
"Which always gets him into some type of trouble." Breda added which amused the soldiers as they thought back on it. During those times, it was usually frantic when the kid would disappear or leave the city without telling anyone, but now, reminiscing on it, it was quite amusing. Unless, they were Briggs soldiers that were like General Armstrong. She just thought the boy was foolish and stupid.
"Hey! That only happened twice." Edward suddenly remembered. "And that was after I learned how to walk. Before that, you were always off practicing in the backyard."
"Not like there was much else to do." Al said. "Winry and Auntie Pinako were the ones helping you in rehabilitation as they were the experts. I knew nothing."
Edward took a deep breath as he held his hands out in front of him. He clapped his hands before the screen changed to Al, who was watching him. There was a flash of blue light.
"Brother!"
Edward stood admiring the new blade on his automail, not noticing Al's shock. "Yeah, right on the money!" "Amazing, Brother! You didn't even use a transmutation circle." Al said. "You've gotten so you can do the same thing that Teacher does."
Mustang looked at Izumi in shock at those words. The same way? Then did that mean….
Armstrong too noticed the implication and looked at the woman. First the teacher, then the students make the same mistake. It surely was tragic.
"Now, that is interesting." General Armstrong said. "How were you able to do that?"
"Se-cret." Edward sang, causing the General to glare at him. Oh, it scared him. She was a scary lady, but he just turned back to the screen to hide the fear he felt.
"Al, you can do it too, right?" Edward asked.
"No, I can't, Brother." A quick snapshot of the eye, the gate, and Ed in the white area happened before Ed appeared on the scene again.
"You didn't see it?" Ed asked.
"See what?"
Edward looked at his automail. "Nothing, never mind."
As he finished talking, a wrench came flying out of nowhere and hit him in the head.
"Ah, shit!" Edward shouted, grabbing his head. "She is one cruel girl! Stupid automail freak!" "She really throws wrenches at you?" Avery muttered shocked.
"Hey!" Winry shouted from the porch. "You've deformed my automail!"
"Does that make it okay for you to deform my head?" Edward asked, grabbing his head in pain. He climbed to his feet, pain flashing on his face as he still clutched his head.
"Good grief. You are one un-charming gearhead."
"I'm okay with being un-charming. I'm okay with being a gearhead." Winry retorted angrily.
"I've made up my mind to support you until you get your body back." Edward turned around to give her an anguished stare.
"Huh?" In the background Al looked amused.
The scene went to Central Command where Fuhrer Bradley was walking down the hall.
"It's unusual for you to observe the examinations." One of the soldiers following him said.
"Oh, but I heard there would be a twelve years old child here." Bradley replied. "I thought I would come see what the topic of conversation was."
Bradley was now standing at the head of the examination room. "Oh, a steel prosthetic, huh?"
The soldiers standing on either side of Ed lowered their salutes while Ed grabbed his automail wrist. "In the Eastern Rebellion…"
"Ah, you had a time of it in Ishval, then. Hmm."
"What a nice lie." Mustang said.
"Works, doesn't it?" Edward snapped. "Seeing as how that stupid war destroyed my hometown."
Mustang frowned and didn't reply. He remembered having to trek through that town to get to Ishval. All the townspeople had been affected greatly by that war. It was not something he liked to remember when he saw the glares the townspeople gave the soldiers for dragging the war to them.
Edward glanced up from his arm to look at the soldier on his right. "Who's that?"
Many people gave Ed blank stares.
"Really?" Havoc asked sarcastically.
"What?" Edward shouted frustrated. "I'm from Resembool. I was twelve. I've never seen his face before!"
"You idiot," The soldier said.
"Now that's just rude." Ed grumbled.
"That's His Excellency, Fuhrer King Bradley." Edward turned to look at the Fuhrer, unimpressed.
"Most people would be nervous to have the Fuhrer observing them, Fullmetal." Mustang said.
Ed rolled his eyes. "I have no time for such feelings." "Oh, so cold hearted."
"You're one to talk!"
"But, brother, didn't you once say the Colonel had a heart so hot that it belonged in hell along with the rest of his devil self?" Al asked. General Armstrong smirked. What a smart assed state alchemist this kid was. Edward shifted in his brother's arms to send him a glare. "Shh!" He hissed. "You are really against me here, little brother. You keep revealing stuff." "But you said it!" Al muttered. "That was two years ago!" Ed shouted.
"Why do you even remember it?" "Because it was amusing." Al replied. "I don't think Al is as innocent as we thought." Havoc muttered to the others.
"Okay, begin the examination." Bradley said.
Mustang was shown to be standing on the balcony, watching Edward.
"Do you have something to draw transmutation circles with?"
"I don't need anything like that." Edward replied. He brought his hands forward and clapped, then kneeled on the floor and put his hands down. The floor lit up in bright blue circle with Edward in the Center of it. As he started to slowly lift his left hand, a rod began to come out of the floor and he slowly stood up. Mustang watched from the balcony in shock, as everyone else did.
"He's not even using a transmutation circle." Fully standing now, Edward moved his hands around as the lance continued to rise from the ground. The soldiers stared at the ground in shock while Edward took the lance in his hands. "That's quite something." Bradley said. Edward stared at Bradley for a second before charging at him.
"Excellency!" Some of the soldiers shouted.
Right before hitting the Fuhrer, Edward stopped and the soldiers pointed their guns at him.
"Seriously!?" Many of the soldiers shouted while Izumi just laughed at her ex-student.
Just how reckless was he? "What nerves you have, Edward." Izumi said.
Edward nodded at her, not too sure how to react to her now that he was expelled.
"How the hell you were chosen to be the new State Alchemist that year?" Havoc demanded.
Surely, anyone else who did that would be in a lot of trouble.
"I wanted to make myself stand out." Edward said.
"Isn't alchemy without a transmutation circle enough?" Al cried in dismay. His brother had never told him what he did at his exam, and now that he saw it, he realized his brother was an idiot.
General Armstrong, like Izumi, laughed. "Mustang, I really liked this kid that you found."
"He seems to be earning some type of respect from the Briggs soldiers, but I don't think it is the right respect." Hawkeye told the Colonel.
Mustang sighed. "Just like Fullmetal."
"There might be those out there who would assassinate VIPs like this, so maybe you should reconsider how you conduct examinations." Edward said.
Bradley raised his hand and the soldiers raised their guns to the ceiling, instead of at Ed. Smirking, Edward did the same with his lance. "Hmm. You must have nerves of steel."
Bradley said. "But you do not know the breadth of the world." As Ed watched him walk away, the top part of his lance suddenly fell to the ground with a clatter. Edward stared at it in shock as the Fuhrer started laughing and waving without turning back around. "Good luck on the rest of your exam, my overly young alchemist."
"You're lucky he has a sense of humour, Edward."
Hawkeye said with a sigh. "I can't believe you pulled a prank like that."
Al scolded. Ed shrugged and grinned evilly. "It was really fun."
"When did he draw his sword" Ed thought
"You didn't glance at me once." Mustang said.
Ed blinked. "What are you talking about?" Mustang sighed.
"The conversation we had when we left the building." A thoughtful look passed Ed's face as he tried to remember what they were talking about then.
"Oh, that. What's your point?"
"How the hell did you know that I didn't react to you attacking the Fuhrer?" Mustang demanded. "Maybe you're just going blind in your old age and missed my glance." Edward retorted.
"I'm not old!" Mustang shouted.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Edward said.
Winry was shown standing on a hill with the wind blowing around her.
"I wonder if Brother is doing all right on his exam." Al said.
"Oh, he's doing more than alright, attacking the Fuhrer and everything." Breda said, staring at the boy, still in shock from such a thing. Ed grinned.
"Say, Al?"
"Hmm, what?"
"If Ed becomes a State Alchemist, are you leaving the village?"
"Yeah." A silver pocket watch appeared on the screen.
"This is proof of your state certification, a silver pocket watch." Mustang said.
The exterior of Eastern Command Center was shown. "Your certificate of appointment and detailed regulations are here." Mustang continued.
Mustang was shown sitting behind a desk. He pulled out the certificate from an envelope to glance it over. "The Fuhrer has given you quite the ironic title."
"What?" Ed asked from where he was lounging on the couch in the office.
"Nothing. Congratulations." Mustang said. He pushed the certificated across his desk. "You are hereby an official Dog of the Military."
"In the name of Fuhrer King Bradley…"
"I appoint thee, Edward Elric to be a State Alchemist and grant the title "Fullmetal." Edward blinked and looked at Mustang. "Fullmetal?"
"Yes. It's a second name given to State Alchemists." Mustang explained. "The name that you now bear is…" The screen showed Ed's right hand before going to his face.
"The Fullmetal Alchemist." An evil grin spread across Ed's face. "Nice. It has an oppressive feel to it."
"What a demon you are." Al said with a sigh.
"You are very cruel to your big brother." Ed muttered.
"Sure, I'll take that on!" The wheels of a train were shown followed by a sleeping Edward.
"Brother," Al said.
"We're just about there." Ed's eyes opened to look at the city that the train was quickly approaching.
"Liore?" He spoke
"Will there be any leads to getting Al's body back in that town?" Ed smirked.
"The Philosopher's Stone!" The scene went dark.
"The flashback is over with!" Ed said, sighing in relief.
Scar looked over at the Elric brothers. The elder one gave his right arm to save the younger one. It was just like what his brother did for him by giving him his right arm. The only difference was that his brother died saving him. These brothers had just as hard a past as he did.
"Oh, EDWARD ELRIC! ALPHONSE ELRIC!" Armstrong shouted tearfully. "WHAT A DIFFICULT PAST YOU TWO HAVE HAD! BUT IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL AT THE SAME TIME!"
"This again?" Edward muttered. "Didn't we just hear a similar speech when we were in Resembool?"
"Yes, we did." Al replied.
"SACRIFICING EVERYTHING FOR ONE ANOTHER. IT IS SO SWEET AND BEAUTIFUL." Armstrong continued.
"Think we could just tune him out?" Ed suggested.
"That's rude, Brother." Al scolded.
"He does have a point." Karin said thoughtfully.
"I think it is cute and sweet how close the two of you are too."
"Huh?" Ed said blankly. He turned to his brother. "Isn't this how brothers behave?"
"I think so." Al replied, just as confused. Edward shrugged and just declared that adults were weird.
"So, we're in Liore now." He spoke.
"Oh, yeah. You were being particularly evil and cruel there." Al said.
"What?" Ed said. "No, I wasn't."
"You were throwing the cold hard truth around like it was nothing." Al pointed out.
Shrugging again, Edward crawled out of his brother's arms and laid back down on the ground. "People need to hear that sometimes, and I am not going to beat around the bush to make it easier on them because that doesn't get it through people's skulls. I'll say it directly to them so they'll learn."
Izumi sighed. Was that where she made her mistake with them? She didn't say it directly so they went ahead and did it. Seeing what they went through had been painful for her. She went through it herself, but to see her dear ex-students going through it, that had hurt a lot. She had hoped to save them from that cruelty. But it didn't work it seemed. Maybe she should have told them the truth from the start.
It was just mistake after mistake with humans.
A/N: So, I proofread all the regular stuff for you people, and because of that, I added a whole bunch of stuff to this chapter that wasn't supposed to be in it. So, it got even longer, by about, a couple thousand words. I'll give a prize to the first three people who can tell me why Ed was in so much pain this time. You need to have your private messaging set up to receive it though. If you don't, your answer doesn't count. I think it is pretty obvious, but that's because I just spent the last few weeks watching the series all over again.
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Next chapter will release next week.
Peace out, Have nice day, but also stay safe, always wash your hand with soap and keep your hand sanitize.