My apologies to you all, here is Chapter 2. I have great plans for this story. I don't own the characters or half this story line so far.
It was a long train ride to Central. It was a quiet ride for the Elric brothers. Al sat quietly across from his brother in the compartment, who was lying on the seat, eyes closed. He was not sleeping, merely thinking. About what, you may ask. The philosopher's stone. Becoming a state alchemist. He needed to find one person to help him study. That person was Colonel Roy Mustang.
He had never formally met Mustang, but he was awake when the man stopped by when he was lying on the bed, in mass amounts of pain after having lost his arm and leg. While he recovered. While Winry had immediately set to work in making an automail arm and leg for him. She stayed awake for several days making his leg, slept one night because Granny forced her, then she stayed up another few days making his arm. They had both commented on his lack of noise in the surgery, where grown men had screamed. He hardly made a sound.
As Ed thought about Mustang, there was another figure in the back going on about a little girl.
"I'm telling you Roy, she's just the cutest little girl you ever saw! Isn't that enough to cheer you up?" The man in the back went on.
"Hughes, are they on the train or not!" growled a voice on the other end of the phone.
"A giant suit of armor? Then yes," the man called Hughes said, looking out the window on the door.
"Good, now quit tying up the lines with useless nonsense!" the voice named Roy growled.
"Oh, lighten up Mustang! You need to find yourself a good woman! Maybe that good woman is… right under your nose?" Hughes said slyly, only to find himself hung up on. He snickered, gently setting the phone on the receiver.
"Don't take it out on the phone, colonel," the blonde on the other side of the room from Roy Mustang said.
"Easy for you to say," he growled back.
"Hm," was her only response before she left the room to do other things job related.
Back on the train, the Elric brothers still sat quietly, both in their own worlds, when somebody came into the compartment.
"Well, hello, blondie. You awake?" A feminine voice slurred. Ed opened an eye and looked at her. He smelled the alcohol before she said anything, and it was strong.
"Yeah. What's it to you?" Ed said, glaring at her.
"Just looking for a good time. You look good enough to eat, shortstuff!" she said, starting to show off her goods when she was interrupted.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SMALLER THAN A GRAIN OF SAND YOU DRUNKEN—" Ed started to lunge at her, but he was caught by a suit of armor. "LEMME AT HER, SHE CALLED ME SHORT! AL! LEMME AT HER!"
"Calm down, brother! She's drunk, she doesn't know what she's doing!" Al tried to reason with the raging boy, knowing it was no use, but he thought he would try anyway.
"AL! LET ME GO!" Ed was screaming, trying to get away from his brother so he could beat the woman down.
As his rage began to settle, he noticed the woman had already left. He sat and pouted, staring at the door.
"Stupid drunken broad!" he huffed. Al laughed.
"Brother," Al chuckled. "She was just a drunk woman."
Ed just stared out the window. He was just sensitive about his height. Hell, Winry was taller. But that was okay, he could smell her better. He flexed his automail hand, as he did whenever he thought of her.
"So, why would you go around with a suit of armor on all the time?" Asked a gruff looking guy.
"Uh…" Al started. He doesn't quite know how to answer such questions. He can't just say, "Well, I don't even have a body" to the average person.
"Because he can, now go away," Ed answered for him. He didn't really want to deal with nosey people, one of his pet peeves.
"Now, buddy, I was just asking a question. No need to get all worked up," he said.
"I just don't like nosey people who ask questions when they don't need to," Ed didn't like this guy. He was a little creepy. What Ed didn't see was the man in the compartment behind him who appeared to not be paying attention. He in fact was. He didn't like this man either.
The man at the compartment door pulled out a gun and pointed it at Ed's head. Ed had never stared down the barrel of a gun before, and he didn't like it one bit. He couldn't show fear though. So he looked up at the man. Al stepped in front of him. They didn't see the man in the compartment behind him step out, ready to defend the boy. He needed to lead them to Mustang.
"I don't think you want to—" Al started, but the man shot him. The bullet ricocheted off Al, a beam, another beam then hit him in the leg. The man couldn't do much but walk away. Or, rather, drag his bad leg behind him.
Ed sat back down, waiting for the adrenaline to wear off. He couldn't let Al see how scared he'd just been. He looked up to see yet another person standing in the compartment doorway.
"You gonna pick a fight too?" Ed growled, ready for a fight.
"No, no, not looking for a fight. You're safe from that," The man said. It had taken Ed a minute to realize he was a dog of the military.
"Then what do you want?"
"Just to talk. You're Edward Elric, right?" he said. Ed nodded.
"I'm Mayes Hughes. I'm here on behalf of Roy Mustang." He said. "I am supposed to bring you to him so he can get you to somebody who can help you. I assume that's why you're going to him."
"Something like that." Ed eyed him.
Hughes sat with them until they got to Central. They sat in a very awkward silence. Ed resumed his position and Hughes sat next to Al.