Alright, I'll admit, this is my first fanfic. I happen to be a fan of FMA, so I decided to start here. Since I've only seen bits and pieces of the anime and read the manga, the story is set before the incident where Alphonse gets infused with… well, for those who watch the anime, you'll know what I'm talking about, I don't want to ruin it (panics) Anyways, enjoy the struggle of a fresh writer entering the chaos that is fanfiction (insert nervous smilie)

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters that you've heard in FMA. Let's leave it simply at that.

Prologue-

The Blade of Blue and Red

Crap, he thought, I don't think this is gonna work.

He ran until the footsteps following him were gone. He didn't do anything too major… at least, he thought. All he did was pick up a package, which was now nestled firmly in his arms, and the guards of the building went ballistic. Letting himself gather his thoughts, he used his exceptionally bright logical mind to figure out what this was all about.

He drew a blank.

"Damnit," he cursed, "What in the world is going on? This package couldn't be that important." He was given explicit instructions to not to open the package, but yet again, he used his logic to determine the contents of the cloth-wrapped object. "Well, let's see… this end seems smaller than the other," he said, "And this side seems to be considerably larger…" He examined the object thoroughly, from one end to the other, becoming more intrigued with each detail he discovered.

It's a sword!, he exclaimed under his breath. He deduced that the lighter end was the handle, so he gripped the sword as if it wasn't covered, and found that despite the blade's apparent size, it was noticeably light. He swung it around a bit, and not knowing his own strength, he lunged at a nearby wall. With it's light weight, the sword smashed against the wall, making a gigantic crash in the process.

"Hey, you! The one from the storehouse!" a man exclaimed. Realizing that his very delicate cover was blown, he began to flee towards the exit of the alleyway he was hiding in, only to be stopped by a squat yet heavyset military officer. The soldier was only armed with a nine millimeter pistol, which to a normal man was still very dangerous.

"You thought you could just pick up a suspicious package, did you? Well, I'm here now, so hand it over for inspection, or I might just set a chunk of lead in that puny little head of yours." The man gave a chuckle, unaware of the doom he just cast upon him and the fellow officer who rounded the corner at that instant.

If there's anything that 18 year old Raphael Ivaldi took to heart, it was his talented intellect. He's always known he had an unmatched logic and lightning-fast reaction, but he took it humbly, for according to his noble father, gloating about something is showing that you take that gift for granted. But when someone disrespected his noticeable ability, he took a very pride-driven defense.

"What are you doing just standing there like a drunk idiot? Hand over the package, or I'll blow your brains into slush!"

He almost let out a laugh at the immature comment, and at how much he trusted the small handgun he possessed. Using his common sense, he very quickly brought the lightweight blade up into the man's side. With a sickening crunch, the man fell over, out of breath and feeling a very deep pain in his ribs. Taking the advantage, Raphael raised the blade over his head to incapacitate his downed foe, but was cut short by a bullet to the blade from the unnoticed officer behind him. A very lucky shot, the lead projectile hit the clip that held the cloth on the sword together.

In a very slow motion, the cover fell off the sword, revealing a very intricate design that wove red, blue, and yellow across the blade, and a pure gold hilt shone brilliantly in the dreary alleyway. Raphael turned around to face his attacker, and with an inhuman dash, he appeared directly in front of the tall, yet thin officer. The last thing the soldier remembered was a demonic glare emanating from the swordsman's deep crimson eyes.

Raphael woke up, and to his amazement, he was fully upright, standing in the same alleyway, with something in his hand.

He then at that moment remembered what happened up until a gun fired from the direction he deduced as behind him. After that moment, all seemed to go blank. He walked around a bit, gained his foot coordination back, and then decided to take a look around. That decision he came to regret.

In front of him, two mangled bodies were pitifully strewn across the alley… all six pieces of them.

Despite the horror he faced, Raphael kept a calm demeanor, as to not alert any passerby. He yet again used his superior logic to determine either one of two things: Some random monster had just come through and thoroughly diced the two soldiers, or that the object he held in his hand was stained with blood.

He slowly turned his head towards the package that had obviously been uncovered, since the cloth had been thrown in a nearby dumpster. All he saw was a beautiful sword, which looked it hadn't ever even seen the light of day, let alone a gory duel between men. It was a large weapon, despite its weight, being about a foot long handle, with about a four foot long single edge blade. The handle and hilt were decoratively engraved with gold, and a blood-red ruby emitted an ominous luster.

However, where the lower portion of the sword was beautiful, the blade was quite the opposite. It was designed in a wicked fashion, with the blade being not only serrated, but at the bottom of each edge was a sharp gold trim, as if it was meant for more pain as it cruelly impaled its victims. The blade itself was a deep blue, with blood-red trimmings. Near the hilt was almost a shape that reminded him of a six pronged star, as if something out of a magic book.

He dismissed the shape as a decoration, and then began thinking of a plan of action. He decided to not alert any kind of authority, since as of right now, he considered himself a felon. He also strangely decided to leave the bodies where they lay, for the scene was too strange, being that there were scattered limbs and sections of two human beings, but not a drop of blood was in sight. He deduced that the scene would be declared abnormal, and would be later covered up by the ever-secretive government. Going to the only place he knew in this bizarre city, he picked up the cloth, covered the sword, and walked off with the blade that would send his life into a spiral of slaughter.

:Fin:

Well, now that that's done and over with, now I get to be anxious about getting som reviews (insert nervous smilie)

Disclaimer: Again, I don't own any characters from FMA. If I did, I think all hell would break loose :-p