Chapter 2: Alphonse Elric, the Alchemist

"Resembool? Is that near Pallet Town?" Ash wondered while scratching his head. Pikachu climbs the sign to get a better look at the town. There wasn't much to see, except for a couple of houses. Then, a boy, about Ash's age, rode up on a bike to the bewildered trainer. He carried a large sack of newspapers when he saw Ash.

"Excuse me, but can you get this to the Rockbell's house, please?" the boy asked as he grabs a newspaper roll. "I want to do it myself, but I'm in a hurry to get ready for a date back in Central." Ash hesitates for a second.

"Yeah, okay..." he mutters. The boy gives the paper to Ash.

"Thanks a lot, sir!" With a smile and nod, the boy sped off, trying to get the other deliveries made.

"What was...that all about?" wondered Ash with a confused notion.

("I have no idea,") Pikachu moaned. After it got back on Ash's head, the trainer proceeded into town. That's when Ash peered into the newspaper, read the date, and was surprised.

"Whoa, look at this. May 12..., 1916?"

("1916? We went back in time!") Both were shocked just by reading the date. Ash takes a deep breath.

"Let's calm down a little, we should get to this Rockbell place first. If anything, they might know what's going on."

("I doubt it.") Ash rolls the paper back up and proceeded forward. Over at the Rockbell house, a blonde teen girl was working on a few toasters sent in by a couple of residents. She had a loaf of bread to use to see if the toasters were operating properly. Unfortunatley, it was still burning the bread. She became increasingly upset over the failed attempts to repair the appliances.

"Come on!" She yells out. "Burn it right, dammit." She chucks a wrench out the window, heading straight for Ash and Pikachu. Pikachu jumped up to avoid the wrench, but it caused its master to look up. CLANG! The head of the wrench hits Ash Just above the visor of his cap.

"OWWW!" he yelped, as he collapsed from the blow, which knocked his cap off. The teen heard the cry and looked out just as Ash hit the dirt. He was out cold. Pikachu landed safely, but immeadiatley turned his attention to his master.

("Ash?") it called. ("Hey, Ash, get up. Get up.") No use. The blonde came out and saw Ash, KO'd with her wrench behind him. She picks up the downed boy and carries him inside. Pikachu picked up the paper and proceeded after her. 30 mintues later, Ash starts to open his eyes. The first thing he saw was an old woman with a pipe in her mouth, looking down on him.

"It looks like you're coming to, kind sir," the old woman said. "Easy now, you got quite a bump on your head." Ash reached for his forehead and felt the bump.

"What happened?" Ash weakly questioned. He slowly rose into a seating position. That's when the blonde came down with Pikachu in her arms. She looks to Ash.

"Oh, you're awake," She mutters with a smile. "I'm sorry for that bump."

"What do you mean?"

"Winry told me she got fustrated trying to fix some appliances and threw her wrench out the window," the old lady said. "It was just dumb luck it hit something."

"Yeah, it was my fault," Winry moaned, nodding her head in agreement. "I thought it was Ed for a second when my wrench hit you."

"Is he here?" Ash questions.

"Not yet, though he's suppose to be back to let me tweak his automail. By the way, who are you, and where are you from?"

"My name is Ash, and I actually come from the 21st century. I don't know how I ended up back here."

"Wait a minute," the old lady speaks up. "The 21st century?" Ash nods.

"Grandma, what are you worried about?" Winry asks. "It's not like these time travelers have anything important to say."

"I'm sorry. By the way, I'm Pinako Rockbell."

"Rockbell? As in Rockbell's Automail Shop?" Ash questionably realizes, remembering the sign.

"About time he figured it out," Winry smirkly grunted.

"Winry Rockbell!" Pinako snapped. "That's no way to treat a guest, and on the day Ed and Al are expected to return."

"Sorry," the blonde shrieked. "I'll be working on those toasters, now." Ash gets up.

"Is it all right if I help you with that?" he asks politely. Winry smiles and nods, followed by them both heading upstairs. Meanwhile, three people, one a male blonde in a red overcoat, another a bald, muscluar man in a military uniform, and the other, a walking suit of armor, we're approaching the shop.

"Can't believe it's been a month since we've been back home, Ed," said the suit, to the blonde.

"What do you mean can't believe?" Ed exaggerates. "Al, you've been keeping track of the calendar ever since our last stop."

"Hey, just be greatful we have Major Armstrong watching over your temper."

"Oh, please, Alphonse," Armstrong gloated. "I just decided to join you to check on poor, sweet Pinako." Both Ed and Al sighed at his comment.

"Can you believe the words that come out of his mouth?" Ed groaned. Al looked up to Winry's window, and saw Winry and Ash fixing one of the toasters.

"Oh yeah," the suit says. "Try Winry filirting with a young stranger." Ed shot up to look at the scene. Just seeing Ash and Winry smile at each other ticked Ed off. He storms into the house and into Winry's room.

"What the hell do think you're doing-" Ed screams as he charges the once docile trainer, but was interupted and thrown out the window, making him fall back to the other two.

"Ed, are you okay? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"You didn't have to be so rough, Winry." Al sweat dropped.

"Never mind." That's when Pinako and Pikachu stepped out to see the boys.

"Al, it's so nice to see you again," she grinned. "Same to you Alex Louis Armstrong." Armstrong blushed. Ed slowly got up.

"What? You didn't miss me?" Ed wonders.

"Not the proper way to come home. Storming into Winry's room like that." Ed starts showing anger.

"While flirting with a complete stranger? Gimme a break." Armstrong then sees the small Pokemon.

"What's this adorable creature you have here?" He says while scooping Pikachu up. That's when Winry and Ash stepped outside. Al saw them.

"Winry, who is he and why was he flirting with you?" the suit argued.

"Flirt? He was helping me with the appliances, Alphonse!" Winry roared. Ash approached Armstrong.

"Excuse me, but that's my friend," the trainer said.

"Well, it's certianly a cute friend of yours," Armstrong grinned as he let Pikachu jump back to Ash's shoulder. "What is he, by the way?"

"He's a Pokemon. His name is Pikachu."

("That's me,") it cheered. Armstrong was being gentle petting the little mouse.

"And I'm Ash Ketchum. I train him to help people in need."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Ketchum," Armstrong says in a formal matter. "I am Major Alex Louis Armstrong, a.k.a. the Strong Arm Alchemist." He offers his hand for a shake, which Ash accepts.

"So, who are the other two you brought here?"

"The one in the armor suit is Alphonse Elric and the...ahem, other one is Fullmetal himself, Edward Elric."

"Whoa...that's cool." Ed looks over at Ash, and walks to him.

"Okay, I got the lowdown," 'Fullmetal' said. "Winry did a number on your forehead, didn't she?"

"Yeah, well, she is pretty accurate. By the way, why are you named Fullmetal?" Ed takes off his coat and reveals a metal arm.

"Check it out...Automail for an arm." Ash was in awe seeing the metal arm. "Hey, we can talk about this inside, okay?"

"Sure." Inside, a thanksgiving-style dinner was being served, and everyone, but Al was stuffing their stomachs full with the food. The conversations were just as big as the served turkey, as Ash and Ed were talking about their different lifestyles. After nightfall, Ash stepped out to let Ed get his automail adjusted. He stops at remains of a house, torched to the ground. He wasn't aware Al was following him.

"Ash! Hey, Ash!" He shouted. Ash looks over to the approaching armor.

"What is it, Al?"

"What are you doing out here, at this hour?"

"I thought I take a look around town. I won't know how long I'll be here."

"I see." Ash turns his attention back to the remains.

"So who used to reside in this house?"

"That...would be us." This surprised the trainer.

"You mean...you and Ed used to live here?"

"Back when I was still in a living body, and Ed wasn't in automail, we lived with our mother, until the day she passed away."

"C.O.D.?"

"C.O.D.?"

"Cause of Death?"

"An inoperable illness." Ash knew the grief Al was going through. "We tried to use forbidden alchemy, called 'Human Transmutaion,' to revive her, but failed."

"Big time."

"Yeah. Ed lost his left leg, and I lost my body, but kept my soul after he offered his right arm." Al removes his helmet. Ash peeks to see a seal in blood.

"Is that Ed's blood?"

"Yes. A reminder of what he did to keep us together."

"Like a reciept." They continued to talk as they returned to the shop. By the door, Armstrong had taken his uniform top off and revealed a black, but lighter shirt underneath. That's when he saw Ash and Al return.

"There you are, boys," the giant man grinned. "Coming in for the night?"

"Yeah, we are," Ash said. Then, the major put his hand on Ash's head.

"Son, you happened to have quite a bit of strength coming from the small body of yours, along with skill and determination. If you were an alchemist, Col. Mustang would train you, personally."

"Why him?" Al wondered.

"The fire in this boy's eyes is rather equivilent to Roy's flames, but Ash's fire is only brought out by the creatures he cares for." He rips the shirt to reveal the muscular build his top can muster. Then he roars out: "He may not posses it now, but he has many traits the Armstrong famliy envys for." Ash was in awe seeing the many muscles that the Strong Arm Alchemist showed, not to mention, the glitter it was shining. Al wasn't so sure Armstrong needed to perform his signature pose.

"Uhh, Major, I don't think it was a good idea to expose the ripped build," Al studdered. Ash smiled at the big man's comments.

"I appreciate the compliment, Alex," he said. "I'll probably sleep on it, tonight." With that, the three stepped in for the night. The next day, Ed was well rested and was ready to head out.

"Okay, now we head to the cave," he said. Winry wasn't sure what Ed was refering to.

"What's going on, guys?" she asked.

"We didn't come all the way home just to have my automail adjusted. We were summoned to investigate some weird noises by the nearby caverns." Pinako entered the room, as well as Armstrong, Ash and Pikachu.

"If anything, why don't you take the visitors with you?" the old woman asked.

"I think, this might be a good watch, since we don't know when they get to go home," Armstrong added.

"Absolutley not!" Ed protests.

"Edward, please consider the fact that Ash may be stronger than you. He can be your second partner, unless you want Col. Havoc holding your hand."

"I hold no one's hand!"

"Brother, please," Al interupted. "There might be somethings that Ash might know about."

"What's going on, is everybody against me!" An hour later, the three boys proceed to the cave. They get to the large cave opening. "Keep in mind, trainer. This was not my decision to bring you." Ash gives Ed a mean look.

"Look at the bright side, at least it wasn't Winry or Mustang," the Pallet Town kid groaned. That's when Pikachu saw something shining and ran to it, causing the rest to look. The rodent dug up a gold key.

("Ash, look,") it squeaked. Ash walks over and picks the key up.

"What the- It's the Queen's Key." As Ash turns around, the key glows to the cave, stopping Ash's turn. "That's weird." He starts to walk in, with the Elrics coming from behind. Before long, the cave was nearly pitch black.

"Okay, what now?" Al wondered. Ash had an idea.

"Pikachu, try using Flash." Pikachu's body started to glow a bright yellow as the cave started to light up. Ash digs into his backpack and pulls a flashlight, and some wires out and attached the wires. "That's enough. Now use thundershock, but keep it light for the flashlight, okay?" The mouse nods and starts showing sparks, lighting the flashlight. Ed saw this as exceptional.

"You don't mind if I hold on to those, do you?" Ash shakes his head lightly, and hands the flashlight and Pikachu over to 'Fullmetal.' Five minutes later, Ed waves the light as he spots a teen girl, dark skin in a white dress and brown-pink hair. "Rose?" Ed runs over to the girl. Al and Ash also attend to Rose's aid. "Rose, what happened?" Rose opened her hazel eyes to see the blonde.

"Ed...Edward," she weakly groans. Her body was well bruised up, with cuts all over. Ash pulls a spray bottle from his bag, and aims at Rose.

"This potion should help with the wounds," he whispers to Ed. "It might sting a little, but it should help."

"Okay. Rose, my friend is going to help you. Squeeze my hand if it hurts." He offers his hand and gently grips Rose. Ash sprays the wounds, causing Rose to tightly sqeeze Ed's hand. One minute later, Ash was done applying the potion.

"That should do it."

"Rose, who did this to you?" She points to her left, causing Pikachu to point the flashlight in the direction. The light revealed several creatures approaching. "Chimeras." Ed clapped his hands, and then, places them on the ground, and pulls up a lance. "Ash, here." He hands Ash the lance. Then, he claps, again, and makes a blade from his automail arm. "Protect Rose." He and Al run to fight the chimeras, leaving Ash and Rose behind.

"You might need my help. Go, Glalie," He throws his Pokeball and out came an ice blue rock with eyes and black horns. "Help the Elrics with the chimeras." Glalie floats off to help. Ash, then, turns to Rose, as he straps the lance to his back. "C'mon, let's get out of here." He helps the darker-skinned girl up and wraps her arm around him. They start to walk back out. 10 seconds later...CLANK! A long fingernail cuts their escape. Ash looks to see a woman, with ghost-like skin, and a black dress, matching her long hair.

"Where do you think you're going, boy?" she bellowed. "Let me guess, you're taking that Ishbalian out of this cave."

"Where else?"

"You probably don't know this, but you can't beat me with any alchemy you have."

"I don't know any alchemy." This got the woman confused. "But it doesn't mean I can't fight." Ash put Rose down, then, brought out Ed's lance.

"The fact that you want to fight a homonculus is a mistake you won't live to regret." The woman launched her nails, but Ash dodged them, and hit the woman on the seal on her chest with the blade. This stopped her movement. "H-How did you know about my weak point?"

"It sorta stuck out like a sore thumb," Ash snickered. Ed, Al, Glalie, and Pikachu returned after their struggle with the chimeras, when Ed saw the woman in black.

"Al, it's Lust," he barked.

"Did Ash stop her?" Al wondered.

"Sure looks like it." Pikachu and Glalie hovered over to the tired trainer.

("Is Rose okay?") Pikachu asked. It looks over to the ishbalian, who was trying to get up on her own power. Ed runs over to her.

"Let me help you, Rose," Ed whispers.

"What about the chimeras?" Ash asked.

"Your monster's got some awsome freeze power," Al complimented.

("They won't be able to move for quite a while,") the ice rock Pokemon cheered. Ash nods, and summons it back to its Pokeball.

"Well, now, Edward," Lust started. "How does it feel to be with the one you care about?"

"Why, you..." Ed was growled, but Ash steps forward and removes the lance, allowing the homonculus to move again. "Ash, why did you-"

"I'll leave you alone for now, but..." She places her hand under Ash's chin, and gives him a kiss. Ed and Al started to freak out about the kiss. "Don't think I'll forget you." With that, Lust walks off.

"What was that all about!" Ed yelled. Ash didn't reply. The kiss started to leave him paralyzed. Then, a shine shows up, from where Lust was immobile. Ash snaps out and digs out...

"Guys, I found another key," Ash spoke out, causing the group to gather. It was the same key that Ash had. He pulled his key out and looked at both. He attemps to pick it up but the key passes through his hand. "What the-" Ed tries to pick up the key, but it passes through his hand as well.

"Let me try," Al said. He tries and actually picks up the key. Ash and Ed couldn't believe that they couldn't pick it up, but Al was.

"Wait a second," Ed shuddered. "How come you can take it, but we can't."

"I don't know." Ash looks at Rose.

"How about we talk about it back at the shop," he requested. Everyone nodded. A little while later, everyone walked out of the cave, where Armstrong and a stern man with black hair and in a military uniform were waiting. Ed saw him and shot a mean look. "Hey, Armstrong."

"Ash, Edward, thank god you're safe," The bald man cheered.

"So he's Ash?" the other man asked. "The one in the baseball cap?"

"That's him, Roy." Roy Mustang smirked at the trainer.

"He might actually outgrow Fullmetal, one day." Ed heard this.

"WHAT SHRIMP SAYS THAT HE CAN BE BIGGER THAN ME, DAMMIT!" Ed roared at the top of his lungs. Ash sweat drops and turns to Rose.

"Is he always like this?" he quietly asked.

"Only when you mention his size," Rose replied. Roy walked up to Ash, and saw that fire Armstrong had acknowledged.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say he would be my son in a few years," Roy grinned.

"You must be Col. Roy Mustang," Ash smiled.

"That's me, A.K.A. the 'Flame Alchemist'." Then, Ed brings Rose to Armstrong.

"Major, can you get her to a doctor?" 'Fullmetal' asks. Armstrong nods and takes Rose in his arms. After a while, Ash and Al brought out their keys. Then, both keys started to glow.

"What's going on, Ash?"

"I don't know." Then, the keys shot out a beam and opened a large portal. It had the same blue and green swirling that Ash saw before back with Prof. Oak's invention. Everyone else saw this phenomenom in awe. "Looks like it might be my trip home." After Pikachu jumps on his shoulder, Ash proceeded to the portal.

"Ash, wait." The trainer stopped and turned around. "Is it possible if I go with you? Maybe these keys have a connection that your professor would know about." Ash was surprised that what Al said could be true.

"Maybe he does. Looks like we've got company, Pikachu." Pikachu grinned at the comment. "Well, Welcome aboard, Alphonse."

"Thanks." After everyone says their goodbyes to Al, he, Ash and Pikachu enter the portal. On the other side, it wasn't Pallet Town, since there were far more buildings than what Ash knows. Then, a sign lit up.

TOKYO-3 EVACUATION ALERT. CODE RED-ANGEL ATTACK.

"Angel attack?" Ash and Al wonered in unison.

TO BE CONTINUED...
Ash and Alphonse are caught in a crossfire in Tokyo-3. What could these angels be?