The Black Alchemist

Roy mustang sat at his desk, completely immersed in a mountain of paperwork. It had been a slow day at Eastern Command for the young colonel, one which consisted of the toils of filling out paper after paper in an unending cycle. Around him were his closest officers: Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc, Master Sergeant Kain Fuery, Second Lieutenant Heymans Breda, Warrant Officer Vato Falman, and of course Mustang's attractive right-hand woman, Captain Riza Hawkeye. Pausing from his work, Roy glanced over at Hawkeye. She really is quite pretty, he thought to himself, I wonder if I should…no, no. I don't think I'd ever…

Mustang's musings were cut off by the barking of Hawkeye's dog, Black Hayate, whom she had 'adopted' after MSgt Fuery brought him in one day off the streets. The barking seemed remote at first, coming from outside the office, but grew in volume until all of the officers were looking in the direction of the noise.

"Wh-what do ya think he wants?" Breda half-whispered, a thin film of sweat beginning to form on his brow. His fear of dogs became blatantly obvious every time he was in 20 feet of the animal; a fact which while funny at first now annoyed Roy to no end.

Provocatively, Roy replied "I'm sure I don't know. Why don't you go check it out, 2nd Lieutenant?"

"Wh-Wh-What!" Breda exclaimed, turning several shades of white at once. Sweat now poured down the poor Lieutenant's face.

"I'll go see what it is," Hawkeye said, agitated at her superior's childishness. Besides being one of Mustang's closest allies, Hawkeye was also his voice of reason in most situations, although she could not help but feel a tingle of amusement at the colonel's antics. Of course, she made sure to keep this aspect of her nature hidden from the other officers at all times; the last thing she needed to deal with was more nonsense in the workplace.

As she reached the door to the hallway it seemed as though the barking was drawing nearer to the room. Indeed, footsteps were in fact coming down the hall and Hawkeye could almost hear the scampering of a small dog's paws not far behind…

Pulling open the door, Hawkeye came face to face with what appeared to be a living shadow. With the figure being no man of the military, Hawkeye immediately leapt back from the doorway and pulled out her pistol. She was one of the best shots in the entire military, putting her in 'no-miss' position with such little distance between her and the figure standing in the doorway. She had just lined the figure's head up in her sights when Roy called out from farther back in the room.

"Whoa, whoa, Captain, there's no need for such behavior. I've been expecting a visit from the famous Shadow Alchemist."

The figure took several steps into the room, his boots clinking as the steel heels connected with the floor. The sun shone on his face, revealing a mask covering his discernable features. With no nose visible and the mouth and right eye holes stitched shut, all that was visible was the man's left eye, which in turn was hidden by long locks of black hair which draped down to his neck. Around his throat was a locked collar; his waist, a belt with skull buckle, and on each wrist he wore spiked leather arm bands. He was clad in a black tank and black pants with his hands wrapped in what appeared to be bandages.

Hawkeye looked him up and down, noting his tall stature yet odd posture; indeed he was slightly wobbling back and forth where he stood.

"Hello Roy," he said in a raspy voice, "got any water?"

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Amidst the puzzled looks of his subordinates, Eastern Command colonel Roy Mustang briskly strode across the room and heartily shook hands with the stranger.

"Long time, no see, eh flame boy?" the 'shadow alchemist' remarked in a gravelly voice.

"You could say that again, you dog!" Roy laughed, jovially slapping the figure on the back. A cloud of dust billowed up while chunks of dirt and dried blood fell to the floor. "Damn, what have you been up to?"

Hawkeye cleared her throat loudly. During Roy's reunion with the dark individual the other officers had been left to merely look on, dumbstruck. Hawkeye decided it was time for an introduction, if not an explanation

"Sir, who may I ask is this?" she asked carefully.

The comment brought Roy back from his daze. "Hmmm? Oh, oh, right, right." To Hawkeye's dismay, he had obviously been oblivious to the rest of them as he met with his supposed 'old friend.' He'll never learn, she thought to herself, shaking her head.

Roy wheeled around to face the other officers. "Allow me to introduce Jack Alexiv, the Shadow Alchemist."

All of the officers, with the exception of Hawkeye, jumped back as the blood drained from their faces.

"I-I thought he was just a myth!" whispered Fuery to Falman.

"There's no way…" Havoc trailed off.

Breda said nothing, yet wore an expression of awe mixed with terror. Hawkeye, who was in truth slightly awed, made the first appropriate response to the new alchemist.

In a professional tone, she began "Pleased to meet you, sir, I am Captain Riza Hawkeye. I apologize for my earlier…"

"Ah, that's okay!" Jack said nonchalantly, dismissing the action with a casual wave of his hands. The fact that he had shrugged off nearly being shot at point black range only served to add to the aura surrounding him. He took a few more clinking steps into the room before tripping on the large rug covering part of the floor, landing with a thud. From within the resulting cloud of dust, a raspy voice was heard. "Ow…"