Chapter Two:
For Edward and Roy, it was a silent and awkward car ride back to the precinct where the agents had set up their temporary command centre to coordinate their investigation. Both alchemists had paused slightly once they got to the agents' vehicles, immediately noticing the different style of cars in this world, and not failing to notice the towering buildings that surrounded them on all sides. Clearly, this world was far more advanced than Central City, and Edward couldn't help but wonder just what Truth had been thinking by sending them here. He hoped that none of these agents had noticed their momentary pause as they took in their surroundings, but he had the sneaking suspicion that these agents were too perceptive to have missed it.
He and Mustang got into the same car with the agent who had referred to himself as Hotchner driving and the oldest-looking agent – Rossi? – in the front passenger seat. The two agents were polite enough not to stare, but Ed had no doubt that they were running any number of theories about he and Mustang through their minds as they led the other car with the rest of the agents back to the station.
Beside him, Mustang sat straight and stiff in his seat. They were technically on neutral territory, but Ed didn't have any illusions about what his commanding officer was thinking. Both of them had been in the military for too long to be completely at ease in a strange place, especially with at least one known threat and several other potential threats in such close proximity. Edward tried to keep his eyes on the agents without making it obvious, by occasionally directing his attention out the window of the vehicle to study the passing sights of the city.
Rossi's phone dinged to alert him to a new text, and the agent pulled the device out to check on the alert. The sound caught the attention of the other three occupants, but Rossi met Hotch's eye and shook his head to indicate that it wasn't important before the team leader's attention went back to the road. About thirty seconds later, Hotch glanced in the rear-view mirror and noticed their two guests having an intense, whispered discussion in the back.
"Is there something wrong?"
Hotch's voice broke the tension and startled the two alchemists out of their heated discussion. He saw Elric leaned forward slightly, as though he was about to ask something, but Mustang grabbed his shoulder to stop him. In that moment, Hotch was certain that if looks could kill he'd be arresting the blond for his companion's murder. Mustang sighed and withdrew his hand, giving silent permission but the shake of his head indicated that he disagreed with his younger companion's decision. The blond just rolled his eyes at his elder before he turned towards Rossi and pointed at the device in his hand. "What's that?"
Rossi and Hotch exchanged a shocked look before Rossi turned to face the blond. "You don't know what this is?" he asked, confusion evident in his tone as he held up the cell phone to give the blond a better look.
Elric shook his head no, and Rossi studied him for any indications that the teen was lying, but seeing none, he decided to humour the boy and began to explain. "This is a cell phone. The vast majority of people in this country have one, including our entire team. Their primary use is to talk to people anywhere in the world, without having to rely on landlines and the need to run phone wires across countries and oceans. You can also use them to send a text, or written message to someone if you want to talk to them without having to call them. You can send the same message to a bunch of people at the same time with a text message. For example, if one of us needs the others to meet them somewhere, we can text everyone a time and place and their phones will ding like mine just did to let them know. Depending on the model of the phone, you can also look things up on the internet, like motels to stay at or restaurants to eat at. There are a number of other uses for them, but they're not as important."
There was silence from the two strangers, and after a moment the expressions on their faces changed as they absorbed and reacted to Rossi's explanation. Rossi didn't think he'd ever seen so much wonder and shock on someone's face before. Mustang had leaned forward slightly to hear Rossi better during his explanation. Elric's amazed expression quickly changed to one of disbelief.
"There is no way a device that small could be that advanced. I don't believe you. I want proof that it does what you say it does."
Rossi thought for a moment before an idea occurred to him. Unlocking his phone, he quickly selected a number from his list of contacts and waited for the person to answer, placing it on speaker phone as he did so that the teen could hear that he was actually speaking to someone. "Hey, JJ."
"Hi Rossi. Is everything all right?"
"Yeah, everything's alright here. I want you to do something for me though. I'll explain why when we get to the precinct. Give me a moment." Twisting in his seat to face the two in the backseat, who now both looked like they couldn't believe Rossi was actually communicating with someone else with his phone, he motioned for them to look out the back window of the SUV. They did and noticed the second SUV following behind them. "Okay, JJ. Could you stick your hand out the window and hold up three fingers please?"
The teen made a strangled noise, almost like he couldn't believe what he was seeing was actually real when JJ complied with the odd request. Rossi smiled as he thanked JJ and hung up. "Believe me now?" A slow nod answered his question as the two stunned visitors turned back to face the front.
Hotch had to hide the small hint of amusement in his voice when he spoke. "So, you two really didn't know what a cell phone was?" Two quick shakes of their heads confirmed that they hadn't. Hotch glanced at Rossi again, knowing that the older man would most likely be thinking the same thing he was. The only way that these two couldn't have had any idea what a cell phone was in this age of technology was if they were from some small, remote third world country. But in contrast, they spoke perfect English with only the slightest hint of an accent, and their clothing was of a high quality, even if it wasn't within modern fashion. Overall, these two had some interesting contradictions about them.
The discovery of the cell phone made Roy and Ed realise just how out of their element they were. Roy couldn't help but wonder if such devices would work in Amestris, and if they did how they would change the country. After all, the most advanced long-distance method of communication that they had were landlines – which could be taken down by storms or if the wires were cut or destroyed – and radios – which were limited by distance. If the military had an even more reliable form of communication than their neighbouring countries, it could give them a huge tactical advantage as well as help with the efforts to reunify the country in the wake of the Promised Day. If the citizens of Amestris could more reliably talk to friends and relatives in other places throughout the country…
Edward, on the other hand, although he was fascinated by the cell phone and its potential capabilities, was more concerned with how advanced everything here seemed to be. He'd assumed that alchemy would be common knowledge since Truth had told them that their alchemy would still work over here, but now he wasn't absolutely certain of that.
"Mustang?" he murmured quietly, not wanting to draw the attention of the too-perceptive agents.
"Yes, Fullmetal?"
"Truth made a point that our alchemy would continue to work here, but I'm not convinced that these agents know anything about it. Why else would he emphasize the fact that ours would work here? By all rights, it would have been only natural for us to assume that it would."
"Wait, you mean-?" Roy was stunned by Edward's observation, but it made a terrible kind of sense. Alchemy was not just a science in Amestris – in many ways, it was the power that the country had been built on and one of their most vital resources. They had a whole division of the military devoted to it in the form of the State Alchemists and government-sponsored research labs and libraries, after all.
"I think it's fair to assume that alchemy either doesn't exist here, or that it's used in a very different way than we do in Amestris," Ed replied grimly. "I can't think of any other reason why Truth would have made such a point of emphasizing that we would still be able to use it here."
Mustang nodded slowly, accepting Edward's logic. In the five years that he'd known Edward, the younger alchemist had proven that he was not only a prodigy where his chosen field was concerned, but he was a literal genius in other areas as well. Using logic and critical thinking skills were almost second nature to him, which made him even more valuable to the military and to Mustang as a member of his team.
"Should we tell them?" Edward asked quietly. "It might be difficult to keep our abilities secret, and if Harding is using alchemy, it would put us at a serious disadvantage."
Mustang considered that for a moment. So far, none of these agents had done anything to either of them to suggest that they were in danger. They'd reacted to Roy and Ed's sudden appearance almost exactly how Roy expected that his own team would have if the situation was reversed and the agents had appeared without warning in Amestris. Then a thought occurred to him.
"How were the victims killed?"
Not expecting either of the strangers to ask them any more questions until they reached the precinct, given their request for privacy, it took a second for Mustang's question to register with Hotch and Rossi. Hotch glanced at Rossi before looking back into the rear-view mirror and meeting the onyx eyes that looked calmly back at him.
"They were all killed by having their blood boiled," Hotch answered after a moment.
Mustang and Elric exchanged a quick, meaningful glance before Mustang looked back towards the front of the SUV again. "Do you know how he managed to do that?" His tone was curious, but both agents felt that their visitors already knew what Hotch was about to say.
"No," Hotch admitted. "The medical examiner couldn't find any signs of a fatal wound on any of the victims. There's no medical explanation as to how our unsub managed to boil their blood."
"God-fucking-damn it," Elric swore. "That fucking prick..." Mustang looked equally as pissed as Elric, but he managed to contain his feelings to an expression, instead of resorting to profanity, shooting a look at the teen that was somehow disapproving and sympathetic at the same time. "What? We'll have to explain absolutely everything to them now thanks to that bastard. He finds himself in another country and decides to start killing the locals with his alchemy?" Elric shot a look at Mustang that had both Hotch and Rossi glad that they weren't on the receiving end of, but Mustang didn't even flinch when he met the blonde's angry stare.
"I know that Fullmetal. And I'm as pissed off as you are that he's using his abilities over here in that way, but you won't be able to solve anything by getting worked up. Calm down and wait to go on a rant until we've got all the information we need." Mustang's tone was level and calm, and even though Elric stared at him for another few seconds, he didn't flinch under the weight of the golden gaze.
Finally, muttering under his breath, Elric sat back in his seat and nodded in agreement, although his eyes were still practically snapping fire and his expression showed that he was still brooding over the information that Hotch had given them. The rest of the short ride was completed in silence, and Rossi took the opportunity to send a quick text message to Garcia, asking the analyst to run a background check on their two visitors, especially checking whatever foreign records she could access from other English-speaking countries.
Once everyone had climbed out of the SUVs, Hotch led them all inside. JJ, Reid, Morgan, and Prentiss could all feel the anger rolling off the teen, but after Hotch shook his head at them, decided to remain quiet and not question him until they were somewhere more private. JJ had called ahead before they left Quantico and arranged for a private conference room with whiteboards, copies of all the case files and evidence reports, and a phone with speaker and conference capabilities to be prepared for their use. They'd worked with this precinct before, so the officers were somewhat familiar with the things that the agents required and didn't question the team or their guests as they crossed through the bullpen in the homicide department and into the conference room.
Hotch locked the conference room door and closed the shades to ensure they would have completely privacy once everyone was inside before turning to the two strangers.
"Now, before we go any further in sharing details of the case with you, we would appreciate it if you could explain everything you know, including how you came to arrive at the most recent crime scene in a flash of light. From your reaction in the car, Mr. Elric – "
"Don't call me that. It's Edward, or Ed," the blond interrupted, ignoring the cuff that Mustang bestowed on his shoulder for his rudeness.
"My apologies, Edward," Hotch agreed easily, not wanting to do anything that might cause the visitors to clam up. "As I was saying, based on your reaction in the car, you seem to know how our unsub is killing these people. And I heard you mention something about alchemy. Could you explain please?"
Edward and Roy exchanged a look before Edward sighed. Neither of them was really surprised that the agents would demand information from them first – after all, they were the strangers in this country. Since Edward was the reason that they were here, thanks to his deal with Truth, he decided that it fell to him to explain.
"Look, like we said earlier, it's a really long and complicated story. I'll – we'll tell you what we can, but keep the interruptions to a minimum, okay?" He waited until everyone nodded before continuing. "As you probably guessed, we aren't exactly from around here. And by "here" I mean this planet – or maybe dimension? I don't know exactly how to explain it, but the point is that we were transported here by the Truth. We live in a country called Amestris, and we are both members of the military."
The dark-skinned agent, Morgan, opened his mouth to ask something, but a pointed look from Edward made him close it again. "Mustang here is a Colonel, and I'm technically a Major, but you don't have to call me by my rank. I don't give two shits about it. Mustang does though." Edward smirked and ignored the glare that Mustang shot at him in favour of watching the disbelieving and sceptical expressions that the agents' faces showed.
"So…you're saying…what? That you crossed some sort of barrier between dimensions? That's science fiction, not reality," Prentiss said, her tone a mixture of scepticism and anger. "Is this some kind of joke?"
"You saw us arrive," Mustang replied. "Do people in this country ordinarily travel through portals from one place to another? Is there a country in this world called Amestris? Or one called Creta, Xing, or Drachma?"
Slowly, the agents shook their heads in response to the question, although their faces still displayed their disbelief and shock.
Edward cleared his throat and redirected their attention away from Mustang. "Anyway, the two of us are also State Alchemists. We were sent here by the Truth because a rogue alchemist is on the loose here in your city, and it's our job to track the bastard down and haul his ass back to Central to face judgment. Preferably, we would take him alive so that he can answer for his crimes over there; however his death wouldn't be a total disappointment, knowing what a sick bastard he is. His alchemic specialty is being able to transmute any liquid to its boiling point and then to be able to manipulate that liquid in any way he sees fit."
An angry scowl crossed his face as he thought about what Harding was doing. "He is using alchemy to kill people by boiling their blood, and that's why I was so angry in the car. I believe that alchemy should never be used like that. True alchemists live by the code 'alchemists be thou for the people'. Alchemy should always be used to help people, never to kill." He leaned back in his chair and glanced at Mustang while they waited patiently for the agents to pick their jaws up off the floor.
"That's not possible. What you're basically saying is that he killed someone with magic," Morgan said.
Edward shook his head. "No, he's using alchemy. It's not magic, it's science. There's a difference."
"I take it that we were right to assume that you don't use alchemy in this country?" Mustang asked, curiously.
Reid looked at Edward, his eyes still sceptical, even though his tone held a hint of curiosity. "What you've just told us is something we've never even heard of. I've only read about alchemy in fantasy novels and old textbooks from hundreds of years ago. You must realise how insane all of this sounds."
Edward exchanged a look with Mustang before he shrugged. He looked back at the agents. "Would it convince you if I gave you a small demonstration?"
The agents all shared a glance, before they slowly nodded. Edward pushed himself to his feet and rolled his shoulders. "Alright then, one demonstration coming up."
"Just be careful that your demonstration doesn't cause the building to collapse on us, Fullmetal," Roy taunted his subordinate.
Edward shot a glare at Mustang. "Oh, fucking bring it, Colonel Pyro." He pointedly turned away from his commanding officer and faced the agents. Out of habit, he started to raise his hands to clap, but paused and instead dug into the pocket of his red coat with his left hand and pulled out a piece of chalk. Years of travelling with Al had reinforced the necessity of always keeping a piece of chalk and a pencil or pen handy, since there had been times when he hadn't been able to transmute by clapping because his automail had been too damaged. His years of training with Izumi had trained him in being able to draw a circle quickly and accurately, and it only took him a few seconds to sketch out a basic array on the surface of the table.
Shoving the chalk back into his pocket, he placed his hands onto the array and concentrated. Bright blue lightning erupted from the chalked design as the circle confined the alchemic energy and began to shape the wood of the conference table into the shape Edward wanted it to have. From the centre of the array, a small wooden dagger emerged, leaving a crater in its place to show how much of the available material he had used to form it. The dagger toppled over to rest in the centre of the crater and Edward scooped it up and tossed it back and forth between his hands as he smiled at the agents.
"Wow, Fullmetal. Glad to see you still don't have an artistic eye," Roy chuckled.
"Shut your mouth, bastard, or I'll show you how well this knife works," Edward snarled back. He laid the knife on the table and turned back to face the agents, who were staring at him with various degrees of shock on their face. He placed the dagger down on the surface of the table, past the crater that had been left behind by his transmutation so that the agents could examine it more carefully if they wanted to. "There's your proof."
The six agents stared at the dagger for a few more seconds before Edward suddenly found himself being interrogated by dozens of questions all at once. Holding up his left hand to stop the barrage, he pointed to Reid and indicated that he could speak.
"How is that even possible?" Reid asked with an eager light in his eye. The genius leaned forward slightly in his seat, as if by getting closer to Edward, he could somehow absorb the knowledge that much faster. Roy groaned as he realised that Edward might have just found a kindred spirit in the agent. He knew all too well that Edward loved explaining how alchemy worked to others.
"Didn't I just tell you to shut it, Mustang?" Edward snapped, before turning back to Reid. "To answer your question, alchemy is the science of understanding, deconstructing, and reconstructing matter, and the primary law of alchemy is equivalent exchange. Basically, that means that in order to create something, you have to sacrifice something of equal value. Using a transmutation circle, or a transmutation array like I just drew on the table, an alchemist can transmute one thing into another, as long as the desired transmutation follows the basic principles of alchemy."
Morgan picked up the wooden dagger and studied it for a moment. "So…you made this out of the wood that the table is made out of?"
Edward nodded. "Alchemy works on a couple of basic rules. First is equivalent exchange, which I already mentioned. You see the crater in the table where I drew the array?" The dark-skinned agent nodded in response. "That shows the amount of material that I used to create the dagger. If I'd made it bigger, or made a sword instead of a dagger, I'd have used more material and created a bigger crater. Are you with me so far?"
All six agents nodded slowly and Morgan passed the dagger over to Rossi, who studied it as Edward continued his explanation. "Excellent. Another basic principle is that you can't change the nature of material you use. I couldn't take something made from an organic material and turned it into something inorganic, and I can't change the nature of the material. The final product must be made of the basic elements that are found in the base material. Since the table was made from wood, I could only make something organic with the same raw elements that comprise the chemical makeup of wood. Still following?" Another six nods came from the agents. "Sweet. The third basic principle is that you can't use more material than what you've got available. For example, I couldn't take a glass of water and transmute it into a ten-meter tall ice sculpture. Every alchemist lives by the principal of equivalent exchange, which, as I already stated, is the most basic law of alchemy."
"So, you can do whatever you want, so long as you follow those three principles?" JJ asked, taking the dagger from Rossi.
Edward frowned. "Not exactly. At least in Amestris, there are some actual laws that alchemists must obey or else they could find themselves in serious trouble with the government. The first is that you can't use alchemy to create gold. If every alchemist who knew how went around creating gold, it would ruin the economy." He paused to take a deep breath, bracing himself for the next part.
Several of the agents exchanged glances when he paused, since he'd been so open up until this point. Ed noticed, but he couldn't help himself. The memory of what he and Al had done would always haunt him.
Mustang placed his hand on Edward's flesh arm quickly, and the touch grounded him and kept him from getting lost in his memories and regrets. He refocused his attention on the agents. "The second law, and the one that is the ultimate taboo among all alchemists, is using alchemy to resurrect the dead. There is absolutely nothing worth the price of a human soul, and the cost of a failed human transmutation is worse than you could possibly imagine."
The ominous words hung in the air and an awkward silence filled the room for a moment before Prentiss spoke up, changing the subject in an effort to lighten the atmosphere. "Can anyone do alchemy? Could we?"
Edward shook off the memories and looked at her. "No. Not everyone can do alchemy. Most of the people in our country can't do alchemy. You've got to be born with the talent and the thirst for knowledge. It's one thing to understand the chemistry, physics, and biology behind the science, but to be able to successfully transmute requires an inner aptitude that most people don't seem to have. I honestly don't know if any of you could do alchemy, but it would be safer for you if you don't try. If you tried to use an array and you don't have the knowledge or talent to do it, the rebound could very well kill you."
"Rebound?" Prentiss asked.
Edward nodded. "A rebound occurs when an alchemist attempts to transmute and the equations aren't equivalent. If you try to make something and don't have enough materials, or an alchemist attempts a transmutation beyond their ability and knowledge, the transmutation will rebound back on the alchemist and can have one of several different results. Either the transmutation will simply fail and nothing will happen, or the alchemist could be severely injured or killed by the energy released in the transmutation."
"So, tell us, why is your rogue alchemist here killing people, if alchemists are supposed to work for the good of the people?" Hotch asked.
"Because he's a fucking nutbag?"
"Fullmetal," Mustang sighed wearily, like he was far too used to Ed's language.
"What? It's true!" Ed's tone bordered on the edge of childish.
Mustang shook his head and turned to the agents. "I apologise for him. He may be an alchemic prodigy and genius, but he never learned any manners." Edward snarled in response, but Morgan interrupted the oncoming rant.
"How old are you exactly? You don't look old enough to be out of school, let alone in the military."
"I turned sixteen a couple of weeks ago," Edward replied. "And before you ask, I joined the military just over four years ago."
"You joined the military when you were twelve?" Morgan couldn't keep the shock out of his voice and it was clearly reflected in everyone else's face. Ed's expression hardened as he held his head up proudly.
"Yes. I'm not telling you why, before you ask. It's none of your business." Edward took the dagger back and dug out his chalk again, quickly drawing another circle around the circumference of the crater and placing the dagger back into the centre. He pressed his hands back to the new circle and activated the array and a moment later the table had been restored to its original form. He dropped back into his seat and felt Mustang reach over to pat his arm under the table.
Rossi redirected the conversation, looking at Mustang. "So, why do you think your alchemist is killing Americans?"
Mustang shrugged. "I'm not sure. I was assigned a case pertaining to him today. His name is Thomas Harding, and he's a state alchemist who goes by the name of the Boiling Alchemist."
"Edward mentioned something about state alchemists a few minutes ago. What's the difference between a state alchemist and a regular alchemist?" Hotch asked.
"State alchemists are supported and sponsored by the government. In order to become a state alchemist, you must pass an extremely gruelling exam, and even of those that pass, only one or two candidates are selected each year. In exchange for drawing military pay and a large annual research grant, state alchemists are awarded the rank of Major and are required to serve the military in times of national emergency. Many state alchemists are already members of the military and take the exam after graduating from the military academy, but there are a few, like Fullmetal, who simply take the exam and pass," Mustang explained. "Harding was already a member of the military when he took and passed the exam, and he held the rank of Major, the same as Fullmetal, but he was interested in staying on the career track and working his way up the ranks.
"He disappeared nearly a month ago, but his commanding officer never noticed that he was gone until two days ago. He attempted to locate Harding himself, but failed, so he finally submitted a missing persons report. In the last few weeks, our government has been struggling to rebuild and recover from an attempted coup d'état from an outside source. Harding's CO sent him out on a mission seven weeks ago, and he was supposed to report back in three weeks ago. His CO never noticed because of the massive clean-up and reorganisation going on over at Central Headquarters. The report landed on my desk because soldiers had gone to Harding's house and discovered alchemic traps set. I was the only state alchemist available at the time, and Harding's CO figured I'd be able to handle the traps."
Edward snickered. "Yeah, and then you turned up at Al's hospital room to beg me for help."
"I did not beg you for help, shrimp," Mustang retorted. Edward growled as Mustang continued. "Anyway, I couldn't cancel Harding's alchemy without accidentally triggering the traps, so yes, I came to Fullmetal and asked him to look it over. He's an alchemic prodigy and a genius, and I knew if anyone could figure out a safe way to bypass the traps, it would be him. He was able to come up with an array to cancel Harding's without causing a worse reaction."
The agents exchanged glances, noting the proud tone of Mustang's voice, but Ed's lack of reaction suggested that he either didn't notice or care.
"So how come you're here? Did you use alchemy to track him and come over to our dimension?" Hotch asked.
Edward shook his head. "No. I owed the Truth a favour after it helped me keep a promise to the person I hurt the most, and it called in that favour and sent us here to get Harding back."
"The Truth?" Hotch wondered, wisely deciding to focus on the least personal thing that Ed had just said.
Edward shrugged. "Yeah. I guess it'd best be described as the alchemic god, although it's more of an asshole than a god."
Mustang struggled to hold back laughter at Edward's description and the agents' faces. They almost looked like they were expecting Edward to be struck by lightning. "Moving back to the case, what can you tell us about Harding's crimes here?" he asked as soon as he managed to get his laughter under control.
A/N- So here is the second chapter, now revised! Please give it a read over and let me know how you think the lovely PhoenixQueen did with this chapter!