Creation began on 05-18-18

Creation ended on 08-11-18

Neon Genesis Evangelion

The Living Alchemist: Edge

Brigadier General Basque Grand, the Iron Blood Alchemist, was enraged by the damages done to the fifth laboratory and how the secret research being conducted had now caught the attention of the Flame Alchemist's unit. There was no chance of him keeping it under wraps without incriminating himself for his own involvement in the research that was being performed.

"Whoever did this last night left these two as witnesses to the acts committed," a soldier stated to another soldier that showed up, as the two presumed culprits were carried.

Basque Grand could see how it took just eight men to carry the big, fat man that had large pieces of rebar sticking out of his shoulders and neck…but was still very much alive. It was the same with the young woman that was being carried away, as Grand could see that she had pieces of rebar penetrating her arms that had long fingers.

"You two are still very much alive, so can you answer this question?" Roy Mustang asked them. "Who did this to you? Was it an alchemist?"

"Oh, I'm afraid that's a secret I'm keeping to myself," the woman uttered, sounding unfazed by the fact that she had no usage of her arms. "They were quite the astonishing achiever. Where were they when you decided to do what you did in Ishval? They might've had more restraint than most of you lacked."

"I didn't get to eat him," said the fat man. "He got away from me again."

They were then removed from the scene.

"Sir, we're still examining the substance left behind," said Hawkeye to Mustang, "but it looks like it's alchemical in nature. Possibly, the substance was intended to amplify alchemic reactions."

Grand balled his fists as he left the scene; whatever was being found was out of his hands for the time being. He would have to find a way to get around the investigation, or at the very least shut it down.

-x-

"Who was that kid?" A woman asked a man that was sitting on a rock in the middle of the forest among others that didn't look as though they could fit in among normal people. "He looked like he was completely absent-minded."

"And those three people he was fighting," added a man dressed in black and white, carrying a sword, "were they really homunculi?"

"Yeah, they were," the man sitting on the rock explained. "As for that kid… I'm not sure who he was, but he was powerful…and had no fear of them… Whoever he is, he could prove to be an invaluable ally if we ever meet him again."

"Are you sure about that, Greed?" A short man with a lizard-like tail asked him. "You let him take your skull. What if he uses it against you if we see him again?"

"He seemed more focused on those three that were fighting him," a large man stated. "If the kid wanted to take on Greed, he would've done it before he got freed."

-x-

"…Aurgh!" Edward groaned as he placed the book he was reading down.

"If your head hurts, that's what happens when you think too hard," said Shinji, proceeding to the next page in the book he was reading.

"How can this much information be relevant to the Alchemy Exam?" He asked.

"How much of anything is relevant to anything? The exam is broken down into three courses: Written examination, physical evaluation, and practical evaluation. It's best to be prepared for everything than to be taken aback by anything."

Alphonse, who was also reading to prepare for the examination, agreed with Shinji and told his brother, "Better safe than sorry, Ed. We still have a few days before it starts, but so long as we prepare, we'll be ready when it does occur."

"Question, Shinji," Ed uttered. "How can you be so calm about the exam? You're older than we are, and you should be worried the most. You might have to be offensive if we go to war in the future."

"If it comes to that, I'll just be defensive by restraining people," he answered him. "I'm calm because I don't want to fight anyone, not even to save myself right now. I just want to be able to survive out here and be able to provide a simple service to the people with alchemy."

"Yet to become a State Alchemist, that will make it somewhat hard for some to accept you as a member of the military," Alphonse told him.

"Alchemists Be Thou For The People. It's the unofficial credo for all alchemists, but only those that choose to disregard it are the ones that desire more through the use of alchemy."

"And what more could be desired through alchemy?" Ed asked him.

"Power is a good example. The more power one has, the more control they possess, and power can be amassed in many forms. Powerful allies on your side that may owe you favors, access to resources unavailable to the people, immunity from the laws of society, a position in politics or the very military at your command. Power comes in more than one form and can be from anyplace in the world."

"If some alchemists want power, they'd likely be better off trying to obtain the Philosopher's Stone," suggested Al, as some alchemists were romantics for such a thing.

Shinji went wide-eyed, then looked at the younger Elric brother and stated, "It's nothing more than a myth that bestows false hope to people. A stone that gives false hope…but has real consequences if taken too far."

-x-

"…And he's in Central at this moment, possibly making his next move," said Envy to a woman reading a book on a desk; the homunculus had informed her of the recent encounter with the mystery alchemist that had incapacitated Lust and Gluttony and freed Greed from the fifth laboratory.

"This young man," she spoke up, closing the book, "what did he look like?"

Envy morphed into an exact duplicate of the boy that had defeated Lust and Gluttony and freed Greed.

"This is who they were," he revealed, his voice remaining the same.

"This can't be right," she expressed. "Even if it were just a coincidence, the resemblance this boy has is uncanny. The next time you see him, bring him to me."

"You speak as though you've seen him before."

"Someone that looked like him…and I killed them when they found out the truth about me."

-x-

"…I killed them when they found out the truth about me," Shinji thought he heard a woman's voice as he looked down at his kunai.

"Huh?!" He went, looking up at the world around him as he sat on the front porch of the Tucker estate.

"What is that thing you have, Mr. Shinji Ikari?" He turned to his left and saw Nina with Alexander.

"Oh, this thing (he carefully holds up his kunai)? It's called a kunai. It's a…tool that I got when I met the Elrics."

It wasn't a complete lie, as he did get it after he met the brothers.

"It looks really pretty, but why do you look so oddly?"

"Oh, I'm just a heavy thinker sometimes, Nina. When people think too much, they stop paying attention to the world around them."

"That sounds…kinda sad."

Shinji gave a small smile.

"Yeah," he agreed with her, "it kinda is."

He put his kunai away and stood up.

"What are you doing out here?" He asked her. "It's too good a day out to be wondering what I'm doing here? You should be playing somewhere."

"There's nobody but Alexander to play with."

-x-

"He's trying for the State Alchemist Exam, Envy," King Bradley informed the androgynous shape-shifter on the rooftop of a building during the evening. "How could be up to something?"

"He smashed up the fifth laboratory," Envy explained, "left Lust and Gluttony to be found by those worthless military drones and set Greed free! The master wants him dealt with and handed over to her before he does something else."

"Like what? From what he expressed, he seeks to use alchemy for medical purposes. He doesn't seem to exhibit any capacity for fighting."

"I've fought with him, and he's a nimble bastard. You do whatever you have to, but make sure that he's apprehended and handed over to her."

"And what if he can be manipulated into getting the Philosopher's Stone?"

"I'll ask her about it, but if she's against it, hand him over."

-x-

Alchemists made it a priority to protect their research and ensure that nobody could steal their secrets for their own use, and Shinji figured his way of hiding his own attempt at researching the use of medical alchemy by simply relying on his native language; it turned out that there wasn't a single soul within Amestris that could read or even write Japanese. If nobody but him could understand the language, he had an advantage over other alchemists. He still chuckled when he tested Ed and Al with his initial attempt by writing, "To be the best, you must stimulate your mind" and they couldn't understand it at all.

"Two days left until the exam," went Al.

"Yeah," responded Ed.

"You two should've played with Nina," Shinji told them. "You're not just young alchemists, you're young boys that should be out playing with other kids."

"Except we're not like other kids, Shinji," Ed pointed out.

"It was one mistake. One mistake doesn't show the world who you are and let others decide what you can or can't do. And it was resolved, so there's no muss or fuss."

Alphonse wondered why Edward had a harder time letting go of what they did before Shinji arrived. Their failed attempt to transmute their mother back to life was undone because he reversed the transmutation and even replaced Ed's lost arm, so it was though they never did what they did. He even cleaned up their mess so they wouldn't get in trouble. How hard was it to let go?

"What about you, Shinji?" Al asked. "Any mistakes you made that you don't let the world decide for you your capabilities?"

Setting his pen down, Shinji looked at the younger Elric and expressed, "My single greatest mistake…was never living."

"Never living?" Ed said, confused. "But…you're living right now."

"Living isn't as defined as existing. Existing, you just take up space in the world, seen by people…but they don't know who you are. Living, you laugh, you smile, you let the world know who you are as you try to find your place in it."

"That's a sad way to be," Al expressed.

"Such a way can be exhibited by homunculi, since they're just artificial beings with no ties to life. They pervert what is by being a step removed from life. If they're meant to be modeled after someone that used to live, it can create…instabilities in their mentalities. Knowing that they're not original…but mockeries of former people, intended to be them completely…can result in unpredictabilities nobody could anticipate."

Yet, it was only because they didn't know about these facts that Shinji knew made the brothers a little miserable about their attempt to commit Human Transmutation. If they had continued to do what they did that night, they would've just caused more problems for everyone, including their mother.

-x-

"…So, I heard that he left to a different city," Asuka told Toji during class time, referring to Kensuke. "Is this true?"

"Yeah," he answered her. "It turns out that he couldn't idealize the Eva any further if it was unable to keep anyone safe on the inside. I confronted him about it, and he just cried. First time I ever saw him cry about anyone. 'He was killed, and his own father doesn't say anything about what NERV did! How does a paramilitary agency just…disregard that it was their responsibility to keep him safe so he could keep them safe…and do something so reckless that it kills him?' That's what he asked me. I just told him that it was no different from friendly fire, and he tells me that it's the worst kind to befall anyone, to be harmed by the people you protect. He felt like Shinji was just left to thrown to the wolves…and couldn't deal with it. That's why he left."

Asuka didn't deny any of it. NERV had lost much of its credibility after that day and continued to lose credibility with each passing day. It was a mess that they made themselves and had a hard time getting around it.

"Everyone's drifting away," Toji stated.

"Yeah," she agreed with him.

At her desk, Rei pondered how much longer it would be until NERV was shut down and disbanded because of the loss of faith in the Evangelion program. While Commander Ikari was still in charge, it was mainly due to the fact that he was Shinji's father that the agency was facing a grim possibility in its future that made keeping it active almost impossible.

"My sister no longer feels safe here and wants to leave," went Toji to Asuka. "At this point in my life, I don't blame her for feeling helpless. I'd be, too, if I didn't have any friends left in this city."

-x-

Finally, the day of the Alchemy Exam had arrived. There were dozens of people, men and women, older than Shinji and the Elrics. They each had some skill in alchemy, all hoping to become more than simple people, servants to the military power that existed…in exchange for power, status and access to resources regular alchemists didn't have access to.

"Nervous?" Shinji asked Ed and Al as they stood among the others here to take the exam.

"I didn't think there were so many wanting to become State Alchemists," Alphonse stated.

"They all must have some skill," Ed suspected.

"The only edge they have against others…is the edge they don't use until at the last moment," Shinji informed them. "The ace in the hole, your final gambit."

"Best of luck to you," both brothers told him.

As they got set for the written evaluation, King Bradley watched from the top of his office as he received his orders from the master. If it was possible, manipulate the boy she had wanted brought to her to be eliminated…and if he couldn't be controlled, he would have to be erased, made to disappear from the very memory of Amestris. But there was something about this young man that had the leader of the nation…curious as to what he could do for the State Military. And he had to admit, there was something about this kid that, despite how his master felt towards him…that made him feel so much potential to great things.

To be continued…

A/N: Seriously, it doesn't seem like anyone, not even Dante, could read or write Japanese, so Shinji has at least one of his edges. The Iron Blood Alchemist has got problems and Lust and Gluttony are unknown at the moment. So Dante feels threatened by Shinji over something she did a long time ago, and fears that he'll do something to get her.