Disclaimer: The following is a nonproft fanfiction. Fullmetal Alchemist belongs to its creator, Himoru Arakawa. Please support the official release.
"You boys can go ahead. The colonel's been expecting you."
At Lieutenant Hawkeye's invite, Edward gave a heavy sigh and pushed himself out of his seat. He definitely wasn't looking forward to seeing Colonel Hothead again, especially since his last mission led to a dead end.
"C'mon Al. The sooner we get this over with, the better," Ed said, glancing over at his little brother.
A giant suit of armor looked up at the young alchemist, a pair of glowing red orbs shining through the eyeholes in his helmet and lock with piercing golden eyes. With a nod, Alphonse stood to his full height of seven feet, his armored parts clicking against each other with his movements. "You don't have to sound so eager, Brother," Al chuckled humorously.
"Yeah, yeah." Ed rolled his eyes before picking up his traveling trunk and the Elric brothers headed into Colonel Mustang's office.
As his brother closed the door behind them, Ed couldn't help but glance over the familiar interior. As usual, the office was sparse, save for the seating arrangements of two couches, a few bookshelves and tables, and a large desk covered with paperwork and files that Colonel Bastard himself was seated at. Said superior officer looked up from his work as he heard the brothers enter the room, dark eyes glinting in recognition behind matching short hair.
"Nice to see you again boys," Mustang greeted. He met gazes with Ed and the boy scowled as a teasing smirk spread across the officer's face. "My ,my Edward. It's been several days since I've last seen you and you still haven't grown a centimeter taller. In fact, it looks to me like you've actually shrunk."
"WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO SHORT HE HAS TO WEAR STILTS TO SEE OVER A TABLE?!" Ed suddenly snapped, attempting to lunge at Mustang before being held back by a surprised Al.
"He didn't say anything like that Brother! Please calm down!" Al stammered over his brother's roars before turning to Mustang. "I'm sorry for my brother's behavior Colonel."
Mustang's smirk only widened at his subordinate's childish tantrum as he nonchalantly shrugged. "It's all right, Alphonse," he replied. "Perhaps all that pent-up rage is what's keeping him from growing past five feet."
The colonel's statement only riled up Ed even further and it took him a few minutes to calm down and cease spitting out vulgar insults at his superior officer.
"So then," Mustang began, his tone growing serious as the atmosphere settled down and Ed and Al took their seats. "I'm assuming that since you didn't parade into my office, there was no sign of the Philosopher's Stone."
"Yep. The last few missions were just wild goose chases," Ed sighed dejectedly before giving Mustang an annoyed glance. "Guess your resources aren't very reliable, huh Colonel?"
Mustang regarded Ed coolly before averting his attention and beginning to search through his stack of paperwork. "Keep in mind that these reports are mainly based on rumors that spread across the country, Fullmetal," he calmly replied. "However, a lead did pop up while you boys were traveling."
"Really?" Ed and Al immediately perked up, leaning forward in their seats eagerly. While most of their findings had been frauds and duds, a new report was always better than nothing for the optimistic brothers. "What is it?"
The colonel pulled out a single case file from the stack and flipped it open, glancing over the papers inside. "There have been suspicions of corrupt military activity in a military –based town in the West," Mustang explained. "Businesses near that area have been shutting down at unexpected rates over the past twelve years ever since the current owner of the town, Colonel Kent, took over and made it his base of operations as well as a military camp for trainees."
Ed frowned at the sudden change of subject. "So what does that have to do with the Philosopher's Stone?" he impatiently asked.
Mustang raised his eyes and his infamous smirk made an encore. "Not one to beat around the bush, are you Edward?" he teased. "Coincidentally, the previous owners of the town collected a wide variety of books in their mansion's extensive library. It's been said they even had several sacred texts involving alchemy. Of what specifically and whether they're still there, I'm not sure."
"Sacred alchemical texts…" Ed repeated thoughtfully before turning to grin at his brother. "Sounds like something we should look into, right Al?"
"Yeah," Al nodded, his tone cheerful. "Maybe they'll have a clue about getting our bodies back too."
"Now hold on a minute, boys," Mustang interrupted. "I need something out of this bargain as well."
Ed's hopeful attitude plummeted into a sour disposition as he stared at his superior. "I should've figured there was gonna be a catch, especially with you," he muttered in annoyance.
Mustang playfully shrugged before closing the open file with a snap. "Like I mentioned before, Colonel Kent's been a suspect of foul play for a while now," the colonel explained. "Strange enough, there hasn't been any solid evidence to prove this. Not only does he seem to cover his tracks well, but he's considered a well-respected official of the State Government, so West City troops haven't been called in to investigate.
"That's where you boys come in. I want the two of you to search for any signs of Kent's corruption while you look for those alchemy manuscripts. If you find anything about Kent, report it to me immediately."
Mustang paused, letting his offer sink in for a few moments. "It's like killing two birds with one stone," he added, his smirk widening.
Ed and Al looked at each other, considering the colonel's deal through a silent discussion. "Seems alright to me," Al decided.
"There's just one thing that bothers me," Ed remained unconvinced, raising an eyebrow at his officer. "Why does this Colonel's downfall matter to you so much?"
Mustang's smirk faltered but his expression became unreadable. "That's not for you to know, Fullmetal," he said simply.
Ed barely frowned, noticing a warning edge in the colonel's smooth voice. He hesitated for a few moments before huffing and pushing himself to his feet. "Alright Colonel, we're in," he decided. "What's the name of this town anyway?"
Colonel Mustang's smile spread in satisfaction as he tossed the case file to Ed. "You'll be heading to the military-based town in the West," he replied. "The town of Meridius."
After the spar and the ultimate decision was made, Jamie and Sabrina continued their daily lives in silence, both unsure of how to bring the sudden news to Gabe. The old man had shut himself away in his workshop while the teens were outside, and they both knew all too well the consequences of interrupting Gabe in his work before or after a meal. Despite this, Jamie insisted on telling their mechanic their plans as soon as possible, but Sabrina reminded him that an annoyed Gabe would only make him more unreasonable and reluctant to let them go.
"You know what happened the last time we tried to…" Sabrina began, but drifted off into a tense silence and Jamie understood. The last time they tried to break away during a period of anger between themselves and a parental figure, it had gone to hell.
With an impatient sigh, Jamie agreed, and after cleaning up, Sabrina opened the Automail Market up for the day and took the reins of the store while Jamie headed down the trek from the near base of the mountain to the hustle and bustle of the prosthetic paradise known as Rush Valley to buy train tickets. Under the intense heat of the southern sun, he began to feel his freshly changed hoodie and jeans stick to his body uncomfortably with sweat, but he brushed his displeasure aside. His hidden right arm and the hyena-like mechanics he glanced by as he passed through the shops gave him enough reason to brave the hot weather under heavy layers.
Jamie arrived at the train station after an estimated hour of walking and checked the train schedules for the next day, almost surprised to see no trains heading to Meridius. He asked about this to a clerk selling train tickets behind a booth, and the man informed him that in order to travel to the West, he would have to catch a train to Central first then hop on another train afterwards.
"When does the earliest train to Central leave tomorrow?" Jamie asked.
"At five o'clock in the morning, sir,"
Jamie paid for two tickets to Central and thanked the clerk before heading on his way home.
About halfway home, while passing by a cluster of closely knit automail shops, the heat became too intense for Jamie to handle much longer, and he gave out a short breath as he raised his arm to wipe away the sweat from his brow. His sleeve slipped down a few notches and he suddenly froze, noticing a bit of his right wrist was exposed to the outside environment. He quickly adjusted his sleeve to cover his entire arm completely, hoping to hide the damage before anyone noticed, but as his eyes darted around, he saw a trio of mechanics staring at him greedily from under the shade of an awning. Their hungry gazes hadn't missed the brief glimpse of the bright ray of sunlight glinting off the teen's patch of exposed arm.
"You look parched, son," one mechanic called out, his voice dripping with lust. "Why don't you pop in for a cup of water?"
Jamie ignored the hyena's offer and hurried on his way. Luckily, no one else bothered or came up to him for the rest of his journey home. By the time Jamie arrived back at base, it was nearing lunch time and he met Sabrina at the kitchen table, who had changed into a fresh white tank top and work pants and had her crimson hair tied back in a ponytail.
"No customers so far," the girl greeted as Jamie stepped into the room.
"As usual," the boy replied, setting to his task of sandwich making.
The prepping time was spent in silence as the two teens waited anxiously for Gabe's arrival, plans and arrangements swirling in Jamie's mind as he made lunch. As soon as the last slice of bread had been placed down over a sandwich with heavy meats and extra mayo, Gabe entered the kitchen in his usual cheery manner, bragging about how much food he could pack into a single meal and still have room for more as he pulled up a chair. Remaining silent, Jamie served the old man his lunch, and as the geezer chomped down on his heavy sub, the boy could no longer stand the wait.
"Sabrina and I are leaving Rush Valley tomorrow morning. We're going to Meridius."
As expected, Gabriel was all but agreeable to the plan. He spit what was left of the sandwich in his mouth across the room almost immediately and began to cough violently. "What're you, nuts?!" the old man exclaimed once he recovered. "Traveling to the West? That's a day's journey! And there's no way in hell you're leaving tomorrow! You still got a year left of-"
"You told us our rehabilitation period ended weeks ago," Jamie interrupted impatiently, forcing himself to remain calm. "My arm is working just fine, with no pain at all anymore, and other than her nightmares affecting her, it's the same for Sabrina."
Gabe scowled, his head briefly tilting to Sabrina, who appeared uncomfortable, before turning back to Jamie. "So you forced her into this, eh?" the old man accused. "What, couldn't stand waiting any longer so you go and threaten to leave her-?"
Without warning, Sabrina sprang from her seat so suddenly and violently that her chair fell back with a loud clatter, shocking both males as they whipped around to face the trembling girl. "He didn't force me into anything," she growled through clenched teeth, her hands balled into tight fists. "He told me his plans and gave me the option to go with him. I accepted."
Gabe's lips pressed together in a thin line and the two glared at each other, with Jamie uneasily spectating. The duo had gotten into plenty of spats before, but none made his heart pound in his ears, made his body barely tremble, and made it hard to breathe like this one.
He expected Gabe to disagree. He didn't expect Sabrina to get involved and react so emotionally, and it left him at a loss for words.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, Gabe turned away, locking his hands together over the table. "The rehabilitation process for the average man with automail installed is three years," he explained. "There have been rare cases for anyone to recover in a shorter period of time, and there have all been drawbacks and problems to those who rushed. I can't send a patient out into the harsh realities when he's not fully recovered or prepared, much less two stubborn teenagers who don't know half of what the world is like-"
"Don't you dare say we don't know crap!" Sabrina snapped, her voice quivering with rage. "Both of us have seen things no human being should ever see in their entire life! We've experienced and gone through hell and back, something you've probably never done!"
Gabe fell into silence and Jamie was ready to step in and end the argument, but Sabrina continued on. "When you first hooked the nerves in my legs to wires and put me through a painful agony, you told me a story when I was on the verge of sobbing in pain. A few years ago, there was a boy in the East who not only lost his entire family from the Civil War, but also his right arm and left leg. He was only eleven, around my age at the time, but he wanted automail so he could move on with his life. He went through the same process Jamie and I did, but he was able to get through it in a single year just fine and dandy.'
"Sabrina, we're not even sure if that story's true-"Jamie began, but the enraged girl turned on him.
"So what if it's not true?" she shouted. "It showed that nothing is impossible! That boy went through something like us, but he refused to sit back and watch the world go by as a cripple. Instead, he picked himself up and kept moving. Hell, he even recovered faster than we did!"
Sabrina paused, her body visibly shaking and her cheeks burning as she gasped out heavy breaths, her eyes brimming with tears. "If we want to move forward, we have to suffer through the pain that comes along the way. And we did and we still will…" She drifted off, slowly turning to look at Gabe. "And for you to try and hold us back… You don't understand a damn thing-"
Her voice broke off and the girl abruptly turned away, storming out of the kitchen and down the hall. The loud slam of a door was heard before everything fell into a tense silence.
Jamie didn't realize he was holding his breath until he exhaled, low and whispery. He forced his body to relax and chanced a look towards Gabe, expecting the old man to be close to blowing a gasket. Instead, to the boy's surprise, Gabe's stubborn demeanor had vanished and the sight of an elderly man slumped over in his seat with both his hands over his face met Jamie's gaze.
"Gabriel?" the teen asked.
There was no reply and Jamie was nervous that the old man was ignoring him. As he was about to call his name again, Gabe took a deep breath then slowly stood from his seat. "You two want to head to Meridius?" he growled, a lack of effort in his tone. "Fine. Do whatever the hell you want. I ain't your parent, so I can't stop you."
Leaving Jamie in silence, Gabriel stepped from his barely eaten sandwich and headed down the hall, his shoes clacking against the wooden floors. Again, Jamie heard a door open and close, albeit softer than Sabrina's, but a click of a lock was followed, signaling that the man needed absolute privacy.
Jamie felt his body slump from exhaustion and he ran a hand over his tired face, cursing silently to himself. He didn't understand it. He got his mechanic's permission to leave and his train tickets were ordered and safe in his pocket. Everything was set and prepared, and by tomorrow morning, he and his closest friend would be heading to Meridius. To his hometown. It was like a dream come true for the boy.
So why did he feel so horrible and guilty?
A/N: AWWW YEAH, A CHAPTER POSTED EARLIER THAN I PLANNED. WEWT
For starters, Happy late Thanksgiving! I hope you all had a fantastic holiday with your loved ones. And for those of you who don't celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you still had a good day :D
Secondly, theres the issue with school. Other than a few art projects to finish up, some drafts of an essay to finish, and a couple of finals to take, I'm pretty much done with my Fall semester in college. And then it's 3 weeks off for Christmas break, which will give me plenty of time to work on this story! ^^ I'm really enjoying it so far, even if I took a break from it, and I'm really happy that I finally got to introduce Ed, Al, and Mustang into this. I'll probably continue to update this story every two weeks unless something pops up, so expect the next chapter up around December 13th. Until then, reviews would help a ton! And thanks to The QAS and M for reviewing!*triple thumbs up*
On that note, here's a lil short I whipped up. Enjoy!
OMAKE
About halfway home, while passing by a cluster of closely knit automail shops, the heat became too intense for Jamie to handle much longer.
"Fuck it, I don't even care anymore," he decided, grabbing his clothes and throwing off his hoodie and shirt. Immediately, relief washed over him as the weather became less stifling to deal with and he sighed, stretching out his muscled left arm and barely noticeable six pack. "Much better," he said.
Suddenly he heard a few cat calls from his side and he whipped around, noticing a trio of mechanics under an awning with hearts in their eyes.
"C'mere big boy and lemme give ya some sugar~" an elderly man swooned.
"...oh dear God why?" Jamie groaned.