Chapter 3
March 21st roughly 8am at the Rockbell's
I woke up that morning to the smell of food. Being hungry again, I got my clothes back on and made my to the dining room. There I saw Ed, and Al already there eating, Winry was no where to be seen, and I had no clue as to the whereabouts of Pinako. Seeing me the Ed and Al greeted me and told me to pull up a chair. I had just settled in when I heard a knock at the front door.
"Dominic, you better hide. Go back through the kitchen, and head to Winry's workshop." Ed whispered.
"I've got to assume that someone may have gotten a good look at you and notified the authorities, if that's the case I can't let them find you, or you will probably be ferried off to Central and who knows what might happen." Ed continued.
I had never really noticed Ed's prosthetic limbs before, but he wasn't fully dressed, so I could see what appeared to be a steel limb and it simply astounded me in its functionality. Not trying to gawk, I nodded, and quietly made my way to Winry's workshop, while I saw Al head toward my room to hide my gear, as Ed went to the door.
As Ed opened the door, he saw a member of the military on the front porch, along with two other soldiers all in blue uniforms. Back in the drive way a truck and a car were both idling, and there were a good half dozen more soldiers sitting in the bed of the truck. Something wasn't right. Ed knew they must be after Dominic.
"Greetings Full Metal Alchemist, I am Lt. Schwartz, and I've been ordered to search this premises for an unknown man. We've heard reports that say that they saw a strange man approach this place. We also found this under an Oak tree that had been carved as a grave, not far from here." The lieutenant held out the mangled uniform.
"It is obvious that some sort of soldier of some kind is roaming the country side near here, and from where he is from we don't know. But it is suspected by those in Central that this man might be from the other world, the same one that nearly succeeded in invading us last year." He continued.
"We will tear this place apart looking for him, however you have my assurances that he will not be harmed, as General Mustang wants him alive so that he can be questioned. This can either be civil and quick, or it can be dirty, so I'm asking you to please cooperate. I also expect that anything he had with him will also accompany him on the way out." He ended.
Ed pondered this for a moment, and the more he thought about it, the more he knew there was no point in really resisting, as the cat was already out of the proverbial bag. So he relented, and answered the officer.
"Alright, I'll hand him over, but Al and I are going with him to Central. I'll go tell the Gunnery Sergeant, the situation. We'll be back out in a few minutes." Ed responded reluctantly.
Ed came walking back into the house and walked into Winry's workshop. He saw me sitting on a bench looking at some of the artificial limbs lying around, when he sat down next to me to talk.
"Dom, the state military is here, and they know you're here. I've already said that you are going to go with them to Central, but I wanted you to know that Al and I will go with you. However when we get to Central, I don't know what exactly is going to happen to you, but I do know the general involved. His name is Roy Mustang, the flame alchemist. He is a wily bastard however he is at heart a good, albeit conniving man. I don't know what he wants with you, but whatever it is, must be important as it's not often that a squad of the elite forces are sent to retrieve a man." Ed explained.
"Alright Ed, I'll cooperate, however we need to hide my weapons and some of my other equipment and…" I said
"Dom, everything has to come with us. They will tear this place apart if they even suspect you are holding something back. So we will take everything. Please, I know why you don't want them to have access to these devices, but you can't allow for these people to possibly damage the livelihoods of the Rockbell's. General Mustang will probably question you, so don't even bother trying to lie, he is a pretty civil man, and if he sees that you genuinely aren't a threat then perhaps some sort of arrangement can be made." Ed interjected.
"Well, I guess my life is in your hands Edward. I'll go upstairs and get my gear, and get dressed. I want to those soldiers outside to know that I am experienced in combat and that I am only cooperating out of good of my hosts here." I said sternly.
"Dom, just don't do anything stupid. We will be in Central as soon as possible, so we may be a day late in getting there. Just keep your cool and go along with them." Ed answered.
I could tell Winry didn't like what was happening. I suspected it had more to do with Ed and Al leaving then anything to do with me per se, however she understood the sort of predicament I was in. So I made my way upstairs got dressed, packed all of my equipment, put on my body armor, helmet, and knee pads, and grabbed my sniper rifle, and Eric's M16 and slung them over my shoulders. I then saw Pinako coming up from the basement and I thanked her for her hospitality, and walked to the front door.
Outside I saw a trio of soldiers on the porch, as well as the rest of the squad in the bed of truck. They were all wearing blue uniforms and were armed, with the exception of the lieutenant with sub-machine guns. I made my way to the door, opened it and saluted the commanding officer.
"My name is Gunnery Sergeant Dominic Moreau of the United States Marine Corps. I am hereby your prisoner, and am cooperating out of the benefit to my hosts. I expect fair treatment, and will not resist. I will keep my equipment with me, but I will unload all of my weapons, and you may hold onto my ammunition until General Mustang decides what is to be done with me." I ended.
"Hmm… I suppose this is a reasonable arrangement. By the way I am Lt. Schwartz, and you will acknowledge my command." He said. "See to it that he is true to his word and his weapons are completely unloaded, and disabled." He told one of his men.
I then set my gear down, took all of my ammunition and my two hand grenades, and put them all in a sack the soldier was carrying. He looked a bit uncomfortable, but he obviously wasn't going to go against the judgment of his commander. The Lieutenant then gestured for me to follow him into the car, he held the door open for me, and I got in, he then hopped in behind me.
The car was a grey vehicle that looked like something out of an old gangster film. In the car, the two men who escorted the lieutenant got in the front, one was obviously the driver, and the other was a guard who had his machine gun sitting on his lap. The car lurched forward and made its way down the bumpy road. For the next 20 minutes, we drove in silence as we got into the small town of Resembool, and approached the train station. As I looked around, it seemed to me that this world looked a lot like pictures I'd seen from the era around the First World War. As we pulled up to the train station people in town started to come out of their houses and businesses to see what was going on, as it must have been fairly unusual to see the military in this neck of the woods.
As the car pulled up near the boarding platform, the soldiers all got off the truck, and positioned themselves so that they formed a wall that I assume was to prevent me from running. The Lieutenant then opened the door, the driver and the guard got out, and as I stepped out, they fell in behind me, as I followed the officer to the train car. I followed the officer up into the last train car, and was surprised to see the inside of the car was beautifully finished. The inside was almost entirely made of fine woods, and carvings and I could see someone who appeared to be an officer sitting at a desk. The man looked to be perhaps 30 years of age, and had jet black hair. The man gestured for me to take a seat in front of him, and Lt. Schwartz took a seat by the door linking this car to the rest of the train.
"I am General Mustang, high ranking officer of the State Military, and who might you be?" the General asked.
"I am Gunnery Sergeant Dominic Moreau, of the United States Marine Corps." I answered.
As we started talking, a felt a small lurch, and could feel the bumps of the railroad track as the train started to move.
"Hmm… I'm not aware of the United States, could you be amongst the same people who recently attacked us, or perhaps you are merely a spy for one of our neighbors?" Mustang prodded.
"Look, I'm lost, I don't even know where I am, or really even understand how I got here. All I know is that from what Edward Elric explained to me is that I'm likely stuck in this world permanently." I said.
"How did you get here? By chance did it involve a strange gate?" the general asked.
"Actually it did." So I explained the whole situation, the entire chain of events that led up to the military showing up, how my comrade was absorbed by the gate, and how I ended up in a farm field in the backwoods of Amestris. Lastly I explained how I ended up with the Elric brothers, and I ended the story.
"From your descriptions of the gate, I know you are telling me the truth. Few ever witness the gate, and come through unscathed. Obviously you unknowingly managed to evoke the gate, and the gate took your comrade as its toll to pass through, as is required by the fundamental law of equivalent exchange." The General Explained.
"You see, that gate that you passed through, typically imparts knowledge to an alchemist, although it also acts as a bridge between the world of alchemy, and your world. However in order to get anything from the gate, something of equal value must be given to the gate. In your case, it was your friend's life. The gate took him, and allowed you to pass through." He continued.
"Now in your case, I can see why Ed said you were essentially trapped here in the world of alchemy, because the only way to get through the gate to your world is with the sacrifice of another human being. Along with that sacrifice, is also the required understanding of alchemy to actually summon the gate. In your case, it was by a sheer chance that you happened into a situation where that alchemy knowledge was not required. After seeing the gate, I can tell by the look that you have no real desire to head back through, especially knowing what the price of admittance is. So now, the question becomes what to do with you?" The general appeared deep in thought, as he pondered this for a moment. I felt like a mouse being toyed with by a cat.
"Well, while it seems to me that you genuinely aren't really a threat, the political reality of the situation deems otherwise. There are those who would see you in such a way, and as such, I'll need to ensure that you are made to be a rumor, and not a fact. But what to do with you… Exactly what did you do up until the time of your journey through the gate, as well as what are the functions of the equipment you carry?" He asked. This was the point that I knew I was not just a pawn in the chess game of the bigger picture, but something more like a rook or knight. Someone whom people might kill to posses and control.
"I guess you want to know the full extent of my training. I was a marine recon sniper. I am an expert marksman, and was a part of the eyes and ears of the United States military when it was in ground combat." I explained. As I did this, I could see that ideas were running at break neck speed through the General's mind.
"As far as the weapons that I carry, this is the M24 sniper rifle with a night vision scope, and accurate at long distances, this other weapon I carry, is an M16 assault rifle fitted with a grenade launcher, capable of full automatic fire. I also have a few hand grenades which you are likely familiar with." I continued.
"For the equipment that I'm wearing, my helmet is bullet resistant, and can withstand small arms fire from things like pistols, or sub machine guns. My vest is called Dragon-Skin which is basically a bunch of armored scales which overlap each other. It will stop anything short of an anti-vehicle round." I then proceeded to go through everything in my ruck sack, and I could see a faint smirk starting to grow on the General's face. He looked like that child who got exactly what he wanted for Christmas. The General smiled.
"I guess fate has dropped a gift into my hands. You see, the situation in the country isn't as stable as it first appears to be. A few years back, the military dictator of this country died and since then the nation has been on the precipice of destabilizing, in particular after the Thule Society nearly succeeded in their invasion. However there are those who are a threat to this nation in this time of vulnerability, either in the form of rogue alchemists who are trying to practice forbidden acts like Human transmutation, or from within the government and the military. You seem like you could be the exact person I've been looking for to remove these threats." He explained.
"It's not until now that this country is finally maturing into a form that will last, as opposed to generational shifts in military dictatorships, and non-stop war with our neighbors. If there is one thing that needs to happen, it is to ensure that certain people cannot undermine the current government in its time of weakness, now that things have finally began to settle down after the brutal war in the neighboring nation of Ishbal, and I aim to make sure that history does not repeat itself." The General continued.
"I want you to serve under me. To act as my scalpel to remove the cancer that plagues this country. If we are to have any lasting peace, this must be done soon, and it must be done in a manner that makes it difficult for my enemies to link me to actions that I will have you perform. Would you be willing to do serve me?" The General asked.
"Do I have a choice? Ed told me you were a conniving bastard, but I didn't really understand what he meant until now. Given the situation I guess I'll have to serve, but before I commit to anything I want to talk to the Elric brothers." I said.
"Good. That can be done, I'll ensure that when we get to Central you have a chance to speak with the brothers about your situation. Until then however, I'd like you to join me for lunch." The General replied.
So as the train rattled down the track, I found myself not that hungry when lunch was brought out. The thought of killing is not something that I look forward to, in particular when it's directly related to the politics of an unknown country, in an unknown world. I guess some things never change regardless of where what world one is in. I simply looked out the window at the passing country side thinking "What have I gotten myself into."