Disclaimer: No, I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist.
Summary: Slow and steady wins the race, but only when you're incredibly lucky. When Ed discovers the secret to Human Transmutation, Roy and his team's mission of reaching the top is thrown off track. But when the higher ups, and even the Fuhrer get involved, the situation is quickly thrown into disorder and turned into a struggle for power.
Author's Note: Here's the next chapter for those who read the first one. (: And for new readers too, of course.
CHECKMATE
chapter two: equivalent exchange
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"I said I found the damn secret to human transmutation!" Ed growled.
"The secret to human transmutation..?" Roy stuttered again, his chalky eyes dusting over.
Al, at last catching up with his brother in a rather noisy fashion, turned to face the Colonel, "Colonel Mustang, perhaps you could discuss it with brother in a separate room?" he questioned. Roy, sending a curious glance around the room-well, there was Hawkeye, Havoc and Fuery in the room, none of which he wouldn't trust with his life-"I don't see any reason we should not reveal your research here."
"You don't understand, Colonel," Edward muttered, grimacing, "Some things just cannot be revealed so dramatically."
Comtemplating Edward's uncharacteristic seriousness, and indifference to his his earlier jab hadn't affected the blonde, he decided, "Yes, yes," he murmured, hazy eyes and tired voice, "But perhaps, Hawkeye could-"
"No one. Just you." Roy, glancing up at Al's, well, order, nodded, "Okay. Fine."
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Closing the door behind him, Roy ran a gloved hand through his matted hair, shifting his bangs out of his eyes. Turning to Edward, he sighed, "Okay. What's this secret, and why can't I let Hawkeye and the others in on it?"
"Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. In order to obtain, something of equal value must be lost." recited Al grimly.
"Yes, Alphonse, I am quite aware of that Alchemic Law. I am an Alchemist, in case you hadn't noticed. Really, boys, we just uncovered our trump card on Bradley and you barge in with your news, if you have no intentions of revealing the secret to me, I really should be getting back to-"
"It's wrong." stated Ed.
"What?"
"Human Transmutation. It doesn't follow the law of Equivalent Exchange." Ed muttered, "The price of bringing someone back from the grave, is three lives. Eight years ago, an Alchemist called the Sun Alchemist was issued by the Fuhrer to conduct research on Human Transmutation. Originally, the believed one life was enough to bring someone back from the grave. Logically, one life would fulfil the law of Equivalent Exchange, but when they finally tried it for the first time, not only the life of the sacrifice, but the life of the Sun Alchemist and one of the Generals standing nearest to one point of the array were taken. However, it was a success, and one of the military advisors that they had wished to bring back came back from the dead."
"No side effects, no homunculus counterparts, he was a perfect human, had all his human memories, was exactly the same as when he was human. He had no memories of Death, The Gate, anything from the afterlife. It's as if he just went to sleep for a while. A perfect Human Transmutation. But three lives was the price."
Sighing, Roy's face paled, "Three lives to bring back one. Is the Fuhrer still continuing the Human Transmutation experiments?"
"That's when this story gets confusing," continued Al, "Apparently, after that experiment, the military discontinued the Human Transmutation research. They seemed to just abandon the research. Maybe they decided the life of three wasn't worth the sacrifice to get back one."
"But that isn't the type of game the military plays, especially not Bradley, they had plenty of prisoners, particularly after Ishbal. Knowing them, they would have jumped at the chance." Roy muttered, "Why would they..?"
"But we could bring them back." he head swivelled around to meet Ed's haunted eyes-murderer's eyes-"We could bring them back."
"Maes, we could bring Maes back.." Roy moaned, "Elysia and Gracia would be so happy.. and your mother, Hawkeye-sensei for Riza. It would cost nine lives, but.."
"You see where I'm going with this. But we, we couldn't possibly ignore that we'd be taking away six other lives."
"No, no, we can't." Roy said, lips pursed and pained eyes, "We can't.."
"Colonel!" the door opened roughly, a concerned looking Havoc bursting through.
"Havoc, don't interrupt, didn't I tell you to keep working?"
"Cheif, it's Hawkeye, the Fuhrer's decided to transfer her to work as his secretary, she's just received the reassignment letter."
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Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed that chapter, thanks to the reviewers and readers. (:
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