Cast Iron Alchemist

Chapter 2: The ex-prince

A young man sat next to the window of an old house. He had a glass of gin in his hand, sipping it as he stared out at the landscape. His mother was recently deceased, and he had never known his father. He was a tall man, thin with his father's black hair, and his mother's blue eyes. He sat there, alone, saying nothing as he took another sip.

A military supply truck made it's way down a dirt road, headed toward eastern headquarters. Suddenly the truck came to a stop and refused to move. The two men driving got out to check for the problem. Somehow the tire had gotten wrapped in tree roots as they were driving. It was quick work getting the truck unstuck, and they were quickly back on their way. They had, however, failed to notice the two hitch hikers stowing themselves away in the back of the truck with the supplies.

Anthony and Alicia sat in the back of the truck, happy to be off their feet after four days of walking. They were in their casual clothing, all of their brigade gear stowed away in their backpacks. Anthony licked his lips. "sweet, in a couple of hours we'll be in town and we can grab a bite to eat. I'm starving."

Alicia also had a smile on her face, though her mind was in a different place. "we can get a bite to eat, but first I need to get a nice, warm shower."

Anthony leaned back and yawned. "Shower? Food is more important than that."

she glared over at him. "maybe to a boy like you, but for a woman appearance is the most important thing."

she ran her hands down her hair. "Just look, my hair is all greasy."

Anthony looked over at her. "It's not like we're going there to flirt or something, we need to find Riza Hawkeye."

Alicia layed back against a barrel of artillery. "What makes you think that she's even alive? Or that she had the baby?"

Anthony stared at the roof of the truck. "from what I've read, Roy Mustang was a man who looked out for his team, and his team did the same. I'm sure that if they couldn't get Mustang out, they would have at least saved Hawkeye. In fact, I bet that's how Mustang requested it. And that baby, I'm sure that she would have had it, they were in love after all."

Alicia looked at him for a second and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right, I hope this isn't a wild goose chase."

Anthony reached into his back pocket and began reading from Ed's note book. Alicia layed her head on her backpack and tried to sleep. After a while, the truck came to a stop. Anthony transmuted a small hole and looked through it. They were in the town, and the men had stopped for lunch. Anthony shrugged Alicia awake and opened the door, quietly closing it and walking through the streets of the town. They spotted a hotel down the road and Anthony checked his pockets for money. He had $3.00 on him. He turned to Alicia. "How much do you have on you?"

Alicia checked her pockets and showed him. "$50.00, we should have enough for a couple of nights at the hotel, but we'll need to save some money for food."

Anthony nodded and the two walked up to the hotel. Anthony smiled and dropped $30 on the table in front of the innkeeper. "A room for two, how long will this cover us?"

the innkeeper counted the money and smiled. "This should cover a week, thank you."

Anthony nodded and the two were led to their room. Anthony took a look around, but was knocked to the ground by Alicia on her way to the shower. With an "ow," Anthony got to his feet and sat down on the bed.

Alicia came back out fully dressed, drying her damp hair with a towel. "much better."

Anthony was sitting on his bed, some ice on his bruised shoulder. "Congratulations, can we go get something to eat now?"

She sighed, glaring at him. "You know if you worked harder on your appearance you might get some looks from girls."

Anthony stood up and stretched his arm. "I got plenty of looks back where I'm from, I just have my priorities straight. You can live without a shower, you need food to survive."

she stuck her tongue out teasingly for a moment, and the two went out to lunch. "So Anthony," she said, "How are we supposed to find out where this person is? We don't have any leads to go on."

Anthony shook his head and opened the note book from his back pocket. "Havoc, Fuery, Breda, Falman. All these men served under Mustang, at least one of them should know where Hawkeye is. All we need to do is find a way to get into the library to find their files."

Alicia smiled, sipping some coffee. "That shouldn't be too hard with that pocket watch on your waist."

Anthony looked at it and picked up the rusted watch. "With this? How will this help?"

Alicia giggled. "You're so slow, that's a state alchemist pocket watch, meaning that they'll let you into any military building as long as you look the part."

Anthony smiled and put it back in his pocket. He knew none of this would have been possible if not for his grandfather. "Alright then, we'll just walk in and get the information we need."

The two returned to the hotel room for a well earned night of rest.

The next day, Anthony made his way to the east headquarters library. He flashed his watch at the librarian and she let him pass. Thanks to some quick alchemy, the watched looked as nice as it did held by it's first owner. He made his way to the back of the library, where the personnel records were kept. He checked through all of the files and took notes in the back of the book, walking back out to join Alicia, waiting on a bench. She looked at him and smiled. "Good, they let you through. So what's the good word?"

Anthony sighed and opened the notebook to the page where he took the notes. "Havoc died of lung cancer, and Falman of old age. Breda lives far to the south, way in the outskirts of Amestris. Fuery works for the military here at eastern headquarters, but there wasn't a home address listed for him in the personnel file."

Alicia sighed and looked down at the ground. "Well, I guess for now we can try and get in touch with Fuery, he might know something. Did it say what position he had?"

Anthony nodded and gritted his teeth. "He's the general in charge of eastern headquarters."

Alicia said nothing, and the two sat there, thinking. Finally, Anthony stood up. "I'm not giving up, we'll just have to infiltrate eastern headquarters and get to Fuery."

Alicia stood up, looking worried. "Anthony, what if he's changed sides?"

Anthony shook his head. "No way, he was too close to Mustang. This must be one of those 'keep your enemies closer' sort of things. It just has to be."

Alicia looked at the seriousness in his face and smiled, his false hope somehow reassuring to her. "so what's the plan?"

That night, dressed in their brigade clothing, the two made their way to the wall of eastern headquarters, dodging past the guard patrols. Alicia pressed her palm to the wall and made a ladder of tree roots up the wall. The two scaled the wall, climbing up to the top. Once up, they looked around for the general's office. It stood across from them, six stories high, with Fuery's office at the very top. There were patrols all over the ground, they would have to make their way across the wall, which was no problem. Anthony transmuted a peep hole against the building's wall and looked inside to make sure the coast was clear before creating an opening for the two to crawl through. He was careful closing it once they were in. With their thin stature, it was no problem for the two of them to make their way through the vents.

Within minutes, they had made their way to the vent in Fuery's office. He sat there, working on paperwork. He was a mature man, his glasses held the wisdom of a long lived life. Anthony opened the vent and fell down into the office, with Alicia following him. Fuery panicked and reached for the security button, but he froze up when he saw Anthony's mask. "Wh...who are you?" he demanded.

Anthony took out his pocket watch and showed him the inscription. "You can call me the Cast Iron Alchemist, General Fuery. My associate is the Botanic Alchemist. We are both members of the Fullmetal Brigade, seeking to take down this country's military. We aren't here to hurt you, we just want some information on an old friend of yours." he explained.

Fuery calmed himself, stood up straight and walked around his desk, leaning on it. "Let me see your real faces, then I'll decide if I want to cooperate."

Anthony paused for a second, but nodded and removed his mask. Alicia saw him removing it and, a but reluctantly, she did so too. "There, now we have nothing to hide."

Fuery looked at them and shook his head. "revealing yourselves to the enemy, do you have a death wish?"

Anthony shook his head. "I don't believe you are our enemy general. We're trying to bring down this military, and we're looking to find Riza Hawkeye to help us, if you know where she is."

Fuery looked down for a second, thinking. Finally, he nodded. "It's true, we were able to rescue her at the cost of Mustang, but past that was not my duty. Everyone quit but me, they wouldn't let me. I was the youngest member, and they saw I had great potential. The last time I got in touch with them was a letter from Havoc. He told me that Riza's child had been born and that she was safe."

saying nothing for a moment, he wrote down a town and address on a piece of paper. "This is the last known address, it's a couple towns over. And if you're serious about destroying this oppressive military, then just tell me what I can do to help."

Anthony smiled and put his mask back on, pocketing the address. "Thanks, you've done more than enough for now, General Fuery. I'll keep in touch if we need any help."

a call came on the intercom for Fuery. "General! There are some strange ropes on the wall of the headquarters, they look like a ladder!"

Fuery replied immediately. "Send all available officers to investigate."

Anthony and Alicia were already gone before he finished his reply.

The man had left the window, now sitting at a work desk with some papers in front of him, military reports. He read them over and over, trying to make sense of it all. The reports were relating to the trial and execution of Roy Mustang, but none of it made sense to him. He opened a drawer in the desk. Inside was a pair of white gloves, a detailed transmutation circle hemmed into it. He merely stared at it, then closed the drawer.

Anthony and Alicia walked sluggishly in the hot sun, following the dirt roads to the small town of Rebitan. They had been walking for a long time, their legs tired, almost moving on their own. Anthony sighed. "Damnit, I'm sick and tired of walking."

Alicia glared at him. "Well if you hadn't payed for a week's stay in a room we spent two days in and drowned all our extra money filling your stomach we might have taken the train, but now we're broke and walking so just shut up about it." she replied angrily.

The two continued to walk, tired and frustrated. Finally, near mid day, they stopped under a tree to relax their tired legs. Alicia sighed and sipped from her canteen. "It's so hot, my skin is going to burn."

Anthony said nothing, reading from his grandfather's note book. Alicia looked over and handed him the canteen. "here, you need to keep your strength up. Why do you read that book so much, I thought you read through it already."

Anthony took the water and sipped it, turning back to the book. "the more you read, the more details you see that you didn't see before. Back where I came from, this was just a story book to me, now it's the bible of the brigade, it has all his secrets to alchemy, all his special techniques, and all his information on the secrets of this world. The more I reread, the more I discover, and the more information I have on who we're facing."

Alicia looked at him with a bit of awe at his answer, then couldn't help but giggle. Anthony looked over at her. "what's so funny?" he asked.

Alicia smiled. "It's just so weird, sometimes you're smart, and sometimes you're dumb. You're just an odd person Anthony."

Anthony glared, closing the book. "just what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

she shrugged and smiled. He gave her a confused look and turned back to his book. "That reminds me, I have a question for you, about botany."

she looked over and shuffled a bit closer. "Yeah? What is it?"

Anthony pointed to a line on the page. "Grandpa Ed made a note right here, 'If it weren't all sand, if I had just a little bit of grass, I could make some bread. Damn sand,' is that true? Can you transmute grass into bread?"

Alicia stared down at the grass and ran her hand across it, thinking. "Well," she finally said, "I guess it's possible, grass and grains are very similar in composition after all."

Anthony smiled. "So you can transmute it then?"

She shrugged. "I've never done it before, but it's theoretically possible."

Anthony set down a cloth and the two started collecting grass, pouring it onto the cloth. Alicia put her glove on and pressed her palm to the grass. With a flash of green light, two small buns lay on the cloth. Anthony quickly grabbed one and bit into it. His enjoyment was short lived, however, as he spit out grass clippings that were inside the bread shell. "I think your transmutation needs some work."

she sighed. "I told you I've never done it before, jerk!"

After two long days of bickering, the two finally made it to Rebitan. Along the way, Alicia had perfected transmuting grass to bread, and the two made enough for a couple nights' stay in the town's inn. It was late by the time they got to their rooms, and the two nearly passed out before they reached their beds.

Their search started the next day. They went to the mayor of the town, hoping he would know the whereabouts of their target. The mayor was a portly man, with grey hair and a thin beard. "Well," he said, "can you describe the person?"

Anthony nodded. "Alright, let's see. It could be a boy or a girl, with blonde or black hair, blue eyes, single parent, a woman, who may or may not be dead. And maybe an alchemist or someone who carries a gun."

The mayor nodded immediately. "I think I know who you're looking for then."

Anthony leaned in happily. "You do? Who?"

The mayor shook his head. "Half the population of Amestris, you don't have a description you have a collection of random facts."

Anthony sighed and started walking away, but Alicia walked forward, looking serious. "This person, their mother too, they would be distant, probably live near the outskirts of your town or somewhere that people wouldn't bother them. They would be distant from others, coming into town for necessities, not trusting anyone. The woman would have been pregnant when she arrived, and had the child here, and if the parent is dead, you probably haven't seen them in town for a while."

the mayor looked at her, surprised at her statement and nodded. "There is someone like that here, his name is Trevor Hughes."

She sighed and shook her head. "No, we're looking for someone named Hawkeye or Musta-"

Anthony pushed her out of the way before she could finish, his turn to look serious. "Trevor Hughes, where does he live?"

the mayor nearly jumped in his seat as Anthony approached him. "He...he lives on the west side of town, near the graveyard, his mother, Gracia Hughes, died recently and he hasn't left the house since then, some have seen him stare out the window."

Anthony nodded and set some money down for him. "thank you, you have been very helpful."

he left with Alicia and sat down on the steps of the town hall. Alicia looked at him. "what was that about? We aren't looking for Hughes, we're looking for Mustang or Hawkeye."

Anthony stared up at the blue sky. "Maes Hughes was a close friend of Roy and my Grandfather, it's entirely possible that Hawkeye took his name as a cover, and Gracia happened to be Hughes' wife. In fact, I'm sure that's the case, Trevor is definitely Mustang's son."

she smiled and stood up. "Well let's get going then, the sooner we get Trevor the better, right?"

Anthony nodded and stood up, and the two began walking. They should have payed more attention to their surroundings, however, because a local con man had overheard their entire conversation.

As the two walked toward the graveyard, Anthony got run down by a man, running with a sack of apples, a pair of military soldiers on his tail. They picked up the man, as he begged and pleaded, down the street. Anthony got up and brushed himself off. "What was that about?"

Alicia sighed. "Ever since Fuhrer King Simon went into power he's been cracking down on crime, giving even the pettiest crime trial. His taxes make it worse, to the point where theft becomes the only option for some."

Anthony glared at the backs of the soldiers. "Let's go, we have an ex-prince to recruit."

Anthony continued walking, saying nothing as they approached the graveyard. It wasn't hard to spot the shack over the gravestones. The two walked up to the door and Anthony knocked. "Trevor, Trevor Mustang, we need to talk to you."

there was a short silence and Anthony knocked again. "Trevor? Are you in the-"

he didn't have a chance to finish before the door was kicked open and he was knocked back. Trevor stepped out, wearing a glove with a fire transmutation circle on the back. His eyes pooled with anger. "So you've finally come for me huh? Well you can roast in hell!" he yelled as he snapped, a blue spark flew through the air.

Anthony rolled out of the way as a powerful blue flame exploded behind him. Alicia watched from the side lines as Anthony continued to narrowly cheat death. After overcoming shock and awe she reached into her pocket and tossed a red glove to Anthony. "Anthony! Take it!"

Anthony rolled and grabbed the glove, running as he put it on. The two fighters snapped at the same time, a blue and red spark crossed in midair, creating a mighty explosion as the two were knocked back. While Trevor was down, Alicia quickly tied him to the side of the shack with powerful vines. Anthony ran and pulled the glove from his hand before he could snap again. He struggled against the vines, but to no avail. He gave up and just glared at Anthony, who glared back. "Now, are you going to sit and listen to what we have to say?"

he didn't say anything, continuing to stare. "My name is Anthony Elric, this is Alicia Rivers, we aren't with the military. We're forming a rebel group, and we want you to join so we can change this country."

Trevor scoffed at him. "Yeah right, what can you do? I'll pass on the suicide group."

Anthony grit his teeth. "This isn't suicide, I'm telling you it can be done."

Trevor glared at him. "Elric was it? Related to Edward Elric? I figured you of all people would realize. My father died because he wanted to change this country. He defeated the homunculus pride, or as he was better known, Fuhrer King Bradley. He died, accused of treason for it. What makes you think that this will be any different? All you will do is kill someone who the people see as a hero, as a leader. You're as foolish as your predecessor."

Anthony kicked him in the stomach, his anger at a boiling point. He took Trevor by the collar of his shirt. "Don't talk about my Grandpa Ed, he did great things for this country, all while trying to help him and his brother! Your father did the same, show some pride! Show some compassion! We will change this country!"

Trevor glared back, his short fuse burnt out aswell. "Well you can do it without me then!"

Anthony glared and turned away. "We're going Alicia, untie him and let's go."

Anthony tossed Trevor's glove to the ground and began walking away, Alicia watched his back for a moment before freeing Trevor and leaving with him. "Anthony, he was upset, I'm sure he didn't mean any of that."

Anthony continued to walk. "Forget about it, he's a lost cause."

the two comrades lay asleep in their inn room, when some noise coming from outside awoke them. Anthony looked out the window and saw a group of at least ten soldiers marching down the street, being led by a man in a suit. "He's this way," the man said, "Trevor Mustang is this way, hurry so I can get my reward."

Anthony gritted his teeth and shut the window. He looked at Alicia, both with concerned faces. "Get the Fullmetal gear together, and hurry."

the two geared up and climbed out the window, jumping rooftops as they kept their sights on the soldiers. They stopped at the last house near the graveyard and stood watch. Two soldiers went in, dragging Trevor out and holding him down to his knees. The man was overexcited. "It's him, it's Trevor Mustang, he's been masquerading as Hughes."

the man jumped for joy, there was a large reward for the son of Mustang. The lead soldier nodded to one of his subordinates, who stabbed the man through the chest. He gasped and fell to the ground. "Wh-what about my reward?"

the captain looked at him and then back at Trevor. "our orders are clear, once Mustang is in custody, kill the one who found him."

Alicia watched in shock as the man died there on the grass. "Anthony, we have to do something."

Anthony said nothing, still staring. The captain put a sword to Trevor's throat. "Trevor Mustang," he began, "For your family's crimes against the state you are sentenced to death."

Anthony still just sat there. Alicia's arms were shaking. "Anthony, please we need to help."

he still said nothing. The captain prepared to slit his throat. "Prepare to die."

Alicia screamed. "Anthony!"

Anthony had his palm to the rooftop, as he transmuted down across the ground and a spike broke the captain's sword, another spike driving through his chest. Everyone's eyes followed the blue light to it's source and saw the two on the rooftop, who jumped down and landed. The soldiers drew their swords, ready to fight if need be. One of them spoke up. "Just who the hell are you two?"

Anthony clapped his hands and pressed his glove to his armored hand, transmuting a blade. "The Fullmetal Brigade, the true alchemists of the people."

Alicia put on her gloves. A soldier ran forward to stab Anthony, he blocked and drove the blade through the man's stomach. "I am the leader, the Cast Iron Alchemist. Release Trevor Mustang now, I'd hate to have to kill you."

A soldier Gritted his teeth. "come on, there's six of us and only two of them. Get them!"

the two holding Trevor stood still as the other six drew their swords to fight. Anthony cleared the blood from his blade and began blocking and parrying. Alicia transmuted a whip covered in thorns from a nearby bouquet of roses. She pulled the weapons from the soldiers, breaking them with the grey glove on her other hand. They made quick work of all six guards, the graveyard riddled with corpses. Anthony transmuted the blade back into his arm. "Rest in peace."

the two holding Trevor let go and began to run. Anthony stopped one of them by the collar of his shirt. "Send a message to your subordinates, the Fullmetal Brigade is on the move."

he nodded and ran, happy to have his life spared. Trevor stood up and stretched his arms, sore from being held down. Anthony removed his mask and the two stared at each other for a while. Anthony finally spoke up. "I don't expect you to thank me, we're just doing what we're meant to do."

he put his mask back on and the two began walking away. Trevor watched as the two walked. "Hey" he yelled to them.

The two turned around and he smiled. "Where can I get one of those cool masks?"

Anthony smiled back. "I don't know, you kind of have to be part of an exclusive club."

The next morning, the town was bustling. Eight soldiers and a con man had been found dead, lying side by side in the graveyard. The captain had a piece of paper on his chest. On the front was a snake wrapped around a cross, and the words "Fullmetal Brigade" and on the back it said "True alchemists for the people"

Trevor had his backpack filled, and joined Anthony and Alicia at the front gate. The three started walking down the dirt path. Trevor smirked. "You two had better not get me killed."

Anthony smiled. "Don't worry, I'm pretty sure no one will be able to put out the Blue Flame Alchemist."

Trevor put a hand on Anthony's shoulder. "Blue Flame, huh? I accept, just be careful you don't get burned."

Anthony nodded back to him, smirking. "I'll be sure to be careful. Now let's go, we have work to do."