Summary:
Edward Elric finds himself pulled back through the Gate, his brother left alone on the other side. Once again, he finds himself fighting through hell and fire to get his brother back, enlisting the help of an ex-State Alchemist, searching for a less bloody way of opening the Gate. Gaining knowledge of the Key, Edward begins searching for a way to locate the Key, his new companion, Violet McCloud, constantly pulling at his curiosities.
Disclaimer:
I do not own FullMetal Alchemist, but this plot is purely my own design.
Chapter Three- The Prodigy Vs. The Infamous
The feral, wild creature towered over the ebony-haired girl, her back resting on the ground of the station, silver-violet eyes slowly opening to peer up at the creature. Watching as the silver-tinted, black-coated animal leaned down, its muzzle moving closer to Violet's exposed throat, Ed's mind swarmed with several scenarios. Slipping off the white glove from his right hand, he raised his arms, his eyes focusing on the animal towering over the ex-State Alchemist.
"Vi!" a slightly familiar voice called out, causing his hands to freeze, inches from clapping together.
Ed's gaze was pulled to the trio racing over to the girl, who stared blankly at the animal. Immediately, Ed recognized the petite brunette racing toward them, her bright hazel eyes warm and accepting. Following closely behind her, trailed a taller brunette, her hair pulled into a plaited braid, rich brown eyes peppered with cinnamon. Racing beside the taller brunette ran a grinning man, barely of twenty, deep, rich red bangs brushing over his ice-blue eyes. Immediately, a series of giggles pulled FullMetal to glance at his companion, the wolf towering over her running its tongue along her face, elicting the giggles as she fought to bat them away.
Getting the chance to push the animal off of her, Violet stood, brushing off her trench coat only to be caught in a three-way embrace. Ed smirked at the irritation flickering amongst the unfocused eyes before the three let go. The annoyance didn't leave the gaze as the three began speaking at once, cutting each other off constantly. The girl closed her eyes, pressing a hand to her temple and almost instantly her friends fell silent.
"Who's the pipsqueak?" the young red-head asked, glancing Ed over with an assessing gaze.
Ed found himself cut off mid-rant when the red-head flinched as Violet punched his shoulder, "That pipsqueak happens to be the FullMetal Alchemist," the three tensed up, shoulder straightening, "also known as Edward Elric."
Three pairs of human eyes glanced at him, joined with the sharp-emerald gaze of the wolf sitting obediently at Violet's feet, "I take it you heard of me?" The three nodded, "Who are you guys?"
"This is Katherine Willows," Ed nodded, already having realized that, "The other girl is Lauren Green, and this ass is Aiden Hallows."
"And the wolf?" Ed questioned, looking down at the animal.
Violet knelt beside the wolf, hand moving to pat the graceful beast between its ears, "This is my most pleasant companion, Kayden. He's been by my side for far longer than anyone thought to be possible."
"You tamed a wild animal?"
A cynical smirk appeared on Violet's lips, "A free spirit can never be tamed. Kayden is free to come and go as he pleases, but he always manages to come back to me." The girl pressed a kiss to the nose of the beast before standing upright once more, "Now, what was all that shit you were trying to say?"
"We arrived in Puenimos just in time for their annual Festival and with the Festival comes..."
Violet sighed, "A tournament of some kind."
Aiden grinned widely, "Not just any tournament. This one is an Alchemy Battle."
Ed's head snapped up at the words, Violet also moving to stand straighter, "Alchemy? Strange. Let me take a wild guess and say that Lauren once again forged my signature?" As the tall brunette nodded, Ed smirked as Violet sighed in defeat before holding a hand to the red-head, "Fine. Hand them over and I'll do it."
Ed's eyebrows shot up as Aiden handed the girl a cigarette, to which he lit after it settled between her lips, "Alchemy, huh? Anyone can join?"
Ed's words started yet another argument. Lauren insisted it would be a battle of the ages. Katherine argued that it was a bad idea. Aiden looked back and forth as the two shot back volleys of arguments. A shrill whistle from Ed's right caused a ringing sensation to form in his ear. Violet let out a stream of gray smoke before motioning to him.
"Did either of you ask, Ed, if he even wanted to?"
At the looks, Ed found himself rubbing the back of his head, "I'm not sure if I should-"
"Yeah, FullMetal is probably rusty from being away from Alchemy for so long," Aiden interrupted.
Seething at the red-headed man, Ed sneered, "I said I'm not sure if I should, not that I wouldn't."
Lauren clapped happily, "I can see it now. The intense battle between the prodigy FullMetal Alchemist and the infamous FinalStrike Alchemist. We should sell tickets."
Violet shook her head, obviously used to her friend's antics. Ed couldn't help but chuckle at the hyperactive brunette. She reminded him of someone, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it just yet. The golden-haired Alchemist soon found himself following the group through the crowded streets, his eyes frequently traveling to his silent companion, her eyes shut as she moved through the crowd, dodging and shifting as to not touch any strangers. Now that is weird. That moment Ed found himself wondering if she always avoided touching people unless necessary. As Katherine, who insisted that he called her Kat, showed him where to sign up for the tournament, he listened as Kat told him about meeting Violet many years ago, when they were still kids. Was she always traveling?
"McCloud!" a voice greeted, causing Ed to look up from the forms.
A tall man with light blond hair and easy brown eyes made his way toward the black and purple clad girl. As he filled out his form, he listened as Violet greeted the man, not like she greeted her friends, but it was obvious that she held some sense of respect for the man. Violet must be a frequent visitor to the town, or maybe it was once her home?
"Hey, McCloud, did you catch the strange storm last week?" the man questioned, obviously hinting at something.
Violet seemed to catch onto the man's meaning, because she nodded, "I did. I was caught up in it on my way through Central. Heaviest rain I've seen for a few years. Anyone ever find out where it originated from?"
"Yeah. A lot of people say it headed East from beyond the boundaries of Lorien City," the man responded, to which Violet moved to tug playfully on the ears of the wolf, which twitched downward. "Hey, you're staying for the tournament, right?"
Violet fixed Lauren with a side glance, "I wasn't informed of entering the tournament until I arrived a few minutes ago."
"Awesome. Can't wait to see you back in action. Remember if you need anything, you know where I can be found," the blond man stated, waving at Violet, who nodded.
The blond man disappeared within the crowd of people and the silence that followed was cut off as Aiden threw an arm over Violet's shoulders. Dragging the ebony-haired girl through the crowded streets, Ed smiled warmly as the girls tugged him along, the group chattering as they looked amongst the shops. Ed watched as Aiden pulled Violet into a weapon shop and immediately, the red-haired man seemed attracted to the many blades. A sword with a beautifully ornamented hilt was soon in Aiden's hands and Ed found himself mesmerized as the red-head moved with a series of swift and practiced moves.
"What do you think, Vi?" Aiden asked, placing the blade in the girl's hand.
With a series of twirls, swipes and carefully poised strikes, Violet turned to the red-head and glared, "It's awful. The decorative hilt causes it to become heavy on the back end, and if it was to be used, the fighter would have to change up his center of gravity and his center of balance in order to use it. His strikes would become slower and would have less power behind them." Violet tiled her head to the man running the booth, "This is just a decorative item, is it not?"
The man smiled warmly, "That it is, young miss. You seem to know your swords very well."
"I studied swordsmanship when I was younger out of pure interest of sport," Violet replied, handing the weapon over, hilt extended to the man, blade resting against the underside of her forearm.
Ed quirked an eyebrow. So she liked swords. Was it really out of interest of sport, or did she have a reason to learn how to fight at a young age? Ed inwardly sighed. This girl was the biggest puzzle he had ever come across. Aiden pouted before pulling the girl out of the stand, Ed following closely. Meeting up with the girls, who peered at beautifully hand-crafted jewelry, the group headed out of the crowded streets. Arriving at a large mansion, Lauren opened the door and smiled warmly at Ed and Violet.
"You guys make yourselves at home. Bedrooms are up the staircase and down the left hall. I'm sure you guys would like to rest before the competition begins."
So Lauren lived here? Ed wondered if her family was wealthy. It seemed like it from the large house. Beautiful artwork mounted the walls as he made his way down the left hall. Taking one of the rooms, he set down his suitcase, he laid back on the bed. Closing his eyes, his thoughts swirled around the fight later. Did Lauren honestly think the final match would be against him and Violet? What elements did she prefer? Did she favor her left or her right? Why did she seem hesitant to enter the tournament?
The sun began setting below the horizon. Having surpassed many of his competition, Ed found himself getting ready for the final match. Sure enough, Violet was his opponent. He had been unable to watch any of her matches, since two fields were used and each field held about eight fights to determine who would become the finalist. Walking out to the field, his eyes became fixated on the girl across the grounds. Her thick black hair was pinned up in a strange, messy bun. Her trench coat was gone and the sleeves of her black undershirt were hidden underneath a pair of purple-trimmed black gauntlets.
"The final match is about to begin. Fighting in black and red, we have Edward Elric. Fighting in black and purple, we have a returning champion from two years ago, Violet McCloud!" Ed quirked an eyebrow at the words, "Fighters ready." Ed nodded just as the girl across the field did, "Fight!"
Ed didn't hesitate as he rushed toward the girl. Her body moved into a strange fighting stance and easily dodged the fist aimed for her cheek. Easily moving into another strike, Ed brought his right leg around, watching as the girl did an impressive hand spring in order to dodge the blow. A few minutes of her dodging his blows, Ed needed to find a way to get her to stand still. Clapping his hands before pressing them to the ground, the ground under her shook and he watched as the girl flipped out of the way of a earthy spike shooting from under her. His continuous assult didn't seem to hinder her as she continued flipping and dodging out of the way of the spikes.
A fist of automail connected with her stomach as a spike dropped to the ground, his move catching her off guard. The fierce blow sent her flying back toward the wall beneath the stands. Flipping her body around easily, her back toward the ground, her arms crossed over her chest as her feet connected with the wall. Ed watched in slight awe as the girl pushed off the wall and ducked under the would-have-been tackle. Hearing the familiar sound of an array activating, he turned only to dodge a silver blade. A smirk appeared on his lips, even as his mind raced with wonder as to where she hid such a blade. Clapping his hands together, his right arm formed into his personal blade, which he used to block the oncoming strike. Being able to use more of his momentum, he freed the blade from her grasp, sending it flying and before he could react, the girl dropped to the ground, the back of her leg connecting with both of his feet.
As Ed moved back to his feet, he watched as she performed a series of hand springs to place distance between them, "You don't think you're the only one able to use a blade, do you? At least I can't lose mine."
A smirk formed on her lips as her arms crossed over her chest, her left hand overlapping her right. He watched with narrowed eyes as she pulled a simple blade-less hilt from her gauntlet. Her brow narrowed in concentration as she twirled the hilt and with a crack, a sound he associated with Mustang, the once blade-less hilt became a sword of flame. Ed didn't get a moment to assess the possibility of this act as he dodge the hot blade, his blade moving to swipe at her mid-section. Springing away again, she landed near the once bladed hilt. Picking up the hilt, she twirled it again and Ed's eyes widened as water began forming at the base of the hilt. As it formed into a shape of a blade, it froze instantly.
Holy shit! Ed blocked and dodged the lethal blades of fire and ice. He wasn't sure how long he had been forced into defense, but after a long moment of fighting, he moved after blocking one of her attacks and a crack forced him to look down at his automail blade, a small crack having formed. His eyes narrowed. How the hell? His automail was nearly indestructible. Sure, there were times he found himself in need of repairs, but that was usually because of upfront, deadly blasts. What did she do? Wait...metal, no matter how strong, has a melting point. As well as a freezing point.
'She's forcing it too heat up and cool at a fast pace, forcing it to break,' Ed realized just as a foot slammed into the side of his head, sending him sprawling to the ground.
Moving to his feet, he clapped his hands together and slammed them to the ground, watching as the ground clamped around her ankles. Moving quickly, Ed rushed at the girl, who's blades lost their elemental forms, her hands slamming the blade-less hilts into the earth around her ankles. Ed's fist connected with her stomach as an earth-crafted blade swiped past his face. The two fell back from each other, their breathing labored as they stared down each other.
Damn, she was good. Ed's eyes followed her left hand, that moved to her stomach, her eyes staring at him unfocused as always.
"I give."
Surprise filled the entire audience. It wasn't that the prodigy, Edward Elric that said it. It wasn't that the infamous, Violet McCloud that said it. Surprise filled the audience with silence as the words left both of their lips. Ed knew the only way either one of them would win would be if they took the simple competition to the next level. He didn't want to seriously hurt her. The glint in her eyes showed that she had similar reasons for calling a forfeit in her favor. As the announcer began his long winded speech about the 'amazing' fight, Ed took notice of Violet approaching him, stopping just a foot away from him.
"I can see what caused Alphonse to be so proud of you," Violet said passively, and to his surprise, she extended her hand.
Ed glanced down at the gloved hand. In the past few days of being with her, she hadn't even shaken Mustang's hand, and she spoke about him with a sense of respect. Ed swallowed the lump in his throat as his inhuman hand gently clasped her smaller hand. The difference between metallic and human caused him to look up at her. Her pale, round face unmarred by any disturbances except for the small, barely noticeable scar on her left temple. Looking over her features, he wondered if the rest of her, which she keeps well covered from view, looked as smooth and untainted as her face.
The change of his thoughts seemed to fill the air, Violet gently releasing his hand, "I can see why Mustang and your friends speak highly of you. I've never seen someone wield two different elements at the same time. How did you do it?"
A smirk formed on the girl's full lips, "Some tricks are not to be explained, Edward. I'm sure you don't want people always asking how you can perform Alchemy without any arrays."
Ed didn't bother replying, his own lips slipping into a smirk of his own. Maybe Mustang was right in the head after all when he asked this blind, fierce Alchemist to help him find his brother. Maybe, just maybe, this girl will be able to help him after all. As they exited the field, the duo were greeted by the excited faces of the most insane trio of friends Ed had ever come across. Ed wondered how the three and Violet became friends in the first place. Kat, being the soft-at-heart girl seemed to be the voice of reason. Lauren, or Ren as she liked to be called, seemed to always look for something crazy and adventurist to do. Aiden seemed to be the instigator in most arguments between the two, but also seemed as loyal as the wolf tagging along beside Violet. How did Violet fit in with these three? She didn't seem bothered by their loud, obnoxious behavior. She didn't try to dissuade them from their paths, nor did she ever ignore their words. She didn't join in with the arguments, but actually seemed amused by them.
Comfortably back in Ren's house, Ed laid back on the couch, his head falling back as he stared at the ceiling. The silence wasn't strained, or awkward in any fashion. His thoughts swirled in his mind, most of the questions repeating, "So, how did you guys all become friends?"
The group fell silent and Violet's unfocused gaze moved from the head of the wolf resting in her lap and moved to rest on the ceiling above her, her eyes softening, "We've known each other the majority of our lives. We just grew closer the day my little brother died."