Disclaimer time! I do NOT own Fullmetal Alchemist, but it IS awesome.
It had been a week since Edward had agreed to teach Riza alchemy. Roy had apologized to the blonde sniper numerous times, but she still maintained a cool attitude with him. Roy had to understand that this time, mere words weren't going to satisfy her.
Edward and Riza were finally settling down for their first alchemy lesson. Ed, in a shocking display of common sense, had chosen the empty parade ground to be their practice area.
"Now then, alchemy is all about equivalent exchange." Ed said to Riza, who was watching him with a bored look on her face. "And you can look at me like that all you want Riza, but I need to make sure you understand the principle behind alchemy before you start practicing."
"Believe it or not, I DID pick up a few things listening to Mustang's alcohol-fueled rants." Riza said, the bored look still on her face. "Besides, I highly doubt that you understood the basic principles when you first started practicing alchemy." Riza smiled at her verbal jab at the young alchemist.
"And it literally cost me an arm and a leg." Ed deadpanned. Riza flinched as she was reminded yet again of the ordeals of the Elric brothers. "And if you truly think you know all you need to know to get started…" Ed smiled as he handed Riza a sheet of paper with a circle inscribed on it. "That's the formulae for a basic earth alchemy. Whether creating a spike or a wall. How would you modify this circle if the earth you were trying to affect earth that had a 40% iron content and a 15% clay content in addition to being prone to crumbling?"
Riza gave Ed a blank stare. "Wouldn't it stay the same? I mean, I've seen many alchemists use that symbol on many different types of earth."
"You're half-right." Ed said, putting the paper down on the parade ground. Touching the circle and feeding some energy into it, Ed created a wall four feet high and a foot thick, but it crumbled almost immediately after Ed stopped feeding it energy. "It will still create a wall, but not as big or as stable as one you'd get with a customized circle. For example…" This time, Ed clapped his hands and pressed them to the ground. A ten-foot high wall instantly rose out of the ground, and almost two feet thick. And this time, it stayed. "Whenever I transmute by clapping, I still have to visualize the formulae that I use. Though you can't see into my mind, I was using a different formulae this time around."
"Would you mind showing me the formulae that you used then?" Riza asked with an eyebrow raised at the display she had witnessed. "I find it hard to believe that altering a circle could change the result this much."
"I guess seeing is believing for you career military types." Ed said with a grin as he began to alter the circle on the paper.
"Says the man who got a free pass out of the military only to return a few years later because he got bored." Riza said in return, a rare smile on her face.
"There were other factors!" Ed said defensively sitting down as he handed the paper back to Riza. On it the circle remained the same, but it had a second circle drawn around the first, with alchemic circles drawn around it.
"The circle's the same." Riza said with a frown as she examined the paper again.
"The secret is in the symbols around the edge. "Ed said with a smirk, enjoying the fact that for once he had more knowledge in a subject than the blonde sniper. A rare feeling indeed. "They're alchemic glyphs that denote the chemicals I was altering." Ed said, pointing at a few. "That one's the symbol for iron, and that one's for water. That's needed for the compression. Of course, the symbol for earth is unnecessary as that's what the circle itself represents. Adding it would only cause a larger drain of energy."
"I… See." Riza said unconvincingly.
Ed grinned. "Comprehension takes time Hawkeye. That's why we're only covering the basics today. Still, any questions before we continue?"
Riza though for a moment. "How do you shape the reaction? I've noticed that whenever you transmute, the things you transmute seem to be a little… Demonic. Similarly, I've noticed that Armstrong's transmutations tend to be more refined."
"My transmutations aren't demonic! They're just too awesome for you boring military types to acknowledge!" Ed shouted, waving his arms around. Riza was polite enough not to point out that Edward was military too. "Anyways, it's a matter of visualization. Basically, if I wanted to create a statue it would come out as I visualize it, providing I did the transmutation correctly anyway. My transmutations come out awesome…" Ed stretched that word as he glared at Riza, who was holding back a smile at the young alchemist's antics. "Because that's how I visualize them. Same goes for Armstrong. Of course, if the alchemist in question doesn't visualize, such as in battle, the results tend to reflect the alchemist's personality. Though it makes you wonder about Armstrong that his unfocused transmutations is usually a statuette of himself flexing."
Riza allowed herself another small smile as she recalled reviewing the evidence from the Devil's Nest assault. One of the pieces had been a hammer that Armstrong had transmuted as he was batting it out of the way, with the head transformed into a statuette of Armstrong flexing, complete with his missing shirt.
"I'd heard of that incident." Riza said. "So Armstrong's transmutations when he's not concentrating usually results in a statue of himself, I'm guessing because of how proud he is of both himself and his family history. Alphonse's transmutations are usually made up of soft lines, reflecting his gentle personality. I don't think I've ever seen the Brigadier General use earth-style transmutation outside of the occasional stone wall. And as for you…" Here, Riza smiled a full-blown smile. "Your transmutations end up looking demonic as, in the Brigadier General's words, you're an evil, twisted runt of a man."
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO TINY THAT THE SMALLEST PIECE OF SAND LOOKS LIKE A GOD-DAMN MOUNTAIN TO HIM?!" Edward instantly yelled out, arms waving in a comical fashion.
Riza waited for Ed's tantrum to simmer down before talking again. "I thought you'd be more accepting of that by now Edward. Isn't that what you sacrificed?"
Ed grunted before looking away. "…I don't want to talk about it." He mumbled.
Riza now frowned as she looked at Edward's sullen form. "Are you sure Edward? I mean, I doubt that you've talked to anyone about this. It's best not to hold such feelings in."
"Winry knows." Edward said shortly. "Remember? The only reason you know is because Winry insisted on knowing how we pulled off getting our bodies back before she re-installed my automail and you were the one escorting us." Ed fell silent before sending a sidelong glance at Hawkeye. "Thanks for not telling anyone by the way."
Riza nodded at Ed. It was no secret among the military that Edward had gained and lost his arm in the final battle against the homunculus 'Father'. In fact, Roy had personally approached Edward while he and Al were in the hospital and told him that the military was paying not only for the surgery and custom limb, but was also setting up a line of credit for all future repairs. A national thanks for Ed's defeat of the homunculi.
What was a secret was what Edward had to give up in order to get his brother back. He told them that part of the deal was his arm. It was the price of Al's soul. But the price of Al's body? It was more complicated. Edward gave up his height.
It was well known that Ed hated being short. So when the Truth had told him that he would grow to be much taller after his brother was returned, Ed was ecstatic. Ecstatic, that is, until he realized that he could not give up his alchemy. It was what defined him, it was at the core of who he was. So when Ed begged the Truth for an alternative, one was given to him. He would keep his child-like stature and appearance, forever. And in return, Alphonse would finally be given his body back.
Mustang, Havoc, and even Breda still made cracks about him being a midget, and Edward would still get pissed about it, but Winry and Riza both looked on at the alchemist with respect each time he went on his tirades. Because they knew what he had sacrificed for the sake of his brother.
"…Enough about that." Edward said, standing back up. "Try drawing the basic circle, when you're done we'll see if you can create something small."
"It occurs to me Ed…" Riza said as she concentrated on slowly drawing the circle so as not to mess it up. "Why are we focusing on earth alchemy when I approached you to learn my father's flame alchemy?"
"Because earth-based alchemy is the simplest type to learn, and as such is where the basics are taught." Ed said patiently. "Flame alchemy, and all energy-based alchemy in general, is complicated as hell. It's also incredibly dangerous. Even I'm apprehensive about studying it. It's the type of alchemy where the wrong move will be your last move. That circle looks kind of wonky. Re-draw it."
Riza scowled but did as she was instructed, re-drawing the circle. "If you're so apprehensive about flame alchemy, why are you helping me with it?" Riza asked as she finished the circle and held it up for Ed's inspection.
"Because I promised you I would." Ed said simply, examining the transmutation circle Riza had drawn. "Very good. Now then, place it on the ground and pour some dirt into the circle. As long as it does not disrupt the outer circle it's fine. After that, you must place your hands on the outer boundary and insert your energy into it. This is where it's more make-or-break. Each alchemist does this in a different way, and it's next to impossible to describe exactly what you're doing when you do it. Don't get discouraged if you fail at first, many do. Like with all skills, this is something that you must practice."
Riza did as instructed, placing her hands so that only the very tips of her fingers brushed against the edges of the circle. Closing her eyes, Riza tried doing as Ed had instructed. To little result. Riza sighed. Well, Edward HAD said that this was the most difficult part. Clearing her mind, Riza tried again. She clawed her way through her subconscious mind, trying to find her 'energy'. After awhile, Riza began feeling warm. Not from the sun though, it was more of an inside heat. These internal flames rose higher and higher, scorching Riza's mind, searching for a release. Riza snapped her eyes open, and the first thing that she noticed was the transmutation circle. Suddenly Riza saw a flash of blue, and then blackness as she passed out.
Edward Elric grins at Riza's prone form as he examines the transmutation circle on the ground. The young prodigy bit back his laughter, knowing that Riza would need her rest after her first transmutation. Ed wondered if the end result of the transmutation was a reflection of her personality or military career, but nevertheless Ed bends down and picks up Riza to carry her back to headquarters, while slipping into his pocket the perfectly transmutated clip of bullets that Riza had made to show her when she woke up.
This chapter's a bit shorter than my last one. Sorry it took so long to get this up, my internet's been down for the past month. ANYWAYS Edward explains Alchemy, and the story on how he got Al back. Please read and review. Flamers be warned, I find your pathetic flaming attempts amusing. Roy Mustang you are not. Speaking of reviews, here are my responses to a few.
sillyedward: I'm glad that you loved the first chapter and I hope that you enjoyed the second.
Quinn1989: I acknowledge that while Ed has a pretty good knowledge of the soul, his only example of soul alchemy was binding Al's soul to the armor. Anime Al, after getting his body back, is the one I consider a soul specialist. Besides, I was putting that in the bio-alchemy category anyway. And while Ed IS a prodigy, that doesn't mean that he can automatically do any form of alchemy. For example, in 'The Other Brothers Elric', Ed had to rely on the Al imposter to grow the trees that absorbed the red water since he didn't have a good knowledge of plant-based alchemy. Also, I'm glad you liked the beginning.
Lawrence Helmbain: You have asked, and I have done.
Finally I want to give a shout out to ZakuroU. He's a great writer and you should definitely check out his work.