...I couldn't resist; I needed to write more on this idea. The plot bunnies are rampaging in my head.
Drabble 3: Role Reversal II (extension of Ch.1)
In which Roy is the newest State Alchemist on the block, and he was assigned under Edward's (The Fullmetal Alchemist and youngest State Alchemist ever) command.
Major Mustang meets Colonel Elric's younger brother during a 'mission' to the library.
This just wasn't Major Mustang's day.
'Stupid pipsqueak Colonel,' The Flame Alchemist thought sourly as he stared at the literal tower of books stacked on top of one of the tables of the library. 'I can't believe I have to clean after that kid's mess!'
The thought of using his gloves to burn the books away from his sight flashed in his head for a moment, but he quickly dismissed the idea. The librarians would be furious with him, especially Sheska should she hear about it.
Roy had met the bookish brunette on an errand for Colonel Elric, suffocating under piles of various books in her own home. After saving her, he told her that Elric wanted all the books written by some man named Dr. Tim Marcoh. Sheska didn't have the copies, unfortunately; they had all perished in the fire. But her photographic memory helped reproduce the contents of the books, much to everyone's relief.
In the end, Colonel Elric got the books he wanted. Roy wondered why his commanding officer wanted cookbooks, of all things...
Sheska also got herself a job in the military because of her perfect memory and she's now working under Roy's old friend, Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes, reproducing the various records lost in the library fire.
Roy hoped that Maes hadn't drowned Sheska in a sea of his daughter's photos yet. Elicia was definitely an adorable little girl, but for God's sake Maes was obsessed.
Roy cursed under his breath as he received a paper cut from one of the heavy tomes. He glanced at the thin red line of blood on his finger before placing it in his mouth and sucking lightly.
'Stupid Fullmetal and his stupid bibliophilic tendencies...'
"Um, excuse me?"
"Gah!" Roy whirled around and came face-to-face - well actually it was more face-to-chest - with a large figure in a suit of armour. Unfortunately, the result of his action made his shoulder bump into a tower of books stacked precariously behind him. Roy and the large armoured man looked up in panic as the tower started to fall apart down towards them.
"W-Watch out, sir!" Roy has shoved to the side just as the books fell down onto the carpet and the armour. Different sounding thumps echoed throughout the place, and Roy winced as the distinct sound of hardback books colliding with the suit of armour assaulted his eardrums.
"Oh crap," The Major muttered. He picked up the helmet that rolled by his side and ran towards the hulking figure buried under all the tomes. "Are you alright?"
"...I'm fine!" Came the muffled tinny response, and the Flame Alchemist was surprised at how young the man sounded. The armoured man slowly lifted himself from under the books.
Roy held out the helmet, "I've got your... helm...et..." He trailed off as he saw that this guy had no head.
"Oh, um, th-thank you." The stranger stammered in response - how was he talking without a mouth? - and accepted the helmet from Roy's hands. As the suit of armour leaned forward to put the helmet on, the State Alchemist noticed something inside the body, attached to the back.
A blood seal.
Roy had only read about theories on how a blood seal is made and what it does, but he never really saw one that actually worked. It obviously wasn't a common thing to see, anyway, since it was counted as...
"Human transmutation," Roy couldn't help but blurt out. The taller figure seemed to panic, nearly dropping his helmet in the process.
"Oh no! N-No one was supposed to find out!" He wailed and jammed his head back on, red light coming from the eye holes. "Br-Brother is going to kill me...!"
Oh no... Was he going to cry? He despised dealing with crying children... "I won't tell!" Roy quickly assured the soul - a young boy's soul, at that - trapped in the armour. "Just calm down. Please." He added for good measure.
And just like an innocent child, he calmed down. "Really?" And the way he just said that made Roy undeniably sure that this soul was still quite young. A child's soul attached to an intimidating inanimate object.
"You have my word." Major Mustang nodded.
"...Thank you," The stranger said in a sincere voice, and they were suddenly basked in an awkward silence. Roy cleared his throat and started picking up the fallen books, and the armour quickly followed suit.
"S-Sorry for startling you, sir." The young soul apologised.
"No harm done." Roy replied in a casual manner. "It's a good thing you push me out of the way. I'm sure that one of those heavy books could've cracked my head open." He scowled. "Damn Colonel Shorty... This wouldn't have had happened if he had just cleaned up after himself..."
His companion chuckled, "Well, that's Brother for you."
"...Brother?"
The suit of armour froze, "Ah, umm... Heh," Roy was certain that if the soul had a body of his own, he would be sweating bullets right now. "Yeah... Edward's my older brother... Um, I'm Alphonse. Alphonse Elric. Call me Al."
And then all the pieces fell into place. Roy felt his mind whirl with all the possible implications of the evidence presented in front of him. Colonel Elric had an automail arm and leg, his younger brother was attached to a suit of armour with a blood seal, a type of human transmutation and a very difficult feat in itself... only a genius could accomplish that... and Elric was a prodigy amongst alchemists and that he didn't even need an array to transmute... The young alchemist was also very touchy on the subject of how he lost his limbs...
"Both you and Colonel Elric attempted human transmutation." Roy realised quietly, and Alphonse let out a tiny noise of distress. To the armour's great relief he found that the only ones around were him and the Major. "Something happened, and it resulted in Fullmetal losing his limbs and you losing your body..."
Alphonse sighed, "Wow... You're pretty smart." He mumbled, not bothering to deny it.
"So it's true...!" Mustang stifled a startled gasp. "And no one knows about it?"
"No one else from the military knows." Al corrected. He continued picking up the numerous library books littered around them. "The only people who know are people we can trust..." Glowing red eyes glanced meaningfully at the Major. "Are you trustworthy, Mr...? Um, huh... I never got your name."
"Major Roy Mustang." The man introduced. "I'm the Flame Alchemist, and your brother is my commanding officer." He flashed what he hoped to be a reassuring smile at him, "And don't worry, your secret is safe with me."
If Alphonse still had a face he would be blinding the older man with a megawatt smile. "Oh! Thank you, Mr. Mustang, sir!" He cried. How trusting was this kid? Roy thought idly. "You're so nice! Brother mentioned a State Alchemist under his command that was pretty mean, but you seem to be really, really kind if you're willing to keep our secret."
The innocence and pure sweetness this soul radiated almost made Roy feel sick to his stomach, but at the same time he couldn't help but like the boy. Alphonse was a very different personality compared to Colonel Elric. It was quite refreshing, talking to someone so pleasant.
Al bowed his head, "Um... Should I tell Brother that you know about... our incident?" He whispered.
Roy patted the suit of armour right on the chest plate in reassurance, making red eyes meet his dark ones. "I'll tell him when the time is right. I'm still in shock about what I've just discovered." He scoffed and plucked another book off the carpet, "Knowing Fullmetal, he's going to get all defensive and hate me even more."
"I'll go with you." Alphonse offered. "He'll be calmer if I'm around..." He paused, and he seemed to look thoughtful for a moment. "And, honestly... I don't think Brother hates you, sir."
"...I'm sorry?" Major Mustang blinked. Did... he hear that right?
Alphonse let out a small laugh and placed a tall stack of books onto the table. "Ed is incapable of hating. He's too compassionate for that." His gaze lowered in a slightly tender fashion. "He may say that he hates you, but I've heard it in his voice. When Brother talks about the members of his team, judging from his tone of voice he holds them in high regards - especially you, Mr. Mustang,"
He turned to the bemused Major. "When Ed talks about you... Yes, there's annoyance and derisiveness in his voice, but under all of that I can see he respects you. It might be respect for your alchemy or something else, but I know that look in Brother's eyes when I see it."
Roy stared at Alphonse for a few seconds, wondering where in the hell that came from, before laughing lowly and shaking his head.
"...I believe you, Alphonse." He replied. "You know Colonel Elric better than me, after all."
Alphonse chuckled, and the two of them resumed cleaning up. Roy's head was still working overtime with all the information jammed into his head during this simple visit to the library. Human transmutation, the fate of the Elric brothers, and the fact that Colonel Elric actually respected him... Roy grudgingly admitted to himself that he respected the pipsqueak back, even if the blond was a pain-in-the-ass slave driver.
'At least I know that Elric won't be firing me anytime soon...' Mustang thought in amusement. He and Alphonse continued working in a comfortable silence, and in no time they finished picking up all the books off the floor.
Alphonse sighed, "This is just like Brother... so absorbed in his work that he fails to be considerate towards others."
"Except you," Roy commented.
"Except me," Al laughed. "I apologise on behalf of my brother that he is making you clean up the mess he made."
Roy flashed him a small smirk in response. "Do you know what he's working on?" He asked.
The suit of armour looked hesitant, but answered anyway. "We're looking for a way to restore our bodies back." Alphonse murmured. "Those 'cookbooks' by Tim Marcoh... They're actually a wealth of information disguised in code. We've been working day and night trying to decipher them." He looked down. "I hope that we don't arrive at a dead end."
Major Mustang put a hand on the young soul's arm, making him turn his red gaze onto the older man. "If there's anything I can do to help, just ask."
"...Thank you." Alphonse replied in appreciation. He turned back to the stacks of books on the table and sighed. "Well, let me help you put these all back to their respective shelves. It's the least I can do after almost burying you under those heavy books."
Roy picked up a stack and Al followed suit, picking up two stacks instead of one. "I appreciate the help, Alphonse."
Again, they were basking in a relatively pleasant silence. The two alchemists walked side-by-side, placing books in their right order as they passed the various shelves. Today, Roy had made a new friend, and he couldn't help the small smile appearing on his face at the thought.
He only had a few close friends, and Alphonse had the likely potential of being one, too. Maes and Riza were always busy with work, but Al had a lot of free time on his hands. The young soul, like his brother, seemed to be a prodigy, too. Roy would be looking forward to the possibility of refreshingly intelligent conversations in the near future.
"So," Roy began conversationally. "What did Colonel Elric tell you about me?"