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Gunslinger Alchemist: A Crossover Fanfiction
"The boy has a mechanical body, but he is still an adolescent child…"
Chapter 4: A Broken Heart in my Hands, The Truth Revealed
2. Syringe
The new turn of the century had brought more advances in technological studies than ever before with constant and diligent research, yet none outnumbered the field of medicine. Breakthroughs were spreading around the country like wildfire as universal tactics suddenly became more than just whimsical myth. Painkillers, incurable disease vaccines, even limb prostheses were finally working and succeeding in progression. Problems seemed to vanish as doors of opportunity were thrust open for the entire world to see.
But there were still far too questions hidden within inescapable restrictions that were bound to break one day. Above all other topics was the human conscious, the mind, the very root of the soul that made one person different from the next. How it functioned, why it worked, how every single piece of information was gathered, sorted, and remembered.
Recent tests preformed by Military recruited scientists produced tactics that could control that great force of the mind bending to will of the chosen person in the patient's care, all so known as the handler. Not only the conscious but also the body could be rewritten. Muscle strength, agility, and overall perception would be enhanced accordingly to doses of the medicine. Also, the user's alchemic instinct and abilities would increase tenfold putting a State Alchemist to shame. Any person under the influence of the drug would feel the full affects, no matter what age. The sheer revolution of its discovery was a devastating blow toward cracking the secret of peak human prowess. It produced new possibilities of brain control and memory deconstruction never seen nor heard of before. Taken in the form of intravenous therapy or IV injections, the drug itself was dubbed simply "the conditioning".
That simple innovation caused little to say uproar once word of the new substance reached Military ears. The idea of the perfect soldier, the perfect obedient killing machine fascinated more than it did disgust. The Civil War had seriously depleted the number of living soldiers and needed new recruits as soon as possible.
As the wheels turned, discussion topics turned sour as the talk of using human children as experiments to fight against petty evil reared its head. Ishbalan prisoners had already been subject to forms of laboratory testing, so what was the harm in heightening the progress? It was like killing two birds with one stone. The streets would be kept safe and medical advances could be made with the usage of the drug and other applicants. Board house meetings finally agreed to testing on the condition it was to be kept under absolute secrecy. A new office building in Central, Military expertise officers in charge, and a back up force of at least twenty-five men was laid out for plans. This was how the Social Welfare Society was born.
The first official subjects were two Ishbalan children fresh from the wreckage. They were a boy and girl, possibly related, only about ten to twelve years old, the boy being the elder. Both had lost a limb in the war, perfect for testing the automail prostheses. Unfortunately the girl didn't survive the procedure yet the boy did, prompting the favor of using boys over girls. The unknown boy progressed steadily with the conditioning treatments, raising strength levels, pain intake, and more over alchemy skill. But just before a field assignment had yet to be issued, the boy killed himself in his bedroom with a single shot to the head.
With both experiments deceased in less than seven months, the Society had more trouble than ever coming up with a suitable lab rat. Orphanages were out of the question, as disease spread quickly and better living environments had yet to be created. Lost limbs were fine; the child just had to be pure of illness. The Military higher-ups still stressed the alchemic factor, noting that if the subject's parents could use high level alchemy their problems would be done. Records of past State Alchemists, miracle performers, and revolutionists turned blank until an undated document fell into the Society's hands. The main focus was of the mention of a genius alchemist with two biological offspring, two young boys who lived in the rural area of Resembool with their mother. The opportunity was just too good to pass up and a troop of investigators was sent.
In a sheer stroke of luck, the troop came across the house on a rainy night just as alchemical flashes lit up the windows, not any old newbie practice. This was the work of a protégé. Venturing into the house was a different story. Darkness flooded the rooms with no one to be found until the team came to a foggy, gray, smoke-ridden room. Bookshelves lined the walls and a large complicated transmutation lay drawn on the stone floor. A circle used in human transmutation. It had rebound as deformed beast to say the least was the end result, heaving and growling with an outstretched female human arm. It was a horrible image to comprehend, but even that couldn't compare to what came next.
The first sight of actual color radiated from the thick sea of blood. Violet sparks played around a massive heap of metal armor bearing the crest of a soul attachment. A golden haired boy had been lying protectively over the armor, soaked in his own blood which was fresh from loss of his flesh right arm and left leg. The boy was sobbing bitterly, gripping fiercely onto the supporting pillar of the armor. If not for the pillar, he would have most certainly fallen. The only words to escape his lips in between sobs were "Alphonse, please…come back…"
Okay, I lied about Super Dad… (gets shot by Riza) I thought I could fit the part in but I was putting it off so much and I wanted to post something. He's coming next, I promise!!This Part gives a more detailed look at the Society and the back story. With the Ishbalan kids, I tried to make them as vague as possible so I wouldn't get attached to them. Waaaahhh…I know it's a bit short, but this will tide you guys over until I type more. Oh, and a shout out and much love to michelaski!! You're awesome!! Sorry the pic didn't load that well.