A/N: Chapter one is up! I would like to let you all know now that, not only will this be slow in being updated until January, but the lengths for each chapter will change depending on what I'm putting in it. Like this was the length it is, mainly so I can get the story started.
"Okay, so these are the carts that you carry the coal out in?" Edward tapped his foot against one of the metal carts in front of him; a rather bored look settled on his face.
The miner that was showing Edward and Roy the mine and how it worked, a large burly looking man that vaguely resembled Armstrong, nodded. "Tha's it. We toss the coal in thare and haul it on up to be crated."
Edward nodded as he knelt down in beside the cart, a rusted piece of metal that really shouldn't have been in use any more, one hand running down the side of it as he went.
Forty-percent iron. Thirty-percent steel. Thirty percent carbon. Heavy layer of rust. Wheels are loose. It will give way in three more trips, loosing what ever load it has in it when it does.
Nose scrunching up slightly as the facts filtered into his mind, coming out in an all too familar voice, Edward pushed himself away from the cart; promptly taking the few steps that would bring him to stand beside his Colonol. Since Roy hadn't been out on a simple mine checking mission in years, both alchemist's had decided that it would be best if he just held the clip-board and took what-ever notes Edward told him to take. Not something that the Flame Alchemist prided himself on doing, it was a fact that would never get out to the rest of the people in his Platoon, but he supposed that it was better than doing the actual work. Yet, Edward seemed determined not to let him even do that.
The moment that the blonde reached his Colonol, he snatched the pen and the clipboard from the elder's hand and began to write down his own notes.
Mining Carts? Poor quality metal. Heavely rusted and in need of repair. Looks like it will collapse soon.
And then he was shoving the clip-board back at Roy and stalking back over to the miner.
Roy let out a sigh as he looked down at the paper on the top of the stack. As always, the words were almost illegible, being literally nothing more than chicken scratch. Just like everything that Edward wrote was. So the Flame Alchemist was left to spend his time, while Edward discussed coal mining procedures with the miner, re-writing Edward's notes.
"-not finished repairin' aftah the change in hands." The miner motioned to several beams on the cieling that, unlike the rest of the wood-work that was supporting the walls and cieling of the mine, was rather old and dingy.
"So when do you think the rest of the repairs are going to happen?" Edward didn't like the way those beams looked; even the faint cold breeze drifting into the mine made them shake and sway gently.
"Hrm...Hons'ly, I ain't got the foggiest clue. See, we used up mos' of our resou'sces all ready." The miner, in what could be taken as an attempt to distract Edward from the aging beams, motioned for the two alchemists to follow him deeper inside of the tunnels.
The further into the tunnels they walked, the colder and damper the air got. It was as though the frozen wind was forcing itself up from the very end of the tunnel, trying desperatly to claw its way to the surface worl. "What's with all the wind? There an opening or something back here?"
Roy frowned slightly as he finished re-writing one of the flaxen-haired boys notes. He had only come along on this inspection because he figured, if the reports turned in at the end of them were anything to go by, that it was Alphonse who looked everything over and Edward just wrote down the notes. The younger boy seemed lazy enough for that to be the case, at least. But, no, Edward evidently took this all very seriously. Something, he made a mental note, that he would have to ask Alphonse about when they returned to Central.
Clicking the lid back onto the pen, and sliding it into his pocket, Roy took a few longer strides so that he could catch up with the two men in front of him. Both of them seemed perfectly at ease in the dankness of the mine, even though from the way the light was dimming night would be falling soon, but Roy preferred to be in his room at the inn when night fell. "Fullmetal. Let's head back up to the town for the night. We'll leave the inspection of the tunnels for the morning."
Straightening up from where he'd knelt down to the ground, a small bit of black dirt inbetween his thumb and pointer finger, Edward closed his eyes and gave the older man a terse nod. "Fine. We'll go back." Even his voice was terse. And quite frankly, Ed didn't care.
If it had been Alphonse with him, the younger boy would have known to let Edward finish then. And, on normal conditions he would have argued, but he was too tired to do that right then. Maybe once they made it back to the hotel he would.
The train ride up the mountain, on a very uninsulated train, took almost four days. In those four days Edward could honestly say that he got exactly seven hours, thirty eight minutes, and nine seconds of sleep; none of it had been peaceful, either, and the young boy was ready to lay down on the inn's bed and try to catch the slumber that had evaded him the last few days.
"Oh...Fine. I won' be able ta show ya'll 'round tomorrow though. I'll have ta have Mikel give ya a tour." The miner frowned slightly, more at Roy than at Ed, before he turned back to face the tunnel that they had just walked down. He was clearly unhappy at having to go back; no doubt because he wanted to be the one to get the glory of showing off their mine.
It was odd, Roy couldn't help but think, that Edward had just let them go up to the surface of the mine. He'd been expecting the golden tressed boy to burst at the seams in rage, some obscene shout about having to get back to Central for research; at the very least oe of the younger boys withering glares.
Instead, he had begun to silently trail after the miner. Who's name Roy still didn't know. He would have to fix that before the day was over. That way the Fuhrer knew who was being referred to in the report when it was turned in.
The walk was silent for the longest time. The only sounds being the soft clacking of boots against the ground and the ever present breeze that seemed to, impossibly, be coming from the back of the mine. And then, when they were almost to the front of the mine, he heard the noise of soft foot-steps from up ahead of him.
Roy blinked, looking away from the notes in his hand, and peered down the mine-shaft. A young girl, maybe ten or eleven, was running towards them. She was waving a brown paper-bag around in her hand, a large smile on her face.
"Papa! Papa, I brought dinner down for you!" She slowed down to a walk as she called out to her father.
Her father, how ever, didn't look very happy. A frown creased his face, nose wrinkled up. "Melira! Go back to the town. You know you aren't sup-Melira!"
And, just like that, a loud crack rang out through the mine. It all seemed to happen in slow motion too, though Roy could clearly tell what was about to happen, as a beam above the miners daughter cracked. Beside him, there was the noise of Edward clapping. A flash of blue. The familar crackling of alchemy being put into motion.
And then everything went to hell.