Title: The Forged Alchemist

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

Summary: The Homunculus have left Amestris in shambles, and the new Fuhrer is an incompetent who is leading the country to downfall. When all hope is lost, Edward puts to the test a theoretical array, and enter Edwin Auric, the son of Hohenheim of Light, and elder half brother to Edward and Alphonse Elric.

Chapter 7

August 13, 1898; 0226 Hours

1692 Larson Street APT D15, Central City, Amestris

Lieutenant Colonel Roy Mustang stared into the nearly empty tumbler of whiskey, lost in his thoughts. That his two friends had been keeping such a secret from the world…

He set down the glass and picked up a pasteboard folder and flipped it open; studying the two pictures inside, and glanced at the picture that had been hung on the wall of his study. The difference in the blonde was a dramatic one. In the right half of the makeshift frame was a picture of a teenager, injured, sad, but determined and content to live with the hand that life had given him as long as he was surrounded by friends who would support him. On the right was a young man, still in his teens, tired, and jaded, more than a little cynical, and perhaps on the verge of bolting, but still supported, still willing to stand, as long as he was needed as long as he was loved and had the capacity to love, but what little was left of the innocence that had existed when he was a teenager was gone, stripped away by war and extreme hardship.

The picture on the wall was vastly different, but featuring the same people with several differences, only Alex, Maes, Roy, Riza and Edwin were present. Unlike in the two pictures of his younger years, Edwin was not in the center, being supported. He was on the far left, only Maes' hand on his shoulder keeping him in the group. It was Roy who was in the center, and Edwin stood alone, every line in his body showing the signs of exhaustion, his eyes dark and lonely.

It was a vast difference from the two in the makeshift folder. This young man who had joined the military early, had his innocence stripped away, but still protected and supported by those who were older, more experienced, was suddenly thrown completely out of his element. He no longer had the support that he once counted on when he fought. There was no real home to return to for him. Even his name was gone, as well as all the old bonds of his childhood. How must it have felt to be sent away, to have the hopes of every one you love placed on your shoulders? Roy could only imagine how the blonde alchemist must have felt, must still be feeling. It was no wonder he was so reluctant to socialize. It must be strange to suddenly be in the same generation as the people who had been a part of another generation entirely for most of one's formative years. People whom he'd have to be careful how he interacted with them, lest he change things over much so he'd be unable to predict their reactions should it come down to it. It must have hurt to know that one's memory of people one loved would never be the same again. To suddenly have that infallibility that all children saw their role models as stripped away to reveal flesh and blood humans underneath.

Roy gently brushed the tip of a finger over the picture of his older self, lingering over the patch that covered the left side of his face and likely the scarring that must have occurred in the accident that cost him an eye. If his feelings for Edwin were any indication of the affection he'd feel for Edward, and if the letter that Edwin had given him was any descent representation, his older self's feelings for Edward Elric had been less than platonic, and no more parental than Maes' feeling for Gracia. And Edwin was mostly oblivious to it. He knew Roy cared, knew that both of them, present and future, cared but he just hadn't known how much. Was it better this way? Or would letting Edwin know that the Roy Mustang that he'd known in his childhood had loved him, loved him so much that it hurt to order him into the battlefield and leave him there, only to call him back to find a broken, jaded man in the place of the young man who'd followed him onto a train to the north, and still let him go despite wanting to hide him away until the wounds had healed break him?

But the decision was not in his hands. The letter from his future had practically begged him not to tell the former Fullmetal. Just support him. Easier said than done.

Roy flipped the card closed and swept all the papers back into the envelope with firm, determined movements. Edwin Auric had given up everything, his name, his future, his friends and family, all to travel backwards in time so Roy and everyone else would have a better future. The very least Roy could do was to ensure Edward Elric would never have to do the same, and if it meant ensuring that Edwin Auric's wounds healed here in his past, then so be it. After all, it wasn't Roy who was giving up everything he'd ever known for home and country.

He dropped the envelope into the hidden drawer that he kept his sensitive documents in, and alchemically sealed it. He glanced at the picture on his wall one last time before downing the last of the whiskey, leaving the tumbler on the desk as he switched off the lights and made his way to his bedroom.

He'd speak with Edwin tomorrow. If he was going to be able to help the blonde, he would need ore information than he currently had.

Roy was asleep before his head ever hit the pillows.

~*~

In an apartment half a city away, Edwin Auric stood at a window, a pair of aged ignition gloves in his ungloved hands. Slowly, reverently, he slipped a glove onto his left hand and gently rasped his fingers together, and a bit of flame leapt to life in his hands. Tawny eyes studied the tiny tongue of flame as if it held the world's secrets, and somewhere, a tiny knot of homesickness in his chest loosened. He allowed the flame to grow until he was standing in a circle of fire, and he closed his eyes, allowing the snap and crackle of flame alchemy to sooth frazzled nerves, and if he closed his eyes, he could almost believe that he seventeen again, and was back in Drachma, while Mustang laughingly helped him fend off the biting chill and the pain in his automail ports by teaching him the basics of fire alchemy.

He shook his head and released the alchemy, snuffing out the flames and turning away from the window. He'd go ahead and buy some more ignition cloth on his way to the office tomorrow, and once Edward passed the State Alchemy Exams, it would be time to teach the blonde the basics of fire alchemy. And maybe how to fire a gun.

He paused. Nah, maybe not the gun. But fire alchemy, definitely. A memory from his early adolescence cropped up and Edwin winced. And subtlety and moderation. Both being definite musts.

Edwin nodded to himself as he stripped off the spark gloves and crossed his bed room to set them down on the dresser. Now that he had a plan, the problem was getting it done before he left for Southern Headquarters. If he was careful, he could probably get transferred back to Central in time to prevent Maes' death by Envy.

Probably.

The blonde scoffed and snapped his gloveless automail fingers, watching as a lick of flame flared and died. He frowned and tried again, holding the transmutation circle in his mind and carefully calculating and adjusting lines and percentages as he snapped his fingers again, watching critically as the tongue of flame flared to life before dying once again.

He sighed and shook his head. After years and years of practice, fire alchemy was probably the only one out of the many forms of transmutations he couldn't perform without a circle. Oh, he could bring a flame to life, but he couldn't sustain it. Not without the gloves at least. Oh, he knew it was probably psychological, some deep seated desire not to surpass Roy Mustang in his chosen field, whether Edwin had the capacity to perform the transmutation without an array or no. It just didn't feel right to be able to perform fire alchemy without a circle when the Flame wasn't there to laugh at his mistakes and make jokes about clicking together his automail to make up for the lack of ignition gloves.

As Edwin crawled into bed and drifted away in the warmth of sleep, he could faintly hear his former commanding officer's voice in the early days of the Drachman Campaigns…

"Jeez, Ed! Watch it! If just tapping your automail together is enough to make a spark, then your ability to perform alchemy without circles is going to end with your burning the entire camp down! Not that anyone will complain its cold as all hell out here. But for the love of all that is sacred, Fullmetal, put your gloves back on! Jeez, you're scarily suited to fire alchemy, you know that?"

~*~

November 13, 1898; 1026 Hours

Military Command Headquarters, Central City, Amestris

"The organization calls themselves simply, the Blue Group."

"Was there a note?"

"Yes sir, a rather spirited one. Shall I read it to you?"

"No," Roy opened his office door almost violently, "It's probably insulting to the military anyway."

"Too right," Hawkeye agreed, brown eyes scanning the sheet of paper in her hand.

Roy sighed, "Looks like it's going to be a late night. Damn, and I had a date tonight too."

"Hey," Breda said, lifting his mug of coffee to his lips, "Have a late night date with the rest of us hard workers here at the office."

"How did the terrorists get past the guards?" Hawkeye asked.

"Hell if we know," Havoc said, "Geez, with the country as it is, and the General still goes off on vacation with his family… Wish we could all be that carefree."

"Well, if the extremists kill him, then problem solved!" Roy said flippantly.

"Please don't say things like that sir," Fuery said, twisting in his seat and holding out a sheaf of papers, "Here's a list of the passengers on board sir."

Roy took the papers and dark eyes scanned the names and paused. "It looks like we'll be leaving a lot sooner than we thought, ladies and gentlemen," he said. Roy tilted his head so his bangs shadowed his eyes, and he smirked, "The Forge Alchemist is on that train."

~*~

On the train to Central City

Oh god, oh god, oh god… If his brother ever found out about this, he was going to fucking rip him to shreds, Edward was sure of it. As it was, he'd completely forgotten about wind friction, and Al had had to grab him by the collar to keep him from getting killed. Damn, simply imagining Edwin's face if he ever found out what was happening made him want to cringe, because no doubt, he would find out. His brother always had been able to tell what was going on with Ed and Al, even without speaking to anyone around them. It was uncanny.

A low hanging bit of brush growing out of the cliff wall knocked the blonde out of his thoughts.

"Ah!"

Gloved fingers scrabbled futilely at the metal roof as he fell backwards, clenching his eyes shut as he fell backwards off the train. Damn. Edwin was really going to chew him out big time when they got to Central.

Edward opened his eyes once he realized that he had been caught by someone, and found himself staring into a pair of tawny colored eyes set in a pale face framed by golden hair.

"Brother!" he yelped.

"Edward," Edwin said dryly, "Why am I not surprised?"

"Ah…"

"Falman was supposed to keep you out of trouble."

"He's with Al."

"Did you see Hughes?"

"Who?"

"I thought not. Drat. The fool had better not have gotten himself killed. Keep an eye on your surroundings this time."

Edward blinked as his brother wrapped his hands around the rungs of the ladder, and pulled open a door. "We will be having a talk about your hero complex when we arrive in Central. Until then, try not to get killed."

The older blonde slipped through the door and pulled it shut behind him.

~*~

November 13, 1898; 1732 Hours

Central Station, Central City, Amestris

Edward sighed as he and Al were ushered off the train by Major Maes Hughes, and Warrant Officer Vato Falman. The boys looked around the platform where soldiers were busy rounding up the incapacitated terrorists and leading them away, and found no sign of their brother, although there was a dark haired soldier flanked by two flaxen haired soldiers, one female, the other, male, making their way toward the platform they were on. Another soldier, Ed blinked for a moment before realizing that it was his brother, slipped out of the throng to speak with the dark haired soldier in low tones, although if the way Edwin was gesturing, it was a very heated conversation.

"Ah," Hughes said wryly, "It looks like Ed's not pleased with something Roy's done." He shook his head as Edwin huffed and the two Lieutenant Colonels made their way toward the front of the train where the leader of the hijacking was.

"Don't kill anyone," Roy Mustang said calmly, "That's all I asked. And it seems you did exactly as you were told" If Edward wasn't so familiar with reading his brother's based on the tone and inflection in the voice, he's have missed the faint sneer hidden in the man's voice.

"So I take it that you're Mustang." Edward's eyes widened as a hidden blade was drawn from the shattered remains of the Extremist Leader's automail.

"Brother!"

Hughes grabbed Ed's collar and Al's arm as the extremist leader leapt at the two officers.

"Shall I or will you?" Edwin asked, looking turning his head away from Roy.

"I'll do it," Roy lifted his hand, "and this will be more than enough." He snapped his fingers.

Edwin's lips curled as the man burst into flames with an agonized scream. "Well, that wasn't stupid in the least, leaping at a pair of alchemists wearing arrayed gloves."

"Forge," Roy said, as he extinguished the flames, dropping a somewhat scorched and smoking terrorist to the ground, "Most people don't even realize your gloves have arrays on them."

"What…" the injured man ground between clenched teeth, "What are you?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Edwin Auric, the Forge Alchemist," Edwin said carelessly.

Roy smirked, "Roy Mustang, Lieutenant Colonel, Flame Alchemist. Whatever you do, remember that."

"Hey!" the two state alchemists turned toward the child running toward them. Edward skidded to a halt and pointed a finger accusingly at Roy. "You knew!" he snarled, "That's why you put us on that train! You put us at risk on purpose!"

"Be reasonable, Ed," Edwin shook his head, an amused smile playing on the edges of his lips, "Not even Mustang has the entire world on strings, however much he wishes he does."

"Besides," Roy smirked, "look on the bright side. General Hakuro was so impressed by your exploits saving the train, he's decided to make an exception and let you take the State Alchemy Exams. You'll be the talk of the military, kid!"

"Exception?" Edward looked befuddled, then the look was replaced by anger, "You'd always said we could take the exam! That's the reason we came!"

"Be realistic Edward," Edwin said, "The military isn't going to accept a child into their ranks except as a Cadet in the Academy. But it seems luck is on your side. Good thing you listened and took this train, huh?"

Edward stared at his brother, who seemed entirely too smug, nothing compared to the man who had come to Dublith two years ago. Was it because he was in the uniform and therefore on duty? "Did you know about this?"

Edwin rolled his eyes, "I was on my way back from a mission and had no idea that the general was even on this train until I ran into Major Hughes. Of course I didn't know, or at least, not until Warrant Officer Falman told me that Mustang had pointed you and Al out just in case. That was after you'd taken down…" he frowned and glanced at Roy, "Come to think of it, what's the guy's name again?"

"Bald," Roy murmured.

Edwin's lips twisted downward in disdain, "Bald. Whoever his parents were, they had terrible taste in names," he muttered as he turned a tawny gaze onto the younger blonde, "As I was saying, I didn't know about the gamble that Mustang took until after you'd taken down Bald. Once I get off duty for the day, however, you and I are going to have a talk about the importance of subtlety and moderation. You could have been killed in a hundred different ways getting to the front car because of your recklessness."

Edward looked down and shuffled uncomfortably. He hated when Edwin scolded him, it always made him feel inadequate, as if he was making Edwin look like a poor guardian, which was not true! Because Edwin had come to check up on them as often as he could, and when he couldn't he called every other night and usually came down personally to chew Ed and Al out when they screwed up spectacularly, never mind that he had his duties in the military. His brother had been their family's only breadwinner after their father had left, and Edward knew that most of the older blonde's paycheck had not gone into a bank, but rather to pay for the family's day to day upkeep and to Trisha's medical bills, and later to Izumi, to pay for the food they ate and the materials used up in the lessons they learned and for their medical needs, and just a year ago, to pay for Ed's automail.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"You scared the hell out of me when you fell off the roof," Edwin said gently, "but we'll talk about this later."

"Yes," Roy teased, "All that paperwork you dropped to run off into the west. Lieutenant Pembrooke must love you right now."

"Hush you," Edwin scolded as the four soldiers made to leave. Edward frowned as he felt a migraine forming.

Roy paused as they passed the child to put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Whether you take the test is up to you. I'm not trying to run your life," he said quietly.

Edwin smirked as he heard Edward yell, "Of course I'll take the exam! And I'll pass! I'd have done it anyway!"

"He's shaking his fist at your back you know," Edwin murmured quietly so only Roy could hear him.

Roy chuckled, "The way you did as a child?"

Edwin laughed as Maes jogged up to match strides with them, a quirky grin on his face.

"Ah, I look forward to seeing how things change from here on out…"

"And we'll be right here with you," Maes agreed, "Neither of you has to stand alone, you've got each other, and me."

~*~

TBC…