Disclaimer - I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist

Chapter Eight - Philosopher's Stone in the East

Nick had been a State Alchemist for a mere two months when he was summoned to the office of his superior, Col. Havoc, to receive instructions for his very first mission. Nick was hanging around in the National Library, doing a little research, when a uniformed officer walked up to him. Nick looked up as the man came to a stop in front of the table where he sat reading.

"Excuse me, Fullmetal sir," the man said, offering the boy a quick salute. "But Col. Havoc wishes to see you."

"I see," Nick said, closing the book that he'd been reading.

Nick stood up from the table, pushed his chair underneath it and picked up the book that he had been all but absorbed in. He made a move to return the book to the shelf where he'd found it but the military man stopped him.

"I'll get that Sir. You should go."

"If you say so," Nick said, giving the man a strange look. He wasn't used to this reverent treatment from people twice his age but he quickly decided that he shouldn't knock it. With a shrug of his shoulders Nick handed the book to the man and then left the library.

The young boy made his way to Col. Havoc's office and once there he knocked lightly on the door.

"Enter," his superior called out from within.

Nick opened the door and entered the office. Then he closed the door behind himself and walked over to Col. Havoc's desk. "You sent for me sir?"

"Welcome Chief," Col. Havoc said. He pointed to the chair in front of his desk. "Have a seat kid."

Nick bowed respectfully to his superior and then sat down in the chair that was positioned in front of Havoc's desk. "So what'd you want to see me for?"

"I have a mission for you," Col. Havoc said.

"A mission?"

Col. Havoc nodded. "It shouldn't be too difficult. I just need for you to travel out East and check into an alchemical laboratory out there."

"Is it a military lab?" Nick asked.

Col. Havoc shook his head. "No. The laboratory has no connection to the State Military but we've received reports that the alchemists in the lab are attempting to create the Philosopher's Stone. And that, as you know, is strictly against the laws of the State."

Nick nodded.

"Now, I don't want you to get too involved Chief. Just confirm our suspicions and then come back to Central. Do not confront the alchemists, no matter what you discover. The whole reason I'm sending you, and not someone with more experience, is that you won't arouse suspicion. No one will suspect that the military sent an eleven year old child out to investigate them. Your age is the perfect disguise."

"I see," Nick said. He was slightly irritated over the fact that he'd been chosen for the mission based solely on his age and size however he quickly decided that it would not be in his best interests to confront his superior over this fact.

Col. Havoc handed the boy a cream colored folder that bore the emblem of the military embossed on the front. "Here are your orders and case file, along with a train ticket to East City. Your train leaves tomorrow."

Nick took the folder and stood up.

"Be careful Fullmetal. Make sure that no one out there finds out that you're connected with the military. It could prove hazardous to your health."

Nick nodded.

"Okay, you're dismissed."

Nick bowed and left his superior's office.

Once he left Col. Havoc's office, Nick wandered out to the courtyard in front of HQ. The boy walked over to a large tree and sat down in the shade beneath it.

Nick flipped open the folder and pulled out a thick piece of paper with the military emblem at the top.

Alchemist Nicholas Elric,
you are hereby ordered to investigate reports that a group of alchemists are attempting tocreate the Philosopher's Stone in the East. . .'

Nick sighed and plaFullmetalced the piece of paper back inside the folder. "I don't see why the State Military cares if people attempt to make the Philosopher's Stone anyway. It's just a myth after all, so what harm are they really doing?"

Closing the folder Nick shrugged. "Oh well. If the military wants to send a State Alchemist on this kind of mission then who am I to argue? I get paid no matter what kind of mission they send me on so I really shouldn't complain."

Nick hung around Central HQ for a few more hours and then, having received no further orders from his superiors, he headed back to his temporary home. The boy walked the short distance to the Hughes' residence and when he arrived there he knocked on the door.

A few moments later the door opened.

"Nicholas," Gracia Hughes said, smiling at the young boy. "Come on in. Since you're going to be staying with us for awhile we'll have to have you a key made. It seems a shame for you to have to knock in order to gain entrance to your own home."

Nick entered the house, closing the door behind himself.

"Nicholas," a man's voice called out from the den. "Would you come here for a moment?

Nick walked into the den and sat down across from General Hughes. "Yes sir?"

"I heard you've been assigned your first mission," General Hughes said as he gazed over at the boy with a kind look in his eyes.

Nick nodded, holding up the folder that he was still carrying. "Yea. The Colonel gave me the details earlier today."

"So what do you have to do?" General Hughes asked. "Or is it classified information?"

"Well the Colonel didn't say that I couldn't say anything about the mission," Nick said, shrugging his shoulders. "Besides, I don't really see why this particular mission would need to be classified. All I have to do is find out whether or not some alchemists out in the East are researching the Philosopher's Stone."

The General was surprised by that news but he managed to hide his surprise from the young alchemist. "I see. Well good luck with that. That's all I wanted to ask you."

Nick nodded and stood up. He bowed to General Hughes and then left the den and went up to the bedroom that was temporarily his. Once he stepped inside the room Nick closed the door behind himself and then threw himself down on the bed.

"Why would any alchemist devote their time to such a useless pursuit? The Philosopher's Stone is just a myth."

Nick awoke early the next morning and quickly packed his one small suitcase with the few meager possessions that he wanted to take on his mission to the East. Then he made his way downstairs. On his way down he ran into Elicia, who had also risen early.

"Good morning Nicholas," Elicia said. "Are you preparing to depart for the train station?"

"In a little while," Nick told her. "My train leaves in a few hours so I still have a little time before I have to leave."

"Well then come with me and I'll make you some breakfast."

Nick shook his head, not wanting her to go to any trouble on his account. "You don't have to do that."

"I know I don't have to," Elicia said, offering the young boy a smile. "Now come on."

Knowing that it would be pointless to argue with her Nick sighed and followed Elicia down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Do you want me to help you with anything?" Nick asked.

"No that's okay," Elicia said as she busied herself preparing breakfast. "I actually enjoy cooking."

"Alright then. Have it your way."

Elicia made breakfast for the two of them and when it was finished she and Nick sat at the table in

companionable silence, enjoying the meal that she had prepared.

When he'd finished eating Nick stood up. "That was wonderful Elicia. Thank you."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." Elicia smiled at the boy.

"Well I should probably head to the train station. I'm pretty sure Col. Havoc would be pissed off if I missed the train."

"You're probably right." Elicia walked over and gave the boy a quick hug. "Take care of yourself Nicholas."

"I will," Nick assured her, blushing slightly at her show of affection.

Still mildly uncomfortable over the situation Nick grabbed his suitcase and left the house. He walked the short distance to the train station and when he arrived he saw Col. Havoc and Fuhrer Mustang standing beside one of the platforms.

Nick walked over to them. "What are you doing here?"

"We came to see you off," Fuhrer Mustang said with a smirk. "Have you got a problem with that Fullmetal?"

"Not exactly," Nick said. "I was just curious."

"Good," Col. Havoc said. "We also wanted to reiterate the fact that you're not to confront the alchemists, no matter what they're doing. Once the rumors of their illegal activities have been confirmed then we'll send in soldiers with more experience to take care of them. Is that understood Fullmetal?"

"Yes sir," Nick said.

Nick's train had just arrived in East City and the boy quickly disembarked. He stood on the platform for a few minutes, composing himself and preparing for the work ahead. This was his first mission as a State Alchemist and he couldn't deny the fact that he was slightly nervous.

The young State Alchemist took a deep breath. "Okay, so all I have to do is be a nosy kid. I can do that."

And with a new feeling of confidence Nick set off for the lab that he'd been sent out East to investigate. There was no point in delaying the inevitable. From the intelligence reports given to him by Col. Havoc, Nick knew that the lab was located on the outskirts of East City. The complex wasn't hard to find and when Nick got close he hid himself behind a clump of bushes and surveyed the area.

The lab appeared to be fairly deserted at the moment but Nick noticed two large men standing on either side of the door.

"Alright," Nick thought to himself. "There's the brawn now where's the brains?"

Nick looked around but no one else was visible on the outside of the building. Taking a deep breath the boy thought to himself, "Well I suppose it's never too soon to begin my nosy kid routine."

With this thought in mind the boy slipped from behind the clump of bushes and walked toward the lab. To his great surprise Nick actually managed to sneak over to the side of the building without being seen by either of the two oafish guards.

"Hmm," Nick thought to himself as he peered through a partially covered window. Nick craned his neck and peered through the window but no matter how he moved his head he was unable to see anything inside the darkened lab.

"Damn. It's no good. I need to get inside. On to Plan B."

And with that Nick began to move around the building toward another window, this time making absolutely no effort to conceal his presence. Still he was halfway around the building before one of the guards ran up to him.

"What are you doing here boy?"

Nick went immediately into innocent little kid mode. "I'm sorry sir. I didn't mean any harm, I was just curious. You see I want to learn alchemy and I wanted to see some experts in action."

The man grabbed Nick by the arm. "Come with me boy."

Nick was forced to jog in order to keep up with the big man's steps and he had to keep up or risk having his arm ripped out of socket. Nick resisted the urge to beat the man to a bloody pulp, needing the man's help to infiltrate the lab. To Nick's delight the man dragged him to the entrance of the lab and opened the door. The guard pushed the boy inside and then quickly followed, closing the door as he went.

The room they entered was dark and Nick soon learned why he'd been unable to see anything through the windows. "It's a building inside a building."

Despite himself Nick was impressed with the layout of the building. Whoever had designed the lab definitely had some brains. Anyone who managed to get close enough to the building to look through the windows would just assume that the building was abandoned.

The guard knocked on a second door and then opened it. He stepped through the open doorway, pulling Nick along behind him. Having been in the dark just long enough for his eyes to become accustomed to it Nick squinted his eyes against the bright light as he entered the room. "That also gives them an advantage against intruders although whether or not it's deliberate I couldn't say."

As his eyes adjusted to the bright lights Nick saw a couple of men dressed in white lab coats standing at the far end of the room. They stood in front of a cluster of doors which seemed to be under close observation by large guys, similar in build to the ones that Nick had encountered outside.

"I wonder where those lead?" Nick thought to himself as he stared at the doors.

"Forgive me sirs," the guard said, bowing low. "I didn't mean to disturb your work but I found this boy snooping around outside and I thought you should know."

The two men approached the spot where Nick and the guard stood. One of the men was quite tall, around six foot seven, and had long black hair with flecks of gray at the temples which he wore pulled back into a ponytail. The other man was of average height and he had auburn hair, worn in a military cut, and dark brown eyes.

The shorter man glared down at Nick. "What business do you have in this place boy?"

"I'm interested in alchemy sir," Nick said quietly, forcing himself to act like any ordinary little boy. "And I've been looking for someone to teach me for a long time."

The man's eyes narrowed. "And exactly how did you know that there were alchemists here?"

"I didn't know for sure," Nick said, knowing that this had to be convincing or else he was in serious trouble. Playing on the adorable little kid bit for all he was worth Nick allowed a lock of his hair to fall over his golden eyes. "But I heard rumors in town and thought that it wouldn't hurt to check it out."

"I see," the man said, his eyes still narrowed.

Nick could see doubt in the man's eyes which was not a good sign. "Damn, this isn't good. My first mission and I've blown it already. Colonel Havoc's going to have a field day with this one."

Nick's thoughts were interrupted when the tall man spoke up. "So you want to learn alchemy do you boy?"

"Oh yes sir," Nick said in his innocent little kid voice, barely managing to keep the contempt out of his voice. "Very much sir."

"Well I may be able to help you," the man said. "I've need of an assistant, someone to run errands and things like that. If you'll do that for me then I'll teach you alchemy when I have spare moments. How would you like that kid?"

Nick couldn't believe his luck.

"Are you out of your mind Terik?" the shorter man burst out, glaring at his partner through narrowed eyes. "Offering a job to a complete outsider?"

"Oh calm down John," Terik said. "He's just a little kid. What harm could he possibly do?"

Nick listened intently as the two men argued about him. "They're talking about me as though I'm not even here. Maybe I'll get lucky and one of them will say something that they shouldn't. That would make my life so much easier."

No such luck. After only a brief argument John gave in. "Fine, hire the brat. But I don't wanna hear about it if it comes back to haunt you."

Terik turned his attention back to Nick. "What do you say kid, are you interested in a job?"

"You bet!" This time Nick didn't have to fake his excitement although he was excited for a completely different reason.

"It's settled then," Terik said. "Markus you may resume your post outside. And from now on this boy has Level 3 access to the lab."

"Yes sir," the man named Marcus said.

"Level 3 access," Nick thought to himself. "I wonder what the heck that means."

Over the course of the next few days Nick spent the vast majority of his time doing odd jobs for Terik and the other alchemists who worked at the lab. It was mostly just running to town for supplies and things of that nature and it was beginning to seriously piss the boy off.

"I've been the bad guys' lackey for nearly a week and it's gotten me nowhere."

The only thing he'd managed to learn was what Terik had meant by Level 3 access. The lab where the alchemists worked had several rooms, each separately guarded and each requiring special security clearance. Level 3 meant that the person had access to the grounds surrounding the lab and the front room only and that group included Nick and the guards. People with Level 2 access were allowed into two of the four back rooms and included most of the alchemists at the lab. Then there was Level 1, which was total access. Nick only knew of three people who were Level 1: Terik, John and a female alchemist named Lyn.

On the positive side of the situation Nick had played his part well and Terik had been showing him some basic alchemy. And since Nick could do everything that Terik showed him immediately, with no practice, Terik thought the boy was an absolute genius.

"Maybe I should have him do research and turn one of those other flunkies into an errand boy," Terik muttered as he watched the boy transmute.

"What did you say?" Nick asked, glancing up at his clueless 'teacher'.

"Nothing," Terik said quickly. "Well done kid. I think that's enough for today. We'll pick it up again tomorrow, if I have time."

"This is taking forever," Nick thought to himself as he walked back from East City. He had been sent on yet another errand for the alchemists and he was by no means happy about this. Being their lackey had grown old some time ago and now it was all he could do to keep from blowing his cover.

When Nick made it back to the lab the big guard Markus took his time moving away from the door. It seemed the man still hadn't gotten over his initial dislike of the boy.

Narrowing his golden eyes Nick growled at the man. "Move or get hurt."

Markus slowly moved aside and Nick jerked the door open and walked inside. Still irritated over the situation the boy quickly walked the few steps over to the second door. Nick prepped himself for the blinding light, opened the door and stepped inside.

"Welcome back kid," Terik said.

Nick nodded and walked toward the man. When he reached the spot where Terik stood Nick offered him the package that he was carrying. "Here are the supplies that you wanted sir."

Terik took the package. "Thanks."

Nick nodded and turned to leave.

"Wait kid," Terik said. "Follow me."

Nick was confused but he did as he was told, even though it irritated him as always to be so blindingly obedient. He wasn't even that obedient to his superiors in the military but he'd worked to hard to infiltrate the lab to risk blowing his cover by a show of rebellion. He followed his boss over to one of the forbidden doors. Terik opened the door and motioned for Nick to follow him inside. Now more curious than ever about what was going on Nick shrugged and followed the man into the unknown room. This particular room was dimly lit and had a couple of work stations where random alchemists were working.

"Nick," Terik said. "This room is where our second ranked alchemists work on analyzing a substance called the red stone."

"The red stone," Nick thought to himself as he surveyed the room. The young boy's thoughts flashed briefly back to some of the research that he'd done during his first few weeks in Central. "I've read about that in the library in Central. It's supposed to be like a cheap imitation of the Philosopher's Stone."

Nick was jarred from his thoughts by the sound of Terik's voice. "Nick I want you to help these alchemists with their research."

Nick's eyes widened. Did he know something?

"With the speed at which you've picked up alchemy it seems a real waste to use you as a mere delivery boy. Don't worry kid, they'll show you what to do."

Nick nodded and then watched as Terik walked away.

"I think I messed up," Nick thought to himself as he found himself left alone in a room full of strange and possibly dangerous alchemists. "I was just supposed to find out about their research, not help them with it. Now what am I supposed to do?"

Nick didn't have to worry about what to do for long however. He was in the room with the alchemists later that evening when the door burst open and three men stormed in. Nick knew two of the men but the identity of the third was a complete mystery.

Terik and John followed the third man, who was tall with long jet black hair and dark eyes. He also had a strange tattoo on the side of his neck but it was partially hidden by his hair and Nick couldn't tell what it was supposed to be.

"HOW DARE YOU BRING A STRANGER TO THIS PLACE!!" the man with the tattoo roared, his eyes gleaming with a malevolent anger.

"I told him it was a bad idea," John said, trying to distance himself from Terik's mistake and keep himself out of trouble.

"But he's just a little kid," Terik said in his own defense. "Plus he's a very talented alchemist. He could help us."

"Of course he's a talented alchemist," the man yelled. "He's a STATE Alchemist you moron!"

"Damn," Nick silently cursed. "How does this guy know that? I've never even seen him before."

"You invited a State Alchemist into our lab where we're attempting to create an illegal substance," John said in disbelief. "How stupid can you be?"

"You shut up! You're no better than he is. Did you stop him? NO!"

"I tried," John said in a small voice.

"Well you should have tried harder," the man said, although he seemed to have calmed a degree. "No matter though. Dispose of him."

Terik stared at the boy, seemingly still unable to believe that the boy he'd been tutoring in basic alchemy was in fact a high ranking member of the State Military. There was shock in his voice as he asked, "Are you really a State Alchemist?"

"Sure enough," Nick said with a smirk. "Sorry to keep such an important piece of information a secret from you but if I'd told you sooner then I never would have found out what I needed to know. That little secret was on a need to know basis and you simply didn't need to know."

Terik narrowed his eyes at the boy. "I can't believe I actually LIKED you. But you tricked me and for that you must die."

"Well that's not nice," Nick said, shaking his head. "And after everything I've done for you. You ingrate."

Terik took a menacing step toward the boy and, taking that as their cue, the rest of the alchemists in the room followed suit. And they all looked as though they would relish inflicting grave bodily harm upon him.

"I think they wanna kill me," Nick said with a smirk.

"I think you're right," Terik said, taking another step toward him.

Nick was backed up against the wall so that no one could attack him from behind. He surveyed the scene as the alchemists approached. There were seven of them, not counting the guy with the tattoo. He had yet to move so Nick wasn't counting him as an opponent just yet.

"Hmm," Nick said to himself. "Seven against one. That hardly seems fair to them but oh well. They asked for it."

Nick clasped his hands together and in a shower of blue sparks his auto-mail arm transformed into a blade.

Terik's eyes widened. "H. . .how did you do that?"

"I'm talented," Nick said with a smirk. "Let's suffice it to say that I could probably teach you a thing or two about alchemy. If you weren't a bad guy, that is."

The alchemists all rushed Nick and the boy soon found out that, although they were all moderately talented in the lab, they all sucked when it came to hand to hand combat. Nick easily dodged blows from several alchemist at once and he laughed as the lousy fighters got in each others way.

"You guys should quit while you're ahead," Nick said as one of the alchemists swung at him, missed and punched one of his comrades in the nose. "If you surrender now I promise I won't hurt you."

Despite the fact that they were essentially beating each other up the alchemists didn't heed Nick's warning. They continued with their clumsy attacks.

"Okay," Nick said with a sigh. "Have it your way. But I warned you."

And with that Nick began to take out alchemists left and right. They'd made their decision and he was no longer holding back. If they got hurt then it was their own stupid fault for not heeding his warning.

As he watched his cronies going down one by one the man with the tattoo rolled his eyes. "They're all useless."

At that point in the fight the man with the tattoo decided to join in and Nick lost the upper hand. Unfortunately for Nick the man with the tattoo obviously had some experience at hand to hand combat and he soon proved to be more difficult to deal with than all of the others combined.

"Damn," Nick swore as he struggled against his new opponent, as well as the old ones. "This is NOT good."

In an attempt to get as many of them as he could with one blow, Nick clasped his hands together and placed them on the concrete floor. Large stone spikes shot up from the floor, amidst a spray of blue sparks, and people scrambled in all directions, trying to get away from them.

Not everyone managed to dodge the attack however and the stone spikes took out a couple of the alchemists, along with one of the walls. Debris fell from the ceiling, covering a couple more of Nick's opponents.

"Let's move into the front room," the man with the tattoo yelled to the alchemists who were still conscious. Then he quickly clamored through the hole in the wall made by Nick's attack.

"Well that was stupid," Nick said as he paused to catch his breath and watched the alchemists retreat through the hole in the wall. "Think I'll escape and fetch reinforcements."

"Afraid not kid." Terik picked up a leg from one of the demolished work stations and swung it at Nick.

"Damn. I'd forgotten him." Nick dove out of the way, tucking himself into a tight ball. When he hit the ground he rolled and then quickly jumped to his feet. "That was close."

His escape attempt foiled Nick decided that moving to the front room wasn't such a bad idea. There was far more room and far less destruction. Nick jumped through the hole in the wall, closely followed by Terik who still held the table leg.

As soon as Nick entered the front room he was immediately attacked from all sides.

"Dammit!"

As he fought Nick somehow managed to take out the lousy fighters while still managing to block blows from the one man in the group who actually knew how to fight.

"Well I suppose some good came from constantly sparring with Dad and Sensei," Nick thought to himself as he blocked the man's blows. "Who would have thought that constantly having the crap beaten out of me would one day prove useful?"

"I commend you young alchemist," the man with the tattoo said. "You've done well to last this long." Then the man attempted to kick the boy's feet out from under him.

Nick dodged by jumping backward. He did a back flip, balancing on his hand, but this move played right into the man's plan. He swung at the boy's right arm and this time Nick found himself in a position where he was unable to block.

Nick screamed in pain as he felt his arm give. "Damn! This is NOT good!"

Nick managed to push off with his injured arm and land on his feet but he knew that his arm had been rendered virtually useless by the man's attack. Which was bad in more ways than one since it meant that he couldn't transmute quickly and that he'd have a harder time blocking his foe's attacks.

Nick braced himself for another attack but was surprised when none came.

"It seems you've been rendered harmless young alchemist," the man said in a taunting voice.

"I can still take you," Nick growled, glaring at the man, his gaze full of contempt.

The man shook his head. "I don't think so. You and I will meet again, of that I have no doubt." And with that the man turned and walked away.

"Where the hell do you think you're going? We're not done yet." Nick made a move to pursue the man but was stopped when the man hit a wall that was barely standing as it was. Nick quickly covered his head with his arms, to protect himself from the falling debris that rained down upon him when the wall gave way, and by the time the smoke cleared the man had vanished. "Well that was weird."

Nick surveyed the damaged lab and was quite sure that even if the man with the tattoo managed to put together another group of alchemists no one would ever be able to do research in this particular lab.

"Well it looks like the research is officially over. But just to make sure. . ."

Nick wandered around the lab, destroying anything that looked important, making doubly sure that the facility was now useless. He wanted there to be no doubts that the laboratory would be useless to the tattooed man and any alchemists who may have escaped.

While he was working in one of the back rooms Nick heard the sound of voices coming from the front room. "Ah hell," the boy groaned.

Prepared for another fight Nick walked back out to the front room. However instead of enemy alchemists Nick saw Markus standing near the door flanked by men in blue, soldiers from East HQ.

"See I told you," Markus said. "That boy broke in here and vandalized the place."

"What's going on here?" one of the soldiers asked Nick in a stern voice.

Nick shrugged. "I guess they had a disagreement or something. Hell if I know."

"Don't be smart with me boy," the soldier said in a warning tone, taking a menacing step toward the boy. "Now tell me what happened here or I'm taking you into custody." And as though to prove his point the soldier took yet another menacing step toward Nick, who was thoroughly unimpressed with the show of authority.

Nick rolled his eyes. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his watch. He held it up for the soldiers to see. "Don't."

That one single word, coupled with the sight of the watch, was enough to halt the man's progress.

"A State Alchemist?"

"That's right," Nick said, his tone smug. "And I'm here on official business. These alchemists were attempting to create the Philosopher's Stone which is, as I'm sure you're aware, illegal."

"I see," the soldier said. He turned to face his men. "Place everyone in this building under arrest. As soon as they regain consciousness that is."

"Well I guess my job is done," Nick said. "I suppose I should head back to Central."

A/N - and thus ends yet another chapter. Hope you enjoyed. Til next time this is Hitsu-taichou signing out.