"Have there been any strange incidents happening lately?"
A tall tan brunette asked a man at a small restaurant a very strange question. "What do you mean by strange?" he asked. He had never seen this girl before. The town he lived in was Genice, a small village that was just outside Eastern Command. Hardly anyone passed by, especially not someone as beautiful as her.
"Have there been any crimes or strange phenomena recently?" she asked.
"What are you, a cop?"
"Just answer my question."
The man looked at the girl's flawless face. Her brown bangs outlined her thin face and her determined narrow black eyes. "Why do you want to know?" he asked.
"I'm looking for something."
"What?"
"The Philosopher's Stone."
The man began laughing at the answer. "What's so funny?" she asked.
"The Philosopher's Stone! That's rich. Hey, I think I saw one down by the river. Go look there," he laughed. It was obvious he was lying about the stone's whereabouts, but the girl knew she was getting nowhere with him. She turned on her heels and left the laughing man.
The girl had been in the town for about a day, asking around about the seemingly mythical jewel. No one gave her any clues whatsoever. Perhaps now was the time to leave for another town.
She walked to the edge of town and saw the rushing flow of water. The girl examined the rocks she passed, knowing she wouldn't find anything. She looked for a shining red rock like in the stories. Only dirt covered and brown rocks were visible.
"Just my luck," she mumbled. She sighed and followed the river downstream, still looking at the rocks just in case.
"Hey guys, look. A person."
The girl turned around to see a group of tough looking men staring at her. "She's not bad on the eyes," one man said, smirking at her body.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"Just some wanderers, lost on the path of life," one cooed, walking closer to the girl.
"I'm sorry, but I can't help you get back on track. Find someone else," she muttered. She turned around again and walked away.
"Hey, hey. Baby, what's wrong?" another asked.
"I'm looking for something."
"I'm looking for something, too. A person to share my love with. How about you, hot stuff?" he asked.
"Fuck off."
"What did you say?"
"I said, fuck off."
The girl turned her head and glared at the man beside her. He looked confused and then returned the look. "No one tells me what to do," he said irritably.
"Just did," the girl said playfully.
The man got really pissed off and swung his fist towards her face. The girl was a fast one and ducked under the arm. As she stood back up, she pushed off her back heel and punched him in the stomach, knocking him over in agony.
"You bitch!" a man yelled.
He got back up hastily and swung punch after punch towards her. His style was very predictable and she dodged each punch. He was about to throw another one, but was stopped and a roundhouse kick met his face and knocked him to the ground once more.
"You think you're so strong, don't you?" a man asked.
"I don't think, I know," she smirked.
"We'll see about that."
The other men got on their knees and clapped their hands together. She was stunned by the act and watched closely. A light flashed in a circle around the men and the ground shook furiously. The girl stumbled about and the dirt moved from under her. Two long spikes formed from the dirt and caught onto her arms, lifting them apart and her off the ground.
"Can't do anything, now can you?" the beat up man laughed.
The girl struggled to release her arms, but the more she did so, the harder it got. It was like she was in quick sand. She couldn't do anything if she wanted to break free.
"What are you going to do now?" they taunted. The girl only moved her arms and glared at them. She couldn't show her weakness, even if there was no point.
"Hey! Let her go!"
The group turned to a short boy with blonde braided hair and a red coat. "Who are you?" the men asked.
The boy smirked and answered. "The Fullmetal Alchemist."