(A/N) Hello! I bet you guys thought I wasn't gonna update? Well tbh I'm surprised I did too haha. This chapter is probably still a little boring, but I gotta give you guys some background before we get into the good stuff. And thank you to all my reviewers! I really appreciate the positive feedback and the nice comments. To the one reviewer who said they were hooked on Private Walsh, I am apologizing in advance because I am gonna do this kid dirty in another chapter haha. Again, I apologize if this is dry. The good stuff should start coming in the next chapter and the really good stuff soon after that. Ok I love you all and please enjoy!


Chapter 2: A Sign at Sunset

Joseph Crane had always been regarded as quiet man who lived a quiet, uneventful life. He worked for the same company, at the same desk, with the same daily task for 25 years. He was a simple data collections employee, and he poured over the same documents during his entire time at the company. He arrived every day at 9:00 am, poured himself a cup of coffee in the same mug, and sat in the same chair for the next 8 hours while he took the expenditure and sales data from the previous day and compiled it into one document. At 5:00 pm, he would leave and, presumably go to his home. His coworkers didn't know if he had a family or if he maybe enjoyed the life of a bachelor, and they'd never bothered to ask. Crane was a quiet man who preferred the routine of his job and wouldn't be unhappy if this was all he had to do for the rest of his life.

As it tends to happen occasionally, the company had lost a fair amount of business over the years and couldn't maintain its expenses. Crane knew this, of course; he was the one who collected all the profits data. He'd noticed the decline in business, and guessed that cuts would be coming. But he'd worked for the company for 25 years now, and figured it was unlikely that they would cut him. He was a quiet man who'd kept his head down and always did his work. Nobody had ever really noticed him, and nobody would pay him enough attention to think to fire him.

So when the Human Resources representative approached him at the desk he'd sat at for 25 years, Joseph Crane was not quiet.

...

"This guy had better hurry up or he'll miss the train! Do you see him, Al?" Ed checked the station clock and watched as passengers began to file in for the train heading west. It was scheduled to depart in ten minutes and Private Walsh was nowhere to be seen. "The Colonel said he'd meet us here. Did the idiot forget to tell Walsh or something?" Ed grumbled as he reached for his suitcase. He and Al were leaving with or without this guy.

Al suddenly perked up as he peered over the crowd. "I think I see him, brother!" Al waved a little to catch the Private's attention.

Jeremy Walsh was a tall, built kid. He'd just graduated from the academy, and he still looked pretty young. His red hair and freckles reminded the boys of stories of leprechauns they'd read as children, but the height promptly cut off the resemblance. He greeted the boys with a goofy grin and scratched the back of his head. "Hey guys! You must be the Elric brothers. Sorry I'm late, my ma' wanted to send us off with some breakfast."

Jeremy opened the pouch he'd been carrying to reveal several muffins. The scent immediately wafted through the air, causing Ed's stomach to growl as remembered skipping breakfast. So maybe this guy wasn't so bad. "It's no problem, let's just hurry on the train."

The train ride over may have been long, but it certainly wasn't unpleasant. Initially, Ed thought for sure that Jeremy would be a dunce and would just slow down their assignment. However, Jeremy slowly but surely won the boys over and they became fast friends. It wasn't hard, since the boy wasn't all that much older than the brothers and he didn't treat them like children, as most of Mustang's crew usually did. And he was so personable that it was hard not to like him.

"I've heard so many stories about the Fullmetal Alchemist. Back home, you're a real hero! My little sisters love hearing stories about you. Is it true you really faked out that mining guy and bought the town for the people? That's gotta be my favorite story." Jeremy had recalled all the stories about the Fullmetal Alchemist he'd told his siblings, receiving mostly embarrassed responses from Ed. He wasn't used to being this flattered by someone in the military.

Ed rubbed the back of his head and broke off another piece of muffin. "They're not really exciting stories, but I'm glad your sisters like them."

"So why'd you join the military, Jeremy?" Al chimed in. He was receiving just as much praise as Ed, and apparently was also a main character in a lot of the stories Jeremy liked to tell.

The Private looked out the window to view the rolling hills and dots of flowers on the horizon. "My dad had been in the military, and he'd always been my hero. He would come home every night telling the best stories! I'm not sure if half of what he told us was really true, but we sure loved to hear them anyways." He had a nostalgic look in his eyes. "He died in Ishval during the war, while saving one of his friends. I know my ma' would've rather I'd gone to college, but I wanted the chance to protect people and go on all those adventures too, so I joined the academy."

Alphonse was entranced by the story, but Ed found himself a bit indifferent. He admired the Private's desire to protect people, but to follow in his father's footsteps seemed unnecessary.

"How about you boys? I'll admit, I thought it was a bit odd when they told me a twelve-year-old became a state alchemist. I thought for sure they'd just been mistaken."

Ed nearly spit out his drink. He never really spoke with people long enough for them to ask him why he joined the military and he didn't have a believable story prepared. "Well, you see…"

Al suddenly cut in, "Since we grew up in such a small town, there wasn't really any outlet for our alchemy. Lucky for us, Colonel Mustang came by and offered Ed the chance to take the state certification exam. It just seemed like a better use for our skills."

Jeremy seemed to buy the story for the most part. "That makes sense. Alchemy is still a growing field so I bet a small town wouldn't really have a need for it." He turned to Ed, "I thought you were the one with the state title though? Why didn't Al take the exam?"

Ed smiled nervously and gestured to the armor. "He's still in training, you see! Our alchemy teacher has him on a strict regime and he can't take the test until he'd finished!"

Ed and Al held their breath as Jeremy pondered the answer. They let out a sigh when he nodded. "Alchemy training sure sounds tough. I wouldn't want to go through that."

Ed quietly laughed and leaned back into the seat. 'He's nice, but I don't know how much we can trust him yet. Besides, he doesn't need to know about it.'

...

The rest of the ride continued in relative silence with brief intermissions of small talk. They arrived in Callaway by mid-afternoon, grateful to be off the rickety old locomotive. The town was nowhere near the expanse of Central or East City, but it definitely had attracted a few businesses. Office buildings and apartment complexes lined the streets, and people hurriedly pushed past one another to get where they were going. A few small stands stood in front of a large office building, selling food and magazines.

Ed bought himself and Jeremy a quick bite and then pulled out a scrap of paper with an address on it. "I guess we should check out the office he destroyed first. That way we can get an idea of how he's using his alchemy."

The walked a mile and a couple blocks east, stopping to ask for directions a few times on the way. 'This would be easier if the guy would just come to us.' Ed thought, annoyed. He figured once wind got out that the military had sent more people, the "Demolition Alchemist" would make an appearance. So Ed made sure to mention that he was a State Alchemist sent to apprehend Crane to every person they spoke to.

They reached the sight of the initial attack as the sun began its decent. Ed's eyes widened in shock and Jeremy's jaw nearly dropped at the sight.

There, in between two still standing and untouched buildings, lay a pile of rubble nearly perfectly crushed into dust. A few larger chunks of concrete stood out like daggers amongst the ruin. The thoroughness of the destruction was impressive enough. But the two buildings on either side that had once been touching the office had been left unscathed, and that was truly remarkable.

"How could anyone have survived this?" Ed thought he heard Jeremy whisper that, but he couldn't really tell since he'd been thinking the same thing.

On top of the pile of crumbled concrete lay a sign, untouched in all the destruction.

"Mills & Lathe Manufacturing"