I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or Brotherhood. But there will be some direct lines from the story.
This story deals with a gender-swapped Ed.
And please feel free to comment and or give suggestions.
"I probably would have been happier if I never learnt about this. If what it says in the documents is true then the raw materials used to create the philosopher's stone are living humans. Ad it will take multiple sacrifices to manufacture just one." My voice was shaking. I was trying to contain my rage and my disgust.
I can't believe that something so inhuman was done by an organization under the military." Brosh exclaimed
"This is unforgivable." Ross added
"2nd Lieutenant Ross, Sergeant Brosh... Can you please not tell anybody about this?" I asked begging them to keep this a secret.
"But..."
"Please. Please act like you never heard this." I tried one last time
"Okay we will." Ross said. The two soldiers ushered us to the door. "We have to leave the library is closed." I stood up and walked to the door my head still hung low. 'What a great to to throw a pity party for myself.'
The car ride was silent. I was living in my head going over the disappointment, even if we found a stone we could never use it. I am not willing to sacrifice someone else life for my own. When we finally got to the hotel that we were staying I went to my room and threw myself down on the couch. I'm not sure if it was days or hours that passed when Al talked again.
"Sister, go eat breakfast." He told me sitting behind the couch.
"I don't want anything." I wasn't lying I was so depressed that the thought of putting food in my body made me sick. We sat in silence for a while. "I'm tired of this, just when I start thinking it's within my reach, it runs away from me." I reached to the fan with my automail arm. "It keeps going on like that. And this time when I feel like I finally got a hold on it, I'm knocked down by what I caught." I chuckled "Looks like God really hates those men that broke his rules." I covered my head with my arm. "Are we going to live like this for the rest of our lives?" I questioned There was no noise except for the ceiling fan. 'Is now a good time to ask, since I might never fix his body.' "Hey Al" I swallowed 'just ask him. "There's something I always wanted to tell you, but... It was something I was too scared to say." I started
"What is it?" Al asked. I opened my mouth to ask him but I heard a noise outside that cut me off. It was Armstrong.
"Ignore him, the door's locked he'll go away." I whispered to Al. That's when I heard the door break.
"I have come Edward Elric." He said. Sparkles we swarming him. I screamed out of pure shock. "What a tragedy! To think that the philosopher's stone would hide that horrible secret." tears were leaking down his eyes. Wait how did he know. I looked at Brosh and Ross. I gave them my best I'm going to kill you look. The apologised begging for forgiveness. I fixed my tank top readjusting the straps to make sure they couldn't see the bonding around my chest.
"Oh, your arm is artificial?" Brosh asked. I had to fight ever urge I had to put my coat back on. Winston might have done a great job of fixing it but people asking about it or looking at it made me feel uncomfortable.
"It was during the East Area Civil, there was a little..." I started to explain using our old excuse that Mustang made up for us.
"Which is why we want the philosophers stone, to restore his body." Al cut me off, Armstrong did a good job of hiding the the truth 'at least someone in this room can keep a secret.'
"Oh I see. It's too bad it had to turn out this way. Sometimes the truth can be cruel." Brosh sympathised. 'What did he know about the truth?' I thought. 'Wait the truth.'
"The truth behind the truth." I echoed Hawkeye's words "I get it... There's still something else...Something." Armstrong pulled out a map of the city.
"There are currently 4 locations within Central that are Alchemic institutions that work for the military." He started pointing to the locations. "Among those four is he one that Dr. Marcoh worked for. The 3rd research institute."
"This one is the most suspicious." Ross said continuing Armstrong's train of thought. I shook my head
"I passed through all of the labs when I got my national license. They didn't look like they were up to anything important though." I was studying the map when something caught my eye. "What's that?" I pointed "What's that building?"
"That used to be the fifth laboratory. They shut it down because it's not structurally sound." Ross said reading off the legend of the map.
"It's this one."
"How did you come to that conclusion?" Brosh asked.
"There is a prison next to it. They could've used the prisoners on death row as the raw materials for the stone." I told them "And it's the only laboratory close enough to the prison."
"The inmates are the raw materials." Ross shivered she looked sick.
"Don't give me that look, just explaining it is making me sick."
"Wait whose to say that the government had involvement in this." Brosh said out loud.
"Some how I feel that we stumbled on something to big." Ross said. The two of them looked nervous.
"That's why I told you to pretend that you didn't hear anything." Al reminded them
"This is just a speculation we have no proof the government is involved in this." Armstrong pointed out.
"Yeah." I said trying to reassure them.
"Who is in charge of this research organization?" Al stood up while my little brother willing to take charge and find the answers.
"Brigadier General Basque Gran." Armstrong answered.
"Then we find this Basque Gran and talk to him." I said my plan aloud
" You can not. He was murdered by scar the other day." Armstrong reported. "Many high up military Alchemist have been murdered by him." His voice turned serious. "I will probe into this matter and inform you later." He started picking the maps. "You two will remain quiet on this matter." He said looking to Brosh and Ross. "And you two will stay put." I agreed to anything he said trying to calm the giant.
"We wont do anything dangerous until you report back." Al and I said together.
"Like hell we will." I whispered while Al and I sneaked around to the laboratory. 'An abandon factory with a guard posted at the entrance. How suspicious.' I thought now how do we get in. I looked up. "Okay Al hoist me up." He threw me up on top of the wall and I tried to land on it with my left leg. "Hate to admit it but it's times like these that I don't mind having automail limbs." I said I started feeding the barbedwire down to him.
"I feel the same way." Al replied as he climbed the wire. We walked around to the entrance but it was sealed shut. I saw a small air vent I stood on Al's shoulders
"Looks like this continues all the way to the back." I told him. I threw down the screen. "Al wait here and cover me."
"You don't want me to come and help you?" he asked
"I do but your body's to big to fit in here, I should be okay though little brother." I told him as I pulled myself in. After a few minutes of dragging myself along I said to myself. "It's more cramped in here then I thought a normal sized person wouldn't be able to fit in here. I'm glad my body is small." Then I realized what I just said. I started hitting my head against the vent "Damn how dare I call myself small." I keep pulling myself along the vent until I found and opening. "Here I go." I said as I dropped myself down into the room. The building looked like it was abandon, there were small floor lights giving off enough light for me to see. "What do you mean currently not in use?" I asked out loud when I walked past an open room with a transmutation circle on the floor. I walked into the room. "I this what is used to transmute a philosopher's stone?"
"Correct." I hollow voice said. A suit of armour walked into the room. "I don't know what a kid like you came from, but you seem like you want to learn more about the stone. I am one of those that were left with the task of guarding this place. For now call me number 48." He pulled out a katana. " I am ordered to remove all outsiders that enter. Don't think badly of me kid." For someone about to kill me he sounded very polite. I pulled off my right glove and said
"Ditto" I clapped my hand and a blade came sprouting out of it. "Don't feel bad about losing to a kid." I told the guard.
"So that's Alchemy?" He swung at me and I jumped away. "Show me what you got." He was fast most of my moves barely blocked his. He kept hitting at my arm higher and higher. "A steel limb up to your shoulder eh, that just saved your life." He swung again "My blade can strike through steel!" He revealed
"Don't joke around Winston is going to kill me if this gets broken again." The fight continued with me blocking his every move until I got an opening. I kicked his chest to give us a bit of room even I heard a hollow echo.
"That sounded hollow, you can't possibly be hollow on the inside."
"I'm surprised you found out quickly." He held his sword behind his head.
"I spar a lot with guys like you. I could tell by how that just felt." I told him
"So there is someone else like me on the surface."
"I don't like this. There's another idiot besides me that would think about bonding a soul onto a suit of armour." He introduced himself one more time as the serial killer slicer he even showed me where his soul was bonded to his armour "Since you're being so kind you wouldn't mind letting me go like I am now right?" I asked with high hopes.
"Would a killer ignore and allow the prey in front of him to escape?" He asked back "Now I come at you." He said charging at me one more time. This fight wasn't going to be easy.
So please comment review the question about Barry is still on the table for those of you that skipped hat question here it is again. Should Barry have kidnapped Ed like he did with Winry in the original series or should I stick to how Brotherhood did it?
And Also the fate of Hughes might rest on you guys live or die it's all the same to me. See you next time.