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Fullmetal Alchemist: Conspiracy
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Fullmetal Alchemist quote:
"Damn it, what the hell is this guy's problem?! Making enemies isn't something that I….Well I never really avoided it, but there's no reason someone should be trying to kill me."- Edward Elric
"Talking"
Thoughts
Chapter 18: Suspicions
BANG!
It felt like everything was going in slow motion. One moment Isaac was starting to make his move. The next there was a gunshot followed by Isaac's eyes going wide and he stopped making his move as blood was rolling down his face from a hole the size of a bullet in his forehead, and he was falling backwards. Next, his body was on the ground. Then Edward turned around to see the second man he saw at the train station a couple days before with a gun still held in his hand.
All of it felt like it took a lifetime, but it all happened in less than a minute.
"Why?" Edward asked quietly as he was in shock. "Why did you do that? I…...I thought you two were partners…..friends. Both of you are in the Revolutionary Alchemist Establishment, aren't you?"
The man lowered his gun. "When ordered to kill someone, you do it without complaint, young alchemist."
"But why? He was on your side." Edward pointed a thumb over his shoulder at Isaac's body.
"He went against what our leader said and left us. Once you join, there is no going back. We all knew this before we joined so we have a chance to back out. We were ordered to kill him." The man said.
Edward tightened his grip around the hilt of his sword. "And me? I just saw you kill someone. Are you going to kill me too?"
"No."
"Why? Why won't you…."
"BROTHER!"
Edward looked up at the path to see Al, Cluke, and Myers coming towards him. Only when he heard the man speak again did he look back.
"It is unimportant." The man said before walking away.
Edward blinked. "HEY! WHERE ARE YOU GOING? GET BACK HERE!"
The man was soon engulfed by the darkness.
"Brother," Al tackled his brother into a hug. "Who was that? And what happened to Isaac?"
"He's part of the Revolutionary Alchemist Establishment and he killed Isaac. That's all I know." Edward replied after peeling his brother off of him.
Al frowned and looked over his brother's shoulder at the body of Isaac. "Well….I don't know what to say to that. I'm happy because now you don't have to fight him and I didn't really like him, but that's mean. He was just killed and I don't feel sad or upset. This is wrong, brother!"
The older brother shook his head and turned his brother around to push him back up the hill. "He was a bad person, Al, and he wanted to and even tried to kill us. He put me in the hospital twice, almost killing me the second time. He even attacked Central. It's alright to not be sad about his death, Al." He pushed his hands hard against Al's back to force him up the hill. "Go back to the camp. I need to talk with the Lieutenant Colonel. Wake everyone up to. I think we might be leaving soon."
As Ed watched his brother walk up the hill, he heard Cluke and Myers moving around and talking quietly. He heard the click of Cluke's shotgun so that he was ready in case someone else was around. "The man who killed Isaac is part of the Revolutionary Alchemist Establishment. He was here alone so there shouldn't be anyone else but him around. I know he is alone because I saw him and Isaac at the train station in Akran, only them and no one else."
"And you are only mentioning this now, why?" Myers growled.
Edward didn't reply. He didn't even look at his superior.
"Elric!"
"Does everyone in the military know about the Revolutionary Alchemist Establishment?" Edward asked.
"….Only the higher ups and the soldiers that are working against them." Myers explained. He narrowed his eyes. "How do you know about them? You only just joined the military. They wouldn't have told you anything about them."
Edward closed his eyes and let out a long, deep breath. "So, that's it, huh? The military doesn't inform every one of the possible dangers lurking around. What idiots!" He turned around and glared at the two. "I know because Isaac tried to kill me and before that, he told me about the group because he wanted me to join. Now, can we leave this area? That other guy can still be around and it is too dark to fight him. We might end up attacking a comrade."
Cluke looked at the Lieutenant Colonel. "It might be best to leave. Not only do we have that traitor to deal with, we also have those people from the Eastern Liberation Front who sent those chimeras after us about a mile ago. We really should move."
The Lieutenant Colonel frowned angrily.
Ed ran a hand through his hair as the older soldiers finished inspecting and burying Isaac's body. They had no use for the body. Things were only starting to get complicated. Everything was going to get much worse and they all knew it.
"Brother." Al whispered. The soldiers and mechanics were on the move once more. They didn't want to stay in the area where a rogue state alchemist showed up. "I heard the mechanics talking while you were with the soldiers. Some of them are beginning to get scared with all these attacks. One of them, I think his name is Sam, said something about using their special weapons to protect themselves."
"What weapon?" Es asked. As far as he knew none of them brought their creations with them because it would be really dangerous with people hunting them down for these weapons.
"I don't know. But I did see him look at the bags as he said this." Al replied hesitantly.
*F*M*A*
"Sorry." Al whispered as he brought his hand down onto the back of Hank's neck to knock him out.
Ed buried his face in his hands in exasperation. "Don't say sorry, Al. We don't want him to know that it was us who knocked him out."
The younger brother looked skeptically at his older brother. "How is saying sorry giving us away?"
"Because only you say sorry like that when hitting a comrade while trying to sneak around." Ed replied. He sighed and moved into the fire light. "Forget it. It's already done. Let's just get on with our search."
Ed and Al grabbed all the bags and sat on the edge of the fire light. They sat on the edge so if someone woke up they could hide in the darkness, but also so they could have some light to see what was in the bags.
"This is just food and pans." Al said, zipping the bag up and putting it in the discarded pile.
Ed looked up from his bag. "Too bad they can't all be that simple." He pulled a few metal pieces out of his bag. "These bags have pieces to a weapon. The weapon was disassembled and packed into their bags. They are carrying some type of weapon with them."
"What should we do?" Al asked worriedly.
"I don't know if the soldiers know about this and just kept a secret from us." Ed replied, shoving the pieces back in the bags. "For now let's just put all of this back."
"What about the watch?" Al asked, nodding his head towards Hank.
"I'll keep watch until he wakes up. You go to sleep." Ed replied.
"But you need to sle…"
Ed looked out of the corner of his eye at his brother. "Go to sleep, Al. I'll be fine."
*F*M*A*
Maes strolled down the road with a smile. He wore black slacks, a purple shirt, and a black suit jacket. As he looked around the quiet land he noted how peaceful it was out here. From what he gathered from the townsfolk he should be coming up to the house he wants.
The investigator stopped in front of the burned remains of a house in shock. "No one said it was destroyed." He said quietly.
"Excuse me?"
Maes blinked surprised at the young voice. He didn't realize that anyone else was around. Looking over his shoulder Maes saw a young girl about Ed's age with long blond hair and bright blue eyes. "Yes?"
"Who are you?"
"Oh, sorry. Maes Hughes." He held his hand out for her to take. "And you?"
"Winry Rockbell." Winry politely shook his hand. "Why are you here?"
Maes looked back at the house. "I'm a friend of the Elrics. What happened to their house?"
"Ed and Al burned it down before they left." Winry said sadly.
Noticing the sad tone, Maes turned back to her and smiled gently. "Are you a friend of the Elric brothers?"
Winry nodded her head. "We've been friends our whole lives. They are practically my brothers. That's what happens when you grow up in a small place like this."
"Have they contacted you since they left?" Maes asked.
"Once when they arrive in Central." Winry replied. "Why?"
"So they haven't contacted you since then?" Maes asked in disbelief.
Winry shook her head. "No, why?"
Maes turned away from her and cleared his throat as he tried to get back to being neutral.
"No reason." Maes looked at the remains of the house. "Why did they burn their house?"
"I don't really understand it myself." Winry replied honestly. "I think it was more for Ed's benefit."
"What do you mean?" Maes asked confused.
Winry shook her head and turned away from the house. "If you don't know what happened then they don't want you to know."
"Loyal friend." Maes muttered as she ran back to her house.
Sighing, Maes looked back at the house remains. "Guess I have to do this the hard way. I don't get paid enough for this."
*F*M*A*
"Nice of you to wake up." Ed commented as Hank began to stir.
"What happened?" Hank asked groggily.
Ed frowned at him. "You fell asleep."
Groaning, Hank sat up and rubbed his neck. "Then why does my neck hurt?"
"How should I know? You probably slept funny or something." Ed snapped before standing up. "Now you can watch like you were supposed to so I can sleep."
*F*M*A*
"What the hell is this?" Maes said to himself in complete shock. He had dug through the remains of the house and found a bloody, dirt covered, mangled body. Around the creature was the remains of a transmutation array. Most of it was erased from the dirt but the parts left helped him identify it.
He wasn't an alchemist but he did remember the human transmutation case that Ed worked with them on. The mangled body was like the one from then. As for the transmutation circle, though it was partially erased, Maes could tell that the arrays were similar to the ones of that case. To be sure he would have to consult with Roy, and only Roy. If that is what it really was then this couldn't get out.
Maes got his camera out. Roy would want as many pictures as possible so he could determine if this truly was human transmutation.
*F*M*A*
Knock. Knock.
"Come in."
"Roy."
Mustang's brows furrowed and he frowned. His friend's voice sounded deathly serious. He had sent him to Resembool to find out what the Elric brothers were hiding and it seems he found something and it wasn't good.
"Back already, Maes? You've only been gone a week and a half." Mustang looked up from his work. Maes was standing in front of his desk instead of sitting down like he usually does. He looked completely serious and worried. A manila folder was clenched tightly in his fist.
"No one was saying anything. I think it's because no one but the Rockbells truly know what happened. And they are too loyal to the Elrics to say anything." Maes replied, voice rough with worry and seriousness.
"So you didn't find anything out?" Mustang sighed.
Maes threw the folder on the desk, pictures falling out. "I didn't say that. They burned down their house before they left. I had to dig through the remains of it to find it."
Mustang picked up the pictures and shifted through them, eyes going wide as he did. "I…I don't believe it. This is human transmutation. That's the only thing it could be. The design of the array, the mangled corpse, it all matches."
Running an exhausted hand over his face, Maes let out a deep breath and leaned against the desk with his arms folded over his chest. "It doesn't have to mean that the Elrics did it."
"Who else could have? They're the only ones who lived there. And they burned it down. They wanted to hide it." Roy pointed out.
"Winry Rockbell told me she didn't understand why they burned the house down. But she thinks it was for Ed." Maes said.
"You think only Fullmetal did it?" Mustang said.
Maes nodded his head. "Still, why would they want to attempt it? It's extremely foolish."
"You did the investigation yourself, Maes. You should already know." Roy flipped through the pictures and stopped on the mangled corpse. "You love your wife and daughter very much."
Maes blinked confused. "What does that have to do with this?"
Roy sighed and put the pictures away so he didn't have to look at them anymore. "The Elric brothers' father left them, then their mother died. They were alone. They had no one to protect them and tell them it was wrong. They loved their mother so much and missed her."
"And would do anything to have her back, even break the law." Maes finished sadly.
*F*M*A*
"Lieutenant Cluke." Edward said.
Cluke looked over at Ed, then turned back to the mechanic he was talking to. He said something before walking ahead of the mechanics and his comrades to walk with Ed and Al. "What is it, Major Elric?"
Edward and Alphonse looked at each other and had a quick silent conversation. "Do you know what the mechanics are carrying around in those backpacks?" The young military officer asked slowly and quietly so no one would overhear them.
Cluke blinked in confusion. "Clothes and food?"
"So you don't know what they are truly carrying?" Al asked.
"They aren't carrying that then?" Cluke asked even more confused.
"Oh no, they are. Just not in all of them." Edward replied angrily. "They are putting us all in extreme danger."
The young Lieutenant looked between the brothers in confusion. "Sorry, I'm a little lost. We were already in danger with them."
"Of course we were already in danger with them. But what they have done is put us in even more danger than ever." Edward snapped. He rubbed his eyes in frustration. "They have a weapon with them. It is disassembled into pieces and carried separately in their backpacks."
Cluke resisted the urge to look back at the mechanics. That would only show that something was wrong and they could not have that. "How can you be sure?"
"We searched their backpacks last night and find the parts." Al explained.
"Snoopy much?" Cluke asked sarcastically.
Edward shrugged. "We had suspicions."
"So what do we do?" Cluke asked. "Do we tell Lieutenant Colonel Myers?"
"Not yet." Edward replied. "Not unless we have to. Hopefully nothing more happens and we can make it to East City easily."
"But when have we ever had it that easy?" Al asked.
Sighing, Edward shook his head. "I know."
*F*M*A*
"What will you do?" Maes asked, frowning. He liked the Elric brothers. They were quite amusing and fun to hang out with. He didn't want to see them getting into any kind of trouble. So they made a mistake. That didn't mean it had to end for them, right? They were only kids with no one to guide them.
"I am under obligation to report them." Mustang replied.
Maes, who was leaning on the Colonel's desk, felt his hands curl tighter on the edges of it. "I know they broke the law, but they're only kids, Roy. Kids without a guide in life."
"I said I was under obligation to report the knowledge of those who attempted Human Transmutation. I do not, however, have to report any speculations that were recovered. After all, I would feel so much like a fool when it is discovered that this human transmutation," Mustang raised the pictures that Hughes gathered. "Never happened." With a snap of his fingers, the file was burnt to a crisp.
Maes smiled. "You care about those boys."
Mustang scoffed. "Care? No." He smirked and folded his hands over each other in the air so he could rest his chin on them. "But no one touches the members of my team."
A/N: Please Review!