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Chapter 3: State Alchemist Edward Elric

"You'll have to decide for yourself. Walk on your own. Move forward. You've got a strong pair of legs, Rose. You should get up and use them." ~Edward Elric

Last Time:

"If you value your life, you will take me to Central!" Huskisson demanded. He then leaned back slightly in shock. The drill that was drilling to his right shoulder was attempting to drill through it however it was stopped at his shoulder not going any deeper. He raised his gloved hand up to the drill and grabbed it and it sent sparks out. Huskisson flinched at the sight and the sparks stopped.

"The State Alchemist you were looking for…" he pulled off his blood red traveling coat to reveal the shiny automail. "-is me." Ed looked up to show his golden eyes.

"A metal body… automail?" he said just barely loud enough to hear since he was still in shock. "So you're the Fullmetal Alchemist."

~IN ANIMUS~

Ed dashed forward. Huskisson sent the drills on his arms forward. Ed dodges to the side and jumps in the air. Ed clapped his mismatched hands together and his forearm plate transmuted into a blade.

Ed slashes through the extended drills. Huskisson pulled out a smoke grenade and set it off. He then escaped down one of the hallways with Ed and Al not far behind as Al put back on his head.

The two brothers stopped as they saw the circular pit that had many levels with the giant drill in the middle. The drill then came to life with a poof of steam air.

The drill headed towards them as Ed dodges to the side while Al jumps back into the hallway. Huskisson, the man in control of the drill, moves the drill back and begins to target Ed. Ed jumps away from the drill and continues to run.

Al meanwhile had drawn a transmutation circle and transmuted rails to get higher up.

Huskisson pulled some levers and thrusts the drill forward. Ed jumped onto the railing and clapped his hands. The railing then fell sideways as Huskisson missed. Huskisson grew furious as he pulled more levers and tried to hit Ed. Ed landed and quickly moves away as the drill just hit where he previously was a few seconds ago.

Huskisson blinded by rage continues to move the drill forward as Al finally reached the top and headed towards the middle where the drill was hanging from.

Ed watched carefully of both Huskisson and Al before he was almost hit by the drill again. Ed stumbles but regains his balance to continue on. Huskisson furious turns the drill until he is suddenly stopped.

"What?" Huskisson glances up to see Al and transmuted hands forcing the drill to stay still. A clap of mix matched hands alerted him to see Ed was on the drill. Lightning flashed as the actual drill part was turned into a smooth sphere with Ed's face on it sticking its tongue out and his antennal.

"You alchemist!" Huskisson growled as he fixed his mask. "If not for you, we physicist would have guided the State properly!"

"Like that!" Ed pointed to the hole in the wall which reveals a large pile of dead human bodies.

"Mining uranium is dangerous," Huskisson still trying to convince the State Alchemist.

"Science exist to benefit people!" Al said who already began to climb down from the platform above.

Huskisson grew anger and dug through his back pocket and while holding up the uranium bomb, yelled, "Stop!"

Ed flinched as Huskisson got out from his seat. "Move and I'll…" Huskisson held it threatenly at Ed then turning around to show Al who clutched closer to the rails. "…set this off!"

Huskisson began to move towards the dead bodies. "I, too, have had to study some alchemy. For a genius like myself, it was very easy to understand." He pulled out a piece of paper which had a transmutation circle printed on it.

Ed's face grew worried. "What are you planning?!"

"I will bring these men back to life as machines and destroy you!"

"NO! That's human transmutation! Neither the body, nor life itself maybe transmuted!" Ed shouted. His face grew dark and sweat begins to form on his forehead. "Alchemy forbids it!"

"Your taboos do no concern me. I am a genius!" Huskisson cried. He places down the transmutation circle.

"STOP!" Ed shouts and begins to run forward. Purple lightning flashed engulfing both the bodies and Huskisson.

"The same thing happened when we tried to bring back our Mom," Ed said as they look at the hole of where the corpses and Huskisson was.

"That was the day I lost my body, and you gave up your arm to fix me in this suit of armor."

"It was all equivalent exchange," Ed said glancing at his automail arm and made a fist with his automail hand. "But we'll get your body back."

"And your arm and leg," Al added.

"Come on," Ed said turning and Al looked at Ed in surprised. "This castle will explode."

"Why?!" Al said very nervously.

"Because I don't like it," Ed said smirking and little yellow sparkles shot out. Somewhere in the castle was drawing on the steam engine and due to some tamper from a certain little alchemist, it exploded.

"Why do you always do that?!" Al scolded and yelled.

"Oh, be quiet! What's done is done," Ed said as smoke from the explosion began to rise. Ed turned around with a big smirk on his face. "Let's go."

"My blood-seal is gonna get blown off! My soul is being held in this amour by that!" Al said making excuses and nervously shaking his hands to gesture he did not want to go.

"Don't worry, I'll figure something out!" Ed said as another explosion went off.

The castle then began to collapse and sink into the water.

"We're sinking! We're sinking! We're sinking!" Ed said on their make shift boat which was basically what used to be a part of a tank (A/N: That's what I guess it is.) The boat already had water as the two brothers desperately began to throw out the water that was coming in quickly.

"AHHH!" Ed shot his hands up in frustration and glanced at Al. "Lend me your head!" Ed grabbed the helmet and began to scoop out water as Al cried out in distress.

"Hey! Give that back!" Al said trying to grab his head back while Ed held it away from him.

"Let go! We'll sink!" Ed shouted as the two continued to argue.

Ed opened his eyes to see he was back and sighed in disappointment.

He had to admit, it was nice seeing Amestris and the good times with Al even though he was just a soul bound amour.

"You have some explaining to do," Shaun said and Ed sighed.

"Okay what exactly do you want me to explain?" Ed asked.

"I don't know, the missing limbs, the moving empty amour, that flashing thing-"

"Alchemy."

"and well everything," Desmond said.

"Okay well it all started in Resembool, Amestris. It is North of Aerugo, East of Creta, south of Drachma and West of the East Desert. (1) Anyways, Resembool is where my brother and I were born. Our dad had left us at the age of 6. (2) Soon after we began to practice alchemy to make our mom happy. She then died.

Our father never came to our Mom's funeral. We even sent out letters trying to get him to come back but we never got a response. Then we decided we were going to bring back our mom back to life. We had Teacher teach us more alchemy and not to bring back humans back to life. We ignored her and the books' warnings. We tried it and it wasn't even human. The cost was my left leg and my younger brother's body. I sacrificed my right arm to put him in the amour. He could not feel, eat or even sleep. My neighbors were mechanics specializing in automail." Ed gestured to his automail. "They fitted me with the automail and a year later I became a State Alchemist, a dog of the military."

"What's a State Alchemist?" Rachel asked.

"A State Alchemist is a branch of the military. Only a few people actually do get in each year. A State Alchemist has 3 simple rules. Obey the military, do not create gold and do not create humans. We get perks such as research funds each year, research, places usually nobody can get to, and a rank as a major."

"A Major!"

"Yeah. They gave this pocket watch to show that person is a State Alchemist." Ed pulled out his silver pocket watch showing it to them.

"That's impressive."

"To actually get in, you have to take a test, well several: a written test, then an interview, and lastly practical skills. The written test is hard and I didn't even get to the last question. The next was the interview. It could either be a question and answer or a physical examination depending on the person," Ed said remembering how Al had to quit due to that. "During the interview, I had to sit on a three legged golden stool. It would have normally fallen over but due to the transmutation on the ground and being an alchemist, it would stay up. Lastly, the practical skills. Some people bring in their research, others transmute on the spot. We were free to transmute anything we wanted to. Someone had made a large tower however used up all his strength making it. Another made a paper balloon using trees and water however it popped. It landed on the tower however the alchemist who made the tower still could not move. I ran in and clapped my hands transmuting it. I passed due to using alchemy without a circle."

"Is that a big deal?" Shaun asked.

"Of course. Usually, alchemists have to use a circle to do anything," Ed said taking out a piece of chalk and drew a very simple transmutation circle.

"That looks hard to do," Desmond said.

"That's not even the hard part," Ed scoffed.

"So how come you can do alchemy without a circle?" Desmond asked.

"When I brought my mom back to life, I came across the Gate of Truth," Ed started off.

"What's inside?"

"The Truth to all and one," Ed supplied. "Seeing can make an alchemist do transmutations without a circle."

"Hold on, what I don't get is what happened to that Husskison guy," Desmond said.

"Husskison travel to this side of the Gate when he did the transmutation," Ed said.

"Can't he go back?" Rachel asked.

"Yes and no. You see he can't use alchemy because well alchemy doesn't really exist on this side. Its more difficult to have alchemic energy travel to this side from the other. The only way he can go to the Gate is that he dies," Ed explained.

"So how come you can do alchemy?" Desmond asked.

Just then William came in.

"We just a location of an Apple of Eden," William said. "The Templars are guarding the place. We need to get the Apple before they decide to move it."

"Okay, let's go," Desmond said.

"I'll go too," Ed said.

"Stay here," William said.

"I am not some dog that will wag your tail for you," Ed sneered. "Besides they don't know who they are messing with," Ed smirked.

"Yeah but first we need to change the outfit slightly so you won't stand out that much," Rachel said pointing at Ed's usual wear.

"What you got a problem with my sense of fashion?!" Ed yelled.

"YOU DON'T HAVE ANY!"

Ed now had on a red hoodie with the Flamel still on the back. That was one thing that had to be opted out. Everything else, Ed could pass off as more casual style except for the gloves he tends to wear which was thrown away by a certain someone (cough cough Rachel cough cough) and replaced with new ones.

"Now can we go?" Ed groaned.

"Fine!"

1. Only Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood had a clear map but then I saw the movie for Shamballa so I just used that for a reference.

2. I am not sure about that age…. If anybody knows please tell me!

Hollyleaf: This is the end of it. Sorry I failed to update but I am happy. A new life is coming for me aka high school and I am stuck catching the bus when a certain someone didn't get his incense to drive me there! Anyways again I am not dead just this takes a while to type up and I tend not to be a patient person with this kind of stuff or any kind of stuff.

Ed: And it took you forever to update because of it.

Hollyleaf: SHUT UP SHRIMP!

Ed: WHO ARE YOU CALLING A MICROSCHOPIC PIPSQUEK THAT IS SO SMALL THAT WHEN HE GOES TO THE BEACH, HE DOESN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT DROWNING BECAUSE HE IS SMALL ENOUGH TO BREATHE THE AIR MOCULES?!

Hollyleaf: I didn't say that but you said that so basically aren't you insulting yourself?

Ed: ( jaw drops to the floor)

Hollyleaf: let's leave him alone. Anyways, Al do the ending!

Al: Okay!

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