Chapter II
LOVING STARTS
WHEN OPEN HEARTS
TOUCH AND STAY
In his dreams Alphonse envisioned a small swing that lay abandoned by the large oak that it was built into. It was a simple, old, child's plaything that had seen livelier days. The swing had once stood strong as it was crafted by clumsy, yet loving, hands for children that spent days using it to craft dreams that would enable them to reach the heavens.
But once they touched the domain of God.
Childhood was lost…and
The dreams ceased to exist.
Recently christened Fuhrer Roy Mustang had died. His soul had dried up into a cold, dark husk, his body left on the chair in his new high top office. Cold and alone…waiting for one of his crew to come and find him…to see what becoming Fuhrer has done to him. Yes, Roy Mustang was dead to the world…
"Why is there so much goddamned paperwork?" The raven-haired man screamed to the heavens, praying to whatever deity that would listen to simply kill him right now. The man knew that despite his joking, being head of an entire country would not be a stroll in the park, but he always thought that the higher ups always forced the papers down to the lower officers, meaning that when he became Fuhrer that the work for him would be less…perhaps close to nothing.
He was wrong.
Oh… so wrong…
Roy now found himself practically drowning in paperwork, having to stalk around his office like a ninja in order to pass through. He had everything from parking tickets to execution papers here and he had no idea where to begin. There were papers not only from the Amestrian government, but from other countries as well, most of which were written in languages that he could not understand. Damn it all! Why in the hell did he have a military liaison, when he did absolutely no work?
The Fuhrer sighed and laid his head on his desk in a solemn way. That's right; his liaison was currently in an alchemically induced coma. He had not gotten around to hiring a new one. Even if it were only temporary, until Edward woke up, Roy could not stop thinking he would be betraying the fiery blonde by replacing him. It would make things feel much more permanent, as if the boy would not be returning. Which was a ridiculous thought, the man shook his head lightly, staring at his door. Edward would come back, in fact Roy still expected any minute for the not-so-young anymore boy to come stomping into his office, slamming the door open and demanding a pay raise or extra time off. The man was not sure how he would respond to that. Perhaps he would yell back at the boy, hit him over the head for worrying them all, and that no, he was not getting more pay or time off because he was already gone for so long, and he had not gotten any work done at all.
…or maybe he would not say anything, maybe he would just stand up and embrace the child he had for so long considered his own and cry. Cry for the worry, for the wonder of having him back.
…or not.
He'd probably just whack the kid one hard one and demand he get back to work.
Roy glanced around the room, and picked up a paper from Xing. He surely wished Edward would return soon, so maybe a fraction of these papers would disappear. Just then there was a knock on the door.
For a moment the man thought his prayers answered, until he realized the Fullmetal Alchemist never knocked… he entered like the prima-dona he was.
"Come in." he replied in an even tone, but relaxed when he saw his assistant and lifelong friend Lt. Colonel Riza Hawkeye enter, followed by a familiar timid looking blonde at the door. Roy smiled at the small boy and motioned him to enter. The child did, rushing to his desk, almost tripping over the stacks of paper, and standing at attention in front of the Fuhrer. His sloppy salute shaking slightly, the boy looked as if he had just gotten out of bed.
"Major Elric, reporting on his latest mission sir, I apologize for being late, my tardiness is unacceptable." The boy bowed, long golden bangs flowing slowly, his sliver eyes wide. The man laughed and took the offered report from his assistant, who smiled kindly at the child. "How many times do I need to tell you there is no need to be so formal, Alphonse?" Roy scolded gently, leaning over to pat the boy's head. It always amazed him how the Elrics were like different sides of the same coin. Edward was always fiery, loud and abrasive. He never took no for an answer and could be impossibly rude at times. His foul mouth and over all disregard for rules and conduct should have had him kick out of the military years ago. Alphonse, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. He was quiet, subdued, and gentle. He followed orders well and was overly polite and self-conscious. They were total opposites, but both brothers had things that tied them together, things that Roy himself, often admired. They were loyal, and kind at heart, strong, brave, and irrevocably stubborn. They would stop at nothing if they knew it was for the greater good, and they would give anything for each other.
"I know sir." Alphonse muttered softly, an embarrassed blush creeping up his cheeks. He fidgeted from foot to foot in a manner picked up from his elder brother, when he was nervous. "It's just, seeing as you're the Fuhrer now…and all."
"Nonsense, I may be the Fuhrer, but I am also your guardian and friend. Your brother would have never apologized for being late. In fact, he was always late. Why should you?" Roy felt his spirits lift at the sight of the small smile on the other military child that he had practically raised. At least for now he still had Al…and Hawkeye, the man turned to meet the gaze of the woman who stood so close to him…almost too close. He could smell the scent of her shampoo… lavender…such a pretty scent, just as pretty as her ey—
"Sir, the report." Hawkeye stated firmly, gesturing to the paper he held in his hands. Roy grinned sheepishly, an attempted to hide his blush by opening the report and shoving his face behind it. "So Alphonse…explain to me the situation." He called, voice muffled slightly behind the folder. Alphonse stood rigid once more, but nodded in determination.
"Yes sir, right away…um… you sent me to investigate the strange phenomenon's that have been occurring throughout Amestris." Roy nodded meaning for the boy to continue.
"There have been numerous unexplained natural disasters, such as flooding, in east city, a sunspot in Briggs and the recent earthquakes here in Central. What I found may be of great use to the uncovering of what is cause of these events." Here the boy produced a few photos from the report in the Fuhrer's hand. He then laid them out the desk before them. Pointing to one in the far right, he continued.
"This photograph was taken in Briggs."
He moved to the next.
"Eastern HQ."
And the next…
"Here at Central plaza…what do you see similar in all three images?"
Mustang and Hawkeye both peered over the table to examine the photos. At first glance everything appeared normal, until Roy noticed something in the photo of eastern command, then Briggs, then…Central.
"Transmutation circles…I had my beliefs but, this is…"
Hawkeye gasped, suddenly making the connection. "Alchemists? Then these occurrences are not natural, someone's doing this on purpose?"
Alphonse nodded gravely. "Whoever they are, they are very powerful, and there is a high possibility that it is a large group, containing more than one alchemist… the attacks are large, leaving plenty of damage…and casualties…" The boy drifted off with a forlorn look. After a long moment of silence, Roy sighed deeply and closed the folder, handing it to Riza. "Good work, Alphonse. Hawkeye will you please take that to the file room, I'll… review it further later." The woman sent him a meaningful look, before nodding a farewell to the small boy, and exiting the room.
The young Alchemist glanced around the room in a slight daze before being brought to attention by the sound of a throat clearing. "Alphonse…may I ask you a question?" Roy grunted and Al nodded, smiling in return, eager to be of service.
"How is…how is your brother doing?"
At that the boy's mood darkened slightly, and turned his head to the side. Roy almost wished he had kept to himself when distraught, stormy colored eyes met his. "He's well…the same. I have not gotten any response from him and the doctors say the medication…hasn't been having much effect." He shifted and then smiled warmly at the man. "Before I left to investigate the sites…we went to the park and a blue bird landed by brother and I…I could have sworn I saw him smile." His voice broke and he looked down, as Roy stood and moved over to him. The Fuhrer laid a gentle hand on the young alchemists shoulder, squeezing gently as a sign of comfort.
"You shouldn't worry Alphonse. You know how stubborn Edward could be. You're the Spirit Life Alchemist now, a hero of the people, just like your brother and he would be very proud of you. I know you'll figure out how to bring that brat back and don't forget that I am always here if you need my help, you just have to ask." The boy sniffed and wiped his face with the back of his hand, then returned the smile up at the man. "Thank you… so much. Oh!" Roy jumped back at Al's startled expression. "I forgot to thank you for hiring that new nurse." He bowed deeply. "Even with my funds I couldn't and it seems she took good care of him, while I was gone. You did not have to do that. Thank you."
The man's smiled widened and he ruffled his almost son's hair affectionately. Honestly, how had the boy become so sweet? "No problem. As I've said. Anything and you call me, okay?" he received a happy nod in response. "Good. You're dismissed, take care."
With a salute and a wave the boy headed towards the door.
"Uh…Wait! Alphonse? One more thing…"
"Yes, sir?"
The Fuhrer grinned sheepishly and held out a large packet of papers.
"You wouldn't happen to read Xingnese, do you?"
After helping Roy decipher the message from Xing, and bidding farewell to everyone at the office, Alphonse began his trip down the streets of Central, towards their top floor apartment. He stopped by Mrs. Hughes house on the way, picking up an apple pie she had promise him for some help he had given her way back, and took a detour through Central park. He took in the bright colors and falling leaves of autumn. The boy had always loved this season for its movement and peace. His brother, however, hated the fall, for his own morbid reasons. Everything died in the fall, he would say.
Everything died…
Al opened the door to his home, meticulously balancing the pie on his arm. "Brother, I'm home!" He called out, hanging his coat on its hanger and setting the pie down on the small kitchen counter. He was not expecting a response, of course, but he could hear distant sounds of movement from the bedroom. At first, he panicked, thinking someone had broken in, but that panic was quickly over ridden by impossible hope that gripped the young alchemist like life itself.
Brother?
Had he woken up? Could he be looking for him? Moving as quickly as he could, Alphonse rushed into the bedroom, hoping beyond all hope he was right, only to come to the sight of a young woman bent over Edward's heart monitor. The boy sighed disappointedly, and stared at the figure before him. From what he could see, she was tall, and curvaceous, with long black hair. She must have been the nurse that Fuhrer Mustang hired. He moved with the intention of greeting the woman, but stopped in shock when she turned to face him.
"Ruby?"
Hey there! Thank you for my two reviews (for yes I am the type to get excited simply over two reviews.) I pray that my readers have patience and do not leave me if it takes a few days to update. I want this story to be well written to the best of my ability and I am also working on two others as well, "100 ways to die: Edward Elric style" and "Auto-Alice adventures in wonderland". Check them out if you have time. My internet access is limited but I promise to update all stories as soon as possible. Who is Ruby? I will give a shout out to whoever knows who Ruby is, she is not my original character, and yes she actually exists in FMA. How was this chapter? Good?
Next up the terrorists strike, who are the Specters?