Hi Readers! It's been a long time since I uploaded to fanfic net and I'm happy to be posting a new story! This one is a story I've been working on for quite some time, based off some ideas I had since I was very young. This story is cross-platform so if you'd prefer to read elsewhere, I do have this story up on AO3 and I may be posting to Wattpad. I hope you all enjoy the story and please be sure to let me know what you think! 3
Notes: M for mature content (mainly for future chapters) I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist just the OC character!
The heat was dry and oppressive. Sandy hills and slopes stretched as far as the eye could see. I stood on a tall hill, eyes squinted and focused as I scanned for the familiar pair I'd been watching for some time. I first noticed them a few miles back, a tall man in a gunmetal suit which I could only assume was miserable in this heat, and a smaller companion trucking along the sand in a garish red coat. A strange couple if I do say so myself, but I suppose I have no room to talk. Not a whole lot of people start randomly following strangers out into the middle of the desert...well, not any normal people. There's just something about them that seemed to draw me here, my curiosity getting the best of me I admit. I have no idea what following them will amount to, but I'll keep my distance and wait for now. Turning to face my right, I quickly trot down the sandy slope in search of the North-East town, Lior.
"Could this place get any hotter?" Edward said with a groan, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the relentless sun that beat overhead. Edward and his brother had been traveling on assignment to a lonely town in the middle of the desert on foot after an altercation with their previous taxi driver.
"All because he called me a dwarf." Edward seethed through his teeth. If the misconception continued, he'd have to start walking on stilts just to be perceived as a normal height. As if his platformed boots weren't already a small step from heels.
Standing straight to stretch, Edward rubbed the small of his back with a sigh, walking for what felt like hours was starting to kill his back.
"You've been pretty quiet, You okay Al-," Edward turned to look behind him and saw nothing but vast desert slopes and faint waves of heat. Alarm rose in Edward's chest as he began whipping his head around looking for his brother.
"Al? Al!? Where the hell did you go!?" Digging around some sand, a sudden burst from below him grabbed ahold of his leg. With a startled shout, Edward looked down to see a familiar gloved hand and his chest eased a little, aside from the rising irritation that replaced it.
"Down here! I sunk again." The voice from under the sand said dismayed, and Edward let out a sigh in response, stooping down to shovel the sand out of his way to reveal his armored brother moments later.
Resting for a moment under the shining sun, the two boys sat as Edward attempted to catch his breath.
"How the hell do you keep getting yourself buried like that Al? I can't keep digging you out like this or we're never gonna get out of this desert." Ed complained between breaths, sweat dripping off his forehead into the sand below, evaporating in seconds. 'It's so hot.'
"It's not my fault I'm so heavy, Maybe if you weren't walking so fast I could keep up without getting sand in me," Al whined in defense, taking the time to open up his chest compartment, dumping out the sand inside the open cavity.
How is this my fault?! You're the one dragging your feet!" Edward spun on his brother with a growl. " We don't have time for this. Lior is probably miles away and we haven't gotten anywhere in the last half hour. And to think the smug look on Mustang's face right about now…sending me out here.." Edward trailed off, anger fizzling into exhaustion as the heat continued to weigh on him. Letting out another sigh, Edward heaved himself onto his tired feet and turned to face his brother who had snapped his chest plate back into place and looked back at him.
"Let's go, the sooner we reach Lior the sooner we can get out of this heat." Edward rested his hands on his hips, watching as his brother got to his feet with a clank of his armor.
"Yeah," Alphonse responded with a nod and the two continued on their walk towards their mission, The arid Town standing off in the distance.
After what felt like an eternity to Edward and maybe another 30 minutes to Alphonse, the two brothers arrived at the edge of the town of Lior. It was a calm little place aligned with gritty stone buildings and a few winding streets. It was strangely quiet and Edward wondered if this was the correct town.
"So much for a welcoming committee, there's hardly anyone here," Edward commented, noting the absence of normal foot traffic, only a few stragglers and a single man sitting behind the café bar down the street.
"Maybe we're early for something?" Alphonse guessed, pulling the suitcase in his hands in front of him timidly.
"Maybe," Edward said, taking a few steps ahead and prompting Alphonse to follow him. "Come on Al, let's ask around." The two boys made their way over to the little outdoor café to sit down and Edward promptly ordered a drink and a bite to eat. As his food arrived, Edward took in the sights, scooping a mouthful of food into his mouth with satisfaction.
"So, where is everyone? Seems a bit empty around here." Edward asked between bites, turning his gaze to rest on the server who was in the middle of washing a glass cup with a rag.
"Oh, well being travelers you must not be familiar around here. Our father Cornello is doing a demonstration at the temple. You really must see it." The man said with a delighted smile on his face, moving on to another dish with practiced ease.
"Cornello huh? Never heard of him." Edward said eyes closed feigning disinterest.
"You're kidding me! You've never heard of the great Father Cornello?" The bar hand practically shouted in Edward's ear in disbelief. Edward grunted softly as his ears rang and took a disgruntled sip of his drink.
"Can't say that I have, What's so great about him?" He asked nonchalantly, continuing to sip with performed sarcasm.
"He creates miracles with his own two hands out of nothing," A man said from Edward's right side with glee.
"He saved this town from ruin when no one else would," Another man said from Edward's left. As more and more people sang praises about the man, the more Edward started to feel claustrophobic. Edward shot up from his chair and rested his hands on his hips with a placating smile on his face.
"Well, Sounds like we'll just have to go and meet this Cornello and see for ourselves these miracles he performs. Right, Al?"
"Right," Alphonse responded with a nod, and the two got up to leave. Heading down the street, Edward walked on ahead, mind wandering with every step.
'Miracles huh? Sounds like someone's putting on quite a show for all these people…maybe Mustang sent us out here for a good reason after all…" Edward thought to himself skeptically but was pulled out of his thoughts when a slam into his metal shoulder caused him to gasp unexpectedly.
"Oh sorry-," Edward said quickly, turning to look at the person he brushed shoulders with and was met with a tall woman shrouded in a long black cloak that covered most of her body, and a hood over her head. She gave him a once-over and smiled softly.
"No please, it was all me." She said with a purr, her stance straightening as she continued to peer down at him. A strange sense of unease fell over Edward as he continued to look at her, but he couldn't discern why. Her face was partially shaded by her hood, obscuring part of her face from view. What he did notice above everything else was her crimson eyes staring back at him.
"Brother," Alphonse reprimanded, grabbing the hood of Edward's coat, and pulling him away from the woman with a small jerk. Edward grunted at the sudden movement and spun to reel on his brother, but was ignored as Alphonse continued.
"I'm sorry about my brother, he tends to get distracted and didn't see where he was going. Excuse us." Alphonse gave a small bow to the lady before turning around to cart his brother away. After a few minutes of dragging him, Alphonse came to a halt and Edward smacked his head into his brother's back with a loud thump reverberating through his armor. Edward rubbed his head with a growl and looked up to glare at him.
"What was that for?" Edward all but shouted, stepping to the side to get a look at Alphonse's face before following where his helmet was looking. Edward squinted slightly peering out towards the end of the street. A tall church made of brick and stone stood looming over the central buildings surrounding it. Standing upon the steps leading up to the building was a strange black dog similar to a wolf looking back at them. The dark coat was a stark contrast compared to the gray and tan colors of the desert town. Without a second glance, the dog turned to skip up the steps of the church and out of sight.
"Weird…" Alphonse said quietly which gained a low grumble from Edward in response.
"This place is full of random surprises," He said, the throbbing of his head subsiding to a dull ache. Continuing forward Edward stepped in front of Alphonse, walking ahead of him and Alphonse jogged slightly to keep up.
"So what are you thinking brother? Do you think it's a philosopher's stone or…" Alphonse trailed off, looking down at his brother expectantly as they passed the seemingly empty buildings.
"I don't know for sure, but I suspect what we've been searching for," Edward looked down at his right hand, the metal clanking as he balled it into a tight fist." Might finally be in our grasp."'Brother and his dramatics' Alphonse thought to himself with slight amusement. Edward had a way of being a bit theatric, and the thought wasn't lost on his younger brother. He did have a point, however. It had been 3 years since their journey in search of the elusive Philosopher's stone first began. If this mission turned out to be productive and the rumors of the stone being here were true, maybe their searching could finally be over. Regardless of the outcome, Alphonse would continue to let Edward be himself if only to have some things stay the same.
"Still," Alphonse continued, now keeping easy pace with his brother. "What would a philosopher's stone be doing in a place like this? And more importantly, how would they have created it?" The two brothers found themselves at the edge of a large crowd as they approached the sizable church in the middle of the town.
"Looks like we're about to find out," Edward replied, taking no time to merge in with the crowd and stand on a wooden crate nearby for a better view above the multitude of people. Alphonse stood close by, listening as a stout older man in a black top and slacks, and a white shawl hanging from his shoulders stood atop the steps of the temple. The man outstretched his arms as he addressed his people, a warm smile on his face.
"My children, as our Sun god Leto shines his light onto us, I shall bring light and peace into this world as he has bestowed upon me." He spoke proudly and the crowd cheered. Cornello, Edward assumed, continued on with his speech preaching about God and peace. The whole thing made Edward's stomach churn. He never believed in such things, taking solace in the knowledge of science and mathematics over gods and magic. Edward pondered turning around and writing this off as a lost cause when a bright red glimmer in the sun caught his eye and he honed in on the man's left hand. Raised into the light for all to admire, was a stone as red as blood nestled into a crown sat upon a silver band. 'That ring… could it be the philosopher's stone?' Edward wondered and his brows furrowed. Perhaps their visit wasn't futile after all. With his hand held high, Cornello's ring lit up with a bright gleam of light, leaving in its wake a vast rain of white flower petals from the sky, and more cheer rang through the throng. Edward and Alphonse shared a glance at one another, their theories proven right in front of them.
"Seems we came here for a good reason after all," Alphonse said quietly, leaning over to reach Edward's ear without announcing to the other people around them, "But why would a priest have a philosopher's stone?"
"There's a good chance it's nothing good that's for sure. He's clearly lying to all these people, and worse, he's completely ignoring equivalent exchange. I'm gonna do something about it." Edward stated, arms folded as he continued to eye the man performing. Nothing like casually exposing a corrupt prophet on a summer afternoon. Alphonse tsked from beside him; if he could roll his eyes, he would have.
"And how do you suppose you're gonna do that brother? You can't just go barging in and start throwing accusations around, you gotta think things through." Al scolded, but Edward didn't waver, only turning to stare into Alphonse's red eyes with his own golden ones.
"I don't need to think anything through, this demonstration is more than enough proof for me. Now come on, let's pay this 'Cornello' a visit." Edward stepped off the crate with a small oomph and waited for Alphonse to follow him. Alphonse could only sigh as he straightened in compliance and followed. As the presentation finished and the crowd dispersed, the boys approached the church and ascended the long steps.
So what do we think? To be honest I'm not super proud of this chapter. It has issues for sure but I wrote this months ago and I've learned a lot since writing it, I'll probably rewrite it at some point, but for now, look forward to my writing improving from here on out! As always your support is appreciated! Review and follow for more! See ya!