Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except for Isabella.
Isabella's POV
Winry started screaming when she sees something in the window. "Come on, hurry up!" Winry said as she squeals and went inside the store. "I'll take the chrome-steel spanner set, this hydraulic torque wrench, and could I take a look at that micrometer please?" Winry said to the man. "Sure." The man said to her. "Oh, and please throw in whichever ultra-hard-tip drill bit you think is the best!" Winry said to him. "You got it!" The man said to her.
"It's everything that I dreamed it would be! Central sure puts our town selection to shame!" Winry said out of excitement as she rubs a screwdriver against her cheek and sighs. "And I just can't get over how good the walnut handle on this screwdriver feels good on my skin." Winry said out of happiness. "Are you almost done in there, Winry? Don't you think you have enough souvenirs for one trip?" Al asked her with a bunch of bags in his hand.
"What? But you told me you'd buy me anything I wanted today. Isn't that right, Ed?" Winry asked Ed. "Yeah." Ed said to her. "How 'bout you, Isabella?" Winry asked me. "Yeah." I said to her. Then she went to continue her shopping. "Ed, I love these high-carbon-chrome-steel cutting sheers! They'll cut through anything and never rust! Can I have those too?" Winry asked him.
"Sure." Ed said to her. "Sir! Could you add the sewing machine oil to my tab?" Winry asked the man."Of course!" The man said to her as she gives something to Ed. "Here. This is for you. Without mearound, you'll have to take care of your auto-mail." Winry said to him while giving him a mini oilcan. Ed sighs at this and takes it.
"Oh, I almost forgot, Sis." Winry said making me face her. Then she gave me something. "Here. These are for you. Without me around you'll have to help Ed take care of his auto-mail." Winry said to me while giving me a list of things about auto-mail. I sigh at this and take it. "And here." Winry said while giving me another gift. I looked at the hair clips in her hand and I sigh at this.
"Hair clips?" I asked her as she nods. "For whenever you needed to fix your hair." Winry said to me as I take them. "They're real nice, thank you." I said to her. But then a car came and a soldier came out saluting. "Mr. Elric, Ms. Rockbell. Mustang wants to see you two." The soldier said to us.
*FF*
Ed and I are in Roy's office. "There's a mission for us?" I asked him. "Yeah. Now that you two are real estate Alchemists, you have to be ready to leave at a moment's notice. It's our life." Roy said to us."Second Lieutenant Hawkeye." Roy called to her. "Yes, sir." Hawkeye said as she walks up to us. "Here are your orders and case file." Hawkeye said while giving us a pamphlet about our orders.
"Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric, and Flower Alchemist, Isabella Rockbell. You two are hereby ordered to inspect a coalmine in Youswell." Ed and I read and looked confused by this. "Is this kinda thing really a job for only two State Alchemists?" Ed asked one of them. "It entails inspecting the mine resources. As alchemists, you two do know about minerals, don't you?" Hawkeye asked us as we faced Roy. "As it's your first mission, I decided to keep the training wheels on, but that won't mean that you two can take it easy." Roy said to us with a smirk on his face.
"Humankind cannot gain anything, without first giving something in return. To obtain, something ofequal value must be lost. That is alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth."
{Opening Song}
*Be Thou For the People*
Isabella's POV
The three of us are now on a train headed toward Youswell. Alice is sitting next to Al while I was sitting next to Ed. "It feels like we've got our own private car, huh? I like traveling by train. You can just sit andwatch the world go by out-" Al was cut off by his brother. "Al, Isabella and I have to do this now that the state has her and me on leashes, but there's no reason you should suffer too." Ed said to him. "We're a team, if we don't help each other, no one will. Your lines, remember?" I said to him.
*Flashback begins*
The three of us are at the train station and Winry was getting ready to leave. "So, when can we expect tosee you back home?" Winry asked us. "We're not going back." Ed said to her. "Ed?" Winry said. "Winry, There's no home left for us to return to." Al said to her as she looks down. But I came up and hugged her which made her look confused at what I did.
*Flashback ends*
Ed sighs at what he remembers. "You're right." Ed said to her. As I saw the town in the distance. "Look! I think I can see it!" I said as the three of us look out. "So that's the last town to the east, Youswell, huh?" I questioned them.
*FF*
After the three of us got off the train, we see that the town looks like it was empty. "It's supposed to be a coal-mining town, but it looks like a ghost town to me." Ed said to us. We looked at the people in the town. "Everyone here looks so worn down." Al said to us. "Itdoesn't look like there's gonna be much to do here. Let's hurry and finish so we can blow this-" Ed was cut off when he was hit in the head by something. But the one who accidentally hit him was a kid carrying wood.
"Sorry." The kid said while Ed was rubbing his head. "Wait, are you guy tourists? Where are you from? Have you eaten? Where are you staying?" The kid asked Ed as the three of us looked on. "Hell of a welcoming committee..." Ed said about that kid's enthusiasm. "Pop! We got visitors!" The kid called to his father.
"What are you goin' on about?" The kid's father asked him. "Over here! Big spenders!" The kid saidwhich meant he was referring to us. "Big spenders?" I questioned and we faced that kid's father whose name is Halling. "Well, hey! My name is Halling. I run the local inn. We'll take good care of you!" Halling said to us.
*FF*
Nightfall came and the three of us are inside Mr. Halling's inn. "So, what do you think? I know it's not much, but since the coal mine's wages are so low, at least with this place I can keep two irons in the fire." Halling said to us. "It's nice, thank you, Mr. Halling." I said to him. "Now that'll be a room for three for one night?" The woman asked us. "And what are your rates?" Ed asked Halling. "Well, they ain't cheap." Halling said to her. "I'm sure we can cope. Despite our appearances, we've got plenty of cash." Ed said to him. "Two hundred thousand." Halling said to him as I began to stammer at this.
"What?! Two hundred thousand?! That's ridiculous! You're gonna put gold bars on our pillows?!" I asked him. "It's a fair price, seeing how ours is the finest inn in all of Youswell." Halling said as his son Kyle stepped in. "Not to mention that it's the only one." Kyle said to us. "We ain't had any guests in sometime. So we've gotta milk you folks for all you're worth." Halling said to us as we began to looklike we were a mess. Then we looked at the wallet Ed carries.
"It's not even close to enough." Ed said to us. "We spent all that money on Winry." Al said to him. "Guess we go to plan B." I said to them as I began to fix a pickaxe via alchemy, making everyone look shocked by this. "Wow! She fixed it!" One man said in awe. "It looks as good as new!" The other mansaid in awe as well as everyone looks on. "Come on! What else needs fixing?" I asked one of them. But then a woman we just talked to came by with a broken vase in her arms.
"Well if it's not too much trouble, this is special to me, but it's broken." The woman said to me and Ed."You still haven't thrown out that old piece of junk?" Halling asked her. "Maybe if you bought us some nice things once in a while." The woman said to him. "Here. I'll take care of it." Ed said to her making me nod. "Sure." I said to him as he began to fix the broken vase via alchemy.
"Thank you so much." The woman said to him while holding her fixed vase. "Hey, that looks pretty nice!" One man said in awe. "Who'd have thought that our two first tourists in ages would be real live alchemists," Halling said as Ed and I chuckle at what he said. "I took a crack at alchemy myself once, but never went anywhere with it." Halling said to us.
"Hey. So what brings you to Youswell? There's not much here for someone like you." Kyle asked us. "It's business. Ed and I have come here to inspect the coal mine." I said as everyone looked likethey were getting ready to beat us. "Inspect? Then you and your friend are part of the military?" Halling asked me. "Well yeah, Isabella and I are State Alchemists. Cool, huh?" Ed asked them.
*FF*
Ed and I are being thrown out of the inn and fell to the ground, and our suitcases are being thrown aswell and land on our heads. I rubbed my butt and the two of us faced Halling. "Hey! What was that for?!" Ed asked as Halling stepped out. "We have no food or beds to offer any dogs of the military." Halling said to us as Ed and I gasped. Then Halling faced Al. "You are one of them, too?" Halling asked them. "Well, no, not-" Al couldn't finish when Ed cut him off.
"He got nothing to do with it! We just met him on the train on the way here!" Ed said to him asAl gasped at what he said. "That's right, we came here because of them!" I said to him. "Fine then. You two can sleep on the street like the rest of the dogs." Halling said to us as he closed the door leaving me and Ed stunned by this. I started growling and balled my hands into a fist and stood up and walked up to Ed and hit him in the head. He started cringing in pain and stood up and growled as well.
"What the hell was that for, Isabella?!" Ed asked out of anger. "For being a total fool of yourself, andmaking me look like one!" I said to him out of anger. But then Ed grabbed me by the collar making meface him. "A fool, who the hell are you kidding?! Why don't you try taking a good look at yourself?Aren't you supposed to be my partner, my sidekick?! " Ed said to me out ofanger as I freed myself from his grip.
"You think you can judge me, goldilocks?!" I asked out of anger as I threw my suitcase on the ground. "What do you know about my life, huh?! What the hell do you know about me?! Go on, why don't you tell me, a guy like you who lost his arm and leg in a Human Transmutation, and a brother who lost his entire body but was bound to the armor, has no idea what I've been through!" I asked himout of anger as Ed's eyes widen at this.
"You're right. There's no way I could know that, I'm not you after all." Ed said as I question his words. "What?" I asked him. "But still, let me ask you this. Other than the fact that I was born with blonde hair,what do you know about me? It doesn't matter who you are, or how you live, we all have to suffer,right?" Ed asked me as I look on.
"You have no intention of understanding that. Instead of owning up to things, you'd rather play the part of the tragic heroine. That's the most cowardly thing about you, Isabella." Ed said to me as I got mad at this. "SHUT UP! It's convenient for you to see it like that! Damn it! This isn't one of those cheap picaresque fairy tales you'd love to talk about! There are no heroes in this life! And what's all this about pride? Screw your pride! Look around you, it's a miningtown as far as the eye can see. I hate to break it to you, Edward. But there is no God to believe in!" I said to him out of anger.
"If there's no God to believe in, then why did you believe in God when you're an alchemist?! It's gotta be better than feeling sorry for yourself." Ed said to me as I stepped back. "Shut up. Shut the hell up, damn it! I'm serious, I'll kill you!" I said out of anger.
"Then do it. Keep chasing your tail like a dog, if that's what you want. If you kill me here, then you'lljust end up proving me right." Ed said to me as I grabbed his collar. "That's all I know how to do!" I said to him out of anger as I slapped him across the face making my eyes widen at this. I stepped back and looked at my hand then at Ed, who was holding his cheek.
"Did you forget, Isabella?... The reason why Al and I did that hellish transmutation is that we wanted tosee our mother's smiling face again, but we ended up seeing Hell instead. I was so reckless and Iwanted it so bad that I could cry, and for what? To see mom's face, or to go through Hell again? WhenI first met you, it was like waking up from a long sleep. My life had become hell because of what Al andI did, me losing a leg, my brother lost his whole body, and sacrificed my right arm to bind Al'ssoul to the armor. And then, just like that, none of that mattered anymore. The one person whoopened my eyes, the one person who I just met...it was you, Isabella. What concerns me now, is that the one woman who showed me everything about alchemy and who just became my partner is right here in front of me. And I will get my brother's body back to the way it was, and I'm not gonna standby and let that happen to you and Al!" Ed said as I fell to my knees while looking at my hand. He looked at me and walked up to me with a questioning look.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Ed asked me while kneeling to my level. "Isa?" Ed called me. "I'm sorry..." I said as Ed looks confused. "What are you sorry about?" Ed asked me. "For what I said to you, I didn't mean it. I didn't mean to say those things to you." I said to him as he placed both of his hands on my shoulders. "Hey now, there's no need to feel sorry for me. I'm the one who's sorry." Ed said to me as I look up at him.
"To be honest, when I said something about, not risk on losing you and Al, it almost felt like I lost my mother all over again." Ed said to me. "What are you saying?" I asked him. "I'm saying that you've helped me a lot over the months and that you gave me the strength I needed to defeat that man with an auto-mail arm." Ed said to me. But I hugged him and he blushed at what I did.
"You're right. I did give you the strength you needed, and how you and I became partners." I said tohim as he hugs me back. "Yeah, and I'm glad that I needed that." Ed said to me. "Me too." I said to him.
Alphonse's POV
As I started talking with Kyle. "Your dad sure feels strongly about it." I said to him. "Of course he does. Everyone around here hates the stupid army! And that greedy sucker Yoki who's in charge of this place is the worst of all of 'em." Kyle said to me. "Yoki?" I questioned as Halling placed a tray of food on the table.
"And now he's got those sneaky little State Alchemists to do his dirty work. "Alchemist, be thou for the people, that's their crock of a slogan. But the only people they care about are their damnedselves." Halling said to me. "But, Mr. Halling..." I said to him. "They're self-righteous thugs who sell their souls to the state." Halling said to me.
*Isabella's POV*
After Ed and I made up after our little argument, we sat on the porch and looked up at the moon, and our stomachs felt like they were eating themselves from the inside. "Moon old pal, I'm so hungry. I wish you were cheese." Ed said while digging into his pocket. "I'm hungry, too, Ed." I said while digging into my pocket.
But then I found something and pulled it out to see that it was the hair clips Winry gave me, and Ed pulled something out of his pocket to see that it was the mini oil can that Winry gave him. We both sigh at this. "Ah, Winry. If only you'd think about my human parts instead of my metal ones now and then." Ed said while using the mini oil can.
"Oh, Winry. If only you'd stop making me do something that isn't fashionable now and then." I saidwhile placing the hair clips in my ponytail. "She does think about your human side, and she could stopmaking you do fashionable things." We hear a voice say and turn to see Al there with trays of food for us. "I snuck these out for you two." Al said to us. "Al." Ed said to him. "After all, I can't eat it." Al said to us. As Ed and I began eating, I do the usual, eating calmly like a lady should do.
"They do hate the military here." Al said to us. "Yeah. Isabella and I will watch that from now on." Ed said to her with a mouth full of food, and I sweat dropped at his impoliteness. 'Is he really eating what a pig should do?' I thought to myself as I continued eating. "Maybe I should enlist, too. And become State Alchemists along side you two." Al said to us.
"Are you nuts? It's bad enough that one of us has to play their silly games. Having two more lightning rods won't make this any easier, Al." Ed said to him. "But brother..." Al said to him. "He's right, Al." I said to him. "Step aside!" We hear a woman's voice say inside the inn.
No POV
Yoki and his entourage are here and a girl named Lyra is with him. "Your inn is as charmingly filthy asever, Halling." Yoki said to him. "Lieutenant Yoki, you know you should cover up your face more 's a good look for you." Halling said to him. "Enough small talk. The taxes on this place are long pastdue. And it's not just you, Halling. I could say the same for the whole town." Yoki said to him. "Our taxes are too low to afford tax, sir." Halling said to him. "You're paid so little because that's what you men are worth." Lyra said to him.
"What?! You know you can't just lower our wages! And then turn around and raise our taxes andexpect us to-" Lyra cut off that man's sentence. "The State has given Lieutenant Yoki unilateralauthority over this mine." Lyra said to him. "Shut up! He only got to where he is by taking the moneywe sweat and bled for and using it to bribe the higher-ups!" One man said to her as Yoki made a noise at this. "If you've got this all figured out, then perhaps you should try bribing me. But don't blame me cause you have to grease the wheels. It's the way of the world." Yoki said to the man.
"Yeah, and sometimes the way of the world is the little man gets beat!" The man said as he charges at Yoki, but Lyra stepped in and she started to use the necklace she's wearing that has a transmutation circle on it to liquefy the whole air and reducing its volume and created a shock wave. Ed, Al and Isabella see what's going on as Lyra uses the shock wave she made to force the man to fall to the floor. Then it died out and Lyra sighs.
"Nicely done Lyra!" Yoki said to her as she smiles. "It seems the rumors of this establishment becominga hangout of rebels, toughs and thugs are true. I may have no choice but to suspend your operating license." Yoki said to Halling. "What?" Halling questioned him. "No, you can't!" Kyle said while throwing a wet towel at Yoki's face making his entourage gasp at this. "You brat!" One of Yoki's entourage said as he hits Kyle and he fell to the floor. "Oh, Kyle!" The woman exclaimed.
"Don't kill him. We just want him to be an example." Yoki said to his men as one of his entourage pulls out a sword. "Please, no!" Halling exclaimed while trying to save his son and everyone looks on, while Kyle ducks.
Isabella's POV
Ed and I came in and protect Kyle. Ed was using his arm to shield him while I was beside him with our backs touching and the piece of the sword fell to the floor. "Who the hell are you two?" Yoki asked us in surprise. "When we heard the Lieutenant would be dropping in, I thought we'd came by and say 'hello'." Ed said while he and I revealed our watches to him. "Is that what I..." Yoki said in shock. "Who do these kids think they are, sir?" One of Yoki's men asked him. "You moron! Those watches make them State Alchemists, which means they report directly to King Bradley!" Yoki said to him as everyone looks on. Then he came up to us.
"How terribly rude of my subordinate, please forgive his idiocy. I'm Lieutenant Yoki, the man in chargehere. So, what business do you two have in our humble little burg?" Yoki asked us. "We're just here to conduct an inspection." I said to him. "An inspection? Marvelous! But you two must come stay at mymansion. I hope you haven't had to mingle with these unwashed masses for too long." Yoki said to meas Ed and I began following him and his entourage out while Halling looks so mad at this. "Loathsome dogs." Halling said while Al stayed behind.
*No POV*
Meanwhile somewhere at Central Headquarters. "Congratulations, Mustang. I hear you're beingpromoted to a full Colonel soon. And Hawkeye, you'll be bumped up to First Lieutenant." Hakuro saidto them. "Thank you, General Hakuro, sir." Hawkeye said to him. "Once the promotions go through, I'dlike you to supervise the Eastern Command Center for a while. I think you'd do well there." Hakuro said to Roy.
"You're demoting me already? I can see how having someone like me around Central-" Roy was cutoff by Hakuro. "What are you talking about? This isn't a demotion, it's a transfer, Colonel Mustang. But watch you back there because I hear our people in the Eastern Division are less than upstanding." Hakuro said to him.
Isabella's POV
Ed and I are in Yoki's mansion while the girl we saw before Lyra gives us food. "It's such a great honor for me to be hosting two genuine State Alchemists, such as yourselves, in my home. And since we are so blessed as to have such talented scientists in our midst, you should have them look at your alchemical attempts, Lyra." Yoki said to Lyra.
"Yes." Lyra said to him. "Nah, we already saw." I said as a flashback of what happened earlier began. "She liquefied the air around her, reduced its volume and then vaporized it, producing a shockwave." I said as the flashback ends. "The light came from the heat generated by the forced compression, needed to maintain entropy." I said to him."You could deduce all that by just looking at it?" Yoki asked me. "Actually, my ultimate goal is tobecome a State Alchemist, to be just like you two, Mr. Elric and Ms. Rockbell." Lyra said to us. "To be like us?" Ed asked her. "Yes. I wish nothing more than to do all that I can do for the State." Lyra said to him.
Then we turn to face Yoki. "And now, bon appetite. You'll need strength for the work ahead. I do hopethat our provincial cuisine suits your refined tastes." Yoki said to us as we looked at the food in front ofus. I started digging in and do the same thing as usual, eat what a lady should do.
"You eat pretty well, considering the economic conditions of this town." Ed said to him. "Times aretough for all of us! I tell you, I've had plenty of trouble collecting taxes. And those miners can be sobrutishly obstinate sometimes, as you two saw." Yoki said to him as he chuckles, while I stopped eating for a while.
"And by obstinate, you mean asserting their rights and refusing to pay you more than they earn?" I asked him. "See, you get it! I knew you two were people of great understanding." Yoki said to me. "To understand the world, we have only to follow one basic principle; Equivalent Exchange, the foundinglaw of alchemy. You can't get without giving, right?" I asked him as I continue eating.
"Absolutely. Eloquently put. I myself have long conducted business under a similar guiding principle. Inspirit of which, uh, Lyra?" Yoki called as Lyra placed a tray with money inside the bag in front of us onthe table. "Please accept this small token of my appreciation." Yoki said to us as I stopped eating. "This supposed to be some kind of a bribe, Yoki?" Ed asked him.
"That is such an ugly word. Why don't we just call it "Equivalent Exchange"? Now then, there is thematter of your inspection." Yoki said to him. "Yeah, we get you drift." I said as I continue eating again. "I knew you would! You two are truly people of great understanding! Oh, and I have a feeling the town's people will start behaving themselves very shortly." Yoki said to me.
*FF*
I was in the shower washing away the filth from my body when I remembered the argument Ed and Ihave when we were thrown out of Halling's inn.
*Flashback begins*
"Are you really that pathetic?! Don't you have any pride left in you?!" Ed said to me out of anger as Ifreed myself from his grip. "You really think you can judge me, goldilocks?!" I asked out of anger as Ithrew my suitcase to the ground. "What do you know about my life, huh?! What the hell do you know about me?! Go on, why don't you tell me, a guy like you who lost his arm and leg in a Human Transmutation, and a brother who lost his entire body but was bound to the armor, has no idea whatI've been through!" I asked him out of anger. Then to where Ed said I'd rather play the part of the tragic heroine, which was the most cowardly thing about me.
"SHUT UP! It's convenient for you to see it like that! Damn it! This isn't one of those cheep picaresque fairy tales you'd love to talk about! There are no heroes in this life! And what's all this about pride? Screw your pride! Look around you, it's a mining town as far as the eye can see. I hate to breakit to you, Edward. But there is no God to believe in!" I said to him out of anger. Then to where I slapped him.
"Shut up. Shut the hell up, damn it! I'm serious, I'll kill you!" I said to him out of anger. "Then do it. Keep chasing your tail like a dog, if that's what you want. If you kill me here, then you'll just end upproving me right." Ed said to me as I grabbed his collar. "That's all I know how to do!" I said to him out of anger as I slapped him across the face.
*Flashback ends*
I balled my hands into fists when I remembered that argument Ed and I had. I looked at my hand which is the one that I used to slap him with, and I turned off the water and stepped out. I grabbed the towel to dry myself off and got out with my nightgown, robe and slippers on. Then I stepped into Ed's room and sat on his bed and looked at me. "What is it, Isabella?" Ed asked me. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for slapping you earlier, and I'm sorry for saying some things to you." I said to him.
"I told you, you don't have to apologize." Ed said to me as I turn to him. "I'm the one who's sorry, not you. I'm the one who will do whatever it takes to get my brother's body back." Ed said to me as I lay on his bed making him look confused by this. "Shouldn't you be back in your room?" Ed asked me as I shook my head. "My room's too boring, and crammed. That's why I have to sleep in here, so that way I won't be alone." I said to him as he blushed at what I said.
Alphonse's POV
I was at the inn and thinking about what happened. "I hope Ed and Isa are doing all right,on their own." I said. But then I hear something andwent down stairs and opened the door to see a current inside the room. "Hey, what's goin' on?" Kyle asked us while coming down. Then that blast came from that Lyra person who used the currents todestroy this place.
Isabella's POV
Ed and I heard an explosion from outside and sat up to see that it was coming from the inn and we both gasped at this.
No POV
The whole people including Halling and his boys are in front of the trashed inn, and Halling is beingpulled back by his boys. "Kyle! Kyle! Let go! My son's still in there!" Halling said to them. "You can'tboss! It's too dangerous now! We'll lose you both!" One man said to him. "I don't care!Let me go!" Halling said. But then the whole inn went to the ground as everyone watches in horror. Halling freed himself and began searching for his son in the rubble.
"Kyle! Kyle! Kyle! Come on, Kyle, where are you? Kyle! Kyle!" Halling called out. "Dad!" A voice said and Al came out of the rubble in one piece with Kyle safe and sound as Halling looks on. "I'm here." Kyle said to him.
Isabella's POV
Ed and I made it in time to see what was going on and stood next to Al. "Is this Yoki's doing?" I asked him as Kyle came up to us. "You two are some kind of super alchemists, right? So, can't you just make some gold? For my dad? You could save the whole town." Kyle said to us. "We can't." I said to him. "Why not? It won't cost you nothing." Kyle said to me. "You're wrong. The whole world is Equivalent Exchange. We give you gold, and we'd have to pay the price. And we've got no reason to do that." Ed said to him.
"So we have to bribe you now too?!" Kyle asked out of anger while grabbing Ed's collar and shook him."And you call yourselves Alchemists!" Kyle said to Ed. "'Alchemist, be thou for the people', what a load that is, huh?" Ed said while freeing himself from Kyle's grip. "Transmuting gold's a serious offense. If Isa and I are caught, they'll not only strip us of our State Alchemist certifications, but they'll throw us in jail." Ed said to him.
"Then do it so you don't get caught!" Kyle said to him. "Even if we could, it'd just be taken away intaxes." I said to him as he looks down. "If it's that awful here, why don't you all just saddle up andmove on to another village?" Ed asked them. "Kid... This may not make a lot of sense to you. But this place, well it's both our home and our coffin." Halling said to him as the people look at us. But I made a noise at this. "Home and coffin. That's got a nice ring." I said about those words.
*FF*
The three of us are walking to another direction. "What are you two doing?" Al asked the two of us. "Al, We burned our home to the ground, on purpose. We've got nowhere to go back to, and that's fine, because we chose it. But, I don't know, maybe Equivalent Exchange goes further than we thought." Ed said to him. "That's right, and I was the ones that helped you two." I said to him as Ed and I jumped onto a pile of coals.
"Al. What you two are about to see stays just between us." Ed said to them as he opens the bag that has gold coins in it and drops them on the coal. Then we both clapped our hands and used alchemy on both the coins and the coal to turn them into something while Al look on. "Brother? Isabella? " Al questioned looking on.
*FF*
Ed and I are in Yoki's mansion when he looks on at what we said. "You want to buy the Youswell coalmine?" Yoki asked us. "That's right. And while you're here, we'd like you to throw in everything from the trade routes to the town itself, okay?" Ed said to him. "Well, I'm afraid, even for two State Alchemists like yourselves, the mine just isn't for sale." Yoki said to us as we crossed our arms. "Oh, that's too bad." I said as the door opens to reveal a room full of gold behind us. "And here we lugged all this here for nothing." I said to him as Yoki looks shocked by this.
"Is... Is that... ...real gold?" Yoki asked us. "Turns out the mine's full of unexploited minerals that'd be areal booster shot for alchemic research, and we'd hate to miss out. But if it's not on the market..." I said as Yoki turns to face us. "Don't be absurd! Although, the mine was entrusted to me by my State govern. Selling it for my own personal profit might appear to some observers to, uh..." Yoki said to me.
"Right. Don't worry, none of this gold appears on any of the books, so as long as we keep our mouthsshut, no one has to know anything about it." I said to him. "But still..." Yoki said to me as Ed and I think about this. "Hmm. I've got it! What if you write up the official deed stating you hand over all rights tothe mine to us, free of charge. Then you can take all of this as an unrelated gift, Lieutenant." Ed said to him as Yoki looks happy about this.
*FF*
"Why?! Why can't I fight?!" Kyle asked his father. "Because I can't... I can't risk losing you again, son." Halling said to him. "But they smashed our inn, we have to make them pay for that!" Kyle said to him."It's just a building Kyle, nothing that's worth dying for." Halling said to him. But then the four of uscame in with smiles on our faces. "Hi! So, let's see if we can turn those frown upside-down." I said while walking in. "You leeches. What do you want now?" Kyle asked one of us. "Come on! Is that anyway to talk to your new bosses, landlords and all-around overseers?" Ed questioned them.
"Overseers? What the hell are-" I cut the man off when I showed him the deed. "As you can see, I holdin my hand the title deed to the mine, trade routes, and the entire town of Youswell." I said toeveryone as I gave the deed to Ed. "What?" Halling questioned us. "In other words, pretty mucheverything around here belongs to me and Isabella now. You follow?" Ed said as everyone looks on.
"However... We have to be getting back to our busy lives in Central, we're not even sure this is worthcarrying to the city with us. It's so heavy!" I said in a flirtatious way. "So, you two are gonna try and sell it to us for a profit?" Halling asked us. "You bet. And it ain't gonna be cheep, to use your phrase. Youremember Equivalent Exchange, don't you? After all, not only is this deed written on high-grade parchment, it's got gold leaf trim on the edges. It comes in a box decorated with finely crushed jade in a nonchalant, yet, at the same time, luxurious design. Oh yeah, this is craftsmanship. And the key is sterling silver! Gee I'd say it's gotta be worth two hundred K." Ed said to him.
"Two hundred? For the deed to Youswell?" Halling asked him. "That's all? Really?" One man asked aswell. "You know, now that I think about it, a room at the inn cost two hundred thousand. Isa and Iwill spend the night and let's call it even!" Ed said as I nod at this. "Equivalent exchange." Halling saidto him. "But, our inn was destroyed last night." Kyle said to us. "Hmm, really? Then what's that overthere?" I questioned as we all look at the inn which is good as new, thanks to me and Ed.
"It's new again!" The woman said in awe. "Like magic, but real." Halling said in awe as Ed and I walk upto him. "So, this should cover our stay here, right?" Ed asked while giving Halling the deed. "Yes. Ofcourse, Ed." Halling said to him. "Good. It's an even trade." I said to him. But then we hear a car comingand we hear Yoki coming out.
"Elric! Rockbell!" Yoki called as we turn to face him with a sad-like look on his face. "What's the meaning of this? All of a sudden the gold bars you gave me turned to stone!" Yoki said to us. "Gold bars? I don'tknow what you're talking about." I said to him. "Don't toy with me! I traded you two that deed in exchange for a mountain of gold bars!" Yoki said to me. "No, I'm pretty sure you handed it over to us free of charge, didn't you?" I asked while taking out the paper and reveal it to him. "At least that's what it says in the letter." I said to him.
"No! You swindled me, you little-" Yoki couldn't finish his sentence. "That's such an ugly word. Why don't we call it a gift from you to us?" Ed questioned when Yoki got mad at this. "The traction's invalid! Lyra!" Yoki called as Lyra used the circle on her necklace to create a shockwave and Ed and I noticed this and we got out of the way.
"'Alchemist, be thou for the people', that's our motto! If you really wanted to be like me and Ed, you'lltake that to heart!" I told her. "But you two are Alchemists of the State! How can you defy the militaryyou serve?" Lyra asked us as she creates another shockwave and I got behind Ed and he used his hand to shield himself from it, but to reveal his auto-mail hand.
"Because we never sold our souls to them." Ed said to her as she got mad at this and begins to createanother shockwave, but Ed and I ran up and he turned his arm into a blade while I got ready to reach for that source of what's on her necklace. He cuts her necklace which made her fall back, and the partof her necklace fell to the ground, and I stomped on it until it broke into pieces. She fell to the groundand we looked down on her and she looks away. Yoki was shocked by this. "You cursed kids! Seize thedeed from-" Yoki couldn't finish when he sees his men surrounded by the men.
"Sorry sir." Yoki's men said to him as two other men appeared behind him. "Now we're gonna do toyou physically what you been doing to us financially for years!" One man said to him. "Never underestimate the strength of a coal mining man, Lieutenant." The other man said to him as he andthe other man started beating the snot out of him and he screams in pain.
*FF*
Ed and I celebrated on our victory while everyone started laughing. "You know honey, I think our inn's even nicer than before." The woman said to Halling. "Uh-huh, I think so too, all thanks to Edward Elric and Isabella Rockbell, the Fullmetal Alchemist and the Flower Alchemist." Halling said to her as Ed and I continued celebrating.
No POV
"Here's the report from Edward Elric and Isabella Rockbell, sir." Hawkeye said to him after giving Roy thereport. "Great." Roy said to her. "Thanks to the incident there, the State has decided to reorganize thepersonnel at the Eastern Command Center, who oversaw the coalmine." Hawkeye said to him. "Really? That should make our jobs easier when we head East. It's almost as though Elric and Rockbell did you and I favor by going there." Roy said to her.
"Don't tell me you planned this from the start, sir." Hawkeye said to him. "Come on! You think I knoweverything? I wonder how pretty the women out East are." Roy said to her. "As for Elric and Rockbell, it seems their reputations are already spreading throughout the region. They're saying there are twochampions of the people among the military dogs." Hawkeye said to him.
*Three Years Later*
-Isabella: Age: 15-
-Edward: Age: 15-
-Alphonse: Age: 14-
Isabella's POV
The three of us are in a cab leading straight to Liore, and Ed and I began telling the cab driver about ourstories. "Edward Elric and Isabella? Yeah, I've heard of them." The driver said to us. "So what doyou know about the guy?" Ed asked him. "And about the girl what's she like?" I asked him as well. "Well what they say is that even though they're one of them State Alchemist guys, they're still friends of the common man." The driver said to us as we chuckled.
"Wow, he must be a man of great stature then, huh?" Ed asked him. "And, she must be a woman of great thoughts, huh?" I asked him as well. "Actually, I hear he's surprisingly short, like a dwarf orsomething, and I hear that she's a girlfriend of the dwarf." The driver said as Ed got mad at his words which made the cab go nuts.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLIN' A DWARF?!" Ed yelled out of anger. "What the... I was just..." The driver couldn't finish. "Oh no!" I cried out. "Stop that, Ed!" Al called out when the cab stopped and Ed chasing him. "Get back here right now and say that to my face!" Ed yelled while chasing him. "Brother,! If you two keep scaring away cab drivers, we'll never reach Liore!" Al said to him."That's right, it's so not cool!" I said to us as well.
{Ending Song}