In a dark alleyway in Central in light of a full moon, a man with long black hair tied back in a ponytail, wearing a ragged military uniform and a worn cloak was drawing a different kind of transmutation circle on the ground.
Roy Mustang listened to King Bradley and asked, "The Freezing Alchemist? Really, he's here?"
"We have information he managed to slip into Central a few days ago." King Bradley answered. "That's why I summoned you here Colonel. I need you and your men to sniff him out and bring him in."
"Consider it done sir." Roy said, standing straight formally.
King Bradley smiled and said, "I'm glad you're with us in Central for a while Mustang. It's good I have people here I can rely on. Oh and one last thing, our rising young stars are here in Central as well and I'm placing them at your disposal."
"Forgive me Führer Bradley but just to be clear, are you referring to…." Roy began to ask, but Bradley cut him off already knowing what he was asking, "I am. The Fullmetal Alchemist Edward Elric and the Aquamarine Alchemist, Kida Xerxes."
Edward, Alphonse and Kida stood on a rooftop, bathing in the moonlight. Edward wore a black shirt with a black jacket, black pants, boots, white gloves and a red coat with an alchemy symbol on the back, inspired by his teacher. Kida wore black pants, a dark blue dress shirt, black boots, white black gloves and a short white jacket with an alchemy symbol on the back, also inspired by her teacher.
Edward was definitely now annoyed by Roy, now that he and Kida got orders to help track down this criminal.
"Oh damn it! The Colonel's never going to let us out of here is he?" Edward said in annoyance.
"And we already bought our tickets to Liore too. Does that mean we're not going?" Alphonse asked.
"I don't know Al, but one thing's for sure, if they need help to take down this criminal then we better do what we can." Kida said. "It sounds like a tough one, especially since he uses alchemy."
"Let's get this over with guys." Edward said.
Kida nodded as Alphonse said, "Lead the way brother."
CHAPTER 2- FULLMETAL AND AQUAMARINE ALCHEMIST
The man who was identified as the Freezing Alchemist ran as soldiers pursued him. Two officers stood at the end of the alley and aimed their guns at him as they ordered, "Halt! Halt or we'll shoot!"
He did not stop, but instead pulled out his arm to reveal a metal guard over it. A transmutation circle at the end of it suddenly glowed and suddenly, the puddles on the ground rose and shot at the soldiers. The water turned to sharp ice and stabbed them in their shoulders and arms, knocking them back.
He continued to run as the ice then fell and turned back into water. He turned around the corner and was about to keep running when two more soldiers came around. The man grabbed the soldier by his arms and raised them up, the transmutation circle glowed and suddenly, the soldier froze completely solid and fell to the ground dead.
Before the other soldier could react, the man grabbed him by the face and suddenly he felt all the liquid on the inside of his body boil up and completely kill him. The soldier dropped dead as the man said, "Water freezes, water boils….either way, you're just as dead."
He suddenly heard a noise and looked up to see a spear coming towards him from above. He quickly jumped back and avoided getting hit by the spear.
He could feel the energy surging from the blade and said, "That's alchemy."
Edward stepped out of the shadows and revealed himself. He glanced at the two dead soldiers and commented, "What a nasty thing to do."
"You of all people should know great deeds require great sacrifice." The man said with a slight grin. "Isn't that the law of equivalent exchange?"
"Save your breath! The laws of alchemy don't justify murder." Edward said, slightly disgusted that this guy would try and justify what he did with alchemy.
Edward clapped his hands and reached over to his weapon. As he picked it up, the spear then changed into a spiked club with his own face at the end of it.
The man's eyes widened in complete shock at what he saw, "No transmutation circle!"
"Don't be too impressed….now!" Edward then shouted.
The man heard something from above and saw Kida jump from the roof. She landed right next to him and clapped her hands, she touched the ground on some water and created a mist around them all.
The man couldn't believe what he saw! This girl could use alchemy with no transmutation circles as well!
He suddenly heard loud footsteps behind him and immediately ducked when a large arm came swinging at him from the mist. The mist cleared and revealed it was Alphonse. Edward charged forward and swung his club down at the man, but he blocked it with his armguard and pushed Edward back.
Edward then tried to hit the man in the stomach with his club as Kida tried to punch him in the face, but the man grabbed their arms and then tried to freeze and boil the water inside them, but nothing happened except push them back a bit by the alchemic energy and ripped the sleeves of their jackets.
"What?!" The man shouted in shock that nothing happened.
Alphonse tried to slam his fists on top of his head, but the man grabbed his arm and threw him over his shoulder, where he landed near Kida and Edward.
"NO! I HAD YOU BOTH! Any water in those arms should've boiled or froze!" The man shouted in confusion.
"If it's any consolation, you did ruin our jackets." Kida said as they ripped off their jackets, revealing their automail arms.
The man's eyes widened as he saw them and then suddenly remembered all the stories he had heard from towns and villages, "Two gifted alchemists….both who have automail arms and one who has an automail eye."
His eyes narrowed as he finally figured out who they were, "I now know who you two are…..You two are the Fullmetal Alchemist and the Aquamarine Alchemist. Edward Elric and Kida Xerxes."
When he noticed something about Edward, he quickly turned to Alphonse and asked, "So….it's not you? You're definitely not the Fullmetal Alchemist?"
Alphonse shook his head and answered, "No. I'm his younger brother Alphonse."
"But he's a runt." The man commented.
That had officially ticked Edward off. If there was one thing you should never do, is comment or tease Edward Elric about his height.
"OH YEAH! CAN A RUNT DO THIS?!" Edward screamed before clapping his hands together and touching the walls.
The walls then transmuted and squashed the man in between them. The man groaned as his face was squashed and said, "I've heard the stories but still, never imagined this. The Fullmetal Alchemist is just a little kid?"
Edward growled and then screamed as he once again transmuted the walls, "DON'T CALL ME LITTLE!"
A large stone hand then popped out and punched the man right out of his stone prison. Kida slapped her forehead in annoyance at Edward's temper when it came to his height.
Alphonse then suggested, "You know brother, I don't think he was talking about your height just now."
"WELL EVEN IF HE WASN'T, HE STILL PISSED ME OFF!" Edward screamed.
"Ed, I swear that temper is going to get you in a lot of trouble someday." Kida said as military and police officers came and grabbed the man. "Well…..more trouble than some of the stuff we've gotten into already anyway."
"Name one time I've ever gotten us in trouble because of my so-called temper?" Edward challenged.
"Well…..there was that time you had to give Winry earrings to keep her from clobbering you for wrecking your automail." Kida first said.
"And then there was the time you challenged Mustang to a fight." Alphonse added.
"And then just last week, when an officer called you short and you…." Kida began to say, when Edward cut them off, "Alright! Alright! I said one time! Sheesh!"
The leading police officer smiled at Kida (while she was fixing her jacket and shirt with alchemy) and Alphonse as he said, "So you two are the ones we've been hearing all the great stories about! The Fullmetal and Aquamarine Alchemist! You're both are really good as you say, thank you so much for the help."
"You're welcome / You're welcome, but I'm not the one you should be thanking also." Kida and Alphonse said simultaneously, while the soldiers and police began to escort the man away.
Edward finished fixing his jacket and shirt with his alchemy and then said to the two of them, "Come on guys, we got a train to catch."
Alphonse and Kida began to follow Edward, but Kida asked, "Um….don't we first have to report to Mustang that we stopped this guy?"
They were unaware that the man smirked as he ripped off his gloves, revealing that he had transmutation circles tattooed on the palms of his hands. He then fell down and then the sound of alchemic energy caught the trio's attention.
They turned and watched as the man had pressed his hands on the puddle of water and laughed as steam was suddenly let off and it blinded all of them.
Edward and Kida coughed from the sudden burst. When they opened their eyes, Al said to the both of them, "Guys, he's gone!"
They looked and saw all the police were knocked down and lying on the ground were broken handcuffs.
"Damn it! Now he's really pissed me off!" Edward said.
"Looks like you underestimated your opponent you two." Roy said with a sly smirk as the three of them sat in his office, with Riza Hawkeye as always was by the Flame Alchemist's side.
"Who is this guy anyway?" Edward asked.
"You'd know that if you'd listen to the briefing like I told you to, but no you just had to go charging off….." Roy began to lecture.
Ed frowned and then said, "Yeah! Yeah! I get it! I'm sorry, whatever!"
"At least Aqua here is patient unlike you Fullmetal. A piece of advice? Next time a superior tells you to pay attention, you might just try it." Roy said, still smirking.
Kida quietly gave a small laugh. To her, it was always funny the way Edward and Roy got on each other's nerves.
Roy then stood up and looked out the window, looking at the city as he turned serious and explained, "Now then, his name is Isac McDougal or as he was known back in the day, Isac the Freezer. He's a former State Alchemist."
"Former State Alchemist?" Kida asked.
"That's right. He served in the Ishvalan War." Roy continued. "During that time, he gave us no signs that he turned traitor. After the war however, he immediately resigned his commission and went into hiding. He's been working with the anti-establishment movement ever since. Taking him into custody is a matter of top priority. Whether it's dead or alive, that's up to him."
"No way. We're not killing anyone for you." Edward said, not liking the idea of taking a life.
Kida felt the same way. All her life, her uncle had taught her that alchemy should be used to help people, not to take their lives.
"And that's your choice. Your orders are to simply help us contain him, that's all." Roy said.
He then gave a slight smile to them and asked them as he looked at them, "Off topic, have you three turned up any leads on how to get your bodies back to normal?"
That question annoyed Edward, as they were about to leave to track down a possible lead but they were stopped before they could.
"Not yet sir. You see…." Kida began to say, but Edward cut her off by shouting, "MAYBE IF YOU EVER GAVE US TIME TO LOOK!"
Their conversation was interrupted when the door burst open and standing there was a man in military uniform, with short black hair, a small amount of facial hair on his chin, and wearing glasses. He had a big smile on his face as he called out to Roy, "Roy how goes?! Heard they put you in charge of catching the Freezer huh?"
Roy groaned in annoyance as the man continued, "One hell of a nasty assignment, but hey it could get you that promotion to Central!"
The man then saw Edward, Kida and Alphonse and said, "Hey! Looks like my timing was perfect! Your Kida Xerxes, the Aquamarine Alchemist and you two are the Elric Brothers right?"
He ran right up to Alphonse and Kida and began to rapidly shake their hands as he greeted them with excitement, "Wow! It's an honour to finally meet the youngest State Alchemists ever, you guys are real legends around here! I'm Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes, a pleasure!"
They stopped the handshaking and then Kida first said, "Uh….nice to meet you too."
"Yeah same here, but you want Edward Elric. I'm actually his younger brother Alphonse." Al explained.
Maes looked at Edward and realised his mistake and said with a bit of surprise, while Edward looked annoyed even more, "What?! You're the Fullmetal Alchemist? Sorry I didn't realise you'd be so…."
"Go on! Say little! I dare you!" Edward spoke in his mind, waiting for the comment he'd thought was going to come.
"Hughes, what are you doing here? Go home." Roy said.
"Actually, I'm here on official business." Maes said, making Roy look at him in surprise because usually when Maes had seen Roy, it was never on official business.
Maes looked at the three teens and said, "Elrics' and Xerxes, I understand you three don't have a place to stay since your travel plans were interrupted, which means you have to come with me."
Kida, Alphonse and Edward looked at Maes confused who suddenly turned serious and pulled something out his jacket. They then looked and saw it was a photo of a woman with short light brown hair, holding a two year old girl.
Maes then smiled brightly as he said, "My wife Gracia and my daughter Alicia, we'd love to have you!"
An hour later after Maes had changed out of his uniform at work, they had arrived at the home of the Hughes family, where his wife Gracia Hughes and his two-year-old daughter Alicia Hughes had greeted them when he opened the door.
Kida, Edward, and Alphonse looked at Maes like he was some kind of goofball as he picked up his daughter and hugged her close as he said, "Hi princess!"
Alicia giggled and said, "Daddy, your beard is itchy!"
Hughes then put his daughter down and introduced his guests, "These are the Elric Brothers and Kida Xerxes."
Gracia smiled warmly and greeted, "It's lovely to meet you three."
Alicia looked up at Kida and said with awe, "You're so pretty and you're eye is…..wow!"
Kida smiled down at the little girl and said, "Thank you. How adorable!"
Alicia then looked at Alphonse and pointed at him as she said, "Big brother….."
She then pointed at Edward and said, "Little brother."
Edward growled and tried to hold his anger in as he said in a strained voice, "Nice to meet you. My name is Edward Elric and this is my younger brother Alphonse Elric. Get that? Younger brother."
"But younger means little and you're little!" Alicia pointed out.
Kida and Alphonse immediately held Edward back as they said, "Calm down Ed! She's just a kid / Be nice brother. These people are being nice to let us stay here."
After calming down and heading inside, Hughes said, "Hope you three are hungry. Gracia's cooking is delicious."
A few minutes later, they were all sitting at the dining table where there was salad, bread and hot steaming quiche all set up.
As soon as they started eating, Edward complimented Gracia, "Oh wow! You weren't kidding! This is great."
"Mrs Hughes, this quiche is amazing." Kida said as she ate some herself.
"Thank you Kida and please, eat as much as you'd like." Gracia said, smiling herself.
Maes noticed Alphonse hadn't started eating yet and said, "Alphonse, how are you going to eat wearing that armour. Take it off and relax."
That caught them all off guard. This often happens whenever they go to a café or have something to eat in town. Because of Alphonse's current state, he was unable to eat or even sleep.
Edward immediately came up with an excuse, "He's not allowed to….it's uh…..part of his alchemy training. But don't worry, I'll eat enough for both of us!"
Meanwhile, at Central Prison, Isac stood in front of an open cell where a lonely prisoner sat. The prisoner had long black hair and his hands were cuffed. On the palms of his hands were alchemic transmutation circles.
The prisoner laughed and then said, "Hands down! That's got to be the funniest joke I've heard in a long time. So the Freezing Alchemist wants me to come and play his sidekick. Well as fun as that sounds, the Crimson Alchemist works alone. I've always have."
Isac tried once again to convince this man to join him, "Kimbly, if we work together we can bring down Bradly and his god-forsaken military. You saw the horrors that took place in Ishval. You were there damnit! You know the things Bradly ordered us to do and the kind of man he really is. That's why you killed all those officers, it was to send him a message."
The prisoner who Isac called Kimbly once again laughed and said with a sickening grin, "I think you got me all wrong. My motives aren't as sophisticated as revenge or honour, or anything like that. The reason I killed all of those men, was because I could. It's that simple."
Knowing now that it was a lost cause, Isac decided to give up and headed out of the cell and said as he shut the doors, "That's too bad Kimbly. That really is too bad."
Without remorse, Isac pushed over the guard he had frozen solid as he said, "Keep up the good work."
The guard fell and all that could be heard was the sound of a frozen body, breaking into pieces.
It was now in the middle of the night and Maes sat in the living room of his home, in his pyjamas and only the lantern in the room is the only source of light at the moment.
Gracia then entered the room with a shawl wrapped around her shoulders. She sat down beside her husband and asked him with concern, "Maes dear, what's wrong? Can't sleep?"
"Guess not." Maes answered as he was thinking about Ed, Al and Kida. Despite that it was amazing that Edward and Kida were indeed the youngest State Alchemist in history, he couldn't help but feel worried about them.
Gracia now understood and asked him, "I know what's in that head of yours. You're worried about those children aren't you?"
He sighed and then gave a small smile as he said, "You do know what they call State Alchemists' right? The dogs of the military. They're not exactly the most popular bunch. I tried to imagine what it must be like enduring that at their age. Especially for Kida, since she's also pretty much the first ever female State Alchemist as well."
Gracia smiled back. She did in fact know that a lot of people called State Alchemist, the dogs of the military. Especially with what happened during the Ishvalen Civil War. She too was worried about their current house guests as well, but also knew that people had to take their own paths in life.
Lying awake in the beds of the spare bedroom of the Hughe's home, Edward and Kida lay awake, while Alphonse sat in the corner.
"Hey brother, Kida are you guys awake?" Al asked.
"What is it Al?" Kida asked.
"Miss Gracia's quiche? It looked a lot like mums huh?" Al asked.
"Yeah. It was almost as good too." Ed said, remembering the taste of the wonderful dinner they had.
"Absolutely. It brought back so many memories of me eating dinner with you guys at your home and the quiche would be right there. My mum always kept trying to make quiche, but no matter how many times she tried, she always burnt it. It made us all laugh." Kida said, laughing a little at the memory.
Alphonse giggled in response and then pulled out a small black book and began writing in it as he said, "Well one thing's for sure, I'm definitely adding the quiche to the list of things I'm gonna eat once I get my body back."
Edward and Kida both laughed a little and then Ed said, "Put it on there. Right near the top."
"Hey guys, I sure would like to have our bodies back soon." Alphonse said long fully.
"I know. Me too / same here." Kida and Edward both said, before closing their eyes and going to sleep for the night.
Isac stood in another alley and finished drawing another one of the same circles he had drawn a few hours ago. He stood up and said with hate and anger, "Just one more. One more and Bradly is on his way to hell."
The very next day, Mustang stood ready as he gave his orders to his men, "We have a confirmed report that Isac McDougal broke into Central Prison last night. Whatever he's up to, he's growing bold. Which means our time is short. Close off all roads, and search every square inch of the city. When you find him; shoot on sight that is an order from the Führer himself."
Roy then placed on his black coat and transmutation gloves and finished, "But if I find him first, he's mine."
The whole city was on high alert. As Mustang had ordered, military officers had closed off all the roads leading in and out of Central, had weapons armed, and were checking all over the city for Isac. It was then in the afternoon, Kida, Edward and Alphonse saw another victim of Isac who had looked to be boiled and burnt from the inside.
"Get a medic! / Reports are in; five men are dead!" Military officers all shouted.
"How awful." Alphonse commented on the corpse in front of them.
"Looks like a steam explosion. Raise the temperature of water fast enough, it expands with the force of a bomb blast, and the human body is seventy percent water." Edward said, explaining what had happened.
"We have to find this guy before he hurts or kills anyone else." Kida said.
Isac was in another alley as the sun began to set, he finalised his transmutation circle and looked at the finished circle. He suddenly heard a noise and looked at the wall to see sparks flying. Just then, sharp spikes were transmuted from the wall and he barely managed to dodge them, before they impaled him.
"Impressive reflexes Isac. You were able to dodge my alchemy so easily." A deep voice spoke.
Isac's eyes frowned in recognition of the voice, "I know that voice. Is that you Armstrong?"
Suddenly a large fist with a metal spiked gauntlet and a few alchemic circles on it, punched right through the wall as the voice answered back, "INDEED!"
The owner of the voice punched the rest of his way through the wall and revealed himself as the smoke cleared. He was a very tall, muscular man with a blonde-colored moustache and no hair, except for a single strand at the top of his head.
"It is I, the Strongarm Alchemist. Alex Louis Armstrong in the flesh." The man introduced himself to his former friend.
"Ah shut it!" Isac shouted as he placed his hand on a puddle of water and transmuted it to send a sharp wave of water towards Armstrong.
Armstrong immediately moved to the side and watched as the water sliced right through the spikes he had created earlier, slicing them off their ends in a clean cut.
"I always wanted to chop that ego down to size!" Isac shouted as he sent another round of water at the Major.
"Except you'll need far more than water to quench my fist!" Armstrong shouted back.
Explosions could be heard from the alley all around the city, catching the Elrics and Kida's attention. They turned and watched as several brick heads of Armstrong were sent flying through the air.
Isac was about to fight again when he suddenly heard the voice of Alphonse behind him call out, "Major!"
Seeing an opportunity to escape, Isac pulled out a canteen and threw it right at the three teenagers. Water poured out from the end and Isac transmuted the water to create a boiling explosion. Alphonse acted quickly and grabbed Edward and Kida and held them close as he turned around and shielded them from the water.
Isac ran straight past them and made his escape. After the steam cleared from the boiling water, Edward said to Al, "Water from his canteen huh? Thanks for the quick save Al."
"Guy's, he's getting away!" Al said.
"Come then! Follow me." Armstrong ordered.
Before they left, however, they noticed Kida didn't move from the alley. Armstrong then asked, "What is it Aquamarine?"
Kida thought for a moment and then said, "I don't think we should chase him."
"Why is that?" Edward asked.
"Something tells me that he's going to come to this alley." Kida answered, as she removed the rocks from where Isac was standing previously and revealed the transmutation circle he had drawn before his fight with Armstrong.
As night had finally come, the military continued to search for the wanted man. Isac stood on top of a building and looked down upon Central Command.
Roy's voice then called out from behind him, "It's been a long time Freezer."
Isac turned and saw Roy Mustang standing there with several military officers beside him, each one with a gun in their hands. Isac chuckled darkly and said, "Roy Mustang. So the Flame Alchemist has come out to play."
"You can make this easy for both of us." Roy suggested. "I'd rather not fight an old war buddy."
"War buddy? Please, don't flatter yourself." Isac sneered as he turned around and faced him. "I knew no friends in Ishval. Only military bastards and their damn dogs!"
Seeing that he wasn't going to surrender, Roy snapped his fingers and sent a barrage of flames straight at him. An explosion was heard as Isac blocked the flames with water he had transmuted out of the pipes underneath his feet.
He then slammed his hand once again on the pipe and suddenly all around Roy, several streams of water burst from the building's pipes and hit him dead on, soaking him from the head down.
Isac created an ice bridge as he said, "When water meets flame, the flame goes out."
He ran across the bridge and then destroyed it as soon as he made it to the other building. A few minutes later, Isac arrived back at the alley where he had fought against Armstrong and saw that the transmutation circle he drew was still intact.
"Stop right there Freezer!" Kida shouted as she stood beside Ed on one end of the alley. "I had a feeling that you would come back and looks like I was right. Especially if that transmutation circle is that important to you."
Isac laughed as he stood up and said, "You're very clever Aquamarine. It's no surprise they allowed you to become a State Alchemist."
Alphonse stood at the other end of the alley and blocked the exit as he said, "There's nowhere for you to run this time."
Isac merely grinned and stated, "Clearly, but whose running?"
He raised his hands and suddenly, the transmutation circle was activated and it left off a bright coloured red energy glow. It wasn't only that one, but three other transmutation circles that Isac had drawn in other alleys around Central began to activate as well.
Kida's, Edward's and Alphonse's (if it could've been seen) eyes widened in shock at the reaction. Edward began to say, "An alchemic reaction…..on this scale…."
"That's not possible…." Kida murmured.
"Unless…..you don't think he's….." Alphonse suddenly began to think.
Edward and Kida were thinking the same thing and both said at the same time, "The Philosophers Stone!"
Suddenly a cold breeze began to flow right by them and headed towards the circle. They all watched as the walls began to freeze in a thick case of ice.
"He's….he's freezing all the moisture in the air." Ed said.
Isac then asked Kida and Edward, "Edward Elric and Kida Xerxes, you both sworn your lives to become dogs of the military but….do you both really know the ones you serve and what their true plans are?"
"Who cares?! It's not our problem." Ed said.
"Don't be a fool! He'll lead us all to ruin! I'm only doing what needs to be done!" Isac shouted.
"He just told you, we don't care!" Kida shouted back.
Alphonse made his move and jumped right over the wall of ice and landed behind Isac, taking him by surprise as he delivered a series of punches, before kicking him right in the stomach and sent him flying right out of the alley. Ed and Kida moved out of the way as Isac hit the metal fence hard.
"Alright! Well done Al!" Kida cheered, giving Al a high five.
"But we still have to stop his alchemy." Al pointed out.
"I know. So where is it?" Edward demanded of Isac. "You have a Philosophers Stone, don't you?"
"What are you talking about?" Isac said with a smirk.
"I won't ask again. Now where is it?!" Edward demanded again.
"And what are you going to do boy? YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR LEAGUE!" Isac shouted.
Suddenly, a large wave of water rose from behind Isac and immediately froze, creating a large iceberg. Edward, Kida and Alphonse watched in alarm as Isac grabbed the broken fence and was carried up by the large iceberg.
Suddenly, the giant iceberg continued to grow and then moved forward towards them. The three teenagers ran to avoid getting hit.
Armstrong stood with his fists ready as he shouted, "Stand back and prepare for a display of Armstrong alchemy!"
"He's all yours Major!" Kida shouted as they ran past him.
Armstrong's gauntlets glowed with alchemic energy as he shouted, "WITNESS THE ALCHEMIC ART PASSED DOWN THE ARMSTRONG LINE FOR GENERATIONS!"
He slammed his fist hard against the front of the iceberg with a mighty alchemic-powered punch and for a moment, it seemed to have stopped, but then it continued sideways and broke its way right through a building.
People screamed and ran away from the powerful ice wall. Armstrong looked at the wall and commented, "That's unexpected."
"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING?! YOU'RE MAKING IT WORSE!" Ed yelled at Armstrong.
They suddenly heard a crash behind them and saw the ice wall break through the other side and continue its way with Isac standing at the top of one of them. Three more ice walls then formed and began making their way towards Central Command.
"The ice walls are merging…." Kida noticed.
"But if they all meet in the middle, then that would mean…." Alphonse suddenly began to understand.
Catching on, the three teenagers finished, "HE'S GOING TO FREEZE CENTRAL COMMAND!"
Ed turned to Armstrong and asked, "Major, Al, Kida and I will try and slow him down. Can you handle the transmutation circles?"
"Considered them erased. I'm on it." Armstrong answered.
As the ice wall Isac was standing on, made its way closer towards Central Command, he said, "Führer King Bradley, for your cold-blooded crimes in Ishval, I condemn you to a frozen hell."
"Not so fast!" The sound of Edward's voice could be heard.
Isac turned and watched as Kida, Ed and Al transmuted themselves a couple of platforms and leaped themselves up, landing on the ice-walls. Isac transmuted the ice to send out a sharp attack straight at them.
Kida slammed her hands on the ground and transmuted the half Isac was standing on into water as she said, "Two can play that game!"
Isac jumped up in the air while grabbing a large chunk of ice from the end before it turned into water. He then transmuted it into boiling hot rain and it fell down upon the three teenagers. Even though it didn't affect Al, Kida and Ed both yelped from the heat after it stopped.
Isac then landed in front of them and was about to touch Ed and Kida, but Alphonse quickly grabbed them both and pulled them away from him.
"Too slow!" Isac said as he placed his hand on Al's face and made it explode right off in a massive steam explosion.
"ALPHONSE!" Ed and Kida shouted as they fell back.
Isac began to advance, but Al raised his leg to kick at him, causing the ex-soldier to jump back in surprise. Al stood back up and let go of Ed and Kida, revealing the empty suit of armour, and on the back on the inside, was a seal that was written in blood.
"There's no-one in there! It's empty!" Isac whispered in complete shock.
Ed said nothing as he picked up the helmet and placed it back on Al's armoured body. Isac continued to stare at Alphonse as he tried to figure it out, "But that could only mean the soul was bonded to the armour…."
He then stopped and suddenly looked at all three of them while he showed off a sickening grin as he finally figured it out, "So you boy lost your arm and your brother, he lost his entire body. And as for you girl, you lost your arm and eye…..I see….it all makes sense."
He then dared to ask them, "You fools committed the ultimate taboo! You attempted Human Transmutation, didn't you?! Alchemy's one and only unforgiveable sin!"
Edward and Kida stood there in silence and their eyes widened as the memories of what happened that night came flooding back…..
"AL!" A ten-year-old Edward Elric screamed, his hands covered in blood and his leg missing. "This can't be happening! NOOOO! He's gone! What have I done?!"
A suit of armour fell and with shaking hands, Edward drew the blood seal inside as he cried, "Give him back. He's my brother…."
Tears fell from his eyes as he screamed, "Take my leg! Take my arm! Take my heart! ANYTHING YOU CAN HAVE IT! Just give him back! HE'S MY LITTLE BROTHER! HE'S ALL I HAVE LEFT!"
He slammed his hands together and began the transmutation!
Kida screamed as she held her right eye in pain. Her entire left arm was gone and blood was everywhere. Blood could also be seen spilling out from her hand that covered her left eye.
"KIDA!" Jason screamed, holding his niece in his arms. "OH MY GOD! WHAT HAVE I DONE?!"
He quickly grabbed some bandages and wrapped her wounds as tightly as he could. Kida continued to scream, "IT HURTS SO MUCH! UNCLE HELP!"
Jason shook his head in horror and regret as he shouted, "NO! IT CAN'T BE! This isn't…..this isn't what I wanted! Kida! I'M SO SORRY! I'M SO SORRY! KIDA!"
After a few more moments of silence, Edward finally spoke, "You know….there are some lines you really shouldn't cross."
Isac had no time to react when Ed suddenly charged straight at him and punched him right in the gut. Kida then jumped over him and slammed her fists right on his head, sending him falling to the icy floor.
Alphonse then came up and kicked him hard, sending him falling down the side of the ice wall and straight down to the ground hard. Kida, Ed and Al slid down the wall and stood in front of the weakened ex-soldier.
Isac groaned as he sat up a bit, blood was falling from several cuts he had on his arm and his forehead.
"Give it up! There's no water for you to use here." Ed said.
Isac however merely smirked and said, "You've forgotten something. I have all the water I need, seventy percent of my body!"
Before they could react, Isac transmuted his own blood from the wounds on his arms and sent it out straight at them sharp and straight. The crimson weapon struck right deep into Kida and Edward's shoulder blades.
"GUYS!" Alphonse shouted and used his arm to break the blood weapon in half. Kida and Ed fell to their knees, gripping their shoulders.
Isac stood up, swaying a bit from feeling the effects of using his own blood as a weapon. He held his arm in pain and shouted, "Why can't you fools understand?! I'm trying to save this country!"
The ice walls had finally reached Central Command and the entire building began to slowly freeze over. Isac laughed as he watched his plan being bought to fruition and began to walk away from the scene.
Kida ripped the sharp object from her shoulder blade and grimaced in pain as she said, "We need to go after him."
"But guys…." Alphonse was about to protest, worried about his brother and long-time friend.
"Don't worry Al. We're not done." Ed said as he pulled out his own sharp blade from his shoulder. "Not even close."
Explosions could be heard as the military were trying to use grenades and other explosives to break through the ice wall and get to the transmutation circle.
"Did we get it?" The soldier asked as he and his fellow soldiers looked over from the makeshift barricade.
His answer came when he saw that the holes they made, instantly froze over making it seem like this wall was completely impenetrable. Roy, still dripping wet suddenly stepped forward, growling in anger.
He snapped his fingers and created a fiery explosion at the wall, which seemed to start working. He then shouted, "WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MY FLAMES NOW YOU BASTARD?!"
Riza stood on the sidelines and closed a briefcase, full of extra gloves for Roy. She sighed in annoyance and commented, "When will he learn? It's bad enough he's useless on rainy days."
Roy continued to send a barrage of flames at the wall, making his way through it and getting closer to the transmutation circle.
Isac stumbled through a dark alleyway, feeling weaker from each passing minute. He suddenly came to a stop and saw standing at the end of the very same alley was none other than King Bradley himself.
"Bradley…." Isac growled.
He suddenly began to laugh and then said, "Perfect!"
Transmuting more of his blood, he created a long sharp weapon, ready to use to kill King Bradley. With a sickening grin and a scream of pure madness, Isac charged straight for him. The sounds of blades slashing through could be heard and Isac stood on the other side, while King Bradley remained standing and his own sword was out.
There was nothing but silence for a moment until blood flowed freely right out of Isac from several fatal wounds and with one final groan, he fell to the ground dead in a pool of blood. A small red stone fell to the ground and then turned into nothing.
Back inside Central Prison, Kimbly smirked and then said, "Now that really is too bad."
Roy snapped both his fingers and finally reached the transmutation circle. He called out to Armstrong, "MAJOR GO NOW!"
Ripping his shirt right off, Armstrong shouted as he slammed his fists right into the ground on the other side of the alley, "LEAVE IT TO ME! THE ARMSTRONG FISTS WILL NOT FAIL!"
Right before the ice could re-freeze over the transmutation circle, the ground broke apart and the transmutation circle was finally destroyed. The red alchemic energy around the city died down and the ice-walls instantly melted back into water.
Still holding their wounds, Edward, Kida, and Alphonse had finally made it to the alley where Isac's body was no covered up with a cloth and saw King Bradley along with several officers at the scene.
"Führer King Bradley, you're here?" Edward asked.
King Bradley smiled at the two alchemists and said, "Ah yes! Job well done Fullmetal and you as well Aquamarine. I came out to see if I could lend a hand and to think, that I'd be the one to catch him. If nothing else, this should make an exciting story for my son."
The next day, everything seemed to be back to normal. Maes Hughes entered Roy's office as the alchemist sneezed.
"Is that a cold I hear? Never mind that, from what I'm told, you're the man of the hour." Maes said in his usual cheery self.
"No, I just destroyed the transmutation circles. The Führer is the one who actually bought down McDougal." Roy admitted as Riza stood by his side.
"Sure, but the Führer is telling everyone that it was you. So congratulations." Maes said, making Roy frown a bit.
He then said, "Oh it's like that huh? Suit yourself, but some friendly advice; next time a superior tells you to take credit for something you didn't do, you might try it for once."
Roy's eyes widened and then he frowned in annoyance as he said almost something familiar to Edward. Looks like his own advice had just come back to bite him in the bum.
Alphonse sat beside Edward's bed in the hospital. Kida sat on the other side in her own hospital gown. The two of them were checked into the hospital for the wounds Isac gave them during the fight, but the good news was, they should be released in a few days.
"You know, we never did find out whether or not he had a Philosophers Stone." Alphonse realised.
"Maybe it'll say something in the final report." Edward suggested.
"One thing is for sure, as soon as we're healed, we're off to Liore." Kida said.
The door to Ed's room opened and Armstrong suddenly entered with a bunch of roses and said in a dramatic voice, "Greetings Edward Elric and Kida Xerxes. When I heard you were in the hospital, I DARE STRUT OVER!"
Alphonse, Kida and Edward looked really freaked out by Armstrong's behaviour. The Major then said, "And as I suspected, you're in desperate need of my assistance."
He suddenly ripped his entire shirt off, showing off his muscular body, making the three teenagers freak out even more. Armstrong continued, "You need the example of a perfect physical specimen to inspire your recovery. Look at that! You're looking lively already!"
"WILL YOU GET OUT!" Edward screamed.
"AND KEEP YOUR SHIRT ON!" Kida screamed.
Meanwhile in a building in Liore, a woman with long black hair was speaking on the phone, "Oh so Isac's dead? That's a shame, I had such high hopes for him too. But the Philosopher's Stone?"
The sound of loud crunching and chewing could be heard from a bald fat man in the room as she said, "Sounds like he overused it."
She then requested the man, "Gluttony, try to chew quietly. I'm on the phone."
She continued to speak to whoever was on the phone, "Yes, things are going well here in Liore. We'll be ready. It all begins very soon."