Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ The Storm Within ❯ Celeste ( Chapter 1 )

I do not own any of the Fullmetal Alchemist characters mentioned in this fanfic. I do own the OC's and the story line, so no touching.

 

Hello, I'm kane-sakura. The idea for this fanfic came to me while on a trip in Minnesota. It's not finished yet, but it will be soon (I hope).

 

I am also the author of a couple InuYasha fics so if you want to check those out, they're called `Hidden Past, Hidden Self', `Freak Out!' (First movie to HPHS), and `Only Time...' (Second movie to HPHS). There are a few short ones too, but I'm not too concerned about them since they were one shots anyway.

 

The Storm Within

 

A “Fullmetal Alchemist” Fan Fiction

 

By: kane-sakura

 

Chapter 1: Celeste

 

`God, I'm so bored.' A young woman thought angrily as she played with her chocolate brown hair. One golden-streaked piece fell in her face and that same hand that twiddled her brown lock carelessly brushed it away. Her heart shaped face was mirrored in the train window as she scanned her surroundings.

 

Her stomach flipped. Closing her eyes and putting her forehead against the back of her wooden train seat, she willed the nausea away. `Damn it, I can still feel the boat rocking back and forth.' Her blue eyes opened again when the sickness had diminished. `Gone only one week and I miss my home already.'

 

Europe was so different from America. The past week had been tough; traveling overseas by boat and feeling seasick almost three-quarters of the way; moving by train and being uncomfortable in the rock-hard seats. Back in America, she only worried about going from town to town by automobile. And with the recent invention of the airplane, things would go even faster if the prototype in North Carolina actually worked.

 

“Sis, is everything all right?”

 

A man's voice interrupted her thoughts. She wiped away a tear and turned her head to look at him. “Yes, I'm fine.”

 

He sat beside her. “Central is our next stop. From there I'm afraid you're on your own Celeste.”

 

Celeste sighed and rested her head on her window. I understand that Damion. But it's for my own good.” She veered her eyes at him again. “Brother, will going to Central really help my powers?”

 

Damion's eyes of deep brown blinked. “You were so excited days ago, now you're not sure.” He ruffled his sister's hair and smiled when she squealed in displeasure, a dimple forming on his left cheek. “That's my Celeste for ya. Excited one minute scared the next.”

 

“Can you blame me?” She argued, challenge in her eyes. “I'm going to be a State Alchemist. In the European branch, things are so different, so much more advanced. What if I don't fit in?”

 

Damion laughed heartily, giving Celeste another pat on the head. “You not fit in? Celeste, you'd fit in anywhere, even in a mining town full of guys. Believe me, you'll find a way.”

 

A town could be seen in the distance and the conductor called, “Next stop, Central!” Celeste clutched her bag with nervous, trembling hands.

 

“Celeste,” Damion put one finger under her chin. “If anything happens...”

 

She nodded. “I'll write every week, don't worry. Just promise me you will too.” Lunging for her brother's waist, she clung to him and cried. “I'll miss you Damion.”

 

He smoothed out her hair with his left hand and hugged her with his right. He held her tight, even as the train pulled to a stop in the little station.

 

***

 

“`Celeste Dominique. Age: twenty-one; date of birth: March 19, 1890; hair color: brown with blond streaks; eye color: blue; origin: New York, New York, United States; height: five feet, eight inches; weight: one-twenty.'” The blond-haired boy looked away from the papers he held in his hand. “She probably lied about that last one, right Al?”

 

“Brother,” The giant metal armor suit the first boy had called `Al' looked down at him and spoke in a child's falsetto voice. “We should treat our guest from America with respect.”

 

He glared up at his brother. “Al, do you even realize why we were sent to pick up this `Celeste'?”

 

“Because they want her to feel welcome?”

 

The smaller boy shook his head and sighed. “No, because it's a freakin' easy assignment. They still look as us like we're kids...”

 

“But Ed, we are still kids.” Al interrupted.

 

Ed exploded at his brother. “We're sixteen and fifteen years old! I've been a State Alchemist since I was twelve! That's four years Alphonse!”

 

A giant steam engine squealed to a stop and released a giant cloud of mist as it halted at its destination. “Anyway, the info we have here gives us no indication of her rank. From what I hear, Alchemy is a new science in America. And apparently they don't have the proper training facilities and we're getting not only this girl, but someone else too.”

 

“But we only have...”

 

“Al, the other one's coming later. While this woman is new to alchemy, the other one we're getting in about a week is an officer. He's going to be picked up by Risa so we don't have to worry about him.” He watched as passengers started to disembark from the train. He finally saw the brown and blond girl as she carried a small travel bag. She wore a plain white sundress with plain white shoes carefully adorning her feet. A man walked behind her and stood almost a head taller than her. He set down the suitcase and reached down to hug her tightly. They stayed that way for a couple minutes until he let go of her and kissed her forehead. With tears in her eyes, she took both bags and started to look around for the people she was supposed to meet.

 

“Come on Al, she's here.” Ed started forward but Al didn't move. “Alphonse?”

 

He was staring at the girl that Ed had dubbed Celeste as she looked around, casually put her stray locks of hair behind one ear. A tear was falling down her cheek as she watched her brother board the train, but that little drop was wiped away just as carelessly as her hair had been put behind her ear. “Wow, she's beautiful.”

 

“Oh for God's sake. Let's go get her Al. We need to get her to Central.” Ed walked over to her and the metal armor followed closely.

 

She saw the large metal armor and approached cautiously. “Are you two the Elric Brothers I'm supposed to meet here?”

 

Ed held out a hand. “You must be here for State Alchemist training, right? I'm Edward Elric and this is Alphonse.”

 

She looked him up and down. “Charmed, I'm sure.” Her eyes darted to Al. “You must be the Fullmetal Alchemist.” She took his hand to shake it. “I've heard so much about you!” She bubbled out happily.

 

Ed cleared his throat. “Actually, I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist. Al here is my little brother; we get that a lot so I'll let it go.”

 

Celeste hummed to herself and looked him over again. “But how? You're so short and he's all metal. How could he be your younger brother?”

 

“Um, Celeste...”

 

Too late. “Are you calling me the shortest shorty in this entire short world?!” He blew up in her face even though Al had only begun to warn her.

 

But she wasn't intimidated. Putting her hands on her hips, she scolded him. “Listen little boy, it's impolite to have tantrums in public. Now settle down.”

 

“But I AM the Fullmetal Alchemist! I am, I am, I AM!!” He started yelling, then brought out his pocket watch with one of his gloved hands. The silver watch had a sort of dragon on it with a long curved tail. Its body was encased by a diamond-shaped square and an irregular hexagon. One arm was in front of the trapezoid while the other was behind it. Under the curved tail that held the two shapes were leaves that pointed downward in a circle to a diamond on the bottom to form a sort of Greek Olympic crown. “This proves I'm the Alchemist. This is the pocket watch issued to all Alchemists.”

 

“Real cute kid. You'd better give that back to your older brother.” She swiped it and gave it to Alphonse. “Here you go Fullmetal.”

 

“But...it's not mine. I'm not the Fullmetal Alchemist. Ed is.” Al handed the watch over to his brother.

 

Celeste blinked. “You're serious, aren't you?” She bowed in apology. “I'm sorry Edward, it's just that you're so short...”

 

Al held his brother back as the tantrum ran its course. “He's a little sensitive on that subject.”

 

She mouthed an `oh'.

 

“Anyway, our car is waiting for us. Follow me.” Al took his angered brother and led him away from the train with Celeste following close behind.

 

She looked back once more at the giant metal engine. Damion was gazing out the window at her as she walked away. He smiled and waved once with his left hand, his signature wave. She put her hand up over her head and waved back. Then she blew a kiss and turned away, resisting the urge to run back onto the train.

 

***

 

The short car ride was very quiet, but Celeste was determined to make friends. “So Ed, how old are you?”

 

“Sixteen.” More silence from Fullmetal after he'd answered that simple question. He just continued to stare out the window at the surroundings.

 

“I'm fifteen.” Alphonse added happily.

 

She leaned in towards Al. “Your brother's awfully quiet. Did I mention his height deficiency too much?”

 

Al glanced over at his brother. “He's never liked going over to see Colonel Mustang; they've always been at differences with each other.”

 

“He's the only one with differences against me. He makes my life a living hell sometimes.” Ed said with sarcasm.

 

Celeste giggled with a high-pitched, silly laugh that reminded the boys of a forest sprite, and they looked at her strangely. “My brother's like that with me too. This Colonel Mustang must respect you deep down.” Laughter was still in her eyes. “But I can tell you this: I also have respect for my brother and I can guarantee you respect him too.”

 

“What kind of respect should I give a womanizing Colonel like him?” Ed stated. “He's a great leader I'll give him that, but he is such a womanizer. If only Risa would say yes to one of his date proposals then maybe he'd lighten up a bit.”

 

The car stopped in front of a large building similar to the white house in Washington D.C. At least, the color and structure did. The size on the other hand reminded her of the Empire State Building; it wasn't as tall, but it was still big. She walked in stunned silence as she followed the Elric brothers into the giant building. `Jeez, Alchemy must be a big thing here. Our little headquarters could easily fit within the building.' She reasoned. `Maybe two could fit in there.'

 

They entered a quaint little office and Celeste knew at once where Colonel Mustang was. There was a door at the end of the office that screamed `head honcho'. They entered the room without knocking and stood in front of the closed door. She gulped as the man at the desk swerved in his seat to face them.

 

“So Ed, you found a girlfriend. Congratulations.” Colonel Mustang didn't even look up from his paper work.

 

Frustrated, Ed got right in the black-haired man's face. “You were the one who sent me on this assignment, remember?”

 

He finally looked up. “Did your officer in America send your papers?”

 

She bowed in acknowledgement and said, “Yes sir.” Reaching into her purse, she brought out a neatly folded parchment and handed over to him.

 

The Colonel read them over slowly, making sure every detail was accurate. Celeste fidgeted a minute later when he still hadn't said anything. After waiting what seemed to be an hour, he looked up and smiled. “I think they failed to mention the way your eyes sparkle in the sun light.”

 

Ed slapped his forehead and sighed as Celeste blushed but kept silent. “A compliment Miss Dominique.”

 

“Y-yes sir.”

 

He `hmm'ed and let his eyes fall back on the papers. After a shorter period of silence, he looked back up with intrigue in his deep blue eyes. He rested his chin on his gloved knuckles and smiled. “Your Major left an interesting note on the bottom.”

 

`Oh no...'

 

“It says that you already have an Alchemist name and that you should tell us.”

 

`I really hate Major Goodwin's sense of humor right now...' She sighed. “It's true, but...”

 

“What is it?”

 

Celeste said something inaudible. “Come again?”

 

She mumbled again and Colonel Mustang said impatiently, “Miss Dominique, we have no time for games. What is your Alchemist name?”

 

She huffed and said audibly, “He called me the Ditz Alchemist, okay? It was a joke between me and the Major.”

 

Edward burst out laughing and bent in half to keep his side from splitting. Al giggled a little and tried to cover it with a cough while Colonel Mustang just smirked.

 

Her blush escaladed all the way up to her scalp. “But I refuse to be called that here in Europe! I don't have an official name since it was just a joke between me and him, so...”

 

“I don't know, I think it fits.” Ed said with as much as a sedate tone he could muster then broke out laughing again.

 

She responded by hitting him on the head. “Colonel Mustang...”

 

“Please, call me Roy.” He smiled again.

 

“I'm sorry sir, but you are the Colonel and just because you like me...”

 

Ed shoved her in the ribs with his elbow. “As I said in the car, he flirts with every girl he meets, but if he tells you to call him Roy you can call him Roy.”

 

Celeste sighed. “Roy, I insist upon a real Alchemist name. In America, we don't have Alchemist names because there aren't enough Alchemists to give names. There are maybe one or two officers that have a name.”

 

“It's up to King Bradley to choose a proper name. Short stuff here along with me and all the other Alchemists have gotten their names from him.”

 

Ed simmered; Al held him back.

 

Celeste blinked. “What're you called, Colonel...I mean Roy.”

 

He held out a white glove on his hand and pointed at the symbol on top. “This symbol allows me to produce flames without having to draw a transmutation circle. I'm the Flame Alchemist.”

 

“No transmutation circle?” Her eyes widened in shock. “Cool! I wish I could do that!”

 

“Ed's even better.” Al cut in. “He just claps his hands and touches something to change it.”

 

“You don't need the circles either?” She looked over at him.

 

Proudly, he shook his head and pointed a thumb at his chest. “Nope. Pretty cool, huh?”

 

“Sorry to burst your ego, but here Miss Dominique.” Roy took out a circular tin box and slid it to her. The design on the top was an intricately painted gear circling the rim with a cross and a snake intertwined and a crown with wings above it.

 

She opened it to find a pocket watch exactly like Ed's. “What do I need one of these for?” She held it up by its chain and swung it in front of her face. “And what, no special ceremony?”

 

“What's with these ceremonies? Just take it and go. In two days, you'll need to present yourself before King Bradley for your official name.” Roy sat and continued his studying of the files she'd given him. “Ed, keep her out of trouble until her training officer arrives.”

 

“Now I'm a baby-sitter? She's twenty-one Mustang.” Ed reminded him.

 

“Yes, but she's not a prodigy such as yourself.” Mustang turned away. “Two days, Celeste.”

 

She bowed. “Thank you, Colonel.” She followed Ed and Al out of the building in silence, knowing her journey was only beginning.

 

***

 

Later that night, Celeste brushed her hair by her mirror in her little room after a delicious dinner in the cafeteria. The knots removed, she set the brush down and settled onto her bed with a good book.

 

A sudden knock came to the door and she jumped. Composing herself, she said, “Come in.”

 

Ed poked his head in. “How's the room?”

 

“Better than the ship and train.” She stretched and noticed that he still had his gloves and coat on. “Going somewhere?”

 

“No, why?”

 

“You've got your coat and gloves on.”

 

He shrugged off his coat, after heaving a monstrous sigh, and said, “Better?” But her eyebrow shot up. “Now what?”

 

“Your gloves.” She pointed out. But then she got a better look at the top of his gloves. “Hey, you don't have any transmutation circles on them. How can you do transmutations, then, without drawing one?”

 

He didn't answer at first. Then, “Don't know. One day, I heated some water without a circle and that was it. The reason why I'm in this military is because of that. The second time I did it was during my skills exam.” He pulled the glove off of his right hand and held it out to show Celeste. Instead of a human hand with skin, she saw metal.

 

“Automale? What happened?”

 

“It's really none of your business.” He stated coldly and turned to leave. “Let's just say I screwed up big time. Don't try to do something you'll regret, or you could end up like me and my brother.”

 

He left the room in silence. Celeste looked at his hand the entire time. `What could've happened to him that took his hand off of his arm?' She leaned back against her headboard. The pocket watchcase stood on her dresser and gleamed in the dim light of the lamp. She walked over to it and opened her case. She took the watch out to study it and bumped the can in the process. It clanked on the floor and bounced around until in landed on its bottom and just sat there. She bent over to pick it up, and when she got it in her hands she heard a sound within the can.

 

`Funny, it didn't make that sound before did it?' She checked the entire can again, but there was nothing in it but the protective foam padding for the watch. She shook it and heard that same sound. It was like metal scraping against metal, so she figured that there had to be something under the foam padding. She worked the padding off of the glue and saw on the bottom a silver chain and a weird-looking pendant. The intricate design of the metal, kind of like a Celtic circle, surrounded a medium-sized, blood red stone. It was truly one of the most beautiful pieces of jewelry that she's ever seen before, but she wondered why it was under the foam padding of her watchcase.

 

She looked in again and saw a piece of folded up paper on the bottom. Curiosity grabbed her hand and led her to pick up the paper and open it. The letter said simply,

 

`Celeste Dominique, Welcome to the State Alchemist Branch of Europe. Here is a gift to help you feel welcome. The Crystal Alchemist'

 

“Hmm...who's the `Crystal Alchemist'?” She put the note down to study the necklace more closely. The metal had to be pure platinum since it was heavy in her hands. She lifted the chain over her head and let the pendant rest between her breasts. “Well, when I find the `Crystal Alchemist' I'll have to thank him.” She said to herself before going to bed.

 

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