Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ To Heal the Wounds of the Heart ❯ Orwell ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

By: LoneL

To Heal the Wounds of the Heart

“Damnit!”

A familiar soft-brown-colored jacket fluttered aimlessly in the wind, in almost perfect synch with a long blonde ponytail. The owner of both repeatedly stomped the grass below him in an over-exaggerated display of frustration, flattening the blades below his foot. It was true that Edward Elric had matured in just about every way possible over the last year, but there was no way that he would ever be able to get over his annoyance and hatred of that man. He refrained from swinging his arms wildly about, but otherwise vented his anger in every way possible. Alphonse simply watched from a few feet away, surveying the land around them with his hands in his pockets as the breeze whipped his slightly shorter ponytail around as well. He didn't see any point in not allowing his brother to exhaust every last drop of anger from his body.

“Brother, we do have a mission to do.”

Ed discontinued his stomping rage and turned to face his brother. He couldn't help smiling as they locked eyes, and he was taken aback at how much Al now resembled him two years ago: the same red coat, the same gloves, even a ponytail just like his. He only regretted that things had gone so wrong, and that Al appeared to be just twelve years old instead of the sixteen years his mind had aged. Still, he realized that his brother must be so much happier to be made of flesh and bone again, in contrast to being a walking metal shell. Ed grinned and threw his hands up in an exasperated gesture.

“I realize that, Al, but I can't believe Mustang has the nerve to just send us out here for no other reason than to `take a look at things'” he reasoned, mimicking Mustang's voice and attitude, “I mean, come on, sending us to a place like this. There's nothing here!”

Al looked around and shrugged in defeat. There didn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary here. A wooden sign drove firmly into the ground proudly proclaimed ORWELL, a Subdivision of South City! And indeed, Orwell was no more than ten miles from South Headquarters. But even then, it was a quiet town with a population of 350 people overlooked by a large hill. There was nothing to inspect, and this infuriated Ed.

“Let's go, Al.”

“To where?”

“Let's just head over to that huge hill, take a quick scan around and head back to Central, so we can convince that pompous fathead on the complete emptiness and tranquility of this secluded town. How does that sound?”

“Erm…yeah, okay. That sounds fine. Let's go.”

Central Headquarters

11:41

Major General Roy Mustang leaned back in his chair and sighed loudly, eying the large stack of paperwork neatly sitting in the center of his desk. About 19 minutes were left to complete the whole thing. He scratched his head briefly, sorting through his crop of black hair, and picked up a pen. Touching it to the first sheet, he closed his eyes momentarily and then hunched over, as if getting set to perform a harrowing task. A few seconds slipped by in absolute silence.

Mustang threw his pen across the room, stood up quickly (in the process, knocking over his chair), slammed his hands down on the desk and screamed, “I don't have time for this!”

The sound of boots clicking as they touched the floor reached his ears, and the door to his office swung open. Riza Hawkeye, by now having attained the rank of Captain, slowly bent down to retrieve the pen, then gathered the papers up, one by one, and returned them to the General's desk. She took her spot at the desk across from his and switched her gun to safety, placing it on the table. Mustang's face rested on the palm of his right hand, and the aloof look in his eye was all too familiar as he stared at her. She frowned slightly as she glanced at the patch covering his left eye.

“You know, General, if you continue to slack off on your paperwork you might end up as a Colonel again,” she stated, breaking the silence.

Mustang fidgeted slightly, and then replied. “I realize that, Captain Hawkeye, but it's so hard to focus when I know Fullmetal is out there causing all sorts of trouble.”

“All you did was assign him to inspect Orwell, sir.”

“Yeah, and imagine how he took that,” Mustang answered, knowing full well how his subordinate reacted to it.

“He should return soon, sir. For now, you should focus on completing your paperwork so that you can maintain the authority to continue to order him around.” Mustang raised an eyebrow, recognizing the implication that he enjoyed giving orders to the elder Elric.

He sighed once more and returned to the papers, lazily signing them and glancing furtively at the clock once every twenty seconds.

Edward had grown, but nowhere near the amount he expected or wanted. At least he was taller than Al. He stood on the top of the large hill that towered over the small town of Orwell on his tip-toes, gloved hand shading his golden eyes as he surveyed the cobblestone streets, wooden houses and two-story inns that littered the countryside.

“How's it look, Al? Normal to me,” Ed declared

“Yeah, it all looks fine,” his brother replied calmly.

“Great then!” Ed shouted, “All we have to do is get the mayor's signature stating that we did a thorough inspection and declared that everything was fit according to the state's standards.”

Al nodded, and Ed retrieved a formal-looking envelope from his coat. Together, the two brothers slowly descended the hill and entered the small town.

Edward's head swiveled around quickly, checking the houses and, more importantly, the two story buildings, around him, looking for the mayor's residence. He scratched his scalp impatiently waving the letter and envelope around as if they were random pieces of trash he had picked up on the street.

"Come on! You'd think the mayor's house would be the easiest one to spot!"

"How about that one, Brother? It says 'Mayor's House,' right?" Al pointed out, somewhat reluctantly. The house was conveniently wedged in between two much wider and taller buildings, and positioned somewhat back from their fronts, making the depth appear more than it was. Al tilted his head curiously, wondering what the reasons for the arrangement might be. Ed handled his thoughts a little differently.

"Damnit, wouldn't you know it? The mayor's house just had to be the most difficult one to spot! I swear, Mustang's gonna pay for this!"

Disregarding Ed's outburst, Alphonse began shuffling his feet in the direction of the wooden building he had singled out. Ed finished relieving himself of his temper and followed at a much slower pace, grumbling under his breath as they approached the house. Ed rapped loudly on the door four times with his right hand, feeling the contact against his knuckles, something he hadn't done in a long time.

It sure is different having two human arms again...better, I'm not sure yet, but different, he mused, as he clinched his right hand into a fist repeatedly. While he was preoccupied, the door swung open and a hearty-looking man in his late forties gazed at the boys curiously. Ed was temporarily zoned out, leaving Al to the task of explaining their purpose, which he did. Pondering this for a few moments, the man then nodded and smiled, sliding out of the way and allowing them into his abode.

"Good day to you boys. I am the mayor of Orwell. So you say you need my assistance in completing an inspection?"

"Yeah, that's not a problem, right old man?" Edward said unflatteringly, retrieving the letter from its envelope, "We just need you to sign this and then we can be on our merry way."

The mayor scanned the paper slowly, reading each last detail and mumbling to himself. When he was finished, he nodded once more and raised his head to give Edward his consent. His eye caught on the glint of metal halfway up, however, and he blinked in surprise.

"Would you look at that," he marveled. "That's the pocketwatch of a state alchemist, isn't it, my boy?"

Ed shrugged casually and pulled the watch out into plain view. "Yeah, I'm a state alchemist."

"Judging from your age, I'd say you must be the famous Fullmetal Alchemist then."

"That's right."

"Well, you're a bit taller than everyone says," the mayor began. He was halted by Edward's explosion of joy. The blonde-haired young man then proceeded to shake the mayor's hand furiously. "Ahem," the mayor continued, "but I'm still surprised that someone of such small physical stature became a state alchemist, if you don't mind my saying so."

"WHAT! WHO ARE YOU CALLING SMALL ENOUGH TO BE STEPPED ON BY A BEATLE, YOU OLD GEEZER!"

Al shook his head and smiled apologetically at the mayor, who signed the form as quickly as he could. Evidently intimidated, he ushered the Elric brothers out of his home and closed the door, sighing with relief. Edward looked to his younger brother and simply shrugged, as if he had no idea what had caused the man's sudden change in attitude. He then proceeded to stomp off, fuming.

Fifteen minutes after their original descent, atop the hill once more, Ed returned the signed piece of paper to its envelope and stretched expectantly, looking at the horizon from his perch. His silver pocketwatch listed the time as 2:15. Ed checked the train ticket he had in his pocket, and finding it suitable, laid down. He waved lazily to Al, indicating for him to lie down as well.

“C'mon Al, we've got an hour and a half before our train to Central leaves. I'm takin' a nap!”

“That's fine, Brother.”

“What, aren't you going to?”

“I'm not sure yet,” Al shook his head, “But don't worry about me.”

“Ah, suit yourself,” Ed mumbled, rolling over and quickly descending into the realms of sleep.

The day was graced with a certain peace that neither of the boys had felt in as long as they could remember. Ed slept soundly for the first time in six years, and Al leaned back, his mind free from worry, soon drifting off himself.

Ed jolted awake some time later. He blinked silently for a moment, and then it dawned upon him to check the time. He sat up and flipped his watch open.

“2:38!” he screamed aloud, waking Al.

“Ugh…what is it, Brother?” he inquired, and barely had time to regain his senses before he was roughly jerked up by the collar and led in the direction of the train station.

“Let's go, Al! We're gonna be late!”

The two brothers soon reached full speed, and dashed down the hill into the town. In the center square, Ed's eyes darted from side to side constantly, trying to remember the way to the station. By the time he finally remembered that it was to the left, his watch read 2:42. He darted that way, still dragging Al by the collar. They evaded people left and right on their mad dash, nearing the western edge of the town. It seemed, just possibly, as if they were going to make it.

Finally, they were on the outskirts once more and the train station was in sight. There was nothing now but them, the station and a single tree with a pile of leaves gracing its front. Ed grinned and continued running wildly, Al following closely behind. The station was only a hundred feet away—they were going to make it!

Ed's foot clashed against something hidden in the pile of leaves, and he went tumbling head over heels, crashing into the ground. Al bent down to check on him.

“Brother, are you okay?”

“Aw, hell!” was Ed's reply, “What else can go wrong! Last time I checked, piles of leaves weren't totally solid!”

He reached over and brushed the leaves aside with one hand, furiously trying to open his watch in the process. When he reached the bottom of the pile, the watch fell from his hand, making a soft sound as it hit the ground.

He and Al were staring at the mutilated body of an eighteen-year old girl, lying in a prone state. Ed checked her pulse, and then her breathing. Both were extremely weak. Al tapped his brother on the shoulder, and then pointed to the girl's left side.

Hanging limply from her pants was a silver chain, attached to a silver pocketwatch.

A/N: This story was originally posted on Fanfiction.net. I'm bringing it, along with my other stories, over here now.

Next time:

Chapter 2: Recount

The Elric brothers bring the gravely injured young woman back to Central with them, attempting to take care of her wounds. Her chances for survival are slim, but the information she relates to them will change everything.