Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Wolves of Fire, Eagles of Ice ❯ An unexpected visit ( Chapter 5 )

 

I do not own FMA

 

Chapter 4: An anexpected vist

 

He really hates trains. The rumour, the people, the undisciplined children running around and waking him up from one of the sexiest dream. Why, with all the places he had to come here? Central City. He hates the city purely because the Führer lived there. And why in the hell all people were staring at him! He maybe old, but he was still attractive. I mean, to be a person of 75 years old, he was still in a very good shape, even his own son was not in such good shape, and he was only 53. He was getting really annoyed. He was just a passenger on that dammed train to that dammed City. He decided to ignore them; they were just a bunch of metropolitan folks that know little or nothing about real life. The man was quite tall, with deep blue eyes and a well trimmed white beard that still had same remnants of the old glorious black colour. He was wearing a white thick shirt and a brown leather jacket matching his pants. In a few minutes he was again soundly asleep, with a wide open mouth drooling on one side. But his sleep didn't last too long, as the train came to a sudden stop. He found himself thrown in the seat in front of him. When he finally regain some equilibrium, he jumped in one of the most beautiful woman that he had met on the train. She had soft black hair, dark eyes, and a cute mole under her right eye. The blue uniform framed perfectly her well built body. Wait! A blue uniform?! His luck, as usual. When he finally found some good distraction, this has to be part of the military. He really could not believe it. Defeated by his own fate, dramatically he set back to his place. But the sexy officer was still standing in the same spot, still looking at him.

“What can I do for you officer? And why this damn train stopped all of sudden?”

“I'm sorry sir for the rude interruption, but we have the order to check every suspect passenger that come or leave Central City.”

“Are you telling me that I look suspicious? And why are you so zealous in your task? Trying to make the life of an old man more difficult that it already is? By the way before we go on with this interesting conversation, my I know your name? Or have you forgotten good manners, young lady?”

“I'm Lieutenant Maria Ross, and this is Sergeant Brosh. We are not trying to make your life difficult, but as I said we have our own orders. Now that we have introduces ourselves, could you please give me a document?”

“Well, if a beautiful woman like you asks me so gently I can not refuse.”

He quickly searched in his jacket pocket and handed over to the Lieutenant his passport. She took it and passed it to Sergeant Brosh.

“In the mean time that my colleague checks your documents, there is a little detail that I would like to go through with you. We have been informed by the train controller that you are transporting a wild animal in the passenger compartment. Can you explain it?”

He was completely confused by her request. A wild animal? Him? He was not carrying anyone. Then he got it, the people on the train were not staring at him, but at something near him. So he started to have a look around and finally he saw it. Between two suitcases there was the unmistakable fur of an animal. And he was pretty familiar with it. She did it again. That thing did not know at all the word discipline! In any case it was too late to turn around and bring her back, and he did not want to either. He came to Central City for an important reason. Bottom line: he had to stick with her.

“I'm sorry officer, but I was not aware that she followed me in the train.”

“So do you admit that that animal is yours?”

“Mine?!” He started to laugh like crazy. “Mine?!” He repeated through tears. “You really think that you can possess a snow leopard?” His laughers became lauder and lauder. “Cloe do not belong to anyone, she just decided to follow me.”

Lieutenant Ross was stunned. A snow leopard?! She thought that were extremely rare animals, most of the people believed that they were just extinct. And now she had one just in front of her. She had even a name.

“You called her Cloe?”

Hearing her name said twice, the snow leopard lazily look towards Maria. The officer was looking at the cutest thing that she had ever seen in her life. A white thick fur adorned with black spots, big blue eyes and an incredibly long tail. The cub decided that there was nothing interesting going on for her, so she hid her muzzle in the thick tail and went back to sleep.

In the mean time Sergeant Bloch controlled the man documents. As soon as it opened the passport he noticed its name. His eyes opened wide and he tried to attract the Lieutenant attention several time with no success. She was to much entranced by the snow leopard to notice his desperate attempts to talk to her. Luckily for him, the old man noticed it. So he gently taped Maria who finally waked up from her daydreaming and finally gave her attention to the poor Sergeant.

“What's up Bloch?”

“Sir, you should really look at his passport.”

“Is there any problem?” Se immediately became suspicious. May be that man was a smuggler of wild animals. But that did not make too much sense considering that little Cloe was not in a cage. So she picked up the passport from Bloch and she could not believe herself at what she was seeing.

“This is really your name?”
“My darling, of course. Is there any problem with it?”

“Do you have any relative in the military?”

“Just one.”

“Sir…”

“There not reason to play around it. My name is Damien Mustang, and you are guessing well. I am related to Colonel Roy Mustang. As a matter of fact, he is my grandson.”

 

Edward spent all the morning examining the Colonel office for any indication that alchemy had been used. He was getting frustrated. Everything seemed to point towards the use of alchemy but there was not even the slightest remnant of an array. The only good news that they had so far was that Maes intuition proved to be right. The blood analysis came through early morning and it showed that only a little stain next to were the desk once was belonged to the Colonel. The entire remnant belonged to his attackers. But the fact he was alive when he disappeared did not mean that he would stay for long. They had to be quick in finding any clue that could put them in the right direction. All of sudden he felt someone chewing at his automail leg. He looked down to see an oversized cat with an abnormally long tail. The fur was equally unusual, white with black dots all over it. He could see that the thing was quite interested in his leg chewing and smelling it continuously.

“Hey you! Stop chewing my leg!”

He bent down trying to catch it, to end up with the thing attacking his automail arm.

“Let it go!”

Cloe looked at the short human with curiosity. She has never met a human with such strange body, partially of meat and partially made of something else that she could not identify. She tried to eat a little piece of it, but it was too hard. All of sudden she found herself taken gently into the arm of a human that was even stranger. He looked like a human but he smelled like the strange limbs of the other man, he had no flash at all and, on top of it, she could definitely smell blood, old and rusty, but still blood. She decided the he was much nicer than the short guy. She looked up to him and on top of his head Cloe noticed something white, very similar to a snake. With a swift jump she climbed over the head of the tall human-non human person to inspect the string. It was not alive, but the way it movement was hypnotic. She had to catch it. She laid down as much as she could on the head and than she leapt towards the end of the string, only to find herself on the floor with the head of the nice guy. Now she was even more than confused, how could the human-non human still moving without his head? And how it came that it was so easy to take it away?

Ed was really annoyed by the strange cat, especially now that the thing had removed his brother helmet. Luckily, at the moment only Mustang subordinates were present and they already new about Al condition.

“Brother, I wonder where she comes from and how she got here. She is clearly a wild animal.” Al said adjusting his helmet back in place.

“Al, why do you know that is a she and not a he?”

“Ehmm, elemental anatomy? Brother, can we keep her? Look she must be lost, hungry, and tired. Please brother?! At least until we find where she comes from. Please, please, please!”

“What! Are you crazy? That thing tried to eat my automail and it took off your helmet! It's a dangerous monster!”

“Hey shorty! No one insult Cloe, and just for your information she is not dangerous at all, annoying most of the time, but not dangerous!”

Ed was really shocked! Someone had really the gut to call him short directly on his face?!

All the people around him, Al included, started to slowly get away from the state alchemist. They new that more time it would get him to shout back, louder it would be. They just wonted to preserve their ability to ear.

“WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT YOU CAN'T SEE EVEN BEHIND A GRAIN OF DUST?!”

“AND WHO ARE YOU TO INSULT CLOE!”

“I AM THE FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST!”

“So you are Hohehaim son. That's way you remind me of him”

Hohehaim, that bastard of his father that abandoned his family and let his mother die alone. He was nothing like that man.

“Don't you ever say again such a thing. I'm nothing like him. He is a lousy bastard who run away form his family!”

“Ohh, I don't doubt it. But you both put my village and my people in danger for your own damn curiosity. And on top of it now my grandson has been kidnapped!”

“Your grandson?”

“I'm talking about Roy.”

“You are Mustang grandfather?!”

“Yes, I am. And the `thing' that your brother is holding is actually a snow leopard. Her name is Cloe and I will really appreciate if you leave her in peace.”

“She is the one who started chewing on me!”

“I can't blame her. She has never seen before someone with automail limbs or someone as unique as your brother. Speaking of whom, she seems to like you, boy. You must have quite a good touch with animals”

Maes had followed the verbal exchange between the two without even saying a word. He was confused by the presence of the old man. What was he doing in central? He new about Roy's kidnapping. Sure the news spread out fast, thanks to a very curios journalist, who, by the way, was now a `guest' at the headquarter, but the name was never released. He would not be surprised if he got any sort of `message' form the grandson. Knowing his family and where he came from that was most likely the most probable explanation. Did he also new about Riza? He watched him carefully. He seemed relaxed but some inflections in his tone and some little movements told him that he was actually really worried. And if he was here, that could only mean that they were dealing with something more dangerous that they initially thought.

“Mr. Mustang, I can assure you that we are doing everything to bring him back. We…”

“Maes, there is not need for any justification. I'm not here to reprimand any of you. I'm here to help. So, would someone care to tell me what is going on?”

Maes told him everything he new about the kidnapping, the state of the office, the blood test, and Edward presence. Damien looked at the young alchemist and asked him what he found out.

“I have to admit that I don't have a clear idea, Mr. Mustang”

“First of all, my name is Damien. Mr. Mustang let me fell old. Second just tell me what you think. Even though it does not make sense to you, it could make to me.”

Mr. Mustang made him feel old? Ed was starting to understand where the narcissism and the cocky attitude of the Colonel were coming from. Anyway they had work to do, and a bastard to take back home.

“It's just very strange. There are indications of some sort of alchemical reaction, but I can't track back the type. It is as if they are completely ignoring all the rules of alchemy. We have also to consider that no one saw anything. It is as if they materialized from nowhere. There are some types of alchemy that would allow forming sort of holes that connect one place to an other. But so far, even the most skilled person could only connect places that where few meter apart and he had to see where the other end would be, otherwise he would not be able to complete it. It's just that everything feel un-natural.”

Un-natural. The boy was truly as skilled as his father. He looked around and observed the people currently present in the room. He could recognize any one of them. The short guy with glasses was Kain Fuery, skilled with any electronic device. The fat guy was Breda Heimans, skilled with tactics. Close to him Vato Falman, with the memory of an elephant. Jean Havoc, expert in many different kinds of weapon and ambush operations. Maes Hughes. Roy's best friend and a hell of a detective, not mentioning a hell of a photographer. Finally the two boys. The Fullmetal alchemist and his brother. They were both considered top alchemists, even though their young age. He knows that he could trust them, because Roy did it, with his own life. He took a long breath. It was time to come out. If Ed was right he definitely new with whom they were dealing. And that also meant that they had not time to loose.

“Edward, you wanted to know something about elemental alchemy, right?”

He nodded, but said nothing.

“You all are just about to witness some of it.”