Chapter One: Ignorant

"I don't think you're taking this seriously, Fullmetal." Colonel Roy Mustang pressed his hands down against his desk, not breaking eye contact with the moody teen in front of him. "This man is taking and torturing State Alchemists. It's no laughing matter."

Ed made an exaggerated motion of rolling his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, thanks. I get it. But I'll be fine."

"We call him The Slicer. You want to know why?" Mustang didn't wait for Ed to answer. "He takes off parts of their bodies, Ed. Their limbs." His somber expression deepened. "Picking up your girlfriend from the train station right now isn't the wisest idea. I could send Lieutenant Hawkeye inste-"

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND AND SHE NEVER HAS BEEN! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING, YOU GIRLFRIENDLESS BASTARD!"

"Brother, calm down," Al chided from beside him. "Just listen to what Colonel Mustang has to say. This guy does sound pretty dangerous and I don't think you should go alone."

"I don't care what he thinks!" Ed said vehemently, giving Mustang a black look as he leaned back into his chair sulkily. "I can take care of myself just fine."

"You're still a kid."

"I'M NOT A KID, AND I DON'T HAVE TO DO WHAT YOU SAY, YOU SPINELESS-"

"Alright." Mustang pulled up his hands in surrender. "I get it, Fullmetal. But you should still take Al, at least."

A long minute passed where nothing was said. Finally, Ed leaned forward and nodded grudgingly.

"Fine."

"Good. Now, you're free to go. Just… stay sharp out there, Ed." Mustang pursed his lips. "Can't risk losing any more men than we already have."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Ed replied, but it was clear he was only half listening by now. He pushed himself up from his seat, suddenly filled with a new energy. "C'mon, Al. Let's go meet Winry before her train arrives."

"I hope we're not late," Al added, standing up after Ed. "I know I don't have a body anymore, but I can still almost imagine the pain when she hits me with her wrench."

"You're telling me," Ed groaned, rubbing the back of his head as if it was still throbbing as he opened the door. "I wouldn't be surprised if she gave me a concussion the last time we met up with her."

"Agreed, brother. Agreed."

"Al, you can go up ahead, I'll be right there. I just want to finish getting these apples for Winry before we meet her, but I don't want to slow you down. Maybe she'll make me one of her pies later."

Al turned his head to look over his shoulder, now concerned as he cocked his head. "Are you sure that's a good decision, Ed? You know what Colonel Mustang told you. You shouldn't go off alone…"

"Al, I'll be just fine, just go already," Ed retorted, with an additional roll of his eyes. "You worry too much."

Al shuffled on his feet uncomfortably before he finally shrugged his shoulders. "Alright. But just be quick, okay? Winry will kill us both if you're late."

"Don't remind me. But don't worry, I'll be there."

"And you're sure you'll be fine?"

"Al…"

"There is a criminal kidnapping and torturing State Alchemists right now, you know!"

"Well, I only have one more arm to lose, and I really don't think he'd want it." Ed stared at Al. "Come on, go already! At least Winry will have one of us on time."

Reminding himself of Winry's angry wrench-throwing, Al's body shuddered. In seconds, he had turned around and ran off, his metal body clanking noisily and earning himself a few stares. Seconds later, Ed was alone.

It didn't really bother him that he hadn't brought any weapons, even though he could be attacked at any moment. It was midday, he was surrounded by people, and on top of that, he was Edward Elric, the famed Fullmetal Alchemist. According to the world, he could take on anything.

But still, the fact lingered in his mind that several other powerful State Alchemists had been attacked and tortured before him. Some had died. And those Alchemists were older and much more experienced than he was.

"Oh, shut up," Ed muttered to himself. It wasn't like he could do anything about it anyways.

Paying for the rest of the apples he'd gathered, he was on his way.

As he walked, an almost dark presence settled over him. It reminded him of a bad omen, or perhaps a premonition of sorts. Suddenly, he wished Al had stayed behind with him, but he quickly shook the thought away.

I can defend myself just fine, he said to himself. I don't need a ten-foot piece of armor to protect me.

He had hardly taken another step before someone grabbed and pulled him into a nearby alleyway. Widely caught off guard, Ed could only let himself be dragged painfully forward before being slammed against the brick wall. Wincing as his head collided with the stone, Ed was briefly blinded from seeing his attacker.

"So you're the famous Fullmetal Alchemist, huh?" a man's voice suddenly asked him.

Ed gritted his teeth together, peering up and trying to see the man's face from under his mask. "Who wants to know? Are you that guy who's been taking other State Alchemists?"

The other man laughed- a cool, malicious sound. "You'll find out soon enough."

"And you'll find out right now that I'm not going anywhere with the likes of a bastard like you!"

Clapping his hands together and taking a moment to concentrate, Ed prepared to let loose his

alchemy to assist him in getting away. But barely another moment passed before something was smashed down over his head and the world began to spin around him. Through the blurry red haze, Ed caught a glimpse of a yellow smile and a large metal rod above him.

"Can't have you using that handy alchemy of yours, now can we?"

"No," Ed whispered, but suddenly his mouth was filled with a sticky syrup and it became hard to speak. "I-I... can't."

"Sweet dreams, Alchemist!"

The world faded into a bleak black color and Ed felt his legs buckling underneath him. After that, the only thing he sensed was quiet, fear, and pain.

"Sir! There's been a possible sighting of Slicer south of here! There was a cloaked figure reported having suspicious activity near a fruit market. Should I alert the other alchemists, sir?"

Alarmed, Mustang looked up from his paperwork, eyes sharpening as the wheels in his mind began to turn. "Yes, immediately. But before that, I want you to send Major Armstrong to check on the Elrics. With luck, they should still be at the train station."

The soldier saluted. "Yes, sir! Right away, sir!"

As the man rushed off to carry out his orders, Mustang drummed his fingers against his desk, every one of his senses now spiked in alarm.

"Dang it, Fullmetal," he cursed and turned his head to glance out his open window. "You better have not gotten yourself in trouble again."

"What do you mean, 'he's coming'? Why isn't Ed here yet? What's going on?" Winry demanded, putting a fidgeting hand on her hip as she waited beside Al. "He promised he'd be here."

"He'll be here soon, Winry," Al assured her, though he didn't know whether he was saying it to convince himself or her. "He was just doing an… errand."

Winry shook her head. "And he couldn't have done it before my train arrived?"

Al shrugged. "It was a, uh, spur of the moment kind of thing."

For the few minutes after that, there was only silence between the two, undisturbed in their swirling thoughts.

By now, Al was feeling more than nervous for his brother. He was flat-out terrified that Ed had been taken. The only reason he would be late to go see Winry was if he'd been faced with a more important task, or had been attacked and dragged off to God-knew-where, helpless and never to be found again.

All because Al hadn't taken the time to stay behind with his own brother.

"Winry, something's wrong. We have to go," Al suddenly said, tone urgent, and tugged at the girl's arm as he began to guide them through the bustling train station.

"Wait, what? What's going on? Al…!"

"I'll tell you on the way!"

Al didn't take the time to slow down as he pushed them through the crowds of people, unfazed by their gawking stares at such a large suit of armor parading around.

He was only focused on one thing. The most important thing: finding his brother.

He didn't care if Ed turned out to be fine and called Al out for being irrational. He didn't care if he was jumping to conclusions too quickly.

The only thing he cared about was his brother who, right now, he feared, was too late to save.

Hello! Yeah, first story in the Fullmetal Alchemist fandom, but hey, there's a first time for everything right? Anyways, I hope it was as good as it should be, and that you enjoyed!

Please leave a review if you can! :) Happy reading!

~thepurplewriter333

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