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Unsettling Affairs	By : xkesshoux Category: Fullmetal Alchemist > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1906 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 16
- 17
- 18
Each
individual chapter will have a different rating, different pairings,
different spoilers, and a different setting and timeline. Multiple
people were involved in writing this fic, I do not claim to have
written anything other than my own characters. I do however claim to
have come up with the plot, story idea, and organizing it all. The
others who write characters in this fic are well aware that I am
posting it, and contribute willingly. This fic is an ongoing project
with an unknown number of parts, with alternate storyline as of the
fifth laboratory incident. Enjoy!

Munich,
Mourning, and Delgardie's Miracle

Rating:
PG
Pairings: None.
Disclaimer: I don't own
FMA.
Spoilers: If you don't know about Munich, it's
spoilerific! And Ed and Al's dad as well as their alchemy
teacher.
Setting: Munich, Germany/Central
City/Ishbar.
Timeline: About five months after negotiations
started in Ishbar.

Ed awoke
in an unfamiliar room, it looked rather washed out and gray despite
the warm glow of the lamp in the corner. Sitting up, he was
overwhelmed with dizziness as his vision blacked out for a moment and
his hands flew to his head. “Nngh…”

He looked
around, confused, had he fallen asleep somewhere and some matronly
innkeeper felt sorry for him and given him a room for the night?
Edward tried to get his bearings straight again in the haze of sleep
when a plump, rosy-cheeked woman entered his room with a bowl of
something that steamed and, despite its appearances, smelled rather
good.

His
sleep-muddled brain had to do a double take when she offered him the
meal in some garbled fashion, until he realized that she was speaking
German, and that he knew what German was.

Yeah,
that was right, he’d been dreaming he was home again, hadn’t
he…been hoping that when he woke up this other world in washed
out browns and grays would be the dream world and Roy would be there
to laugh at him and tease him about eating too much before bed giving
him weird dreams.

The
blonde thanked her as best he could, still not knowing that much of
the language yet, and sipped the broth until his senses were roused
enough that he could think more clearly. His travels had landed him
in a place called Munich, Germany.

Once
awake, Ed wasted no time in getting dressed and gathering his things,
slipping out of the inn with a kind smile to the innkeeper on his way
and uttering once more a semblance of thanks. He was in such a hurry
to get to the library that he didn’t even have time to blink
when, upon turning a corner, he collided with a taller, more squarely
built form. Rubbing his hindquarters from where he’d fallen on
the hard cobblestones, the irate blonde was just about to look up at
the offending object that had blocked his path and utter what curses
he knew in German, when a hand reached down to help him up and an all
too familiar voice thrummed from the taller figure’s chest.

“Edward?”
A glance upwards after swatting away the hand confirmed it, as he was
now looking into the face of his father.

Of all
people, Edward had to run into Hohenheim. Just his luck. Gathering
his things, he brushed the man off and started back towards the
library. It wasn’t as if he loathed Hohenheim as much as he
used to, he knew better than that now, but it didn’t mean he
wanted to see him.

He
grumbled to himself as he heard heavy footfalls catching up with him,
gritting his teeth when he felt a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

“I
have a place not far from here, you’re welcome to stay…”

Ed
growled. “I’ll think about it, I’m busy now. I’ve
got to get to the library so if you don’t mind would you just
leave me alone?”

He
blinked when a small scrap of paper was stuffed into his gloved hand
and the presence behind him left without another word. Carefully
unfolding the parchment, Edward sighed, shaking his head and running
his fingers through his bangs. It was an address, the crazy old coot.

Picking
up his pace again, the pony-tailed blonde stuffed the paper into his
coat pocket. “Fine then old man, I guess it beats the train
station benches or the library chairs…”

--

Hawkeye
stepped into the outer office, looking over the other officers
working diligently, albeit distractedly, at their desks. Hazelnut
eyes narrowed slightly on the newest inhabitant of the pool, a
dark-skinned, white haired woman with an eyepatch and only one arm.
Something about that woman stank, and Riza Hawkeye couldn’t so
much as catch one thing out of place. It bothered her.

She shook
her head and reminded herself what she was here to do, stepping
briskly across the room to rap twice on the solid wooden doors to
Mustang’s office.

Upon
hearing the mumbled reply, she let herself in, one hand holding the
letter while the other instantly flew upwards into a salute to her
commanding officer. “Sir, reports on the situation in Ishbar
have arrived.” When he nodded vaguely, she began to outline the
reports.

Roy zoned
out about halfway through, and was shocked to find himself in the
middle of a busy street, feeling as though his feet were leading
themselves. What in the hell was going on here, it felt too real…

"Sir?
Colonel Mustang, sir?" The click of a gun's safety snapped Roy
back to reality, he could've sworn he'd just been in the middle of a
cobbled street with oddly dressed people walking around him speaking
some funny language he didn't know. And he'd felt...shorter for some
reason... "Oh...uh...you were saying, Lieutenant?" Riza
simply looked at him and shook her head. "A letter from Ishbar
has arrived for you, sir, please try to avoid daydreaming during
office hours."

With
that, she saluted again and turned on her heels sharply, leaving
Roy’s puzzled mind to boggle over what just happened. He
glanced down at the brown, wrinkled envelope on his desk that had the
name ‘Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc’ scrawled in the top
left corner, the return address marked as ‘Ishbar’.

The
Colonel let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been
holding, surprised at himself for being worried that every letter he
got might be the last. It was just negotiations, no harm in that at
all, right? Who was he kidding… After Havoc’s first
letter he’d nearly burnt Hughes to a crisp when the man said he
didn’t know anything about it.

Pulling
the piece of wrinkled parchment from his desk drawer, Roy re-read the
first to see if maybe he could piece something together as to what
was going on out there.

Colonel
Mustang:

Well,
we’re on the road to Ishbar, as you may very well guess, so
please excuse the absolutely terrible handwriting. Seriously, I’m
trying to do this as neatly as possible, but the roads haven’t
been repaired since the first time we built them, so things are a
little rough.

All
the oldsters in the company say hello and hope you’re doing
well. Mars is currently trying to steal my pencil and yell at you
about the money you owe him (?), so consider yourself fussed at, I
think.

We
were re-outfitted at Central, and I have one of those new rifles.
It’s a good enough weapon – I think Lt. Hawkeye has
access to one in the range. We also got some decent sidearms and I
have a nice new knife. I’m not sure why we’re armed to
the teeth, and it’s worrying all the veterans. The recruits
seem to think of it as a game, like we’re going out hunting
rabbits.

I only
wish.

Best
regards,

Lt.
Jean Havoc (and all the veterans in the 2nd Company)

(P.S.
How’s Ed doing? And tell Farman to pay me back, dammit.)

Re-outfitted
and armed to the teeth…the higher-ups definitely knew
something, and that meant that Hughes would be able to find out what
it was. He’d put the man on it a month or so ago, and he’d
gotten a team of investigators to keep an eye on the situation.
Still, Roy wasn’t exactly having peace of mind, not by a long
shot.

He placed
the first parchment aside and tore open the second letter.

Colonel
Mustang:

It’s
just as hot, just as dry, and just as goddamn dusty as ever here in
Ishbar. The Embassy is set up, with immunity for a two hundred yard
radius around the camp, I swear I’m up against the same stupid
dune I was last time and eating the exact same grit with my K
rations.

You’d
think they’d actually feed us better.

Believe
it or not, we actually have some good news. Old Major Stanson’s
back in command here, thank god! You remember him, right? He’s
pretty unforgettable. Old, stooped, with a face like a peeved
flamingo. All the recruits are laughing at him behind his back, but
the vets are happy as hell. At least things will be done right now.

But
I’m a little worried. If Stanson’s commanding us, then
that means Command expects us to engage in heavy combat, right? Have
you heard anything about this back home, or is it kept under wraps?

Goddamn
Central bean-counters. No, I’m not very happy about any of
this. I have a really bad feeling about it all, and a lot of the
veterans are probably thinking the same thing.

Ah,
listen to me whine. It’s probably just an old soldier’s
instincts getting out of whack. Severely out of whack.

Best
regards,

Lt.
Jean Havoc

Roy
carefully folded the document again, replacing it in its envelope and
pulling a clean sheet of paper from the container on the corner of
his desk, dipping his pen into the ink well and scritching away.

Second
Lieutenant Havoc:

I’m
having Hughes look into the situation still, but so far nothing has
come up. Sorry I didn’t respond to your first letter, it’s
been busy what with integrating your temporary replacement on the
staff and the evaluations coming up.

Edward
hasn’t returned yet, he and Alphonse are taking an extended
leave at the moment, and Farman said he had no idea what you were
talking about. Hawkeye cleared it up, though, and the money’s
waiting for you when you get back, it’s better to keep out of
transit.

Major
Stanson you said? If that’s not enough to ring any seasoned
soldier’s alarm bells I don’t know what is… We
have an investigation team down there now, but they’re not
finding anything you haven’t told me.

Be
careful, Lieutenant, and be sure to report anything suspicious, if
it’s real trouble I doubt a team of fresh recruits and even a
few vets would be enough.

Oh,
hell. I’m probably worrying myself too much, you can take care
of yourself. Give my regards to the men as well, hope to see you back
home soon.

Respectfully,

Col.
Roy Mustang

--

Location:
Ishbar Outstation 1, referred to by the natives as Geriko. Location
of a small rebellion recently, it is currently under constant
scrutiny by the military. Soldiers and alchemists are usually scorned
by its inhabitants.

A
sandy-haired blonde in a light blue hooded coat over a black jacket
and pants set stumbled slightly, catching himself before he fell. He
hadn't eaten in a day or so, and his canteen had run dry hours ago.
The desert was starting to get to him when he finally spotted an
outpost.

He licked
his lips, trying to get rid of the dryness in his mouth, though it
was rather ineffectual. Vision a bit blurry from hunger and fatigue,
he finally picked out the inn from the various buildings and headed
towards it.

"No,
you are NOT drinking any more alcohol!" one Miss Lisa Delgardie
roared. "It's hardly even three ‘o’clock, and you're
drinking like a damned fish! What will your wife say?!"

The man
in question quailed under her bright yellow gaze. "I'm...
sorry?"

She
sighed, shaking her head wryly. "Go home and sleep it off.
Ishbara knows that the people here need it..."

As if the
mention of their god's name was a cue, every single man got up and
left, bowing respectfully to the Harpy from Heaven.

Rubbing
his eyes, the young boy blinked to clear his vision, watching as
several dark-skinned men left the building he was headed towards, all
ambling off in whatever directions.

He walked
past them as they left, nearing the door, though not before stumbling
again and nearly losing his footing completely this time.

Lisa
looked over curiously at the thud. She got up smoothly when she saw
the boy. "Oh, poor thing. Are you hurt? I hope the buzzards
didn't take a crack at you." She helped him up, holding a cool
hand to his forehead. "H'mm... you have a slight fever, but
nothing I can't fix..."

He
swallowed the dry lump in his throat and steadied himself. "Thank
you very much for your concern...um...I'll be fine, really..."

"Hmph.
Men. Always trying to pretend that they can take care of themselves."
She gently guided the sick boy into her kitchen and sat him down at
the table. "How long has it been since you've had some water to
drink?"

"Um...I'm
not sure, several hours...are you sure it's no trouble? I can pay..."
The young boy fumbled for his wallet.

She put
her hand on his wrist, stopping him. "I don't need payment,"
she said, smiling. "I'm a doctor. I help anyone and everyone, no
matter their condition or means. I don't take payment for healing."

The boy
noticed the flamel tattoo on the back of the woman's hand, gray-brown
eyes widening. "Anou...I couldn't help but notice that you have
a tattoo just like my old alchemy teacher's... My name is Alphonse
Elric," he fished out the silver watch, holding it up, "Miracle
Alchemist."

"I'm
surprised Izumi let you take the exams," Lisa said, yellow
fox-eyes crinkling a bit. "When she found out that my uncle was
a National Alchemist, she nearly killed me before she extracted my
promise not to."

She
turned away, filling a tiny glass with water. "Of course, it's
not like I can even pass the physical exams unless I had an angel in
the military." She set the glass down in front of Alphonse. "Sip
it slowly. If you drink it too fast, you'll make yourself ill."

"You
knew my sensei?" Alphonse took the water and nodded, noting the
woman's eyes and ears, peculiar... "...she doesn't know
yet...I'm not going to tell her. I needed the money and access to the
libraries so I could..." he trailed off. "You're a chimera,
aren't you?" the boy took a sip of the water, slowly as per
instructions.

"Knew
her? I trained with her. I was a few years her superior, but we ended
up apprenticing to Dante at roughly the same time." She grinned.
"And you'd better tell her at some point that you're a State
Alchemist. If she finds out on her own, you’ll be worse than
dead."

She raked
her hair back, her slightly pointed ears flashing briefly.

Al set
down the water on the table. "If I tell her, I won't be able to
save my brother." He took her silence as an affirmative to the
chimera question, and assumed she'd rather not talk about it.
Flipping open his pocket watch, he traced his fingers over the carved
phrase.

DON'T
FORGET. 10.OCT.3

It used
to be Ed's watch...he snapped the front closed again and slid the
timepiece back in his pocket.

Lisa's
hand seized his. "Are you trying to do what I think you are?"
she snapped, eyes sparking. "Don't. It's not worth it."

"I
was once a suit of armor, and my brother risked his life to return me
to this body." Al took his hand back. "He was later killed
by an ex-State Alchemist, or so they believe."

Determined
and loyal eyes looked up at the woman before him. "Two people
lost their lover, and I lost my brother. I have to do this for him, I
don't care if it costs me my life, I will return him to his former
body. He saved my soul from the gate, so I know it can be done."

"It's
not like it used to be," she said, cupping his cheek in her
hand. "Him saving you like that completely screwed up the energy
flows from beyond the Gate.

"I'm
sorry for your loss, and I'm sorry for those two people. But alchemy
isn't functioning like it used to. Ties have been made and ties have
been broken. The web has been fundamentally changed."

"I'm
not going to change my mind...I'm going to bring him back." If
anything, Alphonse was stubborn. How else could he deal with his
brother?

Lisa's
eyes saddened. "Don't do it to him. Please. You have no idea of
what you're going to do to both him and you." She brushed his
hair back, her hand as gentle as his mother's. "If you love your
brother, if you care for his two lovers, if you value the bond
between him and you, you won't do this. It just won't work. He'll be
a monster, and you'll be worse than dead. If I lost my compassion
just transmuting chimerae... you'd lose something even more
fundamental.

"Alchemy
isn't what it used to be. It's always been a dangerous science. Now,
it's downright suicidal in some cases. Can't you reconsider?"

She would
help him if he asked. But it would break what little heart she had
left to see the innocent boy lose everything.

"I
made a promise. I'll take as long as necessary to be absolutely sure
everything goes right. If he could create my body and I can be
standing here today, I can do the same for him."

It was
obvious that Alphonse wasn't going to back down. "I've got
nothing without him, you have to understand, he was my only family
left...and I loved him... I know it's wrong, but it's what he wants
too... I can hear him in my heart and in my dreams..."

She
sighed, almost giving in. "You really have no glimmer of an idea
of what you're planning on doing, do you?" she asked. "You
really have no clue about what's going on?"

At Al's
somewhat shamefaced silence, she got up. "Follow me, Alphonse.
If I'm going to help you, I'm going to have to teach you first."

The
blonde boy stood after a moment of silent consideration. "Pardon
me...but...I don't believe I got your name, ma'am..."

She waved
a hand over her shoulder. "Just call me Lisa, kiddo. Scrap the
formalities, too. We have too much to do that politeness would just
get in the way. Come along." She opened a door in the far wall.
"Watch your step, though, the stairs are steep."

"Lisa?"
Alphonse followed her carefully. "As in Lisa Delgardie? The one
Sensei made me organize documents for while Nii-san was on leave?"

"M'm?
Oh, probably. You did a remarkably bad job at the organization,
though. The Faustus documents should not have been cross-referenced
to Milton's Paradise Lost. Milton wasn't an alchemist: he was
a theolurgical writer with closer ties to Dante Alighieri than Doctor
Faustus." A muffled yelp hardly startled her. "Watch your
step. The array's carved deep and there's no light until we get into
the workshop."

Al
blushed slightly. "Sorry about that...there were still
aftereffects of the transmutation then...they went away after my
brother..." he trailed off.

"
'After-effects' my tail. You were probably just pleasantly distracted
by your brother." She opened another at the end of the cavern
hall. "Welcome to my study."

Inside
was a small, spare desk, a filing cabinet, and a rather large floor
harp. A bookshelf buckled perilously under the weight of several
hefty volumes and the desk was covered in a swath of research. "I
hope you can find a place to sit in this pit. I haven't cleaned for
years."

The blush
grew a couple of shades. "Erm...I'm used to crowded study
environments..."

It was
true though! He'd forgotten a lot of things and then those four years
all just came flooding back when Ed disappeared... Alright... So
Izumi had given him a specific listing order...

Okay
fine, so he was distracted...

Please
review, constructive criticism and questions appreciated, flames will
be deflected back at you by Roy. n.n;
- 16
- 17
- 18
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Unsettling Affairs