Orphaned

A knock on the door alerted Ed, who was on the couch reading his newest book on alchemy. He'd come a long way in a short amount of time, and had moved on from transmuting headless figurines to working on bigger and better things. Just last week he had transmuted the fountain into a fire hydrant (yes, I'm stealing the game's idea). Granted, Roy wasn't too pleased with the outcome, but was impressed with the transmutation itself. It also came in handy when things around the house broke, and Ed had earned himself the less-than-desirable nickname of 'the little handyman'.

Opening the door, his eyes widened slightly at the woman on the other side, "Winry?" he asked, not believing that it was really her.

Still, that same smile he had known all those years ago appeared back on her face as soon as she saw the younger boy, "Hi, Ed, it's been a while. How have you been?"

Ed snapped out of his daze and moved to let her in, "Good, I guess. Who did you come here to see? I mean, Roy's out at the moment." he said, leading her into the living room.

"That's fine, I just came here to see you and..." Ed turned around when his former caretaker didn't finish her sentence to see Al clinging to her, "this little monster." she finished, laughing and patting the youngest blonde's head, "How have you been Al?"

"Great!" the younger brother replied, unlatching himself from Winry, "It's been so long since we've seen you!"

She hesitated, unsure of what to say to that, "Well, I've been pretty busy at the orphanage." It was a lame excuse, but she knew Al would buy it. Though, she was fairly certain Ed wouldn't.

"For 6 years?" said boy wondered, as if on cue, arching an eyebrow, "Must have had a lot going on." He didn't know what it was about seeing Winry, but she brought horrible memories back to him of when he stayed at that place. Those dark days were ones Ed would have preferred to not remember, but that was practically impossible when the one thing that could remind him of those times was standing right in front of him.

"Brother..." Al said, frowning. He would have expected Ed to be a little nicer to Winry now that he wasn't living at the orphanage anymore, but apparently he was wrong, 'Some people just never change.' he thought.

"I see you haven't changed a bit." Winry commented, smiling once more, then looked down to Al, "He's even just as short as I remember, hasn't he grown at all?"

Al shook his head, snickering, "It's because he won't drink any milk."

Ed glared at the two, "I'm taller than you are." he informed all, "And I don't drink regurgitated vomit." With that, he reclaimed his seat on the couch and picked his book back up.

'Well, it's nice to know that he's punctual.' the olive-eyed man thought, smirking a little. He was only a minute or so late, but Roy was there, tapping his foot in what he could only guess was annoyance, looking like he'd been waiting for a while. The man walked up behind him, finally emerging from the shadows, "Hello, there."

Roy spun around and looked the man up and down. He saw that he was hardly a man, and didn't look a day over 19. Short light-brown hair came down to nearly cover his eyes, which in themselves was something to behold. At first glance they seemed like normal, olive-green eyes, but Roy knew better. He had seen this man's eyes that night, and they were anything but normal. He then realized he had yet to say anything, "Hi." he greeted extending his hand, "It's nice to finally meet you."

The other man took his hand, "I must say, I've been watching you for some time now, and I'm quite impressed with your work."

This comment put Roy on edge a little, but not enough so that he failed to notice the accent this man had. He had heard it before, somewhere in America, "Watching me?" he repeated.

"Well, it's only natural for an employer to keep an eye on his employees, isn't that right?"

Roy's brown/black eyes widened, "Employer...you mean you're..." he trailed off. Could it possibly be? Could the man that saved him that night, the same one standing right in front of him now, be the boss? The one that not a single employee of the Underground had ever laid an eye on? The mysterious man that somehow got everything done, virtually undetected, and the only way anyone knew he was there was by pure belief?

"Yes, I am." he answered the unspoken questions, "My name is Kanone."

"Kanone." Roy repeated, then finally snapped out of his daze. A million questions ran through his head, but he never in a million years thought he would do what he did next to the man who had saved his life. It was probably one of the stupidest moves he could have made, considering how powerful Kanone was, but it didn't stop his fist from flying straight at his face.

Fortunately, Kanone wasn't one to be hit, and he caught the fist in the other hand that wasn't still shaking Roy's. He smiled at the shocked alchemist, "You certainly have a funny way of thanking someone." he commented, releasing both of his hands.

The older one slipped his hands into his pockets to refrain from doing something like that again, but didn't wipe the glare off his face, "Bastard." he growled, "Who the hell do you think you are?"

The smile finally faded and was replaced with a slight frown, "I believe I've missed something."

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." Roy told him, pointing an accusing finger.

Kanone glanced to the finger, then back to Roy, "And I'm certain I don't. If you insist on being rude, I won't help you."

The hand lowered back down to Roy's side, "Why are you denying it? Why won't you just admit that you were the one that sent for Ed to be captured!" He couldn't so easily forgive Kanone for doing something like that, regardless of what he had done to redeem himself.

"Ed?" Kanone asked, as if that were the first time he'd ever heard the name, "I didn't send for him at all, that was Stephen."

"Stephen?" Roy repeated, it was the first time he'd ever heard that name, "Who is that?"

"My second-in-command, so to speak, Stephen Wright."

Roy was speechless at hearing this. He had known his boss, Mr. Wright, was high up on the chain, but to be Kanone's second-in-command? Then, the reality of Kanone's words sunk in, "He did it." Roy realized, "Why?"

Kanone shrugged, "Policy, I suppose. Trying to make himself an angel in my eyes." A laugh accompanied this suggestion, "Whatever it was, you got the kid back, so stop your bellyaching."

'Bellyaching?' Roy thought, raising an eyebrow at the term. Kanone was definitely an odd one, "Why did you call me out here?" he wondered, getting back on track.

"To talk with you, and offer you a job of sorts."

"Job? You mean you're rehiring me?" That was good news, at least he wouldn't have to give his house up.

"Not at all." Kanone said, too cheerfully for telling someone that they weren't getting their job back, "I suppose 'job' was the wrong word. Think of it more as a proposition."

"What kind of proposition?"

"The Underground." Kanone whispered, frowning, "I started it in order to make our society a better place."

This interested Roy, "Wait, you started the Underground?" A nod answered this question, "How old are you?"

"I'm quite old, actually." Kanone replied, smiling, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

"I'd rather not. I'm not here to challenge you, Mustang, only to recruit you."

"For what?" Roy honestly wanted to know what a man like Kanone could need him for.

"The Underground has become...tainted with evil intent of others."

"Like Wright?" Mustang asked, starting to understand.

"Exactly. The company has been out of my control for some time now, and though I still remain in power, it's only for looks. In actuality, I have no say in many things that happen there. Such as your boy being taken. I knew about it, of course, but was powerless to stop it."

"If Wright is such a problem, why not fire him?" That seemed like the most practical idea to Roy, "Or even kill him if you think he's going to prove to be trouble."

"He's protected." was the only explanation given, "By a group of people that even I wouldn't go up against alone."

"So that's why you're recruiting me?" Roy asked, "To help you fight these people?"

Kanone nodded, "Exactly."

"Who are they exactly? Other alchemists, I'm assuming."

"I'll spare you the details for now, but if you decide to join me, I'll fill you in later."

Roy thought over it, and eventually agreed. He wanted revenge on Wright for kidnapping Al and going after Ed. Besides, when he looked at the slightly saddened face of Kanone, he couldn't help but pity him. The man really was a genius, starting an organization such as the Underground, but it was taken from him. He only wanted to regain what had been taken from him, and since when was that a bad thing?