Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Seals of Time ❯ Beginnings ( Chapter 1 )

Seal 1: Beginnings

 

This is the beginning of our never-ending dream.

 

“Ed?” A voice broke through the dark silence. “Edward?”

The vampire awoke slowly. His amber eyes fluttered open; he looked up from the surface of the table to see a very familiar vampire standing before him. “Roy…? Damn. What time is it?”

Roy stared at the blond. Dressed in navy blue Central military uniforms, the two looked out of place in the warm climate of the South. “It's around 5 in the afternoon.”

Ed grumbled a bit as he pushed the chair back and stood up. Although he still wasn't as tall as either Roy or Hughes, he'd grown a little. “What the hell do you want, Roy?” He said, gathering the books scattered over the large table.

Roy smirked. “Hughes has discovered that a certain State Alchemist has made an important advancement in the research around the Ancient orbs uncovered a year ago. The higher-ups would like us to go to the Eastern Continent. We're to speak with this alchemist to learn what he'd found out.”

“I hope I don't have to go with you,” Ed said. He already knew the answer, but he had to hear it.

Roy sighed, glaring at the smaller vampire. “What do you think? I expected you to know better.” Roy followed Ed as he walked to the shelves to put his books back. “With the Slayers on the move, we have to move in groups. Or would you rather get killed going alone?”

Ed understood what Roy meant. The dangerous demon killers, the Slayers, were slowly wiping out the vampire population. Those mortal bastards couldn't tell the difference between vampires and the more deadly Blood Demons. But it didn't matter to the Slayers; there were 49 less bloodsuckers in the world. “Grand… Hughes is coming with us, right?” Ed said.

“No, he isn't.” Roy stood next to the blond alchemist. His dark eyes met Ed's amber eyes. The two of them knew Hughes wouldn't risk his life on a mission. He'd already outlived his wife and daughter; Hughes was a vampire after all. The man was probably smarter than both of the alchemists.

It might also be because of the fact that Hughes had been seeing another widow. She had lost her entire family to the Blood Demons; she had been changed after a team of vampires discovered her half-dead in the rubble of her house. It was simply chance that they'd found her when they did.

Ed grinned. “So, I take it Hughes has a date with Lana? I'm happy for him, but still…” Ed stopped his sentence. They had a job to do. It didn't matter if Hughes was coming or not. “Well, anyway, when do we leave?” Ed said, putting the last book in its proper place on the shelf. He didn't care when they left; he just wanted to be back in a reasonable amount of time. Al would get worried.

Roy's trademark smug grin swept the depressed look off his face. “We,” he said, “are leaving now. Our travel bags are waiting outside. Come on; we need to get going.” Roy was a bit surprised when Ed sighed.

They walked down the short series of stairs. Ed pushed the wooden doors open. Outside stood some of Roy's soldiers holding three backpacks. Two Ed knew carried a comfortable supply of blood, and the other was probably filled with necessary travel gear. Maps, guns, ammunition, and first aids kits. The essential travel pack for a group of vampires was in a single backpack.

The two took the packs from the soldiers. Roy dismissed the soldiers; they walked off after saluting the pair. Ed swung the strap over his back and onto his shoulder. He knew it wouldn't get in the way of their flying. He watched Roy stretch his crimson wings.

A feather floated by. Ed caught it with ease. The deep red color stood out against his pale skin. It was like a symbol of Roy's mastery of fire. It was even warm to the touch. How ironic.

“Come on, Ed.” Roy said in a fatherly voice. He knew it pissed Ed off to high heaven when he did that. “If we want to cross the Zoë Sea tonight, we have to get moving.” He began to fly away. Ed extended his wings and chased after the red angel.

 

 

 

 

 

“Damn you, Roy!!!” Ed yelled at the man. They were crossing the Zoë Sea, and the sun was just beginning to rise. Not that they cared. Vampires had long since bred the weakness to sunlight out of the gene pool. Only a very small percentage captured that miniscule gene. “Slow down dammit!!” His travel bag slapped his hip painfully,

Roy slowed his pace to allow them to catch a bit of free time. He knew they were in no rush to get to the East Continent. He looked over his shoulder to see Ed catching up to him fast. “Relax, Ed,” he said, “you'll wear yourself out if you fly too fast.”

Ed could feel his wings straining on his shoulders. “Just shut up…” Ed growled at Roy. Ed had to chase that bastard all the way from Lunar City. Roy had absolutely no right to talk. “I hope you…”

Roy looked back at the blond. Ed seemed to be looking at something in the water. He was flying lower to get a closer look. Roy peered into the dark waters. A form suddenly emerged from the water.

It was a fish. With wings for fins! Roy attempted to capture the exotic creature, but it seemed to slip through his fingers and fell back into the ocean. Roy was slightly pissed that the fish escaped. Another fish leaped in front of Roy. He flapped his wings to try to catch this one, but it too glided through the vampire's grasp. “What the hell kind of fish is this?!” Roy yelled in frustration.

“I think we're the first to ever see this species of fish.” Ed said behind Roy. The older vampire glanced back and saw Ed flying while holding a small book in his hand and one of the fish in his other. “Damn fish. They're like ghosts…”

“Ghost fish?” Roy felt like laughing at the young alchemist. What kind of name was “ghost fish”? “You've got to be kidding…. Wait, how did you catch that thing?”

“This?” Ed said, holding the fish higher in the air. “I used alchemy to hold it in place. Why'd you ask?” Noticing Roy's empty hands, Ed grinned evilly. “Don't tell me. You couldn't catch one?” He began to laugh and released the fish. It fell into the water.

Roy grabbed a glove out of his pocket and put it on. The fabric felt at home on his hand. He smirked at Ed. Then without any other warning, he snapped his fingers. A small spark erupted into brilliant flames that raced towards Ed. The blond flew away as Roy laughed.

“Damn you to hell!!!” Ed yelled angrily at the vampire. He gracefully evaded the blaze. His silver wings glistened in the dawn's light. They appeared to have a red-orange luster to them. It was rather hypnotizing. Ed flew at Roy, alchemic energy flying between his hands.

Roy turned and fled. The pair flew across the water, waves splashing against them. Roy would occasionally slow down to send jagged streaks of flames at the blond vampire. Ed would dodge the fire and fly even faster after Roy. This continued for about 25 minutes.

Eventually Ed's anger faded. Roy kept flying slightly faster then the worn-out alchemist, just in case the infamous rage arose again. Roy would never admit it to anyone, but Ed's wrath was far more terrifying than an army of Slayers.

“Hey, Roy.” Ed said. The crimson angel didn't respond. “ROY!!!” This time, Roy shuddered. Rising anger was clearly present in Ed's voice. “How do we know where this alchemist is?”

Roy nearly fell into the ocean. He actually didn't know. Hughes had simply told them to go to the west Grasslands area. “Uh… actually…” Roy was hesitant in telling Ed that he didn't know where they were going.

“You don't know, do you?” Ed said, catching up with his fellow vampire. They started flying to the East Continent. “Okay. I want everything you know. Now.” Roy cringed.

He took a deep breath. “We're to head into the Grasslands. I don't like going through the Fox Demon territory either, but thankfully, the area we have to search is the western part.” The vampires and Foxes were on good terms, but the patrol plants tended to eat anyone flying overhead.

“Damn.” Roy heard Ed say. He allowed the younger alchemist to pass him. The mountains of the western coast were rising above the horizon. Flying across the water, the two vampires could see land fast approaching. Even Roy was beginning to feel the strains of 14 hours of flying. “Look, land!!! About damn time, wouldn't you say, Roy?” Ed pushed even harder. Golden feathers fell into the blue darkness of the Zoë Sea.

Fifteen minutes later, they reached the coast. Sand was swept up as they flew overhead. Roy traveled behind Ed. Soon the beach faded into grassy fields and that into dense forests. This was neutral area. The Wolves and the Foxes shared this land. There were no patrol plants wandering around.

Ed suddenly plummeted into the trees. Roy looked for a break in the canopy to go down to help him. He spotted one about 50 yards ahead. He flapped his wings faster. He dove into the opening. Roy looked around trying to find Ed, but couldn't. He cursed under his breath that he'd lost Ed already. Then an idea hit him.

“What…. what if there are Slayers in the forest? It would be the perfect place to hide.” Roy became frantic. A shadow passed above Roy. He reacted instantly; a streak of red fire shot up.

“Damn it!! Roy, what the hell were you doing?!” Ed yelled at the vampire, patting out a small fire on the end of his scarf. Roy realized why Ed went into the forest. He must have been feeling the cold air coming from the mountains and put a scarf on. Roy had overreacted a little. Ed glared at him.

“I thought you'd been captured by Slayers….” Roy said quietly. Ed's look softened. He began to shake with the effort of not laughing at Roy, who just wanted to die or disappear right now. The two angels hovered there, staring at each other.

Ed slowly stopped shaking. He took a deep breath. “Well, come on, Roy. You know as well as I that the patrol plants are higher in number at night,” Ed said, his silver wings gracefully kept the blond afloat. Roy nodded, his shame fading into embarrassment. They flew out of the forest.

Eventually, the vampires came to the bases of the mountains. Cold air bit at their faces and fingertips. Snow covered the peaks, kept there even in this warm summer climate. Above all the mountains rose Nemamiah Mountain. Ancient mythology said that the Angel Nemamiah was the Angel of Just Causes. She especially protected those who defended the rights of those who couldn't help themselves. How ironic that it would be on the East Continent, where the Demons reigned.

Ed noticed a break in the steep sides of the mountains. A valley! That meant an easy way through the hills of stone. Ed bolted towards the valley; Roy was close behind him. The two angels flew through the valley. The mountains blocked out all but a very little bit of sunlight. Cracks in the cliffs allowed slivers of light to break the shadows. Shards of light reflected off of silver and crimson feathers.

They flew for what seemed an eternity but was really only about 10 minutes. Soon the dark shadows gave way to the bright sunlight. As they burst through into the light, Ed and Roy were surprised to see a house. It sat on the flattest area this close to the mountains. A garden full of ripe vegetables was to the east, only about 25 yards away from the house. The building itself was well tended to. The grass was cut and green. Large trees provided shade; a chair sat under a tall oak.

The vampires flew over the small fence and landed in the front yard. Their wings vanished, like they always do when they are not used. To anyone who hadn't seen them fly in, Ed and Roy would look like a pair of military personnel from the Western Continent. They dropped the travel bags.

Roy led the way up to the door. The door was plain wood. There weren't the regular fancy designs like the ones on the doors of most State Alchemists. Roy knocked loudly on the brown oak.

No one came to the door. It remained shut, mocking the alchemists outside. Roy knocked again. Silence responded. The two stood there. Ed was beginning to wonder if this was just a rumor, or if it was one of Hughes' ideas to get them out of the command centers. Roy slipped on a long-fingered glove, preparing to burn the offending door down.

Just as the dark-haired pyrotechnic was about to snap his fingers, a click signaled the lock opening. Shortly after that, a muffled explosion announced itself. Ed pushed the door open and rushed to the nearest set of stairs. He knew the explosion was downstairs in the basement. He took off down the stairs two at a time. Ed could hear Roy running after him. Ed jumped down the last three stairs. Coughing on the smoke, Ed peered into the haze.

As the smoke began to clear, Ed and Roy stood, ready for anything. If a chimera jumped at them, Roy would simply set the creature ablaze. They readied themselves.

“Ow, ow, ow.” A young voice broke the silence. “Damned thing blew up on me….” The silhouette of a braided teenager stood up. It brushed itself off. “I wonder who was at the door.” The smoke thinned out even further. The teen's features were more clearly seen.

The teen was actually a boy with chestnut brown hair braided down his back. It was even longer than Ed's! His clothes, a blue T-shirt and a pair of black shorts, were covered in dirt and soot. His skin was pale, almost as pale as the two undead standing there. His bright blue-violet eyes stood out against the pale peach skin and brown bangs covering his dirty face. His body was like that of an athlete, lean and well toned.

The boy noticed Roy, the taller vampire. They stood there in silence. “Well, this is an unexpected surprise…. Oh well, nothing can be done about that. Name's Duo. Duo Maxwell,” He said cheerfully. “I was beginning to wonder if anyone would come at all… The vampires made it here first after all.” Ed and Roy were taken back by the boy's confidence that they were vampires.

“So you knew we were vampires all this time? And you still let us in?” Roy said, confused. Most people ran away or called the Slayers over when vampires were near.

“Come on, Roy Mustang.” Duo laughed. The pyrotechnic took a step back. Ed and Roy stared at each other. This boy, who they'd just met, called Roy by name. “I live on the East Continent. Surrounded by bloodthirsty Demons. You get to the point where you just don't care about who's at your door.” Duo began to go around the room, picking up the pieces of whatever exploded. “Actually, I was joking about the `bloodthirsty Demons'. They're all rather helpful in my research. They gather plant samples for me.”

“Okay, Duo. What kind of research do you do here? I would've thought someone working on the Ancient orbs would be on the Western Continent in a lab,” Ed said. The blond alchemist wasn't about to believe this boy.

“Oh? I do biological alchemy surrounding plants. Studying how alchemic energy is transferred from the soil into the plant itself and how the plant uses that energy. The Ancient orbs are connected to this as they radiate alchemic energy; allowing chemical reactions to take place faster and longer. The plants placed near the orbs survived longer than those that were not. It's all rather fascinating.”

Duo walked over to a door. He pushed it open to reveal a large room that glowed. In the center of the room, two large orbs were balanced on a stand. Pots of plants lined the walls; the plants had grown far larger than the pots should have permitted. Ed watched interested; Roy felt an overwhelming desire to torch the room. Duo was talking about something about the orbs and the plants, but neither vampire was listening. They didn't even feel him trying to push them out the door. They responded only to the door closing. They were startled to find themselves looking at the braided alchemist.

“If you'd told me that you two were alchemists, I would have given you something to dull the effects of the orbs,” Duo said, slightly annoyed. The pair stared at him, embarrassed.

Roy suddenly remembered why they were here. “We were sent here to learn what the State Alchemist known only as the Shadow Alchemist has uncovered on the orbs.” He said to the teen in his most official sounding voice.

The violet eyes watched him in surprise. Duo grinned and said, “I've already told you just about everything I know.”

He stood there, allowing the information to sink in. There was a brief moment of silence before all hell broke loose. Ed and Roy looked at each other in shock. They'd always suspected that a State Alchemist with this kind of reputation would be older, like 30 or more, but the real alchemist they were looking for looked no older than Ed.

Roy remained silent. Ed yelled, “Wait!!! You can't possibly be the Shadow Alchemist. You're… You're too young!!!” The blond fumed.

“Oh, get real, Ed. You were even younger than me, and you're the infamous Fullmetal Alchemist.” Duo yawned. The vampires stood there. Duo got the distinct impression that they didn't believe him. The braided alchemist shuffled through his pockets to retrieve a clean silver pocket watch. Ed stared at it, silent. “You see, I'm also a State Alchemist. Rank: Brigadier General. Name: Duo Maxwell, or just the Shadow Alchemist.” He grinned, suddenly looking a lot darker than the cheery teenager the vampires had met only a minutes ago.

 

 

 

To Be Continued…..

 

 

Notes:

If anyone noticed, I called Ed and Roy “angels” while they were flying. They don't have wings like bats, more like birds. Ed's are silver, and Roy's are crimson.

Duo Maxwell is obviously from Gundam Wing, only his status is changed here.

While Lana, the vampire Hughes is dating, doesn't play a big role now, she will become a major factor surrounding Roy's, Ed's, and Hughes' relationship. They are not gay!!!!

The Blood Demons mentioned in Lana's past will played a part in the characters' relationships. Note the fact that there will be NO male pairings. Just really close friendships.

I got the idea for the highest mountain in the East Continent after the Gundam Wing fanfic, Future of the Past. I give all credit of the name to the author.

Keep track of where Roy and Ed are. Where they are affects who they will meet and how they are affected. Here's a breakdown of the five Continents:

North: Vampires, Northern Blood Demons

East: Fox, Wolf, and Dragonkin Demons

South: Southern Blood Demons

West: Humans

Central: Abandoned, formerly Ancients.

The orbs also play a part in the story. That'll be explained later.

 

Thanks for reading!!! Please review!!!! I have another two stories out!!! Look under zooids, and search for the screenname, zoid-dreamer. If anyone wants to look at my art, go to:

shadowalchemist198.deviantart.com !!!!

 

 

 

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