Camelot's Alchemist

[Cloud Strife]

Edward held himself high, well… as high as he could considering his height. It felt strange however, without Alphonse walking beside him. They had always travelled together on their journeys, the ‘Elric Brothers’ was what they were known as back in Amestris. Now it was just ‘Elric Brother’, Edward felt a little lost without Al, without his brother to back him up when he needed him. As Edward walked - thought about what he may be leaving behind back in Amestris – he also looked at the sights, the sky was a beautiful blue and the grass seemed so vibrant.
‘This must be ‘the other side’ I guess.’ Edward laughed to himself as he joked about the phrase. As Edward laughed, he noticed a distinct smell in the air, Edward could smell smoke. As he looked around for the source, Edward noticed a small village that was being ransacked by bandits, the fire burned hot and high, rising a few metres above the village as it burned.
‘Well I guess it’s time to help people!’ Edward exclaimed with a happy and slightly excited grin as he began running towards the fiery amalgamation of wood and charcoals.

As Edward made it to the village, he noticed that the fire was stemming from a large central building, probably some sort of church or town hall. Ed gritted his teeth in anger, the fact that someone would do this to a town… it was horrible. The flames blew hot air around, causing Ed’s braid to sway violently as the air passed by him like a wave. The cries of children could be heard coming from the locked houses, the sounds of footsteps behind made him throw his right arm in the air and turn around, all in one quick motion. Edward had blocked a knife with his metal hand, causing it to bend and snap as it cut through his jacket.
‘You ruined my jacket.’ Edward muttered as he removed it, dropping it on the ground and revealing his metal arm. The man looked stunned for a second and then laughed, a scar on his right cheek underlined his eye.
‘What’s so funny?’ Edward gritted angrily through his teeth as the bandit looked at him, a tear from the laughter falling from his face.
‘You… you’re so short!’ the man exclaimed, causing him to laugh anymore. Edward, however, didn’t find this funny at all. In fact, this made him angrier, and set a flame burning is his hear that told him to kill that man, but he had a tight hold on it. Instead he’ll just hurt him badly.
‘I’m not some insignificant little flea that can’t do anything!’ Edward screamed as he jumped at the man.
‘Whoa, that’s not-’ the man began before being interrupted by a metal fist to the mouth. As the man hit the ground, Edward picked him up and threw him across the village, throwing him through a burning wall and into a stone brick wall that sat behind it.
‘Call me small again and I’ll kill you…’ Edward spoke harshly as two more bandits walked out of a building, carrying what appeared to be boxes of jewellery and valuables.
‘Hey! He took out Barry!’ One of them yelled as they both dropped their boxes, pulling large machetes from their badly made belts. Edward looked at them with a look of determination, not that he was determined to stop them or anything – but – he really needed to fight someone. If Truth wasn’t going to be the one to fight him, then these guys would have to do. Edward rushed them, clapping his hands and waving his left hand over his right arm, transmuting the top plate into a blade. As Edward reached the two bandits, he jabbed one in the stomach with his arm blade, causing the man to fall to the ground. A slice of from a Machete came down in front of his face, just barely missing his nose.
‘Phew! That was a close one…’ Edward thought to himself as the worried look on his face replaced itself with a slightly angry look. Edward clapped his hands again and placed them on the ground. The bandit looked at him weirdly as a stone spikes erupted from the ground below him, slamming into him and pushing him backwards with it as it travelled forwards like a land slide.
‘Well, that wasn’t so hard.’ Edward smiled as he transmuted his arm back to normal.
‘Not so fast.’ A deep, husky voice called out, causing Ed to turn and look towards the burning building. From the flames, a large, hulky man appeared, wielding a large war axe. His skin was an orange colour and he had small tusks coming from his mouth.
‘I knew it was too easy…’ Ed mumble to himself as he stared at the Orc with an unamused look on his face.

[Cloud Strife]

Edward stared the Orc down, he was big and ugly, exactly like the soldiers at Briggs. This would be an interesting fight.
‘You took out my men. Now I’m going to take you out.’ The orc said rather calmly as he slammed his axe to the ground, causing it to crack and crumble as it did so. Ed looked at the axe with sheer fear before turning his attention back to the Orc. His look of fear switched to that of a grin with an underlying annoyance that showed his opponent that he wasn’t afraid of his enemy. This made the Orc angry as most he had come across had been fearful of him, and those who weren’t he had killed and made examples of.
‘Still not as threatening as the soldiers at Briggs.’ Edward sighed as he raised his shoulders, gave a shrug, turned his head and looked at the ground in disappointment, hoping to infuriate his enemy. An attempt with which he’d succeeded with, taking a quick glance, Edward noted the Orc’s facial expressions of one who was becoming angrier with each passing second. This was good for Edward, if his enemy was quick tempered, then he’ll make mistakes during the fight, attacking sporadically rather than logically. Ed turned back to the Orc and – with his bored and disappointed facial expression – looked to the sky.
‘Well… I guess we can fight. If you want to.’ Edward sighed, causing a fury to burst from the Orc as he did so.

‘I’m going to chop you up!’ The Orc yelled as he Charged Edward. Edward’s look of boredom switch to that of fierceness as he quickly transmuted the Plate on his right automail arm into an Arm Blade. The hulking orc moved unnaturally fast for someone so large, he reminded Edward of the Homunculus, Sloth... but add the war axe.
‘He’s fast for a creature of his size.’ Edward thought to himself as he jumped into the air, landing on and pushing off the top of the Orc’s head. As Ed landed, he was greeted by the Orc’s fist, his enemy had extended his arm and twisted backwards in an attempt to catch Edward off guard. Edward was, however, able to react in time, effectively catching the Orc’s arm with a block from his right, automail arm. Edward gritted his teeth as he threw the Orc’s arm back and spun around to face his opponent. As the Orc charged him, in an attempt to close any distance between the two. Edward cartwheeled to the left, striking the arm with the war axe in it and slicing deep into the Orc’s fore arm. Ed watched as the blood spilled from the open wound and onto the dusty ground. As the two stood there, Edward holding his hand on his head to stop the hot waves of wind from blowing it all over the place, the bandit leader grasping at his arm as he felt the pain of his open wound.
‘There, that should keep him-’ Edward said as he was cut off by the image of a war axe flying past his face. Edward launched himself backwards, landing a few feet from where he had originally stood.
‘Ahh… that was close!’ Edward sighed in a high pitched voice that showed his content with being alive. As the Orc began to stand up, Ed took his chance and brought his hands together, then proceeded to slam them to the ground.
‘Take this!’ Edward exclaimed as an electrical bold sparked from the ground and a land slide of spikes began to travel towards the Orc. It didn’t take long for his battle transmutation to reach the Orc, as the landslide collided with him, he was thrown backwards, pieces of stone imbedded within his stomach and chest. It was safe to say that Edward had won his first official fight within this new world.

‘Like I said... not... as tough as the soldiers at Briggs.’ Edward puffed as he caught his breath and looked down upon the unconscious, partially mutilated body.
‘When you wake up, I can refer you to a good Automail mechanic…’ Edward laughed as he remembered Winry, his attitude switching from happy to sad in the blink of an eye. He’d been forced to leave everyone behind, he wondered if they would be alright without him. As Edward thought about his world, he was interrupted by the sound of footsteps. Edward turned around ready to attack but was greeted with the smiles of small children and adults.
‘Thank you for saving our town!’ A small child exclaimed as they all watched Edward transmute his arm back to normal.
‘What? That kid!? But he so short!’ a man called out, causing Edward to violently twitch once as a look of hysterical anger came across his face.
‘I’M NOT SHOOOOORT!’ Edward screamed, his voice echoing throughout the area as the town's people looked at him with scared and slightly confused looks on their faces.

[Cloud Strife]

Edward had left the small town, he felt kind of bad for helping out in a situation and not staying around to help out with the repairs that lie in wait for those poor villagers. His Alchemy would definitely be useful in that situation like that, but Edward had more important goals, goals of his own that had to come before anything else. Edward’s determination was interrupted by the sounds of birds chirping, as he looked around he noticed a tree branch that housed a nest, the creation of life was something that had, and always will, fascinated Edward greatly.
‘Alchemists have tried for centuries to create life, but never succeeded. Take pride little birds, you were able to do something amazing.’ Edward smiled to himself as the birds looked at him, as if they understood what he was saying. Edward moved on, noting the beautiful blue sky as he walked, the clouds where white and almost looked like perfectly crafted, white, fairy floss. In the midst of all the fighting, fighting that he had undoubtedly gotten himself into, Edward had remembered that he’d forgotten to stop and take it all in. It had been a while since he’d been able to sit back and enjoy any sort of Scenery, Briggs was cold and harsh, while the fight in central had rendered the area around them a mass of rubble and broken buildings. It was a nice change to things, being able to actually look at the scenery.

Edward had been sitting for a while, using his Alchemy to craft small stone seats and little origami like shapes from stone and dirt. It didn’t seem like he was limited on these sorts of unimportant transmutations, but when it came to fighting and using his Battle Alchemy, he could definitely notice the limits that had been placed on him, limiting him to only a few options. His Arm Blade and Spear being two of them.
‘Damn this place. You bring me here and then find a way to restrict what I can do? Truth…’ Edward grumbled to himself as he got up from the small bench he was lying on, the weather was nice, but his Automail ached, right at the point where it makes contact with his skin.
‘Ah man, I wish Winry was here… she’d know how to stop the aching… And if my Arm breaks, who’s going to fix it? Ah man, this sucks, I wish Winry was here.’ Edward thought to himself as he remembered all the times that Winry had fixed his Automail. As memories flooded his mind, he’d also been reminded of all the times she’d hit him with her wrench as well.
‘For someone who helps me survive… She makes an effort to do just as much damage at the same time.’ Edward laughed to himself as he turned his attention back to his destination. From far away the city had looked small, but as he got closer he’d realised just how large it was, especially since it was built on the side of a mountain.
‘What do you mean by that !?’ A familiar yet frustrated voice exclaimed, freezing Ed to the core.
‘W-Winry?’ Edward asked with fear in his voice and an expression of confusion on his face as he turned around to see his blonde haired, automail-crazy, friend standing behind him. Edward examined her, her clothing was quite normal. Tied up blonde hair with long strands stemming down the sides of her face. An army green bandana covering the top of her head and most of her forehead. A black singlet and a pair of cream mechanic pants and a pair of light brown sandals.
‘I don’t know either Edward... One minute I was working on Automail, the next I was here, standing behind you.’ Winry blurted out angrily as she raised her wrench, remembering what he had said about her. Edward froze, his expression was that of someone who was scared beyond any hope of making any sort of movement and that of a worry. Winry lowered her wrench and calmed herself down. Edward sighed as he regained his Composure.
‘Well, I guess there’s no helping it, come on, we’re headed there.’ Edward said as he pointed to the city mounted on the side of a mountain. The look of awe on Winry’s face made Ed laugh as they headed towards their destination.

[Cloud Strife]

The city, up close, was a lot larger than Edward had previously thought. He hadn’t realised just how high and wide the white stone city was. Its colour was that of a bleached white, making it stand out from the rest of the surrounding area, allowing it to be seen from afar, noting the city’s importance.
‘Yep, this is definitely the capital city.’ Edward said to himself as he and Winry looked at the city, closing in on their destination.
‘How can you tell, Ed?’ Winry asked as she trailed along behind him.
‘Why else would you build a Castle city so large and with a colour that stands out so much?’ Edward asked rhetorically, causing Winry to glare at him angrily as she thought about hitting him in the back of the head with her wrench, but decided against it. Upon reaching the main gate that leads into the city, both Winry and Ed looked up at the gates as they began to walk through, only to be stopped by two guards.

‘Halt!’ Guard One exclaimed as he put his hand out in front of Ed, Edward looked down from the top of the entrance to see a couple of armoured men looking down at the two teens.
‘Your names?’ Guard Two asked as he stepped up from behind the other one.
‘Edward Elric, the Full Metal Alchemist.’ Edward boasted in an attempt to gain some respect.
‘Winry Rockbell, Automail Mechanic.’ Winry said, following Edward’s lead as the guards focused their attention more carefully.
‘Are you two Primes?’ One of the guard’s asked, causing Edward and Winry to give the two armoured men looks of confusion.
‘Did you appear in the Nexus?’ One of the guards sighed, causing Edward to remember his arrival in this place.
‘Yes, well I did, Winry just appeared here, in this world.’ Edward explained as the guards turned to each other and nodded.
‘You can enter, but don’t Cause any trouble.’ The guard emphasised as they both stepped aside, allowing both Edward and Winry access to the city.

The lowest Tier to the city was cold and almost damp. This was definitely not the wealthiest part of town. It smelled of wet dirt and stone, mixed with a slight mustiness that topped it all off. It wasn’t a nice smell, but it was bearable.
‘Ah man, this is definitely the Slums…’ Edward sighed as he and Winry trudged through the streets, they hadn’t realised t, but they had gone hours without food, and it was only just hitting them, it also didn’t help that the musty smell had begun to be overtaken by the smell of cooking meat.
‘That smells so good!’ Winry exclaimed as the two of them inevitably followed the delightful scent, ending up at a small inn. The door seemed inviting, the wooden frame was exceptionally built and stood out from the rest of the buildings that surrounded it. Ed opened the door slowly, revealing a medium sized room, there was a bar and a bunch of tables, a few people sat at the tables, scattered around as if they all wanted nothing to do with each other. Edward and Winry walked up to the main bar, there were a couple of empty seats and empty seats they could make use of, as well as some empty glasses stacked by the wall.
‘Hi, what can I do for you today?’ The girl smiled as she turned around to greet them. She was oddly out of place, pretty face and long brown hair that she had tied up in a ponytail, her waitress dress and apron were clean and well kept. It was as if she was as new as they were.
‘Uh… What meals do you have?’ Edward asked as the girl smiled at him, a light blush on his face. Winry liked at him with a frustrated look as he spoke up.
‘We’ll just take today's special.’ Winry spoke up with irritation as she glared at Edward. Edward returned her Glare with a scared smile and half laugh as the waitress smiled, nodded and went to get them their food.

‘Ah, that was great!’ What was it anyway?’ Edward asked happily as he let out a huge sigh, announcing his satisfaction.
‘Large toad breast and eggs.’ The girl smiled as the look on Edwards face suddenly took a turn. Ed looked as if he was about to vomit. Winry laughed as she watched Edward gag and complain for a couple of minutes.
‘Well… What am I going to do…?’ Winry sighed, causing Edward to spin around on his chair and look at her.
‘What do you mean, Winry?’ Edward asked as Winry looked up to the roof and thought for a second.
‘You need an Automail mechanic right?’ Winry asked, Edward nodded in agreement as they sat in their chairs.
‘Then I’ll open up an Automail Mechanic Shop.’ Winry declared with determination as she stood up and stormed out.
‘Where’s she going?’ The waitress asked as Edward turned to look at her.
‘She’s going to look for some where to open shop… She’ll be back eventually. Uh hey… Do you have any spare rooms?’ Edward asked with a smile on his face. The waitress looked back at him and nodded.

[Cloud Strife]

Edward was lying on a bed, it was oddly comfortable and accommodating. The ceiling was clean and seemed as if it was cleaned and polished every day. It seemed strange to Edward, that someone had the time to clean the roof of a building, but he wasn’t complaining, Edward liked his busy lifestyle. It kept him moving and didn’t leave any time for dullness or boredom.
‘What am I going to do? I need to get to Truth… but he calls himself Omni here. I doubt that they are different beings but… This world seems to have a different set of rules.’ Edward sighed as he held his metal arm up, the small light bulb that hung from the room cast light throughout the room, causing his arm to shine lightly with a warm yellow light.
‘Ah man… what the hell am I going to do, join the Military again? No that’d be a stupid Idea. I’ll need resources… People I can trust…’ Edward spoke softly as an Idea began to formulate within his mind.
‘A guild… No a School…’ Edward thought to himself as a loud knock echoed through his head. Edward sat up as the door swing open, revealing a very excited Winry and a very awkward looking, embarrassed, guy behind her.

‘Edward, this is Fin.’ Winry smiled widely as she pulled him forward in an attempt to get him to introduce himself. Fin just smiled and waved at Edward, trying to muster up some sort of courage to talk to him.
‘Well? Spit it out.’ Edward said with a slight frustration, the two had barged into his room and now this guy was too scared to even say anything.
‘W-Well you see… I’ve never met a prime before, you see… so they are… are… really intimidating.’ Fin said quietly with a shyness that wasn’t at all familiar to Ed. Everyone he’s met has been abrupt and to the point… most of the time.
‘Right… Well… To get to the point then. You see, my family, we run a trade market, and as of late, our profit and methods of procuring goods to sell and provide have taken a rather huge hit. We need you, a Prime, to clear out one of our trade routes that runs through the sewers.’ Fin explained to Ed as Edward returned him with a look of skepticism.
‘We’re offering free goods, and a free shop for your robotics engineer friend. She’ll be able to run her shop and live there free of charge. You see… the Shop and above living space used to belong to us, but we relocated and didn’t need it anymore. All we ask is that you allow us to travel through there whenever we need to.’ Fin explained further, but this time with a little more confidence. Edward mulled it over for a second before Winry jumped in.
‘Pleaaaaase Ed!’ Winry asked as she looked at him with her signature puppy dog eyes. Edward gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, frowning as he spoke up.
‘Fine. I’ll do it.’ Edward gritted with frustration as he looked to Winry, who had a large smile on her face. Edward could never really refuse Winry too much, he hated to admit this, but whenever it came to things like this, he’d eventually end up agreeing to do whatever it was.
‘So… Where is this place again?’ Edward asked as Fin smiled a happy smile.

Edward looked up at the building, it was quite tall and this part of town seemed rather clean and tidy compared to the rest of the slums. Edward examined the building a little closer than just his first glance, it seemed well built and exceptionally sturdy, god only knows that it’ll need to be if Winry is going to be using it. Edward looked at the front of the soon to be Automail Mechanic shop, it had a normal door and the front of it opened up much like a garage.
‘So this is where Winry will be working huh?’ Edward asked himself as he twisted the handle on the door – it wasn‘t locked – meaning that they left nothing of value here when they left. As Edward walked in he noticed the dust, so much so that he sneezed.
‘Ah man, so dusty, Winry is going to have to clean up.’ Edward sighed to himself as he looked around. A workbench, a single table and some chairs sat in the room, he had walked into. There was a sink and what appeared to be space for a kitchen. To the right was an open door and a staircase which lead up to the above living space. It really was perfect for Winry, and if Edward ever needed a place to stay, it would be here. Edward stopped admiring the building and began looking for a trap door. Edward searched before finding a small, silver handle hidden within the dust that layered the kitchen tiles. Edward pulled on it and the floor opened up, revealing a staircase that extended into the sewers below.
‘Well… Here goes.’ Edward said to himself as he descended into the depths of the sewer tunnels.

[Cloud Strife]

As bad as the slums were, this sewage system was definitely worse. The smell was bad enough that Edward had resorted to taking a breath after every minute. The tunnels were full of wooden debris and stone rubble, clearly they hat set up markers such as this to guide the way for anyone using the route. Edward clapped his hands and placed it on the rubble, a blue light sparked from inbetween his hands and the rubble as Edward transmuted it into support struts for the tunnel, of course Edward had added additions such as lanterns that acted as markers for future traders.
‘If they’re all set up like this, then this job will be over in no time.’ Edward grinned happily as he spotted the next area up ahead. He watched the water as he moved towards it, it has shallow and ever so slight ripples coursing through it as he walked.
‘That’s… strange…’ Edward mumbled to himself as he transmuted the next marker point. Edward wondered why he was needed for this, surely they could have managed to rebuild this on their own.
‘I guess a free shop is a free shop. No point in complaining about easy work.’ Edward sighed as he placed his hands against the passage marker, transmuting it as he moved along.

‘Ah man, so much to transmute, but I can’t complain… Well… About the work anyway, but the smell in here is terrible!’ Edward exclaimed as he transmuted yet another tunnel marker. Upon clearing up the rubble Edward had found himself at the end of a tunnel, a large pool of murky water took up most of the area while a ladder, heading upwards, sat in the centre of the pool. Edward had been walking and transmuting for at least an hour, granted he had gone a little faster than he usually would, but it was because of the foul stench.
‘Strange, how the scent got worse and worse as I worked my way here…’ Edward said to himself as he turned back, the winding tunnel blocked his view of his starting point, but he knew he had made it quite a long way. As Edward turned back he heard a large growl as the surface of the water began to displace itself. A large, green, scaly back emerged from the water along with two large yellow eyes. The beast stared at Edward as Edward started back at it, his face was overcome with a shocked expression as it lashed out at him. Edward guarded the beast’s attack with his right arm, its teeth cracking ad breaking on the metal arm. The beast threw itself backwards, revealing its strangely coloured belly, in contrast to the green back, its belly was a creamy brown colour.
‘A crocodile? Why is a giant crocodile here!?’ Edward exclaimed as he transmuted his arm blade. The Crocodile launched itself at Edward, causing him to roll backwards and swipe upwards with his left leg, striking the animal underneath its jaw. The animal looked at him with an odd look of sadness and hurt before restoring its anger, it launched itself at him again. This time catching his arm before he got the chance to react.
‘Smart beast…’ Edward gritted as the crocodile shook its head up and down, as if in agreement to his statement. Edward gathered all the strength he could to throw the large beast backwards. As it flew backwards, Edward ran along the path that separated the sewage from the wall, as he reached the crocodile, Ed jumped at it, planting his foot in its snout as he did so. The Crocodile reared back and growled as it retreated backwards into the water, keeping its eyes locked on Ed as it retreated under water.
‘This part, they left out.’ Edward sighed as he transmuted his arm back into its normal state. Turning back towards the way he came, Edward heard one final, low pitched growl as he began to head back to Winry.

‘Thank you Ed!’ Winry exclaimed as she hugged him around his neck, Edward kept his eyes focused on Fin as she did so. Fin averted his eyes from Edwards glare, darting his eyes from place to place, he’d withheld information from a Prime and now he was going to get a stern talking to.
‘So… Fin. You kept some information from me.’ Edward said angrily as Winry let go and stepped to the side.
‘Well I uh…’ Fin mumbled as he looked at Edward with an ashamed expression.
‘So you met Sally then.’ Fin coughed as Edward raised his metal fist to the sky.
‘Yes I met Sally!’ Edward screamed as Winry held him back from striking Fin.
‘Ed, it’s not worth it and I have a shop now!’ Winry exclaimed as she continued to hold Edward back.
‘Wait… Sally?’ Edward asked in a confused tone.
‘Y-Yeah… A Guard Crocodile we have down there. Anyone that isn’t a part of the family is attacked, she never kills anyone, she just scares them off.’ Fin explained with slight fear in his voice as he stepped backwards. Edward thought about punching him, but decided against it, either way, the task was done and he and Winry could get to work setting up the shop.
‘Fine, you’ll have access to the sewer route, as long as you give Winry whatever she needs, free of charge.’ Edward stated as he turned his back to Fin. Fin nodded, causing Winry to jump with joy and hub both him and Edward.
‘Thank you so much, I’m going to build so much Automail!’ Winry exclaimed as she ran into the shop to check it out. Edward smiled as he watched her go, realising that his next task was no small one.
‘Find Truth, and get mine and Al’s bodies back.’ Edward said to himself as he wondered how Al was doing.

[Cloud Strife]

It had been a slow couple of days, Edward had just been hanging around Winry’s shop since there wasn’t much to do.
‘I’m so bored…’ Edward sighed as he sat down at the table with Winry. The two stared at each other for a couple seconds before Winry frowned at him and sighed.
‘If you’re so bored, then why don’t you go out and do something useful?’ Winry asked as she turned her head and looked to the door.
‘There’s nothing to do out there, I don’t even know the place.’ Edward complained as he put his head on the table and sighed.
‘You’re so difficult Ed!’ Winry exclaimed as she leaned back on her chair and threw her arms in the air. Ed turned to her and stared at her with blank eyes as he remembered something.
‘You know what… I didn’t see it on our way here but, I heard about this floating city. I think they call it Dalaran. It’s supposed to be full of mages and scholars and Alchemical texts, I could find some useful people there…’ Edward said as he turned to Winry and smiled.
‘When you get that smile, I worry about you… You’re going to do something stupid again, aren’t you Ed?’ Winry sighed as she dropped her head to the table, watching Edward put his red coat on.
‘Hey, at least I’m getting out of your hair.’ Edward grinned as he opened the front door and stepped out into the city of Minas. The smell had changed a little, rather than the smell of rotting meat and mould, Edward now smelled oil and rust, he smelled the distinct smell of burnt metal grindings.
‘Thank you Winry, for the Idea.’ Edward smiled as he was stopped by a rather small boy.
‘Hey, I hear you’re looking for Dalaran, take this.’ The small boy said rather suspiciously as he handed Edward a map.
‘Who are you?’ Edward asked as he watched the small boy run off.
‘Just call me mouse!’ The boy called out as he disappeared around a corner, Edward would have usually chased him, but he had a more important task to go through with at the moment.

Edward had been travelling for a while, possibly a few hours, if he’d had a watch he’d exclaim and voice his outrage at the time it had taken him to get to where he was without even a sign of the city he was looking for.
‘The map said east from Minas, but all I see is grassy hill sides…’ Edward sighed unhappily as he fell to the ground in defeat. Mouse had conned him, and now he was too tired to walk back to Minas to kick that kids butt.
‘Ah man, I’m so stupid.’ Edward sighed as he rolled over and looked up at the sky. Edward had expected to see blue sky and white fluffy clouds, but was instead met with a huge floating mass of land. Edward glared upwards as he squinted his eyes in anger at the land mass, as if it would intimidate what he was glaring at.
‘How in the hell did I miss that!?’ Edward exclaimed as he stood up, his energy somehow restored as he noticed a mystical glow coming from the floating island, as if it was held in the air by magic, or alchemy.
‘Well how do I get up there?’ Edward asked himself as he looked at the map. He hadn’t noticed it before, but there was a message that had been revealed by the strange glow of the island.
‘Omnillium will help, summon something.’ Edward read as he tried to figure out the message. Maybe this Omnillium stuff could summon some sort of flying animal, it was a long shot, but this was his only choice. Edward clapped his hands and placed them on the ground as he thought of the first flying animal that came to mind, a chimera with wings. Edward waited for several minutes as sparks of blue light appeared in a rather large area in front of him. Edward wondered how this was possible as he watched the light crack and spark in front of him, forming what appeared to be the shape of a Gryphon, rather than a chimera. Alchemy worked off of an ‘Equivalent Exchange’ principal, he’d need a bird and a lion to create anything that resembled what was being created in front of him.
‘Wait… This omnillium that Truth told me about. Could it be a true Philosopher stone?’ Edward asked himself as the Gryphon appeared before him, it had taken a while, but it was here. The animal gestured for him to get on its back as Edward looked at it in amazement. Edward hopped on slowly, to make sure that he didn’t pull any of its feathers out.
‘If this Omnillium material really is a philosopher stone, a real one, then it would completely crush the Equivalent exchange part and just skip to the creation of the animal!’ Edward exclaimed as the Gryphon took off directly upwards, causing Edward to grasp onto its neck with his metal arm. As the gryphon flew, it began to slowly level out and circle upwards around the city, until it was circling above the massive sky island. Edward looked down, expecting to see another tiered fortress city, but was only met with the sight of a flat city, built around one large, central, building.
‘That is probably where I’ll find who I’m looking for.’ Edward said as the Gryphon began to descend onto a landing platform.

Edward walked through the streets of Dalaran, noticing the mystical glow and feel that surrounded almost everything within the giant floating island. Strangely enough, it didn’t feel like they were floating, it was as if the mass of land had been suspended within the air, becoming completely still.
‘Interesting, I wonder what kind of Alchemy makes this possible…’ Edward muttered to himself as he stumbled across a set of doors. They were odd, yet inviting, as if they asked for him to enter. As he approached the doors he noticed that the metal work created the word ‘Library’ out of a darkened steel across the two doors. Edward pushed the doors open and stepped into what seemed like a sea of books and book shelves, he’d been in large libraries before but this was just heaven. He’d noted the little amount of people actually in the Library, a few old people in strange attire and a young girl, who seemed as out of place as he was in this world.
‘Another Prime huh?’ Edward whispered to himself as he noticed her long black hair and strange purple eyes. Another young girl, which he hadn’t noticed at first, stood behind the tall, dark haired girl. The smaller girl seemed to be made out of metal, possibly a robot, or a soul bound to a metallic body, either way, she looked even more out of place as either of them.
‘Even a girl as young as that has been brought here? Truth... you bastard…’ Edward whispered to himself as he walked through the library isles, searching for any sections on Alchemy.

[Cloud Strife]

Some parts of the Library were exceptionally dusty, it was clear that some portions and sections were considered unfavorable to some of the scholars within this city.
‘It’s strange to see such a vast library have so many unused sections… Though If I were here I’d only read the books on Alchemy.’ Edward grinned to himself as he searched the names of each of the isles. ‘Historical Texts’, ‘Fictional Novels’, ‘Alchemy and Alchemical Texts’.
‘Here we are.’ Edward spoke to himself as he turned left into what seemed like a 3 meter wide book shelf.
‘Impressive.’ Edward laughed as he began searching through the books. It was as he had stepped right back into his own world, the small library of books he’d read as a kid in his own house, the State Alchemist Library in central and even the texts from Shou Tucker’s own personal library. He’d seen all of these books before, as if they’d been pulled from his own world at the same time as he had been.
‘Well, that’s unfortunate. I was hoping for something new.’ Edward sighed as a look of disappointment washed over his face. Edward sighed another sigh of disappointment before retracing his steps back to the entrance, it was a shame that the Dalaran Library hadn’t had any of their own Alchemy books, or at least ones that he hadn’t had the chance to read yet. Edward, however, wasn’t there to read, he was there to look for people to join him in creating his Alchemy School.
‘This school will teach people to defend themselves, I’ll have some Allies to back me up and eventually the resources that will allow me to reach Truth.’ Edward smiled to himself as he walked through the streets of Dalaran.

The streets were nicely made, the stones and bricks that created the small roads and side streets fit perfectly with the environment. The buildings came in all sizes, small or large, and they were also comfortably fit beside each other. Dalaran reminded him of Central, save the face that it was floating in the air, probably by the use of magic. Many aspects of Dalaran were similar to Central City, they both had scholars, and a lot. In fact, anywhere you went in central, you could find someone studying Alchemy. Edward laughed as he thought about how typical Central city was. Most of the interesting stuff was out in the country side, Resembool being one of them.
‘No stop! My scrolls, my research!’ A voice called out with despair as Ed passed by a side street and paused, then walked backwards until he could see what was going on.
‘You’re pathetic, not even a mage and you think you know magic better than us?’ One of the two men stated fiercely as he knocked the second set of scrolls onto the road.
‘W-Well… I – I was only proposing a new way that magic could be used and how effective it would be.’ The man stated as he avoided eye contact with the two men standing above him. One of the men raised his fist as it began to glow, causing the man on the ground to cower in fear as a frown came upon Edwards face.
‘Hey! Stop that!’ Edward exclaimed loudly and angrily as he began walking towards the three men. The two brutes turned to him and laughed as they watched him approach.
‘Get out of here Shrimp. This doesn’t concer-’ The man began as he was interrupted by the impact of Edwards metal food in the side of his jaw. As Edward landed on the ground he looked at the other man, who stood roughly a head taller than him.
‘You want some of this as well?’ Edward asked with irritation as the man looked down upon him with a grin on his face and a balled fist in the grasp of his other hand. Edward left no time for the other man to think, releasing a punch into the man’s stomach with his metal arm, knocking the wind right out of him and knocking him unconscious.
‘Are you… a Prime?’ The man asked as Edward turned to him and smiled.
‘Yep. The name’s Edward Elric, The Full Metal Alchemist!’ Edward boasted with a huge grin on his face.
‘Why thank you, but, could you help me pick up these scrolls?’ The man asked as Edward leant down to pick up one of the scrolls, causing it to unravel. Edward examined the writing and recognised it instantly.
‘Hey… this is the basics of Alchemy.’ Edward stated as he rolled the scroll back up and handed it to him.
‘Alchemy? What do you know of my research?’ The man asked as he looked at Edward with a confused look.
‘I’ll show you.’ Edward said as he pulled a piece of chalk out from one of his pockets and drew a circle on the ground with another, slightly smaller circle inside of it. Edward then drew a triangle within the larger circle, so that it’s three points all toughed the outer circle and passed through the inner circle.
‘The circle acts as a sort of conductor for energy, it circulates and regulates the energy within the transmutation circle. The first step is to comprehend what materials you are using for the transmutation. The second step is to use that energy to deconstruct the physical structure of the material so you can change it. The last step is the Reconstruction of the material.’ Edward explained as the transmutation circle shone yellow as a small stone puppy appeared at the center of the circle.
‘Amazing! This is exactly what I’ve theorised. My name is Mark.’ Mark exclaimed with an excitement that he hadn’t seen in a while. Edward smiled as Mark got too his feet.
‘Of course, there is one other way to utilize alchemy, but it’s not important.’ Edward said as Mark looked at him with a curious look on his face.
‘Come on, come back to my house and let me treat you to a meal. As a sort of thanks.’ Mark smiled as he gestured Edward to follow him. Edward noticed the direction in which they were headed, it was on his way, so he saw no reason not to go. Edward smiled and nodded as he followed Mark.

[Cloud Strife]

A plate of vegetables and steak sat in front of him, Edward was hesitant to begin eating, he didn’t know what sort of customs they had in this place. It was a city of mages, but he’d med Alchemists that attributed alchemy to being given to them by gods, and some that worshiped it as a religion. If they did follow some form of biblical prayer before their meals, he didn’t want to offend them.
‘Is something wrong with the food?’ Mark asked as he sat down at the table to the left of Edward.
‘Oh no… Nothing is wrong.’ Edward smiled, hiding a sadness that had just spread through him. The last time he’d had a meal as nice as this was back when Al had a body, and he had all of his limbs. Edward picked up his knife and fork and began slicing pieces of the steak, it had been cooked to perfection. Edward smiled with each bite as Mark witnessed the light speed intake of Edward’s food and laughed.
‘Must be hungry.’ Mark Laughed as Edward put his knife and fork down, sat back in his chair and sighed with a sense of satisfaction in his attitude.
‘When you walk around a new place and get caught up in the moment, sometimes you forget to eat.’ Edward laughed as he sat forward, grinning at Mark.


‘So this magic of Alchemy. You know of it?’ Mark asked as he pushed his empty plate away. Edward took a small amount of offense to his science being called magic, but he was in a new world and most of all, in the middle of a mage city, so it was to be expected.
‘It’s not a magic, it’s a science. We use already existing energy to manipulate the scientific make up of one object to change it into another by manipulating the elemental makeup of that object and turn it into another, already exiting material.’ Edward explained as he watched Mark take notes on the things he had said.
‘Ahh I see. So you’re not using magic, more like the energy that already exists within the world?’ Mark asked eagerly as he looked up at Edward from his note pad.
‘Exactly.’ Edward smiled as Mark wrote something else down in his note pad.
‘Some Alchemists are able to use their own bodies to create a transmutation circle, circulating energy through their body and then using that energy for transmutations that don’t require a drawn circle.’ Edward said as he clapped his hands and placed them on the plate. The plate shone yellow as sparks of electricity tore from it. The plate began to mould and shape itself before their eyes. Mark watched with an eagerness towards the science that Edward hadn’t seen for a long time as the plate formed as a perfectly round ball sat where the plate had been.
‘How did you do that?’ Mark asked without looking up from his note pad, vigorously writing down more notes.
‘I have seen part of the Truth. Committing a tabo comes at a price.’ Edward said as he pulled back the sleeve on his right arm, revealing the automail under the sleeve. Mark looked at him in confusion as he covered up his arm.
‘I tried something that wasn’t possible with Alchemy, I was given an amazing ability. But it comes at a price. I lost my right arm and left leg as payment… My brother lost his entire body.’ Edward explained as he thought about Alphonse. How was he going without him? Sitting at the gate of Truth waiting for him to arrive and pull him out of that god forsaken plane. Mark stared at him with a sympathetic look.
‘I should get going.’ Edward said as he stood up and headed for the door, Mark following closely behind. He didn’t say anything, he sensed that Edward had something important to do, all he did was nod and see Edward out.
‘Thanks for the meal, it was great.’ Edward smiled as he turned away and looked up at the central building he was headed towards. It was definitely closer, but he still had a bit of a walk to go.

Edward looked up at the building that stood in front of him, it was definitely tall. But oddly shaped, as if the top of the building was cut off diagonally.
‘What a strange way to construct a building.’ Edward said to himself as he approached the doors. Edward stepped towards the doors as they opened he looked around before entering, noticing how modern it looked. A reception area, some seats and some people occupying the room. No one had turned to look at him, they just went on with their own things, as if Edward wasn’t even there. The only exception to this was the lady that sat at the table in the center of the room. She sat inside a circular table, with a long robe on and a name tag that read ‘Lucy’. Lucy had looked up at him and smiled before returning back to her work.
‘So… This is where everything starts.’ Edward smiled with excitement as he looked around the first floor’s reception area.

[Cloud Strife]

Edward looked around the room, his first time in a new building warranted as much. The area was quite large, considering the size of the building, the far wall consisted of two doors which read ‘Elevator’ on each. The walls to the left and right had a couple of doors that seemed to lead into some office rooms. Nothing too fancy. Edward walked up to the receptionists table and stood there for a second before she looked up at him again and smiled.
‘Can I help you?’ Lucy asked politely as Edward smiled back at her out of respect.
‘Yes, I’d like to see whoever is in charge of this place.’ Edward declared as Lucy looked at him with a slight confusion before regaining her composure.
‘Do you have an appointment?’ Lucy asked as Edward realized his mistake. Edward didn’t need to say anything, the look on his face told Lucy that he didn’t have an appointment.
‘Lucky for you, we don’t have many appointments today. Mr. Dumbledore has only just arrived back and hasn’t had time to take any appointments. Someone will be down shortly to accompany you.’ Lucy explained with her constant smile that had started to freak Edward out a little bit. Edward sighed out of relief as he was directed towards the waiting chairs.
‘That was lucky…’ Edward said to himself as he took a seat. It was oddly comfortable, definitely more comfortable than the train seats he was used to travelling on, Amestris was nice, but compared to the seat he was sitting on, they had a lot to learn about accommodation. But of course, that could have been due to the government focusing on their own goals rather than actually helping the people.

Edward sat there for what seemed like hours, although he was sure that he was just bored, he looked down at his pocket watch. The chimera on the front reminded him of home as he pushed the button on top, causing the front casing to open downwards to display the inside clock.
‘Crap, no use, it’s stuck on the time it was at prior to being put here, in this world.’ Edward sighed as he looked down at the watch that he’d been issued. It read 4:15 and none of the arms were ticking away. This was a great situation, he was in a new world, and had no way of telling what time it was, save looking at the sky when he was outside.
‘Oh well, I guess it could be worse.’ Edward laughed a little as he realized how lucky he was to even be getting any time with this ‘Dumbledore’. He was told that there were no appointments for today, which meant that he must usually have his days filled with appointments from people. Scholars wanting jobs, parents looking to get their children educated. All in all, he had determined that he had just had some luck. Or that Truth was somehow behind all of this.
‘Edward I presume?’ A young man with a pair of classes asked out as Edward stood and turned to greet him.
‘That’s right, how’d you know?’ Edward smiled as the young man looked down at him through his glasses with a bored look.
‘I was told that a short, yellow haired boy was asking to meet with Dumbledore.’ The man said as he pushed his glasses up with his index finger and focused on Edward.
‘I’M NOT SHORT!’ Edward screamed in his head as he used all of his willpower to keep the smile on his face.
‘Yep… I’m Edward Elric.’ Edward said with the slightest hint of anger as he tried to refrain from punching the young man in the face. His first time here and he wanted to make friends, not Enemies.
‘If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you too Dumbledore.’ The man said as he led Edward past the elevators, through a set of double doors and down a fairly long hallway.
‘Hey, wouldn’t Dumbledore be at the top of this place?’ Edward asked as they traveled down a hallway lined with red velvet.
‘It is true that he lives up there, but the only way to get to him is by taking his special elevator.’ The man explained as they reached a weird, elevated platform with steps surrounding it.
‘However, it won’t work if just anyone tries to get up there. You have to have the password to activate the magic.’ The young man said as he looked at Edward with an expression that was completely opposite to how he had been before. Instead of the bored look, he was completely ecstatic. It confused Edward a little bit, but it wasn’t uncommon to him.
‘He must really love Magic.’ Edward thought to himself as the anger from being called short had subsided.
‘Sherbet Lemon.’ The man said eagerly as Edward felt his stomach drop, it was a similar experience to the gate, Edward felt the ground move from under his feet, then his stomach drop and before he could blink his eyes he was standing on solid ground again.
‘Well, that was fun. I won’t be following you in there, but just head through those doors and meet with Dumbledore.’ The young man said as he resumed his bored expression. Edward sighed at the man as he stepped off the platform and headed towards the two large wooden doors.
‘This is it, it all begins here.’ Edward said to himself out of anticipation and reassurance as he pushed the two doors open and walked through into a medium sized room filled with all manors of strange objects. A large desk sat roughly a meter in front of the back wall and next to it, a bird perch with no bird. Behind the table was a chair and behind that, a large stone pillar that connected itself to the absurdly high roof. Edward noted the amount of books that had been homed within the room as he looked around, his eyes stopping on a staircase that spiraled upwards to a second floor.
‘Hello?’ Edward spoke out with slight hesitation as his gaze returned to the desk that sat in front of him.

[Proto Man]

The blonde alchemist took a few steps into the room, pausing for only a brief moment when he heard the doors click shut behind him.

“Hello?” He asked once again as he walked up to the desk and glanced over at the empty bird perch.

“Yes?” A voice inquired from just behind him, prompting the youth to jerk violently in surprise before spinning on his heels to see a smiling, older man standing just behind him.

“Where did you come from?” Edward blurted out as he glanced back around the office for some sort of hidden entrance. Before he could respond, the man disappeared in a puff of smoke, only to reappear in the same way in the chair that had once stood empty behind the desk.

“You’re in Dalaran,” he replied with a warm smile as he brought up a small book from his desk and opened it up to a page in the middle. “Certainly magic should now seem like second-nature to the carefree observer,” perhaps from someone else’s mouth, such a remark would have come off as condescending in nature.

“You’re Dumbledore, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” the scholarly man responded as he set a pen in the middle of the book and glance up at Edward. “I understand you waited for most of the day to meet with me, so I ask that you kindly be seated.”

Before the young alchemist could make a remark that there wasn’t a nearby chair, he glanced behind himself and saw that there was a perfectly crafted wooden chair waiting to be used. With a grin, Edward pulled the chair up and took a seat across from Dumbledore. For someone supposedly in charge of the floating city, the old man didn’t seem very stately. His white hair and beard hung low from his face, and only a small band kept the latter in somewhat of a stable form. Compared to the officials who ran the state back in Edward’s home, Dumbledore was dressed in gray clothes, with a heavy cloak clasped just above his waist.

“So how may I help you today, Edward Elric?” Dumbledore asked as the pen in front of him lifted up of its own accord and started to scribble onto the formerly blank page. “I haven’t heard much about you, so I take it you are new to the Omniverse?”

“Yes,” Edward replied, eying the free-floating instrument as it continued to write. Try as he could, the alchemist couldn’t decipher the strange script.

“So what brings you here to Dalaran? And more importantly, what brings you to the offices of the Mages Guild?”

“I’m an alchemist,” Edward stated. “I come from a—”

Dumbledore shook his hand. “I know,” he remarked. “I’ve been in the Omniverse long enough to have met my fair share of alchemists… the types that are delusional and the types who wield truly wonderful potential.”

“So I’m not the first?” Edward inquired.

“No,” Dumbledore responded as he waved his hand off to the side. With a poof, a piece of paper appeared in front of Edward. On it was several names of individuals—some had little crosses after their names, but a good number of them were still alive. “Both the Kingdom and Empire had a very small number of true alchemists many years back, and their secondaries are still plentiful, although they tend to be very low-key.”

“What happened to the original alchemists?”

“Imprisoned, banished, or missing.” Dumbledore answered as one of the names light up on the piece of paper. “He was the equivalent of a captain in the Kingdom’s army. He got into a heated argument with Aragorn over the treatment of the elves and trolls, and even helped the latter fight their way out of the Kingdom. If there are any alchemists in the Empire, they haven’t been seen, and your guess would be as good as mine.”

Edward remained silent, his eyes glued on the name of the exiled prime. Before the blonde could ask a question, Dumbledore beat him to the punch.

“So what brings you to my office, young Edward Elric?”

“I want to start a school here… an alchemy school,” Edward glanced up from the parchment and looked into the older man’s eyes. “It would be a place where people could go to study alchemy and learn its tricks and skills. It’d also be a place for research.”

Dumbledore had nodded along as Edward spoke, and when the young man fell silent, the old wizard sat there for a moment before addressing his guest. “And such an establishment would require a deal of resources and require you to navigate the complexities of verse zoning ordinances and permits? Not to mention needing the workers to help build the place and the staff to help get it off the ground.”

“Correct,” Edward replied as the pen started to dance furiously across the paper.

“And you want my help to grease the wheels… so to speak.”

“Yes.”

At that, Dumbledore leaned forward and laced his fingers just below his chin. “You seem to be a nice young man, Edward, and if anything, Camelot would be the best place for you to pursue your endeavor. Unfortunately, you have a tall order, and while I am a scholar at heart, I am also a bureaucrat, both locally and regionally. King Aragorn wouldn’t approve of anyone just starting an institution in his hinterland without it clearing our desks. If you want my assistance, I’m going to need you to do something for me, do you understand?”

“Of course,” Edward responded. The alchemist didn’t expect to receive any fair favors, and he was more than willing to go the distance to pursue his plans.

“I give you some options…” At that, a second name light up on the paper—a pretty woman with a warm smile. “She was part of the Empire’s bureaucracy for a few years, and she was also a fantastic mole, you see. Unfortunately, she wasn’t good enough, and they locked her up in a prison in the Vasty Deep. It’s not Impel Down, mind you, it’s a more secret location, but you would still have to break her out of a hidden Imperial prison…

“On the other hand, you could also hunt down our own deserter. From what we can tell, he lives in the Frozen Fields, and while he doesn’t live with the troll tribe there, we know that he must still be on terms with them. You could gain the trust of Zul’jin in order to find out where he is… and then I ask that you banish him or drag him back here to stand trial.” Dumbledore slid a strange device across the table that glowed faintly. “You would use this for the former…”

“Lastly, you could curtail enough favor with the folks in Minas Tirith. You would also need to gain the King’s favor as well, but doing so would provide you with enough support to give you a state blessing for such an institution and resources for your school, as well as personnel.

“The choice is up to you, Edward Elric.”

[spoiler]You have three options, Edward

1 – Travel to the Vasty Deep, Locate a hidden Imperial prison, Break in, and free the female alchemist. You must then bring her back to Dalaran safely. Doing this will result in a bounty from Coruscant (and, by extension, Carrefore and Costa del Sol).

2 – Travel to the Frozen Fields. ‘Befriend’ the troll tribes (you must complete the troll faction quest to do so). They will reveal to you the location of the Kingdom exile. You must hunt him down, fight him, and banish him (Dumbledore has provided you with the banishment circle) or return him to stand trial in the Kingdom. Doing this will result in the dwarves being hostile to you.

3 – Complete the Camelot faction quest. You must then complete one additional full-story that involves Edward giving back to Dalaran, Minas Tirith, or the outlying Camelot ‘duchies’ in some way (we can talk about this more if you pursue this option).

Completion of any of those 3 options, along with purchasing a base, will give Edward the official approval of the Kingdom to found his alchemy school under their protection, as well as the beginnings of influence in the Kingdom. You'll also receive +300 OM at the end.[/spoiler]

[Cloud Strife]

Dumbledore spoke with a grace and wisdom that Edward hadn’t experienced before. He was calming yet fierce at the same time, which lead Ed to believe that he was powerful, given his status and influence within this place alone he had to have been here for a while. So when Dumbledore said that nothing would come for free, Edward accepted that fact without question, besides, equal exchange was something Edward lived by within his own world. Edward began considering his options as he stared at the piece of paper that was in front of him.


‘Do I want to rescue the damsel in distress, bring a criminal to justice… or work tirelessly to gain the trust and respect of an entire city?’ Edward asked himself as he thought each proposal over carefully, after all, he didn’t do anything without careful thought first… most of the time.
‘If I go to the prison break, I’ll get to see the so called ‘Paradise Islands’ that everyone in Minas had talked about. But at the same time would have to locate this secret prison.’ Edward mumbled to himself as his mind jumped to the next task.


‘I could find the trolls, actual trolls, and help them out I guess… but the Frozen Fields sounds too cold… and if it’s anything like Fort Briggs, then I’ll need to go back to Winry to get some of that cold resistant Automail…’ Edward sighed to himself as a look of defeat came over his face as he remembered how useless his Automail had been until Winry upgraded it.


‘The third task is a little more local, just do some favours for the city of Minas and I’ll be able to continue with my plans.’ Edward thought to himself as the glowing name caught his eye again.
‘Alexandra Louise…. I’ve heard of her. Yeah, she’s a pretty talented Alchemist.’ Edward said as he looked up at Dumbledore, noticing a smile and a nod before glancing back to the piece of paper.
‘I’ve never met her but I have definitely heard of her. She is a talented fighter and Alchemist.’ Edward said to himself as his voice trailed off as he stared at her picture. She seemed happy, the fact that she was an alchemist also made a connection with him. Edward knew what he was going to do. Ed was going to rescue the prisoner.


‘I’ve made my choice, Dumbledore… uh Mr. Dumbledore… Sir.’ Edward said cautiously as he looked up from the paper and into Dumbledore’s eyes.
‘I’ll rescue your Alchemist and get her home safely!’ Edward exclaimed with a large grin on his face as he extended his metal arm and gave a ‘thumbs up’ symbol to show his trust and in an attempt to gain the trust of the wizard.

[Proto Man]

“That’s excellent to hear, Edward, she was an upstanding young woman.” Dumbledore smiled as he started to leaf through a drawer in his desk. “The Vasty Deep is not a pleasant place. There is a large Imperial presence there, and you will have to pass through Costa del Sol en route to the sea. Be wary not to attract too much attention. They are known to ask many questions to primes they know have been to Camelot.”

Edward nodded his head, although he was mostly following along with the wizard’s remarks. Truth be told, he knew little of the greater political forces at play between the various ‘verses.’ “Any leads on where this secret prison is?”

Dumbledore nodded and produced a little stack of documents that he slid across the desk to Edward. “All the clues I have accumulated over the years, young alchemist.”

The blonde picked the little stack, slid away the paperclip, and started to leaf through them. Aside from some photos of seemingly abandoned islands, the majority of the stuff was stolen entries from naval logbooks. A few scribbled notes about secret ‘cargo’ ships heading out from Costa del Sol’s docks were mentioned, but it was obvious that Edward would have to do a fair amount of searching to locate the hidden facility that housed the alchemist. “So this Costa del Sol is the best place to start searching?”

“Yes,” the wizard replied with a nod. “Those pictures are islands that used to house Imperial watchtowers… you may want to look there, as the Empire is fond of building underground.”

“Thank you,” Edward shot back as he re-clipped the documents and stuffed them into his coat.

“Good luck, Edward Elric,” Dumbledore replied. “I wish you the best of luck.”

Just like that, the head wizard was gone in a puff of smoke and Edward was standing outside his office door.

[Cloud Strife]

Edward was confused, the smoke had engulfed Dumbledore yet, when it cleared, he was the one that had left the office. Edward looked around only to find the familiar hallway and doors that led to Dumbledore’s office.
‘Well, that went well.’ Dumbledore’s strange assistant asserted with a short cough as Edward looked at him.
‘How could you tell?’ Edward asked as he returned the man’s bored expression with his own, frustrated, expression.
‘Well… you’re not a toad.’ The man laughed as Edward looked at him with an angry expression.
‘That’s never happened before… Has it?’ Edward asked out of concern as the man just kept laughing, ignoring his question. Edward turned away from him and began heading towards the elevator.
‘Remember, the password is Sherbet Lemon!’ The man exclaimed as he watched Edward trudge towards the Magic Elevator. Edward grumbled and then shook the back of his hand at the man, a gesture that usually meant goodbye, but in this case it mean shut up. Whether the man realised this was unknown to Edward, but he had bigger problems to worry about.
‘I guess I’ll head back and let Winry know I’m okay…’ Edward sighed as he reached the elevator.
‘Sherbet Lemon.’ Edward said as he stepped onto the platform, His stomach dropped and he found himself on the ground floor again.
‘I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that...’ Edward shivered as he walked through the hallway and toward the entrance of the building. The lobby was exactly the same as when he had arrived earlier.
‘So no one got the memo then?’ Edward laughed sarcastically as he walked through the lobby, out into the city and headed for the Gryphon he’d summoned earlier.

The streets had come to life, at least, within the time he’d spent at Dumbledore’s office. It was nice to see people out and about, it reminded him of home – Central city at least – to say the least. Edward smiled as he walked the familiar streets, which was how he knew he was going in the right direction. Edward looked at the buildings as he walked by, each was similar but different in their own way, some were normal, square, houses while others were partial to their own adornments and decorations. It was nice to see people living their lives for once, rather than unknowingly being controlled by their government.
‘Hey! Hey Edward!’ Mark’s voice called out from behind a mob of people. Edward spun around to see a very excited Mark gesturing him over to his house. Edward waved back and began making his way through the crowded streets, there weren’t too many people but he still needed to be mindful of them, he didn’t want to accidentally bump into someone and knock them over.
‘So Edward, I’ve been practising what you taught me and well… come and look.’ Mark smiled happily as he guided Edward through his house, once again. Edward smiled and nodded, happy to see someone from a new world taking interest in his own science. Edward noticed objects with alchemical markings on them, the odd l stretching and extra, square shaped, growths around the room. Edward smiled as they reached the table that he had been at only hours ago, finding an Alchemy circle printed on the table with a pile of iron ingots at the centre of the circle. Edward waited with anticipation as he watched Mark place his hands at the outer edge of the circle. Blue sparks flew from the centre of the circle as it slowly became engulfed with a bright, yellow light.
‘He’s been practising.’ Edward thought to himself as he watched the iron ingots twist and contort, moulding themselves into one object before spiralling out, coming together again and then solidifying into a solid form. What was left at the end was an Iron statue of a Puppy.
‘Amazing! You’ve come this far in only a few hours.’ Edward exclaimed happily as he examined the statue, there were the tell-tale alchemy marks on the base of the statue, but the statue was perfect in every other aspect.
‘I’m not as good as you – I can’t use only my hands like you can – but your explanation earlier really helped.’ Mark smiled as he looked at Edward, noticing the piece of paper in his hand.
‘What have you got there?’ Mark asked as he moved closer. Edward looked at the paper, shoved it in his pocket and then.
‘Oh nothing…’ Edward said as he held the piece of paper firmly in his hand, hoping that Mark hadn’t caught sight of the writing on it.
‘D-D-Dumbledore! You went to see Dumbledore!?’ Mark exclaimed as he began rushing around the room, first he picked up a bunch of scrolls, then ran over to the table to grab the puppy statue. Edward moved swiftly and accurately, pinning Mark’s hand to the table before he was able to reach the statue.
‘You won’t see Dumbledore for the next few days. In fact, you won’t even mention that he’s back to anyone.’ Edward said with a fierceness that shook Mark into submission. Edward was awfully strong for such a young boy. Mark nodded and put his scrolls on the table.
‘Sorry Mark, It’s nice to see someone taking an interest in my science, but you need to let Dumbledore rest.’ Edward explained rather sympathetically as Mark sat down at the table, grasping his hand, which was now in pain due to Edwards quick actions.
‘I understand…’ Mark sighed as he looked at the table with disappointment.
‘Look… If you go there in a couple days, tell them that Edward Elric sent you. You’ll get in to see him.’ Edward sighed before turning around and heading for the door.
‘Thanks Ed!’ Mark exclaimed with a slightly happier tone. Edward didn’t break his stride, he kept his back to Mark and exited the building with a smile on his face.

‘Ahh! Finally!’ Edward gasped as he turned the corner to see the Gryphon he’d flown up her on, sitting in a nest. As soon as he turned the corner, its head shot up and stared at him, almost as if it was reading his mind. Edward stared back at the Gryphon, it was easier than talking to it. Plus, it creeped him out a little. The way it always knew what he wanted it to do, it was like it was actually reading his mind.
‘You… You aren’t reading my mind are you?’ Edward thought to himself as the two stared at each other. The gryphon nodded its head slowly as it stood and jumped out of the nest, its feathers swaying slightly as the animal moved. Edward took a hesitant step towards the beast before noticing it roll its eyes. Edward became frustrated and a little angry, losing all hesitant feelings as he stomped towards the beast. The Gryphon looked at him fiercely, reminding him of his need for its flight ability to get back to the city of Minas. Edward took a large breath and sighed, setting aside his temper.
‘Can you take me to Minas Tirith?’ Edward asked as he stood beside the animal. It didn’t make a sound, other than a large inhale and exhaling noise, it just kneeled down and gestured for Edward to get on its back. Edward jumped on and it turned to face him, Edward flinched backwards a little bit before the beast took off into the sky.
‘I’ll never get used to this!’ Edward screamed with certain peril in mind as the two headed towards the city of Minas as fast as the Gryphon fly.

[Cloud Strife]

As Edward sat there, clinging to the feathers and fur that covered the Gryphon’s back, he began to take in the scenery of Camelot. He hadn’t realised it until know, but Camelot was – in fact – a beautiful world. Rolling hill side scenery, dotted by small settlements and towns. The largest of them, by far, was the City of Minas Tirith. Edward was heading back to Winry’s place to let her know about what he was doing and where he would be going next. He was used to using pay phones to call her but, somehow, he had a feeling that he wouldn’t find any within Camelot.
‘If only I had one of those communicators. Then I’d be able to contact Winry without having to go back there all the time… Though it is nice seeing her.’ Edward said as he began to blush a little bit, the Gryphon he was on mad a noise, as if it was mocking his feelings. Edward gripped the Gryphon’s fur and feathers tighter, partially out of anger and partially because he was scared out of his mind. He’d never soared through the air like this before, let alone ride on the back of a mythical beast that Alchemists have been trying to create for centuries.
‘Like you’d know anything about it…’ Edward sneered, causing the Gryphon to make a hard turn and spin around. The gryphon stopped as it reached the 180 Degree point in the turn, proceeding to glide upside down shortly before turning its head to the ground and began to dive towards the ground. Edward could feel himself lifting upwards and off of the Gryphon as the plummeted towards the ground.
‘Okay, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it!’ Edward exclaimed in desperation and absolute fear for his life as the Gryphon pulled up and began gliding over a lake, Edward could see himself and the Gryphon in the reflection of the pristine water as they flew only inches from the surface of the water. Edward clung to the beasts back as they headed upwards into the sky, regaining their original altitude. He was impressed with this place, it held so many different creatures, most of which he hadn’t seen before. Edward shuddered as a cold chill travelled down his spine, his memories of meeting that humungous Crocodile in the sewers had popped back into his head as the City of Minas Tirith came into view.
‘Well… I hope I never have to see that Crocodile again, and if I do, I’ll teach it a lesson.’ Edward stated firmly as he focused his eyes on Camelot’s capital city.

‘Winry, I’m back!’ Edward called out as he pushed the door to Winry’s shop open, it creaked slightly as he did so. Edward heard the rapid footsteps as Winry ran down the stairs, turned the corner and into the hallway that Edward was standing in. Winry smiled and then threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him as her body made contact with his.
‘Ed! Glad you’re back… but how did you get so tall!?’ Winry exclaimed as she looked up him, a confused look on her face as she stood up straight. Edward was now – almost – a full head taller than herself.
‘Taller? Oh I guess I am much taller than you now.’ Edward laughed out of joy and confidence as Winry’s look of confusion transformed into a look of anger as she pulled a wrench from her back pocket and glared at him, clenching her fist around the wrench.
‘You…. IDIOT!’ Winry exclaimed as she slammed the wrench into the left side of his face, throwing him backwards and onto his ass.
‘Be a little more respectful, okay…?’ Winry sighed as she placed the wrench back into her pocket and offered him her hand. Edward looked up at Winry with a look of fear and slight frustration as a large red lump protruded from the side of his face. Edward grabbed her hand and stood up with her help.
‘You almost knocked all my teeth out.’ Edward whined in a high pitched voice as they headed down the hallway and towards the living room door.
‘So, tell me all about Dalaran.’ Winry smiled as she and Edward sat down at a small table.
‘Well, First of all, the City of Dalaran is on a massive island floating in the sky.’ Edward began as he noticed Winry watching him intently, paying attention to every word. This made him blush a little.
‘And when I finally reached it, I had no Idea how I would get up there. So I tried to imagine a Flying machine. When I tried to create one through the use of Alchemy, a strange glow shone from the area and then there was a Gryphon standing in front of me.’ Edward continued explaining as he looked to the window.
‘A Gryphon!? Aww I want to see it next time Ed.’ Winry stated, causing Edward to laugh a little before continuing with his story about his Experience with the city of mages, The floating city Dalaran.

‘So that’s what happened?’ Winry asked curiously as she sat back in her chair, looked up to the roof and then sighed.
‘Yeah… I have to go. If I do this, I’ll finally be able to set up this school of mine.’ Edward smiled as he stared at Winry.
‘Yeah… And then you’ll be able to find the Truth?’ Winry asked as she returned her gaze to him, a worried look in her eyes. Edward smiled and returned a confident nod, an attempt to reassure Winry. Winry smiled and then stood up, walking over to a small bag and pulling a small box out of it. Ed watched as Winry Returned to the table and placed the box on top of it, in front of Edward.
‘I got you this.’ Winry said shyly as Edward picked the box up and opened it, revealing a silver necklace with a pendant on it. The shape of the pendant was that of the Flamel Cross that was on the back of his red coat.
‘Winry… Thank you.’ Edward smiled as he picked up the necklace and placed it around his neck, the pendant hang from his neck and down towards his torso. Edward looked at it for a couple of seconds before placing it behind his shirt. Winry smiled at him as he stood up, gesturing for her to stand as well. As Winry stood up Edward hugged her abruptly, not giving her enough time to react. They stood there, Winry’s head in Edward’s chest and his arms around her, not saying anything, just enjoying the moment. Edward sighed and then leaned backwards a little, but kept his eyes on Winry. As she looked up at him, ready to ask him if something was wrong, he interrupted her by kissing her forehead. Her face went bright red and she pushed him away, knocking him over and onto the floor. Before either of them had a chance to talk, Edward had realized what he’d just done. His face began turning red and he couldn’t find the words he needed to speak, Ed looked over to Winry and found that she was in a similar position as well. All they could do was stare at each other awkwardly.

Winry had accompanied Edward back to the Gryphon, and she had spent the better parts of the hour petting and admiring the beast, something that the Gryphon hadn’t minded at all. Edward walked up to his ride and pet it on the head, it seemed to enjoy this.
‘Do you know where the gate to the Nexus is?’ Edward asked as the Bird gave a quick nod of its head and kneeled down a little bit, waiting for him to hop on. Edward got the feeling that it knew everything that he knew about this place. Edward got on slowly, holding onto the animal as it stood up stood up straight.
‘Now, slowly okay? And running, not flying this time.’ Edward said to the beast as he turned to Winry.
‘Well… I’ll see you-’ Edward began before he was cut off as the Gryphon began galloping, Leaving Winry standing in place as she watched the two run into the distance.
‘Be safe Ed…’ Winry said slowly as she looked at his back, smiling.