The Phoenix Alchemist: Part One

"I can't believe you and Uncle Al actually took in the kid as a student."

"Well, the kid's an orphan, and on top of that he lost his best friend. Charity lied to him and told him that if he stole a banned book from the military library vault, she'd resurrect his friend. After all was said and done, Nina and Trisha explained alchemy and reincarnation to him. After that he wouldn't take no for an answer. At least, that's what the girls said."

"That's insane. She almost dragged that boy into her stupid little conquest to achieve a taboo everyone knows is a lost cause."

Joshua knocked on the slightly ajar door of Edward Elric's study. Once he heard said former alchemist's call of "come in" he pushed the door open. Inside, Edward sat at his desk while Allan sat in the chair in front of it. Immediately, like Joshua expected, Allan glared at him and stood up.

"Morning. I was wondering if I could have a word?"

"Of course. What do you need?" Edward set down the pencil he was holding as Allan strode towards the door.

"Actually, it was Allan I wanted to talk to," Joshua walked in and closed the door behind him back to its original place.

"I don't have anything to say to you," Allan walked past Joshua, shoving his shoulder against Joshua's, grabbing the door handle.

"Allan, wait a minute," Edward halted him as he stood up. "Don't you think he deserves a chance to explain himself?"

"And why would he?" Allan glared at his father now. "Why should I give him the time of day?"

"Remember what I told you three days ago?" Edward reminded him. "People don't remain stagnant their whole lives. Joshua is no exception to that. I know you're upset about what happened in the past, but that's just it. It's in the past. If you still have issues with it, talk about it. Staying angry doesn't solve anything. You also need to ask yourself if you're angry at him for what he did, or if you're continuing to hold a grudge against him simply for his last name."

Joshua hung his head as Edward's words stung painfully in his chest, he turned towards the door. "No, it's alright. I'll leave. I won't bother either of you again."

"You're not going anywhere either," Edward stopped him as he took a set of keys out of a mug on his desk. "In fact, both of you are going to stay in this room till you work things out."

"What?! I can't do that! We'll be in here forever, and I have to get back to Rush Valley! It's been three days and I have customers who need me!"

"Unless their limbs are smashed to pieces, they can wait," Edward went to the door and opened it, stepping outside. "I don't care how you work it out, so long as my office doesn't get destroyed." He closed the door and there was the hollow click of the lock. Then, the sound of uneven footsteps receded down the hall.

The sound of that lock might as well have been Joshua's death certificate, because the moment the footsteps disappeared, Allan turned and gave him a look like he was going to kill him. Held up his hands to Allan and took a wide step back.

"W-wait! Hold on! Before you kill me and chop me up into little pieces I—"

Allan closed the gap quickly and raised his right fist back, socking Joshua in the face so hard he fell backwards on to his back. Joshua groaned and held his face, then put his fingers in his mouth. Pulling them back he was happy to see that there was no blood, nor did he knock any teeth loose. Although he was positive he'd have a bruise on his face for the next few days.

"Ok, yeah, I deserved that."

"Yes you did!"

"But I didn't tell them to jump you. Nor did I want them to. I shouldn't have made fun of you. None of us should have. I realized that later on, and it's even more painfully clear to me now that I've seen firsthand what life is like here in Risembool. But even after I said all that crap about you, even after you punched me in the nose, I wasn't going to retaliate. The others did it of their own accord."

"And that makes it okay?!" From the way Allan balled his fists up, Joshua wondered if he wasn't going to hit him again.

"No it doesn't. And I wanted to apologize to you years ago. I tried to," he stood up cautiously.

"When?! How?! By backing out of that stupid competition at the last minute just so I would come in first and not you?! How is that apologizing?! Don't you realize that the way I saw it, I couldn't even win against you without you taking pity on me?!"

"I thought maybe if you won the competition, you'd be in a good enough mood to talk to me. Okay? That was my reasoning," Joshua sighed, shaking his head.

"You couldn't have just done it before you decided to drop out?!" Allan took a step towards him.

"I tried but you didn't even care to listen! Just like now!" Joshua raised his voice to match Allan's. Allan recoiled at his words. "You're not the only person to pin me down just because of my last name, Allan! There have been so many people of all ages who place false judgment on me just because of my last name, then they won't even let me get a word into defend myself! You're not the first, and you certainly won't be the last!"

Allan opened his mouth to speak, but only air came out. The words jumbled up in his brain like wooden letters in a bag.

"Do you realize that your sister and your father are the only two people in the world other than family friends who haven't judged me before getting to know me? Not even your mother just assumed I was automatically an asshole just because my last name is Mustang. And especially not Nina."

Joshua waited for what seemed like an eternity for Allan to respond, but he never did. Joshua sighed and walked over to the chair in front of Edward's desk and sat down, leaning on the desk and crossing his legs. He faced away from Allan.

"Think whatever you want about me. I'm done trying to convince people through words."

"… Do you really like it here?" It wasn't what Joshua expected him to say, but it was better than nothing, he supposed.

"I do. Your mom is a very good cook. Better than my mom even. Just don't tell her that."

"… Dad told me you said you wanted to retire here when the time comes. Was that the truth or were you just joking?"

"I was serious. I don't lie about things like that."

Allan sighed and shook his head. "Don't think this makes us okay. You have a lot of work to do for me to accept your apology. But I won't kick you to the curb without hearing your side anymore either."

"Allan, I never expected you to like me, or even forgive me. I just didn't want anger and judgment to be the only thing either of us remember about each other," Joshua turned to face him.

"You really are nothing like your father, huh? At least, not according to what Dad told me about him." With that, Allan banged on the door. "Dad! Let us out! Dad!"

A few minutes later, there were uneven footsteps and the sound of the lock clicking. "Finished?"

"Yeah," Allan slipped past his dad and disappeared down the hallway.

"How did it go?" Edward turned to Joshua.

"Better than expected I guess. I'm still alive after all."

Edward nodded with a small grin. "Good. There's a call for you downstairs." Joshua's face twisted up into irritation and contempt. Edward laughed at his expression and waved him out into the hall. "Yeah, it's who you're probably thinking of. I've already had my crack at him. Round two is yours."

Joshua shoved his hands in his pockets, his fingers brushing up against his gloves embroidered with transmutation circles. "Can I torch his ear off through the phone?"

"Not unless you plan on buying me a new phone."

Downstairs, Allan was in the living room packing the belongings he brought with him for his short stay. Next to him on the couch was Trisha who was talking to him about something. Allan cast him a glance then looked away. Joshua sighed and picked up the phone receiver.

"Hey, what's up?"

"I have some bad news," Roy Mustang said from the other side. "Is Trisha and Nina there?"

"Trisha is," Joshua looked over at her, waving Trisha over when she looked up after hearing her name. Trisha leaned in to listen to the receiver. "What's happened?"

"Sometime last night the New Central Library was broken into and robbed. We aren't making reports and evidence public yet, but the list of things taken include several books and files on human transmutation and chimeras. After we found out exactly what was taken, we contacted several other military branches that housed sealed files and books on taboo alchemy and had them take inventory of their vaults. Three other branches reported missing materials. We have no idea how or when these other branches were robbed, but we're working on it. So far there haven't been any similarities in MO to the Pendleton incident."

"Do you want us back in Central to help with the investigations?" Joshua asked him.

"No, we have it taken care of. The military has more than enough staff to get this solved," Mustang assured him. "Instead, don't you think you should be worrying about your annual assessment that's coming up? How's it going by the way?"

Joshua slammed the receiver down onto the dock, his eyes wide and a chill running down his spine.

"Did you just hang up on him," Edward cackled from a recliner in the living room. "Damn. And here I thought only I had the guts to do that."

"Assessment, huh?" Trisha grinned at him. "You forgot about it, didn't you?"

"Dammit! I have to go back anyway!" Joshua speed walked into the living room and closed up his suitcase. "He'll take away my license faster than I can snap my fingers if I don't turn it in on time!"

"Relax. I'm sure you'll do fine," Trisha moved back into the living room, plopping down on the couch.

"No offense Trisha," Joshua said as he hopped around, putting on his shoes. "But not only are you not a state alchemist, but even if you were, you're still the daughter of the single most famous state alchemist other than my own father."

"It's not my fault I wasn't a good enough alchemist for that damn horse of a father of yours!" Trisha growled.

Edward nearly choked on his coffee. He swallowed slowly and nonchalantly.

Joshua threw on his coat, grabbed his suitcase and headed for the door. "Thank you for your hospitality, Fullmetal, sir!"

"Wait wait wait!" Trisha hopped up, crossing her arms. "Who said you're going by yourself?"

"Why the hell do you have to go with him?" Allan frowned at her from his spot on the couch.

Trisha growled and leaned over, getting in her brother's face. "Because I want to! Is that okay with you!?" She yelled at him.

Allan flinched and recoiled into the back of the couch, raising his arm in defense. "Alright, alright! Geez! No need to get cranky!"

Edward snickered into his hand, trying not to go into a full blown laughing fit. Joshua blanched as he watched the two siblings. Trisha huffed and stomped through the house to the staircase. Allan wore a deep set frown as he watched his sister go up the stairs.

"Don't you dare move a muscle! If you move from that spot I'll break your legs!"

Out of fear or reflex—he wasn't sure which—Joshua clacked his heels together, standing at attention. "Y-yes ma'am!"

"Pft," Allan scoffed. "Military dog."

"Shut up, Mecha-head," Joshua growled at him.

Both of them flinched violently when they heard Trisha yell down, "Stop bickering!"

"Dammit! Is she PMSing or something?!" Allan hissed low.

Both boys growled low in their chests as Edward nearly spilled his coffee from laughing too much. "At least she knows how to keep the two of you in line," he wiped the tears from his eyes. "That's my girl."

Hours later, Joshua, Nina and Trisha were back in Central once more, this time without Kali. Once inside Joshua's home, the girls set their suitcases in their usual place: Joshua's bedroom. Since Joshua's place wasn't the biggest and he refused to let the girls sleep on the couch, every time they stayed at his place, especially the first couple of months they stayed there, the girls took his bed and Joshua bunked on the couch. Some nights the couch cut into his back, but he didn't care one bit. He was a man. He could take a few sharp coils in the back. And when Kali stayed with them for their stop on the way to Risembool, he thankfully didn't care about sleeping on the couches with Joshua. He figured it didn't bother the kid because he had probably slept in way worse places than his old couch. However, he did make sure the sheets on his bed were changed and washed regularly, something he always forgot about before the girls came into his life. In fact, since he had been spending all of his time with them, his home had gotten progressively cleaner and neater. Even the sink managed to stay half way empty most days.

"I'm going to meet with my dad," he said as he grabbed his military uniform, heading for the bathroom to change. "We're probably going to be here for a while since I have my assessments, so if we need anything while I'm out tell me now."

"Tea! We're running low on our favorite," Nina chirped as she looked in the cupboards. "And milk."

"Forego the milk," Trisha said immediately.

"Yes milk!"

"How about a half-gallon?" Joshua rolled his eyes with a smile, closing the bathroom door. He sighed and stripped his shirt off. Trisha and Nina sure could be a handful sometimes, but they were fun to be around. And taking care of them at times wasn't so bad either. Even when he wanted to pull his hair out.

There was a knock on the door as he unbuckled his belt. "Joshua! The fruit went bad while we were gone! And so did the cheese!" Nina said in her bubbly voice.

"Alright. Can you and Trisha make a list of things we need and I'll go shopping afterwards?"

"Okay!" Her soft footsteps padded away.

Once he had his uniform pants and his dress shirt on, he sat down on the side of the bathtub, reflecting.

This marked the third year that he held the title of the Phoenix Alchemist. Edward Elric's words rang in his head at that title. What did phoenixes represent? Rebirth. Resurrection. Renewal. Longevity. Eternal life. Transformation. These were just a few of the long list of symbolic meanings associated with the phoenix. Why did his father give him such a powerful name? There wasn't really much to his alchemy in his opinion. It was more chemistry and pyrotechnics than alchemy. The alchemy factor just amplified everything he did exponentially.

Well, then there was that.

People who saw his alchemy—even other alchemists—always said that it looked like he was using magic rather than alchemy when he did that. No one could figure out how he did it. In reality it was very simple. Maybe that was it. It was so simple and inconspicuous that it was an enigma for the alchemists of today, and even of the previous generation. After his father's time as the Flame Alchemist and Edward Elric's time as the Fullmetal Alchemist, he couldn't blame them. The two men had done some pretty exceptional feats of alchemy, all without the Philosopher's Stone—without using the energy of the human soul to do it.

He wasn't that good. He didn't deserve something so heavy as the "Phoenix Alchemist." He was pretty sure his father had his techniques figured out already. And if Trisha or her father ever saw him perform his alchemy, he was damn sure they'd figure him out in the blink of an eye.

There was one way to test it.

He slipped on his uniform jacket, leaving it unbuttoned for now, and walked out of the bathroom. Trisha sat on one of the couches, her father's travelogue opened up to a page and many sheets of notepaper spread out around her. Nina sat across from her on the other couch, enjoying a cup of tea while she watched her "sister" work.

"You're really going to decode that without the files?" Joshua raised an eyebrow, grabbing an inscribed lighter that Jean Havoc had gifted to him on his eighteenth birthday off out of a bowl of several other lighters. He didn't smoke, but he found lighters useful for many reasons, and it was somewhat of a hobby of his to collect them.

"It's not that hard. I remember everything from the files. That and my dad told me I could call and ask if I got stuck."

"Not that you would," Joshua flicked open the lighter and ignited it, watching the flame flicker. He looked over at Trisha and released the gas button on the lighter. "Hey, do me a favor."

He pulled out his alchemy gloves. White ones with a fairly large transmutation array that almost spilled outside of the back of his hand. Within the double circles and arrangement of triangles and runes was a birdlike form that overlapped with the circles and spilled outside of them. A double helix of runes in an old forgotten language, read only by alchemists spiraled around the bird.

Trisha blinked at him as she watched him pull out his gloves and slip one of them on, placing the other back in his pocket. The circle array on the back intrigued her. She wanted a closer look so she could make out what the runes were and what the words said. With circles like that, she could only imagine what kind of alchemy he was capable of.

Joshua moved over to the couch Trisha sat on and sat facing her. Trisha's cheeks heated up as he faced her. However, when he lifted up the lighter and ignited it, she became intrigued. He let the flame flicker for a couple seconds, then a glow of crimson and orange alchemic light flashed around his hand as he held the lighter.

And then the flame danced.

Very quickly, the flame warped and reshaped itself into a bird. A phoenix more precisely. And then the phoenix grew. The flame built on itself, making the bird larger until it was the size of her face and floated a good three inches above the mouth of the lighter, a trail of flame leading from the tail to the lighter. Suddenly the bird took off, darting around the room, missing drapes and other flammable objects by mere inches. It lit a set of decorative candles he had mounted on a wall before flying back towards them, rolling itself into a ball and shooting back down into the lighter. Joshua released the gas button and the magic flame disappeared.

Trisha's eyes widened and sparkled as she gasped in awe. Nina too was speechless. "Whoa!" Trisha exclaimed, surprising Joshua. "How did you do that!? It was like you were controlling the fire! Like magic! How did you do that!?" She clenched her hands in front of her.

Joshua blinked and leaned back. "Y-you really don't know?"

It was Trisha's turn to blink in confusion. "What? Why would I? Even if it's simple, it's like you said about your father's alchemy. It's not that simple underneath the surface. So I really have no idea how you did it. Especially something as extravagant and over the top as that."

Joshua was flabbergasted. Trisha Elric really didn't have a clue how he performed his phoenix alchemy. He looked to Nina who shrugged and shook her head. Neither of them could figure it out. He groaned in frustration. "Oh come on! It's really not that hard! How could you guys not figure it out just from that?"

Neither of them responded and he sighed, standing up. He went into his bedroom then returned with a large leather case. He set it down on the coffee table, then spun in the code on the combination lock. Opening it up, he revealed a wide array of small flasks, test tubes, containers, bundles of different materials and several other things the girls couldn't identify. Nina moved over to the couch by Trisha. The two girls watched in awe. Joshua pulled out a piece of material that was silver and looked like a table cloth, only much smaller. He moved the case and set the cloth down on the table, unfolding it. Drawn on the cloth was a transmutation circle. The very same one on Joshua's gloves. He took the glove off of his hand and stuffed it in his pocket with the other.

Turning to the case once more, he picked up six small glass bottles with cork tops. He organized them then sat them down on the table. One by one he popped the corks then dumped a small amount of each onto the cloth in a straight, vertical line. He replaced the corks then set the bottles aside.

"Okay, now watch closely," he said, turning to the girls.

Turning back to the set up in front of them, he placed his hands on the circle. The circle glowed crimson and orange sparks flickered over the six piles of material. Suddenly, the materials sparked and ignited into six different colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. The flames danced for a moment before one by one they shot up and over into an arch, from the piles to another spot on the table. The six flame arches all formed a burning, flickering rainbow of color that stayed for about five seconds before dissipating into nothing, leaving six scorched piles of used up material.

The girls wow'ed and clapped. "That was amazing!" Nina cheered. "It was so pretty!"

"Okay, now tell me how I did it," Joshua told them, leaning back against the couch and crossing his arms.

Trisha hummed and moved closer to the table, looking at the remnants of the six materials. "Well, as for the colors, that's easy. The red flame was strontium chloride. The orange was calcium chloride. The yellow was sodium carbonate. The green was cupric sulfate. The blue was cupric chloride. And the violet was potassium chloride."

"Yes that's right," Joshua nodded. "What else?"

"Well, you also sparked the materials without a lighter or flame source," Nina pointed out. "So somehow you started a fire on each one with alchemy. Did you manipulate the atmospheric content around the materials so that sparks formed?"

"Yes, but how?"

"That's easy too," Trisha crossed her arms and nodded. "You put the molecules of each element in the air into an agitated state so that they create enough friction between each other and sparks form." She sighed and shook her head. "It's the flame pattern I don't get. Fire doesn't move in that way normally. Usually in order to make a pattern out of flame you have to pour something highly flammable like gasoline into the pattern and then—"

The girls looked at each other and grinned. "Oxygen currents!"

Joshua smiled and nodded, sitting up and unfolded his arms. "Yep. That's exactly right. I use concentrated currents and pockets of oxygen and other catalysts to form, shape and move fire how I want. Then I use different materials and chemicals to change its composition and use. I can also revive 'dead' materials, like these burned compounds or even wet dynamite, provided I have the right materials to do so."

"That's incredible," Trisha grinned at him. "I never would have figured it out if I hadn't sat and thought about it rationally. Your style of alchemy really makes it hard for even scientists—let alone everyday people—to not jump to conclusions. It really does look like magic. In essence, the theatricality of your style acts as a distraction from the science of it. The less a person understands something, the more vulnerable they are to it. It's genius."

Joshua blinked and nearly recoiled at her praise of his style. "Genius? Hardly. I'm sure my father or even yours would have been able to think of something like this. I'm sure my father has it figured out. He probably did the moment he first saw it."

"Maybe, maybe not," Nina shrugged. "You never know. He may have had to sit and mull over it like we would have, had you not given us a second demonstration."

He sighed and turned to clean up the mess of burnt chemical compounds and his cloth. "Maybe. It'd doubtful though. My alchemy really isn't so complicated."

"No, but it's simple enough to where it's not painfully obvious," Trisha crossed her arms underneath her chest. "You should give yourself more credit."

Folding up the cloth and placing it back in the leather case, he smiled at the girls. "I'm glad you two think highly of me, if no one else. Thanks, girls."

Trisha rolled her eyes and started to protest, only to have Nina grab her arm, shaking her head. "You're welcome, Joshua," Nina responded for them both.

About ten minutes later, Joshua was out the door with the list of groceries Nina had written for him. Once the door was closed and they were sure Joshua was gone, Trisha turned to Nina.

"What the hell do you think all that was about?"

Nina shook her head. "I don't know. Obviously he was looking for some sort of validation or proof, or maybe even just testing his own power to see how unique it truly was." She wandered around the room, picking up stray clothing and dishes, tidying things up as she went. "After all, the state alchemist program still only accepts the best alchemists. That hasn't changed. Maybe with his assessment coming up he's questioning whether or not he really deserves to be one."

"So you're saying he thinks his alchemy is weak?" Trisha crossed her arms once more and leaned back against the couch, crossing one leg over the other. "Well he's dead wrong. Today might have been the only time we've seen his alchemy, but I could tell just from that demonstration that his alchemy is not to be underestimated."

Nina gave her sister a long hard stare. "Sister… You're Uncle Ed's daughter, and the only one of his kids that can do alchemy. He may not have the ability to perform alchemy anymore, but haven't you ever felt like you were standing in his shadow before? Like no matter what you come up with, your alchemy will never be as strong as or as great as his?"

Trisha blinked at Nina then looked down at the metal knuckles of her automail hand. She sighed lightly. "Well… yeah, of course. Sometimes. But if we lived our lives letting our parents' shadows loom over us, we'd never get anywhere. Not as individuals and certainly not as the human race. It isn't always about being better than our parents. It's about what we ourselves can contribute to the world relative to ourselves."

"Then maybe Joshua just hasn't gotten to that place yet to where he can say with confidence that he as an individual has created something that benefits society. Something he can be proud of." Nina took the dishes to the sink, dropped the clothes in the dirty laundry hamper then came back into the living room to strip Joshua's sheets and blankets that he had set out on the couch he usually slept on. "We just have to make him see that he is a great alchemist deserving of his title."

"Yeah," Trisha scoffed. "Easier said than done."

Joshua sat in his father's office at the Mustang mansion. He sat on one of the couches and his father sat in one of the armchairs. A tray of tea and cookies had been set out on the coffee table. His father, on the other hand, was enjoying a cup of the finest coffee in the country, but Joshua thought that a large bottle of cold Cretean Cream sounded great right about now. He poured a healthy amount of sweet cream and two spoons of sugar into his tea and tried to imagine that the liquid in the cup was something much, much harder.

"Maybe instead of showing your accomplishments of the past year, you can show the State Alchemists' Committee your plans for the future," Mustang offered as he sipped his coffee. "You know. Give them a game plan worth approving you for. Something for them to look forward to. Something they'll want to keep throwing money at."

Joshua popped a linzer cookie into his mouth and washed it down with his tea. The sweet and sweeter combination made him cringe. Maybe trying to turn his tea into Cretean Cream wasn't such a good idea after all.

"It was just a suggestion," Mustang teased him with a laugh.

Joshua gave his father a pointed look. "That's not what I was… Never mind. It's a good idea. That is if I actually had something to make them look forward to. The truth is, I'm not exactly sure where else to go with my alchemy. I know there's always room for improvement with anyone's alchemy, but I just can't figure out where to start. And I don't want my alchemy to reach the point where people start thinking, 'hey, you know. That would make a great weapon of war. Let's put him on the frontlines and make him create nukes out of our enemies' dead bombs and old ammunitions depots.'"

The smile Mustang gave was amused, but also pained. "No, we definitely don't want that. No matter how quickly we'd end up winning our wars. I never—and I still don't—want you in the business of warfare in the military. No one wins in war, no matter what anyone says. Both sides always lose something."

Joshua nodded. "I like my humanity, thank you very much. I became an alchemist to help people, not kill them." He downed the rest of his tea.

Mustang gave him a pointed look this time. "We both know that wasn't your only motivation."

"Yeah well," he rolled his eyes. "I still didn't get what I wanted. So helping others is all I have at the moment. And I'd like to develop that side of my alchemy more. Not just making things go boom and creating pretty, colored light shows out of fire. As much as I like pyrotechnics, if I wanted to make pretty fireworks I'd have used my alchemy for just that: fireworks."

"I have to agree with that as well," Mustang nodded and finished his first cup of coffee, pouring himself another.

"What, that I should stick to people pleasing, or that fireworks would have been the lesser career choice?"

"Both," his father rose his cup to his lips.

Joshua growled and opened his mouth to speak when he heard the door click open. His father's home secretary—a cute strawberry blonde with her hair in a bun and emerald green eyes—peeked inside. Her name was Josephine, but for as long as he could remember Joshua had always called her Josie. She referred to him as Josh and some of the other staff joked around that together they were the "Jo-Jo twins." At one point there had been rumors about them since she was only a few years older than him, but she was more like an older sister to him.

"I'm sorry, sir. May I pull you away for a moment? There's a call for you," she said in her bubbly voice.

"Yes, I'm coming," Mustang stood up, taking his coffee cup with him. He turned to Joshua. "I'll be back shortly."

Joshua nodded and watched as Josephine side stepped to let him out. She turned and smiled at him. "Hello, Josh. How's it going?"

"Eh. You know. It's going," he smiled back.

She giggled and shook her head. "We should get lunch sometime. We've both been busy lately. You more than me I think."

Joshua nodded with a smile. "Yeah, definitely."

"To lunch or you being busier than me?" Josephine grinned as she turned to walk back out the door.

"Both," Joshua laughed.

After a minute of sitting and twiddling his thumbs, Joshua stood up with a sigh. He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked around his father's office, looking at all the bookshelves, picture frames, file cabinets and everything else that was contained in the large room. When he passed the desk, he scanned it with his eyes, looking at nothing in particular, yet at the same time taking in everything on the desk. He reached out and picked up a picture frame, turning it over to look at the face of it. He wasn't sure what to think when he saw the picture it contained. It was a picture of his mother holding him, both of them smiling. He was probably no older than four or five. The tiny Joshua in the picture wore a huge, goofy grin and waved at the camera. He knew that it was his father who was behind the camera.

A smile pulled at the corners of his mouth as he set he picture back how it was. As he did, he caught a sight of something white and strangely shaped in the dust bin next to the desk. Blinking, he looked down into the bin.

It was one of his father's ignition gloves.

His blood froze, a cold sweat forming on the back of his neck. He glanced back at the door, seeing that it was mostly closed but slightly ajar. He had heard his father talking on the phone just a couple minutes earlier, but now the anteroom was completely silent. When Joshua looked back to the glove in the dust bin, his heart stopped. Leaning over, he carefully picked it from the bin, turning it over in his hands. The transmutation circle was in shreds. No wonder he threw it out. But in a place so careless as the dust bin in his office? Then again, it wasn't like this was the Central Headquarters. This was his home. His home with guards and security systems and everything else.

"I rescheduled your meeting for next week, sir," he heard Josephine speak.

"Thank you. Did you also schedule the recruits' banquet?"

"Yes."

Panic took over and Joshua stuffed the glove into his jacket pocket, careful not to rub the fabric against itself. The last thing he needed was to set himself on fire. He quietly rushed back over to the couch, siting in his original spot and leaning back against it. He took a long, silent breath, hoping his expression didn't give him away as his father walked in.

"Sorry about that. I went to get some files from another room," Mustang said as he sat back down in the armchair. He set the stack of files down on the table. Looking up at his son, he blinked. "You feeling okay? You look pale."

"Do I?" He silently rejoiced as his voice came out nonchalant. He rubbed his cheek then his forehead. "Maybe I'm coming down with something."

"If you are, keep it away from me," Mustang half joked. "I'll send over some of your mother's chicken soup."

"The girls would like that," Joshua nodded. He leaned forward, taking the file on top of the stack. "So what's all this?"

"These are about half of the reports I did during my time as a state alchemist for my yearly assessment. I figured I'd give you some to read over. Maybe it'll give you some ideas."

"Wow. Awesome," he flipped through the file, scanning over the contents. "Whoa. This is from when you were still a Colonel in East City. Should be a page turner."

Mustang chuckled and patted the stack. "Take them home with you. Get them back to me when you can. Keep them for as long as you need and if you want to read over the other half, let me know."

"You bet I will," Joshua grinned, placing the file back on the stack. "Thanks. This should get me started for now."

Mustang nodded and the two of them stood up, Joshua picking up the files. Mustang squeezed his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I know you'll pass. The committee would be stupid to recommend putting you up for revocation."

With a chuckle, Joshua grinned up at him. "Thanks, Dad."

"No problem," Mustang walked back to his desk as Joshua left the room.

Joshua made his way to the front of the mansion as quick as he could, praying that his father didn't notice the missing glove until he left, or better yet at all, but that was doubtful. Once he was outside with the files under arm, he pulled the glove out of his pocket, looking over it again. He grinned to himself then slipped it back in. Picking up the pace, his heart sped up to match his footsteps. The quicker he got home, the quicker he could pick the glove apart.

When Joshua returned home, having remembered to stop by the store at the last minute to pick up groceries, he set the bags in the kitchen then raced into his room where a couple of desks were set up with several research materials, including a microscope. Joshua was so distracted, Trisha's voice didn't even register when she spoke to him. Trisha had stared at him with an expression of confusion. However, she had seen this particular behavior in both her father and her brother. She knew that when men—scientists and mechanics specifically—got like this, there was no talking to them until they did what they had set out to do. So she left him be and helped Nina put away the groceries.

"Looks like his trip home helped him out big time," Trisha said as she put the carton of milk in the fridge, debating on whether or not she could get away with dumping it down the drain and putting the empty carton in the fridge instead.

"Yeah, I agree," Nina responded as she snatched the carton away from her sister when she saw her hovering it over the sink. She gave her a pointed look and instead pushed the bag filled with dry goods towards her. "I wonder what Fuhrer Mustang said to him?"

"Don't know," Trisha frowned and shrugged, pulling out cans and bread. "We won't know until he becomes responsive again."

"Like Allan and Uncle Ed," Nina giggled.

It was about five minutes later when they finished putting away the groceries when a loud "Holy shit!" came from Joshua's room. The girls looked at each other then rushed out of the kitchen and into the bedroom. Joshua stood up, his chair knocked over as he leaned over a microscope. He fiddled with some sort of fabric underneath the lens.

"What happened?" Trisha asked as she rushed up to the desk. "What is that?"

"I can't believe that's how it works," Joshua said to no one in particular.

"How what works?" Nina picked up what looked like a demolished glove. "This?"

Trisha looked at the glove in Nina's hands, and when she flipped it over Trisha took it from her, gasping. She smoothed over the ripped section. There was extensive damage to the transmutation circle, but all she needed to see was the salamander at the top. Trisha and Nina looked bug eyed at each other before turning to Joshua.

"Did you steal this?!"

"It was in his trash bin in his office. That means it's free game."

"You dumbass! That only applies to trash that's left on the street for collection!"

"Which means it would have gotten put out anyway. But that's not important, look." Joshua stepped away from the microscope.

Trisha blinked at him but looked into the microscope anyway. "What the hell?"

"Let me see!" Nina put her eye to the lens when Trisha moved away. Through the microscope there were several frayed white threads along with other threads that were shiny and almost metallic. "Are those… metal fibers?"

Joshua nodded. "They were woven into the fabric. I cut out a piece of the glove and put it under the microscope. I noticed there was something shiny in the threads when I shined light on it, so I pulled some of the strands apart and those fibers are what I pulled out of them. They're the same size as the thread but they're strong and flexible enough to be woven into the fabric."

He pulled the glove under the microscope instead, placing the fingers underneath the lens. "And look. They're more concentrated near the fingertips. And besides that, when you rub two fibers together, they don't do anything. But if you take a bunch of the fibers along with the thread." Joshua took some of the thread and fibers in each hand and rubbed them against each other firmly. Sparks popped up from the strands.

"It sparks," Trisha nodded. She took the glove into her flesh and blood hand, feeling the texture of it, then she pulled on it with her metal hand. "It's durable too, except for when you have a sharp knife or blade, which is surprising given the size and thickness of the metal fibers."

"That's why I'm confused," Joshua crossed his arms and shook his head. "This is no ordinary metal for it stay fairly strong and durable yet flexible when turned into such thin strands. I don't even know what kind of blacksmithing skills it would take to make metal fiber like this."

Trisha hummed, rubbing her chin as she looked at the glove in thought. "Maybe… Maybe my dad would know." She looked up at Joshua. "He's been pretty much everywhere. Maybe he'll know something about it."

Joshua blinked then grabbed Trisha by the shoulders, shaking her. "You're a genius!" Nina laughed at the flustered expression Trisha had on her face.

In the living room, Trisha spun in the number for home and handed the receiver to Joshua. "Hello?" The Fullmetal Alchemists' voice sounded on the other end.

"Hello, sir. It's Joshua. Sorry to bother you, but as it turns out I have something you might be able to help me with," Joshua stood up straight out of habit, even though the former state alchemist on the other end couldn't see him. Behind him, Trisha scoffed and laughed.

"Oh really? Let's hear it then. What's up?"

"Well, I happened to get my hands on a particular fabric. When I examined the fabric under a microscope, I discovered that the fabric had metal fibers woven into it. The fibers were strong for their size and were very flexible. Almost like regular thread."

"Really? That's interesting. Was there a purpose for the metal fibers in this particular fabric."

"Uh… well…" Joshua bit his lip nervously.

"Let me guess," there was a grin in Edward's voice. "Is this particular fabric you got your hands on Mustang's ignition cloth?"

"Um… I admit to nothing."

Edward laughed on the other end. "Fair enough. So, metal fibers woven into the fabric, huh? So that's how he does it."

"Yes, sir. I was wondering if you've seen or heard of any place that does anything like that in your travels."

"Hmmm. Now that I think about it…" Joshua's heart stopped. "There was a mining town Al and I passed through on our way to Youswell. They were famous for fabrics with metal fiber woven into them. So much so they were commissioned to make special uniforms for the military. They apparently acted like chain mail to make the fabric stronger. Rumor has it that when the uniforms were worn with other bullet resistant protection, they could stop bullets from fully penetrating flesh. Although I imagine the fibers for the uniforms would be thicker cut than those used in the ignition cloth."

"In order to prevent sparking," Joshua added with a nod.

"Exactly. Actually, when I visited the town, I left with samples of the fabric. In red of course. I was planning on using it for my red coat."

"Bullet resistant coat for an alchemist that's constantly being shot at," Joshua chuckled humorlessly. "Good idea."

"I know right! Except the samples ended up getting lost during our travels and I never had the opportunity to go back. Not to mention I had no idea if they would even give me that much again. Especially after I ceased to be a State Alchemist."

"Dammit," Joshua sighed. "But I'm sure you remember what town it was, right?"

"Of course. I'm the type to write everything down. Even right now I was taking notes on what you told me about your dad's gloves." The smug tone in the Fullmetal Alchemist's voice made Joshua nervous. "But I'll tell you what. How about we make an exchange?"

Joshua's stomach twisted and a cold shiver ran through him. "You mean like… equivalent exchange…? I give you something and you give me what I need?"

"Don't worry, Colt," Edward laughed on the other side. "I'm not gonna make you sell me your soul. I'll tell you the name of the town and the name of a contact and I'll send you a letter of introduction so you can talk to him. In return, I want you to bring me either a roll of fabric in red with the metal fibers in it or samples of the metal alloy. Bonus points if you bring me both. And guess what? I'll even give you an incentive to bring them to me."

"An incentive?"

"Yup." There was a grin in Edward's voice. "Bring me samples, and I'll make you a pair of shiny new ignition gloves with your phoenix circle on them. By hand of course, given I have no other way to do it."

Joshua laughed genuinely this time. "So the Fullmetal Alchemist knows sewing now huh? You got a deal."

"See? I knew you'd understand." The former alchemist chuckled. "Alright, Colt, write this down."

Joshua scrambled to grab a pencil and a piece of paper as Edward told him the name of the town and how to get there. He told Joshua that he'd send his letter in the mail and to wait a few days until it got there before leaving Central. He hung up the phone afterwards with a sigh, though it wasn't one of stress. He turned and grinned at the girls as they leaned across the back of the couch, looking at him curiously.

"Enjoy your time here in Central, cause we'll be leaving again in a few days. Ready for another trip?"

Nina and Trisha grinned at each other then nodded to Joshua. "You kidding?" Trisha said to him. "We were born to do this."

I LIVE! (just barely. University sucks)

I was writing on this chapter today and I was debating on whether to post this as one long chapter or as multiple medium length chapters. This is part one of Joshua's story. I've got a lot of great things planned for him. I will try my best to update whenever possible. I'm hoping for a slow summer, aside from my first trip on a plane in May.

Enjoy! Many apologies! Thank you to all of you for not unfollowing my story! I'm really not worthy of it. *tears*