Fullmetal Alchemist: Steel Phoenix-
Chapter One: Graveyard Shift
Disclaimer: I do not own:
Ed: Me.
Al: Or me.
Other characters: Or us.
But I do own:
Yuki: Hello!
Shiro: Konnichiwa!
Kai: Yo.
Taylia: Hello
ON WITH THE STORY!
Brigadier General Mustang sighed as the newly updated list appeared from under his stack of paperwork:
Lt. Major Glen
Captain Stanley
Brigadier General Lennon
Major General Holloway
Lt. Greene
Colonel Winfelder
Second Lt. WalkerIt had been 1½ months since that serial killer had started knocking off military officers, and already, they'd claimed the lives of 7 personnel. Things had been pretty hectic in the last 2 weeks especially; Alphonse Elric, who had just recently joined his brother in the military and –ironically- become the Iron Armor Alchemist, had already gotten into some trouble on his first assignment to Symmeria.
A man belonging to a radical group was going on a killing spree with explosives, and since Symmeria was known for being a very peaceful city, it had absolutely zero chance of fighting back by means of military force. Only one alchemist aside from him was fighting back, a Symmerian native by the name of Taylia Kuznetsov. Even with their combined efforts, the terrorist was in a much higher level of skill. He had managed to catch Al off guard long enough to try and bury him under the rubble of an apartment building. As Al described it, Taylia had thrown herself over him without even a second's hesitation, but because of how the building toppled, both her legs were completely maimed by the railings that were built on the outside.
Taylia had been named a State Alchemist, the Silver Rose Alchemist after her former job as a florist; she was nicknamed Hai-Hana, Silver Flower, for the silver roses she harvested with the use of hydroponics (1). Her legs had to be amputated and replaced by automail (courtesy of the Rockbell mechanics Winry and Pinako). Alphonse, guilt-ridden and thinking that it was his fault she was hurt (though she tried to convince him otherwise), took it upon himself to help her walk again with her new automail legs.
"General Mustang, sir."
The Flame Alchemist looked up as the newly promoted Commander Havoc walked in with a file in one hand and saluting with the other.
"At ease. What's the news this time? Another officer gone?"
Havoc's face fell.
"Yes; Captain Arlen was murdered last night in Rantoul. However, this is something a little more interesting. Take a look at this."
Mustang opened up the file Havoc had brought in; inside were several snapshots and a very vague description of who they thought it was.
"The woman you see in the picture has been spotted numerous times around town, twice doing alchemy. As you can see, she has two visible tattoos of transmutation circles, one on her left shoulder and the other below the collarbone, so we can assume that she doesn't need one anytime else."
Mustang studied the clearest picture closely.
The woman shown was in a jumping position, her long, braided dark brown hair flying behind her, likely around waist-length. On top, it was rather messy with spiky bangs, one hanging in her face and the other two (one on each side) framing the sides of her face. Covering the top half of her face was a white mask with a beak and slits for eyes, decorated with red markings and a black kanji for fushichou, phoenix, on the forehead. A jagged crack ran from the top of the mask to the bottom, bringing his attention to the rest of her.
From what her clothes allowed, he could see that she had a slender neck and feminine shoulders, but fairly well built. Her shirt was a bit complex; it was a strapless charcoal-gray shirt with one black buckle serving as the top of the shirt, held tight by a silver buckle. There were 2 more, smaller ones around her waist, the shirt stopping at a point just above her belt and exposing some skin. Again, she was fairly muscular, but toned down to show a sleek, feminine body. Two thin black straps rested over her shoulders, and around each arm was a black strap with a silver buckle just like the ones on her shirt. They each held in place a very loose charcoal-gray long sleeve that hung down a bit on the outside.
As for her belt, it looked slightly like she had a trench coat tucked into it and hanging down to her ankles. In the front, a dark gray loincloth style piece of fabric hung down to the middle of her shins. Her pants were loose, black cargoes that were tucked into the tops of her shin-high charcoal armored boots with a rectangular metal plate held to the front by 3 black straps.
On her hands was a pair of black fingerless gloves with a rectangular metal plate on the backs of her hands, and if he had to guess her height, it would be around 5'6"-5'8" or so. Much to his surprise, he realized she was smirking at whoever took the shot.
"Every time she runs off, people have reported, she leaves behind one of these."
He held up a feather: a steel feather. It was made with amazing craftsmanship, and even though it seemed impossible to believe, Mustang could already tell by looking at it that it was handcrafted. Each of the metal fibers was a little rough if studied closely, but otherwise, it was almost perfect.
"People have started calling her the Steel Phoenix Alchemist since we still have not gotten a name from her, nor have we confirmed her nationality." Havoc continued. "What kind of alchemy she used was unconfirmed as well, so we don't know whether she is a friend or a threat."
"There's only one way to find out; Havoc, bring me Fullmetal and Blitzkrieg."
"For the millionth time, Al, I'm fine!"
"You lost both legs, Taylia! It's my fault you got this way to begin with!"
The Symmerian girl just folded her arms and scowled. There was no convincing this guy; she had repeated that she had voluntarily protected him probably a hundred times by now and he still thought it was his fault that her legs were gone.
"At least let me make up for it!"
"For the last time, it wasn't your fault! No!"
Al gave her a big-eyed pouty look. Taylia's eyes widened as she turned away and tried not to be swayed by what she called his "kicked puppy look". The first time he'd used it on her, it took almost all her willpower not to scream a cliche, fangirl-ish "SQUEE!" at his cuteness.
"NO…. that won't work on me…. Damn it."
Taylia sighed in defeat, making Al grin.
"You're just too cute for your own damn good."
"Oh really?"
The Silver Rose alchemist paused. The smirk on Al's face had 'busted' written all over.
"I just said that out loud, didn't I…"
"Yep."
Taylia rubbed her temples wearily, pretending to be annoyed. Al just smiled.
While most of the city was asleep, one person was still fully awake. If anyone had been standing on the streets and looking up at the rooftops, they would see a dark figure moving from one to the other, performing acrobatics most would call impossible. It was another one of those eerily silent nights, the kind where all of Central was lulled into an uneasy sleep. With the serial killer out there and so many of the officers with families, quite a few people were fearing for their lives.
I won't let it happen… not after what happened to Arquillion…
From under the mask, angry, fiery eyes narrowed in remembrance, still in pain from the haunting memory.
No, not again.
"I suppose you're wondering why I called you in here."
The Flame Alchemist received a hating glare from both of his subordinates.
"Damn right we are, it's almost midnight you-!"
"Enough, Fullmetal. Look, I'll be brief; there have been numerous sightings of an alchemist running around Central, known only by her dubbed nickname the Steel Phoenix Alchemist. Your job is to gather as much information about her as possible, and if possible, apprehend her and bring her back to HQ. I must warn you, though, she does not use a transmutation circle and we have no idea how powerful she is."
Natasha raised an eyebrow.
"As interesting as all that is, mind giving us the 10-4 on what she looks like? The name 'Steel Phoenix' doesn't help us in a search."
"Take a look at this photo."
He handed over the photo he'd been studying earlier. Ed stared at it hard; it seemed almost like he was… reminiscing?
"It feels like I've seen that mask before…" He murmured, almost inaudibly.
Natasha scowled, making Mustang smirk.
I sense jealousy coming from Blitzkrieg…
"You ought to get going now. The only times Steel Phoenix has been spotted were at night, and with a full moon tonight it should be a little easier to track her down."
"Alright. Let's go."
As the Blitzkrieg and Fullmetal alchemists walked out of Mustang's office to proceed with their assignment, Ed couldn't help but think.
If that really is you, are you still as mad as you were back then?
FLASHBACK
"Mo-oooommmm! Where are we goin'?""I told you, Ed. We're going to greet the newcomers in town. They have a little girl about your age as well, so maybe you can make friends."
Seven-year-old Edward crossed his arms.
"Great, another girl. Winry is enough trouble already."
"Brother, be nice!" Alphonse replied.
The older Elric brother said nothing the rest of the way until they came up to a wooden house fairly similar to their own with the exception of the fact that it was probably twice the size. Two men were heaving large boxes out of a pickup truck while a woman watched them and a small brunette girl was walking up to the truck. Much to the surprise of the three Elrics, she jumped up to the edge of the truck bed, dug up a box almost as big as she was, and jumped back down, carrying it on one shoulder as though it were nothing. Ed stared at her.
True to his mother's word, she was about his age. She wasn't very tall, a few inches shorter than he was. Her hair was dark brown, pulled into a short ponytail at the nape of her neck, the rest messy and hanging in spiky bangs in her face. Her eyes were too hidden by her bangs to be seen clearly, making them appear a dull, lifeless gray. She had a surprisingly athletic build, and was clad in a black long-sleeved shirt with a high collar, a pair of dark gray pants and black boots similar to his. Both her hands were bandaged up, for one reason or another, showing only the top halves of her fingers.
"You two go of and play, maybe invite the girl to come along. I'll call you when it's time to go."
All it took was for the new neighbors' black and white cat to pass by and Al was occupied for the rest of the day. Ed, already bored, wandered into the house where the two movers were setting down a couch. The girl was nowhere in sight. Almost as if on cue, resident brunette walked past Ed, who was still standing in the doorway, and started up the stairs. She paused a second before looking down at Ed as if to ask, "are you coming or what?" Getting the message, Ed scampered after her up the stairs. She didn't stop until she got up to the top floor, the attic.
Inside, the ceiling was slanted like an A, and there was a window looking out over Resembool. Without speaking, she kicked the door open with a heavy boot, tossed the box onto the floor, and started to take out the contents while putting them in the place she wanted them as she did so.
A hammock was hung in the corner next to the door, and numerous papers with transmutation circles were tacked to the walls. She easily transmuted several bookshelves out of the walls, cramming them with alchemy books, all of them advanced or expert level material. She assembled a small nightstand with an oil lamp on it, and the last thing she put up was a half-face mask, a white phoenix mask with red markings and black kanji reading fushichou on the forehead.
"Whoa, you're an alchemist?"
She nodded as she sat in her hammock with a sketchpad and pencil. Ed got up and took one of the books off the shelf.
"Mind if I-?"
She nodded again, piquing his curiosity.
"Don't you talk?"
She stared at the floor.
"Not much." She said quietly. Her voice was hoarse, likely from lack of use.
"Why not?"
"Nothin' to say."
Satisfied with at least getting her to talk, Ed started to get into the book he'd selected, which had been the only intermediate-level alchemy book on the shelves. For the next hour or so, there was nothing but the sounds of pages turning, a pencil scratching, and Ed occasionally changing positions as he read. It wasn't until around sundown that Mrs. Elric called her son down.
"Ed! It's time to go home!"
Both kids looked up from what they were doing. Ed groaned.
"Aw, man…"
The girl just sighed and put her pencil behind one ear, studying whatever she'd been drawing. Ed got up and looked at it; she'd drawn an incredibly realistic picture of himself sitting cross-legged on the floor and completely absorbed in the book he'd been reading.
"Wow, that's really good!"
"ED! Come on!" His mother called again.
"I gotta go…"
"You can come back and keep reading."
Ed looked up at the girl, who had decided to speak.
"Really?"
He could have sworn he saw a ghost of a smile on her face as she nodded. Ed jumped up to his feet and stretched.
"Okay, see ya tomorrow!"
As he was about to run out the door, he paused.
"Hey, you didn't tell me your name yet!"
She stared at him, and it was then he noticed her eyes; they were the most beautiful fiery crimson-gold eyes he'd ever seen.
"Kai Utariyma."
Ed grinned.
"See ya tomorrow, Kai!"
"This way!"
"Split up! We'll cut off her retreat!"
"Alright!"
Ed bolted right as Natasha went left. Thirty feet below, the cobblestone street rushed past as he jumped over another gap between rooftops. Quite a ways ahead of him, Steel Phoenix jumped over a rather large alley, performing a graceful front flip in the process.
Show off.
This Steel Phoenix girl was one hell of a fighter; they had taken a squadron of about 20 soldiers with them, and in only a matter of minutes, Steel Phoenix had used her alchemy and eliminated all but the Fullmetal and Blitzkrieg Alchemists.
Up ahead, black slits serving for two eyes to see through watched the ground below as their owner leaped over another gap between buildings. Steel Phoenix, as she was dubbed, smirked, the leer visible thanks to the mask only covering the top half of her face. Time seemed to move in slow motion as her quick senses picked up wind on metal, her even faster reflexes kicking in as she leapt forward and became parallel with the ground as several metal spikes that had been aimed at her legs by the female alchemist now passed by on either side of her. In one fluid movement as she landed, she put one hand down on the edge of the roof and hand-sprung 30 feet to the ground below where she landed in a crouched position, not even phased.
The odd sensation of a 6th sense kicked in as she somersaulted out of the way as a bolt of lightning slammed into the ground where she had just been a few milliseconds ago.
That girl is really starting to get on my nerves…
Ed looked over at a pissed-off Natasha, who had just tried to incinerate Steel Phoenix with a lightning bolt.
"Natasha, what the hell are you doing? We're trying to capture her, not fry her to a crisp!" He shouted, slightly angered.
The air was suddenly filled by a shrill war cry as a phoenix-shaped blast of fire shot towards the Blitzkrieg Alchemist, who barely managed to avoid being cremated by Steel Phoenix's retaliatory attack. Ed looked down into the alley where Phoenix had dropped down into to see that there were transmutation circles on both her shoulders that had more designs going down her arms, and they were glowing blue as her gloved fists were engulfed in a kind of electric fire.
Oh, NOW she's pissed.
Phoenix crouched low before jumping some 7 feet up the wall, quickly jumping up again, eventually zigzagging up from the ground to the rooftops. Before Ed could react, she roundhouse kicked him out of the way and charged at Natasha. Her punches would have been invisible if it weren't for the blue electric fire around her fists, her strikes were so fast. Natasha was barely managing to dodge the blows, and as Phoenix faked a left punch and clocked the Blitzkrieg Alchemist with a nasty right hook, Ed was struck by another flashback.
"Is Kai home?"
Kai's "mother" looked down at him strangely.
"Kai? You mean that wench has a name?" She jerked her head to the side yard with a scowl. "She's training."
Ed just blinked once before turning and running around the house. In the back, Kai was practicing fighting techniques. Just as he was rounding the corner, she jumped into the air and performed a spinning kick, landing a little less than gracefully on the ground.
"Whoa! That was awesome!"
Kai looked over to where he was standing, again with that almost untraceable smile.
"C'mon, I'll show you to do it."
"Hey, Ed! A little help would be much appreciated!"
Ed did a double take to snap back into reality. Natasha was getting pummeled by Phoenix, who was now waiting for her to get up. Transmuting his arm into a blade, Ed leaped over to where both alchemists were standing.
"No, you're not Kai! You're just an imposter!"
Ed swung a powerful blow at the beak of Phoenix's mask, but not surprisingly, she dodged it. All it did was fuel his determination to conquer his target, but the fact that they were so evenly matched made it harder.
Phoenix back flipped over his head, slamming both hands into the ground and withdrawing a pair of katanas. One of them had the kanji symbols Kuro Shinigami (2) carved into the blade, the other reading Shinsei-Na Seijaku (3). She crossed the blades in an X in front of her, challenging him.
Taking the offer, Ed charged with a battle cry and smashed his arm blade into her katanas, sparks flying as steel met steel in a furious clash. Somehow, by some turn of the tides, Ed managed to back Phoenix to the edge of the rooftop they were fighting on. She only glanced behind her, but kept fighting back.
"YAHHHH!"
From behind him, Natasha ran past Ed and rammed her shoulder into Phoenix, causing her to topple off the edge. Thinking fast, Ed clapped his hands and hit them to the ground, causing thin sheets of rock to shoot out and slow Phoenix's fall just enough to knock her unconscious when she hit the ground.
"What the hell were you thinking, Blitzkrieg! You could have killed her!"
"Humph."
Walking to the edge and looking down at the out-cold alchemist, he thought to himself.
That couldn't be her… could it?
"For the last time, talk!"
From anywhere in the corridor, one could guess that Second Lieutenant Marshal had received a well-placed kick to you-know-where. Throw in the fact that the Steel Phoenix Alchemist wore steel-toed boots, and you could tell that his kid at home wouldn't be having any siblings in the future. Ed couldn't help but smirk. Whether this girl was Kai or not, her stubbornness was frustrating but amusing. Walking into the room as two other officers carried out Marshal, Ed glanced in at Phoenix. At the moment, her hands were chained over her head so she was in a standing position. Even though she was easily capable of ripping them off, she didn't, likely that she was in too much pain. Whoever her previous interrogator(s) had been, they'd gone too far by means of physical torture. He walked up close to her, but stayed his distance in case she tried the same thing she had on the Second Lt.
"Stubborn, huh? I'll give you this much, you put up a good fight."
He got no response, which was just enough to annoy him slightly.
"Hey, are you even awake?"
A slight breeze followed the black, gray and silver blur that streaked past his face. It took him a full 3 seconds to realize she'd almost nailed him in the face with her foot. The fact that she was so fast drew a somewhat shaky exhale from him. Now thoroughly annoyed, he glowered at the smirking rogue.
"Who are you and what the hell did you think you were doing?" He demanded. Now he meant business.
Again, Phoenix didn't speak.
"I know you can talk, I heard that battle yell of yours. Answer me, damn it!"
All he got in turn was another attempted roundhouse kick. Out of reflex, he lunged forward, his automail hand around her throat, his legs pinning hers to the wall and his real hand free to take off her mask.
"Now let's see who's under the mask."
He seized the mask by the beak, lifting and yanking it off. There was a shattering sound as it hit the ground, followed by the alchemist himself, eyes wide in shock.
"Kai?"
Ed staggered back in surprise, releasing the Steel Phoenix's throat. The fiery-eyed woman coughed slightly, wincing from her injuries.
"It's been a while." She was still the same, a woman of few words.
"But… what- why?"
"I didn't know self-defense was illegal." She replied in a rather mocking tone.
Ed could only stare at her; she had changed a lot since he'd last seen her. The small girl who'd used to be even shorter than he was had grown into a tall, slender woman. Her new, muscular and streamlined physique was the biggest contrast aside from her hair, which was even messier than it was years ago and was now held ina waist-length braid.
Transmuting one of his automail fingers into a key, Ed unlocked Kai's shackles, catching her as she collapsed. Carefully lowering her to sit on the ground, he gently cradled her to him, just as she had done when they'd lost their mother.
It was right about then that Natasha walked in to find Ed holding their prisoner.
"Fullmetal, what the hell are you doing? She's the enemy!"
The Blitzkrieg Alchemist advanced as if to attack Kai, but Ed turned so that his body shielded hers.
"Don't you dare hurt her! I grew up with her..." His expression became softer when he saw that she'd passed out in his arms. "She's just the same hurting, angry girl she was all those years ago…"
Little did he know, she was remembering as well…
It was late, around sunset, when a running figure caught 11-year-old Kai's attention. 'Ed?'
Climbing down the trellises, Kai jumped the last 8 feet or so, landing in the grass with almost no sound. Sure enough, it was Ed that was sprinting down the path, but he wasn't watching where he was going and tripped over something in the road. He didn't get up. Now concerned for her friend, Kai bolted towards the boy lying face down on the grass.
"Ed!"
She pulled him up to his knees, surprised to find tears running down his face.
"Ed, what happened?"
As soon as he heard her voice, the golden-eyed boy threw his arms around her, sobbing into her shoulder and hugging her tightly.
"She's gone, Kai, mom's gone!"
The girl's fiery eyes softened from their usual intensity to that of glowing embers. She put her arms around him in turn, stroking his hair with motherly care.
"I'm sorry, Edward…"
They would stay there for nearly an hour, and that night, they still would not be separated.
Kai stared tenderly down at the boy who was now asleep in her arms, she herself sitting cross-legged in her hammock. Poor Ed had finally cried himself to sleep; he'd taken the loss of his mother very hard. She pulled the blanket further up over his shoulders, brushing away a stray tear. Kai had never known her parents, so she'd seen no reason to cry for them. Ed had loved his mother more than anything in the world, and just like that, she was gone. Still, she knew how hard it was to lose a loved one.
'Drayea… take care of Ed's mother up there in heaven for me…'
(1) Hydroponics- growing plants without any soil
(2) Kuro- Black Shinigami- God of Death
(3) Shinsei-Na- Divine Seijaku- Silence
Steel Phoenix: Dun dun dun! What will happen next? Where did Kai come from? And who the heck is Drayea? Read Chapter 2 to find out!