TPA--Comrades of Brotherhood

Chapter 1

Turning your back on destiny

Was it really destiny that happened that day, or was it the stubborn attitude of that fifteen-year-old alchemist?

Maria didn't know…but somehow…becoming a state alchemist…and creating a whole new generation of alchemist… was her calling.

But she didn't know that yet. She didn't know it when she sat on the ground floor of the prison floor, shackles heavy on her wrists and ankles, her head bowed, black bangs dropping, her cat, Clara, stalking around and piercing the dark gloom with her green eyes. The girl had a pale brown jacket on and trousers the color of mud. Black gloves covered her hands. Light blue thread was sewed in the jacket in the shape of a flying bird : a sign of freedom.

"Clara," she said, her voice barely heard, "what is this talk of an alchemist coming? The other one?"

"Dunno," she replied in a whisper. "At first I thought that the alchemist …What was his name...Roy some-kind-of-horse?"

It was an effort to the slightest movement without causing pain, but she shrugged one shoulder. The other one wasn't…well, it wasn't broken, just not working at the moment. It often does that.

"I don't know. A horse, huh? Maybe…Stallion? Roy Stallion?"

"Yeah! That's it, I think! Well, anyway, I thought, 'Well, here we go again with the asking and the leaving.' Then I heard the guards talking kinda nervously, like in a panic, and they said, 'The alchemists are coming here.' Alchemists, not alchemist. "

"Yeah, okay. But what if he's coming and he's just bringing another along?"

Clara turned her head to stare at Maria. She was covered from head to toe with dust and dirt and cigar smoke. The poor miserable, pitiful thing.

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"

Maria barked a laugh. "Wait and see? How can I wait and see? Sure, for the alchemists, but for life?" She shook her head. "The only thing there waiting for me eagerly is death itself."

Clara's eyes widened with horror. Hearing Maria say that was like telling someone that a skunk was a rabbit. It scared her to see – to witness – Maria say this when she work so hard to make their lives better. Her whiskers twitched.

"No. No," she told her friend. "Don't say that, Maria. Death isn't waiting for you. I'm waiting. I'm waiting to see if you find a purpose. Don't think like that, Maria, don't. Please –"

The door opened with a loud slam and the kitten was gone in a flash, scurrying into the shadows of the cell as fast as her little paws would allow. Maria raised her head to see her visitors –

And nearly gasped in amazement.

"So, this is the girl who can do alchemy," the fifteen-year-old alchemist remarked. He had golden hair and eyes, the bangs framing each side of his face, a small sprig sticking out where the framing began. A braid hung to his shoulders. He wore a black jacket and trousers with a belt, and over the jacket was a red cloak. On his hands were white gloves. He had an air of authority, like if he was a god in the form of a boy.

An enormous suit of armor stood behind him, standing menacingly and in a way that brought Maria unease. It was that amazed her, not the boy. And when it spoke it again almost knocked her down in shock. "She's younger than I thought she was," he said in a child-like voice.


"She is. What's a girl her age doing in jail?"

He turned his head and called, "Hey! You there! Are you one of the guards?"

A face poked out through the door. He looked to be in his early twenties and had brown hair. He wore the uniform of a prison guard. "Yes. Is she causing a ruckus again? Damn, this brat is so annoying."

"Of course she's not causing trouble." The boy was now rather irritated. "Why's she chained up like this? There better be a good reason for this."

"O-of course! She committed a crime that can't be paid."

"And what is that crime?"

The guard refused to tell them and walked down the hall. The boy groaned loudly. "I hate solving mysteries like this. I'm an alchemist. Not a detective."

Maria didn't like the way things were turning out so far. Why did he send him? she wondered. Why did this guy send a boy three years older than me to ask? Maybe he was getting tired of coming here and hearing my rejections over and over again. Feh. That coward. "If you're here to ask me questions," she said to the two alchemists, "then you're wasting your time."

The two alchemists snapped their heads to look at her.

"Why do you state alchemist take such an interest in me? It's disgusting. Look, you're dogs of the military, right? Well, I'm a pup who has no more strength left, just dying and wanting to die. And yet, you try to nudge me back into existence. It's like my decisions depend on your future. But I've given up, so stop it."

The boy stared at her eyes for a long while. They were gray. Like if all the colors were drained away and left this depression. He chuckled. "Pretty speech. But that's not why I'm here."

Maria blinked. "What?!"

He strolled in like if he owned the place. She was right; he did act like a god. When he got close to the bars of the gate of the cell, he grasped one and knelt down on one knee. "I've heard a great deal of you in the military. Roy Mustang –"

Oh, why did he mention him? Why? If he did not, nothing would have happened. But he did; it couldn't change.

Clara, being her curious self, scampered from the sanctuary of the darkness when she heard Mustang, brought her kitten face close (so that it squeezed in between) and exclaimed, "Oh, so that's his name!"

Of all the stupid things she had to do!

The alchemist's expressions changed from dark wanting to astonishment. The armor suit came in suddenly, his metal feet making a clomping sound. Maria and Clara couldn't tell is he was surprised like the boy or curious, but then he said, "You have a kitten…"

"D'you like kittens?" Maria asked as Clara squealed in fright and climbed up onto her shoulder.

"Yes."

"Al," scolded the boy. Then he went back to Maria and continued :

"As I was saying, Roy Mustang wants you to join because you study a new alchemy. Correct me if I'm wrong. You're parents created that alchemy, didn't they? Very interesting and impressive. But - like I said - that's not why I came." He leaned closer so she could feel his breath on her face. "You have the Philosopher's Stone. We've come to take it."

Her heart sunk down to the bottom of her chest, and Clara leapt down back on the ground.

"No! NO! I won't give the Philosopher's Stone to any shorty, not even if he paid me!"

"WHO'RE SAYING THAT HE'S SO SHORT THAT HE'S THE MAN ON THE MOON?!" he suddenly exploded.

"YOU'RE SHORTER THAN THAT! YOU'RE SO SHORT THAT YOU HAVE A SHORT LIFESPAN!"

"WELL, LOOK WHO'S TALKING! YOU'RE EVEN SHORTER THAN ME!"

"THAT'S 'CAUSE I'M A GIRL , STUPID!"

"AN UGLY ONE! HAVE YOU LOOKED AT A MIRROR RESENTLY?!"

"YES I HAVE, AND MAYBE YOU SHOULD, BECAUSE THERE'S A LARGE SMEAR ON YOUR FACE. WAIT A MINUTE, THAT IS YOUR FACE!"

"Okay, okay! I have an ugly face. Satisfied?"

"Very."

Her head pounded from screaming. She balanced it on her hand. Damn, it hurt. It hurt everywhere. The last beating was a good one. Every part of her body ached savagely. It almost made her cry. Rabidly blinking to push the tears back in her eyeballs, she mumbled, "I'm not gonna give you it. Never. And I won't join the military. Get someone else to join."

"At least let me ask another question."

"Fine. But then you have to leave."

"All right. How can your cat talk?"

Her heart sunk again, but this time to her stomach. "She can't."

The boy furrowed his golden eyebrows. "You know, you shouldn't lie to a state alchemist. I did hear her say something."

"You're crazy."

"You're the one who's insane."

Rage boiled inside her as he spoke to her, but then it spilled over at that moment. She? Insane? She never was! She stood up angrily, clenching her fists and trembling uncontrollably. Never in her life had she lost her sanity.

"I AM NOT INSANE!" she shouted again, gritting her teeth together.

"All right, you're not, you're not. Calm down," he said comfortingly. It was clear that she wasn't insane, but she lost connection to everything. She was breathing hard and was gulping down the pain that threatened to worsen. Her legs shook from effort. "Calm down," he repeated.

Maria stood still for a minute, and then bowed her head for the second time.

"Listen carefully," the boy began. "My name is Edward Elric, and that's my little brother, Alphonse Elric" – he gestured at the armor suit – "and we need that stone. So if you have it, it would be best to give it to us. Don't you dare say you don't have it if you do. If you don't give it to us, you'll be suffering more than you are now. That's all."

He sharply turned on his heels and went to the door. He reached for the door knob. But his hand hung in midair.

Maria waited for him to go, but he didn't do that just yet.

"…I wonder if you'd go forward, would you be in this situation." It sounded as if he were talking to himself.

Then the two Elric brothers left the prison.

She realized she had been holding her breath. Slowly, as if she were dreaming, she let it out. The pain was so bad she nearly collapsed. She gripped her knees so hard her knuckles turned bone white.

"Well, it's over, Clara. But seriously, you nearly put us in great danger. Be more careful next time."

Silence slowly crept across her, along with a heavy dread.

Her head snapped around. "Clara?!"

She was gone. The last of her sanity was gone.