Chapter 1: The Transmutation

Edward Elric sighed.

He and his brother had returned to their cluttered apartment with a new mission from Colonel Mustang. It was clearly stated that the Fuhrer needed the case to be solved as soon as possible, but Ed dreaded the assignment. Citizens from all around Central had been disappearing at a constant rate- about five went missing every week. He was to find out where they were being kept, who had them, and why they had been taken. The Colonel had given them a little piece of information on whoever was behind the kidnappings from a recently abandoned site, which had held hastily hidden transmutation circles- ones meant for some sort of human or animal transmutation- and worn metal caged with strands of fur scattered across their bases; this made it seem more than a little likely that someone was experimenting with animals and the missing people. However, the mission had to be completed, and before more citizens went missing.

Now, it was dark out, and Ed made sure that his brother was really sleeping before grabbing his cherry red coat and heading out into the streets. He knew Al would want to come with him, but if there was a chance that the chimeras- animal and human- were being created, he wasn’t going to let him risk it, especially since it had only been a year since Al had been restored.

Ed shivered slightly as a soft breeze blew by. Despite the fact that it was only in the first week of August, the weather was unusually cold, and had been for the past few days. Sparing only a brief glance of longing at the few windows through which filtered warm light, he sped up his pace, intent on finishing his work and heading back to his comfortable bed.

As he reached the old ware house he had come to investigate- it was one place on a list of many that Ed planned to check that night- he had only a second to react when a sturdy knife came flying towards his head. He ducked down, letting it bury itself in the door’s rotting wood, and launched himself at his attacker, kicking at the man’s shin, making the cloaked figure leap back and clutch his injured leg. Ed transmuted his automail into a smooth blade and met the other one’s dagger after a quick recovery. The blonde was about to kick the hooded figure once more when he heard a dull crack and felt an aching numbness echoing throughout his skull, and the world went black.

“C-Colonel?” Al asked shakily as he heard the phone being picked up.

“Yes, Alphonse?” Roy responded politely, stifling a yawn as he glanced at the clock. 12:37.

“Have you seen brother? I got up to find something to eat, but he’s not here at home, and I know you warned him not to work on the mission at night, but I’m worried that that’s what he’s doing…” Al’s worried voice trailed off.

Roy froze at the boy’s words. How could Fullmetal be stupid enough to go off on his own, and at night? He grimly labeled this as a rescue mission in the back of his mind. “I’ll call the others and we’ll help search for him. Don’t worry too much, Alphonse, I’m sure he’s fine,” he said before hanging up. He’d better be alright…

Edward blearily blinked open his eyes, wincing slightly at the dull throbbing sensation of his head. Trying to ignore the pain, he sat up slowly, leaning his back against cold iron bars for support.

Wonderful, he thought as he examined the room he was in. A whole wall was lined with cages similar to the one in which he was trapped, about half of them holding animals and the other half with humans. Ed narrowed his eyes as he recognized a few of their faces from photos of the kidnapped.

Uneven stacks of jumbled notes and books rested on a beaten oaken desk, but what caught the young alchemist’s attention was the complex array drawn in the center of the room. Before he could look at it for long enough to determine its use, however, a man entered the room. All Ed could make out of him under his black hood was his smirk, which only grew wider as he noticed the blond kid glaring daggers at him. Striding smoothly over to Ed’s cage, dark robes billowing out magnificently behind him, the man bent down, unlocked the cage, and forcibly dragged the struggling teen towards the circle, where he swiftly shined a flashlight into Ed’s eyes. The blinded teen reflexively covered his golden orbs with his hands, defiantly attempting to rise from the chill concrete floor, unable to see the small animal curiously approaching him, or the man placing his pale hands on the edge of the dangerous array.

The seven figures jogging towards the shed broke into an all-out sprint as they heard Edward’s bloodcurdling scream break into the silence of the night.

Short chappie, but the others are longer. Please review!