Chapter 2

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Ed, Al and the girl sat on the train as it chugged back to the East. The girl sat there excitedly, looking outside as the scenes rushed past. "This is so cool, I'm so excited!" she giggled. Ed sighed and looked out of the window. The girl looked at him. "Hey, I dont actually know your names. I'm Charleen, though you can call me Char. Who're you?" Ed looked at her and found her doing puppy dog eyes. He sighed again.

"I'm Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, though you can call me Ed. This is my younger brother, Alphonse Elric, but he prefers to go by Al," Ed introduced before turning back to the window. Char watched him, her smile fading. She looked worriedly at Al.

"Have I said something wrong?" she asked in a timid voice. Al shook his head.

"Brother probably just doesn't know how to act around you. You're a lot like him." Char looked surprised by the comment.

"I am? You think?" she murmured, sitting back and contemplating it.

"Yeah. Plus, he's probably wrestling with his concience. He prefers it when he travels in a small group, like just me and him, but because of how much you're like him, he can't leave you alone. That's why he offered to let you come with us. He couldn't bear seeing how upset you were..."

"Al, shut up!" Ed cried, looking at him angrily, and both Al and Char laughed. He glanced from one to the other before turning back. "Besides, it's none of your business what my reasons are," he muttered. Char smiled, deciding that maybe she should travel around with this pair for a while. They were a lot more interesting than she'd thought.

"Whaaaat!?" two voices echoed through the hallways of East Headquaters. Roy rubbed his ears.

"I said that you, Char, have been allowed to become a State Alchemist. The order was passed a few hours ago," he said.

"But-but I havent even taken the Alchemy exam! I dont..it's just.." Char finally trailed off, rubbing her head. She looked at Ed, his expression the same as hers. Mustang stretched.

"Anyway, what are you going to do now? Being a State Alchemist means you have the resources to research Alchemy, but you're too young to just do things by yourself, so you'll need a guardian."

"Huh? Why does she need a guardian?" asked Al in confusion.

"Every person under the age of sixteen needs a guardian. Yours is Pinako, Ed, Al. We'll need to find someone to offer to be Charleen's guardian though."

"Wait up, hold on. Mustang, I'm sixteen in a year, right?" Ed asked.

"Yess..." Mustang replied hesitantly.

"Well, couldnt you make me Char's guardian?" Silence met his proposal, and his temper flared. "Oh come on, you mean that you're Colonel and you cant make a measly guardian.."

"You want to be her guardian? Fullmetal, I never expected something like that from you! That's unbelievably kind."

"Alright, alright, just shut up and get it done, would ya," Ed muttered, looking away and folding his arms. Mustang grinned.

"Dont worry, it should only take a couple of days. In the meantime, you'll all have to stay here in the East. These things need a signature from both guardian and the person it concerns." Ed glared at him, then gave a reluctant nod and left the room, Al and Char following.

Ed sat back in his chair and sighed. "I cant believe this! Honestly, they can make someone a State Alchemist in hours, but to be somebody's guardian it takes two days? These people are sloppy!"

"Now brother, you cant expect everything to happen immediately. Some things take time," Al said, nodding his head. Ed glared at him.

"Okay, I'm back! Look!" Char's cheerful voice came and she opened the door, walking in to Ed's glare. She took a step back, watching him warily. He glared at her for a couple more seconds then sighed. She was too nice and sweet to stay mad at.

"Well, what's your nickname then?" he asked.

"It's really weird. Because they dont really have any information on me and they havent seen me perform Alchemy, they just gave me this nickname," she said, showing him a piece of paper.

"Charleen, newly certied State Alchemist blah blah blah has been given the name of the Light Alchemist. Light Alchemist, huh? Sounds pretty cool," Ed commented.

"You think so? I just through it was weird," Char murmured.

"I think it suits you," said Al, and Char smiled at him. Ed gave an uncertain mmm and they looked at him. "What you dont think it does?" asked Al.

"It's not that. Char, there's no information about you at all. I mean, usually they'll put a last name, or even what your parents names are, but there's nothing here."

"I know. It's because they dont have that information." Ed looked at her sharply.

"What do you mean? That's the most basic information. How cant they not have it?"

"Because I dont remember. I cant remember anything past the age of nine. I'm thirteen now, you see, so I only have memories from the past four years of my life. I cant even remember my real name, so I came up with Charleen. Plus my birthday is a mystery, so I just chose a random day." Ed nodded, taking this in, before his eyes widened.

"You're thirteen!?" he cried in shock. Char gave a little huff.

"I know I'm a bit small for my age, but really, you make it sound like a crime," she muttered, while Al laughed.

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