Hi guys! So, this one shot story is taken from my one shot collection "One Shots" and I thought to post it as a separate one since it would be hard to find for Lan Fan fans!
INFO on chapter: Continues in Episode 23 of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood where Ed and Co. arrive at the shed and Lan Fan gets operated by doctor Knox. I changed a LITTLE detail: GREED is already inside of Ling ladies and gentleman, which will serve as a interesting twist! Ling and Greed met the same way they did originally, just that it happened much earlier and he kept it secret from Lan Fan and the rest.
Questioning anyone? If anyone wants to ask me ANY questions at all (be they private or related to my works/stories/writing, I would be happy to answer them! :)
Hope everyone enjoys it! :)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my own ideas! Some scenes and conversations are borrowed from Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 23!
Human and Metal, an Arm and a Heart
"You let her wander around the sewers with her arm cut off? Don't blame me if she gets lockjaw!" doctor Knox grumbled, working feverishly on Lan Fan's cut off flesh, sweat forming on his forehead from the concentration he was working with.
Thankfully, he had enough light as Riza was holding a petroleum lamp over Lan Fan's writhing body, offering silent strength and support as she squeezed Lan Fan's uninjured shoulder, trying to tell her without words to pull through this torturous act.
"I'm afraid the only patients I've had lately have been corpses, so this might be a little rough," Knox furrowed his eyebrows, putting strength into his arms to correctly cut off the leftover flesh of her arm, Lan Fan squeezed her eyes shut tightly and groaned loudly into the cloth in her mouth, biting down hard on it. Knox felt sweat bead down the side of his face.
Performing an operation on a patient who has lost so much blood as this woman did, under these circumstances...it would surprise Knox if the woman survived the night. He wasn't situated in a hospital with the necessary equipment, much less the sterilized environment so he needed to be all the more careful. Good thing he had his bag with him and disinfectant, it should prevent the worst.
Lan Fan screamed into the cloth, turning her head away at the sheer pain. Riza pressed down on her shoulder, trying to still her writhing body from moving too much, lest it disturbed Knox's task and made it that much more difficult than it already was.
Stars danced in front of her eyes, spots of black and white followed, white hot pain raced up and down her arm, shooting through her head, her jaw locked tight, teeth gritting tightly together, trying to withstand the pain. She wasn't weak, she wasn't allowed to be weak, not now when her Lord needed her and a war was going on.
Riza felt sweat forming on her own forehead, she bit her lip when Lan Fan released another broken scream, Knox was in the process of sewing the flesh and skin back together by a thick, black cord, without any anesthetic, Riza could only imagine what pain Lan Fan was suffering through right now. It made the seasoned soldier cringe and feel immense pity and sympathy for the poor woman.
In the next room, separated only by a wall of wood, covering only half of the room where Lan Fan was being treated, were Ed, Al and Ling. The Xingese prince was sitting on a bench, his head lowered in sorrow.
Ed and Al didn't notice it but whenever Lan Fan screamed in pain, Ling would twitch, internally screaming at himself. He had anticipated for sacrifices in his mad journey to gain immortality, he had anticipated injured, deaths, casualties...but...he hadn't...not Lan Fan...
"Ling I-" Ed started speaking quietly but Ling cut him off.
"No, don't apologize.", Ling opened his eyes, looking straight up at Ed, "I was the one who suggested it remember? We both had something to gain out of it so it makes sense." He propped his knee up to rest his arm on it, partially to rest his injured arm and partially to try and shield himself from Ed and Al pathetically, "When I went in search for immortality, I knew I must be ready to make certain sacrifices."
Ed looked at Ling, gold eyes worried, he lowered his gaze to the floorboards, feeling guilt well up inside him.
Ling clenched his bandaged fist tightly, blunt nails biting into the inside of his palms, "But I...I wasn't ready for this..." he shut his eyes closed, "Lan Fan was though...she made the decision I was too weak to make,"
Too fearful to make.
He finished in his mind, turning his head to the side pathetically.
The screaming stopped.
Ling's eyes opened.
Lan Fan's eyes slowly opened by a slit, faltering, too exhausted to fully open them, pain and exhaustion covered her body like a heavy blanket, a blanket she wanted to shed as soon as possible.
The first thing she saw was gold and realized it was Edward Elric, his hair then his eyes. She smiled. Edward, Alphonse stood on one side of the bed she was laying on, worried and eager to see she was awake. Colonel Mustang and Riza Hawkeye stood at the foot of the bed, small smiles appearing on their faces when she slowly opened her eyes. The doctor who treated her, doctor Knox, was smiling, washing his hands on a moist cloth.
"She's awake," Al muttered, relief flooding his voice.
Roy made a hand motion, signaling to the back and Riza nodded, departing from the room in order to stand guard outside and be on the lookout for any intruders.
Ed carefully bent over the bed, smiling down at the exhausted woman, "You ok? Is there anything we can do?" he was smiling but Lan Fan, in her dazed mind, could still make out the worried pools of gold she had learned to trust as her ally stare at her.
Slowly, shakily, she turned her head slightly toward him to properly look him in the eye, "That old trap of yours...w-worked pretty well..."
An image of their first battle resurfaced in Ed's mind, the time when he used his automail hand to fool Lan Fan into thinking she had won the fight by plunging it into rubble so the top part was peaking out, fooling her into thinking he himself was buried beneath it.
By cutting off her arm and strapping it onto a stray dog, she mislead Bradley, who followed the trails of her blood, sending him off the track and buying her time to seek temporary refuge in the sewers below.
Her brows furrowed in worry, "B-but I'm useless without my arm," her voice was not above a whisper and her pitch rose from the pain, eyes shining with unshed tears when she moved it put slight strain to her fresh wound, "I'm going to need to find a replacement," she looked meaningfully at the blonde boy.
Ed's gaze saddened in guilt, lifting his own automail arm to look at it briefly, before he smiled, "You know...I can introduce you to a great engineer," he smiled reassuringly, hoping it calmed her worries at least a little.
Lan Fan smiled, thankfulness bubbling in her for having people care about her, otherwise she would have been dead already.
Ling had listened to the silent conversation between Ed and Lan Fan when she woke up, about finding a replacement for her arm.
His fist clenched, guilt and anger consuming him, building a intangible cloud over him as he silently mourned his incompetence at protecting a dear friend-
Light bathed his slumped form in a warm, soft glow and Ling lifted his head to see a white gloved hand extended toward him. It was the man that found the doctor and brought them here.
"I'm with the State Military, name's Colonel Roy Mustang," he smiled down at the younger male, well aware of the guilt in his eyes. He had them too, those guilty eyes, for different reasons.
Ling stood up, clapping his hands together in the formal greetings of his people, "My name is Ling Yao, the twelfth son of the Emperor of Xing. I appreciate you finding a doctor," for Ling, his words seemed bland, there was so much he wanted to say in order to thank the man before him, for saving Lan Fan's life, but he was too shaken for words.
It seemed Roy understood it nonetheless and took no offense, shaking his hand, "No problem. Thank you for helping us with the Ross incident and also..." Roy turned the oil lamp around, "...for bringing this thing in,"
The light revealed a squirming mass of fat and limbs, tightly wound together by a thick, metallic cord. It was Gluttony.
Light hit Gluttony's beady eyes and they widened upon zeroing in on the Colonel.
"Mustang..." Gluttony whispered, tuning out the rest of their conversation and the quarrel between the prince and the Colonel.
The picture of his partner and sister, Lust, flashed in his mind's eye.
"Mustang was the one that killed Lust...Mustang must pay for what he did!" veins protruded from Gluttony's forehead in sheer anger, straining hard against his cord prison.
The cord broke.
Gluttony's gate of truth reared its ugly head at the group and roared.
The house shook.
Ling's eyes widened, he quickly pushed aside rubble off his body, untangling himself from under the Colonel and Ed, jumping over wooden planks that broke from Gluttony's attack and rushing straight towards the room Lan Fan was resting in.
He heard Mustang shouting out to his Lieutenant, Gluttony's roar again, the house shook again.
Ling leaned over Lan Fan protectively, carefully grabbing her shoulders and sitting her upright, supporting her with his strength, "Lan Fan, we are getting out of here," she opened her eyes, having sensed something was wrong.
Her hand flew to her bandaged side, feeling weak and disorientated after the operation, "What is it? What's happening?" she noted how the world around her shook.
"The Homunculus," Ling pulled her closer protectively, "he had another monster inside his belly, swallowing up everything in sight!" Ling eyed her state, taking off his jacket and covering her form with it.
The house shook again, rubble falling from the ceiling, wooden planks, everything.
Ling's eyes widened and he quickly moved himself over Lan Fan protectively, covering her head and body with his own.
"Lan Fan!" Ling shouted, hugging her tighter to him the harder the house shook.
He felt something wash over his skin, like a second skin or something, he felt the thuds from the wood falling on his back, but he felt no pain, only the vibrations of how they harmlessly bounced off his body.
For a moment, the ringing roared loud in Ling's ears, blocking out anything else that might be going on outside. Then he felt it.
It was him.
"W-what..." Ling grit his teeth, feeling him nipping at the surface.
"I-It's you...why are you protecting me?" Ling asked in the eternal abyss that was his soul, filled with countless of other souls, all that were screaming in agony.
Among them was the strongest one, it was his soul, the Homunculus.
He chuckled, "Don't get cocky, piss-ant. I'm not protecting you,"
Confusion washed over Ling. What...?
He looked down at Lan Fan, who stared up at him, shock and concern written all over her face for her Lord's and friend's wellbeing. She slowly reached a hand up to caress his cheek, an act she normally would never allow under normal circumstances and in her right state of mind, "M-my Lord, a-are you alright?"
Ling's eyes widened in realization, before his face contorted into the one he had tried to keep a secret from her.
Sharp violet eyes and pointy teeth replaced the one of her Lord, the face appearing more rugged than Ling's usual calm, groomed self.
"Let's get you out of here," Lan Fan stiffened, this wasn't the voice of her Lord. It was deeper, more masculine. Just who was-?
She had no time to question the man, he carefully picked her up bridal-style, mindful of her bandaged side and leaped out of the way of danger, coating his exposed arms and chest in a dark metallic substance. When Lan Fan touched it with her hand it felt as hard as steel.
She closed her eyes, tiredly slumping against the body of her Lord, not knowing what to think. Something was wrong with him, this wasn't her Lord.
Maybe she was hallucinating? From the pain? She didn't know, she was exhausted.
She felt the comforting touch of a warm hand caress her cheek, moving aside loose strands of her hair and that same deep voice she heard earlier whisper soothingly in her ears, "Sleep for now. Don't worry about us,"
Lan Fan let her mind shut down.
And sleep.
When she awoke a second time, she was greeted by dim light, looking at a unfamiliar ceiling.
She heard the semi-familiar voice of the doctor that saved her life, "People will get suspicious if I keep all the lights on. You will have to make do with my bed,"
It clicked.
Her Lord, the house shaking, that Homunculus...
She sat up quickly, "M-my Lord! I-I have to go to him!" she felt dizzy, defeated, exhausted.
"Idiot girl! What would you do in your condition?" the doctor admonished her and Lan Fan was startled out of her reverie. His scolding prompted her to look at the mirror she spotted to her left.
What she saw imbedded itself into her mind and made her heart stop. Her left side was bandaged. But that wasn't what made her freeze.
She didn't have an arm.
Lan Fan's body shook, as if convulsing, then she fell back on the bed, her right arm coming up to shield her eyes from the world, to mask the shock she felt. She had cut off her own arm because she had no other choice but to actually see it...the result...
She bit her tongue, the taste of copper filling her mouth.
Sleep for now. Don't worry about us.
Her eyes shot open, realization dawning on her. Wait...
Violet sharp eyes staring back at her, toothy smile, that deep voice...
It had been protecting her...protecting her Lord as well...but where was her Lord...it had been his body and at the same time not...just who was that creature?
Lan Fan
Sleep for now. Don't worry about us.
With the voice she was sent into the realm of dreams, she couldn't remember if she did dream something.
The only thing she remembered was the deep voice and the warm, comforting touch of a man she later came to know as Greed the Avaricious.
Phew...so how was it? Opinions? Thanks for reading everyone!