Nobody- First off, I'd like to thank The Infamous Man for encouraging me to go ahead and work on this in collaboration with him… he and I will be working on this together, and I hope that it will become as epic as it is in my mind.

TIM- Dude, of coarse it is going to be epic. Anything that takes three whole
days to plan is going to be epic. It's like, the nature of the universe or
something.

Nobody- Second… I originally intended for this to be a challenge to other writers, and still intend for others to attempt this concept, but please don't copy the material you will see.

TIM- Because those that copy the first chapter of other people's work need a
serious class in originality.

Nobody- Third… We will be mainly focusing on Full Metal Alchemist Manga/Brotherhood for this stories outline, but we will use some snippets of the 2003 Anime to adjust the story. Also, as you've all noticed, this is in the Anime X-over section as well as the Full Metal Alchemist section… reason is, expect to see some other anime characters make an appearance (Infamous' idea, and quite brilliant if I do say so myself.) Anyway, on with the story…

TIM- Prepare to have your mind blown from epicness...

Disclaimer: We own nothing, plain and simple…

TIM- But both he and I wish we did though. God, the things I could do with the
money...

In Alchemy, there exists law… the first law is quite popular, and well known, the law of Equivalent exchange. To obtain, one must give something of equal value.

Another law that exists in a separate type of science… Every action has an opposite and/or equal reaction. This is the third law of motion.

However, in the telling of this tale, motion has minimal prevalence in this plot. I am simply stating that for everything, there is an opposite that exists somewhere.

For example, inside of man consists evil… in this specific case, Seven Deadly Sins in which man can be corrupted and condemned to infamy and marked evil for. However, on the flipside, consists seven counterbalances, in which can overrule or outstrip the sins. These are known as the Seven Holy Virtues, meant to be that which can prevent a man from swaying to temptation of the Sins. Every force has an opposite and/or equal force to stand against it.

Prologue

The desert was vast, mounds and hills of scorched sand, thousands upon thousands of miles to any type of civilization, the only life being the natural fauna that reside there, and men who would dare cross the inferno of these blazing sands, harsh, unforgiving cruelty in its most truest and natural of forms.

A fairly tall middle aged man with golden blond hair, wearing a white hooded cloak, could be seen trudging through this harsh desert, seemingly rambling to himself.

"Just calm down… I only wish to have a civil conversation… Please, just give me a chance to talk to you…" The man rambled on. To anyone who was watching, the man would seem delirious from heat stroke, or from dehydration. "I will listen to everything you have to say… of course… I promise…" The man then fell to his knees from exhaustion at the top of a sand dune, "We're all in this… together…" and then he fell forward, slipping into unconsciousness, his body rolling down the sandy hill, until he reached the bottom.

This man was formerly known as Slave # 23, but now known as Van Hoenheim, a slave turned alchemist, and now the last of the people of Xerxes… an immortal with the souls of 536,329 of the former residents of Xerxes. What he was doing before he passed out was attempting to converse with each and every one of the trapped souls within his body, one by one. A week had gone by since he ran away from Xerxes, and so far, he had only succeeded in conversing with 750 or so, barely a scratch compared to the whole.

As Hoenheim laid there in the sand, something extraordinary had happened. Some of the souls of the ones Hoenheim had conversed with began to communicate with one another. Most of those who had conversed with Hoenheim had come to either like him, respect him, or come to terms with him. The souls had realized that despite being an immortal, Hoenheim was in a bad situation at the moment, and if care was not taken, Hoenheim may end up in an unsuitable state. And so, the souls began a selfless and somewhat amazing act, an act that was quite charitable considering their situation.

From Hoenheim's body, a growth appeared on his back, and continued to swell, growing larger and larger, ripping up the upper garments of his back under Hoenheim's cloak. The growth began to move underneath the cloak, and out of the cloak crawled out what resembled a young man with spiky golden blond hair, eyes the deep ocean color of Sapphire, and three scars on both sides of his face on the cheek area. The young man was completely in the nude, showing his body to be fit and well toned for his youthful looking age, not a sign of access body fat on his lightly tanned body.

The young blonde looked himself over, patting himself down on the face and arms, and then feeling his hands, feeling everything as if for the first time. On the palm of his right hand, he then noticed a red tattoo in the shape of a winged snake biting its own tail coiled around a six pointed star. Flexing his hands, he then placed them on the sandy ground in front of him, and attempted to push himself up, slowly rising like an infant crawling for the first time. After that, he moved to getting up on his feet, using his legs for the first time.

After getting up, and standing for a second getting used to the feeling, he then looked back at Hoenheim, his eyes widening. He ran toward Hoenheim, leaning toward the man's prone form.

"Hey! Old man… Wake up! Come on, wake up… ah man, this isn't good…" The young man stated. He then began to desperately look around, hoping to find something. He got up, and climbed the sandy dune, looking all around, when he suddenly spotted in the far distance what seemed to be a group of people. They would be able to help Hoenheim. But he would need to draw their attention. Looking down at himself, he realized he wasn't currently decent, and so, went back to Hoenheim, the only current source of clothing.

"Sorry about this, old man… I'll pay you back for this, I promise." He stated, as he began to reach under Hoenheim's cloak, finding and gathering the ripped up garments underneath. Grabbing the ends of the torn pieces of the garment, the blonde grabbed a hold of some loose threads, and began to focus. Suddenly, the loose threads went ramrod straight, and he began to use them to haphazardly sew the cloth together, and remade the garment into a ragged loincloth.

He then went next to Hoenheim's prone form, and hoisted him up, supporting him by his shoulder, feeling no strain in holding the larger man up. "Hang in there, old man… I'm going to get you some help…" He then began to carry him swiftly toward where he saw the group, going as quickly as one carrying a middle aged man could go, until he was at least a dune away from them. Not wanting to bring suspicion toward himself, or have to answer unneeded questions, he left Hoenheim's body at the bottom of the dune, in the path of the traveling group, and took to hiding behind one of the dunes, watching as things unfolded.

The groups of men were riding on camel back, all of them wearing white garments with conical caps on their heads, shading their head from the sun. The men were pale in complexion, and their eyes were slanted. They spotted Hoenheim in the sand, indicated by one of them pointing towards him, and then began to move the caravan of camels toward him.

The men kneeled beside Hoenheim, the young blonde watching them carefully.

"Blonde hair… He's from the west, isn't he?" One stated.

Another of the men reached for his camel, and grabbed a shovel. "Well, I suppose we should at least bury him…"

'Oh shit, they think he's dead! Come on old man, Wake up!' The young blonde thought in worry.

Suddenly, Hoenheim let out a groan, catching one of the men off guard. "Whoa, he's alive!"

At that moment, all present were livid. "You've got to be kidding!" "Stay with us!" "Hey, are you alright!" "Water, bring Water!"

The young man let out a sigh of relief. 'That was close… now what should I do?' he then began to walk in the opposite direction of Hoenheim's destination, just wandering through the desert, until a thought occurred to him. "I don't have a name… hmm; a name…what I did was very charitable… hmm… Charity? Nah… I'm sure I'll come across a better name…" By stupidity, or stroke of luck, the young man was heading in the direction of what was left of the city Xerxes.

Country of Xing… centuries later…

A young Xingese girl with black done up in two buns with 6 ponytails, wearing a pink ornamental outfit, and a tiny panda hanging on her shoulder, was sneaking along, as if avoiding someone's detection, heading for the area that would lead toward the desert.

"Okay Xiao Mei… we're almost in the clear…" the young girl stated toward the panda on her shoulder, a small growl sound as a confirmation from the tiny panda.

Suddenly, as she was about to leap toward her next hiding spot, she was suddenly grabbed by her collar from behind. This action caused her to dangle in the grip of the person holding her, his other hand now holding the resisting tiny panda.

"And just where do you think you two are going?" a stern voice stated.

The young girl turned around with horror on her young face. "I-Ichigo-Sensei?"

The man she was being held by, Ichigo, was a tall lean man, with hair that was an orange blonde color. He was wearing black Xingese robes, with one side of the robe open to show a white top underneath, and a brown cloak over top his body with a rope holding it in place around his neck, a large pendant holding the rope together. His expression looked like it was a permanent scowl. "Well May? I'm waiting…" He stated firmly.

May became very miffed at that statement. "Ichigo-Sensei, this doesn't concern you! It is a family matter!"

"Like hell it doesn't concern me. You, a little girl who hasn't even fully developed, was about to go wandering out in the desert without the proper supplies, equipment, or company… now tell me why, or I'm going to rub my knuckles on your forehead until you do…" Ichigo stated in a flat tone.

May pouted at that, knowing that once her sensei set to do something, almost nothing would deter him. When she mended his wounds two years ago, she did it out of the kindness of her heart. But ever since then, he had taken her under his wing, and has always had her best interest at heart. He was a determined individual. "Sigh, I have to find a philosopher stone my clan!" She responded.

"You're actually going to go through with trying to find immortality for your old man?"

"I have to at least try! I can't let my family vanish as a disgrace!" She answered.

Ichigo stared at her for a second, and then set her down on the ground. "No… you won't be going out…"

"I'm sorry Sensei, but I'm going whether or not you approve!" May shouted out, determination and frustration on her face.

"As I was saying… " He started, slightly annoyed. "You won't be going out… without me and the right equipment…"

Her eyes widened in surprise. "But Sensei, you don't have to do this for me… I…"

"I'M going whether YOU approve or not… You talk too much, with your 'This doesn't concern you' and 'it's a family matter.' All your opinions are rejected. Now shut up, and wait for me to get my sword…" Ichigo stated.

May eyes glanced down at that comment. "Thank you Sensei…" she then bowed her head in respect, almost getting teary eyed from the moment.

"The secret to immortality is out there! And with your help, I am going to be the one to claim it first!" A young, proud Xingese man stated, talking to three figures dressed in black and wearing masks, kneeling behind him.

"Whatever you desire young lord…" One of the figures stated, an elderly voice.

"As you wish, my lord…" Stated another, a feminine voice.

The third figure nodded their head, not saying a word or response, but agree full heartedly all the same.

"When I become the emperor, I will bring prosperity to the people of Xing. I will be a King that serves the people. For a King is nothing without its people…"

"That is a very bold claim, young lord… but as always, my family and my clan will always follow you…" the elder stated.

"We are stocked and prepared to cross the desert, my lord. We will leave on your command." The woman stated.

The third figure remained silent, but nodded their head in agreement.

The young Xingese man's name was Ling Yao, 12th crowned prince of Xing and the liege of the Yao clan. The three behind him were his vassals, bodyguards, and retainers. Ling trusted these three with his life, as they had unintentionally forged a strong bond with the young prince.

"Thank you… all of you… Old man Fu…" He commented, looking to the elderly voice. "Lan Fan…" Now regarding the feminine voice. "And you too Tsubaki!"

The third vassal removed her mask, revealing a young Xingese girl with black hair and blue eyes. "Y-your thanks are unnecessary, m-my lord… I live to serve you…" Tsubaki meekly stated, attempting to sound strong in her voice, keeping her gaze down.

Tsubaki was an orphan that was found by Fu in the back alleys, and he took her in as one of his own. Ever since, Tsubaki has been living her life under his clan's care, learning their ways and always remaining loyal to them, and their lord. She always attempts to solve disputes through non-violent means, only using her trained art as a last resort.

Ling suddenly placed his hand on her shoulder. "Don't look so down… We will be successful in finding it… the Elixir of Life, the Sage's stone… it will be in my grasp, and I will have the crown. With you three at my side, I will be the Emperor of Xing." Ling stated with great confidence, as the three prepared for their journey beyond the desert.

Town of Liore… Civil uprising

The once great town was in chaos, as Soldiers of Amestris were fighting a battle against the remaining loyalists of the false prophet, Cornello. Through all the confusion and madness, the more stagnant of soldiers were having a hard time telling the followers apart from those who rejected the church of Leto, and so would most often than not fire upon anyone they came across. Some soldiers, with wicked hearts, just used the civil uprising as an excuse for committing inhuman acts without segregation to the citizens of Liore.

In a seemingly abandoned house, a young woman of 17 with pale skin, black hair with reddish bangs, was desperately clinging to some young children, all of them hiding by leaning against the wall by the window.

Some soldiers were passing by, conversing outside the window. "Have you seen anymore of those rebels in that area?" One asked.

"We've checked sir, that area is secure!" The soldier responded.

"Keep looking… the higher ups ordered we are not to take any prisoners!"

"Yes Sir!"

The soldiers marched off, the woman sighing in relief.

"Misses Rose? Is it safe for us to stop hiding now?" one child asked the woman.

"Not yet, we have to wait for things to settle down… please be patient." Rose pleaded, pushing the child's head down when she heard more noise outside the window again. The soldiers passed by yet again, Rose grateful the children and her haven't been spotted yet. Rose then got up, and looked out the window, seeing the coast was clear for the moment.

When this Civil Uprising began, Rose took to rescuing as many children as she could, and keeping them safe while all hell broke loose.

"Why do the army men want to hurt us?" a child asked.

Not wanting to explain such harsh things to a young child who shouldn't have to comprehend such matters of violence, Rose just decided to answer in the negative. "I don't know… I just don't know… but things will turn out alright, as long as we survive… we have to keep moving forward…" Rose commented, hoping to keep the children's spirits up.

A booming sound went off, indicating mortar shells, and Rose clung on to the children in a large embrace, hoping to protect them if the need arose.

Resembool, Rockbell Household…

Within the Rockbell Residence, the youngest resident, Winry Rockbell, was hard at work engineering a new model of Automail, currently an arm, tightening some bolts to secure the limb's artificial tendons. Setting the ratchet aside, she then picked up a small pick, and began to press into the Automaton Tendons, causing the one of the metallic fingers to enclose.

She scribbled down some notes, and then tested the other tendon cords. Suddenly, as she was testing one of the cords, it suddenly snapped. She looked at it, slightly annoyed. For the cord was too worn down. If she hadn't of tested it, it would have snapped while attached, and if this particular arm was being used, could have put someone at risk. In Automail, the slightest flaw to any design could end up ruining the entire work, hence why an Automail mechanic needs to have a pension for detail.

She sighed, and then looked over to her assistant, who had light purple hair, a skinny body that was covered in a baggy pair of jeans that came all the way down almost past his feet, and a purple turtle neck shirt with long sleeves that almost covered his hands.

"Crona?" Winry inquired.

The person that was helping her looked like he was busy talking to himself, muttering and whispering words, his eyes darting from one side to the other.

"Crona?" Winry asked again, this time slightly louder, but still patient. She knew that when Crona was like this, it would take some coaxing, but patience, to pull him out.

"Crona!" Winry shouted out.

The young man snapped out of his daze, and then looked at Winry in slight fear. "I'm so sorry Winry… Please don't be mad at me! I don't think I'd know how deal with you being mad at me!"

"Crona, calm down. I'm not mad at you silly." Winry held in a giggle from Crona's antics. "I just need you to grab some tendon cords from the supply drawer while I disassemble this broken piece."

"Oh… Okay… sure…" Crona meekly stated.

"Thanks… just bring me a 13 width one… and be sure to check the date!" Winry called to him, already working on unscrewing the mechanical tendon.

"Um… is this it?" Crona asked, holding up a roll of the tendon.

"Yeah, that will do, thank you Crona…" Winry then took the roll, and proceeded with attaching the part.

A short elderly woman came walking out, a smoke pipe in her mouth. "I appreciate you coming over and helping Winry out, Crona…" She stated calmly, smiling at the young man. "If I kept working with her, she wouldn't learn to do things on her own, which is quite necessary for an up and coming Automail Mechanic. She often needs a chance to work without me hanging over her shoulder."

"Um… You're welcome Miss Pinako…" Crona stated with a polite bow.

"You should stay for dinner… you look like you don't eat enough…" Pinako stated, taking a puff of her pipe.

"Oh no. I couldn't possibly impose…" Crona stated with a nervous look on his face.

"Nonsense my dear boy… it will be fine… I insist… you need to start packing meat on those bones of yours or you're going to end up being blown away by the wind…" Pinako stated.

At that moment, Crona began to imagine, to his horror, him easily being blown away by a breeze like a loose sheet of paper. "I don't know if I can deal with being a piece of paper…"

Both Winry and Pinako stared at Crona strangely as he continued to ramble on about how he can't deal with it, both wondering where that might have come from. Winry couldn't help but get slightly annoyed by Crona's continuous ranting, and suddenly, out force of habit, she ended up tossing her wrench at Crona's head, like she would do for Edward. After calming down, Winry was horrified with what she just did.

Crona recovered, and then suddenly began to bow his head in apology, tears welling in his eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It won't happen again!"

"No, Crona! I'm the one who should be apologizing!" Winry cries out frantically, waving her arms, trying to calm the boy down.

After things settled down, and the group had had dinner, Pinako watched as Winry continued her work, and Crona was relaxing and petting the Rockbell's dog Den, who had taken to relaxing on the awkward boy's lap.

'Despite him being the son of Urey's ex-girlfriend… he acts nothing like her…' Pinako then stared out in thought, taking a long drag of her pipe. 'It is a shame that she will never realize what a sweet boy Crona turned out to be… not that she would care, the poor boy…'

East City…

In the rain, by a monument with a clock that overlooked the town area, a young man and a suit of armor sat, their expressions quite depressed. This was Edward Elric, the Full Metal Alchemist, and the suit of armor was his brother, Alphonse Elric, a soul bounded to a suit of armor.

"I've been thinking about this for a long time… we've put all our trust into alchemy… but in the end… what is it?" The young man stated in a solemn expression. "Alchemy is the science of understanding the flow of matter and its laws… the process of comprehension, deconstruction, and reconstruction… if the world flows too, it must also follow laws, and everything circulates… even death is apart of that circulation… we must accept the flow." The young blonde explained.

His expression then became a hollow smirk, wistfully thinking back. "Teacher sure droned that into our heads, didn't she?" But then it returned to that of a solemnest. "I thought I understood it… but I didn't understand anything…"

His mind wandered to the night when he and Al attempted to revive their mother. "Mom proves that… now here I am again, trying desperately to figure out a way to do the impossible…" His mind then went to that of a little girl with a massive white dog. This little girl was Nina Tucker, who Ed just found out had been murdered alongside her father, Shou Tucker, after her father fused her with their dog and made her into an imperfect Chimera.

"I'm such a hopeless idiot… all this time, and I haven't grown up one bit… thought maybe the rain could help wash away some of this gloom that's following me…but right now, every drop that hits my face is even more depressing…" He stated, his eyes staring down at the ground, his voice cracking from imminent tears. His metallic hand then reached for the base of the back of his neck, feeling a slightly itching pain in that area, the cold of the metal tingling the skin. Edward was greatly feeling human, feeling humbled despite his vast knowledge of Alchemy. After all, all his knowledge, and he couldn't help one little girl.

Alphonse moved his helmet toward the sky, droplets of rain resounding off his metal body, and entering any opening that was facing upwards. "I don't even get that much… without a body I can't feel the rain hitting my face. That's something I miss all the time…" a particular droplet of water created the illusion of the eye holes of the armor crying a single tear, which ran down the side of the face mask. "I want to get my body back soon brother. I just want to be human again, even if it means going against the flow of the world, and trying to do the impossible."

Both Edward and Alphonse were too preoccupied by their thoughts of depression that they never noticed the figure that stood before them.

"You boy… you're the Full Metal Alchemist, Edward Elric, Correct?" The voice asked in an even tone.

Edward's gaze listlessly drew upwards to comprehend the man before them.

Suddenly, the man lifted his hand in a grabbing motion, and loosed it toward Edward.

"Brother!" Alphonse yelled, as he pulled his brother out of the man's reach. The bell on the clock then struck four times, snapping Edward out of his daze. He then looked up to the man attempting to grab him again, so Edward quickly clapped his hands together, and slammed them into the ground, the ground lifting up, surrounding the man in a cubicle of stone.

"What the hell is going on here?" Edward yelled out. He was answered by an explosion as the prison of stone he created broke apart, the man walking out. At this point, Edward was able to get a good look at the man.

The man had dark tanned skin, white hair, an X shaped scar over his face, and a pair of sunglasses that tinted his eyes. He wore a white shirt with a yellow jacket over top, a pair of black pants on the bottom. What Edward saw though was the man's eyes behind those shades, and the expression held within them. He saw anger, righteous fury, no hesitation or remorse, and a killing intent within those eyes. Edward could feel himself shaking from this man's intimidation, almost frozen in fear.

'Who is this guy? What does he want? This is bad!' He thought frantically to himself, the man raising his hand again in a clawed position. The only thought that came to Edward at that moment was the only natural instinct when faced with a predator. "Let's go Al! Run for it!" and so, both Ed and Al attempted to run from this imposing man who soon gave chase after them.

Fair readers, I ask you, now that you have been properly introduced to the cast, what is it that seven of these people have in common and share…?

Hope that was good…

Nobody- Also, basically the challenge is… What if Hohenheim had his own Homunculus to stand up to Father and his Homunculus? You, the potential writers of , may write this story as you see fit… But I ask you that you please not only make it epic, but also your own work…

TIM- By the way, check out both his stories and mine. They are both equally
awesome in every way.

Signed,

Mr. Nobody

and,

The Infamous Man