In A Crumbling World
By Faith E. W., a.k.a. 'The Maine Coon Cat'
Chapter 2: THE SUCCESS
"Mr. Elric? Sir? C'mon, Sir...wake up!"
William moaned, the sound of someone's pleading voice bringing him out of his stupor. Blinking, he saw that the same woman who had called Hohenheim out of the lab earlier was now leaning over him, her face white. "Oh..."
"You're okay!" She cried. "The doctor will be very glad to know tha–"
Suddenly, Will sprung up as if he'd been galvanized. "Dr. Hohenheim! Angel! Is he–?!"
"05767?" She asked, "He's awake! Everyone has gone to see him already, but I don't think you're up to going just yet."
Memories of those intense violet eyes– so filled with hatred– filled Will's mind. "No, I have to speak to Hohenheim; tell him something's gone wrong!" he exclaimed.
"Gone wrong! What do you mean?!"
But he didn't have time to stick around and play 'Twenty Questions' with her. He stumbled out the door and into the hallway.
It just didn't make any sense. Eyes didn't spontaneously change color; nor did pupils change their shape. And those were never abilities Angel was supposed to have.
Also, what about the creature's words? "Edward Elric." How could something that had barely awoken to the world– who didn't know anyone– have possibly confused him with his great-grandfather? Or have had such hatred in it's voice?
Nothing added up.
"Dr. Hohenheim!" He hollered, bursting into the outer laboratory, "Doctor-?"
The doctor was there, safe and sound.
As was Angel.
William looked slowly from one to the other. Hohenheim was beaming ear to ear, surrounded by his fellow scientists, and Angel was sitting on a large white table in the middle of the room.
The experiment was dressed, Will noted, in a tight black halter-top (if that was what you called such a thing) and skort, with black half-gloves, weird half-tights with openings in the heels and toes, and a black headband. His eyes were back to their natural blue, and beautifully complimented by his long, pure black hair. His gorgeous face was no longer full of loathing, but wore a seriously bemused expression as he stared at Will.
"Elric!" Dr. Hohenheim smiled, "Finally! You've been out quite a while, my boy. The thrill of success too much for you?"
"Suc-success? But..."
"Ah, my boy! Think about it! You were my partner; my most trusted colleague. You will get almost as much fame as I!"
William shook his head, gazing at Angel in awe.
"So, you're one of my creators." Angel's deep, throaty, and surprisingly feminine voice was the same he had heard before, only now it held a more condescending edge.
"You-you don't remember me?" Will spluttered.
"Remember you?" He echoed. "I've never met you before."
"No, you did! You called me 'Edward'...you..." William trailed off, seeing the look of honest bewilderment in the humanoid's eyes. "N-never mind."
"You'll have to excuse him, Angel." Hohenheim apologized, "Mr. Elric hasn't had the best day today, and right now he's recovering from a hard knock to the head."
"Hard...knock?" Will patted the back of his head and winced when he touched a bandage– and triggered pain. He must have hurt himself when he fainted.
"Hm." Was Angel's only reply, along with a raised brow.
Dr. Hohenheim turned to the scientist's behind him, "Now, friends; now we finally see the conclusion of many years of painstaking effort. The first 'Humanoid', as he will be called, sits before you. Genetically engineered from spliced DNA strands and enhanced with abilities beyond what any naturally-born man could posses. He has awakened with a fully capable adult mind, which already has been privy to much human knowledge, as I and my colleagues took the liberty of setting up instructional CD's, which we played for him during his developmental stage via waterproof earphones..."
As the doctor droned on, William continued to observe the 'Humanoid' with interest and fear. He already knew– had known for awhile– that Angel would wake up with an adult personality and extensive knowledge. The CD's had been full of language lessons, history lessons, science, mathematics, literature, music, and everything else in between. What disturbed him was the fact that Angel had known his great-grandfather. None of the CD's had mentioned Edward Elric, much less that he and Will looked alike...
So, how...?
- - - - - - - -
In another realm, a realm of golden light, someone else was highly perplexed as well.
There was no mistaking it. He had seen Edward Elric's face clearly, bending over him and gaping as if Envy were a panda in a zoo.
That worm was still alive! Envy seethed. And, what was worse, he looked as young as he had the last time Envy had seen him, right before he was sent back to The Gate. ...Thus, what had felt like years in this horrible place had only been months, at best!
And yet...
He had seen Edward. On Earth, he assumed. And Edward had seen him, which meant that he had a body. A body that could see and be seen...that was alive.
So, somewhere, he was alive.
Now...how could he get back there?
- - - - - - - - -
The other scientists had gone at last, and it was just the three of them.
"...Angel, can you lift this?"
"...Angel, tell me what this means."
"...Angel..."
William watched in awe as Dr. Hohenheim tested the humanoid with various physical and psychological examinations...
Which Angel passed with flying colors.
After four rigorous hours, Hohenheim finally took William aside. "Elric, my boy, he is exceeding! Exceeding in every way, I tell you!" he grinned.
Will gazed at Angel, who didn't seem tired from all the testing, and who was eyeing them almost suspiciously. "That's wonderful, Sir."
"The only reason I'm ending our session now is because I'm exhausted." The doctor continued, laughing, "And- and do you know what else?"
"What?"
"He- he may not look like my son, or sound like him, but...but I believe that I was right. That he still has my son in him– in his soul."
Will blinked, unsure of what to say. Angel seemed nothing like Hohenheim's son.
But Hohenheim was sure. "Don't you see the way he enjoys doing everything I ask him to?" He enthused, "I even told him to think of me as his father; I am, after all."
He cringed. The doctor was putting too much hope in Angel; too much faith in his dead son's DNA. "Yes, Sir."
"Yes! And when we all go back to America, he shall live with me..."
"Ye– What?!"
Hohenheim nodded. "Of course. The government will have finished their testing for the most part by then, and, since I am his creator, Angel will be allowed to live in a monitored environment with me."
William noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that Angel was listening to their conversation, and seemed to be pleased. "But, Sir, I mean...what if people find out he's with you? Won't they try to kidnap him or something? Our enemies would pay billions just to get a peek at him."
The doctor smiled. "As I said, it will be a monitored environment. This place will be on government property, and heavily guarded."
"Oh. I–I see."
"Good, then!" He clapped Will on the back, "Just thought I'd let you know. Besides, I'd like you to come visit us there from time to time."
Will saw Angel's eyes flash, but merely nodded. The doctor smiled and walked to the door.
"Angel, it's getting late. I'd like to show you your bedroom before I leave." he said.
Angel smiled docilely at him. "In a moment, Father." His feminine voice was laced with a syrupy sweetness that William did not like or trust, "But first, may I have a moment alone with Mr. Elric?"
Hohenheim seemed surprised, but shook his head in the affirmative. "If you need me, I'll be in the hallway."
"Yes, Sir." Angel stood, smiling, until the door had shut behind his creator.
Then, he fixed Will with a penetrating glare.
"Uh–!" William stepped back as the humanoid sauntered over to him, a serpentine smirk playing on it's lips.
"First things first, Mr. Elric. Exactly how much of me did you create?" Angel asked.
Will didn't know what he was getting at. "Well, I-I'm Dr. Hohenheim's partner, but he did most of the work. I basically monitored things and did extra research for him..."
"I see." Angel leaned closer to Will, "So, basically, Father did everything, and you were just his lackey."
Before William could reply, he continued, "You and Father– are you related?"
"N-no. We're only partners...and friends."
At this statement, Angel's eyes flashed again. This time, William knew the look– jealousy.
Isn't it a little too soon for that? He wondered. After all, Angel had been alive less than forty-eight hours. To have already developed affection for someone strong enough to make him jealous over that person...was odd. "Listen, Angel–"
"No, you listen." His voice grew low and threatening, "Hohenheim is my creator, my father. He cares for me more than he does for anyone else, so don't go getting any ideas about taking him away!!"
"I'm not–!" Will protested, but the creature, having made it's point, was already stalking out the door.
Great. On top of his earlier trauma in the inner lab, his head injury, and everything else, Will was now going to be forced to deal with a jealous, angry being who was about ten-times stronger than he was...
And who could kill him if it wished to.
...This 'success' thing was not as wonderful as he had hoped it would be.
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A/N: Hope you enjoyed, and thank you all for your kind reviews! They keep me going, and I hope they continue.
Chapter Three should, Lord willing, be up soon. Stay tuned!)
