This chapter reposted for clarification. (I did add some details, so please read it) I'll try to hurry and get a brand new chapter up, when I can.

I did mention that there'll be a lot of spoilers in this story, right? If you can't understand it because you haven't seen the end of the series, then I can't help that...

Chapter Six: Mommy Sloth

A drop of sweat ran down Alphonse's cheek as he stood there, his back against the pile of furniture in front of the door. He had told his mother to hide in another room, but now wished she was here to help keep them out.

Alphonse gasped in surprise as he felt something sharp stab him. He looked down to see something long and black sticking out of his right arm. He paled as he saw his arm beginning to bleed. Just a second after the long object was retracted, he jumped away from the door.

On the other side of the blockaded door, he could hear a woman say, "Looks like I've pierced someone," and then someone else say, "Can I lick it off, Lust, please?"

"No, we need this blood for the formula. But I guess you can have the boy, Gluttony, if you can reach him," Lust said.

"Goody!" Gluttony announced joyfully.

"What should we do with the woman?" Envy asked eagerly.

"You do realize we're not sure who's blood this is, don't you? If it's the mother's blood, it's a sure thing. - But if it's the younger brother's, there's only a fifty percent chance it will react to the formula," Lust said. Envy wore a look of confusion, so Lust continued with, "We tie her up in case we need her blood later."

Alphonse, gripping his injured arm, ran over to a nearby table and got the piece of chalk that was sitting there. He drew a circle and transmuted the furniture into a stronger wall, hoping it would hold up against Gluttony.

---

Edward watched wide-eyed as he saw her walking side-by-side with the suit of armor. She looked just like his mom, only with darker hair, and she had a tattoo like the one he noticed on Lust. He had followed Ed and Lust to this warehouse, which he recognized to be the same one Lust had lured him to back in his dimension. But, the glass containers holding the red liquid weren't here. The old factory looked different than he remembered. Edward was still keeping out of sight as he listened to the present conversation.

"It's lies, she's not our mother," Ed told Al.

"I know what she is, alright? But, she's-"

"She's using our memories to manipulate us, period! That thing doesn't have a soul," Ed said in disgust.

"You weren't always so cruel, Edward, dear..."

Edward started. That sentence implied that she remembered an earlier time. 'Could she be... What Ed said about using their memories to manipulate them... Who would have told her about those memories? How would he know she doesn't have a soul? ...I have to know. I have to see what she knows and how.' Edward let out a surprised gasp when he saw Ed transmute his right arm into a machine gun. "No wait!" Edward yelled, running in front of the homunculus with his arms outstretched.

'...Another one?' Sloth wondered, surprised.

"Get out of the way!" Ed ordered, swinging his machine gun arm.

"Not until I can ask her some questions!" Edward yelled back. "Don't you want to know the truth?!"

"You're different from him..." Sloth noted. Edward turned his head toward her as she continued. "It's subtle, but..."

"Get away from her, now!" Ed called, realizing she was going to try tricking his double over to her side, like she did Al.

"No! What if Lust was telling the truth?!" Edward said.

"She's not your mother! She's not anyone's mother!" Ed yelled. He remembered how Edward had told him that Lust said their mothers were switched. 'I didn't want to let her to know I had this yet, but...' He took a small box out of his pocket. "Do you want proof?! I dug this up a few days ago - it's the real Trisha Elric's remains!"

Edward paled and Sloth flinched.

"So even if Lust was telling the truth, this homunculus still wouldn't be your mother!"

"You dug up her grave?! Without even telling me?!" Al demanded.

"It's an homunculus's only weakness, Al," Ed explained regretfully.

"How could you do this to me, Edward?" Sloth sadly asked Ed. "How could you be the same boy who spent night and day hunting for a cure to keep me alive? Who attempted the forbidden just to have me back?"

"Heh." Ed's hair was covering his eyes, but the wide smirk on his lips was easy to see. "You need to get your facts straight, Sloth. The truth is, the thought never crossed our minds." Sloth widened her eyes in surprise. "By the time we knew about her illness, there wasn't enough time to even consider searching for a cure."

"But... But I remember..."

"You don't have memories! You're just a byproduct of a failed transmutation!" Ed snapped at her, raising his head to look her in the eyes.

"This isn't how we planned it, Fullmetal." Ed turned his head when hearing her voice. "I'm curious as to how you plan to get her to the transmutation circle, now."

"I'm working on it!" Ed told Lust, annoyed.

"It's you again," Edward said, pointing toward Lust. It was the thing that tried to kill him and take his blood. Sure he was in another dimension, now, but he was in the same building as before. How could that be a coincidence? "Tell me what's going on!"

Lust noticed the teen standing in front of Sloth for the first time. She glanced at Edward, then back at Ed. "...Another homunculus? But... I've never heard of an alchemist making a homunculus of a person still alive..." Lust couldn't understand it. The only explanation for two midgets was that one of them weren't human - the one without automail must be an homunculus, but then, why didn't she know about him?

"Homunculus?! You know perfectly well who I am!" Edward yelled at her. "You followed me to this dimension, didn't you?! Well, I won't let you carry out your plans!" Edward moved his right glove in front of his face and activated the transmutation circle on it.

"You idiot," Ed called to his double, "she's from this dimension!"

"How do I know you're telling the truth?! I saw you two together! Maybe you're on her side!" Edward countered. How could he forget how the two of them had walked to this abandoned factory together?

"Dimension? There's other dimensions?" Lust wondered.

"Don't play dumb with me! You know all about Tucker's formula and it's secret ingredient!"

"You mean him, genius?" Ed said wearily, pointing out the creature in the corner. Ed wished he could explain things better, but he needed to get Sloth to the array Lust had been working on. That way, he could kill her.

"Huh?" Edward wondered, glancing toward the dark corner. At first he didn't understand. Not until the thing turned its head far enough to see its face. Edward widened his eyes. "T-Tucker?... But... Scar killed him... What happened to him?" There was Tucker, holding Nina in his arms. But, his face was upside-down, and there were the long furry ears sticking out of the side of his head. Besides that, something didn't look right about the big trench coat he was wearing, and Nina seemed so lifeless...

"In this dimension, he didn't make a formula. In this one, he made two chimeras, and then turned himself into one in an attempt to bring back his daughter."

Edward suddenly realized his mistake. Ed was right. This dimension wasn't his. The sight of this warehouse got him all mixed up.

At that moment, Wrath entered the building. "Mommy!" He called as he ran to Sloth's side and hugged her.

Ed sighed. "Not again... How many times do I have to say this?! She's not anyone's mother!"

--End Chapter--

Hope all of that made sense. I thought I'd have that about Edward getting confused, since Ed does in the movie, even after he's been on the other side of the gate for two years.

It's about time I got back to Alphonse, huh? Now I just have to figure out how Edward will realize that he needs his help...