Hmmm. It seems...well, nevermind.

Anyway, thanks and a sugar cookie to Guardian Angel of Wolves, Tia Ordona, Shinkutsuki, Dark Reborn, YourFavoritePlushie, Houran, Phantom of the Pie, Renneh, Bar-Ohki, Phantom SunsSong, Chibi Hayaku Hashiru, Katty, and Atemu'sLotus for reviewing. Reading the replies was hilarious, because almost everyone had a variation of "IT'S AL!" or "AL'S ALIVE!" or just "AL?!" Yes, Al. Yay! Katty had already guessed a few chapters back, but I'm glad I got to surprise so many of you. Now some responses.

Guardian Angel: Yes, Al. Well, Hoho's house in the Grand Estates is only his summer home, so he's not there very much anyhow. And the rest is explained in the chapter. And I chuckle over Wrath in uniform. Remember that episode where he squeezed that rat? Yep, inspiration.
YoFavPlush: Yes, Ed's having quite the week. In fact, this is quite the 24-hour-period, isn't it?
Houran:
Oh, yeah, I will. And don't worry, the cliffie's resolved today. Well, actually, you see, Trisha put herself in a suspended animation bubble just before the car blew up, so now she's in deep freeze in outer space, waiting for someone to--ah, just kidding.
Renneh: Oh, well don't let your eyes pop out. That's bad. But suspense is good! Oh, and heart attacks are worse. I am definitely reading the manga, but have only gotten to 12. What happens to Envy? (fears the worst) I'm glad to be loved! Next chapter up!
Phantom SunsSong: Oh, I was wondering if anyone would get the hidden meaning behind that! I like Al too, which is why I just couldn't kill him off.
Katty: Ta da! It's Wrath!
Atemu'sLotus: YES! Finally someone notices! I love brotherly Ed and Envy. And I didn't have Hoho nearly as absent-minded until I read number 10 of the manga, where he's all "I seem to have lost my house." After that I just HAD to do it. Yay for Al, sadness for Trisha...um, cookies for Roth?

And now, I kill the evil cliffie. Enjoy!


9: The Kid's Past

"Coffee," Roy said with a blissful sigh, plunking down at the kitchen island. "The best invention since sliced bread."

"I'll take one," Riza commented, combing her hair.

Roy produced a second cup like magic. "I thought you'd want one. You look pretty tired," he said.

It was true. There were sleep-deprived bags under Riza's eyes. "I didn't sleep much last night," she admitted, accepting the coffee and drinking it black. She made a face, but swallowed it anyway.

Roy glanced over at Hohenheim, who was currently rifling for breakfast in the monstrous fridge, his legs and rear sticking out. "Bad dream?" he asked his wife.

"No. Just a lot of thinking." Riza took another sip and made another face. "Roy, could you--"

Roy produced a bottle of creamer and a glass jar of sugar.

"Lifesaver," Riza praised, snatching both and proceeding to dump large amounts of cream and sugar into her coffee.

Envy suddenly appeared in the kitchen entrance, forest green hair disheveled(more so than usual), and a sour look on his face. His pajamas, borrowed from Roy, looked like they had been crunched into a ball for six weeks. Silently, Envy sat at the kitchen island, as far away from all three as he could get, and started moodily tugging on his hair.

"How about waffles?" Hohenheim suddenly said, popping out of the fridge with a box of frozen waffles in hand.

"Where's Pride?" Envy mumbled.

Riza glanced over at him after taking a sip of her freshly overcreamed and oversugared coffee. "His name is Edward," she corrected, "and he went to take Winry home."

Envy slumped on his stool, staring down at his lap. "Why?" he said, so softly they barely heard it.

"Why what?" Riza asked.

"Why did you do it?" For the first time, Envy looked directly at Riza.

"What?"

"All this...stuff!" Envy looked frustrated. "Why the hell do you care? You don't know him. You don't know me. And you're probably gonna die. What's your deal?"

Roy took a large swallow of coffee. Hohenheim blinked from where he stood in front of the open fridge.

Riza glanced down into her coffee, then back up at Envy. "It's funny. Edward asked me a similar question a while ago." Her voice became softer. "What I don't understand is why it confuses you so much that I want to help."

Envy glared at her. "People like you on the outside don't understand us," he said. "You don't--"

"Know how we feel," Hohenheim suddenly spoke up. All heads turned to him, but he continued, a sad, faraway look in his eye. "You make assumptions and reject us because of them. We can't trust any of you. We have to stick together." He returned to the room and smiled sadly at its occupants. "Dante has quite a way with words."

"So...it's brainwashing?" Roy guessed.

Hohenheim nodded. "In a sense. She convinces you that anyone outside the gang is not to be trusted, in order to keep you isolated, should the desire to leave ever arise."

Riza turned back to Envy and saw that he was now glaring at the island so hard it seemed strange that it hadn't exploded yet. "You talk like you've got it all figured out, you bastard," he spat at an innocent napkin. "You don't know anything. Anything!"

"I know plenty," Hohenheim said in a world-weary tone. "Dante ensnared me with the same tricks she used on all the other Chosen and every other member of that gang."

"They're not tricks, dammit!" Envy yelled, glaring now at his father. "How would you know? You skipped out so fast it was like you weren't ever there! You just left us! Me! And you didn't care, did you? You were too eager to leave me behind and start some new suburban family and have 2.6 adorable freaking kids to look up to you--"

"It was wrong of me to leave you," Hohenheim said. "But Dante wouldn't have let you go. She would rather have killed you. I left you to save you."

"Like hell!" Envy yelled, then resumed glaring at his lap. His fists, clenched on the table, were shaking. Riza watched him, recognizing some of Pride's actions. She felt her heart go out to him.

Roy set down his empty mug. "You keep mentioning this Dante woman," he said to Hohenheim. "What is she? The ganglord?"

Hohenheim sat down at the island with a sigh, the frozen waffles in his hand forgotten. "Yes, I suppose," he said. "She heads the gang and oversees the recruiting of all new members. Like I said, she's a master at manipulation, which is how she is able to have so many loyal followers."

"How many are we talking?" Roy asked.

"At least fifty, including the Chosen. There might be more by now."

"What are these Chosen?" Riza suddenly spoke up. "It's been mentioned several times."

Hohenheim heaved a sigh. "The Chosen are seven members on the inner circle. They are the closest to Dante and oversee most of the gang's activities. To signify their status, each of the seven chosen is given a title upon their initiation. I'm sure you've guessed the theme."

"The seven sins," Riza said. "Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Wrath..."

"Sloth," Roy supplied.

Riza nodded. "And Envy and Pride."

"I was one of the chosen," Hohenheim said. "I was Wrath. When I left I was forced to leave my son behind, so as not to bring his mother's wrath down on him. It was the only way I could see to save him."

Riza blinked. "So...Envy's mother is Dante?"

Hohenheim nodded. "I planned to negotiate for Envy's freedom, but Dante wouldn't have it. She punished me for leaving by attacking my new family."

Roy looked grim. Riza was deep in thought. "Then...the death of Edward's mother and brother was a direct attack from Dante? She killed them?"

Hohenheim nodded grimly. "Trisha's and Alphonse's deaths drove Edward away from me, and he left me a suicide note. I had thought he was dead."

"Then you show up at our house for dinner and there he is," Roy said.

"It doesn't surprise me that Dante was able to lure Edward into the gang. He was going through a storm of emotions at the time. People like him, who have undergone some sort of tragedy, are her prime targets."

Roy shook his head. "Well, at least we have an idea what she's capable of," he said.

"And she'll be coming after us," Riza stated.

"Yes," Hohenheim said. "So we have to be ready."

"Maybe we should call the police," Roy said. "Seriously, this is a very dangerous gang. Isn't it out of our league?"

Hohenheim looked grim. "Unfortunately, there have been several incidents in the past where the police were called upon to apprehend Dante and her gang," he said. "The resources she has at her disposal gives her quite an advantage. Involving the police again means more undue casualties."

"Joy," Roy sighed.

"What should we do?" Riza asked.

"Right now, my main priority is to keep my sons safe," Hohenheim said firmly. He glanced over at Envy, who now had his head lowered enough for his hair to hide his face. "Whatever it takes to do that, I will do it."

"Then are we going to fight?" Riza asked.

"That's the way it's sounding, isn't it?" Roy said. "But if you're right and Dante can handle the police without breaking a sweat, we're no match for her and her gang. What else is there? Who in their right mind would help us?"

For a moment, no one moved. Even the air seemed to still. But Edward was absorbed with staring at his brother's face. He remembered that round, chubby face, the one he liked to hit sometimes. Those big brown eyes, that bronze hair. And now, here it was, here he was, in the flesh. So grown-up. He'd lost all his baby fat.

The moment of stillness didn't last very long. Edward took a step forward, then another, then another, and suddenly he was rushing towards his brother. Al didn't stay still either, and ran to meet him. They met halfway and nearly smacked into each other.

Edward grabbed his brother and hugged him tightly, so tightly he almost feared breaking the younger boy's back. "Al!" he exclaimed. "Oh my God! I thought you were dead!"

Alphonse had an equally tight hold on Edward. "Brother, I don't believe it. Brother," he was saying into Ed's hair. He was shocked into whispers.

But how? There weren't any burns on Alphonse's face. No sign of artificial limbs. It was as if Alphonse hadn't been in the car, hadn't been caught in the blast. But Edward had seen him climb into the car. He had crawled over the driver's seat to get something out of the glove compartment. Trisha had climbed in after him.

"How?" Edward exclaimed. "How? I thought you were dead. My God, Al, I thought you were dead!"

Al had given up on words and was merely hugging Edward. Neither one was willing to let go.

Finally, Edward realized that he was being hugged to the extent that his lungs were having trouble functioning. "Al...I can't breathe," he wheezed.

"Oh! Sorry, Brother!" Al let go and stepped back. There were tears shining in his eyes, but his face was lit up with pure joy. "I just...I wasn't sure if I'd ever see you again."

"You're telling me?" Edward exclaimed. "I saw you get blown up in the car! How did you get away?"

Alphonse rubbed the back of his head. "I opened the passenger door and climbed out!" he exclaimed. "I was kind of chasing after something. A toy, I think. After that, I don't remember myself. But Mom knows." He seemed to realize that his jacket was being pulled on rather violently, and turned to look down at Roth.

"Are you telling me this is your Ed?" Roth exclaimed. "I thought you said he was blond!"

"I dyed my hair," Edward said absently, still staring at his brother and taking in every detail of the other's face. Nope, not a single burn mark anywhere.

"Who would have thought after all these years, we would just run into each other!" Alphonse exclaimed, beaming. "Brother, you have to come and meet Mom! She can tell you what happened."

Edward nodded. "Well, I was supposed to be walking Winry home," he said.

Winry, glad to be remembered, nodded.

"You don't mind if I borrow him, do you?" Alphonse asked her. "I mean, I haven't seen him in over ten years, and I--"

"Of course!" Winry exclaimed. "Like I would interrupt your reunion! I can walk the rest of the way home--don't worry about it!"

"Thank you!" Alphonse said, bowing politely. He then turned back to Edward and hugged him again. "Sorry if you can't breathe," he said to him, "but I'm just so happy to see you!"

Roth bounced around him. "Mom's sure gonna be glad to see you!" he said. "Maybe she'll even forget to punish me!"

After seeing Winry to her door, Edward, Alphonse, and Roth headed to the Curtis home. Alphonse pulled out a house key, but he hadn't even gotten it into the keyhole when the knob turned and the door opened, revealing one of the biggest, scariest-looking men Edward had ever seen. The man loomed over them and glowered down, like he planned to stomp them into bits.

Edward had to resist the urge to hide behind his brother.

"Hi, Dad!" Alphonse piped up cheerfully, and Edward nearly fell over from shock. "Where's Mom?"

"She's in the back, sharpening a knife," the mountain of man rumbled threateningly.

Alphonse nodded, then grabbed Ed by the sleeve. "Come on," he said, pulling him into the house. Edward flinched as he passed the imposing man. Roth tried to follow, but the man collared him. "Not so fast," he boomed. "You're in trouble, young man."

"Awh!" Roth whined.

"Don't mind Dad," Alphonse said cheerfully, pulling Edward down a wood-floored hall. "He looks really scary, but he's just a big teddy bear."

Edward swallowed. "Um, sure," he said.

As they got closer to the back of the house, Edward could hear the sound of metal being scraped against metal, like someone was indeed sharpening a knife. "Mom and Dad own a butcher shop," Alphonse explained, stopping in front of the door the sound came from behind. A drawing of a chibi head with dreadlocks grinning and giving the peace sign hung over a plaque that said Izumi's workshop--Enter at your Own Risk! on the door.

Alphonse knocked on the door, and the whining noises stopped. "Mom? It's me!" Alphonse called through the door.

Silence. Edward feared the door would open and reveal some huge, scary woman brandishing several sharp, pointy things, who would stab her son in the throat to welcome him home. There was the sound of a safety chain being pulled back, and then the knob turned.

A rather ordinary-looking woman with long black dreadlocks pulled up high on her head stood before them. She had dark eyes, a frown on her face, and was wearing a "Kick the Cook" apron over a long-tailed white shirt and black capris. It must have been Izumi, as it was her workshop. Edward saw the incredibly sharp-looking knife in her hand and had to once again resist the urge to hide behind the his brother.

The woman's face suddenly split into a smile. "Welcome back!" she said cheerfully. "I trust you rounded up my little delinquent?"

Alphonse nodded. "I think Dad's going to take care of it," he said.

"Good," the woman said. She then noticed Edward. "Who's this? A new friend?"

"No, Mom." Alphonse beamed and stepped aside to present Edward. "This is my older brother, Edward. Roth found him!"

Izumi's brows raised as she examined Edward from head to foot. "Edward, hmm?" she said. She motioned with the knife, and Edward gulped. "Come over here."

Not wanting to be skewered, Edward obeyed and tentatively stepped closer. Izumi took hold of his chin and tilted his face, examining it from all sides. "He looks good," she finally assessed. She gave him a slap on the back that nearly paralyzed him. "I'm glad you've found each other. Are you living here?"

Alphonse turned to Edward. "That's right! Where are you living, Brother?"

Edward had to catch his breath before he could answer. "Um...right now...I guess in the Basque Estates, with Dad. And some other people."

"Oh, I want to go see Father, too!" Alphonse said. "Did you guys move there recently?"

"That's...a long story," Edward said. "First, I want to hear what happened after you escaped from the car before it blew up."

"The explanation we came up with is that the blast tossed him into a tree," Izumi explained. "I found him unconscious in the tree about a day after the incident. It seemed as though no one had thought to search for him, all assuming he had died."

Edward looked over at his brother again, and Alphonse nodded.

Izumi held up a finger. "I took him to the hospital. When he woke up three days later, four days after the incident, he had lost his memory. I had no idea what his family's name was, or how to reach them. At that point I didn't realize that it was his family whose car had exploded. I had no one to contact, and no way to contact them. So I decided to take care of Alphonse."

"Eventually I got my memory back," Alphonse jumped in, "but by the time that happened, you and Dad had moved and changed numbers. We've been trying to track you down ever since."

"Dad's been using a bunch of different aliases," Edward said, "and I was...well, that doesn't matter. What does is that you're not dead." He hugged Alphonse again.


"Know what happened?"

Riza looked up when she realized Envy was addressing her. "What happened when?" she asked, glancing at the entrance to the kitchen. Roy and Hohenheim had already left to do something man-like in the backyard.

Envy was still looking down at his lap. His forest green hair trailed on the surface of the kitchen island and in his lap. "When I first met Pride," he said without looking up.

"His name is Edward," Riza corrected. She rested her folded arms on the island. "What happened?"

"I think he really was going to kill himself." Envy leaned forward and rested the side of his head on the island, his hair spilling around his face. "He looked so sad, like his whole world had fallen apart. Well, I guess it had. I felt sorry for him when I first heard what happened. I asked Mother if she would let me go look for him. She agreed, and off I went. I planned to rescue him from the harsh cruelties of the world, shelter him inside the family."

Riza watched his head intently, wondering why he was telling her this, but making not a move to stop him.

"I figured it was my duty, as a big brother," Envy said. "Man, he looked pathetic. Like he hadn't eaten in days, or weeks, or something. I was mad at the bastard for not taking care of him."

Riza assumed "the bastard" was Hohenheim.

"So, I said to myself, I'd do it. I'd be the hero and save him from the world. I'd bring him to Mother and give him a new family."


"When was the last time you cut your hair?" Envy asked.

Edward slowly shrugged. His shoulders were so bony, just like the rest of him. "I don't know." His hair, halfway between neck and shoulder, was dirty and looked like it had been trimmed with a banana.

"Well, whatever," Envy said, running a comb through the blond strands. "I'll cut it for you later. Right now, you're going to go meet Mother."

Edward turned slightly, so he could glance at Envy out of the corner of his eye. "Who...who's this 'Mother' you keep talking about?" he asked.

"Her name is Dante," Envy explained, pulling a tie off of one of his boredom braids(1) to wrap around the ends of Edward's hair. "She runs our family. Everyone calls her either Lady Dante or Mother." He finished Edward's hair and turned the boy around to cuff his overly long sweatshirt sleeves. "She'll decide whether or not you can stay with me."

Edward flinched. "You're not going to leave me?" he said, sounding desperately scared.

Envy smiled at him. "'Course not. I seriously doubt Mother would turn you away. And even if she did, which is highly unlikely, I'd find a way to convince her."

Edward seemed to relax a bit at that. "Okay," he said.

After he finished making Edward vaguely presentable, Envy stood up and offered a hand. "Come on," he said.

Edward took the offered hand and let himself be led out of the room.


A noise made Envy's head lift from the table, and he glared accusingly at the entrance to the kitchen. Riza glared at it also, not wanting anything to interrupt Envy's story.

However, no one showed up. Riza let out a breath and shifted back into place. "So what happened after that?" she asked.

Envy crossed his arms on the island and rested his chin on them. He seemed to be done talking. Riza looked down into her empty coffee mug, disappointed that the story was over.

"We went to see Mother," Envy abruptly started back up. Riza glanced over at him quickly, but he had closed his eyes. "I knew exactly where she'd be, because she didn't move around a lot. She stayed in convenient places for us to reach her."


"This is it," Envy said, gesturing towards the large double doors they stood in front of.

Beside him, Edward swallowed. "Is this...'Lady Dante' nice?" he asked nervously.

"Oh, yeah, she's fine," Envy said. "Sometimes she has a temper, but don't worry. She'll be nice to you." He reached out a hand and pushed open the double doors. They opened with a creak, and Envy felt's Edward's grip on his hand tighten.

The tea room was massive, but Envy was used to it. He tried to imagine what it might look like to Edward: a huge room with a ceiling practically miles away. Floor-to-ceiling windows covered the left and right walls. A huge chandelier hung from a long golden chain attached to the ceiling. In the direct center of the huge room, a small, round white table with matching chairs was set up. In one of the chairs sat Mother herself, with a steaming teacup in front of her.

Mother looked up when the door opened. She smiled. "You're back," she said, standing. Her eyes fell on Ed, who moved a little closer to Envy. "And this must be Edward." She walked towards them and knelt down to be at Edward's eye level. "You can call me Mother."


"That meant he was in," Envy mumbled. "No bones about it. Eventually Mother coined him Pride, and he became a Chosen. There was some resentment from other Chosen because he didn't have to work for his position. Particularly from that asswipe Greed."

And it all went downhill from there, Riza thought. "Why would you tell me this?" she asked Envy.

"Well, since you're so damn persistent about solving all our problems, I figured why not," Envy said.

Riza blinked.

"Besides, you might do some good for Pride after all."

"It's Edward," Riza corrected.

"Whatever. Edward isn't my little brother. Pride is."

Riza was surprised. "How can you say that?" she said. "Whatever he goes by, he still needs you to be there for him."

Envy didn't answer.

There was the sound of a door slamming, and then Edward yelled, "I'M BACK!"

Riza got up from the kitchen island and wandered out in the foyer to greet him. There, she was surprised to find a beaming Edward standing with a younger boy who looked quite similar to him. Behind them both stood an imposing woman with dreadlocks.

"Who are these two?" Riza asked, blinking in surprise.

"Riza," Edward said, putting his hands on the younger boy's shoulders, "I want you to meet my brother, Alphonse. Al, this is Riza."

"Your brother?" Riza said in surprise. Hadn't Edward said his brother was dead? But she dutifully shook hands with the bronze-haired, brown-eyed boy.

"It's nice to meet you," Alphonse said politely. "Big brother couldn't stop talking about you on the way here."

Riza glanced at Edward, who shrugged.

The dreadlocked woman stepped forward. She looked to be the type not to cross. "I'm Izumi Curtis," she said, extending a hand. "Alphonse's adoptive mother."

Riza shook hands with her also. "Nice to meet you," she said.

"Likewise. I hear you've been the one taking care of Edward the past month or so."

"Yes, that's right."

"You have my thanks. We've been searching for Alphonse's family for years."

Riza gave Edward a look that said he would need to explain what was going on later.

"Why don't you all come into the kitchen?" Riza suggested. "Envy's still there, I think."

"Envy? Who's that?" Alphonse asked Edward.

"Um...that's another long story," Edward said. "The short version is, he's our half-brother."

"Really? How come I've never met him?"

"Another long story."

"Big brother, I hope you plan on telling me all these long stories at some point! There's at least five or six I'd like to hear," Al said.

Edward nodded, though he looked kind of uncomfortable. "Yeah, of course."

Izumi caught up with Riza, who was heading back to the kitchen, and fell in step with her. "How long have you known the Elrics?" she asked. At Riza's confused look, she elaborated. "That's Edward and Alphonse's last name."

"Oh. Well, not long at all," Riza said. "I've known Edward about as long as I've been taking care of him. I've had a friendly acquaintance with Hohenheim...er, Elric, for a few years. He's my husband's boss. I didn't know the two were related until last night, though."

"It sounds like another long story," Izumi surmised. "I'll wager an interesting one. I certainly look forward to hearing it."

Riza nodded. "Then I should probably find the men, and we can all meet up in the kitchen. You should at least know what's going on, in case you need to take Alphonse away to protect him."

Izumi's dark eyes narrowed. "I definitely want to hear this," she said.


Well, the latest chapter comes to a close. I hope you enjoyed.

More stuff is coming up. Eventually we'll get to the chapters with lots of fighting, biting, cussing, fussing, banging, haranguing, you get it. See ya then!