Back in my world (the real world), I was a good, law-abiding citizen. I cleaned up after my dogs when I walked them. I never littered. I never cheated or shoplifted or anything like that. Here, I've already got one potential crime under my belt: trespassing. In theory, this is an unused building, but I know that's a lie. As Ed so eloquently points out, they wouldn't bother to have a guard at a building no one uses or cares about.
This building sure as hell isn't deserted. I know that, and so do Ed and Al.
After the three of us debate the merits of different ways to get inside without the guard seeing us, Al decides to simply hoist his brother up the wall so that he can sneak over it.
After Ed makes it over the wall, Al prepares to toss me up as well. I guess that's one bonus to being a living suit of armor; Al's got the size and strength to give me enough of a boost that I can get into the Lab.
"Are you sure about this?" Al whispers to me. "Ed got over the wall because his limbs are metal, but you don't have that advantage. If I mess up, you might get hurt, and I don't want that to happen to you."
I smile. Alphonse Elric might be the only person who's been genuinely concerned about me while I've been in Amestris. Roy is excluded from this; I can't tell if he really cares about my well-being, if he's faking it, or if he only cares because I'm his chance to save his best friend's life.
"Al, I'm sure it's fine. Back in my country, we have this custom of cheering for our side in a competition- it's called cheerleading- and I've been tossed in the air countless times because of that. Climbing won't be a problem, either. I appreciate your concern, though." I leave out the fact that I quit cheer after sixth grade, because that's when I realized that cheerleading would be a waste of my time and intelligence. I'd rather be doing anything else than be thrown around by some snobby girls in short skirts who wrinkle their button noses at you if you mention to them that you like anime.
Al complies, and I make it over the wall with no problem. Moments later sound of something heavy hitting the ground behind me confirms that the three of us are together, waiting to make the next move.
Ed pries open a vent to crawl through to get in the building, telling us to wait outside for him. Al wouldn't be able to fit through the vent, of course, and Ed wants me to wait with Al. However, I manage to convince the Fullmetal Alchemist that he should allow me to follow him inside instead.
"The place you're going," I explain to Edward, "is a lot more dangerous than it is out here. You might need the backup."
It's hard to persuade him, since Ed's so stubborn (especially about matters involving his brother's safety), but I do. As Ed crawls through the vent and motions for me to follow, I turn back to Al.
"Just so you know, the fact I'm following Ed in instead of staying with you doesn't mean you're not going to be facing any danger. It just means that I think he needs the help more. But know this: If anyone comes up to you and tries to convince you that your brother isn't want he seems, ignore them. They cannot be trusted. Okay?"
I don't wait for a reaction or an answer; I just climb through the vent until I'm caught behind Ed, who's muttering to himself, "It's more cramped than I thought it would be in here. I guess I'm glad that I'm small."
"Shut up," I tell Ed as he realizes what he just said and looks as though he's having an identity crisis. "We need to get inside as quickly as possible."
In about a minute, we're out of the vent and find ourselves in a room with a large transmutation circle taking up the floor. Ed looks around, seeming a bit bewildered, but I try to keep my face as stoic as possible. Stoic is intimidating, right? That's probably what we need against Number 48, who's sure to pop in for a visit in a moment or two.
Make that now.
48 starts to speak, his voice echoing off of the metal he is now made of as he does so.
"Look, kids, I don't know who you are or where you came from, but you seem to want to learn more about the Stone. I'm 48; I've been left to guard this place and remove any outsiders who get inside. Hope you don't think badly of me for this."
"Of course. I wouldn't think badly of someone whose job is to try and murder us," I remark sarcastically. But at least when reading the manga or watching the anime, I'd never really disliked 48 (the Slicers brothers, whatever you want to call them). They always seemed pretty nice, at least for dead criminals who were set for the capital punishment.
Ed transmuted his metal arm into a blade in a move that leaves me impressed. "Don't feel bad about losing to a kid," he says, starting to fight as I transmute a portion of the ground around me into a makeshift sword. A weapon I'm not wholly certain on how to use is better than no weapon at all, right?
Ed and 48's strikes are smooth in a way that drawings and text never expressed fully. Their fight almost looks choreographed, and I'm reluctant to step in until I hear 48's blade clanging against Ed's automail arm.
"That limb just saved your life," 48 remarks. While he's slightly distracted, I creep up from behind and take a swing at him with the sword.
I hit him, surprisingly, but it has little effect. All it does is alert him that I'm there. His chuckle echoes as he turns around, seemingly noticing me for the first time, and I'm sure he'd be grinning if he could.
"Not bad," he says, oddly amicable about this whole killing-the-trespassing-teenagers thing. "And that's a decent weapon, considering that you just made it now. Of course, it's not enough to beat me."
His sword comes at me, and I'm too slow and too close to him to run away. Instead, I bring my sword against his to block his hit. We continue our brawl for a few moments until Ed lunges back into the fight and lands a perfectly executed kick on 48. The metallic echo that results from the hit causes 48 to halt in his movements, leaving me panting slightly for air as Ed looks at the armored man, suddenly understanding.
"Why did that sound hollow?" Edward asks, though it's not a question, really. He knows why it sounds hollow. It's for the same reason that Al can't eat, can't sleep, can't smile or frown or cry. There is nothing in that suit of armor.
Nothing with a real substance to it, anyways.
"You're hollow inside," Ed continues. "I spar with a guy like that, so I know the sound."
"Impressive that you figured it out so quickly." 48 genuinely does sound impressed, I'll give him that.
"There's someone else dumb enough to try to bond a soul to armor?" Ed ignores 48's previous comment.
"Actually, Ed, I don't think what you did was dumb at all," I interject. "Most alchemists who are older than you and have trained more than you have wouldn't have been able to transmute a soul; that's actually an impressive alchemical feat, and that you could do that means that you're actually quite intelligent-"
"Shut up," Ed says, but not as angrily as he might say it usually. "I would like an explanation."
"I'll give it to you for him," I say. "He was a criminal set to be executed, and instead his soul got bonded to that suit of armor. So he serves this place as a guard, doing what he said before- killing anyone who gets in here without permission. He used to be called Slicer."
"You're good," 48 remarks to me, sounding slightly amused.
Ed asks, "Then where's the seal on your armor?"
48 gives an explanation that sounds vaguely nonsensical of how the blood seal works, but lifts up his mask to point the seal out.
"Thanks for that. You're a pretty nice guy," Ed says. "Now, since you're so nice, do you want to let us go in one piece, like we came in?"
There's a maniacal glint in 48's glowing eyes. "Would a killer let its prey escape? Now I'm really going to let you have it."
I gulp.
This was a lot less scary on paper.
~FMAB~
I'm going to sum up the current state of events for you: our enemy(s) are now lying on the ground, Edward's alchemy and general cleverness having reduced them to helpless pieces of metal, unable to fight.
Meanwhile, I don't think I'm in much better shape than they are. Not that I'm dismembered on the ground or dying or anything, but I'm running out of oxygen, and the Slicers might have grazed me with their sword a couple of times. They didn't puncture anything- I'll leave this lab in one piece, no doubt- but it certainly stings. There's also a somewhat sizeable red stain on the side of my pants.
Hopefully, that's not a serious wound. I need to keep that leg; it doesn't seem very likely that my world would readily take me back into its arms if I had a leg made of metal. Or maybe that'd be one of the 'shards of reality'; a part of this reality that I take back into my own, once I can find my way back there.
If I can find my way back there.
"Anastasia! Are you conscious?"
Ed's voice. He doesn't sound concerned, exactly, but I can't quite place whatever's in his tone.
"I think so?" I respond. The fact that he hears my voice is apparently enough for him to stop caring for my wellbeing, because he turns back to the Slicers.
"You ready to tell me what I want to know, Slicer? About what you're doing here?"
That metallic chuckle again. It sounds weaker this time. I can't help but feel a bit of pity for the two brothers who'd lived the life of criminals at what should have been the ultimate price, only to be forced to keep going like that.
"Just destroy me. I've lost to you already," one of the metal pieces says. "But even so, even if you defeated me, I can't tell you anything."
Ed hesitates. "I'm not going to kill you. I don't want to be a murderer. Even if you're in a suit of metal, you're a person as long as my brother's a person."
And I think that's the moment at which I realize that, for all the attitude and height problems that Edward Elric has, he is a good person. He's perpetually pissed off, and he can be prideful, but he's got a certain morality to him. The Slicers have certainly realized that as well, since they're willing to tell him all that they can.
Oh, CRAP. I remember what happens here. If I recall correctly, a certain set of fingernails is about to make a threatening appearance.
The noise of something piercing through metal echoes. Yep, I remember this part. Now we get to see the owner of those nails, along with her little palm tree partner in crime.
The first voice I can make out as more than a murmur is distinctively raspy, and hard to place as a male or a female's- just as its owner is. I drag myself across the room to where Envy, Lust, and Ed are in time to hear the words that fuel a fire in Ed's eyes:
"Why is the Fullmetal Shrimp in here?"
I whistle as I approach. "That, Envy, was TERRIBLE word choice. I think you'll be paying for that in the near future."
Okay. Now that I'm standing closer to the two artificial humans that have been menacing this country since before it ever came to be, I can identify all of the things that separate them physically from true humans- real humans. First, their eyes- those eyes are a shade of purple that's just as beautiful and deep and rich as they are wholly unnatural. Next, the tattoos- okay, Lust, as great as you think your rack is, I feel like a pervert when I try to get a glance at your Ouroboros tattoo. Envy's isn't as easy to spot; it's on one of his thighs, I believe. They both have glares and patterns in their body language that are distinctly animalistic.
They look like predators that are about ready to pounce. Well, time for the prey to strike back, I suppose.
Lust's voice is sultry, making every word sound like exotic music as she spreads her plum lips into a strained smirk. "Oh, yes. And it's that girl- Father mentioned her to us, but I don't think I can recall what her name is. Can you, Envy?"
"Well, Lust, I'd have to be a complete moron not to be able to guess your name," I retort. I'm not sure whether I'm offended by the fact that she can't be bothered to remember my name or not. But, wait a second- FATHER knows my name? Am I actually significant enough to be on his evil little radar already?
"Anastasia," Envy says in that raspy voice of his. (Granted, Envy might not technically be a 'he', but it's not like I'm going to check.) "She's prettier than I thought she would be. I can't help but wondering how she's going to look with purple eyes. No matter," he cuts himself off before I can fully process that last sentence. I don't think I imagined it, though. "We're off track, Lust. What are we supposed to do about these two little troublemakers?"
Now, I've never been a fangirl of Envy. In fact, I've never particularly liked him at all. Obviously, he's a rude psychopath who's really got no good traits, but he's still got quite the fanbase. Until now, I didn't understand why, but seeing the drawn-out grace of his motions- and there's also that body, but that part's a little confusing- is kind of captivating. Lust might be the quote-on-quote "sexy" Homunculus, but Envy's just as beautiful as she is. I kind of understand now why Envy chose to use that body over any of the others he could've created.
I think I might be staring at him, because he gives me a somewhat twisted smirk. Lust and Ed aren't paying us any attention- Ed's propped up against the wall, staring at the two Homunculi, and Lust is busy finishing off Slicer Bro number one.
The younger Slicer cries out, and Envy quits giving me that creepy look and grabs a sword I don't recall him having before. In seconds, the younger Slicer has been permanently silenced. But Envy's still having fun with that sword, stabbing and asking questions to someone that can no longer answer him.
"He's dead, Envy. You did your job," Lust assures her brother, and he finally stops with the sword. This little rejected soap opera scene might make one that that she actually gives a crap about Envy, but Lust clearly just doesn't want him to lose it and screw something up.
"He was weak. It was disappointing." Envy casually swings the sword behind his neck before he crouches down to make play at being a morally decent being to Edward. "Hi again, Fullmetal Pipsqueak! Did you enjoy the show? You weren't supposed to see it, so maybe I should make sure you don't tell anyone about it!"
"PIPSQUEAK? WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THAT A SPECK OF DUST COULD OBSCURE HIS VISION?"
And then he tries to obscure Envy's vision with his foot. It fails.
"The shrimp here's getting violent! But I don't like fighting…"
"You don't?" I cut in. "You stabbed that Slicer about a hundred times too many for that statement to be true."
"Gosh, you little know-it-all, that wasn't a fight. It was entirely one-sided, which made it all the more fun for me!" Envy's positively gleeful now. I'd punch him myself, but once again, I know for a fact that he LOVES fighting.
"And even if you hate fighting, you started this one, so I'll end it!" Ed shouts. But his arm malfunctions before he can do anything, and within seconds, Envy knees him in the ribs and knocks him out cold.
"Envy wins this match, but spares the kid's life! The crowd goes wild!" He cheers for himself. In a twisted, incredibly phony way, it's kind of adorable.
"Whoop-de-doo, Envy. Did you forget I was here?" I ask him sarcastically. Now, it's never a good idea to try to piss anyone who's as violent as Envy is off, but he hurt Ed and he killed the Slicer without even blinking and someone should punch that monster in the face.
"Of course we didn't," Lust says. "You've been a good girl, staying out of the way while we knocked out your little friend. We have no reason to take you out with him."
I should give you a reason! I think I already have!
"Besides, it's not important if you repeat anything you hear today. No one in Mustang's department will believe a word out of your mouth. Once you stop being useful to them, you'll come crawling over to us," she continues.
"Is that what you want?" I retort. "For me to come crawling to you?"
"That's what you want. At least, that's what you should want, because we might very well be the ticket to your success in this place," Envy adds. Come to think of it, I don't think he's taken his creepy purple eyes off me since he knocked Ed out. "Wouldn't that be fun?"
And, this is definitely a bad idea, but I spit at them both. They actually look a little surprised.
"I won't come crawling to you. The only way I'd come to you at all is if you dragged me there half-dead!"
Instantly, part of that prediction comes true. They do knock me unconscious, and I can feel myself being dragged, but they don't drag me to them. I can hear Envy's raspy voice saying something, and when my vision returns to me, I'm with Ed in a hospital room.
That ended badly, apparently.
Ed spots me and starts talking.
"Oh, are you awake? You missed me getting slapped once and yelled at twice."
"By Denny and Maria, and then by Winry?"
"STOP DOING THAT. IT'S FREAKY," Ed snaps at me, then relaxes a little. "By the way, you're not seriously injured. I'm not either, except for my automail, so they'll be releasing us soon. Ross said that I should tell you that Colonel Bastard wants to see you, once you get back to HQ."
I think he's going to do worse to me than anyone's done to Ed.