DISCLAIMER: I do not own Berserk, or its associated characters. I do not own Full Metal Alchemist, or its associated characters. I'm just writing this for my own amusement. Thanks for the reviews to date! Here we go…
THE WOODS
"Anything?" Lust asked.
"Nothing, nothing. Empty…" Came Gluttony's mournful reply.
It had taken Gluttony a few hours to empty the basement, throwing the rubble carelessly around the clearing. Lust had planned to help, only to find herself having to chase down the strange woman time and again, as the tan-skinned idiot attempted to wander off every time she was left alone. Subtle intimidation didn't work, a stern voice didn't work, and Lust was loathe to hurt her, until she was certain that she could learn nothing from her.
There was no way around it, and Lust found herself sitting with the woman on a hollow log, as she babbled and played with a pile of pinecones. Head in her gloved hands, Lust had alternated watching her and Gluttony, as the little round man dug his way down.
But now he was finished.
They'd turned up the crushed body of Dante's maid a little while ago, much to Gluttony's satisfaction. However, there was no sign of Dante, living or dead.
She moved to her feet, grabbing the Woman's arm, and pulling her along gently but firmly. Together, they looked down into the gaping pit that had once been Dante's mansion.
Nothing. Just Gluttony, sitting down there, looking forlorn. With a coo, the Woman started throwing pinecones down at the little man, laughing delightedly as he snapped them out of the air with fast, tearing motions.
"Stop that." Lust jogged her arm, and the woman cried as the cones tumbled away. Lust paid no attention as she considered, the lines of her face carved into a frown.
Dante is gone. She may or may not return. Judging by the ruins left behind, she did NOT plan this trip. Which means that she could be dead or gone to some place we can't retrieve her, same result either way…
Gluttony scrambled out of the hole, panting from light exertion, as he sat next to the two women. He knocked his heels together, as he stared down into the deep pit with blank eyes. "Hungry." He mourned. "No red stones…"
He's got a point, even if he didn't mean it. With Dante gone, the only source of the red stones that we have is the military. That's Pride's domain… With her gone, would he try and assume leadership?
That rather seemed like a possibility. And it was a troubling one.
He's too confident. Without Dante reigning him in, somewhere along the line he'll bring trouble down on us all. And then we might as well pack our bags and try our luck in another country… No, he can't be the leader. Nor Envy, he's far too vicious. That draws attention, and he wouldn't bother to cover it up without Dante's wrath hanging over him. Sloth's far too young, and Gluttony… Well. Entirely out of the question.
That only leaves one option, doesn't it? Mm. Stuck playing mother again. Still, they'll never listen to me, alone. Gluttony will support me no matter what, but the other three… I can probably convince Sloth, but Pride and Envy will never listen.
Unless…
She glanced down. The Strange Woman was busily making piles of broken plates from the remnants of Dante's kitchen. Gluttony was just as busily eating the fragments one at a time as they arrived before him, watching the woman as she walked past him, retrieving more china from the shattered cupboards. She watched as Gluttony crept up behind the strange woman, jaw opening wide as he stretched towards the back of her leg, and his broad teeth started to close…
"No!" The sharp, echoed across the ruin, and Gluttony jerked back, looking down in guilt. The woman dropped the plates, and looked at Lust with a hurt expression, lips trembling.
Lust sighed. Stuck watching children. And now with another, aren't I lucky?
"Just a leg? Please?" Gluttony whined, picking his bulbous nose with one grubby finger.
"I said, no. She may be useful, somehow. Until then, you can't eat ANY part of her."
Gluttony's face trembled, and tears gathered at the corner of his eyes. "But… Hungry…" He rasped, holding his ample belly with both hands.
"You always are. We'll be in town later, we'll find you someone who won't be missed."
"One more thing…" She looked at the little man, who stared back with his blank eyes. "You are to say nothing about the house falling down, and nothing about Dante being gone. Do you understand, Gluttony?"
His brow furrowed. This was complicated. "But… It DID fall down. And can't smell Master anywhere…"
"Nothing. Or I'll leave you to fend for yourself, like you were before I found you…"
"NO! Not that! I'll be good. Promise, promise!" Fat hands clutched at her feet, as the frightened creature groveled, and begged. She let it go on a minute before stroking the back of his head, giving him a little comfort and quieting his wailing.
"Yes, you will be good. And I'll be watching. Come on, let's go." The others will never listen to me, unless I pretend that my orders are instructions from Dante. If I'm careful, then I can fool them into thinking that she's still alive…
And leading the strange woman by the arm, the three moved into the woodline, as the sun sank on the horizon.
A few long minutes passed, and a woman in a loose white coat stood up from her hiding spot in the trees, flexing her legs. She had a beautiful face that was permanently etched into a merciless glare, and a knot of black dreadlocks at the back of her head. She covered her mouth and coughed, gently… The cough soon turned into deep hacking, that ended up with her spitting blood on the grass.
But no one was around to hear it, by that point.
"Three homunculi." The woman muttered to herself. "Only saw two brands, but the third could be hidden…" She scowled. She'd overlooked many of her old teacher's flaws, since they'd parted in anger. God knew her own hands were nothing near clean, either. The blood on the grass was testament to her sin… But still, homonculi… "What were you mixed up in, Dante?" And with that, Izumi Curtis turned and started the long walk back to town.
HOURS LATER
It was an eerie fog that filled the air as Lust, Gluttony, and the Strange Woman picked their way out of the forest, into the outskirts of town. The air was full of some strange mist that seemed to follow the three of them through the forest… It had sprung up around nightfall, and persisted in blocking their way. Gluttony kept whimpering. For some reason he was convinced that it was made of people, and was watching him all down the path. The Woman, for once, was quiet as she looked around with big eyes.
Thus, it fell to Lust to lead the way down the path, keep the two of them in line, and find her way by the light of the moon. She was NOT happy.
She was less happy when she arrived at the train station, and found it closed. With a scowl she stared at the schedule, looking down the listings.
"Well, this is a waste. No trains until tomorrow."
She looked over at the Woman and wrinkled her nose. She was barely on her feet, yawning widely and leaning on Gluttony's head for balance. The little man looked miserable, so much warm meat so close, and he couldn't take a single bite for fear of Lust's anger…
"I'd forgotten how frail and easily tired humans were. And how much they smell bad after they get dirty. Come on."
After retrieving her carrying bag from its hiding place in the woods, she lead the way down the empty streets to a small hotel, and left the others outside as she went inside, to the wide-eyed appreciation of the desk clerk. A smile, a few coins, and a quick flash of cleavage later, and she came out. "Up the back, take her with you." Gluttony nodded. She moved inside to the upper floor, lighting the lamp of the small rented room, and opening the window. After a minute, a series of thumps resounded against the wall and Gluttony clambered through the window, one arm holding the giggling woman tight to his back. Lust's lips quirked for a second, at the picture they made...
"I saw a maid on my way up. Go eat, but make sure she doesn't scream."
"Yes! Yesyesyes, Quiiiii-eeetttt…" He clicked his teeth together, and shuffled out the door, leaving Lust looking down at their strange guest.
She looked at the brown-skinned woman, who was already curling up, and yawning. "I don't suppose you can wash yourself?"
"Brm?" Was the woman's response.
"I Didn't think so. Come on, then."
The Woman proved to be solidly coated in dirt, once Lust got her in the bathtub. She fought against the water for a few minutes, crying, but settled down once it warmed up. Now she was occupied with the suds, blowing bubbles and wiping them in Lust's hair.
Lust tolerated it. The alternative was violence, and that would probably wake half the hotel with the woman's screams. She pushed her indignation aside, and busied herself with scrubbing. The filth, dried sweat, and blood sluiced away from her body, revealing scar after scar. Lust's violet eyes widened, as she took in the amount of damage this seemingly innocent woman had withstood. Some were round, where something had pierced her flesh. Others were lines, where she had been sliced. Yet others were burns, and serious ones at that. The oddest of all proved to be an odd, almost alchemical symbol burned onto her breast. Not a tattoo, but a deep burn, that bled very lightly as she washed it. Just a drop or two, but it was fresh blood…
"What is this?" She touched it with one gloved finger, and the woman grimaced, and pulled away. "Hm. Somebody nearly killed you, over and over again, according to these scars. And then they went and put their mark on you, too. Typical human cruelty, I wish that I were surprised. Is this why you're a babbling idiot?"
She got a faceful of suds and water in response, and shrugged, water running down her neck and across her own tattoo. Straightening and wiping herself off, she frowned into the mirror, then looked back at the woman in the bath. Could it be?
"It's nothing like the Ourobouros… But could that be a seal? Are you a prototype? Another kind of homonculous?"
"Did Dante make you, in a failed experiment? Is that what the explosion was?"
The Woman shrugged, and buried her face in the bubbles. Lust reached into the bath and yanked out the plug, and the Woman cried as all her suds drained away.
"I'd think that you weren't. You sweat, these scars seem to indicate that you don't regenerate, if you have any transformative powers I've yet to see them… And you get tired."
"Tch. Whatever you are, I can't test that, with what I have here. Well, as it turns out, we're heading to Central anyway. And I know just the alchemist to ask, about you…"
She toweled the Woman off, avoiding her target's attempts to snatch the towel. After she was dry, she retrieved a nightgown from her carryall, and dressed the Woman in it. Her old sackcloth garment was frankly too filth-encrusted and ragged for salvation, and it was thrown neatly out the window.
By this time, the Woman was curling up on the floor. Lust transferred her to the room's only bed, and took a seat on the nearby divan. The door clicked open and Gluttony padded back in, but by then their guest was already sleeping soundly under the covers.
Gluttony hopped up on the chair next to Lust, and stared at the Woman with blank eyes.
"What we do now?"
"Wipe your chin."
The little man did so, licking his fingers after he was done.
"We're going to Central, with... Her. She needs a name, don't you think?"
Gluttony shrugged. She wasn't food, according to Lust, so he didn't really care.
Lust smiled. "We'll call her… Pet. Yes, that will do."
"Pet." Whispered Gluttony. His teeth were white in the pale moonlight from the window.
And under the gaze of the two artificial humans, Caska, unaware of her new nickname, slept on through the night…