A/N: WARNING! WARNING! THIS IS A VERY LONG CHAPTER! but very descriptive and another KEY CHAPPIE too. lol i had no idea i left it at such a bad cliffie, i started to spazz out saying: OMG DID I DO A BAD THING? DOES THAT MEAN THEY DON'T LIKE THIS CHAPTER! AH! lol luckily i had my friend SoR say that leaving at bad cliffie is a good thing when reviewers mention it and all lol so i was pretty okay after that. o yea, li-san won't be in this chapter much until the near end of it. there will be more flashbacks too. o yea, two more things just bear with me plz everyone i need to get this stuff out!
Demon thing: ... i hope u don't mind, but i am using ur suggestion because it is really awesome! it adds a major twist to the story! (and don't worry the twist won't make this a bad story at least i hope not...NO i promise so everyone who doesn't know demon thing's idea, go to the reviews page to get the sense of what i'm going to do in later chapters lol or just guess urself if u don't like spoilers) and i just luv that idea because the dialouge and everything is just rushing to me! it's giving me excited goosebumps and chills just thinking about it now! hints about ur idea will be mentioned in this chappie! just wanted to let u know so i can get an insight of how u would be okay if i used the idea. if i can, lol much appreciated! don't worry everyone...i know i'm chatting too much but i have to get these things out before i forget! and trust me, u'll want to read these things lol even though they may take up time with this chapter which i apologize for! -bows-
Apology A/N: okay i feel so ashamed...in chapter 10 i mentioned something that wasn't supposed to be mentioned until this chapter. again, my friend SoR really helped me when he asked me about it cause it didn't make sense and i literally went all out into a spazz attack on IM lol it was actually pretty funny cause he had no idea what i was spazzing about afterwards. so if u remember something from chapter 10 that is mentioned here, it's cause i messed up in 10. luckily i fixed it and stuff so yea haha lol. to all u readers & reviewers, i have a request that i would like u to answer in a review (if u can). my request will be mentioned when chapter 11 is finished. anyways...enough of my blabbering i just wanted to apologize to u guys since i made a mistake that gave away a spoiler. Happy Reading everyone!
Disclaimer: I do not own fma or any of it's characters, but i do own hazel, li-san, ken, and serenity :) yay! i own more characters whoot! lol (finally, on with the chapter! again...sorry for the looong stuff before. HAPPY READING!)
Chapter 11: Memories... We're Home? Part II
Her heart race, head pounding, legs throbbing as she ran through something... She didn't know what, but kept her eyes on the prize. She was small...a little, helpless, weak child. She cried out a name, a name that would never hear her, a name that...no matter how many times she would cry out she would never recieve an answer.
"Mommy!" the little girl cried. No answer, and yet the girl continued to run... run away from an evil smile that haunted her very soul.
"Mommy!" the little girl cried again, and still no one had answered. It seemed hopeless, but that was the only name she would call out to, the only one she knew... She tripped over her own two feet and fell to the ground, not willing to get up. She sobbed, darkness was the only thing surrounding her.
"Mommy..." the little girl wailed softly, wishing that the person who did not exist in her life did give her an answer. Anything, as long as she knew she was safe... as long as she knew there was someone who she could come to, crying all the way for comfort and support. Now though, it all seemed hopeless...
Hazel entered the quiet room, and tapped the big blue suit of armor on the shoulder. Al looked up, and then sighed heavily.
"Anything?" Hazel asked.
"Nothing.." Al replied with a sad tone. Hazel frowned, and told Al that she would look after Li-san for now. Al declined, and stood up, wanting to stay with her.
"I really...I realized that I really care about her now so I won't leave." Al said with a determined sound.
"Good. I bet Li-san will love to hear that from you when she wakes up soon." Hazel answered, but her reply wasn't as sincere as she wished it was. Already three days passed (this was the morning of day three), and Li-san hadn't woken up from her 'heart attack' from the two days before. Another knock came on the door, and Armony walked in silently.
"Is she doing better today?" Armony asked.
"We're not really certain...I'm just glad that she stopped screaming in pain..." Hazel answered.
"Oh...all right. Ahem..." Armony said and then couldn't help but cough, her gaze was locked with Al's sad ones. Al caught the drift that Armony came in because she wanted to talk to Hazel alone. He walked over to the door, and before he closed the door he said, "I'll be waiting outside. Tell me if anything happens." Armony and Hazel watched as Al left, and Armony sat on the other side of Li's bed. She took a stool and dragged it over to the edge of the bed. The two were quiet, the room grew still.
As Al was outside, he walked downstairs to see everyone look up at him. He shook his head no, and they sulked again.
"Brother..." Al started.
"What?" Ed asked.
"How is it that...Li-san somehow connects with a bit of her and Hazel's past whenever she touches...blood?" Al asked.
"I dunno. Why?" Ed answered.
"It's happened twice now... but this one was much more extreme than the one in StoneRidge Path." Al replied.
"Yeah, you're right...perhaps you and Li-san have more in common than you know." Ed answered and Al kept quiet from then on. From then on there, everyone had questions of their own. Ed had revealed he was of the military, and already the villagers weren't taking that news quite well. How would they react if they now knew that Hazel and Li-san were part of the military as well? Questions flooded into his head, like how could Li-san be connected with blood from her past? It happened to Al once...and it was painful for his little brother too. It was strange... and he finally realized that almost he, Al, Hazel, and Li-san were like the same people. Each losing a loved one, each sacrificing and pushing aside danger labels to get what they wanted, losing a part of themselves, going on a journey that would make their innocence lost and forgotten... He couldn't help but chuckle to himself.
"What's so funny Ed? I don't think this is a laughing matter." Winry spoke up strictly.
"It's just that...I've just realized that, it's like Hazel and Li-san are just like us... we all have the same past and everything... It's kind of great and, strange to actually have someone that we can relate to, that we can talk about it... that we can cry together, and... try to make it better. It just strikes me as...amazing really." Ed asid and the group became silent once more.
"Hazel?..." Armony asked.
"Yes?" Hazel answered.
"Ed, to make the military go away...he told us he was the state alchemist Edward Elric. Does that mean that...you and Li-chan are in the military as well?" Armony asked. Hazel didn't know what to say... she knew that someday this time would come, but was it now that it would be a good idea? She took in a deep breath, and nodded her head.
"Yes. Li-san and I, we are in the military... We're state alchemists known as the Bullseye and Soulfire alchemist." Hazel answered bitterly. Armony couldn't help but have tears come to her eyes, and she stood up and rushed over to Hazel, letting the tears run down her cheeks with an angered frown on her face. Hazel felt so guilty at this point, and she felt so small and weak...
"Why did you lie to me? After all this time? You've made me worry about you and Li-chan on your journeys... and now it's all just been one big lie? Why?" Armony asked.
"Armony we...we didn't want to lie to you it's just that... if you knew what we tried to do and how we got our automail, you'd probably be so mad and so horrified at us that you wouldn't be our friend anymore. We were only 7 and 8..." Hazel explained.
"Still, lying to me! I would have rather heard the truth!" Armony shouted.
"The truth...you really want the truth?" Hazel asked.
"Yes. I want to know why Li-chan got more automail too. Was she in an adventuring accident, or was it something else? I don't want anymore lies Hazel." Armony warned.
"Okay... Both Li and I, the day where we came back with automail... The night before we had performed alchemy in my basement." Hazel started.
"Oh? How is that bad?" Armony asked.
"You don't understand... and neither did we. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is the most important law of alchemy, known as Equivalent Exchange. Li-san and I, we hid it from you and from uncle... we were so sad when we learned our parents died so long ago, and we wanted to do anything to bring them back. Even doing a most terrible sin... Human Transmutation." Hazel said and Armony's pupils grew to be small in horror. Hazel continued.
"We gave up so little...that we thought, that I thought that blood was the only thing important for a soul... It started life, that was all that mattered to me. When we performed that alchemy, everything went wrong... What we wanted to create back to life, it wasn't worth it. We had created sins, not humans... Nothing, we gained nothing, and we lost much."
"Oh Hazel...I didn't know I...I didn't know..." Armony repeated herself as her tears began to form out of sadness.
"I lost my arm...Li-san her limbs. We told you that it happened during a rockslide in StoneRidge Path because we didn't want you to know...what we did... our sin... We thought it would ruin the last person who cared for us as we cared for you and we... We just couldn't stand to lose someone we cared about so dearly... It would break our hearts to see you hate us." Hazel said sadly and was surprised when Armony gave Hazel a hug.
"No...please don't be sorry. This was always hard for both of you from the very beginning...I didn't understand. I should have, but I didn't. It should be me that's sorry, not you. Everything you've done up to this point, joining the military... I'm sure there is a good reason now." Armony said. Hazel's eye expression became sad, and she closed her eyes as tears ran down her flustered cheeks. When the hug ended, Armony and Hazel wiped away their tears. At this point, Hazel was ready to explain.
"See, Li-san and I after realizing what we had done wrong we promised ourselves we'd never do it again. It was after researching some more alchemy that we found out about the mystical and legendary Philosopher's Stone. We've never really found the stone, but fragments of them. We call them the crimson stones. The only problem, is that the crimson stones usually turn to dust by one touch...so we've had some trouble. Ed and Al, they're like us Armony, in ever way. They are trying to do what we've been searching for for years! That's how we met." Hazel explained.
"You guys stink! You get to travel with two hot guys!" Armony whined teasingly and they laughed. They looked at Li-san sadly then...
"Do you think she's okay? What made her become like this, do you know?" Armony asked.
"I wish I did..." Hazel answered silently. The two decided to have Li-san get some rest alone, and they walked downstairs quietly.
The little girl; Little Li, opened her eyes and still saw no one. She felt even more scared now, panic began to take over her. She cried, and ran anywhere she could...She wished someone would be there to help her, someone to pull her away from this danger. There was no one...and yet, she felt like someone, people were calling to her. She wondered who... All of a sudden, she heard people calling out her name one by one. She turned around, and saw a small light. Images of people were in front of her, her eyes were wide now.
One was of a boy who had brown skin and black short hair that was spiky slightly and a little messy. He wore glasses on too and he seemed to be worried (his name: san-kun aka SoR). Another was a girl with short dark dark brownish hair that went to her ears, and she was looking at little Li with sad eyes (her name: abbie). Another had loooooooong blonde (sp?) hair that went to her waist, her green/blue eyes gave Li a concerned stare (her name: ellen). Another had long curly brown hair in a ponytail, and her hazel eyes seemed stern and pretty concerned as well (her name: jackie). The problem was...in the back of Li's mind she felt like she knew these people... but she didn't recognize them, she didn't know them.. Two more friends appeared, one having dirty blonde hair in a high ponytail (her name: alyssa) while the other had brown hair that was smoothed down to her neck (her name: danielle). They looked at her with worried eyes. They were familiar to her, she could feel some part of her call out to them. Yet...even though they were familiar, they were also strangers. How could that be? How could Li know all of these people, and at the same time have no clue who they were? It was strange...it seemed that two memories seemed to entwine in her mind, making her more confused and aggrivated. What was going on! She couldn't think..these people, they were from the Real World weren't they? She was from the Real World too!..wasn't she?... Everything seemed to be spinning in questions in her mind, and it just made her scream out in fright.
"WHO ARE YOU! PLEASE! TELL ME! I...I don't want to be alone!" Li had the courage to scream, and at once their backs turned to her and she ran to them, but they continued to be farther and farther away...
"NO! PLEASE! DON'T LEAVE! PLEASE!" Li pleaded but suddenly the light faded and she was alone again. She dropped to her knees, and sobbed. Luckily, somewhat, she sat up now and brought her legs to her chest, weeping bitterly with no end. Although she couldn't hear now..there was one more person who called out to her, someone very dear...
As Hazel and Armony entered Li's living room, they had sad faces. The room was very quiet.
"So?" Ed asked.
"So what?" Hazel answered.
"Any progress?" he asked, being a little more specific. Armony and Hazel shook their heads no.
"I hope she's all right. I wonder what made her act that way..." Eiselstein wondered.
"I...I think I do.." Ed said and everyone turned to him.
"Tell me Ed... I want to know." Hazel said immediately.
"Well...it's happened before... the first time was when we were in StoneRidge Path... She had touched blood, and in that process a flashback... a memory seemed to have come to her. The question is, why?" Ed answered.
"Why!" Hazel repeated. She started to steam in rage and in hurt. "Of course that's the question Ed! Damnit all can't you come up with a better answer than that!" Hazel shouted and everyone stared at her. Ed seemed surprised. She turned away from the group, and closed her eyes painfully.
"So...Sorry Ed I... I'm just-...I'm sorry!" was all Hazel could say and rushed out the door. The group wondered what that as about, and Ed and Armony decided to rush off after her. Winry, Al, and Eiselstein decided to look after Li.
Hazel rushed out like a wild animal, running as fast as she could until her legs gave out. She reached the top of a hill, and tried to hide behing a huge tree that seemed to be very old. Already some of the leaves began to fall. She dropped to the ground, and held her legs tightly to her chest as she sobbed. Why? Why was it only Li that had these things?...these...flashbacks? Why couldn't she experience them too? So she would know what it was like...so she could feel the pain her dearest friend was feeling, so she could be the one to say "I know what you're going through" or, "You're not alone in this. You have me too." It was painful, and she felt so weak now. She looked up, trying to calm herself down. She started to laugh, a memory took place...
(a/n: way back in chapter...i think it was 6...anyways, remember how Li asked how Hazel could make Li's day or w/e worse? this will answer that question where she started out: "Remember in winter? When we were little kids and--" it was something like that i can't remember it well and i'm too lazy to go back and look ha! evil smile lol)
It was winter, and already the snow had fallen. It was the first winter that the two had spent...without their parents. One day, the snow was falling lightly, and Hazel and Li-chan decided to go out and build a snowman with Armony.
"Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Li-chan said as she stuck out her tongue as snowflakes slowly melted into water. She smiled brightly, and then blew to see her breath.
"Li, what are you doing?" Hazel asked.
"Ah wuz tatstings' teh shnow!" Li-chan answered with her tongue still sticking out. Armony and Hazel had sweatdrops.
"Why don't you make yourself useful and make a head for our snowman?" Hazel snapped. Li-chan frowned and Armony giggled.
"Meanie head. Fine I'll be able to show off my skills then to Armony! Watch watch!" Li-chan said with a smile as she drew a circle in the snow. She placed her hands on it, and she closed her eyes. The snow around her began to form into a little white ball, and some stones formed as eyes. In an instant, the finished head plopped itself on top of it's body and suddenly, the snowman moved! It did a little dance, and made the three laugh.
"Li-chan! How did you do that!" Armony asked in amazement.
"Dunno! But I like it!" Li-chan answered happily. Hazel got a little jealous of the attention Li-chan was getting, and decided to show off her alchemy skills too. She drew a circle, and transmuted a snow spike right behind Li-chan! It crumbled, and the whole pile of snow dropped onto Li-chan.
"Look look Armony! Li-chan is a snowgirl!" Hazel said and Armony laughed out loud. Li-chan got mad, and formed a snow ball. She threw it with force at Hazel who growled.
"OH NO YOU DIDN'!" Hazel roared.
"I think I did!" Li-chan shot back as Hazel chased after her in the snow. Armony laughed so hard she rolled around in the snow. Soon, Hazel made a stone spike that actually hooked itself on to Li-chan's pants. She was stuck now on top. Armony stopped her laughter and rushed over.
"HAAAAZEL! GEMME DOWN!" Li-chan wailed as bubbly tears rolled down her cheeks.
"You deserved it! Ha! Ha! Loser!" Hazel teased.
"HAAAAAAAAAAZEEEELLLLLLLL!" Li-chan wailed even louder.
"Maybe you should let her down Hazel. "Armony suggested.
"No way! This is too funny! It's like Li-chan's gettin' a wedgy (sp?)!" Hazel laughed as she rolled on the snow. Li-chan's eyes turned to evil white blank marks as a vein popped above her head.
"WHEN I GET DOWN HERE YOU ARE SO DEAD MEAT AT DINNER!" Li-chan cried as she waved her arms up and down furiously. She stopped in 'mid-air' asking, "By the way Armony, what are we having?"
"AHAHAHA!" Armony laughed. "We're having Daddy's famous soup tonight! It'll even have chicken chunks in them this time! Last time it was turkey. Bleh!" Armony added and Li-chan cheered. She loooooooooved chicken!
"NOW GET ME DOOOOOOOOOOWN!" she roared later on. It wasn't until after a while Hazel did so, and from then on Li-chan was always afraid of heights. That was the most embarrassing moment of her life. The funny thing, was that Hazel got Li-chan down afterdinner. Almost every person from their town could hear Li-chan wail as she cried, "GET ME DOWN! I'M HUNGRY! I WANT MY CHICKEN! HAZEL! HAZELLLLL! SOMEONE GET ME DOOOOOOOOOOWN!"
Hazel laughed and laughed, her face turned red and she started to cry out of her laughter. Boy did that memory make her calmer, and more hyper.
"Hazel?" a voice asked, and she stopped abruptly to see Armony and Ed, breathing heavily with sweat on their faces. Were they looking for her? They sure had a hard time, that's for sure!
"O-oh..Armony, Ed... How long, how long have you been standing there?" Hazel asked as she brushed herself off and stood up.
"Long enough to hear your laughter that's for sure." Ed answered, concerned. He gave Hazel a stare that had a question around the lines of: "What the hell happened to her? Did she get high or something?"
"Sorry...I'm not happy about Li-san and all right now, I was just laughing because of a funny memory that happened is all..." Hazel said, and then frowned.
"Hazel, why'd you run off like that? Is something wrong?" Ed asked as he placed his hand on her shoulder. She shoved him off and walked away from them.
"Nothing's wrong." she answered stiffly and stubbornly.
"It's better to tell us what's wrong then just bottling up your feelings inside. I'm sure that telling us your problem will make you feel better." Armony said calmly, and Hazel cupped her hands over her face as tears began to flow freely.
"It's just that...I don't know why this is happening! I mean...why is it only Li who sees these things! I want to experience them with her, I promised myself that I would share her pain and we would help eachother through! I can't do that though if I can't know what she's going through! Why only her! WHY!" Hazel screamed and Armony gave her a hug as Ed ruffled up her hair a little bit.
"It's okay to feel that way Hazel. I would feel that way too if Al were going through something painful without me by his side too. Maybe it's only happening to Li because of some cause... Whatever that cause may be, we can't find out now. What I do know is that even though you don't know what Li-san is going through, you can still help her through it. You're in pain...and so is she. So really, you are sharing her pain. I bet you anything that she needs you now more than ever." Ed said to her. Hazel's eyes were wide, she felt as if Ed was being a brotherly figure to her. She looked up at him and sniffled with a nod, and the three walked back to Li-san's house. A flashback came to Hazel, and she couldn't help but put on a sad smile. It was the day of their parents burial. They were never able to see their parents after the war, and only sat at their graves for so long. Sooner or later, everyone had left except them. It was sad...and rain started to pour...
"Hazel...I'm wet, and cold... What are we going to do now? How can we do this? We're only small kids..." Li-chan asked through a wail.
"We keep on living Li...for them. We're all that we have now of what's left of our 'family', and I intend to keep it that way." Hazel answered and knelt down beside Li-chan, putting a hand on her friend's head.
"Don't worry. I'm going to be by your side from now on and you'll be by mine. That's how it will work. If you suffer, so do I. If you cry, so will I... And if you laugh, so will I. Together, that's how it will be from now on." Hazel said.
"Thank you...Hazel I... I promise too that I'll be by your side and that if you suffer so will I, and if you cry so will I. And if you laugh, so will I." Li-chan said with a smile. Hazel smiled.
"But I must warn you Hazel..." Li-chan said.
"Hm?" Hazel asked with a question mark on top of her head.
"If you try to jump out of a window..."
"" (Hazel)
"I will laugh!" Li-chan teased and Hazel couldn't help but give Li-chan a knuckle sandwhich.
"Silly! I'd never do that anyways! Baka!" Hazel said playfully. Suddenly, it felt like the day was brighter, and the sun appeared behind the clouds. They smiled, and walked back to Hazel's house. It was after that day that they had decided to train themselves to become better alchemists so they could perform Human Transmutation...
'Stupid Li-san, always making a sad situation something to laugh about...that's just like her.' Hazel thought with a sad chuckle, and when they reached Li's house they saw Winry, Al, and Eiselstein with frowns on their faces.
"What's wrong?" Hazel asked, alarmed.
"She just hasn't woken up yet." Al said quietly. Hazel decided it was time to have Li wake up for good and she marched up the stairs, confidence rose. Everyone waited in the living room.
Hazel entered the small room, and saw that Li-san still seemed to be the same way she was before. Sleeping, but with something on her mind. Hazel sat down, and sighed as she looked at her friend. She wondered right now what was going on through Li's mind...
Li stood up, she was tired of crying now, tired of acting so weak and helpless. She seemed to be 14 again, and clapped her hands together and placed them on the floor. Suddenly, in front of her was the gate! No one was around it though...no one could be seen.
"I know you're here! Come out now!" Li-san commanded, and the black figure appeared before her.
"You? Again? What are you trying to do to me? Torture me? Fool." it asked her.
"Back there...you told me that I don't belong here. Does that mean you know about Hazel and me? About...how we're not really, from here?" Li-san asked.
"What do you think? This is my world, it isn't the world of Fullmetal Alchemist like you call it. I know all, I am the Truth. Remember?" it said to her.
"Then you could tell me how to get back! We could go home!" Li-san exclaimed.
"I thought you loved it in Fullmetal World. Being with Al..." it teased and Li-san blushed.
"Besides the point! I can't remember the transmutation circle I had used back in my basement...can't you help me?" Li-san asked.
"I could, but I won't. It's for you to remember, don't you think? After all, it was you who put yourself in this situation along with your friend. Now, if you don't mind, would you go?" it asked her and shooed her away. She turned away, but then came back.
"Wait! The people I met...all of them. Who were they? Why were they so familiar to me and yet I couldn't even remember their names, not even seeing their faces made me remember who they were!" Li-san asked.
"Dear child...are you really sure about this place? Calling it Fullmetal World? Childish really... you don't remember anything do you now? You really think that you're from the Real World as you so put it? Did it ever occur to you why, if you came to this world from the 'Real World'," it said to her.
"Well?" Li-san asked.
"If you came to this world from the 'Real World', did you really want to picture yourself with automail?" it asked her.
"Well...no not really... It was just there I couldn't prevent that! I mean...sure we came here for fun out of curiousity but... how were we supposed to know that by coming here we'd mysteriously just get automail!" Li-san exclaimed.
"Perhaps it wasn't a mystery why you have automail... perhaps it is fate as to why you have them. Did you ever think that?" it asked her. She was stunned. Was everything a lie now? What could she believe, who could she trust? What was real, and what was fake? Was Li-san not real in the real world? Was she a fake? Or was it the other way around...who could she turn to now? What would she tell Hazel for that matter! It was all mind boggling, and she didn't have time to think much of it now.
"Thank you for some information.." she muttered under her breath and the gate along with 'it' disappeared. Darkness was back, but she turned to see a light calling to her. She felt her eyes sparkle, filled with some hope and rushed to it, hoping that perhaps it was someone who she recognized and knew. Although...the people she had seen before, memories about them started to flow in her mind. It was like her visit to The Gate made her memories of her real life come to life! 'Real life? What exactly is my real life?... Are the friends I've left in the Real World actually my friends? What about here?...What if the thing from The Gate is right? What if my real life is here, and back there it's just memories that are forged together?...' Li-san asked herself in question as she ran closer and closer to the light that made a path out of the darkness.
Hazel took Li by the hand, and gripped it tight. She gulped, and was ready to talk. "Okay Li, I know you're stronger than this. So wake up soon... I don't know what happened to you, and I can't tell you how horrible I feel right now because I'm not here to really, help. I will do my best though... Li, you and I, we've been best friends both here and in the real world. I don't want something that's not real that happened to you make you like this. You're strong, you can make it. It just...eats me up inside knowing that you're being affected by your other side as I have been too...it's just not fair. Please, wake up soon Li.. I miss you, even Al misses you so much." Hazel said. No reaction...she sighed, but then felt Li's hand grip onto hers. She looked up with hope, but saw that Li didn't wake up. Oh well, it was a start, Hazel knew. With this, she stood up and walked to the door. She turned to face her friend. It was time to let wounds heal themselves.
"Please...All I wish for, all I ask for, is for you to recover soon." she whispered silently and walked downstairs. As Hazel reached the bottom of the steps, she felt like it was too quiet and looked to the living room. No one was there...
"Guys? Where'd you all go?" Hazel asked instinctively, but then thought that something wasn't right. She listened quietly, hoping to hear someone. Nothing came to her, and she walked around the house...alone. She checked everywhere inside, but still no one could be found. She rushed upstairs and entered Li-san's room, and sighed with relief as she saw Li-san still sleeping. She locked the door outside making sure no one could get in, and then went back downstairs.
"I hope Li forgives me for leaving..." Hazel said to herself as she exited the house. She looked up to see something rush up at her! Without any time to react, the thing hit her straight on in the gut, and she felt her vision disappear and turn to darkness...
"Hazel...Hazel! Wake up Hazel!" a voice called harshly to her. As the scene went to Hazel's vision, it was from blurry, to some vision of seeing a boy standing over her.
"Wh-what?...Ed? Where are we?" Hazel asked as she looked around. She then realized she was chained to a stone wall, and so were her friends! She looked around, and couldn't believe what she saw before her! A place where a waterfall could be seen, stones in the lake with green grass all over the place. It was like...a paradise type of thing (a/n: if u've seen the intro of Rewrite, then the place i'm talking about is where Ed jumps off the cliff and then is attacked by the homunculi in a really cool underground place...even though i think that's the place from the fma movie..-sweatdrop-).
"We have no idea...It all happened so quickly, and you were upstairs so, "Armony said quietly.
"That's right! I was wondering why you weren't answering me... Who did this to us?" Hazel asked.
"I'll give you three guesses." Ed hissed.
"Oh no, not the homunculi Lust, Envy, and Gluttony!" Hazel gasped in horror.
"Ooooh yeah." Ed answered.
"And they brought friends too. More homunculi by the names of Greed and Wrath." Al answered sternly.
"Oh great...this is just perfect! What about Li?" Hazel asked.
"She must be still at the house..." Winry answered.
"Uncle, do you know where we are?" Hazel asked hopefully. Eiselstein hadn't said a word yet, and he sighed heavily as he closed his eyes.
"We're underground... A place that was to never exist... I actually stumbled upon it long ago when I was just a teenager. I think, this is where all the homunculi gather. I should know because I once saw...saw something that wasn't human. When I visited this place again, the things that weren't human became something more...better, homunculi." Eiselstein answered.
"Where all the homunculi gather? H-how many are there?..." Hazel asked. 'Is he talking about...what he did to mom?.. To Li's dad?' Hazel wondered.
"More than you think..." a voice from above answered. Everyone turned their attention to where a cliff was, right next to the waterfall. Up top was a person with green spiky hair, and next to him was a girl with long black hair, some of her bangs in her eye. Next to her was a bald fat man with white pupils, and beside him were two people. One had spiky dark black/brown hair while the other had looooong black hair, even though he was a boy.
"Envy! What do you want with us! I thought we already made it clear that we won't make the stone for you and your selfish needs!" Ed roared in anger.
"Oh just put a sock in it squirt." Envy said and Ed went into his rage.
"WHO YOU CALLIN' SMALL! I OUGHTTA KILL YOU RIGHT NOW!" Ed screamed.
"Not like you caaaaaaan." Envy taunted.
"Calm down Brother...please. Look up there!" Al cried and the group saw three figures in black cloaks walk up to the homunculi group.
"Wh-who are they?" Hazel dared to ask. The three figures looked up, only their eyes could be seen. One pair was green colored, one was silver colored, and the last was light blue colored... They were slits instead of pupils, filled with anger, rage, and sadness. Every homunculous jumped down to greet all of them, and they walked up slowly. When they were in sight, Envy, Lust, and Gluttony were in front. Behind them were Greed and Wrath, and behind those two were the three people in black.
"Well well Fullmetal, Bullseye." Lust said as she looked from Ed to Hazel. "How nice it is to see you. This is Greed, and this is Wrath." she said and pointed to Greed, the tall man with spiky hair, and Wrath, the boy with looong black hair. Ed's eyes grew wide as he looked at the boy's right arm and left leg. They were...his! He could tell!
"How did you...YOU! How did you get MY arm and leg!" Ed cried in fury. Everyone stared at him in awe.
"Brother! Are you sure!" Al asked in amazement. Wrath only smiled an evil one at that which made eveyone shudder slightly.
"Is that so? I had no idea these were yours... In that case, I want your other arm and leg too! Then I can be human as well!" Wrath smiled an evil grin and laughed as he charged, just to be held back by one of the hooded figures. It shook it's head no calmly to Wrath as he seemed to have settled.
"So..are you all homunculi? There aren't any others...right?" Hazel asked.
"No. There are more of us... One more should be coming soon. It all depends whether he has the time or not. There's also Pride." Lust answered simply. The three hooded figures stood as still as stone, no words came out of their mouths.
"Man...we really need Li..." Ed couldn't help but whine.
Back at Li's house, Li was having a bit of trouble waking up. She couldn't help but try again in her mind with the gate. There was something she still needed to know...and if it knew the answer, then she would be able to figure out what needed to be done, and fast!
She clapped her hands together, and summoned the gate once more. It seemed pretty easy now, and she called out to it.
"COME OUT! I'm sorry for bothering you, but there's just one more thing that I must know.." she said and it appeared to her, a frown on it's face.
"What do you want now?" it seemed to whine.
"Since you know about Hazel and me, how we're not from this world... Does that mean that others will know the real us?" she asked. She ignored the fact that having two different lifes made it more complicated because now she questioned her own self, and her own memories from this world and from the Real World. She would take care of that part later, even though it was gnawing at her constantly like crazy!
"Hm...I'm not sure... I only know about you because you made me know." it answered.
"What? Made you know?" Li-san repeated.
"Yes. If you say that you are in a 'show', then you made the plot all along. You made me know who you really are because you need to find a way home..." it answered.
"It does make sense... You told me that I could possibly well actually be alive in this world and not the Real World! How is it that I'm me, but I have these memories of a fake past? Or are they really fake? What memories are real and what are fake! If we made you know about us, you must know the REAL TRUTH!" Li-san asked.
"I don't know your real truth. It if for you to decide whether you were born here... or if you were born on the Real Side of the World. Perhaps, if I find out the Real Truth for you I will tell you so you will be no longer confused and filled with mixed emotions." it said to her.
"Right now though, try to look deep inside yourself to find the answer... You may not know, but your character may have an idea. You just need to remember something in your past that is a key to the fact of how you are connected to me, this gate, and The Truth." it answered and without another word, disappeared. Li-san pouted, but she was glad she was able to get some more answers.
"Look into my past huh? Okay...I'll try..." Li-san said to herself and thought real hard. Images came to her mind, of her birth, her life with Hazel, and then the day of the transmutation...
"HAZEL! WHAT'S HAPPENING TO US!" Li-chan screamed.
"I don't know! Something's wrong! Aaaaaaaaaaah!" Hazel screamed in pain as her arm was destroyed, blood began to race down her shirt and onto the ground.
"Hazel!" Li-chan cried as she tried to rush over to her friend, but then fell to the ground hard and started to scream in pain herself. Her limbs were gone, and she looked as blood began to form a puddle around her. She crawled over to Hazel who walked over to Li, and they looked at what was before them. They thought they had smelled something fowl. Their eyes went wide, and Hazel couldn't believe this! Their mother and father...no, these things were before them, gasping for breath. It also seemed as if they were throwing something up that hurt them inside, something red that glowed as it was spat across the room to a corner of the basement...
That was it! Li-san remembered... It was after the two had come back from Rush Valley and had told Uncle about their sin. After that, the two went to the basement and prayed for forgiveness, hoping that their new journey to find the Philisopher's Stone would make at least something right. It was also right before the two moved in with their uncle and with Armony.
"I'm going to go upstairs and fix up some dinner. Okay?" Hazel said.
"Okay. I'm gonna stay down here for a few more seconds..." Li-chan answered.
"Suit yourself." Hazel said with a shrug and walked upstairs. Li-chan closed her eyes, and prayed again. The day after telling their Uncle what they had done, the things seemed to be taken care of quickly. Li-san opened her eyes, and got off of the floor. She dusted herself off, and then noticed something sparkling. She curiously went over and picked up the stone.
"Pretty..." she said to herself and then went over to pick up a little pouch. She opened it up and placed the stone inside. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw some more sparkling stones. She picked them up, and placed them in the bag as well. When she had at least a small bag full, she noticed one more that wouldn't fit. Being Li (lol), she sniffed it a little and wondered if it tasted good. She gave it a lick, and then plopped it in her mouth and chewed the hard stone. She gulped it down, and waited for a second.
"Bleh! YUCK! It tastes horrible! It tastes like spinach and who else knows!" Li-chan finally said as she stuck her tongue out. Oh well, at least she knew not to eat them anymore. She decided not to tell Hazel of the pretty stones she found, and hid them under her shirt and rushed upstairs to her house.
"I'll be right back!" she said and rushed out the door. When she was in her own room, she put the stones in her drawer all the way in the back for safekeeping. After that she went back to Hazel's, ate some dinner, and then rushed upstairs to Hazel's bathroom after she had a bad stomach ache...
"Of course! SO that's why! Eating the red stone made me connected with the gate! With everything!... I can't help but think no matter how hard I try I still can't figure out who I am now..." Li-san said to herself with a snap and then pouted. Suddenly, she saw a light up ahead and rushed to it, running as fast as she could. She still hadn't forgotten about her hope, and getting out of this 'dark place', and she saw an image. At first, it was of a woman with long black hair and light brown eyes smiling at her.
"Mother?..." Li-san wondered, tears came to her. The figure didn't answer, but had her arms stretched out to give Li a hug. Li-san thought it was too good to be true, but instead of seeing her mother...the figure changed to show Hazel, smiling at her. It was when that Li-san realized how important Hazel was to her... How Hazel had always been there, how at almost all points in her life Hazel was like the other she never had. It was strange, but it made Li-san feel so happy when the light began to be brighter and brighter until Li-san's hands grasped on to Hazel's. In an instant, a vision came to Li! She was in a place with a waterfall, grasslands around her. The stream was so clear, and on top was a cliff that led to the top of a hill. Li-san felt that this place was very familiar, and she saw that the bottom was connected to the path outside of Iron Town!
Li-san shot up from her bed, sweat running down her face as she breathed in heavily. She looked around at first cluelessly, and then remembered the vision she had right after the light disappeared. She wondered where Hazel and everyone else was, and she put a hand on the doorknob. Before she left though, she opened her drawer and took out the small pouch that was all the way in the back. She blew off some of the dust, and found that the stones had never faded into dust. She reluctantly picked up one of the smaller stones, and chewed and swallowed it. She had a twisted look of disgust on her face, but was able to not throw up. She put the bag in her pocket, and walked over to the door. As she tried to open her door though, it was locked!
"WHAT THE HELL! OPEN!" Li-san roared and then sighed. She went to her window, and opened it up. She gulped, and jumped.
"CHURANAMOOO!" Li-san shouted and landed with a thud. (a/n: i know what Li shouts is not spelled right...i just don't know how to spell it -sniffles-) She got up quickly and rushed off. 'Boy am I GLAD I have automail now!' she thought and at top speed rushed off to where her friends needed her the most.
Hazel, Ed, Al, and everyone else stared at the homunculi before them.
"Why are those three hooded? What do they have to hide!" Ed spat.
"Do you really want to know?" Envy asked challengingly.
"HELL YEAH!" Ed answered.
"Are you sure, Fullmetal? Or you, Bullseye? Or you, Alphonse Elric? Do you think you can handle it?" Lust asked with a smile.
"YES!" Ed answered.
"Now wait just a minute Ed/Brother we never said!-" Hazel and Al started, but Lust snapped her fingers and the three hooded figures let their hoods fall to their shoulders. Ed, Al, and Hazel's eyes grew wide in fear, their pupils grew smaller. In front of them, it seemed as if Trisha Elric, Ken Yamanaka, and Serenity Manson were standing before them. The one who looked almost like Trisha had her hair smoothed, and mysteriously (not really for us lol) looked like the Fuhrer's secretary Julia Douglas! The one who resembled Serenity Manson had long golden hair now with one strip of brown getting in front of her right eye. The last one, who resembled Li-san's father Ken Yamanaka, still had his hair spiked up just a little, but a chunk of bang loomed slightly over his eyes. All of their eyes...they were dull and lifeless even though they stood before their children.
"No..NO it can't be!" Ed shook his head in shock.
"It..It is! It's them! Ed it can't be though, but how!" Hazel gasped in horror.
"Brother...I think, I think I know!" Al gasped. Ed and Hazel turned to him. Before Al could answer though, the three walked over.
"So...Envy who are these homunculi supposed to be?" Ed had the courage to ask.
"Well, this one is Sloth," Envy started and pointed to the brunette. "And that one is War," he continued and pointed to dark haired guy. "And this one is Hate." Envy finished as he pointed to the golden blonde. Everyone was speechless, and Gluttony jumped in front of them.
"Can I eat them Lust? Can I please?" Gluttony pleaded.
"Start with whoever you want to, be my guest." Lust said with a shrug and Gluttony's eyes lit up. He walked over to Armony, and she started to scream.
"ARMONY!" Eiselstein roared.
"NO!" everyone else shouted. As Gluttony neared closer, he was blasted away by something!
"HOT! HOT! HOT!" Gluttony yelped as he jumped into the water to have his behind not on flames. Everyone looked up to see someone appear from the shadows! The homunculi saw the shadowy figure to be Li!
"LI! JUST IN TIME TOO!" Everyone cried happily. Li-san had a smirk on her face, and she winked with a thumbs up!
"DADADADAAAAAAAA! LI-SAN HAS ARRIVED!"
Me: Okay, i had planned that this chapter had Izumi Curtis in it, but unfortunately being the author as i am i had a little run in with some characters if u will near the end of this chapter...they burst through my studio requesting to--well, not requesting but demanding to see me and had me put up my story and demanded to be in another chapter and i sorta couldn't refuse so they were mentioned in the last bit of this chapter and right now i am dangling from the ceiling and -mmmph!- (has tape around mouth to shut me up)
Envy: That's right everyone. The homunculi are back.
Lust: We just couldn't have our little author not mention us ever again now could we? (lust's fingers extend to be right next to Emiie's throat)
Me: o.O mmph!
Lust: Just to tell you, in the next chapter all of the homunculi shall be mentioned. As you have seen from the last part in this chapter, we all arrive with special guests Wrath, Greed, Sloth, and Pride. As you can tell: Hate and War are not real homunculi.
Hate: I'm really just a nurse back in the Real World, but it's just a pleasure being in this story!
War: And I'm really just someone who is a karate master. Come stop by my dojo some time in Hong Kong! (Lust walks over to Em and lets the tape on her mouth unravel)
Me: Okay i will say that Hate and War aren't really in the Real World actually they are just my OC...heh...anyways, yea what they said really. So in the next chapter, the homunculi will be mentioned once more and we will be in an epic and VERY DESCRIPTIVE (it's rated T for blood if u like action and really really awesome battle scenes that have blood in them) battle and stuff and we will defeat the homunculi and 'kill' them so they can rest in peace and stuff. o yea and i will say that near the end of the chapter, something 'bad' will happen to make hazel and li-san (me and swn) have to tell the truth! o.O find out what happens in the next chapt-mmph! (envy puts tape back on)
Pride: Excuse me, but did you say we get defeated? o.U (the U is supposed to be his eye patch by the way) I only get to be mentioned once. T.U (again, U is eyepatch lol)
Envy: Hey! You never said that you would kill us in the next chapter! That wasn't in the script! CHANGE IT NOW! (points an angry waving finger at EmiieRoxs)
Me: -smirks and snickers- MMPH!
Lust: What's that? Oh... she says 'too bad you will be defeated in the next chapter that is what will happen if you want to be mentioned again'. Oh yes, she also says to please leave a review so she know if you liked this chapter or not. she was feeling emotional and dramatic actually for part one and two (chapters 10 and 11) Also she has a request for all of you readers and reviewers. She tells me that she has a power already for Hate, but she can't think of one for War. It would be appreciated if u could, in a review, give her a suggestion for War's mysterious powers since she can't think of anything besides copying off of Kimblee and his bombs, and Scar and his killings, and so on. It would be helpful so if u have any ideas, she will gladly take them'.
Gluttony: Can I eat her now Lust? (mouth starts to dribble)
Lust: Not now Gluttony. After she writes chapter 12, then sure you may. But now she must type the next chapter! Now! Do it you fool!
Me: Mmph! (tape is taken off). Again, please leave a review...and now i will start chapter 12 before gluttony eats me! o.O T-T -Em