Hi everyone! So sorry this took so long to put up! You know, life got in the way, as well as me scratching my head for what seemed to be an eternity at the ending of...that OTHER SHOW...but I'd say I'm more focused now! Here's Sonic's first real adventure in the Alchemic world! Please enjoy!

Also, I realized too late some mistakes with regards to 03 canon. The brothers reunite with their teacher in Dublith like they do in the manga in this fic, whereas in 03 she actually finds them in Rush Valley. I apologize for the error (granted canon was going to be shot out the window anyway, but I figured for events that wouldn't effect either cast/world much, I should keep them as similar as possible. Oh well)

Hope everyone enjoys this nonetheless.


Roy Mustang once more found himself in his office. It was a nice day in Central, and of course, he had a mountain of paperwork to take care of. Mustang's brow twitched. "I keep letting it pile on, but something always comes up, and just when I'm ready to buckle down and do it, I have every reason to leave!" Suddenly, a knock came on his door. "Enter." Mustang said as he pulled out a sheet and pen and began signing his signature, giving the form a brief once over.

Riza stepped through, saluting. "I take it the Elrics are fine?"

"Last time I checked." Mustang confirmed as he scribbled his name onto another paper. "It was a waste of time going down there." he sighed. "Maybe if I got there a day before it might have been productive, but Fullmetal had to come back on his own."

"Well, it's less distractions on our end either way." Hawkeye chimed. "Onto more important matters, the situation in Liore has gotten a bit complicated."

Mustang sighed. "Give it to me straight."

"Well, the good news is there have been no sightings of Cornello. Though we can't confirm it, it is likely he is dead."

"And his followers?"

"A few here and there. There's still a cult causing trouble, and as you can imagine, we have no choice but to hunt them all down, much to the citizens' dismay. For what it's worth though, the people as a whole have woken up to his 'miracles' and disavowed him."

"Too little too late." Mustang said as he looked out the window. "If they had caught onto him before, the military wouldn't have had to step in. And now look at the damage we've both done."

"It was to protect the state, sir..."

"Yes. But you're kidding yourself if you think everything we did there was 'good'."

Riza nodded sadly, knowing full well what it was like to do something terrible for your country. They both did. Getting back to the present, she went through her files to pull out another report. "Speaking of which, sir, there was another complication on our end that needs to be dealt with."

"Oh?"

"An officer came forward recently. He says that his superior and fellow officers cornered a young woman with children while they were looking for the rebels." Mustang didn't like where this was headed. "While he was guarding the building, he heard them attack the girl, and..." Riza took a deep breath; as a woman, cases like this infuriated her. "...force himself on her."

Mustang breathed deeply through his nostrils. "What's the name of the accused?"

"Sargent Philip Codwell. The officers under his command are being charged as well."

Mustang sighed. "I'm sorry to say this does not surprise me."

"You know him, sir?"

"We trained together in boot camp." Mustang explained. "He was always something of a misogynist; even after we graduated, he didn't have any sense of morals or justice. He just wanted to join the military and rise up with the promise of power. Unfortunately because they tend to get the dirty jobs done without complaint, the military has a bad habit of keeping men like him around."

"The quest for power seems like a quality you both share."

"Not like me." Mustang said. He turned around and gave his lieutenant the biggest smile he could. "Besides, I've had much more luck with the ladies!"

"Indeed." was Riza's stoic replied as she dropped a few files on his desk.

"Really, Lieutenant? Please don't make my day worse." Mustang groaned.

"Only doing my duty, sir." Riza said "Anyway, back to the case at hand, you're expected to testify, sir. I imagine you wouldn't do much for either side, but the higher-ups want to know what you knew of him."

"Of course." Mustang sighed. "What was the victim's name?" he asked out of curiosity.

"We only know of her first name, sir; Rose. To make matters worse for her, Liore is hiding her. Rumor has it that the incident has left her incredibly traumatized and won't speak to anyone."

Mustang's eyes blinked in realization. "Rose?"

"You know her?"

"Ed mentioned in his report meeting a girl named Rose." Mustang said in deep thought.

Riza's stoic face softened with pity. "Do you think we should inform Ed-"

"No. He's got enough on his plate as it is. And if we did tell him, he'll only do something reckless, justified or not. Besides, at this point there's nothing anyone can do for her." Mustang looked out the window. "Though I've procrastinated enough as it is...this news has left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I think I'll go out for a walk."

"Sir..." Riza tried to protest.

"It's okay, Lieutenant. I'll be back in an hour. I promise." he waved her off.

With that, Mustang stepped outside his office. Most of the military inside was going about their normal routine. Such was the curse of public service, he supposed: either be stuck in a dead-end office job, or fight on the front line. "It's a bit too cheery here for me..." a voice Mustang never heard before said, far down the hall.

"At times, I'm inclined to agree. But if we're going to do this, you need to keep up appearances..." That was the Fuhrer!

"Yes, yes. Of course." the strange voice replied.

Mustang decided to turn around the corner and investigate. He hoped to catch his superior with his back turned. Unfortunately, he found he was facing them both directly. "Mustang! Good to see you! I take it you've finished your work?"

King Bradley very much lived up to his first name. Fresh into his senior years, he was lucky enough to keep his dark military crew-cut and sported a matching mustache. He was also an imposing man physically; standing well over six-feet, he was the ideal size for a military man. Age also did nothing to wither his physique; Mustang wouldn't have been surprised if he had actually gotten better with age. He also knew that he was quite the accomplished swordsman in his prime, and even today he still carried a saber. Rumor had it on some missions he actively participated in combat, making his soldiers wonder why they were with him in the first place. The only noticeable wound he had received from war was his missing left eye, covered with an eye patch.

Mustang snapped out of his thoughts and saluted. "Sir! I'm sorry to say no; I've just received the report from the incident in Liore. I just felt like clearing my head."

The Fuhrer's warm smile disappeared in an instant. "Ah, you got word of it already? It's a shame. The military should aspire to be exemplary citizens. But, unfortunately people are more complicated than that." he sighed.

"A truth I've discovered a million times sir." Mustang agreed.

He then turned his attention to the man next to the fuehrer. Like most of the other men here, he wore the standard military uniform. However, he was also...fat. "I wonder how he got past the physical?" Mustang also couldn't help but notice his red mustache and dark eyes. His ears also seemed to be a rather weird feature, metal stubs instead of flesh. "Hello." he said to the stranger. "I don't believe we've met before. I'm Colonel Roy Mustang." he saluted before offering his hand.

"Dr. Julian Kintobor." the stranger saluted. "I am the new head of engineering. The fuhrer has spoken quite highly of you; it is an honor to finally make your acquaintance."

The two shook hands, Mustang immediately noticing something off. "Four fingers?"

"Ah." Kintobor said, noticing where Mustang was staring. "A birth defect." he explained. "Still, it hasn't stopped me from my work."

"Apologies." Mustang said.

"No need to worry." Kintobor replied.

"I was just showing Kintobor around Central." Bradley explained. "He moved in from the border, and hasn't set foot in our fine capital."

"Ah." Mustang said in understanding. "Well, please continue. I'm sorry for interrupting." Mustang saluted. "I'll get back to-"

"Go on your walk, Mustang." The fuhrer said, smiling in understanding. "I'd rather you work with a clear head."

"Yes sir!" Mustang saluted as he walked away.

Once they were out of earshot, Robotnik said to the fuhrer "You are rather lenient with your...soldiers."

"It hides my true nature." the fuhrer said as his smile turned stern.


The Elrics, Winry and the mobians had been on the train for quite a while now. A day or two went by, and both parties were getting antsy. Boredom, dread, impatience...it was similar for both of them. Apparently the mobians decided to make one of the stock cars their sleeping place, as for all their powers Ed was damn sure they couldn't sleep on the top of the train without falling off.

And currently, Knuckles was on watch until sunset. It wasn't a big deal for him; being a guardian required you get up early and essentially be on-call at anytime. Or so he figured. Still, he had other reasons for being a night owl, so to speak, and had no problem taking the last watch. He noticed the sun coming up from the window; it wouldn't be long before the rest of the working staff got going with their day.

"Hey." he said as he began shaking everyone awake. "Topside now!"

Though still groggy, the other mobians followed his lead as they went atop the train. ""Ugh. I'm usually the most disciplined about this." Sally groaned as she leaned against the wall of the car. "Must be all that's happening that's throwing me off."

"Including being on another planet." Sonic joked as he reassured her. "Don't worry; we're making it fine."

Sally smiled and placed her hand on Sonic's. "Yeah." she agreed. "We're going to be okay."

St. John stood opposite of them, and sighed as he looked away. Not once did Sally even speak to him. It seemed those who did not know about the incident just followed her lead and avoided him as well "Why do I have a feeling I really blew it?"


"Finally!" Ed said as he stretched. "I was beginning to think we'd never make it anytime soon!"

"Me neither." Winry said. "I can't wait to meet your teacher!" she exclaimed cheerfully.

"Don't spoil the mood." Ed grumbled, though his protest was more fearful than his usual cranky quips.

"Actually, Winry..." Al said. "...you have."

"Really?"

"Al." Ed said. "Why don't you go inform our friends this is our stop? I'll fill Winry in on the details."

"Sure." Al nodded.

He exited the train and looked around, making sure no one was looking his way as he scaled the top of the cars. He saw them, huddled on the lower end opposite to the station to make sure no one spotted them. "Hey." he waved quietly.

"Yo." Sonic replied, giving him a two-fingered salute. "What's happening?"

"This is our stop; I suggest you get another hiding spot now. But stay close by, okay?"

"Of course, Al." Sally smiled.

Al nodded as he left to rejoin his brother and Winry. It seemed Ed had finished his story about meeting teacher when she traveled through Resembool and helped out with a flash flood. It seemed Winry remembered the person to, judging by the look of realization in her eyes. "Al!" Ed called. "They ready?"

"So it seems. Are we?"

The two looked at each other as they both slowly turned white (how this was possible for Al, the world may never know). "I don't think anything can prepare us once teacher learns the truth..." Ed groaned.

"Oh, enough!" Winry shouted in exasperation. "I'm sure your teacher was strict, but she's like extended family to you, isn't she!? I know she's not going to be happy hearing about your accident, but she will want to help you anyway she can, right!?"

"Assuming she doesn't kill us first..." the brothers replied.

Winry only shook her head in annoyance. "Well, we came all this way. And we're not going back. Is that clear?" she demanded, pointing them towards the station's exit. The two brothers nodded silently, as they marched out of the station with their luggage, like men preparing for their execution.

The mobians, staying stealthy, watched. "They...they don't look too happy." Tails commented.

"No." Sonic agreed. "They don't." He silently gulped. "What could get THEM of all people afraid?"


Soon enough, they came to the edge of town. And that meant less buildings for the mobians to hide on, meaning the only solution was for them to get back inside Al. "Can you promise me no one is going to go crazy and hit us again?" Sonic asked skeptically.

The Elric brothers looked towards each other, trying to find an answer to assure them...but none came to mind. "No..." they both sighed.

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Well, you're honest. I'll give you two that..." Eventually, they all relented, and Al opened up his armor, allowing them inside. "St. John, ol' buddy ol' pal, why don't you stay on top today?" Sonic grinned, patting him on the shoulder. Judging by the Elrics' answer, Sonic expected some turbulence and refused to take another wrench to the head.

St. John only looked at him with a look that said "Really?" Looking back at the others...particularly Sally...St. John sighed and relented. "Sure. What are mates for?" he replied sarcastically.

This did not go unnoticed by Al. "They do seem unusually...chummy, today."

All the mobians crammed inside his armor once more. Sonic shoved himself to one of Al's sides, making sure his spines did not scratch his blood seal. St. John took his place on top and fitted his head around his helmet. "Now, nothing too crazy. You hear me?"

"I'll do my best." was Al's only reply.

"I thought you were the responsible one!" St. John exclaimed.

"I am!" Al insisted, which only received a roll of the eyes from Ed.

"Whatever." St. John sighed. "Tally-ho!"

The three teens marched into the small part of town on the border, until they came upon a rather...unique business. "A butcher shop?" Winry questioned. "Your alchemy teacher doubles life as a butcher?"

"No." Ed sighed. "That would be her husband."

"Yeah. That makes it SOOO much better." St. John thought with great sarcasm.

"Well..." Ed gulped. "I guess this is it."

"Yeah." Al agreed.

"So...we ready?"

"I don't know. Are we?"

"Oh, for the love of God!" Winry suddenly shouted. "Get in there! March!" she angrily ordered, having been fed up with their attitudes at this point.

"...but she may kill us..." the two brothers moaned as they stared at her with pleading eyes.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Winry shouted, brandishing her wrench.

"I humbly request that you do what she says, mates!" St. John shouted from inside Al's helmet.

"Of all the ways I prepared to die, this was not one of them!" Knuckles yelled.

"Here here!" Sonic nervously knocked against Al's armor.

"I agree!"

"Ah suggest you take the nice lady on her offer, sugars!"

The brothers were still shaking their legs, neither Winry's demands nor the mobians' pleas getting through to them. Of course, that was Sally's cue to intervene. "Ed, Alphonse...I can imagine what it's like reuniting with a mentor that you've felt you disappointed. But for your own sakes, this is something you can't just ignore. Just tell her the truth; I know she'll be mad, but in the end she will only want to help you."

The brothers stood in silence...and sighed. "To the death, brother?" Alphonse asked, his upper body slumping towards the ground.

"To the death." Ed reluctantly agreed. The two finally marched towards the door. Ed breathed deeply, as he prepared for the worst. "Well...here goes."

He knocked on the door, loud as he could. At first, nothing. Then, the door was slammed open by the burliest man all present to see appeared. He looked like he could take on a bear with a hand tied behind his back, his face covered by a thick goatee. It didn't help matters he wore a wife-beater shirt and carried a butcher knife in hand, fresh from chopping up meat. Winry shook her legs uncontrollably at the sight of him.

St. John was having a similar reaction inside. "Teacher!? More Great Plains Hacksaw Massacre!"

Ed gulped, as he waved his hand. "H-hi, Mr. Curtis. Long time no see."


Upstairs, a woman enjoyed the sunshine from her bedroom window while relaxing in her own bed, reading a book. She often insisted on helping out her husband at work, but would win the arguments (isn't the wife supposed to win the arguments?) and tell her to take it easy. Still, he made every effort to make nights after work as romantic as possible. "I'm so lucky to have a man like you, Sig. Any other man would have left me...especially after what I've done..."

With great sadness, she placed a hand over her belly. "Why couldn't I have let him go? At least then, we still could have had another chance for a family..."

"Izumi!" her husband stuck his head into the window, as the whole house was at ground level. "Are you alright!? You've got to come see this!" he said excitedly.

The woman in question, folded her book and kicked her feet off the bed; her husband would usually tell visitors to wait or shoo them away. But if he asked her to come down, then it must be important...


"Wow. You've REALLY gotten big." Sig commented as he gazed upon Al, only giving Ed a courteous acknowledgment of his height. As he stroked his head, his somewhat jovial face turned curious. "Hey, I though your eyes were brown?" he suddenly asked as he stared into Al's sockets.

Al nearly panicked. "Oh, uh...of course! Of course they are! Must be a trick of the light!" he tried to explain.

Of course, it was St. John's blues peering through the large man had seen. "Crap! I just hope he's as dumb as he looks!"

Before anymore could be said, another stepped through the door. Before Ed could react, he was suddenly kicked across the yard by the said person. Both St. John and Winry widened their eyes in surprise as she stepped into the light. "I...I do know her!" Winry thought. "She was the woman who stopped that flood in Resembool years ago! Just like Ed said!"

"Hello, my stupid little pupil." the woman growled, looking furious. "I heard you went against my advice and became a dog of the military!" she accused.

St. John also took note of the woman. She was tall and light skinned. Her dark hair was tied in several braids, and she had a rather curvy figure. Her attire was rather casual; a white blouse, sweat pants and sandals. However, the look on her face and energy she gave off was the opposite "THIS is their teacher!?" St. John thought in surprise. "This one's a trained and true warrior!"

"Uh, teacher?" Al ventured to ask nervously.

"Al?" the woman known as Izumi Curtis asked as she calmed down and gazed upon the other youth. "Oh, my! You've gotten big!" she exclaimed.

"Teacher!" Al exclaimed. "It's good to see you-"

He was suddenly cut off when she grabbed his wrist, and flipped him over like he weighed nothing. St. John did his best to keep himself from hurling as did the other Freedom Fighters under him. "Oh..." Sonic thought. "Perhaps switching places wasn't a good idea after all!" Finally, they felt themselves land with a hard thud, and everyone did their best not to lose their breakfast.

"You need to stay aware, and maintain your balance!" Izumi suddenly announced, crossing her arms as if she had automatically resumed the position of a stern teacher. Then, she softly smiled. "It's good to see you two again as well."

"Y-you too, teacher!" Ed squirmed in fear. Slowly, he and Al got back up. "We just wanted to see you again, teacher." Ed said. Realizing from the look on Izumi's face as suspicious, Ed rubbed his hair, chuckling. "Actually, there were a few things we wanted to ask you..."

"I"m sure..." Izumi agreed suspiciously. "But, it's been too long!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands and smiling. "Why don't you two show me your alchemy!?"

The two brothers looked at each other in surprise, then to her. "Uh...okay..."

Al went first. He drew his transmutation circle in the small yard, then began. Out of the ground, an iron horse rose. "Wow! Very impressive Alphonse!" Izumi exclaimed as she observed his handiwork. "Impressive attention to detail as usual!"

If there was one advantage Al had over Ed in alchemy, he was the more artistic of the two. "Thank you." he chuckled, stroking his "hair".

Izumi then turned to Ed. "Okay, Edward! You're up!"

Ed, without thinking of the consequences, clapped his hands, immediately drawing his teacher's attention. "He didn't-!"

After placing his hands on the grass, an over-stylized iron pegasus rose. "Ed!" Al complained. "The neck is crooked! And did you just add your cowlick on top of it's head!?"

"Aw, cut me some slack, Al!" Ed fired back. "It's called artistic license!"

Without warning, Izumi captured Ed's wrist and flung him on his back once more. "Ahhhh!"

"You IDIOT!" Izumi yelled, startling everyone around her. "You saw it, didn't you!? The gate!?"

Ed stared at her, then solemnly nodded. "I'm sorry, teacher." he said sincerely.

Izumi growled in both sadness and disgust. "I should have told him from the get-go..." She then turned to Al. "And you were caught up in it too, weren't you!? You were always bigger than Edward, but I doubt you could get this big at a mere 14 years of age! And why are you wearing that armor like casual wear!?" Before he could answer, she did it for him. "You two really did it, didn't you? Human transmutation."

Al nodded his helmet in shame. "I'm so sorry, teacher..."

"So..." Izumi began to deduce. "Ed lost his arm and leg...and you lost your entire body..."

"Teacher!" Ed suddenly, shouted, kneeling. "I'm responsible for all this. I dragged Al into it when I should have listened to his doubts. But now, we need your help! Please"

Izumi looked at him like a mother would catching her grown child committing a terrible crime. "Yes. I imagine we have much to discuss." She then sharply turned back to Al. "But first-!"

Al nearly jumped and held up his hands. "Wh-what!?" he asked.

"If that armor is your new body...it should be hollow."

Al panicked. "T-teach...we should go inside."

"...yet there's something inside. Something shifting your center of gravity. What is it!? What else are you hiding from me!?" She suddenly ran up to Al and grabbed his wrist again, throwing him effortlessly again. This time upon impact, his chest plate popped open.

"OW!" Sonic and the other mobians sat up, rubbing their heads. "That was rough..."

Suddenly, Sonic looked up to see a stunned Izumi Curtis staring at him in shock. "Uh...hi?" he waved nervously. Suddenly, Izumi vomited blood on his face. "HOLY-!" Sonic screamed as he furiously rubbed his face in disgust.

"Izumi!" Sig ran to his wife to support her. He then stared at the creatures, who were prepared to make a break for it.

"That's also what we wanted to tell you about." Al explained as he tilted his helmet up. "Please don't freak out; they're friends."

Sig stared at Al and back at the creatures. Finally, he made a decision. "I think we should go inside before we scare the neighbors."


Eventually, all were seated inside. While all the humans seemed to be unaffected by their surroundings, the mobians looked about nervously. While Sally and St. John tried their best to remain calm, the others were trembling.

"This could very well be us!" Sonic thought nervously as he eyed the piles of meat and ribcages hanging in the back. Granted, many of them ate meat too, but after what Ed had told them about their world and what they ate, they felt like they were in a horror novel.

Sig, taking a break from Izumi and Ed's conversation, eyed the mobians (seeing as alchemy was not a subject he was proficient in). "Everything alright here?"

"No. Nothing. This is a lovely room of death you got here." Knuckles replied sarcastically.

Sig looked back at all the meat products in the store. "I doubt you have very much to worry about from us." Sig replied sarcastically. "Here we don't eat hedgehogs, foxes, squirrels, skunks, and...uh...whatever the hell you are."

The mobians breathed a sigh of relief. All except one. "Hey, what about me!?" Bunnie demanded, pointing to her.

"Had a few rabbits in my years, though we don't sell them here. Quite tasty." Sig grinned evily.

Bunnie went pale, and was about to jump out of her seat. "Relax, Bunnie." Sally whispered as she tried holding her down as subtly as possible. "He's just messing with you."

"You wouldn't be saying if he was referring to you!" she suddenly shouted.

"Is there a problem!?" Izumi stared at all the mobians like she wanted to eat them out of pure rage.

"N-no ma'm!" Sonic and Sally exclaimed. "I'm beginning to see why they're afraid of her!" Sonic thought.

Izumi got back to Ed's story, and made a decision. She looked towards a young man with short brown hair, who had been staring at them all the whole time. "Mason, get the boat! We're taking them to the island!"

"Island?" Winry and Sonic exclaimed.


Soon enough, the Elrics were taken to what was considered to be the bane of their youth, aside from the incident that would define the rest of their lives: Yock Island. A small island in the middle of a lake that had some wildlife and a forest that was uninhabited by man. Before, they were forced to live there with no food provided by their teacher, and had to learn how to hunt and gather on their own. That, and had to learn martial arts the hard way by fending off some random barbarian dressed as an ogre. Overall, even if they were better prepared, just the memories alone made them groan in dread.

"So...back to the beginning, huh?" Ed asked as the boat touched shore.

"Yes." Izumi confirmed. "Don't worry, though; you only need to spend the night here. After that, we'll come for you in the morning. And by then, I expect you to have an answer for your transgression and your current goal in life."

The brothers nodded, and disembarked from the boat. "Teacher." Al suddenly said. "The mobians..."

"The what now?" Izumi asked harshly.

"That's what those chimeras call themselves." Al explained.

"Oh." Izumi said. "Don't worry. They'll be taken care of. Now get in there, and think about what you've done!" she yelled.

"Yes ma'm." the brothers groaned as they walked up shore.


Later that night, Izumi and Sig came home, holding bags of groceries. Usually they would carry large amounts of spices for their business, and would purchase their meats through the local slaughterhouses. However, tonight, they carried large amounts of vegetables. "Oh, welcome back!" Mason said as he opened the door, making sure he would not reveal their most unusual guests.

They noticed that the strange creatures Ed brought with him were gathered around the room, either reading books or playing what little games they owned. "I see you've been entertaining our guests." Izumi commented.

"Well, as much as he could anyway." the blue hedgehog said as he put down a book, giving an apparently unsatisfied look on his face. "So, where's Ed and Al?"

"I've sent them away to think about what they've done. Don't worry; they'll be back tomorrow morning." As her husband set the groceries down, she addressed them. "So, this is a bit awkward for me, but I don't think we've introduced one another properly." She held out her hand. "I'm Izumi Curtis. And this is my husband Sig. And he's Mason." The young man waved; he wasn't afraid of the mobians. Just...a bit weirded out by them.

"Hi. I'm Sally." Sally was of course the first to step up. She proceeded to introduce the others...she told them not to think too much on St. John's reluctance to socialize. Then, she described their story.

It was probably a good thing the brothers themselves did not attempt to tell her this story; she was having trouble making sure her sanity was still with her. "This is certainly...interesting." she muttered, looking away.

Sonic spoke up, cutting off Sally. "So...you have any ideas on how send us back home?"

"No."

Sonic held his head low. "Well...that was disappointing."

"Sonic..." Sally warned him.

"What!?" Sonic shrugged. "It's true!"

"It's alright, Miss Sally." Izumi assured her. "I know a lot of things about alchemy. A little about ancient mythology. But not even I know everything. And your presence here alone has thrown off everything I've ever known."

"So..." Sonic began twiddling his thumbs. "...any ideas?"

Izumi thought for a moment. "I may know someone..."

"Great! Let's go-" Sonic suddenly winced as Sally pinched his ear. "OW!"

"I think you've talked enough." Sally took over at this point. "When would be a good time for us to see this person? Or...maybe if you could see this person-?"

Izumi sighed. "It's...complicated." Izumi looked out the window, towards the hills at the horizon. "Let's just wait until tomorrow, when we get the brothers back. Then, we'll make some plans."


"Please don't eat me, sugar!" Bunnie cried as Ed held her down. "I thought we all were friends!" she pleaded.

Ed's lip trembled, his knife cocked back as Bunnie turned back into the normal kind of rabbit that Ed was more familiar with and prepared to kill. He then sighed and lowered his head. "Damn!" Ed cursed as he released the poor creature. "I can't do it!"

"Afraid of what Bunnie would think of you?" Al approached him from behind, carrying some berries and fish on a hook for his brother.

Ed sighed. "It feels really weird." he agreed as he transmuted a fire place. As the fish cooked, Ed asked "So, Al? Have you thought about what to tell teacher?"

Al shrugged. "I know what we did was wrong. And maybe we're asking too much for things to go back to the way they were..."

"We have to." Ed said. "We did it, we can undo it. The path of life takes only one direction; I know that now. But there are some things we can change. We can fix what we've done. And we will. But this time...this time, we'll know what we're doing. Our bodies are on the other side...it's just a matter of what we need to give to get them back."

Little did they know, something...or someone...was watching them in the forest, before it disappeared.


The next day came; the mobians and Winry were given a room where they could sleep comfortably. When asked whose room it was, Sig just responded "It's a spare." Izumi looked quite sad too...Sonic shrugged it off at the time.

Usually he was a late sleeper unless there was a mission, but it seemed his boredom made him wake up early in an attempt to find something to do. Sonic was tempted to, but then felt Sally's head rest against his shoulder. He sighed, and leaned back. "She's been getting more distant from St. John..." A part of him was leaping for joy, but another was wondering if he guilt tripped her into keeping her distance from St. John. He didn't something to happen between them because of that...

"Izumi..." Sonic heard from behind the door. "...are you sure you're up for this? Your cough is worse than usual..."

"This is something I have to do, Sig. They're my responsibility." She replied.

Sonic waited and listened for them to leave. When it seemed they were out of earshot, Sonic gently eased Sally's head onto a nearby pillow, and quietly ran out the room. He saw a bathroom door ajar, and took a peak inside. Seeing nothing obvious on the floor, he decided to check out the sink. Using a step-stool, he lifted himself onto the sink...and fell over in shock. "Whoa!" The whole sink was covered in blood!

"That wasn't a reaction to just us!" Sonic realized, remembering the first incident they had witnessed. "What happened to her?"


Later that day, as the mobians helped themselves to breakfast left over by the Curtis's, the others noticed something unusual. Sonic was eating a sausage! Yes, he ate chili dogs back on their world all the time. But here, with the meat of questionable origin, his friends were rather...disturbed.

"Sonic!" Sally exclaimed. "Do you realize what you're eating!?"

"No." Sonic replied, his mouth still full. "And I don't want to know. All I know is that I need some real protein!" After he swallowed, he continued. "And we'll never speak of this when we get back home! Got it!?" The mobians reluctantly agreed as Sonic swallowed what was left. "Good." He then turned to Sig, who just looked out the window into the fields. "So...what now?" he asked Sig.

"I don't know." he shrugged. "Depends on those two. To see if they learned their lesson."

"And what is the lesson?" Winry asked.

"Not sure." Sig said reluctantly. "I try to follow alchemy as much as I can, but the deeper stuff kind of flies over my head." He breathed deeply. "To be honest, I don't think there IS a right or wrong answer in this. I think Izumi just wants to see what their resolve is, and if they can own up to what they did."

Sonic sighed, clearly not satisfied with that answer. "Well, that's just swell. Still...they're pretty smart. I think they can pull it off." he smiled as he leaned on his chair and propped his feet up.

"Either way, shouldn't they be back by now? She literally said that she was going to go to the island and hear their answer. I can't imagine it being a long discussion." Winry said with worry.

Just then, there came a knock on the door. Sig got up and walked over to the door, sliding open the hole. He seemed to be pleased...then shocked. He quickly slid it closed and opened the door. "Izumi...who is this?"

"He was on the island; I had to bring him home." she replied without missing a beat. She noticed a few certain people were missing. "It's okay. You don't have to hide." Tails was the first to emerge, followed by the others. And there they saw the child.

His skin was pale, and his scalp was covered by a mane of dark hair. But what really caught Sonic's eyes were his clothes. Looking closer, Sonic noticed his face closely resembled Izumi's.

"Uh..." Tails approached him. "Hey. Nice to meet you." Tails held out his hand, to which the child only stared at it curiously. He gently touched him...squeezed...and then squeezed tighter. He suddenly grabbed Tails with his other arm, digging his nails into his skin. "Ahhh!"

Sonic came running in and pushed the kid away. "Hey, back o-AUGH!"

Sonic suddenly found himself spinning and face first onto the floor. "DON'T TOUCH HIM!" Izumi yelled. Sonic got his bearings straight to see, judging by the angle of her arm, was the one who threw him over. "He...he just needs guidance. Give him time." She then slowly nudged him on his back. "Come on. Let's get you something to eat."

Everyone watched as the strange child ate a hearty meal, while Izumi only stared on. They all noticed she seemed genuinely...happy. "What is it with this kid and teacher?" Ed wondered.


Nothing got done that day. Izumi was so preoccupied with the child the entire day, devoting all her attention to him and even giving him a bath. Both Ed and Sonic were getting rather fed up with it, but something held them back. Izumi's happiness. Ed never seen her like this before. As much as he wanted to shout at her to get her priorities straight...he just couldn't (and the fear of retaliation. That may have been a factor too).

In another room, he explained the situation to Winry and the mobians. "Ed, it's just so hard to believe." Winry said. "I know surviving on that island is possible, but living there? Without anyone ever visiting and finding you?"

"Trust me, I realize how far-fetched it is." Ed sighed. "But teacher won't talk about it. She'll just clam up and smile."

"The fact she's smiling in joy is a strange sight." Al whispered.

"Hey, Ed..." Sonic said. "The kid is able to speak, right? He's clearly a smart kid. But he also acts...naive. Like a baby with small toys; he doesn't seem to grasp consequences." The way he treated Tails just infuriated him. He was like an infant peeling weeds. But more dangerous.

"It's strange, I know." Ed agreed.

"I noticed..." Sally began. Then, she waved it off. "...no. Forget it."

"What?" Al asked.

"It's nothing. I'm sure." Sally insisted.

"Sally." Al began. "You're smart. Smarter than most anyone I know." Ed pretended to cough in annoyance. "Whatever you're onto, I'm sure it's something important."

Sally nodded. She breathed deeply, preparing to break it as sensitively as possible. "I noticed his arm and leg were a slightly different color from the rest of his skin. He's mostly deathly pale, but those parts are quite tanned."

"Oh." Ed said dismissively. "That's interesting."

"Ed." Sally said, this time with more conviction. "It was his RIGHT arm and his LEFT leg." Ed's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared straight ahead, realizing what Sally was suggesting. "Ed, I'm sorry..."

"IT'S NOT POSSIBLE!" Ed shouted suddenly and stood up, walking out of the room and slamming the door.

"Sorry." Sally said to Winry. "I didn't mean-"

"No." Winry assured her. "It had to be said." She then looked to where Ed exited. "But, do you really think it's possible? Do you think that child somehow got Ed's limbs?"

"I really don't know." Sally admitted. "But it can't be a coincidence." Everyone nodded solemnly.

"I noticed something to; and I've a feeling your teacher isn't going to give us a straight answer." Sonic spoke up once again.

"What?" Al asked.

"The kid; he kind of looks like her."

Al would have widened his eyes if he could. "...yeah. Now that you mention it, he kind of does..."


Soon, night came. The strange child got the spare room to himself. And everyone else had to sleep in the living room, crammed much like the Amestrians did with Xingese immigrants a century before. Winry shared the couch with Sally, Bunnie and Tails. It was crowded, and Bunnie had to be arranged in a way that her metal limbs would not bring anyone any discomfort.

Everyone else was given a blanket, a pillow, and just had to tough it out. "We're getting another hotel after this." Knuckles muttered. "At least those have carpets."

"I'm agreeing with you." Sonic replied. He then paused at what he just said as he came to a realization: he just agreed on something with Knuckles! "The world has to be coming to an end."

"Hn." Knuckles agreed.

St. John, out of all of them, was the most alert. He hadn't said much to anyone ever since that incident. But he wouldn't forget his duty...even if his efforts would not be recognized. St. John fiddled with his crossbow when he heard something in the room next-door. "You heard that?" Knuckles asked. It seemed Knuckles was something of a nightcrawler himself; must have been a side effect of being raised a guardian.

"Yeah, mate. I did." He heard the noises of a small child. "That's where the kid is, right?"

"I think so." The two looked at each other, and nodded. They hadn't known each other well, and may have had their own strengths and weaknesses...but they were both raised as protectors.

"I guess you heard the noise too?" They turned to see the Elric brothers awake; they forgot the younger did not sleep.

"Come if you wish." St. John said as they quietly exited the door. "I warn you; you may not like what we're about to do."

"And what is that?" Al asked suspiciously.

"Depends on what we see on the other side."

They tiptoed to the child's room, opened it...and nearly screamed. The kid was giggling hysterically as he transmuted strange contraptions around the room. "Alchemy!?" Ed whispered in disbelief.

After distorting the wood into a what looked like a swirly, he started jumping on the bed. Suddenly, the blankets twisted around him and took him nearly to the ceiling, fusing with his body and causing him to scream hysterics. "He can't control it!?" Al asked.

Ed quickly ran over and undid the transmutation. "Quit it! You don't know what you're dealing with!" The kid wasn't listening, though. He eyed a mouse that was scurrying across the floor. He suddenly grabbed it with unreal precision and began to squeeze.

Knuckles ran forward and punched him across the face in response. "What the hell's wrong with you!?"

"WAHHH!" The kid began to cry hysterically, as any child would.

And that was what finally woke up the man and woman of the house. "WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON HERE!?" Everyone looked behind them to see Izumi Curtis still in her nightgown, looking furious.

Suddenly, the child just ran past them, running down the hall. "Hey! Come back here!" Ed shouted as he chased after them.

Suddenly, something blue ran past him and tackled the shaggy-haired kid. "Hey! Where ya goin'?" Sonic asked as he held him down.

"LET GO OF ME!" The kid was strong, slapping the floor in a desperate attempt to escape. In the dim light, Ed could make out the distinctive end of a tan line on the kid's right arm. "No..."

He ran over to him, and restrained his arm. "OW! YOU'RE HURTING ME!" he protested.

"This arm..." he said. Ed then reached for his left ankle and noticed the same distinct coloring. He also noticed something else; there was a slight scar on the kid's right. Ed remembered it; he got a scar on the same place when he got too close to a fox and bit him. It never did heal completely. "She was right...Sally and Winry were right..."

His confused face quickly turned angry, and he pinned the child to the floor, Sonic getting away when he noticed the hostility in his eyes. "Ed-!"

"THOSE ARE MY LIMBS!" he shouted accusingly. "HOW'D YOU GET THEM!?"

The child only struggled harder. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" Before anyone else could react, the wooden floor twisted and contorted, pinning anyone nearby down and others fusing together to make a wall. In the confusion, the kid ran and leaped out the closed window, spreading broken glass everywhere. Sonic struggled as the wood wrapped around him like a python, before using his Sonic Spin to shred it.

"Sonic!" Sally came down the stairs. "What's going on!?"

"I'm wondering the same thing myself." was his only reply


Come morning, everyone helped clean up the mess from before. Izumi remained silent as to the identity of the child, much to everyone's frustration, and simply left, saying she needed to look into something. Ed, however, confirmed Winry and Sally's suspicions. It was then decided they would look for the child, whether Izumi approved or not.

"Okay." Ed said. "We're going!" he announced to the group.

"We're coming with you!" Sonic announced, thumbing Tails next to him.

"Uh...no offense, you'll stand out..." Ed began.

"Ed! We're looking for a kid that does the same magic you do! I don't think we'll draw that much attention in comparison to him!" the hedgehog protested.

Ed was about to rebut something, but was at a loss for words. "...okay. Just be careful! And report to us if you find him!" he said as he and Al took off. Sonic zoomed around the city, too fast for people to make out clearly other than a strange phenomenon.

Tails took to the air, and scanned the city. After a few minutes, he found him, sitting on a roof and kicking his feet without a care in the world, just like a normal child would. "I better find Sonic and Ed!"


Sonic growled impatiently. After being informed of the kid's location, Sonic took it way too slow so the Elrics could keep up with him, but then some weirdo in a cloak approached Ed, talking about the philosopher's stone. Knowing how much the stone meant to them, he waited and listened. Still, Sonic couldn't help but feel that there was something off about this character other than his conversation...

"Sonic!" Tails whispered as he touched down. "What's the hold up!"

"Shh!" Sonic hushed him. "That's my line, little buddy! Now be quiet and listen!" He continued listening to the conversation.

"You transmuted your arm and leg for a sacrifice for your brother's soul, did you not? Though why you used his and not your own they don'tAAAHHH!" Ed silenced him with a kick to the face. "Ungrateful bastard!" he said as he held his nose. "I'm trying to take you to safety! And that means you AND that freak you call a brother..."

"Who are you calling a freak?" Al snuck up on him and lifted him by the collar, exposing his head.

Sonic immediately took note of his reptilian appearance. "I know I haven't been here for that long, but I'd wager that's mighty unusual around these parts!"

Suddenly, a tail from under his cloak whipped out and knocked Al's head off. "Hah! You really are a hollow tin can just like they say!" he screamed as he ran away.

"Hold on!" Ed shouted as he clapped his hands. "You're not getting away!"

Suddenly, a huge stone wall as tall as the buildings surrounding the street blocked the lizard-man's path. "It's true what they say! Your abilities are uncanny! Then again..." Suddenly, he scaled the wall like a real lizard would. "...so am I!" he declared as he successfully scaled the top of the wall.

Suddenly, something very fast and blue approached him. "What the-?" Bido screamed as he was thrown off the wall and onto the street.

"Who are you!?" the stranger asked. "And why the heck do you look like that!?"

Bido kicked him off and got a good look at him. His face went from anger to shock. "What the-!? You look just like him!" he pointed.

"Like who now?" Sonic asked confused.

"Like Scourge!"

Sonic's eyebrow quirked at this. "Uh...come again?" Not dignifying that for a response, Bido scrambled up another building. Sonic revved up, showing him he can't outrun the fastest thing-

"Sonic!" Tails flew in from the side. "More overlanders are coming! One of them real big!"

Sonic briefly eyed the lizard-man making his escape, and sighed, nodding to Tails. "Right! Just show me the safest way to the kid from here!"

"You got it!" Tails flew down the street, Sonic in hot pursuit...


Finally, after the Elrics assured the two that they had given those other "overlanders" the slip, Tails lead the Elric brothers to where he saw the kid. Pointing up to him, Ed nodded. "Thanks a bunch, Tails. Why don't you go hide? I think we should handle this."

Sonic whispered "We'll be close. Just in case."

They watched while the kid fooled around, nearly falling off the building, but thankfully the Elrics were there to catch him and eventually took a seat with him, the child now acting completely calm as if nothing had transpired.


Across the block, a couple of other observers were looking at the child as well, through a sniper's scope. The current wielder noticed the unusual tattoo on the kid's foot. "Interesting..." He let down his weapon, and handed it to his much larger companion. "Here, take a look at the bottom of the kid's right foot." he ordered.

The larger man looked through the scope just like he did, and masked his surprise. "The ouroboros tattoo..."

"He may be the key to the mystery of lab 5." his superior explained. "I want him detained."

"Hm!?" the other man exclaimed, looking a bit more shocked than before.

"Is something the matter, major?" the other asked, clearly annoyed.

The major hesitated before handing back the weapon. "No, sir. Turned out to be something else." he lied. He could have sworn he saw some sort of animal flying in a most unusual way just behind the Elrics..."But, what about the Elric brothers?"

"Forget it." his superior said. "Now we have found a much more valuable target. I presume you don't have a problem with this?"

Eying the next-door building, which was run down, the major punched the wall, breaking it into several pieces of debris. "Not at all, sir."


Feeling that everything had calmed down enough for them to slowly approach the kid, Tails picked up Sonic and flew up to the roof. Hiding behind a chimney, they peaked around the corners and observed Ed and Al talking to him like a normal kid, as if nothing happened that morning. It seemed to be working. Eventually, the brothers let him be as they discussed what to do with him. Suddenly, something hit the roof with the force of a missle, jolting them off. Sonic and Tails rushed to the other side, and saw the biggest overlander they had ever seen seemingly punching rocks at hyper-speed towards the kid. They were about to interfere, but the kid finally fell over, and once more before either mobian could react, the overlander caught him and using his own alchemic pocket watch, tied the boy up and handed him over to another man. Ed jumped down midway and yelled "What do you want to do with him, major!? He's an innocent kid who's totally lost his memory!"

The other man, whom they were introduced to as Frank Archer, slung the child over his shoulder. "This 'kid' may be a material witness to everything that happened at Lab 5!" he explained. "He's coming to South Headquarters for questions."

"But he doesn't even know who he is!" Ed protested.

"Perhaps, but we managed to get a solid clue to his identity." he said, lifting his ankle to show the defining ouroboros tatoo on his foot, the signature of a homunculus!

Ed and Al recoiled in shock, as did Sonic and Tails. "Sonic!" Tails whispered. "How are we-?"

"I don't know, lil' buddy." Sonic said, slinging his arm around him. "But whatever the outcome, it isn't going to be pretty..."

"Give me a few good hours with him and he'll lead us to the ones who destroyed Lab 5." Archer "assured" them as he walked away, child in tow.

Sonic and Tails were about to interfere, but Al waved them off, halting any further action from them. They hid again as they listened to Ed below confront the large man they would eventually come to know as Alex Louis Armstrong. "Major!" Ed shouted.

"Go back to your teacher's house, Edward, so we can find you when we're done." Armstrong ordered him. "I'm afraid we're going to need to take your testimony again."

"I thought this whole investigation had been suspended by the Fueher himself." Ed said defiantly.

As the large man began to walk away again, Ed then explained how he believed the kid has limbs.

Alex Louis Armstrong looked back at him, skeptical and worried. "Say we do investigate. Say we do find a way to prove those are your limbs. And then what will you do, Ed?" Ed balked, as if he didn't have an answer. "Would you tear them from his body and sew them on yourself?"

Ed whispered "Of course not."

"Then you're better off not knowing the truth." Alex said as he finally took his leave.

When he was out of view, Sonic and Tails appeared. "Who was that?" the hedgehog asked.

"His name is Alex Louis Armstrong. He calls himself the Strong Arm Alchemist." Al explained.

"What do they want with the kid?" Sonic asked, genuinely concerned.

"They say he's related to an incident from some time ago, but I know he's lying." Ed growled. "Still, I don't know why they want him and what to do..."


Meanwhile, in a nearby place called "The Devil's Nest", the one called Greed listened carefully to Bido's report over the phone. "What a shame, but good for you for finding him. He sounds...interesting. I want you to forget about tracking the Smelric brothers for now and keep an eye on the little imp. Ya got it?" With that, he hung up the phone.

"Sounds like something unexpected has happened." the green hedgehog once known as Evil Sonic said from across the table, taking a sip of his own beer as he enjoyed one of the women carefully stroking his quills. He had a pretty nasty, if not hilarious reaction to his first drink, but in time he learned to tolerate it, and had adapted to Greed's lifestyle quite nicely.

"Yeah. To be honest, despite our good friend's "endorsement" of them, I didn't really give a damn about those twerps. I just wanted to grab them from the others out of spite. But now, we might actually have found someone worth chasing. A homunculus who can use alchemy, like me."

"Ah." the hedgehog said as he set his glass down. "And you want him on your side, otherwise you've got yourself a rival you don't need. I can totally dig that."

Greed threw back his head and laughed. "I am so glad whatever God sent you here did! You're the only one that gets me!"

"Please, allow me to break him out for you." Dorchett approached him.

"Are you insane!?" Greed scoffed. "You can't just go charging into South Headquarters, it's a bloody fortress! You're a former lab rat, I shouldn't have to tell you this!"

"Not that you asked, but I've been stationed at South Headquarters before. I can get you in." A man with dark hair tied in a pony tail volunteered. Close observers would have also noticed the tatoos of the sun and the moon on his palms.

"You're right, no one asked you." Marla spat. "So keep your mouth-"

"No." Greed interrupted. "Since you so passively-aggressively volunteered, perhaps you can guide these two there." Greed said.

"Make that three!" the hedgehog said as he smacked the table hard. "It's been mighty kind of you showing me around, but I think I'm ready to bust on out of here."

Greed smiled. "Yeah. I agree. As much as I've enjoyed your company, I think it's time you contributed around here." He then turned back to the man. "And you! Should you betray our cause, I won't be in a forgiving mood!" he warned him.

"You can relax." the man assured him as he stood up. "All I really wanted was a chance to make some fireworks." he said, looking back at the burlap sack on a stool.

"Okay then. Dorchett, Marla, and uh..." Greed kept snapping his fingers. "Goddamn it! I still can't come up with a good name for ya!"

"Just call me what you've always been calling me since I got here!" the hedgehog said as he snatched his now red sunglasses.

Greed smiled. "You got it...Scourge."


"Say what!?" Izumi yelled as the Elrics gave the bad news to her.

The Elrics and their new friends returned, where the other Freedom Fighters informed them that Archer and Amstrong paid them a visit earlier. Thankfully, after a friendly contest of strength (to which Knuckles turned green remembering) Armstrong politely left to search for the brothers himself. "Teacher, it's probably for the best." Al suddenly said to everyone's shock. Ed was about hush him, but Al continued. "That child was a homunculus. You may not believe they're real, but believe me, we've seen our fair share to know otherwise. That boy may have special abilities...but he's a monster!"

Izumi then approached him, and with her palm, knocked him into the wall. "Idiot! Do you know how a homunculus is created!?" Everyone looked at her in shock. "I knew full well exactly what that child was when I brought him here!" Suddenly, without warning, Izumi transmutted the floor and formed a wall between her and everyone else.

Quickly, both Knuckles and Sig charged the wall, breaking it down with ease. "Hn." Sig acknoledged. "Not bad for a little runt."

Knuckles scoffed as he ran towards the window, where he presumed Izumi fled from. "Well, she may not have sonic speed, but it seems she's gone."

"Damn it!" Ed said as he ran out the house.

"Ed!" Winry shouted. "Where do you think you're going!"

"To stop teacher from doing something stupid!" he shouted back.

Sonic felt sick at the idea of letting a child be taken...but at the same time, he couldn't completely disagree with the brothers. "What do we do, Sal?" he asked.

Sally took a deep breath, and sighed. "I want to do something that may put us at odds with Ed; he may feel the same as his teacher, but in the end he's a soldier of the state; he has no choice but to do his job."

"We're getting the kid out, aren't we?" Sonic groaned.

"You betcha." Sally confirmed. "Whose with me!?" she said as she turned towards her other Freedom Fighters.

Knuckles shrugged. "I could use the exercise."

"Count me in, Sugah." Bunnie said, pumping her metal arm.

"I'm with ya, Aunt Sally." Tails said.

St. John looked at his feet for a moment, then finally looked Sonic and Sally in the eye. "I'm in."

Sonic looked at him suspiciously, knowing how distant he was with everyone ever since they got to this world. "I don't know..."

"Please." he insisted. "I was wrong to distrust the Elrics. I can't say I like them, or their kind...but right now, they're all we've got. It's time I started treating them like allies. Whatever their troubles may be, I'll help."

Al walked up to Sally. "Sally...you have a good heart, but I couldn't disagree with you on this more." Before the chipmunk could rebuttal, Al continued. "Still, what you're doing is dangerous, and whatever the reason, I can't allow any of you to get hurt. I'm in...for now."

Soon, Al and all the rest threw caution to the wind as they all ran out the shop to South Headquarters...


"So, this is it?" Sally asked she eyed the building Al guided them too and eyed from the roof of a building across the way.

"I'm sure." Al said. "The flags with the dragon? That's the symbol of an Amestrian government building, especially the military."

St. John sighed. "Well, you sure know how to make one feel at home, mate."

"Huh?" Al asked.

"He's basically saying this is just another day for us back home." Sonic clarified. "You know, breaking into high level security buildings."

"Oh." Al said. "Yeah, I guess I can see that."

"In fact..." Sonic smiled as he rubbed his chin. "...if anything it'll be easier! No lasers, no security cameras...this'll be a piece of cake!"

"How about we treat this like one of Robotnik's factories and assume the best level of security, and hope for none at all, right?" Sally chastised him.

Sonic sighed. "Okay. But I know I'm going to be disappointed now."

As they were about to sit down and start a strategy, Bunnie brought something to their attention. "Hey y'all. What do y'all suppose is going on down there?"

They saw pillars popping out of Southern Headquarters, indicating that Izumi had arrived. "Any sign of Ed?" Al asked nervously.

"None that I can see; he may have already gotten inside." Tails said as he eyed the place.

Everyone looked over the roof, and saw a gang attack the soldiers standing guard. One of them was a man with black hair tied in a pony tail. He felt the wall, and then grabbed another soldier running to attack him and placed him against the wall. The soldier screamed as he turned white and blew a hole in the wall. "What!?" Knuckles yelled in rage. "What did he just do!?"

"Sulfur..." Al whispered.

"What!?"

"That man is an alchemist specializing in explosives. He probably couldn't blow up the wall with the materials provided him, and transmuted that guard's sulfur inside his body to create an explosion." Al moaned in horror.

"That...that's sick!" Knuckles exclaimed. "Is this what people in your world use this alchemy for!?"

Before Al could rebuff him, Sonic grabbed his arm. "Hey! They know alchemy, and they're totally on our side! Doesn't that tell you anything!?"

Knuckles looked at him, and shrugged him off. "Whatever." He then looked down. "Hey." he pointed to the same place. "Isn't that...the other you!?"

"What!?" Sonic looked over to see his inverted twin run inside. "What's he doing here!?" Sonic revved up and raced down and into the hole.

"Sonic!" Tails and Sally yelled. The princess groaned in frustration. "The nerve of that hedgehog! Okay. Is there anyone else who wants to go in there without a plan!?" she yelled in frustration. "Cause I would really like to know before I make one myself!"

The others just looked at her. "Uh, Sally?" Al asked. "I'm thinking maybe just going inside is the best thing to do at the moment."

Sally sighed. "Yeah...I guess you're right." She looked to Knuckles, St. John and Bunnie. "You three, follow Sonic! Al, Tails and I are with you! Let's go after your brother and teacher!"

"Right!"


Izumi expertly parried each attack the soldiers threw at her. They were good, but their reliance on firearms took priority over hand-to-hand combat, and in the confines of the building, they wouldn't fire without risking their own. After knocking out the last soldier with a chop, she leaned over and held onto the wall. She held her hand to her mouth, trying to stop the blood coming up with only partial success; she wound up coughing a rather large portion of blood instead of vomiting an entire puddle like she often did; then again, she usually didn't exert herself like this ever since the incident. That was probably a contributing factor as well. Izumi also saw her vision beginning to blur, and she began losing feeling in her limbs. She used all her will power to focus, and began to move again. "I don't know how much time I have left..." Quickly, she willed herself to stand up and proceed. She eventually found the room the child was being held, stripped naked and held down like a lunatic. Knowing she could not risk a fight with a state Alchemist, she disintigrated the floor beneath them and rescued the boy. Covering him in a cloak, she ran down the hall.

"Teacher!" a familiar voice said.

Izumi looked behind her to see Ed running towards her! "YOU IDIOT!" she shouted. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!"

Ed didn't even cower in fear like he usually did when he confronted her. "Teacher, I don't want to do this. But I'm a dog of the military first and foremost. I'm going to have to ask you to let the kid go!

Before anymore could be said, Archer and a few other soldiers approached. "Ms. Izumi Curtis." Archer said, pointing his gun at her. "By the authority of the military, I ORDER YOU to relinquish the child back to our custody. I promise to give you a more lenient sentence for your atrocities if you surrender." Suddenly, Armstrong looked to his side and saluted. "Major, what are you-"

Archer caught himself off as he saw the Fuher himself approach. "My my." he said, calm as if nothing was wrong. "Things sure are hoping today."

Suddenly, the wall blew up, and the figures of Bido and Scourge emerged. "Them again!" Ed thought. "But why?"

Then, another showed up. A dark haired man with a pony tail and red jacket. "Zolf J Kimblee!" Armstrong exclaimed in shock. "What are you doing here!? You were supposed to have been executed!"

Kimblee only scoffed. "I expected as much too. But for some reason, the powers that be saw fit to let me live."

"What powers?" Archer demanded.

Before anymore could be said, Scourge stepped in. "As interesting as this story sounds, I'm not one much for staying put and listening. I'm taking the initiative!" Suddenly, he zoomed towards Izumi and snatched the kid out of her arms before she could even react.

"What the-!?" Izumi screamed as she tried to stop him with Alchemy.

However, Scourge's victory was short lived as he suddenly ran into something metal and fell to the floor, dropping the child who then ran for his life, with Armstrong and Izumi in pursuit. "Ow..."

"Al!" Ed shouted. "What are you doing here!?"

"Trying to keep the both of you from doing something stupid!" Al proclaimed.

"Oh, for the love of-" Kimblee decided to act again. "I think this job will be much easier with the rest of them gone..."

However, he too was thrown off his feet when something fast and blue ran from underneath him. Sonic then stood upright in front of Ed. "Yo Ed! How's the thing with the kid going!"

"Not good! But what are you doing here!"

"I just came to pay my twin a visit...and a fist!"

Suddenly, Bido attacked Ed, trapping him in his tail. "Gotcha!"

"Oh, for the love of-" Suddenly, explosions and vibrations caused the building to shake.

"What the hell was that!?" Bido screamed.

"Anyone who dares to lay a hand on the fuehrer will answer to me and be destroyed in the most beautiful way possible!" a familiar voice yelled down the hallway.

"Oh no! Armstrong!" Ed yelled as he quickly transmuted the floor and slapped Bido away with a pillar. "Al! We've got to stop them before they bring the whole place down!"

"Right!" Al agreed as he left the Freedom Fighters to do their thing while he accompanied his brother. However, the dark-haired man blocked him.

"Sorry, but we're on a job, and I can't let you interfere!" Kimblee placed his hand on Al's body, who, upon recognizing what he was doing, jumped back. A small, harmless explosion went off in the space between them.

"I knew it! Explosive Alchemy!" Al thought.

"Huh." Kimblee said as he observed his hand. "It seems your body is very special." He then began to grin maniacally. "Don't worry, though! I've got a solution for that too!" He clapped his hands and rushed towards Al once more...


While Armstrong and Izumi Curtis battled, King Bradley retreated with the child into a store room. The child cowered as the Fuher stared at him coldly. Then, he sneered, and suddenly changed from an old man to a young one with green hair and strange clothes. "No need to give me that look." Envy said as he approached the kid, who scooted up against the crates behind him. "Did the Fullmetal once say your arm and leg belonged to him?"

The child stuttered in surprise. "Y-yeah..."

"Huh." Envy said with curiosity. "Maybe that explains why you were able to come through the gate and survive all this time."

"Gate?" the child asked. Then, memories flooded his mind of a terrifying event. "GA-"

"Shh." Envy hushed him. "It's alright. You don't have to be alone any longer. Now, here: eat up." Envy held out his hand, and showed him red stones. The child turned away, nodding no. "Now, come on. Don't be a baby; try it." He shoved one in his mouth. The child chewed in reluctance, but calmed down as he savored the taste. He suddenly grabbed the others and gorged on the stones. "I enjoyed these stones growing up because I was not human. And that means...neither are you..."

"What!?" the child cried. "Not hu-" Suddenly, he began trembling, and fell down to the floor. His dark eyes became a bright purple, and his pupils became slit-like, almost like a cat's.

"There." Envy said with satisfaction. "Now, it should only be a matter of time before you realize-"

Suddenly, Envy was knocked into the wall as a spinning green ball ran into him. Scourge looked at the child, sneering. "Looks like you had a rough day, kid." he commented as he held out his hand. "Come with me."

"NO!" The child sunk his foot into the floor and created a spike, causing Scourge to leap back.

"Heh." he smirked. "No wonder Greed wants you." He then cracked his knuckles as he got ready for a fight. "You're smart, kid. Stranger Danger and all that good jazz. Sorry I have to rough you up; nothing personal."

Suddenly, he too was tackled from behind when the blue hedgehog ran into the room. Scourge was then buried in the crates, but Sonic knew that wouldn't be enough to stop him. "GET OUT OF HERE, KID! NOW!"

The kid did as he was told, just as Envy was recovering. "Hey!" he called out to the child. "What do you think you're-" Envy stopped himself and sighed. "Oh well." he said as he dusted himself off. "My work here is done." He then eyed Sonic. "I suppose I should take care of you now..."

Suddenly, Scourge burst from the crates and tackled Sonic, who pushed back against him as he was pinned to the wall. "Two hedgehogs?" Envy wondered. "Well, I since you're clearly best buddies and all that, I'll just let you two duke it out and skewer the winner later!" Envy laughed as he ran down the hall.

"Hey, come back here! I'm not finished-"

Sonic was cut off as his twin pushed him down on the floor. "Don't really care what history you two have. 'Cause you've got me to deal with!" he sneered.

Quickly, Sonic kicked him off and stood up. "Fine. Won't take long."


Al tried to kick Kimblee in the head, but Kimblee proved to be the superior combatant as he parried his kick and knocked him over. Just as Kimblee was about to finish him off, Al quickly drew a small circle and formed a stone fist from the floor. Though it grazed Kimblee and formed a bruise on his side, he successfully avoided any real damage. "My. You're a lot more resilient than you look."

Suddenly, something ran at him from further down. Sally jumped up with a side kick, hoping to break his nose but only managed to scrape his cheek. "He's fast. Faster than either Robotnik or Snively!" This was bad; if his skills were equal to hers, he had the advantage due to his size.

Indeed, he didn't seem to be worried. If anything, he seemed to be more irritated than anything. "What the hell are you?" Suddenly, he grabbed her by the vest, faster than she had anticipated and lifted her to his level, aiming his other palm towards her face.

"Hold on Sally girl!" Bunnie intervened, blocking Kimblee's hand with her robot arm.

Though he blew the lid off her wrist, she escaped otherwise unharmed. "What the-!?" Kimblee exclaimed. "A chimera!? With automail!?"

"Don't turn your back on me!" Al suddenly rammed into Kimblee, knocking him down.

However, he quickly got back up on his feet. "Tch!" He was about to attack again, when suddenly an arrow lodged itself in his shoulder. "Crap!" he exclaimed as he eyed the chimera who apparently fired it.

"You shouldn't let your guard down either!" Bido suddenly wrapped his tail around St. John, hoping to constrict him. Bido snickered with glee, but then felt something tap his shoulder. "Huh?"

Bido looked behind him to see Knuckles throw his fist into his face, knocking him out. "Thanks mate." St. John coughed as he took in the air.

Kimblee scowled as he saw he was surrounded. "This is becoming a regular show of freaks...and coming from me and what I've been through, that's saying a lot." After he pulled the arrow out of his shoulder, he clapped his hands and placed them on the floor. "Sorry, but we'll have to continue this at another time! I've already done what I promised to do!" Suddenly, an explosion rocked the hallway, forcing everyone to take cover while Kimblee escaped through a hole he made...


As Scourge and Sonic tried to push each other back, Scourge suddenly grabbed Sonic by the shoulder and threw him with ease to the other side! "Oof!"

Scourge took a moment to feel it too as he looked at his hands; Sonic felt as light as a feather when he picked him up! "That energy from the emerald...it must have made me stronger as well." His carelessness was still the same as ever though, a painful reminder when Sonic spin-dashed past him and grazed his arm. "Agghhh!" Sonic charged for him again, but Scourge wouldn't let him get lucky again; Scourge grabbed him, lifted him off the floor and took away his traction, and threw him into the wall, cracking it. Scourge tried to knock him out with an uppercutt, but Sonic managed to bend to the side and all Scourge hit was stone, ruining the wall further and bruising his knuckles.

Sonic took the opportunity to simply jump on Scourge's head and knock him down on his face. "I owe Ed and Al a most sincere apology for dragging you with us!"

Scourge simply got up and laughed. "Reminds me, I also your Knuckles for this." He gripped the lapels of his jacket. "So...like the new look?"

"Green is so not my color."

"Heh. Makes me like it even better." Scourge said. "And by the way, since I'm not really you anymore, changed my name too. Go by Scourge."

"Okay. I'll admit, that's creative." Sonic reluctantly agreed. Feeling the building shake, he realized he had to finish this quickly. "So...we gonna fight?"

"Thought you'd never ask."

Scourge rammed him into the door, shoving his arm up the blue hedgehog's neck. "Whoa! I think his speed got a boost too!" Sonic fought back, getting him off with a jab and ran behind him. Scourge however was quick enough to block him and kick him away. "Ooof!" "He's a bit stronger too!" Sonic got his barrings straight and engaged him with a Sonic Spin, Scourge doing the same.

Scourge managed to catch Sonic and kneed him, grabbing his spines in mid-air and threw him back against the wall, knocking the wind out of Sonic. "Heh. This emerald energy really does wonders." Scourge grabbed a knife from one of the broken crates, which in his hands almost looked like a sword. He charged, but Sonic caught it with the side of a wooden board, also from one of the crates. Before Scourge could react, Sonic twisted with the wooden plank, knocking the knife away from him. Quickly, he kicked him and landed a bunch of rapid-fire punches to his stomach. Scourge backed away, clutching his stomach. "Hn. You're still as tricky as ever." The two locked hands, Sonic putting more effort into his legs to counter Scourge's new powers.

The floor in front of them began to glow red, which the two hedgehogs noticed as well. "Hey! What the heck is-" His sentence was cut off as an explosion filled the room.


Ed ran down the hall, desperately searching for Izumi. He ran into Armstrong earlier; he apparently faked his defeat to give her a chance to take back the child (or did he?). Finally, he saw Izumi gather up the child in a hug.

"Teacher!" Ed called. "Come with me! I don't want to do this, but in the end I'm still a dog of the military!"

Before anymore could be said, and exlplosion ripped the floor and roof between them, shaking the building and causing debris to fall. "Don't follow me!" was the only thing Izumi said before she disappeared.

"Damn!" Ed cursed as he was forced to retreat the other way.


Most everyone evacuated the building as civilians looked in horror to see South Headquarters split in two, one half crumbling to dust.

Ed hunched over to pant, before looking back with concern. Finally, familiar, metallic and hollow footsteps reached their ears. "Ed!" Al shouted, Sally riding on his shoulders and the other mobians following behind. "What happened!?"

"Too much to tell." Ed said. He would have berated the mobians for exposing themselves in the open, but the Headquarters destruction probably took everyone's eye off them. "Come on! Teacher's probably long gone with the kid by now! Let's get out of here and try to track her!"

"Wait!" Sally said. "Where's Son-"

Suddenly, something blue popped up from under the ground. "Yo!" he said. "Figured this would be a safe place! Didn't think I'd be so lucky as to run into you guys!"

"What happened with you?" Sally asked.

"I was trying to get the kid, but Scourge got to him first."

"Scourge?" Al asked.

Sonic smacked his head. "Oh, right! You didn't hear! My twin is now calling himself 'Scourge'! Anyway, he was about to kidnap the kid. I ran in and told him to get out."

Ed only face-palmed himself. "I don't want to hear of this Scourge character again." he moaned. "Armstrong should be fine; he's survived rubble collapsing on him before."

"What about the Fuehrer?" Al asked.

"That wasn't him." Ed said. "That had to be Envy; no way a guy in his 60s can move that fast." Ed looked around his surroundings to see the people were beginning to calm down. "Come on; let's hurry back." Ed said as he led the others out of sight.


It took a while to find Izumi; the mobians had to stay in hiding as they went through the town, and they owed it to Mason and Sig to let him know his wife went missing. After thinking it over, Sig came to the conclusion Izumi retreated back to the island. Given the limited capacity of the boat, only Ed, Al, Sig and Sonic occupied it, while Tails flew behind. And of course, he was impatient. "Uh...you know. Tails could push the boat and use his tails as a propeller..." Sonic began to suggest.

"No." Sig said bluntly.

"I think he means to say she'll hear us coming; right now, we can't afford to have her take off on us again." Ed explained.

Sonic sighed. "It sucks when everyone else is right."

Finally, they reached the island and disembarked. "Where do we find her?" Ed asked.

"I think I know." Sig said as he motioned them to follow.

As they snuck through the forest, Ed asked "How do you know she's here?"

Sig hesitated before answering. "This is where she tried to revive our child."

Ed and Sonic just stopped in their tracks. Though both were shocked by the revelation, Ed in particular had the epiphany. "She opened the gate! She tried human transmutation!" He thought back to all the times she did alchemy without a circle, all the times she fell ill. "It all makes sense...but what was taken from her? And if she did it, then that kid-!" He stopped himself,and picked up the pace, Al trailing behind him.

Finally, they reached a clearing in the forest. Izumi was there, on her knees holding onto the child. Ed couldn't help but notice instead of rags, the child was in what seemed to be a tight leather shirt and shorts. Like the clothes Envy wore. Turning his attention back to Izumi, Ed noticed her hands were around his neck. Before anyone could shout at her to stop, the child suddenly sneered and asked "What's wrong?" Izumi snapped out of her daze and looked at him stunned, the child seemingly more amused than disturbed that she contemplated killing him. "Hurry up and get it over with, otherwise I'll kill you!"

Suddenly, he moved to grab her throat, before Sonic ran and tackled her out of the way. "You alright?" Sonic asked.

"...yeah." Izumi said, in a subdued manner that was out of character for her.

"I was right!" Ed shouted accusingly. "Those ARE my limbs! And you're-"

"Was." the child interrupted him. "I was stillborn. And instead of leaving me in peace, she attempted human transmutation. Seeing that I was not what she wanted, she left me to the gate." He looked up at everyone with a malicious smile. "It's that to fools like you who decide to play God! This is how the damned are born! That is how a homunculus is born!"

Ed looked at him in shock, taking notice how even his eyes had changed. "And how do you know this?"

"Envy helped me remember. He was born the same way I was, as were all the other Homunculi. And now, we want to become human ourselves." Suddenly, he tried kicking Ed. Noticing a small cut on his cheek, he noticed the homunculus attached a blade of metal to his foot. "And I remember you!" he announced, smiling sadistically. "I was there inside the gate when your brother was taken inside to join me, along with your leg! And the way you screamed 'Give me my brother back!' You were so pathetic, giving up your arm just so you could get your brother's soul! In fact, I took the limbs for myself, and with my new found power, I was able to break through the gate." The child chuckled evily. "So thank you! Thank you for the limbs! Thank you for this incomplete life!"

Sonic and Tails looked on in horror. "This kid...he's nothing but pure hate!"

"And now, I'm going to take the rest of your body, so I can become a complete human!" Wrath charged into a double kick as Ed only stared helplessly at him, but Al threw Ed out of the way and punched Wrath backwards, who only looked more amused than hurt! "Ow!" he said sarcastically. "That hurt! Your metal body is not the one I'm looking for!" He sunk his hand into the ground, forming a trail of stalagmites.

"Hands off, little guy!" Sonic spun into him and knocked him down, putting some distance between them. "Listen kid-"

"My name is WRATH!" he suddenly screamed, as he dug his right arm into the ground. Before Sonic could figure out what he was doing, and suddenly fell over as the ground rose. Tails intercepted him, attacking him. Though Wrath was caught off guard, he grabbed by the fox by the throat, and pinned him against a tree.

"Let him go!" Izumi screamed. "I'm the one you want!"

"Eh. All will suffer for what you brought upon me!" Sonic and Ed charged, but Wrath blocked them through his connection with the earth, forming several pillars in their path. "He's turning blue..." he taunted them.

"You little bastard!" Ed shouted.

Before anymore could be done, Sig suddenly charged towards him and back handed the homunculus, forcing him to release Tails, who breathed in relief. Quickly, Wrath formed a blade from the earth and kicked at his face, causing him to twist and fall to his knees. Just as he was about to take his head, Sonic burst from the ground, throwing him off balance.

Al in turn grabbed him from behind and slammed him back to earth. "ENOUGH! My brother lost his limbs because of you! And now's my chance to get them back!"

"STOP IT NOW!" Izumi clapped to make a transmutation, but her eyes widened, and she fell to her knees, coughing blood.

"Teacher!" Al let go of Wrath...which proved to be a mistake. Quickly, the homunculus transmuted the earth to form a giant hand around Al, trapping him. "Hey!"

"I've got to go!" Wrath yelled as he waved goodbye.

Wrath escaped into the forest. Sonic was about to catch up with him in a second, but noticed Ed holding the profusely bleeding woman. Sonic looked to Wrath, who just made it to the beach...and groaned. "Darnnit!" He rushed back to Izumi, holding her by the shoulder. "Whoa there, lady. I got'ya." Izumi managed to stand on shaky legs, as they helped her up and slung her arm across his shoulder.

"Where-?" Ed asked.

"I had to let him go. Sorry." Sonic explained.

Ed sighed sadly. "It's probably for the best...for now. The state is probably going crazy looking for him, and we can't let them know about teacher."

Gently they gave her to Sig, who carried her lovingly in his arms. Then, something clicked for Sonic. "Just what did she give up to bring him back?"

Afterward, Izumi was admitted to the local hospital. And she didn't come back the following morning. Sig came back , looking downcast. Even the Elrics looked helpless. Feeling he needed to tell someone again, he told the mobians upon looking at their worried faces. "When she was pregnant, she came down with a deadly fever. The doctors had medication, but administering it would have put our child at risk. I agreed to it, desperate to save Izumi. Then when our stillborn child came into this world, she told me she was sorry. And you know what she did afterwards. She's missing most of her internal organs below the ribcage. She has spent years suffering from malnutrition, excess toxicities and improper blood flow. And she lost these because they were taken from her. This is her penance for trying to bring our stillborn child back to life."

Once more, the mobians were shell-shocked from this revelation, maybe even more so than hearing the Elrics' story. They just sat around the room in silence. Sonic was still restless, but was unusually silent. Noticing no one was going to break out of the somber mood, Sonic stood up and stretched. He then noticed someone was missing. "Hey, where's Sal?"

"I think I saw her walk up to the roof." Knuckles answered as he sulked in the corner. "I think I know why, and quite frankly, I can't blame her."

Sonic nodded, and climbed up to the roof. Though it was daytime, no one was around to look on the rooftops for whatever reason. Sonic found Sally sitting there, sulking. "Hey." he said.

"Hey Sonic." she answered, not bothering to look at him.

Sonic said nothing as he took a seat next to her. "Anything on your mind?"

Sally sighed. "You know how Ed and everyone here is going on about equivalent exchange? Give something to obtain something of equal value?"

"Yeah." Sonic did not like where this was heading.

"What kind of world is this where people give up things for hope but receive nothing but pain!?" she nearly cried.

Sonic sighed, and gave no answer. He simply wrapped his arm around Sally's shoulder as they took in the view.


Let me tell you, this was not an easy chapter for me to do. After the first draft was finished, I had to rewatch the episodes originally covered, and forgot SO MANY DETAILS. I even completely screwed up how Ed and Al found their teacher in this series, and instead replaced it with a scene similar to the manga. Then quotes, locations, which characters were present where, etc. It was something of a nightmare. I did the best I could with what I could manage; if I did get something wrong, please let me know and I'll do my best to fix it.

Next time: Dante. Sonic vs Greed, and Edward vs. Scourge