Eden's group fled back to Resembool after Operation: Blitz Raid, hiding out in Eden's old home. The group mostly spent the time resting, as all parties involved were badly damaged in some way. Ling was nearly bed-ridden, though he refused to admit it, Eden had a casted arm and bandages tightly wound around her entire midsection, Rose's thoughts were still clouded from her encounter with Lust, and Hughes… he was damaged in an entirely different way. Hawkeye had returned to her post, merely reporting that she had aided Officer Hughes in escaping with his family after 'the monster' had attacked.
When Eden had asked Hughes about why he didn't just run away, like Lust had suggested, he only gave her sad eyes and a half-hearted smile saying it was "the lesser of two evils, I suppose," before wandering off to hide in the room they provided for him.
And so, over the course of about a week, Eden read and re-read each of the books she'd...borrowed, from Central Library, before eventually coming to a shocking realization. "These still don't tell me how to kill the bastards!" she exclaimed one day, throwing the book away and running her hand through her hair, which was moist from the humidity of the day.
"Really?" Wes wondered, only half paying attention as he tinkered with a prototype Automail leg. Eden let out an exhausted breath, her mouth hanging open as if she were a dog.
"And it's so hot…" she complained.
"Oh, the horror," Wes replied, deadpan. He stood and retrieved a rag, which he soaked in ice-cold water before throwing to her. She held it over her face for a moment before draping it over her hair.
"Hey, where's Ling? He's usually entertaining," Eden commented.
"I think he's outside. Usually he just sits there watching, thinking, so you can probably-" before he could finished, they both heard a loud commotion outside. The two burst outside, Eden slower than Wes because of her injuries, only to see Ling crouched like an animal over someone else. Sloth's amber eyes became visible after he recovered from the initial impact of Ling tackling him. "You can probably find him attacking a Homunculus," Wes finished.
Sloth glared at Eden. "You should really keep your Xingese Watchdog on a leash," he growled.
The comment actually brought a smile to Eden's face. It wasn't exactly Alphonse's kind of humor, but any mockery of Ling brought happiness to Eden. "It's okay, Ling," she assured.
"You serious?"
"Till I die," Eden insisted. Slowly, Ling stood. He climbed onto the roof while Wes reentered the house. Eden offered a hand, but Sloth refused it, standing and clearing his throat. "What? Nervous in front of a pretty girl?"
Sloth shot her a dirty look before clearing his throat again, and showing her his hand, which was carrying a bag. "I brought takeout," he said bashfully.
A while later, Eden was halfway through her meal, not having had a decent one since before the ball. The two were currently sitting on the front porch, where there was a small table with two chairs for them. "So, Homunculus, you gonna tell me why you came here? I'm sure it wasn't just to give me free food."
"..." Sloth turned away.
"Well, if you aren't gonna talk, then you could just watch me stuff my face. Can't say if it'd be fun for you though, Al."
"I'm not Alphonse Elric," Sloth clarified. "Let me make that clear right now."
"Right, I know," Eden said, sobering up a bit. "So, Sloth, from my perspective, you came here for one of two reasons. One: you came in an attempt to kidnap me so that you and your Homunculus buddies can go ham and make me suffer, or two-"
"I left the other Homunculi," Sloth interrupted.
Eden let her mouth hang again, this time a piece a food dropped from it. "You're kidding…"
"No, I'm not."
"But...why?"
"Because...of you…"
"Um…" Eden didn't quite know how to respond to that, especially coming from someone who wasn't even human and looked exactly like her little brother.
"Don't take this the wrong way; ever since I met you, I've had these feelings; feelings that I shouldn't be having. I've been having this vision as well. In the vision, I'm running toward you, as a line of soldiers is about to shoot you."
Eden's eyes widened as a wave a sadness washed over her. "That'd be the morning you died, or, when Alphonse did. He tried to protect me," Eden explained. "So, maybe you have a bit of Al inside you after all?"
"Don't get your hopes up, human," Sloth lowered his eyes into a scowl. "Even you just associating me with that pathetic trash is insulting."
Eden glared at the Homunculus.
"And don't think that this is an act of friendship," he continued, crossing his arms. "This is merely a clarion call for you, as I know that those books you went to such trouble securing have knowledge that's been outdated since the modern Homunculus, as you know it, was created."
"Like how to kill you?" Eden wondered.
"Among other things," he answered. "Do you have any qualms?"
"None," Eden answered. "But if I find out that you're tricking us, then I'm going to burn you even worse than before, understand?"
"Tch, as if I'd give you the chance," Sloth exclaimed. "We'll start at the beginning, the first homunculus created is the one you know as Fuhrer Bradley. He was our leader, and a damn good one. He'd never back down from the field, like some leaders might, and is unparalleled in sword combat. Nobody can touch him because of his Ultima Eye; even I can't land a single hit on him, and I'm faster than a speeding bullet."
"So he's unbeatable?"
Sloth ignored the question and continued on. "The one from the church, Lust; long dark hair, glowing purple eyes, and baggy clothing."
"I remember," Eden said.
"He has the ability to raise the dead, or so it would seem. He summons apparitions or spirits which he gives physical form. In other words, he's our Ultimate Army. It may break your laws, but his power is based on creation like your Alchemy, correct?"
"Then there has to be a price; each soldier has to take at least a little bit of his own energy, right?"
"You mean even though we have nearly limitless energy? Sure," Sloth waved off the idea. "Anyway, the other church-goer; messy black hair, focused eyes, commanding voice with a deep tone."
"Greed," Eden said. "He shot a water jet at me, a lot," Eden said, holding her side where the jet had collided initially.
"Right. He can summon and control water. He has the capability to do far more than shoot a small jet at you. The Fuhrer only deploys the Ultimate Disaster when there isn't much to lose in the crossfire, should things go south at any point."
"Like in Lior? There weren't many people still living there, so the Fuhrer wouldn't have cared, right? Is that really how he thinks?"
"Afraid so, human."
"Would you stop calling me that?" Eden said impatiently.
"Fine, Fullmetal."
"That's better, Clarion," Eden returned. Sloth shot her a look. "What? You are my clarion call, right?"
"Whatever. I suppose next would be Wrath. She's the little girl that you met in Central."
"Invisible blades?"
"Invisible blades," Sloth confirmed. "She's known as the Ultimate Blade, as it would turn out. What's a better sword than one the enemy can't see coming, right?"
"Yeah, but she's different from you," Eden argued.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, you at least pretend to have feelings, even if you might not be able to. She's just...static. It's unnerving," Eden shivered and put her head down. "To live like that...it would be unbearable."
"Then you'll be happy to know that she doesn't live," Sloth said back. "She spends her time playing with her little dog doll until each assignment, where she completely annihilates her target without so much as blinking."
"I could tell. I'm surprised she missed us the first time she attacked."
"Sometimes she likes to let her prey run before she finishes them off," Sloth clarified. "This time, it just happened to backfire on her."
Eden nodded. "That just leaves you, Sloth, the Homunculus made from Alphonse Elric's template," she said.
"I'm known as the Ultimate Bullet and I have the ability to run as fast as I push myself. Most times just over five hundred miles per hour is enough to make it to any place within minutes, though sometimes I slow down, like when I was running alongside Colonel Mustang's hijacked train."
"Speaking of, when she shot you, you didn't stop."
"When I run, I have to consciously stop. If I get shot, my legs keep moving as if it were natural. It's to ensure I get away from whatever could kill me, so long as whatever hits me doesn't stop me dead from its impact."
"Like my explosions," Eden offered an example.
"Right. Now that you know what each of us do, I'm sure you can figure out ways to beat the others," Sloth said.
"That's great and all, but you're missing two," Eden mentioned. "Your names are based on the seven deadly sins, and you only listed five of them."
"Right, well…" Sloth lowered his head to think. "One of them, Gluttony, was killed a long time ago, before I was made. As for Envy, they haven't been seen in a long time either. No one killed them so they're probably still alive, though only Pride knows where they are. He didn't tell the rest of us," Sloth stood. "Anyway, I've got to get going. I'm through with this godforsaken country and its secrets."
"W-wait!" Eden grabbed his arm. "You still haven't told me how to kill a Homunculus."
"Because I don't know how," Sloth admitted. "It's not something Pride thought would be useful."
"But what if you came across the thing that could kill you?"
"Before you came along, there wasn't anyone that could touch us," Sloth said, pulling away gently. "That's one thing you've done, in these years of endless fighting; you're scared the other Homunculi. Consider it an honor," Sloth said. "Listen, this may be a long shot, but I heard Lust and Greed talking about someone named the Mirror's Edge up north near Briggs. She supposedly knows everything there is to know about Homunculi. Maybe you should check there," Sloth offered.
Eden smiled. "Right, got it. See ya later, Clarion!" Eden shot a grin, trying so hard to suppress the feeling of saying goodbye to that face once again. Sloth turned to leave, but Eden gripped around him in a hug.
"W-what are you doing?" he demanded.
"Just...pretend for a minute? I've been waiting for three years…" Eden said quietly, a few tears dripping. For just these few seconds Alphonse was back by her side. Nothing more needed to be said. "...Thank you…" Eden said as she let go. Sloth turned around slightly, his cheeks a bit pink.
"...Anytime," he said bashfully before speeding off in a blur of red lightning.
Even as he sped off, Sloth felt a...well, he would call it a premonition. It wasn't exactly a vision, but more of a gut feeling; something bad was going to happen at Briggs. Sloth shook his head as he ran. "No...she scared the Homunculi; she can handle herself," he assured himself, though even then, the feeling remained.
Little did Eden know that there were watchful eyes and careful ears eavesdropping while she and Sloth had spoken. The figure listening from the darkness smirked. "How intriguing...often before have the Homunculi regained their morality, but always has it been self-destructive almost immediately, and yet with the Little Human Sloth, he seems to almost enjoy having even a single person by his side, despite his hesitation," he said to himself, no one else hearing his babbling. "Is it a sign that she's the one, that she could trigger a restart of the soul? I wonder, I wonder…"
Author's Note:
Hey guys! Sorry about the shorter chapter this time around; I just needed to get a roll call going to explain exactly what each Homunculus did just so that no one got confused, as I've been told it was before. Hopefully this cleared things up!
Anyway, I can no longer promise frequent updates anymore, as the rest of this story is completely uncharted territory. I'll definitely need to re-watch Brotherhood's Briggs episodes before I write the next part, that's for sure.
Other than that little update, why don't you guys shoot me a review? It truly does mean a lot to me, you know?