26

"Will you drop this stupid routine?" Edward growled, "I've told you everything we know!" He, Shane, Izumi, and Sig had been led out of the Devil's Nest and placed under the watch of a few soldiers.

"Sorry, sir." One of the soldiers interviewing Ed replied, "The orders from Lieutenant Colonel Archer were very clear."

"This is not the time for protocol!" Shane growled, "There are two lives in danger here, for Christ's sake!" The two soldiers just glanced at each other and sighed, Edward was still fuming.

"The Crimson Alchemist: Zalv J. Kimbley, and the Sewing Life Alchemist: Shou Tucker." Archer said, looking at the two. "A pair of infamous ghosts."

"I've held my end of the bargain." Kimbley told him, "How 'bout you?"

"You don't have to worry." Archer said, he turned his glance to Tucker, "Neither do you, doctor. I'll guarantee safety for you both. See, you're under the protection of Frank Archer, now."

"Protection?" Tucker repeated, curious of the Lieutenant Colonel.

"That's right." Archer nodded, "I'm reinstating you into the military to continue your research. But this time, you'll be working directly under me."

"You'll let me… finish my work?" Tucker asked in surprised excitement.

"Yes." Archer nodded, he turned to the two soldiers next to him, "I'll be changing my orders. Tell the troops not to take prisoners, kill anyone who looks suspicious. I want this place cleaned."

"But sir, there's civilians. Are you sure that's okay?" One of the soldiers asked.

"It is now." Archer said, turning his attention back to the two alchemists in front of him. Now that Tucker's on our side, those creatures can be replaced. Archer thought, And not even Greed can stop me. He glanced down at the bag given to him by Kimbley,

As long as I have this.

Soldiers ran down the halls of the sewers, having already killed several chimeras. The body of one that resembled something like a human and a lizard floated down the water. They had followed the group of people from the basement down here, hoping to secure the hostages. They shot at one of the chimeras, who was shooting back at them from around a corner. When he stopped, they fired back, killing him with a shot to the head.

Melody watched as the bald chimera that had dragged her to the pub fall to the ground, dead. She was being held by Greed, still tied up, and Al was held by Roa. Dolcetto ground his teeth at the sight of his fallen comrade.

"Be smart." Greed warned him.

"Like hell!" He didn't listen as he ran toward the soldiers, slashing at each of them and killing them. Greed stared after him.

"Greed! Move!" Roa told him.

"Right." Greed said, he ran after Roa. They didn't get too far when a wall exploded in front of them. When the smoke cleared, they saw a tall, muscled man in half of a military uniform, the coat was dropped onto the floor.

"My name is Alex Louis Armstrong. Heir to the family trade." He introduced, "But you can call me," He struck a pose, "The Strong Arm Alchemist." Alphonse and Melody looked up.

"Major!" Alphonse exclaimed.

"Oh, thank you, God!" Melody breathed. Roa put Alphonse down and walked up to him.

"My demands are simple." Armstrong continued, "You give Alphonse Elric and Melody Kilgore to me." Roa said nothing as he pulled out his mallet and began to swing it at the Major. He blocked it by punching the mallet with his left hand, and Melody noticed that he began using alchemy on it. Roa jumped back from the blow and glanced at his hammer to see that it had taken the form of Armstrong striking a pose instead.

"Damn." Roa cursed.

"Behold!" Armstrong said, "A little sample of the artistic alchemy that's been passed down the Armstrong line for generations!" Roa looked back to him.

"Well, obviously, I'll need more than this to stand a chance." He said, dropping the, now useless, hammer on the ground. "Maybe some real muscle instead!" Armstrong's eyes widened as he saw undergo a small transformation that made claws appear on his hands, horns appear on his head, and his muscles grow larger.

"I'm… not sure what to say." Armstrong said, looking at his complete form. Roa let out a roar as he began to charge Armstrong. He punched at Armstrong, but he avoided so he hit the sewer wall instead, leaving a big hole. Armstrong threw a barrage of punches at Roa with his alchemic gloves without using any alchemy on him. They continued until Roa grabbed his wrist mid-punch, used it to pick him up over his head and throw him down onto the concrete floor, head first. Then, he grabbed Armstrong by the neck, and pushed his face against the wall and ran. The Major's blood began to stain the walls as he was dragged by the chimera. He stopped him by grabbing one of the newly-formed horns on his head and threw him down. Before his feet even touched the floor, however, Armstrong grabbed them and tucked them under his arms as he began to swing Roa around in a circle before throwing him and having him hit the floor a few feet away. Armstrong chuckled appreciatively as he got into another stance, "It's been too long since I've had this good of a battle." He said.

"I'd expect nothing less from you, Armstrong." Roa said, resting on one knee, he looked up at Armstrong, "Your strength hasn't changed at all from back then." Armstrong faltered, wondering what he meant, "I served as a soldier, on assignment in Ishbal during the campaign." Roa explained, seeing his expression, "I know your talents well."

"A former comrade…" Armstrong murmured, he lowered his stance completely, "Well, then I certainly don't want to kill you. Surrender now and live." Roa smiled crookedly.

"An impossible request!" He told Armstrong. No one said anything as groups of footsteps were heard and everyone but Armstrong turned to see a group of soldiers with guns come in through the hole Armstrong had made earlier. They pointed their guns at Greed and the others.

"It's us, Major." One of the soldiers said, "Step aside."

"We'll take 'em!" Another soldier said.

"Come on, now. Don't waste your lives." Armstrong said, ignoring the soldiers. Greed smirked.

"Alright, I'll gladly take that advice." He said, Armstrong looked over at him, "But pass along a message to Kimbley and Tucker, will you?" Roa stood and walked over to the sewer wall, "Tell them both they just wasted theirs!" Roa hit the wall hard enough for the cracks made from his punch to travel upward toward the ceiling, destroying some of the water pipes that had been placed there. The ceiling crumbled and fell to the floor in a dusty heap in front of the Major. When it had stopped, Armstrong looked to see the remains of the sewer walls had put a wall in between him and where the chimeras would have been, if they were still there. He knew the criminals were gone, and they had taken Alphonse and Melody with them.

One of the soldiers looking after Edward, Shane, Izumi, and Sig turned to his friend, "They finally quieted down." He said to him. Seeing as none of them had made any comment for a while, all of them were facing away from the soldiers, still bundled up in the tan blankets they had given them.

"He was being a real noisy pain in the ass earlier." The other soldier commented, talking about Edward.

"Yeah, well, I guess he finally got tired of whining." Said the other.

"That's better for us." His friend said.

"You can say that again." The other agreed. Neither of them knew the reason they were so quiet, was because they weren't even there. Edward had transmuted dummies to take their place when the soldiers weren't looking.

Izumi and Sig had returned home, Edward and Shane had gone after Al and Melody, into the forest near Dante's home.

Greed let out a puff of smoke from the cigarette he was smoking. He, Roa, Marta, and Dolcetto had gotten away to an abandoned barn way out in the woods, Alphonse and Melody still with them, and still tied up. He walked over to a nearby window.

"So we're the only ones that got away." He muttered darkly, he glared at the glass of the windowpane, taking in one more breath of smoke before throwing the cigarette on the floor. He ground his teeth in anger as he thought about all that had happened. What the hell am I gonna do now? He thought.

"How long did you think you could last?" A silky voice asked. Roa and Dolcetto stood as they saw a curvy woman with dark, flowing hair come in, followed by a shorter, fat man with a bald head and beady eyes. "It's been a thrill, but time's up." Greed glared at her as she came in.

"And who might you be?" He asked. The woman looked over at the fat man.

"From what I've been told, you've already met Gluttony." She said, she turned back to Greed, "As for me, well, can't you tell? I'm the new Lust."

"You don't say." Greed muttered, seething.

"I don't usually like to be so quick about things, but you have two options, Greed." Lust drawled, "You can either be sealed again, or you can die, right here."

"Who's gonna pull that one off?" Greed asked, his smirk returning, "Don't tell me it's you!"

"Here's a story," Lust started, "A lowly homunculus actually tries to defy the person who pulls all the strings, and is locked in a cell for 140 years." Greed's eyes narrowed, "When he escapes, that person gets angry. And gives us everything we need… to end it."

"End it! End it!" Gluttony repeated, waving his arms excitedly over his chest. Dolcetto pulled out his sword and sliced at Al and Melody's bindings. The ropes and chains fell to the ground.

"There's no time to talk, just cooperate." Dolcetto told them.

"Make sure Marta's safe." Roa told Al. The two teenagers stood.

"But what are you guys gonna do?" Al asked.

"Wait, Roa!" Marta called from inside Al's armor, "Dolcetto, what's happening?"

"Get out of here, Greed. Now." Roa said, he and Dolcetto coming in front of him.

"We'll take care of this." Dolcetto said, his hand on the sword. Greed stared at the two, eyes wide in surprise.

"It's my problem." He told them.

"Well, it's ours, now!" Dolcetto said, "We're not going to lose you, here!" Roa transformed into the form he had used against Armstrong, "Just say that we're all avenged. That's all I'm asking for."

"My, you sure have some loyal pawns, don't you?" Lust said, seeing their determination.

"You can blame it on the alchemists who engineered me." Dolcetto told her, "I was combined with a dog, loyalty just runs in the blood."

"Greed gave us hope for nothing!" Roa told her, "Now we'll return the deed." Lust's stare turned piercing as she looked at Greed, a chilling smile on her face. Greed bared his teeth in anger.

"Greed! Now!" Dolcetto told him. Greed ran for the door, still fuming.

"Come on!" He ordered the two teens.

"Ah! Okay!" Al followed after him, and Melody followed after Al. Lust watched them leave, her smile never leaving her face. She turned her gaze to Roa.

"And what did they combine you with?" She asked.

"You may run for it, if you wish, Dolcetto." Roa said to him, ignoring the homunculus. "You know that."

"Sure I could, and I'd get away, too." He replied, "But after all that talking, I'd sure look like a fool." He pointed the edge of his sword at Lust and Gluttony.

"Then you're at peace with this?" Roa asked.

"You're askin' me now?" Dolcetto replied jokingly. Lust turned her attention to the two chimeras as they began to charge.

They only took seven steps before she swiftly killed them both.

Edward and Shane turned their attention to a sight of squawking birds flying up into the air not too far from where they were at that moment.

"Well, that can't be good." Shane muttered.

"Hold on," Edward said, "That's right over Dante's house!" He looked to Shane. "You keep looking for Al and Melody, I'm going to go see what's up." Shane nodded and continued in the direction they had been going before they saw the birds.

Greed, Melody, and Al (carrying Marta) ran through the trees away from Lust and Gluttony. They finally ran to a small clearing a good ways away and stopped.

"Just us now." Greed said, turning to them, "You two are such good little hostages. You could've just fled, you know? I've been a little distracted."

"Hey, I'm just goin' where he's goin'." Melody panted, pointing her thumb at Al.

"Running away from you isn't what I'm worried about now." Al said.

"Yeah, right." Greed muttered, "Hey, listen, Marta…"

"Yeah?" Marta asked.

"Stay in this can 'till morning." Greed told her, "If I'm not back by then, you're on your own. Just make sure you have some fun, okay?"

"Greed, what are you gonna do?" Marta asked, concerned for her leader.

"Can't get into it, doll." Greed said with his classic smirk on his face, "The talking's done." He turned around and began to run away from the group.

"Ah! Wait!" Al called after him.

"Let me out, kid!" Marta commanded as she pushed Al's helmet up. "I gotta go with him!" Al pushed back down, trying to keep her inside.

"Stop! He said to keep you inside Al's armor where it's safe!" Melody said.

"I don't care!" Marta yelled, still trying to push out of his armor.

Greed walked over to the home of his creator, the only house in these woods for miles. Dante's.

He looked up at the gigantic mansion and smirked, "After all of this time, I'm back at the beginning of the tale." He mused to himself, "Not even sure what I came here for. Maybe I'm gonna beg that hag for my life." His smirk disappeared, "Maybe not." He shrugged and started walking towards the house, unaware of the other homunculi who were watching him.

"That's a good boy, Greed." Lust said, "It all happened exactly as we were told."

"Are we done?" Gluttony asked, his mouth stained in blood that was not his own.

"Yes." Lust answered, "I'd say we performed perfectly."

"I'm still hungry." Gluttony whined, hearing his stomach growl for more food.

Greed kicked open the doors of the mansion as he strode inside. A young girl with a stoic face came towards him, wearing a pink maid's outfit. "Where's the old lady?" Greed asked her.

"The reason you came here is simple." Lyra said, "Because these are the grounds that witnessed your creation."

"Smart girl." Greed growled. "Now, take me to the old hag."

"This way." Lyra said, turning and escorting him to another room. The room they entered was a gigantic library, you could hear the sounds of a record playing music in the room. As they ventured further into the room, Greed felt himself become weaker, suddenly finding it much more difficult to take in a breath. He held his arm around his middle as she led him to a part of the room where a skeleton lay on a table. The skull of it was missing. Greed recognized them immediately.

"Those are-!"

"Your bones, yes." Lyra said. Greed glared at the girl's back.

"Hey! Where did you get those?" He asked, growling, "And what did Dante tell you?"

"Lady Dante is over there." Lyra said, pointing. Greed looked and saw what must've been Dante, but she had been split in half, and lay there, both sides of her face-down. Greed was so amazed by the sight, he didn't notice Lyra walking away.

"What's going on here?" Greed asked, still staring at the corpse. Then he saw the ceiling alight. He squinted his eyes to see the light was coming from a transmutation circle, one where the Flamel cross was the center of the transmutation. His eyes widened in fear when he saw it. "Who are you? How could you know? How could you make that array? You're just a damn kid!" He looked back at Lyra to see a small, dark smile on her face as she watched him. Greed glared at her, then he stopped when a thought occurred to him, "Could it be…?" The light grew brighter around him, signifying that the transmutation was becoming more powerful.

Edward stood outside Dante's home, and saw the light blazing inside her home. "That's alchemy!" He murmured to himself before running and making his way into the house, wondering if Dante was using alchemy against someone.

Greed groaned trying to take steps to get out of the circle, but with his bones nearby, he found it harder and harder to move. He felt something coming up his throat and bent over as he vomited out little red stones. Again and again. He watched as they melted into little red puddles and evaporated from the transmutation.

"My life…!" Greed gasped, "That's… My life…!" He let out another wave of the stones. Lyra stood there, doing nothing as she kept the transmutation going. Now, Greed was certain. The handmaid was no longer Dante's handmaid, but Dante herself. She had transmuted her soul out of the body of the old woman and into the newer, younger body of Lyra using a philosopher's stone.

Greed slowly forced his steps out of the circle, and when he was out of the way of the transmutation, he fell to his hands and knees. Gulping in breath after breath of air. The light faded as the transmutation stopped.

Greed lifted his head to glare at Lyra/Dante "You…!" He growled, but stopped when he saw she was gone. The music had stopped playing as well. He looked around the room for her, but found no one. He slowly got up. "Damn it."

Footsteps were heard as Edward ran into the library. He stopped when he saw Greed standing there, alone. "I found you, Greed!" As Edward walked into the room, Greed silently cursed at himself for falling into a trap that Dante had obviously planned. He half-turned to Edward and smirked. Edward walked in and stopped when he saw the cut up corpse of Dante.

"What the hell!" Edward breathed, he glared at the homunculus, "Explain this, Greed! What happened here?" Greed said nothing as he pulled out his sunglasses and put them on.

"Beats me." He lied, shrugging, "I was going to ask you that, kid." Edward glared at his back.

"You did this to her, didn't you?" He asked. Greed's face was stoic as he turned to face the young alchemist. "Are you gonna answer me?"

"Blame me if you want." Greed told him, "I really don't care." Edward looked back at Dante's corpse.

"How could you?" He asked, "She was helpless!" Greed smirked.

"Tell me, Edward Elric," He started, "How could you go so far to protect your little brother?"

"And what does that have to do with anything?" Edward demanded. Greed's smirk grew.

"Feelings can be hard to explain." He said, his smirk suddenly disappearing.

"What are you talking about?" Edward asked. "What have you done with Al?"

"If you want him back, come on." Greed said, confidently putting his hands on his hips, "You know what it takes." Edward glared at him before getting in a fighting stance. Greed shed his vest as he took his real form, glasses dropping from his head.

Shane continued walking through the woods, searching for the two people he and Edward had come searching for. He heard voices and followed them.

He heard someone yell, "Let me go! I have to help!"

He heard someone else respond with a struggled, "No!" He kept following them and stopped when he saw Melody watching Al, who was wiggling and writhing, his hands on his head.

"Mel!" he called, Melody turned to him and smiled. She ran over to him and he gathered her up in his arms, holding her close, his cheek resting on the top of her head. His call had distracted Al long enough for Marta to push off his helmet and jump out of his armor. Shane stopped when he saw the woman.

"Which way?" Marta demanded, "Which way did Greed go?" Everyone was silent as Melody went and picked up Alphonse's helmet and put it back on his head. "Tell me!"

"I don't know." Alphonse told her calmly. "And even if I did know, and I told you, do you really think you could catch up to wherever he is right now? What would you do if you got there?"

"I'd help him!" Marta growled.

"And what if that just made you get in his way?" Al retorted, Marta said nothing. "It's safest for you to wait here until morning, like he said." Shane pulled Melody back into his arms as she walked back to him.

"What's going on?" He asked, "Where's Greed?" Melody shrugged.

"Dunno. He just told Marta to stay with Al until morning." She said, "If he doesn't come back, she's free to go." Shane's face hardened at her explanation, wondering what the homunculus was planning to do. He quickly rid his mind of those thoughts as he cupped Melody's face in his hands.

"I'm just glad you're alright." He said before gently kissing her forehead. Melody smiled and took his hand as he turned to the friendly suit of armor, "C'mon Al. We're getting out of here."

"Not yet." Al said, "I'm going to wait here with Marta until Greed comes back." Shane blanched.

"You're kidding, right?" He asked, and groaned when Al shook his head no.

"You guys go on ahead without us." Al said, "I'll find my way back to teacher's soon." Shane looked at Melody and she nodded. He turned back to Al.

"Alright, but you'd best come back to us, okay?" Al nodded and Shane wrapped his arm around Melody and they walked away. Somewhat surprised Marta didn't try to stop them.

They went through the doors of Izumi and Sig's butchery, Winry was the first person to greet them. "Shane! Melody!" She pulled them both into a hug, "I'm so glad you're alright!" She pulled away, "Where're Ed and Al?" The couple shrugged.

"Al wants to stay behind and wait with one of Greed's little chimera henchmen." Melody said, "He wants to make sure she's alright, I guess."

"And Ed?" Winry asked. Shane shrugged.

"Something happened at Dante's house and he wanted to go and check what it was." Shane said, "There's a good chance neither of them will be back by morning." Winry nodded sullenly, "Where's Izumi?"

"Right here." Izumi said, walking in, "Are you two alright?" The couple nodded. "Good. You two should get to bed, it's late, and you need your rest."

"Yes ma'am." Shane said, walking him and Melody to the rooms they had been given. Winry didn't move, she looked out the window at the pitch-dark town with concern written across every part of her face.

"They're going to be alright," Izumi assured her.

"How do you know?" Winry asked her, Izumi gave a small smirk.

"They're my apprentices." She said, "If anything, I know that they're tough enough to make it through anything. Now," She placed her hand on Winry's shoulder, "Get some rest."

"Alright…" Winry sighed, following the path Shane and Melody had taken moments ago.

Winry opened her door and was surprised to see Melody wasn't in her bed. She looked across the hall and cracked open the door to the boy's room and saw Shane sleeping with Melody in his arms. They hadn't bothered to change out of their clothes, and their shoes lay on the floor in front of the bed. She smiled softly and shut the door again, deciding to leave them be.

Melody, Shane, Al, Ed, and Izumi stood in front of the two graves they had made. One was for Greed, who Ed had killed in battle after figuring out the weakness of his 'Ultimate Shield,' the other for Dante, who Edward said was killed by Greed. Greed had melted into a red puddle when he died, so there was only a grave marker for him. According to Al, Marta left as soon as the morning rays had come into view. He didn't know where she had gone.

"What did she tell you?" Izumi asked as she looked at the two graves.

"Nothing, it was over when I got there." Edward told her, "Lyra's gone, too. I don't know where she went." Melody looked over at Edward, knowing the pain one could experience by causing another's death.

"So… What now?" Shane asked. Edward looked over at him.

"We keep moving forward." Edward told him.

Shane sat on his bed and watched as the two Elrics as they packed their things, "So, you're going to keep looking for Scar?" Shane asked them.

"Yeah, it was what we were gonna do in the first place." Edward said, he turned to look at his foreign friend. "Why? You have something else in mind?" Shane shrugged.

"It's just… I've been thinkin'…" Shane muttered, "Things have sorta… gotten a little insane lately…" He looked up at him, "I'm thinkin' of takin' Mel back to Central and keep her safe. At least, until we figure out a way back home." The two brothers shared a glance before looking back to Shane. "Mel thought this was best, too. She said she could use some R n' R."

"That's probably a good idea." Edward told him, "We don't want any people getting hurt because of us." Shane nodded.

Edward, Alphonse, and Winry faced Sig, Izumi, Melody, and Shane. The Elrics were saying their goodbyes.

"I'm not sure what to say, teacher," Edward said, "Except, I'm sorry for all this… We'll look for the Ishballans now."

"If we stayed here, we'd only bring more trouble." Al said.

"There's a chance the military will come looking for you, after all that's happened." Edward told Izumi, "You should stay hidden for a while."

"Spare me, Ed." Izumi said, "If you guys start worrying about me, it really is the end of the world. Your goal is still the same, then?"

"Yes." Al answered, not looking at her.

"We've gone through way too much not to make it worth something now." Edward said, "We'll keep on moving until we get our bodies back." Izumi looked down at her former student.

"We'll meet again." She told him. Ed nodded.

"I hope." He said, he turned to Shane and Melody, "Make sure you guys get to Central safely." They nodded.

"You keep yourselves safe." Melody said, Ed's eyes widened and he stared at her. Al and Winry did the same, "What?" Melody blinked and tears fell out of her eyes. She kept blinking in confusion as she wiped them away, "Oh… Sorry… I… Ah…" She sniffled and everyone watched her, "Sorry, I… I can't seem to stop crying…" She looked at the brothers. "I guess… It's just… This feeling I have that we're not going to see each other again." Edward smiled softly at her.

"Do you think of all goodbyes like that?" He asked jokingly, Melody shook her head and wiped her tears on her arm. "We will see each other again, Melody. I promise." Melody smiled softly and held out her pinky. Edward looked at her confusedly.

"Secret shake on it." She told him, Edward smiled as he stuck out his pinky and intertwined it with hers. She led him through the steps as they shook, telling him what he should do as they switched to a handshake, reached up to tap their foreheads twice, then go back to a handshake, and then intertwining their pinkies again. "Now, you secret shook on it, no going back!" Melody said as she pulled her hand away. Edward smiled.

"No going back." He said.

He, Al, and Winry then left. Heading down the path that would lead them to the Ishballan refugee camp where Scar was hiding out. Melody and Shane bid their goodbyes to Sig and Izumi as they boarded the train headed for Central.

YAYNESS! Chapter 26! I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry if any of you waited too long for this! It's just that it's summertime, and I'm doing a little vacation and family-lovin' stuff, and I'm just really, really, REALLY lazy.

I STILL can't believe that I'm almost done. It's kind of sad, almost. I know the next chapter will be the last. Don't expect it to come out really quick.

-Chibimaker

Reviews make me happy!