Ed slowly returned to consciousness. He opened his eyes, and the first thing he noticed was that his surroundings were very dark. He looked around, and he could see the faint outline of some rocks and pillars nearby, but everything beyond that was pitch black.
Ed slowly sat up. "Where am I?"
He realized he was lying in some sort of liquid. He brought his hand to his face and sniffed at it.
His eyes widened. "Blood?"
He got to his feet and looked around in alarm. Though it was dark, he could see that the blood covered the entire ground, and stretched off in every direction as far as the eye could see.
"What the…what is this place?"
He raised his voice. "Hello? Can anyone hear me? What the hell is this place?"
After receiving no answer, he grimaced. "Damn it, this is Ling's fault! That idiot prince!"
"Who do you think you are to call me that?"
Ed turned around, relieved to see a familiar face. Ling was carrying a torch, which made it easier to see.
"Ling!"
Ling frowned. "You can't call the future emperor of a nation an idiot."
Ed walked toward Ling. "Are you all right?"
He paused, and he began to look suspicious. "Hold on, how do I know you're not Envy in disguise?"
Ling sighed impatiently. "Oh come on! Do you want me to recite the hotel room service menu from top to bottom?"
Ed scowled. "All right, you're Ling."
"And what about you? How do I know you're not Envy? You little runt."
Ed's face became livid. "Who are you calling a little runt you jerk!"
Ling relaxed. "Okay, it's really you."
After he calmed down, Ed looked around. "How did we even get here?"
Ling tilted his head. "The last thing I remember was Gluttony swallowing us whole."
Ed frowned. "So you think this cavernous void is the inside of Gluttony's stomach?"
Ling nodded. "Most likely. Look there."
He held his torch out to illuminate the area. "That's part of the abandoned house where we were hiding."
He walked a few yards out. "Also, check this out."
Ed looked astonished. "That's the Lieutenant's car."
Ling glanced around. "And I'm guessing all the fire is from the Colonel's attack."
"Oh yeah. Then that proves it. But how could Gluttony's belly be this huge?"
"I have no idea. But I sincerely doubt that this is a pleasant place."
Ed spotted something and grabbed Ling's torch.
"Give me that."
He jogged toward a pile of wood that was farther away from the rest of rubble.
Ling went after him. "What is it?"
Ed picked up a metallic hand. "Ling, look at this."
Ling examined it. "It looks like Al's."
Ed frowned. "But why is it just his hand? Maybe he didn't get swallowed. Then he's safe."
Ed looked relieved, then worried. "He's gotta be freaking out, wondering where we are. I wish there was some way I could contact him."
After a moment, Ed held up the hand and began to scream.
"Conveniently awaken, telepathic powers! Elric brother telepathy!"
Ling slowly walked away. "Yeah, good luck with that."
Ed and Ling began walking through the ocean of blood. With no sunlight and no clocks, they had no idea how much time passed.
Ed looked curiously at the various things they saw scattered throughout the sea of blood. "This place is like a wasteland of buildings and human remains. They're all from different time periods."
Ling frowned. "I'm starting to wonder if there's even a way out of here."
Ed shook his head. "I'm sure there is. We just have to find it."
"Maybe. But there's something I don't like about this place."
Ed's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Oh really. I thought an ocean of blood and crumbling buildings were what people looked for in a vacation spot."
Ling scowled. "The thing is, I can't sense the flow of chi here."
"What?"
Ling explained. "In the real world, I can normally sense a person's chi. That's how I'm able to tell if someone is human, or if they're a disembodied soul like Al or Barry, or if they're a homunculus like Gluttony or Envy."
"Yeah, so?"
"When we first met up in this place, I should have been able to tell whether or not you were Envy in disguise without asking, but I wasn't."
Ed looked thoughtful. "So you think this place is blocking your sense of chi?"
"That's one explanation, but I don't know. There's just something about this place that…Get down!"
Ling hastily grabbed Ed and pulled him behind a nearby boulder.
Ed looked confused. "What is it?"
Ling peered out from behind the boulder. "Look, I think it might be Envy."
Ed looked. Several yards away there was an enormous stone slab in the middle of the ocean of blood. Toward the back of the slab was a fragment of a large mural with the image of a large red stone on it. In front of the mural was a small fire, and next to the fire was a young boy, who looked around 12 or 13 years old. His hair was black and fell past his shoulders. His clothes were ragged and dirty, and his skin was unusually pale. He was sitting cross-legged, and was staring into the fire with a sad expression on his face.
Ed looked carefully at the boy. "Hold on, I don't think it's Envy."
Ling shook his head. "I know it doesn't look like him, but he's probably in disguise."
"But why would he bother being in disguise? He doesn't appear to have seen us. And if he was going to disguise himself, it would make more sense for him to try to disguise himself as one of us, not some kid we've never seen before."
The kid reached forward, grabbed what looked like a leather shoe, and placed it on the ground in front of him. He clapped his hands together, pressed them to the ground, and the leather shoe transformed into a gelatinous looking substance.
Ling's eyes widened. "Was that…?"
Ed gasped. "Alchemy! And he didn't use a transmutation circle!"
He smiled. "Well, that proves it. As far as I know, homunculi can't use alchemy. This isn't Envy. Look, you can see signs that he's been living here for a while."
As they looked around, they noticed more details about the stone slab. Off in one corner was what looked like a stone bed, with transmutation marks all over it. To the side was a strange assortment of items that looked like the collection of a an eccentric hoarder. All across the stone slab were random drawings and doodles.
Ling frowned. "But who is he? And why would he be here in this dreadful place?"
Ed shrugged. "Maybe he got swallowed by Gluttony too. Well, there's only one way to find out."
He stepped out into the open and raised his voice. "Hello!"
The child yelped at the sudden break in the silence. As soon as he caught sight of Ed, he bolted across the stone slab and hid behind the mural fragment. He peered fearfully at Ed and Ling.
Ed raised his hands. "It's okay, we're not going to hurt you. We just want to talk."
The child didn't look reassured. "Who are you?"
Ed patted himself. "My name's Edward Elric."
"And I'm Ling Yao."
"What's your name?"
The child looked sadly at the ground, then back up at them. "I don't know."
Ed looked uncertainly at the child. "You don't know? You mean you don't remember?"
The child shook his head. "I don't know."
Ed decided to try a different tactic. "Okay. How did you get here?"
The child glanced around. "I don't know."
Ed began to look annoyed. "Is that your answer for everything?!"
The child's eyes widened, and he retreated further behind the mural fragment.
Ling frowned."Don't scare him Ed."
Ed looked apologetic, and the child hesitantly spoke up.
"It's just…I've been here for as long as I can remember."
Ed looked astonished. "What? How long have you been here?"
The child looked down. "I don't...I'm not sure. The voices say they tell time by the sun, or by a clock, but I don't really understand what either of those things are, and I haven't been able to find either of them down here."
Ling tilted his head. "Voices?"
The child nodded, his expression nervous. "Yeah. Sometimes, I hear these voices. I can never tell if they're coming from out there in the darkness, or if they're coming from inside my head. Most of the time they just scream and say things that scare me. Sometimes, though, I can talk to them, and they give me advice."
Ling looked uneasily around the area, while Ed asked another question.
"Are they the ones who taught you alchemy?"
The child looked confused. "Alchemy?"
Ed gestured at some of the transmutations. "You know, what you've been doing here."
"Oh. No, the voices didn't tell me how to do this. It's just something that seems to come naturally to me. I know how to do it, but I don't know how I know."
Ed put a hand to his chin. "Then you must have seen the Truth."
"The Truth?"
Ed nodded. "You can use alchemy just by clapping your hands. That means you must have seen the Truth at some point."
The child frowned. "What is the Truth?"
"It's hard to describe. It looks like a large gateway inside a white void."
The child looked thoughtful. "Actually…that does sound familiar."
He put his right hand on his head, and looked like he was concentrating very hard.
"Yes, I think I remember something like that. I remember…I remember sitting in front of that gate for a while. A long while. Then, I remember hearing someone screaming."
"What happened after you heard that?"
The child looked at his right hand. "I remember reaching forward to the gate. I grabbed onto something, I felt intense pain throughout my body, the gateway opened…and then I wound up here."
Ed tilted his head. "That's strange. And you don't remember anything before seeing the Truth?"
The child shook his head. "No."
"Then you must have lost your memory somehow."
Ed grimaced. "This doesn't make any sense. How did you end up here by passing through the gateway? And how did we get here by being swallowed by Gluttony?
Ling looked at the ground. "Maybe we're dead?"
Ed looked sharply at Ling. "What?"
Ling shrugged. "It's a possibility, don't you think? This place does look a lot like hell."
Ed shook his head. "Well, I suppose that's possible, but from what I saw of the Truth, I'm pretty sure this isn't the kind of place that souls go once they pass beyond the gate. No, something else is going on here."
He looked back at the child. "Do you know if there's any way out of here?"
The child shook his head. "No. I've looked, but it all starts to look the same after a while. I just try to scrounge around for food and supplies, and avoid the angry voices. Although, I've never actually seen anyone else in person until you two showed up."
Ed stepped back. "Huh. Well, I'm sure we'll figure out a way out of here. And when we do, we'll take you with us."
The child's eyes widened. "You will?"
Ed nodded. "Of course! We couldn't leave you here in this dark depressing place all by yourself!"
The child looked taken aback by this, but hesitantly smiled. "Thank you."
They sat at the campfire for a little while. The child shared some of the edible items he'd managed to find, and Ed and Ling told him about what the outside world was like.
Ed noticed that the child's right arm and left leg were slightly darker in color than the rest of his body, but didn't pay much attention to this detail.
Eventually the child noticed Ed's automail arm. "Why is your hand made of metal?"
Ed looked down. "Oh, I...lost my real one, so I got it replaced with automail."
The child looked like he was going to ask another question, but stopped, and stood up.
Ling looked at him uncertainly. "What's wrong?"
The child pointed into the darkness. "There's something coming toward us. From over there."
Ling peered into the darkness, and spotted the thing. "Is that…?"
Envy walked into view. "I thought so, I should have known it'd be you guys."
He looked at the child with a frown. "Who is this?"
The child hid behind Ling's back, his face once again frightened. "Who is that?"
Ling eyed the homunculus warily. "That's Envy. He's a bad guy, and we…"
Ed stepped forward. "Please show me the way out of here!"
Ling looked at Ed in astonishment. "You're just going to start begging the enemy for help like that?!"
"If it means surviving I'll be his best friend!"
"You idiot!"
"It doesn't matter because there is no exit."
Ed, Ling, and the child turned toward Envy in surprise.
Envy sat down on a rock with a look of annoyance. "You've really gotten us into a fine mess. I can't believe you got me swallowed with you."
Ling frowned. "You just said swallowed. So we really are inside Gluttony's stomach?"
Envy sighed. "Well yes and no, see it's a lot more complicated than that. Just ask the pipsqueak. He should've realized what place this is."
Ed scowled at the pipsqueak remark, but looked around thoughtfully.
"Now that you mention it, I did notice something odd when Gluttony swallowed us. It was like a familiar feeling of some sort."
Envy eyes narrowed. "So you do remember then. This isn't the first time you've been through this."
Ed gasped, and his eyes widened. "The portal of Truth!"
The child looked at Ed uncertainly. "The Truth?"
Ed nodded. "Yeah, Gluttony's second mouth looked similar to the portal. But, it wasn't pitch black and filled with a sea of blood."
The child scratched his head. "Yeah, it looked like…an entirely white void."
Envy looked mildly interested. "Oh yeah? So that's what the real one looks like."
Ed turned back toward Envy. "The real one?"
Envy nodded. "Gluttony is the result of a failed experiment by our Father to create his own portal of Truth."
Ed took a step back. "He's a what?"
"Despite how powerful our Father is he still couldn't create one. We're trapped inside a defective portal of Truth. So this place, it exists somewhere between reality and Truth."
"In between?"
Envy's expression became cold and grim. "And I can assure you that there's no way out of here. The only option we've got is to sit here until our strength runs out, and that's it. All we can do is wait here to die."
Ed was stunned into silence for a few minutes.
"No. Don't think I'm falling for any of that crap. I know you're lying to us Envy. You're lying, aren't you?!"
Envy scoffed. "Oh please. If I knew of a way out of here, do you think I'd still be hanging around having this lovely little conversation with you? I'd be long gone if there was an exit. The only reason I'm bothering to tell you any of this is so you understand the severity of the mistake you made by dragging us down here, pipsqueak."
Ling paled. "So there really isn't a way out? We're going to die here?"
The child looked at the ground sadly.
Ed clenched his right fist. "No, wait. I can't die here. What's Al going to do if I die? We made a promise, and he needs me to get back to normal."
He glared at Envy. "Damn it, I want to know who your Father is. Who would try to create their own portal? It's Fuhrer Bradley, isn't it?"
Envy rolled his eyes. "What, are you serious? Nice try, but King Bradley is nothing more than a homunculus."
Ling nodded grimly. "Told you so."
The child looked up at Ling. "What's a homunculus?"
Ling explained. "An artificially created human. They're evil monsters who are planning something bad for the country of Amestris."
Ed kept his gaze on Envy. "And if the Fuhrer is on your side, then I'm guessing you're the ones behind Ishval."
"Oh Ishval!"
Envy laughed. "I couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable job than that. You remember the incident that started the war, right?"
Ed frowned. "I'd always heard it was because an Amestrian soldier accidentally shot an Ishvalan child."
Envy nodded. "Yep. And the one that proudly pulled the trigger was none other than yours truly."
Ed's eyes widened in shock, and his entire face contorted with white hot fury. The child asked Ling about Ishval, and he tried to explain as best he could. While they were whispering, Ed kept his focus on Envy, who continued talking.
"You have no idea how good that felt. I ravaged their entire country with a single bullet. Talk about invigorating."
Ed jumped off the stone slab and began walking toward the homunculus, now literally shaking with rage.
"Oh and the best part, the officer I pretended to be was actually a moderate who always publicly opposed the military's occupation in Ishval. The poor fool couldn't come up with a plausible defense and they court martialed him."
Envy grinned maliciously. "You know I don't think I'll ever get over how easily manipulated humans are."
Envy laughed coldly, while Ed bared his teeth.
"So you're responsible. You were the one who shot and killed that poor innocent child. You were the one who drove out the Ishvalans from their homeland. You're the one who turned Scar into a murderer."
His face became livid. "And it was you, you're the reason Winry's parents were killed!"
He swung his right fist back. "You're the one to blame!"
Ed swung his fist toward Envy's face as fast and as hard as he could, but Envy deftly caught his fist. Before he could react, Envy kicked him in the chest, sending him flying back. He winced in pain, but managed to stay standing.
Ling and the child ran to his side.
Ling reached him first. "Ed, you all right?"
Envy looked at Ed with contempt. "Okay then, if that's how you want it pipsqueak. Our Father gave us orders prohibiting us from killing you, but seeing how we're going to be stuck in this black pit for all eternity those orders don't matter to me anymore. So…"
He slowly stood up, and red alchemical light began to shine from every part of his body.
He grinned viciously. "I'm going to show you boys something neat before we die. Consider it a parting gift."
His form began to change, and his voice deepened as he said the last few words.
Ling grimaced. "Did you notice his footprints, back when we were all fighting in the forest?"
Ed looked at Ling in surprise. "What? No."
"They made unusually deep impressions in the ground whenever he fell off balance."
"What's your point?"
"Just that he's freakishly heavy for the size of his body. He might be a bit bigger than he looks."
As the red light faded, they could clearly see what Envy had morphed into, and their hearts stopped.
Envy was now an enormous green animal the size of a barn, towering over them, looking like a demon that had come straight from hell.
The child screamed in terror, and bolted behind a nearby rock. Ed and Ling also hurried to get away from Envy as he came crashing down, sending out a wave of blood that washed over the stone slab.
Ed struggled to maintain his balance. "Damn!"
Ling ran toward Ed's side, and the child soon followed, looking back at Envy in terror. Surprisingly, Envy didn't try to chase them.
He wants this fight to last as long as possible. Ed realized. I suppose I can see why. If we're truly stuck here, it doesn't really matter who wins. Still...
Ling looked at Envy incredulously. "What the hell? How is that a homunculus? They're supposed to be artificial humans, right?"
He turned to Ed. "Can you make a weapon?"
Ed nodded. "You got it. With this ocean of blood, there's plenty of iron to work with."
He clapped his hands together and pressed them into the blood, creating a sword that he then tossed to Ling.
Ling shook his head at the skull on the hilt of the sword. "You have the tackiest sense of taste."
Ed smiled slightly while he turned his arm into a blade. "Come on, I think it looks pretty damn sharp myself."
He looked back at Envy, who was chuckling at them, his deep voice echoing throughout the area.
"Can we take him?"
Ling shook his head. "I doubt it. He is a giant monster. And, on top of that, I'm pretty sure he broke one of my ribs back in the forest."
"Yeah, I'm pretty beat up myself."
Ed's face became determined. "But that's beside the point. All that matters now is filling him with some pain."
He glanced at the child. "Do you think you can fight with your alchemy?"
The child nodded uncertainly. "I can try. But, why are we fighting?"
Ed glared at Envy. "He's a homunculus, an evil despicable monster who has to be destroyed no matter what. The odds are against us, but we can't just give up."
Ed clapped his hands and pressed them into the blood again. This time he used the blood to create several iron pillars that shot out toward Envy. Envy blocked most of them with his front legs, but still grunted in pain at the impact.
After a moment of hesitation, the child mimicked Ed, and sent his own series of pillars toward Envy. However, he hadn't mastered his abilities yet, and most of the pillars fell apart before they reached Envy.
Envy chuckled at the child's feeble attempt at alchemy, but his laughter abruptly stopped once Ed renewed his attack. Emboldened, the child tried again, this time with better results, and Envy was forced to retreat a few yards.
While Envy's attention was focused on the two alchemists, Ling had circled around, looking for an opening. When he found one, he immediately rushed in. He sprinted underneath Envy, and put a deep gash in Envy's stomach, causing a large spurt of blood to be ejected from the wound.
Envy roared in pain, startling Ed and the child.
Ling called out. "Run Ed!"
Envy swiveled around, glaring at the Xingese prince. "Bastard!"
Envy swung his tail around, and it smacked into Ling, sending him flying. He hit one of the rock pillars, and gasped in pain as he felt his body meet the unforgiving stone.
Ed looked at Ling in alarm. "Ling!"
Envy splashed his feet in the blood, sending a wave toward Ed and the child. The child was caught off guard, and the wave carried him away, but Ed was able to avoid the wave and began running toward Envy. He clapped his hands together, and manipulated the blood so that it carried him away from Envy's front and to Envy's side.
Once there, he ran forward, brandishing his blade. "All right Envy, time to die!"
But he froze when he saw what was on Envy's side.
Envy's monstrous form had been covered with what looked like the faces, arms, and legs of a multitude of people, sickeningly fused to the homunculus's enormous body. Ed had assumed that these were merely an aesthetic that Envy had chosen in order to frighten or disgust them. But now that he was up close...
One of the faces had tears running down its face, and was looking at Ed desperately.
"Kill me! Kill me! Help me die! I beg you! Please kill me! Please!"
Ed took a step back, and he noticed that the other faces were also speaking, pleading, crying, even laughing, and he became overwhelmed with horror as he realized what he was looking at.
The first soul he'd noticed continued to beg for death, until it was abruptly given to him when Ling came in out of nowhere, stabbing it in the head before grabbing Ed and dragging him away from Envy.
Envy looked at Ling in annoyance, but an alchemical attack from the child redirected his attention away from Ed and Ling.
Ling glared at Ed. "Come on, snap out of it you idiot! Why didn't you attack him?"
Ed was staring at the ground, feeling numb with horror. "A person. Those are people. They need our help, they're trapped inside him."
"That's a trick Ed. He's a monster!"
"But..."
Ling roughly shook Ed. "Listen to me! Whatever those things might have been, they're now a part of that monster. We have to kill him, forget about anything else!"
Envy lowered his head toward them. "Oh really? You think you can actually kill me? I think you're vastly overestimating your abilities."
Envy swiped at Ling, but Ling dodged the attack, and with a quick slash of his sword managed to cut off Envy's fingers.
Envy howled in pain, and his arm suddenly stretched forward, farther than it should have been able to reach, and smacked into Ling hard, sending him flying away.
Envy looked momentarily satisfied, but the next second he roared in pain again. The child had gained better control of his abilities, and had created several large iron spikes that impaled Envy's side.
Envy broke free of the spikes, and glared down at the child. "You damn brat!"
Envy grabbed the child with one of his middle limbs, and smashed him into the ground, submerging him beneath the blood.
Ed let out a deep breath. "Okay, just ignore the voices."
He rushed forward to help the child, and to actually attack Envy. "Ignore the voices, focus on..."
But just as Ed reached Envy, even though he was trying his hardest to ignore the cries of the souls trapped within Envy, one of the voices managed to reach him, and he froze.
"Big brother, can we play?"
The voice sounded like that of a little girl. Like Nina...
"Will we get to play soon?"
Ed stared at the souls in sorrow, and his will to fight drained away, a fact that was not lost on Envy.
Envy reached down to grab Ed. "I'm done playing with you, pipsqueak."
He grabbed Ed, and smacked Ed into a nearby rock. As he fell, he caught a glimpse of the mural fragment from before.
He closed his eyes. "Al...I'm sorry."
Envy extended his tongue out, and wrapped it around Ed's body.
Ling called out. "Open your eyes Ed!"
The child managed to stick his head out from under the blood, gasping for air.
He was still pinned down by Envy, and there were tears running down his cheeks. "It hurts..."
Ling looked at Ed frantically. "Please, wake up!"
But Ling couldn't move fast enough to save him. It was all he could do just to stand.
The next second, Envy swallowed Ed whole.
Ling's eyes widened in horror. "No, Ed!"
As Ed was slowly dragged inside Envy, he could hear the whispers of the souls all around him. After a moment, he felt something change. He opened his eyes and saw a bright red stone.
What is that? It looks like…it's his core. A philosopher's stone.
His mind drifted to the mural fragment he'd seen on the stone slab, and suddenly he remembered the mural he'd seen at Xerxes. All at once an idea came to him.
He raised his voice. "Open up Envy, your breath is killing me! I think I've got a way to get us out of here."
Envy froze.
"Come on Envy, let me out!"
After a brief moment of hesitation, Envy relented. He spat Ed back out, and released the child.
A short while later, Ed and Ling were bandaging their wounds as best they could. Surprisingly, the child had managed to make it through the fight without sustaining any injuries, though he was dirty and covered with blood.
Envy returned and set down several large pieces of stone. "I collected all the fragments I could find."
Ling looked at the mural fragments. "So this stuff, it's all from Xerxes?"
Ed nodded. "Yeah, it's part of a large mural. I saw it up close when I went to the ruins. I thought it was the same as the transmutation circle from the fifth laboratory, the one to make philosopher's stones, but it's slightly different. It's actually a summoning circle for human transmutation."
"Human transmutation. Isn't that used to bring back dead people?"
"Not exactly. Alchemy is based on equivalent exchange. It's impossible to revive a soul that no longer exists in this world. You can trust me on that one. So, anyway, this is where I got the idea to get us out of here. I can't bring back the dead, but what would happen if I transmuted myself?"
Ling looked surprised. "You mean a living person?"
"Exactly. I can use this transmutation circle to deconstruct myself, then I can just put myself back together. That's human transmutation, and it'll open the portal."
Ed glanced at Envy. "You said that Gluttony is a defective portal of Truth. I bet if we pass through the real portal we'll wind up in our own reality. I'll open up the portal, and then you three jump in it."
The child looked worried. "What happens if it goes wrong?"
Ed shook his head. "Then it'll rebound. A failed transmutation ricochets onto the one who performed it. In this case, that would be me."
Ling shrugged. "I'm not going to act like I know anything about alchemy. This is all yours."
Ed glanced up at Envy. "Hey Envy, I've got something else I wanted to ask you. The philosopher's stone is made with living humans, isn't that correct?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"How could a nation as advanced as Xerxes fall, let alone in a single night? These stone fragments of the mural, you put them here to hide the evidence."
Ed's face darkened. "You killed them. You sacrificed all of Xerxes. You turned them into a philosopher's stone!"
Ling gasped in shock, while Ed looked angrily at the large homunculus.
"Who did this? Who slaughtered the population of an entire country? Who created all of you? It was your Father, wasn't it? And now he's got something planned for Amestris too, doesn't he?"
Envy grinned. "You get us out of here and I'll gladly tell you everything."
Ed grimaced, and he could tell that Envy wasn't going to tell him anything.
"You've spent enough time beating around the bush, I'm tired of waiting for you to ask. You need to pay a toll to open the portal, right?"
Envy opened his mouth and displayed his philosopher's stone. "This should work."
Ed looked at the faces all over Envy's body with a grimace. "Those are people, aren't they?"
"At one time, but their minds and bodies crumbled long ago. All that's left is energy to be consumed."
Ed frowned.
"Is that pity? How childish are you? It's the nature of things, the powerful consume the weak."
"No, it's wrong."
Envy scoffed. "Oh come on. Surely you know better than that. Every living creature on this planet has to take the life force of something else in order to survive. Do you ever consider the feelings of the animals you've killed and eaten? Or do you just focus on living, knowing that consuming lower life forms is inevitable?"
Ed grimaced, but was unable to deny that the homunculus had a point.
Envy continued. "Anyways, why are you so squeamish about the idea of a philosopher's stone? There are plenty of humans to go around, and a stone would be the perfect way to get your bodies back."
Ed shook his head. "No, I don't want Al and me to get our original bodies back if it means sacrificing someone else's life!"
Envy laughed harshly, his voice reverberating through their bodies. "I thought for sure you would have gotten the message after your pathetic attempt to bring back mommy."
Ed glared at him, while the child looked slightly confused.
"You've got to spend life to make life. Come on, this is basic alchemy here. Don't kid yourself into thinking there's a way around that, cause there's not."
Envy lowered his head so that his eye was right next to Ed. "As they say, death is the high cost of living."
Ed shook his head, but didn't respond.
After a while, they had the transmutation circle set up.
Ed stepped back. "All right."
He looked at the child. "You, go with Ling. I'm sure he'll look after you."
The child nodded uncertainly. "Okay."
Ed turned to Ling. "Ling, this might not work out for me. If so, you've got to warn people about these guys plans."
Ling shrugged. "I'm not that concerned about Amestris. It's not my country."
Ed frowned. "Are you serious?"
Ling smiled softly. "You've got people you love waiting for you, don't you? So just make it back alive and tell them yourself."
Ed nodded, then turned toward Envy.
He looked at the people on Envy's body sadly. "I'm sorry, but I need to use you."
He took a deep breath. "Get ready."
Ling looked at Ed thoughtfully. That pose he makes when he transmutes, I knew it reminded me of something. He almost looks like he's praying.
Ed clapped his hands together and activated the circle. After a moment, the portal opened.
Ed looked at it grimly. "Long time no see. Too bad this isn't why I planned on opening you again."
He looked at Ling and the child. "Jump in it, now!"
They reluctantly but quickly complied, and were immediately deconstructed. Envy soon followed.
Ed looked at the four fading souls who had paid the price for their escape.
I'm sorry. Thank you.
After passing through, he found himself in front of his portal of truth.
Ed let out a sigh of relief. "All right. I made it."
He glanced behind him, and was surprised to see another gateway directly opposite to his.
"Were there always two portals?"
After a moment, he noticed someone sitting in front of the gate. They were terribly thin, but their hair was gold, and the face familiar.
Ed's eyes widened. That's Al's body.
He frantically ran toward Al's body, but his own portal opened and began to drag him back.
"Al, come on! Please! Hurry Al! Al!
Al's body stood up and shook his head sadly. "I can't. I can only leave with my own soul. I'm sorry I can't go with you."
Ed looked down with defeat, but abruptly looked back up, determined to get one last word in before he was dragged back to the real world.
"Alphonse! Look at me! I promise someday soon I'm coming back for you! Just you wait! Wait for me!"
Author's Note: So as some of you might have already guessed, the child is Wrath from the 2003 anime. Obviously he won't be called Wrath in this story, as King Bradley is Wrath, but his backstory will be pretty much the same as in the 2003 anime, albeit with a few tweaks.
To me Wrath from the 2003 anime embodies everything that was great and flawed about the 2003 anime, a brilliant idea held back by a lackluster execution. For those who don't know, in the 2003 version Wrath was the result of the failed human transmutation by Izumi to bring back her stillborn child. After it failed, she surrendered the homunculus to the gate, where it dwelled for years. Then, when Ed and Al tried to bring back their mother and Ed subsequently lost his limbs, Wrath ended up assimilating them, gaining a human arm and leg. This allowed him to perform alchemy, and eventually enabled him to escape back to the real world.
I honestly think the idea behind this character is extremely clever. The backstory is very interesting, and creates a fascinating dynamic between them and the other characters, particularly the Elric brothers, Izumi, and the other homunculi.
The problem is that they don't do anything interesting with him. In fact, after he's introduced he has almost no influence at all on the main plot, making him a useless character. And on top of that, he's by far the most annoying and obnoxious character, and this undermines the show's attempts to make him sympathetic.
So while his basic backstory will be more or less the same, his character development will be different, and I'll try to make his personality less annoying. As for what that development will be, or how exactly he ended up in Gluttony's stomach, well, you'll have to wait and see.
Also, I changed it so that the characters don't yet know that Father intends to destroy Amestris the way he destroyed Xerxes, nor do they know he's trying to surpass God. I thought it was pretty weird that his intention of surpassing God would be on the ruins in Xerxes. Personally, I think it would make more sense if Father was initially only interested in escaping from his flask and achieving immortality. It's only after much time has passed that he eventually isn't satisfied with immortality alone, and wishes to surpass God.
Next time we have a look at what the other characters were doing while Ed and Ling were having their little misadventure.
Edit: So in the original version of this chapter, I'd gotten a bit lazy and hadn't written out the fight between Envy and Ed, Ling, and the child, skipping past that part in the hopes that nobody would mind too much. But it did always bother me that I'd cut that particular corner, so now I've fleshed that out, making the chapter feel more complete in my opinion. So far the biggest change I've made to a chapter, but I think it was for the better. Let me know what you think.
