THE OUTSIDER
by Iland Girl
"For those without 'purpose'."
A Fullmetal Alchemist Fanfiction
I don't own anybody but my OC's!
Chapter 33
"Fight"
"So far, about morals, I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after."
― Ernest Hemingway
(Erin)
I snuck as quietly as I could down the hallways.
The place seemed to be void of life at the front. I figured the party had been taken to the back, so I slunk along quietly.
A deep fear and anger resonated me at the situation. My shoulders tensed as the memories of my wounds came back.
The chair.
The laughter.
The screaming.
I scowled then as I heard a voice in one of the rooms.
"Nobody's going to save you hun!"
The voice still rung clearly in my head. The time I spent tied either to the wall or in that damned chair.
Al...
Please be alright.
I slammed the door open and looked inside.
About five guys stood around the room; a suit of armour was tied up int he corner.
Alphonse.
I looked back to all of the other guys and realized I had not thought this one through.
Maybe Hadley went to get Edward? I hoped he would figure out where I was and soon. My hair was starting to sweat at the thought of having to fight these guys. I wasn't talented enough to take them all on.
"Erin!" Al cried out.
The man standing in front of Al looked me over once before smirking.
"Oh, so you're the Erin I heard so much about," his eyes roved over me once before he gave off a smirk that made me frown. "Didn't think I'd find something like this."
He turned to Al then and laughed.
"Who would've thought you'd have this as a sister!"
Time seemed to stop then.
"Um... excuse me?" Al asked. I just blanked as I stared at Greed. He frowned.
"Erin Elric? Alphonse Elric? C'mon I thought that meant you were related. Don't tell me this is some weird coincidence." Greed said. Where the Hell did he get this from? Still, it was probably better than giving my real name.
"Right... I just thought... never mind..." I said in a way to veer of the subject.
"How do you you know about me? Why did you kidnap Al?" I asked, trying my best not to let my voice shake. It didn't, but my flesh hand was shaking a little from nerves. Maybe I could talk myself out of a fight?
The man chuckled before giving a flourish.
"Because I wanted to. And what I want, I get." He said as he took a few sultry steps towards me. I tensed but never moved.
"See, my name is Greed. I demand all the finer things in life. Money and power, possessions and status," he grinned as he stopped right in front of me and gave a not so innocent look. "Women and sex."
My eyes narrowed as he gazed into my orbs. His were a amethyst that were so catlike and...very familiar...
Eyes that I had seen before.
On Envy.
On Lust.
Avidity...
Gluttony...
My heart nearly stopped.
"Homunculous." I whispered. I didn't mean to say anything, it just sort of slipped out, and now Greed gave me a funny look. As I gazed closer, I realized he had an Oroborus tattoo on his hand as well.
My skin felt cold as I realized just how bad the situation was.
"Hm? Well someone's paying attention!" Greed half shouted. A short laugh left his lips. "From the looks of his somebody else already payed you a visit. Who was it? Envy? Avidity? Callous? Oh oh! I know, how about Silence? A real keeper that one is. Never shuts up."
"Who told you about me?" I half whispered. My voice shook very badly then. This was a very bad situation. "Who's side are you on? Envy's? Avidity's?"
Greed chuckled a little before shrugging.
"Who me? I'm on Greed's side. That's all I need," he said simply before taking a step back towards Alphonse. "As for who told me. A little kid who wanted to know about immortality."
Ling.
Dammit, this wasn't good. Though if he didn't work for either side...
"And what did you want to know about me for?" I asked. My voice didn't shake as much, but I was still very much afraid.
He turned to me suddenly and grabbed my hand. The moment he touched me I could feel it, but when he placed it on his chest I realized exactly what was going on.
Souls.
Thousands and thousands of souls were trapped inside of his body. I could feel his entire make up then as I stared to where my hand touched him. My eyes drifted upwards as I stared in awe. Greed grinned.
"You can feel that, can't you? All those souls. That's because you can see the Azoth. It's the reason Dante wants you." He said.
He didn't need to elaborate for me to finally understand.
"So I can make another stone."
"Bingo! Damn bitch has been trying to replace me for centuries. However I don't think I want to be replaced." Greed said with a darker tone at the end. I could understand what was going on then.
"How did you know about Al?" I asked before turning to look at him. My hand was dropped as Greed chuckled.
"I've got connections in the underground, little girl, I can find my way around and hear a rumour or two." He said as though it were a simple fact.
"And why did you want to know about me?" I asked after a beat of silence. The smirk that spread across Greed's face told me he had a darker meaning to his next words.
"I told you. I'm very Greedy. And I think you can help me fulfil some of my ambitions." He said with a great amount of passion. I looked to Alphonse for a moment before back to Greed.
"I'll help you, if you let him go. Right now." I said. Greed looked at Al then back to me before chuckling.
"And if I refuse?" He challenged.
What could I do? I wasn't strong enough of a fighter to take him on. I wasn't talented enough with alchemy to do long range attacks.
The imagery of when I was in the Fifth Laboratory came back to me as I thought of how I got away from Envy. What had I done? It was like something had controlled me. I remembered seeing the make up. At the time I didn't have any idea what I was seeing, but now I did. Yet I still had no idea what the make up was.
Greed snorted at my lack of response.
"Look, I don't want to fight a girl, it's just not my style," Greed said as though this were a hassle. "Tell you what, you stick with me and I'll let the kid go. Deal?"
I went silent for a moment.
"No don't do it!" Alphonse yelled at me. I looked at him quickly before giving a sad smile. "You can't! We have a long journey still!"
It went quiet for a moment before Al continued.
"I don't care what happens, but you promised you'd fix everything! You promsied you weren't leaving!" Al said, falling into a desperate tone. I hung my head for a moment before biting my lip.
"Sorry Greed," I said faintly before turning to look at him. "But Al's right, I've got a job to do."
Greed snorted.
"Well that was a waste of time," he turned to two men who had stood on either side of Alphonse. "Dolcetto, Roa, escort Ms. Lallier to her new room."
Both nodded before approaching me. I frowned before clapping my hands together. However before I could even do anything the door flew off of it's hinges.
Edward and Izumi stood there. Looking all ready to fight. I swear I nearly cried tears of joy at the sight of them.
There is a God and his name is Timing!
Here I thought I might've actually had to fight.
"Brother! Teacher!" Al called happily. I noted how much chipper he was to see them than me. What? I know I'm not that strong and all but...
"Erin, Al!" Edward shouted. "So, guess you found him first."
"Look out! He's a Homunculus!" Alphonse shouted then. Greed frowned then.
"C'mon kid, don't ruin the surprise!" He groaned. Ed and Izumi looked at him with surprise on their faces.
"Homunculus? Another one?" Edward asked.
Greed smirked before grabbing my arm and yanking me in front of him.
"I hate to do this but I really have no desire to fight a lady and a pipsqueak-"
Edward lost it at that.
"WHOAREYOUCALLINGALOUSYLITTLEPIPSQUEAAAAAAAK!"
"Whoa, easy kid," Greed threatened as I tried to push his arm away. I freed an arm and elbowed at him, but his skin felt like steel and all I did was hurt myself before he grabbed my arm again and held it against my chest. "All I want is to do this peacefully."
"You lost peaceful when you took my brother! And you damn well killed it when you touched her!" Edward shouted before going to clap his hands. Greed squeezed me then and I flinched. Ed halted then.
Air...
I really needed some air.
"Let her go right now or so help me I-" Izumi began but Greed cut him off.
"You'll what? You can't hurt me!" Greed half shouted.
I looked to my hands which were almost together across my chest. If I could just touched them together and do a transmutation...
Closer and closer I inched them.
"Let go!" Al shouted.
My fingers touched; I drew a circle inside of me. My flesh hand reached for Greed's arm, but the angle was too much, so instead I reached for my automail arm.
I pictured the elements before rearranging them into a blade. It tore up my sleeves completely.
From the pressure he had been putting on me where the blade now laid. His arm was cut in two almost instantly. Without much thought I pushed away. Greed stood in shock for a moment before glaring down at where I was slumped on the floor. I flipped over and crawled backwards when I saw the look on his face.
"You little bi-"
Greed was cut off as Edward took the opening and attacked. A feral cry left the blond's mouth as he struck at Greed.
"Greed!" One of his henchmen called.
"Get the kid out of here, get the girl too!" Greed called as he easily took on the temperamental Edward. I winced as he kicked Ed in the gut.
Men zeroed in on either myself or Al. Dolcetto and Roa took Alphonse while two others came for me. Izumi took care of them though as I turned to see Al being forced down a hallway.
"Al!" I called before running right by Greed and Ed.
"Erin!" Izumi called, but didn't slow down. I caught up with the trio shortly after. They turned to look at me as I prepped my automail in front of me.
"Give him back!" I shouted.
"No can do kid, Roa and I gotta follow our orders." Said one of them, Dolcetto by the sound of it.
"He's not a possession! He's like a brother to me, so give him back!" I said as Roa dropped Al off his shoulder.
Gunfire could be heard from where I had been. I turned around in time to see five soldiers rush in and raise their guns.
There wasn't even time to say 'don't shoot' before they fired on us.
I gave a short cry as one bullet hit my automail before ricocheting. The blast shook me before I turned tail to run. To my surprise Dolcetto grabbed my arm and shoved me in front of him. This gave me some cover as I ran. Roa picked up Al and we all booked it.
We ran around a corner before I clapped my hands and closed the hallway. They couldn't follow us now. Still, I had the feeling if more came they'd find a way through.
"Elric! C'mon! Move your ass!" Dolcetto growled to me from a hole in the ground. It looked like it lead to a sewer. Reforming my arm back to its original state, I didn't question it as I followed after the small group.
Down I went...
Into a sewer...
Ugh.
When I landed, I looked at the duo along with Al slung over Roa's shoulder. This would inhibit him and as much as I wanted that, if those gunmen came back it would slow him down and possibly get Al and him both killed.
"I would say give Al back, but right now letting him at least walk freely would be a good idea." I said. The idea that Ed and Izumi had to deal with these soldiers terrified me.
"Are you alright Erin?" Al asked. I nodded shortly before showing where the bullet hit my metal arm. Just above the elbow.
"Just a scratch, I'm fine." I said before seeing Dolcetto and Roa look at each other. They nodded in some sort of silent agreement before Roa put Al down and Dolcetto cut the bonds with his sword.
"Thank you," I said. "For this, and for saving me back there."
Dolcetto rolled his shoulder before looking over to me. Then he turned and started walking.
"I can see it in your eye, you don't trust us. But you want to," he began as we all followed. "It means you know pain like we do. Call it a hunch but I think we're more alike than you think."
A small smile broke across my lips then.
"Either way, I'm still grateful." I said. Dolcetto looked at me once more before a pink tinge covered his cheeks and he looked away.
"Yeah well you better move your ass next time!" He said.
"Dolcetto right?" Al spoke up. Dolcetto glanced over his shoulder at Al. I walked slightly behind him and Al behind me. Roa brought up the rear. "Where are you taking us?"
"Outside, Greed has a rendezvous point planned for today. We'll all head there and plan our next step then." Dolcetto said.
Before I could argue, a soft sound came from the way we were heading. I looked ahead into the darkness to see a slump of something running at us. I recognized the dark fur quite quickly then.
"Yo it's Alcide! About time you showed up mutt!" Dolcetto said to the approaching dog. I frowned before looking at him. Here I had been calling him Benjamin all this time.
"Alcide? That's your name?" I asked as the dog ran up to me and licked my hand. Dolcetto looked to me then.
"You know him?"
"I-" My thought was cut short as Alcide took my automail arm in his mouth and roughly yanked me to turn around. "Alcide!" I scolded and tried to pull away.
He whimpered then and I relented a few steps.
"What's the matter boy?" Dolcetto asked. Maybe it was Hadley; but why would she be here? Suddenly he tensed and turned to see something else in the darkness. "Aw crap."
We turned to see an approaching figure then. I didn't recognize him, but the man looked pretty old to be working. Still his physique was probably better than mine.
"Well well. Fuhrer King Bradley himself." Dolcetto said. Despite his snarky tone I could see sweat gather on his forehead.
This was not good.
The King of the nation was now facing us. And he didn't seem like he was in the mood to negotiate.
"You must be Erin Lallier, the friend of the Fullmetal Alchemist." Bradley stated. I nearly wanted to cry for joy, but then look in his eye...
It gave me intense chills.
He was going to kill them, and I didn't want him to.
No more blood.
No more dying.
"Guess this is it," Dolcetto said as Roa stood next to him. "Kinda wish the gunmen got us."
"This is a better story though." Roa argued.
They were really going to die here? For what?
Dolcetto turned to me and nodded to Alcide.
"I'd follow him if I were you. You'll be safe." He said, finality in his words. Roa turned to Alphonse then.
"You keep her safe, alright kid?" Roa asked. Keep who safe? Me? They were letting us go?
"So you took both of Fullmetal's partners as hostages. Very well then," Bradley said as he took a step forwards. I placed my hands behind my back and gently clapped them together. My hand deftly touched the wall beside me. Bradley lunged forward. "I'll protect you."
BOOM
Above us the roof trembled. I shook it just enough to make a thin layer fall between the remaining distance we had before the Fuhrer struck. He stopped and shielded himself as large chunks fell. Dust puffed up and I grabbed Dolcetto's shoulder before shoving him in the opposite direction.
"Run." Was all I could whisper before he took off. I hoped Roa ran too as I threw myself into the wall as though I were injured. The dust ceased and all I could see was Alphonse on the ground nearby me.
They ran, good.
Bradley walked over to us. He looked down the hall and then to Alphonse. Finally his gaze fell on me, and my skin felt like it would peel back to get away from that stare. Despite only using one eye, I felt as though I was being ripped apart meticulously.
"F-Fuhrer King Bradley," I said in a slightly shaky tone. This guy scared me, without a doubt. Yet he gave a gentle smile and offered me a hand to stand up. For some reason I didn't want to take his hand, but then I did as offered and clasped his firmly.
I don't know what I expected, but nothing happened then as I was pulled to my feet. The only thing I could tell was the sheer amount of power his soul had. It was thrashing and strong. No wonder he was the Fuhrer.
"You must be terrified. Don't worry, I will send a team to come and get you both. In the mean time just stay here." He said as he began to walk away. I didn't stop him, nor did I comment on the fact that the last time I was found I was shot at. Instead I waited until Bradley was gone before looking at Alphonse.
"You okay?" I asked. He looked at me before looking down. I frowned before going over to kneel in front of him.
"Al, I need you to listen to me right now," I said. He seemed to understand the severity and looked up to me then. "What we argued about before... You are right. I should think about it, but I can't. We can't. All of this stuff keeps happening and I don't want to pile more problems on Ed's shoulders. If I could I would've kept it from you too. Just so you guys could focus on other things. So I promise, once we solve your problems we can work on mine."
He looked up at me then and gave a small laugh. One without humour.
"Deal."
He seemed reluctant, but I would take every thing I could get from him right now.
Alcide barked then. He'd gone quiet while Bradley had been here and then grabbed my automail again. This time he only gently tugged.
"I guess we follow him." I offered to Al. He stood and followed as well. Alcide let go of me before totting quickly down the hall. I followed quickly.
There was a fork in the road then, I hadn't recalled ever turning once we reached the sewers, but Alcide did turn. I blinked a few times, but didn't question him. I instead just follow quietly.
After a couple more minutes, we found a literally, light at the end of the tunnel. It opened up above us, a sewer drain, with a small ladder to climb. Alcide whimpered before I began to climb. I pushed to opening off before Al tossed the dog up. He then climbed out himself. Alcide gave a soft bark for us to following while trotting off again.
"Where are we going?" Al asked. I didn't reply, but then I realized we were doubling back to The Devil's Nest. Alcide stopped in front of the door before sitting down and looking at me.
I needed to go back in.
Nobody was out front, which meant there were still people inside. Edward and Izumi were still inside. I gulped before looking to Al. I had the feeling they weren't the only ones who Alcide and Hadley wanted me to free either.
Greed, I needed him for whatever reason.
He nodded before looking at his hands.
"Martel, you should stay out here." He said. I raised a brow and was about to ask who he was talking to when he took his helmet off. Out pops this girl who stands in front of him as though she hadn't just jumped out. My eyes were the size of dinner plates as I stared.
I looked between the two before focusing on Al and pointing an accusing finger at him.
"You've been holding one of these guys inside of you the whole time and said nothing?!"
I paused then.
That actually gave me an idea...
(Edward)
Ed fidgeted as the soldiers stood watch over he and his teacher. All he wanted to do was find his brother and Erin again. Was that so much to ask? Izumi was currently nestled in a warm blanket beside him. She looked worse for wear though as Sig held her close. All of the excitement was too much of a strain on her body.
He hoped that his partners were okay...
"Fullmetal sir," a soldier said before saluting. "These two claim to be Alphonse Elric and Erin Lallier."
Talk about timing!
He glanced around and saw the huge armour and a petite blond already covered by a blanket.
"Yeah that's them." Edward said. The soldier permitted them to sit with Edward and Izumi then.
"Brother, you're alright." Al said in a light tone.
"Yeah, how are you t-" Edward's words died in his throat as he saw who was sitting next to his brother.
He then noticed how tense Al was. If an armoured body could sweat he'd be doing it right now. He casually grabbed one of Al's spikes before yanking his head so it leaned closely to Ed's. Then he whispered in a dangerously low voice.
"Where is Erin?"
(Greed)
Greed let out a shout as Bradley slashed at him again. This time taking off a large chunk off his shoulder. He was then cut at the knee and fell right over. Gasping for air, he looked up at the superior fighter.
Bradley... no... Wrath... Wrath looked down at him as he casually replaced the eyepatch that Greed managed to strike off back on to his head. In the sewers the odds of someone finding them were very little, but Greed didn't want them to find him. He'd be damned before he died in front of those beneath him. He'd be damned before he was saved by them either. Or anyone for that matter.
Greed staggered to his feet as he planned to try one last time. The thought of winning was lost to him now. All he wanted was to lay a damn scratch on the man. He stood tall and squared off with Wrath one last time.
Then he lunged.
At the same time a huge wave of water was blown at them. Greed was thrown back into the waves as Wrath fell forwards as well. Greed barely had time to try and stand before someone grabbed his good arm and practically started dragging him. Before he could quip or fight back he found himself running after the person.
From the back it looked very similar to Martel. The clothing for one was a perfect match, save for the old looking jacket and hat she donned. He decided to just go with that and followed after her. It was only when she began to let go of his hand and clap before touching a wall quickly. It left Alchemic marks from what he could see before they continued their run.
Wrath had lost them around a corner, but when he saw the Alchemic marks on the wall, despite how dark it was, he struck it down.
Only to find if wasn't a concealed entrance. It was just a wall. He growled in anger before taking off at a fast pace.
All along the walls there were the marks. Mapping which way they went. Foolish girl, she would learn. The marks changed course then, he did too. He followed them to a dead end before going to slash at it.
Again, it was just a wall.
Pure rage filled him at the thought of being tricked again. He let out a frustrated cry before turning and full out running after them.
Little did he know that as he shouted, the duo had doubled back to run to one of the last turns. There they climbed the sewer.
The girl took Greed's hand again before taking off. Half way through running down the streets, a few gunmen spotted them. They shot at the duo, who hid in an alleyway. Racing to the other side they found a similar predicament.
"Damn, looks like we're stuck." Greed groaned. What a dumb way to die.
To his surprise, the faint sound of barking could be heard. The far side street to the alleyway was suddenly littered with rabid looking dogs. Greed recognized the strategy and ran towards them. He grabbed the girl's hand to make sure she stayed with him before barreling through. The dogs barked at them but never bit. He snuck a glance back too see they had blocked the soldiers paths.
Rounding another corner, Greed soon found his direction and lead himself and the girl to the Rendezvous Point.
A house that sat just on the edge of town. Out of the way and hidden by shrubbery.
Greed ran in the house and dragged the tired girl inside before shutting it and backing away from the door. They stayed silent for a moment before he finally let his breath go ragged.
"Not bad kid. Guess I owe you one," he said as he glanced at the girl. He didn't recognized her right away what with the scar across her face in full view. "Who are you anyway?"
"That's not very nice Greed. And here you wanted my help." She said as she lifted her cap and let her hair fall naturally. Greed recognized her right away then. He then let out a devious smirk.
"Hey honey, missed me already?"
"My name is Erin Lallier, and I am not your honey." She deadpanned. Greed shrugged.
"Well call this an IOU. Why don't I give you a lesson on my way off saying thank you." He said with a wink. For some reason Erin couldn't take him seriously though and instead frowned.
"Hadley wanted me to save you," she said bluntly. "But I don't know why."
At the name something swelled in his chest. He shoved it down though after realizing something.
"Hadley huh? Well I wouldn't look for safety from her kid. She'd kill you without a second thought if you stood in her way." Greed said, making Erin frown.
"That's a shame Greed, I thought we were friends."
The new voice made the duo jump. They looked to the back of the room with surprised eyes. From another room came the voice, the sound of a chair moving, then a person walking up to them.
Hadley appeared in the doorway, but in different attire than Erin was used to seeing. She donned a blue uniform much like the men who had shot at her earlier. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun with only a few wisps of bangs free. Yet her eyes still held the feral look they had when Erin had first met her. Greed smirked at the woman.
"Long time no see, Hadley Lallier. Or should I call you the Feral Alchemist." He said in a taunting tone. Hadley wrinkled her nose at the title. Erin tensed as she looked between the two.
"Please don't tell me you got me to save him only to have him killed by your own hands. I really can do this whole drama thing." Erin practically begged. Hadley chuckled.
"No, your efforts weren't in vain. Good job though, knowing what Alcide was asking off you." She said before motioning for them to follow her through the house and out the back. Erin thought about Alcide, who appeared at the back door. Standing as a guard would. She patted him as they walked by. Even Greed did before they all walked to a large car that had tinted windows.
"This was all I could take with me." Hadley explained as she opened one of the doors. Erin's eyes widened as she saw Dolcetto and Roa sitting inside. Greed grinned at the duo before smacking Hadley on the back.
"Nice job. A shame about the others really." He added as an after thought.
"Martel is with Alphonse right now. She should stay safe." Erin said before turning to truly face Hadley.
"You promised an explanation." Erin said impatiently. Hadley smirked before waving her arm in a flourish. In many ways Erin likened Hadley and Greed together. She looked to all their faces before back to Hadley.
"Welcome, Erin Lallier, to the first band of the Rebellion."
READ THE DAMN Author's Note!
Hey guys! This chapter was so fast! Whoop whoop! One of the reasons being I've decided to make a Writer's MEME!
So how it'll work is I am going to choose 10 characters. All you have to do is review what you want each character to do and I will write out a small scene for it. FOR EXAMPLE: 'Character 1 and 5 go dancing' and I would write what would happen. This will be another special! Hopefully ready for Chapter 36 or so...
I won't tell you the list of characters until the next special! I really hope you guys choose a few things! I think it'd be so funny!
So Erin is now seeing what Hadley has been up to! This is where everything will get a little complex for a bit, okay guys? There is one more side main character to introduce next chapter! I'm so exciiiittted! I just can't hiiiiide it!
Ok, review! I should hopefully have the next chapter up in a week or so!
Cheers!
Iland Girl