Disclaimer: I don't own any of FullMetal Alchemist's ideas, characters, and themes. I do, however, own Ocs, made-up characters, and my own ideas and plots.

Chapter 37

"What? They're gone? What do you mean, they're gone!"

It had been a total of three days since Edward and Alphonse settled down from their meeting with Father. They stayed in Central, visiting the library and researching more into alchemy. On their breaks, Alphonse had continued checking in with May and Lan Fan. They each made their own progress to recovery. Tom stayed by May's side constantly, keeping her company.

By day I followed the brothers and kept watch over them, and by night, I visited Edward in his subconsciousness. With our meetings, I told him everything I knew. There was little more about the homunculi that he didn't know already, and I really knew as much as he did. As for Father, I was able to explain more about who he was... the original Homunculus, the one who cut my strings, and most likely the person behind many of the dark things that happened in Amestris. He was planning something big with those tunnels, we knew that much.

I also told Edward about how it was like to be a spirit. I left out the loneliness bit —as well as my sacrifice to Truth—, and focussed more on the pluses of the transcending plane. I got to know a person just by touching them, I could control my Chi from time to time, I could absorb pain and sorrow to an extent for helping's sake... but possessing animals had to be my favourite ability. I told him about how it felt to soar the skies with your own wings, and to see the world in a four-legged animal's eyes. He watched me with a smile, but in some ways, I found it to be sad. I didn't ask him, but I believed he knew that I was holding something back.

Edward seemed much happier now, back to his old self. He thought more clearly about the things at hand. My memory didn't loom over him like a dark omen, but followed like a lover's blessing. Today was no different, even though he was being temperamental. I wouldn't have had him any other way.

But the reason why he was on-edge unfolded itself before us, as we stood at the hotel's register. Alphonse watched his brother on the phone.

"They left this morning?" Edward demanded. "Why didn't you stop them?—They couldn't have healed so quickly. What about the boy?—Don't call me an idiot for hoping! Thanks a lot, Knox!" Edward took in a deep breath, then sighed through his nose in defeat. "...alright. But seriously, thanks for looking after them."

Alphonse and I watched in concern as Edward hung up the phone. He turned to his brother with his fists stuffed in his pockets. "May and Tom left. No one knows where they are." He looked up at the ceiling with distain. "And just when we thought we could ask the brat about her alchemy."

"What happens now, then?" Alphonse asked. Edward ushered him to start leaving the hotel. He glanced at the hotel receptionist, who was standing close-by to the telephone. Alphonse, getting his warning, spoke more in an undertone once they reached the street outside. "Do we go after May? Or do we go and find Malice?"

Edward looked like he was at a loss at that question. His mouth opened, but shortly closed again. When he finally found the right words, he started slowly: "I want to get Urami to her body as fast as possible... but my gut's acting up against the idea."

It took me a few moments to get what he was trying to say. I had to remind myself that Edward was a very rational person, and —although impulsive— he had to put a lot of thought into the mysteries he wanted to solve, as well as the solutions that would best resolve them. If his gut was telling him that the tunnels were a bad idea, then it was a bad idea for a reason. The reason came soon as their conversation continued.

"You figured out that it's dangerous in the tunnels, too," Alphonse ventured. "Malice is in there; that's enough of a problem. But there's also Pride. And who knows what kind of damage he can cause."

"I know."

"And we don't know if our alchemy will pull through in there. Maybe whatever Father did would stretch all across Amestris, and..."

"We can do alchemy now." Edward looked down at his hands. His fingers closed in and he shut his eyes. "But I'm worried about that, too."

"We have to find May. We aren't prepared for the tunnels yet... if we went and failed, what good would that do Urami?"

Edward nodded sluggishly, as if he was having trouble agreeing. Perhaps he was. He sucked in some air, puffing out his cheeks, then letting it all out in a gust. "You're right. But after we find her, we go straight for Malice. Urami's the priority."

I smiled a small smile. I had no problem with the delay. I didn't want the brothers diving head-first into danger... I would wait as long as it needed. I was in a rush before, but watching over the brothers... I guess you could call me sidetracked. And I didn't think that Malice would be disappearing anywhere...

Alphonse nodded enthusiastically. "Uh huh! Now, how do we find May? She couldn't have gone far..."

"Well... how about we look for something that's not so natural? Like a black-and-white bear-thing?"

When Tom had stepped out of Knox's house for a breath of fresh air the night before, Yoki snuck up to him and nearly scared him out of his skin. The man's face looked so grim, hidden in the bushes by the gate.

"Three days in luxury!" Yoki moaned. "You ungrateful boy! You left me all by myself out here while you had a roof over your head! This is what I get for helping you? Is this what I deserve?"

Truthfully, Tom forgot all about Yoki, and guilt washed over his face like a wave. He smiled nervously at him, then cast a wary eye about him.

"Sorry..."

"Oh, you're sorry?"

"I mean it, really. May's been recovering from some sort of fight, so I completely lost track of everything else." Tom's voice dropped low to avoid being overheard. "Scar's nowhere to be seen, either; May doesn't know where he—"

"Scar's returned." Tom stared in confusion at the older man. Yoki beckoned with his hand. "He sent me out to find you. He came back with another man, a rather old gentleman. You and the girl better come quick."

"Ah... jeez..." Tom reached up and ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't know if May's okay enough for that..."

"Just see what you can do. We're still where we last rested, so meet us there."

With that, Yoki jumped out of the bushes and stole away into the darkness, only briefly visible in the lonely streetlight's glare. Tom had looked after him in bewilderment, then returned back inside, wiping his face of any perplexity that may have remained.

Now, May and Tom were traveling north, with an older man called Dr. Marcoh. Tom didn't exactly know who the man was, and at first he felt very suspicious at the meeting. But the man exhibited the same brokenness that someone like himself had felt once, and the boy couldn't help but feel empathy for him. Maybe soon, he would find out what Marcoh had done to have his eyes look the way he did. The damage done to his face was fresh and hard to take in, but May did a very good job in healing it. After Marcoh fled with Scar to throw the military off, he joined Tom and May's company.

"So what is it exactly that we're looking for?" Tom asked as they walked through the forest. They strayed from the built-in path, to avoid any passer-by's. Tom held up a branch up for May and Marcoh to walk through.

"Come on, Tom, we already went through it a hundred times!" May looked up at him with a determined expression, and she wagged her finger reproachfully. "We're looking for Mr. Scar's brothers' research notes!"

"Is his brother dead, then? We're not looking for his brother?"

Marcoh closed his eyes painfully. "Chances are that he is dead. There are only a few survivors of the purge in Ishbal."

"And Scar held onto his research notes? I thought he hated alchemy."

"Maybe it was his last testament to his brother. He may not have been able to throw those away because, in ways, it encompasses his brother."

Tom followed up with the rear of the group, his mouth a thoughtful line. "These notes... what exactly do they describe? Alchemy?"

"Something more," May said. "I'm thinking there's some Alkehestry in there too..."

Suddenly she jumped back with a yelp. The group stopped, frozen. Tom wandered up to the front to see what was wrong, and May immediately grabbed for the edge of his shirt. She hid behind him slightly as if whatever they found wouldn't hurt them if she did so. When Tom found out what it was, he didn't know what to think.

He was hard to see, the boy. The undergrowth had seemed accustomed to him and grew around him and his body. He had collapsed on an arching root of a great tree, his long and untidy black hair covering his face and draping over the bark. He was covered in his own blood, dried, from the lacerations all over his body. Vines were all over his arms and legs, and strangely enough, stems of vegetation had taken root in the cracks in his skin. He had to have been here for a very long time for anything to grow so naturally around him, and yet he hadn't decomposed yet. He didn't look like he was breathing, but...

Tom pried May's fingers from his shirt, and he stepped forward cautiously. May made a small squeak, and Tom looked back at her reassuringly. He turned back to the surreal sight, and looked at every thing he could see. He noted how young he seemed, how frail he was. His right arm and left leg had different skin-tones, ones that didn't match the rest of his ghastly-pale complexion. And on his right foot... Tom took an anxious step forward and leaned down.

"That sign..." Tom muttered. "That's what Malice has! He's a homunculus!"

"The Ouroboros..." Marcoh had joined his side. Tom turned to him in surprise, and Marcoh shared glances with him. "Envy, one of the homunculi, has one too."

"Is he dead?"

Marcoh looked closely, or as closely as he could, standing as far as they were. "I don't know. I've never seen a homunculus run out of lives to live on..."

The boy suddenly took in a breath. The air passed through his throat in a raspy wave, and the leaves of the plants around him trembled. The group stood very still and listened to the homunculus breathing so harshly. His hair shifted, allowing the others to see his eyes. They opened, but only so little. His violet eyes looked lifeless.

"Mommy?" he whispered. His knees bent, which ripped roots from his ankles. Blood cascaded down from these new wounds, but the boy didn't seem to take notice. Perhaps he had been in so much pain that he couldn't feel it anymore. "Mommy... Where... are you...?"

From where the blood dripped down, before their eyes, new plants took root and sprouted. Marcoh took notice of this.

"The Stone... it's speeding up the growth of everything around him."

May pushed her way between the two of them, her eyes wide. "The Stone? He has the Stone?"

"Mommy..."

The sight of the boy hurt Tom. So pathetic and broken, like an animal with no chance to survive, only awaiting death. He took another step toward him, and —ignoring Marcoh's warning— he arrived in front of the boy and crouched down. The plants that grew so quickly looked intriguingly beautiful. Petals flared... crimson, like the blood they relished drinking. Tom reached out and touched the boy's hip. The homunculus inhaled another great breath, and his dull eyes shifted to Tom. They couldn't see him... Tom didn't feel his gaze at all.

"Why are you here?" Tom asked. "What is your name?"

"My name..." The boy's head inclined. More roots tore, more droplets of blood fell. Tom's stomach twisted. "My name... was Wrath... but not... anymore..."

Tom looked back at Marcoh in question. "I don't understand," he said. "Aren't the homunculi supposed to stay together?"

"This one may had done something wrong," Marcoh said, his face solemn. "I don't doubt that the homunculi throw away their own kind."

"And homunculi don't have mothers, do they?" Tom frowned. "That's not how it works..."

"He killed... mommy..." Tom turned back to look at Child Wrath. "He stole my name... and killed mommy... he tried to... kill me too, but..."

"Who?"

"...Fa...ther..."

Marcoh crouched next to Tom and nodded. "Their leader."

"What did he do to you? Why?"

Child Wrath's mouth curled in a bitter smile. His hand tensed, then tore itself from the earth's clutches. Some of the blood sprayed onto Tom, but he didn't take notice of it quite yet. He was too focussed on what the homunculus was doing. The boy raised his scarlet fingers and trailed one across his chest, over his heart. The darkness of his blood soaked into the material of his torn shirt.

"He cut me... from the heart... from the Stone..." His hand dropped to the ground, and the vegetation immediately coiled around it, preventing it from escaping again. It was like magic... "Mom died... more quickly, but... I held on... on little longer... because..."

They waited for an agonizingly long time for him to continue, but it seemed as if he had forgotten what he was talking about. His dull eyes had slowly rolled away, first in one direction, then up through the leaves of the canopy. Tom touched him again to call his attention back.

"Why did Father do this to you and your mother?"

Child Wrath laughed, weak and choking. "Because... we were... human..." He shook his head, and tears trailed down his cheeks, mixing with his blood. "Malice was... right. Her human side... was... real. I... know what... love feels like now... the more I thought about it... the easier it was... f-for me to accept it..."

Human side. That had to mean Urami... that proved it, it had to! "Because you believed in your human side, it grew stronger?" Tom asked desperately. "Then Malice... Her human side will take over! Urami has a chance!"

For the first time, Tom could feel the homunculus' gaze. The boy smiled, his pointed teeth stained with his own vitality. "Are you... trying to save Malice?" His voice hardly carried over the soft wind. "She has... a lot of people who... care about her..."

"Malice and Urami are two different beings," Tom said. His eyes hardened and he looked at the ground. "I don't care about what happens to Malice."

"Two... different...? Well, maybe... something happened when... I left... Father must have done... something to her..." Child Wrath blinked slowly, and his own eyes dropped from Tom. "Whatever... it doesn't matter... she'll die the... same way..."

Even though Tom said what he did, he found the thought unsettling. Then he thought of why that was; if anything happened to Malice, then the same would happen to Urami. They both needed that body. If Father decided to severe the Stone from their souls, then all was lost, and they'd end up like Child Wrath. He convinced himself that he didn't feel concerned for Malice, even though it was an unstable conclusion...

Child Wrath coughed. "Yeah... we'll all die the same... and go to the same place..." His smile was a gentle thing. "I'll get to see Mom again..."

His eyes closed, and his chest swelled for one last breath. When his ribs receded, and when he was still at last, his body crumbled before their eyes, like ash. May reached forward in hopelessness, a sound of despair in her throat. The Philosopher's Stone was so close... Child Wrath's body diminished into nothing but dark soil, now fertile for the earth's wonders. Roses bloomed, thorns curling like serpents until everything was still again. In the end, they were looking at the great tree once more, with a wall of moss and ivy climbing its trunk and a carpet of roses at its base.

Tom slowly got to his feet, looking down at the grave mark of the homunculus. Marcoh heaved himself as well. May was the only one who dropped down to her knees, with tears in her eyes. With her empathetic nature, she may have felt sorry for the boy. But the real sorrow was the loss of the Stone. Her journey would have been over, and her clan would have been saved. Tom looked away from the tree and up through the leaves. The sun was beginning its descent.

"You seemed to know what that homunculus was talking about," Marcoh said, bringing back Tom's attention. The older man's head tilted. "So there is a different side to these monsters... isn't there?"

Tom nodded slowly. "I can't explain it to sound believable, but yes... there's more to this."

May's sniffling ceased and she got back to her feet. "I don't want to stay any longer," she said softly. "Can we continue on?"

She didn't wait for a response. She walked past the both of them and into the trees. Xao May nuzzled the girl's cheek affectionately. Tom and Marcoh exchanged looks and nodded. The older man didn't ask any questions about who Malice was, and Tom preferred that. They had to find out more about alchemy and alkehestry, and what Father intended for this country. Child Wrath was a distraction in that cause.

But he was very essential for another, especially to Tom. If Malice believed, or even remembered Urami... then the human side would have a chance. She would be able to get her body back.

"They say the weather in the mountains is highly variable," Edward said through chattering teeth, "but I didn't think it'd change this quickly."

Beats me how their search for May lead them up to the frozen north. It was something Armstrong suggested... The military had an inkling that Scar was traveling north, and since May was in his company, I guess the idea sort of clicked.

I had never seen snow before, so when I did, I found the sight to be really beautiful. A desolate kind, lonely, but not in a bad way. Everything was so still, undisturbed, untouched, pretty much pure. I wished I was in physical form to actually touch it, to breathe in the air of this atmosphere... but from what I could get from Edward's reaction —an amusing show—, the cold was intolerable. I suppose, for this moment, I should have been grateful to be absent of a body. But I wasn't... as anyone, I wanted my body for my own. I'd rather feel the coldest of cold than nothing at all. I bet Alphonse felt the same.

Now, they were making their way up the path to their destination, Briggs —or what they thought was the path. The snowstorm kicked in so quickly that it left us totally disoriented.

"What do we do, Brother?" Alphonse asked. "We completely lost sight of the road!"

"Relax. Our teacher said she got tossed out here at Briggs Mountain for a whole month during her training period, and she made it out alive."

"No way! There's no way she could have survived this for a whole month!"

"But she said she killed some bears!"

I tried to imagine that mind picture... and frankly, I had no trouble seeing Izumi give a smack-down to a grizzly.

"When the bears of Briggs rear up, they're taller than two meters... there's no way she could have killed them...!"

"I don't doubt it... you know our teacher!" Edward laughed. He and I had the same idea. "Her idea of training must have taken root with her own experience."

"Yeah. But I have a feeling we got off easy... the island didn't have any bears."

"But it didhave a crazy tribal man. Mason really had fun, didn't he..." Edward stopped and squinted his eyes, peering ahead. He then pointed. "Do you see that?"

I followed his eyes. At first, I couldn't. "Where?" Alphonse inquired.

"It's hard to see, but... I think it's an animal."

After a few moments, I caught sight of the movement that caught Edward's. Yes, it was an animal, its fur so blindingly white that you could only see its black nose and coal-like eyes. I made my way over to it, ahead of the boys, and observed it. From what I could see of it, it was a type of fox; a curious thing, with adorably-round ears. But the reason why I could only see some of it was because it was practically drowning in the snow. It was too deep for it to trek through. When it had freed itself, it only needed to take another step to sink back deeper. It yelped out in helplessness.

The boys caught up, and Alphonse was the one to realize what it was and run toward it. He held no hesitation as he approached it and dived his hands into the bank. He scooped the animal out as delicately as he could and took several steps back. It was definitely a fox, white as snow with a tint of beige in its fur. When Alphonse was stationary, the creature immediately squirmed, unleashing an irritated bark. Alphonse allowed it to jump out of his grip, and the fox trotted away, most likely startled. The brothers watched it go. As I mentioned before, I was a little envious to feel this cold environment, and I was also curious on how it felt to be a fox... so I pursued it and reached out to it.

When I touched her, I considered her life. She was relatively young, with no kits waiting for her in a burrow somewhere. So far, her life was just a journey of finding food and survival. I decided to take control, and in exchange for my rude intrusion I would find her food. Her consciousness merged into mine, and all vivid colour escaped my vision —not that there was much colour to begin with. When I entered her being, the snow fox trotted to a stop, and I simply stood there, inviting the physical being, and with it, the cold. The cold; a sign that I held some vitality in this world.

We turned our head and saw the brothers watching us closely. We made a semi-circle to face them again, our ears twitching and containing heat. Without much thought, we returned back to them, feeling their amazed gazes on us. We joined their company and looked up at their faces, wishing we could smile a little... but that may have looked strange anyway.

Alphonse bent down and held out his hand, and we leaned our head into it, our tongue lapping over our nose briefly. We knew not to lick metal in this cold, even though we never experienced the dire and comical result. Alphonse picked us up and we looked at Edward, who was watching in awe.

"It has a different look to it," he murmured. "The eyes..."

"They look more intelligent, don't they?" Alphonse giggled, running his fingers through our bountiful fur. "There was a cat who had the same eyes. I called her Urami."

"They're also sad... like Urami's." Edward outstretched his hand toward us and passed his own fingers over our cheek. "She told me she could live in an animal for a while. Isn't that right?"

Despite our lack of ability to read or write, we could respond. We barked, and although Edward's hand twitched back in reflex, he smiled greatly.

"She wanted to join our company. Don't know why, seeing as this snow is really annoying me now..."

"It could be a new experience for her," Alphonse guessed. He bent down and set us back on the ground. We ruffled our fur and looked around, trying to distinguish earth from sky.

There was something off.

"Look at her... I mean, I understand how she feels. Being without a body, you just have to reach out, and..."

"Yeah, I think I understand, too..."

We inhaled some of the cold air and found it very refreshing. However, we picked up some other scents, some that seemed almost buried by the piercing aroma of snow and frozen pine. Our ears twitched when we heard snow suddenly disperse, and we turned my head immediately. From the midst of a snow bank nearby, a gigantic figure come up and towered over the brothers. We barked in warning, and the brothers turned. They did so in time as well... the bear-like man swung his limb, which revealed itself to be a large form of automail. It looked like a crocodile's maw attached to his metallic elbow.

The man was, by far, the most intimidating person we've ever seen. Around the same size as Armstrong, but there was something almost beastly about this one. We could see the uniform under his winter garb —which also bore the military insignia—, so we knew without question that he was a soldier of Briggs. He continued his offense on Edward and Alphonse, and we were forced to watch from the side.

The fox I possessed was a timid creature, not at all confrontational, so I couldn't will her to move. She wasn't startled enough to attack without thinking. And even if I was, what good would that do against this bear of a man? Broad and sculpted, a black mohawk that fathered a long and thick braid, and two solitary wisps from his upper lip.

The fury of the storm calmed when the fight did, and all of us beheld a massive wall before us. Other soldiers appeared from their hiding places and aimed their guns at the brothers. One of them had aimed at the fox, to him a mindless animal and possible game. I knew then that I couldn't put the fox's life in jeopardy, so we fled, our nerves jolting when we heard the gunshots. The brothers cried out, but we were gone, safe.

But were the brothers?

They reached Briggs, their destination. Was that a good thing? We weren't sure. The soldiers there didn't look friendly. We watched as the brothers were escorted in, and it took all of our willpower not to come out and follow them in. Yet again however, that would do them very little good.

I wanted to leave the fox's body, but...

What to do...

End of Chapter

A/N: Why hello there.

This has been sitting in my comp, NEARLY finished... but yet again I've been forced to neglect it, because of work, school, and damn laziness.

For Christmas, I'll try to get some more chapters to you! I hope you enjoy this gift of mine, it's the most I can do. I've uploaded this one to get the message out there. I hope to get two chapters for you this holiday, maybe more! The next one's started and is on its way!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll be more than happy to hear your thoughts and feelings about it. Reviews = bliss. :) Help me catch any grammar mistakes and spelling errors!

Have a good day! -heart-

~Vixen