Crickets chirped when Breda's phone went off. He groaned as he pulled himself from his bed, blinking the sleep from his eyes. Who the heck could that be? He checked his clock. It was past midnight, for Pete's sake! As the phone continued to ring he grumbled and sighed as he got up. Whatever this was better be important.
He lumbered over to the phone in the hall, accidentally stubbing his toe on the doorframe in the process.
When he finally made it over to it, he caught it on the last ring as he brought the phone to his ear. "What?" He grumbled.
"Breda, It's me, Hughes," he said.
The man on the other end looked at his phone in confusion before speaking again. "Maes? Why are you calling?" He questioned, "Did something happen to Roy?"
"I don't know, but there is something really weird going on," he said, "That Shura woman stopped by your house to drop off Konekomaru, right?"
Breda nodded as he remembered the event. "Yeah, is something wrong?" he asked.
"Well did she come back and drop off a second kid with you?" Hughes questioned.
Breda gave a confused look. "No, why?" he asked, "That wasn't part of the plan, I don't think."
Hughes sighed. "I know, but I hoped she had," he explained, "She was supposed to drop off two boys with me, but she didn't drop off the second one. She said she needed his help with something and that she would be dropping him off later, but that never happened. I was hoping there was just a change in plans that I wasn't told about. I've already called Armstrong and he hasn't seen her again either."
Breda frowned. "Have you tried calling the colonel or Hawkeye?" he asked.
"Yes, but neither have picked up," he responded, "I'm worried something really bad might have happened…"
Breda sighed before running a hand through his hair. "Well, you know about that whole catching the homunculus thing. Maybe the kid is just helping keep watch over it," he said, "or maybe they just decided it would be too much trouble to get him to your place and he's just staying with Mustang or whatever for the night."
Hughes hummed in thought. "I suppose that makes sense…" he said, "But just in case, make sure you phone is near you incase you get a call from the colonel or someone. For some reason I can't shake the feeling that something's off about this whole situation."
Breda shrugged. "Fine," he said, "Have a goodnight Hughes. Make sure you get some sleep before tomorrow. I don't think your superiors would appreciate you acting like a zombie in the office."
Hughes gave a huff of amusement. "Fine. Have a good night Breda." With that, Hughes hung up and Breda yawned before heading back to bed.
...
Bon groaned as he opened his eyes. It was dark. Pitch black almost. Where was he? The last thing he remembered doing was fighting Envy before those grims showed up he got sucked into stomach. He sat up. Was he dead? Was this hell? It certainly wasn't heaven as it stank of blood and decay. And he could seem some fire burning somewhere in the distance. He brought a hand to his chest as his brow knit together in panic. How did he end up in hell?! What had he done to deserve this? Well he supposed that agreeing to protect the son of Satan would definitely
be a good reason… But still if he was really dead, what was going to happen to his family, his friends?
All of a sudden, he realized he still felt a beating in his chest. He blinked for a moment as he processed this before sighing in relief. Well at least he knew he wasn't dead. But then where was he? Was this really gluttony's stomach? He picked himself up off the surface of the stone slab he had found himself transported onto and tried to get a good look at his surroundings. He was standing on what looked like some kind of broken building. He saw several more stone fragments sticking out of a red surface set against an inky black void. As he looked around, he noticed that the fragments became smaller and smaller until the reached a vanishing point. Just how big was this place?! How did it all fit inside this guy?! He was starting to wonder if Gluttony's stomach wasn't just a figurative black hole, but a literal one. He was also mildly curious as to what the red surface was actually made of. The structures seemed to stick out of it as if they were growing out of it. However, as he saw a ripple roll over the surface of it, he quickly realized what it most likely was and immediately regretted his inquiry. He sighed as he tried to avert his gaze from it, only to find his eye being drawn to a particular spot in the ocean of blood. His eyes widened as he saw two twinkling spots of bright blue amidst the red. One was much bigger than the other, and he quickly realized what they were.
He quickly scrambled down from the platform as he went to retrieve the half demon. He couldn't leave him there like that. For all he knew he could have drowned in that ocean of blood. "RIN!" he called, hoping for a response as he began wading into the red liquid. He shuddered as it first sank into his shoes and lapped against his leg. He had to keep himself from throwing up, realizing full well that all this blood was most likely human. "Just pretend it's something else," he told himself, "It's just strawberry syrup, or ketchup, or hot sauce…" He let out a calming breath as he strode forward, forcing himself to press on through the mess towards his friend.
The blue became brighter as he got closer and he was relieved to find that Rin was half floating in the red liquid, he was on his back so hadn't managed to accidentally drown. That would have been a fun one to explain to the kid's dad… "Yeah sorry, your son died on me, but don't worry, he didn't get hurt. He just accidently drown in an ocean of human blood."
When he got close, he saw Rin's sword was stuck in the ground and his red case containing the sheath was floating next to him. Bon grimaced. That couldn't be good for it. He pulled it and the sheath from the bloody water after slinging Rin over his shoulder. He huffed as he dragged him to "shore". Jeeze! How heavy was this guy? He ended up dumping him on the stone ruins before trying to make sure the sword was cleaned off. He knew swords could get damaged by leaving blood on them, and he could only imagine what would happen if a sword containing demon powers started corroding. So he ended up removing his button up shirt and using it to wipe it off, leaving himself in his undershirt. After all, it was already ruined from having to carry Rin on his back.
Once he was almost finished, Rin started to stir. Rin groaned as he started to wake up. "Uhhn What happened?" He glanced around trying to figure out was going on, "Where am I?" He could see nothing but inky blackness for miles around.
"Good to see you're awake," Bon said, slightly relieved.
"Bon?" The teen questioned blearily, turning towards him. His eyes suddenly widened as he saw Bon's arms, legs, and the back of his t-shirt were covered in blood. "GAH! Why are you covered in blood?!" He cried before looking down at himself and jumping to his feet, "AH! Why am I covered in blood?! WHY IS THERE SO MUCH BLOOD?!"
Bon sighed. "Because I had to drag you out of a literal lake of it," he said, gesturing to the red liquid surrounding their little island.
Rin backed up in surprise, cursing as he did so. "What the heck?! Why is there a lake of blood?"he questioned, "What the hell is this place?!" Rin desperately tried to remember what had happened before he had gotten knocked out. His eyes widened as he remembered the fight with gluttony and how they had gotten sucked into him. "HOLY CRAP! Are we dead?!" he cried, "Is this hell?! Wait, why are you in hell?"
"We're not in hell, we're-" Bon started before stopping, "Wait, what did you say? Why am I in hell?"
"Well yeah," Rin said, "I mean I get why I'm here, son of Satan and all, but you seem like a decent guy. Plus you're an exorcist, so that's gotta give you some heavenly perks or whatever. How could you end up in hell?"
Bon blinked in surprise. He supposed he should be flattered by his words but he just frowned. "Ok…" he said, "Well for starters, the main reason why is because we're not in hell. At least not literally." Bon then looked over at their surroundings in disgust. "Though I can see how you would confuse the two…"
"Wait, we're not?" Rin questioned, "How can you tell?"
"You're still breathing aren't you?" Bon said, "Wouldn't need air if you were just a soul. Plus, wouldn't you be in full demon mode without your body?"
"Fair point," Rin said, scratching the back of his head in thought, "So if we really are still alive then where the hell are we? Er, where the NOT-hell are we?"
He smirked a little and Bon glared at his pun. "Well you remember how lard ass sucked us up, right?"
"Yeah...wait," Rin said frowning, "Are you saying we're inside the guy?! How is that possible? This place is huge!"
"I think I might have a theory," Bon said, "That gluttony guy might have some kind of black hole inside him or maybe a wormhole of some kind spitting stuff out somewhere else." "It would explain the crazy vacuum powers he has," he noted.
"I guess that makes sense…" Rin said before looking around, "Hey, wait…" He then turned to Bon with a look of concern on his face. "Where's Ling and Ed? Are they alright?" he questioned.
"I have no clue," the Japanese teen responded, "But if we get moving, we can probably find them. It's better than just sitting around in the dark, anyways…" He picked up a piece of driftwood and turned to Rin. "Think you can give us a light?" he asked. Rin pulled his gloves out of his front pocket, happy to find they were still mostly dry. Dry enough that they could still work anyways. He pulled one on and snapped his fingers, catching it on fire with his blue flames. He then gathered up his things before following the exorcist in training out into the ocean of blood to look for his friends.
….
Alphonse and Gluttony both stood there in shock at what had just happened. Not only were the demons gone, but so was Ling, Bon, Envy, his brother, and Rin. The only evidence that they were ever there was Envy's slowly disintegrating leg that had been left behind.
Alphonse stood there, sputtering in fear and confusion. "Wha-What did you do?!" He cried, "Spit them out! Spit them out now!"
"I can't!" Gluttony admitted apologetically, "I swallowed them…"
Alphonse felt his metaphorical heart take a plunge from fear. They were gone. Just gone! In a moment, his brother, Rin, and his other friends had been taken from him just like that, and it appeared that there was nothing they could do. Alphonse felt as hollow as his suit actually was as he slumped to the ground. He wanted to cry. He wanted to cry so badly right now! He had lost the people closest to him in an instant and there was nothing he could do! He felt like it was his fault. If he had just moved faster, maybe his brother would still be here. Or he could have gotten sucked in with them. He didn't know what was a worse fate, being stuck out here or inside Gluttony's belly.
He was broken out of his wallowing as all of a sudden a loud hiss sounded from the woods. The two turned to see a large white snake slither out from the trees and encircle the clearing they were in. Alphonse stood up, backing away from the monstrous serpent as it fenced them in. Gluttony did the same, utterly confused by the situation. Once it had finished, it reared up and towered over them, it's tongue flicking in and out before it moved closer to suit of armor to inspect him. The suit backed up, scared and confused by the creature. What was this thing?! What was it doing here?! He started to move into a fighting position before it suddenly moved away and hissed loudly in the direction of the trees.
The boy in the suit over armor was utterly perplexed by the situation until he saw Shura burst forth from the underbrush. There were a few cuts on her face and places where here clothing had snagged against branches, but otherwise she looked unscathed. She scanned the area, worry and confusion in her eyes before she turned and glared at Gluttony. "Where are they?" she demanded, stalking up to him, "Where are Edward and Rin?"
There was venom in her eyes as she glared down at them. The homunculus shrunk away. "I...I swallowed them…." he admitted, twiddling his fingers.
Shura's eyes widened in horror. Her shoulders slumped as she looked upon him in shock. "What?!"she whispered, almost dropping her sword, "Y-you ate them?!" She felt her stomach twisted sickeningly as the homunculus nodded, lip quivering as he did so. She felt sick. They were gone. Those boys had been eaten alive by this...this monster. She clenched her fists, her hands shaking as rage filled her.
"Miss Shura?" Al said, stretching a hand out to her.
"HRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"she screamed as she tried to slash at Gluttony. Alphonse gasped and Gluttony squeaked as he rolled out of the way. The woman then tried to chase him down. The portly homunculus fled from her mad hacking and slashing as fast as his stubby legs could carry him.
"WAIT! MISS SHURA!" Alphonse cried, grabbing her shoulder with his one good hand to stop her.
"Let go of me Alphonse!" she said, "I'll slice him open like the woodsmen to pull them out if I have to!" Gluttony yelped at this.
"That's not going to work!" Alphonse cried, "He didn't physically eat them. They aren't in his literal stomach. It's like he absorbed them somehow!"
She turned and glared daggers at him. "What are you talking about?" she demanded.
"Show her, Gluttony," Alphonse asked, open up that thing on your stomach again...but please don't eat us!"
"Ok…" the homunculus said with a nod. His belly was suddenly engulfed in red lightning as his jaw lowered and teeth extended out from his torso to look like an open zipper. A single grey eye opened in the center of the black void.
Shura blinked in surprise. "Well that isn't terrifying…," she said, raising an eyebrow at it and folding her arms.
"It looks like the portal of truth," Alphonse explained, "If that's the case, brother and the others might just be displaced rather than dead."
"I don't know much about the portal of truth," she started, still examining Gluttony, "But I think I get your point. If he sucked them in through there, there might be a way of getting them out." She stroked her chin in annoyance. "And if that's the case…" she said with a sigh, "We can't kill him or we could risk losing the only possible way of getting them back if they're still alive." Dammit...why did this have to be so complicated?
"So you aren't going to hurt me?" Gluttony asked as he closed his portal up.
"Not unless you give us reason too, unfortunately," Shura huffed, "The question is, how do we pull them back out? Is there any expert that can help us with this portal stuff?"
Alphonse sighed. "I'm afraid I don't know anyone," he admitted, "I mean, aside from Mephisto, but I have no idea how to contact him."
"Me neither, I'm afraid," she said with a sigh. She scratched the back of her head. There had to be some way to fix this. They couldn't just leave the boys to whatever hell they had ended up in. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Gluttony shuffle slightly and play with his fingers.
"What, you got something to say, Tubs?" she demanded, "What are you waiting for? Spit it out!"
He flinched slightly at her tone but went ahead and spoke. "Well...Father might be able to help us," he said, looking down as he continued to play with his fingers.
The two blinked in confusion.
"Wait...did you say father?" Shura said, "Are you telling me you actually spawned from someone else? Wait, does this mean you have a mother too?"
"No, just Father," Gluttony clarified, "Father knows everything. He made me, and Envy, and Lust…" Gluttony pouted. "I miss Lust…" he mumbled. He seemed to get lost in contemplating his fallen sibling. The two humans stood around, expecting him to continue to continue.
Shura frowned, starting to get annoyed by his silence. She grabbed his attention again by clearing her throat. "So can you dad or whatever he is help us or not?" She questioned.
Gluttony blinked. "Father can do anything," he confirmed before hesitating, "But…"
"But what?" Shura questioned, folding her arms over her chest.
"...But Astaroth…" Gluttony said, looking down in fear, "He won't be happy….He'll be very, very angry and he'll try to hurt me…" Shura and Al blinked in surprise. The homunculus looked genuinely scared.
"Come on…" Shura said, moving towards him, trying to assure him, "It can't be that bad. I'm sure you'll be fine…"
"No!"he cried, flinching away from her, "He's going to turn me into food for his stinky pets! He told me so!"
Shura and Alphonse exchanged looks before Shura looked down. Shit...damn Astaroth...why did he have to complicate this whole mess? Still, this raised several questions. If the homunculi really were working with the demon king, then why were they so scared of him? Who was really in control of what was going on around here? And if it really was Astaroth pulling the strings, what was his goal in all this? Unfortunately, it didn't look like they would get any answers considering how Tubs wasn't going to go near the demon with a ten-foot pole.
Then Alphonse spoke up. "Don't worry," he said, "We won't let him hurt you."
The homunculus gave a curious look and Shura whipped around in surprise. "We're not?" she questioned.
"How?" Gluttony questioned.
"Well, Shura here is an exorcist," he explained, "She fights demons like Astaroth all the time. She can protect you from him."
Gluttony's eyes lit up and Shura gave Al an incredulous look. He expected her to do what now? "Really?" Gluttony chirped in delight before turning to Shura, "You can make sure Astaroth doesn't hurt me?" Shura glanced between Gluttony's earnest expression and Alphonse's some how pleading look. She didn't know how, but somehow that suit of armor managed to give her the best puppy dog eyes she had seen in years. "Ugh, fine," she grumbled, "Sure, Jumbo. I'll make sure you're safe. No demon is gonna hurt you under my watch."
A wide smile stretched across gluttony's face. He couldn't express how happy he'd been in that moment. This human was really really nice. Astaroth was so scary and yet she was willing to stand up to him! "Thank you!" he cried, suddenly slinging his arms around her in a bear hug. He hadn't felt this safe since Lust was still around. In fact there was something about this human that reminded him of her, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
Shura gasped as she was suddenly wrapped up in the homunculus's grip, dropping her sword in the process. She blinked in surprise as she was squeezed and lifted up by the stout creature. "HEY LET GO!" she cried trying to squirm out of his grip, and kicking her legs, "What do I look like, a giant teddy bear? Didn't this father guy ever tell you not to hug random strangers?!" However, Gluttony didn't seem to be listening. "Let go right now else! I'm warning you, blubber boy!" She snapped as she continued to try and wriggle free, "Alphonse, what are you doing standing around?! HELP ME DAMNIT!"
Alphonse chuckled before moving to free her. After he had convinced Gluttony to do so, he led them the way to his father's hide out, still holding Shura's arm as he did so like a child leading a parent, much to her annoyance. Alphonse on the other hand was a bit happier with the situation. "Don't worry guys," he thought to himself, "Sit tight and we'll get you out of there as soon as we can."
YES! Finally got a new chapter done! WOOOHOOOOO!
Sorry it took so long. I was busy with midterms and such. This one was supposed to be longer too. Sorry it got cut a little short. Still, i hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think!
