Chapter 51
Avarice
As Greed continued to admire himself, Father spoke again. "I still do not forgive you. But indeed, this is a second chance to make me proud."
"Even in a new body, he's still his ugly, selfish self," Envy muttered.
"Nice to see you again!" Gluttony said joyfully, waving to his 'brother'.
"Again? Oh, I'm a new Greed. Same desires, and motivations, yes, but a new soul and mind."
"Oh…" the plump being looked sad for a moment before he spread out his arms. "Then welcome, new brother!"
Greed grinned, before turning his attention to behind him. "And who are these two? Friends? Prisoners? More creations?"
"Sacrifices."
"For what?"
"I'll explain later."
"Where is Ling?!" Edwina shouted.
"The former owner of this body?" Greed asked.
"What did you do to her?!"
"She's not dead, if that's what you're asking. Why would I take away a life when I can own it? She accepted me. Granted, she put up a good resistance, but I always have my way."
"That idiot!"
"That hypocrite!" Alphonsa added. "Ling, I hope you can hear us! You're going…"
The doors slowly opened again. Edwina and Alphonsa began wriggling again, desperate to throw themselves at Scar while Gluttony licked his lips, Father frowned and Envy was content to watch once more.
"That boy…" Alphonsa said, looking at the child's terrified expression. Is he holding him prisoner?
"I'll give him a good scolding after we're done with him!" the blonde hissed.
Scar felt another pang, his hand barely raised, as the boy moved behind him, peering out at the blonde man.
"He's the one?" he asked.
"Y-Yes! And…the others, they're all homunculi!" At once, a fire lit within him as he saw the armoured girl. "Xiao Mei's kidnapper!" The creature was already half-way to him, but he remained behind the Ishvalan. "Oh, I was so worried!" His eyes brimmed over with tears. "Let's get revenge together, after…" the fear returned to full. "After my new friend takes care of the rest."
"Oh, how nice," Greed remarked.
Scar was looking at the sisters. Well, at least they have some decency.
Once more Father decided to watch. Weak though they were, the interactions between human caught his interest. "Why are you here, Fullmetal Alc—"
"Edwina-sama, she's here?!" Mao jumped out, eyes and head flying up, down, side to side and around. "…Did she leave?"
"She's right there," The man pointed.
"But she's so…small and boyish…" the developing images in his head were torn to tiny pieces. "HOW DARE YOU!" With Xiao Mei his shadow, he raised a fist. "How DARE you toy with the heart of a noble prince, you jiangshi!"
"What the hell did you call me, grain-of-rice boy?!"
"This is not the time!" Alphonsa shouted.
Ah, so you're the one who keeps eluding us and taking our potentials… the blonde man thought.
"I'm in luck now!" Gluttony cried as he ran and launched himself into the air. "He can't use alchemy!"
As Scar blew Gluttony's face asunder, Mao drew out his knives. "This is unforgivable! The gods will punish you after me!" The Amestrians had no time to wonder as the second set of knives pierced the ground before them and raised it fast as a sword swing. Taking by suprize, Envy took the full force of the pillar causing its grasp to loosen and allowing the sisters to free themselves at last. Alphonsa now had a large dent in her side. Evading several more bursts of concrete, they tried again.
"Should I do something…?" Greed asked Father.
"How are they able to use it?!" Edwina grumbled as they ran.
"Rentanjutsu must work differently to alchemy," Alphonsa said. "But as for Scar…maybe because he wasn't here when Father did…whatever it was he did?"
Edwina's eyes expanded for a moment. "There's something…" She came to a halt.
"Nee-san?" she stopped as well, worried.
"Hey, Scar!" Edwina bellowed. "See that lizard thing? It's the one who really started the Ishval War!" They remained in place as Envy run at them, Scar turned, Gluttony's blasted form falling again. "It shape shifted into a soldier and killed that boy on purpose! These monsters know everything about it! That blonde man is their mastermind! They won't talk so if you take care of them, I'll explain it all!" She seized the back of Alphonsa's collar as she turned to face Envy. "You want to be pinned again?!" She hissed.
Mao grabbed Xiao Mei for comfort, blades dropped back into his sash as he saw his friend's body stiffen, his eyes narrow to slits, and his teeth being bared. He had never seen such raw resentment, not even from the other clans. Scar looked at each of the beings in turn. "You will be judged by God together." His voice was level, almost calm. He spread out his arms to their full length (Mao noticed they were shaking) and as another wave of energy pulsed though the place as he brought them down, the ground erupted in waves of pillars and spikes that flowed out to cover about half the room, one line making its way to the robed man. Alphonsa just managed to grab the blonde and shield her as she jumped and hoped, Mao far more nimble as he squeaked each time one rose near him.
"Wow…" Greed commented.
Father stopped the line that headed towards him with another wall. Then the next, then the next, and three more thereafter. "Escort our guesses outside before they are killed," the blonde man growled as he blocked.
"Aw, but what if they fight me?" Greed rubbed the back of his new, slender neck. "People don't like being thrown out, and I don't like fighting women."
"You are in a girl's body."
"Yeah, but my mind is still male. I feel male, so I am, right?"
"I thought you were going to obey me? I can just as easily remove and destroy your stone as I did give it." A frustrated Scar was now running towards him. Envy too was frustrated, its body density giving it difficulty in freeing itself from the countless spikes, its healing flesh just making it worse. It looked over at its creator again. With a sigh, Greed wandered across to were the Elrics stood in a flat patch, Edwina wriggling as Alphonsa checked her for any new wounds. The armour girl had a few small piercings. Hopping up on top of a nearby pillar, he said. "Sorry, but you guys have to go."
"Give Ling back her body and we'll leave with her," Alphonsa said matter-of-factly, releasing Edwina.
"I still want to learn about that man!" Edwina said. "I need to know how he's related to that bastard and what he's planning."
"Did we just take part in the same fight?!" Alphonsa asked. "We just saw how powerful he is, and he's not going to tell us anything straight, as it is. Let's just go, regroup and plan our next move."
"…fine, you're right." She looked at Greed. "Ling, we're going!"
"Still me," Greed replied.
"God, what about hypocrite don't you get, you idiot princess!" Edwina yelled.
Neither reacted as the Xingese boy ran past them, Xiao Mei clinging to his shoulder, too late to reach as Scar extended his hand to Father's face. "Scar-sama! This is not the way to…" his eyes were drawn left, and he slowed, his voice dropping. "Xiao Mei, that's Ling of the Yao Clan. She must have had the same plan as me. That succubuaaaah!" a pair of large hands closed around his body. His little 'sister' leapt out immediately, sinking her teeth in one of his eyeballs, wrenching her jaws from side to side until the boy was dropped, and for the second time, the homunculus made to check the animal wound, this one far more painful than the last. He pushed the organ back in place as Mao summersaulted over his back with a yelp. As the son of the Emperor ran he drew out his knives, but the creature was too fast, and he had to cartwheel away.
Again, Father just let the man use his alchemy on him, trying to figure it out, though having his head pushed back repeatedly was annoying. "Ah…" he said after the fourth time. "Yours is destruction, or rather, decomposition alchemy."
Suddenly, the man was gone. Scar stared around him, knowing something was coming. He heard movement behind him, but he had only turned to the side when he felt a hand on his back and several places on his arms tore open. Shit...I'd be dead if I hadn't moved…
That should do it, Father thought.
"Scar-sama, please, we—" one of the doughy fists slammed into his stomach, knocking him up, over and down. Again, Xiao Mei jumped, but the plump being clamped his hands around her gnashing form and threw her aside. She squealed as she flew through the air, her legs waving hopelessly. From his sideways view, Mao saw the creature approach, filling his vision. In a moment, that vision was replaced by gunmetal grey, and he heard something thud, then clanking footsteps, and then felt a pair of large leather hands encircling him.
"Are you all alright?"
His anger dulled from the spike in dizziness as he was lifted into a sitting position. "I…I don't need help from you, you Amestrian scum..." he wanted to shout, but his throbbing chest and arm were too much. "Xiao Mei!" he managed. The animal was at her side instantly, but upon seeing who was attacking her 'brother' next, she hesitated. She may not have liked the larger beast, but she had done nothing to harm her or him. She hopped up onto the armour girl's shoulder.
Seeing her sister was still arguing, her eyes dulled for a moment before she scooped the child into her arms and raced out of the door. As she passed out of the room, she felt another surge of energy pass thought her, but being what she was, guessed it was not adrenaline.
"Hey, your sister just left with that kid," Greed commented. "Shouldn't you want to follow and help her or something? That's what siblings do, right?" He looked back, just in time to see the girl's new expression before it reverted.
"If she made it here, than she can take care of herself."
Alphonsa hurtled along the tunnel, weaving in and out of the straggler chimera. The gold and black-clad man flew past. Gluttony came a few minutes later. She looked down at the boy, seeing he had lost consciousness, before having to raise him away from the jaws of another guard before shooing it away with a strike of her foot. She looked up to see to the monster and creature down the tunnel. Removing her head and placing it down next to her, she carefully lowered the boy inside, Xiao Mei growling as she did so. "Sorry." She said, before retrieving her helmet.
Keeping her speed at a jog, the younger Elric managed to reach Gluttony. Was he slower? Whispering "please" to herself, she clapped and placed her hands on the pipe running on their side of the waterway. She pulled it from the wall, ignoring the red substance that poured over her undented side as she manipulated it to fly at the second youngest homunculus, pulling the ends into spikes. Gluttony gave a shriek as it pierced though him, crying out "No! I can't take any more!". The pipe stuck and a vibration ran along the pipe as he fell. Hearing the clash and clang, Scar stopped and spun around, his hand raised. He glanced from the creature to the girl.
"…Why did you do that?"
"Because I don't want you to die until Nee-san and I have passed our own judgement upon you. I'm sure your God would understand."
The man shook his head. "Very well." He raised his arms. "I'm an easy target now."
Taking note of the cuts, Alphonsa replied, "Nee-san isn't here. And right now, getting this boy to safety, then collecting Nee-san, are my priorities."
Scar looked down. "…Can you at least send him back to me when he's better?"
"Why would he want to be with a monster like you?! I'm not going to let you continue brainwashing him!"
"Please," the man said, his voice soft. "That child considers me a friend. He healed me and stayed with me of his own volition, despite my telling him to leave. He wishes to carry out divine punishment as well."
Alphonsa keep her eyes fixed on his face as he spoke. He-He's telling the truth… Her lack of a stomach did not stop her from feeling as if she were churning. She walked by him without another word before going into the jog again.
"Get a hold of yourself or I'll make you!" Edwina was now saying, holding onto the tattered collar of the coat.
"I. Am. Greed!" the homunculus shouted, pushing the alchemist off him, before rubbing a hand over his – or was it her? – forehead. "You're really beginning to make me angry."
Father's patience had almost run out. If only he could kill her.
The older Elric grit her teeth for a moment. "Ok then." Greed was too slow with the first punch and staggered backwards, but blocked the second one with his carbon shield, then the jumping kick, then the right hook, the left hook, then the roundhouse kick. He did not have it on fully, just enough to absorb the hit, though he was tempted. This continued for a good twenty minutes or so, Father now accompanying himself with remaining himself of Greed's power, while Envy still struggled to free itself. A child needed discipline. Less than five minutes later, Edwina had run out of energy. Cursing herself, she turned away.
"Finished acting like a kid in denial?" the homunculus asked.
"Be an idiot then," she said. "I'll inform Lan Fan."
Author's Note: Sorry for another short one, dear readers.
I'm re-writing some of the old chapters again. I keep trying to avoid cheesiness and then I realised how poor my writing was in those. Same goes for my other fics. I'll redo them after this story. And I'm worried my original story will have narmy moments.
I hope I started off the whole Greed/Ling female/male thing ok, and that Scar was not too OOC in regards to asking Alphonsa about Mao. I like the idea of him somehow wanting to act like the boy's older brother or father, due to his older brother looking after him.
Thank you ^_^.
