and my skin
it will start
to break up &
t
|-/
•••
I laid in bed quietly, holding my breath as I hear my sister shuffle awake next to me. Immediately she turns to me, checking to see if I'm sleeping or not. I face her and she blinks in surprise.
She sits up, wringing her hands together. I can tell she's trying to think of what to say; her mouth wriggles and her eyebrows are knit tightly. Then, she closes her mouth as if she doesn't want to say a word. I frown in worry. I had noticed she'd been distant lately, but I thought little of it. I knew she would tell me eventually, so I never pushed her. I was her sister, her sole confidant.
I waited.
Eventually, she looked out of our window at the moon's glow. It made her face shine. She swallowed hard, then said something I couldn't forget if I tried, even without my powers.
"Dad is going to die and something terrible is going to happen to me."
She had stated this as if it was as normal as speaking about the weather.
I sit up fully, horror striking my features.
"That's all I see left in my future, Iris," she tells me, her voice breaking. She can't bear to look at me, even as I grab her wrist to try for her attention. Instead, I hug her tightly, a sinking feeling in the depths of my heart.
"Don't go," I demand, gripping her as if it could prevent her leave. "We can change the future like dad tells us."
She looks at me solemnly, a sad, almost-smile of pity gracing her face. I wonder if it's for me, or for herself. She shakes her head.
"No. Not this time."
I wonder now if this was the future she had seen. And I wonder if she would have been disappointed in her dear little sister.
•••
"We have to go, Iris," Ed tries to convince, pulling away from their close embrace to put an automail hand on her shoulder. She's exhausted her tears, but her eyes are glazed over and stare millions of miles away. From this, he understands she's using her powers to reminisce, but it doesn't comfort him from the fact that she looks dead, which was a very real possibility just a few moments ago.
It doesn't take much for her to retreat back into the real world, though - he tugs at her hand with his own flesh one and suddenly she's back in his safe arms. With a thank you in her eyes she's on her feet reminding herself of the urgency at hand. She had vowed to herself she wouldn't hold back her team and remembered what was at stake.
The group looked at her as if she was some sort of wounded animal: a mixture of pity and fear. It made her sick. Quickly Iris answered everyone's silent question.
"I'll be fine." With those three words, she walks into the next room. They all watch her figure shrink smaller and smaller into the distance.
"She spoke in the future tense," Mustang notes woefully.
"It is best we give her time," Scar informs, knowing all too well the loss of a sibling. "Nonetheless, let's press on."
They quickly catch up with Iris, who they find making an engravement into the brick wall with her trusted dagger.
"The Promised Day," it read.
"Just in case someone ever forgets what happens today."
•••
The group advanced forward, everyone only a few steps behind the other. Scar lingered in the back, so Iris slowed down a bit to meet his pace. He makes a face of inquiry at this, and she hesitates before opening up her palm.
"The stone," she requests softly. "Please."
He replies gruffly, "My people."
"Mine, too," she reminds, rubbing her hands together anxiously. After a moment of pondering, he infers that she will take care of it, so he hands it to her.
She slips the stone into the inside pocket of her coat. "An emergency," she mumbles. No one hears her.
The five trekked along for only a short amount of time after that before reaching a final corridor. The end of it stood a wall that clearly was sealed up with alchemy. Ed was quick to deconstruct it and it crumbled next to their feet.
They cautiously stepped inside and found that they were not alone. A stout man was in the center of the room, crouched over a transmutation circle he was conjuring up with a piece of chalk. He muttered insanely to himself, his face twitching.
Lieutenant Hawkeye immediately had her gun locked in her hand at the man, waiting for a signal from her superior. He stepped in front of her, putting a hand out to not take action yet.
"State your name and business," Mustang speaks clearly to him.
He looks up at them finally, then smiles wickedly. A gold tooth in his mouth shines in the dim light.
"This room does not feel good," Iris mutters to herself, searching the area with her eyes. When she looks up, she knows for certain she's found the cause of her sick gut. Hundreds of pipes crawl up the roof and it looks as if the ceiling is swallowing them up. They remind her of snakes, and she can't help but rub at her wrist as if it were Iridian's.
"Who the hell are you?" Ed shouts out, pointing at the man with an automail finger.
Laboriously, he puts a hand on his knee to stand up. He dusts the chalk from his hands.
"I'd like to keep that to myself, I think," he speaks, a hint of madness laced in his voice. "But, wouldn't you like to know... I guess I can share my most popular accomplishment so that you can get just a tidbit." He gestures to himself proudly. "I'm the man who created King Bradley."
A moment of shock waves through them all. Disbelief strikes Iris, but due to the man's glasses, she can't look into his eyes and discover with her powers if he's telling the truth or not.
"Isn't this an overpowered team, though?" he continues. "Four military dogs, and a wanted criminal? Surely I can't take you all on my own." He whistles aloud. "Why don't we even the odds?"
From the shadows, figures emerge. There are at least eight of them, men with white tank tops and blue pants, swords in their hands. Their eyes glow a corrupted type of red that seems far beyond repair.
"If you're wondering, these are just prototypes of Fuhrer Bradley."
He fingers a gesture to the men, and they waste no time advancing against the five of them.
Iris and Ed quickly transmute staff weapons from the concrete below them while Mustang and Hawkeye get the front end of the first attacks. He uses his targeted and controlled flames and she has her brilliant aim with a gun. Scar wastes no time either, going for the men's faces to deconstruct and explode.
Now equipped with a weapon, the two kid alchemists charge headfirst into the battle. In the back of her mind, the girl wonders how many more times today she'll have to fight for her life and for others. With all the time she spent in her last battle, she figured the Promised Day eclipse was just about to start.
She sees three men after Scar, so she decides to attack one to divert his attention. The swords are easier to dodge now that she's had experience, and she uses her small stature to her advantage against this particularly tall enemy. Her staff clashes with his sword multiple times, but she finds an opening and throws the pointed end to the copy of Fuhrer Bradley. It sails into the top of his shoulder and he's pinned with it to the wall.
From the corner of her eye, Iris can see the creepy man continuing to draw with chalk as they fight. She aims for him with her throwing knife, but a lackey grabs her by the wrist and wrestles with her until it's pointed to her throat. Swiftly she swipes at the back of his heel until he loses his balance and kneels. With the knife now back in her control, she stabs it into his kneecap. He falls in pain and she looks to help her allies.
"Look out!" Mustang yells to the girl, pointing behind her. A soldier swings his sword overhead, ready to strike at her. She's too late to react, but then a whistle rings out from the gold-toothed man. All the men stop their actions and turn to their master. He claps his hands together and smiles in satisfaction. From under his feet, they can see his transmutation circle is complete.
The rejected Fuhrers gather around the doctor, five of them meeting each point on the alchemic drawing. Before anyone can stop him, the doctor slams a hand onto the chalk, activating it. Blue sparks shoot out violently, but they fly past the group and race through the tunnels behind them.
Over the loud whoosh, he asks, "How many laboratories are dedicated to alchemy in Central City, huh, alchemists?"
"There's four in use," Ed responds, not understanding his point.
"Five points completes a pentagram! Where do you think all the sparks are going towards?!"
Inky black tentacles arise orderly in the circle of men, but once they touch their skin, their bodies disintegrate as they groan in pain. They disappear, completely decomposed. The gold-toothed doctor smiles, satisfied in his work.
"Five..." Iris gasps in realization. "The labs! They're a big transmutation circle! The whole city is a population of thousands of people! He's trying to make a new Philosopher's Stone!"
That's all Edward needs to hear before rushing towards the man with an angry determination. However, he's suddenly paralyzed as a giant eye emerges from right under him and tentacles wrap around his body. Immediately, little black hands eat away at his skin, causing him to scream out in pain and bewilderment.
"Fullmetal!" both the Lieutenant and Mustang yell for him. Iris runs to him immediately but she's stopped forcefully by Scar as they watch his body deconstruct.
"Let me go!" she screams, wriggling in his grasp and pounding a fist on his shoulder. "Edward!"
"You'll wind up in the transmutation, idiot girl!" he yells back, pushing her away from the scene. She holds out a hand, desperate to reach him. But, right in front of her, Edward disappears into thin air.
"He's gone!" Riza cries in confusion.
"What did you do to him?" Iris demands to the doctor. "Where is he?!"
"Be patient," the doctor responds, smiling devilishly. "You'll be with him soon."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Iris asks, anxiety building inside her.
With one hand signal, he commands the men who are left to attack again. Iris does her best to dodge them to stop the crazy man, but two of them easily grab her, their combined strength and tactic enough to get her on the floor. When she looks around, she's noticed all the others have gotten themselves captured similarly to her.
"I'm afraid we've run out of time for fighting and frankly, I don't want to lose any more grunts." The man whistles again and the men look up at him for instruction. "Bring the girl here," he demands to the two men holding Iris in their vice grip. She struggles in their grasp as they approach him. She gives a killer stare to the man with the gold tooth, her breathing heavy and her pride shot, powerlessness taking over her brain.
He smiles at the alchemist with pity. He leans in to talk to her as if they were sharing secrets and says, "You almost outsmarted them. Do you know that? You've been a sacrifice for quite some time now, but it only recently came to their attention that you haven't seen your very own gate of Truth, just another's."
Iris looks away.
"Oh, so you know what I'm talking about. Clever girl," he praises. Her jaw clenches. "You've seen Edward Elric's Truth. But it's not enough. You need to experience your own."
"I won't do it! I won't perform human transmutation."
He suppresses a laugh. "Who said you have a choice?"
She growls and tries to break free again.
"Don't be like that," the doctor chides. "You could bring anyone back! You've lost them all, haven't you? Your father, your mother... your sister?" He emphasizes.
"Don't you dare speak of her!" she orders, angry spit flying out of her mouth. "Don't speak of any of them!"
He ignores her and continues. "Once you open up your own portal, you'll be a sacrifice just like Edward Elric and the others. So why don't we get things started?"
Before Iris can begin to struggle again, she watches as in one split second, the doctor in front of her is lifted up in the air. He screams in surprise, and they all watch from the floor as he writhes against the captor. The girl looks up to see Jerso, his chimera slime choking the doctor in midair.
The men holding her captive loosen their grip at the sudden loss of their master, allowing Iris to break free. She knees one under the chin and elbows the other above the head. She runs back to her group, Mustang getting in front of her to defend her.
Slowly, Jerso lowers himself and the doctor, and Mei Chang and the other chimeras Zampano and Darius follow suit. Iris smiles in some sort of relief. Her team is growing while theirs is dwindling. The three join their side of the room while the potential Fuhrer's look around, bewildered, waiting for instruction. What seems to be the leader of the group takes a fighting stance against Jerso, and they all follow him. Quickly, the chimera is surrounded by the swordsmen.
Iris and Mei are first to act, trying to protect him so that the doctor won't be a problem. The men struggle for their advisor. They inevitably cut Jerso and he releases. The gold-toothed doctor scrambles away, desperate for air. A red substance contained within a thin jar rolls out of his pocket... Mei's eyes catch it immediately. Her objective now is chasing after the stone, realizing no one else has taken notice. She jumps for it, but with the fighting around her, the glass vial dances around the room.
The Philosopher's Stone rolls into a clear path towards Mei, and she sprints for it, but immediately jumps back at a bad sense. A saber swoops right in front of her, and had she not backed away, her head would be gone. Her eyes are trained on the liquified stone, but when it rolls under a military boot, she looks up into the eyes of none other than the true Fuhrer, Wrath the homunculus. He takes his time to pick the stone up from the footing he has on it, and before long, all eyes are focused on him. The corrupted men have all been defeated, their swords scattered over the battleground.
'All that is left is this homunculus,' Iris thinks to herself, willing her nerves to be calm. 'And this creepy guy,' she says as an afterthought as she watches him pathetically scramble behind the protection of the Fuhrer.
"I had a sneaking suspicion I'd have to come here and do this myself." He scoffs and kicks aside one of the men that sought to be the title he holds now. "Incompetency breeds incompetency." He glances over to the doctor practically cowering behind him. With one swift motion, he unsheathes his saber and pierces it into his stomach. The group gasps at his tortious action, and the gold-toothed doctor collapses behind him, betrayal and shock evident through his eyes. Strangled words come out of his mouth, but they are incomprehensible.
The team watches for more moments in horror, frightened anticipation running through their systems. Iris and Mei's senses prick up and they turn around, looking into the darkened corridor with an inkling...
"We're not alone!" Mei cries as soon as she's sure. The two girls back up and push the group into two different directions as a shadow blade is struck through the room.
"Pride," the chimeras fearfully recall by the attack move.
A small figure lurks in the doorway. The two homunculi waste no more time. They attack swiftly with no warning, both aiming to capture Iris, their final piece of the puzzle to unlock the human transmutation circle. Riza shoots Selim in his right shoulder and he recoils. Scar pushes Bradley back, away from the girl.
Mustang commands the group's new objective. "Protect Iris! She's the one they're after!"
They split into two groups, everyone keeping a keen eye on Iris, who had grabbed two of the broadswords from the men on the floor. She quickly fuses the metal handles into one to create a double-bladed staff. She begins to run to Fuhrer Bradley but is stopped by Darius who pushes her back near the group.
"Don't attack!" he scolded. "Just defend yourself!"
From afar, Pride rapidly shoots out his sharp shadows at the two. She blocks them with her metal staff, but his last hit made her skid back until she found the strength to push back with the sword. The darkness breaks off and disintegrates, but a final dagger of darkness cuts the top of her cheekbone under her eye. Blood runs down her cheek and drips onto her already bloodied hand. Darius has distracted Pride from her, but Wrath is quick to take his place in capturing the alchemist.
Flames, sparks of transmutations, bullets... all fly across the battleground into perfect chaos. But the Fuhrer of Amestris pays no mind. He unties his eyepatch and reveals his ouroboros. It glints wickedly. Now, his sights are truly set on Iris.
He forecasts the outcome with his Ultimate Eye and finds a slim entrance to take the alchemist into his control. He strikes with no mercy, and no one realizes their failure to keep her out of the homunculi's hands until it's too late.
Viciously, the Fuhrer pins Iris down with both his swords, cutting clean through her hands. She cries in absolute pain and kicks and writhes under him, looking fruitlessly around for an escape. Pride is quick to wrap his shadows around her ankles to still her. She looks up into the swordsman's eyes, one of his pupils caged by the ouroboros symbol she has grown to detest.
"See-All Alchemist," Wrath says with a sinister stare, "You are our final sacrifice."
From her ground view, she sees the doctor with the gold tooth suspended right above her by a shadow that has unapologetically impaled him through the chest. More shadows coil around his body, then on the floor the inky substance creates an alchemic circle around her.
"I won't!" Iris cries out one final time in an attempt she knows in her heart will do nothing. "I won't perform the taboo for you!"
"Your power is truly a curse," Pride informs, standing over her pitiful helplessness. "You possess the necessary alchemical knowledge to perform human transmutation."
She struggles away from Wrath's grasp, but he removes his swords from her palms when Pride has successfully captured her with his shadows. Almost immediately when the older man steps out of the circle do blue sparks emerge from the ground. She can feel the static electricity coming off of her body. The room is filled with alchemic energy.
Iris feels dread in every fiber of her being. She braces herself for the unknown.
With one white, blinding light, the final sacrifice disappears.
•••
I am standing in a white room. I already understand where I am, but the feeling of dread running through my veins is merciless. I feel a presence right behind me. It emanates a qi that feels just like myself. It only has an outline of a body that stands bare before me. It seems as if it has been waiting here for an eternity, just for me.
Behind this creature is an intimidating door. I know exactly what this is. And I don't want to face it.
I back away, muttering until I'm shouting, "No! No, no!" I turn to run away, but I only make a few steps before the Truth appears in front of me again with a toothy smile plastered onto its otherwise blank face. It advances towards me and I back away until I lose my footing and realize that the door is right behind me, open and ready to swallow me.
Is this what total helplessness feels like? I let myself go, trying to convince myself it'll be okay. But I know deep in my heart, things will never be the same.
I go into the abyss.
As I fall, my skin breaks apart into fragments right in front of my eyes as I watch myself become deconstructed by alchemy, the science I've devoted my life to. In the back of my mind, I wonder what kind of sick equivalent exchange this is.
Eventually I land, my world completely black.
What have I lost?
