The Elric brothers were traveling across the searing hot desert. The soles of their feet were burning in the heat of the sand. "Uggh, I hate the Desert... UGH! It's nothing but sand!" Alphonse suddenly collapsed. "Ugh... if only there was some grass, I could turn it into bread. I'm starving! Huh? Hey! Al, where'd you go Al? Hey!" Alphonse was inside the sand calling his name.
"Down here brother!" Al's Hand emerged from the sand beneath and Ed grabbed his leg.
"Ah! There you are!" Edward sighed.
"I sunk in again!" Alphonse Smiled guiltily.
"Again Al, this was the thirteenth time! I don't understand how you keep falling in!" Edward pulled Alphonse out of the sand and he stood tall.
"I'm full!" He Replied.
"FULL OF WHAT!?" Edward then kicks open his chest plate and sand comes out.
"There's sand inside my suit of armor, it's pulling me down!" Alphonse explained.
"Reason number two, why I hate the desert! It's searing hot, it gets everywhere. And it hurts to walk in!" Edward kicks the sand off of his boots.
"Brother, that's three reasons!" Alphonse Replied.
"Does it look like I care!" Alphonse started crying, Edward started looking away, guiltily. "Why are you crying Al?" Edward asked.
"You raised your voice at me." He whimpered. Ed sighed.
"Al, I'm sorry. Okay, let's change the subject huh?" Alphonse continued crying but slowed down a bit.
"To what?" Alphonse Asked curiously.
"Hey I know, let's talk about trains. wait! There was a train heading to Liore, dammit! I forgot!" Edward hit his head with the palm of his hand.
"Why didn't we go then."
"Because we didn't catch the train, we were late." He explained.
"Fine, But I still say we should've taken the train! It's way faster than this!" Alphonse Replied.
"We couldn't get on the train Al, it was too late in the day. We would be sleeping there, and you know how I hate sleeping on trains." Edward stretched his back.
"I know, but you know, I'm kind of tired of you telling me what to do! I'm not your butler ya know!"
"What gave you that idea? I never thought of you as my butler." Alphonse gave him a look.
"'Alphonse, I got a kink in my back! Please carry me inside your armor!' 'Oh Alphonse! Help me! My hair is undone! Do it for me?' 'Alphonse, can you please make me a sandwich!' 'Alphonse, can you feed me while I lay down please!'" Alphonse imitated his voice.
"I don't sound like that!" Edward said angrily.
"I don't sound like that!" Alphonse imitated.
"Okay Fine, I get it, But we should be arriving at Liore soon! You should be in a good mood by then right?" Edward Asked, scratching his head.
"Okay, let's just get there! The sooner the better!"
After a day and a night's rest, they soon arrived at Liore. "You okay, brother?" Alphonse stared at his brother who was highly dehydrated.
"Water! I can hear it!" Edward saw a fountain full of red wine. "Wait a second! Al Look!" He ran off and laughed crazily.
"Ed, wait!" He sighed, as his brother ignored him.
"Water, Water, Water, Water, Water, Water, waaaa, oh!" He noticed it's not actually water. "Guess this explains the nasty stench in the air." Edward thought aloud to himself.
"What's wrong? Hm?" Ed scoops up the substance with his hands. "Is that blood?"
"No silly, More like blood red wine." Edward explained. Suddenly a man with a white apron, black shirt, tan pants, red wool cap, and black mustache dragged Edward away from the fountain.
"Hey! Get away from here! You know that's off limits to little kids!" He Yelled.
"HEY, WHO YA CALLIN' LITTLE!" Edward accused angrily, The Clerk laughed.
"Ah, You're from out of town. That explains it. Please forgive me!" He bowed politely, Edward and Alphonse looked at each other.
"A fountain stocked with free wine? This town must be loaded. Well that's strange!" Edward thought aloud.
"Your buddies in a suit of armor and you are wearing gloves, a shirt and two jackets in the desert, all while wearing a braid, and you call us strange? What's the deal anyway? You street performers?" Edward turns his head in anger.
"I don't think so, pops! Do I look like a clown to you?" He growled, his golden eyes glaring darkly.
"Well you must have a reason to Journey out this far." The clerk scratched his neck nervously.
"We're trying to track something down, that's all, oh I just remembered, we have to be somewhere. Come on Al." Edward dragged him away.
"Yeah, okay." Alphonse accidentally bumped the roof causing the radio to fall and break into a thousand pieces. "oops!" The Clerk was furious.
"Now you've done it! buddy! What do you expect wearing a stupid tin suit?" He Said in anger.
"Don't Bust a lung grandpa! We can fix it!" Edward groaned.
"It's in a thousand pieces!" His eyebrows furrowed.
"I'm sorry, let me try to fix it." Alphonse Said shyly, not wanting any more conflict, Alphonse drew the circle, and clapped his hands to fix the radio. Lights flickered as it all came back together.
"thank you, how did you do this?" He shouted in astonishment.
"It's science, we're the Elric brothers." Alphonse and Edward both shouted instantly.
"Yeah, you know science, sometimes random shit just happens." Said a merchant who was listening in.
"No one cares about your opinion, now get back to work!" Said the boss.
"We are the Elric brothers. Not to brag or anything, but we're pretty well known." Edward started with his natural dry humor.
"The Elric brothers? Doesn't ring a bell." He Replied, Edward gave up.
"Anyway, it's best we should be going! Catcha later!" The Clerk tried to get their attention as they walked away but it was to no avail.
"We can see a giant temple from here. Come on Ed, let's look around!" Alphonse looked at all of the beauty of the city, wanting to explore more of it.
"I don't care about sightseeing, we're on a mission! And also I'm hungry! I need to eat!" His stomach growled.
"Me too, that should be the first thing we do!" Alphonse Grinned.
"Yeah it should be, wait what?" Edward stared at him in confusion.
"I'm just kidding brother! I can't feel hunger!" Edward laughed.
"Good one Al, hey there's a market over there, let's eat!" They arrived at the market and they sat down on the stools, the salesman turned and the boys.
"Oh hey newcomers, what can I get for ya!" He Smiled warmly.
"I would like some Sushi please, and some rolls!" Edward stated blankly.
"This is not a fish factory, we do have rolls though. Lean or Enriched?" Edward was clearly disappointed, but he accepted it anyway.
"I'll have Enriched please." He Replied.
"What do you want to eat, armor guy?" He pointed at Alphonse.
"I'm not really hungry!" The Salesman leaned in close to Alphonse's face. Suspicious of him.
"Why do you wear that armor of yours anyway, isn't it hot in there? we're in the desert ya know, take it off." He suggested Edward looked at him in fear and said.
"He needs to keep it on! It's for military purposes!" Edward's arms waved frantically.
"The military? Are you guys, state Alchemists?" He took another look at them.
"Well, technically not yet, we work for them though. We're the Elric brothers!" Alphonse explained shyly.
"Well, are you now! I see why they call you Fullmetal Alchemist now, get it, you're literally metal!" the salesman pointed at Alphonse, laughing.
"I'm not the Fullmetal Alchemist, He is!" Alphonse pointed at his brother, who was fuming.
"Wait what? The little pipsqueak is the Fullmetal Alchemist?" Edwards' anger boiled to the surface.
"Who are you calling small! I'll cut off your legs and stick 'em on your head!" He shouted.
"Edward, He didn't say anything like that." Alphonse was holding onto Edward who was now kicking the air.
"Well, even if he wasn't he still pissed me off!" the salesman walked away, not wanting to deal with them anymore.
"You said you were alchemists?" Said a craftsman.
"Yes, we are." Edward Said, trying his best to not shout in anger at the Past salesman.
"We don't have any alchemists in these parts. I fix things for a living though, let me know if you need a job." A lady with dark hair with a black fur cloak and red lips turned her head towards the conversation. She was sitting next to Edward.
"Wait, you're Edward Elric? The Fullmetal Alchemist? The big celebrity around East City? The Child Prodigy?" She Said in astonishment, her eyes were a dark shade of magenta red, Edward couldn't help but blush, smiling as he did so.
"Uh well, when you put it that way. But yes I am the one you mean." Edward tried to keep himself from smiling which only made it worse.
"It's wonderful to meet you, I am Solaris, I'm also new to these parts. But I didn't expect an Alchemist to come all his way here, what's your mission?" She Asked curiously.
"We were just sent by the military to check this place out, see if there's anything wrong. Technically we're not official yet, we haven't gotten our certification yet." He explained, she nodded understanding what he meant.
"Interesting, how old are you two? Just curious." She smirked slyly.
"I'm fifteen." He answered.
"And I'm fourteen." Alphonse pointed at himself.
"Wait, you're the older brother?" Her eyes widened.
"If another person gets that wrong again! I will throttle someone!" Solaris's eyes were wide.
"I mean no harm, sorry if I came across as rude." She Said defensively.
"Ed, I don't think we should tell her everything, some stuff is classified information ya know." Alphonse whispered in his ear confidential information.
"I'm not telling her any of that!" He Replied.
"Well, it's been great meeting you. But I need to get going. Work to do." She winked and blew a kiss at Edward and walked away.
"Well damn, that's some lovely lady." He was awestruck, Alphonse gave a smug smile.
"Oh? does someone have a crush?" He giggled.
"What? no I don't Al, stop picking on me!" He Yelled defensively,
"You totally are crushing!" Alphonse laughed.
"I'm not!"
They arrived at the Liore temple gates, they were open and ready for arrival. "So far, nothing strange has happened, besides the wine fountain. I just need to figure out what is wrong with this place. There's gotta be a reason Roy sent us here!" Edward Said, Alphonse nodded, Suddenly a girl tripped and fell, the bag of meat lands and splats everywhere.
"Oh no! my dress! No, my meat!" She whimpered.
"Hey, Uh... let me help you!" He helped her up and put the meat back in her bag.
"Oh, thank you, you're too kind." She grinned blushing.
"What's your name?" Edward asked.
"Uh, my name is Rose, thanks for helping me." Rose Replied shyly.
"It's just what I do, helping others, saving lives, it's kinda my thing!" He winked charmingly, Alphonse sighed.
"You'll be a perfect sacrifice for Leo Cornello the Sun God!" Rose opened the gate and walked to the temple.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Edward Asked fearfully.
"I meant what I said! I will sacrifice you! To get my Boyfriend back, Cornello said I could!" She dragged him onto the stairs.
"You cannot bring back the dead!" Edward Said, laying on the floor,
"How dare you!" She slapped him. "The sun god Cornello never lies! And just for that I shall tie you up on the altar!" She spun the rope on her hand.
"Rose, I understand you're hurting, I understand the feeling of losing someone you love, I understand your anger, but this is not okay!" Alphonse grabbed her arm and she writhed and screamed, Rose started crying feebly.
"Just shut up! I will not hear it! You're the evil moon spirits! You have come to sway me from my beliefs! I will not listen! Cornello is true and just! You speak blasphemy!"
"What are moon spirits?" Alphonse Asked aloud.
"They're demons that corrupt the mind with vile thoughts, such as love, and acceptance! And other evil things like joy!" She shrieked.
"Okay, so maybe there is something weird going on here!" Edward whispers to Alphonse.
"Now you've made me REALLY ANGRY!" She yelled angrily and pushed them further into the temple.
"Ah Rose, you've come with your sacrifice!" Said an old bald man with a cane, he had a wicked grin.
"These are those who disobey your words! They deserve to be punished!" She tied Edward up to the altar.
"That old guy is who you trust, this man who might have lost half of his memory? Wow, now I'm just disappointed." Edward Chuckled.
"Rose, he's lying to you! He's using you. It's okay to feel joy, or feel emotions!" Alphonse raised his voice.
"No one can bring someone back to life!" Edward exclaimed.
"You lie! I've seen it with my own eyes, he has the powers of a god! He's brought people to life before." Rose yelled angrily, Edward looked at Cornello and saw a ring on his finger, it glowed red.
"You're a fake!" Edward Grinned.
"Don't believe his words, he's trying to trick you! I can bring your boyfriend back." Cornello held Rose's hand and smirked.
"He may be able to bring him back, but who's going to die. No one can get by without giving something to Rose, who's going to die for your boyfriend huh?" Edward Yelled, Rose turned at him, fuming in anger.
"That's enough! Stop it! I don't know what to think!" She began to cry. "Just leave me alone."
"Equivalent Exchange? You believe in that alchemy myth? That's not real, people who do what they can don't always get something in return! And some bad people are never held accountable. You and I are not as different as you may have thought." He pointed at Edward.
"Shut up! It's the law of the universe. At least my beliefs aren't from a cult! My belief is based on proven facts and logic, and from what I found, humans aren't gods." There was a moment of silence, aside from a whimpering Rose.
"I shall prove you wrong! I shall bring him back to life! And show her I'm God! I shall put an end to your suffering, by sacrificing these young boy's! May the ceremony commence." many women danced towards the altar, they carried the Leo idol statue in their hands and danced.
"Great going brother, now we're going to die!" the women began to chant in a demonic tone.
This isn't normal, this is a ritual! "Hey, May I have your attention!" the women turned silent and listened to him. "Wait, he has a Philosopher's Stone! That's how he does it, the Philosopher's Stone has the ability to do alchemy without Equivalent Exchange! He has a Philosopher's Stone as his ring! He's a liar, and a fraud! He's been using alchemy to prey on your peoples beliefs, you have a right to not be lied to." the women laughed at the absurdity of his words.
"You expect us to listen to the guy who's tied up! You're nothing but a dog to us!" They scoffed.
"Alright, if you won't believe me, I'll have to show you!" He clapped his tied hands together and formed his arm sword, he cut himself and Alphonse free.
"He's escaped!" his ring glowed red and a Chimera sprung up from out of the earth.
"Cornello? What. was. that?" She looked down and saw the glowing red ring.
"Well, you see my child. I can explain!" He Replied.
"Oh don't try to hide it anymore, the secret is already out of the bag! How about you explain just yourself!" Edward smirked.
"Okay fine, I'm not a real God. I just wanted praise and honor, and I knew that by preying on others I had found a way to get what I want." Cornello confessed,
"How about riches, did you steal from the castle's treasure trove? I've heard there's over a billion stashes down there." He chuckled.
"Of course I did, who do you think I am, a nobleman or something? How else was I going to conquer this place?" He continued, Edward was grinning.
"And what about the Philosopher's Stone?" He folded his arms arrogantly.
"It's not completely real, it's just partially real. I've just been using it to pretend I had godlike powers, after all, I couldn't get others to believe I was a god if I didn't show them my abilities now could I?" Edward began to laugh and everyone stared at him.
"What, what's so funny?" Cornello Asked.
"You're an idiot! You ran right into my trap." he pulled out a tape recorder out of his pocket and clicked it off. Everyone stared at it in shock. "I've been recording this entire conversation, now everyone in Liore knows you're a fraud! To believe, that you would be dumb enough to tell me everything you've done.'' The women looked at Cornello in disgust and turned away to leave.
"I trusted you! I thought you cared about me! How dare you!" Rose slapped Cornello in the face and started crying. "What am I supposed to do now! How can I accept that my beloved is gone! I can't accept it." Cornello ran away in fear of his secret being out to everyone. "How can I go on!"
"Rose, You'll just have to, stand up and walk, you got two good legs, you should get up and use them." Edward sighed.
"Shut up, you don't understand my pain, you've never lost someone close to you! Just go away!" Rose yelled furiously.
"Fine then, sit there and mope, but it's not going to help you in the long run!" Edward scolded.
"Brother, you're being a little insensitive." Alphonse defended. "It's not her fault, this was probably the whole fabric of her life, she was manipulated and indoctrinated by a man calling himself god. She didn't know what she was doing."
"That may be Al, but personally if something can't be proven, it's not real." Edward said. "I'm not saying I disrespect their perspectives, but I have to butt in when truth is attacked, that's just how I am." He sighed. "Anyways, Let's just get back to Central, we finished our mission." Ed turned back to see Al comforting Rose. "Come on Al, we're going to lose the train, and I don't want to cross the desert again."
"Okay!"
I know most of you guys won't read this but I just want to thank you guys for reading this it took really long. I didn't write about Isaac the Freezer because he wasn't from the manga, anyways ciao!