Author's Note: I want to thank Eodaiya and Zankoku na Tenshi no Tsubsa… for reviewing my story. I know it is slow, but trust me the plot gets deeper as we explore alchemy in the story and in real life. Also I will bring in other characters in the story, both new and old and explore the growing relationships between some characters. Hope you enjoy the next chapter of Return of Arcane: "Revelation of past mistakes."
"Teacher?" shouted Ed, looking at his father and back to the monstrous being. "What is he talking about old man!" Hohenheim tried to reply, but was cut off by the creature, laughing as if Ed's reaction was a sick and humorous joke.
"Dear Elric, your father was my teacher of alchemy three hundred years ago." Stated the stranger as the gate faded into the night air. Ed's jaw dropped open; there was no possible way. Sure his father was around four hundred years old, but this thing could be as old as he implied.
"Adam…" whispered Hohenheim, his eyes full of fear and remorse. "Please don't do this…" he pleaded
"Don't do this? DON'T DO THIS?" shouted the abomination, his face twisted in rage. "Do you think that I will forgive for what you did to me? The nights I spent in hell knowing it was your doing? Adam died when you sealed him into the gate, I go by Arcane now." Everyone was silent, shocked by the revelation that took place. Al stepped forward, hoping that this being known as Arcane was lying.
"Dad, is it true?" asked Al, his eyes showing a need of comfort and reassurance.
"Of course its true, every last word. But there is one thing I am glad for." Said Arcane, a wicked grin spreading across his face. "I can do this!" He grabbed Ed's left leg and sent a shock through it. Ed screamed in agony, it felt like his leg was being torn apart. Mustang saw this reaction before and knew what the end result would be.
"Armstrong!"
"Right." Shouted Armstrong, wearing his signature gauntlets and no shirt, charged Arcane at full speed. Arcane looked up to see the unusually muscular man ready to strike. The dark alchemist raised his right arm to defend himself from the oncoming attack and the two made contact. Auto-mail against muscle, the outcome was predictable so Armstrong decided to move victory into his favor. Impulses of alchemic energy surged into the metal limb and caused it to explode into a thousand pieces. Arcane let go of and stumbled back, surprised by the tactics used by this mysterious mustached man.
"BEHOLD THE TRUE POWER OF THE ARMSTRONG FAMILY TECHNIQUE, PASSED DOWN FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION." Shouted Armstrong in his usual proud tone, accompanied by the usual poses of victory and valor.
There is no way this man is sane, thought Arcane, looking at Armstrong and then at his damaged arm. He crouched down like an animal defending itself, placing his left hand in the damaged parts and picking up something. "This is not over…" and with that statement he jumped high into the air, to land somewhere out of sight of the military personnel outside of Central Headquarters.
"Don't just stand there! After him!" barked Mustang pointing in the direction that the creature went. The soldiers slowly reacted to this, considering what happened, but nonetheless ran off into the street's to find Ed's assailant.
Ed looked up and saw two figures coming towards him, but he couldn't see them since everything was getting fuzzy and he felt so tired. He closed his eyes and rested his head on the ground, fading off into the darkness hearing a voice calling his name
"…Edward…Edward…"
A few hours later…
Ed opened his eyes, everything looked foggy as if looking through a stream-covered window. The outlines of two people were over him, one smaller than the other. As the figures came into focus, he began to recognize them; one was a small boy around ten with brown hair and tan eyes, the other was a beautiful woman with blond hair and kind blue eyes, both wore looks of fear and concern.
"…Hey Al…you look good…" Whispered Ed, his voice tired and hoarse for some reason he couldn't remember. It was almost instantly the twos faces went from grim expressions to smiles and tears of joy.
"Brother! Your okay." Cried Al, rubbing the tears away from his eyes.
"We almost lost you Ed." Cried Winry, leaning in to hug her long-lost friend.
"No way, I'm not going to die from some electric shock." Smiled Ed, his voice slowly coming back to him. But his show of confidence didn't seem to affect his companions; instead it had the opposite effect. Ed's smile was replaced with a look of concern, wondering what happened when he passed out.
"What happened? Why are you looking at me like that." Al was the first to speak, knowing how his brother would react to the news.
"Ed…it wasn't an electric shock that Arcane gave you." Ed started to worry a little, afraid of what really happened to him, but his insecurities with a forced laugh.
"Its not like my leg was broken down, right?" Everyone's eyes diverted from Ed, fearful of his reaction."…Right…" Ed looked down at the end of the bed and pulled away the covers. His left leg was gone, the exact portion that went missing when Ed and Al tried to resurrect their mother. "H-how is this possible?" whispered Ed, rubbing his leg frantically as if it was still there. "He didn't even-"
"Clap his hands." Interrupted a ruff yet smoothing voice. Ed looked into the corner of the room to find his father sitting in the corner of the room, his arms crossed and his face focused on some distant thought.
"Alright old man, tell us what's up with you and this Arcane guy." Demanded Ed, trying his best to balance himself on the bed without either of his limbs.
"Okay, I believe it is time you learn about him, since he is going to kill me. It was three hundred years ago when I just moved into my third body. I met a young boy named Adam Librock, an innocent boy who had a quite a knack for alchemy." A small smile crept across Hohenheim's face. "In fact he was a lot like you boys."
"What do you mean 'was' alike?" asked Al, his eyes full of interest and question.
"What happened to him?" asked Winry, also curious as to how Adam became Arcane. Hohenheim body language changed from relaxed to tense and depressed.
"A few months after Adam came under my tutelage, I came across a vile of arcane water."
"Arcane water? What's that?" Asked Al.
" What are you talking about Al, we learned about it at the first branch, don't you remember?" asked Ed, wondering what has gotten into his brother.
"Ed…" said Winry, her eyes full of worry and sadness. "When Al came back, couldn't remember anything that happened since you tried to bring your mom back." Ed was shocked by this news, but also a bit relieved that Al would never remember the horrible events that took place the last four years.
"Okay, sorry about that Al." Al nodded in accepting his brother's apology and let him continue with his explanation. "Arcane water is a lot like red water, but contains more powerful alchemic elements and was believed to be used to create a Philosopher's store."
"Then why didn't you go and get it in the first place?" asked Winry, thinking that these two must have been very thick to ignore a secondary option of creating it through this substance.
"The reason is because it was very toxic and whoever was exposed to it would die instantly." Said Hohenheim, his body becoming more tense while remembering the tragic events. "Adam was curious to see what these would happen if he used it in a transmutation. Everything went well until the unexpected happened; the gate appeared right there and from it was those creatures. They tore of his right arm and broke the vial holding the water and it fused with him, transforming him into something horrible." Hohenheim was silent, it seemed that remembering those memories have reopened old wounds. "In a way, he did what you boys tried. But instead of staying the same in spirit and mind, Adam went from the light to the darkness. He became malice, cruel and inconsiderate. I tried my best to keep him under control, but he would escape and cause destruction like destroying support beams to buildings, creating grotesque chimeras and even killing people by creating a pressure-based bomb in their brain."
"So that was when you locked him into the gate…" said Al, remembering the words that Arcane spoke a few hours ago. "But then how did he get out?"
"It must have been when we went to the other side of the gate." Said Ed, contemplating the issue before him.
"I don't think so," commented Winry, scratching her head in concentration, "from what I could tell, that type of auto-mail existed around one hundred fifty years ago."
"WHAT! WHOA!" Shouted Ed before falling off the bed. While Winry and Al helped Ed back on the bed, Hohenheim was busy contemplating what Winry said.
"If what you said is true, then we must find out how he can summon the gate and perform alchemy on the other side of the gate,"
The door of the hospital room closed quietly, Mustang hoping not to get any unwanted attention for eavesdropping on the Elric's conversation. As he walked down the hall, he heard a voice calling to him. Mustang turned around to see Hawkeye coming up, her face expressing worry and disappointment.
"Have you located this Arcane guy?" asked Mustang, walking beside Hawkeye.
"No sir, it seems that whatever it is, it outrun…are you okay sir-"
"You don't have to call me sir anymore Riza, we're dating now." Said Mustang, lifting up Hawkeye's chin to give her a quick peck on the lips. "Other then that, is there any other information I should be briefed on?" Riza paused for a moment and nodded no. "Alright then, I'll see you at home later?" said Mustang, waving goodbye and walking to his office to finish some paperwork on the incident. Riza was all alone; she looked down and placed a hand on her stomach.
"Well, I think we should wait a little longer until we tell your father, don't you agree?"
Somewhere in a town fifteen miles from Central, chaos is brewing in a local auto-mail shop. There are three figure in the crowded shop; one of them a middle-age man working desperately to create a right auto-mail arm of the highest caliber, the other is a demonic looking person with his arm around the third figure, a young girl with golden hair and tears running down her rosy cheeks.
"Hurry up old man, unless you want the girl to end up like you friend." Said Arcane, a cruel smile creeping across his face. The man hard at work glanced over at a smoldering pile of flesh that used to be one of his mechanics. "Oh, I almost forgot. My kind sir, can you put this into my arm." Arcane reached into his robes and pulled out a small crystal vial that contained a glowing crimson red substance. As he handed it to the mechanic, the mechanic asked what it was. "Lets say this, if you do anything funny with that arm, you and the girl will end up in the vial."
Wow! That was a lot. Now we know of the origins of Arcane, but how can he be defeated, and is there a third party involved in this twisted tale, we'll find out next time.