Agent000- Cliffhangers of doom! Kyahahaha! Ehem…right…here ya go buddy! n.n
Kuropuu- Isn't he though! I guess one could say he's a mix between Ed and Al, personality wise. You'll be getting an inside looky loo at what happened to the brothers in this chapter.
Anime-girl98- lol, wow! That part made an impression didn't it!
Hyperdude- Raises some questions eh? We shall see, yes, we shall see indeed.
Well, as I promised, chapter four would revel the mystery disappearance and reappearance of the Elric brothers…yeah…heh, heh, heh.
Chapter Four
--
"You…what?" Liem glared at Alphonse in disbelief, how could he want to talk about what happened four years ago, what is he playing at anyway?
"You heard me…I want to talk about what happened four years ago." Alphonse glared back, "Do you want me to tell you or not?"
"Why?"
"What…"
"Why of all
times do you want to talk about it?" Liem felt an unpleasant
sensation of anger building up inside him.
"Because…some…one…" Al paused when he noticed the look Liem was giving him, "You're mad…"
"What makes you think that?" Liem nearly hissed.
"Liem…" Alphonse reached out and put his hand on Liems' shoulder, "It's equivalent exchange."
"Oh ho?" Liem scoffed, "And what do YOU get in return?"
"Your cooperation…it's been four years and it may not seem like it but, a lot has changed." Alphonse said simply. Liem frowned, what was going on? Giving an irritated sniff, Liem shrugged his shoulder out of Als' grip and said,
"It was your fault…she died…I want nothing to do with you."
"Why? Because she decided to leave the house? Listen, perhaps if you'd just hear me out you'd understand…"
Liem stormed past him and continued walking, Al rounded quickly and grabbed him by the arm and twisted it behind his back so he couldn't move,
"Please don't walk away when I'm trying to talk to you…" he hissed.
"Let go…"
"Will you listen to me?"
"Let go!" Liem tried to pull his arm out of Als' grip but found the grip to be unnaturally strong.
"If I wanted to kill you I'd have already done it," Al snapped, "Now stop acting like a child."
"Tsk…fine…"
Al let go and straighten himself out; he then sniffed and said,
"Follow me…" he turned and started walking, Liem followed him but had a very aggravated look on his face, he didn't care what Al had to say.
They hadn't been walking long when Alphonse suddenly stopped and turned around, he had an unreadable expression on his face as he said,
"All right…"
"All right what?"
"I'm going to tell you everything…starting from the beginning."
"Fine, I'm listening…" Liem crossed his arms and glared. Alphonse nodded and started,
"As you may have been told, my brother and I were taken from our home several years ago. I was barely a year old when it happened so I can't remember it nearly as well as my brother, but that doesn't mean I don't remember bits and pieces of it." He paused for a second, "Anyway, we were taken far away to some large city, I could tell it was a city from all the lights." Al paused again, Liem frowned and said,
"You're rambling…if you want to tell me something then say it."
"I think…it'll be much easier if I showed you." Al sighed, "Just remember, if I wanted to kill you I would have done it already."
"What?" Liem lowered his arms for a quick second, which was all Al needed to suddenly lunge forward and tackle him to the ground. He was sitting right on top of Liem holding him down,
"Look at me." He said.
"What are you doing?"
"Just look at me!" Al snapped, Liem glared up at him for a quick second but found he couldn't look away.
"That's…not possible…" he muttered, there were two very distinct looking transmutation circles in his eyes, "How did…" Liem froze almost instantly as the arrays flickered to life and made the world around him swirl into pitch-blackness.
Al got up off him and dragged him off to the side of the path they'd been walking, he sighed and sat down next to him and muttered,
"I hate it when they fight…but if being rough means showing him the truth then so be it." He glanced over at Liem who was motionless on the ground as if in a deep sleep, "Alphonse…" he sighed, "Al…phonse…" he let the name mull about in his mind as he grimaced, he really couldn't explain why he hated that name so much.
--
Liem's POVIt was dark for what seemed like forever, I didn't like that too much. Why did he attack me like that? What had he done to me? What did he mean when he said it would be easier to show me what happened? He sure had a strange way of doing things…
I glanced around the darkness a few more times before a thought crossed my mind, what if he really did kill me and this was what death was like? I had to admit though it wasn't what I thought it would be like…I pictured more happening, life flashing before my eyes, pearly gates, stuff like that. Well, either way, I really didn't want to be dead, nor did I want to die by his hands.
Glancing down at my hands I noticed that they were transparent, then glanced down at my feet they too were transparent. It felt as if my very heart dropped into my stomach,
"I…can't be dead…"
"You're not dead…death is much worse…" Alphonses' voice came out of nowhere. I looked up and around seeing nothing but darkness.
"Then what is this?"
"Simple really, your soul…has been placed in my body."
"What?"
"You're soul is free to wonder the open doors of my memories to find the truth."
"How did you do that?"
"Why don't you just look around, I don't like having people just stand there and do nothing…"
I sniffed irritatedly and started walking, it was a very strange sensation to be a soul walking around another persons mind, it kind of felt like walking underwater with large rocks in your shoes. As I walked I started noticing things, a smell in particular, it was kind of damp and moldy but also had a faint hint of soap. Continuing walking, it wasn't long before I came to what looked like a large building completely surrounded by a large fence with barbed wire all around the top and entrance.
"Before you go any further…you should know…I was barely a year old when I got this memory."
"Shut up, if you want me to see the truth then let me see it without having to listen to you. I'm only doing this because you didn't give me much choice, to be completely honest; I don't really care what you have to say. I just want to see what made you so…" I stopped, I knew what I wanted to say but I waited to see if Alphonse would respond, he did.
"What? Made me so what?"
"Unforgiving and messed up in the head…"
"Hnm…" Al made a strange noise then said, "The only unforgiving one I see here is YOU Liem…now why don't just get a move on it, I don't like sitting here doing nothing."
I was forgiving…I just won't forgive him, I pouted and said,
"How do you expect me to get in there? It's not exactly open to the public."
"You're a soul inside a persons' memory, just walk through the walls and fences." Came Als' reply, he sounded irritated when he said it and that made me smirk slightly. Taking his advice, I walked right through the barbed wire fence and right through the cement walls of the musty old building.
It was a very dark building with very dim lights coming from only a hand full of rooms. Walking down the hall till I came to a door that was opened slightly and voices could be heard.
"It has been done, my lady." A gruff voice said.
"Very good, very, very good, they are of perfect age." A womans voice said.
"Perfect…age…my lady?"
"Yes, not to young but not old enough to remember their parents faces' when they grow up." The woman chuckled, "The older child…he is only a year old…he will be taken to the third floor. As for the new born, he will be taken down the hall to the last door on the right, now go."
"Yes my lady."
The door opened and I involuntarily took a step back as a tall man with short dark hair, he had a beard and mustache and a very dark and serious expression on his face. The man was wairing a black trench coat over a navy blue uniform. He was carrying in his arms a small child no older then a year; the child was sleeping silently.
My eyes widened slightly, the child was the same one from the photograph, he was the boy that his father was holding.
"That…must be Edward." I muttered.
"Yes…that's Edward…that was also the last time I actually had any contact with my older brother."
"Where did they take him?"
"I don't know…but when I saw him again…well…you'll see." Als' voice drifted off into silence as the scene before me grew hazy and disappeared into shadow. The next memory to appear seemed to take place a few years later. Alphonse was in this memory, I watched as the three-year-old being led into the same room I'd seen in the earlier. The same woman from before was standing in front of him looking down at the boy; she smirked and said,
"Hello…little one."
"H…hello…ma'am…" Al replied timidly.
"Can I ask you a question?" she smiled, it wasn't a kind smile though, it was a smile that hid cruel intentions.
"Of…c…course ma'am."
"Tell me…your name…"
The little Alphonses' eyes went very wide; he started wringing his small hands as he turned pale.
"What's the matter…little one?" the woman smiled again, she waved her hand and the door I was standing next to opened. In stepped the man from before, with him was a four year old Edward.
"W…who is that?" Al muttered.
"He…is your older brother…little one." The woman smiled, "Now, answer my question."
Alphonse gulped and started wringing his hands again; he was looking from the woman to the man to his older brother then back to the woman. He sniffed and muttered in an almost inaudible whisper,
"Alphonse…"
"What was that?" the woman smiled. The four-year-old looked up at the three-year-old, I could see there was something wrong with how that child was eyeing his younger brother.
"A…Alphonse…" he stuttered, he looked up timidly at the woman, she was smiling widely. Seeing this Al smiled timidly too, suddenly out of nowhere Edward attacked him. I watched in shock as the two brothers scuffled on the ground, Al looking shocked and terrified and Ed in a sort of blind fury.
"That's why…" I thought out loud, "he hates hearing his name, because every time he says it…his brother attacks him."
Like last time, the memory started to fade away into the darkness; I had to sit down for a moment to rethink what I'd just seen.
"Get up, you still have more to see." Als' voice snapped, I sighed, it was kinda odd. After that one memory, I started to view Al differently, what had happened to make him the way he is now?
"All right…" I got up and started walking, after what seemed like a long time another memory started forming. It appeared to be at least ten years later and I found myself standing in the middle of a very large room, glancing around I noticed that there were several people in the room, all looking in my direction. They were shrouded in shadow but you could still see them, just not their faces.
A bright light fell on one particular spot in the large room, the spot was where a thirteen and fourteen year old Alphonse and Edward. They both had very blank looks on their faces as if they had nothing and were constantly told so; it was very depressing to see them like that.
The woman from before was standing right behind them; she still had that unkind smile on her face that made a persons' soul shiver. She was the first to speak,
"If I may have the councils attention, I'd like to present our first two case studies." Everyone in the room turned and listened, "These two were found all alone and we brought them into our…embrace…to see exactly how the human mind reacts to different environments."
"Lady Dante, we have reason to believe that these children were taken from their home and family without the consent of their parents." A man said.
"I assure you, sir, that these boys were found on the street." Dante said calmly.
"On the streets…of a small town known as Risembool perhaps?"
"Why, no sir, they were found right here in our own fair city, in the back allies." Dante said just as calmly. The man who asked the question just nodded, I could tell though by the way he nodded his head the man didn't believe her, but everyone else in the room seemed convinced.
"Carry on then…"
"Yes sir," Dante bowed her head, "Our tests have lead to one conclusion and that, my friends is why I am here." She took out a small vial of red liquid and took Edwards' hand, "That by using alchemy, a persons' mind can be altered to do as you command, you can also 'endow' them with certain alchemic abilities that can be triggered by the mind."
"Is that so?" a man that looked suspiciously like the man I'd seen in the first memory said with mild interest.
"Yes."
"Could we have a demonstration?" he asked.
"Of course." Dante bowed her head again; she then opened the small vial and held out the older Elrics hand so that his balm was face up. She then poured about half the vial of red liquid onto his out stretched hand.
"Hn…" Ed tried to pull his hand away but Dante had a tight grip on his wrist, with her index finger; she drew a transmutation circle in the red liquid and activated it.
My eyes widened as the liquid started glowing brightly and started seeping into the small boys' hand. His eyes started to water and he started to pull back harder, suddenly, he just stopped. Dante smirked slightly and let go of his hand,
"Good," she then turned and addressed the council, "Now watch as I turn brother…against brother with a single phrase."
There was a large amount of whispering among the shadowed men, some of the whispers were angry while others were intrigued, there was also a good amount of questioning whispers but all of which were ignored by Dante. She took a few steps away from the brothers and said,
"Kill…Alphonse."
Edward looked up, his expression was dark and filled with hate, Alphonse took several steps back and muttered,
"Brother…what did she…do to you?" He didn't get a reply, at least not the one he was hoping for. Edward held up the hand that Dante had drawn the transmutation circle on, the array looked as if it had burned into the palm of his hand, it then activated. The air around his hand seemed to grow to grow dense and heat up; with a wave of his hand the dense hot air ignited into flames and was sent flying straight at Al.
"My god…" I involuntarily took a step back, "Don't tell me…"
"Yes…my brother was the one who set fire to the barn four years ago…" Als' voice said.
"The…explosion…was him too?"
"Yes...though he's still not very good at controlling explosions, he's still extremely good at making them."
"Wait," I turned to see what had happened to the thirteen year old Alphonse to find him lying on the ground just out of the way of the attack, the floor next to him was charred up pretty bad. Dante walked over to where Al was lying and knelt down, she had the open vial in her hand as she flipped him over.
"Little one…you have to fight back if you want to stay alive." She said in a slightly mocking sentimental manner.
"The…the light…colors…flashes…can't…see…" Al stammered. Dantes' eyes narrowed, she then took the vial and poured the rest of the red liquid over the boys' eyes. Al started rubbing at his eyes as if something was irritating them, Dante took hold of his hands and said,
"Don't rub at them, you'll be able to see in a moment."
Al gasped, everything started to come back to him, but, when he looked over at his brother, his eyes narrowed to a very mean glare. Dante smirked and said,
"Good, now…kill Edward."
I watched in shock as the Alphonse I know now appeared in the eyes of the younger Al, if there was one thing that defined him the most now, it was his eyes. There was a depth to them, a cold dark abyss filled with secrets and a hidden hatred, his eyes could freeze a persons' blood in their veins and dig into their soul.
The younger Al jumped up and charged at his brother, Ed held up his hand again only to find he couldn't move, he'd made eye contact with his younger brother and just froze, this gave Al the chance to attack him. That ended up being a very bad idea; Edward had managed to make an explosion only to have Al tackle him causing the explosion to remain in the same area.
When the dust cleared, both boys were unconscious, Alphonse was trembling involuntarily and Edward had a rather nasty cut down the right side of his face, just below his eye.
"Hey…" I muttered.
"You are talking
to me?"
"Yeah…I…didn't know."
"…" Al didn't say anything, "I'm not the only victim here…if you want to know why my brother is acting the way he is…you'll have to keep looking…"
"What?"
"There are two more memories I ant you to see…"
"Show me then."
The dark room vanished and once again I found myself walking, the images of the last memory still in my head, how could that woman do that? Who was she anyway? Dante…she was the cause of all this.
It wasn't long after, that I found myself standing in yet another dark room, it was similar to the one that I was in at the beginning of this little trip, the only difference was the fact that there was a chair sitting in the middle. In that chair was Edward, he was bandaged up from the fight and seemed to have the blank expression on his face again.
My gaze turned to an opening door, Dante walked in, she didn't look too happy. She stopped just behind the boy and looked down at him,
"Well, you succeeded in impressing the council with your ability…but failed to do as you were told, therefore, you will have to be punished…just like your brother who also failed." She said, Dante snapped her fingers and several smaller doors opened. Out of those doors came several chimeras, "I can't have failures in my research." She snapped her fingers again as she turned and left.
The chimeras charged, Edward remained seated, I took a step forward to try and do something but Al stopped me by saying,
"Don't bother, remember, your just a soul viewing a memory, you can't do anything."
"But…"
"Watch…"
I turned and watched, the first chimera to reach the boy jumped at him, Edward reached out and caught the creature's leg. The look in his eyes had changed again, they were burning with such malice and anger, they were the exact opposite from his brothers, his gaze could incinerate somebodies soul.
He brought the creature down, just as it hit the concrete floor it caught fire and burned to death. Edward stood up and held up his hand, the last thing I remember seeing was the entire room just suddenly being engulfed in flames and hearing Edward say,
"Da…n…te…you're the one…who needs to be punished."
Everything went dark once again, I'd lost feeling in my knees and was on all fours trying not to think about what just happened. Als' voice then spoke,
"She did this to him…I may not have known him very well…but I know he isn't like that by nature. He shows no empathy for anyone or anything, he tends to so little interest in other peoples' well being and sees himself as better. He's the one who told me that if I went to your house that I'd find what we were looking for when he was planning on causing that fire just for fun. Bet he didn't realize that we would find what we were looking for."
"When did he start acting like that?" I asked.
"Just after that last memory…there's one more you have to see, lets go."
"I remember reading about this in one of my fathers' books, it described personality disorders."
"So…"
"Lack of empathy, manipulative, egocentric…he's a sociopath."
"Are you saying he's crazy?"
"No…not really…I'm just saying that there's a name for the way your…our brother is acting…" I replied simply.
"When I let you out…we have to talk face to face…" Was all Al said, I sighed and started walking again. This time the memory just appeared, I paused and looked around, I was back in Risembool. Turning, I found the charred remains of the burning barn, Edward was standing next to it looking down at the spot where my mother had been found after the explosion, the look on his face was emotionless, a younger Alphonse walked up behind him.
"Brother…"
"Yeah I know!" he snapped.
"Come on brother…" Al put his hand on his brothers' shoulder.
"You know I wouldn't let anything happen to you right?" he snapped again.
"Of course brother…"
"You got stabbed didn't you…"
"Yeah…but it's ok now…it wasn't as bad as I thought it was." Al replied.
"Don't let it happen again!" Ed snapped, he then stormed off leaving Al alone for a moment, I watched as the younger Al sighed and shook his head saying,
"Oh brother, I know deep down you care…but you're unable to show it…" he looked up, "I'm going to find a way to fix that, no matter what."
That's when everything went hazy and started spinning, I felt myself being pulled away as everything went black.
--
Alphonse opened his eyes, inhaling and exhaling he returned Liems' soul to his body. Liem sat up slowly and rubbed his head, he looked around with a dazed expression until his eyes fell on Al who was still inhaling and exhaling as if he'd just run a mile. Liem tilted his head and asked,
"What's the matter?"
"Nothing…"
"You said you wanted to talk to me once I was out." Liem said. Alphonse sighed and got up, he looked down at Liem and said,
"We are brothers…I know that…therefore we will refur to each other as such."
"Hm?"
"Please don't call him that…ever…"
"Wait…I didn't mean anything by it, I just…"
"Don't…I just want to make that clear ok." Al said holding out his hand to help Liem up. Liem took it and got up. He brushed himself off and replied,
"You said you wanted my help…well…you've got it."
Alphonse looked at him questioningly, he then crossed his arms,
"I thought you were mad at me."
"I'm allowed to change my mind aren't I? Besides, we're…brothers…family." Liem smiled and held out his hand, Al took it and smirked.
"What about your father?"
"We'll need to talk to him first, but he'll understand." Liem answered with an innocent smirk.
"All…right…"
"So, what is it you need help with?" Liem asked.
"…" Al gave a side glance then answered, "My brother was taken…again…I want to get him back."
"Taken? By Dante?"
"Yes…"
"Then we'll have to get him back."
-To Be Continued-
Well! That was longer then I'd anticipated! Oh well…review and you'll get another chapter, hee, hee, hee.