鋼の錬金術師 (FullMetal Alchemist)
Chapter 9 The Spoils of Battle
Ling was speechless.
His father had walked into his office. It was him, in flesh and bone. The only different thing was the fact that his hair covered his forehead. He jumped on top of the desk, and ran towards him. He jumped down and hugged him.
"I can't believe you are here… I was… I was really sad…".
"So was I, my son… I was filled with Sorrow…".
Ling looked up, and sighed. His father's hair moved a bit, and he saw a red tattoo on his forehead.
He had seen it before.
"Sorry, dad… I'm very happy you came, but… I need to go to school now".
"Is something wrong?". Sorrow said, noticing that Ling's look had changed. He was very scared.
"No… I… There's this girl… I gotta go, sorry". He said. He went past him and ran away.
As soon as he got to the elevator, he was relieved. He was out of range for the Homucnulus. Once he got out of it, he found his father standing in front of him.
"How did you-?".
Sorrow touched his lips with the tip of his fingers.
"I will take over now. Go to school, come on". He said, darkly.
Ling ran away.
o0o
Izumi didn't let Ed and Al go to school. She told them to go look for Winry, Ling and Mei Yang, and bring them over her house. They couldn't be seen by any of the teachers, because most of them were Homunculi.
Ed and Al went to school together. They needed to go in and take Winry out. They were hiding behind a wall, and Ling showed up.
"Guys, you'll never believe what just happened".
"Trust me: we will". Al said.
"My father came to the building today. He is an Homunculus".
"You understand you can't go back to that building any more?".
"Coming to think of it, you are right".
"Al, go home, and tell mom to go with you to Izumi's house. After I pick Winry and Ran Fan, I'll go after dad".
"Ling's chick? Ok". He said.
"Am I really that obvious?".
o0o
Ed went into the school. Winry wasn't inside a classroom, so he guessed she had gone into the bathroom. He went near the bathroom and hid until she came out.
"Winry, we gotta go".
"What? Why?".
"Someone wants us dead".
"Who?".
"Homunculi. Turns out Envy is one of them. He started bringing them back, and creating some new ones. I'll give you a fake note. Don't make eye contact with Envy at all cost".
He transmuted a piece of the floor into a signed sheet of paper that said that Winry and Ran Fan were called to the principal's office.
o0o
"I smell transmutationnnnn…" Gluttony blabbered. No one in the kitchen payed much attention, so they kept on doing their job. Gluttony walked away clumsily.
o0o
Winry came out of the classroom with Ran Fan by her side. Once she saw Ling and Ed crawling hidden, she blushed.
"What's going on?".
"We gotta go. If someone wants to kill us, or negotiate, you will be the first victims". Ling said. "Now we gotta get Mei Yang".
They jumped the wall, and went to the kinder garden. Gluttony was there, holdin Mei above his head with his long arm. His tongue was hanging out, showing the Ouroboros tattoo.
"I smelt chinese, and now I want chineseeeee…". He said.
Mei was crying. Gluttony opened his mouth, and started taking her towards it. Ed clapped his hands, and an enormous spike grew from the earth and pierced Gluttony's head through his open mouth. Ed made the spike keep growing, and Gluttony ended up hanging over the sreet. Ran picked Mei up, and they all ran away.
Pride was looking through the window.
"That is not a student I can be proud of".
o0o
"We gotta go look for my dad". Ed said. Ran had given Mei for Ling to carry, and they all ran towards the lab were Hohenheim worked.
After a while running, they made it. Ed ran inside, and tried to be stopped by a secretary, but he just went into the lab. He found Hohenheim soon, and told him that he was going to be killed unless he followed him. Hohenheim did what his son asked him to do, for he saw his eyes, and understood Ed had never been so serious about something.
They ran out of the building.
"Sorry!". Hohenheim said smiling to the secretary when he passed by.
He made them squeeze into his car, and drove off. Ed guided him to Izumi's house, and they parked in the entrance.
Once they went in, they found that the whole fire brigade was in there. Roy asked Ed what was it that was so bad, and Maes Hughes told him he was concerned on what Ed had to say.
o0o
"Come on, Kimbley… Nothing happened last time, and nothing is happening now. Do it".
The door appeared, and once again, Envy tossed the bones and the stone. The materials Kimbley had prepared to build a human had already been taken away. The stone started gathering every piece, and a new Homunculus was created.
The Ouroboros tattoo was under his chin. Envy had chosen him to be the new Homunculus because ha had been a great thief while he was alive. His name was Ramen Rozenblum.
Although, he was now called Crime.
His dark hair was quite long. He was very tall and big. His muscles were bigger than Scar's (As Envy recalled) and he was amazingly tall. Kimbley wondered how such a tall guy had been such a succesful thief.
The main problem was that the Ouroboros tattoo was easy to see. Anyone would see it, because everyone (specially Ed) would see it, since he was so tall.
"I wonder why it's there? It'll be a problem. You already call enough attention to yourself". Envy said.
"Don't make me kill you… After all, I'm Crime itself".
"Even if you wanted to, little brother…". Envy said grinning. He shapeshifted into Crime, and looked at him in the eye. "…You wouldn't be able to".
o0o
"You mean those guys you killed in your wolrd didn't really die?". Hughes said.
"They were originally part of the door, so I guess they didn't go through. Envy found some way to bring them here". Ed answered.
"We are not safe here. Envy knows here I live, and probably he'll deduct we came here".
"I don't think he'll do that…". Hughes said.
"Why?". Al asked.
Hughes grabbed his sleeve, and ripped it off. In his shoulder, there was the Ouroboros tattoo. He snapped his fingers, and they all started feeling bad. They were very ill.
"My name is Disease". He said smiling.
Izumi was the only one that felt normal. She was already ill, so she had to fight Disease herself. Although she didn't think of it as a problem.
She clapped her hands, and made a gigantic fist grow from the ground. Disease was smashed against the ceiling, and the hand kept growing. It broke the roof, and didn't stop.
"We gotta start moving now".
She started helping everyone to get on their feet. They were feeling better already.
"Is that his power? That's kinda stupid". Ed said.
"He was probably taking it easy on us. Now you can't cure me, or we won't be able to kill him for good". Izumi answered.
They all walked out, and got into the fire truck. Armstrong drove away very quickly.
"Where are we going?". Ran Fan asked.
"I have a farm outside of town. My sister lives there. I guess the Homunculi don't know it exists. As a matter of fact, I've kept it's existence in secret". Armstrong answered.
"What, your farm?". Ling asked.
"No, my sister. I believe you already know how Roy Mustang is with girls".
o0o
"Ok, until Sorrow finds out where they are, we can call another brother". Envy said.
"And who would it be this time?". Greed asked.
"Well, I've been doing some research… I think there is someone we can use to bring the next ones".
"I gotta gather all the materials again?". Kimbley asked.
"Don't complain. It's very cheap to build a human; whats expensive is the soul. That's what the stone is for. An Homunculus essence has to fill that body". Pride said.
"What's with the new sister? I thought you would use the Elric's mother". Lust said.
"I couldn't. The fullmetal pipsqueak was always around, and she isn't exactly lazy in this freakin' universe. She can't stop working. That's not useful for Sloth. So I picked this laaaaazy teenager". Envy answered.
"Don't treat me like I'm scum. I'm just as useful in this body". Sloth complaint.
"Come on, little brothers…". Env said smiling. "Not only was I the first Homunculus hundreds of years ago, but now I'm also bringing you all to life, with new little brothers!".
"Hey…I'm tired of being here… Can't I go kill a bit?". Crime asked.
"I'm hungryyyyy…". Gluttony said.
"You're always hungry, Gluttony. It's useless to feed you". Disease said, as he sat down.
"By the face you are making, you didn't do good". Crime said.
"Shut it…Kimbley, go get components. I feel like having another brother to pick on".
"I'm going, I'm going…". Kimbley said, as he stood up.
"I'm back". Sorrow said, materializing in front of them.
"Brothers, some of our powers are so cool and useful". Greed said.
"Mine is so stupid. Become gas, and be able to move. A vacuum cleaner can beat me". Sorrow complaint.
"As long as the pispsqueaks don't know it, you're safe". Pride said.
"So, where are they?".
"They are moving to the east. They left the city and the wind started blowing against me, so I had to come back".
"Crime, your turn to show us what you can do".
"Fine, brothers and sisters". He said, looking at Envy.
"I'm a He, in case you hadn't noticed, dumbass". Envy said, angry.
"What?". Crime, Sorrow and Disease yelled.
Envy lowered his head, and shifted into the giant snake. He ate the three of them in a bloodbath, and then spat them out.
"DON'T EVER CALL ME A GIRL AGAIN!". He shouted, shifting back to his pale body.
The ponds of philosopher's stone transformed back into the Homunculi, and they all looked at him scared.
"Now… We are going to Europe. Go check on the FullMetal pipsqueak, and then come here and wait for us to return".
"Yes, brother". Crime said.
His body became stone, and he started sinking into the ground, slowly. His power was to change his body into almost every mineral, and fuse with it. It was simmilar to Sorrow's power, and he could also travel quickly through the earth with this.
o0o
Ed and Al transmuted the fire truck into earth. They had to walk past a cornfield to get to the farm. Armstrong went ahead, followed by Roy. Behind him was Riza, Fuery, Falman, Breda, Havoc and Hayate. Then, Mei Yang, Al, Ed, Winry, Ran Fan, Ling, Wrath, Izumi and Sieg.
Ling was talking enthusiastically with Ran, who was very entertained with him. They both laughed all the time. Ed and Winry looked at them and smiled happily.
They walked for another ten minutes, and they arrived at the farm. Armstrong's sister was a very beautiful blonde girl. She came running to hug her brother, and then started greeting everyone. She showed special interest in Havoc, and then kept on saying hi.
Armstrong explained the situation to her, and she told them to go to the barn. They would be safe for a while there, until they decided what to do.
The barn was brown. It was quite empty, except for a bunch of straw in which they sat down. Ed started walking around, checking outside the door every once in a while.
"So…What are the odds for Homunculi to find us?". Wrath asked.
"Well, we should be scared about my father. I think he teleported from the building's last floor to the street, so he'll probably find us". Ling said.
"What can we do about them?". Ran Fan asked.
"As far as I'm concerned, they can fight us in advantage. What we do have against them is that we can fight as a group. They tend to fight sepparately". Ed said.
"Yeah, they have a lot of self confidence". Al added.
"What do we know about them?". Izumi asked.
"Well…Envy can shapeshift into practically everything, and he is a skilled fighter. Gluttony can eat everything. Greed can turn his body composition into a perfect armor. Pride can see through everything and is very skillfull with the blade. Lust has…her sharp fingers… Sloth can become water… Sorrow teleports. Hugh…Disease can make us all ill by snapping his fingers. And that's all the Homunculi we have seen so far". Riza said.
"You have a sharp eye". Ed said.
The floor started shaking, and a mass of rocks in the shape of a tall man grew out of it. His body changed into flesh, and he had black clothes, like the Homunculi. Ed saw the Ouroboros tattoo under this man's chin, and transmuted his arm into a blade.
"He's an Homunculus!". He shouted.
He jumped, and tried to pierce the Ouroboros tattoo with his arm, but the Homunculus became solid rock, and Ed bounced off. Armstrong hit it on the chest, and the mass broke into thousands of pieces. Those pieces gathered again, and the body was made once more.
"I guess I should introduce myself to you". The Homunculus said. "I'm Crime".
His head received a bullet in the middle of the forehead, and fall back with a big slam.
"I found this gunshot hidden in the straw. I guess it'll buy you alchemists some time to get rid of him". Riza said.
o0o
The Homunculi were standing on the shore. Envy was looking at the sea, and Greed walked up to him.
"Are we supposed to swim all the way down to Europe?".
"You don't understand how helpful it is to have a sister that can turn herself into water".
Sloth changed into a huge mass, and the Homunculi went into the water. The mass they were floating in started moving very quickly, and in no time, they were in the middle of the ocean.
"In a couple of hours we should be there. We're gonna have to steal a car or something to get to Germany quickly.
o0o
They left the farm. Crime was still laying ont the barn. Izumi, Ed and Al, together, had created a metal box in which they had trapped him. It wouldn't hold him for long, but at least it would give them time to leave.
They transmuted a big truck out of a tractor, and they all got in. Armstrong drove again.
"That was scary". Mei Yang said.
Ling had been thinking for a while. Should he tell Ran already? Everyone had hopes on them, and Ran did look attracted to him.
"I'm sorry, Ran Fan".
"What? Why?".
"I dragged you into this… I put you in danger just because I wanted to help my friends".
"Ling… Don't blame yourself. I could have chosen not to come, but I did it for everyone. They really needed all the help they could get. And… It wasn't only them… I…". The truck stopped all of a sudden.
Crime had stopped it with his hand.
He crashed the window, and grabbed Armstrong by his neck. Ling jumped off, and took out his blade. He jumped on to Crime's head, but he became solid rock again, and couldn't do a thing about it. He was caught too.
Ran Fan looked scared. Ed jumped off the truck, and transmuted Crime's feet into metal, joining it to the floor. Then, Crime became metal himself, and choked Ling and Armstrong even harder.
Somehow, his head flew off.
Scar had done it.
o0o
The van stopped. It was a Volkswagen. The driver had stopped, being called by the figure of a beautiful woman with long dark hair. She had a revealing dress and a weird tattoo of a sort of snake eating itself, forming a circle.
She went in, and started talking to the man. He didn't even turn the van off. His brain stopped working when the woman's hand…
…Grew all of her fingers into spikes, killing him.
The Van was big enough for all the Homunculi. Pride drove, and they soon went past the border with Germany.
Envy did his best to recognize the place, and soon found Hohenheim's old house. That was the place where he was used as transmutation material.
"Those bastards…But not for long…".
Pride kept on driving. Kimbley was taking good care of the bags of material. They needed the three of them to bring the final Homunculi to life.
"There's the graveyard". Envy said.
The van stopped, and they all got down.
"You know who to look for".
The Homunculi started walking around searching for the right names. Many gravestones got bit by Gluttony, in his rush to eat.
"I found them!". Sorrow yelled.
They all approached running, and looked at the graves.
Edward Elric Alphonse Elric
o0o
"Scar! What are you doing here?". Al said.
"How did you learn alchemy?". Ed said.
Crime's body stopped moving. Ling and Armstrong were already free. Ling was near Ran and Mei, who looked very worried, although he insisted he was ok, and Armstrong was being checked for injuries in the neck by Fuery.
"It is Me, FullMetal". Scar said, ripping his sleeves off.
The tattoos for Deconstruction and Reconstruction filled his arms.
"Go into the truck, and I'll explain there".
o0o
The materials were set in a circle around the graves. Kimbley clapped his hands, and next to Envy, got ready to see the door once more.
The rests of the bodies of the Elric brothers were almost complete. Their clothes were a bit raggedy, but the bones were still solid.
The materials, the bodies, and Envy's stone were taken away once more. The stone placed itself in the place where the heart ought to be, and the bodies reconstructed itselves.
It was Ed and Al who were there, with their full bodies. The ragged clothes were the usual black leather outfit and the red coat. Only that, with the time it had been unwashed, it was already dark red.
"Poverty and Dispair…So nice to see you". Envy said, once the door dissappeared.
Poverty smiled, and walked around, trying his new body.
"It seems a little…little". He said.
"That's the fault of it's previous owner". Lust said.
"And my body. I don't know, I feel I'm floating inside it, that I can be easily removed from it". Dispair said.
"Well…The previous owner also had that problem. That body is the result of the first succesful human transmutation". Envy said.
"And…You are the only two Homunculi able to make Alchemy". Lust said.
"Is that so?". Poverty asked.
"Well, you two were created at the same time using a couple of brother's corpses. You are joined from now on. You are doomed to be together". Sorrow commented.
"Shut it, or I'll transmute you into a shoe". Poverty threatened him.
"Well, well… Since that is pretty much there is, lets begin with the end…" Envy said.
"What is it, brother?" Gluttony asked.
"We will make a call for Hope…". Envy said, walking towards another grave.
Alphonse Heidrich
o0o
"After I used myself to transmute Al into the philosophers stone, I became a part of it. When Al was used by Shou Tucker to create his fake daughter, I became the essence of that little girl. I was never attached to her. I was only floating inside the body. Then, Shou used himself and his daughter to help your sensei turn the door around. That's when I got sepparated and was thrown in here".
"…Whoa…".The Elric brothers said.
"No heart feelings?". Ed asked.
"No… I only want to cross the door and find Rose… and my son".
"Well… I was with them for a while…He looks a lot like you… He has red eyes". Al said.
It was almost impossible to notice, but Scar smiled.
o0o
The process of creating an Homunculus was repeated once again. Envy looked expectantly at the door, and the materials started forming the body. The final Homunculus was near completion.
Envy's plan was about to be ready to be done.
Hope appeared in front of them, In the body of Alphonse Heidrich.
He looked at the Homunculi, and immediately knew he couldn't trust them.
"Why am I alive?".
"So that we can all live on". Envy told him.
They all turned around, and went back to the shore.
Once they were there, Sloth repeated the process. They would arrive at sunrise. Hope didn't speak in the whole trip. His powers allowed him to keep him with no doubts.
He was able to see the future.