TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES
CHAPTER 5:
MARCOH, POLO
It was fun to watch Liore getting consumed by riots, Lust thought. But as much as she enjoyed the death and destruction these fools were inflicting on themselves, she found herself desiring something else. Something her siblings couldn't give her. Well, except maybe for Envy. Envy could change his appearance into something suitable for Lust's own desire. She didn't really care that, as Envy was technically her brother, it would be considered incest. She had helped initiate massacres and wars, why should she draw the line at incest? It wasn't like they could have children anyway.
Speaking of which, Envy, who had ditched his disgusting disguise as Cornello, was talking as Gluttony chowed down on Cornello's luckless subordinate, the one who had seen Envy transform. "Hey, Lust? Earth to Lust? Are you in there?" He waved a hand in front of the buxom Homunculus.
"Hmm?" Lust blinked, shaking herself from her reverie. "Sorry, I was distracted."
Envy raised an incredulous eyebrow. "Man, that's not like you, sis. So, what's the matter?"
"Nothing, really. I just find myself yearning for another experience."
"Huh?"
Lust gestured at Envy to come with her, out of earshot of Gluttony. She didn't want his innocence sullied any further. After they made their way out of the way, Lust said, "You know those two new Sacrifices who turned up out of nowhere? The ones accompanying the Elrics?"
"Oh yeah. Heard of them from Wrath. Harry Potter and Luna Lovegood. The girl seemed to see his tattoo or something."
"She knows what we are. I swear, she acts like a lunatic, but she's more perceptive than most. I don't think she knows anything about the plan, though. Despite all that, I find myself…well, wanting to keep them after the Promised Day."
"Keep them? Why?"
"Let me tell you something, Envy. Until they came along, it had been the best part of five decades since I had sex with someone. I'm called Lust, and yet the number of sexual partners I have had over the centuries, I could count on two hands. And I've never had as good a time as I did when they came along."
Envy grinned, showing perhaps too many teeth in his lasciviousness. "Ooh! Lust got a nice little threesome, eh? Details! I need details, or it didn't happen!"
Lust chuckled. "Well, it started when they used an alchemic reaction not unlike one McDougal used to turn some water into ice…"
It was some time before Harry, Luna, and the Elrics could leave East City. Shou Tucker had been murdered, his neck broken. The guards reported being assaulted by someone who may have been an Ishvalan, with a distinctive cross-shaped scar on his forehead. It matched the description of Scar, the Ishvalan insurgent whom Sirius was supposed to be an ally of.
All of which meant that they needed to find a home for Nina. After discussing the matter, Mustang decided to send Nina Tucker (who was still finding it hard to understand what her father did to her, and what happened to him) to Central, and to Lieutenant-Colonel Maes Hughes. Hughes had a daughter already, Gracie, but he was willing to adopt the traumatised Nina.
Mustang also confiscated the transmutation circle that Harry had found. He didn't want anyone to replicate Tucker's results. That they managed to reverse what happened to Nina was a miracle, especially considering it could have been her that died, and not Alexander. Edward was still somewhat awestruck that Harry had managed to think of a circle that reversed Nina's condition, though when he looked at Tucker's original circle himself, he knew that he would have used the same sort of thing.
Despite the fact that Scar was probably no danger to any of them, Mustang assigned Armstrong to watch over them as they travelled (with Mustang seeming to indicate it was the higher-ups who had ordered this, rather than what he truly wanted). They intended to visit Resembool, if only to get Ed's automail serviced and catch up. Alphonse had also suggested that Harry and Luna meet the Rockbells, if only because Sirius had regaled them with tales of Harry.
The Elrics, the two former magic users, and the burly form of Armstrong were soon on their way to Resembool. Despite his frequently hammy nature and somewhat narcissistic tendencies, Harry soon realised that, like with Hagrid, Armstrong was actually quite a gentle and caring soul. He was also quite intelligent and cultured: Luna and Harry had some interesting conversations with him.
Luna also managed to indicate to Harry that they had another minder. Harry managed to see who it was: none other than Lust. And the things Luna whispered into his ear made Harry blush.
They had stopped for some hours in some hick town in the arse-end of Amestris, and Armstrong happened to be looking out the window when he suddenly called out to someone he called Dr Marcoh. Said person promptly fled as if the very hounds of hell were on his heels. Armstrong explained that Marcoh was a State Alchemist who vanished after the Ishvalan War. Not only that, but he was an expert in medical alchemy, which were the magic words to the Elrics' ears.
They searched the town, using a sketch Armstrong had made from memory of Marcoh. Many of the townspeople they asked recognised him, naming him as 'Dr Mauro'. He would heal injuries and illnesses with a 'flash of light', indicating that it was alchemy that the man used, strongly suggesting that this was the errant doctor.
However, when they found Marcoh's surgery and home, they got a rather cold welcome. Marcoh greeted them at the door with a gun and a desperate look on his face. Armstrong tried to calm him down, to no avail, so Alphonse had basically stepped up and interposed himself between Marcoh and the others. Even in his panicked state, Marcoh realised that firing upon Alphonse would cause a ricochet, and Armstrong and the others managed to get a word in edgewise.
Marcoh managed to calm down enough to allow them in. He was wracked by guilt over the human experimentation he did in Ishval. "That's why I work as a doctor here," the lugubrious-looking man admitted. "To try and atone, even if it's only a little, for my sins there."
Gently, Armstrong asked, "And what were you researching there?"
"…I was making the Philosopher's Stone."
That simple sentence hit them like a ton of bricks.
Marcoh went to a cupboard, and fetched a vial of blood-red liquid. "Not only that, but I have a sample of it here." He gently poured the liquid onto the table, whereupon it curled up into a ball.
As Edward poked it, Luna frowned, before she took out from a pocket a red stone that seemed to glow from within. Marcoh stared at it. "Where did you get that?!"
"I borrowed it indefinitely from Isaac McDougal," Luna said. "I thought it odd, especially as I can hear the screaming of dozens of souls in perpetual agony. I can hear it from that, too." She pointed to the lump of red matter Marcoh had poured out onto the table.
"Wait, you had a Philosopher's Stone on you this whole time, and you didn't tell me?!" Edward yelped.
"You didn't ask. Anyway, I didn't know it was a Philosopher's Stone. I thought it was a Dementor Poop."
"…A what?" Marcoh asked.
Harry facepalmed, realising where Luna was going with this. "Dementors are creatures back home that eat people's souls. And if she thinks that thing has human souls in it…"
"Like I said: Dementor Poop," Luna said, almost cheerfully.
"But…that means…" Alphonse muttered in horror, "that the Philosopher's Stone is created from…humans?"
Marcoh, dismayed, merely nodded. "To gain a single Stone is to sacrifice dozens of human beings," he admitted.
Armstrong, subdued, stared at the Stones. "I knew of many of the atrocities inflicted upon the Ishvalans, but to learn of this…no wonder you fled the State Military, Dr Marcoh. I cannot blame you one bit," he said quietly.
Edward put his head in his hands. "This is horrible…" he groaned. "I thought I saw the Stone being used by Cornello…it was something like this, wasn't it?"
Marcoh nodded. "I don't doubt that more are produced, presumably from prisoners of the State Military. Incidentally, who are you, anyway?"
"Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. This is my brother Alphonse, and these two are Harry Potter and Luna Lovegood."
"Potter? I knew someone once who spoke of a Harry Potter. A man in Ishval, a mercenary alchemist who fought for the Ishvalans."
Harry nodded. "Sirius Black, right? Or Padfoot?"
"He called himself Padfoot," Marcoh said. "You know him?"
"My godfather."
"Hmm." Marcoh's eyes went over to Edward Elric's, and then to Alphonse. "A state licence at your age? What lured you into their web? Research grants? Prestige? It's a fool's choice to join as a State Alchemist. I know many who fought in Ishval hated to be the living weapons of the State Military. "
"Of course it was a fool's choice!" Edward snapped. "I was a fool in the first place, and I became a State Alchemist because I needed to make up for my mistake. I will sleep in whatever bed I make, even if it's full of rusty metal and broken glass!"
Marcoh's eyes widened. And then, he looked at both Elric brothers with more scrutiny. He walked over to Alphonse, and wrapped his knuckles on the armour, and winced at the hollow sound. "I see. You broke the ultimate taboo of alchemy, didn't you? Human transmutation. You managed to bind your brother's soul to that suit of armour. You have seen Hell, and have no desire to walk into its depths." Marcoh turned around. "However, you may be able to see the truth hidden beneath the truth. My research is at the 1st Branch of the Central Library. I know you won't use the Stone for as trivial a purpose as getting your bodies back, not now that you know what it costs to create one. But Ishval and the Philosopher's Stone are but the tip of the iceberg. I trust you to be able to do what needs to be done."
They went back to the train, Armstrong reassuring the others that he wouldn't report Marcoh. Later, they saw Lust waiting on the platform. Luna and Harry gave the Homunculus a cheery wave. She seemed startled at being noticed, especially when Luna said, "See you at Central!"
"Who's the woman you were yelling at?" Edward asked.
"Lust," Harry sighed.
"An odd name," Armstrong said.
"I think she had a crappy father," Luna remarked.
Deep beneath Central, connected to his massive throne, Father sneezed. An unusual occurrence, as he never got ill, and rarely sneezed anyway…
Sometime later, they made it to Resembool, a small country town. They made their way up the road to the Rockbell residence (and with it, their automail workshop), and soon were greeted just outside it by a diminutive old woman. "Hey, Granny, where's Winry and her folks?" Edward greeted her.
"Winry's inside. My son and his wife are making a housecall," the elderly woman said. "Ed, is it me, or have you gotten smaller?"
This, predictably, set off a shouting match between Edward and the elderly woman, Pinako Rockbell, that was interrupted by a wrench flung from the balcony of the house, whacking Edward on the head. Harry and Luna found their attention drawn to said balcony, where a girl about Edward's age, dressed in a tube top and maintenance coveralls (the top currently off and tied around her waist) with a green bandanna, leaned against the railing. "Ed, how many times must I tell you to call us when you're coming around?!"
"Winry, will you stop doing that?!" Edward howled back.
Winry laughed, and said, "Welcome back! Who're these guys, anyway?"
"Winry…you're not going to believe this," Alphonse said, "but, well, this guy with the dark hair is Harry Potter!"
"Wait, what? This is Harry Potter, that kid Sirius was always going on about?" Winry demanded.
"Who're you calling a kid?" Harry retorted, looking up at Winry.
"Hey, that's what he said when he was with us years ago," Winry protested. "Who's the girl?"
"Luna Lovegood, professional fantasist and gadfly," Luna said. "Nice aim with the wrench, by the way. It's a bit hard to throw something like that accurately. Are you free of wrackspurts?"
On Winry's confused look, Edward said, "Yeah, she's like that. And this is Major Alex Louis Armstrong. Anyway, I stopped by to have a check-up, preferably with no more concussions."
"Let's wait until I see your automail before I make any rash promises," Winry said, before smiling at them. "Good to see you guys anyway!"
Harry nodded, as Pinako led them into the house. This was the nearest thing the Elrics had to a home now. They had told Harry and Luna that they had burned down their home in order to spur them onto their journey, so this was the closest they had to a home now. Still, it'd be an interesting stay, even if it was only a brief one…
CHAPTER 5 ANNOTATIONS:
And here you have it. At long last, the latest chapter for this story. I'm not sure when the next chapter will come out (if at all), given a lack of inspiration for this story. Sorry.
Also, in case you're wondering how Lust came to get to the others' train, keep in mind that a few days pass between the first scene and the next one, as in canon. Enough time for Lust to get to East City and tail them, in case they make contact with Scar. Her meeting with Marcoh goes as it did in canon.
Speaking of Lust, some of you may not be aware that I have a pure Fullmetal Alchemist fic out there, Saligia, so far from the point of view of Lust. It's an AU where Lust begins having doubts about Father's plans. The divergence begins around Chapter 4, though many events go differently beforehand (Lust telling Rosé to get out of Liore, her recruiting Marcoh as an ally in a slightly different confrontation, as well as meeting Edward for the first time during his trip to Resembool). I've posted Chapter 8, which is set during the introduction of Ling Yao. Go and give it a look.
Review-answering time! ShimmerBreeze: I don't think I have met any voice actors who have played a major role in Fullmetal Alchemist, though I have met Brina Palencia, who, incidentally, played Nina in Brotherhood. At the time, though, I was more interested in her because she had played Rei Ayanami in Rebuild of Evangelion. This was before I got into Fullmetal Alchemist, you must understand.
Jostanos: See above. Hughes has adopted her.
Duner89: Scar is still very much anti-alchemy, but he is willing to tolerate it as a necessary evil to stop Father and his plans. Unlike in canon, he's more pragmatic and compassionate (even to State Alchemists, particularly those who didn't fight in Ishval).
Alchemical Guest: I read that fic, and enjoyed it. Thanks for the recommendation.
No numbered annotations.
