"I must say," said Truth. "It's good to see you. Edward, Alphonse. Four years is a long time. No longer boys, but finally men...but then, I suppose you both grew up even before that, when we last met."
"How?" asked Ed.
"Pardon?"
"How are you here?! In the real world? And why did you bring a Gate of Truth with you?"
"Real world? Oh, you mean this material world you humans occupy? Well, the whole answer is quite complicated, so let me simplify it with a question of my own."
Before either brother could blink, Truth had moved like a blur and appeared right in front of Ed, that same smile on its face.
"What made you think I couldn't come here, to begin with?"
Ed jumped back, reflexively kicking out at Truth. Truth, in turn, simply moved its head back and jumped back a step, giggling some while Al stood by Ed's side and clapped his hands together.
"...really?" asked Truth. "Do you really think that Alchemy will help you against me, Alphonse?"
In response, he slammed his hands down on the ground. A white light and electricity emanated from his hands, and the ground underneath them began to morph and cave in. At the center of the small crater, a thin piece of ground rose up, changing shape and material into a hilt. And then a broadsword guard. And finally, thinning out in the process, a blade. The Alchemy ended once the tip was freed from the ground, and Alphonse grabbed the handle with one hand.
"Probably not," said Al, aiming the blade at Truth. "But if you intend to harm Brother, or anyone else here, I'm more than willing to try!"
"And what makes you think I'm here to harm anyone?" asked Truth, shaking its head.
"...are you?" asked Ed, prompting Truth to sigh.
"You're always so quick to confrontation," it said. "So human of you."
"Ed!" called out Winry from the house.
Ed and Al turned back for a moment, seeing Winry, Mei, and Pinako rush over to them before they both turned back towards Truth. When they caught sight of Truth, the three women all stopped in their tracks, confused at what they were seeing in front of them.
"What in blazes?" asked Pinako.
"What is that?" asked Mei, drawing two Kunis knives out from behind her.
"Ed?" asked Winry, slowly approaching Ed from behind. "Who...what is that?"
"This is...well," said Ed. "It's kinda hard to explain -"
"Oh, please, allow me!" said Truth, hands out to its side. "I haven't said this in quite a long time. You see, Winry -"
"Hey, hold on!" said Winry. "How do you know my name?"
"Oh, I know all of you. I know everyone. From you, Winry Rockbell, the young mechanic who stayed loyal to the two brothers seeking to undo their mistake, waiting for the day they would return in their true bodies.
"To you, Mei Chang, the little girl who left home in search of Immortality, so as to save her clan from social outcast.
And you, Pinako Rockbell, the elderly guardian of the two boys who would one day save this world, waiting alongside the mechanic."
This shocked everyone there, but Truth was still going strong.
"I am called by many names. I am the world; I am the universe; I am God; I am Truth; I am all; I am One; and I am also, you."
At this Truth pointed to all of them, spooking the women and making Ed and Al glare at it.
"Whenever an Alchemist tries their hand at playing God, I am there to show them the truth...for a price. Depending on what they pay for, the toll can be, quite steep. I'm certain that Ed and Al can both tell you that."
"Playing God...you mean human transmutation?" asked Winry. "You're the one who took Ed's limbs and Al's body?"
"Smart girl. But it's how they -"
Truth didn't finish that sentence, because Winry took that moment to pull out a wrench and hurl it at Truth, much to the shock of everyone else there. Before it could hit, Truth grabbed it easily out of the air, an amused smile gracing its face.
"My, you are a brave one," it said. "And quick to anger. No wonder you chose to marry her, Edward."
Winry growled and moved to rush at Truth, but Ed and Al both barred her progress with an arm and sword.
"Enough messing around, Truth," said Ed. "You only answered one of my questions, and I've got another one for you: why are you here?"
"Finally getting around to the point," said Truth, twirling the wrench around in its hand. "Well, in order. First, to this Gate. As you know, every living being has a Gate of Truth. Humans, animals, and even the planet itself. And should I choose to, I can access any of the Gates and come to this world. It's much easier for me to use ones belonging to Alchemists who tried human transmutation, but any Gate will do. But as for this one?"
Truth pointed with a thumb to the one behind it.
"This isn't just any ordinary Gate, former Alchemist. Tell me: does it look familiar to you at all?"
Ed, confused for a moment, looked at the gate behind Truth. He studied it, observing the carved tree-like symbol and feather-like carvings. The words and short phrases in an unknown language. Something did seem familiar about it to Ed, but at first he couldn't pin down why.
"...it does look familiar…but why?"
"Need a hint? Okay, try this: think back to the last time we met."
"Back when we...wait," he said, eyes widening in realization. "You're saying...that the Gate behind you -"
"Was once yours," said Truth. "I did say that it's easier to use the Gate of one who attempted human transmutation, didn't I?"
"But...but that doesn't explain -"
"How I pulled a Gate into this physical realm? Didn't you hear me saying that I'm called the Universe and God, by some of you humans?"
"...right, omnipotence. Okay, I'll drop it. But I still have one last question."
"The one about why I'm here? Well, Edward Elric, it's quite simple."
Sparks of electricity sparked from the hand that held the wrench, and in a second it vanished, the hand clenched into a fist.
"I need a favor from you."
Police HQ in Musutafu, Japan. February 22. 1700 local time
"Any luck with identifying who the blood belonged to?" asked the officer.
"Not yet," said the forensics scientist, currently at their desk. "Due to some abnormalities in the DNA, it's pretty difficult to trace back to the owner."
"Abnormalities? Like what?"
"Well, whatever went on in that warehouse, it seems to have warped and mutated the DNA sequence. Decoding it is going to be harder than we thought. Not to mention, there's the fact that traces of the other items we found there seem to have melded with the blood."
"Melded? How?"
"No idea. My best educated guess? Somebody's quirk went wrong, and it fused some of the material with the blood. I've already requested a list of civilians who have quirks that can fuse items, at least within the city, but until then we've still made no progress."
"I see," said the officer, placing down a stack of papers onto the desk. "Then maybe this could help us out."
The scientist looked at the stack, taking it and skimming over it, his eyes glowing yellow as he did. It was mostly words, but here and there were various symbols, a few pictures, and even a chart at the end.
"I looked into the symbols we found at the site, like you asked for," said the officer, sitting on the edge of the desk. "As well as the materials used. Had to scour the net and consult several experts on this one, though for some of them I use that term loosely. It's not exact, but there are some ancient rituals that share some of the elements used in what we found. Especially the one on page 22."
"...'transmutation of physical and metaphysical material'?"
"Yeah. Looks like whatever they had going on in there, they were trying to change something."
"These symbols. They're pretty spot on to what we found on site. Where'd you get the info on them?"
"An occult history expert in Germany. Nicholas Beck, I think. Think it'll do us any good?"
"...well, it's a start," he said, putting the papers down and holding his face in his hands for a moment. "Just wish it could help show us who did it, and why. Ugh. How do you cops make it look easy, following your guts and figuring things out?"
"Hey, don't oversell us. We can be just as clueless and confused, and we need help from guys like you most of the time. Hell, even heroes need help and can't always get it right."
"Yeah, yeah...just wish I was -"
"Hey!" called out a female officer, one who looked part cat. "We've got news that there was some kind of light show at the warehouse we investigated two days ago."
"Light show?" asked the officer, standing up. "It could be whoever was there, that night! Let's go!'
"...you need...a favor?" asked Ed, understandably confused.
"Yes," said Truth. "You heard right. I need a favor from you."
"...okay...for what?"
"To retrieve something, taken from our universe."
Those last two words made everyone pause to contemplate those words. Ed and Al, especially. It took several seconds before they could fully process what Truth had said.
"...our, universe?" asked Al. "As in, taken out of our reality? Like, to that white plane you're normally in?"
"No. As in, another Earth. Another set of stars. Another universe, with similar laws like gravity and probability, and yet also different aspects and details."
"...wait, hold on," said Ed. "You're saying...you're saying there's more than one universe?"
Truth groaned at this, shaking its head in disappointment before opening its fist. From within came a momentary flash of light, and then appeared images of five galaxies orbiting around what looked like a miniature sun. Everyone else was momentarily captivated by this, which was when Truth began to talk again.
"Contrary to popular human belief, this isn't the only universe in existence. There are many others out there, and normally they cannot interact with one another. At least, not in any significant ways. Some are very similar to this one, while others are drastically different. For example."
One of the galaxies stopped orbiting the miniature sun and made its way towards the others, stopping in front of Ed and Al. It was no bigger than a grapefruit. Once everyone else got close enough to see, it changed from a galaxy cluster to a ball of white energy. And then the white gained color, and then an image came into focus. A room, with bookshelves, a few tall windows overlooking a grassy field, and a desk. In the room were three figures. One was Ed, albeit much shorter and wearing black shirt and pants. The second, next to Edward, was a tall suit of armor with three conical spikes on the shoulders, a loincloth, and a long ribbon of white hair coming from the helmet down to the back. The third figure was an elderly woman wearing a light brown shirt with a red stone as a brooch, a black skirt, and a pink shawl, her gray hair up in a bun. The lady was just getting up from behind the desk, a large book closed on it.
"I've been waiting for you, Edward and Alphonse Elric," she said.
"So you're Dante, are you?" asked Edward.
"That's right, and you two must be Izumi's great apprentices," she said as she approached the two. "I've heard what's going on. Come with me, and I'll make a fresh batch of medicine for her."
"I'm sorry, what's your relationship with Izumi?"
"Simple. She was my apprentice, many, many years ago. I'm the one who taught her Alchemy."
"Oh, I didn't know that."
"Yes," she said, going for the door.
"So that means you're our teacher's teacher," said Al's voice from the armor.
"Ahaha, yes, I suppose."
The scene ended there, the ball of energy once more becoming a galaxy cluster. Winry, Mei, and Pinako looked over at Ed and Al, to judge their reactions. The two brothers showed confusion, not sure of what they saw.
"Was that you, boys?" asked Pinako.
"Looked like it," said Ed. "But I don't remember any of that."
"Neither do I," said Al. "I'd remember meeting whoever taught Teacher."
"And I hardly call her by her first name, and never so casually. Truth, what was that?"
"That, Edward and Alphonse, was what you both experienced in a different universe," said Truth, the galaxy returning to the sun. "Where the laws of Alchemy are, somewhat different, and the history of the world is also different. It would take too long to explain how, and be beside the point. I merely showed that, to prove my previous point."
"That there are other universes, other than our own," said Ed. "And I take it you're in those universes, too?"
"In a way," said Truth, waving its hand and vanishing the sun and galaxies. "But not as you're familiar with. You see, it is true that I am All, but I'm not the only one who is all. For the sake of helping you five understand, let's just say that there are, other versions of me in those different universes. Some are sentient, and can be interacted with. Others, not so much. It's not entirely accurate, but it will have to do."
"And you said that something got pulled out of our universe, and into another," said Al.
"That's right. And I need you both to help me retrieve it."
"...and why should we help you?" asked Ed, glaring again. "Yeah, something was taken from our universe, but why should we care? I've got a wedding in a few weeks."
"Oh?" asked Truth. "Tell me something, Edward Elric. Haven't you ever wondered what the Dwarf in the Flask, that thing you called Father, originally was?"
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it. Where do you think he originally came from?"
After a few moments of thought, his and Al's eyes widened with horror.
"He came from inside the Gate," said Al.
"Where the Eye is," said Ed. "But, that means -"
"That another Dwarf, another homunculus could very well be in that world," said Truth. "And with enough time, it could do there, what the Dwarf did here. Are you sure you're willing to let that happen?"
Ed and Al looked down, gritting their teeth in frustration and thought. This country, and everyone they had fought for all those years ago, had nearly died because of the Dwarf, the entity that had orchestrated so much murder and despair all over. Could they really let another world go through that?
"...you said you're asking a favor from me, right?" asked Ed. "A favor implies that you're willing to pay me back, to even the scales. It's practically Equivalent Exchange. Well?"
"Heheheh. Well, you're not wrong. I fully intend to pay you back. As for how, I'll figure that out once you bring back the missing piece. Oh, and my favor extends to you as well, Alphonse. After all, I'll need you both for this."
Ed and Al both looked at each other, a silent message passing between them before they nodded and looked at Truth, resolve in their eyes.
"What do you need?" they both asked.
"Well," said Truth, "I'll need to bring both of you into the Gate, temporarily. Ed, you yourself will be sent into the other universe after that. And Al, you'll be staying with me so you can pull him back here."
"Why not use my gate yourself?" asked Ed. "You're God, right? What's stopping you from going there yourself?"
"Because I'm not welcome there. An omniversal rule is that Truths and Gods of each universe can't cross over, not without severe consequences. But there's no rule stopping you from doing so. And besides, why would I use your gate, when you can do so yourself?"
"Use...what? You're giving back my gate?"
"Indeed I am. After all, the universe you'll be going to? You'll need Alchemy there."
"...I'd ask why, but I get the feeling you wouldn't tell me."
"Of course not! After all, why ruin the fun? But I will say this: due to how I obtained your Gate, I'll need to revert your body back to a younger age. One from when you still had the Gate."
"Revert back? You mean, I'll be younger again?"
"That's right."
"...how...how far back?" he asked, suddenly fearful.
"Oh, by around five years or so? Give or take."
Ed and Al thought about this for a moment, right before Ed screamed in sudden anguish and dropped to his knees, holding his head. Naturally this prompted the three women to approach in concern.
"Ed, are you alright?" asked Winry.
"What's wrong?" asked Mei and Pinako.
"Brother just did the math," Al said calmly, shaking his head. "He was fifteen, five years ago. And back then, he still had automail...and wasn't as tall."
"I'll be short again," Ed muttered. "I'll lose my precious height. All those years of growth, gone."
Al and the women sighed, all shaking their heads. And then Winry looked up upon realizing something.
"Wait a minute!" she said, turning to Truth. "That means he'll be without an arm as well, right? And a leg too long for his body?"
"Sadly, yes," said Truth with a shrug. "Unfortunately, I don't have the means to restore his old automail limbs, nor can I create any. Not without getting something in exchange. And sending you to this other universe, it would already cost enough as is. So, unless you have some spares lying around?"
"Actually, I do," she said, prompting everyone to look up at her. "Wait right here!"
She rushed into the house, leaving four confused people to ponder what she was doing. After a minute she came back with the suitcase she had earlier, upon meeting Edward. Putting it down in front of Ed, she opened it and turned it around, revealing a metal prosthetic arm and leg. Ed recognized them, kneeling next to Winry.
"Are these, my old automail?" he asked.
"I, found them in a box, back in Rush Valley at Garfiel's place," she said. "It was about a week before you came back from your travels. I had made them as spares, before you and Al came home four years ago. They weren't in good condition, so I spent some time fixing them up. I even made some improvements to them. I was, going to give them to you as a wedding gift."
"Winry…"
Ed pulled her in for a hug, one that Winry leaned into affectionately before pulling him in for a kiss. One that he also returned, prompting Mei and the panda to coo at them, and for Al and Pinako to smile at them. Once they separated, Ed took the suitcase and turned to Truth.
"Will these do?" he asked.
"They'll do just fine," Truth said with a wide smile. "Once you've obtained the missing piece, all you'll have to do is perform human transmutation on yourself, like last time. And then you'll be brought back, and Al can bring the both of you home."
"Right," said Ed.
"So you know, this will be quite painful. For both of you. Are you ready to bear that pain?"
"Please. Al and I already experienced enough pain for a lifetime, years ago."
"Right," said Al, stabbing his sword in the ground. "When it comes to pain, we know what to expect."
"Oh?" Truth asked. "Well, we'll just have to wait and see. Now, no time like the present."
Upon saying those words, the Gate opened up even further, and a giant sideways eye with a gray iris opened up from within. And from the darkness around it, black tendrils with tiny hands slowly made their way towards the brothers, who walked towards Truth and the Gate. But not before stopping and turning back to the women.
"We'll be back," said Ed with a determined smile.
"We promise," said Al, also smiling.
"And we'll be waiting," said Winry, smiling as well. "Just get home safe."
With a nod, Ed and Al continued towards the Gate, Truth turning to join them. The hands grabbed hold of the brothers, leading them into the Gate before they both seemed to dissolve.. And once they were gone, it closed behind them with a resounding boom. Right before a bright light blinded the three women for a moment. And once it was gone, so was the Gate.
"...be safe, you two," said Winry.
As the two brothers were taken in, streams of images and information began to rush at them. Images of people they knew, of trees, of places, strangers, animals, physics, love, politics, and everything else of the world. All rushing through their minds. But as overwhelming as it seemed, neither of them panicked. They let their minds guide them through it all, knowing where it would lead them.
And soon…
"Ow," groaned Al, facedown on the ground. "Yeah, that hurts."
"I did warn you, Alphonse," said Truth from ahead.
Al pushed himself up, seeing Truth sitting down several feet from him. It's right arm was now replaced with a human arm, of the same skin tone as its human leg. Its back was towards what looked like a horizontal blue line of pulsating energy in the air, four feet long. All around them, was nothing but a white void. No trees, no sky, no visible ground. All just white, save for Al, Truth, a Gate similar to the previous one behind Al - save for having a different design on the door, something more akin to a twisting beanstalk - and the line. Upon noticing this fact, Al looked around in a panic.
"Hey, where's my brother?" he asked.
"Relax, he's already heading into the next universe," said Truth, pointing to the line with a thumb. "All that's left is to wait."
"...right, wait," said Al, sitting down in front of his own Gate. "So, how long do we have to wait?"
"Hard to say, as time doesn't have much meaning in this place. Well, save for one's own personal time, such as when your body kept growing. But beyond that?"
"Right."
"...are you worried about him?"
"Yeah...but, knowing my brother? He'll find a way back. And he'll get the missing piece. I know it."
"Oh, so do I," Truth said with a smile. "What I'm more interested in, is how long it will take for him to adapt to that world."
"What do you mean?"
"Well…"
"...ow," groaned Ed as he opened his eyes. "Okay...that hurt. A lot."
He pushed himself up, albeit with some struggle, but soon he was sitting up and looking around. He saw machines, boxes, and a lot of dust, meaning he was probably in a warehouse. He also saw yellow tape around the spot he was in, with vague lettering on it that he was unable to read. At first. After staring for a few seconds, he was able to process them, reading the words "Crime Scene Do Not Cross." Reading those words, he looked down and saw dried-up blood. And a lot of it.
"Oh, crap!" he exclaimed, moving for the other side of the tape. "Am I in - whoa!"
He had tripped and fell, just before he could cross the tape. Looking down, he saw that his shoes no longer fit, one of them no longer on his metal foot. Upon further inspection he found that the rest of his clothes were big on him, his shirt sleeves actually pulled over his hands and his pants barely keeping on his legs and waist. On reflex he pulled on them to fix them, and found that his right arm was now metal and machine.
"Automail...looks like Truth got it on me alright," he said, flexing his metal fingers. "Which means I...I'm...short."
Those words had him hanging his head low in sadness, Ed missing his extra height. After a few seconds of lamentation, he looked back at both hands, thinking, before clapping them together and touching his metal arm. With a flash and electricity, the top of the forearm extended past the hand and formed into a triangular blade.
"Well, there's one upside to having my old body back, at least. Now, let's see what we can do about -"
A nearby door opened with a bang, and people in blue uniforms came rushing in, guns in hand. Upon seeing Ed they initially pointed their guns at him, the blonde holding his hands up peacefully. Ed noticed that among them, one looked like an anthropomorphic alligator. Another had an extra set of arms, and he held two guns pointed at him. The rest looked relatively normal. All totalled to five people surrounding him.
"A child?" asked one of the normal looking ones. "Hey, what are you doing here?! This is a crime scene!"
"Must be the local police," Ed muttered to himself. "And it looks like there are chimera among them. Maybe even homunculi. It'd be a good idea to avoid a fight, at least for now."
"Answer us!" yelled another of them. "What are you doing in here?!"
"Look, it's a long story," he said out loud. "I don't want trouble, so I'll go with you guys peacefully."
"Well, that's smart of you. But first, tell us what you know of the incident here from two days ago."
"Incident? Sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about."
"...you're probably lying," said the first one, holstering his gun and pulling out handcuffs. "But we'll find out at the station. Thanks for making this easy on us. You're under arrest for intruding on a crime scene, and for open possession of an illegal weapon."
"Open possession?" Ed asked, looking at his arm. "Oh, this? It's just my automail."
"Uh. Auto-what?"
"My prosthetic arm. I just transmuted it to test something. Here, let me fix that."
He clapped his hands together and touched his automail arm, and with a flash of light and electricity the blade quickly receded back into just being an arm. The police were shocked upon seeing it, but none of them fired or lowered their weapons.
"There, that should do it," he said, holding his hands in front of him. "So, you still gonna arrest me?"
"...considering the nature of your Quirk, most definitely."
Without another word, the officer put away the cuffs and nodded to another, who pulled out handcuffs connected by a bar instead of a traditional chain and tossed him the pair. Said officer then approached Ed, who still held up his hands.
"I don't feel good having to arrest a teenager," he said. "But -"
Suddenly an explosion went off outside the warehouse. It wasn't very powerful, but it was enough to be felt by everyone.
"What was that?"
"We've got trouble on the street!" called out an officer at the door. "A villain's started attacking us!"
"What?! Everyone, outside! Priority is containment until a hero can get on scene! Kid, you stay here where it's safe!"
"Hey, wait!" called out Ed, only to trip on his pants again and be left behind. "Damn it! Stupid pants. Time to do something about these."
Outside, in the middle of the street, there stood a tall muscular man in gray sweatpants, running shoes, and a brown shirt soaked in sweat. He was of pale gray skin and had short blonde shaggy hair, brown eyes, and muscular arms that appeared to be coated in chrome-like metal. In one hand he held a car door as a makeshift shield, while in the other he held a piece of a car's axle as a makeshift club. Most of the police had him surrounded while taking cover behind their cars and other surrounding objects, guns pointed at him, while a few officers were already injured beyond being able to fight. Several civilians watched from even farther away, from behind street barriers.
"Attention, villain!" said a cop over a megaphone. "You are surrounded! Put down the weapons and put your hands up!"
"Like Hell, I will!" he exclaimed. "You cops ruined my sister's life! And now I'm getting payback!"
The axle and door rippled before being absorbed through his hands, the metal on his arms moving up to cover his whole upper torso and head. With a scream he charged at the nearest cop car, the cops diving out of the way before he tackled the car straight into a wall, leaving a crater behind it. He ripped out one of its doors and absorbed it, the metal covering the rest of his skin. The cops opened fire on him, but the bullets just ricocheted off. With a scream he charged at another set of cops, one of them shooting a web-like fluid from their hand at the perp's face. It connected and momentarily blinded him, causing him to veer and crash into the wall. The rest of the cops backed away while they could, a few putting away their guns and exhibiting powers of their own, such as claws and ice among others. He backed out of the wall, but suddenly spun around quickly and hurled large stones and pieces of wall at them, hitting several at random before they could attack, effectively incapacitating them. He then picked up a nearby car, lifted it above his head, and threw it at the cops, forcing them to scatter.
"I told you!" he yelled. "You all ruined my sister's life! None of you are leaving here alive!"
Upon seeing a nearby injured officer, one with a bleeding leg, he walked up to her and raised a fist, intending to kill her.
"Starting with you."
Before anything could happen, a few sparks of electricity ran along the ground under him, and then said ground suddenly rose up and threw him backwards onto a car. The officer looked behind her and saw Ed, hands on the ground and clothes no longer too big on him.
"You okay?" he asked her, standing and offering a hand as he saw her nametag. "Miss...Tamura?"
"I-I'm fine," she said, taking his hand and pulling herself up. "But you need to get -"
"Save it," he said. "You're the one who should get to safety. Way I see it, you guys need all the help you can get. And I'm not backing down, when lives are in danger."
He looked her in the eye when he said this, and she saw the fire in his. This boy's mettle was strong, and nothing she could say or do could stop him. Common sense told her to keep him safe, but instinct told her he knew what he was doing. And it was frustrating to decide between the two. Fortunately, she didn't have to, as the metal-coated man let out a scream as he got back on his feet, a few scratches on his chest revealing the skin under his metal.
"Guy's tough," said Ed. "Get behind cover. I'll keep him busy."
"You don't think you can defeat him by yourself, do you?"
"I don't need to. I just have to keep him busy till backup arrives. You guys did call for backup, right?"
He walked towards the big guy before she could answer, a smug smile on his face as he ignored the other cops telling him to stop.
"Been a while since I did this," he said to himself. "Still, not like I stopped training while I travelled. Time to see if I still got it. Hey, big guy!"
"Huh? Who the hell are you?"
"A tourist. One who's gonna kick your ass."
"Seriously? A child?! YOU COPS ARE HIDING BEHIND A CHILD?!"
He touched the car he had landed on, absorbing some of it and fixing the scratches on his metal skin. Afterwards he ripped the door off, glaring at Ed.
"First, I'll take care of you. And then, those pigs!"
Ed clapped his hands together just before the door was thrown, ducking down and touching the ground. With a flash of light part of the ground sprouted up into a wall, catching the door. Then, honed by experience, Ed jumped back a second before the big guy came charging through it, swiping at where the alchemist was previously. Ed shielded his face with an arm, that smirk still there. He clapped his hands again, and then he touched the ground and transmuted himself a spear with bat wings for a blade guard, holding it ready.
"Gotta say, you move quick for a big guy. Either that or I'm too rusty...yeah, I'm rusty. Someone like you shouldn't be too much trouble."
This earned him a piece of rubble tossed his way, which he dodged before running at him. The big man charged as well, arms out to the side as he made to swipe at Ed again. Ed ducked and slid under him, turning just as he was behind him and stabbing behind one of his knees. It forced him to trip and fall with a resounding thud, but the blade had broken off from the impact, forcing Ed to toss the shaft aside. He didn't stay down for long, kicking out at Ed. Ed blocked before it connected, sending him flying back a few feet. The big man turned around and charged again, Ed rushing in as well.
"Amazing," said the Officer Tamura, watching the fight. "It's like, he has experience fighting villains."
"But how?" asked another officer. "He's barely even old enough to be in a Hero Academy. Is he a vigilante?"
"No idea. He said he's a tourist, so he's not from Musutafu. Judging from his appearance, he's probably not from Japan, either."
"Well, whatever the case, he's definitely holding his own. But for how long?"
"Until backup arrives, he said. Where are -"
They were interrupted when Ed let out a yelp, his left leg now sporting a cut, the big man now holding a sharp piece of metal as a makeshift knife. Ed was left on a knee, holding the leg in pain.
"No more jumping around for you," said the big guy, absorbing the shard and cracking his knuckles. "Guess that's the end for you, shorty."
The big guy pulled his fist back, moving in to crush Ed, when Ed gave him a glare and dove underneath him. Rolling between his legs, Ed clapped his hands again and grabbed said legs, sparks and light shining as the big guy screamed in pain. The metal coating began to warp, flowing towards Ed's hand and forming a thick club. Once it was gone, the big guy collapsed on a knee, panting before glaring at Ed. But Ed wasted no time, taking a swing at his chest and knocking him down on his back. Before he could get up, Ed dropped the club and transmuted the ground so that it wrapped all around him and kept him pinned with stone and asphalt, arms kept out to his side.
"You made two mistakes, asshole," he said, walking over to one of the big guy's legs. "One: you failed to pay any attention to your opponent. Otherwise you'd have known I was faking my injury."
The big guy looked up at him in confusion before looking at his leg, only now noticing the glint of metal.
"A fake leg? Just gotta -"
He was interrupted by Ed placing said leg on his thigh, Ed holding his fist up angrily.
"And mistake number two?"
Ed cocked his right fist back.
"DON'T EVER CALL ME SHORT!"
And with fury, Ed punched the man right in the balls, his victim screaming in pain and causing everyone around to wince at it. Ed wasn't done, though, as he began to punch and pummel the man all over, wherever stone and asphalt didn't cover him, save for the hands. After half a minute, Ed moved his face right up to the semi-conscious man's face.
"Nobody's taller than the last man standing. Never forget that."
And with that, Ed walked back towards the female cop, hands in his pockets like he was just on a walk. All of the cops just stared at him, not sure what to make of him, given everything that had happened. But, with a smirk, Ed just looked at them all.
"So, you guys still gonna arrest me?"
