'I can't tell them...
Not now... it would hurt them too much if they
found out... or am I the one that's afraid...?'
Chapter 22 ~ The Truth Revealed
-Me-
"Eh... eh!?" Alice and I scream at the top of our lungs. The two of us huddled together. "How did he figure it out...!? I thought you covered your tracks during your three year stay...!" Alice whispers, just as panicked as I am. I quickly peek over my shoulders with a terrified look in my eyes, whispering back, "I don't know...! I've been really careful with what I've been doing...! Look let's just try to brush this off... if not then... then..." I seriously did not plan for something like this to happen, well I did before but not this early ! Ed and Al were always on my mind in the past on who, between the two, would figure it out first with the way I was first acting like before. We pop back in front of the man acting like fumbling idiots, and I swear I was silently screaming in my mind of what's to come next.
"What do you mean out of this world Hughes!? I'm from out of the country, but certainly not off of this world! Hahahaha...!" and at the same time I was mentally hitting myself in my mind, 'Stupid! Stupid! Of course that sounds suspicious!' "Yeah of course not Maes! We-" I slap a hand over her mouth, shaking my head no with a terrified look when I saw Hughes' eyebrows furrow at Alice as she was about to speak up. "How do you know my name miss?" I tried to wave off the question, "Don't mind her Hughes! She's just delusional is all!" Alice glares at me for this and decides to bite my hand for it, sending a huge wave a pain on my real hand and slowly turn my head to give her my best death glare without crying my eyes out.
They're wooden chompers' for Christ sakes! "Look we need to get back to work-" I stopped in my sentence when Hughes suddenly tosses a file to the table beside him- my file. "You have no records at all regarding the train accident you mention three years ago on how you lost your arm," I tightened a fist as he went on. "At first I thought it was just a simple lie to hide a secret that's similar to how Ed and Al lost their bodies, but then I found something interesting as I kept going. There are no files at all about you, only your name and date of birth were presented. No records in hospitals all around Amestris of a Catherine Cairo ever being born." I was scared, much more compared to my confrontation with Scar. What gave me away? And why now?
'It can't be Alice... She's barely been with me for a few days...' I gaze up at Alice nervously as she stares at Hughes with an awestruck look. "Even if that is true... why go so far on finding out who I am?" I ask trying my beset to keep a straight face as I look at Hughes straight in the eye. Hughes adjusts his glasses, "I tried to tell myself many times that maybe it's because you're an orphan... but then I got thinking, why wasn't your name registered in any orphanages? There is no history about who you were before joining the military. And then I remembered how you acted around cars, machine, you didn't even know how to use the telephone!" I felt an arrow struck the back of my head at the sudden remembrance of that embarrassing moment, especially when I asked a nearby soldier how to use it.
I back away a little with a nervous smile on my face, "You've sure done a lot of research Lieutenant Colonel... but that still doesn't explain why you asked me if I'm really from this world?" "Her," Hughes points at Alice all of a sudden, "chimera of Heissgart was reported by you dead correct? You mentioned that it was a friend of yours in the report. And yet here she is... alive. What's weird is... she looks exactly like Alice." We both froze, having completely forgotten the little girl after being so caught of with the book Marcoh gave me. I didn't know what to do anymore, there's no lie or excuse to get out of this one. 'There's no choice... I have to tell him...' I though as my bangs cover half of my face, hiding the pain and tears that were about to run down my cheeks.
Right when I was about to say something, Alice suddenly steps in front of my and stops me from making another move. She spoke up, "Whatever you plan on doing to Cat, take it out on me. My sudden revival has nothing to do with her." I grabbed her arm and pleaded her, "Stop it Alice! I was the one that got us in this mess in the first place...! So I think it should be fair that I explain to him. Alice looks down at me (me: That bloody height! XD) worriedly. I reached up and pat her shoulder reassuringly. "It's fine Alice! Nothing bad is going to happen." I turn my attention back to Hughes, "I'll tell you everything, but you have to promise us not to tell anyone about this. Or there will be consequences." Hughes grabs a seat and says, "Okay, I'm listening."
-Al-
I couldn't help but gaze at the door worriedly earning weird looks from Ed. "What's wrong Al?" "It's nothing brother... but I can't get this weird feeling out that something's going on with the girls. Don't you find it weird or Hughes to suddenly ask where Cat is?" This is weird for Hughes to look for Cat all of a sudden, usually he would want to stick around but this time he seemed to really want to talk about something with her urgently. Ed shrugs and goes back to writing, "It's fine Al don't worry 'bout it. Maybe Hughes just wants to talk her ear off about Elicia, remember she is the god mother of his daughter." "Right..." I still just couldn't get this weird feeling off my chest that something's wrong. "I noticed something though," Ed started to eye me weirdly, "you've been getting really close to that Alice girl, haven't you?"
My helmet almost blew off when Ed said that out loud. "What are you talking about Ed!? I'm just worried for Alice's well being since she's just like me!" I half yell as I flail my arms around wildly. Ed gives me a suspicious look then suddenly gives me a mischievous smile, like as if he just realized something that I don't know about. I back away in my seat in fear, "Brother...? You're creeping me out now...!"
-Back to Me-
"So let me get this straight... In your world this is all a show you guys watched back at home," I gulp nervously at the way he said it, "and it has been your life long dream to come here and then magically these strange people tricked an entire school filled with children and forced you to transmute their lives in exchange for something you both don't know about. One of them is a girl that looks exactly like you." He is not believing us at all one bit, and they way he was looking at us I could tell by the look in his eyes he thinks that we're crazy. I can't just go out and tell him about the homunculi! The boys haven't told him or Armstrong about it yet!
Hughes massages the bridge of his nose, "Alice here is supposedly one of victims and for some reason she was found in the bodies of a chimera, died, then came back again except in the body of a 7 feet tall doll. You on the other hand went through the gate and actually made it to the other side with only sacrificing your left arm in exchange and woke up in the residence of the Rockbells. You think they're all still alive and decided to join the military and find them." "That's how it went..." I mutter. Alice shyly spoke up when Hughes finally let up his glaring session on her after hearing our story, "We didn't want to lie to everyone... We never expected any of this to happen... Cat and I always thought it was impossible since Alchemy doesn't exist in our world!"
"And yet here you are living the dream," Hughes states darkly, making the both of us look down in shame. I gripped onto my pants tightly and bowed my head down in shame, "I never intended to deceive all of you... I just want to find everyone and bring them back home...! I've spent the past three years searching for them and not once have I found a single clue about where they are... But everything I told you about my past wasn't a lie! Every single thing I said was true!" Tears started to drip down on my fists while Alice just hugs me and silently cries on my back. When we heard Hughes sigh we almost thought he was about to walk out on us and tell the boys, but what we never expected was for Hughes to... pat our heads? What? We both look up in shock.
"You're not going to tell them...?"
"I was thinking about it, but after seeing that girl I believe you."
"That girl...? You mean Alice?"
"Well her too... but I'm talking about that look alike that sent you here."
"What!?"
"I saw her not too long ago myself, if it wasn't for her I wouldn't believe a single word you were saying."
Alice and I look at one another in the eye and nod in agreement. "Tell me what name she goes by. What I know so far is that she's the new GA of the military," I got up my seat and look at Hughes seriously. "Katelyn Douglas if I remember correctly... She suddenly went up the ranks on the day she joined the military. Let me tell ya, it nearly gave Roy a heart attack when he found out she was our superior and found out about her backstory in the military," Hughes laughs off the memory after he said that. I sweat drop at this while Alice tried to hold back her laughter. I raise an eyebrow at Alice who asked me, "What? Can't I laugh at the thought of Roy Mustang actually being scared?"
I wave it off and went back to the topic, "So that's the name she goes by. It's no wonder she hasn't decided to pick a bone with me for a while... Thought with her nearly being in second command near the Furher it's something that we should keep an eye on." We talked about a while, then we came to an agreement on not telling a soul about this. Hughes was about to leave to let us go back to our research until he stops in his tracks at the door. "You need to tell them sooner or later," I drop my pen when I heard him make the suggestion. "I can't Hughes... if they found out I knew about everything the whole time... they'll experience the biggest betrayal in their life..." I tell him.
"Maybe it's you that will experience it, that's why you're afraid to tell them," and with that Hughes walks out and shuts the door behind his back. "I can't believe Mr. Hughes actually won't tell them! Isn't that great Cat!? Cat...?" Alice places a hand on my shoulder, making me snap out of my trance. "Sorry... I guess I am glad Hughes won't tell anyone..." at the back of my mind I couldn't help but still worry about this, 'Maybe I am afraid... but if they find out, everything will start to fall apart.' "Alice I want you to pass me that book! We need to find out what this person wanted to hide so badly that he wanted only me to find out!" I yell as I quickly grabbed the book and started to quickly flip through the pages.
Alice salutes me and smiles at me understandingly, "Yes ma'am!" We will find out the secret, and hopefully it will help save everyone and help us go back home in one piece.
++Few Days Later++
"No... it can't be true!" I threw the books off the table, causing many papers to fly around the room. "Did you find something Cat? The way to go home?" Alice asks me, slightly worried at my sudden action. "It can't be... after three damn fucking years this is the answer I get... this is one fucked up joke..." I mutter as I covered my face with my glove hand. Alice, now completely worried, grabs my shoulders and forces me to look at her straight in the eye. "Whatever it is we can handle it Cat...! I'm here for you Cat," she peers closely to my face, her glass eyes shining as it reflects the sunsets light at us through the window beside up. "There is a way to get through gate... except..." I choke on my words unable to continue my sentence. "Except what?"
I made a fist with my automail and held it with my real hand, "It requires a transmutation on a large scale in order to open the gate and let everyone pass through... but a large payment is required to do so. I already figured out what that payment is while finishing the code, it gave a full explanation what it is. No human lives are necessary to be sacrificed."
"That's great! So what is it?"
-Jealousy-
I leaned against the wall beside the closed doors, listening to the conversation between the copy and the doll on the other side of the door. "She finally figured it all out... Took her long enough. I must say you really know how to screw things up for your family... father," I said, crossing my arms and close my eyes in content. The man stood a few, a huge frown forming on his lips as he walks past me to make an exit out of the building, having enough of the events that have transpired because of his doings. "You can't hide forever...She had to find out sooner or later," and the next thing I knew, a long spike was transmuted from the wall across me and stops itself in between my eyes.
"It's for her own good Homunculus... she needed to know before it was too late. You know as well as I do what would've happened if she didn't," he glares daggers at me. I just shrug at this and tap the spike with the tip of my finger, using my alchemy to make it crumble into dust until there was no trace of it left. "I can tell after you caused the both of us so much pain and injected her just to keep her alive," I remind him, revealing the large scar where usually the heart is on the average human body.
::Memory::
As Catherine Cairo writhes in pain on the ground, I tried with all my might to standing up on my two feet with the use of the wall beside me as support as the pain she was going through was also coursing through my body. "You bastard... you knew this would happen...!" I grit my teeth and tried my best not to cry out in pain. He lifts up a needle from his pocket, filled with the familiar glowing red liquid. I tried to stop him by sending transmuted flames at him and cried out, "No...! Stop it!" "I'm sorry..." was the last thing he said before plunging the needle down into the girls heart, red alchemic sparks flying in the air in contact. Sparks also flew from my chest at the exact same spot the moment it happened, causing my transmutation to cancel out when I lost all of my concentration on my alchemy.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" both of us cry out in pain.
::End of Memory::
He looks at me silently then begins to walk away like nothings happened, earning a 'tch!' from me as I took walk away but in the opposite direction where I hear a cry from the room beside where the two girls are. "God damn it!" Ah, another one of them found out the truth of their own.
-Alice-
A knock suddenly was heard from the door. I look at Cat nervously who was still sitting in her chair, head face in her hands as she still tried to calm herself down after telling me the message behind the book. Another knock came but this time a voice was accompanied with it, "Catherine? Are you there? Please Edward needs you immediately! He just found out what the stone is made of... you're the only one right now that can help him!" It was Maria Ross. 'Oh no...! Both of them at the same time having a mental breakdown on the same day!? Cat go and meet him... not like this!' I was at a lose on what to do next, it's either lie that Cat's not here or let both mentally broken alchemists' talk to one another.
"Uh... um... Just a sec!" I cry out. I ran up to Cat's side and whisper, "Cat, I know you don't want to talk with anyone right now... but Ed needs you... It'll be just a second..." "I know Alice... I'm just trying to put myself together before facing him... Give me a sec and we can go..." she mutters quietly. I gap a little at this but I nod and go back up to the door. "Cat will be there in a sec!" I call out to Ross outside, who was probably still waiting outside for an answer. This wasn't good, Ed found out the secrets of the stone at the wrong time and I don't even know how much Cat can take at this point anymore.
-Back to Me-
When we got to the room, I saw Ed on the ground with papers scattered around and Al staring off into space. "I heard you found out the truth about the stone Ed... Is everything alright?" it pained me that I already know what was going on but I had to keep it together. "The stone Cat... all this time we've been searching and in the end this is our answer... The reason why Marcoh quiet was because of this... thing!" Ed punches the ground beside him. Al finishes for his brother, "Live humans... the stone is made of human lives..." Finally, both of them now know the secret of the devil's research. But for some reason... I can't find the heart to pretend I was shocked to know the truth. Instead of doing anything to calm Ed down, I just silently walked up to him and started to pick up the pages one by one much to everyone's shock. Ed was shocked to most to see me act this way.
"So you found out the truth... guess that means we have to search for another way," I didn't realize how cold I was acting until I looked up so I could see how he was reacting. The both of us stood up at the same time. At first Ed was gaping at me, but the next thing I never expected was for him to suddenly grow furious at me. I soon found myself forcefully pinned against the bookcase behind my back, books falling down as I felt a large throb of pain from the back of my head. Ed holds my hands up, tightening his grip on me when I tried to wiggle out of his grasp. "Sir! You're hurting her!" Brosh cries out. "Brother what are you doing!?" Al yells, terrified at what was happening right now. Ed leans in and asks me darkly, "You know... didn't you...? You know this whole time what the stone is made of as well what's going to happen... and I right!?"
I stare at Ed in shock, my pupils shrinking as a single tear escapes my right eye. I can't tell whether it was from the pain on my wrist, or how Ed had suddenly figured me out. I gulp and nervously ask, "What makes you say that?" Big mistake.
"Every time we meet someone you always have this blank and uninterested attitude... and that time we were asking about the stone with Doctor Marcoh, you completely shut yourself from the conversation! Nina's death was one of the few things that got to me about you...! You somehow knew she was going to die and went off to try and save her yourself when you could have told us! I kept telling myself it's so you can protect us after what you went through when that girl died, but the more I think about it the more I realize... you always knew it was going to happen! This whole damn time you knew everything!? Even about... what happened to Al and I before I even told you!"
It hurt. It hurts so much. Seeing Ed like this, I never realized how much it would hurt if Ed ever found out the truth about me and now that it's actually happening... I don't understand why I feel this way. Alice tries her best to pry me out when she notices how silent I am, "Stop it Ed! Can't you tell she's already hurting!? You're going to break her wrist if this keeps up!" "Oh I'll break her alright... I'll break her until I get the truth out of her!" I suddenly felt something snap inside me. "I knew... I knew this whole time about everything! You, Al, the stone... every single damn thing!" I let it all out, and as I went on I could see the complete betrayal in Ed's eyes slowly emerging. My eyes started to burn with tears.
When I see that he was finally caught off guard I took this chance to push him away with all my might, causing Ed to fall on the ground as I made a run for it to the door. I stop for a second to say this one last thing, "This is why from the beginning I never wanted anything to do with you!" I can tell Alice was running after for me, but on the inside I was also hoping Ed would as well.
++Later On++
-Ed-
Al and I were currently in the room with the lights out, sitting in silence. I laid on the couch as Al so on the floor, leaning against the back of the couch. "Brother... You should go get something to eat..." Al suggests. I immediately replied, "I'm not hungry..." Another set of silence filled the room. "I wonder what Cat and Alice are doing..." Al blurts out all of a sudden, causing me to jolt upwards and stare at the back of his head. Instead of yelling at him, I just laid back down on the couch and continued to stare up at the ceiling. "...pretty terrible, huh?" I asked. Al hummed in agreement. I sighed, "You know... we try so hard to try and grasp the truth but it slips away... and now that we have finally caught it, it turns out that it's too dangerous to hold. Along the way... we were back stabbed in the process."
Cat had betrayed us, mostly me in the process. I didn't want it to be true, but after the sudden arrival of Alice Chronos I couldn't help but put the pieces together as we started doing our research separately. And in the end... this is the outcome of learning two truths at the same truths on the same day. 'Right when I even thought there was someone out there I could trust
-Alice-
The confrontation between Ed and Cat had finally taken it's toll on her, for a while she's been copped off inside her apartment room and hasn't spoken a words to me since that day. I tried my best to help the shattered girl but all I get is, "It's all my fault..." every time I knock on her door. I was forced to stay at Camilla's place since I can't get through Cat. "I'm leaving now!" I call out and make my leave out of the apartment complex. "Wait a minute!" I stop in my tracks as Camilla runs up to me, holding a letter in her hands. "Someone sent this to me the other day, he told me that it was meant for you." Confused, I took the letter from her and opened it. I gasp as soon as I laid my eyes on the contents of the letter, "No... this can't be! There's no way she can... I have to go get Cat right now!"
||Cat's Apartment||
Today was my final chance on getting through to her, and if all else fails I might actually sneak through the window knowing that she'd probably seal the door shut with alchemy. "Cat! Please it's been days now! You can't keep hiding forever! You know as well as I do we need to help them at laboratory five!" I call out in hopes she'll finally listen to me.
For the first time in so long she finally gave me a proper answer, "They don't need us Alice... I've done enough damage as it is! I should have never become a state alchemist and just look for the answers myself without needing the aid of the military!" "That's not true Cat! When Al and I went out searching for you... he told me many things about what you've done for them," the door opens in response to what I just told her. I was petrified to see what's become of my best friend, food and sleep deprived from the days of being locked up in the room without contact from the outside world.
I went on, "He told me there were time how you were always understanding with them, and not only does he and Ed appreciate you for that they wanted to find ways to help you. That's why they allowed you to join their quest. You saved them from Scar and they both don't know how to repay you for that...! Cat, you can't just give up on them now! Not when Jealousy is out there!"
-Back to Me-
The sudden reminder of Jealousy did something to me, on a weird impulse I swung the door shut and ran up to the coat hanger where my trench coat was. I dug in my pocket and brought out my necklace, the small bottle I found the day of Scar's first attack on the Elric brothers. I gaze my metal fist for a second then used it to crush the bottle. When the glass shatters and spreads around on impact, the small tiny parchment unfolds itself without me even laying a single hand on it, revealing a weird array- nothing that I've ever seen before in my life. Or maybe in this life... "What is this thing...? I-" the moment my finger touched it I felt a large shock erupted my body, memories running rapidly in my mind all at once till it comes to a halt at one certain memory.
It was a man- no MY father reading a book to me as I tried with all my might to look at the contents of the book. When reality came back, I collapsed to the ground as I tried to catch my breath after what seemed like an eternity since I inhaled oxygen. 'That array... he made it! I remember now! This array may not be from this side, but from somewhere else! Based on a science similar yet different to Alchemy and Alkhestry combined together! I-" out of no where I was suddenly pulled up from the ground and slapped right across the face. I blink a few time to register what the hell just happened. "Alice!? How the hell did you get in my apartment!?" I cry out as I held my aching cheek.
Alice fumes pointing out to the side, and when I followed the direction she was pointing at I anime fall to side at the now wide open window. "You had to climb through the window like a thief..." I groan as I rub my cheek.
"You can't give up on them now! You've been in Amestris way longer than I have and you got to see things longer that I barely got to see... There are so many things you've accomplished in just three years that no human being could do! Al told me everything, what you've done for them... and yet here you are sulking at home while they're out there with a crazy doppelganger homunculus is on the lose right now and is probably thinking about killing both of them if we don't hurry up!"
I gap in shock at how serious Alice was acting, this is the first time I've seen her act like this in a long time since I've known her. "What are you- Hold on! What do you mean she's going after them!?" I demand. Alice takes something from out of her pocket and hands it to me nervously. I grab it and start reading the letter;
The truth has come out but there comes a price for learning such dark secrets.
Tonight the person you care about the most in the world shall perish by the hands
of your opposite, and you have the power to save him.
But if you fail then time will fall apart. Jealousy is a powerful thing but it is
also the down fall of human beings, even to a homunculus.
If you do not make this choice now he will did and you along with Alice must
come to a decision now.
Catherine Cairo, are you willing to give up your humanity to save those who are
suffering?
N.F.
"Alice... who gave you this letter?" I ask her after I finished reading. Those two initials, N.F., they're the initials of the author who wrote my book the 'Blue Rose'. "Camilla was the one who gave it to me before I left. I got a letter too but as soon as I finished reading it," Alice holds up a blank piece of paper and continues her explanation, "the ink suddenly disappeared. The same person who wrote that letter just gave me instruction to give you this letter and gave me a tip that Jealousy has decided... to kill Ed and Al at the fifth laboratory." I face palmed at this and complained, "Why is it I always get the riddles!? I can't always figure things out in just a second!" I gaze back at the clutter of books and papers scattered around the living room. Then something hit me.
'Are you willing to give up your humanity...?' I repeat in my mind, walking back inside and pick up the pamphlet filled with the complete decoded research that is filled with the answers to all my problems. Literally. Without thinking of a plan, I suddenly started to grab all of my gear required for the upcoming battle; which consists of my sword, gun (filled), and my three water canisters. I may not be entirely prepared like I always am, but there's no time to this. Alice watches in glee. I threw on my hat and turned around, even more determined than ever before. "Alice!" Right as Alice was about to make an exit towards the door I tossed her my spare rifle, this one looking exactly like the modern model from our time.
"We can't hide forever... not this time... I hope those guns lessons you had with your dad are still inside that pretty little head of yours," I tease as I walked up towards. She grins at me, "Of course! Mom may have lectured me about how unladylike like it is to use real guns, but she never said about not using toy guns!"
Ali&Cat: You gave her/me a gun!?
Me: Well she can't use alchemy... -_-
Ali: I passed through the gate! ...Right?
Me: *facepalm* That's going to be explained later on...
Cat: Still... why would I give her a gun!? It's like giving a lit match to a toddler!
Me: Well she has to do something! Ahem... Let me explain to you here and now (before those two continue to complain) why Alice's dad taught her how to use a gun. Because of dangerous the city is, her dad thought it was best to teach his only child how to use a gun for protection.
Cat: That was before he became a selfish drunk...
Alice ran off a head, leaving me behind to lock up first but before I did, I spotted the pamphlet on the ground. Silently, I knelt down to the ground and picked it up. "My humanity... huh?" I checked around first to see if anyone was watching and stuffed it inside my inner coat pocket. 'Sorry Alice... I might not be able to go back with you from this point on...' I thought at the back of my head as I hurried to catch up with my friend. With one last glance over my shoulder, I shut the wooden door behind my back.
||Outside the apartment||
it was dark out by the time we got back, and the only thing Alice brought for transportation... "When did you have the time to make a home-made bike!?" I yelp in surprise at the sight of it parked before it. The problem was this... it looked like it was about to collapse any minute now. "You were the one who locked yourself up! I can't afford the parts since someone here has all the money!" she yells at my for my sudden disapproval. I jab my finger at the thing, "You didn't have to go to a junkyard for the parts!" I sigh in annoyance. "I'll just transmute it into something new...!" As I walk up towards the piece of junk, Alice asks me in confusion, "I thought you can only do water alchemy?" I clap my hands, "Just watch." I slam my hands on the motorcycle, and a flash of dark blue light it was transmuted into a brand new motorcycle except it was slightly upgraded into something modern.
"Wow! You've improved a lot- Cat!?" she exclaims as I collapsed to the ground, feeling portions of my energy leaving me. "I'm fine!" I stopped her before she could kneel down and help me. 'Shit... so this is the thing I used back then...' The memory of Liore resurfaces at the back of my mind, the blue flames suddenly appearing all around me and making a path for me. "We... have to go! Now!"
-Jealousy-
I smirk as I watch Alphonse fight #66 from up above, the moon right behind my back as I stood on the ledge of a tall building. "It's you're time to choose again Catherine Cairo... but this time it's either you or him that dies today... Haha... hahahahaha!" I laugh crazily in the night.
-Back to Me-
We stopped beside one of the walls of the fifth lab, but the strangest thing is it was so quiet. Surely by now Ed and Al are here, right?
"Do you think that..."
"No! It's too early for that! Maybe they're not here yet is all so let's just wait inside till they arrive and wait for her arrival."
"You mean like break in!? Cat I may be able to shoot a live person, but home a hollow suit of armor!"
I look at her with an intense stare, "That is true. Don't worry, we'll be fine as long as we stay quiet."
-Alice-
I trust Cat, but at the rate of how she's going I don't know what will happen if we confront the Elric brothers. We both know that meeting them again in inevitable and that sooner or later Cat has to explain herself to them before Ed decides to anyone else about this. He might have to if someone asks why Cat and I aren't with them, there's no way for him to lie about something like this. Not after the fight those two had. "Cat... I'm sorry..." I blurt out all of a sudden much to Cat's shock. She looks at me with wide eyes, "What are you sorry about? You didn't do anything!" I have to let this out my chest out before anything else happens tonight when we go over the walls. "That's just it! I haven't done anything since I got here! Even before! Cat all I've ever done is do nothing... I know I'm being a whiny baby at the worst place possible... and if this was a fan fiction a lot of people would hate me right now... but the only thing I've done for you is cause trouble!" I cried out at the top of my lungs.
Me&Cat: Bwahahahahaha!
Alice: ...
Cat: B-Best line ever! XD
I wanted to cry, but because my body is just a mannequin, all I could do is bow my head so I could look down at the ground. Cat was dumbstruck at my sudden confession. Instead of saying something, she just stood there and allowed myself to let it all go. I hiccuped and went on, "I...I always screwed things up for you even when we were kids...! I died in front of you twice, told everyone almost the entire story without your permission, and being here with you caused... all of this!" I continued on crying until I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder. "Alice... None of this is your fault! I knew it was going to come out sooner or later. So whether you being here caused it or not, you're my friend Alice and I will never blame you for anything," I felt like crying again at how sincere Cat was. I sniffed and smiled at this, "You've really changed Cat..."
"Huh? What was that?" She probably didn't hear me, another few things that hasn't changed with Cat. 'Honestly... she really needs to buy some hearing aids,' I thought at the back of my head as I joked, "Let's just go in there and save that short boyfriend of yours!" Her face lights up pure red and steam comes out of her ears not long after. She flails her arms around crying out, "What are you talking about Alice!? Did Winry tell you something about those stupid rumors of Ed and I dating!? If she did you've got it all wrong!" Cat may have changed a lot since I last saw her, I know that whenever I tease her about a possible person she likes she goes ballistic in the funniest way possible.
-Back to Me-
"Okay I want you to boost my up! You're the only giant between us so-" I stopped myself before I went further on that order. I ended up on my knees with a depressing aura above me. 'Almost called myself a sh-sho... I almost called my self a small person!' Alice taps my shoulder. "Are we going?" I jump a little at this but I was able to recompose myself to answer, "Yeah, let's go." Alice gets in position by the wall and right when I was about to get on her as well, I stopped myself much to her confusion. "Alice... I need to give you something first."
(A/N: Sorry for speeding things up a bit in one chapter. I'm trying to mostly focus on Cat and Alice's side of the story since all of us already know what happens in this episode.)
||Laboratory Five Ground Area||
The moment Alice drops in from behind my back I stood in shock at the sight of Al a few feet away from me fighting no. 66, also known as Barry the Chopper. The top part of my face shadows at the sight of the familiar suit of armor. 'Shit... Last time I saw him he was being sent to jail. He's not gonna be happy when he see's me,' I thought with a nervous smile twitching on my face."What's the hold up- Is that Barry the Chopper!?" Alice screams out loud for everyone to here. She slaps a hand over her mouth with mine on top. Al looks at us for a sec in shock crying out, "Cat!? Alice!? What are you both doing!?" "Hm?" Out of confusion, Barry also decides to take a quick peek at us after he slices his weapon at Al. In an instant he realizes who I am, "You're that crazy freezing chick! You are the one who got me arrested!"
I froze his head with my alchemy. It wasn't that think to stay on his head for a while with only the small amount of moisture in the area, but it's better than nothing. "You tried to kill an innocent girl! And also... don't call me that!" Alice grabs my hands right before I could transmute something else on Barry's pathetic armored body. "Cat! You have to go!" Alice says firmly. I was shocked at first, but then I look at her straight in the eye with a look that said, 'thank you and good bye'. I bolted away from the fight as Alice prepares her gun while Barry is shocked to see how I just flat out ignored his existence. "Hey! Don't you dare take off on me like tha- Gah!" Barry scream accompanied with a loud bang that echoed the air.
Spotting the air vent entrance which I knew Ed used to get inside the fifth lab, I immediately took out one of my canisters and threw out just enough water to freeze with my water alchemy and rise up it just a bit so I can get enough support to get inside. I crawled inside as fast as I could in fear of something else happening from outside. "Jesus Christ... I know that I'm tiny but-" I felt the world suddenly shrink around me, "I can't believe I just called myself that! What the hell is wrong with me today!? Is it 'call yourself a midget' day... Gah I did it again!"
-Alice-
I raise my gun up at Barry as I slowly make my way towards Al. "Al are you okay?" I ask him. "Alice! What are you and Cat doing here? Better yet, why are you holding a gun!?" I knew this would happen. I smile up at him, "I maybe a pretty little doll Al... but there's a time when I have to take action on protecting the people I care about!"
-Back to Me-
I jumped down to the ground, almost slipped for a second but I was able to stand on my two feet without any problems. Looking around, the one thing I noticed about this part of the lab that was really a sight for sore eyes. "This looks like the version of the lab from the 2003 series... Hopefully there aren't any traps," I wish I never said that. I made the same mistake Ed did, I stepped on one of the tiles and I felt that it suddenly sinks down a little. A loud rumbling erupted behind my back. Without even looking to see what it was I started to sprint for it. "I thought there weren't any god damn traps in this place! Whoever fucking thought this was going to be funny... it's not!" There was only one way to get out of this, and that is to roll and dodge.
'I'm going to kick myself after this if it works...' with that thought I dropped down to the ground and rolled to either corner of walls. And much to my embarrassment it had worked like a charm. Sweat was rolling all over my body as I muttered out loud, "I can't believe it worked... out of all the corniest things to happen to me it was that..." I got up, but this time I was even more cautious this time now that I know there are traps in this place. 'This is bad... if Jealousy is here I can't use alchemy or it'll alert her and make her go after Ed. I need to be rational here,' I took in a few deep breathes and continued one. It was quiet the whole way and thankfully there were no other traps in the way, but the more I went on further the more it felt like as if the darkness was slowly starting to close in on me.
Next thing I knew I was sprinting for my life, completely ignoring the traps I set off behind my back and ran off for my dear life in search for any source of live. "Ahhhhhhh! Where are the stupid lights!? This is total bullcrap! I'm 15 years old already so I shouldn't be afraid of the dark anymore!" I scream even louder at the sight of the arrow flying towards me. "For the love of fucking god just let me get there already!'
++Later++
I put a hand against the wall as I bent down a little trying to catch my breath after the extremely long marathon I was having earlier. I can't tell I was running, but that was too scary to go through. My face was already pale after all that crap. "I swear... someday I'll die of a heart attack if the homunculi don't get to me first..." Right when I was about to continue on my search a loud laugh echoes through the halls of the fifth lab and only one person in the world can laugh like that, Jealousy.
-Ed-
After getting another blow from Envy, a homunculi, a loud rumbling erupted around the entire room. "What the hell is going one!?" Envy cries out and drops me to the ground. The woman, who called herself Lust, crosses her arms over her chest and looks around worriedly, "She must have escaped again from her cell. Envy, leave the boy and let's go. She won't harm him even if the monster inside wants her too. As long as she doesn't see us this sacrifice will be fine... for now. We'll come back for him later" "Hey wait-" before I could stop them, a wall behind their backs falls down and a big cloud of dust acted as their smoke screen. But the moment they left a small figure appears. Stepping out of the dust cloud, I was shocked to see that it was just a girl walking up towards me.
"What are you doing here? This place isn't safe! You have to go now!" I was about to march up to her but then I stopped when I spot a familiar red mark on her shoulder. "Hold on a sec... You're a homunculus!" I exclaim and jumped back to get into a defensive position. The girl had a pale complexion, long blonde hair and was about... the same height as Cat. She starts to chuckle at first but then was changed into a maniac-like laugh. "Ahahahahaha! You must really hate that girl to forget her face that fast! Right? E-D-W-A-R-D?" she laugh and lifts her head up so the light could hit her face for me to get a better look at her. Everything around me seemed to freeze at the girl's identity. "Cat...?" I mutter in shock.
With a sigh of disappointment escaping her lips, she bents down a bit and traces her finger on the concrete floor. And when she did that I was astounded to see red sparks of alchemy light up as the area she touched began to take shap. Standing back up straight, she extends a hand out as the concrete is transmuted into a long sword. "I'm sad it had to end this way... I knew a broken hearted girl would have the guts to appear to save her boy friend. But who would?" she suddenly charges at me in a flash, barely giving me enough time to back up a little and block the attack. My automail arm only began to work in that instant but gave up once again as the homunculus girl leans back to her spot.
"What? Not gonna fight me? The almighty shrimp alchemist must have some fight left in him after getting beaten up by Envy," she mocks me and charges at me again. Pissed, I slap my real hand on my limp automail and slammed it onto the ground to transmutea giant fist as I cried out, "Don't call me a midget sized flea!" It hit her at first, but she looks at me with a wicked smile as she flew in the air much to my shock. Landing on the ground and brush her shoulders like nothing happened, she looks at me with a dull look in her eyes. "This is no fun... you're barely even trying! You can send a much more powerful transmutation than that." I didn't want to admit it, but she did have a point. No matter how much I hate Cat, there's no way I can fight this girl properly without thinking of her every time I look at the homunculus' face.
"Oh well," she ignites her blade in the same manner as Cat, "I guess I'll just have to finish you off. It's too bad we didn't really do much but I'll make sure to let Cat know about your final moments." In a flash she suddenly charges at me, almost barely dodging her attack as a small bit of the hot flames touch my skin. Without my automail arm all I can do is just dodge away from her sword until I can come up with an escape plan. IF I have time to think. Right when I was about to dodge again she decides to kick me in the gut instead of using her sword. Her kick was so strong it sent me flying backwards and colliding against a wall, hitting the back of my head from the impact. My vision starts to darken as the homunculus doppelganger slowly walks up to me with sword still in hand. I watch weakly as she aims the tip of her blade in between my head.
"Who... are you...?"
"My name is Jealousy, the most powerful homunculus who's ever crossed over to this side."
My vision was getting darker and darker. I tried as hard as I could to stay awake and fight Jealousy, but I knew that it was useless the moment I felt something wet drip down the side of my face. "Good bye... I'll be sure to tell Cat that you thought of her until the end," she declares and raises her blade up in the air. I chuckle at this as I finally gave in, "She won't care... not after what I did to her..." Right before everything turns dark I saw a flash of bright blue spark in the air and a blue figure stood in front of me, accompanied with the loud sound of metal clashing together.
-Alice-
"Ah! Such a fine piece of meat to cut up! That porcelain skin is so tempting to slice open!" Barry cries out as he eyes my body. I shot another bullet at Barry but this time knocking his head off. "Alice what are you doing here!? You have to go it's not safe here!" Al pleads. I stood my ground and prepared again to shoot Barry if he decided to make another move on us. "Al... I just want you to know this," I look over my shoulder with a serious look in my eyes, "everything Cat and I told you was true. None of that was a lie." I turn back to face Barry again but he was already charging at me with his giant cleaver. I tried shooting him again, it was too late. By the time I started firing my rounds at the armor he already slashed at me. I felt myself float in the air for a bit as my body was cut in half horizontally.
"Alice!" Al punches Barry back and bows down to my side as I laid there frozen stiff. "You're just a doll! No fair! I thought I'd finally cut up some meat for once!" Barry fumes in anger at the sight of my cut off body. "Oh shut it!" we cried out.
"Are you alright Alice?"
"I'm fine Al. He didn't hit my seal so I'm safe."
I turn my neck a little so he can see a small metal plate bolted on the back. "Hmph! If this is the case... I'll take you both down!" Barry charges again but this time was shot in the hand, not by me this time.
Me: Sorry I got really lazy on this part...! *bows*
It was Brosh and Ross who came this time. "Hold on... if they're here then-" I was interrupted when the building suddenly exploded on the inside and started to collapse. "Cat!" I cried out at the same time as Al said, "Ed!"
++Earlier++
-Me-
"Don't worry! Cause I'll still save this midgets ass no matter how many times he pushes me away!" I smirk at Jealousy who is shocked at my sudden appearance. The fire around be sword goes out and she jumps away from me when I push my sword with all my might. "I'm surprised you came Catherine Cairo," Jealousy says as she goes back to her cold faze. "I have been told that I'm a stubborn idiot... and right now I think I'll actually agree to that," and in that instant I charge towards Jealousy with my sword lighting up for a second then blue flames blaze up. Not able to anticipate this, Jealousy mindlessly stops her foot to the ground and transmutes larges spikes that shot up from behind her and aims in my directions.
And then with one slash, the cement spikes freeze over then crumble down into pieces. Petrified, Jealousy jumps back again and slashes her black in the air, a blade of flames flying towards my direction but I was too fast for her. I instantly pulled out one of my canisters and poured all of it's contents on the ground, transmuting a temporary wall of ice so that I could secretly run away when steam was came out from the two colliding elements. Jealousy scans the fog and waits for me to lunge at her. "Over here bitch!" I cry out and slash her back. "Gyaaaaahhhh!" she screams in pain as the wound I inflicted quickly gets covered in ice. I stand in place as I watch Jealousy turn and back away in pain.
Red sparks emitting behind her as a sign her body trying to heal itself. "How is it... how are you so strong all of a sudden!? Shouldn't you be in pain right now!? Tell me... how are you still able to fight!?" she demands. She clearly can see it. I can hardly blame her, my hat has been over shadowing my eyes since I came in. Without hesitating, I adjust my blade so the light could reflect on the metal and aim it at my face for her to have a better look. Her eyes went wide for a second but then she bursts out laughing. "So you have found out the truth Catherine Cairo! No... Philosopher's Catalyst!" Jealousy's smile widens in amusement as I glare at her darkly, my one blue-green eyes now glowing in a dark blue color.
To mirror this, Jealousy's eyes gleam in joy as they begun to glow dark red. "Throwing your humanity away is a bold move for a human... To think you'd actually do it! And for what? A scrawny little pipsqueak?" I quickly lunge at her which she blocks just in time before my blade could slice her head in half. "He maybe a scrawny little pipsqueak," I push against her really hard till I sent her flying, "but I love that midget no matter what. And that means I'll do whatever it takes to protect him from the likes of you!" Jealousy's eyes flared up at me filled with pure rage in them at my words. What I never expected was for her to suddenly break down in front of me.
"Shut up...shutupshutupshutupshutup!"
A red lined circle appears briefly below her feet and in an instants lights up, enough to blind me then I felt a sudden large force push me backwards and fell down on the floor.
"You think you can act almighty in front of me now that you think you're as strong as me...? Well you're wrong! I am the most powerful being created with all the homunculi combined! All this crap about love... it's bullshit!"
This is the first time I've seen Jealousy go mad. Well she has always been a crazy lunatic from the start, but never to the point where her alchemy would go wild and on a rampage. Now the tables were turns. Instead of me attacking her, Jealousy was the one charging at me except this time every single time her foot touches the ground, random object would shoot up from the ground and fly towards my direction. I had no other choice but to use the remaining water I have with me and transmute any weapon like object I can freeze and use them as a counter attack.
"If you love that midget so much..." I follow her gaze to the passed out Alchemist, "I'll just have to kill off those you care about! Starting with him! Then I'll surely win!" As if she was completely ignoring the pain the thick ice was giving her inside her wound, she lunges forward towards the boy but drops her cement sword and draws up her own from it's sheathe. I had no time to use my alchemy so I had only one option left to save Ed- "Edward!" I cried out as I jumped in between Jealousy and Ed. I felt a huge wave of pain as the blade penetrates itself into my stomach, coughing out blood in the process. It felt like an eternity after that. No one said a word as I stood there with my arms stretched out from side to side, panting while Jealousy continues to stare down at her blade in shock.
Blood drips down on the ground and it wasn't the usual red human blood- it was black. Each drop that fell to the ground disintegrates after a few seconds. "You knew your limits... and yet you still-" for a second there I thought I saw Jealousy's eyes turn from black to blue. She lowers her head so her bangs would cover her eyes as she tightens her grip on the handle. Jealousy questions me, "You know what this sword is right...? It was made by the very same person who put that thing inside you..." I just gave her a smug look, "Of course I knew... otherwise I wouldn't have jumped in time to save Ed..."
"That sword was designed to steal the souls inside the stone and be used as an amplifier in sword form... if a normal human came in contact with it they would die... I'm not stupid Jealousy... I read every single page of that damn book..." I told her weakly. She tightens her grip on the handle and starts to quake all over. "You really aren't like me..." and right after she said that I saw bright red light. The pain in my stomach worsened as I felt something spread all over. Slowly, I gaze down to see only the handle in her hand... but where's the blade? Jealousy steps back and stares at me with a blank start saying, "See you in the next life." Like as if on cue, I felt my body give out from the intense pain. That's went I felt it- she shattered the blade inside me.
I collapsed on my butt right beside Ed, how ironic. Suddenly, the building starts to shake all over again but I heard a loud explosion erupt from all around us. I knew this was the work of the Lust and Envy, probably trying the hide the evidence here for what Father has in store for Amestris. I look at Ed who sat in place quietly with blood running down his face. "Hehehe... what am I going to do with you...? I leave your for a few hours and you're already a mess... here," I place a hand on his cheek, "let me fix that up." With the remaining energy I had left in me, I used my alchemy to heal the wound on his head just enough so he won't suffer from a concussion. Since we're here I guess now's a good time to let a few things out if this is the end of me.
I took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry Ed... for everything... I thought that if I continued to keep it from you, you'd be safe... but in reality I was afraid... and out of all times to realize this I... I love you Ed... I really do..." I lift my hand hand up and removed my glove, revealing the silver ring he gave me. "I think I started to realize it when I got this from you... And also... I think we met before... before all of this... I was that girl you met Ed...I know that now after reading that persons research... I can't believe I actually crossed the gate without remembering it... to think all this time when I thought I'd never meet that boy again he was actually with me from the start... I thought you had forgotten me Ed... but after all these years you still remembered me..."
As the walls around us began to crumble, footsteps echoes and were heading towards our direction. I had to finish this quickly, "I'm sorry Ed... I never meant to hurt you..."
To Be Continued
Hi guys! Man I never thought I'd be able to publish this! I was actually meant to put this up back in December (don't think of the song .) but I guess the holiday fever got me hahaha... Actually I've been going to the hospital lately and the doctor keeps recommending me to stay in for a while, but the college I go to sucks and if I'm gone longer than seven days I'll be kicked out. Well that's a nice way to treat a sick person *hint the sarcasm*! God I really do hate hospitals... they reek of death! Now you can see now where Cat get's it from... Um... I won't be having the usual talk with my OC's today. Since the nurses here keep bothering me I have to end it here. Thank you all for all the support guys! Please R&R! You all mean so much to me! See you on the next chapter!