The Mercury Alchemist

by AveryScarlet

What if there was someone who traveled with the Elric Brother's that never existed before? And that there was actually 8 homunculi? Meet Catherine Cairo, a once normal girl with the love for anime and FMA, wishing for her life to change. What she didn't expect was to be sent to the other side of the gate! Will she find out who she really is and find a way back home? EdxOC AlxOC

36. Chapter 33

'The truth is out...'
'But that does not mean it is the entire truth...'
'It just means that the truth is still hidden in secret...'
'And we're the ones who have to find it...'
'Our answer'/'Our Answer'

---

Chapter 33 - Those who lurk underground

-Me-

I was paralyzed on the spot. I had completely forgotten about that one small fact. 'Or maybe... I just didn't want to remember it at all,' I thought, feeling disgusted at myself again. My body isn't normal, that's something I've kept implanted in my head ever since I finished deciphering what was written in that journal. And the answers were definitely something I really wish never existed from the start. "Well? Aren't you going to come at me?" I was surprised when Greed spoke up, but just looking at our current situation made me realize just how screwed I am right now. I have no source of any form of liquid to use. And using solid material to transmute something is definitely out of the question! I don't want to blow anything up again-

'Wait... Alice mentioned to me before that things blow up in her face when trying to transmute solid matter... does that only happen to those from the other side?' I slowly drew out my sword from my side, earning a wide grin and short snicker from Greed as he flashes his sharp claws at me. 'I used to be afraid of Greed when I was a kid-' I pointed the blade of my sword at Greed as I glared straight at his sharp eyes. 'But after meeting Jealousy, working under Brigadier General Raven, and those 3 horrible years on the field on my own? I don't think there's anything that can scare me at this point. Especially not this greedy pervert!' At first, I swung my sword a few times at him in order to misguide the homunculus into thinking I didn't know what I was doing and not to show anything that will make him too interested with me.

Greed effortlessly blocked off all my attacks. I took the opportunity when I saw the homunculus start to slightly lower his guard. Swinging my sword up, Greed crosses his arms in front of him to defend himself from my attack, thinking I was going to aim for the top of his head again like I was 'trying' to earlier. "C'mon kid! You have to do better than tha-" I slicked downwards in-between his arms and forcefully pushed them down a bit, quickly readjusting my aim and jabbed my sword and stabbed him in his right eye. He stumbles back a bit, surprised at my sudden burst of speed. Crouching down to get closer to the ground, I clap my hand together in preparation for my first transmutation of using solid matter. 'Please work!' With my hands both placed on the floor, I concentrated as hard as possible to picture all the molecules moving the way I want them to.

Suddenly, the ground below Greed sprung to life and encases itself around his body. I pick my sword out of his eye when I saw that he wasn't able to move. He smirks once he sees what I did, "Trying to trap me? Sorry, but that won't do at all for you see something like trapping me won't stop my ultimate shield." 'Ultimate shield my ass... You can protect your body but not your eyes.' There were a few things I always wonder as a kid; one of them was why no one ever tried piercing his eyes instead of trying to cut through his graphene body armor. "Heh... You really think I'm that dumb Greed? Well think again!" As if on cue, the cement that was wrapped began to glow a bright blue color as cracks started to form. "Get down!" I call over to Ed, quickly got down to the ground and covered my head with my arms.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Ed quickly transmutes a wall from the ground for protection. And just as he did, the hand that I created finally explodes in the exact manner all of my past attempts have in the past. A few bits and pieces of rubble fell on me, but it didn't really hurt since they were only small in size. Although that last one after the explosion cleared did hurt. "Did I get him?" I wonder out loud as I sat up and stared hard at the smoke. I knew it's impossible for me to kill him, especially with the way I am now at the moment, but there's no way I'm going to let Ed face off Greed. Never! I gasp and cover my mouth, thinking to myself in confusion, 'What was that…? I know Ed's supposed to fight Greed but… for some odd reason, I'm actually scared of him fighting a homunculus by himself.'

From within the cloud of dust, a sudden red spark emitted before a sudden pair of claws come straight at me. I barely ducked in time as claws at the air above my head, slightly cutting a few strands of my hair. I move to dash to the side but Greed was quick enough to see me in properly, grabbing the bottom of my hair and drags me towards him. "And where do you think you're going?" he asks, bringing me close to his face. I spit him right in the eye in response. "Do you have a thing with my eyes or something!?" Greed snaps as he slams my body down to the ground. "Don't you touch her!" My eyes flew open when I heard Ed's voice. Seeing the boy blindly charging at Greed with his auto mail fist aimed at the homunculus, I instantly rammed my body against his side, forcing the two of us on the ground.

Greed looked surprised to see how I was able to push him down so easily as I flinch in pain from the impact. It was something I will definitely regret later. "Now that's even more interesting," I gasp when Greed gets up suddenly grabs me by my throat, "the shell of a mortal and yet has the blood and soul of monster. Now this is worth looking in to."Let her go! This is between us!" Ed shouts. Greed flashes me a wide devilish grin and said, "With pleasure." I found the world spin around me as he throws me to the nearest wall with ease. "Cat!" I struggled to get up. 'Move body! C'mon!' But my body just won't comply. As I laid there in a daze, Ed attempts to run over to me but Greed extends his claw to the side to stop him. "No you don't! Like you said," he claws at the boy, forcing him to jump back, "it's our fight."

All I could do is watch Ed as he tries to fight Greed, who was effortlessly blocking everything the alchemist could throw at him. I tried to move my right arm, but the moment I heard something crack, I quickly hissed in pain and stayed in place. 'Shit... The one weakness every alchemist has... a broken arm!' This is one of those moments where you have to ask yourself, why does an alchemist even need to clap their hands together!?' As I struggled to get back up, a small glass flask of water rolled towards me on my right. (A/N: Yeah I had to do some research first. So if you've seen this on youtube, I just really wanted use this since it was pretty cool when I did it in elementary!) I picked it up with my automail and turned it around to read the tapped label that read 'Distilled Water'.

"What the hell...?" There was no way a random flask of water can just randomly appear just like that! I look around and I can only see a small opening through the ceiling but, how the heck can something made of glass not break from something that high? With one more crash in the background, I quickly took it in my real hand- which made me want to kick my self from the intense pain- and focused solely on the small flask. 'If the distilled water is completely sealed from air... exposing it after super-cooling then it will give Ed enough time to figure it out!' After waiting for something to happen, the flask started to emitted a blue color. Transmuting an object without a circle or clapping isn't what I usually do but it'll have to do.

Greed seemed to have noticed my transmutation. He glances over to me while still blocking Ed to ask, "The hell are you doing back there?" I smirk, confidently answering back, "Just setting up a few things for a little experiment. And I'd like you to be my first test subject!" "What are you-" I quickly throw the flask at him when I saw the presence of condensation on the glass. "Have a drink!" Catching it in his hand, Greed looks at the container then gives me a 'are you serious' face. I drew my gun from the holster for the first time in ages and fired. The flask shatters and once the water hits Greed's face- the water splashes on his face only for it all to freeze into a thick sheet of ice. "Do it now Ed!" Ed gaps at me for a second then nods. There was a flash of blue as I slid back down to the ground.

My body hasn't felt this much pain in years. This makes Jealous look like she's been going easy on my compared to how Greed just threw me to the wall- and made me get a broken arm in the process- which is saying something since she left me near the brink of death after our long fight in the 5th lab. As their fists collide, Greed's so-called ultimate shield disintegrates, causing blood to rush from out of his hand. He regenerates it and his shield comes back at the same time. "Well... that was bizarre... good as new." Ed ran up to him again to use his alchemy the homunculus' chest. Seeing Ed transmute and disintegrate Greed's so-called ultimate shield with each impact, I just felt my body give out and lost all of my energy to stay awake. All those punches that croc guy threw at me finally caught up.

"I guess... it's safe to say... I underestimated you brats. How much longer... can you keep this up?"

-Alice-
||Sewers||

"Let me go! I have a taser and I'm not afraid to use it!"

I continued to flail my arms around and kick Roa as he casually carries me over his shoulder. "What the heck is a taser?" Dolcetto asks the bull chimera, completely ignoring me much to my annoyance. Al continues to struggle to move, but with Martel inside, it seems neither one of us were moving any time soon if this keeps up. And there is no way I'm going to let that happen. Since these guys completely forgot to retie my hands again- which I am so glad they did- I quietly grabbed my left hand while watching Dolcetto's back and unscrewed my hand. Tossing my 'hand' into the sew waters on the left, I tense when I see the dog chimera stop in place for a few seconds with his ears twitching like a dog would do if it heard something.

"What's wrong?"
"Nothing... thought I heard something there for a second."
"Will you two hurry it up! Keeping tin man here in place isn't easy!"
"Quit your yapping Martel! My nose isn't picking up anything so we're still safe. Just do your thing and we'll get out of here soon."

(A/N: Before this goes any further, I came up with this idea long before a certain movie came out. And you should believe be by now since I have literally mapped out the whole story and rewrote a lot that did not suit the story line when I first came up with this fanfic. I was around 8 so think about it.)

I stare at the small hand cranked taser, checking is the copper and silver wires were still twisted together and wrapped in between the taser (Me: Yeah I suck at describing shit like this. It's pictured in my head... but I have no idea how to explain it properly without getting lost! My engineering friend told me how to explain it, though it just went straight through my head when I tried to listen. ^^;). 'I can't let it happen... I don't want Al to-' There was a sudden explosion from up above. While everyone was panicking on what was happening above, I already knew who it was and I could already picture the look on Izumi's face. "Izumi's here..." I quietly mutter to myself. Al must have heard me and started to quake all over. There was a loud bang inside his armor. "Hey quiet shaking so much! I'm going to hurl if you don't stop!"

-Normal-

Cat just sat there in horror as the smoke finally clears, a dark figure stepping out from the doorway. "Sorry for barging in like this..." She instantly looked at Ed. Cat could feel the immense rage she had just by looking at her. "You damn imbeciles!" she shouts then throws the chimera she was dragging at Ed, who ended up getting thrown at the poor girl in the process. One impact and Cat can feel the broken bones in her arm even more. "Ah...!" She silently screams as the air in her lungs is pushed out by the weight of Ed's body crushing her own. "Two birds with one stone. You think it's funny not to put the broom away and leave all that mess on the front lawn?! I asked you two a question!" Ed hugs Cat for dear while she ignores both the pain in her broken arm- and the fact that Ed was squeezing their bodies close- and cowers in fear.

As much as she wanted to say that was all on Alice with the mess, but Cat was too terrified to say anything at all. "We're sorry!" Ed screams. Cat accompanies him and screams for life, "I'm too young to die!"

"Thanks for your hospitality... they definitely needed the exercise."
"Teacher! Carefuly, he's a-"
"Yes, I know. I could hear you two all the way down the hall!"

"Oh give me break... don't tell you're going to start something lady. It's now fun-" Greed was cut off by Izumi running up to him, grabbing his face and uses alchemy to weaken his shield. She then kicks him into a a wall. "Haha... well now... what the hell are you?" he asks as he gets up, now taking interest in the woman. "You ask who I am...?" Izumi jabs a thumb to her chest and yells, extremely pissed off, "A HOUSE WIFE!"

||Central HQ||

Mustand walked the halls of Central Command as nearby soldiers take a long glance over at him, watching as he casually walks past them. Mustang smirks at this, already having gotten used to them spreading around rumors and gossip among one another. He knocks on the door to the Furher's office once he arrives, walking in not long afterwards and steps in front of a woman's desk. "Hello," he greets." "Colonel Roy Mustang..." She looks up and apologizes," I'm sorry Colonel, but your transfer was poorly timed. His excellency, the Furher, is away."

"Where is he?"
"Conduction an inspection at Southern Headquarters..."
"He's in the south?

||Dublith/Sewers||

Dolcetto and Roa continued to with Al and Alice in two only for Dolcetto to suddenly stop in his tracks. He sniffs the air as he mutters, "Something doesn't feel right..." "You know what it feels like... old times..." Roa answers, feeling a bit nostalgic about the situation. Alice silently listens to their conversation and stares at the taser. The more they travel their way through the sewers- the more Alice starts to remember what's about to happen down here. 'They never chose to be a chimera...' Alice puts a hand over her face. 'They were never given a choice at all to lose their humanity.' She felt so disgusted and ashamed for what she was going to do. A few minutes ago, all she could think of was trying to escape and leave these two for Wrath. But Alice instantly realized that was completely out of character for her.

'I could never do that! They're still human, whether they are monsters or not. They have the soul of a human.' Alice lowers the taser and decides to use it for another time, pulling her sleeve up with her only hand to it hide the weapon from view as she is carried by the ox chimera. 'Is this how you've felt Cat for the past 3 years?' ponders the girl. As the group continues to run, Al happens to spot the missing hand and stares at her in confusion.

||In Front of Devil's Nest||

"What an interesting discovery for a routine inspection..." Bradley trailed off. Armstrong and him men stood by him, armed and ready. "Move in!" All of the men charge in as ordered, all but except a certain group that stood out from the rest. "General, what are your orders?" a female officers questions, causing all of them to turn to a certain young looking individual that stood firmly in place. Glaring at the Fuhrer once he see's that only her troop was still up above, both individuals fiercely stare at one another straight in the eye for a long brief moment. She takes her hat off to allow her pale golden hair to fly free in the air. Jealousy raises her hand up then signals her men to go, still watching Bradley as her entire troop followers after Armstrong and the other soldiers that went on ahead of them.

-Back to Me-

As Ed and Izumi got into their battle stances in front of Greed, I groan as I stood up, slowly walking over to their side while drawing out my sword with my automail. "Stay down you idiot! Teacher and I can handle things from here!" Ed protests. I quickly argue with this and stood up straight, "I won't Ed! Like I said earlier, I'm not some damsel in distress. Besides, you and I know that Izumi can't stress her body out so much in her condition." Izumi was about to say something but I answer on the spot, "I know you don't want to look weak in front of others, but there's nothing you both can say that won't make be back down from a fight." Greed laughs at this, "Ha! A house wife, a hot headed brat and a damsel in distress; what a team, one I'm not particularly interested in fighting. I'll just be on my way now."

"What?" Ed said as Greed suddenly sprints away. "A c'mon! I didn't even fight you yet!" I complain. "That's what you're worried about!?" Ed yells in confusion. "Coward...!" Izumi soon pukes out blood not long after. "Teacher!" Ed and I ran to her side and she bents down a bit, wheezing. "He ran away... how pathetic..." "Are you okay, teacher?" Ed asks her as she coughs some more, hanging her head. "Just hang on!" I shout, trying to keep her from collapsing. Two soldiers appeared in front of the door, aiming their guns right at us.

||Sewers||
-Back to Alice-

Al continues to try and get control of his body while I try to remove the new chains- that is now tied up around my torso- but we both still failed no matter what we do. "Will you hold still!? Quit struggling!" Martel orders at the same time trying to restrain the boy from the inside. "I don't... want to!" Al shouts. There was no way out whether we like it or not. And I really don't like what's going to happen next. The moment I heard footsteps, I quickly went into panic mode and tried to break the chains off. Martel raises Al's helmet and spots Greed, shouting happily to see him, "Greed!" "Ah Martel, I'm glad to see you're safe." "What's going on up there? No one else has made it back," Martel states. Greed scratches his head and says, "Yeah... things have gotten a little out of hand. We need to find a way out of here." "I can't let you do that," a voice spoke up.

I froze on the spot once I see a certain old man take a few steps out of the shadows. "Just what do you want old man?" Greed asks impatiently, already having enough of all the things that have been going on today. "Huh? The Furher...? Why is he here!?" Al exclaims. I could hear Martel quietly spat the man's name from inside the armor, "King Bradley..." "Huh? What is the most powerful man in the land doing here?" "Greed, you and others have to get out of here! You can't fight him!" I cry out, trying my best to warn and convince him as much as possible. "Alice...?" I ignored the boy's confusion and focused purely on Greed. "And why would I do that? You honestly think the ultimate shield will lose to an old man?" Why does this man have to think so highly himself now after running from a fight earlier?! Bradley states, "Not that you would know, growing old isn't easy."

"Huh?"
"This year marks my 60th birthday. It's frustrating how your body stops moving the way you want it to. So I would like to finish this quickly and head home."

'You may be old but you can sure kill a lot of people with ease...' I thought at the back of my mind as Bradley walks towards us with his all too familiar eerie smile. "Ha, I've got an idea..." Greed makes his hands covers into Graphene. "Why don't you retire-" He was cut off by Bradely charging at him at inhumane speed, cutting his elbow clean off with his sword. "Well look at this... the old man's got some moves!" Bradley charged at him again, swinging his sword as Greed dodges. Soon enough, Bradley's speed was far more superior than Greed's and ends up crashing into a wall. "Greed!" Martel calls out. Al shoves his head back on when she tries to get out, hushing her to stay quiet.

'If worse comes to worse...' I look down and rolled my sleeve back up to reveal the taser, still ready for use. 'I'll have no choice but to take action and get Martel out of here. Sorry Cat, but I can't miss this chance in saving someone.'

||Devil's Nest||
-Jealousy-

"Gather as many chimera as possible! I need them alive!" I order, earning a short salute before every one of my soldiers runs off ahead of me. 'Damien' was the last to move until I extend an arm out to stop him. "I have a mission that I know only you can do. Can I count on you?" I ask the Xingese teen. He hesitated at first them gives me a firm nod. "There's a man I need you to find. Once you locate him, I need you to bring him to me. Use any means necessary." The moment I pass him the document, I could feel the air move past me as he disappears on the spot. Only his uniform remains on the floor. I pick it up and toss it to the stick man (Emitt). He's not allowed to fight unless I need to interrogate someone, and the way he holds a gun really helps.

There was a sudden loud crash coming from a nearby room. I run over to it at the exact moment Roa slams his mallet at Armstrong, who met with his fist and used alchemy to change the weapon part... into something very typical for an Armstrong to do. A figurine of himself. "Behold! You've just have the pleasure of seeing the Armstrong's statuary technique!" Armstrong praises himself and stands there as if he was under a spot light and sparkles. I sigh and shake my head, "I guess there are just some thing's you can't change..." "We've secured the kids and women! Now eliminate every last one of these freaks! Those are the Furher's direct-" I quickly dash over to the shoulder and hit the back of his neck with my sword's hilt. The Chimera's stare at me in awe as their animal parts disappear. Helga runs over to me and was about to say something but comes to a complete stop, staring at one of the human chimera's with big eyes.

"Yven...?" I look at her then back at the group to see one of them stand up straight, tears running down his face. "Helga? Is that really you?" It was very confusing at first and then I remembered something. "Her lost fiancee... I thought he was executed four years ago...?" The reunion was bitter sweet when more gunshots were heard in the background. "Listen! I need you to follow Helga and get the hell out of here! She'll fill you in on what's going on!" They were in a daze and didn't know if they should believe me. I grown and shot the ceiling, prompting them to run with Helga taking the lead. "Now if I were a greedy, womanizing homunculus where would I go..." I mutter as my eyes wander around the nearly demolished pub.

-Alice-

With no other choice, I decided to follow after the two homunculi to keep an eye on them and make sure things stay the same. I didn't want to leave Al and Martel behind but this feeling inside of me is nagging me that something will indeed change. I just don't know what that is! Greed and Bradley continue to brutally attack one another, neither holding anything back. Well mostly Bradley. Greed managed to knock off his eye patch off as Bradley stabs his straight though the neck with both swords. That sight caused me to turn away. I didn't bother to listen to what they were saying anymore. I should be used to it by now like everyone else, but seeing so much blood easily come out of Greed like that was too much to watch. "Yo...u're..." Greed muttered as he stumbled back. Bradley continued, "I'm able to see your weakness with my ultimate eye." I froze once I saw the familiar mark on Bradley's now exposed. "Now then Greed..." Bradley pulls the sword's from Greed's neck and mockingly asks, "How many times am I going to have to kill you before you stay dead?" On the spot, I knew I had to go back to Al.

As I run back to where I last left the two, memories of what Bradley will do next repeatedly replays in my mind. 'Don't think about it! Finding Al is your top priority now!'

-Al-

"Where the hell is Greed?" Martel asks. "I don't know... it's too dark to see anything..." I trail off as I search around as best as possible for any signs of Alice.

::Flash Back::

"I'm going to go after them!" I grab Alice before she could leave. "It's too dangerous!" She slowly turns to me and smiles, bending down to my level to kiss me on the forehead. "Just stay here. I'll come back real soon!"

::End of Flash Back::

"So your girlfriend..." Martel starts. "Do you really think she's safe?" I was flustered a bit at the idea of her being my girlfriend, but I actually didn't want to deny it either. I answer back confidently, "She's fine. I know she is." There was sudden sound of footsteps. Greed appears into view bit by bit, but suddenly drops to the ground, a sword through his neck. "No Greed-" Martel cries as he tries to lift my helmet up. I quickly push it back down and quietly yelled, "Quiet...!" "Let me go!" My head instantly shot up when I heard Alice's voice. Bradley walks over to Greed with Alice being dragged by her hair, struggling to get out of his grip. "Alice!" Even though I want to get up, Martel was still inside me so I was pinned down to the ground and forced to stay up. "That makes fifteen times you've died now... how many lives you have left?" Greed spats some blood out and mutters, "Damn you..." Martel tries to get out again but I kept my helmet down.

"Let me out damn it!"
"No way!"
"Open up!
"No, he'll kill you!"
"He has your girl! Don't you care what happens to her!"

I almost lost focus when she said that. 'That's right...! The military doesn't know about her body! If Bradley finds out, he'll most likely take her in for questioning!' "Oh crap..." I glance over to find Dolcetto and Roa, beaten up from head to toe. "I kind of wished we died back there..." Dolcetto groans as he draw out his sword. "There's still plenty of time to tuck your tail and run," Roa comments, getting ready to fight as well. Dolcetto shrugs, stating, "Trust me, I'd love to. But I've for this obnoxious sense of loyalty." He turns to me and cuts the chains from my arms and legs, saying, "Do us a favor kid and get her out of here." "Protect her..." "Roa! Dolcetto!" she cries out as they both charge at Bradely, who didn't even flinch as he swiftly cut them one in half and the other by the head.

"No!" Alice and Martel cry out at the same time. Alice finally takes this chance to rip her head out of Bradley's grasp and runs over to me. "Al! Martel! We have to get out of here now!" "But-" She interrupts me and holds my hand. "This isn't the time! Martel, I know you want to kill Bradley, but you have to live! For their sakes!" Before either of us had the chance to say anything, ALice was suddenly pulled away from us. "Not so fast... aren't you the younger brother and friend of Edward Elric and Catherine Cairo? They didn't hurt you did they? Can I help you at all?" I slowly back away as King Bradley slowly approaches me. "Sure-! I mean no- I'm fine thanks!" I completely lost control of my arm and Martel used my hand to grip the fuhrer by the throat when he was close enough. "Die Bradley!" she screams in fury. "Martel! Don't do this!"

-Alice-

Right as soon as Bradley moves to slip his sword down Al's neck, i quickly slid in front of Al right before Bradley's sword could reach Martel and taze him by the arm. The voltage was supposedly enough to knock out a normal human being. 'He may be a homunculus... but he doesn't have the ability to heal like the rest!' For a second, I actually thought I had actually saved Martel and spared Al from that nightmare. But I was so wrong. No less than a minute, the metal blade suddenly aims straight for my head. "Forgive me Ms. Chronos-" His only exposed eye flickers with rage. "But that creature must be eliminated."

My eyes went wide as the blade is pierced straight from in between my eyes all the way to the back of my head. Within seconds, blood gushes out from behind me, most of it most likely spraying all over my back.

-Noemal-

Alice stands in place as Bradley calmly pulls his sword out, unnerved at the horrified look in the girl's eyes and casually sheaths with weapon back into its scabbard. As the blood soaks the back of Alice's clothes and hair, some of it seeps in between the cracks of the metal plate attached to the back of her neck. Once it makes contact with the blood seal on the inside, visions rapidly began to appear in Alice's minds at an alarming rate.

::Flashback::

Half-awake, a Alice lays on the ground with all the other's who fell victim to the transmutation and helplessly watches as Cat's body goes limp and falls on her side. Jealousy senses this and turns to the direction where Alice lays. She smirks and makes her move to jump off the stage, drawing out her blade as she does so. (A/N: The same one that nearly killed Cat.)

---

In the flames of the wreckage, a young girl lies on the ground in a pool of her own blood. A man dressed in black steps in front of her field of vision, only seeing his shoes. "Hm... this offer with do nicely." Everything started to blur all around her. The last thing she saw was a small figure running towards their direction, calling out her name- "ALICE!"

::End of Flashback::
-(Amestris) Alice-

I felt a sharp pain in my head, causing me to drop all of the plates I was carrying. "Alice! Are you okay?" I shake my head and smile up at the elderly woman, "I'm fine. Sorry for breaking your plates auntie." She sighs and bends down to pick the pieces up. "These I can replace... YOU I can't," she jokes. Although I know auntie just wants to cheer me up, I can't shake this feeling off that there was something... stolen away from me. I just don't know what. 'I wonder how Cat and that tall lady is doing,' I wonder to myself. It's strange. Even though I barely know her new friend, just looking at the two stand side by side reminds me of something.

-Back to Me::

"Alice! I cry out as I continue to run wherever the path takes me. I accidentally lost the others after we were given clearance to go look for Al and Alice, so now I have to navigate my way through this pit hole all by myself. 'C'mon! They couldn't have gotten that far!' A sudden gun shot was heard not too far from where I was. I felt my blood run cold when I saw a figure stepping back from around a corner, holding up a gun that has smoke coming out of the barrel. My hands instantly reached for my sword and charged in blind fury once I finally came to a realization who it was. Jealousy turns around just in time and blocks just before the sharp end of my blade could reach her face.

"You've got some nerve being here Jealousy!"
"I should say the same for you! You'd usually run like the scaredy cat you are!"

Shocked at how similar her tone was to mine, Jealousy takes this chance to forcefully shove me back and kicks me in the stomach, sending me straight into the sewer water canal. "Hmph... I don't have time for this," I hear her from above. I open my eyes and stretch out both hands in front of me, transmuting the water to boil then suddenly explodes into a burst of steam. In the mist, I caught sight of Jealousy looking around in confusion. 'I don't know what's going on...' I tightened my grip on the handle. 'But I like it!' I waited for a bit then mindlessly went in for the attack. The confusion in Jealousy's eyes triggered something inside me. A sudden urge... to kill. Jealousy tries to counterattack once she spots me, but I successfully broke through her defense and didn't waste a second to go in for the kill.

She holds her blade up to keep my from stabbing her head, so I sliding our blades together and stabbed her in the shoulder, pinning her against the wall behind. I triumphantly smile at my supposed victory only for my mouth to oddly twist in a deep frown. 'Something's wrong... why am I acting like this!?' On the inside, I was both shocked and horrified when I saw that Jealousy wasn't healing from her wounds. But all I could feel was- disappointment. Jealousy pants and reaches over to the blade that was stuck in her flesh. "Enjoying yourself there Jealousy?" A long painful ring emitted from my head. My vision began to blur. Right before it all went dark, Jealousy said something to me but I could barely hear anything at all as the world around me started to darken.

-Alice-

::Dream::

"Mom! Dad! I'm home-" Just as I was about to open the door, there was another loud crash from inside the house. "You bitch! I told you to get me the strong stuff!" A sound of breaking glass was heard along with the sounds of whimpering not too far from where I stood. "Beef just won't do it... It just won't do! You think two bottles will actually get me wasted? What? You think I can't hold my liqueur!?" Everything started to red all around me. "No... No!" I turn to run but then I stop when I see the back of Cat. "Cat hold on! Please don't go!" I rush over to her and grab Cat by her wrist, forcing her to stop. I tearfully smile as she turns to face me, but I was paralyzed by fear when she suddenly transforms into Jealousy. "You're a nuisance," she said.

The ground below me suddenly disappears, causing me to free fall as Jealousy continues to stand there with a blank stare in her eyes. A bright light began to surround me. Next thing I knew, I was standing in a familiar empty white space. "Someone needs to wake up now." I turn to see Fate (or Truth) standing very close to me, flashing their trade mark evil grin as I was suddenly grabbed by my arms and legs. "No! Wait!" I called as I was being dragged into the gate. "I don't want to go back! No!" When I was able to pull away, I froze when I heard the sound of metal banging behind my back the exact moment the white space suddenly turned black. "Al...i...ce..." Horrified, I slowly turned my head around. What I saw caused me to scream so loud that even god could hear me.

Al was on the ground almost in pieces, and Cat was in front of Ed- with a sword stabbing him in the stomach. "Why... why is this happening? WHY!?" I screamed. "Don't you remember?" another voice spoke up. I turned only for my vision to be blinded by light again.

"We promised to stay by his side and never forget our promise... and yet we did. So what are you going to do about it? We can't exactly just sit around pretending someone's going to save us. We may have left his side, but we will never forget something as important as the promise we made before our life was taken away from us by those in black."

::End of Dream::

"Alice!" I was suddenly brought back into reality and found Al kneeling in front of me. "Are you alright?" he asks. I was about to say something until I noticed something all over his armor. Blood. "Al... you..." I cover my mouth and close my eyes. 'I failed... I couldn't save anyone...' Armstrong walks over to us and hands something over to me. "I was going to give this as a birthday present for my little sister but given the situation..." he trails off as he stares down at me. Confused, I noticed his was looking at my hair so when I reached over and pulled one of my twin tails over my shoulder so I can get a look at it. "Is there something in my- hair...?" I just sat there, horrified at what I was seeing. "It's alright Alice. I-" I quickly pull him into a tight hug.

Even if neither of us show it, I knew in my heart the both of us were in pain. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I really thought I could save you both but...!" Shocked at first, I saw him move his arms and bring me closer to him. We wanted to cry but we can't. We want to reassure one another through a simple hug but we can't feel it. "You can't blame yourself Al... Come on," I pull back and force a smile, "let's go home, okay?"

-Back to Me-

"You alright?" Ed asks. I hug myself and couldn't stop staring at the trail of splattered blood on the ground. "Yeah... I guess no matter how many times I see it I can never get used to it," I answer, trying my best not to remember any moment that related to blood spilling. 'Still,' I brought an arm up and tightly held my automail arm. 'What exactly happened? I saw Jealousy and then I find myself being woken up by Ed. What happened exactly? I'm still in one piece that's for sure.' "You four..." We turned to face Bradley, one of the people I wanted to face the least today after everything that's happened. "There are a few questions I need to ask you before you leave." Ed steps forward but I quickly grab his hand before he could leave my side. He looks over at me in confusion, yet he doesn't question me and keeps a hold of my hand.

"Have any of you had any previous meetings with a man named Greed?" There was no way in hell that I'm going to answer any of this man's questions. "Of course not," Ed states. Bradley continues, "Did you trade any manner of information with him?" I couldn't help myself from pointing this out, "None at all and the military was never mentioned at all. Of course we're not stupid to actually hand out information all willy nilly like that. " "That isn't my concern-" You can practically feel the Furher's seriousness about the situation coming off of him. "Let me be more specific; have you four arranged a deal with him... I''ll kill you four. I'll ask again, did you?" I could feel Ed tighten his hold on my hand. "No, can we go now?" Ed asks, getting even more annoyed the longer the Furher interrogates us.

"I am curious about your steel arm and leg, Catherine's arm, Alice and your brother's body. Is there a connection?" Ed and Al look at him in shock as Alice cowers away behind Al while i silently glare at the man apprehensively. He suddenly laughs much to the boys surprise as he orders, "Alright men, pull out! You make sure to take care of your brother and friend, Edward. Especially your girl." We both turn hot pink and quickly let go of one another.

||Curtis Home||

-Wrath-

I just got done using the bathroom when I saw the door to the living room slightly open. Curious, I tiptoed over and peeked through the small crack. 'P-Pride!?' My thoughts scream when I saw the familiar old man. I was about to charge in there to save Izumi when the door suddenly flies open; Bradley standing exactly in my way as he looks down at me with his signature 'smile' and sharp look in his eyes. "Is this your child?" I should be used to the kind of look since I've met him numerous times during my days as a homunculus, but this Bradley was entirely different. "Yes." I was surprised at Izumi's sudden answer (A/N: He feels he doesn't have the right to call her mom since they're not really blood related in this side.) He smiles down at me, ruffling my hair and walks past me.

I quickly fix my hair and stick my tongue at his back as the man walks out of the door. 'Treating me like a child... so typical of Pride.' "Ran," Izumi calls over to me. "Can I talk to you for a second?" Unsure at first, I slowly walk over to her and stood by her bedside. "Cat, Alice and I have been talking... and I need to ask you something," she starts. I gulp, silently nodding as I prepare for whatever she has to say to me. "I believe they told me you have no parents, correct?" I didn't know how I should answer that. She's indirectly my mom, but at the same time she isn't. The Izumi here lost her real child a long time ago, and the other one created me but gave me up to the gate. Noting my silence, Izumi suddenly gets out of bed and stands at my side. Suddenly, she scoops me up in her arms.

"I know... They didn't tell me but I can tell just by the way they look at you that you're connected to me and my husband... I may not be your actual mom, but I'd like to make one selfish request." She pulls back and smiles down at me in tears. "Would you give us the honor of being our son?" This shocked me to the core. For the first time since being here, meeting all of these familiar faces for the past couple of days, experiencing what it's like to be human, I actually cried. This may not be my real home, and the people here may be slightly different from how I remember them (except for the shrimp of course), but just maybe I could at least enjoy this lie for the rest of my life.

||Outside||

"You really should be in bed, Cat..." Al trailed off. I waved him off, saying, "I'll be fine Al. It's not the first time for some asshole to beat the shit out of me. Besides, I think I should at least help Ed here finish you up." Alice cheerfully offers her help, "Me too! I've gotten pretty good actually thanks to Al's help! Maybe all that practice will finally pay off?" For some odd reasons, both brothers suddenly turned white. Ed puts a hand on both of our shoulders, bluntly rejecting us without looking us in the eye, "I think you two should just stick to what you're good at. Just stand there and look pretty." "Hey! Don't just-" Alice stops me by whispering, "Hey...! Think about it! Ed just called you pretty! Maybe you should just let it slide for now..." It took me a while to realize this as well.

"R-Right..." I stutter, lowering my first and bowing my head so my hat could slightly shadow how red my face was. "There's something I forgot to mention," Alice and I tense up when Ed informed the two, "Greed had an Ouroboros tattoo." "I'm not sure I follow," Armstrong states, confused as the boy's words. "Think back, the fifth laboratory, the Philosopher's stone; remember the guys I told you and Colonel Hughes about?" Armstrong's eyes widened at the mention of Hughes, and only the two of us knew why. Falling silent, I turn my back as Armstrong grabs Ed by the shoulder to force him to look at his straight in the eye. "Listen you two... don't do anything rash." I bit my lip and fought back the tears threatening to come out.

"Catherine," I felt a large hand on my shoulder, causing me to look up as the gigantic man advises me, "I know you've been doing it from the start... but look out for the boy." "Sure.." I trailed off. He walks off, saying, "Well then, good night you four." Once he was out of sight, I could feel the medicine already kicking in. "Crap... I think I'm going to turn in for the night," I tell them, trying my best to keep my eyes open. "Ah! Before you do that Cat," Alice unties her hair and asks, "can you help me a bit with my clothes and stuff?"

++Later++
||My Room||

"Sorry Alice... I can easily get the blood off your clothes but I just can't seem to get it out of your hair," I said after failing the 10th time in a row to clean the blood off with alchemy. Dipping her clothes in water and using it to get all of the blood cells out is once thing, synthetic hair is something entirely difference. Changing the water to hydrogen peroxide did help remove the blood from the cloth until it was barely noticeable. But it was like the blood was dyed in most of her hair! "Damn it! I swear if Bradley ever pulls out a sword on either of us again I swear I'll-" I was interrupted when Alice suddenly takes my sword. Right before I could get it back, she used it to... cut her hair!? "Alice!?" I gasp, watching as some of the hair she cut fall to the ground.

Alice gets up from her seat and looks at the mirror, intently staring at her reflection. "Uh... Alice?" I wasn't sure what to do. Especially after seeing my friend us MY sword to clean cut her hair off. The once long brown curl hair that once reached down to her waist was now only below shoulder level. "Back in the sewers... I tried to do the exact opposite of what you told me not to do," she confesses. I was about to asked her what she meant until it hit me, my eyes widening in shock as Alice turns to look down at me with sad eyes. Instead of saying anything, I kept my mouth shut and let her continue.

"I don't know what came over me. I just felt this sudden need to save her. This feeling of taking advantage of what was going on and try to change things just suddenly burst! I thought I could save Martel, but I knew deep inside that I have to let it happen! This was the time that Al was going to recover most of his memories of the gate! But I just couldn't... the pain of knowing what's going to happen and knowing how important it is was just... terrible! I just didn't want Al to go through such trauma..."

With a deep heavy sigh, I reached up to her and patted her shoulder as best as I could reach. "Welcome to the club, you aren't the first one to try and change fate." Alice seemed surprised at this, but before she had the chance to ask, I tossed her the clothes Armstrong gave me and escorted her out of the door. "Welp! Good night Alice!" I said. "Wai-" I slammed the door in her face. It wasn't my intention to, but I really wanted to be alone now and pass out. I was just about to do that, until I heard a knock on my window. "Now wha-" I almost had a heart attack when I saw Ed already half way inside. "Ed..!? What are you doing here...!?" I quietly scream, trying my best not to catch anyone's attention outside my door.

"Well there was something I wanted to ask you until you took off on me."
"Like I said, I was tired and I seriously need to sleep on my bed before the antiseptic medicine kicks in first to knock me out cold."
"As if that would help you heal."
"You're right about that..."

It was extremely awkward for some odd reason. Not only was he not yelling at me (possibly for what happened in the sewers) but he literally just came into my room through the window. "You went quiet earlier... both of you did..." I bit my lip and turned my back on him. 'He doesn't know about Hughes yet. I can't tell him! But if I don't Ed will just be pissed at me for not warning him!' I close my eyes once I heard him take a few steps closer to me from behind, probably frustrated again and wanted me to face Ed when he's talking to me. Preparing for the what he was to throw at me, I held my breathe for what's to come And then he did the unexpected. He... hugged me? I look over my shoulder in confusion. "Ed...?"

He simply tightens his hold on me in responses, muttering, "This is the most annoying thing about you... but after what you told me back on the island I won't say anything... Just... never leave my side again like that. Knowing that you know almost everything makes me feel powerless to know I can't protect you..." I shook my head and sarcastically answer back, "As if I can die easily. I've never needed you to protect me runt." I expected him to explode, especially since I threw in that 'special' word. He didn't. "You idiot..." was all he said. I didn't have the chance to reply as the medicine finally began to kick in. Too tired, I used whatever strength I had to lean myself against Ed so I won't end up causing the both of us to fall over.

-Ed-

Once I felt her go limp in my arms, I look down at her face as Cat leans against me in her sleep. Smiling and snuggling closer to my body. "Guess I'll have to put Kitty back in her bed." I pick the girl up bridal style and carry the girl over to her bed, Surprisingly, she wasn't that heavy as you'd expected her to be with her automail adding to her weight. Cat was extremely lighter than I thought she would be. I place her under the covers and keeping a close eye on her face. Specifically her lips. I pulls back, mentally screaming at myself, 'No no no no no! This isn't how you treat your partner/friend! You can't take advantage of a girl in her sleep! That's like indirect sexual assault!'

I was about to retreat back to my room before this stupid brain of mine started to project any other ideas when I felt a small tug on my sleeve. Looking down, my eyes trail all the way from the hand to the one it's attached to. "You're too much... you know that?" I smiled down at her. Even though this clearly wasn't like me, I couldn't help but think 'hey what could go wrong' and did what any other boy would do.

Me: No he will not touch her.
Cat: Don't give any readers that idea!
Me: You'll be surprised the kind of mind a teenager has when they barely read half of a sentence related to romance.
Cat: I know that! I'm a teen too!
Me: Who's older?
Cat: I don't know, the old lady beside me or the doppelganger that wants to kill me?
Me: ...

Leaning down to her level, I could literally feel my heart beating even faster the closer I got to her lips. My cheeks have never felt this hot in my life. The moment I was about to make contact, the door suddenly flies open with a certain duo crashing in. Ran stands there with his arms crossed, shaking his head at Al and Alice as they sit up from their spot. "You two really really know how to kill the mood," he comments. "What!?" they both scream. I hover over the two in rage, cracking my fists as I grind my teeth together. "You two sure are up late?" The jump back in fear at the same time. "O-Of course we are Ed!" Alice nervously answers. "We can't sleep! Remember, brother?" No matter how innocent they tried to look, there's no way I could just let this one slide.

"You two are dead!" They make a break for it, Ran putting his arms behind his head as he casually walks away whistling. Just as I was about to run out of the room, I turn back to Cat, who was soundly asleep in her bed. My previous attempt flashed into my brain, causing me to blush even more. "Er! Fuck it!" Frustrated, I march back up to her and move to give her a quick peck on the cheek. But at the exact moment I was about to do that, Cat adjusted herself in her sleep at the worst time. My lips... landed straight onto hers! There was this sudden brief electric current that rushed through my body. There was no describing it. Her lips were so soft that it was nearly impossible to turn back now. I just stayed in place, eyes closed and focusing on her.

I only pulled back once I felt reality closed in on me. "Shit... I've really done it now..."

(A/N:Mind you, I have never kissed a boy in my life. An 18 year old in her 2nd year of college isn't easy... but my face is just as red as you are right now.)

-Normal-
||Somewhere underground||
(A/N: Yeah I got really lazy at this point... sorry in advance.)

"Welcome back Fuhrer…how was your inspection of the South?" the black haired woman asked. "To say the least, a very productive visit; It seems Fullmetal's brother and Teacher are worthy candidates. But his girl and that doll is something else." "If only the two pipsqueaks weren't one. We could be finished with this sooner…" the green haired man complained. "Oh one more thing…I made an unexpected catch." Greed was revealed to be tied to a stone by chains. "Talk about a blast from the past…it's been a century since I've seen that face. Rise and shine Greed…you can't sleep all day." Greed opened his eyes as he said, "Well, well, the gangs all here." "Looks like your ultimate shield let you down after all…" the woman spoke.

"Maybe, but you never do…feel free to pierce me with your ultimate spear anytime you want, Lust." He glanced to the fat one and said, "Hello Gluttony; still haven't found the right diet for you yet, huh?" He then glanced to the green haired one and said, "…and little Envy the jealous…please for the last time, get a new outfit." "Hmph," Envy turned away as Greed continued, "And where is Sloth these days?" "I'm sure he'd love to be here slacking off but we have to keep him working." "Sorry to say this but it's depressing that none of you has changed in the last 100 years. So…who's the new addition?" he asked looking at Bradley.

"I am Wrath the Furious." "Fuhrer King Bradley and Wrath are one in the same…" "Indeed; the humans know him as the leader of Amestris but the truth is he was created by Father for the final stage of the plan." "A Homunculus that can grow older?! That's impossible…" Greed asked shocked. "Ha! Oh really? I thought nothing was impossible…you used to toss that line around like it was your catch phrase. You change your mind or something?" Envy asked with a smirk. "Shut your worthless trap ugly." Envy's face now showed anger as he slowly stood. "Oh that's a scary face…why don't you show us what you're really like, you hideous freak!" "You scum…call me that again and I will destroy you…" Envy spat as red sparks enveloped his back.

"Enough!" a voice hollered in the darkness as a cage bursts out of the ground and traps Envy. Red eyes glowing in the darkness, a small figure sits on one of the pipes and looks down at the group of homunculi. "You all should know by now what kind of place you're in." Greed smirks up at the figure. "If you don't mind me asking, who's the little runt here? Seems too human to be one of my 'siblings'." Standing up, the figure jumps down to the ground and comes straight into view. "I don't believe we properly met. My name is Jealousy." His jaw hangs as he stares at the appearance of the girl. It didn't take him long to reaction to the situation in delight. "Now isn't this something! A homunculus that can age and one that not only uses alchemy but someone with 'that' face? This is hysterical! What other abominations have been added to the 'family'?"

"At least I'm not the one in chains," she comments. He grins, mocking the girl, "At least I don't have a copy of someone's face." Jealousy quickly draws out her sword. "Stop your nonsense both of you." A man's voice stated. He looked up from his book as everyone glanced to him with shocked looks. "It's time you resolve this sibling rivalry…your Father does not wish to see such ugly behavior." Greed smirked and said, "Hey pops! Long time no see. I know it's been a hundred years and all but you sure do look decrepit." Father closed his eyes and stated, "Greed…you are both my son and a piece of my soul. Why would you betray your beloved Father?"

"I'm surprised you asked…I mean, you know the answer to that better than anyone, Dad. I'm Greed the Avaricious; you were the one who made me this way after all."
"…And if I asked you to return and work for me?"
"Hmph…NEVER!"

"As you wish…" Father trailed off as the sound of gears was heard. A container opened under Greed's feet as Greed muttered, "How cheesy…" He began to be lowered into it. When his feet touched, he screamed out, "Ahhhhhh!" Everyone just sat and watched as he continued to be lowered into it. Jealousy was the only one to turn away. "Ha! Why don't you come in kids? The waters fine! Nice and hot like the flames in hell! I'll send you a postcard and let you know what they are like…and when the rest of you get there…I'll be waiting for you!" "Now return from whence you were born." Father stated as he raised his arm to the air. "Return to my depths and into my soul; return Greed!"

"If that is what you want, Dad! Don't blame me when I give you a stomachache; you did it to yourself!" Greed was now completely buried into the lava. Blood began to flow through the pipes that were connected to the container. It travel till it reached the beaker, which was then poured into a glass. Father picked up the glass as he raised it saying, "I propose a toast my children. I shall drink to the promised day and to your undying loyalty." He then drank it. Jealousy grimaced in disgust at what she just witnessed. Turning to leave, Wrath raises his sword at her. "Don't forget. I still want to discuss with you your actions in Dublith."

To Be Continued

I swear I am suffering from writers block! After almost 8 freaking years of writing experience, I finally reached that point in time where my mind just went blank. I know what to write! I swear to god! But one moment I am typing away like a maniac, and the next thing I know, I sitting in my chair with my eyes glued to the screen like usual when I'm in my demon writer mode. But then I realized something's off. My hands weren't moving. Recently, my mind has been thinking of making other different fanfics lately, except I know from experience that it is very hard to make others be noticed. This one took ages to finally get some attention! Classes have been... ugh... Why did I choose nursing? Why did I let my parents get me into all of this mess!? So I know some parts of it were lazy, but this is the LONGEST time I have ever not posted anything. I am so sorry! I hope this chapter is long enough to make up for it!