Drums pleaseee! Here's the second part to "A Emperor's Clothes & A Homunculus' Thoughts"!

ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:

Daughterofapollo12345: haha Really? Yeah me too, meh…I wished they didn't kill Greed off .

Cassey: What can I say….I sometimes love to make people suffer (shrugs) (sniffs) oh Ling…why did you have to die in my story?! (sobs)

Panic: haha Course I wrote it! Any ideas you people write here I count them as requests and I write them! :3 (gets embarrassed and coughs) Ahem…naww t-thanks! (grins) I hate it when I get embarrassed whenever someone compliments me damn it ." But thanks! :D

BTW: Check out the chapter with Ideas for Chapters and tell me what you think! I'm updating it REGULARLY! Thanks! ;) (waves)

Enjoooyy! ;)

The Emperor's Clothes & A Homunculus' Thoughts Part 2

A day passed after the final battle with Father, Alphonse was in the hospital, getting various infusions and "artificial liquid food" as Ed called it with a shake of his head.

Ed frowned, "So, you're going back huh?" he had a very bad feeling about this, "Why don't you stay a little? It's been a tough fight, you should rest, the journey back is pretty long," two full days if they sleep outside to be exact.

Greed shook his head, "I've got things to do back at Xing, we still need to...bury Fu," Ed's eyes widened a fraction, his heart tightened with guilt. He had never heard Greed call the deceased ninja by his real name before, another sign that the Homunculus was in a horrible condition.

Ed cleared his throat, "Are you sure? You, Lan Fan and Mei are injured," he eyed said woman in question, raising an eyebrow at Lan Fan's automail hand," You should let Winry take a look at it, I can see from here it's no use in a fight," Ed fixed Lan Fan with a firm gaze.

Greed glanced back at his companion, "You didn't say anything about that,"

"I'm fine," was Lan Fan's simple reply, but in the next moment, Greed's shield covered arm suddenly swung back in a fist, hitting and shattering Lan Fan's automail which she brought up in a reflexive defensive motion. Bolts, screws and wires flew everywhere.

Greed narrowed his eyes, "We are staying as long as it takes for Lan Fan to recover," Greed nodded to Edward, going inside Al's room to inform Mei of the change of plans.

Ed shut the door closed behind him quietly, crossing his arms, "Don't give me that glare, it wasn't me that shattered your automail, though I can't say I blame him. He's just worried about you, you know?" Ed tried to reason with the mourning woman, but he knew it would be a lot harder than this.

However, he didn't expect her sudden outburst of anger, "Silence! That Homunculus is at fault that my Lord is gone!" there were unshed tears in Lan Fan's eyes, "Don't dare to say that...that blasphemy has feelings! It was him that killed my Lord!" Lan Fan vanished within the blink of an eye.

Ed, still stunned over the sudden emotional outburst of the normally stoic woman, faltered, "H-hey wait! Lan Fan!" Ed clenched his fist, sighing heavily.

He shouldn't have said anything, he himself was still hung up over the fact that that goofy idiot Ling was...that he was actually gone. A wave of sadness overwhelmed Ed, but he swallowed it down. It wasn't what Ling would have wanted, he knew, now was the time to be there for the living, his brother, Winry, Greed...everyone.

Ed looked at the closed door to his brother's hospital room, there was no way Greed didn't hear that. He braced himself and slowly opened the door.

Gold eyes widened in shock, "Huh? What the-?! Where the hell is he?!" he blinked rapidly, looking everywhere in the room and at Mei's sad expression and his brother's unconscious form.

"He left after he heard Lan Fan run away..." Mei offered as in way of explanation, still holding Alphonse's bony hand in her grasp.

Ed sighed heavily, taking a seat beside Mei at his brother's bed, lifting his bandaged arm to run a hand through his hair, "Let's just hope they settle things peacefully,"

He exhaled loudly, knowing that nothing could end up peaceful between those two.

Lan Fan had hidden behind one of the still standing crumbled walls in the middle of the battlefield, the wall had taken quite a beating, but it was sturdy enough not to crumble, for the moment, it shielded Lan Fan from the outside world, from the harsh reality she knew she had to accept.

Her Lord, Ling Yao, was gone.

Her grandfather was gone.

She was now alone. With no one to turn to for guidance, no one to protect, no one to rely on...

She sobbed, her automail arm hanging limply by her side, hot salty tears soaking the material of her pants and sleeves as she quietly grieved for the dead.

"I thought you might be here," a deep, familiar voice penetrated the air, slicing through Lan Fan's dark thoughts like hot metal through flesh.

She tensed.

"Leave, Homunculus," Lan Fan cursed herself, her voice was shaky, wound up with emotion, she didn't need this now, she didn't him to be here right now.

She didn't need to look long, he was leaning against the wall opposite of her, his arms crossed, a unreadable expression on his face.

She averted her gaze, it wasn't his face...it was his face. The face of the young Lord...she squeezed her eyes shut.

She swung with her fist when she heard movement to her right flank, but Greed caught her fist in his hand, Ling's human hand, and their eyes met.

Teary brown met unrelenting wine.

That was when Lan Fan broke down.

She didn't care anymore that Greed was watching, she let her tears fall, let her screams be heard by whoever listened, let her agony out. Everything.

She had no one anymore. She was alone now, doomed to wither away like all the ones who carried marks of war and death and carried the scars of their sins with them.

A heavy, warm hand was on her back, the other was on her head, pulling her into a strong, sturdy chest. Lan Fan froze, the tears still falling, her breathing uneven, her nose running, her vision blurry...

She felt the beating heart beneath her ear, felt the sobs and shivers wracking the body holding her in its embrace, heard Greed's soft voice in her ear, "You're not alone, I know you hate my guts and want me dead but...I'm here," those words shocked her, her eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat.

I'm here...

I'm sorry Lan Fan...

I'm here...

Greed grit his teeth, tightening his embrace, "The stupid prince wasn't supposed to die...it was me. I wanted to weaken the bastard and die instead, I never meant for him to..." Greed swallowed down his sobs, feeling his body wracked with spasms he couldn't control.

The souls in his body were at unease, his own was restless, lost, drowned in agony.

Ling's wasn't there, the ever presence of that one soul that was bathed in light and freckles of darkness...it disappeared...and suddenly, it felt so lonely to be in this body, in Ling's body, inside his own head...

Greed's eyes widened when he felt Lan Fan wrap her good arm around him, burying her face against his chest, sobbing.

"Lan Fan-"

He was cut off, "If that was what he wanted, then he wouldn't want us crying for his sacrifice...my Lord isn't like that," Lan Fan bit her lips hard, seeking comfort in the warmth Greed provided and the cocoon-like shield he made with his arms and body around her, creating a barrier between them and the world outside.

Greed paused and rested his forehead against the crown of her head, "Yeah...he isn't like that..." Greed repositioned himself, spreading his legs and hugging Lan Fan in between them, wanting to protect her from all and everything that was evil. Maybe even from himself.

"I'm sorry...I never meant for any of this to happen...I'm sorry Lan Fan," Greed whispered quietly, afraid the trance they were in now would break and she would continue to resent him and be wary of him like she had till now.

The woman in his arms shook, fisting the black material of Greed's shirt tightly in her hand, before she ripped herself away from him to look at him in the eyes.

This was Greed, it wasn't the face of her Lord anymore, but that of the Homunculus when he would take control over her master...she strengthened her resolve, "I'm sorry...I...I never should have said the things I did back in the hospital...I'm sure you heard," she lowered her gaze in shame.

Greed's gaze fixed on the ground, a sad truth in his eyes and a small, sarcastic smile on his face, "Hm...yeah, the walls were thin. But...you were right. Homunculi don't have feelings...and I'm responsible for Ling's death..." Greed's fist was white and shaking, until Lan Fan placed her hand on it and slowly, gently opened it, frowning at the red welts made from his nails biting into his skin.

"It was a mistake," Lan Fan gazed into his surprised eyes, "I misjudged you from the beginning. You never wanted world domination, did you? All you wanted were people you could rely on, protect, love...you wanted the family you never had yourself," Lan Fan smiled in understanding.

She finally figured the Homunculus out, after putting all the pieces together...he never was truly evil, Lan Fan realized why Ling and Fu had trusted and cared about him, he wasn't a bad man.

Greed grunted, looking away from Lan Fan, "I'm...sorry about your arm," Greed couldn't bring himself to look at her.

Lan Fan reached over to cup his chin in her hand, turning his face toward her, "It's alright, I deserved it." She paused briefly, thinking, "Will you...accept his offer?"

Greed frowned, realizing what Lan Fan was saying, Ling's offer to lead Xing...

"I don't know how to lead a country..." he admitted with a dark frown.

"Neither do I," Lan Fan admitted with a softer expression, "But neither did the previous Emperor's in the beginning. If grandfather were here I'm sure he would be of more help..."

Greed 'tsked' finally turning his head back to look at her with a smile, "We really are wrecks aren't we?" he shook his head.

Lan Fan could only agree.

"G-Greed?" Lan Fan gasped soundlessly when he reached for her and hugged her to him again, pulling his legs closer as well.

She relaxed against him, feeling the tremors overtaking his body as she hugged him. Both adults reveled in the warmth and comfort they gave one another.

In the memory of the dead.

A few months later...

After Fu and Ling's funeral, Greed had taken it upon himself to accept the crown and rule over Xing. Many people had noticed something was different with their prince and soon, Greed revealed his real identity and told in short what had transpired in Amestris.

Many were at first against Greed ruling but when they say how the Homunculus helped and actually mingled with the common folk and wasn't what rumors depicted him to be; a evil creature, he willingly accepted his coronation and led Xing as Ling would have wanted to.

The first thing he did was annul the concubine system of Xing, it took him many months but at long last, with a bit of persuasion on both Greed's and Lan Fan's part, the council agreed and terminated the old tradition.

Greed made the slums be rebuilt, helped children who had no home get a family, a better family that he himself never had. To the surprise of many, including Lan Fan, Greed was very good with kids, as when he had time he would visit the places where the slums used to be and play with the kids. He let new schools and hospitals be built and a number of laws be enforced.

Like the monogamy marriage, he called off the ridiculous restriction of families only allowed to have one child and to nearly everyone's shock, at his own wishes, that brothel's were to be banned and that women and men had more educational options to choose from, not that women who had little financial goods to be forced to work there.

Greed was a better ruler than Lan Fan had hoped at the beginning and she wondered at times if Ling was proudly watching him.

"My Lord," Lan Fan called from the back entrance to the throne room, observing how Greed was looking up at the sky in thought.

Greed sighed, "Yeah, I'm coming," Greed remained staring at the sky for another moment, before he tore his gaze away and turned around.

He caught Lan Fan's eyes and smiled, Lan Fan's expression softened and she smiled back. Greed took one last look at the sky, bidding his friend goodbye with a wave of his hand before he returned to his duties as Emperor of Xing.

Too bad I'm not good at making AMV's (alright truth be told I never tried :P) but I could imagine the last scene would fit to the song "Promise of a Lifetime" by Kutless at the end. (sniff) Oh god that was sad...the feels...I had to listen to so many sad songs to write this...T_T