The One Without a Heart Part 2
What if a forced transmutation went wrong? What if one Alchemist had been forced to preform Human transmutation and instead of Truth directly taking something from her, he threatens to take away her friends, people she cherished most, people she kept close to her heart.
In a vain attempt to save her friends, she offered Truth to take whatever he wished, whether it be her organs, her senses or her entire body.
Truth grinned with a cruel, twisted smile, "Anything?" He chuckled, "Then how about your heart?"
She didn't realize what he had meant until it was already too late.
No...
It couldn't be...
She frantically gripped at her chest, clutching her shirt, feeling for a heartbeat. Was she dead?
But...she was still standing there..in the meadow near the Rockbell home...it couldn't be...Truth was gone but Ed, Winry, Al, Mei, Greed, Lan Fan and Ling were still all there, unscathed and well.
Truth said he would take her heart...but why did she still feel it beating frantically inside her?
She had expected fear to grip her heart but instead...she felt...nothing.
She looked around and locked eyes with Greed, who stared at her in shock before he shook his head and ran towards her, catching her in his arms as he rested a knee on the grass to lean her on his propped leg, safely cradled in his protective embrace.
With emotionless eyes, she looked at the dead body of the vile alchemist that had forced her to do that transmutation.
She didn't feel anger, resentment, not any of those feelings she was supposed to feel for that cruel man.
She focused on Greed when he uttered her name.
He caressed her face, red eyes frantically searching for any signs of discomfort, anger, fear, anything. His eyes scanned over her body.
"What did...what did he take from you?" she had never heard Greed's voice so low, quiet, afraid.
She opened her mouth to speak, but found it difficult to form words, instead she gently caressed his jaw, instead of the warmth of his skin, she felt nothing.
She didn't feel cold, didn't feel pain, nothing.
"Greed..." she uttered the name of the man she loved, wanted to protect, like the rest of her friends.
She rested the side of her face against his chest, listening to the strong, fast beat of his heart. She wished she could feel something, relief, love, anything.
Something!
"Lena..." Al suddenly whispered, falling to his knees with wide eyes as he realized the signs Lena was giving off. It were the same ones he had the first time he had woken up in his suit of armor.
Unable to feel warmth.
"No..." Al whispered in horror, tears stinging his eyes, "He can't!" he shouted in frustration, causing Ed to jump in alarm.
"Al! What the hell happened?! What did the bastard take from her?!" Ed looked back at the kneeling Greed and Lena, feeling panic well up inside of him.
Greed continued to stare at her eyes, eyes that held so much love and affection for him, were now dull, almost lifeless brown. She...
"She can't feel any emotions..." Greed whispered and swallowed hard, his grip on her tightening.
Lena attempted to smile, but it looked forced, not like her usual bright, sunny smiles.
Greed had loved those smiles and he had made it his personal mission to make her smile and laugh and happy as often as possible.
"Truth wanted to take you and the others away from me...I couldn't let that happen, so I told him to take whatever he wanted from me...he took my heart..." Lena said quietly, but she didn't regret it.
Greed, with a shaking, hesitant hand, carefully felt for her heartbeat, it beat steadily beneath his hand but...
"Lena..." Greed breathed out, hugging the body of the woman he loved closer to himself.
"I love you Greed," she placed a hand on his broad shoulder, instead of warmth and comfort and happiness, her words struck a chord inside of Greed, creating a hollow feeling.
"I love you too Lena..." he nuzzled her forehead, kissing it softly, affectionately, shutting his eyes tightly closed to prevent the stubborn tears from falling.
He heard Ed saying something, Winry too as well as Al and Mei, but he shut them off.
Ling and Lan Fan were quiet, still in shock.
Was that even possible? It had been possible for Truth to take Alphonse's soul but was it actually possible to take away human emotions?
"Greed...don't be sad," Lena gently caressed his face, even if she didn't feel anything by it like she usually would, feelings of warmth, cheesy butterflies, racing hearts...nothing...
"I'm here, I love you, I'm just sorry you can't see it in my eyes anymore," she didn't feel anything, not even the deep sadness she wanted to feel, she felt like a shell of her former self.
"Why did you do this...you could have let the bastard take me...I would have survived it damn it!" Greed shouted, gritting his teeth tightly together, sobbing hard.
Just then, Lena smiled what she hoped looked genuine and soft, and caressed Greed's cheek, "I couldn't have let that happen. To any of you. I'll survive this, we will survive this, but I wouldn't have been able to survive it without you or the others with me..."
Greed grasped her hand that was still on his cheek tightly, kissing the inside of her hand lovingly, he let the tears slide down his cheeks, only for her to see.
"Everything will be alright Greed, I know it," Lena said, nuzzling Greed's chest, biting her own lips to not cry.
Was she even capable of crying now? She had no idea.
Truth was cruel.
"Hurt me with the truth, but never comfort me with a lie, you hear me?!" Greed barked, sobbing into her shoulder, hugging her tightly to him.
Lena rested her chin against his shoulder, wishing desperately to be able to feel again.
It was the price she had to pay.
She didn't regret it.
Life isn't fair.
The woman who had felt the most, worried the most, cried the most, went beyond her limits to overcome her fears had been forced to perform the ultimate taboo of alchemy known to mankind. She, who had tried to protect her friends and lover from damnation, had lost the most precious thing to her.
Her heart.
The heart that had cared for her friends and family, had deeply loved the man that had made her a better person, had cried with the victims of war, had laughed in happiness, had protected with all she got and more.
Truth was cruel.
That was a fact. But...did truth stand for justice? For fairness? Could truth be bent? Could it be altered? Was there only one form of truth?
People often lost the things or people they cherished most, truth had a weird sense of irony, that's for sure and a even more cruel sense of humor.
Truth laughed, "Foolish humans," truth had existed with the first human to have ever walked the earth, truth had survived wars, slaughters, evolutions and revolutions, but truth itself had never changed.
Truth was always the same, it always stayed the same. Truth continued to be cruel and merciless.
Those who are confronted with truth end up suffering but it was just like Greed had said.
Hurt me with the truth, but never comfort me with a lie.
Maybe Truth wasn't so cruel after all.
Maybe...just maybe... Truth was misunderstood.
With that, Lena clapped her hands together one last time, the familiar light of alchemy enveloping her.
She found herself standing once again before Truth, which took the form of a faceless woman.
Lena uttered the words, "Take it away, it's all yours but give me back my heart, my feelings,"
Truth grinned widely, sliding a hand down its face, "I've someone like that before you, I wonder if humanity will ever learn," Truth did as told, the giant wall behind Lena crumbling into bits.
When Lena had returned from the Gate, Greed was the first one to approach her.
"Lena! You stupid woman! What the hell did you do?! Where were you?!" Greed looked her all over, afraid she had lost something else.
Lena smiled a heartfelt smile, tears sliding down her cheeks as she smiled warmly up at the man she loved and opened her arms in a hug, "Greed," she uttered his name with so much affection and love that it momentarily caught the Homunculus off guard.
He noticed the change in her eyes, that soft twinkle, the dilated pupils, the deep brown color and the soft, warm smile she bestowed him with.
He didn't waste any time. He swooped her up in his arms, crying openly and spinning her around, making her laugh with tears in her eyes.
As he set her down, with Ed and the others coming to see what had happened, he whispered into her ear with a smile, "You stupid woman,"
Lena giggled, hugging Greed tightly, "I've learned from the best," she nuzzled the side of his head affectionately, crying softly.
"I could have sacrificed my stone..." Greed whispered with regret, tangling his hands into her hair.
She shook her head with a bright smile, "No, there was no need. You and the others were far more important than alchemy could ever be," she laughed again when Greed picked her up.
Greed loved her laugh and he would make sure she would laugh as often as possible.
The end of this one shot! Thanks for reading! BTW: Lena is my OC. :)