Chapter 20

The rain had stopped, but it continued to drizzle down.

Water streamed down Al's face and began to clean some of the blood away, but it could not heal his wounds. His face felt sore. But at the moment, his pain seemed secondary to the sight before him. Noah Mahjongg, the wandering traveler, whom he thought Envy had killed, was still alive!

"Noah, you're alive?" Al posed it like a question.

Ed recognized the tall, dark haired teenager immediately from the picture Armstrong had shown him during their brief, but informative conversion. This was indeed Noah Mahjongg, Armstrong's nephew, but was it really him? He knew Envy had the ability to transfer his consciousness to other people, he proved that by taking control of Winry. So, was Envy in control of Noah?

Noah put a hand to his face and rubbed his eyes, he then looked at Al, and said, "Yeah, why wouldn't I, Alphonse Elric?"

"But I saw Envy kill you," Al said, as Noah approached them.

"Do you mean when he placed his hand on my face and I fell to the ground?" he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "That was a ploy, like a possum would outwit a predator. I wanted to fool him into thinking he'd killed me, so I played dead so he'd leave me alone. I can't believe it worked."

"Where is Envy now?" Al asked.

"That long hair guy in the skimpy clothes? I don't know. I think he ran into the tall grass after he dealt with me. When I opened my eyes, he was gone."

Ed was not convinced. He put his right arm across his brother's chest, in a protective gesture. "Al, don't believe him, we've been tricked by Envy's lies before," he said, his eyes narrowed, not believing him.

"What are you talking about, brother?" Al said. "This is Noah Mahjongg."

"Explain to us how you were able to evade Envy's 'death grip'?" Ed demanded from Noah.

"Death grip? What death grip?" Noah wondered. "When I saw him reaching for my face I instinctively put up a small energy barrier using Alchemy to protect me from anything he was about to do. It's been a protective technique used in our family for years, but only a few know it and use it. I'm sorry I had to deceive you, Al, but I am an Alchemist. I'm the nephew of a well-known and powerful State Alchemist."

"Alex Louis Armstrong," Al said plainly.

"That's right, but how did you know that?" Noah said confused, his brows raised.

"My brother recognized your name when I told him I thought Envy had killed you, and he told me about your family lineage," Al replied. Al produced a small curling smirk. "Then that would explain that bright flash I saw when Envy touched - or supposedly - touched your face. From my angle it looked like he had used some sort of hidden ability to cripple you." Al pushed Ed's arm down, he never asked for his protection. "I'm glad you're okay," he then said.

Noah's story sounded believable, but Ed was still not convinced. It whole thing sounded phony. But if Envy didn't jump bodies, and wasn't in control of Noah Mahjongg, then where was he? "Do you know where Envy went?" Ed asked.

Noah looked at him. "Like I said, I only heard him escape, I didn't actually see where he had gone," he explained. "But I'd imagine he'd be after Alphonse, seeing how he was chasing him before. Who is this Envy guy, anyway?"

"It's a long story," Ed said. "We'll tell you later after we capture him."

"I can help you, but I'll need a few things in my pack," Noah said. "C'mon, I'll show you two of the coolest weapons in an Alchemist's arsenal."

Noah turned and started walking back from which he had come, along the trail, and the boys followed.

"What's in your pack?" Al asked, as he followed him.

"Powerful Alchemist tools," Noah stated proudly.

When they reached his tan brown colored backpack, which was laying in wet mud on the trail, Noah began to rummaged through it and brought out two metallic fingerless gloves with spikes on each knuckle.

Ed and Al had seen them before.

"My uncle has a pair, their a tradition in our family," Noah said. "They enhance our Alchemic powers to an unprecedented state, to an end where no one can defend against the user's power." He put them on and showed the boys his hands. "Aint them cool? I've never used them in actual combat though."

Ed didn't like how things were progressing and readied his automail arm for an attack. If Envy was controlling Noah's body and was playing with them, now would be his opportunity to show himself. But strangely, no attack came.

Noah noticed Ed's tense expression and his automail hand closed tightly into a fist and lowered his hands to his sides. Though he didn't say anything. He then turned to Al and said, "Well then, let's go find this Envy character, shall we?" Noah picked up his pack and slung it over a shoulder.

Al nodded with a smile, and Ed reluctantly agreed, still unsure of Noah.

They trekked off back down the trail and took a fork in the road in search of Envy's whereabouts. But Ed stayed a short distance behind them. There was something about Noah that didn't sit right with him. But he told himself that maybe he was just being paranoid and Noah Mahjongg was who he said he was. If Envy did control him, he wouldn't attacked them by now. He considered Envy wasn't the sort of person with a lot of patience.

But, what he worried about? Envy couldn't use Alchemy. He had his morphing ability, and in the body of a human who had the knowledge of a particular Alchemy skill, that's all he could use. Without a genuine soul, no Homunculi could use any Alchemy in any fashion.

But, he wasn't going to lower his guard down just yet. He wasn't totally convinced, and he knew enough to never take anything at face value, especially after everything he and Al had been through in the last eight years.

"So you're saying this Envy is an artificial human?" Noah said, and expressed his shock, after Al had told him that Envy was a Homunculi. Al nodded. "But how is something like, well him, created in the first place?"

"It takes the desire of a single individual to give birth to a creature like that, and anyone can do it," Ed chimed in. "And just because we defeated the seven we encountered, doesn't mean there aren't more or won't be more to come."

"Brother, don't be so negative," Al said, finally wiping the rest of the blood off his face with a handkerchief he found in his jacket pocket. "I have to apologize for Ed's attitude. He can be a cynic person at times."

"I am not!" Ed rebuked loudly. "I'm just stating a very strong possibility."

"Well, next time you get one of your negative thoughts, keep it to yourself, brother," Al said unkindly.

Ed was utterly dumbfounded that Al would say something like that to him. It sounded so nasty with a hint of hatred. Why was Al angry at him? But before he could rebut, Noah said, "So, what's with the sword?" he asked Al.

Al looked at his father's sword and then raised it so Noah could see it. It looked like a dingy old sword, but it had more than sentimental value to it. "It was my father's sword, and its supposedly to be endowed with special Alchemic powers, or so father said," Al said. "It's also supposed to be Envy's ultimate weakness. Our father was the one who created Envy."

Noah's face appeared he had just has an epiphany. "So that's why he got a little defensive and called you his brother before attacking me, now it starts to make a sense," Noah said. "Does Envy consider himself your brother because he was born from your father's envious nature?"

"Um, not quite," Al said. He then started to explain. "Our father was also a type of Homunculi. We didn't know it until he explained it to us and told us he was over 400 years old. He was able to transfer his consciousness from one body to another, just like Envy. But eventually he couldn't do it anymore and his body started to degenerate because of it. That's why he left our mother; he didn't have the heart to tell her what he really was."

"And do you hate your father for what he did?" Noah said.

"No. My brother did for the longest time, but I was too young to understand. Later when I came to understand his reasons for leaving us, I still couldn't hate him. I'm still not clear on my brother's feelings, however. I think he still harbors a little hatred towards him."

"No, I don't, Al," Ed said.

"And why is that, Ed?" Noah asked.

"Because I came to grips with his reasons for leaving us, and there are some other things involved in our brief relationship that I can't go into right now."

"My father was a strong liner and was hard on discipline," Noah said. "He wanted me to grow up strong, and for some reason kept on making me drink milk." Noah chuckled. "He said it would help me grow tall and fortify my bones."

Ed made a gagging sound and stuck his tongue out when he heard milk.

"What's wrong with milk?"

Al smirked thin. "Ed hates milk, but I like it," he said.

"You would," Ed said. "Do you know where milk comes from? A cow's utter. I don't want anything coming outta that gonna in me. And it tastes awful."

"You do know milk is pasteurized, right?" Noah said. "Raw milk has a jelly in it that's separated before it's prepared for human consumption. Raw milk won't hurt you if you drink it, but it doesn't have the greatest taste. I'm guessing as a kid, you lived in a small rural town where cow's milk wasn't pasteurized."

"We were born and raised right here in Resembool, but even where pasteurization exists, I wouldn't touch the stuff. Milk is disgusting!"

"So you hate milk? That's kinda funny if you think about it, whereas almost every other child on the planet loves it." Noah said. "I can understand why--"

"Why what? Why I'm shorter than my brother?" he said frowning.

"That's not what I was going to say."

"Don't pout, brother, I'm only an inch taller than you," Al said. "Besides, it's a proven fact that people grow and shrink all the time throughout their life. You're only nineteen, there's plenty of time for you to grow some more."

"Don't patronize me, Al," Ed said snooty.

"Fine, be miserable, see if I care," Al said snorting angry, and then walked a little ahead, to get away from his brother.

Ed was confused as to why Al was acting this way, and he wanted to get to the bottom of it. This was the second time Al was rude to him in front of Noah and there was no reason for it.

"Al, tell me what's wrong? Why are you angry with me?" Ed asked.

But Al ignored him.

To be continued...