Chapter 28

Pinako stood outside the Rockbell Automail and hammered out some chinks from a piece of metal that she was planning to use for a client's Automail appendage, when she suddenly turned her thoughts to Edward and Alphonse. She was getting worried about them, they had been gone for a long time.

She glanced towards the lush valley that sat adjacent from the forest where the boys had followed Winry, now possessed by the Homunculi known as Envy, and wondered how they were doing.

Envy was the most mentally unstable and dangerous of the seven Homunculi that were created by the irresponsibility of their father, Hohenheim of Light, and there was no telling what lengths he'd stoop to keep his granddaughters body.

Hohenheim had unintentionally put a string of events into motion that in latter years had brought his two young sons into an insidious fold. Now they felt dutiful to clean up their late father's mess and put an end to the chaos that ensued from what Hohenheim had wrought.

But this incarnation of Envy was more evil than anyone had thought. He used the guilt that Edward housed towards what he had done to Alphonse years ago to feed off his emotions until he was strong enough to overtake Edward and eventually escape his mind.

She still didn't have all the answers and Pinako knew very little about what was going on, but what she did know worried her and she was scared for her granddaughter, who was now in the control of a madman! Edward and Alphonse had to stop him. They were the only ones that could.

Den suddenly perked his head and his nose twitched. Pinako noticed his actions and said, "What is it, Den?" Den stood on his feet and looked towards the forest, taking a couple of steps forward. Then he begin to wage his tail in a very happy manner and barked exultantly, if he had seen a familiar face. But when she looked around, she didn't see anything, nor anyone. "What do you see, Den?" she asked, saying it as if she actually thought she'd get a response from the animal.

Suddenly a small spec of light popped into existence and began to emanate at eye level in front of the dog. It pulsated and remained immobile for a moment, then it entered the animal. Den stopped barking. "Den?" Pinako said.

Den cocked his head towards her and produced a crooked, happy smile. He then let out a woof and took off towards the forest. Pinako watched him run across the valley faster than she had ever seen him run. She watched him for a few moments and then decided to follow. But she was far for a match for Den's speed and lost him when he entered the forest.


"That's a good boy, Den," a gentle voice said to Den inside the animal's mind, as he ran through the forest. "Let me take you to Edward, he's needs you. He needs us."

Den let out a small woof and obeyed the voice. He trusted the voice. It was Alphonse's voice.

When he got to where Alphonse directed him he stopped in front of a large crater in the ground. Den looked down and saw people fighting. Edward was one of these people. He hated when people fought. Why can't Humans just get along with each other? "I wish for that, too, Den," Alphonse said. "Edward needs us, let's go!"

Den barked once and then acted vigilantly. He slid down the crater and started to ran towards Edward, sitting on the ground. He appeared he needed help.


Kaoru snorted with humor. He got to his feet and then snatched the sword that lay on the ground next to him. He squeezed the handle tight, exhorting some unpleased feelings he felt towards Edward. But he was more amused by the Alchemist's previous actions. Despite all that has happened, Edward still had the strength to fight.

But now with one broken arm and his Automail hand engaged in battle - or an close approximation to one with Envy - Kaoru knew Edward was out of options. The battle was his.

"No mercy, Edward," Kaoru said. "Are you ready to visit the Killing Fields with father?"

The Killing Fields. It was a term loosely used by Alchemists to describe a place where those who had fallen in battle went to transverse dimensions and continue there path to the Netherworld, much like the Gate. Only now it was known the Gate did not transverse to this dimension but instead it intersected with a world where Alchemy did not exist. The Killing Fields was a place where souls wandered aimlessly wanting peace after they were killed unexpectedly. Hohenheim, his father, was probably there because of way he had died in the Other World. He knew all about the Outer World from Alphonse. Edward had told him everything that transpired over there and how the real Envy ate Hohenheim. Quite an amusing demise, he thought.

Suddenly he jerked his head around when he heard barking in the distance and his eyes widened with surprise to see a dog running towards him. "What the hell?" he said, as he braced himself for its attack. The dog leapt at him and pinned him to the ground. Hohenheim's sword flew out of his hand and landed beyond reach. The dog growled fearlessly at him and bared its fangs. He tried to push the dog off him, but the animal was relentless and bite his left arm.

He screamed out in pain and pulled against the dog's grip, but to no avail. And with every ounce of struggle the dog bit down harder and deeper, until blood began to ooze from the wound.

"Gettem, Den! Gettem!" Alphonse said.

"GET THIS ANIMAL OFF ME!" Kaoru said demandingly.

"Den, what are you doing here?" he said surprised.

Edward couldn't believe his eyes. "Careful Den, that's actually Al's body," he said, as if the dog understood that.

"Let me go, you damn mutt!" Kaoru cried out. But Den did not.

Kaoru looked over his shoulder and saw the sword. He reached back with his right hand and pulled at the dirt in an attempt to bring the sword to him. But all he was doing was clawing into the soil with his fingers.

He then directed his full attention at the dog and grabbed its neck, squeezing it. Den felt the pressure of Kaoru's hand cutting off his airwave and struggle to breath, releasing his grip from Kaoru's left arm. When Den let go, Kaoru pushed the animal off him and went for the sword. He grabbed it and then turned around quickly point it at Den.

"Back off, Den," Alphonse told him. "That sword can hurt you and I don't want to see you hurt."

The dog backed away as Kaoru regained his composure. Kaoru grabbed his left arm and felt the pain that the dog inflicted. He swore under his breath and then looked at the wound. It was deep wound, the dog almost bit to the bone. "Bad mistake," he said vexed. "I've never killed a dog before, but there's always a first time for everything."

Kaoru jumped to his feet and ran towards Den. Despite his situation, instinctively, and feeling an overwhelming sense of parental protection for Den, Edward pounced into action, and even though he had no hand, he body checked Kaoru. Kaoru was caught off guard -- "Oof!" he said, when he hit the ground with a hard thud.

For a moment, Kaoru lay motionless. Edward took this breather to turn a glance towards Den. Den looked to be smiling at him with a doggy crooked smile, his top lip curled upwards in sort of a smirk.

"Thanks Den, but how the heck did you find me?" Edward said.

Den let out a bark and Edward looked at what caught Den's attention. Envy was fighting with his Automail hand. His hand was operating on its own, although programmed by Edward to act in such a way, and moved around like some sort of crazy spider. "How could you know about Envy? You just arrived!" Edward said to Den.

Den let out another bark. "What are you trying to say, Den?" he asked, as if the animal was a person.

"Foolish and utterly futile," Kaoru said, raising himself to his knees. He grabbed the sword and then swung around, raising to one knee. "Pathetic, you need a dog to rescue you, Edward? Is this all you can muster for help?"

"It worked," Edward said.

"Past tense, dear brother, but you'll need more than a dog to defeat me," he said. Kaoru grabbed the sword that lay at his feet and rose unhurriedly, facing the Alchemist with a new confidence. He gave Edward a thin smile. "Without your hands you don't have a chance against me, and with father's sword in my possession, I have unlimited power."

"What power? I haven't seen any power from you. You claim that sword has power, but I think you're all talk."

"That's where you're wrong, Edward, and I'll prove it."

Den growled at Kaoru. "No Den, stay back," Edward ordered. "You're no match for him."

"Wise decision, dog," Kaoru said. "But it won't matter. You're both going to die!"


Envy scrambled around for Ed's disembodied hand that was crawling on him like some sort of possessed insect, but it evaded him every time. He cursed profusely at it as it exhausted his patience. "C'mere, you sonofa--" he said.

Finally he managed to knock it off with a swift hit as it crawled across his chest to his right shoulder. But it bounced back and leapt onto him again. It scurried around his body, around his upper and lower body, until it finally latched onto his face, hugging it like some sort of octopus, squeezing its metallic fingers around his head tightly.

He grabbed it and tried to pull it off, even banging it with his blasters, but with no success. The damn thing would just not let go! And with every attempt he started to feel weaker. It had latched onto his face so tightly that he wasn't able to breath.

He dropped to one knee and with his last ounce of strength managed to insert his hand between the hand and his face and pry it a few inches off his mouth so he could crank his mouth sideways and take a couple of deep breaths to regain some of his strength.

With new hope he continued to pry it loose, eventually ripping it off his face, and throwing it to the ground. He backed way from it, taking more deep breaths. But it followed him, using its fingers as legs. And with an insatiable appetite of an animal that had a one-track mind, it lunged at him again. But this time he caught it in mid-air and held it at bay with both hands, as it struggled against his grip half a metre from his face.

He studied it momentarily, and then said, "Very ingenious, Edward," he said. "You've been busy since I've been away."

He used his blasters to conduct a small electrical charge through the hand to disable it. It sunk lifeless in his hands and at last he could relax. He examined it further and then had a wickedly humorous thought.

Turning it over, palm facing down, he opened its access panel and tinkered with it, reprogramming it. "Time to turn the tables, Edward," he said. He looked over at Edward who was in the middle of battle with Kaoru. "This, is going to be fun."

"Need a hand, Edward?" Kaoru said chuckling. Edward didn't look amused. "Your left arm is broken and you other hand is busy fighting Envy. I'm afraid things don't look good in your favor. Do you really think you and this dog can defeat me? You must be joking."

"Who said I was defenseless?" Edward said. "I still have one card to play."

"This isn't poker," Kaoru said.

"Who said I was bluffing?" Edward said.

Edward dropped to his butt and clapped his feet together, then he slammed them to the ground.

Suddenly the ground shook violently and a jagged fissure cracked and split open between them. Edward got to his feet and moved away from the fissure. Kaoru stepped back looking at the fissure angry that he had forgotten Alchemy could also be done with the feet.

His eyes widened with horror as a gigantic stone hand grabbed the edge of the fissure. Then a head emerged and a stone fiery creature emerged, crawling out of the fissure. Kaoru followed the creature as it rose to its full height and cranked his neck up to look at the over one hundred meter high stone creature facsimile of Edward Elric.

"How confident do you feel now, Kaoru?" Edward said.


"Attack!" Edward ordered, and the stone creature clapped its hands and launched an Alchemy attack, uprooting the ground beneath Kaoru, forcing him to leapt away. Then the creature clawed its hands into the ground and launched boulders at him. Kaoru used his sword to slice some of the boulders in half, but he felt overwhelmed and retreated to what he hoped was a safe distance from the creature. But with a creature of his magnitude and size, he felt out-matched even with Hohemheim's sword. He still had not learned to wield its mighty power. He hadn't had the opportunity to practice. But then he thought perhaps now was the time.

But he needed the energy of the Philosopher Stone to amplify its power. So he reached deep inside to summon its ability. Emptiness. He could no longer feel Alphonse Elric's presence inside his mind. But that was impossible? He would have felt if Alphonse Elric escape. Wait, he thought. That dog he recalled had an powerful aura around it. And it attacked him with such precision and viciousness that someone had to have been directing it. It must have been Alphonse Elric! No, it can't be!

The creature caught up to him. He had been so inner-focused that he had momentarily forgotten about Edward Elric's mammoth creation.

A large boulder came soaring towards him, but he quickly reacted and sliced it in half. As the pieces fell, he ran between them and between the creature's legs as it reached for him. For such a large creature it was pretty fast, but apparently not fast enough to catch him, and he ran away from the creature as it turned around to begin the pursuit again.


Edward smirked smug as he watched his handiwork at work. But as he watched Kaoru running from his creation he failed to realize an unforeseen danger.

Suddenly movement caught his eye and looked over at Envy on the other side of crater waving at him, as if saying good-bye. Then he blew him a kiss.

Edward was immediately disgusted.

Without warning his Automail hand leapt from a blind spot below and onto his face and clasped on tight. Edward struggled against its iron-tight grip, but to no avail. His Automail arm was useless to him and with every movement of his broken arm it caused him agonizing pain. He staggered back and started to panic. There was no one to help him. He was all alone.

His plan had backfired and now his own hand was suffocating the life out of him, and there was nothing he could to prevent it.

To be continued...