Here's an old updated chapter that I have added onto. A major change from the last time and more words and scenes added. Thanks for staying with me even though I haven't updated this story in about 2 years... Really sorry about that by the way. So here's an extra-long chapter! I hope you enjoy it!
'Well Fullmetal, it looks like we've landed ourselves in a pit of hell'
A body shifted, groaning in slight pain while opening his golden eyes and struggling to get up. "Where am I?" Lifting his hand to his mouth to prevent some of the smell from around him from reaching his nose, the stench suddenly got worse. Pulling his hand back in disgust, he looked at it only to realize what was on it, "Blood?" He jumped out of his position on his knees, looking around with a frightened gaze, "What the... What is this place? Al? Hey! Is anybody out there?"
Destroyed pieces of buildings laid around him and a skeleton of a state alchemist was slouched against a giant stone piece, showing signs of how long it has probably been here. Edward suddenly had a hard time breathing, not use to the massive stench of copper and iron around him. He suddenly clenched his fists and looked up, "WHERE IN THE HELL AM I?!"
"WHERE IN THE HELL AM I?"
Ashley jolted up, causing the substance around her to ripple and the warm object next to her to stir. "Sis, where are we?" The brunette mumbled, rubbing her eyes, only to feel something warm trickle down her face. Emily looked down only to realize she was laying in blood, jolting up in disgust.
"I have no idea on where we are, however, I think that the Truth dude of yours brought us here," Ashley muttered, glancing at the girl who looked up at her.
"We're in the show, I'm sure of it. What I know of this part is that Edward, Ling Yao, and Envy get eaten by Gluttony and are stuck in here until they all group up to get out of here. We need to either find Ed or Ling, cause finding Envy probably wouldn't be in our best interests." Ashley gave a shaky nod, not wanting to think about the probability of that happening.
Fire blazed around Ed as he wadded around, not straying too far from the spot he woke up from. "Hello? Can anyone hear me?" Ed moved forward some more, "Hello? Anybody? WHAT THE HELL IS THIS PLACE! Dammit... IT'S LING'S FAULT, THAT IDIOT PRINCE!"
"Who do you think you are to call me that?"
Ed perked up, "Ling!"
"You can't call the future emperor of a nation an idiot"
Ed ran towards him, "Are you all right?" He suddenly stopped. "Hold on..."
"What's wrong?"
Ed pointed at him, "How do I know you're not Envy in disguised?"
"Oh come on! Do you want me to recite the hotel room service menu from top to bottom?"
"All right, you're Ling."
"What about you? How do I know you're not Envy you, little runt?" Ed charged at him, trying to hit him with at least one of his kicks but Ling blocked them every time.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A LITTLE RUNT YOU JERK!"
"Ok, it's really you."
"Hey, did you hear that?" Emily turned towards her older sister, keeping a steady pace while they trudged through the coppery smelling liquid.
"Yeah, I'm guessing that's Ed?"
"Yes, and I'm thinking they have found each other now, so we just have to follow their voices and it should lead us to them."
"How did we even get here?" Ed stopped, turning to look at the surrounding objects.
"Last thing I remember, Gluttony swallowed us whole."
"So you think this cavern-less void is the inside of Gluttony's stomach?"
"Most likely." Ling turned and pointed his torch to something behind him, Ed followed his gaze, "Look there" Ed gasped. "That's the abandoned house we were hiding in. Also, check this out." He turned to look behind Ed.
"And that's the lieutenant's car!"
"I'm guessing all the fire is from the colonel's attack."
"Yeah, well that proves it. But how could Gluttony's belly be this huge?"
"I have no idea, but I sincerely doubt this is a very pleasant place."
Ed looked behind Ling and replying with a "Gimme that", snatched his torch and ran behind him over to a mound of dirt.
"What is it?"
Ed climbed on top of the dirt pile and shoved the torch into the soil below him, "Ling, look at this!"
"Is that Al's?"
"Why is it just his hand? Maybe he didn't get swallowed! Then he's safe, but he's gotta be freaking out, wondering where we are now. I wish there was some way I could contact him..." Ed suddenly raised his arms and Al's hand in the air, waving it around. "AHHHHHH! AWAKEN TELEPATHIC POWERS! ELRIC TELEPATHY! AHHHHHH!"
"Yea good luck with that." Ling muttered, walking away from the older Elric.
"Come on! We are almost there!" Emily snagged her sister's hand and started dragging her at an increased rate towards where all the shouting could be heard, hoping to get there on time before they somehow disappeared again. They could see two people walking now, carrying two torches. Quickly, both of them hid behind a pillar, not wanting to be seen quite yet.
"This place is like a wasteland of buildings and human remains. They are all from different periods." Ed muttered, gazing curiously at the pieces of rubble around him.
"I'm starting to wonder if there's even a way out of here"
"If not, then I'll make us one" Ed declared confidently.
"You will, will you? How and where?"
Blue flashes of light could be seen from where the two girls hid, in which Ed seemed to be making a well. "Ok, now drop the torch," was all the two heard, the rest they couldn't get. They saw Ling and Ed drop one of the two torches they had into the well and watched as they waited for a sigh that it had hit the bottom.
...
...
...
None came.
The two guys took off sprinting in a random direction and the girls tried to keep up, "There has to be a wall!" Ling yelled, running beside Ed with tears of fright running down his face.
"There has to be a wall no matter how huge this place is! If we keep heading straight there has to be some kind of exit somewhere!"
"This is really starting to get old..." Ling muttered, trying not to pass out from exhaustion. "Blood doesn't make for good terrain..."
"I noticed... And we're still not any closer to an exit..."
"I'm starving to death..."
"As soon as we're out, I'll let you order anything from room service, and you can eat as much as you want and sleep as long as you like..." Ed heard a splash behind him and turned. "Ling?"
Ling had fallen onto a log, groaning in pain, "I can't make it," he muttered.
"Don't tell me, you're giving up so soon? Are you that pathetic? It's bad enough when you collapse in the street, but here? Get up, come on! Quit being so weak!"
"Just go..."
"Eh, you spineless jellyfish! All right, fine then! Give up and die if you want, but you're not dragging me down!" Ed turned and started to march through the red liquid, turning to face Ling again, "I'm seriously leaving you here!" Ed turned around again and marched forward some more before stopping again, "I'm not messing around Ling!"
"When do you think we should show ourselves?' Ashley murmured to the brunette beside her.
"I think when they're eating Ed's boot..."
"They eat his boot?" Ashley replied in disgust, shivering at the thought.
"Yea, because it's leather and leather is edible"
"Nasty..."
"However, Envy appears soon after they eat, which means we will only have a small amount of time to talk and do introductions." Ashley nodded, following her sister behind another pillar to get closer.
Ed grunted, struggling to lift Ling's heavy body, "I thought you were gonna leave me behind," Ling muttered, slouched over Ed's shoulder.
"There are way too many people alive to be let down by dying here. And you've got people waiting for you to get back too, right?" Ed struggled to talk, having the torch in his mouth and carrying Ling was quite hard. "So shut up, you strong enough to- AHH!" Ed tripped over a rock, sending Lind and him flying into the blood. After walking a few feet however, they realized that they had found a platform, scrambling onto it, breathing heavily.
"So hungry..." Ling muttered, not being able to move from fatigue. "I wish we could find something to eat..."
"Actually..." Ed sat up, and Ling turned towards him while Ed pulled off his boot, emptying out the liquid that was inside of it, "leather goods are edible, we've got a meal!" Ed grinned.
The two sisters peered around a piece of stone they were hiding behind, seeing a fire and a pot of what they heard Ed say was "boot stew". "Should we go now?" Ashley turned towards the younger of the two, Emily looked at her and nodded.
"Yeah, let's go"
"Ed, do you hear that?" Ling turned, facing the darkness and squinting, trying to see whatever he heard. Two figures emerged from behind what appeared to be a piece of stone, both look female as well.
"Hello? Who are you?" Ed called out, the sisters moved closer.
Once in clear view, Ed and Ling could see them clearly. The taller one having straight blonde hair going down to the middle of her back, the shorter of the pair having wavy brunette hair, going slightly past her neck. "Umm... Hi? I'm Emily, and this is my older sister Ashley." The brunette pointed to the blonde next to her, who just waved and smiled.
Ling turned to face Ed, "How do we know that's not Envy?"
Ed thought for a moment, "I don't know, he could've had her in a headlock or something..."
Ling nodded, "I can't feel anything strange coming from the two of them, but the blonde one, I do feel something weird coming from her."
Ed nodded, "Ok, you can come over here." The two sisters sloshed through the liquid and climbed onto the platform. "I'm Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist and this is Li-"
"Ling Yao, twelfth crown prince of the eastern nation of Xing and the liege of the Yao clan." Ling bowed, taking Ashley's hand and kissing it.
"Umm, yeah nice to meet you too..." Ashley blushed taking her hand back and hiding it behind her.
"We have some soup if you're hungry" Ed signaled to the pot at the center of the foundation, cooking above a fire.
Emily shook her head, "we're not, but thanks anyway" she declined, smiling at him.
"Ok, well that should do it" he turned towards the fire and grabbed an iron bowl, scooping out some of the steaming soup. "Here you go," he handed the bowl to Ling who took it gratefully, and Ed grabbed another dish, serving himself some of the meal.
"You don't have athlete's foot, do you?"
"MY FOOT IS METAL YOU IDIOT!"
After finishing the entire pot of soup, the fire slowly died out and the guys were full, laying on there backs patting their stomachs. "Oh man, that shoe filled me up!"
"I'm sorry Ed..."
"For what?"
"It's all my fault that you're here"
"Is not! Besides, this place is a joke compared to what my teachers put me through. It just sucks that we have no idea where this place is..."
Emily decided to join the conversation, "How long have you two been in here anyway?" The guys looked towards them.
"Almost a day I think... How about you two?" Ed asked the question that has been bugging him since the girls turned up.
Emily looked towards her sister, asking for help, "A few days" Ashley told them, "My sisters an alchemist, which has been very useful down here." Emily gave her sister a light punch, looking into her eyes and gave her a hard just shrugged in return.
"And can you do anything?" Ling asked, signaling towards the older of the two, who just shook her head.
"Nothing special," she shrugged, "just the basics of what we learned from our parents."
"That's alright, as long as we try, we can find an exit out of here," Ed sat up, Ling following his action.
"You're sure optimistic."
"Not really," replied Ed, "I'm just stubborn, and if I even think of giving up, I have Al's iron fist to look forward too!" Ed grinned, suddenly wondering why Ling got up quickly. "What's wrong?"
"There's something out there." Ling stated, the girls looked towards each other, eyes both widening, knowing what was to happen next. "Is that... Envy?"
"I thought so. I should have known it'd be you guys," a scowl clearly evident on his face. He tilted his head curiously at the two new additions the prince and alchemist had with them.
Ling got in position to fight and Ed jumped up beside him, "It's definitely Envy, get behind us girls."
"PLEASE SHOW ME THE WAY OUT OF HERE!" Ed yelled, pointing to the Homunculus who was getting closer to where the group was located.
"You're just going to start begging the enemy for help like that?!" Envy sat on a rock, staring at the two argue.
"IF IT MEANS SURVIVING I'LL BE HIS BEST FRIEND!"
They continued yelling at each other until Envy spoke up, "it doesn't matter because there is no exit!" Everyone's gaze shot to the Homunculus, "you've gotten us into a really fine mess. I can't believe you got me swallowed with you." He put his hand on his forehead, sighing in the process.
"You just said swallowed. So we really are inside Gluttony's stomach?" Ling asked.
"Well, yes and no. See it's a lot more complicated than that. Just ask the pipsqueak," Ed flinched, "I mean the alchemist, he should realize what place this is."
"I did notice something when Gluttony swallowed us, it was like I had a familiar feeling."
"So you do remember then, this isn't the first time you've been through this." Envy stared at Ed waiting for him to figure it out.
Ed gasped, finally realizing what exactly Envy meant. "The portal of Truth! But... But it wasn't pitch black and filled with a sea of blood. It was more like... like an entirely white void!"
"Oh yeah? So that's what the real one looks like."
"The real one?" Ed asked, shock written on his face.
"Gluttony is a failed experiment by our Father to create his own portal of Truth."
"He's a... What?!"
"Despite how powerful our Father is, he still couldn't create one. We're trapped inside a defective portal of Truth. So this place exists somewhere in between reality and Truth."
"In between?!"
"And I can assure you that there's no way out of here. The only option we've got is to sit here until our strength runs out, and that's it."
"All we can do is wait here and die."
"Ashleyyy." The blonde shook her head, trying to get the annoying feeling out of her mind. "Ashley! You stupid human! Listen to me!"
"Who the hell is there!"
"It's Truth."
"And what might you want?"
"Your toll for the gate."
The oldest sister gulped, "and what might the toll be?"
"I wanted it to be a surprise but I guess that won't be able to happen." Truth muttered, "You're not exactly losing much, the same goes for your sister."
"Hurry up and spit it out already!"
"Fine!" The figure grumbled some more, your sister is an alchemist like Fullmetal and his brother. She still has to do transmutations with a circle though, which will prevent you two from becoming sacrifices, just to be safe."
Ashley nodded, "ok, and what about me?"
"You're a Chimera. I won't tell you specifically what you are, but you should find out in due time."
"So we will be fine if we don't die... I can live with that. There is one thing I need to ask you... Will we ever return home?"
"That decision is up to you and your sister. You will know when the time comes. Now hurry and help, because problems are going to be starting soon. I will keep in touch."
"No way..." Ed murmured, golden eyes wide in fright. "Don't think I'm falling for any of that crap! I know you're lying to us Envy!"
"So there really isn't a way out... We're gonna die here..." Ling muttered, fear evident in his voice.
"Wait... No... Hold on... I can't die here! What's Al going to do if I die?! I made a promise! He needs me to get back to normal! Dammit... I wanna know who your Father is! Who would try to create their own portal! IT'S FUHRER BRADLEY, ISN'T IT!"
Envy scoffed, "What? Are you serious? huh, nice try but King Bradley is nothing more than a Homunculus."
"Told you so," Ling muttered beside Ed, who clenched his teeth.
"The Fifth Laboratory... human lives sacrificed to make philosopher stones... Homunculi... And if the Fuhrer is on your side then I'm guessing you're the ones behind Ishval!
"Oh no..." Emily murmured next to her sister, "this is where the battle starts..."
"Oh, Ishval!" Envy's eyes widened in delight, "Hahaha! I couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable job than that! You remember the incident that started the war right?"
"I had always heard it was because a military officer accidentally shot an Ishvalan child..."
"Yep!" Envy stood, " And the one that proudly pulled the trigger was none other than yours truly! You have no idea how good that felt! I ravished their entire country with a single bullet!" Envy maniacally laughed some more. "I mean talk about invigorating! Oh, and the best part? The officer that I pretended to be? He was actually a moderate who had always publicly opposed the military occupation in Ishval. And listen to this! The poor fool couldn't come up with a plausible defense and they court-martialed him! You know I don't think I will ever get over how easily manipulated humans are. " Ed had already started to march towards him, anger radiating off his body.
"So you're responsible. You're the one who shot and killed that poor innocent child. You destroyed my home town. You drove out the Ishvalans. You're the one who turned Scar into a murderer. And it was you... YOU'RE THE REASON WINRY'S PARENTS WERE KILLED! YOU'RE THE ONE TO BLAME!" Ed shot out a fist, punching Envy in the jaw. Red sparks crackled around them. "What the hell? You didn't budge!"
"Ok then, if that's how you want it!" Envy scowled, red lightning and sparks surrounded the two as Ed stepped back.
"Ed get back!" Ling called out. Envy rose shakily to his feet tilting side to side on the rock.
"I'm going to show you four something neat before we die." His muscles began to expand and he started to get a green tinge to his body. "CONSIDER IT A PARTING GIFT!" His entire body grew in size, his hair growing in length.
"Did you notice his footprints? Back when we were all fighting in the forest?"
"What? No? What's your point?"
"Just that he's freakishly heavily, even for the size of his body." The four of them looked up, the girls standing on the platform still. "He might be a bit bigger than he looks." Envy's huge lizard-like body dropped down to his six legs, splashing the blood in waves knocking everyone down.
"Damn!" Edward got to his feet, crouching slightly on the ground.
"What the hell?!" Ling was able to get to his balance, "How is that a Homunculus?! They're supposed to be artificial humans, right?!"
"Ash!" Emily called out, the force of the wave separating the two. She heard a whimper, seeing her sister kneeling against a rock, a gash on her side, and a wound on her temple from the impact. "Ashley? You ok?" The brunette asked, crawling closer to her.
She wheezed and coughed, "Yeah, just a little banged up. Nothing serious."
Something splashed behind them. Turning, Emily saw it to be slime? No! Heads, leaking, and falling from Envy's body to the liquid below, the ones still attached yelling at the group on the ground. "Hell no... You go and play by yourself!" Ed shouted, backing away from the Homunculus.
"This isn't good!" Ling replied, Envy laughed behind him, throwing him into the air then slamming him into the ground.
"Ling!" Ed called out, only to get hit by Envy's tail and hear him laughing some more.
Ling got up, "Ed!" he called, charging towards Envy, only to be hit again and landing next to the alchemist.
Turning, Envy started to face the sisters who were still laying in the spot they landed at. He began moving closer to them, hearing noise from the right again.
"Leave them alone!" He turned again to face the alchemist and the prince who had gotten up and began charging at him, Ling holding a sharp blade and Ed using his automail sword.
Envy laughed again, swinging his tail back and forth, ready to knock them down again. "Bring it on," he growled.
Did you like it? Haha, it took me a while, having to pause the show, go back, keep it paused while I added extra stuff... Yeah, you get it. I'm thinking this entire story will be an episode per chapter, which means since this is episode 24 and there are 64 total episodes... There will be probably around 40, maybe a few more. And they should be pretty long, seeing how this one is a little under 4,000 words. Thanks for reading and I should be updating Sunday, and if not, then Monday for sure! See you next week :)