"Brother..!"
Manami heard a familiar voice, but it was so hard to open her eyes...
"Manami..!"
"Nngh…" She groaned softly when she heard the voice call her name and went to open her eyes.
Her vision was so blurry...
"You're okay!"
Manami yelped when she felt a tight embrace, also realizing that someone else was mushed against her. Judging that she heard him yelling out in pain practically in her ear, she deduced that it was Ed.
"Ow, ow, ow! Al! Don't hug so tight! Ribs are broken!"
"I-I'm sorry..!" Manami's vision cleared to see Al in front of them, hunching over as he shook softly.
"I-I thought you two were… I thought you were dead..!"
Manami's eyes saddened at the sight. She knew all too well how painful it was to feel so alone… Ed did too, and he sighed softly, going to put his hand on Al's helmet.
"I'm sorry… it must've been hard…" He said quietly.
"We're okay now, Al…" Manami said quietly, offering a small smile. "... I-I got something for you…"
Al looked up to see Manami holding up her hand with his own gloved over it.
"Huh..? You still had my hand..?" He asked quietly.
"Of course…" Manami chuckled weakly as she went to take it off and hand it back to him.
"Heh…" He chuckled softly as he took it. "I-I got some things of yours too…"
Al reached over to where he had tied her jacket— along with her other fan— to his hip. He untied it and went to hand them both back to her.
"Thanks…" Manami looked up to him, unable to hold back her smile.
She really was back… and couldn't be happier to see Al again.
"Where are we, anyway?" Ed asked as he went to stand and look around. "It's so dark…"
As Al helped Manami up to stand up, they all jumped at the sound of an unfamiliar voice.
"Surprising…"
They quickly turned to see a man in white robes and blonde hair emerge from the darkness.
"People coming out of Gluttony's stomach..? I don't believe that's happened before…"
"What… Hohenheim?!" Ed gasped, making Manami gasp as well.
Ed and Al's dad?!
"Who are you three..?" Hohenheim didn't seem to pay attention to them as he pondered aloud.
"Automail limbs… a metal body… and a girl..? Hmm…" He leaned in close to Ed's face, studying his face closely.
"You boys… are you the Elric brothers?"
"Wouldn't your dad know you guys..?" Manami asked quietly to Al. He shrugged.
"So, you're not..?" Ed blinked.
"Have you mistaken me for someone else?" The Hohenheim look-alike rubbed his chin. "Hohenheim… Ho...hen… ah!" He looked back to them.
"You couldn't possibly mean Van Hohenheim?! How are you acquainted with him?"
"He's… our father…" Al answered quietly.
"Your father?!" The man grabbed Ed by the head. "This is indeed surprising! I had no idea he had children!" He laughed as he patted Ed's head.
"If that's the case… why are your names 'Elric?'" He asked, and Ed batted the man's hand away.
"Elric is our mother's name!" Ed yelled. "Who are you anyway?! And why do you look just like him?!"
"Do you know where Hohenheim is? He can't be dead…"
"Would you listen?!" Ed gritted his teeth.
"Are you three injured?" The man looked them over, then reached towards Al. "Your hand is missing…"
"I-I have it right here…" Al went to hold it up.
"Not to worry…" The man gently took the hand and held it against Al's hand-less wrist. In a flash of red light, the hand was attached back to his arm.
"Ah!" Al gasped, looking over his hand.
How did he do that?!
"And you," He reached for Ed's arm, and he yelped out when he pulled on it. "Your arm is broken…"
More red sparks flashed, and Ed went to rip off his makeshift splint.
"It's… not broken anymore..!"
"How about your head? Your shoulders?" The man went to pat Ed down.
"Ow!"
"Broken ribs…" More sparks flashed.
When he pulled away, Ed went to pat his own torso.
"What..?!"
"And you…" The man looked to Manami, who shrunk a little in intimidation.
"May I guess that you're… Miss Manami Kami?"
"How did you..?" She trailed off, taking a nervous step back as the man approached her.
"You've been a little troublesome… but you're just as precious."
He felt up her sides, up her stomach… his hands went further up, and Manami flinched nervously when he got close to her chest.
"Hey! Don't—" Al was about to step in, but stopped when red sparks flew.
"Hmmm…" He patted her down some more, but stopped when he noticed..
"Your shoulder…"
"Huh?" Manami followed his glance to the scar on her shoulder. "That's not—"
But red sparks flashed anyway. She looked over to see the scar completely gone.
"What..?!" She patted at it in disbelief.
It really was gone!
"You three need to keep your bodies in prime condition." The man said simply.
But how did he heal their wounds so easily? No transmutation circle… no equivalent exchange!
"You aren't human…" They all looked over to see Ling point his sword at him. "What are you?!"
"I'd ask who you are as well, but… I honestly don't care." The man shot him a glare before turning to walk away. "Gluttony, eat this fool."
"Yay!" Gluttony cheered from across the room.
"Wait, stop!" Manami called as she, Ed, and Al ran to stand defensively in front of him.
"He's our friend!" Ed added. "Don't kill him!"
But the man didn't turn to look back as he kept walking. "He is of no use to me. Your friendship with him doesn't change that."
"Brother…" Al looked to Ed. "This guy… the Homunculi keep calling him 'Father.'"
"What?" Ed and Manami gasped.
"Then… he's the one that created them…" Manami gritted her teeth as she went to put her coat back on.
"I don't like it… those eyes, that attitude…" Ling growled. "He looks down on us humans... calls us fools!"
Suddenly, the man turned to look back at them.
"When you notice an insect on the ground… do you stop to consider it a fool? The life of an insect is so far beneath you that it would be a waste of time even consider judging it. That is how I truly feel about you humans."
Suddenly, Ed clapped his hands and smacked them on the floor, sending a wall towards Father, but it was deflected without him even lifting a finger.
"You may have healed our wounds, but that doesn't make us friends!" Ed yelled. "You're the root of all this evil, so we're gonna take you down! Throw any cronies you got at us!"
"Cronies?!" Envy snapped. "How dare you, Pipsqueak!"
"Don't call me that!" Ed shouted as he clapped his hands again and transmuted the pipes below them to go towards Envy and Gluttony, but they suddenly whipped towards Father and wrapped around him.
"Got the boss!" Ed yelled out, but suddenly…
WHOOSH!
Red sparks flew and completely obliterated the pipes.
"?!" They all gasped.
Envy raised his paw to swipe at them, but they quickly dodged.
"Now that I got both my fans back..!" Manami jumped back and waved her fans. "How about a little of this?!"
Suddenly, Envy's eyes exploded.
"GAAAH!" He roared, going to rub at them as the sparks flew to regenerate them. "What the hell was that?!"
Thankfully, the Elric brothers and Ling were distracted by Father to really understand what Manami did. She wasn't a fan of using this technique, as it was a lot more destructive than anything else she used it for... but, when it came to the Homunculi, she had made the exception.
While Envy was distracted with regenerating his eyes and swinging blindly, Ed, Al, and Ling all went to strike at Father… but he depleted Ed and Al's transmutations before they could even reach him. When Ling jumped at him to strike, a pillar came out of the ground and knocked him away.
"What a waste of time…" The man mumbled, before he moved his foot and stepped down. Suddenly, the room darkened as there was a brighter flash of red than before. There was a gust of wind that whooshed past them, but other than that...
"..?" Nothing else happened.
Ed quickly went to clap his hands and put them on the ground, but… his eyes widened when nothing happened.
"... what?"
Al went to do the same, and got the same result.
They tried once more, and still nothing happened.
"Manami..! Try your wind alchemy!" Ed called to her.
"?!" Manami went to wave her fans, and nothing happened.
"Wh-What..?!" Her eyes widened.
"We can't transmute?!" They all gasped.
But they were interrupted by Envy pinning Ed and Al down with both his legs, and wrapping his tail around Manami once again to lift her into the air.
"Gah!"
"Guys!" Ling went to run after them, but Gluttony grabbed him and pinned him down as well.
"Ling!" Ed grunted. "What the hell is this?!"
"Why can't we transmute?!" Al asked.
"You stupid humans never cease to amuse me," Envy laughed. "As soon as you fools obtain the slightest bit of power, you think you rule the world! And then you're arrogant enough to think you're the one in control of it!"
"What are you bastards planning?!" Ed asked. "You said you'd tell us everything if we got out of Gluttony!"
"... huh?" Envy scoffed. "Like I'd stoop so low as to making a deal with the likes of you."
"Why you..!" Manami grunted as she struggled in her bind.
"Hush now, Envy." Father spoke. "You talk too much."
"Sorry, Father…" Envy bowed his head.
Father turned to look down at Ling. "Hmm… perhaps you may be of some use to me, after all."
"?!" Everyone gasped.
"I could always use a new pawn… and it so happens that there's been a recent opening." He went to touch his forehead, and out dripped a red liquid.
The Philosopher's Stone?!
"You're going to do that?" Envy asked.
"What do you mean 'that?'" Ed demanded.
"He's making a new Homunculus." Envy sneered. "That stone will be added to his bloodstream… and if it's able to merge, then a human-based Homunculus will be created!"
"If it's able to merge..?" Manami whispered. "But, if it it's not able to, then…"
"It's more common for the stone to overpower the subject and kill them." Envy said, as Gluttony ripped off the bandage on Ling's cheek, revealing a small scratch.
"No! I won't let you do that!" Ed and Al struggled in Envy's grip, clapping their hands and smacking the ground desperately.
Manami wriggled in Envy's tail, but just like before… it was too strong to push her way out!
"Let him go!" She yelled.
"He's got someone waiting for him!" Ed added. "Let him go you—"
But then he remembered he had Riza's pistol in his back pocket. He quickly drew it out and went to aim it at Envy, but then he was faced with the people in Envy's body, crying.
"Can you really shoot such sad faces?" Envy asked him.
"Don't shoot, Ed!" Ling suddenly shouted, earning everyone's attention.
"This is exactly what I want! You three stay out of it!"
"This isn't what you want, Ling!" Manami shouted back. "If this goes wrong, you'll die! There's got to be another way—"
"I came here to find a Philosopher's Stone! If this guy just wants to hand me one, I'd be a fool to pass up the opportunity!"
"You're not thinking straight!" Ed argued.
"Well, well…" Father hummed. "This is new… but we'll see if your body is as willing as your mind."
He went to drop the stone on Ling's scratch, and it quickly sunk under Ling's skin.
"STOP" Manami cried as they watched Ling start to pulsate, red sparks flying out of him as he screamed out in agony.
"LING!" Ed called.
"I told you… TO STAY OUT OF THIS!" Ling screamed. "DON'T YOU DARE INTERFERE!"
All they could do was watch as Ling flailed and thrashed about, unable to stifle his screams.
"Stay back… I-I know what I'm doing…" Ling looked over to them. "You're dealing with the future Emperor of Xing..!"
He vomited blood and screamed out again. But then… the sparks stopped, and Ling finally stopped screaming. He was still for a moment, but then he grunted and went to rub the back of his neck.
"Ngh…"
"... L-Ling..?" Ed called his name, earning he Xingese prince's attention.
"... huh?" A different voice came from Ling's mouth. "Oh, is that the guy I took this body from?"
"?!" Manami's eyes widened in horror.
"Sorry…" Ling grinned devilishly as the bandage fell off his left hand, revealing an Ourosboros tattoo!
"Your buddy had just checked out, and left Greed with this body..!"