...Crap this ended up being long...Hope you guys enjoy it! Just so you know I have a few other one shots for this AU. I really recommend reading the one entitled Nightmares before this for a bit context, but if not that's fine. Hope you like it. Sorry if its a bit of a mess. ^^; I tried my best but I don't know how well it really turned out compare to what I imagined it to be...
"You're planning on doing what now?" Pinako question, adjusting her glasses to look at him in bafflement, "You can't be serious!"
William looked her dead in the eye from across the table. He hadn't touched his tea since they began this talk. "I assure you, I'm completely serious," he said, "The boys need Dad back in their lives. We can't just keep waiting around for him to return. We don't even know what's happened to him. For all we know he could be dead right now!"
"So you're just going to leave those boys all on their own?" she questioned, narrowing her eyes at him and folding her arms over her chest, "They already feel alone and scared. If you leave it will only make things worse! Can't you take them with you?"
"I can't," William responded, "If dad really is in trouble, and he's in trouble with the person I think he might be…" William glared at the floor. "...It would be way too dangerous to bring them with. They could die or worse…" he explained, his fists clenching over each other as he rested his chin on his knuckles. "And I wasn't going to leave them alone," he said, "That's why I'm telling you about this."
She raised an eyebrow. "You want me to look after those boys on top of my own granddaughter while you're off god knows where?" she asked him.
"I know it's a lot to ask of you," he said with a sigh, "But I'm begging you, please help me with this. Just for a little while."
She stared at him for a moment before sighing and nodding. "Alright. While I still don't approve of this crazy scheme of yours, I'd be damned if I let those boys live all on their own without anyone to look after them."
William smiled at her. "You have no idea how grateful I am towards you right now," he said.
She shrugged in response. "Just make sure you come back quickly," she said, "I don't care if you're right on that man's tail, if you're gone for more than a year and a day, you're going to get more than an earful from me."
William chuckled. "Duly noted," he said with a smile before it fell, "Now, I need to tell you some things to be aware of before I go."
….
A few weeks had passed since that day and William was finally ready to head out. He had warned Pinako to not let them back into the house unless they were being watched as they were there in case they thought about trying the taboo again. They were allowed to have their elementary alchemy books back, however, but only those. Any others found in their possession that weren't library books were to be confiscated. He also warned her about anyone asking about them. He told her that if comes asking about Hohenheim or about the boys, to pretend not to know Hohenheim and keep them away from that person, to even say there were her son and Sarah's children instead.
With that taken care of he was all packed and ready to leave, but his brothers weren't ready to say good bye.
"Please don't go!" Alphonse practically begged as he clung onto William's arm, "Is this because of us sneaking into dad's lab and taking his notes? We're really sorry! Please don't leave!" Meanwhile Edward was just glaring angrily at him.
"Alphonse, it's going to be alright," he said, "I won't be gone for long. I promise. You miss dad too, right? Well I'm going to go find him. I'm gonna make sure he comes back and helps me take care of you two."
"Whatever…" Edward muttered.
William turned to him and frowned. "What was that?" he questioned.
The boy continued to glare at him. "If you're going to leave, just leave," he said, hurt clear in his voice although he was trying to cover it with bite, "Go ahead and run off! Have fun frolicing around the country with dad or something."
"Edward," he said walking over to him and folding his arms. "I am coming back. I will come back!" he said, "I promise that."
Edward continued to glare at him, but there was hope and trust in his eyes behind the cold look. "You better!" he warned, "Cause if you don't, I'll go after you and kick your ass!"
William smirked before he chuckled and ruffled Edward's hair. The boy scrunched up his nose in annoyance. "I'd love to see you try pipsqueak!" he joked, causing him to growl, "But don't worry. I'll be back."
"Don't call me small…" Ed grumbled.
"Oh but this might be my last chance I get!" William joked, "Maybe next time I see you, you'll finally have hit your growth spurt…though probably not."
"Shut up!" Ed said, "You'll see! I'll be plenty tall once you get back!"
"We'll see," William said with a shrug before giving his brother a hug, "See ya soon, squirt. You and Alphonse stay out of trouble, ok? And make sure you listen to Pinako."
"No promises," Ed mumbled as he returned the hug.
William smirked as he pulled away. "That's fine, I'll just make Alphonse promise," he responded. He then turned to said brother. "Hey bud," he said as he gave him a hug, "You two take care of yourself while I'm gone and make sure your brother doesn't get into too much trouble, alright?"
The little boy nodded as he tightly hugged his brother back. "I'm gonna miss you…" he said.
"I'll miss you guys too. But don't worry," he said, "I'll be back before you know it. You'll see." With that he stood back up and grabbed his suitcase before heading out. "I'll see you boys later," he called as he walked away, "Take care!"
"You two, Will!" Alphonse called as he waved. Ed just stood there as he watched his older brother leave. As he did so, he frowned. He wanted to believe Will, but he couldn't help but feel like he wouldn't be able to keep his promise.
….
When William first set off to find Hohenheim, hadn't a clue of where he could be. However, he did know where he wasn't or wouldn't be. He and his father had discussed the general plan before hand. Since he believed she was living in Dublith, he would have stopped there first to get her attention. Then he would move from there and lead her away, moving from town to town, hanging around for a few weeks to make as much "noise" as possible before moving onto the next. So if he caught wind of the man having been in the area, he knew he had to immediately leave and head out to the next town. Soon enough, he would catch up to him. He made very few pit stops along the way, only pausing in his travels a few times when he met up with one of his father's friends. He stopped in Xenotime and was surprised to find Nash Tringham living there.
….
Nash yawned as he walked to the door. Mentally he dreaded to see who it could be, but at the same time he knew he couldn't disrespect Mugear by not answering. He'd be feeling the man's wrath soon enough if that were the case. However, he was pleasantly surprised, and mildly confused, to find another familiar face standing there instead.
"William?" He question.
"Hello, Nash," he said with a smile, "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"14 years…" the man said, staring at the young man as if baffled by his presence, "You haven't changed a bit…" When they had first, William had said he was 18. He should be in his early thirties by now, and yet he did not look like he had aged a day!
William hid his nerves with a smile and a shrug. "It's a Hohenheim trait I suppose. We tend to age rather gracefully," he lied, rubbing the back of his neck and chuckling good naturedly as he did so. "May I come in?" he asked.
Nash hesitated but nodded before opening the door to let him in. Once he had come inside, Nash poured some coffee for the two of them and they began talking. He was surprised to learn all of what had happened to the young man. How he had settled down in Risembool to live with his father, how he had two younger brothers, how his stepmother had passed away, and how he was currently trying to find his father.
"I heard he was in town. Did you see him at all? Did he tell you where he was going?" William asked.
"I did briefly," Nash said, "But he didn't tell me where he was going. I'm sorry."
William frowned. "Oh, thanks anyways," he said, before taking a sip of his coffee, "So how have you been?"
The man smiled but there was sadness in his eyes. "Oh, could be worse I suppose…" he said, "Currently, I'm trying to research how to make an alchemic amplifier for someone, so at least I'm funded."
William paused mid sip as a warning signal went off in his head. "Really?" he asked, trying to seem as if nothing was wrong, "For who?"
"A man named Mugear," he explained, allowing Will to relax slightly, "He owns the town and wants to see if he can bring back the gold mines using alchemy."
William frowned again. "Nash…" he warned, "You know that's a serious federal offense. You could get into deep trouble."
The man sighed. "I know…" he said, "But he's the only one who will fund me for anything. I'm no state alchemist so if I want to be able to support my sons back home and further my work then I don't see many other choices…" he then looked down shamefully. "But the truth is, I don't think I can keep this up much longer. Things are getting out of hand…" he admitted, "He keeps pushing for progress, to be able to mass produce my red water project…" He then looked up at William. "But if I do that the whole town could suffer," he admitted, "It would involve using a larger water supply among other things, and the only other larger water supply available is the river which is what the townspeople use for drinking water. The gas it gives off is already toxic. If it gets into their drinking supply…"
William nearly did a spit take. He looked at the man in absolute bafflement. Was he serious?! He his grip on his coffee cup tightened in anger, nearly making it crack. He gave the man a grave look. "Then what the hell are you still doing here?! You need to stop this immediately," he growled, "Get out of here. Find someone else to patron you or give up entirely."
Nash blinked in surprise at his forwardness. "Give up?!" he repeated.
"You heard me," William said, "This shouldn't even be a debate. It's not worth it. This sort of thing can't end well, and you know it. You need to get out while you still can. The man clearly has no moral code if he's willing to put the whole town at risk. How do you think he'll treat you once you aren't of any use to him?" This Mugear guy was reminding him more and more of another person he knew. Thank goodness he wasn't an alchemist himself. "The town doesn't need gold. It can find some other way to support itself. Besides, you have sons waiting for you back home, correct?" he continued, "Do you really think you'll be able to face them knowing you caused the deaths of dozens of people? How do you think they would feel if they ever found that out?"
Nash looked down again. "You're right…" he said, "I...I should leave…But I still don't know what to do with my research…." "It could be used for more than just gold. This could really help people...it's far from any philosopher's stone but if produced correctly it might even be able to be used to heal illness," he said.
"What you do with your research is up to you, but you need to get it the hell away from that guy's grubby hands," William said, "Completely clean house of anything and everything and don't leave a single note behind. Trust me. People like him will stop at nothing to get what they want. Even if he can't do anything with your work himself, he'll just keep looking for someone more desperate to help him."
Nash raised his eyebrows in alarm before giving the young man a thoughtful look. "You seem like you're speaking from experience…" he observed.
William rolled his jaw as he glared at the floor. "You could say that...although my father has had more," he admitted vaguely, "Let's just say that I would never want anyone to have the displeasure of meeting the person I am thinking of." Nash nodded in understanding, worried for the man but not pushing the subject any further. "I have to go," William said after a minute's silence, "Thank you for the coffee. And good luck Nash." With that, the homunculus left to continue on his journey.
...
However, when he stopped by Majhal's residence, he had been completely disgusted by what he discovered.
…
William glowered at the contents of the darkened room in disgust as the realized what was going on. The brass knob of the door began to cave in on itself from the tightness of his grip as his eyes glided over the many human dolls that stared blankly back at him. He had originally come through here because he heard his father had been heading east. He knew Majhal lived here, so he thought he might stop by and see if he had seen his father pass through here recently. The man had told him no, and Will would have just left after that, but something had caught his attention. Young teenage girls had been disappearing from here and the surrounding villages, and there had been the occasional sighting of a woman whom many claimed to have died a long time ago.
This had been a big red flag for William. Missing people and formally dead people just screamed Dante, so he decided to figure out what was going on. Little did he realize that Dante had absolutely nothing to do with this. Instead it was the very alchemist he had come here to speak with.
In hindsight, maybe William should have realized it was him all along. The man had always had an interest in bioachemy, and the normal dolls he created were creepy to begin with. Plus, the man had always pestered his father a little too much about what he was researching. But then again…who would have ever been able to foresee something so horrible?
"I see you've found my collection," a low voice said from behind.
William slowly turned to him, face grim as he glared at him. "So this what you've been up to all these years?" He growled, "Sacrificing young girls to make living dolls? Homunculi?" His voice had become louder with every word. "Why?!"he questioned, "What is wrong with you?! This is sick!"
"No, that's not what these are, though I have attempted human transmutation before," he said, "I was unfortunately never able to come up with the correct formula." "And I did this for love," he argued, "I was lost without my dear sweet Korin. She was the most perfect, most elegant woman this world has ever known. After her death, the hole in my heart that had been left behind would never heal. So I did everything I could to bring her back. When human transmutation failed, I created my own method." The man smiled proudly. "They are dolls with souls binded to them to give them life," he said, "Quiet clever isn't it? Unfortunately, souls don't really like staying bonded to a foreign body, so there have been several occasions in which some of my dolls have gone rouge and scared the villagers. But my process has been improv-" He was cut off as he was suddenly socked in the jaw by the blond man, sending him careening into a wall.
"SHUT UP!" William roared, "I don't want to hear another word out of you...you monster! You're sick Majhal! This isn't love! None of this is for love! This is nothing more than a disgusting and twisted form of lust!" His fists shook as he spoke. "These are LITTLE GIRLS you're using to make these messed up toys of yours!" he cried, "You're taking their souls and forcing them into bodies that aren't their own to become someone they're not just to fulfill your sick little reunion fantasy!" "They aren't going rogue, you bastard, they're trying to get away from you!" William continued, "I would too if my only other option was to become the toy of a demented, dirty old man like you! You're going to pay for what you've done...You can't just get away with toying with people's lives like this!"
"Toying with lives? Don't you think that's a little hypocritical?" he questioned, "After all, your 'father' did much the same thing in trying to make you, didn't he?" William froze. What was he talking about? Did he know? "Did you really expect me to believe you haven't aged at all since I last saw you? I was a young man when we met. Even if you were eighteen, you should be in your early thirties by now, and yet you still look like you just turned twenty. And don't even try to tell me that eye color of yours is a normal human color," he said, "Also, I remember Hohenheim had research with him on human transmutation way back when. It's not hard to piece together. How was what he was doing any different than me, huh? He lost his real son and replaced him with you, didn't he? And something tells me he had to crack a few eggs to make a perfect transmutation like you."
William stared at him for a moment, shocked by his words. He tried to respond, but found himself dumbly opening and closing his mouth. In Truth, his father had been trying to replace the son he had lost at first. That was why he ad come into existence. ...but he wasn't just a replacement! He was his own person!...Wasn't he? He had always carried the memories of the first William in the back of his mind somewhere, and he had willingly taken up the name...but that had been his choice! Hohenheim let him make that choice. "No!" he finally growled slamming the man against the wall, "You don't get to play head games with me. I'm not just some replacement! I'm my own entity and he understands that." He then threw him into the room with the dolls, sending him crashing into the table in the center.
William stepped forward towards him. As he did so, Majhal pushed himself to his feet, grabbing a pen off of the dented table. "You're not going to stop me…" he growled as his pen turned into a sword, "I WILL be reunited with my Korin!" He then charged at William, intending on slashing him in half. William turned his arm into a blade and backed up as the man's sword connected with it. They fought down the hallway, exchanging parries.
"How?" he demanded, "How can you justify Hohenhiem's actions in creating you but condemn mine! Regardless of if you really are 'your own entity'. He lost someone too, did he not? And are you not the result of him trying to bring that person back? You cannot deny he and I are the same!"
William's blood boiled in rage at his words as their blades clashed again. He looked upon the man with utter hatred and fury. How dare he say that! How dare he even suggest it! He wasn't...They weren't...Were they? He growled, rage boiling over. "SHUT UP!" he shouted, thrusting his arm forward, thus stabbing the man in the stomach. William's eyes widened in shock as the man fell to the ground with a loud resounding thud. The hallway fell silent as the man's life slipped away.
There was only one thing running through William's mind at the moment: Well shit. That was unintended…Well, technically it was completely intended, but william had been too fueled by rage to realize what he was doing.
He backed away from the body nervously. To be fair, this wasn't the first time he'd ended up killing someone (mostly in self defense, mind you. they had to get rid of Dante's cronies when they came after them somehow) and if he were to be truthful, we would have said the man deserved it...but he certainly did not expect this turn of events.
"Mr Majhal?" a voice called. William looked up in fear. Crap! It was the maid! He couldn't let her see him. He quickly dashed out of the building and escaped into the woods. As he ran, he couldn't get rid of this shaken feeling that had overcome him. Majahaal's words haunted him. Were his father and Majhal really so different? He had to sacrifice people too to make the stone. What was the distinction between the two? And what did this mean for what his brothers had attempted to do? He shuddered as he buried the thought. No. He would not compare them to this man. He let the questions die, but the queasy feeling did not leave his stomach.
…
Those didn't distract him from his mission for too long, but he did get thrown off by a short red herring in the form of a man named Dr. Marcoh or possibly Maroh depending on the source he got the information from. He had heard the man had been healing people with some kind of red light. He had been quite suspicious when he had heard of this, wondering if he had a connection to their father at all. If had possibly gotten any stone fragments from him.
…
It was a bright sunny day as William approached the apartment. It was only a little after noon as he glanced from the address he was given before looking up to the small apartment. He raised an eyebrow. The place looked like a hovel...though maybe that was just the outside. Well, only one way of finding out. He climbed the steps to the front door before knocking on it. "Hello?" he called, "Doctor Marcoh? You alive in there?" There was no response. He knocked again. "I just have a few questions for you," he said, "Could you come out for a minute?"
Another momentary silence passed. William huffed before he heard someone shuffling towards the door. He smiled as it opened, and he opened his mouth to introduce himself-
BANG!
Will's eyes widened and his hands flew into the air as the bullet whizzed past him. He glanced in the direction in which it went before turning back to the one who had fired it in surprise. He raised an eyebrow at the man he saw before him. He was middle aged with black hair. He looked at William positively terrified as he held his gun up, ready to fire.
"Wh-who are you? What do you want?" he demanded, "Are you with the military?! Are you going to try to take me back? Because I'm not going! You can't make me!"
William stared at the man for a long moment, processing what exactly had just happened. Once he had, he promptly turned on his heels and left. "Nope," he said, "Not dealing with anymore of this shit." With that, he left the most likely unstable man behind and continued on his quest elsewhere.
…
Still, he hadn't managed to waste more than a month on that venture. However, things became more complicated when he reached the big cities. Information was either scarce due to the constant influx of new information over shadowing it or the the sheer amount of gossip making it near impossible to figure out the truth. He spent over two months just trying to figure out where Hohenheim had gone after he had been in East City. It took him even longer once he had made it to Central.
…
William sat in the pub, arms crossed over his chest as he glared down at his map. He had been extremely close on Hohenheim trail before, or at least he thought he had been, but after entering Central he lost it again. William sighed in frustration. He had been at this for almost a year in total, but still had no luck. It was almost like he was harder to find than the philosopher's stone! He was starting to wonder if Dante had gotten her hands on him or not.
He folded his hands and rested his mouth on them. He could try checking below the city. The ruins were still under there. 'Course, that might be right where Dante is hiding out, waiting for him. He growled and ran a hand through his hair. This was infuriating and seemed to be getting more and more impossible. Maybe he should just go home…
All of a sudden, two men walked into the bar. Both had black hair, although one was much taller than the other. The taller was wearing glasses and chatting away. He couldn't make out what he was saying, but he began to make out some of it as they walked up to him and sat down next to him. "Seriously Roy, this has got to be the toughest one yet!" the taller one said, "We keep finding the bodies, but it doesn't look like the victims are being killed on site. It's like they're being transported somehow…"
William raised an eyebrow, glancing over at them. The tall man had several files spread out over the table with photos of different people. William found his eye drawn to them.
The shorter man noticed his interest and raised an eyebrow at him. The taller man with glasses followed his line of sight to William. He raised an eyebrow. "I don't suppose you recognize any of these individuals, do you?" he asked.
William blinked and looked up. "Oh sorry, no," he said, "Just naturally nosey. I heard you talking and I got curious. It's not everyday someone walks into a bar talking about a murder case."
Maes shrugged. "Sorry, work's been nuts lately so it's been bleeding over into what should be my leisure time," he said, "My name's Maes Hughes by the way, and this is my friend Roy." He held out a hand to him.
The homunculus smiled. "William," he responded, taking his hand and shaking it, "So, you two are in the military, huh? Investigations, I assume?"
"You're half right," Maes said, "I'm in investigations. Roy over here is a state alchemist."
William raised an eyebrow at that. "Is that so?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm a little surprised you didn't recognize him sooner," he responded, "He's a bit famous around here, at least as far as state alchemists go."
William shrugged. "I'm not exactly from around here so I don't know much about local celebrities," he explained.
Both men looked surprised. "Really?" Roy asked, "Where are you from, then?"
"Nowhere really," he said, "I've been traveling most of my life, but I ended up staying in a small village out east for a few years. It's very small. You probably haven't heard of it." Even though he doubted either of these men were connected to Dante, it became a subconscious habit not to say which town he had come from incase word got back to her some how. He wasn't even sure what the woman or her latest model of henchmen looked like anymore so he had to be cautious.
"I see," Roy responded, "Is this your first time in Central?"
William pause. Honestly he had lost count of how many times he had been to the capital city, but this was the first time in over half a century he had returned. "I wasn't here once before," he said, "But I was much younger then and we were just passing through."
"Sounds like you need a tour guide!" Maes said, "If you're still around during the weekend, maybe we can show you the best places here in Central."
"Thank you, but no thank you," he said, "I've stayed here long enough. I really should be moving on."
Maes raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he asked, "How long have you been in town?"
"...A few months…" William admitted.
Both men looked surprised. "Months?" Roy repeated, "Why have you been here for so long?"
William chose his words carefully. "I've been looking for someone…" he said, "I thought they might be here but I've had no luck finding them."
Maes gave him a sympathetic look while roy had a curious expression. "Sorry to hear that," he said, "I hope you have better luck here in the future. Who were you looking for?"
"A family member that I haven't seen in a few years," he said, "I lost contact with him and I wanted to make sure he was doing ok."
Maes patted him on the back while Roy continued to analyze him. "I'm sure he's alright," he said, "Have you tried going to the police to find him yet?"
"Not yet," William said, "Though that's partially because I'm not sure if he's been living in Central as of late."
"Pardon me," Roy interjected, "This may seem like a strange question...but are you related to Van Hohenheim?"
William froze at that, slowly turning to him. He shifted his body into a more defensive position. How did he know that? "Why are you asking?" he responded.
"Sorry, you just look like him," he explained, "He had been working for the military for a short time, but then disappeared rather quickly without finishing his research. I was wondering if you knew anything about where he might be."
"Sorry," he said taking a sip of his drink, "But I'm afraid I don't."
"But you know him, don't you?" he asked, "Is that who you were looking for here in Central?"
"Nope. Don't know the man," he responded, "And even if I did, why would I give information about him to total strangers?"
Roy narrowed his eyes but dropped the subject. He could tell he was lying. He didn't know why the boy was being so defensive but let him be. "Very well then," he said, "Thanks anyways." "So are you an alchemist, William? What do you do for work?" he asked trying to change the subject, "You said that you travel a lot, but you must have something to fund those travels."
"Afraid not," William responded, "Just a normal chemist. Can't draw a circle to save my life. Although I am well versed in the different theories."
"Oh really?" Roy questioned, "Like what?"
…
William ended up spending a few hours chatting away with the two men. It was really quiet fun. He hadn't really had anyone to talk about the science with besides Edward and Alphonse, but talking to his brothers about it was different. In that situation, he was acting as a teacher, having to explain things or critique them, even though those two learned really quickly and were really starting to catch up. It was almost frightening at their age. This was different. In this case, he was conversing with someone a bit closer to his experience, arguing about what variety of symbols produced the best percent yields in a reaction, stories about their experiences learning about alchemy (Although William's weren't nearly so entertaining as he couldn't draw from the memories of the past William for obvious reasons). Roy's stories of literally explosive trial and error while perfecting flame alchemy left him in stitches. And this Maes Hughes man, although not an alchemist himself, contributed some of his own misadventures, along with stories of his new spouse he had married a little over half a year prior.
Eventually, they had to part ways. William began heading down the street towards his hotel. He was thinking about just packing up and heading out west. His father seemed to be moving in a giant circle from what he can tell. Either way, he couldn't waste any more time in Central.
William walked down the darkened streets alone, with only the light of the street lamps as his companion. Every so often a car would come zooming by. One particular one had been swerving a little as it did so. William raised an eyebrow. Something told him the driver wasn't exactly sober, but it was late on a Friday night in a big city. He should be more surprised if there wasn't at least one drunk driver on the road. It passed by him and his walk fell into silence again until he heard the screeching of car tires and a loud THUNK!
William paused in his pace, nearly jumping at the noise. His shock at the sound was momentary as he quickly realized what the noise was. Someone had gotten hit. He ran down the street as fast as he could to see what had happened. He made it just in time to see the car speed away, leaving the victim sprawled on the ground in the middle of the crosswalk. William glared at the car before running up to the body lying on the ground. The victim appeared to be a teenage girl, dressed in a black, thin-strapped tank top and baggy shorts that came down to her knees and clung to them, as well as what appeared to be padded fingerless gloves and slip on shoes. She had medium length black hair up in a ponytail, aside from a few stubborn bangs that hung over the side of her face, masking it from him.
He grimaced at what he saw of her. Her thin, body had been crushed by the speeding car, her blood and insides spilling out onto the concrete. The poor girl. There was no getting up from this one. He bit his lip. He had no idea who she even was. She didn't have any bags with her, thus probably no ID. He should probably at least get her off the street and call the police though. He spotted a phone booth across the street. Perfect. He grabbed her arms, lifting her slightly...but quickly stopped and dropped her when he saw a very interesting tattoo on her right shoulder. It was the image of a snake eating its own tail. Uh Oh. He backed away as he saw the red alchemic light engulf her and stitch up her wounds. She slowly picked herself up and turned to him while cracking her back back into place.
"You just had to try and help me, didn't you?" she said before shaking her head. "Stupid human. You would have known I was dead the moment you set foot on the crosswalk, yet you still felt the need to come to my aid," she sneered, giving him an annoyed look, "Now look what you've done! I can't just let you go wandering around after you've seen what you've seen! Now I gotta make sure you can't tell anyone." She then pulled off one of her gloves. There was a hissing noise as her exposed palm was met with the humid air and wisps of vapor came off of it. Something dripped from it and began burning holes into the concrete as it met the ground. "Alright," she said with a sigh, walking towards him, "Let's just make this quick. I have somewhere important I need to be."
She lunged for him, palm outstretched. He ducked beneath her arm, narrowly dodging the drops of the corrosive liquid that came off of her palm. He twisted around her, before kicking her in the back and running down the street as fast as he could. He could have fought the homunculus girl. He might have even been able to win. However, She hadn't realized he wasn't human, and seeing as she was quite obviously in cahoots with Dante, he'd rather keep it that way.
He glanced over his shoulder and cursed as he saw her chasing after him. He quickly turned into an alleyway and shifted into a mouse to escape her. The other homunculus ran into the alley and looked around for him wildly. "Where did he go…" she growled. She began throwing trashcans aside to try and find anything hiding in them. William watched her from afar, safely tucked away inside of a small hole in the wall. He knew he should get out of here but he was still morbidly curious as to what exactly she was doing here. Was Dante in Central? And if so, for what reason? Was she trying to find something in the ruins below that had been left behind?
All of a sudden, he heard the clicking of heels. Both he and the other homunculus looked down the hall where he saw a woman in a long black dress and with wavy black hair standing. William narrowed his eyes at her. Was she Dante? However, he quickly spotted the Tattoo on her chest and realized with relief that wasn't the case. She was just another one of the witch's goons. "Envy, what are you doing rooting around in the garbage?" she questioned in annoyance, crossing her arms over each other. Her voice was low and feminine. William made sure to remember what she sounded like incase he encountered her again.
He then looked towards the teenage homunculus. So this was the new Envy. What was it with the old hag and naming all of her minions after sins? Seriously, could she be any more melodramatic? He didn't even get half of them. The last Sloth he remembered looking like a bodybuilder and he took forever to take down. How was he sloth?! He was distracted from his thoughts as the homunculi continued their conversation.
"I wasn't rooting through anything! A human slipped away from me," she grumbled, "He saw me heal myself and then slipped away in this alley. I have no clue where he went."
The other woman looked surprised before growling. "Damnit…" she hissed, "I'm afraid we don't have time to deal with that right now. I just got a message from Pride that Dante wants us to head back East."
"What? Why?" Envy questioned raising an eyebrow. William did the same. What were they planning?
"She apparently discovered something," she said, "Hohenheim may have settled in a small town called Resiembool. She heard about two boys from her former student's employee when he…" William had stopped listening at that point. His whole world seemed to freeze in that instant. This was bad. So very very bad! No wait, this wasn't bad, it was downright terrifying. She found out about them. She had figured out who they were and where they were living. How long did she know? Had she visited at some point without him even realizing? How long did he have until she decided to do something terrible to them? Not long enough to be able to ask that question that was for sure! He had to get home as soon as possible. He had to make sure they were safe. Still in his tiny mouse form, he ran out of the alley as fast as he could without either of the homunculi noticing. He scurried down a few blocks before shape shifting into a crow and taking off. He flew as fast as he could, inwardly panicking the entire time. Damnit, this whole mission was a mistake! He should never have left them vulnerable like that. He hoped they were alright. He hoped he would make it in time. That was out of his hands, unfortunately. All he could do was keep flying.
…
William had flown home as fast as he could, not resting for a minute as he did so. It had taken him two days to get there and at least an hour and a half of which was in a rainstorm, but he'd still managed to make it back to Risembool. He couldn't let those monsters get to them. He couldn't lose them too!
He crashed onto a hill before shape shifting back into his human form. He lay there on the ground for a moment, panting in exhaustion. He had never spent so much time flying before in his life. He was soaked to the bone from the rain and he felt like just lying there for a moment while his stones rejuvenated himself. As he did so, he glanced over his side to see if he could see the Rockbell house from here. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Instead, to his horror, he saw his own home, now shining an unearthly, bright, light purple light. William sat straight up, heart beating like a drum again. What the hell?! What was going on?! Why was their house glowing?! There was only one answer, and he felt his blood flash between running cold and boiling so many times, he was sure something was bound to rupture. Those idiots! Did they even have half a brain between them?! He told them never to touch those books again! They could get themselves killed!
...Oh god they could get themselves killed! They could be dying right now! What if the gate took something really important like their hearts? That thought caused another adrenaline rush of panic as he lept to his feet, running as fast as his legs could carry him across the field and up the hill to the house. The light had died when he had gotten to the house, but he had heard a scream come from it as he had gotten closer. Edward's scream.
William forced the door open, and looked around the house wildly. "ED! AL!" he cried desperately. Where could they be? Where could they be? Why hadn't they responded when he had called? He prayed to whatever divine entity there may be out there that they were still alive. They had to be. He needed them to be alive.
He heard some sort of noise come from the basement. It sounded like Alphonse's voice. William immediately bolted in the direction of the door and tore the locked door off its hinges, not even caring whether it had been locked or not before at all. "EDWARD! ALPHONSE!" he called as he ran down the stairs into the dimly lit basement. Smoke filled the room and he couldn't see what had happened until he reached halfway down the stairs. Once he had, he stopped and time seemed to do so with him. The first thing he saw was the homunculus they had created. It lay there, wheezing as desperately tried to cling to its painful existence. William stood there, looking upon it for a moment in pity and sorrow. It hadn't asked to be created. It hadn't asked to be born into such pain. Yet here it was. His brothers had created it to try and selfishly replace their mother…
He felt a twinge of anger in his chest as he forced himself to look away from it. When he did, his eyes fell on the older of the two boys and his anger immediately dissipated. His jaw fell open and he nearly screamed in horror as he saw the state of the boy. He was lying on the ground, bloody and crumpled as he lay next to a suit of armor. The boy looked up at him in surprise, visible tears in his eyes. "EDWARD!" William shouted, running over to him and scooping him up. "Edward…" he breath, about ready to cry. He felt lighter than he had been, why did he feel lighter?! His stomach twisted and he almost threw up as he noticed the boy's right arm and left leg were gone.
"W-will?" the boy said, staring up at him in disbelief, "Y-you came back...You're alive…"
"Of course I came back!" he shouted at him, "I told you I would! Just like I told you not to do...THIS!" He gestured to the transmutation circle. "Why?! Why did you do this?! What were you thinking?!" he snapped, tears now streaming down his own face. He knew why they had done it. He should have realized this would have happened from the beginning. In fact, he was more angry with himself at the moment than the two boys. Angry at himself, his father for leaving, Dante for being the root of the problem, and the world for letting this happen but he couldn't keep it bottled up. "I told you...I told you not to and now look at you…" he continued as he clutched the boy close to his chest, a small comfort for Edward amid the pain, "I was supposed to protect you, Damn it!...but you're in pieces! You and Alphonse…" He froze as he realized he hadn't seen what state Alphonse was in. He turned around, desperately swiveling his head from side to side, becoming more fearful by the second. Alphonse was nowhere to be seen. "Ed…" William said, voice shaking, "Ed where is Alphonse? Where is he-" He stopped short as his eyes fell on a spot. All that he could see was a small pile of clothing lying a small distance away. It felt like someone had speared him through the heart. His youngest brother...he was...he was….
"Will?" A tiny voice called from behind them. William turned to see the suit of armor. He gave a confused look before realization dawned on him. "Alphonse?" he questioned quietly, "Alphonse what-"
"It took him…" Ed admitted weakly, still clutching his bleeding arm, "the gate, it took him, but I couldn't lose him too…So I gave up my arm to anchor him…"
"You opened it a second time?!" William questioned in surprise.
"I couldn't...I couldn't…" Edward said weakly, face half pressed against his older brother's shoulders as tears still clung to his ducts, "It's my fault...I'm sorry…" His eyes started sliding closed, causing William to panic.
"No, no, no!" William said, shaking him slightly, "Don't do this Edward! Edward! You have to stay awake, Pipsqueak!" The boy was too out of it to even give a response. William felt his heart starting to pound again. He then turned to his youngest brother. "Alphonse, come on!" he said, "He's lost too much blood! We've got to get him to the Rockbells!" Alphonse looked at him in surprise for a moment before nodding. The two got up, Alphonse a little wobbly on his new pair of legs, but still they were able to get up the stairs. As they passed by the homunculus in the circle, it reached out to them almost longingly. William paused slightly as it did so, locking eyes with it for a moment. He could see the pain and confusion in its eyes as it looked at him almost pleadingly. He wrenched his gaze away as they headed up the stairs and ran out the door, it slamming shut behind them as they charged across the hills in the rain.
…
It had been a long time since Pinako was last awoken in the middle of the night by banging on her door. So it was no surprise that she had been startled and confused when the loud banging rang through the house. As she got to the door, it became louder and more urgent. She frowned. Who on Earth could that be? Was William finally home? But then why would he be pounding on the door like that….
She found out why when she opened the door, she was shocked by what she had found.
Her jaw fell open as she saw William standing there, covered in blood and clutching Edward to his chest with a suit of armor standing behind him. She could barely comprehend what she was seeing. She had sent the boys to bed hours ago! Why was Edward now lying passed out in William's arms?
"William? What is-" she started, but was cut off by the homunculus pushing past her.
"No time to explain!" He shouted, "Ed needs your operating room! Stat!"
"I can see that, but what happened?" the older woman questioned as she went to get her medical tools and an IV, "I put the boy and his brother to bed hours ago! How did he get like this? And who is the man in the armor?"
William's shoulders shifted and he turned to look over his shoulder at Pinako as he continued to keep pressure on Ed's arm and leg. He then turned to the suit of armor. "Are you telling me you snuck out in the middle of the night to do this?" he demanded, "Wait, what am I saying? Of course you did. Pinako wouldn't have let you out of her sight if she knew what you were up too."
Alphonse looked down shamefully. "We're sorry...We're so sorry...we just…" his voice cracked in pain as if he were crying, "W-we thought you were gone for good. We thought we were all alone and…" "Please don't hate us, big brother!" he cried.
Williams heart clenched at those words. He was still a little angry, but he couldn't help but feel awful at those words. His mind was drawn back to when Edward was still little. He had woken Will up about a nightmare where he had dreamt he and Alphonse had been left alone. He wanted to smack himself in his own stupidity. He had made that damn nightmare come true...and he had promised he would always be there for them! God why was he such an idiot?! He didn't have time to berate himself as Pinako suddenly spoke up.
"Wait a minute...Alphonse?" she said as she paused in approaching the operating table after having washed her hands, "Is that you?! What on Earth happened to you?!"
"We...I…"he started, "We...We tried to bring back mom…but it didn't work, and now I'm stuck as...this..." Pinako turned to him in surprise as she started working on Edward.
"WHAT?!" Pinako cried, "Are you insane? You knew that was forbidden!"
Alphonse whimpered. "I'm-I'm sorry…" he said quietly, looking down, "I'm so sorry."
She sighed as she cleaned Ed's wounds and began stitching him up. "Well what's done is done. You boys are going to have to live with this mistake…" she muttered bitterly, "William, get the IV set up!"
The homunculus did as he was commanded, although his hands were shaking slightly, and he nearly dropped the IV. He couldn't help it. He was mere minutes away from having a total melt down. The only thing that was keeping him at bay was reminding himself he had to keep Edward alive. After he had managed to set it up without accidentally destroying the bag, a voice rang through the air.
"Grandma?" It called, "Grandma? Is that you? What's going…" It trailed off as William looked up to see Winry standing there, eyes wide with horror. "W-william?! Ed?!" she cried, looking from him and his blood soaked clothing to the boy on the operating table missing half his limbs, "Wh-what is...What is this?! What happened?! What is going on?!"
"Winry…" Alphonse started, causing her to direct her attention onto him. "Who is he?!" She demanded.
"William," Pinako said, "Why don't you and Alphonse tell Winry what's going on and then take a break in the living room. I can handle things from here." William looked down at Edward, biting his lip for a moment before looking up and nodding.
…
Envy dashed through the woods, splashing through the puddles carelessly as she did so. Every once and awhile she would turn back to see Lust trailing behind her. "Come on! Jeez! You lumber around more than Sloth used to," she sneered.
Lust glared at the older homunculus from under her umbrella. She hadn't met the former Sloth, though she assumed they probably met the same fate as the last Wrath, but she had a good idea of what exactly she had meant.
"Some of us care about not tripping and falling face first into the mud like a fool," Lust grumbled back, "As I'm sure you've noticed, the rain out here is torrential. I'm surprised a mud slide hasn't happened yet."
"Well some of us aren't klutzes and don't have to worry," Envy sneered back, "nor are some of us constantly walking around in heels." Lust glared at her. "Now where's Gluttony? He didn't get distracted by another drowned rat did he?" Envy questioned. As if on cue, the portly homunculus came waddling into the clearing. He was covered in mud from head to toe.
"Gluttony, you're a mess," Lust noted, "What happened?"
"I slipped and fell into the river…" he said, looking down.
Envy smirked while Lust shook her head. "We'll get you cleaned up once we're out of this forest," Lust said, wiping some mud off of his face.
"Yeah, come on, slowpokes," Envy said, hopping onto a tree branch, "Lady Dante isn't going to be happy with us if we're late." The athletically built homunculus then began jumping from branch to branch until she disappeared into the distance. Lust frowned but the two followed after the trail of corrosion she had left behind from where her hands had touched the bark.
They all made it up the hill and out of the woods to a quaint little country home. There they found the old woman waiting for them, umbrella in hand. She glanced away from the house towards them before looking back. "It appears you three took your time," she noted, "Do I even want to know what sort of misadventure Gluttony got himself into?"
"My apologies Lady Dante," Envy said bowing slightly, "I would have gotten here sooner, but these two couldn't keep up the pace."
Dante glanced at the other two homunculi. "I see," she responded, "Well you're here now. Search the house. If you find the boys do try to at least bring one of them back alive. That means do try to keep your powers in check."
Envy looked away shamefully for a moment before nodding. With that, the three entered the house with Dante following after them. She watched them from the entryway as they searched the different rooms. She had heard mention of these two boys from her former student. From what she described of them, there was a high chance they were Hohenheim's sons. And if they were, they could be of use to her to lure him in. If they weren't...well she supposed she could find some use for them. At the very least they would make a good snack for Gluttony. However, as they searched the house, they found neither hide nor hare of them. Envy was starting to get frustrated. Where were those little imps?! She stomped downstairs as she became more annoyed. All of a sudden she heard a moan come from around the corner. She raised an eyebrow before turning the corner to find a entryway leading down stairs. It looked like there had been a door there, but now it was gone. She walked down the steps into the darkened room where she saw something moving, but it was too dark to see what. "Hey!" she called, "I think I found something!"
She heard the click of heels as both Lust and Dante herself walked up behind her. "What is it?" the old woman questioned.
"There's something alive down there...or at least I think so," she explained.
"Well what are you waiting for then? Go see what it is," she waved her hand in an annoyed fashion to shoe the artificial human downstairs. The homunculus did as she was told and the two other women followed after her down the steps, dante holding a lantern. When they made it down stairs, they did indeed see something moving in the center of the room. Dante moved forward, casting light over the figure only to discover a horribly disfigured, barely human form.
Anyone else might back away in disgust or even scream run, but Dante did not move or shout. Instead, a small smile stretched across her face. "Well, isn't this an interesting discovery!" she mused, kneeling down next to it, "We may not have found those boys, but at least our little trip wasn't a waste."
…..
William slumped into his chair, covering his face with his hands. He had just finished explaining to Winry what had happened. The girl had been so worried about Ed, she rushed in to see if she could help her grandma in any way. This left him to his thoughts, which was the last possible place he wanted to be.
His body wracked with tremors and his breathing had become sharp, heavy, and quicker in pace as the storm that had been brewing in his mind had swirled into a raging maelstrom. On one hand, he was completely shaken by the near death of his brothers. They had nearly died. Hell, Alphonse wasn't technically a ghost possessing a suit of armor now! He couldn't even express how terrifying it felt to see Edward lying on the floor like that, bleeding his life away. Even now the thought of almost having almost lost them made him want to break down. But the thing was, they weren't even safe now. They were broken, shattered. Ed had lost his left leg and right arm. Even if he got automail, which would be a horribly painful procedure, he'd never be able to erase the trauma of going through that. Of having his limbs literally ripped from him. Alphonse was not much better off. He didn't even have his body anymore! How awful must he feel? Could he even feel at all? He probably couldn't eat any more, that was for sure…and the worse part was, it felt like it was all his fault. If he hadn't set out on this stupid quest...If he had just sucked it up and stayed home, maybe they would be alright. But no. He had to selfishly go off and chase after his father, in doing so, breaking his promise to Trisha. His shoulders shook as he realized this, his body wracked with guilt. He had betrayed her. He had betrayed her dying wish...What sort of a person does that kind of thing? He wiped his eyes with his arm before looking down at his hands, which were now smeared with large brownish red splotches. Edward's blood.
He sighed as he squeezed his eyes shut and curled in on himself, cradling his face with those hands. He felt like the lowest creature in the world at the moment. But another part of him, a part he didn't want to think about...was felt furious and betrayed by them. They attempted to play god, even after he told them not to. He had told them that what they had created wouldn't be there mother, but they hadn't listened...or maybe, they just didn't care. Maybe they just wanted something to fill her place and didn't care what it was so long as it fit the bill. If they had actually managed to create a fully formed homunculus, what would they have done? Would they have understood that it wasn't their mother? That they couldn't just force her role in their life on it? And if they didn't have to pay the toll they did, would they have just kept trying...Like Majhal?
He shuddered at the thought. No. His brothers were nothing like that man. But humans have always been selfish creatures...had he been right? Were their actions really that? He didn't want to think about that but the thought wouldn't leave. Rage classed with guilt inside him. There were so many swirling thoughts in his head, but one big question persisted at the forefront of his mind: Why? Why did it have to come to this? Why couldn't they be rid of the shadows of the past and live a normal life for once like anyone else? Why did the world feel the need to keep taking from him? What did he ever do to deserve this? Sure he had never been a perfect person, but no one ever was. How was any of this equivalent? The homunculus sobbed quietly, furious with the world and everything around him. He felt like he could scream. If he was so much as touched he felt like he could explode.
"Brother?" a small voice said.
He looked up, eyes still seething as they fell upon Alphonse, but after a few seconds it dissipated. "Yes?" he responded, "What is it?"
The suit looked down for a moment. Will couldn't quite read his emotions but he knew something was troubling the boy. "I'm...I'm…" he started, not making eye contact, "We're sorry. We're so sorry!" The boy's voice cracked as he spoke. "We were being so stupid and just…" he continued crumpling to his knees as he began to audibly cry, "We should have listened. We should have waited for you to come home...We were just so scared and alone...We're so sorry!" William's eyes softened as he got off of his chair and knelt before the boy in the suit. His heart melted at those words. He was never able to stay mad at Alphonse for long even now after what they had done. He placed a hand comfortingly on the side of Al's shoulder piece. "Do...Do you...hate us now?" the boy asked.
William was taken aback by this. "Hate you?" he repeated, "No Alphonse, of course not! How could I hate you?"
"But we performed the taboo!" he argued, "We tried to create life, even after you told us not to! We...We did something absolutely horrible. And we put you through so much grief for it. Look at us! Look what we did!"
William sighed as Alphonse's words tugged on his heartstrings. He sighed before pulling his little brother into a hug. "It's alright Alphonse," he said, "It's ok. It's not like you're the first people to have ever done this. Hell, I wouldn't be here otherwise!" He tried to joke but not even he would laugh at it. "It's going to be ok," he said, "I'll figure something out...Don't you worry." He patted Alphonse's head to try and make him feel better. The boy couldn't feel it but the resounding sound of it did provide him some comfort.
A few seconds passed before the boy spoke again. "Brother?" He asked, "Please don't leave again...Please…"
William grimaced as he felt a pang of guilt but nodded. "I won't. I promise," he responded resolutely. There was no way in hell he was going to leave these two alone again. He stayed with his sibling for a good twenty minutes, just sitting there with him. It was the first relaxed moment he'd had in a long time.
Unfortunately, it didn't last long enough, as he soon remembered that the homunculus his brother's created was still in the basement. His eyes widened and he cursed as he remembered this.
"Brother?" Al questioned, "Brother, what's wrong?"
"I'm sorry Al," he said getting up, "I'll be right back. I just need to check something up at the house real quick."
"What do you need to check?" he asked, "Do you want me to come with-"
"No!" William stated firmly, causing the boy in the suit to flinch and William to sigh. "Sorry, didn't mean to snap," he said more calmly, "You just need to stay here and relax. You've been through a lot. Just let me take care of this." He smiled at him reassuringly.
Alphonse gave him a long, hard look. William didn't know if he believed him or not until the boy spoke again. "Ok…"his brother responded, "Be careful out there."
William smiled back. "Don't worry. I will!" he then got up and started heading for the back door, "see you in a bit." With that, he headed out the door, his smile falling as he did so. He immediately went to the tool shed and pulled out a shovel before heading up the hill towards the house. He was silent as he slowly made his way up, dreading what he'd have to do. He didn't want to do it. It was an innocent creature. It probably didn't even realize what it was yet. But he had no choice. They couldn't care for it. They didn't have any fragments of the philosopher's stone anymore. If they kept it, it would live on in pure agony. That wouldn't be any kind of life for the poor creature. And he couldn't just leave it in the wilderness for nature to take care of. There could be a chance that she might find it, and beyond how bad that would be for him and his brothers, that fate was one worse than death. So in a way, this was a kindness. Besides, if she found it, William would probably have to kill it anyways someday, like a few of the other minions of hers he's encountered over the years.
None of those thoughts seemed to ease the sickening feeling forming in his stomach, but that didn't stop him. He kept pressing forward. This had to be done. There was no other way around it. He had to put the homunculus out of its misery.
He eventually made it to the house and only hesitated slightly before entering. He made a quick detour to the fireplace to pick up the axe before heading to the entryway to where the basement was. He stared at it for a good minute in a half before swallowing and marching downstairs. "This is your burden," he told himself, "You didn't stop them when you had the chance. Now you have to end it before things get any worse." He readied himself for when he reached the bottom step, but nothing could prepare him for what he found: an empty room. He dropped the axe as he felt cold terror consume him. Where was it?! Where had it gone?! He began to panic as he searched for it, although deep down he knew it was futile. He knew exactly why it was gone. He felt sick as pressed a hand against a wall to support himself. He couldn't even begin to describe his emotions as fear and anger swirled together making his stomach turn sour. She had been here. She knew the boys were here. She snuck in and taken their creation without them realizing she was there until it was too late. His hand balled into a fist. Had she known this was going to happen? Or was there another reason why she was there? He glanced over to the bookshelf on the far side of the room. He ran over there and began counting the books. To his relief, nothing was missing, but the shelves were definitely disorganized now. She probably hadn't found anything of use to her. He breathed a sigh of relief at that, but immediately crumpled to the floor afterwards clutching his head. She had been here. Without him even knowing…
Had she? There was a hopeful portion of himself that was in denial. Hoping desperately that he was wrong. Maybe the books were disorganized because of Ed and Al. Maybe the thing had managed to crawl out of the house some how and into the woods. They had left it for over an hour, so it might be possible...Maybe? Despite how much he wished that was the truth, an overwhelming part of him knew what really happened. His heart filled with dread as he could only imagine what she was planning to do with it…
Thanks for reading! Sorry for any OOCness. Hope you liked it and let me know what you think!