A/N:I'M SO SORRY. I'm a little late on updating because I couldn't get my Internet to work…excuses, excuses. I also didn't really think of any ideas for this chapter beforehand since it's updated on short notice.
For congratulations upon reaching 50 reviews, I thought I'd postpone Bring Me to Life's update to some other time and update this one instead. Let's strive for the goal of 60 reviews this time around, please~? PLEASE?
On a different note… Zeal, Zeal, Zeal…noone seems to like you very much. XD
Character profiles and pictures on my bio. Please look. I also nicknamed Zeal when it's in Catalena's body to Caleal. I dunno. Something like Greedling or Grin I guess. :D
Disclaimer:I do not own FMA or FMA Brotherhood. If I did, there would be more RoyAi fluff because Riza and Roy are awesome. Like, seriously, on that episode when Roy makes that very heart throbbing decision of not performing the Human Transmutation and saves Hawkeye…
MY GOD.
DAT SMILE.
SEXAY MUSTANG.
(I'm talking about the car you perverts.)
Rapacious
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| All is one, one is all. |
Chapter 6
Absence
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Following the previous chapter…
Zeal fled to the end of the alleyway, its breath heavy and strained. It had been playing cat and mouse with Greed for who knows how long, now. I've lost count and I may have slept a while through it. This thing sure does harbor an insane amount of stamina.
I watched as Zeal's malicious-like eyes gazed absent-mindedly into the wall, still smiling despite all the energy it had exerted, and then back to the being that was pursuing it.
"Got you."
Greed was at the mouth of the alleyway, taking the time to catch his breath as he forced Zeal into a dead end. Leaning forward and propping one of his hands at his waist, he did breathing exercises before taking a few more steps forward.
Zeal had already recovered miraculously, and lacked the wheezing as it spoke in a teasing tone, "Here I am!"
Greed's teeth gritted against one another but still retained his signature grin, "There you are. Please do me a favor and stay put, will you?"
Zeal crossed its arms over my—its chest, giving Greed an amused and disappointed look, "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Are you too old for so much running?" It laughed humorlessly before adding, "I guess we already know which one of us would win in a fight."
"Oh shut up. Man you're annoying," Greed glared at the homunculus, raising his left hand and using his powers to sheath it in carbon, "I can't wait until I get rid of you."
Zeal watched Greed's claws protrude from the tips of his fingers. It didn't know about Greed's capabilities, and neither did I. All I knew was that he had some sort of Ultimate Shield, but exactly how 'ultimate' was it?
I don't like this, Zeal. What happens if he chops off one of your limbs?
Zeal's expression looked falsely hurt as it replied to me, "You have no faith in me? I'm truly hurt, Cat," Greed's purple irises widened at the sudden third party, "…But honestly speaking, if he were to somehow succeed in maiming one of my fingers, it would just regenerate. So don't worry about your pretty little body."
Why wouldn't I worry about my body?
Zeal smirked deviously as it locked a gaze with Greed's stern features, "…I wouldn't concern myself with it. After all, this guy can't lay a finger on me."
"Who are you talking to? Catalena?" The black material covering his left hand suddenly receded. He proceeded towards Zeal in an attempt to restrain it.
Zeal didn't recoil from Greed's impeding figure, only smirked at him as he grabbed a hold of both its shoulders. Leaning over, Greed stared indifferently into the slits of its gray eyes.
I watched with a heavy feeling submerging within my stomach as the image I portrayed of Greed suddenly changed. It seemed as he had Zeal in his grip he had only the intention of trying to seem me in its eyes. But for what reason? I only thought of him trying to obtain me as another one of his possessions, nothing more.
Or were possessions to him something more than what I thought?
After seeing nothing more than his own reflection, Greed released his grip on Zeal, walking away after sounding an irritated and defeated sigh. Zeal watched with a smile still etched on its face as Greed stood only a few feet away, perhaps in thought.
I began to wonder if Zeal had any control of the situation itself.
"What are you thinking?"
With his palm covering his forehead in exasperation, Greed subtlety replied, "How the hell this Zeal thing is going to work. Looks like there's nothing I can do. You can just escape with Kitten's body, I guess."
He's giving up?
To both of our surprises, Zeal didn't look too happy about Greed's submission. Its next action surprised me even more.
"You want to know something, Greed? How badly do you want this?"
"What? How badly do I want kitten back?" He laughed after voicing this, and then turned his torso back towards the younger homunculus, "Not so much. But it's so closely within my reach I can't back out now."
A lie. Greed never told lies; it was easy to distinguish them from the truth if they came from his mouth. So the idea of possessions were more than just inanimate objects to him…
Greed was now scowling, as if the lie left a bad taste in his mouth. Zeal didn't interpret this, and instead began talking again, "I'll tell you the truth—I'm not so keen about sharing a body with a human. I don't know any other homunculus but I'm sure they don't suffer from the emotions of humans. It's not like the dead people emotions that boil inside of me—" Zeal pointed a finger to its chest, directed towards me, "—but the owner of this body. She's a pain. What she feels, I feel. So if I happen to break the heart of someone she likes, she's going to feel bad about it and therefore, so will I."
"Kitten?" Greed smiled at the thought, "Likes me~?"
Vulgar.
"I didn't say that. Don't assume anything, you presumptuous fool." Thanks for the cover up, Zeal. I guess you aren't so bad.
"What are you suggesting?"
"Maybe we can work together. I'll tell you another truth; I have no idea how to reverse the human-based homunculus process. But someone will."
Greed tapped his foot on the ground, in thought again. He seems to be thinking a lot nowadays.
"…I think I may know someone that can help."
The grin I knew all too well from the both of them ushered on their faces. I didn't know what they were plotting, and I didn't want to know.
Hopefully it lead to something beneficial.
Present time (Approximately a week later)
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Cain buried his head within the pilfered paperwork, his hazel eyes scanning through the print and searching desperately for any piece of vital information.
Damn, he really was digging the hole deeper for himself. If any of his military colleagues found out about the whole homunculus thing—albeit, the fact that he was hiding a criminal woman from the eyes of the military, he was so going to get court-martialed.
Things weren't looking too good for the shady side of Dublith. Even Greed seemed to have gone to hell and back; he came to him for help. To Cain! The two males hated each other!
The enemy of my enemy is my friend, he supposed. Assuming that Zeal is both of their enemies. But then again, Greed also mentioned that Zeal wanted out of Catalena's body; that was enlightening.
Now he was stealing even more exclusive information from his military quarters, this time on revered alchemists who have experience in human transmutation or Homunculi. In fact, anyone interesting would work. They just needed someone.
What they needed was a short blonde midget prodigy genius.
"How's it going?"
Cain flinched at the sudden voice emanating from behind him. Papers flew from the desk as his hands recoiled towards where he hid his gun.
Greed took note of this, stepping away from Cain's personal bubble, "Ooh, calm down. It's not like I'm going to violate you or anything."
Once Cain turned his body around to find out it was Greed creeping behind him, he caught his breath and scowled at the man, "Gross. Don't even say that again."
"Say what again?"
"The violate—" Cain went cross-eyed for a second, "…N-never mind." The young man turned back towards the papers, pressing one of his palms to his face as he read.
Greed closed in again, stretching his neck over Cain's hunched figure to stare down at the paperwork, "Alright, so how goes the digging?"
"I actually think I've found someone who can help."
"Ohhh, really~?" Greed hummed, sticking his hands in his pockets as he stared down more intently.
"…Would you not breathe down my neck like that?"
"Just give me what I came here for and I'll be out of your hair. Literally."
Cain sighed, his hands searching for a particular piece of paper. Once the familiar print of 5th Laboratory appeared on it, Greed felt nostalgic. "You know the 5th Laboratory? It was destroyed recently. Rumors say that a blonde-haired boy and a walking suit of armor were the cause of it."
At the mention of the walking suit of armor, Greed's interest was piqued, "A walking suit of armor? Is it as surreal as it sounds?"
"Seriously. Walking suit of armor." Cain flipped through papers again, pulling out one that had a blonde-haired boy on the bio page, "He's the younger brother of this kid: Edward Elric. He's a State Alchemist, enlisted at the age of 12! He and his brother performed Human Transmutation when they were only kids."
Greed indulged in the idea of a walking suit of armor, and the thought of a prodigy genius further enticed him,
"Basically a kid genius? Sounds like what we need. Any idea where they are?"
"No idea. They got deported to a hospital after the 5th Laboratory was destroyed…I could ask around for the Fullmetal Alchemist and that would get me somewhere. But it could take time…" The papers were promptly stacked. Cain would have to sneak them back later.
"Better than nothing. I really have to thank these kids once we meet them, " Greed chuckled as he drew away from Cain, his voice becoming fainter as he became farther away; eventually reaching the exit and leaving Cain in the room by himself, "…And this walking armor kid seems pretty mentionable, too."
Stretching with high hopes occupying his thoughts, Greed shielded a yawn whilst making his way through the Devil's Nest.
"Well…time to break the good news to Kitten."
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Staring down from the rooftop he watched for any sign of movement like a hawk would.
As soon as the figure casually stepped out from the tunnel for the third time that week, he attacked.
Zeal's pathway was suddenly hindered by a yellow figure that had sprung from somewhere above. Raising an eyebrow, the homunculus inquired the shifty-eyed being, "Excuse you?"
Within their consciousnesses, Catalena had gasped in sudden realization. Zeal felt the human inside of it struggle for control, but it quickly subdued her willpower.
Ling stood up; a smile adhered onto his face. Accompanied by a wave he greeted the homunculus, "Hey there, long time no see~ Any luck finding out about the Philosopher's Stone?"
By his demeanor, Zeal interpreted that the young man before him had no idea of the current situation; he was only a friend of the owner of this body. The homunculus mustered up a smirk, caressing the idea of crushing yet another human's dreams, "Oh hey, you. Who are you again?"
Ling tilted his head, as if the slanted perspective in which he perceived Catalena would help him in some way. There was without a doubt something peculiar about her, "…Um, you seem different," Zeal was amused at the thought, just as planned, "…Did you cut your hair or something?"
Zeal felt air get sucked out of it, but quickly forgot the feeling, "Well, you're a dumb human. What were you talking about again—was it a Philosopher's Stone or something? Just what would you want with that?" It gave Ling a very incredulous look along with crooked lips.
But Ling's visage was just as incredulous. How could Catalena forget the task he had requested of her and that she had agreed to of her own accord? His nose twitched.
Something wasn't right here…
Zeal didn't give Ling another second to think, as it hastily slipped past him. It had the urge to attack Ling but the Catalena inside of it forbid it from doing so. "Whatever. I've got things to do today."
The sudden grip on its shoulder caused Zeal to plummet backwards towards Ling's figure. Zeal caught its balance before having to trust fall with Ling, and shot him a look of questioning as soon as it stood upwards. "W-wait, don't you remember? I asked you to find out about the Stone for me—it's been like a week already!"
Zeal shook off of Ling's firm grip to snap at him, "I don't know what you're talking about." Zeal's foot stepped in the opposite direction.
"C-Catalena!"
Then the homunculus stopped. The Xingese prince thought she would finally remember and looked hopeful for once. Zeal, however, only scratched its chin while droning, "Ohhhhh. I seem to sometimes forget about the human inside of me."
Even though she constantly berates you? Yeah right.
"…What are you talking about?"
Zeal turned its torso around, giving Ling a serious and annoyed look, "It's just as obvious as it sounds, human. The Catalena you know isn't here anymore; her body is being occupied by me—Zeal."
Judging from the stretching silence that was between the two, Zeal suspected Ling either didn't believe it or was hopelessly confused. Maybe both. Walking away from the situation seemed the legit choice.
But the kid grabbed its shoulder again, causing Zeal to stagger backwards again. Damn kid loved the shoulders. "W-wait, explain this to me, please. Who are you, 'Zeal', and what do you mean occupying Catalena's body?"
Again Zeal shrugged out of Ling's grip and snapped, "I'm a homunculus—a homunculus! I'm an artificially created human using the power of a Philosopher's Stone. That enough information for you? Now beat it kid, you're ruining my style." Zeal began to traipse away from the Xingese prince, towards the near bustling streets of Dublith.
"…Philosopher's Stone? So you're immortal, then?"
Zeal stopped to crane its neck at Ling's idle figure, "…Yeah, pretty much. I'm not sure if there are any other ones like me—besides Greed and all, but it's just whatever."
With that, Zeal left Ling's ambitious entity to stand and wonder.
That was the client I was talking about…how am I going to make this up to him?
"You don't. He seemed an annoying little brat anyway; whining about a Philosopher's Stone, feh!" Zeal shook his head in a chastising gesture.
Well he hadn't paid me yet…so supposedly it won't be a big deal…
Zeal smiled, disregarding the stares it received from 'talking to itself', "That's the spirit. I'm happy I'm inside your body and not his."
Ling's too young to have to handle something like this.
"Well said, well said. But I'm only about a week old and I'm handling things quite well. But putting all of that aside, I'm starving. What do you humans eat for fun…?"
As it walked amongst the civilians of Dublith, little did it know it would meet yet another yellowish, bratty child.
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"Curtis' Meats?" Zeal grimaced, staring at the bold print of the meat shop. "It's not every day you walk around and find a random meat shop nowadays. I'd just go for the all-around super stores."
Shops like these have the best meat. And I know how to make a good steak. All you have to do is give me control of my body…
Zeal's lips pursed and then it blew a raspberry, "Pffft, yeah right. I'm not stupid. How many times do I have to tell you that this is my body now?"
As many times as it takes, Zeal.
The homunculus grew silent. It never had steak before, and it seemed very tempting. Catalena waited for the homunculus to make a decision—as patient as patient could be. To both of their chagrin and Zeal's bottom, the door to Curtis' Meats flew open, knocking Zeal square in the face.
"Holy hell!"
Open your eyes so I can see what just happened, Zeal.
"I would, but I can't see a damn thing right now…" Zeal's hands rubbed its sore eye sockets. The sounds of rapid footsteps and voices motivated it to look up.
"Crap, it's a lady…"
"Brother!"
Blurred vision slowly refocused on the colors red and gray transmuting themselves before Zeal. Zeal lowered its hand, finding two mismatched figures standing before its fallen one.
The most humane thing to do would be to gape at the heap of armor that was kneeling down at you in an attempt to help you up.
Zeal was all too enthusiastic at the idea. Before Alphonse could ask if it was okay, Zeal beamed, "What the—Are you a living piece of armor? Like talking too?"
The short blonde kid looked away for some reason while the suit of armor appeared nervous, stuttering between words, "W-well, I…"
Zeal darted upward, brushing its hands against Alphonse's cold, metal plating. It knocked its fist against the surface of the metal, finding it to be hollow, "There seriously isn't anyone inside there? This has to be some insane feat of alchemy!" Gray slits looked up to the red lights in Alphonse's helmet, and the boy admitted Zeal's eyes unnerved him, "What's your secret?" It purred.
Unknown to Zeal, the other boy was walking away already, and Alphonse watched helplessly as Edward escaped the two, "B-brother…"
Zeal kept a firm grip on Alphonse, "You're a soul bound to this suit of armor, aren't you? So you're immortal, then?"
Two beady red eyes peered down Zeal. Now Zeal couldn't tell what emotion this boy was hiding since his face was a helmet, but it suspected he was astonished, "How could you figure all of that out?"
Zeal smirked, placing a hand on its chest while gazing up at Alphonse's face with pride, "Because I'm no stranger to the secrets of alchemy. You'd be surprised about how much information I store within me."
Now those two sentences caused the blonde haired boy to suddenly spiral back towards the two. He looked enthusiastic and serious as he raised a fist in Zeal's direction, to which it only stared back blankly, "Information? What sort of information!"
"Brother, don't get too hasty…"
Zeal fitted its hands inside its blazer, attention diverting to the shorter of the two 'brothers'. "All sorts of odd things. Homunculi, human transmutation, Philosopher's Stones…" Zeal paused for a moment, thinking over things, "…I am an information broker after all." It smirked, "My name is Catalena."
What the hell are you doing?
The younger child before it now looked steady and contemplative. As if the sudden outburst on Zeal's account lowered his disposition towards it. However the suit of armor was already convinced, "Brother, did you hear? She knows information about the Philosopher's Stone."
"I heard, Al. But I'm getting this weird feeling in my gut that something's not right here." Edward's golden eyes shared a tight focus with Zeal's own gray ones.
"Maybe you're hungry or something," Zeal joked, "…But still, if it's info on the Stone you're hungering for, I can help." With eyes showing appropriate desire and enthusiasm, Zeal continued, "…All I ask for in return is the secret to binding a soul to a suit of armor."
Alphonse uttered a squeak of some sort, whereas Ed's tone became cold, "Can I ask why you'd want to know that sort of thing?"
Flexing its wrist for emphasis, Zeal chided, "Well, that's my own problem. But if you must know there's someone that I need to get rid of, and I don't really want to kill her."
Catalena already knew Zeal was referring to her.
But that was all Zeal needed to say to get the reaction of Edward stomping away in fury. Alphonse was still there, though, and he was just as surprised at Ed's immediate action.
Zeal glanced from the flowing red cloak of the blonde boy back to the suit of armor that still stood beside it, "…What was that all about? Does that mean it's no deal?"
"Um, I'm sorry Miss Catalena…I think maybe he needs to consider your proposal. You see, we're searching for the Philosopher's Stone, and it's with good reason…I guess Brother just doesn't trust you or something."
Zeal scoffed, "I admit I'm a conniving person. That's what information brokers do," Blinking, Zeal added, "You two boys aren't that old, are you? I don't know your back stories, but in life you're going to have to grow up a little and play with the adults to strive for higher heights."
"…"
"And in your brother's case, it's not really working out…"
A distorted giggle came from the suit of armor, and attracted Zeal's attention. To have Catalena's soul in a suit of armor and to keep this body, or to have Zeal's soul in a suit of armor and allow Catalena to keep her body? Which seemed the more suitable choice?
Of course that all depended if these two boys would agree to its proposal.
Zeal couldn't predict anything from this point, but it was sure it would have this walking, talking suit of armor's vote.
"Look, I'll give you time to think about it. When you're ready to trade, meet me at the Devil's Nest. It'll seem a nasty place at first, but nothing there is nastier compared to me," Zeal grinned, showing sharp teeth. It hadn't disturbed Alphonse, though.
"…I… I'll think about it. My name is Alphonse Elric, by the way. My brother's name is Edward Elric. I hope he'll cool off and consider your offer…I think it'll be really helpful in the future." His armored hand reached his head in some form of salute, and then the suit of armor trotted off. A loud klang klang sounded after each step.
Zeal's expectant gaze trailed after the retreating figure in awe. "Look at that. Greed was right. Impossible is impossible."
Catalena had facepalmed from within their consciousnesses.
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The door skidded open, the light from the pub temporarily bled out into the humid night. The artificial light was extinguished as soon as the feminine figure shut the door from behind her. Taking in the smoky, dry air from the Devil's Nest, Zeal felt cozy with its hands tucked within its pockets.
What helped it even more was that Catalena was taking one of those hourly naps. Whatever. As long as she wasn't nagging it, Zeal was happy.
Trudging towards the staircase however, it noticed white fur sticking out from the stairwell. Zeal sighed, immediately finding out who it was, "Any reason as to why you've waited all night for me again, Mr. Greed?"
Then the side perspective of Greed's face appeared, but instead of the usual hopeless, flat look, there was a very mischievous looking grin. "The brat and I found a solution to your body problem. I even got some tasty info myself, actually."
With his own hands tucked comfortably into his pant pockets, Greed trudged out from the base of the stairs, strolling over to a couch and leaned against it. He had earned Zeal's interest with that one sentence, "You what?"
Zealous purple eyes that even Zeal would have been proud of observed it, "Cain found someone who may be able to help with your human-based homunculus process. He even found me a key to complete immortality."
"So who are these people?"
"Edward and Alphonse Elric. One happens to be a child prodigy, and the other a walking suit of armor! Can you believe it? He doesn't have to eat, sleep, or anything!" Greed laughed. "That's a pretty sound deal to me!"
"…"
"All we have to do is wait until Cain finds these two brats and then we can interrogate them…" He now stared at the work of the floor, imagining the entire ordeal in his head. It seemed things would all work out, and the Zeal situation actually benefited him!
Meeting Catalena seemed to be the best thing that ever happened to him. Even if there were bumps along the ride, it would all work out.
"…Edward…and Alphonse Elric…" Zeal repeated the names.
"Yep, that's right. Blonde hair, really short. The other's a suit of armor. Not hard to miss."
Zeal's expression went deadpan as it stared at Greed's ecstatic visage, "…Funny. I just so happened to meet two kids by those exact descriptions earlier today. They had the same names, too."
Greed threw himself from the couch, a demeanor of bewilderment and awe occupying his toned features, "You're kidding!"
Zeal smirked, "Would I ever lie to you?"
"…So you are kidding. Geez, don't get me worked up like that."
"I'm not joking you dumbass. I met them at some meat shop. I even tried to make a deal with them—you know, trade for the secret to soul binding. I gave them the address to here so…if they're interested, we may not have to chase after them at all."
Greed's jaw dropped, revealing shark-like teeth. It was the most prominent of Greed's features in Zeal's opinion. The dropped jaw closed to show that same set of shark-like teeth in a triumphant grin, "Damn, I love you so much right now, Kitten—oh, I mean Zeal. Wait, I take that back; I hate you."
Greed looked slightly flustered after his hasty exchange of words, but Zeal was all too amused. In fact, the younger homunculus couldn't help but tease Greed and reveal its own personal feelings towards him.
Zeal's hand reached out for Greed's face, fingers brushing against his skin. Did Greed like that? Half of him did since it was Kitten's fingers after all. The other half of him didn't not only because it was Zeal, but also because of the words that followed the gesture, "And I despise you as well. I can't wait until the day I see that grin of yours get wiped off of your face. It's because of you…"
Zeal brushed past Greed, shuffling towards the stairs,
"That I can't stand being in this body."
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"Führer King Bradley?"
"Yes?"
"My superior officer thought I should reveal to you that classified documents were recently pilfered from the Dublith military sector. Higher ups report that it has to do with the 5th Laboratory…?"
The dark-haired man retained a benign smile as he spoke to the lower ranked officer, even though acts of an extreme crime were just revealed.
"Ah, I see. Does anyone have any leads as to who might have done this?"
"Yes. One of the Captains in the Dublith sector believes that Sergeant Major Cain Ashford may have confiscated the documents. He was recently assigned to help one of our former research scientists from that very same laboratory—however that man—Joseph Warner, was killed in a fire that started in his house about a week ago."
"Coincidence?"
"There was also a woman who was supposedly spotted on the scene, as well. Witnesses also report gunfire and strange sounds coming from the Warner residence that very same night the fire started."
"…I see."
"Um, that is all I have to report, Führer."
"You may leave."
"Thank you, Führer."
The jittery man left the room without a second glance. In truth, not only was the appearance of the one-eyed Führer intimidating, but his demeanor was misleading as well.
Bradley folded his hands in front of him, resting his chin on said hands as he fell deep within thought.
Looks like he'd be taking a trip to Dublith soon.
There was someone else he had to meet there, anyhow.
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A/N: Again, sorry this was updated on a Sunday and not a Saturday!
SO EXCITEMENT, EXCITEMENT, EXCITEMENT! You all can only imagine what will ensue in the next chapter?
/shrugs
Any questions you'd like to ask to my OCs? By the way, I'd love to get your opinion on which of my OCs you like the best. There's a poll on my profile. /Shot for advertising
Again, I also have short character bios that have useless information in them. I may add more later.
AND I'M STILL SICK, WHAT. D:
Let's strive for 60 reviews this time! I'll get to updating Bring Me to Life soon.
Q&A Q&A Q&A
See you all next Saturday.
