Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist of Chrono Crusade. I've already said that three times. If you didn't get the message by now, I'll have to assume you are a retard. That's really the only excuse for not knowing I down own them. Otherwise, you are simply an idiot.
Chapter Four
In the Old District of Central, two women walked on one of the old brick streets. One of the women, pale with dark hair, wore a simple maroon dress and boots; she led the other woman, whose long brown hair and pink bangs were covered by a tan veil, matching the simple tan dress she wore. In her arms, she carried a baby boy.
"Something wrong?" the first woman, Lira, asked the other.
The second woman, Rose, looked around nervously. There were people all around them, wearing rags and gathered around small fires that had been set in trash bins; this place seemed to be infected with poverty. Rose shook her head. "No, I was just wondering if the others got away safely."
"There are many diversified towns in the East where they could blend in with the population," answered Lira. Rose smiled softly. "But," Lira continued, "you are considered responsible for the revolt in Lior." Rose looked at the ground in shame. "They'll be looking for you."
Not much longer afterwards, they came up to a crumbling old building, with broken windows and a door that was barely on its hinges. "It looks like a temple of our god, Leto," Rose mused.
"No," Lira responded. "It belongs to a far more ancient religion… one that was abandoned long ago."
Stopping in front of an alter, Lira clapped her hands together, as if praying. Suddenly, the broken glass of one of the windows came back up together, forming a transmutation circle.
Part of the alter suddenly opened up; Lira gestured for Rose to go down the path it revealed. Stepping down carefully, Rose listened intently as Lira continued her narration.
"They recognized only one God; that in all other beliefs is heresy. It seems they had quite a following… Because of their intolerance, a great many people died…"
"How terrible," said Rose, "religion is meant to save us."
"That's what happens when people try to become God," Lira responded with a smile.
Suddenly, Rose's baby started to cry. "Hush, my darling…" she soothed. "Everything is going to be fine now, we're safe…"
………………
Pacing back and forth, Sloth asked in an annoyed tone, "Why did you let them go?"
Lust, who had once again been attached to a wall, was held up by only three spikes: one in each her arms and another through the seal on her chest. Glaring at the other homunculus, she retorted, "I believe taking care of those to boys was your jobs; yours and Wrath's, that is…"
"Don't worry, I will," said Wrath.
Ignoring Wrath's comment, Sloth responded, "Yes, but we didn't go against the direct orders of our Master."
"I thought that you of all people would understand my reasons," said Lust.
"I do understand," Sloth said softly. "You wish to be human. You think you're the only one? We were all born with that goal in mind."
Suddenly, the door to the large chamber they were in started to open. Wrath whimpered softly. "They have arrived…" Sloth murmured.
Rose's eyes widened: before her were three of the homunculus, bowed before her and Lira, while another, pinned to the wall, lowered her head in the best bow possible from her position.
………………
"Why the hell did you two leave without asking for my help first!"
Ed stared at Mustang, before smirking at him. He had just openly admitted to being worried about Ed and Al- something the stubborn man normally wouldn't be caught dead doing. Realizing his slip, Mustang's face flushed in embarrassment.
Coming up behind him, and effectively crushing the awkwardness of the moment, Armstrong laid a hand on Mustang's shoulder. "Tell us boys, what exactly happened in Lior?"
Ed and Al glanced at each other, before Al answered. "Fuhrer King Bradley… is a homunculus."
For a moment, everyone was stunned into silence. Falman was the first to regain his voice. "When you say the word homunculus, you mean like… an artificial human?"
Ed nodded. "They're after the Philosopher's Stone, and they're pulling all the strings in the military."
"It can't be true," Roy muttered.
"But the Fuhrer had no idea about the experiments going on in Lab 5! The military was being infiltrated without his knowledge!" shouted Armstrong.
"He had the mark of the Ouroboros! I saw it myself," said Al.
"You told us about a homunculus with the ability to shape shift," Armstrong countered.
"The Fuhrer's secretary is a homunculus to," Ed stated stonily.
"I thought she was an alien," muttered Schieszka.
"If that's true, and the Fuhrer and Miss Douglas are homunculi inside the military, what purpose do they serve? What is it they hope to gain?" asked Hawkeye.
It was then that more soldiers arrive on the seen. Leaning down, Armstrong asked Mustang quietly, "Do you want me to produce false information and lead them back through Lior to keep attention away from Central?"
"Do it," Mustang said.
"You'll go to Risembool?" Armstrong asked. Mustang nodded. Backing away from the colonel, Armstrong headed over to the group of soldiers.
"Men, our mission is complete! We can return to Central with out heads held high!" he shouted cheerily, and pink sparkles seemed to sprout up around him.
"But aren't you supposed to keep an eye on the Colonel?" asked one soldier hesitantly.
Armstrong eyed to the soldier, before tearing off his shirt and flexing his muscles. "Do you doubt the integrity of a man whose muscles can do this?"
The soldiers backed away, "No, Major, that's not it!"
"I'll SHOW you what they can do!" And he did. What he did is too disturbing to write out in words.
………………
Throughout the conversation, both Chrono and Rosette stayed off to the side. They had no place with these people, and no matter how curious they were, their questions would have to wait until later, when they could speak to Ed alone.
"Chrono," asked Rosette quietly, "how are we going to get home? From what I can tell, we're in a completely different world; I didn't even know that was possible."
Chrono sighed and shook his head. "Neither did I…" he said. "But I know that, if there is a way to get here, then there must be a way to get back. And if there's a way to get back, we'll find it," he told Rosette with a smile.
Rosette smiled back at him. "Thanks, Chrono, for making me feel better." Blushing slightly, Rosette said, "I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you with me…"
Rosette looked away, not really wanting to see how Chrono reacted to her comment, and was surprised when she felt another hand slip into hers. "Same here, Rosette."
………………
The group progressed slowly, with the military, still holding Winry and Schieszka up front, Ed and Al following them, and Chrono and Rosette staying a safe distance away from them, as the avoid being questioned.
"So, how is Lieutenant Havoc doing?" Ed asked Breda softly. He was afraid that he may have grievously injured the man.
"He was sent back already with Fury; they're both fine," Breda informed him.
Ed smiled and looked away. "I'm glad."
Winry, who had been watching Ed intently for the last minute, asked him curiously, "Hey, Ed, what happened to you pocket watch?"
"So it seems you really have forsaken the military," said Hawkeye, "if you've already taken off you pocket watch."
"No, it's not that!" insisted Ed. "I gave it to Kimbley and I never got it back."
"Well that's odd," Hawkeye said. "We told Al to give it to you."
Ed looked over to Al, who suddenly looked very guilty. "U-u-uh… W-well, you see brother, it's just that… Kimbley threw it at Scar and all the red stones came out of it and the Scar's arm absorbed them, and… there was nothing I could do!" Al squeaked.
"And why were there red stones in my state-issued watch?" Ed asked dangerously.
"Kimbley uses that technique to make more alchemy amplifying devices," Roy said. "When we were crushing the rebellion in Ishbal, the Brigadier General ordered us to use the stones. I had no idea that they were using human beings to--"
Roy was cut off when Ed grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and growled at him, "You knew that the military had made a partial Philosopher's Stone, and you waited until now to tell me! You knew what it took to make that damn stone, and you STILL let us search for it!"
"Brother, stop!" Al called out, reaching over to grab his brother on the shoulder. Al's arm started to glow red at the contact, and he was blown back into the water.
Ed's eyes widened. "AL!" he cried out. "AL!" He rushed towards the shore, only to be stopped when he saw his brother leaping out of the water, sparkling in a way that was reminiscent of Armstrong.
Landing back in the water, Al waved his hand in the air and called out, "Brother, brother! I can swim, I can swim!" before he began to sink.
"You idiot!" Ed yelled, before wading into the water to retrieve his brother.
When Al was safely ashore, Roy approached the two Elrics. "I thought that if it ever got to wet, that blood seal of yours would wash off."
"Yeah, so did I," responded Ed.
"I guess we don't have to worry about that anymore," Al said in a relieved tone. Lifting up his helmet/head, he continued, "I guess it's because of the Philosopher's Stone."
No one noticed the gasps of Chrono and Rosette when the saw that Al's armor was empty. Rosette decided to store her questions in her new list of things-to-interrogate-the-Mighty-Midget-about-later.
"Okay, you made your point! Put it back, put it back!" Ed said to his brother, waving his hands around in a panic. Al quickly obeyed.
"What's because of the Philosopher's Stone?" Hawkeye asked suspiciously.
"Uh, n-nothing! J-just and inside joke!" Ed stuttered. Turning around, Ed started walking again. "C-come on; let's go!"
Although no one really believed him, no one questioned him about, and they continued walking again towards the Rockbell's.
For the most part, the journey was uneventful, until the group came across a man walking past them on a dirt road. All of them quickly dove for cover, until Hawkeye asked, "Isn't that Sergeant Block? Is he after Ed and Al?"
"Oh, no!" Winry assured her, "He came here with Lieutenant Ross to warn them; he's good."
Walking out onto the road, it was only then they realized he was crying- bawling, more accurately. "What's wrong, Sergeant?" Winry asked.
He sniffed pathetically, "I'm dead her eyes," he muttered, "I'm dead in her eyes!"
………………
"A long time ago, I saw a bird with wings as black as obsidian; it's the exact same color as your hair. Thank you, for bring back such a beautiful memory to me," A man with long blond hair, tied back in a ponytail, whose golden eyes where slightly hidden behind a pair of glasses, spoke to a flustered Lieutenant Ross.
"What a kind thing to say," she said, blushing.
Off to the side, hidden in nearby bushes on the Rockbell property, Winry asked Mustang in an annoyed voice, "Aren't there more important things for us to do?"
"More important than love?" he countered.
Off to the side, Al commented, "He looks familiar. Don't you think so, Brother? … Brother?"
Al glanced around, only to realize that his brother was gone, and was now charging at the deck of the Rockbell's house with an infuriated lock on his face. He leapt up and onto the porch and slammed his fist into the blond man's face; he landed on the ground a few feet off of the deck. "You're gone for ten years and I come home to that! Damn you, old man!" he shouted.
Al gasped, "Dad?"
………………
A/N: I so sorry I haven't updated in so long! But, just to thank you all for waiting, I've written the longest chapter yet: 1985 words, not including author's notes or the disclaimer. Although it isn't the longest chapter ever, I tried really hard writing this: much of the dialogue from the episode comes directly from the episode of FMA Hoenheim of Light. Although I didn't write out the entire episode, I wrote out as much of it as I could and still have it all fit in a chapter.
Once again, I apologize for taking so long to update. I'll try and update the next chapter as soon as possible. So, don't forget to read and review, because the more reviews I get, the faster I'll update. That's just how I work.
Oh yeah, one more thing! On the pairing with Ed, so far it looks that it will most likely be EdWinry. Although I don't read the pairing myself, if that's what you all really want I guess I'll do it. The only one I straight out won't do is the triangle, because I a) don't like it, and b) can barely write already-in-love, and I really can't do the falling-in-love thing so good. Sorry about that. Oh yeah, and thank you to the reviewer who was brave enough to suggest EdRoy! Although I won't write it unless at least three more people ask for it, I appreciate someone being brave enough to actually say that would make a good pairing!