Sub Chapter6: Memory
Firedude: Here's the next chapter ready to go! Once again I apologize for the wait. I'm actually typing a book so I'm having trouble keeping my typing schedule straight.
Of Icicles and Snowballs: I surprised you there didn't I? No the Sol Katti is not made of lead you'll see what happens.
Zeek72: I always wondered what would happen if a gun was brought into the story… so I did! Yes the homunculi do give off magical aura and you'll find out about Zega (I didn't want to introduce the mana sight until now).
FireemblemPRO: Yes they were evil the whole time so they could get to Zang. Gustaph is his grandfather yes, pretty good eh? I know it was Etruria and I said Lycia, I did it on purpose, yes. You'll see why soon enough.
BattleWiz88: I'll have you know I take pride in my OC's thank you very much (I like adding in my own characters no matter how many they are).
Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem or any of its characters. I own Chikage, Alderoffe, Shadow, Quill, Onimaru, Inomaru, Yuan, Vren, Marco, Rico, Girfu, Ziroka, Alicia, Marie, Lean, Kain, Ryoko, Poz, Phray and Dahrk. Kota, Gustaph, Mystic, Tyrana, Zega, Nord, Tryst, Sauske, Ellena and Zang belong to fans and friends.
Firedude: Well here we go! Ready? Set? On with the show!
Poz woke up with a stinging feeling in his head. He sat up and rubbed his head, while looking around the strange room. It took him a minute before he realized where he was and what happened the day before. He saw a stove and a kettle on the other side of the room. He stood up and grabbed the kettle. He walked outside to see that it was still dark out and that the sun was rising. He walked over to the pump and pumped water out into the kettle. This is the worst possible thing that could be happening to be me right now. What the hell am I...? He picked up the kettle and walked inside.
He set the kettle down on the stove and lit the logs within it. He turned around and sat down at the kitchen table. Poz rubbed his temples and tried to think about what to do next. He took out the letter and skimmed through it. With his focus back he realized how easy it was to decipher the message. So Phray wants me to go to Ostia... No this is too easy I shouldn't go. She must be in league with that deranged priest and that demon child. He put the message back in his pocket before leaning back into his chair and closed his eyes.
Poz then noticed something was wrong. He opened his eyes and saw something moving in the corner of the room. It was a simple shadow, but Poz paled when he realized that it wasn't his. The shadow slowly moved up and down the walls. Poz pulled open a nearby drawer and threw the kitchen knife that was lying inside. The shadow suddenly disappeared as the knife stuck into the wall. Poz calmed down and closed the drawer. He poured the hot water out of the kettle and into a nearby cup. He opened a jar and took out a tea bag from it. He soaked it in the cup before throwing it out the window.
How do I know where everything is in this place? Poz quickly sat back down in his chair and took a small sip of tea. Feeling a little insecure he spoke to himself. "Everything is going to be alright… I'm just a little paranoid is all." Suddenly a laugh came from the table. Poz shot up and a saw a large black cat starring at him. Poz laughed to himself and wiped his forehead. "It's only a cat."
"And you're only a human." Poz's eyes shot open and he starred at the cat. The cat simply sat there unflinching as Poz was going insane. "Don't panic… this could be anything… I'm still asleep… There was a drug in the water… I'm going insane." Another laugh came from the cat. "You're correct on that last one." Poz fell to the ground and tried to get a grip. After a minute Poz jumped to his feet and kept his cool. "What are you odd creature?" The cat hissed at the question. "How dare you! I'm no creature! I'm Dahrk and what may I ask you are mistake of nature!?"
Poz gritted his teeth and felt like grabbing the cat. "I'm called Poz and I'm a homunculus, a creation of alchemy." Dahrk laughed and started licking its paw. "They're both the same thing are they not?" Poz started to clench fists and felt his fangs start to grow longer. The cat laughed some more. "Are you going to turn back into that monster from before? Are you so angry that you would hurt an innocent creature like me?" Poz's fangs returned to normal and he relaxed. "I would never do that!" Dahrk laid down and shot back "Then why did you do what you did yesterday?"
Poz laughed and began to walk away. "What's wrong with me? I'm having an argument a cat! I'm just going to go home and go to sleep." Suddenly the door to the cabin shut. Poz struggled to twist the knob and open the door. "Go home? What a joke. You have no home and nobody wants you." Poz felt the anger begin to over take him again. He quickly relaxed himself and looked back at the cat. "And just what is it that you know about me?"
"I know everything there is about you. The people you've met and the things you've done over the past few days. You're life prior to becoming a homunculus, even who the person was who revived you." Poz stood there for minute before sitting back down. "So what is it that you can tell me?" Dahrk laughed and walked around the table a little. "First thing is first, you must make a decision." Poz leaned back and starred at the ceiling. "There's always strings attached isn't there?"
The cat laughed and curled up on the table once more. "As you know there is a risk to being a homunculus. On one hand you are gifted with amazing abilities while on the other hand you slowly go mad. You can end it all right now if you wish." Poz laughed and sipped his tea. "I already tried killing myself so I doubt there is much you can do." The cat glared at him before standing up. He took out a piece of chalk that was on the nearby counter and started drawing an odd circle on the table. The cat then took a metal butter from the table and laid it in the center of the circle. He then tapped the edge of the circle and a brilliant light shined from it. After a few seconds all that remained on the table was the knife.
Poz studied it carefully and noticed that the butter knife had become sharp. "So what you sharpened it." Dahrk hissed again at Poz's comment. "You fool that's not all I did! I changed the metal of the knife into lead." Poz studied the knife carefully and noticed the change. "So what I've seen alchemy before." Dahrk sighed and paced the table some more. "Lead is the weakness of the homunculi. As soon as lead pierces the skin of the homunculi and touches its blood stream the homunculi loses its power to heal and can die. So as I said if you want this to end take your own life with that blade."
Poz sat there in silence for a minute. He hesitantly reached for the knife and picked it up. He gazed into it for a minute. He remembered how crazed he was and how brutally he had slayed the bandits the day before. He laughed for a second before putting the knife back down. "I'm not ready to leave this world until I find out who I truly am, besides I need to get back at that Sauske guy." The cat purred and replied "Alright then I shall tell you what you need to know, but first I must discuss something with you. Lead is not the only element that you must avoid."
"Element? You mean like anima magic." Laid down on the table and sighed. "Talking to you is like driving a rusty nail into my skull. You don't have to worry your pretty little head about what an element is, just pay attention to what I'm about to tell you. I told you what lead can do to you, but you must also beware another metal." Dahrk jumped off the table and scoured through the drawers of the house for a few minutes. "Aha! I found it." The cat came back to the table and dropped a bright metal on the table. Poz starred at it captivated by its mysterious glow. Dahrk quickly knocked it off the table to break Poz of his trance.
Poz shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "What… What the hell was that!?" Dahrk sat on the table until Poz stopped rubbing his eyes. "That was the element gold. It has the power to hypnotize homunculi." Poz rubbed the side of his head and laughed a little. "So why did you do that then?" Dahrk yawned and glared at Poz. "I was trying to make a point. If you ever come up against an opponent who has gold at their disposal you can consider yourself dead."
Poz listened intently as Dahrk continued. "Now that is out of the way we can move on. You're true name is-." Suddenly there was a loud rapping at the door. Poz quickly turned towards it and turned back to Dahrk, but he had disappeared. "Damn cat…" Poz walked over to the door and opened it. Standing on the other side was Ryoko and Zang. "Oh… it's you two." He swung his arm in a gesture to come in. They walked inside and took a seat at the table as Poz poured them some tea.
"You left quite the mess to clean up back in town. People are too afraid to even come close to the inn and the town guards are traumatized." Poz put their tea down on the table and sat down silently. "It was not my intention to kill those bandits." Zang sipped his tea before standing. "None the less you killed them and saved the town." Ryoko smiled and nodded. "That's right, everyone is grateful. They're… just a little scared." Poz laughed a little at her remark. "It's alright I need no praise for such a foul act."
There was an awkward silence for a few minutes before Poz broke the silence again. "So what's the story of you two?" Zang turned towards the window and remained silent for a few minutes. Ryoko sighed and turned towards Poz. "Don't mind him he doesn't like to talk about his past. Anyway, I was born into the Kutolan tribe and my parents worked the town tavern." She closed her eyes and smiled for a few minutes. She then opened her eyes and frowned. "They were killed by a bandit invasion a few years ago." They all remained silent for a few minutes, before Zang spoke up "…Ten years ago I was the Prince of the Etrurian territory of Kuwain." Poz laughed a little at the claim.
"Sure, did I ever tell you how I killed I dragon with a tooth pick and ate its ribs?" In a blink of an eye Zang drew both of his swords and held them to Poz's neck. "Our country was larger in size and more powerful than Ostia by three fold. Other Etrurian territories began to feel threatened by our power that they hired an organization to destroy our government. They assassinated my father, poisoned the army and burned down the capital. With no formal order or an army to enforce the law, the country broke out into total anarchy.
The other territories quickly conquered and divided the territories amongst themselves. My mother was driven into a deep depression and committed suicide. Meanwhile a small territory in Lycia was in the same turmoil as Kuwain. My grandfather and I quickly took over and renamed the territory Kuwain. I soon realized that I did no enjoy royal life, so I came to Sacae and rejoined the Kutolan tribe." Poz blinked as Zang sheathed his swords. "Rejoined the tribe?" Zang sat down at the table and put his feet up. "My mother was a member of the Kutolan tribe before she married my father."
They all stayed silent before Zang spoke "So, what's the plan?" Both Poz and Ryoko looked at him with a puzzled look. "We didn't shelter you at the tavern for nothing. How can we help you regain your identity?" Poz smiled and replied "The only clue I have is to go to the Ostian clock tower." Zang stood up and walked out the door. "We leave in one hour. Ryoko close up the tavern." Ryoko jumped onto her feet happily and skipped out the door. "Yes sir!" Zang slammed the door behind them as Poz got up and poured the rest of the kettle out the window.
There was a high pitched his and a black blur jumped by him. He turned to see Dahrk sitting on the table again but this time completely soaked. "Thank you very much for the bath you bastard." Dahrk hissed and swiped at Poz who swiftly side stepped. "Sorry I didn't see you there." The door to the cabin suddenly opened. Poz was shocked to see Ellena standing in the doorway. "Is she a friend of yours?" Poz shook his head as the girl walked towards them. "No, she hangs around a crazy priest who is trying to kill me." The girl tripped over a chair and fell to the floor. She rubbed her knee and sat down in the chair. "What's wrong with her?"
"She's blind and mute, but for some reason she has no trouble finding me." Dahrk laughed and curled up in the girl's lap. "You really don't know anything about homunculi do you? Homunculi can be seen by the blind heard by the deaf and can hear the mute." Poz nodded out of interest and looked up at Ellena. "Is it true Ellena? Can you see me?" She smiled and nodded. "You are the only person, besides Sauske who I can see and speak to." Poz smiled and sat down. "So what are you doing here?" Elena put the now sleeping Dahrk on the table and she stood up. "…Sauske is gone…" Poz frowned and patted Ellena on the back.
"…So you eavesdropped on the conversation I was having earlier and you want to come with us to Ostia." Ellena nodded eagerly. "Sauske said something about going to Ostia the night before and then the next morning he was gone." Poz nodded and looked out the door to see that all of her bags were outside waiting. "Fine you can come." Ellena smiled and ran out the door. "I suppose I should come too." Poz looked over to see that Dahrk was awake and starring at him. "I must give you my knowledge of alchemy so you don't end up going crazy and destroying everything."
Poz nodded and grumbled. "I can take care of myself, but if you insist on coming then fine." Dahrk sat up and stared coldly at Poz. "There is one thing however that I require you to do." Poz nodded and listened carefully. "…Carry me please." He slapped his forehead and scooped up the large cat. "I better get something extra out of this." A few minutes later they arrived at the edge of town where Ellena, Ryoko and Zang were waiting. "Hey Poz what took you so long? And why is this psycho girl here?"
"Sauske abandoned her so she's traveling with us for now." Ryoko came bouncing over and swiped Dahrk away from Poz. He noticed that Ryoko had a large pack of supplies from the tavern strapped to her back along with a whip tied up on her waist. "What a cute cat! Is he yours?" Poz laughed as she scratched Dahrk under the chin. "Well you can say that. Why don't you say hello to her Dahrk?" Ryoko laughed and began to walk away. "You know cats can't talk." Dahrk glared at Poz coldly. "Are you some kind of idiot!? Only homunculi can understand the cat language!" Poz scratched the back of his head and muttered "That would've been nice to know…"
"Well then… we're off." Said Zang as the group began to walk off. Ryoko placed Dahrk on her backpack so he could sleep as she guided Ellena by the hand. Poz stood there and watched the group walk ahead of him. A crazy swordsman, a childish tavern owner, a blind mage and a cat alchemist... this is going to be one long trip..." Poz then quickly ran after them.
Firedude: Well there it was. To be honest I'm not sure how long it'll take to update, but I'll do my best. I got to juggle typing this and my book so I'll try. Until next time! And in case you couldn't tell sentences in bold mean that only homunculi can understand.