Metallic Hearts [A FullMetal Alchemist Story Part Thirty: Assault On South Headquarters
Yoki sat in a dump, a bunch of people passed by him looking through the piles of trash. p
Man: "Hey, find anything good?" p
Yoki: "Nope. Just garbage." p
Man: "Well, keep trying, man. We got to pull our own weight around here." Yoki looked up to see Scar and his company. p
Master: "Thank you for such a warm welcome. But are you sure? You realize, who we are, and where we're from?" p
Leader: 'Judging by your complexion and eye color, I'm guessing Ishbalan right? But you don't have to worry. This is a place of refuge, for anyone who was banished from his or her homeland, no questions asked. We accept criminals and military deserters alike. You must be thirsty." Yoki ran like lightening through the wreckage. p
Yoki: "I found him! I found the Ishbalan with the scar on his face. It's the opportunity you've been waiting for, Yoki!"
With Ed
Ed: "Wait! Hold on! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to attack you back there!" Ed ran after the boy. The boy transmuted the wall and slid through it. "He just slipped through a solid brick wall, but how?" Ed went to Transmute the wall, but stopped. "If you can't tell, I'm a little busy right now." p
Lizard Man: "They say you're a genuine State Alchemist looking to get his hand on the Philosopher's Stone.
Sig: "Ham 128 zens a pound." p
Archer: "I need to speak with Miss. Izume. Can you tell me where to find her?" p
Sig: "Chicken Breast 160 zens." p
Archer: "Maybe you can tell me if Edward or Alphonse Elric have been here? Or Lita Nitro?" p
Mason: "Do you have any idea who this joker is, or what he might want with the kids?" p
Winry: "Not the one man, but the tall ones usually friendly, but he doesn't look happy now." p
Archer: "We're here on official military business, you don't have to hide them." p
Armstrong: "I'll take care of this one sir." Armstrong took off his shirt and started flexing his muscles, Sig ripped off his shirt and it became a contest. p
Winry: "Wait, Major. Ed and Al are. . ." The two shook hands. p
Mason: "I guess they earned each others respect. Their muscles did the talking for them." p
Winry: "That's just odd." p
Archer: "What did you say miss, about Edward and Alphonse."
Back With Ed
Ed: "I don't know what you mean?" p
Lizard Man: "Oh, I think you do. Rumor has it that you sacrificed your brother's body and had to transmute his soul. Why you used his and not your own they don't say." Ed kicked him upside the head and hit him n the nose. "Ungrateful bastard, I trying to get you to safety. That means you and that freak you call a brother." Al appeared be hind him. p
Al: "Who are you callin' a freak?" The Lizard man knocked Al's head off. p
Lizard: "It's true what they say you are as hollow as a tin can. Tucker was right." p
Al: "Tucker!" p
Ed: "Now you're dead." p
Lizard Man: "What, it's not like it hurt when I decapitated him." p
Ed: "You wont get away that easy." Ed created a wall with his Alchemy. p
Lizard Man: "Your powers are uncanny." The lizard scaled the wall. "But mine are uncanny too." p
Ed: "What the hell. Was that thing?" You ran up and grabbed Al's head, putting it back on him. p
You: "Chimera more than likely." p
Archer: "A Chimera? It must have escaped during all the commotion at Laboratory Five." p
You: "Major, we haven't seen you in a while." p
Armstrong: "Yes. This man is Lieutenant Colonel Frank Archer, he is the leader of the Military Core." p
You: "And last time I checked, I didn't care," p
Al: "You must have worked near Lieutenant Colonel Hughes then. Tell me, how's he doing." p
Archer: "We'd like to ask you a few questions about Laboratory and a few other unexplained circumstances." p
You: "Yeah. . .no. Your apart of the military, and not in close corners with me, so you an kiss my ass. I have work to do." You transmuted the wall into an archway. "Come on." p
Archer: "She's certainly interesting." p
Armstrong: "And she hasn't seemed to take a very strong liking to you." The boy was trying to press his hands and feet together when he lost his balance and started rolling off the roof. You reached out and grabbed onto him, Al holding onto you. The boy blinked. p
???: "What just happened?" p
You: "What do you mean 'what just happened' we just saved your dumb ass." You all sat on the rood together. p
???: "How come my arms and legs look so different from both yours?" p
Ed: "That's because, one of my arms and legs aren't real." p
???: "That's dumb, what'dya do with the real ones you were born with?" p
You: "You know, we were bored one day, thought we'd spice things up a bit." p
???: "Well, where are they now?" p
You: "We lost them." p
???: "You think someone might have found them by now?" p
You: "Yeah, maybe." p
Al: "What about you? Are you sure you don't know where that scar cane from?" p
???: "Nope." p
Al: "It could just be a coincidence. But what would they be doing back here? You have to admit that's a little weird." p
Ed: "Yeah, it's more than just a little weird. But as long we're in the realm of possibilities, let's just say he was somehow capable of salvaging my limbs from the Gate. Possibly, we could get your body too." p
Archer: "Here, take a look at the kids right foot." Archer handed a gun to Armstrong and he looked through it. The tattoo of the Ouroborus was on the heel of his foot. "He may be the key to the mystery of laboratory five. I want him detained." p
Armstrong: "What should we do about the Elric Brothers and Lita?" p
Archer: "Forget them, now we've found a much more valuable target." p
???: "Hey, is everything okay or did I do something wrong?" Something made part of the roof explode. You looked over to see Armstrong throwing projectiles at you. p
You: "Major, what the hell are you doing?" The boy fell off of the roof and Armstrong caught him. You jumped off the roof and landed gently, on your feet, like a cat. "What the hell do you want with him, he's an innocent kid who's lost his memory." p
Archer: "He may be a material witness to everything that happened in laboratory five." He lifted up the kids leg to show you all the Ouroborus. "Give me a few hours with him, and I'll tell you who was behind the destruction of laboratory five." They began to walk away but you stepped in front of Archer. "It seems we have a problem." p
You: "When my new manicure meets your face, then we'll have a problem. I swear to god, if anything happens to him, I'm holding you personally responsible. Do we have an understanding?" Archer made no reply. You grabbed onto the front of his jacket. "Do we have an understanding?" p
Archer: "Of course, honey." You slapped him. p
You: "Don't call me, honey." And you let him go. p
Armstrong: "Go to your teachers house." p
You: "Go to hell. And I thought this investigation had been suspended by the Fuhrer himself." Armstrong just turned around and started to walk around. "A long time ago, a fox took a bite out of Ed's arm. That kid has the same scar in the same spot. And there's his left leg, that looks as though it doesn't belong with the rest of his body." p
Armstrong: "You honestly think that his arm and leg is Edward's?" p
You: "I'm not sure, but that's why we need the chance to confirm it." p
Armstrong: "Don't pursue this." Al jumped down from the roof. p
Al: "How can we stop? This is the kind of break we've been hoping for?" p
Armstrong: "What happens if we do investigate and find out that his arm and leg are really yours, Edward? Then what? What would you do, Ed? Would you tear them off his body and sew them on yourself?" p
Ed: "Of course not." p
Armstrong: "Then you're better off, never knowing the truth." And he walked off.
Central
Secretary: "Yoki, you say? I know I've heard that name before." p
Soldier: "He claims he once over saw the mining operation in Youswell in the East." p
Secretary: "Yes, I remember now." p
Yoki: "Yes, that's right, I saw him with my own two eyes." Yoki whispered into the phone near the dump. He laughed at the storeowner who was looking at him skeptically. "Yes, yes, that's correct." p
Secretary: "Well, that's wonderful news. I'll be sure to let Fuhrer Bradley know and if it does happen to be true, he may reinstate you into the military." p
Yoki: "Thank you!"
Lizard Man
Lizard Man: "And the military man slung him over his back and carried him all the way to South Headquarters for questioning, that cat girl didn't seem to happy about it either." p
Greed: "What a shame. . . But good for you for finding this out, he sounds special. I want you to forget about tracking the Smellrick Brothers for now and concentrate on the kid. If you do get his hands on him, make sure the girl sees, this kid could be perfect bait." And he hung up the phone. "Turns out those Elric Boys were exactly as you described them." Tucker sat at the bar of the "Devil's Nest" p
Tucker: "Yes, I'm sure they'll be of use to you." p
Greed: "When I first heard that Envy, Pride and the rest were after these three I didn't exactly care. I just wanted them for myself to piss off the others. But now they've lead us to someone worth chasing. To think there is a Homunculus, like me, that can honestly use Alchemy. We need to have him on our side, or things could get messy later." p
???: "Let me break him out, sir." p
Greed: "Have you gone insane? You can't just waltz in there, that place is a bloody fortress. You should know that, you're a former military lab rat." p
Kimbley: "Not that anyone asked, but I used to be stationed in South Headquarters back in the day." p
???: "You're right, we didn't ask, so keep your trap shut, State Alchemist." p
Greed: "No, since you so passive-aggressively volunteered, perhaps you can guide these two there. But if I've learned you've betrayed our cause, I won't be feeling to friendly." p
Kimbley: "You can rest easy, Boss-Man. All I really want, is to make some fireworks again."
With You
Izume: "What did you do to him?" p
You: "We didn't do anything, why are you making such a big fuss about him, anyway?" She turned around to glare at you. p
Al: "Maybe it's the best thing for him. They may be able to track down his identity. Besides, he's not human." Her hand twitched. "You may not believe they exist, but we've had more than our share of encounters with Homunculi recently. They're real and they're terrifying. They have powers that ordinary humans don't. A mouth that can chew through Metal. Fingers that can extend and pierce anything. There's even a Homunculus that can morph into anyone. That child may have special abilities, Teacher, but that's because he's a monster." Izume walked up to him and pushed him back. p
Izume: "Do you have the slightest idea of how a Homunculus is brought into this world, Alphonse? Do you take me for a fool? Do you honestly think I had no idea what that child was?" Before anyone could say anything else she began to throw up blood again. Sig picked her up and ran her to a hospital. p
Winry: "So, she's been sick all of this time?" p
Al: "Yeah, but since she acts so strong, sometimes we forget." p
Winry: "What's her illness? Maybe if we transfer her to a hospital in Central, they can find a cure." p
Doctor: "Miss, I'm afraid that won't do her much good." p
Winry: "No offense, doctor, but I think a big city hospital would be better equipped." p
You: "He means, what she's got can't be cured." p
Doctor: "All of her internal organs from here to here are missing." He pointed from her liver to her small intestines. "It looks as though somehow they were just taken away. Amazingly, the remaining organs have adapted to make up for the anatomical slack. Still, I don't know how she's survived this long." p
Al: "Could that mean?" p
You: "You heard what he said Al. As if they were just taken away. She must have tried to do the same thing we did. Hypocritical." A nurse pushed open the door and called for the doctor. Izume's room was now empty, the curtains blowing in the breeze.
Izume
Izume: "Thank you, honey, but I'm okay now. I'm doing this alone, I have too." p
Sig: "You wouldn't let me help last time, and I know there was nothing I could have done." p
Izume: "Please, I don't want you to see, what I'm going to have to do." And she walked into South Headquarters." You, Ed and Al ran to South Headquarters. p
Al: "Lita, you were right, she is here." Sig was standing in front of the entrance. Huge cliff like boulders bulged out of the building. Not speaking to Sig you rushed into the building. p
Winry: "Mr. Sig, please tell me Izume's not inside. Why are you just ignoring me, I asked you a question?! They're all in harms way, Izume, Ed, Al and Lita. Why do they do this?" p
Sig: "I didn't know. I couldn't have. She felt guilty." Izume walked down the halls of South Headquarters. "As though it were her fault. But it was my decision to safe her life at the expense of our unborn child." She transmuted the floor to suck up the soldiers in her path. "Still, she apologized to me repeatedly." She broke down another soldiers gun and kicked him in the stomach. "For not being strong enough to give birth." p
Winry: "The baby, I see." p
Sig: "Afterwards, I never understood the depths of the depression she suffered. Or how heavily the loss weighed on her heart." Izume pushed open the door to the room that held the child. "I certainly never imagined she would resort to that. The same taken by your friends." p
Winry: "She tried to revive the baby?" Izume placed her hand on the wall and Archer, Armstrong and the investigators fell through to the basement. p
Sig: "She went off all by herself. And wouldn't tell me what happened when she came back." The straps transformed into clothes to cover the boy. "But, when she came back to me. All of her internal organs were missing. She said she would never be able to get pregnant again. And again, she told me she was sorry." p
Lizard Man
Lizard Man: "Would you like to start this party off with a bang?" Kimbley clapped and set his hands on the side of the building, nothing happened. p
Kimbley: "It seems I'm going to need a little more Sulfur." He grabbed a passing soldier. "That'll do." And a huge explosion rocked the building. You grabbed onto Al to keep yourself steady. p
Archer: "Oh, what now?! Major, we have to keep moving if we're going to catch that. . ." Archer looked up to see Fuhrer Bradley walking towards them. p
Bradley: "My, my, things sure are hoping around here today." p
Ed: "Teacher!" p
You: "I'm going to have to ask you to put him down and get out of here. Listen, like it or not, I'm part of the military now." Fuhrer Bradley, Archer and Armstrong walked up to Izume. "What the hell, what's the Fuhrer doing here?" Another explosion opened up the wall behind you. Al jumped in front of you to stop the rubble from hitting you. "Great, you guys are here too." Kimbley and the Lizard Man walked through the smoke. p
Lizard Man: "So sorry to intrude, we just came for the kid." p
You: "Izume, the Military, and these idiots. Looks like it's a four way fight." p
Bradley: "Well then, I guess I make five."
The Camp
Scar: "That man that just walked by. Do you know him? Is he another Ishbalan refugee?" p
Master: "Keep your distance from that one. Didn't you see that tattoo brandished across his face? A shameful mark of a sinner. He went against God's ways and for that he was banished from Ishbal forever."
Central
Roy: "There's a camp in Kishuwa, full of the disenfranchised. What of it, sir?" p
Fuhrer: "We have reason to believe that Scar is hiding there. Take care of it, Colonel." p
Roy: "We're moving out!" Roy stood infront of Hawkeye, Kain, Breda and Falmon. "To the city of Kishuwa's western slum. That's where Scar is hiding. If he surrenders, great, we do everything we can to keep the peace, but if he resists. Let's be ready to take him down. And anyone else who gets in the way."