Metallic Hearts [FullMetal Alchemist Part Thirty-Four: Theory Of Avarice
Ed: "Will you cut this act? We told you everything we know!" p
Archer: "I'm sorry, sir. But the instructions from Lieutenant Colonel Archer were very clear." p
Ed: "This isn't a time for protocol, they've captured another State Alchemist and my little brother."
Archer: "The Crimson Alchemist Zolf J. Kimbley and the Sewing Life Alchemist Shou Tucker. A pair of infamous ghosts." p
Kimbley: "I've held my end of the bargain. How about you?" p
Archer: "You don't have to worry. Neither do you doctor. I'll guarantee safety for you both. See, you're under the protection of Frank Archer now. I'm reinstating you both into the military to continue research. But this time you'll be working directly under me." p
Tucker: "You'll let me finish my work?" p
Archer: "Yes, I'll be changing my orders. Tell the officers not to take prisoners, kill anyone who looks suspicious. I want this place clean." p
Soldier: "But sir, there are civilians, are you sure that's okay?" p
Archer: "It is now." 'Now that Tucker is on our side, those creatures can be replaced. And not even Greed can stop me, as long as I have this." Soldiers ran down the sewers shooting anyone in their path. Dorochet growled and turned around ready to face the soldiers. p
You: "Be smart, turn around." He turned around slowly and your eyes glowed again, and the soldiers flew back. A wall blew up and Armstrong walked out of it. "Fantastic." p
Armstrong: "I am Alex Louis Armstrong, but you can just call me the Strong Arm Alchemist." Law set Al down. "My demands are simple, give Alphonse and Lita to me." p
Lust: "Sloth is quite the slave driver. Ruthless to the bone. Oh well, it is her fault that Greed slipped away in the first place. Guess she has no choice. Okay, Greed, it's your move, what next?" Law's hammer and Armstrong's fist collided, Law was pushed back and his hammer was turned into a tiny structure of Armstrong. p
Armstrong: "Behold, an example of the articulate Alchemy that has been passed down the Armstrong Line for generations." p
Law: "Well, then I guess I'll need more than this to stand a chance. Maybe some real muscle instead." Law grew in muscle size and in height and two horns pushed out of his forehead. p
Armstrong: "I'm not sure what to say." Law definitely matched Armstrong in strength now as the two went into a real fight. Armstrong picked up Law and tossed him off the ledge. You used your powers to stop Law from falling and set him back on the ground. "Why are you helping your captures?" p
You: "They've been a lot better to me in the last few days then you have these last few months. And it's not any news that I'm not happy with you." p
Greed: "Aw, has the Kitten finally warmed up to me? You should have told me, baby." He scratched under your chin. p
You: "Don't touch me." He dropped his hand and frowned at you. Greed turned back to Armstrong. p
Greed: "I'm afraid we can't stay to long, but pass a message to Kimbley and Archer for me. Tell them both they've just wasted theirs." Law punched the wall and grabbed Al again. p
Soldier: "They've finally calmed down. He was being a noisy pain in the ass earlier." p
Soldier 2: "Yeah, well, I guess he got tired of whining. That's better for us." Little did they know that instead of three humans there were three dummies just waiting to be discovered. Greed walked around smoking a cigarette and he looked over at you. p
Greed: "Can't you fix her?" Al shook his head. p
Al: "Those ears and tail, they circle through her entire nerve system, if I mess up I could injure her for life, or worse kill her. I'm not the skilled, only Ed can fix any injuries she has." Greed sighed. p
Greed: "Sorry about that honey." You shrugged. p
You: "Just be lucky I can't yell at you." p
Greed: "Good, I bet you could nag the pain off the wall." You tried to smile but it only brought pain. p
You: "Ow! No attempts at jokes!" p
Greed: "Attempts? That was comic gold." p
You: "Greed!" p
Lust: "How long did you think you would last? It's been a trill but times up." p
Greed: "And who are you?" p
Lust: "From what I've been told you've all ready met Gluttony. And as for me, I'm the new Lust." p
Greed: "You don't say." p
Lust: "I don't usually like to be quick about these things, but you have two options here Greed. You can either be sealed again, or you could die right here." p
You: "And whose gonna pull that off, don't tell me it's you?" p
Lust: "Here's a story. A lowly Homunculus tried to defy the person that pulls all the strings. And is locked in a cell for 140 years." You let out a small whistle. Damn, he's old. "When he escapes, that person gets angry, and gives us everything we need to end it." p
Gluttony: "End it. End it!" p
Lust: "Oh, how rude. So good to see you Lita." p
You: "Good to see you too, Lust. Gonna try and have Envy kill me again?" She smiled at you. p
Lust: "I'm not here for you today, possibly another time?" p
You: "I'll make sure to give you a key to the front door, we could have tea and crumpets, do each others nails, have a sleepover." Dorochet walked up to you, katana unsheathed and he cut the chain to your handcuffs. p
Dorochet: "We don't have time to talk, kid. Just cooperate." He took care of Al as well. p
Law: "Make sure Marta is safe." p
You: "What are you gonna do?" p
Law: "Get out of here, Greed. We'll take care of this." p
Greed: "This is my problem." p
Law: "Well, it's ours now. We're not going to lose you here." p
Lust: "My, you sure have some loyal pawns don't you?" p
Dorochet: "You can blame it on the Alchemist who engineered me. I was combined with a dog, loyalty just runs in the blood." p
Law: "Greed gave us hope for nothing, now we're returning the favor." p
Greed: "Come on." Greed opened the door and you and Al ran out of it. p
You: "Be safe." Dorochet and Law looked at you and you smiled. p
Lust: "And what did they combine you with?" p
Law: "You may run for it if you wish, Dorochet. You know that." p
Dorochet: "Sure I could and I'd get away too. But after all of that talk I'd sure look like a fool." p
Law: "Then you're at peace with this?" p
Dorochet: "You're asking me now?" And they ran into battle together for the last time. A bunch of crows rose to the sky and Ed looked up. p
Ed: "Wait a minute. That's right over Dante's house." p
Greed: "It's just us now. You're such good hostages. You could have just fled you know. I've been a little distracted." p
Al: "That's not what I'm worried about now." p
Greed: "Yeah, right, hey Marta?" p
Marta: "Yes?" p
Greed: "Stay in this can til morning. If I'm not back by then you're on your own. Just make sure you have some fun. Okay?" p
Marta: "Greed, what are you gonna do?" p
Greed: "Can't get into it, the talkings done. See ya, honey." He winked at you and ran off. Marta tried to get out of Al but he held his head down, you jumped into a tree and tried to go to sleep. "After all this time I'm back at the beginning of the tale. I'm not sure what I came here for. Maybe I'm going to beg that hag for my life. Maybe not." p
Lust: "That's a good boy, Greed. It will happen exactly as planned. I'd say we performed perfectly." Greed kicked the door down and walked into Dante's mansion. Lyra met him. p
Greed: "Where's the old lady?" p
Lyra: 'The reason you came here is simple. Because these are the grounds that witnessed your creation." Greed followed her into a room and it seemed as all of his energy was shot. Greed noticed a table at the end of the room, a pile of bones on it. p
Greed: "Those are. . ." p
Lyra: "Your bones, yes." p
Greed: "Where did you get those? And what did Dante tell you?" p
Lyra: "Dante is over there." Dante lay on the floor, dead. p
Greed: "What's going on here?" A blue light shown from the ceiling and Greed looked up at the array in horror. "How could you make that array? You're just a damn kid! Could it be?" Greed grabbed his stomach and started throwing up shards of the Philosopher's Stone. "My life. That's my life." He stumbled out of the array and dropped to his knees. He looked around and Lyra was gone. p
Ed: "I found you Greed!" Ed spotted Dante. "What the hell? Explained this Greed! What happened here?" p
Greed: "Beats me, I was gonna ask you that, kid." p
Ed: "You did this to her, didn't you? Are you gonna answer me?" p
Greed: "Blame me if you want, I really don't care." p
Ed: "How could you, she was helpless?" p
Greed: "Tell me Edward Elric how far would you go to protect your little girlfriend?" p
Ed: "What does that have to do with anything?" p
Greed: "Feelings can be hard to explain." p
Ed: "What are you talking about? What have you done to her?" p
Greed: "If you want her back, come on. You know what it takes." Ed got into fighting stance and Greed turned into his true form. Ed tried to block the shots, but the outside of Greed's body was to hard to get past. Ed punched Greed and his auto-mail chipped and started to fall apart. "You still have no idea what you're dealing with do you?" He swept at Ed's face and he was knocked back into a table and crashed to the floor. "I thought I was a mistake you were going to correct. This is the last time I'll say it. If you really want to stop me." p
Ed: "I best be ready to kill. I know." p
Greed: "You think you're ready for that?" p
Ed: "Remind me to thank my mechanic would you? Although it's busted all to hell, it's still functions pretty well. Lets go." Ed ran at him and he got punched, Ed tried to use Alchemy and Greed just threw him down. p
Greed: "You're Alchemy is worth nothing when you're fighting against me. Now it's my turn for fun." When Greed went to punch him, Ed turned his metal knuckles into spikes and punched back. The outer skin Greed wore disappeared and his bones and veins became visible. "What, the hell is it? What did you do you little bastard?" p
Ed: "It's easy when find it out. There are no unexplainable events everything can be explained by scientific measurable action. Even your precious shield. It's been said that Homunculi have the same body structures as humans. There's a key element in humans that helps with resistance to abrasion. Carbon. It makes up a third of every person. And Carbon's degree of hardness can be changed. Depending on the strength of it's atomic bond. It can mean the difference between a diamond or pencil lead." p
Greed: "Bet you Lita told you that." p
Ed: "She did actually." p
Greed: "Let's start." p
Ed: "Let's finish." Ed ducked a few punches and got a few of his own in when he saw an opening. He transmuted Greed's chest then jumped back, spearing him with his auto-mail. Ed had softened this shield in Greed's torso and pierced his heart. Greed's shield fell. p
Greed: "Damn you." Ed was shocked by Greed's weakened state as Greed fell to his knees. p
Ed: "What about Lita? Where are they?" p
Greed: "Back in the woods, I let them go." And he began to throw up blood. p
Ed: "But I thought. . ." p
Greed: "We Homunculi. We're born when an Alchemist tries to recreate life. We are weakened when we are near the remains of those the Alchemist tried to resurrect. That's the Homunculi's weak point. That's how we can be killed. And not come back." p
Ed: "But why? Why are you telling me this?" p
Greed: "So you can beat them Ed. They sealed me for so long. You can't let them stay in control. I'm greedy as hell, only out for myself. She always said it would be the death of me." Greed began to throw up again. "They pull the strings, don't cut them. I'm counting on you. Bring Lita back here, she'll know what to do. Tell her to extract the stones. She'll know what that means. It gives life. And give her this." He pointed to his armless leather fur jacket. "Tell her I'm sorry." And he closed his eyes. p
Ed: "Greed? Come on cut it out, this is a joke right? You're the ultimate shield, I can't kill you." Ed grabbed his hair and screamed. Archer sat in the back of a car when the bag sitting next to him crumbled. p
Archer: "Something's not right." You rested fast asleep on all as the sun began to rise. Marta stood up. p
Al: "Marta don't." Ed passed Marta in the woods and spotted you and Al. "Brother! Lita wake up!" You opened your eyes and immediately shut them again. p
You: "Who's the evil genius who decided to make morning so friggin bright?" You stood up and winced. "Probably the same evil genius who decided to make morning so friggin painful." You looked over to see Ed standing there. "Ed!" You jumped on him but almost yelled out in pain. He looked at you questioningly. "Broken jaw." p
Ed: "Let me fix that." And he mended your jaw back together. p
You: "Thank you." He grabbed your hand. p
Ed: "Come on, I need to show you something." He took you back to Dante's mansion, into the room. "Greed is dead. I killed him." You didn't say anything. "He wanted me to give you this." He handed you Greed's jacket. "And to tell you that he's sorry. He also wanted me to tell you. "To extract the stones, it gives life." He said you'd know what that means. He also said for me to bring you back to this room. That you would know what to do." You stared at the array on the floor. p
You: "Extract the stones, it gives life. . . Of course." They looked at you. "This array. It extracts the shards of the Philosopher's Stone out of a Homunculus. The stones make them immortal, and if they're all gone, they only have one life left. They can be killed that way. Give me a moment to copy this array." You sketched it out and Ed sat down next to you. "Ed, I wouldn't worry about it. You didn't mean to kill him I'm sure you didn't know." p
Ed: "That's right I didn't. But I learned something from him. There's no me without you." You looked up from your sketch. "I wouldn't be able to live without you here with me. I hope I never have too either." p
You: "Don't worry. I'm never gonna die, so you don't have to worry about that. I'm to big of a bitch." You gave him a smile and went back to your drawing.