Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or its characters. This original story idea was created by The Maine Coon Cat with the story In A Crumbling World. This story is based off the same idea.
Summary: A hundred and twenty-four years after Ed and Al's closing of the Gate, their descendants Nicholas King and Andrew Grayson attempted to once again do the ultimate alchemy taboo—creating a human being. A super human that could change the very fate of Earth and all its inhabitants. A being that possessed superior strength, skill, talent, speed, health. Funded by the US government, the two young men and a band of hand-picked scientists create an awe-inspiring discovery, and the world witnesses the birth of the super-human. A creature that will soon bear the entire fate of the world on his shoulders . . .
But behind the curtains of success dwells a sinister plot of death, destruction, and the reopening of the Gate. The very thing that Nick and Andy worked so hard to create is discovered to have the power to either destroy the world or save it. And it certainly doesn't make things better when that very being just happens to be Earth's parallel to another force, the Homunculus Envy . . .
The Alchemist's Son
***Interlude – Thoughts***
Who . . . am I?
What . . . am I?
Where . . . am I?
This . . . place . . .
"It's all up to you now, kiddo. You're a ray of hope."
It's . . . it's not the same! Was everything before just a dream?
"We've got some trouble down in Lab 6. Any clue where Dr. Harland might be?"
"He just left, Dr. Williams."
"Do you know where he was going?"
"Haven't the foggiest."
Those voices . . .
"Great. Just when you need that lazy oaf, he runs off and disappears."
"Maybe he's down in Lab 12. You know he likes to be on tabs with everyone's activities."
"Right. Yeah, good call."
"Wonder what that was about?"
"Who knows? With Dr. Williams, you can never tell what goes through that woman's head."
"Ha ha, good one, bro."
They're outside.
"Uh, Nick."
"He's dying!"
"Calm down! We can do this!"
Where I must be!
***Chapter 2: Awakening***
After the alarms had sounded, many of the scientists raced off to the cause of the problem. They all tried to squeeze into the chamber with Darwin was, and everyone breezed a sigh of relief when they saw Darwin sleeping peacefully.
Dr. Harland motioned to two scientists to take the humanoid into a sleeping chamber. As they left, he walked over to the two young men, hardly able to contain his wide beaming smile. "Well, King, Grayson. I knew it was a good idea for you two to be on my team."
"Thank you, sir," Andy said humbly while Nick boasted, "Yeah, where would you be without us?"
Harland laughed, especially after Andy gave Nick a glare. "Yes, true. Where would we be without you two?" He looked over his shoulder gravelly at the chamber Darwin had once been in. "Darwin might not have survived without you today. Thank God he made it. He was the last one…"
"Dr. Harland," Dr. Williams appeared by Harland's side and stated, "Since Darwin is out of the danger zone, how about we sent the boys home for some rest. I could use a bit of that myself." She then promptly pointed at Harland accursedly. "So could you."
Harland chuckled. "Do we all?" Clapping his hands, he called everyone's attention. After all, the birth of the first artificial human was closer and closer, and all the scientists had been blabbering like high school teenage gossipers. Once they were all looking at him, Harland announced, "To award you all for your time and effort, I shall give everyone the evening off, to relax, to sleep, or do whatever else enters your mind." Harland beamed again. "Then tomorrow, we celebrate! To move on to the next phase of the project!"
The entire room burst into cheers, and, gratefully, everyone departed from the chamber to their rooms with happy thoughts in mind.
Neither Nick nor Andy remember much of that evening. They vaguely remember trekking back to their rooms, shutting the door, and then the blanket of sleep overcame them. They had sweet dreams that night, each different and the same in their own ways. All was good.
Then morning came.
"Whaaaaaa!" Nick screamed, jerking out of bed. His foot caught under the sheets, twisting the blankets around him. He slid off the bed, slamming hard into the floor with his face. Groaning, Nick spread out his palms and pushed up. Something warm ran down his lip, and Nick licked the top to taste the bitter ting of iron.
Standing and wiping the blood from his nose, Nick sluggishly walked over to where the phone sat, blaring its wires out. He snatched the phone off the dock and spoke into the speaker. "Hello?"
"Well, well, you're finally up. Welcome back to the real world, sleeping beauty."
Nick sighed to the sound of the voice and smiled wearily. "Good to see you, too, Dr. Williams."
The said woman laughed. "So? Sleep well?"
"Yeah, I did, actually. I never slept better."
"Really? Good, because your health tests came back from last week and stated you were a bit insomniac."
Nick scoffed. "Please don't lecture me like my grandma. I'm an adult and can take care of myself. I don't need a babysitter."
"Yes, I can see plainly that you know exactly what you're doing." There was sarcasm practically oozing out of her voice, but Nick knew she only did this because she cared. The woman was divorced, taking care of a seventeen, nearly eighteen year-old girl by herself. Of course, Nick had no worries for Dr. Williams; the woman was as stubborn and hard-headed as they came.
Sitting back down on the bed, Nick rested his free arm on top of his legs and asked, "So, Darwin is out of the woods, what now?"
"Nothing now," Dr. Williams stated plainly. "We can't necessarily work with him if he's not awake. He's been sleeping since the incident."
Nick groaned. "Man, that thing's a sleeper."
Dr. Williams chuckled. "Yes. That made Dr. Harland almost crack up. He kept saying that his son did that all the time. Everyone's celebrating the birth of a new breed of humans."
A new breed of humans? Nick thought. I hope for everyone else's sake they don't give them the same scare Darwin gave us. Pulling himself out of posture, he stood and grabbed his jacket that hung on the bed post. "Well, I don't want to be late. After all, I'd like to be able to tell my grandkids the story of the first artificial human."
"Yes, but remember: Darwin isn't some circus act. He's a living, breathing human being, and that must be remembered at all times." She paused, then asked, "By the way, where's Andy? I tried to call him, but I had no lucky."
Nick chuckled. "Well, you know Andy. He's such a deep sleeper; not even a stampede of elephants can wake him up."
Dr. Williams snuffed. "Of course. I'll try him later. I still have some work I need to do, so you go enjoy the party that Harland and crew are throwing. You know how much I hate parties. They can be such a drag sometimes." Nick and Dr. Williams laughed together before he hung up and departed from the small room into the hallway.
The party was apparently taking place in the meeting room, the largest room in the upper part of the facility building. Once Nick stepped in, he immediately smelled booze and some other exotic scents that could only belong to cigars and the like.
Standing off in the corner, keeping a careful distance from everyone else, was Dr. Harland, nodding politely as his subordinates congratulated him for his success. Spotting Nick, Dr. Harland waved and slipped through the crowd to where the young man stood. He glanced around before placing a hand on Nick's shoulder. "I see you're refreshed today, Nicholas. That's good. But where on earth is your cousin?"
"Oh, Andy? He's sawing logs." Nick made the motion with his arm and snorted as if in deep sleep. Dr. Harland laughed loudly, throwing back his head in pure zeal. Then grasping Nick's shoulder tighter, the doctor led Nick out of the party room. Once they were away from the merry drunks, Dr. Harland spoke in a low but energetic tone, speaking almost too fast for Nick. "It's amazing, Nicholas. He's amazing. And even though he's not awake, I just know . . . I just know my theory was correct!"
"What theory?" This surprised Nick. He had heard nothing about the doctor's mysterious theory, so he focused completely on the doctor as the older man rumbled on and on how he just knew it worked! Finally, taking a breath, Dr. Harland grasped both of Nick's shoulders and gave him a light shake, unable to contain himself. "My theory about my son. You see, I also thought that the soul was just a mysterious object we scientists would never be able to understand. But then I thought, what if I copied a human being? Would their soul be copied? Our DNA determines everything about us. Our appearance, our habits, even our behavior and personality! By the time of production, our DNA already knows how tall we'll get, what kind of food we'd like to eat, what we don't like to eat, if we have a nervous habit of pacing, if we like to talk, everything! All that into tiny particles undetectable by a naked eye."
"Wait a minute," Nick said, suddenly getting what the doctor was ranting about, though he really wished he hadn't. "You're saying you can just copy a . . . a human soul?"
"Why not? We don't even know what a soul is, Nicholas. For all we know, it could just be energy that floats in our bodies like gas, then just leaves one day." Dr. Harland began to get excited again, his golden eyes sparkling with youthful passion and energy. "Just think, we could bring back the dead with this theory. I really think Darwin is my deceased son, Sirius."
Nick set his jaw. He wasn't liking how this was going. Dr. Harland was delusional. He was putting far too much trust into something that wasn't factually founded.
"Dr. Harland," Nick tried to reason, but the doctor waved his hand out, too blown away by the prospect of his theory being reality. "Can you see it, Nicholas? Imagine a world where death no longer has a say in our lives. We can create new, better bodies for ourselves! We can live forever—"
"But what if Darwin isn't your deceased son?" Nick suddenly blurted out, but he immediately regretted it. That had stopped Dr. Harland cold. He stared at Nick with such a look that it made Nick regret his words even more. Lowering his head sheepishly, Nick murmured, adding, "I-I mean, there is that possibility . . ."
The doctor sighed and clasped the young man's shoulder. "Don't worry. I understand what you mean."
Nick snapped his head up suddenly, "But, Doctor—"
Harland waved his hand dismissively, his wrinkled face softened with age. "It's okay, Nicholas. I got carried away again, I know. It's just—" he paused, taking in a sweet breath of air, "—the thought, the mere idea, gives me shivers of excitement. I want it so bad I can taste it." Slumping, Harland ran a hand through his blond hair, laughing lightly. "I mustn't get carried away by my emotions. The main reason why R-03479 is being created is for the benefit of mankind, not just myself. So, in conclusion, thank you for reminding me of that, Nicholas. Sincerely, thank you."
"Uh, you're welcome . . . I guess." Other than that, Nick was at a loss of words. Harland, though, didn't bother to notice the completely clueless look on the younger man's face. Instead, he patted his shoulder and turned, beckoning Nick to follow. Nick did, thankfully he had a reason to do something else. Together they walked down the winding hallway to where the sleeping experiment was being kept. After passing security, they stepped into a dark, neon-lighted room, gentle purple light coloring the pale walls, panting the entire room violet. Next to a wall and resting on a bed with machines are wires all around him lay Darwin covers thankfully pulled over his nude body. Harland stopped at the bed and stared sadly at Darwin.
Nick put a hand on the doctor's shoulder, giving a gentle squeeze before speaking, "Maybe your theory will come true, doctor. I mean, I really hope it will."
"As do I, Nicholas." Harland chuckled. "As do I."
Suddenly, the sliding door opened, and in walked an energetic Andy and a frustrated Dr. Williams. Williams threw up her hands, as if asking what she did to deserve this. "He's definitely related to you, Nick!" she exclaimed. "Just as stubborn and hard-headed."
"How is he?" Andy asked, ignoring the doctors. Nick shrugged. "Still dreaming."
"Speaking of Darwin, when is he scheduled to wake up?" Harland asked Williams. The female doctor shrugged her shoulders absently. "I'll have ask Dr. Davidson. He's in charge of all the medical research."
"Yes, of course." Harland nodded at the two young men. "Well, until we know, I believe we'll need to make preparations for the next phase. I'll go see Davidson about Darwin."
Andy stepped forward. "Are you sure, Dr. Harland? Me and Nick could ask for you."
Nick agreed. "Yeah, you've been working real hard lately, Doc. Why don't you get some rest?"
"And let's not forget, Arthur," Dr. Williams reminded, "you're the head researcher here. If something were to happen to you, the whole lab would be in a mess."
Harland chuckled, shaking his head. "No, no. I must insist on doing this. We were just celebrating a few moments ago, and besides," he winked, "my excitement wouldn't let me rest anyway, even if I tried."
Dr. Williams set her jaw firmly, but she relented reluctantly and nodded. Turning to Nick and Andy, she said, "Okay, you heard the man. Get outta here. Leave creator and creation be."
Nick grimaced at the familiar tone. "You sound like my mother."
Dr. Williams gave a playful smile in return. "I am a mother, remember? But seriously—"
"Yeah, yeah, we know. We're going. We're going. Andy and I know when we're not wanted." And the two departed from the lab room, slightly disappointed yet excited all the same.
"So, when do you think Darwin will wake up?" Nick asked Andy, his voice high with excitement. Andy shrugged in his opinion. "Who knows? Maybe tomorrow. Maybe tonight. Maybe right now."
"We're so close," Nick whispered with enthusiasm. Andy smiled in return. "We sure are, bro."
