a/n1:Well here it is, the final half of the battle against Father. Remember, all spelling/grammar fail is on me, as well as the alteration to the FMAverse that is to come. Remember, I have a hidden agenda, so everything has a meaning, all weirdness has an underlying reason, etc, etc. Some shit may be subtle, some less so, but before you go all 'OMG THAT'S SLIGHTLY OOC' or whatever, remember what I just said. This is for the entire story, and my reason for typing that will become more obvious once the character's interact more. but don't worry, there won't be any MPD or DID or whatever damn acronym they're using these days...

a/n2: This is in Eds perspective.

Because this is taking place in Amestris, the main language being spoken isn't English. However, Alucard can't always be bothered to 'go with the flow' as they say, and so:

"'Anything written like this'" is English

'anything like this' is the character's thoughts

And here we go!

Previously:
He'd been so distracted by the sudden turn of events that Ed didn't realized that Father had turned his sights on him; didn't hear the warning cries of his friends as the homunculus came up before him, didn't see the arm that shot out to grasp him until he felt the hand closing on his neck. His brain snapped back to attention, eyes removing themselves from their previous fixation to lock onto his attacker's. They where the same color as his, as his fathers, but there was nothing human there.

The homunculus lifted him, the strain that gravity and his own weight put on his windpipe making him gasp, struggling to breath. "And now, Edward Elric, I will make you apart of my Philosophers Stone."

Chapter 4:Father's Finale'

For the second time that day red energy sparked around him, drawing his life slowly, painfully, away from him. Between the pressure on his throat and the pain that reached to his very soul, Edward Elric was helpless. He struggled futilely, but the movement only caused more pain, more pressure to try to breath around. In a last ditch attempt he clapped his hands together, but he couldn't focus, couldn't form the mental array he needed. He kicked out blindly with his automail leg, felt it connect, but nothing changed. 'No, I can't die, I CAN'T! I have to bring back Al, I have to-' His barely coherent train of thought was cut off as his body hit the ground. Gasping for air, he blinked, attempting to get his eyes to stop watering.

"You shouldn't beat up little kids, daddy-sir!"

Ed's temper flared, having regained enough of his sense to realize he was being insulted. "WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO SMALL HE COU-" Ed's rant was cut short as his voice cracked, broke, and decided to lodge itself in his throat. He coughed, attempting to get his windpipe to work properly again.

"Save your rant and get off your ass kid, just because I kept you from becoming a part of dear old dad doesn't mean I'm going to do all your fighting for you!"

Climbing to his feet, Ed shook off the last of the brain-fog and took off towards where Greed was dancing and ducking around Father, who was currently trying to take back his philosophers stone. "What, you don't want all the glory for yourself, Greed?" He ducked around Greed, parrying an attack from father before swinging a few of his own, favoring his left now that his right was no longer automail.

Greed laughed, using Ed as a distraction before ducking around behind Father to smack him squarely in the back. "Of course I do! I'm Greed the Avaricio-" He was cut off by a blast of energy from Father, catching him off guard and throwing both him and Ed away.

Ed blinked, spots dancing in his eyes and messing with his vision. He'd managed to take the brunt of the hit in the face.

Father moved swiftly towards Ed who was still more or less directly in front of him, much to the alchemist's displeasure. 'Damn, he's still coming strong. He must have absorbed more energy than I thought from that 'God' guy.' Ed slapped his hands together, smacking them to the ground to send a barrage of stone columns at the approaching man.

Instead of summoning his defenses, Father ducked around the attacks, closing the distance between them. Ed changed his tactics, summoning instead a wicked-bladed spear just in time to counter-attack the hand making its way to his throat. A quick slice upwards and said hand was no longer attached to the man wielding it. Souls rushed from the wound, but Father, desperate, took little heed. Before Ed could bring the weapon about, Father's remaining hand was on his face. Blood erupted from his nose as the palm smashed into it, forehead and cheeks stinging where nails bit into them.

A dark blur caught the alchemist's eyes, and before he felt Father stumble against him, caught a glimpse of Greed as he moved to intervene. To his dismay, however, he realized that Father had not, in fact, forgotten about his 'son', but had been expecting his attack.

"Insolent son, why must you defy me?"

Greed's face came into view, lifted off his feet by the newly regenerated hand at his throat. He was grinning in that way that was uniquely him. He may have had Ling's face, Ling's body, but that expression was one that Ed had come to associate with Greed.

"Call it a delayed rebellious phase, daddy-sir."

Ed, seeing his chance, positioned the spear and thrust as hard as he could. He felt it hit, felt both the give and resistance as the blade sunk into the lead homunculus's flesh.

Father jerked, twisting himself so the shaft was wrenched from Ed's hands. In nearly the same movement, father threw Greed away from himself, sending the homunculus flying into Major Armstrong, who'd been moving to come to their aid.

Still holding tightly onto Ed's face, Father used his free hand to remove the weapon from his side, releasing more of his souls as he did. The wound began to knit itself as father dropped the spear unceremoniously to the ground. His now free hand moved towards Ed, fury and malice burning in his eyes. "Now, you will become a part of me, Fullmetal alchemist." The hand never made it to it's destination.

Ed's brain registered what he was seeing, but couldn't believe it. 'No, it can't be, I saw him die! He was nothing but a pile of blood and guts!' Wrapped around Father's arm was a tendril of shadow, holding it back and away from the blonde haired youth.

Father's eyes widened as he too registered what was holding him, eyes moving towards it's originating point. Ed couldn't see what Father was looking at, but by the widening of his eyes and the shock on his face he knew it was something good. Or bad, depending on how you looked at it.

Before Ed could make use of the homunculus's distraction, a streak of darkness cut across his vision and he was stumbling backwards. He unconsciously shook his head, dislodging the hand from his face. To his shock it fell to the ground, severed. He looked up. Father had turned from him, one hand slowly regenerating, one arm still held fast by shadows. Ed swept his gaze along the length of the things, coming to rest on their origin.

Where the remains of the dark haired man had been were shadows, moving and growing in strange and impossible ways. Ed strained his eyes in an attempt to make sense of what he was seeing, and noticed that some of the shadows on the ground didn't really look all that shadow-y. 'Is that…blood?' He swept his gaze around the ground and was stunned to see the tail ends of streams of the stuff, all seeming to be moving towards the mass of shadows.

Making sure Father was still occupied, Ed cast a glance over towards his friends. They were watching the exchange with wide, incredulous eyes, occasionally exchanging nervous glances. His eyes roamed until they found Greed and Armstrong. He noted that Greed seemed to be the only one who looked pleasantly surprised. The homunculus's purple eyes snapped to his, surprise smoothly leaving his face to be replaced with his trademark grin.

Flashing his companion a smirk, he turned his attention back to the fight.

The cluster of shadows had grown, reaching upwards and swirling remarkably fast. Before his eyes a shape began to appear, flickering with the movement of the cyclone it was in the center of. It wasn't long before he realized that the shape was humanoid, and it wasn't long after that before the glowing red eyes removed any doubt as to who it was.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with your food? Or is one little kid too much for you to handle, you pathetic excuse for a monster?" The voice was harsher, the accent thicker, but the mockery was unchanged, if a little less subtle.

Shadows fell away from the man's upper body, revealing his face. Ed wasn't sure if he was grinning or sneering.

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO TINY HE COULD GET LOST IN A FIELD OF DANDELIONS?"

Crimson eyes shifted just enough to look at him, eyebrow cocking slightly before returning his attention to the homunculus he had a hold of.

"How…How are you still alive? Your body was destroyed, your souls should have left you!"

This time the quirked eyebrow was aimed at Father. "You have not killed me enough. For all the souls within me to be destroyed, so too must I die for every life."

Ed frowned. 'Sounds painful.'

Father frowned, jerking his captured arm backwards as best he could. "How many times must I kill you then? How many deaths must God suffer before he is at his end?"

The grin on the dark haired man grew substantially, becoming manic. The darkness about him moved, coming up and around him, and all at once dozens of crimson colored eyes snapped open. They were of varying sizes, and more than a few seemed to be not in the shadows, but on the man himself; namely the large one in the center of his chest.

"All of them." As he spoke his form twisted, his body losing shape as it was consumed by the roiling shadows. The misshapen mass moved, eyes staring eerily at the homunculus. It was fast, and as it moved it began to take shape. Hounds appeared, their gaping maws large, their eyes many, moving in and out of sight as they ran amongst that which birthed them.

The ground before Father erupted, severing the thing holding his arm and effectively putting a massive wall between him and his attacker. They didn't have to wait long to see how this would effect the monster on the other side. Hounds ran through the wall as if it where nothing, their passing leaving no obvious mark on the thing. The homunculus was caught off guard by this, having expected like everyone else present, that the things would have to find some way around it. He moved just in time to avoid the jaws of the first beast, but the others where right behind it. They rushed him, snapping at whatever piece of him was closest. More pieces of the ground where wrenched upwards by Father's will, but they had little effect on the beasts made of shadow. He changed tactics, realizing it was futile to attack the extensions, instead aiming for the inner-core of blackness.

Spikes erupted forth to stab directly within the mass, and to everyone's shock, halted it. By some insane chance, Father had managed to pierce the monster through the heart.

The shadows ebbed away, slowly drifting down and away from the menacing thing they had been, revealing a body that had seemingly formed around the weapon. It was held up by the angle of the spike, driven straight through it to hang limply, legs bent, head lolling. Even from his particular angle, Ed could see the eyes where open, a grin still plastered to the face. The eerie lighting of the sun through the clouds made the scene look like something you'd find in an old book of religious war, the monster impaled righteously in the glow of god.

Father moved towards his handiwork, albeit cautiously. The black clad man had already proven once he wasn't so easily dispatched.

Ed made to move forward, to attack, but stopped at the firm grip suddenly on his shoulder. He looked first at the hand, then it's owner, the sudden movement making him dizzier than it should have. Greed. Violet eyes locked onto his, then looked pointedly lower. Ed blinked, confused for a moment before his brain made the connection . He raised a hand to his nose and winced. 'Damn it, broken.' the blood flow hadn't ceased either. Which would explain the sudden dizziness.

Greed moved around him before he could form some sort of protest. He didn't have to. The homunculus stopped shoulder to shoulder with him, trademark grin faltering for a moment, eyes far away for no more than a split second before sharpening. The grin came back stronger than ever.

Ed followed his companions gaze, confused.

The last strand of sunlight left the horror-movie scene before them, wind picking up as if it had been waiting for the sun to once again hide it's face. Father now stood not a foot from his opponent, impaled as he was, expression unreadable. It was an image that was to be forever burned into Edward's memory, the conqueror and the conquered; for some reason he would always think back on that scene and be reminded of the eternal struggle of the Sun and the Moon as they fought for the right to the sky.

But right at that precise moment of silence, it looked more to him like the precipice of coming violence.

A pale hand shot forward, latching onto Father's face much the same way that the homunculus's had grabbed onto Ed's. Father's body jerked backwards, but he was held in place by the strength being exerted on him.

Laughter bubbled upwards from the chest of the impaled creature, a dark note hiding behind it's mirth and lightness.

"'Got you!'"

The dark head came up, laughter transitioning into a low hum of what sounded both like content, and disapproval.

"'How pathetically easy. And you would call yourself a perfect being, you idiotic piece of shit? You can't even tell if I'm alive or dead. Not-'" A monstrous grin punctuated the foreign words. "'that there's much of a difference.'"

With a slow, easy grace that didn't quite fit in with the situation, the impaled man regained his footing, sliding effortlessly through the spike that had been holding him up. Shadows swayed around the places where the concrete disappeared as their master phased through it, no obvious wounds marring his visage. Even his clothing was intact.

Freed, 'Not-God' stood mere inches from Father, looking down at him with eerily glowing eyes. Shadows crept along the arm holding Father in place, tendrils snaking down to caress the homunculus in mock tenderness.

As Ed watched, the taller man brought his other hand up, altering his grip until he had Father's face cradled in his hands. Although by the way Father seemed to be struggling, it was anything but a gentle grip.

The shadows continued their movement until they'd wound themselves around the homunculus's body, sparks of alchemic energy appearing at their touch.

Lowering his head until they were practically nose to nose, the maniacal look softened into one of passive seriousness as the pale man observed his opponent. His lips moved, forming words for only Father to hear.

The homunculus went ridged, hands slowly balling into fists, his body beginning to tremble with an emotion Ed couldn't read. His alchemy sparked brighter, but the shadows wrapped around him thwarted it, for the most part, his intended target ignoring what little managed to get past.

A mocking curl of the lip and the dark head moved back a bit, a deep, sadistic chuckle resonating somewhere inside him.

Seeing his alchemy wasn't having the desired effect, Father swung his fist squarely into the side of Not-God's head, once, twice, three times before it had the desired effect. The hands holding him loosened enough that he was able to wrench himself free, the man's nails leaving jagged marks along his face.

Father swing again, only to find that instead of connecting with skull, he's met with an iron grip. The pale hand squeezed, the sound of his finger bones cracking as they break reaching Ed's ears. The dark sleeved arm yanked backwards, jolting Father forward, the homunculus only barely catching himself from crashing into the taller man.

The glowing red eyes opened wide as a horrific grin conquered the pale face, predatory to a tee. Within seconds Father was flying backwards, thrown just as efficiently and ruthlessly as he'd been pulled.

His body twisted in the air, landing the homunculus roughly on his front at Ed and Greed's feet. He'd managed to soften the blow with his arms, but only after he'd managed to take the brunt of it in the face. Father jerkily lifted his head, gaze moving unfocusedly along the ground before landing on their feet. He was close enough for Ed to see his pupils contract as he regained focus, as well as the damage the concrete had inflicted on his features.

Despite his seemingly dazed state (which had Ed unwittingly lowering his guard) Father reached out with amazing speed. Ed jumped visibly as the fingers managed to catch hold of his pant's leg. Before either he or Greed could react violently in protest, Father was tugged unceremoniously backwards, the sound of his flesh scraping and ripping against the concrete just barely audible.

Ed's gaze snapped from the hand, that had moments before had a hold of him, to the homunculus in his entirety. Wrapped snugly around one of Father's legs was a tendril of shadow. Looking back towards the enemy of his enemy, Ed couldn't help but note how calm the man looked. Ignoring, of course, the predatory grin still firmly in place.

Father was pulled painstakingly slow back towards where he'd been standing moments ago. The homunculus struggled for a moment before twisting around, flipping himself onto his back to face his attacker. Crimson eyes locked onto his golden ones, the predators final message to his prey. 'You've lost. You're dead. You're MINE.' Ed's mind filled in for him unabashedly.

Father seemed to be having similar thoughts, struggling violently. It was no use, he was caught. His will snapped. "What are you….if not God, what are you? Answer me!"

Crimson eyes narrowed, grin becoming slightly less homicidal, and far more predatory because of it. A multitude of words issued from his lips, none of which Ed understood. The volume rose somewhat as he switched back to Amestrian, as if including everyone present in his answer.

"I am Death, I am Life, I am 'Nosferatu'; The No Life King, the Bird of Hermes!" As he'd spoken, the shadows sitting idly at his feet had come to life, once again swallowing him in there depths.

The mass shifted, and again hounds burst forth, tearing towards the prone homunculus. Father managed to free himself, but not fast enough. Very real teeth tore into his flesh, ripping off chunks of whatever body part they managed to get a hold of. He managed to throw himself backwards, mere feet from Ed and Greed who looked on in silence.

Ed felt the prickling on his skin that signaled Father again raising his defensive shield. The hounds seemed to sense it too, collapsing back into an indefinable mass and reforming without breaking stride. From the cloud of black burst forth a single, massive thing: the head and forelegs of a many eyed dog, bigger than a man with a grin like a shark. The mouth opened, jaws crashing into the barrier, weakening it. Without missing a beat, an arm shot forward from the maw of the thing, and in a flash it was over. It took Ed's brain a second to realize what he'd just seen, what he was seeing.

The barrier around Father had broken, allowing for the final blow to be struck. The arm had impaled itself straight through where the homunculus's heart would have been, white glove as pristine as ever in spite of it.

The shadows fell away, revealing the man that was behind the monster. He took a step back, straightening up and pulling his arm free in one fluid motion.

In the second before the last of Father's souls made their escape, Ed could see straight through the gaping wound in his chest.

The homunculus stumbled with the force of his captives' departure, soul's tearing off towards the heavens. They were gone almost as quickly as they'd come, leaving behind the gaping hole in Father's chest he no longer had the power to heal.

Through the whole thing the Nosferatu had watched in silence, eyes following the trail of souls up into the sky. Even after they'd disappeared from sight his gaze remained skywards, a curious look on his face.

Father raised a hand to the un-healing wound. "My stone…My Philosophers Stone…"

A sudden bout of laughter exploded into the awed silence of the courtyard. "Is that what you were going on about? Those things were your precise stone?" Red eyes were again earthbound, staring at the homunculus in amusement. "How….interesting."

Father took a step back, head swinging from side to side as he took in all the people around him. "Stone, stone…Philosophers stone…." He turned to look back at Ed and Greed, eyes wild. Without missing a beat, Ed stepped forward and introduced his fist to Father's jaw. The hit sent the man tumbling backwards to land gracelessly on his ass.

Greed cracked his knuckles, violet eyes fixed on the defeated man before them. "Looks like you've lost, daddy-sir. Why don't you do the honorable thing and let your last remaining son outlive you?" There was both laughter and malice in his words, in the casual way he stepped towards the prone man.

Father's eyes widened, scrambling backwards like a retarded crab. "No! Greed, don-" His voice died as his back made contact with something solid. Slowly his head turned to look up at what he'd run into. His terror was apparent as he looked up into the grinning face of the Nosferatu. The homunculus threw himself away from the legs his back had been resting against, just barely managing to gain his feet before finding himself again on the ground. The Nosferatu had grabbed a handful of his hair, yanking backwards as you would the leash of a dog. Father struggled against the fingers tightening around the golden stands, uncaring of the hair being ripped from his scalp.

Greed continued to move towards Father until he was standing before him. Ed however, wasn't too sure if he wanted to get that close to the Nosferatu just yet. Instead he moved slightly to the right as Greed crouched down, eye level with the other homunculus. By now Father's eyes were so large it was hard to tell if he had pupils or not. Greed opened his mouth, but before the taunt could escape, Father kicked him in the jaw, ripped himself away from the grip on his hair, and managed to scramble off towards the side.

The dark haired man chuckled, lifting his fist to show off the impressive amount of hair he'd come away with before loosening his fingers and letting the wind claim his prize. "Still willing to fight hm? Marvelous!" He took a step forward, shadows swirling around his feet, then stopped. His head tilted slightly to the side, eyes moving to the hole in the golden haired man's chest.

Tiny shadow hands where slithering forth from the wound, gaining in length with every second. "What…What is this?" Father made to swat at the things, only to have one latch onto his arm. His head swiveled up to look at the Nosferatu. "What are you doing?"

The answer was punctuated with an annoyed noise. "Nothing, fool. If it where me, you would know it." A cocky smile momentarily graced his lips.

By now the hands had hold of both of Father's arms, pulling them towards the hole in his chest. Two more grabbed at one of his legs, then the other. They too were pulled towards the gaping wound, beginning to disappear inside of it. The hands grabbed at his head, forcing it down towards his chest. "Why….Why? I just wanted to know everything in the world, without being bound by anything! I just wanted to be free! Make it stop!"

Ed felt anger bubble up inside him. 'After everything he's done, he wants us to save him?' He stared hard at the homunculus, waited for their eyes to meet before answering him. "Go back to wherever you came from, Dwarf in the Flask Homunculus." He managed to restrain himself from yelling, but the anger was evident in his voice.

Father wailed as he was pulled inside himself, his head the only part of him still free. "Please, I-" He was cut off as his head was forcibly shoved into the void that was sucking him in. With one final wave of alchemic energy, he was gone. The only trace left the energy burns on the concrete where he'd been moments before.

"Ha! What a fool, all that power and he couldn't even take on a bunch of humans! What a pathetic end." With a flick of Ling's hair, Greed spun about on the balls of his feet and moved off towards Lan Fan and the rest of their companions.

"Greed, where are you going?" Ed called after the homunculus, instinct telling him his friend was about to disappear once again.

Greed waved a hand flippantly over his shoulder. "Relax kid, you worry too much."

Ed scowled. "Kid? WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO TINY HE COULD BE CRUSHED BY A GRAIN OF SALT?"

Greed laughed, but refrained from provoking the alchemist.

Ed turned away from him, crossing his arms irritably. 'Damn Greed…I am NOT short.' He grumbled, momentarily forgetting the situation. A soft chuckle broke his brooding train of thought. Ed blinked, looking up. His gaze was met with the crimson eyes of the Nosferatu, and for the first time, the realization hit him that he had no idea what a 'Nosferatu' was. In fact, he had no idea who the man was, or what his intentions were asides from killing Father….Not that such things would stop him from retaliating when he believed his person was being insulted. "What're you laughing at?"

A smug smirk crossed the pale man's lips as he moved slowly towards where Ed stood. "You. Such a short temper you have, human."

Ed was positively trembling with indignation, however the 'human' comment had made him wary enough to reign in his need to retaliate with violence. "Just who in the hell do you think you are?"

More laughter, punctuated with a soft scoff. "Do you not listen? Or could my voice not reach you so close to the ground?"

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO SHORT HE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO SEE OVER THE CRACKS IN THE CEMENT?" Ed took a deep breath, reigning in his anger. "I know what you said you are, but you never said who you are, 'no life king'." He injecting as much mocking as he could into the title, both to show he indeed had been listening, and to show he didn't give a fuck. 'He can refer to himself as 'king' all he wants, but I won't believe it till I see proof.'

He stopped a few feet from Ed, his expression transitioning into something less infuriating. "Hm, quite observant for one your age." He ignored the way Ed's eye had begun twitching, instead looking over the alchemist as if sizing him up. Before Ed could make a rude comment, the No Life King lifted his arm, sweeping it in to rest over his heart before bending slightly at the waist and inclining his head.

Ed had to consciously keep his jaw from hitting the ground. 'Is, is he bowing?'

Crimson eyes moved to meet his, a strange, but not entirely unpleasant sensation overtaking him, seeming to make the forthcoming words echo in his head more than they should have. "The name given to me by my Masters, is Alucard."

a/n: before you ask, yes, I plan to move beyond the 'Father-and-Alucard-fight' plot. The first arc is over, and now, a new one must commence! I'll see you then, my friends!

deadpan riot