The Ties That Bind
Chapter Six:
Preparations

The difference between humans and Homunculi is that humans have souls, and Homunculi do not. Their souls have been used in the transmutation that bring them into Amestris from the other side of the Gate, or their soul doesn't come with them when they cross the Gate. Thus, Homunculi can't perform alchemy.

Edward, however, hadn't been brought back through human transmutation on the Amestresian side of the Gate. The transmutation was performed on the English side of the Gate. He was from Amestris, though. He was able to keep his soul even though he shouldn't have. Thus, Edward was able to still perform alchemy.

Edward knew their alchemy was fueled by the deaths on the other side of the Gate. He knew that whenever someone dies on either side of the Gate, their soul is sent across it. But he still didn't know what happens to a soul when someone dies on the Amestresian side of the Gate.

He knew he would soon find out.

--

"Gluttony!" Envy looked around for him. Somehow, when the brainless beast was caught in Alphonse's transmutation for his brother's soul, Gluttony's Ouroboros had been restored, returning his mind and stopping him from rampaging recklessly.

"Here Envy!" Gluttony said, popping out from behind a large piece of debris from what was left of Lab. 5. The military hadn't even touched the small remnants of incomplete Philosopher's Stones. 'At least Pride did something useful.' Envy thought as he picked up the container.

"We need to get this stuff back to Tucker's place." Gluttony nodded before picking up the only other container left and they quickly headed out of the building together. They now had two tanks of liquid-gel-like Philosopher's Stones. It should be more than enough power for what Envy planned.

--

"Envy!" Wrath was surprised he had found the eldest Homunculus in the forest. Wrath had been approached by Envy days before, Envy asking him to participate in his plan. Wrath had refused, but now was chasing the shape-shifter around Dublith's vast surrounding forests. Envy was stopped in a small clearing, and Wrath approached him.

"Huh?" Envy looked up at the sound of his name, thoroughly not expecting it. "Oh, it's you Wrath. I thought you didn't want to join me." He said with a cocky smile, placing a hand on his hip. Wrath just shook his head as he caught his breath.

"...Edward's back..." Envy looked at the smaller Homunculus in surprise. "He's in Dublith with his brother and her." Envy laughed a bit at the irony of the situation. "But...There's something else..." Wrath looked away.

"What?"

"He's... He's one of us..." Envy stared at Wrath for a good two minutes.

"...WHAT!?"

--

"Edward?" Izumi asked softly as she knocked on the door of the spare bedroom Edward and Alphonse were living in while they trained. She heard a faint voice on the other side, and the rustle of the sheets, before a definate "I'm decent" came, muffled a bit by the thick wooden door. Izumi smiled a bit at Edward's choice of words before she opened it and walked in, shutting it quickly behind her. "I sent Alphonse out with Sig and Mason for the day." Edward was sitting up on his bed, clutching his sheets over his bare chest, hiding his Ouroboros and bloodseal from his teacher. They still hadn't told her. He looked at her with a slightly vacant look before he nodded a bit and stared out the window to his left.

"Thanks. He needs to stop worrying over me so much..." He mumbled softly. Izumi, slightly unsure of how to approach the topic she needed to discuss with her apprentice, hesitated a moment.

"I know you're a Homunculus." He turned to her in shock before smiling sadly.

"I should have known you'd be able to tell..."

"So you're not denying it." He shook his head no a bit before he dropped the sheets from his hand, showing her the markings over his heart.

"My body was somehow turned into that of a Homunculus's while I was inside the Gate. Because of Hohenheim's sacrifice, I guess my soul got re-bound to this body. I honestly thought you would have mentioned something earlier, or at least question me thoroughly."

"I did. When I asked you and Alphonse that first night back about what all training I had put you through. You remembered the individual training, and even brought it up first."

"Oh..." Edward fell silent, trying to figure out what seemed different about Izumi. It was there, the more he thought about it, but he just couldn't figure out what it was, but then it clicked. "You have those fake Philosopher Stone's like the other Homunculi used to eat." Izumi was a bit surprised, but slowly nodded, reaching to her belt and pulling off a small black drawstring pouch. "How could you make those, Teacher?" Edward asked, staring at the pouch. She slapped him across the face, not as hard as she would have if he was in a better condition, but hard enough to send him sprawling halfway off his bed, face on the floor.

"Don't you ever say something like that to me again." Edward flinched at Izumi's tone, and immediately pulled himself the rest of the way off the bed and sat up right. He didn't even look up at her; instead, he bowed his head.

"I'm sorry Teacher. I know you better than to think that you would sacrifice humans for those Stones. I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry." Edward was truly sorry; he hated making his teacher sad, almost as much as he hated seeing Alphonse or Winry sad. "Where did you get those?" He asked, hoping it was the correct way to phrase the question.

"I found them at Dante's house when I found that letter of your fathers." She said, placing the stones on Alphonse's bed then helping Edward stand up. He was incredibly weak, and as he stood another bought of coughing racked his body, causing him to lean solely on his sickly teacher, unable to even support himself. "I was keeping them for him..." She said quietly as his coughing eased and she helped him sit in his bed again, leaning up against the wall. Her eyes glanced out the window. Edward nodded a bit when he could manage.

"Get them away from me, please." He said, his voice weak and wavering. "I can't stand having them so near me."

"But don't you need them?" She asked, a little unsure. He shook his head a bit.

"Homunculi need them to achieve their human form and to be able to regenerate. Since I came through the Gate and am already in my human form, I don't need them." He paused, looking at the bag like it was going to attack him. "Besides, those stones are made from humans; I couldn't eat them." Izumi looked at her student, slightly impressed by his revulsion of the stones, but at the same time she wasn't.

"What's wrong with you? I can tell you know what's happening." Edward smirked a bit.

"Yeah. Homunculi don't have souls. They aren't designed to have one. My body is slowly shutting down because of that."

To Be Continued
Ta da. This is a very short chapter. That's why I'm updating this one today, on Tuesday, instead of Wed. Just because of all my wonderful readers/reviewers.

I'm not sure if I replied individually to everyone this week or not, so in case I didn't, here's my thank you list for all the people who caused fanficdotnet to send me all the automated emails (and that's a good thing!): Yugisrose, Sora Livana, Bakero-sama, XxHouranxX, Emma Oakwood, tsumesgirl05, Melanie Malfoy, Sevir, and Azure Teriques.

Thank you so much!

Tomorrow: Vengeful Child on Wed. May 13, 2008! Be prepared for intenseness and... stuff...

Be kind! Feed plot-kitties! Review!

Shadow Kat-Lyn