Disclaimer - I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist
Chapter Twenty-Three - Stray Dog of the Military
Nick was following information that he'd received concerning Hunter. The tip about the State Alchemist Killer had led the young State Alchemist all the way to the Northern region, which was dangerous in more ways than one since it was home to one of the major terrorist groups as well as being the possible hideout of Hunter. Nick was tracking Hunter through the North when he was ambushed by two of the homunculi, whom he had also been searching for. Nick had had previous run-ins with this particular homunculi duo and knew from past experiences that they called themselves Greed and Sloth.
"Look whose come to play. It's the Fullmetal pipsqueak."
Nick pointed his index finger at the homunculus. "Watch it. As things stand now, I'm only gonna kick your ass. But if you don't shut up I'll be forced to do something really harsh."
"Oh I'm really scared."
"Shut up Greed." The male homunculus glared at his female counterpart. "Quit messing with the runt and let's just finish this. Pride will be pissed off if we fail again."
"Fine." Greed let out a frustrated breath. "You know Sloth, you should learn to have a little fun."
"Well, I've heard all of this that I need to," Nick said, clasping his hands together.
The boy placed his hands to the ground, palms down, and watched as a staff rose from the ground, surrounded by a spray of blue sparks. This was one of his most frequently used transmutations, because the staff was useful from both a distance and up close.
Nick grabbed the staff and pointed it at the homunculi. "Last chance. Surrender now or suffer."
The two homunculi simply laughed.
This angered Nick and he ran toward his enemies. He swung the staff but Greed and Sloth dodged every blow.
"This is fun and all but as Sloth earlier pointed out, we really don't have time for this. Sorry kid."
Greed and Sloth both ran for the boy and, working together, the two homunculi managed to grab the boy. Once they had the boy captured, Sloth pulled the boy's arms behind his back and Greed released her hold.
Sloth held the boy's arms behind his back and no matter how much Nick struggled he was unable to break the homunculus' hold. Greed pulled a knife from her belt and used it to stab the boy in the back. Nick cried out in pain and fell to the ground as Sloth released his hold.
"I think it's time for the Fullmetal pipsqueak to take a little trip. Hunter."
Nick gasped as the State Alchemist Killer emerged from the shadows.
"Summon the Gate," Sloth ordered.
Hunter nodded. He pulled a chalk pencil from his vest pocket and began to draw an array on the ground.
Nick watched Hunter's actions for a few minutes, fighting to remain conscious, but soon the boy was over come by darkness. Ceasing his struggle for freedom the young boy went limp in his captors' arms.
When Hunter completed the array he stepped back. "It's complete."
The two homunculi nodded. Sloth came forward and stepped inside the array. Hunter knelt down at the edge of the array and placed his hands down upon it. The array began to glow and suddenly a large door appeared.
Greed picked up Nick's limp body and when the door opened she tossed the boy inside. The homunculus then made a move to step back, away from the door, but black hands came from inside and grabbed her.
"Sloth!" Greed screamed. "Help me!"
Sloth shook his head, watching without emotion as the hands pulled his partner toward the door. "Afraid not. Sorry Greed but Pride has determined that you're too much of a liability to keep around. We were going to have Hunter seal you, but this works better."
"Sloth!" Greed screamed as she was pulled into the gate.
Once Greed was inside, the door closed and then abruptly disappeared.
"Now that that's done we should return to Pride. She'll want a report on how things went."
Hunter nodded and the two of them left.
The next thing that Nick was aware of was a tremendous pain in his back. "Uhn," the boy moaned as he regained consciousness.
"Look's like the boy's waking up," a voice said from somewhere above Nick.
When the boy woke up he realized that he was lying on his stomach, in a bed. Nick made a move to push himself up with his hands but stopped short as a flesh-searing pain shot through his back. Along with the pain came the memory of what had transpired between him and the two homunculi.
"Dammit," the boy moaned dropping the few inches he'd managed to rise.
"Take it easy kid," a strange voice ordered firmly. "You've got a pretty nasty wound and you probably shouldn't move around too much. If you're not careful you could reopen your wound."
"Well Hohenheim, since the boy's conscious now and seems to be in fairly good condition, relatively speaking, I think I'll go home and get some rest."
"Alright. Thanks for your help Ian. And for your discretion."
"Anytime."
Nick heard a door open and then close but he resisted the urge to investigate. His back was still throbbing from his first attempt at movement and he wasn't anxious to repeat his earlier mistake.
"Dammit," the boy swore again. "Those bastards are gonna pay for this."
"Maybe," the man named Hohenheim said. "Maybe not. You can only make them pay if you can somehow manage to travel back to your world."
"What are you talking about?"
Hohenheim sat down beside Nick and pulled something from his pocket.
Nick stared at the silver chain that the man held. Hanging from the chain was a rectangular piece of metal, royal blue in color, with a chimera etched on the front of it. "What are you doing with my dog tags?"
"I was looking for some form of identification when I saw it."
"Okay," Nick said. "So once you learned my name from the tags why didn't you give them back?"
"It would have been unwise to leave it on you while Ian was treating your wound. The sight of it would have spawned questions that I could not answer. It was hard enough explaining your auto-mail and if he hadn't known I was a genius he wouldn't have believed that I made it."
"Why did you tell him that you made my auto-mail?" Nick was completely and utterly confused. "And why couldn't you just tell him that that particular design is the symbol of the State Alchemists?"
"The stories I told were necessary because neither auto-mail nor alchemists exist in this world."
"This world?"
Questions were normally the way you learned things however Nick's questioning was having the exact opposite affect. The answers he received were only serving to confuse him more.
"This is messed up," the boy thought to himself.
"I'll explain everything in time," Hohenheim said in a reassuring voice. "For now you should rest."
"So you say," Nick said. "But I'm not sure that will be possible at this point."
Hohenheim gently patted Nick on the shoulder. Then he stood up and walked over to the small table. He picked up a small, paper packet and a glass of water and carried them over to the bed where Nick lay.
Hohenheim tore open the packet and dumped the contents into the glass of water. Then he handed the glass to Nick. "Drink this."
Nick took the glass and stared down at the contents. "What is it?"
"It will help you rest," Hohenheim told him gently.
Nick debated what he should do for a few seconds longer. Then he made up his mind. "If he were going to kill me he could have done so several times by now." Nick slowly raised the glass to his lips and drained the contents, which were disgusting.
"Nasty," Nick said, making a face as he handed the glass back to Hohenheim.
"I know," Hohenheim said, taking the glass from the boy. "But soon it shall be forgotten."
Hohenheim stood up and walked back over to the small table. He placed the glass back on the table, near a pitcher of water.
Nick watched the man intently for a few moments but suddenly his vision began to blur.
"What the hell?"
Nick shook his head, in an attempt to clear his vision, but it was no use. The boy sighed and allowed the blackness to fully envelope him.
Hohenheim smiled as he watched the boy drift off to sleep. "He'll be out for quite awhile. I'll come back to check on him a little later."
Hohenheim left the boy's room, closing the door quietly behind him. Hohenheim walked down the hall and entered his study. He sat down in an armchair and pulled Nick's dog tags out of his pocket. He flipped the tag over to the side that had Nick's information engraved on it.
Nicholas Edward Elric. Fullmetal Alchemist.
"I can't believe this. Edward's son."
As he stared at the symbol of the chimera, Hohenheim's thoughts drifted back to the world of alchemy. The world he had once been a part of and still missed.
When Nick awoke he pushed himself up with his hands and was surprised when the pain that he'd expected didn't come. "Hmm," Nick said thoughtfully as he sat up in bed. "I wonder how long I've been asleep."
Nick looked up as he heard the doorknob rattle. The door slowly opened and Hohenheim entered the room, carrying a tray. He smiled when he saw that Nick was awake. "I thought you'd wake up soon so I brought you something to eat."
"Thank you," Nick said as Hohenheim placed the tray in his lap.
Hohenheim nodded. "How are you feeling?"
"Much better." Nick picked up a spoon and took a bite of the hot soup that Hohenheim had brought him. He smiled at the man. "Not bad."
Hohenheim returned the boy's smile. "I'm glad you approve. I'm not that great a cook."
Nick laughed.
When Nick finished the soup Hohenheim moved the tray over to the table. Then he sat down beside Nick. Hohenheim reached into his pocket and pulled out Nick's dog tags. "Here."
Nick took the chain and placed it back around his neck.
"Fullmetal Alchemist."
Nick nodded. "Yea. That's my military title."
"I know," Hohenheim said, a thoughtful expression on his face. "But you're not the first to hold that title. There was another before you."
"Uh huh. I inherited the title from my dad, kind of, in a messed up sort of way. But how did you know that?"
Hohenheim sighed. "Because I knew the first Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward."
"You knew my dad?"
Hohenheim nodded. "We had a few run-ins."
"Well that's freaky."
"You don't know the half of it kid."
A/N - yea I know that Hohenheim's supposed to be dead but hell, I didn't keep any of the others dead so why start now? Hope you enjoyed.