Chapter 4: A Tempting Proposal
Ed prodded at the fire to keep it burning as Noah and Al slept soundly in a forest clearing. His eyes began to close as exhaustion threatened to overwhelm him. He had a weird feeling that something had followed them from Gurshberg, the town where he had experienced that strange episode of dizziness.
"My, my… you have certainly come a long way from Gurshberg; it took me a while to track you down again." A familiar voice called out from the dark trees.
Ed was suddenly wide awake as his head snapped towards where the voice seemed to originate.
It can't be… Forget the fact that they're all dead, they couldn't exist on this side of the gate even if…
His eyes widened as Lust stepped into the clearing. Even though Lust had been their ally before she died, his hand automatically reached for his gun. He froze as her extended nails appeared on either side of his neck.
"I am not who you think I am. I have no intention to harm you so long as you do not try to go for that weapon." She said.
As Ed took his hand away from his gun, the nails vanished.
"I had a feeling we were being followed, I just didn't expect it to be by a homunculus." Ed growled as he stood to face Lust.
Noah's scream announced that she had awoken; her scream startled Al to waking as both stared at Lust.
"I thought you said Lust was dead…" Al said weakly as shock began to set in.
Lust raised her hand to cut off Ed's answer. "I am a homunculus, but I am not the homunculus known as Lust. I merely took her form. I had a feeling about you boys ever since you entered Gurshberg, where I had been hiding for many years, and so I examined your mind to see why I felt that way." The homunculus said, looking at Ed intently.
"So you're the reason my brother was dizzy?" It simply nodded in response to Al's question.
"I have no form of my own, so…" Suddenly Lust melted into Pride, which forced gasps of shock to come from the humans. "I decided to use the forms of those I had seen in your mind to approach you. I knew I would be faced with the reaction I just received from you, Edward, but I had no other options available to me."
"Why are you here?" Ed snapped, cutting off any more explanations from it.
The homunculus looked at Ed. "I came to offer you a proposal that I have a feeling you would be interested in."
Ed's eyes narrowed as it spoke. "What kind of proposal could a homunculus possibly offer us that we'd be interested in?"
"A proposal that can see you returned to your world." The homunculus answered, responding in the same tone as Ed.
Al stepped in between Ed and the homunculus, holding his hand out in warning to Ed. "Calm down, Ed. This homunculus feels different from the ones back home. I think we can trust it."
"Fine, I'll listen to what it has to say." Ed growled as the homunculus melted again, turning into Greed as it motioned them back towards the fire.
Al pushed Ed back closer to the fire before they all sat, waiting to hear what the Homunculus had to say.
"So how come you can summon the Gate on both sides and still be unaffected by it?" Al asked after the homunculus told them it could open and close the Gate long enough for them to return home.
"I was created on this side, by the man your father quietly replaced when the transmutation failed and claimed his life."
Ed slapped his automail hand against the ground in irritation. "How can that be? Alchemy doesn't work on this side!"
The homunculus stared flatly at him. "You should know how, you have done it once before." It said, causing Ed to frown at it. "Since you do not seem to be aware of what you did, a transmutation can be activated by the blood of a gifted person on this side. My creator was one such gifted person, but because I was born on this side, I had no form. To compensate for that, it seems I have been granted the ability to open the Gate without coming to harm."
Ed paled as he finally realized what the homunculus was talking about, but lost whatever he was going to say as the homunculus shifted to the form of Sloth.
"I am aware how the homunculi on the other side had treated you, and I understand your distrust in me, however I humbly ask that you consider my offer. No matter how hard you have tried, you know that you cannot fit in with this world."
Ed and Al looked at each other with guarded expressions. Neither brother could find any arguments against its words.
Noah remained silent throughout the conversation, staring into the fire as she secretly hoped they would turn down the homunculus' offer.
"We'll think about it." Ed finally said as the homunculus shifted to Envy.
"That is fine by me. I will stand watch now, so you can all rest. I promise I will keep anything that may do you harm away."
Al nodded as he laid down, telling Ed and Noah to do the same before falling back to sleep.
Noah and Ed followed his lead grudgingly, although it took much longer for them to fall asleep.
The homunculus nodded as they laid down, melting into nothing to provide a hidden watch.
As they travelled along, Ed and Al began to constantly separate from Noah and the homunculus under the guise of looking ahead for people.
The homunculus had been confined to Pride and Greed, the least suspicious of the homunculi in this world, and was strolling along leisurely as Greed on one such occasion that the brothers went ahead.
Noah always remained silent until the brothers returned, walking ahead of the homunculus and maintaining a fair distance between them.
There was always an air of resentment that hung heavily around her until the brothers came back. This time, she froze and turned suddenly to face the homunculus with a mixed expression of determination and hatred for the creature.
"Why are you doing this?" She snapped.
A bewildered expression appeared on Greed's face before the homunculus removed Greed's sunglasses to stare down at the girl. "You have already heard my explanation, so why are you asking such a stupid question?" It had begun picking up the personality of the homunculus it looked like, much to the annoyance of the humans.
Noah fought the urge to slap the homunculus. Greed was definitely one of her least favourite of the homunculi that it chose to take the forms of. "They've become like a family to me, and now you want to take them away from me just because you feel they don't belong here? Where do you get off deciding something like that?"
The homunculus frowned at her. "I did not decide anything for them. I have been trailing you since Gurshberg, and I noticed the way they behaved when you are not looking. Though they have tried to blend in, the knowledge that they are outsiders constantly haunts them."
Noah looked at the ground, fighting back tears.
"It seems as though they are getting closer to an answer. I have a feeling it will be to go home."
Noah looked up at it furiously. "And what am I supposed to do without them? This world hates people like me! I'll be killed!"
"If you were to go with them, the girl who looks like you in their world would have to die. The solution I have is better: you will completely forget them. My homunculus ability, thanks to lacking a form, allows me to enter a human's mind and alter select nerve signals or chemicals to wipe out certain points of memory or completely replace it."
Noah paled in shock and horror at the prospect of losing her memories of the Elric brothers. "They won't leave if I tell them what you're planning to do to me!"
The homunculus raised its hand to cut her off. "I promise to ensure you are safely with another band before I do anything to you, so please keep your mouth shut until they have decided."
Noah turned and began walking away at a fast pace, putting some distance between them.
The homunculus shook its head as it replaced Greed's sunglasses and followed her.
Finally, Ed and Al came back into view. "There's a city up ahead." Al informed Noah as Ed continued past, grabbing Greed's vest and dragging the homunculus away.
Noah looked back at the homunculus as it donned Greed's smirk, causing her to look away in anger.
"So what is your answer?"
Ed frowned. "I should have known you would have figured it out…" He sighed, looking at Noah. "I know it'll hurt her to see us go, but you're right. No matter how hard we've tried, it's just too hard to try and fit in to this world. When we reach the city, we'll spend some time saving up some money. After that, we'll figure out a plan on how to get home."
The homunculus nodded. "That sounds quite reasonable. I will take care of Noah after you two have gone to ensure she finds safety."
Ed blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected such an offer from the homunculus. "Thanks." He said simply before leaving the homunculus to speak with Noah and Al.
"You made a very good choice, Edward…" The homunculus muttered sadly as it sped up slightly to catch up.