Part 6
My suspicions were confirmed.
There was something weird going on.
How do I know?
Well, in the first place Al came back with one arm that fell off completely and other pieces of him were missing. He said that there were also two military men who were being hospitalized.
He had said that they got into a huge fight with a homunculous, or artificial human who, apparently, can't die.
Of course, the moment Ling heard the "not dieing" part, he jump up, saying that he and Lan Fan would help the Elrics attract the Homunculi's attention by fighting against a killer who targeted State Alchemists. A man by the name of Scar.
Naturally, the only reason why Ling wanted to help out was because he wanted the secret of immortality.
My motives on the other hand were pure; the Elrics had helped me ever since I cam to Amestris. I owed them this.
"I'm in."
"No, your not."
I glared at Ling. "Yes, I am. After all, didn't you say that they'd have better odds with more help?"
"You're important; I can't let some one take what I've been promised."
I stood up and slammed my foot down on the coffee table. "I am not property. I am not cargo and my parents may have promised me to someone but it's, ultimately, my decision. I belong to no one."
He stood up and slammed his foot on the coffee table, too, right next to mine. "I absolutely forbid you to get involved!"
"You can't tell me what to do!"
"Maybe not… but I can do this."
He grabbed me an threw me over his shoulder. I struggled against his grip as he marched towards where my sleeping room was.
He walked into my room, dropped me onto the bed and marched out, saying, "Don't miss me too much."
I ran after him, but the door shut and locked before I could grab him.
I pounded and slammed myself on the door, yelling at him to let me out.
…
After about 30 minutes, I had grown so tired that I just collapsed on the floor.
I woke up the next day, around noon.
My hands were covered in blisters and there was a huge bruise on my shoulder from throwing my self at the door.
But that didn't stop me.
I took one of the hotel's business cards from off of the coffee table.
I slipped the card through the crack in the door and started jiggling the knob.
Finally, the door came unlocked.
I, immediately, jumped out the window and started running around town, looking for signs of the Elrics.
I, suddenly, felt a shock to my system when I felt a strange presence. Anyone from Xing could feel presences and we've felt all kinds. But nothing like this.
The presence came from the roof tops.
I found a building that was easy to scale and started climbing.
Just before I got to the top, I heard Ling screaming Lan Fan's name.
Something was wrong.
I jump my way to the top.
Lan Fan was falling.
I ran and, immediately, caught her.
"Clever. You took a swipe at me with your kunai. But who, may I ask, are you, young lady?"
I looked up to see a tall, one-eye man in a military uniform, brandishing a broken sword.
Behind him, was a short but very fat creature that had human features but was far more grotesque.
I glared at the one-eyed man, saying, "I don't answer to the military."
"Can I eat them now?"
"Just make it quick."
What? The fat one was going to eat us?
He launched himself into the air.
I took Lan Fan up in my arms and jumped back.
When I looked back, Ling had cut the man's head in half.
He came over to us. I could see that he was mad that I was here but he knew that we needed to tend to Lan Fan first.
He tried to take her from me but I held on tightly.
He glared at me, telling me to hand her over with his eyes. I, silently, told him that he would need two free hands.
When the one-eyed man made a move towards Ling, he instantly let go.
I tried to make a run for it to get Lan Fan to safety but the fat man got it my way.
'What? How could he survive-'
That was when his fists slammed into my chest, sending me and Lan Fan flying across the street and crashing through another building's windows.
Pretty soon, Ling came flying in after us.
We pushed ourselves off the floor and found the men were waiting for us.
The one-eyed man said, "Good. We should have some privacy in here. If you don't mind, I have some questions. First, I want to know who you people are and how you found out what's inside Gluttony."
Ling started looking around.
"You looking for an escape? Even now? You don't give up, do you? You two might stand a fare chance at getting away if you'd only abandon the injured girl because she's just excess baggage at this point."
Ling started getting mad.
"Excess baggage? I can see all those stars on your uniform. You're the ruler here, Feruh King Bradly, unless I'm mistaken."
What? This man was the King? He was Ed's boss? I actually thought that working for this man would be better than my life in Xing?
"A ruler's duty is to his people. Without them, he is no King at all."
I looked at Ling.
I'd never heard him talk like this before.
He sounded like he actually cared for the people of Xing.
So… why did he never act that way when it came to me?
Why is it that, when it came to the importance of ruling for the people, I was the exception?
Why did he have a duty to the people but not to me?
"King Bradly, you're no true King. Not now or ever!"
"Naïve boy. Don't you understand? There are no true kings in this world!"
Suddenly, Lan Fan, still slung over my back, tossed a canister into the middle of the room.
It was a flash bomb.
The room lit up, blinding the homunculi.
Ling and I started making a beeline for where a draft was coming from.
A sword flew in front of us, stopping us in our tracks.
We looked back to see the one eyed man covering his missing eye.
"Nice try…"
He lowered his eye to show us that the eye-patch was missing.
There was a scar over the eye that was hidden.
That eye was open.
But instead of an iris, and oriborus mark filled his eye.
"… but that flashed bomb didn't succeed in blinding this eye."
Ling and I were both shocked.
The ruler of Amestris was a homunculous.
Lan Fan tossed out another bomb.
The room lit up.
Ling and I crashed through the window.
Then, the room exploded and smoke started surrounding the room we were in.
Ling and I, both, landed on our feet in the street.
Ling was clearly in pain but he insisted on taking Lan Fan from me and throwing her over his shoulder.
We ran through the streets and ally ways.
Gluttony and Bradley kept following us.
Soon, Lan Fan started talking. "What happened to me?"
Ling was worried. "What's wrong?"
"My arm."
I looked at him arm to see that it was just flailing about.
"My lord, I'm useless to you now."
"What are you talking about?"
"She can't move or feel her arm."
"You burden yourself with me. I you do, they'll only get you, too."
Ling looked at me. "You know healing alkehistory. Isn't there anything you can do?"
"When some one can't feel or move any part of their body it means that the nerves have been cut off from the brain. There's nothing I can do to fix that."
"A king is no king without his people, but a people without a king would be lost as well. You can't do that to them! My lord, think of our clan. You must live for their sake!"
"I won't leave you!"
"Sometimes, some one must be left behind. For the greater good."
She took out a kunai.
"Lan Fan, what are you planning? No! Don't do it!"
