Dragon Ball GX, Side Story: The Alchemic Saiyan
Chapter 11: The Homunculi (Attempt To) Strike Back
Roy Mustang
More paperwork; didn't this stuff ever get to a point where it levels off? I had just begun to assign Fuery to handle the first wave, when I heard a huge rumbling rock the area, and it was getting louder.
"SIR! You'd better come see this" Riza yells as she bursts in with Havoc, Falman, and Breda at her side.
I quickly followed them outside, and was astonished at the sight I saw.
There was a gargantuan series of pillars, and they stretched farther than the eye could see!
Then a loud familiar voice called out, "HEY MUSTANG! DID YA MISS ME?"
The air quickly was filled with a heavy crumbling sound, and the pillar right in front of me began to lower to my level. On top of the pillar were 3 figures; Alphonse Elric, Winry Rockbell, and a very tall and muscular figure with extremely long, unbraided blonde hair.
"HEH HAAAAAY! Whats happening Colonel?" the man says as he quickly grabs my hand and give it a powerful handshake, causing my bones to crack.
"(Groan) Do I know you?" I reply as I quickly slip my hand loose from his insanely powerful grip.
"You remember this guy don't you?" Winry asks anxiously.
"Colonel, don't you recognize your old pal? Its me Edward-The Full Metal Alchemist!" the man says with a smile.
(Crickets chirping) "No, sorry-you can't be Edward, he died 3 days ago in an explosion near the abandoned 5th Laboratory in Central; I should know-I attended his funeral" I say as I remember how much that kid brightened up this dull place.
"Well perhaps this can convince you otherwise, cause I do believe that everyone says it was vaporized in the explosion" the man says as he hands me a silver state alchemist pocket watch.
I quickly opened it up, and nearly flipped out; the same writing was scratched inside as the day Edward had made it.
"No…it can't be" I stammer, dropping the watch with a loud thud. I quickly fell to the floor with it soon after.
"Its me, I'm alive; don't freak out man" Edward says in a calm fashion as he offers a hand to help me up.
I timidly took the hand of my best soldier, whom I'd thought died a fiery death.
"So what gives; how did you survive the explosion?" Falman asks as he looks Edward in the eyes.
"That's the funny thing; he didn't survive" Alphonse laughs.
Immediately, we all fell down.
"He didn't!" Riza says with shock as she scrambles to her feet.
"Yeah, he was actually gonna die; but then-well…it's a long story, maybe its best we discuss it after we help Al get his soul back in his body we recently recovered" Winry says.
"You finally got your body back from the other side? Congratulations Al!" Havoc says as he pats Alphonse's armor back.
"Um…well that's kinda the problem…you see…we got my body back…but I'm still stuck in the armor-cause we don't know what might happen if we damage the blood seal" Alphonse replies nervously.
"So let me get this straight-you have your body back here on Earth…but yet you're still stuck in the armor?" Falman says as he eyes Alphonse with a tactical gaze.
"Yeah, we're at a loss as to how to get Al's soul back in his body without something freaky possibly happening; like The Truth taking Al back to the other side, meaning I'll have to get really rough" Edward says as he clenches his fists and grits his teeth.
"What are you going to do if he does that?" I ask, wondering what Edward might have planned.
Edward promptly gritted his teeth even harder, and his eyes suddenly became filled with…a powerful killer's rage.
"If he tries to take Al away from me again-I'll…I'LL (Growling)" Edward snarls, a strange energy surrounding him without warning.
Suddenly, the ground began to quake wildly.
"Oh no-EVERYBODY OUT NOW!" Winry screams, panic in her tone.
I was about to ask why, until I saw the strange aura become golden and start creating a windstorm inside my office.
Soon, everyone was screaming as we ran for our lives to the outside, before doing so, I ordered an immediate evacuation of the Eastern Command Center.
After several minutes, everyone had piled out through the emergency alchemy doors Al had drawn and made.
Then, defying all explanation, a gargantuan pillar of what seemed to be red energy burst through the roof as Edward's voice bellowed with earth quaking intensity, "I'LL KILL THAT BASTARD!"
As the enormous pillar of energy climbed toward the Heavens, Edward issued a…primal roar of rage, causing the pillar to increase in width and power, blowing the entire roof off the Eastern Command Center.
After several more seconds, the pillar dwindled away, and the entire headquarters collapsed like a flimsy house of cards.
Soon after the command center had fallen apart, Edward walked out toward us; but…WHOA! HE HAD CHANGED BIG!
He wasn't the same anymore, his once light blonde hair had darkened to a very blackish brown, and his body was totally ripped; to top it all off, every part of his upper body but his chest was coated with…WITH RED FUR! And his irises were the same deep crimson red, with golden pupils.
"Sorry, I lost control again; please don't ever mention the Truth taking away my brother again Mustang" Edward says firmly.
We were all on the ground, cowering in fear, except for Winry-who ran to Ed and hugged him.
"Take it easy Ed, its ok-no one can ever take anything from you again; you've suffered enough" Winry says as she reaches up and bends his head down to her level, where they promptly engaged in a very passionate kiss-leaving all of us quite shocked.
Edward Elric
As I kissed Winry, I felt my rage just drain away-my new calm demeanor returning at last.
"(Sigh) Thank you Winry-I needed that" I reply as I hug her back.
"Uh…would anyone mind filling me in here!" Mustang yells angrily.
"Oh, ha ha-sure-sorry about that Colonel; well you see after that explosion at the 5th Laboratory after it had been blown up-" I begin.
After a good half hour, I'd finally filled everyone in on what had happened to me during these last 3 years (3 days for them).
"You're 18 now? No Wonder you got so much bigger" Riza says as she stares in amazement.
"Yeah, you got huge" Breda comments.
"No kidding" Fuery adds, having joined us after exiting the building.
"Well if you're so powerful, can you repair the command center YOU DESTROYED!" Roy yells angrily.
"Sure, that's an easy one-just give me a few seconds" I say calmly, not feeling threatened by Mustang anymore.
I quickly snapped my fingers, causing huge arcs of Alchemic energy to erupt all around the burnt and shattered remains of Eastern Command.
After about 10 seconds, the entire place just reassembled like magic, as Alchemy can do.
As I turned around to face my friends, everyone had grown deathly silent in awe.
"Wow!" Havoc blurts out flatly, his eyes nearly bulging out of his sockets as he breaks the silence.
"So, what should we do now brother?" Alphonse asks as he sits down.
I was thinking the same thing too as I realized we were no closer to finding an answer to getting Al back in his body than before.
"Wait, Adam talked to me before-told me about an important message to give you about the jewel" Winry blurts as she touches my shoulder.
Immediately, I looked at her with skepticism.
"How did you even communicate with him?" I ask, my question one of complete simplicity.
"Through a hologram projected from your necklace" Winry replies as she points to it.
In an instant, my demeanor changed and I was at her side in a flash.
"Then quick, tell me, what did he say about the necklace!" I yell, shaking Winry wildly.
"Calm down and stop shaking me" she replies, her tone warbling from the vibrations.
After calming down and ceasing the shaking, she replied, "The key to restoring your brother's body-lies in the necklace"
Grabbing the stone around my neck and looked at it with a most intense gaze.
"So this stone can cure my brother…but how?" I ask myself as I analyze the glowing multicolored gem.
Envy
As I got word from Father to go topside and investigate the rumblings, I quickly sprinted up into the Central Command Center and prepared to inspect the damage.
However, when I reached the surface-I nearly fell over.
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE!" I bellow, taking the guise of General Edison.
"Edison sir! A strange man appeared in Central; arrest was attempted, but he flew into a rage and laid waste to central-murdering several hundred people like one stomps cockroaches. He even brought the Führer near the point of death" one of the soldiers says as he limps over to me.
"Strange man eh? What did he look like?" I ask, wondering who could have possibly caused this level of devastation.
"Well…he was tall, muscular, and had very long blonde hair" the soldier moans, as he sits down to rest his wounds.
"Long blonde hair…what did his face look like?" I inquire, getting a bad feeling in my gut.
"He…(Coughs up blood) he looked like…The Full Metal Alchemist" the soldier wheezes weakly.
Immediately, I felt my stomach drop.
"But…but he died 3 days ago…that's impossible; IMPOSSIBLE I SAY!" I scream, beginning to panic.
"No…I'm afraid its not impossible Edison" Wrath says as he limps over to me.
I instantly killed the dying soldier so I could talk with Wrath privately.
"So the Full Metal Pipsqueak is alive is he?" I reply, not feeling so unnerved now knowing Wrath was alive.
"He never died, somehow-he went to another place after that huge explosion, and gained a power beyond even Father's current level" Wrath says with total seriousness.
"No way…I don't believe it! I'm getting the others and killing Edward now; I DON'T CARE WHAT HE HAS TO DO WITH FATHER'S PLAN!" I bellow.
I instantly changed into a giant bird, and began to fly toward the east, where Edward was likely to have gone.
Führer King Bradley/Wrath
As usual, Envy jumped headlong into battle, with no patience or attempt to see his surroundings; which is how he missed the half vaporized Central Command Center.
"(Sigh) Guess I'll have to go alert Father of this emergency myself" I say as I begin to walk back inside.
Lust
As I sat on the barstool, enjoying some smooth wine, I heard a very loud squawking in a recognizable Morse code.
"Excuse me" I say as I trace my finger under the bartender's chin, causing him to shudder in delight.
As I walked around the corner, Envy landed and changed to human form.
"Lust-where's Gluttony?" he asks in a hushed voice,
"Behind you" I reply wryly.
Gluttony then tapped Envy's shoulder and made him jump.
"YEESSH! Cut it out Gluttony" Envy says as he slaps away his hand.
"Sorry" he replies sheepishly.
"What is it you want Envy?" Pride adds as he appears suddenly from the shadows.
"The life of Edward Elric" Envy says harshly.
"I'm afraid that's against Father's rules; Edward is a necessary sacrifice for his ultimate plan" Pride retorts.
"SCREW THAT BLOWHARD AND WHAT HE WANTS; THE FULL METAL PIPSQUEAK NEARLY KILLED WRATH!" Envy roars.
After we all heard this, we were rather shocked.
"Impossible; no one is good enough to take down the old geezer with the Ultimate Eye" I retort, finding it hard to believe.
"Wanna see the condition he was in when I found him?" Envy says, before shifting to imitate how Father looked when last he saw him.
"Whoa…Edward did that to him?" Pride says with disbelief.
"Apparently so; heard it straight from the Führer's mouth" Envy says as he shifts back to his normal form.
"Envy-you've got an army; we'll leave immediately" Pride says flatly.
Almost instantly, we were enveloped in a shroud of shadow, and vanished along with it.
Edward Elric
Having used my powers to create a hi-tech lab like the one Adam had shown me in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, similar to those that were used at the Capsule Corp. compound, I'd spent over 20 minutes using several machines to observe the gem in every known wavelength of light, inside and out; but all searches were proving utterly inconclusive.
"(Growl) Whats so special about this rock that requires it to be so utterly incapable of being operable!" I yell angrily, making the immediate area quake mildly.
Rushing over and sensing my distress, Winry embraced me
"Calm down Edward, you're trying too hard" Winry states while hugging me.
I immediately felt calmer as she hugged the anger out of me.
"Right; ok-so what could the secret to this mysterious gemstone Adam gave me be?" I ask aloud, reiterating the importance of discovering how to make it work.
"Well maybe its got a secret button that only works if you press it right, and is designed so well that you can't see it" Falman suggests.
"Trust me, if there was a button-I'd have seen it by now; this equipment allows me to see every last detail down to the atomic level" I argue, knowing I'd seen not even a slight imperfection yet; that was odd to tell the truth.
"Perhaps it does not use any conventional scientific methods at all; perhaps it works through the use of alchemy" Roy comments.
"Yeah…-" I begin as I stare at the gem with iron willed intent.
"-Or something even more incredible even" I continue as I become entranced by the gem's ethereal beauty.
Suddenly, I felt a very odd energy presence…Homunculi!
"They're here!" I shout, feeling angered as they just appeared out of the blue.
Bursting through the lab door, I looked around for their specific locations, and found they were…right below us.
With flash of pitch-black energy that appeared from nowhere, the 4 Homunculi arrived on the scene.
"Nice to see you again…Full Metal Pipsqueak" Envy says as he smirks evilly.
"Envy, I wouldn't take another step if I were you…might lost your head" I say as I smile wickedly.
"Don't make threats you can't follow-(SNAP) Envy starts, before I zip over to his head and rip it off, creating a fountain of blood.
As his head rolled on the ground, its last words were, "-through with" before it disintegrated to dust.
The other Homunculi were speechless, as they stared at me with fear and awe.
"(Stammering) He…with the head…didn't even move…-" Selim/Pride stutters with hopeless shock.
"Care to surrender before I rip your Philosopher's stones from your bodies and crush them into powder?" I say as I crack my knuckles.
"Grrrr…you don't scare us Fullmetal; GET HIM PRIDE!" Envy yells as his head regenerates.
Without warning, a flurry of dark tendrils reached out for me. However, they were ineffective, as I simply flung my hands forward and grabbed all 12 of the shadowy tentacles.
"No…that's just not possible" Lust says in a hushed tone.
"Don't you dare tell me what isn't possible!" I bellow, making a huge stone leg boot her in the chest with unimaginable force, sending her high into the air.
I then tossed Pride away like a broken toy, and directed my attention to Envy.
"YOU! You're going down Shape-Shifter" I yell as I call out the spike haired Homunculus.
As Envy gritted his teeth, I noticed something disturbing.
HE WAS SMILING!
"Heh; you didn't really think this is my true form did you Fullmetal?" Envy taunts.
Suddenly, he began to bulge, and several limbs sprouted out from his sides, and a tail erupted from his back.
After several seconds, he stood before me in his true form.
"So, now are you scared…Fullmetal?" Envy snorts derisively.
With a snap of my fingers, I proved him wrong 100 times over, as a crisscrossing series of spikes impaled him from all angles beneath his belly.
"OOWWWWWWAAGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" he moans, spewing blood from his mouth like a river a he writhed in agony.
"Not in the least you monster" I state flatly, as I turn my attention toward Gluttony and Lust.
"Its your turn you abominations" I say as my smile curves wickedly.
"Indeed…TAKE THIS!" Lust says as she spears me through the shoulders with her Ultimate Spear tips.
However, minimal levels of blood spurted from the wounds as I smirked.
She gasped in horror as I simply gripped the tips of her fingers and jerked them out of my wounds.
"That all you got sister?" I laugh, completely mocking her once fearsome powers.
Lust
What he was doing was impossible; no one could be that powerful-not even Father.
"(Growl) You're different; why are you taller and more muscular-and how can you move so fast, yet strike so hard?" I inquire, hoping he might unintentionally divulge a secret weakness.
"(Chuckle) Perhaps you didn't notice this, but I'm not exactly human anymore myself" Edward says as he jerks his thumb down to the belt around his waist, as it begins to move.
Wait a second…MOVE!
"That's not belt" I whisper in horror, as the furry belt thing unraveled and began to flit behind him.
"No-its my tail; and my code name is no longer Fullmetal" Edward continues calmly as he smiles.
Gluttony hid behind me in fear, and began to whimper as Edward assumed an extremely menacing stance.
"I' am now to be called…THE ALCHEMIC SAIYAN!" Edward roars, causing the very land to rumble as if in the throes of tectonic upheaval.
I couldn't figure out how he was so powerful still; he must have turned himself into some super chimera with secret friends he'd met recently
Gluttony then yelped and attempted to dig a hole to hide in. However, before he'd even gotten an inch into the soil, Edward flashed over faster than the eye could see and hoisted him into the air by his ankle like a rag doll.
"Going somewhere chompy?" Edward jokes.
"(Crying) Please…have mercy; I'm just hungry-and Father demands I do what he says or I'll be returned to my stone form" Gluttony wails.
Suddenly, Edward's face changed from that of a super powered, cold-blooded killer…to that of a curious and caring gentleman.
"So you're saying you do this not of your own will, but are forced to kill and do criminal acts by Father?" Edward asks sincerely, wanting to know the truth.
"YES! HE'LL KILL US IF WE DON'T OBEY!" Gluttony sobs, his face streaming with tears.
Edward suddenly dropped Gluttony like a lead weight on his head, and began to float in a meditative stance.
"How odd…from what my mentor taught me-you were all heartless monsters who delighted in the destruction of humans" Edward says with surprise.
Pride then stepped forth and his expression softened.
"We have no choice; Father demands obedience…or death" he says as his face becomes filled with the sad and fearful look of a hurt child.
Suddenly, Edward lowered to the ground and stood on his feet, looking at us with intense scrutiny-especially to me.
"What would you say…if I knew of a way to make you all human, yet retain your powers?" Edward announces plainly.
His declaration shocked all of us speechless as our mouths hung open in awe.