Dragon Ball GX, Side Story: The Alchemic Saiyan
Chapter 22: The Transmogrification Of Ling
Edward Elric
As I watched Ling finish the 36th plate of food, I groaned, he reminded me of Goku when he was hungry based on the stories Psyagon had told.
"HOO WHOOOO! I feel so much better, you guys are life savers, thanks a lot. Your treat right?" he asks cheerfully.
"Yeah sure, but before I pay for your huge meal, I wanna ask some questions…Ling Yao" I say as I smirk, causing his eyes to open in shock.
"How did you know my name? We've never met before as far as I know" he says accusatively as his eyes open in shock.
"The Chang Clan found me and paid me to keep an eye out for a man named Ling Yao, who keeps his eyes shut most of the time, and has a piece of straw in his mouth" I say as I rub my fingernails, causing Al to gasp.
"Brother, you've been to Xing" Al whispers to me.
"No, I just know all about his, outside sources from my master, I wanna mess with him a little" I whisper back as I wink to him, causing him to nod.
"So you're allied with a rival of mine eh?" Ling asks with a suspicious look.
"Yeah, they said I should kill you if we meet" I say as I snap my fingers, and Al rushes over and restrains him.
"What the…how can someone so big move that fast?" Ling grunts as my brother holds him.
"So how should I kill you; maybe my preferred method of boiling them down, and eating the liquid remains" I say casually, causing Ling to begin to sweat.
"Heh, so your brother is your guard eh? Well I have guards too" Ling smiles as he snaps his fingers too, causing Lan Fan and Fu to appear from the rooftops, but at their speeds, to the human eye it would have seemed like they appeared from thin air. Just like in the anime, Lan Fan had the dagger to my throat, and Fu had his katana to Al's arm socket.
"Now, I know you're an alchemist, cause since I came here, I heard stories of a young boy who was one of the most skilled ones in Amestris, and he has golden eyes and blonde hair, and I know you know about the philosopher's stone, and I want immortality, so spill it shorty" Ling says cockily as he smiles.
"Please, I don't have to waste my time on pathetic losers like you, I'm far beyond you in all manner of fighting skills and raw power" I laugh as I slap away Lan Fan's dagger like a toy, causing her to gasp.
"I have other people that can deal with you jokers (takes a deep breath and emit's a shrill piercing whistle)" I reply as I toot my lips off, causing Ling and his gang along with everyone nearby to cover their ears. Moments later, Greed and his gang appeared before me.
"Yes master, how can we be of service to you?" Bido says with a bow.
"Will you please not call me Master? Mister is fine, but no more, just Mr. Edward. Anyways, see those three, the two with masks and the closed eyes man?" I reply, causing Greed to laugh.
"So this is our first job eh boss, can we mince them?" the avaricious homunculus asks as he coats his hands with his ultimate shield.
"No, just humiliate them a little, I'll be talking to Ling once you've subdued him, now go" I say, causing the homunculus and chimeras to bow and rush the Xingese group.
"Wait, Al, Martel, come here" I shout, causing the two to break off and rush over.
"Yes, what can I do to assist this battle Mr. Edward?" she asks with a bow.
"Brother, why are you in need of us both?" Al asks with confusion.
"Cause Martel's blood is needed to unlock some memories" I say as I grab her finger and make a small incision with my nail, causing a drop of blood to leak out.
"Why do you need my?…-"
"Be patient, Al hold still" I say as I silence Martel, and take off Al's head, then flick the drop of blood onto his seal.
"Brother what did you do that fo…" Al starts before freezing mid-sentence, as the memories undoubtedly flow back to him. However, unlike in the anime, he recovered moments after the incident.
"Brother…I remember" Al says in a trance like voice.
"HOT DOG! I knew it'd work!" I shout as I leap into the air and kick my boots together.
"Memories, what does that mean?" Martel asks with confusion.
"It means, I can hold my own against more powerful enemies now, cause I can do this" Alphonse says as he claps his hands and creates a spike-less ball and chain flail and rushes toward Fu. After nodding to Martel, she rushed back to fight Fu as well.
Greed
As the masked man kept rushing me, I struggled to stay at pace with the warrior's speed and blows; if not for my ultimate shield, I might have already begun to take damage. It was true, he wasn't worth Edward's time, that's for sure, but this guy was giving me a run for my money, and despite what I was dishing out, this fighter just dodged them all and kept coming. Exactly my kind of fight, a challenge.
"So, your boss seems pretty pathetic, I mean he got caught off guard by a kid in a suit of armor; hell I was able to ambush him when we first met, yet your loser leader was manhandled even though he knew the kid was right in front of his face. Talk about lame" I laugh as I block another blow.
In an instant, she blindly swung at me, and I dodged with even less effort than before.
"Looks like your boss is a point of weakness; whenever I insult the little weasel, you crumble" I taunt, causing the warrior to blindly strike yet again.
"Ha, your countenance crumbles when your master is insulted, this is a most undesirable mindset to have when fighting an opponent such as myself!" I shout as I claw at the mask with a razor slash. Dodging my blows once again, I smirked, having realized how to get the fighter.
"I figured out your weakness, whenever I talk smack about your leader-" I begin, dodging a sloppy blow effortlessly.
"-Your movements become useless as you're blinded by rage!" I shout as I initiate an arm lock, causing the warrior to groan and struggle against my inhuman hold.
"You just can't keep your cool when your boss is spoken ill of, that is to be your downfall,; but for now, its time to see what you're face looks like pretty boy!" I shout as I slash the mask to bits, causing the warrior to gasp, and reveal that he was really…
"HOLY SHIT, YOU'RE A CHICK!" I scream as I realize all this time, I've been ungentlemanly and was smacking around a girl, A GIRL!
"(Snarl) You'll pay for mocking the young lord" she fumes as she pulls out another dagger and plunges it through my forehead during my lapse in attention from shock.
"(Gasp) No, I didn't mean to…oh no, I went too far, Master Ling will be furious" she quivers as she stands over my fallen body. I realized now would be the perfect time to scare her.
"Thought I'd die so easily huh?" I laugh as I begin to sit up, causing her to shriek in terror. Pulling the kunai out, I began to heal, and then crushed the knife into shrapnel with a graphene hand as I rose to my feet.
"Wha…what the hell are you?" she trembles, backing up a step.
"(Chuckle) You can ask Mr. Edward once you're all subdued and laid at his feet" I say dryly as I leap at her, both arms outstretched as I prepare to grab her in a neck hold.
Alphonse Elric
As I used my new alchemy in liberal proportions, I began to corner him, or so I thought, as he kept dodging me.
"You're very agile for an old man, I'm impressed" I compliment.
"And you're incredibly agile for 7 foot giant" he compliments back.
"Thanks" I say as I clap my hands and create a big wall around him, only to see him deftly jump over it.
"No, I mean its unnatural, and you emit no Ki, which is not possible unless-" he starts as he leaps toward me, and wedges the katana under my helmet just like Dolcetto had when I met him, popping it off.
"-You're hollow inside, I knew it! You're no man, you're a Kuǐlěi!" he shouts as he holds my helmet head.
"HEY! Give that back" I shout as I rush him and cradle it into my arms, then carefully put it back on.
"Strange behavior for a Kuǐlěi, but you're far from invincible!" he shouts as he leaps at me with a burst of speed, quickly vanishing from view.
"Whoa, where did he? AAAHHHH!" I shout as he hammers me from behind, sending me sprawling to the dirt.
"Now I'll put you out of your enslavement Kuǐlěi!" Fu shouts as he raises his sword.
WHUMP!
With a thud, old man Fu fell face-first into the dirt. The assailant, Roa, using his hammer lightly.
"You looked like you could use some assistance" Roa says as he offers a hand while holding Fu over his other shoulder.
"Thank you, I very well could have been done for, I appreciate the assist" I say with gratitude.
"Well then, shall we take him back to Mr. Edward?" Roa asks with a sarcastic smile.
"Yes, I wanna know how much brother really knows, cause this is getting a little creepy; its as if he saw our future somehow" I say as I begin to worry; perhaps his knowledge came at a great price. Following Roa back to the Meshi restaurant, I thought harder on what exactly Ed might have learned.
Ling Yao
"So Ling, are you gonna give up now?" Edward asks cockily.
"Never, my servants will easily crush you and your ragtag cohorts, they are trained Xingese Martial artists and sword masters. To think your friends stand a chance against some of the best fighters of my homeland is beyond-"
"Brother, we caught them!" the tall armored kid says cheerfully, causing me to stop mid-sentence. As I saw my two guards being carried like flour sacks by the natives, my jaw dropped.
"Wha…but…they're experts, you're not even familiar with Xingese fighting arts!" I proclaim, shocked at how fast my servants had been subdued.
"They aren't, but my men and brother hardly need to know that stuff to fight your goons, now can we go somewhere private and "chat" Prince Ling?" he replies with a smirk.
"Make me shrimp!" I snap as I turn my back to him and attempt to run.
However, just as I prepared to jump, I found stone fists binding my ankles and rooting me to the street.
"Oh don't tempt me; now, the private talk?" Edward asks with a smirk as the restraints turn me around to face him.
"Why are you doing this, all I wanted to do was save my country, and you threaten our lives? I wasn't trying to deal any serious injuries to any of you" I argue, amazed at the disproportionate hostility we were receiving.
"Well then, perhaps I should just have you shot" Edward replies as the earth beneath me moves and sculptures appear, holding guns!
"Now then, will you talk with me peacefully?-"
(Guns cock)
"-Or will I have to shoot you?" Edward asks, narrowing his eyes.
I was about to reply, until I saw a glow from the stone on his necklace. Suddenly I felt a surge of realization; HE WAS WEARING A PHILOSOPHER'S STONE, THAT SNAKE!
"That's a very interesting gem on your person there Mr. Edward" I say cryptically, causing him to smile.
"Yeah you like? It's a gift from my master who trained me to kick ass like no other, want a demonstration?" he says arrogantly.
"No, what I want, IS THAT PHILOSOPHERS STONE!" I scream as I leap over the sculptures and snatch the necklace, shocking them all.
"You thieving bastard, YOU GIVE THAT BACK RIGHT NOW!" he screams.
"Not a chance, I want to be immortal, and I want to, no, need to be powerful enough to protect my country! And…why is it glowing?" I scream back, until I notice the jewel is glowing brightly in my hand. This caused Edward to gasp and rush toward me.
"Dude, seriously give it back, I think you upset it" he pleads, as I narrowly dodge his attempted grasp.
"Upset it? You act as if its-"
"You have been deemed worthy, and your request shall be granted" a voice whispers to me from the stone. Without warning, I felt myself being filled with energy, and I quickly began to pass out.
Edward Elric
The fool! He'd stolen my mystic gem, and now he had paid the price; as I felt his Ki dropping I knew Psyagon must have punished him for his transgressions of theft.
"No, DON'T KILL HIM!" I scream as I zip over and take the stone back. Upon reattaching the necklace around my neck, I saw Ling had…
Wait…no way, the stone…it hadn't killed him, it had…
"Oh crap, I hope he doesn't figure out how to use that till he's fully on our side" I say to myself as I realize the stone had not harmed him at all, it had just changed him into a Saiyan somehow.
Hang on, changed his DNA; somehow the stone had done a miracle for the foreigner!
"HOW THE HELL DID HE GET THIS THING TO WORK, HE'D ONLY JUST REALIZED I HAD IT, AND HE ONLY HELD IT A FEW SECONDS!" I bellow as I begin to bite on the thing and smack it like a wife beater.
"Um…brother, what should we do now?" Al asks nervously as he holds Fu. As I notice Greed holding Lan Fan, and the other chimeras and Envy standing there too, I sigh, stopping my desperate gnawing of the gem, and pick up Ling.
"We take them back to Garfiel's and wait for them to awaken" I say as I begin to walk away from the Meshi restaurant.
"HANG ON! You still gotta pay for the bill pal" the owner says as he grabs my hand and tries to halt me.
"Here, take it and leave us be, we have things to discuss" I say as I hand him a roll of cenz bills, 1000 in number, leaving him baffled.
"Keep the change!" I say as I wave to him, my group and I walking toward the shop of Atelier Garfiel.
Fu
As I came to, I groaned, feeling the back of my head ache with pain.
"Grandfather, where are we?" Lan Fan asks sleepily, apparently she had been defeated as well.
"I do not know, but we'll get out of here, I promise" I say as I look around and notice we're inside an automail shop.
"Ok ok, I'll get them for ya, geez, I said I was sorry my defense stone zapped you" the boy's voice says from behind the door. Swinging open dramatically, he stood there, fiddling with the stone on his necklace.
"Get out here, the metal restraints I used are gone now" he says with a sigh, as I feel my hands become lighter. Feeling uncertain, I suddenly felt more courage when I saw him enter the doorway.
"Young lord, you're alive! Did they harm you?" I shout as I rush to him and kneel, Lan Fan following.
"Oh no, far from it, they even gave me some more food; they're alright guys, we can talk civilly with them" Ling says with a smile. Feeling more at ease now, knowing master Ling trusted them, we stepped out into the room and saw Edward sitting there, smiling.
"2 hours, not bad, most folks stay out at least 10 when they get a good conk to the head" he says as he stands up.
"You talk awfully big for a diminutive dwarf" I retort, causing a vein to appear in his forehead for a moment, then vanish.
"I'd normally be insulted by that, but I wouldn't wanna spoil the surprise. Anyway, you're Fu, and the girl is Lan Fan, just like I thought" he says as he offers a handshake.
"What is this? You send your men after me, and brutally assault my granddaughter, and you expect us to be friends?" I snap, causing the boy to frown.
"Yes, he is, and I'm commanding you as the prince of the Yao clan, to keep your temper down Fu, and cooperate, because they've revealed they can assist us, in exchange for some Xingese knowledge that may be able to help them" master Ling says with a smiling yet serious face. Nodding in agreement, we sat down and waited to hear more.
"So, you're all from Xing, that's been established; we know who you are, so its time you knew about me and my friends" the boy says as he gestures an arm, and 5 people step into the room from the corner.
"This is the chimera gang; the girl is Martel, the guy with a lizard tail, Bido, the slick hair is Dolcetto, the big guy Roa, and their leader, Greed" Edward says, with a tall man with a fur covered vest smiling, causing my granddaughter to scream a little.
"That's the guy I fought, but he had a coating on his that could not be broken, and I buried a dagger in his forehead…he did not die, he isn't human!" she whimpers, causing my anger to flare up again.
"What the hell did you do to her you monster!" I scream, causing him to laugh.
"All I did was show off a little, its her own damn fault she's freaking out, I'm just special, a homunculus, that's all" he says with a laugh.
"Greed and Envy here are both homunculi, living philosopher's stones. The stones comprise their cores" Edward explains, as Greed opens his chest and shows off the glowing red stone.
"And to add a warning I was told; if we try to kidnap any of the good homunculi that are friends with Edward…he'll rip our arms off and have us sent back to Xing in giant fish bowls" Ling says, chuckling to contain his fear.
"Where is Envy?" I ask, curious to meet this second homunculus.
"He's busy, helping my friend test out the durability of a new automail limb she finished today. But I wanna know why you're not afraid of my men, even after they kicked your asses" the boy replies with a grin.
"Because we're loyal to the young lord Ling, and we have nothing to fear from a rude child like you" I spit, causing him to growl.
"Actually…there is a lot to fear of Edward, calm down please, for the sake of everything within a 10 square mile radius" Ling pleads as he rushes over and holds me back.
"What the hell are you talking about, why do you bow to people so far beneath you, they aren't even royalty, they're ordinary citizens!" I argue. Immediately, Ling did a surprising thing and clamped his hand over my mouth.
"Yeah, I agree, Ling shouldn't have to subject himself to taking orders from the likes of you commoners" Lan Fan adds in defense, causing Ling to clamp her mouth too.
"Will you shut up! There is a good reason I'm respecting him; the original plan I had was to do it just to make sure I got information from him. Now, I respect him because he is more than dangerous, if angered, he is a threat" Ling says as he sweats, confusing us both.
"How is he so frightening? Alchemy is not an all powerful art, just the same as Alkahestry. Both follow the laws of equivalent exchange, and have weaknesses and vulnerabilities that can be exploited in battle. I did so in combat with the armored boy earlier, so why is Edward different?" I inquire with exasperation as I take his hand off.
Sighing, Ling took his hand off Lan Fan's mouth too and sat in the chair.
"You remember that huge energy surge many people felt in Xing 4 weeks ago, and again a few days ago" Ling asks with a serious tone.
"Yes, but what does that have to do with this discussion?" I ask with curiosity, wondering why he was bringing that up.
"You're looking at the source of your overload" Edward says with a smile as he stands up.
After several seconds of silence, I finally regained the ability to talk after having been so thoroughly shocked by the claim.
"That's preposterous! We sensed something with the equivalent power of all the combined Ki put off by the Yao clan members, how could you, a mere child, be the source?" I retort, causing him to start laughing raucously.
"HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAA! For people who claim to know Ki, you're really clueless; you can sense life energy, but yet you can't manipulate it?" he begins, as I feel his Ki begin to increase somehow.
"Well then, allow me to show you a small demonstration!" he shouts, as I notice a wind has begun to fill the room. Soon, a faint white aura surrounded him, and I realized, the wind was coming from him!
"Zǔxiān de lìliàng! (Translated from Chinese/Xingese: By the ancestors, the power)" I exclaim, as I realize that he really is the source.
"That's just a fraction, a tiny one, I can't use my full power or I could destroy the town just from powering up" he says as the wind dies down, the aura of power remaining.
"How powerful could he be? He's just glowing a little" Lan Fan scoffs.
"Allow me to prove my strength, here, try and cut my finger" Edward smirks as he charges the aura around his left index finger and holds it out.
"With pleasure, YA!" my granddaughter shouts as she whips out a kunai and swipes at the extended digit. I smiled at this, as I saw her blade zing ever closer toward his flesh, he would be shown up and need alchemy to reattach his pointer.
However, instead of cutting through his finger, the finger cut through the knife! The moment the two collided, the weapon sizzled and its end was removed, the tip of the kunai had been sliced clean off, with molten metal seeping off between separated pieces.
"No way, that's…-"
"Impossible? You'll soon find there is no such thing, I mean, you saw it happen. Your knife hit a thin barrier of pure life force energy, highly energized and active. It was like sticking your toy into a crematorium fire" Edward says as he picks up the metal shrapnel, holding the molten edge in his fingers like it was gourmet cheese!
"Hmmmm, you know what, I've never tasted molten steel before, perhaps I can try it now" he says with a smirk as he pops it in his mouth and begins to chew.
"Come on kid, now you're just showing off, plus that's gross, eating metal, you're acting like Gluttony" Greed groans, as we watch in horror.
"You see now why I'm afraid of him, he's crazy, and powerful, never a good combination!" Ling whispers.
"I HEARD THAT, I'M NOT CRAZY!" Edward snaps, as his entire body begins to surge with electric discharge.
"I'm, eccentric" he says huffily as he puts a hand on his chest and turns up his nose.
"You're out of character if you ask me" the armored boy says with a sigh.
"Hey Ed and Al, you might wanna get over here, there's a soldier here" a girl says with an urgent tone.
Edward Elric
As I heard Winry's voice, I realized that it had to be important if she stopped working on automail. Rushing to the door, I saw she wasn't kidding, and it was a face I knew.
"Fullmetal, its good to see you sir" Sergeant Denny Brosh says, with a smile.
"Oh hey Denny, nice to see you too, but why are you all the way down here in the south? Rush Valley sure is a long way from Central City" I reply, noticing a paper in his fist.
"I'm afraid I have a bit of bad news, this message came from Colonel Mustang, he's requesting you back in Central right away, all members of the military just received this message earlier today, I got here to tell you in person. I was on a military train using a special train line dedicated to high speeds using experimental fuel for a new kind of engine, so I could get down here within a half day instead of several days, then I ran to you all the way from the station, its that urgent" he pants as he hands me the transcript. Taking it from him, I opened it up, and felt my veins run cold.
"Attention all military personnel, it has been verified that Scar has returned to Central. Three casualties have been reported, all confirmed as State Alchemists. According to eyewitness reports, he is described as an Ishvalan, with an X-shaped scar on his forehead, other identifiable markings include a tattoo on his right arm. Be advised that he is highly dangerous, able to dodge gun fire even at close range, and can destroy most materials with his right arm through mere physical contact using some form of alchemy. All non-combat oriented State Alchemists are hereby warned that he does not distinguish between alchemists, and will kill anyone who gets in the way of targets he picks out. We will do all we can to take down this murderer, and bring him to justice. Direct from the office of the Führer, King Bradley" I read outloud, causing Al to gasp.
"Brother…the guy who tried to kill us, he's-"
"Back, and killing more innocent lives" I say as I finish Al's sentence, and clench my fists, my aura firing up once more, this time a bright blue.
"Whoa, I can feel his power, its not human, its…something more, what is he?" Fu comments from behind me, my mind filled with so much rage I can barely hear his words.
I could hear those words he used on me and Al back in the alley all those weeks ago, just replaying in my head, as he said, "As long as there are creators like you in the world, there must also be destroyers"
As my rage built, I felt my control slipping, and I lost it.
"That's it, I'm going to Central now, Winry, I'll be bringing you back a trophy before sundown" I say as I kiss her cheek and begin to revert to my natural Saiyan form, as the alchemic discharge coats my form. Hearing the shocked awe coming from the Xingese visitors, I remained stonewalled, and upon completing my transformation, I shot straight through the roof, and began to fly straight to Central City, my aura blazing behind me.