Sorry for the long wait! For those who are interested, I generally try to keep you updated about my progress on my profile page...
Here is the last chapter, cut in two parts becaus it was really long, and the epilogue is right behind.
This chapter's formating is similar to the previous one, the aim is to give that overwhelming effect the manga's ending had ( you know the "whaa, too much information coming from everywhere, where am I, who am I..." kind of feeling). As such I'm sorry to those that didn't like this in the previous chapter, you probably won't like it here either...
I've changed quite a bit the ending, since the one of the manga just wasn't coherent in my universe.
I hope you enjoyed following Shadow's second adventure!
Chapter XIV : Promised Day 1915
[Life Quest! Darkness passing through the world...
note that the War Time Map System has been enabled for this event
Goal: Survive the Eclipse
Bonus Goal: gather War Points (WP)
Reward: 5000XP, 1 mutation to be unlocked, Map System to be unlocked, 1 S-grade Enhancement Stone to be chosen
Bonus Reward: 1000XP for each 2000WP gathered, 1 S-grade Enhancement Stone to be chosen for each 5000WP gathered, a mutation unlocked for each 10 000WP gathered]
[System Log: War Time Map
The War Time Map automatically monitors the area where a battle is fought. It monitors the on-going fight and give out War Point according to the strategic objective conquered, boss enemies vanquished and so on...]
¤.¤.¤
Wrath was different from his siblings, this was something the homunculus leading Amestris had always known.
Maybe it was because of the way he was created, a hand-picked human, trained from birth to become Fuhrer, that had managed to survive the implantation of the Red Stone in his body. Maybe because of that training he'd been given, that made him a true military man whereas his siblings only followed Father's orders. Or then again, maybe it simply was because contrarily to his siblings, he lived and worked with humans on a daily basis.
Whatever the reason, he was different.
He didn't look down on humans, he admired them – because these imperfect, inferior creatures were ultimately the one that created them, something all his siblings were swift to forget; because they endured and survived against all odds, something he, as a warrior, found praiseworthy.
And it was because of this admiration that he chose not to say anything as he pieced together the truth of Colonel Mustang's unit – he would let humanity one chance, and Promised Day wouldn't be a genocide, but a true test of survival of the fittest.
There was no doubt in his mind that the one to come out on top would be them homunculi, but humanity would still have it's chance – and he would have his fight against the WindBlade.
The day the then three Elric siblings had gone through the National Exam, his interest had been aroused by them for the first time. Realizing that the two boys had evidently attempted human alchemy, and survived at such a young age was one thing – but it was the sister that had been the true surprise. Her way of practicing alchemy, he had never seen before, and where her brothers had the eyes of survivors, she already had the eyes of a warrior.
During the following years, he'd kept an eye on the siblings, and slowly his interest had enlarged to the whole of Mustang's team, while at the same time focusing on the petite alchemist.
While they were never doing anything obvious, he sometimes wondered how none of his siblings had understood that somehow, they knew.
He hadn't understood immediately of course, and probably wouldn't have caught on at all if he hadn't been so intrigued by the Elric siblings – but somehow, they were always there in the cities where blood-shed were supposed to happen, and rumors about the philosopher stone, though regularly amplified by the homunculus, were always quick to die out in the East.
All of this, so clear to his strategist mind, passed by unnoticed by his siblings, and so Wrath decided to sit back and watch, enjoying the struggle of the humans against their inescapable fate – struggle that would come to a glorious end on Promised Day.
Now, all he had to do was wait for his date with WindBlade.
And hope he hadn't misplaced his trust in the girl – because Wrath was different from the other homunculi, and one of these differences was that his body was aging, and would fail him sooner or later.
He refused to face eternity in the body of an old man when he could still die in a fight.
For this reason in particular, he refused to go to the East when rumors of an uprising were heard, and instead sent Envy as a body double to overview the joint exercise between the Eastern and Northern armies – he wouldn't let himself distracted and called away from Central where the true action would be held.
"Seems you were right, Fuhrer" the title, like always, sounded like a mockery in his eldest siblings mouth "the train coming back from the East was ambushed above a river. For now, no survivors have been confirmed." the homunculus trapped in a child's body announced "Well, no human survivor, Envy already contacted me from a nearby town, he's on his way back." he amended with undisguised disdain for said humans
Then the first explosion was heard.
Wrath smiled, put a hand on his blades and mindless of his sibling starting to talk again, headed out, focused only on finding one unique girl.
[First Wave Attack Successful (Chess Pieces attack in the outer city): +500WP]
"You have changed, Roy-boy."
The colonel nodded, not surprised Madam Christmas had seen through him. She had raised him, after all, and had always understood him better than anyone else – bar Ari.
"So I guess you finally made a move toward your girl?"
This time he gulped – no way was he letting Ari near the Madam anytime soon, this would be way too dangerous. For him.
Nearby, Riza barely contained a snort while checking her hand-weapon, before announcing "It's time, fratello."
"Time indeed, sorella." he nodded before turning toward the woman that raised him "We're off."
"I'll see you later." acknowledged Madam Christmas, both guessing the words of caution that went unsaid
The two military officer were soon out of the sewers, not far from the Fuhrer's mansion, and securing Mrs Bradley.
While she could have been considered a hostage, she really wasn't – and when they told her she had to be protected, they really meant it. In the chaos the coup was sowing, the wife of the Fuhrer could easily be used by any of the general working with Father, and they didn't doubt one of them would try it, or any other harebrained scheme, once they realized they were doomed.
[Person of Interest protected: +500WP]
General Grumman restrained a smile as an aide run toward him, and urgently whispered him the news he'd been waiting for ever since the Fuhrer left the East, alerted to unusual moves from the Ishvalian in Central a few hours before.
"Time to end this exam, send teams to the wreck. I want to see King Bradley's body before confirming anything."
"Should we sent word to Central?"
"Of course! They need to know if anything happened to the Fuhrer, after all."
The aide nodded and went away running on to his next task.
"Aren't we heading to Central as planned?" Major Miles, who was leading the northern troops in this exercise, asked
"I wont be satisfied as long as I haven't seen that man's body." the elder man contradicted
Miles sighed inwardly, wondering if the cunning general was planning on making Mustang's team take all the blame for the coup. If that was the case, the man was loosing his touch – for the arrogant colonel already had a backup plan, of course.
With a shrug, he let the topic go and informed "We'll leave it to the East then, Briggs will head out."
[Sabotage Action Successful (Train attack): +500WP]
"Shall I eliminate him?" Selim Bradley asked idly, eyeing the silhouette of the Fuhrer who was currently heading out for an unknown reason
"Leave it be, Pride." Father walked out of the shadows slowly
"He has been acting strangely for a while."
"It doesn't matter, even if he had betrayed us, which I doubt, it wouldn't matter, our plan will be coming to fruition within a few hours after all."
The small homunculus nodded reluctantly, then asked "What now, then?"
"Gluttony will accompany me. Right now, the sheep are panicking at the news of their beloved leader's death. As for you, I want you to take a look at those attacking and report to me."
The eldest Sin nodded to his Father, and shadows rose and twisted around him, giving off a malevolent feeling.
General Olivier Mira Armstrong was barely maintaining her bored front while waiting for the news to come from the East – listening to the useless and constant bickering of the pieces of trash that where the highest ranking officer in the country had quickly become tiring, and she was looking forward to revealing her true allegiances, if only to shut them up.
Without surprise, the news of the Fuhrer train's explosion provoked chaos in the room – but still the blond general of the north continued to wait patiently – her time to act would come soon enough.
As the chaos was peaking in the room, old men shouting at each other like children, a hidden door opened silently – and an inhuman presence made itself known.
"Calm down, my friends, I will be taking over." a smile "Right now we've got to deal with the more important... The coup. We've got to stop it before the eclipse, we cannot let those usurpers come in the way of our glorious plan." Father sedately announced
"We've closed Headquarter, and several squads are out of the walls to take out the rebellion. According to the first reports, it seems to be an attack orchestrated by the Colonel Mustang."
"This is ridiculous! Mustang's squad doesn't even have a dozen of men!"
"But what they do have is four experimented State Alchemists." calmly remarked Armstrong while Father left them to their bickering "And hand-picked men each more skilled than the other. Not to talk about the Hawkeye."
An aide knocked on the door, and quickly made its report to one of the general, before getting out of the room just as fast as he'd come.
"These bastards are mocking us!" raged the general, slamming his fist on the door before passing out the written report
"Mustang's grown soft." laughed Mira "And you top coat of Central are even worse," she mocked "the man is leading a rebellion with less than twelve men, is even holding back, not killing anyone and only hurting them... Yet you still haven't caught him! This is ridiculous!"
"Hold your mouth, girl! Do you think you could do better?"
A snort.
"Of course."
"So cute." another smirked "You think you're here because you earned a position among us? You're our hostage, as long as we've got you under our thumb your northern men won't dare try anything against us."
"You clearly don't know Briggs' soldiers at all! Survival of the fittest is our iron law, if the circumstances calls for it, they know to leave me behind!"
"Yet you still behave so defiant, even though you've seen our secret weapon? I don't know if you're brave or just stupid."
[Second Wave Attack Successful (Fort Briggs' experimental tank): +500WP]
The ice queen answered with an amused smile, and as if on cue, another explosion was heard, far nearer than the previous.
Her boys were right on time.
"You are nothing but prey for the northern bear's." she affirmed, finally letting go of any restraint and slicing the nearest of the annoying men's throat
"You... are you rebelling against us too?"
"You really are blinded by your ambitions aren't you? Do you really think the creature that calls itself Father will honor its promises?"
"We are the chosen who will change Amestris and the world! Sacrifices are necessary to bring forth change!"
"Who are you trying to fool, making pain and suffering into some kind of noble gift?" a swift movement, a bloody blade – and then there was one "Well, general. Looks like its you and me now."
[Person of Interest Eliminated (3 General) :3*500WP]
"Looks like we won't be getting underground the same way Scar did." Ed remarked as the Elric siblings hid behind an alchemically made barricade "Even with the men from Briggs opening the way it'll take way too long."
Ari, who was monitoring the homunculi presence around noted "judging by the way the homunculi have been moving around, there should be an entrance in about any Research Laboratory."
Ed smirked "What a lucky coincidence, we're just by the Third Laboratory!"
Ari smiled back, before announcing "You better get going then. There is only one homunculus between you and Father."
"Not coming?" Al asked, only half surprised
"I've got a date to uphold." his sister answered back "I'll see you later."
"Hurry up, or you'll miss all the fun." Ed warned, his personal way of telling her to take care
Von Hohenheim took a step toward her – and gave her a brief, but unexpected hug before following his sons in the opposite direction.
Ari smiled.
While she didn't like leaving her family as the final battle was drawing upon them, she also knew that her own role was coming to an end. She had been by their side on every step of the journey leading them toward this final confrontation against Father – now they would realize they didn't need her.
After all, she was there to help the heroes – she wasn't one herself.
By her side, Padfoot pressed his large head against her tight, mentally assuring her that everything was going to be alright.
[Infiltration of Father's Underground Lair Successful (Edward Elric) : +500WP]
[Infiltration of Father's Underground Lair Successful (Alphonse Elric) : +500WP]
[Infiltration of Father's Underground Lair Successful (Von Hohenheim) : +500WP]
Scar and several team of Ishavalians that had helped him travel the country to put in place the necessary circle needed to create his brother's nation-wide array were sneaking through Central, taking advantage of the chaos created by Mustang's team, then the northern soldiers, to place the last of the circles.
And soon, only one circle, carefully written on a sturdy scroll, was left – this one to be placed at the center of the array.
This is where things would start to get a bit more complicated.
"Ready to take on the headquarters, Panda Girl?"
A firm nod was his answer from the young princess – as her panda let out a feral growl quite surprising for such a small beast
[Infiltration of Father's Underground Lair Successful (Scar) : +500WP]
[Infiltration of Father's Underground Lair Successful (Mai Chang) : +500WP]
General Clemins, another of the generals working with Father, was the one heading Central's counter-attack against Mustang's men and the Briggs' troops – and because he hadn't been in the war council chamber when Armstrong attacked, he also was among the last of Father's generals to be alive.
"Central command! This is main gate! The outer gate has been breached, and there is what appears to be a Briggs' tank firing at us!"
"No need to shout, I can see from here! Return fire!"
"But general! We haven't finished the civilian's area evacuation!"
"If we wait we'll lose the main gate! I'll take full responsibility!"
This time, the explosion was much louder – and it wasn't coming from the courtyard but the building itself, as a large, weaponized, automail arm came under the general's throat.
"I sincerely hope you weren't about to order them to shoot at the civilian quarters, general."
Said general immediately recognized the man's weapon "You... You're from Briggs! How is it possible?"
"Colonel Mustang may not compare to our general, he does have a highly competent team." Captain Bucanneer admitted as his platoon took command of the place "We had the exact blueprints of your Headquarters!"
"It doesn't explain how the hell you managed to enter!" the Central officer protested
"We had an unexpected ally." the northern solider answered as the woman they'd caught pilfering their provisions a few weeks ago stepped beside him with a large, feral smile
"Who... who are you?" Clemins stammered
"Normally, the polite answer would be 'just a normal housewife'... But just this once, I feel like bragging!" Izumi Curtis answered wildly "I am an alchemist!"
[Third Wave Attack Successful (underground tunnel): +500WP]
[Headquarter Command under Control: +1000WP]
"Eat the traitorous woman general. But don't eat the alchemists, we need them as sacrifice."
Gluttony nodded emphatically at Pride's instructions and the smaller homunculus left – the large beast then started sniffing around, his nose soon leading him to the main courtyard, just as the large doors barricading the headquarters started to tremble, and exploded under Briggs' experimental tank.
Just behind the northern soldiers, a dozen of chimera poured in the courtyard, Shan Feng leading them.
"Ah, home sweet home, how nostalgic." the former homunculus smirked
"Greed. You're not an alchemist. That means I can eat you." the large homunculus stated before charging toward them, a gigantic mouth opening from his stomach
"Glad to see you haven't changed, brother." Shan commented, as his men all jumped out of the way, having been prepared to it thanks to their leader's briefing on the homunculi he knew about abilities "And my name is Shan Feng now, not that you'll have any use for it."
The Central soldiers in charge of defending the headquarter weren't as lucky as the chimera – and a dozen were engulfed in the monster's mouth under their brother-of-arms horrified eyes.
"Oups." Gluttony noted, before adding "Ah, but its alright they aren't alchemists!"
The remaining soldiers, already destabilized by the announce that the headquarters were now under northern command, realized they weren't going to be spared in the large beast's attempts to do whatever task it had been given.
Several froze, most stopped firing at the invaders, wondering whether to flee or continue fighting by the monster's side...
[Head-quarter's Main Gate Opened: +1000WP]
"What are you waiting for!" the last brigadier general not having been caught by Armstrong walked into one of the large underground laboratories where their secret weapon was stocked "This is exactly for situations like these we made all these Philosopher Stones!" he proclaimed, disregarding the protesting scientist to maneuver a lever
"The mass soul-injecting experiment aren't complete!" continued to explain the scientist as the large tank holding countless small red stones started to come alive, the stones glowing as one and moving from the tanks toward tubes - tubes feeding hundreds of grossly humanoid figures...
"Our immortal soldiers will put an end to this ridiculous rebellion!"
The red glow reached the figures, and their mono-eyes opened as one as they let out a blood-curling scream before unplugging from the tubes linking them to the tanks, walking toward the scientist and the general.
(It hurts)
(I'm hungry)
(mama)
(feed me)
(father)
(help me)
Multiple unearthly voices rose as the creature approached them. The general gulped before smiling "Yes, that's right, I'm your father. Come to daddy!"
(Daddy)
"Yes, good child, obey your daddy."
They let out toothy smiles – and as one they were suddenly on them, biting at military and scientist indifferently, not caring about the bullet wounds that were closing as soon as they were opened.
Soon, the screaming humans were silenced, and all that was left was the constructs' disturbing voices as they escaped the underground laboratories where they had been engineered.
¤.¤.¤
From within the tunnels they had easily found within he Third Laboratories the two Elric brothers and their father shared a worried look at the nearby inhuman voices that had started rising.
¤.¤.¤
Overground, Ari shivered as she felt the awakening of countless unnatural existences.
Seemed like she had already found her next task after finding the Fuhrer.
[Radio Station under Control :+1000WP]
Denny Brosh was on leave – and thus still sleeping when the first explosions woke him up.
Quickly putting on some clothes, he went banging on his neighbor's door "Hey, Maria, do you know what's going on?"
She opened immediately – contrary to him, she was an early riser, and explained "No I was trying to get a hold of a radio station, but it seems like the network is down..."
Just as she was saying this, the familiar voice of the radio animator of the hour started speaking again "We're now interrupting your normal program to give our loyal auditors some news about the situation in the city! Civilians are asked to stay inside in order to avoid unnecessary casualty in the brave tentative to regain control of Central Headquarters from the General Council who are suspected of trying a coup while Fuhrer Bradley's away on an inspection in East City. As a special witness, we've got Mrs Bradley here with us."
Second lieutenant Ross and sergeant Brosh shared a glance as the Fuhrer's wife explained how men from Central trying to stop Mustang and his men had tried to kill her, considering her as expandable, and about how Central Headquarters were under lock-down without any communication coming from them.
Both of them understood that something more than what was said on Capital Radio was going on – and while they didn't know what exactly, one thing was clear.
The Elric siblings were right in the middle of it.
Both had seen more than they let on during the brief time they had been assigned as guards to the three State Alchemists, and they understood that something wasn't right within the military command. Now that the time had come, their choice was clear.
Some of Mustang's men were at the radio station – this would be their first stop.
[New allies acquired: 2*500WP]
"We have just learned that his excellency's train was caught in an explosion during an early return from an inspection to the East. With the events happening in the capital, it is quite clear that the Fuhrer had guessed at his generals treachery and was coming back to take care of the situation himself."second lieutenant Breda was announcing to the radio speaker, Mrs Bradley's sobs audible in the background "Colonel Mustang already knew that we couldn't trust the top brass in Central. It's clear they are trying to overthrow his excellency."
When Ross and Brosh had arrived and announced their wish to help out, they had soon been succinctly updated on the real situation, and put to contribution.
"We on colonel Mustang's side, we may not be as capable as his excellency, but we share his vision for Amestris. For the sake of justice, we will stand and fight against those corrupt individuals."
Brosh smiled, amused – Maria's impassioned speech would be well received by the public – and it would put them on their side with only vague affirmation.
Justice could mean anything after all.
Back in East City, general Grumman was laughing merrily, impressed by the way Mustang's team was turning the situation to their advantage.
[Public Opinion Influenced: +500WP]
"What are these abominations?" loudly protested May, while fighting her way through the humanoid beasts, Scar by her side
The Ishvalian, while not as loud in his opinion about the monsters they were facing, was pouring his feeling of disgust into the fight, putting to good use his new tattoos and the months of training he'd undertaken while traveling the country clear in his fighting style.
Neither had stopped moving while fighting – and soon the tunnel filled with monsters they were in led them into a larger underground chamber, where people were already fighting.
"About time you got here." commented Ed in his usual gruff style "We were starting to wonder if you were eaten by these abominations."
"Hardly." scoffed Scar "And where's your sister?"
"On a date."
The Ishvalian didn't bat an eye at the affirmation, having long since come to term with the fact that the Elric siblings just didn't answer to logic – something quite paradoxical for alchemists.
The sister most of all – and if her brother said she was on a date during an important battle? Well she probably was – yet still fighting one way or another...
"My sister! I have come to your aid!"
"Tchh. As if it was needed, you eyesore!"
Mira Armstrong had found her way to the courtyard, one general still held hostage – the man had shouted at the soldiers present to assist him, but they were still reeling in from Gluttony's attack and as such hadn't reacted immediately – the general had then called to the homunculus, having recognized it as it was accompanying Father earlier.
The general calling to the monster that had just killed their comrade without a second though was what decided most of the soldiers – and the chimera now had unexpected allies in uniform against the homunculus, making the hostage general scream in outrage.
That was when Major Armstrong had appeared.
In the next moment, both siblings jumped out of the way of Gluttony's rampage, Mira abandoning her hostage to move quicker while her brother took advantage of a flying bit of concrete to work his alchemy and start counter-attacking.
"Don't let yourself get eaten." Shan Feng warned the newcomers "No one ever came back from this mouth."
The warning was acknowledged by a simple nod, and the fight was back on.
[Person of Interest Eliminated: +500WP]
[New ally acquired: 500WP]
[Enemies changing side (Central Soldiers): +500WP]
After protecting Mrs Bradley and dropping her off with Fuery and Breda, Roy and Riza started their way toward Central's Headquarter – meeting up with Hughes on the way.
"Weren't you supposed to stay with your wife to protect her and the kids?" acerbically asked Roy
The other man didn't take umbrage from his tone, knowing it was more from worry than anything else "Winry'll do that, that girl is scary with her wrench." he stated, knifes flying toward an enemy "And I had the itch to try the new knives you crafted for me."
Roy rolled his eyes, Leon in his pistol form taking out another soldier in the knee while asking "Well, time to work out a bit and see if all those years working in Central didn't dull your edge then." he teased
Contrary to the Elric siblings, the trio wasn't hiding themselves, voluntarily calling a bit of attention to them as they headed toward a secondary entrance toward the headquarters, known only by officers working in the Intelligence department - in an attempt to make the homunculi disregard the Elric siblings apparent absence.
"We've got one homunculus waiting for us." warned Roy as Ari's warning flashed on Chaos' Game Interface
"That's about what we expected." nodded Riza "According to Shan's data, Envy is probably the one who replaced Bradley's to the East, Bradley himself is probably looking for Ari... So it's either Gluttony or Pride."
Soon, they were to the gate, a small child-sized silhouette negligently leaning against the outer-wall – terrifying shadows swirling around it.
Riza immediately recognized the homunculus for the one she had glimpsed in the underground array where they'd taken care of Sloth.
"Pride it is, then." she stated, Shan having easily identified him from the description during one of the coup planning sessions
Ari called the Wardrobe Windows to the front – and switched from her usual outfit to one she hadn't worn in a lifetime.
"A special outfit for a special date." Roy had laughed while handing her out Leon's latest, yet familiar creation, her husband proving once more how well he understood her
The leveling-item that usually looked identical to her siblings' red coats was in fact a haori acquired from her previous life which had the quite useful ability to change shape to suit it's owner – and that haori was now back to its original form, that of a luxurious yokai red silk haori, decorated by hand with fiery foxes, a black armband, originally only sporting a howling wolf, but now also harboring her Teacher's Flamel.
Under the haori, a white kimono and black hakama mini-skirt made by Leon, all enhanced by the more powerful Stone she possessed. As for her shoes, they were the sturdy, knee-high Amestrian military grade boots she had used her leveling-item token on years before.
Completing her outfit, her Alpha-mask was on the side of her head, near the silver chain she was born with, where charms from her precious memories and presents from previous life were hanging – her fingers glided upon the gleaming black feather and bright emerald to stop on the illusionary pearl hiding her true features. With a pulse, red alpha mark, thunderbolt scar and Hallow tattoos appeared on her face and hands, as her eyes turned to an AK green pulsing with power.
Black Flames burst to life around her, and she was gone.
¤.¤.¤
"You came."
"Did you ever doubt it?"
"Not for a moment."
Fuurinkiba barely was out of her sheath fast enough to deflect the first of the Fuhrer's famous four blades, and they were soon dancing around each other too fast for any novice fighter to follow.
King Bradley was the first to draw blood, blade twirling and leaving a crimson trail along Ari's left arm – the young goddess replying in kind in the next moment, one throwing dagger stopped by the warrior's hand, the the second piercing through his shoulder.
"Even if my eyes are all seeing, my body cannot follow them anymore it seems." the man noted biter-sweetly, before letting an impressed smile grow on his lips "Still, you've improved, WindBlade."
The young goddess smiled at the praise - during her years traveling the country, her focus had more been on her alchemical skills, and general efficiency as a fighter.
For her promised fight with Amestris' leader, she'd been selfish, focusing a lot of her training purely on her blade skills, honing them to be on par with what her former self had been as an assassin, leveling enough to gain her Savant Mastery, giving her an increased boost in both Intelligence and Agility, on top of a new one in Luck.
And all this training had paid, as she could now keep up with the strange homunculus with only her blades where she had formerly needed all her skills to merely defend herself.
The warrior eye's marked with an Ouroboros, usually hidden away by a patch, was focused on the graceful girl, whose movements with a blade were as flowing as those of a dancer – and he couldn't deny that each passing second of their fight saw her speed increase, faster than he thought a human could go.
"Shall we stop playing around, girl?" he asked, letting the Red Stone that sustained him heal the wound left by Ari's blade.
Said girl's smile was echoed by the preternatural glow of her eyes, and her automail hand was surrounded with the familiar glow of alchemy "You asked for it, old man."
"Old I maybe," he admitted as he rushed toward her, two blades in hand "But I'm not yet old enough to be killed by a human!"he taunted
Ari's next attack was even faster, the girl stopping the oncoming blades with Kiba in her left hand, and her bare automail on the right side – the mechanic arm opening and launching the three daggers usually hidden within.
Her smile was just as feral as his when she answered "Then you're lucky, homunculus. After all, I'm no more human than you are!" she freely admitted, while doing her own unique brand of alchemy
Fighting against Pride was like fighting against an army of deadly shadows, the human-looking form he inhabited nothing more than a husk for his monstrous true form.
As soon as the Flame Alchemist and his two fighting partners had identified the homunculus, their first move had been to even out the play-field by provoking a large explosion – the dust-cloud rising in its wake an efficient way to hinder the inhuman shadows, while barely hindering to Roy, who had trained himself to fight through any kind of visibility – but especially through the dust-clouds inevitably provoked by his alchemy; Riza, both through training and her Cat's Eyes mutation, was just as much at ease in the dust, while Hughes, while hindered, was still alert.
"Nasty colonel, rebelling against the government he's working for!" Pride mocked in the clouds, probably hoping to identify Mustang's position through his voice
Roy didn't answer, taking advantage of the dust to creep toward the child.
The barely visibly spark of the firing gun was enough for the homunculus, who jumped out of Leon's fire just in time.
"Have you no shame, attempting to murder a kid like that?" the homunculus taunted again
"None at all," confirmed the alchemist "After all, the army trained me to kill innocent, didn't it... And well, you're hardly innocent!"
Pride's smile was quite disturbing on a children's face "What a peculiar man you are, colonel, you seem to already know what I am..."
"Your brother was right, Pride. Your arrogance does make you underestimate people. Be they human, or homunculi."
"Oh... So Greed finally came out of hiding? I'll have to pay him a visit as soon as I've dealt with you then. What a bad boy, selling out his brother. I should eat him."
Throughout their talk, neither colonel nor non-human had stopped attacking, each avoiding the attack of the other, to the homunculus' growing annoyance.
As for the newly ascended god, he was putting the first of his holy power into use for the first time, enhancing his healing ability even more than his Sun Flames usually did, along with all of his reflexes – trust the former hitman to find a way to use a gift called Healing Art as a tool in a fight.
This was going to be a battle of attrition, one he didn't plan to loose – one that would only end when Pride's Stone would be too depleted to sustain him any longer.
Gluttony was perhaps the stupidest of the homunculi, according to what the former Greed had explained – but he was also the most sturdy now that Sloth was gone, bullet wounds healing as soon as they hit him, not even slowing the stupid and hungry monster down in his attempts to "eat the blond general".
But even if it appeared hopeless to the soldiers fighting, Shan and his chimera knew that each wound was taking its toll on the homunculus' Red Stone – and attack after attack, his attempts at eating the people around him were slower and slower, even if it was barely noticeable.
Just when things were starting to look up in the courtyard, the immortal army attacked.
"What are those things?" one panicked Central soldier asked in the initial wave "They just won't go down! Are they with you?"
"Don't compare me to those disgusting monsters!" General Armstrong vehemently protested "They are just like this guy!" she added, pointing at Glutonny "They were sent by your superiors!"
"We didn't hear anything about this!" the soldier protested while once more shooting uselessly the creature
"Of course you didn't! It's not as if those assholes cared about your opinion! Take their heads out, at least they wont be able to eat us!"
The soldiers that didn't manage to snap out of their panicked state were soon dead – as for the other, there wasn't any doubt whatsoever about assisting the Armstrong siblings and the chimera anymore.
"We've got to close the door," the Major Armstrong realized "if those things get out in the city it'll be a carnage!"
"We'll keep this thing's attention, you close the door then!" a new voice announced
"Who are you people?" the blond general asked suspiciously
"Prince Ling Yao of Xing," the only unmasked man of the trio introduced himself
"What's a Xingese prince doing here?"
"Repaying a debt." the prince answered, before assessing "Look, my presence here isn't really relevant right now. Protecting your people is far more important."
"You're right." the female officer admitted, turning toward the Central soldier that had somehow started to follow her commandment "Focus on forbidding any of these monstrosity from leaving the Headquarters! Brother, take care of that door! Buccaneer, protect him!" she concluded toward another new arrivant
Nearby, Shan had effortlessly jumped out of the way of Gluttony's hazardous attacks and landed nearby the three Xingese "Glad to see you. We'll assist you against the homunculus."
"It is appreciated."
Everyone having found their utility on the battlefield, they all moved with far more efficiency than they had been before.
[Head-quarter's Main Gate Barricaded: +1000WP]
Major Armstrong may have been more used to mold his alchemy around his very physical fighting style, it didn't mean he had no knowledge of other applications of the science – and while he wasn't the fastest, he did the job required of him soon enough.
Meanwhile, all the chimera had been working on harassing Gluttony, working side-by-side with the Xingese. Still, the fight was on-going, and a dodging Ling soon realized that his old bodyguard was slowing down – the man was scarily skilled, but the constant jumping around to avoid Gluttony's dangerous ability was taking it's toll on his aging body.
Four heavy duty grenade of Xingese origin were eaten as if they were nothing by the monster, making the prince pale a bit – to think not a rumble had been heard or seen of the explosion that had to have happened within the homunculus...
The maneuver to throw these grenades had been risky, and their lack of result was disheartening – but the prince didn't have time to let it affect him, as his attention was drawn to a panicked shout of "GrandPa!"
Ling's eyes sought his bodyguard – and he understood just as Lan Fan had that there was no way he could reach the old man in time to get him to safety.
A scream followed, and blood splattered as once more body parts disappeared into Gluttony's mouth.
"Tchh. Being greedy was less dangerous." an unsteady voice half-joked, half-complained
Shan had managed to get to Fu in time, pushing him out of the way – but he hadn't been fast enough to completely avoid his former sibling's attack, and even a body reinforced with carbon wasn't enough to protect himself from that monstrous mouth.
"Mister Feng!" a distraught chimera called
"Calm down, boys." he reassure them "I won't bled out, my ability is still good for that..."
"But... Your arm!"
"The siblings' mechanic friend will make me a new one. It's not as if I can't afford it. Focus on the fight, the old man and me, we're going to rest for a bit."
Said old man, who was now by his side and helping him move out of the way, nodded his head in thanks "I own you my life."
"Don't fret old man," Shan waved the thanks away "After all, we're all here to help those siblings. Letting allies die when it could be avoided would have been bad form, even for a former villain!"
"I think you and your team more than prove than humanity is about more than looking human or being born as such..." retorted the Xingese with a tired smile
The former homunculus didn't answer – but a small smile was dancing on his lips at the other easy acceptance of his boys and him.
This was a humanity worth fighting for.
¤.¤.¤
With both Shan and Fu out of the fight, the situation had become all that much harder to hold for the people fighting both Gluttony, and the immortal army – then, the characteristic 'whoosh' sound of a heavy powered alchemical reaction was heard, and an large earth spike rose through the ground, catching the homunculus unaware and drilling through on of his arms, stopping him for a split second, before a hard but clearly feminine voice announced "He's all yours, darling."
The next moment, a large, bearded man was rushing at the non-human, tackling him by the side and throwing him against a wall – a feminine silhouette sporting a fluffy black tail rushing by his side to continue the attack, alchemy circle springing to life between her hands in the unique way of those who had broken the taboo.
The Curtis had joined the fray.
Major Armstrong, having closed the breach into headquarter, jumped back into the fight, side by side with his sister – and for someone that knew the blond woman, it was plain to see that the female warrior was proud that her brother wasn't even thinking of backing out of this battle.
Maybe the man wasn't that much of a wimp, after all...
It was quite disturbing to realize that as his frustration grew, Pride's way of expressing himself became more and more childish, somehow fitting of the form his Father had given to him.
"Can't you stupid insects stop moving!" the child-like creature snapped "It's so annoying! Don't you see you're just going to die in the end?"
"Even if we do die, we'd at least fought until the end." Hughes retorted "That's part of being human!"
"What's the point of rebelling against nature!"
"That's rich coming from you!" Roy mocked "Your so called Father was created by a man, and yet here you are attempting to destroy us... Aren't you rebelling just as much as us?"
"Because we're superior!"
"Yet for all your so vaunted superiority, we're still alive, aren't we." Hawkeye taunted
This was the comment that made the homunculus turn around in the dust – realizing too late that his focus had been taken more and more by the alchemist, to the point that he'd managed to forget that he was also facing the vaunted Hawkeye of the Ishvalian conflict.
And forgetting about a sniper never was a good thing, a lesson he learned in pain the next moment a bullet pierced his young body just between the eyes. His body was thrown to the ground under the power of the attack, and the several seconds it took him to get back up were enough to have Roy drawn nearer to him, a trench knife in one hand, a spark in another...
Deadly wounds hurt, even when you were immortal.
Still dazed by the shot he'd just taken, it took a moment for the eldest homunculus to realize that his lashing attacks weren't doing as much damage as they were supposed to – but once he realized it, he quickly pinpointed what caused his problem.
Pride wasn't an alchemist, so he didn't know what chemical reaction was behind the bright light that surrounded the knife, forcing his shadows to receded at least temporarily, but one thing was clear, even for a neophyte like him – the circle creating this reaction had been activated with one hand, and no gloves, something only the WindBlade alchemist had ever done before.
This was some unforeseen development, the homunculus mused as he felt his Philosopher Stone work overtime to repair the damage done by the colonel's fire-arm – and hadn't said weapon been a chameleon just a second before?
Still, it was unfortunate, but he would have to retreat for now, since the insects were unexpectedly well-prepared to fight against him.
Or rather, that was what he would have done – hadn't back-up finally arrived in the form of one crazy-eyed alchemist.
"Mustang, long-time no see!" greeted the mad-man as he walked out of the pin-point explosion that finally cleared much of the dust created by the colonel's one
The former hit-man didn't answer, Leon already firing at the new-comer without missing a beat.
Kimblee stopped the the bullet with a clap of his fingers that created a small explosion that negated the incoming attack – or rather would have stopped the attack if Leon had been any normal fire-arm. The Red Lotus alchemist's eyes widened as the bullet went through his counter-attack without any problem, and only his war-honed reaction-time helping him move partially out of the way, the bullet hitting him in the shoulder rather than the heart.
"They even gave you a Red Stone to play with," commented Roy idly as he watched the wound he'd just inflicted heal under his eyes "And here I thought mad dog were to be put down."
"Tchh. I don't weight myself down with all your useless morals, colonel!" retorted the other as he attacked back with his own explosions
Hughes, who'd been closing in on the man too avoided fire without a thought – being friend with Roy and loving to annoy him like he did, this was an ingrained reaction by now.
¤.¤.¤
Pride, who'd taken advantage of Kimblee's arrival to heal himself as much as he could soon came to the conclusion that while the mad alchemist had been useful for a while, said usefulness had clearly come to an end, as even with a Red Stone, the man was being toyed with by their opponents.
"Don't worry," he commented as his shadows rushed toward his ally "You'll live in me."
The next moment, he was retreating through the backdoor.
"The little fucker's trying to run away!" Hughes swore, still reeling in from the shock of seeing the homunculus eat his own ally
"Don't be hasty!" Roy tempered him down as they followed the child-like being inside "Apparently, the headquarters are under attack from the inside," he continued, barricading the door they'd just gone through while informing his friend of the latest development
"And I think he's done underestimating us," Riza added "the next part of the fight will in his own territory, and far less easy." she commented as they headed underground, fighting against the dolls animated by Philosopher Stones that were now attacking anything in sight within the military quarter
[Infiltration of Father's Underground Lair Successful (Roy Mustang) : +500WP]
[Infiltration of Father's Underground Lair Successful (Riza Hawkeye) : +500WP]
[Infiltration of Father's Underground Lair Successful (Maes Hughes) : +500WP]
Wrath wasn't surprised by the young goddess affirmation.
Had it been months before, he probably wouldn't have believed her – but as they fought this time, she had no care to held herself back, and he could feel her power, a power that far exceeded that of any human he'd ever encountered.
There was still one thing he didn't understand...
"Why? Why do you fight for humanity?"
The look of total incomprehension at his question was soon cleared as he felt her powers brush against him "Oh. I wondered about it, but you do consider us as inferior, just like your siblings, don't you?"
"And you do consider yourself part of such a powerless race, when you are clearly so different."
"I was born human." she easily admitted "Several life ago, in another world." a shrug "And its by my deeds as a human that I transcended humanity."
"And now, what are you?"
Ariana laughed light-heartedly "Oh, I'm someone your Father will be very surprised to encounter, trust me."
"So you're here to kill him?"
"No," Ariana smiled "That's what my family would have done without me."
"Do you really think they'd be able to? They are only humans after all."
"And that's precisely why they can do it. Humanity seem so short-lived and powerless to others... But it is precisely because we are born with less that we learn to adapt, endure and eventually win against more powerful opponent, or survive where no others could."
To the Fuhrer, it was clear that the girl in front of him truly believed in what she was saying, truly believed in the victory of humans upon homunculus today – and the warrior found himself curious about it.
Was it really possible?
Was Father so utterly wrong, and doomed?
And if, like she had said, killing Father wasn't what was supposed to happen anymore, what would happen when the nation-wide array was activated?
Still, those were questions he wouldn't have the answer to just now, as the WindBlade had stepped up her fighting, now including the alchemy skills she was famed for with the beautiful sword fighting she'd shown earlier. And while he'd left his mark on the young woman, blood marring her white kimono from a nearly fatal strike and bruises on her legs as silent witnesses of their battle's violence; he wasn't unscathed either, two of his four sword broken in half by the alchemist's automail, a large bruise on his temple and blood from a wound to his ribs that broke two of them and nearly took his right lung...
"This is the most fun I've had in years." Wrath admitted as his sword left a red trail along Ariana's throat "But I'm surprised your colonel let you come here unaccompanied!"
"Roy already had a lifetime to get used to the fact that his wife attracts dangerous people." she answered, laughing lightly at the admission "And he isn't one either to turn down a fight to death, so it would be a bit hypocritical of him to restrain me. That's not how our relation works."
With that comment, she jumped toward him, and while he easily parried Kiba, the dagger in her other hand, glowing with her Crimson Edge array, was hidden from his eye by the flowing movement of her haori's large sleeves.
In one cut, the homunculus lost all usage of his left arm, not loosing the whole arm only due to the fact that he jumped out of the blade's way as soon as he felt it.
Then, he faltered for a second, and his knee hit the ground as the massive wave of pain was processed.
¤.¤.¤
"Ah! This is really pathetic!" a familiar voice laughed out "The high and mighty Wrath taken down by a tiny, little, girly alchemist!"
"Envy."
"I'm back from nearly dying in your place, brother, missed me?" a snort "What am I saying, of course not! Say! Do you want me to finish you, to avoid the humiliation of being killed by a human?"
Said 'human's' aura flared as she heard the homunculus mocking his sibling – then, her powers still swirling around her took in the second homunculus true feelings, and to her initial anger, pity and compassion were added.
"I hadn't realized last time we met, how truly pitiful you were, Envy."
The shape-shifting homunculus finally turned his attention toward her – or rather, as he had already identified her as the WindBlade alchemist, toward the mask on her head. His eyes widened, and rage was heard in his voice as he growled out "You! You're the piece of shit that did in Lust!"
"And nearly killed you." she idly reminded him "Yet I hadn't realized at the time, that you were so jealous of humanity... Of our emotions, our resilience and our bonds..."
"What the hell are you talking about!" he screeched, rushing toward her, only to be stopped by Wrath's blade "What are you doing, you fucker?"
"You are interfering in my fight." the warrior informed him coldly, managing to still appear imposing despite his wounds
"I don't fucking care about your fight! You're already loosing! That bitch is toying with you, she could already have taken your stone! Just like she did to Lust! Just like she tried to do to me!"
"I'm not toying," Ariana corrected "I'm fighting him as a warrior, rather than as the assassin I'm naturally inclined to be." she easily admitted "It all comes down to respect, in the end."
Wrath's eyes widened at this affirmation, and he nodded toward her – she was good at hiding her true nature, since while he'd identified her as a fellow fighter, he'd missed her assassin inclination – just like the girl was saying, her fighting him along his rules truly was a sign of respect between fighters.
Of course, Envy didn't like the easy, and quite obvious understanding between the two supposed enemies, and made it known loudly, and in his usual colorful language.
Ariana interrupted him with a slap – shocking him speechless.
Power twirled around her, much heavier than a few seconds earlier. On Chaos' Interface, notifications where flashing everywhere, as unleashing her Past Life Aura directly propelled her to level max within this world that was much more limited than Earth in term of powers usable in it.
She didn't really care, attention focused on the adolescent-looking homunculus, whom really felt like a child to her, envious of things he couldn't understand because of the way he was made by Father, and whose only answer was lashing out to avoid admitting it to himself.
"It alright to be jealous of humans," she stated in a surprisingly gentle voice "but it's not them that you must blame, but Father. He is the one that made you as you are."
"Defective?" Envy lashed out, affirming rather than questioning
"Unbalanced." she corrected with a smile "But not irredeemable."
Wrath was just as surprised at the alchemist's affirmation as Envy – then more surprised again, as he realized that the fury in his elder sibling's eyes was, even so slightly, replaced by hope.
She had been right then, and somehow it was fitting that it simply had been envy toward humanity that the homunculus had kept hidden behind his brash attitude and loud mouth.
"How?"
"Just like Greed did."
That affirmation was a surprise to both homunculus – then Wrath laughed "So he really was in Dublith when I sent you there, wasn't he?" he had thought the lead a false one when the gambling den had been closed without any problems
"Do it."
Wrath wasn't surprised at the quick acceptance – maybe unknowingly, the girl had provoked him into accepting by mentioning their long disappeared sibling.
In Envy's mind, there was no way he wouldn't dare to do something Greed had already done!
¤.¤.¤
At another time, Ariana wouldn't have done it as freely as she was doing it right now, but there wasn't an hour left before the beginning of the eclipse and the fight against Father – right now she could do anything in Central without worrying about the original homunculus' reaction.
And so, her holy powers hummed around her, and she took Envy to the Gate.
Truth couldn't help but laugh as he saw her arriving "You're saving another one, aren't you." he stated rather than asked "You may not have the title of Hero anymore, you still have that Saving-People Thing, don't you?"
The young goddess shrugged, and blushed lightly, not having any real argument to oppose to him.
"Well, lets make it short," sighed Truth without any real heat in his tone "You, homunculus, are lucky enough to have been deemed redeemable by the little goddess."
Envy's eyes widened at this information, and the God of their world went on explaining, like he did to Greed "I'm taking back your Philosopher Stone, which would kill you in normal time. But since our Shadow here tied your consciousness and body with a soul, making you mortal, even if not human. Which means no alchemy for you, but does give you access to the whole panel of emotions, instead of the few unbalanced one you had, and your powers are still yours to use, just don't get killed, you wouldn't want your savior's hard work in giving you a true life to go to waste too soon!"
The usually loud boy could only nod his mute agreement as he was already feeling different.
Better.
As soon as they were back in Central City, Ari turned toward her familiar.
"Padfoot." there was no surprise left in either homunculus and former homunculus as the dog started to listen to his owner as if he understood her "Envy is now like Greed." a nod "Lead him to his brother, I'll find you later."
A bark of agreement, and the large black dog turned expectantly toward the new mortal, who started to follow him, still a bit stunned by what had happened.
[Hidden Quest Complete! For it is in passing that we achieve eternity...
Envy will now have the chance to experience the true meaning of being alive
Reward:+1000XP, Homunculus Envy added to Boss List, +1 intermediate main characteristic tome]
[Level up! You are now level 76!
+1SP]
Then, just as Wrath and Ariana's attention was getting back on each other, he snapped a bit out of his daze, and shouted, voice a bit more like his usual loudness "Shadow! Thank You!"
The girl smiled, then turned back toward Wrath.
[Person of Interest Neutralized (Envy):+1000WP]
Fighting their way, first through the chimera-beasts guarding the way to Father's lair, then through the immortal dolls wasn't easy, even if with the versatility of their group's abilities, they soon found their rhythm and plowed through the enemies with efficiency, lead on by May Chang and Alphonse's Dragon Pulse.
"There is an homunculus nearing our position." May Chang announced worriedly
"Pride." confirmed Al, explaining to the surprised princess "We're in touch with a few people. Ari just took care of Envy and is still fighting against Wrath..."
"So that was her date." Scar couldn't help but comment, mirth clear in his tone
"Teacher is against Gluttony in the courtyard..." Al continued, undisturbed by the interruption
"And that lazy-ass colonel let Pride get away from him." Ed concluded "So he's the one coming this way, but the bastard probably isn't far behind."
"Good, then." the Xingese girl nodded "Because we're nearing the center."
It wasn't long after she made this statement that they reached a large room, with countless pipes and other equipment on the walls and ceiling, keeping a large open space on the ground.
This, the alchemists of the group quickly recognized, was a laboratory where alchemy was regularly used.
And, most surprising of all, the immortal army, unrelenting until now in its attack, had been progressively thinning and had by now completely disappeared, making this room the first empty space they had seen in quite some time...
¤.¤.¤
"Oh, visitors." or rather, not completely empty
An old man, with the common white blouse of a scientist was sedately making his way toward them
"Who are you?" Ed asked, the first ready to jump into the fray as always
"Me? I'm the one who created King Bradley, among other things."
That did it – while this clearly wasn't Father, the affirmation at least confirmed that the scientist was of said homunculus' side. Ed jumped toward the man, that commented on an aggravated tone "I should have known you'd react like this! Boys, go buy me some time!"
At his call, several old but powerful soldiers rushed toward them "Those aren't puppets anymore." quickly realized Ed as they started to fight once more
"Of course not," the scientist bragged "These are the men that failed to become King Bradley. They may not be as powerful as my master-piece, they still are far better than those mindless dolls you encountered earlier."
"General! Central soldiers are regrouping and attacking the outer wall of the Headquarters!"
The blond woman swore loudly – they had better thing to do than waste their time with infighting! The inner courtyard was still over flowing with the unnatural dolls of the immortal army made by Central general's, and Gluttony, while he had indeed been dealt deadly blows several times, had always stood up after each of them...
"Honey, we should finish things up." the fox-chimera alchemist stated after looking at the darkening sky "The main part is about to start..."
Her husband agreed with a grunt, and she barked orders to the other chimeras around her, who'd naturally turned to her for since she'd arrived – seeing that they seemed to have the situation under control, she turned toward her brother and several Central soldiers, all too hurt to fight, but fit enough to walk "I want you to patrol the walls and reinforce them whenever needed, we can't waste time with those attacking from outside when it's the abominations inside that could literally eat us!"
As for those still fit – she would continue to lead them against said abominations.
"You're hurt sister," her brother remarked – she glared at him to make him shut up, but it didn't work, as her officers had heard
"He's right, general." Buccaneer commented, taking in the large bite she'd manage to hide until then "You should evacuate toward the infirmary with the others."
"I'm needed there!" she answered with a frown
"We're Briggs soldiers, Ma'am." he contradicted "We know how to operate even without a leader. After all, you taught us best."
With that the discussion was closed – and for once, Oliver Mira Armstrong had lost the argument "Very well then, you're in charge captain."
¤.¤.¤
While the blonde woman was evacuated with Shan and Fu, Izumi Curtis had efficiently made the chimera take turn in harassing Gluttony. She wasn't trained to feel the Stone like Al or Ari were – but, she realized as Lan Fan and Ling landed near after an attack, she did have Xingese at hand. Calling them to her, she asked "You are both trained in the Dragon Pulse?" twin nods "I need you to pin-point the origin of this homunculus life-force."
The two Xingese shared a glance – they weren't trained to such an accuracy, but if it could help...
"We'll do it." nodded Lan Fan
The few minutes it took seemed like an eternity – but finally, the female bodyguard eye's shot open and she affirmed, with unshakable certainty "It's within his mouth!"
Teacher's eyes widened at that affirmation – Gluttony's monstrous mouth, which devoured anything it it's path; how on earth were they supposed to reach the Stone there!
"That mouth is a fake Gate of Truth," commented an unknown voice
Surprised she readied herself for an attack, and turned toward the newcomers – then relaxed as Padfoot greeted her with a laid-back bark
"Who are you?" she asked, still a bit suspicious
"I am, or rather was," he corrected himself somewhat shyly, in a stark contrast with his outward attitude "Envy."
Izumi couldn't help but smile "Ah, so you found my pupil then." Padfoot gave an affirmative bark "That girl does tend to try and save everyone that wants to be better..."
The former homunculus gave an uncertain smile, then went back to the previous topic "Father tried to replicate the Gate of Truth when he made Gluttony. Of course, it didn't work, you can't just replicate the Gate." Izumi nodded "But it still made Gluttony unique, when he eat things, they are sent to some sort of inner alternate reality. It's somewhere in there that his Stone is kept."
"But if it is made the same way the true Gate is made... Then opening that Gate should work to escape his mouth..." the alchemist realized, before frowning "But I won't be able to localize his Stone either way..."
"I'll be able to." Ling volunteered, under his bodyguard protests
"Do you... want me to come too?" the former homunculus asked, not really understanding why "I'm no longer immortal, but I still know how to fight..."
Teacher's smile was quite motherly when she denied him "You already helped enough. Go see your brother, I'm sure he'll be happy not to be the only one anymore." the non-human nodded, and started to follow Padfoot again "Kid!" he turned toward her "His name is Shan Feng now... you'll need a new one too. What about Min Feng?"
Envy smiled in answer, and was soon gone.
The fox alchemist turned toward the Xingese prince "Are you sure about this?"
He smiled in answer "Trust me to find this Stone, and I'll trust you to get us out of here."
She nodded, and when Gluttony next opened his mouth, then didn't jumped out of the attack's way...
"I'd never realized," Wrath commented as he attacked Ariana again "That of my siblings, I was the only one content with my life."
"You are different from the other homunculus I encountered." Ariana answered while parrying his sword "Father embedded his emotions in each of you, making you unbalanced beings. But somehow, your existence is far more coherent than that of your siblings. As if Father was less your parent than theirs."
"Ah but then again, just like you I was born human." the Fuhrer finally admitted "I was born, raised and trained to become the leader this country needed to carry us all to Promised Day. And at the end of my training, I was tested along with the other trainees, and survived the Stone implantation. It took my eye, and made me a homunculus."
"So similar yet different..." Ariana couldn't help but remark, thinking about her first life while deflecting his next attack and answering with own
"Ah, but this is why this is such a good fight." Wrath noted, absentmindedly wiping the blood dripping from his brow
She nodded, completely agreeing "Fighting only for ourselves, with no greater cause, order, or reason..." a smile "You would have made a good assassin." she said, easily imagining the man fitting in with her Night Pack or even the Varia from her previous life
While they'd talked, she had felt the man weakening, the wound inflicted just before Envy's arrival having taken it's toll, and his Stone, different than his siblings', not able to heal him anymore.
Her next attack was the last.
¤.¤.¤
Amestris' Fuhrer was dead before his body touched the ground, a smile on his face.
Ariana reached with her powers, feeling the depleted Stone, and a familiar array lit up around her, as she found herself facing Truth once more.
"You didn't need to come," noted the god "This Stone is already depleted, and the souls within will find their way back to the cycle by themselves... So... Why did you come?"
She took a look a the Red Stone still slightly pulsing in her hands, and nearly whispered, more for herself than the other god "The homunculi don't have a soul, they completely disappear when they are killed... Yet Wrath, he had a soul originally. It was assimilated by the Stone, yet it's still there..."
"Re-attaching him to his soul will take him back into the cycle." confirmed Truth, following her reasoning "But his Stone is far too spent to pay this price. This is a toll for you to pay. Are you really willing to do this for someone already dead?"
A smile.
"Even more-so that he's already dead." she affirmed, not realizing her powers were softly glowing, synchronizing to the Stone in her hand "After all, I am Death's sister."
Truth smiled, as he realized what his fellow goddess' powers were doing, without she even realizing it, and waived her away "So be it then. Go and finish your job, little Shadow."
"What about the price?" she asked, confused
"This is something for me to know and for you to guess at." he retorted with an amused smile "If you do a good job, I'll tell you when you put that crazy plan of yours into effect."
She looked at him, puzzled, and was sent back to Central City, never seeing that Truth wasn't alone anymore near the Gate.
[Hidden Quest Complete! A fighter's worth...
Wrath's soul has been reclaimed from the Red Stone
Reward:+1000XP, Homunculus Wrath added to Boss List]
[Level up! You are now level 77!
+1SP]
[Person of Interest Eliminated(Wrath / Fuhrer King Bradley): +1000WP]