The man that had gone to deliver Rose's request returned within a few minutes, much to the relief of Elizabeth. She had been growing increasingly uncomfortable in the large, but relatively empty, church. "Father Cornello is a very busy man," he prefaced, "but he's decided to spare a moment for you three," the man relayed, motioning for the Elrics to follow.
He opened the large door, allowing the three siblings and Rose to enter behind him. Edward nodded, mostly to himself, "Thanks, we won't take too much of his time," he assured the man.
He exhaled sharply, vaguely resembling a laugh, "Good, then it's agreed." The double doors shut roughly behind the group. Elizabeth's attention was yanked away from the man leading them and brought to a second man, now blocking the door they had just entered through. "We'll make this quick." She turned back to the first man, surprised and appalled to have a gun pointed towards her.
Alphonse was trying to reason with the second man, also armed, who was aiming his gun at him. "We only want to talk with Father Cornello," Alphonse reminded the man, his hands raised slightly in cooperation.
"Brother Cray!" Rose exclaimed, torn between moving her body forward to help and her feet wanting to remain firmly in place, "What do you think you're doing?" The result was a simple step forward, to turn herself directly to the first man, Cray.
"Rose," Cray explained, moving his unarmed hand as if he were no threat, but keeping the gun carefully trained on Elizabeth, "These heathens have come to discredit Father Cornello! They're evil. This is Leto's will." He cocked the gun. Elizabeth clenched her jaw, her mind racing as she tried to think of the best way to disarm him and get out of the way. The only problem was Rose, who was definitely going to need to be kept safe.
"Brot-" Rose tried to cry out again, but Edward interrupted her, almost eagerly, "Like you said, let's make this quick." Edward made a lunge for the man near Alphonse, shoving his arm to the wall and distracting Cray. The moment the man's gaze left her, Elizabeth took the opportunity to swing her leg up and hook her foot around the gun, the movement yanking it from his hands. It slid across the ground near where Rose was standing. Alphonse snatched the gun from the other man's hand while Edward was pinning him against the wall by his arm. He threw the gun several yards away, out of reasonable reach of the men.
Footsteps were left unnoticed until a voice bellowed from behind the commotion, "What's all of this?" There, Father Cornello stood, only paces from the group. He was a tall, stocky man, with a bald head and a face that looked deceptively trusting. Though he looked like someone that was in good spirits and kind-hearted, there was a sickening air around him, one of unnatural and disturbing qualities. "Ah, the FullMetal Alchemist," He greeted, "welcome to the home of our sacred order!"
Rose took another small step forward, her foot brushing against the forgotten gun, "Father Cornello!" She called, relieved and ready to explain everything. Her words were left unheard as Father Cornello kept his eyes on the three siblings.
"I must apologize for the guards' behavior," he began, gesturing towards the two men that Elizabeth was sure were doing exactly what was told of them, "They seem to have been misguided. Now, have you come to learn the way of Leto?" The golden-haired girl couldn't reign in her look of disgust at the mention of the religion. At this point, there wouldn't be anything that could convince her to try Letoism.
Edward scoffed, "Not exactly," he moved closer to where Elizabeth was standing, separating the three siblings from the two guards, "but there are a few things I'm curious about. Like why you're using alchemy to trick the people of Lior." Edward's words were sharp and accusing, causing Rose to look towards her religious leader expectantly. Surely, in her mind, he had an explanation for this.
Cornello appeared to be surprised that someone would accuse him of such a thing. "Alchemy?" He asked, clasping his hands together, "Could mere alchemy create something out of nothing?" The red glow, sickening in Elizabeth's eyes, danced from Cornello's ring and between his fingers and palms. As he pulled his hands apart, a small statue formed in the likeness of their deity, Leto.
Alphonse spoke more calmly than either of his siblings, "It did confuse us at first," he reasoned, his voice steady and gentle, "when we saw your performance with the rose and the statue, because you were ignoring the law of equivalent exchange."
Elizabeth nodded along to his explanation, then shortened it, "But let's cut to the chase. We know you have the philosopher's stone," She said bluntly, "Now hand over the ring, Cornello," she demanded, holding her left hand out.
Cornello's eyes danced between Elizabeth's hand and his own, looking at the ring. He met her eyes quickly and said confidently, "The ring is a ring, nothing more." He lifted his hands slightly, cusping the small Leto statue he transmuted, "It is from God alone which I derive my power!"
"Still selling that line, eh?" Edward snapped, his temper flaring, "If that's the case I'll have to beat some truth out of you!" Edward took a step towards the man, with a fierce expression and fists clenched tightly.
Despite Edward's approach, Cornello remained in place. "My," he patronized, "you are quite the heathen." Edward halted, ready to snap at him, when Cornello turned his attention to the pink-haired girl, "Rose, dear?" he asked, gaining her response without hesitation.
"Yes, Father?" Her expectancy and eagerness made Alphonse a bit uneasy.
Elizabeth glowered at the would-be priest as he ordered the girl, "Pick up that gun near your feet." He knew that the Elrics didn't want to involved her, so he was doing what put him in the least danger-involving her. She stammered out an agreement, confused as to why the peaceful man would ask her to pick up a firearm. She reached down and picked it up gingerly, holding it by the handle so that it dangled from her hand and was in no position to fire. She looked to Cornello. "Now," he looked in the direction of the Elrics, who were standing slightly off from the rest of them, "I want you to shoot the FullMetal Alchemist."
The gun remained loosely held as Rose responded in shock, "Father! I, I can't do that!" Elizabeth braced herself. She didn't want to fight with Rose in here, much less have to fight against someone who wasn't involved, but if Rose took a shot she might have to.
Cornello raised his voice, "I am the messenger of Leto!" He brought his hands to his chest dramatically, "My word is the word of Leto Himself! It is the will of God," He pointed towards the Elrics, "shoot him, Rose!" She had pulled the gun to her chest, gripping it correctly but keeping it pointed away from anyone. Shaking and hesitating beyond what Cornello was willing to tolerate, he continued to urge her, "Rose! Who pulled you from the depths of despair when your fiance died last year from the accident?" Her face distorted into pain at the memory, "Who led you to God's light?"
"You did, Father!" She replied, tears starting to form. Elizabeth hated this man with a passion for manipulating such a vulnerable person.
"And what did I promise you?" He asked, his voice seeming to have grown louder with each question he asked.
Gripping the gun rightly, she answered, "If I believed and stayed faithful in my, my prayers, that you would bring him back!" She held the gun out to aim towards the siblings slowly, her hands shaking slightly. "I'm sorry, I, I have no choice," she whispered.
"Even when he's been lying?" Elizabeth shouted at her. She couldn't allow Rose to go through with this. More importantly, the Elrics couldn't end here. Not when it would mean leaving Alphonse alone.
Rose's hands steadied a bit, becoming more resolved as she denied, "You're wrong!" the gun waved slightly in her hand as she moved with the words, "I've seen his miracles!"
Edward raised his hands slightly, seemingly resigned. "Fine." He said, daring the girl with the gun, "Then shoot."
Elizabeth's attention snapped to her brother as Rose shut her eyes forcefully. Elizabeth was appalled, then blanched as a gunshot reverberated off of the walls. There was a short moment of dead silence in the room, followed by a loud, hollow clank of metal.
"Alphonse!" The twins shouted, lunging towards his fallen suit of armor. The shot had knocked him over completely, but it didn't affect his blood seal in any way. His helmet had been shot off, and was sitting just within arms reach of Alphonse's armor.
Rose, however, understandably thought that she had killed him. Her resolve dissipated, leaving her hands shaking more than originally. The gun dropped to the ground as she gasped, her hands covering her mouth in horror of what she had done.
Cornello's voice came back down to a normal level, "You have done well, Rose." He gestured towards her feet, "Now pick up the gun," then to Elizabeth and Edward, "and shoot the twins, too."
Before she had the chance to do what they were sure she would, a shift in the metal armor froze the movements of everyone but the twins. Alphonse sat up, metal creaking as he did so, to reveal his empty suit of armor. "Haven't you made her do enough already?" He asked, his voice echoing from within the armor.
Cornello's shock paled in comparison to Rose's. "But your, your head, I, I thought-" she stammered our, unable to finish. She thought she had killed someone, and she wasn't sure whether to be relieved that she hadn't, or scared of why he hadn't been killed.
Edward tried his hand at comforting, "Don't worry about it," he reached down to where Alphonse's helmet had tumbled to, and held it out for his brother. "He's pretty sturdy." Edward knocked on Alphonse's chest plate, causing a hollow metallic thump to ring out.
Now holding his head, Alphonse stood up. "Yeah," he agreed, wanting to help Rose calm down, "See, no harm done," he added, bending over slightly to show the girl his empty shell.
Her eyes widened in shock. Frozen for a split second, Rose finally reacted by stumbling a few steps back. She looked like a trapped animal, and the entire situation was far too much for her to handle.
Cornello started walking backwards also, more deliberately than the girl, "An empty suit of armor," his voice grew louder the farther he walked, "that walks and talks?" He reached the wall on the other side of the room, "No doubt about it, Rose! He is an unspeakable evil that must be eradicated!" He brought his hand down on the wall, pulling up a hatch that would have been hard to find without knowing its exact location. He flipped a lever down, causing chains in the shadows to rattle. Alphonse assumed he must have opened a gate of some sort. "And my chimera should do the job nicely." He finished, as a beast leapt out from the darkness.
The creature was difficult to identify. The upper torso was obviously that of a lion, but from the mid-section back there were several haphazardly connected animal parts. The two most prominent and identifiable animals showed in the bird-like hind legs of the chimera and the long, reptilian tail. Unfortunately, such a transmutation was rare and the Elrics knew little about it. For all they knew, and much like they feared, more animals could have been combined to give the chimera properties that were not visible.
Anger welled within Elizabeth, how dare that man use such a powerful tool to make some frankenstein guard dog. Alphonse voiced her outrage, "That's what you made with the stone?" He cried.
Edward scoffed, "That, and cheap parlor tricks." He clenched his jaw, keeping his anger in check for the inevitable fight to come. "That's pretty twisted, Cornello." He sneered. Bringing his hands together, then down to the ground, Edward brought up a spear from the ground. Elizabeth readied her stance, smiling to herself at the sight of Edward's spear. He did have a very unique sense of style. Alphonse inched towards Rose. He certainly didn't want to frighten her more, but he was the best one to protect her at this point in time.
Cornello distantly voiced awe over Edward's circle-less transmutation, which fell to deaf ears as the Elrics prepared for a fight.
Elizabeth made the first move. Knowing how thick a lion's mane is, she brought her hands together and created a spark, which ignited the gases she transmuted into a direct path to the chimera's mane. The fire was fast and hot, painfully scorching off the majority of the chimera's protective mane. Neither the flame nor the pain deterred it from attacking. It slashed its claws toward Edward, cutting clear through his spear and tore into the cloth of his left leg. Elizabeth felt a flash of concern melt into smug relief as the chimera's claws shattered.
"What!" Cornello bellowed angrily, "That's impossible." The chimera circled Edward for a moment as its creator continued to voice his outrage, "The chimera's claws can cut through iron!" Edward swung his automail leg around into a roundhouse kick, forcing the beast a few yards back.
Edward chuckled, "But they don't do so well against steel, now do they?" he taunted, metal leg glinting in the poor lighting.
The chimera, deciding it had had enough of Edward, stalked towards what it thought was an easier target, Elizabeth. She moved quickly to bring her hands together to burn it once more, but not quickly enough. The beast's jaws clamped down onto her right arm, halting the transmutation in progress. Though the closeness scared her a little, Elizabeth couldn't help but snort when the chimera started gnawing on her arm.
"You like that?" She joked, fixing her stance, "Then how about this?" She brought her left leg up, aiming for its lower ribcage. The chimera's teeth cracked as it tumbled to the side from the sudden force.
The twins approached the chimera. Whimpering, the creature took a step back from them, limping from it's bloodied paw with the shattered claws. Elizabeth steadied her breathing as quickly as she could, ashamed at how such a short fight took so much out of her. Even more ashamed when Edward was breathing evenly. They turned to face Cornello, who was much less scared than he should have been. He had gotten to higher ground at some point during their fight, now standing five or six feet above their level on a platform above where the chimera had come from. Elizabeth's automail arm glinted through her torn uniform jacket, and Edward's leg through his black pants.
"Your arm!" Cornello spat, his hand opened towards Elizabeth, "Your leg!" he now focused on Edward, then to Alphonse, "A hollow brother, I understand now." The man had pieced everything together. Edward stripped himself of his red jacket, the torn bottom flaring out dramatically as he did so, "You attempted the one thing that is forbidden above all else." Elizabeth slid out of her blue uniform jacket, letting it fall directly to the ground. "You attempted the act that even the most novice alchemist knows never to try!"
Elizabeth gritted her teeth. She might have just come out of a fight, but she was ready for a second. "Why don't you come on down, Father Cornello!" she taunted, stressing the 'father' sarcastically.
Edward took a step forward, "We'll show you who's the novice here, damn it!" he shouted.
Rose was still extremely frightened. Cornello turned to her, with the gall to exploit her further, "Rose, look at these three. Their sins. They attempted human transmutation, the greatest taboo of alchemy." Elizabeth was sickened by his tone, the false righteousness and smugness of it. "They were so arrogant that they believed they could bring someone dead back to life."
Sombered and feeling distant from herself, Elizabeth held her arm up for the other girl to see. She flexed her metallic hand, making a fist and unfurling it. She watched her own hand's movements as she spoke, "Rose, am I still beautiful? Do you still see my hair and eyes as gifts from god, the color of the the sun's rays?" Her hand clenched once more and she brought it down to rest at her side. Now looking up, Rose could see the fierceness and regret in her eyes, "Or do these prosthetics make me too different from your Leto to be considered anything but a sinful, evil, heathen?"
Edward bared his arm high for her to see as well. "Take a good look, Rose," he urged, compelling the girl to really look at the two, despite her desire to shut down and pretend it wasn't happening, "This is what happens when you try and play god." He raised his voice slightly, "Is this what you want?"
A loud laugh broke the somber tone, "The FullMetal Alchemist!" Cornello continued to laugh, as if he had finally understood the reasoning for his title, "Not even half of a man! Hell, not even half of a boy."
Clenching his fists in anger, Edward snapped back, "And you? A phony who can't do anything without that stone." He paused for a split second, exhaling sharply, "Hand it over."
Well aware of the tension in the room, Alphonse stepped forward to defuse the situation. "Father," He started, his voice even and reasonable, "We just want to take it before you get hurt. Its powers are too great for an inexperienced person to handle."
"So you can use it?!" Cornello cried, raising his walking cane, "If you're so eager to play god, let me send you to meet him!" The ring burned a bright red, the light spreading over his cane as he transmuted it into a rotating gun. The shooting began without warning and, to Alphonse's disgust, while Cornello's workers and Rose were down there. Edward's quick reaction saved them, as he transmuted a thick wall between the gun and themselves. When the dust settled, Edward's wall infuriated Cornello.
"Nah," Edward replied, "God and I don't get along too well." He eyed the exit, which was still guarded by Cornello's ridiculously loyal men, "Even if I did go, he'd probably just send me right back here."
Alphonse scooped Rose up into his arms, and made a dash for the door. Once more, Cornello showed no reserve in shooting at the Elrics when his men and Rose were in danger. "This way!" Edward hollered, leading the way to a section of wall with no door. He remedied that by seamlessly transmuting a door, pushing it open as soon as the hinges had finished forming.
Safe from the attacks of Cornello and his men, Alphonse finally set down Rose. She was shaking and silent, but physically unharmed. She silently walked away from the Elrics, but not out of sight.
Elizabeth and Edward let out a sigh of relief, feeling the wear from the past couple of hours all at once.
"Right now," Edward spoke first, gathering his thoughts, "We need some way to get out to the people of Lior how they've been taken advantage of."
Elizabeth nodded in agreement, "Yeah, but the people of Lior are extremely devoted. If we speak out against Cornello, they're going to just want to kick us out."
Alphonse stepped in, "Actually, I have an idea from the broken radio that might help with that.
The three had devised a plan, based on Alphonse's idea to use the church bell as a speaker. Alphonse would finish up the bell, while Edward and Elizabeth split up to ensure different parts of the plan worked properly.
Edward found Cornello's office and planted a bug in there, which would have a wire leading to Alphonse's speaker. Elizabeth, on the other hand, would be roaming the town, ensuring that the people of Lior were paying attention to the broadcast.
Elizabeth had been walking around the small town few several minutes, waiting for the broadcast to begin. Dozens of anxieties swarmed her mind. The many possibilities of where their plan could go wrong were taunting her the more she walked and waited.
At last, and to her relief, a screech could be heard overhead through the bell Alphonse had refurbished into a speaker. She watched as the screech gained the attention of most of the people in town. After a few seconds of quiet static, however, they returned to their tasks.
Panic settled in Elizabeth's gut. If the mic had a faulty wire, or the connection was cut, their entire plan collapsed. If their plan failed now, Edward was in Cornello's office, with no back up. She was beginning to think it was a terrible idea.
"Asked your questions." Cornello's voice echoed over the town and eased some of Elizabeth's worries. At least they had the communications up. It was up to Edward from there.
She took a deep breath and yelled at the top of her lungs, "Is that Father Cornello?" She needed to gain as much attention as possible. "I can't believe I get to hear an interview with him. Today was a great day to visit!" The townspeople turned to see what the shouting was about. Then, as if they hadn't realized it before, recognition spread through the streets at the sound of their leader's voice. Elizabeth felt like she could relax a bit.
The crinkle of the mic could be heard, "If you can do anything with the philosopher's stone, why waste it on phony miracles for the people of Lior?" Edward asked, tactless and relying entirely on Cornello's arrogance to get him through it.
There was a small pause, then, "Because, with each miracle I perform, I gain more followers to the order. These people will lay down their lives for my sake!" Cornello exhaled sharply, leaving Elizabeth to wonder how close Edward managed to get the mic to him, "I'm slowly building an army of holy warriors unafraid to die, because they think I can actually bring them back!" He let out a laugh, "In just a few more years, I'll have enough believers to release them onto the world and will use the philosopher's stone to tear this country apart!" The initial laugh turned into hysterical laughter, Cornello believing his plan was coming along nicely.
Elizabeth was shocked at how easily he fell into their trick. How had someone that weaseled their way into such a high position of power managed to get by with no understanding of what were very dangerous things to do? Edward's laugh mixed in with Cornello's, causing the would-be holy man's to taper off. "What are you laughing at?" He asked, his voice defensive and accusatory.
"You really are a novice, aren't you?" Edward asked in reply. There was a pause, and a crinkling noise through the speaker. Edward had shown the man the microphone.
The pause held for a moment longer after the crinkling noise, then Cornello burst out in anger, "Why, you," there was a sharp exhale, "How long has that been on?"
A soft thud came from Edward presumably setting the mic on Cornello's desk. "From the start. Your believers heard everything."
"How could you?" The man cried, slamming something in his office loudly enough to make a crashing noise, "You'll pay dearly for this!" A soft static sound buzzed in the background. Elizabeth recognized it as a transmutation, and began to worry for her brother once more.
"Sorry, not today," Edward replied smugly. Whatever Cornello had transmutated, he wasn't very concerned about. "Just face it, you're outclassed here."
Angry about being bested by three children, Cornello snarled, "I am without rival!" The town could hear the soft static again, though Elizabeth was possibly the only one who knew what it was. Cornello yelled out in pain.
The mic in the room must have been knocked over or damaged, as the rest of the conversation was broken into pieces.
"-rebound." Elizabeth could hear Edward say. It made sense to her, the pained cry of the imposter priest was very likely to be from a rebound that injured him. Especially with his habit of ignoring the laws of alchemy.
"No!" This time the speaker was broadcasting Cornello's broken voice. "-disgraced like this!" He was angry, desperate, and in pain. "Now beho-ssenger of the Sun God, Leto!" A loud crash caused the broadcast to dissolve into static. The two must have taken the fight elsewhere.
Elizabeth, having done her part and ready to finish their work in this godforsaken town, ran to meet up with Alphonse.
Nearly an hour later, the sun was dipping low in the horizon and Elizabeth had met back up with Edward and Alphonse. Edward had yet to procure the philosopher's stone, leaving her with foreboding sense of a wasted trip.
"And the stone?" Alphonse asked, once Edward had recounted the fight following the disconnection.
Edward shook his head, "It was a fake. I'm sorry Al." He knocked on Alphonse's chest plate fondly, "I thought we had found the way to get your body back."
Elizabeth had a hunch that this lead had turned out to be a dead end, but hearing the confirmation made her chest clench. Were they ever going to get a break? She barely registered the footsteps racing towards herself and her brothers.
"Give me the stone!" Rose cried, her voice demanding the attention of the Elrics. They looked towards her, "Give me the philosopher's stone!" She had the gun from inside the church, the same one she had pointed at them only hours ago.
Edward sighed, but didn't escalate the situation, "Like I just told Al, the stone was a fake. It's shattered now." Rose shook her head vehemently.
"Liar!" she cried desperately. "You're going to use it to get your bodies!" Elizabeth stepped forward to calm her down. They may want to use the stone to regain their bodies, but they wouldn't keep the stone from others who needed it, also. "You're going to try and bring your mother back!" The words pierced Elizabeth, surely no more than Edward or Alphonse, but she was the first to react.
In an instant, Elizabeth was at the barrel of the gun, daring Rose to shoot. In the pink-haired girl's moment of hesitation, she smacked the gun from her hands. "Does your God have no mercy? No forgiveness? No repentance?" Elizabeth asked, her voice steady but her hands shaking as she inched towards Rose with every word.
Her arm outstretched towards her younger brother, "Did Al get any mercy, only ten years old, when he lost his entire body to a failed transmutation that wasn't even his idea to begin with? And this," She brought her automail arm up, only inches from Rose's face, "isn't this repentance enough for anything?" She brought her arm back down, "For weeks we had no mobility, until we decided to get automail. Do you understand the pain of having a prosthetic limb on you?" She contorted her face at the memory, "Having every single nerve being reattached, nothing but pain to show that you're still alive."
Elizabeth shook her head, "And the rehabilitation. At age eleven, if I moved too much, the weight of my new limbs could cause massive bleeding. Isn't that repentance enough?" Tears blurred her vision, "What were you doing at age eleven? I was crying from the pain of new automail, Edward was crying from his guilt, and Alphonse? By his eleventh birthday he was no longer able to cry because of what we had done." Elizabeth took a shaky breath, her fists clenched and her temper long gone. Edward reached out to his sister, touching her shoulder carefully. She didn't turn to face either of her brothers, out of fear of crying.
Edward stood beside Elizabeth, "People don't come back from the dead, Rose. Not now, not ever." He squeezed Elizabeth's shoulder and took a deep breath, repeating, "Not ever."
The girl fell to her knees. It was difficult to tell if she was praying or crying, but phrases were repeated. Elizabeth could hear her mumble about how he had promised, and prayer being enough. It was upsetting, seeing someone who had wholehearted believed she could bring back her loved one realize she couldn't. The Elrics turned to leave.
"What am I supposed to do now?" She cried out to them, making them look back at her, "That hope was all I had left!" Elizabeth blanched. What was someone to do when they lost all hope? "Tell me what to do!" She begged, still on the ground and in tears.
Elizabeth looked to Alphonse, who was also at a loss. Edward shook his head slightly, "I can't tell you that, Rose. You have to figure it out. Stand up and walk. Keep moving. You've got two good legs, so get up and use them."
And with that, he continued walking himself. His two siblings followed in suit, leaving the girl to find herself in the wreckage left by a false priest.
Edited.