Hello, hello my good people! I am still rewriting A Purple Ribbon (I may change the name, depending on what I decide) but I have about 3 or 4 chapters for this story ready to go, unfortunately, I am releasing them over time. Now I know it's awful of me to make you wait, but I'm managing as best as I can without a computer. Bear with me, guys. Anyways, enjoy!
DISCLAIMER GOES HERE, BUT I'M TOO TIRED TO TYPE IT
Chapter 3: Sands of the Damned
"Man, I hate deserts" Edward moaned. "It's nothing but sand!" Edward plopped face first onto the sand. "If there was grass I could turn it into bread, I'm starving!"
"Well if you hadn't chased away those cab drivers, then we could've been in Liore by now!" Elina scolded. Elina tied her hair up in an effort to keep herself cool, but to no avail.
"Why are you blaming me? Last I checked, you just slept in the car!" Ed shouted.
"At least I didn't chase a cab driver because of a-"
"Don't say it!"
"-Short temper" Elina finished.
"Why you-?!" Ed growled as he got on all fours, looking around. "Hey, where's Al?"
"Oh crap! Did he go ahead?" Elina asked, looking around. "Alphonse!"
"Al! Where'd you go? Hey!" Ed shouted.
"Down here!" A soft voice called. Suddenly, a hand reached from the ground and grabbed Edward's ankle, scaring the daylights out of both Edward and Elina. The pair recognized the voice as Al's, but were scared none the less. "I sunk again"
"Reason number two, why I hate the desert!" Ed complained.
"Poor Al, it must be tough to stay above the sand with that hollow armor!" Elina cooed as she took deep breaths, recovering from the scare.
"Poor Ed has to dig him up" Ed muttered.
"What am I, chopped liver?!"
"Might as well be! It's not like you do anything!"
"Uh, guys?" Alphonse called, waving his hand from the ground as the pair argued.
Soon, a mountain of sand was off to the side and Alphonse was out, once again. The pair that had dug him out was ready to throw in the towel.
"Geez! How long does it take to get to Liore?" Elina whined as she dusted the sand off her outfit. "This is getting old!"
"I don't understand why you keep falling in!" Ed yelled at his little brother.
"I get full!" Alphonse replied.
"FULL OF WHAT?!" Ed yelled as he got ready to kick the armor.
"I wouldn't do that if I were-"Elina's advice came too late as Edward kicked the armor, whose chest plate came off, dumping all the sand inside him onto to Ed, burying the alchemist. "-you. Al is hollow and we're in the desert. What did you think he was full of?"
Alphonse began laughing and Elina followed soon after. Muffled words came from the pile as Elina and Alphonse backed away and began running. Edward threw all the sand off of himself and began chasing the pair.
"GET BACK HERE!" Ed yelled.
"What are you going to do?!" Al yelled back.
"NOTHING!"
"Knowing your short temper, I doubt that!" Elina laughed as she kept running.
"I'M NOT SHORT DAMMIT!" Ed shouted. "STOP RUNNING!"
"What are you planning?!" Elina laughed.
"STOP AND YOU'LL FIND OUT!"
"I promise I won't get buried again!" Alphonse pleaded.
"NOT UNLESS IT'S BY ME!"
"Ed!" Alphonse yelled.
"Just keep running, Al! Maybe he'll get tired!"
'NOT ON MY WATCH!"
"Edward!" The pair yelled.
The little town of Liore was certainly a warm place, both in temperature and atmosphere. As the trio walked through the streets, people everywhere were smiling, except for one particular alchemist.
"You okay, brother?" Al asked as he brother swayed back and forth while walking.
"It's your fault for not stopping when I said, you and Elina" Ed groaned.
"Because someone chasing you wouldn't raise a red flag in your head" Elina chuckled.
"Shut up!" Ed whined. "I'm too tired to fight!"
Elina covered her nose in disgust as a strong scent hit her like a truck. "Ugh! What is that?!" Elina coughed as the trio heard the noise of running water.
"Water… I can almost hear it! Wait a sec… I can hear it!" Ed groaned as he sniffed the air and began running towards a fountain. "Guys, look!"
"Ed, wait!" Al called.
"I don't think that's-"Elina tried to say as the smell got worse.
"Water, water, water! Yahoo!" Ed cheered until he got close to the fountain. "Guess that explains the nasty stench in the air!"
"Elina, are you okay?" Alphonse asked. Elina only nodded as Alphonse got closer to the fountain and saw his brother's sour face. "What's wrong?"
Ed grabbed one of the cups hanging off the edge of the fountain and dipped it into the red water. "Is it blood?" Alphonse asked.
"Who drinks blood from a fountain?" Elina asked in between her coughs.
"It's more like blood red wine" Ed said. Suddenly, a man started yelling and Ed was grabbed by the jacket by an older man.
"HEY! Get away from there! You know that's off limits to kids!"
"You're out of towners! That explains it! You'll have to forgive me! I thought you were trying to sneak a little dip!" The older man laughed as he handed Ed a glass of juice, while Elina was drinking a glass herself.
"Fountain stocked with free wine? That's pretty ritzy!" Ed smiled. "This town must be loaded!"
"Yeah, we do alright" The man admitted. Elina took a deep breath as she set her glass on the counter. "You okay? You were coughing pretty badly, sweetheart"
"I'm fine, thanks for the drink!" Elina smiled.
"Why did you start coughing? Are you allergic to the wine or something?" Alphonse asked.
"Oh no, it's not an allergy, more like I have a very low tolerance to those kind of things. You should see me when I take aspirin! Then you can be worried." Elina explained with a chuckle.
"You're allergic to aspirin?" Ed asked with a questioning look.
"Yeah, it was an accident how I found out though. When I was little I got sick and had a really bad headache, so my father gave me aspirin thinking it would help"
"Did you have a reaction?" Alphonse asked.
"Like hell, I did! At first I thought it was the flu, but when I noticed a little rash on my throat, that was when me and my father connected the dots" Elina smiled. "I can take other medicine, just not aspirin"
"I don't know about you, but that's the first I've heard of an allergy for medicine!" The shop owner laughed. "Oh, almost forgot. Time for a little soulful!"
The shop owner flipped a switch and his radio began playing and filling the area. Everyone was silent as the music did the work. Once the music ended, a man started talking and the trio all had looks of confusion.
"Children of god who live upon this land, pray in faith that ye may be saved. As the sun lights the day, the sun god, Leto, will illuminate thy path and drown out thy sorrows…"
"Well that's freakish" Ed muttered.
"That's not very nice, Ed" Elina lectured. "You should respect people's beliefs"
"Yeah, whatever" Ed sighed as he drank his juice. The shop owner put his hands on his hips.
"Your buddy's wearing a suit of armor, the girl over here is allergic to medicine-"
"Aspirin" Elina corrected the shop owner.
"- You're wearing gloves in the desert and you call us freaks?" Ed ignored the man and kept drinking his juice, like nothing was said. "What's your deal anyway? You street performers?"
Ed spit his juice while Elina chuckled at the sentence, not enough to cause a commotion, but enough to see that she found the sentence funny. "I don't think so pops! Do I look like a clown to you?" Ed snapped.
"Well you must have some reason to journey out this far" The shop owner insisted.
"We're just researchers that are looking for something" Elina smiled. "The only thing Ed can do is lose his temper!" This time, even Alphonse began laughing.
"Ha, ha. Very funny." Ed rolled his eyes. "Who is this guy on your air waves?"
"Why, that's sir Cornelio" The shop owner answered.
"Doesn't ring a bell" Edward shrugged.
"You're kidding me! You've never heard of the great prophet Cornelio?!" The shop owner yelled.
"What's great about him?" Ed asked.
"He can perform miracles for one thing, I've never seen anything like it!" One man smirked, holding up his filled beer glass.
"This town was a god forsaken dust ball before Cornelio got here and transformed it into a desert paradise!" Another man joined in. Soon, a small crowd gathered around the trio.
"Cornelio can even forgive sins!"
"Yeah! We're on the sun god's good side because of him! He gives us blessings!"
Edward covered his ears, obviously annoyed. "I just remembered! We have to be somewhere!" Ed looked at Elina and Alphonse. "Ready to split?"
"Yeah, okay" Al agreed. Elina jumped out of her chair, smiling.
"I say we explore a little-" Before Elina could finish, Alphonse got up and hit his head on the ceiling, causing the radio, that was sitting on the roof, to fall onto the ground and smash.
"Oops" Alphonse said, nervously.
"Now you've done it, buddy!" The shop owner said, angrily. "What do you expect wearing a stupid tin suit?!"
"Don't bust a lung, grandpa! We can fix it!" Ed assured.
"It's in a thousand pieces!" The man shouted.
"That's not a problem for us!" Elina smiled as she walked over to Alphonse. "Want some help fixing it?"
"No thanks, I got it" Alphonse nodded as he took out a piece of chalk and began drawing a circle on the ground. When the circle was almost complete, Elina moved the broken pieces of radio onto the circle, careful not to miss any pieces. With the pieces on the circle, Alphonse made some little corrections before standing up.
"That drawing, what's it for?" The shop owner asked.
"You'll see in just a second. It's called a transmutation circle" Ed explained.
"Okay, here goes!" Alphonse muttered. Elina stepped aside as Alphonse overlapped his hands, placing them over the circle, as sparks flew from them and onto the radio. A cloud of dust covered the radio. As the dust settled, the voice from before began speaking once more.
"If you are lost, follow me and you will be found. If you are scared, take refuge..."
"It's really a land of prophets! You and your buddies can perform miracles like Cornelio!" The shop owner awed.
"Far from!" Elina laughed. "We're just some traveling alchemists!"
"We're the Elric brothers and this is our friend, Elina Fosther" Ed grinned. "Not to brag or anything, but we're pretty well known!" The crowd looked confused.
"Elrics? Not familiar"
"We don't have any alchemists in these parts"
"I fix things for a living, though! Let me know if you need a job"
A woman the trio hadn't noticed before spoke out. "He doesn't need any work, that's Edward Elric, the Fullmetal alchemist" The woman looked at the trio. Elina got a bad feeling from the woman, as if she was a criminal hiding. "He's been a celebrity around East City. They say he's a real child prodigy"
People began crowding around Alphonse, as a result from the woman's explanation.
"Wow, a real live famous person!"
"I see, you got the name Fullmetal because you wear that armor!"
"Hey, would you come to my daughter's birthday party?"
"Uh, I'm not the Fullmetal alchemist, he is!" Alphonse explained, holding his hands up. Everyone in the crowd looked towards Ed.
"You mean that little shorty, there?" A man asked. A tick mark appeared on Ed's forehead as he grabbed two of the customers and began swinging them around.
"SHORTY? COULD A SHORTY DO THIS?! WHAT ELSE YOU WANT TO CALL ME, A HALF PINT, BEACH BALL, MIDGET?! I'M STILL GROWING YOU BACK WATERED, DESERT IDIOTS!" Edward screamed. Elina sat there, drinking another glass of juice with a blank expression.
I've known him for three years and he still can't control his temper Elina thought as she stared at the scene in complete boredom.
"I can see there's plenty of excitement around here, today!" A voice said, cheerfully. A woman with tanned skin and pink bangs approached the shop holding a grocery bag. Edward saw the woman and froze.
"Ah, Rose!" The shop owner smiled.
"Don't mind me! I'd hate to spoil all the fun!" Rose smiled. Alphonse stood up straight and bowed.
"That's okay! My name is Alphonse Elric! Nice to meet you!"
"And I'm Edward, Al's older brother" Ed smirked as he dropped the men and pointed to himself. "Also known as the Fullmetal alchemist"
"Older brother? But shouldn't it be the other way around?" Rose asked as Ed's face grew darker.
"You'd be surprised!" Elina smiled. "I'm Elina Fosther. I've been travelling with these two for three years. Don't' mind Ed, he may be older, but Alphonse is more mature"
"Good to know!" Rose smiled at Elina.
"Hey Rose, have you finished your shopping for today's offering?" The shop owner asked with a chuckle.
"Yeah" Rose nodded.
"Well then, maybe you can take them to temple with you" The shop owner suggested. "They say they're looking for something. I bet father Cornelio could help out, you know, have them ask for God's grace"
"Oh no, uh… That's okay! We don't really-"Alphonse panicked.
"Calm down, Al!" Elina chuckled.
"It's alright if you don't have an offering today, besides he has rooms for travelers. You can stay there tonight" Rose offered.
"Thanks, but uh-"
"As a matter of fact, we'd love to take you up on that, wouldn't we?" Ed asked with a grin as he turned to his companions.
"I say we go for it!" Elina smiled.
"Then it's settled!" Edward grinned.
"We would? You mean you want to?" Al asked, confused at his brother's actions. Ed nodded his head, smiling.
"What are we waiting for?" Elina laughed as she ran ahead. The brothers followed Rose as Elina ran in front of them, looking around and laughing.
"Hey, Al" Ed said, getting his brother's attention. "Remember that woman at the shop? She knew me, have we met before?"
"No, I don't think so" Al admitted. From ahead, Elina tripped before jumping up, as if nothing happened.
"I'm okay!" Elina shouted to no one in particular. The brothers sighed at their goofy friend, who was supposed to be 14.
"Geez, you'd think she was six" Edward muttered.
"She's never seen the desert, I would let her be." Al shrugged.
"You shouldn't worry" Rose said out of nowhere. "I'm sure Cornelio will find what you're looking for. And besides," Ed looked at Rose, questionably. "If you show him you're faithful, I bet he can make you grow taller!"
Edward snapped and began chasing Rose as she giggled. "What's wrong with you people?! I'm not short! You come from a desert tribe of giants or something!"
"Edward, please!" Al pleaded.
"You want some of this too?!" Ed threatened. The group passed Elina, which confused her as she began to run.
"Wait for me!" Elina whined as she ran to catch up with the group.
"Hey, Ed. If the Philosopher's stone really exists, then why hasn't it been found?" Elina asked as she read her book. Alphonse was nowhere to be found since he had left the room earlier, so Elina was stuck with Edward, who was sitting by the window. From the window, Ed and Elina could see Rose in front of a grave.
"I don't know. Maybe it's something you make, not find." Edward shrugged.
"Then how do you make one?" Elina questioned.
"That's what we're researching, Elina." Edward groaned. As soon as Elina closed her book in frustration, Alphonse entered the room.
"I spoke to Rose" Alphonse admitted. "That grave belongs to her boyfriend. He was all she had, her parents died when she was a little girl. She's convinced Cornelio can bring him back to life"
"But he can't!" Elina shouted. "Why would he do that?"
"He's leading her on and making her think he can do it" Ed grimaced. Elina clenched her fists and Edward looked down, both of them fuming with anger.
"Well, maybe he can" Alphonse suggested. Elina and Edward's eyes went to Alphonse in a snap. "What if Cornelio really is a holy man? Those scripters. Maybe there is something else out there, something we can't explain."
"Don't count on it!" Ed muttered as he looked outside and saw that Cornelio and another man joined Rose in front of her boyfriend's grave.
"Al, you know better than anyone, you can't disrupt the flow of life." Elina said, softly. "What's dead is dead, you can't change that and you know it, as much as it hurts. Time doesn't heal wounds, it only helps us bear them and move on"
"I know" Alphonse sighed. "I was just…"
"It's okay" Elina smiled. "Just don't get your hopes up if you already know the answer"
The crowd screamed at the top of their lungs as Cornelio lifted up a glass of water and transformed it into red wine. Edward stood on top of his suitcase while Elina stood on top of a little hill she made, with Ed's help. Alphonse was so tall that he could see Cornelio clearly, over the crowd. Cornelio then walked over to a log and transformed it into a stone statue of Leto, Liore's sun god. Cornelio's ring flashed and glowed every time he performed a "miracle". The trio of alchemists looked unconvinced.
"I'm going to take a random guess and say we're all thinking the same thing" Elina shrugged.
"Your guess is right. It's obvious he's using alchemy" Alphonse agreed. Ed looked at Cornelio, thinking.
"Even so, something's wrong. It's not equal-"
"Hey guys!" A familiar voice spoke as Rose approached the trio. "How are you liking your first miracle gathering? He's amazing, isn't he?"
"Well, he's an amazing actor, I'll give him that, but those aren't miracles. He's swindling you" Edward stated bluntly. Rose gave him a glare as Elina jumped down from her hill.
"Now Ed, we don't know that. We just know he's using alchemy and ignoring the laws" Alphonse clarified.
"What laws?" Rose snapped.
"Though alchemy may seem like magic, there's some laws you have to abide by. If you ignore them, things can go bad really quickly. Alchemy is not something you learn overnight, it's a science that needs to be used carefully" Elina explained. Edward hopped off his suitcase, continuing Elina's explanation.
"Elina's right. Alchemy is a science and you don't make things out of thin air. In chemistry a reaction has to be balanced, so does alchemy" Ed finished. Rose looked angry and confused.
"It's an equation, Rose. Your output has to have equal mass and materials you started with" Alphonse explained. "The base elements have to be similar too, like the radio I fixed. I couldn't make it bigger or a tree or something"
"If you break it down even further, you can say it's like building something. If you combine those materials, then they have to equal the mass of your final product. If something is broken and you use alchemy to fix it, the extra material has to come from somewhere, whether you place more material or thin out the original." Elina smiled. "Alchemists just call it equivalent exchange"
"It's our founding principle: To obtain, something of equal value must be lost, but that holy bastard's totally disregarding the law" Edward muttered.
"That's because he's working miracles!" Rose snapped. In front of Cornelio was a little girl holding a dead bird. Cornelio put his hands over the bird and, with a few sparks, the bird flew out of the girl's hands and onto his shoulder. The crowd cheered once more. "What do you say now, Ed? I'll bet you can't do that with alchemy! It's a true miracle, it has to be." Rose finished with tears shining in her eyes. Elina couldn't help but feel sorry for Rose. Not only was she being lied to, but she would have to go through the grief once more when she found out.
"Where's a piano when you need one?" Elina muttered as the trio made their way down the street.
"Why would there be a piano in the middle of desert?" Edward chuckled.
"I don't know! I just want to practice. If I don't practice, I'll forget what I've learned." Elina shrugged.
"We'll probably find a piano in Central." Alphonse suggested. "I think there's one in the command center" Elina smiled.
"Nice, now if only-"The trio froze as they stopped in front of the church. Edward slowly walked in and saw Rose standing at the altar, polishing it with a rag. Edward sat down in one of the seats with Elina as Alphonse walked off.
"So, if you pray and polish the altar enough times, someone who's dead will be brought back to life?" Ed asked sarcastically. Elina could see Rose clutch her fists before turning towards them with a smile.
"Something like that" Rose smiled.
"Ed, perhaps we should let sleeping dogs lie" Elina said, tapping Edward's shoulder. Edward shot Elina a look that said she's going to find out one way or another as he took out a book from his coat.
"Water 35liters, Carbon 20 kg, Ammonia 4 liters, Lime 1.5kg, Phosphorus 800 grams, salt 250 grams, saltpeter 100 grams, sulfur 80 grams, fluorine 7.5, iron 5, silicon 3 grams, and trace amounts of 15 other elements." Edward stated.
"What's that?" Rose asked, obviously scared to know the answer.
"It's the ingredients of the average adult body, down to the last speck of protein in your eyelashes." Edward explaining, snapping his book shut. "And even though science has given us the entire physical break down, there's never been a successful attempt at bringing a human back to life. There's still something missing, something that scientists haven't been able to find in centuries of research. So what makes you think that hack job priest and his parlor tricks is gonna be able to?"
Rose looked furious, like a cat that had been thrown in water. It wouldn't be long before her claws came out.
"And in case you're wondering, all of those ingredients can be bought on a child's allowance. Humans can be built pretty cheap, there's no magic to it!"
"Well if there's no magic, then you bring someone back to life!" Rose snapped.
"Just a matter of time, Rose. Science will find a way, science is the answer to everything. If I were you, I would drop the scripters and pick up an alchemy book. We're the closest things to gods there are."
"You're not a god! You're nothing close to it!" Rose insulted as Ed walked up to the altar.
"And neither is the sun, it's just a mass of hydrogen. Get close to it like Cornelio claims and all you'll do is burn up" Ed lectured. Rose looked towards Elina, who was still standing in the same spot.
"Do you think that as well?" Rose asked. Elina looked at Rose with a serious expression.
"In all honesty, I don't. I wasn't raised with facts, I was raised more on beliefs and experience." Elina shrugged as she sat down. "I'll give you the same advice I gave Alphonse; you can't disrupt the flow of life. What's dead now will stay dead, no matter how much effort you put in trying to deny that fact. Time doesn't heal wounds, Rose. It only makes them bearable and gives us the choice to move on. Now I suggest you make that choice-"
As the words left Elina's mouth, a gun shot fired and Al's head tumbled to the ground with his body at the doorway next to the altar. Elina ran in front of Rose, her hands gripping something under her tied jacket around her waist. Behind Al's body was a man in the church uniform, holding a gun.
"Cray! What are you doing?!" Rose shouted.
"These three enemies of god! This is his will Rose, not mine!" Cray yelled, pointing the gun at Ed while Elina guarded Rose.
"I don't think so, mister" Al's voice spoke as Cray turned around to see Al's headless body standing. Cray began backing up as he pointed the gun at Al. Edward took advantage of this and grabbed Al's head as he threw it at the back of Cray's skull, causing him to fall over.
"I got it! I got it!" Alphonse said as he caught his head, making Elina chuckle.
"Strike!" Ed cheered. A scream from Rose drew the trio's attention to her.
"He doesn't have a head!" Rose screamed.
"He doesn't have to have a head to be Al!" Elina smiled.
"Please don't be scared, Rose. This is how I am" Alphonse pleaded with a bow, showing his hollow armor.
"You're not there!" Rose pointed out. Al began to attach his head.
"It's true, I don't have a body, but I'm here. This is my punishment for setting foot on holy ground where mortals are forbidden. We made a mistake, Rose and we're paying for it"
Rose screamed as she ran like the devil was at her heels. "Rose wait!" Ed yelled, but was ignored.
"I would love to beat the crap out of the bastard who did this to you guys!" Elina growled with a clenched fist.
"Oh, trust me, you don't want to meet him" Ed assured. "Come on! We have to go after her!"
"So now we're stalkers?" Elina chuckled.
"Elina, now is not the time for jokes!" Ed scolded as the trio began running after Rose. Soon the trio reached a large room with dim lighting. "I can't see a church social down here, can you?"
On the ledge, way above the ground, was Rose. "There she is!" Ed pointed out. Cornelio came from a side door and stood right next to Rose.
"There's the swindler" Elina muttered.
""You have wrestled with the darkness and prevailed Rose, thank you for bringing them here" Cornelio said with false gratitude as the room lit up. "State alchemists, brutal in forces. I had a feeling one of you would show up someday!"
"If you knew we'd come, then you must know what we want!" Elina smirked. Cornelio lifted his hand, showing off his ring.
"Do you mean this, young lady?" Cornelio asked. Elina flinched at the nick name. Edward grinned.
"I knew it! Alchemy without a transmutation circle, completely ignoring the principle of equivalent exchange! It could only mean one thing!"
"Yes, the mythical gem, the legendary amplifier, the Philosopher's stone." Cornelio stated.
"That's it, Al. It's ours" Ed muttered. "Cough it up, Cornelio! That stone belongs to me now and if you hand it over peacefully, I won't tell the people here what you've been doing!"
"What's that? Repairing their town to peace and prosperity? You know what would happen if my miraculous miracles suddenly stopped? Nobody wants that." Cornelio smirked.
"There's the result of your big ego, Ed! Can't anyone say please anymore?" Elina sighed.
"This isn't a play date where you just ask for a toy to play with, Elina!" Ed lectured.
"Do they, Rose?" Cornelio asked a terrified Rose.
"Don't listen to him, Rose! He's just a con man!" Edward yelled.
"Nonsense!" Cornelio insisted. "Would a con man restore life to a dying town? When I arrived this town was full of strife and I brought peace. They came to me with parched throats and I created water. I built buildings for them and even gave them money. They believed heaven had forsaken them, but I gave them hope and became their prophet. Why does the military want to destroy all this?"
"I don't care what the military wants!" Edward shouted. "I'm here for me!"
"What?" Cornelio asked.
"I need that stone…" Edward yelled. "We need it to make something right again!"
"So that's it!" Rose yelled. "This is all about you and what you want! What about us? You don't care!"
"Don't say that!" Elina yelled. "These boys and been through hell and back! What gives you the right to say they don't care?! We could've killed Cornelio and taken the stone the first night we met him, but we didn't!-"
"It's no use, Elina" Edward said, putting his arm in front of her. Rose stepped back, looking at the ground.
"Enough, there is no point in arguing. If you want the philosopher's stone, you'll have to take it from me!" Cornelio shouted as the stone glowed and the ground beneath the trio turned into sand, burying Alphonse almost immediately.
"Alphonse!" Elina shouted. "Don't worry! We'll be there soon! Just hang on!"
"Armor is a disadvantage in soft sand" Cornelio pointed out. "You can draw transmutation circles in it, either!" Cornelio pressed a switch behind him and the sound of a door opening rang in the room. "Let me introduce you to one of my creations. You of all people should appreciate this: a chimera!"
An animal with the top half of a black and white lion and the bottom half of a lizard stumbled outside it's container with red eyes. Elina ran after Alphonse, digging him out as best as she could. She only had time to dig the first half of him out of the sand before heading back to help Ed.
"Nice to know you torture more than one soul." Elina grimaced. "I seriously wonder how you sleep at night."
The animal roared as it charged towards Ed and Elina. Elina grabbed something from her pocket and slipped them on her hands. "Alright big fella, you want to play? Let's go for it!" Ed smirked as he clapped his hands, blue sparks flying, and began forming a spear from the sand.
"H-how did you do that without a transmutation circle?" Cornelio asked. Edward attacked the creature with his spear, throwing it off him. Cornelio grabbed the bird on his shoulder and threw it. "Bring me their heads, my pet!" The bird began glowing red as it more than tripled its size.
The bird grabbed Ed's spear, snapping it in multiple pieces. Ed panicked as the bird grabbed his left leg. "Now snap it!" Cornelio ordered.
"Wrong leg pal!" Ed smirked as the creature's claws snapped off.
"Ed! Get out of there!" Elina called. Ed looked towards her and smirked as he kicked his way out of the bird's grip. The fingerless gloves Elina had slipped on began to glow green as Elina clapped her hands. Green sparks flew from her hands as she slammed them onto the ground and caused a giant pillar of stone to crash into the bird, knocking it out of commission, permanently. "Good, they still work after all these years!"
"Elina! Watch out!" Edward yelled as he ran towards her. Elina turned around and saw the lion charging towards her. With no time to protect herself Elina fell back and held up her arms, with a scream. Elina braced herself, but the pain never came. Elina opened her eyes and saw that Edward was in front of her, holding out his right arm as the chimera chewed on it with no success.
"What's the matter, you poor bastard? Can't get a good taste?" Ed muttered as he lifted his arm and threw off the giant cat before delivering one final blow with his left leg. Edward turned around and helped Elina to her feet. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine!" Elina nodded.
"That's impossible!" Cornelio yelled. "The claws on your leg, the teeth on your arm! No one could survive that! Unless... Your limbs! They're fake!"
"Brilliant deduction!" Ed snapped as he began ripping the sleeve of his right arm.
"Oh god…" Rose muttered as she looked at Ed's arm.
"Don't look away Rose! You need to see what happens when you try to bring a human back to life! When you cross into god's territory or whatever the hell it is! Is this what you want?! Look!" Ed yelled as he took off his coat entirely, exposing his right automail arm.
"His arm… His leg… they're machines!" Rose muttered.
"I see, now I understand you Elric." Cornelio smiled. "You crossed the line, you did what was strictly forbidden. You tried to create human life and your bodies were taken to the other side!"
"Told you, Rose. You get too close to the sun and you burn" Edward said as Rose stood there, speechless.
"Apparently so, but you were crazy enough to find out for yourself!" Cornelio shouted. "You are the Fullmetal… The Fullmetal Alchemist!"
"He told you that a long time ago, Cornelio. Maybe your age is getting to you, old man" Elina smirked as she Cornelio flinch.
"Quiet little girl!" Cornelio snapped. "Well that does solve a riddle, why the military would give a punk like you such a stern name 'Fullmetal'? But it's literal! See Rose, alchemists forbid their own from transforming lead into gold, but there's one practice more taboo. A technique forbidden by man and nature itself, Alchemy… on human souls. You miserable little boys… dabbling with human alchemy without knowing its penalties, YOU STEPPED ON THE TOES OF GOD-!"
"You don't know the story!" Al shouted.
"AL" Ed muttered. Alphonse stepped back.
"But… We just wanted… We just wanted to see mom's face again, see her smile" Al sighed.
"There's nothing wrong with that, Al" Elina said as she placed her hand on his shoulder, not remembering he couldn't feel it.
"But you failed, didn't you?" Cornelio asked, evilly.
"Yeah, I'd label that a failure alright" Ed muttered. "Al lost his whole body and an arm and a leg. I ignored every sign posted because I was reckless and wanted it bad enough! Rose, this is what happens when you bring back what's dead! You really want to go through with that?!"
Cornelio put his hand on Rose's shoulder. "Don't let them worry you, Rose. You forget that the great Sun God, Leto has blessed me with the Philosopher's stone. Besides, I have far more experience than these heretic boys did!"
"Don't be stupid!" Edward yelled. "No matter what kind of powers you have, some things can't be done!"
"Besides, I doubt you could do anything without that stone!" Elina chuckled. "Poor Cornelio needs training wheels!"
"If you're so advanced, then why are you so anxious to get your hands on the stone?" Cornelio asked. "You want to beat the laws of equivalence, just as I do, and bring your mommy back!"
"Wrong holy man!" Ed snapped. Cornelio looked confused. "All we want is to get our bodies normal again. See, we don't buy what's possible, we didn't start a cult."
"We will ask one more; please give us the stone" Alphonse demanded.
"Once you hand it over, we'll be out of your hair. Simple as that" Elina smirked.
"You are damned, state alchemist. May the wrath of god fall upon your head" Cornelio smirked.
"You still think we believe that crap?!" Elina groaned. "This is getting old!"
"Get down here and I'll show you some wrath!" Edward threatened. Sparks flew from behind Cornelio as Rose backed away.
"SINNERS!" Cornelio yelled as he pulled a mini-gun from behind his back and began firing. Elina felt someone grab her as she was shielded from the bullets. When the dust settled, Elina saw it was Alphonse who had pulled her behind a wall made from alchemy. Ed's hand was still on the wall as sweat dripped from his forehead.
"Close call" Edward said with a half-hearted chuckle.
"Father Cornelio!" Someone called as the trio turned around to see a group of Leto worshippers at the entrance. The one who had shouted was none other than Cray. "You!" Cray said as he grabbed a gun from his coat and began shouting Alphonse, who was putting his arms up as defense. Elina thought quickly as she gripped something from under her jacket and held it out. The item was a small silver pistol that rang out as Elina pulled the trigger, the bullet hitting Cray in the shoulder.
"That's what you get!" Elina snapped.
"Hey guys!" Edward called out as he ran to one of the walls. "This way!"
"Idiots! You're running into a dead end!" Cornelio yelled. Elina and Al followed Edward to the wall, knowing what Ed was thinking.
"Well like I always say, if you can't find a door, make your own!" Ed grinned as he clapped his hands and set them on the wall, sparks flying. Soon a large black door, with bull horns as the knobs, appeared. The trio ran out the door, running as fast as they could out of the building and onto the streets.
The trio finally slowed down as the guards disappeared from their sights. Elina had collapsed while they were running, so she was currently get a piggy-back ride from Alphonse, due to the fact that the boy couldn't get tired. The sound of humming was easy to spot since it was late at night. Edward finally sat down at one of the Leto statues, noticing the humming fairly quickly.
"Hey Al, are you humming?" Ed asked. Alphonse shook his head.
"No, Elina's humming in her sleep" Alphonse chuckled. "Listen"
Edward walked closer and sure enough, Elina was humming a soft tune.
"We'll have to ask Elina about this." Alphonse suggested. "She's hums this when she's sleeping"
"How do you know that?" Ed asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I found out a little while after we met her, she would hum this on the train when she fell asleep." Alphonse admitted. Edward thought for a minute, remembering moments when Elina would fall asleep.
"You're right" Ed agreed. "I guess we'll ask her-"
"People of Lior, this evening a group of unbelievers tried to take the life of the great prophet, Cornelio. One is short and blonde, another is wearing armor and the last one is a small girl with chestnut hair. Cornelio asks you all to stay in your homes. He's worried for the safety of his followers. Please, take all necessary precautions"
Ed and Al looked at each other. "What are we going to do?" Al asked. "Elina's still asleep and they'll look for us if we're missing!"
"Don't worry, I got a plan. Just find a way to get Cornelio's recording equipment to me." Ed smirked.
"What about Elina?" Al asked. Edward clapped his hands and set them on the Leto statue behind him. When the dust settled, the statue looked just like Alphonse.
"Okay, put Elina on the statue. She'll be mad, but we'll deal with that later" Edward said nervously as he thought of Elina surrounded by fire.
"Sorry, Elina!" Alphonse whispered as he set the girl in the fake armor's hands. Elina stirred, but didn't wake up, much to Ed's relief. Ed froze as he heard the sound of an angry mob get closer.
"Okay, get going!" Ed ordered. Alphonse ran towards an alley, disappearing in the darkness, as the angry mob got closer to Edward. Soon, the mob surrounded the pair and fake armor.
"No question, guys! They're the ones! The short newcomers and their tin can!" One man shouted.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A MOUSY LITTLE PIPSQUEAK?!" Edward yelled in the man's face.
"NOBODY SAID THAT! Now back off!" The man argued. "We've got more important business to settle!"
Edward scratched his head as the people threw insults left and right.
"What kind of deprived souls are you?! How could you go after the prophet?!"
"We welcomed you here, you made us believe you were good!" One woman yelled.
Edward sighed. "Look lady, I never asked you to believe anything, that's your priest! He's a phony! He's just using alchemy!"
"Liar!" A familiar voice spoke as the crowd cleared a path, revealing Rose. "Just now, my boyfriend spoke to me. Cornelio's bringing him back"
"You mean old Cain we lost in the accident? He was a good kid! Good for you, Rose!" One man shouted as Rose returned a smile.
"You see? He's not the first either! There have been many others who've come back!"
"She's right!"
"Rose?" a small voice muttered with a yawn. Edward turned around to see Elina, waking up. "Ed, what's going on?"
Aw crap Ed thought as Elina looked at him with sleepy eyes. "Well, you see-"
Ed stopped as the ground rumbled. The crowd split in two as giant Leto statues began approaching Ed and Elina. The crowd awed as the statues walked liked regular people. Soon the statues had the pair surrounded as a smiling Cray, with a bandaged arm, emerged from the crowd. One of the statues from behind hit the decoy Al in the back, sending Elina to the ground.
"Alphonse!" Elina cried out as the statues began destroying the decoy. Elina ran at the statues, attempting to pull them away. "Get away from him!"
"Elina!" Edward tried to warn but was knocked to the ground as one of the statue hit him in the back of the head. Elina struggled to fight the statues, only to get thrown against the wall. As her vision blurred, Elina could barely see Edward being taken away and,what she thought to be, Alphonse being smashed to scrap metal.
Elina woke up to a pounding headache and chains on her hands. Beside Elina was Edward, who was also in chains. The small brick room they were in had some odd items along with low lighting.
"You really got to stop humming" Ed complained.
"Humming? What are you talking about?" Elina asked, confused.
"You hum in your sleep, it's getting annoying" Edward admitted.
"Well your temper is annoying" Elina snapped.
"Touché" Ed sighed.
The pair remained silent until the door opened and Rose came in with two trays of food with bread and soup.
"Great, you came to feed me! And I thought you were mad!" Ed joked before opening his mouth.
"I would slap you if I didn't have chains on me right now" Elina said with a dark aura surrounding her. Rose put the trays in front of the pair and dashed towards the door.
"I hope he's real, Rose. I just don't want you to get disappointed" Ed muttered as Rose dashed out the door and closed it behind her. Edward looked at Elina with sad eyes.
"Don't look at me! You're 15! I'm not feeding you!" Elina scoffed. Ed sighed as he moved the try with his feet. All of a sudden, a digging noise came from the wall. "Is that Alphonse?"
"Yep!" Ed grinned.
"Great! Can I leave now?" Elina asked as she pulled her handcuffs off with ease.
"What?! How did you-"
"I had a water canteen in my pocket. If you include the gloves I used earlier…" Elina let her sentence trail off.
"No fair!" Ed whined. "Help me get these off!"
"Depends, can I leave?"
"But what about Cornelio?"
"Make a decoy!"
"Let me out then"
"Can I leave?"
"Elina!"
"Fine!"
At that moment, a hole appeared in the wall and Al's head popped through. "Is this a bad time?"
Elina sat on a balcony as she looked at the morning sky.
"I'll be back, I have a feeling Rose won't be safe around Cornelio anymore"
Elina smiled as she saw Alphonse approached with Rose not far behind. "Hey there, Rose!" Elina smiled.
"Elina? But I thought-"Rose said, shocked to see her.
"Yeah, I had Ed make a decoy of me so I could leave." Elina chuckled. "It's no fun being stuck in a cell with Ed!"
Alphonse sat down and began drawing a transmutation circle. Rose looked at Elina and remembered her advice.
Time doesn't heal wounds, Rose. It only makes them bearable and gives us the choice to move on
"Um, Elina?" Rose said, getting the girl's attention. "Why do you travel with Ed and Al?"
"In a way, they kind of saved me" Elina chuckled at Rose's confused expression. "You see, I was in a foster home before this. My parents were already dead and someone threatened to hurt anyone close to me if I got a new family, so I caused as much trouble as I could to keep distance between me and everyone I knew. Then Edward and Alphonse came along. They helped me get away from an unwanted life, so I help them with their research."
"If you saw Elina back then, you would be surprised, Rose." Alphonse laughed. An image of the old Elina with her hair in a braid and wearing worn down clothes came to Alphonse's mind.
"I never told them my past and they seemed okay with it, which made be happy." Elina smiled. "Believe it or not, both of the brothers have good hearts. Without them, I would still be in that foster home, or worse."
"Why do you trust Elina if you know nothing about her?" Rose asked Alphonse.
"You don't need to know someone's past to know about them." Alphonse shrugged. "I know Elina wants to erase her past, I may not think it's the best idea but if she's not ready to tell us, we're fine with that"
"And I ask for the same in return" Elina laughed. "Equivalent exchange"
"What is equivalent exchange?" Rose asked.
"It's like a scientist's version of the Ten Commandments, rules that have to be abided or there will be a lot of problems" Elina said, attempting to appeal to Rose's religious side.
"It's also Alchemy's founding principle." Al continued. "To obtain, you have to give up something of equal value. People say Ed's a prodigy, but that's just because he paid with enough effort."
"But how did you survive those statues?" Rose asked.
"That was a decoy, according to Ed, which I do not like waking up to, thank you very much!" Elina snapped. Alphonse laughed nervously.
"The two of you really have paid a hefty price, haven't you?" Rose asked. "An arm and a leg… A body… and yet here you are now, trying to get it all back. What about your mom, what happened to her?"
"I should get started" Al said with his back turned. "It's about time."
Al flipped the switch as a large noise emitted from the bell, then voices started talking.
"What? Is it the money you're after?"
"Edward?" Rose wondered.
"Oh, I could get all the money I want from the offerings!"
"And Cornelio." Elina muttered.
"But you think too small. I'm making believers, who would gladly throw away their very lives in my name and why not? They believe I can resurrect them, they aren't afraid to die. There is no greater army than those with a holy call! Mark my words, in a few years, I'll have a following large enough to tear this country apart and rebuild in my name!"
"Makes no difference to me" Edward's voice sighed.
"What?!"
"Afterall, there's no real way to bring people back to life, right? Once you cut me down, I'm gone for good."
"I'm afraid that's right. Even with the philosopher's stone, I wouldn't dare try human alchemy. I'd end up like you and why would a king risk his life for the sake of his mindless pawns- Wait a second."
The bell went silent for a moment until the sound of Cornelio's yelling blasted through, causing Elina to plug her ears.
"WHAT?! How long has that thing been on?!"
"Long enough for the mindless-pawns-tearing-this country-apart comment, I think."
Elina couldn't stop herself as she broke into a fit of laughter.
"How did you get my broadcasting equipment?!"
"Al rigged it up! I know, you smashed him into pieces, but that was just some metal I whipped up to look like him! If you think that's impressive, why don't you ask my 'partner'?"
A pop was heard and Cornelio screamed. "Where did that brat go?!"
"Pretty clever, huh? So have your followers heard enough?"
"No my children! He lies! Don't believe him!" Cornelio yelled as the sound of gun shots finished the recording.
"You can't shoot away your problems, Cornelio!" Elina chuckled as she calmed down from her fit of laughter. "The truth is out!"
Elina stopped as she looked at Rose, who looked lost. Elina walked over to Rose and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Rose, it's time to make your choice." Elina spoke in a soft voice. "Will you keep living in the past? Or will you move on to the future? It's up to you."
"Why are you telling me this if you're trying to forget your past?" Rose snapped. Elina looked surprised for moment but then shrugged.
"I don't know. I still have a lot to learn myself. I just don't want you to relive the pain you've gone through all these years." Elina explained. Suddenly, the church began to rumble.
"I think we better go find brother" Al suggested.
"And I think you're right!" Elina agreed "Race you! Last one there buys dinner!"
"W-wait, what?! Elina!" Al whined as the pair began running to the front of the church with Rose not far behind. When the pair made it to the crowd in front of the church (Elina had made it first, much to Alphonse's dislike), they could see what the crowd was staring at. In front of the church, the crowd of angry townspeople was watching as a large statue of Leto, that could be seen from the back of the crowd, stood in front of Cornelio. Rose had her jaw open in awe as she looked on with the crowd.
"Rings and watches have nothing to do with it! My brother's the Fullmetal Alchemist!" Alphonse said with pride. The large statue lifted it's fists and struck it down at Cornelio as dust kicked up, covering the church. Elina ran towards the church as she heard a scream.
"STOP JERKING ME AROUND!" Edward shouted. When Elina made it to the front of the church, she saw Edward pouting and Cornelio cradling a mangled arm.
"Let me guess, another wild goose chase?" Elina asked. Ed glared as Elina bent down and ruffled Ed's hair. "Don't worry! There's always next time." Elina stood up and offered her hand to Edward. "Come on, let's keep moving. Al said he's buying dinner"
"Just another wild goose chase" Ed sulked as he dangled his watch in front of his face. "And here I thought we could finally put you back in the flesh again."
"No brother. You'll be the first we fix. That automail so tough on you" Al argued.
"Nonetheless, I think both of you deserved to be fixed!" Elina smiled. "You've both had it so hard. You guys deserve a happy ending"
"Thanks, Elina." Alphonse said as Elina grinned and sat next to the armor.
"No need to thank me! You guys saved me from an unwanted life and now I get to travel while helping you guys!"
"Well, nothing left to do but start the search again" Edward sighed as he stood up and put his watch in his pocket. Before the trio could leave, a voice stopped them.
"You should never have come here!" Elina turned around to see it was Rose. "Father Cornelio gave us hope. What right did you have to take that away? With him we believed we could do anything, even bring back the dead. We're a desert village, we had nothing before that!"
"So we should've just abandoned you? Let Cornelio use you like puppets?" Elina asked with a confused expression.
"Well why not? What do I have to live for now that I know Cain won't come back?! You tell me that!" Rose shouted.
The trio was silent until Ed spoke up. "You'll have to decide for yourself. Walk on your own, move forward. You've got a good, strong pair of legs, Rose. You should get up and use them."
Edward began walking away as Rose fell to her knees. Elina and Alphonse walked over to Rose and bent down, beside her. "Brother was trying to help. He just… doesn't always handle things well." Alphonse explained.
"Just go away, would you?" Rose snapped.
"You can still believe and hope Rose… I still do." Alphonse said.
"It's not wrong to hope, but if you know your wish isn't coming true, then find a new dream. Stop looking for the past and start looking for a future. That's what I'm trying to find." Elina said softly as she offered a hand to Al and helped him up. The pair began walking away, leaving Rose with her thoughts.
"Hey Alphonse?" Elina said. "Your mother would be proud if she saw you and Ed right now, trying to atone for your sins."
"Thank you, Elina." Alphonse sighed. "If your father saw you, I think he would be proud of how far you've come since we met you."
"Thanks Alphonse. I needed that." Elina smiled as small tears fell from her eyes. The two remained silent as they made their way to the train going to their next destination.
Whew! That took me FOREVER to write! Anyways, this is the beginning of their adventure! Okay, I really want to see who can guess what happened to Elina in the past since this time I'm not releasing the document til someone gets it. If no one gets it right, I will release said document a while after the story ends, so if you don't want to wait, start looking! Message me your guesses and I may give you a clue. I wish you all the best of luck!
-Jackie C.A.