It wasn't long until the Day of Reckoning…
I was sat in Winry's room with Edward, we were just relaxing. He was eating a sandwich I not long made him, and I was drawing in my sketchbook. Pinako had gone out, we'd closed most curtains and kept the house relatively dark so if anyone went by, they didn't know we were in the house.
We were tucked away in the corner on her workbench, I could hear movement coming from outside and I looked up to see Winry walk in, she seemed completely spaced out. It was the first time we'd seen her in a couple of months?! Edward stared at her as we were shocked, she was finally home!
It was amazing to see her!
Winry closed the door behind her, and she walked over to her bed, wearing jeans and a shirt she grabbed a change of clothes from the wardrobe as we looked at each other and then at Winry, incredibly surprised that she hadn't seen us yet…
"It's gotten incredibly dusty in here…" Winry muttered and then as she dropped her shirt on the bed she went to lift her tank top and Edward looked away quickly, he was sweating as I just sighed.
That was when Winry noticed us sat there, Edward kept his head down as I just put my hand up to wave at her.
Winry screamed the house down.
I sighed and we heard feet bounding upstairs and then two Briggs officers were at the door aiming their guns inside,
"Hey! What's the matter?" The first one asked, we both put our hands up and Edward started freaking out,
"When did Edward Elric and Reaka get here?" The second officer spoke as I saw Darius and Heinkel put their guns behind the officer's heads, I heard Den barking in the background as I put my hand to my forehead with a sigh,
"Drop your gun." Darius spoke, Den suddenly wrapped his sharp teeth around Darius ass as he screamed out in pain, Greed then grabbed Den from him.
"What the hell is going on up here?" Greed asked as Winry looked at him,
"Ling?" Winry questioned, I looked at Edward and he stared blankly at me, we were both thinking the same thing. The second officer aimed his gun at Darius and Heinkel,
"Wait… you guys are Kimblee's men? Aren't you?" The officer asked, Darius and Heinkel looked at the Briggs officers,
"Hey, I know you guys… you're from Briggs?" Darius questioned as the officers seemed surprised Darius recognised them,
"You two have been following us this whole time?" The first officer questioned as Den was still barking in the background.
I stood up and Winry looked at me, she shuffled over to me.
"Everyone, calm down! Lower your guns." Heinkel spoke,
"Hey, Rea… can you tell me what's going on here?" Winry asked, she looked at me as I chuckled,
"A stalemate by the looks of it." I rubbed my temples with my index fingers, "but seriously… we were trying to find somewhere quiet to sit for a bit." I shrugged as the others kept arguing in the background, Winry's eyebrow twitched as Edward looked scared. Winry closed her eyes and clenched her fists as Edward held onto his sandwich.
"Get out of my room!" Winry yelled and kicked everyone out of the room except for Edward and me.
Winry looked back at us, wrench in hand and we both froze, she took some deep breaths and then stood up straight,
"I was worried about you both." Winry spoke, Edward flinched,
"Yeah, we were worried about you too." Edward spoke,
"We thought Al was with you?" I questioned as Winry froze and then walked to us,
"He's at the train station right now. He's with Miles. The trains going to leave soon." Winry explained as Edward looked surprised, he got up from the chair and started to walk to the door, "you might be able to make it if you hurry." Winry spoke as I frowned, no matter how much Edward wanted to go… he couldn't risk being seen. Edward knew that… his feet stopped in place after a few steps as Winry looked at me in confusion as I looked sad and she looked back at Edward, "hey… what's wrong? Don't you want to see him?" Winry asked as Edward's fist clenched,
"Well, technically I'm a fugitive right now. I can't risk anyone seeing me." Edward admitted as Winry looked at me for clarity and I nodded,
"But still…" Winry spoke, she looked at me and I shook my head,
"It's too dangerous. You understand?" I spoke as she looked sad, "come on Edward, let Winry get changed." I spoke as Edward glance back and nodded.
Edward walked out the room and Winry grabbed my arm,
"How are you?" Winry asked me as I smiled,
"I'm okay. We've just about been surviving in the wildness the last few months." I chuckled as Winry frowned, "I've been taking us from place to place that I have hidden from the world to hide Edward." I explained as Winry nodded. "I'll leave you to get chan-!" I froze as Winry pulled me in for a hug, I just stood there as she held me. I slowly raised my hands and put them on her back, she was taller than I remembered now, "you're both growing up." I chuckle as Winry stepped back and frowned slightly,
"You'll get back to normal. I'm sure of it." Winry spoke as I smiled sadly,
"Hopefully." I nodded and walked to the door, "we will be downstairs." I smiled as Winry nodded.
Pinako came back from her trip, and we explained Winry got back, they had a little catch up and we all moved downstairs to talk.
"So, who are these hooligans you brought with you?" Pinako looked at the two men who were from Briggs as I stood beside Edward who was sat on the table edge,
"I'm really sorry about all the chaos earlier, Liam and I are both soldiers from Fort Briggs." One officer spoke,
"We've been acting as Miss. Winry's bodyguards." Liam explained as I felt Edward lean into me with his shoulder as I glanced at him.
Winry then looked at Greed and I knew she'd question it,
"Hey Ling, do you… remember me?" Winry asked as I could see the confusion on Greed's face for a few seconds,
"What? Oh, right! I guess you know this guy?" Greed pointed at himself as I sighed, Winry looked confused, "the names Greed. It's a pleasure to meet you." Greed spoke as Winry just stared at him; her head tilted to the side as she tried to process her thoughts.
Sometime later, I had helped make some dinner for the group and we all sat down to eat, Greed was telling his story about how he got Ling's body and how we got to Pinako and Winry's house.
"And after all that went down, these guys sign up to work for me." Greed explained as he ate a chicken leg,
"Why did you come to our house?" Winry asked,
"We're trying to get prepared. His automails in serious need of maintenance. And I need him in peak condition." Greed pointed at Edward who was just eating quietly as Winry and Pinako looked at him,
"Give him a look-see after dinner. It is your fine craftmanship after all, I'm not really comfortable tinkering with it." Pinako spoke as Winry nodded,
"Yeah, of course." Winry spoke as we continued to eat. I was sat next to Edward and his one hand was on my leg under the table as we enjoyed the food.
"I bet they've been a handful to deal with, huh, Rea?" Winry chuckled as I looked at her and smiled,
"No hiding it." I chuckled as Edward sat up,
"Hey, we were plenty fine out there." Edward spoke as I smirked,
"I'm sure they would have survived without me." I shrugged as Heinkel and Darius looked at each other,
"You did help us out a lot though," Heinkel spoke as I smiled,
"Yeah, you were able to help us hide pretty well over the last few months." Darius nodded as I looked away, I put my hand on my necklace and smiled to myself as Winry noticed it on my neck.
"You finally gave her the necklace, Edward?" Winry asked, I blinked, and Edward went red,
"Yeah, while we were in a forest." Greed spoke as he smirked at Edward,
"You've had that on you for so long…" Winry smirked as Edward looked away,
"I was trying to find the right moment." Edward mumbled as Winry chuckled,
"You're so bad at romance, Ed." Winry put her hand to her forehead and Edward glared at her,
"I could be romantic if I wanted to! Tell her Rea!" Edward pointed at Winry and then looked at me as I giggled,
"I wouldn't want to ruin your reputation." I chuckled,
"What reputation? Does he even have one?" Darius laughed with Heinkel as Edward glared at them both,
"Shut up Gorilla and Lion!" Edward glared at them as I sighed, Darius and Heinkel stood up from the table and glared at Edward as I shook my head.
After dinner I helped clean up and Edward was having his automail checked with Winry. I stayed with Pinako and tidied up the house, Heinkel and Darius were helping me with the few jobs,
"Those two men seem to follow you around." Pinako mumbled as we were washing and drying dishes, I chuckled,
"I know, I'm fine with it." I nodded, "Nice to make new friends." I smiled as Heinkel and Darius were putting the tablecloth away and wiping it down,
"You seem to have opened up a bit more to people since we first met all those years ago." Pinako spoke with a small smile as I frowned a little,
"I… guess I have." I nodded, "You can't live in this world, even when immortal without making a few friends at least." I glanced back at Heinkel and Darius for a moment, "I appreciate everyone that I've met over the last few years. They've all made a fantastic impact to my life." I smiled as Pinako nodded with a small smile of her own.
We heard Edward and Winry yelling upstairs as we both looked up, I chuckled as there had been a loud bang prior,
"Winry's probably hit Edward again," I chuckled as Pinako just continued,
"Winry, you just don't know when to shut up, do ya?!" Edward yelled upstairs and the door closed as I put my towel and the dish down, moving away and to the stairs as Edward started walking down them after I heard Greed talking.
"Edward… everything okay?" I looked at him, he stopped and looked at me with a frown on his face,
"Yeah, sorry about the commotion." Edward spoke as he walked over to me, he pulled me towards him and into a hug which took me by surprise, "we can do this, can't we, Rea?" Edward mumbled as I froze, he'd never questioned anything like this before, never doubted himself. Edward probably just wanted some reassurance as I tilted my head into his and smiled,
"With the support of everyone around us, we can win." I smiled and felt Edward squeeze me gently.
We were soon ready to leave in the dead of night, to head to Central. We needed to get there as soon as we were able, the Day of Reckoning was nearing.
"You're leaving in the middle of the night?" Winry asked,
"We were actually planning on leaving earlier today, but then we ran into you." Edward explained, his expression softened for a moment, "It was good to see you. And thanks for the tune up, Winry." Edward added with a nod and turned to leave; I waved as Winry grinned at me.
"If you happen to run into Hohenheim, you make sure to give him that message from your mother alright?" Pinako spoke as I looked at Edward in confusion,
"I will, I will." Edward nodded and waved his arm, Winry moved to the top of the stairs as Edward stopped at the bottom, "Lay low until the Promised Day passes." Edward spoke and then looked back at her, "We're gonna stop them, Winry. And Al, Rea and I'll be home before you know it." Edward added, he then smiled, "Have an apple pie waiting for us, okay?" Edward smirked, Winry soon smiled and nodded her head.
We all left the town of Rockbell and spent the majority of the night and morning travelling to a small settlement near Central, Kanama. Heading into the small settlement we could see many people working hard and mingling, we heard word that Van was going to be in Kanama so we came here to meet him. Edward wasn't too pleased to be looking for him but we knew we had to find him.
"Excuse me, is this place called Kanama?" Edward stopped and asked some farmers as they looked at us, they nodded, Edward described that we were looking for his father and the farmers knew exactly who we meant and led us down the street.
"Mr. Ho? You've got some company." The farmer spoke as we all stood there, Van looked over his shoulder and saw the five of us standing there as I smiled and waved at him.
Van put his food down and slowly went to stand,
"Edward, I didn't think-" Van started but Edward sprinted forward and punched him in the cheek using his automail arm as I just stood there in shock. Edward turned around and held his automail wrist as Van rolled back a couple of metres away,
"Ahhh. That felt good." Edward looked back at me, Van sat up and held his cheek,
"Ahh… You could've at least warned me you were about to slug me! And with your metal hand, too!" Van yelled as Edward put his hands on his hips and looked away, I frowned at him and walked forward as Van got up from the ground and dusted himself off, "I see you've made a new group of friends." Van spoke as I went to check on Van, Edward just watched me,
"We're not-" Darius started,
"It's more like we're all in the same sinking ship." Heinkel spoke over Darius,
"That's right… And I guess you could say I'm the captain of that ship." Greed pointed at himself, and Van walked towards Greed with me,
"So, you're the one in charge? Then I'd like to thank you for looking after my son." Van smiled and leaned forward slightly, he glanced at me as I grinned, "and my best friend." Van added as Edward was slightly shocked to hear Van thank Greed and then he looked at me as I was looking at Van,
"Sure… But you know he can be a real pain in the ass. However, she is very resourceful." Greed spoke as Edward yelled in frustration.
Van looked down and we saw him clock Greed's tattoo,
"That's an interesting tattoo." Van spoke bluntly,
"Yeahhh… you noticed… I guess there's no point in hiding it. But let's make this honesty thing mutual, pops." Greed put his hand up, Van stood up straight and then looked at Edward,
"Look we need to talk. The Promised Day is tomorrow." Edward looked at him,
"Fair enough… I'll tell you everything." Van frowned as he looked down at me, "Assuming you haven't said anything to him." Van looked at me as I blinked,
"She hasn't told me anything." Edward spoke as he folded his arms, "Been frustrating to not know why Reaka is immortal, only thing I know about her is that she was the Princess of Xerxes." Edward spoke as Van was surprised that I told him,
"He also knows that Father was behind the destruction of Xerxes. I couldn't hide that…" I explained, Van nodded, and we moved to sit down.
I sat next to Van around the fire as Darius was sat with Heinkel and Greed with Edward. As Van sat down, he stared at the fire in the centre of the triangle we sat in. I could see he looked worried, but relieved almost. I wondered if he had seen Alphonse recently and told him the same story. Winry told me that she found him in Liore and that was how we knew Van was going to be in Kanama.
Van suddenly took my hand in his and held it, this took me by surprise as he looked at me,
"Many years ago, Rea and I lived in Xerxes." Van started; Edward looked surprised as Van started. I stared at the fire and his voice seemed to fade out as I lost focus on the world around me. Telling the story took time… It was a few hours; the night had settled in, and Van still held my hand.
As Van finished explaining what happened he nudged me and I looked at Edward, his automail hand was shaking and he put his hand on his forehead, he knew the truth of what made me a monster now.
"I was worried this might be more difficult for you to accept than it was for Alphonse." Van spoke as I looked at him in surprise, so he did tell Alphonse, Edward looked up in shock as well,
"Wait, you told Al about this?" Edward asked,
"I did… I'm sure he has his own thoughts on the matter, but he accepted it none the less." Van explained as Edward was processing his thoughts, he glanced at me for a second and then back at Van who pointed at himself, "If you want to use me to get your bodies back… you can." Van offered as I frowned,
"Are you crazy?! Maybe you and Rea are living Philosopher Stones… but I'm not gonna sacrifice innocent souls. It's our fault we lost our bodies!" Edward yelled as Van smiled and sighed as he closed his eyes,
"I'm proud my son feels that way." Van spoke as Edward stood straight and Van let go of my hand finally, "There will be a solar eclipse tomorrow. He plans on harnessing it for his scheme." Van explained,
"An eclipse? So that's his plan?" Edward questioned,
"Listen, Edward… he has to be stopped at all costs. I need you to help me." Van explained,
"Help you? Now look here. I'm gonna stop that bearded bastard, but I'm not doing it because you want me to help you!" Edward yelled, "Our best chance at beating this guy is to team up, and that's the only reason I'm even talking to you right now!" Edward snapped, he glared at Van for a moment and then started to walk away as I stood up, the other men followed Edward as I stayed with Van,
"That's fine with me." Van spoke, "It doesn't matter what your reasons are as long as you'll still fight alongside me." Van smiled gently as I looked down at him and put my hand on his shoulder.
Edward stopped walking as I closed my eyes,
"Granny asked me to give you Mom's final worlds." Edward spoke as I looked at him, that's what Pinako was on about before, I took a breath as Van looked up a little surprised. Edward took a small breath, "Sorry I couldn't keep my promise but I'm dying first." Edward spoke, I didn't have to look at Van to know he was crying, Van had stood up and looked to the sky as I held his arm gently, I could see it in the corner of my eye as I smiled at Edward. I finally looked at Van and saw the tears, "So there, I told you-!" Edward turned to look at his father and froze seeing his father… crying.
I nodded at Edward as he frowned slightly and looked away, he took that as a sign to leave as I put my hand gently on Van's chest,
"Hey now, do you want a hug?" I asked Van, he swallowed hard as he looked down at me and smiled gently, I jumped as he pulled me in and wrapped his arms around me securely. I moved my arms on his back as my best friend just stood there.
After some time, I moved back from Van and he looked down at me and smiled gently,
"I hope my son has been treating you well." Van spoke as I flushed and quickly moved back,
"He's been great. I sometimes wonder who looks after who." I spoke as Van chuckled,
"I'm glad you've finally found someone, Rea. And after tomorrow, I hope you can have the dream you always wanted." Van sat back down as I nodded with a happy sigh,
"If this works… I want to help Amestris get back on its feet." I spoke as Van nodded,
"I think you'd be very good at helping them get on track and fixing things up." Van spoke as I smiled,
"It would require a lot of work." I frowned and clenched my fist as I put it up, "But I think I can do it." I smiled, Van chuckled,
"That determination will get you far." Van smirked as I grinned,
"I was born to be a leader of a country and brought up as such, I think I can help them get on track again." I chuckled as Van nodded,
"I have faith." Van smiled gently as I put my arms back down by my side.
"How has my son been treating you though?" Van asked, as I was surprised by him asking the question,
"Good, he's very attentive." I nodded,
"That does surprise me. I was a bumbling mess when it came to women." Van put his hand behind his head,
"Oh, don't get me wrong, he is. But he's great, fast learner, he's difficult to talk to sometimes as he doesn't communicate much but he does listen and pay attention to me." I explained as Van smiled gently, "he makes me happy." I nodded as Van grinned,
"Don't go corrupting him though." Van chuckled as I flushed red,
"What do you mean by that?!" I yelled,
"I remember what you were like when you were younger, sneaking out the castle to talk to boys." Van laughed as I felt my face heat up,
"That was over four hundred years ago Van! I'm not like that anymore." I folded my arms as Van chuckled,
"I guess I'll have to ask him myself." Van smirked and I froze,
"He won't tell you anything." I smirked, "He doesn't like talking about his relationship with me." I smiled as Van nodded,
"Sounds like me." Van smirked, I looked towards where they disappeared and Van sat up, "I'll be okay, Rea. Go find my son." Van spoke as I looked at him,
"You sure?" I asked as Van nodded, I smiled and walked away from him, leaving Van at the fire to his thoughts.
It was nice to have a little catch up with Van, it was nice to know he cared. I saw Edward, Darius and Heinkel eating at the food stand and they were talking to each other, Edward looked a little bit annoyed for a few moments before looking down. Greed soon leaned on the side as I was closing in on them,
"Heh… Such a whirlwind of emotions. I can see why… The guy's a walking, talking Philosopher's Stone along with your girlfriend. And to make it worse… He also happens to be your father and she is my so-called mother." Greed smirked as I stopped near the group and frowned, Edward was in a difficult place now, he had a lot to think about.
"There's more to it than that." Edward spoke as I was behind him, "It's just… he's not what I was expecting." Edward spoke as I took a deep breath and put a smile on.
"Hey guys!" I smiled and moved around the group,
"Rea!" Edward was surprised,
"Have you got any more to eat please?" I asked the lady as she smiled and handed me a bowl and Darius looked at Edward,
"We'll leave you to it." Heinkel spoke as Greed smirked and Edward stood up straight as I put some food in my mouth in confusion as to why everyone was leaving,
"Did I do something wrong?" I looked at Edward as he smiled gently,
"No." Edward shook his head and moved next to me with his bowl of food, his shoulder bumped mine as I continued to eat my food,
"I know that was a lot of information earlier…" I frowned as I swallowed my food, Edward sighed as he looked at me,
"I know what you're thinking…" Edward half glared at me as I looked away,
"I'm not thinking anything." I quickly spoke as Edward turned to face me as he frowned, he huffed and folded his arms, I looked away as I sighed. Edward knew me too well, I felt his glare at the back of my head as I took another bite of food,
"Don't think it… I've got to quickly grab something. I'll be back shortly." Edward leaned towards me and kissed my cheek as I glanced at him and watched Edward walk away and join the others. I smiled to myself and continued to eat my food as I was relatively hungry.
Edward had walked away to grab some cloth for both him and Reaka, they had both been wearing long black coats for a while and Edward was going to make her a long blue coat for this next day. The Promised Day. Edward watched the woman put down the red and blue cloth on the counter as he nodded,
"And here you go." The older woman smiled at Edward,
"Thank you, mam." Edward replied as he picked up both pieces,
"And what exactly is that for?" Greed asked, Edward didn't respond for a moment as he moved the cloth onto the two barrels next to the little stall. Edward put the red cloth on one barrel and the blue on another. Clapping his hands, he put his hands on the red cloth and it turned into his signature coat as the cloth expanded and opened. Stepping to the side the same happened after he used his alchemy on the blue cloth, both coats wore the symbol of The Flamel.
Darius was surprised at seeing the two coats,
"C'mon, what's wrong with what you're wearing now?" Heinkel asked,
"That doesn't seem flashy to you?" Greed asked,
"And who's the blue one for?" Darius added, Edward lifted the red coat and had a quick look over it,
"There's a pretty good chance this is gonna be the last battle we ever fight. I want to do it in style." Edward spoke the three knew what he meant and just stood there with a look of determination and understanding at Edward. "The blue one is for Rea, her favourite colour is blue, and she's always taking my coat, so I figured I'd make her one as a gift. In case anything happens." Edward looked at the blue one draped over the barrel.
I had finished my food and found Edward standing to the side with the other three looking at him, they all looked rather dark as I approached and noticed Edward was holding his red coat in his hands,
"So, it's back?" I smiled and pointed at the red coat as Edward looked at it in his hands,
"Yeah, and I've made you one." Edward smiled and then pointed at a blue version on the barrel, it was a muted blue, not bright blue like the sky, but almost like a midnight blue. I walked over and picked up the jacket and smiled to myself,
"Thank you," I smiled and looked at Edward as he nodded, I hadn't worn anything with the Flamel symbol on for a long time.
I was wearing a thin small black crop jacket with a long sleeve white shirt up to that point, I lifted the jacket up and looked over it, pockets and a hood, just like his own. I smiled and pulled it close to my chest as this made me very happy.
I joined the group as we walked to the edge of Kanama, my new jacket under my arm, Edward had his hands behind his head and his red jacket over his shoulder. Darius and Heinkel walked behind us and Greed on my right as I was between him and Edward,
"Listen guys, you don't have to along with us, y'know… I'm thinking you'd be better off going your own way before things start to get too serious." Edward spoke,
"Hey, hold on… that isn't your call to make, pal, I'm the one in charge." Greed looked at Edward,
"I mean if it's just about trying to get your old bodies back…" Edward looked back at Darius and Heinkel,
"That's not it." Heinkel admitted,
"These bodies do have their perks. To be honest, I don't really mind staying like this." Darius admitted,
"Yeah, now that's the spirit!" Greed laughed,
"So, why stick with me then?" Edward peered back at Heinkel and Darius,
"We're here because of Reaka, not you." Darius and Heinkel both spoke as Edward looked annoyed, I laughed and smiled at them both,
"It might also be my animal instincts, but Reaka gives me a good feeling… so I'm sticking with you guys." Darius put his finger to his head as I smiled to myself, and Edward rolled his eyes.
"And what's your story, Greed? Are you hoping to settle the score with the other Homunculi for what they did to your friends?" Edward looked at Greed as he started walking ahead,
"Are you asking me why I've decided to return to Central? I'm not telling ya, kid." Greed looked back at Edward and I, we were both surprised by his answer and stopped walking for a moment.
We continued a moment later but almost walked into Heinkel as he stopped in his tracks,
"Hey, what's the holdup?" Edward asked and peered around Heinkel, I froze, I could feel a strange presence in the air as I hear metal clanking in the distance.
I walked around with Edward to see Alphonse make his way through the trees to stand in the darkness of the forest.
"It's Al!" Edward was elated to see his brother as he ran forward, "Oh, man, you freaked me out there!" Edward stopped in front of Alphonse as I couldn't see the normal shine coming from his eyes, I tilted my head and went to take a step forward, but Darius put his hand on my shoulder, I could feel him… shaking? "Feels like I haven't seen you in years! How've you been, Al?" Edward asked,
"I'm glad to see you're okay, Brother." Alphonse spoke,
"Hey, wait… I thought you were with Major Miles over in the Eastern area. Nothing bad happened, right?" Edward asked,
"That's actually why I'm here… We need to talk." Alphonse answered,
"Uh, sure." Edward responded as Alphonse turned and walked towards the forest, "Hey, uh… are you sure you're feeling alright, Al?" Edward called after his brother who stopped in his tracks, I noticed Greed was shaking as he looked in distress.
"Greed?" I whispered and he glanced at me as I moved to his side, Darius letting go of my shoulder.
"What do you mean?" Alphonse asked, as he looked over his shoulder at Edward,
"Well… you seem a little…" Edward started,
"Ed!" Ling yelled as I looked at Edward,
"Ling?" Edward turned around,
"Get away from him!" Ling called and covered his face, "That's not… He's a…" Ling spoke as Edward slowly looked around at Alphonse and I saw black smoke coming from his joints.
I quickly moved forward towards Edward as the shadows attacked and I crouched down quickly, but I was still hit by one of the shadowy arms as it cut the left side of my throat, I gasped and gripped my neck as the others just barely dodged, Edward moved to my side as I gripped his arm with my free hand,
"What… what the hell was that?!" Edward yelled as he pulled me away quickly as I was wheezing from the cut, it began to heal quickly as I focused my mind, the blood covered my black jacket though as I felt it soak in.
"I see that you're working with them now… huh, Greed?" a young child's voice spoke, Alphonse's body turned around slowly and took a step towards us, I stood tall as I could breathe normally again and glared at the armour as more black smoke looked like it was coming from the cracks of the suit, Edward just stared in horror at the armour. "How pathetic that you'd share your consciousness with a human." The voice spoke, suddenly eyes appeared in all the dark cracks of Alphonse's armour, I recognised them from many, many years ago, "Your soul couldn't be any weaker!" the armour yelled.
We could hear metal warping on Alphonse's armour as the shadowy arms of the homunculus possessed his body, I was sure it was his body, there would be no way Envy could mimic a suit of armour… and I was sure I had seen those eyes hundreds of years ago.
"That's not…" Edward mumbled,
"It's Pride." Greed spoke as he held his face,
"You don't mean that-" Edward started,
"Yeah… that's my brother. My oldest brother, I guess you'd say." Greed explained, Edward gasped,
"A Homunculus?!" Edward looked back at Alphonse.
"So, you've made up your mind to betray us no matter what, Greed. Which makes you nothing more than an annoyance to us at this point." Pride spoke,
"Damn it… How did you even know I was here?" Greed asked, Pride chuckled,
"How dare you disguise yourself as my brother?!" Edward yelled, I felt a pit in my stomach as I looked at the armour,
"It's not… only Envy can transform…" I spoke as Edward looked at me in surprise and Pride chuckled,
"Who said this was a disguise? As mother said, only Envy can transform." Pride asked and lifted Alphonse's helmet and made him lean forward, "This is, without a doubt, your brother's actual body." Pride's smug comment earned a hateful glare from Edward as he let me go,
"You bastard!" Edward yelled, Pride moved the helmet back on Alphonse's body and stood tall again,
"First things first, I need to deal with Greed. Now, Fullmetal Alchemist, Mother, if you would be so kind as to come with me." Pride spoke and we could see shadowy arms appear on the ground.
"Heinkel, you guys should run for cover." Edward spoke and looked back, "What the? You don't waste any time!" Edward yelled at the two chimera's hiding in the trees,
"Our animal instincts are telling us that we should stay the hell away from that thing." Darius spoke as I nodded and Edward grunted angrily,
"It'd probably be smart for you to run too." Heinkel spoke,
"We'll be just fine. They need me, Rea and Al for their plans so they aren't gonna kill us. But that doesn't mean I've gotta go easy on them." Edward spoke and threw his red coat to the side, "I've got no problem taking them down!" Edward added as I threw my blue coat with his and nodded,
"You're right… I must take you alive. But if I slice off a few of your limbs in the process, so be it." Pride admitted.