Hey all! Forgive the late update; life got in the way and all, but it's here! This will probably be the last chapter that closely relates to 03 canon. I'll also be including a very ICY aspect from Brotherhood, if you know what I mean here. So, watch how it plays out, and I hope you enjoy!

Greed, Scourge and his entourage observed the island from afar, his pose having spied on the woman taking the young homunculus to the island. "So, shall we?" Scourge asked.

"Probably not." Greed sneered as they saw the landscape on the island alter; no doubt a battle broke out. "Too much confusion. It seems the kid realized what he is; I can sense it. If we act now, he'll probably attack us."

"Ah." Scourge nodded. "If he's as powerful as you say, then yeah. It's probably for the best."

Just as they were about to leave, a familiar voice rang in. "Ah, found you at last, Ultimate Shield."

All turned around and looked up to see Envy crouched and looking down on them. "Wait…" Scourge thought. "I think I know him…."

"It's nice to see you to, Ultimate…what was it?" Greed asked sarcastically. "Ah, yes. Abomination, I think."

If Envy was hurt, he didn't show it, though his sneer showed he wasn't pleased with that label. Before he could say anymore, he then took notice of Scourge. "What!?" he balked, pointing at him. "What are you doing here!?"

"I think you have me confused with that blue dweeb!" Scourge shouted.

They then took notice of a brown-haired woman in a business dress coming to Envy's side. "Anyone who associates with a homunculus is trouble…" Greed thought.

"I think we should cut to the chase." Envy proclaimed. "We want you to come back. With Wrath truly born, the seven are reunited."

"Sorry, I don't need you." Greed shot back. "And you can't make me go back. I smashed the entire prison before I left, and whatever happened at the prison caused the remains to be smashed to pieces."

"You really are a fool, aren't you, Greed?" Envy chuckled, jumping down. Suddenly, he attacked his sibling, engaging in a kick-boxing match. Neither succeeded in landing a blow, and knowing their kind, Scourge doubt they would be able to damage each other this way.

"Hey Greed!" Scourge shouted. "Want a helping hand!?"

"Hey, be my guest! Take over!"

Scourge revved up into a Sonic Spin, and ran into Envy. Though he stumbled, he didn't fall over. Scourge ran around him, punching him in several areas, but Envy got him off guard with an arm strike to his throat. Before Scourge could relax, Envy grabbed him and threw him against the rocks. "You're a lot more vicious than the blue one. I kinda like you."

"Hn." Scourge said, wiping the blood from his lip. "So you DID fight him. No wonder you were able to catch me; in a way, you already fought me. "

"Well, I'd love to play some more." Envy said. "But I don't have the time. Sloth!"

The woman suddenly transformed into water, splashed down to their level and turned into a water spout. "You know this one!?" Scourge yelled at Greed. "Water and I don't mix!"

Greed slowly backed away from the water-woman, clearly startled. "First time meeting her; it was bound to happen, I suppose. COME ON!" he waved to his other comrades. "New plan! I'll explain later!"

"Hold on!" Scourge ran around the other two homunculi, spreading a cyclone of dirt that encircled their attackers. While Envy coughed a storm, Sloth's density increased from picking up the debris, and she felt herself breaking apart.

Meanwhile, Greed's outlaws made a break for it. "Scourge! Run back to the Devil's Nest! We'll catch up with you later!"

"Thanks for not slowing me down! My old gang couldn't take the hint!" He ran full speed, creating a sonic boom.

As Envy wiped the dust off and Sloth recovered, they saw their prey had escaped and was out of sight. "Well shoot." Envy sighed. "The master's not going to be happy."

"I don't think it's a total loss." Sloth said as she looked to the shore.

Envy turned around, and saw Wrath make his way to the surface. Envy smirked. "Guess you're right." He smiled, walked over to Wrath and held out his hand. "Welcome home, Wrath." Wrath stood with him, smiling manically.

It had been a few days since Izumi and the others fought Wrath. The stress forced Sig to readmit her to the hospital. Everyone at the butcher shop, even the mobians, were anxious for her. Finally, Sig had gotten a call that Izumi was ready to be clear to go home, though rest was HIGHLY recommended.

When she was brought home, Sig immediately put her to bed. "Now you just rest, sweetie. You've strained yourself enough as it is."

Izumi chuckled. "Well, you'll have to squash all the problems for me before they arise."

Sig nodded, giving her a slight smile under his beard. "Let me know if you need anything; I'm going to prepare the merchandise."

Izumi sighed as she relaxed into sleep. She then woke up, probably an hour and a half later. She turned to her side to see one of the mobians place a glass of water on her desk. "Oh." She said upon seeing her eyes. "I'm sorry; did I wake you? Your husband asked me to place this on your stand."

Izumi smiled slightly. "No. Just woke up on my own. Could you bring the glass over here, please?" Sally did so as Izumi took a sip. "Ah….thank you, um…"

"Sally. Sally Acorn." she said, introducing herself for the first time.

Izumi chuckled. "Of course."

Sally sighed. "My surname is a stereotype for my type, isn't it?"

"Yes. And I'm sorry." Izumi apologized.

"Don't worry." Sally sighed. "It's just so weird to see lesser-evolved forms of us. And whereas we're sentient on our home world, here we and many of our kind are farm animals."

"That has to be frightening." Izumi said as she took another sip. "I'm sorry. Ed mentioned how he came to your world and brought you over to ours. And then the homunculus came and threw everything off."

"Don't worry; you've been through a lot-"Sally tried to assure her.

"Can you tell me your story?" Izumi suddenly asked. "From the beginning, please?"

Sally did so, while Izumi listened intently…

"Got any sixes?" Sonic asked Ed as he looked at his cards.

"Go fish." The alchemist replied.

Sonic groaned as he took a card from the deck. "Six is my unlucky number today." He grumbled.

"Sorry about this whole mess." Ed sighed, knowing that they've dragged the mobians along for nothing. "Got any twos?"

"Don't worry about it." Sonic said as he tossed a two to Ed. "Your teacher is ill. She comes first."

"I only wish I thought that way." Ed sighed. "I was so obsessed with getting those limbs back, I almost forgot about her."

"Sometimes…" Sonic said. "…when we've wanted something for so long, we forget what's right in front of us. But you realized your mistake before there was no turning back."

Ed just stared at Sonic. "Sally…is that you?"

Sonic groaned. "Cut me some slack! I've got smart things to say!"

"I'd have to imagine Sally would have to rub off on him somehow." Tails chuckled as he, Al, Winry and Knuckles played Scrabble.

Before anymore could be said, Sig came inside the room. "Hey." he said. "Izumi wants to see you, Ed. And she says the rest of you may want to hear this as well."

Ed got up…and cards dropped out of his sleeve. As the others looked at him, Sonic just gave him a twitching eye. "Brother…" Al sighed. "When will you learn?"

Ed chuckled nervously. "Uh…sorry?"

Sonic suddenly tackled him and shook him violently. "YOU B-!"

Bunnie suddenly restrained him with her arm around his mouth as he shook his arms and tried to screams various other profanities better suited for other hedgehogs. "Now, sugar! Calm down! Tails is in the room!" she reminded him.

"Sally has told me all about your predicament." Izumi said as she lay against her pillows addressing the strange creatures. "I'm sorry to say I know nothing in our history that could possibly connect worlds, let alone yours." She breathed deeply. "But I do know someone who might. She is very wise in the ways of ancient alchemy and mythology. She has a rather expansive private library."

"Way past." Sonic smiled. "So, we just go and knock on her door?"

"No." Izumi shut him down. "Edward and Alphonse will knock on her door, obviously."

"Us?" Ed asked.

"I'll give you the directions; just tell her I sent you for some medicine." She explained. "I'm sure once she learns your relation to me, she'll spill a few more things that might give you some clues."

Olivia Mira Armstrong was a dangerous woman; it was part of the reason she chose to be the commander of the Briggs fortress, the fort on the northern border of Amestris and Drachma. The North was unforgiving, most soldiers not wanting to serve a tour in this harsh location. To her, though, it was ideal; here only the strong survived. Some of her male colleagues cited that because of her beauty, with her blond hair and luscious lips, she should retire from active duty and find a husband. Those chauvinists quickly learned there was probably not a man alive who could handle her, for she craved for battle!

As she stepped outside into the blizzard, she inspected her men. Though all hated the cold, they dared not show it under her watch. She approached a large man in a Mohawk and goatee. "Bucaneer!" she addressed him. "I assume there's no activity?"

"None as usual." He said, not taking his eyes off the horizon. "After that beating they took years ago, I'd doubt they want to come back when we're getting stronger as a nation." He said, referring to Drachma

"Sir!" one of the watchmen called. "There's a whole battalion of cannons! Down there!"

Olivia snatched away his binoculars, and indeed, Drachma had suddenly approached, armed to the teeth. "Dumb bastards." She shoved it back to the soldier. "Miles! Arm the cannons, and prepare to fire! Everyone else, standby! Prepare for battle!" she cried as she drew her sabre.

No more needed to be said as the first cannon hit the wall.

The fire fight had begun. Though the captain of the battalion loved the idea of a full-out assault on Briggs, he knew better than to go in doing it blindly. All the more reason he was puzzled as to why they were doing just that. "I hope what you say is true!" he said to another man in a black beard, holding a green scepter in his hqne. "Because as much as I tell my men otherwise, I know this is going to go downhill fast anytime now!"

"Oh?"

"You never heard of General Armstrong!? The Queen in the North!?" he bellowed. "What kind of idiot on the council put you in charge!?"

"Calm yourself." The man said calmly. "I have a plan. Whatever brute force this General Armstrong has…it won't be enough. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to make preparations. And remember: just keep firing." He turned on his heel, the captain failing to notice the shadow he cast, particularly the ears and horn.

Dante's Mansion. It had been quite a trip for Ed and Al when they got there. It was a lovely place with a large garden and a forest behind it. Most people would have loved to retire here, but then the surprises began. First, the maid greeted them at the door. However, that maid was a young lady named Lyra; Ed fought her in Youswell, a mining town he visited on his first official mission as a state alchemist. The town was run by a corrupt state official who robbed the town through taxes and high rent, and bribed anyone who would report him…or worse. Ed swindled him into turning the deed over to him, which he then granted to the foreman of the town. Needless to say, Yoki was not pleased and had his lieutenant, Lyra, fight him. Though her wind alchemy was a challenge, it was nothing Ed could not handle. Though seeing her made him nervous, her demeanor was completely different, explaining that Dante took her in as an apprentice. The fact that they encountered her in such a way though still disturbed the brothers.

Then they met Dante: An elderly woman with green hair, dressed in fine silks. She seemed personable enough, nothing more than your typical old and wise lady. However, she surprised them again when she revealed she was Izumi's teacher, which in a way, made her their grandmaster. She made some special medicine for Izumi as requested, and had Lyra prepare tea for them. The conversation started off casual enough, until Ed mentioned he wanted to see what he could learn of alchemy through mythology. Dante thought for a moment. "I do believe there is a book here…I made sure to keep it on the lower shelves…" She rummaged through them, then pulled a book with a gold cover. "Here is one. The myth of New Gaia."

"New Gaia?" Al asked.

"You'll have to read it for yourself." Dante smiled as she handed it to Ed. "It also tells the supposed creation of the first chimeras."

Now that got Ed and Al interested. If they could research the history of the chimeras…maybe they could learn about the evolution of the mobians as well. "T-thank you." Ed stammered. "Would it be alright if we read it here?"

"I don't mind." Dante smiled. "But I don't think it's wise to keep your teacher waiting. Please, feel free to take the book. Take all the time you need with it."

Ed and Al looked at each other in shock. Quickly, Ed tucked it into his red coat, and the two bowed. "Thank you very much!"

Greed stomped out a flower, as he beheld the mansion before him. His allies walked behind him, anticipating their next job. "So…" Bull began. "…we just storm in?"

"Well…you maybe. I'm staying out." Greed said.

"How 'bout I just run in and scope the place?" Scourge eagerly suggested.

"Maybe." Greed reluctantly agreed. "But this person has a few tricks up her sleeve. Then again, I don't think she's dealt with anyone who uses super speed…" he said, rubbing his chin. Then, he noticed someone down in the yard below. A man in a suit of armor. Wait, not a man, if what Bido said was true: a boy! "Wait. Maybe we can get another friend..." He sneered.

The group later approached Al. They tried the more diplomatic route, simply asking him to come along. His response: he was told not to go with strangers. Dorchett tried to appeal to his perceived manhood, citing he was old enough to make his own decisions. Al agreed…and beat him over the head, knocking him out. "Sorry. I've decided NOT to go with strangers on my own."

From there, Marla kicked off his head and dived into his body. Somehow she stretched herself into his limbs. Al was strong enough to resist, but he was slowed down enough for Bull to knock him down with his war hammer. "Alright." Greed said, approaching the scene, satisfied with the results. "Nab him and let's go."

Bull picked him up, but they were didn't escape unseen. "Hey!" Ed shouted as he ran towards them. "Where do you think you're going!?"

Greed turned around, and smirked. "So, this is Full Metal? He's a lot shorter than I imagined!"

Ed punched him in the head…and felt like he punched a brick wall, and Greed just stood there smirking as if nothing happened. "What the-!?"

Greed suddenly kicked him away. "Hurry! We can't stay much longer!" he waved. The others noticed he seemed to be in a hurry to get away from here.

"Oh no you don't!" Ed began a transmutation on the ground, encasing Greed in earth.

Greed pulled, realizing this was going to take more effort than usual, made another call. "Okay! Scourge! You're up!"

Suddenly, a green blur came out of the bushes and tackled Ed. "What the-!?" Ed stared into Scourge's face; he briefly met him on the island, half-crazed and delirious. Now, though, he seemed rather sane. And vicious. "You-!" Ed tried to strike him, but Scourge dodged. He circled around him, hitting him on his sides, first one place and then the next, paralyzing the alchemist in pain.

Meanwhile, Greed broke free from his rock prison, his hands now black claws. Turning them back to normal, he waved to his comrades. "Move! Scourge, hurry it up!" Scourge took a break from his beating, and ran forward.

As Ed breathed deeply and clutched his side, he tried to run after them…and stumbled to the ground. "Damn it!" he shouted, slamming his fist on the dirt.

"So…I see the reason you were so interested in that book."

Ed turned to see Lyra and Dante at the doorstep, apparently having witnessed the whole thing. "You have any idea where they went?"

"I wish I knew, child." Dante said. "I'm sorry for not helping. I'm too old now, and Lyra is still in training; I did not want her to risk her life."

"Don't worry; I understand." Ed said as he dusted off his knees. He ran forward to their footsteps, hoping he could find any clues to where they went…and found a matchbox. It had a logo: The Devil's Nest. Ed clutched it, and stared ahead. "Mrs. Dante…do you have a phonebook?"

"Miles!" General Armstrong shouted as she approached her warrant-officer. "How are we holding up?"

"Well, sir." He replied as he looked through his binoculars. "…almost too well."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Forgive me, sir." He saluted. "I just meant that all our defenses and tactics have held up without a hitch. Surely, Drachma would have known that and brought more to the table." He chose his next words carefully. "I fear this may be a diversion."

"Yes." Armstrong said, rubbing her chin. "I was thinking along the same lines…"

"Well…" Miles said as he turned his attention back to the field below. "…unless something changes on our end, they're not going to last much longer."

Suddenly, the soldiers around them fell. Both took their attention off the frontline and inspected their fallen comrades. Each had a blade embedded in a vital place; they all died instantly. "Someone's here." Miles growled as he drew his gun.

"Next time don't jinx us." Olivia growled as she gripped the hilt of her sword. "SHOW YOURSELF!" she shouted down the hall. "You may have a chance to live if you surrender!" "For at least a short while." She told herself.

When no one showed, they carefully stalked the hallway. Their first instinct was to call for more soldiers, but both held off. This was probably a dirty tactic from Drachma, bringing in an assassin and draw attention away from the front line.

For a good minute, nothing happened. Then, Miles found something reflected in his glasses move. Looking up to the ceiling, he saw whom they were looking for literally sticking to it. "General! Move!" He unloaded his gun, but the assassin was a step ahead of him, flipping onto his back and knocking him down. He turned to shoot her, but the attacker shot a gooey substance into his gun, clogging it. That same substance snared him, and was pulled towards her, her blunt chain-sticks knocking him across the temple. After that, he lay motionless.

Another rope ensnared General Armstrong, but she quickly drew her sabre and sliced it off. Taking a defensive position, she took a good look at her attacker. She was both cute and disgusting at the same time. Her eyes looked like a child's illustration, but her eight limbs, 6 each carrying a weapon, were off-putting. Any other features were covered in black cloth. "What are you?" she asked. Getting no answer, Armstrong yelled a war cry, and charged, Uma doing the same to greet her.

Ed suddenly burst into the shop. "Sonic!" he shouted. "I need your help!"

Sonic woke up from his nap on the couch. "Huh!?" Looking to Ed, he asked "What's up?"

"Some freaks took Al! I tried to stop them, but they caught me off guard!" He calmed down a bit, and then stared at him dead serious. "And your double is there too."

Sonic then stared back, giving him a mischievous smile. "Well, I was just going to come help you find your bro. But beating up Scourge sure is the cherry on the cake that seals the deal."

"Scourge?" Sally asked.

"It's what he calls himself." Sonic shrugged. "I actually kind of like it; now how I don't have to compare myself to him. Not too much, anyway."

"Oh."

"Well, whatever he calls himself, I'm going to need help. You in?" Ed asked again.

Sonic smirked. "Of course." He said, pointing to himself. "Count me in."

"Me too." Knuckles suddenly said, causing Sonic to look his way. "What?" the echidna asked. "I'm bored."

"I kind of am too." St. John said, adjusting his crossbow. "So, I'm tagging along too, if you don't mind."

"If Alphonse is in trouble, count me in too." Bunnie said, flexing her robotic arm. "He's a good kid. Ah hate to just leave him."

Ed smiled at all of them. "It's good to have friends on my side."

"I'm coming too!" Tails suddenly announced, waving his hand and beginning to fly into the air.

"No." Sally said, pulling him back down. "We're staying here." Sally said.

"But-!"

"Ed is going in with a crowd that stands out; we'll only add to the problem. Plus, this person came to the house of Mrs. Curtis's mentor; there's a chance they might come for her too. So, we need to stay and help Mr. Curtis protect her." Tails sighed, giving into Sally's wishes.

"Don't worry, little buddy." Sonic said, giving him his usual thumbs up. "I've a feeling you're not going to be missing much!" he smirked.

"Ed!" Winry suddenly came to Ed, grabbing his automail hand. "You be careful, alright!?"

Ed looked at her in shock, then nodded. "Yeah." Quickly, he pulled away as he and the others rushed out.

Buccaneer charged, dodging the gunfire of the Drachma soldiers despite his size. With his war automail arm, he slammed the soldiers down into the snow with the force of an avalanche, and kicked another down at the end of his run. He opened up his jaw-like arm, grabbing hold of another's arm and tore up his tendon as he screamed in pain. Another soldier tried to sneak up on him, preparing to fire on him. Buccaneer, however, caught him in his peripherals and shot him down with his sidearm. Throwing his victim into the snow, he sneered. "Is this all you got, Drachma!? You attacked us with this!?" he yelled, the other soldiers frozen in fear. "You're all worthless. You better come up with some big guns, or I think I'll just tell the general we should all retire."

"Perhaps I will suffice." A voice said behind him. Buccaneer turned behind him to see a shadow in the snow storm bring down a mighty battle ax on his head. He blocked it just as the blade slightly ruined his Mohawk. The storm lessened enough to give him a good look at his attacker, which caused his eyes to widen. It seemed to be some kind of humanoid animal, lion-like and maybe even bigger than him. He pushed the axe back and jumped, putting distance between them. "Hm." The lion smiled. "It's been a long time since I faced an overlander as big as you."

Buckaneer growled back. "In that case, I'll also be the last 'overlander' you'll face as well!" He charged, and they clashed blades again.

Back at the Devil's Nest, Al sat calmly, bound in chains. It wasn't like there was much else he could do. He then eyed the green hedgehog who gave a hard kick to his shin; had he had a real body that would have hurt a lot. "Huh." He noted. "So, you really are hollow inside."

"The real Sonic and the others sometimes have a hard time believing that."

Scourge just gave him a dirty look. "I'd punch you right now if I didn't use that name anymore."

Al seemed to just stare at him; understandable, since he had no facial muscles to speak of. "I get you are…sorry, 'were' Sonic from another world. But I find it hard to believe the two of you can be so different in nature."

Scourge only smirked. "Yeah, it's funny how life works out that way." He started to pace around. "Did his place start out nice too? Haven't been there."

"From what he told me, yes." Al replied. "Then Robotnik took over and ruined everything."

"Interesting." Scourge noted, rubbing his chin. "In my world, my dad was the duke. The world was a happy place, or so the adults had us believe. They were all too busy keeping it all together and celebrating afterwards, never giving us the time of day." Scourge then stopped. "And then they dropped the ball on everything else when King Max took over."

"Sally's father?" Al asked in surprise.

"Yes. My world's, anyway." Scourge confirmed. "He began to bring chaos to the world…and we banished him and pushed it further into chaos!" Scourge sneered. "Best day of my life!"

"But what would Sally-"

"She helped me throw her daddy into the Void; she was more than happy to do it to." He sneered.

Al's face would have turned pale if he had an actual circulatory system. "I don't want to know more about your world. Especially with what I've experienced with Sonic's."

"Heh. Your loss." Scourge shrugged.

"I will say, though…" Al began. "…I doubt it was as bad as you said. And I bet you're not as happy with the results as you claim." Scourge seemed to pause. He looked down at his fist, trembling…and suddenly knocked Al's head off with his fist.

"Take it down a notch, Scourge." Greed's voice said as he walked down the stairs. "Though it really doesn't matter, I'd prefer him to have his head on. Gives him a sense of dignity."

Scourge growled. "Fine."

He walked over to pick it up, and slammed it back onto his body. "Thanks." Al said.

Scourge was sure he would have given him a smug smile if he could. "Tch." Scourge backed away to the side. "He's all yours."

Greed nodded, and kneeled down so he and Al were face to face. "Hey. Sorry about the rough treatment earlier; I just wanted to talk, and you were not making it easy."

"Who are you?" Al asked immediately

"The name's Greed, kid."

"Greed?"

"Yes! I want everything! Power, money, women, you name it!" he chuckled.

"Then…you're a homunculus."

"Sharp." Greed smirked lifting his shoe to show off his Ouroboros tattoo. "In fact, I'm one of the oldest currently living."

"I find that hard to believe." Al said. "The other three were working together. I know Wrath is a new born. So where do you come in?"

"Ah, I see." Greed stood up. "It's a long story I'm not in the mood to share at this time. But, if you're skeptical, then allow me to demonstrate. Bull!"

"Yes boss." Bull suddenly cocked back his hammer, and swung, taking the top half of Greed's head clean off. Al gasped in horror. Then, the missing body parts grew back as if nothing happened.

"Ugh." Scourge blanched. "Don't think I'll ever get used to that."

"Ow." Greed moaned as he creaked his neck. "You really need to practice your technique, Bull. I still felt that."

"Sorry, boss." Bull huffed as he slammed the hammer down on the floor. "I'm working on it."

Greed moaned. "Now where was I?" He clapped his hands together. "Ah, yes. Well, what I was getting at was that I'm impressed with what your brother was able to do."

"What?" Al asked.

"Binding a soul to another body. You." He said, tapping him. "Don't you get it, boy? You're the true secret to immortality!"

"Immortality? You're a homunculus! You're practically unkillable as it is!"

"No." Greed sighed. "I wish that were true. But we're not." He then looked at him smiling. "I was hoping you or your brother could show me how it's done." He kneeled down to his level, and patted his shoulder. "Waddya say, kid?"

"Yes. I understand." Al replied. "But I'm afraid we can't do that for you."

"What?" Greed asked angrily.

"Look down." was all the boy said.

Greed did so, seeing a transmutation circle carved onto the floor. Before Greed could react, a stone spike suddenly rose out of the ground, sending him into the ceiling. Al knew it wouldn't kill him, but he figured it would trap Greed and buy him some time.

"Well, that was cute." Greed clenched his muscles, and the spike shattered. When he touched down, Al noticed his stomach had turned grey.

"That's…"

"I'm the only other homunculus who can perform alchemy." Greed sneered. "Remember that the next time you try something like that again!" He grabbed the back of Al's collar, and slammed it onto the floor, knocking his head off. "Oops. Sorry, Marla."

The serpent chimera felt her world spinning as she tried to keep it down. She stayed inside of Al's body to insure Al couldn't get away, but in his anger, Greed forgot she was even there. "N-no problem..."

Picking it up, Greed brought Al's head to his face. "I'm going to find out what makes you work, even if I have to break down your body piece by piece to find it." he hissed.

Ed and Sonic stood outside the doorway to the Devil's Nest, the others gathered with them as well. "You sure this is it?" Sonic asked.

"Well, I don't have any other leads." Ed said, holding up the matchbox. "Got any other ideas?"

Sonic then spotted something down on the road. Picking it up and inspecting it, he found out it was a familiar green spine. "Never mind." He said, squeezing it. "They're here."

"Then what are you waiting for!?" Ed waved. Without any hesitation, they all charged in.

As Greed prepared to sack Al's head, something blue and fast zoomed past him. "Wha-?" Looking down, his hand was empty!

"Hey Al!" Sonic placed Al's head back on his body. "Looks like you've seen better days." He joked.

"Thanks." Al replied, holding out his hands. "Now unchain me!"

"I won't let you!" Scourge yelled as he ran towards them.

Sonic was about to guard, but a wall of concrete came between the two hedgehogs, the green one running right into it and slumping down. "Ouch." Sonic hissed, knowing how much that had to hurt.

Greed turned to see Ed having placed his hands on the floor. "You again." He growled, transforming his hand into a set of claws. "I guess that beating wasn't enough for you."

"Allow me, boss!" Marla shouted as she pointed her crossbow at Ed. Suddenly, a purple arrow intercepted her weapon, knocking it out of her hand. "Ow!" she snapped, clutching her hand.

"Now, I admit I'm not an expert on overlander culture." St. John said as he hung from the crevices of the ceiling. "But I've been raised to believe proper ladies don't use weapons…unless it's absolutely necessary."

Bull readied his hammer, but Knuckles and Bunnie ran into him, knocking him over. "Nn!" Knuckles grunted, shaking his fists.

"You felt that too, sugar?" Bunnie asked, kicking up her legs.

"Yeah! Dude's hard!" Knuckles complained. "Brick feels like glass compared to this guy!"

"You're mine!" Dorchett charged from behind with his katana raised, but Tails ran into him and forced him to fall over. "Okay. That was embarrassing." He admitted as he lay prone upside down.

Greed looked around sharply, growling in frustration. "There's no easy way out of this, is there?"

"Giving back my brother would be a start." Ed said, as he saw Sonic free him. "Except we already got him back…SO NOW I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR ASS!" Ed transmuted his arm and ran towards Greed…

Olivia swung at the weird arachnid-like creature, who blocked with her ninjatos. Though it seemed the small creature would have the advantage due to having two weapons, Armstrong had her on the defensive forcing her to step back with each swing. Quickly, she parried another strike and flipped up, kicking her back with surprising force. Before the general could recover, that sticky substance pinned her sword arm to a beam. "Very clever."

Uma charged with two knives in her lower arms, but Olivia surprised her by flipping her legs up and kicking her back. With nothing but brute strength and will power, she simply tore through the webbing. "Impressive." Uma said.

"So, you can talk after all."

"Kodos is the only one I know who can break my webs."

"You meet new people every day…until the day you die!" Olivia charged again, and while Uma blocked with a sword cross, the sheer impact knocked her away and broke both blades. "My sword has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations." Olivia proudly proclaimed. "And I won't let you be the one to defeat me as long as I hold it."

"So I see." Uma conceded.

Suddenly, she jumped up to the ceiling and threw several daggers. Though Armstrong avoided a fatal strike, she scored several cuts. Quickly, Uma twisted and hit her with a nunchaku across the ribs. "Oof!" Though she felt a rib crack, she merely screamed in fury and bashed her across the face with her hilt. She tried to go for a killing blow, but Uma held up the chain in defense, and twisted it away so she could stand. Olivia charged with the fury of a mad bear, slashing wildly but with precision, and Uma attacked with equal fury. Once again, the ninja flipped back as a cut sliced across her shoulder, and threw more shuriken, which Olivia deflected perfectly.

As the two female warriors faced off, Olivia pointed her sabre towards the spider. "You're not leading this force. Who is the real puppet master?"

"If he fancies it, you will meet him soon enough."

Kodos slammed his axe against Buccaneer's arm. Though Buccaneer winced at the sudden contact, his arm remained intact. He drew his pistol and fired, grazing Kodos' side. The lion roared, backhanding him across the face. Though Buccaneer was down, he was not out. He quickly got up, and tackled the mobian. Kodos' was surprised by his strength; during the Great War, he had killed many overlanders, even the larger ones that many of his comrades had difficulty engaging in fair fights. This one could very take his life if he was not careful.

Snapped out his thoughts by a hard right across his nose, the warlord roared and raised his axe. Instead of bringing down the blade, he brought down the tip on the other end onto his opponent's shoulder. Buccaneer screamed and swiped his automail arm across the animal's face, causing Kodos to fall over into the snow. "You are indeed a worthy opponent! This may be the first time in long time I may actually gain respect for your kind!" the lion conceded.

Before Buccaneer could finish him, Kodos gripped his weapon and swung again, slicing the man's leg. "GH!" Buccaneer backed up; he still had his leg, but he had trouble standing, as evidenced by his shaking limb.

Kodos raised his axe, intent on splitting his head open. Quickly, Buccaneer brought up his automail arm and trapped the shaft. Kodos was strong, but Buccaneer was most definitely his match. "You're pretty good. Let's see how you do without your little toy here!" Buccaneer turned on the rotors, and snapped the stick in half. The blade fell into the snow, Kodos stunned at it.

Caught off guard, Buccaneer then grabbed his shoulder and pinned him into the snow. "Where your claws now, kitty-kat?" Buccaneer sneered at him.

With sheer will power, Kodos managed to stand, though Buccaneer's grip on him did not falter. Soon, the two were face to face as Kodos bore the pain of Buccaneer's arm, looking at him with pure rage. "Don't worry, overlander; I've plenty more claws I'd love to use to slice open your belly!"

The Drachman man from before disappeared behind a hill of snow…then emerged as Ixis Naugus. There, his armored knight stood atop his horse, overseeing the battle. "These overlanders are true warriors. Even Kodos is being held up. Go; I'll help out shortly." The knight nodded, and drove his horse down the snow.

Ed slashed at Greed, his blade hitting the homunculus, but failed to cut him. Greed retaliated with a round house kick, but Ed was ready this time, flipping away. "I now know my blade can't cut you. But there's no point to you using your alchemy; you can regenerate, just like the rest of them." Ed said. "So, why bother?" he smiled.

"Tch." Greed hissed. "You know it still hurts, right? Would very much like to have a pain-free spar, ya know?"

"Darn." Ed sneered. "I was hoping you'd fall for that!"

Ed slashed again, as did Greed, hoping to get in a blow with his claws. He managed to tear his jacket, but Ed rolled with the blow and touched the floor, summoning a pillar. Greed was pushed up to the roof and pinned there. "Your brother already tried that! Next time, be sure to ask him about your enemies!" He crunched his abs, shattering the pillar. Upon touch down, he rushed Ed, upper cutting him onto a table.

"Oof!" Ed wasted no time feeling hurt. He quickly transmuted a lance, and charged. He managed to cut off Greed's hand with it, but felt the metal vibrate in his hands as he hit a shielded part.

"Okay. You got in one good hit; I'm not letting you get another!" Greed kicked him away again, and stole the lance. Once his hand grew back, he took the weapon and bent it into a horse-shoe shape. "As much fun as it was to troll you kid, I've got to get going."

Greed made a break for it, running up the stairs…and suddenly was thrown back in. Greed even grunted in pain. "Ugh…who the hell are you, bitch!?"

Izumi Curtis herself stepped down the stairs, no sign of weakness. Cracking her knuckles, she just sweetly said "I'm just a housewife…" Suddenly, her smile turned into a murderous scowl. "AND I'M PISSED OFF!"

Sonic and Scourge, who running around the tavern brawling, caught sight of it. "What the-OOF!"

Sonic went sprawling when Scourge threw a punch across his cheek. "Keep your eye on the ball, blue turd!" Scourge mocked him.

"You should be in bed!" Sonic shouted at Izumi, ignoring Scourge completely, causing him to just stand there in shock.

"Did you just hear a word I said?"

"That's what I told her!" Sally said as she came running down the steps with Tails.

"Well, I see the hiding thing went totally out the window now!" the hedgehog threw up his arms in exasperation.

Greed finally came out of his stupor. "I guess we're back to this again!" Greed shouted as he charged for Izumi. He aimed to slice her face…and she side-stepped, parrying his blow and flipping him into the air. Before he could complete a full revolution, Izumi kicked him, sending him spinning even faster into the wall. The whole thing caused everyone else to freeze in shock. As the dust settled, Greed stood, shaken but otherwise fine. "Okay. You got moves. I'll give ya that." He complimented her as he creaked his neck.

Maximillian rode into battle, firing his energy lance, felling each and every soldier from both sides. One tried to attack him with a sabre, but he swatted him away; had his lance been sharpened, his head would have been pierced. It seemed he was doing well enough, but then a gunshot grazed his side; his armor did little to protect him as he hugged his burning side. He quickly fired back at the man, and continued his ride to aid Kodos.

Kodos backhanded Buccaneer, sending him sprawling into the snow. The man growled, and with his flesh arm, threw a snowball in Kodos' face, disorienting him. Quickly, he pulled a small knife, and stabbed his knee. As the lion howled in pain, Buccaneer trapped his arm with his automail. "Don't worry about it; losing an arm ain't that bad. Trust me; I know." He sneered.

He began to rev the engine, tearing Kodos' flesh. "I WON'T LET YOU, FILTHY VERMIN!" He punched Buccaneer, just as Max shot him in the back, burning a large wound into his flesh. As he slumped, Kodos pried the jaw open and freed his arm.

"Ahh!" Buccaneer took his pistol and shot Max off his horse. Finding a bloodied sabre in the snow, he snatched it and faced Kodos again, yelling like a wild animal.

Kodos only growled as he procured his axe from the snow. "I've a feeling this could go on all night."

Olivia screamed as she and Uma continued to clash swords. Uma still had an agility advantage, bringing the blonde general down with a kick to the back of her knee, preparing to finish her now that they were at even height level.

Unfortunately, Olivia's technique was as efficient as her muscles were strong, as well as her savagery. She parried a sai, and faster than Uma had anticipated, twisted and slammed it out of her hand. Quickly, she rose again and kicked the spider into the wall, knocking the wind out of her.

Olivia quickly got into a defensive position, pointing the sabre at her enemy. "DIE!" She charged, confident that victory was hers…

Ixis Naugus saw it all through his magic atop the hill. "Looks like my soldiers need a bit of extra help…" He raised his emerald scepter, as green energy erupted from it and shot down into the valley and into Fort Briggs…

Buccaneer roared as he brought the sabre down on Kodos…and suddenly it shattered. He saw the lion was now turned into a crystalline green, including his clothes. While he was stunned, Kodos grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off his feet. "Pledging fealty to a sorcerer…does have its benefits." He threw the man down in the snow, with a strength that not even Buccaneer could hope to match.

Buccaneer got back up, noticing Max was now the same crystalline green. "Well, isn't this peachy." He groaned.

Olivia brought the sabre down…and Uma caught it in her hand like it was a blunt object. "What-!?" Olivia then saw Uma was covered in green crystal, including her clothes. She pulled it right out of the Armstrong's hand and landed a devastating spinning kick on her person, sending her flying.

When Olivia crashed into the wall, she slumped down, fighting to stay awake. She looked up, and as her vision cleared, she saw the now crystal Uma approaching her, brandishing crystalline blades and nunchakus in her six hands. Olivia found a pistol on the floor, and quickly picked it up, unloading it at her attacker. Each bullet ricocheted off the spider. "Crap!" Olivia dived out of the way as a sword was brought down where her head was. "What now?" she thought.

"Hnhnhn…" Naugus cackled. "Now, to bring in…THE STORM!" Naugus raised his arms, and a blizzard unheard of, even in the North, bellowed across the canyon…

"Is this it?" Archer asked, as he looked at the door of the Devil's Nest.

"This is the one." Kimblee confirmed. The soldiers outside could hear the commotion inside.

"Have any idea what's going on?"

"Probably not a drunken brawl; there was plenty of opportunity to do so before." Kimblee answered truthfully. "Don't know what would trigger such an incident now."

Archer nodded. "Well, regardless, we're marching in." He turned towards his battalion. "Is Armstrong in position down below?"

"Yes sir!"

"Then get in there! Apprehend anyone…or anything…alive if you can. If it's too much trouble, take them out!" Archer sneered. "We can still make use of them on the autopsy table if it comes to that."

Greed continued to spar with Izumi, who blocked each of his strikes perfectly. As he tried a tiger claw motion, Izumi grabbed his wrist and elbow, and flipped him onto a table, breaking under his weight. "Ow." Greed didn't see it coming fast enough to form his shield. "You know, there's really no point to this."

Everyone else around him fought as well. Al, Bunnie and Knuckles took on Bull. Bull swung his hammer at Al, but the Alchemist managed to catch it. Though he was still swung into the wall, he managed to kick the chimera off, disarming him. Knuckles glided into his face, causing him to stumble, but the chimera grabbed hold of him and slammed him onto the floor. Knuckles cried out as the wind was knocked out of him, and the chimera began stomping on him. Al tackled him out of the way, but Bull's training allowed him to easily use his own momentum to throw him over. Bunnie surprised him with an extended arm, punching him in the gut and causing him to trip over a stool. He quickly grabbed his hammer and attacked, smashing his weapon on her. She brought up her beam shield, but the force was so great it forced her onto the floor and dispersed the energy. "Sorry!" Bull raised his hammer, but Knuckles flipped onto his face, and punched him across the jaw.

Al quickly followed with a kick to his kidney. Bull fell against the wall, out of breath. "You're strong." Al said in a guard stance. "Armstrong would like you."

"You're quite tenacious yourself. You and your friends." Bull stood straight. "Makes me sorry that I have to do this." He began to transform, his skin turned red, his muscles grew, and horns formed on his skull.

"Uh…" Al began. "…you're a real bull now?" Bull ran forward and punched him hard enough to send him flying into the bar.

Meanwhile, Marla engaged St. John. Marla was good with her crossbow, keeping the skunk on his toes. However, St. John wouldn't take it lying down, firing his own crossbow as well. At one point they fired simultaneously, scoring a cut on each other's cheeks. However, St. John took advantage of her distraction and loaded another arrow, firing. Before she could side-step it, it exploded into a net, tangling Marla. "What the-!?" She tried pulling it apart, but the threads were heavy and strong

"Sorry, luv; you're good, but quite frankly, you should come prepared with a more diverse arsenal." St. John said, adjusting his bow.

Marla stopped struggling, and smiled. "Well, I wouldn't call it diverse…but the crossbow is not my only ace in the hole!" She unsheathed a knife and sliced the net open, rising out.

"Oh-" Marla rushed forward and extended her arm, grabbing hold of the mobian and preparing to skewer him. St. John brought up his boot and placed it on the blade, using his other leg to kick her in the face before he brought it back down, kicking the knife to the floor. "You're part snake!?" St. John yelled.

"Right!" She stretched her other arm, and both wrapped around his person like they were made of rope.

"Nngghhh!"

"Never used this particular ability before….but I think it's appropriate for you!" She opened her mouth, wider than any human should have been able to until it was wide enough for her to swallow the skunk's head whole.

"Nggh!" At the same time, Geoffrey could feel the woman's limbs crushing him, much like a lower snake would do to its prey. "Next time, luv, remember to fully bind the arms too!" He flung a pellet into her mouth, and tear gas exploded inside it. Marla released him as she fell back, choking. Taking advantage of her vulnerability, St. John rammed her into the wall. "Sorry, luv. Snakes aren't my type!" Quickly, the skunk leaped over the bar as Marla retrieved her knife and chased him down.

Meanwhile, Dorchett found himself fighting off both Tails and Sally. The fox flew around the dog-man, pelting him with bottles of wine. "Damn it!" he said, blocking them but still being stained red by the alcohol. "That was some good stuff!" He took a swipe at Tails, but the fox stayed out of reach just enough. When his arc was completed, Tails flew right into him, knocking the wind out of him. Dorchett tried to punch back, but Sally knocked him down with a jump kick. "Of all the-!" Dorchett attacked with his sword again, Sally backing away from each strike. Sally backed into the wall, and the chimera thought he had her. He swung down, but Sally caught the blade between her palms. Quickly, Sally ran forward and kneed him where it hurt most.

As the chimera kneeled helplessly, Sally flapped her hands; though they were not serious, the blade did land some cuts. "You okay, Aunt Sally?" Tails asked.

"Fine, Tails; nothing bandages can't take care of."

Meanwhile, Sonic and Scourge ran all over the bar, each trying to land a blow. Sonic gained an edge when he suddenly rolled on his side, tripping up Scourge. The green hedgehog practically flew into the bar headfirst. "Ugh!" Scourge lay face down, seemingly in la-la land. Though his head was reeling, he was still very much awake. As he felt Sonic pull on his ankles, Scourge grabbed a bottle on the floor, and smacked him across the head. Sonic desperately tried to stay on his feet, but he eventually fell over on his back. Scourge took a deep breath, and clenched his broken bottle. "With you gone…I'll be the real deal!"

As he raised the glass and aimed at the blue hedgehog's heart, a pillar of rock slammed into him. "Sorry, but I can't let you do that!" Ed shouted.

Scourge adjusted his glasses as he eyed Ed. He then noticed the alchemist's watch hanging from his pocket. "Hn." He smiled. Faster than Ed was prepared, he rushed past him and helped himself into the window sill behind him. "Nice watch." He commented, holding up the pocket watch.

"What the-!?" Ed looked at his side pocket, noting his state watch was gone!" "Hey, give that back!"

"Oh, I promise I won't go too far with it!" He ran out the window as Ed followed after him (probably in vain); he didn't really need the watch, but he'd be out of a job without it!

"Hey, Ed!" Al yelled as he continued to grapple with Bull.

"Sonic!" Tails flew over to help his friend back up on his feet. "Did he…?"

"He knocked me out." Sonic said, rubbing his head. "I'm fine really…"

Everyone else continued fighting until soldiers kicked the door in. "Everyone, freeze!" They pointed their rifles, quelling down the shock of seeing such creatures.

"Aw man." Sonic noted. "Everyone, scatter!"

The chimeras and Greed escaped down to the sewers from a door in the back, while the mobians ran to the side. As gunfire tore up the bar, Al shielded Izumi with his body. Bunnie blocked some bullets with her shield while the others escaped. Once that volley ceased, Sonic and Tails helped her up out of the window. "You! Follow the little ones!" Archer shouted to one of them to pursue. Grabbing another, he ordered "You, follow the others down in the sewer. Armstrong will join you soon!" The soldiers split up. Archer then turned to the corner. "And you-!" He didn't get a chance to finish, as he saw a tunnel was transmuted, the armor and woman gone. Archer growled in frustration, picking up the bottle and throwing it at the wall. "DAMN IT!"

As Ed ran down the street, he finally found Scourge, leaning against the wall as he tossed the watch in his hand like it was any other trinket. "Tried opening it; wouldn't come undone. There must be something in there you really want to stay hidden. So, what is it? A weapon? Money? Picture of your girlfriend?"

Ed sighed. "The date in which I burned my house down."

Scourge caught the watch in his hand, and stopped, giving him a dirty look. "You're no fun at all, you know?"

"Then give it back." Ed said, holding out his hand. "That watch is useless to you. If anything, if someone catches you with it, you'll be sent straight to a lab to be dissected."

"Tch." Scourge looked at the watch, and back at Ed. "Here." He threw it, the alchemist catching it no problem. Ed believed that would be the end of it; suddenly, Scourge ran into him, sending Ed tumbling across the street. "Ow." Scourge rubbed his head. "What's with that arm of yours? I barely touched it and I feel a bruise coming."

Ed got up, and flexed his arm. "You know why they call me the Fullmetal Alchemist?" He pulled down his sleeve, revealing his automail.

Scourge nodded. "Oh. I'm getting the picture now." Scourge began to skip much like a boxer. "This may actually be a bit of fun."

Ed slid his back foot back. "Careful. He's as fast as Sonic…no. He might be a bit faster."

Scourge ran again, and Ed slammed his hand onto the street. As he lay back, a ramp grew over his person, Scourge running right over it. Though he hit the wall feet first, it strained his joints and he found himself falling on his back. "Damn! You've got some nice tricks, I'll give you that!" He went into a sonic spin dash, ramming into Ed. He tumbled again, and quickly formed a blade on his arm. Scourge attacked again with his spin, shredding the alchemist's sleeve, but doing nothing to damage the automail. Ed pushed back, throwing Scourge on his back. The hedgehog felt his cheek, seeing the blood on his glove. He growled, slamming his fist on the street. "Lucky shot."

"If it helps you sleep better." Ed replied, smirking a bit. Scourge charged forward, punching. He got one in on Ed's chin, but Ed blocked the next with his automail, bruising Scourge's arm, and followed with an automail kick. Scourge rolled backwards, reeling from the blow. "Jeez, you could have warned me about the metal leg too!" he cried, clutching his stomach.

"Now, where's the fun in that?" Ed smirked back as he got back into a guard position. "As I've told someone before, there's no such thing as dirty in a real fight."

Scourge chuckled, and pointed his finger at him. "Ah. Good saying. This might be the only time we'll ever agree on something."

He spun again, but not towards Ed. He spun away, kicking dirt and other debris into Ed's face! "Ah!" Ed quickly tried wiping it down with his flesh arm, but his eyes continued to water. "You didn't have to take that saying literally!" "Note to self: never give advice to the enemy. AGAIN." Scourge then pushed onto the back of Ed's metal knee, bringing him down. "Nngh!" Ed tried slashing on him, but his vision was still blurry. Scourge ran to where his front was, and uppercutted him. As Ed twisted away, he transmuted spikes in front of him, buying himself a second. "I think he's a bit stronger than Sonic too!"

Scourge quickly circumvented the spikes, and aimed to punch Ed. Ed punched back, matching his fist. He had transmuted spiked knuckles on the hand, adding to its force and giving it a literal edge. "OW!" Scourge jumped back, quickly flapping his hand. "Stupid blonde-haired b-"He was cut off when a lance suddenly came slashing his way. Scourge rolled away, eyeing the cut on his shoulder. Ed held it in his arms, in perfect form. Scourge charged again, and Ed struck. He missed, but the hedgehog was forced to back off. "Shoot, the reach on that thing is too good!" Ed struck again, forcing Scourge on the defensive.

He jumped forward with a Sonic Spin, and Ed blocked with the shaft. Scourge kept going, picking up sparks as he pushed against the metal. Ed felt the force push him into the dirt; he wasn't sure if the staff itself could take this punishment. Quickly, Ed opened his hands, clapped them and slammed his left hand onto the ground. A stone fist came up and hit Scourge square in the stomach, halting his advance. Quickly, Ed hit him with the blunt end, sending him flying into a window. Ed got into a defensive stance, noticing the large cut in the middle, like someone sawed it down. "Stay cool; it's still good."

Suddenly, something erupted out of the dirt behind his guard and hit him square in the chin. Ed reeled as he released his weapon, and Scourge pushed him into another building. "You think you're a funny man, DON'T YOU!?" he shouted as he punched him all over. "Here's a bit of advice: NO ONE MESSES WITH ME!" Scourge kneed him, bringing him down to his knees. He then wrapped his hands around Ed's neck, choking him.

However, Ed threw his leg around Scourge's neck, and slammed him onto the earth. "Oh, shut up!" Ed twisted his arm and pushed him further into the dirt. "I have a hard time believing you're Sonic's twin, evil or not!"

"Oh? What makes you think that?"

"I don't think this is who you really are, chump!" Ed yelled. Scourge's eyes widened at the declaration. "You trying too hard! You're doing EVERY SINGLE THING you can think of to be the opposite of Sonic! It's like you're ashamed of any similarities between you two!"

Scourge gritted his teeth. "You know nothing." Scourge gained just enough room to go into a spin, throwing Ed onto the ground over him. He followed up with a kick to his ribs, strong enough to lift him off the ground. "That Sonic is me at my weakest! He's the twisted one, not me!"

"Figured you say something like that." Ed grunted as he fell to his knees. "I guess it's best if you two settle it yourselves. But for now, I got my watch back." He said, waving it in front of him. "I'm calling this off."

Scourge smiled, crossing his arms. "Hn. If you wanna declare me the winner, smartest decision of your life."

"You haven't beaten me; you've sacrificed sure footing for a winning stroke." Ed retorted.

Scourge raised his brow behind his glasses…and suddenly the ground crumbled beneath him, Ed secretly weakened its structure in the middle of the fight, and green hedgehog fell into the sewer below. "YOU-!" Scourge was quickly carried by the current.

Ed breathed deeply, and slowly rose, massaging his back. "Damn it!" He cursed as he limped away. "When I get back to teacher's, I'm going to eat whatever Curtis can make me that will give me the runs, and make sure that green bastard drowns in it!" he shouted for the whole world to hear.

The soldiers quickly followed the tracks the creatures left behind. While they couldn't understand what Archer wanted with them, they followed his orders. He also said he didn't necessarily needed them alive. Seeing the shadow of one of the fugitives, they pinned themselves against the wall. The squad leader jumped out of the corner, aiming his rifle. However, all he saw was a literal stick figure with bunny ears pinned on the sidewalk.

Before he could react, a beam from above shot him down. An arrow from the other side embedded itself into the sidewalk, expelling a gas that knocked others unconscious. Suddenly, something blue and fast hit them, while the red mobian glided from above and knocked them out with his fists. Soon, the squad was down while the rest of the mobians made a break for it.

Several blocks later, the group ducked into an alley for momentary safety. "Everyone okay?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah." Knuckles replied, wincing as he was rubbing his arm. "Those guys back at the bar were tough."

Seeing that everyone was around and accounted for, Sally began her orders. "Okay. Let's be careful and regroup at the Curtis's…"

"Gotcha!" A hand suddenly came by and grabbed Tails. Greed smiled, looking at his prize catch.

"Hey!" Tails struggled, trying to punch the homunculus but to no avail.

"Let him go!" Sonic leaped into a sonic spin to attack Greed, but bounced off. "Ugh..." Sonic's head was reeling; that felt like a wall of metal. He couldn't stand straight because of how hard he hit him, and eventually fell over on his butt.

St. John and Bunnie readied their weapons, but Greed moved Tails in front of him. "Wouldn't do that if I were you." He warned them. "I can take your weapons, but I don't think any of you are good enough shots to avoid hurting this one. But that's your call." The two hesitated. "Go ahead, punks. Make my day." Finally, the two reluctantly lowered their weapons. "Smart."

Still holding onto Tails, he attacked them all with his feet, knocking them out. Only Sonic would have been fast enough, but he was still reeling from earlier, and Greed knocked him out with a boot to the face as well. Tails tried to scream, but Greed quickly covered his mouth. "Hush, little thing. It's going to be alright." Without another word, he sprinted off.

"Sonic! Sonic!"

Sonic slowly opened his eyes to see Al hovering over him. "Al?" Sonic then realized that the sky was orange; the sun was setting. Izumi was sitting against the wall, breathing deeply. The trail of blood from her mouth didn't escape his notice. Sonic then shot up, realizing something. "Tails!" he yelled.

The others were awake as well. "Sonic, he took Tails!" Sally yelled.

"Who took Tails?" Everyone looked behind Al's big frame to see Ed approach them.

Al didn't fail to notice that his brother was covered in cuts and bruises, and that he was limping. "Ed! What happened to you!?"

Ed sighed, pointing to Sonic. "He did."

"WHAT!?"

"Figuratively speaking." Ed said, leaning against the wall. "Scourge says hello, by the way. Along with a bunch of curse words, most likely…"

"Enough!" St. John yelled. "That Greed fellow took off with young Miles and we don't know where they went!"

Ed's eyes widened. "What does he want with…?" Ed grunted, holding his side as he was forced to hold onto the wall.

"Ed!" Al went over to support him. "That hedgehog sure beat you up."

"Don't remind me." He growled. "Let's help them find Tails!"

"Ah don't think that's a good idea, sugar." Bunnie said. "You're still reeling."

"I may have a way to track him." Sally said, pulling out Nicole. "When he kicked me, I slipped a tracker in his pants sleeve. Here's hoping he hasn't discovered it…"

She booted up Nicole silently praying for some good news. "Due to lack of Satellites, I cannot provide you with a GPS, Sally." Her computer responded.

"No…" Sally moaned, trying to restrain herself from shaking Nicole.

"However, as long as the signal keeps going, I can track it for up to 500 miles." She said, reassuring her instantly

"Miles?" Al asked, not knowing about their measuring system.

"Great going, Nicole!" Sonic said. Quickly, he held out his hand. "Here."

"But Sonic…"

"Sal, I'm the only one who can catch up to him at this point! Don't worry, I'll be cool." He assured her.

"Might not be a good idea to go alone." Knuckles volunteered. "I can keep up by gliding."

Sonic just stared at him. "You? Volunteering to keep ME company and guard me?"

"Don't push it." Knuckles warned him.

Sonic nodded. "Okay then. Don't make me smell ya later!" Sally gave him Nicole, and he took off, leaving a trail of flames. Knuckles ran forward and took to the air as well keeping a close eye on him as he used the wind to push him forward.

Lyra dusted away at the furniture in the mansion, recalling the day. The Elric brothers of all people came to visit, and they were attacked! She wanted to help, but Dante forbade her from acting. As much as it made her angry, who was she to question her master? She picked her up when she found her on the streets; for that alone Lyra would do anything for her!

"Lyra." She heard her master call. "Come up, please."

Lyra put away her duster and promptly walked up the stairs before entering the master study. "You wanted to see me, my lady?" she asked.

The old lady had her chair facing the window, her face turned away from her apprentice's. "Yes." Dante began hacking wildly. "Child…I'm dying." She announced

"Master…is there nothing I can do for you?" Lyra nearly cried as she fought to restrain her tears.

"There is one thing…"

Lyra suddenly felt two powerful grips on her wrists. "Hey!" She felt her captors lift her off the floor, and stepped into the light. Two men in armor…no, not armor. The metal was their body, just like Alphonse's! But there were no souls inside these things!

"There is one last thing you can do for me…" Dante said as she forced herself out of her chair. Lyra looked on with fear in her eyes as her master approached her…

Tails continued to struggle as Greed dragged him into the forest. He kicked and bit him along the way, but Greed only activated his shield in the targeted areas. If he did accomplish anything, it was annoying the homunculus. "Oh, will you put a sock in it!?" he shouted finally, he came upon the mansion. "Ah, there it is." he sneered.

Quickly, he pinned Tails against a tree, revealing a rope. "Just calm down; I ain't goin' to kill ya."

"Just hurt me real, real bad, right?" Tails replied sarcastically.

"Eh…probably not." He said as he continued tying him. "I just needed a hostage for your friends. Hopefully I'll let you go soon."

"What?"

"You're a friend of Scourge's, right?" Greed asked.

"Who?"

"Used to call himself Sonic."

"I'm best friends with the real Sonic." Tails hissed.

"Ah. I see. Good thing I renamed him then." Greed said as he finished tying a knot. "There." He patted it. "If you need to go, hold it! I'll be back soon."

"What are you going to do?" Tails asked as he pushed against the ropes.

"I've got a score to settle." He said as he made his way up the hill. "One way or another…it ends tonight!"

Greed made his way inside…it was a very nice mansion, he noted. He wanted so much, it was hard to make an orderly to-do list. But he would make sure to come around to sacking this place sometime in the near-future. "Remember me, hag!?" he shouted as he searched the study. "I'm back! And I've come to make you pay for what you did to me all those years ago!" He stopped when he saw what seemed to be her. Lying on the floor. "What the-!?"

Greed leaped over the balcony for a better look. Upon closer inspection, he saw that she was dead, lying in a pool of blood like a bomb went off inside of her. "What's going on?"

"I heard you, Greed."

Greed looked up to see Dante's hand maiden looking at him. Next to her were two tin men, similar to Alphonse, but they felt soulless. No, were. He could tell. "You…"

"You were always a poor son, Greed. I should have known; you wanted so much, you could not focus. You could not commit. And therefore, you could not be controlled."

Greed's eyes widened as he looked to her, and back to the body. "You didn't…!"

"I did. And while I go on…this, is your end." She clapped her hands and placed them on the floor.

Greed realized too late that a transmutation circle was on the floor, only visible when activated. And he was in the center of it! Greed stood up, preparing to attack, but then felt a sensation that he never felt before…illness! He clutched his stomach, and felt something come up. As he collapsed on his knees, he vomited red stones, the very sustenance for a homunculus. "Impossible!" he hiccupped between chunks. "My remains…they were destroyed at the prison-!"

"Did you think I would put ALL your remains in one place?" she asked. "The rest were in this house…" "Lyra" then held up a finger bone, wrapped in a necklace around her neck. "And should you somehow survive this, I'll be keeping this on me. Just in case."

She nodded to the two swatbots, and they turned to leave. "Wait-!" Greed called, holding out his hand.

"Goodbye, Greed." Was all she said.

Sonic ran, following the arrow on Nicole's screen like a compass. The arrow began beeping red, which meant only one thing. "We're getting close! Way past!" Sonic kept running through the forest….

"Sonic!" a familiar voice called.

"Hey Tails!" Sonic said as he ran by. "WAIT! TAILS!?" Sonic tripped over some branches, and made for a rough stop as Tails winced.

"Tails!" Sonic shot back up, shaking the leaves of his quills and ran towards him. "What are you doing here, little buddy!?" he asked as he cut the ropes with his spin.

"The Greed guy wanted me to stay here while he took care of business inside that mansion!" Tails explained as he rubbed his wrists.

"That so?" Taking a brief glance at the mansion, Sonic knelt down and clasped the fox's shoulder. "Glad you're safe, Tails. Listen, Knucklehead will be here any second. I need you both to wait here. And hold onto Nicole for me." He said as he placed the computer in Tails' hands.

"Wha-? Sonic! What are you doing!?"

Sonic faced away as his eyes narrowed towards the mansion. "I've got business of my own to settle inside there." He growled. In a flash, he ran straight into the mansion.

Greed's stomach finally began to settle. Looking down on the red stones, he began to tremble. He couldn't just put them back in his stomach; they were inert now. Slowly, he began to sit up. "Still have some energy left…" He only hoped he wouldn't find trouble, being mortal and everything now. Then, he heard something zoom in on him. Turning around, he saw Sonic. "Huh. Was hoping for Scourge to come by..." he mumbled.

"Well, if I pleased the bad guys, I'd probably wouldn't be doing my job." Sonic answered, giving him a sarcastic curtsey. He then looked to the broken body of Dante. Sonic didn't know how he kept himself from puking his guts out. "Your work?"

"What's it to ya?"

Sonic hissed, and charged. He ran into Greed, but his skin hardened and Sonic bounced off of him like a pinball. "Oof!" Sonic sprawled across the floor. Looking up, he saw Greed about to bring his fist down on his face. The hedgehog rolled out of the way as the homunculus put a hole through the floor.

"If you wanna die that badly, I'll happily oblige! I need to blow off some steam!" Greed picked up a table, attempting to hit Sonic with it, but the blue hedgehog of course backed away in a hurry.

Sonic creaked his neck. "So do I. You kidnapped my little buddy."

"Hey, you got him back, right?"

"It's a matter of principal, chump." Sonic ran around him, trying to punch him all over. Sonic was worried if he took off his glove, he would find a very red hand.

"Don't you ever get tired of that?" Greed suddenly grabbed him by the throat, and slammed him onto the floor several times. As the hedgehog's world was going in and out, Greed kicked him like a soccer ball into the banister above. As Sonic supported himself on his elbows, Greed dragged his foot like a bull. "I can see why Scourge hates you so." As he ran, Sonic's eyes widened.

Reacting quickly, he rolled towards him and tripped him up, the Ultimate Shield falling face first into the wall. "I can see why he seems to like you; you're both idiots."

Greed pushed against the wall, and popped his head out. Sonic noticed the cut on his head; it didn't register with him that it wasn't sealing up. "Think you're a funny guy, huh? SCOURGE is a funny guy!"

Sonic's brow twitched in response. "Are we going to fight or compare me and Scourge?"

"Good point. I'll put a couple more in your back!" Greed's hands became black claws, and he charged. Greed slashed wildly, Sonic jumping out of the way. He managed to graze Sonic's beige belly, but the hedgehog powered on and jumped on his back, knocking him off balance. Greed growled, and tried to pin him down again. Sonic ran out of the way and spun around him. Greed expected him to attack him physically again; however, he felt the air pressure beneath his feet begin to rise. Soon, he was off his feet, and spinning right into the roof! "YOU LITTLE-!" Greed was thrown into the ceiling, and fell like a dead weight.

"Whew!" Sonic sighed, leaning on his knees panting. "Never had to lift someone as big as you up!"

Greed groaned as he bent his knee. "Okay. I admit, I kinda like you. You're just as mischievous as Scourge, though still a bit watered down." He stood, brushing his knees. "But it's not going to save your life. You wanna fight; I'll give you one!"

Greed's patches of black skin began to expand all over him, even apparently eating his clothes…

As Tails waited, he sensed something coming down to meet with him. "Hey!" Knuckles touched down. "Sonic miss you entirely?"

"He went in to fight with the homunculus." Tails answered. "He told me to stay out of it."

"That right?" Knuckles asked, crossing his arms.

"What!? You're not going to help!?"

"You think he will like the idea?" the echidna asked.

Tails sighed. "…no…"

"We'll keep an eye out for him; we'll step in if it looks real bad." Knuckles motioned him to come, as they flew into the air and landed on the roof of the mansion.

Sonic's jaw almost dropped at the sight before him. "Uh…WOW." Was all he could say.

Greed had completely transformed; his entire upper body was jet black with red lines from the side traveling up and across his face to his eyes, his vest having magically disappeared. His hair was gone, his eyes turned black, and his teeth! They increased in size, both sets of canines protruding from his mouth. "Thanks for the compliment." He said in a deeper voice. "But it won't save you!"

He jumped up into the air, and landed a punch. Sonic jumped out of the way as he made a nicely sized crater. "Of course he got stronger!" Sonic spun towards him, only to bounce off again and on his back. "OW!" Sonic kiyuped back up and ran around him, punching him all over. Sonic stopped, madly waving his hands. "I feel kinda stupid for thinking that would work."

"You are." Greed kicked him up, and followed with another spin kick, sending him careening into a fancy table, destroying it. Greed leaped to shred him, but Sonic ran forward. "What happens when an indestructible force meets an UNTOUCHABLE object?" Greed asked, confident in his victory.

"I'll get Sally on it when I have a chance!" Sonic yelled as he ran up the wall. "She's good with those sorts of things!"

Sonic ran back down and around him again, Greed feeling gravity fail him again. "Huh. This again." Greed felt himself launched into the roof again, and fell back down. Sonic collapsed completely this time around from the effort, while Greed landed on his feet. "I told you, you can't hurt me!" He walked up to Sonic, who tried to run away but could not take off fast enough, allowing Greed to grab hold of his head. "I'll have to take back the untouchable thing." Greed tossed him clear across the other side of the room, knocking the wind out of the hedgehog. "What's going to happen to you is the same thing as everyone else who will get in my way!"

As Greed walked towards him, Knuckles and Tails flew down and rammed into him. Though Greed did stumble and fall, the two mobians felt their hands sting in pain from the impact. "Hey." Sonic coughed as he struggled to his feet. "Took you long enough."

"Well, I don't think it will make much of a difference." Greed's voice said. Knuckles suddenly pushed Tails out of the way as Greed's claws came down, knocking down the echidna. Knuckles clutched his bleeding arm, thankful that the wounds weren't very deep.

Greed picked him up, Knuckles desperately attacking his arm. "Sonic! When my fists can't break something, we've really got a problem!"

"Feisty. But desperate." Greed smashed him on the floor, enough to crack it. "I'll just be done with you right now!" Tails flew in behind him, trying to get him into a headlock. "You little-!" Greed picked him up, then felt a lime smash against his eyes. "AHHH!" he cried, releasing both mobians to tend to his eyes.

"You may be an ultimate shield, but your eyes are still a weak point!" Sonic said as he juggled another in his hand. When Greed recovered and stared at him, Sonic landed another bullseye in his face.

Greed stumbled, but he was not out of the fight yet as he fumbled and threw one of the chairs at him. "You got three shots left, chump!" Greed yelled. "And if your goal is to take me out, none of them are going to count!"

"He's right, Sonic!" Tails shouted. "Once he recovers, there's no stopping him!"

Sonic desperately looked around the mansion; all of the objects would break upon contact. Knuckles tried tackling him, hoping to spare his hands some pain, but ultimately Greed's substantial size advantage won out as he smashed his fists on the poor creature's back, and tossed him into the bookcase. Sonic eyed the lake in the distance…and gulped. "Uh…Tails?"

"Yeah?"

"Your swimming lessons coming along okay?" Sonic asked as he revved up a special move of his. Instead of blurring into a circle like they usually did, his feet moved in an eight-like shape. This was the Super Figure Eight Peel-Out, which temporarily boosted him to top speed without the need to build up momentum. "…cause I'm going to need you real soon in the amount of time it takes to drown this guy!"

Sonic suddenly shot off like a speeding bullet, pushing himself into Greed clear through the window and across the forest. "Idiot!" Greed dug his claws into his spines, not realizing what he was trying to do. Before he could say anything more, he felt himself going through a body of water.

"I'm really going to regret this!" Sonic thought as he continued pushing him down. When it became pitch black, Greed shoved him off. He tried to break for the surface, but Sonic grabbed hold of his leg and brought them into a sonic spin. Sonic couldn't keep it up, having burned through his oxygen. He let go of Greed, but the homunculus was too disoriented to right himself, dropping out of his transformed state. Greed took a breath, and kicked about in panic when he realized he was taking in water. He tried to swim up, but his whole world was spinning. Even with their stones, a homunculus would be rendered comatose underwater. In his state, he may actually drown!

His world went black just as some shape went in after him…

Greed moaned as his eyes adjusted to the lamp light overhead…wait, lamp!? "He's awake!" A man's voice yelled.

Greed's eyes shot open. "I'm alive!?" Greed looked to see strangers, both human and chimera surround him. Leaning back, he sighed "I'm alive…" The realization hit him like a ton of bricks, as he tried to jump up, but something held his arms down. Turning, he saw his chains attached to the bedposts behind him. "You think these can hold me!?" He pulled again, but to no avail.

"Well." Sid shrugged, staying seated. "Seems to be working so far."

Greed tried transforming, but as the darkened skin reached his elbows, he felt a pain like he was stretching too much and released the transformation. "How am I alive!? Your blue friend tried to drown me!" he accused them.

"Almost." Sally said, stepping forward from her chair. "Sonic wanted to drown you just enough so you would pass out. Tails managed to get both of you out."

Greed sighed, and relaxed into the pillows "I see. So, I'm your prisoner now, aren't I?"

"If you'd like, we could send you back to the military." Ed offered. "Though I don't think any of us will get any answers."

Greed groaned. "Ah, I see. So that's how it is now. Fine, fine. I don't have any particular reason to lie to you."

"Revenge?" Al suggested.

Greed chuckled. "Tempting. But pointless; seeing how resourceful you all are, I don't think I can lead any of you into a dangerous situation that you can't come out of. Besides, if I can't get revenge on her, it's up to you."

"Revenge?" Izumi asked. "What do you mean?"

Greed sighed. "Oi. I better start from the beginning…"

"ACHOO!" Sonic sneezed as he tightened the blanket around his person, shaking like a leaf as he sat on the couch.

"Still not so good?" Tails asked, observing his friend struggle with the sniffles.

"H-how t-the h-heck did you not catch a cold!?" Sonic shouted out.

"Thicker fur, I guess." The fox said, pulling at a few hairs. He just shook himself dry and he was fine!

Sonic rolled his eyes. "S-some mobians have all the luck…"

"Sonic Hedgehog, sometimes you really are hopeless."

Sonic turned to see Sally approach him with a bowl of soup. "W-what's in the soup?"

"Vegetable." Sally said, slightly stirring it.

"Yuck!"

"If you'd like, we can ask Mrs. Curtis to make some chicken soup instead." She told him.

Sonic blinked. "Seriously?"

"After all the things we heard them eat, are you really surprised?"

Sonic sighed, and took the soup from her hands. He sipped it, reluctantly agreeing it wasn't that bad. "Aren't you all interrogating that Greed dude?"

"I have Nicole recording their questions. I thought I should concentrate on you first."

"Oh?" the hedgehog said as he sipped his soup. "Any particular reason?"

Sally looked away, twiddling her fingers. "Sonic…I'm sorry."

"What for?"

Sally sighed. "…I keep putting you in all these dangerous situations, and put all the burdens on you while we just wait for you to save the day."

"It's cool, Sal." Sonic said as he took another spoonful.

"No, it's not!" Sally said, touching his hand. Sonic felt a rush of blood to his cheeks at the contact. "Sonic, for the longest time you've been our champion. We've pulled our weight when we could, but in the end it feels like you do all the work!"

"Sal, what you gettn' at?"

Sally leaned forward, smiling slightly. "You know how Ed and the others go on about equivalent exchange?"

"That stuff still goes over my head." Sonic said, rolling his eyes.

"I'm saying me and the others need to make greater effort to help you out with these things. Sonic…one of these days, you're going to get yourselves killed." Sally turned away. "I couldn't live with myself if you died because of us."

Sonic sighed. "If it's about pulling your weight, you're doing it. All of you." Sally turned to face him again. "You come up with the plans in the first place. I'd be runnin' blind without them. Heck, even that brain of yours and Rotor has rubbed off on me; I've learned a few things that came in handy. Bunnie can kick a lot of robo-butt. And Tails has always been my main man." He smiled, rubbing the fox's head, causing him to giggle. "I can always count on him to bail me out of trouble! Just like tonight!" He turned back to Sally. "Sal, you all do so much as it is. Even 'twan somehow comes in handy every now and again. Don't ever figure all you do is for nothn'. If anything, I do what I do to pay you all back." Sonic placed a hand on Sally's shoulder, causing her blood to rush too. "So please, consider us even."

Sally nodded. And then she just stared into Sonic's eyes. Sonic did the same, and they were like that for a while. "Oh, just kiss already!" Tails shouted.

Both jumped, and Sonic spilled his bowl on his lap! "AHHH!" Sonic yelled as he rolled onto the floor. "TAILS!"

Olivia finally broke the surface of the snow, taking in a deep breath. Out of nowhere, an avalanche had completely covered Briggs. She didn't know how long it took her to get out…for all she cared it was an eternity. "Buccaneer! Miles!" She called other names, but none answered. Finally breaking the rest of her body out of the snow, she looked over the landscape. The north was unoccupied, no evidence of an invasion. Olivia turned south to see the Drachma army wreaking havoc on the countryside below…

Snively wiped his scalp down as he finished building some new combots. "Lazy oaf." He growled, referring to his uncle. "I can't wait for when I'll be in charge, and make you my butler…" he mumbled as he walked up the stairs of their "rented" residence. "Sir?" he asked, gently opening the door. "I had finished building as many combots as the materials we were provided by our benefactor would allow. Is there…"

He saw Robotnik was simply seated at a desk with nothing but candlelight. It was apparent he didn't hear him. Snively looked around, noticing a bunch of books scattered across the floor. Then the circles drawn into the wall; those weren't there before! "Uh…sir?" he asked, nervously.

Robotnik only concentrated on the pieces of tin in front of him, centered in a transmutation circle that he had drawn on a piece of paper. Breathing deeply, he concentrated and placed his hands on opposite sides of the circle. "You can do this. This is not blasted magic...it's science. And if it's science, it is well within your grasp!" He concentrated harder…and what seemed to be blue electricity emanated from the borders of the circle. In a puff of smoke, the tin had fused together to create a small sculpture of Robotnik himself.

He scrutinized his work…and smiled. "Excellent…"

I think this would be the best place to stop for now. Hope this was an enjoyable chapter, and I'll see you all again soon!

And on another note...Off to see Civil War! If it will be half as good as Winter Soldier, it will be the best action film of the year!