Early Morning Day Ten, Mountainside Tunnel Exit
“Stop! Just... stop!” I feel forward onto my knees and planted
my hands on the ground. “Please, just let him go, I'll do anything
you want.” This close to the ground, I could see it was covered
with a layer of dust.
“No! You can't give in to her!”
“Quiet, brat.” Ed screamed.
“I said I give up!” I cried out, bowing my head to the ground.
My hands raised slightly off the ground, just barely enough. My thumb
began to scrawl on the dirt.
“I'm almost disappointed.” Tsubaki said with a sigh. There was a
soft sound and a loud clank as Ed collapsed to the side. He bit by a
curse. “Oh get up. You're embarrassing both of us.”
I hoped my delay would look like hesitation or fear. I was doing
this entirely from memory of a n array I had seen once, and then only
for a few seconds. Not to mention I was scrawling the symbols in the
dirt with my thumbnail. The potential for something going horribly
wrong was staggering. I held my breath, not willing to risk my breath
disturbing the tiny lines. Finally I was finished and I stood up
slowly, attempting to look as reluctant and sullen as possible. I
didn't need to fake the tears in my eyes.
Once my head was up straight I took a step forward, concealing the
tiny array with my legs and made a show of raising both hands. She
followed my hands with her eyes. Good.
“So what happens now?” I asked bitterly.
“It doesn't have to be this way,” Tsubaki said, her voice thick
with regret. “I don't want to have to force you. I wasn't lying
about being able to fix you. When we're through with our work, you'll
have the perfect body.”
“And how many people have to die for that perfect body?” Ed
growled. He had managed to make it to one knee, but his good hand was
clutching his shoulder.
“Maybe she's right...” I said, ducking my head.
“What!” Ed looked at me in shock.
“You don't know what its like.” I shook my head. “Trapped in
this form is torture. If she can make me whole, maybe I should go
along with her.”
“You can't!” Ed cried out. “I trusted you, you didn't seem
like That Man so I trusted you! Just because you're not human,
doesn't mean you have to be a monster.”
“You trusted me but never told me your suspicions.” I looked at
him. I could only hope he could see my intentions in my eyes. I
couldn't say anything. I needed Tsubaki to trust me. “You were
always testing me, weren't you? Ever since I woke up in that cell
you've been studying me like a specimen, trying to figure out how
much of what she told me I had remembered.”
“I... it's not like that...” Ed bit some words and shook his
head. “When you risked your life to save me, risked your life to
save a man who had tried to burn your head off, that was when I knew
you weren't like them. Even the homonculi have feelings, and you can
be a good person.”
“Please, Fullmetal, it's obvious she's seen through your shallow
lies.” Tsubaki sauntered towards me. “The only question now, is
are you going to help us.”
“What reason do I have to do that?” Ed snapped back. His eyes
were full of betrayed anger.
“Do you really want to save your brother?” she asked, almost
absently.
“Al?” Ed rose to his feet, blood dripping between the fingers
pressed against his shoulder. “What about Al? What have you done
with him!”
“I'm certainly not going to tell you if you don't agree to teach
dear Mother what she needs to know.” Tsubaki stopped right next to
me and placed a hand on my shoulder. “You are useless as a
sacrifice, but as an instructor you are the best thing this world has
to offer. It would be annoying to try and teach her how to control
her alchemy without your help.” She smiled grimly. Her attention
was all on him, so I slipped my hand onto the handle of my knife.
“Annoying, but not impossible.”
“Ed... Edward.” I looked at him. “I'm just going to ask you
this once, as your friend.” Ed's eyes narrowed at that. “You have
to trust me when I say this... RUN!”
My elbow drove into her stomach like a piston. Her breath exploded
from her mouth and she splayed forward over my arm. My knife came up
and straight into her jaw. There was a sickening crunch as it came
out the top of her skull. I spun out from under her hand and stepped
back behind my array, dropping one hand to it.
Please work!
A stone bridge erupted from the ground under her, forming in
a haze of blue lightning as it rammed straight into the air. The
leading edge caught her in the stomach and launched her skyward. I
didn't even bother looking as I turned and sprinted from the still
finishing transmutation.
“Why are you just standing there with your mouth open! I said,
Run!”
Ed slammed his jaw shut and turned on his human heel to sprint after
me. “You, but, what, how?”
“I lied to her,” I said. “Talk later. Run now!” The ground
was uneven, covered with dust and loose stone that made getting a
good sprint impossible. Ed might have been able to outdistance me,
but he had to control his pace to account for the dead weight of his
artificial leg. We probably made it fifteen meters down the slope
before I heard the roar behind us.
“MOTHER!”
I risked a glance over my shoulder, trusting my memory for a second.
The bridge I had transmuted collapsed in a pile of carved rock.
Tsubaki leaped over the pile and raced after us, her legs practically
blurring. There was no way we could outrun her at this pace.
I cursed under my breath and skidded to a stop. “Don't stop, keep
going!” I shouted.
“What, are you crazy?” Ed slowed down.
“You can't fight her with that leg slowing you down,” I told
him. “And that wound will only grow worse if you aggravate it. Now
run!”
“I can't leave you!”
“I swear to God, Edward Elric!” I grabbed his collar and lifted
him off his feet. “If you get yourself killed trying to save me, I
will never forgive you. Now GO!” I pushed him away and he stumbled
a few steps back. His eyes widened. I didn't care about his feelings
at that point. As long as he lived. That was all that mattered.
“Da-damn it!” Ed turned and ran as fast as his heavy metal leg
allowed. I spun in place to face the charging for of Tsubaki. She dug
in her heels and came to a stop a few meters from me.
“I revise my opinion. I'm not disappointed.” She snapped her
hands to the side and the claws flared from her fingers. “I'm
annoyed.”
I turned to face her head on. I had no knife. There was no way I
could create an alchemy circle, especially not with the limited
circles I had memorized. Still, I couldn't help but smirking. “It
was for your own good, dear.”
Her frown deepened for a moment, then she broke into a grin and
laughed. “What's that old saying, we always hurt the ones we love?”
She came in fast, almost faster than I could react. Almost. I threw
myself backwards. Painful lines raced across my chest. I landed, my
feet slipping in the shale. My hand came down, steadied myself. There
was no time to prepare.
I jumped forward. Her eyes widened. I crashed into her shoulder
first. I pinned one arm to her waist. We both went tumbling
backwards up the cliff, briefly defying gravity. Then it took over
and we were rolling with increasing speed down the incline.
Outcrops and loose rocks pounded into my body as I wrestled with her
for control. My still tender ribs and shoulder throbbed. My breath
came in burning gasps. My free hand snapped out and grabbed her free
wrist. I had to keep her from using those claws, no matter what. It
was the only chance I had. She jerked her arm, very nearly
dislocating my bad shoulder. My God she was strong. Nobody who looked
that demure should be that strong.
Our chaotic tumble came to a stop when a boulder broke our momentum.
Somehow she took the worst of it rather than me. Her back arched and
she cried out in pain as the boulder crushed her spine. Her head
lolled forward and she coughed blood onto my arms. I stared as the
blood slowly vanished. It was sinking into my skin. I could
feel it. My wounded shoulder stopped throbbing.
“What the hell...”
“Blood is thicker,” Tsubaki grinned. I tried to snap my
attention back to her, but it was too late, she had recovered while I
was distracted. Her head slammed into mine. Black comets raced across
my vision. When I came too I was sliding away from her, the back of
my shirt disintegrating.
I rolled and used the momentum to fling myself to my feet. I landed
unsteadily. Tsubaki took a moment to adjust her hair as she rose to
stand before me. “What exactly do you hope to accomplish?” she
asked. “You can't kill me. Not as you are now.”
“I've already done it,” I said. “Hopefully Ed is halfway down
the mountain by now. He's resourceful and experienced. Once he gets
into the valleys and ridges and cliffs down there, you'll never find
him.”
“All this to protect one human?” A sneer of disgust crawled
across her face. “You really do need a lot of work before you'll be
ready.”
“I'll fight you to the end,” I spat.
Her sneer transformed into a lascivious smile. “Let's play rough
then.”
She came in fast again, but this time her claws had vanished. I
tried to meet her head on, but somehow she sidestepped me in
mid-rush. Her hand came down on the back of my neck. I collapsed to
the ground.
My ribs spiked in pain as her foot caught me, lifted me off the
ground, threw me back into the boulder. I didn't have the breath to
scream as I slid to the ground. Somehow, I managed to get a hand
under me. My other arm scrambled for purchase on the boulder,
dragging me up to my feet.
“Still standing? I'm impressed.”
I pushed away from the rock and raised my hands in a boxing stance.
My fists kept waving in the air. This time all I could do was brace
for her charge. She broke through my guard like it wasn't even there.
Her fist drove into my underarm, my side, my back in rapid
succession, spinning me like a top. She guided me with one palm and
struck with on fist. It was like some sick ballet, but instead of
dancing she reduced me to a bruised and bloody mess.
Contemptuously she pushed me away from her as I swayed and blinked
in the air. Half my vision had vanished into a black fog, the rest
refused to stay in focus. I saw her blur forward. Then her heel
pistoned into my chest, and her knee cracked into my jaw. I floated.
I crashed.
“Just give up,” Tsubaki said, her voice practically begging.
“I'll even promise not to go after Fullmetal. I don't want to hurt
you anymore.”
“Haf to kill me...” I managed to say around the pain in my jaw.
My hand searched for purchase, found it. My leg bunched. Slowly,
agonizingly, I got to me feet. “Nefer gonna... help you...”
Tsubaki clutched her hands into fists. Was she crying? I couldn't
make out enough of her face to see, but I could hear a hitch in her
voice. She stepped forward slowly, raising one hand.
Then a yellow-topped blur landed beside her, a long brown thing at
it side. Her raised fist dropped. The arm attached to it fell to the
ground. I could imagine her look of shock.
“Gotcha!” Ed cried, and spun, driving the haft of the spear
against her remaining arm. Tsubaki screamed in pain as she was sent
tumbling back. Ed reversed his grip on the spear. He charged into
her, driving the point through her other arm. The both of them rushed
backwards for a half-dozen steps. There was a shriek of metal against
stone as Ed drove the blade into the boulder. He staggered back,
breathing hard.
“You came back...” I breathed. Of all the stupid, asshole thing
to do! I threw myself into a fight I couldn't win to give him a
chance to escape and he throws that away by coming back! How could he
be so rude! How could he discard my feeling so easily! I was probably
never happier.
My vision was clearing and I could see Ed was smiling at me. “If I
left you alone with her, that would make me the monster.” He turned
back to Tsubaki. His shoulder was wrapped in crude bandages. Her
missing arm was reforming itself even as the one Ed had chopped off
disintegrated into a cloud of blue sparks. She hissed and brought up
her unpinned arm, slashing the spearhead dug into her bicep to
shreds.
“I told the others that sparing Fullmetal was a stupid plan.
You're the one that turned Mother against us.” She charged at him.
“For that, you die!”
Ed tried to dodge, but his artificial leg was too heavy and ungainly
to allow him to get out of the way in time. I cried out wordlessly
and ran to him, grabbed his shoulders and threw him behind me as I
pulled myself into the path of the incoming claws. My eyes closed...
...and I was still alive?
I opened my unswollen eye cautiously. My vision immediately focused
on the small black spine hovering his in front of my pupil. Tsubaki
was sweating, her eyes wide with relief as she stood overextended. Ed
appeared from around me side and hopped forward, bringing up his
metal leg into the air, then down like an axe into her face. She
crashed to the side, rolling away and too her feet. Ed landed, wiping
his hand to the side, pressing it against the ground.
“Quick, the array!”
I looked behind me. There, draw in his blood, was a hasty array. I
dropped to my knees and pressed a palm against it. The voices sang.
A long shafted spear practically erupted from the ground. Ed reached
over and caught it as it fell, spun it once around himself and
settled the tip pointing at her. “Not bad, little heavy on the back
end, but good work.”
“You...” Tsubaki's eyes narrowed.
“Shut up,” I snapped. “You can't kill me.” Her gaze floated
to me. “I'm too important to your plans, so against me, those fancy
claws are just for show.” I didn't take my eyes off her. “Ed, I
am your shield. You are the spear. Together we can beat her.”
“Damn straight!” Ed laughed. “Go!”
Somehow my aching legs found the strength to run. I heard the
pat-clank-pat-clank of Ed following in my footsteps. Tsubaki growled
and tried to shift to the side, give herself a clear shot. But I
moved in tune with her, keeping my body between us. Finally we
closed. “Right shoulder!” Ed cried. His spear came in under my
right arm, aiming up. Tsubaki grinned and began to bring her claws
down. I punched out, my arm practically mirroring the spear, floating
alongside it. Her claws stopped before they touched me. The spear
drove into her shoulder.
“Legs!” I screamed as Ed pulled the spear free. I jumped up,
doing the splits in mid-air. Her shoulder was already regenerating,
but both her arms were above my legs and she couldn't bring her claws
down without hitting me. She dashed backwards, the blade scoring an
angry red line along her right calf before she was out of range. Her
eyes widened in shock.
I ran after her and now she was retreating from us. “Left side!”
Ed's spear cut into her flank as I blocked her arm with my left.
“Right thigh!” Another strike, this time I ducked my head into
the path of her claws as Ed gouged her. “Heart!” I couldn't even
tell who was shouting the instructions and who was responding
anymore. She scrambled backwards, only getting a small nick. She
wasn't even trying to parry anymore.
“Right arm!”
“Left flank!”
“Liver!”
“Right foot!”
“Left elbow!”
“Head!”
Tsubaki stumbled away, clutching at the bleeding gouge in her
forehead. Her eyes were filled with fury and pain. Ed was panting
behind me. I was barely standing. Her back was to a cliff. Nowhere
else for her to retreat.
“You'll run out of lives eventually, just give up,” Ed ordered
evenly.
“Heh. Haha. Oh, that look in your face.” Her smile was wide and
she straightened her back, gesturing to her sides in surrender. “I
love it. Those hard eyes, willing to kill but not wanting to. Now
maybe I see what Mother sees in you.” She glanced at me. “It
appears my powers are particularly unsuited to taking you back with
me in one piece, and since you are so determined.” She grabbed one
arm by the wrist and then pulled the hand away just as quickly. Red
flowed. “A parting gift.” Before I could react she flicked her
wrist and the blood splattered against my chest. I cried out, but it
felt warm. I heard...
It was like a dozen screams ran through my body.
...and then I shook my head. The pain was gone.
“I leave her in your hands, Fullmetal. Teach her well. We'll met
again.” And with that she stepped off the cliff.
“Damn it!” Ed shouted and ran to the edge of the cliff, but her
figure had already vanished into the maze of rock down below. “She
got away...” His hands tightened on the spear.
“At least we're alive,” I said softly.
“Yeah, but she'll be back. And next time, she'll bring friends.”
“Then I suggest we get moving.”
*
“This is ridiculous!”
“Stop shouting, you'll scare him.”
“I'm riding on a monster,” Ed pointed out.
The ground was flying by beneath us. The animals made soft 'kweh'
sounds as their powerful hind legs propelled us across the uneven
ground. The first time one of them jumped a three meter wide crevice
Ed had shrieked like a little girl, his arms wrapped firmly around
the animals thick neck.
“They're not monsters.” I pulled on the reins of mine, steering
him towards what looked like a break in the mountains. Ed's followed
me, since he was mainly just clinging to it and looking miserable.
“They're called ostrich-horses.”
“They're chimera,” Ed insisted, sticking out his tongue. “Where
I come from, these things are illegal!”
“Aw, come off it. They're obviously native animals.” I pointed
to a pair of deer-like creatures with huge curving horns. “I've
never seen animals like that either.”
“Chimera,” Ed insisted.
“And the pigs back at Tyro's village. They had wool. Wool on a
pig, Ed.”
“Chimera, chimera, chimera!”
I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to the path ahead of
us. “Well, going back to get them was still a good idea. We're
moving much faster now.”
“I'd prefer to walk,” Ed whined.
“What, does your little butt hurt?” I teased.
“Thathasnothingtodowithit!” Ed returned far too quickly.
“Poor baby. Ask me nice and I may massage it better when we stop!”
I called over my shoulder. Then I stopped and gulped, my face
suddenly turning red. A silence descended between us. Great, here I
was practically his clone and I was hitting on him. Plus apparently I
ate blood through my skin to heal. Could I get any more creepy? I
desperately changed the topic to the first thing to come to mind.
“Why did she keep calling you Fullmetal?”
“...it was my title.” Ed coughed. “The Fullmetal Alchemist.”
“Title? Like from a king?”
“The military.” Ed paused. “Every alchemist who worked for the
state received a title to show their specialization. Flame Alchemist,
Strong Arm Alchemist and so on. I was Fullmetal, because of my
automail arm and leg.”
“You worked for the military?”
“...yeah.”
I considered asking why he was so adamant about not working for the
Earth Kingdom now, but I think that question answered itself. “What
about that woman, what was she?”
“Her real name is Lust.”
I pulled my ostrich-horse back a bit as we started down the
foothills. A wide plain stretched out before us. Thankfully the
saddle-bags had some supplies in them, even if they had been only out
for a short run to catch us. Fong must have planned ahead in case we
managed to give him the slip at the escape tunnel. Ed's mount slowed
to keep pace with mine, a fact for which Ed was obviously grateful.
“She's a homonculus.” He collected his thought as he sat up
gingerly in his saddle. “There is a form of forbidden alchemy which
can steal a person's life, their soul. Their Gate. It converts their
bodies into a red liquid we call the Philosopher's Stone. With the
Stone you can bypass the Toll from the Gate and exceed the laws of
Equivalent Exchange, but each time you do so you use up some of the
Gates stored in the Stone.” He stared out across the plain.
“Back home some fools were tricked into sacrificing an entire
country, millions of people, to form a massively powerful
Philosopher's Stone. They thought it would make them immortal. It
did, in a sick way. They lived on, trapped inside the Stone while the
very first Homonculus, whom they called Father, absorbed it and
gained all its powers.
“Father then concentrated all the human emotions from the people
he absorbed into seven collections of emotion and... pushed them out
of himself along with portions of his Philosopher's Stone. Those are
the homonculi. Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath and Pride.”
“Seven of those monsters?” I winced. “And Father? What does
that have to do with what they called me? Mother...”
“I don't know what it has to do with you.” He looked back at me.
“But even if you are an artificial being that doesn't mean you
aren't human. In the end, Greed turned his back on Father and
sacrificed himself to save us all. Your origin isn't your destiny.”
“How long have you suspected...”
“I suspected since they put you in the cell.” Ed looked down.
“Father created his own body out of the cells of my biological
father, and was basically his twin. When you managed to do alchemy
without any training and just a hastily assembled array, which is so
improbable its practically impossible, my suspicion grew.” He
paused. “But then you never acted like Father, or used any of his
powers. You kept risking yourself to help others, even people who
were your enemies. Father would never have done that. He murdered his
own children if it would get him one more scrap of power.”
I looked down, our mounts had ambled to a stop at some point.
“I trust you,” he said. “With your help, we can stop them from
doing to this continent what they tried to do to mine.”
“How?”
“We teach you alchemy.”
“But that's exactly what they want!” I protested. “How can we
be sure that if I learn too much, I won't remember doing horrible
things and then...”
Ed nudged his mount closer to mine. “I just said I trusted you,
didn't I?” he said. “Besides, they are going to come back for
you. They're persistent if nothing else. If you can't defend yourself
they will take you. So what if they want me to teach you alchemy?
We'll give them what they want, all right. We'll give them so much of
it, they won't know what hit them!”
I couldn't help but laugh at his enthusiasm. “Okay, but aside from
that?”
“I still want to rescue my brother, but if the homonculi are
holding him that's just gotten even more difficult. Can we risk
walking into an obvious trap with you unprepared?”
“What about the Earth Kingdom?” I said. “Do you think they
know what's happening in their own borders?”
“Maybe. I doubt they know the whole deal. If the homonculi are
working with the Fire Nation they can't have let the Earth Kingdom
know that. Plus the ultimate plan will involve sacrificing ever
living soul on the continent, including their patsies.” he paused.
“Fong certainly was surprised. So not everyone is in on it, at
least.”
“So maybe we can make our way to the head of the Earth Kingdom in
their main city, see if we can warn them about the danger?”
Ed shrugged. “We need allies. I only one last time because so many
people were willing to risk everything to stop them and help me.”
“The Avatar?” I asked.
“Yeah, but where is he?” Ed looked glum. “I have no idea
what's happening on this contient. Who we can trust and who we can't.
The Earth Kingdom already betrayed us once...”
“So, where can we get help...” I mused aloud.
Two votes this time!
[ ]Head North, the Avatar was last seen there and its close to that
Point Mako we learned about.
[ ]Head East, to the capital of the Earth Kingdom, Ba Sing Se.
[ ]Head South, the priority is getting away from the homonculi for
now, allies can come later.
[ ]Head East, back to Tongli. Tyro helped us once, and maybe we can
check on Haru to see if he's been rescued/found. If not, help with that.
Ed doesn't have unlimited time to teach me alchemy, he should focus
on:
[ ]Teaching me how to protect people (including myself).
[ ]Teaching me how to attack my enemies.
[ ]Teaching me non-combat ulility/combat avoidance techniques.
[ ]Forget alchemy, I want to learn some of those martial arts moves
he knows.
----------
Epsilon
“Stop! Just... stop!” I feel forward onto my knees and planted
my hands on the ground. “Please, just let him go, I'll do anything
you want.” This close to the ground, I could see it was covered
with a layer of dust.
“No! You can't give in to her!”
“Quiet, brat.” Ed screamed.
“I said I give up!” I cried out, bowing my head to the ground.
My hands raised slightly off the ground, just barely enough. My thumb
began to scrawl on the dirt.
“I'm almost disappointed.” Tsubaki said with a sigh. There was a
soft sound and a loud clank as Ed collapsed to the side. He bit by a
curse. “Oh get up. You're embarrassing both of us.”
I hoped my delay would look like hesitation or fear. I was doing
this entirely from memory of a n array I had seen once, and then only
for a few seconds. Not to mention I was scrawling the symbols in the
dirt with my thumbnail. The potential for something going horribly
wrong was staggering. I held my breath, not willing to risk my breath
disturbing the tiny lines. Finally I was finished and I stood up
slowly, attempting to look as reluctant and sullen as possible. I
didn't need to fake the tears in my eyes.
Once my head was up straight I took a step forward, concealing the
tiny array with my legs and made a show of raising both hands. She
followed my hands with her eyes. Good.
“So what happens now?” I asked bitterly.
“It doesn't have to be this way,” Tsubaki said, her voice thick
with regret. “I don't want to have to force you. I wasn't lying
about being able to fix you. When we're through with our work, you'll
have the perfect body.”
“And how many people have to die for that perfect body?” Ed
growled. He had managed to make it to one knee, but his good hand was
clutching his shoulder.
“Maybe she's right...” I said, ducking my head.
“What!” Ed looked at me in shock.
“You don't know what its like.” I shook my head. “Trapped in
this form is torture. If she can make me whole, maybe I should go
along with her.”
“You can't!” Ed cried out. “I trusted you, you didn't seem
like That Man so I trusted you! Just because you're not human,
doesn't mean you have to be a monster.”
“You trusted me but never told me your suspicions.” I looked at
him. I could only hope he could see my intentions in my eyes. I
couldn't say anything. I needed Tsubaki to trust me. “You were
always testing me, weren't you? Ever since I woke up in that cell
you've been studying me like a specimen, trying to figure out how
much of what she told me I had remembered.”
“I... it's not like that...” Ed bit some words and shook his
head. “When you risked your life to save me, risked your life to
save a man who had tried to burn your head off, that was when I knew
you weren't like them. Even the homonculi have feelings, and you can
be a good person.”
“Please, Fullmetal, it's obvious she's seen through your shallow
lies.” Tsubaki sauntered towards me. “The only question now, is
are you going to help us.”
“What reason do I have to do that?” Ed snapped back. His eyes
were full of betrayed anger.
“Do you really want to save your brother?” she asked, almost
absently.
“Al?” Ed rose to his feet, blood dripping between the fingers
pressed against his shoulder. “What about Al? What have you done
with him!”
“I'm certainly not going to tell you if you don't agree to teach
dear Mother what she needs to know.” Tsubaki stopped right next to
me and placed a hand on my shoulder. “You are useless as a
sacrifice, but as an instructor you are the best thing this world has
to offer. It would be annoying to try and teach her how to control
her alchemy without your help.” She smiled grimly. Her attention
was all on him, so I slipped my hand onto the handle of my knife.
“Annoying, but not impossible.”
“Ed... Edward.” I looked at him. “I'm just going to ask you
this once, as your friend.” Ed's eyes narrowed at that. “You have
to trust me when I say this... RUN!”
My elbow drove into her stomach like a piston. Her breath exploded
from her mouth and she splayed forward over my arm. My knife came up
and straight into her jaw. There was a sickening crunch as it came
out the top of her skull. I spun out from under her hand and stepped
back behind my array, dropping one hand to it.
Please work!
A stone bridge erupted from the ground under her, forming in
a haze of blue lightning as it rammed straight into the air. The
leading edge caught her in the stomach and launched her skyward. I
didn't even bother looking as I turned and sprinted from the still
finishing transmutation.
“Why are you just standing there with your mouth open! I said,
Run!”
Ed slammed his jaw shut and turned on his human heel to sprint after
me. “You, but, what, how?”
“I lied to her,” I said. “Talk later. Run now!” The ground
was uneven, covered with dust and loose stone that made getting a
good sprint impossible. Ed might have been able to outdistance me,
but he had to control his pace to account for the dead weight of his
artificial leg. We probably made it fifteen meters down the slope
before I heard the roar behind us.
“MOTHER!”
I risked a glance over my shoulder, trusting my memory for a second.
The bridge I had transmuted collapsed in a pile of carved rock.
Tsubaki leaped over the pile and raced after us, her legs practically
blurring. There was no way we could outrun her at this pace.
I cursed under my breath and skidded to a stop. “Don't stop, keep
going!” I shouted.
“What, are you crazy?” Ed slowed down.
“You can't fight her with that leg slowing you down,” I told
him. “And that wound will only grow worse if you aggravate it. Now
run!”
“I can't leave you!”
“I swear to God, Edward Elric!” I grabbed his collar and lifted
him off his feet. “If you get yourself killed trying to save me, I
will never forgive you. Now GO!” I pushed him away and he stumbled
a few steps back. His eyes widened. I didn't care about his feelings
at that point. As long as he lived. That was all that mattered.
“Da-damn it!” Ed turned and ran as fast as his heavy metal leg
allowed. I spun in place to face the charging for of Tsubaki. She dug
in her heels and came to a stop a few meters from me.
“I revise my opinion. I'm not disappointed.” She snapped her
hands to the side and the claws flared from her fingers. “I'm
annoyed.”
I turned to face her head on. I had no knife. There was no way I
could create an alchemy circle, especially not with the limited
circles I had memorized. Still, I couldn't help but smirking. “It
was for your own good, dear.”
Her frown deepened for a moment, then she broke into a grin and
laughed. “What's that old saying, we always hurt the ones we love?”
She came in fast, almost faster than I could react. Almost. I threw
myself backwards. Painful lines raced across my chest. I landed, my
feet slipping in the shale. My hand came down, steadied myself. There
was no time to prepare.
I jumped forward. Her eyes widened. I crashed into her shoulder
first. I pinned one arm to her waist. We both went tumbling
backwards up the cliff, briefly defying gravity. Then it took over
and we were rolling with increasing speed down the incline.
Outcrops and loose rocks pounded into my body as I wrestled with her
for control. My still tender ribs and shoulder throbbed. My breath
came in burning gasps. My free hand snapped out and grabbed her free
wrist. I had to keep her from using those claws, no matter what. It
was the only chance I had. She jerked her arm, very nearly
dislocating my bad shoulder. My God she was strong. Nobody who looked
that demure should be that strong.
Our chaotic tumble came to a stop when a boulder broke our momentum.
Somehow she took the worst of it rather than me. Her back arched and
she cried out in pain as the boulder crushed her spine. Her head
lolled forward and she coughed blood onto my arms. I stared as the
blood slowly vanished. It was sinking into my skin. I could
feel it. My wounded shoulder stopped throbbing.
“What the hell...”
“Blood is thicker,” Tsubaki grinned. I tried to snap my
attention back to her, but it was too late, she had recovered while I
was distracted. Her head slammed into mine. Black comets raced across
my vision. When I came too I was sliding away from her, the back of
my shirt disintegrating.
I rolled and used the momentum to fling myself to my feet. I landed
unsteadily. Tsubaki took a moment to adjust her hair as she rose to
stand before me. “What exactly do you hope to accomplish?” she
asked. “You can't kill me. Not as you are now.”
“I've already done it,” I said. “Hopefully Ed is halfway down
the mountain by now. He's resourceful and experienced. Once he gets
into the valleys and ridges and cliffs down there, you'll never find
him.”
“All this to protect one human?” A sneer of disgust crawled
across her face. “You really do need a lot of work before you'll be
ready.”
“I'll fight you to the end,” I spat.
Her sneer transformed into a lascivious smile. “Let's play rough
then.”
She came in fast again, but this time her claws had vanished. I
tried to meet her head on, but somehow she sidestepped me in
mid-rush. Her hand came down on the back of my neck. I collapsed to
the ground.
My ribs spiked in pain as her foot caught me, lifted me off the
ground, threw me back into the boulder. I didn't have the breath to
scream as I slid to the ground. Somehow, I managed to get a hand
under me. My other arm scrambled for purchase on the boulder,
dragging me up to my feet.
“Still standing? I'm impressed.”
I pushed away from the rock and raised my hands in a boxing stance.
My fists kept waving in the air. This time all I could do was brace
for her charge. She broke through my guard like it wasn't even there.
Her fist drove into my underarm, my side, my back in rapid
succession, spinning me like a top. She guided me with one palm and
struck with on fist. It was like some sick ballet, but instead of
dancing she reduced me to a bruised and bloody mess.
Contemptuously she pushed me away from her as I swayed and blinked
in the air. Half my vision had vanished into a black fog, the rest
refused to stay in focus. I saw her blur forward. Then her heel
pistoned into my chest, and her knee cracked into my jaw. I floated.
I crashed.
“Just give up,” Tsubaki said, her voice practically begging.
“I'll even promise not to go after Fullmetal. I don't want to hurt
you anymore.”
“Haf to kill me...” I managed to say around the pain in my jaw.
My hand searched for purchase, found it. My leg bunched. Slowly,
agonizingly, I got to me feet. “Nefer gonna... help you...”
Tsubaki clutched her hands into fists. Was she crying? I couldn't
make out enough of her face to see, but I could hear a hitch in her
voice. She stepped forward slowly, raising one hand.
Then a yellow-topped blur landed beside her, a long brown thing at
it side. Her raised fist dropped. The arm attached to it fell to the
ground. I could imagine her look of shock.
“Gotcha!” Ed cried, and spun, driving the haft of the spear
against her remaining arm. Tsubaki screamed in pain as she was sent
tumbling back. Ed reversed his grip on the spear. He charged into
her, driving the point through her other arm. The both of them rushed
backwards for a half-dozen steps. There was a shriek of metal against
stone as Ed drove the blade into the boulder. He staggered back,
breathing hard.
“You came back...” I breathed. Of all the stupid, asshole thing
to do! I threw myself into a fight I couldn't win to give him a
chance to escape and he throws that away by coming back! How could he
be so rude! How could he discard my feeling so easily! I was probably
never happier.
My vision was clearing and I could see Ed was smiling at me. “If I
left you alone with her, that would make me the monster.” He turned
back to Tsubaki. His shoulder was wrapped in crude bandages. Her
missing arm was reforming itself even as the one Ed had chopped off
disintegrated into a cloud of blue sparks. She hissed and brought up
her unpinned arm, slashing the spearhead dug into her bicep to
shreds.
“I told the others that sparing Fullmetal was a stupid plan.
You're the one that turned Mother against us.” She charged at him.
“For that, you die!”
Ed tried to dodge, but his artificial leg was too heavy and ungainly
to allow him to get out of the way in time. I cried out wordlessly
and ran to him, grabbed his shoulders and threw him behind me as I
pulled myself into the path of the incoming claws. My eyes closed...
...and I was still alive?
I opened my unswollen eye cautiously. My vision immediately focused
on the small black spine hovering his in front of my pupil. Tsubaki
was sweating, her eyes wide with relief as she stood overextended. Ed
appeared from around me side and hopped forward, bringing up his
metal leg into the air, then down like an axe into her face. She
crashed to the side, rolling away and too her feet. Ed landed, wiping
his hand to the side, pressing it against the ground.
“Quick, the array!”
I looked behind me. There, draw in his blood, was a hasty array. I
dropped to my knees and pressed a palm against it. The voices sang.
A long shafted spear practically erupted from the ground. Ed reached
over and caught it as it fell, spun it once around himself and
settled the tip pointing at her. “Not bad, little heavy on the back
end, but good work.”
“You...” Tsubaki's eyes narrowed.
“Shut up,” I snapped. “You can't kill me.” Her gaze floated
to me. “I'm too important to your plans, so against me, those fancy
claws are just for show.” I didn't take my eyes off her. “Ed, I
am your shield. You are the spear. Together we can beat her.”
“Damn straight!” Ed laughed. “Go!”
Somehow my aching legs found the strength to run. I heard the
pat-clank-pat-clank of Ed following in my footsteps. Tsubaki growled
and tried to shift to the side, give herself a clear shot. But I
moved in tune with her, keeping my body between us. Finally we
closed. “Right shoulder!” Ed cried. His spear came in under my
right arm, aiming up. Tsubaki grinned and began to bring her claws
down. I punched out, my arm practically mirroring the spear, floating
alongside it. Her claws stopped before they touched me. The spear
drove into her shoulder.
“Legs!” I screamed as Ed pulled the spear free. I jumped up,
doing the splits in mid-air. Her shoulder was already regenerating,
but both her arms were above my legs and she couldn't bring her claws
down without hitting me. She dashed backwards, the blade scoring an
angry red line along her right calf before she was out of range. Her
eyes widened in shock.
I ran after her and now she was retreating from us. “Left side!”
Ed's spear cut into her flank as I blocked her arm with my left.
“Right thigh!” Another strike, this time I ducked my head into
the path of her claws as Ed gouged her. “Heart!” I couldn't even
tell who was shouting the instructions and who was responding
anymore. She scrambled backwards, only getting a small nick. She
wasn't even trying to parry anymore.
“Right arm!”
“Left flank!”
“Liver!”
“Right foot!”
“Left elbow!”
“Head!”
Tsubaki stumbled away, clutching at the bleeding gouge in her
forehead. Her eyes were filled with fury and pain. Ed was panting
behind me. I was barely standing. Her back was to a cliff. Nowhere
else for her to retreat.
“You'll run out of lives eventually, just give up,” Ed ordered
evenly.
“Heh. Haha. Oh, that look in your face.” Her smile was wide and
she straightened her back, gesturing to her sides in surrender. “I
love it. Those hard eyes, willing to kill but not wanting to. Now
maybe I see what Mother sees in you.” She glanced at me. “It
appears my powers are particularly unsuited to taking you back with
me in one piece, and since you are so determined.” She grabbed one
arm by the wrist and then pulled the hand away just as quickly. Red
flowed. “A parting gift.” Before I could react she flicked her
wrist and the blood splattered against my chest. I cried out, but it
felt warm. I heard...
It was like a dozen screams ran through my body.
...and then I shook my head. The pain was gone.
“I leave her in your hands, Fullmetal. Teach her well. We'll met
again.” And with that she stepped off the cliff.
“Damn it!” Ed shouted and ran to the edge of the cliff, but her
figure had already vanished into the maze of rock down below. “She
got away...” His hands tightened on the spear.
“At least we're alive,” I said softly.
“Yeah, but she'll be back. And next time, she'll bring friends.”
“Then I suggest we get moving.”
*
“This is ridiculous!”
“Stop shouting, you'll scare him.”
“I'm riding on a monster,” Ed pointed out.
The ground was flying by beneath us. The animals made soft 'kweh'
sounds as their powerful hind legs propelled us across the uneven
ground. The first time one of them jumped a three meter wide crevice
Ed had shrieked like a little girl, his arms wrapped firmly around
the animals thick neck.
“They're not monsters.” I pulled on the reins of mine, steering
him towards what looked like a break in the mountains. Ed's followed
me, since he was mainly just clinging to it and looking miserable.
“They're called ostrich-horses.”
“They're chimera,” Ed insisted, sticking out his tongue. “Where
I come from, these things are illegal!”
“Aw, come off it. They're obviously native animals.” I pointed
to a pair of deer-like creatures with huge curving horns. “I've
never seen animals like that either.”
“Chimera,” Ed insisted.
“And the pigs back at Tyro's village. They had wool. Wool on a
pig, Ed.”
“Chimera, chimera, chimera!”
I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to the path ahead of
us. “Well, going back to get them was still a good idea. We're
moving much faster now.”
“I'd prefer to walk,” Ed whined.
“What, does your little butt hurt?” I teased.
“Thathasnothingtodowithit!” Ed returned far too quickly.
“Poor baby. Ask me nice and I may massage it better when we stop!”
I called over my shoulder. Then I stopped and gulped, my face
suddenly turning red. A silence descended between us. Great, here I
was practically his clone and I was hitting on him. Plus apparently I
ate blood through my skin to heal. Could I get any more creepy? I
desperately changed the topic to the first thing to come to mind.
“Why did she keep calling you Fullmetal?”
“...it was my title.” Ed coughed. “The Fullmetal Alchemist.”
“Title? Like from a king?”
“The military.” Ed paused. “Every alchemist who worked for the
state received a title to show their specialization. Flame Alchemist,
Strong Arm Alchemist and so on. I was Fullmetal, because of my
automail arm and leg.”
“You worked for the military?”
“...yeah.”
I considered asking why he was so adamant about not working for the
Earth Kingdom now, but I think that question answered itself. “What
about that woman, what was she?”
“Her real name is Lust.”
I pulled my ostrich-horse back a bit as we started down the
foothills. A wide plain stretched out before us. Thankfully the
saddle-bags had some supplies in them, even if they had been only out
for a short run to catch us. Fong must have planned ahead in case we
managed to give him the slip at the escape tunnel. Ed's mount slowed
to keep pace with mine, a fact for which Ed was obviously grateful.
“She's a homonculus.” He collected his thought as he sat up
gingerly in his saddle. “There is a form of forbidden alchemy which
can steal a person's life, their soul. Their Gate. It converts their
bodies into a red liquid we call the Philosopher's Stone. With the
Stone you can bypass the Toll from the Gate and exceed the laws of
Equivalent Exchange, but each time you do so you use up some of the
Gates stored in the Stone.” He stared out across the plain.
“Back home some fools were tricked into sacrificing an entire
country, millions of people, to form a massively powerful
Philosopher's Stone. They thought it would make them immortal. It
did, in a sick way. They lived on, trapped inside the Stone while the
very first Homonculus, whom they called Father, absorbed it and
gained all its powers.
“Father then concentrated all the human emotions from the people
he absorbed into seven collections of emotion and... pushed them out
of himself along with portions of his Philosopher's Stone. Those are
the homonculi. Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath and Pride.”
“Seven of those monsters?” I winced. “And Father? What does
that have to do with what they called me? Mother...”
“I don't know what it has to do with you.” He looked back at me.
“But even if you are an artificial being that doesn't mean you
aren't human. In the end, Greed turned his back on Father and
sacrificed himself to save us all. Your origin isn't your destiny.”
“How long have you suspected...”
“I suspected since they put you in the cell.” Ed looked down.
“Father created his own body out of the cells of my biological
father, and was basically his twin. When you managed to do alchemy
without any training and just a hastily assembled array, which is so
improbable its practically impossible, my suspicion grew.” He
paused. “But then you never acted like Father, or used any of his
powers. You kept risking yourself to help others, even people who
were your enemies. Father would never have done that. He murdered his
own children if it would get him one more scrap of power.”
I looked down, our mounts had ambled to a stop at some point.
“I trust you,” he said. “With your help, we can stop them from
doing to this continent what they tried to do to mine.”
“How?”
“We teach you alchemy.”
“But that's exactly what they want!” I protested. “How can we
be sure that if I learn too much, I won't remember doing horrible
things and then...”
Ed nudged his mount closer to mine. “I just said I trusted you,
didn't I?” he said. “Besides, they are going to come back for
you. They're persistent if nothing else. If you can't defend yourself
they will take you. So what if they want me to teach you alchemy?
We'll give them what they want, all right. We'll give them so much of
it, they won't know what hit them!”
I couldn't help but laugh at his enthusiasm. “Okay, but aside from
that?”
“I still want to rescue my brother, but if the homonculi are
holding him that's just gotten even more difficult. Can we risk
walking into an obvious trap with you unprepared?”
“What about the Earth Kingdom?” I said. “Do you think they
know what's happening in their own borders?”
“Maybe. I doubt they know the whole deal. If the homonculi are
working with the Fire Nation they can't have let the Earth Kingdom
know that. Plus the ultimate plan will involve sacrificing ever
living soul on the continent, including their patsies.” he paused.
“Fong certainly was surprised. So not everyone is in on it, at
least.”
“So maybe we can make our way to the head of the Earth Kingdom in
their main city, see if we can warn them about the danger?”
Ed shrugged. “We need allies. I only one last time because so many
people were willing to risk everything to stop them and help me.”
“The Avatar?” I asked.
“Yeah, but where is he?” Ed looked glum. “I have no idea
what's happening on this contient. Who we can trust and who we can't.
The Earth Kingdom already betrayed us once...”
“So, where can we get help...” I mused aloud.
Two votes this time!
[ ]Head North, the Avatar was last seen there and its close to that
Point Mako we learned about.
[ ]Head East, to the capital of the Earth Kingdom, Ba Sing Se.
[ ]Head South, the priority is getting away from the homonculi for
now, allies can come later.
[ ]Head East, back to Tongli. Tyro helped us once, and maybe we can
check on Haru to see if he's been rescued/found. If not, help with that.
Ed doesn't have unlimited time to teach me alchemy, he should focus
on:
[ ]Teaching me how to protect people (including myself).
[ ]Teaching me how to attack my enemies.
[ ]Teaching me non-combat ulility/combat avoidance techniques.
[ ]Forget alchemy, I want to learn some of those martial arts moves
he knows.
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Epsilon