The sheet of paper was placed on the desk -- its contents having been read through.
"News from Xing, Sir?"
"Indeed,
Colonel. Emperor Yao wrote to express his gratitude at having received
our gifts -- but lamented that he could not delight in the taste of
fresh strawberries, for they had spoiled by the time they were delivered
to Xing. He expressed his lament one day during his morning court
session."
"The Emperor has the same vision as you, Your Excellency."
The Fuhrer nods. "Let us hope his court can be convinced."
***
"All
this time...you've kept that name alive?" A look of surprise crosses
Envy's face as father and son converse in the basement of their home.
Hohenheim
nods. "Since you couldn't fulfill your dream, I thought I'd help you
make it come true by letting your name be known. It was the least I
could do for you."
The latter didn't know how to
respond; but he was spared from giving a reply, for right at that
moment, a great yawn came from the elderly alchemist.
"Father, you've been working day and night. Why don't you go upstairs and get some rest?"
Hohenheim consented, and the two of them department from the basement.
***
Envy
draped a blanket over Hohenheim's slumbering form. The man had quickly
fallen to asleep after stretching out on the living room sofa. They had
just missed seeing Edward and Alphonse -- having come in a moment too
late, but that wasn't of particular importance to Envy right now.
After
opening a window to let in some fresh air, the dark-haired boy knelt on
the floor beside his father and leaned his body forward. He crossed his
arms on the edge of the sofa and rested the side of his head on top --
all while keeping a watchful eye on his sleeping parent.
***
Outside,
Ed and Al were trodding the dirt path away from their home. After some
time spent walking in silence, Al decided to bring up a question.
"Ed, Dad and Big Brother William have been in the basement for a long time now. What do you think they're doing down there?"
"Beats me," Edward replies nonchalantly while shoving his hands into the pockets of his pants. "Frankly, I don't give a care."
"Stop being moody, Ed."
"I'm not moody."
"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm not."
Back and forth they went -- their exchange becoming more and more heated by the second.
"Yes, you are!"
"No, I'm not!"
Without
warning, the ground beneath them began to shake violently; and within a
heartbeat, two earthen vines sprung up from under their feet and
wrapped themselves around Edward and Alphonse -- taking hold of the boys
by the midsection and lifting them several feet into the air.
"Ack! What the --? What is this?!" a frustrated and shocked Edward demanded to know.
"Be quiet you two."
Ed and Al stop their struggles to stare at the owner of the voice.
"Big Brother William!"
"Father's sleeping right now. You two were making so much noise I could hear you all the way from the house."
"Ah...we're
sorry! We didn't know!" Alphonse said apologetically before turning to
his other sibling who, instead of looking apologetic, registered an
expression of shock on his face -- replaced by a frown between his brows
as he glared at the Homunculus.
Edward clapped his
hands together; and the earthen coil exploded upon contact -- freeing
him from his prison. The blond landed smoothly on his feet -- his eyes
fixated on the person before him.
Blue sparks ignited from Edward's hands -- and flew in the direction of their target. Envy jumped out of the way.
"Edward! What are you doing?!" Alphonse screamed.
The
blond pressed his palms to the ground. The dirt underneath his hands
began to swirl and rise into the air -- forming a circular shape which
eventually hardened into a boulder.
The enormous rock
was launched at Envy, who sidestepped from its range. The boulder missed
hitting Envy -- knocking over some trees in the process.
Edward repeated his last alchemic creation. Once again, the boulder took aim at Envy.
"Brother! Stop!"
This
time, the Homunculus did not take measures to avoid the incoming
boulder. He raised his arms.....and brought his hands into contact.
Amidst the loud rumbling of the boulder, a clap was heard.
The large rock exploded midway between Edward and Envy.
In the aftermath of the explosion -- with dust and small particles flying -- Edward ran to strike at his intended target.
Envy stood in a sideways posture -- bringing a foot down hard on the ground.
The terrain under Edward's feet shifted and transformed into an earthen birdcage -- locking the blond within the structure.
But Edward was not to be imprisoned. The birdcage was demolished through his touch.
Onwards he went. Not even a wall that rose from the ground -- separating Edward from Envy -- could hinder the blond.
The wall came crumbling down. A fist was inches away from making contact with flesh.
Envy braced himself -- catching hold of Edward's fist in the palm of one hand.
Edward struggled in the grasp of his opponent's hold on him.
"So this is what you and the Old Man were doing down in the basement."
Envy
blinked at the truth to Edward's statement. The former didn't want to
fight the latter. So he decided in the best interest to avoid his
sibling for the time being. The Homunculus let go of Edward and leaped
backwards. Then he turned and ran towards their house. Much to his
dismay, the blond did not relent.
"We're not finished yet!" Edward shouted as he ran off in pursuit of Envy.
All
the meanwhile, Alphonse had been silently watching from his perch above
-- his mind reeling and his mouth agape at what had just transpired.
"Was that...alchemy?!"
***
The
dark-haired boy backed away from his pursuer, and dived through the
open window. His attacker followed suit -- tumbling forth into the
living room.
Edward sprang to his feet to find Envy
facing him with an index finger pressed against his lips -- another
finger pointing to one side. The blond turned to see what the Homunculus
was indicating, and saw their father asleep on the couch. Edward's
eyebrows twitched. Impulsiveness took over him, and he swung forward at
Envy -- disregarding their parent altogether.
***
"What
do I do? What do I do?" Alphonse said out loud as he pondered his
dilemma. "Oh...I don't like being caught in the middle." His mind was in
a frenzy as he tried to figure out how to remedy the situation between
his two older brothers, not to mention the other event that had unfolded
before his eyes earlier.
"But Homunculi can't use alchemy. They don't -- "
"Alphonse!"
"Ahhhhhh!" the blond teenager cried in alarm -- having been suddenly interrupted from his thoughts.
He looked to the source of the voice and cried out a second time. "Ah! Colonel Mustang! Lieutenant Hawkeye!"
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