The Black Iron Atronach

Chapter 6

-Harry-

"Rose!" Cornello snarled out, genuine anger in the man's eyes "Do you see now the proof of their sin? These fools attempted Human Transmutation, the greatest Taboo for any Alchemist. In their arrogance they tried to bring someone dead back to life.".

"Like you're one to talk," he growled "isn't that what you keep promising your followers you're going to do.".

"This is what happens when you try to play God or whatever you want to call it," Ed growled "take a good look Rose…is this what you want?".

"So this is the great Edward Elric," Cornello laughed "not even half a man, hell, not even half a boy!".

"And what about you?" he demanded "You're just a fraud that can't do shit without a Philosopher's stone!".

"Father," Al pleaded "we just want you to hand over the stone before you get hurt.".

"Don't be absurd." Cornello sneered "Why? So you can use it for yourself? Please," Cornello's ring began to glow as the cane in the 'prophet's' hand began to glow and shift into a mini gun "if you fools are so eager to play God…maybe I should send you to meet him instead!".

The moment he saw the mini gun's barrels begin to spin he raised a thick wall of stone to block their barrage, a cloud of dust rising from the rapid impacts against the barrier. "Nah," Ed spoke up with a smirk "me and God don't get along to well. Even if I went he'd probably just send me right back here.".

Quickly Al scooped up Rose and took off towards the door as Cornello opened fire, Rose's screams mixing in with the hail of gunfire. "This way!" he yelled as he ran at the wall, cocking back his fist and punching it as he used his control over earth to blow the wall outward and create an escape for them to use.

As they ran down the long corridor he heard Cornello run out after them, screaming "Well don't just stand there, after them! These Heathens seek to harm the order, they must be stopped!".

Ahead of them he saw a blockade of Order members smirking at them, "That's far enough boys." One of the larger ones said cockily.

"You're unarmed and outnumbered."

"Just come quietly, we don't want to have to rough you up.".

Sharing a glance with his twin they both continued running and gave savage grins, Ed transforming his arm into a giant blade with scoops, filigree, and a saw edge while he summoned balls of fire in each hand as they both cackled and the 'blockade' began to panic before being sent flying. Around the corner they could hear another 'brother' call out "Don't go easy just because they're kids, you got that?" as he saw Al's countenance darken, the subtle nuances of the armor having been picked up over the years, as his younger brother ran out and kicked the guard across the face with the steel boot as they continued running down the hall, laughing happily at the thrill of the fight.

-Al-

What do you think of Cornello now Rose?" he asked as he sat down a large bell and began working on using alchemy and wiring to turn it into a speaker "He just opened fire, he didn't care that you were in the way.".

"T-that's because…" Rose tried to deny before she sighed and looked away. "What he said back there is true…isn't it?" she finally asked him as he paused in his work.

"We're not evil," he said sadly "all we wanted was to see our mom's smile again. But our transmutation failed…what we made…it wasn't even human. We learned our mistake the hard way. People don't come back from the dead Rose…not now, not ever.".

"That's not true!" Rose denied in a horse whisper as her beliefs came crumbling down "I mean…"

"Alchemy is based upon equivalent exchange," he continued "the price of even a failed transmutation was enormous. It cost Ed his left leg…and it cost me my whole body.". As he explained he removed his helmet and leaned down so that his blood seal was showing, "Do you see it?" he asked the girl "My brother drew that with his own blood. His leg was taken, he was bleeding," he could feel his voice begin to shake as he talked and knew that if he had his body tears would be coming from his eyes "I can't imagine the pain he was in. But through all that he gave up his right arm to transmute my soul, bonding me to this suit of armor.". As he began drawing his transmutation circle he continued "Now, I just want to find a way to get his body back to normal, he wants to find a way to help me get my body back too. It won't be easy, we might even get killed along the way, but all we can do is keep moving.".

"But…but Father Cornello…he said he could do it…" Rose sobbed as he looked up at her "he promised me…just because you and your brothers failed it doesn't mean he will!".

"You'll soon see Rose," he said sadly as he finished his transmutation "and Harry had nothing to do with our taboo…he never committed our sin. He was sent to us so we could help to heal him and so he could help us heal in return. He became our brother as we lived, fought, and trained together. But his limbs…" here he slammed his fist into the side of the bell tower roof, cracking the stone under his anger "His parents abandoned him when he was a child Rose," he growled "they abandoned him because they thought he would be weak. He was given to an Aunt and Uncle who viewed things like Alchemy as demonic and evil…Harry spent ten years of his life as a slave before he was tortured in a way that destroyed his limbs beyond repair and he was rescued. Hate me if you must, hate Ed if you will…but Harry has done nothing to deserve it.".

-Harry-

Smirking he sat with his brother on 'Father' Cornello's desk, a little…surprise set up for the false Prophet. He was just about to ask his brother when he thought Cornello would come along when they heard footsteps and saw the man run past the door only to backtrack and glare at them, "There you are you infernal brats!" Cornello growled.

"Look can we cut the crap here?" Ed asked with the usual wild grin "All I want are some straight answers about the stone. Tell me what I want to know and we'll be on our way…or we could get the military involved.".

Cornello growled, looking around for any eavesdroppers, before sighing and closing the door, "Ask your questions." The 'Prophet' ordered resignedly.

"You could do anything with the Philosopher's stone, right? So why waste all that power performing phony miracles?".

"Because with each Miracle I can attract new believers to the Order," Cornello growled, a power hungry gleam in the man's eye "believers who would lay down their lives for my sake. I'm slowly building an army, a legion of holy warriors unafraid to die. In a few more years I'll be ready to unleash this mindless horde upon the world, and I'll use the philosopher's stone to tear this country apart. Who knows, I might even carve a slice out for you two and your brother." As the Prophet finished the man began to laugh in a sickening glee at the thought of war. He and his brother were laughing as well but for a much more…logical reason. "Hey wait, why are you two laughing?" the confused priest demanded.

"I knew it," Ed grinned "you really are a novice, aren't you?" as Ed held up the 'on' switch for the recording equipment and he pointed to the microphone at the Prophet's feet.

"Why you…" Cornello snarled "how long has that bee on?!".

"From the start," Ed said with a wide grin, "your 'believers' heard every word.".

"How could you?!" Cornello demanded as if betrayed causing him to snort "You'll pay dearly for this!".

When the prophet began to turn the cane, again, into a mini gun he shot a small bolt of lightning at the man, stiffening Cornello's muscles as Ed ran forward and sliced through the appearing gun with his arm turned into a sword blade. "Sorry bub," he said with a smirk as he readied a fireball "not today.".

"Just face it," Ed snarled "you're outmanned, outclassed, and just plain old outmatched.".

"I am without Rival!" the mad priest yelled, attempting to transmute the remains of the gun as a harsh red glow filled the room before bursting apart in a flash of red lightning to reveal that the transmutation had rebounded upon Cornello, misshaping the man's hand and arm as wires and guns grew out of the arm and fingers. "No!" Cornello yelled, hunched over from pain "I will not be defeated like this! Now boy, behold the chosen emissary of the sun god Leto!", Red lightning coursing around the man's body as Cornello's voice deepened and the prophet grew to a monstrous size.

"It's official," he said, readying his fists "he's lost it.".

"That implies that he had it to begin with." Ed said with a smirk as they prepared to take on the monstrous priest.

Leaping back they avoided the giant trying to tackle them as the man burst through the wall and into the main hall of the church, dodging the slow monstrosity's punches as they looked for a way to beat the beast. When they dodged a punch from the 'gun arm' though they were barely able to block a punch from the normal fist as they both tried to hold it back. "My word is the divine word of Leto himself!" the insane giant roared "My first is the almighty fist of judgement!".

"Go!" he yelled at his brother as he held back the fist "I got him!".

"Fist of God huh?!" Ed yelled as his brother stopped blocking the fist while he took the weight, "if that's what you want then you can have it!" before his brother transmuted the giant Leto statue so it's fist shot out and slammed into the Giant, sending the fool flying back and ending the size transmutation.

Growling he ran forward and grabbed the man's head before slamming his forehead into Cornello's nose, "Now," he roared as his brother leapt down from the statue "give us the Philosopher's stone!" only for said stone to dull inside the ring and fall out, cracking apart and turning to dust as he and his brother watched in shock.

"A fake," Ed said in despair, the State Alchemist falling to his knees "all along it was just a fake.".

"We went through all of this," he snarled angrily "risked our lives for this one chance to get you and AL your bodies back…and it's a fake?!" slumping over in despair as did Ed while Cornello begged and pleaded to be spared.

"So, uh, what about me?" Cornello asked them weakly.

"I don't care what you do just get out of here!" he roared, flames coating his body as he, quite likely, appeared demonic to the mad priest.

A few hours later they stood outside the church as Al walked up to them and the explained what had happened with Cornello, "But what about the stone?" Al asked in confusion.

"A fake," he said sadly "Just like him. I'm sorry Al but it doesn't look like we'll be getting you or Ed your bodies back today.".

"Give me the Philosopher's stone!" a new voice demanded as they turned to see Rose pointing the pistol from before at them.

"Like we just told Al," he said sadly, recognizing the look in the girl's eyes "it was a fake…it wasn't real. Besides, it shattered anyhow.".

"Liars!" Rose yelled at them, tears pouring down her face "You want to keep it for yourselves, don't you?! To use it on our bodies, that's right, and to try to bring your mother back again!".

"You shut up!" Ed yelled at the girl as he sighed and stepped back, knowing that this was something Ed had to handle himself. "People don't come back from the Dead Rose," Ed told her, tears welling in his brother's eyes "not now…not ever.".

"But he promised me!" Rose sobbed "He said if I prayed it would happen!". Sighing he and his brothers began walking forward, "That hope was all I had left!" Rose yelled at them as tears poured from her eyes "What am I supposed to believe in now?!". "Tell me what to do!" she pleaded of them as they passed her, "Please!".

"We can't tell you that Rose," he said as he paused and looked back at the girl "it's something you have to find for yourself, a reason to fight… to push on. You've got a good pair of legs Rose, stand up and use them, keep moving forward. You're strong enough to make your own path.". With that he turned back to his brothers as they continued onward, doing what he had just told Rose to do…they kept moving forward.