Lanfan and Foo where making their way back to the hotel, both had very solemn looks on their faces. Lanfan was carrying a vase like container, it looked very heavy.

"You know I had to do it…" she said quietly. Foo didn't respond right away, instead he gazed over his shoulder at the girl then up at the sky.

"One justifies their actions if they feel regret…" he finally said, "Do you?"

"No!" the girl snapped, though there was a slight hint of hesitance in her tone that would say otherwise. "He wasn't human, so…no I don't regret it."

"Hmmm…" Foo studied her for a moment then shook his head, "We've got company." He suddenly said. Lanfan tensed and held the container tighter just as a figure appeared in front of them.

Jet black hair casting a shadow across his face, but gaze focused intensely on the vase, the sin's mouth slowly curved into a frown. He then brushed some of his hair out of his face before folding his arms and demanding. "What have you done with the boy?"

Both the bodyguards' eye's widened slightly in response to the sins appearance. Save for being older looking of course, both he and the boy were nearly identical. This had been a factor neither of them had expected.

"Silence is not a wise response…what have you done with the boy?" Apathy said again.

"I take it…you must be Apathy…" Foo said, he made a subtle signal to Lanfan to keep going. She understood instantly and quickly took off. Though Apathy had missed the signal, he saw the girl take off and quickly decided to follow. Foo took off after him next.

--

"Light! What are we going to do? This place is strange, look at those funny looking cars and buildings." Misa protested. The two had been wondering Central City for several hours now and despite his better judgment, Light was actually feeling at a slight loss. This was a very strange city indeed and as of yet, he only had a basic understanding of the few area's they'd covered. Of course, Misa's complaining wasn't helping the matter, so Light was in a slightly bitter mood.

"Misa, please be quiet, I'm trying to think." He said simply while coming to a pause. He glanced around, making sure to keep an extra keen eye out for any familiar figures…namely Apathy. 'Speaking of which…who is this Apathy? He looks like Ryuuzaki but he's clearly not. But then there was the little boy who took on L's name and appeared to have some of L's memories. That could pose a slight problem, though he wasn't keen on befriending any of the locals, he didn't have much choice in somewhat 

befriending the Elrics. If they figured out who he was then that could make things more difficult for him in the long run. 'I recall reading this old book once on the theory of a parallel world, this could be what the author was talking about….and then there's this alchemy. Alchemy isn't supposed to be a real science but here it is, being practiced and actually succeeding.'

Folding his arms and glancing around, Light frowned, "Come on Misa…we need to head back to the hotel…it's best that we stay there for the time being."

"Alright Light…" the blond girl nodded then clung to the others arm as they started walking. Light in the mean time, was still contemplating his plan of action. First off, he'd need to talk to that boy again and learn everything he can from him.

--

Turning sharply around a corner that lead deeper into the alley way, and sprinting as fast as she could, Lanfan held on tight to the container and did not look back. She knew better then to waste time on checking if her pursuer was still following; the best course of action was to just keep moving and to get the remains back to the hotel. As she made to turn down a second path that would lead out into the streets, a thought suddenly crossed her mind.

'My Lord…did you know that the homunculus would find us?' Lanfan burst out onto the streets, finding herself in front of the hotel. Eyes narrowing, she started for the doors, 'He knew I would destroy what was left and it would some how draw this Apathy out …' she frowned slightly, as much as she wanted to be of any service to her master, it was still a bit insulting to be used as bait without being warned first.

In her brief pause, Apathy was able to catch up with Lanfan; actually, the young sin could have caught up with her easily but chose to toy with her a little. Make her assume that she was ahead and safe when that was not the case. Having moved to the roves of nearby buildings, Apathy gazed down at the girl, a frown still pressed firmly across his face. It was safe to say that he was not in a particularly good mood…nor was he in the mood for games. The way he saw it, if he could just get the remains, revive the boy, and leave all before the Elrics show up, then that would make things a lot easier.

"Lanfan! What are you doing over there?" Winry's voice broke the silence, the sin sniffed and jumped down as the girl made her way over to Lanfan; things just got more difficult.

Winry stopped when she was standing in front of Lanfan, she was a bit confused by the container and it showed on her face. She was about to ask about it when Edward and Alphonse came out of the hotel. They had heard Winry and decided to go see what the hubbub was about.

"Lanfan?" Alphonse took a step forward, "Have you seen L? He's been missing for several hours and we haven't been able to find him anywhere."

The female bodyguard took a slow breath, and then held out the container. "Yes, we found him…but…he was a pile of rubble when we did."

"What!?" Both the Elrics and Winry's eyes widened with shock and horror. Winry, though, was the first to approach Lanfan a little more. She gazed down into the container at what looked like the stone and dirt used in the streets of Central.

"T-This can't be…he was just a little boy…how could this happen?"

"That is exactly what I'd like to know…" the sin's voice cut in. Everybody looked up as Apathy stepped out of the shadows, "Though…I could give an exceptionally close guess…" brushing hair out of his face, he started towards Lanfan, "Somebody kidnapped him, but something went wrong and the kidnappers broke him. " Apathy paused, "That wasn't very nice…now I have to fix him…hand the boy over now."

Lanfan glared, "No…not until you tell us about the Philosopher's Stone." She said, shoving the remains into Winry's arms. Winry blinked in surprise, and then held it close while looking up and over at Apathy.

The sin sighed, but before he could respond a cold metal fist collided with the side of his face. Apathy's head jolted to the side, forcing him to stagger slightly. Slowly turning his head to see who it was that hit him, only to get a sudden boot to the face which sent him flying backwards. Skidding across the ground until he stopped a few feet away, Apathy groaned, but pushed himself to his feet.

"That's for Lieutenant Colonel Hughes…" Edward said while clapping his hands and forming the arm-blade, "Who knows how many others you've killed…but I'll be sure to you pay for each one regardless."

"FullMetal Alchemist…I'm not in the mood to play games with you at the moment…I'm only here to revive the boy…nothing more." The sin's eyes were narrow, "As for…your friend…" a slight smirk suddenly pulled at the corners of his lips, "He got to close...it's that simple…he could have ruined everything and I couldn't just stand by and allow him to stand in the way of justice."

"Justice!? You murdered him!" Edward shouted, "He had a daughter…and now…" the elder Elric was very angry, he could hardly complete his sentences.

"It was unavoidable I'm afraid…" Apathy shrugged, "Now…return the boy so that I may fix him."

Listening to all of this, Winry was beside herself. So, the one who murdered Maes Hughes was also the one who made L. Someone who was capable of causing so much pain, could also make something…no…someone so innocent. Taking a deep breath and sighing, Winry quickly walked over to where Apathy is standing.

"Winry! What are you doing?! Get away from him!" Al dashed forward, but Winry was already there. She had a dead set and determined look on her face as she held out the remains.

"You can bring him back right? Then do it…" she said. Apathy raised an eyebrow; he then took the container and dumped the contents out onto the ground. The others watched, uncertain of what to do at that moment. Do they stop the homunculus or do they let him continue?

"Hmm…I must admit…I find it interesting how much the boy has grown fond of you Miss. Rockbell. Of course, I suppose it makes sense…in fact…it makes perfect sense." Apathy crouched down and placed his hand on the pile of rubble, "You come across as a very maternal person Miss. Rockbell…even I seem to be having difficulty not doing as you wish. But, I am of a slightly stronger will so I will grant you your wish simply because it was my intension from the beginning…however…I will warn you all now…"

The dirt started to melt and bubble, turning almost molten beneath the young sin's fingers as it slowly started taking the form of a human body. "I'll warn you all now…the boy has now knowledge of this Philosopher's Stone…so if I find out that one of you decided to question him again and break him…it won't matter who it was…I will kill them, whether Father needs them or not."

When the reconstruction was complete, the boy lay motionless on the ground. There was a slight change though, he appeared older; around Alphonse's age to be more specific. Apathy smirked slightly, "It…seems to be working…" he mumbled softly before getting back up and brushing the dust off his pants.

Suddenly, a sharp gasp was forced from the sin when a blade was thrust through the middle of his back. It went all the way through and was sticking out of his stomach region. Coughing up quite a bit of blood and slowly turning his head, Apathy's gaze met the dark gaze of Lin Yao.

"I thought as much…" the prince said, "If one wants information, don't interrogate the foot men…" he swiftly withdrew the sword and shoved Apathy to the ground, "Draw out the one in charge."

"Lin!" Al almost cheered, but caught himself…despite what the others have said and what Apathy confessed; the younger Elric still felt there was something different about Apathy and that he wasn't entirely bad. Edward on the other hand whooped, and then dashed over.

"I hate to admit it but, that was pretty good." The elder brother said, "But, we're going to have to have a talk about this later."

"Yes, later Edward," Lin nodded with a teasing grin, "For now I have a homunculus to capture and question."

Apathy, in the mean time, had slowly gotten to his feet. The nasty stab wound already partially healed, he quickly started to run away. This had been exactly why he didn't want to interact with them just yet. He knew they were up to something, other wise Envy and Lust wouldn't be doing what they were doing. It had been a lucky break back in the alley, running into Envy and Lust; they were taking care 

of that Foo character, though whether they actually succeeded is uncertain. But that was the least of Apathy's concerns at the moment.

"Oh no you don't…" Lin growled while charging after the escaping sin, Edward was close behind, he had some questions he wanted answered too and he wasn't about to let Lin have all the fun. In the mean time, Alphonse and Winry stayed behind to look after the revived L. Alphonse carefully lifted him off the ground and carried the boy into the hotel, Winry following close behind.

Setting him down in his own room, Alphonse said he'd go get some food and a wet washcloth. Winry just sat down on the edge of the bed and watched the seemingly lifeless boy. It was very…creepy, to say the least; his chest did not move, nor was there any other sign that he was even breathing. Had Apathy really brought him back or was it a trick? Winry sighed and scooted a little closer so that she could brush some of the boy's messy black hair out of his face.

It was in that second, that L's hand suddenly shot up and grabbed her by the wrist. A startled yelp escaped Winry, which made the boy jolt slightly and sit up swiftly, Winry's wrist still in his grasp. Blinking wide eyed and confused, L looked around for a moment as if trying to recall where he was. When his dark gaze finally fell on Winry, he quickly let go of her wrist and started to chew on the tip of his thumb.

"I…apologize for running off like that…" he said in a surprisingly even tone, almost like Apathy's but still held some of that childish innocence. Winry just blinked in equal confusion; that, and the fact her heart was still racing a hundred miles an hour after that little scare. But, after a moment, she finally breathed a deep sigh and smiled.

"No, it's alright…we shouldn't have laughed at you…" she said in a reassuring tone, "L, are you hungry? Al went down to get some food and a washcloth and should be back in a moment."

"Yes actually…I am…kind of hungry." L slowly glanced up at the ceiling, he seemed to fidget slightly on the bed and appeared slightly uncomfortable in the manner of which he was sitting. Still lightly chewing on his thumb, the slightly older boy seemed to be scanning the entire room for something.

"Is…something wrong?" Winry asked while reaching out and pulling his hand away from his mouth, "I told you, you'll make yourself bleed if you keep doing that."

"No…it's nothing…" L sighed, and then blinked as his hand was pulled away, "It…helps me think though. I'm able to think 25 more clearly when I do that…"

"And what are you thinking about L?" Winry asked.

L just blinked and starred at her for a short while before answering, "What happened to Light Yagami and Misa Amane…they just left and I'm sure they're feeling quite lost at the moment…"

"Oh?"

"Yes…" L nodded while turning his gaze away once again; this particular little quirk was less noticeable when he was smaller, but was starting to grow more obvious now that he was a little bigger.
"I also have a feeling that we have not seen the last of them…"

To Be Continued

. Tired! –falls asleep at keyboard- .….well anywho! The next chapter should (hopefully) progress the plot a little. I've got this awesome plan for how this story is going to end and I can't wait to get there X3! And yes…there's more to Apathy then meets the eye…he's capable of being very, very….VERY….nasty but he's probably got a soft side for Winry …don't ask me why cause I won't tell you! Though, his heightened sense of emotion sort of contradicts his name…I'm gonna go off on a tangent now XD….I'm gonna tell ya a small spoiler just for the heck of it…of course, that depends on how the story goes…but anyway! I originally intended for Apathy to turn out far more nasty and evil then Envy and Envy is one mean son of a –turtleneck!- . But then, I've been findin' all these awesome pics of Beyond Birthday and was oddly reminded of Apathy. Ok…I'm done for now…Read and Review! I luffles reviews! XD They let me know that people are reading and that I should keep writing! XD and good reviews make me all warm and fuzzy inside X'D