TUP Chap 26

Guest reviews-

(I'm gonna answer each of you separately. ._.)

—Flaming kitkat: that's pretty close to what I have planned for the ending! Muahhaha!

—Moons Shadow: that's an interesting idea but it's not what I have planned. However, some things you said are pretty dang close :3

—Grim spirit: *blushes* oh, stop it you. I'm really glad you like my story even though my grammar wasn't the best at the start ._.

—ALL THREE OF YA PEEPS: NULLMETAL ALCHEMIST IS DA BEST! At least SOMEONE recognized it!

"You see, Edward, this is what happens when you challenge a man that can blow shit up! Muahaha!" — the best thing flamboyant Roy has ever said... Apart from all the RoyEd things he keeps hinting at, cuz those were hilarious, and of course you can't forget the multicolored g-strings line.

Also, Get an actual account so I can PM you! You seem like entertaining peeps so maybe we could talk sometime.

~*Author's note*~

*dodges tomatoes and various sharp instruments.* now guys... I know I'm a little late... *cello hits face* FULLMETALCELLIST WHY ARE YOU THROWING THINGS AT ME?! *glares at the winged kitty musician* Aaaaanyhoo, I am SO FREAKING SORRY! I LOST MOTIVATION AND I KINDA GOT LOST WRITING ANOTHER FIC THAT WAS THE RESULT OF KILLER VAMPIRE PLOT BUNNIES. The fic is still being written (and is at twenty+ chapters with at least 2,500-3,000 words each) but I'm not sure if I should publish it... It's kinda strange... I'll make a preview fic to show what it'll be about. Anyway, again, I am so sorry. But as you can see, I'm back! SO ON WITH THE CHAPPIE!

I do not own FMA. It belongs to the all-powerful bovine, Arakawa.

(This chapter starts crappily... :T I couldn't really start up again perfectly after so long without writing... So I apologize ahead of time.)

- Chapter 26

Edward and Alphonse spent the next morning reading and researching as usual. Al had Ed shape-shift into a few animals he had always wanted to see. Including a lion (aka the ultimate kitty according to Alphonse) and even some creatures from the prehistoric era, which Ed found to be quite difficult to mimic. But other than that, nothing really happened, even after Roy came home.

The next morning wasn't any different. Ed and Al had to force Roy to get up and go to work just like the day before. But soon after Mustang left, all hell broke loose.

~~~~~~~~~~~page break squiggles~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey brother, could you hurry up?" Alphonse called at the bathroom door that connected to both of their bedrooms.

"Agh... Sorry. My hair is being really stupid right now." Ed's muffled voice hissed from within.

Alphonse sighed and walked away from the door and sat down on his bed. "Come on... My medicine is in there." He mumbled.

There was a muffled thump and a growl from the bathroom. Alphonse glanced at the door and raised an eyebrow.

"Ouch... Stupid hair!" He heard Ed's voice snarl.

Alphonse shook his head. "Don't hurt yourself, brother." He sighed. "Just take out your braid and shower already."

"Ahg... The hair tie is tangled... Wait! Got it!" Ed shouted triumphantly.

Alphonse smiled and shook his head. "What am I gonna do with you?" He chuckled to himself.

The sound of a shower starting came from the bathroom, filling the room with the soothing nose. Alphonse sighed and flopped down on the bed, staring at the ceiling and loosing himself in his thoughts.

'I'm glad Brother still acts like himself. His philosopher's stone hasn't changed his soul... Well, he does act differently around the General now, but Roy also acts strange around Ed. Their relationship has changed greatly from what it used to be before this whole mess.' Alphonse smiled to himself as he thought about how nicely Roy has treated them. 'I'm glad we have someone else in our lives to look after Edward and I. It was hard keeping track of Brother by myself.' Al's soft smile faded and darker thoughts filled his mind. 'But... What will happen to him if something goes wrong? Will he ever be the same? I don't think I could survive if something ever happened to Brother...' He quickly shook his head, banishing those thoughts. 'No. Mustang wouldn't let anything like that happen to Brother and neither will I. We will get through this... I hope...' Alphonse heaved a sigh and closed his eyes. He slowly began to drift off to sleep while he waited for Edward to finish his shower...

"Yo! Alphonse!" A cheerful voice called suddenly.

Alphonse yelped in surprise and jumped to his feet, his attempt to sleep long forgotten. He quickly looked around the room until his eyes stopped at the window.

Ling Yao was crouched on the windowsill, his hand raised in greeting and a huge grin on his face. "Long time no see, huh?" Ling said happily.

"Ling! W-What are you doing here?!" Alphonse gasped.

Ling smiled. "Just paying my old friend a visit!" He said. He suddenly became serious and somewhat depressed, his smile turning into a sad grimace. "I... I heard about what happened to Ed... I can only imagine how you must feel right now. Sorry if I took forever to stop by, but I had official business in Xing I had to take care of." He murmured.

Alphonse paled and gulped nervously. "Ed? O-Oh yeah... Ed. Um, yeah... He died a while ago. I s-still miss him." He stuttered.

Ling smiled sadly and hopped off the windowsill and into the room. "Hey... It'll be okay." He murmured.

"Um... Hey, where is Lan Fan?" Al asked, trying to steer the conversation away from Edward.

Ling smiled. "I left her back in Xing. I needed someone I trusted to look after everything while I was gone." The young emperor suddenly grinned and clapped his hands together. "Oh, and I almost forgot! Look, someone else came to see you!" He waved at somebody outside and shouted something in Xingese.

After a few seconds of silence, May and her little panda suddenly appeared on the windowsill (which was on the second story of the huge house by the way). She looked at Al and tears immediately began to well up in her eyes.

"Oh, Alphonse!" she cried, rushing up to Al and hugging him tight. "I missed you so much! I'm so, so sorry about what happened to Edward! I wish I could have come to see you sooner, but like Ling said, there were some issues in Xing that needed to be sorted out!"

Alphonse awkwardly stood while May held him around the waist. He eventually patted her on the head and cleared his throat. "Um... Thanks? But there's no need to worry about me. Sure, I really miss Brother, but life goes on." He said.

Ling looked surprised. "Life goes on?" He echoed in disbelief. "You two were the closest brothers I have ever met! I'd expect it would take at least a year to get over Ed's death." He then waved his hand dismissively. "Well, you are a tough kid so it's no surprise that you recovered quickly."

Alphonse nodded and shuffled his feet nervously, taking a quick glance at the bathroom door. Ling noticed Al's nervousness and became aware of the sound of running water. He raised his eyebrow questioningly. "Who's taking a shower? I thought it was just you and the general here." He asked.

Alphonse paled. "Ah... Uh... It's just a friend of mine who wanted to visit." He blurted. 'Shouldn't he have already sensed a Ed's philosopher's stone?' He thought nervously, hoping that he was wrong and Ling wouldn't notice.

The young emperor immediately became curious. "Hm... Is it a lady friend?" He asked with a sly grin. May scoffed and folded her arms angrily at the mention of another girl.

Alphonse nodded vigorously, a bit relieved to have an excuse. "Y-Yeah!" He suddenly heard the shower stop. "Oh! Um, she's done so we should probably leave so she can have some privacy." He said quickly.

"Hey! Wait!" Ling and May gasped as Alphonse began to push them towards the exit to leave.

the bathroom door suddenly opened and revealed a shirtless Edward in a pair of black pants with wet hair and a brush in his hand. "Hey, Al... Have you seen my other hair ties?" He asked, looking around the room for his brother. His gaze landed on Ling, May, and Alphonse frozen in the doorway.

Edward paled and dropped the brush. He glanced down at his ouroboros tattoo that was visible for all to see and quickly looked back up.

"Uh... Sh-Shit..." He gasped, taking a step back. He suddenly bolted into the bathroom again and slammed the door shut. His two Xingese friends continued to stare after him in shock.

Ling finally turned to Alphonse and stood gaping at him. "A...Al... Who was THAT?! It was a homunculus! But why is it in your house?!" Ling exclaimed.

Alphonse tried to speak but his words were jumbled and stuttered. "Uh... I... Ed... Um... He's not..."

Ling stared at Alphonse suspiciously with narrowed eyes. "May..." He hissed. The young princess looked up at the older teen. "Go downstairs and wait. I'll take care of this." May obeyed and scurried out the door, too afraid and shocked to do anything else.

ling stepped closer to Al and stared down at him. "Alphonse... Why is there a homunculus in your house? And why does it look like Edward?" He hissed dangerously.

Alphonse gulped. "Uh... You see... Brother was... Um..." He tried to explain himself but he couldn't think of any excuse except tell the truth.

Ling's eyes widened and he took a step back. "You didn't take it in just because it looked like your brother, did you?!" He gasped. "Homunculi can't be trusted! It might hurt you!" He shouted.

Alphonse scowled and his amber eyes flashed. "Ling... I see why you're concerned, but you of all people should understand! You got stuck with greed, and now Edward is stuck with some kind of homicidal psychopath running around in his head!" Al raged.

Ling stepped away from Alphonse in surprise. he didn't expect his sweet caring friend to just blow up at him like that. "S... So that really was Edward? Wow... He really screwed up. How did this happen?" He asked.

"That bastard father did it to me."

Ling and Alphonse turned their heads to the bathroom door. A fully-clothed Edward stood there, leaning against the doorframe. His hair was somewhat dry and already done up in a braid.

Ling narrowed his eyes. "How come I can't sense your philosopher's stone as well as the other Homunculi?" He asked suspiciously.

Ed shrugged, "Because it's almost gone. My stone isn't very powerful. I'm guessing it only has a few more lives left inside it." He sighed.

Ling nodded. "You're right. It's very weak. But, if you're here... Then why did I hear about the death of the Fullmetal alchemist from all the way in Xing?"

"Agh... Cuz I tried to fake my death so I wouldn't risk harming anyone. But then my brother got himself into trouble that I had to bail him out of." Ed sighed.

Alphonse raised his hands in defense. "Hey! I didn't know they were following me!"

"You were just being careless!" Ed growled.

"At least my carelessness lead me to finding you!" Al countered.

"Which also nearly got someone killed!"

Ling watched the two brothers bicker back and forth, a smile forming on his face. "Heh. I knew there wasn't any way Edward Elric would get himself killed so easily. Glad to have you back, my friend." The Xingese teen chuckled.

Edward backed away warily as Ling took a step towards him. "No hugs..." Ed warned.

Ling grinned. "I'mma hug ya!" He laughed, knowing perfectly well how much Edward hated physical contact, especially from him.

He lunged for Edward but Ed was quicker, dodging the Xingese emperor with ease. Ling pouted and tried again, but his speed was no match for Sloth's. Edward smirked and dodged him a third time.

"Come on, Eddo! I just wanna hug you!" Ling whined.

Edward's eye twitched in annoyance as he dodged the teen's hug attack once again. "I said no, you annoying prince." He growled.

Ling grinned even wider and advanced again. "And I'm going to do it anyway!" He laughed, charging towards his friend.

Edward sighed and shifted his stance to a much more relaxed one. Ling, taking the action as permission to attempt to embrace him, leaped into the air for a tackle-hug. Ed smirked and looked up at his friend mischievously.

With a simple twitch of his fingers, Ed had Ling trapped and suspended upside-down from the ceiling. Black ribbons and curls writhed along the walls from the shadow cast by the ceiling fan, wrapped tightly around the emperor's body.

At first all Ling could do was gasp and stare at the eerily familiar shadows and the evilly grinning Edward standing beneath him. Once he regained his senses, Ling began struggling against the darkness that trapped him.

"Wh-What the hell are you doing, Ed?! GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!" The dark-haired teen gasped, his eyes wide in fear.

The sound of Edward laughing brought Ling's attention back to the young alchemist. Ed was doubled over in a fit of giggles, trying in vain to contain them.

Ling scowled. "This isn't funny!" He shouted.

Edward looked up at his victim. "Y-Yes it is! You should see your face!" He managed to say between chuckles.

"Edward Elric, so help me, I will strangle you when I get down from here!" Ling growled.

Ed choked on another laugh. "You? Attack me?! You wouldn't stand a chance! And besides, I wouldn't be making threats if I were you, I'm not the one who's trapped!"

Alphonse sighed from where he stood watching the whole encounter. "Brother, let him go. The blood is gonna rush to his head and then we'll have to deal with him when he passes out."

Ed looked at his little brother with mischievous gold eyes. "Not until he promises not to touch me!"

Ling sighed in defeat. "Fine... I won't try to strangle or hug you."

Ed grinned. "Good." he praised before turning away. The shadows immediately disappeared, dropping an unsuspecting Ling Yao to the hardwood floor.

"Ouch..." The teen groaned, sitting up and rubbing his head. "Did you have to drop me?"

"Yep." Ed chuckled, waking to the bedroom door and placing his hand on the doorknob.

Suddenly, two arms wrapped around his shoulders in an embrace from behind. Edward gasped and spun around, but the owner of the arms, quickly retreated. "Ling!" Ed gasped, glaring angrily at the emperor. "You said that you wouldn't hug me!"

Ling grinned and shrugged. "And I asked you to put me down, not drop me." He countered.

Ed blinked and sighed, slumping his shoulders. "This is gonna be a long day, I can tell..." He grumbled before straitening up and scratching the back of his head, eying Ling warily. "How long are you guys planning on staying?" He asked.

"Not long." Ling answered. "We didn't just come here to see Alphonse, May and I have to talk to the Führer about Amestris becoming trade partners with Xing, so we'll probably leave in a few hours. I can't keep Lan Fan in charge of my country for too long."

Ed sighed in relief. "Good, that'll give us enough time to talk and stuff and hopefully I won't go insane by the time you leave." He grumbled.

Ling slapped him on the back and grinned. "Yeah that would be nice. I'd like to leave here alive." He laughed.

Ed didn't return the emperor's smile and turned away. "I was being serious." He growled before opening the bedroom door and walking out into the hallway.

Ling glanced at Alphonse and raised an eyebrow questioningly. Al simply sighed and followed his brother, leaving Ling to stare after them.

'What was that about?' He thought before shrugging and running after the brothers.

Alphonse caught up to Edward. "Brother, why are you worried? You know Ling, he's fun to have around! Isn't that what you need?" He asked softly.

Ed continued down the hallway without looking at his little brother. "I know that, but having him here means that there's another person I care about in danger." The blonde replied quietly.

Alphonse sighed and shook his head. "But Death hasn't made an appearance in a while, I think we'll be fine."

At that, Edward spun around to face his brother, stopping Al in his tracks. Ling halted behind them and watched, confused.

"Just because Death hasn't shown up in a while doesn't mean that he'll be gone forever. I can't let any other people be at risk, not if I can help it. May and Ling have to leave as soon as possible." Edward growled before turning and stomping down the stairs with a scowl.

Alphonse grumbled something unintelligible before going after his brother with Ling close behind. "Brother wai-"

"AHH- WHAT THE HELL?!" Edward suddenly shouted in pain from downstairs.

Alphonse and Ling gasped before they both rushed down the staircase and into the living room. They frantically looked around and spotted Edward standing by the couch. He had a pained grimace on his face and was glaring at a small bloody throwing knife in his hand. A growing patch of blood stained his grey shirt through a deep wound on his chest that sparked faintly with red alchemic energy.

Ed dropped the small blade and glared across the room at May Chang, who was in a fighting stance with five kunai between her fingers.

"What the hell May!? You stabbed me!" Ed snarled. He looked down at his ruined shirt and tried in vain to rub the splotch of blood off. "I liked this shirt!"

May didn't speak, instead she slowly circled around the couch that separated her from the blonde homunculus and crossed the room until she stood between Ed and the two teenagers who watched by the stairwell.

"You won't hurt the emperor!" May shouted, readying one of her knives while Xao-Mei growled menacingly at Edward.

The blonde alchemist rolled his eyes, "C'mon May, it's me, Ed. You know me! I'm not gonna hurt Ling. But if he tries to hug me again, all bets are off." Ed sighed.

May narrowed her eyes distrustfully while her panda continued growling.

She gasped in surprise when a gentle hand wrapped around her wrist and lowered her arm as another hand took the kunai from her. May turned her head to see who disarmed her and immediately blushed.

Alphonse stood behind her, smiling kindly. "May, it's okay. Brother's not going to hurt anyone. It's really Ed." He said softly and released her wrist.

May glanced at Edward and then back at Al. "B-But he has the tattoo! And he healed his wound like a homunculus!" She stammered.

Alphonse smiled gently. "I know that, and it's a long story, but believe me when I say that he is Edward Elric."

May gulped and took a deep breath before finally nodding. "Okay... I believe you, Alphonse..." She murmured, giving Ed a wary glance.

Edward loudly clapped his hands. "Welp! Now that we've been reintroduced...how about we sit down, yeah?" He said with fake enthusiasm.

Alphonse nodded and led May to one of the couches to sit.

Ling grinned, eying the comfy-looking furniture in the room. He immediately ran toward the leather couch and took a flying leap, landing squarely on the plush cushions and propping his feet up on the coffee table. "The general has a nice place..." He sighed contentedly.

Ed growled and stomped over. He stopped and stood next to Ling, glaring at his dirty boots that were planted on the small stained oak table. Ed turned his gold gaze back to Ling and pointed at the offending footwear.

"No feet on the general's furniture." He grumbled, giving the prince a glare.

Ling grinned and folded his arms behind his head and relaxed into the plush leather couch, not making a move to take his feet off the table.

Ed's eyes narrowed and the shadow cast by the couch began to contort into long writhing tendrils of darkness. "Do I have to hang you upside-down from the roof again?" He growled with a smirk.

Ling gulped and immediately removed his feet from the coffee table and sat up strait.

Ed smirked. "That's more like it. Now behave, this is Mustang's house, not yours."

Ling raised an eyebrow. "What's with the sudden protectiveness of the general's property? Knowing you, you would have jumped at the opportunity to damage his stuff..." He asked curiously.

Ed snorted and dropped into a nearby recliner, propping up his chin with his flesh hand. "It's not like I suddenly feel as though everything the general owns isn't something to break, it's just that Mustang has been helping Al and I out a lot and he's even letting us live with him... I just feel that ruining his stuff wouldn't be the best thing to do." He sighed, then shook his head and glared at Ling. "But he's still a bastard." He added quickly.

Ling smiled slyly and leaned closer to Ed. "You and the general have become pretty... Close, haven't you?"

Ed glanced at the prince with a raised eyebrow. "Well yeah..."

Ling smirked. "So are you guys friends or... Is it more than that?" He said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Edward leaped to his feet and stared at his friend in horror. "Wh-What?! No!" He gasped. Ling broke into a fit of laughter, which only made Ed glare at him. "THATS IT!" Edward shouted. "YOU'RE GOING TO THE ROOF, YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

Before Ling could say another word, a ribbon of shadow wrapped around his ankles and lifted him upside-down into the air above the couch. Unfortunately that did nothing to calm the boy's laughter.

"I'm sorry! But you should have seen your face!" Ling chuckled.

Ed scowled and let the shadows disappear, dropping the prince head-first onto the couch.

"Ouch... Not again." Ling groaned before sitting up. Ed scoffed and sat back down in his chair. Ling looked over at him and smirked. "Well I'm sorry for joking about that. Everyone knows that you only have eyes for that Rockbell girl, right?" He chuckled.

Ed turned to him with a fierce glare, but it quickly faded into sadness and he hung his head. "Winry... I hope she's doing okay..." He mumbled.

Ling frowned at his friend, he didn't mean to make him sad. Before he could try to comfort Edward, May interrupted from the other couch where she and Alphonse watched them fight.

"She's not doing so good, actually..." May sighed.

Ed turned to look at her. "What? How do you know?"

May smiled sheepishly. "Um, we stopped by Risembool after we crossed the desert."

Edward's eyes widened and he scooted to the edge of his chair. "Really? H-How was she?" He asked.

May frowned and stared down at her hands. "She's still really sad about your 'death'... And I think we only made it worse. Apparently Ling and I reminded her of you and she got really upset and locked herself in her room..." The young princess murmured.

Ed stared at May with wide eyes. "D-Did she cry?!" He asked frantically, looking distressed.

May looked up at the Homunculus and tilted her head, wondering why Ed was so concerned. "No, she didn't cry. She kept saying 'I promised him I wouldn't cry' over and over to herself until she calmed down. I don't know what it means, but I'm guessing you do." She said.

Edward closed his eyes and dropped his head into his hands. He let out a shaky breath before mumbling, "she still kept her promise... I almost forgot about it..." Ed suddenly growled and slammed his metal fist into the arm of his recliner, startling the others. "Damn it!" He snarled in the voice of Pride, the shadows in the room elongating into ribbons that writhed and shifted along the walls and floor.

May and Ling leaped to their feet and backed away from the teenager warily, while Alphonse stared at his brother worriedly.

Edward trembled with anger for a moment longer before his tense shoulders relaxed and the shadows returned to normal. The teenager let out a shaky sigh and lifted his flesh hand to cradle his head.

Alphonse stood up and slowly approached. "Brother? Are you alright?" He called softly.

Edward lifted his head and stared at Al with pained eyes. "Al... What if we don't find a way to fix this? What if I have to stay a monster forever? I can't live like this!" He choked, covering his eyes with a hand.

Alphonse reached out and placed his hand on Ed's shoulder. "It'll be alright brother, we'll find a way." He said.

Edward shook his head. "But what if we don't?!"

Al kneeled down in front of his brother and shook his shoulders. "Don't think that way! Please, Ed. It'll only put you at risk of being taken over by Death. We'll return you to normal, I promise." He wrapped his arms around Edward and pulled him close. Ed returned the hug and gave his little brother a gentle squeeze.

"I know, Al. I'm sorry I said that. I'm just scared." The blonde mumbled into Alphonse's shoulder.

Al sighed and patted Edward on the back. "It's okay, brother."

"Heh... Hehe..." Ed suddenly chuckled.

Alphonse's eyes widened and he quickly pulled away from his brother, fearing the worst. "Death...?"

Edward covered his face with a hand. "Hehe, it's okay Al. I'm still me. It's just-" Ed looked up at Alphonse and smiled. "When did you grow up when I wasn't looking?"

Alphonse returned his brother's smile and chuckled, "well one of us has to be the mature one."

"I guess that's a good thing, seeing as how homunculi don't age." Ed laughed.

Al shook his head. "We'll figure out how to fix that." He promised.

"Who's Death?" Ling suddenly said from where he stood by the couch with May.

Al stood up and he and Ed looked at the two Xingese teenagers. "What?" Alphonse asked.

Ling walked over to them. "When you said 'risk being taken over by Death' as if it was a person. So who's Death?"

Al and Ed exchanged glances before Edward stood up and pulled down the collar of his shirt, exposing his ouroboros tattoo. "You remember how someone becomes a homunculus, don't you Ling?" Ed asked.

The emperor grimaced and nodded. "How could I forget? It was really painful..."

Ed let go of his shirt and folded his arms. "I'm not talking about the process, I'm talking about how Father did it." He growled. Ling frowned, looking confused. Ed sighed and continued. "When Father makes a Homunculus, he takes a piece of his own soul that has an emotion he doesn't desire, greed, pride, wrath, gluttony, lust, envy, sloth, and a piece of his philosopher's stone and puts it into a human in an attempt to rid himself of human emotion. The fact that he gets a loyal and powerful servant to do his bidding is a bonus. But the original soul that inhabited the body is usually lost in the torrent of souls inside the philosopher's stone and a new soul takes over. For you it was Greed because that's the emotion that Father needed to be rid of since he had taken the original greed's stone back into his body and thus he had that emotion again. Do you see how and why he does it now, Ling?" Ed finished.

Ling just nodded and stared at the floor, pondering what his friend had told him. 'I didn't realize that it was that complicated...' He thought before looking up at Edward. "So you must have Pride then, huh? One hell of a creeper he was." The prince laughed.

Edward shook his head grimly. "The other soul inside me isn't Pride." He said.

Ling frowned, confused again. "Then who is it?" He asked.

Ed sighed and tapped his chest where the tattoo would be. "It's not Pride or Greed or any of the others. Actually, I wish it WAS one of them..." He shuddered and closed his eyes. "The circumstances of which I was turned into a Homunculus was different than yours was or any of the others. I'm still trying to figure it out but I think I have a good idea of what he did." Edward opened his eyes and looked back at Ling. "Remember when Father was weak and dying, and I was trapped against that concrete during the battle?"

Ling nodded. "Yeah, Greed and I saved you from him."

Ed grimaced and continued. "Before you stopped Father, he realized that his body and stone were too weak to fight any longer. Then he saw me trapped against the rubble and decided that if he stole my body by removing his soul and what was left of his stone and putting it in me, that he could keep fighting and everyone else wouldn't want to hurt him because it would mean killing their comrade. So he tried to do it. He put his stone in my body first, and then he tried to remove his soul, you and Greed stopped him. As a result, I had a whole, albeit weak, philosopher's stone in my bloodstream, but not a piece of Father's soul like the other homunculi. Though I still became one, an extremely powerful one at that, I had my own soul and could control my actions and all the powers that came with becoming a homunculus... Or so I thought..." Ed sighed and dropped his face into his hands. "I should have realized that I didn't get off as easy as I thought. Of course there was a catch." He looked back up at Ling, May and Alphonse as they listened. "I'm not sure how it got here since none of Father's soul is in my stone, but another soul showed up and started taking over my body. It isn't like the other homunculi, it's soul feeds off of the misery of others, including me. So whenever I get depressed or feel hopeless, there's a risk that it'll get enough energy to overpower my soul and the only way for me to switch places with it, someone else has to 'kill' me. Doing that weakens it and while it tries to heal itself, I can take my body back. Up until a couple weeks ago, it never spoke while in control, it only laughed and tried to kill anyone near me. But then I guess it found a way to take over completely and it started to talk. The general asked who it was, to which it replied 'I am Death'. So that's what we've been calling the creepy bastard." Edward paused and looked up at Ling and May, who were staring at him in fear and slowly inching away. He smiled and made a calming gesture with his hands. "It's alright you guys. Death hasn't been able to do anything lately. You're all safe." He reassured.

Ling nodded and sat back down on the couch. May gulped and reluctantly followed her emperor's example and sat while said emperor studied Edward curiously, who found the Xingese's gaze uncomfortable.

Ed shifted in his seat and cleared his throat. "Um... Is there something you'd like to ask, Ling?" He mumbled.

The teen smirked. "So you said that you have all of the homunculi's powers, right? You can shapeshift and use greed's shield and the ultimate eye and everything?" Ling questioned, to which Edward nodded. Ling suddenly grimaced. "What about Gluttony?"

Ed groaned and covered his face with his hands. "Why does everyone mention Gluttony?!" He then sighed and dropped his arms. "I'm sure I have his powers too, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna use it. It's too gross and creepy." He grumbled, shooting Ling a glare.

Ling grinned and laughed. "I guess you're right. After being swallowed by gluttony, I wouldn't want you to use that either."

Ed closed his eyes and frowned. "That doesn't mean Death won't use it... In fact, I'm surprised he hasn't already." He murmured grimly.

Ling grimaced. "Yeah... I guess you're right about that..." He said.

Edward sighed and looked over at Ling and May. "That's why you two have to go as soon as possible. I don't want to put any more people I care about in danger. It's bad enough that Alphonse and Mustang are at risk, I don't want to add anyone else to that list." He said firmly.

Ling jumped to his feet. "But we can't leave now that we know all this! We can help you!" The teen exclaimed.

Edward stood up and glared at his friend. "No! You are not staying! Unless you know something that I don't about performing alchemy on a soul, you can't help." He growled.

Ling gaped at his friend, unable to argue with that. He soon sighed sadly and sat back down. "I guess you're right..."

May looked at her emperor and frowned. She couldn't do anything to help either, even though he was an alchehestrist, she didn't know anything about soul alchemy. She sighed and patted Ling on the back. "Master Ling, we can't stay long anyway. Xing needs it's emperor..." She said softly.

Ling nodded and smiled at the little princess. "You're right May, we need to go back as soon as possible."

Edward smiled and clapped his hands. "Great! And when exactly is 'as soon as possible'? If it were up to me you'd be gone by now!" He said enthusiastically.

"Brother!" Alphonse hissed, elbowing Ed in the side.

Ling shook his head. "No, Ed is right. We have to leave in a few minutes, it's already getting dark and we have an entire desert to cross." He sighed.

Edward nodded. "Right."

Ling looked down at May. "Are you ready to go, May?"

The young princess nodded and stood up. "I'm ready."

Alphonse walked over and smiled at his friends. "Thanks for coming anyway, and I'm sure brother is grateful too." He elbowed Edward in the side and gestured to the two Xingese teenagers.

Ed grumbled something before he faced Ling and May. "Yeah, thanks for coming you annoying prince."

Ling smiled and punched Edward lightly on the shoulder. "That's annoying emperor now, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah..." Ed mumbled before looking down at May. "Thanks for the stab wound." He huffed. Alphonse elbowed him again. "I mean, thanks for coming to see me." He corrected.

Al grinned smugly and said his goodbyes, including a couple bear hugs from May. It was quite a while before the two actually left.

Edward sighed as soon as the front door closed and began to walk toward the stairs.

Alphonse followed after his brother worriedly. "Ed, you okay?" He asked.

Edward nodded. "I'm fine, just a headache. Having those two around is exhausting, I'm going to bed, okay?" He mumbled tiredly.

Alphonse blinked in surprise. He didn't know Homunculi could even get headaches. "O-Okay brother. I'll be reading in the living room and waiting for the general to get back from work. Just call me if you need anything." Al said softly, staring after his brother as he climbed up the stairs.

Once Ed was out of sight, Alphonse sighed and walked back into the living room and sat down on one of the couches. He grabbed a book from the coffee table and opened it, though he didn't really pay attention to what was on the page.

'Brother has been acting strangely... As if he's getting sick. Can homunculi even get sick? I hope not...' Al thought to himself. He sighed and went back to his book. "I'll ask the general what he thinks when he gets back..."

AN* agh this chapter kinda sucked... sorry.