Fullmetal Blood

City of Heresy

"God's children live upon this land. Pray and thee shall be saved. Those who have lost their way, the Sun God, Leto shall . . ." the radio drones.

Ed and I are drinking Fanta orange soda, sitting at a strange diner in Lior and eating lunch.

"So what are you guys, like street performers or somethin'?" the man at the diner asks.

Ed spits his soda everywhere as I try not to splurt out my mouth. "Seriously, do we look like street performers to you?" Ed asks.

"Yes, why ask?" the diner man says.

"Let's go, Al," I say as we get up. Al bumps his armor and the radio falls off, smashing to bits.

"Hey! Easy! I didn't mean nothin' by it!" the man says.

"Sorry, accident. We'll fix it," Ed says.

"How's that? It's smashed to Hell," the man says.

"Watch and learn, gramps," I say. Al draws his transmutation circle with chalk.

"Okay, here goes," Al says. People have gathered. Al fixes the radio.

"There, see? How's that?" Ed asks.

"Amazing! It's a miracle. You've been touched by the Sun God, just like Father Cornello," the man says.

"Touched by who, now?" I ask.

"It's not a miracle. It's alchemy," Al says.

"Oh, so you three are Alchemists. I've heard of that," one guy pipes up.

"Then maybe you've heard of us. We're the Elric brothers, and that's the Blood Alchemist," Ed points at me.

"Elric brothers, you say? And Blood Alchemist?" the diner man asks.

"Hey, I do know that name," one says.

"The Fullmetal Alchemist and Blood Alchemist, Edward Elric and Elisa Fridley, is that right?" Another asks.

"Wow, so you're the young prodigy?" another asks Al.

"Tell us a story," another says.

" . . . Grown so much!"

" . . . Armor . . ."

" . . . Metal . . ."

"Uh, no! It's not me!" Al says.

"Huh?" they all ask.

"What? You mean it's the little guy there with the little Blood Alchemist?" one asks.

"WHO'S LITTLE? COME HERE AND SAY IT TO MY FACE! I DARE YA!" Ed and I screech.

*****

"So what's with this guy on the radio?" I ask.

"T-that's our leader, Father Cornello," they're all still quite shaken by our outburst.

"We were lost until he came to town and began teaching us all the ways of the Sun God, Leto," one says.

"He grants eternal life to the souls of the faithful," another says.

"He even resurrects the dead. His miracles are proof that what he says is true!" another finishes.

"So this guy's claiming he can bring the dead back to life?" Ed asks. "Now that's something I gotta see."

*****

We watch as rose petals fall from the sky and a bald, fat man waves to the crowd. He turns a flower into a statue.

"So that's it, huh?" Ed asks. We're standing on our suitcases to see over the screaming crowd. "What do you think?"