Those with Sparks in Their Eyes: A FMA(B) FanFic

Chapter Ten: The Truth.....I Think

What was going on? My head is spinning, after all this, years of me grieving over the only family I had left, Matthew was standing right in front of me? I sacrificed my Alchemy skills and leg for nothing? The facts added up, but I still didn't want to believe it.

Oh, and did I mention I let my guard down long enough for them to catch me and tie me up? Yeah, well, once I snapped out of it, they grabbed me and it was too late. So now, my hands are behind my back, feet are bound and cloth between my teeth. I'm officially useless on ALL accounts. I doubt this day could get any worse.

"Wow, I must say, your skills alone are impressive." says Martel. "I was barely able to see out of this armour, but you took Roa like it was nothing. "

Still with the fabric in my mouth, I just stared at her.....well at Al really....

"Fine don't talk, it was a compliment. Not many people can do that, considering what Roa is...or what any of us are for that matter."

My face curled into a confused look. What they are? As in...not human? I don't know, I don't think I can take any more weird......

"Yeah, I guess I didn't tell ya'," says Dolcetto. He sat on a wooden crate beside (one we hasn't destroyed in the fight) lighting a cigarette. I tried not to gag; smoke is disgusting.

"We were all lab rats. Soldiers who couldn't go on, people with no life left to live. Needless to say we didn't have much choice. The scientists patched us up, made us whole again. But," he let out a puff of smoke, "We had no idea what was coming."

"Long story short....we're Chimeras."

"That's impossible." says the newly awakened Al.

"Amnl!" I try to say.

"Ah, finally joined to party. About time, too, I wanted to talk with you." says Matthew (?).

Al was undeterred by Matthew's words, or where we were, or even the fact we had been kidnapped. Is this stuff normal for him?

"No one's ever made a Chimera that can talk. It isn't possible."

Matthew sighed. "There's no such thing as 'impossible'. Whether you believe it or not, no one in this room is completely human....except her." He gestured to me.

"Leah?! What did you do to her! Let her go! Now!" Al pleads.

"Sorry, no can do."

"Why!? What did she ever do to you!?"

"Well for starters, she interfered with my plans of kidnapping you, took out two of my guards, and then generally messed up my hang-out. In fact...."

He crosses the room to me and immediately I tense up.

"I wouldn't mind having her on my side. It would be nice to have another girl on the team."

I start breathing heavy, and my only thought is 'run'. I drag myself across the floor avoiding him the best I could. He stops, confused and looks at me.

"Huh? What's your problem?" He reaches his hand over to my face, and I try and swerve away from it, but there's only so much I can do from against a wall.

To my surprise, he takes off the fabric. I'm breathing heavily, almost to the point of passing out. I swallow and try to calm down. In a situation like this, fear is weakness.

"You're not him!" I scream, "You might wear his face and speak his voice, but you aren't him!"

"Well it looks like we've caught ourselves a loon." Matthew says, followed by the laughter of everyone except Al.

"I don't get what your problem-" He stopped mid-sentence and his eyes went blank. It took a few moments for him to snap out of his freaky, frozen state. He started laughing.

"Well that's something old Pops didn't tell me. I have a sister."

***

"What are you talking about, Greed?" asks Martel.

Greed? Is that the name Matthew is going by now? What happened to him? Being a soldier? And he doesn't remember me? He looks at me.

"I guess I should thank you. You did help out in creating me."

Create? Huh? I didn't create anything. This isn't adding up.

"What are you talking about?"

"Huh?" He looks at me, "Oh yeah well. Thanks to these new-or old really- memories, I know the whole story. Come on, you remember right."

"You better start making sense or I'll have to knock you on your ass!"

"Woah. Didn't your parents teach you not to use such language. Such a pretty face shouldn't be ruined by a dirty mouth. And really, what can you possibly do to me in your condition?"

He's right. I can't fight. I'm bound and exhausted. I also need answers, which means I can't let my emotions fire up and take control of me.

"But if you really want to know..."

It's agonizing. He's deliberately trying to drag out the answers.

"Remember that old guy who helped you with your Alchemy?"

"How do you-?"

"Hold on. If you interrupt, we won't finish the story."

I hate how he's treating me like a child. I just have to grit my teeth and bear it.

"Anyway, when you tried bringing poor Matthew back to life, you ended up creating a monster. Which just happened to be me."
"That old man I mentioned. He just happens to be my dad. He just gave that shriveled up old body you made a philosopher's stone and here I am."

It's not true. The very thing that haunts me to this day, is standing in front of me. I created a monster, but this Greed person looks human. He knows everything. Everything that happened on that night, things only I knew about and then some. Which means this is not an act.

"What are you? Really?"
I ask.

"I'm glad you asked.. uh, Leah, was it?I'm a homunculus."

"You're wrong! That's only a theory!" chimes in Al.

Greed sighs. "I'll just have to prove it."

I see Roa swing his hammer, and before I process what's going on, Greed is lying dead on the floor, with half his head missing.
I nearly scream. Until, red lights flash and he gets back up. Like it was nothing.

"You can't always believe the government. Aren't you proof enough? Just a soul in a suit of armor?"

"How do you know about that?" Al asks.

"I have my sources. See, I'm Greed. I want it all. Money, power, status, women, everything you can think of; including eternal life."
He stands up again, "I've told you my secrets, now what's yours? I want to know how to transmute a soul.
Really, your girlfriend here made it easy. By getting involved, it's not just a secret exchange, it's a hostage exchange. Stuff like that isn't really my style, and I don't like getting my hands dirty....but I will if I have to."

I've zoned out. How is this...but why?! What did I do. I can't be normal no matter how hard I try. I've given up a leg and Alchemy, to see my friend be captured? I don't realize I've been crying until a tear falls on my hand.

"You're wrong on both accounts." Al gives a half-hearted laugh. "She's not my girlfriend. And I honestly wish I could tell you the secret of my transmutation. That would mean I knew."

"That's fine." says Greed "We'll just have to find the person who did and have a little chat with them."

Oh no. What have I done? I tried to help Al, but only became useless and a weak point. Now I'm a hostage, being used against my friends. I know exactly the person these guys are going looking for. Ed.