InuYasha Fan Fiction / Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Humanity ❯ Revelations ( Chapter 3 )

Humanity

By Joyfulmusic

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Inuyasha. Never have, never will.

This fanfic contains some spoilers. I haven't seen the whole series of either show so I'm not sure how they end. But that's why this is a fanfic!

 

Chapter 3: Revelations

 

“Come.” Willa let down the shades in the room and turned out the light. Then she led the way to the third bedroom, whispering to the Elrics as they went. “It's been coming closer each night. I think perhaps it's mad,” She glanced over her shoulder as she reached her bedroom. “because you're here.”

 

Opening the door revealed a burgundy room. A small metal half bed stood long ways from the entry. The bathtub sat on the right hand wall enclosed by a wooden frame and lid so that it looked like a chest. Another wardrobe stood in the far back corner. To the left was a small desk with a mirror. There were two windows, one looking out over the backyard and the other at the head of the bed. Both of these were covered with boards. The bathroom door stood open in the right far corner, seeming very much like a walk-in closet. It held a small toilet to the left and a sink to the right.

 

After the brothers had entered, Willa shut the door and locked the rather large deadbolt. Turning back to them revealed the fear in her face. “Please, I need protection. I don't think they come out during the day.” She moved to sit on the bed, tears hanging in her eyes. “I'm so scared, but there's no one I can turn to. But you…” Her gaze turned up to Alphonse. “When I saw you, I knew at once you were kind. Please help me. Please.”

 

Al nodded without noticing the scowl on Edward's face. “We'll do everything we can to help you, right brother?” He looked down to the blond who was frowning deeply. Surely his roll model wouldn't let him down. Not when this young woman was begging for them to help her.

 

Of course his heart was as pure as his young sibling's. He was rough outwardly, but inside he was just as kind. Turning to the redhead his face softened as he sat down on the edge of the tub. “We'll do whatever we can to help you. But you have to tell us everything you know about those things.”

 

Hope entered her eyes as a smile passed over her lips. “Thank you so much.” She then took a deep breath before beginning. “It started when I first came to Wick. Before that I knew to watch out, I'd been told by others. But they didn't start following me until I came here.” Her eyes closed and she frowned. “One of the shape-shifters, one of the males, wanted me to go with him, to stay at his house. I refused politely, foolishly thinking that would be the end.”

 

Tears threatened to fall again. Al moved to sit next to her and placed a large hand on her shoulder. Like it had with an old friend the touch seemed to give her the strength she needed to go on. “He and the others started coming around. From what I can tell they can only take on one human form. But they can change into animals, and things I've never seen before.” She trembled at the memories.

 

“When I left the town, they began to follow. But they won't come near this house.” Looking up she saw that she had Ed's full attention. “I'm not sure why. The old woman who lived here before me was said to have special powers. That may have something to do with why they keep a safe distance, even in human form. That's why I stay here.”

 

Edward's golden eyes were glued to her face. He was truly worried for this girl, though he wasn't sure why. Something in his soul told him that she was special. “Do you think it's okay to stay in the other rooms?” He motioned to the boarded up windows. “You've got this one locked up pretty tight.”

 

Willa shook her head. “I don't know. Before, I thought sometimes I would see something fly by outside.” She shivered violently, causing Alphonse to wrap his arm around her shoulders. “I thought that with you here they'd back off. But it seems to have made things worse.” Her gaze moved to meet Al's. “I don't know what to do now. If you leave…” Shaking her head she found she could not continue.

 

“Brother?” The armor looked to Ed who was concentrating deeply. “We are going to stay, right?” His voice seemed to make it sound like a question, but at the same time was persistent. He was not one to push his sibling into anything, but this was important. Experience told him his hero would not turn down a cry for help.

 

The alchemist glanced at Alphonse, and then to the poor disheveled girl he held. Her red hair seemed fall over her shoulders, veiling her face. His eyes held something which would be hard to explain. They seemed to be resolute in the decision he had made. “We'll stay Al. But I'm not sure we need to sleep in those other rooms as they are.”

 

Something crashed against one of the windows as if to prove his point. The sound of breaking glass seemed to cut into Willa's soul. She now feared for the Elrics, as well as herself. “No.” Her voice shuttered. “I shouldn't have asked you to stay… It's too dangerous, but in the morning…”

 

However Ed was already shaking his head. “No.” He looked at her, his golden eyes ablaze with the oath of protection. “We're not leaving... Not tonight, and not tomorrow. If these things are going to follow you then we'll have to face them.” His glance moved to his brother, who had filled with pride, then back to the young woman. “I can use alchemy to change the walls, with your permission.”

 

She nodded, though she was still puzzled. `I've heard of alchemy. But… what is it exactly? I thought it had something to do with changing things into gold, a science during the dark ages.' Back in her world, she'd seen something about the science on television. But she still had no idea what was about to take place.

 

Moving to the middle of the room Edward knelt down and took a breath. He'd done this so many times before that he wasn't worried about his part. What did have him concerned was Willa's reaction. Yet upon hearing another stone being hurled at the window he clapped his hands together. The power surged through his body until he placed them on the wood beneath him.

 

With that the energy rushed from him, spreading across the floor, looking like a wave of electricity. It hurried up the walls and on across the ceiling. Everything became covered with thick wood, much sturdier than it had been. The only opening left was to the bathroom, which had also been reinforced.

 

Willa sucked in a deep breath as she watched this. Her eyes were wide as she glared around the room. The wallpaper and paint were gone, in their place hard lumber. She was amazed to find the windows and door completely gone. “But… How will we get out?” Her voice was hardly more than a whisper, and yet Al was able to hear it.

 

“We can transmute a door.” He explained gently, still gripping her shoulders. His fear of her fainting from shock had not yet passed. Her face now seemed to have lost what little color it had held before the transmutation. “But we'll wait until morning. You said they don't come out then. Right?”

 

She nodded. “I've never seen them come out in the light. That's why I don't think they're normal shape-shifters. But I could be wrong.” Her eyes returned to the alchemist who was rising slowly from the middle of the room, his own gaze locked on her. “Thank you… so much.”

 

Several loud howls seemed to shake the house violently. Edward stumbled, grabbing the bed for support. “I think we made them mad.” He shifted to stand, cautiously. “But we should be safe, until dawn at least. Then we can try to leave.”

 

Willa turned her head up to Al, who slowly loosened his grip on her shoulders. The shaking had startled him, leaving his nerves a bit frayed. “One of you can sleep on the bed.” She offered, standing and moving toward the wardrobe. “There are some blankets in here. But… Oh Alphonse, you still haven't eaten!” They had left the food downstairs and now she worried for her guest.

 

He only shook his head slowly. “It's alright. I'll be fine.” Ed nodded slightly, seemingly agitated by her remembrance. “You can have the bed. Brother and I will sleep on the floor.” There was no need to tell her he couldn't sleep anyway. That would only add to an already complex situation.

 

“No.” She took out a few blankets and the extra pillow. “You must be hungry, and I really don't need the bed. I'll be fine on the floor.” Turning she found both Elrics had their heads downcast. `These two certainly are strange.' Frowning she decided to question them further about their situation. “What is it? Ed seemed to be starving, so why aren't you hungry?”

 

The elder looked at their host. “Al isn't exactly…” He paused. This wasn't something he liked to admit. It was his fault that his brother was like he was. Ed had been the one to suggest they bring back their mother. He was the elder. Therefore, in his mind at least, the guilt rightfully fell on his shoulders.

 

Willa momentarily bit her lip, which had begun to quiver. These were certainly not the men she'd been expected. Of course they weren't the same as the ones from the past who were long gone. In all truth, these men were complete strangers. “He isn't human, is he?” Her question was directed toward the alchemist, whose head shot up, eyes full of anger. “Are you?” She turned to Alphonse, who was watching his sibling closely.

 

“He is human!” Edward was trying to keep a hold on his temper. “He's just not…”

 

“Brother.” Al interrupted before he turned to Willa. “I am human, but…” Slowly he raised the helmet, revealing the truth. He was an empty shell, a suit with no body to control its movements. It was the price paid for trying to resurrect their dead mother, and something he had learned to live with.

 

The girl bit her lip again to keep from gasping. She could feel the knot in her throat, but managed to swallow it. As the helmet was replaced she found her voice. “You're a shell… a soul with no body.” Her eyes were glued to Alphonse, who nodded. “Like Kikyou.” Her mind passed back in time to the woman she'd med by chance on one of the dirt roads.

 

“Who?” Ed asked quickly. The only others they had met without bodies were convicts. They had been bonded to armor, forced to play the part of guards for Lab Five. It had all happened long ago, but the memory had stayed with him. The armor he had fought held two brothers. They had believed themselves to be something other than human. Watching the younger take his own life, and then seeing the elder killed had been hard on the alchemist. To him they had been human, even if not in the eyes of others.

 

“Kikyou. She was a miko, or priestess.” In her mind Willa could still see the young Japanese maiden vividly. “She was killed at a young age. Then fifty years later a witch used her bones to bring her back. She has a body of clay but…” Turning to look at Al, Willa sighed. “She doesn't have a whole soul. Do you?”

 

The suit nodded. “I didn't completely cross over I guess. Brother saved me, before I had a chance to.” He glanced at Ed whose head was bowed in shame, his eyes hidden behind his hair. Al hadn't bothered to mention that it had been Edward's fault his body was lost to begin with. “He gave his arm to put me in this suit. But I don't understand.” Al looked back to Willa. “How do you know she doesn't have a full soul?”

 

The girl hesitated momentarily. This wasn't something people understood. It made her different and so she was shunned for it. “I could tell. I can do that sometimes. Like I knew about you, even before I observed you.” He then noticed her eyes were different from any others he'd ever seen. They seemed to be deeper, though he wasn't sure how that was possible. “I'm not really sure why. I guess it's like a sixth sense or something.”

 

Finally Ed looked up at them. “Can she feel? This Kikyou, can she taste and smell, like normal?” His mind was racing again. `Maybe there's another way to get Al a body. If we could find this person, perhaps she would help us.' It was a shining light where all else had been darkness.

 

However Willa's head shook. “I don't know. But… She's not really human. She's hollow, like terracotta. Kikyou won't age, or grow like normal people.” Shifting to lay out one of the blankets she continued. “She's not bad, but not really good either. I think perhaps as a priestess she wasn't allowed to really feel emotions. Now, she can but, I'm not sure she really knows how to deal with them. Plus she uses the souls of the dead to help run that body of hers.”

 

There was a long silence as the Elrics took this in. Both seemed to be lost in thought. Without bothering to remove her shoes, their hostess settled into the mat she'd made on the floor. “Night you two.” Without waiting for a response she covered her head, to block the light. `They aren't them. They're not the same. How could I have ever thought they would be?'

 

Ed didn't even try to argue. Instead Al moved to turn off the lights and sit on the floor, allowing his brother to get into the bed. The night was a long one for all three of the companions. Though for Alphonse, it seemed never ending. He heard the bone chilling howls, and though he had no marrow to chill, he almost felt as if he did.