as told by Jin Kisaragi
The Seventh Major
As the sun was about to fall, I sat up in my bed inside my own temple in the House of Personality to settle down after killing handfuls of imbeciles from Team Rainbow Rocket, and a couple of shadowy creatures. They were nothing but lowly cowards, using animals to fight for them. I had to kill them before they could send out the cretins so no one else had to suffer. The only thing that concerned me besides that were lasers that petrified people with their guns, something that made me worried about my childhood friend, Tsubaki Yayoi. Thankfully, by the time I saw her, she was with her friends, Makoto Nanaya and the trash surprisingly not with her at the time. Those two must’ve went back to our world when all of this happened, all of which is nonetheless better than the loads of paperwork back in the Librarium. After checking on Tsubaki, I went to the Mighty Majors HQ, a place I wanted little to do with, and asked the leader, a female cyborg named Motoko Kusanagi, who enlisted me at Kagura’s suggestion as her second-in-command, what happened: The leader of Team Rainbow Rocket, Giovanni, had struck a deal with a witch named Maleficent for more power to conquer other worlds, and one of our squad-mates, Edward Elric, was helping a group of repairmen rebuild the pantheon while others had to deal with those two. The “Fullmetal” Alchemist was someone I couldn’t care less about, though he had a brother who had addressed him in the way I addressed my own brother, Ragna; I got up from my bed and looked at the sky. Though I hated that the moon was going to come, it was still a nice view outside with the stars along with them. As I returned my bed, my cell-phone. Wonder who that could be. I went into the bed and grabbed the phone to pick it up on my left ear. “Yes? Who is this?”
“Good for you to pick up at a perfect time, Major Kisaragi.” A mature female voice entered my ear.
“What is it, Major General?” I asked her, straight to the point.
“Major Elric’s enemies have resurfaced. In particular, a team known as High Command, lead by the tyrant Fuhrer King Bradley, has been involved in the Rainbow Rocket incident. Before they can sprout their attack, I want you to navigate the Pantheon and recruit some people against them. I have already typed the protocols and sent a modified motorcycle to the garage in your temple.”
“Roger. I’ll find whoever I can to combat them.” Tch, recruiting. I’d rather do this on my own than others to help, but then again, that isn’t the best strategy. While I’ve gotten information on King Bradley, and from the little I’ve know of him, he’s fast with a sword. What kind of allies does he have here in this place? I sighed in agreement as I went and changed my clothes to my military attire and grabbed a bag of beans and pre-cooked broccoli in my kitchen before going into the garage, seeing the motorcycle there before me, with blue, icy decorations on it. “Another night, I suppose…” Pressing a button on a remote control, I got on the motorcycle, started my engines, and drove out to find answers about these beings. It isn’t like me to say this, but I’m relieved that alchemist has gotten me out of babysitting weaker heroes, but this made me worry a little… If this is too dire for me, I may need help, even if it means getting Brother into this.
An Active Medium
A young brown-haired woman, wearing a hoodie and shorts, climbed the mountains and into a cathedral in the House of Prophecy, waiting for someone. “Why did Vergil pick this place?” The warrior I initially thought of as a copycat? This is interesting. I once fought him at a sword-fighting tournament and for a demon, he gave me a tough challenge. As such, he’s earned my respect. Back on topic; why did he want that woman there? I have to admit, the power-hungry demon picked a nice place for a meeting. Nevertheless, the girl sat down on a rock to wait for him, looking at the sun to pass the time. I hope the training is enough to protect him. The girl let out a sigh of boredom and decided to take a short nap and rest. At this time, a portal appeared behind the woman in another, from it, a certain man with white, slicked back hair in a blue coat emerged from it.
This is this the location… Alright, time to find Katherine. He walked around the place to find this Katherine woman, passing by several murals on his way to see her. These paintings are fascinating. I think they’re nonsensical paintings. Only witches, psychics, and idiots believe in such delusions, and the third tend to make asinine assumptions. Nonetheless, he continued his way inside the cathedral until he found himself in the same room as this woman he calls Katherine downstairs. “I see you’ve made it inside.” His voice had awoken the woman in an instant, looking to know where he was until she turned around and raised her head to see him.
“You took a little longer than I expected.” Katherine asked. “Did you have to do something on the way?” Remaining straight-laced, the demon jumped down to her.
“I had to settle a few loose ends before coming here.” The demon looked around at the Cathedral for a moment, looking back to the hooded woman, worried.
“Are you still hurt from fighting that guy with the eye-patch?”
“The half-homunculus? No, I’m fine. Those wounds are healed.” He replied. “What you did stepping in against him, though… I’ve never seen that from you before.” This half-homunculus they’re speaking about… is this the same one the Major General mentioned? If that’s the case, I’ll have to be on guard and give it everything.
“I told you before. My boss, Vergil, he taught me a little bit on how to—”
“Ahem.” Vergil loudly cleared his throat, halting the woman’s explanation briefly. “Naming the weakling in my presence, Katherine?”
With a slight huff of exasperation, Katherine conceded. “Your Nephilim taught me a little bit of fighting so I could defend myself against lesser demons. Like my foster father. I told you I killed him, remember?”
“That’s better.” After slowly nodding, as if to show both his approval of her change in terminology and his recollection that she had told him this before, he looked at his hands pondering about something. She’s made of stronger will than I thought. Yet to still be abused by that pathetic knockoff of Mundus and myself in that world… while of no real use to me, the alchemy lessons from Lady Dante and that homunculus could perhaps help this girl. He turned to Katherine, opening his mouth again. “Katherine.” The young woman turned to his attention. “Take me back to Limbo.”
“There’s something you want out of it?” The woman asked, curious that he asked this out of the blue. The demon nodded, confirming such curiosities. The woman turned around and started walking back towards the exit, with Vergil following close behind her. “The gateway’s outside. I had to do a bit of climbing before I could get in here.”
“How much?” Vergil inquired.
“About ten feet, maybe fifteen.” Katherine replied. As Vergil briefly cracked a small smile, the two stepped out and reached the edge of the summit, looking down towards a platform that, more accurately, would be a descent of twelve feet. An elaborate circular design somehow existed perfectly on said platform in bright sky blue, as though it had magically appeared there. “Ready when you are.”
“Hang tight.” Heeding his instruction, she threw her arms around his neck from the side, while he wrapped his right arm around her waist, before jumping down onto the lower platform. After landing safely on their feet and rebounding, the two let go of each other, before looking to the pattern on the ground. “We need some time away from where any enemies can reach us. With the training you’ve learned from those two witches, I want you to see into my memories and observe the lessons from the monster and that female alchemist.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” Katherine nodded as she followed him. It’s strange to see a demon who only valued strength above everything to care for someone else. Furthermore, the girl he cared about reminds me of… No, nevermind. Let’s move on.
Agendas
A woman wearing red and black military attire with lines of gold painted around specific areas and hair tied behind a hairpin walked in the brightly colored hallway, reaching towards the door. Everything’s going as planned. Whatever this is about, I’ll discover sooner, as the woman knocked on the door. Moments later, the door was opened for her by a guard. “Right this way, ma’am.” The guard stepped aside, letting her into an office, where a man with an eyepatch, wearing similar attire to Major Armstrong, is sitting at a desk, smiling in anticipation.
“It is such good timing that you arrived, Azula.” The man greeted her as he gives her a cup of tea. “My men have mixed a specimen called dragon fruit into the tea.” Whatever that kind of tea is, it’s better than anything the trash has made. Azula sipped on the cup of tea, testing it, smiling in satisfaction from as she puts it down.
“For something unusual as this, this… Dragon fruit tea is better than I thought.” A smirk came on her face toward the eye-patched man. “Testing ways to improve tea, King Bradley?” The man, King Bradley chuckled heartily, with the guards following suit.
“It is to improve the food of the pantheon.” I can’t tell whether he’s being sarcastic about that or not. He seems pretty odd for a military officer. His smile fades the next moment later, now serious about something. “Promotions for food aside, we still have unfinished business.”
Azula, for some reason, smirked. “Of course. The rest of those Poke-leaders are still somewhat stubborn.”
Bradley puts down his tea and grabbed a napkin to wipe his mouth. “They’ll cooperate soon enough once I make arrangements with their leaders.” If he brings out those cowards again, I’ll cut off their heads; that is, IF those weaklings from the GUAG do not stop me. This man with an eyepatch continued further, speaking of another plan. “I’m still surprised what Giovanni did. For his… destructive cause, he saved us the trouble of looking for the immortal gentleman’s missing associate.” Who are they talking about? If it is an abomination that disturbs the order of this pantheon, then I will destroy it.
“Forgot one more loose end: That half-demon that escaped your master’s lair. Can’t believe he gave you trouble.” Vergil had managed to match this man too? That confirms him as the half-homunculus the demon and his hooded companion spoke of. By the looks of it, Bradley remained stoic, but his face was sharper.
“Would you be surprised that I planned a step or two ahead?” Azula’s smirk dropped for a second before returning, intrigued to hear about this.
“Go on.”
“I already have a trap for that treacherous demon, and I’ve made a deal with two folks to ensure it succeeds, and Esdeath is in on it as well.” That childish woman is with them as well? The next time we meet, she will die by Yukianesa. “They’re working with Lady Dante as we speak.”
Pleased with the results, this Azula woman finally had her say in the matter. “Interesting. Perhaps I could help with your little trap.”
“Of course. Anything to capture the traitor and his friend while Esdeath springs her attack on the treacherous State Alchemists and their new allies.” The childish woman is going after the Major General and the others. Damn it, they’ll die fighting her unprepared unless that Major who resembles Brother steps in to drive her off… Shouldn’t have skipped out on that meeting. Suddenly, a black portal appeared on the floor next to the eye-patched man. From it emerged a man, with a dark and hueless pallor of death, between the two. “Nice of you to make it here, Bi-Han.” Azula greeted him, unfazed by his entrance. Needless to say, he’s an unholy one, an enemy whom an ally of mine has a history with.
“One of their own have ambushed me. The animated-armor boy you spoke of.”
“Alphonse Elric? So he’s decided to travel alone?” Bradley inquired.
Bi-Han nodded. “Yes. Although it seems he’s ventured out to acquire more allies aside from those officers. A woman he calls teacher intervened as well. She bears the appearance of a common homemaker, but is dangerously strong.”
“And what about his brother and the rest of them?” Azula asked.
“Esdeath is dealing with the others.”
Bradley’s eyes shifted towards Bi-Han. “Helping her any further is unnecessary. She will be more than enough to occupy them. We were just discussing what to do about our traitor.”
“Just tell it to him in his ear.” Azula suggested. Nodding, Bi-Han came closer to Bradley, so the latter could explain to him their plans for Vergil. Whatever course these villains have in mind, this isn’t going to be a pleasant experience for him.
Commission of the Chosen
Inside the black walls, black floor, and white ceiling, a brown messy-haired individual spoke on a device similar to a phone, as if to give someone specific instructions. “Anakin, have you found any information on the GUAE’s plans?”
“Several pieces of it, Tano.” The man, Anakin Skywalker, also known as Darth Vader, a warrior highly known around the pantheon as a former chosen one, sat down on a chair, seemingly to rest from standing too much, to tinker with what seems to be turrets. “Thrawn is plotting an ambush against an unknown world. I don’t know which one, though. I’ll keep you contacted on that one. Anyway, Merlin and Doctor Strange want me to send my 501st spring a surprise attack against Bolas. I’ve gathered a quarter of-” Before he could finish, he was interrupted by knocks on a door. “Hold that thought.” He gets up from his chair to walk to the door. He looked through the cameras of his front door to see me, to his surprise. The double agent cautiously opened the door to greet me. “Didn’t recognize you there, Ky.”
“Mistake me for that fool again, and I will turn you into a popsicle for all to see.” I told him, displeased that he mistook me for a stranger, specifically the idiot look-alike who wields a sword that emits lightning as opposed to Yukianesa, which emits ice. “Do I look like I have a ponytail?” The brunette quickly realized who he was talking to.
“Calm down. I got you two confused. Forgetting that he had one. For that, I’m sorry.” He breathed to regain his composure from the identity confusion and asked me another question. “So… Jin Kisaragi, was it now? What brings you here at my temple?”
“I’ve been tasked by someone to infiltrate a group known as High Command. Would you know anything about their leader, Bradley, by any chance?”
The renowned warrior stopped for a moment, as if to know who he’s referring to. “The group consisting of members from the GUAC and GUAE?” A moment later, his face turned serious. “Their security is tight. My troops don’t have much intel on the Homunculi, but whatever you do, keep an eye on the female. Her fingers can transform into sharp extending nails that can impale anyone. As for his High Command, he has the Millenium, and apparently… That bloodthirsty, blue-haired woman from the GUAC.”
While that wouldn’t make me falter from a fight against these monsters, I was more surprised to hear what he said about them. “So, the childish woman is with them.” My face turned serious, ready to explain my reasons for coming here. “This isn’t good. They have enacted some plan and my… squadmates are preparing to combat as we speak. Will you spy on these beasts for me?” He took a moment to think about it until he came to an answer.
“Very well. I will infiltrate ‘High Command’ but it’ll be risky, moving all over the place.”
“Thank you for your time. Now I must go to get more info and help them fight the woman.” I turned around to head for my motorcycle to head somewhere else. Before I ignited the engine, the warrior approached me, as if to give some advice.
“Before you go, there’s a homunculus who opposes his kin. Has a bar at his temple in the House of Power. I suggest you go there. He knows more about them than I do.” Someone who’s straight to the point on advice. I like it.
“Good. I’ll head there now.” I started the engine and pressed on the gas, heading my way towards the House of Power, while Anakin went back inside his temple to grab his communicator to contact his friend.
“You’re still there, Tano?”
“I am.” She replied, prompting Anakin to sigh in relief.
“Good. I have a task for both of us.” He looked around, checking if anyone was in onto him before he closed the door. This Tano woman, on the other hand, awaited for his instructions. “I’m going to infiltrate King Bradley’s new organization, the High Command.”
“Is it safe? In that case, I shall find more people to help you fight against them.” She replied. “Rember, one wrong move, and the cover is over.”
“I’ll try to be careful.” The ex-chosen one smiled as he went further. “We’re going to need to cover more ground than possible and make it in time for Strange and Merlin’s counter attack against Bolas. Out.” He puts down the communicator and went into his changing room to change attire. Alright, time to put on this disguise again.
Ancient Mystery
In their trip to Limbo, Katherine used the spells she learned from the two witches she spoke of earlier to access Vergil’s memories and discovered a few things. “Did you find anything interesting?” The demon asked, the witch apprentice nodding in response.
“I’ve found… Something interesting.” She paused for a moment as she accessed and stared closely into one of his memories, in particular with this Dante woman and the humanoid monster he mentioned earlier. Another memory was of them teaching him how to draw a strange circle, which allowed him to transmute a broken glass. Then she accessed a third memory where Vergil was given another lesson, again, of a circle, this one different from the one from the second memory, with the demon placing his hands on it. In this case, it manipulated the ground, something that runt of an alchemist could do without requiring one of those things.
“Done yet?” Vergil asked.
“No, not yet.” She had discovered another piece of his memory containing a man with white hair in a buzz cut style, wearing a blue coat with a red hood underneath it. Puzzled by this strange vision, the apprentice stared at the mysterious man for a moment. Who is this? She watched as the boy walked toward someone. Is that a clone of Dante? Before she could understand what was going on, everything turned into a dark blue smoke. She stepped away from Vergil, who looked at her. “The lesson is over.”
Unfazed, Vergil stood up and looked up to the sky. “Were the lessons of use to you?”
She nodded in approval before leaving a comment of her own. “It’s very versatile… It’s like you could do almost anything with it.” This had caused Vergil to smile, confirming his thoughts on these Alchemy lessons being of use to this woman.
“Good. Let’s get out of this place.” He picked up his sword from its sheath and slashed twice, one horizontal and one vertical, conjuring a violet portal. “Grab onto me. We’re going back to the Pantheon.” Katherine, as ordered, grabbed her right arm tightly around the demon as they leapt into the portal, out of Limbo and into another destination. Looking around, the pair found themselves in some sort of facility with slightly dim greenish lighting, with a darker corridor in front of them.
“This place looks strange.” Vergil noted with a frown as the two walked towards the corridor, both looking around and treading carefully.
“Is this the place you were aiming for?” Katherine asked pensively. “Are we back in the real Pantheon?”
“Yes and no. I’m quite certain we’re in the correct realm, though this location isn’t exactly what I had in mind.” The demon admitted as they kept going. Moments later, the pair stumbled in a dark area filled with dirtied walls. They both looked around to see six test tubes containing reptilian monsters inside. Sensing danger, Vergil turned to his companion to quietly instruct her. “Stay behind me. I have a feeling we’re not safe here.”
The woman stayed behind her protector as the reptilian monsters opened their eyes and saw the two. Being the mindless beasts they are, they broke free from their incubation, wasting no time to coordinate their attack on Vergil, who slowly took his sword out from his sheath. As they came closer, he unleashed his sword with strikes at speeds so fast they were cut down before they were able to react. I could do the same. Resheathing his sword, the demon rushed back to his companion for protection. “Are you alright, Katherine?”
“Yes.” Just as she replied, banging noises were made behind them. The pair turned around, only to see more of the monsters from earlier emerging from under the floor.
“This is getting boring.” Scowling, he turned to his partner. “Stay here.” He flicked his wrist sideways, becoming… something more demonic in appearance. I’ve only seen this once at the tournament, but it’s the thing that brought me to my knees; He held on the sheath of his sword, he went into a power stance, as if he was charging energy. “You beasts shall disappear!” As he concentrated, more of the chimeras monsters started arriving. A moment later, he pushed forward at blinding speed; only afterimages were shown, but the space was distorted and sword strikes were everywhere, cutting down the monsters before they reacted. He reappeared a moment later to resheath his sword again. To think this would be the power that defeated the obstacle… I’ll have to work more on my magic to counter this demon. He looked around the room for a few minutes, checking if more of the monsters have appeared. “They’re gone.” He returned to Katherine, the latter of whom smiled. “It’s time to go.” As the two of them prepare to exit the place, quiet footsteps were heard. Hearing this, Vergil stopped Katherine from making a portal, sensing that someone else saw them as well. Ready to strike down the next threat, he turned around to see two humanoid figures; one a man in an all-black outfit including long coat and sunglasses, the other a woman wearing a pure white suit, both of them being blonde.
“You just destroyed these monsters with astounding ease, Eldest son of Sparda.” The man moved ahead of the woman as he greeted himself to the demon, whose eyes narrowed upon meeting him. “It is a surprise to see you here.”
As he tightened the grip on his sword, Vergil remained leery of this man and the woman behind him. “Spare me the civil greetings, Wesker.” Seeing through this facade, the eldest Son of Sparda rushed toward this shady figure points his sword above his shoulder, putting him at sword point. “You and I both know you and your sister are no match for me with your enhancements.”
The man, calling himself Wesker, chuckled at the threat he made. “What a bold assumption. Alex and I don’t have any reason to fight you.” The demon lowered his sword, causing the woman to approach the two. “We were in search of a power source, but unfortunately, it’s out of our grasp. We may require some help to obtain it. Since you’re here, we know your interests align with ours. I think you’ll find an alliance with us to be quite beneficial.”
All this did was make Vergil’s eyes sharpen with anger. “Quaint little bluff there. Your ‘Ouroboros’ research lacks the true power that I seek.”
The woman, Alex Wesker, smirked, prepared to tell him an interesting detail. “You may think it’s useless, but Albert and I are not obsessing over some serum an agency cooked up in the last century. The Ouroboros’ roots have been known since ancient Egypt, with Alchemy having connections to it.”
“You expect us to believe this crap?” Katherine coolly protested, as she and Vergil both kept a stoic glare at these ‘Wesker siblings’ which made it clear their next words were being carefully gauged.
“We understand you’ve had some run-ins recently with an order connected to the alchemy of a nation called Amestris, correct?”
In the blink of an eye, Vergil, breaking away from Albert, had unsheathed his demonic blade once again and pointed it squarely at Alex’s throat. “Speak wisely. Your next words could be your last.”
While momentarily frozen in shock, the woman was able to maintain her composure. “From what I’ve gathered, the Philosopher’s offspring all contain crimson Ouroboros tattoos somewhere on their bodies. You’ve seen them in person, so you know better than I do if that’s true.”
While still holding the female Wesker prodigy at swordpoint, Vergil shook his head with a look of disbelief in his face. “Now there’s one thing my brother got right. You’re completely insane.” He started lowering his sword, freeing Alex as a hostage. The demon turned to Katherine, hoping it would benefit her. “But I will go with you.” Having made his decision, the two siblings smiled.
“We are grateful for your help.” Alex turned around to lead the group, with Albert following. “Let us be on our way.” Vergil and Kat looked at each other before following the two siblings.
Stray Dog
Four deities were at a strangely nice bar, two of them were ugly men wearing overalls, one with yellow clothes and purple overalls, and the other wearing mainly purple with dark blue overalls, with both having despicable looking noses. The other two were… strange creatures, one of them being a short bartender wearing a black shirt with a star on it while the other one was a tall one with a silly look on his face seated with the other two at the counter. With talking cats in my world, I was thinking this multi-gateway of dimensions couldn’t get any weirder, only for me to be horribly proven wrong.
“WAAAAHH! Assist again! I can’t believe this! Those stinkin’ tournament inviters won’t even acknowledge me, while that orange princess gets-a in!” What the hell is this lunatic talking about? His… companion, whoever the bloody forsaken charade is this fat clown is, comforts him over this silly business he’s involved in.
“Don’t worry, bro.” The fat one patted his comrade on the back. “You’ll be eligible in the next one.”
“Yeah yeah, that’ll have to wait for my plan.” The short white creature turned to the figure. “Once Smiley and I get Fone Bone up to the Pantheon, then we’ll really be rolling in the dough.”
“I don’t know, Phoney.” Spoke the bartender, wiping clean a glass mug. “Even if Fone makes it up, he probably would call you out like he always does.”
“But we could hide our intentions from him to help us in our big money schemes, maybe get past that Smaug character for once. Heck, we could even use the money to get Waluigi in that next tournament and get revenge on Luigi for mocking him!” The other three roared in agreement. These lowly thugs are disgraceful, going so far as to use extortion. What a bunch of cheapskates.
“Yeah! That’ll show Mario what happens when he messes with-a me!” While the other three laughed with him, I drove to the bar and parked at the front. I slowly approached the four of them, the fat, yellow one stopped laughing as he saw me. “Hello, warrior! Care to join us in a grand scheme?”
I coldly shifted my eyes towards him, specifically at his sloppy clothing, before looking at the man himself. “I’m not interested in whatever games you have in store. Where is your homunculus boss?” The fat slob became quiet, forcing everyone to stop laughing by force. I like it. “I’d like a word with him on a serious matter.” By then, everyone was quiet. Even the cheapskate who boasted about all those things earlier.
The bartender chimed in, having heard what I said. “Mr. Greed? He’s inside cleaning up. I’ll go get him.” The bartender rushed inside to get this Greed fella. Whoever calls a homunculus Greed must be a pathetic lifeform; then again, from what I’ve heard of these homunculi, they all sound pathetic. The bartender reached the second floor, where his boss, who wore a leather fur coat and pants in addition to glasses on his eyes, was putting away a box containing something. “Mr. Greed! Someone wants to see you! It’s an urgent matter!”
The creature puts down the box and turned around to the bartender. “Who is it? Did Phoney bring his cousin into the Pantheon?”
“No. It’s a blonde man with blue clothes and also has like a scarf on his shoulders.” At least my clothes fit that description.
No, the kid couldn’t have backed down so soon. As the eccentricity faded, Greed approached his bartender, no signs of nonsense on his face. “Show me. NOW.”
The bartender lead the homunculus outside of his bar leading him to me and the rest of the imbeciles, identifying me with my green eyes, and blue military clothes. Who was he talking about earlier? He sighed in relief. “Almost mistook you for someone else here.” I turned my eyes to the homunculus, my intentions clear as crystal.
“Are you the homunculus who opposes their kin?” This question had surprised him. He turned to the four imbeciles, then to his bartender.
“Make sure your cousin and those two buffons don’t cause too big a mess to the bar.” He then turned to me. “You, come with me.” I followed him inside his bar while the bartender alerted his companions. Oddly despite his name, he seemed more reserved than his guests, but it didn’t stop me from dropping my guard. If this homunculus springs a trap, I won’t hesitate to cut him down with Yukianesa. He turned his head toward me, slipping a small grin. “Heh heh heh. Now that I’m looking at you, you seem familiar.” I’m a little surprised he’s said such a thing.
“Where could you possibly recognize me?”
“In a group with another person with hair color similar to yours, but he’s shorter than both of us.” At least I know who he’s referring to now.
“The one who lashes at people for being short? It’s a surprise Major Elric hasn’t been killed for his childish tantrums.” I chuckled a little, as he isn’t the only military officer with insecurities.
“So you know the guy.” The homunculus chuckled a little more. “I just met him and his brother earlier. Shorty had a military uniform on to prepare for a battle against some old pals of mine.”
“The Homunculi?”
“So that’s what you came here for. You’re in luck.”
Not wasting any time, I got down to business with him. “What do you know about these creatures?”
A smirk came on his face as he spoke. “First, tell me that you’re my possession.” Intolerant of this nonsense, I quickly unsheathed Yukianesa and cut off his head before he could react.
“Quit wasting my time.” I turned away from him, ready to depart, having wasted my time all for such a clownish pledge of allegiance. Just as I was about to leave, red sparks of electricity surrounded the homunculus, causing me to turn back and watch as the sparks repaired his head. Soon he was fully regenerated as if nothing happened, a spectacle that surprised me. “You’ve fixed yourself up, even after I decapitated you.”
“Yeah, we can repair ourselves. That was just to show you that we don’t die as quickly as humans. And what’s more…” He transformed his hand into something different and stabbed himself in the abdomen, tearing his body open to reveal a powerful red gem-like artifact. “See this here? We have Philosopher’s Stones acting as our hearts.”
“…How do you make one of those things?” I asked, disturbed by what was going on.
“If you’re spooked by this little show, just wait’ll I tell you how these get made.” Greed admonished me, before letting go of the gem as it retracted inside him and repairing his chest through the same type of sparks.
While irritated at this, I wasn’t in the mood to brush the topic. “Never mind your strange physics. What are your kin after?”
“The short answer?” Greed took off his glasses, allowing me a clear look at his piercing purple eyes. “Power. The kind of power they could only get from stealing a massive amount of living souls.”
“Sounds like something a man called Greed would want to go after more than anyone. Yet you rebelled against them?” Of course I would ask this question, wanting to get to the bottom of such a curious detail.
“My creation already granted me plenty of captive souls to sustain my state of being almost endlessly. But I’ve come to find something far more valuable than that over time.”
“Yeah? And what’s that?” I asked, curious to finally know what secrets this creature made of greed would’ve come to understand.
To this, he smiled and put his glasses back on. “Freely bonded souls, of course. They make the absolute best of possessions!”
So that’s what drives him. Not a statement I would’ve guessed, but after thinking about it for a moment, it makes sense. “I’m not sure whether to consider that conclusion wise or pathetic.”
“Call it whatever you want, I don’t give a damn.” Greed retorted honestly. “Although, maybe I should stay on guard if you go with pathetic. The last guy that used that line killed me about twenty times, and then they told me he’s actually Wrath.”
Everything he explained to me gave me pause a little. It all sounded disturbingly familiar. “I have something similar in my own world, and it’s more dangerous than the artifact you told me about.” I trailed off for a tiny moment until a thought came to my head. “Who is this ‘Wrath’ you speak of?”
“One of my siblings, the youngest of my old man’s creations, in fact.” He took off his sunglasses and took out a napkin from his pocket. “In the government of our world, he adopts the alias of King Bradley.”
My eyes lit up at the alias. “That’s the name my superior told me.” I find it ironic one would call himself a king while being an instrument in someone else’s game.
“From the looks of what happened earlier, it takes me back. I was caught off-guard the first time I fought him. Didn’t know he was a Homunculus at the time, and he tore off my arm before I realized it.” He turned to me, looking at my sword. “But you… You’re pretty fast with that sword yourself. Maybe good enough to match him. The next time I fought him, it took me and an entire army to weaken him. I’ve been told that a scarred man had killed him.”
“Is he here in this place right now? The scarred man, I mean?”
“I hear he has a temple in the House of Vengeance.” He told me. “You could get more information from him.”
“Even with one life… I won’t go down that easily.” I told the homunculus. “Still, thank you for your time… Silly as that pledge was. The information you’ve given me shall be useful advice for the runt of an alchemist, his comrades, and my commander in our group.” As I turned away from him, he lightly chuckled as he put on his sunglasses, smiling at me.
“It’s been nice chatting with you. Come back any time you could use a night off.” Considering we’re all going against a common enemy, it was nice for someone to get straight down to business and give me leads on this new enemy. I left the bar to get on my motorcycle to go to this scarred man he spoke of. He let out a sigh in relief, knowing things with me went well. Whew, that was good. He stood up and went for his phone booth, ready to make a call. I’m relieved Teddie’s free today. I should probably have him come over here to help Smiley and make sure Phoney and those Wario Brothers don’t cause too much mischief. He dialed a set of numbers and waited for someone to pick up. “Hey. One of the Elric kid’s pals just came by. Looks like you were right after all. My damn siblings are already starting to stir up the rocks. I’m about to make some quick arrangements for the bar, and then I’ll be going out to help.” Brief pause. “Alright. Be careful out there.” He hung up and called another number. Calling me a pal of the runt is an inaccuracy.
Suit Up and Sling Web
A scientist wearing a white lab coat with a black shirt, having blue decals underneath it, and black pants, stood on the rooftops in the House of Theater. The strangest thing about this man was his blonde hair having some streak of blue hair around his head. By his side is an oversized machine with magnets on its arms. What kind of creature is that? Getting past that, the scientist looked around the area, looking at one district with neon lights on the building. “Late again as usual.” Seems like he’s meeting with an associate and he’s arrived before them. He sits down, checking the House. Who knows where that homunculus is right now… He seems to be talking about Wrath, because he’s protected right now. Such a smart move for him and his associate for taking them on. He closed his eyes, breathing through his nose to inhale the air. As he expelled the energy from his lungs, someone landed on the same building as the scientist, in the form of a person, who, from the looks of it, wears a red and blue figure with black net decals on the red. “You’re late, Spider-Man.” Was he experimented in a lab by that scientist and obtained spider powers? They don’t seem to be enemies.
“Yeah. Had to get my camera and load it up.” He approached the scientist. “Here.” He gives him a medium-sized camera. “It’ll be safer in your hands than mine. It has a zoom feature and can record stuff. Just try not to get too close to that homunculus, Colress.” The scientist, Colress, nodded as he took the camera from this Spider-Man monster, putting it in his coat pocket. “Okay, here is some news about our two threats. Giovanni’s in King Bradley’s custody.”
The scientist raised an eyebrow, curious about this detail. “What would a tyrant want with Giovanni?”
The monster shrugged his shoulders, unsure of what to think. “Don’t know. That’s a concern for another time.”
“Did you find the Homunculus on the way here?”
“No. Couldn’t find Envy anywhere before I came here.” Apparently, this must be one of that Greed monster’s siblings he told me about. Is he a half-homunculus like King Bradley? As the two converse about their hunting target, a white-furred beast with red eyes and a single horn arrived at the roof, interrupting their chat.
“You’ve brought Absol here as well?”
The freak shook his head, as if he’s confused. I thought she went with that robot. “It must’ve tailed me here during my search for that homunculus.” Just as he turned back to the scientist, a device started beeping, causing the costumed weirdo to go for one of the pockets in his utility belt, picked up a phone, and placed it next to his ear.
“Parker… Did you get anything… on that Homunculus?” The voice asked, but the tone of his voice caused the Spider-Man, Parker I’m assuming to be his real name, to be concerned.
“No. Not yet.” He stopped for a moment to hear him breathing. Are you alright, Tony? You don’t seem well.”
“Just stressed…” The Infamous Engineer and Armored Avenger, Tony Stark, stopped for a second before going on. “Thanks for the concern, though. If you can, find anyone who knows that shapeshifter.” The stressed man ends the call, and Spider-Man puts it back in his utility belt.
“Shapeshifters…” He muttered angrily under his breath “chances of looking for them is a mirage.” He turned to the scientist. “Colress, can you help me look for Envy?” He then turned to the white-furred creature. “You too, Absol.” The two allies nodded in agreement. “Alright, let’s begin the hunt for this humanoid monster before he does anything.”
Colress adjusted his glasses. “We should split up. You and the Disaster Pokemon go in one location while my Pokemon and I cover ground in another area.”
“Good idea. Be careful not to get caught in a fight.” The scientist nodded as he and the beast began their departure from the House of Theater, while he climbed on his magnet companion to do the same moments later.
Godless Monsters
I arrived at the Scarred Man’s temple in the House of Vengeance on my motorcycle, having gotten instructions on the location of his temple. I began knocking on his door. I waited, but no one opened it moments later. I tried again, only louder this time. I placed my ear next to the door to hear a response, only to get nothing. This only agitated me slightly. “Don’t tell me this is another idiot.” As I lightly slammed the door, going back to my motorcycle, a figure with dark hair and beard approached me wearing an outfit that included a distinct maroon and gold coat. I recognized him instantly. “So I take it you knew I was coming, Edmond Dantes?”
“Yes. I was told you would be looking for a deity known as the Scarred Man?” The figure asked me, curious about my presence. I nodded to him to confirm my intentions. “Excuse his absence. He’s currently doing work in the House of Health and Diseases. He often goes to assist the physicians there. When I asked him his reasons for it once, he called it his way of paying respects to a pair of innocents he mistakenly killed in the past.”
Atoning for a crime he committed? I’m sure the count here is familiar with that. One less threat to worry about, at least. “Thank you.” Wasting no time, I got on my motorcycle and went for my destination to look for the man Greed had spoken of.
…
I arrived in the House of Health and Diseases to look for the man with the scars. Looking around on my motorcycle, I looked around to see if my target of interest was there. I checked each deity, carefully trying not to make the wrong move. Among them, I see a blonde woman with stitches on her face, another being a distorted man in a uniform and a cap on his head, with one of his arms being bigger than the other. Another of these deities is a young man in a purple shirt and blue pants with a bow on his back, in addition to having an arm. Not here… I looked around further, until a thought came to my head. I held my breath in to call out a name. “Scar!” I yelled. Apparently, nothing had happened. What I didn’t know was that in a small distance, a dark-skinned, white-haired man in a yellow coat with a white shirt beneath that with black pants covering him had turned his head slightly. With him was… Another funny animal, resembling a deer, wearing a red hat. The dark-skinned man caught on to me calling his name.
What does he want with me…? The man asked as he stared at me for a few minutes.
The small creature was concerned about the man’s gaze. “What’s wrong, Scar?”
The man turned to him. “I don’t know…” He shifted his gaze back to me. “But he doesn’t seem like someone I’d trust. Stay here.” He separated from his associate and slowly approached me. Pretty smart move for being suspicious of me, I’ll give him that. I yelled the name a second time to draw him out, unknown to me.
Hmph, he hasn’t shown himself… I looked around the area a moment before turning around. I watched him hide in the distance, an action that freaked out the small creature.
He knows Scar’s there… What should I do? I briefly shifted my glance to him, only to ignore him and slowly go for the scarred man, suspicious of his actions. I slowly got closer to him to a point he can hear me clearly.
“I have no intentions on killing you!” I clarified my intentions to him. “I am here because you’ve been said to have killed a man named Bradley!” This had caused the man’s eyes to widen, surprised that I brought up the half-homunculus. He revealed himself, realizing that I won’t harm him, the creature sighing in relief that all tension was removed.
“What do you want with me?” He asked as I revealed myself a moment later. “How do you know about the Fuhrer of Amestris?”
“A few sources.” I replied, approaching him more closely, getting straight to the point. “I have reports saying that a new group he’s formed are beginning to launch a strike.”
He pauses for a moment before asking me a question. “A new organization… Is it the High Command everyone has been speaking of?”
“Correct.”
“I had a feeling it would come to this…” Taking a deep breath, he began to explain everything he knows about them. “The organization you’re going up against… It is run by godless monsters who must be slain many times over in order to die permanently.” Thanks for that information. Cutting Greed’s head off did the trick. He stared into my eyes, seeing whether I had the determination. “Let’s step out of this house. They’ll get suspicious here and kick you out.” I followed him to the exit of the House, with the creature following a few seconds later.
…
We’ve stepped foot outside the House of Health and Diseases, having moved away from the potential mess we’d make in there. Another smart move, avoiding collateral damage. We faced each other, while the small beast watched on. “Why did you bring me here?”
“To test your skills in combat.” He replied.
Hearing this, it annoyed me a little. “Go fight a weakling.” Rude of me as that was, the man was unarmed, and I could cut him off if I’m not too careful. Looking at Yukianesa, the man smirked. Tearing off a pole near him, he picked it up and charged at me.
“Your guard’s down, warrior!” As I heard this, unsheathing my blade, I turned around to see my opponent running toward me. As he got close to me, I attacked, only for him to avoid at the last second, causing the pipe to get cut instead.
“What the hell are you doing!?” I lambasted him for such crude tricks.
“If that female were to see you dropping your guard, you would’ve become another victim in their ambushes.” That made me pause a bit. What he said made me remember that Anakin Skywalker said the same. With no other choice, I placed Yukianesa in both hands, restraining myself from killing this man, who pulled his sleeves to reveal what looked like tattoos. He placed his hands on the ground, and the next thing I knew, the earth morphed into large spikes, coming straight for me. I jumped out of the way and tried striking him, still restraining myself to not kill the man. He rushed toward me, preparing to land a punch, which I dodged, only for him to append it with a kick, which I also evaded as well. I will apologize for this, but Chief Major… It’s going to take me some time to regroup with you all. It might not seem much, but Anakin Skywalker will be infiltrating High Command as we speak.
Trope Pantheon Stories 