004 | action

[seekingbrother]

[At least the Red Queen was helping them a little bit. When the howls started on cue to her warning, Al went into action with his plan. The hint about salt had given him an idea--he was sure that normally granulated salt was used, but a solid bar along entrances would probably be even better. And hell, it was worth a shot while they have time to prepare, right?]

[He hadn't expected to come across Greed when he headed out to get this done, but he certainly wasn't going to object when Greed invited himself along. So off it was around the mansion, with an alchemist transmuting salt into the floor of just about any damn doorway and a protective homunculus keeping an eye out for him. Care to say hello?]

((So yeah, joint post for Alphonse and Greed! Feel free to bug them wherever in the mansion! Posting order is you -> Greed -> Al.))

Comments

and one for just the two of them!

[appealingavarice]

I guess all this howling kills the "slug monster" theory. Unless they're dog-slug chimeras.

[Greed isn't hugely impressed, at this point, by the idea of anything that can be held at bay by salt. Not that the howling isn't creepy, of course, but... salt?]

\o/

[seekingbrother]

Unless it was a poisonous slug, I can't see how any chimera that was part slug would be dangerous at all. Gross, but not dangerous.

[He huffs and sets down the big bag of salt he'd brought from his closet--with how much transmuting he'll be doing, it's best to have most of the work done for him.] I think it's more likely they're of some kind of magical origin. There's plenty of old superstitions like that; maybe in some world they're actually real.

[appealingavarice]

They could be poisonous. Queenie didn't say they weren't. [...yeah, he's not taking this as seriously as maybe he should. Seriously enough to insist on keeping an eye on his alchemist, yes. Seriously enough to stop making slug jokes? Not a chance in hell.]

[seekingbrother]

She didn't say a lot of things. [There's quite a bit of bitterness in that sentence, and Al starts laying out a thick line of salt.] But we'll have to work with what we have. There are the traps that got set out in the forest, that should at least cut the numbers down.

[He glances up at Greed then, curious.] Have you ever seen a slug chimera?

[appealingavarice]

Nah. Not something most would bother to work with. I've heard of a toad, but that's about as slimy as it gets. And I haven't met him, either.

[seekingbrother]

Toads are slimy enough! And--wait, you mean he's a human-toad chimera? There were more of them? [Sure, it made sense there would be more than just those that Greed had freed from Lab 5, but Al hadn't really thought about it before--mostly because the idea of creating them made him feel ill.]

[appealingavarice]

What, you thought there wouldn't be? [Greed gives him a slightly pitying, you-poor-naive-bastard look.] Military's not going to just give it up when they're on to a good thing. Chimeras are tough as nails, got all kinds of special abilities, and the commanders can treat 'em however they like and just tell themselves, hey, it's not like they're human anymore.

[The elite of the Amestrian military are pretty much scum, in other words, and Greed's increasingly disgusted tone reflects that.]

[seekingbrother]

[Al winces, looking back down to the salt and clapping his hands.] It's...not really something I ever wanted to think about. And the military isn't doing that anymore in our world...at least they shouldn't be. The State Alchemist program has even been closed.

[The alchemical energy sparks, lighting up the area around them.] But you're right. I don't know what they'd be doing behind the scenes, even with Dante and Bradley gone.

[appealingavarice]

["Bradley gone." Those words sound great, even coming from another world, and Greed smiles wolfishly.] Well, shake it up enough and I guess you never know. Who's Fuhrer now, for you guys? 'Cause if it's one of the old high command I wouldn't be too hopeful.

[seekingbrother]

The parliament took over, actually, so there is no Fuhrer. There was so much scandal when things started coming to light about what the military brass had been doing that they didn't have much choice but to step down.

[Yes, that sounds reasonable. Fuck you and your vague ending, Bones!]

[appealingavarice]

Yeah? Actually, what were they doing? I know it wasn't the big array, but I'm not so up on whatever it was instead.

[seekingbrother]

[Al grimaces, standing and hefting the bag of salt again, heading down the hall.] To put it simply, waging war so that people would be driven to create the Stone. They instigated the Ishbal War, and deliberately bungled a riot in Liore to let it build into an uprising. Dante had been manipulating the country for centuries, using the Stones she stole to transfer her soul from body to body. Our father used to be with her, but after...

[You understand, don't you? The memory still rings clear, and it takes an effort of will to continue.]

...after his first son died, he left her. I guess when we tried to bring back Mom, Dante realized who we were and tried to get a hold of us as well, as a replacement. She was...obsessed, from what I've been told.

[appealingavarice]

Seems pretty overcomplicated. [-when she could just keep a Stone for the body she'd got is what he means, but does it even work that way in their world, where homunculi are just failed transmutations?] But if she was crazy, I guess that would make sense.

[seekingbrother]

[Al nods in agreement, having a good idea what Greed's thought process was.] I think it's just a difference of how our alchemy and yours works. But I'm not gonna argue her being crazy!