Anton cleared the rubble that was on top of him. His left arm hung limp at his side. De-clawed, stabbed and now, after breaking his fall, officially out of commission. He stood there and listened to Octivir's speech.

"Bradley doesn't want me because I stole that information; he wants me because I know the Truth. It's that everything you know is a lie; about Ishval, about the military, all they really want is lambs for the slaughter!"

Anton wasn't smiling anymore. But his face remained expressionless as he heard the Hotblooded One's wild accusations.

Hmmm. I wonder...

SKLRTCH!!

Wha...!

The liutenant's face twitched as four spikes instantly killed Amaud, his body falling to the floor, lifeless.

He saw Kallu, Leo and Vlad join them in the basement.

"I was going to go back and hear your sweet voice again... I didn't expect to see you again like this. You don't like coffee? Then what about liquor?"

Oi, oi, you mean you asked this thing out on a date? Is that why I couldn't find you? And what's with the heroic entrance?

"You must be the Lust. We just finished with the Gluttony not that long ago, I must admit, he's even heavier than he looks. But he's not that bright, and apparently is much more afraid of you than four state Alchemists together. Just what exactly are you two and what are you doing here?"

Lust? Gluttony? What the hell have the others been up to? This could be bad... Octivir talked too much. And now this... Damn!

Anton just stood behind the others, saying nothing. He was in no condition to fight and it looked unlikely that this "Lust" would just let them go. Things were looking grim.

"You must be the Lust. We just finished with the Gluttony not that long ago, I must admit, he's even heavier than he looks. But he's not that bright, and apparently is much more afraid of you than four state Alchemists together. Just what exactly are you two and what are you doing here?"

Elias heard what was going on in the now-roofless warehouse, but he couldn't see anything. All he knew was that someone was dead and his team was in that rubble. Taking off into a sprint, he jumped across the alley and onto the factory floor above the room everyone else had fallen into, squatting as he landed so that the rest of his body would absorb the force that his automail legs couldn't. If there was a fight, he'd do what he could. If not, he'd start digging if the situation called for it, but for now he stood up in his small crater and listened to the rest of the conversation.

Solaris seemed unsurprised by the questions and reactions being lobbied toward her. Nor did she seem at all intimidated by the massive numerical advantage against her. All she did was trace a finger around the Ouroboros tattoo as Roland stood up, being the first to speak. "Who or what, the hell.. are you?"

"My, my. Isn't that an interesting question? I am what you might call the future of humanity. All of the substance, and none of your pathetic flaws. Such as his." She stamped her heel into Amaud's back again, desecrating the alchemist's body further. At this moment a trio of individuals burst in: Vlad, Kallu, and Leo. The poor Barefoot Alchemist was the first to react to her. "I didn't expect to see you again like this. You walked away because you didn't like coffee? Then what about liquor?"

Solaris' haughty attitude didn't hold up for this one. She stared at him with a blank expression with just a hint of worry forming her eyebrows. "Did you hit your head getting in here?"

Before Leo could respond, Kallu responded for him. "You must be the Lust,"Kallu said as he created a ramp that led from his rooftop to the ground,he limped down it and spoke again when he reached the sand,"We just finished with the Gluttony not that long ago, I must admit, he's even heavier than he looks.But he's not that bright, and apparently is much more afraid of you than four state Alchemists together. Just what exactly are you two and what are you doing here?"

Solaris chuckled in that stuck-up noblewoman's sort of way. "Very astute, little alchemist. I am, in fact, Lust. And the fact that you survived an encounter with Gluttony tells me you're far more skilled than our intelligence had given you credit for, Stone." She knew his title; not impossible, as many alchemists were well known, but still, Kallu was no household name. "But don't think that I'm going to tell you everything just over that."

With the words apparently finished between them, Lust took a step forward and brought her clean hand up. The fingers extended into long, thin spikes. Her smile looked more malicious than ever. "Now then, there's just the question of what to do with you. It's a shame that you had to hear all of that; you were all such reliable dogs. But I suppose this is a large country. We can always find new sacrifices."

She pointed a finger, extending it to nearly twenty feet and stopping just before the throat of Roland. "Say goodbye, little alchemist."

Tink! Tink-tink-tinktinktinktink...

Lust's eyes widened in a bit of disturbed fascination and looked down. A grenade rested squarely at her feet. "Goodbye!" came a voice from above.

KRAKOOOOM!

On the metal walkway above them, Victor Kendrall stared down at the scorched remains of Lust with a wide, almost gleeful grin. "Hey everybody!"

His victory was short-lived, as Lust began to reform almost instantly, just as Gluttony had before. Her head formed into a glaring, scowling visage as she stared down Victor from below. "Intrepid little mouse, aren't you?" She said mockingly. "We'll see how long that confidence lasts."

"Yeah," Victor said as Lust began to attack. He hefted his most recent acquisition, a rocket launcher and took aim. The payload slammed into the monstrous woman's body just as her fingers began to extend, blowing her apart as red sparks began to reform her almost instantly. Victor pulled a pistol from its holster and opened up as fast as he could pull the trigger into her body. "Everyone!" he shouted. "Let her have it!"

Roland drew his revolver from it's holster and fire it's entirety into Lust's abdomen.
"Future of the human race huh? Let's see if you can evolve to stop dying you bitch "

As his gun ran empty, he took a few spare rounds and threw them at her, as he did so he arced electricity through them, causing them to explode in Lust's face and fill her eyes with shrapnel.

"Nice save Victor! Man did you save the bacon. I'm sure everyone here is going to do it anyways but still! DESTROY THIS BITCH! That is an order!"

James bite his thumb again for blood and started drawing circles in a line. After he completed six circles he clapped his hands in succession and brought out six cannons, all facing Lust and all tied to one string.

"I've had a very crappy past two days where everyone seems to be trying to kill me and I've had very little sleep so I'm a little loopy right now. But you made us fail the mission and that was the last straw. I'm pissed and its all at you, you crazy bimbo! Everyone in front of me! Duck!" James pulled the string firing all six cannons at Lust.

Anton watched as Lust answered every question with a haughty, arrogant attitude. Next thing he knew, the woman had extended her fingers again, training them on The Lightning Alchemist's neck.

Shit. It's over... Hm?

*Tink! Tink-tink-tinktinktinktink...*

KRAKOOOOM!

As the dust cleared, Anton could see Lust reforming. Above, was their savior. Corporal Victor Kendrall.

Him?! The sight of the Corporal, the squad's most useless and boring folder arriving to save his comrades was enough to get a reaction from Lt. Wilson. However, the battle was far from over.

Shit! How's it doing that?! We'll need mo...

As Lust attacked Victor, the Corporal unloaded a rocket on her. She just kept healing

"Everyone! Let her have it!"

"...hehehehehehHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! I've only got one working arm and two handguns and you want me to give this bitch all I've got?"

Anton burst into a maniacal laugh while unloading one of his guns into Lust. His stoic expression had returned to the murderous grin that most of the squad already had the displeasure of knowing.

"Very good, Corporal! Very good indeed! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Anton exhausted one of his guns, holstered it and proceeded to unload the second one.

"RECOVER FROM THIS, YOU CRAZY BITCH!!!"

A mistake there, now she's pissed at him

Kallu could see the red sparks and saw her silhouette begin to reform through the dust that Victor's rocket and Roland's electric explosions had caused. Anton began unloading a pistol into her, and James created a half dozen cannons all pointed at Lust

Another one of them. What are they? Evolution of the human race? What does that mean? We're going to need more firepower than that to kill one of these things, I think.

The Alchemist felt this was not going to end well. They had barely been able to contain the last one of these they'd encountered, and this one looked more dangerous, in part because of those claws, in part because Leo had obviously... met her before.

Stone created a thick wall starting from his hands and ending in a curve at the start of James's cannons, there was nowhere for her to go but through the wall, or back towards Vlad, Leo, and himself, or towards the other group of them. Any way she went would pit her against at least three Alchemists. He was confident they could at least find some way to disable her.

Elias wasn't sure what small arms ammunition would do to someone, or something, who didn't die when hit directly by a rocket, but he did have his orders, so he drew his handgun and emptied its seven-round magazine into Lust's chest. Compared to his machine gun, the handgun offered no recoil, so all seven rounds found the exact same spot in her chest.

With the slide locked back, Elias began the annoying process of reloading a weapon with only one hand.

As Marlin arrived at the source of the smoke in the center of the industrial district he could see that he was quite late to the fight. What surprised him was that many of his comrades were in combat with not Amaud, but a lovely looking woman. I wonder how this came about... Should I wait and see what's going on here or shoot first and ask questions later?

Marlin's question was answered when a grenade was dropped into the fray, exploding right next to the woman. Marlin frowned, disapproving of such excessive force but when the smoke cleared he was shocked to see that the woman was regenerating at an astounding rate. Marlin heard Victor yell for them all to attack and the squad began unloading on her, but it seemed to be just as ineffective as the grenade was. She simply healed from every wound she was given.

Vlad seemed to switch tactics and try binding her arms with stone and Marlin figured that was the right course of action. This woman seemed to be practically immortal and wasting their energy hoping she might die eventually seemed a bit too optimistic. "... I hope my intrusion will be forgiven..." Marlin muttered quietly, so as not to draw attention to himself, as he set the jar down and filled it. He then sent a trail of water along the ground towards the woman's feet. Once the water pooled around her feet, he froze it in an attempt to bind her legs to the ground.

As Ken and Tasha walked back to base, he turned to her and said 'So that monster was told not eat us, yet. Who or what to you think could be in charge of a creature like that? more importantly what power those such a individual have and what would they want with us?'

Tasha shook her head. "I haven't a clue on what could control that monster. As to what they do, I'm scared. That creature took everything we threw at it, and shrugged it off." Tasha turned to look back towards the warehouse, hopefully the other won't run into it. And if they do hopefully they'll know to get away."

A explosion was heard off in the distance, Hope that that explosion was a good thing, 'You saw that creature move, at least one of them won't be able to get away form it' Ken started walking a bit faster 'Maybe if we report this to the fuhrer he will be bale to bring in more support for them', a second explosion was heard.

The assault on Lust was nothing short of devastating. As the monster slowly stitched back together from Victor's assault, the Lightning Alchemist stepped up. "Future of the human race huh? Let's see if you can evolve to stop dying you bitch "

Her body rocked back with each new bullet shot into her body, and the electrical detonation from the bullets he flung pinned her up against the wall as her body convulsed. But even as the electricity sparked, so too did the mysterious red energy. Her eyes opened, filled with cold fury and hatred as she charged forward again, launching her ludicrously long nails at Roland. But before they could even make it halfway, she was launched backwards again, this time by a volley from Anton and Elias. Blood spurted out of her wounds, and Victor joined in with his bolt-action rifle. The beast's body contorted in inhuman ways from the force of the rounds knocking her about. Bones cracked, tendons tore, organs were pierced, but every time she seemed to heal. At last, she had enough, and threw all of her finger-lances at separate members of the Special Operations team. But a transmutation lit up the room, and separated the two parties by way of six very intimidating cannons. Kallu's own transmutation brought a wall that trapped her up against the artillery.

"I've had a very crappy past two days where everyone seems to be trying to kill me and I've had very little sleep so I'm a little loopy right now. But you made us fail the mission and that was the last straw. I'm pissed and its all at you, you crazy bimbo! Everyone in front of me! Duck!"

All six cannons fired at once, their salvos rocking Lust with shearing force. Her body tore itself into dozens of pieces, blood spraying the room like a hose as bits of flesh fell to the ground. But in the middle of all the wet squished, the Amestrians heard a clinking sound. They looked down. At their feet rested not a heart, or an organ, or even a bit of jewelery. It was a clear, red stone, splattered by a bit of blood. Lust's other body parts began to dissolve, turning into ash and dust and drifting away; but the stone remained. Victor stared at it in confusion from above. "I-is that a... Philo--"

Red sparks cracked in every direction as flesh and bone shot out from the stone, wrapping itself around and knotting into the shape of a woman. Then came skin, and clothes, of all things, and then hair, until at last Lust stood before them.

"Now do you understand?" She asked them. "You fragile little pests are no more significant to a homunculus than an insect."

"H-homunculus" Victor stuttered. Lust looked up at him and seemed ready to respond, but before she could two stone pillars wrapped themselves around her arms. Vlad grinned in self-admiration of his little victory. Lust glared at the Vampire Alchemist.

"Do you really think this can hold me?" she asked. She took a step forward, trying to pull at her restraints, only to let a hint of shock creep onto her face as ice contoured around her feet. All eyes followed the trail to see the Deep Blue Alchemist in the doorway. "... I hope my intrusion will be forgiven..."

This time, the homunculus called Lust looked surprised. She seemed to have assumed no one else would be coming. "Deep Blue... I was hoping at least a few of you would remain of worth. But I suppose there isn't much we can do about that, now is there? Your arrival complicates things... I hate to say, but all of you strong men seem to have me outmatched." She laughed again. Its aristocratic nature was not lost on the lower-ranked members of the team, and did nothing to endear her to them. "I'll have to take drastic measures... Gluttony, would you please join us?"

The floor underneath those present cracked and splintered as the monstrous homunculus called Gluttony rose from beneath them. His eyes had no pupils, white and voracious as he sought out his first snack. After a second, he looked and saw that Lust had been trapped. The thing's face went from hunger to, for a very brief moment, worry as he approached her. "Is Lust okay?"

"I'm fine, Gluttony. Though perhaps a bit of assistance is needed."

Gluttony nodded and showed off his childlike smile. "Okay!" With a swift motion, he grabbed one of Lust's arms at the shoulder and tore, ripping it clean off. The others present could only watch in horror as he did the same to her other limbs in the span of ten seconds.

It wasn't long before her arms and legs began to reform, the others dissipating as she continued to drip blood from the healing wounds. One of her claws extended, and pointed towards James. "Now, Lieutenant Colonel, you learn the price of resisting the homunculi. Gluttony, kill him."

Her finger rested pointed at James for a brief moment. Then, it slowly turned, to the left and up, until she was aiming towards Victor. The Corporal's eyes dilated and his jaw dropped open, shaking in horror as he took a step back from the railing. Gluttony looked at his apparent master with a curious stare. "Does this mean I get to eat him?"

Lust smiled; the malice was palpable. "Yes, Gluttony. You may eat him."

Gluttony leaped up, his massive body offering no resistance as he clambered up onto the walkway. Slobber dripped down from his mouth as he eyes his prey with pure hunger. Victor looked ready to scream and run, but didn't. Instead, he kicked the source of all of his ludicrous weapons. A massive locker he had brought with him flipped open, and with a swift motion he brought out a pair of pistols. He holstered one and started firing with the other. Gluttony advanced slowly, being pushed back with every shot; in that meantime the Corporal frantically was digging for something within the weapons box. At last he seemed to find it.

His last bullet fired, and Gluttony took the pause to leap straight for the soldier. Victor yanked his shotgun out from the case and fired its salvo. Gluttony took the entire cluster of shots directly into his stomach, propelling him backwards as blood bathed the young soldier. He realized too late that this was only a moment's reprieve, and quickly drew his pistol. But the homunculus was faster than him. His massive hand slammed Victor's entire right arm into the wall behind the walkway, shattering the bone. The Corporal screamed in agony.

Those below heard a slashing sound as young Victor drew his knife, his soft eyes hardened by pain and desperation as he cut vertically up Gluttony's round belly. It split open, spilling guts and blood as the homunculus shrieked in pain. It was given no time to heal, as Victor then stabbed it directly in the eye. As it felt itself blinded, Gluttony lurched back, depriving Victor of his knife. It remained lodged in Gluttony's eye.

The young soldier was prepared, however, and drew a bayonet from a side pouch, gouging Gluttony hand as it reached down towards him. The fat appendage twitched and convulsed in pure suffering, but this time the homunculus didn't react with pain. It got angry.

His other hand reached down, and grabbed Victor by his hair. It tore him from the ground and hung him in the air as its inhuman face snarled at him. "I! Don't! Like! Food! That HURTS ME!"

With the bayonet still lodged his hand, Gluttony threw a haphazard punch into Victor's gut. By chance, his own blade drove itself into his stomach. The poor boy let out a strained gasp as pained tears streamed down his cheeks. Gluttony tossed him aside, sending the soldier hurtling straight through the door he had originally come from, and out of sight of the others. His pained yelp was impossible to miss as he smashed through the door.

But Gluttony wasn't done. The homunculus charged through the door, and the others could only hear what happened next.

"No! No, stay back! S-stay away from me! S-somebody, somebody! Help! HELP! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUURRGH--"

CRUNCH.

Lust elongated a finger, and pointed it at the next-lowest ranked soldier: Elias. "You're next."

Kallu watched as the Corporal was flung through the doorway and the sickening sound of bone being crushed was heard. He saw as Lust pointed one of her claws at Elias and demanded his death next.

He quickly transmuted the stone wall she stood against the wrap itself around her body completely, before commanding it to entomb her and crush her until even the stone supporting her body was destroyed.

"You forget your surroundings Lust.Alone we are weak compared to you, together we are as strong as the stone."

EDIT: I'm assuming lust breaks out of Stone's trap.

"I don't think so."

The barest hint of a shadow flicked in the light shining down on Lust. Steel whispered, and the Spice alchemist dropped down from the catwalks to cleave the Homunculus clean in half, from head to toe, with his leafbladed spear. He landed gracefully as Lust split cleanly down the middle and started healing. Then, almost contemptuously, Amon twirled his spear once and slashed horizontally, cutting Lust in half again.

Walking calmly away, Amon stopped a few yards away from Lust and turned. When he faced Lust, his eyes were deadly.

"Get up, you pathetic piece of shit." He bit out each word savagely. "You call yourself superior, but from what I just saw? That man you killed was better than you in every. Way. He was a soldier. A normal soldier. He fought without alchemy. Without... whatever you have. He fought with tooth and nail, doing whatever he could to survive in a war far, far larger than he was."

"But you? You just sit there and wait for them," he jerked his finger at everyone behind him. "to run out of ammo. And then you cut them up like meat."

"So I wonder what happens when you meet someone who doesn't need ammo." He leveled his spear at her, his voice soft. "Care to try?"

There was nothing to be said in a battlefield. Men shall be honored by their friends, and cried on by their mothers and lovers. Leo raised both of his hands and assumed the position. He closed his eyes and swiftly moved his leg back and leaned on it. He then moved to the side behind all of his companions, turning in his place and smashing his legs at the ground, pulling jagged pillars of earth diagonally at the thing. He moved in a circle and continued to do so even when Amon delivered his speed. Each one of the pillars caught her in her place and as he tried to break them off more and more impaled every part of her body. Leo continued to spin and hit the ground, an act that if were to be seen with the sound of joyful music could be mistaken for a happy wedding dance. But his expression showed pure contempt for the thing.

Isaac must have been quite a sight, as he strode through the streets of East City. Carrying an unconscious, heavily bandaged figure across your shoulders, your clothes stained red by blood, as you walked through the alleys and backstreets of the Industrial district was almost certainly not the best way to make a first impression. No doubt the few people that hung around the area had been horrified; Isaac was honestly surprised he hadn't been accused of kidnapping.

Then again, if one thing could be said about Amestris' uniform, it was that the ensemble deflected questions perfectly. Even when dripping with blood, the navy cloth was enough to convince civilians to walk away, thanking the gods that they had nothing to do with whatever the situation was.

Eventually, the alchemist found his way back to the main streets, still north of the hospital by quite a ways. Judging by the ever-weakening breaths of his captive, there was little time to spare. Deciding to utilize another of his uniform's perks, Isaac stepped into the road, blocking the path of an oncoming vehicle, a delivery truck for some company or another. Once the truck had slowed to a halt, Isaac walked to the side of the cab, yanking open the door and depositing his prisoner in the back. Ignoring the stuttered protests of the driver, Isaac settled into the passenger seat, closing the door as he sat down. "Take us to the hospital, now."

"B-but sir, I've, I've got a schedule to keep! If I don't..."

The man's response whimpered out as Isaac turned to face him, iron filling the soldier's gaze and tone. "I'm commandeering your vehicle to transport a dying woman, with the Furher's authority. You will take us to the hospital, or so help me I will see to it that you're charged with obstructing a military operation. Am I making myself clear?"

Gulping nervously, the man clutched the steering wheel and gear shift with trembling hands, his feet shaking as they worked the pedals. A practiced driver he may have been, but his "passengers" would have given anybody a near-paralyzing case of the nerves. The truck lurched through the streets, breaking dozens of laws as it careened around corners and leaped through intersections.

Still, it was only a matter of moments before the vehicle wrenched to a stop in front of East City's hospital. "Wait here," Isaac instructed as he collected his charge and exited the cab. He may not have given the terrified driver an opportunity to refuse, but Isaac still intended to give the man some form of recompense. First things first, however.

If there was ever a good way to get attention at a hospital, walking inside dripping blood was probably one of the better methods. It couldn't have been more than a few seconds before the woman was strapped to a bed, being rushed back into the ICU, nurses calling out orders as the doors slammed shut behind them. Sighing, Isaac allowed his body to slump against the wall, stress briefly overpowering his sense of professionalism. It was out of his hands now.

Regaining a modicum of his authority, the soldier stood back up, and approached one of the nurses manning the front desk. "Right, listen here: That woman is a military prisoner; I want her to be under watch at ALL times. Once she's out of surgery, keep her hands bound and in sight constantly. She's an alchemist, so do not allow her to form symbols of any kind on anything. I'll be back in a few hours to see to her transfer; do not allow anyone without military permission to see her."

Trusting that she would see that his instructions were followed as best they could be, Isaac strode away, heading back outside. As he walked, he pulled out his wallet, retrieving a handful of 10,000 Cen bills. Approaching the idling truck, the soldier knocked on the driver's door. Offering a brief apology and the money, Isaac watched as the man drove off, most likely rushing back to whatever deliveries he had to make.

Now what do I do?

Now what do I do?

Anton had just witnessed Lust completely reforming around a weird red stone, being saved from Vlad and Marlin's restraints by a pudgy monster who apparently had now devoured Corporal Kendrall. Elias, it seemed, was next.

Eaten... Just like that. One less folder cluttering my table. And apparently us non-alchemists are next. Shit. Shit.

For the first time in 20 years, Anton was afraid. These were not your average contracts. These were monsters. His arm was out of commission, he was in no condition to fight.

Damn it all to hell!

Kallu tried trapping the thing. Didn't stop her.

Hopeless...

"I don't think so."

It was Amon. Alive and attacking Lust savagely. All the while berating her for her cowardice.
The alchemists were on the warpath again. Anton just stood there. Powerless. Frustrated. Filled with hate.

Just like... He remebered. The burning sun. The sound of heavy artillery. The cries. The hate.

The hate... That's right.

"To think I'd stop because of a couple of fucking freaks. Hahahahah! I've seen my share of weird shit but you two sure take the cake!" He boasted as he reloaded his weapons (as fast as he could with one arm, anyway) and let it fly.

Seeing that his stone trap didn't work, Kallu decided to use the abundant stone at his disposal again, this time creating a fist that came out of the wall, scattering Lust's sliced up body once again before it had time to recover from Amon's assault.

I'm in no condition to fight right now, but there's Amon, that's his name I think. I can at least give him some support.

He quickly grabbed his reloaded pistol and waited for the right moment to fire, straight at the stone that seemed to be what kept her alive. take that and with any luck, she'll crumble.

Marlin was confused by the woman's words when she saw him. How did she know who he was? He was a state alchemist yes, but he had done nothing to earn any particular fame. He would need to ask her a lot of questions once he was certain she was restrained and focused on encasing more of her legs in ice.

Though she spoke as though she were defeated, her expression and tone implied the opposite. The reason for that soon became clear as large man burst through the floor and violently freed her from her restraints. The man whom seemed to be called Gluttony then proceeded to attack Victor. The Corporal did his best to fend him off, but Gluttony possessed the same regenerative powers as Lust it seemed. Before Marlin could do anything, Gluttony forced Victor into the next room and, judging by the horrible screams that followed, killed him.

Marlin's mind was racing in shock as Lust continued to speak and called for Elias' death next. Did she say Homunculi?! That would explain much but... it's impossible! Why is she starting with the lower ranked members and working up? Is there some purpose in keeping us alchemists alive? We're the most dangerous opponents to them though... Marlin had a thousand questions with no answers. For the time being, it seemed that they were far outmatched here.

".... Sargent. Get out of here. Run as fast as you can. I don't think this is a battle we can win." Marlin called out to Elias and used his remaining water to create a barrier of ice between he and Lust. Hopefully it would be enough to ensure his safety and his observation that Lust wanted the state alchemists all alive proved correct.

James was breathing heavy after his last transmutation. With little rest over the past two days, his fight with Octvir,blood loss and now this he was running on empty. He wasn't even sure if he could transmute the bullets in his gun. And it seemed no matter what he did, this woman called Lust could heal from just about any wound.

Is she immortal? She is not invincible because we can wound her, she just doesn't stay that way. If only we could freeze her or tie her up and go after the fat one and hope Victor is still alive.

James watched Marlin create an ice wall between Lust and Elias.

"Kallu, can you create a stone coffin that covers her! Marlin gather water and freeze her. Do what you have to! Anything to slow her down."

"Kallu, can you create a stone coffin that covers her! "

Kallu tried once more to encase her in stone from the wall, to entomb her and crush the stone that powered her regeneration.

"James!If we destroy the stone in her center, she may lose her abilities!"

".... Sargent. Get out of here. Run as fast as you can. I don't think this is a battle we can win."

Elias began to shake as adrenaline dumped into his veins. The automail wasn't directly affected, but his nerve endings transmitted the subtle tremors to his three metal limbs. He slowly holstered the handgun so that he didn't break it in his grasp, while he debated whether to run or fight. He had three reminders of brushes with death, two from a battle he "couldn't win."

But he knew this was one he couldn't survive. As much as it killed him inside, he turned and ran, breaching the nearest wall instead of wasting time to look for a door.

As Anton saw Elias flee he decided to cover the man. They were both just soldiers, half-broken ones. They were of no use to this battle.

"Shit! Wait up Sarge! I'll come with you!"

Anton shot a couple of slugs before the alchemists started their process of trapping Lust.

"Someone, cover that gluttonous bastard upstairs! If he comes after us, we're screwed!"

Anton rushed through the Sargeant's makeshift door and ran.

"Shit! Wait up Sarge! I'll come with you!"

Elias looked over his shoulder to see Anton trying to close the distance between them, so he slowed down from the all-out sprint he'd started.

"The hell are those things?" he called out. "Homunculus? Never heard of 'em! That fatass really eat Victor? How do they regenerate?" He wasn't expecting any answers, but he still felt the need to voice his questions.

This is way above my pay grade.

"Someone, cover that gluttonous bastard upstairs! If he comes after us, we're screwed!"

Roland was roused from his semi-unconsciousness as he heard the soldier, Anton, shout after him.

"Heard ya' loud and clear!"

Roland placed his hands against the air, gathering the necessary charge from the surrounding environment, preparing himself for the beast to emerge from the walkway.

"Hey 'Gluttony'! 'Lust' is in terrible agony out here! Don't you care?!"

As Anton reached Elias the picked up speed again

"The hell are those things?" he called out. "Homunculus? Never heard of 'em! That fatass really eat Victor? How do they regenerate?"

"The Corporal's gone. Other than that I ain't got a clue. We're covered for now though, so let's get back to HQ. Double time!"

Homonculus... Can't be... Then again, old employer o' mine did use to say: "Ain't no such thing as no such thing"...

"James!If we destroy the stone in her center, she may lose her abilities!"

"Good idea Kallu! Everyone able to fight, open her up! I'll shoot the stone!" James aimed his pistol at Lust. He may not be able to fire using Alchemy but he was firing guns since he was a kid.

Lust's grin turned into a sneer of utter, permeating hatred as Kallu's stone prison entombed her. She stared down the Stone Alchemist and lectured him. "Why do you pesky humans resist us so much? You must realize how hopeless this is."

Her eight razor-like talons minced the stone around her, chunks of rock falling to the ground and kicking up dust all around her. She aimed towards Kallu. "Before we go on any further, I'll have to scrape those circles off of your flesh."

"I don't think so."

The barest hint of a shadow flicked in the light shining down on Lust. Steel whispered, and the Spice alchemist dropped down from the catwalks to cleave the Homunculus clean in half, from head to toe, with his leafbladed spear. He landed gracefully as Lust split cleanly down the middle and started healing. Then, almost contemptuously, Amon twirled his spear once and slashed horizontally, cutting Lust in half again.

"So I wonder what happens when you meet someone who doesn't need ammo." He leveled his spear at her, his voice soft. "Care to try?"

"Yes." Elongated spikes shot through the Spice Alchemist's shoulder, spurting blood onto the other alchemists as his body was carried up above them, punctured straight through and stuck into the wall behind them all. Red sparks flickered about the stitched line where Lust's body was still putting the finishing touches on its healing. Her eyes burned with loathing as she watched Amon's own body weight pull him down, worsening the wounds she had inflicted. "To tell the truth, I don't really care what you humans have to say. Count your blessings, as I'm not allowed to kill you yet. But that doesn't mean you won't suffer."

Suddenly, a stone spike rose from the ground, and pierced her abdomen. Her body shook back, and her claws lost their grip on Amon. He slid to the ground, trailing blood on the wall behind him. She moved to counter, but she was not fast enough; the Barefoot Alchemist got to work, dancing around her and carrying himself to a merry dance in his head. It was the only way to work as nimbly as required to kill her. Spike after spike drove itself through her flesh, and she was powerless to move as more piled up. Leo didn't speak, focused on his grim task. This continued for nearly half a minute, before the perfect moment arrived. He leaped into the air, and two spikes each nailed themselves through his feet, piercing the circles and breaking them as they pinned him to the wall he was adjacent to. His body twisted to keep his bones from breaking as he lied on the floor, while Lust's other hand methodically sliced away the rocks as if they were butter. She freed herself quickly, and took a step towards the others.

Anton's volley was next. A dozen bullets impacted her torso, digging themselves in only to stop against the force of whatever energy was healing her. It did manage to slow her down, however. That was all the time it took for a gigantic stone first to emerge from the wall to her side, smashing itself against her and sending the woman hurtling to their left. That seemed to surprise her; they were dismayed to find that that was all it seemed to do. Red energy healed her tremendous internal injuries, allowing her to finish her tumble on her feet. She seemed angrier than ever, but that veneer of calm remained.

Fate was not kind to the homunculus, however, and shamed her further as a tremendous stone coffin encased her, and that itself was surrounded by a wall of ice to trap her further. The forces pushed further and further, aiming to crush her entirely. It was in that brief moment that Lieutenant Anton and Sergeant Elias managed to make their escape; though it was humbling to flee a battle, the remaining expendable soldiers were gone. As far as they could tell, no one else would die.

Their brief respite was up. Those unbreakable claws of Lust's sawed their way through the barrier, and she exited the rubble unscathed. Waiting for her, however, was James. "Everyone able to fight, open her up! I'll shoot the stone!"

He fired a single bullet. It split open her chest, the force revealing the ribcage underneath. Another shot, dead-on into the same spot. Bone shattered and flesh was peeled back. Another shot furthered the wound, and a fourth, and a fifth, until finally the glittering red stone was visible amidst the gore. Eyes squinted and hand steady, the sixth bullet fired. All the explosive force within rocketed into the surface of the stone, a bulls-eye. He grinned to himself.

Ping!

The bullet smacked into the stone, and with a metallic noise flipped away and to the floor. It was unharmed by the shot. A single finger-lance pierced through the barrel of James' gun, and behind it through his arm and out the other side. "Clever, Lieutenant Colonel." Lust admitted, in a sultry tone. "I would expect nothing less from a man like you. But you've heavily underestimated the powers you're dealing with."

Roland, witnessing all of this, heard a voice call out. "Someone, cover that gluttonous bastard upstairs! If he comes after us, we're screwed!"

He knew they were right. Somebody needed to keep an eye on it. He decided to get Gluttony's attention by taunting him. "Hey 'Gluttony'! 'Lust' is in terrible agony out here! Don't you care?!"

He braced himself, charging as he waited for the monster to come hurtling out at him. He waited. And waited. The moments passed, but no homunculus came through that door. He wondered if he hadn't shouted long enough. What had happened?

BANG BANG BANG. KRAKOOM.

The entire chunk of wall erupted as an explosion annihilated it. Through the smoke came a bloody, shattered corpse of a man. Though mutilated, it was recognizable as Gluttony. It twitched in odd, impossible ways as it tried to heal from the immense wounds it had taken; it looked in even worse shape than Lust had been after some of their most effective assaults. Before it had even healed, another figure limped out of the shadows, clutching a grenade in his hand.

"HOW'D YOU LIKE TO EAT A FEW MORE GRENADES, YOU BASTARD?!"

Victor Kendrall stood on the walkway, bleeding immense quantities of blood from the horrendous wound he had sustained. His entire right arm was bitten off at the shoulder; his face looked grotesquely pained as he ripped a grenade from his belt, tearing the pin off right there before tossing it down both at Lust and Gluttony. The two homunculi braced themselves, but were torn to shreds nonetheless by the shrapnel. Victor acted quickly and drew the second pistol he had holstered before, and fired three bullets each into one homunculus, then the other. As they reformed, Gluttony made a painful squeal to his "master".

"Lust! It hurts! I think my stone is running out!"

The woman called Lust staggered to her feet, feeling the peculiar, peeling skin on her arm. "I think mine is as well. I hate to run from a good killing, but we'd best not take any chances."

Gluttony moved towards the wall behind them as Lust pointed at the Lieutenant Colonel. "You and your men were very lucky today, Projecting. Count your blessings they survived." She turned to leave as Gluttony pounded his way to the outside, sunlight leaking in from the hole he made. Before she exited, she turned back to add a final twist of the knife. "Oh, and, be a good dog while I'm gone."

Before any of them could move enough to pursue them, the two mysterious beings who called themselves "homunculi" were gone, leaving them alone in the room, broken and bleeding but very much alive. Above the rest, Victor tried to make some form of cheer, but his consciousness was fleeting, and he collapsed, slipping off the walkway and landing on the floor below.

Kallu saw as Victor, bleeding and broken, fell from the walkway. He walked as swiftly as his leg could stand to the Corporal and picked him up.

As he picked him up in a fireman's carry, he whispered to his ear alone,"Good job, kid. You listened.Now...back to bed."

The corporal complied and Kallu threw Leo over his other shoulder, the holes in his feet not making it easy for the man to stand, let alone walk.

"Ok, I'm getting this kid back to the hospital, James, I think the kid deserves at the least a commendation for this."

Kallu finished just as abruptly as he always did and began making his way swiftly back to the hospital in the center city, his leg be damned.

"You and your men were very lucky today, Projecting. Count your blessings they survived."

James fell to his knees exhausted, blood flowing freely from his arm. The mission had been a disaster and the entire squad was badly hurt. The homunculus was right. They were lucky. Any longer and they would have been all been dead. It was a combination of the combined might of the squad and luck that they had survived and nothing could change that fact.

Ok, I'm getting this kid back to the hospital, James, I think the kid deserves at the least a commendation for this."

Screw a commendation he deserves a fucking promotion.

James struggled to his feet, battered, brusied and bleeding.

"Come on Roland. New guy. We should get out of here."

James struggled out of the building and past the crowd that had gathered to gawk at the destroyed building. He made it a block before he fell to the ground, exhausted.

Marlin let out a heavy sigh of relief as Victor appeared, alive again and the homunculi retreated. There had been no casualties thus far, but many of them were severely wounded meaning that wouldn't have stayed true had the battle lasted longer. "... Once again, so many questions with no answers.... Guess we should be thankful we all made it out though..." He muttered to himself, trying to puzzle out what had just happened with the little information he possessed. He had arrived midway through the fight though, so perhaps the others knew more.

Kallu carried the wounded Victor off to the hospital and James suggested they all leave. Marlin nodded silently and followed after James. He caught up to the Projecting Alchemist just as he fell to the ground. Marlin quickly filled his canteen with water and offered it to James along with a shoulder to help him walk. "... Drink this... You should probably get to the hospital yourself... I'll take you."

"After I drop you off there, I'll resume the search for the Hotblooded Alchemist... I suppose you were too busy with those.... things to find him?"

Pain shot up through his body as he lost his ability to do what he did best. She took it away from him. Leo remembered what he had told that monk only two days earlier. He had to keep doing what he did because he had to. He loved every second of it.

Kallu held him up and pushed him over his shoulder. He saw victor next to him. Suddenly a smile appeared on his face. "Hey, Victor. I'm gonna get us all a tattoo to remember this and what you did. After you get better you're gonna tell me how you want it and where, and I won't take no from anyone!". Leo tried laughing but his stomach bumped into Kallu's shoulder-blade.

Leo coughed into his palm and was glad when he didn't see any traces of blood in his spit. "I'm going to do new circles on my feet after this is healed... Kallu, what do you think of having circles on the palms of my hands?".

"Come on Roland. New guy. We should get out of here."

"Gimme a sec..."

*pant*

"Alright..."

He started walking to James, every step with his rigid legs felt like he was a controlling frozen meat. The adrenaline pumping into his system had inhibited his pain thus far, but now he was starting to feel the effects of the fall.

"Kallu, make sure to bind Victor's wound, if you want... I can cauterize it before we get to the hospital"