Who: Alphonse Elric & Greed What: Catching up When: July 9th mid morning Where: Somewhere in the middle of Kaleidoscope City Status: Narrative, finished Warnings:SPOILERS FOR FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST- In terms of Greed's story & a bit about the end!, mentions of character death Spoiler Related!, lol this is so strained, Greed & Al have no idea how to talk to each other and it shoooooooows, Al comes into this ready for a fight and Greed gives 0 fucks, my cat spent this entire narrative running around with the zoomies,
Alphonse knew it was him immediately, it was hard not to spot a the homunculus when he was dressed in all black in such a colorful setting. Strangely, he didn't seem as foreboding as he had the first time they met. Maybe it was cause he was older, or that he actually knew Greed this time around. Or maybe it was the sneaking suspicion that he felt just as out of place as Al did in this world. The one thing that was obvious about Greed, just given his name, was his deep desire for things including a sense of familiarity. Of course, Al could be so incredibly wrong, and just be in for a fight. That's what made this conversation so difficult.
Al prepared himself as Greed glanced over. The way his body language changed upon spotting him only seemed to confirm Al's suspicion- he felt out of place. The quickened steps towards him, the cocky smile that grew on the homunculus's face, and the grandiose hand gestures as he started to speak, "Hey! Look at you, got your body back and everything. And so much taller then I would have expected, I thought you would have ended up like your brother. How is the little runt?" Even with the height Al had gained, Greed still towered above him by at least a couple inches.
"Ed's fine. What about you? I read your messages on the network, you don't remember anything?" Al cut straight to the point. He still wasn't sure where things fell with this Greed. He may just be being friendly only because Al was his lifeline to Amestris. He stood his ground, trying his best to remain neutral through body language. It was hard to hide his genuine curiosity however.
"Huh? Right to the point then." Greed stood up straighter and crossed his arms, "Yeah. These two girls are talking about some other Greed and then that guy, the one with you, said he had the ouroboros, right where I have it. So spill it Al."
Al sighed, he started fidgeting. So much for trying to remain neutral... "I don't know how it all happened, but Father put your philosopher's stone into a man named Ling Yao. As far as I knew you got reincarnated? You were a human based homunculus."
Greed's face twisted into anger, he gritted his teeth while Al spoke. "That's what I thought. That fucking bastard. He did the same bullshit to me as he did to Wrath." Greed growled and rubbed his face with his hand. "Well at least I know now. Thanks. I'd rather know then not. So I take it that version of me was hanging around?"
"Yeah." Al was incredibly relieved that Greed seemed to take it so well, "He was in the last world some of us were from, I know he made some friends, but I'm not really sure what all he got up to. The two girls you were talking to, Jabber and Mina, they were some of his friends. They could tell you more."
Greed thought for a moment before nodding, "What happened after everything. Back in Amestris."
Al was taken off guard by the question. He stared at Greed for a while before his face fell. The feeling of Martel's blood splattering the inside of his armor made him shiver, "I... I don't know... But everyone who went with us is dead. I'm... I'm sorry Greed."
Greed's face was dark. He stared at the ground. "Maybe it was for the better." He sighed. "Thanks. At least I know I don't have a gang waiting for me back home." He was quiet for a while longer, before finally changing the subject, "My turn to get to the point. Your body. How did you get it back? Why did you do it kid?"
"I wanted to be human again, and feel things. It's hard to explain... You probably wouldn't understand, but that body isn't as glorious as you thought it to be. I was lucky to get it back, let's just leave it at that. It probably can't be replicated again. And if it could, the cost would be too great." Al half turned while he spoke. It was obvious the topic was bothering him.
"How much?" "What?" "How much was the cost. Who's dead?" "No one..." "Then is it really that great?" "My brother lost his alchemy Greed. I think it's that great. You weren't there."
Greed watched Al's glare. He shook his head and scoffed, "Isn't that all you alchemists? Nothing ever happens without sacrifice. Your brother's alive. So what if he doesn't have his alchemy? It's not like he's dead or dying or has his soul stuck in a suit of armor. Sheesh, tone down the flames kid."
Al blinked a couple times and shook his head. He's right. God I need to think about it positively... That fight was just so stressful... Everything turned out just fine.. He rubbed his face before stiffening as an arm landed across his shoulders. He looked at Greed, who was smirking down at him.
"See? Look at life from the bright side. Too much negativity turns you hollow and evil. Thanks for the catch up kid." He patted Al's shoulders and let him go as started to walk away. Greed waved just like Greedling did the first time they spoke outside of Father's domain.
Maybe... they aren't so different? Al stood there in the square, watching him weave in and out of colors until Greed was gone.