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Player Information:
Name: Jett
Age: 33
Contact:
AIM: Masartham
MSN/Email: mangacide@gmail.com
Plurk: mangacide
Skype: Mangacide
Tumblr: femme-avaritia
Game Cast: None
Character Information:
Name: Greed
Canon: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Canon Point: Post-Series
Age: Chronologically over 200 years old. Physical appearance mid twenties (Since he’s not with Ling I have to go by the way his age looks)
Reference:
Greed at the FMA wiki
Fullmetal Alchemist timeline
Setting:The world of Fullmetal Alchemist is not fully explored, but the main focus is a large, round country called Amestris. There is the country of Xing (which the viewers are led to believe is very much like china) to the east past a giant desert, Drachma (mainly unexplained aside from their armed forces are attempting to break into Amestris) to the cold north, Creta (unexplained) to the west, and Aerugo (unexplained) to the south. Taking place in the early 1900’s with all the technology that our Earth had in that era, Fullmetal Alchemist adds additional components that make it unique, the most important one is: Alchemy.
Alchemy is a metaphysical combination of science and mystical art that manipulates and alters matter by using natural energy. Anyone can become an alchemist if they study and comprehend the inherent structure and properties of the materials used on an atomic/molecular level. They can then use a process known as “Transmutation” which requires a transmutation circle, a circle, the design of which changes depending on what is being transmuted. As long as the circle can be drawn engraved, or otherwise exist in some form that the alchemist can touch, the transmutation can be done. Once the circle is complete and the alchemist has touched it, the next phase is “Deconstruction”. The physical structure of whatever material it is that the alchemist wishes to change is broken down into a malleable state that then goes into the final step of “Reconstruction” where the alchemist then changes the malleable into the new physical form they desired. This process follows the law of Equivalent Exchange (In order to obtain or create something, something of equal value must be lost or destroyed). A perfect example is changing lead into gold because the properties are so similar and have the same mass. However, that exact transmutation is illegal due to the unbalancing effect it would have on the economy. Many alchemists use this process for aggressive means and tend to join Amestris’ military and become State Alchemists. It is a rank that carries much weight (it’s stated in the series that State Alchemists carry a military rank equivalent to a Major).
At the outset of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, it is made clear that Amestris is a nation run by its military and its leader: Führer King Bradley. While the nation is still relatively new in terms of countries, it has gained much power and its military strength is unparalleled. There are five stations of command. East command, Southern command, West command, Northern command, and Central command which is the focal point of the military government. There are also regions throughout the country that are filled with civilians, most of whom do not know alchemy.
Alchemy is one important aspect of the Fullmetal Alchemist world; the other is Automail, an armored prosthesis that is directly (when initially applied: painfully) linked to one’s nervous system. It does not require any external or internal power source, the metal prosthetic acts like a natural appendage that takes pulses from the nerves power and operate the motors and pneumatic actuators within. They are usually made with a full metal skeletal frame and metal plate to protect the various intricate devices inside. Additionally, automail can be outfitted with combat accessories such as blades, chainsaws, and even cannons that fire small (roughly baseball sized) but powerful explosive projectiles.
What sparks the events of Edward Elric (State Alchemist, code named: Fullmetal due to his automail arm and leg) and his brother Alphonse Elric (Who is nothing more than a soul attached to a suit of armor at the outset) actually occurs four hundred years earlier in the desert between Amestris and Xing. At the time there was a country there called Xerxes; the pinnacle of Alchemy in it’s time. It is there that a slave originally known only as Slave 23 rose to become an exceptional alchemist thanks to the help of a homunculus his master crafted using the slave’s blood.
A homunculus is an artificial human created by means of alchemy. The exact process is unexplained, but it does require components of a human or even part of, if not their entire, soul.
This homunculus was nothing more than a sentient dark floating mass kept in a flask. This “dwarf” in the flask desired knowledge and a human body, and being incredibly intelligent it educated Slave 23 in alchemy. Eventually it even managed to convince the King of Xerxes (who was failing in health due to his advanced age) to make a nation wide transmutation circle, making blood sacrifices at specific points of the circle, (requiring hundreds of civilian deaths) in order to create a Philosopher’s Stone.
In alchemy, a Philosopher’s Stone allows an alchemist to bypass the law of Equivalent Exchange. To transmute nothing into something, but more importantly to the King of Xerxes, the stone allegedly grants immortality as well so long as the beneficiaries are standing in the center of the transmutation circle when the stone is created.
However, the Homunculus lied, so that it was not the King but rather himself and the Slave at the center of the circle during the Philosopher’s Stone’s creation. Because of this it was the dwarf in the flask held by Slave 23 (Named Van Hohenheim by the homunculus) who became the Philosopher’s Stone. The homunculus gained a human body identical to Van Hohenheim’s and half of the one million, seventy-two thousand, six hundred and fifty-eight souls that had been sacrificed to the Philosopher’s Stone (the entirety of the population of Xerxes), the other half of the Xerxian sacrifices having been granted to Hohenheim during the creation of the stone. Free to go where he wanted, the homunculus left, heading to the West, and Hohenheim followed suit soon after, making his way toward the East.
While Hohenheim came close to insanity during his wandering in the desert (leading to his passing out and subsequent rescue by some of the citizens of Xing), the Dwarf made his way to Amestris, where he taught the people Alchemy and began to control the shape and destiny of the nation from the shadows. For this purpose he created more homunculi from his own body and stone. The first he named Pride, and he gave the creation a natural form similar to his own, while creating for him a containment body with the features of a small boy. Soon after, he created Lust, and gave her a body to suit her name. His third ‘child’ came a bit later. A shark toothed man with a lean but muscular build, he called this one Greed, and unlike his first two “children”, this one gained a rebellious streak. He began to refuse his “Father’s” orders and eventually left the group entirely. But not before the Dwarf; now referring to himself as “Father” created three more Homunculi; a shape shifting worm like creature called Envy, an indolent but massively powerful man named Sloth, and a voracious but child like ball of fat named Gluttony.
Greed was rarely heard from for some time after that (roughly a century), and in that time he established a bar in a Southern town called Dublith. During his missing years, Father created a new kind of homunculus, one that was formed by injecting a Philosopher’s Stone into the blood stream of a human being. The homunculus he created using this method was named Wrath, and he was placed at the head of the nation and named Führer King Bradley. When he was established and had chosen a woman to marry, the homunculus Pride (in the guise of a little boy named Selim) was assigned to him as his adopted son.
The Homunculi all share certain characteristics, which are linked to their philosopher’s stone cores. They can all regenerate from any wound; including ones that would be fatal for ordinary humans, and the only one shown to age has been the human-based Wrath. The other 6 maintain the same apparent age they were given at their inception (even Pride, who was initially made in the shape of a child). In addition to this however each homunculus has specific abilities unique to them.
Pride uses his “shadow” like a weapon, using its numerous mouths and tendrils to cut and consume enemies. However this is not his ability, but rather an illusion. For his shadow is his actual body. His true ability is that of assimilation. Pride can add the abilities and attributes of the people he consumes to himself. This was demonstrated twice in the series; once when he consumed his fellow homunculus Gluttony and gained his sense of smell (and voracious appetite), and again when he consumed an alchemist and gained the secrets of human transmutation from him.
Lust has an ability called the Ultimate Spear. She is able to stretch and retract her fingers, which effectively function as super extendable claws. They are supposed to be able to pierce through any substance and she often uses them to slice up her enemies.
Greed’s ability is called the Ultimate Shield. It is a carbon based coating that he can cover his entire body, at will, to make himself nigh-indestructible (more on this in the abilities section of the application).
Envy has the ability to change his shape into anything of any size, shape, or color (Though we may assume that this means any living thing since there are no shown instances of him assuming the shape of an inanimate object). When mimicking a person, he can take on their vocal tones as well. Envy also has two alternate forms aside from his human shape. One is a massive dragon-like beast with multitudes of pseudo-humanoid torsos and heads protruding from his upper body, the other is a small parasitic worm and in this form he can attach himself to and gain control of other people. Both of these alternate forms are green in color, representing the color of jealousy.
Aside from being massive, large, and muscular, Sloth can unleash bursts of blinding speed with such a momentum that he is barely visible to the naked eye. His ability however has a severe drawback in that he can only move in a straight line at those speeds.
Gluttony has a few abilities related to his appetite. He can consume almost any substance both organic and inorganic, and can find specific people by smell alone. Originally, he was created in an attempt by Father to manufacture his own Portal of Truth. This false gate was a failure in its intended goal, but Father was able to successfully create a pocket dimension inside of the homunculus. When provoked, Gluttony can open up his chest and stomach, revealing his version of the all Seeing Eye, which he can then use to engulf anything in a certain radius directly in front of him. All swallowed contents are deposited inside his stomach, which appears to be an endless plane littered with random objects and covered in roughly 3 feet of blood.
Wrath is the third Homunculus to have an ability with “Ultimate” in the description. His ability, called the “Ultimate Eye”, makes him a master strategist. He has described it as being able to see the weakness in any opponent. However it goes beyond this, as he was able to pick out a path through falling debris that left him unharmed. In addition, he has superhuman agility and is a master swordsman. He is also the only homunculus that has been capable of aging, growing from his initial transformation at the age of about twenty, into his late sixties before finally meeting his end.
There is no explicit detail about this, so I am marking it as ‘headcanon’: The Homunculus are said to be built genetically similar to humans, the main difference being their supernatural abilities. So while they can go for long periods of time without food or rest, they will eventually need both of those things. Likewise, they can hold their breath for a long time, but not forever. (This to me explains why Greed is interested in a body that doesn’t “eat, sleep, or die”.)
Using his creations (with the exception of Greed, who had left some time ago), the Father initiated a plan to eventually use the country of Amestris in the same way that he had used Xerxes before. However this time his plans were even grander in design; the homunculus was unsatisfied with his vast, but still finite knowledge. So he plotted to gain access to God itself, with the idea that he would become one with God and thus gain ultimate knowledge.
Meanwhile, Hohenheim had brought his own Alchemy knowledge to the people of Xing, teaching them what would come to be called Alchehestry. How long he remained there is unknown, but eventually he crossed the desert and headed to the West himself, where he met and befriended a woman named Pinako Rockbell. He also eventually met a young woman named Trisha Elric who he fell deeply in love with. The two of them moved into a two story house together and soon they had two sons; one named Edward, and a year later another named Alphonse.
During this time, there was a small conflict going on between Amestris and the small nation of Ishval. The country had annexed Ishval but the people were not all supportive of this change in their lives. When the Homuculus Envy shot a little girl while he was in the guise of an Amestrian soldier, it pushed the people to their breaking point and a war erupted. The fighting was intense on both sides but eventually the order was handed down from Amestrias Central Command and the State Alchemists were sent in. The conflict was then officially declared a “War of Extermination”, and the genocide of the Ishvalan people began.
The war ravaged the country side, and the Elric’s hometown was not excluded from that. In addition; when the boys were just toddlers their father left them and their mother was forced to raise them by herself. The boys had a few precious years living with her like this before a plague swept through the town and took their mother from them. By this time the two were teaching themselves Alchemy using their father’s notes, spurred on by their own curiosity, natural talent, and the encouragement of their mother, who was always reminded of their father when she saw them transmute.
The loss of their mother was devastating, and so in desperation the two of them decided that they would do everything in their power to bring her back using the forbidden technique known as Human Transmutation. To this end they acquired an apprenticeship with a powerful Alchemist named Izumi Curtis, who they met when she was traveling in through their town with her husband Sig.
When they had progressed sufficiently in their training, the two brothers returned to their home and attempted her resurrection. The attempt failed horribly, however. The two were pulled into the Portal of Truth, where they were each allowed access to vast amounts of Alchemical knowledge; but with a catch. There was a toll to pay for this and as a result Edward lost his leg. His brother Alphonse though, saw more and paid with his entire body. Not wanting to lose the only remaining family tie, Edward then sacrificed his arm in order to retrieve his brother’s soul from the gate, bonding it to an empty suit of armor.
After being rushed to their neighbors, the Rockbells, by Alphonse, Edward was saved from bleeding to death but remained mostly catatonic until he was met by Roy Mustang, a State Alchemist who saw how advanced the brothers alchemy was and invited Edward to join the military because of that. Edward did not respond directly, but after Mustang left the boy requested Pinako and Winry craft an automail arm and leg for him. He then took the State Alchemy exam and became the youngest State Alchemist in the country’s history, given the title “Fullmetal” by the Führer. Traveling to places such as Liore and Youswell, he gained renown by investigating and uncovering corruption from both religious figures and military officials.
When a man named Shao Tucker transmuted his daughter Nina and their dog Alexander to make a talking chimera, Edward and his brother were devastated by the depravity. Soon after that they got into an altercation with an Ishvalan serial killer called Scar, who was targeting state alchemists. The fight damaged Alphonse severely and destroyed Edwards arm, prompting a visit back to his mechanic Winry in their hometown during which he met another alchemist named Tim Marcoh, who had information about the legendary philosopher’s stone; something Edward and Alphonse considered a good possibility for returning their bodies to normal at the time. His introduction to the man lead to the revelation that the creation of a philosopher’s stone requires many live human sacrifices; and to the eventual discovery of a secret laboratory in Central where experiments were being conducted on convicts from an adjacent prison. After an intense battle culminating in Edward seeing Envy and Lust for the first time, the Alchemist found himself back in the hospital, severely injured. Winry was then brought from Risenbool to work on his arm.
During that time King Bradley visited them. He discovered they were investigating the homunculus and swore them to secrecy, instructing them not to trust anyone. When they had recovered, the Elrics decided that they would benefit from visiting their Alchemy teacher in the town of Dublith, which lay in the south. At Winry’s request they also made a brief stop in a town called Rush Valley, a Mecca for automail mechanics and the leading location for automail research and development. When they finished their business there she decided to stay behind to improve her skills in Automail crafting.
In Dublith, Edward and Alphonse’s teacher was furious at Edward for joining the Military and even more so at the attempt they made to return their Mother to life and the resulting consequences. Although she forgave them she nevertheless expelled the brothers from their apprenticeship and the two nearly leave town empty handed, when Sig Curtis informs them that because they are no longer students they can speak to the woman as equals. This prompted them to stay in town a while longer to ask her important information about what happened in her own past, when Izumi had attempted her own forbidden resurrection on her still-born infant.
Unknown to the brothers a chimera named Bido was spying on them. He had been sent by his Boss; the Homunculus Greed. Greed was incredibly interested in Alphonse’s armored body as he was in search of a way to become immortal. Soon after bringing the information to Greed, Bido was sent out again, this time he had a slight confrontation with them however he managed to get away. Not to be deterred, Greed had him leave a note for Alphonse telling him that they knew his secret and instructing him to come and meet with them alone. Once he arrived at the location he was confronted by Bido again, this time accompanied by more of Greed’s chimera crew: A Dog chimera named Dolcetto, a Cow chimera named Loa, and a Snake chimera named Martel.
Alphonse was then kidnapped by the chimeras and taken back to their hideout; a bar called the Devil’s Nest. There Greed finally got a close look at Alphonse’s hollow armor body. The soul binding amazed him and he was sure that this was the secret of immortality that he’d been looking for. He introduced himself but was informed by Alphonse that he did not know how his soul binding worked as he was not the one who performed the binding. This was disappointing news for Greed, but he was momentarily distracted by Alphonse’s disbelief that he was in fact an artificial human.
To prove himself; Greed allowed the chimera Loa to knock the top half of his head off with a hammer so that Alphonse could watch him regenerate, stating that this was “one time that he’d died”. He went on to explain that even homunculi’s lives are finite, even though they last longer than normal humans. About this time however he was beginning to grow tired of not getting the answers he was looking for, and was on the verge of simply dismantling the armor to study it further. Edward arrived at last looking for his brother, and was offered an exchange by Greed; a way of regaining their bodies in exchange for information on how to perform a soul binding. However Edward was infuriated at the man for kidnapping and threatening the life of his brother and refused to make such a deal with him.
The two then fought, Greed showing Edward his other special ability; an impenetrable shield of carbon that he could will over his body to protect him from injury. The battle looked in his favor for a while, but eventually Edward figured out a way to disable his shield by changing its properties through Alchemy and the tide of battle began to turn. Things only got worse for Greed when the Elric’s teacher Izumi arrived and Edward informed her of Greed’s status as a homunculus. Now taking heavy damage and not particularly inclined to fight against women, Greed opted instead to flee with the captive Alphonse. At the same time, the Führer arrived and sent in a squad of military officers to wipe out the chimera inside the Devil’s Nest. He then went after Greed himself, viciously attacking him while Alphonse waited not far away, trying to keep the chimera Martel safe inside his armor even as her comrades and commander were cut down before their very eyes.
Dolcetto and Loa arrived, already extremely beaten and bloody from fighting Amestrian soldiers and Major Armstrong, another State Alchemist. The two bull rushed Bradley in an attempt to help Greed and were both easily cut down before their Boss’s eyes. This infuriated him, as he considered them to be part of his personal belongings. He equated their deaths to Bradley stealing from him and attempted to attack the man once more before finally being defeated. Pinned to the ground with Wrath’s swords lodged in his throat, Greed was helpless, and when Bradley approached Alphonse, Martel too made a last ditch effort to attack the man, using her flexible body to control Al’s suit of armor from the inside. It was useless however. Bradley slid his sword through the open space between chest plate and helmet, killing her instantly.
While Major Armstrong opened Alphonse up to take the woman’s body out of him, Wrath brought Greed down to the room beneath Central that served as a base of operations for the homuncululi and their Father. Pinned to a stone cross with Wrath’s swords, Greed remained defiant as ever in the face of his forced reunion with the siblings he’d rejected. After insulting each of them in turn he was finally asked by his Father if he would return and work for the man once more. Greed gleefully refused and as punishment was immersed in an enormous caldron filled with boiling magma where he was reduced back to his primal state of being as a philosopher’s stone and then consumed by the Father, returning him into the mass of souls that existed within the man.
Meanwhile, Edward and Alphonse had gone back up to Rush Valley, where they met a traveler from Xing. His name was Ling and while he initially appeared unassuming (they found him passed out and starving in an alleyway), they soon discovered that he was a Prince who had crossed the desert searching for the philosopher’s stone as a means to gain immortality and win his country’s throne for himself, thereby saving his clan. Accompanying him were his two most loyal retainers; a young woman named Lan Fan and an older gentleman named Fu. Despite Edward’s protests and best attempts, the trio eventually joined them as they returned to Central Command along with Winry, where they then parted ways for a time (in part due to Ling being arrested as an illegal immigrant). While they were there the brothers learned that someone close to them (an officer named Maes Hughes) had been killed and soon after another person (officer Maria Ross) was framed for the murder, which had actually been carried out by the homunculus Envy. Because the accusation was obviously false, Colonel Mustang orchestrated a prison break for the woman and had her smuggled out of the country. Edward was sent along at a later time as well and as a result he was able to visit the ruins of Xerxes.
While Edward was gone, Alphonse joined Colonel Mustang and Ling in trying to draw out the homunculi with some success. They found and battled Lust, and Mustang eventually managed to kill her. Edward returned to find his brother damaged again and while he repaired the armor they also exchanged information and decided to plan out another confrontation with the Homunculi. Working with Ling and Lan Fan they brought out Wrath and Gluttony. The battle almost ended badly though and Lan Fan had to sever her own arm (which had been damaged in the fighting and was useless), tying the severed limb to a stray dog in order to create a false trail and escape from Bradley. Ling however was able to capture Gluttony with the help of Edward and then made his escape with the aid of Lt. Riza Hawkeye; a woman working closely with Colonel Mustang.
Not long after this, Winry returned to Rush Valley and the Elrics met up with Colonel Mustang, heading with him and Dr. Knox to the empty house where Riza and Ling had stowed Gluttony. The doctor had been invited along so that he could perform life saving medical work on Lan Fan and thanks to him she was able to survive having her arm removed.
Then Gluttony broke free of his restraints and unleashed a frenzied attack, opening his stomach to reveal a mock Portal of Truth, which sucked everything in a certain radius inside of it.
Ling, Alphonse, and Edward sent the adults and Lan Fan away from the area and prepared to confront Gluttony. Then Envy joined the conflict and before they knew what was happening the battle took a sideways turn and Ling, Edward, and Envy found themselves swallowed by Gluttony, transported into his stomach via the false portal. Inside his stomach was the remains of things that Gluttony had swallowed in the past, including part of the ruins of the temple at Xerxes.
Trapped inside this place Edward and Ling were joined by Envy, and while Edward initially hoped the homunculus knew how to escape he was soon corrected much to their mutual disappointment. Not until Ling and Edward engaged Envy in battle did they begin to find a way out thanks to Envy swallowing Edward whole and thus bringing him within reach of the Philosophers stone at Envy’s core.
Edward realized that he could reproduce the transmutation circle that had existed in Xerxes and possibly use it to pass through the true portal and reach the real world again. Using the stone that Envy was bonded to he successfully brought the three of them outside of the false portal. When they arrived, however, they discovered that they were all in the homunculi’s demesnes deep under Central, and more; Alphonse was there as well.
Here they met with the man the Homunculi called Father for the first time and were stunned to discover he looked exactly like their own Father; Van Hohenheim. He ordered Gluttony to dispose of Ling and when he ignored the Elrics request to have the man spared they once again charged into battle. Despite their best efforts the Sage, who sealed off their alchemy as Envy pinned Edward and Alphonse to the ground, quickly defeated the brothers and Ling.
Father produced a philosophers stone from his body and introduced it into Lings bloodstream by way of a cut on his cheek. The stone invaded his body, souls vying for control of his very being until at last one soul emerged from amidst the hoard. It called itself Greed and proclaimed that it would be taking his body. Ling agreed, an act that startled the creature. When asked if he was sure; Ling proudly announced that he had enough room in himself for even 30 of Greed; which impressed the beast. He took the generous offer of Ling’s body and when the man awoke again an Ouroboros tattoo had appeared on his hand and he was Ling Yao no more. Even though Greed had control of the body however Ling had not been destroyed. He waited inside, sharing his psyche with Greed even as he claimed loyalty to the Eastern Sage for having birthed him.
As Greed looked on they were soon joined by Mei Chang, another traveler from Xing searching for immortality, and Scar. Mei had a tearful reunion with her tiny pet Panda Xiao Mei (which Greed gave an appreciative round of applause for), and the battle began again, with the new arrivals causing chaos and confusion. Greed was happy to watch from the sidelines as this drama played out, however he was forced to act when his Father demanded he assist Envy and Gluttony. He decided to face off against Edward first. For his part Edward still believed Ling was alive inside Greed. A theory that was bolstered when, after mentioning Lan Fan’s name, Greed lowered his guard and look a firm punch to his jaw, staring up at Edward with a look of steely cold anger. Still, Ling’s control only lasted a split second before Greed returned, taking advantage of the situation to quickly gain the upper hand and subdue Edward.
Defeated, the two were escorted up to Central Command by Envy, where they were put under the watchful eye of Wrath. When he mentioned their friend Winry, Edward and Alphonse became anxious and decided to contact her to make sure she was safe. There they were met by Greed once again, this time bearing a strip of cloth with a message for Lan Fan written on it in Xingese. While neither the brothers nor Greed could read the note, Lan Fan would certainly be able to and that was what was most important at the time. He then parted with them once more to return to Central Command and await further instructions from his Father.
Wanting to learn more about the Alchehestry that Mei had used, the brothers followed a lead on her and made their way up North after receiving a letter of introduction from Major Armstrong to present to his older sister; Major General Olivier Mira Armstrong. Her fierce reputation and merciless command had earned her the title “The Northern Wall of Briggs”.
While she tore the letter up, Olivier nevertheless allowed them entrance into Fort Briggs, initially putting them on a “Work or Starve” acceptance plan. There they ran into the Homunculus known as Sloth. He had been charged with digging an ongoing tunnel that would encircle the entire country, and so the brothers had never encountered him before. Once he was interrupted however, Sloth began to attack the people in Fort Briggs. Edward and Alphonse were able to stop him by working together with Olivier. They soon explained to her about the Homunculi and mapped out the areas of bloodshed that had been occurring since the country’s inception, discovering by chance the shape of the country wide transmutation circle that Father had planned from the very start. Not long after this, Solf J. Kimblee, the “Crimson Alchemist” arrived, bringing Winry in not long after to remind the Elrics that they were still being controlled by Wrath.
The Homunculus Sloth was returned to working on the tunnel then, and the Elrics were taken down into the abandoned city Baskool along with Winry to search for the fugitive Scar, who was reportedly traveling with Mei Chang and Dr. Marcoh. In the maze like ghost town they lost the soldiers, found the fugitives, and enacted a plan that removed Winry from her status as a hostage by allowing her to be “taken prisoner” by Scar. The group split up soon after.
Their separate journeys eventually lead to a request for Olivier to join the Military officials in Central, where she was shown that the military was amassing an army of artificial soldiers called “mannequins” who were powered by philosopher’s stones created with the lives of prisoners of war. At the same time, Bido, the only chimera to escape the purge of the Devil’s Nest made his way to the same location, desperate to learn the fate of his boss, Greed.
Unfortunately, Bido found Greed only to discover he no longer remembered his life before he was injected into Ling’s body. Greed attacked him with merciless glee and eventually chased him down into a lower part of the building, where Bido begged him to remember who he was. Greed then killed Bido by impaling him with the Ultimate Shield, but not before he began to have memories of Bido and the other Chimera from the Devil’s Nest.
Seizing this opportunity Ling berated him for killing his friend and allowing his memories to be taken away so easily. The rush of lost memories from his original body drove Greed into a frenzied rage as he clutched the body of the now dead chimera, and he then made his way straight to Bradley to confront him about what he remembered and why he remembered Bradley attacking him. Bradley nearly gained the upper hand, but in Greed’s pain and confusion Ling managed to regain control of the body and took off into the night, running until he reached the abandoned house that they had stayed in back when he had captured Gluttony. There he collapsed on the ground in hunger and exhaustion right at the feet of Edward Elric, who had come there for his own reasons.
Edward let Ling help himself to the food rations he and the two chimeras he was traveling with had brought with them. And after decimating the food Ling explained what had happened to Greed and how he’d come to be there. As Greed began to regain himself, pressing against the force of Ling’s mind, Ling told them what he knew of the homunculi’s plans and his theory that the brothers should jump into the portal when the day arrives so that they can regain their bodies. He then asked if Lan Fan had gotten his message, only allowing his body to be retaken after Edward told him that she was all right. Once back in control, Edward asked Greed to join them and Greed laughed in his face, telling the alchemist that he doesn’t take orders from others but that if Edward wanted to join HIS team that would be another matter. He then left Edward and the chimera there to pursue his own goals, only to be followed by the young man anyway. Edward agreed to work under Greed, an act that startled the man, just as Ling’s willingness to accept him once had.
The events that had come before had all been organized by Father and the Homunculi to bring the country wide transmutation circle to completion on a specific day known as the “Promised Day”. This was the day of a Solar Eclipse, when the planets energy levels would be at their highest. Father’s plan needed 5 people who had opened the Portal and seen the Truth, and by the time the day arrived he had four of those in the form of Edward, Alphonse, Izumi Curtis, and Van Hohenheim. Once Edward and Alphonse learned of this from their Father, they set about trying to prevent their plans from being completed, which landed them in a heated battle with Pride and Gluttony.
By dousing all the lights, they managed to disable Pride, preventing him from casting a shadow. Without his primary mode of attack Pride was at a disadvantage, but he was not alone. Gluttony was able to use his sense of smell to track people in the dark. Wanting to balance the playing field at least moderately, Greed allowed Ling to take control of the body so that he could use his ki detecting abilities to sense where the homunculi were and so be able to fight them more efficiently. And they soon gained an even better advantage with the return of Fu and Lan Fan, who had now been fitted with an automail arm.
Lan Fan made quick work of Gluttony and Fu dealt heavy damage to Pride with the use of flash grenades. In desperation, Pride consumed the nearly finished Gluttony, absorbing his scent abilities so that he could find the Xingese warriors without having to rely on his vision.
The battle finally came to a temporary end when Hohenheim and Alphonse trapped Pride inside a dome of earth, though he would eventually escape and join the remaining homunculi in Central. First however he was set free by Kimblee, engaging in another fight which ended with Kimblee’s death. While this was going on, Mustang was leading a rebellion in Central and Olivier, along with her Brother Alex got into a battle with Sloth as the mannequin soldiers were activated and began to run rampant through Central Command, devouring enemies and allies alike. It was also during this battle that Mustang confronted Envy after finally learning the truth of Maes Hughe’s death. Rather than be killed by the man, Envy instead took his own life.
Wrath, who had been missing due to a surprise attack on his personal train (the rebels blew it up over a ravine) stormed the front gates, demanding entrance to the command center, but was refused due to the efforts of the soldiers to keep the mannequins from escaping into the general population. Not to be deterred; he took an offensive stance and prepared for battle, defeating Briggs soldier Buccaneer easily at first. He was then confronted by Greed, who had been casually watching the battle from a high ledge. Seeing Bradley however, he came down quickly and immediately went on the offensive, though some soldiers tried to assist him and were cut down for their efforts. Just when the battle was looking close, Fu arrived, completely bypassing the barricades in order to reach the staging ground.
Once there he assisted Greed in battling Wrath and protected Greed/Ling at the cost of his own life. He could not lay a hand on Bradley but in a final act Buccaneer used the old man’s body to hide his own strike, impaling Wrath through Fu’s body. Lan Fan; who had also been searching for them, arrived just as her Grandfather fell to the ground as the battle continued.
Greed and Bradley continued their battle until they were knocked over the side of the building by rogue canon fire. Greed’s claws held tightly to the partially destroyed wall as Wrath clung to him tenaciously. Just as they were about to fall, Lan Fan rushed to the edge and caught Greed/Ling’s wrist, refusing to let him fall even as her still not fully healed automail began to tear from her body, causing blood to drip down the arm and onto Greed/Ling’s face. Calling for help from the Briggs soldiers, she was able to pull him up when they fired shots at Wrath, causing him to lose his grip and plummet into the icy waters below.
Fu lay slain on the ground near the mortally wounded Buccaneer. Seeing him like that, Ling was distraught. He begged for them to call a doctor and offered Greed’s philosophers stone core for assistance. However it was too late for the man, and Ling could see that Buccaneer too would not last much longer. As his dying wish, the man bade Greed/Ling to keep the enemy forces from opening the doors and allowing the mannequins to escape. They agreed, and Greed allowed Ling control of his ultimate shield and regenerative capabilities in order to accomplish this.
Despite being cast down into freezing water and severely injured, Wrath survived and made his way under Central where he joined Pride and together they forced Colonel Mustang to open the Portal of Truth, making him into the 5th and final Sacrifice. He was shown knowledge and in exchange the Truth took his sight. While Pride went and joined Father, Wrath battled against Scar and was finally killed. Then Father revealed what he intended for the country wide transmutation circle. He planned on opening the gateway of the planet itself, and intended to use the immense power from the lives of all of Amestris to absorb God into himself, thereby surpassing the creator and usurping them.
As he finished disclosing his plan, Greed came seemingly from nowhere, attacking the man in a desperate bid to take his place at the center of the circle so that he could claim the power instead. But his Father was ready for him, and defeated him after pretending to be incapacitated. He then revealed the true center of the circle and took his place there as the gateway opened and the lives of the rest of Amestris were snuffed out as he drew in their energy to create the stone and open the gate.
Filled with immense power, Father formed himself into a gigantic being and when the gateway opened, he pulled God down into himself. However Hohenheim had earlier infected the man with souls from his own philosophers stone body, and they worked from within to hinder him long enough for a counter circle Hohenheim had set up using Alchehestry to be activated, which returned the souls of the Amestrians to their bodies. Scar then activated a third circle, which drew away even more power from the would-be deific usurper. Father, in the meantime, had taken the form of an identical copy of Hohenheim’s teenage body. He was using the powers of God to fight against Edward and his friends. Greed tried to drop him into the same vat of Lava that his Father had once used oh him, and when that failed, Edward instead poured the lava over him.
But Father controlled the lava, using it to elevate himself towards the surface. Without the souls of the people of Amestris bolstering his power, the man was having difficulty controlling God and keeping its power inside him. He intended to collect the souls he needed individually in order to maintain his control. As Edward and co. used alchemy to pursue him, Greed came across Lan Fan and Scar near Wrath’s body. He only paused a moment there however before following the others up to the surface. On the way he caught up to the other rebels and decided to take charge, demanding that the wounded (and most of the women) stay behind. Even so, Colonel Mustang and Lt. Riza Hawkeye insisted on joining the battle, and Lan Fan as well refused to leave his side.
Reaching the surface, Father’s desperation grew even as he reflected the attacks of the rebels. He was forced to use up more and more of the remaining philosophers stone within him. Though the humans could not touch him, Greed made his own attack in one final bid for the Godly powers he had inside. At first it seemed as though this strategy had backfired, as the Father tried to absorb Greed’s philosopher’s stone for himself. However to do this meant he had to lower his own internal shields, and so Greed began to absorb him instead. Rather than fight him, the Father decided to absorb him body and all, and Greed was only able to escape thanks to the joint efforts of Edward, Izumi, and Major Armstrong, who tag teamed the man and forced his attention away from Greed.
Meanwhile, Alphonse’s body had been all but destroyed protecting Mei from the Father’s initial attack. He was helpless as the man destroyed Edwards arm and he was then tossed against some rubble, a piece of metal impaling his organic arm and leaving him completely incapacitated. The Father then targeted the helpless Edward Elric, seeking to take his life force to regain some of the power he’d lost.
Desperate to help his brother, Alphonse convinced Mei to use her Alchehestry and his armor to open the portal remotely. He then returned to his body at last, waiting within the gate in exchange for the return of his brother’s arm. Edward was free to transmute again, and he unleashed a brutal attack on the Father before tearing the shrapnel from his arm and going on the offensive again.
Now merely watching the battle, Ling pointed out to Greed that in fact the reason he felt so empty was not because he desired material possessions, but rather because he desired friendship and loyalty. The words spoke to the very core of the man and he found he could not deny this truth any longer. Shortly after, Father lost control of God and the power dissipated, leaving him with only the reserves he’d already had. At his most desperate, the Father lunged after Greed once more in an attempt to take Greed’s philosophers stone and absorb it. Internally, Greed was being pulled forcefully back toward the vortex of souls within the Father. Ling clung to his psyche, refusing to let him be reabsorbed. In his first and only lie, Greed told Ling that he would accept ruling Xing with him and that they could fight Father together. This caused Ling to drop his guard just long enough for Greed to sucker punch him, causing him to let go.
Greed then called out to Lan Fan and she severed the Father’s arm where it was plunged into Greed’s stomach. As Greed entered the mass of souls he spread his ultimate shield over the Father’s body, at the same time reversing it so that he became brittle and weak. This allowed Edward to do much more damage and in retaliation Father pulled Greed’s essence out of himself and severed it, effectively killing him. As he felt himself dissipating, he saw the expressions on Edward, Ling, and Lan Fan’s faces and died with a smile on his face.
Even with Greed’s destruction the damage to Father had already been done and Edward was able to deal a final blow to the man, punching a hole through his abdomen. Unable to maintain himself anymore, the Homunculus Father was finally destroyed as the hands of the portal of truth pulled him inward, causing the man to collapse in on himself and disappear.
After the battle was over, Edward drew a final transmutation circle, using himself to enter the portal and giving up his alchemy in exchange for Alphonse’s body. They were then allowed to finally return, and their journey home began.
The country was then given over to General Grumman who became the new Führer King, and work began to repair the damaged relations between Amestris and the people of Ishval.
Personality:
Greed is arrogant, reckless, and outright blunt. This is mostly due to his lack of inhibition from being the greedy aspect of Father. His arrogance is shown when he allows one of his gang to knock half of his head off just to prove a point and show off his healing ability. Not too long after this, he arrogantly taunted Edward by informing him there wasn't any chance of him being defeated. This bleeds over into his recklessness. When fighting Edward, Greed witnessed and felt Edward change the molecular structure of his shield, and didn't even bother to take it as a threat which cost him dearly. The first time someone had broken through his Ultimate Shield was because of that recklessness. As for blunt, this was seen when Edward asked Greed to join him and only received a hearty laugh before instantly being told off. (Up yours, kid!) Another interesting display of his arrogance and bluntness was when he invited Lust to "pierce him with her spear anytime." and gave similar taunting remarks to the other homunculi.
Independence is a very strong trait for Greed. After being created by Father, Greed soon left him and the other homunculi because of this. A need to pursue his own goals which was to be free from Father's manipulation and obtain as much of anything an everything as possible. This too blends into his impulsiveness, which is characterized when he had learned that being joined with Ling could mean ruling a country, and instead Greed took it to the next level by deciding to rule the world. In the battle with Wrath at central, Greed suddenly decided to attack the older homunculi simply because his "avarice" decided to.
His view on his friends was that they were nothing more than "possessions" that belonged to him, treating them more as objects than people. However, he always treats them well, expressing relief when he saw that Martel was all right during his first encounter with Wrath. When Wrath killed Dolcetto and Loa right in front of him, which caused him to become incredibly angry. Because to him it felt like Wrath was stealing something very important to him. Which he would later realized was their invaluable companionship, not possessions. A lesson he learned towards the end of the series when he witnessed those opposed to Father, friends of the the Fullmetal Alchemist, rally behind Edward in that final confrontation with Father.
He can come off as a little sexist, as he has a policy of not fighting women. Beyond combat though, he doesn’t seem to have any problems with treating women and men the same. And when he’s bored he can turn to idle violence for entertainment. By the time Father was ready to try and reclaim his stone, Greed had already started going out of his way to protect others, even catching a nameless Briggs soldier when a massive wave of energy blew him back. While claiming on more than one occasion to “want it all”, in the end what he’s really looking for is emotional, rather than material, fulfillment. This is something that doesn’t come easily, going back to his arrogant, reckless, and blunt personality; so he tends to deal with others in a snarky manner rather than a soft one at first.
Greed likes to at least feel like he’s in charge, if not of those around him then of himself. This is shown after he turned down Edward's offer to accompany him, and instantly Greed offered Edward to join his team where he was the leader and the one calling the shots. That was what mattered most to Greed considering they ended up pursuing the end goal of going after Father, whom Greed had always rebelled against due to that independent streak.
While he doesn’t particularly want to be a human, Greed seems to admire their tenacious spirit and has commented before that he “has a tendency to side with the underdog”. He also takes risks that other people would consider uncalled for, justifying this with the excuse that his avarice makes most of his decisions for him.
When Greed learns that he is a world that exists between life, dreaming, and death, his initial reaction would be excitement at not being dead. At the time preceding his imminent death, Greed had accepted his fate and had prepared for the after life or lack thereof. He sees Tu Vishan and Keeliai as a second chance at deciding his own future, free from Father's interference and/or presence. Upon hearing the kedan informing him about having to find a job (everyone works) Greed found that disconcerting and uncomfortable considering that he is used to having others do things for him. Including stealing and taking things for him. This reaction would be eased when he found out he had a luxurious suite. Something much different from his run down bar in Dublith, a major step up for Greed, the Avaricious. The kedan are interesting to him with their shape shifting abilities and unlike many who would be shocked by the appearance of the kedan, Greed isn't fazed by them much at all. There have been many weirder looking chimera in his gang, so this would be par for the course as far as he would see it. And then there is his curiosity to learn what powers and abilities the other foreigners possess as well as who they are.
Appearance:
Greed is a tall, light skinned man with long dark hair that he usually keeps tied in a ponytail, except for a stray lock in the front that tends to hang in his eyes from time to time. Because his last incarnation was inside the body of a young prince of Asian-equivalent decent his eyes are a bit more narrow than usual, and because he is a homunculus rather than an ordinary human they are violet in color. He has muscular, toned arms and a strong though not overly broad jaw line. A red Ouroboros tattoo marks the back of his left hand.
His mouth is lined with serrated shark-like teeth instead of the standard human teeth, but this doesn’t seem to impair his ability to talk or eat in any way. These can make even a friendly grin from the man seem intimidating. Greed likes to wear dark colors and can usually be seen in all black clothing and a matching black duster jacket which will often have the sleeves half rolled up. His build is lean and muscled and he sometimes likes to wear tight fitting shirts that show off his abs.
When he is fully shielded Greed’s body is coal gray and somewhat metallic in appearance. He has various red lines on his face and upper body and his teeth change from their usual shark like appearance to a more ogre/oni like shape, with a large upward pointing fang on each side and a row of short, flat teeth in between, all of which are clearly visible (giving him the appearance of having no lips). The whites of his eyes turn black as well and his fingers become sharply clawed.
Greed doesn’t use this fully shielded form often, as it “covers his handsome face”. During normal combat he will instead only extend his shield from his hands nearly up to his elbows, and relies on quick reflexive shielding to protect other parts of his body from being hit.
Abilities:
Like all homunculi, Greed has a philosopher’s stone as his core. This stone allows him to regenerate after any injury as well as reviving after death. This was demonstrated by Greed himself when he allowed the chimera Loa to literally knock the top half of his head (to the jaw line) clean off, so that Alphonse Elric could watch his body regenerate right before his eyes.
While this power is impressive it is not infinite, and if he overuses his internal resources he can burn the stone out, at which point he will truly die. He doesn’t often seem concerned about this though, and has lost more than 15 ‘regenerations’ in the past without coming close to burning himself out.
Greed also has a personal ability called the “Ultimate Shield”. This is a nigh-indestructible carbon coating that he can will around his body that works for both attack and defense. The shield can cover his entire body or any portion he wills it to, and while the hardness is usually maximized, it was shown in the final battle that he can actually control the hardness of the shield, as he intentionally made the body of his Father completely brittle and weak.
Inventory:
Aside from the shield and philosopher’s stone, both of which are part of his body; Greed has a pair of pants and a black duster jacket. Also a white strip of cloth that he ties his hair with.
Suite:
Greed would like to be housed in a 3-floor suite in the Metal sector. He wants this because his Greedy nature demands the maximum allowable living space and access to interesting high tech gadgets and devices. The man wants to live like a King, but he sees the Fire sector as ostentatious and maybe even pompous.
In-Character Samples:
Third Person:
“They gave me everything I could want... Thank you, and goodbye…"
His eyes were closing, probably for the last time. He could feel the edges of his life force drifting away on a breeze that was surprisingly inviting considering the horrors that were going on below him. And then without warning there was a pulse of energy, heaving and cloying. The man could only imagine that if an implosion could be experienced this would be the sensation.
Dark red energy rushed inward and began to build around some unidentifiable center with the thickness and fluidity of blood. They pressed in upon themselves, pressurizing until they began to form the glowing red core known as a philosopher’s stone. And then, the pressure began. The man called Greed hadn’t felt the pain and intensity of a full regeneration for some time. Even in Dublith only a part of his head had been destroyed.
Now, though, the agony was rushing through every part of him as his body forced itself into existence. Legs, torso, arms leading into fingers and then his eyes were coming into focus and he could see the mark form on his hand and beyond that; there was nothing, his still-forming brain was only vaguely aware of hand reaching down and grasping his arms, the sensation of being dragged unceremoniously away. And then his eyes closed and he sank back down into unconscious blackness.
Before long Greed’s eyes drifted open again and he thought he saw some form of ground moving beneath his head, which he found to be too heavy to lift at the time. He could barely make out the loose ends of his long black hair swinging in front of his face every so often before again he passed into unconsciousness.
He didn’t wake up again until some time later, when the man found himself in a bed alone. He felt ill and weak, and his head was pounding. There was something different about the feeling though and it took some time before Greed was able to pinpoint through the haze what the problem was. With an edge of panic he realized that he still resembled Ling Yao, the man he’d been sharing a body with until his ‘death’ and subsequent arrival in this new place. Greed’s chest grew tight as he turned his thoughts inward, afraid that somehow the Prince had managed to get himself taken along with the man after all, and with a mixture of relief and discomfort he found Ling,s presence to be absent from his mind.
With this most important question answered, Greed surveyed the room he found himself in. The place seemed to be pretty nice, and he wasn’t going to complain about having his own bed. Nevertheless, he was still exhausted and rather than explore the rest of the space just yet he decided instead to lay his head back down on the pillow and finish resting up.
The next time the man awoke there were people there again, telling him that he was living on some fantastic space turtle in another world. The whole thing sounded completely insane to the man but he had always gone by the phrase “Nothing is impossible”, so the tried to accept what he was told without a problem. The fact that they told him he was in between life and death even helped him accept this strange new reality. And the interesting new technological devices and house amenities didn’t hurt either.
Being told he had to find work though, that hurt.
Network:
[A little screen flickered on and the man looked down with the amazement of a small child who’d just discovered chocolate ice cream. He’d been given a basic run down of the features but even still, the fact that there was a miniature movie screen in his bedroom was impressive. He had to wonder what Ling would have thought about something like this, or even the blond kid Edward and his Brother. Outside of a movie theater the best they’d had was radio and even that was used mostly for news and announcements.]
Oh yeah, I could definitely get used to this [Greed leaned in, focusing on the area that had been pointed out to him as the “camera lens”. Could a camera really get that small? This place just kept getting better. Well aside from the whole ‘stranded without anyone you know around’ thing.]
So, there are people watching this right? [He pulled his face back so that he wasn’t just one large violet eye.] Well then, whoever’s out there; I’m GREED.
[And the man raises his left hand up to the screen, showing off the red tattoo on the back ]
I’m not sure what kind of world this is, but it doesn’t matter, because it’s mine now! [He was brimming with confidence now, but he could almost hear Ling chuckling and commenting on how the Prince was sure he’d grown out of that by now. How making ridiculous claims of ownership to a world he’d only just arrived on was probably not the best way to get people to be friends with him. And inwardly he groaned It’s like you’ve become my damn conscience, and you’re not even here! Damn Prince. He thought petulantly. The thought reminded him though of something else they’d told him while he was having ‘bizzaro world orientation’. He was supposed to find a job. Probably the worst fate he could think of short of having his philosopher’s stone destroyed (again). What were his job qualifications? Oh right, killing things and stealing things. That was sure to get him loads of work.]
Oh yeah [He turned his attention back to the camera, scratching the back of his neck with a kind of strange, almost uncomfortable expression] Apparently, I also need to find work. So if you need anything stolen or killed, look me up. [There was another pause as the man looked up at the ceiling for a moment] Well… I also used to own a bar. So I can mix a decent drink too.
Name: Jett
Age: 33
Contact:
AIM: Masartham
MSN/Email: mangacide@gmail.com
Plurk: mangacide
Skype: Mangacide
Tumblr: femme-avaritia
Game Cast: None
Character Information:
Name: Greed
Canon: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Canon Point: Post-Series
Age: Chronologically over 200 years old. Physical appearance mid twenties (Since he’s not with Ling I have to go by the way his age looks)
Reference:
Greed at the FMA wiki
Fullmetal Alchemist timeline
Setting:The world of Fullmetal Alchemist is not fully explored, but the main focus is a large, round country called Amestris. There is the country of Xing (which the viewers are led to believe is very much like china) to the east past a giant desert, Drachma (mainly unexplained aside from their armed forces are attempting to break into Amestris) to the cold north, Creta (unexplained) to the west, and Aerugo (unexplained) to the south. Taking place in the early 1900’s with all the technology that our Earth had in that era, Fullmetal Alchemist adds additional components that make it unique, the most important one is: Alchemy.
Alchemy is a metaphysical combination of science and mystical art that manipulates and alters matter by using natural energy. Anyone can become an alchemist if they study and comprehend the inherent structure and properties of the materials used on an atomic/molecular level. They can then use a process known as “Transmutation” which requires a transmutation circle, a circle, the design of which changes depending on what is being transmuted. As long as the circle can be drawn engraved, or otherwise exist in some form that the alchemist can touch, the transmutation can be done. Once the circle is complete and the alchemist has touched it, the next phase is “Deconstruction”. The physical structure of whatever material it is that the alchemist wishes to change is broken down into a malleable state that then goes into the final step of “Reconstruction” where the alchemist then changes the malleable into the new physical form they desired. This process follows the law of Equivalent Exchange (In order to obtain or create something, something of equal value must be lost or destroyed). A perfect example is changing lead into gold because the properties are so similar and have the same mass. However, that exact transmutation is illegal due to the unbalancing effect it would have on the economy. Many alchemists use this process for aggressive means and tend to join Amestris’ military and become State Alchemists. It is a rank that carries much weight (it’s stated in the series that State Alchemists carry a military rank equivalent to a Major).
At the outset of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, it is made clear that Amestris is a nation run by its military and its leader: Führer King Bradley. While the nation is still relatively new in terms of countries, it has gained much power and its military strength is unparalleled. There are five stations of command. East command, Southern command, West command, Northern command, and Central command which is the focal point of the military government. There are also regions throughout the country that are filled with civilians, most of whom do not know alchemy.
Alchemy is one important aspect of the Fullmetal Alchemist world; the other is Automail, an armored prosthesis that is directly (when initially applied: painfully) linked to one’s nervous system. It does not require any external or internal power source, the metal prosthetic acts like a natural appendage that takes pulses from the nerves power and operate the motors and pneumatic actuators within. They are usually made with a full metal skeletal frame and metal plate to protect the various intricate devices inside. Additionally, automail can be outfitted with combat accessories such as blades, chainsaws, and even cannons that fire small (roughly baseball sized) but powerful explosive projectiles.
What sparks the events of Edward Elric (State Alchemist, code named: Fullmetal due to his automail arm and leg) and his brother Alphonse Elric (Who is nothing more than a soul attached to a suit of armor at the outset) actually occurs four hundred years earlier in the desert between Amestris and Xing. At the time there was a country there called Xerxes; the pinnacle of Alchemy in it’s time. It is there that a slave originally known only as Slave 23 rose to become an exceptional alchemist thanks to the help of a homunculus his master crafted using the slave’s blood.
A homunculus is an artificial human created by means of alchemy. The exact process is unexplained, but it does require components of a human or even part of, if not their entire, soul.
This homunculus was nothing more than a sentient dark floating mass kept in a flask. This “dwarf” in the flask desired knowledge and a human body, and being incredibly intelligent it educated Slave 23 in alchemy. Eventually it even managed to convince the King of Xerxes (who was failing in health due to his advanced age) to make a nation wide transmutation circle, making blood sacrifices at specific points of the circle, (requiring hundreds of civilian deaths) in order to create a Philosopher’s Stone.
In alchemy, a Philosopher’s Stone allows an alchemist to bypass the law of Equivalent Exchange. To transmute nothing into something, but more importantly to the King of Xerxes, the stone allegedly grants immortality as well so long as the beneficiaries are standing in the center of the transmutation circle when the stone is created.
However, the Homunculus lied, so that it was not the King but rather himself and the Slave at the center of the circle during the Philosopher’s Stone’s creation. Because of this it was the dwarf in the flask held by Slave 23 (Named Van Hohenheim by the homunculus) who became the Philosopher’s Stone. The homunculus gained a human body identical to Van Hohenheim’s and half of the one million, seventy-two thousand, six hundred and fifty-eight souls that had been sacrificed to the Philosopher’s Stone (the entirety of the population of Xerxes), the other half of the Xerxian sacrifices having been granted to Hohenheim during the creation of the stone. Free to go where he wanted, the homunculus left, heading to the West, and Hohenheim followed suit soon after, making his way toward the East.
While Hohenheim came close to insanity during his wandering in the desert (leading to his passing out and subsequent rescue by some of the citizens of Xing), the Dwarf made his way to Amestris, where he taught the people Alchemy and began to control the shape and destiny of the nation from the shadows. For this purpose he created more homunculi from his own body and stone. The first he named Pride, and he gave the creation a natural form similar to his own, while creating for him a containment body with the features of a small boy. Soon after, he created Lust, and gave her a body to suit her name. His third ‘child’ came a bit later. A shark toothed man with a lean but muscular build, he called this one Greed, and unlike his first two “children”, this one gained a rebellious streak. He began to refuse his “Father’s” orders and eventually left the group entirely. But not before the Dwarf; now referring to himself as “Father” created three more Homunculi; a shape shifting worm like creature called Envy, an indolent but massively powerful man named Sloth, and a voracious but child like ball of fat named Gluttony.
Greed was rarely heard from for some time after that (roughly a century), and in that time he established a bar in a Southern town called Dublith. During his missing years, Father created a new kind of homunculus, one that was formed by injecting a Philosopher’s Stone into the blood stream of a human being. The homunculus he created using this method was named Wrath, and he was placed at the head of the nation and named Führer King Bradley. When he was established and had chosen a woman to marry, the homunculus Pride (in the guise of a little boy named Selim) was assigned to him as his adopted son.
The Homunculi all share certain characteristics, which are linked to their philosopher’s stone cores. They can all regenerate from any wound; including ones that would be fatal for ordinary humans, and the only one shown to age has been the human-based Wrath. The other 6 maintain the same apparent age they were given at their inception (even Pride, who was initially made in the shape of a child). In addition to this however each homunculus has specific abilities unique to them.
Pride uses his “shadow” like a weapon, using its numerous mouths and tendrils to cut and consume enemies. However this is not his ability, but rather an illusion. For his shadow is his actual body. His true ability is that of assimilation. Pride can add the abilities and attributes of the people he consumes to himself. This was demonstrated twice in the series; once when he consumed his fellow homunculus Gluttony and gained his sense of smell (and voracious appetite), and again when he consumed an alchemist and gained the secrets of human transmutation from him.
Lust has an ability called the Ultimate Spear. She is able to stretch and retract her fingers, which effectively function as super extendable claws. They are supposed to be able to pierce through any substance and she often uses them to slice up her enemies.
Greed’s ability is called the Ultimate Shield. It is a carbon based coating that he can cover his entire body, at will, to make himself nigh-indestructible (more on this in the abilities section of the application).
Envy has the ability to change his shape into anything of any size, shape, or color (Though we may assume that this means any living thing since there are no shown instances of him assuming the shape of an inanimate object). When mimicking a person, he can take on their vocal tones as well. Envy also has two alternate forms aside from his human shape. One is a massive dragon-like beast with multitudes of pseudo-humanoid torsos and heads protruding from his upper body, the other is a small parasitic worm and in this form he can attach himself to and gain control of other people. Both of these alternate forms are green in color, representing the color of jealousy.
Aside from being massive, large, and muscular, Sloth can unleash bursts of blinding speed with such a momentum that he is barely visible to the naked eye. His ability however has a severe drawback in that he can only move in a straight line at those speeds.
Gluttony has a few abilities related to his appetite. He can consume almost any substance both organic and inorganic, and can find specific people by smell alone. Originally, he was created in an attempt by Father to manufacture his own Portal of Truth. This false gate was a failure in its intended goal, but Father was able to successfully create a pocket dimension inside of the homunculus. When provoked, Gluttony can open up his chest and stomach, revealing his version of the all Seeing Eye, which he can then use to engulf anything in a certain radius directly in front of him. All swallowed contents are deposited inside his stomach, which appears to be an endless plane littered with random objects and covered in roughly 3 feet of blood.
Wrath is the third Homunculus to have an ability with “Ultimate” in the description. His ability, called the “Ultimate Eye”, makes him a master strategist. He has described it as being able to see the weakness in any opponent. However it goes beyond this, as he was able to pick out a path through falling debris that left him unharmed. In addition, he has superhuman agility and is a master swordsman. He is also the only homunculus that has been capable of aging, growing from his initial transformation at the age of about twenty, into his late sixties before finally meeting his end.
There is no explicit detail about this, so I am marking it as ‘headcanon’: The Homunculus are said to be built genetically similar to humans, the main difference being their supernatural abilities. So while they can go for long periods of time without food or rest, they will eventually need both of those things. Likewise, they can hold their breath for a long time, but not forever. (This to me explains why Greed is interested in a body that doesn’t “eat, sleep, or die”.)
Using his creations (with the exception of Greed, who had left some time ago), the Father initiated a plan to eventually use the country of Amestris in the same way that he had used Xerxes before. However this time his plans were even grander in design; the homunculus was unsatisfied with his vast, but still finite knowledge. So he plotted to gain access to God itself, with the idea that he would become one with God and thus gain ultimate knowledge.
Meanwhile, Hohenheim had brought his own Alchemy knowledge to the people of Xing, teaching them what would come to be called Alchehestry. How long he remained there is unknown, but eventually he crossed the desert and headed to the West himself, where he met and befriended a woman named Pinako Rockbell. He also eventually met a young woman named Trisha Elric who he fell deeply in love with. The two of them moved into a two story house together and soon they had two sons; one named Edward, and a year later another named Alphonse.
During this time, there was a small conflict going on between Amestris and the small nation of Ishval. The country had annexed Ishval but the people were not all supportive of this change in their lives. When the Homuculus Envy shot a little girl while he was in the guise of an Amestrian soldier, it pushed the people to their breaking point and a war erupted. The fighting was intense on both sides but eventually the order was handed down from Amestrias Central Command and the State Alchemists were sent in. The conflict was then officially declared a “War of Extermination”, and the genocide of the Ishvalan people began.
The war ravaged the country side, and the Elric’s hometown was not excluded from that. In addition; when the boys were just toddlers their father left them and their mother was forced to raise them by herself. The boys had a few precious years living with her like this before a plague swept through the town and took their mother from them. By this time the two were teaching themselves Alchemy using their father’s notes, spurred on by their own curiosity, natural talent, and the encouragement of their mother, who was always reminded of their father when she saw them transmute.
The loss of their mother was devastating, and so in desperation the two of them decided that they would do everything in their power to bring her back using the forbidden technique known as Human Transmutation. To this end they acquired an apprenticeship with a powerful Alchemist named Izumi Curtis, who they met when she was traveling in through their town with her husband Sig.
When they had progressed sufficiently in their training, the two brothers returned to their home and attempted her resurrection. The attempt failed horribly, however. The two were pulled into the Portal of Truth, where they were each allowed access to vast amounts of Alchemical knowledge; but with a catch. There was a toll to pay for this and as a result Edward lost his leg. His brother Alphonse though, saw more and paid with his entire body. Not wanting to lose the only remaining family tie, Edward then sacrificed his arm in order to retrieve his brother’s soul from the gate, bonding it to an empty suit of armor.
After being rushed to their neighbors, the Rockbells, by Alphonse, Edward was saved from bleeding to death but remained mostly catatonic until he was met by Roy Mustang, a State Alchemist who saw how advanced the brothers alchemy was and invited Edward to join the military because of that. Edward did not respond directly, but after Mustang left the boy requested Pinako and Winry craft an automail arm and leg for him. He then took the State Alchemy exam and became the youngest State Alchemist in the country’s history, given the title “Fullmetal” by the Führer. Traveling to places such as Liore and Youswell, he gained renown by investigating and uncovering corruption from both religious figures and military officials.
When a man named Shao Tucker transmuted his daughter Nina and their dog Alexander to make a talking chimera, Edward and his brother were devastated by the depravity. Soon after that they got into an altercation with an Ishvalan serial killer called Scar, who was targeting state alchemists. The fight damaged Alphonse severely and destroyed Edwards arm, prompting a visit back to his mechanic Winry in their hometown during which he met another alchemist named Tim Marcoh, who had information about the legendary philosopher’s stone; something Edward and Alphonse considered a good possibility for returning their bodies to normal at the time. His introduction to the man lead to the revelation that the creation of a philosopher’s stone requires many live human sacrifices; and to the eventual discovery of a secret laboratory in Central where experiments were being conducted on convicts from an adjacent prison. After an intense battle culminating in Edward seeing Envy and Lust for the first time, the Alchemist found himself back in the hospital, severely injured. Winry was then brought from Risenbool to work on his arm.
During that time King Bradley visited them. He discovered they were investigating the homunculus and swore them to secrecy, instructing them not to trust anyone. When they had recovered, the Elrics decided that they would benefit from visiting their Alchemy teacher in the town of Dublith, which lay in the south. At Winry’s request they also made a brief stop in a town called Rush Valley, a Mecca for automail mechanics and the leading location for automail research and development. When they finished their business there she decided to stay behind to improve her skills in Automail crafting.
In Dublith, Edward and Alphonse’s teacher was furious at Edward for joining the Military and even more so at the attempt they made to return their Mother to life and the resulting consequences. Although she forgave them she nevertheless expelled the brothers from their apprenticeship and the two nearly leave town empty handed, when Sig Curtis informs them that because they are no longer students they can speak to the woman as equals. This prompted them to stay in town a while longer to ask her important information about what happened in her own past, when Izumi had attempted her own forbidden resurrection on her still-born infant.
Unknown to the brothers a chimera named Bido was spying on them. He had been sent by his Boss; the Homunculus Greed. Greed was incredibly interested in Alphonse’s armored body as he was in search of a way to become immortal. Soon after bringing the information to Greed, Bido was sent out again, this time he had a slight confrontation with them however he managed to get away. Not to be deterred, Greed had him leave a note for Alphonse telling him that they knew his secret and instructing him to come and meet with them alone. Once he arrived at the location he was confronted by Bido again, this time accompanied by more of Greed’s chimera crew: A Dog chimera named Dolcetto, a Cow chimera named Loa, and a Snake chimera named Martel.
Alphonse was then kidnapped by the chimeras and taken back to their hideout; a bar called the Devil’s Nest. There Greed finally got a close look at Alphonse’s hollow armor body. The soul binding amazed him and he was sure that this was the secret of immortality that he’d been looking for. He introduced himself but was informed by Alphonse that he did not know how his soul binding worked as he was not the one who performed the binding. This was disappointing news for Greed, but he was momentarily distracted by Alphonse’s disbelief that he was in fact an artificial human.
To prove himself; Greed allowed the chimera Loa to knock the top half of his head off with a hammer so that Alphonse could watch him regenerate, stating that this was “one time that he’d died”. He went on to explain that even homunculi’s lives are finite, even though they last longer than normal humans. About this time however he was beginning to grow tired of not getting the answers he was looking for, and was on the verge of simply dismantling the armor to study it further. Edward arrived at last looking for his brother, and was offered an exchange by Greed; a way of regaining their bodies in exchange for information on how to perform a soul binding. However Edward was infuriated at the man for kidnapping and threatening the life of his brother and refused to make such a deal with him.
The two then fought, Greed showing Edward his other special ability; an impenetrable shield of carbon that he could will over his body to protect him from injury. The battle looked in his favor for a while, but eventually Edward figured out a way to disable his shield by changing its properties through Alchemy and the tide of battle began to turn. Things only got worse for Greed when the Elric’s teacher Izumi arrived and Edward informed her of Greed’s status as a homunculus. Now taking heavy damage and not particularly inclined to fight against women, Greed opted instead to flee with the captive Alphonse. At the same time, the Führer arrived and sent in a squad of military officers to wipe out the chimera inside the Devil’s Nest. He then went after Greed himself, viciously attacking him while Alphonse waited not far away, trying to keep the chimera Martel safe inside his armor even as her comrades and commander were cut down before their very eyes.
Dolcetto and Loa arrived, already extremely beaten and bloody from fighting Amestrian soldiers and Major Armstrong, another State Alchemist. The two bull rushed Bradley in an attempt to help Greed and were both easily cut down before their Boss’s eyes. This infuriated him, as he considered them to be part of his personal belongings. He equated their deaths to Bradley stealing from him and attempted to attack the man once more before finally being defeated. Pinned to the ground with Wrath’s swords lodged in his throat, Greed was helpless, and when Bradley approached Alphonse, Martel too made a last ditch effort to attack the man, using her flexible body to control Al’s suit of armor from the inside. It was useless however. Bradley slid his sword through the open space between chest plate and helmet, killing her instantly.
While Major Armstrong opened Alphonse up to take the woman’s body out of him, Wrath brought Greed down to the room beneath Central that served as a base of operations for the homuncululi and their Father. Pinned to a stone cross with Wrath’s swords, Greed remained defiant as ever in the face of his forced reunion with the siblings he’d rejected. After insulting each of them in turn he was finally asked by his Father if he would return and work for the man once more. Greed gleefully refused and as punishment was immersed in an enormous caldron filled with boiling magma where he was reduced back to his primal state of being as a philosopher’s stone and then consumed by the Father, returning him into the mass of souls that existed within the man.
Meanwhile, Edward and Alphonse had gone back up to Rush Valley, where they met a traveler from Xing. His name was Ling and while he initially appeared unassuming (they found him passed out and starving in an alleyway), they soon discovered that he was a Prince who had crossed the desert searching for the philosopher’s stone as a means to gain immortality and win his country’s throne for himself, thereby saving his clan. Accompanying him were his two most loyal retainers; a young woman named Lan Fan and an older gentleman named Fu. Despite Edward’s protests and best attempts, the trio eventually joined them as they returned to Central Command along with Winry, where they then parted ways for a time (in part due to Ling being arrested as an illegal immigrant). While they were there the brothers learned that someone close to them (an officer named Maes Hughes) had been killed and soon after another person (officer Maria Ross) was framed for the murder, which had actually been carried out by the homunculus Envy. Because the accusation was obviously false, Colonel Mustang orchestrated a prison break for the woman and had her smuggled out of the country. Edward was sent along at a later time as well and as a result he was able to visit the ruins of Xerxes.
While Edward was gone, Alphonse joined Colonel Mustang and Ling in trying to draw out the homunculi with some success. They found and battled Lust, and Mustang eventually managed to kill her. Edward returned to find his brother damaged again and while he repaired the armor they also exchanged information and decided to plan out another confrontation with the Homunculi. Working with Ling and Lan Fan they brought out Wrath and Gluttony. The battle almost ended badly though and Lan Fan had to sever her own arm (which had been damaged in the fighting and was useless), tying the severed limb to a stray dog in order to create a false trail and escape from Bradley. Ling however was able to capture Gluttony with the help of Edward and then made his escape with the aid of Lt. Riza Hawkeye; a woman working closely with Colonel Mustang.
Not long after this, Winry returned to Rush Valley and the Elrics met up with Colonel Mustang, heading with him and Dr. Knox to the empty house where Riza and Ling had stowed Gluttony. The doctor had been invited along so that he could perform life saving medical work on Lan Fan and thanks to him she was able to survive having her arm removed.
Then Gluttony broke free of his restraints and unleashed a frenzied attack, opening his stomach to reveal a mock Portal of Truth, which sucked everything in a certain radius inside of it.
Ling, Alphonse, and Edward sent the adults and Lan Fan away from the area and prepared to confront Gluttony. Then Envy joined the conflict and before they knew what was happening the battle took a sideways turn and Ling, Edward, and Envy found themselves swallowed by Gluttony, transported into his stomach via the false portal. Inside his stomach was the remains of things that Gluttony had swallowed in the past, including part of the ruins of the temple at Xerxes.
Trapped inside this place Edward and Ling were joined by Envy, and while Edward initially hoped the homunculus knew how to escape he was soon corrected much to their mutual disappointment. Not until Ling and Edward engaged Envy in battle did they begin to find a way out thanks to Envy swallowing Edward whole and thus bringing him within reach of the Philosophers stone at Envy’s core.
Edward realized that he could reproduce the transmutation circle that had existed in Xerxes and possibly use it to pass through the true portal and reach the real world again. Using the stone that Envy was bonded to he successfully brought the three of them outside of the false portal. When they arrived, however, they discovered that they were all in the homunculi’s demesnes deep under Central, and more; Alphonse was there as well.
Here they met with the man the Homunculi called Father for the first time and were stunned to discover he looked exactly like their own Father; Van Hohenheim. He ordered Gluttony to dispose of Ling and when he ignored the Elrics request to have the man spared they once again charged into battle. Despite their best efforts the Sage, who sealed off their alchemy as Envy pinned Edward and Alphonse to the ground, quickly defeated the brothers and Ling.
Father produced a philosophers stone from his body and introduced it into Lings bloodstream by way of a cut on his cheek. The stone invaded his body, souls vying for control of his very being until at last one soul emerged from amidst the hoard. It called itself Greed and proclaimed that it would be taking his body. Ling agreed, an act that startled the creature. When asked if he was sure; Ling proudly announced that he had enough room in himself for even 30 of Greed; which impressed the beast. He took the generous offer of Ling’s body and when the man awoke again an Ouroboros tattoo had appeared on his hand and he was Ling Yao no more. Even though Greed had control of the body however Ling had not been destroyed. He waited inside, sharing his psyche with Greed even as he claimed loyalty to the Eastern Sage for having birthed him.
As Greed looked on they were soon joined by Mei Chang, another traveler from Xing searching for immortality, and Scar. Mei had a tearful reunion with her tiny pet Panda Xiao Mei (which Greed gave an appreciative round of applause for), and the battle began again, with the new arrivals causing chaos and confusion. Greed was happy to watch from the sidelines as this drama played out, however he was forced to act when his Father demanded he assist Envy and Gluttony. He decided to face off against Edward first. For his part Edward still believed Ling was alive inside Greed. A theory that was bolstered when, after mentioning Lan Fan’s name, Greed lowered his guard and look a firm punch to his jaw, staring up at Edward with a look of steely cold anger. Still, Ling’s control only lasted a split second before Greed returned, taking advantage of the situation to quickly gain the upper hand and subdue Edward.
Defeated, the two were escorted up to Central Command by Envy, where they were put under the watchful eye of Wrath. When he mentioned their friend Winry, Edward and Alphonse became anxious and decided to contact her to make sure she was safe. There they were met by Greed once again, this time bearing a strip of cloth with a message for Lan Fan written on it in Xingese. While neither the brothers nor Greed could read the note, Lan Fan would certainly be able to and that was what was most important at the time. He then parted with them once more to return to Central Command and await further instructions from his Father.
Wanting to learn more about the Alchehestry that Mei had used, the brothers followed a lead on her and made their way up North after receiving a letter of introduction from Major Armstrong to present to his older sister; Major General Olivier Mira Armstrong. Her fierce reputation and merciless command had earned her the title “The Northern Wall of Briggs”.
While she tore the letter up, Olivier nevertheless allowed them entrance into Fort Briggs, initially putting them on a “Work or Starve” acceptance plan. There they ran into the Homunculus known as Sloth. He had been charged with digging an ongoing tunnel that would encircle the entire country, and so the brothers had never encountered him before. Once he was interrupted however, Sloth began to attack the people in Fort Briggs. Edward and Alphonse were able to stop him by working together with Olivier. They soon explained to her about the Homunculi and mapped out the areas of bloodshed that had been occurring since the country’s inception, discovering by chance the shape of the country wide transmutation circle that Father had planned from the very start. Not long after this, Solf J. Kimblee, the “Crimson Alchemist” arrived, bringing Winry in not long after to remind the Elrics that they were still being controlled by Wrath.
The Homunculus Sloth was returned to working on the tunnel then, and the Elrics were taken down into the abandoned city Baskool along with Winry to search for the fugitive Scar, who was reportedly traveling with Mei Chang and Dr. Marcoh. In the maze like ghost town they lost the soldiers, found the fugitives, and enacted a plan that removed Winry from her status as a hostage by allowing her to be “taken prisoner” by Scar. The group split up soon after.
Their separate journeys eventually lead to a request for Olivier to join the Military officials in Central, where she was shown that the military was amassing an army of artificial soldiers called “mannequins” who were powered by philosopher’s stones created with the lives of prisoners of war. At the same time, Bido, the only chimera to escape the purge of the Devil’s Nest made his way to the same location, desperate to learn the fate of his boss, Greed.
Unfortunately, Bido found Greed only to discover he no longer remembered his life before he was injected into Ling’s body. Greed attacked him with merciless glee and eventually chased him down into a lower part of the building, where Bido begged him to remember who he was. Greed then killed Bido by impaling him with the Ultimate Shield, but not before he began to have memories of Bido and the other Chimera from the Devil’s Nest.
Seizing this opportunity Ling berated him for killing his friend and allowing his memories to be taken away so easily. The rush of lost memories from his original body drove Greed into a frenzied rage as he clutched the body of the now dead chimera, and he then made his way straight to Bradley to confront him about what he remembered and why he remembered Bradley attacking him. Bradley nearly gained the upper hand, but in Greed’s pain and confusion Ling managed to regain control of the body and took off into the night, running until he reached the abandoned house that they had stayed in back when he had captured Gluttony. There he collapsed on the ground in hunger and exhaustion right at the feet of Edward Elric, who had come there for his own reasons.
Edward let Ling help himself to the food rations he and the two chimeras he was traveling with had brought with them. And after decimating the food Ling explained what had happened to Greed and how he’d come to be there. As Greed began to regain himself, pressing against the force of Ling’s mind, Ling told them what he knew of the homunculi’s plans and his theory that the brothers should jump into the portal when the day arrives so that they can regain their bodies. He then asked if Lan Fan had gotten his message, only allowing his body to be retaken after Edward told him that she was all right. Once back in control, Edward asked Greed to join them and Greed laughed in his face, telling the alchemist that he doesn’t take orders from others but that if Edward wanted to join HIS team that would be another matter. He then left Edward and the chimera there to pursue his own goals, only to be followed by the young man anyway. Edward agreed to work under Greed, an act that startled the man, just as Ling’s willingness to accept him once had.
The events that had come before had all been organized by Father and the Homunculi to bring the country wide transmutation circle to completion on a specific day known as the “Promised Day”. This was the day of a Solar Eclipse, when the planets energy levels would be at their highest. Father’s plan needed 5 people who had opened the Portal and seen the Truth, and by the time the day arrived he had four of those in the form of Edward, Alphonse, Izumi Curtis, and Van Hohenheim. Once Edward and Alphonse learned of this from their Father, they set about trying to prevent their plans from being completed, which landed them in a heated battle with Pride and Gluttony.
By dousing all the lights, they managed to disable Pride, preventing him from casting a shadow. Without his primary mode of attack Pride was at a disadvantage, but he was not alone. Gluttony was able to use his sense of smell to track people in the dark. Wanting to balance the playing field at least moderately, Greed allowed Ling to take control of the body so that he could use his ki detecting abilities to sense where the homunculi were and so be able to fight them more efficiently. And they soon gained an even better advantage with the return of Fu and Lan Fan, who had now been fitted with an automail arm.
Lan Fan made quick work of Gluttony and Fu dealt heavy damage to Pride with the use of flash grenades. In desperation, Pride consumed the nearly finished Gluttony, absorbing his scent abilities so that he could find the Xingese warriors without having to rely on his vision.
The battle finally came to a temporary end when Hohenheim and Alphonse trapped Pride inside a dome of earth, though he would eventually escape and join the remaining homunculi in Central. First however he was set free by Kimblee, engaging in another fight which ended with Kimblee’s death. While this was going on, Mustang was leading a rebellion in Central and Olivier, along with her Brother Alex got into a battle with Sloth as the mannequin soldiers were activated and began to run rampant through Central Command, devouring enemies and allies alike. It was also during this battle that Mustang confronted Envy after finally learning the truth of Maes Hughe’s death. Rather than be killed by the man, Envy instead took his own life.
Wrath, who had been missing due to a surprise attack on his personal train (the rebels blew it up over a ravine) stormed the front gates, demanding entrance to the command center, but was refused due to the efforts of the soldiers to keep the mannequins from escaping into the general population. Not to be deterred; he took an offensive stance and prepared for battle, defeating Briggs soldier Buccaneer easily at first. He was then confronted by Greed, who had been casually watching the battle from a high ledge. Seeing Bradley however, he came down quickly and immediately went on the offensive, though some soldiers tried to assist him and were cut down for their efforts. Just when the battle was looking close, Fu arrived, completely bypassing the barricades in order to reach the staging ground.
Once there he assisted Greed in battling Wrath and protected Greed/Ling at the cost of his own life. He could not lay a hand on Bradley but in a final act Buccaneer used the old man’s body to hide his own strike, impaling Wrath through Fu’s body. Lan Fan; who had also been searching for them, arrived just as her Grandfather fell to the ground as the battle continued.
Greed and Bradley continued their battle until they were knocked over the side of the building by rogue canon fire. Greed’s claws held tightly to the partially destroyed wall as Wrath clung to him tenaciously. Just as they were about to fall, Lan Fan rushed to the edge and caught Greed/Ling’s wrist, refusing to let him fall even as her still not fully healed automail began to tear from her body, causing blood to drip down the arm and onto Greed/Ling’s face. Calling for help from the Briggs soldiers, she was able to pull him up when they fired shots at Wrath, causing him to lose his grip and plummet into the icy waters below.
Fu lay slain on the ground near the mortally wounded Buccaneer. Seeing him like that, Ling was distraught. He begged for them to call a doctor and offered Greed’s philosophers stone core for assistance. However it was too late for the man, and Ling could see that Buccaneer too would not last much longer. As his dying wish, the man bade Greed/Ling to keep the enemy forces from opening the doors and allowing the mannequins to escape. They agreed, and Greed allowed Ling control of his ultimate shield and regenerative capabilities in order to accomplish this.
Despite being cast down into freezing water and severely injured, Wrath survived and made his way under Central where he joined Pride and together they forced Colonel Mustang to open the Portal of Truth, making him into the 5th and final Sacrifice. He was shown knowledge and in exchange the Truth took his sight. While Pride went and joined Father, Wrath battled against Scar and was finally killed. Then Father revealed what he intended for the country wide transmutation circle. He planned on opening the gateway of the planet itself, and intended to use the immense power from the lives of all of Amestris to absorb God into himself, thereby surpassing the creator and usurping them.
As he finished disclosing his plan, Greed came seemingly from nowhere, attacking the man in a desperate bid to take his place at the center of the circle so that he could claim the power instead. But his Father was ready for him, and defeated him after pretending to be incapacitated. He then revealed the true center of the circle and took his place there as the gateway opened and the lives of the rest of Amestris were snuffed out as he drew in their energy to create the stone and open the gate.
Filled with immense power, Father formed himself into a gigantic being and when the gateway opened, he pulled God down into himself. However Hohenheim had earlier infected the man with souls from his own philosophers stone body, and they worked from within to hinder him long enough for a counter circle Hohenheim had set up using Alchehestry to be activated, which returned the souls of the Amestrians to their bodies. Scar then activated a third circle, which drew away even more power from the would-be deific usurper. Father, in the meantime, had taken the form of an identical copy of Hohenheim’s teenage body. He was using the powers of God to fight against Edward and his friends. Greed tried to drop him into the same vat of Lava that his Father had once used oh him, and when that failed, Edward instead poured the lava over him.
But Father controlled the lava, using it to elevate himself towards the surface. Without the souls of the people of Amestris bolstering his power, the man was having difficulty controlling God and keeping its power inside him. He intended to collect the souls he needed individually in order to maintain his control. As Edward and co. used alchemy to pursue him, Greed came across Lan Fan and Scar near Wrath’s body. He only paused a moment there however before following the others up to the surface. On the way he caught up to the other rebels and decided to take charge, demanding that the wounded (and most of the women) stay behind. Even so, Colonel Mustang and Lt. Riza Hawkeye insisted on joining the battle, and Lan Fan as well refused to leave his side.
Reaching the surface, Father’s desperation grew even as he reflected the attacks of the rebels. He was forced to use up more and more of the remaining philosophers stone within him. Though the humans could not touch him, Greed made his own attack in one final bid for the Godly powers he had inside. At first it seemed as though this strategy had backfired, as the Father tried to absorb Greed’s philosopher’s stone for himself. However to do this meant he had to lower his own internal shields, and so Greed began to absorb him instead. Rather than fight him, the Father decided to absorb him body and all, and Greed was only able to escape thanks to the joint efforts of Edward, Izumi, and Major Armstrong, who tag teamed the man and forced his attention away from Greed.
Meanwhile, Alphonse’s body had been all but destroyed protecting Mei from the Father’s initial attack. He was helpless as the man destroyed Edwards arm and he was then tossed against some rubble, a piece of metal impaling his organic arm and leaving him completely incapacitated. The Father then targeted the helpless Edward Elric, seeking to take his life force to regain some of the power he’d lost.
Desperate to help his brother, Alphonse convinced Mei to use her Alchehestry and his armor to open the portal remotely. He then returned to his body at last, waiting within the gate in exchange for the return of his brother’s arm. Edward was free to transmute again, and he unleashed a brutal attack on the Father before tearing the shrapnel from his arm and going on the offensive again.
Now merely watching the battle, Ling pointed out to Greed that in fact the reason he felt so empty was not because he desired material possessions, but rather because he desired friendship and loyalty. The words spoke to the very core of the man and he found he could not deny this truth any longer. Shortly after, Father lost control of God and the power dissipated, leaving him with only the reserves he’d already had. At his most desperate, the Father lunged after Greed once more in an attempt to take Greed’s philosophers stone and absorb it. Internally, Greed was being pulled forcefully back toward the vortex of souls within the Father. Ling clung to his psyche, refusing to let him be reabsorbed. In his first and only lie, Greed told Ling that he would accept ruling Xing with him and that they could fight Father together. This caused Ling to drop his guard just long enough for Greed to sucker punch him, causing him to let go.
Greed then called out to Lan Fan and she severed the Father’s arm where it was plunged into Greed’s stomach. As Greed entered the mass of souls he spread his ultimate shield over the Father’s body, at the same time reversing it so that he became brittle and weak. This allowed Edward to do much more damage and in retaliation Father pulled Greed’s essence out of himself and severed it, effectively killing him. As he felt himself dissipating, he saw the expressions on Edward, Ling, and Lan Fan’s faces and died with a smile on his face.
Even with Greed’s destruction the damage to Father had already been done and Edward was able to deal a final blow to the man, punching a hole through his abdomen. Unable to maintain himself anymore, the Homunculus Father was finally destroyed as the hands of the portal of truth pulled him inward, causing the man to collapse in on himself and disappear.
After the battle was over, Edward drew a final transmutation circle, using himself to enter the portal and giving up his alchemy in exchange for Alphonse’s body. They were then allowed to finally return, and their journey home began.
The country was then given over to General Grumman who became the new Führer King, and work began to repair the damaged relations between Amestris and the people of Ishval.
Personality:
Greed is arrogant, reckless, and outright blunt. This is mostly due to his lack of inhibition from being the greedy aspect of Father. His arrogance is shown when he allows one of his gang to knock half of his head off just to prove a point and show off his healing ability. Not too long after this, he arrogantly taunted Edward by informing him there wasn't any chance of him being defeated. This bleeds over into his recklessness. When fighting Edward, Greed witnessed and felt Edward change the molecular structure of his shield, and didn't even bother to take it as a threat which cost him dearly. The first time someone had broken through his Ultimate Shield was because of that recklessness. As for blunt, this was seen when Edward asked Greed to join him and only received a hearty laugh before instantly being told off. (Up yours, kid!) Another interesting display of his arrogance and bluntness was when he invited Lust to "pierce him with her spear anytime." and gave similar taunting remarks to the other homunculi.
Independence is a very strong trait for Greed. After being created by Father, Greed soon left him and the other homunculi because of this. A need to pursue his own goals which was to be free from Father's manipulation and obtain as much of anything an everything as possible. This too blends into his impulsiveness, which is characterized when he had learned that being joined with Ling could mean ruling a country, and instead Greed took it to the next level by deciding to rule the world. In the battle with Wrath at central, Greed suddenly decided to attack the older homunculi simply because his "avarice" decided to.
His view on his friends was that they were nothing more than "possessions" that belonged to him, treating them more as objects than people. However, he always treats them well, expressing relief when he saw that Martel was all right during his first encounter with Wrath. When Wrath killed Dolcetto and Loa right in front of him, which caused him to become incredibly angry. Because to him it felt like Wrath was stealing something very important to him. Which he would later realized was their invaluable companionship, not possessions. A lesson he learned towards the end of the series when he witnessed those opposed to Father, friends of the the Fullmetal Alchemist, rally behind Edward in that final confrontation with Father.
He can come off as a little sexist, as he has a policy of not fighting women. Beyond combat though, he doesn’t seem to have any problems with treating women and men the same. And when he’s bored he can turn to idle violence for entertainment. By the time Father was ready to try and reclaim his stone, Greed had already started going out of his way to protect others, even catching a nameless Briggs soldier when a massive wave of energy blew him back. While claiming on more than one occasion to “want it all”, in the end what he’s really looking for is emotional, rather than material, fulfillment. This is something that doesn’t come easily, going back to his arrogant, reckless, and blunt personality; so he tends to deal with others in a snarky manner rather than a soft one at first.
Greed likes to at least feel like he’s in charge, if not of those around him then of himself. This is shown after he turned down Edward's offer to accompany him, and instantly Greed offered Edward to join his team where he was the leader and the one calling the shots. That was what mattered most to Greed considering they ended up pursuing the end goal of going after Father, whom Greed had always rebelled against due to that independent streak.
While he doesn’t particularly want to be a human, Greed seems to admire their tenacious spirit and has commented before that he “has a tendency to side with the underdog”. He also takes risks that other people would consider uncalled for, justifying this with the excuse that his avarice makes most of his decisions for him.
When Greed learns that he is a world that exists between life, dreaming, and death, his initial reaction would be excitement at not being dead. At the time preceding his imminent death, Greed had accepted his fate and had prepared for the after life or lack thereof. He sees Tu Vishan and Keeliai as a second chance at deciding his own future, free from Father's interference and/or presence. Upon hearing the kedan informing him about having to find a job (everyone works) Greed found that disconcerting and uncomfortable considering that he is used to having others do things for him. Including stealing and taking things for him. This reaction would be eased when he found out he had a luxurious suite. Something much different from his run down bar in Dublith, a major step up for Greed, the Avaricious. The kedan are interesting to him with their shape shifting abilities and unlike many who would be shocked by the appearance of the kedan, Greed isn't fazed by them much at all. There have been many weirder looking chimera in his gang, so this would be par for the course as far as he would see it. And then there is his curiosity to learn what powers and abilities the other foreigners possess as well as who they are.
Appearance:
Greed is a tall, light skinned man with long dark hair that he usually keeps tied in a ponytail, except for a stray lock in the front that tends to hang in his eyes from time to time. Because his last incarnation was inside the body of a young prince of Asian-equivalent decent his eyes are a bit more narrow than usual, and because he is a homunculus rather than an ordinary human they are violet in color. He has muscular, toned arms and a strong though not overly broad jaw line. A red Ouroboros tattoo marks the back of his left hand.
His mouth is lined with serrated shark-like teeth instead of the standard human teeth, but this doesn’t seem to impair his ability to talk or eat in any way. These can make even a friendly grin from the man seem intimidating. Greed likes to wear dark colors and can usually be seen in all black clothing and a matching black duster jacket which will often have the sleeves half rolled up. His build is lean and muscled and he sometimes likes to wear tight fitting shirts that show off his abs.
When he is fully shielded Greed’s body is coal gray and somewhat metallic in appearance. He has various red lines on his face and upper body and his teeth change from their usual shark like appearance to a more ogre/oni like shape, with a large upward pointing fang on each side and a row of short, flat teeth in between, all of which are clearly visible (giving him the appearance of having no lips). The whites of his eyes turn black as well and his fingers become sharply clawed.
Greed doesn’t use this fully shielded form often, as it “covers his handsome face”. During normal combat he will instead only extend his shield from his hands nearly up to his elbows, and relies on quick reflexive shielding to protect other parts of his body from being hit.
Abilities:
Like all homunculi, Greed has a philosopher’s stone as his core. This stone allows him to regenerate after any injury as well as reviving after death. This was demonstrated by Greed himself when he allowed the chimera Loa to literally knock the top half of his head (to the jaw line) clean off, so that Alphonse Elric could watch his body regenerate right before his eyes.
While this power is impressive it is not infinite, and if he overuses his internal resources he can burn the stone out, at which point he will truly die. He doesn’t often seem concerned about this though, and has lost more than 15 ‘regenerations’ in the past without coming close to burning himself out.
Greed also has a personal ability called the “Ultimate Shield”. This is a nigh-indestructible carbon coating that he can will around his body that works for both attack and defense. The shield can cover his entire body or any portion he wills it to, and while the hardness is usually maximized, it was shown in the final battle that he can actually control the hardness of the shield, as he intentionally made the body of his Father completely brittle and weak.
Inventory:
Aside from the shield and philosopher’s stone, both of which are part of his body; Greed has a pair of pants and a black duster jacket. Also a white strip of cloth that he ties his hair with.
Suite:
Greed would like to be housed in a 3-floor suite in the Metal sector. He wants this because his Greedy nature demands the maximum allowable living space and access to interesting high tech gadgets and devices. The man wants to live like a King, but he sees the Fire sector as ostentatious and maybe even pompous.
In-Character Samples:
Third Person:
“They gave me everything I could want... Thank you, and goodbye…"
His eyes were closing, probably for the last time. He could feel the edges of his life force drifting away on a breeze that was surprisingly inviting considering the horrors that were going on below him. And then without warning there was a pulse of energy, heaving and cloying. The man could only imagine that if an implosion could be experienced this would be the sensation.
Dark red energy rushed inward and began to build around some unidentifiable center with the thickness and fluidity of blood. They pressed in upon themselves, pressurizing until they began to form the glowing red core known as a philosopher’s stone. And then, the pressure began. The man called Greed hadn’t felt the pain and intensity of a full regeneration for some time. Even in Dublith only a part of his head had been destroyed.
Now, though, the agony was rushing through every part of him as his body forced itself into existence. Legs, torso, arms leading into fingers and then his eyes were coming into focus and he could see the mark form on his hand and beyond that; there was nothing, his still-forming brain was only vaguely aware of hand reaching down and grasping his arms, the sensation of being dragged unceremoniously away. And then his eyes closed and he sank back down into unconscious blackness.
Before long Greed’s eyes drifted open again and he thought he saw some form of ground moving beneath his head, which he found to be too heavy to lift at the time. He could barely make out the loose ends of his long black hair swinging in front of his face every so often before again he passed into unconsciousness.
He didn’t wake up again until some time later, when the man found himself in a bed alone. He felt ill and weak, and his head was pounding. There was something different about the feeling though and it took some time before Greed was able to pinpoint through the haze what the problem was. With an edge of panic he realized that he still resembled Ling Yao, the man he’d been sharing a body with until his ‘death’ and subsequent arrival in this new place. Greed’s chest grew tight as he turned his thoughts inward, afraid that somehow the Prince had managed to get himself taken along with the man after all, and with a mixture of relief and discomfort he found Ling,s presence to be absent from his mind.
With this most important question answered, Greed surveyed the room he found himself in. The place seemed to be pretty nice, and he wasn’t going to complain about having his own bed. Nevertheless, he was still exhausted and rather than explore the rest of the space just yet he decided instead to lay his head back down on the pillow and finish resting up.
The next time the man awoke there were people there again, telling him that he was living on some fantastic space turtle in another world. The whole thing sounded completely insane to the man but he had always gone by the phrase “Nothing is impossible”, so the tried to accept what he was told without a problem. The fact that they told him he was in between life and death even helped him accept this strange new reality. And the interesting new technological devices and house amenities didn’t hurt either.
Being told he had to find work though, that hurt.
Network:
[A little screen flickered on and the man looked down with the amazement of a small child who’d just discovered chocolate ice cream. He’d been given a basic run down of the features but even still, the fact that there was a miniature movie screen in his bedroom was impressive. He had to wonder what Ling would have thought about something like this, or even the blond kid Edward and his Brother. Outside of a movie theater the best they’d had was radio and even that was used mostly for news and announcements.]
Oh yeah, I could definitely get used to this [Greed leaned in, focusing on the area that had been pointed out to him as the “camera lens”. Could a camera really get that small? This place just kept getting better. Well aside from the whole ‘stranded without anyone you know around’ thing.]
So, there are people watching this right? [He pulled his face back so that he wasn’t just one large violet eye.] Well then, whoever’s out there; I’m GREED.
[And the man raises his left hand up to the screen, showing off the red tattoo on the back ]
I’m not sure what kind of world this is, but it doesn’t matter, because it’s mine now! [He was brimming with confidence now, but he could almost hear Ling chuckling and commenting on how the Prince was sure he’d grown out of that by now. How making ridiculous claims of ownership to a world he’d only just arrived on was probably not the best way to get people to be friends with him. And inwardly he groaned It’s like you’ve become my damn conscience, and you’re not even here! Damn Prince. He thought petulantly. The thought reminded him though of something else they’d told him while he was having ‘bizzaro world orientation’. He was supposed to find a job. Probably the worst fate he could think of short of having his philosopher’s stone destroyed (again). What were his job qualifications? Oh right, killing things and stealing things. That was sure to get him loads of work.]
Oh yeah [He turned his attention back to the camera, scratching the back of his neck with a kind of strange, almost uncomfortable expression] Apparently, I also need to find work. So if you need anything stolen or killed, look me up. [There was another pause as the man looked up at the ceiling for a moment] Well… I also used to own a bar. So I can mix a decent drink too.
