Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Memories ❯ Equivalent trade part 3 ( Chapter 7 )

az: I love my legs... I luv the friction that existed in the world.... hated the ice... (chomped on ice cubes) hihiii....

--

In order to create something, one must present a sacrifice of an equivalent value.

That was the Law of Equivalent Trade.

We believed that was the truth of the world when we were small...

--

The rest of the occupants went quiet as Hohenheim paused for breath. Wrath shook in fear as Izumi turned towards him. 'Are you afraid..? Here... sit by my side...', she offered kindly as Wrath looked at her with mock anger. But then, he slowly rose and sat beside the woman, as Izumi gently wrapped her arm around him.

Winry smiled as she watched the small homunculus child. Hohenheim sighed as he patted Al's shoulder as the child was already fast asleep on his lap.

Roy straightened up from his stupor as he lifted his attention towards the man. 'And then, what happened? You spoke of the dragon as 'him'. Who was it--?', he asked as Hohenheim shrugged.

'My sin... the failed existence that took life as I failed to revive my first son... hundreds of years ago...'

'Envy...'

--

'Hohenheim.... Hikari no Hohenheim!!! I've finally found you!!'

'Wha--t?!', gasped the man as the dragon glowed and changed into Ed and then turned into its true form. 'Hikari no Hoennnnhime!!', the man sneered as he grinned evilly, showing off his fangs. 'Did you forget this son of yours?!', said Envy again as Hoenhime frowned at him.

'No... You are NOT my son! That son of mine was long dead... and the only other sons I had was my Ed and Alphonse! It's the same way that the woman called Sloth was not my wife...'

Envy gritted his teeth as he began to smile sinisterly. 'I expected to hear that. Well then, without further ado... I'll RIP you apart!! The same way I killed that fullmetal boy that you loved so much...', he said as he jumped towards Hohenhime..

The man swerved aside and instinctively clapped his hand together, as he fell against the floor. Miraculously, the water around him turned to ice and formed humanoid shapes and countered Envy's attack. He was taken aback as he remembered that the gate was still present. 'I see... with the gate's here... this world and the other had intertwined...!', he muttered with a sudden realization. 'And Edward!! I must tell him... this was his chance to go home!', he said again as he rose and bombarded Envy with another torrent of elemental attacks...

--

Sounds of running footsteps echoing around him... as if he was the sole person existing in the ship. Occasionally, he heard sounds of shrieking and screaming as the other passengers turned violent and attacking each other, desperate to escape death. But he must not be careless... he have something to do!!

He slammed open the door only to find that Edward was not in the room. Realizing that the child might have gone out on his own, he immediately turned back from whence he came...

Back outside, the chaos were becoming unbearable as Envy had revived and begun attacking some random people, anxious to find and kill him. As he looked around, he noticed a fallen figure amidst the rushing people. Fearing the worst, he dashed towards the figure only to be confirmed the worst.

Edward was lying stiffly on the deck as blood slowly flow from a gash on his head. Alarmed, he lifted the limp form and tried desperately to make sure that his son was still alive.

'Edward.... Ed!! Open your eyes!! Please...', he cried as he remembered not long ago when he had dashed into the Zeppelin crash site, only to find a dead boy that once had been Ed's alternate self in this world which had been occupied shortly by the soul of his son...

Despair started to grasp onto his heart before he felt a hand weakly grasping his own. He looked down as he saw that Ed had barely opened his eyes. Weak... but very alive. Feeling relieved at this discovery, he gently lifted Ed's body (he was still light compared to his age, even as he had grown a little bit taller than before...) and started to walk towards the gate. But Envy had finally noticed them and had retuned into his humanoid form. He jumped and landed in front of them as he saw Ed.

'Oii! Fullmetal boy was here too? How fascinating... I can rip his heart again along with this wretched father--', said Envy as he was greeted by storms of icy spikes. He swerved away as Hohenhime launched another ice attack, setting Edward to lie beside him. He was about to attack again as he noticed that the gate started to open again and the black hands came out and starting reaching to...

'EDWARD!!!', he cried, dropping his defense and grabbed his son. Hoenhime closed his eyes as the hands got nearer but then, there was a strange light and the hands were disintegrated before having any chance to tear them apart. He looked up as he saw someone that he never expected to see anymore...

Even Envy froze in his steps as his former homunculus comrades, along with Trisha and Scar emerged before the gate and held it open. Trisha walked nearer towards the man and she held out a hand. 'Edward had wanted to come home, right?', she said as Hohenhime smiled. 'Yes, he did...', he said as he glanced towards his son and kissed his forehead. 'Finally... it seemed that I could finally do something for Ed after all those times that I've neglected him and his brother...', he sighed as he slowly rose and walked towards the gate.

Envy realized this and started to run towards them. But as he reached them, Hohenheim had already entered the gate with Edward and the gate closed shut behind them. Envy slammed his fist onto the gate as the gate disappear. cursing as he felt another betrayal set upon him. 'Damn you!! Damn you... HIKARI NO HOHENHIME!! You and those children of yours!!! Curse you..', cried Envy as collapsed onto the floor of the deck. And for some reason... tears started to fall from his eyes as rain pelted him from the sky...

'Damn you... father...'

--

Hohenhime sighed deeply. 'Later, after I woke up... I found myself in Central. And I was devastated that Edward was not with me. I had no real intention of ever returning... and I only did for Ed. And then I stumbled upon this couple with Al and overheard their conversation. So I followed them here...'

'Oh... I see. Both of you might have been thrown away from each other after reentering this world. Because Wrath... found Ed in the middle of the desert.', said Roy as the other occupants gasped in shock... with the exception of Wrath of course. But he was already asleep, disinterested with the story.

'But why... was Ed not remembering Al at all? After all... Alphonse was his only younger brother, and both of them were almost inseparable--', sighed Izumi as another person interrupted their conversation.

'Yes... I would like to know too.'

Immediately, Hohenheim, Roy, Riza, Winry, Izumi and Sig turned towards Ed, who was fully awake by now. 'Edo.... you've heard?', gasped Winry as he nodded.

'Barely... but even then it was enough as I caught some images of it in my mind. Though, I still could not grasp anything that the old man was talking earlier... just something he said about the incident on the ship...?', said Ed as his mind started to wander elsewhere. Hohenheim lifted his hand and turned Ed's face towards him.

'Edward... do you remember who I am?'

'You are my father--', he said as Hohenheim face started to lighten. '--you said it just now. I suppose that's the truth then...', he said again as Hohenheim's face turned pale. But then he shrugged it off. 'I should have expected this... Both of us had returned, as if there was no price to pay... even if there was.', he muttered as Izumi frowned at the note.

'Edward... you didn't remember anything about your family? About me... your brother... or your mother?', Hohenheim spoke again as he noticed a small reaction from Ed when he mentioned Trisha. 'You didn't remember anything about what happened between us?', he asked again as Ed shook his head. 'Even those times that I had abandoned you, Trisha and your brother?'

Ed shook his head again. Hohenheim chuckled. 'That's it... this was the price! I could not use my alchemic abilities anymore and Ed became like this...'

'All in order to return home again...', gasped Roy as Riza grasped his shoulder.

'Towards the people he cared for... even at the expense of his most important people...', cried Winry as she wiped away the tears that had been flowing onto her face.

'Because a sacrifice had to be taken...', sighed Riza in defeat, fully understood the situation.

'...touka koukan...', said Izumi as Sig patted her shoulder in comforting way.

'Minna--!', cried Ed as he looked at them with troubled feelings. Winry immediately embraced him as she whispered into his ears. 'Daijoubu desu... It's not your fault...', she said as Edward returned the embrace...

(TBC)

az: Okay.... now ends the Touka koukan chapter....! Fuh!! I worry too much!! ::bowed:: Thanks to all reviewers new and old. I suppose there'll be another final chapter or two after this... depending on what I could write... I hoped I had not dissapointed anyone.... ::cheers::