Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Whisper in the Wind 2 ❯ Equivalent Exchange ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
"Oh, I love that pendant Kate." Meg looked at Kate's locket in amazement.

"Yeah, where'd you get it?" Kirsten asked.

"Open it. I wanna see who's inside it." Anne opened the golden heart shaped locket to find a picture of Edward and Kate and the message written on the back. "Kate..."

The remaining two girls huddled up around the necklace. Kirsten smiled in excitement. "Hah! I told you it was Ed!"

"Oh shut up, Kirsten..."

"Sorry you guys, I... guess I never told you that me and Ed had a bond..."

"That's okay, Kate. After all, I knew you missed Ed, anyway. Wait... Is that who you've been thinking of all along?"

"Well... yeah."

"It's alright... he'll be back soon..."


***

"Discard, Al."

"Uh... okay. Have any threes?"

Edward knew for a fact he didn't have a three card. After all, he was a master at cheating on card games. Slyly, he reached up his sleeve and quickly pulled out a three of ace. "Yup... Got any fives?"

"Go fish..."

"Yes!"

"You havn't lost any... how do you do that?"

"I have my ways... Maybe I'm just lucky..."

"I'll say... You have a body, an ability to use alchemy without a transmutation circle, a girlfriend, and a talent for playing cards!"

"Yeah, heh..." But Edward wasn't so lucky after all. He has a body, but it isn't whole. His mechanical right arm and left leg is a punishment for breaking the laws of alchemy. His ability to use alchemy without a transmutation circle is a part of Equivalent Exchange, in which he lost his limbs. Kate was far away from him, and he didn't even know if he'll even live to see her again. And he certainly didn't have a talent for playing cards unless he cheated.

"I think the train's stopping..."

"Yeah, we're at the next station. Now I finally have the chance to mail this letter to Kate. Let's rest here. We should be in Liore by tommorow."

"Okay."

As the brothers exited the train, they looked around at the station. The sigh said "Welcome to New Shania".

"New Shania... never heard of it... Where's the post office?"

"I think it's over there." Alphonse pointed his finger over to a small building on a street corner."

"Well, what're you waiting for? Let's go!" Edward began to run over to the building when Alphonse stopped him. "Now what?"

Alphonse took the letter out of Edward's hand. "I'll take that."

"WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?! GIVE IT BACK!"

"I have to read what you two are up to. Besides... I like reading these..."

"AL!"

After Alphonse read the letter, he handed it back to Edward. "That's the last one I'll read. You two love each other, so I'll let you guys write in private."

"THANK YOU! GEEZ!" Edward continued walking to the building, as he put the letter in the already addressed envelope. When he mailed the letter in the mailbox, he smiled when all the images of Kate ran through his head.

"Uh, brother? What's gotten into you?"

"Just... thinkin'."

"Let's go to that inn over there. They look like they have good service."

"Alright..."

A couple hours passed, and Edward and Alphonse were already settled in the hotel. They each got their own rooms with their own service maids. Edward laid on his bed still wondering what Kate was doing back in Resembool.


***


When Kate got home from school, she went straight to her room. She was a little upset today since her three best friends found out about her and Edward's relationship. She let her school uniform shatter on the floor, and switched into shorts and a tank top. When she laid on her bed, she began to think a little. But then a little turned from a lot to a burning desire. Kate wanted to learn Alchemy so the military will accept her. She thought if she learned Alchemy, she would be able to join the Ranks and be with Edward wherever he went. That was true, but she would need a lot of practice. When Kate remembered where Edward learned some of his skills, she quickly ran to the central library.

Kate studied hard. As she took notes, she remembered that Izumi was really the one who taught Edward and Alphonse real Alchemy, but from what she heard from them, she understood what "One is All, All is One" meant. Recreating and decomposing was really the true alchemist. When the library closed, Kate walked home to try out her new abilities.

"Okay, what can I transmute? Kate looked around her room and saw her pillow. "Aha!"

Kate walked over to the pillow and drew a transmutation circle on it. She closed her eyes and gently set her hand on the circle. All of a sudden, there was a flash of light and a big boom. When she opened her eyes, a soft pillow sculpture of Edward stood before her. "It worked! Yes!" She jumped around her room until her legs got tired and pulled her to her bed. When she finally laid down, she set the sculpture on her night stand. She let a smile spread across her face as she closed her eyes. "Night Ed..."


***


"Mmmm...hmmm... ah, Kate..."

"Ed! What're you doing?"

Edward woke up in an instant to find he was hugging and kissing his own pillow. "HOLY-" Embarassed, he quickly sat up and threw it aside. "Heh... Must... miss er' a lot, huh?" He smiled nervously and rubbed the back of his head.

"Our train's leaving in a little while."

"Oh, okay."


***


Kate woke up and got dressed in her uniform. As she was walking to school, she noticed Anne wasn't walking with her and the rest of the girls. "Hey, uh... where's Anne?"

"I heard from her mom that she was really really sick."

"Almost as if she were poisoned by something." Kirsten bit her lower lip.

"Well, they're trying to make a Philosopher's Stone, maybe it's the red water."

Kate gasped aloud. If Edward were there, he'd need this information.

"Kate, what's wrong?"

"Uh... sorry girls, I'm calling in sick today." Kate began to run back home. "Kirsten! Collect Ed's homework for me, will ya!"

"Yeah! Okay!"

Kate busted in the front door and went straight to the phone. She quickly dialed Anne's number and listened for an answer.

"Hello?"

"Yes, Ms. Bishop, is Anne there?"

There was a silence for a couple moments. "I'm... sorry dear... Anne passed away..."

Kate gasped and hung up the phone. She put her hands on her face and sobbed aloud. The tears rolling down her cheeks fell to the hard wood floor. When she walked out the front door, she went to Ms. Bishop's house, only to find there was no one home. The door was unlocked, and Kate slowly opened it. When she walked inside the emty house, she found a body laying in the middle of an odd circle. When she uncovered the mask, she froze in place. The body of Anne Bishop laid before her. Kate knew exactly what she was going to do. She was going to perform a human transmutation, which was illegal in the laws of Alchemy. Kate didn't know that at all. She only became an alchemist the day before.

"Don't worry, Anne. You'll be back on your feet in a sec." Kate cut her finger and let the blood drip from it onto the circle. She put her hands on it and imagined what Anne used to look like. There was a flash of light, and Kate thought everything would be fine, until everything went terribly wrong. Kate looked around in horror, when she felt something crawl up her right leg, and what she thought was going to be Anne wasn't Anne at all. It was a horrible looking body that was turning into a homunculus. Kate looked at her leg, which seemed to be vanishing into thin air. When everything was quiet and the light vanished, Kate's leg ripped off with blood pouring. The loud scream of pain made everyone in the neighborhood turn on their lights.


***


"C'mon, Al. Let's go."

The two brothers walked down the stairs to pay the tip to the hotel, when the phone rang.

The woman answered the phone. "Hello?"

"I really need to speek to Edward Elric!"

"Uh... yes, here he is. Mister Elric?"

Edward picked up the phone. "Yeah?"

"Ed! It's Winry! Listen, you've got to come home RIGHT now!"

"Why? What's wrong?"

"It's Kate, Ed! She lost her leg!"

"WHAT?!!! HOW'D SHE LOOSE HER LEG?!!!"

"There's no time to explain! Hurry up and find the fastest transportation and get over here!"

"I'm coming! Just tell Kate to hold on and I'll be right there!" Edward hung up the phone. "Al! We're going home!"

"You can't go home, you're on a mission."

"FORGET THE MISSION, AL! It's somthing that happened to Kate!"


***


Kate slowly opened her eyes to find Winry sitting on her bedside with a worried face. "W-Winry?..."

"Yeah... You feeling okay?"

"I... I think so." Kate coughed and weezed.

"Here, take this." Winry handed Kate a glass of water. "Don't worry... Ed's coming home today..."

"He is?!" Kate quickly sat up and pulled the blood-stained sheets off her body. The remaining of her leg was wrapped in a bandage.

"Yeah... He'll be here in a little while... We think you have a touch of the poison from the red water since they're trying to make a Philosopher's Stone."

Kate squinted her eyes in pain as she grabbed her leg.

"I think we're gonna have to give you an auto-mail leg for that. You... might wanna get some rest. Ed will be here when you wake up. I promise. He'll probably be the one that wakes you up." Winry smiled.

Kate gave a tired smile back to her. "Thanks, Winry..." Kate softly closed her eyes. "I'll be here..." She finally drifted off to sleep.