This story is officially starting since Cursed Alchemist is complete!

Just to warn you, this story will be much darker than Cursed Alchemist. I've been reading dark and sad fanfics lately, so I guess they have rubbed off on me. So, come back as soon as my other story is complete, and you won't be disappointed.

The cover art is also temporary...( edit: actually, I'm really starting to like it. The picture looks so much better on the computer than it does in real life...)

Far From Home

It was another ordinary boring day on the Fire Nation ship, the brisk artic air sent chills through the crews' bones. They had been in the southern pole for well over a month in search of the Avatar. Everyone knew the Avatar disappeared 100 years ago, and it was likely he would never return, so why were they forced to travel the world in pursuit of a legend? Because their commander, Prince Zuko, would stop at absolutely nothing to find the legend.

There was a Water Tribe village about 50 miles away, which their commander had a hunch that could be the place his quarry was hiding. The men knew as soon as they inspected the village and found no new leads, they would continue with their foreboding journey that would never end. The legend gave the crew hope, for if he was miraculously found, they would be able to return home and never have to follow orders of their tyrannical commander.

Quite unexpectedly, lightning streaked across the sky; blue lightning. There was not a cloud in sight, but the lightning was real and blinding. A crew member grabbed the telescope and desperately searched the land once the spectacular lightning ceased.

"Prince Zuko!" The crew member cried out, "Come and see this." The prince grabbed the telescope and looked in the direction it was pointed to. Laying on the ice was a figure cloaked in black, and the hair appeared to be yellow. Never seeing yellow hair before, Zuko assumed it was a by-product of old age. The figure stood up with his back facing the ship. Suddenly, bright flashes of lightning emanated from the dark figure, and an ice igloo formed out of nowhere.

Zuko let go of the telescope and turned to his crew, with a new spark in his eyes. He almost looked…happy, a look never seen before on the banished prince.

"I've found the Avatar. Head for the light!" Zuko yelled to the captain, and no one dared to say he wasn't the one to find the person, for a crew member had spotted him. That would only end with disaster, so they decided to keep quiet and they prepared to apprehend the legend. They would finally return home.

Ed clapped his hands with great ferocity. If this didn't work, Envy and Ling would be trapped inside Gluttony's stomach forever, and a rebound would easily kill Ed. Envy said the souls trapped inside his Philosopher's Stone were lost causes, and they didn't have minds of their own. Ed foolishly believed the monster and used the Stone in an attempt to escape the vast stomach.

"Thank you." A lost soul whispered to Ed when he used him to sacrifice to the Gate. He cringed but concentrated on the portal. White space quickly surrounded the alchemist and he slammed into the ground in front of a large door.

"Ow." Ed said simply after landing on his broken arm. "Okay, I'm finally here." Ed sat up and looked at his door of truth. The design looked like tree roots and Ed turned his head slightly when he thought he caught a glimpse of something dark behind him. There was another portal floating directly behind him.

"Huh…Why are there two portals?" He looked at the door's intricate design, and then he noticed the thin scraggily figure that sat in front of the door. The figure was emaciated, naked, and had a wild mane of blond hair. The person was his brother.

"Al!" Ed jumped up and dashed to his little brother's body. Hundreds of little black hands wrapped around Ed to restrain and pull him back. "Al!" Ed was being pulled back, but he desperately tried to fight through the hands. He had been right about his and Al's soul being entwined. They were connected, so going to the gate meant he could get his brother. "Al! Come on! Hurry!"

"I can't" Ed stopped moving and watched with disbelief as his brother's body stood up and spoke without a metallic tone in his voice. "You're not my soul. I can't go with you.

"..Agh…arrghh!" Ed was being pulled farther into the doorway, which was starting to close. "Alphonse! One day soon, I'm coming back to get you, no matter what! Just you wait!" Ed pointed to his brother and the doors slammed shut.

Something immediately felt off when he spiraled back into the real word- it felt cold. He landed on the freezing ground, which hurt his broken arm some more, and bright light seemed to blind him. Once Ed's eyes adjusted to the light, all he could see was white. It didn't feel like he was in the portal, and there was a very strong salty scent. He turned and realized there was an iceberg infested ocean behind him. His arm and leg ports started to throb from the cold. Where was Envy and Ling? Where was Al? Where was anything?

Ed stood up and took a step forward, which resulted with him slipping and falling on his behind. He quickly realized he was standing on ice and cursed to himself. His body shuddered and he wished he was wearing warmer clothes. Was this some sort of joke? Truth was going to pay if it was somehow behind this, which was probably the case.

The cold was growing unbearable, and Ed was starting to wonder if he was in Briggs, or worse, Drachma. He had never been to either place, but he doubted those places were this desolate. If he was in Drachma, he would've been surrounded by the enemy in no time. Ed clapped his hands and created an ice shelter, hoping to escape the cold. It was a little bit warmer inside, and the confused alchemist tried to fall asleep as his stomach growled- the last thing he had eaten was his own boot.

Sleeping helped keep his pain and hunger at bay, but his eyes flashed open when he heard ice cracking. Ed climbed out of his shelter and was surprised to see a large ship breaking the ice in front of him.

"Civilization!" Ed cried out, but then regretted it. What if these were Drachman soldiers? He was just going to have to use his charm and fast words to get out of this one. The large pointed walkway fell down and embedded itself into the ice, and men wearing red armor came pouring out of the boat. They were equipped with spears, which seemed unusual; they should be carrying guns. Ed was surrounded, but he wasn't going to start panicking yet. He was just going to have to explain this was all a simple misunderstanding.

Zuko walked down to join his men and take his prey into custody. He was shocked when the person he had been hunting for three years was in clear view. The quarry was covered with blood, but there was no way all of the blood belonged only to him. He was wearing thin black clothes, which was ridiculous considering the cold weather. Something was wrong with his arms and left leg. A leg and arm appeared to glint in the sunlight, which was probably some sort of armor or weapon. The other arm was set in a makeshift wooden sling. The hair was a strange color, almost golden, that was tied back in a ponytail. The most disturbing feature of all was his age and height; he was just a little kid.

"You're the Avatar?" Zuko sounded curious at first, then his voice started to turn hostile. "You're just a child!" A spark went through the child's eyes, and his face seemed to go from fearfulness to rage in the matter of seconds. He clapped, which looked strained, then touched the ground and a wave of ice erupted which knocked over Zuko's men. The kid ran, but Zuko wasn't going to lose to a brat that easily. The soldiers got back on their feet and everyone went in pursuit of the presumed Avatar.

The kid turned around and clapped his hands again, which created a large ice wall between himself and the soldiers. "Fire!" Zuko shouted and they shot fire at the meager wall to melt it. They blasted a hole through the obstacle and discovered the boy hadn't run away yet. His face looked smug, but it quickly turned into mortification when the wall was destroyed. What idiot used ice to block a firebender anyway?

Foolishly, the child turned and continued to run. He wouldn't be able to run forever, he had to be tiring out by now. The kid slipped and fell on his side, then skidded several feet.

"Damn!" The strange child yelled. Zuko was shocked that the 'peace bringer' to the world, much less a child, would swear. His men rushed over to the fallen child, but stepped back when he clapped and touched his own arm. A blade abruptly appeared out of no where and the wielder swiped at anyone who came too close.

"Seize him!" Zuko commanded. He didn't care if someone was scratched in the process; he could almost feel the warm Fire Nation air when they approached the Avatar. The kid stood up and slashed the incoming spears in half. Zuko groaned, he wanted to get this over with, but the kid started to sprint. Zuko breathed and chose a stance, then he sent a fireball towards the fleeing target. The kid saw the threat coming and he dodged to left, but his footing was off and he fell again, this time landing on his splinted arm.

"Damn ice!" The kid didn't get up right away like he had previously done, which gave Zuko and his men more time to catch up with the fast boy. The child managed to get to his knees, but he seemed to freeze. He completely ignored the soldiers and rubbed his right shoulder like it pained him. Zuko went behind the kid and yanked him by the hair.

"Get up!" He ordered. He wasn't planning on carrying the kid all the way back to the ship. The child did no such thing, and before Zuko knew it, the blade on the kid's arm sliced his leg. Zuko let go, surprised that anyone dared to attack him. To prove a point, and show the kid who was boss, Zuko blasted a fireball directly in front of him. The golden eyes widened, and the child tried to back away until his back bumped against one of his men's legs.

"I didn't mean to come here. Let me go home." The boy sounded overly confident, but there seemed to be a twinge of worry in his voice. Surely, the boy didn't live in that ice shelter. "I'm not a spy." The boy added like it would help his case. Of course he wasn't a spy; there was nothing here to spy on. So why did the child assume they thought he was one?

"Get up." Zuko repeated. The boy shook his head defiantly.

"I can't." The boy was starting to tick Zuko off, so he grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up. The child started to violently cough, and his face was pale. Zuko let go, and the boy crumpled back to the ground. The boy lifted up his pant leg and inspected his leg. His metal leg. It was not armor, it was actually drilled into his knee. There were large scars around the spot metal met flesh, but the skin was a light blue color; the starting stage of frost bite.

Zuko motioned one of his men over. "Tie him up and set course for home." The boy looked angry, but there wasn't much he could do. There was the sound of a clap and Zuko watched as his soldier went flying across the ice. He glared at the boy, and at the ice fist that was next to him. The child smirked, daring anyone to come closer. This was growing old, and a bracing breeze started to pick up, causing everyone to shudder.

If you wanted something done right, you had to do it yourself. Zuko stormed to the child and grabbed his splinted arm before he clapped.

"Don't touch me." The child groaned and tried to pull away, and a look of anguish spread across his face. Zuko put the arm behind the boy's back, ignoring the pained protests and swears coming out of his mouth. "Let go!" He sounded like he was hurt, but Zuko had to subdue the child so he didn't cause any more damage. Quickly, Zuko grabbed the other arm and tied them together.

"Stop it! Let me go, bastards!" The boy was slung over a soldier's shoulder and they confidently walked back to the ship. Everyone was thrilled they were going to finally leave the wretched place, well, everyone but their captive. He was not a happy camper. He kept kicking his legs and shouting. The ineffective attempts no doubt were starting to drain the boy's energy, especially with his nearly frostbitten limbs.

"Untie me and put me down." The child kept growling.

"Silence."

"I'm not a spy.

"Be quiet."

"Come on, I'm not here to hurt anyone."

"Shut up!" The soldier carrying the boy was beyond irritated, and he couldn't wait to be rid of the annoying child. It wouldn't be much longer until they returned to the Fire Nation.

Ed was taken into the bowels of the ship, which was noticeably warm. Immediately, relief hit Ed when his automail ports were no longer festering. His restrained arms were a different story; his broken arm was twisted in an awkward position behind his back. He bit his cheek so he wouldn't moan and let these Drachman soldiers know he was in terrible pain.

None of them had listened to his pleas of innocence, and they set Ed down not to gently on a metal slab. An iron door slammed behind him and a faint amount of light seeped through the bars. An old man came into view and stood next to the guy with a large scar on his face.

"Who's this?" He asked and looked disapprovingly at the scarred boy.

"The Avatar. After three long years…we can finally go home." The boy left, but the man remained and looked into the cell.

"Hello there, son. How are you?" The man sounded kind enough, but Ed wasn't buying it. And he was no one's 'son'. He scoffed and struggled with his bindings, not trusting the seemingly nice man. These people kidnapped Ed, there was no way they were going to start treating him with respect. He turned his head to avoid those gazing eyes.

The thought of Alphonse started to fill Ed's mind. He wasn't going to let these Drachman bastards keep him here when his little brother needed him.

"Please," Ed didn't say that word often, but he was desperate. "I'm not a spy. I know I shouldn't be here, but honestly, I have no idea how I got here. Let me go home."

"What?" The old man raised an eyebrow.

"Fine. I'm a State Alchemist. If they found out you're keeping me hostage, they'll come here and kill you all off." It was a bluff; the military wouldn't give a damn about him. They would trust the mighty Fullmetal Alchemist would find a way to get out of trouble on his own.

"Who are you?" Ed could hardly believe it. Why was the man playing dumb? Ed decided to admit his identity, hoping they realized they kidnapped the wrong person.

"Edward Elric." Nothing. No look of recognition or fear, just confusion.

"I see." The man walked away and left Ed alone. He had to get out of here before the bastards got any funny ideas with their new prisoner. Would they resent him now that they knew who he was? It was a stupid idea to tell the seemingly gentle man who he was, for now his identity was going to be given to everyone on the ship.

"Stupid!" Ed kicked the wall as hard as he could.

"Prince Zuko…"

"What is it, Uncle?" Zuko didn't feel like being pestered, he wanted to rejoice.

"I don't believe that boy is the Avatar."

"What?! Then who is he?" Zuko's eye twitched at his uncle's assumption.

"I don't know, but he's not the Avatar." Zuko yelled and sent spurts of fire into the air.

"Then get him off my ship and look for the real Avatar!"

"No, Zuko. He'll die out there." Curse him! Uncle was a softy, and Zuko knew he wouldn't win an argument about this with him.

"Fine. We'll wait until we find a village, then he leaves." Zuko folded his arms and headed toward his chambers. This peasant with the strange hair had caused his hopes to rise, but now, they were crushed.

As always, thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following. The update will be here before you know it.