"To obtain, something of equal value must be lost."

The law of equivalence, one all alchemists must swear by. That I willingly swear by. There is a balance in this world, whether we know it or not.

I've been told the only darkness is the one we make for ourselves. While that may be true, it also isn't. Envy was born in the darkness, the only truth for him was that life was a cruel bitch. Life hated him, and so he hated life in return.

Was it his fault that he never saw the light? He never even knew what it meant to be consumed in the darkness. For the only way the dark can exist, is if there is a counterbalance of light as well.

I was his light, his warmth, his anchor. Much like he was was my sin, my push, my anomaly in life. I loved him even when he couldn't love himself, much less understand the meaning behind such a powerful word. He was my treasure, my precious sin. Mine, and mine along to bear.

Just how I liked it.

In science, when a positive and negative charge collide, a reaction occurs. We both were stabilizing, becoming more in tune with reality, but despite us becoming closer, we were also slowly drifting apart.

For the energy that bound us, was the same one that would slowly unravel us at the seems.

THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD!

By Iland Girl

Book One

The Broken Way Forward

Prolog

June 15th, 1938

Quiet.

Something I hadn't had in a very long time.

I took in a deep breath of rural air. It smelled clean, fresh, good on my dirty lungs. The sun was setting, it's heat glimmering across my skin as I looked out to the rolling hills. A smile seeped across my face as I stared at my home.

Home.

After so long, I was finally home.

"Somebody seems to have given up their city life quite easily." A voice called. I looked over my shoulder, across the porch and to the door to the house. Mona was standing in the doorway, holding her newest infants in her hands. A smile slipped across my lips as I looked to the babes. A small boy and girl, how often did such an even occur?

A true miracle.

"Did I never tell you? I lived here once." I turned back to the sun, sighing contentedly as a soft wind blew. "A very long time ago, at least."

She came to sit down next to me, gesturing to take one of the children. I smiled, holding out my arms and taking the small boy. She watched me as I cradled him gently, a soft smile on my face.

"The great Clear Water Alchemist? Living out here? Heaven forbid!" Mona laughed as I glared over to her.

"I'm not as stingy as most people, thank you!" I growled. Mona laughed a bit more, and soon I couldn't help but smile as well. Looking back down to the boy, I smiled again. He had such a pudgy face, but the drifts of brown, curly locks made me smile.

"I was thinking of naming him William," Mona began, then looked down to her child. "And her Lucy."

It went quiet for a moment, my eyes straying over to her face. She looked at me expectantly, almost sheepish. Only after a minute of silence did a ghost of a smile open up over my lips.

"Yeah," I said quietly, my eyes half-lidded as memories rush to the surface. "It would be nice to have those two together again, huh?"

Mona looked at me with wide eyes, probably thinking she dug to deep, but I just smiled at her. Still, she seemed adamant to change the topic completely.

"Hey, where did you say that young man was heading to?"

I shook my head, uncertain of the answer myself. It had always been like this, he would drag me somewhere and then drop me off, expecting me to be here when he got back. No matter what I did, it was the same, and always would be. Why would it change? I had vowed, swore over my own life that I would serve his undying command.

All for nothing, in the end.

"I don't know, he just said to stay in Resembool. Come to think of it, doesn't Edward and Alphonse live here too?" I asked, recalling my adventures with the two. A long tale, a curious one too. Mona smiled, cooing at her child.

"The brothers went on another adventure, they went to study in Xerxes last I heard. Winry and Holly and still here though." She said absently, playing with the now giggling child in her arms. I smiled, she was such a natural mother, when I first met her I never would've suspected so.

"Oh hey look it's Auntie Mona!"

Both of us looked up as a group of kids walked over to us. It looked to be a mixed age group, ranging from probably eight to fifteen I believe. They stopped in front of Mona and myself, all looking so cheerful. One had stuck out to me, his eyes mostly.

Eyes that were golden, warm, fierce.

"Who are you calling a runt so tiny he could only be seen by a magnifying glass?!"

A large grin spread across my face.

Edward's son looked over to me. It had to be his son, the resemblance was uncanny. He looked to be around ten or so, with a soft baby face, but those eyes tricked you into believing he were years older. I loved those eyes, they had been my guide in dark times, but curiosity got the better of me then.

"Hey, you look familiar," I began, a mischievous look spreading across my lips. "You're Winry's son, that runt."

He broke a gasket then, his eyes the size of dinner plates as he glared, a growl escaping his lips.

"Who are you calling a lousy little pipsqueak?!" He shouted. I snorted, trying to stifle my laugh. The baby began to cry in my arms, but stopped soon after I began to rock him. The blonde's face turned red as he looked down at the baby he made cry. Mona giggled lightly, amused by the situation.

"Hey I know you! You're that lady in those photos at our house!" Another one, a small girl, said. I nodded, winking at her.

"Please to meet you, I'm Leona Reeze." I said with a slight air. Might as well sell it, eh?

"Oh cool! So you know our old man!" The oldest guy said, standing a little taller than Edward at fifteen.

"Yeah, I know your pops from way back." I said with a smile, looking down to the baby again. Then something dawned on me, my head snapped back up to look at them with wide eyes. "Wait you're not all his kids, right?!"

The six of them looked at each other, then turned to me and nodded. My jaw hit the ground in front of me, before I composed myself. Wow Edward, when you said you wanted a handful of kids, I literally thought one for each arm! Not your arms, legs, and Winry's too! Another child came strutting up, I paled when I noted he seemed to look around twelve or so.

"Is that your brother too?"

"That's Martin! Our cousin!" A small girl said with a smile. I nodded, wiping away sweat with one hand then.

"Hey if you know my old man, then could you tell me some stories about him?" One boy asked, then a girl gasped and beamed at me. I laughed though, shrugging.

"What's to say? Your old man was such a bore in his younger days."

Lie.

"He was a cocky bastard that had nothing to back up his bark."

Lie.

"And he definitely never did anything dangerous."

Definite lie.

I lied, because I could never tell these kids how many times they almost didn't exist, I couldn't open old wounds. For them, and for me. Little William was fast asleep in my arms, so Mona took him and Lucy back into the house then. I gave an embarrassed smile to the kids before I came up with an idea.

"Well, I can't tell you about your pops... directly," That seemed to get their attention. "But I can tell you a little... fairy tale."

The images were racing through my mind then. Maybe this would be a good way to get things off my chest, to let it all go finally.

"Purely fictional, of course. It'll be the greatest story ever told!" I added a wink towards one of the kids, the little girl giggled then. Martin looked between myself and the other boys. One shrugged back, and to my surprise all of them sat down slowly and looked at me expectantly. I smiled, looking to the sky for a moment.

"It all started a long time ago..."