This is my first very serious fanfiction. It's been a while since I started writing, but I have finally decided to put it on . (This was probably due to the reawakening of this fanfic by one of my friends.)I originally was going to post this on the internet when it was complete, but I haven't been writing as much lately... Maybe putting it on will give me motivation to continue.
Well, on to the fanfiction... I starts out quite fluffy, but if you don't like fluff I recommend you keep reading... Trust me on this. This fanfiction is about what could have happened when Alphonse got his body back. It was started before FMA ended, so I know that this is not how everything happened exactly. This is merely an idea that I wanted to write about. I suppose it could be called an "alternate ending" fanfic at this point, but that is merely a technicality.
If anyone noticed, the story is named after the song by Vic Mignogna titled "Nothing I Won't Give." I thought it was appropriate. But I do not own the song, the title, or anything of the sort. Also, I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward and Alphonse Elric, or any of the other FMA-related things... That honor goes to Hiromu Arakawa.
I will stop rambling. Just read the fanfiction and don't forget to review it at the end. I am a huge fan on constructive criticism, so do as Mustang does and give me some flames.
O, and I'm sorry it is so long, but I enjoy writing really long chapters with lots of detail.
"Edward, I need to talk to you." Doctor Marcoh said as he tapped Ed on the shoulder.
Ed turned around, "Ah...sure. You'll be okay for a bit, right Alphonse?"
"I'll be fine, brother. You go ahead." Al replied as his metallic voice rang through the air. Ed grinned back to Alphonse and spun to follow Marcoh into the hallway. They walked for a while, through the blank halls farther into one of the Central laboratories. The building reminded Ed of the fifth laboratory but without the ominous presence that building emitted.
After walking for what seemed like a long time, Edward and Marcoh came to the end of a hallway. Marcoh stopped and seemed to be lost in thought. Ed waited, knowing Marcoh would talk when he was ready.
"I have something for you. I decided that if anyone was going to be the one to use it, it should be you. I know exactly what you will do with it, so I know I am making a good choice. Ed, I want you to have this." Marcoh put something in his hand. It was hard and smooth. When Ed opened his hand, a blood red stone shimmered back at him in the dim light.
Ed stared in shock, "I can't take this."
"You have to," Marcoh insisted. "This is one of the most perfect stones I ever made. Yes, there are human souls in this stone. I can't destroy it, but those souls cannot stay in agony trapped in that stone forever. Please, take it, and use it to get your bodies back."
Ed looked at the stone and back at Marcoh. "I don't know what to say."
"Don't say anything. Just take it, go back to Al, and get your bodies back."
Edward closed the small stone in his hand. He turned to go.
"Edward, one last thing… I was thinking about how you could get this to work. To me, it makes the most sense that you get your bodies back in the same place that you lost them."
"That does fall under the jurisdiction of equivalent exchange," Ed murmured as he turned around and started off down the hall. He looked back, "Thank you, Doctor Marcoh."
Ed walked back to the room where Al was waiting. As he went, he thought of the logistics of this transmutation. There could be no more mistakes. They had to make sure that every possibility was taken into account. This was the opportunity he and Al had been waiting for since the night they tried to bring their mother back. This would be the redemption of their sin. Ed's sharp mind was already calculating everything they would need, and everything that would need to be done. They would go back to Resembool, back to the ruins they left behind, and back to the place where they had first attempted human transmutation. To be sure that everything was perfect, and that the equivalent exchange would be in their favor, they would even use the same circle that they used when they transmuted their mother.
Before he got back to the room where Al was waiting, he saw Al come out and look around. When Al saw his brother, he smiled as much as a suit of armor could smile. Ed also smiled. He would finally be able to see his brother smile for real again.
"Brother, why are you so happy? What did Doctor Marcoh say?" Al asked suspicion in his voice. "What are you up to?"
"I'll tell you later, Al. I'll tell you on the train."
"Train?"
"We're going back to Resembool. There is something we need to do there."
"Brother, you've been in a really good mood ever since we left for Resembool. Are you excited to see Winry again?" Alphonse asked.
Edward felt his face burn as he glared at Al. "No, it's not that," he said through gritted teeth.
"Right."
"Would you like me to tell you why we're going to Resembool?" Ed looked at Al with a sly grin.
"Yes, brother," Alphonse giggled.
"The reason we are going to Resembool is this." Edward held out the little, blood-red stone.
Al gasped. "Is that a Philosopher's Stone?"
"Yes, it is. And I'm going to get your body back."
Ed explained to his brother what Marcoh had told him and explained why they needed to be back in Resembool. Alphonse understood. Ed could tell that his little brother was genuinely excited.
"And we'll get your body back too, brother."
"Yours first, Al. I can always live with automail for a little longer."
"But-"
"And, if we are in Resembool, the first thing we can do with your body back is tell Granny and Winry."
Alphonse gave his metal smile again, "She can make me apple pie!"
Ed laughed, "That's right. I can't believe we're finally getting your body back." He curled his hand into a fist and held it in the air between them. Al balled his hand and put it with Ed's. They both smiled and turned to the window, lost in their thoughts.
The train continued through the country until it finally came to a stop at the Resembool station. Ed had fallen asleep. Al nudged him, and a groggy-eyed Edward looked up at the large suit of armor. He lifted his head, gazed around, and stretched. He stood up, rubbing his eyes. Al reached up and grabbed their luggage, what little they had. They walked down the aisles and into the open air of the train station. Walking through the dusty roads of Resembool, they looked around at the green fields. The country was a peaceful place, a happy place.
Al noticed something odd. Every time they had come to Resembool, they always took a right turn at the fork in the road with the stone wall near it. This time, they went straight.
"Brother, why are we going to our house? I thought we were going to Winry's," Al said, puzzled.
Ed smiled. "I actually wanted to surprise Winry. How about we do the transmutation first? Then we can surprise them with your brand new body."
Al's eyes lit up, "Okay, brother!"
They continued on their way to the ruins of their house. The whole time they joked and fantasized about what they would do and who they would tell that they had gotten their bodies back. The talking and laughing ceased when they caught sight of the ruins. The fear they had been trying to hide was finally apparent. Ed shivered, but there was no wind. The beautiful sunset that had guided their way was gone. The streaks of purple and red had faded into gray and black as if the world itself echoed what had once taken place there. The tree that had always stood near their house, and they had played on as children, began to take on a menacing quality.
"Brother…" Ed could hear the fear in Al's voice. "Are you sure-"
"We can't turn back now, Alphonse." There was fire in Ed's eyes and determination in his voice. "We're here. Let's do this. We can get our bodies back." He smiled at Alphonse, trying to give him some confidence. "It's finally time," he muttered.
Both of them knew exactly what had to be done. They walked around the burnt ruins until they found what used to be a stone floor. That room was the only one in their house that had a floor made of stone. Ed scraped his foot across the grass and weeds that had taken over. He pulled up a small circle of green to reveal the black underneath. He dug through a small layer of dirt until he hit bedrock too soon for it to be natural. Rubbing away the years of dirt and grime, he found black scorch marks in rings from the first, and what they thought would be the last, time that they used this circle and this spot.
Working together they cleared the dirt off of the floor to reveal the same transmutation circle they had used when they had tried to bring their mother back. As they moved away the dirt and grime, they made sure not to use alchemy. They could not chance activating the circle before they were ready.
Since they were not using alchemy, digging out the circle took longer than they thought and when they finished, the night had arrived. The sky was pitch black with no moon or stars to even give off the faintest light. Ed had already decided that it didn't matter if it was daylight or night; they were just going to get this transmutation over and done with.
"Al, are you ready?" Ed asked. "We will do you first. That way we can make sure that there is enough energy in the stone."
Al looked scared. "I-I'm ready."
"Don't be worried, Alphonse. Just think of Winry's apple pie." Ed smiled at his brother. He had a smile on the outside, but inside things were quite different. His insides were twisting and churning. He felt like he was going to throw up.
"Here take this," Ed pulled the Philosopher's Stone out of his pocket and handed it to Alphonse. "Stand in the middle of the circle."
Alphonse took the stone and slowly walked to the middle of the large transmutation circle. He flinched as he stepped on the same spot where their mother's transmuted remains had once lain. Al stood in the center of the circle and turned to face his brother. They said nothing, but locked eyes, the signal to start.
Ed clapped his hands together and touched the outside ring of the circle. He never thought he would be back here, in this place, with this circle, again doing transmutation with the last family he had. His mind flashed to the memories of that night. The pain of losing his mother and then thinking he had lost his brother rushed to the surface of his being. As a yellow light swirled around him and the armor he called his brother, Edward blacked out.
Ed woke up exactly where he expected to be. The place he where he was lying was not any place in particular. He seemed to be on something solid, but non-existent. The space around him gave off a yellowish hue. He saw a square shadow in front of him. When he looked up, he saw a large black door with symbols and engraved in some sort of dark stone.
He sat up, rubbing his forehead. Ed had been ready for the change of location, but he did not realize that the flashes of his past would have such an effect on him. He shook his head, pushing the memories back into the far reaches of his mind.
"Finally, you're awake," a voice said behind him. The voice sounded like hundreds of people speaking in perfect sync. Edward shivered. He turned around to see a white being with a toothy grin – the Truth, in all his glory.
"So, you're back again," the Truth's sly smile grew. "I thought you learned that coming here was an unpleasant experience after the first two times. What is it now?"
Ed stood up, putting on his face of confidence. "I'm here to get my brother's body back."
"I knew it would eventually come to this." He paused, "The stone you had was enough to get you here. And the idea to use the same place and the same basic circle did knock a little off the price of equivalency. But what are you willing to give up this time?"
"Another limb, my life, anything, everything!" Ed answered without hesitation.
"You humans can hardly comprehend what those words mean, but you insist on throwing them around like they are nothing." The Truth paused for a moment, almost as though he was thinking. "You have obviously given this some thought. You even brought your brother to claim his own body, and you used the armor he was in as material. What would you do if I said no?"
Edward clenched his hands. His chest felt tight. The thought of losing his brother rushed once again to the forefront of his mind. His head spun. He heard laughing.
"I'll let you have your brother's body back."
Those words focused Ed's mind once again. "What's the catch?" he asked.
"Heh… There always has to be a catch, right?" The grin grew larger. "You can have Alphonse's body back for two things. First of all, I get to keep your arm and leg."
As he said this, the Truth's right arm and left leg turned to flesh, as if mocking Edward, but Ed didn't really care about himself. The only thing he wanted was to get Al back to normal again. It was almost as if nothing was changing for him. "Alright," he said, "and the other thing?"
"You have to accept full responsibility for your sins. You have to take the transmutation of your mother as your fault. Alphonse had no part in it."
Edward stared at the Truth for a long time. This was easy enough to agree with. Ed had always carried his burdens by himself anyway. Alphonse might be angry, but he would get over it.
The Truth looked at Edward, "You do realize that if you don't agree, Al can never have his body back. As long as he is still sharing the blame for you two committing the taboo, equivalent exchange won't allow it."
"I accept full responsibility for attempting human transmutation," Edward's voice rang through the open space. His eyes burned with a topaz fire.
"Good," the Truth purred. "Now, let's see what your brother is up to…" He waved his hand and what looked like a tear slashed through the veil of yellow. In the tear was Alphonse, holding the stone in the center of the ruins and the circle.
Alphonse watched as his brother's face twisted in pain. The yellow light started whipping around them. He wanted to go over to Edward, but couldn't move. He could only watch as his brother's eyes rolled back in his head, and Ed fell face first onto the ground.
"Brother!" Al screeched. He shifted his foot forward, but stopped before he could keep going. If he moved, he could inadvertently cause a rebound. He stood there, waiting, watching, wondering. Nothing happened for a long time except the continuous swirl of yellow light. His metal hand gripped the stone tightly. Why wasn't anything happening? Was something wrong?
Up from the ground, a large eye opened, engulfing both Alphonse and his brother's unconscious body. Al could feel his metal body and attached soul being broken down. When the outside of the eye touched the Philosopher's Stone, it glowed an angry red. Amorphous figures joined Alphonse in the center of the circle and were also broken down. He could hear faint whispers of gratitude all around him.
The large, glaring eyeball overtook Alphonse's blood seal, and he felt himself rushed through time and space. He saw flashes of his life, his memories, his future. He saw pictures of things that happened before he was born and things that he knew would happen when he left this world. It felt as though all the world's information was rushing into his mind. Suddenly, everything stopped.
Alphonse found himself standing face to face with his own body. It was thin and bony. Its hair was very long and shaggy, but he knew without a doubt that the body belonged to him.
Alphonse's body held out its hand. It was small and pale. Alphonse went to grab the hand, but stopped. "Wait. What about equivalent exchange?" he asked.
His body smiled and laughed. "You've almost gotten me back and this is what you think of? Don't worry, your brother already gave what was needed."
Al began to worry. What did Ed give? "But-"
His body spoke again, "It doesn't matter Edward gave for us. Just take me back before it is too late. Edward would have wanted you to have me back even if it meant he gave everything. It's time to choose."
As Al's body said this, the gate Al realized was behind him opened, and black arms came flying out of it. The arms curled and whipped around, reaching for the suit of armor. Without any more hesitation, Al locked his metal hand around the one made of flesh. There was a blinding white light as Al felt himself get sucked toward the body. He glanced back at the armor he had called his own for so long; it dissolved and was wiped away by an unknown wind. Alphonse felt his head spin as he was pulled back into the gate in possession of his own body.
Ed watched his brother being taken in his new body back through the gate. He couldn't help but smile. This is what they had been working towards for as long as Ed wished to remember. He turned and faced his own gate. It opened and the black arms also came to claim him.
The Truth watched as Edward Elric was once again pulled through the gate. He grinned and waved.
Winry was lying in bed, but couldn't sleep. For some reason, she had a sinking feeling she just could not shake off. She lay in bed, thinking, willing herself to sleep, but being unsuccessful.
She walked down to the kitchen to get a glass of water, dodging metal arms and legs at every turn. She stepped on a screw and bite her lip to keep herself from waking Den and Granny Pinako. Continuing through the automail obstacle course, she finally reached the kitchen and grabbed a glass from the cabinet. She turned on the sink and filled the cup with water. As she drank, she was watching the night sky.
Winry saw a flash of yellow light. It blinded her for a second, while she waited for the expected thunder afterwards. Nothing happened. She shrugged it off until there was another flash of light. Again, no thunder followed. The third time the light appeared it was a continuous stream, blocking out the stars. She looked towards the direction of the source of the light. It was coming from where the Elric home once stood.
Dropping the glass, Winry turned and rushed upstairs. She woke Pinako and showed her grandmother the light and where it was coming from. Pinako's face was one of pure horror. Winry was sure that her face mirrored it. Not needing to speak, they ran down the stairs and out the door into the cold night. Den was following close behind. Winry ran ahead of her grandmother, up the path she had learned so well as a child. As she moved, she felt fear wriggling its way into her veins. Her stomach was in knots. Though it was cold, she was sweating. All she could do was run.
Then the light stopped. The night went back to darkness and peace. Winry stopped, needing to regain her night-vision. She blinked and as soon as she could see once again, bolted to the ruins of Ed and Al's childhood home.
Coming to the center of the ruins, Winry saw two dark forms lying on the ground. She went up to the closest body, expecting to find Edward. Instead, a boy who looked strangely like Ed with the gold hair and eyes, but with subtle differences, stared back at her. She gasped when she recognized who it was.
The other dark figure spoke with a voice she knew all too well, "Hey Winry, could you make Al some apple pie?"
There's Chapter 1 of Nothing I Won't Give. Don't forget to review and thanks for reading. :)