Return to the Underworld

Chapter 1

It is well known law in alchemy; that nobody can gain anything without sacrificing something of equal value. Alchemy is equivalent exchange, a series of trade with elements and materials. The more you want, the more you have to give up. To some, if an object is coveted to such a large extent, a crippling loss is deemed acceptable.

The smell of blood, his own blood, still saturated the damp air. Edward Elric, his golden eyes glazed over with a mixture of grief and determination, etched symbols all over parts of his body, his arms folding into his chest as he made his own flesh a transmutation circle. His blond hair was loose, strands lightly swaying in artificial winds, blue light tingeing it green from a much larger circle below his feet. All around him, Ed was surrounded in a prison of blue columns of light.

"For Al..."

He closed his eyes. At the corners some tears began to gather, both from fear and from an overwhelming feeling of guilt. His muscles tensed around his shoulders, and the young man felt his whole body shaking. Edward Elric was shaking in fear. He was genuinely scared, for he was about to do something he knew others would not like. But either way, no one would like the news of Alphonse Elric's death anyway.

Ed and Al's adventures together were fuelled by one single motive; to return the bodies they have both lost to a selfish act. And the philosopher's stone was the key to that aim, but they both found out the hard way that the stone was most certainly not a shortcut to success. And due to the duo pursuing the stone, they have both lost more than they have thought possible.

Ed finally learned the truth. In fact, he knew it the whole time, the truth to resurrecting life. He failed to recognise that the bare essence of alchemy was equivalent exchange, and through the hard way he finally recognised it in the end. You didn't need to recreate the human body, to expect the body be automatically bound with its soul and mind once created, because at the end of the day that is what you would get in the end, an empty husk of flesh and bone. The formula was simple; equivalent exchange – a life for a life.

With the failed attempt of bringing their mother back to life in the past, Ed now has a chance to learn from the mistakes he has made. He has to bring back Al. It is crucial that no more mistakes are to be made. He has many parts of his body that he could carelessly expend, but his life is something he cannot toss aside.

Ed's life for Al's.

The light was now overbearing, and the circle around Ed blinded him. He felt a sudden tug of pain from his insides, as if he was collapsing within himself. The effects were taking place. Ed watched Al's body form in front of him; while at the same time he felt his own disintegrate, until there was finally nothing left to give.

There is a saying; he thought to himself, that an eye for an eye makes the whole world go blind.

And blind he was, as everything suddenly went black.

- - -

A large cargo ship was finally anchored and secured to the docks, workers scrambling around to help with unloading the large freighter. One of the workers was in charge of one particular company cargo, the metal exterior painted red, and a company symbol sprayed rather haphazardly on the doors of each cargo. He went up to the cargo, pressing his ear against the cold surface of the large metal box, listening to the wary sounds of whispering within. The man panicked slightly, tapping a rhythm of knocks on the box. The coded rapping silenced the whispering inside, and the man sighed in relief.

He looked around, spotting his co-worker handling a crane before he beckoned him to load up, and once his attention was caught he began to help secure the box to the crane with the connection of chains. The crate rose in the air, lifted over the edge of the ship, and lowered onto the back of a cargo truck. The truck driver gave a discreet nod to the two workers above before driving off, turning the lorry into the motorway.

Inside the driving car, the driver wiped his brow with a shaky hand, his brown eyes darting across the road as he suspiciously eyed every police car that drove by. He turned on the radio, a blast of club music resounded, and the undulating beat of the music calmed his nerves slightly.

The drive was long, and making a turn off the motorway he arrived at his destination. The driver parked the lorry in front of a seemingly abandoned newspaper factory, and he made a call on his mobile phone soon after doing so. His voice jittered slightly as he announced his arrival.

"Look, I've got the cargo," he hissed through the phone. His large fingers tapped onto the steering wheel nervously, like how a drug addict would act without his daily fix. "I'm waiting here. Hurry up! I don't want us to be caught doing this shit."

At first there was no reply, but a short chuckle finally answered the driver across the phone. "Don't worry," she said, her voice calm and collected. "We won't be long."

Out of the corner of the driver's eye he spotted a woman run out of the factory. He jumped out of the lorry, sprinting to the back of the truck. The woman; tall, Hispanic and clad in black, helped the driver with opening the cargo box at the back. With the metal doors finally unlocked she climbed inside. The woman jumped back out, a line of people following behind her, and she handed the driver a thick wad of money.

"There," she said, nodding to the pound notes in his hands. "Your payment for your trouble. Thanks for everything."

The driver took the notes, counting it as he walked back to his drivers' seat. He drove off, the lorry disappearing from sight. The woman watched the red tail lights dissolve into the darkness, and when it did she turned to face the small group of people behind her.

"C'mon, let's get inside." She beckoned the group to follow her, their hands clutching small bags or travel packs. The factory was dusty, but the group, including the Spanish woman, did not care to sit on the dirty floor. Once settled, the Spaniard lit up a cigarette, its orange embers illuminating her face slightly.

Numerous pairs of eyes glittered in the dark interior of the building, the group staring at the woman with interest. She stood up, trails of smoke escaping her nostrils like twisting snakes. "My name is Raquel," she droned, her voice low and monotonous as if she has said this numerous times. "I am your helper. If you are ever in trouble, you come to me. Only I can help you. Only I care. Because if you go to someone else you will be turned away. You are illegal immigrants. You are people who are not wanted in your country. You are people who are not wanted in this country. But I have given you a chance to belong somewhere again. I have helped you escape."

She took a puff of her cigarette, blowing out the smoke slowly as the group mulled over her words. Raquel carried on. "From now own you will have a new identity. You will work in this country. You will live in this country. You will now have freedom. But you will not have complete freedom. You have to keep your profile low, because if you are caught then you will be sent back. Once you have been identified, then I cannot help you." She scanned over the group, her brown eyes half lidded, yet still held a fiercely intelligent look to them. "You will stay here for the night. You may leave once you have been issued with your papers. My partner, David, will tell you what to do from there."

As if on cue, a large man with a beer belly entered the building. There were documents tucked under his thick arms, ready for the asylum seekers to start their life with. Raquel smiled at David, puffing a cloud of smoke out of her nostrils before dropping the cigarette on the floor. She looked at the group and jerked her head to David, indicating that they should not see to her burly partner.

The group stood up again, their eyelids drooping with exhaustion, before huddling around David, requesting for their papers and documents. One of the group members walked out of the huddle, grimacing as he went to stamp out the cigarette on the floor, which was still burning due to Raquel's carelessness. Raquel watched the young man return to the huddle of people.

"Hey, you." She called out. The young man stopped in his tracks, his shoulders suddenly drooping. "Turn around."

He turned around, so Raquel could properly see the young man. He was short, blond, and his wiry body was stocked with well defined muscles. The young man also had striking golden eyes, half lidded with fatigue. Raquel walked up to him, her strides long and confident.

"You know, I don't remember sending you here," she muttered as she inspected him further. "A stowaway among the stowaways, huh?"

He flashed a weak and nervous smile, his shoulders rose to a shrug. "I guess you caught me." He laughed.

Raquel raised a brow, searching his eyes intently. "What's your name?" she asked, her eagle eyes not leaving his.

"Edward Elric." He replied simply.

"Edward," she said. "Why are you here?"

Ed sighed; his golden eyes tore away from hers as he tried to formulate a reasonable answer. "I'm here because I have a debt to repay. I guess I didn't repay it fully, so that's why I'm here."

"Unpaid debts?" she scoffed. "Must have been a lot to repay. How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

Raquel's eyes widened. "Sixteen?" she repeated. Edward nodded. "Sixteen? Jesus Christ, what the hell am I going to do with you?"

Ed's eyebrows knitted together in confusion as he stared intently at Raquel, her reaction to his age puzzling.

"Is there something wrong with that?" he asked, his temper rising.

"Wrong?" she sighed. "Edward, I help immigrants get into this country. I also help them make a living so they can live here. You're far too young to do that with the rest of the group. You belong in school, how are you going to support yourself?"

"Where I come from, I'm perfectly able to-"

"Kid, come with me." She interrupted, dragging him by the arm. Ed yelled in protest as she dragged him to another room in the factory. Once inside she slammed the door shut before turning to face Edward, her expression livid. "What are you going to do? What am I going to do? What do you think you are doing here?"

It was Ed's turn to be angry. "Look, Miss, I found myself stranded in a weird place. I have no home there. I am literally dumped there, with nowhere to go. I've been told that you help those who are stranded, so I came to you. So here I am. Isn't this part of your job?"

"Yes, this is my job!" she shouted back at him. Here brown eyes where narrowed, like slits, reminding Ed of a snake. "But my job is to help adults. Not kids like you."

Ed muttered a string of curses under his breath, not caring if Raquel heard any of his insults. Raquel paid him no mind as she thought over the situation. She looked up at him.

"Are you sure you can't go back to where you came from?" she asked, to which Edward replied with an irritable nod to the head. Raquel took in a deep breath. "It can't be helped. You're coming with me. You are going to finish an education here so you can get a decent job and leave."

Edwards golden eyes lit up, the fatigue that seemed to glaze over them faded, and he felt relieved that there is now at least a piece of hope that has been rekindled within him.

"Thank you." He said, giving her a cheeky one sided smile. He gave her a hand to shake, which she unwillingly accepted.

"Welcome to England, Edward Elric." She muttered.

- - -

Ah, you know what? I've dunnit again. I've written another casual fic. Hmm...

You know, this is more for fun to write, because I've never really written a romance before. I've been feeling some fuzziness within me lately, and, well, dammit I just had to write this fic down!

Until the next chapter my children!