Alphonse was gone. The words kept repeating themselves in Edward's mind. After all those years, he hadn't been able to keep his promise and get Al's body back. And now he was gone. Edward tried to focus his attention on punching Father. The Homunculus was struggling now, but nowhere near dead.
"YOU BASTARD!" screamed Edward. "YOU FREAKING BASTARD! Don't look down on us!"
"Get away from him, Fullmetal!" shouted the Colonel suddenly. "I'll burn him alive!"
Edward obeyed, even though he didn't completely trust the Colonel now that he was blind. The Lieutenant shouted some instructions, which were followed by a huge blast. All their surroundings burned, as the screams from Father filled their tired ears. But the fire wasn't doing any good; Father simply swallowed it all.
"Let me take care of this!" screamed Greed. "I really wanna kill this son of a bitch!"
He lunged at Father and stabbed him with his right arm, which went straight through Father's stomach. He removed his arm instantly, knowing very well that Father would try to eat him. Edward was at his side, throwing punches and occasional kicks. The soldiers from Briggs started firing, and this time, Father wasn't able to stop the bullets.
"Greed, my son...I created you! If my soul dies, you will die too!" he screamed, trying to get Greed on his side as a last resort. "Help your father, Greed!"
"I may be greedy, but I'm loyal as well!" And with that, Greed stabbed his father again, backing away quickly. "And besides, you allowed Wrath to kill my friends!"
May was there too now, tears streaming down her cheeks, but pure determination in her eyes. She drew a transmutation circle on the ground and attacked Father. Edward continued beating him up, realising that he didn't have long left.
"Edward!" screamed Hohenhiem from where he was, on the verge of death. Edward stopped for a minute and stared at his dying father. "Use alchemy to release the millions of souls inside him! You've seen the Truth, so you should know how to do it!"
Edward nodded and clapped his hands, then placed his palms on Father's chest. The screaming began. The world was filled with flashes of light as the souls of millions of people returned to their bodies.
The chimeras cheered. The Briggs soldiers fired at Father. May collapsed next to Izumi and cried. Hohenhiem remained silent. The Colonel held onto Riza, feeling lost. Greed screamed. Lan Fan watched quietly, allowing a few tears to fall. Edward just stood there, looking down with clenched fists. Five years ago, he'd thought he'd known what losing everything meant. He'd been so wrong.
When it was over, Father collapsed. His body disintegrated slowly, until only a black thing remained. Izumi put what was left of him in a flask.
"That's where you belong, Homunculus." Hohenhiem stood up with difficulty and looked at the creature who'd given him eternal life with disgust. But then, he seemed to relax. "It's over now."
"I'm gonna give up my body and soul to bring him back," said Edward suddenly. They all stared at him. "I don't get it. I really don't. I only lost my leg! Mustang only lost his sight! Master only lost all her internal organs! That's nothing compared to what Al lost. I'll give up everything to bring him up."
"Don't be stupid, Fullmetal." The Colonel was walking towards him now, with Riza's help. "He gave up his soul to get your arm back. He wouldn't want you to die in his place."
"I don't care!" snarled Edward. "It was my fault we lost everything in the first place. I should have lost my body, not him."
"Edward, I'm a Philosopher's stone," informed Hohenhiem, looking at his son sadly. "Since the day I found out you two had attempted human transmutation, I knew things would eventually lead to this. I've lived too long and lost too much. All I truly want is to join Trisha, Edward. So please, use me in exchange to bring Alphonse back."
"No!" he screamed. "You want me to use the souls of innocent people to get back what I lost because of MY mistakes?"
"But the souls inside of me are in constant agony. They want to die. They're constantly begging me to kill them," Hohenhiem explained, putting a hand on his son's shoulder. "And Edward, I've never done anything for you as a father. So please, just let me do this one thing. Besides, what happened to you and Alphonse is partly my fault as well. If I hadn't left, you wouldn't have attempted human transmutation."
Edward shook his head. "If you die in my place then it won't be equivalent exchange."
"Do you still believe in equivalent exchange? After everything that's happened?" He paused for a moment. "Winry and Pinako are waiting for you boys back home."
"...Winry..." muttered Ed, remembering his promise. Maybe Hohenhiem was right. He made a decision. "Are you...are you sure there's no other way? Couldn't we use Father?"
"Goodbye Edward Elric," whispered Hohenhiem, slowly shaking his head and lightly embracing his son for a second. He then closed his eyes and clapped his hands. A circle appeared around him, and as if by magic, he disappeared.
"Stop being all depressed! We won!" shouted Greed. "And since you haven't completely killed Father...I guess it just means I'm gonna have to share this body with Ling for the rest of eternity! Hahaha!"
"NOOO!" screamed Lan Fan. "Give Master back his body! We have to return to Xing and tell the Emperor that we've found the secret to Immortality!"
"I don't give a damn about this whole Xing thing. To be completely honest, I have no idea why this guy wants to become Emperor. I mean, how greedy is that? And besides, aren't you in love with him? If he becomes Emperor, he's gonna have lots of concubines and you'll only be his bodyguard."
It was a good thing Lan Fan was wearing her mask, otherwise they would have all seen her scarlet cheeks.
"Give him back his body, or I'll kill the Homunculus in the flask and then you'll die too!"
"Okay, whatever. Maybe for a few hours, but I'm definitely coming back later." Greed's expression changed as Ling took over his body.
"Young Master!" exclaimed Lan Fan. "Are you okay?"
"Don't worry about me," he answered looking around. "Is everyone all right?"
"Yes," replied Izumi. "But... if Hohenhiem's gone...then where's Al?"
Her question was answered when a ray of blue light shot upwards from the ground, and a suit of armour began materialising where Hohenhiem had previously been. May ran desperately to him.
"Alphonse-sama! Alphonse-sama!" she screamed, as she flung her arms around him.
"What...? Why? ...you didn't get your body back, Al?" asked Edward, falling to his knees next to his brother.
"I did. But I was trapped inside the gate with the creepy Truth guy...and then I was pulled out," he replied. "What happened? Did you give up your arm again?"
"No. It was Hohen...it was dad. He used the remainder of his Philosopher's stone to bring you back," explained Ed. "But...surely, you should have gotten your entire body back, not just your soul! That's not equivalent exchange!"
"Well, the Truth guy took my sight and that wasn't equivalent exchange either," pointed out Roy. "I was forced through the gate...although now I can do the stupid clapping transmutation thing. And I know almost everything there's to know about alchemy."
"But you're completely useless!" said Edward, standing up and scowling at the Colonel.
"Fullmetal, being blind has certain advantages," Roy stated. "For example―"
He whispered something in Edward's ear, but his reaction clearly wasn't what the Colonel had expected. Edward pushed him away at the time his expression transformed into disgust. "Get away from me, you pervert!"
Roy tripped and landed on his back. Riza was about to run to his aid, but Edward stopped her.
"I wouldn't get close to him if I were you, Lieutenant. You have no idea what he just told me...but I don't think you want to know," he said quickly, blushing.
"Don't worry about me, Edward. Ever wondered why I'm so good with guns?" she asked, and Ed shook his head. "I met Roy Mustang when I was twelve; that's why."
"I was only joking, Fullmetal." The Colonel sighed, and put his right arm around Riza. "Anyway, don't you want to get Al's body back?"
"Yeah, I say we open the gate again and beat up the truth guy!" shouted Ed, furious. "Alchemy is based on equivalent exchange, so we can't gain anything without sacrifice...and that law should also apply to him!"
"Yeah, let's do it!" agreed Izumi.
"No, you'll all die!" said May, shaking her head. "Just be glad you're all alive."
"I want my sight back, so let's do it!" shouted Roy. Riza sighed.
"Colonel, you're already useless. If you go through the gate again, you'll lose something like your leg or your arm...and then you'll be even more useless," she told him, shaking her head.
"I don't care, Lieutenant! And if I don't come back, please try to become Fuhrer!" Everyone stared at him. Fuhrer Riza Hawkeye? That was just scary. They would have burst out laughing if they hadn't been too afraid of what she'd do.
"If you don't come back, I will open the gate myself and pull you out," she replied. "So don't die, sir!
"Understood. Now let's do this!"
The others nodded, clapped and put their palms against the ground. The four humans who'd seen the Truth and lost everything dear to them because of it, opened the gate once again. The evil Truth dude appeared. This time he had Mustang's eyes, Edward's leg, Izumi's internal organs and Hohenhiem by his side. Al's body was next to the gate.
"So you all came back, Alchemists." He smiled his extremely creepy smile. "Or should I say, fools. You want more, don't you?"
"We want to get back what you took from us!" shouted Edward. "It wasn't equivalent exchange. The night me and my brother tried to bring our mother back to life we used all the ingredients present in the human body. Of course, we had nothing to offer for the soul. But we didn't get her back. We lost all the ingredients, created a monster and lost a leg, an arm and a body. How is that equivalent exchange?"
"It isn't. It's the price you must pay for your sins. This is forbidden territory, how dare you come here and expect to lose nothing? You've broken the rules. Therefore, you must pay."
"What about Hohenhiem? He gave up his life to bring me back!" shouted Al. "Why did I only get my soul and armour back?"
"Because I choose what you get. And I don't feel like giving you your body back," answered the truth guy simply. They all looked at each other, and finally nodded.
Hohenhiem was the first to attack, followed by Izumi and then Edward. Alphonse helped the Colonel direct his attacks, and together, they started beating up the truth guy. He just laughed.
"Give up something of importance and I'll give you back what was taken from you," he told them, still laughing. They stopped trying to hit him, because it clearly wasn't working. He looked at the Colonel. "Roy Mustang, give up Riza Hawkeye's life and you'll get your sight back. Alphonse Elric, give up your brother's life and you'll get your body back. Edward Elric, give up Winry Rockbell's life and you'll get your leg back. Izumi Curtis, give up Sig Curtis' life and you'll get your internal organs back. Van Hohenhiem...I think you already lost everything four hundred years ago, so I'll let you go."
"I don't want my leg back. You can keep it. How about I give you my arm for my brother's body and soul?" asked Ed. "If you don't agree, then we'll stay here and beat the crap out of you!"
"What are the others willing to sacrifice?" asked the Truth guy.
"I already gave up my own life!" shouted Hohenhiem. "And I have around fifty souls inside me, which is plenty. You should give my son his body back!"
"I won't give you anything. I didn't gain anything at all from opening the gate, so you better give me my sight back." The Colonel extended his arm towards the truth guy. "Or I'll stay here and burn you over and over again for the rest of eternity."
"We've already been through hell!" shouted Alphonse. "We're not afraid of you."
"You're brave, I'll give you that." The truth started laughing again. "Edward Elric, I'm going to take your arm. You can have your brother back. Roy Mustang, I'm going to take your future from you. You will never achieve your dream of becoming Fuhrer. Izumi Curtis, I will give you your insides back, but you still won't be able to have children and you won't find peace anywhere you go. Alphonse Elric, you will never truly feel human again, despite getting your body back. And finally, Van Hohenhiem...you will die here, now."
And with that, Hohenhiem collapsed, Edward's arm disappeared, Al's soul went back to his body, Izumi suddenly felt she was whole again and Roy Mustang's eyes returned to the dark onyx colour they'd always been.
"This IS equivalent exchange, Alchemists." That was the last thing they heard the Truth guy say before they returned to the real world.
They were surrounded by people trying to figure out what was happening. Hohenhiem's body was on the floor, no longer alive. Edward was bleeding heavily, his arm gone again. It was too bad he hadn't gotten his automail back.
"I can see again!" shouted the Colonel happily. Riza came running and hugged him unashamedly. They'd gone through way too much that day. But all the attention was taken by Alphonse. He was naked, and clearly starving. His long blonde hair came up to his waist, and his nails were so long that it was evident they hadn't been cut for years. He was skin and bones.
Edward took his red coat off and wrapped it around his brother.
"We need a doctor!" shouted Izumi. "Please someone bring a doctor!"
As if by magic, Dr. Marcoh came running towards them (note: was Marcoh still alive? Sorry, can't remember!). He was carrying a Philosopher's stone and healing the injured. He stopped when he saw Edward's condition, and hesitated.
"Shit! I'm gonna bleed to death! Dammit!" cursed Edward, trying hard not to scream in pain. Marcoh drew a transmutation circle on the ground and made him lie down on top of it. Using the Philosopher's stone he then stopped the bleeding.
"You'll be fine, but you'll have to go through the extremely painful operation again to get automail," informed Dr. Marcoh. "Who's next?"
"The Lieutenant," shouted the Colonel instantly. "She was almost dead about two hours ago. But then May used her awesome alchemy skills and she came back to life! She lost so much blood though, that it's a miracle she was able to walk around and not faint."
"Oh yeah," said May, looking at Riza. "She must be bleeding internally. Sorry, I didn't really know how to heal a complicated wound. It's weird that she was able to fight in her condition."
May then looked at Al, at the skinny kid who she'd dreamed about for months.
"Alphonse-sama!" she shouted, and flung her arms around his neck. Al almost fell over, since he was too weak to even walk. "Alphonse-sama! You finally got your body back!"
Tears were streaming down her cheeks, but this time, they were happy tears. Ling suddenly came over to them and gave May a weird look.
"I just realised...you're my half-sister. And I won! I found the secret to immortality before your clan!"
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you'll be able to help the Emperor," pointed out Al, smiling slyly. "May might have a Philosopher's stone...you never know. I think she'd be a better Empress than you anyway."
"I don't want to be Emperor anymore. Something Greed said...made me realise that it won't be that fun," he replied, winking at them. "But I'm willing to help you improve our country, May. How about we go back to Xing tomorrow?"
"I want to rest first," she answered. "Let's wait a week before crossing that long, long, long desert. And let's invite the Elric brothers to come with us on vacation too!"
"I need to get automail first," said Edward. "And Al needs to get stronger. But we'll definitely go when we're healthy and well again. I really want to learn about all this alkahestry (note: I have no idea how to spell that, so I'm sorry if it's completely wrong!) stuff."
"Can we go home now, Brother?" asked Al. "I really want to eat Winry's apple pie."
"Yes. Let's go home, Al. We're done here."
All the people they'd met along their journey were there, helping them get up, guiding them in the right direction. Izumi and Sig said their goodbyes and took a train back home, with the promise of seeing them again soon. Lan Fan, Ling and May decided to go with them, since they were illegal immigrants and had nowhere else to go until they decided to go back to Xing. The Briggs soldiers and the chimeras stayed at Central to sort things out and announce the Fuhrer's death. Most likely, Oliver Armstrong would become the new Fuhrer because she was the highest ranking officer alive apart from General Grumman, who was too old to become the leader of the country.
Roy Mustang could see again, but for some reason, all the higher officers believed he'd killed innocent people in the process of saving Amestris and that he'd lied about everything he'd done in Ishbal. So he was forced to resign from the Military on that same day.
"You have to show them this is a mistake, sir!" kept insisting Riza, along with Breda, Fuery, Havoc and Falman. "You've worked so hard to become Fuhrer! You can't give up now!"
"It's equivalent exchange," he told them. "I got my sight back, but I can never accomplish my dreams. The Truth is cruel. I wish you all the best of luck in your careers though, and hope that we'll meet again one day."
The former Colonel said his goodbyes and told them he was heading to a quiet village far away from Central and that he'd maybe move to Xing in the future. If he ever needed them again, he knew how to contact them. Havoc reminded him that if he moved to Xing, then he'd be coming with him. As he walked to the train station, where he hoped to find the Elrics, he realised Riza was following him.
"Shouldn't you be going home to rest, Lieutenant?" he asked, trying to smile.
"Years ago, I said I'd follow you, sir. And into the depths of hell if you wanted," she told him. "Do you not want me to follow you anymore?"
"You were helping me accomplish my dream. That dream can never come true now, Riza." She looked shocked for a moment, feeling strange at the way he'd used her first name. "I'm no longer your superior officer, so I should be allowed to call you by your first name."
"Yes, I suppose. But I still want to follow you. I'll resign from the Military too."
Roy was about to complain, but Riza surprised him by taking his hand before he could say anything.
"Let's go. You wouldn't last a day without me anyway," she whispered. Roy shrugged, put his arm around her and continued walking to the station.
"I guess you're right about that," he admitted.
A few hours later, Edward and Alphonse arrived at Resembool. They were helped by Major Armstrong, since neither of them could walk properly. Winry and Pinako were outside, as if they'd known the two brothers would arrive that day.
As soon as she saw them, Winry started running, tears of happiness running down her cheeks. Edward and Alphonse had to let go of the Major and try their best to run towards her too. She flung her arms around them both, and for what seemed like forever, they stayed like that, just happy to be alive.
"I thought...I thought you weren't going to come back! I thought we were all going to die!" cried Winry. "Me and grandma went unconscious a few hours ago!"
"Yeah, sorry...we beat the bad guy a bit late, but we still defeated him," told her Ed. "Are you okay?"
"You're asking me?" she asked in shock. She took a step back and looked them up and down. "Oh my God, Edward. You need treatment now. And Al, get some food. I baked an apple pie, so go eat it."
Pinako was looking at them with a smile on her face as they slowly walked to the front door together.
"You did it," she said. "You really did it. After all these years, you got your body back, Al. Now come here and start eating! Edward, let me see your injury. And what on earth happened to your automail?"
"I'm fine. An alchemical doctor sealed the wound a few hours ago so it'll heal pretty quickly," he answered. "I'm sorry, Winry. Your automail got destroyed. Then I got my arm back, but then I lost it again. Long story."
"You destroyed your arm again, Ed? I'll pretend it didn't happen this time, but next time, I'll kill you, okay?"
"I just came back from saving the country and all you worry about is my stupid automail?" he asked, a little annoyed. "Mechanic freak."
"Shut up, alchemy freak!" she shouted, hitting him in the head. A few tears trickled down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry, Winry! Don't cry! I'll look after my automail next time!"
"It's not that. You could have died, Ed. You're always in so much danger and all I can ever do is wait."
"Winry, we're okay. We didn't die and Al got his body back. I'm gonna quit the Military and stay home now," he said, placing his hand on her cheek. "We're not leaving again, okay?"
"Good," she whispered, pulling him into an awkward embrace. "I've missed you."
"Brother, you should try some of this pie! It tastes delicious!" shouted Al from the kitchen. Ed smiled and taking Winry's hand, went to find his little brother, now able to feel warmth once again. His friends and family were all together and safe now. Since their mother had died, the future had always been uncertain and unpromising. Everything was so different now, and maybe for the first time in years, Ed found himself looking forward to the days ahead. Things seemed so perfect right then.
The End (sorry, that was extremely random, but hopefully the real end will be better! XD)