"You're lying. There's no way!" Ed yelled, suddenly scared. It couldn't be the truth. He couldn't be one of them. He couldn't! He was human, he wasn't one of those things!
"It is. I'm sorry, Edward, but you really are a homunculus now." Hohenheim still couldn't even look at him. No... It was all making too much sense. The stange new powers he felt, his lack of pain or injury... It was all adding up.
"But... But you... How?" Ed asked weakly, after trying to accept it. This had to be some sort of sick joke, right? Hohenheim couldn't do it... Could he?
"Ed, I'm a living Philosopher's Stone. All it took was my blood." Hohenheim finally met his eyes, and it scared Ed how serious he was.
"No..." Ed whispered.
"If you don't believe me, check the bullet wound." Hohenheim told him, suddenly sounding very tired and very old.
Ed slowly looked downwards. There was a hole in his shirt, which was stained with dried blood. There was something on his skin, he could see it through the tear. It was red... Was it blood? He shuddered. There wasn't a wound, he could tell that much.
He shrugged and took off his shirt, and stared in horror at what he found. Right next to his heart was the ouroboros. Bright red, leaping at his eyes. That was it. He really was a homunculus now. Was he a monster, or could he cling to his humanity? If he could, how long would it be? No, he was still human. He had to be. For Al. For his little brother's sake.
"I guess I really am one of them now." Ed said quietly, but Hohenheim heard him.
"Ed, you're not a monster." Hohenheim told him firmly.
"Oh really? What would you know, old man?" Ed snapped, finally losing it. It was his fault. He did this. It was him Ed took the bullet for, heck, none of this would've happened if Hohenheim never-
"Edward, I've spent the last four hundred years convinced I'm a monster." Hohenheim told his son, looking for some way, any way to comfort him.
"Oh yeah, you mentioned you were a Philosopher's Stone in human form. I don't even want to know." Ed muttered, glaring at his father, though it was like the usual fire in his eyes had been put out.
"I could hear them Ed. They were trapped inside me." Hohenheim tried again. He so badly didn't want Ed to be alone in this.
"And now I can't hear them, they're trapped inside me and will eventually be killed." Ed snapped, and just like that, the fire in his eyes blazed up as he glared at his father once more, reminded of what he was and what he could never go back to. Hohenheim hadn't used all of the souls, but most of them were indeed now dedicated to keeping his son alive.
"Ed, I'm sorry, but-" Hohenheim tried again, but this time Ed cut him off.
"But what, you bastard?" He yelled. Then he let out a broken whisper. "Why?"
"I couldn't just let you die, Ed." Hohenheim said softly, begining to get the feeling that he was making things worse.
"Maybe you should have." Ed said quietly, and Hohenheim wasn't sure he heard it right. "What right did you have?"
"Ed, I'm your father." Hohenheim tried, one last time.
"I don't think so," Ed laughed bitterly, "you gave up that title long ago."
Hohenheim sighed and turned away, resolving to try again later, leaving Ed to his own thoughts.
All Ed could see were the faces. Al's armour scrambling away from him, his childish voice screaming at him, begging for his brother back. Roy staring at him, eyes wide in shock, mouthing one word 'monster'. The Truth, laughing, Hawkeye glaring. They were scared of him, hated him (in the Truth's case, amused). Not for one second could he blame them.
"Ed!" Pinako called, jolting him out of his thoughts. "Your father is leaving. He wants to talk to you!"
Ed rolled his eyes. Hohenheim hadn't tried talking to him again after that horrible first attempt. Still, he should probably go and see the bastard. Maybe he could actually punch him in the face now.
Hohenheim stared at his son, suprised that Edward actually turned up. "Before you try to punch me, which you have every right to do, I need to tell you something important." He paused, and when Ed paused to listen, he continued. "Your military is corrupt. It's lead by a homunculus, named Wrath."
"Wait, so you mean the Führer is a homunculus?" Ed gasped.
"I'm afraid so," Hohenheim continued gravely, "I ask that you keep an eye on him, as the father of the homunculi is planning something terrible and it involves all of this country. I'm doing my best to stop it, but I might not be able to. All I ask is that you moniter their plans as best you can."
Ed rolled his eyes. "Could you be any more vague? You know what? Fine, I'll help." If Hohenheim was suprised at this, he hid it well.
"Thank you Ed. For all it's worth, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I did, I'm sorry that I have to leave and I'm so sorry that I can't make it up to you or Alphonse."
Ed looked away. "Whatever, bastard." Well, it was a start. At least he wasn't yelling.
"One last thing, Ed. That thing you transmuted. Are you sure it was really Trisha?" Hohenheim asked sadly.
Ed frozed. "W-what do you mean?"
"The voice, the hair, was it really her? Nevermind. I'm sorry." Hohenheim shook his head and walked away, leaving Ed with his mind racing. Eventually, Ed turned and walked back to Pinako's house.
"Are you alright, Ed?" She asked. Her concerns hadn't faded. Yes, he seemed fine, but who knew what he was hiding?
"I will be..." He paused, then made up his mind. "Hey Granny, can you help me with something?"
"That thing wasn't even Trisha? That's the cruelest thing I've ever seen." Pinako exclaimed in horror.
"No, this is good." Ed muttered, kneeling by the grave he had recently made. "It means I can still get Al back."
"I don't get what you mean." Pinako sighed, shaking her head.
"It really is impossible to bring back the dead... But Al didn't die, Al- his body, it's still in the gate!" Ed realised. "He's still there!"
"I don't get what you're on about, but I gather this is good news?" Pinako asked, completely lost if not for his tone.
"Yeah," Ed nodded, hope renewed once again, "the best."
"Are you heading back to Central?" Pinako asked as they started to head back to the house.
"Yeah. I need to talk to Al." I need to face this. I need to accept this. "I just hope he can manage to forgive his older brother." For what I've done. For what I'm becoming. For what I'm not going to tell him and... For what I'm going to do.
"How could you fail, Envy?" Father asked, voice eerily calm.
"I didn't mean to! The kid just jumped right in front of the bullet!" Envy argued, knowing that if he didn't argue well enough here, he was screwed.
"And pray tell me why you were using a gun anyway." Father said, ice creeping into his tone.
"That Hohenheim guy was going to get in the way." Envy complained.
Father paused. "Yes, he can be rather annoying. I had forgotten breifly."
Envy relaxed slightly. Maybe he had got away after all?
"None the less, you're actions still cost us a valuable human sacrifice." Father fixed Envy with a cool glare. Damn it. He had been so close, too.
