"Aww man, I thought I'd seen the last of this place..." said Edward as he stood up where the portal had deposited him and the man he had been fighting moments before. The portal was still open, but Edward was more focused on figuring out which way Michael had ran off. He made a mental note of the location of the portal before taking off in search of the other man. He vaguely remembered the part of Aura's town he was in, and went in the direction of the more populated area. Sure enough he spotted Michael wandering about rather aimlessly.
"That's as far as you're going with this crazy plan, pal. We need to get back through that portal before it closes!"
"I'm not going anywhere, and if you don't keep your voice down, someone's going to call the military on us!" Michael said as he ducked behind a row of bushes and kept creeping along the roadside.
"It's not the military these people would call, idiot, it'd be the police. And you're the one hiding behind bushes and acting suspicious, not me. C'mon, get a grip and think this through! Even if you did find your family, what would you do or say? What if your counterpart is standing right there with them? Did you even consider any of this before coming up with this crazy plan?!"
They found a small park near the center of town. Michael decided to take a seat on a bench that faced the roads and walkways and kept an eye on the people walking nearby. Ed sat down at the end of the bench, facing Michael. "Don't think I didn't take all those situations into consideration... But in the end, getting back my family far outweighed any potential risks." He sat in silence for a moment before continuing. "And you have no right to criticize me for what I'm doing. It wasn't so long ago that you did the same exact thing going back to get your sister, Aura."
"That was different, she belongs with us! And we weren't ruining anyone else's life in this world by bringing her back either! Could you really cause this world's version of you to go through the same loss and despair that you've been through? Answer me, dammit!"
"I... If you had your family stolen away from you for no other reason than being in the wrong place at the wrong time, you might be able to understand my position." Michael's voice lost the intensity it had moments before.
Edward let out a heavy sigh and looked out around the park. Children of various ages were running around and playing on the playground. He started to think about all that had happened before their trip to Xing. Finding out that he was going to be a father took him by surprise to say the least. He imagined he was the father of one of the kids playing in front of him. He still feared the thought of following in his own father's footsteps and not being there when his family needed him. Then what Michael had just said sank in, what if they were the ones to leave him alone suddenly and tragically? His heart fluttered for a moment as he realized how painful that could be.
"I... I just found out that I'm going to be a father. My family is just starting to come together. I don't know what it was like for you to lose your family, and I hope I never do. To be honest, I'm more afraid that I'll end up like my father, not there when we needed him." He had to pause for a minute, he didn't know why he was sharing this with a guy he had been fighting with earlier. But right now, he had to stop talking before his words were accompanied by tears.
"Fullme... Edward, you should go be with your family. Don't take any moments with them for granted. You have the power to avoid slipping into the same fate as your father. Go to them and protect them with your life."
"I would be able to if you'd just give up this plan and go back with me. Let's just say you do find your wife and son. Bringing them through the portal could be disastrous. I made that mistake with Aura, and she has to live with an automail arm and leg because I didn't consider the consequences of bringing her through. I'm telling you, the risk of Truth taking it's toll is too high..."
"IT'S THEM!" Michael excitedly mumbled under his breath and nodded towards the far end of the park. Ed turned to look in that direction, and saw the woman and boy from the picture Michael had shown earlier. Edward hopped up from the bench and tried to pull Michael up but all he could do was stare at his missing family, tears silently falling from his eyes. A faint smile appeared as he watched his boy play and run, his mother smiling as she watched him as well.
"C'mon Michael, we need to get out of sight before they see you!" Edward pleaded as he continued to coax him to his feet. He looked in the direction Michael was staring at just as the little boy noticed the two of them.
"Daddy? Daddy! Mom, Daddy made it to the park today!" The little boy ran towards the bench as Michael stood up, just in time to hug his son as he ran into him. He couldn't stop the tears now, and openly sobbed with joy.
"Hey big guy, how are you doing?" Michael said as he held the boy still so he could take a good long look at him.
"I'm okay Daddy, but why are you crying? Are you sad?" the boy asked Michael, who wiped away his tears and smiled.
"No son, I'm not sad, I was just so happy that I was able to make it here to see you!" His tears continued to run down his face as his wife approached them.
"So they actually let you leave the office at a decent time for a change? I'm glad you made it, he always asks me when he'll see you." She paused for a moment as she noticed the strange look on her husband's face and the tears on his face. "Are you alright dear? Did something happen?"
Michael couldn't stop staring at her, "No sweetheart, nothing's wrong. I'm just relieved that I had the chance to be here to see you two, that's all."
"That's good, and who's this... interesting young man here?" she said as she looked Ed over.
"Oh this is Edward. He's a new intern at the office that recently moved here. He isn't very familiar with the area yet so I invited him to come along to get better acquainted with his new town."
"That's nice of you, maybe we could invite him over for dinner? We're having vegetable stew tonight if that sounds good."
Edward's ears perked up when he heard stew, his favorite dinner. Michael spoke before he could say anything however. "I'm... I'm really sorry dear, I only had a brief window of time to get away from work. Edward and I need to... need to get back to a very important project we've only just started. I just wanted the chance to see you guys again."
His wife grew suspicious of Michael's sudden need to leave, but she had gotten used to her husband spending more time at work, she decided to let it go. Maybe now that he had a new intern working for him, he would be able to leave the extra work for someone else and spend more time with them. She didn't want to cause a scene that could possibly ruin that. "Okay dear, but please consider trying to cut back on your hours at Linkin-Hack, we really miss you at home."
"Sure...sure thing sweetie. And keep that pot of stew hot, I'll be home before you know it." He held her close and kissed her forehead, then bent down and gave the boy a hug. "You be a good boy for your mother, okay? I'll see you at home soon, buddy." The boy seemed puzzled, but he smiled and waved as Michael and Edward walked away.
"So... did you decide..."
"I couldn't do it." Michael said quickly and with a shaking in his voice. "As soon as I saw them, all I could think of was how they just seemed to... fit here. I can't tell you how much better I feel after seeing and talking with them, Edward. I wish I had the strength to ask them to come with me. But you... you were right. I don't think I could bear the thought of leaving another man... another me wondering what happened to his family. Or live with myself if they were to somehow be injured or hurt on the way through the Gate. But there is one thing I feel we must do before we leave here Edward. I need to get my counterpart's priorities straight so I can leave here knowing they'll be happy."
"I...I suppose if we're quick about it. We can't let Aura hold the Gate open much longer. I believe I've heard that company name before while I was here. We can ask someone for directions on the way."
"Yes, and thank you Ed. I'm sorry for all that I've done to wrong you and your family before now. Once we're back, I'll destroy that manipulation device that's connected to Aura. And do what I can to dispose of the homunculus, before he attempts to become whole. It's time I took responsibility for my mistakes."
