Aureate Bonds

Summary: Inside Gluttony, Edward took a gamble to get him, Ling, & Envy out of the unending dark. He used some of Envy's Stone & opened the Gate. But the equation turned out unbalanced & Ed... died. Yet Ed isn't the sort to be beaten easily & he swore he'd be back.

Ratings and Warnings: Rated "M" for sake of expediency and my typical writing style. Intermittent foul and 'descriptive' language, a bit of sarcasm, gender bending (Fem!Edward), brief mentions of homosexuality, occasional mild sexual scenes, etc.

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or any other referenced materials, plain and simple. All non-original content is owned by all respective copyright owners. This is not being produced for money but rather for my own amusement.

Chapter Relevant References: N/A

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Reviews: Thanks to ShaDow Empire, gaara king of the sand, idea. getthe, Le Confidant, and Johnathan C2 for reviewing. Thank you Tamashi Horo and Johnathan C2 for following and favoriting the story as well as following and favoriting me. Thank you RinTheMagicalGirl, bleach96269, and Ubermarine for following the story. Thank you EchoTasteLightZim for favoriting.

ShaDow Empire, you saying you might just go reread the entire story again makes me proud because only the best stories deserve to be read again in my opinion and that, to me, makes me think you believe this is one of those stories.

Gaara, the thing about mothers is… losing their babies (for all that we grow up, we will forever be our mother's baby) is very hard. A mother never heals from the thought her child ran away or died. A mother's prerogative, you see? Or, at least, a good mother's prerogative. Just imagine for just one moment the kind of pain it would be to lose something so infinitely precious. Something so precious that you just can't lay aside that feeling of loss for very long because everything around you reminds you of that one thing no matter how abstract. That is the kind of pain a mother feels at the loss of their child.

Le Confidant, the move has treated me very well and that one-shot is going up almost in time with this one. I'll make special note of it below the review responses.

Johnathan C2, I know how that feels. I consider it extremely lucky that I remember my own phone number at times. And names? I'm terrible with names. I have to read a name to commit it to memory. Probably why I can remember stories so well and not day-to-day events.

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Author's Note 1: Thanks to shiva1, I got a worm in my ear to… create a side story. I have posted it at the same time as this chapter but as a separate upload. It is called: Aureate Bonds: The Ties that Bind Us. It features Alphonse's viewpoint on his reincarnated brother. Please read it if you will and review. It's kind of hastily done but it isn't a complete rehash of this story. Still, it's a long one-shot. Over 20,000 words.

Author's Note 2: Sorry. Got caught up playing WoW when I should be working on my house or posting to this story. Might I mention I hate it when plot bunnies infest my brains?

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XXXII:

She sagged as reality came back in a jarring snap minus her father and plus her suddenly passed out flesh and blood brother even as a curious pain stabbed up through her. "Al?!"

"Oh, shit!" someone shouted in astonishment, though she didn't know who yelled as her eyes were glued to Al's slumped form. "She did it!" Hands were suddenly there as Izumi came across the circle, not minding the lines and rubbing them out. As she helped Evelyn disentangle from the suddenly limp body, Evelyn was shocked to see tears running down the older woman's face.

"He's so thin," said the amazed Izumi Curtis as she settled them down to the ground, working to not jar the most precious thing either had seen in years. More people came up, this time Ling and Lan Fan. Both were shocked but skittering eyes were obviously comparing the two of them.

"I guess I should have drank my milk, huh?" jested Evelyn as she suddenly wondered why she felt like she could sleep for a week. Then again, adrenaline did take it out of a person. Her body kept twinging strangely.

"You should have," agreed Izumi, unknowing that the golden blonde had drank milk during her convalescence in the North (due to manipulative witch women doctors) and grew up on a milk substitute. The aureate teen had to preserve her reputation, after all. She looked up at the two Xingese that were soon joined by the little princess who stared wide-eyed at the sight of the emaciated teen. It was easy to see the awe in the girl's face. "Help me move him out of the way. Ed, too."

"Right," Ling agreed, kneeling to bundle Al's bony form into his arms gently. Carrying the scrawny teen, Ling moved as Izumi directed. Lan Fan walked with Evelyn's arm slung over her shoulders, perhaps acknowledging the pride her sister warrior carried and not forcing the indignity of being coddled. The bodyguard's mask had vanished at some point and the alchemist could be forgiven for not paying a whit of attention to Lan Fan as she followed in the wake of the prince and her brother. Alphonse was laid down almost reverentially by Ling, gently propped against a large pile of rubble that had sprouted-up-slash-imbedded-in the ground just out of the way of the general fray and some soldier handed over his coat to preserve Al's modesty. Evelyn was soon settled next to him and felt how weary she was once again. Despite her weariness and eagerness to sleep, she refused to give into the pressures that her body was applying to her. No, first she had to make sure Al was okay and to see him awake and aware in this world. It was the biggest, most important event that she could think of and she dared not to miss it even if she knew her brother would forgive her for passing out.

Fortunately, it didn't take long for him to stir and she stared in awe, along with every other person nearby, as his amber-gold eyes flickered slowly open with a mild grunt. "Mm…" As they fell upon the crowd of staring people, he let out a small "Oh".

"Alphonse-sama!" wailed Mei, throwing herself forward at him, clinging to him, and Al yelped in shock. There was an irrational surge of jealousy for having his attention so swiftly removed from the sibling that had paid with his-slash-her life to get him back whole, but the golden-haired girl suppressed it for the moment. After all, she'd get to have Alphonse's attention sooner or later. As the jealousy became a back-burner thing, she realized the hilarity of the tiny princess sobbing on the stunned and obviously overwhelmed boy and accidentally let a snigger loose. It seemed to snap Al out of his revere and he glanced at his sister, obviously either uncertain of the motions required to glare or not feeling the urge to do so as his face remained somewhat smooth, before looking to the still-crying child in his lap.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," he murmured to the petite princess. "I didn't mean… It must have been hard." She withdrew slightly to cover her face as she still cried happy tears and Evelyn hooked an arm around his shoulders, drawing him close. "Where's Dad?" he asked. "I remember…"

"He's probably finding out what it's like to be a baby all over again," she offered him. "And maybe he'll find her when he gets old enough. Without the other equations, he'll be about… ten years her junior. Hopefully." Al searched her face and sighed.

"He's gone, then?"

"Selfish bastard," she laughed. "Always running off." Evelyn sobered after a bit. "Though he did do this amazing thing right in the end." He leaned into her with a smile before stiffening and looking at her in shock.

"I can feel," he wondered, his voice growing soft and awed before burrowing in tighter.

"I should hope so."

"It feels… tingly… and warm." He curled against her and closed his eyes briefly, reveling in the ability to do so. The mild jealousy Evelyn had felt towards Mei evaporated completely as her elation soared in the face of him hugging her and being able to hug despite bony, thin arms. "I'm home…"

"Not all the way yet, but that will happen soon enough," she assured softly, running fingers through longish hair and reveling in the texture despite the split ends and brittle, dried out feeling of the strands. Any tighter, and he'd just about merge into her side. Even though the elbow pressing into her was sharp, the reborn alchemist found herself not really minding it for the moment. It was a moment she'd certainly remember forever. Their world was safe, their bodies mostly restored, and she could touch skin instead of metal. Wetness slid down her face and spattered on her shirt. Tears fell silently and Evelyn made no move to dash them from her face but did reverentially slide the pad of her dirtied thumb under Al's eye, taking that moisture to be as wondrous as the feel of his hair.

"Sorry," mumbled the boy as he reached weakly to his face, not realizing that the people around them had withdrawn some to give the pair some space. Even Ling had marginally commandeered his half-sister away though the pair remained vigilant as Lan Fan, given permission by her prince, went to attend to her grandfather's body. From what Evelyn had picked up outside of her little bubble of pure bliss in light of Alphonse's return to the flesh, Fu had died. It tore at her to know that, but at the same time she knew no one blamed her for being completely focused on the return of the one thing that in two lives she'd sought after.

"Oh, Al," Evelyn chuckled. "It's fine. It's more than fine." Because it really was fine. After all, he could cry. And she cried with him.

"Alphonse!" rumbled Sig as he came forward. He looked a bit battered and Izumi, who had pulled a bit away to allow the two blondes a moment, was not far behind him. The mountain of a man's eyes were overflowing with tears as he suddenly bundled the fragile fifteen year old up into his arms, taking the coat with him and cradling him close. "Thank goodness! Thank goodness!"

"Hello, Sig!" greeted Al, laughing and not minding the moisture on his face in light of seeing someone as scary and imposing as Sigmund Curtis all but bawling in his joy. More swarmed closer with the obvious break in the private moment. Armstrong reaching out to touch with tears in his eyes. Zampano and Darius crowding, jostling each other despite their wounds. Everyone surrounded them, reaching out for assurance at the sight they saw. Some retreated and others came forward, all eager to see the famous Fullmetal's little brother. It was astonishing to see the number of faces that came. After all, the Elrics hadn't ever realized how many lives they'd touched.

"You need to get bandaged, cutie," Darius offered after a bit of merrymaking, his dark eyes scanning down her injured form.

"How many times do I have to tell you I'm not cute!" she screeched at him, causing a round of laughter from the nearest onlookers.

"He's right, though," admonished Alphonse after a bit, thankfully settled back down onto the ground. "You need to get looked at."

"I'll be fine with some sleep," she muttered obstinately, giving a pout.

"Why are you rubbing at your leg then?" The sound of a concerned Al brought her attention to what she was unconsciously doing and she looked at her leg. Phantom limb sensations weren't unusual and it wasn't surprising her left leg was behaving oddly but it felt like her lower leg was waking up from having gone to sleep. Then she registered something else odd. She was rubbing at her knee but was not rubbing metal.

She paled in shock. She'd not asked for this.

"Now, Ed," ordered Izumi before catching the odd look that flickered across the teen's face. "What's wrong with you?"

"My leg." Shakily, she reached down. There was no way… Tugging up the edge of the pants leg bit, she saw the boot ankle then an edge of dirty sock… and…

"Your leg," breathed Al, reaching out to touch the pale flesh that looked a touch atrophied. "Brother!"

"I didn't…" She looked up at the astonished faces around her.

"Go get checked on now." Evelyn stared up at her Teacher's quiet command.

"Yes, ma'am," she finally responded and stood carefully to go to her doom, newly restored flesh leg twinging all the way.

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She hadn't appreciated the hands of the medics bandaging her up, taking time to pick the more obvious remnants of her automail out of her skin, causing her soreness to ratchet up, and seemed to be agog and aghast at her apparent transgender status. During her venture, she was pointedly escorted by her Teacher. Thankfully, Izumi had been there because there was a moment she was just so weary she nearly stumbled and fell on her face.

Her work, however, wasn't done. And she couldn't sleep until she knew she had done all her tasks. Gingerly, Evelyn went down into the ruins of Homunculus's lair, searching for the red fabric that cradled the tiny form of Pride's true form. Despite the milling soldiers, no one had yet gotten down this far. Even so, she was cautiously looking about before walking over to the pillowed infantile homunculus while skipping over debris. Kneeling down next to the fabric, she felt a surge of sorrow. Pride could so easily be hidden within her hand, curled slightly into a fetal position, and no longer seemed to be sobbing like he had when she'd taken him down. Gently, she reached to the little humanoid and touched him. He wiggled and miniscule hands grasped at her fingertip while whimpering out a tiny-voiced 'Mommy'.

'This is my last nephew,' she thought with a wistful sigh. "Don't worry," Evelyn said aloud. "I'll take you to your mommy… Selim." He was no longer Pride. Could no longer be 'Pride'. The tiny creature with a target-like mark in the middle of his forehead refused to release her finger and it seemed to comfort him. So, after a moment, she managed to scoop up the dirtied red fabric and gather it close. With a smooth movement, she stood. Her eyes never left the burden in her arms. And, psychologically, it was a heavy burden.

"What do you plan to do?" Looking up, she saw Izumi's concerned gaze.

"He's… harmless now," she told her Teacher. "And… he'd said something about Mrs. Bradley. I want to return him to her." Dark tilted eyes regarded her carefully before their owner nodded slowly.

"If you're certain."

"Not really, but I can't…" Evelyn faltered, looking down. "I can't let him die. I couldn't save the others, but I can't just let him…" A hand pressed to her shoulder.

"You don't have to explain, Ed." Izumi paused and considered her. "What is your name now?"

"Ed's still fine," murmured the teen, minding the artificial human in her grasp. "But my name's Evelyn Dyne." The hand still on her shoulder tensed slightly, giving her a reassuring pressure, and then released.

"I do still want you to come out to Dublith for a while so we can talk." Evelyn still remembered the last time her soul had been in Dublith and the talk Edward had had with the woman standing next to her. It had been, simply put, somewhat traumatic. Between the teen and his brother having purged out the pus of guilt to her and the subsequent beat downs she'd offered to her hapless pair of students, it wasn't exactly something Evelyn would forget. Still…

"I will."

Exiting the ruin took a bit of manipulation and, fortunately, asking around got the information she needed almost immediately. It had been, to her relief, a simple task as she'd spoken to people that had been a part of Mustang's coup group. They'd stood guard over the woman and had known where she'd gotten to last. Izumi left her at that point, heeding the request the aureate teen had made of wanting the Xingese-descent woman to return to Alphonse's side. The man she solicited for help, one Charlie something-or-other, was kind enough to lead the way. During the trip, Evelyn disguised her burden by draping a corner of the coat over him and Charlie was kind enough to not ask what she needed Mrs. Bradley for.

"Over here," he said, gesturing after a moment. Sitting within a room with some people flitting about her, the unmistakable and kindly woman that Evelyn and Edward had only seen from afar except for once was there. Stepping forward, she called out.

"Mrs. Bradley?" The woman's head turned and blinked in surprise at the blonde. She looked a bit frazzled, her once-neat bun was somewhat fly-away and her eyes puffy and red. Even then, she spoke kindly.

"Oh, who are you, dear?"

"I'm Edward Elric." The woman blinked and stared in surprise as did the others in the room and even Charlie seemed momentarily taken aback if the widening of his eyes and quick look over was any indication. Perhaps he'd not seen her fighting Homunculus? "And I have something for you." Mrs. Bradley recovered a bit from her surprise and she gave her a small smile.

"I'm sorry, Mist-" She cut herself off and she began slowly again in light of the swell of breasts that she could see. "Miss Elric?" Evelyn gave her a wan smile. "But I've just lost my husband and son to this… horrible day."

"I promise it'll be well worth your time, ma'am," plead Evelyn. Mrs. Bradley seemed uncertain. "Can we speak alone?"

After another moment's deliberation, the older woman nodded. "Okay, Miss Elric." She asked the people tending her to leave her alone and they complied but only after Charlie had left as well. Evelyn took the bundle of her coat and laid it into Mrs. Bradley's arms.

"Selim didn't die," she told the woman and was met with an incredulous and cut look. Flipping back the corner of her coat, she exposed the minute form of Pride curled into red fabric. "I promise. This is him." There was a tiny call for 'Mommy' from within the folds of fabric.

Mrs. Bradley looked down at the tiny form. "That's impossible. I…" She faltered and looked up. Evelyn could see she wanted to believe but didn't know if she ought to get her hopes up.

"Please. Just listen." Settling down wearily in an open chair and sighing, she began to offer up the tale she'd gathered up. She was careful to sketch around the whole plot to take down the country, well aware of the fact she might be breaking any number of rules and laws no doubt being put into place to cover up the disaster that had nearly occurred. Evelyn described the origin of her husband and the relation he'd actually had to the tiny creature in the coat. She told her about how he'd done nothing but call for his mother since being reduced to this point and the guess that he'd had no mother save for Mrs. Bradley herself. And then she told her something that she didn't think she should tell but refused to allow the older woman to stand unknowing. "There's something else, ma'am."

"What do you mean?" whispered Mrs. Bradley, clutching the bundle to her carefully and obviously growing more protective. "What else?"

"Technically speaking, Selim is related to my brother and me. His father…" She paused. "The person who made him was made from my father's blood." Mrs. Bradley blinked. "Technically speaking, he's my nephew." Ducking her head and looking at her mismatched flesh hands while she twitched flesh feet, she whispered, "The only one to survive this mess."

"You're giving him to me?" murmured the older woman.

"Well, you care about him." Looking up, she frowned. "And I thought that maybe you'd be happy to have him back. To be his mom. To give him a chance at being something that… the other homunculi didn't get to be. A regular human." She saw the tears start within Mrs. Bradley's eyes and watched her tug the bundle with its precious cargo closer.

"You're giving him to me?" The question was spoken again only with more wonder.

"Do you…?"

"Yes!" The newly-widowed woman sobbed her acceptance as she looked down at the tiny form of the nigh-fetus. "I'll raise him."

"Considering how he was the bad guy," Evelyn told her. "I don't know if you'll be allowed to, but maybe between us we can make sure whoever takes control lets you." The woman nodded. The blonde gave a deprecating grin. "After all, there's some very large favors owed to me."

"Thank you, Miss Elric."

"You're welcome, Mrs. Bradley." The older woman frowned slightly before giving her a warm smile.

"You can call me 'Georgia', Miss Elric," she told the teen. Hearing that, Evelyn nodded.

"Okay, Mrs. Georgia. You can call me Edward if you like." Despite the allowance of telling her the dark secrets of the country, she could not tell her darkest secret. Not yet. The fact that she was no longer 'Edward'… The woman gave her a warm smile and nodded.

"Thank you, Edward."

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She had exited her interview with Georgia Bradley, she got caught up by Charlie once again. He arched a brow at the lack of bundle in her arms but again didn't comment. "So, who are you?" she asked finally.

He gave her a lopsided smile, eyes dark and showing the wear and tear of a battle-hardened soldier. "I'm one of Mustang's men," he said. "He was the one who led me and a few others into battle in Ishval." It suddenly clicked as far as how he was connected. This was the man that had approached the Colonel after the war had been declared as over, thanking him for keeping him alive with the others that had been with them. It had been obvious during Mustang's tale that he'd been both grateful and disgusted by the sentiment. Apparently Charlie and his friends had been so grateful that they'd gone to war against the country itself in support of the man.

"Oh." It's not like she dared to rehash those personal words from Mustang. It wasn't her place. "So… Who do you think will attain the title of Fuhrer?" Charlie considered that and apparently felt she deserved an honest answer.

"Grumman if he moves quick enough and I don't doubt he will." The answer surprised her and obviously he saw it as they walked along. "Mustang's still a little too young in the eyes of many."

Evelyn sighed. "And with him blind…" The taller man stiffened slightly.

"Blind?"

"Alchemy accident," she offered up succinctly. It was disappointing how easy it was to foist that excuse off to non-alchemists. Alchemy to many was more magic than science and if someone offered up 'alchemy' as an excuse for an oddly shaped piece of rock or strangely rearranged scenery or any number of other things out there it was widely accepted as true no matter how there might be a half-dozen other reasons for why something was a certain way.

"Like you?" Charlie became the recipient of a nasty glare and he blanched and stepped to one side to give them a little space.

"Got something to say about it?" snarled the teen, golden eyes flashing in her anger.

"Er," he offered. "No." Another half moment and he said, "Sorry."

The irritation melted out of her like a wrung sponge, tiredness reasserting itself. "Whatever. I'm good now." And with that, she turned and walked away towards where she knew her brother was.

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It turned out Al had been moved since she'd left to take care of wounds and Pride. As she went looking for his new location thanks to directions given to a helpful worker, she happened across the Colonel in another one. He was sitting on a crate, staring at nothing. It was unnerving to see his normally reserved and haughty face slack and unsettled. There was just this particular image of him that she held and it wasn't this.

"Hey, there," she called, approaching him.

"Who's there?" he demanded, eyes searching through a darkness he couldn't penetrate.

"It's Ed," she told him, unsurprised that he didn't immediately recognize her voice. It would have been different had he had his eyes to immediately pin her name to her face.

"Fullmetal?" he wondered and she was surprised to hear a touch of relief in the tone. "You're okay?"

"Yes. A little banged up… and I'll have some more scars to add to my fine collection as well as surgery to get the rest of the metal out of my body, but… I'm fine. You?"

"Still blind. How is… Alphonse?" She smiled, though he couldn't see it.

"Skinny as a rail, too weak to move unaided, and by everything beautiful under the sun… breathing, feeling, and home."

"I'm glad."

"I am, too." She hesitated. "Colonel?"

"Yes, Fullmetal?"

"You were very brave. A real hero." There was a moment of silence.

"From the sound of things… you were, too, Evelyn." His voice was grave, heavy with meaning, and there was a slight gratefulness at the acknowledgment she'd given him.

"Nah. All I did was punch him." The golden blonde saw him smile at that. "Rest up. I'll start working on a method to restore your sight. You didn't deserve it to be taken and I'll get it back. I'm getting pretty nifty with the medical alchemy, now. But for now, I've got to get back to Al." She shifted to move away but paused at the words he spoke.

"Thank you."

Glancing back at the man staring at nothing, she frowned. "You're welcome," she offered even if she wasn't sure what she was accepting thanks for. After a moment, she ventured off to get to her brother again and ignored stinging wounds and the tiredness in her body, especially her leg.

Finding her way back, she found the Xingese royals still near him despite the change of his location and smiled briefly before settling down next to Al again. She wasn't paying much attention to their chatter, still marveling at having him sitting there and breathing right next to her. Someone had been kind enough to work him into a pair of thin patient scrubs. It did little to hide his painful fragility but at least it kept him from being embarrassed. And the moment she sat down, Evelyn's right hand was caught by his. He gave her a smile, crooked and so obviously unpracticed. "Hello, Brother."

"Hey, big guy," she teased lightly. He certainly wasn't very big and it would take a good deal of time for him to recover from the prolonged malnutrition he'd suffered, but it would certainly serve as an homage to a time where he'd certainly been far bigger and he still had a very large heart. "So, how's the world feeling?"

"Kind of itchy." He frowned at the stack of rolled woolen blankets he'd been propped against. "And hard." He took a moment to look at a small tin cup in his free hand filled with water. "And really nice." Mei smiled at that, obviously still very much head over heels with the fragile teen.

"Well, that's great to hear. How's the water?"

"It's making my stomach feel strange," admitted Al, frowning at the hardly touched cup. "Someone told me a bit ago that they'd see if they could find some crackers or something but that was a while ago."

"You're not used to food. Don't worry about chugging down the water," Evelyn offered, knowing that he was likely suffering his first upset stomach in some years. "Take just enough to wet your tongue and I'll see about finding something neutral. Crackers, applesauce, chicken broth… all good options."

"Oi, Chang." Hearing the shout, Mei looked over to her half-brother in confusion. She'd been so busily listening to the two Elrics chatter, it had even seemed to startle her somewhat. The shout also garnered the siblings' attention.

"You sure are an idiot," Ling offered in Amestrian so that Al could even understand him, crouching down next to her and giving her a bland look. "You got all mixed up in some other country's fight and didn't even get a Philosopher's Stone out of it," he chided. She scowled darkly at him as he held up the bottle of Stone and examined it. "The next Emperor will be of the house of Yao." The indignant look dissolved immediately into a distressed one and Evelyn felt a bit bad for the girl, but she could sense that Ling wasn't done. He was an asshole, sure, but he wasn't a cruel asshole. "But don't worry," he assured her. "The house of Yao will protect your house."

The astonished look was easy to read in the child as she looked up in surprise and a surge of satisfaction went through the on looking reborn blonde. Alphonse still watched in mild confusion though it seemed to be slackening in view of the flow of words.

"I even accepted Greed, after all," he mused, jerking a thumb at himself to make his point. "I will accept the house of Chang as well as all the other houses." Immediately she gave him a strange look of confusion, joy, and what Evelyn might have read as constipation save for the fact it was likely more along the lines of shock blended with annoyance. "What's with that face?" wondered Ling, obviously disturbed by the expression, and he straightened up. "Don't worry. Xingese always keep their promises."

"All of them?" wailed the girl, waving her fists in agonized frustration and relief. "How greedy, Ling Yao!"

"Oh," Ling chuckled, obviously a bit embarrassed as he scratched at his temple. "I guess he rubbed off on me."

"Less than you think, Greedling," teased Evelyn from her spot as Al laughed. What a beautiful sound… "Remember, your name can roughly translate to 'want'."

"Ah, yes. I forgot about that," huffed Ling. He moved and snatched up Mei, getting an indignant yelp for his efforts. "Come on. Let's go home."

"What are you doing?!" huffed the princess as she thrashed. "Put me down!"

"You hurt your leg," reprimanded Ling. "Don't make it worse." He looked over at Lan Fan even as Evelyn gave another bit of 'helpful advice', this time to Mei. "Come on," he told her. "Let's go."

"Get used to it. Everyone wants to carry around people like us. They think we're baggage or something," Evelyn told the princess as she still wasn't too far off. Mei sulked, throwing longing looks at a slightly bemused Al.

After a moment, Lan Fan turned to a covered form and, with her sad words, Evelyn knew who it was. "Yéyè… Let's go home. To Xing."

"You're leaving?" wondered Evelyn, though it was obvious by the talk.

"Yeah. We're here illegally, after all," Ling cheerily replied in Amestrian versus the Xingese Lan Fan had used. "Better leave now before we get caught!"

Evelyn snorted at the comment before smiling. "Take care, Greedling. And come back, hear?"

"Yeah! We'll meet again someday!" he cheerily returned, pumping a fist into the air as Lan Fan bowed nearby and Mei stared longingly at Al. Alphonse returned the gesture, calling out his own well wishes as Evelyn waved.

They vanished into the distance among the chaos with the prone form of Fu on a rickety hand cart following along behind, the two blondes watching them go until they could see them no more through the crowds of milling men and women.

With a tired huff, Evelyn laid back. "I could sleep for a week," she mused. "And I'm hungry." Her eyes tracked over to Al as he laughed, amused at her antics. "How about some apple pie?"

"Sounds good," agreed Al, snuggling into her side and even as his elbow dug uncomfortably into her, she didn't mind because he had a flesh and bone elbow to do it with. Petting at his hair, she smiled as he patted at her restored knee.

'I can't believe I did it,' she thought, fingering at those golden locks that were so similar to her own. 'I can't believe I got him back finally.'

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When the chaos finally died down some, Alphonse and his sister were transferred to a hospital. There was a large amount of confusion when the records stated 'male' while the patient 'Edward Elric' was obviously female now. Much to their relief, Doctor Knox had pointedly horned in and taken over their hospital cases. Apparently, the medical examiner had taken to heart a recent career change back to what he had been, a medical doctor. He also seemed less gruff under his bad temper and had even been kind enough to desist in smoking while around the two blondes when Evelyn went territorial and told him under no circumstances he'd be permitted to smoke in the room around her brother while he was recovering.

Evelyn had gotten scolded by Alphonse for that, but she didn't care. Despite their different genders, Knox had also said they would remain in the same room together which just about threw the other practitioners into a fit. And as Alphonse was delicately started on a regiment of foods and liquids that would help get him readjusted to eating steady meals, Evelyn was put under the knife to have the last of her automail excised. As Al got to taste various foods again for the first time in years, Evelyn had her arm and leg immobilized for a while to allow her wounds to heal. As the scrawny teen had to fight to adjust to intake and a few times got too overenthusiastic to the point he threw up, the reborn teen had a hard time staying still and was often threatened into submission by Izumi who stood watch over the pair of them in order to make sure they complied to the doctor's orders.

Thankfully, the woman eventually left as it was time to get back to a normal life and the two teens were starting to recover enough that they weren't an absolute danger to themselves. As the pair sat on Alphonse's bed, Evelyn sitting at the foot in such a way she didn't pin her brother's legs, and sampled at the two trays of food brought for them to eat for their lunch, Alphonse bit delicately on a roll with butter on it before chewing it deliberately.

"I can't believe how good this tastes," he moaned in delight.

Evelyn, who had found the roll on her plate decidedly less 'good' than what he'd found it to be, merely smiled. "I swear I can't wait for you to bite into something that tastes nasty," she teased only to see him give her a mild glare mixed with a pout. Her mental processes immediately went squee! The boy had the ability to out-cute most anything right about now.

"You would wish something like that," he grumped, shifting in his bed. He'd not developed enough weight yet for Knox to be interested in allowing him physical therapy as it had been only about three weeks since the Promised Day.

"It will happen sometimes. I'm not wishing it on you," waved off the girl.

"You're hopeless, Sister."

"I am hardly hope…" She faltered, blinked, and stared at him over the patient bed table only to see his eyes glitter with mirth. Five years as a suit of armor had completely killed his ability to mask his emotions, but Evelyn knew he did not intend to mask his emotions on this because his mouth twitched upwards and he was having a hard time from not laughing out loud.

"Is there something wrong, Sister?" he asked with definite amusement. She opened and shut her mouth without sound, for several minutes as she tried to figure out how to communicate the strange swirl of emotions within her.

And then, in a show of absolute non-Edward-like and completely feminine behavior, she burst into tears. They weren't tears of sadness or of anger. They weren't of any sort of negative emotion. As she cried, she felt his thin hand wrap about her fingers and squeeze them gently. With relief, she squeezed back and smiled. With joy, she wiped at her cheeks with the back of her free hand. With peace, she felt the tears subside. He really did accept her.

"No. Nothing's wrong," Evelyn said with a voice laden with emotion. "Why did you…?"

"Because everyone knows now. You don't have to hide," Alphonse told her, his golden eyes warm. "And I didn't want you to think I couldn't think of you as anything other than being Brother's replacement." He sobered at that. "Hearing you think of yourself that way… It had hurt. You'd done so much, gave up so much, to help me get this body back, you couldn't be anything other than completely Edward. But you're not at the same time. You're Evelyn. And I want to acknowledge that." He gave her a soft smile.

"I," she started only to falter. "You have no idea how much that means to me."

He moved to respond only for someone to knock at the door of the room before it opened. They turned as one to see Hawkeye appear through the door in civilian clothes and looking somewhat demure.

"Good afternoon," she said with a smile.

"First Lieutenant!" blinked Alphonse in surprise, eying her carefully. "You cut your hair?"

Indeed, she'd gotten a haircut in the form of a short hairdo that ended at the nape of her neck and made her seem more youthful for some reason. Her clothes were simple, a button down with a navy blue blazer coupled with a knee length skirt in the same navy. Setting down the bag she carried, she nodded.

"I did. Hello, Alphonse. You're beginning to put on weight, aren't you?"

He nodded slowly. "It's slow, but I am."

Sepia eyes turned to the other occupant of the bed. "Evelyn."

"I see the Colonel told you." She watched the older woman smiled.

"It took some time to get around to it, but yes. He also told me he would be stopping by later to check on you two and advised you to not go run and hide just to aggravate him." Her words were met with a snort of amusement from Evelyn followed by a snigger from Alphonse. "As for why I am here…" Zipping open the bag, she withdrew a leather kit and opened it. "I thought Alphonse might enjoy a haircut of his own." Within the leather was a set of barber's tools neatly tucked into loops.

The thin teen's eyes practically sparkled. "You cut hair?" The bemused tilt to the woman's mouth gave away her mood as much as the light in her eyes. She inclined her head and found the boy all but bouncing in his bed. "Oh, please! It itches and all and keeps distracting me."

"As does every other smell, taste, and touch you meet," Evelyn said in a meant-to-be-heard mutter.

"Hush, Sister!" The surge of pride at being so acknowledged lit her up from inside and her full-blown grin was met by similar expressions from the other two blondes in the room.

"You would worry if I didn't make some smartass remark, y'know. Catch twenty-two, Brother." He pouted at her.

"Well, back to the previous conversation," Hawkeye gently redirected. "Help me get him out of bed for a little bit, Ed. I can't cut his hair otherwise." Gamely, Evelyn unwound from the bed and stood up to tug away the rolling table. Al worked to help along, too, though atrophied muscles didn't permit him too much coordinated movement. Helping the teen down and supporting his upper body so they didn't bear too much weight down on his legs. Settling him into a chair, he noticeably sighed and gave a disgusted look to his thin body.

"Don't get angry," Evelyn reprimanded, sensing the direction of his thoughts. "You'll gain muscle mass soon enough, hotshot. Think of it as automail training. You can't get right back up after you get it bolted on."

"You did. When you first came here, remember?"

"I had certain advantages." He glared at her but stayed obediently still when Hawkeye pressed hands to either side of his head. Withdrawing the pair of barber's shears, she quickly set to work and cut away a majority of the length.

"Any particular way you'd like it?" asked the sniper. "Other than short?" Al gave Evelyn a helpless look and she politely took over directing the haircut. By the time Hawkeye was done, the teenage girl was definitely pleased with the outcome. Her fingers had been itching to cut his hair but Hawkeye had beaten her to the punch. Brushing the hair away left a boy with well-trimmed short hair that turned fly away as soon as the weight had been taken off of it. "It looks good if I say so myself," mused the sniper.

"What about the hair on the floor?" asked Al, looking down at the floor even as Hawkeye fished out a mirror from her bag to let him see the results.

"Don't worry about it," waved off Evelyn. "Take a look-see first." Nudged in the proper direction, he looked into the glass and blinked in surprise.

"It does look good. Thank you, First Lieutenant."

"So, tell us about the outside world," Evelyn pressed. "We've been languishing in sterilized hell for so long."

Hawkeye blinked at that and then, after helping Al back into bed, settled into the vacated chair. "Well, to start with, Grumman is now Fuhrer after consolidating his position."

"I'd heard rumor he'd try to take control." Hawkeye nodded.

"And I heard what you'd done for Mrs. Bradley and… Pride. She's been allowed to keep him under the condition he'll remain monitored."

Hearing this, the two teens glanced at each other. "That's better than what it could have been," admitted Alphonse. His sister nodded.

"What about you guys? Mustang, the guys aiding him, the soldiers from Briggs?" Hawkeye frowned at the female alchemist. It wasn't an upset frown though she did appear bothered.

"Those directly aiding the General-" The noises of surprise halted her words. "You didn't hear?"

"No! When did he get promoted?!" demanded Evelyn, shocked.

"About a week after that day," replied the sepia-eyed woman, emphasis on the words that indicated exactly which day. Evelyn had heard Marcoh had gotten to the man before she'd been able to do anything to remedy his situation and repaired his eyes using a bit of the Stone in exchange for permission to disappear into Ishval. "He's already opening ways into the East and has begun to work with the Fuhrer to repeal the quarantine on Ishval." She paused before continuing. "There will be the potential for opening trade routes to Xing later once the succession rights settle down among the families there and the Brigadier General is looking forward to forging stronger ties with them as well. Breda, Fuery, Falman, and I have been transferred back under his command."

"Oh, good," interrupted the elder of the Elrics in emphatic tones. Hawkeye didn't miss a beat.

"And Major General Armstrong has been allowed to have Briggs back again, though she will also retain her seat close to the Fuhrer. The those of us that helped the Brigadier General are counted as heroes, people who went to defend the late Fuhrer Bradley from the impending assassination by the Generals of Central and keeping them from conducting an alchemy experiment that might have killed thousands if not millions had it not been averted. Unfortunately, the soldiers of Briggs were seen fighting Bradley and Central forces directly and, as a result, are facing tribunals and dishonorable discharges if not potential execution for treason." They grimaced at that. "Those that have been apprehended have gone to their prison cells with heads held high."

"They would," murmured Alphonse, looking at his hands. "I hate they've gotten into so much trouble."

"They'll survive. They're Briggs men," offered his sister. Hawkeye nodded.

They talked for a while longer until Hawkeye had to finally leave. Like the visitors before, she ostensibly left a stack of books for the duo to peruse and keep entertained with. Along with the five volumes, she gave them a chess set. "To ensure you two don't get too bored," she'd told them dryly. "And to keep from a repeat of Briggs from happening." Evelyn had the decency to blush.

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Author's Note: Nope. Eddie didn't really learn, did she? Ah, well. There's a lot more story still on the way. This wasn't as much about the manga as it was about the humanity. And there's so much humanity to explore yet. Which is why the manga-related chapters (excluding the epilogue stuff of the manga itself that I've woven in) total 15 chapters long. Out of all the chapters I've written (excluding the spoofs), that constitutes as less than a third of the story.

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Aureate Bonds: The Ties that Bind Us is currently up on my profile if you wish to check it out. It isn't a required read, though, and doesn't affect this story at all.

Please review. I appreciate it.