Chapter 9- Equivalent Exchange

Raeluvs

A/N: Fullmetal Alchemist is copyrighted © and owned and created by Hiromu Arakawa, 2003, all rights reserved. I, Raeluvs, have no part in the creation or ownership of these characters; however that does not stop me from loving them dearly, as though I did.

"Fifty… to get the materials required to forge the Omega, I would have to sacrifice…" Edward's face was slick with sweat, his eyes radiating pure, sickened horror. This was the last thing that he had expected, and it had thrown him more than a little off guard.

"You would have to kill fifty people to have an equivalent offer for the stone." The voice replied, a sly chuckle curling his deep, throaty voice, putting a strong emphasis upon the word 'kill', smirking as Edward visibly cringed. "And for what?"

"F-for what…?" Edward repeating, glaring at the shadowed figure. The little he could see of him wasn't pleasant, to say the least. Long, dark hair was entwined sloppily at the nape of his neck; he was tall and slender, his face accentuated as deeply as a stump of wood carved by a knife, jagged lines cutting chunks out of his appearance. His eyes were guarded by shadow, his silhouette a figment of darkness. His lips were upturned in a twisted smile. Edward felt his skin prick with fear. "For reasons that don't have anything to do with you. Who are you, and how do you know who I am?" he spat, trying to keep his voice even despite the growing panic that was shattering his mind.

"Everyone knows you, Fullmetal Alchemist, soldier of the people." The man said softly, words drifting off of his lips lightly, like flower petals from a branch shaking in the wind. Edward knew he was famous, but he doubted that was how he knew who he was.

"Yeah, and?"

"That and a loyal follower led me right to you." From beside him, a tall figure stepped out of the shadows, light from the Omega casting a beam at her face. Edward's breath caught in his throat, the sweat on his face dripping off of his chin. Golden eyes widened with shock as he looked upon the form before him.

"Amara!" her name exploded from his throat, anger straining his tone. He had known she didn't like him, but to be working against him the entire time? But who was it she was working for?

"Hey, Fullmetal Pipsqueak." She said softly, laughing upon seeing his expression. "Surprised to see me?"

"Does your father know what his little girl is up to at this hour?" he growled, eyes narrowing as he aimed the bladestaff at her. The girl rolled her eyes, a thin, smart grin plastered to her structured face.

"Poor old daddy passed away." She said with a smirk, indicating the end of the cave. Edward's face froze in a look of horror; he followed her finger with his eyes until it rested upon a body, bound in a corner, eyes rolled back into its head. Ancient arms tied, his hands hung limply at the wrists, fingers pressed against the floor. His face was pale, eyes gaping at nothing, mouth twisted in a frightened gasp.

"You… you killed your own father…" Edward breathed, eyes glued to Kosuke's hunched corpse. Amara nodded, flipping her hair casually. "The very person to bring you into this world… and you killed him…"

"Daddy was a bit of a nuisance… he did tell you all the things I was there to protect." She explained, as though it was a perfectly reasonable explanation. Edward stared, mouth hanging agape at what she had just said.

"You killed your own father because he saved your life?" he shouted, taking an infuriated step toward her.

"Judging from your behavior right now, I know that you wouldn't have killed me back then." She returned coolly. Edward was too enraged to even combat her reply.

"Then tell me. What did you have to gain from killing him? Who are you working for? I spent years, risking everything I had trying to bring my mother back from the dead and yet you kill your own father in cold blood!" Edward screamed. "WHAT DO YOU GAIN!"

Her face was frosty, ice blue eyes dark, stained with anger. Her hands were clenched in deep fists that rested at her sides, shoulders squared as she glared at him, wondering why it mattered to him.

"I'm in it for the stone." Her voice came in a whisper, low and curt, her face masking her perplexity towards him. "I need the stone."

"And you're willing to sacrifice fifty innocent people to get it, including your father, is that it? That has to be the greediest thing I've ever heard." Edward whispered, voice shaking tremulously, eyes brimming with petrified tears. "You killed your own father just so you could gain something?"

"You hit the nail on the head, pipsqueak." She breathed, keeping note of his trembling tone. She was amazed at the emotion that was evident on his face; he cared that much for life that he was grieving for a loss that wasn't even his own?

"Then tell me what you would gain from forging the Omega." He spat, brow furrowed, eyes twitching with anger, fear and distress. The little temper he had managed to hold back was ebbing away, provoked by her silence. "Tell me, dammit!"

"No."

Her voice came hard, eyes flashing as she spoke. Edward grinded his teeth, clenching his jaw, and glared at her with the fiercest of glowers. Sweat mingled with tears as he aimed the bladestaff directly at her chest. He was about to speak, when a thought struck him horribly. He slowly swiveled his gaze behind him to where Kosuke lay, and his thoughts were confirmed.

Bodies.

Like Kosuke, around forty bodies were stacked in the back of the cave, the glare of the Omega casting them in shadow. Edward felt his breathing slow to a stop, losing consciousness of his senses, the visions before him filling his mind, everything else coming up as a blank in his head.

Dead.

Dead.

Dead.

All these people, murdered for one common cause. Greed. Edward was sickened, his face ashen, pallid as he stared at the bodies of old men, middle aged women, and tiny, innocent children, faces peaceful as though sleeping, eyes lowered to a close.

'Even kids… she killed little kids just for this…' Edward thought, infuriated and horrified. The faces of Nina and Elysia screamed like wildfire through his mind.

"Hey, pipsqueak." Amara's voice came blurrily through his head, a hazy reminder that life ticked on as he stood, dazed. He didn't move; quivering eyes were fixed upon the group of people huddled in the back of the cave, his mouth still hanging slightly agape. "Pipsqueak!"

"My name…" he whispered. "Is Edward Elric." Amara's laugh sent shivers down his spine; he blanched visibly.

"Fine, Edward Elric." She said softly, letting the last of her laughter die out. "Aren't you doing the same thing I am?"

"What?"

"Aren't you going for the stone too?" she asked. "Because you'd have to kill just as many people to get to your goal. At the end of the day, you're the same as I am." Edward laughed outright, facing her entirely now.

"Isn't that rich." He said sharply. "I get the same thing every time, from every alchemist I meet."

"What's so funny, punk?" she demanded, anger blotching her features, composure lost.

"Every twisted alchemist I run into wants to tell me how much like them I am." Edward said simply, copping an annoyed hand. "Well get this. I'm nothing like you. I won't kill innocent people to claim my own goal. It's not how I work."

"Then how do you work, Mr. Noble Alchemist?" she asked mockingly. "Who are you to act like you're better than everyone else, as though we're the scum of the earth, huh?"

"You are the scum of the earth now." he replied plainly. "Your hands were once great, Amara." His words threw her off guard.

"What?" she asked, taken aback, tone questioning rather than scornful. Edward looked penitent, regret clear in his eyes.

"Your hands once created great things. I know, believe me. I knew you had talent when you first fought me." he returned coolly. "I saw the things that you shaped; they were amazing. Beyond anything that I was used to fighting, and I really don't take pleasure in saying all this too often. I was impressed, to say the least."

"Your point being?" she snapped, impatiently. Edward's face was firm, his eyes flashing.

"What once created can only destroy now." he said softly, his voice slightly above a whisper. "Hands that used to make great things are now stained with blood. Hands that could have changed lives and created beauty can only destroy and kill now. Your hands, which should have done wonders, are blemished by death, forever tainted with decay."

"Yeah?" she sparred back. "If you're so aghast that I'm killing for the Omega, then how do you plan on getting it?"

"What?" he spat back, anger now flushing his face.

"If you're too magnanimous to kill," she said with a visible smirk, "then how do you plan on forging one?"

"Other means." Edward snapped back instantly. She grinned, tossing her hair, taking a slow step toward him, casting even more shadow upon the tall frame that stood in her wake.

"Such as?" she inquired innocently, artlessly cocking her head to one side, her hair flipping slightly, flickering the light of the stone upon her face clearly; Amara's eyes cast an ice blue glare at the boy who's face quivered with rage.

"I'll figure it out." He growled. Amara shook her head and wagged a scolding finger.

"Now, now. That's no way to act." She said simply, eyes smiling down at him wickedly.

"Why make the stone if there's one right there?" Edward demanded. "Isn't that yours?" She shook her head, face clouding over in a perturbed expression.

"That's merely his prototype. Not a completed stone. That thing's of no use to anyone." She indicated the form behind her. "He promised to help me if I brought in the people. He promised to help me forge one. Promised to give me the array as long as I gave him part of the result in return."

"Why him?" Edward asked, face inquisitive. "What could he know about the Omega? The only one who knew about the Omega is dead, and he was…"

The man that stood tall behind Amara stepped out of the shadows, light illuminating upon the jagged appearance. Edward's breath caught in his throat, his face chalky, pallid with sudden realization. Amara's face was smug with pride, arrogant with satisfaction at his shock.

"It can't be…" his voice came shaky, strain and fear evident in his tone. You're… you're…" The man's face was twisted, an insane smile glued to his face. He nodded once, dark eyes carved deep into his head, skin so thin it was plastered to his skull. His voice came deep and raspy, laughter evident behind words that couldn't be true:

"Omegas Glyph."

"Colonel!"

Roy's head snapped up instinctively at the sound of Riza's voice. Had she caught him slacking off again? Damn, he hoped not.

"I'm working!" he called back, pulling some papers onto his desk to make it appear that he had been.

"Colonel, come here, please!" the urgency, alarming pain in her voice startled him. She wouldn't overstep her authority to command him unless it was vitally important, that he knew for sure.

He leaped to his feet and turned rapidly down the hall, following the sound of her voice to Alphonse's room. His heart turned to ice in his chest, eyes narrowed. His hand rested upon the knob as banging and shrieking echoed from before him.

"COLONEL!" her voice screamed from behind the door. Panic stained her tone, a tenor he had heard only once before. "Colonel, PLEASE!" Roy thrust the door open with such a force that it banged against the wall, his eyes scanning the room, face taut.

"What…" he began, but fell silent immediately upon the sight before him, ebony eyes constricted with shock. Riza fought frantically against the struggling form in her arms, taking blow after blow against her face and chest, hands drenched in blood. Second Lieutenant Maria Ross had set to work on forming bandages from the cloth laid out before them, reapplying them to Alphonse to the best of her ability with the flailing of his arms, her face strained with fear, sharp cobalt eyes welling with tears.

"Colonel, please help!" Riza begged, trying to keep her voice neutral and failing.

"What happened!" He demanded, lunging forward, powerful arms pinning Alphonse's shoulders to the thin mattress. "Get away from him, Lieutenant." He ordered, his voice mordant with anxiety. She stumbled away from the screaming child almost in fear, regaining her composure slowly.

"He started telling me about the creature," she breathed, voice strained, staring at Roy's hunched form that fastened Alphonse down. "When he started screaming and hitting me… he spat up blood and shouted that he had killed it."

"Did he tell you what it was?" Roy shouted over Alphonse. Riza's eyes brimmed with fearful tears; she nodded.

"He screamed 'Mother'." Roy turned and gave her a comforting stare; one firm nod was his reply. "You knew?" she breathed.

"Yeah." He said softly, his words drowned in Alphonse's shrieking. "Yeah." He focused again on the child pinned in his grasp.

"ALPHONSE!" his voice rang loud, echoing throughout the room. Alphonse stopped shouting, dark cerulean eyes locking upon Roy's. "You did not kill your mother." He said loudly, voice hard.

"Kill…"

"You did not kill her. She died of an illness. Trisha Elric was your mother and she died of a disease when you and your older brother, Edward, were young children. That was nearly five years ago." Roy went on calmly, though his voice remained deafening. Riza's face was fearful, tight and pallid, eyes glued to the Colonel. She and Maria had frozen, as though time had stopped around them. "You had nothing to do with it." Roy finished, tone harsh. Alphonse's eyes overflowed with tears, his face still bloodstained. He coughed violently, more blood coming up onto his chest.

"I didn't… kill her…" he panted, gasping for air between coughs. "I didn't do it…"

"That's right." Roy replied, indicating Riza with a toss of his head. He looked toward the towels clenched in Maria's hand. Riza nodded and rushed over, taking them from her hand and dismissing her quickly. Maria saluted hurriedly, and raced to get more help.

"Riza." Her name fell from his lips like an empty shell from a shotgun after fire. "He isn't going to make it."

"What?" she breathed, tears visible in russet eyes. She shook her head, disbelieving. "That can't happen… he was stable just a moment…"

"That was a moment ago." He interrupted her angrily. "Look at him." Alphonse's face was ashen, thin red streaks dripping from his chin. He was coughing violently still, his body convulsing in pain with each breath. At long last, though, his face had reached some sort of calm, like the eye of a hurricane before the worst was to come.

"We adored her," he breathed, blood sliding down the side of his lips. "She was everything to us…" Breath came in slow, shallow gasps.

"…but equivalent exchange…" he coughed, lips turning dark from lack of air. "…it wasn't real… it was never real…"

"What?" Roy asked softly, releasing his grip upon Alphonse's shoulders. Riza stepped forward tentatively, standing at his side, peering down upon the boy whose gaze was transfixed on the ceiling, as if the answer to the universe was scrawled across it.

"It was never real after all." Alphonse said softly, voice growing thin, strained. "There is no such thing as equivalent exchange." Roy's face lost its firm look, pain growing unmistakably in ebony eyes. Riza fell to her knees and gripped Alphonse's hand, eyes beginning to pool with hot tears once more. Roy felt her hand clutch his own; his grasp tightened around hers.

"Al, hang on…" she choked, squeezing the child's hand. "Alphonse…"

"There is no… equivalent exchange…" The boy's eyelids began to flutter, and began slowly drifting closed…

"Glyph, eh?" Edward's voice had regained its egotistical scoffing tone. "Well, I'll admit it's a surprise, but I really don't care."

"You should, Edward Elric." The man stated plainly. "Because it is you who will be my last sacrifice."

"You only have about forty people, and I'm not letting you kill any more." Edward growled threateningly, aiming the bladestaff directly between the man's eyes, preparing to lunge.

"Oh?" the man questioned blatantly. He kneeled in the dirt and pressed his hands to an array that had been drawn previously. Waves of electricity sparked along the floor, shocking anything touching it, including the base to the podium displaying the Omega's unfinished form. Edward flung himself off the ground backwards, flipping upside down and landing precariously upon the stone's dais. His eyes convulsed, appalled at the sight before his eyes. Hair standing on end, Amara's eyes rolled violently back into her head, arms snapping straight out to her sides, the transmutation symbol etched into her ring shattering. The electric shock about the floor faded; Amara's twisted form fell to the ground with a resounding thud.

"I thought you weren't letting me kill anyone else." Glyph breathed, eyes flickering tauntingly, challengingly. Edward gaped at Amara's unmoving figure on the dusty, clouded ground. He leaped from the plinth, hands clapping together, the bladestaff disappearing.

"What are you doing?" Glyph demanded, taken by surprise.

"No rock could require fifty human lives as equivalent exchange." Edward snapped, voice firm. "That's not equivalent, and yet that's what it takes. That can't be right. That can't be real."

"That's the way things work in this world, kid." Glyph growled angrily. "Life isn't fair and things aren't equivalent. But as it stands, you can't form the stone without sacrificing those materials." Edward's eyes gleamed, lids lowering slowly. The cave around him seemed to disappear as his mind cleared. He clapped his hands together, and pressed them to the ground. Sapphire spheres of gleaming light eradicated from the bloodstained ground; Edward's eyes snapped open with a shimmering, explosion of gold, lips upturned in an indomitable smile.

"Watch me."

A/n: Aren't you amazed? I did it! I wrote chapter 9 in a day! Whoo-hoo! dances around I dragged it out even more so now I have really no idea what to do. I know what I want Ed to do, but I'm not sure as to other aspects of the story. I'm really not big on Mary Sue endings, you know, happily ever after? If you've read other fics of mine, they kind of have a downbeat end, but I don't know… I'm like really out of ideas, and I have no Dr Pepper to fire me up, and I can't do Pepsi to save my life, so PLEASE, if you have any ideas, please feel free to IM me at or startingxtoxrain. All ideas will be greatly appreciated and I need all the help I can get. Sorry ta keep you waiting! And thanks to my mama, (XD!), my friends Nadia, Stina, Brittany, and all my other reviewers 'cause every review is greatly appreciated. More soon!

Raeluvs