Yuugiamythest: The angst ridden fun IS the will of the authoress…
Abstractication: thanks for the semi-review, I appreciate it as always. Nice to hear from you again.
ShadedRouge and CharriXD: don't die of suspense yet, we're almost there. Thanks for reading and reviewing.
Eleventy-Nine: thank you for your words of praise, such things always make me feel so good! However, they are not the reason I dedicate this chapter to you… You were listening to John Lennon while reading this. It must have been fate. Either that or we are psychically linked. One of the two.
Note: The lyrics that appear at the end of this chapter are the inspiration for this entire story. They are from the Beatles song "In My Life," written by John Lennon and Paul McCarthy. Enjoy.
Re-weighting the Scales
The voice was gone. Everything was white. Edward recognized this place.
Alphonse stood before him, and his heart soared. This was his brother! Not his double that he had befriended in Germany, but Alphonse Elric, his bronze ponytail draped over his shoulder and his wide grey eyes looking unblinkingly into Edward's.
They were nearly touching.
"Do- do you remember me?" he asked hesitantly, hearing his own voice echo in the nothingness that surrounded them.
"Of course," Alphonse breathed. "Of course I remember you. Brother." It was Alphonse who threw his arms around Ed, drawing him to his chest in the embrace he had longed for since he was ten years old, for more years than he could remember, and in the vast expanse of emptiness he could feel his brother's heart beating in time with his own. "Have you been in the gate all this time?" he asked, speaking to the top of his brother's head, not wanting to let go of him enough to look him in the eyes.
Edward shook his head. "I came to get you… you haven't been here all this time, have you?" he asked, pulling away slightly and looking up at him.
"No, I was… I was in another place, with another me…"
"Alphonse built his rocket," Edward said softly, and his brother nodded. "You're so tall, Al," he said fondly, taking in the sight of him. A perfect transmutation.
"And you're so old," Alphonse answered, and Ed looked like he was about to laugh until he squeezed his eyes shut, pressing his face into his brother's shoulder and grasping him tightly with his flesh hand.
"I missed you so much, Al, I was so afraid-" here his voice broke "-I was so afraid the transmutation didn't work, that you were gone, and I'd never know, that I'd never get to tell you how sorry I am- I ruined your entire life-"
A warm hand came up to stroke the back of his head, soothing. "Don't say that, brother," Alphonse said swiftly. "I never thought that. I never believed that for a minute."
"I'm sorry," Edward whispered again.
"Don't be sorry," his brother said to him, his voice warm in the void that surrounded them. "We're together now. Nothing can change that."
There are places I'll remember all my life,
Though some have changed,
Some forever, not for better,
Some have gone and some remain.
All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall.
Some are dead and some are living.
In my life I've loved them all.
But of all these friends and lovers,
There is no one compares with you,
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new.
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before,
I know I'll often stop and think about them,
In my life I'll love you more.