Chapter 11: To The Place We Were Born

Here is chapter 11, finally. I wanted to postpone writing this for a day because I got the sudden urge to finish a chapter for both Kan Yume (Furuba fanfic) and this fanfic and post them the same day. That way, everyone's happy! . Please read and review! I actually do enjoy reading what you think!

Their mother stumbles, almost falling into Ed and Al. Clearly, her body was not used to walking any more then she was used to being alive again. As if she read their minds, she asks, "Can one of you two please help me walk again…?"

Al nods and staggers over to his mother, slipping his hand under her arm and wrapping it around to her back. She places her arm around his neck limply for support.

Ed, meanwhile, swings his floppy right arm across his body and claps it against his left hand. Quickly, he drops to his knees, placing his left hand on the ground. A large, blasting blue light shot up around them and it lifted the bodies and tossed them against a wall like rag dolls. Their heads whipped up and metal laces locked around their necks and ankles to hold them in place. With a quick decision more metal locks on their wrists. The three bodies sagged a little, but other then that, the metal lacings were perfect. Gradually, Edward walks towards them, holding his drooping right arm.

After seeing the faces of the intruders, he turns around slowly, looking at the ground. When he walks towards his mother and Al, and looks up, his face is shown to be a pale white. It looked as if he'd seen more then one ghost today.

Before Al or his mother had the chance to ask anything out of worry, Ed says quietly, "We have to go home. Al…start packing the stuff, I'll take mom." After finishing his sentence, Ed puts his left arm around his mother and she does the same as before by putting her arm around his neck. Alphonse scurries around the room weakly, gathering up bags and hurriedly putting clothes and items in them. A paper flutters up into the air as he pulls up a shirt. He grabs it and looks at the paper curiously. It was…one of the Dorai Circle's instruction papers. The one Edward was taking notes on.

Stuffing the paper into his pocket, he throws the rest of the items into the cases, and lifts them onto their wheels.

Ed slaps his forehead with his right hand, and then regretfully groans as he feels the impact of the auto mail on his forehead. "Alphonse! Transmute a large carrying case!"

"You baka! We can't take that screen box thing, its way to large!" Alphonse exclaims in disbelief of his brother's request.

His left eye twitches as he hears his brother call him a 'baka'. "Are you implying something my dear brother!" he shoots back at Al angrily. That remark brought back the memories of when he had to dress up as the 'dog of the military' for Roy Mustang in order to have him permit his brother to take the State Alchemist Exam. The most humiliating part of that little show was when he had to call himself a 'Hagaren No Baka' and a 'Hagaren No Chibi.' It angered him beyond compare, the only time he was as angry as this was when they tried bringing their mother back to life when they were far younger and he ended up losing Alphonse in the process.

"Let's go!" Ed grunts far more angered now after recalling the past events. He carefully hands his mother to Alphonse, takes hold of the pulling part of the bags, and drags them across the ground since they have wheels.

Exiting the apartment with his mother and Alphonse, Ed hurriedly pulls himself along, trying to keep his mother concealed. It was extremely hard to do this though because a woman walking with a large blanket on her drew much attention. Especially with her arm around Al's neck to keep her standing on her feet. Even though this pulled the awareness of pondering eyes, they had not the slightest clue of what was going on. So, Ed just instructs them along and brings them to the nearest train station where the train would take them directly to Rizenbul; the place where they were born. They board the train quickly after they reach it and rest for quite some time.

The squealing of the wheels on the tracks awoke the sleeping Ed and he rubs his eyes and the pushes his finger in his ear a little. "Ah…what the hell?" he groans and rubs his eyes once more. The train had already reached Rizenbul. At the sight of this, he gets to his feet in a matter of seconds and wakes up his mother and his one year younger brother.

They all leave the train and Edward pays the ticket fees without a second thought. Hurrying down the dirt path with their mother –who, had regained the ability to walk as well as run- they go in the direction of Winry's house.

Stopping at the door, Ed lifts his left hand and knocks firmly on the door. No answer comes and he knocks once more with a tighter fist. "Maybe…I'm not knocking hard enough…" he mutters under his breath, and for a third time, knocks on the door. After he doesn't hear a sound come from the inside of the house, he walks around the house with his family and stops in the back of it near a fairly large shed.

As he thought, Winry was working on something in the backyard and wasn't exactly listening to what was going on in front of her house.

Winry rubs her head with her hand after removing an oily glove. She was perspiring continuously which gave the three Elric's the impression that she had been working all day. Getting to her feet, she turns around looking at the floor blankly. Ed, Al, and Trisha were staring at Winry from where they stood, awaiting her recognition of their presence. She closes her eyes and looks straight ahead. The heat was getting to her and she was wearing long pants and a long-sleeved shirt, this was so that none of the grease got on to her everyday clothing.

Her eyes flutter open, her hand gently against her forehead like she was trying to keep herself from fainting. At the sight of Edward and Alphonse a gentle smile crosses her face, apparently she was pretty convinced they were just hallucinations. But, when she saw Trisha, she was persuaded into believing that they had done something foolish and came back just so she can fix some part of Edward's body. "EDWARD!" Winry shouts abruptly

Ed stumbles backward, quite startled by her angry reaction. "Y-Yes ma'am?" He mutters worriedly, loud enough for Winry to hear.