Chapter 7: His only Desire.

Roy Mustang thought that that was the most confusing moment on his life. He'd just killed the one who was supposedly been the leader of Amestris for more than twenty years and all of the generals acted as he was predicted to do it. Even weirder, he'd been declared by all of them as the new Führer; as if all of them, older, more experience, and more important than him, hadn't had the right of been the new Führer.

He was dragged to the Führer's office as he was asked to wait until the Ceremony where he was presented to all the military commenced. Bradley's corpse wasn't there anymore; he thought that they'd taken it out, as they seemed to know everything.

He was alone; confused, alone, and somewhat afraid. He wanted to search for support; but when he asked one of the Führer's secretaries to call his old subordinates, he was informed that by orders of Bradley, they were transferred to other HQs, far for Central. He thought he could order them to return, but in that time, he was alone.

Uneasy, he started walking around the office, expecting something to happen soon. And then he remembered something: According to Hawkeye's calculations, there was supposedly to be a passage from that office to the underground maze where they entered some days before. He remembered that the entrance was supposed to be at the left side behind Führer's desk.

He started searching on it, touching the wall everywhere, and finally he found a small switch. When he pressed it, the corner suddenly opened, revealing a narrow passage that leaded somewhere.

He didn't mind if the Generals entered there and found the office deserted. He knew that the truth would be at the other side of the passage. He also didn't think about the consequences that could lead. He only wanted…to find the truth.

The five invaders stopped causing havoc when they realized that they achieved what they wanted to do. The three Homunculi stood in front of them as they entered to the third room of the Underground maze.

- Good morning gentlemen, we were waiting for you – were the first words of the homunculus leader, but the youngest of them.

- PRIDE! – Ed shouted with anger, preparing to attack; but he was stopped by an Al's prevention.

- Envy, Gluttony! – Pride shouted to the other two homunculi – fight with all your strength, you have my permission, kill the intruders, I'll take care of the human sacrifices.

- I was hoping you to say that! – Envy said, with an evil grin on his face –YOU'LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO ME, I'LL NOT LET EVEN YOUR BONES – and transformed to his original form, incredibly big and insane; but there was a difference: only ten humanoid forms surrounded his corrupt body.

Meanwhile, Pride grabbed Gluttony's tongue and a light of alchemy started to glow – you're feeling very hungry; now go and eat!

- I'LL CONSUME, CONSUME EVERYTHING – the fat homunculus shouted as he headed towards Scar, May Chen and Ling. His mouth opened until his stomach, letting them to view a horrible big eye that was inside him.

-they've had taken those appearance again – Ling said – WATCH OUT!

The floor trembled as Envy ran toward them, they managed to dodge it, but suddenly gluttony started to suck them, they were saved by Scar as he managed to make float some stone boulders from the floor, giving Gluttony some material to eat before he ate them. But Envy then attacked Scar with his tail, launching him to the hard orichalchos wall.

DAMN MONSTER! – Ed shouted, willing to go to help them, but a transmutation light behind him called his attention. When he turned, he saw Pride holding a big scythe and running towards them.

- You both are going to fight with me! – The Homunculus said, as he jumped and with a twist of his waist, made a double attack that the brothers were able to dodge by few.

- PRIDE! – Ed shouted, the image of Al's broken seal was still burning on his head. After transmuting his automail, he rushed against the homunculus, trying to harm him, or even kill him; but as hot blooded as he was then, he hadn't a chance against the homunculus, who dodged his attack with incredibly easiness.

Ed was wide opened then. It would have been very easy to kill him, or maybe just to cut him another arm or leg, as he had Father's order to not to kill him. But Pride only kicked him hard and he fell down to the floor. The same occurred with Al: Attack, dodge and launch.

The skirmish continued, and the brothers, without noticing it, were slowly dragged into another room. It was too late when they realized that, Pride left his scythe, clapped his hands, and alchemizes an air bomb, completely launching Ed and Al to the room. With another clap, the only door that that room had was closed by a dark wall that suddenly rose from the floor unbreakable by simple means: orichalchos.

Ed and Al took sometime to recover. Pride was standing in front of them looking impassively at them. Ed's resemblance full of hate hasn't changed; but he waited for some answers.

- Here, nobody will bother us – Pride finally said – it is time.

- Time for what! – Ed asked, wary.

- Time for the one who hadn't had a real body for over 5 years to recover it from the shadow realm between dimensions.

Alchemy lights started to appear in all the room, as Scar, and May Chen desperately used all their techniques to stop the two mad homunculi that were attacking them. At least an hour had

- This is not working – May Chen pointed out – what if we try a combined attack, Ling!

The Ling Prince grabbed his sword, jumped into gluttony's head and pierced it into his. May Chen Launched her small daggers and they pieced envy's head

- Scar-san, I need sand!

With the power of his arm, Scar, lifted up a wall of sand from the floor, that covered both homunculi. May Chen, who had just drawn a "retanjutsu" circle, started a reaction; making every grain of sand to explode and massively harming both of the monsters.

From the dust of her reaction, Gluttony was again on his usual form, but his eyes were blank and he was surrounded by the lake of blood.

- Poor you – Envy's voice was heard from the dust of the explosion – you've been killed so many times and you now don't have any soul left; rest at peace brother.

And after these words were said, Gluttony's body became dust and a small bloody red substance emerged from it. The substance began to move, heading deeper in the maze.

- YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT, HUMANS, AND DON'T THINK I WILL DIE SO EASILY; BECAUSE MY REAL BODY IS TOO HARD TO BE HARMED SO EASILY.

And after saying this, he rushed against the tree, and frenetically started to make a lot of attacks.

They managed to hide somewhere between some broken walls, while Envy searched them shouting loudly "WHERE ARE YOU!", taking advantage of his little time. Ling spoke.

- Have you seen that humanlike forms that surround his body?

- Yes, he's ten of them.

- Well, according to Ed, they're the images of the souls of the people that are inside him. Maybe if we destroy them, we'll reduce the amount of lives he has.

- Ok, let's focus on them then.

Just enough time. Envy finally found them and crushed the walls behind them. They dodge the attack and prepared for an even more difficult battle, as the humanoid tumours moved fast across his body.

Pride's words disconcerted Ed, he was surely talking about Alphonse but he couldn't understand why.

- You're trying to say that you'll help us to recover Al's body?

- You need to open the gate, and you need a sacrifice to do that, so here I am. I'm a walking Philosopher's stone.

- You're going to help us, AND BEFORE YOU ALMOST KILLED AL, A PIECE OF THE BLOOD SEAL IS MISSING. IT IS A MIRACLE THAT HE IS STILL HERE

- I've apologized about that before, it's in the past.

- In the past? IN THE PAST! DO YOU THINK YOU COULD MEND SOMETHING AS CRITICAL AS THAT JUST BY SAYING SORRY?

-I'm trying to help him to recover his body. Isn't that enough?

- AND DO YOU THINK WE WOULD LET YOU HELP US BEFORE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE DONE TO US?

- NIISAN!

- But Al, what if this is a trap?

Then Pride's face suddenly changed, he had traces of anger and impatience.

- You said that no matter what it took, your brother would recover his body today, don't you?

- …Yes…but.

- THEN SHALLOW YOUR PRIDE AS I AM DOING AND LET THIS TO START FOR ONCE AND FOR ALL!

Those last words shocked Ed. He felt so ashamed. He was forgetting the real reason of why he was there. He needed a homunculus for a sacrifice to open the Gate; and the one who was supposed to be only pride, was offering himself as that sacrifice, and he wasn't able to do that.

- Could we start this…Ed?

Pride next words finally awake him. Did he call him Ed? Wasn't he supposedly to hate him as he was "the original one"? He looked at Al. he approved with his head and then Ed sighed

- Yes…we could start this…

It was time. He knew it was at last the time, after 5 years, when he could return his brother's body. It didn't matter anymore if he hated Pride or if Pride hated him. The most important thing is to do it.

Pride closed his eyes and waited Ed to work.

- Well, first the circle. Al, I know that you now can do alchemy without TC, but do you still have at least one of your chalks.

- hum, yeah. I've one – Al handed over a chalk to Ed – you don't know when they could be useful again.

Ed then started to draw an array. The same array he drew inside gluttony: The moon, the sun, and the hermaphrodite dragon, between other things; all of them circumscribed and inside a spiral. But before he could finish it, Pride approached to himself.

- Just make this improvement, to reduce failure chances – he said, and he drew an hexagon that kept inside everything Ed, drew before. Then two circles with the same centre over the hexagon and with some words between them. What he'd done, was to enclose the reaction, to not let the exceeding energy to go out from the circle. Preventing that, if anything wrong happened, the rebound will damage Pride and not Ed.

- I can still regenerate myself, but you only have one life, so I don't mind if a possible rebound harms me. Let's start this

- Wait! Are you trying to protect me!

- There is no point saving him if you die, he'd die a short time after, too

-……………Pride, before we start this; please tell me why are you doing this? Is this one of your Father's orders?

- No, It's not a Father's order. I'm doing this at my own will.

- But you could be betraying him by doing this, aren't you afraid of your life?

- I know I'm betraying Father by doing this, but…this feeling, is stronger than anything.

Pride suddenly stood up and looked at Al, who was patiently waiting them to finish.

- There was something very strange with my birth. Father told me that the reason why I resemble so much at you was a simple casualty; as he subconsciously thought you as his Pride, being the biological son of the only woman he'd ever loved and very talented with alchemy. But Father hasn't committed a mistake or hasn't let simple casualties to occur in his alchemy for over 200 years, so it's quite innocent to thought that as the truth.

The fact is that Father used his Pride, a shard of his own soul, for it to be my soul. But the day of our first encounter; before I could lead the final blow to him, lot's of memories started to appear at my head, lots of things that I couldn't have done in my short life. And over all of them, a promise; a promise to protect someone at all cost, and to return what he had lost, no matter if my life was taken in the process.

That night I felt terribly confused, I asked myself so many times that if I was supposed to be only Pride, why I could have those feelings. But they easily crushed my Pride, the one who was supposed to be the main part of my soul. With the advanced knowledge of alchemy that Father gave me, I started to see the truth of my own birth and to deduce who was the one whose memories I was having.

But beyond hate, anger or desperation, I have the knowledge to comply that promise; and that feeling told me that I would never forgive myself if I didn't do anything about it. I know the end is near; my life won't last long by taking this course of action. But I've already said that this is stronger than anything, and I don't mind an end, for horrible that facing Father's wrath could be. I only know, that wherever I go when all of this finished, I'll be relieved because I could at least take some part in his restoration. Let's begin this please.

Lots of thoughts started to came to Ed's head, but in all of them, there was one that was more important than the others: he didn't hate Pride anymore.

- Let's start this please Ed – Pride insisted

- hum…yes…yes, please stand at the middle of the array please

Pride walked impassively to his position and there he waited.

- Al, please get close, when I say you you'll jump into the circle, search for your body, and let that the gate return you to this place after it. I'll see a way to rejoin both of you here.

- Ok, I'm ready – Al replied, full of determination, approaching to the circle.

Ed was about to start the reaction, but before that he made a final look to Pride. He looked calm and powerful, looking to the future; as he wasn't afraid even a bit about the terrible destiny that was waiting for him. Ed promised himself that no matter what happened next, he would remember Pride that way.

- HERE WE GO! – Ed clapped and thought "Please, let this to work" and then he touched the circle. A suddenly purple light and lots of lighting filled the room. Pride closed his eyes as supporting some amount of pain. After some minutes, light changed to white.

- AL! IT'S TIME! – He shouted, and the suit of armour entered to the circle – Good Luck

Al answered with his head, and wait for the circle to swallow him

"Being swallowed again" he thought "How different is when you have the hope of returning" and then he disappeared from the eyes of Ed and Pride.

- I'll prevent us for not being swallowed by the circle too. But you need to keep the reaction until Al return, or he'll finish at a completely different place.

- You don't have to say me that – Ed replied.

And they were this way for some time. But then something terrible happened.

- Where…where am I? - Al asked to himself. He had fainted for a moment and now he was in a place that seemed to be completely empty. He looked around and then he saw an enormous gate with the representation of the tree of knowledge impressed on it. Bellow of it, there was someone sitting. He had long and beautiful, but somewhat messy gold blond hair. He was very thin, as if he hadn't eaten for a long time. Al felt some strange attraction to that boy. He wondered if…

- So, you've returned after all, Incomplete Human Sacrifice – a vicious voice talked to him from behind, when he turned around, he only saw a shadow of a person, but he perfectly knew who he was. – How is your mother?

- YOU! – Al shouted as he took a fighting stance against the shadow – HOW COULD YOU DARE TO MAKE SUCH A BAD JOKE!

- But that's what you are, an incomplete human sacrifice; as your brother gave his arm to seal your soul to that armour, body and soul were disconnected. And you were supposed to be the sacrifice for returning your mother, weren't you?

-………………………………………………………………………………………

- Fool humans, trying to revive a person without really knowing how to do it. Anyway your paper in that transmutation wasn't clear, and so you surely are searching for retaliation, about your sacrifice. Losing your body for four years, and you gave a soul for retrieving it. Equivalent exchange for that……hmmm………well, look behind you.

Al then turned around and looked that the boy that was sitting in front of the Gate suddenly grabbed one of his arms and touched his chest with his head. Then the boy raised his head, letting him to see his eyes: golden eyes looked at him and a face of a cheerful and kind boy. There was no doubt, he was him.

- …my…..soul…..at….last… - the body said pressing more his touch against the armour.

- Body and soul want to be one again – the shadow said. Alchemize you on it.

And without really knowing what he was doing he clapped his hands together and touched the body's head. Suddenly at the floor, a big TC, with the form of Al's blood seal, suddenly appeared, leaving both Body and Soul into it. Light started to surround them, and the blood seal inside of the armour started to disappear. Al could swear he could hear heaven's symphony while he was doing the process.

After a while, the reaction finally stopped and the suit of armour fell lifeless to the ground. Al suddenly started to have some strange feelings; he instinctively realized that he needed to breath and that he needed to open his eyes to see. The first thing he saw was the Suit of Armour that used to be his body for a long time lying there. Being used to move a big body, he only needed to take apart the now new sense of touch and stood up. Being completely naked, he had another feeling that he recognized as cold. After a while the shadow spoke again.

- Now that's in change of the soul, and now in exchange of the five years, that body had learned a lot in that time. It surely would prove useful.

"Oh, so that's what all of this images in my head mean" al thought

- That's enough for the Equivalent Exchange… Now, Farewell – and the shadow disappeared

Suddenly, the gate opened, and lots of dark arms surrounded him and the armour, it was time to return

- So, I must took that as a betray… - Hohenheim said, sat in his throne and connected to a lot of cables, he then suddenly raised his hand and a read array appeared in front of him

- Now attack – from behind the throne, a lot of incredibly big chimeras rushed against the places where the intruders were.

Ed was maintaining the gate opened, while Pride took a new position, acting as a catalyser for avoiding both of them to be swallowed too. But suddenly a red array appeared in front of them, and the white light started to become red, Ed remembered something horrible.

- AHHHHHH! – Pride shouted. A rebound had started, and he was suffering it. From his body, white lights started to pop up from his body. Ed tried to help him but Pride strongly said "KEEP THE PORTAL OPENED"

Time passed and more and more of Pride's souls were being swallowed. Ed was starting to feel desperately

"What is delaying him so much?" he thought, but then the suit of armour started to appear.

Ed smiled, but his happened didn't last long, the Orichalchos wall suddenly fell and a giant chimera appeared from there.

The chimera growled and a giant boulder suddenly fell from the ceiling, making Ed to stop the reaction. The red array disappeared.

The chimera rushed against them. Ed so tired to defend himself, but then a clap sounded and from the dust, a suit of armour jumped and attacked the chimera, making it to explode, then the suit of armour fell lifeless to the ground. Helmet off.

- AL! – Ed shouted, running towards the armour – what happened, did you found… - but what he saw almost killed him: there was no blood seal in the armour.

- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!- Ed desperately shouted; shaking the armour, with eyes filled with tears.

- How shameful "niisan" – a voice that filled him with happiness talked to him – aren't you able to recognize your own brother.

Then he turned around. From the dust of the fallen boulder, Alphonse Elric, flesh and bones, was grinning at him. The journey had finally ended.

A/N: Beautiful, Isn't it Al had finally returned to his body, but expect him to act weird for some time. One more to go, thanks for reading my fic. Please Review.

Next Chapter:Retreat/ The End of the Journey.