Yup…I'm seeing one more chapter…you lucky readers you.
Chapter Eighteen: Home Again in Risembool…Again
Once they were out of the Shadow Realm, Edward had collapsed; they brought him to the infirmary where he was taken care of. Everybody noticed that the spot on the back of his shoulder no longer had the Ouroboros, it must have vanished after Pride was locked away. He was very weak both body, mind, and soul so he needed lots of rest, which he got a good three and a half days worth. It was about midmorning when Edward came too, he got out of his bed and walked outside, there he found it to be very sunny and more or less much too hot for his liking. He hadn't really had the time to notice the weather…or the temperature for that matter, if he had he probably would have found himself in deep debate over how pleasantly beautiful this place was and how insanely hot it was.
He found a comfy spot in the shade and sat down, he still wasn't fully himself yet but he was strong enough to walk around for a short period of time. Ed couldn't help but feel somewhat unfulfilled, it was like he was missing something and it kept nagging at him. Also, whenever his brother or Winry would ask about what happened three and a half days ago, all he could tell him was that he remembered only the fact that he felt like crap and wanted nothing to do with anyone or anything. At least until he started feeling worse and decided to try and put a stop to his tormentor.
Edward gazed blankly up at the cloudless blue sky and pondered, now that everything has run its' course…how would they return home? There had to be a way, but nothing was coming to him, things always seemed to move extra slow whenever he had a long lasting damper on his mind. He really needed to watch it or else he'd go senile at the tender age of twenty…if he was lucky.
"Hey Ed…how are you feeling?" Winry asked walked over. Ed turned and gave her the same blank look he'd been giving the sky and replied,
"Not bad…but not good either."
"You mind if I sit down?"
"No…"
"What are you doing out here? You really should still be resting."
"I'd much rather rest out here then in that stuffy room…" Ed shrugged.
"True…" Winry nodded, she glanced over at him and snickered, "You know Ed, ever since we got here, you seemed to have started tanning."
"So…what's your point." Ed grumbled.
"It's…kinda cute," she laughed.
"Well…people do that when they've been in the sun…have you looked in a mirror lately? You're pretty cooked yourself."
"Oh really? What's YOUR point? I mean honestly…" Winry grumbled.
"Well…" he sighed, "it's kinda cute…"
"What?" she turned to look at him, Ed was gazing back up at the sky.
"You know…the sky is really pretty here…it's a shame we have to leave." He muttered.
"Yeah…" Winry scooted closer to Ed and rested her head on his shoulder, "But…it wouldn't be too bad if we stayed."
"Hm?" Ed side glanced at her curiously, he then sighed and said, "True…" he put his arm around her shoulders and went back to looking up at the sky. But the moment was interrupted when Alphonse came running up to them and scaring the living daylights out of the both of them.
"Brother! Guess what! I think we've found a way back!"
"Really? What is it?"
"Well, it's through the Shadow Realm, all we have to do is summon the Gate within ourselves there and it should act as a sort of…sort of…" Al paused as he'd completely forgotten the term he was going to use, "Well, it's supposed to help."
"Wow," Ed muttered moving his arm from Winrys' shoulder and scratching the back of his head, "Where did you find all this out?"
"Mana showed me, well she showed me Priest Mahaados' books on the Shadow Realm and I worked it out from there." Al said with a smile, he then noticed the look he was getting from Winry, "Um…did I interrupt something?"
"No Al, you didn't," Winry sighed getting up, "Come on you two, if there's a way to get home then lets do it." She then left leaving both Elrics' confused; one confused because he wasn't sure if he'd really interrupted something and the other confused because he thought Al HAD interrupted something.
"Come on Al…lets go." Ed finally said standing up.
"You sure you're up to this?" Al asked.
"Yeah…I'm pretty sure I am." Ed snickered; he followed Al out of the nice cool 95-degree shade into the not so nice pushing 110-degree sunshine. The two brothers made their way down one of the many palace hallways until they came to the room Alphonse had set up.
"Here we are brother."
"Great job Al, you better go get Winry." Ed smiled patting Al on the back. Al gave him a mockingly annoyed look then smirked,
"Fine brother, what ever you say."
"Yeah! That's right!" Ed snickered as Al walked out the door with a slight smirk on his face. Ed sighed and walked into the center of the room, it was fairly spacious and had a very high ceiling, he sighed again and glanced over at the far right corner saying,
"If you have something to say to me then say it…"
"So…you are the real Edward Elric?" Priest Seto stepped out of the shadows; he had the Millennium Rod in his hand and was holding it at an angle so that Ed could see it clearly.
"Yeah, you could say that…but I was still the real Edward even with my darker half, you just refused to see it." Edward glared.
"Is that so?"
"Yeah…you put me through hell in thoughts that you were torturing and interrogating Pride."
"…"
"What? Got nothing to say to that?" Ed jeered, "If it makes you feel any better, no I don't forgive you and no I never will."
"I really could care less…" Priest Seto glared.
"Then what do you want? As you can see we're getting ready to leave…"
"Which is why I am here," Priest Seto held up the Millennium Rod, the eye in the center flashed and Ed was thrown against the far wall, Priest Seto walk over to him and said, "If you ever show your face here again…I will kill you myself."
"T…trust…me…I wouldn't come back here if it was the last place left in the universe."
"Hmph…" The Priest released his hold on the elder Elric and walked away. Edward frowned and got up; he'd landing kind of roughly, brushing the sand off the back of his pants he looked around.
"Well…" he muttered. Alphonse soon returned with Winry, the Pharaoh, Mana, and four of the five priests had arrived with them.
"We've come to see you all off." Mana smiled.
"I'm afraid Priest Seto was unable to join us, he had business he had to attend to." The Pharaoh sighed.
"You don't have to worry about him, he said his good byes." Ed huffed crossing his arms; he then turned to Alphonse and asked, "Al, since you figured all this out I have a question. Will we end up back in Xenotime when we go back?"
"Um…" Al looked sheepish, "Well, I'm not sure…maybe…"
"All right then," Ed shrugged, "I trust your judgement." Al blinked a few times then smiled,
"Right!"
"You three are ready to go then?" The Pharaoh said.
"Yup." Ed, Al, and Winry nodded. Nodding, Atem used the Millennium Puzzle to call up the Shadow Realm, the all too familiar darkness enveloped the room.
"Right, my turn." Edward said, since he didn't have the mark anymore he had to make a new one, remembering the one Dante had used when she summoned the Gate he quickly took off his shirt and tied it around his waist. Once that was done, he bit his index finger till it started bleeding; he then drew the transmutation circle just above his heart. Alphonse watched as his brother did this then followed suit, he did this now because he knew that even though his brother wouldn't admit it, he wasn't strong enough at that moment to pull off a transmutation like this one, so he was going to help.
"Uh…guys, should I do something?" Winry asked. Both brothers turned their heads and smirked.
"Nope." Al started.
"You can just sit back and enjoy the ride." Ed finished.
--
"Granny! We're back!" Winry shouted running up the path towards her house, she waved as her grandmother walked out onto the porch; Edward and Alphonse weren't far behind.
"Welcome back you guys, how was your trip?" Pinako said while blowing a small smoke ring. Ed, Al, and Winry paused and looked at each other, they were mentally prodding the other to tell her, finally Ed gave in and said,
"It was…entertaining."
"Oh, ho! You three will have to tell me about it." Pinako laughed, "Come on in, I've got dinner ready."
"What are we having?" Al asked.
"Stew…" Pinako said simply turning and walking back into the house. Al grinned and walked into the house after Pinako, Ed was about to follow him when Winry grabbed his arm.
"What is it?" he asked turning. Winry was giving him a look, one he knew ment something but it wasn't fully registering, "Winry?"
"Ed, do you think he's really gone?" she asked.
"Who? Pride?" Ed thought for a moment, "Do you want an honest answer?"
"Yes."
"I don't know, I thought he was the last time and yet he found a way back." Ed turned and looked Winry in the eyes, "No matter how I look at it, he was a part of me, I wouldn't be surprised if he did come back."
"Oh…" Winry let go of his arm and looked at the ground, "I see…"
Seeing that the answer he gave probably wasn't such a good one, Edward placed a hand on her shoulder and said,
"Hey, it took him a year this time, who's to say, it may take longer a second time." He turned to head into the house, "Come on, it's getting cold out here."
Winry started to follow but paused for a quick second before she took three quick steps forward and hugged him from behind,
"If he does come back, I'll be there with you ok." She rested her head on the back of his shoulder; "You don't have to worry."
"Ah Winry…" Ed sighed, "Thank you…" They both walked into the house a moment later.
-To Be Continued-
Neyahahaha! Al to the rescue! No…wait…DARN YOU AL! (Had reverted from an EdWin hater to an uber EdWin supporter XD whoooo! EdWin forever!)
Hee, hee, hee, shirtless Ed and Al XD (Muse1: MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER!), oh sorry! (Holds Kleenex under nose due to nosebleed) Anyway, the next chapter is more an epilogue, a sort of sneak peek into the next part of the story (YES! ANOTHER part of the story…most likely the last part but hey). Old friends, new enemies…a new story.