The End Is The Beginning
Disclaimer: I don't own FMA, it owns ME!
Author's note: A little less angst as sunlight bursts through the gloom. Now you'll be smiling through your tears. This is what is known as a "catharsis".
Chapter Three: The Good Place
The waiting room, as Edward had called it, was both huge, and intimate at the same time. Alphonse had the strangest feeling he could simultaneously see it's far wall - and yet not see it - it was full of people and yet populated only with the ones he loved and cared about. This afterlife business was really quite confusing. As Brother explained it, this was the place the deceased waited for their loved ones to cross over; even after they arrived, you could stay as long as you wished before moving on to something called The Good Place.
"It has many names Al - Heaven, Nirvana, Valhalla, The Elysian Fields, Paradise - like the waiting room, the Good Place is all things to all people. It's bigger than any religious idealogy - many have attempted to claim it for their God, or gods - but it doesn't really belong to anyone - except the dead like us."
Alphonse considered his next question, he didn't want to sound like an idiot. "So, is this Good Place mutable, like the waiting room?" Edward responded with a warm smile. "Now you're getting the hang of it, Al, it can be any place you were happiest when you were alive - BUT - once you are there, the clock starts to tick - in a manner of speaking."
"Wha - what do you mean?"
"It's hard to explain Al, because no one has ever come back to tell the rest of us what happens, but the theory is, you stay in The Good Place for only a certain amount of time. Which in and of itself makes no sense because there is no such thing as 'time' here; what feels like only 30 seconds could be a thousand years in the world of the living. No one quite knows for sure."
"We only know that people have suddenly disappeared from The Good Place"
"And you don't know where they go?"
Edward shrugged. "Our best guess is, they go - Elsewhere."
"But you have a different idea, don't you Brother?"
"I think - Elsewhere is a code for rebirth." Edward paused to gather his thoughts. "Think on it, if the soul is eternal, it doesn't make sense for it to have only one life. I think we will eventually be reincarnated in new bodies in the machine world. That is what the Gate's primary purpose is - for souls - not living bodies - to move from one world to the next. Before you and I were Edward and Alphonse Elric, we lived previous lives in the machine world."
"But in that case, since you died in the machine world, you would be reborn into the alchemical world?"
"I think only where you were born matters; our next lives will be in the machine world. My only worry is, will I also switch genders? I don't know if I can handle being a girl - ugh - "girl cooties", just the thought of the - OW!"
He held his head and glared at Winry, who brandished a wrench and responded with a mock glare of her own.
"I just think I'm losing my mind" Alphonse muttered under his breath. He decided to change the subject. "So, um -" uncomfortable silence " - er - how does one go to this Good Place?"
A voice he didn't recognize said "You click your heels together three times and repeat 'There's no place like home', 'There's no place like home.' " Edward gave the man a look, but he just grinned back at them, and walked through the wall.
"Well I'll be," said Winry, "I guess it's done just like that!"
"Do you want to go now, Al?" she asked softly. "The kids won't be along for quite a while yet." She took his left hand, twining her fingers between his, and smiling up at him.
"What about Yuki? Isn't he coming?" She shook her head, smiling. "No, Yuki is waiting for someone, a girl he met and fell in love with not long before he died."
Al started. "A GIRL! Yuki! You never said anything about a girlfriend?" He hadn't seen where his son was, but suddenly he was there at his father's side. "Sorry, father, I hadn't gotten time to bring her to meet you before I was killed. The worst part was, she was carrying my child too. She gave it up for adoption and went on to live her life, I want to wait for her, and our child before crossing over."
Alphonse gave Yuki one last hug. "Goodbye - son. I love you." He kissed him on the forehead, then Yuki was gone again. Winry reclaimed his left hand, and Edward took his right. "Ready? Now think Al, reach into your heart and think of the place you were happiest; and just walk forwards into the wall."
That was the easy part. Alphonse did as Edward suggested and suddenly he could hear birdsong, and a stream chuckling over rocks; he could feel a warm breeze on his cheek, and soft grass tickling his bare legs. Bare - legs? He opened his eyes and looked down at his feet; he was wearing tan shorts, a black sleeveless shirt, and sandals.
He looked over at Edward, and he was dressed just as casually; he turned left and looked at Winry, she was in a red sundress. "Risembool in the summer time, good choice my darling."
"Brother? Is this really ...?" "Yeah, Al, this is The Good Place."
Winry was laughing, she ran over to the stream, Al recognized it as a shallow spot in the Rain River; now she had jumped into the river and was kicking up sprays of water, giggling like a little girl - no - wait, she was a little girl!
"Brother?" Ed - who looked to be about 6 - grinned up at him, his hair was short again, but just as messy, he never did like to comb it. He turned away and ran towards Winry, jumped in and started kicking water himself. "Brother!" Al called, then stopped short. When had his voice gotten so high pitched? He reached the river and looked at his reflection in the water- he was a boy again!
They had a fine time playing in the river, splashing each other, turning over rocks to find crayfish and worms, fishing poles appeared from nowhere and they used the worms to bait the hooks. They didn't catch anything, but that hardly mattered, because now Winry was chasing Ed around the meadow next to the river. Al joined in the chase and they ran and ran until they were winded, then they flopped down in the shade of a nearby tree and fell asleep.
It was starting to get dark when they awoke, Al looked up the hill and saw a familiar house - their house - before they had burned it down in 1911. The lower windows were illuminated, and just then, a light sprang to life in an upstairs window.
"Brother, do you see that?" Edward nodded "It's our signal to come home for supper. C'mon, I'll race you!" With that, Ed hared off up the hill, but Al hesitated; what about Winry? "I'll go to my old house, Al, and I'll see you tomorrow."
"But, Winry, what if Granny Pinako isn't there?" "It's O.K., Al! She placed her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. And Al remembered Winry had much more experienceat being dead. "This is The Good Place, Al, everything will be fine!"
She skipped away in the general direction of the Rockbell house, Al stood there for a moment, then ran after his brother. Ed was already inside when he got to the yard; he hesitated at the door, then turned the knob and went inside. The house seemed empty, but there was hot food steaming on the kitchen table, he could hear water running to his left. Ed called "C'mon Al, gotta wash your hands!" He wandered into the bathroom where Ed was indeed washing his hands - and without being told! Would wonders never cease?
Apparently not. When Al came out of the bathroom, Ed was already sitting down and tucking in to a full plate. Al sat down and gawked: the table was groaning with all his favorite dishes: corn on the cob,beef potpies, fried chicken, roast pork, green beans, grilled sausages, mashed potatoes, egg salad. His mouth watered, what should he eat first? Then he goggled at Ed, who was drinking - MILK! He could onlylook on in silent wonderas his elder brother drained the glass in one gulp,clanked it down with a satisfied 'Ahhh!' and wiped off the milk 'mustache' with his arm.
"Don't be shy Al, you can eat what you want and all you want!" Ohhh kaayyy. He was game if Ed was. Al loaded his plate and followed his brother's lead - every bite was absolutely delicious - and he ate until his stomach hurt. Once Ed was done eating, he simply jumped down from his chair and ran off; but Al stabbed up the two green beans remaining on his plate and chewed them thoughtfully. Then he drained the last swallow from his glass of milk, dabbed his lips with a napkin, and looked around for the one responsible for this feast.
He couldn't see anyone - wouldn't their mother be here? - so he just said "Thank you" to the empty air, and went looking for Ed. He found him in their father's study, sitting on the floor, and reading an alchemy text. This was apparently his idea of heaven, so Al found an interesting book on the shelves and sat down next to his brother. They read for he didn't know how long, Al had been laying on his stomach and reading when his eyes started to get heavy. He laid his head down on the book, intending only to rest his eyes for a bit - and fell fast asleep. And so passed Alphonse Elric's first 'day' in The Good Place.
Author's note: I hope I'm seperating the paragraphs correctly. They get so stretched out after being posted, so I tend to write rather long paragraphs now. I always worry about the proper "flow" of the story. Tell me what you think of this chapter.