The Zodiac People

by agent000

Ed is sent on a misson to defeat the creatures called the zodiac people, who have the powers of the zodiac and can change into the elements their signs represent. But there is a very important detail about the mission that he doesn't know about.

15. Chapter 15

Phew! This took forever to type! (It's a really LONG chapter! I can't believe I finally finished it!) I hope that this helps to resolve that cliffhanger nicely enough for you from the last chapter. Please enjoy this final conclusion to "The Zodiac People".

Disclaimer: I still don't own FullMetal Alchemist, nor will I ever own FullMetal Alchemist.

"Edward Elric was a loving brother, a fighter for justice, and a friend to all," said Roy Mustang as he finished his speech. Everyone's eyes were teared up as they stood around the circle which contained the empty coffin in the center of it, since there were no remains of Edward's body.

Two people walked up to the coffin, and each picked up two corners of a flag that was draped over it. It was the Amestrian flag, of course. He had served his country well. They proceeded to carefully fold it into a triangular shape, and then they handed it to Al, being his only living relative left, besides Hohenheim. Al shed a few tears as he handed the flag to Winry to hold onto for a few minutes.

Al and several other people chosen to do the honors went and each placed a white flower on the coffin. They went back to their seats and listened as a trumpet player blew out "Taps" in respect to his brother's military service.

After everyone had had a good cry, they all went over to the grave that had been prepared just outside of the circle. They lowered the coffin into it, and reverently began to shovel the soil over it. So this was it. This was goodbye.

Winry cried a few tears, and then muttered, "Goodbye, Ed, I'll really miss you. I really loved you. I hope that you're happy in whatever afterlife you have, if signs have an afterlife. I hope you don't forget me."

Al placed a hand on her shoulder, and looked into her eyes. "Brother will never forget you, Winry. I could see the look in his eyes when he would look at you. He's not going to forget you anytime soon."

Winry smiled at Al and shed a few more tears. "I know, but it's still hard. I'm going to miss him so much."

"As will I," said Al, "As will I."

Several months passed since that sad day. It was summertime now. Orion was no longer in the sky, though the manifestation of him still came to visit from time to time. Winry waited every day to try and catch a glimpse of the constellation known as Scorpio, but something always ran amuck, and she wasn't able to do so.

Pisces had explained to her that it was because the signs of the zodiac actually partly control the effects of nature, and when they lost two of their number, it made it harder to keep storms and stuff in check. So, the nights were oftentimes cloudy, and she hadn't gotten a chance to see the constellation yet. Poor Ed, he hadn't even realized that he had been doing such an important job.

One night, Winry stepped outside of the house. It was finally a clear night sky. She breathed in the cool, clean air, and then took a look around. Scorpio shouldn't be that hard to find, it was a bright constellation. Yes, there it was, that beautiful constellation.

A tear rolled down her cheek. "If only you were here, Ed, I really miss you."

Winry felt a hand on her shoulder, and someone said, "I was hoping you would make the connection soon. The storms have been pretty bad lately, and you haven't been able to see the sky for some time."

Winry nodded without saying anything. She was too choked up. She really missed Ed and just wanted to be able to talk with him again. Just once.

The person behind her continued to speak. "I would have come earlier, but I couldn't until you made the connection first. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting and so sad like that."

Winry looked up. What the heck? What was he talking about? She turned to actually face the person who was talking to her and gasped. It was Ed.

"Ed! How...can you...w-what's going on...h-how...?"

Ed smiled for a second, and then chuckled. "Yes, before you ask, I did die, Winry, and I still am dead. They can kill Ed without much trouble, but they can't kill Scorpio that easily. As you can see, I'm still up there in the sky. I was able to come to you in spirit once you made the connection first."

Winry cast her eyes to the ground. "Oh...so...you're not Ed then."

"What?" shouted Ed, "Of course I'm Ed! What are you talking about?"

"But you just said that you were Scorpio, and that Ed died," said Winry.

Ed smacked his head. "Well...yeah...both of those are true...but...I'm also...Ed." Seeing the confused look on Winry's face, he proceeded to explain. "When one of the incarnations of one of the signs dies, the sign has the choice of whether to keep that mind or throw it out. Normally, I throw out the mind of the previous incarnation, because it's just extra baggage to carry into the next life. But the mind of Ed was just too precious to me. I couldn't just throw that mind out, so I kept it, and incorporated it into my own. Hence, Scorpio and Ed are no longer two separate minds. We are both combined into one now."

Winry started to cry and tried to throw her arms around Ed, only to realize that he was just spirit, and had no substance. "I'm sorry, Winry," Ed began. "I'm sorry I lost my physical body. I'm sorry I left you here alone like this. I'm just sorry."

More tears continued to roll down Winry's face. "No, don't be sorry," she said. "You did just what you had to do. You saved the entire country from being under the authority of Aries. You did nothing that was worth apologizing for. It just...it just required a greater sacrifice than either of us had imagined."

Ed and Winry stared at each other for several minutes, neither one saying a word. Finally, Winry spoke up. "Um...Can you...Are you able to...come into the house? I'm sure that everyone else would love to see you again."

Edward smiled and let out a slight chuckle. "Yes, of course I can. Now that you've made the connection by seeing me in the night sky, I can come to you in spirit anytime I want."

Winry smiled. "Good, come on then. You've been gone for some time, and we all want to see you." She waved her hand in the direction of the house, and started walking towards it. Ed just shrugged and followed. Winry was just as bossy to him whether he was living or dead.

"You sure look happy," said Pinako upon Winry's reentrance into the house. "I haven't seen you so happy in months. What's gotten into you?"

Winry giggled nervously. "We have a guest."

Al looked up from the book he was reading, and asked, "Really? Who is it?" Just then, Ed stepped into the room, and Al's jaw dropped. Pinako just stood there, smoking her pipe, so no one could tell just what her reaction really was.

Winry looked nervously from Ed to Al to her grandmother, waiting for a response. Al sat up straight, and looked at Ed. "Is that...B-Br...?" Winry and Ed nodded. "But how?" asked Al, "Isn't he dead?"

"Yes," said Ed, "I died, and I'm still dead. I'm simply coming to you in spirit. I'm finally able to do that, now that one of you has made the connection." He looked at Winry as he spoke. She blushed and smiled back.

Al was still a bit confused. "So...how did she make the connection?"

"By seeing my physical form in the night sky," answered Ed.

"That was all it took to get you to appear?" Ed nodded. Al smacked his head. "I wish I'd known that! I would have made the connection long ago had I known."

"I'm not sure if you can, Al," said Ed. "Being Cancer, you're already up in the night sky. It's like I've never been separated from you for a moment."

"But it still feels like we've been separated, Brother," said Al.

"I know," said Ed, "I know. It does sort of feel that way."

Ed, Al, Winry, and Pinako spent the next few hours just basically catching up with each other. A lot had happened in the last few months that Ed hadn't been around to observe. The remnant of the rebel force that had been under Aries fell apart just shortly after her death, and they no longer tried to take over the land. They actually oftentimes came to Al and Pisces for council, which was very strange, considering that Al was Cancer, and Pisces was, well, Pisces, and those two were not used to holding a leadership position.

So it had turned out that with the exception of Aries, none of the signs had actually been evil, they had just been following the wrong master, except for Sagittarius, who wasn't actually following anyone. She was just having fun.

Things were going fairly well for the country too. Roy had been promoted, and considering how well he kept handling these different situations that kept coming up during his term of service, the possibility of his becoming the Fuhrer one day was becoming a stronger possibility.

Ed cast his eyes down to the ground and cleared histhroat. Then he looked back up at Winry and the rest of the people, and said, "So, why didn't you come to my aid while I was fighting Aries?"

Everyone sighed and looked down at the ground. How could they answer that question? It was the question they feared answering themselves. The truth was that there had really been nothing they could have done, but they always assumed that they could have at least done something to help. They had merely been afraid of making things worse for him.

"I'm-I'm sorry, Ed," Winry began, "We...We..."

"...Would have gotten in my way?" finished Ed for her. Winry was shocked and looked up. Ed smiled. "Ihaven't lost my psychic abilities just because I died."

Winry stood in shock for a moment or two, and then muttered, "I-I'm sorry."

"Don't be," said Ed, "Besides, there was absolutely nothing you could have done. This was not a battle between humans. This was a battle between the signs. You don't even know alchemy. There was no way you could have done anything."

She clenched her fists on her knees. "I probably got in your way just by insisting that I go on your journey," she said.

"No, you didn't," said Ed, "You didn't get in my way at all. If anything, you kept me going. Had it not been for you and Al there, I would never have gotten the strength to defeat Aries. After all, you were right. I was much too weak to defeat her. She had planned her attack well, but she had forgotten to take into account that I had some people I loved dearly enough to give my life for."

Winry averted her eyes and cried. She couldn't look at Ed, not just yet. Those eyes were too kind; they pierced right into your heart, and made you feel horrible for who you really were. It was so hard to face up to kindness when you felt like you'd betrayed the one you loved.

"Winry," Ed placed his hand under her chin and made her look into his eyes, "What's the matter? You can tell me."

"Uh..." she began, "It's just that...It's just that...I-I miss you, Ed, and I just...I just don't want to leave you alone again."

"Leave me alone? What are you talking about?" said Ed. "I'm not lonely. All the signs, plus all the rest of the constellations are up there in the sky with me. I'm not lonesome. I do miss you though."

Winry sighed and half-nodded. "I don't want to be separated from you again. I...I really love you, Ed. But...I suppose that there's nothing that can be done about that now."

Ed closed his eyes and sighed, and then opened his eyes again and looked into hers. "Well, there is one thing," he said, "But it would require a lot of sacrifice on your part. I'm not sure I can ask that much of you."

"What is it?" asked Winry.

"Well," Ed began, "If you want to be with me THAT badly, if you love me THAT much, you could give up everything you have here, give up your entire life, and come and live with me in the sky."

"I can do that?" asked Winry. Ed nodded. Winry smiled and started getting excited. Ed put up his hand to get her to stop.

"But there is something that you should know. You would not only be giving up your life for this incarnation here on earth, you would be giving up your separate identity for all your future incarnations. You would basically become a part of me...forever. You would never be able to undo that."

"But I would be with you, wouldn't I? Forever?"

"Yes," he nodded, "Forever."

A tear rolled down Winry's cheek. She wanted to immediately just say, "Yes!". She didn't care what she had to sacrifice, but she held back for a second. She knew that she shouldn't just jump into something that was as "forever" as this was. This wasn't just the "forever" of a lifetime, this was the "forever" of an eternity.

She turned to look at both Pinako and Al. Al smiled. "It's your choice, Winry. I always thought that you two should be together."

Pinako just smoked her pipe for a couple puffs, and then said, "I think it's a perfectly good match. We'd miss you though."

She looked back at Ed. "You'd be able to come and visit them in spirit form whenever I came," said Ed, "The only thing is that once your physical body is moved up to the stars, it can never return."

"I understand that," said Winry, "But I don't care. I just want to be with you, Ed." She threw her arms around him as best she could, though he was still non-material, and sobbed. He had a slightly surprised expression on his face, but then calmed down, and wrapped his arms around her.

"So you really want to do this?" he asked. She nodded.

"I love you so much, Ed, I want to be with you...forever."

"Would you like to stay here a while longer to say goodbye to everyone?"

Winry let go of Ed for a second and said, "I can say goodbye right here and now." She turned and threw her arms around both Al and her grandmother, saying goodbye and shedding lots of tears, full of the mixed emotions of sorrow and excitement. She was sad that she was going to be leaving them, but excited that she was going to be with Ed. Yes, transitions are never easy, but they're what make us who we are.

Finally, she stood back up, and stood next to Ed. "I'm ready now, Ed."

"Are you sure you want to do this right now?" he said.

"I'm positive," she said.

"Just remember, once it's done, it can never be undone...ever."

"I know," she said, "But this is what I want. I want to be with you."

Ed smiled. "Okay, then." He grasped her hands and held them tightly in his. He turned to face Al and Pinako. "I guess this is goodbye," he said. "We will visit you soon, in spirit."

Al was crying and waving goodbye. Pinako was busy smoking her pipe, so no one could tell for sure what her emotions were, but Winry was sure that she actually saw a tear rolling down her face.

Ed turned back to face Winry, smiled, and then closed his eyes to concentrate. A wind sprung up out of nowhere and swirled around the both of them. It got stronger and stronger, and started to grow slightly opaque. It soon had enshrouded the both of them, and Al and Pinako could no longer see them. When it cleared, the two were gone. Ed and Winry had gone up to the stars. There was no turning back now. Al and Pinako hoped they would enjoy their new life together. Forever.

A year passed. Two. Three. Yet they never heard from Ed and Winry. Strange. They had said that they were going to come and visit soon, but they hadn't. They were just gone. No trace.

Al thought about them daily. He wondered how they were doing. He would look up at the constellation of Scorpio whenever he got the chance to at night during the summer months. He knew that his sign of Cancer was able to interact with his brother, yet he couldn't consciously recollect any of that. He was still two separate identities, unlike his brother, who was now only one.

Al sighed. He couldn't let these memories drag him down. He was just going to have to pick himself back up and continue on. He had to work doubly hard to control the elements since they had lost two of their number a few years previous, and they had to work extra hard to maintain the balance of nature.

He picked himself up and headed towards the circle. Him and three other members of the zodiac, one from each element, were assembling today. True, they werea force to be reckoned with when they did that, but it also helped to balance out the forces of nature and keep it in check. Besides, he was going to get to see three of his friends today: his teacher Izumi, Sagittarius, and his own father.

As he was walking through the forest, he felt a hand on his back. He spun around in fright. Who could that be? He gasped when he saw who it was.

"Brother! Winry! You finally came back!"

Ed chuckled. "Well, yeah, we told you we'd come back soon."

"You call three years soon?" asked Al.

Ed scratched his head. "Three years? Are you serious? Have we been gone that long?"

Winry's jaw dropped. "I could've sworn we were gone no longer than a few weeks at most. How could we have possibly been gone for three years?" She looked at Ed for an explanation. Ed just shrugged and smiled.

"Well, time isn't quite the same up there as it is down here, I guess." Ed turned back to Al. "I'm so sorry that we took so long. I had no idea."

Al shrugged and said, "It's okay. After all, like you said, you had no idea."

"So how have things been for you lately...these past three years?" asked Ed.

"Oh, so-so," said Al. "The country's been slowly improving. Roy has finally gotten to the rank of General. Considering all the bizarre things that have been happening since his term of service started, he's probably going to become Fuhrer in no time."

Ed chuckled and said, "Yeah, I bet he will. As much as this may shock you to hear it coming from me, I think he'll make a great king."

Al's jaw had to drop on that one. He never expected Ed to actually COMPLIMENT Roy! Ed chuckled. "Hey, don't be so surprised. I'm Ed AND Scorpio, remember?"

"R-Right," said Al, brushing his hair out of his eyes. His eyes then strayed over towards Winry, whom he noticed was carrying something in her arms. "What are you carrying there, Winry?"

Ed and Winry both looked at each other and smiled a very big smile, then looked back at Al. "This is what we came back to show you," said Ed.

"Really? What is it?" asked Al.

Winry handed the bundle to Al. Al took it and carefully cradled it in his arms. He unwrapped the blanket, and gasped. "This is our daughter," said Winry.

"You-You mean, I'm an uncle?" asked Al.

Ed chuckled. "Yes, you are."

"What's her name?" asked Al.

"Andromeda," said Winry.

"Andromeda?" asked Al, "You mean she's one of the...the..."

"...the constellations? Yes," said Winry, "What else would she be?"

Al chuckled nervously and said, "Well, I guess that I'm just still getting used to this whole 'constellation' 'star-people' bit."

"Well, it's understandable," said Winry, "You do have two separate identities."

Al half-chuckled. "Yeah, I've got two separate identities still. What's it like to not have two separate identites, Brother?"

Ed gazed off into the distance for a moment, and then looked back down at Al. "Well, it's a little easier in some respects, but I wouldn't be able to live like that. When I manifest into a physical form, I'm just too vulnerable as a water sign, and I have to hide behind another identity. I'm still trying to figure out how the heck Pisces is able to do it without hiding behind another identity."

"Yeah, why does she do that, anyway?" asked Winry, turning to Ed.

"Well," said Ed, "Not hiding behind a separate identity increases her psychic ability, and I think that she's very proud of that."

Winry chuckled and then looked down at the baby, who was started to kick around a bit. "Ed, the baby is getting a little bit restless. I think we'd better head home."

"You're right, Win." He put his hand on Al's shoulder. "Go and tell everyone hello for us. I'm sorry that we have to go so soon, but we will be back soon to visit, okay? And this time, I really mean 'soon', I promise. No more three year waits."

Al chuckled. "Okay, Brother, I'll hold you to that."

With that, that mysterious wind that came out of nowhere came again and swallowed the two of them up. Al was left standing there, staring at empty space for several moments.

When he finally got his bearings again, he started walking towards the circle, since he still had his job to do of keeping the elements in check. He was sorry that his brother couldn't be with him longer, but Ed had already moved on. It was too much to ask that he still be around after he had died. He was kind of jealous of Winry in that regard, since she got to be with him all the time. He was happy for her though, and happy for his new neice. That was going to be quite an interesting story to tell to the others.

With that, he quickened his pace. He was going to get to the circle soon and tell everybody what had just occured. His brother might not be alive in body anymore, but he was very much alive in spirit. He would make sure that everyone knew that.

Besides, if he were to prepare everyone for Ed's soon return, maybe they'd all get a chance to see him too. Maybe they would all get a chance to meet Ed, Winry, and Andromeda. Maybe. Just maybe.

Did you like it? I hope so. Yes, I know, the ending was somewhat bittersweet. I don't always write fairytale endings, in case you haven't figured that out yet. I hope that you liked it anyway. Please leave me a review, and tell me your thoughts! Thanks so much for following along with me. Go and check out some of my other stories now, since you're sure to like some of the others if you enjoyed this one.