Chapter 5. One More Time. (Revenge).
Izumi looked at Ed very surprised. Ha sat down on her bed, and looked at her.
"Now why are you here, Ed?".
"In this side of the door or in the hospital?".
"Both".
"First, once you got past the gate, it turned, and dragged us in again. And im here because I got my arm and leg amputated after I got shot saving some friends".
"You really have bad luck about this".
"I'm used to it. I didn't come through with my auto mail. My soul must have fallen inside this body. If I ever leave, it's rightful owner will wonder why does he have an automail arm and leg".
"Ed, there is no auto mail in this world".
"There's about to be".
They talked for a while. Izumi was in the hospital because she had hepatitis. Her husband and her son were with her most of the time, but they left her alone in the morning.
"He goes to school. He has very long hair, and he is quite a troublemaker. He always gets into some fight deffending someone else".
"Sensei… Look through the window".
Surprised by the request, she turned around and gazed at the entrance of the hospital. She recognized her son's long black hair from the distance.
"YOU COME HERE RIGHT NOW, YOUNG MAN!" She yelled. He got scared, and ran inside as quick as he could.
o0o
When he saw Ed sitting on the bed, he looked down.
"You should be in school, son" She said. "It is important for you… I understand you are afraid… but this is part of life. We all die one day".
Little Wrath stood next to the door, looking down to the floor. Ed heard him cry.
"I'm sorry… It's just… You changed… A few weeks ago, you weren't like this…". He ran towards her and hugged her. She made him sit on the bed next to her, and stay there. Ed felt like an intruder.
"Son… this boy was my student a long time ago… You can trust him".
He looked at Ed, who smiled gently. He lowered his head, and hid his face in his mom's chest. She hugged him even harder.
"Hey… Would you like your mom to remain alive?".
"What!" They both said. Izumi was looking both amazed and furious, and wrath was surprised and very happy.
"Ed, you are an idiot. You really wish to die performing Alchemy, and it's not possible in this world".
"What would you give for your mom the remain alive?".
"Everything" Wrath said.
"Would you mind having one arm and one leg less, like me?".
"If it helps mom, no".
Ed smiled at him, and asked him to wait outside. Wrath looked at Izumi, who told him to do what Ed said, so he jumped off the bed and left.
"I'm dead" Ed thought.
o0o
"Why are you so sure you can make me live?" Izumi asked.
"If your son pays the price, I can remove your liver and make a new one. Whatever is left over will be sent to the door, and once we go back, in Amestris, you will have all of your organs, all thanks to your son".
"And what will happen to him?".
"If he can endure the pain of getting auto mail on, there's nothing else to it. I do everything else".
"Its obvious I can trust you… Ed… I will say this… You have been the first person to ever achieve human transmutation… And I am the second. You are a better alchemist than me… You, your knowledge, helped me open the door".
"I may be a better alchemist, but you still can kick my ass fighting".
"Speaking of which…".
When wrath came in, Ed was flat on the floor.
"Is he asleep, mom?".
"He is probably in a coma by now".
o0o
Ed woke up two hours later, in his bed. Al and Envy were there talking. Once they saw he was awake, they smiled at him.
"We brought you some food and chocolate". Envy said.
"Chocolate doesn't qualify as food?"
"To me, it's not food, it's pure lust and gluttony".
"Funny thing for you to say" Al said.
"Why?".
"We'll explain later". Ed said. He looked through the door, and saw Izumi sleeping with Wrath at her side.
"Mom and Dad are coming in a while. They already came yesterday, but you were asleep. Dad's been worried sick, he even skipped work to come".
"That's unusual" Envy said.
Ed and Al looked at him, amazed.
"What? It's unusual to me. Even if I lost both my legs and half my organs, mom wouldn't skip work just to come visit me".
"Oh…" They both sighed relieved.
"Oh, Ling and Mei Yang were coming… I promised Winry I would help her on something she is building. It wont be hard with alchemy".
"Hey, Al, you don't use transmutation circles anymore". Ed said.
"Yeah, I tried to make the wall, and it worked… I was also surprised, but I was worried for you at the time".
"Hurry up, go help Winry. I really need her here soon".
"Something is boiling in the kitchen" Envy said.
o0o
Hohenheim and Trisha arrived ten minutes after Al left. They both hugged Ed, and dropped some tears of sorrow. Ed looked at Hohenheim, surprised.
He was actually crying.
"Sorry, son… you have never seen me like this… You must think I'm a coward".
"Hey, you are brave enough to skip work to come see your mutilated son".
"Don't joke, this is serious".
"Not so much… In a while, you will presence a miracle of modern science".
"Are you conscious of what you lost!". Hohenheim said.
"Calm down… It was a fair trade".
"Fair trade? You lost your arm and leg!".
"To obtain one thing, something of equal value must be lost. I lost my arm and leg in order for Al, Schyezca, Ling, Mei Yang and Envy to live on. And this is not a problem. I promise you that I will get over it soon".
"You seem really confident" Hohenheim said.
"I am" He sentenced.
o0o
Envy had gone out so not to bother the Elrics. Once Hohenheim and Trisha came out, he went back in. Ling arrived ten minutes later, with Mei Yang by his side. He sat her on the bed, and she crawled towards Ed to give him a little drawing.
It was him touching the floor, and a big panda bear coming out of it. A big arrow pointed to the words "ED AND BEAR". He smiled, left the drawing on the table, and pat her on the head. She blushed, but smiled.
"Thank you, Ed". Ling said.
"Its nothing… Hey, Envy, hand me the shirt".
He stood up, moved towards a chair, picked the shirt up and tossed it to him. A scroll fell to the floor.
"Pick it up, Ling. Your father gave it to me before…".
He stood up, grabbed it, and opened it.
After reading it, he started laughing.
"That old man… He left me a secret bank account, with tons of money. I can buy the rest of the actions of the company, and own it completely… He even left Mei Yang two million dollars for her to do whatever she wants to when she grows up".
"So… What are you gonna do?". Ed asked.
"Well… The body is still in the last floor of the building, and I want to give it a proper funeral, so… I want to go in, and get revenge. First, I'll cash this. Then, I'll go inside, get to the top, and call the cops from there. Since I have this certified document, It will be easy to prove what happened".
"Well, when are we doing it?". Envy asked.
"I wanna go alone".
"I witnessed a great man's death, and helped his kids ran away from his enemies. I think I wanna help some more".
"We will do it as soon as Winry gets me my auto mail".
"Sooner than you think" Al said.
o0o
Winry came in with a toolbox, and Al was carriying a big suitcase. He put it on the bed, and opened it. There were an arm and a leg, of beautiful steel, resistant and light.
"Winry had all the material and most of it done. I helped shaping it just as you like it". Al said.
"Now we gotta plug it". Winry said, pulling out a wrench.
"You know, I would usually get scared at the sight of that".
He took of the bandages, leaving the scars of the surgery for everyone to see. Winry was quite impressed. She picked up the arm, and gave it for Ed to hold in the right place.
"I am pretty sure this will hurt".
She posed every censor on top of the main zone of the nerves, and hold the arm to the body. Then, she got ready to connect the nerves.
"One…Two…Three!".
She twisted the wrench.
Ed closed his eyes, and hold Al's hand strongly. He was sweating.
"It's just as bad as usual".
She did the same thing with the leg, but this time, Ed shouted a little. He hold Winry's hand, and looked at her eyes. She was tearing.
"It's ok… The worst is passed". He smiled heavily.
He jumped off the bed, and rose his new leg. He tried moving every finger swiftky, and then al together. Then he balanced himself on it, and jumped. It had a very good suspenssion.
Then he tried his arm. He clapped his hands, and transmuted the cover into a blade. He tried to wave it, and it worked amazingly well. It was light and strong. He transmuted it back to normal, and moved every finger. He grabbed a glass, and then a pencil. It worked very well.
"Thank you, Winry" . He said smiling. She came closer to him, and hugged him. He smiled, and hugged her back, closing his eyes.
It felt warm, and he was extremely happy. Then he pulled his head back, and with his metal arm, moved her head up. Then he kissed her, in front of everyone. They all smiled, and left the room in silence, to leave them alone.
o0o
When they came back to reality, they made evryone come in, and Ling explained his plan. Winry looked worried.
"Please, guys, don't do it".
"Winry… I know we can do this… after all…".
He turned, and went to the door.
"…I am the Fullmetal Alchemist".
o0o
Ling walked ahead of the group. When they reached the bank, he was received in the president's office. Envy, Ed and Al waited next to him.
They left with a suitcase full of cash.
"Anyone wanna buy anything?".
"Yes, Ling… As a matter of fact, Al and I would like some clothing".
They went inside an expensive store, and started eyebrowsing everything. Both Ed and Al founs a red coat with a hood. Ed also bought a black leather outfit to wear under the coat, and a pair of white gloves for him, and another pair for Al.
Ling bought some black, chinese style clothes. Ed transmuted an old piece of metal they found on the street into a sabre for him. Envy wore a black T-shirt, and black pants. He had also acquired a black headband with a red triangle in the midle of his forehead.
"There is one last thing". Ed said.
"We need a black spray paint can". Al said
"Ok, whatever".
Once they got it, the draw the symbol Izumi had gave them so long ago. The crowned cross with wings, and a snake on it.
They were in front of the building.
"Ok, the elevator must still be broke… Is there any other elevator?".
"There is a private one, but to reach it we must go through the confference room in the first floor, and use a special I.D to open it".
"Hey, fifty floors didn't stop us the other day, and a room wont stop us now" Envy said.
They walked in trying to go undetected. They went past the receptionist, and speeded up their pace. A security guard saw them, and started walking at them. So to avoid the mess, Al clapped his hands and transmuted a hole under the carpet. The guard's foot got caught, and he fell to the floor. They went pass him, and into the confference room.
The problem was that the security department was having a meeting.
They were recognised at once. Envy jumped on top of the table.
"Their boss has an I.D, Ed and I will take care of these annoyances". And he kicked a man in the face. Ed jumped next to him, and started fighting.
Ling ducked, and started moving under the table. It was a long way to the boss of the security guards. Al, who was ignored by everyone, moved towards the wall, and clapped his hands. The feet of every guard touching the floor got trapped in some sort of quicksand that instantly became solid again.
He run as fast as he could to the other end, and Ling reappeared from under the table. He jumped over the stage, knocked the boss down, and took the I.D away. Ed and Envy run and jumped next to him, and they continued moving towards the elevator.
He passed the I.D through a laser, and went inside. There was no pannel inside, and it instantly started ascending. Soon after, they arrived at Schyezca's former office. They walked past the new blonde secretary, who started telling them they couldn'y go in. Envy walked towards her, and looked at her, smiling evily.
"Lady, we are here to help the rightful owner of this company to get it back. If you wish to die in the process, I will be willing to help you".
She shut up. Envy grabbed the phone, and ripped the wire off. He tossed it through an open window, and went back with his friends. Ling opened the door, and they went inside.
Eight security guards were aiming at them with guns. They were surprised.
"I was expecting you, since I knew that eventually, you would come back".
"How did you know we were here?".
"Well, as your father did to know that I was coming a few days ago, I checked the security cams with the computer. I knew you would think there would be an easy way to get the company back, so I got ready. I didn't count on your little magician buddies here, but anyway, there's nothing you can do against bullets".
"Yes there is" Ed said. He clapped his hands and touched the floor. Two walls grew, separating them from the guards, and creating a hallway towards the businessman. They walked calmly, while he looked at them, very scared. Then, he seemed to realize something. He opened a drawer on the desk, and pulled out a gun. Ed jumped ahead of Ling, and covered himself with his right arm.
The businessman shot.
o0o
The bullet ricocheted against Ed's auto mail, and hit the man in his head. Ling walked towards him, and put his father's will on the table. Then, he tossed the body on the floor, with the gun still in it's hand.
"The police will be coming any minute, guys. I will take care of everything, you go".
"Sure?". Envy asked.
"Yeah, I'll speak through the microphone and tell them to let you go. I'll watch you with the security cameras".
They smiled, and turned around. Ed made the walls dissappear, and Ling told the guards to put the guns down.
They were about to go through the door, when the security guards stopped them
"Unless you wanna get fired, let them go". Ling's voice said. He was speaking through the woofers in the walls.
"To all of you who wonder what's going on, my father's last will before he died was to give me the company. And yes, he is dead. In front of me, there is the man who killed him, and has just comitted suicide by shooting himself on the head. If you don't believe it, check the security cams. You will see everything clearly".
They arrived at Ed and Al's house twenty minutes later. Unfortunately, Envy could no longer use the bus, because the had put pictures of him in each unit, so they had to walk.
When Ed walked in, Hohenheim was amazed. Winry was sitting on the table, and seemed to be explaining him how she had built the auto mail. Hohenheim looked at it, amazed of it utility, and thanked Winry deeply for having made it.
"What happened here?" He asked, when he saw the scratch of the bullet in the arm.
"Well, you can watch the news to find out". Ed answered.
"What did you do?". He asked.
"It's nothing bad, I swear". Ed said.
Later that night and after Trisha had seen her son walking, and fainted, Ling and Mei Yang arrived. Trisha cooked a lot of meat and they improvised a party to celebrate Ed's recovery and Ling's new company.
Hohenheim and Trisha went to sleep first, and Mai Yang fall asleep on the couch. As to Winry, Ed, Al, Envy and Ling, they kept talking. They congratulated Winry for creating such a good thing, and congratulated both of them for their relationship.
"Lets go to sleep, guys, we gotta go to school tomorrow". Ling said. He woke Mai Yang, and lifted her in his arms. She fall asleep again very soon. They asked for a taxi, and left. Envy just walked away.
"I wanna think before I go to sleep, and I can't do that watching T.V, so I'll walk around". He said.
o0o
Ed walked Winry home, and kissed her goodbye in the front door.
"Winry…Thank you".
"I did it for you".
"I… I love you". He felt the rope on his neck dissappear, and a grat warmth inside the chest. She hugged him, kissed him again, and laughed softly.
She walked in smiling, and closed the door. He turned around, and started walking. Just before he crossed the street, Winry yelled at him from the window.
"I'm in love with the Fullmetal Alchemist!".
He blushed, turned around again, and walked away.