ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:

Lily: Oh please do! It's such a beautiful movie really! . I cried at a few scenes! Once again, I'm sorry for not updating in a while, exams have been stressing the life out of me .

Penguin20: Yeah, unfortunately :/

Cassey: No, the men that had come to get him killed him. He sacrificed himself in the end because they would have taken away his family if he hadn't freely gone with them.

Daughterofapollo12345: Thanks so much! I always appreciate hearing such reviews! :) I think I stated it at one or two points; when the girls were fighting or the situation that happened at school, when she injured the boy.

Panic: Thanks so much Panic! :3 Thanks for the kind wishes, I'm sorry though that I didn't update in so long :P Tomorrow is my last exam so I can finally breathe a bit I the holidays.

OtakuGirl: Oh Greed looks like Ling in this.

GrumpyCatWriter101: Aw, hey there! Haha I'm really happy that you like my stories! :3 It makes me motivated to write more, ah the thing about Lena's parents, I'll write that up as soon as I wrap up the next chapter "Wolf Children Part 2" ;)

Back in Time

Ling looked upon the ruins of what used to be a battle for life and death, a battle which would have decided the future of the entire world. What remained of it now was nothing but rubble and blood soaking the earth.

He lifted his head to look up at the sky, where his best friend had vanished. Ling briefly wondered if Greed was sent to the Gate or what even happened to him at all. He chuckled humorlessly, maybe the bastard made it to hell before he did.

Ling's hand clenched into a tight fist as his lips drew in a thin line, he lowered his head, resting his forehead on his bent knee.

He exhaled softly, dreading the silence that filled him now with the absence of thousands of souls as well as that one soul that had kept talking and bickered with him over everything and anything. He missed that voice, he missed his best friend, he missed Greed damn it. Ling thought that he was greedy sure, but then he encountered the sin of Greed itself and strangely enough after a rocky start, they developed something that Ling never thought he would with somebody else after his estrangement with his real siblings.

He had felt connected to Greed, like they were brothers and it greatly pained him to think of his sacrifice, of not ever seeing Greed again or hearing that obnoxious laughter of his, or ever see his weird all black sense of style anymore. He strongly suspected Greed had had a hand in dictating Ed's clothes to a degree, the black coat Ed had worn before would be proof of that anyway.

Ling sighed, thankful for the absence of Lan Fan and the others for once, he could grieve alone and try to collect his thoughts.

Ling hadn't noticed it before, but being left alone to your thoughts was terrifying. Either your mind is completely blank or you feel a building pressure, feeling the emptiness that was usually filled with Greed's witty remarks and at times helpful advice.

"Greed..." Ling thought inside his mind, as if waiting or the sin to reply like he always did.

But no reply came.

Ling's heart throbbed in pain at the realization.

He looked ahead, over the buildings of Central, "A country is nothing without its king, but a king is nothing without his people...but a person is nothing without that one person that completes him," Ling took a deep breath.

He realized that it didn't have to be a person you were romantically involved with to complete you, it could be a friend, family or even a stranger that had inspired you to keep moving forward and not lose hope.

Ling smiled, it was now or never.

He jumped down from the roof, landing on a nearby window and slowly maneuvering down from there, he constantly had to remind himself that he didn't have Greed's handy healing abilities now and that if he did break a bone or two, it would need to heal for far longer than just a few minutes.

"I'm coming Greed,"

Mei blinked, completely caught off guard by the man standing before her, thinking he may have a concussion or something, "Um...you what?"

Ling's look was serious, "I want to go back," his voice was deathly serious and Mei didn't think he was joking.

"Go back where Ling?" Alphonse asked, his arm around Mei's shoulders as he regarded his friend with curiosity.

"Back in time, back to before...before Greed disappeared," he clenched his fists, "If I alter the events, Greed will survive, we wouldn't suffer so many casualties, everything would be better, we would be happier-"

Edward suddenly stood up from his chair, startling Winry who was sitting opposite of him by the table, "Edward!"

Ed harshly grabbed the collar of Ling's shirt and pulled him forward, a scathing, serious glare in his gold eyes which spelled warning, "Don't you dare do something as stupid and reckless as that you idiot! Haven't you learned anything?! Anything at all?! Greed willingly sacrificed himself! He had planned it for a while! He didn't do it on a whim! His sacrifice would go to waste if you selfishly trample all over it! Altering the past could cause disastrous changes to the future, it would be a whole negative chain reaction!" Ed's eyes narrowed, his hand clenched into a fist, "What about us huh? About everyone here? If you go back in time and change something there, the future right here changes too! What if Lan Fan disappears or dies in the battle with Father? What if we never have families? If Mustang and Hawkeye weren't able to get married huh?"

Ling's face was an expression of shock, frozen stiff in Ed's strong grasp. Growing irritated at his lack of response, Ed shook the Xingese Emperor roughly, "Well?! Answer me Ling! Don't you care about anything around you?! You're the Emperor of your country, you have your own people to worry about!" Ed growled, fists shaking.

Winry stood up from her seat and moved toward her husband, grabbing the arm that was holding Ling up and sternly saying, "Ed! That's enough! Let him go!" at Winry's pleading look, Ed reluctantly relented, snorting and briskly walking back to his seat at the table, his cup of coffee all but forgotten now.

The intense glare he was sending Ling however didn't waver in the slightest and Ling met his stare head on, Alphonse thought now was the time to say something, stepping between the two to break the heated glaring contest, "I think we should all calm down now, brother please." He shot his elder brother a pleading look, placing a comforting hand on Ling's shoulder to calm the Emperor down.

Ed snorted, looking away angrily and crossing his arms. Ling's shoulders shook and he shoved off Alphonse's hand from his shoulder, storming out of the house.

He ignored the calls of his name and marched into the city, ignoring the perplexed and worried looks he received from the people around him.

Greed!

Ling ran toward one house he thought he would get help, he ran up the stairs and pounded his closed fist against the door, ignoring the angry calls from neighbors around him.

"Hey! Wake up old man! I know you're in there!" he grit his teeth, anger fueling his actions as he kept pounding on the door.

After a few minutes, the door opened suddenly, revealing the shorter doctor to the Emperor's furious gaze, "What the-?! What in the world are you doing here?! Don't you know how late it is?!" a grim, annoyed look settled over the wrinkled, wise face.

Ling ignored his protests, "Listen Dr. Marcoh! Can you...do you know if the Philosopher's Stone has..other properties?"

Marcoh's gaze hardened, turning serious the moment the young emperor spoke of the philosopher's stone, quickly, he grabbed his arm and ushered him inside, closing and locking the door behind him, as if wanting to keep the secret away from the outside world.

"What do you mean by other properties?" the elder man fixed him with a glare, arms crossed.

Ling shifted his weight from one foot to another, "Well..." he scratched his chin, "I...is it possible to travel back in time? Or...-"

Marcoh's eyes widened, "Bring back the dead?! You fool! Have you learned nothing at all?! It's impossible to bring back the dead without fatal consequences! Sometimes I wonder for what you use that muscle in your head for boy!" he grit his teeth in severe annoyance, sighing heavily.

"Please doctor! I..." his expression turned desperate and sad, "I want to see Greed again,"

Dr. Marcoh sighed, understanding settling over his features, "I understand where you're coming from, but it is impossible to use the Stone that way." He looked at Ling's crestfallen features, "However, you have mentioned time travel?"

Ling perked up immediately, straightening from his slumped position, "Yes!"

Marcoh rubbed his chin in thought, "There is a way...but-"

"Oh thank you, thank you Dr. Marcoh I-" Ling rejoiced happily, nearly jumping around in joy, tears in his eyes.

Dr. Marcoh sharply knocked him over the head, "Listen boy! I will only say this once and you better listen well! Under no circumstances are you allowed to alter anything in the past! Which means you are also not allowed to actually meet Greed or anyone else from there in person, you understand? Nobody from the past is allowed to see you or there may be severe changes in the future and this present," worry lines were visible as he chewed on his bottom lip.

Ling nodded seriously, understanding the seriousness to heed the old doctor's words and take them to heart, "I understand Dr. Marcoh but...what would happen here if I'm gone into the past?" he rose an eyebrow, thinking of his country.

The old man sighed, "Kids these days..." he looked up at Ling, "I suggest you inform your wife that you won't be able to tend to your country for some time."

Ling nodded, "Would you be so kind as to tell her that? I want to go now," once again, he nodded firmly, bracing himself.

Marcoh sighed and nodded, "Alright, I hope you know what you are doing," Ling closed his eyes, waiting for the magic stone to work.

Nothing happened for a while, he heard rummaging and things being moved, "Dr. Marco-"

Darkness. And a great deal of pain.

He never knew these time travel things could be so painful.

Ling stirred, slowly, his head was pounding and he felt drained. Could these be the after effects of time travel? He shook his head, his thoughts slowly clearing. He didn't know but he wouldn't let that deter him from his goal.

Carefully, Ling stood up and blinked when he found himself in what looked like a sewer...well, at least he knew he was underground.

He heard rapidly approaching footsteps coming from behind him, Ling thought quickly and jumped high in the air.

Clutching the semi-slippery wall of cobblestone for dear life, Ling observed how a short bald man carrying a large bag jogged forward with a...tail? He blinked, narrowing his eyes and he noticed it looked to be a chimera, half reptilian perhaps.

Once the man was far away enough, Ling jumped off the wall and landed on his feet, opting to stay away from the water to prevent any noises from sounding and alerting the chimera of his presence.

He still had no idea where he was and if the chimera was friend or foe and it was in the past, so there was a chance he didn't even arrive in Amestris yet at all.

"Mr. Greed! Mr. Greed! I have the supplies!" a male but a bit lighter voice called out followed by a deep chuckle. A familiar chuckle. Ling picked up his pace.

He stealthily hid himself from view, what he saw made him bite his lips and lock his body in place to not shoot forward and do something stupid.

It was him. Greed. He was there, he was alive.

The only thing Ling could recognize about him were the familiar violet eyes and the grin, otherwise his appearance was completely different. Ling deduced he must be using another human as a host.

Around him were people, but their appearance was slightly different. A large man had small horns on top of his forehead, elongated teeth which protruded from his closed mouth and a white-grayish mane which fell down to his waist, he was huge and muscular. He reminded Ling of something akin to an ox if he were a chimera.

The next one was a slender woman, snake-like tattoos lining the length of her arm and partially her face, he wasn't sure what chimera she was but judging by the grace she exhibited while she moved and the slight hiss in her tone, it was likely she was a snake chimera.

The last one was a averaged sized male, black spiky hair on top of his head, a sharp tooth protruding from his mouth, a sword at his waist, he was dressed in ninja garb, like a warrior and his own people would dress. But he didn't look Xingese. Ling couldn't tell what chimera he could be.

And in the center of them all, stood Greed. Ling dug his blunt nails into the cobblestone, restraining himself from hugging the man that seemed so different now than his Greed.

"Well? Whatcha waiting for? Dig in gang!" Greed grinned, waving a hand at the open bag, which Ling saw was all food the lizard chimera had brought. The snake chimera smiled and brought silverware and some plates, the large ox man carried a few stools.

"Food? They stole it? But why? Why are they here underground? Are they criminals? Hm...it wouldn't really surprise me with Greed..." Ling sweat dropped, thinking the possibility highly likely, yeah...it was Greed alright.

The man with black spiky hair suddenly narrowed his eyes suspiciously, his nose up in the air, sniffing and moving his head around, as if detecting a scent that didn't belong there.

"Huh? What is it Dolcetto?" Greed looked at his friend, observing how he behaved like the animal he had been bound with, a dog.

The dog chimera called Dolcetto growled lowly in his throat, a deep rumble that reminded Ling of a ferocious guard dog, "Something's not quite right boss. I smell something...something different. Bido..did anyone follow you here?" Dolcetto walked forward, looking around and Ling silently disappeared from view, discreetly smelling his clothes if he smelled bad. What the hell? He didn't smell at all! How rude!

"No Dolcetto...Bido doesn't so at least..." the small lizard chimera rubbed his hands, looking slightly fearful.

"It's alright Bido, nobody's blaming you even if someone did follow you. Perhaps it could be a master thief," Ling heard the unsheathing of a blade. He cursed mentally, hand on the hilt of his sword.

Even if it did come down to a fight, he actually wasn't even supposed to see any of them, least of all Greed. Damn it!

"Wait," Greed stretched his arm out, sunglasses tucked into his breast pocket. He had smelled the scent too, perhaps not as potently as Dolcetto, but he had smelled it nonetheless.

The unnerving thing about it was, it smelled a bit like him too. But it wasn't any of his stupid Homunculi siblings.

Dolcetto and Martel looked at him expectantly, "Boss?" the dog chimera asked, a hand on the hilt of his sword.

Greed shook his head, "Leave it, I don't think it's anything to concern ourselves over. Didn't ya want to eat huh?" Greed fixed them with a meaningful stare and the group reluctantly calmed down, sheathing their weapons and slowly sitting down on the chairs, each grabbing a portion for themselves, leaving something for their leader as well.

"Boss? Where are you going?" Dolcetto asked, eyebrow raised suspiciously, his instincts telling him to follow the man he came to know as friend and leader for protection.

"Just gonna get some fresh air, don't follow me," Greed walked into the tunnel Bido had come from, as silent as a mouse.

Ling quickly retreated, jumping silently from side to side until he was a good distance away from Greed, who stopped after being farther away enough from his gang not to hear.

"Alright...listen up, whoever the hell you are," Greed's voice echoed through the sewers and Ling froze, damn he had been found out.

"I don't know what's your deal or why you followed us here but if you want to hurt my gang ya better turn back around. I don't treat strangers kindly who try taking away whats mine," Ling speculated Greed had his shield up as he said this, a threat.

There was a short pause, before Greed spoke again, "You also smell a bit like me, but I can tell you ain't a Homunculus. Just who are you?" his words echoed through the sewers.

Then Ling decided to answer, "A friend," before he quickly started running in the opposite direction, rounding a corner just as Greed reached the spot Ling hid in previously.

"What the..." Greed growled under his breath, annoyed at not having missed his chance of seeing the punk that sneaked in her.

"Wait...he said he was a friend? Who the hell...?" Greed crossed his arms, a serious, thoughtful look on his face.

For some unexplainable reason, he thought of Xing, he had no idea why that country all of a sudden, as he didn't have any ties to it at all.

"Tch..." Greed turned back around, walking back toward his hideout, "Stupid piss-ant,"

"G-Greed...that was Greed...he seemed different but it was still Greed! I can't...damn it not now!" Ling furiously rubbed at his eyes, feeling himself drown in despair and sadness at the thoughts of Greed's final moments before his death.

Ling sobbed, punching the wall in front of him repeatedly, "No matter what I do! I can't bring him back! Not through alchemy, not through time travel! It's impossible! Ed was right! You can't bring back someone from the dead!" he fell to his knees, his hands in his face as his tears fell in droplets to the ground.

"Ling! Ling! Wake up Ling!" a soft familiar voice called him and Ling slowly stirred, his head was pounding again.

When he opened his eyes and his blurry vision cleared, he saw her.

It was his wife, Lan Fan. Her face was etched with great worry, he could see Winry, Ed and Alphonse standing behind her, Dr. Marcoh was on his other side.

He could see a cane next to him on the floor, so he must be still in his house. Wait...he hit him with a cane?! No wonder his head was pounding...

And suddenly, the tears returned to his eyes as he clutched his wife's hand, "It was all a dream...it was a dream..." despite the tears a small smile grew on his face, "It was a dream but...Greed was real..." he sat up and hugged his stunned and worried wife close to him, rubbing his face against her robes and armor, "Greed was real...that's all that matters,"

He had seen Greed, the real one, he had been there all along.

Ling clutched at the place where his heart was and smiled.

Greed would continue to be there.

In his heart.

Yeah...a pretty cheesy line for the ending but meh ^^ So how did you like it? Sorry that it took me so long folks! Admittedly, I've had been more in the mood to write Letters from War and coupled with all those exams...eh. Tomorrow's my last exam before the holidays, so wish me luck! .