Chapter 5

The ground quaked with a series of violent explosions brought about by his attack. The ground opened up and fire erupted from a large crevice igniting the entire area in fire. Guilt had taken moisture from the ground and oxygen from the air to craft his fire, and used the swamp gas odor to serve as the perfect go-between to set everything ablaze. Trees burned, fire danced across the surface of the water, and the ground became so hot by the blazing temperatures that the place looked like it belonged in Hell!

Maes Hughes stood in the midst of this destruction, but was unaffected by its effects. He was dead after all, but he knew something that Al might not be aware of at this point of time, which was, in the mind, if you have a working understanding of how to control your thoughts, nothing could hurt you in here.

The last time he saw Al the ground had fallen out from beneath his feet and he had fallen into the fiery crevice and to possibly a horrible death. The fire engulfed the entire area and no human could survive in these unbelievable harsh conditions. And for the inexperienced, as Guilt had said, like in reality, mortals have an uncanny fear of what is not real, so what can not be explained becomes real to them.

"You see," Guilt said laughing. "Your pathetic friend was no match for me. Ed's brother is now dead and through an equivalent exchange I will soon have his body. I will finally be able to leave this wretched place and partake in the wonders of the outside world, the true reality outside Edward Elric's mind."

"Was that your intention from the very beginning?" Maes Hughes wondered. "Allow me to present a theory, if you may. I don't believe you are who you say you are. I think you're an imposter, an infusion of someone else's consequence, posing as Ed's guilty consequence for what he did to his brother."

"You're the insightful one," Guilt said, he had reverted back to looking like Ed. "Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Maes Hughes. I'm a friend of Edward and Alphonse Elric. In my life I helped the boys, counseled them when I could, and hopefully directed them in the right direction. From what I saw of Al, I believed I did. They were doing fine until you came along. You're what's killing Edward Elric!"

Ed clapped his hands but didn't perform Alchemy. He was instead applauding Maes Hughes for his deduction. "Brilliantly deduced for a military clerk," he said.

"I wasn't a military clerk," Maes said. "I handled military public affairs."

"Either way, you were a lapdog for the military and you died for them. Edward has fond memories of you and your daughter, Alicia. She was very sad and confused when you died. 'Why are they burying daddy?' she said at your funeral. You were killed by an un-human person called a Homunculus for sticking your nose into her private affairs. You should've left well enough alone, as should you now."

"I'm getting involved because Al needs my help to rescue his brother from the clutches this lunacy. Leave Ed's mind now, he has suffered enough. He hasn't done anything to deserve this."

"Deserve? He's done plenty. He tried to kill me, and now I'm going to kill him, and his brother. Two birds with one stone."

"What do you mean Ed tried to kill you? Are you a transmuted soul?"

"Yes, but not like what you think."

"Then what exactly are you?" Maes asked.

"That's what I would like to know," Al said, as he climbed out of the fiery crevice. But instead of Al the human, he was the suit of armor he had been transmuted to for so many years. Guilt was in disbelief. "How am I still alive, you wonder?" his voice echoing and reverberating through the metal.

Guilt nodded. Maes smiled.

"I simply realized that if I was going to survive I had to change my way of thinking. You said anything and everything is possible here and it occurred to me that if you could change your appearance, so could I, and since this armor would protect me from the fall and from fire it seemed the perfect choice."

"Thata boy, Al," Maes said smiling.

Al clapped his hands together and generated a whirlwind to pick up water from the swamp to dissipate the fire; smoke filled the air and the fire was doused. Both were also soaked. The area flooded the area up to their ankles. Al transformed himself back to his human self. "Two can play at this game, Guilt. And since your hands are now wet you won't be able to ignite your fingers for another fire attack."

"You've finally figured it out," Maes said.

"I should've thought of it before, but it didn't occur to me until now. I've been searching for Ed, but he has been with us all the long." He looked at Guilt. "To cure my brother, I must help him defeat you. You are the cause of his suffering. You look like Ed, and that's because you are my brother, but not in the manner as you had me to be believe. Anger and guilt are very powerful emotions and if left to fester could take on a life of their own similar to a transmuted soul; a being living inside another."

Guilt didn't look pleased. "So, you finally figured it out," he said, "but it doesn't matter. Regardless of how I was brought to life is of no consequence. The fact of the matter is I've grown beyond emotion. I'm a living entity now and I will live on and through you I will escape the confines of Ed's mind. If I remain here, Ed will die. I can kill him in an instant with a single thought."

"But you won't do that or you'll die too," Al said.

"You've lost," Maes said. "Return Ed's body back to him."

Guilt looked at him, Maes majestic form glowing a dim white. "I'll never relinquish his body without another to take its place, but you must give it to me willingly. Equivalent exchange. Trade one thing for another. You must agree to the trade or neither of us will survive. Ed will die soon."

"Ed won't die, not if I have anything to say about it," Al said.

Guilt smirked. "Why didn't I think of it before?" he said. "Why should I expend energy when I can let your brother do the work for me? I'll grant your request to see your brother; this time your real brother, and he'll fight my battle for me. What a perfect solution!"

With a thought, Guilt willed Ed, the real Ed, into existence. He appeared beside him like a ghost would exhibiting a spiritual essence; much like Maes Hughes. But he looked sad; Ed was frowning.

"Ed!" Al called out to him, but Ed didn't respond. His face looked mindless, his eyes lifeless.

"He can't hear you, his mind is now completely mine, and if you want him back you'll have to defeat him." He said. "Call it a wager, but if he defeats you, you will relinquish your mind and body to me."

"And if I win?" Al said.

"Your brother will be yours."

"Al, don't trust him," Maes said.

"Agreed," Al said quickly without heeding Maes warning.

Guilt smirked again. "Then it's a deal, but I assure you, you won't win," he said. "Ed, be so kind as to defeat your brother so I can take his mind and body and finally be free from yours."

Ed stepped in front of Guilt and clapped his hands, a portion of his right metal arm transmuted into a long blade.

"You may have fought fierce battles in the past and defeated countless foes, Alphonse, but can you defeat your own brother?" Guilt said smirking, as if he knew something they didn't know.

--

Even if he does defeat his brother, he'll kill him all the same and I'll take Alphonse Elric's body. By agreeing to this match, an equivalent exchange agreement has been made and regardless of the outcome I'll have a new body to live out a new life. So, fight him you fool, and kill yourselves in the process. My destiny is set.

--

Winry sighed.

Two hours had passed since Al Mind Melded with Ed and she was getting worried.

She didn't know how long this would take and she wished it would end soon.

Ed had another one of his violent fits since Al entered his mind and it nearly ripped the tape off his head, but she managed to keep Al's hands attached to Ed's head during the fit and wrapped more tape around Al's hands and Ed's head just to make sure neither one of them would be separated from the other.

Al told her under no circumstances to remove his hands from Ed's head so he could find his body when and if he returned from finding out what was afflicting Ed. But what was taking so long? She wondered.

She just had to trust him and hope Al learned the secret behind his brother's mental illness before it was too late, and Ed died.

To be continued…