The Cycle of Pain and Hope

By Teenangel

Summary: a different ending to FMA, from Alphonse getting his body back to far into the future. Mostly following the life of Ed's daughter. Not what you expect at all! Blood, violence. Future fic. edxwinry alxelysia. spoilers.

Author's note: some things may not be accurate to the anime, bear with me. And I swear this story has a happy ending!

Disclaimer: Got bored the day after finals, college student, so broke, wouldn't even bother

"…he wasn't just any State Alchemist, but the Full Metal Alchemist, the Alchemist of the people, and one of the strongest people I have ever met…"

Ali ignored General Mustang's voice; she looked at all the people at the funeral, people her father had talked about but she'd never met. People from Lior, from Xenotime, from Central, from towns so far away they still didn't have train stations.

They spotted her easily, 'you must be Edward's daughter, you look just like him'.

Ali wanted to run back to the house; she could see it, not too far away, no one would—of course they'd notice, bright blond hair blurring away, like a beacon. She was stuck there; stuck in black pants, black dress shirt, and black. She hated black, such a depressing color, and the field was full of black people, like a crop of mourning, of sorrow, of loss.

Yet, even when the ceremony was over and the crowd dispersed, she stayed planted to her spot. The General was the last to leave, giving her a pat on the shoulder and advice she didn't hear.

"Dad," she hissed. Hot tears were boiling up inside her. She bit her tongue, sucking on the iron flavor in her blood. Her sadness sublimated away, replaced by a fierce black burning in the pit of her chest.

"You want Father back," a boy stood up from behind the tombstone, young, thin, with wild bushy hair, and automail limbs. She glared at Wrath, not surprised to see him, nor in the mood; he'd been floating around for awhile, sometimes letting Winry mend the parts he'd stolen from her father years ago.

"Of course I want him back, that's a stupid question," she spat, fisting her fingers tight.

"Not a question," tears were coming down his eyes, "use me."

Her eyes widened, "What!"

"Sacrifice me for your father, then you can have him back, and I can have Mother, please," he grabbed her shoulders, automail fingers painfully digging into muscle, "PLEASE! I'm willing, just do it! You know how. You're his daughter."

I made a promise. She looked away, grinding her teeth, "I'm sorry Wrath, I can't, I can't do human transmutation."

He collapsed in front of her, "But I can't live anymore, I CAN'T!"

"There are other ways to die, even for homunculi," she couldn't believe she was willing to help him, but he was in pain. Straight to the point, "Where are your bones?"

He stopped, "I, I don't really have any. But, but I don't want to die like that, just die, I want to, to die and have it worth something."

"To atone," she said, and looked towards the house where people had mingled. No one would bother her for awhile, "An equivalent exchange, for the greater good?"

"Yes," his voice croaked, his metal hand grabbed her ankle, "please help me die."

"Follow me." She led him to the other side of the cemetery, into a cluster of trees. It was a circular clearing she used to use as a secret hide to practice amateur alchemy. She wasn't an amateur anymore. Stick in hand, she began to draw a transmutation circle, five feet in circumference. Wrath watched in fascination as she delicately drew out the symbols, completely from memory, holding the stick like a paintbrush.

She finished, "Stand in the center."

He did so.

"Do you know what this circle is for?"

"No," he looked around, trying to recognize symbols, "yes, yes I do now."

She paused and stared at him intensely "You're okay with the exchange?"

"YES!" he shouted, startling her, "JUST DO IT! Please."

Ali looked at Wrath one last time, then slammed her hands into the circle—blue-purple light, black tendrils, doors in a void. Opening her eyes she saw Uncle Al above her, lines of worry over his child-like face. She braced herself, but this was not her father or her mother, instead of 'what the hell where you doing!' she got,

"Are your okay?" and a hand to help her up.

She swayed on her feet, "Yes, I—was I out for—"

"Only a few minutes," he said, and pink embarrassment colored his face, "I was watching. Winry sent me to get you—what did you do? with Wrath? You're sure you're okay?"

"I didn't do anything 'really really stupid' if that's what you mean," she frowned and began rubbing out the circle with her heel. When she was done, she clapped her hands together and pressed them into the ground. Flowers sprouted up and she placed a ring of them where Wrath had stood.

"Without circles, I see," said Al, holding back his disagreement, "Wrath in exchange for the Gate's knowledge."

She shrugged, "It was his choice, to die for something else, not in vain. He tried to convince me to bring dad back, but I promised I never would try something stupid."

"I'm glad you kept that promise, but—"

"I know, you consider this somewhat stupid, that's okay."

"There is something else isn't there?" he sensed.

Her jaw tightened. "It said something, Truth, whatever you call it, something that should bother me but doesn't." It played back in her mind, '...death is not your shadow, but your light.' She didn't elaborate and he didn't push. "Come on," she said, "before mom sends Uncle Roy to burn down the trees looking for us."

He followed, "Ali, when did you grow up?" She didn't answer. On the way back they stopped at Ed's grave again and Allison made a large wreath of flowers for it.