The golden light of the transmutation had mesmerized both Ed and Al, and the pair couldn't help but grin at each other. It seemed as if everything would go exactly as they'd planned; soon they'd have mom back, and everything would go back to the way it was. The very thought of it was exhilarating. Seeing mom's smile, hearing her voice again, this was all for those moments the pair missed so terribly in the time she'd been gone. They had a lot of catching up to do when this was all over.

There's a saying that only when you've reached your highest point was when the axe would fall. In this case, Ed and Al's celebration of their success was cut short as the light around them changed to a more menacing dark purple. Ed's stomach fell and a shiver went down his spine; something was wrong. Al's expression mirrored his thoughts and the two exchanged glances before returning their attention to the pile in the middle of the room.

I don't want to do this anymore.

Ed had read about rebounds in dad's old text books he'd left behind in his office. He'd scoffed at it at the time, but now he wished he'd actually taken the information seriously. The light was the same color, along with that overpowering sense of wrongness that permeated the air. Now they were left helpless to watch as everything they'd hoped for fell apart.

The scream from beside him alerted Ed that things were going to get even worse. He whipped his head around in time to catch Al fading away right in front of his eyes. Even reaching out to grab him did nothing for whatever it was that took his brother away from him. Ed cried out in panic, tried to pull him out, but eventually Al was gone. He'd never felt so alone before.

Alphonse!

That's when he noticed the pain that ripped through his leg. It was overwhelming and nauseating and terrifying all at once, especially when he looked down. Ed's leg was gone too. He knew now how stupid they'd been for even trying this; Al had disappeared and, in the middle of the circle, the smoke finally cleared enough to show them the result. It wasn't even…

No, everything was all wrong. This wasn't what they wanted, not at all. It wasn't supposed to be like this, with him all alone and nothing to gain from it. Wasn't alchemy about equivalent exchange?

Please, I'll give up anything to get Al back. Anything!

Ed crawled his way to a toppled suit of armor and reached inside. He wasn't going anywhere without his brother; he'd get Alphonse back no matter what! The circle began to glow and Ed passed out from the pain.

…..

For:

The Diversity Writing Challenge – A #82 (write about losing something)

The Character Diversity Boot Camp - Lost