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Chapter 6: Knowing One's Demons

Ed let Natsu and his friends come in to his little house. They all sat on the couch that was in the living room. Ed grabbed a chair from the kitchen and brought it into the room. He sat down, a depressed look worn on his face. I am getting sick just thinking about it. Ed thought. How can I even go about telling these people who I just met about my life? I BLAME THE GUY WITH THE SLEEPING GAS… MAGIC… WHATEVER IT WAS! IF IT WAS NOT FOR THAT ASSHOLE THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO KNOWLEDGE ABOUT BY AUTOMAIL LIMBS AND NO NEED FOR THIS!

"So, Ed" Gray finally spoke up. "What is the deal with the date, and what happened to your limbs?"

"You know, I have been interrogated all damn day," Ed answered back harshly. "You said you would tell me about yourselves. So, I feel it is fitting you guys go first, since this is YOUR world."

"Oooh, oooh, I will go first!" Natsu said. "I was raised by a dragon named Igneel. He is the one that taught me all about my Fire Dragon Slayer magic. He also taught me how to read and write and stuff. I had a lot of fun with him. I was raised by him until July 7 in the year 777, when I was around 11, when he disappeared. I have been trying to find him for a while, but have not worked."

"Through my travels I ended up here in Fairy Tail, where I have been ever since. It is around that time I met Happy. It was a really awesome day! He hatched from what I thought was a dragon egg."

Natsu paused, then continued somberly. "Lisanna and I took care of him when he was first born."

"SO which one was Lisanna?" Ed asked in curiosity, half believing Natsu's story but half thinking it is a load of bull.

Natsu looked out the window, sadly thinking of the past. "She died a while ago, on a mission with the Mirajane, her sister, and Elfman, her brother. Mirajane was the girl with white hair who ran the bar, and Elfman is the white haired guy."

Edward felt a little bad, for in Natsu's eyes were genuine pain, leading to believe that whatever Natsu said was indeed true. "I am sorry. I didn't know."

"It's fine." Natsu said with a smile.

"Well, I don't have a story like Natsu and Gray." Lucy began. "I just always wanted to join Fairy Tail. I do not have any magic abilities, but I have celestial spirits. I use these keys (showing Ed her keys) to summon out spirits from the Celestial World. Like so." Lucy then pulled out a key and turned it. With a flash of light, a little snowman appeared, moving around as if it was shivering. After a minute, the snowman disappeared.

Ed looked at Lucy when she spoke. Something about the way she said "I don't have a story" gave him a weird feeling like she WAS holding back. If it was anyone else, he would have called it out. However, since Lucy was one of the nicer ones to Ed, he let it go.

"Gray. It is your turn." Natsu said out loud.

"Fine." Gray replied. "And DON'T volunteer me for shit, pink-haired flamer."

"What was that, you popsicle headed pervert?"

"Stop fighting, both of you." Lucy interrupted. "Gray, you may continue.

"Anyway, when I was little, a demon came and ravaged through my town, killing my parents and friends. It was there I met my teacher, Ur, who showed me how to use my ice-make magic. It was me and Lyon. I blame the training for my stripping habit, for part of our training was to train in the freezing cold in our boxers."

"When we were around the same age Natsu was when Igneel left him, that same demon came again. However, Ur used a spell called Iced Shell, a spell that turns your body into a shell of ice, covering the foe for eternity. From there, I ended up here in Fairy Tail."

"Wow, I did not even know that Gray," Lucy said.

"Yea, it is kind of hard to talk about."

"I did not know that you guys had a hard childhood." Ed said.

"Yea, most of the people in Fairy Tail did, which is why they came to the guild."

"I understand, but," Ed bent his head down, bangs covering his face, creating a shadow that hid his eyes. "I would rather have those lives than the one I have lived."

"OH YEA, what is SO BAD about your life, huh short shit?" Gray answered in a harsh tone. Natsu got up as well, offended by Ed's statement a little himself.

Instead of combating the insult, Ed remained still. Tears began to roll down his face. The mages noticed this and began to sit down, calming down a bit.

Ed took a deep breath, wiped the tears away, and began his long story.

"I grew up in a town called Resembool with my brother, Alphonse, and my mom and dad, Van Hohenheim. My dad was an alchemist who was pretty smart for his age. Though, as much as he was smart (Ed began to clench his fists in anger) he ditched us when Al and I were very little. He left without saying goodbye, no clue as to where he was going, nothing."

"A while after he left, Al and I found his alchemy books, and we began to learn how to perform alchemy. Our mom let us because it reminded her of dad. Life was fine for all of us, even without our rotten father. Al and I began school, ready to go up the ranks and become the best we could be. But…"

Ed began to sound even worse than he did. He had a depressed tone in his voice, but it got worse right after Ed finished that part.

"One day, we came home from shopping for our mother to find her on the floor. She was passed out and in trouble. We got her to a hospital for treatment, trying to save her. The doctors said she got the illness from a civil war that was going on at the time that spread to where we lived. The doctors say that she was in terrible condition before, being sick for over a year, not even telling Al and I. As hard as we tried to get her better, for months on end, the doctors said there was nothing we could do. Al and I desperately tried to keep our mom alive. However, our efforts were in vain. She died in our arms, succumbing to the disease that wrongfully took her from us. I was only eleven then, and Al ten. That tombstone you saw, 'Trisha Elric, 1878 – 1904.' That is what my mom's tombstone looked like when I was back in Amestris."

"Months after she was buried, Al and I began really studying alchemy, hoping to find a way to bring our mother back. There are two major taboos in alchemy: one cannot turn materials into gold, and the Ultimate Taboo: one can NEVER attempt a human transmutation, trying to bring the dead back to life. However, after many months of training and research, we decided to attempt the Ultimate Taboo."

"We gathered the 'ingredients' necessary to 'make' a human. They are 35 liters of water, 20 kilograms of carbon, 4 liters of ammonia, 1.5 kilograms of lime, 800 grams of phosphorus, 250 grams of salt, 100 grams of saltpeter, 80 grams of sulfur, 7.5 grams of fluorine, 5 grams of iron, 3 grams of silicon, and small amounts of 15 other trace elements. We drew out the circle and activated it. Alchemists need a circle as a gateway to use the energy to be able to shape whatever it is they want to mold. When Al and I activated the circle, it glowed a beautiful golden color. We looked at each other in joy, for we thought we did it correctly. We did do it correctly, however, the result was something we did not expect to happen."

"The first law of alchemy is the law of Equivalent Exchange. To obtain a certain thing, something of equal value must be lost. It has to be a fair trade. We did not realize how much we had to give up to 'perfect' the human transmutation. We each ended up being sucked in and passed through "The Gate of Truth" that is opened during this transmutation. In it is all-powerful knowledge about alchemy that floods into your brain when inside. The knowledge is so great and vast it begins to terrorize you as it is forced into your brain. However, the price of that knowledge was huge. It costed my brother his whole body, and me my left leg. And in the end, the thing we made from the transmutation was not even human." Remembering the creature that spawned there sent chills up and down Ed's body.

Ed rolled up his left pant leg to show where the automail leg and his flesh met. "I was in shock and anger that my brother lost his whole body. With the new knowledge I had and a suit of armor that fell on the floor, I drew out a symbol inside the armor with the blood that poured out of my leg and, by sacrificing my right arm (Ed now rolled up his right sleeve, revealing his scars and arm), I attached Al's soul to the armor, keeping him alive, but taking away his ability to eat, sleep, even feel rain hitting his face. We lost so much, all to see our mother smile again."

"Al took us to our friends, Winry and Pinako Rockbell, who specialized in prosthetic automail limbs and, through a painful surgery, made me limbs, attaching the nerves in my body to the automail, causing severe pain. The Colonel I mentioned before came out to investigate a prodigy in Resembool, not expecting it to be me. After I healed up, he took me to the capital of Amestris, Central, where I took the State Alchemist Exam, being the only one to pass it out of the 200 people who took the test, being the youngest person to pass it in history. Then (Ed opens his watch and shows the date scratched inside) on this day, Al and I burned down our own house, so there was no turning back on our quest to get our bodies back."

"We spent years in search for a powerful stone known as the Philosopher's Stone. It is said to be able to let the user use Alchemy without being bound by its laws. However, we learned its secret ingredient is human lives, therefore we did not want to create one. There were a group of beings known as homunculus that wanted it for power. Father, the leader, had seven 'children' named after the seven deadly sins. Gluttony, Lust, Sloth, Envy, Greed (who was an enemy but became an ally in the end), Wrath (who turned out to be our leader, Führer King Bradley, who lead us into pointless bloodshed that was unexplained until his true identity was revealed), and Pride (who acted as the Führer's son and was leader of the Homunculus)."

"After a long time of fighting, we finally fought Father. He was very strong, not taking damage by our strongest attacks. It took Al sacrificing himself so I got my right arm back to beat him. I was very saddened that I lost Al, so I performed a human transmutation on myself, bring Al, body and soul, back home in exchange for my alchemy abilities. Years were spent by Al and I, looking for knowledge about the world, learning about a form of alchemy used as medicine called alkahestry. We soon came back to Resembool for an anniversary party when a homunculus known as Sin appeared. He was stronger than Father by far. He took Winry and lured us into his cave, forcing me to perform a human transmutation on these half-human half-animal beings called chimeras. I thought I did not have my alchemy so I said I would do it, not realizing that he can cause my alchemy to work. I was pulled into the Gate again to be put in front of Truth, the gatekeeper."

"He took my right arm again as payment. I then explained to him that Sin was behind this. Truth then revealed to me that Sin is Truth's clone who was stuck on earth in a slumber for centuries. Truth then said if I wanted to get back to help Al, Winry, and the others I had to figure out the reasoning as to why human transmutations never work. So, he sent me to another world, that being here."

Ed looked up from his long story, tears still in his eyes. "That is my life. Now you know about where I came from and how I got my limbs."

The mages and Happy all looked back at Ed with looks of shock, fear, and sorrow. Natsu and Gray knew they each went through hard things in their life, losing their family and being abandoned. However, they could not imagine walking in the shoes that Edward Elric did. How anyone is able to handle watching their mother die, then try to bring her back only to lose your leg and arm along with your sibling's body, then go on a long journey for most of your childhood in search for a way to fix your mistake, getting thrown curve balls at every direction, and then when it is finally over, another dilemma arrises, ending with you in a world unfamiliar to you was impossible in their eyes.

Lucy got up and went up to Edward, giving him a hug with tears in her eyes. "I am so sorry." was all she could say.

With the way Ed was with these new people, he would have shoved her off and yelled at her to get off. However, the hug he got felt warm and good. It was something he did not get in a while. He wrapped his arms around Lucy, letting out a few sobs of his own out. Natsu, Happy, and Gray got up and joined Lucy. "Hey, as long as you are with us, we will always be here for you." Natsu said. "Whatever it is that you have done in your past, don't let it bottle you up. Let us bare your pain with you, so you can help us bare ours."

Edward went silent. He just met these people and they are already sticking up for him. "Thanks guys. You really helped me out. I think talking about what happened helped."

"No sweat. It is the least we can do." Natsu replied with a grin on his face.

"So, I am glad you are going to be a part of Fairy Tail, Edward." Lucy said.

"It's Ed," Ed said with a smile. "You are my friends, so Ed is fine."

"Lucy, you forgot he has to fight Erza tomorrow to see if he is in the guild." Happy added.

Natsu and Gray began to shiver in fear of the thought of her. "Jeez, it was nice seeing you."

"What you think I will lose?" Ed said half-jokingly. "Some friends you are."

"Dude, Erza is a frickin monster. How are you not scared of fighting her?"

"Well for one thing, she does not know how I fight. Also, she is not scary whatsoever. She seems tough but is nothing."

Natsu and Gray starred at the alchemist as if he had five heads and eight arms. "ARE YOU CRAY!" the two mages exclaimed.

"She can kick two mountains down to size with one kick. She is a maniac, bringing destruction everywhere she goes. How can anyone be scarier than Erza?"

"Oh I know a few people."

"Who, Ed?"

"Well, whenever I break my arm or leg, Winry begins to throw wrenches at my head like there is a target on it, Lust (one of the homunculus) could turn her fingers into spears that could pierce anything."

"Have any of them fought a giant monster and brought home a horn the size of a house on her back."

"No, but there is a woman I know for FACT that is scarier and stronger than Erza."

"WHO?"

Suddenly the air got cold. Ed began to wear the same pained face Natsu and Gray had at the mention of Erza. A vision of a woman in a white coat, black pants, and dredlocks appeared in his head, chasing him down ready to beat him to a pulp. "Tee… teach… teacher…"

"Who is she?" Happy asked.

Ed told the mages all about Izumi Curtis, his teacher who taught him everything about alchemy. He shared to the mages her training for a month on Mount Briggs, her failed human transmutation on her unborn child, and, worst of all, the things she did to Al and Ed for their training. Natsu, Gray, and Lucy and began to wear scared faces.

"How did you live?" Happy asked.

"Simple, Happy," Ed answered. "I said it before. I was willing to do anything to get my brother's body back. No matter what was thrown at me, I continued on towards my goal. The same reason why I WILL beat Erza tomorrow."

"It is getting late." Natsu said, yawning and stretching. "I'm going to go sleep. See you guys tomorrow. Good luck, Ed!" Natsu and Happy left.

"Yea, see you tomorrow." Gray said, following Natsu. Lucy stayed for a bit, looking at Ed in his golden eyes. She walked up to him and hugged him. "No matter what happens, I will be here for you. I can relate to you more than you think. I understand why you were sad. I know the feeling of losing my mother. I did not see her die, but I still understand."

Ed returned the hug back to Lucy. "Thanks, I know you will be. You remind me of my brother, Alphonse. He would never let someone hurting be left alone."

"Well then, I guess I am your sister." Lucy said with a smile. "Goodnight, bro."

"Yea, take care." Ed answered as Lucy walked out. After they left, Ed went and laid right on his bed. I guess they are not that bad. Ed thought, smiling to himself. They really are an interesting group. With that, Ed fell asleep.

End of Chapter 6. Please Review.