(update 10/1/24: fixed italics)

Ch 30: Possession

Rated K

Characters: Alphonse, Winry, Pinako

Timeline: general

Notes: originally I was gonna do a different prompt, but after sitting on it for a week with very little progress, I decided to re-evaluate and figure out another idea—and what better to do than go back to the good ol' Simple Things timeline? You'd think Ed would be on the character list…except this time, I'll give Al a chance to shine, since he didn't get much time to talk in the early chapters ;D


To people who didn't understand it, alchemy was like magic. It wasn't; it was science, as much as chemistry or biology or geology were. But there were some aspects that an alchemist couldn't blame the common man for thinking magical—like the way transmutations could turn thoughts into physical reality with just a few symbols. To an alchemist, it all seemed obvious and logical: the manipulation of elements by energy. Not everyone grasped that, and that was okay; alchemy was a skill, and different people had different skills.

Alphonse thought he'd understood all alchemy had to offer, but in the past day, that had been proven more than wrong. Not simply because the research and formulas he and Edward were so sure of ended up being wrong, and had somehow turned on them and created a monster; but because, for the first time since he very first saw a transmutation performed, alchemy felt not like a science, but like magic. And that magic was him.

He couldn't fathom his new situation, because it was supposedly only a theory. Of course, he and Edward had read about soul alchemy as a form of human transmutation, but it was supposed to be just as impossible as human creation.

He had pondered this all night and all morning (every moment that wasn't spent reliving the events of the previous night and fearing for his brother's life, of course)—and he had come to the conclusion that it had to be some kind of soul alchemy. Ed hadn't said much before passing out on the basement floor, and what he said didn't make a whole lot of sense…but the words "toll", "trade", and "couldn't get" stood out. Then there was the lack of feeling or, apparently, bodily needs. There was the fact that he could look down and see his armor body. There was that moment he got his head knocked off before Granny kicked him out of surgery, and he'd rushed down the hall with the armor helmet in hand, catching sight of his reflection in a darkened window—

And saw nothing.

And, horrified, had run to the nearest mirror, seeing for himself a small alchemical symbol drawn in what looked like blood, painted on the inside of a very empty suit of armor.

So, yeah; alchemy may as well have been magic, because until Ed himself was able to talk about what he'd done, Al was at a complete loss.

He had no idea how long it had been at this point. The sun had risen outside, but he wasn't sure if it was still morning, or afternoon now. He'd been planted on the floor of his and Ed's room since discovering the…blood seal? That was what the book said soul alchemy was done with, wasn't it? Both Granny and Winry had come in a few times when it was dark out, but left when he didn't respond to much. He still wasn't sure if he was ready to talk to them—not when he had so many thoughts and questions of his own…But at the same exact time, he hoped they would come back soon, if only to tell him that his brother was okay.

Some indeterminate amount of time later, they did. Al heard a knock on the door and Granny called his name, before both she and Winry came in.

"Al—?"

"How's Ed?!" Al interjected before Pinako could finish her question.

Pinako sighed and moved closer. Winry moved to follow but hesitated, looking slightly fearfully at her friend. She ultimately seemed to push aside her apprehension for his sake, stepping a little closer (though not as close as her grandmother). Al couldn't blame her, but he still felt bad; he realized that the past day had to have been terrifying for her, as well.

Pinako sat on Ed's bed, facing Al and Winry. She pushed her glasses up, rubbing her eyes exhaustedly. "He's alive—and better, considering he's not bleeding out everywhere now. Winry and I got him set up for the long term, but he hasn't woken since I knocked him out during surgery."

"Do you think he will soon?"

Pinako considers giving him a softball answer because he's stressed enough, but that probably won't help in the long run. "Hard to say. His body's been through a lot of trauma, and he didn't show any sign of consciousness the whole time we were working on him this morning. It might be a while…" She shakes her head. "But that's not why we came up here. We came to check on how you're doing."

"Me?" Al asked. "I…I don't know. It's a lot. I just want things to be okay."

No one knew what to say to that, because things weren't okay, and they didn't know when it would be.

Winry looked at her friend, almost as tall as her even sitting down in his new form. She shifted uncomfortably. "Al, when you—last night, in Surgical…That armor…it's empty, isn't it?"

"...Yeah."

"How? Where…where did you go? How're you talking to us if there's nothing inside there?"

Pinako was admittedly curious too, if a bit fearful of the answer. She'd gotten Al to confess last night what he and Ed had done (or rather, tried to do). She'd seen for herself in the early hours of the morning what her adoptive grandsons made at their house. Even if she had to know what happened, she wasn't sure she wanted to.

"Honestly…" Al started, voice wavering. "I don't know. I don't remember anything before waking up. And when I did, I saw Brother…He tried explaining but it didn't make much sense…but…it's alchemy. I know that, at least." Fumbling slightly, Al reached up, pulling the armor's helmet from its shoulders, and trying to ignore how the Rockbells unconsciously shrunk back in fear as he did. "There's an alchemy symbol on the back. I saw it last night…actually, I think I can literally see out of it, too."

Pinako and Winry leaned closer, observing the little hexagram inside.

"Is it…blood?" Winry asked.

"Yeah. That's how this kind of alchemy is said to work…but I don't know how it works. Only Ed would know, since he's the one who did it."

Pinako sighed again. "That boy…" she mumbled, thinking about his (and Al's) sorry states.

Al put the helmet back on, missing his mark at first and having to try again. "But I guess the best way I can try to describe it would be like…possession."

"Possession?" Pinako asked, her focus returned to the younger boy. "Like in folklore?"

"Yeah, like that. It's like…like I'm a spirit, inhabiting this armor. I'm not physically in it, but I can control it."

"And…" Winry hesitated. "...that 'spirit' is really you? Really Alphonse?"

"It has to be. I've still felt like me, despite everything. I know you, and I know Brother, and I have all my memories. I'm just…not…here…" He trailed off.

With that answer, some of the apprehension lifted from Winry's face, despite the involuntary reluctance still in her posture. "Well…as long as it's you, then—then it shouldn't matter." Her voice strengthened, and she forced herself closer to her friend. "You're alive, right? And Ed's alive, and you're going to stay alive. We…we can figure it out. Right?"

And even though he wasn't quite confident about it, after a moment, Al nodded. "Right…" He had to believe it was going to be okay, because if he didn't, he wasn't sure where to go next. Right now, it was all too overwhelming, and all he could do was face things one moment at a time. If that started with just being alive, he'd take it.

Meanwhile, Pinako looked between the two children with an amalgamation of emotions. Winry was clearly putting on a mask of confidence for Alphonse's sake; she always tried to be positive, but it was obvious she was just as fearful and unsure as the boy. And Alphonse was clearly doing the same, while not even able to understand just what had happened to him. No one was able to understand, and the only person who might have the answers was in no shape to give them. She could feel the sadness and uncertainty palpably in the air, and looked back at Al. "Well…Edward will be alright on his own for a while. Want Winry and me to keep you company?" she asked him.

Al wanted to say no, because he was still scared and needed time to process things…but having the support of his family while he did it might be better in the long run. Still, he said, "I don't know if I have much to talk about right now."

"That's alright. Right, Winry?"

Winry smiled a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Right." She settled on the floor, leaning against Al's bed.

So, for several hours, that's how the three of them stayed. And it did make things a little easier, because at the very least, they had each other.


That writers block hit HARD XD. But now, only one prompt left! It's my absolute goal to get it done before the next whumptober starts (which I won't be doing...maybe I'll take some prompts from it for my own use but I have too many unfinished projects to spend another year doing this haha).

See you next chapter...for the LAST chapter! (Woo!)