Categories > Anime/Manga > Full Metal Alchemist > Separation and Reunion
Separation and Reunion
Chapter 8: I Am
----
Listening to: "Hold Me" - Weezer
----
Ed blinked, rubbing his hands together and then looking around him. A familiar smell filled his nose and he let out a deep breath into the cold, clean air.
Could it be?
Rizemboul.
Amestris.
He was home!
----
He hadn't tried to do anything. He'd just sketched out the bizarre transmutation circle in the back of Caspar's journal and then clapped his hands in the normal fashion. It was just an experiment.
And, apparently, it worked.
He blinked again before thinking of what he should be doing. Shouldn't he go see Winry or something? Al? Was Al even alive? Had the transmutation worked?
All questions that could be answered now.
He set off in the direction of some lights which he supposed was the town, striding through the tall grass with his mismatched legs. He'd grown a few inches while he was on the other side of the gate, and now his automail leg was too short for him. He would have to get Winry to make a new one.
Wait a minute. Why was he even thinking this?
"I...I'm home!" he suddenly yelled, "YEAH!"
Some cows nearby glanced up at him and he quickly left the pasture, climbing over the fence as best he could. It was extremely dark, because it always got rainy in Rizemboul during the winter. So...where was he, exactly?
It wasn't long before he came to the first familiar thing.
The graveyard.
It was a little unnerving. Nobody wants to be in the middle of a graveyard after dark, of course, but the last time Ed had been here he had been digging up his mother's grave.
She'd disappeared.
He walked over to where he knew his family's plot was, gazing lovingly at her name and running a hand over it.
Then something caught his eye.
Two new tombstones.
One had his name on it. So they thought he was dead...he'd expected that. But why was there another new gravestone here?
"Al..." he murmured, getting worried, "No, it can't-"
He stopped short. What?
Trisha Elric.
Daughter of Edward Elric and Winry Rockbell.
Daughter.
"Daughter..."
----
"Riza, we have to go right now," Roy said, gathering up his coat and trying to get presentable again, "Everyone is going to be shocked."
Riza nodded. Of course she understood. "We have all the time in the world, Roy," she said quietly, smiling.
He grinned back at her and then swiftly pulled her to him and gave her a passionate kiss. She returned it gladly before reaching down and picking up her bra and shirt.
"I can't believe it...he's back..." Roy muttered. The happiness was easily seen on his face. Riza knew that Roy thought of Ed and Al as his sons...it was good to have them back.
It was phenomenal.
----
Izumi was the first to let out a gasp.
Gracia turned.
Elysia's eyes widened.
"Brother!" said Al.
"Ed...Edward..." Pinako stuttered.
"Oh God," Izumi said.
He was covered in dirt, as if he'd stumbled in a new plot of land. His eyes were wide and blank, and a morbid expression marred his usually attractive features.
Everything was silent. Ed stood in the doorway, like a ghost, his skin pale. He wore a drab brown coat that looked exotic and unusual to the people sitting in the room having their dessert.
Al suddenly jumped out of his chair and ran towards Ed, throwing his arms around his brother. Ed now was a lot taller than Al...it was bizarre to see them together. Ed's hand automatically went out and settled on Al's shoulder lovingly.
But, of course, it was already an extremely strange situation.
"Where have you been?" Pinako hissed, glaring at him.
He didn't seem to hear her. "Winry...where is she?"
"Answer me, boy!" Pinako fumed. She was angry...he looked fine, and he'd left Winry here to die!
Ed's eyes suddenly narrowed, "No, old woman, you answer me! I just saw the grave of a daughter I didn't know existed, and I don't know where Winry is or if she's alright. Now where is she?"
Pinako's eyes widened. Of course he hadn't hurt Winry on purpose...he would never do that... "I'm sorry...I should've known. Here, follow me."
The tiny old woman stood straight and walked stiffly towards the stairs. Ed followed close behind, and Al tried to follow before Izumi called him back.
"Why can't I go with them, teacher?" Al asked.
"Your brother needs to speak to Winry," Izumi told him in as motherly a fashion as she could, "Now you just stay here...I'm sure he'll want to talk to you when he comes back down here."
----
Winry had a dream that Ed was talking to another woman. But this woman was Winry, in a way. It was strange, and it scared her.
What if she was going crazy?
"Winry...Winry?"
His voice wasn't saying "Annaliese" anymore. It was saying "Winry". This couldn't be...
"Winry."
She opened her eyes.
Her mouth opened in a gasp.
He was here.
"Winry, you're alright," he said, smiling weakly. She noticed that he was dirty and pale...was this what he looked like as a corpse? If she was going crazy, it seemed reasonable that she would see him as a corpse.
"You're not real," she said shortly, getting out of bed. Ed looked around at the windows. They'd had bars put in over them.
"Yes he is, Winry," Pinako said quietly, "He's back...somehow..."
"No," Winry said, putting out a hand as if he was going to attack her, "I've had this dream before...he's not real." She looked up. "But if he's real, I'm guessing my baby's alive too, right? Still right here?" She ran a hand over her now flat stomach.
"Winry, please..." Ed said quietly. Pinako looked closely at his face...his jaw had gotten stronger and more defined, and he'd definitely gotten taller. He was a man now...eighteen years old. "Please come back to me."
"What do you mean?" Winry said, "Come back to you? You're the one who left me! Ruined my life...left me all alone...I know you had to think of Al...but little Trisha might be alive now if you hadn't left us here. Why didn't you think of me? I was your future, Edward...but now I'm just supposed to be dead."
"Winry..."
Pinako watched him closely to see that tears were appearing in his eyes. But what was she supposed to do? Winry was too strong willed to listen to somebody else. She would believe what she wanted to, and there was nothing that she or Ed could do about it.
"Why don't you just go back Edward?" Winry said sharply, "It's too late now. I'm supposed -"
In one quick movement he was in front of her and grasping her arms. Her eyes widened in surprise and she seemed afraid, but Pinako just stayed in the corner. Maybe this would work...she should let them alone...
"Don't hurt her Edward," she said quietly before leaving the room.
"Winry," he said quietly, "I have been working night and day to get back to you. I shouldn't be here...I am supposed to be dead! But I'm here now...and so are you."
Winry stared at him as if in shock.
"There still is a future for us, Win," he said, "Please...please come back."
Her eyes lost their cloudiness...but rather than pulling him closer, she shoved him away. "Damn you!" she screamed, "Damn you, damn you!" She tried to pull the lamp off of the side table to throw it, but it seemed to be glued down. Ed stared from the table to Winry as she collapsed on the floor, sobbing. What had happened...what had he done to her?
----
Roy walked into the Rockbell house to see dirty footprints on the floor, and he immediately knew that Ed had already been there. "Where's Elric?" he said sternly. Riza stood behind him, looking around.
"Oh, we do have plenty of surprises tonight," Pinako said, coming down the stairs, "He's up there, with Winry...but you're not to go up there. They need to talk and be left alone."
Roy hesitated, but Riza immediately nodded and held on to his arm. "We understand," Riza said calmly, and then looked upward to whisper in Roy's ear. "Imagine if it was you and me."
Apparently, he agreed. They both sat down at the table with the other guests. Everyone had lost their appetite by now, and nobody spoke. It was as if they were trying to hear what Edward and Winry were saying upstairs.
----
"You always have to be so noble, don't you?" Winry said, looking up at him, "I thought you were dead...I didn't think you'd do something so stupid..."
"I was saving my brother, Winry!" Ed said, angry, "What I set out to do all along...I promised you that I'd always love you!"
"You also said that you wouldn't do anything like what you did, dumbass," Winry said, "My promise was that I'd always wait for you...and I thought I had to...but then...did..."
He watched her closely and sat down on the floor near her. What he really wanted to be doing was holding her...but she wouldn't let him.
"Did Aunty tell you what I did?"
Ed shook his head, but put up his hands too. "It's OK, you don't have to tell me."
"I killed the baby, Ed."
He looked closely at her, moving closer when she put her head down and started sobbing again.
"I wanted to blame you...I really did...but I just realized...it was me...I...I jumped off the porch with the big lamp...and I made sure it was on my chest and stomach so that it would kill me..." She looked up at him again, "That's why I was supposed to die."
Ed finally got close enough to her to touch her and he put out a hand and put it on her arm. She immediately buried her face in the crook of his neck, sobbing all of her tears onto his jacket. "Winry, you...you're a wreck," he said, having trouble taking it all in. This was Winry...this was the girl that used to hit him with wrenches when she was upset, and always held on strong. What was she doing like this?
"Of course I'm a wreck," she said, "My baby's dead and I thought you were dead...what was I supposed to do? I was the only one who thought you were alive for the longest time...nobody else did though. They all kept on saying you were dead...it drove me crazy..."
"Well you don't have to be crazy anymore," Ed said, pulling her away from his neck and moving closer so that he could hold her. He kissed the top of her head comfortingly and tried to console her. "Winry...I'm not dead, I'm alive...and we can live now...you said you were going to marry me, right?"
"You still remember that?" Winry said, gazing at him.
"You and Al were the only people on my mind when I was stuck in that other world," he said, "I couldn't stop thinking about you...I was worried...I dreamt about you every night."
"Me too," she answered, calming down, "I...I do still love you, Ed."
"I love you too Winry," he said, and then bent down to capture her lips. She closed her eyes quickly, and then started crying again as she felt the kiss of someone she'd thought she'd never see again.
He quickly pulled away. "Why are you crying!" he asked, worried.
"It's...I just missed you..." she said, wiping her eyes, "But...oh, just kiss me again."
He leaned towards her again and she fiercely caught his mouth, opening her own to trace patterns across his teeth and the roof of his mouth with her tongue before throwing her arms around his neck and settling in his lap, taking up his right arm to inspect it.
"You need new automail," she said after a few minutes.
"Yeah," he agreed, and then looked her in the eyes, "We're going to get through this together, OK?"
"OK, Ed," Winry answered, and then kissed him again.
Maybe she would be alright after all.
Chapter 8: I Am
----
Listening to: "Hold Me" - Weezer
----
Ed blinked, rubbing his hands together and then looking around him. A familiar smell filled his nose and he let out a deep breath into the cold, clean air.
Could it be?
Rizemboul.
Amestris.
He was home!
----
He hadn't tried to do anything. He'd just sketched out the bizarre transmutation circle in the back of Caspar's journal and then clapped his hands in the normal fashion. It was just an experiment.
And, apparently, it worked.
He blinked again before thinking of what he should be doing. Shouldn't he go see Winry or something? Al? Was Al even alive? Had the transmutation worked?
All questions that could be answered now.
He set off in the direction of some lights which he supposed was the town, striding through the tall grass with his mismatched legs. He'd grown a few inches while he was on the other side of the gate, and now his automail leg was too short for him. He would have to get Winry to make a new one.
Wait a minute. Why was he even thinking this?
"I...I'm home!" he suddenly yelled, "YEAH!"
Some cows nearby glanced up at him and he quickly left the pasture, climbing over the fence as best he could. It was extremely dark, because it always got rainy in Rizemboul during the winter. So...where was he, exactly?
It wasn't long before he came to the first familiar thing.
The graveyard.
It was a little unnerving. Nobody wants to be in the middle of a graveyard after dark, of course, but the last time Ed had been here he had been digging up his mother's grave.
She'd disappeared.
He walked over to where he knew his family's plot was, gazing lovingly at her name and running a hand over it.
Then something caught his eye.
Two new tombstones.
One had his name on it. So they thought he was dead...he'd expected that. But why was there another new gravestone here?
"Al..." he murmured, getting worried, "No, it can't-"
He stopped short. What?
Trisha Elric.
Daughter of Edward Elric and Winry Rockbell.
Daughter.
"Daughter..."
----
"Riza, we have to go right now," Roy said, gathering up his coat and trying to get presentable again, "Everyone is going to be shocked."
Riza nodded. Of course she understood. "We have all the time in the world, Roy," she said quietly, smiling.
He grinned back at her and then swiftly pulled her to him and gave her a passionate kiss. She returned it gladly before reaching down and picking up her bra and shirt.
"I can't believe it...he's back..." Roy muttered. The happiness was easily seen on his face. Riza knew that Roy thought of Ed and Al as his sons...it was good to have them back.
It was phenomenal.
----
Izumi was the first to let out a gasp.
Gracia turned.
Elysia's eyes widened.
"Brother!" said Al.
"Ed...Edward..." Pinako stuttered.
"Oh God," Izumi said.
He was covered in dirt, as if he'd stumbled in a new plot of land. His eyes were wide and blank, and a morbid expression marred his usually attractive features.
Everything was silent. Ed stood in the doorway, like a ghost, his skin pale. He wore a drab brown coat that looked exotic and unusual to the people sitting in the room having their dessert.
Al suddenly jumped out of his chair and ran towards Ed, throwing his arms around his brother. Ed now was a lot taller than Al...it was bizarre to see them together. Ed's hand automatically went out and settled on Al's shoulder lovingly.
But, of course, it was already an extremely strange situation.
"Where have you been?" Pinako hissed, glaring at him.
He didn't seem to hear her. "Winry...where is she?"
"Answer me, boy!" Pinako fumed. She was angry...he looked fine, and he'd left Winry here to die!
Ed's eyes suddenly narrowed, "No, old woman, you answer me! I just saw the grave of a daughter I didn't know existed, and I don't know where Winry is or if she's alright. Now where is she?"
Pinako's eyes widened. Of course he hadn't hurt Winry on purpose...he would never do that... "I'm sorry...I should've known. Here, follow me."
The tiny old woman stood straight and walked stiffly towards the stairs. Ed followed close behind, and Al tried to follow before Izumi called him back.
"Why can't I go with them, teacher?" Al asked.
"Your brother needs to speak to Winry," Izumi told him in as motherly a fashion as she could, "Now you just stay here...I'm sure he'll want to talk to you when he comes back down here."
----
Winry had a dream that Ed was talking to another woman. But this woman was Winry, in a way. It was strange, and it scared her.
What if she was going crazy?
"Winry...Winry?"
His voice wasn't saying "Annaliese" anymore. It was saying "Winry". This couldn't be...
"Winry."
She opened her eyes.
Her mouth opened in a gasp.
He was here.
"Winry, you're alright," he said, smiling weakly. She noticed that he was dirty and pale...was this what he looked like as a corpse? If she was going crazy, it seemed reasonable that she would see him as a corpse.
"You're not real," she said shortly, getting out of bed. Ed looked around at the windows. They'd had bars put in over them.
"Yes he is, Winry," Pinako said quietly, "He's back...somehow..."
"No," Winry said, putting out a hand as if he was going to attack her, "I've had this dream before...he's not real." She looked up. "But if he's real, I'm guessing my baby's alive too, right? Still right here?" She ran a hand over her now flat stomach.
"Winry, please..." Ed said quietly. Pinako looked closely at his face...his jaw had gotten stronger and more defined, and he'd definitely gotten taller. He was a man now...eighteen years old. "Please come back to me."
"What do you mean?" Winry said, "Come back to you? You're the one who left me! Ruined my life...left me all alone...I know you had to think of Al...but little Trisha might be alive now if you hadn't left us here. Why didn't you think of me? I was your future, Edward...but now I'm just supposed to be dead."
"Winry..."
Pinako watched him closely to see that tears were appearing in his eyes. But what was she supposed to do? Winry was too strong willed to listen to somebody else. She would believe what she wanted to, and there was nothing that she or Ed could do about it.
"Why don't you just go back Edward?" Winry said sharply, "It's too late now. I'm supposed -"
In one quick movement he was in front of her and grasping her arms. Her eyes widened in surprise and she seemed afraid, but Pinako just stayed in the corner. Maybe this would work...she should let them alone...
"Don't hurt her Edward," she said quietly before leaving the room.
"Winry," he said quietly, "I have been working night and day to get back to you. I shouldn't be here...I am supposed to be dead! But I'm here now...and so are you."
Winry stared at him as if in shock.
"There still is a future for us, Win," he said, "Please...please come back."
Her eyes lost their cloudiness...but rather than pulling him closer, she shoved him away. "Damn you!" she screamed, "Damn you, damn you!" She tried to pull the lamp off of the side table to throw it, but it seemed to be glued down. Ed stared from the table to Winry as she collapsed on the floor, sobbing. What had happened...what had he done to her?
----
Roy walked into the Rockbell house to see dirty footprints on the floor, and he immediately knew that Ed had already been there. "Where's Elric?" he said sternly. Riza stood behind him, looking around.
"Oh, we do have plenty of surprises tonight," Pinako said, coming down the stairs, "He's up there, with Winry...but you're not to go up there. They need to talk and be left alone."
Roy hesitated, but Riza immediately nodded and held on to his arm. "We understand," Riza said calmly, and then looked upward to whisper in Roy's ear. "Imagine if it was you and me."
Apparently, he agreed. They both sat down at the table with the other guests. Everyone had lost their appetite by now, and nobody spoke. It was as if they were trying to hear what Edward and Winry were saying upstairs.
----
"You always have to be so noble, don't you?" Winry said, looking up at him, "I thought you were dead...I didn't think you'd do something so stupid..."
"I was saving my brother, Winry!" Ed said, angry, "What I set out to do all along...I promised you that I'd always love you!"
"You also said that you wouldn't do anything like what you did, dumbass," Winry said, "My promise was that I'd always wait for you...and I thought I had to...but then...did..."
He watched her closely and sat down on the floor near her. What he really wanted to be doing was holding her...but she wouldn't let him.
"Did Aunty tell you what I did?"
Ed shook his head, but put up his hands too. "It's OK, you don't have to tell me."
"I killed the baby, Ed."
He looked closely at her, moving closer when she put her head down and started sobbing again.
"I wanted to blame you...I really did...but I just realized...it was me...I...I jumped off the porch with the big lamp...and I made sure it was on my chest and stomach so that it would kill me..." She looked up at him again, "That's why I was supposed to die."
Ed finally got close enough to her to touch her and he put out a hand and put it on her arm. She immediately buried her face in the crook of his neck, sobbing all of her tears onto his jacket. "Winry, you...you're a wreck," he said, having trouble taking it all in. This was Winry...this was the girl that used to hit him with wrenches when she was upset, and always held on strong. What was she doing like this?
"Of course I'm a wreck," she said, "My baby's dead and I thought you were dead...what was I supposed to do? I was the only one who thought you were alive for the longest time...nobody else did though. They all kept on saying you were dead...it drove me crazy..."
"Well you don't have to be crazy anymore," Ed said, pulling her away from his neck and moving closer so that he could hold her. He kissed the top of her head comfortingly and tried to console her. "Winry...I'm not dead, I'm alive...and we can live now...you said you were going to marry me, right?"
"You still remember that?" Winry said, gazing at him.
"You and Al were the only people on my mind when I was stuck in that other world," he said, "I couldn't stop thinking about you...I was worried...I dreamt about you every night."
"Me too," she answered, calming down, "I...I do still love you, Ed."
"I love you too Winry," he said, and then bent down to capture her lips. She closed her eyes quickly, and then started crying again as she felt the kiss of someone she'd thought she'd never see again.
He quickly pulled away. "Why are you crying!" he asked, worried.
"It's...I just missed you..." she said, wiping her eyes, "But...oh, just kiss me again."
He leaned towards her again and she fiercely caught his mouth, opening her own to trace patterns across his teeth and the roof of his mouth with her tongue before throwing her arms around his neck and settling in his lap, taking up his right arm to inspect it.
"You need new automail," she said after a few minutes.
"Yeah," he agreed, and then looked her in the eyes, "We're going to get through this together, OK?"
"OK, Ed," Winry answered, and then kissed him again.
Maybe she would be alright after all.
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