A/N: Well, here it is! The final chapter of Whispers in the Rain... I hope you enjoy reading it, and I hope you also enjoyed reading the rest of it! :) Time for me to start working on some new projects...

Yeah, yeah, I title's the name of a Linkin Park song... What can I say? I love that band :)

Epilogue II
Somewhere I Belong

Damp earth pressed against the side of his face, nearly smothering him as he tried to figure out where he was and, more importantly, what had happened. Opening his eyes wearily, he tried to push himself to his feet. Upon standing up, he was hit by a strong wave of dizziness that left him unable to find even a semblance of his balance. Falling ungainly (not to mention face-first) back onto the ground, the mud made its way into his mouth.

Lying still for a few minutes, he took the time to collect himself, making a mental checklist of all the things that he knew. His name, for one thing; Edward Elric. Now, why was he lying on the floor? No least, after it had just rained?

Home.

That was it. He was going home. But where was home? Quickly, he began to scan through his mind, locating all of his most recent memories, in a desperate bid to find out where he was, and why.

Aaah.

Well, that wasn't too hard. So, his father's transmutation circle had obviously work. Or, at least, he wasn't at Hogwarts anymore. Deciding that he had waited long enough, and that he didn't particularly want any more mud to make its way into his mouth, he once again tried to get back on his feet. Instead of getting up in a hurry, as he had before, he took his time this time around, allowing any dizzy feelings to go away before he became completely vertical.

Best to take things one at a time.

Once he regained his balance and dispelled the fog in his mind, he tried to find out where he was. Looking around, there wasn't really much to see. He appeared to have been dropped off in the middle of a forest, or at least a piece of woodland. His best bet would be to find a path of sorts, and follow that until he found a sign or something else that would give him a hint as to where he was.

Settling upon a certain direction to travel, he took a deep breath and began to walk, ignoring the now-usual ache in his automail leg. He knew that, after the length of time since his last check-up, Winry would definitely need to take a look at it.

Heck, maybe she'd even go easy on him, because of him being missing for the past… he looked at his mental calendar… six or so months.

Yeah, and maybe pigs would fly.

Sighing to himself, he pressed on, keeping an eye out for any signs that the area was well travelled. It took him what felt like several hours, but finally he came upon a dirt track and, with amazing luck, a farmer driving his horse a cart. Heedless to the fact that it was still moving, he ran right up to the man. Impatiently, the man came to a halt.

It was only then that Ed realised he hadn't a clue what he was going to tell the man.

The horse gave a short, sharp snort, and stamped its foot on the damp ground.

--

The night was cold, and harsh on anyone foolhardy enough to be out in it. With frozen fingers, Ed made his way up the silent, dark street, never lingering, with his destination sharp in his mind.

Although, upon re-entering his world, it had appeared as though he was miles away from any civilisation, that hadn't actually been the case. Instead, he'd been in a small area of woodland, not all that far from Central. Despite the farmer's hostile reaction to the young alchemist's sudden appearance, he hadn't actually been all that unkind; taking him the nearby village, allowing him to stay the night, then allowing him to hitch-hike with a friend for the rest of the journey to Central. Sometimes, even after all he'd been through, he couldn't help but be amazed at the kindness some people could show to a complete stranger.

One day, he would have to repay him.

A slight wind chilled him, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Wrapping his arms protectively around his body, he suppressed a shudder, instead taking his mind back to the events that had happened only days before. Since he had crossed The Gate, everything had happened so fast he hadn't had much time to think about what had happened, let alone plan all that far ahead. In a way, that wasn't a bad thing. To be honest, he'd needed a few days to just clear his mind, without any of the worries that seemed to hang over him constantly.

The leaves on the trees rustled, as another slight gust of wind sang through their crooked boughs. As he thought back to what had happened, what felt like years ago now that he was back in his own time and place, he couldn't help but smile slightly to himself.

He'd never say it out loud; modesty prevented it, but he was a genius.

There were times when he'd deny that fact; times when the misery of his foolishness overwhelmed him, and when he stared into those empty sockets where his brother's eyes were supposed to be. But then there were times like this, when his level of intelligence, purely and simply, impressed him.

Not that he'd ever tell anyone, though.

It was definitely true, though. How many other people would have been able to predict exactly what was going to happen when he opened The Gate? Very few people would have assumed that Envy was going to make an appearance, let alone have had enough time to prepare for it.

But, he wasn't ordinary, so he had prepared. It had taken him a long time, even before he had returned his brother to his human body, to find the location of the remains from which Envy had been transmuted, and then he'd had to try and make it as inconspicuous as possible around his brother. In the end, the dust that was all that was left of the young man's body was found in a small village in the north of Amestris, and it was in the dead of night that Ed snuck out of his Inn room and took what he needed. He'd never told Al.

He'd worried too much as it was.

And now, here he was. Giving the box to Hermione was smart idea; she had read the book in the library regarding homunculi, so she knew what to do with it, which took a weight off his mind.

Walking up a silent street in the dark hours of night, the pavement before him lit only by the faint streetlights, glowing luminescent orange. His footsteps rang on the concrete, as he made his way fixatedly to his destination. As he walked, absorbed in his thoughts, in his mind he couldn't help but wonder what his friends were doing now. Even after all he'd seen in his time in the other world, he still couldn't really believe that magic existed, but then again, he'd seen it first hand. The only conclusion he could come to was that magic was to their world what alchemy was to his.

He tried not to think any more than that; all it did was give him a headache.

Turning off the main part of the street, he began to silently make his way up a path towards a single house. The lights were on, giving it a warm and friendly atmosphere. Inside, he could hear people talking amiably, although through the walls he was unable to pick up any of the actual words. Smiling softly to himself, he made his way towards the white-painted door and, almost nervously, raised his fist. He rapped his knuckles, three sharp times, on the wood. After what, to him, felt like forever, he could hear someone coming to answer it.

The door swung open, and young boy with dark blonde-brown hair, turned to look at him.

His mouth dropped open. Ed smiled.

"Hello, Brother."

Fin

A/N: Now I would like to say thanks to all of my loyal readers and reviewers... I can't list you all, because there are so many of you! So, instead, here's a cookie! -gives cookie to readers- I hope you'll hang around to read some of my other pieces, and who knows? Maybe, if I feel motivated enough, a sequel might be on the way...

Toodles y'all! :)

P.S On a side-note, quite a few peeps have asked me about Kitten.. Don't worry! Last I checked, she was hiding somewhere in Ed's coat...