HOLY CRAP! I haven't updated this thing since DECEMBER?!

I am completely sorry!

First off I'm surprised no one has sent any hate PMs for how seriously late I am in updating this. No, I have NOT abandoned this story. This late update was a slip up on my part. Also, you guys must be some of the most patient viewers ever. Thank you so much for putting up with my crappy updates.

Disclaimer: I don't own FMAB or Soul Eater.

Chapter 13

"Ed!" the older Elric brother was jerked away by the sound of Pinako's booming voice. "Are you still asleep?! Your father just left! You missed him!"

The boy's eyes were wide and sweat poured down his face as he sat up and stared at his automail hand. He had just experienced another nightmare. It was cold and dark and he had been running. He wanted that person to give Al back.

"But it was you Edward," the voice of Truth whispered and then echoed throughout his mind. "You were the one who did this to him." And before he knew it, he was face to face with the psychotic Shou Tucker. "You turned him into a monster." The man's eyes were wild and his expression, crazed. "But it wasn't only him, was it?"

"Don't leave me here like this," spoke a hoarse voice then. "Please, bring me back to life," the pound of flesh that was his mother begged, caressing his cheek softly and painfully. "Please …"

Even though he was fully awake and his eyes were wide open, Edward felt as though the nightmare wasn't over.

"Are you sure it was really Trisha?" was what Hohenheim had asked the night before. It bothered Ed to no end. Had that been the reason why he had that dream? Was he worried about the old bastard's words? Had his transmutation that had cost his brother's body and his limbs, failed completely?

Once downstairs and dressed for the day, Ed greeted Pinako before looking around in confusion. "Where's Kid?"

"That strange child hasn't been here all morning. I don't know where he went," the old woman told him. "Besides if he needed anything, he would come and ask for it. As long as he's not messing with any of my stuff to try and make it more symmetrical then I'm fine."

Edward had to agree with her on that. But then again, wasn't he supposed to be watching Kid? What if he wandered off somewhere far?

… Eh, what the colonel didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

The blonde teen's expression then became serious. He clenched his fist and stared hard at the ground, a bead of sweat dripping down his face. Seeing this, Pinako gave him a questioning look. "What's wrong Edward?"

"T-There's … something I need you to help me with Granny."

Only a few minutes later was Death the Kid watching as Edward and Pinako left the house with two shovels and a bucket in hand. Kid didn't have to know Edward's whole life story to figure out what the boy was about to do.

He was going to dig up his mother's grave.

"ARGH! BLACK STAR!" Maka growled angrily. Alphonse sat only a few feet away from her almost falling over due to the amount of power behind her voice. "I can't believe he didn't even come back! We can't be split up like this! There's no way I could find Mosquito by myself in a world I hardly even know!"

Alphonse sighed. "I'm sorry. Maybe I didn't push the issue enough. A-At the time, there was … something important being discussed."

Maka's death glare turned into a sweet and calm smile as she faced the suit of armor. "No, no, Alphonse. I don't blame you one bit." Her glare quickly returned as she clenched her fists. "It's all that damn Black Star's fault anyway!"

W-What's with the bipolar attitude … Alphonse thought in slight fear.

"Hey Al," Winry then said. The blonde haired girl sat beside him, a confused look on her face. "Why are those two here?" she asked pointing at Ling and Lan Fan.

Alphonse stared. "That's … That's a good question actually."

Maka who was trying to calm herself commented, "While you were out Alphonse, they tried to order room service five times. After the first two times I tried to stop them."

Winry nodded. "And then they tried to keep the food all to themselves!" she exclaimed, feeling as though it had been a crime. She then turned to Ling. "You know, you should be grateful. We're the ones who are housing you."

"Technically my brother is, considering it's his money."

"Whatever Al!" shouted Winry. "And plus, Ling wouldn't stop saying that he wanted to talk to you about your body!"

"It's true," piped in Ling. He kept his legs and arms folded and smiled at the tall suit of armor. "We never got to continue our conversation."

Before Alphonse could say anything, Ling held up a hand to stop him. "I already found out what you are, Alphonse. You're a soul, bounded to that suit of armor." The Xingese teen then paused and his eyes opened. "Your body is the closest thing to immortality. That's why I want to have what you have …"

The room's occupants then jumped slightly at the sound of Alphonse's laughter. Ling's eyes then closed and he asked, "Do you find this funny Alphonse?"

Not caring to answer, Alphonse told him, "This body … There's no use in having it. I'm not immortal. I-I don't even know if I'll have a normal human lifespan." He stared at his black glove almost as if her were in a trance. Maka and Winry exchanged worrying looks as Alphonse spoke again, "This body of mine … is a ticking time bomb."

"W-What do you mean by that?" Winry asked worriedly.

Alphonse looked back at her. "A metal body bound to a human soul … Somewhere along the line, the two will reject one another. It'll be like a time bomb going off." He made the sound of a sigh. "It could happen today or even tomorrow. Who knows when? Do you understand Ling? I'm nowhere close to being immortal with this body."

Maka stared, her eyes wide. "S-So you're basically saying that you could die any day now?! That's not fair! How is that fair?"

Alphonse's helmet lowered.

"Now hold on," Ling said. "When it gets to dangerous can't you just transfer your soul into something else? You don't feel pain and you never have to eat. That sounds like a pretty good way to live if you ask me-"

"THERE'S NOTHING GOOD ABOUT IT!" came Winry's sudden shout. The girl stood up her hands balled into fists. A shadow cast over her eyes and she seemed to tremble ever so slightly. "You don't know anything!" she said a littler quieter. She then turned to look at Al before glancing at Maka. Before anyone could say anything else, she left the room. "I-I'm sorry …"

"Wait, Winry!" exclaimed Al as the door closed. Immediately he followed after her, leaving the guests alone.

It was quiet until, Maka finally spoke up. "You're really rude aren't you?"

Ling faced her glare head on, not seeming to be provoked by it. "I'm looking for immortality and Alphonse's condition is close enough. I just don't understand what makes them so angry about it."

"Listen Ling," she muttered. "It's nice to not have to eat or drink to keep your energy up but I know that you like food. If you had a body like Alphonse, wouldn't you miss the taste of food in your mouth?"

Ling shrugged. "Well of course. But that's a small price to pay."

Maka's eyebrow twitched at his response. "Well, what about smelling things. Alphonse can't smell anything with his body. Wouldn't you miss that sort of thing?"

"Why would I care about smelling stuff? Besides, it'd be a blessing if I didn't have to smell someone's body odor."

Maka had to keep herself from growling after hearing this. "W-Well then, if you ever get a girlfriend wouldn't you want to kiss her or hold her hand or something? If you had Alphonse's body you wouldn't be able to feel any of that."

"That's fine because I don't plan on getting a girlfriend anyway."

"UGH!"

"… But now that you mention it … with Alphonse's body I wouldn't be able to produce any heirs," Ling stated, his hand resting under his chin. Lan Fan and a now calmer Maka stared at him. The ashy haired meister then absorbed what he had just said. "Heirs? Are you a leader of a rich company or something like that?"

Just then, Alphonse and Winry entered the room. "Winry's going down to get dinner, are any of you guys going with her?" Alphonse asked.

Ling lightened up. "Of course!"

Winry blushed a little. "I'm sorry for my outburst earlier …"

"Don't apologize Winry! Ling deserved it!" Maka told the blonde, running to her side. "Let's go eat." Behind her, Lan Fan glared and Ling rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

Winry nodded. "Yeah."

Havoc sighed before plopping his last cigarette in-between his lips. After talking to Roy and the others about not being able to work again, Havoc felt … off. Sure there was a feeling of relief that washed over him. Relief at what? He didn't know. But for some reason, there was a terrible feeling in his chest. It made his insides squirm. He didn't know why he felt this way either.

"So, are you really planning on quitting the military?"

Havoc looked up to the only person left in the hospital room. Black Star still sat lazily on the window sill.

"Aren't you worried someone is going to see you?" Havoc asked.

Black Star shrugged. "I'm the greatest ninja assassin in the world! It's a crime for people not to see me in my greatness!"

"… But if you're a ninja assassin, shouldn't you not want to be seen?"

The blue haired boy froze before suddenly saying, "Jeez. Get off of my back, will ya?"

Havoc rolled his eyes. Sometimes it was just painful talking to this guy.

"Anyway, you dodged my question earlier." Havoc glanced back at the boy. "Are you really quitting the military?"

There was a moment of silence before Havoc spoke. "Of course I'm quitting. I'm no use to anyone without my legs."

Black Star scoffed. "Oh please. If I were you, I'd still be fighting even without my legs! I'd kick all my enemies' asses!"

But wouldn't you need legs to kick? Slightly annoyed, Havoc stated, "Well, you're not me and I can't do that stuff."

"You don't have to be me to do all that shit, blondie," Black Star said calmly. "I'm just saying that you shouldn't give up. That gun lady from before almost gave up on her life and look how many people depended on her. If she had ended up dying, all those weakling friends of hers would have been sad and pissed. Now you're giving up. How would your weakling friends feel about that?"

Havoc stared in surprise by the volume of Black Star's voice. He hardly ever spoke with the softness he was using now. And … was he being … helpful?

"I bet," Black Star continued. "They'd be pretty pissed. That Mustang guy had a pretty angry face when he left the room. How's he taking your weak-minded decision?" Havoc's eyes narrowed. "So think about it would ya? Giving up just makes it harder on yourself and everyone who likes you."

Havoc's face relaxed and all he found himself doing was staring. This blue haired punk … was right …

The man smirked and puffed out a cloud of smoke. "I guess I will think about it."

Death the Kid trailed a few thirty or so feet behind Edward and Pinako. He was hoping to find the Rockbell grave but as he arrived in the cemetery he realized it wouldn't be so easy. Despite the size of the town, it had a good amount of gravestones.

"They were involved in the Ishvalan War after all," Kid had to remind himself as he searched the graves that sat alphabetically. It was about a good fifteen minutes later that he actually found the Rockbell grave. Thank goodness for it too. The young Shinigami was feeling woozy from looking at too many asymmetrical grave stones.

He sighed in relief when he saw that the one he was looking for, was pretty symmetrical if he did say so himself.

Awkwardly he stepped closer, unsure of what to do or say. He didn't know these people and they hadn't known him either. And although he was a Shinigami, he didn't have much experience talking to dead people.

"Um … hello there. I am Death the Kid."

There was silence following after. Kid wanted to smack himself for thinking he'd get a response. "My friends call me Kid," he then said. "I am not from your world if you can fathom that … And I am the son of the Grim Reaper, Lord Death." He paused. "You know who I am now, and I know who you are. From what I've gathered, the two of you were doctors who went to help during the Ishvalan War. You saved many lives but were ultimately killed in the end."

The sky above began getting dark as a large gray cloud covered the land. Kid paid no mind to it however. He was okay with getting rained on a little. "I know your daughter. I mean, I don't know her well, but, I have met her. She's a sweet girl and she's best friends with the two brothers who are helping my friends and me get back to our world. Edward and Alphonse are living a lot differently than you might have expected. Edward's in the military and lost two of his limbs … Alphonse lost his whole body. But they seem strong enough to get through their troubles."

He then frowned to himself. Maybe he was saying too much … "I-In any case, I was sent here by two of your patients from back during the war. They are an Ishvalan child and old lady. They said they saw you die. They said you were killed by another Ishvalan. I'm pretty sure they would have sent Edward, but he left the area before they could ask him. So here I am …"

Droplets of water poured down from the sky.

"They wanted to say thank you. They also wanted to say sorry. It's sad that you were killed by the very same thing you were trying to help." He hesitated and looked up as the rain came down harder. "If … If I ever stay long enough in this world to meet the man who killed you …" he clenched his fists, "as the son of Lord Death and as a meister, I promise I'll take his soul."

Edward and Pinako worked hard to shovel up Trisha Elric's grave as the rain poured down on them rapidly. The older Elric brother's face twisted in determination. He wasn't going to stop until he found his mother's body. He needed to know!

Just then, as Edward plunged his shovel into the hole he had created previously, something in the dirt blocked the shovel from going in any deeper. Pinako and Edward stared down in surprise before hurrying to uncover whatever it was.

The first thing Edward saw, were a few strands of hair. Hesitantly, he picked it up and placed it in the bucket full of rain water to make the coloring easier to see. Pinako gulped, awaiting the verdict.

"Granny," a very quiet Edward finally said, "Mom had chestnut colored hair …" He paused, and took in a shaky breath, before turning back to look at her. "This is black."

Pinako hurriedly went to exam the bones, measuring tape in hand. "I can judge the height by the length of the femur. We can tell the gender by looking at the pelvis too."

Edward's look of anguish caught her attention. "Granny …"

She sighed. "Yes, this thing has none of Trisha's characteristics. This is not your mother."

After the words left her mouth, Edward fell. He crashed onto his knees and into the dirt. He leaned over and buried his head even lower. Before Pinako could say anything to him, the boy started to laugh. It was muffled at first, but as he raised his head to the sky is laughs could even be heard over the rain. When he finally stopped, he froze and stared up at the dark sky. It was too cruel …

"So, it's true," he admitted. "A dead person can never come back to life, no matter what we do … what am I doing?"

"Ed," Pinako spoke. "Get a hold of yourself. Hang in there."

The blonde haired boy lowered his head. "I'm fine," he told her honestly. "From that day until now, this thing was symbol of my despair." He paused. "But now, this will lead to new hope."

Pinako stared in surprise.

"Isn't it ironic? The answer was right here at the starting point this whole time," Edward told her. His slumped shoulders rolled back and he faced Pinako with a determined gaze. "Al can be returned to normal."

Just then, a new voice spoke up, "So you've found whatever answer it was you had been looking for."

Edward and Pinako turned to find Kid approaching them. The grim reaper's hands were in his pockets and an almost amused look was planted on his face. Edward grinned. "I found even more than that."

"Well, that's good," Kid said with a smile. "Does this mean you're going to be returning to Central soon?"

Edward huffed. "Of course, Al and I need to get going on getting our bodies back."

"Don't forget about Mosquito. You promised you'd help us with that," Kid reminded him.

"Oh yeah … that," Edward groaned. "And hey! What have you been doing this whole time?! You could've helped Granny and I dig, you bastard!"

Kid rolled his eyes. "If you must know, I was visiting the Rockbells' grave."

Pinako and Edward blinked at his answer. "What were you doing there?" Pinako questioned.

"Yeah, you don't even know them," said Ed.

Kid only shrugged before walking off. "I'm going back to the house. I'll see you both when you get back."

"Hey! Don't just avoid the question!" Edward shouted angrily. Kid continued walking away. "AND DON'T IGNORE ME!"

Pinako glanced between Edward and Kid before sighing. "I can't wait until you two leave me in peace."

Edward turned to look at her. "Wait a minute! You're the one always complaining that I don't come around often enough!"

"I don't know why I would! You're just a pain in my neck!"

"Why you old hag-!"

Pinako suddenly relaxed as her eyes fell on the countless bones on the ground. Edward's glare eased, sensing the mood. "What do you plan on doing with this thing?" the old lady asked him.

Edward sighed. "This thing …" he approached the bones and stared. "It was alive. It looked at me back then … and it moved. I know it. I gave it life, and watched it die. It … It deserves a grave."

Pinako then silently watched as Edward dug up a place of rest for the remains of his creation.

Thank you so much for your favorites and follows, seriously. This story now has over 100 followers!

Also, thanks to:

PrismRain13

keys of fate

Guest (on Jan 1)

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chronical199

LanternLover23

Sav (on Feb 18)

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RussianMochi

silent-raven98

Roggy2688

Your reviews helped me get back in the groove. Especially Roggy2688 and silent-raven98. The latest reviews really helped me remember this story.

Once again I am really sorry for the late update. I hope you guys liked it though.

P.S. Reviews are love!

P.P.S. I'll be honest, Death the Kid, Black Star, and Havoc were my favorite parts about this chapter.