Father was not in a good mood. Lust had recently been killed, and that in itself was troubling. She had been a valuable pawn, and played a key role in some of his plans. Then there was the fact that Wrath hadn't done anything, and her killer was none other than a potential human sacrifice. One who knew too much for sure, but they couldn't waste even one potential human sacrifice. Yes, Roy Mustang needed to be monitered closely indeed.

To make matters worse, one of his children had just brought a troubling report. "Are you certain that is what you heard?" He asked.

Envy nodded. "Yep, Hohenheim was seen near Resembool."

Father paused. He hadn't seen or heard of Hohenheim in a long time. He had no solid idea as to what he had been doing all those years, but the several theories he had suggested nothing good. This could very quickly become a problem.

"Go and check to see if this is true." He ordered Envy, who nodded and walked towards one of the many tunnels that lead out of their base. Father watched the homunculus until shadows swallowed him whole. He idly wondered why he was feeling a nagging sense of dread about this whole situation, but dismissed the feeling. Envy wasn't completely unreliable, so he had no cause to worry.

Ed had expected many things when he went to visit his mother's grave. If he was to rate the things he saw coming, an alien invasion would come before Hohenheim's return. Then again, he didn't give himself much time to feel shock as the familiar rage whenever he heard Hohenheim's name resurfaced, only now he was seeing the bastard, he was, if possible, even angrier.

"Van Hohenheim," He snarled, storming up to the man who was staring at him, "how dare you show your face here!"

Recognition flashed in Hohenheim's gaze as he stared at his son. "Edward?" He asked softly, as if he wasn't sure that the boy glaring at him was really his son. "You've grown taller."

Ed let out an odd snarling noise. "Maybe that's because last time you saw me, I was a little kid, you bastard!" He spat, golden eyes staring at Hohenheim, burning with hatred.

Hohenheim recoiled slightly. "How can you call your own father a bastard?" He asked his son, his tone showing a fraction of his hurt, but really, if anything, he seemed confused.

"Bastard is a better word than what you deserve!" Ed yelled, nearly causing Hohenheim to flinch. Did Ed really hate him that much?

"If we weren't in front of mum's grave, I would punch you so hard your glasses will be embedded in your face!" Ed yelled at him.

"I would hope not. That would be rude." A familiar, soft voice scolded him. Both father and son turned and stared at the new arrival. None other than Trisha Elric was standing before them.

Ed gasped, not daring to believe that the person standing in front of him really was his mother. She couldn't be here, there was no way, yet she was. The last Ed had seen of his mother was that thing staggering around their basement, lurching towards him before collapsing, a tide of blood washing it away.

As Hohenheim stared at Trisha, memories of the time they spent together flashed throgh his mind. Her laughter, her kindness, her smile, so fleeting yet so beautfiful. It was that smile that he would see in his dreams, when he felt so homesick all he wanted was to turn back and see his family again...

At the same time, Ed was remembering his mother's weak smile as she sat in her bed, telling them over and over how strong they were. Trisha died with a smile on her face, still waiting for Hohenheim, still wanting to be with her sons. Still wanting to keep her promise.

The two stared at the woman in front of them. She was smiling, but it was all wrong. She looked like Trisha, but that was it. The light in her eyes wasn't warm and loving, it was cold and caculating. The smile wasn't hers. Trisha's smile was kind and lit up her whole face, but this smile was twisted and made her look like she was plotting something.

Out of pure coincidence, father and son spoke at the same time. "You're not her."

'Trisha' let out a laugh that proved them both right. "You really are alike."

Ed snapped at that comment. "No, we're not! I'm nothing like that bastard! I don't know who you are, but if you think you can just walk around wearing mum's face then-"

"Who are you?" Hohenheim interrupted coldly, glaring at 'Trisha'.

"Well, isn't that a bit cold?" 'Trisha' asked with a smirk, reaching into her coat pocket. Hohenheim narrowed his eyes at the sight of the gun, and didn't notice Ed tensing, ready to spring into action. Ed was begining to get an idea of who this was.

"Envy." Ed spat, making the homunculus grin.

"Well done! You're offically smarter than your father!" Envy laughed, begining to shift back into his normal form. Ed was shaking with rage.

"How dare you take that form here of all places. You're insulting her memory!" Ed snarled, lunging towards the still laughing homunculus. Envy jumped away, dodging easily.

"Careful, shorty. I'm not allowed to kill you, you're still useful." He mocked, watching Ed struggle to control his temper after remembering that they were in a graveyard.

"Still useful... So they really did do human transmutation." Hohenheim mumbled, staring at the scene dully, realising for the first time the true impact of what the boys had done in his absence. Alone and feeling abandoned they reached out for their mother, only to fall into his hands. If only he had been there. Maybe then... Maybe Trisha... He was so busy thinking that he didn't notice the fight going on.

The fist gunshot jolted him from his dark thoughts. That was right, Ed was fighting. He was already a pretty bad father, there was truth to what Ed had said, and he wasn't about to allow himself to fall any farther.

Besides, this homunculus was clearly linked to him and it was too dangerous to be allowed to live. He was just about to move, to go and help his son when Envy noticed and-

"Bastard, look out!" Ed yelled, flinging himself in front of Hohenheim. The bullet meant for him tore into Ed. Hohenheim watched in horror as his son collapsed, hands clutching his wounds, fingers twitching.

"Shit! He was a human sacrifice. I wasn't meant to kill him." Envy swore, turning to run. The gun fell to the floor with a dull thump! but Hohenheim neither noticed nor cared.

His son had tried to protect him. Now Edward was slowly bleeding to death, eyes closed, breaths shallow. Blood was splattered all over Trisha's grave. It dripped down the stone like tears. Maybe she was crying, far away, not wanting her son to join her so soon.

What kind of father watches his son die? No, he can fix this. He has to. It was his blood that started this whole mess, so it'd be his blood that would fix it. He just had to make it in time. At this point, he was willing to do anything to save his son, even if it meant turning him into a monster.